igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 136 a review of igwebuike as the consumate foundation of african bioethical principles by prof. anthony ikechukwu kanu, o.s.a jude i. onebunne, phd department of philosophy faculty of arts nnamdi azikiwe university, awka ji.onebunne@unizik.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.28703.51361 prof. kanu published this paper in 2016. it remains a work of great breakthrough in african bioethics at the moment when western civilization seems to have coloured all we may think of with regard to bioethical engagements. in this masterpiece, some concepts are very prominent especially bioethics. bioethics is a compound word with bios meaning life and ethics which is the philosophical study of morality and or value. ethics, along with logic, metaphysics and epistemology, is one of the main branches of philosophy. further division of ethics has it as meta-ethics, applied ethics, moral psychology and bioethics. bioethics, therefore, is the philosophical appreciation of morality and its application on life. hence, it is the ethics of medical and biological research. it is the morality governing the practice of medical enquiry and biological investigations. our consideration in this review in accordance with the paper at hand is african bioethics in contraposition with western bioethics. prof. kanu was very conscious of the long western bioethical imperialism. this made him to be very vehement in discussing african bioethics from african perspective. a discussion of such delicate and fragile nature on moral issues ought to be done with proper reference to african cultural practices, traditional values and traditional beliefs. far be it from moral relativism, many african moral values are naturally deep rooted in african culture and traditions thereby providing alternative and unconventional framework for ethical decisionmaking and implementations. most of these naturally african bioethical principles are already coded in the popular african sayings, ifo, ilu, songs, myths, proverbs, folktales, maxims et cetera. kanu made us to know that the thrust of this paper is african bioethical principles with igwebuike as the underlying philosophy and religion. igwebuike mailto:ji.onebunne@unizik.edu.ng https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.28703.51361?_sg%5b0%5d=mrxx0w1c49be1vvaby9sn1visj8exrdfdkdhxkedoo6bhkgz_vsgm7zxtpsm1bbd9vacl03zftbv5sxb8mj0cpzzea.olygo13oqi-taoioogrxxp6paj18kpkjm5do-foocpgd9pr73wlghn7ywnzeww5tyzq54r6cady4ozqm5syfmg igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 137 according to him remains the study of the modality of being for the realization of the being. as an ideology, igwebuike philosophy like the unifying modality for african philosophical experiences affirms communal togetherness in unquestionable solidarity and categorical complementarity. igwebuike is all about human beings in their number. it is about the relationship of these human beings for the needed activity. it has to do with certain imaginary boundaries within and between persons. it is about sharing. igwebuike, therefore, posits that to be is to live in communion of solidarity and complementarity otherwise one lives in isolation, or right put, in the words of kanu, one suffers alienation. the relational interaction among such people is defined by some principles with regard to moral issues. kanu diagrammatically showed these african bioethical principles thus: principles of solidarity, respect for others, beneficence and nonmalfeasance. these principles are not only african based but are deeply rooted in igwebuike as the complete foundation of african bioethical principles. bibliography kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and and logic (nka) of african philosophy‖. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2015a). a hermeutic approach to the study of african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015b). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no. 1.[ 97-101]. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 138 kanu, i. a. (2016b). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no.1. [1-7]. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 76 a philosophical reflection on aje (witches) in yoruba traditional society and education adeleye, joseph olusola, phd educational foundations (philosophy of education) college of education, ikere ekiti oluadeleye4real@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.36469.60642 abstract this paper focuses on aje (witches) as a controversial entity in yoruba traditional society and education. although some may argue against the existence of aje (witches) due to their philosophical or educational background that may somehow be rooted in western tradition. one is not interested in going to this argument but dwells on the existential impacts of aje (witches) which can either have positive or negative influence on the life of human beings. white witches (aje funfun) are believed to bring fortunes while black and red witches are dangerous in all ramifications. one who has the experience of aje (witches) will never deny their existence in yoruba traditional society. the paper exposes the belief of yoruba people of the south west of nigeria that aje (witches) can pretend to physically love a person and at the same time harm such a person in their spiritual realm. the paper finally examines the measures to combat the negative effects of aje (witches). being a quantitative research, some native people and elders were interviewed. keywords: aje (witches), philosophy, education, tradition, benevolence and malevolence. introduction aje (witch) is a yoruba word that signifies the biological and spiritual power of african (yoruba) woman that has myriad potential including but not limited to, powers of healing, destruction, spiritual and physical development and fortification and political empowerment. (washington, 2014) aje has always flourished in africa and in the lands of the diaspora to which the yoruba travelled either by their own volition or as victims of slavery. aje (witches) are known to preside over the market as iyalode. iyalode serves as the head of commerce and business in most yoruba towns and cities. iyami aje (spiritually powerful being) also continues to occupy essential positions of power in yoruba sacred societies and political institutions. mailto:oluadeleye4real@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 77 aje (witch) performs function as creator and destroyer of life. it has even been said that aje has the spiritual power of wake up a dead person for an interrogation in order to ascertain the source/cause of that person’s death. this could be done by calling the deceased name three times after performing some rituals (fatunmise 2013). this practice still exist ipao ekiti of southwest of nigeria till the present day. aje( witches) are so powerful that they can travelled from ado ekiti to any part of the world in the night and come back before the dawn. though, this may be argued but the fact remain that it is a reality that majority of the yorubas will never deny. there was a story of a women who showed the picture of her grand children to his son that was fond of hiding the identity of these children for the fear of being killed by these spiritual people (aje) . the man would tell all sorts of lies to hide these children from his mother. the mother who is more powerful first showed the son a mirror and allowed him to see how the children were playing in lagos and that he, the son should stop hiding about the grand children from her. she said, she monitored all of them through the mirror whenever she wanted. aje, being so power, travelled by taking a forms of birds like owls vultures, and parrots. aje is nothing more than a supernatural phenomenon inherent in a nature which, when trapped into by humans or manifest itself in humans, can be used to achieve either good or bad and depending on the motive and character of the possessor. the power can mostly manifest itself in women though there is what yorubas called oso (wizard) which manifests itself in men but this appears to be very few in numbers than that of women. based on its scope and power aje (witch) is feared and revered by many. classifications of aje (witches) in yoruba traditional society according to the yoruba’s belief, there are three types of aje (witches). these include; aje dudu (black witches); aje pupa (red witches) and aje funfun (white witches). aje dudu (black witches) these are the malevolent spiritual being who always not interested in the success of their follow being. they are happy in destroying the happiness of others. these iyami osoronga (powerful spiritual mother) will be the cause of one’s sorrow and as well be the one to take care of the same person. by pretending to love their victim, this gives them the opportunity to harm the victim the more. in the physical realm, they supply all the needs of their victim and harm him in the spiritual realm. a story was told of a woman in my village who rode on her son’s back to all spiritual meetings. she (aje) pretended to love him by giving him a beautiful, dime to earth lady as a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 78 wife but unknown to the man, the lady was also a powerful spiritual being (aje) who had vowed to ruin the man’s life by not allowing him to have any child in this physical world instead producing iyami (witches) for the man as children in the spiritual world. aje dudu (black witches) do not kill their victims but only disallow him to succeed in whatever they lay their hands on. the victims will find life difficult in all spheres, they are usually a not progressive one, they have mysterious power, they only punish or make human being to suffer. aje pupa (red witches) happen to be another categories of aje. these are more dangerous because they kill at their convenience. they claim to be responsible for most of the untimely death in many communities in yoruba land. you may want to be inquisitive about how can this be. experience speaks volume to this as many living witnesses attest to their metaphysical power to kill. they drink blood and eat flesh, they punish their victims and give no room for forgiveness even to their own biological children. aje pupa (red witches) according to awominure (2020) kill people directly. it is difficult to say precisely where aje (witches) meet to discuss and stage attack or carry out their operations. they do not have any physical shrine. derived from oral traditional that was passed from the elders, the places of meeting of aje can be under the iroko tree, banana tree, orita meta (t-junction), market places. to the extreme, as a result of modernization, churches, mosques, offices, hotels, could also be meeting points for these spiritual being. as regards the time of aje (witches) hold meeting, it is usually between 1’0clock to 3’0clock mid night as expatiated by (aremu, 2018). no aje (witch) dares stay beyond this scheduled time without a bad consequence. a story was told of some groups of aje (witches) that put up a rebellious attitude by staying more than necessary by yeye olokun (mother of the river) in ayede ekiti and that they were rejected by the confraternity as a result of the rebellious attitude. this rejection compelled them to publicly confess all their past deals disdainfully. the confession may either attract positive or negative treatment from the people of the community. aje pupa (red witches) because of their malevolent nature would sometime be stoned to death or exposed to hardship for the rest of their life. aje (witches) as noted earlier have been categorised as malevolent, neutral and can also be benevolent. aje (witches) in yoruba tradition have been described as participants in the creation and providential continuance of the cosmos. aje funfun (white witches) are believed igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 79 to be guardian of communities and towns. the view that aje are guardian angels watching over children has been a significant practical exercise as this has physical life experiences and justifications among the people in ayede ekiti of the south west of nigeria. they are said to perform benevolent acts, such as impacting wealth, property, good health and protection as supported by washington (2005). our mother are called aje olomon tabi aje abiyamon (witches who protect her children). those who possess aje funfun (white witches) don’t kill, they don’t drink blood or eat flesh, they use their energy to bring protection, blessings and prosperity to whoever they love like their children, husband or family friends. however, if someone incurs their wrath or offends them they have power to punish the person but they quickly forgive anybody who offends them immediately they are appeased. based on the interview had with “yeye olokun” (mother of river) in ayede ekiti, she said initiation to aje funfun could be cumbersome, since the energy must be passed to another person. aja funfun (white witch) would not want to die with the energy. hence, it is passed to their children or grand children. many women who possess this energy do present themselves to the society as very nice and gentle in order to hide their identity. this makes them very difficult to be identified except through metaphysical power. measure to combat the negative effect of aje (witches). ayeni (2003) postulated that if a man has sound knowledge to master and control the realm of the supernatural, the world would be a much happier place. yoruba life is based on community living. the community itself supposed to be made of all types of characters, good, kind, mischievous among others. the yoruba man is educated that all human beings are not equally endowed and believed that some human beings have advanced in celestial journey that they can influence positively or negatively the ori (inner head) or ogbon (wisdom) of another persons. attempt is therefore made either to persuade aje (witches) to be more favourably inclined. at times, the yoruba people appease aje through prayers, sacrifices, protective charm and in these present days by joining spiritual or orthodox churches to be endowed with impregnable power. hence, the yoruba would say eleje funfun ni or atanda eledumare ni (he is a holy man, a special man of god) at times they say “a ki n fi omo ore bo ore or aje aye ko le gbona titi ki o pa omo aje orun je” (nobody dares slaughter a child of the cult for sacrifice. no matter how powerful an earthly witch, she cannot conquer the children of the heavenly witch). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 80 as i earlier said, there is no disaster or tragedy in yoruba community that is not traceable one way or the other to aje (witches): poverty, misfortune, accidents, still birth, infertility among others. hence, yoruba will say aje ma se mi, omo elomiran ni ki o se or ki aye mase elenini mi ebe ni mo be (do not hurt me you spiritually power beings, go and hurt another person or may the spiritually powerful being of the world not be my enemy, so i beg). some of the measures to combat the effects of aje (witches) according to yoruba are; purity of life: luke 10:19 states that behold, i give unto you power to tread on serpent and scorpion, and over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt you. once one is has not made any covenant with aje (witches), it may be difficult for aje to harm such an individual. one major source of problem in people’s existence is evil covenant. this force is so strong and binding that, if it is in operation in individual’s life, it wreaks havoc. it is therefore imperative in yoruba tradition and education that purity of life combats the effects of aje on individual. eni ti ko ba je gbi ko le ku gbi (he who does not eat with them will not die with them). yoruba education teaches individual to be moderate in his/her action in order to combat negative effects of aje (witches) in one’s existence. kindness this is another way of preventing the wrath of aje in yoruba society. it is believed that act of kindness can definitely suppress the wicked act of aje dudu/aje pupa in yoruba culture. a story was told of a man who due to his generosity to a woman who also possessed the spirit of aje (witch) averted an evil plan against him in the spiritual world when his name was mentioned as the next victim. one could liken this to the biblical injuncture that one should keep on doing good and this is also a cardinal characteristic of yoruba traditional education. “eni to ko fe ki a jeun yo aafi tire more se”( who might wish one not to be well fed, one must add his own while cooking) guiding one’s tongue and actions: this also serves as a means of combating evil effects of aje (witches). guiding of one’s tongue and actions are the principles that are learnt, shared and transmitted from one generation to the others in yoruba society. hence, the yoruba would say “o ma fi enu ko or eno re lo ko ba e or enu orofo lo npa orofo. (you will commit yourself by your speeches, it is the utterance of the dove that put it in trouble, “it has only two children but boastfully proclaimed of having many thereafter its house was ravaged by the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 81 evil ones). yoruba elders through their education caution their children to be watchful of what they say in public, since one cannot say who and who is in that gathering. the yoruba child is expected to be observant and interact with elders who their experience can influence his utterances and actions. (sodipo 1973). conclusion existence of aje (witches) in yoruba traditional society is real and practical. this is based on the experiences narrated by the elders interviewed. denying their existence because one is groomed in western philosophy is like playing with fire since aje (witches) will not present themselves physically to non-member of their spiritual association. aje do not display themselves but their impacts are felt by all and sundry in the yoruba traditional society. one’s child or wife that eats, plays, makes love and does all sorts of physical activities may be a spiritually powerful one who hides this energy from her loved ones provided such persons do not hurt her in any way. in case of aje dudu (black witches) and aje pupa (red witches) all what one can do to prevent being harmed is to live a pure life and as well guide one’s tongue as much as possible because sometimes, these spiritually powerful being may prove difficult to be appeased once they are offended. references aremu (2018). aje funfun (white witches) retrieved from https://aremuforilife. word press. com. awoninure,t.t (2020)aje pupa retrieved from http: //www.orishada.com. familusi, o. (2012) african culture and the states of woman: the yoruba example. the journal of pan african studies 5 (1). fasola, fategbe. iyami osoronga l (pdf) awofategbe com. fatunmise, f. (2013). iyami osoronga, divine feminity. xlibris corporation. henry drewal (1977). art and the perception of women in yoruba culture annee 1977 /68/ olatunde b.l & jacob k.o. (1987) making sense of the aje festival : wealth, politics and the status of women among the ondo of south western, nigeria. journal of ritual studies 1(2) sodipo j.o. (1973) philosophy and culture ile-ife, ife press washington, t.n. (2005). our mother, our power, our text: manifestations of aje in africana literature. indiana. university press. washington, t. n (2014). the achitects of existence; aje in yoruba cosmology, ontology and orature oya’s tornado. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 151 the use of english in the marketplace: theoritical issues in communication styles and commercial transaction nora alewo obeya nigerian defence academy kaduna kaduna state alnora155@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.36469.60642 abstract this paper is an exposition on the use of english in informal settings like the market square. a market is identified as an institution, system, infrastructure, social relation or procedure in which the act of exchange of goods or services are carried out. the market serves as a platform for business transactions between people of diverse social cultural and political economic backgrounds. sellers and buyers in the marketplace use language to communicate. the focus of this paper is on the three varieties of english being used in the market place in nigeria which is patterned along the variety of the people that are involved in selling and buying. the paper is in four parts which include, introduction, literature review,theoretical discourse, analysis and conclusion. primary and secondary data were collected and analysed in themes. this paper argued that the multilingual nature of language users in nigeria’s markets is responsible for the use of three types of english and that communication styles are influenced by the level of education of language users in the market. keywords: communication styles, multilingualism, standard english, pidgin, broken english introduction language is a medium of communication through which message is passed from one individual to the other. there is the verbal and nonverbal communication. human beings use verbal communication mostly when interacting to pass across a message. there are quite a number of languages being spoken around the world. english language is prominently the language being used for communication in nigeria although the language is not indigenous to nigeria but introduced as a contact language to the country by colonial powers. it is used for instruction in schools, for commercial activities and deliberation formulation and implementation of policies during the period of colonization. the trend in the use of english language as an official language continued after nigeria's independence in 1960. mailto:alnora155@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 152 english language is a second language to nigerians. many speakers are fond of code switching and code mixing. theyare involved in these speech acts either due to low capacity in their command of the language or in an attempt when making private conversation (in the public space) to prevent others listening in especially where there could be a third-party listening to the conversation. english is used in both formal and informal settings in nigeria. the market place is one of these informal settings where varieties of english language are used in the process of business transactions or when exchanging pleasantries. research objectives a. to identify the group of people using english language for interaction in the market. b. to find out the communication styles used most in the market c. to assess the variety of english used in transacting business in the market research questions a. who are the identifiable groups using english language for interaction in the market? b. what are the communication styles used by english language users in the market? c. what are the varieties of english used in transacting business in the market? literature review and theoretical discourse after independence the english language has been used as language of instruction in schools,, legislation, for public policy formulation, business, commercial transactions, dissemination of information through a media, preaching and religious worships as well as for interaction within the family. the fact that english language is a second language to nigeria, many speakers are fond of code switching and the code mixing because of level of competence or capacity in command of the language or localisation of the language to create privacy in public where there is a third-party listening to the conversation of a particular group of people involved in a conversation (rotimi, 2009) a market place is an informal setting where varieties of english are used for communication between sellers and buyers. a market is identified as an institution, system, infrastructure, social relation or procedure in which artists exchange goods or services. sellers and buyers interact by offering goods or igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 153 services in exchange for other goods and services or cash (physical or electronic transfer to account of seller by the buyer). the market serves as a platform for business transaction between people of diverse social cultural and political economic backgrounds. sellers and buyers in the marketplace use language to communicate (sikiru and olufolake, 2015) a number of works have been carried out on the use of english in informal settings. (chiluwa, 2010:49), carried out a study on the “features and manifestation of nigerian english in computer mediated communication”. the researchers argued that there are varieties of english usage in computermediated communication as regional level and that english language is a “cultural medium for expressing language habits and socio-cultural practice”. the writer argued further that pidgin english is the most prominent variety being used in the course of transactions in informal settings. code switching between english language and the first language of speakers is very prominent in conversations.this phenomenon was noticed among younger users in addition nigeria a grandma and lexical borrowing from languages of the environment are usually used by the elderly. most because we are found of expressing themselves in concepts that are cloned from their local languages. ifeanyi (2016:14) posited that multilingual settings facilitate free interaction between sellers and buyers in the market place. the writer argued further that, the understanding of many languages by a seller or buyer places such an individual above whoever is a monolingual. in addition, the ability of a buyer to speak more than one language makes it easy for him to transact business and possibly curry the favour and confidence of the seller. also, a seller's ability to speak more than one language will enable him or her to attract more customers and sell more. this bring us to the concept of code mixing,code switching using nigerian pidgin standard english and broken english. the submission of ifeanyi shows that speakers of the nigerian language are in multilingual societies that influenced their use of english in either formal or informal settings regarding the use of language in commercial transaction. the writer argued further that traders code switching and code mixing in order to gain customers attention and to satisfy a particular interest. it can be conscious where is deliberate igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 154 choice of language is not made but various elements of the environment that allowed to dictate the language used also when an individual is used to switching from one language to another without much thought or deliberation this means that the individual is fluent in both languages (ifeanyi, 2016:16). sellers and buyers usually engage in the process of the commercial or business transaction in the marketplace using different communication styles consciously or unconsciously. in the process of transactions buyers would want to protect their interest in order not to be shortchanged so also the seller. emotion could set in at times thereby creating unconscious psychological disposition in the process of haggling. this forms the focus of discussion in the next section. strands of communication styles there are different strands of communication styles. (epstein, bishop, ryan, miller and keitner (1993) in yahaya (2008), the first strand discussed in this paper, identified four styles of communication. the styles include are clear and direct, clear and indirect, masked and direct and masked and indirect communication styles. the first one is clear and direct communication style which involves exchange of verbal message in very plain and straight expression language. there is no twist or metaphorical meaning attached to the expression. for instance, a teacher commands a student to walk out of the class. the second one is clear and indirect communication style which is all about sending a verbal message in a plain language but not directed at the receiver. but the implied meaning of the message is actually directed at the receiver. for instance, if a teacher tells a student who came late to the class that “those who come to school late should walk out of the class as soon as they meet a teacher in the class”. the third one is masked and direct communication style which has to do with a message directed at the receiver but it is wrapped in its content away from the attention of the receiver. an example of this is a teacher when a teacher tells a lazy student that “student some of you do not study hard as they ought to”. the last one is masked and indirect communication style which involves sending message to a receiver without being clear or directed at the receiver. for instance, the crop of students in our schools are unserious lot. (epstein, bishop, ryan, miller and keitner (1993) in yahaya (2008). this styles are ordinary and to general in their exposition. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 155 another category of communication style or passive aggressive passiveaggressive and assertive communication style. these styles are deeply rooted in the psychological disposition of the language users (uk violence intervention and prevention center, nd). in line with the psycho linguistic model of communication style explained above. another categorisation identified are submissive and manipulative language style to assertive aggressive and assertive aggressive styles mentioned above. aggressive communication style – involves the following attributes, a poor listener, close minded, does not accept other people's views tries to monopolize and interrupt others, during conversation. other attributes the person portrays are the know it all attitude; being bossy, does not admit mistakes committed by him or her. passive communication style on the other hand as communicator categorised as people who are indecisive, not in control of situations, easily lose self-esteem and always motivated from without. assertive communication style is associated with communicators who have a sense of has self-confidence, who develop self-esteem and are self-motivated. they communicate their feelings freely, take prompt action, are very consistent, they respect the rights of others and they are just fair and firm (sherman, 1999 in bocar, 2018) bocar (2018:3), asserts that that “good communication underpinned long-term successful relationship. verbal communication is an imperative tool for people to get to know each other. to feel a connection of friendship or intimacy through communication is highly enjoyable in order to work out problems and misunderstanding”. the princeton university seminar paper on how to choose communication style explains more on the three attributes highlighted above and then had two other styles to them making five attributes. those associated with passive communication styles a found of ignoring their own personal fundamental rights, they usually deliberately refuse to express their needs and feeling, they make effort not to differ from others in order to avoid conflicts, resentment or misunderstanding. the merit of this communication style is that it is likely to serve as communication option for the purpose of safety in an escalated violence prone situation. their body language is depicted in the way they do not want eye contact while in a conversation. they usually look down and accept whatever decision is taken on their behalf. in case of aggressive communication style these set of communicators are usually hostile, defensive when in confrontation. they express their ideas, needs, feeling at the expense of others ignore other people's igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 156 rights. the merit of this communication style is that communicator may be willing to help others and take prompt action. their body language portrays them as individuals who like to finger point finger, roll their eyes and crosses arms while in a conversation. people associated with passive-aggressive communication style appear passive in appearance, but act out of anger in in a very subtle manner, their consideration for needs, feelings and right of others is minimal. they use indirect communication and sarcasm to communicate or even avoid conversation in some instance. they could (in some instances) sabotages efforts of other and even spread rumour. on the other hand, communicators in assertive category could often be misinterpreted as aggressive. the aggressive communicator relates using gestures, eye contact and keep straight posture while standing or sitting. viller (2018: 6) explains that although a passive aggressive style can border on manipulative, the two standards differ in that someone using a manipulative style will actively do things in a planned and unscrupulous way to make sure their needs gets met. maybe they selectively withhold information from one party that they provide to another one because they can anticipate the conflicts that will cause and how it will result in things going the way they wanted them to go. it is a controlling style in which the manipulator places themselves above everyone else like a puppet master pulling the strings that make all the puppets move according to their master plan. this last categorisation will be used to explain the most prominent language style being used in the marketplace along with the variety of english in usage in the same setting. varieties of english in nigeria the marketplace is not a very formal setting as such, communication in this setting is very informal. people of diverse linguistic backgrounds interact for the purpose of transaction thus varieties of english are used. those who are educated in the western education usually have the capacity to speak standard english, others speak broken english while there are those speak pidgin english. ifeanyi (2016:18) discussed the features associated with standard english igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 157 “standard is associated with the language of the learned profession such as the press media and other institutes and employed when we want to express ourselves beyond local or immediate community”. this writer opined that standard english also differ in accordance in some ways. the american english has different standard from british english or queens or oxford english. again the writer argued that nigeria has no pure standard english. it rather has popular nigerian english. this means the nigeria user uses a mixture of popular and standard forms. broken english is not the same as pidgin english. it is the english spoken by those who have no deep formal education who are forced to communicate in english in order to interact or transact business in informal setting. pidgin english is a contact language that evolved through interactions with colonial administration and later through nigerians who went through formal education. it has vocabulary that is restricted and grammar that is rudimental. it is a prominent feature in multilingual societies. pidgin english is a variety of english spoken not only in nigeria but also in most countries that were colonized by the british empire. it is a “marginal language used among nigerians to facilitate communication needs in certain interaction context’ (balogun, 2013:91). english language emerged as pidgin as a result of the need for communication between people of different linguistic background who want to use a common language to communicate. rockford (1998) in (balogun, 2013:91) posit that “a pidgin usually combines elements of the native language of its users and its typically simpler than those native languages in so far it has fewer words, less morphology, and a more restricted range of phonological and syntactic options”. from the foregoing discussion, there are three varieties of english spoken in nigeria. the standard or popular english is an official language spoken by professionals, government officials and in schools as medium of instruction. but the other two varieties are spoken in informal settings like the market, home and leisure and entertainment places. the usage of these three varieties are discussed along with the communication styles associated with them in the course of transactions in the market place in a section of this paper. in the next section the three varieties of english being used in the market place in nigeria which are patterned along the class of the people that are involved in selling and buying are discussed. language, communication styles and class of users igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 158 this segment employed the submissive, manipulative, assertive, aggressive and assertive-aggressive styles to discuss the use of three prominent varieties of english language used in nigeria identified with social groups. the command or lack of it in the usage of english language is a symbol of social identity in contemporary nigeria. taiwo (2009:7), argues that the nigerian society could be categorized into social groups based on profession, wealth, education, political status and so forth…proficiency levels in english can be speculated for members of different professional groups like lawyers, lecturers, doctors, accountants, and so forth. there are schools and clubs for the elites and proficiency in english is one of the symbols of such groups. the educated elites who go to the market to transact business normally speak the standard nigerian english if they come in contact with those who share the same background with through familiarity and frequent interaction. they prefer to buy items that they need from those they feel at home with due to their perception of solidarity in their use of language. the communication style that is usually employed between this class of language users is the assertive style. they are assert themselves in the course of transactions. the respect that this group of sellers and buyers have for one another makes their language use memorable. however, the educated elites who like to speak standard english in the market during transact usually switch to pidgin or broken english when they haggle on price of commodities they intend to purchase with those who do not have formal education or those who have little formal education. the elite usually respond to the manipulative communication style of sellers in the market by displaying assertive style of communication. the group of buyers and sellers who use broken english usually try to employe manipulative communication style and in some instance use aggressive or passive aggressive communication style due to their inability to express themselves as they ought to do. these group of sellers and buyers usually fall out when they experience strainers relationship in the course of interaction. however, some of them revert to the use of passive communication style whenever their attitude is rebuked by the other party (buyer or seller). the group of buyers and sellers who use pidgin english usually have memorable experience like that of those who speak standard english. however due to code igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 159 switching and code mixing they have problem interpreting some messages in the process of language usage for business transaction. the communication styles used by this group of language users are in between assertive and manipulative styles. they usually feel free expressing themselves but could be manipulative when trying to take advantage over one another in the process of transaction. in other instances, those who use this style usually revert to passive communication styles in the event of tension between them in the course of transactions. conclusion the standard of education of language users in the markets place influences their communication style in the market place. those who speak standard english to transact in the market places use more of assertive communication styles, while those who use pidgin or broken english use aggressive and manipulative communication styles respectively. the multilingual nature of nigeria is also responsible for the use of varieties of english in the market place. people have the command of different languages as well as at least two varieties of english. as such, they switch to the english that is convenient for then in the course of carrying out transactions in the market place. long-term successful relationship between buyers and sellers in market place is a product of good assertive communication style. both parties usually speak their mind and express their feeling without hurting one another. through assertive communication style, problems and misunderstandingss between buyers and sellers in the market place usually resolved. reference yahya m.k. (2008) effective family communication for social change in m.k. yahya (edt) communication for social change in developing countries. ibadan: craft books sikiru b. and olufolake o.m. (2015) sociolinguistics analysis of language used in nigerian market: implication of language education policy (a case study of sokoto north of sokoto state. a project submitted to the faculty of education and extension service, usman dan fodio university, sokoto. ifeanyi, u.j. (2016) social linguistic analysis of the use of pidgin for interaction in zaria markets. a master's degree thesis submitted to the department of english ahmadu bello university zaria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 160 chiluwa, i. (2010) nigerian english in informal email messages. in english worldwide journal vol 31 (1) pp 40-60. taiwo, r. (2009) the functions of english in nigeria from the earliest time to the present day. english today 98, vol. 25 no. 2, june. balogun, t.a. (2013) in defense of nigerian pidgin journal of languages culture. vol 4(5) july pp 90-98, epstein, n.b., bishop, d., ryan, miller and keitner g. (eds), (1993) the mcmaster model view of health family functioning in froma walsh. normal family process, new york/london: the guilford press, pp 136-160. uk violence intervention and prevention center (nd) the four basic styles of communication. https://www.uky.edu.edu (assessed on 18/07/2010). bocar a.c. (2018) aggressive, passive and assertive: which communication style is commonly used by college students ssrn journal 2018. https://www.researchgate.net/publications/316501048. (assessed on 17-7-2020) sherman, r. (1999) understanding your communication style.https://www.au.af.mil/awcgate/sba/comm_style.tmi (assessed on on 17-7-2020). princeton university (nd) top 60 ways to stop interpersonal violence: choosing your communication style. https://umatter.princeton.edu/respect/tools/communication-styles (assessed on 17-7-2020). vollar, g. (2018) are you communicating strategically or are you manipulating? https://cambiocoach.com/2018/04/23/are-youcommunicating-strategically-or-youmanipulating/ ( assessed on 17-7-2020). https://www.uky.edu.edu/ https://www.researchgate.net/publications/316501048. https://umatter.princeton.edu/respect/tools/communication-styles https://cambiocoach.com/2018/04/23/are-you-communicating-strategically-or-you-%09manipulating/ https://cambiocoach.com/2018/04/23/are-you-communicating-strategically-or-you-%09manipulating/ article 6 igwebuike 6. no7.cdr igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.6 no.7, 2020 www.igwebuikejournals.com a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 59 suffering and smiling: the nigerian experience felix gabriel zombobah department of philosophy pontifical urban university rome, italy gzombobah@hotmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract should suffering obliterate happiness? genuine happiness is not a weak and fleeting emotion that shrivels at the first hint of hardship, but, rather, something much more resilient, unshakable and deeply rooted in us. if happiness depends on health, financial security, power, electricity, good road and social amenities, then most nigerians will not be happy. the way nigerians react to what others would see as the last straw has made them as a people very difficult to wear out. for many years now, nigerians have died on the roads that our government will not tar; people die in the hospitals that will not be equipped; people die on the streets that is not secured; and morning afterwards, those who are left among the living will rise very early and rinse their faces and continue. nigerians have lived under dictators of all shades, benevolent, repressive and civilian. they have seen genocide, massacres and bombs. but then this is nigeria! it is still nigeria! a happy nation amidst these challenges! keywords: suffering, smiling, nigeria, happiness, experience introduction happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence. aristotle. the topic of this article is a very famous cliché in nigeria that has been used in so many contexts, rightly and wrongly. it's a title of a song by the famous afrobeat musician fela, saying that religious leaders are enjoying themselves, while the common people suffer in cramped spaces daily. it has been on record that nigerians are chronically happy people, and some of the happiest people in the world. my point basically is not to dwell on this so much but give some philosophical insight into what it means to be truly happy amidst all the difficulties and challenges that the topic suggests. trying to be cool will never make you cool. likewise, trying to be happy will never make you happy. i say this because happiness like many other emotions, is not 57obtained but inhabited . just like a confident man does not wonder if he is confident, a 57 what i am implying here is that finding happiness is not achieved in itself, it is rather the side effect of a particular set of ongoing life experiences. in nigeria for example we confuse what it means to be happy and we present it these days as a goal in and of itself. my point therefore is that we cannot buy nor achieve happiness. despite the misguided notion that suffering makes us better people, the fact is that happiness is good for everyone. it matters a lot for nigerians. happy people are more helpful, more productive and more loyal. this will help us understand better if nigerians are truly a happy people. this is because surprisingly in nigeria, the things we believe will make us happy don't have much effect on our sense of wellbeing. a high iq doesn't make you happier. i know some really intelligent friends who are miserable. is it money? far from it. the more a person has, the more he wants to have. within a short period of time he becomes scared! happy person does not wonder if he is happy. he simply is. this topic came to mind in a recent discussion i had with some friends who insist i should be on facebook, twitter and instagram, it is going to make me happy. that is their point. it is true that as humans we naturally want to be happy. this explains why a lot of young people today spend a greater part of their day on social media chasing the things they believe will make them happy – even when those things are based on empty promises and the fake life of social media, which has led so many to work hard to achieve a standard of happiness they find acceptable. in doing so they lose sight of the fact the happiness comes from within. mandy hale said, “happiness is an inside job. don't assign anyone else that much power over 58your life.” one reason nigerians suffer and smile is because of the parlance: “e go beta.” at this we postpone our happiness until a time in the future when everything is perfect. we think that we have to struggle now to enjoy happiness later; when a person marries the right person, when you get the job of your dream, when you make sufficient money. we put off our happiness until conditions are perfect, at this point therefore, we need to realize that conditions will never be perfect, there will always be something happening, but along the way there will be lots of perfection sprinkled into our lives and that is what we should learn to appreciate. don drapper was once asked what happiness is and he defined it as “the moment before you need more happiness.” this may sound cynical as it is, but the brilliance of his definition lies in the fact that we rarely notice happiness while we are experiencing it, we only notice a lack of it when it is no longer there. happiness and pleasure happiness is one thing everyone wants and we spend our lives pursuing it, but these days it appears to be becoming elusive. many people today spend a lot of time and energy seeking pleasure and avoiding pain, because many of us are pleasure seeking beings, at least from my experience. and we generally hope that by doing this, we will be happy. undoubtedly, pleasure feels good, but it is not the same as happiness. it is correlated with happiness but does not cause it. there is a very enormous difference between happiness and pleasure. the latter is a momentary feeling that is generated from external things; for instance, having a good meal, progress in business, sex and many others. it has to do with positive experiences of the senses, and when things fall in place. pleasurable experiences can give momentary feelings of happiness, but of course, the happiness does not last because it is dependent on external events and experiences. a friend of mine said pleasure is a god of false hope. happiness on the other hand is within us as i mentioned earlier. but apart from being inherent, it is something we have to cultivate intentionally, though this cultivation looks different for everyone. a young friend i have seen as a young happy man, humanly speaking. he married a beautiful lady, with a kid and working and earning good salary. he posts a lot of picture of him, the wife and the kid every single day. as with many nigerian men, he loves watching football especially when his favorite club plays, he will make so much noise and feel so good when they win. i noticed he started posting writings that suggested betrayal on the part of his friends and how people don't appreciate the good he has done to them. i told him to stop. he did for a while and started again, but i didn't say anything anymore. he called me one night and was so bitter, and i noticed his desire all along has been to make others do 60 suffering and smiling: the nigerian experience 58 michelle robin, happy new year| mandy hale and happiness, [internet]. [cited 2020 jul 13]. available from: https://www.drmichellerobin.com/mandy-hale-happiness/ https://www.drmichellerobin.com/mandy-hale-happiness/ things his own way. from our discussion i noticed that whenever things work out the way he wants he felt a momentary pang of pleasure, and if not, he became judgmental, feeling rejected by others and saw himself as a failure. we have both come to realize that happiness is choosing to be kind, and gentle other than the desire to control others and being judgmental. 59the aim of the wise is not to secure pleasure, but to avoid pain. aristotle. nigerians make fun of virtually every situation in the country. and many think that comedy is happiness. it is not. comedy can be happiness, but it is not exclusively happiness. so many of us are deluded into believing that comedy is happiness because the result of good comedy is laughter, and we equate laughter with happiness. it is not a given that we laugh when we are happy – laughter is a nervous reaction to an intellectual construct, either spoken or visual. happiness is altogether a different state of mind – like when you watch a child play. comedy is not happiness, it is an intellectual and artistic pursuit exactly like painting or poetry or mathematics. you can get happiness out of it – and it tends to swindle by making us think we will inevitably gain happiness by chasing it – but it is not in itself a mental act that ipso facto engenders happiness in the practitioner. it is a craft, like chair-making. carpenters are pleased when they make a good chair, so are comedians when the put on a good performance or write a good script. happiness and positivity we cannot control what people say about us or to us, and definitely not even what they think about us. reason why most nigerians will say “i no send.” i often tell my friends that my responsibility is to my truth, my health, my vocation and the people around. this includes choosing positivity and smiling even when i don't want to. one obvious fact about nigerians is that they are authentically positive people who are happy with their lives and they create fun from every difficult situation. they are not perfect people, in many parts of nigeria there are no roads, no electricity, no portable water, no health systems and yet there they are, upbeat, unbroken and resilient people. no nigerian is in denial about the ups and downs in the whole situation, from corruption, security and all. they have accepted what is, but they won't accept that that is all there is. and they say: “ogadimma” (an igbo saying, meaning, it will be fine or it will be better). when we look at nigerians they always appear to be insanely happy regardless of what is going on in the country. we see and hear so many screaming and lamenting on the streets and television of all that is going on. after just few minutes these same people are celebrating and dancing somewhere. you may think we all have collective dementia or they are a dysfunctional people. denying negative emotions leads to deeper and more prolonged negative emotions and emotional dysfunction. amidst all these, what is important is to remember that negative emotions are necessary and healthy for maintaining 60a stable baseline happiness in a person's life. the stoic philosopher epictetus said that “we can't choose our external circumstances, but we can always choose how we respond 61felix gabriel zombobah 59 pleasure and happiness quotes, | az quotes, [internet]. [cited 2020 jul 10]. available from: h t t p s : / / w w w . a z q u o t e s . c o m / q u o t e s / t o p i c s / p l e a s u r e a n d happiness.html#:~:text=pleasure%20may%20come%20from%20illusion,can%20come%20only%20of%20reali ty.&text=happiness%20is%20different%20from%20pleasure,struggling%20and%20enduring%20and%20acco mplishing.&text=pleasure%20is%20very%20seldom%20found,commonly%20kindled%20by%20unexpected %20sparks. 60 mark manson, stop trying to be happy, | the key to finding happiness, [internet]. [cited 2020 jul 13]. available from: https://markmanson.net/stop-trying-to-be-happ https://www.azquotes.com/quotes/topics/pleasure-and-happiness.html https://www.azquotes.com/quotes/topics/pleasure-and-happiness.html https://www.azquotes.com/quotes/topics/pleasure-and-happiness.html https://www.azquotes.com/quotes/topics/pleasure-and-happiness.html https://www.azquotes.com/quotes/topics/pleasure-and-happiness.html https://markmanson.net/stop-trying-to-be-happy 61to them. ” i think this is what many nigerians live by. you hear many say “wetin man go do?” timaya said in his song “i can't kill myself.” this reflects the foundation of nigerians' positive attitude towards the situations in the country. in coping with that they choose their attitude towards it, face the difficulty in the eye with defiance and feel it. they learn from it and think of ways to get through it with time. unfortunately, this may be the reason why “things don't work in nigeria” as many people believe. that is why many times you hear the phrase “only in nigeria”. this is only said on the negative aspect, to say that in nigeria everything goes. but marcus aurelius beautifully describes nigeria's attitude: “and anyone who pursues pleasure as good, and avoids pain as evil, is guilty of impiety.” yes, nigerians pursue pleasure to the fullest, but do not run away from pain when it comes. people say nigerians are always in a rush and everyone is angry, but my experience differ because i think we there are two ways of expressing the negative emotions that come as a result of the situation in our country that we often hear that nigerians are not patient. first, we express negative emotions in a socially acceptable and healthy manner and secondly, we express them in a way that aligns with our nigerian values. for example, non-violence is a value in nigeria; therefore, when nigerians get angry, they express the anger by raining insults but they will hardly go physical by throwing punches. positivity is not the same as happiness. we should avoid the idea that we will always be positive and feel good regardless of what happens, we should as well, avoid thinking that nothing good can come out of nigeria again. ogadimma! happiness and religion one question that has plagued happiness scientists is whether religious faith can make people happier. j. s mbiti said that “africans are notoriously religious.” meaning you cannot separate them from religion. so, it makes sense that religion could bring meaning to people's lives, but meaning is not necessarily the same as happiness – even if it provides people with other benefits. in nigeria being religious mostly means attending religious activities and being part of a social network, which tends to make people happier. it is hard therefore to figure out the impact of faith from other factors, like community on happiness. religion affects people's happiness in many ways. religions offer the prospect of substantial benefits after the end of a person's earthly life: like entry into heaven, salvation, favorable reincarnation and so on. even before a person gets to enjoy such distant fruits of religious devotion, being a member of a particular religion already yields a variety of tangible benefits, like spiritual guidance, social contacts, emotional and material support in times of need, conflict resolution, and the likes. it doesn't end at only the benefits. religious membership is not that so easy, because religions typically bring with them an array of restrictions such as prohibitions on a person's behavior, dietary restrictions, what constitutes acceptable clothing, restrictions on circumstances under which men and women can mix and interact, embrace of modern technology. nigerians find a whole lot of solace in religion. lasting happiness cannot be found in the acquisition of objects, substances, activities, states of mind or relationships. it resides in the simple knowing of our being as it truly is. this is the point at which some people find happiness in religion. as a priest, i know that religious people have a mind-set; the power of prayer, the belief in the life-after, knowing that someone is looking after you, that there is a higher power, that things happen for a reason. this mind-set helps believers make 61 n.a. turner, why pain and suffering are necessary if you want to feel happy, | the ascent, [internet]. [cited 2020 jul 10]. available from: https://medium.com/the-ascent/why-pain-and-suffering-are-necessary-if-youwant-to-feel-happy-dca7ec436ff4 62 suffering and smiling: the nigerian experience https://medium.com/the-ascent/why-pain-and-suffering-are-necessary-if-you-want-to-feel-happy-dca7ec436ff4 https://medium.com/the-ascent/why-pain-and-suffering-are-necessary-if-you-want-to-feel-happy-dca7ec436ff4 sense of tragedy, struggles and loss. religion is about helping others and having them look after you. many believers have the desire to feel that they matter, that their suffering and hard work are not done in futility, and that their lives have a purpose. they need to feel a sense of control over their fates. they need a reason to focus beyond just themselves. a research affirms that belonging to a secular friend group that engages in meaningful 62activities and shares a social identity might boost life satisfaction (happiness). happiness and politics this is one very interesting area of discussion in nigeria. everyone talks politics in thnigeria. the world happiness report of 2017 ranked nigerians as the 6 happiest people thin africa and the 95 happiest people in the world of the 155 countries that are covered. this surely is not surprising because nigerians have a long history of being happy. or as fela put it, 'suffering and smiling.' a 2003 world value survey revealed that the world's happiest people lived in nigeria. this study was carried out over a period of three years. in a gallup poll conducted in 2012, it revealed that africans were the most optimistic people 63in the world. in nigeria specifically, 88% of people are optimistic about their futures. i know some people will not accept this position, but it does not change the fact that optimistic people tend to expect more positive things to happen than the negative. but what is the case in the nigerian situation? nigerians have every reason to despair, politicians have always been about themselves, families and very close associates. many don't care about the masses who voted them into office. and my concern is about these masses, and at the end they are still optimistically resilient. the most important thing is that optimistic approach to life is key to attain happiness. there is a deep connection between optimism and happiness as optimism reflects hope and faith which help nigerians believe that for sure the country may not be good presently, but will eventually be some day. this is enshrined in the national anthem: “the labor of our heroes past, shall never be in vain.” whatever we need to achieve in nigeria i believe we need to make our world of thoughts filled positivity. so, in nigeria, achieving happiness is possible only when we do not allow pessimism to overtake our mental space. optimism does indeed affect our level of happiness. we can therefore harness the benefits of this trait in order to achieve a better quality of life. as winston churchill once said, “optimists see opportunities in every 64difficulty. ” the topic of happiness is a subjective quality and that is why it matters, because how people feel is their deepest reality and it is the way we should think about the quality of the person's life. how is their life as they themselves experience it, not as we think it might be. the law of unintended consequences states that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. for instance, if we take the school teaching profession, we know that the most important predictor of whether a young person will be a happy adult is not the grades they get but whether they are happy at school. it would make a huge difference if we could get away from the focus on exams as the main purpose of education, which sets people such a burden of responsibility to themselves. a happy society has to be explicitly aimed for, it should never come as a byproduct. this is because it is so easy to get diverted into things that are more obviously measurable. so what has happened is that because income can be measured, income then has become the totem pole at the level of the country and the gdp. this is the thing that politicians feel is critical – but we know that the way people vote in elections is not influenced as much by people's economic status as satisfaction with other aspects of their lives. 62 stephanie pappas, why religion makes people happier, | live science, [internet]. [cited 2020 jul 13]. available from: 63 yemisi adegoke, nigerians are still happy, this is a problem, | the guardian, [internet]. [cited 2020 jul 13]. available from: https://guardian.ng/features/nigerians-are-still-happy-this-is-a-problem/ 64 the importance of optimism during challenging times, |calling all optimists, [internet]. [cited 2020 jul 13]. available from: https://www.callingalloptimists.com/the-importance-of-optimism-during-challenging-times/ 63felix gabriel zombobah https://guardian.ng/features/nigerians-are-still-happy-this-is-a-problem/ https://www.callingalloptimists.com/the-importance-of-optimism-during-challenging-times/ to sum it up… while we are experiencing difficulties in almost every sector of the nigerian society, it does not mean we should stop thinking about our future with hope. right now, more than ever, it is important to embrace a positive mindset as much as we can. let us remember that happiness is not some complex concept or the luxury life of our politicians that we think is beyond our reach. as i said earlier, happiness is something inherent within ourselves and it is only truly possible when we give it to ourselves. it is natural, and lasting, state of being that can be unlocked by the power of our personal will and sense of self. being happy is about understanding not only ourselves, but what we want from life and empowering ourselves to pursue the things that give our lives meaning and purpose. sometimes when i listen to news, from the headlines you know things are not going the way they should, but i can't remain on that level always. many times, i pray. sometimes i hiss. i have come to realize that living a happier life comes down to changing and working on the simple things and routines that make us who we are. many times, i go to youtube to revisit old super matches and i relish those happy moments. our parents have always reminded us that things were better at their own time (the old good days!), now we see the way things have turned out to be, so we believe too that things will be better, and soon! let us re-engage our creative side to get back in touch with the things that make us feel confident and fulfilled. only when we learn how to accept who we are and what we want can we truly unlock the happiness that awaits us at our core. let us remember too that happiness varies from hour to hour, day to day, month to month, but there tends to be an underlying trend in our lives. i will say i have been lucky, my friends keep telling me that nothing worries me. and i think on the whole i have had a happy life. i have gained a lot from what i have learned, because i had to start to inquire into why i feel the way i do always, both in terms of being more aware of other people's feelings but also in being better able to distance myself from the negative thoughts and feelings that all of us have from time to time. people meeting me for the first time mostly say i look to serious, but coming closer realize something completely different. bibliography 1. chinua achebe, the trouble with nigeria, lagos: fourth dimension publishing co., 2000. 2. emmons, r. a., & mccullough, m. e. counting blessings versus burdens, journal of personality and social psychology, vol.84 no.2, 2003, pp. 377-389. 3. paul j. wadell, happiness and the christian moral life: an introduction to christian ethics, lanham, md: rowman & littlefield, 2016. 4. peter enahoro, how to be a nigerian, new delhi: spectrum books, 1998. 5. wilson, t. d., et al., how happy was i, anyway? a retrospective impact bias, social cognition, vol. 21, no. 6, 2003, pp. 421-446. 6. wilson, t. d., & gilbert d. t. affective forecasting knowing what to want, current directions in psychological sciences, vol. 14, no.3, 2005, pp. 131-134. 7. kanu, i. a. (2017). the culture of political corruption and the emergence of terrorism in nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli and rico sneller (eds.). the root causes of terrorism: a religious studies perspective (pp. 280-291). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. 8. kanu, i. a. (2016). corruption in nigeria as a socio-cultural context for the extraordinary jubilee of mercy. harvard journal of management sciences and entrepreneurship. vol. 3. no. 5. pp. 187196. 9. kanu, i. a. (2011). corruption in africa and its challenges for the enterprise of christian theology. international journal of research in arts and social sciences, vol.4. pp. 492-500. 10. kanu, i. a. (2016). the culture of political corruption and the emergence of terrorism in nigeria. sub-saharan journal of african sustainable development. 3. 7. pp. 127-149. 64 suffering and smiling: the nigerian experience igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 17 constructing an eco liturgical model of baptism that encourages economic and environmental sustainability cyprian obiora alokwu, phd nnamdi azikiwe university, awka-nigeria co.alokwu@unizik.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.14770.12482 abstract the orthodox anglican tradition does not denigrate the material world as mundane entity. her liturgical tradition provides ample evidences of her affirmation of the integrity of creation and thus material elements from the oikos, are offered sacramentally to god in worship. through her adaptability to sacramental liturgy and practices, the anglican church encourages a new ethics for the “earth community”the ethics of restraint of egoistic consumerism, behavioral change and awareness of personal responsibility towards environmental sustainability which will ultimately culminate in the "salvation of the whole oikos. the paper is a creative attempt that discusses the ecological values inherent in constructing an “eco-liturgical” model for baptism capable of not only inculcating the ethics of personal environmental responsibility but also filling the gap by dousing the tension between economy and ecology in a way that fosters economic and environmental sustainability where hitherto, they were seen as opposing each other. the methodology adopted for the study is a descriptive and constructive analytical approach focusing on understanding the relationship of the church with the material world as well as the relationship of the individual christian with the “earth community” which the church belongs to and which the individual is initiated into through the sacrament of baptism. keywords: eco liturgical model, baptism, christianity, environmental sustainability situating the problem lyn white in her book “the historical roots of our ecologic crisis” became famous for criticizing christianity of being environmentally irresponsible and therefore being responsible for the ecological crisis witnessed in the 60s. ever since lyn white’s accusation, there have been series of church involvement in environmental programmes aimed at halting the progression of some of the ecological problems and creating awareness and education on the dangers of harming the environment. many christian organizations and/or church groups have introduced a wide range of local earth keeping projects, including projects that will encourage environmental sustainability. these igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 18 include projects such as tree planting, water harvesting, organic vegetable gardens, recycling, indigenous church gardens and “living graveyard campaigns”. they also engaged in outdoor youth and family activities to promote the love of nature, nature conservation projects focusing on habitat, wildlife or indigenous plants, job creation projects in the field of appropriate technology, the development of teaching material and networks to communicate such work to others. in spite of the church’s commitment to environmental sustainability through the above mentioned ventures, people still make economic choices and engage in activities in most unsustainable manner, thereby causing serious harm to the environment and jeopardizing the life of the earth community. a very big problem for the church here, is not only how to make people become aware of the harm they do to the environment (after all many people are now aware of the consequences of their actions on the environment) but how to inspire commitment to proper earth keeping through sustained lifestyle and practical action. the church seemed to be constrained by having not been able to: (1) provide theological resources and teaching materials that will deeply inspire and change people’s behavior and attitude to the environment, (2) encourage people to develop an inner conscience that will lead to a life of frugality and a strong self-will against greed-the mother of all unsustainable actions against the environment. the problem is further exacerbated by the absence of a more practical and contextual way of synthesizing the indigenous ecological knowledge system with christian ecological ethics in the church’s engagement in environmental sustainability agenda. sometimes, the church seems to be afraid of being innovative in both her theology and liturgy. is it possible to spur the church to action by making her engage in synthesizing the indigenous ecological knowledge system through this work-a creative attempt of a liturgy of baptism in which economic plants or seedling (instead of the candle) will be given to the newly baptized. the essence of the proposed eco-liturgical practice is to conscientize the newly baptized to imbibe the values of the integrity of creation and promote both economic and environmental sustainability? these and more, form the concern of this work seeks to address. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 19 commonalities of african ecological ethics, biocentrism, oikos theology and the role of the church within the earth community for many years now, the concept of oikos metaphor “whole household of god” has received tremendous popularity through the works of many ecotheologians including wamback (2004) and alokwu (2009). the popularity of the concept is mainly premised on the recognition it places on the issues of economic injustices and ecological destruction on one hand and the connection and relationship it made between the two on the other hand. the power of this concept lies in its ability to integrate especially three core ecumenical themes on the basis of the greek word “oikos” (household) -which forms the root of the quests for economic justice (the nomoi or regulations within the household), ecological sustainability (the logoi or underlying principles of the household) and ecumenical fellowship (oikoumeneparticipating as members of the entire household of god). in this regard, conradie (2006) suggests therefore that the household of god may serve as a metaphor to integrate a number of concerns, including the integrity of the biophysical foundations of this house (the earth’s biosphere); the economic management of the household’s affairs and the need for peace and reconciliation amidst ethnic, religious and domestic violence within this single household. this includes a concern for issues of health and education; the place of women and children within this household and an ecumenical sense of the unity not only of the church, but also of the whole of humankind and of all of god’s creation and the entire earth community. the concept of oikos theology reminds us that god is both the architect and owner of the oikos (psalm 24:1 and lev.25:23) the place of the church in the oikos is that of a responsible tenant whose role within the entire earth community is to teach humans of the need of playing “the big brother role” as well that of steward to the other weaker members of the earth community. we need to understand this role from african christian’s perspective by synthesizing the african ecological ethics of communitarianism with the oikos theology which best describes the place of humans in the oikos. in christian ecological ethics, the concept of communitarianism is adumbrated or rather similar to biocentric ethics. according to jason (2004) the term biocentrism encompasses all environmental ethics that “extend the status of moral object from human beings to all living things in nature.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 20 in what he describes as ‘biocentric theology’ setiloane (1995) has lucidly shed more light in our understanding of community in relation to oikos-theology and african sense of community especially as it relates to the igbo notion of onye aghana nwanne ya. biocentric ethics calls for a rethinking of the relationship between humans and nature. it states that nature does not exist simply to be used or consumed by humans, but that humans are simply one specie amongst many, and that because humans are part of an ecosystem, any actions which negatively affect the living systems of which humans are a part, adversely affect them as well, whether or not we maintain a biocentric worldview. biocentrists, like eco-theologians (who emphasize the integrity of creation), believe that all species have inherent value, and that humans are not "apart" from other species in the oikos. cock (2007) in his contribution, uses the term biocentric theology to emphasize the inclusive nature of community life in all its forms. he reminds us that the term “biocentric” was originally formulated by leopold in his notion of land ethic which implies an expansive notion of community. this term was later broadened as “ecocentric” or “biocentric” ethics by different philosophers over the decades to mean that we are all part of a biotic community. cock, amplifying leopold’s position, argues that all living things have intrinsic worth-value in and of themselves-not just instrumental or utilitarian value. he concludes that land ethic involves the extension of our human ethics to include the other species with which we share the land. in this perspective, all ethics rests upon a single premise: “that the individual is a member of a community with interdependent parts and the land ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soil, waters, plants and animals”. therefore “biodiversity is necessary not only for utilitarian and humanitarian reasons (for maintaining the present and future health of the entire biosphere, for enhancing the quality of life, and for aesthetic enjoyment), but its own sake. the writer coming from an african christian’s perspective, observes that there is a similarity between biocentric ethics and african ecological ethics and that they are all related to the christian concept of oikos theology. for example, all the four main pillars of a biocentric outlook are similar to african ecological ethics and oikos theology: 1. humans and all other species are members of the earth's communitythe oikos of god. 2. all species are part of a system of interdependence. 3. all living organisms pursue their own "good" in their own ways. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 21 4. human beings are not inherently superior to other living things. african ecological ethics, biocentric ethics and oikos theology are in agreement that humanity is closely connected to each other and to other creatures itself. this idea has been explained by mbiti (1980) in his popular obiter dictum “we are; therefore, i am”. by this dictum, mbiti means that an individual does not exist apart from the community. he writes: “what happens to the individual happens to the whole group, and what happens to the whole group happens to the individual. the individual can only say: “i am, because we are, and since we are, therefore i am”. the phrase “being in plenitude” best describes the african notion of persons because it emphasizes the unity or connectedness of persons to one another, to the community (oikos) and to nature. no less explanation could be offered to understand the phrase “being in plenitude” than the eloquent elucidation by sindima (1990) in the following quotation: we cannot understand persons; indeed, we cannot have personal identity, without reference to other persons. nor can we understand ourselves without reference to nature. people understand themselves and gain identity only in a total framework of life. they are defined as they engage in work, ritual practice and symbolic activities. but they must also understand themselves as belonging to nature, as living the life of nature. it is through their relationship with nature that people discover their identities and approach the possibility of living life fully. as nature opens itself up to people, it presents possibilities for experiencing the fullness of life, possibilities for discovering how inseparably bonded people are to each other and to all creation. according to botman (2007) in africa, a strong sense of community is what holds the society together. rukuni (2007) in his contribution suggest that the oikos concept is not only key to the bible but that it is also a central concept in african cosmology and ecological ethics in particular. ubuntu as a concept is a bit difficult to translate to other meanings. but its contextual meaning is that it is the essence of being human. it emphasizes that “my humanity is caught up and inextricably bound up in yours ...i am because i belong”. this fosters a strong sense of community. ronald (2008) opines that the term community in its african wider context refers to an organic relationship between individuals. community recognizes that we live in one household, that we need one another to survive and thrive. both the concept of oikos and ubuntu igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 22 are related to the igbo notion of onye aghana nwanne ya. the notion of onye aghana nwanne ya aims not only at recognizing the humanness and the dignity of the individual members of the community especially the weaker ones, it also seeks to ensure that their rights in whatever forms are guaranteed. it fosters the collective well-being and happiness of the whole community. in this regard, there is no justification for a community member to be happy while a fellow community member is suffering. the notion of onye aghana nwanne ya simply stipulates-do not leave your fellow community member alone especially in their suffering. sindinma (1990) strongly argues that in africa, the word ‘community’ refers to more than a mere association of atomic individuals. according to her, the term suggests bondedness; it refers to the act of sharing and living in communion and communication with each other and with nature. to communicate is to stay in a relationship and inculcate a sense of sharing. this is what she meant by saying that “in community we share and commune with selves who are other than ourselves and yet united to us”. she continues, “in a community of life where all are bonded together, everyone is responsible for everyone else”. shutte (1993) in his contribution suggests that ‘persons’ are not individual entities or strangers to one another. it is the community which defines the person as person, “not some isolated static quality of rationality, will or memory”. according to him, since people belong to the fabric of life, their life-like nature must be respected. this call for respect is also a charge to the community to create possibilities for persons to realize full personhood. how could the church’s rite of baptism encourage economic and environmental sustainability? having established the commonalities of oikos theology, biocentric theology and african ecological ethics, the pertinent question here is how the church especially the anglican church in nigeria, could appropriate and synergize all these concepts in producing ecological liturgy that will practically inspire behavioral change-one that will provoke a deep sense of personal environmental responsibility and commitment? it is the opinion of this paper that if the church will achieve the desired behavioral change in people’s attitude to the environment, the church has to be flexible, contextual and constructive in her theology and liturgy. in doing this, the paper proposes an innovation-the construction of an “eco-liturgical” model for baptism capable of not only inculcating the ethics of personal environmental responsibility in people, but of helping to douse the tension between economy and ecology in a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 23 way that fosters economic and environmental sustainability where hitherto, they were seen as opposing each other. since the 1988 lambeth conference which focused on the environment, some anglican provinces had practically responded to directives of the lambeth conference by making efforts in creating environmental awareness in their provinces and dioceses. the anglican churches in the global south could be said to have been committed in working towards becoming environmentally friendly churches than the anglican churches in africa. many of the anglican churches in the global south have been engaged in environmental projects /programmes in line with the lambeth conference resolution on the environment. the anglican church in nigeria deserves commendation to have lately joined other anglican churches in the global south in responding to the lambeth conference resolution on environmental issues. what the anglican communion recently did in the area of liturgical flexibility in baptismal rite, could serve as a spring board upon which future liturgical flexibility in other denominations be established. some of the bishops in the church of nigeria (anglican communion) have started adopting this liturgical initiative. for example, the bishop of amichi diocese, rt. revd. ephraim ikeakor, has introduced synod tree planting campaign. tree planting during synods has become a liturgical tradition of the diocese. this liturgical innovation by the anglican communion in nigeria has given the writer optimism that before long, other denominations could follow suit in becoming liturgically innovative in responding to other areas of concern in the oikos, including environmental issues. before now, the researcher had been worried about the church’s rigidity to liturgical issues that could reflect our traditional ecological values. this concern was reflected in one of his articles many years ago where he had proposed the inclusion of ‘theology and development studies” as a course in the curriculum of the theological colleges in the church of nigeria (anglican communion) as a way of encouraging upcoming pastors to be interested in how the church could be actively involved in economic and development issues plaguing the society. in that paper, the researcher was advocating for a more contextual approach by the church in what he termed “doing theology instead thinking theology” it is therefore interesting to note that the anglican communion in nigeria has recently introduced the practice of giving candle during the sacrament of baptism as a way of being contextual in her theologizing against her former attitude of just” thinking theology”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 24 complementing the giving of candle at baptism with the giving of economic plant as a way of encouraging economic and environmental sustainability: an eco-liturgical model it has been established that there is a connection between ecology and economy. the environment provides all the resources for economic activities. it is therefore imperative that the church should support efforts towards making this link more friendly and strong. the former archbishop of canterbury, rowan williams corroborated this link when in a lecture titled “ecology and economy” delivered at the university of kent in canterbury, addressed directly the relationship between ecology and economy. the archbishop writes: the two big “e-words” (ecology and economy) in my title have sometimes been used in recent decades as if they represented opposing concerns.... but this separation or opposition has come to look like a massive mistake. it has been said that ‘the economy is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the environment’. the earth itself is what ultimately controls economic activity because it is the source of the materials upon which economic activity works.... economy and ecology cannot be separated. we should not be surprised, after all, the two words relate to the same central concept. the above statement from the former archbishop of canterbury, underscores the importance of the relationship between economy and ecology hence the relevance of the proposal of giving economic tree or seedlings to the newly baptized. the practice no doubt will encourage economic and environmental sustainability. in the anglican tradition of baptismal rite, a child has three god-parents, two males and a female for a male child and two females and one male for a female child. the role of these baptismal sponsors is to guide the newly baptized in the faith. it is important to note that god-parents are the first faith-teachers of the newly baptized. it is expected that the god-parents will teach and nurture the child or the newly baptized on how to walk and grow in the faith. with this proposal of giving economic tree or seedling at baptism, the child at this early stage in his or her life is taught to be environmentally friendly and responsible. the biological parents will also help in this environmental catechism. the biological parents will plant the tree given to the child at baptism. as the child igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 25 grows up, he or she will be made to understand that the implication of the tree given to him or her at baptism is to make him or her environmentally friendly. when the child is of a riper age, he or she would be made to start taking care of the tree. he will be taught the importance of watering and nurturing the tree. this practice of tree planting after baptism could be likened to the igbo belief of the mystical link between individuals and the place where their “mfe” umbilical cords was buried at birth. usually, trees are planted in the place where the “mfe” was buried so that the particular spot would not be forgotten. there is a strong spiritual attachment between individuals and the place where their “mfe” umbilical cord was buried. the individual will be taught to take care of such tree because of the significant symbolism attached to the “mfe”. with this burying of the umbilical cord, it is expected that over time, the child will grow to imbibe the culture of tree planting and environmental responsibility. likewise, the proposed liturgical practice of giving the newly baptized an economic tree or seedling to plant on behalf of the child, could inspire a culture of tree planting and environmental responsibility. as earlier stated, the child would be taught to take care and nurture the plant to maturity the same way both the biological as well as the god parents are expected to take care and nurture the child so that he grows in the faith and start bearing fruit for christ. the economic dimension to this practice could be appreciated more when the tree matures to the point of fruiting as it could help to boost the economic base of the family when it is harvested and sold. through this practice, individual family member’s livelihoods are enhanced. the importance of this practice lies in its ability to inspire the child to develop deeper appreciation and commitment to the environment and this will gradually bring about the desired behavioral change needed to reduce the quest for excessive exploitation of the environment for economic gains. you can imagine how green and sustainable our society could be by the number of children and the number of families that would be affected and influenced by this practice. conclusion it has become clear that the church in general has not lived to her full potential as an agent of moral change with regards to environmental concerns. this is antithetical to her vaunted role as a harbinger and steward of creation igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 26 as espoused by eco-theologians who contend that christian theology rooted in the insights of the bible is a great resource for addressing economic and environmental issues. within this context, there is need for eco-liturgical flexibility that will encourage economic and environmental sustainability. the liturgical innovation that has been proposed in this paper should serve as the church’s contribution towards earth keeping. it is equally important to note the urgency of synergy on environmental issues since this involves both a theoretical and practical approach in dealing with economic and environmental concerns. the governments alone cannot bring about the desired behavioral change; therefore, a sincere collaboration will engender meaningful conversation/dialogue among the various eco-groups in order to share many eco-theological resources to achieve economic and environmental sustainability. references alokwu, obiora .c. (2013) the oikos tragedy: a theological blueprint for ecological footprints. awka: scoa heritage arne naess (1989) ecology, community and lifestyle. translated by david rothernberg. cup cambridge botman,h. russel.undated. “the oikos in a global economic era: a south african comment” available at http://www.crvp.org/book/series02/11-6/chapter x.htm. accessed on december 3, 2007. john,jason.(2004)biocentric theology and the image of god." paper presented at the christianity after darwin: doing theology in an evolutiona ry context, adelaide, australia, september 2004. http://ehlt.flind ers.edu.au/theology/evolutio mbiti, john. (1980) african religion and philosophy. ibadan: heinemann nicolson, ronald. (2008) (ed) persons in community. african ethics in a global culture. pietermaritzburg: university of kwazulu-natal press peet, richards and watts, michael. (2004) (eds) liberation ecologies, environment, development, social movements.london and newyork: routledge rasmussen, larry. (1996) earth community, earth ethics. maryknoll: orbis books igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 27 rukuni, mandivamba. (2007) being afrikan. rediscovering the traditional unhu-ubuntu-botho pathways of being human. arcadia: mandalapublishers. setiloane, gabriel. (1995) “towards a biocentric theology and ethic via africa” in journal of black theology in south africa 9: (1) may 1995 shutte, augustine. (1993) philosophy for africa. south africa: university of cape town sindima, harvely (1990).“community of life: ecological theology” in african perspective. spencer, nick and white, robert. (2007) christianity, climate change and sustainable living. south african council of churches (2009) climate change, a challenge to the churches in south africa.marshalltown. ecological debt: the people of the south are the creditors edited by athena k. peralta, world council of churches 2008) the earth bible project. http://www.webofcreation.org/earth-bible accessed20 october 2009. igwebuike_6_8_2.cdr 21 chi: in search for an explanatory principle for the interrelatedness of igwebuike philosophy ikechukwu anthony, kanu department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university, umunya anambra state ikee_mario@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.36016.38405 abstract this work is a search for the basis of intersubjectivity in the african worldview conceptualized in igwebuike philosophy. this piece found the basis of intersubjectivity of the african reality in chi, which carries a variety of meanings among the igbo-african people. however, the nuance of chi that is employed here is that which understands it as the divinity in every human person or the spark of the divine in created things. it understands chi as the thumb print or mark of chukwu in each and every one of us that places the other in a special place in relation to the self. this piece revealed that although chi is a religious reality, it is conservative of the social institutions of the igbo-african people. if i and the other have the thumb print of the same chukwu, the spark of the supreme being, it then means that we relate in a special way that goes deeper than our individualities. this work, therefore, argued that our rootedness in chukwu through chi is what makes the other a part of me. to treat the other in a way that is undeserving of the divine mark in him or her not only affects the person(s), but the ontological structure to which i also belong and, thus, myself. the importance of chi in this study is that the belief in chi is as universal to the igbo-speaking people as the belief in chukwu, and it is a fundamental and outstanding characteristic of igbo social structure and collective temperament. for the purpose of this study, the igwebuike holistic approach of inquiry was adopted. chi provides a central and satisfying framework for the understanding of the interrelatedness and individuality of the igbo-african reality. keywords: chi, igwebuike, philosophy, intersubjectivity, igbo-african, explanatory principle introduction there are several spiritual and corporal elements in igbo-african world that are central to the igbo-african belief and actions. chi is one of these elements, and occupies a very important place in the understanding of the igbospeakingafrican people. it remains one of those elements that the igbo employ to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 22 explain or picture the world around them. no wonder, chukwukere (1980) avers that: the ideas, assumptions, beliefs and actions relating to the metaphysical conception point to its centrality in igbo worldview and philosophy in general. of particular interest here are the igbo people’s notions and expressions concerning human personality and the very broad theory of causation (p. 1). chi, therefore, is at the heart of the puzzle of human origin, social life and the principles of operations of social institutions that ensure continuity and group or individual identity. the operation of relations within the igbo-african world, within the context of chi, points to the reality that relationship in the igbo world is both with and between the corporal and in-corporal worlds. it is this connection of chi with relationships within the igbo world that makes it a fundamental element in the understanding of the dynamics of inter-subjectivity in igwebuike philosophy, as igwebuike philosophy is a philosophy of interrelatedness, inter-subjectivity, complementarity and solidarity. this work argues that chi is the foundation or basis for the interaction or relationships in the igbo-african universe. and its importance in this study is deepened by the fact that the belief in chi is as universal to the igbo-speaking people as the belief in chukwu. this piece will, therefore, study the concept of chi and its understandings in igbo thought. this would be followed by a sociological interpretation of the concept, chi, guided by the focal interest of this paper, which is the search for the fundamental and outstanding base of the igbo social structure and collective temperament. theoretical framework durkheim (1915) posits that: “the rst systems of representations with which men have pictured to themselves the world and themselves were of religious origin. there is no religion that is not a cosmology at the same time that it is a speculation upon divine things”(p. 21). in this, durkheim argues for a very strong relationship between religious truths or perspectives and social life of people, that is, for an eminently social character of religion. the germ of durkheim’s theory is that the religious beliefs and practices of people reect their social structure. this perspective, notwithstanding, evansigwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 23 pritchard (1956) and goody (1961) have argued further on this theory that not all aspects of religion are tightly bound to social organizations. some aspects can only be loosely linked and, thus, operate as semi-independent variables. it is within this context that chi, which is a religious reality or element, is employed to understand the foundations of the igbo-african social or relational character of reality. in this sense, chi becomes a religious symbol with accumulated meanings or intentions which sometimes contradict one another. and as a symbol, within the context of hermeneutics, it expresses a meaning or meanings, however, with a basic meaning always connected. it is in this regard that etymologically, an understanding of hermeneutics suggests a sacred origin, being derived from the greek word “hermeneia,” which is related to the name of the god, hermes, and the verb, “hermeneuein”, which means: to express/expression; to explain/explanation and to translate/ translation. all the three shades of meaning are rendered in english by to interpret/interpretation, which, in general, means “bring to understanding” (kanu, 2015). thus, oguejiofor (2009) holds that: hermeneutics involves bringing an inner meaning into the open. it entails making explicit what is implicit. it is thus a quest for meaning, one’s own meaning in one’s life, society and milieuin short, in the totality of one’s universe, which could be said to be constituted by one’s cultural symbols. (p. 80). as a theory of interpretation, it goes back to ancient greek philosophy, when plato employed the term to differentiate between religious knowledge, that which has been revealed, and sophia, which is knowledge of truth-value of utterance. during the medieval and renaissance ages, it emerged in relation to the scriptures, precisely, its interpretation. during this period, gadamer (1976), heidegger (1978) and dilthey (1996) observe that saint augustine introduced the universal claim of hermeneutics and argue that interpretation of scripture involves a deeper, existential level of self-understanding. these, notwithstanding, within the context of this study, chi as a religious symbol expresses profound meanings about the spiritual world which helps in the interpretation of realities in the human world. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 24 chi in igbo-african worldview there are various dimensions to the use of the concept of chi by the igbo. it is in this regard that green (1947) writes that: “it is difcult to know what the real igbo signicance of the word is” (p. 30). achebe (1975), recognizing the subtle analytical possibilities of the concept of chi which is thrown open by the fundamental abstract notions of igbo cosmology and theology, avers that its real meaning might never be revealed, and thus, he raises questions about the concept of chi without proffering answers to them, knowing full well the implications of such a response. the exact relationship between the supreme god (chukwu), the sun and chi in igbo cosmology will probably never be (and perhaps was intended not to be) revealed. but if chukwu means literally great chi, one is tempted to borrow the words of christian dogma and speak of chi as being of the same ‘substance’ and ‘proceedings’ from chukwu. or is chi an innitesimal manifestation of chukwu’s innite essence given to each of us separately… or does chukwu have a separate existence as ruler over a community of chi…? (p. 11) achebe’s position points to the fact that the concept of chi is as elusive as it is enigmatic. thus, nwodo (2004) avers that the elusiveness and enigma involved is attributable to the fact that the concept is metaphysical in the sense of being a non-material reality. from the foregoing, it is obvious that scholars are yet unable to reach a consensus on what chi actually means for the igbo people and what its relationship with the supreme being exactly is. it is in this regard that this piece would discuss the different understandings of chi in igbo ontology. a. chi as the divine aspect of man some african thinkers have interpreted chi as the divine aspect of man or a spark of chukwu in man. it is a spiritual being or force that every igbo-african is believed to possess within or outside of himself/herself . this explains why it is spoken of in the possessive sense like: chim (my chi), chigi (your chi), chiya (his/her chi), chi anyi (our chi), an igbo interjection for surprise chim o (my god), etc. this also explains why every igbo who gets married, in most instances, establishes their own chi symbol for the simple reason that it is personal. it is within this context that ilogu (1974) avers that chukwu has assigned to each human person at birth a portion of divinity referred to as chi. this implies that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 25 each individual has a portion of the great god. it is also within this context that nwodo (2004) argues that chi is a divine person possessed of intellect and will. b. chi as being abanuka (2004) understands chi as being, as opposed to non-being. he argues that as being, it has three different aspects that are nonetheless related. chi is rst of all the principle of identity. in this regard, chi performs the metaphysical function of making a particular thing what it is other than other things, that is, one with itself and consistent with itself. second, chi makes each thing unique. thus, ojike (1955) and ekennia (2003) present chi as a unique life force, which each person possesses as a principle of individuation. this implies that no two persons have the same chi and that no person is replaceable. this can be spoken of in terms of the principle of authenticity. third, chi as a principle of subsidiarity, meaning that chi is a generative or causal principle; this is understood in terms of exercising inuence over things. c. chi as our other identity this perspective is linked to the understanding of chi as a spark of the divine in man. this position is noticed in achebe (1975) who understands a person's chi as his other identity in spirit-land his spirit being complementing his terrestrial human being; this is based on the perspective that nothing can stand alone, there must be another thing standing beside it. in this case, the chi shadows the physical aspect of our being on earth and in fact remains a more powerful aspect of us as its inuence is high. this other part of us in the spirit-land is not in opposition with our identity here in the world but complements it. chi as the source of identity could be understood better from the practice of the igbo who plant a special tree in their compound like the ogilisi or oha or make a small clay pot, lled with sand with three sticks cut from a special plant thrust jointly into the sand, and preserved as the personal chi of individuals which cannot be a symbol of the chi of any other person. no wonder, once the person dies, his/her chi is removed. these representations are usually kept in a special place, with an altar built around it for the offering of sacrice. d. chi as guardian angel in things fall apart, achebe (1958) presents the igbo chi as guardian angel. when okonkwo, the protagonist of the novel, shot at ekwe (one of his wives) and missed, chielo said: “your chi is very much awake my friend”. in another scene, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 26 when abame was attacked by the avenging band of white men, obierika described the incident, thus: “everybody was killed, except the old and the sick who were at home and a handful of men and women whose chi were wide awake and brought them out of that market”. as such, a person’s chi could be asleep or awake, expressed in the particular event in a person’s life. when a bad thing happens, its said that the person’s chi is asleep, and when something good happens, it is said that a person’s chi is awake. there were other times that a chi was considered good or bad. when a good thing happens to a person, it is said that he has a good chi and when something bad happens, it is said that the person has a bad chi. e. chi as the determiner of destiny describing chi as a spark of the divine in man, okere (1971) posits that it is through the gift of the chi that the supreme god determines the destiny of each person. once the supreme has determined a person’s destiny through his chi, it cannot be changed. in things fall apart, achebe (1958) describes okonkwo as “a man whose chi said nay despite his own afrmation”. it is in this regard that one can understand okonkwo’s tragic fate as the result of a problematic chi—a thought that occurs to okonkwo at several points in the novel. it was the belief at the time, as achebe narrates in chapter 14, a “man could not rise beyond the destiny of his chi.” however, there is another understanding of chi that conicts with this denition. in chapter 4, the narrator relates, according to an igbo proverb, that “when a man says yes his chi says yes also.” according to this understanding, individuals can alter their destinies. in this case, okonkwo seems either more or less responsible for his own tragic death. this, notwithstanding, the rst denition explains why the igbo would say that: a. no matter how many divinities sit to plot a man's ruin, if his chi does not afrm it, their plans will come to nothing. b. even water gets stuck inbetween the teeth of the person with a bad chi. c. the antelope learns to climb the day the person with a bad chi goes hunting. d. a person whose efforts at improving his fortunes are frustrated by his chi should be absolved from blame. e. a person with a bad chi cut down an iroko tree, but it got suspended on a spear grass. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 27 it is in this regard that nwodo (2004) avers that the chi in igbo cosmology enforces throughout an individual's life the spoken bond into which he willingly enters at his creation. for instance, unoka, the father of okonkwo in things fall apart, is said to have a bad chi because evil fortune followed him to his death. ekwe, okonkwo's second wife, is also said to have a bad chi because she has given birth to many children, but only one has survived. also, okonkwo, exiled from the clan and disappointed that his son has joined forces with the white missionaries, also blames his chi, believing that his chi is not made for great things. okoro (2008) explains this further through the spectrum of igbo application of chi. when the igbo says: chi m, it mean ‘my fate’, ‘my destiny’, ‘my portion’. in another case, chi ojo, mean ‘bad fate’, ‘bad destiny’. in this latter sense, chi becomes destiny itself, rather than just the determiner of destiny. chi as a basis for igwebuike philosophy of interrelatedness igwebuike is a unifying concept of african thought, especially that aspect concerning the human person’s conception of the spiritual and material universe in which he/she lives. it is an explanatory theory or principle that interprets the puzzle of our complex relationship with the non-corporal world and the human social life, that is, major social institutions that ensure social continuity and group identity, and further underpins the epistemological manifestations of the human person’s universe (kanu, 2016a;2017a). taken from its etymology from the igbo words (igwe: number; bu: is; ike: power), literally meaning that ‘number is power’, it points to a philosophical nuance of ‘one heart and one mind’, a spirit of complementarity, solidarity and interrelatedness that characterizes the african reality (kanu, 2014;2015;2016b; 2017b). the basic question being attended to in this section of this work is: hat is the basis of this inter-subjectivity, interrelatedness, solidarity or complementarity of reality within the african universe? it is within this context that this piece argues that chi is the basis of this complementarity or inter-subjectivity or interrelatedness of reality in the african universe. igwebuike, as a perspective, holds that, in spite of the contrariety of reality, there is something common to everything. it understands every individual reality as part and completion of the whole, and thus, there is a unity in the midst of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 28 diversity (kanu, 2017c; 2018; 2019). although chi provides for the individuation, identity and contrariety of being, it is also the basis for the unity of being. how is this possible? chi, being a ‘thumb print’ of chukwu in all that he has made, provides a reason for the unity of being, and a basis for interaction and collaboration. thus, the strong individualistic strain, which chi provides in the theory of personality, does not contradict the emphasis on the overriding value of unity in diverse human situations. chi, therefore, is not only a basis for identity in igbo ontology; it is also a basis for unity a common gift or platform for communal relations. this is evident in the way that the igbo greet one another within the context of the word, chi: ibo chi, a greeting that reects a rhetorical, informative and questioning expectancy reports from the individuals that are in this relational (greetings) exchange; isa chi, a greeting that reects also the same rhetorical, informative and questioning expectancy reports from both individuals engaged in the same relational exchange; ifo chi, a greeting that reects the same rhetorical, informative and questioning expectancy from the dialoging individuals. the nuance of chi, employed in this work to drive the understanding of the unity of reality, is that which understands it as the divinity in every human person or the spark of the divine in created things. it is this chi, which is a thumb print or mark of chukwu in each and every one of us that places the other in a special place in relation to the self. if i and the other have the thumb print of the same chukwu, the spark of the supreme being, it then means that we relate in a special way that goes deeper than our individualities. our rootedness in chukwu is what makes the other a part of me. to treat the other in a way that is undeserving of the divine mark in him/her not only affects the persons but the ontological structure to which i also belong, and, therefore, myself as well. conclusion this work has studied the concept of chi and its implications for intersubjectivity in the african universe. the concept of chi has been used in various capacities by the igbo; rst, in the capacity of the supreme being, and as a guardian angel or a spiritual being or force which every person possess, among other perspectives. its essence lies in the commonest everyday expression of the word, chi; verbally, in possessive singular adjectival form: chim (my chi), chigi (your chi), chiya (his/her chi), chi anyi (our chi), an igbo interjection for surprise chim o (my god) or a common curse among the igbo chi ne’ke kpo gi oku (may god burn you). however, the concept of chi that has helped in determining the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 29 basis of inter-subjectivity in the african universe is the understanding of chi as a spark or portion of the supreme being in each and every human person. this creates a ground for relationships or connection between beings, and explains the necessity of solidarity and complementarity in the african universe. worthy of note is that, while the concept of chi helps in explaining the basis of relationships or inter-subjectivity in the african universe, it also serves as a foundation of the igbo-african philosopher’s intellectual effort to make sense of the bewildering diversities of the human personality, experiences and cosmic phenomena, and, thus, an explanation for the dominant individualizing principle in the igbo social order. while chi provides an explanation for the interrelatedness of reality and the individuation of reality at the same time, it can be said to be a theory both of causation and human personality in the wider context of the igbo-african cosmology. thus, it serves as a framework within which the igbo-africans can boldly speculate, interpret or understand the world around them. references abanuka, b. (2004). philosophy and the igbo world. enugu: snaap press. achebe, c. (1975). morning yet on creation day: essays. heinemann african writers. adibe, gregory e. (2009). igbo issues: values, chi, akala aka, ikenga, magic, agwu and manipulation of divinities. onitsha: mid-field publishers. chukwukere, i. (1980). chi in traditional igbo religious thought: a key interpretative concept. a paper presented at the workshop on the foundations of igbo civilization. may 20-22, institute of african studies, university of nigeria. dilthey, w. (1996). hermeneutics and the study of history. eds. rudolf a. makkreel and frithjof rodi. princeton. new jersey: princeton university press. durkheim, e. (1965). the elementary forms of the religious life. london: george allen and unwin ltd ekennia, j. (2003). bio-medical ethics. owerri: barloz publishers. evans-pritchard, e. e. (1956). theories of primitive religion. oxford: university of oxford press. gadamer, h. (1976). philosophical hermeneutics. trans. david e. linge. berkeley: university of california press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 30 goody, j. (1961). religion and ritual: the denitional problem. the british journal of sociology. vol. 12. no. 2. pp. 142-161. green, m. m. (1947). igbo village affairs: chiey with reference to the village of umbueke agbaja. britain: taylor and francis. heidegger, m. (1978). gesamtausgabe. frankfurt am main: vittorio klostermann ilogu, edmund (1974). christianity and igbo culture. new york: nok publishers. kanu, i. a. (2014). igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholicpentecostal relations. jos studies. 22. pp.87-98. kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015b). igwebuike as an ontological precondition for african ethics. international conference of the society for research and academic excellence. university of nigeria, nsukka. 14th -16th september. kanu, i. a. (2015c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientic community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 31 kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientic and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. nwodo, c. s. (2004). philosophical perspectives on chinua achebe. port harcourt: university of port harcourt. oguejiofor, o. j. (2009). negritude as hermeneutics: a reinterpretation of leopold sedar senghor’s philosophy. american catholic philosophical quaterly. 83. 1. 79-94. ojike, m. (1955). my africa. london: blandford press. okere, t. (1971). can there be an african philosophy? phd dissertation, louvain belgium. okoro, e. (2008). chi symbolism in achebe’s things fall apart: a hermeneutical understanding. https://www.ajd.info.2008. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 471 african traditional solidarity among nsukka people as model for national unity ezugwu onyinyechukwu joy department of religion and cultural studies university of nigeria, nsukka enugu state ezugwujoyonyinye@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/ rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract cultural solidarity which is explained as the unification of people belonging to the same cultural identity among nsukka people is deeply rooted and embedded in their way of life. this interconnectedness has contributed immensely to their spirituality and so formed the bedrock as well as catalyst for development and integration. it is in view of this that this research is poised to explore, so as to be used as model for nigeria to enhance national development and integration. in a country where the call for restructuring and true nationalism in the spirit of the founding fathers of nigeria is high, there is need to recommend the solidarity that exists among nsukka people as a model for the country. the qualitative phenomenological research method will be used in this study. data for the study were collected using oral interview as primary source. also, as a secondary source of data collection, library materials, internet sources and written documents were used. the result revealed that if emulated, nsukka cultural zone has a lot to offer to the nation for national unity. keywords: african, tradtional, solidarity, community, nsukka, national unity introduction nigeria is a country blessed with many natural and human resources. her amalgamation by the british colonial masters saw the fusion of peoples of different languages, religions and tribes. this amalgamation of people with different tribe and religion has been severally identified as the major source of division in the country. in a country where the call for restructuring and true nationalism in the spirit of the founding fathers of nigeria, nnamdi azikiwi, awolowo, tafawa balewa and lots more no longer holds ground, nsukka people of northern igbo-land have an example rooted in the idea of solidarity that could be modelled for national integration. in the face of religious and tribally anchored chaos and call for disintegration faced by the nigeria state, there is a very germane necessity to propose a model that will help balance the differences mailto:ezugwujoyonyinye@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 472 aroused by the multi-faceted realities of the nigerian state. this work is therefore geared towards proposing the elements of cultural solidarity among nsukka people as a model for national integration. the fact that nsukka has practitioners of all the three major religions of african, islamic and christian regions adds impetus to the model. the elements of cultural solidarity among nsukka people of enugu state are observable but not limited to the following activities; respect for constituted traditional institutions (onyishi/igwe), agriculture and hard-work, eating habit, festivals, use of symbols, the concept of umuada and masquerade cult. the nsukka people like most organized culture areas in africa are bounded by certain features like the concepts of umunna, umuada, masquerade cults, festivals, general sanitation etc. all centred in the concept of igwebuike (solidarity). whenever any form of dispute reared its head in the land, the people of nsukka culture zone, like other non-centralized societies have different traditional techniques for dispute-resolution procedures in order to maintain internal peace. based on the existing virtue of solidarity imbedded in african/nsukka religion, disputes were easily resolved through some cultural institutions who are very familiar with the approved solidarizing strategies. one of such strategies was oat taking which indicates the power of the gods/spirits. this interconnectedness has contributed immensely to their way of life and so formed the bedrock as well as catalyst for development and integration. the political life of nigeria in recent times has been agog with the call for restructuring. this call for restructuring is anchored on lack of trust for other component members of the nation as well as negligence. an average nsukka person seems to be a very hard working and independent achiever seeking to make ends meet without egocentric dependence on another. ugwu (2018) recently observed that people and regions are more productive when they are self-reliant. thus he observed that: the restructuring of the nation back to real or true fiscal federalism will no doubt strengthen the sub-units and make them less dependent on the federal government. for instance, after the nigerian independence in 1960 the university of nigeria was built by the defunct eastern region with the resources raised mainly through agricultural products and inaugurated in october 7, 1960 just a few days after independence. dr. nnamdi azikiwe did not wait for any federal allocation or budget. they knew what the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 473 people needed and went ahead to produce quality and affordable education. the inability of the different geo-political regions in nigeria to fulfil their dream has triggered division in the country. the oil rich south-south wants to control their oil wealth, the south east believes they are industrious and can exist as an independent sovereign state other regions in the country have also given different reasons while they need to be restructured. since regions in nigeria are clamouring for self-determination, it is pertinent to mention that nsukka people are self-dependent and have the zeal for hard work which has become part and parcel of the average nsukka man. this culture has seen one beckoning on his neighbour to be hard working and cooperative in the collective zeal to excel, protect one another in the face of attack and seek the good and success of his kinsman. factors like ethnicity, religious pluralism, corruption, nepotism etc. have negated the concept of national solidarity as found among the nsukka people. the aforementioned problems are the focus of this work using cultural solidarity in nsukka as the panacea to solve the nigerian problem. problem the focus of this work is particularly about the total loss of trust for one another in nigeria. hatred and wickedness are daily being brewed in the nation. people are no longer their brother or sisters keepers. daily, one cannot tune to the television or pick a national daily without news of deaths of fellow citizens. stories about how innocent citizens are killed are told daily. chains of terrorists attacks are also being reported. these disheartening atrocities have sowed seeds of discord and disintegration in the hearts of nigerians. the positive powers of cultural solidarity manifested amongst the nsukka people, is presented in this research as a model towards solving this problem that is cancerous to our national growth. this can be anchored through cultural solidarity that had sustained nsukka people from time immemorial. despite the fact that nigeria as a country had made several efforts to foster solidarity, like the national confabs, development of different stages and types of nigerian constitutions and daily debates at the upper and lower chambers of the national assembly, the quest for the disintegration of the country still persists. the persistent nature of nigeria problems is the problem this work on the elements of cultural solidarity among nsukka people as a model for national integration seeks to address. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 474 this work will examine how a model for true national solidarity in the face of the call for restructuring can be planted using the cultural model of nsukka as an example or case study for resuscitating a greater nation built on trust. the main aim of this study is to examine the concept of cultural solidarity among nsukka people of northern igbo culture area of enugu state as model for national integration. the specific objectives are to: examine solidarity among the nsukka people of northern igbo culture area; examine previous failed or successful strategies in nigeria before the adoption of the cultural solidarity as a model; use nsukka cultural solidarity as a model for national integration. examine the effects of solidarity on the development of nsukka cultural area; proffer solutions to the nation using nsukka solidarity as a model. cultural solidarity the definition of cultural solidarity as the unification of people belonging to the same cultural identity as defined by khurana (1998) is adopted in this work. the cultural solidarity existing among nsukka people in seem in their respect for constituted traditional institutions (onyishi/igwe) as final decision making body, eating habit, farming habit, hunting, festivals, use of symbols, communication network, ostracism in case of default or deviant behaviour. these are the cultural elements that the people of enugu north senatorial zone are known for. every nsukka man sees it as both a religious and cultural duty to ensure that none of these defaulted for doing so will amount to disobeying nature and god. as okwueze (2004:11) noted ―each community in igbo-land maintained a traditional system of belief and practices through which the people showed their subordination to a supernatural, transcendent supreme being‖. plato in his work the republic was probably the first to have advocated for solidarity among a people when he wrote to say that maintaining a state religion, even if it was not true, is strictly a sort of social adhesive (plato in russell 1988). as have been noted, the way of life of the africans cannot be different from their religion and culture. the african man as described by mbiti (1970) is chronically religious seeing god in almost everything. the nsukka people as africans also see solidarity as a duty. religion refers to human beings' relationship with that which they regard as holy, sacred, transcendent, worthy of special reverence or divine. it is important to note that religion is not just about humans‘ relationship with the supernatural or sacred. it also includes the connection between this human-god igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 475 (vertical) relationship and human-human (horizontal) relationship. it is the understanding of religion from both angles that allows us to understand the nature of the role of religion in societies, the social relevance of religion. according durkheim (1947:37), ‗religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say, to things set apart and forbidden, beliefs and practices which unite into a single moral community to all those who adhere to them.‘ durkheim (2001:88) further elaborated on the cultural role of religions when he commented on solidarity. by solidarity, durkheim referred to a people‘s ability to perform similar tasks and develop a shared consciousness for commitment. he illustrated solidarity using a farming community in which everyone is involved in planting, cultivating, and harvesting. members of this group have so much in common that they know how almost everyone else in the community feels about life. societies with mechanical solidarity tolerate little diversity in behavior, thinking, or attitudes for their unity depends on similar thinking. roy (2016: 54) agrees perfectly with walsh when she added that a united family cannot easily be penetrated by external forces; as people encountered new information and experienced some disorientation, or simply a confrontation with information that did not agree with the views they previously held, they were more likely to question their prior assumptions about a range of topics. adding impetus to the idea that cultural solidarity could be exploited politically. ezike, (2010:12) asserted that; belief and acceptance of blood relationships among communities can be exploited fruitfully for political, social and economic ends. there is no doubt that the knowledge and appreciation of the history, tradition and other cultural attributes of a people provide the facts for socio-economic and political development planning. african culture, despite the presence of foreign religions like christianity and islam in the area under study still holds sway. custom which is an established socially accepted practice of the society still holds deep on the nsukka people. solidarity makes people strong. it is usually observed that whenever nsukka people decides on an issue, they are all spiritually bound in the spirit of brotherhood to implement that decision, going contrary will be breaking that cultural solidarity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 476 hobbes in russel (1987:203) stated that cultural solidarity is when people belonging to the same cultural identity unite. as for it‘s uses if a group has a common cause or grievance, it could be a tool to support action. a humorous example would be the ‗one day solidarity‘ the irish have on saint patrick‘s day in new york city. back to our dear country, activities leading to independence 1960 show that all nigerians had cultural solidarity against the british colonialism. nigerian elites all rallied around nnamdi azikiwe, tafawa belewa and other independence fighters. in doing this, their cultural solidarity was made manifest. sociologist ednar (2017:20) went further to assert that what forms the basis of solidarity varies between societies. in simple societies it may be mainly based on kinship and shared values. the european union according to woods (2002:12) a british anthropologist, has a day set aside for solidarity; ―solidarity is also one of six principles of the charter of fundamental rights of the european union and december 20 of each year is international human solidarity day recognized as an international observance‖. woods (2002:12) africans are deeply connected to their culture. culture defines the day to day activity in more advanced cultures like nsukka. in the words of quarcoopome (1987:68), although africans are different individuals, they perform different tasks and often have different values and interest, the order and very solidarity of society depends on their reliance on each other to perform their specified tasks. different individual here refers to the interdependence of the component parts. thus social solidarity is maintained in more complex societies through the interdependence of its component parts. the important role of cultural solidarity in the formation of formidable institutions; like traditional institutions (onyishi/igwe) as final decision making body, farming and hunting regulations and communication network, which were developed by the creative genius of the nsukka people over the years can induce one to appreciate its relevance to national integration. the immense importance which the mutual-support instincts, inherited by nsukka people from its long evolution play even now in our modern society and have been used as a good tool in the hands of strong politicians of nsukka extraction to foster development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 477 today, the nigerian federal and state governments and their agents are in many ways more exploitive of individuals at the local level as were the colonialist this negates the principle of solidarity advocated among the nsukka people. but now the ―native,‖ is mostly educated, and has a public voice while this rarely occurred under colonialism. according to him, african spiritual communalism is an idea that derives from the indigenous african principles of ―live and let live; collective sharing; common concern for one another; sense of belonging together; social justice; economic progress and viability for all; and the african indigenous political process of participatory democracy‖. further, in line with the african spiritual communalism, it is one‘s age, responsibility and service to the community that are valued. the economic principle and process recognize sharing according to the needs and responsibility of the individual. whatever economic benefits that accrues to the individual must be shared with the individual‘s family and community. he states socially, in african spiritual communalism, there is a collectively acknowledged hierarchical order based on age, responsibility, and service to the people. it is not class consciousness hierarchy but rather service for the people consciousness. hence age, wisdom, accomplishment, and responsibility are very important variables (onwuachi 1977:17). nyerere (1968), following the african communalism ethics, rejects atheism and a materialistic view of african societies. he insists that african societies are communitarian by ‗nature‘ and are characterized by a profound sense of collective identity eschewing any traits of individualism. a man‘s livelihood has a meaning only within the context of his family, kinsmen and tribe. his advocation for a socialist africa derives from these principles, with ―ujama‖— familyhood as its underlying philosophy. culture and national integration the people of nsukka has a strong belief in respect for constituted traditional institutions (onyishi/igwe) as final decision making body, eating habit, farming habit, hunting, festivals, use of symbols, communication network, ostracism in case of default or deviant behaviour. these are all the elements of cultural solidarity among nsukka people and they have proven that culture can unit people. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 478 there has always been a call for mutual respect, understanding and communication for there to be national integration in our nation. believers in cultural solidarity advocate that parents should start by teaching their children values that are original to africans. this is because when family solidarity is strong where children obey their parents and consider their guidance, then the nation will collectively enjoy solidarity. agbese (2007), pearl (2018) and ugwu (2018) all mentioned problems that threatens national unity among which are the following: resources control, ethnic diversity, poverty, language multiplicity, structural imbalance, revenue allocation, religious fanatism, youth restiveness, nepotism, corruption, political wranglings and agitation. this research agrees with the aforementioned problems of nigeria as a source of serious threat to nigerian national unity. anti-secessionists like nnamdi azikiwe, obafemi awolowo, gowon, obasanjo and incumbent president buhari all see lack of solidarity as one factor that poses a great danger to our unity. the declaration of the state of biafra in late 1960s triggered by lack of national trust (manifested in the incessant killing of the south-easterners) in the north led to terrible communal riots which culminated into the 1967-1970 bloody civil war. a very large number of people lost their lives and their homes and had to undergo a lot of suffering to resettle. the failure of the citizens of the nigerian state to see themselves as brothers, an understanding that obtains among the nsukka people, has led to ―the call for restructuring‖. people call for restructuring because they see a great lacuna in cultural solidarity. ugwu (2018) in a recent paper delivered at the college of education eha-amufu noted that a graphic representation of what restructuring is can be linked to an ecosystem or a habitat with some many big trees and shrubs (flora) and powerful animals (lions and tigers) and other rodents, insects etc all co-habiting in the same environment. in this scenario, the iroko and mahogamy trees as well as other smaller plants all survive each naturally acting as a check on the other. enugu north senatorial zone among other culture zones seems to have the highest number of igbo muslims, all forms of churches exists and traditional religion is still intact yet the regions enjoys peace and cultural solidarity because there is trust in the culture that bounds all together. lack of trust is also because of the exploitation of such feelings by some politicians to further their interests. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 479 cultural solidarity as an enhancement to the economy and politics when a people‘s culture is respected the cultural artefacts are also respected thus building the economy, through export and tourism. prior to independence, the nation had a lot of locally produced goods but with the discovery of oil all these were abandoned. cultural solidarity will help our nation to appreciate what we can locally produce and free us from dependence. as igbo and anugwom (2007:36) noted;... the economic factor is the fundamental basis of society. the economic system determines the other institutions of the society. this is what has been termed economic determinism in marxian terminology‖ soyinka (2018) lauding the cultural festival of the ogun people expressed that national festivals also act as an important unifying force. cultural solidarity among nsukka people is usually made manifest during cultural festivals. eze (kings) are seen paying courtesy visits and homages to their colleagues in other communities during festivals. by extension activities like independence day, democracy day, and other national festivals that are celebrated by all nigerians and in all parts of the country, regardless of language, religion or culture should be fostered because they remind us of our common nationality. solidarity is also seen in the political parties we have in nigeria. recent days have witnessed chains of decamping from political parties for different reasons ranging from ego-centricism to deceptive altruism. in nsukka cultural solidarity the allegiance to traditional institutions like onyishi (eldest man)/ igwe (traditional ruler) prevents people from betraying others. once a decision is made by the chief in council it stands and every member of the community is expected to publicly support that decision and vote accordingly punishment for breaking decisions that fosters solidarity can lead one to been ostracized from the community, lack of support for rival, removal from party etc. if a member of the community wants power or a cabinet position, they follow the rule of the game. over the years, nigerian national integration started suffering some threats leading to divisions along the lines of social status, ethnicity and religion. the call for national solidarity has always been associated with the entity nigeria. efforts have previously been made to ensure that all the regions are united in solidarity. these efforts manifest in the development of the different nigerian constitutions in the country, national confabs and panels set up by different governments. findings and conclusion igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 480 nigeria had previously adopted failed strategies like the development of the different nigerian constitutions, national confabs and panels set up by different governments. nsukka cultural solidarity can serve as a model for national integration given the fact that the zone among other culture zones seems to have the highest number of igbo muslims, all forms of churches, and traditional religious practitioners yet the region enjoys peace. the nsukka people like most organised culture areas in africa are bounded by certain features like the concepts of umunna, umuada, masquerade cults, festivals, general sanitation and many others; all are centred in the concept of igwebuike(solidarity) and these can generate development of nsukka cultural area. nigeria should emulate the peaceful co-existence of the three major religions found in nigeria among the nsukka people and emulate their tolerance. the review of related literatures has shown the overwhelming scholarly attention the issue of national unity and solidarity have received from scholars. many scholars approached the issues of solidarity from different perspectives ranging from conceptualization, the identification of the root causes of nigerian problems, through the discussion on their impacts, to the elaboration of their different suggestions for a better nigeria. however, there were few authors or study that has examined or explored the role of the solidarity that exists among the nsukka people in relation to national development and unity. these authors did not advocate the way forward, thus the gap this work intends to fill is the cultural solidarity of nsukka people as a model for national integration. the envisaged result is that in the near future, the life of our people will be better and nigeria will be great again. this is where the literature gap lies. this justifies the focus of the present study which is to explore the role of elements of cultural solidarity among nsukka people as model for national integration and development. references agbowo, f. i. (2005). the culture of umunko. online accesed 21-april, 2018. durkheim, é. (1947) the elementary forms of religious life. new york: free press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 481 durkheim, é. in cosman, c. (2001) the elementary forms of religious life. oxford: oxford university press. ezike, s (2010) history and tradition of the people of igbo etitihttp://igboetiti.blogspot.com/2010/10/history-and-traditionof-people-ofigbo.html accessed 22-07-18) federal republic of nigeria (2016) national gazette. federal republic of nigeria national gazette 2016, (national population commission). gyekye, h (1996) african moral values. (2008). nairobi: safari press. igbo e.u.m and anugwom, e.e (2007). sociology: basic concepts and issues. nsukka: great ap publishers ltd. khurana, m. (1998). https://definition-of-cultural solidarity/89227.html kropotkin, p (2008). mutual aid: a factor of evolution. – los angeles: freedom press. lavine, t. z (1984). from socrates to sartre. new york: bantam books. lugira, a.m. (1999) world religion: african traditional religion. new york : chelsea house. mbiti, john s. (1970). african religion and philosophy. london: heinnmann. national population commission, 2007. nigerian national gazette 2016). nyerere, j. k., 1968. ujamaa: essays on socialism, dar es salaam, tanzania: oxford university press okwueze, m.i (2004) exorcism and healing in igbo traditional religion, old testament and pentecostalism. in religion and societal development. lagos: mip. omeregbe j (1991). a simplified history of western philosophy. lagos: joja educational publishers. onah (2018) http://nigeriafacts.net/ibagwa-aka/wikipedia onwuachi, l (1977). socialism and welfarism. atlanta: city publishers. pearl, p (2018) problems of nigeria national integration and possible solutions. internet resources downloaded 16th january, 2019) pearl, p. https://infoguidenigeria.com/problems-nigeria-nationalintegration/ accessed 22 june, 2018 https://definition-of-cultural/ http://nigeriafacts.net/ibagwa-aka/wikipedia https://infoguidenigeria.com/problems-nigeria-national-integration/ https://infoguidenigeria.com/problems-nigeria-national-integration/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 482 quarcoopome, t.n.o (1987). west african traditional religion. ibadan: african university roy, r (2016: 54) documentary film festivals, transformative learning, building community and solidarity. new york: sense publishers russell, b (1988). history of western philosophy. london: urwib press. soyinka (2018) ogun festival. saturday sun. 17-03-2018. taye, (2016:39) nigerian national symbols and common identity. ibadan: carol phil ltd ugwu (2018), restructuring nigeria for greater development. being a key note address presented during the 6th annual conference organized by the school of arts and social sciences, federal college of education, eha-amufu between 16th -20th july, 2018. walsh, f. (2008). spiritual resources in family therapy. new york: guilford press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 173 on the need for revolution in nigeria emmanuel asia department of philosophy, faculty of arts, university of benin, benin city emmanuel.asia@uniben.edu doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.19482.59846 abstract this work attempts a philosophical survey of revolution. it argues that the concept of revolution is not new to philosophical discourse and that the meaning of revolution should not be narrowed to rebellion, resistance or war rather that it is the societal tool for change. it was instrumental in warding off colonial system for alleged wrong doings and it is the tool that the current nigerian youths should apply in righting the ineptitude, corruption, and the perceived political insecurity in the country. through revolution the nigerian youths should demand for change not just in the formation of government personnel or a regime change, rather a total change in the mindset, episteme and attitude of the of the people in the society towards their political organizations. using the method of critical analysis which is native to philosophical discourse, this paper concludes that the concept of revolution should not be misunderstood and it is a tool for rising against bad leadership. the work further argues that the nigerian youth should see violent revolution as a means of restoring their dignity in the face of oppressive leaders. keywords: philosophy, revolution, politics, youth, leadership, african, colonialism introduction overtime, the word “revolution” has become part of the vocabulary on the lips of some nigerian youths. the clarion call for revolution in nigeria is often attributed to the perceived ineptitude, corruption, insecurity, injustice, and political instability in nigeria. however, some of the proponents and/or advocates for revolution in nigeria may not be well-informed or have the epistemic mind to grasp the meaning and implications of the revolution which they continue to ask for. hence, this article attempts to elucidate, dissect and clarify the meaning of revolution. beyond this semantic task, this work attempts an intellectual roadmap which advocates of revolution should consider if their mailto:emmanuel.asia@uniben.edu igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 174 dreams will materialize into concrete reality. further, this work attempts a rational justification for revolution. some civil war veterans would concur that war is not something wish for. although this may be slightly different from the views of the jihadists, it is however, unreasonable for sentient beings to inflict pains upon themselves or their fellow men. who is to revolt? why, when and how? do we have sufficient reasons for revolution in nigeria? these are questions that everyone sympathetic to the ideology of revolution must come to terms with. this brings to question the issue of the purpose or mission of the revolution. this further brings to question, why should i revolt and what is the goal of my action/inaction? if i was a trojan soldier, should i fight for paris’ love for helen, another man’s wife? philosophical survey of revolution in some homeric poems, particularly, odyssey, the king revolted against the god poseidon who requested for loyalty in the form of gratitude for a rigged battle but when the king disobeyed, he decided to punish him. if by revolution, we mean to say resistance, rebellion, demonstration, disobeying constituted authority or conflict, there could be instances of one revolting against oneself, the other, machine, destiny, supernatural forces, society but since we are yet to come to terms with the meaning of revolution, a quick philosophical survey of revolution will not be out of place. for the purpose of this work, we shall define revolution as change, a change in the process or way in which the people are been governed and a change in the attitude of the masses towards politics. if by revolution, we mean to say change then we will not be saying too much if one is to categorically ascertain that the history of philosophy is the history of revolution. ideas revolting against ideas with thales of miletus standing as an aggressor or a field marshal who was tired of the old order of things. thales revolted against the old methodological explanation of things. (nkrumah 1964:6) he rejected the causes of things been pinned to religious and mythological happenings. he proposed a scientific cum rational order of explanation or causes. the religious priest and myth makers were not at home with this new arrangement and it obviously led to a break in epistemic transmission with each antagonizing the other. on may 27 585bc thales army defeated the priestly order as the sky darkened in-between it became crystal clear that the mission of the revolutionary was legitimate and goal oriented. thus, the society submitted igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 175 to the superior argument put forth by thales that all is indeed water. (stumpf, 1978: 5) however, thales logic was short lived as the antithesis to his thesis was been prepared by anaximander his pupil and follower who revolted and was in turn opposed by anaxemenes. when the pythagoreans, heracliteans and parmenedians got to the battle field it was clear that the revolution has turned into mockery as the heraclitean theory of change seems more plausible and impregnable within common sense than the parmenidean theory of permanence based on pure logic. several attempts made towards reconciling the revolutionaries did not see the light of day. on note here are the views of empedocles who saw love and hate as two opposing forces in history and the atomic theory of democritus. (ibid, 8) later on the sophists took it upon themselves to explain and teach the mission and goal of the revolution to the athenian youths. this insurmountable task became the mission of socrates who died for a revolution he believed in and lived by. sad enough his pupil came and destroyed the society which he died for. (nkrumah, 1964) for two reasons, plato betrayed socrates. first for destroying the society and laws which socrates believed in and secondly for inventing a noble lie of the world of forms and ideas which was more plausible, in his opinion, to this mutable and perishable world. it was clear that aristotle will never accept this platonic world given that he was a man of this world, very human, earthly, materialistic and realistic. he revolted against the platonic world of forms in praise of this material, concrete but meaningless world fashioned by the demiurge out of a recalcitrance receptacle. disgusted by this new frame of mind of atheism which is inherent in the revolution, an attempt was made to restore the old order of things, to bring back the old priest to the pulpit. these new revolutionaries were interested in reconciling man with his maker whom they argued is transcendent yet immanent. their views were squarely matched with the modern revolutionists who sought for an empirical testing or verification for burgoos metaphysical claims. these soldiers revolted against armchair reflection or a prior thinking lacking even the slightest form of thought experiment. it was around this period also that nietzsche revolted against explaining major issues of life with reference to a small group of people who clustered around jesus. the superman should understand the issues of this world from a darwinian point of view. earlier on darwin has revolted against the old theory of design or creationism. darwinian theory of cosmology rushes us away from fixation to a theory of possible survival of the fittest. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 176 kant also revolted against the theories and movement of his time. the kantiancopernican revolution is a famous revolution in the history of philosophy. in his famous work, the revolt of the mass man, ortega ygasset lamented the emergence of a psychological mind whose ideas have dominated the europe of his time. he continued by asserting that in contrast to the select man who is urged to appeal from himself to some standard beyond himself, superior to himself. the mass man ceases to appeal to other authorities and feels himself lord of his own existence, so long as his surroundings do not constrain him. conservative and liberals, illiterates and elites, all are part of the decadence of the mass. all are equally incurious and equally complacent, guarded from reflection guarded by partisan formulas or solipsistic apathy. and despite this the mass agitates for power and relevance; there is no question concerning public life in which (the mass man) does not intervene, blind and deaf as he is, imposing his opinions. hence revolt. this is so because man is unable to keep pace with the progress of his own civilization. even the mass man demands this progress which he does not know where it is coming from. (ygasset, 1960). some nigerian youths are no longer seeing themselves as part of the masses. he now secludes himself in the confines of his home with the motive of making money without stress. for marx the society is that of class struggle resulting in synthesis of the thesis and antithesis. his position is that the oppressed has nothing to lose for revolting. revolution against the oppressor is a fundamental step towards selfliberation, political stability, security, classlessness. marx’s dream was to see the workers of his time revolt against the rigid, insensitive and oppressive capitalist regime of his time, the method and style which the revolution is to take is well spelt out in his communist manifesto. the idea of the social contractarians which inspired the revolutionary movement of their time and equipped the youths for their fight against injustice is also worth pointing out here. in a time like this where the youths are busying discussing bbnaija we need ideas of revolution to be discussed in salons, viewing centres, lounges and houses and spread among people via books, pamphlets and movies. monstesquieu’s spirit of the laws, rousseau concept of the general will, locke’s two treatises of government which, for example, kicked against the absolutism of monarchy, today, we need revolutionary ideas which will kick igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 177 against the ineptitude of some leaders. the notable french revolution was built on the views of these iconic scholars. excavating revolution in african discourse: a map let us attempt to bring this philosophy back home. the german scholar, hegel has opined that: the peculiarly african character is difficult to comprehend, for the very reason that in reference to it, we must quite give up the principle which naturally accompanies all our ideas – the category of universality. in negro life the characteristic point is the fact that consciousness has not yet attained to the realization of any substantial objective existence – as for example, god, or law – in which the interest of man’s volition is involved and in which he realizes his own being. this distinction between himself as the individual and the universality of his essential being, the african in the uniform, underdeveloped oneness of his existence has not yet attained; so that the knowledge of an absolute being, an other and a higher than his individual self, is entirely wanting. the negro, as already observed, exhibits the natural man in his completely wild and untamed state. we must lay aside all thought of reverence and morality – all that we call feeling – if we would rightly comprehend him; there is nothing harmonious with humanity to be found in this type of character. (hegel, 2001:110-111) (emphasis mine) others such as bruhl, kant, hume, have pinched camp with hegel. however, a new frame of academic thinking started with the publication of works such as black athena, stolen legacy and the masterpiece bantu philosophy. perhaps, tempel’s bantu philosophy became the foundation of african philosophy in an academic sense. today, the contours of african philosophy are carved along a revolution against the hegelian diatribe. it was this thinking too that made dismaris masolo in his african philosophy in search of identity to argued that what we might call african philosophy today is a reactionist movement, a revolution, against hegel’s philosophy of history, a response to western discourse of africa and africans. soldiers such as blyden, du bois, abraham, mudibe, cesaire alain locke, senghor etc joined in the battle for the soul of africa. senghor, for example, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 178 picked the negritude amour made in the factory of cesaire and gave it a new meaning, definition and explanation. negritude left the little space of cultural identity and freedom to a tool of political freedom and existentialism. the senghorian army later failed to retreat when the enemy change their strategy, in the hands of senghor and his disciples, negritude went too far, it got to the extreme of becoming a racist movement. sartre was quick to mention this when prefacing the work of senghor. a deathblow sounded by the opponent himself. from senghor to other african nationalists, we see a revolution against white supremacy and struggle for universalism of reason – haven defined humanity along the borders of reason – a revolution aimed at restoring african personality, identity and above all humanity was necessary. when in the wake of day, africans were granted independence, it became a question as to which system of thought should be adopted in african. kwame nkrumah opted for consciencism as an intellectual roadmap for the reconciliation of the three opposing systems – traditional, western, eastern. nkrumah himself erred in so many areas. first for thinking that socialism is egalitarian in nature and that this egalitarian philosophy is based on a materialistic conception of nature. his claim that everything that has matter is equal is facile. secondly, for thinking that african society is materialistic and as such egalitarian. he failed to acknowledge the atheistic flavour inherent in materialism and he even attempted to solve political issues by making recourse to debatable metaphysical concepts. thus, nkrumah’s roadmap ended up identifying africans with eastern thought. nkrumah had a hidden agenda which a revolutionary should not have. he was found wanting of becoming a life president, a warlord and indeed his regime was dubbed as corrupt as it became obvious to even the finest person in ghana that the beautiful ones are not yet born. julius nyerere’s ujamma socialism which was a revolution against western style of political authority did not consider even in semantic terms that socialism is a western invention and as such is alien to africans. he dealt with the subject as if it was an african concept with a contextual meaning. he even found an african linguistic evidence for his claim. he forgot that prefixing socialism with ‘ujamma’ does not make socialism an african concept. his denial of class structures and upholding of brotherhood in africa is facile especially in this period of xenophobia. nyerere projected work as a way of sustainability and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 179 independence in africa but his prophecies will not hold water given human nature. man, if provided with his basic amenities, by nature is stubborn and will not work for the good of the society. after africans leaders have taken the mantle of leadership there were coups and counter coups. hence, a new form of revolution to address this political instability in the continent began with the military finding a justification for their plunders. notable among these coups is that of jerry rawlings of ghana. he demonstrated high level of patriotism and revolutionary spirit but his leadership skills have not justified his actions. today one african most sought-after scholar on the necessity of violent revolution in the struggles in africa is frantz fanon. from his clinical studies fanon threw himself into algerian anti colonial revolution. instead of african culture to take shape around songs and poems as manifest in senghor’s negritude, it should be based on violent struggle to reassert the boldness of the black man. psychologically africans have been weakened since their oppressor, the whiteman does not see anything positive in african culture, religion, history, epistemology, metaphysics, language, perhaps, traditional organizations. while africans were abandoning his own culture, religion etc to embrace the other, the whiteman secretly wished he was a black man. however, since he cannot have it, he then decided to alienate africans from their roots – africans became neither black nor white – they became the whiteman’s burden since the white man took it upon himself to humanize, civilize, and evangelize those who live in the world extreme corner fetching water and hewing woods. more derogatorily, africa nations became the third world or developing countries while america (the plantation farm) became the new world. thus, the black man became inferior before the whiteman. this inferiority complex was deepened by the look of the whiteman, alienation of the black man and the religious foundation of racism in biblical terms. fanon, therefore, have a plan b should the whiteman fail to dance to the songs and poems of negritude. his plan is the marxist approach to free the oppressed from the chains of the oppressor. it is an attempt to restore the humanity and dignity of the oppressed – an attempt towards social justice. the first armor is a psychological conviction that both the whiteman and the black man are one. africans must begin to see themselves as non-inferior before the whiteman and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 180 this can be achieved through violent revolution. in short, fanon thinks ‘‘… violence is a cleansing force. it frees the native from his inferiority complex and from his despair and inaction; it makes him fearless and restores his self-respect . . . illuminated by violence, the consciousness of the people rebels against any pacification’’ (fanon, 1961: 94). teodros kiros, a noted fanon scholar, explains: only through violence can the tortured and anguished colonial subject expunge from the depth of his or her soul the fear of the colonizer, who is just another human being. the interiorized invincibility of the colonizer can be washed away only by violence. in violence, then, fanon thought he had found a solution to the apparently insurmountable presence of the oppressor’s gaze, the oppressor’s wealth and power, the oppressor’s self-perpetuating colonial machine. the colonial machine must be broken, fanon declares. violence is precisely what the natives must fearlessly master in order to cleanse themselves of their wretched condition. fanon is not celebrating violence for its own sake. he is arguing that, unless this violence is vented out, unless the pent-up energy is discharged onto the body of the oppressor, the ‘‘natives’’ are going to turn it upon themselves, and they will never cure themselves of fear, resentment, bitterness, and sorrow. (kiros, 2004:219-20) however, it is important to note here that the game oppression is still on only that the players of have change, it is no longer the whiteman and the black man rather it is now the oppressor and the oppressed – the leaders and the followers. the need for revolution in nigeria simply put revolution means change. having defined revolution along frantz fanon’s thinking, let us now examine the necessity of revolution in nigeria. the question is; what is the relevance of revolution in nigeria? what is the basis for opting for revolution as solution to the problems in nigeria? in responding to the above questions, i will categorically say the quest for good governance is the basis for revolution in any civilized society. now, by good governance, the followers or citizens should know her duty and the leaders or those in government should also know her duty. for the duty of the follower is to obey while that of the leader is to rule. so good governance is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 181 knowing how to rule and ruling well. plato, in his republic, once argue that the state should be ruled by those who knows the art of statesmanship. hence, since the episteme of the leader is inseparable from the duty of the leader, plato built an epistemological ladder which a person ascent if he is to become a leader. if the leader fails in his or her duties then the followers can request for a change. change in the leadership system or change in the government personnel through violence is therefore justified if the personnel refused to embrace this change. a leader, therefore, in this platonic sense, should be like a charioteer who must of necessity lead the horses (whether stubborn or insolence) to the river. when everyone, therefore fulfils his part or duty, there is bound to be peace or virtues in the society otherwise vices, hence revolution. now, given the current state of affairs in nigeria, have our leaders rule well? using the electoral lens, in nigeria for example, one will argue that we have a system whereby we continue to recycle our leaders. the electorates continue to live a rigged life given that some of the leaders who emerged from the electoral process are not the will of the majority of people. the majority of people do not longer participate in the electoral process because of the distrust for the electoral umpire. but leadership has not always been like this in nigeria, how then did we get to this current situation? where did we get it wrong? nigerian leaders inherited a dying country from the whiteman. since, the whiteman exploited and raped africa. the concerted effort brought to bear to displace the whiteman was latter use to resist and fight ethnic wars or coups which today, the country is still suffering from. and as a result of these coups and counter coups, nigeria has become what it is today. what we have in the country today is simply the rulers and the followers. the oppressor and the oppressed – it seems that the oppressed where use to displace the whiteman so that oppressor becomes the whiteman. hence, colonialism is not over, inferiority is not over, alienation is not over, oppression is not over until one final step – revolution – a step to change. for example, africa needs a revolution in their linguistic usage – a change to an african language. now while the oppressed, the followers think revolution is not over, the new masters, the leaders think revolution is a negative idea and that it should stop. a careful study of the new political arrangement in nigeria does not show any significant difference with the arrangement setup in the colonial era which fanon igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 182 rejected. hence, the need for revolution in nigeria is borne out of the fact that there is a big gap between the rich and the poor in the country where the qualification for leadership or service even in the army is your wealth and connection. thus, when niger delta militant sprung up it was an attempt to ask for change where dialogue has failed. the boko boys are also asking the government questions which everyone sympathetic to good governance should not be afraid to ask. although their resolute, doggedness, and convictions may not go down well with some non-fundamentalists but one issue stand clear from their struggle, it is the believe that we are in want of good governance. the biafra struggle which started in selfish proud by our leaders to respect the resolution of the aburi conference, today it has become a struggle for change and demarcation of the territorial boundaries of nigeria, a slice of our sovereignty – this is not revolution! in his poem, “the hawk prays for peace, tanure ojaide captured the sorry tale of nigerian leader’s peace talk, when he states that after immortalizing themselves and becoming the sole proprietor of the world, after committing so many havocs they shout “let there be peace.” revolution is similar to civil disobedience, martin luther king jr, mohammed gandhi to name just a few disobeyed a moral law to protest against an immoral or unjust law. in revolting, every nigerian youth should be reader to carry placards and chant the songs of freedom and change. innocent idibia popularly known as 2baba attempted such a protest or revolution but he was forced not to push it to a logical end. when a government is perverted the people should cease to obey. conclusion from the above analysis, there is no gainsaying the need for revolution in nigeria is as a result of bad governance. this brings to question; what is the end of revolution in nigeria? put in other words, what happens when the leaders are governing well? the nigerian youth should not forget that a major cause of youth restiveness should be bad leadership and political instability. these factors prompted the revolutionary actions in egypt that ousted hosni mubarak in 2011, the iranian shah mohammad reza pahlavi was ousted in 1979 and in libya muammar gaddafi was ousted in 2011 although revolution in nigeria does not necessarily meant a regime change, as even a regime change does not guarantee a happy life but by this the youth will assume the task of changing the political narrative in nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 183 in many parts of the world, say syria, morocco, bahrain, mali, nigeria, revolutions have been attempted with virtually no success often times leading to war and unnecessary bloodshed. sometimes to get the full supports of nigerians is also not easy given our heterogeneity. there are also efforts by the ruling class to maintain the status quo in the pretence of protecting lives and properties and as such prevent revolution as seen in the case of 2baba, femi falana, sowore etc. in all, revolution should be seen as change in the episteme of the youth, a change in their attitude towards politics, elections and social policies. a change against the narrowing or diverting of the youth mind, there is need for us to remember that the slogan “your time is coming” does not seem to make any more sense since the nigerian youths should understand that either he rules or he obeys. references coetzee, p.h. and roux, a.p.j. (eds.) the african philosophy reader, 2nd ed. new york: rutledge, 2003. fanon, f. the wretched of the earth, trans. constance farrington. new york: grove weidenfeld, (1991[1961]) hegel, g.w.f. the philosophy of history, sibree, j. (trans.) kitchener: batoche books, 2001. kanu, a. i. african philosophy: an ontologic-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues, jos: augustinian publications, 2015. kiros, t. “frantz fanon (1925–1961)” in k. wiredu, (ed.) a companion to african philosophy 2004 blackwell publishing ltd 216-224 masolo, d. a. african philosophy in search of identity, indianapolis: indiana university press, 1994. nkrumah, k. 1964. consciencism. london: panaf books. p. 26 ojaide, t. “the hawk prays for peace” retrieved on 21/09/2020 from www.poemsafrican2342222134.com stumpf, s.e. philosophy: history and problems. new york: mcgraw-hill publishers, 1978. tempels, p. bantu philosophy, paris: présence africaine, 1949. verharen, c. c. “the new world and the dreams to which it may give rise”: an african and american response to hegel’s challenge,” journal of black studies, vol. 27, no. 4 (mar., 1997), pp. 451-467 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 184 ygasset, j. o. the revolt of the masses trans. mildred, a. new york: w.w. norton and company inc., 1960. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 28 causes of marriage conflicts and its management in the catholic diocese of awka owen-hampo juliet, c. department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe university, awka anambra state doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.16636.28806 abstract the thrust of this study is to examine the causes of marriage conflicts in the catholic diocese of awka as there is a prevailing need to identify the contentious issues associated with marriage conflicts which can no longer be either ignored or wished away. marriage is a divine institution set up by god for a purpose. the purpose seems to have been directly or indirectly misunderstood, misinformed and misrepresented in different religious settings by different people. marriage has therefore meant different things to different people. the negative effects and uncomplimentary remarks associated with marriage know no bounds. the origin, growth, features and effects of marriage conflicts cannot be left to history, economics, politics, education and religion. this research is a collaborative study in order to uncover and illustrate social-religiously how functional management of marriage conflicts in the catholic diocese of awka could promote a healthier relationship among people, institutions and relationships. introduction marriage is an ordinance of god which initially started with a couple as a man and a woman as husband and wife. the couple must be capable and willing to join in matrimony which began by the careful manifestation of their consent. therefore, the couple ought to have mutually given and accepted themselves solely to establish a marriage. chiegboka (2006) states that “marriage is sacred because it is an institution that is both natural to man and divinely established and ordained by god from the very foundation of the human race” (p.10). god purposely ordained and established the institution of marriage to be both natural, divine and most importantly for procreation. in the same vein, companionship is for the couples to form a relationship that marks the beginning of family which is the first primary unit in every human society. according to augustine (cited by chiegboka, 2006): the expression of a man and a woman also implies that sexuality is an essential component of the natural union without which there can be no igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 29 marital consent. the expression excludes homosexual unions and also signifies that the whole person of each spouse is involved in the intimately personal and interpersonal act. as an act of the whole person which unites both spouses at the intimate core of their being, it entails total self-giving on the part of both spouses and therefore, it is an interpersonal covenant that is irrevocable (p.16). it‟s worthy of note that homosexual unions such as gay marriage are unacceptable and not recognized as a sacred marriage in the catholic church. after the intended husband and wife have been joined in holy matrimony in the church and other marriage celebrations have come to an end, the couple begins to face the reality of marriage and life in general such as clarity in partners behavior, in-law interference, life‟s natural hazards example; low income, loss of job, sickness, accident, childlessness and not having a preferred choice of child. then their different views and expectation about marriage filled with fantasies of bliss-filled companionship begin to fall apart. some of these fantasies were formed from one side viewing of other couples married life and drama in movies, such as the hollywood movies setting where marriages are dramatized as filled with a bed of roses, will become clearer. these negative realities of marriage can turn the peaceful and beautiful anticipation of the couple‟s marital bliss to a sad and moody relationship. before the couple could realize it, they began to wonder if they made the right choice of partner in conjugal bliss. gradually, the couple may become disappointed in themselves, unhappy and irritated. hence, the beginning of the marital conflict and if the couple does not work out their difference, they may find it difficult to either be sweet friends, good parents, romantic partners, prayerful lovers or enjoy their marital bliss. the catholic diocese of awka has observed the deteriorating trends in the marriage institutions and has set some measures to address them. the measures include marriage course on one hand, as a per-requisite for intended couple and on the other hand, annulment used to sort relief for those married couples who are caught in the web of intolerable marriage situation. these trends are not known to the catholic diocese of awka alone, rather other church communities and the world at large but for proper study and understanding of this research, the catholic diocese of awka will be used as an in-depth study. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 30 in the catholic diocese of awka, there is an increase in the number of couples being joined together in holy matrimony. likewise, there is an increase in the number of marriages in conflict and broken families. onyango (cited by ekwelibe, 2013) supported thus “the world is continuously increasing in violence, distrust, political unrest and denominational crisis. these all flow from the instability of the first christian community which is the family”(p.2). the researcher's observation that gave rise to the research was the re-current number of couples that troop into the marriage tribunal of the catholic diocese of awka daily with the hope of getting a declaration of nullity of marriage. the researcher is worried by the number of marriages in conflict as it continues to increase as the day goes by. chiegboka (2012) reiterates that, “man and woman are created by god for one another, (gen 2:18). it is also the will of the creator that marriage should enjoy unity, stability and indissolubility both man and woman should respect this” (p.147). chiegboka also explains that jesus christ taught that matrimonial union of man and woman is indissoluble. jesus christ himself, re-established the stability and indissolubility of christian marriage in (matt 19:18), “what god has joined together let no man put asunder.” considering the recurrent marriage conflicts in some families in the catholic diocese of awka and it attendant effect on the church and society at large, what exactly are the causes of marriage conflicts? this is the research question that will be given a critical investigation in this research, while also suggesting a way forward. the researcher therefore wishes to investigate the root causes of marriage conflicts within the catholic diocese of awka, how marriage conflicts affect the church and society at large, the role the catholic church plays in resolving marriage conflict and dissolution of marriage bond when necessary, which will serve as an eye opener to husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, friends, church, and society at large on the best way to maintain peace in the family. marriage conflict marriage conflict is the disagreement or opposition of opinions or principles between a husband and a wife which was not properly managed. marriage conflict is also a series of events, tension or stress between a husband and a wife as the couples try to carryout their marital roles which may have been poorly handled and as such deeply damaged the marriage relationship. for the fact that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 31 a man and a woman decide to live together as married couple, there will always be different expectations, hopes and goals which some will be fulfilled and others unfulfilled. these unfulfilled expectations and goals can make the couples unhappy. these married couples are human beings and no god, therefore, they are bound to make mistakes, coupled with the fact that human relationship is prone to misunderstanding and conflict once in a while. as a result of marital conflict, many families experience difficulties which constitute a major threat to sustainability of marital peace and stability in the society. characteristics of marriage conflicts the relationship between married couples is more of a struggle. things do not often fall in place. every happy marriage depends on the quality of attention given to the relationship between the married couple likewise unhappy marriage. the married couple give conflict opportunity to flourish if they choose to ignore the signs of unhappiness in their marriage and avoid communicating with each other about their ill feelings. characteristics of marriage conflicts are as follows;  the inability of couples to communicate openly and honestly with each other.  withdrawal of intimacy both emotional and physical when there is conflict between the two couples.  feeling insecure and unhappy when one's spouse is not at home.  confiding in a third-party about one's spouse.  manipulating one spouse into doing what ordinarily he/she is will not feel comfortable doing. marriage conflicts have negative effects on the mental, physical and family health of the couples. the offspring of the couples are not left out, the children go through societal, religious and peer group abuse. causes of marriage conflicts marriages are faced by different problems. these problems if not properly handled creates tension in the marriage. a conclusive list of factors responsible for marriage conflicts is not possible as it varies from one marriage to another. however, the following are the common causes of marital conflicts. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 32 money: one of the major reasons for marital conflicts is money related issues,the end product of how couples choose to handle money issues in their marriage can either have a positive or negative effect on their marriage. according to peter, for peace to reign in marriages, either the husband or the wife must be financially buoyant; then he/she must ensure that the partner is comfortable by providing for his/her needs (personal communication 10 february, 2017). ukor (2006) affirms that, “when the conditions of psycho-socialeconomic activities are unfavorable to a family, it causes distasteful moments” (p.87). in cases where one of the spouses misused or misled their money, the result is a break in trust. money offers a lot of choices when there is plenty of it and limited options when there is less of it. infertility: infertility is a very stressful stage in a marriage that can reduce the bond between couples and affect one or both couples emotionally. it is the inability to conceive after a year or more of unprotected active sexual intercourse.it give rise to conflict in the marriage when both couples have tried severally for the woman to conceive without positive result. inability to reproduce male child: in awka and igbo people in general, the male child has a high preference to the female child. it is the male child that bears the name his father for posterity. the inability of married couples to have a male child can cause conflict. one of the partner, especially the man, may blame the other for not having a male child. some times, the parents-in-law come into the issue thereby putting tension on the couple. according to abigail,“i noticed my husbands weird attitude after the birth of our third baby girl, he started having affair with another woman until she birthed two boys for him. all his attention now are on the boys and their mum” (personal communication, 12 january, 2018). role of significant others: the role of significant others, especially parentsin-law, is one of the major causes of marriage conflict. conflicts over in-laws are usually most problematic in the first years of marriage. one of the common issues that arise is one partner feeling that his or her in-laws are too critical or intrusive in their marriage. according to okafor (2005), “some parents in-law are very domineering and autocratic to the point of issuing orders to their children‟s (sic) families, forgetting that they have very limited authority over their children families” (p.21). a married couple may also disagree about the length and frequency of their parents' visits. some people may also feel that their spouse is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 33 too dependent upon his or her parents and gives more attention to his or her parents. all of these in-law issues can trigger conflict within the family. infidelity: the trust in marriage is been destroyed when one of the partners engage in extra-marital affairs or there is a suspicion of it. infidelity causes weak relationship among married couples. it delivers a fatal blow to the relationship. according to peter, if i caught my wife having extramarital affairs, that is the end of our marriage. i cannot bear to live with a cheating woman under the same roof. there is no way i will be confident that she will not betray my trust again. (personal communication, 14 february, 2018). sexual intercourse issues: there is rarely a marriage where sex is not an area of conflict. the perception of man is different from that of a woman when it comes to sex. man thinks sex while the woman thinks intimacy. men need sexual receptivity to feel romantic while women need romance to be sexually receptive. as long as both couples are getting what they need, they willingly provide what the other person wants. however, when there is a lessening on either the man or woman, that can trigger a pulling back in the other. if gone unnoticed and unchecked, before the couple realizes, they are seriously intimately estranged and wonder what happened. also, when one deprives his or her spouse of sex as a way of punishment, this can break the marital bond and unusual fights between the couples at night hour. according to amaka ndeke, we invited our families elders to settle our quarrels yet we could not tell them the cause of our dispute. before our families left, my father called me out and said, “always give in to your husband‟s demand of sex”. it is worthy of note that any of the married spouse that does not satisfy his or her partner adequately in sex so far he or she is healthy is causing serious problem in the family. (personal communication 2nd september, 2017). according to charles, i never allow the quarrel between my wife and me come in the way of our lovemaking. i try to resolve our disputes as soon as possible so that she will not deny my sex. if she denies me sex, it increases my resentment for her and also creates tension in my family. this takes a long time to resolve. (personal communication, 10 april, 2018). alcoholism (drunkard) and drug abuse: this is a problem that can create a gap and lead a peaceful marriage to destruction. married men and women who engage themselves in alcoholism and hard drugs usually spend less of their time igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 34 and resources in life-sustaining activities like work and quality time with their family. alcohol and drug addicts usually believe that heavy drinking or taking hard drugs clear their minds and move their thought away from their problems. not knowing that once the drugs and alcohol is clear,the problems will still be there. amaka ugwu-agbowo, who wedded in st patrick cathedral awka, shared her story as thus; my trouble in marriage started two weeks after our wedding. my husband always come back home very high on drugs and alcohol. he would false fully request for sex which i obliged. severally i pleaded with him to stop, he accepted but never stopped. i resort to prayers, from one pastor to the other for five years. then he graduated to taking those stuff at home, beat the children and tie them to the bed so they don‟t bang the door while he is dealing with me. (personal communication, 7 march, 2018). when one or both spouses are heavy alcoholics or drug addicts, it affects the family in numerous ways. concealment of necessary information: hiding important information from one‟s spouse can cause tension in a marriage and lack of trust between the couples. for instance, if one of the married couples is suffering from a chronic health condition before marriage and withheld informing his or her spouse of the health issue, this may result to conflict when the spouse finds out. in catholic church, such is a good ground for marriage annulment as the marriage is deemed never existed. household chores: sharing household duties is one of the primary sources of dissatisfaction among married couples. according to ifeoma, my husband does not participate in household chores. he cannot make the bed he lies on,not to talk of doing laundry or bathing our kids. i go to work, take care of the kids, do house chores and still fulfill my obligation on the bed. the worst is that my husband refused to accent to employing a house help or nanny. (personal communication, 23 may, 2018). if both couples cannot work out a consensus on the question of household chores, it may result in conflict. food: food is an essential factor in making a successful marriage. the unavailability of food, type and style of preparing food, and habits like cooking late and/or inability to cook delicious food can cause marriage conflict. incompatibility: compatibility is mostly the strength of every marriage but when the couples are incompatible the marriage is bound to fail. incompatibility in marriage makes day to day relationship with spouse boring and uninteresting. ukor (2006), maintains that: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 35 if married couples are not compatible, such a marriage will likely know no peace. this is because; no two different people that lack compatibility can peacefully live together. it takes two to tangle, and to tangle in marriage, the parties involve need to be psychologically, mentally, spiritually, behaviourally, physically, emotionally and socially compatible (p.86). couple who are very different from each other may find it difficult to live happily together in marriage. distance: after marriage, couples sometimes live apart from each other due to some circumstances like work or business.distance can affect the couple‟s relationship physically or emotionally, both cause marital problems such as lack of trust and infidelity. ukor (2006), affirms that “if spouses lack quality time together, they would not be rediscovering themselves. such spouses loses their communication skill and a lot of things might be left undone. fantasies will not be explored and enjoyed, if it continues, other remote problems could join” (p.85). if they are not able to resolve the issue of staying apart, it may lead to serious conflict that is irreparable which is not good for marriage. effects of marriage conflicts in the catholic community marriage conflicts in families in the catholic diocese of awka continue to increase as the day goes by. the rapid rate with which separation is sought for in the catholic diocese of awka tribunal is perturbing and really a sign of high rate of conflict in marriages. obe (2005) explains thus: the tribunal system is established by the church to identify with the suffering members. hence, whatever affect the individual members of the church should be of great concern to the church. the high level of the marriage breakdown today is disturbing as it is shocking to a concerned mind. the rapidity with which separation and divorce is sought in our diocesan tribunal is actually a sign of an impending danger (p.23). some of the effects of marriage conflicts are as follows: non-communicant: some couple whom are in marriage conflict find themselves as unworthy to receive holy communion, therefore, refuse to partake in the holy sacrament. they continue to dwindle in faith and may be tempted to engage in sin such as infidelity. in support of this obe (2005) states thus: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 36 in a culture where communalistic spirit is highly appreciated, those who are denied of the sacrament usually see themselves as not belonging to the faith community. statistics have shown that the greatest percentage of the fallen christians are those who were for one reason or the other denied the sacrament. they unfortunately withdrew from public opprobrium caused to them by their fellow christians who profess holier-than-thou-attitude (p.29). it is important that the catholic church continue to encourage non-communicant couples not to separate themselves from the church and her liturgy because of conflict in their marriages. though they cannot receive sacraments but they are still valid members of the church through baptism. reduction in spirituality of members of the church: the spirituality of some members of the church are being reduced as they observe the couples in marriage conflicts dwindling in their faith. obe (2005) observed that “statistics have shown that ninety (90) percent of those who have fallen away from the catholic faith are those whose marriages have been intolerable because of one thing or the other” (p.33). some of these church members may have looked up to these couple as spiritual mentors or they may have been their sponsors in marriage and baptism. problems for children: the psychological, social, physical and academic development of children whose parents are in conflict are greatly affected. these children lack parental love and care which may result to indiscipline in them. they find it difficult to socialize and are most likely to experience feelings of unhappiness, hunger, anxiety and dejected. their performance in school are usually poor. these children may engage in all sorts of social vices, crimes and most likely graduate to irresponsible adults, hence, becoming liability to the society. separation of couples: marriage conflicts which cannot be managed and endured is petitioned to the tribunal hoping for separation. onu (cited by obe, 2005) opined that “if the marriage is no longer happy, separation has taken place and all pastoral measures have failed to achieve reconciliation and or convalidation, then the tribunal is prayed for annulment” (p.23). the tribunal system in the catholic church is established by the church to help her show concern to her members whom are in intolerable marriage situation. through this system therefore, marriage bond are dissolved. one of the couple igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 37 whom the separation did not favour may decide to join another church or remarry into another church other than the catholic church. according to chukwuma, after the success of our separation, i heard that my wife stopped attending masses for some time and later joined winners chapel (personal communication, 20 january, 2018). these people may not have left the church in the right frame of mind as they may have been deceived or frustrated. marriage conflict management in the catholic diocese of awka pre-wedding marriage course: the catholic church regard marriage as sacred, and the couples who decide to get married in the church need to be thoroughly prepared for it, so that they acquaint themselves and understand what marriage is about, which is why dioceses and parishes organize marriage preparation courses. pre-wedding marriage course also called pre-cana is a special process of preparing the couple for the wedding and marriage, if the couples wish to wed in a catholic church. these usually last for about six months, and the pre-wedding marriage course is led by a priest, a deacon or a rev sister. a catholic married couple can also join the consultations and offers insights into their real-life marriage experiences and advices. these important aspects are taught in the pre-wedding marriage course; spirituality/faith, conflict resolution skills, careers, finances, intimacy/cohabitation, children, commitment. other important topics that may arise during the interaction are; wedding ceremony planning, the family origin of the spouses, communication, marriage as a sacrament, sexuality, theology of the body, couple prayer, unique challenges of military couples, extended family.the purpose of these courses is to deepen the couples‟ understanding of the sacrament. annulment of marriage bond in the catholic marriage: marriage is a covenantt between a man and a woman. the spouses establish this covenant through their marital consent, by which they intend to establish between themselves a partnership for the whole of life. this means each spouse will assist and support the other in all areas of their common life, the best he or she can, so long as the other spouse is alive.marriage bond can only end through the declaration of nullity of marriage or annulment which should not be referred to as a kind of catholic divorce.a divorce is a civil act by a civil court that claims to dissolve a valid marriage. a declaration of nullity of marriage is an official determination by the church tribunal to examine and confirm that the marriage igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 38 was invalid from the beginning. this simply means that at the time of the wedding, the marriage lacked some important element of a valid marriage. for example, if one of the parties is incapable of having children, intend life long infidelity to the partner, grave immaturity, mental illness, constitutional weakness and under age. a new marriage covenant cannot be created with someone else until nullity is declared after the judicial process, the parties are then considered free to contract a new marriage in the church. conclusion catholic marriage have witnessed series of problem which affect the will of god for a perfect marriage. this in turn affects the society at large. these days, no human person wants to suffer or displease him or herself for the benefit of others regardless of being husband and wife. a successful marriage does not required a lot of money, big house, perfect spouse or a big and expensive car. one can have all these yet have a miserable and empty marriage. a successful marriage requires selfless and sacrificial love, honesty, undying commitment and jesus at the center of it all. it is very important to note that every marriage requires conjugal intimacy of two persons, with patience, understanding and time because every marriage is like building a house, systematically lying one block after the other to obtain balance and alignment. therefore, all hands are called on deck to salvage christian marriages. not just the married couples but also the church pastors, the state legislators, administrators of political communities and the society at large. more importantly, anyone planning to get married is expected to have known the teachings of the church and have positive plans with vision on how to train and bequeath such knowledge to their children. this will help to ensure the firmness of such a family. it is worthy of note that peaceful and happy marriage is attainable. if one have a happy marriage, obviously, the family will be happy and that would eventually contribute to building a happy and prosperous society. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 39 references chiegboka, a.b.c. (2006). what god has joined together. the marriage bond in canonical doctrine and jurisprudence. nimo : rex charles and patrick. chiegboka, a.b.c. (2012). the catholic church and marriage bond: an inaugural lecture of nnamdi azikiwe university awka october 24, 2012. awka: fab anieh. ekwelibe, c.n. (2013). the implication of marriage course in the stability of marriage unions in the catholic archdiocese of onitsha. a thesis submitted to the department of religion and human relations, in partial fulfillment for the award of m.a. in religion and human relations. fincham, f.d. & steven, s.r.h. (1999). conflict in marriage: implications for working with couples. annual review of psychology 50(1):47-77 february 1999. retrieved from:https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228587237_conflict_in_ marriage_im plications_for_working_with_couples. accessed october 17, 2018 okafor, a. (2005). awka system of marriage: the best in the world. awka: mercury bright. ukor, j.o. (2006). a guide ti a happy marriage: an enlightenment publication for couple and prospective couple. awka: amaka dream. appendix i list of people interviewed s/n o name place of interview date of interview occupatio n 1 mr patrick okoye faculty of arts unizik 10th february, 2017 civil servant 2 ndeke amaka st patrick cathedral awka 2nd september, 2017 civil servant https://www.researchgate.net/journal/0066-4308_annual_review_of_psychology https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228587237_conflict_in_marriage_implications_for_working_with_couples https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228587237_conflict_in_marriage_implications_for_working_with_couples https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228587237_conflict_in_marriage_implications_for_working_with_couples https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228587237_conflict_in_marriage_implications_for_working_with_couples igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 40 3 mr peter okeke st patrick cathedral awka 21st march, 2017 public servant 4 mrs ugwuagbowo amaka st patrick cathedral awka 7th march, 2018 civil servant 5 mr chukwuma onah st patrick cathedral awka 7th march, 2018 public servant 6 mrs abigail okoye st partrick cathedral awka 12th january 2018 civil servant 7 mr. charles nwoke st partrick cathedral awka 10th april, 2018 civil servant 8 mrs ifeoma anayo social media interactio n (whatsapp) 17th august, 2019 civil servant igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 175 education for peace-building in nigeria omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd department of business administration and management villanova polytechnic, imesi ile, osun state omojolassma@yahoo.co.uk doi: 10.13140/ rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract this paper discussed education for peace building in nigeria. it attempted to see how education can facilitate peace building in nigeria for national development. definitions of education and its impact on the life of the students after schooling were considered. this was to be a factor that will enable the individual to maintain peace, which is a way of being in agreement with one’s environment at all levels. the paper revealed that living in accord with one another will foster growth and development. signs of lack of peace in nigeria were identified as cultism in schools, kidnapping, boko haram insurgency and human trafficking among others. agencies of education like home/family, schools, club/societies, the church/mosque, peer group, government, social media and the community were encouraged to be up and doing in propagating values that will build mutual coexistence in nigeria. it was later recommended that government should pay more attention to job creation, on-going formation or more awareness programs and careful selection of leaders to ascertain peace building, while at the individual level; the focus should be on togetherness for progress. phenomenological method of research was used for the purpose of this study. key words: education, peace-building, nigeria, kidnapping, cultism, ritual killings, social media and government. introduction the issue of education for peace-building is the intention of this paper. it is an attempt to see the influence of education on individual which will later translate to peaceful co-existence and nation building in nigeria. education is the process that supports learning; encourages acquisition of knowledge and boost understanding of values. education especially formal education must possess the ability of leading one from ignorance to better understanding of views. it moves one from emptiness to fullness or ability to reach the height. it leads one into the capacity to realize his inbuilt potentials and become useful and reliable after schooling. education refines and delivers individual that value it from being narrowminded, which gives room for competency to accommodate others and mailto:omojolassma@yahoo.co.uk igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 176 their views. the anxiety in nigeria especially in relation to lack of peace is not a new thing and this is increasingly becoming an accepted culture and practice. attention need to be paid to how individual are raised up in the informal training or education received according to backgrounds. the view of olowu (2016) is applicable here as he opines that “nigeria is a multicultural and multiethnic nation where people are raised differently according to the beliefs and customs of their ethic group. consequently, by observing one‟s behaviors it is possible to discover one‟s origins” (p.1) education must take place under the direction of educators for proper assessment and attention, because it carries with it a particular curriculum to be strictly followed. it has methodology for transmitting the required knowledge. this can come inform of teaching, discussion and learning. education is time consuming because it occurs in stages and after each stage, there must be some noticeable improvement since, education brings about an intrinsic and lasting change in a person's thinking and capability to do things. education is not about having access to information on a particular issue, it is more of acquiring or inserting information into one‟s brain and this can only be possible through repeated practice. this will later translate or transform into proper assimilation that will change the attitude of the receiver for good. in other words, changing to be able to differentiate what is good from what is bad. this by implication is the ability to apply what education has given, to one‟s day to day life and activities. smith (2015) has carefully defines education “as the wise, hopeful and respectful cultivation of learning undertaken in the belief that all should have the chance to share in life.”(p.2). he further explains that it is a process of inviting truth and possibility, of encouraging and giving time to discovery. in the opinion of smith, education must not be confused with schooling because the responsibility of school teachers is to bring out or develop individual potentials. in other words, it is a process of helping individuals to realize what he is good at and be productive in life. in the mind of the researcher however, schooling will still help to arrive at this discovery stage. when one is exposed to school curriculum step by step, the tendency of clinging to a particular area of interest is possible. hence a good teacher or educator can then tailor his student towards this aspect for improvement. this can certainly lead to career counselling. fafunwa (2003) defines education “as the engine of economic, social and political growth and development of any nation” also, “education is the alpha and omega for development”. “education is the aggregates of all processes by means of which a person develops ability, aptitude and other igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 177 forms of behavior of positive value in the society in which he lives”(p.2), he says further while citing edmund burke that “education is the cheap defense of nations”(p.2). while supporting smith in differentiating school from education, he arrives at this definition“what you are left with after schooling” (p.2). accordingly, schooling will still promote education. this is not to say that informal education will not play any part as many within the society of learned or literates might not have opportunity of attending formal education. therefore, education can be formal informal and nonformal. however, all the types of education are very important to shape the life of individual for the betterment of the society. although a well behaved or mannered person might be considered educated but to what extent can that go in this time and age? types of education education in this regard can be classified into informal, formal and nonformal. informal education is the oldest form of education belonging to african society, and fafunwa (2003) has willingly calls it„traditional african education.‟(p.3). it can be regarded as home training. it is not done in an organized manner but by regular information from elderly people in the home and learning what others are doing through repeated process. it is transmitted through interactions with others by the use of proverbs, folk tales, folklores, songs, ceremonies and art. methodology here is oral tradition. informal education is simply the business of the environment, which is what a given setting is able to inculcate into the mind of individual as long as one is part of it. the definition of akinlua (2002) is also pertinent here. to him, “informal education is as opposed to the formal one in that it is not organized, not thought of but is accidentally acquired through what is called experimental learning” (p.21). informal education is learning by imitating what others are doing. that is, values are passed down through learning by doing method. little wonder smith (2015), criticizes this type of education that “the problem often comes when education drifts or moves into entertainment or containment. involvement in the immediate activity is the central concern and insignificant attention is given to expanding horizons, nor to reflection, commitment and creating change.”(p.15). it is simply given and nothing is being contributed on the part of the receiver. he added that “people are treated as objects to be worked on or „molded‟ rather than as participants and creators i.e. where education slips into „schooling‟. (p. 15).this type of education last for a very long time or for eternity because igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 178 it is a product of a particular culture on individual. the content of the learning in informal education is what adeyemi (2004) calls “acquisition of simple habits and norms of the society as well as the societal values” (p.4). which is gradually fading away through interaction with civilization as fafunwa (2003) opines “we lost many aspects of our moral and cultural heritage after our contact with the colonizers” (p.4). in informal education, there were no dropouts and no unemployment as well. the question is can this type of education be useful for development? it will not definitely but it is the basis for formal education. formal education is an organized type of education. it is done in a structured environment, with trained or qualified teachers or educators in a classroom setting, with an approved class size. it has stages and structured curriculum for each stage. assessment is done after completing each stage to ascertain progress to the next stage and there are procedures for this. the stages in this case are preschool or kindergarten, primary school, secondary school, college and universities and vocational training school. this is well controlled by the government and it attracts certification after completion. this type of education according to fafunwa (2003) “is linked with economic development, culture, social and political activities” (p.3). if this is experienced by any society, there will be progress and peaceful co-existence. this type of education has lots of influences on students because it exposes them to many areas and peer group influences have much impact as well. smith (2015), while looking at the problems of formal education opines that “the choice is not between what is „good‟ and what is „bad‟ – but rather what is appropriate for people in this situation or that. there are times to use transmission and direct teaching as methods, and moments for exploration, experience and action. (p.15), to him, methodology must be applied to a given situation and therefore, various methods of teaching need to be adopted for proper transmission of knowledge. nigeria has gained a lot from the missionaries who brought formal education to them around “september 1842” according to akinlua (2002), (p.16) and through this, many schools have emerged and still emerging till today, at all levels because formal education has become celebrated as it has grown over the years. non-formal education is being described by adeyemi (2004) as attention given to people who just want to learn some skills without necessarily going to school. example of this are: adult literacy classes, cooperative societies, young farmers‟ club and recreational clubs. on the view of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 179 opakunle (2002), non-formal education pays more attention to those in vocational carrier, where it has no fixed time of completion, no time table and no curriculum. it is meant for acquisition of a particular trade like learning in the workshop of a road side mechanic, a fashion designer, carpenters and cobblers. these views have been agreed upon by akinlua (2002). to him, “non-formal education is intentional but not organized in a school fashion.” (p.21).the summary of these views is that non formal education therefore is education that occurs outside a prearranged condition like formal setting but they are organized and planned for because education must not be left to chance. agencies of education agencies of education are those who are responsible for the transmission of education from one generation to the next, either formally, informally and non-formally. the following are recognized in this regard as opakunle (2002) explains. a. the family or the home: being the very first of contact with life, a child is brought up in a home, where basic knowledge of what is expected in the society is taught. opakunle explains that toiletry habits, table manner, respect for mother tongue and the second language are being imparted in the home, starting from a tender age. in as much as the researcher agrees with opakunle, the content of informal education of adeyemi (2004) as “acquisition of simple habits and norms of the society as well as the societal values” (p.4) is a better summary of what family or home inculcate in the life of a child as education. this is more than toiletry habit and others as opakunle feels. b. school: once a child grows up to age two these days, he has contact with the school. now, a child is being introduced into formal education. what a child acquires here is more than home training. the first is the act of reading and writing with knowledge of arithmetic that makes him literate. along with moral values. as he grows in a school environment, he is exposed to many subjects that eventually broaden his horizon with the efforts of teachers and peer group influences. c. church/mosque: each family belongs to a particular place of worship. as a result of this, regular attendance at these places of prayer and contact with the creator will have influence on children through sermons, sunday school programs and socialization with other children . d. the peer group: the impact of small group of friends on children cannot be over emphasized. this may be around the home or in the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 180 church or school. they influence each other easily. therefore, much attention should be paid to children in their choice of friends as they grow up. whatever they learn from each other form part of their education. e. the community: this is a representation of the larger society. the society corrects every individual and builds the schools. whatever a child gathers from the society will be returned to the same society. f. social media: the impact of the social media on the life of every single person cannot be over emphasized. these days, social media is even faster than schools in spreading information. apart from this, much information about issues or school subjects are readily available in the internet for the purpose of interested researchers. it is therefore important to note that social media is a very fast and important part of education in nigeria today. g. clubs and societies: schools have clubs and societies as part of their extracurricular activities. children join anyone they like and from here, a lot are being taught and learnt by individuals like leadership skills, ability to face the crowd and spirit of collegiality and togetherness. they are equally exposed to the act of supporting one another when they are asked to make financial contributions for good purposes. h. government: all that have been discussed above cannot be achieved without the efforts of the government, who pays attention to various educational policies and finances the educational industry. it is through the government‟s efforts that we have enabling environments where schools can function better. whatever children acquire through these means form their values in life. they grow with them to become responsible citizens. therefore these vehicles or transmitters of education need to be responsible to bring about the best that will eventually develop and improve the society. how education can improve peoples’ lives in as much as education is more than acquiring a certificate or certificates, it gives opportunity to be exposed to many ideas beyond ones imagination. education is life and its main purpose is to improve lives for a better society. it gives a chance for one to gain a lot and be properly enlightened and cultured to differentiate evil from good and desire to live with others peacefully and to investigate issues before concluding. through this, others will be improved and the society will as well be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 181 enhanced. hence, andry (2018) is of the opinion that the following are some of the ways with which education can improve the life of individuals: 1. education increases the chance of getting a job more easily, 2. it increases mental health lowers the risks of dementia and alzheimer, 3. opportunity to make friends as university is a place to build friendships, 4. it gives a chance to building business relationship in the sense of meeting professionals along because of educational exposures. also, number 5 is the fact that education enables one to gain confidence by taking actions and accomplishing goals. 6. education improves communication skills through meeting people from different backgrounds and characters and various approaches to deal with them. 7. it facilitates continuous opportunity to learn new skills and broadens ones horizon. 8. education helps one to be independent since qualified personnel gets paid job easily. 9. the last one on this list and the most important one to this paper is the fact that education helps individual to develop and create a good community. good people would make a good community. if everyone studies hard, they will reach their personal goals; as a result, there will be a society full of knowledgeable people who can work and live on their own, and help each other, too. they will be people of the same orientation and single-mindedness. this will foster working together and developing the society. if education has the purpose of improving people‟s lives, it must facilitate peaceful co-existence resulting in societal development. education is for enlightenment, clearing of doubts and it supports ability to welcome new ideas. thus, if these are what education especially formal education does to individuals, it is then important to examine how these acquired values through education would influence peace-building and societal development in nigeria. education for peace-building in nigeria education, most importantly formal education is an instrument that shapes peoples‟ minds to become more welcoming and encourage peaceful co-existence in nigeria. dupuy (2008) while referring to brockutne defines the concept of education for peace as “education or socialization that results in more peace in the world or that at least has as a result the greater likelihood that peace will be the existing condition than the case would have been without that education” (p.2). buttressing this view, kester (2008) stresses the significance of peace education in this assertion. “it is of very high importance, as it will enable people to adopt a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 182 positive attitude regarding the different issues they can face through their life and to develop the necessary skills to peaceful resolve conflicts. this, in turn will impact positively on the society.” (p.27), these views denote that within educational curriculum, skills to resolve conflicts amicably could be acquired. in the mind of olowo (2016), “peace education is the process of equipping learners with tools for developing knowledge‟s, skills, values and attitudes needed for resolving differences and conflicts in non-violent ways and in living peacefully with oneself, others and the environment. it is concerned with resolving conflict of intrapersonal, interpersonal and intergroup levels without violence.”(p.10) olowu was of the opinion that peace education should be inculcated into educational curriculum. during the course of his research, he came to the realization that peace education and social studies are the same, and social studies have been part of educational syllabus for a long time. by now, the country should be reaping the fruits of this gained knowledge in the majority of the citizens, if truly the education is comprehensive enough. little wonder olowu suggested that social studies curriculum should be reviewed to have the nucleus with which it was introduced into the curriculum, especially in relation to peace-building in nigeria. training and retraining of teachers will be an added value in realizing this goal. signs of lack of peace in nigeria can be identified among others as cultism in schools, human trafficking, kidnapping, boko haram insurgency, ritual killings and violence between fulani herdsmen and farmers. the effects of these problems on families translating into society cannot be over emphasized. the question is, in all these, what will education do? formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts may be considered educational. education helps approach to life and proposes ways with which issues can be settled without conflict promptly and at the right time. it builds respect for time and time management as against the africans mentality that “wait for time or in the process of „producing‟ time” as mbiti (1969) asserts (p. 19), when they are not doing anything at all but just waiting for the right time to function. they forget that time waits for nobody and it is only in the consciousness of time that one can make more progress and headway, principally in solving pressing issues. above all, education is the major channel through which confidence can be gained to make major improvement in the society, through acquisition of values that will be common to all against ethnic values that individual gained in the home training. from these educational communal values, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 183 majority can think alike and share the same views from their broad orientation. thinking with kester (2008) that education will facilitate “positive attitude regarding the different issues they can face through their life and to develop the necessary skills to peaceful resolve conflicts.” (p.27) education and development in nigeria education and that is, formal education is a way of developing human resources that will in turn develop the society. development is a product of westernization and civilization generating from proper education. imagine the typical african setting especially before colonization, where what we refer to as villages today were our best. today we have cities and majority of our youths prefer city life to village life for good reasons. the main motive is job opportunities as against regular farming, weaving and petty trading in the villages. with good job, there will be enough money to live more productively. another value is documentation. this is a pure product of civilization as against oral tradition that nearly killed african culture. today, many africans can put the values of each culture in black and white for posterity. what nigeria is having and experiencing today in terms of development can be traced back to influence of formal education. in as much as informal education is very vital, the researcher will like to echo the relevance of formal education to development. apart from its contributions to individual knowledge that has effect on the society, its impact on well learned persons to start up and be noticed is to be admired. mathur (2012) has identified the following as ways with which education can develop the society which can easily be applied to nigeria situation. 1. preservation and transmission of social, moral and cultural values. all the values gained in informal education will be built upon in schools. systematic education will encourage procuring more ethics from the school curriculum and teachers, including school and societal influences considering the agents of education discussed above and regular exposures from the school executions. individuals will have reasons to live, transmit and preserve these values since it has become part and parcel of them. 2. awakening of social feelings. through education individuals become aware about the importance of unity, love, fraternity and other values. education makes all people get awakened of being part of the society and how they can contribute to the world as society. through their knowledge igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 184 of values and skills, they have concerns for the society and become aware of the environment and how to improve it. 3. political development of society. education makes all aware about rights and duties of all, so that they can develop their civic sense. through different lesson of political leaders and stories, education develops ideal leadership quality so that in future citizens can lead the state as a society. 4. economic development of society. education develops skills in individual and makes him a productive citizen. through education everyone learns how to earn money and as per their qualification he gets job or labor and on the whole, taxes is generated to develop the economy. education enable people to migrate to another place and from their gross profit, economic development can take place. 5. social changes and reforms. education makes individuals perfects and aware about the rights. it also helps to make all aware about how to live peacefully and how to face difficulties and live peacefully. doubts, superstitions and misconceptions about issues are cleared through education. education produces better citizens for the development of the society. recommendations based on the above discussions, the following recommendations are formulated: 1. agencies of education should propagate values that will foster growth and development particularly in the school settings where children spend most of their formative years before they grow into adulthood. 2. there is need to review the related courses on peace-building in school curriculum; like social science to pay more attention to peace-building and development in a thematic form. teaching methodology must also emphasize the relevance of each topic to peace-building. instead of leaving students do the application of the topics on their own 3. emphasis should be on training and retraining of teachers to continuously stress the importance of peace-building to their students specifically in today‟s nigeria. 4. on the part of government, the following must be done: a. finances must be readily available to achieve teaching peace building in education through seminal and workshops for both teachers and students. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 185 b. job creation for youths and young school leavers to engage them in more productive activities that will distract them from involving in conflict should be a priority. c. there should be awareness program on importance of good leadership that will encourage peace and development all the time. d. more emphasis should be on the relevance of togetherness and collegiality as against self-centeredness. conclusion this paper discussed education for peace building in nigeria. all types of education discussed above are pertinent to peace-building and development. it is only that the informal education is narrowed to individual culture and backgrounds. formal education is general and broader; it goes beyond any ethnic understanding. therefore, formal education that is the most celebrated will be very useful for peacebuilding and development in a country like nigeria. education is an instrument of peace-building and societal development. people with higher attainment of education are able to work with open and clear minds with folks of other cultures, to achieve greater levels in different dimensions of peace building and development. therefore, people of this caliber must be considered for leadership. education must improve peoples‟ lives! learning is forever, learning is for life and learning is continuous. learning is all encompassing and this should be encouraged for everybody to improve living together peacefully for societal development. references adeyemi t. o (2004). educational administration: an introduction. nigeria. green line publishers. akinlua a. a. (2020). fundamentals of curriculum studies for beginners. nigeria. yemi prints and publishing services. andry l.f. (2018). 10 ways that education will improve your life! retrieved: 3/6/2020] from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/10-ways-education-improveyour-life-andrey-leiva dupuy k. (2008). education for peace: building peace and transforming armed conflict through education system oslo: save the children and prio. retrieved: 3/6/2020] from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/10-ways-education-improve-your-life-andrey-leiva https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/10-ways-education-improve-your-life-andrey-leiva igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 186 https://www.prio.org/utility/downloadfile.ashx?id=1424&typ e=publicationfile fafunwa a. b (2003). state of education in nigeria: what hope for the future? a keynote presented at ajasin foundation annual colloquium. monograph3. lagos. saviorite limited. kester .k, (2008).developing peace education programs: beyond ethnocentrism and violence. peace prints: south asian journal of peace building vol. 1 no 1. mathur r.b. (2012). education as an instrument of social change, influence of education on society, family and their practices. (retrieved 4/6/2020) from http://bednotes.blogspot.com/2012/10/education-as-instrumentof-social-change.html kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2016). christian-muslim relations in nigeria as a religiopolitical locus theologicus for misericordia vultus. harvard journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 117-128. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, a. i; omojola, i. o.; bazza, m. b. (2019). boko haram and forced migration: a focus on the northeast and lake chad basin. published in nnadiebube journal of education in africa. vol. 4. no. 2. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. & ndubisi j. o. e. (2018). religion, morality and peacebuilding in africa: ambiguities and the imperfect human condition. lambert academic publishing: germany. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2013). personal identity in john locke. in identity and multiculturalism (pp. 205-232). a publication of the department of philosophy, bigard memorial seminary, enugu. mbiti, j.s. (1969). african religions and philosophy. great britain: morrison and gibb ltd. olowo o.o (2016). effects of integrating peace education in the nigeria education system.journal of education and practice, vol.7, no.18. (retrieved 5/6/2020) from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ej1105791.pdf https://www.prio.org/utility/downloadfile.ashx?id=1424&type=publicationfile https://www.prio.org/utility/downloadfile.ashx?id=1424&type=publicationfile http://bednotes.blogspot.com/2012/10/education-as-instrument-of-social-change.html http://bednotes.blogspot.com/2012/10/education-as-instrument-of-social-change.html https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ej1105791.pdf igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 187 opakunle m.a (2002). principles and practice of education: (with questions and answers). nigeria. kins publishers smith, m. k. (2015, 2020). what is education? a definition and discussion. the encyclopedia of pedagogy and informal education. retrieved: 30/5/2020] from [https://infed.org/mobi/what-iseducation-a-definition-and-discussion/. https://infed.org/mobi/what-is-education-a-definition-and-discussion/ https://infed.org/mobi/what-is-education-a-definition-and-discussion/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 240 philosophical implication of educational administration in the human person’s society chukwuemeka iloanya department of philosophy chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu university, igbariam cp.iloanya@coou.edu.ng & ngozi a. ajaegbo department of educational foundation and administration nwafor orizu college of education, nsugbe ajaegbongozi@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.19482.59846 abstract human persons’ society generally and that of the nigerian person particularly is fraught with so many ills. education is believed to be one of the measures to tackle most of these societal ills, being that it is believed to be the soul of the society. unfortunately, education as the soul of the society lacks morality, criticality and other rational tools that are necessary for making policies that will aid education in correcting the societal challenges; since it is regarded as the custodian of societal morality. the reason is that educational administrators and managers have been condemned for being excessively quantitative and too specialized, and also overlooking critical and ethical issues, thus, the placement of interest when making educational policies on production and in particular jobs without asking if such policies will benefit or harm the society. it has resulted in so many vices and loopholes discovered in our educational institutions which invariably have led to so many negative effects in the society. based upon the forgoing that this paper sought to analytically examine how philosophy can be applied in educational administration to see how it helps administrators to become more efficient in making the inevitable ethical decision to ensure that our education meets up with the global standard in building a better society for the human person. key words: philosophy, educational administration and human person introduction indeed, one cannot talk of the development and progress of any society without recourse to education. that is the reason education is referred to as the bottom rock of every sustainable development. however, for education to achieve this feat there is need for good educational policies to be made in order to guide the mailto:cp.iloanya@coou.edu.ng igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 241 teachers and educational personnel to the right part. these policies also have to be tailored towards and formulated in line with the overall philosophy and goals of a particular society that it is meant to serve. michaud (2015: p. 75) upholds; all policy is grounded in some philosophical notion, whether it be in regards to the purpose of education, obligations to students, or the best interest of a nation. as such, philosophy remains essential in educational administration and leadership. ekanem & ekefre (2014) affirms that: a nation’s policy on education is the government’s way of attaining that aspect of the national goals which can be achieved through the instrumentality of education. no policy on education, however, can be formulated without the primary identification of the overall philosophy and goals of the nation (501). ekenem’s assertion indicates that a nation’s education policy is the hub around which all her developmental plans revolve, and all these educational policies are carried out in line with the national philosophy and goals. the formulation of the policy however is not meant for everybody but for the educational administrators who are groomed in the act of management and control of the educational institutions in order to ensure that the government desire in building a progressive and prosperous society through the instrumentality of education is achieved. unfortunately, educational administrators put every other thing into consideration while planning for the educational policies and give little or no attention to philosophy, which ordinarily should have formed the substratum upon which other policies should stand in order for it to have meaning and for objectives of government to be achieved. the reason for the neglect of philosophy by educational administrators and policy makers is because of the inherent fallacy in the contemporary educational system. the society and basic educations trains people to be good workers and good followers who seek job and the primary purpose for studying is to get a job. michaud (2015), corroborates: “philosophy to most people is just a mysterious word that brings to mind images of white beards and mysticism and contemporary society seems to have little reason to value a field devoted to ideas rather than production” (p. 74). moreover, the neglect of philosophy by educational administrators has cost educational systems of the basic values and criticality that are needed in building a formidable institution, leading to decadence in our various institutions of learning which has in turn manifested in our society that unavoidably depends igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 242 on education for its development and sanity. it is consequent upon the misnomer as expressed above that this paper wishes to analytically examine the philosophical implication of educational administration in the human person’s society to ensure that normalcy is restored. administration without philosophy plato did mention that unless philosophers are rulers there will be difficulty in the attainment of a better or perfect society. popkin and stroll (1993) citing plato aptly puts it thus: until philosophers are kings, or the kings and princes of this world have the spirit and power of philosophy, and political greatness and wisdom meet in one…then and only will this our state have a possibility of life and behold the light of the day (p. 192) the implication of the above assertion is that those that are to steer the affairs of the society should be groomed properly in philosophy. among those who steer the affairs of the society are educational administrators whose duties and responsibilities, among other things, are to make policies for education which feeds manpower to other sectors of the society. unfortunately, educational administration has given little or no consideration to the study of philosophy like they have given to other areas. consequently, educational administration according to medhe (n.d.): has been reprimanded for inadequacies in the leadership, decision making and moral behavior of … managers. the quantitative and investigative introduction in … college curricula and the resulting absence of humanities-based courses have been identified as reasons. the essential cause, however, lies in the philosophy of … education and research which shapes the curricula, teaching systems, and, eventually the graduates' capacity to handle different administrative positions. the neglect of philosophy by educational administration has led to decadence in our various institutions of learning which invariably has caused so much decadence in our society as can be clearly observed; considering the fact that no nation grows above her level of education. by implication, when the educational system of a nation is bad there is no how other systems will not be bad. evil in the educational system of any nation is like cancer which if not curbed early enough will not hesitate to affect and eventually destroy other sectors; being the hub around which other sectors depends on for growth through the manpower it igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 243 continuously provides for the development of the human society. little wonder plato emphasized that leaders and administrators should be well educated in order to know good and evil. he believes that what one learns through good education is how to do good and avoid evil. plato (1998) avers: that's what education should be… the art of orientation. educators should devise the simplest and most effective methods of turning minds around. it shouldn't be the art of implanting sight in the organ, but should proceed on the understanding that the organ already has the capacity, but is improperly aligned and isn't facing the right way (rep. ix. 518d). plato (1998) went on to say that education is virtue and ignorance is vice, that when one knows the good, he can never do evil. michaud (2015) further explains: education is not just a matter, though, of making sure that the citizen knows how to perform a particular job—of greater importance to plato was that their education helps prevent them from taking advantage of their power. this prevention, in part, takes place through the development of a flourishing morality. plato wrote, “the object of education is to teach us to love what is beautiful” (rep. iii.403). thus, those who are sufficiently well-educated love beauty, and, thereby, love justice. without this education, though, the basic tendency of humans to be violent and greedy may dominate the individual (p. 76). therefore, discarding of philosophy in educational administration has made our society to be filled with educated men and women without morality; individuals that place material possession above their conscience leading to a warped society. as nietzsche concludes, with surprising alacrity for a highly educated young man, that knowledge is useful only insofar as it serves life; it should not be esteemed for its own sake, which if it was so, then knowledge threatens and weakens man’s creativity (skeini, 2020). the social evil emanating from the negligence of philosophy by educational administration made michaud (2015) to opine that: we need evidence to combat policy that is based on poor philosophy before it is enacted; thus, we need philosophy. we need a means by which to combat prevailing social beliefs (philosophies) that have become entrenched, warped, or misunderstood, and thus, again we igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 244 need philosophy. if we really wish to enact policy that benefits students, and stop policy that harms them, we must address more than policy, we must change the way students, parents, politicians, and society as a whole think about policy—in other words, we must do philosophy. otherwise, we as a society will continue to move from initiative to initiative, policy to policy, heedlessly, considering only their potential benefits to society without reflecting on the grounding principles and the notions from which they emerge. it is therefore the onus of educational administrators and leaders to delve deeply into the philosophy of the past and the present in order to effectively guide us into a future of informed governance by benevolent and thoughtful persons (p. 87). educational administration without philosophy has led to poor education policy formulation in our society. our educational administrators always build our policies without the necessary foundation. the foundation upon which every educational policy ought to stand in order to be solid is philosophy because there is no how an administrator or a policy maker in education can successfully do without it. micahud (2015) observes, “if one wishes to develop policy, take action, and lead, then one must know why one does what one does. the way we think about education, its purpose, worth and merit are all philosophical issues” (p. 75). furthermore, educational administration divorced of philosophy has led to a situation whereby after a long period of learning, the person coming out of the modern university is not at all in touch with the subject of morality. moreover, the person is well versed in the technologies of energy and materials and is dedicating the total life for increasing amenities, which ultimately lead to environmental pollution and global destruction. the present human being is well versed in the concepts of profit and loss and is a master of business administration. everybody wants to improve the personal amenities even through corruption. corruption has become a spontaneous global phenomenon. metals undergo corrosion and the human beings undergo the process of corruption (swami, 2016). all these decadence and corruption resulted due to the distancing of our educational administration from philosophy. one will at this point wonder little why we have in our society the seven deadly sin of gandhi which are: wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without ethics, science without humanity, religion igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 245 without sacrifice and politics without principle (gandhi cited in covey, 1990: pp. 87-93). the resultant effect of educational administration without philosophy in our educational institutions the absence of interest in philosophy by educational administration is linked to poor service delivery and other social vices in our educational institutions. historically, the mission of education has been to develop in the young both the intellectual and the moral virtues. concern for the moral virtues, such as honesty, responsibility, and respect for others, is the domain of (philosophy) moral education (ryan, 2020). moral education which is part of philosophy, then, refers to helping individuals acquire those virtues or moral habits that will help them individually live good lives and at the same time become productive, contributing members of their communities. in this view, moral education does contribute not only to the students as individuals, but also to the social cohesion of a community (ryan, 2020). philosophy helps an individual to know the good, to desire the good, and to do the good. unfortunately, philosophy having been kept in abeyance in the course of educational administration has resulted to vices in our institutions of learning which has been a serious source of worries to the government, families and society at large for some time now. our educational institution as we speak is replete with men and women with low critical reasoning and no moral standard hence, untoward behavior and practices witnessed at all levels of our educational system. our educational system is besieged with educational corruption which depicts the extent the academic elites, the staff personnel and students get involved in illegal and immoral practices; all of which contravenes the rules and regulations governing the institutions, which if philosophy is well taught ought not to be violated. agbo (2018) describes educational corruption as: the abandonment of expected standards of behaviour by staff and students’ personnel as well as other educational authorities in and outside our tertiary institutions with the aim of getting undeserved advantages in the form of personal or material gains. the abandonment of expected standards of behaviour, to a large extent, indicates absence of moral behaviour, poor ethical orientations, degradation of an individual’s ethical sense (p.2) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 246 philosophy would have ordinarily helped in forming the educational policies that will be morally based hence, telling administrators that teachers and staff should be hired with good character as a criterion; it would have made the teachers to know that not only should character be stressed to students but also their own characters are on display; it could have made coaches know that athletics should be seen through the lens of sportsmanship rather than winning and losing; and it could have made students know that their efforts and difficulties, their successes and disappointments are all part of a larger process, the formation of their characters (ryan, 2020). character and morality is really needed in our educational institutions because our educational institutions remain the birthing ground of future leaders and professionals that would determine the destiny of our nation in the near future. but on the contrary vices and corruption have enveloped them; hence, depreciating the quality of our education in particular and the society generally. the corruption and decadence in nigeria’s educational institutions are multifaceted. when corruption is mentioned what many usually have in mind is monetary inducement. the corruption and decadence in our educational system is more than taking or giving of bribes, in terms of monetary demands and rewards. the term is far wider than what we imagine it to be (muktar, 2016). according to okobi (1997) the following forms of corruption are common in most tertiary institutions in nigeria: examination malpractice, admission racketeering, hostel profiteering, extortion of the students, abuse of office, sorting, forgery of certificates and statements of results, sexual harassment and immorality, embezzlement of funds, godfatherism, corruption in recruitment and promotion of staff and placing government’s or management’s machinery at the disposal of a particular student to win election during students’ politics in the campus. others include: writing a good remark (confidential report) for a student (or a staff) who does not deserve it, contracts inflation and variation, lobbying to be posted to juicy departments, lobbying to be put in juicy committees, lobbying to be given more courses and larger classes, sycophancy, favouritism, bribery, absenteeism, truancy, poor attitude to work, padding of salaries, making “gifts” to persons in authority so as to take some personal advantages, violation of rules and policies for personal gains; kickbacks, nepotism (giving unfair advantages to your relatives, friends, political benefactors if you are in a position of authority or power), etc (agbo, 2018: p.6). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 247 the cancerous spread of corruption in tertiary institutions in nigeria has far reaching consequences on these institutions as well as the nation. agbo (2018) agrees, “corruption is capable of sapping the development potentials of not only the institutions but the entire nation. specifically, corruption in the education sector has the potential of eclipsing any meaningful educational policies and programmes (p. 6). more so, as acho (2012) opines, it stunts pertinent variables necessary for educational development, including multiplier effects, by rendering impotent the very structures, institutions and human resources that are designed to facilitate growth. institutionalized educational corruption increases administrative costs, losses in the revenue of these institutions, results in goal displacement as the institutions’ goals are replaced with the personal benefits of some persons (agbo, 2018: p. 6). educational corruption in tertiary institutions in our society affects standard of education in that it has adverse effects on the manner in which educational practices are run and practiced; it reduces standards and quality of education in the society as illiterate graduates are produced. the foregoing is the price we have to pay for trying to divorce philosophy from educational administrators and policy makers in the course of their learning. however, turning to philosophy as was done in the days of yore will go a long way in remedying the situation. philosophy in educational administration considering the bad effect in our educational systems and society from the neglect of philosophy, it is high time educational administrators re-adopt and reintegrates philosophy in the course of their study because it will go a long way in remedying our educational system that is on the brink, due to absence of critical reasoning and moral impress which are domiciled in philosophy. bailin &young (1990) affirm: educators (educational administrators) should themselves be educated persons and philosophy constitutes an important part of the intellectual heritage of such persons if we view human beings as inquirers who seek to understand and to make meaning, then philosophy can be seen as chronicling such inquiry. and if one of the roles of the educator is to promote inquiry, then philosophy is an appropriate grounding. michaud (2015) observes; these benefits, such as improved critical thinking, flexible problem solving, and inquiry-based learning are benefits that may not be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 248 limited to philosophy itself. moreover, in an age in which practicality rules, it has become essential that one demonstrate concrete examples when justifying the worth of a thing which the knowledge of philosophy assists. since, it has been proven that philosophical knowledge is the most critical skills that are required in administrative and management responsibilities (medhe, n.d.). again, there is no gainsaying that philosophical knowledge is very relevant to every administrative career, most especially that of educational administration. this is because the incorporation of philosophy in the administrative courses aids administrators and policy makers in making informed decisions, developing effective staff and students’ motivation skills and devising unique administrative skills that will help in the smooth and effective running of the educational system. the problem with our educational system in the most recent past and even now is that in making educational policies our administrators and policy makers concentrate in preparing the students to get a job or teach them the skills they require in life to survive. some also, make the purpose of education seem only the teaching of the “3rs,” which are reading, writing and arithmetic (ekanem & ekefre, 2014: p. 501). however, philosophers do not see these as the primary goal of education. to them the purpose of education transcends the 3rs, education for them should touch the moral, affective, psychomotor and cognitive domains. all these areas philosophers believe must be affected and put into consideration in formulating educational policies for the good of the systems and society as a whole. ekanem and ekefre (2014) substantiate: the importance of philosophy to education is that it defines the purpose and focus of an educational institution. it becomes a part of its mission statement that in turn defines what subject are taught, how they are taught, how institution are administered or managed and the values that are derivable from what are taught both implicitly and explicitly through the process of administration. the purpose of education as viewed by philosophers is basically that it is the reproduction of a culture. this takes diverse forms, because in a conservative state or environment, it just implies the maintenance of the status quo, while in a liberal system it implies the teaching of values and more that are not presently part of the culture but are considered desirable. the general implication here is that the values taught are usually that of those that control the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 249 schools, which include the church, communities and the government (501). so, if education is to fulfill its purpose of catering for some aspects of human needs in the society, it is imperative that it must embrace philosophy; as philosophy is imbued with morality and education without morality is detrimental to the society. rousseau (n.d.) talking about education without philosophy laments, “since learned men began to appear among us, good men have disappeared.” what rousseau meant here is the fact that the education of those “learned men” was devoid of morality, due to lack of philosophy and morality in the education of these “learned men”, their education was not beneficial to mankind since it could not fulfill the purpose of catering for the needs of human nature (ekanem, 2013). furthermore, education being the mind of the society needs philosophy to help it think deep. the onus now lies on the educational administrators to do this thinking when forming the policies that will guide the development of the society. thus, being the case educational administrators should ensure that they are abreast with the tenets of philosophy of their people to ensure that the goal of education is achieved. ekanem and ekefre (2014) corroborate: education is to the nation what the mind is to the body. it is clear that a mind that is sick will be handicapped to coordinate and direct bodily activities. this provides us the basis to argue that education is the most significant complex of social-control mechanism or tools that promotes national development. as the engine room of national development, it is imperative that education must be established or founded on a good philosophy. this is so because philosophy involves thinking deeply about something. so, thinking here implies thinking deeply about education. (p. 504) so education is considered to be worthwhile when the educated think well and critically implement what they have learnt for the betterment of the society. they will be able to do so when philosophy has gotten a better hold of them. ekanem and ekefre (2014) agree: education can be considered a good education when it is able to in plant in those being educated to think deeply about all that they learn, and be able to explore the big questions, and ensure that all the parts they learn fit perfectly together to offer explanation about igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 250 the world. philosophy inspires reasoning about reason, and it assist to improve one’s reasoning as it makes it possible to be clear, relevant broad, deep, accurate and consistent. philosophy involves reasoning about what is right and wrong. it is also about reasoning about what constitute knowledge. it is on the basis of this that logic, ethics, epistemology and aesthetics are fundamental topics of philosophy that should be taught to all students so that they can learn to think deeply, relevantly and consistently. it is only philosophy that can challenge us to think outside the box, which is something most people cannot do without assistance. the above quotation implies that as a mode of inquiry and also a discipline philosophy if employ in the course of educational administration will enrich administrators and policy makers with the capacity of reflection and rational decision making and ensure the good of educational system and society as a whole. snauwaert (2012) opines, “philosophy will play this fundamental role through the provision of frameworks for the understanding and generation of ideas, methods of aids, the cultivation of capacity of reflection and rational discourse” (77). finally, administration generally is centrally concerned with value and if such is the case, then educational administration should be more involved with value in order to build a moral human person that will live in an orderly society. in order to achieve this philosophy is needed by educational administrators and educational policy makers in order to assist them clarify concepts, uncover and scrutinize assumptions, and examine the cogency of arguments (bailin & young, 1990). and in unmasking the values and assumptions hidden behind authoritative-sounding pronouncements, philosophy can counter the tendency to view educational policy and practice as simply a question of the application of technique, showing that questions can be raised not only about means to ends, but about ends themselves. one might view as one goal of philosophy to arrive at better justified policy and practice, and the search for justification may well lead to new and different policies and practices (bailin & young, 1990). thus, the effects of philosophy on educational administrations can be real and palpable. conclusion if there is one thing philosophy is highly interested in, it is the human person. in other to produce a better human person, philosophy has always laid emphasis on igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 251 education and administration to do so. this paper believes that through education that human mind will be illuminated and an illuminated mind is capable of directing others and society a right. and to direct others to do the right thing is leadership or administration entails. it is through philosophy that the human mind can be thoroughly educated to achieve this goal of leading others, hence the interest of philosophy in educational administration. more so, since it is the educational administrators that make policies and regulations for education it is imperative that they are well groomed in philosophy. this is because one cannot lead or make serious and proper policy without critical reasoning; administration implies an orderly way of thinking, in that it describes in operational terms what is to be done, how it is to be done and how one knows what they have done. thus, educational administration is a method of operation and a sound educational administration should result in an orderly integration of education and the society which this paper believes that philosophy will go a long way in aiding it to achieve, considering the fact that philosophy is the study of thought, how one thinks, and why one learns. to integrate philosophy as a serious part of educational administration is to study how people best learn, the foundations of thought in our society and societies that came before us. by learning how previous people and societies thought, we see how our world’s societies, norms, and structures came to be and know their errors and reason on the best way to improve on them through improved policies that educational administration is inclined to do. references acho, o. (2012, february 16). eecc and nigeria’s economic development. daily sun newspaper. agbo, g.c. (2018). educational corruption in tertiary institutions in nigeria: implications for global peace, development and progress in the 21st century. imt international journal of the arts and sciences, 2 (1), 1 – 10. bailin, s. &young, j. (1990). valuing administration: the role of philosophy in educational administration. paideusis,4(1), 39 – 44. ekanem, s.a. (2013). science and human nature: a complex dynamics of reality. mediterranean journal of social sciences,4 (2), pp. 389 –400. ekanem, s. a. (2013). the platonic prophesy and the crisis of leadership and political instability in africa: the nigerian dilemma. a paper presented at the19th annual international conference of the international society igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 252 of african philosophy and studies (isaps) held at nnamdi azikiwe university. ekanem, s. a. & ekefre, e. n. (2014). the importance of philosophy in educational administration/management: the democratic model. mediterranean journal of social sciences, 5 (9), 501 – 507. covey, s.r. (1990). seven deadly sin as per mahatma gandhi. https://www.mkgandhi.org/mgmnt.htm medhe, k. (n.d.). the role of philosophy in management education. https://www.grin.com/document/312576 michaud, n. (2015). why philosophy is important for administrators in education. journal of inquiry & action in education, 6(3), 74 – 86. muktar,a. (2016, december 30). corruption: women, missing link in the fight against corruption. new telegraph newspaper. okobi, r. s. (1997). the rot in educational system. paper delivered at the ikwere youths congress, orakami, benue state. plato (380bce) cited in waterfield, r. (1998) (ed.) republic. oxford university press. popkin, r.h. & stroll, a. (1993). no nonsense knowledge: philosophy made simple. 2nd ed., three rivers press. rousseau, j.j. (1750). discourse on arts and sciences. in c.d.h., cole (trans.) international relations and security network primary resources in international affairs, 117. http://oll.libertyfund.org/ ryan, k. ( 2020). moral education: a brief history of moral education, the return of character education, current approaches to moral education. https://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2246/moraleducation.html. skeini, m. (2020). in education, what is the importance of philosophy? https://www.quora.com/in-education-what-is-the-importance-ofphilosophy snauwaert, d.t. (2012). the importance of philosophy for education in democratic society. infactis pax journal of peace education and social justice, vol. 6(2), 73 – 84. swami, (2016). what is the importance of philosophy? https://www.quora.com/in-education-what-is-the-importance-ofphilosophy. https://www.quora.com/in-educationigwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 49 rapid sustainable development in africa via education and viable informal economy ignatius c. uzondu, ph.d philosophy department, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka ic.uzondu@unizik.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29332.65925 abstract improvement in quality, value and speedy growth of our informal sectors of goods and services has been one of the greatest problem/challenge facing african countries (nigeria inclusive). this particular challenge added to bad leadership and corruption had contributed immensely to problem of african under development. year by year, african leaders borrow loans from foreign countries without proper or with on investment in the informal sector of our economy, nigerian present leaders are good examples. it is our ultimate purpose in this research to portray the vital roles of education and informal business sectors as far as sustainable economic development is concerned. we do this in philosophical style, through analysis or using analytical method of inquiry, resolving complex expressions into simpler and more basic ones. we clarify expression by elucidation of its use in a discourse. we analyze concepts, words, ideas, experiences etc, in order to bring deeper meaning and clarity of thought. here one sees the beneficence of quality education as it is an enlightenment and thus improves informal sectors of business by training and retraining of all the stake holders of the informal sector: the chief executive officers (ceos), directors/managers and the staffs through seminars, workshops, and conferences to ensure effective or efficient management and increasing production or out -put as far as goods and services are concerned. and with this, sustainable development is assured in the economic sector. education is capable of achieving this as it is a process as well as an instrument both for social and economic development, as it helps to transmit, evoke or acquire knowledge, values, attitudes, and developmental skills needed most in our informal sector and even beyond. thus, much improvement or development is drawn to african economy owing to enlightenment through education and improvement or development in country’s informal sector. the continent will be drawn out from darkness of underdevelopment towards the light of development through proper investment in its informal sector. keywords: education, informal sector, development, sustainable development, sustainable developmental goals. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 50 introduction as the current pandemic, corona virus, known with the code, covid 19 is still spreading like a wild fire; its impacts on so many sectors of african life were also enormous. many sectors of the worlds’ economy went into lockdown, likewise so many nations or countries in africa. and with the introduction of covid 19 sanitary rules or precautionary measures that were aimed at defeating the virus, like social distancing, staying at home, staying alone to stay safe, one instantly sees a serious problem or challenge or even an attack to the fundament or the foundation of african communitarian life or communalism. african communalism as an african way is community oriented life. it is never individualistic. africans really got help to manage the pandemic, not all that from individual african government but mostly through informal sector of african business economy, thus, the need for african leaders to build a better informal business sector of economy, need to focus on human capital development and invest on people as their own most important assets. this is owing to the rate of poverty in africa and african countries have not met up with the expected millennium developmental goals. describing the real sitz im leben (situation or settings of life) of africa people and which we knew too well has not changed at moment, the fathers african synod of 1994 holds that africa is well known for its poverty. thus, they write: all over towns and villages are faces of malnourished people, squalid living conditions, diseased with scanty medical facilities, roadside beggars, street children, etc…one common situation without any doubt is that africa is full of problems. in all the nations, there is abject, tragic mismanagement of available scarce resources, political instability and social disorientation. the result stare us in the face: misery, wars, despair. in the world controlled by rich and powerful nations, africa has practically become an irrelevant appendix, often forgotten and neglected 1 quality education and building a better informal sector of business economy in africa will be a better option to african poverty, thus providing a veritable terrain for sustainable development in african continent. and before we plunge into deep analysis pertaining to this, we first define the basic concepts in this work, we begin with africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 51 africa having mentioned africa and its communalism above, add that africa is the world’s second largest and second most populous continent after asia. at about 30.3 million km2 including adjacent islands. it covers 6% of earth’s total surface area and 20% of its land area. with 1.3 billion people as of 2018, it accounts for about 16% of the world’s human population. despite the wide range of natural resources, the continent is the least wealthy per capital in large part due to the legacies of europeans colonization in africa. despite this low concentration of wealth, recent economic expansion and the large and young population make africa an important economic market in the border global context. informal sector this refers to those workers who are self-employed or who work for those who are self-employed. people who earn a living through self-employment, in most cases are not on payrolls, and have no regular working hours and thus are not taxed. they are with little or no job security. they have odd working hours and sometimes they find it difficult to make savings due to low wage. informal sectors include hawkers, marketers, unpaid workers in family business, car washers, agricultural workers, street vendors, artisans, small veranda businesses, cross border traders, casual laborers in construction, to mention but a few. opposed to this are formal sector or modern industrial sector comprising all jobs with specific working hours, regular wages and the worker’s job is assured. but informal sector “is the part of any economy that is neither taxed nor monitored by any form of government”2 some people are in this informal sector because of retrenchments, other may be school leavers or widow seeking to make a living and the likes. is only when these starter of the society are trained and empowered that african poverty is reduced. development the longman dictionary of contemporary english defines development as the process of gradually becoming bigger, stronger or more advanced3. the concept development has a very complex nature because it relates to virtually every aspect of man and the physical universe. hence, it is very difficult to arrive at a universal definition of development. it is really an onerous and herculean and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 52 almost an impossible possibility to arrive at a comprehensive and generally acceptable configuration of the term development as many scholars vary in their individual definitions. for walter rodney, it is an overall social process which is dependent upon the outcome of man’s effort to deal with his natural environment4. he thus sees development from an economic point of view. development is a process that is on-going. in order words, it is dynamic rather than being static. according to pantaleon iroegbu, development means: the progressive unfolding of inner potentialities of a given reality. it is to de-envelope, that is to bring out to light existential, functional and epistemic, what was enveloped, folded or hidden5. elucidating a little on the etymology which iroegbu has touched in this his definition, we portray that development comes from french word developer, this means to bring out from envelop, something that was enveloped. it is to “de”, “un” and “velope” to wrap from this, “to develop” literally means to unwrap. thus, development entails the unwrapping, unfolding, un-veloping, unveiling, outgrowth or growing out of envelopment, hidden or latent. development is the unwrapping of potentials. in the same vein, lebret holds that a development has to do with growth and creativity of all human potentials achieved at the lowest possible cost in human suffering and in sacrificed value6. in united nations development program (undp), defines development in its declaration as: a comprehensive economic, social, cultural and political process which aims at the constant improvement, of the wellbeing of the entire population and of all individuals on the basis of their active, free and meaningful participation in the development and in the fair distribution of the benefit resulting there from. 7 sustainable development sustainable development is the development that meets the need of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generation to meet their own needs. it is the idea that human societies must live and meet their needs without compromising the ability of the future generation to meet their own needs8. it is a way of organizing society so that it can exist in the long term, taking into account both the imperatives present and those of the future, such as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 53 the preservation of the environment and natural resources or social and economic equity. sustainable development goals (sdgs) we have in the past, environmental protection, economic viability and sociopolitical equity, but nowadays, we talk of sustainable developmental goals which are the blue print to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. they address the global challenges we face, including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice. sustainable development goals are a global goals or a collection of 17 interlinked global goals designed to be a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all9 (by 2030). the 17 sdgs were adapted by all united nations member states in 2015 general assembly, with 169 targets to reach or to be achieved by 2030. the goals and targets are universal, meaning they apply to all countries around the world, not just poor countries. here are the 17 sustainable development goals to transform our world: 1. no poverty; 2. zero hunger; 3. good health and well being; 4. quality education; 5. gender equality; 6. clean water and sanitation; 7. affordable and clean energy; 8. decent work and economic growth; 9. industry, innovation and infrastructure; 10. reduced inequality; 11. sustainable city and communities; 12. responsible consumption and production; 13. climate action; 14. life below water; 15. life on land; 16. peace and justice, strong institution; 17. partnership to achieve the goal10 the purpose of development taking off from the holy writ, we read that god after creating the first species of human beings gave them the injunction to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it11. to conquer the world or the earth means to advance or develop it. and this advancement or development is brought about in informal sector of business sector through education and application of science and technology, but at the end, it will definitely be to solve man’s problem. thus, one sees already that the purpose of informal sector development / technological development is to better the lot of mankind. in line with this therefore, any developmental igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 54 process that is aimed at destroying the human person is to be rejected for it is against ethical principles of man’s basic right to life. development is not meant to devalue the human person for the benefit of property. example could be seen in these countries that invent neutron bomb (america, iraq, iran, north korea and the likes) which is capable of killing or effacing humankind but sparing their weapons. thus, such development has no ethical value for it is devoid of the transcendent dimension of mankind. any development that lacks this aspect of human nature cannot be said to be genuine. man is both the agent and determinant of development for a particular technological advancement to be confirmed as authentic or genuine development, it must be useful for man. development is measured by the essential nature of mankind. pope paul vi affirms that every programme has service of man as its raison d’ etre and should reduce inequalities, discrimination and freemen from servitude. and development is for social progress and economic growth and man is truly man when he is master of his own advancement as decreed by his creator whose possibilities and exigencies he assumes.12 authentic development is more than economic progress as pope paul vi in his populorum progressio reminds us it is about the development of people as human beings. true progress allows every individual to grow into the person god intended them to be. ruch and anyanwu portraying enhancement of human dignity and life as first in order of development and somehow contesting with the western countries in their claims to be developed or advanced nations owing to their advanced technological advancements such as roads, better communication systems, greater industries, hospitals, schools and the likes writes this is good, but what does it serve? does it make the human person happier, live longer or improve his\her dignity? thus they continued that we do not need motorcars and televisions, civil service and democracy, universities and motorways in order to enhance the dignity of human life. however, they maintain that they are good means but never end in themselves13 education etymologically education is derived from the latin word “educare” which means to lead forth, drag out or to pull out ideas which are believed to be innate from childhood. so, education implies to lead out of darkness, a bringing forth into light. it is enlightenment. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 55 education has various definitions. education is defined as the process or means by which the individual is acclimatized to the culture or environment in which he is born in order to advance it.14 education here is believed to be process and an instrument both for social and economic development. again, education has been defined as a deliberate systematic and sustained effort to transmit, evoke or acquire knowledge, values, attitudes, skills and sensibilities.15. here education is seen from the universal sense of its formal and informal contents. all aspects of learning that enables the individual interact fully with his environment is emphasized. is the process of facilitating learning or the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, beliefs and habits.16 educational methods includes: storytelling, discussion, teaching, training and directed research? education is the primary vehicle through which children and even adults use to learn the norms, values and skills they needed to function in society other writer, reid holds that “education is a purposive activity towards ends which are rightly or wrongly deemed to be good”17. while essien holds that we think of education and educated in terms of the very restrictive labels of engineers, mathematicians, doctors, lawyers, nurses rather than in those of citizens. western education from the idealist perspective, the etymology, latin educare, which is to lead forth, drag out or pull out ideas which are believed to be innate from childhood.18. for plato and other idealists, education involves stimulation of innate ideas or abilities in an individual, to grow and blossom into original thought and wisdom. for john locke and other realists, the latin educare means sending in or putting in ideas into the mind of a child which is believed to be blank or empty at birth. here, it involves forming or training the individual with experiences. which are acquired through senses and these senses provides the mind with impressions and information. now, without going further into the rationalists and empiricists war on the sources of human knowledge, we conclude that knowledge comes from senses as well as from reason or intellect. so, it is both subjectivity/objectivity, materiality/immateriality, and involves interiority/exteriority and knowledge is perfection for the more one knows, the more perfect he or she becomes. we now see types of education. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 56 informal education: in the basic division of education, we have informal education and this refers to the one that can occur outside a structured curriculum, it can occur through conversation and exploration and enlargement of experience can occur unnoticed. it includes home schooling, auto-didacticism (self-teaching) and youth work. formal education is the one normally delivered by trained teachers in a systematic intentional way, within a school, higher education or school or university. is on regular basis, formally recognized, program is rigid and credential is gotten. non-formal education includes various structured situations which do not either have the level of curriculum, syllabus, accreditation and certification associated with formal learning, but, have more structure than that associated with informal which typically take place naturally and spontaneously as part of other activities. examples, swimming session for toddlers, community based sports programs, boys scouts and girls guilds programs, community or noncredit adult education courses, professional conference style seminars and continuing professional development. giving much insight on education in the great books of western world, we are meant to understand that education is not itself so much an idea or a subject matter as it is a theme to which the great ideas and the basic subject matters are relevant. it is one of the perennial practical problems which men cannot discuss without engaging in the deepest speculative considerations. and it is a problem which carries discussion into and across a great many subject matters, namely: the liberal arts of grammar, rhetoric and a logic, psychology, medicine, metaphysics and theology, ethics politics and economics. thus: “it is a problem which draws into focus many of the great ideas: virtue and truth, knowledge and opinion, art and science, desire, will, sense, memory, mind, habit, change and progress, family and state, man, nature and god.”19 roles of education education has been a vehicle of sustainable economic development, starting from its etymology which is a continuous process of leading one out of ignorance (educare) and the consequent act of leading one into knowledge (educare). thus the goal or purpose of education prior to 1960 (in nigeria) was simple to lead into light or enlightenment/development of the new generation of civil servants and public servants who would take over from the colonial masters from all igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 57 facets of the society. we now see other roles obtainable through quality education. education is a vehicle of change and transformation education is a veritable means of change or transformation, for human person and his society and environment as well. education plays an important role as far as holistic development of man is concerned. first, premium is placed on the development of human mind or cultivation of mind and this is seen to be fundamental of all development. and it’s from here that development starts and then reaches other sectors (informal sector of economy inclusive). man is to be advanced holistically or integrally in both social, religion, political and in other perspective. when we talk of advancement or development, we mean advancement of the whole man, whole facets, institution, segments, practices and values (moral and ethical inclusive). all these are under the roles education plays in formation of human person. and when it is done, change or progress has been made. education develops informal business sector the role of education in the holistic development informal sector must be emphasized. and by this we mean the development of man as we know that it is man that will effect the change or transformation needed. education is a panacea to nigerian (african) development. in the face of moderate technological advancement, we nigerians are still hovering under the shackles of ignorance, colonialism and primitivity. we are not yet with authentic or quality education and political system, nigerian leaders formulate educational policies without philosophical involvement, and our political and ideological re-orientation of the society is poor. practical education and experiences are needed in schools. students not only write assignments, they need interpersonal experiences, both national and international. they can learn more through excursions, practical experiences, essay writings and the likes. educational methods we recall includes story-telling, discussion, teaching, training and directed research. pantaleon iroegbu in his own solution pertaining to ethics and human development in view of technological challenges gave his own proposal which he called enwisdomization of technology. we now align it to the work quality education does in the informal sector of business economy, by this, he meant the education of technology and all its tools, objects and subjects, personnel and advisers to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 58 operate within the norms of full authentic and integral humanity, balanced care of the universe, and reasonable projection and development of our own world. enwisdomizing, he said does the work of “nkuzi” (knock aright), that is, forms, informs and reforms technology20. likewise, education forms, informs and reforms our informal sector of business economy for enormous contribution towards sustainable development and betterment of the lot of mankind. through quality education in form of conferences at the community squares, seminars, workshops, the young entrepreneurs learn how to be available in their business so as to achieve their vision and mission. they learn how to be amiable, thus promoting public/customer relation and they likewise learn how to be accountable through book keeping and accounting. all these help in protection or security of the business itself. education assures value system re-orientation and ethical sanitization most nigerian citizens are self-centered and corrupt. lack of self-discipline both as individuals and as a society is a major setback to the country. others includes corruption which is the decline in moral or ethical values, thereby getting into moral anarchy, modernization of values, much recognition and esteem to riches and intellects and conceptual debasement of leadership itself. owing to the above evils, there is an urgent need for ethical sanitization and re-orientation of our value system. we need to hold esteem, the value of handwork, and inculcate it to our youths for as franc-fanon said: work, over and above everything else defines the essence of man, defines the existence of man. another is value of truth, for truth is now a scarce commodity, the value of respect for the elders and superiors, self-discipline, and finally, respect for life which has mostly violated in our country nigeria since the presence of boko haram insurgency in 2009 and fulani herdsmen, kidnappers, gunmen, and armed bandits since 2015. informal sector and sustainable development in a clearer elucidation of the 17 sustainable development goals expected to transform our worlds as mentioned above, one sees that informal sector of business economy is very close to attainment of these goals and informal sector contributes in greater percentage than the formal sector in meeting these expectations in so many countries especially in african countries where poverty is at the peak. in informal sector, one sees also the unionization of workers and these unions of informal sector of economy have also higher goals as their vision igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 59 and mission. and the primary goal or the vision of workers in the informal sector is always geared towards decent living (no poverty), stable economy and mostly transformation of his or her informal business into viable corporate establishments. there goals are similar to vision 2030 sustainable development goals (sdgs), and through education and hard work, many of workers in the informal sector struggle and meet up with these expectations, even without any support from the government. sometimes, instead of getting support from the government, such challenges like insecurity and harassment by government agents and public officials are seen. and it is with the help of informal sector that greater percentage of these sdgs will be realized. it is worthwhile to mention that in africa, more than 70 percent of the population are employed or are under in informal sector of business economy, for the ability of formalizing the informal sector by the government is always crippled by bad leadership, corruption, lack of creativity or originality, mono based economy and the likes. in nigeria for instance, mimiko captures the situation very well. writing on nigerian bad leaders, he writes: these leaders on assumption of power quickly turned up the repressive machinery of the colonial state, rather than dismantling it, significantly, they have no vision of development to accompany the efficient instrument of repression they inherited. all they were interested in was access to power and privileges and development. 21 akin to bad leadership in africa is also bad followership, where the citizens are not responsible citizens and thus do not demand much accountability from her leaders in federal, state, and in local government levels of governance, and not to think of demanding accountability from their religious leaders. informal sector is a veritable avenue for poverty alleviation and african/nigerian development. the sole reason why informal sector is very significant or valuable in any country, especially african countries, nigeria for example is they provide employments, (more than government), also livelihoods and income to millions of workers and business owners. and more than government influence in the society, informal sector has vital roles towards growth and poverty reduction in a country. a glaring example is during 2020 covid 19 lockdown in many african countries, nigeria inclusive, it is quite obvious that millions of citizens are saved not by government palliatives, but mostly by the efforts, struggles and resilience of the informal sector of the country’s business economy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 60 critical evaluation thus far, we have been elucidating various ways in which education and informal sector of country’s economy contribute immensely to sustainable economic development. and we appraise quality education, be it informal, formal or non-formal as it contributes to development and transformation not only by itself but especially as it serves as a gadfly to the informal sector by stinging it, and stimulating it through professional conferences, seminars, workshops, professional development talks, and other strategic planning that are aimed at business expansion and self-improvement. through education the entrepreneurs in the informal sector are able to sustain their businesses as well as their creative potentials. they become more resourceful as they make meaningful efforts in their business production and in their entrepreneurial ventures. it helps them for proper evaluation and management of their own businesses, making them to be conscious of such good qualities that help in business promotion and progress like: availabilitythis helps to achieve one’s own dream or vision and mission. amiability – this quality points to public relation, customers’ relation/care, customer contact and promotion and the likes. accountability this entails book keeping and accounting, regular stock taking, financial prudence and the likes. and with these quality educational insights, entrepreneurs in the informal sector of economy are protected from business failure and are sure of progressiveness in business which contributes immensely to the progress and development of the society, thus reducing hunger and poverty as well. we noted that the development or cultivation of human mind/mentality is the fundamental to all development, thus, the need for african man/nigerian value system re orientation and ethical sanitization, and this will go far in achieving sustainable cities and communities, responsible consumption and production, climate action, respect for life below the water, life on the land and acquiring peace, justice and strong institution as stipulated by vision 2030 sustainable development goals to transform our world22. finally, as we appraise informal sector, we also through philosophical critique recommend re building or reformation of our formal sector for greater productivity, because we know that many of these formal sector are products of formalization of informal sector, but nowadays, they no longer deliver what is expected of them, owing to the same problem of bad leadership and corruption. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 61 example can be seen in road construction, building construction, electricity distribution and the likes. conclusion as informal sector is opposed to modern industrial sector of economy and most often is not included in country’s gross domestic product (gdp) or gross national product (gnp), we conclude, that it is very necessary for african leaders and indeed every citizen to help to build better informal economy in africa and in nigeria, as it is the back bone upon which a country can have recourse to, when faced with some deadly challenges like covid 19, ebola and the likes. this is crucial as it is evident that some formal sectors of african/nigerian economy are mismanaged, on account of bad leadership, corruption and selfishness. finally, quality education and a better informal sector in nigeria will assure a reliable economy and help in quicker attainment of universal sustainable developmental goals, references 1. john paul ii, ecclesia in africa : post synodal apostolic exhortation, (italy: vatican press 1995), no.42. 2. informal economy wikipedia https://en.m.wikipedia.org (accessed 26/04/2021) 3. longman dictionary of contemporary english, (harlow pearson education limited, 2005), p. 338 4. w. rodney, how europe underdeveloped africa, (abuja: panaf publishing inc. 2005). p. 5 5. p. iroegbu, enwisdomization and african philosophy, (owerri: international university press, 1994), p. 81 6. lebret in onyibor, the challenge of development in african: the task of african philosophy ogirisi i (2003) p. 95 7. the declaration on the right to development in the context of united nations standard setting @ https://www.okchr.org (accessed 04/08/2021). 8. sustainable development…https://youmatter.world (accessed 26/04/2021) 9. sustainable development…https://en.m.wikipedia.org (accessed 26/04/2021) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 62 10. #envision2030: 17 goals…https://www.un.org (accessed 26/04/2021) 11. the new jerusalem bible: genesis: 1:28, (darton longman & todd ltd, 1985) 12. paul vi, in f. aghamelu, african development: the contribution of african philosophy, ogirisi 1 {2003} pp. 80-93. 13. e. ruch and k. anyanwu, african philosophy, (rome: catholic book agency, 1984), p. 353 14. i. ojih, journey into philosophy of education, (nibo – anambra: mico industrial press 1995) p. 29 15. ibid. 16. education – https//en.m.wikipedia.org (accessed: 20/5/2020) 17. a.l reid, philosophy and education: an introduction. (london: hienem ann, 1976) 18. i. ojih, journey into philosophy of education, ibid. p. 23. 19. ‘education’ in r.m. hutchins (edited) great books of the western world, vol. 2 (encyclopedia britannica inc., 1952) p. 376. 20. p. iroegbu, enwisdomization and african philosophy. p.103. 21. o. mimimko, the state and the growth/development agenda: africa and east/asia in the context in kolawole d. (ed) issues in nigerian government and politics. (ibadan:dekaal publishers, 2016), p. 163. 22. sustainable development...https://en.m.wikipedia.org (accessed: 26/04/2021) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 105 sexual predation in the english language teaching (elt) industry: female learners’ responses from some english departments in francophone africa flavien dossou lanmantchion institut national supérieur de technologie industrielle, insti unstim abomey, benin. email: flavienlam81@yahoo.fr.bp 133 lokossa. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.16636.28806 abstract this investigation explored sexual predation in the english language teaching industry in west africa over the past ten years. the study focused on females learning the english language and looked to examine their responses to the issue. the participants were one hundred and fifty (150) female students from five english departments in the francophone area. we conducted the study following an ethnographic research tradition. the results showed that many female respondents suffered some form of sexual harassment from a lecturer during their studies. moreover, there are various interlocked factors which work together to cause educator sexual misconduct. however, participants differ in their reactions and responses. some of the respondents were not sure of what sexual predation stood for. the researcher suggests a series of training sessions for teachers and students to discourage and eradicate gender bias from the elt industry. keywords: sex, predation, female students, elt industry, west africa, gender bias. résumé cette étude est une analyse des réactions des étudiantes à la prédation sexuelle dans l'industrie de l'enseignement de l'anglais en afrique de l'ouest au cours des dix dernières années. les participantes sont cent cinquante (150) étudiantes de cinq départements d‟anglais de la région francophone d‟afrique. l'étude conduite selon une tradition de recherche ethnographique a montré que beaucoup d‟apprenantes sont soumises à une forme d‟harcèlement sexuel et de nombreux facteurs interdépendants concourent à une inconduite sexuelle de la part de l‟éducateur. cependant, la majorité des participantes sont ignorantes d‟harcèlement sexuel et en conséquence ne prennent aucune mesure. l‟étude suggère une série de formations pour enseignants et apprenants afin de igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 106 décourager et éliminer le harcèlement sexuel de l'industrie de l‟enseignement de l‟anglais. mots clés : prédation sexuel, industrie de l‟enseignement de l‟anglais, universités francophones, afrique de l‟ouest. introduction english language learning has been the field of interest of many female students as a career choice in francophone western africa. however, there are often many obstacles. sexual predation is a burning issue and is usually entirely ignored. sexual predation is a longstanding obstacle in the higher educational institutions in africa. the problem of sexual harassment within academic settings has been identified and examined in several studies; for example, amanda (2016) explored transactional sex and sexual harassment between professors and students at an urban university in benin in west africa. although harassment of superiors within an organization by subordinates, such as a student harassing a professor is possible (fitzgerald, weitzman, gold, & ormerod, 1988; matchen & desouza, 2000), it is more often the case that higherranking individuals use their position of power to obtain sexual favours from lower-ranking individuals, rather than the other way around. according to dziech and weiner (1984), between 20% and 30% of women suffered some form of sexual harassment from a professor during their university career. the existence of sexual harassment in academics, and the seriousness of its consequences, interfere with the educational and career-building pursuits of women. sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination. shoop (2004) defines this behaviour as „educator sexual exploitation.‟ gender inequality is the cause of „educator sexual misconduct‟ prohibited by law. even so, such behaviour persists, and victims often do little to end the harassment. although some countries appear to be grappling with the issue more seriously than before, reports about „educator sexual misconduct‟ keep coming. the recurrent complaint heard from female students in educational institutions relates to oppression based on their gender. however, factors associated with globalization, understood as the combination of economic integration, technological diffusion, and greater access to information, have operated through markets, formal institutions (schools), and informal institutions to lift some of the constraints to greater gender equality (world development report, 2012). the sustainable development goals (sdgs) 4 and 5 focus on quality education and reducing gender inequality, respectively. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 107 progress toward these goals requires a complete understanding of current global patterns in learning and grade attainment. this project examines female students‟ responses to „educator sexual misconduct‟ in some english departments at some francophone african universities over the past ten years. it is structured around five points: the literature review; the objectives; the methodology; the results/discussion; and the conclusion. . 1. a review of literature as briefly mentioned in the introduction of this paper, our investigation field is not an unthreaded land. we now report some relevant studies in the area. compared to male students, female students are less likely to pursue their studies in higher institution to earn degrees. they are more likely to quit their programme before completion (leonard 2001; kurtz-costes et al., 2006). one of the factors creating these gaps involves unequal sexual relationships. (william et al., 1984., toews et al., 1993; raddon., 2002; brauer et al., 2003; kurtz-costes et al., 2006). dialogue about predation in institutions of higher learning has amplified over the past few years, but no tangible actions to end the scourge have materialized. a 2017 study by the female students network trust revealed that 74% of female students in tertiary institutions had been subjected to sexual harassment by male staffers at campuses. in the higher educational institutions, where students are of legal age to consent, sexual relationships between professors and students are not expressly forbidden. a student who dates a professor can expect good grades in all her classes. these relationships start appearing at a much earlier age (sene, 2010). female university students have compelling reasons to accept or even pursue such relationships with their male teachers despite the associated stigma. given the power dynamics at play in a classroom setting, a relationship between a male teacher and his female student cannot be entirely free of coercion. the apparent power differential underpinning the transaction simultaneously creates the potential for sexual harassment, which consists of „unwanted advances made under pressure of any form, in which the ultimate goal is to obtain favours of a sexual nature in a relationship of authority between the perpetrator and the victim‟ (benin parliament 2006, 1). thus, an instructor‟s position of authority over his student gives rise to the possibility for harassment, and we could argue that in teacher-student sexual relationships, a degree of pressure is always implicit even if not intended by the professor (sene 2010). in africa, the gender igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 108 system is socially constructed and educational institutions, along with the family, create and enforce expectations about how women and men should behave in societies. although the rules vary from one culture to another in africa, most of them are rooted in patriarchy, the control of women by men (humm, 2004). faludi (1991) believes that improvements in women‟s lives are dependent not just on women themselves but on men changing the way they behave. 2. objectives: research questions the goal of this study is to discover whether there is any sexual predation in the english language teaching industry and to examine female students‟ perceptions. therefore, we put forth the following research questions:  why does „educator sexual misconduct‟ occur in the context under investigation?  what does sexual predation mean to the participating female students in the context under investigation? 3. methodology 3.1 participants the participants in this study were one hundred and fifty (150) female students reading english from five english departments of five universities in west africa: an english department in benin, an english department in togo, another english department in côte d‟ivoire, ane english department in senegal and another one burkina-faso. we purposely identified the target sample for this study‟s population. this procedure helps the researcher to select participants who fulfil a certain number of criteria (creswell, 2007). we chose the five english departments because we have some connections (colleagues and past students) in the selected universities to facilitate the investigation. one hundred (100) of the participants are bachelor students, twenty-five (25) are master students and twenty-five (25) others are doctoral students. the imbalance results from the fact that there are more students in the bachelor program than the other programs. table 1 provides more details on the distribution of the participants. this sampling is stratified to be representative of the sexes and all categories and fields and activities. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 109 table 1: distribution of participants in the five selected english departments 3.2 instruments this study followed an ethnographic research tradition. the data collection was mainly through a uniform questionnaire addressed to 150 female participants and unstructured interviews of 20 participants selected from the 150 respondents. the questionnaire included ten questions. the first two questions pertained to general information: the students‟ age, institution, level, and grade. the remaining questions focused on their experiences and opinions on the issue under consideration. the process revolved around a series of two consecutive interview sessions with each student. participation was voluntary, and we took appropriate steps to secure the consent of the female respondents. all participants were guaranteed confidentiality and anonymity. the interviews were open-ended and presented as casual conversations to encourage the participants to talk freely about what they understood by sexual predation in their own terms. some descriptive questions were asked at the beginning to get them started with the talking. as the interview went on, some basic and contrast questions followed. these questions emerged from what the respondent learners said. we analysed the data collected to identify patterns representing respondents‟ opinions about sexual harassment, relations with their instructors, and the influence of these practices on their studies. english departments number of participants age level ≤ 17 1829) > 29 bachelor master doctorate a 30 7 15 8 20 5 5 b 30 20 5 5 c 30 20 5 5 d 30 20 5 5 e 30 20 5 5 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 110 4. results the outcomes of the survey fall under two headings: (1) factors responsible for educator sexual misconduct in the selected english departments (2) female students‟ responses to sexual predation in the context under investigation. 4.1. factors responsible for educator sexual misconduct in the case study there are various interlocked factors which work together to cause educator sexual misconduct in the selected english departments. the following are the constraints, most of which emerged from the narratives of respondents‟ learning experiences and questionnaire:  power differentials and gender inequality the classroom is a setting for the reproduction of power and gender dynamics, in which the teacher acts as the possessor of knowledge he imparts to students. in university settings, this dynamic is further encouraged when the vast majority of teachers are male. in the departments where we conducted the study, more than 80 % of all lecturers are men. the most striking aspect is the absence of female teachers. generally, males prevail among tertiary institution teachers. a lecturer‟s position of authority over his student gives rise to the possibility for harassment and predation. because they hold a doctorate and a steady salary, lecturers are almost always of higher social and economic status than their students. this power differential forms the basis for sexual harassment which according to the five countries‟ laws, is defined as unwanted advances made under pressure of any form, in which the ultimate goal is to obtain favours of a sexual nature in a relationship of authority between the male perpetrator and the female victim. thus, a lecturer‟s position of power over his student gives rise to the possibility of sexual predation.  the constraint of available financial resources the lack of financial support is among the root causes of sexual harassment in the context under investigation. female respondents in this study experience daily stress in meeting their basic needs, such as obtaining food, shelter, transportation or clothing. some of the female parents would encourage and almost push their daughters into such relationships by not providing their daughters with financial support. the female students become more dependent igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 111 on others for survival and, therefore, less able to control their vulnerability to demands for sex. sexual harassment is due to students‟ financial needs. it‟s challenging for some of the respondent girls to go to university. and it is also tough for them to ask for help. when they ask someone for help, he is perhaps going to ask for sexual compensation. according to the world health organization‟s world report on violence and health, poverty increases one‟s vulnerabilities to sexual exploitation in the workplace and schools (krug et al., 2002). more, female students often expect to benefit materially from their romantic relationships, valuing this benefit as a sign of a partner‟s investment and viability. female students who lack sufficient economic resources to meet their basic needs may have to resort to bartering for essential goods via granting sexual favours (jewkes, sen, & garcia-moreno, 2002). the study revealed that some female students date lecturers for access opportunities, even if they know that the lecturer is already married. because of the economic situation, there are not many male students with the means to give them what they want. these young women are not dating lecturers in pursuit of a husband. as honwana (2013) points out, we must understand these relationships in the context of chronic unemployment. there is an undeniable connection between poverty and sexual predation. the lecturers act as gatekeepers to scarce resources. the fact of entering into such relationships provides female students with a level of emotional and financial protection.  grades the survey results revealed that some instructors offer to pass female students in their examinations in return for sex – which is professionally unacceptable. the investigation showed that respondent students have compelling reasons to accept or even pursue such relationships with their male teachers, as above. another of these motives is grade. a student who enters into a sexual relationship with a teacher can expect good grades in all of her classes. hunter (2002) explains that the active participation of female students in such rapports is for personal benefit. relatedly, a degree of pressure is always implicit even if not intended by the professor (sene 2010). respondent doctoral students in the study had difficulty with doctoral supervision. they pointed to the fact that some of the supervisors were ready to pass the female doctoral student if she accepted igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 112 she would need to offer sex. in that connection, paula, one of the informants, said: i went to the office of my supervisor one day, and all that i could notice is that he closed the office door and started engaging me into romance and i protested… since then, my relationship with my supervisor became difficult, and he made the task very difficult for me to achieve my doctorate. (paula) the survey indicates that there was a high concordance between sexual harassment and grade. sexual predation affects students‟ grades seriously, and they are obliged „to play the game.‟ dossi, a student in a bachelor degree class, declared: i remembered the lecturer who failed me on a course i loved so much. i knew that wasn't my score. when i went to him to dispute the result, he said, “so now i finally have your attention”.  forgiving bad behaviour sexual harassment is prohibited by law in the countries where we conducted the investigation. even so, such behaviour persists. the majority of the victims we investigated do not know where to report the incidents; some do not report the episodes at all and choose to ignore the behaviour, or do nothing. the survey showed that of the 150 female students who participated in the study, only three reported the incident of sexual harassment to the perpetrator's superior, and only five reported it to another professor: the rest of participants did nothing about it. more than this, the study showed that the victims‟ parents and society are also part of the „game.‟ they often do little to end the harassment. the departments under investigation are not playing their role either. they do not prevent or take action against sexual predation by teachers. students complain that most of the time, their departments ignore female students‟ complaints about being sexually harassed. in some unfortunate ways, then, female respondents have compelling reasons to accept or even pursue such relationships with their male professors, despite the law against the practice and the associated stigma.  lack of motivation and ambition: students in the context under investigation are required to study english in a social environment where there is little immediate need or opportunity to use the language for communicative purposes. for this reason, it is easy to speculate that the motivation to study english among several of these students is low. learners igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 113 have an unwillingness and lack of motivation to learn english, as they do not see the immediate need to use the language now or in their futures. female students‟ lack of ambition and of motivation to learn and their negative attitude towards the target language make it difficult to adapt to the learning setting and to achieve academic excellence. accordingly, they are potentially prone to sexual harassment because some female students who are not committed to their study will perhaps resolve to seek some favour. the study indicated that a female student who is not motivated to learn and pass examinations is more likely to be sexually harassed than a diligent female student.  revealing outfit the investigation also found a belief that the causes of the problem of sexual predation lies in female student individual behaviours or attributes, rather than in the social conditions. the majority of respondent students believed that female students who wear tight or revealing outfits are inviting sexual comments. men are much more visually oriented than women (owoaje and olusola-taiwo, 2010); so men are most likely to notice if the girl is wearing pretty or sexy clothes, or even just bright colours. the study found that a female student wearing a revealing outfit is more likely to be sexually harassed by males, than a modestly dressed student, and if harassed, she is partially responsible for her misfortune. these results indicate the persistence of the sexist belief that a woman who wears tight-fitting and revealing clothing is inviting sexual attention. several studies suggest that both men and some women interpret certain kinds of women‟s clothing as indicative of a desire for sex. however, the idea of provocative dress is based on false assumptions about the relationship between women‟s clothing and women‟s intentions. 4.2 participants’ view of the meaning of predation in the learning institutions the majority of the participants in this investigation have considerable ambiguity in the understanding of sexual harassment. some of the respondents were not sure of what harassment is. some of them were afraid to report sexual harassment. this uncertainty is an „attributional ambiguity‟ (major & crocker, 1993). accordingly, participants differ in their reactions and responses. table 2 gives more details on participants‟ opinions. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 114 table 2: female participants‟ responses participa nt reactions do as the lecturer suggests talk to some one avoid the lecture r drop the course conf ront the lectur er ignore the lecturer‟s behaviour report to the head of departme nt percentag e 27-33% 71% 62 % 4% 0% 24% 3% a high percentage (97%) of the victims do not report the incident to the superior and choose to ignore the behaviour or do nothing. the survey showed that of the 150 female students who participated in the study, only three reported the incident to the person‟s superior, and only 71% reported it to someone (a friend, a lecturer, a family member.)the rest of the participants do nothing about it. some of the motives given by those who did not try to report the harassment included thinking that other would not believe them; not wanting to look like a trouble maker, and dealing with the situation themselves because it was not serious enough to report. some victims choose to ignore the harassment or try to avoid the harasser. in africa, the child is prevented from hearing, seeing, or talking about certain things in their society, such as sex. as a result, the child often knows nothing about sex and its associated problems and cannot talk to people about this (owoaje and olusola-taiwo, 2010). participants‟ passive reactions in this study suggest that women often do not explicitly acknowledge sexually harassing behaviour and that even though they perceive it as a negative experience, it is likely to go unreported. however, a few of the female participants were more likely to tell someone about their experience. they talk to a friend or a family member 5. discussion the study indicated that respondents were unaware of the university resources available to them if they should require advice or support regarding sexual harassment. for grievance procedures to be effective, those in need must be aware of these procedures but also be mindful that they have been victims of sexual harassment. procedures for dealing with harassment will not come into play unless they make a complaint. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 115 more generally, most responses to sexual harassment tend to be passive rather than active. in the present study, the most preferred answers overall were talking to friends and family, ignoring the instructor, and doing nothing. respondents showed less preference for the more active forms of behaviour, such as making a formal complaint, writing a letter to the instructor, and speaking to the instructor to resolve the situation. this general tendency towards passivity may be both caused by and contribute to ignorance within an organization, and a lack of institutional actions regarding such incidents. given that an ambiguous situation was less likely than an unambiguous situation to be acknowledged as sexual harassment and to lead to assertive responding, all those in the department and university environment must receive appropriate training about the various behaviours that constitute sexual predation and about what they can do when such a situation arises. the outcomes of this study reveal that the vast majority of female respondents did not take any actions. participants‟ responses can be perceived as behavioural intentions and represent the first step in taking action. human beings are rational and consider the implications of their behaviour in deciding whether or not to react in a particular situation. a person‟s intention to behave in a certain way has been described as the „immediate determinant of the action‟ (fishbein and ajzen, 1980, p.5.) although this study assessed only participants‟responses to sexual predation, other studies have found a relationship between stated behavioural intention and subsequent behaviour in a variety of contexts. in reality, numerous other variables can affect responses to sexual harassment, such as the previous relationship between the instructor and the student; whether this is an ongoing situation or an isolated incident; the harasser‟s reaction to the victim‟s rejection and the possibility of retaliation; and the perceived consequences of taking particular actions (weiss and lalonde, 2001). concerning these stages of responding, while going to the department for advice would seem to be a logical thing to do following such an incident, the study fails to take into account the likely detrimental results of the responses at this stage. the decision to be made at this point might depend on the consequences of the first course of action. the existence of sexual harassment in academia, and the seriousness of its consequences, interferes with the educational and career-building pursuits of women. factors associated with globalization, understood as the combination of economic integration, technological diffusion, and greater access to information igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 116 have operated through markets, formal institutions (schools), and informal institutions to lift some of the constraints to greater gender equality (world development report, 2012). sustainable development goals (sdgs) 4 and 5 focus on quality education and reducing gender inequality, respectively. however, sexual predation continues in african institutions of higher education. progress toward these sdg requires actions to discourage and eradicate it. 5. conclusion the focus of this study is on some female students‟ responses to sexual predation in the english language teaching industry in francophone africa. the research showed that many female students fall prey to some form of sexual harassment by a lecturer during their studies. there are various interlocked factors which work together to cause educator sexual misconduct in the selected english departments. the findings of this study indicate power differentials and gender inequality, the constraint of available financial resources, grades, sanctioning bad behaviour, a lack of motivation and ambition, and possibly revealing female outfits, as causes of sexual predation by male supervisors. the female respondents did not take many actions. their responses can be perceived as behavioural intentions and represent only the first step in taking action. participants differed in their reactions and responses. some of them are afraid to report sexual harassment and choose to ignore the behaviour or do nothing. some talk to a friend and a family member, some avoid the lecturer and ignore him; others do nothing and drop the class. still, others do as the instructor suggests. this result is highly important for language educators and policymakers to carefully inspect how english language learning unfolds in the context under investigation and to make necessary changes to advocate the best english language learning and teaching for higher education learners. indeed, the question may also need to be asked, given the reticence of several students to learn the language as well as the incidents of male to female sexual harassment and predation – does the english language need to have such a high profile in french-speaking african universities? references adichie, c. n. (2013.)we should all be feminists.  lecture given at tedxeuston, london, april 2013.retrieved from http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/we-should-all-be-feminists-chim (date????) http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/we-should-all-be-feminists-chim igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 117 amanda eller (2016): transactional sex and sexual harassment between professors and students at an urban university in benin, culture, health & sexuality, doi: 10.1080/13691058.2015.1123295 ansara, y. g., & hegarty, p. (2013.) misgendering in english language contexts: applying mon-cisgenderist methods to feminist research. international journal of multiple research approaches, 7(2), 160-177. baker, s. c., & macintyre, p. d. (2003.)the role of gender and immersion in communication and second language orientations. language learning, 53(s1), 65-96. doi:10.1111/0023-8333.00119 benin parliament. (2006.) loi portant repression du harcèlement sexuel et protection des victims en république du bénin, loi n° 2006-19 [law against sexual harassment and for the protection of victims in benin republic, law number 2006-19]. porto novo: government of benin. besnier, n. (2007.) language and gender research at the intersection of the global and the local. gender and language, 1(1), 67-78. boroditsky, l., schmidt, l., & phillips, w. (2003). sex, syntax, and semantics. in d. gentner & s.goldin-meadow (eds.), language in mind: advances in the study of language and thought (pp. 61-80). cambridge, ma: mit press. bucholtz, m., & hall, k.(2006.)gender, sexuality, and language. in brown k. (ed.), encyclopedia of language and linguistics (vol. 4). oxford: elsevier, 756-758. bunce, p. & phillipson, r. & rapatahana, v. & tupas, r. (2016) why english? confronting the hydra. published by multilingual matters, bristol, u.k. cheshire, j., & jenkins, n. (1991.) gender issues in the gcse oral english examination: part ii. language and education, 5(1), 19-40. croll, p. (1985.) teacher interaction with individual male and female pupils in junior age classrooms. educational research, 27(3), 220-223. ehrlich, s. (1997.) gender as social practice: implications for second language acquisition. studies insecond language acquisition, 19(4), 421-446. endo, o. (1991.) issues and challenges facing female teachers of jsl.the language teacher, 15(7), 7-10. http://sallypro.sandiego.edu/iii/encore/plus/c__stransgender%20and%20language__orightresult__u__x0?lang=eng&link=http%3a%2f%2f0-search.ebscohost.com.sally.sandiego.edu%2flogin.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26site%3deds-live%26db%3deue%26an%3d92691903&suite=cobalt http://sallypro.sandiego.edu/iii/encore/plus/c__stransgender%20and%20language__orightresult__u__x0?lang=eng&link=http%3a%2f%2f0-search.ebscohost.com.sally.sandiego.edu%2flogin.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26site%3deds-live%26db%3deue%26an%3d92691903&suite=cobalt http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/semantics http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/mit_press http://www.multilingual-matters.com/author_results.asp?sf1=contributor&st1=pauline%20bunce&sort=uk_pubdate/d http://www.multilingual-matters.com/author_results.asp?sf1=contributor&st1=vaughan%20rapatahana&sort=uk_pubdate/d igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 118 faludi, s. (1991.) backlash: the undeclared war against american women, crown publishing group gordon, d. (2004.)“i‟m tired. you clean and cook”: shifting gender identities and second language socialization. tesol quarterly, 38(3), 437-457. julé, a. (2004.) speaking in silence: a case study of a punjabi girl. in b. norton & a. pavlenko (eds.), gender and english language learners (pp. 69-80). arlington, va: tesol. honwana, a. (2013.) changing patterns of intimacy among young people in africa. in african dynamics in a multipolar world, edited by u.engel and m. j. ramos, 29–50. leiden: koninklijke brill nv. hunter, m. (2002.) the materiality of everyday sex: thinking beyond prostitution african studies 61 (1): 99–120. masvaure, t. (2010.) i just need to be flashy on campus‟: female students and transactional sex at a university in zimbabwe. culture, health & sexuality 12 (8): 857–870. nelson, c.d. (2009.) sexual identities in english language education: classroom conversations. new york, ny: routledge. norton, b., & pavlenko, a. (eds.)(2004.) gender and english language learners. alexandria, va: tesol. owoaje, e., and o. olusola-taiwo(2010.) sexual harassment experiences of female graduates of nigerian tertiary institutions. international quarterly of community health education 30 (4): 337–348. pavlenko, a. (2004.) gender and sexuality in foreign and second language education: critical and feminist approaches. in b. norton & k. toohey (eds.), critical pedagogies and language learning (pp. 53-71). cambridge, uk: cambridge university press. rapatahana, v. & bunce, p. (2012) english language as hydra: its impacts on non-english language cultures, multilingual matters, bristol, u.k. sene, k. (2010.)the politics of female adolescent sexuality: perceptions, conceptualizations and experiences of transactional teacher-student sexual https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/crown_publishing_group https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/crown_publishing_group http://www.multilingual-matters.com/author_results.asp?sf1=contributor&st1=vaughan%20rapatahana&sort=uk_pubdate/d http://www.multilingual-matters.com/author_results.asp?sf1=contributor&st1=pauline%20bunce&sort=uk_pubdate/d igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 119 relationships in northern beninois secondary schools. unpublished phd thesis, ohio university. sharratt, s. (2011.)gender, shame and sexual violence: the voices of witnesses and court members.surrey: ashgate publishing ltd. shefer, t.., l. clowes, and t. vergnani. (2012.) narratives of transactional sex on a university campus. culture, health & sexuality 14 (4): 435–447. sunderland, j. (2004). classroom interaction, gender, and foreign language learning. in b. norton & k.toohey (eds.), critical pedagogies and language learning (pp. 222-241.)cambridge, uk: cambridge university press. vandrick, s. (2013.)promoting gender equity in the postsecondary esl class (pp. 73-88). in t. smoke (ed.). adult esl: politics, pedagogy, and participation in classroom and community programs. new york, ny: routledge. wamoyi, j., d. wight, m. plummer, g. h. mshana, and d. ross. (2010.) transactional sex amongst young people in rural northern tanzania: an ethnography of young women‟s motivations and negotiation. reproductive health 7 (2): doi:10.1186/1742-4755-7-2 article 28 igwebuike 6. no5.cdr igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.6 no.7, 2020 www.igwebuikejournals.com a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 134 the importance of african traditional medicine and healing techniques in the fight against covid – 19 pandemic utsua, t. peter phd department of philosophy and religious studies nasarawa state university keffi nigeria emil: ustupetterz@gmail.com gsm-07032196002 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract covid – 19 pandemic has rekindled the need for the development of traditional healing techniques using traditional medicine in health care delivery. orthodox drugs and medical services are no longer available due to border closures. this has led to the increasing interest and the interest in herbal medicines not only because of cost of orthodox medicine, but it is simply because herbal medicine has proven to work competitively effective on this novel coronavirus when western scientific medicine failed to provide effective solution to the problem while, traditional herbal medicine is making appreciate breakthrough. this paper examined the contribution of african medical practice essentially as contextual solution to the various medical challenges. this research attempted to address the problems attached to covid – 19 disease and the stigmatization attached to indigenous medicines used in the treatment of some simple diseases ailments such as; cough, fever, headache, poison from bites, skin diseases and other infections, perhaps, because of the method of preparation used by the traditional healers. africans can use their medical talents to apply new medicinal trials for diseases like covid -19. the researcher discovered that, despite the benefits of the advancement of orthodoxy healing techniques, though yet to be found and made available for the treatment of covid -19, it is also true that globalization has endangered the vitality of the shrines and sacred places that were used for providing solution for difficult issues like this. the research supports the need to redecorate the instrumentality of improving the techniques of the traditional healing heritage among african people. the paper advocates the importance of corroboration between the orthodox and traditional medical techniques with the view of equipping ourselves against emerging contemporary global challenges. keywords: covid – 19, ethics, heritage, medicine. introduction there is no doubt that covid – 19 pandemic has posed serious global threat to public health. following the conspiracy theories of population reduction concerning the spread of the virus in china and other countries, it was thought that this virus and others, such as the sars and swine flu viruses, were deliberately created and spread by some people, in order to make profit through the sale of vaccines against these diseases. others were of the opinion that the virus was part of an economic and psychological war waged by the u.s. against china with the aim of weakening it and presenting it as a backward country and a source of diseases. while the china accused us of transmitting the virus to china during 1the military games that took place in wuhan. whatever is the ulterior motive or blame game, the whole world has been plugged into a very serious health challenge and every continent and country is faced with the reality of finding solution to safeguard the citizens from the issue at hand. this challenge serves as call to stimulate and revitalize the long neglected african traditional medicine and healing heritage. traditional medicine is the total body of knowledge and the use of techniques for the preparation and use of substances that are based on the socio-cultural and religious bed-rock of african people, which are used for the diagnosis, healing, prevention, and elimination of imbalances in the physical, mental or social well being of a person. they are established on experience and handed 2down from generation to generation either verbally or in writing. african medicine is aimed at healing the whole of man; it is close to the christian concept of healing i.e. 'making whole' in contrast to western medicine which emphasizes the restoration of health in the body. this is because health and life constitute a single scope with the need to maintain life in its vital totality especially with the rise in the current challenge of covid19 pandemic. the aim of this paper is to examine the concept of traditional medicine and establish their significance in the provision of techniques for containing, preventing and healing techniques against covid-19 and other emerging diseases. covid – 19 pandemic as public health challenge the outbreaks of viral diseases are no news. in the past number of decades, viral diseases have continued to emerge and constituted serious public health challenge. viral epidemics thsuch as influenza in the 18 century, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (sars-cov) in 2002 to 2003, and h1n1 influenza in 2009, have been recorded. the middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus (mers-cov) was first identified in 3saudi arabia in 2012. this outbreak presented with cases with unexplained low respiratory tract infections, these were first detected in wuhan, the largest metropolitan area in china's hubei province and reported to the world health organization's country stoffice in china, on the 31 december, 2019. these first cases were classified as "pneumonia of unknown etiology." the chinese center for disease control and prevention (cdc) and local cdcs organized an intensive outbreak investigation program. the illness was attributed to a novel virus belonging to the coronavirus (cov) family. initially, the new virus was called 2019-ncov. subsequently, the experts of the international committee on taxonomy of viruses (ictv) termed it the sars-cov-2 virus as it is very similar to the one that caused the sars outbreak (sars-covs). the covs have become the major pathogens of emerging catastrophe of respiratory disease outbreaks. they are a large family of single-stranded rna viruses that can be isolated in 4different animal species. for reasons yet to be explained, these viruses can cross species barriers and can cause in humans, illnesses ranging from common cold to more severe diseases such as mers and sars. interestingly, scientists have discovered that these later viruses have probably originated from bats then moved into other mammalian hosts. the dynamics of sars-cov-2 are currently unknown, but there is speculation that it also has an animal origin. the potential for these viruses to grow into a pandemic constitute a serious public health risk. at the moment, world governments are at work to establish countermeasures to curtail possible devastating effects. while, health organizations coordinate information flows and issue directives and guidelines to mitigate the impact of 135utsua, t. peter phd the threat. at the same time, scientists around the world are working tirelessly to provide information about the transmission mechanisms, the clinical spectrum of disease, rapidly develop new diagnostics, prevention and therapeutic strategies. many uncertainties 5remain with regard to both the virus host interaction and the evolution of the epidemic. consequently, the therapeutic strategies to deal with the infection are only supportive, and prevention aimed at reducing transmission in the community is our best weapon. the mode of transmission of covid-19 the virus is transmitted from human to human, and symptomatic people are the most frequent source of covid -19 spread. the possibility of transmission before symptoms develop seems to be infrequent, although it cannot be excluded. moreover, there are suggestions that individuals who remain asymptomatic could also transmit the virus. this suggests the use of isolation as the best way to contain this epidemic. as with other respiratory pathogens, including flu and rhinovirus, the transmission is believed to occur through respiratory droplets from coughing and sneezing. aerosol transmission is also possible in case of protracted exposure to elevated aerosol concentrations in closed 6spaces. further studies are needed to understand the mechanisms of transmission, the incubation times and the clinical course, and the duration of infectivity. the conspiracy of covid 19 pandemic the fatal outbreak of covid 19 started in wuhan, china on the 31st december, 2019. the ugly scenario began when li wenliang, a 34-year-old ophthalmologist at wuhan central hospital, raised alarm on december 30th 2019 about the existence of a contagious new virus that resemble the deadly sars, but was muffled into silence by the chinese 7government. unfortunately, li wenliang died of the deadly coronavirus disease. on the th20 january, 2020, eric feigl-ding a harvard epidemiologist called the attention of world health organisation (who) and center for disease control and prevention (cdc) to 7 immediately declare a public health emergency on the new coronavirus but was ignored. thwho later came up with an official statement on 11 february, 2020 and designated it as “covid-19”, instead of “wuhan-coronavirus” or “china-coronavirus for avoidance of stigmatization, contrary to the previous similar experiences we have before. surprisingly, while the who had not advised the world on the concrete steps to avert spread of the 8outbreak, china had already built a “state of the-art facility” to contain the disease. the us and europe took things for granted until around april when the disease had already spread from asia to many other parts of the world. it was at this point that who started emphasizing on the need for testing, contact tracing and management of the disease. in the interim, the numbers of infections and deaths had reached an alarming rate in italy, iran, spain and later the united states and the united kingdom with more than 9118,000 infection cases and 4,291 fatalities in 114 countries across the globe. it was at this point that who described the outbreak as a pandemic and epidemic on march 11, 2020. consequently, many countries in african like; nigeria, ghana, zimbabwe, morocco, rwanda, kenya and south africa started enforcing lockdown measures to reduce infections and minimize fatalities. the action of who suggests complicity and justifies the perception of the conspiracy that coronavirus was manufactured, manipulated and reengineered in the laboratory. one aspect suggests that the project started in the us before it was moved to a lab in china. while the other aspect holds that the virus originated from a wuhan lab as part of china's efforts to compete with the us. whatever may have been the 136 the importance of african traditional medicine and healing techniques in the fight against covid – 19 https://twitter.com/who 10case, the virus has been transported to all seven continents of the world. language kept changing as the predicament lasted and studies into the pandemic continued to advance. 0n ththe 7 april, 2020, the who came out to say that, wearing of facemask was less important in the fight against the disease. later, the narrative suddenly changed as the body issued another statement encouraging people to wear a facemask before going out to avoid being infected with the virus, there was no clear explanation of the distinction between social distancing and physical distancing. by mid-april that who advised various nations to declare lockdown with other effective measures such as staying at home, maintaining social distancing and frequent washing of hands with soap under running water, application of alcohol based hand sanitizers among others, businesses, schools, sports and religious activities were shut down. there was dichotomy created between those who tested positive and other potential victims. another divide is that one between people who 11were quarantined and those who were locked down in their homes. the stigma attached to those who test positive for the disease is yet to be addressed as counseling is not been put in place for the families of those who died of coronavirus. it is surprising that who was quick to believe whatever china said but slow to carry out a random investigation on any trial drugs or vaccines, especially from africa. african healing techniques and the quest for cure against covid – 19 many academic institutions are working to find a cure against covid 19 using animal testing. in the interim, the anti-malarial drug, chloroquine and its derivative hydroxychloroquine have received substantial attention. what is the nigerian government doing concerning those who have made claims of a possible cure for the disease? is the federal government looking in the direction of those claims? perhaps we can also support home invented products and efforts at biodiversity using the strength of the many universities with their research laboratories including pharmaceutical and medical research institutes as we look inwards for solutions. this will surely be of help to handle the challenges of overdose and self-medication with some remedies. it will also handle the problem of combining the use of herbal remedies together with prescribed medicines, which usually interfere with the normal metabolism of drugs leading to adverse effects.no doubts, the covid-19 pandemic has come at a period of a growing call for collaboration amongst traditional medicine experts, chemists, pharmacologists, virologists and 11clinicians to accelerate research which would produce remedy to this existential problem. africa has a very rich tradition and medicine and healing heritage which had been useful in the treatment of various disease ailments ranging from viral to bacteria and protozoa to fungi infections. this rich traditional healing heritage needs to be encouraged. this can be achieved by stimulating talents in this fields who show good result to enjoy some degree of security as they collaborate with medical science research institutes and pharmacological industries in order to come up with medicines which can carry ingredients components, dosages, methods of storage or preservation instructions, side 12effects and expiry dates. we can continue to improve on that until we shall attain perfection. such attempts will go a long way in solving our contextual medical challenges instead of going medical tours to europe, america and asia committing huge sums of money to the advantage of citizens in those countries. with the challenge posed by covid -19 pandemic our leaders are expected to rise up and rethink on how to protect their territorial integrity by putting modalities on ground backed by legislation with the view of forestalling future occurrences. it is crucial to note how the inhabitants of the world have 137utsua, t. peter phd been divided along continental lines. since the g-8 countries of the world have not been able to proffer for themselves solution to the problem of covid – 19, any solution from any quarters other than from the g-8 cannot be respected. for example, the president of madagascar, andry rajoelina would have been given a pat on the back for developing covid-organics (cvo) herbal-solution, what the g-8 countries of the world have so far not been able to do. again, who was quick to distance itself from the covid-organics (cvo) herbal-solution developed by the malagasy institute of applied research, who neither endorsed nor show any interest in the herbal cure because it originates from africa (madagasca) let alone to attempt to send scientists to investigate the new found cure for coronavirus which is still harvesting lives across the globe. however, it is good and encouraging that other african countries are ordering for the madagascan recipe to help 13curb the threat. it is confirmed that there is a marked improvement in the country's covid-19 recovery ratio as 105 of 171 patients had reportedly been cured. until now, there are no covid-19 deaths in madagascar and schools have reopened. interestingly, the madagascar president declared that, “whether who approves of the herbal medicine that has been discovered to cure covid 19 or not, he will continue to use it to heal people.” for him, it is not the time to play or make money but it is time to save the lives of his people 13and africa as a whole from covid 19 pandemic using god's given medicine. while, who is in the process of decision making, many african countries like equatorial guinea, guinea bissau, senegal, congo, comoros and tanzania have picked interest in the products. madagascar's miracle medicine, has made the country to be considered an intruder in the high class global politics enveloped in the race for the cure of covid 19. madagascar has disrupted the narrative of the so-called technological fortress that the world powers claim to have built for themselves. for example, the way who relates with china in the wake of this pandemic is suspicious as part of the grand plan by china to overtake the us as an economic world power, because aside from the $20 million china offered who in march, china was swift to offer an additional $30 monetary aid to the who immediately trump threatened to halt financial help to the body. trump's decision might suffer some moral convulsions, but sadly too, who has failed in terms of providing the right leadership. more damaging is the fact that, it helped china, where the crisis originated, to cover its tracks. while who vehemently resisted naming corona-virus as “wuhan-corona-virus” or “china-corona-virus” in nigeria, the body watched while lassa, a community in southern borno, borno state where a certain fever broke out was named after the disease “lassa fever”. till date, lassa fever is used in all who documents for the hemorrhagic sickness. the silence of the number one health organisation amidst this discrimination calls to question its sense of fairness, equity and justice. perhaps, diseases that are not on a large scale domiciled in black africa have no commercial value and deserve no attention. one clear lesson for the african union (au) and economic community of west african states (ecowas) is that they should use this covid-19 experience which has shot medical tourism abroad on the foot to rally round madagascar and other countries with the potential for local solutions to the disease to find homemade solutions to every problem. the content of covid-19 predicament is more 14than what we see with our eyes. indeed, african traditional herbal medicine has contributed so much to health care delivery in many communities in africa which comprises of many rural communities with majority of the entire population and a few concentrations in the local and the state government headquarters where modern health services like specialist hospital, federal 138 the importance of african traditional medicine and healing techniques in the fight against covid – 19 medical center and general hospitals are established. since such medical facilities do not cover the need of the teaming population who are the rural communities in dire need of such health services, alludes to the fact that there is significant shortage of man power, drugs and equipment's thus the provision of health services is grossly inadequate. in fact, even those in the urban areas still patronize the herbal doctors. the services of the few doctors, nurses and other health personnel are limited to the urban and semi-urban areas to the disadvantage of the population living in the rural areas as is currently applicable to the dreaded covid – 19 pandemic. these inadequacies have signaled the important role and the involvement of traditional herbal medicine men, whose efforts were until now discriminated and targeted for defamation is now recognized as front line health personnel. this approach reiterates the importance of herbal medicine to the healing and restoration of man's health. apenda and adega observe the practice as devoted to maintaining good health: this involves detecting and prevention of disease, curing of these disorders for which treatment exists, and amelioration of pains and minimizing of disabilities. modern medicine has also assumed the task of improving public 15health by promoting hygiene and standards of nutrition and environment. these herbal medicines are obtainable from herbs, roots, bark of trees, shrubs, plants and animals substances, which abound in the forest could be used as food that could be used for nourishment. in their search for nourishment, ballick discovers that; primitive humans sampled many kinds of plants. those that were palatable were used for food, while plants with toxic or unpleasant effects were avoided or used against enemies. still, other plants: those that produced physiological effects were saved for medicinal purposes. the commonest methods of treating patients consists of medical preparations made of mixture of roots, leaves, barks, fruits, parts of animals and rituals involving offering to the 16superhuman forces of nature. it is against this backdrop that one can adequately evaluate the contribution of traditional herbal medicine as it positively affects the total well being of the people despite the great challenges in the scientific research and development of african traditional medicine. this calls for the need to find ways of engaging interdisciplinary teams of african scientists and traditional modern practitioners as well as with scientists and practitioners from other lands for the purpose of transforming african herbal drugs and traditional remedies into modern medicines. this blending of knowledge will go a long way to help provide solution to many of the complex medical challenges we have across board. the benefit of which would not be limited only to the urban communities but also to the rural settlements. improving traditional medicine for effective health care delivery in the age of covid 19 pandemic the progression of the traditional herbal industry would be important for effective health care delivery in africa. the poor ratio of trained doctors to patients in africa, as well as the preferences of many africans, for natural medicine over conventional western pharmaceutical treatments, emphasizes the necessity of quality herbal alternative within the continent as about 70 to 80% of africans rely on traditional healers as their first care 17givers. many african healers believe that, every plant has a disease it can help to cure. they believe that there are ingredients in the plants which have the capacity to fight against the 139utsua, t. peter phd disease. therefore, many african people use herbal mixtures prepared by they themselves. they could boil some of these herbs and abstract the useful ingredient to help them cure diseases. this struggle for breakthrough in herbal medicine does not end in the fight against covid – 19. much of the world still relies on herbs for medicines. despite their effectiveness, the challenges are that such practitioners are ignorant about what truly work and what does not truly work. there is also the challenge of quality control of products that are not the result of standard production methods. to overcome those deficiencies in a continent that is particularly dependent more on herbal medicine, a group of researchers have embarked on the bid to assemble of a pan african pharmacopoeia database of plants' with medicine properties each profile will contain descriptions of the plants itself, of its medical properties, and chemical tests that can be used to identify it. this information will help local health workers to check what works from what does not work. it may also 18increase international trade in african herbal medicines. therefore, the need for the promotion of herbal healing remedies is more felt today than ever before hence, herbal medication is gradually becoming a standardized practice to achieve effective health care delivery for everyone to enjoy. in nigeria, as well as in china, japan, india and peru, efforts have been made to identify many roots, barks and herbs as contribution to herbal medicine. for instance, among the igbo, iroko, orji (melicia exelsa) produces cure for malaria, fever and stomach pains. these herbs are soaked in water and taken before breakfast; usolala-ocha (hybanthus anneaspermus) is another herb which is added to food for pregnant women in order to strengthen the child and prevent after effects as well as treatment of women 19suffering from paralysis following delivery. similarly, the yoruba do not only have the knowledge of various diseases, but they also have numerous formula. for instance, "parunpo" (an assemblage of recipes) has been in existence since 1970s. parunpo is a pharmacopoeia on the various diseases recognized among the yoruba, and the various remedies that can be used. in this document alone, there are 600 different remedies for "eda" (leucorrhoea). the other document "kuseke" (the book of medicine) is active like 20fire and gum powder. it contains numerous instructions for many diseases. in an interview with few native doctors in nasarawa state reveal that, there are a number of native doctors who have good knowledge of neuro-anatomy and neurological symptoms and could use traditional herbal medicine to treat them. a traditional medicine man called nakowa whose herbal medical center was located in morao, a local mada village settlement in gudi district of akwanga lgc, there are other ones among the eggon people called baba alakyo, were baba ajili, whose herbal shrines are located in a local village settlement called alakyo in lafia lgc. he has healing centers across nasarawa north and south senatorial districts especially those places that are predominantly inhabited by eggon people. there are other herbal specialists like ajili, mama sarah nalah and mama mariyamu now late. there are famous bone setting homes across nigeria, these include; baba asoo, the chief priest of the traditional orthopedic center in ikyogen, near a village called yelwata along makurdi road in guma local government area of benue state narrated that; this bone treatment center has a history of successes in bone setting and has been in existence for over 200 years, in fact the germans indicated interest to build elaborate wards to accommodate patients who were receiving treatment at the shrine, unfortunately, the custodians of the shrine turned the offer down for fear and avoidance of impurities that would likely profane the shrine. other known place are; tse gbazun in tulan tiev ward and tse kwagh agule in mbanyange ward all of logo 140 the importance of african traditional medicine and healing techniques in the fight against covid – 19 local government area of benue state. patients whose fracture cases were hopeless in places like germany, france, etc came to receive their cure from ikyogen bone setting 21shrine. gbuje in akwanga lgc is another place that is dependable for the treatment of fracture cases. some of the herbal doctors have improved their preparation in form of powder, liquids. there are evidences of the use of pills, enemas, infusions and elixirs and evidence of experimental medicine in surgery, orthopedics, gynecology and pharmacology. surgery has included male and female circumcision, excision of tumors. the alignment of dislocated bones and the treatment of collarbone fractures have been traditionally handled using anesthetics which were derived from plants identified to have pain killing capabilities, thereby contributing to effective health care delivery nasarawa state. some of the areas that became well known for certain types of medical expertise are tse akaha in awe lgc of nasarawa state which known for orthopedics treatment, anal prolapsed, heart disease, infertility in both men and women. in fact the treatment of patients with cancer, obesity, diabetes and other related ailments have benefited directly or 22indirectly from traditional african pharmacopoeia through herbs. many of these traditional techniques are still utilized in some areas. in some cases, preparations of medicine may be by burning, grinding or boiling. the particular object or plant may be used in many different types of formula. in each case, what it symbolizes in one way may not be the same thing in another. accurate pharmacological knowledge about the particular herbal mixture may be necessary if they are to be used nationally in therapy. this implies that plants are used medicinally alone, or in a mixture and the preparations vary in composition from user or user, according to individual preference or availability of ingredients. the same plants may have been used quite differently in jamaica, india, china, south africa, cameroon, nigeria, depending on the cases in point be it gynecological, pediatric, osteopathy and many other medical problems. conclusion africa carries unique vegetation which has been an inherited key part of traditional medicinal practices for thousands of years can be part of the solution as a larger amount of its population heavily rely on medicinal plants for their healthcare. this is particularly true in rural areas, where access to basic conventional health care is extremely limited. herbal medicine has played a substantial role in the discovery of several drugs from plants to treat diseases by traditional healers such as; malaria, pneumonia, dysentery, cancer, spiritual attacks, infertility etc. this shows how the study of african plants gives hope for an accepted cure for covid-19. perhaps, as part of effective strategy to contain covid 19, herbal medicine can be used to improve one's health, reinforce immunity, and stimulate ability to resist the infection. the use of medicinal plants as components african healthcare system is one of the oldest of all therapeutic systems in african tradition. in rural communities, traditional healers are easily accessible, available and affordable health resource and at times the only therapy that subsists. in the age of covid 19 pandemic, the promising medicinal plants from the african biodiversity can be developed and checked by the various medical and pharmacological research institutes to authenticate and provide dosages to treat or manage the different infectious and chronic disease conditions. it is encouraging that there is currently a renewed interest in african-plant-based medicines in the prevention and cure of various pathologies. medicinal plants still play an important role in healthcare system in african countries. nevertheless, there are some challenges that need to overcome and address for 141utsua, t. peter phd its full acceptability as effective treatment of diseases as plant products have not been validated thoroughly with robust scientific criteria to compete with conventional 23therapies . if access and benefit sharing of african herbal products is to increase, the issues of sustainable use and development of plant products need to be addressed. recommendations the following recommendations if achieved would put african heritage in herbal medicine in an admirable position in world health care system, perspectives in this area include but not limited to the followings: i. african all countries should seek to recognize traditional medical practice by encouraging documentation and putting out regulations and policies that will be fully implemented to ensure that the traditional herbal/medical practice are qualified and accredited but at the same time pay respect to their traditions and customs. they should also as a matter of necessity issued with authentic licenses to be renewed frequently. ii. government should provide an enabling environment to promote capacity building, research, and development, as well as production of traditional herbal medicines of high standards. iii. the importance of traditional herbal medicine should be harnessed and integrated into the conventional medicine to combat priority diseases such as covid – 19, malaria, hiv/aids, diabetes, sickle cell anemia, hypertension and tuberculosis etc. iv. raising the standards of african traditional herbal medicine to international standards through inter-country collaboration. v. herbal medicine should be encouraged since it has played a substantial role in the discovery of several drugs from plants to treat diseases by traditional healers such as; malaria, pneumonia, dysentery, cancer, spiritual attacks, infertility etc. vi. as part of effective strategy to contain covid 19, herbal medicine can be used to improve one's health, reinforce immunity, and stimulate ability to resist the infection. vii. in the age of covid 19 pandemic, the promising medicinal plants from the african biodiversity should be developed and checked by the various medical and pharmacological research institutes to authenticate and provide dosages to treat or manage the different infectious and chronic disease conditions. viii. concerted effort should be made to address some challenges that need to be address for its full acceptability as effective treatment of diseases as plant products have not been validated thoroughly with robust scientific criteria to compete with conventional therapies. ix. the issues of sustainable use and development of plant products need to be addressed if access and benefit sharing of african herbal products is to thrive. x. ensure strict adherence to the globally acceptable best practices such as frequent washing of hands, use of spirit based hand sanitizer, wearing of face masks and maintenance of social distance. this will go a long way in reducing the rate of spread of the disease 142 the importance of african traditional medicine and healing techniques in the fight against covid – 19 references 1. shishima, s.d. “the wholistic nature of african traditional medicine: the tiv experience, benue valley journal of humanities, vol. 1, no. 2. 1997. p. 37. 2. metuh e.i. (1986) african traditional medicine and healing: a theological and pastoral reappraisal”, seminar paper. 3. chan jf, etal. (2013). interspecies transmission and emergence of novel viruses: lessons from bats and birds. trends microbiol. vol. (10): p. 544. 4. chen y, liu q, guo d. (2020). emerging coronaviruses: genome structure, replication, a n d pathogenesis. j. med. virol. apr;92 (4): p. 418. 5. bauch ct, etal. (2005). dynamically modeling sars and other newly emerging respiratory illnesses: past, present, and future. epidemiology. vol. (6):791-801.] 6. li q, etal. (2020). early transmission dynamics in wuhan, china, of novel corona-virus-infected pneumonia. retrieved 2020 jan 29 7. tian s, (2020). pulmonary pathology of early phase 2019 novel corona-virus (covid19) th pneumonia in two patients with lung cancer. j thorac oncol. retrieved 27 february, 2020. 8. kogan a, (2019). acute respiratory distress syndrome following cardiac surgery: comparison of the american-european consensus conference definition versus the berlin definition. vol. 97(6): 518. 9. singer m, etal (2016). the third international consensus definitions for sepsis and septic shock (sepsis-3). jama. p. 801. 10. perlman s, netland j. (2009). corona-viruses post-sars: update on replication and pathogenesis. nat. rev. microbiol. p. 439. 11. dyikuk, justine john. (2020) china, usa, who versus the rest of us: matters arising from the covid-19 quagmire, the new chronicle. retrieved 13 june, 2020. 12. dyikuk, justine john. (2020). 13. ezekwesili-ofili josephine ozioma and okaka antoinette nwamaka chinwe (2019). herbal m e d i c i n e s i n a f r i c a n t r a d i t i o n a l m e d i c i n e . a v a i l a b l e f r o m : https://www.intechopen.com. 14. dyikuk, justine john. (2020). p. 2. 15. apenda, a.z. (2006) "the crisis of traditional medicine and the new directions in the 21th century: problems and challenges. presented at the faculty of arts national conference, ab.u. zaria, 14th january,p. 15. 16. ballick, mj. "medicinal plants". in grolier international encyclopedia, vol. 13. p. 266 17. adenika, f.b. developing traditional medicine in nigeria: lessons from chinn. ikeja: panpharm, 1990. p. 32. 18. okafor, emeka (2006). "association for african medicinal plants standards". in timbukuchronicles. friday, october, p. 1. 19. ogbonna, p.a (2001). "the use of alternative medicine: the contribution of an african herberlist". in philosophy, christianity and science in the third millennium. ed. f.o.c njoku. owerri: assumpta press. p. 94. 20. dopamu, a (1955). "health and healing within the traditional african religious context". in orita: lbadan journal of religious studies xvii. 2. p. 68. 21. dangana ekom and david ashenghanye, oral interview ikyogen village nasarawa eggon local government area nasarawa state. 11/4/2020. 22. abraham asoo. oral interview ikyogen village guma local government area benue state 21/4/2020 23. kanu, i. a. (2020). covid-19 pandemic and the health of african migrants. amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 18. no. 2. pp. 56-64; kanu, i. a. (2020). covid-19 and the economy: an african perspective. journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 3. no. 2. pp. 29-36; kanu, i. a. (2020). saint augustine and covid-19 pandemic: the future and divine providence. tansian university journal of arts, management and social sciences. vol. 7. pp. 151162. 143utsua, t. peter phd page 1 page 2 page 3 page 4 page 5 page 6 page 7 page 8 page 9 page 10 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 29 the blood of the martyr is the seed of the church: a practical experience of the eyn church john ishaku department of christian religious studies kaduna state university 08035104096; johnishaku73@gmail.com & haruna yusuf jatau department of christian religious studies, nasarwa state college of education, akwanga, nasarawa state doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract this paper examines the christian martyrs in the new testament and how the blood of the persecuted christians led to the spread of christianity all over the world and that is exactly what the ekklesiyyan yanuwan christa of nigeria (eyn) the church of the brethren in nigeria went through in the north-east of which especially in borno and the neighboring states for those that were killed rested in perfect peace but for those who are scattered wherever they find themselves, they were busy preaching the gospel of christ in different parts of the country. this study recommends, mong other things, that christians should pray and be happy whenever they are being persecuted knowing too well that those that die in christ will receive a crown of glory. keywords: martyr, blood, christianity, eyn, new testament introduction hanks (1998, pp. 21-22) maintains that the phrase, "the blood of the martyr is seed of the church", is a paraphrase of the words written by tertullian, in his book, the apology of tertullian for the churches. tertullian is a theologian and an apologist from north africa, who lived from 150-225bc, and is one of the great writers of the early church. he lived in a time when christians were being persecuted and was aware of the powerful effect the death of martyrs had on unbelievers; it was this very witness that brought him to faith. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 30 rather than destroying the church, the death of the martyrs actually increased admiration and respect for the believers and numbers were greatly won to christ. pagans were at times amazed at the courage (some said foolishness) of men, women, and children who faced death in the arena. the occasion of the martyr's death became known as the 'birthday' (a phrase invented by tertullian) and in some instances became an annual festival almost as important as the celebration of easter (hanks, 1998, p. 22). throughout its history the christian church has been subject to divisions and heresies, quarrels and wars, and no century has passed without it being troubled by enemies. worst of all, countless numbers of believers have suffered torture and been cruelly put to death for their faith in jesus. warned that they would be betrayed and brought before governors and kings, they were stirred to great deeds of heroism and paid the ultimate price rather than deny their lord. not only did the early church survive this terrible onslaught, but it increased in strength and by the fourth century was firmly established throughout the mediterranean world (hanks, 1998, p. 5). the foremost of tertullian's works, the apologeticum or apologeticus, is a defense of christianity against the unreasoning and unreasonable criticism of the unbelievers. it was composed in the summer or autumn of 197ad, and addressed to the provincial governors of the roman empire. tertullian refutes these as nonsense, and concludes by asserting the absolute superiority of the christian religion overall, as a revealed religion. he realized that no war is won by remaining on the defensive, and so goes over to attack the indefensible attitudes of the unbelievers, who presumed to judge people who were infinitely their superiors, even by their own standards. with this, the victory of christianity became possible. chuckles at how the christians are always in the wrong, tertullian stated, (ch 40): 'if the tiber rises too high for the walls, or the nile too low for the fields, if the heavens do not open, or the earth does, if there is famine, if there is plague, instantly the howl is, "the christians to the lion!" what, all of them, to a single lion? episode of martyrs blandina igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 31 the bravest of the martyrs was a slave girl called blandina, who under torture confessed, 'i am a christian and we have done nothing vile.' she was scourged in an attempt to force her to renounce christ and was finally led to a stake and gored to death by a wild bull in the amphitheatre. the courage of this young girl encouraged the christians and amazed even the hardened pagans, as it was something they could not understand (hanks 1988, pp. 20-21). perpetua hanks (1998, p. 5) purports that the most memorable of martyrdoms at carthage was that of a 22-year widow, perpetua. her mother was a christian but her father remained a pagan. at the time of her imprisonment, she was nursing a new-born baby. her father pleaded with her to renounce her faith, but she refused. baptized while in prison, her cell (she related) 'became a palace.' at her interrogation, the procurator entreated her to offer a sacrifice to the emperor, if only for the sake of the child, but she refused. she was taken with four other christians to the amphitheatre where they were first savaged by wild beast; after giving each other the kiss of peace they were put to death by the sword. polycarp (69-156ad): bishop of smyrna during the reign of antoninus, there occurred the most famous of all martyrdoms, that of the aged polycarp, bishop of smyrna. polycarp the church's last link with the 'apostolic age', and was regarded with much reverence and affection by his flock, and many of them were happy just to have the privilege of removing his shoes. the event of polycarp's martyrdom was in this fashion; when the roman officials arrived to arrest him, he treated them with the utmost courtesy, and invited them to eat and drink as his guest. he asked the men to give him one hour in which to pray, and he spent some time in commending his friends to god and asking for courage to face the coming ordeal. when he was ready, the officials mounted him upon an ass and led him into the city. as they travelled, the men tried to persuade him to deny christ: 'why, what harm is there in saying "caesar is lord," and so save yourself?' they argued. but the purpose of their plea was not to save him from death. rather the honor of breaking down a champion of the church. as polycarp was entering the stadium where the games were being held, there came a voice from heaven: 'be strong, polycarp, and play the man/ some of the believers standing by heard the voice, but they saw no on; perhaps it was the voice of god? in the arena polycarp igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 32 was brought before the proconsul who began by urging him to deny his faith. "have respect for your old age," he told the bishop, swear by the divinity of caesar; repent and say "away with the atheists". polycarp solemnly waved his hand towards the pagan crowd and repeated "away with the atheists!" but the proconsul pleaded further with him, 'take the oath, and i will let you go; revile christ.' to which the bishop nobly replied, "eighty-six years i have served him, and he has done me no wrong how can i blaspheme my king who has saved me?" polycarp remained firm in his resolve, and at last the proconsul called the herald and told him to announce three times, polycarp has confessed to being a christian. without waiting for the wild beasts, the crowd demanded that polycarp should be burned alive. hurriedly, logs were gathered together. at his request he was spared being nailed to the stake. "he who gives me power to endure the fire will also give me the power to withstand the flames," he declared. as the flames leaped around him, polycarp looked up to heaven, praising god and thanking him that he was counted worthy to take the cup of christ. when the onlookers saw that the body was not being consumed in the fire, a gladiator was sent to dispatch the bishop with a dagger thrust through the heart (hanks, 1998, pp. 14-17). the eyn: a brief introduction eyn is an acronym for 'ekklesiyar yan'uwa a nigeria', interpreted to mean 'the church of the brethren of nigeria'. the eyn has its origins in the work of missionaries sent by the church of the brethren in the usa which started in 1923, it has meanwhile grown to over 350,000 members. the church of the brethren in nigeria has its home in the northeast of the country and is a young and fast-growing church. the seat of the church leadership is 'kwarhi' near the town of mubi. church life in eyn has a strongly inviting character. the eyn is also active in pastoral care, and its work concentrates on rural development, basic health services, hiv and aids and literacy. from its origins, the eyn is a church of peace which rejects any form of military violence in a bid to defend itself-retrieved from: https://emsonline.org/en/countries/africa/nigeria. persecution and the eyn (ekklesityar yan'uwa a nigeria) church igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 33 "in spite of our peace-loving nature, eyn church is the greatest single denomination that the islamic fundamentalists, the so-called boko haram group, has almost successfully wiped out of existence in many local government areas of borno, part of yobe and adamawa states. today as i am speaking, 26 out of the 50 eyn district church councils, together with its 156 local church council or parishes, have been closed down. 70 out of the 156 local church councils and 21 local church branches have been burnt down completely. in addition, over 2,287 houses belonging to our members have been burnt down included their properties such as food stuff. also, we have on record: over 3,038 of our members who have so far been killed and 8 pastors that were also killed. in addition, 180 of our members have been kidnapped including a pastor and pregnant wife of another pastor with three of her children were kidnapped. it may also interest you to know that 178 out of the total chibok school girls that were kidnapped are children of eyn members (from http://www.brethren.org/news/2q14/newsline-special-eyn-is.html). the notable among the agents of persecution of the eyn is the radical islamic sect known as boko haram. a brief information of this sect is given below: boko haram the name 'boko haram', is usually translated as 'western education is forbidden'. haram is from the arabic 'haram', "forbidden"; and the hausa word 'boko' [the first vowel is long, the second pronounced in a low tone], meaning "fake", which is used to refer to secular western education. boko haram has also been translated as "western influence is a sin" and "westernization is sacrilege". until the death of its founder mohammed yusuf, the group was also reportedly known as yusifiyya. northern nigerians have commonly dismissed western education as ilimin boko ("fake education") and secular schools as makaronta boko. founding: the group was founded in 2002, and is an islamic extremist group based in northeastern nigeria, also active in chad, niger and northern cameroun. prior to abubakar shekau's pledge of allegiance to isil, the group's official name was jama'atu ahli is-sunnah lid-da'wati wal-jihad meaning "people committed to the prophet's teachings for propagation and jihad". this igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 34 group presently refers to herself as 'al-wilayat al-islamiyya gharb afriqiyah', to designate it as a branch or "province" of the islamic state of iraq and the levant (isil). leadership: the group was led by abubakar shekau until august 2016, when he was succeeded by abu musab al-barnawi. the group had alleged links to alqaeda, but in march 2015, it announced its allegiance to the islamic state of iraq and the levant (is1l). ideology: boko haram was founded as a sunni islamic fundamentalist sect, influenced by the wahhabi movement, advocating a strict form of sharia law. it developed into a salafist-jihadi group in 2009. the movement is diffuse, and fighters associated with it do not necessarily follow salafi doctrine. the group has denounced the members of the sufi, the shiite, and the izala sects as infidels. boko haram seeks the establishment of an islamic state in nigeria. it opposes the westernization of nigerian society and the concentration of the wealth of the country among members of a small political elite, mainly in the christian south of the country. this group condemns the reading of books other than the quran. retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/boko_haram. table: some attacks in northern nigeria by boko haram sect between july 2009 and june 2012. s/n o date state type of violence/attack 1. septembers, 2010 bauchi bauchi central prison was set ablaze and members of the sect freed. 2. december 25, 2011 niger about 50 people died on christmas day bombing in madalla, niger state. 3. january6, 2012 adamawa 17 people died in a christ apostolic church, yola, adamawa state while 20 igbo people were also killed in mubi in the same state. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 35 4. january 22, 2012 bauchi two churches destroyed in bauchi state, two military personnel, a dpo and eight civilian were killed by gunmen at the headquarters of tafawa balewa local government area in the state. 5. february 15, 2012 kogi jail break in koton karji prisons, kogi state. a warder was killed and 199 prisoners released. 6. april 8, 2012 kaduna 38 people killed on easter sunday. 7. june 17, 2012 kaduna multiple bomb attacks on 3 churches killing 70 people and injured scores of others. excerpt from; 'the socio-economic implications of book-horam activities in northern nigeria' by ovaga, okey h. (ph.d). university of nigeria, nsukka. source: adapted in okpaga, ugwu and erne (2012:8) and also compiled by the author. some reports of boko haram sect on the eyn since this insurgency (boko haram) started, it has killed 20,000 and displaced 2.3 million from their homes and was ranked as the world's deadliest terror group by the global terrorism index in 2015. on the night of april 14, armed men associated with the radical islamic group boko haram, stormed the dormitory of a christian school in the northeastern nigerian town of chibok and forced some 230 girls into a convoy of trucks before disappearing into the dense forest along the nigerian-cameroon border (the mennonite, 9.30. 2014 written by: john d. roth). pastor kidnapped, church burned as boko haram kills 29 christians in nigeria by morning star news, cp world, june 2, 2014 j 9:24 pm: while international media sights have been justifiably fixed on 276 girls kidnapped from chibok, borno state, islamic extremists last week killed christians in the state's gwoza area nearly unnoticed, as they have for more than two years. these islamists kill at least 29 christians on igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 36 sunday and monday (may 25-26), sources told morning star news. the attacks came after a slaughter of at least 121 people in the village of izghe in the predominantly christian area of gwoza on feb. 15. on sunday (may 25), boko haram killed 21 christians of a congregation of church of christ in nations (cocin) in gwoza town during a worship service, said the rev. moses thliza of the church of the brethren in nigeria (eyn). the next day, rebels from boko haram, which seeks to impose sharia (islamic law) throughout nigeria, burned down seven churches and numerous houses in the area, christian leaders reported. nglamuda ibrahim, a resident of gwoza town, gave morning star news the names of seven christians killed on monday (may 26) in chinene village, these are: bulama dajiba, bulama john, haruna wadda, bitrus kurma, haruna kwatha, haruna waruda, and shaibu galva, retrieved from: http://christianresponse.ca/boko-haram-violence-cripples-christianity~inareas-of-nigerias-borno-state/. thousands flee attacks; public worship impossible for some who remain islamic extremist boko haram insurgents have driven thousands of christians from areas of borno state, with some of those remaining unable to hold worship services, church leaders said. boko haram attacks that killed at least 150 members of the church of the brethren in nigeria (ekklesiyar yan'uwa a nigeria, or eyn) in the past 10 months have caused 8,000 christians to flee, eyn leaders said. "most of our church members affected by these attacks have fled to other communities, and they are in desperate need for help," said the rev. daniel yumuna, jos district secretary for the church of the brethren in nigeria. boko haram, based in borno state, has killed at least 900 christians in the past year in its stated campaign to establish strict sharia (islamic law) throughout the country, according to the hudson institute. filibus gwama, former president of the eyn, told morning star news that a sept. 27 attack by boko haram on his community, gavva west in gwoza district, forced many christians to flee to neighboring cameroon. "five members from my village who escaped from the attackers said seven of our christian members were killed in the attack, and two of them were children, ages 6 and 8," gwama said. yumuna and gwama said 75 houses were burned in the attack on the christian community near the border of cameroon. they said it was the 10th attack on gavva west village this year. another attack on barawa, also in borno's gwoza district, devastated local churches, eyn leaders said. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 37 one church member was killed, three eyn churches were burned, and 19 houses were destroyed, including the house of our pastor/yumuna told morning star news. "the boko haram gunmen forced about 8,000 people out of barawa area and set fire on nine churches, while 400 houses were destroyed. the rev. samuel dante doll, president of eyn, says in a denomination report that church services have become impossible in some areas: "they attacked christians from house to house and burned almost every church in the gwoza and gavva areas/'. dali further states in the report. "most of the eyn churches in these areas are close to cameroon. about 2,000 of our church members have fled to cameroon as refugees. and sometimes we are very confused and depressed because there's not much you can do” he adds. "the church cannot mobilize and provide security. the resources aren't there. and sometimes you can't have a church service at all, worship is out of the question in some places" (jos, morning star news, november 6, 2013, by our nigeria correspondent). the relationship between the phrase: 'the blood of the martyr is the seed of the church' and the eyn church in its first three centuries, the christian church endured persecution at the hands of roman authorities. this experience and its resulting martyrs and apologists, would come to have significant historical and theological consequences for the developing faith. among other things, persecution sparked the cult of the saints, facilitated the rapid growth and spread of christianity, prompted defenses and explanations of christianity (apologies), and, in its aftermath, raised fundamental questions about the nature of the church. besides being put to death they [christians] were made to serve as objects of amusement; they were clad in the hides of beast and torn to death by dogs; others were crucified, others set on fire to serve to illuminate the night when daylight failed. nero had thrown open his grounds for the display, and was putting on a show in the circus, where he mingled with the people in the dress of a charioteer or drove about in his chariot. all this gave rise to a feeling of pity, even toward men whose guilt merited the most exemplary punishment; for it was felt that they were being destroyed not for the public good but to satisfy the cruelty of an individual (nero, the emperor). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 38 in general, public opinion condemned the government's violence and admired the martyrs' passive resistance, and the christian movement was thereby strengthened. the last major roman persecution of christians occurred under diocletian, and it was the worst of all. it is known as the "great persecution." diocletian ordered the burning of christian books and churches, but promised not to spill any blood. in actuality, the diocletian persecution turned out to be extremely violent. this violence "did not succeed in annihilating christianity but caused the faith of the martyrs to blaze forth instead." the second-century theologian tertullian had converted to christianity based in part on his wonder at christians' faithfulness in the face of martyrdom and it clearly had a similar effect on others as well. indeed, persecution seemed to have a dramatic effect on christianity's numbers, but not in the direction intended by the persecutors, amongst the reasons for the expansion of the church are paul's persecution and stephen's preaching (john ishaku. handouts on acts of apostles, p. 4). in other to find a clear-cut comprehension of the phrase "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church" in relation to the eyn, one must first and foremost take into account the following references: john 12:24: "verily, verily, i say unto you, except a corn of wheat falls to the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it dies, it bringeth forth more fruit (kjv). according to tertullian; the fruit is always present in the seed. tertullian further stated: "our sufferings are our triumph. our endurance in your view redounds to our discredit; the fortitude of others to their honour. you may gain popularity by your injustice, but our sufferings and practical example continually attract new converts; christian and pagan in the roman empire", the witness of tertullian (selections from the fathers of the church) robert d. sider, ed. the same can be said of the eyn, for even in the incident of their persecution they continued to be a force to be reckoned with and increased numerically. romans 8:28: "and we know that all things work together for good to them that love god, to them who are called according to his purpose" (kjv). what are the all things that paul is referring to? in the previous verses (vv. 1723), paul spoke of how as heirs of god and co-heirs with christ, we share in his suffering {v, 17), it is obvious from the context that paul is not speaking primarily of the suffering that we endure as being part of the fallen creation, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 39 but the suffering that is unique to the children of god. as bad as such suffering is, paul says, it is not worthy to compare with the glory that awaits us when christ return. persecution is therefore, not intrinsically good, but good in as much as god is able to bring good out of something evil, in the same way as joseph could tell his brother in genesis 50:15, "god turned in good what you meant for evil" (nlt). even so, the eyn in her persecuted state have continued to exude fortitude, knowing that no persecution she presently experience is worthy to be compared with the glory awaiting her. 2 timothy 3:12: "yea, and all that will live godly in christ jesus shall suffer persecution" (kjv). i find it interesting that paul did not see the suffering that he endures as exceptional, but rather typical for everyone who wants to live a godly life. will persecution make us better christians? perhaps it seems to me, however that the witness of scripture and the testimony of todays persecuted church is better reflected in the phrase, "better christians tend to produce persecution. it is said of the church leaders who are without marks of persecution on their backs, as those who are not being faithful to the faith (gleen penner, pp.2-4). matthew 10:23-24: "they persecute you in one city, flee to the other" (kjv). early christians who were persecuted in judaea, jerusalem, and samaria fled to antioch in yria and other parts of the globe; and wherever they went the spread the gospel, and converts were added to church. even so, the eyn members are witnesses to the good news in whatever and town and community they fled to. according to handout on 'acts of the apostles' among the reasons for the expansion of the church are paul's persecution and stephen preaching (mr. ishaku 2017, p4). purification of the church: an accompanying assumption is that persecution typically causes the church to be purified, and believers to walk more closely with god. consequently, persecution is often seen to have a benefit for the church. in the prophets, the hebrew scriptures purports: ...many shall be purified, and made white and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand daniel 12:10 (kjv). this concept is further buttressed in the new testament: for unto you it is given in the behalf of christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake (phil 1:29). for even hereunto were ye called: because christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps (1 peter 2:21). beloved think it not strange igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 40 concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of christ sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. if ye be reproached for the name of christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of god resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. but let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evil doer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. yet if any man suffers as a christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify god on this behalf (1 peter 4:12-16). the role of apologists: the consistent criticism of the faith gave rise to another group of christian writers known as the apologists. these writers argue for the faith, and in the process allowed christians and non-christians of all ages to know what the second century church believed. these took upon themselves the task of making reasonable defenses and recommendation of the faith to outsiders. they made appeals in favor of fellow christians, presenting the christian faith on a philosophical and rational basis, as such, many were won to the faith. examples of apologists are: justin the martyr, tertullian, origen, clement of alexandria, irenaeus of lyons, etc. even so, members of the eyn in the likes of daniel yumana {jos district secretary for the church of the brethren of nigeria); mbode m. ndirmbita (vice president of eyn) have been the voice of the eyn community in the face of persecution. rising of the spirit of brotherliness: like the anabaptist, the eyn church along with its global family is committed to the practice of prayer for their brethren in other lands. recently, dozens of church of the brethren congregation throughout north america united for a week of sustained prayer and fasting on behalf of the brothers and sisters in nigeria, sharing with the psalmist the voices of their lament, despair, trust, and hope. in the 17th century, mennonites living in the netherlands took note of the sufferings of their swiss brethren cousins, by sending fact-finding delegations, raising funds for refugee relief, making direct appeals to government authorities and carefully recording the names and stories of those who were being persecuted for public attention, consideration, and empathy. a large scale holistic program continues providing emergency relief and early recovery, even as programming is transitioning to long term recovery activities in some communities with improved security. by caring for the whole person and community, providing basic needs igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 41 • spiritual care • trauma healing • education • agriculture and • community development as part of the response and relief efforts, new homes for displaced people are being built in safer areas of north east nigeria, for families not able to return to their home community. a large trauma healing program is holding trauma awareness workshops while training additional facilitators to reach more people in their own villages. the nigeria crisis response and the mennonite central committee (mcc) are working alongside eyn in supporting this important program. providing education for children is a critical part of their long term recovery and trauma healing. some children have been out of school for up to two years. the response includes sponsoring a school in jos, supporting orphans, providing school fees for children in other towns, and supplies for thousands of children. new schools have been started for displaced children in safe areas. food and basic household supply is an ongoing cornerstone of the relief effort. a major part of 2015 & early 2016 programming has been food distribution. these will continue until the harvest allows families to support themselves. a typical distribution includes corn, rice, vegetable oil, noodles, and spices, sleeping mats, water containers, cooking and dining supplies, soap and other hygiene supplies. medical care is being provided in temporary camps, churches, as part of food distributions, at new relocation centers and at existing clinics in the northeast. with all national staff displaced, the church headquarters overrun, and two-thirds of the churches destroyed, the eyn body was in crisis. a critical part of this response has been to support eyn leadership so they can help lead the recovery efforts. through church strengthening, eyn has built capacity to be the largest response partner is this crisis. through this effort temporary eyn headquarters were established in jos, kulp bible college (kbc) was relocated, key meetings were supported and housing for displaced national church leaders were provided. in 2016, with improved security around kwarhi, eyn headquarters has now been repaired and kbc has returned to its original site and has reopened for students. with better security, many families are returning to this area. retrieved from http://www.brethren.org/nigeriacrisis/response.html igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 42 the relationship: in a nutshell jesus said: "remember the word that i said unto you, the servant is not greater than the master. if they have persecuted me they will also persecute you" john 15:20 (kjv). he further stated: "and i, if i be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me” john 12:32-33. persecution is nothing new for christians. the phrase "the blood of the martyr is the seed of the church" is commonly said to have been almost literally copied from tertullian, who in 197ad penned it. nevertheless, the idea behind the phrase was contained in a speech by an unknown author to the pagan diogneto in the mid-2nd century: "do you not see that the christians thrown to the wild beasts that they may recant the lord do not allow themselves to be beaten? do you not see that the more they are punished, the more they increased in numbers?” lippolito romano was one of tertullian's contemporary, who during the persecution organized by septimius severus, wrote; that a large number of men attracted to the faith by martyrs also became god's martyrs (see commentary to daniel, 11, 38). hence, the relationship between the phrase "the blood of the martyr is the seed of the church" to the eyn can be seen in the light of "fortitude, continuity, and expansion in the face of persecution". conclusion tertullian witnessed how christians were killed for their faith, and discovered that their death had effect on the society that was persecuting them. he watched unbelievers within his people group persecuting believers who were among them, and the effect was one of yeast in dough -the yeast representing the persecuted believer and the dough symbolizing the persecuting community, the heat of persecution helping the yeast mature and transform dough. scriptures says: "the kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, tilt the whole was leavened (matt. 13:33). in john 12:24 jesus said; "verily, verily, i say unto you, except a grain of wheat fall to the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it dies, it bringeth forth much fruit". the martyrs followed the path shown by jesus (john 14:6). martyrs through the loss of their lives in bearing witness to jesus, gain eternal life. nevertheless, this is positive for the church, that receives new members and it also serves as encouragement to converts and renewal among existing believers (john paul ii, teachings, 23/1, 776). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 43 recommendations 1. pastors should teach their members that there is a season of persecution 2. christians should know that people will reject them for the sake of christ 3. christians should know that the only church expanded as a result of the persecution of the church. 4. christians should pray and be happy when they are persecuted. 5. clergymen should teach their adherents that the body can be destroyed but the soul cannot be destroyed. 6. for those that die as a result of persecution will receive the crown of life 7. the world will reject us because we are not of the world. references glenn, p. (2008). the lost history of christianity. harper collins publication hanks, g. (1998). seventy great christians. the story of the christian church. kaduna, nigeria: evangel publication. harry, r. b. (2003). a short history of the early church. michigan: wm b. eradmans publishing house. ishaku, j. (2014). handouts; acts of the apostles. tafawa balewa way. kaduna state university. images on page 14-18 are retrieved from https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=images+of+church+destructio n%ee%80%81+of+boko+%ee%80%80haram+in+northern+nigeria&id=e573 13b53d024298a8ca974dea243f116ffcf1b6&form = i joyce, e. s. (2014). perpetus's passion. the death and memory of a young roman woman. ovaga, okey h. (ph.d). the socio-economic implications of bokoharam activities in northern nigeria. department of public administration and local government, university of nigeria, nsukka nixon, b. (2013). persecution and the church of the brethren. retrieved from – http://www.christiansincrisis.net/latest-news/1146-persecution-andthe-church-of-the-bretheren.html the holy bible. (1977). king james version. usa, nashville: thomas nelson publishers. the mennonite, global anabaptism: the persecution of nigerian christians. 9.30. 2014 written by: john d. roth. retrieved from https://themennonite.org/opinion/persecution-nigerianchnstians/wehmeier, s. et al. (2007) "oxford advanced learners dictionary". new york, oxford university press, seventh edition. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 130 the impact of igwebuike ideology in peace building among african people okafor, emmanuel ikenna (ph.d) department of christian religious studies, peaceland college of education, enugu 08062384595 & ude, chizoba chilotaram department of social studies education, institute of ecumenical education, thinkers corner, enugu & okolo, rosemary ngozi (ph.d) department of religion and cultural studies, university of nigeria, nsukka & amaechi-ani, nneka nkiru. department of social studies education, institute of ecumenical education, thinkers corner, enugu agbudugbu@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.19482.59846 abstract african continent had perceived group soldering as the greatest strategies to tackle difficult and tedious challenges that torment human society. it is an ideology that rose from the natural and spontaneous communalistic spirit in the people's collective relationships. igwebuike is an igbo language which literally means large number is strength. but the basic ideology there is that united majority is a viable machinery in solving group or members' problems. this paper therefore aims at re-focusing on how igwebuike as an ideology can be adopted in africa, to provide lasting peace in africa and among african states and people. the research observes that serious concern is not given to the igwebuike ideology on the area of peace build. attention was very much on application of the ideology for economic gains, group opposition attacks and for political gains. the research recommends that earnest concern should be given to this ideology throughout africa with the use of age –grade system, communal worship system, women folk, kinship system, to mention but a few. the research adopted historical and sociological approaches. data were sourced from both primary and secondary means. data were analyzed with phenomenological method of data analysis.0 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 131 keywords: igwebuike ideology, peace –building, african people introduction the impact of igwebuike ideology overwhelmingly occupies the african perception of peace-building. for the sake of peace-building in africa, late dr. nnamdi azikiwe had made serious effort to unite african nations; the evidence can be derived from his establishment of a newspaper industry with the name, west african pilot, and the establishment of a financial institution known as african continental bank. before his death, he was popularly known as the zik of african. zik’s initiative motivated the name given to one of the old generation’s banks as united bank for african-uba. at the face of confusions that triggered nigerian civil war some nigerians including dr nnamdi azikiwe still advised for one nigeria. today, against the creation of another country out from nigeria, some still advocate for one nigeria with good political restructuring. the country’s academic system teaches unity in diversity in the area of social studies. in the researcher’s council area, during a serious political tussle, a prominent politician in the local government area in the person of rt. hon. dr. festus uzor stated thus: “no ezeagu man is more ezeagu than the other. you are… because we are… you cannot be… if we are …” he is stressing here that the office occupied by one politician in ezeagu local government area is made possible because majority of ezeagu politicians supported the person therefore when the same majority stand behind someone, he or she alone should not counter. in a nutshell the views and actions stated above, rally round the idea in the igbo word igwebuike. larger group alliance is always strength and powerful. an igbo adage states thus: ofu onye siere oha, oha e richee ya, ma na oha siere ofu onye, o ma richee ya. this means that if an individual prepares meal of any quantity for a large united group, the group will consume it all, but when the group prepares any quantity of food for the individual, he cannot finish it. in view of the above, it could be ascertained that this igwebuike ideology has serious impact on the african people’s security and peace-building in virtually all the ramifications of their lives, be it political, economic, social, education, religion, health and so on. mrs ajayi marian (personal communication, 7 april 2020) states that most african communities from history believed in team work. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 132 they did group farming, group hunting etc. what mrs ajayi says is true, because today, for example, in the hunting games, when a group march to the bush, with their individual guns, dogs etc, they threaten the bush, making every animal there uncomfortable. after the game, many animals are caught. this is just a sample of how united majority can subdue any obstacle that arises. when united group spirit is well developed, there is no doubt, the group can move mountains in return, such unity sustains peace among them and fosters security. igwebuike ideology is not relatively far from african communalism but the only demarcation is that communalism can exist between independent individual communalist relationships, but igwebuike sees the group mission as supreme to individual interest: most african states were able to gain political, economic and even religious independence because of their formidable united majority (igwebuike) spirit. the igbo/ibibio women that confronted the ruling muscles of the colonialists in the so-called aba women riot, was made possible on the basis of igwebuike ideology which had impacted lasting peace among the local women and families in the zone. among the findings of the research is that with effective actualization of the idea of group soldering so many problems can be tackled to their barest minimum. that notwithstanding, the same igwebuike ideology can be used for negative intention or goals, for example, the mob actions, team armed robbery et cetera. the paper intends to re-echo how igwebuike as an ideology would be implemented in africa, its communities and nations, to provide lasting peace in africa, its nations, and peoples. the research also discovers that much more serious concern is not given to the igwebuike ideology on the area of peace building. the ideology is mostly applied for selfish economic gains, group opposition attack and counter attacks, political gains, selfish social solidity, etc. it is recommended in this research that more serious concern should be attached to igwebuike ideology throughout africa with the use of traditional machineries such as age-grade system, communal worship system, the masquerading society, the title institutions, family institution, and other modern machineries like the youth clubs and associations, neighborhood watch teams, elder’s forum, town union, christian and muslim associations, government and non-governmental organization et cetera. the methodologies used in this research are both historical and sociological approaches. data used were generated from primary and secondary stocks. the method of data analysis was phenomenological analytical method. igwebuike ideology is synonymous with the broom bunch as an adage or concept. individual broom sticks that make up the broom bunch can igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 133 easily be broken, but to break the broom bunch is definitely difficult. the broom exhibits its strength in its bunch than when it is separated from the bunch. the broom sticks in a bunch are peaceful, that is why they have agreed to be tied together as one entity. this is the basis on which igwebuike as an ideology champions all ramifications of human welfare in typical african society. clarification of concepts the concepts or terms that fundamentally call for explanations are: igwebuike ideology, peace-building, and african (people). igwebuike as a word finds its origin in igbo ecolingual base. igwebuike links itself with terms like communalism, cooperative movement and even united majority. though slight differences might exist between these three terms but the variation seems to be insignificant. akukwe (1996) opines that cooperative comes from the latin word co-operate, i.e. to work together. according to akukwe, the idea of men working together is as old as man himself because of his social nature. because of his inherent limitations, man needs the co-operation of his fellow human beings to develop his physical, intellectual and spiritual potentialities (akukwe, 1996). according to summers (2001), communal is perceived as that shared by a group, especially a group of people who live together, or that which involves people from many different races, religions, or language groups. this adjective communal, forms the basis of the term communalism. majority on the other hand, links itself with number. most of the people or things in a particular group (summers, 2001). the igwe in the word connotes majority/large in number, the ‘bu’ means is in english language. it is just a verb that shows the attribute of the suffix to the prefix ‘lke’ which means strength/power in english language. while communalism emphasizes on sharing things in common, cooperative/cooperation focuses on the unity to achieve specific goal(s). when these three basic strands of thought are merged together, the concept of igwebuike becomes comprehensible. peace-building has peace as the head word. peace in the lay man view might imply or mean happiness. but peace connotes, no war, agreement, no noise, calmness, etc (summers, 2001). peace-building, simply means the art of structuring, sustaining a condition of calmness, noiselessness, agreement in positive mindedness, no war, no conflict, no violence etc. african people as we all know, are one of the peoples that make up one of the continents of the world, dominated with the people with dark or black identification. mr. onwuka igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 134 francis (personal communication, 13 march 2020) points out that what aboriginals of igbo nation commonly call or presume africans to be is the people with black hair-ndi isi oji. summers (2001) adds that the word “african interprets someone from africa. mr. gabriel patrick (personal communication 6 april, 2020) points that africa as an area is in most cases presented as a sunny zone. what patrick stresses could be truly acceptable because africa has the highest geographical coverage where the sun radiates the ultra violet rays heavily. dr. obiora aniebo, a geographer/geo-physicist (personal communication, 8 may, 2020) opines that the ultra-violet rays discharge greater heat within africa as a geographical region more than other regions across the globe. therefore, we conceptually agree that africa is sunny, more so, it is the indigenous region of the people who are more or less black or dark in complexion, with black hair color. impact of igwebuike ideology in peace-building in discussing igwebuike as an idea, it is pertinent to stress here that peacebuilding in any given society, runs the holistic gamut of the people’s livelihood ranging from economic, social, political, religious, and health welfare. it is on this background that this research would examine the import of igwebuike ideology in peace-building among african states. it is also envisaged that this examination will arouse the interest of african people to understand that the idea of igwebuike has recommendable relevance in sustaining peace among african states, countries or nations. be that as it may, human livelihood is similar to the local stove phenomena where when there is absence of or exclusion of one of the three stands of the stove it incapacitates the firmness of the local stove. in regard to this, we can testify that when an aspect of people`s welfare is in shambles, no matter how less important it may appear, it affects the peaceful sustainability, growth and progress of the people. therefore, this paper cuts across peacebuilding in every affair of african people for actualizing central hallmark for general peace building in africa. at this point, let us turn to examine them one after the other. import of igwebuike ideology on economic peace at the family level, economic peace helps to curb so many risks that could introduce violence of various forms, poverty etc. ezeador and ezeani (2019:60) buttress that: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 135 … one of the traditional means of socialization of children is through trading. however, the introduction of young girls into street trading increased vulnerabilities of the girls to sexual harassment. sexual abuse of young girl in nigeria is linked with child labour … poverty and inaccessible to funds for parents to take care of their wards has contributed to child sexual abuse. on this realm, igwebuike ideology becomes very pivotal. instead of families engaging their children especially the girls in child labour because of poverty and inaccessibility to funds for parents to take care of their children to degenerate families expected standard, the concept of igwebuike comes into place to salvage such ugly situation. families became can collectively agree to engage on a particular source of income where both parents and wards should be involved in a risk-free manner for the economic growth of the entire family. their collective input can be on farm work and other mini businesses where parents and older siblings will have monitoring eye to one another. in this team work, everyone covers a particular vacuum in the business to enable the agreed enterprise to flourish. a group soldering of this nature tackles poverty and reduces other risks or dangers that could develop due to economic under development, and incapacitations. okafor and amechi –ani (2019:309) maintain that: aziza as a concept in africa runs a whole garmut of the world–view of oneness, togetherness, communalism, patriotism, and synergy. the physical structure of the aziza is that it is made up of individual palm frond sticks. these sticks can stand individually, but each individual stick cannot function on its own. nevertheless, when they are tied together, they serve the purpose for which they are made or more. this had been the principle that had held african fore –bears together, and had aided their ability to achieve the much they could achieve before the advent of western and arabian culture. what okafor and amaechi-ani points out her echoes the replica of what the igbo meant by igwebuike. the aziza symbol which they used as a principle is a masterpiece to understanding of the ideology igwebuike. when people are consistently binded together for economic reasons and every member of the united economics front is economically comfortable peace is automatically built among the members. in a situation of this kind, one would not be wrong to say that such group has built economic peace. on a similar vein, okafor (2019:90-91) elaborates thus: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 136 economic factor appears to be the most common factor responsible for migration. man, always tries as much as possible to make ends meet. human ends invariably differ from one person to another. in some cases, means of economic survival can be conceived in a given society with very limited areas of human endeavour, hence, people with higher ends struggles to source out other areas of economic engagements in order to actualize other life dreams. when these areas of endeavour are not found within the immediate environment, people begin to think of other places or settings where they can find the opportunities for wealth acquisition. in so doing, people migrate beyond their immediate environment. this migration peculiar with people that source for economic interest has been classified as both permanent and temporary (anigbo, 1992). no matter the class or condition for migration, for that of economic reason, migrants see group migration as a formidable mechanism for great economic achievement. the commonest team migration observable with the south-eastern part of nigeria is the ebonyi state (hired labourers) farmers migrants. they move in groups of two, three, four and five team partnership. whatever farm work each team charges, they complete it in no distant time. as they do it, they attract more jobs for themselves, meanwhile they make enough money each annual farming season. different ethnic groups, communities, villages, nations, and state indigenes who find themselves in foreign soils synergized and formed associations that principally assist their members in pursuing social and economic gains. for the fact that these group soldiering expeditions sustain the peoples’ economic lives, they are bound to build peace both in diaspora and at home to enable them keep acquiring more wealth and create a conducive atmosphere to enjoy the wealth. having seen that their coming together enhances opportunities of sustaining available economic tempo among them, they ought to keep the flag flying. with financial strength groups can sponsor community development project thereby extending economic development in various communities, local government areas, states and so on. with sustainable economic development definitely, there are greater chances of building a durable peace in the continent africa. economic impact of igwebuike ideology has not be exhausted. let us x-ray the ideology in the involvement of women in traditional igbo economy in the area of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 137 salt production and pollution of laid down traditional religious taboos. on this circumstance. njoku (2008:17) maintains that: the salt lakes had their deities and were hedged around with many taboos. for example, menstruating women and one who had fornicated without atoning for it could not fetch water from the lake. contravention of any of the taboos incurred the dreadful wrath of the deities. the women producers formed themselves into a guild. all these devices were aimed at achieving a set of purposes to restrict entry into the industry, exclude men from participation and protect the lakes from misuse and defilement. salt seems to have been the mainstay of uburu and okposi economy. it was marked throughout igboland and even beyond a critical look at the management of the salt industry by the uburu and okposi people demonstrates an exact presentation of igwebuike ideology in an economic scene. the producers of the salt from the lake were predominantly women. they were challenged with a problem of tradition order promulgated by deities. but they were able to sustain the industry by forming a guild to deprive others, including men, the chance of entering the lake in order to protect the lake and allow their salt business to progress. this guild without any doubt had handled future war at the lake, foster calmness, order, noiselessness among other things because of the cooperation, oneness, togetherness and synergy that they were able to maintain. by doing this, they succeeded in building peace in their channel of economic sustainability. the earnings from the industry contribute immensely to the family up keep. as far as their families are well taken care of economically, with the spirit of togetherness and cooperation, peace will prevail. this peace motivated character would be extended to the larger or wider society, making the society peaceful. apart from industrial woman group and other sorts of groups already discussed as integrals in the igwebuike ideology, it will not be an over-statement to identify the same ideology in age grade system, kinship system, umuada, umunyedi etc as it affects the economic wellbeing of the members and the society at large. the age set association, the kinship members, umuada, nwunyedi folks’ cetera have been active in economic assistance to members and their different communities. the age grade contributes immensely to the economy of the traditional african society. they can donate money to assist members and non-members. in some cases, they sponsor skill acquisition programs, administer cooperative bodies etc. the kinship, umuada, and nwunyedi institutions do related functions of the age grades. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 138 mr. festus ozor egwu (personal communication, 20 april, 2020) narrated some experiences where a member of their kinship was attacked by a conflagration which destroyed his large rice farm in anambra east area, he stated that their kinship on the hearing the incidence started with compulsory material contribution to their affected kinsman. as the kinsmen were donating money and material things, the next farming season, according the informant, the umuada folk mobilized themselves to assist the victim with two local week days free labour in which the victim was mandated not to offer food to the umuada. considering the economic supports given to humanity with the believe in the igwebuike ideology, everyone would embrace peace. the ideology would bring peace since it is used to make whoever that is in agony to be liberated or alleviated. import of igwebuike ideology on political peace politically, the ideology helps to sustain peace. orji and olali in okafor (2020) stress that traditional institutions are symbols of indigenous people’s rights, privileges, laws, customs and traditions which include but not limited to parameter rules and their councils. the traditional institution in nigeria context is inclusive of chiefs-incouncil, elders in council, title holders who may be appointed based on their contributions to growth and development of their communities (okafor, 2020:251. the act of producing these traditional leaders is often time an arduous task. anigbo (1987: 176) uses references to ibagwa-aka to emphasize on this difficulty thus: the chieftaincy dispute in ibagwa aka centers on an issue as to which of two individuals should be the acknowledged representative of one town and be recognized as such both internally and externally such an individual is known by various names, viz: a “chief,” “natural ruler” “traditional ruler,” “traditional head of autonomous igbo village community”. in the struggle for such political leadership, taking the igbo traditional political system as a masterpiece, it had been the igwebuike ideology that settles it and still encourages peace-building. majority side will always carry the vote. when an aspirant sees that majority of his people do not want him or her in certain leadership position in the village, community, etc he/she is left with no option than to accept defeat, without raising any dust. igwebuike ideology responds to democratic representation for the people. ijeoma (1988) opines that; igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 139 democracy therefore as an institutional arrangement and a method of making decisions endeavours to ensure that the society thereby arrives at an orderly, stable and legitimate government which would guarantee the presentation of rights and freedom with which men are endowed to. it is therefore my contention that any methods through which men are able to institute an orderly, stable legitimate government to the satisfaction and happiness of the greatest number in democracy. with this ideology, the political terrain historically and traditional was peaceful, orderly and stable. it had aided peace building among african states. complete adherence to igwebuike ideology on political matters will encourage peacebuilding because it restores political peace and stability relevance of igwebuike ideology in maintaining social peace on the aspect of social group soldiering, ikeyi (2004:210) explains thus: although all of us probably would be able to identify and describe the various small groups we belong to, we might find it difficult to follow the same process with the large groups that affect us. as patrons or employees of large organization and governments, we function as part of large groups at all time. thus, sociologists must study large groups as well as small groups in order to understand the workings of society. in fact, all groups must not be at equal sizes to acquire the igwebuike ideology. groups differ probably as a result of circumstances, objective, natural scope and so on. when we listen to our social media, we hear about several groups showcasing their relevance in one way or the other. the actions of different groups tend to inform us that a united group is strength. today the academic staff union of universities is embarking on an industrial action since march. the individual in this body cannot achieve any goal if left to pursue his welfare independently. but as far as the individuals in that platform have organized themselves in pursuance of everybody’s interest, a lot of their welfare would be looked into. other groups that make corrections on the affairs of the state also help to ensure decorum in numerous situations. when these groups follow legal measures to exist, they will diplomatically achieve some of their interests, meanwhile encouraging peace-building in the society. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 140 traditionally, certain united groups are known as agents of peace-building in the society. they include the masquerading society, the kinship, the umuada and nwunyedi folks, the age grade teams, the village associations or union etc. occasions where a member of the society defaults the norms of the community considering the gender or sex of the offender, and the degree of the offence, one or more of these s are mobilized to visit and punish the offender. in some cases, evil doers are ostracized or excommunicated. in the olden days when western education was introduced in the hinterland, the village unions or associations formed tax force teams to generate money that was used to finance school programs in the rural areas. the most intelligent pupils were sponsored in continuing their secondary school studies. some village unions sent their intelligent sons to the university within nigeria or even overseas. all these are in the spirit of the ideology of igwebuike. more so, this spirit of livelihood among the aboriginals encourages peace-building. mr. boniface ejike (personal communication 14 november 2020) avers that in the year 1981, a member of his age grade, by name emmanuel ozo happened to beat his aunty and was stupidly disturbing the entire village. on a masquerading festival, the kinsmen, masquerade cult and his age set visited him in his father’s house and was terribly dealt with. he continued that after beating the young emmanuel with so many strokes of cane, he was coerced to finish 20 liters of water before he can be allowed to go for the day. according to mr. boniface, from that day henceforth, mr. emma really amended his ways. the mr. emma in question according to him is presently among those who advocate for peace in their community. igwebuike ideology plays a vital role in the security of lives and properties. today, towns and villages form their government through which they inaugurate vigilante or neighbourhood watch groups authorized by the national government in form of community policing to secure lives and properties. all these collective efforts are known as igwebuike, and offers social peace among dwellers of several communities. relevance of igwebuike ideology in building religious peace traditionally, religion has been the filament that sustains life of community norms, customs, values and taboos. it is the deities that execute and monitor crimes. though individuals have their personal objects that represent numerous gods for them but spiritual regard becomes so efficacious when a large group of people install shrines and the spirits that they will honour in worship. these igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 141 deities, shrines, gods install by the people remain the intermediary between the people and the almighty god. the groups unanimously promulgate righteous, unrighteous and forbidden actions the god of the land now do the policing role on the laid down rules agreed by the group. this group religious tenets are the yardsticks for maintenance of law and order in the traditional society. it is this background that when people remember the spiritual implications of committing certain abominations, they will rethink, thereby making the adherent to experience religious peace. religions in return attracts peace to other spheres of life. religious peace makes better transcendent connection which more people are committed to it. the holy bible states that when two or three are gathered, i am in their midst. the more people gather together as a religious community, the more they see themselves as brothers and sisters living peacefully. problems come in when critics and misconceptions emanate from two or more religions or denominations. on this note ecumenism now forms a basis to harmonize the igwebuike ideology that will foster religious peace among the hostile groups. at any time, an african man feels he is having some distant relationship with god it gives him so much worry, in order to assure close contact with the supernatural they pledge, vow and sacrifice. most of these pledges and vows are made by individuals in the midst of the worshipping community. to this end okafor (2019:74) asserts that the african man engages in religious pledges and vows to enable him be psychologically and spiritually balanced. god is the sole arbiter and controller of man and his activities here on earth. based on this, he continuously makes pledges and vows because of the problem that assails his feelings. as far as these pledges and vows are made amidst the group, the group led by the officiating priests must acknowledge the fulfillment of those pledges and vows made. it is culturally believed that they are undergoing covenants of peace reminding every member of the group that curses befall whoever makes troubles among them. in order to lay more emphases on the religious collective commitment among africans, nwokike (2005:8) uses the awha people’s belief in the worship of the earth goddess thus: this is ani awha, representing the earth which gives yam and every food crop: the earth on which plants grow: the earth on which animal grow: and the mother earth which eats up a dead animal or tree. in awha, when libations are poured even in simple prayer ani awha is called upon igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 142 together with the ancestors to come and take control of each situation to bring peace, prosperity and good health. even though africans felt they have secured religious peace still supplicate for general peace-building and prosperity of the entire community as a group. in most cases, collective religious activities of a group are often time used to build peace among nations, families, communities etc. importance of igwebuike ideology in restoring health peace unhealthy conditions absolutely hinder peace of mind of the affected persons and relations. health itself is a condition of being sick or not being sick. the health of an individual influences to a large extent, the life of the person. to the traditional igbo, the summum bonum or highest value is life (ndu). this is made manifest in their names e.g. ndubisi-life is of supreme importance, nduka – life is greater, ndukaku – life is greater than wealth, nduamaka – life is good (madu,2004:23). onunwa in madu (2004) points that health is for more social that biological. it does not entirely mean an absence of physical ailments. that there is a clear unitary concept of psychosomatic interrelations is an apparent reciprocity between the mind and matters. health and life intermingle. we cannot virtually say that one is sick, there are undesirable conditions that can make one unhealthy in absence of sickness. take for example when very young lady loses her husband at the very early stage of the marriage. condition of this nature gives both the deceased age grade, umuada, nwunyedi and the kinship members serious concerns. even the widow’s maiden home members are also worried. these groups rally around the widow for assistance with the intention to think out ways to secure her life and longitivity of her stay in the deceased husband’s home. similar concern is applicable to a widower. then when someone is sick the african people reaction will easily reflect message on how sacred life is being regarded. the traditional societies that make up nigeria using igbo ethnic group as a specimen, had deep respect for the sacredness of life and dignity of human person. african traditional societies had a lot of cultural values such as philosophical thoughts and proverbs, community life, hospitality, sense of human relations and industry, respect for authority and elders, sense of the sacred and of religion that were deep, sense of time and the respect for the sacredness of life (ele, 2019). in african, a patient is assisted by a lot of groups of which some of them he is a member. for the treatment, ideas flow from every corner. some people have reconciled their differences because of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 143 illness. the african man, especially the igbo believe that enmity does not extend to illness or death. it is the idea of igwebuike that arouses the motivation to care for the sick or afflicted because it is a reciprocal relationship. if it is discovered that an individual is reluctant over other people`s life and health consequently he will be left alone when he faces the same problem. in that regard group attention to health relatively becomes compulsory thereby establishes the desire for peace building in the society. recommendations: the study recommends that: 1. the traditional agents of peace building e.g. the masquerading cult, agegrade system, umuada and nwunyedi folks, etc. should be encouraged as far as they conform with the civil rules. 2. members of the civil society should always try to align with group cooperative movement with the positive intention to improve the living standard of the populace. 3. individuals with financial prowess should form groups for still acquisition who will be training successive groups on different skill especially in rural and semi-urban settings. this will help to improve inter-personal relationships among the citizenry. 4. religious sentiment should not be allowed to counter the insisting igwebuike system of living in african states. religion should be kept far from the people’s togetherness. 5. government, non-governmental organizations, agencies etc can assist the society by embarking on sensitization programmes to improve more on the igwebuike ideology as a veritable source of peace building in african society. conclusion igwebuike is a wonderful ideology which the society does not assimilate as valuable formation that is capable of building peace in the society. african forebears had used it to maintain peace to a reasonable degree, through the masquerade society, age-grade, umunna – kinsmen/kindred, umuada, ndi nwumjed, the youth organizations, the family etc. it was an ideology used in the decades back for the maintenance and construction of roads, markets, public squares, installation of pipe-borne water, electrification of communities, building igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 144 of schools, sign boards, reconciliation of warning individuals, families and communities. in some cases, the ideology might not fight for peace to exist. it is noteworthy that there are so many areas of the people’s lives that it is adopted in which it enhances and promotes peace building. generally speaking, as far as the ideology is able to promote economic peace, political peace, and social peace, religious peace and otherwise, it has automatically portrayed in earnest, central peace for all and sundry. references akukwe, f.n (1996). community development cooperatives and democracy. a guide for social workers. onitsha: veritas printing & publishing co. ltd amgbo o.a.c (1987), commensality and human relationship among the igbo. enugu: chuka printing company limited. anigbo, o.a.c (1992). igbo elite and western europe: onitsha: africana-fep publishers limited. ele, c.o (2019), “the sacredness of human life in contemporary nigeria: violation and solutions” in e.j.o ndubisi (ed) oracle of wisdom journal of philosophy and public affairs, vol 3, no 1 pp 23-36. ezeador c.n and ezeani, k.d. (2019). “engaging women in peace keeping: an alternative way to curbing sexual violence in women” in j.o. ndubisi (ed) oracle of wisdom journal of philosophy and public affairs vol. 3 (1) pp 57-64, ijeoma, b.i. (1988). afrocracy: basis for national stability: partless democracy. benin: idodo umeh publishers limited. ikeyi, j.o. (2004). sociology: an introductory text. enugu: zik chuks nigeria. madu, j.e. (2004). honesty to african cultural heritage. onitsha: coskan associates. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 145 njoku, o.n (2008). “women in traditional economy” (ed) e.j, otagburuagu and a.e afigbo, new brides more hopes: igbo women in socioeconomic change. pp 104-135, enugu: global publishers nigeria limited. nwokike, j.c (2005). pottery and cultural life of awka people plus art history 1&2. enugu: de adroit innovation okafor, e.i (2019). “pledges and vows to deities in african traditional religion: implications to the practitioners and the society: an igbo example” in e. nwabueze (e.d) lkoro journal of contemporary african studies vol 13 no. 2 pp 70-84, nsukka: institute of african studies. okafor, e. i and amaechi-ani (2019). “aziza as a concept and principle. a basis for a formidable african society” (ed) e. nwabueze. new frontiers in contemporary african studies. pp 309-318 enugu: abic publishers limited. okafor, e.i (2019). “migration as a pattern of life: implications on the religiontraditional identity of africans” (ed) i.a. kanu. journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 2 no. 7, pp 87-100. yola: altograde nigeria limited. okafor, e.i (2020) “influence of criminal and violent minded interests on nigeria traditional institutions: the question of morality in a populous religious society”. (ed) f.o. orabueze. ogbazuluobodo university of nigeria journal of multidisciplinary studies vol. 1 no. 02 pp 247-256, enugu: timex summers, d. (2001). longman dictionary of contemporary english, england: parson education ltd interviews 1. mrs. ajayi marian, kwara state, 7 april, 2020 2. mr. onwuka francis, anambra state, 13 march, 2020 3. mr. gabriel patrick, bayelsa state, 6 april, 2020 4. dr. obiora aniebo, enugu state, 8 may, 2020 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 146 5. mr. festus ozor egwu, abia state, 20 april, 2020 6. mr. boniface ejike, anambra state, 14 november 2020 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 95 the impact of education as a catalyst to conflict resolutions in africa timothy barga, phd saint augustine’s major seminary jos & university of jos, plateau state, nigeria timbarga@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.31258.06083 abstract the fundamental aim of education is to create a conducive environment to meeting the emotional, social, and intellectual needs of diverse groups of individuals. the emphasis on education and conflict resolution is based on the fact that peace and education are inseparable aspects of civilization. no civilization is truly progressive without education and no education system is truly civilizing unless it is based on the universal principles of peace. education enhances the acquisition of the worthwhile values, knowledge and development of attitudes, skills, and behaviors to live in harmony with oneself and with others. there is thus no shortage of enough information on the importance of education in conflict resolution thus enhancing peace. the fundamental principles entailing education is that there should be desire for peace, nonviolent alternatives for managing conflict, and skills for critical analysis of structural arrangements that produce harmony and dialogue. to appreciate the impact of education in managing conflict, factors that cause conflict were not inexhaustible discussed. keywords: education, catalyst, conflict, resolutions introduction education is the foundation of any successful society and a vital part of the human experience. education as a human right was enshrined in the universal declaration on human rights in 1948, a document that can be rightfully be described as one of the highest pronouncements of our time. education is therefore the right of all citizens of nigeria to enjoy. in today’s knowledgedriven society, education is perceived as a vaccine that solves all problems. education, therefore, serves as a catalyst for economic well-being, democracy and good governance, social justice, environmental preservation, peace building and others in this age of globalization and in the realization of the un millennium development goals. records show that nigeria like any other countries in africa is where peace is severely threatened. ethnic religious and cultural tensions and conflict are identified as one of the major factors hampering the stability and development of nigeria since independence says mailto:timbarga@yahoo.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 96 salawu.33 education for peace should be a participatory process which aims at changing society’s way of thinking and which promotes learning of peace. education should be put on issues that may lead to conflict well such as gender studies, speaking the language of non-violence and creation of proper international relations. common factors responsible for conflicts in africa violent conflicts of one type or another have afflicted africa and exacted a heavy toll on the continent’s societies, polities and economies, robbing them of their developmental potential and democratic possibilities. violent conflict in sub-saharan africa has been responsible for the direct and indirect deaths of millions of civilians, destruction of monumental structures and property and has contributed significantly to the low levels of human security in the region. as a result, africa is known to have experienced an over strained history of armed conflicts and resultant violence. though limited in scope, statistics show that africa is a continent where peace has been severely threatened over the years and there is no sight to its end. when we do not understand conflict, we cannot possibly work towards its resolution or initiate forum for peace education. an analysis and understanding of conflict are therefore crucial. but it is much more critical to properly analyze and understand the causes of conflicts, if we intend to stop and prevent violence. there are multifaceted factors that lead to conflict that may be complex and country specific. in africa, there are common risk zones from which conflicts are likely to emerge. from a historical point of view, africa as far back as pre-colonial times or to anticolonial struggle and the formation of nation states sometimes underlies general threats of dissatisfaction between countries. there are also religious, economic, cultural and geographical fault lines that run across the continent breeding unsafe environments for peace. it’s worth discussing a few of them. poor leadership adedeji observes that during the four decades between the 1960s and the 1990s, there have been about 80 violent changes of governments in the 48 sub-saharan african countries. during the same period, many of these countries also experienced different types of civil strife, unrest, conflicts, and wars.34 this data 33 salawu, b. “ethnicism and political instability in nigeria. implications for the survival of democracy”. african journal of international affairs and development vol. 6 no 2001, 34. 34 adedeji, adebayo (ed). comprehending and mastering african conflicts. london: zed books, 1999, 3. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 97 indicates that africa has consistently suffered from the problem of inept leadership which has retarded political integration and unity in almost all african states. given the heterogeneous composition of most african states, perhaps what they needed most are the virtues of administrative tact, political tolerance and social justice. these essential ingredients are to be provided by the continent’s leadership. unfortunately, however, the realities on ground in most african nations have revealed that most african leaders are weak, corrupt and unpatriotic. apart from retarding national integration and socioeconomic developments, the attitudes of these rulers have sparked off widespread bloody violence. sudanese, nigerian, algerian and liberian civil wars lend credence to the fact that african leaders have failed to forge national unity in their respective countries. judging from the above observation, one cannot but agree with adedeji when he asserts that: what african countries have lacked during most of their history, as independent states are leaders who are unifiers, chiefs in the true sense, who bind wounds, hold everything and everyone together, mobilize and motivate their people, pursue a policy of inclusion rather than exclusion and are seen by one and all to be of the highest integrity and beyond suspicion.35 as a result of this lack, african nations have remained underdeveloped over the years. demographic factor demographically, africa has witnessed the collapse of traditional cultures, weakening traditional authority. there is general population growth with young people adding to instability and unprecedented pressure on land and natural resources. increasing migration also leads to increase in the population in the host countries. increase in population could set appropriate grounds for extreme violence. according to schneider, the instability caused by the magnitude and nature of refugee populations in the great lakes region plays a major role in regional interventions, which precipitated first the overthrow of the mobutu sese seko’s regime and eventually the conflict in the democratic republic of congo. this is the same case as in burundi and rwanda where migratory tendencies are fueling resentments and political violence.36 it is also 35 adedeji, 11. 36 micheilof, s., kostner, m., devictor, x. “post-conflict recovery in africa: an agenda for the africa region”. africa region working paper series no. 30, 2002, 56. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 98 argued that most of the wars witnessed in west african countries of liberia (1989), sierra leone (1991), guinea (1999-2000), and ivory coast (2002) were partly a result of migratory tendencies. an estimated one million people fled from liberia and ivory coast within the first twelve months of violence to seek refuge in other countries. meanwhile, virtually every neighboring country in southern africa hosted several million of mozambicans, fleeing a civil war. malawi alone hosted over a million notwithstanding its own population estimated at over 8 million; south africans found refuge in tanzania, zimbabwe, zambia and others further afield.37 corruption one of the major factors responsible for internal conflicts in africa is the devastating impact of corruption. corruption, manifested in the embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds, has paralyzed development efforts and caused debilitating progress towards socio-economic transformation and political integration in africa. africa’s resources have been badly managed over the years that masses are fed up with their leaders. this has provoked militant nationalism against africa democratic leaders. the result, expectedly, is the unending conflict across africa states. the africa union itself acknowledges the debilitating impact of corruption on the political and socioeconomic stability of africa states. this perhaps explains the adoption of the “africa convention on preventing and combating corruption” by the 2nd ordinary session of the assembly of the union on 11 july 2003. the convention is meant to, among other things, promote and strengthen the development in africa by each state party, of mechanisms required to prevent, detect, punish and eradicate corruption in the public and private sectors.38 african elites are largely responsible for corruption. the “political economy of war theory supports the view that african armed conflicts are the direct response of certain elites to its unequal integration into the world’s economy. according to this view, “the neo-patrimonial state built up since independence started (after the end of the cold war) to suffer a crisis of accumulation and 37 schneider, j. “the refugee crisis in southern and central african”. the journal of humanitarian assistance, 2000. 38 aremu, johnson olaosebikan. “conflicts in africa: meaning, causes, impact and solution”. an international multi-disciplinary journal, ethiopia vol. 4 (4), serial no. 17, october 2010, 549-560. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 99 governance that prompted a crisis of legitimacy”.39 in this sense, elites started looking for new sources of authority, privileges and material benefits, whether through processes of democratization or consolidating economies of war that include control of natural resources, arms dealing, manipulation of humanitarian aid, etc. most african elites have property in countries other than their own. since corruption gives them access to public funds, they fight to remain relevant in positions of authorities. creation of arbitrary borders one reason for the crisis-prone character of the african states is the nature of the historical processes that led to its formation. alabi has observed that the colonization of africa by european powers in the 19th century created political units that divided ethnic groups in some cases and combined rival groups in others. as currently composed, boundaries of most africa states were arbitrarily drawn without regard to ethnic and cultural affinities.40 in some cases, european boundaries forced starkly different, rival cultures to cohabit within the confines of a single state. the impacts of these borders were felt to varying degrees from one country to the other throughout africa. for instance, the akan speaking peoples were split between ghana and cote d’ lvoire; the ewe ethnic group has also been split between ghana and togo while many yoruba are found in the benin republic, hausa people are found in many west african states. it should be noted that since the 1950’s when africa nations started to gain independence, these arbitrary borders have more often than not become source of conflict. poverty, illiteracy and unemployment these pose a threat to peace in africa. largescale unemployment and rapid demographic growth leave young people idle with few prospects in life. it is also worth noting that illiterate poor groups are easy targets for war recruiters. according to the 2012 united nation development program (undp) nearly half of sub-saharan africans live in poverty. consequently, the poverty that many across the continent endure can be seen to be one of the major contributing factors to the occurrence of violent conflicts in africa. 39 clapham, c. africa and the international system: the politics of state survival. cambridge: cambridge university press, 1996, 34. 40 alabi, d.t. “emerging trends and dimensions of the rwandan crisis” african journal of international affairs and development, 2006, 57. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 100 many scholars have examined the role of poverty in civil conflict in africa. while some writers believe that poverty is a cause of conflict, others have argued that it is conflict that causes poverty. notwithstanding this debate, it is generally agreed that poverty is one of the principal factors, in civil conflict in africa. absolute poverty and to a certain extent relative poverty, can be considered as the two main factors in civil conflict in africa. this is because most countries which have had civil wars in sub-saharan africa, were or are at the time of going to war classified as least developed countries, with large numbers of people living under the poverty line of $1/ $1.25 per day, representing absolute poverty. access to education is key to poverty reduction because an empty mind is prone to criminalities. of a total 38 least developed countries in the world, 34 are in africa. many of these countries, though some have experienced solid economic growth after the end of civil war, have been to war or are still going through civil strife. these include angola, cote d’ lvoire, drc, liberia, mali, rwanda, sierra leone, somalia, mozambique, mauritania, chad, south sudan and sudan.41 ethnic marginalization ethnicity by itself is not a violent factor, however the concept has been manipulated in ‘societies polarized into two imbalanced divides with one faction feeling marginalized.42 nevertheless, to a larger extent, for a heterogeneous community, ethnicity has become a dividing factor that continues to drive violent conflicts and civil strife within and among communities and states, destabilizing the peace in the sub-region. research conducted across the sub-sahara africa identifies ethnicity and ethnic fragmentation as one of the root causes of violent conflicts in africa. however, as kwanashie asserts, “while poverty and economic marginalization do not automatically result in insurgency, evidence from history suggests that the existence of this marginalized sector provides ample manpower for insurgence”43 41 ntesang, lorraine molemele. “factors which prolong civil conflict in africa: the case of angola, liberia and sierra leone”. academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1345&context=cc_etds_theses. accessed 06/09/2020. 42 annan, n and danso, s. “religion and ethnicity in africa: an obstacle to development?”. séne, yaye nabo (ed). africa: a new dawn? addis ababa: au herald. january-december 20133. 43 kwanashie, mike. “diagnostic review of insurgencies in nigeria: sources, causes, and remediesthe economic dimension”, quoted by aduku akubo and benjamin okolo. “boko haram insurgency in nigerian: implications for national security”. african journal on conflict resolution, vol. 19, no. 2, 2019, 144. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 101 eminue for instance submits that of all the factors, multiethnicity is the most frequently associated with conflict. truly, given the fact that ethnic cleavages are already deep and political discrimination against minority groups is widely practiced in africa, ethnicity cannot but be a great potential for separatist activities. ethnicity has bred the feelings of suspicion, hatred and distrust among members of the various ethnic groups in africa and has no doubt retarded political integration in africa. it is therefore not surprising to note that at least twice (1967-70 civil war and 1993 -1999 friction) ethnic rivalry has been the major cause of internal conflicts in nigeria. similar stories may also be told of liberia, uganda, rwanda, burundi, somalia, sudan, congo and a host of other africa states.44 for instance, there have been a number of separatist movements causing attempts at secession, such as katanga in zaire, biafra in nigeria, and others in sudan, ethiopia and somalia. such was the genesis of the 1994 rwandan genocide, in which historically oppressed hutu people rose up in retaliation against the tutsi people. military coups have also often been caused by ethnic rivalry, as well as personal rivalry such as idi amin’s coup in uganda in 1971, caused by inter-ethnic rivalry among leading army officers, as well as by ethnic resentments against the civil head of state. during the 100-day genocide, over 800,000 tutsi and hutu moderates were murdered. it is estimated that 75% of the tutsi population was wiped out, erasing almost an entire generation.45 religious extremism throughout the long era of human history, religion has been a major contributor to war, bloodshed, hatred, and intolerance. religious elements have been present in many of africa’s conflicts ever since pre-colonial times, just as european colonialism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries gave rise to resistance movements that were partly inspired by religion either by traditional religions or islam. since independence, religions have also played a role in various armed conflicts in africa. religious intolerance appears to be on the rise in parts of sub-saharan africa, leading to infringements of religious freedom and abuses of human rights. islamist militancy has garnered the most attention, which in its most extreme form has found expression through the violent activities of boko haram, al qaeda in the islamic maghreb, and al-shabaab. 44 eminue, o. “conflict resolution and management in africa: a panorama of conceptual and theoretical issues”. african journal of international affairs and development, vol. 9, nos.1 and 2, 2004, 56. 45 uvin, p. “reading the rwandan genocide”. international studies review, 3(3), 2001,75-99. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 102 unfortunately, many researchers shy away to naming islamic as a factor for conflict giving the indices of this fact in nigeria and africa as a whole. since 2009, there has been a fourfold increase in the number of militant attacks and a staggering 850 per cent increase in deaths on the african continent. groups such as al-shabaab, boko haram, and lord’s resistance army (lra) flourish and have made concerted efforts to expand their presence in a broad arc from the horn of africa to northeast nigeria, spanning over much of north africa and the sahel. similarly, in northern nigeria, armed conflict between sunni and shias rarely stems from differences over religious doctrine and practice, but rather from historical and contemporary competition for power.46 obviously, this means that religious extremism and terrorist network have increasingly posed new challenges to peaceful coexistence among the major religious groups, christianity and islam.47 violent extremist groups currently active in africa largely define themselves in religious terms, invoking distorted interpretations of islam, much as their roots and the drivers that facilitate their expansion can be traced to a cluster of other factors. education is double-edged sword while education is central to peacebuilding, it is important to note that it has two facets. there is evidence to the view that when equitably available, of good quality, relevant and conflict sensitive, education can help promote peace and provide safe environments. on the other hand, when its delivery is characterized with exclusion and inequity, it can exacerbate conflict. it is for this reason that deliberate effort needs to be made to put in place necessary policies and strategies to maximize the positive effects of education for peaceful coexistence. africa has over 60 per cent of its population living below the poverty line of us$1 a day, civil unrest and grievances, both recipes for conflicts, become widespread. these agitations sometimes take violent forms and are seen as channels for punishing governments for their failure to alleviate poverty (ecowas 2009). there are instances from various conflicts around the world where education has formed part of the problem and not the solution. in these contexts, education has served to divide and antagonize groups both intentionally and 46 oluwaseun, bamidele. “religion and armed conflict in northern nigeria and northern uganda: exploring a symbiotic relationship”. the international journal of african catholicism, winter, vol. 6 no. 2, 2015, 96. 47 theo, neethling. “the entanglement between peacekeeping and counterterrorism, with special reference to peacekeeping operations in africa”. african journal on conflict resolution vol. 19, no. 2, 2019, 64. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 103 unintentionally.48 although the fact is that the right kind of education leads to peace, the wrong kind of education may make conflict worse. those who are educated may also develop a sense of social responsibility and civic engagement, resulting in the desire or determination to contribute to a particular cause. those who are already interested in joining terrorist organizations may pursue an education if they believe that it will improve their chances of implementing terrorist activities. education may be perceived politically as a powerful tool for ideological development. this can take many forms, ranging from the use of education in the development of liberal ideas, to nation building and, in extreme cases, political indoctrination. secondly, education may be perceived as an instrument for providing the knowledge and skills necessary for economic development and societal mobility. however, this may or may not include equity concerns, thus further excluding certain groups from economic and social benefits that education can provide. thirdly, education is a means by which social and cultural values are transmitted from generation to generation and, depending on the values concerned, these may convey negative stereotypes or encourage attitudes that explicitly or implicitly condone violence or generate conflict. fundamental aim of education john dewey is of the view that education is not preparation for life, but that education is life itself. this means that education is the foundation of any successful society and a vital part of the human experience. in english the term, “education” has been derived from the latin word educare (educere), which means “to train, nurture or mold”. again, it means to bring up or to lead out or to draw out, propulsion from inward to outward. it is on this premise that this paper draws its argument that education is meant to train the individual to live a good life in the community. to acquire skills for meaningful living or to solve problems is vital in a hostile community which education aims to achieve in the individual. socrates said that “one who had true knowledge could not be other than virtuous”. hence, education is an instrument for developing an individual in social, mental, physical, emotional, moral and psychological aspects. education can be considered as a process which enables people to understand the difference between good and bad attitude, right and wrong behaviour. therefore, the role of education is inevitable in producing new generation that 48 bush, k. and saltarelli d. (eds). “the two faces of education in ethnic conflict: towards a peacebuilding education for children”. unicef innocenti research centre, italy, 2000. unicefirc.org/publications/pdf/insight4.pdf. accessed 08/09/2020. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 104 are able to solve the real problems in our society. among other objectives, the main purpose of education is to educate individuals within society, to prepare and qualify them for work in economy as well as to integrate people into society and teach them values and morals of society. quality education is a means of socializing individuals and to keep society smoothing and remain stable. education in society prepares youngsters for adulthood so that they may form the next generation of leaders. formal or informal education has the power to contribute to efforts for advancing peace and justice in the world. education can enable students to understand the causes of injustice and violence in past history and in present situations through a careful study of history and the social sciences. it can assist students through the study of theology, philosophy, psychology, and the social sciences to understand what it is about human nature and human institutions that causes violence and injustice. makulu observes that education in africa fails if it does not make the child or learner understand himself/herself and his social and cultural past and the life of the society of which he is a member. it does not even help him/her to adjust himself/herself intelligently to the changes in this society because he/she has no root in his culture.49 consequently, african educational authorities should revise and reform the content of education in the areas of curricula, textbooks and methods, so as to take account of the african environment, child development, cultural heritage and the demands of technological progress and economic development. more importantly education policies should be entrepreneurship focused for effective productivity. education and worthwhile living education involves more than the accumulation of assorted facts, opinions and skills. for this reason, one may be well-read yet very poorly educated. thomas aquinas defined education as “the promotion of offspring the perfection of man, that is the state of virtue”50. this definition links all elements of education to a definitive reality that virtue denotes the symptom of the educated. it is only in africa that education is perceived as job provider even as jobs become scarcer by the day. however, r. s peters maintains that education is not about getting a good job but also getting the prerequisites for leading a meaningful and 49 makulu, h.f. education, development and nation-building in independent africa: a study of the new trends and recent philosophy of education. london: scm press,1971. 50 summa theologica, supplement q.41 a.1. silvano borruso. a history of philosophy for almost everyone. nairobi: paulines publications, 2007, 213. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 105 fulfilled human life.51 education and skills training can help reduce the risk of people turning to or returning to conflict and can support economic regeneration. access to education can reduce attitudes towards and participation in violence, although it can also raise awareness of injustice and discrimination. an educated person says john young is one who is in close contact with reality, who penetrates the meaning of things, whose judgments are fixed by reality itself.52 with such attitude conflict has no room in the life of the individual. from a global point of view, education has largely become the training of man for his environment. in this sense, one might as well say it is like conditioning a parrot to it cage, a dog to its kennels, or a cow to its stable. true education says allan bloom “is the taming or domestication of the soul’s raw passions not suppressing or excising them, which would deprive the soul of its energy but forming and informing them as art”.53 cardinal mindszenty puts it more pithily “school is the home of virtue and learning. god saves us from the school where the latter is taught without the former”.54 a flourishing life is worthwhile living that is achieved by other means, but only virtuous life stands the test of time. education as an instrument for social change the role of education as an instrument of social change is widely recognized today. education can initiate change by bringing about a change in the outlook and attitudes of a person. it can bring about a change in the pattern of social relationship and thereby, it may cause social changes. social change refers to the modifications in the organization and behavior of the group expressed in its laws, institutions, customs, modes and beliefs. one of the purposes of education is to change person and his life and living style. to change a man is to change society only. no civil law or religious norms can change or mold an individual expect education. education whether secular or religious is the most powerful instrument of social change. it is through education that the society can bring desirable changes and modernize itself. education can transform society by providing opportunities and experiences through which the individual can cultivate himself for adjustment with the emerging needs and 51 peters, r. s. the philosophy of education. london: oxford university press, 1973, 43. 52 john young. the scope of philosophy. gracewing: university of new south wales, 2008, 321. 53 silvano borruso. a history of philosophy for almost everyone. nairobi: paulines publications, 2007, 218. 54 borruso, 218. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 106 philosophy of the changing society55. education helps to change the attitudes of people in favor of modern ways of life and develops attitudes which can fight prejudices, superstitions and traditional beliefs if they contribute to harmful ways of life. as a catalyst for conflict resolution, the crown of education is the vision of the idea of good, which brings about happiness. it is for this reason that hamman opines that the institution of education was a creation of man to enable him or her fulfil certain basic functions in the society. among which are to preserve, transmit the culture, norms and values of society as well as develop positive attitudes and adjustment to change. in this 21st century, the only major means available by which the yoke of ignorance, poverty, hunger, underdevelopment, diseases, war could be destroyed among african populace is through the provision of relevant functional and integrative education for the people. universally, it has been accepted that education holds the key to individual and national peace building and this important process of education begins in the family at the infant stage of the child and continues in the school environment. where this opportunity is missing the individual can easily become wild to the environment. education and the culture of peace learning is not an end in itself but rather a means of eliminating violations of human rights and building a culture of peace based on democracy, development, tolerance and mutual respect. consequently, the values of peace and tolerance are an essential part of quality and basic education. basic education not only provides the skills of literacy and numeracy, but also provides the values and attitudes needed for self-development, improving the quality of life, and for active participation in society building. most importantly, basic education provides the ability for continuous learning, giving people the power to think, to form opinions and to work towards the promotion of peace, tolerance and universal respect for human rights. although basic access to education is essential for attaining a culture of peace, it is not enough as mentioned earlier. educational and training programs must be available to people at all levels, both formally and non-formally. in such programs, the dimensions of peace education must include tolerance, respect 55 chand, p. basha. “role of education in social change”. international journal of advanced educational research volume 2; issue 5; september 2017, 236-240. educationjournal.org/download/300/2-5-116-730.pdf. accessed 09/09/2020. http://www.educationjournal.org/download/300/2-5-116-730.pdf igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 107 for human rights and democracy, international and intercultural understanding, cultural and linguistic diversity.56 a culture of peace is achieved when citizens of the world understand global problems, have the skills to resolve conflicts and struggle for justice nonviolently, live by international standards or best practices of human rights and equity, appreciate cultural diversity, and respect the earth and each other. such learning can only be achieved with systematic education for peace. building a systematic culture of peace requires committed efforts by educators, researchers and other members of society. through education, people are taught tolerance and others’ right to existence, and how to incorporate these teachings into their everyday lives. this requires a change in attitude, a difficult process that will not happen overnight. but this is where the role of knowledge will come into place. education provides people with worthwhile information, but most essential is the appropriate application of this information. this information must be transformed into knowledge. only then will people begin to adapt a change in mindset, attitude and behavior characterized by long-term goals. only then will they be able to engage properly and be able to contribute to the promotion of a culture of peace. a culture of peace must first take place in the classroom at an early age. it must be reflected in the curricula at secondary and tertiary levels. education for peace must be a dynamic, long term process and a life time experience. the aims of education for peace are to develop caring and non-aggressive individuals who relate peacefully with others in their own lives, who promote the welfare of others and who act to prevent violence in their society and in the world. obeka and agwu rightly observe that “education plays a key role in teaching about conflicts, solidarity and global citizenship”.57 this is because when people are educated on the importance of resolving conflicts in a peaceful way without resorting to war with its devastating effects on the social, economic, educational and technological and political aspects of the society, then there will be rapid development in the nation. 56 cheptuto, paul. “the role of education in fostering peace, solidarity and prosperity in kenya”. international journal of academic research in business and social sciences august vol. 4, no. 8, 2014, 354. 57 obeka ngozi ohakamike , agwu s. n. “education for peace & development: education against violence in nigeria”. iosr journal of humanities and social science (iosr-jhss) volume 21, issue 6, ver. 8 june. 2016, 22-28 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 108 education and conflict resolution the concept of conflict resolution typically focuses on the social-behavioral symptoms of conflict, training individuals to resolve inter-personal disputes through techniques of negotiation and mediation. learning to manage anger, “fight fair” and improve communication through skills such as listening, identifying needs, and separating facts from emotions, constitute the main elements of these mechanisms. these mechanisms should aim to “alter beliefs, attitudes, and behavior that is from negative to positive attitudes toward conflict as a basis for preventing violence.58 quality education is a cornerstone in any nation peacebuilding process. as today’s youth become increasingly desensitized to violence, the roles of schools and the curriculum they represent assume great importance. schools have the power to shape the attitudes and skills of young people toward peaceful human relations. through teaching young children values of respect, tolerance, and empathy, and by equipping them with the necessary skills to resolve conflict in a non-violent manner, they are provided with the tools they need, now and in the future, to foster peaceful relations at home, at school and around the world. in this sense, education builds the foundations for good citizenship, respect for self and others, democratic values and tolerance of opinions. educational research indicates that when young people are trained in civics, mediation, ethnic tolerance and conflict resolution, the likelihood that they will resort to violence later in life is diminished. history articulates that education is no guarantee against hatred and war, but it enlarges people's horizons and breaks down stereotypes and prejudices. wars and conflicts threaten peace and security to all. their urgent nature calls for the need to reduce violence through education. times have changed, and this requires a more proactive outlook. education covers economic, political, social, cultural, moral and ethical issues, and is vital in transforming people’s attitudes towards dealing with conflicts and psychological needs of individuals and groups. gamut opines that “a culture of peace is built from values, attitudes, behaviors and ways of life based on non-violence, respect for life, liberty, justice, solidarity tolerance, human rights, equality between men and women, appreciation of cultural diversity 58 balanandan, e. “social development, including questions relating to the world social situation and to youth, ageing, disabled persons and the family”. statement by member of parliament of the third committee on social, humanitarian and cultural issues, united nations. october 1998. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 109 and respect for others”. a culture of peace grows not from the barrel of a gun but from participation, dialogue and co-operation.59 the impact of violence affects all countries. it is a global concern, requiring a global approach to a solution. the usual method countries use to deal with conflict and wars is through oppressive military measures. but control is not enough; it merely delays future violence. a preventive approach is becoming increasingly recognized through provision of basic education promoting a culture of peace and non-violence. therefore, african governments must shift their central priorities from accumulating political and military power towards building a stronger educational infrastructure for peace. security and stability are all dependent upon a sound education. for this reason education must promote the formation of a wide alliance of actors, which could collectively tackle problems relating to economic exclusion, political domination, sexism, racism and other forms of discrimination, as well as violence that is based on a system that favors market interests over the needs of society and the environment. this alliance should promote common values relating to social justice, peace, fraternity, equality of opportunity and respect for nature, and become an instrument of liberation and emancipation of people.60 conclusion man or woman comes into the world that is already conflict driven. without the effort of the society, the individual succumbs to violence itself. hence, the ultimate purpose of education is to civilize the thousands of barbarians that are born into this world every hour. if education fails to bring change in the learner, then it is worthless. education is considered the most powerful tool in bringing change in man. on one hand, education acculturates an individual; on the other hand, it preserves, transmits and develops the culture of a society. in short, education and culture are mutually interdependent, complementary and supplementary in all their aspects and activities. finding stability and peace is certainly the greatest collective challenge that mankind has ever faced. conflict is unavoidable, but violence is not. the cause of african underdevelopment is not conflict itself but one that leads to violence in large magnitude. most of the past conflicts in africa and particularly the raging ones are due to issues, such as lack of understanding, 59 gamut, v. “peace education and peer mediation”. shedract g.b (ed). introduction to peace and conflict studies in west africa. ibadan: spectrum, 2006, 172. 60 obeka ngozi ohakamike , agwu s.n. “education for peace & development: education against violence in nigeria”. iosr journal of humanities and social science (iosr-jhss) volume 21, issue 6, ver. 8 june. 2016, 22-28. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 110 misconceptions of felt-needs, besides the prevalence of greed and grievances, which combined to compound the much-needed spirit of homogeneity for progress. without any doubt, inculcating education through both formal and informal channels, will go a long way in meeting the wide gaps of the felt-needs of african people. the thesis of this paper is that education can assist in a longerterm development processes related to dealing with the tendencies to conflict. effective education management is critical to the role of education in responding to conflicts and emergencies if they were to arise again. also, poor quality of education that fails to deliver the relevant skills may increase the risk of conflict. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 48 cultivating the culture of life: challenges in the 21st century globalized world columbus nnamdi ogbujah, ph.d department of philosophy rivers state university, port harcourt. ogbujah.columbus@ust.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/ rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract in the category of existents, life is the highest property; and within the gambit of the highest property of existents, human life is the supreme good. although most cultures and positive laws affirm this in principle, the reality is that human life has never been so threatened and demeaned as now. this essay highlighted how, by devising multiple ways of extinguishing life, the 21st century revels in the culture of death left over by the previous era. it identified the ruins of two world wars; the spate of genocide, murder and fratricidal strife; the instantiation of policies supporting abortion, infanticide and euthanasia; the exploitation of nature resulting in natural disasters; and the greed of individualism, as blips which have all too often been aided by globalization to universally advance the “culture of death” as the new norm. the essay concluded by making a strong case for the defence of human life, rejection of a culture of death, and the cultivation of the “culture of life.” keywords: culture of life, left-liberalism, glocalization, humane relationship, diffusion. introduction to be is to exist, and to exist, among others, is to have life. plants, animals, fungi, bacteria, etc., exist, in the sense of their capacity for biological processes; they can instantiate properties. using the aristotelian distinction between accident and essence, we can identify two contrasting categories of properties: contingent and necessary properties. a thing‘s property is contingent when it could do without such a property, that is, it might as well not have had it (accident). when i mop my room instead of tending to my garden, the act of mopping is my contingent property. it doesn‘t modify my being if i do not mop. i mop perhaps, due to the premium i place on it within the hierarchy of properties. on the other hand, being human is my necessary property, in the sense that it is impossible for me to be a nonhuman (essence). if it were so, then i would be necessarily excluded from the class of humans. as a rule, all essential properties are attached to their bearers, in the sense that they necessarily mailto:ogbujah.columbus@ust.edu.ng igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 49 define what the things are in themselves.1 life is the highest property of existents; the ultimate good in the scheme of reality. within the gambit of the highest property of existents, human life is supreme. it trumps others not just because of its capacity for selfconsciousness and volition, but because, in some way, it ―transcends‖ space and time. mortality is an essential property of life: every living thing, including humans, goes through the process of generation and decay. so, when we say human life is in serious danger, it is not for the normal process of disintegration resulting from the essential property of mortality, but from the loss of humane values; from the growing ―culture of death.‖ over the centuries, the threats to human lives have exponentially grown. even though there may have been more wars until the modern era, our own age seems to revel in wanton destruction of life: there are a thousand and one ways by which a person can die today more than ever. the ―culture of death‖ pervades our society. the 20th century bequeathed us the tragedies and ruins of two world wars, with attendant antisemitism; the rwandan genocide and many fratricidal strife; the instantiation of policies supporting abortion, infanticide and euthanasia; the exploitation of nature; and the profligacy of political elites, have all too often advanced the ―culture of death‖ as the new norm. having not learned from the ills of past atrocities, the present generation sadly, seems to compete in breaking new negative grounds. in the end, the consequences are extreme poverty, diseases, and death. these multifarious challenges undoubtedly jeopardize the survival of humanity in this twenty-first century. now, more than ever, there is an urgent need to defend human life, to discard the ―culture of death‖, and promote the ―culture of life.‖ the task is daunting; the challenges are many, but not insurmountable. in the following paragraphs, we shall look at these challenges and suggest ways out of the quagmire. the enigma of human life life is a beautiful gift bequeathed to organisms that are structured into kingdoms as animals, plants, fungi, protists, archaea, and bacteria. this primary delineation based on the capacity for performing organic processes of signaling and self-sustaining courses, is in contradistinction 1 nelson, m. 2020. ―existence‖, the stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (summer 2020 edition), edward n. zalta (ed.), url = https://plato.standord.edu/archives/sum/2020/entries/existence/ https://plato.standord.edu/archives/sum/2020/entries/existence/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 50 to others without such ability, either for their basic lack (inanimate beings), or for having been deprived of them through death. for the most part, an organism possesses life when it is composed of cells, can grow, reproduce, adapt to situations, respond to stimuli, sustain homeostasis and metabolism, and have the capacity to die. nonetheless, recent developments show that non-cellular organisms in the likes of viruses, are now included into life forms within some quarters. presently, scientists are unable to agree on the number of life forms on earth because some species live in places that cannot be accessed, or are very tiny to be seen, or are parasites that inhabit other organisms. in consequence, experts using variant modules have bandied different, often outrageous numbers. as a species within the broad animal kingdom, humans possess a biomass of nearly 9 times (0.06 gigatons of carbon [gt c]) higher than that of all wild mammals (0.007 gt c) in the biosphere. 2 even though humans constitute an insignificant fraction of animal biomass, they dominate others with activities such as whaling and exploitation of other marine mammals, logging that has resulted to deforestation, release of incredible amount of carbon that are sequestered by plants, and the consumption of wild land mammal species. all these significantly reduce the biomass of other life forms within the biosphere. this is not surprising, especially to those impelled by the biblical injunction to ―be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it.‖3 but to others, the current decline of the earth‘s biomass relative to its value before human civilization is a serious source of concern for sustainable development. depending on one‘s primordial convictions and intellectual bent, the origin of life forms has been ascribed either to abiogenesis or to the creative works of divine powers. abiogenesis―the natural process by which life arose from non-living matter, such as simple organic compounds 4 is hinged on the hypothesis that life emerged on earth through physicochemical processes that can be invented, understood, and replicated. the assumption is that billions of years ago, the earliest living cells emerged, and through the process of complex evolution, these cells 2 yonon, m. bar-on, rob phillips, and ron milo. 2018. proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america, pnas june 19, 2018, 115 (25), https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1711842115 3 genesis 1: 28. 4 oparin, a.i. 1953. the origin of life. trans. with new introduction by sergius morgulis (2nd ed.). mineola, ny: dover publications, p. vi; originally published 1938, new york: the macmillan company. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1711842115 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 51 gave rise to the current diversity of life forms. charles darwin popularized this theory with his 1859 publication of on the origin of species. 5 with him, every species of organisms arises and develops through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that increase the individual‘s ability to compete, survive, and reproduce. complex creatures evolve from more simplistic ancestors naturally overtime, as random genetic mutations occur within an organism‘s genetic code. the mutations which aid survival are preserved and transmitted to future generations. with the passage of time, these beneficial mutations accumulate and ossify into entirely different organisms. 6 the present differentiations in life forms are due to the structure and shape which accumulated genetic mutations acquire. in a sense, abiogenesis precludes the ideas of miraculous creation or spontaneous generations, and suggests that all living organisms are related to each other and have a common ancestry. in contrast to this, creationism―the religious idea that all aspects of nature such as earth, all life forms including humans, animals, plants and indeed the entire universe emerged through the creative work of god, beckons for recognition. different cultures and civilizations have developed a pantheon of creation myths along the centuries. besides hesiod‘s theogony―the greek‘s oldest and most influential creation account,7 there were many other accounts of primal events that circulated in ancient greece and surrounding vicinities. in fact, the vision of three-tier cosmos―heaven, earth, and underworld in hesiod‘s theogony was partly a derivation from the ancient near eastern traditions. although there are some identified resemblances between the genesis account of judeochristian religion and those of mesopotamian and babylonian myths, the experience of god‘s incarnation in judeo-christian tradition accentuated and popularized its widespread. the christian bible contains a step by step account of the world‘s creation. divided into two separate versions (gen. 1:1-2:4; and gen. 2:5-25), the creation stories provide an image of a world diligently crafted and purposefully designed by the supreme deity―god. practically all life forms were accounted for in this religious masterpiece, and the details show not just the end to which the universe is directed, but the 5 darwin, c. 1859. on the origin of species. london: john murray. 6 ―darwinism,‖ accessed 25 june 2020: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/darwinism 7 stephen, l., platzner, h. and platzner, g. 2004. classical mythology. new york: mcgraw-hill companies, p.59. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/darwinism igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 52 overwhelming intelligence of a caring god.8 thus, creationism as it were, accepts as true only explanations which rely on the creative accounts of genesis in the christian bible. in the 1920s, it was associated with the antievolutionary crusade, and its advocates scoffed every scientific explanation regarding the origins. the underlying motif is that life with its convolutions couldn‘t be a bi-product of chance; it must have arisen from a grand design with a purpose. the intricately-woven complex reality must owe its existence to a super intelligent being―god. as both creative and evolutionary accounts jostle for epistemic privilege, the ordinary individual is condemned to a conundrum: admit that the ordered universe is a product of a superlative order in whom there is no admixture of potentiality, but only actuality; or accept the ascription of origin and functionality of life forms to mechanical fission of atoms, and the consequent dispensation of order and finality. the consequences of either choice are obvious and diverse. in one, the admission of a creator god imposes values which enforcement promote the sanctity of human life, the inviolability of certain rights, and the virtues mitigating actions because of eschatological concerns. on the other, the acceptance of evolutionary theory that dispenses with god, with the attendant rejection of divinely ordained moral order, rejection of belief in cosmic or physical order, denunciation of absolute values, and a denial of objective and universally binding moral laws. 9 the former admission guarantees restraint and order; while the latter is a recipe for nihilism which endangers human lives and brazenly promotes the ―culture of death‖ in our modern societies. cultivating the ―culture of life‖ has never been harder as it is in this nihilistic 21st century. diffusion, dynamism―springboards to globalization of culture the term culture has been effusively used to delineate societal underpinnings since the mid-15th century. in its much referenced span of history, experts across sociological, anthropological and political fields have sought to synthesize its frames, and thus provide a unified vision of its meaning-content. in their critical review of multifarious notions and descriptions of culture, the american anthropologists―alfred kroeber 8 ogbujah, c. and nkama, u. 2020. ―the origin of life forms,‖ in c. ogbujah (ed.). history and philosophy of science and technology: a reader. port harcourt: pearl publishers, p. 150. 9 ogbujah, c. (ed.). 2020. history and philosophy of science and technology: a reader. port harcourt: pearl publishers, p. vi. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 53 and clyde kluckhohn amassed a whopping list of 164 definitions.10 there is no doubt today, nearly three-quarter of a century afterwards, the number would not have more than doubled. on the whole, it is still possible to synthesize these conceptualizations into four related but distinct strands namely, culture as cultivation; culture as episteme; culture as history and culture as worldview. sifting through the rich literature, we are persuaded to acknowledge geert hofstede‘s contribution that ―culture is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one category of people from another.‖11 our attraction to hofstede‘s position is borne out of its efforts at highlighting the centrality of the mind and its activities in the delineation of peoples. the intellect is at the center of all human activities and volitions, and thus releases its imprints on a people‘s way of life. but given that there is material component to culture which though implied but not explicit in the above characterization, we might well modify this in saying that culture is a shared apperception in which identified groups relish their physical and nonphysical values, and by which they are stratified from one other. our culture encompasses whatever we do, our social institutions and our values; it determines who we are. the material aspect of culture consists of tools, artifacts, buildings, written records, and any other objects formed or used by humans; while the non-material aspect includes ideas that people have concerning their culture, such as beliefs, values, rules, norms, morals, language, organizations, etc. culture is an abstract and intricate but yet a simple concept. its abstractness, in the first instance, derives from the nature of its manifestation which can hardly be seen nor touched. this abstruse feature obviously constricts the possibility of contriving a proper measurement for it; the intricacy factor is a logical consequence of the abstractive nature: every obscure reality is ipso facto difficult to recognize. culture shares in the complexity of all theoretical or mental realities. conversely, culture is a simple concept as it is well understood with regard to the referents in all societies: everyone within a group understands what its elements denote or stand for within the group. as every society has its peculiar ways of doing things, it means that different societies have different cultures. 10 kroeber, a. and kluckhohn, c. 1952. culture: a critical review of concepts and definitions. cambridge, massachusetts: the museum. 11 hofstede, g. 1984. ―national cultures and corporate cultures.‖ in l.a. samovar & r.e. porter (eds.), communication between cultures. belmont, ca: wadsworth, p. 51. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 54 second, the abstractness or complexity of culture stems from its dynamism. culture is a dynamic phenomenon which is fluid and consistently changing in subtle and diverse ways. the fluidity entails that the multiple expressions of a cultural system might make it more difficult to rightly identify the referents. in many cases, referents of cultural expressions have changed within one generation of their emergence. there is apparent symbiotic relationship between culture and society. culture cannot exist outside the society; and society cannot thrive without a culture. the constant changes of different aspects of culture both material (music, food, clothing, etc.), and nonmaterial (beliefs, values, norms, etc.) show that culture is dynamic, flexible and adaptive. the types of clothing we use today are different from the ones worn by our fathers; so also our hairstyle, music, beliefs and values. culture continually evolves to meet current state of realities in the society. it is never stagnant. cultural dynamism is the capacity of a culture to transmute from one feature to another. this is often done to eliminate negative tendencies and to provide relief to the local community. the abolition of slavery, of killing of twins, and of human sacrifices in some african cultures is very significant here. these cultural changes fostered universally acceptable cultural norms and practices that help to create peace. but sometimes, the outcome of cultural change can be negative, leading to the diminution of life in society. the current liberal penchant for abortion, euthanasia, and the glamorization of violence in social media are sweeping across the world, and are aiding the espousal of a ―culture of death‖. thanks to these, it has become increasingly difficult to universally cultivate the ―culture of life‖. the change in cultural practices is made possible by the ingrained quality of culture to permeate societies and groups. in the course of history, cultural items—such as music, art, ideas, religion, language, technology, etc., have spread between individuals within a given culture or from one culture to another. such diffusions as in the use of automobiles in the 20th century, and the social media in the 21st century have, to some extent, highlighted the common humanity of all within the global village; the possibility of a culture with a global reach. the capacity for cultural diffusion―the spread of a cultural item over a wide area―complements cultural dynamism in providing catalysts for globalization of cultures. with advancements in transportation and communication, it was only a matter of time for dynamic cultures to diffuse across the globe. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 55 even though cultural globalization―the standardization of cultural expressions around the world―extends and intensifies social relations, it is viewed as a trend toward homogeneity that will ultimately make human experiences everywhere basically the same. 12 in modern world, it is rife for local cultures to be transformed or absorbed into dominant outside ones. this phenomenon has negatively impacted on national identity and culture of subservient societies, caused a reduction in cultural diversity,13 and could lead to global assimilation of a single culture.14 in the past two decades, this has been the target of left-liberal penchant for open borders and a single global government. cultural globalization is an instrument by which western affluent cultures dominate and destroy the values of other cultures of developing nations with their value systems. in nigeria, for instance, this can easily be noticed from the loss of ethical decency. prior to western influence, the epidemics of rape and premarital sex were not part of her culture. it was a taboo to engage in these. but now, the scale of these incidents cascading into endless abortions is destroying the moral fabric of the nation. with less competitive capacity, indigenous cultures struggle to cope with cheap western products like coca cola, confectionaries, etc., and values, such as individualistic, capitalist and left-liberal tendencies, which western controlled media and outlets use to inundate their spaces. more often than not, these indigenous cultures capitulate under the coercive influence of foreign dominant ones. this somewhat ‗cultural imperialism‘, reminiscent of its earlier forms in colonialism, is responsible for the universal assimilation of western cultures, and the global spread of such attendant maladies as abortion, euthanasia, violent dispositions (culture of violence), rape, sexual promiscuity, etc. overcoming hurdles to cultivating the culture of life events of the last century show the twists and turns in human values, as well as the scope of human depravity. the preponderance of violent conflicts, enactment of positive laws that promote abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment, etc., and the illicit exposure of small markets to the hegemonic influence of globalized economies―all lead to diminution in the quality of human lives and the eventual creation of a ―culture of 12 watson, j. l. 2020. ―cultural globalization‖, in encyclopaedia britannica, [website], https://www.britannica.com/science/cltural-globalization, (accessed 30 june 2020). 13 barker, b. 2008. cultural studies: theory and practice. sage, pp. 159–162. 14 jennings, j. 2010. globalizations and the ancient world. cambridge: cambridge university press, p. 132. https://www.britannica.com/science/cltural-globalization igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 56 death.‖ it is ironic that precisely when the inviolable value and rights of the person are overtly trumpeted, the very right to life is being crushed, especially at its very important moments: birth and death.15 through the influence of globalization, this culture of death has fast diffused across the world. to counteract these, we urgently need to engage in actions that defend lives, rewrite the story and promote the ―culture of life.‖ the first major challenge to cultivating the ‗culture of life‘ arises from the global glamorization of violent conflict. ever since ―cain rose up against his brother abel, and killed him‖ (gen 4:8), accounts of violence and murder are rewritten daily in our history, with inexorable and degrading frequency. human history is replete with humongous details of fatalities from ‗state-based‘ conflicts, ‗non-state‘ conflicts (where two or more organizations are fighting but no state is involved), and also ‗one-sided conflicts‘―that is, where there is only one organized aggressor, such as in murder, suicidal or genocidal violence. the provocative dress-up of violence by film industries and the social media seems to glamorize the culture of death as the new norm. as in the first fratricide committed by cain, the kinship of ―flesh and blood‖ is frequently violated within the context of family bonds, as is seen in abortion or euthanasia; and within the broader context of the human family, as we witness from wars, genocides, homicides and all forms of violent conflicts. as all humans share equally in essential dignity and grace arising from their nature, every murder therefore, violates the ‗mystical kinship‘ that bonds humanity, and complicates the efforts at cultivating the culture of life. the situation is much more intricate when there are economic, ethnic or religious dimensions to it. religion and ethnicity have been major sources of violence and deaths in the world, but the existence of conflict entrepreneurs―those, who profit from conflict, means eliminating violence is much more challenging. ranging from companies that manufacture arms and ammunitions, to those that hire mercenaries for illicit businesses, there is great impetus for killing and violence. the current spate of insecurity in nigeria resulting from armed robbery, kidnapping and political assassination can be pinned to financial incentives of the agents. the unabated massacre in the north east by boko haram, and in the middle belt by fulani herders, are apparently part of this economic scheme. politicians and high military commands exploit the weak institutions for economic and political gains. a quick resolution of the conflict means an end to huge monetary appropriations in their 15 john paul ii. 1995. evangelium vitae, 17, vatican: libreria editrice vaticana. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 57 offices. with unfettered access to national treasury, unscrupulous leaders are incentivized to endlessly engage with insurgents, notwithstanding the human costs. another significant hurdle is the neo-liberal (left-liberal) individualistic tendency and its potential for relativization of reality. being a civil and moral idea that was hinged on liberty and equality, classical liberalism underlined inclusivity in an era that was fractured by classism, and gave rise to scientific-technological breakthroughs which, led to increase in living standards and social progress. these are giant feats worthy of commendation. but the neo-liberal construal of liberty for license, and the subsequent denunciation of objective values, places in every individual‘s hands the sole powers of ascription: reality assumes whatever meaning man assigns to it. having thus, relativized reality, the age-long sublime universal ideals of truth, good, beauty, etc., are emptied of every vestige of objective content. truth, for instance, becomes that which works for and/or that which is accepted by an individual or group. this renaissance of heraclitan mantra――man is the measure of all things…‖ in neo-liberal projects meant that otherwise objectively condemned acts like abortion, euthanasia, suicide, etc., must now be evaluated through the prism of individual agents. this form of ethical relativism demands that the state should not interfere in moral issues, but limit itself to creating enabling space for individuals to flourish in their private choices. the implication is that not only are humans expected to deal with moral issues as private matters, they are now required to challenge any positive law that prohibits such. in today‘s world, the practice of jurisprudence has taken a new dimension. owing to the rigour involved in constitutional amendments in most countries, neo-liberals now resort to the use of courtrooms as a short-cut for the advancement of left-liberal ideals. practices which hitherto were prohibited in virtually all positive laws, and for which society held agents with disdain, are today being glamorized because jurists have given them legal force. through the ‗packing of the courts,‘ politicians are able to widen the elasticity of constitutional provisions to accommodate their neo-liberal ideals, and in the process endanger and harass faith-based groups that had worked for the promotion of human lives over the centuries. under the cover of inclusivity, these groups are now prohibited from enforcing rules that promoted the culture of life. in some cases (as in obamacare), they are coerced into providing medical insurance that guarantees free birth control (abortion) to their employees. in others, there is a revival of capital punishment and a support for igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 58 somewhat promethean attitude in assisted suicide (euthanasia). these legislations sneakily empower governments across the world to use taxpayer‘s funds in promoting the culture of death. to facilitate the spread of abortion, for instance, huge sums of money are being invested in the production of pharmaceuticals that enable mothers to eliminate fetuses in their wombs without recourse to medical assistance. it is ironic that in an age bogged with debilitating infections, scientific research is absorbed in developing products that make it easy to suppress life, and thus remove abortion from social control or responsibility.16 sequel to the global promotion of left-liberal individualistic values is the illicit exposure of small markets to the hegemonic influence of globalized economies. in its search for cheap labour, raw materials and markets for finished products, globalization opened the frontiers for companies to outsource labour to foreign lands. in this way, china and many developing nations have profited from western companies, especially in the areas of employment, and the provision of basic amenities for their citizens. but, at the same time, analyses show many of these developing nations have sunk deeper into economic chaos due to globalization. apart from the havoc of paying unjust wages to local labour force, indigenous firms are often grounded because they cannot withstand stiff competition from the multinationals. this usually leads to job losses, increase in poverty rate, and the attendant spread of diseases and death. in their quest for profit maximization, conglomerates deny poor indigenous companies access to development, or make such access dependent on arbitrary prohibitions that ultimately aggravate injustice and violence that degrade human lives. for the most part, the foregoing has exposed the extent at which the ―culture of death‖ is entrenched in our societies, and by extension, the enormity of the challenge to cultivating a ―culture of life.‖ no doubt the hurdles are many, but the key to prevailing lies in our hands―in developing the ethics of human affection; of humane relationships. as living organisms, humans possess qualities for which they are inextricably strung together under humanity. by virtue of intelligence and free will, they are able to coordinate their activities; through introspection, they transcend other beings and are open to each other in convivial relationships. whether in the sense of aristotelian ―social being‖ or heideggerian ―being-with‖, no human being can exist and thrive in isolation of others. our lives are always entwined with each other. my 16 john paul ii. 1995. evangelium vitae, 13, vatican: libreria editrice vaticana. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 59 humanity is intricately caught up with those of others; ‗we belong to a bundle of life,‘ as desmond tutu 17 would say. since we belong to a greater whole and are enhanced or diminished when others‘ lives are enhanced or diminished, we must then cultivate a culture of life by developing humane relationships. a humane relationship sprouts from humane people. a humane person is an individual with great affection and care for others; one who especially tries to alleviate another‘s suffering. the myriad promoters of the culture of death nay murder, violent conflicts, greed, selfishness, and wickedness are all antithetical to the ethics of human affection. to cultivate the culture of life, we must use love to conquer hatred; affection for racial prejudice; contentment for greed and selfishness; and dialogue for violent conflicts. this task must begin by reinventing education to forms consciences that appreciate the common heritage of humanity, and the inviolable worth of every human life. primordiality of the culture of life in a glocalized world. there is no doubt globalization has opened the frontiers for companies to outsource businesses, create jobs in remote places, and bring the world together in one universal village. there is no doubt also that indigenous communities and developing nations have borne the greater burden of this adventure. globalization, as tomlinson argues, leads to homogenization, 18 and cultural homogenization is the recipe for attenuation of indigenous cultures and the reduction of cultural diversity. to diminish friction and allow for ethnic cultures to thrive within the spectrum of the globalized village, what is needed is glocalization―adoption of elements of global culture to suit local ones. glocalization or ‗cultural heterogenization‘ is a process in acculturation that grants no epistemic privilege to any culture, but allows native cultures to indigenize relevant elements of the global culture. the ―culture of life‖ as often contrasted to the ―culture of death‖, is a catch phrase in moral theology which can be traced to the first century writing, the didache. the didache―an anonymous early christian treatise that first presents the genre of church orders―proclaims the existence of two paths: one of life and the other of death. the path to life deals with the love of god, and love of neighbour as oneself, which among other 17 tutu, d. 1999. no future without forgiveness. london: rider. 18 tomlinson, j. cultural imperialism: a critical introduction. london: continuum. pp. 45– 50. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 60 things, forbids acts of anger, murder, killing of a child by abortion, etc. over the years, these prescriptions ossified into what today we call the ―golden rule‖. the path to death is evil and is taken by those who indulge in acts prohibited by the good.19 the paths to life and death are what today we term the ―culture of life‖ and the ―culture of death.‖ in his influential encyclical evangelium vitae―“the gospel of life,” the polish (karol wojtyla) pope john paul ii vigorously decried the crimes and attacks against human life, and railed on its widespread backing from a broad section of the society, the jurists and certain sectors of healthcare personnel. drawing inspiration from the pastoral constitution on the church in the modern world―gaudium et spes, he labeled as promoting the culture of death: whatever is opposed to life itself, such as any type of murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia, or willful self-destruction, whatever violates the integrity of the human person, such as mutilation, torments inflicted on body or mind, attempts to coerce the will itself; whatever insults human dignity, such as subhuman living conditions, arbitrary imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution, the selling of women and children; as well as disgraceful working conditions, where people are treated as mere instruments of gain rather than as free and responsible persons; all these things and others like them are criminal: they poison human society….20 in opposition to these ‗criminal actions that poison human society‘, pope john paul ii developed an ethic that is hinged on the promotion of life and wellbeing of every human being. his creation of the concept of the ―culture of life‖ illumined catholic social teachings on abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment and what he termed the ancient scourges of poverty, hunger, endemic diseases, violence and war, thus: in our present social context, marked by a dramatic struggle between the culture of life and the culture of death, there is the need to develop a deep critical sense capable of discerning true values and authentic needs. what is urgently called for is a general mobilization of consciences and a united ethical effort to 19 cross, f. l. (ed.). 2005. ―didache‖, in the oxford dictionary of the christian church. new york: oxford university press. 20 pastoral constitution on the church in the modern world―gaudium et spes, 27. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 61 activate a great campaign in support of life. all together, we must build a new culture of life.21 the new culture of life is one that gives everyone the opportunity to live and thrive from conception to natural death; it is one which, recognizing every human being as the living image of god, accords them inviolable rights under the law. the new culture of life adapts principles of the global culture into local situations to preserve and care for life according to the law of reciprocity: giving and receiving, self-giving and the acceptance of others. the culture of life values each person as a person, and not for what they own, do, or produce nor for their intelligence, beauty or health; and must defend every human life, especially the weak and those at great risks.22 as social beings, our lives are entwined with each other in interdependent manner such that the infliction of pain or dishonour to one results in the diminution of the lives of others. in nutshell, activating the culture of life implies living out the imports of ―being our brother‘s / sister‘s keeper.‖ by the same token, it forbids individuals, governments and healthcare providers from arbitrary manipulation of life, or from even becoming agents of death. it cautions against the loss of intrinsic ethics in our actions, especially in today‘s world seeped in secularist culture. since its coinage, the term ―culture of life‖ has gained popularity among theologians and politicians, and has turned out into a movement against policies and practices that threaten human existence. much as we earlier admitted that ‗life is a beautiful gift bestowed on organisms‘, there is no denying that human life is the most precious gift nature could ever receive, and as such must be jealously protected. perhaps, there isn‘t a more forceful support to this from secular world leaders than the sentiments expressed in george w. bush‘s presidential debate at boston, october 3, 2000: surely this nation can come together to promote the value of life. surely we can fight off these laws that will encourage doctors or allow doctors to take the lives of our seniors. surely, we can work together to create a culture of life so some of these youngsters who feel like they can take a neighbour‘s life with a gun will think otherwise.23 21john paul ii. 1995. evangelium vitae, 95. vatican: libreria editrice vaticana. 22 john paul ii. 1995. evangelium vitae, 23, 77, vatican: libreria editrice vaticana. 23 ―presidential candidate debate: presidential debate in boston‖, october 03, 2000. the american presidency project. [website], igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 62 the goal of the ―culture of life‖ movement is to see that values that promote life are enshrined in societal laws and policies. the intent is, by educational and political policies, to inscribe these sacred values into art, literature, media and music, which over time will transform the attitudes and behaviours of the citizenry. this culture of life―the fruit of the culture of truth and of love,24 has the potential to engender courageous cultural dialogue among different nations and thus help to adopt the elements of global culture to suit local needs. conclusion it is obvious today, as in the time of biblical moses,25 we are beset by two choices: life and death, prosperity and disaster. like the israelites, we must choose and promote the ―culture of life‖ over the ―culture of death.‖ a society that promotes the culture of life will gear all efforts towards the protection of human life in all stages: from conception to natural death. this will entail, at the social level, repeal of unjust laws that encourage behaviours that oppress or diminish life; and at the individual level, a personal rejection of abortion, euthanasia, suicide and other violent behaviours that endanger human lives26. freedom must not be construed as license, but a condition that liberates us to pursue what is truly good, just and sublime, in rejection of what is evil. to cultivate the culture of life in this globalized world, we must use the instruments of technology to reinvent education on the values and worth of life. arts and literature must capture the intrinsic dignity of human life by displaying fetuses, the elderly, handicapped, and the ill as full and worthy members of society; while the often sensational left-liberal media reportage should rather focus on creating a new awareness that is ever more opposed to war as a means of conflict resolution. to cultivate the culture of life, we must encourage initiatives that support people who are weak and defenceless; discover ever more effective remedies for the unborn, the suffering and the terminally ill; develop a more equitable https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/presidential-debate-boston, (accessed 4 july 2020). 24 john paul ii. 1995. evangelium vitae, 77, vatican: libreria editrice vaticana. 25 deuteronomy 30: 15. 26 kanu, ikechukwu a., ―igbo philosophy of life vis-à-vis the proliferation of prayer houses in southeast nigeria: a phenomenological study‖. journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 2. no. 2, 2020; kanu, ikechukwu a. & b. a. c. obiefuna, “the value of life in african ontology and global bio-ethical discourse‖. published in the nigerian journal of theology. june, vol. 27. pp. 126-146, 2013. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/presidential-debate-boston igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 63 means of wealth distribution to carter for the needy; and bring quick relief to those affected by natural disasters, epidemics or wars. it will entail finding means to suppress crime without denying criminals the opportunity to reform; paying attention to ecological problems, and the willful refusal to take part in crimes and acts of injustice.27 to defend and promote a culture of life is a service of love which we must all be committed to, if humanity is to survive this 21st century. 27john paul ii. 1995. evangelium vitae, 77, 97. vatican: libreria editrice vaticana. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 146 a review of ikechukwu anthony kanu‟s “amadioha as a prefiguration of christ in igbo traditional religion: igwebuike and the missionary missing link” kanayo nwadialor, ph.d department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe university, awka anambra state kl.nwadialor@unizik.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.28703.51361 the issue related to comparative religion is as old as the scientific study of religion itself. religious beliefs and practices as well as personalities and configuration of deities have received continuous attention from scholars of various specific areas in the general field of religious studies. prof kanu‘s contribution to this on-going academic discourse is however unique in some sense. firstly, it attempted at drawing similarities between two seeming opposing deities from two religions that have been competing for space and relevance among the igbo from the 19th century. this comparison might appear awkward to an average igbo christian on the understanding that christianity is a unique religion that should stand taller than any other religion, and as such, there should be no need for any comparative study of this nature. this, however, is fallacy of exclusivism in religious scholarship. secondly, the early european missionaries who pioneered christian missionary enterprise in igboland left the impression of igboland being the citadel of devil. amadioha was dubbed an agent of the devil that should be defeated and stamped out for christ to reign among the igbo. centuries later, prof kanu dared to argue that amadioha could be an imperfect expression of christ given to the igbo in preparation for the revelation of christ. this is a bold step. prof kanu began his argument by lamenting the 1813 act of the british parliament given by thomas babington macaulay in a bid to set aside money for the promotion of scientific study and native literature among the british colonies. it was obviously, according to kanu, an attempt to dismantle the good values that africans shared in the past. not because those values were in inherently bad or even offensive to christian morality, but it was basically a move to colonize and exploit africa. for kanu, that formed the basis for which african traditional religion was relegated and her deities demonized. mailto:kl.nwadialor@unizik.edu.ng https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.28703.51361?_sg%5b0%5d=mrxx0w1c49be1vvaby9sn1visj8exrdfdkdhxkedoo6bhkgz_vsgm7zxtpsm1bbd9vacl03zftbv5sxb8mj0cpzzea.olygo13oqi-taoioogrxxp6paj18kpkjm5do-foocpgd9pr73wlghn7ywnzeww5tyzq54r6cady4ozqm5syfmg igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 147 kanu posits that a number of africans saw this coming, for instance, achebe (1958), isichei (1970), uzukwu (1988) and others. however, their voices were either not loud enough to mobilize africans for resistance, or that they were gauged by european colonial machineries. kanu‘s effort, therefore, is an attempt to write an african history from the african perspective. he argues that jesus came from the jewish extraction and tended to offer a new and revolutionary way of life for the jews, which was to be extended to the whole world. yet he said he did not come to abolish their customs and traditions, but rather to fulfill them. it is along this line that kanu frowns that the early european missionaries to africa appeared to have been vocal where jesus was silent. hence, they were overzealous in condemning african traditional religious practices without biblical warrants. kanu drew inference from the argument posed by justin the martyr who holds that different cultures were inspired by god and should be appropriate for his service. he went further to say that culture is a pre-figuration of christ: a logos spermatikos (seed bearing word). he taught that the spermatic logos has been implanted in the heart of every human culture since all things were created through christ, with him and for him. st paul, kanu says, already dismantled the barrier of cultural discrimination through a superior argument he made at the first christian council in jerusalem, where he said that the line between the jews and the gentiles should not impede the spread of christianity as a universal religion. an idea st paul pressed home through his polite approach to the athenians in his missionary engagement with them. kanu then made projections which convincingly posits that amadioha in igbo traditional religion could be the same thing as the christian christ: for him christ is the son of god in christian concept, while amadioha is the son of chineke in igbo understanding; christ is the light of the world, and amadioha is symbolized with light; christ is symbolized with lamb, and amadioha is symbolized with ram; christ is the intermediary between man and god, amadioha is an intermediary between the traditional igbo and chineke; christ was sent by god to do his will on earth, amadioha does not do anything on his own without order from chineke; christ was a co-creator of the world, amadioha is conceived as a creator god by the igbo; christ emanated from god and not created, amadioha emanated from chineke. much as this eloquent comparative study is appreciated, however, kanu also unwittingly became a victim of some form of derogation on amadioha. he presented amadioha as an imperfect being that was given to the igbo in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 148 preparation for the ultimate coming of christ. this somewhat reduced amadioha only to the derogatory position of pathfinder whose duties should expire as soon as the master comes. he did not consider that in as much as amadioha might not be of the same status with christ in the spiritual realm, he still has his distinctive function that has not been abolished or taken over by christ in igbo understanding. he erroneously thinks also that the igbo worship amadioha. that appears to be a show of limited understanding of the igbo in their worship of god. the igbo would not have been worshiping amadioha since they had the conviction that amadioha is the son of chineke. so why worship the son when you are conscious of the existence of the father? nevertheless, kanu has provoked a burning issue that should command the attention of every scholar in the area of comparative study. he has opened up avenue for further robust discussions that is meant to expose african traditional religion to universal acknowledgments that she deserves. references achebe, c., things fall apart. britain: heinemann, 1958. isichei, e. (1970). seven varieties of ambiguity: some patterns of igbo response to christian mission, in journal of religion in africa. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and and logic (nka) of african philosophy‖. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2015a). a hermeutic approach to the study of african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 149 kanu, i. a. (2015b). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no. 1.[ 97-101]. uzukwu, e. (1988). missiology today: the african situation, in religion and african culture-inculturation: a nigerian perspective, snaap, enugu. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 205 the french teacher and his profession; towards improving his professionalism: case-study of secondary school teachers of nasarawa state (le professeur de français, et sa profession en vue d’avancer son professionalisme : cas d’etude des enseignants aux instituts secondaires de l’etat de nasarawa) enu agbor agbor department of french federal university of lafia nasarawa state email: agborenu249@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.10379.82727 abstract the french teacher’s virtue, dynamism, role, and influence are necessities that span diverse areas in relation to curricular, co-curricular and extra-curricular expectations. thus, with the help of a preliminary statistical table and a brief historical background into the advent of inculcating the french language into the nigerian society, this research piece is geared towards enriching, sensitizing and upgrading the french language teacher’s section of the nigerian educational sector particularly the secondary school teachers of nasarawa state. while using english and french simultaneously to address the challenges both public and private, external and peculiar, encountered by the french teacher, this work will in turn propose realistic, simple, modern day-to-day techniques and solutions to tackle some of such challenges thereby enhancing the value of the french teacher and promoting french language learning within and beyond the immediate environment of research. keywords: profession, teacher, professionalism, contemporary language skills, curriculum introduction apprendre une langue c’est d’aller plus vers autrui. apprendre une langue étrangère telque le français c’est encore plus à l’heure de mondialisation dans la mesure où de nos jours, aucun pays ne peut vivre en autrui. chaque pays du monde voudrait faire entendre igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 206 leur voix au niveau international sur le plan socio-politique, économique, etc. en étudiant une langue étrangère et le nigeria n’est exclu.” auteur anonyme avec l’adoption du français comme langue seconde au nigeria en 1996 par le régime militaire du feu président passé du nigeria ; son excellence sani abacha, il semblait évident que cette langue s’acheminait vers sa gloire dans le système éducatif du pays mais au contraire, le français est considéré comme une matière facultative en sens que les cadres nigérians n’arrivent à s’exprimer en français avec leurs homologues francophones de la sous-région. aujourd’hui, on devient sage ; la volonté du gouvernement de faire de la langue française, une deuxième langue officielle exige une approche réfléchie que mettront en œuvre ceux qui ont la lourde responsabilité de prôner l’importance d’une telle importance d’une telle décision si elle s’avérait fondée. l’armée, l’immigration, la douane, la police, les banquiers, les hommes et dames d’affaires, même les élèves des écoles secondaires et les étudiants universitaires respectifs. ils ont tous besoin des diplômes en français dans l’optique de régler un tant soit peu les problèmes qui se posent dans les diverses frontières de la société. en ce cas, il serait propre de les trouver dans les universités et centres français comme apprenants de cette langue, partout dans les états et villes respectifs du pays. donc, c’est certainement pour pallier au déficit constant chez ces apprenants ou étudiants en connaissance langagière de départ, bien s’intégrer aux pays-voisins, et mener sa vie socio-politique et économique que les autorités nigérianes ont employés et parfois entrainer les professeurs de français pour bien achever ces rêves. introduction with the adoption of french as second language in nigeria in 1996 by the military government of late president sani abacha, it may have seemed obvious that the language in question was going to be a huge success in the educative system of the country but it turned out to be quite the opposite because french was considered as an optional subject insomuch that nigerian executives couldn’t speak french with their foreign counterparts in the sub-region. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 207 today, the nation is becoming wiser. the government’s desire to make the french language nigeria’s second lingua franca requires a thoughtful approach which includes primarily equipping those who have the heavy responsibility to advocate the importance of such a decision should it prove to be. the nigerian army, the immigration service, customs, police force, the banking system, international business men and women, all secondary schools and universities have need of at least a diploma or basic or background knowledge of the language in order to settle or handle competently problems or challenges that may arise from any of these sectors of the society. on this note, it won’t be out of place to refer to all these cadres as french language learners since they find themselves in our secondary schools, french centres, and french departments of our higher institutions all over the nation in their quest to attain international relevance. thus, it is certainly to overcome the constant deficit among learners of the said language, propagate her qualities and influence to neighboring francophone nations that the government saw the necessity or need of french teachers and in rare cases trained some to achieve these feats hence the advent of the french teacher’s relevance and importance. définition des termes-clés c’est bien nécessaire avant de plonger dans l’analyse thématique d’expliquer quelques termes, mots et notions liés à cette recherche. profession: selon le dictionnaire de français larousse(2001), c’est une activité rémunérée et régulière exercée pour gagner sa vie; une source de profit. c’est aussi un métier de caractère intellectuelle, artistique, etc. qui donne une position sociale plus ou moins prestigieuse. professionnalisme : aussi, larousse définit le terme comme l’état, ou statut de quelqu’un qui exerce une activité, un métier en tant que professionnel expérimente. c’est la qualité de quelqu’un qui exerce une activité avec une grande compétence. synonyme : maitre, professeur : personne ne qui enseigne, une discipline qui dispense les connaissances relatives à une matière, à une discipline, en général dans le cadre d’une activité. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 208 c’est aussi un titre donné dans l’enseignement supérieur aux membres de la catégorie la plus élevée en grade. synonyme: enseignant, instructeur, prof, précepteur. enseignant : c’est une personne chargé de transmettre des connaissances ou méthodes de raisonnement à autrui dans le cadre d’une formation générale ou spécifique à une matière, un domaine ou une discipline scolaire. profession: like larousse, chambers 21st century dictionary defines profession as an occupation especially one that requires specialist academic and practical training. teacher: is one who teaches especially in a school. it is also a word used to identify and classify a person who helps others acquire knowledge, competence and virtue. according to the merriam – webster dictionary, the word “teach” comes from the middle english word, ‘techen’ meaning “to show or instruct.” contemporary language skill: according to the igi global publisher of timely knowledge, the ability to use today’s computer application and information technology to teach as well as learn other languages; local or foreign can be termed as a contemporary language skill. curriculum: a curriculum can be seen as a list of subjects comprising a course of study in a school or college. the oxford languages dictionary defines ‘curriculum as the subject comprising a course of study in a school or college. synonym: syllabus. french language, the french teacher & the nigerian society “we are limited to the world of whose language we can speak. therefore, the more different international languages we learn, the wider our economic and political horizons. being bilingual can equally make an individual have more executive control of whatever situation he or she finds herself by the simple ability to switch from one international language to the other.” omonigho, (2016) it is common knowledge that french language was introduced to nigeria as a foreign language but due to the fact that majority of its learners don’t seem to have the opportunity of listening to the native language speakers before coming in contact with the language in the school (some even meeting it for the first time in the university), the language learners then see it as a heavenly language given to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 209 those who speak it fluently as a gift of the spirit (tongues). thus, with the advent of the curriculum, the teaching of french therefore begins (at whichever level encountered) with the rudimentary aspect of the language which seems to follow the exact process of learning one’s mother tongue as well as english language. stella omonigho seemed to have mirrored the concept of moruwawon (2003) who said: those who acquire more than one language find fascinating new and different vistas opening before them, not only of practical opportunity but for fulfilment of intellectual curiosity and fascination of looking at the world from a background and viewpoint of another culture. (25) brève histoire du français au nigeria il a commencé avec la conférence de berlin de 1884 – 1885 où les pouvoirs occidentaux ont décidé de partager le continent africain en petits morceaux. cela amène la grande-bretagne à une partie de l’afrique de l’ouest (comme le nigeria, le ghana, etc.) et la france à l’autre partie de l’afrique de l’ouest (comme au togo, sénégal, cote d’ivoire, bénin, etc.) aussi que du nord mais malgré le fait que le nigeria n’avait jamais été une colonie de la france, c’est intéressant de reconnaitre qu’il existe après quelques temps une relation ou coopération internationale entre eux. ifeoma onyemelukwe dans son œuvre littéraire intitulé ; “the french language and literary creativity in nigeria” avait bien abordé cela montrant quatre décennies de l’histoire de l’apprentissage de la langue française au nigeria. a travers sa recherche, onyemelukwe dévoile l’existence de la langue française ici au nigeria même avant l’indépendance validant l’affirmation que français a été parmi les premiers sujets introduits dans les écoles secondaires à partir de 1859, dès l’établissement du premier collège (c’està -dire la lycée wesleyan) à lagos et anglican girls’ secondary school à ogidi. selon elle; in the sixties and early seventies, french language was taught in our colleges and institutions of higher learning. in secondary schools at the time, it was not compulsory. all the same, in some schools like anglican secondary school, ogidi, students were made to study french from classes 1 – 5. students who were good in science were also made to offer french as a subject in the west african school igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 210 certificate examination (wasce). this was so because no limitation was imposed on the candidates as in pairing french with some other subjects. according to brann, 111 students took french in wasc and the london general certificate of education (gce) in june in 1962, 2,022 candidates in 1966 took french in wasc / gce; while in 1971, more than 4000 candidates took wasc / gce examinations. (30) dans les mots d’ofor; “this was the golden age of the french language in nigeria.”37 pour onyemelukwe, l’alliance entre la france et le nigeria était bien articulé dans la coopération bilingue ci-dessous : le gouvernement militaire fédérale du nigeria, désigne ci-après sous le terme “les parties contractantes” désireux de renforcer les liens d’amitiés et de compréhension mutuelle entre les deux pays et de promouvoir et développer leurs relations dans les demains culturels, éducatifs, scientifiques et techniques, sur la base du respect de l’indépendance et de la souveraineté de chacun d’eux. (38) onyemelukwe révèle que la période de la révolution langagière de la france au nigeria a coïncidé avec la période de boom pétrolier. elle a cité kwanashie qui avait dit: french interest in nigeria grew particularly during the oil boom period. french businessmen, out of step with their government, saw nigeria as a market too good to ignore. by 1977 the value of french investment had risen to ff 775 million and by 1981 had reached ff 14488 million (n186.8m). (40) malgré le fait que l’enseignement de la langue française a subi un déclin considérable dans les années 80, les années 90 amènent l’espoir à travers raneuf/uftan. en décembre, le 14 et 31 respectivement, le feu président son excellence sani abacha a renforcé la coopération linguistique et culturelle franco-nigeria. onyemelukwe en citant le dernier dit: we have seen that we are virtually surrounded by french speaking countries. and these french speaking countries are our kith and kin. but, because of the difference inherited in the languages of our igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 211 colonial masters, there has been a vacuum in communication with our neighbors. it is in our interest to learn french. (66) au fil des années, nous constatons que le français au nigeria a connu une croissance régulière et progressive en sens que les nigérians bénéficiaires de cette langue développent des capacités intellectuelles, socio-économiques et sociopolitiques dans leurs domains respectifs en étudiant cette langue étrangère. research questions the following research questions were raised; 1. are french language teachers adequately available for the teaching of the french language in both junior and senior secondary schools across the state? 2. are there adequate human resources available for the production of high quality french teachers in the tertiary institutions in the state? 3. are the material resources and organizations available to upgrade the french language teachers in the state? 4. is the french language laboratory, audio and visual libraries available in secondary and tertiary schools for staff development? 5. what is the level of effort being made by the state government to promote the study of french language in the state? employed methodology the work is a descriptive research of a survey type. it sampled the opinion of different people by selecting and organizing data from selected people who were meant to represent the entire population for the study. the population consisted of all the french teachers, lecturers and students of french language in the junior secondary schools in nasarawa state, nigeria. the sample consisted of 200 teachers. four local government areas; lafia central, awe, nasarawa eggon and doma were purposefully selected for the study. stratified random sampling technique was igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 212 used to select 5 schools in each of the selected areas. summarized data analysis and results “before one expects a qualitative output, the input must also of necessity be qualitative. one cannot expect a qualitative output when the input is not adequate.” felicia olufemi olaseinde the results of the study based on the analyzed data and discussion are presented summarily below: s/ n items available not available frequen cy % frequen cy q1 availability of qualified french teachers in secondary schools in the state 10 5 190 95 q2 availability and awareness of french institutions, organizations and human resources for staff trainings, seminars, curriculum development, etc. 176 88 24 12 q3 availability and accessibility of material resources e.g. textbooks, cds, etc. 33 16.5 167 83.5 q4 availability of french language laboratories, audio and visual libraries for use in secondary and tertiary institutions in the state 5 2.5 195 97.5 q5 financial supports /contributions of the state government in promoting the 5 2.5 195 97.5 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 213 development of french language teachers professional advancement in the state from the table, q1 generally shows 10 (5%) teachers agreed that french language teachers with required qualification were available while 190 (95%) held a contrary view. for q2, 176 (88%) teachers agreed that there were adequate and suitable organizations and institutions available for personal and career development while 24 (12%) did not agree. for q3, 5 (2.5%) teachers agreed that material resources such as french texts, books, cds, etc. were available while 195 (97.5%) did not agree that such were available nor accessible. 5 (2.5%) teachers accepted that french language laboratories, and libraries were available while 195 (97.5%) did not accept. lastly, 5 (2.5%) teachers agreed that the state government contributed to french language teachers’ development and professional advancement while 195 (97.5%) strongly disagreed. findings in this study the findings of the study showed that the teacher’s qualification plays a vital role in achieving the curriculum goals and objectives of teaching the french language. it even affects the students’ achievement. the skills in the method of teaching; aural comprehension and oral expression assist the teacher in imparting the knowledge of french language. propositions: the way forward technology is just a tool. in terms of getting the kids working together and motivating them, the teacher is the most important. bill gates these statistics show that the language teaching profession in nasarawa state still has a long way to go in its quest for professionalism. added to the fact that french language wasn’t only made compulsory for all students in the junior secondary schools across the federation but also now compulsory for all departments in the faculty of arts in our universities as well worsening the already plaguing issue of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 214 lack of sufficient, qualified and competent french language teachers which has remained a challenge amongst many others spiraling from the following factors; i. improvement in french language teachers’ development ii. provision of modern teaching aids, facilities and resource materials iii. annual evaluation and promotion of french language teachers improvement in french language teachers’ development: quality education is not only linked with curriculum development, evaluation and implementation but also closely linked with the staff development through scholarships for higher degrees and specialization, conferences, workshops and seminars. provision of modern teaching aids, facilities and materials: the french language teacher is not just bereft of intellectual development but also of material resources. just as a farmer is helpless without his necessary farming tools or equipment, so is a teacher who is poorly furnished with the necessary gadgets needed to effectively execute his assignment and the nigerian french teacher is worst hit owing to the fact that his needed tools are exceptional and rare. materials such as textbooks, laptops, smart phones audio & visual aids, etc., are ‘gold’ or ‘blood diamonds’ to the nigerian french language teacher. hence the use of obsolete teaching methods and materials. if these facilities are provided and the government goes the extra mile of training the french language teacher for their efficient use, this can in turn transform him into a pro in his field. annual evaluation and promotion of french language teachers: like religion, the most persecuted, overlooked, relegated, manipulated and intimidated career men and women were and still are the french language students, teachers and lecturers as the case may be. felicia olufemi olaseinde bewails this more explicitly: …hardly does any school, particularly the public ones have enough teachers since no new teachers are employed. the ones employed for french are most often diverted to other subjects that are considered by the school authority as more vital to the future of the students… most of the teachers currently teaching french in our secondary schools are n.c.e. holders who prefer to teach the subject which they combined with french when they were in school. most of them use french to get a teaching appointment and after teaching french for a year or two, they will change to the other subject which they igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 215 combined with french... parents seem to discourage their children from having anything to do with french. what has, throughout all time, been unique and special about competent and qualified french language teachers is their natural and learned tendencies to bond, nurture, encourage, impart knowledge, build interest, fascinate, show patience, compassion, selfmotivate and tenderly correct. while this work stands on its own in rekindling the passion almost quelled by a nonchalant government and educational systems, sensitizing the french teacher to rise above the debris and maximize his / her inherent and acquired special skills, potentials and training despite the multiple fibroid of discouragement and discrimination, it is also a response to the one too many questions plaguing the minds of french teachers across the federation;  how do i raise my standards and skills so qualitatively and competently high that i remain relevant and indispensable in an economy that treats my ‘products’ as a disposable necessity?  also, how do i position myself and my language skills strategically to survive and thrive in a community where my linguistic skills and creativity are barely tolerated? evaluation: this spans into four areas namely; self-evaluation, discovery or study, self-improvement or development, self-esteem or confidence and self-marketing and promotion. one core value of a french language teacher or lecturer as the case may be is his or her ability to know why he is one, followed by a personal knowledge of his area of interest cum specialization, his weakness or weaknesses and what he or she intends to do about it or them, his mastery level of the four competences of french language skills and how he intends to use all these to his profit and the world around him. one of the most glaring cause of the misuse of french language teachers is the latter’s ignorance or inability to recognize his value as a language god cum intermediary. the currency of modern employment is not just language skill acquisition but also the ability to advertise and use this skill expertly for the wellbeing of all interested and necessitated to in exchange for life’s necessities and luxuries. according to gbenedion (1996) “evaluation is a programme that involves a continuous process of assessment, feedback and decision making.” it involves the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 216 examination of all areas that might have effect on the final products of the system. in effect, learners, teachers, materials, methods and contents are subject to evaluation. staff promotion means the advancement of an employee within a company position or job tasks. a job promotion may be the result of an employee’s proactive pursuit of a higher ranking or as a reward by employers for good performance. typically, this is also associated with a higher rate of pay or financial bonus. staff development is a process whereby the teacher at any point in time is closely monitored and examined by a personnel conversant in the former’s field for the sole purpose of taking cognizance of what changes, if any, will be introduced to it, the french teacher’s development, evaluation and promotion is no exception to these rules. because the society which the school serves is dynamic, the french language teacher must also be dynamic to meet the needs of the society but on the contrary, french teachers are neither trained nor promoted like their counterparts in other languages like english to implement the curriculum at respective levels of education and spearhead projects. worse still, it has been observed through the learning outcomes planned in the universal basic french language curriculum, that french teachers are not influenced by the curriculum nor encouraged financially by their respective hr managements. hence, the gross incompetence and lack of commitment. conclusion one of the few ways a person (in this case the french language teacher) can achieve some degree of professionalism in his career and life endeavors is through becoming a beacon of applicable or practical knowledge owing to the fact that knowledge is power. also, in a belly-conscious nation like nigeria, the french teacher needs to believe in himself, improve his language skills with the seeming limited resources at his disposal, seize the high ground; innovate, propagate new ideas and better methods of doing things, indulge all abilities within and around him thereby securing an unbeatable advantage in the educational, economic and sometimes political sectors. in odd moments of despair, abandonment, uncertainty and hopelessness, it is tempting to believe that those who survive and thrive are those who will resort to any means to do so even if it means sacrificing their dreams on the altar of another’s myopism but this seeming reality can be awfully pathetic. it is expedient to know this that the world will never give the french teacher what he deserves but what he demands. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 217 on a final note, the end goal of all career is professionalism. what matters is that the french teacher understands how irreplaceable in the intricate fabric design of education he is as he painstakingly contributes consistently to value creation and nation building as well as making sure that he is also paid accordingly. for no longer shall the teacher’s reward be in heaven but where his profession and professionalism lie. bibliography / bibliographie adeosun, o. v. (2005). the concept of curriculum. handbook of curriculum development. lagos: universal publishers. araromi, m. a. (2007): “the role of motivation in the teaching of french as a foreign language” in life and its worth. papers in salute of a man of philosophy. ibadan: holden publishers (nig.) ltd. chambers 21st century dictionary (2007): chambers harrap publishers ltd. codde, joseph (2000). applying the seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education. {online}. available; http://www.msu.edu/user/coddejos/seven.h. [2001, january 10]. federal ministry of education, (2001): national curriculum for junior secondary schools french language. ministerial committee on the review of french language syllabus and curriculum, abuja. federal republic of nigeria, (2004): national policy on education. (4th ed.). lagos: nerdc press. latunde-dada, n. (2015): the teachers’ virtue. a paper presented at the secondary school staff academic training, yenagoa, bayelsa. moruwawon, b. s. (2003): problem and issue of french language acquisition in a multilingual community: ekiti state a case study. journal of research in curriculum studies 2(1): 27-35. ogunkeye, o. (2007): bilinguism and the teaching of english and french in nigeria. journal of social studies 10(2):1-11. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 218 olaseinde, olufemi felicia (2018): french language in the nigerian educational policy: evaluation of the implementation of french language curriculum in junior secondary schools. international journal of humanities and cultural studies 5 (1): 184-201. omonigho, stella (2016). french as nigeria’s second official language. the guardian newspaper. sunday magazine. {online}. available; http://guardian.ng [2016, february 21]. oniamajuru, e. m. (2004), le français 2e langue officielle au nigeria : farce ou réalité ? la revue nigeriane d’etudes française 1(1):79-91. onyemelukwe, ifeoma (2004). the french language and literary creativity in nigeria: nigerian writers in french. zaria: labelle educational publishers. oxford advanced learner’s dictionary (2000): oxford university press. scott, mark (2002). bullet proof: how to make yourself indispensable. london: the random house group. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 109 william james pragmatism as an antidote to religious crisis in nigeria umeh, george-franklin department of philosophy nnamdi azikiwe university awka georgefranklin04@yahoo.com; 07030275410 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.10379.82727 abstract our world has always been ravaged by one form of crisis or the other, ranging from religious, political, economical, social, psychological, and educational and so on. but in all these, religion plays an important and indispensable role in the life of man who is the chief pilot of all other activities of life. however, when the heart (or soul) of man is divided from the main purpose of his creation, crisis sets in, and most times engulfs the rest of the other areas of his lives. for william james, man is always in search of the truth and this truth is the true meaning and purpose of life; when achieved, there is peace but when eluded, there is crisis. this research work employed the method of analysis where we critically examined the different crisis moments fueled by religion in nigeria. our findings show that the root of these entire religious crises in nigeria is lack of tolerance and dishonesty in the highest order especially from the muslim brotherhood who wants to dominate the whole country and the entire world with islam. in conclusion, i recommend that william james theory of truth summarized in his pragmatism be adopted by the two major religions in nigeria, christianity and islam, for a peaceful coexistence of all. keywords: william james, crisis, nigeria, religion, pragmatism introduction in a nation bound with vast geographic, vast ethnic and religious differences, these religious differences aid conflict which is a basis for showing religious biases and prejudices with the adherents being too fundamental and extremist in nature. naturally, the psycho-social description of man shows him as genetically selfish, fighting for his own interest alone. however, this does not necessarily explain or construe the religious nature of man. with various descriptions of the religious nature of man especially africans, mbiti have described him as notoriously religious. maybe this can adequately give a hypothesis for action that is behind religious conflict in nigeria. but how rational or how plausible is it for two notable religions to fight against each other, killing and giving a psychological aftermath igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 110 or psycho-negative effect since god can neither be described as a christian nor a muslim? in nigeria it all started in december 1980 when the maitasine – led kano, religious violence gripped the nation by surprise and unleashed mayhem, terror and uncertainty into the nigerian polity. at the end of the confusion, “about 4900 people were left dead.” the amount of properties damaged ran into millions of naira. in late october 1982, the followers of later maitasine re-enacted violence in maiduguri and kaduna. they produced free tutorials on disruptive fanaticism to some truants in post primary schools in kano. this moved a reporter to wonder thus “how else does one account for the fact that the fanatics get most recruits from those disgruntled with the orthodox islam within and outside nigeria without detection.” however, we cannot get to the right answer without first of all understanding what religion is all about religion: meaning and origin during the thousands of years of mankind history, man’s search for god has led down many pathways. the result has been the enormous diversity of religious expressions found worldwide, from the endless variety of hinduism to the monotheism of judaism, islam and christianity or christendom and to the oriental philosophies of shinto, taoism, buddhism and confucianism in other vast religions, mankind has turned to animism, magic and spiritism. the above picture is a pure manifestation of the difficulties encountered in the attempts to formulate a definition of religion. metuh (1987:13)points out the reason why religion is very difficult to define. he puts it thus; this is partly because the objective of religion is invincible and spiritual beings that are not subject to observation and are conceived in different ways by different people. besides, the study of religion interests people with a widely differing interests as theologians, anthropologists, psychologists and sociologists, each of who see it from a different perspective. it is on this background that we have so many definitions of religion by so many people, but as madu (2010:12) rightly said, “it is important to note that there are some basic elements that are common to some religion”, which arinze (1970:8) in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 111 his writings identifies as beliefs, worship (cult) and morals. a philosophical analysis of these basic elements can help us formulate a good definition of religion. before proceeding to that, it is important to trace back the origin of religion. etymologically religion is derived from the following: a. religando – meaning reffatening up or binding back. this is the opinion of lectantuis because for him, religion expresses a situation in which god overpowers man, thereby, binding him (man) to himself. b. religendo – relegere: to read. this is the opinion of cicero, since for him; religion is the fruit of assiduous study or meditation on divine things. c. re – elegere: reelection, in which st augustine sees the idea of re – election, by which god chooses to re – establish man in grace after man had lost former grace by sin(madu,2010:18). from these etymologies, we see the different shade of meaning of the word religion, and the confirmation of the elusiveness of religion. apart from these etymologies, we also have many theories on the origin of religion. we have five popular theories: the anthropological theory by ludwig feuerbach where he postulated that religion is man-made or a worship of self through self alienation; the sociological theory by emile durkheim where religion is seen as a means of social control for religion acts as a check and balance on the conscience of the people in the society; the psychological theory by sigmund freud sees religion as a childhood neurosis of ever dependence on the father; the marxist theory by karl marx sees religion as the opium of the people that sedates them from revolution against the oppression from the capitalists; and finally the theological theory which is the popular view about religion. we shall limit ourselves here with e.b taylors, james frazer and sigmund freud theories. according to e.b taylor’s (1990) anthropological theory which goes thus: experiences such as dreams, vision, hallucinations and the lifelessness of corpses caused primitive people to conclude that the body is inhabited by a soul (anima) in latin. according to this theory, since they frequently dreamt about their deceased ones, they assume that a soul continues living after death, that it left the body and dwelt on trees, rocks, rivers etc. eventually, the dead and the object they were said to inhabit came to be worshiped as gods. thus religion was born (p.11). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 112 according to this theory, often the primitive people became aware of this, they came up with a means of appeasing this spiritual being and thus religion came into existence. james frazer (1990), on his own view held that religion grew out of magic. religion came as a result of man trying to gain control of his life and environment by imitating what he saw in nature. according to this theory when man could not control his environment as he expected, he then turned to placating and beseeching the help of supernatural powers instead of trying to control them. the ritual and incantations became sacrifices and prayers and thus religion was born7. sigmund freud among the scholars held that religion is nothing but father – figure neurosis. this theory expresses a situation whereby sons who hated and admired their father killed him to acquire his powers and also ate him; after some time they became remorseful and invented rites and rituals to atone for their action. the father figure became god, the rites and rituals became the earliest religion and the eating of the slain father became the tradition of communion practiced in many religions (watch tower, 1990:8). there are so many theories on the origin of religion, but three things are common in all of them which are beliefs, worship (cult) and morals just as arinze noted. let us look at the origin of the different religions in nigeria. christianity and islamic religion: history and origin in nigeria. to solve the various problem of religious conflicts in our society nigeria; it will be very important to lay emphasis on the origin of two foreign religions in nigeria which are contributing to the outbreak of the religious intolerance that we are having today in our society. the founder of christianity is jesus christ; whose mysterious and lowly birth continues to infuse awe in the minds of his adherents. he was born into the family of joseph through the revelation of the holy spirit to mary, joseph and mary were considered as his earthly parents and guardians while he was on earth, many miracles were recorded in his name and many stories have been told on how he used his blood to save the whole humanity. this is the core point of christianity; that christ died and was buried, he resurrected and ascended into heaven and christ will come again. these teachings among other commands given to christians by christ (to go into the world and disciple all nations) are what motivated the early missionaries to keep spreading this message until 15th century when the gospel got to nigeria. history told us that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 113 it was through the effort of augustine and capuchin monk from portugal that christianity first stepped it’s foot on nigerian soil (madu,2010:125). according to k.b.c.onwubiko (2000:226) christianity finally, gained its place fully in nigeria in the early years of 1840s after samuel ajayicrowther, (the first african bishop and also a nigerian man who was enslaved by the slave traders but later became free) and henry townsend returned from sierra leone after they were baptized in 1842. the origin of islam on the other hand for madu, can be traced to the birth of mohammed, who was born about 570 a.d in mecca; a city in arabia. he became an orphan at an early age and worked as a shepherd and a camel rider. he got married to a wealthy woman at the age of twenty five. at an adult age mohammed started to question some religions of his day. he was disturbed by incessant quarreling in the avowed interest of religion among his tribal chiefs and he was also dissatisfied with the primitive survival of the arabian religion, the idolatrous polytheism and animism, the immorality at religious convocations and fairs, the drinking, dancing and gambling that were fashionable and the burying alive of unwanted infant daughters (p.126). all these beliefs were not in line with his new revelation, which god revealed to him through angel gabriel. through this new revelation he claimed that he has received a new word from allah (god) and thus he set out to organize a new religion which he called islam (total submission to the will of allah). this religion came to northern nigeria in 9th century c. e, and was well established in the kanuri empire during the reign of mai umme jilmi.by 16th century it spread to the major cities of the northern part of the countryside and towards the middlebelt uplands. sheikh dr abu – abdullah abdul fatha adelabu has argued that islam had reach sub – sahara africa, including nigeria as early as the first century hijrah through muslim traders and expeditions during the reign of the arab conqueror. therefore, from these historical explanations, one can find out that one thing is common among all these beliefs. christianity and islamic religion are another man’s religion founded by foreigners but imposed on us as a result of our inability to reason critically. having made a brief history of christianity and islam, it will be important to at least examine the origin and meaning of african traditional religion, since it was originated by the nigerian people whom this work is studying. the study of any religion is the study of the people who practice the religion. without man, there can be no religion whatsoever, for religion can only igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 114 be as a result of the activities of two agents, god who reveals himself to man and man who apprehends and responds to god’s revelation (adelumo dopanu et al, 2001:15). so, to study african religion is to study african people. african traditional religion unlike christianity and islam has no sole founder, in other words, we cannot say that okeke, okafor, shehu or adebayo founded the religion. what we know is that the religion exists and it is here with us. the religion must be as old as african people or mankind. kofi asare observed that african religion is the determining principle of african life. africans engage in religion in whatever they do, whether in farming, fishing or in hunting or simply in eating, drinking or traveling. religion gives meaning and significance to their lives both in this world and the next. for madu, the origin of african traditional society can be said to be as old as african people. it is likely that the african early ancestors in their effort to find rational explanations to the mysteries of existence formulated their thoughts in myths, legends, folk-tales, proverbs and wise-sayings. since these earlier mortals recognized their limitations, they had to necessarily developed faith in a “whole other” that, as it were, held the universe in existence. this “whole other” they identified as a supreme being who in addition to holding the world in existence could also read the innermost minds of men. so the idea of god in africa came as a result of man’s quest to offer explanation to the mysteries of existence (p.130). hence every religion, be it christianity, islam or african traditional religion, all started as a result of man’s quest to offer explanation to the mysteries of existence. but sometimes there is a clash of interest in these quests leading to conflicts. religion as source of conflict in nigeria religion, an acknowledgement of an obligation to god and a practical way of showing devotion to our faith in the almighty is another area that has engaged the minds of peace – loving nigerians. it is not that all nigerians are religiously devoted to their faith in god but the protracted issue that requires urgent solution is the way people profess their religious beliefs. the rule of the game is no longer obeyed. obviously, this is a time bomb planted by some group of people otherwise known as the fundamentalists or religious fanatics who vehemently shun tolerance and are determined to continue to unleash mayhem on the nigerian polity all in the name of allah. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 115 should this unfortunate situation be regarded as fulfillment of the prophetic utterance of margery perhan, a british colonialist, who warned in 1947 that independent nigeria would be fraught with strife because of many religions? nigeria is bequeathed with two world religions. christianity in the south and islam in the north. the hausa states of gobir, duara, kano, kastina, zaria, biram, were almost islamic states by 13thcentury; 600 years after prophet mohammed began the religion of islam in arabia. southern nigerians on the other hand were, “introduced to god” from the 14th century onwards by english and scottish missionaries but the alternate religious influences on nigeria had produced, by the year 1800, a triple religious legacy in the country: a christian south, and a muslim north, and interspersing segments of traditional religionist. for r.w .july (1974:249-252), the triple heritage was deemed natural unit, the cries of allah ak bar in northern nigeria in 1804 indicated that some persons were willing to restructure it. inspired by usman dan fodio, muslim radicals in 1804 took islam from gobir to ilorin, to sokoto, to kano, chanting allah ak bar leaving trials of corpse behind in the first ever violent attempt in nigeria history to collapse the tripled heritage of religion for pure islamic state. when the dust of dan fodio’s revolution settled in the 1930s, the triple heritage remained undisturbed. the gobiranans, the bachamas, the junkuns, the tivs, the anges and the idomas, all of northern nigeria, remained either christians or traditional worshipers. significantly, though, after dan fodio’srevolution, islam became a hierarchically organized religion under sultanate of sokoto and spread as far as ilorin and gongola, skirting most of today’s northern nigeria but dan fodio’s revolution was not felt in southern nigeria, which remains to date, essentially christians. if dan fodio’s revolution was an attempt to force islam into primacy within the triple heritage, there has been a similar, though non-violent attempt by christians to “dilute” islam’s grip on northern nigeria. a hundred years before dan fodio, a band of christian missionaries under father carlo de genove, had sought to convert hausa’s in northern nigeria to christianity without success. again in 1890, another christian group, the sudan party, organized an expedition to christianize the north, father g. n. brooke, dr. n. miller, and bishop h. tughell, who led the team, dressed in typical muslim costumes as a tactics of getting across to converting the hausas. ironically in their disguises, the hausas received them enthusiastically as muslim. as such while dan fodio’s revolution tried to upset the balance of religion, christians have likewise tried to extend the frontiers of christianity. the history of religious conflict innigeria, therefore is a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 116 history of over-reaction by muslims and christians, as they have tried to upset the triple heritage of religion. coincidentally, the two religions at the center of the clashes in the northern part of the country, originated from the orient land, both religions were founded at different points in time, christianity starting before islam. islam is a world major religion founded by prophet muhammedibnabdallahibnabdalmuttalibhashim, and he founded islam in arabia (present day saudi arabia) in the 7th century a.d. according to umechukwu (1995:19-25) the interpretation, understanding and practice of the tenet of the quran, have been distorted. as a result, the muslims have degenerated into sectarian groups which helped to aggravate the already existing religious conflict in nigeria. these sects fight for supremacy and often end up in unleashing violence on the nigerian’s social and political terrain. the muslim sects in nigeria are the izala (who are the most militant), the quadirriya, the ahmaddiya and the tijaniya. the izalaencourages the education of women, especially married ones and sees other sects as infidels. it was founded in the 1970’s by samailaidris an ex – army iman, who saddened by life in the barracks, vowed to return the muslim to the path laid out in the suna (preaching and deeds of the prophet). the quadrriya was led by nasirukabara of kano. the ahmadddiya was officially banned from going to mecca on pilgrimage for their belief that mohammed is not the seal, that is the final prophet. the tijjaniya, which follows the islamic interpretations of shehutijanikantaha, is led by sheikh dahirubauchi. it has a strong rivalry with the izala under gumi. the most painful and disdainful thing about this frivolous rivalries and divisions within islam is that it is carried into the political activities of the adherents. for muslims, politics and other social activities are regulated by islamic doctrine. whenever trouble erupts among them, the innocent christians are usually the target, as history has shown, “the born again” christians have recently thrown challenges to them. the outcome of such has been senseless massacre of human beings and destruction of property. nigeria is a secular state, this being the case, any attempt to drag politics into her religious life by favoring a particular religion should be condemned and viewed as illegal chapter iv of the nigeria constitution of 1989, under the fundamental human rights makes it illegal, any attempt to abuse individual’s religious freedom. interalia, it states that; “every person shall be entitled to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including freedom to change his religious belief in worship, teaching practice and observance”(p.12) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 117 in section 2 of the subsequent paragraph it is clearly stated that; “no person attending any place of education shall be required to receive religious instructions or ceremony or observance, if such instruction, ceremony or observance related to a religion other than his own, or religion not approved by his parent or guardian: (p.7). furthermore, section 3 goes to stipulate that, “no religious community or denomination shall be prevented from providing religious instructions for pupils of that community or denomination in a place of education maintained wholly by that community or denomination”.on the strength of the foregoing, it is not clear why the nigerian government dragged the nigeria into o.i.c issue, the muslims intimidating non-muslims into accepting islam. one also wonders why the muslim should constantly use the sharia law to harass non-muslims. the o.i.c issue is a puzzle to right thinking nigerians.it was on february 8, 1986 that the cat was let out. that was when a wire dispatch from agence france presse (afp), reported nigeria’s admission into the o.i.c as the 46th member of the organization at its summit in fezi morocco. again, on sunday february 12, the african concord broke this news to the nation. this opened the floodgate to great out pouring of religious protests in nigeria. a delegation of catholic bishops visited the then president, who gave the first official though covert admission of nigeria entry into the organization. “religion”, babangida told them, “will no longer be ignored a potent weapon of social mobilization. accordingly, we shall not neglect any reasonable international forum to which we have sufficient reason to belong or attend.” rather than nullify, the president’s address exacerbated tensions as christians nation-wide took up the cry calling for nigeria’s unconditional withdrawal from the o.i.c. as a result of this, religious riots developed in ilorin kwara state and ibadan oyo state were christians and muslims vowed to unsheathe their daggers over the site of a christian cross, which had stood undisturbed for 35years, until the o.i.c issue bruised skins and opened festering sores. the morality and legality of this action of babangida’s administration, by this decision have been seriously questioned. in a sharp reaction many prominent nigerians called on the babangida administration to find a solution to the problem posed by the frequent religious riots and stop playing politics with the whole issue. these nigerians did not think that even establishing panels to look into the problem would solve it. their reports were never implemented. the archbishop of lagos, anthony olubummiokogie igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 118 had cause to complain: “nigeria is best described in diplomatic circles as a country of panel beaters”. various panels were constituted in the past with little or no impact. the kaduna program added one more panel to a disappointed system of retributive justice. it is the view of john rawls that justice is fairness, implying equality both in principle and practice. it is where distributive and retributive justice is in full play and it involves tolerance. however, what has been fueling the incessant religious crisis in nigeria is intolerance. tolerance is allowing opinions and practices one do not agree with and not forcing one’s views on another. of course in every society, opinions vary, this is unavoidable. hence there is a strong need to accommodate each other’s views for a harmonious coexistence. for john gray (1995), “when we tolerate a practice, a belief or a character trait, we let something be that we judge to be undesirable, false or at least inferior; our toleration expresses the conviction that, despite its badness, the object of toleration should be left alone”(p.19). in political parley, patricia (2001) cited in akindele et al (2009), defines tolerance as “the willingness to extend basic and civil liberties to persons and groups whose viewpoints differ from one’s own” (pp.365-379). this calls for a provision that guarantees the rights of people, individuals or groups, to be free to have or hold opinions that may not be in line with that of the government of the day. when dissent voices are not accommodated by a government, such government is viewed as tyrannical and trying to silence oppositions or stiffens the freedom guaranteed by the constitution. for akindeleet al, “in a free and open society, public deliberation should oppose bad ideas instead of suppressing them.”(pp.365-379) this position is collaborated by popper(1966) in his paradox of tolerance. popper holds that “rational argument” should be used to engage intolerant views and keep them in check by “public opinion” rather than try to suppress them(p.265). this would be unwise to do say popper. in line with this thought, archbishop okogie again said of the kafanchan religious violence thus; definitely what happened in these places was triggered off by the kafanchan incident. i will be slow to agree that it is a civilian coup d’ etat as claimed by the president (babangida). were it so, it wouldn’t have been so easy to quell. it cannot be totally unconnected with the unsettled o.i.c issue. when salient issues are deliberately swept under the carpet, they are bound to re-erupt later. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 119 in a sharp reaction, the former gongola state governor, col. yohonna madaki (rtd) had, after one of the religious riots in nigeria, indicted the nigeria government thus, “the issue of religion will not be settled unless the nation is agreed about the causes”. tracing the religious war to certain claims of the “holy book” the root cause of these evils perpetuated by religion in the name of god is the totally unjustified claim by each religion that their god is the supreme god and it is the only religion sanctioned or revealed by god. the quran for instance emphasizes the supremacy of islam as well as islam's messenger (muhammad): indeed, those who are opposing allah and his messenger are bound to be humiliated. the almighty has ordained: ‘‘i and my messengers shall always prevail’’. indeed, allah is mighty and powerful. — quran 58:20 it is he who has sent his messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to manifest it over all religion, although they who associate others with allah dislike it. — quran9:33 and whoever desires other than islam as religion – never will it be accepted from him, and he, in the hereafter, will be among the loosers — quran 3:85 allah is the one who created you from weakness, then made after weakness strength, then made after strength weakness and white hair. he creates what he wills, and he is the knowing and competent — quran 30:54 these claims can also so be found in the holy book “bible” of the christians where they emphasize the supremacy of their god, they include: you alone are the lord you have made the heavens with all their host, the earth all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them you give life to all of them and the heavenly host bows down before you — nehemiah 9:6 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 120 know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the lord, he is god in heaven above and on the earth below, there is no other — deuteronomy 10:14 for the lord most high is to be feared, a great king over all the earth — psalm 47:2 i am the lord your holy one, the creator of israel, your king — psalm 43:15 who would not fear you, o king of the nations? indeed, it is your due! for among all the wise men of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is none like you — jeremiah 10:7 now to the king eternal immortal, invisible the only god, be honor and glory forever and ever, amen — 1 timothy 1:17 poor enlightenmentamongst adherents some muslims have failed to understand the history and the reason behind the “sword verse” which they have used as a guide to declare war against the christians. some of the sword verse includes: and slay them wherever ye find them, and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution is worse than slaughter... and fight them until fitnah is no more, and religion is for allah.”— quran 2:191 quran scholars claim that the textual context of this particular passage is defensive war after the treaty of hudaybiyyah was broken by the qurayshi-affiliated banubakr tribe when they attacked the muslim-allied tribe of banukhaza'a. in response, the prophet sent a letter requesting the quraysh either terminate their alliance with banukhaza'a or pay a ransom. the quraysh rejected both of mohammad's offers, thus, breaking the treaty. it is also agreed upon that the verse refers to only the ones who broke the treaty. the previous verse says: fight in the cause of allah those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for allah loveth not transgressors. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 121 — quran 2:190 this has been used to argue that fighting is only permissible as a form of defense. there are two points made in verse 2:191 that may cause some debate. the first is that the killing of others is authorized in the event of "persecution;"the second is that fighting may persist until "religion is for allah" and there is no more "fitnah" (fitnah having many possible interpretations, the most likely being "trial" or "testing"). quran (2:191–193) micheline r. ishay has argued that "the quran justifies wars for self-defense to protect islamic communities against internal or external aggression by non-islamic populations, and wars waged against those who 'violate their oaths' by breaking a treaty".37 mufti m. mukarram ahmed has also argued that the quran encourages people to fight in self-defense. he has also argued that the quran has been used to direct muslims to make all possible preparations to defend themselves against enemies. it is therefore worthy of note that the adherents of these religion are being indoctrinated instead of being educated on the basis of their religion. numerous scholars and authors, both muslim and non-muslim have testified to the underlying rejection of violence, cruelty, coercion, and intolerance of the quran and its embrace of justice and self-defense. according to fawzyabdelmalek, "many muslim scholars speak of islam as a religion of peace and not of violence. they say that the non-muslims misunderstand the quran verses about jihad and the conduct of war in islam. following this imantawhid posits “if suicide bombing was a shortcut to paradise, whoever convinced you would have blown himself away”. is it not contradictory that the religion that preaches love is the same religion that unleash mayhem in the country? thus religious adherents should be educated properly on the basis of their religion laying emphasis on love for the sake of mankind. william james pragmatism as antidote to religious crisis in nigeria william james in his pragmatic philosophy pointed out that the whole function of philosophy ought to be to find out what definite difference it’ll make to you and me, at definite instants of our life, if this world-formula or that world-formula be the true one. however, it is acknowledged that james gave series of definition and explanation on his theory of truth. in his connection, truth is empirical, progressive, asks questions and most importantly, there’s nothing like absolute, immutable igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 122 and objective truth. on the other hand, each religion of god is originally a source of rapid material and moral progress for mankind. religion functionally serves to give men shared goals thereby reducing too much competition, it promises later reward, thus softening the anguish of the present predicament or frustrations. it helps to define the meaning of suffering thereby reducing to the barest minimum, threats of chaos, thus religion is a prerequisite for society. however overtime, like all things, it has slowly began to decline and eventually lose its original influence and relevance and beauty and is then in need of renewal. using william james(2008) pragmatic theory of truth, religious intolerance can be amended, thus: truth is empirical: this means that truth is found in our world and not hidden in heaven. truth is not eschatological but practical, thus we experience truth and push towards its verification and not a promise we meet in the afterlife. the root cause of these evils perpetuated by religion in the name of god is the totally unjustified claim by each religion that it is the only true religion sanctioned or revealed by god, the only true religion approved by god, while the others are false. each religion claims to be the only saving boat which god has sent down to mankind and that it is only by belonging to it that any human being can be saved. all other human beings who do not believe and are practicing other religion will be condemned by god. truth asks questions: asking question removes any stand for dogmatic assumptions. answers that cannot be questioned often gives room for conflict amongst the two opposing sides. therefore, with this continuous act of killing of each other, one may be tempted to ask, how true is the unjustified claims different religions make? are these killing really what our religious beliefs teach? are we really in line with the dreams of our national liberation fighters who understood the unity and diversity of our different ethnic groups and religion, and came together to fight for the independence of this nation? these questions demands to be answered, because the way people are following their religious beliefs dogmatically calls for an urgent answer to this question. there is nothing like absolutism, immutability and objective truth: cosmology, culture and society differ in one way or the other. any proposition seeking to be enacted as truth must pass through the three. religion is inseparably part of culture. every religion is the product of a particular culture within which it grew. its doctrines reflect the worldview of that culture, it’s understanding of reality, it’s way of looking at things at that particular time. yet, no culture can be said to be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 123 the culture approved by god for the whole world, it makes no sense to talk of any religion being the only true religion approved by god for the whole of mankind, the only true religion that god wants all mankind to belong to. every religion represents the way in which a particular people, a particular culture looks at reality; it is an expression of the cultural worldview of a people and the vehicle for the transmission of such a cultural worldview. no such cultural worldview can be said to be absolute one approved for the whole world by god. this is precisely what those claim that a particular religion intended for mankind by god are saying. these claims are self-evidently unrealistic and false. the truth of these claims cannot be verified and rather the claims bring destruction to mankind. according to william james, truth depends on agreement with reality. william james made this explicit when he said that the proposition or theory is useful in the sense of enabling us to deal adequately with experience. the goodness of every idea is to be tested by its usefulness as its truth is to be tested by its consequences. however, when we say that an idea is true, we mean that it works in practice or will have beneficial consequences in practice. truth is progressive: nigeria as a country has suffered greatly from religious conflicts and this is as a result of the inability of the religious adherents to reason with their common sense and see how dogmatic some of their beliefs are. these religious dogmas have blinded people to an extent that their brains have become so weak that the only thing they consider as the truth is only what their so called religious leaders tells them to do. progression here means replacement of old ideas with new ones. truth is not static but dynamic and progressive because it gives room through dialogue for new truth. evaluation from our discussion so far, we have observed that men and women have given themselves up to be slaughtered, to be eaten by lions, tobe thrown into the fire and burnt alive for their religious beliefs. some others who are born into wealth and destined to inherit wealth have renounced wealth and turned themselves into beggars for their religious beliefs. on the other hand, the ruling elite and prominent members of the clergy always blame religious intolerance on unemployment, poverty, illiteracy and mental derangement and ignore or downplay the damaging effects of certain explicit injunctions contained in “holy books” and the totally unjustified claims by each religion; that it is the only true igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 124 religion sanctioned or revealed by god. this kind of claim simply is the product of ignorance, a symptom of narrow mindedness, fanaticism, bigotism and has led to disunity, intolerance and violence in the country. how then do we tackle this superstitious weltanschauung and barbarism, and vindication of wanton cruelty and violence “in the name of god” which is an appalling regress to primitivism which jeopardizes the spiritual core of humanity? william james pragmatism in the bid to curb religious crisis have clearly validated that “might” doesnot make “right”. the danger of imposed dogmatic assumption without any cash value or workability can often undergird, reinforce, and support social norms that are exploitive, that fail to represent or truly reflect what is happening on the ground, and serve only to uphold existing power structures and the supporting institution. hence, james placed emphasis on facts and consequences as opposed to theories and principles. james places a great emphasis on change and development. hence he rejected universally valid theory since the world evolves, and human societies grow and change. a look at the developed nations will unveil the application of pragmatism. there was a total change of mindset and attitude before they could attain such heights. many european countries like canada, sweden etc. which we now call developed countries, tried very hard to eradicate such religiosity mentality and apparently now they have some degree of success. for instance, the abandonment of “faith based thinking” during the enlightenment is a major factor that allowed western europe to be more successful. nevertheless, the high rate religious conflicts which ravage most of the third world countries like nigeria, drawing them back from achieving the desired sustainable development, is seemingly absent in their developed western counterpart. china has more religious andethnic group more than nigeria, but yet they understood the pragmatic principle of workability, they work while praying and as such move towards development. since the world is dynamic, people need to develop new methods of understanding what is right and wrong. as katz, e. and light, a(1996:26) havewritten; pragmatism maintains that no set of ethical concepts can be the absolute foundation for evaluating the rightness of our action. we know from our past experience, that some ethical concepts work better than others in a given situation, but our past experience is the only thing you have as an ethical foundation. our actions should be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 125 creative mediation of conflicting claims to value, aimed at making life on the planet relatively better than it is. hence, all religious doctrines, books and symbols should exist so as to provide for the needs of individuals. all religions should work towards conformity to their social needs. james sees pragmatism as an improvement on empiricism and a rebuke of rationalism. hence, pragmatic truth brings us much closer to the actual ground of reality by leading away from a search for some abstract final truth or principles, and close to our actual experience. conclusion in close comparison to religious crisis in nigeria, the question about living together in peace emerged as a result of the violent confrontation that has been occurring among religious groups. the massive destruction among the two strong religious groups (christians and muslims) has led to the destruction of property, valuable infrastructure and development projects; and above all poses a serious threat to national security, causes disaster, psychological trauma, disruption of activities etc. one has no choice but to infer that uncritical beliefs are the major cause of this violence. therefore, this study urges religious leaders to shun the exploitation of their members, emotionally, psychologically, financially and otherwise, rather, they should educate them on the dignity of labour and respect for human life. the individual should wake up from their religious slumber and put religion in the faculty of moderation and start making committed efforts in taking active involvement in solving their existential problems. they should debar from religious controversy and look for workability and what will develop the nation. hence, all doctrines that promote violence should be subjected to the scope of verification so as to prove its authenticity and workability. references adelumo dopanu and j omosade awolalu, (2001) west african traditional religion, lagos: onibonoje publishers akindele, s.t et al, (2009), “political intolerance as a clog in the wheel of democratic governance: the way forward” in african journal of political science and international relations vol 5(8). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 126 arinze, e., (1970) sacrifice in igbo religion, ibadan ibadan university press. gray,j. (1995), enlightenment’s wake. london and new york: routledge. james w., (2008) pragmatism: a new name for some old ways of thinking, new york: cosimo, inc. james w., (2002) meaning of truth, usa: dover publications, inc. katz, e. and light, a (1996) environmental pragmatism, new york: routledge, watch tower, man kind’s search for religion new york, u.s.a. watch tower, 1990 madu, j., (2010) fundamentals of religious studies, calabar: franedoh publisher metuh, e.i. (1987). comparative studies of african traditional religions. onitsha, imico publishers, micheline ishay, (2008) the history of human rights: from ancient times to globalization era london: university of california press. onwubuiko, k.b.c.,(2000) a school certificate history west african book one aba: african educational publisher omoregbe, j. (1993) a philosophical look at religion lagos: joja educational research and publishers limited. popper, k.r. (1966), the open society and its enemies. vol. 1 fifth edition, princeton: princeton university press sharp, g. (1973), the politics of nonviolent action (part 1), boston: porter sergeant publisher. the constitution of the federal republic of nigeria, 1989 umechukwu, p.o. (1995) the press coverage of religious violence in nigeria, enugu, ugovin publishers the justice adolphuskanbiwhyte panel (tribunal) in kaduna state 1987 editorial, this week, wednesday 4th january, 1989. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 55 the upsurge of prostitution in nigeria and its effect on benue youths: the church opinion franca.s. jando ph.d and amase. e. e. department of religion and cultural studies benue state university, makurdi benue state-nigeria email: wantorshimmy@gmail.com; phone: 08036510552/08131592930 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.10379.82727 abstract this research paper entitled, “the upsurge of prostitution in nigeria and its effect on benue youths: the church opinion” undertakes a critical examination of the prevalence of prostitution in nigeria with specific emphasis on how this affects the youths in benue state and how the church might intervene to stop the ugly trend. to achieve this objective, the research adopts the qualitative research method since the aim is not merely to describe and explain the practice of prostitution but also to actively engage victims of prostitution in order to get first hand information that will aid informed decisions. consequently, the paper obtains data from interviews and observations, in addition to official documents, personal records, and records of eyewitnesses. the paper finds that prostitution is not only prevalent in benue state but is also endemic as it is found in all the towns within the state and is practiced by men and women of all ages. the paper also finds that most prostitutes in the state get involve in the practice due to a plethora of problems and will not want to be prostitutes otherwise. based on the strength of these findings, the paper concludes that the church, in accord with its mandate of saving the miserable and lost souls and bringing all to god’s eternal kingdom, is uniquely qualified to combat the scourge, not by coercive means but through love and care. the paper recommends that, rather than seeing prostitutes as offenders of the law and sinners, all christians should see prostitutes the same way our lord and saviour jesus christ saw them: as slaves and victims of injustice and inequality in the society who need help. keywords: prostitution, church, nigeria, benue youth, government igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 56 introduction prostitution is seen as “the world’s oldest profession” (ditmore 275) and is believed to have been in practice right from the early stages of human existence. given its ancient origin, prostitution has a long history with divergent modes of operation in different societies across the world. sanger and doufor express the unanimous view that in pre-modern times, prostitution was institutionalized in certain societies and was connected with temple or secret rites in the temples of goddess of love where priestesses, in exchange for donations for the goddesses, offer up their bodies to men (qtd dylewski and prokop 2). in the chaldean venus temple of mylitta in ancient babylon, each woman had to give herself to a foreigner who would pay, in order to fulfil their sacred duty; while in ancient rome, a special office was established to coordinate the affairs of brothels and maintain the peace, in addition to controlling the tax income in thesame manner. mention is further made of the roman baths where special cabins were created in which erotic massages and oral and classic sex were performed by both female and male prostitutes and professional prostitutes wore red bows on their arms as a sign of pride of guild membership, with the income from their activities feeding the municipal treasury (sanger 25). in the same vein, biblical evidence indicates that prostitution was also practiced among the jews. the earliest record of this is in the story of judah and tamar in the book of genesis (38: 14-26). also, the story of the jericho prostitute, rehab, who hid the spies sent by joshua to spy on the land of canaan (joshua 2:1-24), and samson who had relations with a prostitute (judges 16:1-20) are notable evidence of the practice among the jews. similarly, the story of the two prostitutes who brought a dispute before king solomon for adjudication (1 kings 3:16) and the experience of prophet hosea that was ordered by god to marry a prostitute (1 kings 22:38) are undeniable evidence of prostitution among the jews. in all these accounts, it is clear that the ancient hebrew law did not particularly forbid prostitution but rather, confined the practice to foreign women as is stated in the book of deuteronomy, “none of the daughters of israel shall be a cult prostitute, and none of the sons of israel shall be a cult prostitute” (23:17). in africa, although the modern trend in prostitution was unknown to the traditional african society, luise, ekpootu mfon intimates that, “there existed igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 57 several sexual activities that fell outside conjugal relations” which are akin to modern prostitution such as “the engagement of women in extra-marital sexual liaisons...conducted within culturally sanctioned parameters.” (3) among the akan of ghana, there existed the “abrakree” (public women) who rendered unpaid sexual favours to bachelors; which is similar to the “karuwanci” (divorcees) of hausa in northern nigeria (qtd in aderinto 470), to mention just a few. scholars have consequently, expressed the view that the open practice of prostitution was inaugurated in africa along side slavery, and colonization (luise 11). a review of researches on the emergence of prostitution on the african continent reveals that with the rise of industrial capitalism in the hay days of colonialism, there emerged full fledged prostitution on the continent which was predominant in the densely populated urban centers. the prevalence of the vice in urban centers was largely due to the anonymity that was a feature of the emerging townships. aderinto, citing akyeampong, opines that “the facelessness of the city facilitated by its large population enhanced anonymity and the freedom to express sexual desire...it was amenable to such activities as public flirting and solicitation, which facilitated sex work” (472). thus, individuals who could have been ashamed of engaging in commercial sex among their kin left their immediate environments to urban centers where they engaged in prostitution. consequently, in nigeria, like every other colonial african country, there was mass exodus of people to urban centers in search of better lives in the hay days of colonialism. most of the men and women who drifted to the cities however, were unskilled and therefore, resorted to odd jobs for survival, with a large percentage of the women and even men engaging in prostitution. beginning from this era to the contemporary times, prostitution has grown exponentially and has become an endemic in modern day nigeria. known by different names such ashawo, akunakuna, to mention but a few, prostitution has defiled all attempts to halt its existence in the country to the extent that in recent times, nigerian prostitutes formed an association known as national association of nigerian prostitutes (nanp) to protect their rights (dele, auwal and oluwafunmilayo 2). as a non-governmental organization, the main objectives of nanp is to see a nigeria where sex work is recognized as work, violence and discrimination against sex workers eliminated and the health, social and human rights of sex workers respected. their agitations have not yielded the desired igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 58 results of the association since nigeria, although a circular state, has strong constitutional and religious laws against prostitution. in addition to the christian and islamic laws forbidding prostitution, the nigeria criminal code of 1944, section 249 provides penalties for prostitution and states that, “every common prostitute behaving in a disorderly or indecent manner in any public place loitering and persistently importuning or soliciting persons for the purpose of prostitution shall be deemed idle and disorderly persons, and shall be liable to imprisonment for one month (qtd in kangiwa 71). these have, regrettably, achieved very little in stemming the rising vicious tide of prostitution in the country as the practice is common in every state, city, village and particularly rampant in the all educational institutions in the country. on account of its devastating consequences on individual participants and the society at large, sanger concludes that “the evil is so notorious that none can possibly gainsay it” (17). the ever growing risks occasioned by prostitution on the society’s harmony and healthy existence therefore, underscore the need for a critical examination of this ancient vice on the benue youth currently in this research paper. understanding the concept of prostitution the word “prostitution is derived from the latin “pro” meaning “up front” or “forward” and “stituere”, defined as “to offer up for sale” (perking and lovejoy 23). prostitution as a concept has attracted considerable scholarly attention given its insidious nature to society’s moral and socio-psychological well being. researchers and scholars have proffered several definitions in an attempt to explain its nature. edward armstrong in the research paper entitled, “the sociology of prostitution; defines prostitution as an occupation in which an individual sells sex in a promiscuous and emotionally indifferent manner.” (102) his definition has sociological bearings and highlights the occupational, commercial, sexual, and emotionally connotations involved in the practice and how these impact the participants and the society at large. clinard in a succinct assessment offers a view similar to armstrong when he states that, “prostitution is a sexual intercourse on a promiscuous and mercenary or on monetary basis with accompanying emotional indifference” (371). the implication of clinard’s and armstrong’s definitions is that within the context of prostitution, sex occurs between persons who are not emotional attached and the act is based mainly on pecuniary reasons. loy and paul’s view of prostitution converges with igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 59 the foregoing in the comment that, “prostitution is an act of offering oneself for hire to engage in sexual action for money''. (qtd in tyoanande and audu 31) although there appears a consensus view in the opinions offered thus far that prostitution is anchored on monetary reward, it is important to note that a prostitute may also offer sexual pleasures for other benefits other than money as well. martin monto expresses this poignantly when he defines prostitution as “the exchange of sexual access to one’s body for something of value, most frequently money or drugs” (161). it is also crucial to stress that one may be coerced into prostitution especially in cases of under-aged persons or dependents. this explains why bindman (qtd in janeiro 8) associates prostitution with “slavery” and “violence against women.” the foregoing also indicates that the term prostitute is traditionally associated with the female but a survey of existing contemporary studies reveal that males too are actively involved in commercial sex work. bray and norton report that, “as early as the eighteenth century commercial sexual contact between men frequently occurred in european metropolitan centres such as london” (qtd in scott 181), although the activities of these male prostitutes were associated with homosexuality and the male in question considered as perverts or psycho-social outcasts. even as empirical data suggests that the percentage of male prostitutes is relatively small when compared to the females (kaye 2007; atkins 2012; scott 2003), this does detract from the fact of their involvement in commercial sex work. while female prostitutes flourish in nigeria and appear impossible to eradicate, male prostitution is strongly abhorrent to the generality of nigerians, which explains why their activities are closely guarded secrets. the first instance where gay and homosexual nigerian men asserted themselves publicly, according to samson olanisebe, “was when a man by the name rev. rowland jide macaulay established a church known as rainbow church in lagos...[which] soon became a haven for nigerian homosexuals and lesbians....”(201) due to the harsh treatment they receive on daily basis however, olanisebe concludes that “many nigerian gays and lesbians have left the country for uk or usa” (203) and the remnants operate clandestinely to avoid public notice. as can be inferred from the above, prostitutes (male or female) operate mostly in secluded or obscure locations due to the public stigma attached to the practice. such locations as bars, nightclubs, movie theatres, private apartments and homes, brothels, hotels and even street corners are ideal havens for prostitutes. voloshin, derevitskiy, mukhina, karbovskii aver that, “with the advent of web technologies igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 60 commercial sex work in its various forms have found new possibilities for both arranging and providing sexual service to the clients via internet, as well as finding new targets for human trafficking.” the internet has thus minimized the physical presence of commercial sex workers in their traditional locations, making them scarce to the general public and law enforcement agencies. types of prostitution as it has become clear from the foregoing, the first form or type of prostitution is the sacred or cult prostitution which was practiced in ancient times where women and men gave sexual pleasures to patrons in order to generate income in the shrines of goddesses, or engaged in elaborate erotic activities in veneration of such goddesses. in his book entitled, prostitutes and courtesans in the ancient world, christopher faraone notes that “sacred prostitution was primarily an economic activity, by which a deity would receive the money paid to buy or rent the prostitute’s body.” (79) usually, such temples offered sacred spaces for guests, especially travellers in which they satisfied their sexual desires in exchange for holy donations to the temple. in benue state, there is no record of cult or temple prostitution however; other modern forms of prostitution as categorized by scholars and sociologists are obtainable within the state. contemporary classification of prostitution is largely based on the location and operational modalities of the sex workers. clinard in his classification divides prostitution into four main types. these include the street workers, brothel prostitutes, call girls, and the high class or professional prostitutes (377). among these categories, the street walkers are the lowest in status as they are found on street corners, beer parlours and other public places soliciting patronage, usually dressed suggestively, and revealing most private parts of their bodies to attract customers. street prostitution accounts for a small percentage of the general population of prostitutes and based on various factors such as “the market size, the community’s tolerance levels, the degree to which prostitutes are organized, and the relationship of prostitution to drug use and trafficking.”(scott and dedel 3) the brothel form of prostitution describes prostitutes who reside in brothels which could be low class hotels or houses located in slum area. according to ladipo, et al “a brothel is a residential ‘quarters’ for sex work habitation, where sex services are obtained or sold.” (qtd in ajibuah ) brothels are located mainly in highly igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 61 populated areas for easy access by customers. weitzer explains that the prices they charge are “moderate” and brothel workers endure “moderate exploitation” since they have to give part of their earnings to the brothel owners. the owners of brothels are scarcely seen within the premises but function through employees called managers. ajibuah explains that the managers are usually men or women that ensure effective day-to-day operations of the brothels and are typically assisted by other staff, such as bar men who are in charge of drinks and the chairlady who is the leader of the sex workers: “the chairlady ensures that peace and harmonies are kept and also facilitate the admission and orientation of new ladies into the service.” (5) in call girl prostitution, prostitutes are known to rent and reside in personal apartments, mostly in decent neighbourhoods and are generally known in many of the high class hotels in town especially by the waiters and receptionists that put visitors and lodgers in touch with such girls. the sexual act takes place either in the hotel room of the visitor or lodger or in the girl’s apartment. most call girls are known to arrange meetings with their customers on the phone or through social media networks such facebook twitter, snap-chat and whatsapp. they usually charge higher fees compared to the brothel and street walker prostitutes. the upper class independent/professional prostitute on the other hand usually resides in a well furnished apartment in one of the most respectable residential areas with highly placed members of the society as customers who pay her very high fees for her sexual services. other categories of prostitutes include university students and students of tertiary institutions who engage in what is popularly known as campus prostitution and sell their bodies to their lecturers, mates and other willing patrons in addition to soliciting marks from their lectures in exchange for sex (abdullahi, qtd in kangiwa 73). other sub-categorizations of prostitution as put forward by weitzer include: escort/ out-call prostitution, sex tourism, window or doorway prostitution, among others. causes and consequences of prostitution a plethora of factors have been advanced by scholars to explain the prevalence and continued existence and the attendant effects of prostitution in the human society. these range from socio-economic/environmental, psycho-moral, and religious factors. a survey carried out by this research paper reveals that the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 62 universal reasons why people involve in prostitution as profiled by these scholars are not remarkably different from what is obtainable in benue state, except in cases where the socio-economic dynamics of the environment are considered. notable of the above mentioned causes are the socio-economic and environmental factors. in relation to the endemic prostitution in nigeria, the pervasive poverty and squalor that is a lot over seventy percent of nigerians is often cited as a key predisposing factor. in spite of the country’s immense wealth in mineral resources and abundant fertile arable lands for food production, over sixty percent of nigerians live in extreme poverty (sadiq, qtd in omoniyi 1) and can barely afford the basic necessities of life. citing reports by the world bank and addaekorankye, omoniyi highlights some of the effects of poverty which includes the individual’s inability to access basic resources for a wholesome living, “including low income and the inability to possess basic goods and services required for survival with self-esteem... lack of adequate education, poor state of health, ...loss of physical security, lack of voice, insufficient capacity and lack of opportunity to better one’s own life.”(3) faced with these stupefying and dehumanizing conditions of living, many nigerians, especially the vulnerable women, have reluctantly embraced prostitution, a business that requires no capital for survival. within this context, harsh socio-economic conditions of the environment as a result of the ineptitude to leadership and crass corruption, denies the prostitutes viable opportunities for self improvement and sustenance and leaves them little options for survival; one of which is prostitution. it is plausible to argue that poverty limits the peoples chance of acquiring education and literacy, apart from limiting one’s choices, exposes one to exploitation of all kinds. against this backdrop, it becomes easier to understand ewah’s assertion that with the high rate of illiteracy in nigeria, the youths are deceived into believing that in big cities, milk and honey flows, only to be forced into sex work when in those cities. (qtd in chukwu and okoronkwo 17 ) this resonates strongly with maria opinion that young girls and gullible women are lured by the promise of a better life, but they are used in the cities for prostitution. (qtd in chukwu and okoronkwo 15) also, prostitution is believed to be caused by abuse which may be emotional and psychological, especially in children. the merriam-webster’s dictionary defines abuse as improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. emotional abuse, to umobong, “is any attitude, behavior or failure to act” on the part of a caregiver a situation that interferes with “a child’s mental health, social development or sense of self-worth.”(qtd in chukwu and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 63 okoronkwo 18 ) specifically, sexual abuse has been defined by clark et al. as “the involvement of the child in sexual activity to provide sexual benefit to the perpetrator, including contacts for sexual purposes, molestation, statutory rape, prostitution, pornography, exposure, incest or other sexually exploitative activities”.(qtd in chukwu and okoronkwo 17) a person who is abused usually feels “an intense feeling of worthlessness, being unloved, unwanted, and perhaps only of value in meeting others’ needs.” (chukwu and okoronkwo 18) abuse is generally characterized by denigrating, threats, discrimination, ridicule, which unfortunately, are least understood but are never the less, very devastating to a person’s physical and emotional welfare. this emotional and psychological imbalance, it has been argued, predisposed teenagers and young adults to wayward behaviors such as alcoholism, drug use and prostitution. consequently, majority of nigerian prostitutes are children who at certain points in their lives suffered abuse and negligence from the hands of adults. further more, parental irresponsibility and negligence is a strong causative factor of prostitution in nigeria. this is usually characterized by failure of parents or care givers to provide the basic needs of their wards which forces them to start fending for themselves at a very early age. alobo and rita express the point that, most parents do not give children proper guidance and counselling and allow them to mingle with wrong peers which leads them to deviant acts, criminal behaviour as well as prostitution. in benue state like in most nigerian states, it is common to see teenagers of school age hawking wares during school hours. this exposes such children to many physical and psychological hazards. to ebigbo, street hawking by female children exposes them to sexual exploitation/abuse and consequently, prostitution. he explains that such children “will either be raped or enticed into sexually compromising situations and virtually all of them will be sexually molested through touching and/or visual and verbal enticements to sex.” (chukwu and okoronkwo 18) from a spiritual perspective, it is undeniable true that youths who lack knowledge of god and his words due to their lack of involvement or interest in the things of god are likely to fall victims of the vice of prostitution. under the influences of negative forces, they may indulge in prostitution just for the fun of it and “not for economic benefit or frustration. whatever is the cause of prostitution within nigeria and the benue as a society in particular, there is no gain saying the enormous consequences prostitution tends to bring in the society at large. prostitution is generally associated with the spread of transmitted diseases (stds) such as hiv/aids. according to aminu hussaini igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 64 in the paper entitled, “causes, types and consequences of prostitution on women in sokoto state, nigeria: implications for small scale enterprises counselling”, “one of the main reasons for the rapid spread of hiv in nigeria is the massive transmission among sex workers/ clients and other sexually transmitted diseases like gonorrhoea, pelvic inflammatory diseases and syphilis.”(7) alobo and rita in their submission aver that “prostitutes are usually at risk of becoming victims of ritual killers. since they operate under cover and less likely to be looked for by the police if they disappear.”(qtd in hussaini 7) also, prostitutes are most likely to sell and use hard drugs and consequently, most likely to be involved in criminal activities thereby, causing harm, not only to themselves, but the society at large. furthermore, the risks of unwanted pregnancies, abortions, abandoned children and single motherhood which are direct consequences of prostitution. given the enormity of its consequences on the society, prostitution and other related vices have been condemned seriously by the body of christ and concerted effort by the church are dedicated to eradicating it in the society. a survey of the prevalence of prostitution in benue state benue state is a highly religious state with almost the entire population subscribing to one faith or the other. i.t sampson in a study asserted that the state “is entirely composed of christians and followers of traditional religion.” (qtd in tsebee 102) however, this conclusion has been proven to be incorrect by survey carried by this paper which reveals that, although christians are clearly the majority in the state and are followed by the believers of the african traditional religion; there exist a significant percentage of muslims (mostly non indigenes) and a number of free thinkers who subscribe to no specific religion in the state. in spite of this predominantly large percentage of god fearing population, the state has significantly large percentage of prostitutes. during a field survey conducted by the researcher in the major towns of the state, namely: makurdi, gboko, otukpo, katsina-ala, adikpo, vandeikya, zaki-biam, and aliade, it was discovered that in each of these places, there were designated homes for prostitutes who conduct their sex business unmolested. ayem, shimawaan, chiagi, and alechenu who are residents of makurdi, during an interview for the research offered very lucid insights into prostitution racket in the town. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 65 ayem in a succinct statement explains that; in makurdi due its status as the state’s headquarters for prostitution attracts a lot of idle and unskilled females from all over the state who survive in the city through prostitution. according to him, “new prostitutes on arrival, stay with friends who are already in the business until they save enough money to rent a room of their own.” collaborating ayem’s view, shimawaan points out that “some of the prostitutes entertain customers in their rented rooms while others hang around drinking joints and bars in search of customers.” chiagi on his part intimated that a significant percentage of the prostitutes in makurdi “are students of the benue state university who sell their bodies to support the exotic lifestyles’.” when asked how much an average prostitute charge for her services, alechenu informs that the rate depends on the duration of the encounter: “if the customer wants to stay all night, he is charged 2500-3000 naira while a round of sex typically referred to as short-time attracts 500 to 1000 naira, depending on the youthfulness and beauty of the prostitute.” information gathered by the researcher in gboko, otukpo, adikpo, katsina-ala, zaki-biam and aliade reflects the same pattern obtainable in the state’s headquarter except slight variations in the prices depending on the economic strengths of the towns. tyotom, a resident of gboko, states that “while most prostitutes in the town reside in designated prostitute homes where they are visited by customers, some stay in their independent apartments and visit bars in the evenings to solicit for customers.” in otukpo, a resident of the town, ochefu informs that “a good number of the prostitutes in the town are young girls who have fled their villages to seek greener pastures.” he adds that “although young girls make up the majority of prostitutes in the town, older women too are in the trade and they usually charge lower fees to attract patrons.” in adikpo, a resident of the town, agbatse, expressed great dissatisfaction with the rising wave of prostitution sweeping through the town. in his words: “the world is coming to an end, i see young girls every evening who are not old enough to be mothers swimming the town in the night in search of men old enough to be their fathers because they need money.” similarly, shighfan, nongo, and tivlumun who are residents of katsinaala, zaki-biam and aliade respectively confirmed the prevalence of prostitution in the towns and blame the ugly situation on parental irresponsibility, broken marriages, poverty, moral degeneration and crass lack of the fear of god, and the inordinate ambitions of some youths to acquire the good things of life without making efforts to engage in gainful employment. efforts by the researcher to speak with some of the prostitutes within igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 66 this town did not yield positive results as some were out rightly abusive and would not tolerate the presence of the researcher. however, few who reluctantly agreed to be interviewed after prolonged appeals but insisted to be anonymous mentioned the lack of government interest and support for the youths, the destitute, the widows; in addition to personal tragedies as factors that pushed them into prostitution and insisted that under different conditions, they would not choose prostitution. church’s position on prostitution the position of the church concerning prostitution is contained in the social teachings of the church which are guided by the biblical orientation. from genesis to revelation, the bible adopts a clear position of intolerance to prostitution, especially when it concerns the chosen people of god. the hebrew law is “extremely severe on jewish maidens who gave themselves to prostitution but tolerated the offence in strange women.” (clarkson 299) the hebrew word “zonah” for prostitution does not only mean outright commercial sex but also imply other inappropriate sexual activities outside the marriage institution. consequently, evidences abound in the old and new testament in condemnation of prostitution and other illicit sexual activities. in the book of leviticus, priests are forbidden from marrying someone who had been defiled by prostitution, and if the daughter of a priest had engaged in prostitution, she should be burned: “as for the daughter of any priest, if she is defiled by prostituting, she is disgracing her father; she shall be burned in the fire.” (leviticus 21:9) temple, sacred or cult prostitution which was practiced across nations in the ancient times is condemn and forbidden in strong terms in the old testament. moses, in deuteronomy (23:17) says that “there shall be no ritual harlot of the daughters of israel, or a perverted one of the sons of israel.” in the book of exodus (34:16), he advises against the marriage to foreigners who may contaminate the people of god through their practice of same: “and when you choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will lead your sons to do the same.” throughout the bible, prostitution is used as a symbol of filthiness and unfaithfulness, and god likens his people to prostitutes whenever they turn from him to false gods and to evil ways (ezekiel 23; exodus 34:15; leviticus 20; deuteronomy 31; judges 8; chronicles 21) and the prophets frequently condemned igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 67 the israelites for engaging in this practice (jeremiah 2-3; ezekiel 16). what flows throughout these biblical citations is a strong warning to the children of god to keep away from prostitution, either through involvement with women who sale sexual pleasures or through idolatry. these warnings also resonate in the book of proverbs where solomon cautions against involvement with the prostitutes: “do not lust in your heart after her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes, for the prostitute reduces you to a loaf of bread, and the adulteress preys upon your very life. can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned? can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched?” (proverbs 6:24-28). it is instructive to note that while the old testament is completely intolerant of prostitution and pronounces the ultimate penalty of death for prostitutes, the new testament in the teachings of jesus christ, while condemning prostitution, offers a window for the redemption of repentant prostitutes. in spite of their filthiness, jesus in several bible texts is seen to welcomes them which ultimately marks a turning point in church’s teaching on sin and retribution. in the gospel of (luke 5:32), jesus said, “i came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” this consequently sets the standard for the position of the church on the treatment of prostitutes. the new testament thus, makes benign comments on specific women engaged in prostitution, which is a departure from the punitive stance of mosaic laws on prostitutes. a number of instances drawn from the new testament illustrate and substantiate this assertion: in the gospel of luke (7:36-50), jesus welcomes and forgives the sins of a woman who is a known sinner when she washes his feet with her tears, dries it with her hair and anoints his feet from her alabaster oil; in the gospel of john (8:1-11), jesus forgives a prostitute who is brought before him, accused of adultery; in john (4:7-26), jesus interacted closely with a woman who married and divorced several husbands. in each of these cases, jesus was graceful to the women who, based on the law of moses, would have been against the law to mingle with. in the gospel of mathew (21:31-32), jesus says that, “assuredly, i say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of god before you. for john came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him.” this clearly shows that prostitutes should be given the opportunity to repent of their sins like any other sinner. he set them free, allowed them to worship him, and gave them a new status in the community, advising igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 68 them not to sin again. instructively therefore, any effort by the contemporary church in controlling prostitution must be anchored on biblical standards laid down by christ, the founder of the church. addressing the incidence of prostitution in benue state: the church perspective the fact that prostitution is still prevalent and growing by the day in the human society, in spite of the effort made so far to prevent it. it is a difficult problem that requires a complete different approach to stop it. while governments have enacted laws that aim to punish offenders in cruel ways to deter individuals from getting involved in this vice, the very government that make these laws create conditions consciously or unconsciously that serve as fertile breeding grounds for prostitution such as neglect of the poor and downtrodden, the less privileged who are daily faced with hunger and deprivation, victims of rape and abuse who get no justice in the law courts, lack of care for widowed women who have no one to turn, to mention only a few. the inability of the authorities to surmount this challenge calls for a moral and humanitarian approach to the problem and the church is strategically placed to fill this vacuum. the fact that majority of the people who get involved in prostitution do so out of a dire need to survive in the face of hopelessness cannot be overemphasized. many studies on prostitution attest to this truth. thomas in a study points that “women enter prostitution because of pathological problems at their backgrounds – a broken home, parental death or neglect, separation of parents, maladjustment or emotional disturbance...” (qtd in kangiwa 70) this conclusion is echoed in by stephen who points out that “women’s involvement in prostitution though can be linked to poverty, it is not limited to it... most women and children are not freely choosing to work as prostitutes.” (qtd in baguda and yusuf 4) it is therefore, not out of place to state that prostitutes are impoverished and helpless slaves who need sympathy and liberation and nobody is better positioned to do this than the holy church of god. in the foregoing discussion, we see that christ, the founder of the church even though holy and blameless, welcomed and cared for prostitutes who were considered sinful and highly despicable by the people. his salvation is for the lost sheep of the house of israel and all gentiles who are abducted sons and daughters by faith through christ jesus; not for the righteous (luke 5:32). it therefore behoves all christians to live up to their responsibility as disciples of christ by caring for prostitutes who are society’s outcasts by showing them love and providing for igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 69 their basic needs in addition to praying consistently for them. there is no doubt that when these prostitutes are loved, cared for and accepted unconditionally into the mainstream society as christ did, they will have no reason to go back to prostitution. this posture of compassionate concern for prostitutes as means of winning them over to godliness and dignified lives was demonstrated by pope francis, the head of the catholic church, when he visited the john xxiii community (an organization that helps young people rebuild their lives after being rescued from prostitution) in north-east rome during the jubilee year of mercy where he met with twenty women liberated from the slavery of the prostitution. according to the pope, “any form of prostitution is a reduction to slavery, a criminal act, a disgusting vice that confuses making love with venting out one's instincts by torturing a defenceless woman... a sickness of humanity, a false way of thinking in society.”(n.p) based on this conviction, instead of the usual discriminatory attitude against prostitutes that is the norm in the general society, the pope asked the women for forgiveness, especially on behalf of christians who had used and abused them: “today, i ask you all for forgiveness. for all the christians, for all the catholics, who have abused you… i also [ask] for forgiveness on my part, for not having sufficiently prayed for you and for this slavery.” (n.p) the attitude of the pope in the above resonates with the response of our lord jesus when a woman caught in the act of adultery was brought to him by the people. while her accusers were hoping that they might find something against him, or he might ask them to stone her to death as was the law of moses (leviticus 20: 10), christ disappointed them. this account is recorded in the book of john (8:3-11). this example set by jesus christ, the author of our christian faith shows that we cannot claim to be christian and followers of christ if we fail to show compassionate love to prostitutes around us in trying to save their lives from eternal damnation. as kosuke koyama puts it: “the greatness of theological works is to be judged by the quality and extent of service they render to the people to whom [we are] sent.” (15) the christian gospel will therefore be in vein if it fails to produce practical fruits of saving people in need of salvation such as prostitutes. it is sensible to conclude, based on the foregoing that, as christians, our attitude to prostitutes and other marginalized and enslaved members of our society should be that of unreserved compassion, unconditional love, care and support as it is only through these that we may win them back to the family of god and they will igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 70 willingly abandon their sinful ways. rather than see them as offenders, we should see them as victims and slaves of human insensitivity, greed and debauchery. works cited primary sources nongo, paul. personal interview. 15th march, 2020. alechenu, titus. personal interview. 27th april, 2020. adegwa, shimawaan. personal interview. 13th may, 2020. agbatse, terna. personal interview. 13th may, 2020. ayem moses. personal interview. 2nd june, 2020. denen, shighfan. personal interview. 18th june, 2020. chiagi terlumun. personal interview. 8th august, 2020. tivlumun, ayua. personal interview. 6th august, 2020 secondary sources ajibuah bolanle j. “locational pattern of brothel-based commercial sex works in kaduna metropolis of kaduna state, nigeria.” research on humanities and social sciences, vol.3, no.22, 2013. pp. 1-7. aderinto, saheed. “pleasure for sale: prostitution in colonial africa, 1880s–1960s.” in frank jacob (ed.) prostitution: a companion to mankind. peter lang, 2016. armstrong, edward a. “the sociology of prostitution." sociological spectrum, vol. 1, no. 1, 1981.pp.91-102. web: doi: 10.1080/02732173.1981.9981620 atkins, m. laing, m. “walking the beat and doing business: exploring spaces of male sex work and public sex.” sexualities, vol.15, no. 5-6, 2012.pp. 622643 bagudo, asiya a. and yusuf, murtala a. “addressing prevalence of prostitution in nigeria through non-formal education provisions.” european journal of educational and development psychology, vol.7, no.2, 2019. pp.1-10 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 71 chukwu, okoronkwo s. and okoronkwo, nnenna e. “child abuse and prostitution phenomena: critical issues in nigeria’s sustainable development.” american journal of environment and sustainable development, vol. 2, no. 3, 2017, pp. 16-22 clarkson, arnold. “history of prostitution.” the canadian medical association journal, vol.41, no.3, 1939. pp.296-301 clinard, marshal. sociology of deviant behaviour. holt rinehart and winston, 1968. daniil voloshin, ivan derevitskiy, ksenia mukhina and vladislav karbovskii. “identifying venues for female commercial sex work using spatial analysis of geocoded advertisements.” procedia computer science, vol. 80, 2016. pp.345–355 dele, sulaimon,m.; auwal, muhammad, a. and oluwafunmilayo, shofoyeke. “possible health and growth implications of prostitution in nigeria: a theoretical perspective.” winners academy, sanyo, ibadan, nigeria, general studies department, federal polytechnic, ilaro, general studies department, saapade, ogun state, 2018. web: accessed august 18th,2020. ditmore, melissa h. encyclopedia of prostitution and sex word. greenwood press, 2006. dylewski, lukasz and prokop, pavol. prostitution. (2018). researchgate ekpootu, mfon u. “sexualizing the city: female prostitution in nigeria’s urban centres in a historical perspective.” in selling sex in the city: a global history of prostitution, 1600s-2000s. web-doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004346253_013 esteves, junno a. “pope: prostitution is ‘disgusting vice’ that tortures defenseless women.” the national catholic reporter, 31 july, 2019. web; accessed 29th august, 2020. faraone, christopher a. and mcclure, laura (eds). prostitutes and courtesans in the ancient world. the university of wisconsin press, 2006. kangiwa, abdullahi g. “the socio–economic factors and effects of prostitution in nigeria.” european journal of research in social science, vol. 3, no. 5. 2015. pp. 70-83 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 72 monto, martin a. “female prostitution, customers, and violence.” violence against women, vol.10, no.2, 2014.pp 160-188. web: doi: 10.1177/1077801203260948 olanisebe, samson o. “re-interpreting “sodom and gomorrah” passages in the context of homosexuality controversy: a nigerian perspective.” ilorin journal of religious studies, vol.3 no.2, 2013, pp.191-209 omoniyi, benjamin b. “an examination of the causes of poverty on economic growth in nigeria.” africa’s public service delivery and performance review, vol. 6, no.1, 2018. pp. 1-10 perkins, roberta and lovejoy, frances. call girls: private sex workers in australia. university of western australia press, 2007. sanger, william w. the history of prostitution: its extent, causes, and effects throughout the world. harper and brothers, 1858. scott, john. “a prostitute’s progress: male prostitution in scientific discourse.” social semiotics, vol. 13, no. 2, 2003. pp.179-199 scott, michael s. and dedel, kelly (2nd edition). street prostitution. us department of justice, 2006. singh, jennifer. “toward a theological response to prostitution: listening to the voices of women affected by prostitution and of selected church leaders in addis ababa, ethiopia.” phd thesis, middlesex university, oxford centre for mission studies, 2018. tyoanande, timothy g. and audu, joel s. “prostitution as a social evil in nigeria: issues and challenges.” international journal of peace and conflict studies, vol. 2, no 1, 2014. pp. 29-36 weitzer roland. legalizing prostitution: from illicit vice to lawful business. new york university press, 2012. tsebee, asor k. “comparative analysis of religion reporting in nigeria and selected countries of the world.” mgbakoigba, journal of african studies, vol.7 no.1.2017. pp.101-109 ‘‘igwebuike’ as the key to understanding african philosophy and religion igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 99 ‘igwebuike’ as the key to understanding african philosophy and religion ikechukwu anthony kanu department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university umunya, anambra state ikee_mario@yahoo.com executive summary this work is a response to the questions within african philosophy and african traditional religion: the question of the underlying principle in both fields of study. it is a contribution to the ongoing investigations in the areas of african philosophy and african traditional religion in search for the keys to the understanding of both fields. this piece argued, contrary to the positions of mbiti and koech, that the key to understanding african traditional religion is igwebuike. it also argued, in relation to african philosophy, that igwebuike is the intricate web of african philosophy. it has remained constant in the midst of the changes in the history of african philosophy, and has continued to persist through changes. it argued that its sense of harmony, community, complementarity and solidarity have been expressed in virtually all the perspectives of african philosophers, from the time of tempels to the contemporary era. this position was based on the fact that igwebuike is based on or captures the african worldview which shapes african philosophy and religion. the method inquiry employed for the purpose of this investigation is the igwebuike approach, which understands reality within the parameters of complementarity. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 100 keywords: african, philosophy, religion, igwebuike, complementarity introduction the concept of a “key to understanding” introduces the image of a door that needs to be opened for the purpose of achieving a breakthrough. it places emphasis on both the result of understanding and the action of understanding. within the context of this study, it is about discovering the interaction of underlying factors or assumptions that shape the course of african philosophy and religion, that is, a principle that runs through their multiplicities; thus, creating a unity in the midst of diversities. in relation to african traditional religion, two major views will be studied and criticized. these views are the perspectives of mbiti and koech. while mbiti argues that the key to understanding african traditional religion is an understanding of the african concept of time, koech argues that mythology is at the heart of the understanding of african traditional religion and metaphysics. these views will be presented and studied within the context of their ability to enhance the understanding of african traditional religion. within the parameters of philosophy, the perspectives of african philosophers, dating from the time when the intellectual history of african philosophy attained significant level of systematization, beginning from the time of tempels to the perspectives of contemporary african philosophers like asouzu, will be studied to see the web or thread that holds these perspectives together, in spite of the diversities there in. the major question that this research will be responding to, therefore, is: what is the underlying principle or moving spirit of african traditional religion and philosophy? the key to understanding african traditional religion mbiti (1970) understands african ontology as a religious ontology, which is heavily anthropocentric. in this ontology are god, the spirits, animals and plants, and objects; however, at the centre is the human ‘‘igwebuike’ as the key to understanding african philosophy and religion igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 101 person. if this ontology would be understood, he argues that there is the need to penetrate its unity. mbiti, therefore, avers that the african concept of time is the key to understanding the african religious ontology. the concept of time may help to explain beliefs, attitudes, practices and general way of life of african peoples not only in the traditional set up but also in the modern situation, whether of political, economic, educational or church life. (p. 16). his idea of african time is built around his research on the kikamba and gikuyu languages, in which he analyzed three verbs that speak of the past and the future, covering only a period of six months and not beyond two years at most. he defines the african time as “a composition of events which have occurred, those that are taking place now and those which are immediately to occur” (p. 17). this would mean that africans set their minds on things that have passed, rather than on the future. he describes the african time as concrete, epochal, and not mathematical. this would mean that when africans are sitting down idle, they are not wasting time but waiting for time or producing time. mbiti’s african time, in the perspective of gbadegesin (1991), is only a communal worldview report which was never evaluated. gyekye (1975), kagame (1976) and izu (2010) see mbiti’s african time as insulting and false, as it does not represent the general concept of time among africans. gyekye argues that contrary to mbiti’s african time, the akan people of ghana have a future time. from the foregoing, it is obvious that mbiti’s african time is not a consistent principle in african religious and cultural thoughts, and as such cannot be regarded as the unity or the key to understanding african traditional religion. koech (1977) speaks of african myths as the key to understanding african traditional religion and metaphysics. he writes that: ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 102 myth expresses the history, the culture and the inner experience of the african himself. the myth portrays the wishes and the fears of the african man as he gropes to understand the unknown by dissecting and remolding it to fit his frame of reference. in the myth, the african’s metaphysics are created and his beliefs constructed. (p. 118). koech, thus, concludes that: the myth is the essence of the african himself in history. the modern african, if he is to find his real identity and to grasp the remnant of his culture, must look for it in myth... the african myth tarried to preserve the last drop of african-ness. it is the encyclopedia engraved in the chambers of the african mind to be passed from generation to generation. (p. 139). although myths articulate and preserve the outcome of investigations on the origin of the world, the national god, the origin of humanity, its place in creation, deity, the temple, the cult, etc., it cannot be regarded as the key to understanding african religion or metaphysics, for the simple reason that mythology is not an underlying principle in african traditional religion. myths vary from one religious culture to another, and the religious meanings that mythological elements present in one culture might not be the same in another. thus, rather than speak of unity, myths introduce the subject of polarity in african traditional religion. the key to the understanding of african traditional religion should be based on the nature of the african cosmos or universe. cosmology, etymologically, is from two greek words: cosmos and logos, meaning ‘universe’ and ‘science’ respectively. put together, it is the ‘science of the universe’. scholars like wambutda (1986), ejizu (1986), achebe (1986), metuh (1987), quarcoopome (1987), arinze (1970), madu (2004) and kanu (2015a) hold that african cosmology is simply the way africans perceive, conceive and contemplate their universe; the lens through which they see reality, which affects their value systems and attitudinal orientations. cosmology is, therefore, the search for the ‘‘igwebuike’ as the key to understanding african philosophy and religion igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 103 meaning of life, and an unconscious but natural tendency to arrive at a unifying base that constitutes a frame of meaning often viewed as terminus a quo (origin), and as terminus ad quem (end) (kanu, 2012). african cosmology is essentially the underlying thought link that holds together the african value system, philosophy of life, social conduct, morality, folklores, myths, rites, rituals, norms, rules, ideas, cognitive mappings and theologies (kanu, 2015b). igwebuike as a concept captures the is-ness of the african cosmos; a universe of complementarity and sharedness. igwebuike is, therefore, african cosmology, and african cosmology is igwebuike. it is igwebuike because, in spite of its departmentalization into the worlds of the spirits and human beings (edeh, 1983; abanuka, 2004 & ijiomah, 2005; kanu, 2017a), it is not a bifurcated world. the spiritual and physical dimensions overlap and harmoniously interact. in this interaction, human beings commune with god, the ancestors, etc., and vice versa. while the ancestors do for human beings what they cannot do for themselves, human beings do for the ancestors what they cannot achieve by themselves. this interactive capacity of the african universe has instilled a strong sense of community in every dimension of the african life, such that to be without belonging is to be annihilated (kanu, 2017b). this has not only defined the social and political dimensions of the african life, but the spiritual or religious dimension as well. it is in this regard that igwebuike is employed as the key to understanding african traditional religion. to understand the meaning that igwebuike conveys is to understand the dynamics of african traditional religion. the key to understanding african philosophy this second section of this piece also argues that igwebuike is the key to understanding african philosophy. right from the philosophy of tempels (1959), the igwebuike spirit of complementarity, solidarity, etc., has permeated the perspectives of african philosophers. it is in this regard that tempels argues that in bantu ontology: ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 104 ‘beings forces’ of the universe are not a multiple of independent forces placed in juxtaposition from being to being. all creatures are found in relationship according to the law of hierarchy... nothing moves in this universe of forces without influencing other forces by its movement (p. 29). kagame (1951) and jahn (1958) did establish the harmonious character of reality. they agree with tempels that reality is force. it is not a force independent of other forces. the nationalistic movements of the 20 th century in africa were linked by their emphasis on belongingness, familyhood, which was the basis for their socialisms. thus, the social negritude of senghor (1959, 1964 & 1975) places the family at the centre of the social structure. nyerere (1968) bases his principle of ujamaa on familyhood. the choice of socialism over capitalism by awolowo (1969&1979) and the promotion of pan-africanism by nkrumah (1963) were based on the distinctive complementary character of african ontology. edeh (1983), in his work on igbo metaphysics, continues with the perspective of mbiti: accordingly the igbo way of life emphasizes ‘closeness’ but not closed-ness’. there is a closeness in living because each person ‘belongs to’ others and in turn, ‘is belonged to’ by others. by adopting this life of ‘closeness’ or ‘belongingness’, an igbo becomes immersed in the culture’s spiritual substance, love; and by love, he acquires a fulfillment as a person beyond mere individuality. (p. 105). gyekye (1987), writing on akan philosophy, avers that the individual depends on the community: the individual’s life depends on identifying oneself with the group. this identification is the basis of the reciprocal relationship between the individual and the group. it is also the ‘‘igwebuike’ as the key to understanding african philosophy and religion igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 105 ground of the overriding emphasis on the individual’s obligation to the members of the group. (p. 156). iroegbu (1995) describes being in african ontology as belongingness. in response to the questions, ‘what makes being, being?’, ‘what does it mean to be in the uwa (world the true and valid universum along the possibilities of thinkables, experientials, perceivables and their commonness to all human beings. that is, the worldhood or universal datum that provides the “hood” for the perceivers and experiencing thinkers of this inescapable phenomenon)?’ iroegbu argues that it is belongingness, thus being is belongingness. what then is belongingness? he defines it as ‘the synthesis of the reality and experience of belongingness’ (p. 374). nkemnkia (1999) writes that in african ontology, the self is the other: the meaning of an individual’s life is found in and through his relationship with the other or others. in fact it is meaningless to ask oneself “who am i” without having a complete knowledge of the other, from whom, in the final analysis, one expects the answer. (pp. 111-112). wiredu (1995), focusing on the political dimension of the african life, sees complementarity and belongingness as characterizing political decision-making in africa. asouzu (2004, 2007) and njoku (2018) develop the notion of being within the new ontological horizon of ibuanyidanda. within the ibuanyidanda context, asouzu (2007) defines being as “that on account of which anything that exists serves a missing link of reality” (p. 103). thus, being is located within the context of mutual complementarity of all possible relations in the sense of an existent reality (kanu, 2016a&b). from tempels to asouzu, the igwebuike principles of harmony, community, solidarity and complementarity have never been lacking, therefore, positioning igwebuike as the underlying principle of african philosophy. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 106 conclusion this work is a contribution to the ongoing investigations in the areas of african philosophy and african traditional religion in search for the keys to the understanding of both areas of study. contrary to the positions of mbiti and koech, this piece argues that the key to understanding african traditional religion is igwebuike. it also argued, in relation to african philosophy, that igwebuike is the intricate web of african philosophy. it has remained constant in the midst of the changes in the history of african philosophy, and has continued to persist through changes. its sense of harmony, community, complementarity and solidarity has been expressed in virtually all the perspectives of african philosophers, from the time of tempels to the contemporary era. this position is based on the fact that igwebuike is based on or captures the african worldview which shapes african philosophy. reference achebe, c. (1958). the things fall apart. england: heinemann. asouzu, i. i. (2004). methods and principles of complementary reflection in and beyond african philosophy. nigeria: chidal global. asouzu, i. i. (2007). ibuanyidanda: new complementary ontology, beyond world immanentism, ethnocentric reduction and impositions. berlin: transaction. asouzu, i. i. (2007a). ibuanyidanda: new complementary ontology, beyond world immanentism, ethnocentric reduction and impositions. berlin: transaction. awolowo, o. (1968). the people’s republic. ibadan: oxford university press. awolowo, o. (1979). the problems of africa: the need for ideological appraisal. london: macmillan. edeh, e. (1985). towards an igbo metaphysics. usa: loyola university press ‘‘igwebuike’ as the key to understanding african philosophy and religion igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 107 ekwulu, b. i. (2010). igbo concept of ibe (the other) as a philosophical solution to the ethnic conflicts in african countries. in b. i. ekwulu (ed.). philosophical reflections on african issues (pp. 183-192). enugu: delta. gyekye, (1975). african religions and philosophy by j.s. mbiti. second order. 4. 1. 86-94. gyekye, (1975). african religions and philosophy by j.s. mbiti. second order. 4. 1. 86-94. gyekye, k. (1987). an essay on african philosophical thought: the akan conceptual scheme. cambridge: cambridge university press. ikemnkia, m. n. (1999). african vitalogy: a step forward in african thinking. kenya: paulines. iroegbu, p. (1994). metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: international universities press. iroegbu, p. (1995). metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: international universities press. iroegbu, p. (1995). metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: international universities press. izu, m. o. (2010). the problematic of african time. uche: journal of the department of philosophy, university of nigeria, nsukka. 16. 19-38. jahn, j. (1958). muntu: an outline of the new african culture. new york: grove. kagame, a. (1951). la philoosophie bantu rwandaise ae l’ etre. bruxelles: la divine pastorale. kagame, a. (1976). the empirical apperception of time and the conception of history in bantu thought. culture and time (pp. 101-102). the unesco press. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 108 kagame, a. (1976). the empirical apperception of time and the conception of history in bantu thought. culture and time (pp. 101-102). unesco press. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2016a). african traditional folk songs as dialogue between education and entertainment. cambridge international journal of contemporary education research. 6. 6. pp. 53-64. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2016b). african traditional folktales as an integrated classroom. sub-saharan african journal of contemporary education research. vol.3 no. 6. pp. 107-118. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. ‘‘igwebuike’ as the key to understanding african philosophy and religion igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 109 kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. kanu, i. a. (2018). african philosophy, globalization and the priority of ‘otherness’. journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 40-57. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 110 kanu, i. a. (2018). african traditional philosophy of education: essays in igwebuike philosophy. germany: lambert publications. koech, k. (1977). african mythology: a key to understanding african religion. inn. s. booth (ed.). african religions: a symposium (pp. 117-139). london: nok. mbiti, j. s. (1969). african religions and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational publishers. njoku, f. o. c. (2015). the philosophical grid of igbo sociopolitical ontology: ibu anyi danda. 147 th inaugural lecture of the university of nigeria, nsukka. nkrumah, k. (1963). africa must unite. london: oanaf. nyerere, j. (1968b). ujamaa: essays on socialism. oxford: oxford university. nyerere, j. (1968a). freedom and socialism. oxford: oxford university. senghor, l. s. (1959). elements of constructifs d’ume civilization d’inspiration negro-africaine. presence africaine. february – may. senghor, l. s. (1964). on african socialism. trans. m. cook. new york: f. a. praeger. senghor, l. s. (1975). what is negritude? (eds.) g. c. m. mutiso and s. w. rohio. readings in african political thought (pp. 78-90). london: heinemann. tempels, p. (1959). bantu philosophy. paris: presence africaine. wiredu, k. (1995). democracy and consensus in african traditional politics: a plea for a non-party polity. in o. ‘‘igwebuike’ as the key to understanding african philosophy and religion igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 111 oladipo (ed.). conceptual decolonization in african philosophy: four essays (pp. 53-63). ibadan: hope igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 43 mainline denominations and pentecostal – african initiative churches: a critical analysis opara eucharia department of religious studies veritas university, abuja ugohuk@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.19482.59846 abstract the day had done for the africans to be responsive to the inner inspiration of the holy spirit on the call for special task or duty to perform to god in his salvation plan. base on this, the researcher intends to delve into the critical analysis of the mainline denominations and the pentecostal – african initiative churches. the mainline churches are the well established churches that embarked on missionary activities into african countries from the western world of europe and america. these church missionaries came to africa to spread the good news of jesus christ, the saviour of the world. significant change of lifestyle in the life of the africans were made, lots of people were converted but were not deeply rooted into the radical demands of the overzealous converts. thus, the expectations of some new christian converts who were, engrossed into the doctrine of the main denominations were not met, consequently, some africans disintegrated from the mainline denominations, initiated new churches based on the cultures of the africans, with much emphases on spiritual healings, prayers, miracles, visions and prophetic movements. the researcher uses critical analysis base on library research techniques to delve into the root causes of the springing up of the african initiative churches and the positive roles they play in the life of the africans. this study is recommended to all christendom in africa to harmonize the system of worship for the promotion of unity. keywords: mainline denomination, pentecostal, african initiatives, churches. introduction the advent of early christian missionaries into africa brought radical change in the lives and cultures of the africans. the christian missionaries are the followers of jesus christ, the second person in the triune god, manifested in the form of human person, lowered himself, became obedient unto death, even death mailto:ugohuk@yahoo.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 44 on the cross, philippians 2: 511. this jesus resurrected ascended into heaven after forty day of his death. prior to his ascension, he commissioned his disciples to go into the whole world and make disciple of all nations, baptize them: in the name of the father, of the son, and of the holy spirit, matthew 20:28-20. this mandate prompted the early missionaries from europe and america to eagerly come to africa precisely in nigeria to witness the gospel of jesus. in consequence to this, many mainland denominations courageously flock into nigeria to evangelize the populace. it is pertinent to recall the coming of the portuguese catholic missionaries1 in 1515 who, made first attempt to come into southern part of nigeria to spread the good news of jesus christ. however, their mission failed and could not yield any fruit; they were simply engrossed with distractions of trading and commerce. the oba of benin and chief of warri and opopo were carried away with the gains of trading and the mission was futile due to much distractive involvement in slave trading. three years later, anti slave was lifted up to free african slaves. sierra leone was made the depot for all freed slaves. fortunately, most of the freed slaves were already been converted to christianity. the european missionaries followed the freed slaves to free town in sierra leone to evangelize africa and liberate them from bondage of poverty, barbaric activities that were heinous in the african society. the english speaking christian missionaries who accompanied the freed slaves utilize the opportunity to move into west african coasts and began to convert people into christianity with the assistance of the freed slaves who were able to trace their homes. the churches that trooped into africa to evangelize and get the inhabitants converted were: anglican, methodist, baptist, catholic, presbyterian church and others. most notable was the church mission society cms missionaries from the church of england, that play prominent role in disseminating the message of the gospel of jesus christ to farther land of the southern part of nigeria. these christian missionaries from different denominations embarked on serious evangelism to the west and eastern part of the country. they utilized different baits of humanitarian demands to attract and trapped the targeted converts. to accompany the preaching of the life, death and salvation work of jesus christ, 1 a. babs fafunwa, history of education in nigeria ( london: grorge allen & unwin, 1974), 74. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 45 these mainline denominational missionaries included in their mission outreach: the erection of different churches, establishment of schools, hospitals, vocational centers for skill acquisitions and domestic training. they worked assiduously in the spiritual growth of the populace in matters of catechism, bible studies, marriage counseling and family planning. the mainline churches strictly adhered to the instructions and due processes laid down by the alien missionaries that introduced christianity to the indigenous people of nigeria in africa. they were strongly organized and followed the strategic plans laid down for the establishment of the other branches, groups, associations and organizations of the denomination. the liturgical worship was well organized and streamlined. the worship, services and masses are being officiated by the ordained trained ministers inclusive; priests, pastor, reverend, venerable, cannons, deacons and bishops. other vital participants in the liturgical ministries are: the choristers, ushers or church warders, lectors, alter servants, elders and others that facilitate the enhancement of the worship or fellowship in the main denominations. one peculiar thing in the mainline churches is the fact that, they tend to erect magnificent edifices such as: the main church for worshiping god, the ministers’ house, schools2 and hospitals. however, the mainline churches seemed to be archaic to some vibrant inspirited church members, who explicitly displayed the desire to worship god in african modes and culture than the foreign european culture. these africans claimed to have seen visions, dreamt and received the gift of prophesy, spiritual healing, and holy anointing. they are the instruments of the establishments of the african pentecostal initiative churches in nigeria. christian missionaries the mandate to go and make disciples of all nations, by jesus christ, formed the basement of being sent out to disseminate the good news of our lord jesus to different parts of the world. a missionary is one who is sent out on mission. missionary work is a call to duty to carry out an assignment in a total dedication to god and to his people in a particular place. mission is an assigned task one has to perform. microsoft encounter dictionary defines mission as, calling: an objective or task that somebody believes it is his or her duty to carry out or to 2 m.o. salami, christian missions in west africa (ilorin: adelk printing enterprises, 2001), 22. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 46 which he or she attaches special importance and devotes special care3. the word ‘mission’ connotes two dimensions: one is referred as the assigned task, duty or work which involves activities surrounding a particular job. the other is tagged to the land or area in which mission activities is carried on or established. christian missionaries are the followers of jesus christ, who are grounded in faith, propelled by his mandate to disseminate his teachings and ways of life to the ends of the earth. they were inspired and propelled to launch into the deep in spite of the problems, difficulties, challenges and persecutions they might encounter for the sake of the gospel of jesus christ. these indefatigable missionaries, engulfed with the love for christ and faith in his salvation mission, worked assiduously into different countries of the world, bringing the gospel of jesus christ to mankind. believing in the companionship of the holy spirit, as source of encouragement, boldness, wisdom, knowledge and fidelity, they were convinced and propelled to bear unrelenting witness to the triune god: god the father, god the son, and god the holy spirit. simon of cyrene also bore witness to the africans in the north, he assisted to carry the cross of jesus to the cavalry and probably disseminate the good news of jesus to his town of cyrene that was in africa but very close to north israel. it is pertinent to recall the vital role the ethiopian eunuch played in the work of evangelization to the ethiopian nation on his return from his enlightened encounter with philip; one of the disciples of jesus that witnessed the outpouring of the holy spirit on the apostles on the pentecost day in the upper room at jerusalem. christianity was established in northern africa in the first and second centuries of common era. christianity into sub-africa was a gradual process due to the fear of uncertainties; poisonous insects, unfavorable climate, lack of good water ways and harbor, so it was termed ‘dark continent’ by the west. the first attempt to spread christianity into west africa was in 15th century under prince henry the navigator. the portuguese began to explore the west sea coasts. they were the first european missionaries to set foot in nigeria. the roman catholic church soon began to send out official missionaries to accompany the early trading ships and soon a well-organized infrastructure was in place with the islands used as springboards for missionary efforts on the mainland. the first church established 3 microsoft® encarta® 2009. © 1993-2008 microsoft corporation. all rights reserved. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 47 by the portuguese in the region was at elmina and the first service was conducted under a mongo tree. one don diogo spearheaded the missionary activities; met the chiefs and the people and, they accepted the christian faith although the chiefs were apparently motivated primarily by the possible of commercial gains and acquiring land for the erection of the church buildings. the portuguese were sorely interested in commerce, nevertheless, they realized that, if africans were not rudimentary educated, and accepted christianity; they might not get good costumers. according to fafunwah, ‘the two civilizing agencies considered most important by european merchants, civil authorities and missionaries at that time’4. the missionaries failed to convert the indigene due to wrong strategies and engrossment into trading and business. the second attempt of the christian missionaries was successful due to the involvement of the nigeria african liberated slaves who had settled in freetown, sierra leone. they travelled down the coast to lagos and badagry for trading purpose and some of them met their family members: children, parents, brothers and sisters and other relations, while others who could not travel, sent messages to their relatives at home. most of them had been converted into christianity; they were used as evangelizers to their people in the native language5. the advent of the first english-speaking in 1842 and its expedition along the coast and river niger to the hither land aided the missionaries to gain solid ground. the idea of evangelizing nigeria originated from the church missionary society (cms). the arrival of rev. birch freeman, the son of a negro with an english mother accompanied by william de graft, ajayi crowder, rev. townsend and others facilitated the growth of christianity in nigeria. the mainline denominations mainline denominations are the historical established churches that were involved in bringing the gospel of jesus christ to african countries. the early denominational rise in christendom were the catholicism church and the protestantism6. the early church was empowered by the holy spirit to spread the good news of jesus christ to the whole world till the end of time. this is the mandate jesus gave to his disciples prior to his ascension into heaven. the 4 a. babs fafunwa, history of education in nigeria ( geurge allen and unwin ltd, 1974) 74. 5 ibid, 77. 6 ujata s. amos, the rise, growth and development of indigenous independent churches in africa (zaria: faith international printers and publishers, 2003), 11. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 48 leadership of the church was conferred to peter, the first pope. the nuclear church established in rome, imbibed the roman system of governance and was influenced by its culture. the early church has no denominational spirit and structure, but experienced great schism in 1054, when the eastern rite separated from the western rite in consequence of power supremacy, ecclesiastical differences, language and political powers. popes and cardinals began to realize that ownership of land and selection of bishops and popes by emperors and secular rulers was an infringement on the freedom of the church7. the church authority felt that the empires were infringing and intruding into the affairs of the church which they were not comfortable with, the schism was a gradual process affecting the church of 11th century until it escalated fully in 1054. the catholic church this is the historical unity of the christians prior to the separation of different independent churches of christianity. catholic refereed to the universality of the church, that is everywhere of the world. consequently, the catholic church is the fulfillment of the word of jesus at his commissioning the disciple and giving the mandate to go afar and preach to all nations, to bear witness to him (jesus christ) until the end of time, to baptize them; in the name of the father, and of the son, and of the holy spirit matthew 28: 19-20. the church is the people of god. the word church in latin; means ecclesia, from the greek word ek-kalein8 (to call out of). it means a convocation or assembly, referring to the assembly of the people especially in regards to religious people. at the event of creation, god assigned human being the duty to increase and multiply and fill the earth, genesis, 1: 28. god’s children fill the whole world. the early christian was authorized by the saviour of the world, jesus christ to spread his gospel to very people in all nooks and cranny of the universe. church connotes the building9 in which christians meet for worship. it is pertinent to mention the pre denominations in the early christian church namely; the catholic church of the roman rites which considers itself as the one true church and the eastern orthodox church considers itself as the original christian church. thus; the 7 alan schreck, the compact history of the catholic (church mumbai india, pauline publishers, 2013), 48. 8 geofrey chapman, catechism of the catholic church pocket edition (london: british cataloginginpublication data, 1975), 173. 9 joseph a. komonchak, mary collins and dermot a. lane, the new dictionary of theology (bangalore: theological piblications in india, 2003), 186. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 49 catholic church has four characters: one, holy, catholic and apostolic. the catholic church firmly established in rome, had internal and external challenges on schisms and reformations that erupted into copious denominations. the great reformation carried on by martin luther in the sixteenth century gave birth to protestantism from it many denominations sprang up in full blow and established subsequent pentecostalism. protestant denominations the concept of protestant denomination referred to group of people organizing themselves to form common foundational doctrine10 slight or different from the existing doctrine in the christendom. encarta dictionary emphasize the fact that. protestants in this regard are members of church rejecting papal authority and some fundamental roman catholic doctrines, and believes in justification by faith. the bedrock of protestant denomination was laid as a consequential of the upsurge of reformation super headed by a renowned theologian of the sixteenth century, an augustinian priest, and monk professor martin luther11 when he posted the ninety nine theses of the 151712 nailed at the door of all saints church. coupled with presence of the reformed renaissance and enlightenment in europe, many scholars and elites rationalized religious practices and beliefs as opposed to dogma and orthodoxy. the adherents of christianity in various parts of europe needed reformed church to suit the demands of the society in the civilized world. the authority of the papacy was questioned and lots of issues pertaining to the authentic welfare of the physical and spiritual being of people were examined and questioned. the imperative gave birth to denominational churches from the roman catholic church. these denominations include: anglican, methodist, lutheran, baptist, presbyterian, and adventist churches. the basic doctrine includes the emphasis on the holy bible as the authority of the church and salvation through the grace of god. at the initial introduction of these separate denominations, the christendom was facing lots of faith and doctrinal challenges. different people with various charisma, the purities, reformers, sprang up to compete with the catholic church. the churches in europe were once in unhealthy rivalry: antagonism. hatred, envy, jealousy, prejudice and misunderstanding erupted into bloody and disunity of the church. 10 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/protestantism#denominations 11 mbachirin t. abraham, a brief survey of the religious and political history of the reformation( makurdi: lamp and word book, 2012 ), 74. 12 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/martin_luther https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/protestantism#denominations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/martin_luther igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 50 slave trading was a lucrative business for the european merchants and business tycoon men and africa was the field of slave trading. in the 17th century, the bill of anti slave trade for the africans proposed and passed on, some philanthropist: sir wilberforce and granville group, who were members of the house of lords (senate). they were staunch members of the anglican church, the church mission society (cms). the african slave trading was terminated by their efforts and the freed slaves were deported to free town the capital of sierra leone. many of the freed slaves had already been converted into christianity of various denominations. as they came down to africa, nigeria precisely, they came along with colonial masters who came to explore and penetrate into the governing authority of the natives. the missionaries also accompanied the colonial administrators to aid in preaching the gospel to the people and gain conversion from the indigenes. one of the prominent ex-slave was ajayi crowther, who later was ordained an anglican bishop. he embarked on expeditions with the european missionaries and colonial administrator to explore the two big rivers of niger and benue, to ascertain the possibility of getting further into the inner villages and communities, to know the potentials and abilities of the indigenes. ajayi crowther, was famous in utilizing the native language as an interpreter to render unalloyed assistance to the colonial masters and the early missionaries’ expatriates move further into the villages and communities. the use of plough13 and the bible was accredited to the european colonial masters and the missionaries. thus, the freed slaves worked assiduously in helping christianity to spread in the southern part of nigeria. the missionaries that trooped into the southern nigeria were mostly protestant missionaries such as the cms, the church of missionary society of the anglican church, the methodist church, baptist church, presbyterian church and others. they zealously launched into the deep to catch souls, to preach the gospel of jesus and to convert them from traditional religion into christianity religion. they utilized the means of: establishing all levels of formal educational system to eradicate illiteracy, medical institutions such as: clinics, dispensary, hospitals and maternity homes. notwithstanding, the missionaries built churches in many towns and villages approximate to the inhabitants. they also engaged in sunday schools, teaching of catechism, organized bible studies, choir, playing of band, 13 ibid,5 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 51 youth meetings and development. the indigenes were taught and commissioned to read the bible, interpret it as it appeals to their comprehensive minds. some indigenes were trained and ordained as priests and pastors, catechists, elders, and bishops. some of the african christians equally began to experience the inspirations of the holy spirit in their lives; like the missionaries, conducting sunday services and bible studies. this experiences led some african church members to simultaneously move by the holy spirit, boldly began to demonstrate special prophetic charisma of prophecy, anointing healing, dreams and interpretations of dreams and liberation. these prophetic african christians shortly break away from the mainline churches and found the african independent churches. african independent churches the upsurge of african indigenous churches came up from the period of the nineteenth century when the indigenes seemed to have internalized the gospel of jesus christ preached to them by the european and american missionaries respectively. african independent churches are the churches that had sprang up from the mainline churches with the inspiration of worshipping god in african ways and mood. it is the expression of the people of africa in relationship to the worship of god in african culture and traditions. the integration of african culture into the christian churches worshipping and fellowship gave some indigenes of africa a real sense of worshipping god and beholding his omnipresence in their environment. a group of individuals felt to be engulfed with the power of the holy spirit, felt called to perform certain functions for god. they were inspired, empowered and moved into action to proclaim the wonders of god as it was revealed to them, to pray prophesize, heal, liberate and preach the words of god to the people in their locality. the african independent churches appears in different nomenclatures such as: separatist in relation to their disintegrating from the mainline churches they belonged prior to the establishment of the indigenous churches. ethiopia refers to the independent churches in africa, established by the african to shun the imposition of european authority and their culture in christian worship. ethiopians stands for indigenous initiative with no support from foreign countries. it is pertinent to recall spreading of gospel by the african igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 52 ethiopian eunuch to the ethiopians, acts 8:26-40. ethiopia is referred as cush in the old testament genesis 10:6, southern egypt and sudan14 are inclusive. a secessionist group of the yorubas from the baptist mission reclaimed the name ethiopianism15. zionist is another term used to describe the african churches16 which are charismatic. these churches are commonly seen in south africa and zimbabwe; often make reference to revelation17 and healing. spiritual is another designation given to african independent church. most of the leader and founders cherish the name and are referred as spiritual churches. the spiritual churches are prevalently in the western part of nigeria precisely in yoruba land, they known to invoke the holy spirit and to give the interpretation of the holy spirit. prophetic movement is being referred to african indigenous church to describe their assertion on healing power. the churches solely focus on the charismatic18 personality of a prophet. praying churches is another name given to the african independent indigenous churches. most of these churches are known for their frequent fervent styles of praying. the indigenous yoruba’s cherish praying churches. it is referred as aladura churches. they can engage in praying all day and night. the main duty is praying for various needs, challenging and confrontation of different force. pentecostal churches pentecostal churches are the denominations in christianity that lay emphasis on the working of the holy spirit in their ministerial lives. they interpret the holy bible literally and demonstrate liberally in the mood of worship. the method of worship is informal, just as the spirit directs and leads the pastor, evangelist, elders and the members of the congregation. there are three classes of pentecostalism. 14 deji isaac ayebgoyin and ademola ishola, african indigenous churches, 2013, 3, 4. 15 ibid,5 16 ibid, 5 17 ibid,6 18 ibid, 6 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 53 (a) classical pentecostalism: the movement of the outpouring of the holy spirit on the members of the church began in the foreign nations with the organization of charismatic renewal and revivals. the purpose is to re-enact the event of the pentecost on the early church in acts 2; 1-13. the group exhibit ecstatic movement featuring enthusiasm in healing, speaking in tongues, baptism of the holy spirit, interpretation of prophesies and all kinds of miracles. emphasis is laid on visions19, dreams and spontaneity in public worship and to indentify the voice of the holy spirit within the fellowship. (b) african independent pentecostal: as the name sounds, it depicts the pentecostal churches that were started by the africans and are controlled by the africans without the intrusions of the foreign christians. the indigenous africans felt intrinsically, the calling of god to them for the special vocation confided on them, mainly to bring change in the life of the africans. emphatically, the gift; charisma is the bedrock of the african independent pentecostal churches. africans are the main founders of the african independent pentecostal churches and they man it in african ways, organize the activities of sunday and other day’s programmes. ( c ) the newer pentecostal movement: the trending issue in christendom is the upsurge of newer pentecostal movement in the present contemporary society. virtually every day new pentecostal churches are being found in consequence of self acclamation of the possession of the holy spirit and all the charisma manifesting to her presence. the unique thing circling the newer pentecostal movement is the different ways they manifest their power daily. in contrasted to the classical pentecostal churches and independent pentecostal churches, rather, they focus on prosperity doctrine, sowing of seeds, basically emphasis is on claiming things and blessings. they easily engage in identifying the witchcrafts responsible for ones hindrance of progress or life. liberation from all sorts of curses from evil forces and evil spirits emanating from; individuals, parents, family, forefathers, village, community, relations and friends is common. most prayers are; invoking, command, uproot, subdue, you out! the children of god must shout: big and bigger amen! alleluia somebody, there is no strict regulation on dressing code. dress as your instinct directs you. the man 19 allen andeson, global pentecostalism, charismatic movementsand independent churches switzerland, 2013, https://www.academia.edu/6068798/global_pentecostalism_charismatic_movements_an d_independent_churches_christianity_shifting_southwards_historical_overview https://www.academia.edu/6068798/global_pentecostalism_charismatic_movements_and_independent_churches_christianity_shifting_southwards_historical_overview https://www.academia.edu/6068798/global_pentecostalism_charismatic_movements_and_independent_churches_christianity_shifting_southwards_historical_overview igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 54 of god, the prophet, seer, waves his hands or handkerchief people begin to fall down. it is pertinent to know the fact that founders of these newer pentecostal movements got the revelation on their own and not taught by the mainline churches. in nigeria, some of them were lecturers in university prior to their vacation to the general overseer of the church, example pastor kumuiyi of deeper life bible church and pastor david oyedipopo of living faith and host of others. the trending issues of showcasing signs and wonders are alarming in the new pentecostals as ‘men of god’ are performing copious miracles of all kinds. attention is drawn on the use of white handkerchiefs that draws the worshippers to fall down. some ordered the worshippers to eat grasses, worms and insects to receive miraculous healing. the adherents are instructed to drink the bath water of the pastor as holy anointing and healing, lying on the ground for the man of god to match on their bellies or backs, genuflect on their kneels as the pastor passes by, these men of god raises voices to command, bind and cast all sorts of immodest shows are prevalent in church activities in the name of worshipping the almighty god. features and elements of indigenous pentecostal churches emphasis on prayer: the african independent pentecostal movements lay more emphasis and reliance on prayer. different styles of prayer are being promoted with varieties of demonstrations. prayer is the bedrock of all undertakings with firm believes on the blessings, successes and favours are obtained through fervent prayers. in prayers the forces of evils are commanded to quit from its abode and possession and relocate to hell. the holy spirit is invoked by force as fire! to come and consume the works of the enemies. the aladura, praying people are confided to the name based on their business of praying always and everywhere, although special places are designated for prayer ground on monthly bases for gaining god’s interventions and to behold his presence. people flock into these places to have congregational common prayer, crusade, prayers, sacrifices, miracle healing, praises to god and god’s favor. divine healing: this is a prevalent trend in the activities of the african independent pentecostal churches. sickness could be one the reasons the africans rush into indigenous pentecostal churches due to the fact that, they believe in the prophetic power of the pastors, evangelists and prophets of the church. the truism is that, the prophets and pastor prove reliable and trust worthy to perform the divine healing through the power of the holy spirit igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 55 working in them. they equally bear witness to the healing power of jesus. they emphatically command the sickness and ailing evil spirits and forces by force to move out, in the name of jesus! sometimes symbols are used such as: holy anointing oil, holy water, different colours of candles, cross or crucifix, white clothes, sand, leaves, roots, stems with incantations and strict warning instructions. divine healing entails spiritual, rebirth20 and physical healings. music and songs: africans cherish music and songs. music and songs are the therapy for the souls of human beings in africa. they soothe human’s heart, give pleasure to the wearied, bring comfort and consolation to the afflicted and bring happiness to all and sundry. the independent churches enjoy the worship to the fullest by applying copious styles of music and songs. the melody derives from it, aid to prolong the quest for beholding the presence of god and makes the service to be lively and enjoyable. the truism is that, africans are happy people, expressing their joy through music, songs and dances in different steps, gestures and demonstrations. the african independent churches integrate african cultural music in their churches. each independent church has a peculiar way of dancing and beating the instruments and to the rhythm. for instance; cherubim and seraphim, celestial church of christ has different styles and mode of dancing in the church; singing, clapping of hands beating the drums, calabash and the gongs and waving of hands. attention to women: the position of women is explicitly appreciated and adequately recognized in the african indigenous church movements. contrary to the mainline denominations, the indigenous churches give attention to women. some women attained the position of: bishop, priest, pastors, evangelist and deacon in african independent churches. although some women in the mainline churches, such as: the anglican, methodist and baptist churches challenged the authority and have been granted the consent to be ordained pastors, priests and are now, the quest for bishopric is highly on discourse. women are given leadership in various levels in church, both mainline and independent indigenous churches. some women are now founding new churches of their own, becoming general overseers, bishops and apostles of the churches. emphasis on spiritual gift: apparently, the founders of african independent churches claimed to have encountered god in a dream, trance or vision and 20 shimawua dominic, the rise and growth of indigenous churches in africa (nigeria: lenrad print, 2013), 19. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 56 have been given the gifts: healing, prophesy, prayer and discernment of the spirits, speaking in tongues and gift of interpretation of prophesy, dreams, signs and forces of nature. god is the dispenser of power and spiritual gifts. the need for spiritual gifts is paramount to enable the members to combat the work of the evil forces prevalently confronting the populace. thus, spiritual interpretation is given to: barrenness, misfortune, poverty, illness, prolonged pregnancy and disappointment21. they have the notion of being the dispenser of the holy spirit. they often embark on war confrontation of satan, witches and evil spirits22. to enable the holy spirit to come and take control of the worship, the cherubim and seraphim and the christ apostolic churches tend to sweep the floor prior to the commencement of the routine worship to purify the arena and sweep away the evil spirit and allow the holy spirit to take over the worshipping members. causes of the springing up of the african independent churches africans are people of god in regard to anthropological revelation from the study of man and phenomenal environment. as the religion of christianity develops and extended to the continent of africa, the populace that had been engrossed with the affairs of indigenous religion welcomed the new doctrine of christianity, then tested it, and endeavoured to assimilate it into the cultural pattern of african style of worship in order to feel free to express their mode of worship in african ways. some of the africans in the mainline churches could not feel free to worship the transcended in the european rites so; they plunge into proliferation of various african independent churches. emphasis on indigenous leadership the exhibition of magnanimousness and forbearance of some of the mainline church missionaries like henry venn of the anglican church, bishop joseph shanahan23 cssp of the roman catholic church, the nun of calabar, mother mary charles magdalen walker24 rsc, the founder of the first native catholic 21 deji isaac ayegboyin and s. ademola ishola, african indigenous church, 2013, 18. 22 shimawua, dominic, the rise and growth of indigenous churches is africa, 2013, 19. 23 sister caroline n mbonu, sister mary charles magdalen walker: inspiration of the founding charism of the handmaids of the holy child jesus (jos: fab anieh nigeria limited 2010), 5. 24 memoirs of mother mary gertrude waturuocha, hhcj a testimony of an eye witness: on the life and work of mother mary charles magdalene walker(rsc) 1881-1966. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 57 nuns; the congregation of the handmaids of the holy child jesus and other missionaries that played the role of encouraging the african indigenes to assume the leadership role in church affairs. these indefatigable missionaries had fore sight, endowed with the holy spirit, crushed human inclinations of pride and prejudice; they empowered the african indigenes to work hard to take proper authority to man the affairs of the future development of the religion of christianity in africa. this leadership empowerment enabled the africans to work assiduously, claimed the authority to establish indigenous independent churches. leadership tussle among the mainline churches the african christians were dissatisfied with the tussles emerging between the european christian leaders and the african christian in authority. a good example is the case of the white anglicans in nigeria opposing the good ideas of bishop ajayi crowther, the financial committee of the niger mission did not recognize his authority and some decisions were taken without his approval. being the head the committee, they denied him the use of ship for easy transportation on water25. the emergence of this sectionalism and racism displeased the indigenous newly converted christians in nigeria; consequently new ideas of breaking from the main missionaries began to be nurtured, strategized and masterminded. the rise of independent african churches exploded, people need freedom from the crushing of the european churches. the desire to africanize christianity africans desire to worship god in spirit and truth. the call for the africans to rise and embrace christianity in african way has its base on the scripture which testifies; ‘let ethiopia stretch out her hand to god’ psalm 68:31. africa being in the generation of noah, genesis 10: 6, through cush and put, had come to know the gospel of jesus christ brought by the european christians; they took the bold step to worship god in african ways. africans hunger to feel the presence of god in african way, to experience the magnanimous love of god in african culture and thus, express the benevolence heart of god towards the africans. foundress of the first indigenous congregation in the nigeria church.( enugu: snaap press ltd, 2012), 58. 25 shimawua dominic, the rise and growth of indigenous churches in africa ( markurdi: lanrad print, 2013), 11. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 58 they explicitly demonstrate the joyous freedom of worshipping god in african mode. most of the african independent churches reject out rightly the european rites of worship and culminate the worship of god using african rites. the liturgy was made more of african, as the use of drumming; dreaming, singing26, dancing, clapping and prophetic movements were vehemently portraying the manifestation of african culture and tradition. leadership freedom most individuals who bolted out from the mainline churches are grossly seeking for freedom to gain hold of leadership in the church. they felt they equally possess the gift of leadership to give reasonable suggestion, contribution and decision in the affairs of the church. the activities of most of the mainline churches are regulated, at times do not give room for the illiterates or semiliterates in the church to voice out and give their opinion and suggestions to the administration of the church. the independent churches have strongly shown that the illiterates can possess charisma to contribute to the administrative welfare of the church. the illiterate and semi-literate individuals split from their main churches to found another church of their own with different doctrines. the church authorities feel free to take decision on the churches and lead the followers into the directions the holy spirit points the leaders. doctrinal conflict the mainline church missionaries came to evangelize the african indigenes with the replica of the european and american cultures rooted in the bible the instrumental bed rock of the christian evangelization. african culture accepts and promotes polygamous marriage contrary to the doctrine of the early christian missionaries that, uphold one wife and one husband. the truism is that, the african indigenes desire to worship god free from european culture and rites. thus, conflict erupted in matters pertaining marrying more than one wife. some africans were not comfortable on the doctrine; this cause proliferation of african independent churches, the doctrine of the blessed virgin mary is also a bone of contention in christendom, coupled with other contradictory issues on doctrinal faith. the effect of african independent churches 26 deji isaac and s. ademola ishola, african indigenous churches (bukuru african christian textbook, 2013), 15. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 59 proliferation of churches: african independent churches fail to maintain consistency, patience and trust with the leaders, especially the weak and indolent ones. consequently intolerance tends to creep in to destabilize the affairs of the church. opposition to the authorities arises to challenge certain issues that might have been contradictory to the acceptable truth. some impatient church worshippers seize the opportunity to disengage with the form main churches. often times proliferation arises due to the boring pattern of the church’s services, which got couple members to feel imbalance in spirit, as a result they pull out to form another church in order to correct the mistakes of the former. separation of churches occurs at the internal crises of leadership tussle and lack of adequate recognition and appreciation of the members who make untiring efforts to keep the church functioning. conflicts generate increase in the rising of new churches in africa. the tendency to integrate indigenous culture with the foreign cultural background in which the missionaries imbibe often accelerates the upsurge of independent churches in african land. the indigenous people of africa enjoy worshipping god in african lively mode. the danger of the utopian inclination is the consequence of individuals establishing both true and untrue churches, fellowshipping, gospel, ministries and miracle centers clouded with deception and contradictions to the gospel truth of the life of jesus christ. women empowerment: the african independent churches give women prominent position. women are not neglected in the involvement of church activities. they are given chances to participate in the leadership forum of the church. in the mainline churches, women accompanied the clergies to disseminate the gospel of jesus christ, played famine roles of teaching, nursing and counseling the women, girls and children. these women worked under the dictate of the men folk who hold the authorities of the church. thus, in african independent churches, women are empowered to hold authorities in churches such as: bishops, priests, pastors, evangelists, deaconates and president or chair lady of church organizations and associations. it is pertinent to acknowledge that, women utilize opportunity to establish churches of their own and became church founders like the men counterpart. the women church founders take decisions and direct the affairs of their churches in the ways the holy spirit gives them direction. vibrant worship: africans are vibrant in nature. the african independent churches are noted to be vibrant in their mode of worship. in congruence to the mode of worship in the african traditional religion, which integrates: beating of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 60 gong, drums and calabash, bells, clashing of symbols, flute and lyre and other instruments that are designated to arouse the spirits? africans approach god; the supreme being, the transcended and almighty with music and dances as the holy bible prescribes in psalms 100 and 150. to africanize christianity, the african independent churches infused the african approaches of mode of worship suitable into the beliefs and practices of christianity. they make noise to god with shouts of joy in praises and singing and dancing with clapping of hands. this expression in worship has extended to the mainline churches in african land through the act of enculturation. recommendations the christendom in africa should endaevour to harmonize the system of worship for the promotion of unity. in african culture, there are sorts of barbaric activities that some african independent churches have integrated into their system of worship which are opposed by christianity, and it needs to be eradicated. christianity upholds echoing the good news of the life, death, resurrection and good works of jesus christ especially his redemptive work to save mankind from sin and eternal damnation. the role of women in various churches ought to be highly noticed and recommended to give maximum solidarity in church’s activities. the african independent churches appreciated the roles of women in leadership, which should be extended to mainline churches where women are yet to be given recognition in the church’s decisive matters. the members of the church should discern the spirit that inspires them to move into the establishment of churches of their own choices and styles. they ought to endeavour to practice what they preach, imbibe the spirit of patience, humility, obedience, cooperation and love to remain and maintain the integrity of their churches. this will help to curtail proliferation of churches. conclusion the spreading of christianity in africa has seemly yielded fruits in terms of new evangelization. prophets are individuals who are specially called by god to administer to the people the futuristic events that might have influence in their lives. they pronounce joyful and sad activities that had not happened but might likely happen to some persons or place. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 61 the holy spirit is the major sources of power and authority behind every manifestation of any miracle performed by the men of god using the mighty name of jesus. the holy spirit inspires, propels, fills and directs the prophecy of the major prophets in africa. it is pertinent to acknowledge the fact that, the holy spirit has never ceased to penetrate the hearts of the authentic christians to model their lives and inebriate them to exhibit god’ favor, mercy, compassion. notwithstanding, the africans being religious in all glimpse of their being grew up spiritually to the height of producing prophets, bishops, priests, pastors and evangelists in various churches. the springing up of indigenous churches formed and established by the indigenous men of god gave rise to the pentecostal movements in africa. some individuals acclaimed they were moved, inspired, propelled and instructed in dream, trance or vision to begin a church, while some originated from the main church through the process of schism. thus, several leaders of independent churches were excommunicated or dismissed from the older missionary churches due to challenged problems in leadership tussle and fund. these independent church founders and leaders of the pentecostal churches formed formidable prophetic movements in africa. the great challenges confronting the african indigenous independent churches are the issue of proliferation of churches and inadequate training of the pastors and elders that hold the leadership of the independent churches in africa. notwithstanding, the springing up of the african independent churches has added value the vibrant mode of worshipping god in africa. work cited alan schreck, the compact history of the catholic church. mumbai india: pauline publishers, 2013. allen andeson, global pentecostal charismatic movements and independent churches. switzerland: 2013. https://www.academia.edu/6068798/global_pentecostalism_charismatic_mov ements_and_independent_churches_christianity_shifting_southward s_historical_overview babs fafunwa, history of education in nigeria. london: geurge allen and unwin ltd, 1974. https://www.academia.edu/6068798/global_pentecostalism_charismatic_movements_and_independent_churches_christianity_shifting_southwards_historical_overview https://www.academia.edu/6068798/global_pentecostalism_charismatic_movements_and_independent_churches_christianity_shifting_southwards_historical_overview https://www.academia.edu/6068798/global_pentecostalism_charismatic_movements_and_independent_churches_christianity_shifting_southwards_historical_overview igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 62 geofrey chapman, catechism of the catholic church pocket edition. london: british cataloginginpublication data, 1975. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/protestantism#denominations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/martin_luther joseph komonchak, mary collins and dermot a. lane, the new dictionary of theology. bangalore: theological publications in india, 2003. mbachirin t. abraham, a brief survey of the religious and political history of the reformation. makurdi: lamp and word book, 2012. mbonu n. caroline, sister mary charles magdalen walker: inspiration of the founding charism of the handmaids of the holy child jesus. jos: fab anieh nigeria limited, 2010. microsoft encarta 2009. © 1993-2008 microsoft corporation. all rights reserved. salami, m.o. christian missions in west africa. ilorin: adelk printing enterprises, 2001. shimawua dominic, the rise and growth of indigenous churches in africa. nigeria: lenrad print, 2013. ujata s. amos, the rise, growth and development of indigenous independent churches in africa. zaria: faith international printers and publishers, 2003. waturuocha mary gertrude, memoirs of mother mary gertrude waturuocha, hhcj a testimony of an eye witness: on the life and work of mother mary charles magdalene walker(rsc) 1881-1966. foundress of the first indigenous congregation in the nigeria church. enugu: snaap press ltd, 2012. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/protestantism#denominations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/martin_luther “city before self”: a comparative study of plutarch’s ethical-political thought and igwebuike communal philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 51 “city before self”: a comparative study of plutarch’s ethical-political thought and igwebuike communal philosophy kolawole chabi, o.s.a., phd institutum patristicum "augustinianum" rome, italy kolachabi@gmail.com executive summary this paper studies some aspects of plutarch’s ethicalpolitical thought in comparison with the igwebuike philosophy. so, it exposes, on the one hand, how plutarch insists on the need for citizens, especially those involved in politics to seek first the good of the community and give priority to the progress of society above personal achievements. on the other hand, the paper presents the communitarian/communal view that springs from the igwebuike understanding of life in the community. we present the positions of various african thinkers who reason along the line of this worldview to establish that community does have pride of place in the african conception of life together. the last step in this study is a synthesis of plutarch’s ideas and the igwebuike philosophy. we discover that mutatis mutandis, what plutarch advocates for his greek compatriots, constitutes the underlining principle of the igwebuike worldview. moreover, this confirms the universality of this emerging trend in african philosophy. keywords: plutarch, philosophy, common good, igwebuike, kanu ikechukwu anthony, community, african. kolawole chabi, o.s.a., phd introduction the reading of a new translation of the works of plutarch 1 recently published in the “ancient wisdom for modern readers series” of princeton university press prompted me to undertake the present study in order to compare the vision of an ancient western thinker with the african igwebuike worldview. the basic principle of plutarch’s political thought, and the common thread to his works in the new translation, can be aptly summarised as ‘city before self’. this line of thought seems to rhyme well with the african igwebuike communal thought. in this paper, we shall present the underlying presuppositions and orientations of plutarch’s political and moral philosophy, on the one hand, and the igwebuike worldview, on the other hand, to draw the similarities and differences between a representative of ancient western cultural thought and a specific line of african philosophical pensée. both the works of plutarch and secondary literature on them are abundant, and we shall depend on authoritative studies on the topic to back up our line of argument in the first part of the article. concerning studies on the igwebuike approach to reality, a lot of studies are going on, and works of i. a. kanu and other african scholars testify to it. we will precisely depend on most of their scientific research in the field of african philosophical thought in the second part of the paper. the paper will begin with a brief presentation of plutarch’s biography and an exposition of the significant aspects of his ethical and political thoughts, most notably regarding common life. the second segment of the paper will be devoted to the igwebuike philosophy on communality. in a synthesis of our itinerary, we will draw the similarities in plutarch’s thought and igwebuike understanding of common life before bringing the study to its conclusion. 1 cf. plutarch, how to be a leader: an ancient guide to wise leadership. ancient wisdom for modern readers, transl. j. beneker, princeton university press, 2019. “city before self”: a comparative study of plutarch’s ethical-political thought and igwebuike communal philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 53 plutarch and his conception of moral virtue and political engagement plutarch: a profile plutarch was born and educated in chaeronea, a small village located about sixty-seven miles northwest of athens. he spoken with warmth of his family: his wife, timoxena; his father, autobulus, his grandfather, lamprias, for whom he expresses special admiration, and his brothers, timon and lamprias. plutarch deeply loved his wife, timoxena, and their five children, only two of whom survived into adulthood. we have the consolation to his wife (608a–612b) that he wrote after the death of their only daughter at the age of two. it remains a moving testimonial to his love of family. his views on his own marriage can be summed up in one of his memorable quotes: “very fortunate is the man who in the entire span of his life knows from the beginning only one woman, the one whom he marries” (cat. min. 7.3). 2 2 cf. m. beck, introduction. plutarch in greece, in a companion to plutarch, ed. m. beck, wiley blackwell 2014, 2. it is interesting to note that plutarch’s thought on marriage, women and sexuality has gained interest among scholars of late. interested readers could see for example s. b. pomeroy, reflections on plutarch, “a consolation to his wife”, in plutarch’s “advice to the bride and groom’ and “a consolation to his wife”: english translations, commentary, interpretive essays, and bibliography, ed. s. b. pomeroy, oxford university press 1999, 75-81; p. a. stadter, φιλόσοφος και φίλανδρος: plutarch’s view of women in the “moralia” and the “lives”, in plutarch’s “advice to the bride and groom’, 173182. in this paper, stadter demonstrates that plutarch’s writing addressed to women, especially to clea (“virtues in women” and “isis and osiris”), reveals the level of education and philosophical sophistication he expected in them. «isis and osiris» considers his metaphysical basis for the virtues and limits of female action. examples of women’s virtues in “virtues of women” and the “lives” suggest that he expected women not to act as independent agents. p. walcot, plutarch on women, in symbolae osloenses: norwegian journal of greek and latin studies 74 (1999), 163-183. according to walcot, the evidence offered by the “lives” and the “moralia” shows that plutarch had a low opinion of women, regarding them as being deceitful, savage, sexually insatiable, frivolous and gossips. women are thought to be weak, but at the same time, dangerous. there are, kolawole chabi, o.s.a., phd although he was born in the “poor, little town” of chaeronea, plutarch was hardly the “dull, stupid person” the name has come to connote in modern times. judging from the respect he got while still living, and the acclaim some of his works handed down through the centuries, he was one bright and witty fellow – so much so that montaigne would later claim that it was by reading plutarch’s lives that the rest of us “dunces” are “raised out of the dirt.” 3 he received much of his early education from the reputed egyptian philosopher, ammonius, with whom he lived during an extended stay in athens as a young man of twenty years. 4 his education was augmented by conversations at the dinner table with his family, relatives, and circle of friends. 5 we can acquire an approximate idea of what these evening sessions may have been like from reading plutarch’s lengthy table talks (quaest. conv. 612c–748d). 6 by the time he was an older man, he had a reputation of being a very learned and wise man. much of his adult life was devoted to social, civic and however, notable exceptions, most obviously those women whose stories are related in the “mulierum virtutes”; id., plutarch on sex, in greece and rome: journal of the classical association 45/2 (1998), series 2, 166-187. in this paper walcot indicates that some of plutarch’s works reveal his heavily prejudiced and grossly inhibited attitude toward sex. on family and its importance in the development of the person in the thought of plutarch, see fr. albini, family and the formation of character. aspects of plutarch’s thought, in plutarch and his intellectual world. essays on plutarch, ed. j. mossman, london 1997, 59-70. j. beneker, sex, eroticism, and politics, in a companion to plutarch, 503-515; id., the passionate statesman: eros and politics in plutarch’s « lives », oxford university press 2012. 3 cf. b. j. verkamp, plutarch, in encyclopaedia of philosophers on religion, ed. b. j. verkamp, mcfarland 2008, 152. 4 cf. ibid. 5 de tuend. san. 133e. 6 cf. m. beck, introduction. plutarch in greece, 2. an interesting study of the life of plutarch is that of f. klotz, portraits of the philosopher: plutarch’s selfpresentation in the «quaestiones convivales», in classical quarterly nova series 57/2 (2007), 650-667. “city before self”: a comparative study of plutarch’s ethical-political thought and igwebuike communal philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 55 literary activities. he focussed on taking care of his family, serving as a magistrate in chaeronea, representing his hometown and country on various missions to rome (where he also briefly gave lectures on philosophy). he also produced a vast body of writings (most notably, the parallel lives). it is not an exaggeration to say that plutarch was a prolific writer. his literary legacy testifies to it. the so-called lamprias catalogue, an ancient library catalogue incompletely preserved, supposedly compiled by plutarch’s son lamprias, lists 227 works, of which several are no longer in existence. 7 plutarch’s works are classified into philosophical and historical-biographical. the latter, the so-called lives of distinguished greek and roman men examined in pairs, demonstrate plutarch’s historical and rhetorical abilities, also showing his interest in character formation and politics. 8 plutarch’s philosophical works, predominantly dialogues (set in delphi or chaeronea), cover half of his literary production. in modern times, they have been published under the collective term, moralia. however, as karamanolis rightly observed, when plutarch’s collection was augmented by many other writings preserved in other manuscripts on various other topics, ranging from metaphysics, psychology, natural philosophy, theology, logic, to philosophy of art, the name was retained with the misleading implication that plutarch’s philosophical works are essentially or primarily ethical. 9 one can say that, of all the writers of classical antiquity, plutarch is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the most popular to contemporary readers. he certainly owes this popularity to the nature of his genius, to the choice of subjects he dealt with, to the eternal interest in the names of the great men whose images he painted. enough by way of presentation! 7 cf. d. a. russell, plutarch, london 1973, 18-19. 8 cf. ibid., 100-116. 9 cf. g. karamanolis, plutarch, in stanford encyclopaedia of philosophy online https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plutarch/#plupla accessed on 24/07/2020. kolawole chabi, o.s.a., phd plutarch’s ethical and political postulates in favour of common good in terms of philosophical literary production, plutarch gives pride of place to ethics in this thought, and this is characteristic of his age. he believes philosophy is a way of life. such a position was familiar with the hellenistic philosophers whose worldview he shares from that perspective, even though he criticises stoics and epicureans for proposing what he considered misguided ethical ideals. 10 likewise, concerning the involvement of philosophers in politics, plutarch criticizes these philosophers. he finds fault with the early stoics for their abstaining from taking part in political activities. 11 in the same line of thought, the political quietism of epicurus and his school, according to him, amounts to abrogating or abolishing laws and political community. 12 nevertheless, when it comes to some 10 cf. plut. an recte dictum sit latenter esse vivendum 1129f-1130e. some scholars have noted elements of exaggeration in plutarch’s attacks on stoics and epicureans. that is the position of a. pierron in the introductory part of his french translation of plutarch’s lives. pierron wrote: “il est certain, d’ailleurs, que son attachement trop exclusif pour le platonisme l’a rendu injuste envers les stoïciens.” cf. a. pierron, notice sur plutarque, in plutarque i. vies des hommes illustres, transl. a. pierronm paris 1853, iv. kamaranolis, in his article cited above, justifies plutarch’s reaction to the leading hellenistic schools of thought thus: "plutarch engaged in writing so many polemical works against the two main hellenistic schools of philosophy. one reason for plutarch’s preoccupation must be that the early stoics and epicureans both strongly criticized plato. the epicurean colotes, for instance, plutarch’s target in the against colotes, was critical of plato’s dialogues in his against plato’s lysis and against plato’s euthydemus […] while he also criticized the republic’s myth of er and the implied view of an immortal human soul […]. another reason for plutarch’s engagement was the fact that both epicureans and stoics drew freely and extensively for their purposes on plato without acknowledging it and despite their criticism of plato." see also m. montiel – j. francisco, plutarco transmisor de la filosofía epicúrea: el «contra colotes» entre polémica y didáctica, in plutarco e l’età ellenistica: atti del convegno internazionale di studi: firenze, 23-24 settembre 2004, ed. a. casanova, firenze 2005, 337-350; m. isnardi parente, plutarco contro colote, in aspetti dello stoicismo e dell’epicureismo in plutarco. atti del ii convegno di studi su plutarco, ferrara, 2-3 aprile 1987, ed. i. gallo, ferrara, 1988. 65-88. 11 cf. plut., de stoic. repugn. 1033bc. 12 cf. id., adv. col. 1125c; 1127d. “city before self”: a comparative study of plutarch’s ethical-political thought and igwebuike communal philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 57 fundamental elements of virtual life in society, for stoics and platonists, a man educated in philosophy was expected to mould the character of the people in his community through his example of virtuous conduct, prudent advice and continuous efforts on behalf of the common good. for plutarch, as a platonist, appropriate conduct towards the community meant placing the common welfare ahead of one’s private interests, including acts of beneficence towards that community and initiatives to preserve the liberty, harmony and wellbeing of all groups within the state. 13 plutarch’s encouragement to seek common good is a particularly vital element of his thought that calls attention to what we shall see later when examining the communal dimension of igwebuike. the common welfare is supposed to supersede the personal interest to guarantee a better life together. the concept of “political virtue” (πολιτικὴ ἀρετή) embraces excellence in all these activities—from cultivating moral improvement in others through one’s own virtuous character, to taking effective action to improve the conditions of life in the community. as s. jacobs summarily put it, the distinction between the “virtue” of a statesman (politikos) and that of an ordinary "good man" is based on the sphere in which virtue is exercised (public versus private action) and those on behalf of whom action is taken (the common good of the state as a whole versus the individual caring for his soul). in that light, she argues, both aristotle and plutarch agree that the highest expression of practical virtue for human beings is “political virtue”. since public virtue benefits more people than private virtue, public virtue is a “higher degree” of virtue than virtue in private life. 14 political virtue was deemed the “most complete” or “perfect” virtue 13 cf. susan jacobs, plutarch’s pragmatic biographies lessons for statesmen and generals in the parallel lives (columbia studies in the classical tradition), leiden-boston 2018, 18. 14 cf. ibid. note 31. kolawole chabi, o.s.a., phd (τελεώτατα) because it combined the qualities of a virtuous character (courage, temperance and justice), a willingness to place the good of the community ahead of self-interest (magnanimity) and effective action on behalf of the common good (φρόνησις). 15 plutarch’s work, political precepts, treats a wide range of practical functions that require both a moral foundation of temperance, mildness, justice and dedication to the common good, as well as critical judgment about how to administer the city, maintain harmony between groups, foster prosperity and conduct diplomacy to protect its liberty and security. indeed, in this treatise, moral virtue is not desirable for its own sake, but as a tool of effective leadership: it produces a reputation for incorruptibility that makes a statesman more persuasive, and it empowers reason to guide his judgment on behalf of his state. 16 moreover, sometimes, a politician with the qualities of a philosopher fails as a politician where someone who is less qualified as a philosopher proves to be superior as a politician. in real life, then, the good of a community cannot be reached by philosophy alone,persuasion appears to be a necessary instrument, and popular appeal is a value not to be underestimated. 17 giving pride of place to the interests of the community is not only presented as a feature of a philosophical attitude, but also as a morally noble action. such is the importance that plutarch places on the good of the community over the individual interest or the satisfaction of a small circle of friends, that we could say that, for him, a specific action, which is in se morally reprehensible, may nonetheless be justified if it is beneficial to the state. in his work, alcibiades, plutarch has one of his characters argue that: “one who had an eye to the general welfare of the community (τὸ συμφέρον) may betray a few 15 ibid., 18. 16 ibid., 24. 17 cf. m. van raalte, more philosophico: political virtue and philosophy on plutarch’s lives, in the stateman in plutarch’s works. volume ii: the stateman in plutarch’s greek and roman lives, eds. l. de blois et al., leiden-boston 2005, 111. “city before self”: a comparative study of plutarch’s ethical-political thought and igwebuike communal philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 59 dubious persons, if he could thereby save many good men from the anger of the people”. 18 politics is concerned with the highest interests of the community. when it is practised rightly, one does not strive to attain wealth or fame; the purpose is to serve the community. 19 to bring our study on plutarch to an end, we deem it fitting to add his opinion on the role older people play in the life of their community. in his work titled "an seni sit gerenda res publica” (whether an old man should engage in public affairs), plutarch argues that older people have much to offer, not only on account of their years of experience, but also because they are less prone than their younger colleagues to give in to their passions. older people, he maintains, are more reasonable in their judgements and less inclined to impulsiveness than young people. for plutarch, the primary function of senior politicians was to teach their younger colleagues in both word and deed. he instructs his readers, for example, on how to support young leaders and how to correct them without giving offence or creating hostility. in this way, older politicians could pass on their wisdom and experience to the next generation of leaders. plutarch beautifully puts his idea thus: it is not right to say, or to accept when said by others, that the only time when we do not grow weary is when we are making money. on the contrary, we ought even to emend the saying of thucydides and believe, not only that “the love of honour never grows old,” but that the same is even truer of the spirit of service to the community and the state, which persists to the end even in ants and bees. for no one ever saw a bee that had on account of age become a drone, as some people claim that public men, when they have passed their prime, should sit down in retirement at home and be fed, allowing their worth in 18 plut., alcibiades 21, 5. 19 id., an seni sit gerenda res publica 783 e. kolawole chabi, o.s.a., phd action to be extinguished by idleness as iron is destroyed by rust. 20 this passage of whether an old man should engage in public affairs summaries the conviction of plutarch regarding the need for older people to be involved in public affairs, not because they do not wish to hand power over to the younger generation, but because they still have something to contribute to the common good. however, plutarch does not support those aged men who, for the love of office, involve themselves in a busy restlessness, lying in wait for every opportunity to grab power and relevant positions in the state, seek for themselves discredit and live a toilsome and miserable life. plutarch opines that, to do these things even with the goodwill of others is too burdensome for advanced age, but, in fact, the result is the very opposite: for such old men are hated by the young, who feel that they do not allow them opportunities for public activity and do not permit them to come before the public, and by people, in general, their love of precedence and of office is held in no less disrepute than is other old men’s love of wealth and pleasure. 21 granted that an old man can be useful in public affairs, there is a code of conduct he ought to observe. plutarch makes interesting recommendations for elders who still wish to serve the common good, one who still has the honour of setting and making speech in the assembly: he should not be constantly jumping up on the platform, nor always, like a cock, crowing in opposition to what is said ; nor should he, by getting involved in controversy, loose the curb of reverence for him in the young men’s minds and instil into them the practice and custom of disobedience and unwillingness to listen to him ; but he should sometimes both slacken the reins 20 ibid., 784 a. 21 ibid., 793 e. “city before self”: a comparative study of plutarch’s ethical-political thought and igwebuike communal philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 61 and allow them to throw up their heads boldly to oppose his opinion and to show their spirit, without even being present or interfering except when the matter at stake is important for the common safety or for honour and decorum. 22 plutarch offers a wide range of interesting ideas in favour of communal life and the common good. he calls all citizens to place the city before the self and also exhorts elders to participate in public life with the necessary prudence and wisdom. we shall now expose the igwebuike philosophy. igwebuike communality/complementarity worldview a brief definition of igwebuike philosophy in a recent publication, we have made our first attempt of comparison between the igwebuike philosophy of common life and the augustinian ideal of community life as expressed in his rule and other essential works. 23 this comparative study helps to establish the universality of the postulates of the new trend in african philosophy being proffered by the emerging igwebuike philosophical worldview. 24 igwebuike philosophy was developed by professor ikechukwu anthony kanu in his attempt to interpret and understand the african 22 ibid., 794 f. 23 cf. k. chabi, augustine’s ideal of community vis-à-vis the communal dimension of “igwebuike” african philosophy, in perspective on igwebuike philosophy: essays in honour of professor kanu, ikechukwu anthony, o.s.a., 1333. 24 for a response to the query whether igwebuike is exclusive to the igbo or africa, see i. a. kanu, on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy, in journal of religion and human relations 11/1 (2019), 159-176. in this paper, kanu connected igwebuike philosophy to the oldest philosophical elucubrations of presocratic philosophers such as thales, anaximander, and empedocles to show that it has been in existence for long “beyond the walls of the igbo traditional society.” (cf. p. 161 of the article). kolawole chabi, o.s.a., phd reality. “igwebuike” is an igbo word, which is a combination of three other words. thus, it can be understood as a word and as a sentence: as a word, it is written thus, igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. “igwe” is a noun which means number or population, usually a large number or population. “bu” is a verb, which means is. “ike” is a noun, which means strength or power. put together, it means ‘number is strength’, or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force”. 25 igwebuike is, therefore, along the line of the 25 i. a. kanu, igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy, in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities 2/1 (march 2016), 110. kanu, ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy, 14. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kanu, i. a. (2019). on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159-176. kanu, i. a. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. “city before self”: a comparative study of plutarch’s ethical-political thought and igwebuike communal philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 63 positions held by such african philosophers as john mbiti, 26 m. nkafu nkembkin, 27 b. i. ekwulu 28 and many others who pinpoint the importance of the solidarity and complementarity that underline and define the african concept of the person as a relational being. we shall now look concretely at the various expressions of igwebuike philosophy regarding communality and complementarity identifiable in some african philosophers, apart from those already mentioned. some expressions of igwebuike worldview among african philosophers it may not be a wrong step to take into consideration the thoughts of the major exponents of the first african intellectuals who gave expression to the idea of the primacy of communality in african socio-ethical life. leopold sédar senghor is, without doubt, one of such prominent figures. according to him: “negro-african society puts more stress on the group than on the individual, more on the communion of persons than on their autonomy. ours is community society.” 29 he further opines that “negro-african society is collectivist or, more exactly communal, because it is rather a communion of souls than an aggregate of individuals.” 30 in these statements, we fine nothing less than the aspect of igewbuike 26 j. mbiti, african religions and philosophy, narobi 1970. the study of p. tempels on the bantu people of central africa also affirms some the basic postulates of igwebuike philosophy. he writes: “the living ‘muntu’ is in a relation of being to being with god, with his clan brethren, with his family and with his descendants. he is in a similar ontological relationship with his patrimony, his land, with all that it contains or produces, with all that grows or lives on it.” (p. tempels, bantu philosophy, paris 1959, 66). 27 cf. m. nkafu nkembkia, african vitalogy. a step forward in african thinking, nairobi 1999. 28 cf. b. i. ekwulu, igbo concept of ibe (the other) as a philosophical solution to the ethnic conflicts in african countries, in ed. id., philosophical reflections on african issues, enugu 2010, 183-192. 29 l. s. senghor, on african socialism, transl. mercer cook, new york 1964, 93-94. 30 ibid., 49. kolawole chabi, o.s.a., phd philosophy we are studying in this section of our paper. where people give primacy to the community, the self continues to exist. but it identifies itself with the organic body (the community) to which it belongs; hence, it does not place itself above the ensemble. the same opinion of senghor holds for other advocates of african socialism, such as kwame nkrumah, jomo kenyatta and julius nyerere, who tenaciously sustained their socialist ideological choice, finding its foundation in the traditional african ideas about society. 31 that is why k. nkrumah could say that “if one seeks the socio-political ancestor of socialism, one must go to communalism,” 32 which, of course, in their opinion, is the basic principle of reality in the african conception of common life. expressing the idea of man as a communal being in the african culture, specifically from the perspective of his ghanaian context, n. k. dzobo opines that: the individual’s being emerges from a prior social whole which is truly other; it comes into being for the sake of him and exists for his development and growth. hence, an individual who is cut off from the communal organism is nothing. in africa, it is true then to say: “as the glow of a coal depends upon its remaining in the fire, so the vitality, the psychic security, the very humanity of man depends on his integration into the family.” by living creatively, the individual is also contributing to the life and quality of his community and so can say “we are, therefore i am, and since i am, therefore, we are.” 33 31 cf. k. gyekye, person and community in african thought, in person and community: ghanaian philosophical studies i, eds. k. wiredu – k. gyekye, washington dc 1992, 103. 32 k. nkrumah, consciencism – philosophy and ideology for decolonisation and development in particular reference to the african revolution, london 1964, 73. 33 n. k. dzobo, the image of man in africa, in person and community: ghanaian philosophical studies i, eds. k. wiredu – k. gyekye, washington dc 1992, 132. “city before self”: a comparative study of plutarch’s ethical-political thought and igwebuike communal philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 65 the very last quotation of dzobo’s text, which is another version of mbiti’s famous axiom in expression communitarianism in africa, has been further examined in a study by i. a. menkiti which is worth mentioning here. this scholar affirms, based on mbiti’s statement “i am because we are…”, that from the african perspective, community has an ontological primacy and independence. in his words, “as far as africans are concerned, the reality of the communal world takes precedence over the reality of the individual life histories, whatever these may be.” 34 a few postulates follow in menkiti’s attempt to contrast the african with the western worldview. he contends that in africa, “it is the community which defines the person as person, not some isolated static quality of rationality, will or memory”. 35 according to him, what we find in the african understanding of the person is the notion of personhood as acquired, “something which has to be achieved, and not given simply because one is born of human seed.” 36 for this reason, in african societies, “personhood is something as which individuals could fail.” 37 all these emphatic positions on communal values, collective good and shared goals, could lead to the conclusion that communitarianism conceives the person as entirely constituted by social relationships, that it tends to suppress the moral autonomy of the person, that it makes the being and life of the individual person totally dependent on the activities, values, projects, practices and ends of the community; and as a consequence, that communitarianism would diminish the person’s freedom and capacity to choose or question or re-evaluate the shared values of the community. 38 for this reason, some voices rose to critically examine the african communitarian conception of the human person! 34 i. a. mentiki, person and community in african traditional thought, in african philosophy. an introduction, ed. r. a. wright, lahman, md, 1984, 171. 35 ibid., 172. 36 ibid, 172. 37 ibid., 173. 38 cf. k. gyekye, person and community in african thought, 102. kolawole chabi, o.s.a., phd in recent times, some scholars have indicated that the “we existence” ontology of person which characterizes african philosophy, represented by igwebuike and the african philosophers we mentioned above, was more fitting in opposing the western liberal individualism from a political standpoint, to reclaim human dignity for the colonized african. p. nnodim is of the view that: “unmeasured emphasis on group-oriented ideas of the person among africans undermines the broader metaphysical dimensions of personhood existing in the thought systems of many traditional african societies.” 39 such a position is also present in k. gyekye’s article already cited above. according to the ghanaian philosopher, menkiti’s position that the personhood is defined or conferred by the communal structure of the society cannot be wholly accurate, despite the natural sociality of the human person which places him in a cultural structure. 40 gyekye posits that the human person is also, by nature, other things besides being a communitarian being. there are various attributes, such as rationality, the capacity for virtue and for evaluating and making moral judgements and choices. the community does not create these attributes but discovers and nurtures them. moreover, when he fully uses these attributes in her participation in the life of his community, his personhood would be fully defined by the communal structure or social relationships. 41 instead of an unrestricted communitarianism expressed in the views of senghor and others, gyekye advocates a moderate or restricted version of communitarianism which accommodates the communal values as well as values of individuality, social commitments, including duties to self-attention (which is not individualism). taking a stand on what we have exposed so far, we contend that community constitutes an essential element in the african 39 p. nnodim, the concept of person in african philosophy, in life, body, person and self: a reconsideration of core concepts in bioethics from an intercultural perspective, eds. graetzel and guhe, freiburg 2017, 88. 40 cf. k. gyekye, person and community, 111. 41 cf. ibid., 111-112. “city before self”: a comparative study of plutarch’s ethical-political thought and igwebuike communal philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 67 understanding of reality. the human person is endowed with a lifeforce that can only yield and be productive if it is put at the service of common good. we agree with gyekye that some essential human attributes are natural endowments. however, at the same time, it is vital to emphasise that from the igwebuike point of view, by nature, a human person can only put his worth to bear within a community. v. mulago’s idea on this issue captures the igwebuike pensée: the community is the necessary and sufficient condition for the life of the individual person. the individual person is immersed into the natural world and nevertheless emerges from it as an individual and a person within his conscience a freedom given him by the mediation of the community in which he senses a certain presence of the divine. 42 this same idea comes in a more straightforward axiom formulated by kanu: "to be is to belong and to belong is to be.” 43 42 v. mulago, african heritage and contemporary christianity, nairobi 1989, 115. 43 i. a. kanu, a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy, jos plateau state, 2015, 250. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. kolawole chabi, o.s.a., phd some anthropological theories, such the darwinist conflict theory and the freudian theory, see man as an aggressor and a predator/destroyer by nature, who finds himself obliged to collaborate with other human beings to subjugate his aggressive instincts. from the igwebuike african standpoint, such is not the understanding of the human person. the basic element of life together is the drive to complementarity within the creative synthesis of being which characterizes the african person. furthermore, in this context, placing the common good ahead of personal interests marks the true spirit of belonging to the body. thus, the "self", the individual person with all his natural endowments and attributes, works with the common good in mind. the idea of complementarity that constitutes the underlining principle of igwebuike finds expression also in the vital relationship that exists between the generations in the traditional african environment. elders are highly regarded in their roles within the traditional african communities. as people who hold the stories and wisdom of the past to enlighten the present, elders have the answers to questions such as “who are we?”, “where do we originate from?”, “how do we keep alive the heritage handed down to us?” because of their knowledge and life experience, elders are held in high esteem. as g. j. s. dei puts it, in traditional african societies, people have “respect for the nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igboafrican modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. “city before self”: a comparative study of plutarch’s ethical-political thought and igwebuike communal philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 69 authority of elderly persons for their wisdom, knowledge of community affairs, and ‘closeness’ to the ancestors… there is in africa a general belief that old age comes with wisdom and an understanding of the world.” 44 p. o. onyoyo expresses the same idea stating that: “… in several african traditional societies in which customary law ruled the lives of people the role of elders was substantial and critical for order and harmony. the elders are construed to be the custodians of customary law, its promulgators and enforcers…” 45 in the yoruba culture to which i belong, and in several other african ethnic groups, elders preside over religious ceremonies, sit as judges in cases of feud, apply corrective measures to repair the damages caused by offenders, facilitate reconciliation and harmony. as kanu indicates in one of his studies, elders have such mastery of language that they use folktales in judging in village courts, telling tales in such a way that the people grasp their meanings without requiring further explanation. 46 those of them with specific roles in priestly lineage pray for the community and offer sacrifice, mediating between god, people, ancestors, and spirits. they have many more vital roles for the good of their community. a very distinctive feature of elders in the yoruba culture is the desire to hand over their knowledge to the younger generation as the time of their exit from this world draws near. a yoruba saying states that a divinity whose cult is hidden from the offspring of its priest is doomed to disappear. so, elders are not merely preoccupied with their business in the community without regards to the younger ones. they nurture a sense of complementarity and the desire to transmit the cultural and spiritual patrimony to posterity. 44 g. j. s. dei, afrocentricity: cornerstone to pedagogy, in anthropology and education quarterly 25/1 (1994), 13. 45 p. o. onyoyo, a theory of gerontocracy in the african customary law, a paper published on https://www.academia.edu/9644458/a_theory_of_gerontocracy_in_the_african_c ustomary_law, accessed on july 27 th , 2020. 46 cf. i. a. kanu, a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, 77. kolawole chabi, o.s.a., phd plutarch’s ethical-political philosophy of common good and igwebuike having exposed the contents of the two worldviews we set out to compare in this paper, we shall now examine what they have in common and what differentiates them. plutarch’s ethical-political philosophy which advocates the primacy of “city before self”, to express the commitment that a good citizen should have towards the common good, finds mutatis mutandis, a corresponding expression in the igwebuike idea of community. even prior to what we know about his philosophical standpoint, plutarch’s very life as a lover of family, as a man who cherished and remained viscerally attached to the service of his native chaeronea, indicates that this ancient philosopher had a strong sense of belonging which is characteristic of the traditional african attitude toward life and community. the same emphasis that plutarch places on the common good the individual should strive for is present in our african worldview. it confirms the belief that the same seed of wisdom is sown in the spirit of all people of the world, irrespective of the categorisation we make to divide ourselves into groups or factions. the possibility of naturally working for the (common) good stands in opposition to the anthropological conflict theory sustained by some exponents of western philosophy in the 19 th century. in the greek philosopher’s thought, the obligation of the good citizen towards the welfare of his social group does not suppress his personality. in his many works, and through the example of his life, plutarch shows the importance of self-development. he never neglects the importance of the person as an individual with his attributes. likewise, the african communitarianism affirmed by igwebuike does not obliterate the individual within the society. it only puts to the fore the importance of belonging and working for the good of the body. “city before self”: a comparative study of plutarch’s ethical-political thought and igwebuike communal philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 71 plutarch defends the need for those who, on account of their old age, are considered useless in public affairs to be active and to continue contributing to the life of their community. in the igwebuike framework, elders are never discarded in their old age for retirement as far as the life of the community is considered. no one looks at them as intrusive in matters concerning public life. on the contrary, their opinion is sought and revered. an interesting aspect of plutarch’s recommendation to elders willing to continue their involvement in public life is that of being careful so as not lose the respect and consideration of the youth. respect for elders is distinctive of the traditional african code of conduct. but it is worthwhile to mention that, in the real sense, an elder is one who, with the advanced age, also has the wisdom, the goodness and the interest of the community at heart. among the yoruba, “àgbà" is the word for an elder. when an elderly person is referred to as "àgbà òshì” or “àgbà ìyà” (that is miserable elder), it is not necessarily because of material indigence. that adjective added to qualify him could portray some aspects of his moral and behavioural stand. a shameless elder who involves himself in baseness belongs to the category of “àgbà òshì”. consequently, he cannot be a point of reference to the people of his community. both in plutarch’s society and our traditional african setting, a person could lose the respect of the community even in his old age. by and large, we have observed some common points in the plutarch and igwebuike worldviews concerning life together and the common good. igwebuike is a universal worldview expressed in the language and within the cultural environment of the igbo in nigeria. that should not come as a surprise, for every trend of thought and every philosophy has a cradle, a point of departure, a culture from which it propagates. this study contributes to the reinforcement of the kolawole chabi, o.s.a., phd universal character of this trend as already demonstrated by i. a. kanu. 47 conclusion the greek philosopher, plutarch, has consecrated most of his works to revealing the educational power of the past by giving many historical figures as examples for today. in his thought, he laid much emphasis on the need for citizens to seek the common good and to place the well-being of the community before personal or selfish interests. his philosophical pensée seems to rhyme with the igwebuike african philosophy in which commonality, complementarity, and seeking the common good have pride of place within the social fabric. for this reason, our study focused on the comparison of the two philosophical worldviews to establish what they have in common and what differentiates them. apart from the concern for the common good that cut across both philosophies, the aspect of the place and role of elders within the community retained our attention, since it is present in both. plutarch defends the importance of elders in public life. igwebuike sees elders as the custodians and teachers of culture. however, to be an elder is also earned through the wisdom, kindness and exemplary life an aged person displays within his community. in the ideal world of traditional africa, as it was in the ancient western and biblical world, ageing was revered and considered a blessing. living to see one’s children’s children is blessing beyond measure. in traditional africa, elderly people were attended to and accompanied in their old age until they rested with the ancestors. it seems, however, that things are much different nowadays. many elders suffer abuse and neglect. according to aderemi suleiman ajala, among the yoruba, for example, due to urbanisation and other social factors, the perception of ageing has changed from peaceful retirement to crisis-ridden stage of living. some of the crises include: neglect of the elderly, poor feeding and poor health status for the aged. 47 i. a. kanu, on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy, in journal of religion and human relations 11/1 (2019), 159-176. “city before self”: a comparative study of plutarch’s ethical-political thought and igwebuike communal philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 73 thus, the aged can no longer play their roles as social reformers and custodians of the people’s culture. 48 this situation could be a subject for further studies from the igwebuike perspective, to see how we can reconcile structural development and material progress with the core values of our being africans, with respect to our igwebuike credo. bibliography b. j. verkamp, plutarch, in encyclopaedia of philosophers on religion, ed. b. j. verkamp, mcfarland 2008. fr. albini, family and the formation of character. aspects of plutarch’s thought, in plutarch and his intellectual world. essays on plutarch, ed. j. mossman, london 1997. g. j. s. dei, afrocentricity: cornerstone to pedagogy, in anthropology and education quarterly 25/1, 1994. g. karamanolis, plutarch, in stanford encyclopaedia of philosophy online https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plutarch/#plupla accessed on 24/07/2020. i. a. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity, in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. i. a. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 2016. i. a. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education, a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france. 48 a. s. ajala, the changing perception of ageing in yoruba culture and its implications on the health of the elderly, in the anthropologist 8/3 (2006), 181188. kolawole chabi, o.s.a., phd i. a. kanu, on the origin and principles of the igwebuike philosophy, in journal of religion and human relations, volume 11 no. 1, 2019. i. a. kanu, igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2, no. 1, 2016. i. a. kanu. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. i. a. kanu. igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 5983. 2018 i. a. kanu. igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. 2018 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no. 1 2016:1-6. “city before self”: a comparative study of plutarch’s ethical-political thought and igwebuike communal philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 75 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christianmuslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. 2019 i. a. kanu. igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. 2019 i. a. mentiki, person and community in african traditional thought, in african philosophy. an introduction, ed. r. a. wright, lahman, md, 1984, 171. j. beneker, sex, eroticism, and politics, in a companion to plutarch, 503-515; id., the passionate statesman: eros and politics in plutarch’s « lives », oxford university press 2012. kolawole chabi, o.s.a., phd j. mbiti, african religions and philosophy, narobi 1970. k. chabi, augustine’s ideal of community vis-à-vis the communal dimension of “igwebuike” african philosophy, in perspective on igwebuike philosophy: essays in honour of professor kanu, ikechukwu anthony, o.s.a., 13-33. author house, london. k. gyekye, person and community in african thought, in person and community: ghanaian philosophical studies i, eds. k. wiredu – k. gyekye, washington dc 1992. k. nkrumah, consciencism – philosophy and ideology for decolonisation and development in particular reference to the african revolution, london 1964. l. s. senghor, on african socialism, transl. mercer cook, new york 1964. m. beck, introduction. plutarch in greece, 2. an interesting study of the life of plutarch is that of f. klotz, portraits of the philosopher: plutarch’s self-presentation in the «quaestiones convivales», in classical quarterly nova series 57/2 (2007), 650-667. m. beck, introduction. plutarch in greece, in a companion to plutarch, ed. m. beck, wiley blackwell 2014 m. nkafu nkembkia, african vitalogy. a step forward in african thinking, nairobi 1999. m. van raalte, more philosophico: political virtue and philosophy on plutarch’s lives, in the stateman in plutarch’s works. volume ii: the stateman in plutarch’s greek and roman lives, eds. l. de blois et al., leiden-boston 2005. n. k. dzobo, the image of man in africa, in person and community: ghanaian philosophical studies i, eds. k. wiredu – k. gyekye, washington dc 1992. p. nnodim, the concept of person in african philosophy, in life, body, person and self: a reconsideration of core concepts in bioethics from an intercultural perspective, eds. graetzel an p. o. onyoyo, a theory of gerontocracy in the african customary law, a paper published on “city before self”: a comparative study of plutarch’s ethical-political thought and igwebuike communal philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 77 https://www.academia.edu/9644458/a_theory_of_geronto cracy_in_the_african_customary_law, accessed on july 27 th , 2020. p. tempels, bantu philosophy, paris 1959. plutarch, how to be a leader: an ancient guide to wise leadership. ancient wisdom for modern readers, transl. j. beneker, princeton university press, 2019. susan jacobs, plutarch’s pragmatic biographies lessons for statesmen and generals in the parallel lives (columbia studies in the classical tradition), leiden-boston 2018. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 265 peace linguistics: imperatives for escaping friction and peacebuilding in social interaction. ahumaraeze chinwe innocentia directorate of general studies federal university of technology owerri iahumaraeze@yahoo.com abstract peace seems to have become humanity’s most sought after desire and value in our dispensation given its elusive nature. friction, conflict and chaos have continued to have their toll on humanity. this trend has been fueled by the acts of individuals, even the verbal/ language acts, which have increasingly become violent. in social interactions today, language is often marked with disharmony and communicative violence evident in the use of aggressive, offensive and dehumanizing constructions that have the potentiality to harm and, by extension, escalate friction and conflict. it is in line with the foregoing that this paper examined peace linguistics’ imperative for escaping friction and building peace. peace linguistics advocates for the prevention of communicative aggression, creation of harmony and promotion of peace using language principles and applications. the study adopted the cooperative principles of grice (1957) and culpeper’s (1996) model of impoliteness as working frameworks. the researcher also hinged the study on corpus linguistic approach as data were sourced from social media interactions and used to investigate how language can deconstruct and how it can construct and foster peace. the paper identified that since communication and language [its vehicle] are what human life revolves around, language could, thus, be used to champion peace building when it is used constructively and made to possess human dignifying attributes. the paper posited that the tenets of peace linguistics which include effective use of language, harmonious exchange, humanized constructions and communicative peace should be adopted in social interactions. recommendations were made on the need to escape friction, prevent conflict and strengthen peace through humanizing language performances. keywords: communicative violence, friction, peace, communicative peace, peace linguistics, peacebuilding. introduction linguistics, the scientific study of language, is a field that is ever current given its focus on man’s means of interaction and social involvement. linguists have continued to explore its branches of psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, applied mailto:iahumaraeze@yahoo.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 266 linguistics, historical and computational linguistics as they affect man’s cognitive tendencies, man’s language use and its intersection with society, man’s application of language to real life situations, man’s application of computer science to linguistic studies and man’s documentation of language change over time. whitla (2010) opines that linguistics studies many aspects of language like the sound systems, conversational interactions, uses men put language to in social situations, relationship of language to the functions of the brain, how languages develop and change and how machines can store and produce language. language, which occupies the center space in linguistic studies as man’s tool for interaction and for carrying out social actions, has also received no less attention. for gomes de matos (2005, p. 2), language is “the complex cognitive or mental system of symbols shared by all humans everywhere and used for communicating intra and interpersonally through spoken, written or sign languages”. this definition highlights the following indices of language: it is a system of shared symbols, it is cognitive, it is a communication tool and it has channels of use. deducible from the foregoing is the communicative import of language. language functions in communication as a tool for information dissemination and for the building of interpersonal relationships (leblanc, 2011). language use is one area that has witnessed increasing waves of researches in recent times as it crisscrosses the subfield of applied linguistics, sociolinguistics and pragmatics. applied linguistics according to gomes de matos (2016, p. 161) is “an interdisciplinary field that addresses an increasing variety of language-based context, language policy… and language use”. sociolinguistics studies the relationship between language and society with focus on how language is used by individual speakers and groups of speakers in social interaction (wardhaugh, 2016, p. 10) while pragmatics “studies the factors that govern our choice of language in social interaction and the effects our choices have on others” with particular focus on humans as language users and their language production in context (crystal 1999). the researcher deems it necessary to state that this research has beamed its searchlight on language use and its dualistic tendencies of constructivism and destructivism. it is pertinent to point out that knowledge of language does not end at knowing the abstract formal system that characterizes a language. one should also be aware of the sociolinguistic and pragmatic indices that characterize language use. a language user who knows his onions should get familiarized with the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 267 relationship between language and society and how to communicate in appropriate contexts and situations. this brings us to the competences one needs to imbibe to be able to function well in language acts. linguistic competence propounded by noam chomsky accounts for the correctness and grammaticality of language as a rule governed phenomenon. from the chomskian notion of competence, other forms of competencies have evolved to account for the complexities in language use. the communicative competence moves beyond chomskian correctness and grammaticality to look at appropriateness in language use. for canale and swain (1980, p. 165) cited in leblanc (2011, p. 25), communicative competence entails that following the rules of the language, users communicate according to social expectations in situational contexts given that language cannot be divorced from its social realities and responsibilities. this involves choosing the right words to convey appropriate meaning. canale and swain (1980) also identified the sociolinguistic competence which accounts for the appropriateness of utterances in relation to the sociocultural context and, the strategic competence which imbues a language user with the ability to consciously plan language use. the survey of these competences is important to the thought process development of this paper because they will account for proficiency in language use as andrew (2001, p. 30) has noted that language proficiency includes sociolinguistic, strategic and communicative competencies. one who has acquired these competencies plans one’s language use harmoniously while lack of acquisition of these competences leads to improper language use, language devoid of harmony and capable of sparking off friction and conflict. as has been hinted earlier, communicative competence focuses on appropriateness in language use which includes choosing right words to reflect socio-cultural linings, recognizing the purpose of communication, recognizing participants and the meaning they have brought into the communication process and striving for a cooperative exchange. failure to put such things into consideration results in a failed and unharmonized exchange. this must have informed gomes de matos’ (2001) definition of communication as an act of sharing which is capable of bringing about harmony or disharmony. in a bid to ensure that language is devoid of disharmony, gomes de matos has propounded the notions of peace linguistics which he projects as an advocacy for peaceful language use and communicative peace which he sees as an offshoot of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 268 communicative competence which is an advocacy for communication to be made more peaceful (gomes de matos, 2008, p. 341). statement of the problem in this twenty-first century, there are increasing and cyclic waves of friction, bitterness and conflict globally and these have invaded our language acts. the human emotion of compassion seems to have lost in the lopsided competition with the negative emotional outflows like conflict. schilling (2011, p. 14) must have had this in mind when he asserts that “conflict and misunderstanding hold sway in many human encounters as socio economic pressures build up tension in social setting”. today, there are clashes of interest and rancor globally and these have infiltrated into our language use. this is because language cannot be divorced from the society where it engages to influence social structures which also influence its (language) structure (wardhough, 2006, p. 10). this sociolinguistic perspective holds validity in our time because, as the world is increasingly heating up, linguistic productions are becoming less compassionate and more violent. this brings us to the problem this study has set out to investigate, the use of language to cause friction and perpetuate violence. linguistic violence occurs when language is used in dehumanizing forms. gomes de matos (2001) has noted that language use can either bring harmony or disharmony depending on the level of responsibility a language user exhibits in communication. to this author, one can communicate responsibly to create harmony (friendly and respectful communication) or irresponsibly to create disharmony by the use of offensive, impolite, aggressive and insensitive language. once the later happens, friction ensues because of its potentiality to spark friction, create distance and defensiveness and usher in an era of conflict. thus, the problem of language violence and its aftermaths are what this paper studies with a view to proffering solutions. it is pertinent to point out that this research not only seeks to establish the link between linguistic violence and impoliteness and their role in causing friction and thereby leading to lack of cooperation in communicative exchange. it also captures the role of peace linguistics in calming every storm. thus, its contribution to existing knowledge is that impoliteness and linguistic violence breed disharmony which stalls cooperative exchange while peace linguistics balances the equilibrium. purpose of study this study is aimed at investigating linguistic violence as causation to friction in social structures and interactions. schilling (2011, p. 202) has noted that violence igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 269 consists not only of actions, structures or systems that cause physical or environmental damage but also of attitudes and words that cause psychological and social damage. freidrich (2012, pp. 17-18) has opined that language can be employed as an instrument of harm. he goes further to say that the scale needs to be tipped in the opposite direction by the reinforcement of the humanizing uses of language that espouse respect for human dignity which in turn helps us develop a non-killing mentality. freidirich’s postulation brings us to another factor that the study aims to advance, the non-killing and non-violent properties of language in order to cushion the effects of linguistic violence. having known the effect linguistic violence can have on the psych of individuals, the study projects non-violent communication as an alternative. non-killing linguistics, just like peace linguistics, focuses on language use for peace making while nonviolent communication highlights the language of compassion. gomes de matos (2014c) and resenberg (2003, p. 8) who are proponents of these concepts are much aware that language principles and applications can also be used to quell the evil effects of linguistic violence. for gomes de matos, non-killing linguistics, henceforth nkl, is the employment of linguistic principles by language users to prevent acts of communicative violence and killing. rosenberg, on his own, projects non-violent communication, henceforth nvc, as an approach that encourages exchanges that focus on shared human values needed to increase goodwill and to resolve differences peacefully. thus, this study aims not only to investigate the effects of linguistic violence but to also highlight the importance of peace linguistics and its offshoots of non-killing linguistics and non-violent communication as parameters for escaping friction and for peace building. research questions the following question were formulated to guide the society 1. does violence emanate from language use? 2. what are the manifestations of linguistic violence? 3. can language principles and applications be used in fostering peace? 4. in what ways can language be used for peace building? significance of study this study is significant in more than one ways. in the main, it will reveal the dualistic applications of language use: for violence and for peace. by juxtaposing the effects and gains of these dual applications of language, it will make language users become more aware of their linguistic choices and their applications in social communicative interactions. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 270 conceptual review this section is a copious survey of the concepts that populate this research. as the study investigates peace linguistics’ imperative for escaping friction and for peace building in social interaction, peace linguistics, its parent concepts like language and communication and its offshoots of communicative competence, communicative peace, non-killing linguistics and non-violent communication need to be explicated, drawing signposts of their potentiality in escaping friction and in peace building. language and communication are concepts that enjoy a relationship of connectivity and are man’s tools for social actions, engagements and exchange. language drives communication which in turn enriches it. the two concepts have also received variants of definitions that have revealed their nature and function. language is a rule governed symbolic system that enables users to generate meaning and also to define reality (trembolen, 1995 in dada, 2010). merriam webster online dictionary defines communication as “an act of transferring … a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs or behaviour”. this definition highlights the functions of language in communication. thus, language functions as a tool for information exchange and the coordination of the realities of life through processes and space provided by communication. in language use in communication, interactants pass across messages which are expected to be understood, acted upon, and feedback sent to complete the cycle. communication becomes effective when this cycle is completed. there is a breakdown if the process remains incomplete or when linguistic choices mar the flow of the message or the rapport that exists between the interactants. the foregoing highlights the view of language as dual-edged, which use either creates rapport or destroys shared values depending on the choice of linguistic items. language is a social interactive tool and should have norms of use. first and foremost, a language user must acquire competences in the use of language. these competencies, ranging from sociolinguistic, communicative to strategic, provide the mental and psychological apparatus for proper and appropriate language use. gay (1988) thinks on the board in his assertion that language, as an institution, can do violence that is psychological and that linguistic violence occurs when we are both psychologically and socially hurt by words. in order to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 271 escape friction and make our language use violent-free, the notions of peace linguistics and communicative peace are advocated. peace linguistics, henceforth pl, is an interdisciplinary approach to language study that advocates for peaceful language use. having witnessed the increasing waves of linguistic violence, gomes de matos propounded the notion of peace linguistics and has remained an advocate of this, churning out countless publications on the concept. according to him, aspects of language and peace can be woven into an applicable form in human communicative interaction (gomes de matos, 2005). definitively crystal (1999, pp. 254-255) asserts, “peace linguistics is a climate of opinion which emerged during the 1990 in which linguistic principles, methods, findings and applications were seen as a means of promoting peace and human rights at a global level … to foster language attitudes which respect the dignity of individual speakers and speech communities”. for curtis (2018a, p .12) “peace linguistic is concerned with the applications of the insights gained from the [scientific] study of language to practical problems such as how to help bring about world peace”. gomes de matos (2018, 2014a) lending voice in furtherance of this discourse asserts that pl attempts to create conditions for language users to communicate peacefully as peace is a new awareness in language education. this brings us to the notion of peace in language studies. linguists like gomes de matos, richard and rogers (2011) and freidrich (2007) have proposed the integration of peace into language education. leblanc (2011) submits that the peace linguistic approach finds itself in peace studies which is the united nation’s response field to the pressing need for peace after world war ii. richard and rogers see pl’s emergence as a response to the need assessment by linguists to address conflict and violence through language while friedrich points out that peace education focuses on conflict resolution and peace cultivation using language. pl is, thus, an emergent approach to conflict resolution, born out of the need to curb linguistic violence which seems now to exist on a large scale. its basic message is using language not only as an ordinary tool for exchange but as a tool for communicating peacefully. it maintains that certain types of language spark off violence by creating hurt (hurtful/ harmful language) and gomes de matos (2006, p. 160) has isolated “verbs of violent communicative act’ that abuse, humiliate, oppress, disrespect and stigmatize as demeaning words that show igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 272 how language can spark off a state of violence. gomes de matos (2000, p. 341) maintains that “human beings’ right to peaceful and just life should be matched by a corresponding human responsibility to communicate peacefully”. this assertion seems to be in tandem with the united nations educational, scientific and cultural organization’s (1996) report’s adoption of a universal linguistic human rights which demands that linguistic communities worldwide be rallied around the belief that “language as an essential vehicle for identity and cultural expansion is inseparable from the peace and intercultural understanding”. the foregoing typifies that responsible language use can create pathways for acceptance, understanding and escaping friction in social communicative interactions. also deducible is the underlying peace potential of language. thus, gomes de matos (2002) has given the injunction that language users be educated “not only to talk about peace in their communication acts but to communicate in peaceful ways” and that communicative peace should be seen as a “deeper dimension to communicative competence”. pl is, thus, an advocacy that language be used to “promote peace” by incorporating the values of “human rights, justice and peace into one’s array of core values” (friedrich, 2007, p. 50). gomes de matos (2006) has proposed the notion of applied peace linguistics as an offshoot of applied linguistics. since applied linguistics investigates and proffers solution to language-based problems, applied peace linguistics emerged with the aim of providing conditions for teaching language users to use language peacefully so as to escape friction. applied peace linguistics, henceforth apl, focuses on how language can be applied in the pursuance of peace. apl is charged with a dualistic function. on one hand, it helps users to identity states of harmony, agreement, communicative dignity and communicative peace. again, it functions to isolate states of disagreement and disharmony that culminate in communicative conflict, discord and contentions. thus, apl charged with twofold responsibility probes these questions:  what is a lack of harmony marked by communicative hostility?  what vocabulary and phraseology does a person rely on when arguing, quarreling or bickering?  what communicative exchanges involve disagreement and conflict?  how do language users apologize the cause of humiliation?  how do language users monitor, reward, rephrase communicative insensitivity or contemptuous rudeness?  how do we make regretful acknowledgment of a communicative offense? igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 273  how do we blame someone/ persons when we consider them responsible for a misdeed or failure: do we treat them with communicative dignity? (gomes de matos, 2014) these questions and the answers they generate basically summarize peace linguistic application. deducible from them are the notions of communicative hostility or aggression, communicative insensitivity, communicative offense, communicative dignity and communicative harmony. in the application of language, a user needs to know the import of his language use (vocabularies and phraseologies) on the receiver. one can be communicatively hostile, aggressive and insensitive with his choice of words and this leads to communicative disharmony. one’s language use can also dignify others thereby bringing about communicative harmony. the foregoing is a pointer that language can be used to escape friction and avoid conflict when users know and apply certain principles and practices which gomes de matos (2012, p. 3) has termed “principles and practices of conflict resolution” which are approaches proposed to highlight the communicative lifeimproving force of peaceful language use embedded in these two concepts: communicative peace and communicative dignity. pl has great imperative for escaping friction and for peace building because of its mantra of communicative peace, non-violent communication and non-killing linguistics. friction and conflict in a communicative interaction come as an aftermath of irresponsible and incompetent use of language. gay (1999) has isolated friction and conflict-causing linguistic choices to include hurtful language (racist comment), conscious, hurtful form of violence (aggressive) and harmful language (oppressive). gomes de matos (2006) cited earlier has identified verbs of violent communicative act as friction-causing and conflict escalating and canale and swain (1980, p.30) have stated that in a bid to resolve emergent problems occurring from linguist violence, language users should be made aware of the difference between violent and peaceful language so as to make informed choices. it is imperative to point out that in language use, peace is established when an exchange comes from the point of valuing the other as a human that has rights, feelings and needs. in the secular world today, there seems to be a dearth of peace, thus, it has come to occupy a focal position in the list of individual and national aspirations. peace has continued to receive unabated attention because of its dynamics of ousting conflict and violence. peace literally means the absence igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 274 of all forms of violence. schilling (2011, p. 20) states that peace is a process, a struggle to transform violence as it “describes the unfolding of conflict in a constructive way”. schilling goes further to say that peace does not mean the total absence of conflict and exists where people interact nonviolently and manage their conflict positively, paying attention to the needs of others. she noted that peace could be negative (absence of war, direct violence and conflict at all levels of human engaging activities) or positive (absence of indirect and structural violence) which makes for bridge building between conflicting parties which, in turn, translates to building a culture of peace. building bridges to curb violence among/ between conflicting parties is known as peace building which is a process of intervening in conflicts and maintaining peace. schilling (2011, p. 29) sees the term as including processes like peacemaking (interactions designed to end hostilities using non-violent dialogue to reach peace agreements) and peace-keeping (monitoring and enforcing agreement). peacebuilding, no doubt, is a process that is interventive for it seeks ways to move beyond conflict to induce a culture of peace. how then can peace linguistics help in escaping friction and peacebuilding? linguists gomes de matos and friedrich and psychologist rosenberg seem to have handed down non-negotiable ways in their communicative peace, nonkilling linguistics and non-violent communication chants. in 1984, marshal rosenberg, a psychologist propounded the notion of non-violent communication where he proposed that a language of compassion be used in all communicative interactions. nvc focuses on ways of interaction that do not impede the communication flow required for information exchange and the peaceful resolving of differences (schilling 2011, p. 202). rosenberg (2003, p. 18) notes that nvc focuses on shared human values and needs and encourages language that increases goodwill against those that contribute to resentment or lowered self worth. analyzing with the giraffe against the jackal, rosenberg used body parts to symbolize nvc thus: heart – emotion and empathy; focusing on needs and feeling height – ability to look into the distance -keen and sensitive awareness of future possibilities. long neck – symbol of vulnerability as well as affection-attracting. rosenberg (2005) (2006) has noted the role of empathy in nvc while noting how participants in an exchange can communicate:  use a list of feelings – affectionate, cheerful, and loving. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 275  do not use authoritative words.  listen empathetically by focusing on speakers feeling and needs. gomes de matos’ writings all have bearing to the imperatives of peace linguistics in escaping friction and conflict and in peacebuilding. first, he coined the concept of communicative peace (1991b) that preaches that communication be done in constructive and in human-dignifying ways. gomes de matos (2006) projects the use of humanizing language that is friendly, responsible, sensitive and compassionate rather than using dehumanizing language. gomes de matos (2005) has, in furtherance of the foregoing, listed the functions and principles of a peaceful language user which are imperatives in peace building in these injunctions: dignify your dialogue by  addressing others with respectful language and optimistic vocabulary, by disagreeing through empathetic language,  using positivizers (adjectives and verbs that enhance positive values on people),  convincing others cooperatively, honour humanism and foster humanization by  avoiding verbal harm and humiliation,  applying justice and peace in communication acts,  rephrasing potentially dehumanizing language. act as a peace patriot by  promoting a passion for peace especially in aggressive contexts,  being a peaceful bridge person between persons and groups  letting your communication contribute to a culture of peace. these can only be achieved if the tenets of gomes de matos and friedrich’s (2012) non-killing linguistics and gomes de matos, communicative peace are imbibed. nkl emerged as an offshoot of pl which aim is to apply the principles of linguistics in helping users prevent acts of communicative violence and killing (gomes de matos, 2014c) and to communicate life improving forces necessary for peace building (gomes de matos, 2012). knowing full well peace linguistics’ imperatives for escaping friction and for peace building, gomes de matos postulated in his numerous writings the following: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 276  language should perform peace building, supporting and sustaining functions.  users of language should interact constructively in character elevating ways.  languages should be learned and used for human lifeimproving purposes.  language users should nurture communicative compassion.  users of language should prevent acts of communicative aggression.  interactants should communicate cooperatively and peacefully. the foregoing has made certain establishments. language use can lead to friction and conflict when it is not humanized. language can also be employed constructively when it is imbued with humanizing tendencies. it is the constructive use of language that ousts friction and makes for peaceful and harmonious co-existence of individuals. theoretical framework this study adopted culpeper’s (1996) impoliteness model and grice’s (1975) cooperative principles as working frameworks. these approaches were chosen given their capacity to highlight areas of friction and conflict in communication. culpeper’s model of impoliteness impoliteness is a linguistic theory that hinges on face-damaging linguistic and non-linguistic acts. impoliteness is juxtaposed against brown and levinson’s (1978) politeness theory that sees politeness as face-saving linguistic acts. impoliteness, just like politeness, has been given various definitional conceptualizations but this researcher focuses on culpeper’s view that sees it as all communicative behaviours intended to cause the “face loss” of the hearer. it includes all face threatening acts directed at the hearer which in turn affects the speaker through response. impoliteness is an act that is face-aggravating or facedamaging in a particular context. context here is important because what is facedamaging in one context could not be in another. there are many models of impoliteness since it was first introduced in language studies in 1977. linguistics like hickey (1791), culpeper (1996) and bousfield (2006) have continued to research and further its use. culpeper has continued to churn out works on impoliteness (1996, 208, 2011). culpeper’s model of impoliteness manifests in communicative interactional settings where speakers, through their language, act intentionally to damage the face of the hearer. culpeper states that impoliteness igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 277 and its sister, rudeness, are inappropriate in interactional exchanges, thus, they are negatively marked concepts. culpeper (2008) stresses that all behaviours, linguistic or non-linguistic, that are intentionally used by a speaker in a communicative interaction to damage the face wants of other participants are said to be impolite. to him impoliteness is intentional while rudeness is unintentional. culpeper (2011) sees impoliteness as a multidisciplinary concept which has bearing with almost all humanistic disciplines – sociology, psychology, media and conflict studies. culpeper (2006, 2008) postulated two categorical divisions of impoliteness -inherent impoliteness and mock impoliteness or banter. inherent impoliteness, according to culpeper, are those acts that are innately face-threatening regardless of context, while those that are superficial and not intended to insult are called mock impoliteness (culpeper 1996). again, culpeper has outlined five impoliteness strategies which include:  bald on record – where acts are clear and direct where face is relevant.  positive impoliteness -use of strategies designed to damage addressee’s positive face wants.  negative impoliteness strategies used to damage addressee’s negative face wants.  sarcasm or mock impoliteness – use of politeness strategies that are insincere.  withheld politeness -absence of politeness work where it would be expectedshowing concern to someone in need (culpeper, 1996, pp. 8-9). culpeper (2011) has also isolated types of withheld politeness to include:  affective impoliteness -when a speaker makes obvious his anger towards the hearer in a discursive interaction which in turn creates a negative atmosphere.  coercive impoliteness ˗ manifests when speaker demonstrates power over hearer through use of command and imperatives.  entertaining impoliteness – manifests in speaker making jest of hearer to gain amusement. culpeper, looking at the concepts of positive and negative impoliteness, has put forth their strategies of output and manifestation. his positive impoliteness output strategies include:  snub, ignore and fail to acknowledge the other’s presence,  exclude the other from activity, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 278  disassociate from the other ˗ deny common ground,  be disinterested, unconcerned and unsympathetic,  use inappropriate identity makers,  use secretive and obscure language – jargon,  seek disagreement ˗ select a sensitive topic to make the other feel uncomfortable,  use taboo words ˗ swear abuse,  use profane language ,  call the other names,  use derogatory nominations. also, his negative impoliteness output strategies include:  frighten the other – instill fear that a detrimental action will occur,  scorn, ridicule – emphasize your relative power, belittle the other,  invade the others space literally – come closer than necessary by asking intimate questions,  explicitly associate the other with a negative aspect,  personalize using i and you,  put the other indebtedness (vulnerability) on record. impoliteness and power have been seen to have a relationship of interconnectivity as relative power is seen to manifest in impolite acts. power is welded by those who are highly placed in different fields over others to influence and limit them. culpeper (1996, p. 354) links power with impoliteness when he asserts that, impoliteness is more likely to manifest when the speaker is more powerful than the hearer. as power relations are determined by access to valued resources (status, wealth, jobs), a speaker who is highly placed tends to exhibit impolite acts more freely because he is capable of limiting the less powerful participants’ ability to retaliate. bousfield (2008, p. 150) reechoes culpeper’s position that a person who manifests impoliteness creates and reactivates some aspects of his relative power. the researcher has chosen this model because, in discursive acts involving quarrels and showing difference in power relations, impoliteness can occur although culpeper did not make the former explicit, a perceived seeming shortcoming of this theory. grice’s (1975) cooperative principles igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 279 this is another theory the study hinges on. cp is a communication principle that describes the level of achievement of conversational interactions. in communication, speakers (s) and hearers (h) engage in exchanges that are expected to be cooperative, where hearers are expected to associate speakers with such intentions by cooperating in the exchange in order to arrive at mutual understanding. grice’s postulations about cooperation in interaction are subsumed in these four maxims. quantity  make contributions as informative as is required for the current purpose of exchange.  do not make it more informative than is required.  provide only necessary information. quality  do not say what you believe to be false.  do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence. relation  be relevant.  maintain the focus of the conversation -do not veer off from the main topic. manner  be brief and orderly.  avoid obscurity of expression.  avoid ambiguity. grice has noted that these maxims are not always adhered to in a discursive exchange. they could be violated, flouted, infringed on or opted out of. our focus here is on flouting, which occurs when participants deliberately cease to apply the maxims because they want their listeners to infer the hidden meaning behind their utterance; the meaning they implicate by their utterance. this theory was chosen to draw out evidences of uncooperativeness in interaction that are friction-causing. methodology the study is corpus linguistic based and followed the descriptive analytical model. the data analyzed in this research were gotten from the whatsapp page of a network business group. the data were analyzed qualitatively using the peace linguistic tenets, grice’s cooperative principles and culpeper’s impoliteness model. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 280 data presentation and analysis background: this data was gotten from a group whatsapp page where a woman asked for monetary assistance during this covid-19 lockdown. it is pertinent to point out that the researcher used the raw data as it is, hence, the non-adherence to grammar rules in the constructions. however, translations were provided for some of the social media coinages and contractions. discussions and analysis the research has isolated linguistic choices that are impolite and face-damaging. use of bald on record impoliteness these are statements that are insultive and directly attack the face of speaker. b. the truth remains that you can take a dog to the river but you cannot force it to drink. b. this ur [your] mindset that’s y [why] u [you] find urself [yourself] in this kind of situation begging to eat. qualitative analysis these statements by speaker b to speaker a are insults and direct attacks on her person and are, thus, face-damaging. positive impoliteness: these are strategies designed to damage the addressee’s positive face wants where positive face is the desire to be appreciated in social interaction. output strategies for positive impoliteness include: ignore the other a. i will join but i [i] hv [have] to eat before investing. b. you should have put down that little you have before lock down by now, every ten days u [you] will be sure of something no matter how small. qualitative analysis in these conversations, b ignored the issue raised by speaker a and chose to tell her how beneficial joining the business is. disassociate from the other a. please member’s [members]of this group, i need help financially. me and my kids need to put food on our table. please somebody help. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 281 b. you have chosen just to remain an observer since you were added holding tight to the seed you were supposed to sow [money you were supposed to have invested] and expect yield or rather you used your seed for your priority. qualitative analysis these strings show that the interactants do not have a common ground to agree. these strings also flout the maxim of relation because what b said is not related to the idea a expressed. exclude the other from activity: not found within the corpus be disinterested, unconcerned and unsympathetic a. i will join but i [i] hv [have] to eat first before investing b. you have to change your mindset eating first before investing. i sorry for thee [i pity you]. qualitative analysis. in this exchange, b was unconcerned and unsympathetic towards a. use of inappropriate identity markers. not found in the corpus. use of obscure, secretive language. not found. seek disagreement: c: u [you] shouldn't talk to anyone like that. are u [ you] trying to mock her? all fingers re [are] not equal .we should be careful of what we write n [and] post. if u [you] can’t help, kindly shut ur [your] mouth and dont add to her problems . even d [the] so called rich ones/investors like u [you] re [are] crying harder behind d screen e: my brother these words are not welcomed either. if you need to correct someone not with abusive words. pls [please] try and render apology to him you might do it here or in his private chat. one lov [love] c: apology on what pls [please]? qualitative analysis. in these strings, c disagrees with e that he has used words that should warrant an apology. use of taboo words. not found. call the other name. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 282 c. even d [the] so called rich ones/investors like u [you] re [are] crying harder behind d screen. b. the truth remains that you can force a dog to the river but you can not force it to drink. negative impoliteness: these are strategies designed to damage the negative face wants of individuals in a discursive interaction. they include: frighten d. don’t forget that table turns around [do not forget that conditions change over time]. qualitative analysis. here, d tries to warn people about their attitude by telling them that tables can turn and they find themselves at the receiving end. condensed scorn or ridicule. b. the truth remains that you can force a dog to the river but you can not force it to drink. b. this your mindset that’s y [why] u [you] find urself [yourself] in this kind of situation begging to eat [begging for alms]. qualitative analysis. these statements by b clearly ridicule speaker a. invade the other’s space. not found explicitly associate the order with a negative aspect. a. i will join but i [i] hv [have] to eat first before investing b. this your mindset that’s y [why] u [you] find urself [yourself] in this kind of situation begging to eat [begging for food]. c: u [you] shouldn't talk to anyone like that. are u [you] trying to mock her? all fingers re [are] not equal .we should be careful of what we write n [and] post. if u [you] can’t help, kindly shut ur [your] mouth and dont add to her problems . even d [the] so called rich ones/investors like u [you] re [are] crying harder behind d [the] screen e: my brother these words are not welcomed either. if you need to correct someone not with abusive words. pls [please] try and render apology to him you might do it here or in his private chat. one love. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 283 qualitative analysis. b and e associate a and c respectfully with the negative aspects of begging and abusing. put the other’s indebtedness on record. a: i will join but i [i] hv [have] to eat first before investing b. this ur [your] mindset that's y [why] u [you] find urself [yourself] in this kind of situation begging to eat.u [you] have to change ur [your] mindset....eating eating first before investment.i sorry for thee [i pity you] qualitative analysis. speaker b magnifies a’s vulnerability by his statement. sarcasm or mock politeness use of politeness strategies that are insincere. f: the truth is that there is no amount of money one can keep for feeding without any source of adfition [addition] to it that will ever be enough. however, i believe that most of us must have learnt one thing or the other at this period. no one is to be blamed every situation has a message it passes across. it is well with all of us. b. i sorry for thee [i pity you] qualitative analysis. these statements, though seemingly polite, are sarcastic and mock speaker a. use of taboo words – swearing and using of abusive words c. if u [you] can’t help, kindly shut ur [your] mouth and dont add to her problems. withhold politeness: absence of politeness work where it would be expected. a. affective impoliteness b: what we do here is to teach and encourage everyone to engage into [in] a business that will put food on your table without stress and that we have been doing here excellently well. the truth remains that you can force a dog to the river but you can not force it to drink. you have chosen to just remain an observer here ever since you were added holding tight to the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 284 seed you were supposed to sow [the money you were supposed to have invested] and expect yield or rather you used your seed for your priority. qualitative analysis. this first turn of speaker b in response to speaker a’s opening turn is devoid of any trace of politeness. speaker a must have swallowed her pride to come up with that plea and in our culture, such a person in need should at least be comforted even when the help sought for is not granted. b. coercive impoliteness. c. if u [you] can’t help kindly shut ur [your] mouth and don’t add to her problems. qualitative analysis. speaker c uses an imperative to cower speaker b thereby making him to understand that the power he thinks he has to talk to speaker a anyhow he pleases can also be wielded by another person over him. cooperative principles the researcher found out that there was no mutual cooperation in this data. interactants never understood one another hence, there was no successful exchange. some of the cooperative principles were flouted. flouting of the relevance maxim. a: pls [please] member's [members] of this group i need help financially. me and my kids need to put food on our table.pls [please] somebody help b: what we do here is to teach and encourage everyone to engage into [in] a business that will put food on your table without stress and that we have been doing here excellently we. here, a was talking about financial help and hunger, but b chose to focus on business investment. by so doing, his unwillingness to help is implicated. flouting of the manner maxim. a: i will join but i [i] hv to eat first before investing b. this ur [your] mindset that's y [why] u [you] find urself [yourself] in this kind of situation begging to eat.u [you] have to change ur [your] mindset....eating eating first before investment.i sorry for thee [ipity you]. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 285 here, b needed to say that he cannot help but he obscured his lack of sympathy and rather talked ill or questioned the mindset of speaker a. findings the analysis revealed that there was lack of cooperation in the discursive interaction which resulted as a result of the flouting of the manner and relevance maxims of grice’s cooperative principles. it is pertinent to note that the impolite choices were made because the interactants are not exposed to the tenets of peace linguistics which preaches the use of humanizing language as against demeaning language. thus, gomes de matos’ (2014) human improving relevance of pl seen below was lost to them. ccc – communicate cooperatively and cordially. (constructively– emphasis mine). mmm – make your messages models of communication. ppp – plan your prose/ poetic posters peacefully. rrr – refrain from replying rudely. aaa – apologize right after addressing a person aggressively. it was also revealed that the interactants lack communicative competence and, by extension, communicative peace which makes for appropriacy in language use with special focus on situational context. this lack of knowledge is evident in their use of friction-causing, human demeaning expressions isolated below. speaker b. this ur mindset that's y u find urself in this kind of situation begging to eat. the truth remains that you can take a dog to the river but you cannot force it to drink. speaker c. if you can’t help kindly shut up your mouth and don’t add to her problems. even d so called rich ones/investors like u re crying harder behind d screen c: apology on what pls? c: there is no need for apology really. ma'am [madam] don't worry. the study revealed that one of the interactants, speaker e, seems to have been exposed to the tenets of peace linguistics, and, having known the effects of dehumanizing language use, he tried so much to influence others by telling igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 286 them to adopt humanizing language and apologize in the invent of the use of demeaning language. this is evident in these extracts. e: my brother these words are not welcomed either. if you need to correct someone not with abusive words. pls try and render apology to him you might do it here or in his private chat. e: read ds [these] pls [please] ....and tell me if ds [these] complimentary or mockery/insultive? e: your choice of words are not right.1. "shut your mouth up"2. even the so called rich/investors like you. if i may ask do you know this person in question? even if you do those words are insultive. had speaker e’s injunctions which resonant the human improving relevance of pl been adhered to by the interactants, the volume of friction in that exchanged would have been toned down and there would have been cooperation which would have ushered in a peaceful exchange. conclusion and recommendations the thrust of this paper has been on peace linguistics and its imperatives for escaping friction and for peacebuilding in social interactions. globally, friction and conflict have witnessed waves of increase due to issues like socio-economic pressure, religious intolerance and political bias. thus, the need to temper down the heat from these foreseen cyclic, friction-causing and conflict escalating situations through language use from the peace linguistics perspective becomes imperative. the society revolves around and functions on the dialogic use of language and thus its continued peaceful existence depends hugely on language use patterned not in the notion of destructivism but on that of constructivism (ahumaraeze and nwachukwu, 2016, p. 82). through data analysis, the patterns of destructive, demeaning and dehumanizing exchanges that are friction causing and uncooperative were revealed to make peace linguistics a must for all as, its application by people of different creed and clime has the potentiality of reducing friction and ensuring peaceful and harmonious living. it is on this premise that the following recommendations were made:  communicative peace, a deeper dimension of communicative competence, should be introduced in the language classroom from the high schools as a compulsory course so that students will be taught while in school to be peaceful language users. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 287  language users should learn the act of non-violent communication through non-killing linguistics so as to avoid acts of linguistic violence that are friction-causing. they should, rather, lift up souls with their life – improving language (lll).  interactants should avoid acts of communicative aggression by humbling their hubris and exhibiting shared humanity in human communication (hhh).  interactants should engage in peacebuilding and, by extension, become peacemakers by using peaceful phraseologies. references ahumaraeze, c.i. & nwachukwu, u. a. (2016). language use: implication for peace and global reconciliation. in review of arts and social sciences. quarterly journal of inter-university friendship association with contributions from science and technology. pp 76-83. andrew s. (2009). teacher language awareness. cambridge: cambridge university press. bousfield, d. (2008). impoliteness in interaction. amsterdam: john benjamin publishing. canale & swain (1980). theoretical bases approaches to second language teaching and testing. applied linguistics.1 (1) 1-14. crystal, d. (1999). the cambridge encyclopedia of language. cambridge: cambridge university press. culpeper, j. (2006). towards an anatomy of impoliteness. journal of pragmatics. 25. 349-367 ________(2008). reflections on impoliteness, relational work and power. in d. bousfield & m. locher (eds). impoliteness in language (pp.17-44). berlin: mouton de gruyter. ________(2011). impoliteness: using language to cause offence. cambridge: cambridge university press. curtis, a. (2018a). introducing and defining peace linguistics. the word. 27(3). 11-13. friedrich, p. (2007a). language negotiation and peace. the use of english in conflict resolution. london: continuum. dada, s. a. (2010). language use and communication artifacts in gsm adverts in nigeria. retrieved from www.linguisticonline.com on may 20, 2020. friedrich, p. (2012). (ed). nonkilling linguistic: practical applications: honolulu: centre for global nonkilling. http://www.linguisticonline.com/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 288 gay w, (1998). exposing and overcoming linguistic alienation and linguistic violence. retrieved on may 10, 2020 from http://www.philosophy.uncc.edu/pubexposeoverconnlvla.htm gomes de matos, f. (2000). harmonizing and humanising political discourse. the contributions of peace linguistics. in peace and conflict resolution: a journal of peace psychology 6 (4) 339-344. _____ (2002a). teaching peace promoting vocabulary: a new frontier. glosas didactices. 8 (spring). _____ (2005 ). using peaceful language: from principle to practice. peace, literature and acts. vol 11. _____ (2008). a plea for the humanizing use of language. humanizing language teaching. 10 (3). _____ (2012). lifplus: the life-improving force of peaceful language. in p.t. coleman & m. deutsch (eds). psychological components of sustainable peace (pp.121-127) new york: springer. _____(2014). peace linguistics for language teachers. delta. documentacao de estudos em linguistic teorica e aplicada. 30(2). 412-424 _____(2014c). language, peace and conflict resolution. in m. deutsch, p.t. coleman & e. c. marcus (eds). the handbook of conflict resolution: theory and practice. (3rd edition) (pp.158 – 175). san fransisco: jossy-bass. _____(2016). pedagogy of positiveness: applied english for diplomatic purposes. in p. friedrich (ed). english for diplomatic purposes (pp.173190). bristol: multilingual matters grice, p. (1975). logic and conversation. in p. cole & j. morgan (eds). studies in syntax and semantics 111: speech arts. new york: academic press. leblanc, j. (2011). how esol teachers become aware of communicative peace. ma tesol collection. sit digital collection. retrieved on may, 20, 2020 from http://digitalcollections.sit.edu/ipp_collection/506. merriam webster online dictionary. nurdquist, r. (2019). definition and examples of linguistics. www.thoughtsco.com. accessed on 1st june, 2020. rosenberg, m. b. (2003). non-violent communication: a language of life. 2nd edition. usa _______ (2005). non violent-communication: a language of peace. 2nd edition. encinita. ca: pudlledancer press. schilling, k. (2011). peace and conflict resolutions: a resource book. c. kayser & f. djatteng (eds). berlin: cps/ bx dw batoussum. http://digitalcollections.sit.edu/ipp_collection/506 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 289 unesco (1996). universal declaration on linguistic rights. http://www.unesco.org/cpp/declaration/linguistic-pdf. accessed on 10th may, 2020. whitla, w. (2010). the english handbook: london: willy-blackwell. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 259 the dynamics of the western racialization of africa (in the reflective ideas of ekwuru) obinna victor obiagwu directorate of general studies federal university of technology owerri obinnaobiagwu71@gmail.com; 08033433261 doi: 10.13140/ rg.2.2.23433.67684 & okwara donatus uzoma directorate of general studies federal university of technology owerri doi: 10.13140/ rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract africa and its inhabitants have been one of the mysteries of nature that most of the western nations have always desired to demystify. the western nations, therefore, in their eagerness to demystify the african reality, have often reconstructed it in ways that seem strange even to african reality. the main issue then, in the modern african history, is the fact that both africa and africans were created and defined by the west. all about africans were handled by non-african, who were not experts. because of the invaded and conquered nature of the sole called white race to some part of african continent, that lead to the domination or assertion that blacks are inferior race. and this conquered continent meant the casting of the net of eternal dominion all over its shores and hinterlands. again the defeat of the white to black race leads to eternal dynamics of the western racialization of african. the westerners handicapped the rationality of africans in all aspect of life: medicine, culture, history and even religion etc. this paper observes that although the white races humiliated the black races without taken cognizes of the human right. these tinkering have caused both races a perpetual and eternal war. it is the thinking of this paper to look into meaning and understanding of terms, and then articulate, the dynamics of the western racialization of africa. introduction the western effort to present image of the african continent in their own thought culminated in the invention of the term race. for an enlightenment thinker like immanuel kant, that the term „humanity‟ was posited and regarded as a regulative term, mailto:obinnaobiagwu71@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 260 which means that the concept of race was invented for this purpose. the term „regulative‟ here means „adjust, arrange,‟ „direct, „govern‟ or rule.‟ it is therefore very clear that the term „race,‟ is being used by the western world, for the purpose to holding, control of entire humanity, thereby forcing it into the intellectual vocabulary of the modern world. this however, made it an effective instrument for the discourses of difference. according to ekwum, the term race being so much useful in this sense, gradually graduated into an interdisciplinary keyword for the delimitation of a common zone of joint cultural project of imperial domination. going further into the matter, ekwuru also observed the fact that by defining and classifying human beings into races, western modernity attempted to advance higher genetic laws for the explanation of „classes‟ and „differences‟ in the landscape of humanity. with this new science of classification, ekwuru saw, race became a logic of separation, division, difference and reference in the larger family of human beings. just as some groups were placed on top of the racial pyramid, as the noblest of all the races, while others were placed at the bottom of it as the least worthy and despicable. this form of comparative classificatory logic that sets the white people of the west on top as the caucasoid race, and places the black people of africa at the bottom as the negroid race, according to him became the basic scientific logic of racial discourses of difference and discrimination against black africans. ekwuru went further to explain that through this way of representing the fact of differences in human reality, „race-talk‟ as it came to be known, became a central theme linking the anthropological studies of physiology, physiognomy and genetics in their varied connections, with polygenism and monogeninsm respectively. in this sense, the adoption of the term race became an organizing principle of humanity, implying permanence of essence and possession of certain traits and disposition that are biologically and psycho-physiological determined. as a result of this classification, africa as race, was placed in the extreme position of opposition to the west as caucasoid race. by this logic of race, therefore made, africa into viewed as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 261 the opposite of the west. this baseline mythology of race, which became both the philosophical and scientific axioms for moral and social discriminations against black africans, is what ekwurum have designated as afri-raciology. consequent upon this, ekwurum also invested the fact that in the various dynamic modes of comparative differentiation and distinction between races, afri-raciology, gives rise to the notion of socioecological strife and competition among races. thus, while the white races are seen to be progressive, the black race is interpreted to be nearing extinction. in this way, according to him, a form of racio-ecological tension was mounted: the progressive races would like to determine and control the pace of the regressive trend of the race that is near-extinction. this makes it appear as if nature, in dividing peoples of the world into races, had designed it for a kind of cultural racing bout, with a mandate clearly that the winning race should dominate and reconstruct the reality of the other. if this was nature‟s design, the west believes they have won it and is ready to make full use of it. in the reconstruction of the african reality by arrogating to the white european race the leadership position of the entire humanity as the "tougher‟ stock. western modernism therefore uses the term race for all kinds of anthropometric measurements, and as comparative indices of socio-historical records. in this way, „race‟ becomes, not only a regulative term for determining who is and who is not human, but also, a distinctive measure of human types and cultural levels of achievement and advancement. (ekwuru 2011). the western world therefore sees the visualization of the logic of a common humanity in terms of racial athletics, as a moral guarantee for imperial domination. if in the racio-athletics of becoming human, and ever more human, a particular „race,‟ sees itself as having excelled more than others in its cultural achievements, then, it is a clear sign that it should lead by determining and controlling the humanity of others. according to ekwuru, this type of „racial competition' that the west recognized in human nature, is an inter-racial competition between herself and others both real and imagined. ekwuru further observe that it is a competition in which the west started right from the early period of greek imperialism as a winner, and in which she is determined to continue to win by controlling, determining, and dominating the social and cultural igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 262 humanity of others. she achieves this through various means of constant invasion, conquest and imperial domination of the political, socio-economic and cultural spheres of other lands, cultures and peoples of the world (ekwuru 2011). race and politics of colour variation the west has on various occasions tried to determine the humanity of the african, using the politics of colour variation. the colour difference between the white man and the black man is of a very high margin of what is being put into consideration here is not that the so-called white man is called “white” and the black man is called “black” but with the meaning attached to the human colour as „white‟ and as „black.‟ this is what ekwuru described as the culture politics of assigning symbolic meanings to colours. he obviously, started that this form of cultural politics has been in the main, an indubitable politics of racial definition and castigations. the white man according to ekwuru defines the black man as black, with its semiotic assemblages of symbolic meanings. for him, the meaning attached to racial colours, carries with it varied ensembles of moral definitions of „goodness.‟ and ‟„badness... and this makes one to keep wondering when such an issue is raised, whether the variety of colours in nature is meant primarily for disagreeable structures of opposition or for beautiful forms of combinations. ekwuru maintain that the theme of colour variation has gone a long way in the history of western encounter with other races of the world. for him it is one of the issues that gave origin to the science of modem physical anthropology of which that in the 19th century america, racial colourbar was a central issue in the socio-political life. ekwuru posited this was the problem president lincoln had to confront in some of this discussions about the blacks and slavery in usa. looking at this statement, from lincoln one can see that he was merely reaffirming the general assumption of his contemporaries. the average white american believes that african skin colour, hair texture, and facial features were associated in some way with the african way of life (in africa) and his status as slave (in the americans). it is very important to note at this point the fact that the colour variation on which the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 263 west base its arguments for discriminating against black africans have became a major bone of contention among scholars globally, what this means in effect is that the problem is not the simple issue of racial colour identification, but the cultural politics of colour distinction. this is what ekwuru we have designated as “neroisation” the negative symbolisation of the black colour, meaning therefore, that the major issue has been the politics of colour, following the ambition of the west to dominate as a superior white race. however, ekwuru maintains that to make colour the central fact of racial distinction was, in the main, the heart of racial politics of the white european civilisation framework. for him, colour in itself as a natural fact of identification and distinction, is a neutral element subject to the meaning given by human beings. he posits that colours in themselves, whether black, white, red, blue, and others, are just the same in their substantial natures and qualities. for him again, colours assume their values in the role of signification assigned to them by human beings in their different cultural set-ups. of which he states in this case, that black or white could be used to designate the worst or the best in their various symbolic functions. whatever meaning each colour designates the symbolic convention of the human community. ekwuru went further again to state that it is the advantage of neutrality of colour that the west took to paint the african as black as the devil. looking at the antipodal structure of western pattern of thinking, which opposes the good against the bad, god against the devil, white colour was equally opposed to black colour, and taking white as the description of their colour, black was used to depict the african. western scientists are yet to convince us about the natural basis of this colour opposition, if not cultural ekwuru insists. conclusion according to george ekwuru (2011), race is a logic of separation, division, difference and reference in the larger family of human beings. this places some group of humans on top of what ekwuru described as racial pyramid, as the noblest of all the races, while others were placed at the bottom of it as the least worthy and despicable. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 264 this form of comparative classificatory logic that sets the white people of the west on top as the caucasoid, and places the black people of africa at the bottom as the negroid race, become the basic scientific logic of racial discourses of difference and discrimination against black africans. for the west, there is a "racial competition". this she achieves through various means of constant invasion, conquest and imperial domination of the political, socio-economic and cultural spheres of other lands, cultures and peoples of the world, especially the black africans. a typical example is the case george floyd, the africanamerican, who was denied "breathe" recently by the white police, even after calling the mama africa. this level of dominance, by whites over black. to achieve this, the black race shall employ the concept of morality, humanity and self esteem, as guiding principles of life, knowing fully well that in the words of socrates, an unexamined life is not worth living. the blacks are not in any wsy inferior to the whites. rather, the racists who painted the devil black and the angel white are pushing the blacks towards this inferiority complex. rather, it is all about racial politics. the whites know the stuff the blacks are made of, but socially they would still pretend ignorance, simply because they wrote the black man's history. references ekwuru, e.g.; the dynamics of afri-raciogenesis and the dialetics of afrirealitism. owerri: totan publishers, 2011. oliver, r., the african experience. new york: weidenfeld and nicolson, 1991. onyeoche, m.i., africa: the country, the concept and the horizon. owerri: university press, 2007. tsenry, s. (ed). african philosophy: the essential readings. new york. paragon home, 1991. young, j.c.r.; post colonialism: an historial introduction. oxford: blackwell, 2001. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 103 ngwuyi arua (installation of ancestral symbols) ritual the belief and its relevance: a study of ezimo community anayo ossai, phd department of religion and human relations, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state ab.ossai@unizik.edu.ng and ayossai@yahoo.com 0806 069 0840; 0708 618 1781 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract the research studied ngwuyi arua ritual among the people of ezimo community in nsukka cultural area of igboland. the work explored the extent to which the ritual has helped to curb conflict and maintain peace through the ancestral authority. this wholesome ritual is at the verge of extinction resulting from the misinterpretation that the ritual practice is fetish and idolatry. this paper affirms that such expression which originates from the christians and some promoters of western culture may be misleading. the ritual is not fetish or idolatry as claimed; it is a religious practice that traces and maintains the genealogy of the people which is an expression of family bond, sustentation of family and community consciousness, and puissance of harmonious relationship within the people and with the supra mundane. ngwuyi arua ritual which is historical as well as religious is aimed to ensure peace in the community and therefore ought to be sustained especially now that igbo nation is clamouring for peace. keywords: ngwuyi aruah, ezimo, belief, igbo, idolatry introduction the age long conversation on african renaissance talks about going back to rediscover the lost african culture and tradition that fashioned african people; which has helped to maintain their socio-religious views. kanu (2015) noted this when he said that “a discourse on african cultural renaissance is about the reawakening of fellow africans to the need for cultural rebirth in africa”. (p.389). kanu requested for the reawakening of the fellow africans; but this paper in addition to the reawakening of africans, request also for the reawakening of nonafricans to the call for african renaissance. the reason is for the non-africans to also see the relevance of african culture and how it can contribute to the world’s socio-cultural development. it was based on this that ossai (2013) called people’s attention and wrote: “african renaissance” which this paper suggest would be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 104 wonderful if african traditional religion is included as a teaching subject in primary and secondary schools in nigeria … and inculcate in them the african honest and authentic cultural heritage which will ensure nation building. (p.151). african cultural renaissance is not a call for africans to go back and embrace everything africans, but to sieve and embrace the good african culture, leaving behind some ugly practices like killing of twins, human sacrifices and so on. our call for african renaissance is not aimed to the blockage of cultural interaction, but a response to hastings (1976) write-up on renaissance which says “rediscovering the wisdom of the ancestors, revaluing their ceremonies, reawakening their names, renewing their languages”. (p.43). it was on this background that this paper studied ngwuyi arua or ngwuyi nna – (installation of the ancestral symbols) in ezimo community of nsukka cultural area of igboland as an instance of ancestral authority. it is important to state here that the term ngwuyi arua means the same thing with ngwuyi nna; so, in this paper the two terms could be used interchangeably and they mean the same thing. the stages of ngwuyi nna are done in two or three categories depending on the clan concerned. for instance, when one becomes onyishi umu-ugwuowo (the eldest man in umu-ugwuowo family) it is a tradition that he performs the ngwuyi nna ritual as onyishi umu-ugwuowo. if the same man lives long and become the onyishi umu-ajima (the eldest man in umu-ajima clan), he again will perform another ngwuyi nna ritual. and if the same man is very lucky and become the onyishi amaogu (eldest man in amaogu village), he is to perform the ngwuyi nna ritual as onyishi amaogu. in this case we can see that one person can perform ngwuyi nna in three categories. note that umu-ugwuowo is an extended family within umuajima clan and umu-ajima is a clan in amaogu village of ezimo community. the process of this ritual is historical and as well as religious. historical because the process traces the ancestors of the celebrant and religious because it shows the people’s unbroken connection with ancestors which is an expression of unified view of reality. according to ossai (2018) “there is need to understand the meaning of unified view of reality. in african or specifically igbo cosmology, the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 105 term implies the reality unified, in other words the sphere of the physical and spiritual worlds is unified”. (p.48). in this paper, there are efforts to close the gap in world history which trevor-roper (1963), mistakenly said that africa had none. “perhaps, in the future, there will be some african history to teach. but at present there is none; there is only the history of the europeans in africa”. (p.971). so, this work on installation of the ancestral symbols in ezimo also add to the historical developments of the people. ezimo people leave within uduledem part and are among the people of nsukka cultural area of igboland. before the advent of christianity, they were all committed to the traditional religion which includes the beliefs and practices in the ancestral credence. in this ancestral reflection, the people view the ancestors as needed authority to pilot the affairs of the society. onuh (1992) remarked this point when he said: the ancestors are evoked as the source of the traditional authority. consequently, since it represents the absolute axiomatic values of the society in which the common good and common interest handed over by the ancestors, the traditional authority dispensed by the elders is the absolute in the traditional community; hence the political implication of the transitional rites among the igbo. (p.165). this belief system of the people is fast disappearing because of the misconception and misunderstanding of this ritual by some christians. this and many other traditional religious activities of the ezimo people which heads to extinction inspire the writer to embark on this study. another reason for the study is for the people to see and understand that the practice of ngwuyi arua is not an evil practice as has been mispresented by some people, instead it is means of recognition of the fore-fathers who took care of the economic and socio-religious aspects of the community and handed over to the younger generations. the practice is also the means of worshipping the supreme god. background to ngwuyi arua igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 106 in ezimo, the announcement of death of an onyishi and even the seeing of the corps is done with reverence. according to ossai (2014), “onyishi refers to the oldest male in the extended family or the community”. (p.87). when an onyishi dies, the person(s) present would call the attention of his children and other family members who then dress the corps with clean cloths and if necessary, cut the hair and so on so that the corps can look very neat and clean. in the pre-modern time when there were no injection, tablets or hospitals, every sickness was treated with traditional medicines of roots and herbs. and it was the herbalists who visits the patients in their homes to treat them. and in the case of the onyishi, when they are sick, it was mandatory for their female children and other female relations to come and be taking care of them in their ulo ufu (houses set aside for the onyishi to reside). if the sickness takes longer period, the children and the relations would be carrying out this responsibility by shifting, that is, they would be alternating themselves. as a result of this, it was difficult for an onyishi to die without any person being present. it is this responsibility that necessitated the ewu ngwo ogodo ritual which is a pre-requisite to funeral rite in ezimo. ossai (2016) observed this: the ewu ngwo ogodo ritual – goat of the resting bed stand. this rite is very relevant to the belief and practice of funeral rite where cow is a fellow up. this practice is common among the people of ezimo, obollo, imilike and other communities around udenu lga of nsukka cultural area … to thank the ada and other umuada for the tedious work of taking care of the deceased when he or she was in the sick bed and also the work of looking after the corps before burial. (pp. 38-39). after dressing the corps of the onyishi, the eldest male child of the onyishi or the closest male relatives of the onyishi in company of other close family members would immediately go and perform minor ritual at the ancestral shrine and then remove the arua (the installed ancestral symbols) and carefully put them in its box known as akpachi arua. and from there they carry the box to the house of another onyishi who is the closest relative to the deceased onyishi; he receives it from them and hide it at the obu nna (house of the ancestral shrine). obu nna is a house built specifically for the ancestral shrine. it is in this house that the ancestral symbols are installed; and after the installation, the symbols become shrine known as onu arua. it is at this ancestral shrine that the onyishi perform igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 107 morning prayer ritual known as ikpo ndi nna ifu. this ritual is mandatory for every onyishi to perform every morning. it is pertinent to note that it is in the house of the onyishi, who must have performed his own ngwuyi nna that the arua could be hidden. if the closest relative (onyishi) whom the arua is supposed to be hidden in his house have not performed ngwuyi nna, it would be taken to another close relative (onyishi) who must have performed the ngwuyi nna ritual. and in the worst case where the people who are supposed to take custody of the arua have not performed the ngwuyi nna ritual, then the akpachi arua could be taken to the village onyishi to keep. according to a. ugwuezugworie (personal interview, 30th oct. 2020), in a situation whereby the village onyishi is yet to perform the ngwuyi nna ritual, the children of the deceased onyishi can approach the atama omabe – (chief priest of omabe deity) to take custody of the arua. if atama omabe is to take custody of the arua, he does not keep it in his house, but at the omabe shrine. ezugwuorie emphasized that, even though the atama omabe can take custody of the arua, he does not open the akpachi (box) arua or try to see what is inside. he said any atama who tries to do that would be stricken by the gods. so, after the arua has been kept in a safe place, then the death of the onyishi could be announced publicly. people can start to cry aloud, official notification of the death known as ozi onwu would be sent out accordingly. during the notification, burial and mourning, the arua would be in its hiding place till when the next onyishi is to perform the installation ritual. the installation can be done on the izu asaa (28 days) or any time the new onyishi chooses if the office to be occupied is at the family level, but if the office to be occupied is at the village level, the tradition demand that the ritual must be performed on the izu asaa. earlier to the ngwuyi nna, the onyishi who is to perform the ritual would invite the entire umunna – (adult male relatives of the extended family) and officially inform them of his intension to install the ancestral symbols. if it is the village onyishi known as onyishi ama that is to perform the ritual, those to be invited to the meeting are the village oha – (village elders). in the meeting, despite whether the host is onyishi umunna or onyishi ama, there would be heavy entertainment of pounded yam and drinks. in the olden days the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 108 drinks use to be palm wine only, but these days the drinks are of so many types, beer, stout, soft drinks and so on. the purpose of the meeting is not only to fix a date for the ngwuyi nna, it is also for those involved in the provision of the entertainment to be aware of the ceremony and therefore prepare for it. in ezimo community, despite the fact that the onyishi is the celebrant of the ritual, the individual members of the umunna have roles to play. the procedure is that every member of the umunna is to provide big calorie of pounded yam and some quantity of drink; and the celebrant make provision for the soup to be enjoyed the pounded yam with. all though the calories are not measured in kilogram, but the people have ways to measure it. it is either by viewing the sizes or by measuring it in a particular bowl or plate. however, in the recent times, members of the umunna do not present calories of pounded yam, instead they contribute money and buy yam. this contribution is also one of the means of participation in the ritual. onuh (1992) noted this fact and said that “ritual are staged events that follow a standard protocol whenever they are performed. they are social actions that require a group participation”. (p.147). inyo arua (ritual examination of the ancestral symbols) few days to the ngwuyi nna, the onyishi (celebrant) perform an important ritual known as inyo arua. the procedure is that the onyishi prepares sizable calorie of pounded yam with delicious soup, cola nuts, palm wine and any type of drinks and then visit the house of the person under whom the symbols has been kept. in a situation whereby the symbols were hidden at the omabe shrine, the atama omabe would be informed of the ritual; then he and the other officials of the omabe deity make themselves available for the inyo arua ritual at the shrine. the purpose of the food and drinks is to show appreciation to the people for the custody of the ancestral symbols during this period. during or after the entertainment, the person who is in custody of the symbol will lead the onyishi (celebrant) and show him the akpachi arua. then the onyishi can open it and critically examine the symbols. this examination is very significant. it is during this examination that the onyishi can discover if there is any symbol or symbols to be replaced or added; and if there is any, he ensures that it is available before the day of the ritual. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 109 it is important to note that in ngwuyi nna ritual, every ancestor of whom its symbol ought to be installed must be installed. what this mean is that every ancestor whose symbol ought to be installed must be available for intallation. there is no excuse or reason for any ancestral symbol that ought to be installed, not to be installed. so, the purpose of the examination is to ensure that the ngwuyi nna is perfectly done without any elision. nchu ura ngwuyi arua (vigil for the installation of the ancestral symbols) after the meeting in which the date of the ngwuyi nna was decided, onyishi conveys this date to the umuada through the oga umuada (the provost of the umuada) or onyishi umuada (the eldest woman of the umuada). on receiving this date, umuada who knew their roles in the ritual will call meeting and decide on how much money every umuada will contribute for the ritual. in the night of the preceding day to the ngwuyi nna, the umuada (adult female relatives born of different families traceable to the same ancestor) gathers at the ulo ufu to perform ritual known as nchu ura ngwuyi nna. from the money they contributed, provisions for many types of drinks would be made available for their entertainment while onyishi provides enough calories of pounded yam with delicious soup for them. in the soup there must be sizable pieces of meat. in fact, it is a ritual characterized by eating, drinking, singing and dancing. nchu ura ngwuyi nna is not just an avenue for umuada to come to eat and drink, it has socio-religious implications for the people. socially, it is an opportunity for the umuada to come together as a family or relatives to socialize and discuss issues concerning them. ifesiah (1989) observed this when he said “in a family, food at a times provide the best occasion for members of the family to come together, eat, plan, discuss and develop mutual love, sense of trust as well as personal involvement, and feel their mutual presence”. (p.190). though, umuada eat and drink, but the ritual gives them the opportunity to fraternize and discuss issues relating to the unity and peaceful relationship in their family and the community at large. from the religious perspectives, nchu ura ngwuyi nna inspires the umuada and even other people to understand the position the ancestors occupy in the people’s belief system. the nchu ura which amount to the umuada to come together for the purposes of the ancestors is a reminder that the ancestors deserve the veneration. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 110 another religious performance during the nchu ura is the ritual which is performed by the osebe onyishi (the next eldest man to the onyishi). in this ritual, the osebe onyishi joins the umuada to perform a specific assignment which is required of him by the tradition. this assignment is that the osebe onyishi sleeps at the obu nna where the ancestral symbols were kept for installation. the purpose of this assignment is for the osebe onyishi to keep watch as a mark of respect to the ancestral symbols. ngwuyi arua (installation of the symbols) for the purpose of clarity, this paper discussed ngwuyi nna in two categories, first; ngwuyi nna in umunna (in the extended family) and ngwuyi nna in ama (in the village level). ngwuyi arua in umunna – in the early morning of the day of ngwuyi nna, the umuada departs to their houses as that ends their own duties in the exercise. then the osebe onyishi also departs to his house to prepare for his second specific function. at about 10 am in the morning, the oha ama assembles at the village square, and there they would be told where the ancestral symbols to be installed are hidden. from there, the oha goes to the hidden place of the symbols and carry the akpachi arua and move to the venue for the ritual. when they reach at the threshold to the ulo ufu, they will stop and keep the akpachi on the ground. the onyishi who is the chief celebrant of the day will meet them at the threshold and provide cola nuts, four or five tiny tubers of yam, cock and calabash of palm wine of about four litters. these items are used for a ritual called ikele arua ala (welcoming of the ancestral symbols). the process is that the representative of the onyishi ama will carry out prayers. in the prayers he prays for the onyishi (the celebrant), the umunna and the entire village. he gives thanks to the ancestors for the ritual and ask them to continue to protect the celebrants. after that, they eat the cola nuts, kill and roast the cock, roast also the yam and then eat them and drink the palm wine. at the end of this exercise, they carry the akpachi arua and enter the compound. in the compound they go straight to obu nna and keep it. during the ritual of ikele nna, the osebe onyishi comes back for another task; which is the entertainment of the oha who transferred the akpachi nna to onyishi’s house. the tradition requires osebe onyishi to provide two big calories of pounded yam, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 111 egbu-oda manya (about 10 liters of palm wine), a cock and cola nuts. the purpose of the edible items is to thank the oha for the transfer of the ancestral symbols from its hidden place to the obu nna. after this entertainment, the oha goes back to their houses to rest and come back for the installation. in the afternoon around 2 to 3 o’clock. the oha and the egal (young men) who are by the tradition obligated to attend the nguyi nna assembles at onyishi’s house. the onyishi and his umunna presents many large calories of pounded yam which the members of the umunna have contributed for and well delicious soup financed by the onyishi only. this idea of contributing as a sign of communal responsibility was observed by basden (1982) when he said “every man must contribute his share in public festivals and all join in the subsequent carouses”. (p.223). then the food and the drinks would be shared into; one portion for the oha, another for the egal. and the third portion for the umunna who assembles in one side to enjoy their own food and drink. when the oha and the egal is about to start the eating and drinking, the onyishi who is the celebrant of the day will leave and go somewhere within the compound and stay. when the onyishi had left, the oha and the egal can start to enjoy their food and drink. then after eating the food, while the drinking still goes on, someone would be sent to go and call back the onyishi for the commencement of the installation. the installation: few minutes after the onyishi (the celebrants) have left, then the oha finishes their food and move to the obu nna. at the obu nna, the representative of the onyishi ama who has been authorized to perform the installation sits on a sacred stool known as oche nna; surrounded by other oha, brings the akpachi nna, keep it in his front and open it. he picks one symbol from the akpachi nna and pronounce, “this is” he mentions the name of the father of the celebrant, and peg it on the ground, after that he picks another symbol and pronounce the name of the grand-father of the celebrant. and in the same process he pronounces the name of the great grand-father and peg its symbol. the representative of onyishi ama continues in the same performance till the eldest ancestor of whom the ritual is performed on his name is pegged. this process of pegging the symbol is imperative. the tradition require that the above sequence is followed. all the ancestor’s symbol must be pegged in the ascending order from the younger to the older. each time ngwuyi nna is to take place, the celebrant must ensure that the symbols of all his ancestors are available. it is the responsibility of the celebrant to ensure that any of the symbols that have igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 112 not been provided before are provided. this is one of the reasons of inyo arua ritual. it is during this inyo arua ritual that the celebrants would check if there were any symbol(s) to be provided and ensure that they are made available on the installation day. this procedure of the pegging of the ancestral symbols in ascending order from younger ancestor to the older illustrates the genealogy of the onyishi (the celebrant). jennings (1982) remarked this and said that “to participate in a ritual is to know how the world comes to be; and the most important ritual repeat the acts which founds the world”. (p.12). also, uzukwu (1988) corroborated jennings when he wrote: ritual is a pattern of behaviour which a group recognizes as its characteristic’s way. religious ritual has a creative impact in community. it is in and through this ritual action that the beings of the community come to manifest realization – “the participants discover who they are in the world and ‘how it is’ with the world”. (p.96). just as jennings and uzukwu pointed out, ngwuyi nna in ezimo community demonstrate to all the participants in the ritual which includes the onyishi (the celebrants), umuada, the osebe onyishi, the oha, the egal, the representative of onyishi ama and so on; how they come to be in the world, who they are, their positions, their functions in their umunna and even in the entire community. for instance, if mr. ‘a’ is the onyishi and the celebrant of the ngwuyi nna ritual, and mr. ‘b’ is the father of mr. ‘a’, and mr. ‘c’ is the father of mr. ‘b’, mr. ‘d’ is the father of mr. ‘c’, and mr. ‘e’ is the father of mr. d, and it continues like that till mr. ‘g’. and mr. ‘g’ is the eldest ancestor of whom the ngwuyi nna ritual is performed to his honour. the procedure is that the representative of the onyishi ama would first of all pick a symbol and pronounce it ‘b’ and peg it on the ground, after that, he picks another symbol and pronounce it ‘c’ and peg it. he continues like that till he pronounces the ‘g’ which is the oldest of the ancestors of whom the ritual is at his credit. it is important to note that the representative of the onyishi ama pronounces or call the symbols the names of the ancestors they represent. he does not refer to them as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 113 symbols, but ancestors. it is also pertinent to say here that the symbols that represents the ancestors in ezimo are made of iron. it looks like a small spear of which the tip looks like a pin which make it possible to be pegged strongly into the ground. it is, about 30 cm in length. arua (ancestral) symbols note: each of the symbols represent one ancestor. for example, if the ancestors to be installed are seven, the symbols ought to be seven ise aka je n’onu arua (dragging of hand to the ancestral shrine) the pegging of the ancestral symbol is the most important or the most sacred instance of the ngwuyi nna ritual. onuh (1992), noted that sacred instant is very important in every ritual and said “although rituals are social actions, yet each ritual is characteristically bound up with the sacred, since the crucial moment that are dealt with by rituals are sacred moments”. (p.147). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 114 after the installation, the location or the place where the symbols are pegged becomes “onu arua” the ancestral shrine. the place become sacred and highly respected altar. in fact, every member of the clan and even other people hallow the shrine. discussing about shrine, jegede (2015) wrote: human from time immemorial create shrines as practical devices through which the reality of the divine can be validated … in a bid to localize or situate the divine so as to have direct access to them, nigerians naturally create shrines. a shrine therefore is the meeting place of the material human and the spiritual divine. (p.123). as observed by jegede, after the installation of the ancestral symbols which is the establishment of ancestral shrine; it becomes the point of contact between the onyishi and the spiritual beings including the supreme being. the contact between the supreme being is through the “indirect worship” that would be explained latter. then the onyishi (the celebrant) who has been outside of the obu nna during the installation as required by the tradition would be called back. he returns to join the oha and the representative of onyishi ama (the village eldest man) at the obu nna, when he enters, the representative of the onyishi ama stands up from the oche nna for the onyishi (the celebrant) to sit. when he sits, then the representative drags his hand to where the symbols are pegged and place his hand on the symbol and then make pronouncement to him “arua nna g ha” meaning; these are the symbols of your ancestors. it is this dragging of the hand of the onyishi (celebrant) to the ancestral symbol that is known as “ise aka je n’onu arua”. the action of using pieces of iron which sometime look very old as symbols or representatives of the ancestors; and even pronouncing or calling the pieces of the iron by the names of the ancestors seems meaningless especially to outsiders, but to the people who own this ritual practice it means a lot and very consequential. onuh (1992) noted this and said: man, consciously or unconsciously performs series of actions and behaviour sometimes accompanied by words, and may even at face value seem irrational, yet are replate with symbolic meanings. sometimes their intrinsic igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 115 connection to the spiritual realities may be perceived, or they may be hidden to an outsider. (147). just as onuh said, the connection to the spiritual realities (ancestors) which are expressed in the ngwuyi arua ritual are hidden and misperceived by some people, especially some christians; and when one makes efforts to explain to them, they will not even try to understand the action of the people, but conclude that the action is idolatry. first offering to the ancestors by the onyishi umunna the sacrificial ritual is a type of sacrifice called “thanksgiving and communion sacrifice”. this is the type of sacrificial ritual through which person(s) expresses thanks and at the same time commune with the supra mundane. awolalu (1979) discussed about this type of sacrifice as practiced by the yoruba people thus: (thanksgiving and communion sacrifice). this type of sacrifice serve as means of expressing thanks to, and of holding communion with, the supernatural being or the divinities. the yoruba sacrifice of thanksgiving is almost accompanied by fasting; the worshippers and the divinity (through the latter in invisible) share a common meal. in this way beneficial relation is established. (p.143). immediately after the ise aka je n’ onu arua ritual, the onyishi would perform his first ritual or obligatory task as onyishi. this task is that the onyishi will perform igo nna – offering to ancestors. he does this by offering cola nut, palm wine, and food to the ancestors at the ancestral shrine. according to madu (2004), sacrifice is of two types “in the popular sense, sacrifice means a renunciation for a motive for instance, a widow sacrificing all she has for the training of her only son. ritual sacrifice has its strict and proper sense only in public religious worship”. (p.123). note that the sacrifice being performed by the onyishi in this situation is the later sacrifice explained by madu; that is “ritual sacrifice”. the food for the offering must be pounded yam. this pounded yam must be provided by the onyishi. in short, the tradition requires that the onyishi must provide special pounded yam for this offering. the onyishi is by the tradition forbidden to perform this ritual with the pounded yam provided by the umunna or anybody. all the items; cola nut, palm wine, and the pounded yam must be provided by the onyishi. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 116 after this first offering by the onyishi the people continue with their drinks. the egal start to sing and dance and other merriments follows. this carousing continues till when the people are tired; then they will all depart to their houses. second offering to the ancestors by the onyishi umunna in the night when everybody has departed to their houses, the onyishi performs another offering to the ancestors. in this offering, the onyishi (celebrant) who is the officiant is required to provide cola nuts, palm wine, cock and pounded yam. the process of this offering is that the onyishi moves to the ancestral shrine and sit on the oche nna. first of all, he prays to the ancestors and thank them for the successful installation ritual. he prays for the protection of his family members and the entire umunna and the community. in fact, he prays for everything he wants the ancestors to do for him and his people. in the prayer, onyishi addresses the ancestors as if he talks to a father who was still alive. this is because in igbo or african traditional belief system, the ancestors are believed to be present with their living people on earth. driberg (1973) opined to this idea: no african prays to his dead grandfather any more than he ‘prays’ to his living father. in both cases the words employed are the same, he asks as of right, or he beseeches, or he expostulates with, or he reprimands … the latin word ‘piets’ probably describes the attitude of africans to their dead ancestors, as their living elder. (p.64). after this prayer, he offers cola nuts to the ancestors by removing the tiny lobe which is in the middle of the cola nut and throws it on the ancestral shrine. this lobe is symbolic; it signifies unity of the invisible and visible beings. ekwinife (2003) noted this and wrote: igbo kola is symbolic (ranging from its morphology, collour to taste. morphology, all the cotyledons including the tiny central axis and the shape of each cotyledon, symbolize one reality or the other … the tiny central lobe uniting all the cotyledon belong to the spirit. it symbolizes the presence of invisible world with its beings in the midst of the visible. (p.109). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 117 after the offering of the cola nus, the next is the palm wine which is offered in form of libation at the ancestral shrine. the wine in this ritual communicates the unification of the physical world and the spiritual world. the people believe that because wine intoxicates man (the physical being) to happiness, it equally intoxicates the ancestors (the spiritual beings) to happiness also; and therefore, in that happiness mood the physical and the spiritual are united. ekwunife (2003) observed this fact “as a ritual agent, wine symbolizes abundance and fullness of life. it communicates the ontological bond between the ancestral beings and man, channeling it to wider cosmological perspectives of the igbo world. (p.108). following the libation of the wine, onyishi immolates the cock. in this case, the cock is held on the ground before the ancestral shrine while the throat is cut with a knife by the onyishi and the blood gushes and outpour directly on the shrine. in situation where the onyishi is old or sick that he cannot hold the cock on the ground and cut the throat, he can be assisted. this assistance can only be rendered by men or even boys; by the tradition of the people women are not allowed to render this assistance. and even when the men are to assist, they must not do the cutting of the throat by themselves alone. at the worst situation, they raise and hold the hand of the onyishi and cut the throat of the cock with him. immolation is pertinent in this offering because life of animal is involved whereby the blood is outpoured at the shrine. awolalu (1979) noticed this and wrote “immolation: this is the climax of the whole rite of sacrifice”. (p.174). when the cock is immolated, its chest feathers is pulled and with the blood poured on the shrine, it is gummed on it. this action is symbolic. hens use its chests feathers to protect the chicken against dangers. awalalu (1979) pointed this belief and said “for example, the chest feathers of a hen are believed to give protection when ceremoniously used … a hen protects its young ones with its chest (that is, with its feathers)”. (p.166). even though in the case of this sacrifice, cock is used and not hen, but the cock’s feathers represent the hen’s feathers; and it portrays the attitude of hen whereby it protects its chicken with the feathers. investigations showed that the action of pulling the feathers of the cock and gumming it on the ancestral shrine explain the belief of ezimo people. the belief of the people is that the pulling of the feathers and gumming it on the shrine is a reminder to the ancestors that they (the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 118 ancestors) shall continue to protect them as hen protect the chicken with its feathers. after that, the carcass of the cock is prepared either by roasting/boiling or used to prepare soup. when the food (pounded yam) is ready, and onyishi is served, before he eats, he sacrifices to the ancestors at the ancestral shrine through a process called itu aka. in the words of ekwunife (2003) he said “the ritual is called itu aka (ritual offering of food to the spirit in general)”. (p.161). tha action is that the onyishi cuts the pounded yam, dip it into the soup and throw it at the ancestral shrine. this ritual of itu aka symbolize the communion between the invisible and visible world. the action expresses announcement of the presentation; and invitation to partake in the communion. this communion in the ritual food signifies the weblike relationship between the spiritual beings (the ancestors) and the physical being (man). ekwunife (2003) remarked this: as he throws the morsels of food out, … with that gesture, the good spirits below the earth are summoned to commune with the family through the ritual food. it seems, therein lies the force of the ritual words: ‘kezuenu, lizuenu’ (share this among yourselves and let everyone partake). such an interpretation does not exclude communion with the ancestors who form part of the members of the spirit world. (160). critical observation of this sacrifice by the onyishi clearly demonstrate the link between the ancestors and their children on earth. today, despite the claim that christianity have changed or overturned traditional religious practices in igboland, the belief in the realty of the existence of the ancestors still occupy the views of both the christians and non-christian igbo people. ilogu (1985) noted this and wrote: christianity has not been able to destroy the belief in the existence of some unexplainable link between us and our fore fathers … our recommendation therefore is that all ibos, christians as well as non-christians acknowledge this link with our patrilineal ancestors in the pouring of libation and in giving of pieces of kola nut. (pp.218-219). in fact, the ngwuyi nna ritual in ezimo serve as a reminder to the people about those who founded the clans, the villages or the community. and it may not be right for the people not to think of those who procreate them into the community. the position of this paper is that igbo people can be christians and at the same time recognize the existence of ancestors. ilogu (1985) even argued that one cannot igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 119 believe in the christian view of communion of saints without acknowledging the ancestors: we cannot fully believe in the communion of saints and resurrection of the body without seriously thinking of our common humanity with those who had begotten us … many do no longer have any roots in the community, the christian church in igboland must not help to destroy existing roots of the people’s belonging. (pp.219-220). ngosi ala umunna (presentation of the family land) the next day after the ngwuyi nna, umunna assemble again at the house of the onyishi to officially show and hand over the family land to him. this practice of showing family land to the onyishi is obligatory. according to m. ossai (personal communication, 10th january 2021), even if the onyishi know all the family lands and its boundaries, the process of showing the land to him ought to be done. in his words, the process is to fulfil the traditional obligation of the official hand over of land in line with ngwuyi nna ritual. according to him, by the official hand over of the family land, the onyishi take the possession of the land and its resources in confidence and therefore answerable to the ancestors. after showing the lands and its boundaries to the onyishi, umunna converges again at the ulo ufu. onyishi will provide cola nuts, drinks and food to entertain the umunna for showing him the family land. and after that the onyishi could be addressed as onyishi nwe ala nwe mma meaning the eldest man who is in custody of the family land and family ancestral shrine. ngwuyi arua ama – installation of the village ancestral symbols immediately an onyishi dies, the ancestral symbols would be transferred from the house of the immediate passed on onyishi to the house of another onyishi who must have performed the ngwuyi nna ritual. at the place, the symbols are hidden in the obu nna. it is after the transfer of the symbols that the death of the onyishi could be made public. unlike the ngwuyi arua of the umunna which has no deadline, the ngwuyi arua of onyishi ama takes place after the izu asaa (28 days) of the burial of the late onyishi. the tradition is that when an onyishi ama dies, the incumbent onyishi perform the ngwuyi arua ritual on the izu asaa of the burial of the immediate late onyish ama. in the process of ngwuyi nna ritual by onyishi ama, the incumbent onyishi does not call a meeting to fix the date or send messages to the umuada. this is because everybody is aware of the requirements by the tradition that the ngwuyi nna ritual igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 120 must be performed on the izu asaa after the burial the late onyishi. in the same way the responsibilities of everybody in the village which includes the osebe onyishi, the egal the umuada are known. their responsibilities are the same as it is in ngwuyi arua onyishi umunna as explained above. inyo arua: the process of inyo nna by an incumbent onyishi ama is the same with the process of inyo nna by onyishi umunna as explained above. nchu ura arua: the process is also the same with process of nchu ura arua during the ritual by onyishi umunna. however, in this case, it is the umuada of the entire village that come for the nchu ura and not only the umuada of the umunna. during the nchu ura arua, the osebe onyishi also attend. just like in the ngwuyi arua at umunna, the osebe onyishi ought to be present to perform the same ritual as narrated above. transfer of the village ancestral symbols during the nchu ura arua, while the umuada are drinking and dancing, the oha assembles at the village square and from there goes to the house where the symbols are hidden and carry the box (akpachi nna) to the house of the onyishi (celebrant). unlike the transfer of the umunna symbols which are taken straight to the house of the onyishi and kept at the obu nna, the ancestral symbols of the village (ama) are transferred first to the threshold to the house of the onyishi and kept there till the next day. in the morning of the next day (the day of the installation), after the umuada have departed to their houses, then the oha assembles again at the threshold to the house of the onyishi to complete the transfer of the symbols. onyishi provides cock, palm wine, cola nuts, and pounded yam to the oha at the threshold. these items are used to performed the ikele nna ala ritual meaning welcoming of the ancestors. in this ritual, it is the eldest of the oha who is the closest relative to the onyishi that performs the ikele nna ala ritual. he does this by offering the cola nut, the palm wine, the pounded yam and the cock (by immolation) to the ancestors at the threshold. after this ritual, then the oha carries the symbols in its box to the obu nna and retire to their houses to prepare and come back for the installation. installation of the ancestral symbols at about 2 to 3 o’clock, all the oha and the egal who are entitled to attend the ceremony assembles at the onyishi’s house for the installations of the symbols. the assemblage speaks loud of the oneness or the affinity that result from this ritual igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 121 activity. the action of the people shows community consciousness in igbo world view. wash (1988) noted this relevance when he discussed about rites and said “rites and stories hold communities together and point them towards their future. as a group of people becomes self-conscious and protective about its identity”. (p.3). the same thing was also the view of onuh (1992) about ritual when he said “another value of rituals consists in their solidarity reinforcement of the community”. (p.148). these expressions point to the fact that rituals which includes the installation of the ancestral symbols in ezimo community is a unifying factor or action that interconnect beings vertically (between the spiritual and physical beings) and horizontally (between the physical beings). just like the ngwuyi nna by onyishi umunna, it is the responsibilities of the umunna of the onyishi (the celebrant) to provide the food and drinks for the entertainment. after eating the food, while they are enjoying the drinks, the oha will call for the installation. at this stage, it is only the onyishi who have performed their own ngwuyi nna ritual are entitled to enter the obu nna where the installation takes place. other oha who are not onyishi and even the onyishi who have not performed their own ngwuyi nna ritual are not entitled to enter the obu nna. these people who are not entitled to enter the obu nna can stay at the door and peep from there. these class of people are called oha onu obu – elders at the door; meaning elders who are not entitled to enter obu nna. installation of symbols by slave: in the olden days it was the duty of slaves to install the ancestral symbols of onyishi ama. it is important to note that slaves were only found in two villages in ezimo which are amaogu village and amallaogbo village. during this period, when other villages had need for installation of ancestral symbol, they used to seek for them from either amaogu or amallaogbo. however, after the abolition of slave trade following the coming of christianity and colonial administration in igboland which to some extent overturned slave mentality, things changed. as a result of this change, it was not compulsory for slaves to carry out the installations. installation of symbols by woman: following the development that toppled the slave mentality; and efforts to search for substitute to slaves that can carry out the functions of the installation of ancestral symbols, the oha consulted the diviners to ascertain who the gods have chosen. according to a. ugwuezugwuorie, (personal communication,10th january 2021), it was through this divination that a woman, nwada odo nwa-eya owo-eze was discovered to have been chosen by the gods igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 122 for the installation of ancestral symbols of onyishi ama of amaogu village, of ezimo community. a. ugwuezugwuorie who could not give account of whether there was any other woman who have performed this function before nwada odo said that she has been performing this function for many years. however, at the time of this research, it was discovered that the said nwada have died since 23rd of november, 2016 and was buried on the 24th of november, 2016. the question today is, when will the oha amaogu village seek the replacement of nwada odo nwa-eya owo-eze through the diviners especially now that the majority of the people claim to be christians who frown at anything traditional religion? the installation: in the same procedure of the umunna, before they enter the obu nna, for the installation, the onyishi (celebrant) will leave the arena of the installation and go and stay anywhere in the compound. in the obu nna, the person who is to do the installation sits on oche nna. the installation follows the same process like in the installation of onyishi umunna. that is starting from the immediate father of the onyishi (celebrant) to the grand-father, great grand-father and so on. after the installation, the location where the symbols are pegged becomes the onu arua ancestral shrine, then onyishi would be called back to the obu nna, hence; ise aka je n’ onu nna. ise aka je n’onu nna when the onyishi enters the obu nna, the person who did the installation stands up from the oche nna for the onyishi to sit, he then drags his (onyishi) hand to the ancestral shrine and make pronouncement to him. for example, if it is onyishi amaogu, the pronouncement would be “arua amaogu ha” meaning “this is amaogu ancestral shrine”. after the pronouncement, the onyishi become eligible to perform rituals at the ancestral shrine. this performance of ritual at the ancestral shrine conveys the intrinsic link between the people of igboland or africans in general and their ancestors which expresses the people’s belief. parrinder (1969) observed this when he wrote “not only are the ancestors revered as past heroes but they are felt to be still present watching over the household, directly concerned in all the affairs of the family”. (p.115). in agreement to the view of parrinder, idowu (1979) said “the ancestors regarded still as heads and parts of the families or communities to which they belonged while they were living human beings … the ancestors remain, therefore, spiritual superintendents of family affairs”. (p.184). also, madu (1997) remarked igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 123 “the ancestors for example, who inhabits the underworld can at times visit their families in the world of men”. (p.5). first offering to the ancestors by onyishi ama immediately the onyishi sit down at the oche nna, he begins his first offering to the ancestors at the ancestral shrine. this immediate offering of sacrifices to the ancestors at the ancestral shrine describe the unbroken or continual link between the ancestors and their living family members on earth. it is the practice by which children serve their parents food and drinks that is being expressed or continued in this offering. ela (1988) observed this fact and wrote: drinks and food offered to the ancestors are symbols … of the continuity of the family and this permanent contact. in the african mind, these offerings express an attitude that is unchanged by death, which is the passage into the invisible. accordingly, the african always behaves as if the ancestors were still living. offering one’s dead father a meal is a simple act of filial piety. (p.19). in the same way that the tradition forbids the onyishi umunna to perform this offering with the food and drinks provided by the umunna, so also onyishi ama is forbidden. the compulsory items for the offerings are cola nuts, palm wine, pounded yam, cock and other items could be added if the onyishi wishes. the tradition requires that all the items to be used for this offering ought to be provided by the onyishi and not from the ones provided by the umunna. second offering to the ancestors by onyishi ama the process and the procedure of this sacrifice which bring the ritual to end is the same with the offering by the onyishi umunna as explained above. all the items of this sacrifice which are offered to the ancestors at the ancestral shrine are symbols that symbolizes one thing or the other as explained above during the discussion on the second sacrifice by onyishi umunna. it is important to note that the offering is not for the symbols as claimed by some christians, but for the spiritual beings which the symbols represent. critical study of the prayers during this sacrifice unfolds that the officiant asks the ancestors to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 124 intercede for them (the physical) before the supreme being whom they call ezechitioke abiama. quarcoopome (1987) reflected this: the components are interrelated because the world is under a unitary control. the whole structure links man with god. for example, … the ancestors are personal beings with intimate relationship to man and so they act as intermediaries between the living and the divinities and god. (p.44). ogbukagu (2008) agreed with quarcoopome and said: ancestors are worshipped or venerated through different means including effigies (images) representing them in other spirit world. the prayers offered to these images and other objects of worship are really not directed to them per se. this can be seen from the views expressed by smith as quoted: … is that the ancestral spirits are intermediaries who relay the prayers to him. him meaning god. (pp.402403). the expressions of quarcoopome and ogbukagu make the writer to refer to the sacrifice by onyishi to the ancestor as “indirect worship”. according to mettuh (1999), “‘indirect worship’ may be defined as worship responses – the prayers, oblations or sacrifices addressed to god through the intermediaries of another spiritual being, be it deity or ancestral”. (p.149). ngosi ala ama (presentation of the village land). the process and the method of the presentation of the village land to the onyishi ama is the same with the presentation of land to the onyishi umunna. the only different is that instead of the umunna, it is the village oha that does the presentation. recommendations 1. african traditional religion ought to be introduced as a teaching subject in primary and secondary schools to acquit our children with the right knowledge about the religious practices. 2. the critics or the faultfinders of the african traditional religion should try to delve into the significance of the religious practices before condemnation. 3. the sustainability of ngwuyi arua ritual is commended for its significance on maintenance of peace in the community. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 125 4. the adherent of african traditional religion should see the belief in ngwuyi arua ritual as quest to becoming ancestor and therefore a motivation to live a moral life. 5. the paper urges the scholars of religion especially the african traditional religious scholars to embark on more research studies on every aspects of the traditional religious rituals to re-orientate the people on its relevance. conclusion to understand the fact in the practice of igbo traditional religion depend on-the spot investigation; and those who ought to go into it should study it to know the truth, and not a study with bias. it has been discovered by many scholars that some people pretend not to know the truth about the african traditional religion. for instance, many know that there is nothing wrong in the practice and belief towards the ancestors, but they continue to condemn it. idowu (1976) noted this false appearance and said this: there is a proverb in yoruba to the effect that there is none so difficult to wake as one who is only pretending to be asleep. if a person has made up his mind not to see the truth, nothing can wake him to it. (p.92). this paper has presented ngwuyi arua as essential in understanding the ontological and cosmological belief of ezimo people towards the ancestors. it is on this regards that the social, economic, political and religious actions embedded in ngwuyi arua ritual is understood as a key for one who becomes onyishi of a clan or the village. our position is that igbo people should continue to acknowledge their ancestors. in fact, for ilogu (1976), ancestors should be celebrated this same day with christian’s celebration of all-saints-day. he wrote: if the non-christians ibo towns and villages will agree to fix their big celebration in honour of the ancestors on all-sanits-day, then all should have a big celebration indeed … the ibo belief in continuity with the ancestors, together with the symbolic honour to them through libation, can provide for christians together with all saintsday, moment for such thought and prayers both for our ancestors in the faith as well as our ancestors in flesh and blood. (p.219). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 126 ngwuyi arua ritual is also an expression of family or community consciousness. it tells how the igbo families or communities demonstrate mbiti’s popular saying “i am because we are and, since we are, therefore i am.”. references awolalu, j.o. (1979). yoruba beliefs and sacrificial rite. uk: longman. basden, g.t. (1982). among the ibos of nigeria. ontisha: varsity. driberg, j. h. (1974). the secular aspects of ancestor worship in africa. in e.g. parrinder. african traditional religion. (ed). london: sheldon. ekwunife, a.n.o. (2003). consecration in igbo traditional religion. enugu: snaap. ela, j.m. (1988). my faith as an african. new york: maryknoll. hastings, a. (1976). african christianity. new york: crossroads books. idowu, e.b. (1973). african traditional religion: a definition. londan: epworth. ifesieh, e. i. (1989). religion at the grassroots: studies in igbo religion. enugu: fourth dimension. ilogu, e. (1985). christianity and igbo culture: a study of the interaction of christianity and igbo culture. onitsha: university jannings, t.w. (1982). ritual knowledge. journal of religion. (np). jegede, c.o. (2015). shrines and sovereignty in religious life and experience. in d.o. ogungbile (ed). african indigenous religious tradition in local and global context: perspectives on nigeria. lagos: malthouse. kanu, i.a. (2015). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion and philosophy. jos: fab. anieh. madu, j.e. (2004). honest to african cultural heritage. onitsha: coskan. metuh, e. i. (1999). god and man in african religion. enugu: snaap. ogbukagu, i.n.t. (2008). traditional igbo beliefs and practices. enugu: snaap. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 127 onuh, c.o. (1992). christianity and the igbo rites of passage: the prospects of inculturation. new york: peter lang. ossai, a.b. (2018). african world view as a tool for peace in nigeria: studies in igboland. icheke: a multi-disciplinary journal of the faculty of humanities, vol.16. n0.3, 45-62. ossai, a.b. (2016). cow (eshu) ritual in the funeral rite: the significance in the nsukka cultural area of igboland. international journal of religion and human relations, vol.8, n0 2, 34-53. ossai, a.b. (2014). marital infidelity and traditional ritual cleansing in nsukka cultural area of igboland. unpublished ph.d. dissertation submitted in the dept. of religion and human relations, unizik. ossai, a.b. (2013). study african traditional religion for cultural renaissance and nation building. in k. nwadialor, l. nkamigbo, c. nweke and n. obi (ed). the humanities and nation building. awka: fab. anieh. parrinder, e.g. (2969). west african religion. london. epworth. quarcoopome, t.n.o. (1987). west african traditional religion. ibadan: african university. trever-roper, h. (1966). the rise of christian europe. london: hbj collage & school division. uzukwu, e.e. (1988). nri myth of origin and its ritualization: an essay in interpretation. in e.e. uzukwu (ed). religion and african culture. inculturation – a nigerian perspectives. enugu: snaap. wash, l.g. (1983). the sacrament of initiation. london: geoffrey chapman, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 164 king david’s ‘power rape’ and punishment; an exegical study of 2samuel 11:1-27 sokwaibe queen ijeoma department of philosophy/religion alex ekwueme federal university, ndufu-alike ikwo, ebonyi state, nigeria. email: ijeomaemenogu5@gmail.com (09049828561) doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.10379.82727 & ifeanyi j. okeke (phd) department of philosophy/religion alex ekwueme federal university, ndufu-alike ikwo, ebonyi state, nigeria. email: chilurumogu@gmail.com (08036716310) doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.10379.82727 abstract david’s encounter with bathsheba in 2 samuel 11: 1 – 27 has always been considered as adultery (which implies sexual consent) and the sin of murder of uriah the husband of bathsheba. he has always been exempted from the sin of rape especially amongst christian clerics and christians at large. david was appointed king due to the demand on prophet samuel to give them a king that will lead them in war. david as a king understood the due process on how to appropriately take on a wife. this he showed in case of abigail. rape is explained as the use of one’s power, position and status over another person to force or coerce that person into sex acts without the person’s full consent. david in 2 samuel 11, sent and ‘took’ (‘took’: from the hebrew root word לקח ‘laqach’ pronounced ‘law-kakh’ meaning carry away, fetch, seize, takeaway) bathsheba. this implied the use of force. david gave an order to his messengers to ‘fetch’, an order which must be obeyed and even if bathsheba does not want to go with them. the instruction לקח ‘laqach’ meaning to fetch, seize implies to forcefully bring with them bathsheba. this is a command that must be obeyed. bathsheba at this point had no will power of saying no; this is in fact the use of force to summon bathsheba before the king, for his sexual gratification despite having many wives and concubines at his disposal. hence bathsheba consent was not sort, she was simply taken forcefully to meet the king as he demanded, who then exercised his sexual desires by having sexual connections with her. having re-examined this encounter between david and bathsheba which has always been described as adultery (implying bathsheba sexual consent) it is however evident that the act was actually that of sexual power in other words ‘rape’. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 165 keywords: rape, murder, punishment, king david, morality introduction the elders of israel called on prophet samuel in 1samuel 8:4-20 and demanded for a king; a king that would rule over them, protect them from the philistines who were attacking them often at that time and also one who would lead them in battle just like other nations surrounding them. as a result, king david became the second king of israel after the first king, king saul. according to the biblical account of 2samuel 11:1-2, it was the season or period kings (king: hebrew; melek’; pronounced; ‘meh-lek’; meaning royal), go forth in battle. the usage‘מלך of king in the hebrew lexicon denotes royalty and the king of israel at this time was king david. as other kings went to battles with their armies, the king of israel; king david stayed back at jerusalem sending joab his commander in army, his servants and all of israel to battle. the biblical account never gave any reasons as to why the king of israel had to stay back at jerusalem during the season of battles thereby delegating his duties as king to joab, his chief commanding officer in battle. from the biblical narrative, it is clear that king david has failed in the first instance, the reason as to which the people of israel demanded for a king. despite been a strong and successful king, and having conquered many kingdoms, it is safe to say that the king failed in this one obligation as a king during this season of battle. in the successive verses of 2 samuel 11, as david stayed back at jerusalem, he decided to take a walk at his roof top, admiring his kingdom while people fought in battle, there he saw a woman washing herself and she was very beautiful to look upon. in verse 3, david is seen enquiring from his servants who she is. the word enquire here is from the hebrew root wordדרשdarash, pronounced daw-rash, meaning properly to tread or frequent; usually to follow (for pursuit or search by implication to seek or ask or search). david was told who she was, whose wife she is and even whose daughter she is “…and one said, is not this bathsheba, the daughter of eliam, the wife of uriah the hittite? (2 samuel 11 verse 3 kjv). from the biblical expose, it is quite clear that king david, upon seeing the beautiful lady washing herself, desired to have her immediately. he made enquiries as to who she was; he was given every detail down to her marital status. at this time, kind david already has a full firsthand knowledge as to the full details of the; lady he saw washing herself. to this end, arvind theodore (2017) asserts that “desire in itself is not wrong, but in this case, david desired a woman who was already married to another man” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 166 one would think david upon learning the fact that the lady; bathsheba was married to one of his soldiers; uriah the hittite, would therefore stop himself from desiring her since her husband was out there in battle fighting for his nation which king david preceded over. in verse 4 of 2samuel 11, king david ‘sent’ (hebrew שלח ‘shalach’; pronounced ‘sha-lakh’; meaning to bring) his messenger, they took (hebrew: לקח ‘laqach’; pronounced ‘law-kakh’meaning to carry away, drawn, fetch, seize, takeaway) her to the king and he lay (hebrew:shakab; pronounced shaw-kab; meaning to lie down for sexual connection). david already had many wives and concubines; this simply means that he was in fact not womanless. he had many women at his disposal, yet he took another man’s wife to satisfy his sexual desires. david j.a clines (1995), agrees in line with this thought as he opines that “it may seem strange to speak of david, a man with eight principal wives and at least ten others of secondary rank (2 samuel 15:16) as womanless”. arvind, theodore (2017) in his work titled “david and his masculine vices” describes david’s act of summoning, fetching of bathsheba and eventually lying with her as a psychological power pressure used on bathsheba. according to him, david’s desire for bathsheba was not born out of love or even lust but rather was born out of the need to reassure his flagging manhood”. david’s action is purely borne out of pride, status and power. in israel, as in the ancient world, arvind (2017) has describes a man’s ability to collect multiple women supposedly increased his manly status and power. this is true of the story of king david, noting his collection of many women, some he made his wives and others concubines as described by the author of the biblical book samuel. concept of rape rape has been defined by the thesaurus dictionary as the unlawful sexual intercourse or any sexual penetration of the vagina, anus, or mouth of another person, with or without force, by a sex organ, other body part or foreign object, without the consent of the victim (thesaurus.com dictionary.com). russel (2019), however points out that “when most people hear the term “rape”, what comes to their mind is the appearance of a masked man, who is seen physically overpowering a woman and hence violently penetrating her”. well yes! that is indeed rape. russel further argues that “rape goes beyond the aforementioned. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 167 rape is using one’s power, position and status over another person to force or coerce that person into sex acts. russel calls this “sexual violence” the act of having sexual relationship with a woman without her full consent is rape. it suffices to say that; david did rape bathsheba. according to carolyn (1996), “the idea that rape is a hegemonic process where ever it occurs is not a new thing”. susan brown miller in c. nordstrom posited that rape is nothing more or less than a conscious process of intimidation by which all men keep women in a state of fear”. relating this assertion to the story of david and bathsheba, david is not only her king, but the mighty anointed king over israel who had in time past defeated great nations and even killed a mighty philistine giant by name goliath when he was just a boy, now he is the king ruling over all of israel. this same king had given an order to his servants to fetch her; she comes before this king who lies with her. this is what i personally term “power rape” (using one’s position to sexually assault another). it is in this line of thought that hilary (2021) asserts that “once the kings intent was clear, she was in no position to refuse his sexual advances, given the power imbalance between them”. david (1995) explains this further by stating that “there is in this story on the whole no sexual desire, no love stories, no romances, no wooing, and no daring deeds for the sake of a beloved”. he further explains that, this is not a world in which men long for women. it is rather a matter of pride for david and his men, in fact that they have kept themselves clean from women. there is sex in the story of course but it is per functionary and usually politically motivated. the classic case in the david story is that of absalom who has sex with ten of his father’s secondary wives in the sight of all israel; simply to lay claim to the throne of his father (2samuel 16:21-23). even in the case of bathsheba, the sex is essentially an expression of royal power and it is mu h more like rape than love (david j.a. clines, 1995). mugedemirkir (2019) adds that “acts of rape confirm that women are for men to be used, dominated, and treated as objects. she explains this further in line with what i term ‘feminization of rape victims’ as she explains that “this underlying gender ideology helps us to understand and explain why when men and boys are raped, they are usually seen as having been feminized, treated like women and thus rendered shamefully woman-like (mude, demirkir 2019) david the king king david understands the concept of wooing a lady and hence he did not apply that in the case of bathsheba. king david after the death of nabal, husband to abigail, the beautiful clever woman as described in 1 samuel 25:40, sent his igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 168 servants to go seek for her hand in marriage on his behalf. it states “and when the servants of david were come to abigail to carmel, they spake unto her, saying, david sent us unto thee, to take thee to him to wife”. the rich widow of nabal accepted the marriage proposal. ted grimsrud (2020) explains that “david’s faithful attitude in his relationship can be seen in the case of abigail, the beautiful and intelligent wife of nabal”. when nabal died in a morally legitimate way, david proposed marriage to her. 1 samuel 25:39-40, proves that david can indeed put aside his pride and woo a woman in the proper manner. david did not need to have bathsheba, since she was still legally married. ted however notes that david did not need to take and grasp. he could wait and trust in god’s timing (ted grimsrud, 2020). this implies that david could have waited since bathsheba’s husband was in the army. he could have waited for him to die a natural death or even in battle before ‘taking’ bathsheba his wife. russel l. meek (2019) notes “the most powerful man in a monarchical society saw a woman he wanted, sent other men to bring her to him, vaginally penetrated her, them murdered her husband to avoid being found out”. russel l. meek calls this “rape”. david’s rape in verse 4 of 2 samuel 11, david sent his messengers and they ‘took’ from the hebrew root word לקח ‘laqach’ pronounced ‘law-kakh’ meaning carry away, fetch, seize, takeaway, which denotes ‘force’. it simply means that force can be applied if bathsheba resist coming. bathsheba had no choice; she was taken forcefully to meet the king who then exercised his sexual desires by having sexual connections with her. it’s in line with this that ralf (2021) opines that “bathsheba is forced to submit to the kings sexual advances. she doesn’t really have a choice”. arvind (2017) adds that david’s royal action is governed by powerful verbs such as ‘he saw’ ‘he sent’ ‘he inquired’ ‘he took’ ‘he lay’ indicating rapid and single minded action. mcgeough (2018) asserts that “david’s moral failings is usually understood as adulterous rather than rooted in property crimes or sexual aggression”. from verse 4 of 2samuel 11, david had given the orders to his messengers to fetch bathsheba, an order they must obey and even if bathsheba does not want to go with them. the instruction לקח ‘laqach’ meaning to fetch, seize implies a command that must be obeyed. the individual at this point has no will power of saying no. this in fact is the use of force to summon bathsheba before the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 169 king, who intends to use her for his sexual gratification despite having many wives and concubines at his disposal. the book of 2samuel reveals that david uses his position as king to have another man’s wife in his bed, and sends her away after sexually satisfying himself. this is seen in verse 4 where the narrator tells us that bathsheba was purified (clean) from her uncleanness and she returned (hebrew ש׀ב ‘shub’; pronounced ‘shoob’ meaning turn back, bring home, deliver, relieve, take back, cause to make to turn back) to her house. this means david sent her away after using his position as king obviously to have his way with bathsheba sexually. sending her back shows that the king had no marital intentions or love towards bathsheba. she in fact had no place in the king’s heart. mcgeough (2018), argues in line that the “author of samuel does not indicate that david wants bathsheba for a wife”. david (1995) adds that, “the striking feature of the david story is that males are so casual about women and that women are so marginal to the lives of the protagonists. re-reading the book of 2samuel exposes one to the fact that david has no regards for love. this is evident from the way king david took michal from paltiel without considering if they both loved each other. it was more of his pride as a king and as a man than love. not just with michal, but the way king david collects women for himself making them his wives and concubines as well as the widowed abigail, wife to late nabal. this goes a long way to show that king david has no place for love for women. david in 2samuel 1:26 (kjv) prefers the love he has for jonathan to that of a woman; this is described in 2 samuel 1:24 “i am distress for thee, my brother jonathan very pleasant hast thou been unto me. thy love to me was wonderful passing the love of women” from the biblical account of 2samuel, we can clearly see that david first commits the crime of invading bathsheba’s privacy by spying on her while she washed herself. this is a total disrespect to bathsheba’s body. arvind (2017), however notes that “first, david invades bathsheba’s privacy and violates her even before bringing her to his bed”. mcgeough (2018), agrees in line with arvind theodore, when he states that “the king engages in voyeurism by watching bathsheba bath without her knowledge”. david rapes her, gets her pregnant and tries to shift the pregnancy to uriah, the husband of bathsheba. king david tries to hide this atrocity by bringing back uriah from the war front so he can lay with his wife bathsheba, hence passing on the paternity of the child to him. mcgeough (2018), notes “in fact the king would prefer that uriah assume paternity of the unborn child”. when this plot failed, king david robbed in joab in his plot to kill uriah igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 170 the hittite which became a success just to cover his crimes. in 2samuel 11:25, david is seen consoling joab not to blame himself for uriah’s death saying that “the sword devours one, as well as another; make thy battle more strong against the city and overthrow it”. ted-grimsrud (2020) explains that david enjoys this moment of basking in his overwhelming power and in his sense that he truly is in control of his own fate”. david rapes another man’s wife, impregnates her and renders her a widow, thereby insulting her dignity as a woman. david felt that sweet victory in his mouth as he tried to talk joab out of his guilt for partaking in the murder plot. he felt he has won. david had abused the authority and power god (yahweh) had given him, when he chose him as king over israel his chosen nation. david’s actions from the spying to the adultery, rape to murder were all calculated and well thought out plans. this crime king david committed willfully. ralf (2021), analyzed the event thus “bathsheba is forced to submit to the kings sexual advances. she doesn’t really have a choice. to blame her would be the same as blaming a woman for being raped or blaming a woman a woman under your supervision for instigating a sexual liaison with you. the person with the power here is david, not bathsheba and david is held solely responsible for the sin by the lord himself (2 samuel 12:9). philippe (2019) provided an analysis of women’s place in wars in the ancient near east as been determined to a great extent by the fact that there was no law of war. however, some laws allowed wives to remarry if their husbands were made prisoners of war or were considered to have disappeared”. king david would have been justified if he had waited for uriah to fall by the enemy’s sword but rather he used this law to cover his tracks by getting married to bathsheba after he had plotted the death of her husband. conclusion king david understands the concept of wooing a lady and hence he did not apply that in the case of bathsheba. king david after the death of nabal, husband to abigail, the beautiful and clever woman described in 1 samuel 25:40. david sent his servants to go seek for her hand in marriage on his behalf. it states “and when the servants of david were come to abigail to carmel, they spake unto her, saying, david sent us unto thee, to take thee to him to wife”. the rich widow of nabal accepted the marriage proposal. ted-grimsrud (2020), explains that “david’s faithful attitude in his relationship can be seen in the case of abigail, the beautiful and intelligent wife of nabal”. when nabal died in a morally legitimate way, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 171 david proposed marriage to her. 1 samuel 25:39-40 proves that david can indeed put aside his pride and woo a woman in the proper manner just as he did. david’s sin is always considered as adultery and murderrous, having murdered uriah. he has always been exempted from the sin of rape especially amongst christian clerics and christians at large. david (2020), notes that “over the course of history, this encounter between david and bathsheba has often been described as adultery which implies sexual consent”. however, having examined the biblical narratives and hence the passage, it is evident that the act was actually that of sexual power of power, in order words ‘rape’. references david, j.a.c (1995). interested parties: the ideology of writers and readers of the hebrew bible.journal for the study of the old testament supplement series 205; gender, culture, theory.shefield academic press. muge, d. (2019). rape as a political tool and as a weapon of war.udruzenjepravnik. turkish lawblog (tlb) carolyn, n. (1996). rape, politics and theory in war.australian feminists studies vol.111, no. 23. mcgeough, k. m. (2018). the problem with david: masculinity and morality in biblical cinema. journal of religion and film.vol 22; iss. 1 article 33. https://digitalcommons.unomahaedu/jrf/vol22/iss1/33. university of lethbridge press arvind, t.(2017). david and his masculine vices: a re-reading of 2samuel 11:17. wordpress.com ted, g. (2020). king david and the ambiguities of power (2samuel 12:114).journal of peace theology. david, g. (2018). 2 samuel 12; nathan confronts david ralf, f. w. (2021). david’s rise, fall and punishment (2 samuel 8-12). usa. the joyful heart press. david, j. (2012). the condemnation of david’s ‘taking’ in 2samuel 12:1-14. north central naperville.journal of biblical literature.vol 131, no. 2012.the society for biblical literature. david, t. l. (2020). david’s rape of bathsheba and murder of uriah (2samuel 1112).bible theology of work commentary. tow press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 172 robert, l. d. (2021). the death of david’s son; (2samuel 12:14-31).bible.org. hilary,l.(2021). david and bathsheba .https://www.bibleodyssey.org;443/en/people/related-articles/davidand-bathsheba philippe, c. (2019). warlike men and invisible women: how scribes in the ancient near east represented warfare. (homesguerriers et femmes invisibles, le choixdedscriubesdans le proche-orient ancien). paris, de boccard. kadari, t. (2021). michal: daughter of saul; midrash and aggada. jewish women, a comprehensive historical encyclopedia. jewish women archive. https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/micha-daughter-of-saul-midrashand-aggaddah. bedau, h.a. (2001). feinberg’s liberal theory of punishment. buffalo criminal law review 5:103-44. russel. l. m. (2019). david raped bathsheba and why that matters. religion news service.ohio theological institute. dianne, m.a (2019). introduction and michal (1samuel 18:1-19; 17; 2samuel 25:44; 3:6-16; 6:1-23). atlanta georgia. net pastor’s journal. igwebuike_6_7_10.cdr 112 exploring out reach counselling in promoting girl-child literacy in abuja rural areas uchenna e. enem, phd department of educational foundations veritas university, abuja euchariauchenna@yahoo.co.uk doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29305.49761 & ifeoma c. enem counselling and educational psychology university of abuja ifeoma.enem@louisvilleabuja.sch.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29305.49761 abstract girls’ education is a fundamental human right which acquaints them with the right skills and intelligence to assist the whole family and the nation. connecting and engaging the girl-child in education therefore is an enviable structure for personal and sustainable development. to this effect, this study x-rayed the poor enrollment status of the rural girls in school, identied the impediments to their literacy and showcased how the outreach community counselling could be a lasting solution to the problem. to achieve the objective of this study, a total of 150 out of school girls of between 10 and 18 years from three rural communities in abuja were sampled. three research questions were raised to guide the study, descriptive survey research design was adopted and a 20 item questionnaire was employed for the collection of data. the nding evinced different levels of impediments to girl-child literacy in the three communities out of which, early marriage, socio-cultural patterns and poverty rated highest. it was also revealed that many of the girls who enrolled in the primary school did not complete and so, a few of them transited to junior secondary school. based on the ndings, the study explored the packages of out reach community counselling as the implication of the situation and recommended among other factors the need for the government to promote the satellite outreach counselling in the rural areas. through this medium, the rural populace would be sensitized on the importance of girl-child education. keywords: girl-child, literacy, rural area, out reach counselling and community introduction literacy is a critical issue that helps one make sense of the world we live in. it is a sort of journey which starts when a child is born and progresses throughout the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 113 life time of the child. unesco (2008) denes a literate person as the one who can engage in activities in which literacy is required for effective functioning of his/her group and community and also for enabling him/her to continue to use reading, writing and calculation for his/her own and the community development. given the denition, unesco (2008) characterised literacy as being a fundamental human right. human right to inclusive educational opportunities for individuals is non-negotiable and are aspects of being human that the social contract must respect (luckasson, 2006). both sexes, the girls and the boys in every nation have the equal right to education to gain literacy. literacy is a process of continuous learning which enables individuals to achieve their goals, to enhance their knowledge and skills, and to participate in all aspects of life endeavour. despite all the efforts by nigerian government and non-governmental organisations, girl-child illiteracy is still a case in point. in 2017 nigeria’s annual education conference titled “achieving inclusive education through innovative strategies”, mr sunny echono, the permanent secretary of the ministry of education who represented the minister then, pointed out that females account for the 60% of the country’s illiterate population. he therefore suggested that to win the war of illiteracy, nigerians should focus intensely on girls and women (ptn, 2017). has the country really focused intensely on girls’ education? a girl child is a female under the age of 18 or a person’s female child from birth to full growth, an unmarried girl or a girl friend or immature woman. for many of nigerian girls especially in the rural areas, literacy is a wishful thinking. story of a young girl was told in the daily trust of saturday june 15, 2017. the girl had the dream of being a professional nurse. her dream emanated from admiring a community nurse who worked in the clinic in their locality. this lady started primary school but at primary four, the parents sent her to work as a maid in the city cutting short her dream. as a maid, she was paid a monthly salary that was sent to the parents. at the time of the interview, she was 21 years old and has given up the hope of going to school because her parents planned giving her out in marriage. this story is one out of many. girl-child deprivation of education has been a topical issue because the wrong perspective families have about girls in the culture have left many girls uneducated especially in the rural areas. the girl child education is of paramount importance; it is a medium through which she acquires skills and knowledge to advance her status for social interactions and self improvement. in turn, she igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 115 counselling in any of the stated outreach counselling programme may include; career counselling, personal or group counselling, conict resolution, educational counselling, anger management techniques, study skills etc (government of alberta 2009). this outreach counselling could be of benet to a wide range of people who may include; · drop out from school · education disadvantaged people requiring functional literacy · those who may require special education needs · those who may require specialised health care · students who are talented or gifted · people experiencing abuses or forced into non-consented activities the target population for this work is the girls in the rural areas where there are more illiterates according to facts for example; unesco, 2014. a rural area is an area of land outside the densely populated urban areas in a town or city. madu (2010: 178) dened rural area as “areas of low population density, utilizing land extensively and exhibiting distinctive social characteristics associated with the rural setting”. the main industries in most rural areas are agriculture, wildlife and poultry. apart from dispersed population, rural areas are characterised by lack of access to major services and activities which represent common facilities for people living in the urban cities. such amenities as schools, hospitals, sports, cultural facilities etc. these lack and other problems have inadvertently struck the populace in the rural areas with poverty and other disadvantages. girls in the rural areas have problems inside the already existing problem due to gender disparity. irrespective of the natural lack in the rural areas, girls and women are excluded signicantly from many sectors of the economy of which education is one and has hampered on their empowerment. ravinder et al (2009) has posited that in many african countries especially in the rural areas, parents still prefer to send the boys to school, seeing little need to send the girls to school, hence illiteracy is still evident in most african countries. a study carried out by the natural resources management and environment department 2010 reveals that, illiteracy among women has deprived them the ability to read and understand the written material provided by extension programmes that educate farmers (mtsor & idisi, 2014). in addition to this, anselm et al (2014) noted that education plays a signicant role in positively inuencing the status of women in farm decision-making than uneducated ones. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 114 broadens her mind, tilts towards self-discovery, gets in tune with life challenges, utilises her full potentials for her empowerment and contributes signicantly to the nation development. this agrees with keefe & copeland (2011)’ assertion that literacy includes communication, contact, and expectation that interaction is possible for all individuals: literacy has the potential to lead to empowerment. a girl-child’s contribution to nation building has no limit, girls are endowed with wide range of tentacles with which they reach out to human and material resources, positively towards goal achievement. sufce it to say, a girl-child’s education is education for all. afrming this, naussbaum (2008) posited that girl-child education plays important role in national development because of their resilience. in order to foster the girl child education, there is need to employ the talking and supportive therapy through the process of outreach community counselling. outreach counselling has been seen as a way of reaching individuals who cannot willingly pursue their education in traditional schools. outreach is in congruent with “working locally which is a key dimension of government’s linked antipoverty and lifelong learning strategy”. community outreach programs are a standard way for groups such as social services agencies, counsellors, religious groups to identify a certain specic need in its community and provide services to people who need it (alcantara, 2018). in order words, outreach counselling refers to the effort made beyond the walls of counselling ofces (or designated counselling environment) to increase the availability and utilisation of services through direct intervention and interaction with the target population (housego, 1999). the goals of which is to help the individuals to create awareness through understanding themselves, their environmental and relationship inuences as to be able to adjust properly in the society. the main thrust of outreach counselling is that the services are taken to the target group’s own environment. there are four types of outreach counselling; the satellite outreach which entails the establishment of centres for the delivery of the programme. the domiciliary outreach counselling, this refers to counselling undertaken in the homes of the target groups through visits to their homes. the two other types are detached outreach: counselling undertaken outside agency contacts such as streets, clubs or railway; and the peripatetic outreach which is the counselling undertaken in the community-based agencies like hotels, schools, prisons etc. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 116 consequent upon this, the education of rural women is very important for their progressive participation in sustainable development. the purpose of this work therefore is to nd out the girl-child level of attainment of basic education and the constraints they encounter in attaining quality education. it is also to explore the outreach community counselling in assisting them achieve the all-important quality education. research questions the following research questions were raised to guide the study. 1. is there any gap between the enrolment rate of the girls and their completion rate in the primary school section? 2. what is their level of attainment of basic education? 3. what are the impediments to the rural girls’ literacy in the three communities of abuja rural areas? methodology survey research design was adopted for the study and was carried out in three rural areas in abuja namely; dobi in gwagwalada area council, pegi in kuje area council and igu in bwari area council. the samples for the study were 150 out of school girls who were randomly picked by the local chiefs’ cabinet personnel. fifty girls were selected from each village. local interpreters assisted the researcher to ease communication. the instrument for the data collection was a 20item questionnaire of “yes or no” questions because of the level of the respondents. the cronbach alpha reliability method was used to determine the internal consistency of the items and the reliability co-efcient of 0.79 was obtained. the instrument had three sections; the rst section veried the subjects’ enrolment into schools and their drop out status. the second part checked the girls’ level of completion of jss, and the nal sections were short structured items on impediments of literacy. the data collected were analysed and presented on frequency tables using percentages and simple head counts. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 117 results table 1: overview of the respondents’ ages and drop out status s/ n age interval no no never enrolled drop out in prim. sch. transition to jss 1 10-12 39 18 21 2 2 12-14 38 15 23 n/a 3 14-16 53 11 34 8 4 16-18 20 11 08 1 total 150 55 86 11 percentage 100% 36% 57% 7% the respondents were classied according to their ages and from the table, 36% of the girls have never attempted going to school while 57% of them dropped out in the primary school. a hand full of them got to junior secondary school but couldn’t go further. none of them in this category was able to express herself in english language let alone displayed ability in mathematics. the 7% that transited to jss did not write the junior waec, they dropped out along the line. table 2: distribution of the girls on the different impediments they encountered s/n nature of impediment number of girls percentage 1 lack of information services 21 14.00 2 early marriages 36 24.00 3 teenage pregnancy 4 2.67 4 socio-cultural patterns 31 20.67 5 religious misconceptions 13 8.67 6 infrastructural decit 2 1.33 7 teachers’ attitude 8 5.33 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 118 8 difculty in learning 12 8.00 9 poverty 23 15.33 total 150 100% table 2 indicates the nature of the impediments to the girl-child education. the highest indicator as observed from the table is the early marriage which is 24% of the respondents. the next is socio-cultural factors, 31 of the respondents which is 20.66% of the sample could not attain literacy because of the stipulations of their culture. poverty is rated by 23 respondents, representing 15.33% of the sample and lack of information at 14%. infrastructure is the least at 1.33% of the sample. discussions of findings table 1 shows the age intervals of the respondent and their enrolment status in school. out of a sample of 150, only 86 tasted the four walls of the primary school. for reasons which is not their fault, a few of them at 7% transited to junior secondary. this is human right deprivation and didn’t conform to luckasson (2006) assertion. be it the case, many girls did not achieve basic education and so can neither read nor write. invariably, parents in the rural areas still see education as boys’ thing agreeing to ravinder et al, 2009 about boys’ preference. the table 2 is a display of the impediments to the girl-child education in abuja rural areas. the major impediment is the early marriage saga. many parents in the rural areas are still giving their children out in marriage as soon as suitors indicate interest. early marriage remains the most prevalent reason why the girls give up education. the story of the little girl who couldn’t go to school because of early marriage as reported in the daily trust, july, 2017 is a case in point. the culture of using the girl-child as a tool for generating incomes to the family is another problem as it rated second on the list. nigerian women do 70% of agricultural work force yet get less of accruing returns (ptn, 2015). poverty is another cankerworm eating into the fabrics of the rural populace. some parents were not able to provide books, uniforms, and other materials to sustain their children in school. information they say is power, the rural populace lack information, the lack of which contributes to illiteracy. the other indices are also impediments to literacy but not as high as the rst four. exploring the outreach counselling to promote girl-child literacy in the rural areas igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 119 outreach counselling as stated earlier is a counselling form, away from the comfort of the counselling ofces or ofcial setting to the location of the target group. outreach counselling is a way of contacting and working with marginalised groups. it can be conducted amongst any target groups of people who may need it. it implies liaising with the community organizations, mounting programmes in community locations and working in an informal way with people in the different locations to resolve an identied needs. in this regard satellite outreach counselling will be adopted, a situation of establishing centres in the community for service delivery and the target groups are the girls. through the community chiefs/ organizations, centres can be allocated for the outreach programmes at close intervals for easy access by the target group, the former would also help the counsellor/therapists in identifying the following; · girls who are drop out from schools (for any reason) · girls who have not enrolled in school for the rst time · families that don’t support girl-child education through the intake process of the outreach counselling, these girls will be grouped according to their needs, listened to, use a variety of activities to maintain a positive atmosphere and reinforce their efforts. at this point the identied populace could be counselled. the most appropriate type of counselling for this set of people are (1) face-to-face counselling. face-toface counselling in outreach programme implies that the counsellors visit the clients at their homes or meets at the centre, and engages in counseling relationship at her own familiar place. this may take number of times. (2)group counselling: this is a form of counselling where people with homogenous problem come together, the counsellor facilitates the group while everyone talks and also listens to each other. group counselling as a channel for delivering outreach counselling service is very effective in handling large number of people at a time (mcleod, 2009). in this counselling the girls may be exposed to doing projects, team building or physical games, to build their condence and motivate them towards developing themselves. (3) family counselling: family counselling is required for the families that oppose girl-child literacy, families who prefer their girls working on the farm or hawking goods. family counselling will unify members of the family because one cannot disentangle the difculty faced by the girls from the web of the family beliefs and relationship with which they live igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 120 their life. (4) information services: the outreach counselling programme provides a good avenue to counsel the girls on the advantages of modern education and availing them of some literacy programmes. this will help disabuse their minds of the religious/cultural misconception they have on literacy. information on government and non-governmental organization agencies that can supply aids to the families who are out of school because of poverty, can also be accessed through the outreach counselling. there is need for the counsellors to collaborate with responsibly bodies for poverty alleviation and make recommendation when the poverty stricken families are identied through the outreach initial access. outreach counselling entails the counsellors establishing rapport and creating friendly atmosphere with the rural populace in general and the girls in particular. this will boost their integrity, acquaintance them with the right frame of mind and positive attitude towards education. conclusion education bestows on women a disposition for a lifelong acquisition of knowledge, values, attitudes, competence and skills (aliu, 2001). outreach counselling will enhance the implementation of the government and nongovernmental laudable programmes towards eradicating illiteracy among women for instance, the nigerian girls’ education initiative, the ambassador’s girls’ schooling programme, strategy for accelerating girls’ education in nigeria (sagen) etc. actually, programmes are instituted but the impact is not felt giving reason for enlisting nigeria among the developing countries having high rate of female illiteracy. satellite outreach counselling is a medium to disseminate information that is capable of sensitizing the rural masses of the importance of girl-child education. recommendations the following recommendations are made based on the ndings from the study. 1. nigerian government should train and engage many guidance counsellors to embark on outreach counselling in the rural area to sensitize and counsel the populace on girls-child literacy. 2. the three tiers of government should ensure that all adult literacy programmes have sections for counselling, whereby a trained counsellor is fully engaged. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 121 3. parents should desist from encouraging and supporting early marriages for their daughters to enable them attain basic education. 4. the village chiefs and their cabinet crews should be encouraged to form associations for stamping out illiteracy in their different localities. in this regard, they will see literacy advocacy as their responsibility. references alcantara, s.t. (2018). about community outreach programmes. retrieved on july, 2020 from https://careertrend.com/about-community-outreach programmes-13637791.html. aliu, s. (2001). the competitive drive, new technologies and employment: the human capital link. a paper presented at the second tripartite conference of manpower planners. chelsea hotel, abuja. anselm, a.e. & taofeeq, a.a. (2010). determinants of women contribution to farming decision-making cocoa-based agroforest in ekiti state. nigeria the journal of eld actions. 4, 228-320. final study report (2008). poverty and social exclusion in rural areas. retrieved http://www.ec.europe.eu/social/blobservlet? on feb, 2018 government of alberta (2009). outreach programme hand book. retrieved on jan, 2020 from http://www.education.gov.ab.ca.educationsystem/outreachprog. housego, e.j. (1999). outreach schools: an educational innovation. alberta journal of educational research. 55(1), 85-101 keefe, e.b. & copeland, s.r. (2011).what is illiteracy: the power of denition. research & practice for persons with severe disabilities. 36 (3), 92-99 luckasson, r. (2006). the human right basis for personal empowerment in education. in e. b. keefe, v.m. moore, & f.r. duff (eds). listening to the experts. baltimore: paul brookes. madu, i.a. (2010). the structure and pattern of rurality in nigeria. geo journal. 75(2), 175-184 mcleod, j. (2009). an introduction to counselling. london, mcgraw hill: open university press mtsor, t.g. & idisi, p.d. (2014). gender inequality and women in agricultural development in nigeria. merit research journal of education and review. 2(11), 296-301 naussbaum, m. (2003). women’s education: a global challenge sign. journal of women in culture and society.29(2),325-355. premium times nigeria (ptn 2017). 60 million nigerians are illiterates igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 122 minister. retrieved on jan., 2020 from http://www.premiumtimesng.com 2018 ravinder, r. & narayana, n. (2007). gender empowerment in africa: an analysis of women participation in eritrean economy. int journal of women, soc. justice and human rights. 2, 221-237 unesco institute for statistics. (2008). international literacy statistics: a review of concepts, methodology, and current data. montreal. canada: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 55 religion and economic recovery in nigeria: a prognosis of modern economics of religion john clerk koko fipmd, phd department of religious and cultural studies rivers state university, port-harcourt johnclerk1@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.12241.35684 abstract the issue of economic recovery of nigeria has put scholars of divergent human endeavours to task since the country gained independence. while this is so, recent economic indices that placed nigeria as the poverty capital and one of the most corrupt countries of the world have intensified the quest for possible solution. therefore, this study examines the nexus between religion and economic recovery in nigeria. data for the study were gathered through literature review and discussion was done using the discursive and analytical approach. the entire discussion is pitched against the backdrop of the religious economics theory of max weber. the study argues that religion can play a significant role in the economy of any nation especially nigeria. the study reveals certain religious values such as godliness and contentment, trust, selfless service, respect for human dignity, and ethics of good works, found in the christian bible that if adequately applied could facilitate economic recovery in nigeria and position the country on the part of sustainable development. in this light, the study recommends religious education for leaders with respect to these values as a way to pragmatically addressing the economic situation in nigeria. key words: religion, economic recovery, economics of religion, and religious values introduction there is little doubt that nigeria is endowed with abundant human and natural resources that can promote sustainable economic development. in fact, with over 250 ethno-linguistic groups and a population of about 200,000,000 people, nigeria ranks the largest black nation in the world. the country also houses several mineral resources that could stir economic growth and development. regrettably, the country has been stagnated economically since the country gained independence due to poor management or mismanagement of her resources. this accounts for the current negative gdp growth, epileptic power supply, collapse of educational system, unemployment, culture of impunity, insecurity, weak policies, endemic corruption, poor healthcare system, and most mailto:johnclerk1@yahoo.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 56 shockingly the recent economic indices that placed nigeria as the poverty capital of the world and one of the most corrupt in the globe. unlike other nations, where proper management of human and natural resources has brought about economic development and sustainability. in nigeria, the country has continued to experience poor management of her natural and human resources and this has plunged the country into serious economic woes. given the above circumstances, it has become imperative to take urgent steps that could facilitate its economic recovery and sustainable development. the issue has put scholars of divergent human endeavours to task and religion can play a major role as well. the key questions then are: what role can religion play towards economic recovery and sustainability in nigeria; and what is the nexus between religion and economic growth? the entire paper shall be hinged on these two questions. to achieve this, the paper will adopt the discursive and analytical approach to discuss data gathered through reading and review of literature. defining the terms: religion and economy mohammed and sulaiman (2018:1) observe that it is customary in the academia to begin the analysis of a concept by situating it within existing concepts, ideas and theories in order to present a better understanding of it. therefore, it is important to begin the paper by providing clear definitions of the operational terms before proceeding to establish the nexus between religion and economy. the term ―religion‖ has been defined variously by scholars. some of these definitions focus on the substantive nature of religion while others pay attention to the functional nature of religion. hence, there is no universally accepted definition of religion. iyer (2016:398) notes that the substantive definitions of religion attempt to investigate region as a system of beliefs or as a philosophy with a view to understanding the world. for example, the famous indian philosopher, sarvepalli radhakrishnan in his 1928 book, the religion we need, wrote that ―religion is an expression of the spiritual experience of a race, a record of its social evolution, an integral element of the society in which it is found‖ (radhakrishnan, 1928:25). on the other hand, the functional definitions pay attention to what religion does for people in terms of its role in their lives or supporting them either socially or psychologically (iyer, 2016:398). against this backdrop, glock and stark (1965:4) see religion as ―that which comprises an institutionalized system of symbols, beliefs, values, and practices focused on questions of ultimate meaning‖, while durkheim (1912) defines it as a unified system of beliefs and practices pertaining to sacred things. sacred things in this igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 57 context refer to things set apart and forbidden such as beliefs and moral practices which unite into one single moral community. what is certain in these definitions however, is that religion is an integral human experience which plays both substantive and functional roles not only in the lives of the individuals but also in all that happen in human society. unlike religion, the term ―economy‖ has been defined in both general and specific standpoints. on a general note, the new international webster‘s comprehensive dictionary of the english language defines it as ―any practical system in which means are adjusted to ends, especially in the natural world‖ (2010:400). this general definition suggests that there are different types of economy namely: domestic economy, divine economy, business economy, etc. however, in a more specific sense, the same dictionary defines it as ―the practical adjustment, organization, or administration of affairs or resources, especially of industrial resources of a state‖ (2010:400). what this means is that economy has to do with the management of all available resources of a state or country with a view to achieving her set goals. the precarious nature of nigeria‟s economy no doubt, nigeria is endowed with abundant human and natural resources that can promote sustainable economic development. with over 250 ethno-linguistic groups and a population of about 200,000,000 people, nigeria ranks the largest black nation in the world. the country is the 8th largest producer of oil, and 6th largest deposit of gas. furthermore, it houses over 34 solid minerals, 44 exportable commodities, huge arable land, and balanced climatic condition. regrettably, it has been stagnated economically since the country gained independence in 1960 as soludo (2017:4) rightly observes. certainly, this postulation is not difficult to accept given the current negative gdp growth, epileptic power supply, collapse of educational system, unemployment, culture of impunity, insecurity, weak policies, endemic corruption, poor healthcare system, and most shockingly the recent economic indices that placed nigeria as the poverty capital of the world. unlike other nations such as indonesia and malaysia where proper management of human and natural resources has brought about economic development and sustainability. in nigeria, the country has continued to experience poor management of her natural and human resources and this has plunged the country into serious economic woes. for example, adeniran and sidiq (2018) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 58 observe that nigeria‘s economy has remained stagnant over the years leading to the 2016 economic recession. kida, liberty, and alade (2019:19) define recession as a period of significant decline in output and rise in unemployment and attributed the recession to factors such as high cost of governance, negligence of other sectors, poor infrastructures, corruption and sentimental tendencies, fall in oil price, sudden introduction of treasury single account (tsa), depletion of foreign reserves, rising cost of production, job losses and poor policies (2019:2025). they also acknowledge that nigeria is presently confronted with the worst economic crises in decades and attributed these economic woes to the fact that the economy is highly mono-cultural, the political and governance structure of the economy is more of consumption economic and high cost of governance (2019:20). on their part, ekepenyong and richard (2019) who approached the issue from the point of view of development describe nigeria as a country not developing because for them, development is measured by an increase in the production of goods and services plus social change that allows people to achieve their human potentials. finally, sanusi (2010) in his work on ―growth prospects for the nigerian economy‖ observes that since independence in 1960, successive governments in nigeria have made efforts to pursue the goal of structural changes without much success. he notes that though nigeria is endowed with natural resources, economic performance has been rather weak and does not reflect these endowments and for him the economic decline in the country is due to political instability, lack of focused and visionary leadership, economic mismanagement and corruption, prolonged period of military rule, poor infrastructure, poor investment climate, the dutch disease and low quality of education. worst still, recent economic indices place nigeria as the poverty capital of the world and one of the most corrupt in the globe. given the above circumstances, it is crystal clear that the nigerian economy requires urgent steps that could facilitate its recovery and sustainable development. what then is the nexus between religion and economic growth? the next section shall be devoted to conceptualize the nexus between religion and economic growth. conceptualizing the nexus between religion and economic growth the nexus between religion and economy is well captured by scholars who sternly believe that one influences the other significantly. for example, in articulating this relationship, iyer (2016:395) notes that economics and religion are closer than some might possibly believe. in fact, religion as he observes igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 59 influenced key economic policy debates in the united states during the nineteenth century. this fact is also captured by friedman (2011:166) who argues that the evolution of economics as we know it today was influenced profoundly by changes in religious beliefs in the times in which adam smith lived. similarly, warner (1993:1049) points out that in the united states, organized religion flourished in an open market and that this idea was prompted by the fact that societal modernization went hand in hand with religious mobilization. in reiterating the fact that religion and economy are closely intertwined, putnam and campbell (2010) observe the continued importance and practice of religion which contemporary studies of the united states have shown. though, the field of religion and economy is relatively new as iannaccone (1998:1466) notes, it has earned a special recognition as a new territory within the expanding domain of economics. accordingly, this field has increased the number of economic papers published in this area in the last decades as chen and hungerman (2014) correctly acknowledge. mccleary (2011b) and oslington (2014) hypothesize that this increase highlights the fact that the study of religion now falls firmly within the purview of economic inquiry. today, the interest in the study of the influence of religion on economics on the one hand, and economics on religion on the other, has culminated to the theories usually referred to as religious economics and economics of religion respectively. according to iyer (2016:397), ―religious economics‖ is the use of religious ideas to provide social commentary on economic systems or behaviours. in religious economics, scholars seek to inquire on how religion exerts reasonable amount of influence on economic behaviours or attitudes. finke and stark (1992) religious economics deal with questions such as the movement from sects to churches, the formation of cults as well as schisms, and renewal movements. the main idea in religious economics is on how religious competition, religious regulation, new religious movements, and theological and institutional propagation of religious faith impact either directly or indirectly on economic behaviours and attitudes. on the contrary, iyer (2016:397) defines the economics of religion as a research that uses the tools and methods of economics to study religion as a dependable variable or to study religion as an in-dependable variable on other socioeconomic outcomes. economics of religion draws heavily upon ideas in public economics, labour economics, industrial organization, development economics, and international trade, and uses tools developed in game theory and econometrics. it is critical to note that the economics of religion does not concern itself with the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 60 theological and institutional propagation of personal religious faith. the most influential promoter of this theory is max weber who in his thesis discusses the effect of the protestant ethic on capitalism (weber 1904). the central thesis of weber‘s writing is that there are certain theological aspects of the protestant doctrine such as ―predestination‖, ―election‖, ―calling‖ and ―success in business‖ that were seen as contributing to salvation, generating a set of economic attitudes which were the spirit of capitalism. in their commentary on economics, becker and woessmann (2009) propose that rather than a work-ethic argument, the human-capital explanation is a more plausible reason for weber‘s theory. but iyer (2016:407) explains that since spiritual grace from religion is attained by demonstrating temporal success in one‘s calling through diligence, discipline, self-denial, and thrift, the protestant ethic promoted a work ethic that increased savings, capital accumulation, entrepreneurial activity, and investment. an important side effect is that it also encouraged human capital formation and literacy, all of which might have contributed to economic growth. guiso, sapienza, and zingales (2003) have also shown in their survey on world values survey data between 1981 and 1997 that religious beliefs were associated with economic attitudes conducive to economic progress as measured by attitudes towards cooperation, government, women, legal rules, thrift, and the market economy, with different effects across religions, controlling for country fixed effects and individual characteristics. they also found out that religious people were more trusting, trusted others and governments more, and believed more that markets are fair, compared to those who were less religious. in a related development, benabou and tirole (2006) discussed theoretically the links between having more religious populations, high work effort, and its implications for low taxes and redistribution. woodberry (2012:244) argues that conversionary protestants influenced the development of democracy around the world because they espoused particular things that spurred democracy, including liberty, education, printing, newspapers, voluntary organizations and reforms associated with colonialism, creating preconditions for the success of democratic institutions. thus, he concludes that religious, moral and cultural factors shape economic behaviour. the benefits of economics of religion and religious economics are overwhelming. for example, some scholars like landes (1995), norris and inglehart (2004) have argued that when explaining countries‘ economic growth, we should evaluate the role of culture more deeply. similarly, iyer (2016:396) identifies three igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 61 contributions of the economic studies of religion. first, they show how economic and statistical tools can be used to evaluate the role of religion in society; second, they continue to cast light on the economics of nonmarket behaviour illustrating the role that norms, values, social capital and spiritual capital may play in influencing human behaviours by affecting both beliefs and actions; and third, they show how culture more broadly, whether through religion or other kinds of cultural beliefs, affect economic systems. others such as friedman (2008), and bowles (1995) note that economists should be concerned about the moral consequences of economic growth when dealing with issues of the economy of any country. in all it could be argued that religion influences economic behaviours and economic systems, markets, and institutions while one‘s economic environment is also likely to influence one‘s beliefs, morals, and religious choices. what role then can religion play towards economic recovery in nigeria? in the next section, i will discuss some religious values that if applied can facilitate economic growth in nigeria. religious values that can promote economic recovery in nigeria religious values in this paper refer to what de jong (2008:5-6) describes as values and norms taught and adhered to by members of a particular religion based on a holy scripture such as the bible or quran. there are innumerable religious values taught by the three major religions in nigeria but for lack of space only four values namely: godliness and contentment, self-sacrifices, ethic of hard work and fear of ultimate judgment shall be discussed. 1. godliness and contentment godliness is the act of having reverence for god or the supreme being while contentment is the condition of being contented. the idea behind contentment is that of self-satisfaction with whatever one rightfully or lawfully owns rather than being notoriously insatiable with economic and material resources. it is arguable that a person who lacks the virtue of godliness and contentment would most assuredly abuse and mismanage economic and material resources put in his or her disposal. this explains why the christian bible sees one‘s possession of this particular religious value as a great gain (1 tim. 6:6). the present economic woes in nigeria which is majorly caused by high level of corruption points to the fact that a large proportion of citizens do not have the virtue of godliness and contentment. thus, for economic recovery to take place in nigeria, the virtue of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 62 godliness and contentment should be taught and embraced by all citizens of the country. 2. self-sacrifice economic recovery in nigeria would also require citizens to inculcate the virtue of self-sacrifice. self-sacrifice connotes a phenomenon in which personal benefits are deliberately and decisively forgone for purpose of national interest and economic development. the importance of the virtue of self-sacrifice if inculcated by citizens is such that it would afford public office holders the opportunity to see their positions of responsibility as avenues for service rather than for accumulation of wealth to satisfy their personal desires. in this way, public office holders would be willing to make sacrifices for the common good of everyone. as koko (2010:87) argues, self-sacrifice can help to create a society devoid of corruption, nepotism, bribery, antagonism, and insecurity and this could translate into economic recovery in nigeria. 3. ethic of hard work another religious value that is crucial for economic recovery in nigeria is the ethic of hard work. the christian bible puts it clearly that ―those who refused to work should not eat‖ (1thes. 4:11-12 and 2 thes. 3:10-12). by this the christian bible endorses the spirit of hard work and rejects in totality all forms of idleness. regrettably, as maxey and ozodo (2017:96) observed, the high value for material success has taken over the center stage of nigeria‘s religiosity thereby displacing value for dignity of labour. prior to independence, nigeria arguably occupied a prominent place in the committee of nations because of her contributions to the world‘s economy that was primarily based on agriculture. however, with the rise of the oil boom in the 1970s, nigeria‘s socio-economic landscape became drastically transformed and a culture of value for material possession overpowered the culture of the value for dignity of labour. today, the culture of hard work has become a mirage in nigeria. desperation for quick money among the populace has become a normal phenomenon. the fact that the masses celebrate people who are wealthy over those who work hard has further worsen the situation. this in part accounts for the economic woes currently bedeviling the country. therefore, for economic recovery to be achieved in nigeria, there is need for citizens to embrace the ethic of hard work. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 63 4. fear of ultimate judgment finally, the fear of ultimate judgment is another cardinal religious virtue that can facilitate economic recovery in nigeria. in fact, the three major religions in nigeria namely african traditional religion (atr), islam and christianity, all have teachings that anticipate an ultimate judgment in which the righteous shall be rewarded with heaven (paradise) and the immoral rewarded with hell (burning fire). the christian holy bible in particular is replete with such instances of ultimate judgment (cf. matt. 25:1ff; rev. 21 and 22). the relevance of such teaching to economic recovery is that it has the tendency of provoking right actions and good morals in citizens which will eventually translate into economic development. this fact is well noted by barro and mcclearly (2003:773) and mcclearly and barro (2006:67) who in their survey on the influence of religion on economic activities observed that belief in hell potentially contributed to economic growth. this happens because while belief in heaven could motivate citizens to embrace good morals, the fear of hell would certainly constrain them from doing what is wrong. therefore, the fear of ultimate judgment as a religious value if taught by religious leaders can facilitate economic recovery in nigeria. conclusion throughout this paper, effort has been made to discuss the role of religion towards economic recovery and sustainability in nigeria. it is argued that though nigeria is endowed with abundant human and natural resources that can promote sustainable economic development, the country has been stagnated economically since independence due to mismanagement of her resources. this accounts for the current negative economic indices that placed nigeria as the poverty capital of the world, country with the highest unemployment rate and one of the most corrupt in the globe. overall, the paper argues that religion can reposition nigeria towards economic recovery and sustainability through the teachings of core religious values such as: godliness and contentment, selfsacrifice, ethic of hard work and the fear of ultimate judgement. the paper therefore, recommends that these religious values should be taught to citizens irrespective of their religious affiliations so that economic recovery and sustainability can be achieved. references adeniran, a. o. & sidiq b. o. (2018). economic recession and the way-out: nigeria as case study. global journal of human-social sciences: e-economics. 18(1). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 64 barro r. j. and mcclearly r. m. (2003). religion and economic growth across countries. american sociological review 68 (5):760-781. becker, s. o. & woessmann l. (2009). was weber wrong? a human capital theory of protestant economic history. quarterly journal of economics 124 (2): 531-596. benabou, r. & tirole j. (2006). belief in a just world and redistributive politics. quarterly journal of economics 121(2): 699-746. bowles, s. (1995). endogenous preferences: the cultural consequences of markets and other economic institutions. journal of economic literatures 36(1): 75111. chen, d. l. & hungerman d. m. (2014). economics, religion, and culture: a brief introduction. journal of economic behaviour and organization 104:1-3. durkheim, e. (1912). the elementary forms of the religious life. translated by joseph ward swain. london: george allen and unwin, 1915. de jong, e. (2008). religious values and economic growth: a review and assessment of recent studies. nice working paper 08-111. ekepenyong, b. i. & richard u. o. (2019). fiscal operations and the growth of the nigerian economy. international journal of development strategies in humanities, management and social sciences (9(1):167-176. friedman, b. m. (2011). economics: a moral inquiry with religious origins. american economic review 101(3):166-170. glock, c. y. & stark r. (1965). religion and society in tension. chicago: rand mcnally and company. guiso, l., sapienza p. & zingales l. (2003). people‘s opium? religion and economic attitudes. journal of monetary economics 50(1): 225-282. iannaccone, l. r. (1998). introduction to the economics of religion. journal of economics literature 36(3): 1465-1495. iyer, s. (2016). the new economics of religion. journal of economic literature 54(2):395-441 kida m. i., liberty s., & alade a. s. (2019). an analysis of nigerian recession. management studies and economic systems (mses) 4(1):19-28. koko, j. c. (2010). liberal democracy and the plurality of identity: the dilemmas of the nigerian state. a master of arts thesis presented to vrije universiteit, amsterdam. landes d. s. (1998). the wealth and poverty of nations: why some are so rich and some so poor. new york and london: ww norton and company. marxay, g. s. and ozodo, p. (2017). the seduction of the nigerian church. lagos: wats publication. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 65 mccleary, r. m., ed. (2011b). the oxford handbook of christianity and economics. oxford and new york: oxford university press. mcclearly, r. m. & barro r. j. (2006). religion and political economy in an international panel. journal for the scientific study of religion 45 (2): 149-175. muhammed, g.d. and sulaiman, m.a. (2018). ―federalism, restructuring and national question in contemporary nigeria: the way forward. arts and social sciences journal, 9/5; 1-6. norris, p. & inglehart r. (2004). sacred and secular: religion and politics worldwide. cambridge and new york: cambridge university press. oslington p. ed. (2014). the oxford handbook of christianity and economics. oxford and new york: oxford university press. putnam, r. d. & campbell d. e. (2010). american grace: how religion divides and unites us. new york: simon and schuster. radhakrishnan s. (1928). the religion we need. london: ernest benn. sanusi, l. s. (2010). growth prospects for the nigerian economy. a convocation lecture. delivered at the igbinedion university eighth convocation ceremony, okada, edo state soludo, c. c. (2017). nigerian economy: can we achieve the vision 20:2020? accessed from: https://www.cbn.gov.ng/out/speeches/2007/govadd10-1-07.pdf. warner r. s. (1993). work in progress toward a new paradigm for the sociological study of religion in the united states. american journal of sociology 98 (5): 1044-1093. weber, m. (1904). the protestant ethics and the spirit of capitalism. london: routledge. woodberry, r. d. (2012). the missionary roots of liberal democracy. american political science review 106(2): 244-274. the new international webster‘s comprehensive dictionary of the english language (2010). ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and the management of covid-19 in nigeria igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 63 ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and the management of covid-19 in nigeria omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd department of business administration and management villanova polytechnic, imesi ile, osun state omojolassma@yahoo.co.uk executive summary this paper discussed ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and the management of corona virus pandemic (covid-19) in nigeria. it attempted to show the correlation between this philosophy and how covid-19 is being managed in nigeria. the development of the disease, its spread and preventions were deliberated upon, in the sense that it originated from china. it has spread into many countries, and can be contracted through droplets from the affected person(s). avoidance of gatherings (both social and religious), use of face masks and sanitizers were presented to be some of the ways in which the spread of the pandemic could be curbed. to arrive at a lasting solution, the government introduced social lockdown, and foodstuffs were distributed to people to cushion its effects on them. the work revealed that ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and covid-19 are related in the sense that both deal with people and their affairs. it brought about solidarity on the part of government and the populace in finding solutions to the common problem of the pandemic in their ability to search for vaccines, while individuals were suggesting african herbs. also, the covid-19 period encouraged families to stay together in unity and harmony as ‘igwebuike’ philosophy resonates. it was then recommended that there should be proper database for unbiased distribution of palliatives. the lockdown should be a nation-wide issue for proper supervision, and that omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 64 other deadly deceases ravaging the country, like lasser fever, should be well-managed like the issue of covid -19. in conclusion, leaders could embrace ‘igwebuike’ philosophy of solidarity in decision making so as to avoid followers losing confidence in them as it happened at a point during the management of covid-19 pandemic in nigeria. phenomenological method of inquiry was used for the purpose of this study. key words: ‘igwebuike’ philosophy, kanu ikechukwu anthony, management, covid-19, palliatives, social distancing, isolation centre and face mask. introduction the outbreak of corona virus disease, otherwise known as covid-19, started in december 2019 in china. this is an infectious disease that has been presented to be caused by a newly discovered virus. according to the report of matt and sabrina (2020), it seems to have originated from wuhan seafood market where all sorts of wild animals like marmots, birds, rabbits, bats and snakes are merchandized illegally. “coronaviruses are known to jump from animals to humans, so it is thought that the first people infected with the disease – a group primarily made up of stallholders from the seafood market contracted it from contact with animals” (p.4). there are many contending views on the origin of the virus. matt and sabrina further said that virologist assessment shows that the infection is from bat, while some are of the opinion that the early cases of covid-19, however, appeared to have inflicted people with no link to the wuhan market at all, suggesting that the initial route of human infection may pre-date the market cases. by implication, it might be transmitted between human to human. some also said it came from the laboratory investigations, whereas another opinion was that it was a recurring of pandemic of past centuries. with these competing views, the origin of this pandemic might not be known. the only fact is that it was invented from china. ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and the management of covid-19 in nigeria igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 65 within the first week of april 2020, the following countries were the top ten that were affected by the corona virus pandemic-usa, italy, spain, germany, china, france, iran, united kingdom (uk), switzerland and turkey (duddu, 2020). in the same vein, matt and sabrina (2020) reported that the disease had been detected in more than 200 countries and territories, with the us, russia and the uk experiencing the most widespread outbreaks, followed by brazil, spain and italy. with this information, a lot of awareness programme came up and how to control it became important. it was described in numerous alertness programmes that covid-19 was majorly transmitted through droplets of the infected persons. when an infected person coughs or sneezes, the droplets from these actions hang in the air or surfaces. if anyone comes in contact with the droplets either by breathing it in or by touching the contaminated surfaces from there to the mouth, eyes or nose, the person has been infected. it is spread through socialization, therefore, avoidance of close contacts, social lockdown, including religious gatherings were used as means of controlling the spread of the sickness. the precautionary measures have created a lot of setbacks for virtually every individual and every one of the countries it touches. it is beyond health issues because if prolonged, it might have political, social and economic effects. the poor will suffer more in this regard and those who rely on their daily income for survival may not find it interesting. as presented by the nigeria centre for disease control, the first corona virus case was announced in nigeria on the 27 th of february 2020 in lagos. the second one came up on the 9 th of march, 2020 at ewekoro, ogun state. this pandemic kept spreading that as at the time of this research (14/5/2020), the total confirmed cases had risen to 5,162 active cases, 3,815; recovered cases, 1,180 and number of diseased persons, 167 within 34 states in nigeria, as analyzed below. omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 66 confirmed corona virus cases by states in nigeria state affect ed no of cases(lab confirme d) no of cases on admissi on no discharch ed no of deat h lagos 2,099 1,525 541 33 kano 753 633 87 33 fct 379 290 82 7 katsina 224 183 29 12 bauchi 207 179 25 3 borno 191 151 20 20 jigawa 176 169 4 3 ogun 134 72 57 5 gombe 124 36 87 1 kaduna 114 94 17 3 sokoto 112 59 40 13 edo 92 60 27 5 oyo 73 55 16 2 ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and the management of covid-19 in nigeria igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 67 zamfara 73 50 18 5 kwara 56 43 12 1 osun 42 8 30 4 rivers 30 25 5 3 yobe 32 28 3 1 kebbi 31 16 11 4 nasarawa 29 23 5 1 plateau 25 21 4 0 delta 22 9 9 4 adamawa 21 14 7 0 ondo 19 7 11 1 taraba 17 16 1 0 akwa ibom 17 3 12 2 ekiti 15 5 9 1 enugu 12 10 2 0 niger 10 8 2 0 ebonyi 9 9 0 0 imo 7 5 2 0 bayelsa 6 6 3 3 benue 4 4 0 0 omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 68 anambra 2 1 1 0 abia 2 1 1 0 source: ncdc microsite. as at 15/5/2020 management of covid-19 in nigeria covid-19 pandemic did not enter nigeria as a surprise. before the first case was announced, many countries had been experiencing it and it was proclaimed to be a pandemic. therefore, apart from the fact that people heard about it themselves through the media, the government did some sensitization programmes to bring the issue of this pandemic to people’s doorsteps for preparations. in the report given by adepoju (2020), the following were done even a month before the spread of the pandemic in nigeria: giving information on personal hygiene and cough etiquette, creating health workers network centers around the nation, gathering skilled workers for tracing and to treat infected cases, and five testing laboratories were developed. in the 2014, during the ebola epidemic, some of the public-health institutes created to help in curbing this infectious disease became useful now, and improvement on them came in preparation for covid19 pandemic. this was why nigeria centre for disease control (ncdc) was being signed into law in 2018, to give the legal backing to perform its functions, according to adepoju (2020). all these efforts were put together in preparation for covid-19 pandemic, and in the report of adepoju, it seems the arrangements were not sufficient as he asserts “nigeria’s prevention efforts are limited to screening international travelers at its airports while promoting hand washing and hygiene among the general populace. the country is relying on temperature screening at the airport, travelers’ travel history and promotion of self-isolation for people visiting nigeria from countries with numerous confirmed cases of covid-19” (p.4). apart from these initial and immediate preparations, nigerians were encouraged to wash their hands with soap under running water, ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and the management of covid-19 in nigeria igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 69 regular use of sanitizer was mandatory, use of face mask was made compulsory and social distancing became very important. majority complied with these directives and people were using various kinds of masks, some even customized theirs. covid-19 became real to nigerians when the federal government declared total lockdown in march, 2020, in federal capital territory, and lagos and ogun states. other states within the country joined and it became a nationwide lockdown. therefore, nothing seemed to function. there was no market, except for few hours in a day. places of worship were under lock and key, businesses were not operative, schools at all levels could not continue and all recreational centers were closed in a bid to control the spread of covid-19 pandemic. only essential workers were allowed to move and work actively. in this situation, nigerians came together to fight this pandemic, and proposals on how to go about it became important. many methods of solving it in an african way turned out to be necessary in the application of local herbs. the benedictines monks were prominent in this regard. their research ended up in a solution, as announced by adodo (2020) in this statement: “paxherbals has developed a novel drug, called cvd plus specifically for the treatment of covid-19,” the clinic's founder, fr. anslem adodo announced in a press release dated april 29” (p.1). while government was looking for vaccines for cure, the idea to adopt afghanistan drug became glaring. when this practice was on, those tested positive were kept in the isolation centers for treatment and to prevent them from mingling with the people. some victims lost their lives in the process and majority were discharged from the centers. another effort made by the government was the distribution of palliatives in terms of food items to cushion the effects of this pandemic on the people. it was a difficult moment for many nigerians, especially those who relied on their daily struggles for survival, like labourers, drivers and petty traders or traders generally. they were spending their savings, even their capitals could be used to feed families during this period. those who work for private organizations did not receive salaries during the omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 70 pandemic period, but federal and state workers were receiving salaries regularly. as this was in progress, the number of confirmed cases kept increasing. the need to ease the social lockdown came up in may, 2020, and work resumed skeletally. markets especially became very active. movements within states were allowed and interstate movements were forbidden. the interesting part of the lockdown exercise was the reactions of people after a while. majority lost confidence in the government and lost trust in the procedure of managing covid-19 because what was been presented on social media was not enough to prove that this pandemic was real or was prominent in nigeria. a comedian at a time called it ‘covid-19 for business.’ there were no sufficient evidences that people were dying of the pandemic in nigeria and the media kept showing empty beds in the isolation centers, and the number of infected cases continued to rise, while death rate was increasing without revealing burial processes. since the covid-19 has impacted religion in various ways, including the closure of churches, restriction on public worship of various faiths, as well as the cancellation of pilgrimages and religious festivals, religious leaders started reacting to why churches would not open and markets were operative. after all, the interactions in most churches are not as noticeable as that of markets. onaiyekan, the catholic archbishop emeritus of abuja, in a write-up circulated through the social media said that “on a more practical level, if government finds reasons to relax measures for banks, markets and farms, there is no reason why churches and mosques should be excluded from the same special consideration” (p.2). this implies that the congestions in banks and markets, including farms, could also spread this pandemic. igwebuike philosophy igwebuike has been described by professor kanu ikechukwu anthony, who has systematized the thought over time “as an igbo word that expresses the heart of african thought, logic and the modality of being in african philosophy” (kanu 2017, p.17). he further says that “it ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and the management of covid-19 in nigeria igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 71 means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful and can constitute an insurmountable force”(p.17). by inference, therefore, this philosophy is people-oriented and establishes the fact that i am because we are. in an attempt to describe igwebuike philosophy, ejem (2018) states that, “it establishes that there exists a common link between human persons and that it is through this relationship that every other person realizes himself/herself” (p.17). in another development, kanu (2017) declares that the philosophy is highly connected with mutual association. this is related, according to him, to “a common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny” (p.17). therefore, as long as there is a unifying factor, we are meant for each other’s good. igwebuike philosophy is significant in this regard because it moves away from an individualistic life to the communal life that africans have always preached and lived. it emphasizes cooperation among a group of people, irrespective of their backgrounds, keeping in mind that what makes our coming together relevant is the fact that we are human beings. if this philosophy is ever considered by all members of a group, it will foster love and unity for the attainment of both individual and group purposes. the end result of igwebuike philosophy is common benefit, in which members stand with themselves in times of good and bad; hence, it is a life of ‘sharedness,’ as kanu (2014, 2015, 2016 & 2018) affirms. igwebuike philosophy and the management of covid-19 having analyzed what igwebuike philosophy stands for, its relevance to the management of covid-19 in nigeria will be divided into three parts. the first is the fact that both igwebuike philosophy and covid19 are about people. this philosophy centers on the affairs of others and having consideration for another person; so also are the issues of omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 72 covid-19. this was reflected in the management of the pandemic when isolations centers were built to separate affected people from others to avoid them being infected. the imposition of the use of face masks was for individual good and for the good of others as well. another common factor was the issue of joint efforts on the part of the government and the populace to find solution to this common problem, as we have in the search for local herbs on the part of the populace, and government was in search of vaccines. this problem was addressed in a common manner as igwebuike philosophy pays attention to collective matters, in keeping with kanu’s declaration that it involves “a common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny”(p.17). to nigerians, the corona virus pandemic was a collective problem that needs collective efforts to resolve. the third part of this relevance is about unity and oneness. the summary of igwebuike philosophy is actually unity. this is what kanu emphasises in his explanation of igwebuike philosophy in people coming together in solidarity and complementarity to form an insurmountable force. the corona virus pandemic period has has seen families and the nation uniting in prayers. many families that have ever lived apart can now use this phase to stay together and share memories of a lasting value. children are at home with their parents, closely in prayers and sharing what they have together as they hope and yearn to have more years for family ties. recommendations based on the discussions above, the following recommendations are presented: 1. that in case of future occurrence, the government should be more proactive in closing the borders to prevent travelers who transport the diseases from entering the country. in a case like this, less attention should be paid to the immediate effects of it ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and the management of covid-19 in nigeria igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 73 on the economy; after all, the economy was affected and many lives were lost as recorded. 2. the country needs a functional database in a time like this for the distribution of palliatives. many people did not receive any food items as support from the government. this brought about their anxiety to return to their businesses, since their immediate needs could not be met. if there had been a welldesigned database, palliatives would have been easy to distribute as other measures to curb the diseases were being put in place like fumigation of public places and building of isolation centers. 3. any situation that may cause total lockdown needs to be adequately planned. total lockdown should be general, that is, it should be a nationwide programme happening at the same time in all the states. the regulations on how to go about it must be left to the federal government, instead of individual state governments. 4. the efforts put into fighting the corona virus pandemic on the part of the government were commendable. however, attention should be paid to other communicable diseases in nigeria, if our interest is on saving lives. lassa fever, malaria resulting from dirty environments, and diarrhea ensuing from regular climate change claiming lives every time can be addressed so that people will enjoy good living in peaceful environments. conclusion this paper discussed igwebuike philosophy and the management of corona virus disease (covid-19) pandemic in nigeria. it was an epidemic in china that occurred in december, 2019 which suddenly turned to be a pandemic, throwing the whole world into panic. it came to nigeria in 2020 february and it has been adequately managed by the government and the entire people of nigeria, giving their support through compliance with the regulations of the government on how to omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 74 go about it. this cooperative effort is actually laudable as it gave much hope for the future. it is important to note that before the era of covid -19 in nigeria, there have been other issues confronting the populace in this country that are not on health basis, but are deadly. therefore, attention should be given to lack of qualitative education, problem of insecurity, development matters in terms of amenities, job creation for youths and young school leavers, functional pension scheme for workers and the needs of retirees. lack of robust plans for the above might lead to negative effects on the health of nigerians. consequently, they develop high blood pressure, depression, dementia and all sorts of health issues that result in untimely deaths of the concerned. hence, consideration should be given to all areas of their lives to encourage better living. nigerians are known for struggles and stressful life style; hence, let everyone keep in mind that covid-19 lockdown had given all the opportunity to rest and get refreshed. finally, leaders at all levels need to adopt the ‘igwebuike’ philosophy of solidarity in decision making so as to avoid followers losing confidence in them, as it happened at a point during the management of covid-19 pandemic in nigeria. references adepoju p. (2020). nigeria responds to covid-19; first case detected in subsaharan africa. retrieved (14/5/2020) from https://www.nature.com/articles/d41591-020-00004-2 adodo a.g. (2020). how a nigeria-based catholic medical centre is responding to covid-19 search for cure. retrieved (20/5/2020) from https://www.aciafrica.org/news/1266/how-a-nigeria-basedcatholic-medical-centre-is-responding-to-covid-19-searchfor-cure ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and the management of covid-19 in nigeria igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 75 duddu p. (2020).covid-19 coronavirus: top ten most-affected countries. retrieved (14/5/2020) from https://www.pharmaceuticaltechnology.com/features/covid-19-coronavirus-top-tenmost-affected-countries/. ejem p.s (2018). comparative study of igwebuike philosophy and julius nyerere’s philosophy of african brotherhood. retrieved (13/5/2020) from https://www.academia.edu/37608513/. kanu i.a (2017). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development in african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 76 kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. kanu, i. a. (2018). african philosophy, globalization and the priority of ‘otherness’. journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 40-57. kanu, i. a. (2018). african traditional philosophy of education: essays in igwebuike philosophy. germany: lambert publications. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 5983. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and the management of covid-19 in nigeria igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 77 kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kanu, i. a. (2019). on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159-176. kanu, i. a. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. matt r and sabrina w (2020). how corona virus started; what happened next explained. retrieved (14/5/2020) from https://www.wired.co.uk/article/china-coronavirus. onaiyekan j. (2020). covid-19: a case for the resumption of controlled worship gatherings in churches and mosques. catholic archbishop emeritus of abuja. write –up circulated on social media. the nigeria centre for disease control (ncdc). retrieved (13/5/2020) from https://covid19.ncdc.gov.ng/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 82 an encounter with religious change in uboma land ifeanyi okeke, phd department of philosophy/religion and cultural studies, federal university, ndufualike, ikwo, ebonyi state. chilurumogu@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract the theory of evolution proposes that human cultures (including religion) go through a process of development beginning from the lower or simple to the higher complex form. as part of a larger igbo society, the clash of missionary religions and western culture left uboma with some continuity and discontinuity of their traditional practices. some of the basic questions this research work had attempted an answer are, was the effect of religious change felt in uboma land? what are the agents of such religious change and how the uboma people react to such menace? what has remained of uboma after the so-called clash of the cultures? introduction uboma is one of the two communities that make up the present day ihitte/uboma local government area of imo state. uboma is made up seven(7) autonomous communities with each autonomous community having her own traditional ruler as a mark of its autonomy. the people are predominantly farmers of subsistent nature majoring in yam, cassava, palm produce, and local production of rice. it is here that we have an igbo dialect known as uboma isu. egbucha (2007: 87) argues clearly that the process which resulted in a rapid religious change could be characterized as complex and long. according to him, the islamic religion had its own strategy of spreading the religion. this included building of islamic schools where arabic language was studied, the use of jihad of the heart and finally the use of jihad of the sword. motivated by the mixing of islam with traditional practices, the jihad of the sword became necessary to convert people to the worship of original islamic morals. this process of jihad became an effective process of converting the local population. in addition, arabic language schools were established to indoctrinate the children on the religion of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 83 islam. to become a muslim came to be identified as a pre-requisite for political entry into high offices. in similar manner, various christian mission groups evolved different strategies, which they considered most appropriate to their work. these various approaches and methods ultimately culminated in a revolution. the more popular of these methods according to egbucha included the freedom and rehabilitation of slaves and outcasts, establishment of christian settlements. within such colonies, christian way of life became the norm. some adopted the method of open-air preaching and home visitation as was the case with the evangelical church of west africa/ sudan interior mission (ecwa/sim) now evangelical church winning all in uboma land. the missionary methods of teaching and preaching were looked upon as mystical and powerful. this involved the demonstration of miracles of healing and living in the evil forests without problems. achebe (1958:105) throws more light on the issue. from the deliberation of umuofia elders on the issue we read: “they want a piece of land said uchendu, we shall give them a piece of land…let us give them a portion of the evil forest. they boast about victory over death. let us give them a real battle field in which to show their victory…they offered them as much evil forest as they cared to take”. in uboma land this was also the case. when many inhabitants from various villages of ikperejere and uboma started to join the worshippers at umuduru village, and towards the close of 1922, a new site was chosen for the people. that site was “a thickly forested juju land where demons/evil spirits/burial site for the undesirables etc were supposed to inhabit. that ‘horrible’ and dreadful site was given to the church for her abode. that forbidden land was near orie ohuru market square”, (building committee, 1988:11). then when days passed and nothing happened to them, many people developed the opinion that their magic powers were greater than those of the africans. some then opted for this power. it is against this background that nwosu (1996:1-13) observes that the view that africans looked for mystical powers in the mission churches appears in the literature of church history in africa. but it has been proved adequately that the response to christianity was influenced by this search. some scholars have explained a three-stage approach in the mission effort or attempt to change religion and culture. the first stage was described as the era of experimentation marked mainly with caution. the second phase has been referred to as the era of radical iconoclasm and finally the stage of cultural revival marked by religious adaptation, syncretism, and inculturation. the era of experimentation tallies with what we saw in things fall apart and in ikperejere land where the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 84 christian mission was given the evil forest. this period covers about the first 50 years. the missionaries were naturally cautious when they arrived. some of them enjoyed the backing of colonial masters; they were able to control some aspects of the cultures they saw as barbaric like human sacrifice and the killing of twins. the era of radical iconoclasm was necessitated by the increase in the number of converts coupled with developments like the first and second world wars. with the success of european colonialism, many missionaries and their individual converts began to adopt many more radical methods. for example, the igbos witnessed a great conversion explosion between 1912 and 1918 and in uboma land it tallied with the coming of christianity in the land from where it spread to other areas with the community. another reason for the massive response to the new faith was the ability of the missions to destroy the shrines of divinity without any harm to members. a power many would want to possess. this was similar to the spread of the message of garrick sokaro braide and his movement in southern nigeria between1919-1937. all these amounted to religious change in uboma land. the effect has led to the proliferation of different churches in uboma today. the third stage in the process of religious change is cultural revival. with independence and re-emergence of black culture, many people began to question the attitude and actions of christian missionaries towards africa. people began to question whether african traditional religion was as devilish as painted. complaints even in the main-stream churches were growing wide. against this background, christian mission groups began to admit elements from african religion. some religious founders began to mix up elements from the two religions. this early stage was marked with religious syncretism. the establishment of educational institutions, hospitals and rehabilitation centers by the missionaries marked another process of religious change in west africa. in relation to this view onwubiko (1991:127) observes, “the effect the desired change in culture, they thought it was better to start with the children, the fathers and adults of tomorrow. the attention paid to children was motivated by the fact that missionaries clearly saw that the adult africans were men and made according to traditional standards and principles. they were traditionally religious to the core and to christianize them in the light of the christian religion was difficult. they were forced to turn to children who were still tender, impressionable, minable, uninitiated and therefore pliable”. education therefore became an avenue of demolishing the children’s idea about traditional religion in west africa. also, in uboma land soon after the church was established, the urge for the ability to read, write and calculate numbers was igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 85 irresistible. the people were thrilled to see their teachers sing from books and hymn, read the bible, write and interpret letters and vital documents. and gradually many men, women and children abandoned the worship of idols as well as other abhorrent heathen practices. the use of medical services was another effective method of religious change adopted by the missionaries. as ekechi observes, right from the time they arrived, it was observed that medicare, which roman catholic missionaries gave to natives, was by no means without ulterior motives. onunwa (1990:219) relays what ottenberge who has a close contact with the igbos said “the igbo are probably most receptive to culture change and most willing to accept western ways of life than other groups in nigeria”. it will be important to conclude by citing the request of rev. j.c. taylor for more hands in his missionary work in igboland. as he puts it “may many come willing to labour in the pulling down the strongholds of satan’s kingdom for the whole of igbo district is his citadel” (crowther and taylor, 1968:325). this request implied a move to destroy the traditional religion of the people. our survey has shown that both christian and moslem missionaries adopted strategies in which they achieved the objectives of their missions. consequences of religious change metuh (1986: 13) argues that the responses of the different religious communities in africa to religious change is another interesting but complex theme. the maguzawa, are pockets of hausa communities which have for centuries resisited islam. the traditional beliefs which they still hold today show signs of islamic influence. the muslim name for god, allah, has displaced the traditional name for god, which according to goriawala, is now lost. some muslim spirits, “al-jinn”, have been adopted and added to the ranks of the traditional spirits, “iskookii”, while the bori cult, a therapeutic spirit-possession cult, practiced by the maguzawa attract clients from hausa muslims. egbucha (2007:95) writes that the forces of technology, christianity, islam and colonialism have extensively precipitated religious change in africa. this revolution is total, affecting all aspects of life. this may have made mbiti (1969:217) react this way “africa is caught up in a world revolution which is so dynamic that it has almost got out of human control. now a new and rapid rhythm is beating from the drums of science and technology, modern communications, cities and towns…the man of africa must get up and dance, for better or for worse on the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 86 arena of world dramatic image of himself and the universe is disrupted and must make room for the challenging universe and not simply the tribal man”. ubrurhe (1992:19), reasons that there is no society all over the world which experiences cultural control without its being acculturated. he also highlights that in the process of acculturation, the values of such society are affected through modification or entirely changed by deliberate actions. he observes too that change as notice in nigerian society is brought by western education and christianity. to him moral value is the most affected aspect of nigerian culture and this has led to disregard for other societal values including human life and property, there by hampering development. okoye (1990:7-13) looks at religious change in africa from a different perxpective. his view is from the reaction to colonial policy of france in her colonial territories. this policy of assimilation was aimed at stripping the indigenes of they possessed and thereafter absorb them to frence race. then, the emergency of negritude which objected unequivocally to the attempt to strip africans of their africanness in order to make them artificial french people, pointed to the fact that this policy assimilation was succeeding. okoye asserts, “this policy of french government distablised the socio-cultural organization of her territories. religion, which remains the major constituent of culture, was affected”. continuities according to ejizu (1986:148-153), there is no doubt that igbo traditional religion is down, but not out in contemporary igbo religious scene. in spite of the devastating effect of christianity and western culture and civilization, the traditional religious culture is far from being an anachronism. rather, it continues to be the potential factor and a living institution for the faithful remnant and even some devotees and adherents of other religions in the system. there is therefore a number of developments in today’s religious history of igboland and indeed uboma which conspicuously indicate the continued vitality of elements of the tradition. for a good number of the uboma population comprising largely of illiterate dwellers of this rural area and a even those dwelling outside the area, the full force of the traditional religion described in this thesis is very much experienced in their daily living. this category of people includes both the young and the old contrary to the suggestion of isichei (1970:212) that today “the traditional religion is the preserve of a small aging minority”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 87 in uboma today just as it is in other rural areas of abakiliki, afikpo, awka, agwu, ngwa, udi, and other districts, igbo traditional religious beliefs and practices especially the fear, reverence and recognition of the existence and powers of the traditional deities still thrive in much the same way as in the period that could be referred to as the golden age of the igbo traditional culture, notwithstanding the presence of the christian religion and western education in this area. the vision of the world which prevails among this uboma population, as well as the basic control devices ejizu (1986:149) argues, are principally the time-honoured religious models handed down by the uboma forbearers. the gods and deities acknowledged in the respective villages and communities with their shrines and cults and symbols are in the keep of traditional priests and custodians. where they are lost in antiquity, they are still in the minds, hearts and feelings of the people. regular sacrifices and festivals continue to be offered and held in honour of these deities, besides other private acts of worship, howbeit discretely. likewise, ancestral symbols of ‘ofo’, ‘ikenga’ and others still occupied their reserved corners in the homes of the faithful adherents, priest and elders of the traditional religion. the annual liturgical calendar continues to be strictly lived out from cycle to cycle, with a good number that had joined christianity participating in certain instances, like new yam festival, mbom-uzo festival, iwa-akwa ceremony, divination, oracular consultation, chrams and other protective ritual performances associated with the major events of life are practiced to maintain the harmony that is believed to exist between the world of men and the spirit-world. human life together with the various beliefs and practices deriving from its conception among the traditional uboma, continue as the primary motive force of all activity for this section of the uboma. even in igboland generally, ejizu (1986:152) points out that the two major christian groupsthe church missionary society and the roman catholic church, appear to have at last lived through the problems of back-sliding which confronted christianity in its early years. the conflict is far from being over. open strives erupt now and again in places as a result of crises which still mark the encounter of the two religions. he gives an example with what happened in awka where a membership of a major christian group was torn into two warring factions over traditional ritual practices connected with marriage known as ‘okuko onye uwa’; at edeoballa in the nsukka area, it was the ‘omaba’ masquerade and practices connected with it which triggered off the acrimony. like incidents could be multiplied in hundreds from various parts of iboland which suppot the continuity of traditional practices in uboma and the entire igboland. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 88 egbucha (2007: 100) posits succinctly that with the coming of christianity, science and modernization, the ancient faiths did not disappear as expected. this points to the continuity of african traditional religion in different parts of africa irrespective of these influences. fashole-luke et al (1978:5), point out how the traditional world view persists in the christianity of the sothotwsana. irrespective of many years of the exploits of orthodox christianity in this area, traditional beliefs and customs are still very much alive. waliggo points out in the same book the unfavourable relationship that existed between the people and catholic mission. this results in many people leaving catholic and returning to african religion, while those who remained, mix the two conspicuously. according to him, “the villagers of kirumba refused to send their children to the catholic mission schools of matale and kirumba itself, the ‘whiteman’ declared kabumbi of nkoni can never teach real knowledge to our children. they do not make them wise; we do those ourselves”. this assertion portrays dramatic return to african way of life. ayandele (1966:96) also identifies individual conversion to christianity as a disruption to the family system, which in turn disrupts the tribal system. to him, individuals are parts of the society and the society or tribe regulates the moral conduct of individuals. when an individual leaves this system and becomes converted to christian religion, eventually the tribe is distabilised. anyandele also identifies some people who left their tribe to other places as carriers of change when they come back. as he puts it; “between 1892 and 1893, 3,000 yoruba left for the congo, while in 1901 alone, over 4,000 nigerians left for the goldcoast to build railways. they returned with a new set of ideas and outlook on life, and an implacable contempt for the traditional religion”. johnstone (1993:36) takes a statistical view of the growth of christianity in different parts of africa. to him, only three countries in black africa still have majority of those following traditional religions-benin, liberia, and sierra leone. all these observations point to the continuity of traditional religious practices despite the effects of these agents of change. awalalu and dapamu (1979:283) give eight directions of religious change in africa stressing that the indigenous religion is so deeply rooted in africa that they find it difficult to sever connection from it. many adherents of other religions including highly educated christians and muslims owe allegiance to both the new religions and traditional religion. aguwa (1995:120) admits limited religious change in igbo traditional religion. to him, change has not eroded all allegiance to igbo traditional religion. this is because this religion is so deeply entrenched in the hearts of the people that they are not easily replaced by the teaching of islam, christianity or any other modern religious igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 89 systems. he puts it this way “while changes go on, the effort by many to protect and promote socio-cultural practices is open and persistent. for example, there are traditional institutions such as ozo, okonko, odo and mmonwu over which christians and traditionalists have had little agreement in the dialogue to discover if their elements are irrevocably opposed”. metuh (1987;281), opines that generally, the supreme being in traditional religion has been identified with the christian god and has assumed most of his characteristics. according to metuh, when horton suggests that with exposure to the modernizing factors, the deities are in retreat, it will be incorrect to take this to mean that belief in their existence and powers are dying out. the average nigerian christian will still pronounce curses in the name of deities. in extreme cases, offerings could be made to the deities for children, for good fortune, or to avert a threatened misfortune. above all, the deities are still invoked as agents of divine wrath on undetected criminals. very serious disputes are still settled by oaths sworn on the shrines or emblems of some deities. an elder, a traditionalist at atani community in igboland, was said to have revealed how he recovered seven pieces of family land sold away by his extravagant nephew by offering their buyers the option of swearing on a local deity known to be ruthless in killing perjurers and keeping the land, or relinquishing the land. they all chose the latter because they did not buy the land in ‘good faith’. according to metuh, the belief in evil spirits is rampant. the belief in and fear of witchcraft are still very strong. individuals still make charms to ward off witchcraft attacks and communities sometimes organize witchcraft hunts. often confessions are extorted from the accused. in nigeria, beliefs in ‘ogbanje’ or ‘abiku’ (evil spirits which reincarnate repeatedly in children) are still firmly held. rituals to exorcise them are openly made by christian and traditionalists, the educated and the uneducated alike. consultation of oracles and divination are widely practised especially to discover causes of deaths of relatives, causes of illness, and to identify thieves, witches and sorcerers. the observation of sylvia leith-ross (1965:293) is hereby presented: an igbo attends communion at the same time as he believes in the potency of traditional magic; he ties up in the same handkerchief the rosary and the traditional talisman and plants side by side in the garden round his new cement and panroofed house the hibiscus of civilization and the ogishi tree of pagan family rites. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 90 although this observation was made since 1965, it remains very valid and relevant till today as far as the uboma is concerned. discontinuities it is mbiti’s (1969: 216) view that: africa is caught up in a world revolution which is so dynamic that it has almost got out of human control…the man of africa must get up and dance, for better or for worse, on the arena of world drama: his image of himself and of the universe is disrupted and must make room for the changing ‘universal’ and not simply ‘tribal man. ayandele (1973:126-127) in an article review with the startling caption “the collapse of ‘pagandom’ in igboland”, tried to lend credence to the facile conclusion that the demise of igbo traditional religion is a fait-accompli writes: ... the christianization of the igbo was nothing short of an epic. not even in ijebuland, similarly physically conquered by the british invaders and where the gospel achieved an amazing success, were the walls of pagandom to collapse jericho-wise as in igboland... this picture of the defeat of the gods in igboland remains substantially authentic, notwithstanding the nostalgic desire of mbonu ojikes for the traditional religion in the forties and the continued prevalence of jujuism belief in the ancestral spirits portrayed in the work of igbo novelists like chinua achebe and john munonye. to ayandele, the walls of igbo pagandom have collapsed jericho-wise (bascom & herskovits, (1959:5). it is not in doubt therefore that with the clash of two different worldviews, many peoples of africa have been converted to christianity. it is against this background that david barrett (1982:17), observes: in africa christians have mushroomed from 1. 9 million in 1909 (0.06% of world population then) to 203 million in 1980 (4.7%). the recent net increase in africa is 6 million new christians a year, i.e. 16,400 a day, of which 1.5million are not converts (minus defections and apostasies). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 91 many writers and authors have pointed out howbeit correctly that the phenomenal success of the christian missionary enterprise in igboland is largely due to two main actors: a. the success of the british arms with which missionary campaign was for some length of time closely associated, and b. the magic of the westerntype of education which the christian missions pioneered and capitalized on as a most effective instrument of evangelization. amongst those practices of igbo traditional religion which gave way were the human sacrifice, killing of slaves as a part of the final funeral rite of certain notables, killing of twins, oracular institutions, especially the more notorious ones at arochukwu, umunoha and awka. because of their evident brutality, these negative practices had to give way, to the superior might of the joint campaign of the missionaries and the colonial administrative devices. one john samuel okosi of onitsha and chief idigo of aguleri (c.m.s journal, 1903:117) were to lead many of free born and well-placed citizens in the movement to the new religion. of john samuel okosi, it was entered in the c.m.s journal for november 1863 that he brought all his idols in a bag and handed them to the missionaries at onitsha. he was also reported to have deposed that: “ike agum (agwum) na osisi na, oku (okwu) tsuku (chukwu) obago na obim ubua (ugbua) ubotsi (oge) izizi abum onye nkafie (i am tired of these sticks. the word of god enters now into my heart once i was foolish)” (metuh, 1986:147). in the above manner also, many traditional shrines of the formerly popular deities and the cults connected with them were betrayed. furthermore, the traditional strong belief in the intricate link between the three-tier structure of the cosmos, as well as the continual flow of activities between them to which deaths, fatal sicknesses, and the failure of crop, infertility and so on, were formerly attributed, have been greatly undermined by the success of the various gadgets of missionary efforts and western cultural civilization in contemporary igbo society. with this, there became an obvious diminution in importance of traditional igbo aids of explanation and control of space-time events-divination, oracles, ritual sacrifices, charms and magic. finally, loss of many vital cult symbols, death and nonsuccession of many traditional custodians of a number of important traditional igbo rituals and religions institutions, equally accelerated the discontinuity of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 92 many traditional igbo religious beliefs, and practices which were wholly dependent on oral means for preservation and transmission. in sum, there has generally been a serious disruption and discontinuation of the formerly unilateral picture of the situation of igbo traditional religious society. igbo society has since the intrusion of the forces of change at the dawn of the 19th century, been undergoing a tremendous socio-religious transformation which has led to the disappearance of a lot of the features of the traditional religion, the modification of the cosmological ideas and values and attitudinal orientations of the greater majority of the igbo population including uboma. citing ejizu, metuh (1986:148) posits: the continuing confrontation of igbo traditional religious elements and christianity in many parts of igboland today.... as well as in the lives of a good number of the 80% baptized igbo christians, have unleashed new tensions and crises on the contemporary igbo religious scene. against such a background, any sweeping generalization on the religious picture of igboland today, could only but pass as a gratuitous assertion. indeed, nothing could be more truthful than this position. conclusion religious issues, object, rituals, liturgy and worship in line with the need of every human society must continue to adjust to agents of social and religious change either from within or from without if they must perform their societal functions. i stress for purposes of emphasis that every institution has its own internal mechanism for change irrespective of externally induced forces. the african traditional religion has not been left out in this regard. this is evident in the philosophy of the igbos in reaction to a deity that refuses to perform. two proverbs confirm this position. ‘agbara nawa unara, e zi ya oshishi e jiri tuo ya’ (when a deity becomes recalcitrant, it would be shown the tree from which it was made). the second is “if a god becomes indolent, its worshippers will abandon it at the cross-road”. at the end, in reaction to the forces of change, there must be elements of change-some practices will give way for the new (discontinuities), while some practices will also remain (continuities). the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 93 traditional igbo land witnessed the two in relation to their traditional religion and deities in particular, uboma land was indeed not left out. references achebe, c. (1958). things fall apart. london, heinemann. aguwa, j.c. (1995). the agwu deity in igbo religion, onitsha, imico publishers. anyandele, e.a (1966). the missionary impact on modern nigeria 1842 – 1910 london, longman. anyandele, e.a. (1975). “the collapse of pagandom in igboland”. journal of historical society of nigeria. vol.7, no.1. awalalu, j.o and dapamu, p.a. (1979). west african traditional religion, ibadan: onibonoje press and broks industries (nig.) ltd. barret, d. (1982). world christian encyclopedia, london, oxford university press. bascom, w.r and herskovits, m.j. (ed) (1955). continuity and change in african culture, chicago, university of chicago. building committee (ed) (1988). the brief history of st. simon’s anglican church ikperejere uboma, etiti.n.p. crowther, s.a and taylor, j.c (1968). “the gospel on the bank of the niger” journals and notices of native missionaries accompanying the niger expedition of 1857-1859, london: dawson of pall mall. egbucha, g.c. (2007). religious change in birth, puberty and marriage rites in owerri, imo state, aba, assemblies of god press. ejizu, c. (1986). “continuity and discontinuity in igbo traditional religion” in the gods in retreat. continuity and change in african religions: metuch e.i. (ed), enugu, fourth dimensions publishers. fashole-luke, e. et al (1978). christianity in independent africa, ibadan: university press. isichie, e. (1970). “seven varieties of ambiguity – some patterns of igbo response to christian mission”. journal of religion in africa, vol.11. johnstone, p. (1993). operation world. london: o.m. publishing. mbiti, j.s. (1969). african religions and philosophy, london: heinemann. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 94 metuh, e.i. (1985). the gods in retreat, continuity and change in african religions. enugu, fourth dimension publishing coy. ltd. onunwa, r.u (2005). studies in igbo traditional religion, nigeria, pacific publishers. onwubiko, a.o. (1991). african thought religion and culture, enugu: snap press ltd. sylvia lecth-ross (1965). african woman, 1963, n.p. routlege and regan paul. ubrurhe, j.o. (1992). african beliefs and philosophy, warri, international publishers. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 28 the role of african traditional religion in nation building egege ugiazibe department of religious studies niger delta university wilberforce island, amassoma, yenagoa, bayelsa state, nigeria francaegege@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.14770.12482 abstract the recent happenings around the world particularly nigeria calls for a nation building. nationbuilding is about having a common sense of purpose, a sense of a shared identity, and a collective imagination of belongings. thus, the aim of this paper is to examine the role african traditional religion plays in ensuring nation-building using secondary sources. the result of the study indicates that african traditional religion has rich cultural activities that bring the africans under the umbrella of unity and peaceful co-existence. it was also discovered in this study that despite the influence of western ideology, african traditional religion has maintained its cultural heritage. hence the paper concludes that african traditional religion is a model for nation building. keywords: african traditional religion, nation building, culture, religion introduction in recent times, the society is faced with diverse developmental and social challenges which undermine the goals of effective nationbuilding ranging from the decline in moral and ethical values to bad leadership, insecurities and the total disregarded of societal and religious values. it is the dream of every nation, institution or organization to experience peace, security development and progress at all levels. this is why in traditional african societies; there are ethics which guides and regulates the conduct and actions of individuals that is embedded in the people’s traditional religion. the indigenous religion of the africans known as african traditional religion (atr) is a religion that fosters peace, unity, love and justice among members of the society. according to ignatus cited by agang, african traditional religion is the foundation stone upon which all african ethics are built. it is a religion that is so woven into the cultural fabric of the africans, in that it has become part and parcel of the african heritage. thus, the indigenous religion of the africans does not only promote national unity by bringing the entire igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 29 african nation under the umbrella of peace through cultural activities and its social structures. but it has continued to influence the life of the africans despite the influence of western ideology. the aim of this paper therefore is to examine how the structures of african traditional religion can be a veritable tool or model for nation building. the need for nation-building nation-building is the process whereby a society of people with diverse origins, histories, languages, cultures and religions come together within the boundaries of a sovereign state with a unified constitutional and legal dispensation, a national public education system, an integrated national economy, shared symbols and values as equal to work towards eradicating the divisions and injustice of the past to foster unity and promote a community wide conscious sense of being proudly africans. according to wikipedia, nationbuilding is constructing or structuring a national identity using the power of the state. nationbuilding aims at the unification of the people within the state so that it remains politically stable and viable in the long run. en.em.wikipedia (retrieved 19/4/2) for ibrahim www.mafng.org (accessed:10/5/2021 nation building is about building a political entity which corresponds to given territory based on some generally accepted rules, norms and principles and a common citizenship. it is also about building institutions which symbolize the political entity institutions such as a bureaucracy, an economy, the judiciary, universities, a civil service and civil society organizations. it is having a common sense of purpose, a sense of shared destiny, a collective imagination of belonging. thus, the following are reasons for nation building. 1) peaceful co-existence peace is a fundamental component of community development, personal growth and survival of our planet. at the heart of every faith community, culture, lies a need to advance peaceful co-existence to enhance productive, meaningful lives and sustainable society. the present day society is becoming highly peace less and unsafe for both present and future generations. the world today is engulfed by an environment of tension, violence, declining values, injustice, reduced tolerance and respect for human rights, threatening the future of the youth who deserve a peaceful and better quality of life. aldulrahman marjan (2018). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 30 he further posits that today the world faces different types of conflicts and the worst form is terrorism which has resulted in catastrophic loss of property and human life, hindering peace between communities, nations and religions providing opportunity and safe spaces for the youth to come together to build understanding, reduce misconceptions and develop healthy relationship will go a long way in achieving the aim of nation -building. 2) common use of resources for a nation to be built there has to be a common use of resources. there has to be equal distribution of the nation’s economy. every individual within that society need to realize that the nation’s resource is for common good of the nation. therefore, everyone has to come under the umbrella of unity and a collective decision that the development of the nation is of major importance. a common resource is one that can provide benefit to society but which is not owned by anybody in particular. 3) unity against external aggression there is a common saying that united we stand but divided we fall. for a nation to be able to withstand external aggression they have to be united. this is why political leaders need to have one common purpose, vision and voice to see to the development of its nation. unity among leaders can foster development and progress of any kind. with one voice, one heart and one course, the peace of any nation is guaranteed. another reason for the need for nation-building is so that we can: 4) benefit from one another: this means that members of the society should look out for the success of one another. no one should harm any person for any reason. the success of one should be the success of all. this is to say that the quest for materialism and individualistic life style will no longer be the order of the day. this will mean the absence of conflicts, religious intolerance, terrorism, insecurity, bribery, injustice etc. however, for these to be achieved, the structures of africans traditional religion should be adopted. challenges and prospects of nation-building in nigeria ibrahim g. (2008) in his well-articulated essay identified five main challenges in nation-building in nigeria. and the first is (1) historical challenges. the fact that nigeria was divided by the colonial masters into north/south with different land tenure systems, local government administration, educational systems and judicial systems makes nation building difficult. because it is as though these are two separate countries, held together only by shared currency and transportation system. this historical challenge has not only igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 31 created division between indigenes and settlers but it has been a source of domestic tension and violence which has undermined the efforts of creating a common nationhood. (2) the challenges of socio-economic inequalities. one thing that is of major importance to nation-building is the building of a common citizenship. the task of nation-building cannot be achieved in a country where some parts are more privileged than the other. a country where some parts are marginalized and denied of their right. as a result, the citizen is not motivated to support the state and society, because they fell that the society is not adequately concerned about their welfare. more so, the socio-economic inequalities across the country fuels fears and suspicions. these inequalities pose serious threat to nation-building in the sense that the socio-economic inequalities imply that different nigerians live different lives in different parts of the country. in such situations a common nationhood cannot be achieved. inequalities are therefore a threat to common citizenship. we thus need a social contract between the people on the one hand, and the state and nation on the other. the state and nation must put meeting the needs of the disadvantaged as a key objective of public policy. 3. the constitutional challenge: the unbalanced nature of the constitution is another serious challenge that poses threat to the aim of nationbuilding in nigeria. according to benjamin (2019) this is due to the nature of our democracy, and the unending swing from federalism, to unitary and possibly confederalism. hence there is a need to redefine the nature of our government to make it more inclusive rather than exclusive. 4. the challenge of building institution for democracy and development whether nations are able to manage their political and social dispute peacefully, without lapsing into conflict, or sustain economic growth without creating huge inequalities, critically depends on the quality of the relevant national institutions. institutions should be set up with the aim of hiring persons with the technical expertise and moral competence to interpret the rules or implement the goals of the organizations; and ensuring that the institutions inspire public confidence by being transparent, fair and consistent. to this end, nigeria needs to create or strengthen institutions that would help achieve the national goals of democratic governance and sustainable development. 5. the leadership challenge igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 32 since nigeria gained independence, poor leadership has always been the problem of nation-building in nigeria. the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility of leading by example which is the hallmarks of true leadership has crippled the nation progress and development. in the words of el rufai (2013) current governor of kaduna state cited by benjamin (2019) states: “we have surrendered the bulk of our political space to the dishonorable, the incompetent and worse, to the criminally-minded. this is the basic problem of nigeria. the brightest nigerians are either abroad, or at home in the academia, in the military or the private sector. this is an undeniable fact; the dregs of our society dominate the politics and have created a negative image that makes talented people spurn helping the country” nigeria is in dire need of visionary leaders who will implement and address developmental policies and leaders who will make the interest of the masses their first priority. however, the above challenge is a pointer to the fact that the nigerian nation needs to reintroduce those african traditional religious belief systems that encourages peaceful coexistence and communal living despite our historical background and social differences. the challenge of nation-building can be achieved if our cultural values that promote unity, community spirit, ethical values and peaceful co-existence are encouraged. african traditional religion incite core religious values and principles embedded in african religions which despite the various deities involved, enabled citizens and different groups to appreciate each other based on universally accepted virtues of justice, truth, common good, love and peace. given its unifying ties that link the whole of africa as one in one indigenous african religious spirit, it is believed that those values that are commonly shared by all africans irrespective of ethnic background can be revitalized and infused into the fabric of nigeria socio-political institutions. african traditional religion as a vehicle for nation-building african traditional religion is the indigenous religious practices and beliefs of the africans. it is the religion that encourages peace, unity, love and justice among members of the society. it binds africans together and gives africans a sense of belongings. it is a religion that questions ill-gotten wealth, and reigns instant judgment on offenders. according to friday and stephen (2013) african religion is the product of the thinking and experience of african forebears. they formed religious ideas, formulated religious beliefs. they told proverbs and myths which carried religious meanings, and they evolved laws and customs which safeguarded the life of the individual and his community. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 33 african traditional religion is a rich heritage that presents to younger generations a rich religious and cultural ethos of our forebears ignatius https://www.researchgate.net (accessed; 5/05/2021). according to the encyclopedia of african traditional religion unlike other world faiths, african traditional religions have no pre-dominant doctrinal teachings. rather they function as core beliefs. among these beliefs are origin myths, presence of deities, ancestor veneration and divination. hence african traditional religion through its belief systems, moral values or principles and ethical sanction plays an important role in sustaining moral coherence in the african societies. these principles or values served as a form of checks & balances between members and leaders of our country thereby leading to national progress. in the view of ekoepara and ekpenyong (2016), moral values are the aspect of african traditional religion which deals with ideas that defend or sustain the life of the people in their relationship with one another and the world around them. they further posit that african moral values covers issues like justice, right and wrong, respect for people and property, truth, love, good and evil, the keeping of promises and agreement, trust, crime and punishment, praise and blame etc. these values shape and determine the entire systems of the african society. systems such as the social behavior of the people, the political arena and the economic system. hence, for the african nation to achieve the goal of nation-building, these values have to be emphasized. it is with these values that our nation can experience justice, peace, trust, love and harmony. to this end, the african societies particularly nigeria should return to their traditional religious practices and adopt its moral value systems which will serve as a catalyst that will bring positive change in people’s characters thereby leading to the purpose of nationbuilding. furthermore, according to ignatius, given its unifying ties that link the whole of africa as one in one indigenous african religious spirit, it is believed that those values that are commonly shared by all africans irrespective of ethnic background can be revitalized and infused into the fabric of present-day nigerian socio-political institutions. values such as; commitment to community service value for collective responsibility towards community building commitment to social justice and rule of law respect for one another value for social responsibility and accountability on the path of leaders. religious tolerance and cultural appreciation. to witness nation building which will lead to the development and progress of a society there is the need for religion to be repositioned to reflect african igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 34 traditional values which would promote trust and cooperation that will help ensure full and robust participation in economic development. there is need to appropriate values from african traditional religion which could be useful in ensuring good governance in order to propel it towards greatness. there is also need to inculcate values based on african and traditional principles of hard-work, integrity, service, truthfulness, love and accountability which are the true hallmarks of developed nations. in african traditional religion, ethical sanctions also played a vital role in the african societies. it served as principles which guide the behaviors of individuals. it gave explanations as to why certain things should be done in a particular way and why it should not. according to olademo (2008). certain principles were put in place in african communities to guide the concept of and practice of ethics. these principles include the principles of being your brother/sisters keeper, taboos, covenant relationship etc. the unethical behavior of one individual may put at risk the destiny of the whole community. this is why members of the community are warned to be careful in their dealings. taboo is also a guiding principle which stipulates certain acts in african communities. punishments for violating such taboos are banishment and sanctions. thus for the nigerian nation to achieve the aim of nation building these ethical sanctions has to be emphasized and put in place. there is no nation that can experience development and progress at any level if the nation’s economy is in the hands of few individuals. ethical sanctions foster peace and unity in the community and a peaceful and harmonious atmosphere is the only panacea that will promote nation-building. therefore, the nigerian nation at all levels should introduce african traditional ethical principles and practices as the deterrent punitive measures used in premodern societies into its legal systems. ekporaan and ekpeyong (2016). african traditional religion vs western influences there is no doubt that the african religion has been influenced with western religion and ideologies. and that most aspect of african religion has been affected. but the fact remains that africans will always be africans in nature wherever they find themselves. where ever the african mangoes, they carry their religious practices along with them because according to mbiti the african man is notoriously religious. thus, this tells why even as the african man claims to have embraced the white man’s religion, they still belief in their traditional religion which has been transferred to them from their forefathers and which is innate in them. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 35 this is also why most africans still sort for help from their traditional deities in times of trouble. the africans who profess the white man’s religion still go for spiritual cleansing and sort for spiritual powers and protection from the spirit of their forefathers. they pour liberations and partake in spiritual rituals; it is in the same spirit that some leaders (political, religious) who are known to have been influenced by western religion (christianity, islam) still summon their opponent to some sort of deities and swearing oath of allegiance. because they believe that in the africans settings, judgment of offenders is instant. most africans profess the western religion and its ideologies but in reality they are traditional religionist and practitioners. this is evident in marriage ceremonies, burial rites, festivals etc. in fact, in as much as there are some elements of western ideologies in african traditional practices, there are also elements of african religion in white man’s religion. this can be found in the form of songs, mode of drumming dancing and relationship among members. this is evident as members of same faith care for one another by praying, giving and celebrating one another’s success. why, because they still believe in the spirit of oneness which are elements of african traditional religion of communal living. according to ignatius, african traditional religion has played a vital role in nationbuilding especially in the ancient traditional era when traditional settings of the society and its institution were very much in voyage. today, the cultural role of african traditional religion in nation building is still in progress. even when one thinks that christianity and islam has replaced african traditional religion, it is still evident that african traditional religion is still viable in so many villages, towns and cities in african content through its sources. the african man is deeply rooted in religion such that where ever he goes, he carries his religion along with him. even if one did not find any remnant of african traditional religion adherents in a certain area, one still sees it through its sources; art forms, sacred institutions and in oral traditions. african traditional religion is now known and practiced in many african countries and beyond and it as well makes those places viable, puts life into them, revitalize and develops them. thus, through the african value systems, the nigerian nation can be built or developed. the introduction of african traditional religion as a vehicle for nation building does not mean the introduction of pagan or idol worship as some may think, rather it is for the revival of our traditional social and cultural institutions that will help bring back the communalistic life style of the africans that once existed which was very viable during the time of our fore-bears. this will help in inculcating moral values to this present generation., such values include the value of hard-work, the value of truth telling, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 36 accountability, value of life and protection of human dignity, respect for life and property, and respect for elders etc. hence nation-building is achievable through the cultural role of african traditional religion. conclusion despite western influence, africa traditional religion has maintained its cultural values by playing important roles in shaping the character and culture of the african people. it is a religion that has no written document but it has continued to contribute positively to the development of its society. this is evident in its propagation of peaceful co-existence and good relation with other members of other religious traditions within and outside its region as it accommodates people from different backgrounds, cultures and nationality. on the whole african traditional religion is a tool for building a just and peaceful society. references african traditional. religion encyclopedia.com available@https:www.encydopedia.com (accessed: 2014/2014). friday j. and stephen d. (2013) “african traditional religious and national development” bassey andah. journal available @https.https.//liste.org (accessed: 18/05/2021) igaius. u, “african traditional religion and nation-building” available@ https://www.researchgat e.net (accessed: 5/05/21) ibrahim g. “the challenges of nation-building; the case of nigeria available @www.mafag.org (accessed: 10/5/2021) ekeopara, c and ekenyong.o (2016) “african traditional religion and national development in nigeria”.available@ https://www.researchgate.net (accessed: 6/04/2021). wikipeida https:// en.em.wikipedia.org (retrieved 19/5/2021). okademo, o. (2008). “theology of africa traditional religion”. available @http://www.non .edu.ng (accessed: 5/4/2021) abdulrahman, m (2018) “the need for peaceful co-existence” available @ https://gnrc.net (accessed: 6/03/2021). benjamin. (2019) “ nation-building in nigeria: realities, challenges, prospects” available @ https://www.researchgate.net (accessed: 2/5/2021) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 88 ethos and pathos in music technology: a study of its challenges for music education in tertiary institutions in delta and edo states nmadu, florence nkechi post primary education board, asaba, delta state florencenmadu@gmail.com; 08139111835 & agatha .i. onwuekwe, ph.d. department of music, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka musikdon@gmail.com; 07036470957 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29332.65925 abstract the focus of this paper is music technological advancement and its enhancement to music education. this study highlights the role of music technology as it enhances general music learning and as it assists to achieve the objectives of music education. the paper aims at investigating the militating factors against the effective use of technological devices in the studies of music education in tertiary institutions in delta and edo states and to proffer some possible solutions. this paper leans on a survey and empirical studies for its methodology. it is observed that majority of the tertiary institutions are lagging behind in technological advancement in relation to music education. the paper concluded that the role and impact of music technology are so crucial to the development and advancement of music education in nigeria and recommends that music technology be established in tertiary institutions in delta and edo states for economic and social empowerment of the students upon graduation. keywords; ethos, pathos, music technology, advancement, challenges, music education. introduction technology is a scientific knowledge used in practical ways in all spheres of life. it is the most modern designed machinery or equipment for use in almost all facets of life including education. it is observed that technology and music work hand in hand. every time you hear music, even in live performances, some sort of technology is applied. technology has made music available in different igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 89 media, for instance, music can be heard on radio, television, cable networks, ds, dvd< vcd, in cars, ships, laptops, computers, and even making of instruments. collins 1995:24; hammond, 1991:32 explain that technology has the ability to enhance education because it involves an active participation of students. this can readily reflect the individual needs and experiences of students. this approach has been shown in general education literature to positively affect students’ learning. it is observed that today, technology has evolved from its general term into music technology for music education. according to rudolph, (1996) “as students are being engaged with technology, they are bound to discover information more on their own. in addition, technology is an active medium for students and much of technology used in a music classroom can be purchased and utilized at home” (p. 21). hence adedeji, (2004) expresses that ‘‘the computer technology and the internet can be maximally utilized to complement the traditional pedagogical and didactic approaches.’’(p. 7) however, in spite of the awareness and the emphasis of the relevance and the impact of music technology on music education, music technology is yet to have its full course in the music education of the tertiary institution in nigeria. it is on this ground the paper aims at finding out the profound challenges militating against the effective use of music technology and to proffer some possible solutions for the tertiary institutions in delta and edo states. clarification of terms music technology music technology on its own is very broad. it implies the creation of music through musical instruments and equipment, which make use of various technologies. (adedeji, 2004, p. 4). music technology is a term that refers to all forms of technology involved with the musical art; particularly the use of electronic devices and computer software to facilitate playback, recording, composition, storage and performance. wisegeek (2003) also refers to music technology as: the application of technology, such as computers and software, to the musical arts whether it is the use of sequencer and editing software or electronic musical devices, musical technology and its definition expands as technology expands. music technology is sometimes referred to as sound technology, but while these two fields are similar, they are also igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 90 vastly different. music technology encompasses the composition, recording, and playback of music, while sound technology may only encompass the production of various sounds (www.wisegeek.com) according to hilliard, (www.mhtml:file://h|hilliard accessed december 6, 2011), the concept of music technology is intimately connected to both musical and technological creativity. people are constantly striving to device new forms of expression through music and creating new devices to enable them do so. clifton (2010) also states that: music technology describes the technological equipment used mainly to compose, perform, record, store and play back modern music”. people can study music technology at the university level, giving them a firm grounding in everything from music craft to today’s commercial music business. new music technology creates new techniques and opportunities to explore musically, this field of music helps to spur new music and new forms of musical creativity in today’s artists (www.ehowaskdeb.com) it can be inferred that music technology encompasses the technical and scientific aspects of music such as acoustic science, programming, computers, soft and hardware, business practices, music psychology/sociology and music industry. ethos ethos or the ethical appeal means to convince an audience of the author’s credibility or character. an author would use ethos to show to his audience that he is a credible source and is worth listening to. ethos is the greek word for “character.” the word “ethic” is derived from ethos. ethos can be developed by choosing language that is appropriate for the audience and topic (this also means choosing the proper level of vocabulary), making yourself sound fair or unbiased, introducing your expertise, accomplishments or pedigree, and by using correct grammar and syntax. during public speaking events, typically a speaker will have at least some of his pedigree and accomplishments listed upon introduction by a master of ceremony. https://pathosethoslogos.com/ merriam-web defines ethos as custom or character in greek. as originally used by aristotle, it referred to a man’s character or personality, especially in its balance between passion and caution. today ethos is used to refer to the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 91 practices or values that distinguish one person, organization, or society from others. in agreement with the above definitions, ethos is being able to convey multiple modes of expression and theorizing what composing with modes outside the written word looks and sounds like. it is the ability to skilfully display or show proficiency in a particular field (music) to your audience. it implies having mastery, command, prowess or competence in the field of music technology causing your audience to believe in you thereby creating acceptability and credibility. pathos pathos or the emotional appeal means to persuade an audience by appealing to their emotions. authors use pathos to invoke sympathy from an audience; to make the audience feel what the author wants them to feel. a common use of pathos would be to draw pity from an audience. another use of pathos would be to inspire anger from an audience, perhaps in order to prompt action. pathos is the greek word for both “suffering” and “experience.” the words empathy and pathetic are derived from pathos. pathos can be developed by using meaningful language, emotional tone, emotion evoking examples, stories of emotional events, and implied meanings. https://pathosethoslogos.com/ cambridge dictionary defines pathos as ‘‘the power of a person, situation, piece of writing, or work of art to cause feelings of sadness, especially because people feel sympathy.” similarly, dictionary.com cites that pathos is “the quality or power in an actual life experience or in literature, music, speech, or other forms of expression, of evoking a feeling of pity, or sympathetic and kindly sorrow or compassion.” in addition to the forerunning, pathos is a way of convincing an audience through one’s works; creating an emotional response\actions to an impassioned plea. in other words, pathos or emotional appeal in nigerian music technological devices for use in music education can be seen through some musicologists’ works lamenting for crucial attention. comparison between present and technological way of learning research on teaching /learning by (anderson, blumenfeld, pintrich, clark, marx and peterson, 1995; national commission on teaching and america’s future 1996) has shown that learning is contextual and that school represents a process not igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 92 simply a place (thorburg, 2002). in garcia’s viewpoint, schools now should no longer represent model modes of instruction. schools in a post-industrial world need to embrace the trend of the modern way of learning with technology and non-linear modes of thinking including multi-sensory stimulation and inquiry based learning. garcia further hints that, in 1998, a study by international society for technology in education (iste) highlights the ways in which new learning environments can be compared to traditional ones as thus: traditional (present) technological way teacher centred instruction student centred learning single sense stimulation multi-sensory stimulation single path progression multi-path progress single media multimedia isolated work collaborative work information delivery information exchange passive learning active/ exploratory/inquiry based learning factual, knowledge based critical thinking and informed decision making reactive response proactive planned action garcia (2004) further states that: students should no longer be considered ‘products’ of a learning system that ‘teaches’ them one independent concept at a time in irrelevant ways since we know that information devoid of content is meaningless especially to students who often claim that their favourite stage in learning was kindergarten because learning was linked to play. in other words, the distinction between school and the real world was not yet apparent because learning was still a holistic process then. (n. p) ethos in music technology for the sustainability of music education in tertiary institutions in nigeria, it is pertinent to follow the trends as it is obtainable in music education globally. it is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 93 the believe of some musicologists that music technology has graciously helped in advancing lives as it has broadened its scope especially in music business, which involves the musical arts. they solicit that this type of technology which uses electronic devices and computer software in playback, recording, composition, editing performance, construction of musical instruments and others should be adapted, to support the traditional way of teaching/learning of music education in nigeria. grarcia, (2004) provides an argument for the role of music technology to enhance and assist in the learning of traditional music education objectives as follows: 1. the use of technology in music education has effected change and attitude of students to music learning. 2. embracing technology and using it to meet music education objectives has empowered students by giving them more control and access to their own (music) education while exploring interest close to their hearts and by becoming musically literate in the process. 3. the use of music technology has the potential to strengthen the position of music in schools. 4. technology opened the doors to more students. it allowed them to experience music making as easily as if they were playing in a sandbox. 5. technological innovations in music have allowed for the same kind of opportunities for general music education for students. what a teacher uses at school to teach can be purchased and used by students at home and teachers. this notion levels the playing field for students and teachers and expands the possibilities, definition and role of music programmes – enriching them and students for better. adedeji (2004) opines that ‘‘the poor academic standard of our students will be improved upon if they are mandated to learn from their colleagues from other parts of the world on the internet’’ (p. 7). if this is done, it would open door for more music students. moreover, it would produce productive graduates creating generation of revenue through the acquired knowledge, skills and experiences, as well as invigorate the position of music in school and acceptance in the society at large. onuora-oguno (2009) also believes that the gains of computer applications to music pedagogy are numerous; the computer machinery is flexible and precise and can yield a wide variety of musical applications. he figures out that: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 94 in using a computer as a tool in composition, the composer programmes the computer to produce pitches, rhythms, tone colours and musical elements and to screen these elements through criteria also chosen by the composer. the output may be transcribed for performance by conventional instruments or fed into another device for conversion into sound. the composer’s input, in the form of mathematical functions, is translated by the computer into synthesized musical sounds that are stored in digital form and can be played back at will. computer can be programmed to produce music in traditional styles and instrumental colours, its principal attraction to composers has been its ability to expand the previously available range of musical elements such as tone colours and pitches and the new approaches to musical form it makes possible. (p. 9) it is observed that the present generation students like to embrace all the things in ambit of these modern devices. since lecturers and students are captivated by technological devices, it is imperative to use same technology to teach and learn in the classroom. onyiuke (2009) asserts that with the advancement in technology and resultant computer literacy, many benefits are seen in the process of teaching and learning of music in the following ways: 1. computers are playing an increasingly important role in education for both the teacher and the student. their uses enable each student to develop at his or her own pace and make the whole learning process more flexible. 2. computer aids to music education have been a major component of the western pedagogical process. 3. in the area of teaching, there are pedagogical tools that are used by music educators who want to share ideas and information with large or small group of students. 4. the electronic white board is a computer implement. this could be utilized by music educators in teaching music theory. it is a presentation device, which interfaces with a computer through a digital projector where they can be seen, and users can control the software both from the computer and from the board. 5. computer usage in and out of the classroom has gone a long way in enhancing the students’ learning experiences. (p. 103) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 95 similarly, nwamara (2006) finds the place and purpose of computer technology in musicology in the following aspects for: 1. the teaching and study of music; proper and careful incorporation of computer technology enhances the teachers’ sense of professional development and personal growth as computer technology provides the music teacher with tools for the development of skills and knowledge. such tools include various computer software and hardware that satisfy diverse needs in almost every aspect of musicology. it also benefits the students whom these skills and knowledge are being transferred to. 2. composition/production and preservation of music; computer technology is very essential to the musicologist (composer) from the time he conceives his ideas till he finalizes/rounds off his creative jobs. 3. performance of music; in performance, the sequencer which is a computer aided device makes it possible for few individuals to play roles that would have required a large number of performers or even an orchestra under normal circumstances. apart from aiding performance, the computer also helps to improve and control the texture of sound and accuracy of pitches in performances. (p. 130) there are boundless potentials in music technology for both the lecturers and students that need to be harnessed to aid lecturers’ and students’ creative mind. the pathos in music technology according to garcia (2004) ‘‘we cannot be anywhere but the present and if we are pinning for a past that has no relation whatsoever to today’s society or schools, the future of music education is in trouble’’ (n. p). adedeji, (2004) laments: although nigerian music scholars have contributed in no small measure to the development of music education at the global level through their compositions, research, writings and performances, the field is not progressing as such at home, as evidenced from a number of problems yet unsolved e.g. technological backwardness, the problem of notation, lack of systematized body of theory, lack of sufficient literatures, uncooperative attitudes among colleagues, low level of scholarship in terms of teaching and research and inequality which characterize the standard of regional academic activities (p. 2) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 96 similarly, ekwueme in mbanugo (2006), bemoans the attitude of music teachers who are not amenable to change as thus “most nigerian music teachers appear to be lazy, complacent and readily settled for the traditional method of teaching without practical application. this category of teachers resists change and selfdevelopment” (p. 43). dorfman, (2008) also asserts that “teachers lack music technology competence as well as lack understanding of pedagogical techniques of using computer in classroom” (p. 26). nwamara (2006), on the other hand expresses grief that “it is very discouraging and appalling that most nigerian musicologists are yet to be computer literate in this age of “computer madness,” yet we organize lectures, seminars, and conferences hoping to catch up with the tempi in various parts of the advanced world. there has not been enough significant evidence of adequate use and proper utilization of our computers for musical purposes” (p. 133). nwamara (2006) further bewails that: it is quite disheartening that with the rapid increase in the provision of music technological devices in various facets of our social environments, clubs, churches, recording studios and so on, nigerian musicologists are still lagging behind in terms or maximal utilization of these devices in fulfilling their obligations. in church performances and even churches, our musicologists have not been able to incorporate computer technology fully. (p. 134) challenges militating against the effective use of music technology devices for teaching/learn of music education. probing into the reasons music technology is yet to fully have its course in music education in tertiary institutions in delta and edo states it is discovered that there are many factors militating against the effective use of music technology for teaching/learning of music education in schools. there are obvious issues with equipment storage or providing access to a room and space needed for keyboard, computers, speakers etc, it is for many schools under study the most daunting challenge. equipping the classroom with music technology equipment and facilities would cost the schools, parents, government and others to put these in place. hence elliot 2004; savage 2007; dorfman 2008; stress the reason technology is not used in curriculums is as a result of external factors such as the following: i. insufficient financial support. ii. inadequate hardware and software provision igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 97 iii. lack of space in music room iv. requires new approach to classroom management v. technology for music education is insufficient vi. anxiety-strategy planning investments are needed to implement the use of technology in music learning. syal in onyiuke (2009) also notes that ‘‘music educators find it difficult to successfully implement computers into their music curriculum. they often resort to hit and miss strategy to implement computers into their classroom’’ (p. 104). the music educators perhaps find it difficult to successfully implement the use of music technology due to the fact that it is not included in the music education curriculum as olapade & omole (2018) highlight that the music teachers interviewed argued that ‘‘courses like introduction to modern technology, which focuses mainly on music software were supposed to have been incorporated in the course of study in higher institutions. they state further that the courses might have prepared them for future challenges like that.’’ (p. 235) another factor is the fact that the music educators are music technology illiterate. majority of the schools offering music in delta and edo states have inadequate proficient, skillful or experts on this field (music technology) to teach music. although we have few (20%) music educators who are exposed to music technology based on personal development. onyiuke (2009) affirms that ‘‘some music educators are not being computer literates in this global world of computer technology’’ (p. 104). elliot 2004; savage 2007; dorfman 2008, also agree that teachers lack music technology competence as well as understanding of the pedagogical techniques of using technology in classroom. some students even have more information technology (it) expertise than teachers the inadequate supply or non-availability of this medium in schools makes music teaching/learning ineffective. for instance, students cannot apply some of these applications such as music software, hardware and others because they are unavailable in schools and in a case where they have one it is not enough for an effective teaching and learning. beyond all of these, how can music technology be successfully utilized if it is not integrated into the music education curriculum. it infers that the non-inclusion of music technology and the unavailability of equipment, facilities and instructional materials for music education is the lead factor. some possible solutions to the challenges igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 98 following the footsteps of other countries where music education has stabilized its programmes through campaigns, workshops, seminars and rigorous research. national commission for colleges of education (ncce), national universities commission (nuc) and music educators should emulate and organize programmes to improve upon music education by using music technology in finding the solutions to the challenges and implementation. for instance, in the united states of america, several programmes and workshops were organized by the united states department of education for technology initiative to improve education. the good news is that the marketplace is gradually mitigating many of these challenges. online production tools for teaching/learning of music education nwamara (2006) asserts that ‘‘computers are now easily available and accessible for use in music technological practical classes, recordings, performances, compositions, music typesetting and on-line exchange of musical materials and ideas in nigeria.(p. 126) the financial commitment on the training of teachers on music technology, the supply of teachers’ and students’ music technology devices and facilities required for use in the classroom is the responsibility of the federal, state, tertiary institutions, parents and others to provide. where the government and tertiary institutions failed to provide, the heads of music department should solicit for funding from the latter and cooperate bodies. if music education in nigeria must meet up with the trends globally, immediate action is required, for the integration of music technology into school system. according to onyiuke, (2009) ‘‘in-service training and workshops on computer literacy should be organised for both music teachers and otherwise who are already in the employ of different arms of government in nigeria. computers and other electronic musical equipment should be provided in schools to enhance the process of teaching and learning.’’(p. 106) on the bases of the fact that music teachers lack knowledge of music technology and how to integrate it in music learning as stated earlier on, some renown musicologists such as (russell et al, 2003; savage, 2007; dorfman, 2008; dammers, 2009) suggest what music educators should do as thus: a) develop a clear understanding of what constitutes effective music teaching with informative computer technology. b) include technology pedagogy and integration practices at the pre-service level. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 99 c) develop skills and knowledge for music technology, for example, sequencing and notation software. d) use technology as a pedagogy aid (which students are engaged) rather than as a tool. e) curricular support to provide a new framework of how new classes are structured. (russell et al, 2003; savage, 2007; dorfman, 2008; dammers, 2009) onyiuke (2009) also states that ‘‘computer literacy should be made compulsory to all teachers in the school system. it should serve as a pre-requisite for employment of teachers’’ (p. 106). music educators should take the challenge of undergoing personal development to acquire knowledge and skills on music technology. the truth is that, it is a necessity for national commission for colleges of education (ncce), national universities commission (nuc) and music educators to reflect and examine their particular structural environment and troubleshoot many of the less glamorous issues involving technology implementation for it is the most vital step in beginning to realise the levels of engagement and potentials that technology can provide music students and their educators. findings in spite of sophistication and advancements in music technology globally, majority of the tertiary institutions are still technologically backward due to inadequate or and non-availability of equipment, facilities and non-inclusion of music technology into the music education curriculum. in addition, there are insufficient experts in this field and few numbers (20%) of music educators in delta and edo states use their personal devices and software to teach. these have caused the school system to be technologically impaired by way of being stuck solely to the conventional way of teaching/learning rather than following the modern way. moreover, the lecturers are compelled to undergo a yearly computer programme that has no bearing on their specialty (music). it is discovered that few schools (delta state university, university of benin-city and college of education, ekiadolor) have some music technology devices and some others are in progress. few tertiary institutions have gradually integrated music technology into their system and students are given a group or individual projects to produce and present music technology at seminars. there is no impact in the commitment of the government and the institutions in the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 100 provision of equipment and facilities for music technology in majority of the tertiary institutions who are offering music. the tertiary institutions all have studios but majority are not functional; lacks of maintenance culture of the studios are particularly disappointing especially in the colleges of education. this could be due to the negligence of either the department of music, institution or government in the sustenance. conclusion and recommendations the role and impact of music technology are so crucial to the development and advancement of music education in nigeria; hence the call for its establishment in tertiary institutions. some renowned musicologists in nigeria have highlighted the relevance in music education. the challenges notwithstanding, there are online production tools for teaching/learning music education such as audiotool, wevideo, soundation, audiosauna (and countless others) as well as notation platforms such as musescore, scorecloud and noteflight are providing online tools that negate the need to purchase extensive software licenses, hardware, and can still be accessed from home and school. it is observed that some music educators personally purchased some of these music technologies to teach. this is commendable and worthy of emulation. realizing the fast changing world of technology in music, it is imperative that the music educators be train in this field and undergo regular in-service training or course and workshops on music technology to acquire the appropriate knowledge and skills to teach the students who will then pass it on to the next generation; a kind of transgenerational transfer of wealth of knowledge, skills and proficiency; that will enable the students fulfil their dreams and aspirations in addition provide economic empowerment. in the absence of the governments’ assistance, it is of vital importance and urgency that music educators seek for funds from the corporate sectors who take kin interest to support education; to acquire the needful such as music technology equipment, facilities and others, as well as acquire the appropriate knowledge and skills for the furtherance and functionality of music technology education in nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 101 references adedeji, s. o. (2004). computerizing and networking music education in nigerian tertiairy institutions. awka journal of research in music and the arts 2, 1-9. collins, r.s. &hammond, m. (1995). self-directed learning.critical practice. london: kogan page. dorfman, j. (2008). technology in ohio’s school music programme: an exploratory study of teachers use and integration. contributions to music education, 3, 23-46. dammers, r.j. (2009). a survey of technology-based music classes in newjersey high school. contributions to music educations, 36 (2), 2543. elliott, a. (2004). cultural changes needed to exploit ict in schools. information age.16, (4). nnamani, s. n. (2009). globalization of igbo (nigerian) music-chorus practice. interlink: a journal of research in music. (4), 72-84. nwamara, a.o. (2006). fulfilling social commitment through the employment of computer technology in nigeria: the musicologist’s perspective. nigerian musicology journal(nmj)2, 124-136. olapade, j. a.& amole, b. a. (2018). an evaluation of availability and modern music technologies in secondary schools in oyo metropolis. journal of nigerian music education. 10, 228-237. onyiuke, y.s. (2009) effect of globalization on music education of the nigerian child. journal of the association of nigerian musicologists (janim) 3, 99-107. rudolph, t. e. (1996). teaching music with technology. chicago: gia publications. thornburg, d. (2002). the new basics: education and the future of work in the telematic age. association of supervision and curriculum development.reston va : menc. eletronic sources alpert, l. i. new devices allows recording at concerts. @ www.msnbc.msn.csom/id/4864389. [accessed december 23, 2011]. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 102 bliss, h. (2008). music technology using a computer. @ www.echowaskdeb.com.[accessed january 18, 2012] cambridge dictionary dictionary.cambridge.org [accessed august 6, 2021] clifton, j. (2010).whatis music technology? available @ www.ehowaskdeb.com [accessed: october 18, 2011]. dictionary.com, llc [accessed august 6, 2021] garcia, a.t. (2004). the case for technology in music education. available@http://www.ed.gov/technology/plan/[accessed: october 18, 2011]. jhmanche, l. the term music technology.available @ www.machesterpromo.com/music-technology[accessed: december 6, 2011]. page, k.assistive devices. available @www.ehow.com/about6196899music-assistive-technology.html. [ accessed: december 23, 2011]. wisegeek (2003). brief and straight forward guide: what is music technology? available @ www.wisegeek.com/what-is-musictechnology.html.www.learningandteaching.info/learn.[accessed: august 16, 2011]. wikibook (2010). soundbeam hilliard, c. m. @ (www.mhtml:file://h:/hilliard accessed december 6, 2011). www.machesterpromo.com/music-technology) www.dictionary.cambridge.org https://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-ethos-logos-and-pathos.html igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 13 human migrants’ challenges and initiatives required for effective migration and development system in nigeria: a vocational approach jimoh bakare ph.d department of industrial technical education faculty of vocational and technical education university of nigeria, nsukka jimoh.bakare@unn.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/ rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract the study investigated the migrants’ challenges and initiatives required for effective migration and development system in nigeria. five research questions guided the study while five null hypotheses formulated were tested at 0.05 level of significance. descriptive research design was adopted for the study. the population for the study was 119 subjects comprised government officials, religious and community leaders. proportionate random sampling was used to select subjects from each state in each geo-political zone. instrument for data collection was unstructured questionnaire. the instrument was validated by three experts in the faculty of arts, university of nigeria, nsukka. cronbach alpha reliability method was used to determine the internal consistency of the questionnaire items and 0.89 reliability coefficient was obtained. three research assistants were involved in data collection using the prepared unstructured questionnaire. mean and percentage were used to analyse data for answering research questions while analysis of variance was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. the study found out that human migrants were challenged with insecurity, lack of freedom and skills needed by host communities among others. the study also found out that 33 policies and 53 initiatives could be put in place by government, religious and community leaders for migration and development system in nigeria. recommendations include that all the policies and initiatives determined should be implemented for improving migration and development system in nigeria. keywords: migration, initiatives, human-migrants, religious leaders, development introduction migration simply means movement of individuals or animals from one place to another within or outside the country. migration can be used for the journey from one place to another or for the act of movement. individuals that migrate are known as human migrants. topguide (2018) mailto:jimoh.bakare@unn.edu.ng igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 14 stated that people who move from one place to another in search of work or shelter are called migrants. human migration, according to oiarzabal & reips (2012), is the movement of people from one place to another with the intentions of settling, permanently or temporarily at a new location. the movement is often over long distances and from one country to another, but internal migration is also possible; indeed, this is the dominant form globally (white, 2016). people may migrate as individuals, in family units or in large groups for reasons. people migrate for many reasons; some move from their locations to another because of war, conflicts, employment, weather, better life among others. numerous causes impel migrants to move to another country. for instance, globalization has increased the demand for workers in order to sustain national economies (kanu 2019 & 2010). thus one category of economic migrants generally from impoverished developing countries migrates to obtain sufficient income for survival (délano and gamlen, 2014). such migrants often send some of their income home to family members in the form of economic remittances, which have become an economic staple in a number of developing countries. according to reich (2018), people may also move or are forced to move as a result of conflict, of human-rights violations, of violence, or to escape persecution. in 2013 it was estimated that around 51.2 million people fell into this category (lafleur, 2014). other reasons people may move out of their locations include to gain access to opportunities and services or to escape extreme weather (djelti, 2017). this type of movement, usually from rural to urban areas, may be classified as internal migration. socio-cultural and geo-historical factors also play a major role. people migrate for a number of reasons. ultimate visa corporation (2019) reported that the reasons and causes for migration normally fall under these areas: environmental – better climate, calamities, and natural disasters are examples of environmental causes or reasons. economic – moving to find work or moving to follow a particular career path is an example of economic cause or reason. cultural – religious freedom and education is an example of cultural cause or reason. political – civil war or escaping from political persecution is an example of political cause or reason. social – moving for a better quality of life or moving closer to a family member or friend is an example of a social cause or reason. ultimate visa corporation (2019) also categorized the above causes or reasons for migration into two factors: push factors – these are reasons for leaving a place, which is called emigrating, because of certain difficulties like food shortage, war, flood, calamities, crop failure, drought, flooding, high crime, lack of services, lack of safety, poverty among others. in other https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/internal_migration https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/mass_migration https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/globalization https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/economic_migrant https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/economic_migrant https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/remittances https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/human_rights_violations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/human_rights_violations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/internal_migration igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 15 hand, pull factors are the reasons for moving into a place, which is called immigrating, because of an aspiration, dream, or something desirable like abundance in food supply, a better climate, more freedom, better services, good climate, higher employment, lower risk from natural hazards, more fertile land, more wealth, political stability, less crime among others. some of the problems migration creates are: the loss of a person from rural areas, impact on the level of output and development of rural areas, influx of workers in urban areas increases competition for the job, houses, school facilities among others, migration changes the population of a place, therefore, the distribution of the population is uneven, many migrants are completely illiterate and uneducated, therefore, they are not only unfit for most jobs, but also lack basic knowledge and life skills. human migrants’ challenges are enormous just to mention a few. pearson (2009) viewed challenges as difficulties in a job or undertaken that is stimulating to one engage in it. something that is by its nature or character serves as a call to battle, tasking context and special effort is a challenge. it tests ones abilities or resources in a demanding but stimulating and complex undertaken (djelti, 2017). most of the times migrants people are not skilled or educated therefore they usually employed as daily wagers (workers who are paid at the end of each day, for their services). topguide (2018) reported that daily wagers do not get enough money for the survival of their families and suffering from many problems such as they do not have enough food to eat, sanitation, hygiene, a proper place to live. in order to assist human migrants to solve or reduce their challenges and to embrace effective migration and development systems, some initiatives must be put in place by government officials, community leaders, religion leaders, and immigration or migration officers among others. initiative is an act or strategy intended to resolve a difficulty or improve a situation; a fresh approach to something. an initiative is a specific project or program undertaken to achieve specific objectives in the near-term, such as to reduce costs, increase efficiency, and improve sales performance. reich (2018) described an initiative as individual's action that begins a process, often done without direct managerial influence. for example, an individual might take the initiative to come up with a new product or service to benefit group of individuals or the entire society. the generally purpose of the study was to investigate the migrants’ challenges and initiatives required for effective migration and development system in nigeria. specifically the study sought to find out the: 1. challenges facing international human migrants http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/achieve.html http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/costs.html http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/efficiency.html http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/improve.html http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/sales.html http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/performance.html http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/action.html http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/process.html http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/influence.html http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/product.html igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 16 2. challenges facing local human migrants 3. initiatives religious and community leaders can put in place for effective migration and development system in nigeria 4. initiatives government officials can put in place for effective migration and development system in nigeria 5. policies government can formulate for for effective migration and development system in nigeria research questions the following research questions guided the study: 1. what are the challenges facing international human migrants? 2. what are the challenges facing local human migrants? 3. what are the initiatives religious and community leaders can put in place for effective migration and development system in nigeria? 4. what are the initiatives government officials can put in place for effective migration and development system in nigeria? 5. what are the policies government can formulate for effective migration and development system in nigeria? hypotheses the following null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance: 1. there is no significant difference in the mean responses of government officials, community leaders and religious leaders on the challenges facing international human migrants 2. there is no significant difference in the mean responses of government officials, community leaders and religious leaders on the challenges facing local human migrants 3. there is no significant difference in the mean responses of government officials, community leaders and religious leaders on the initiatives religious and community leaders can put in place for effective migration and development system in nigeria 4. there is no significant difference in the mean responses of government officials, community leaders and religious leaders on igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 17 the initiatives government officials can put in place for effective migration and development system in nigeria 5. there is no significant difference in the mean responses of government officials, community leaders and religious leaders on the policies government can formulate for effective migration and development system in nigeria methods the study adopted a descriptive survey design. descriptive survey design according to osuala (2005) is a design that studies characteristics and focuses on people, the vital facts of people and their beliefs, opinions, attitude, motivation and behaviors. descriptive research design according to kothari and garg (2014) is appropriate for those studies which are concerned with describing the characteristics of a particular individual, or of a group. the descriptive survey design was therefore adopted for this study because it aimed at using questionnaire to elicit facts, beliefs and opinions of experts about the migrants’ challenges and initiatives required for effective migration and development system in nigeria the study was conducted in enugu state of nigeria. the population for the study was 119 which comprised government officials, community leaders, religious leaders and emigration officers. there was no sampling because of the manageable size of the population. a structured questionnaire titled: human migrant challenges and initiatives questionnaire (hmciq) was used for data collection and was on 5-point likert scale. the structured questionnaire had 139 items developed for collecting data in accordance with the research questions. the instrument was organized in three sections a-e. a centered on challenges facing international human migrants, b dealt with challenges facing local human migrants, c centred on initiatives religious and community leaders can put in place for effective migration and development system in nigeria, d was on initiatives government officials can put in place for effective migration and development system in nigeria while e centred on policies government can formulate for effective migration and development system in nigeria. each item in the instrument was assigned a five response scale of strongly agree or required (sa or sr)-5, agree or required (a or r)-4, undecided (u)-3, disagree or not required (d or nr)-2, and strongly disagree or not required (sd or snr)-1point. according to lozano et al (2008), an instrument can be considered good for validity and reliability if it has between four (4) and seven (7) alternative responses. however, fewer options are acceptable depending igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 18 on the purpose and scope of the study (bendig 1954; mattell and jacoby 1971; jones and scott 2013). the respondents were therefore asked to rank the response options to an item based on the level at which each item was required. the instrument was face-validated by three experts. these were experts in department of industrial technical education, university of nigeria nsukka and department of art education. the title of the study, specific purposes, research questions and null hypotheses formulated were attached to each copy of the questionnaire given to the experts. the experts were asked to read the items under each research question and make useful corrections in order to improve the standard of the questionnaire. the experts were also requested to add any relevant item to the questionnaire. after one week, the researcher went round to collect the copies of the questionnaire given to the experts and effected the corrections accordingly. one hundred and thirty nine items were retained out of 147 items presented to experts in form of questionnaire. in other to establish the internal consistency of the questionnaire items, cronbach alpha test of internal consistency was conducted on each section in the part 2 of the questionnaire. the researcher administered 20 copies of the structured questionnaire on government officials, religious leaders, community leaders and emigration officers in anambra state. the reason for administering the copies of the questionnaire on other set of respondents outside the study area was to obtain real reliability coefficient values for each sections of the questionnaire (roberts, 2012). statistical packages for social sciences (spss) 22 versions was found useful for data analysis. the result of the cronbach alpha revealed the following: challenges facing international human migrants (& = 0.81, n=20), challenges facing local human migrants (&= 0.81, n= 20), initiatives religious and community leaders can put in place for effective migration and development system in nigeria (&= 0.78, n= 20), initiatives government officials can put in place for effective migration and development system in nigeria (&= 0.85, n= 20), policies government can formulate for effective migration and development system in nigeria (&= 0.79, n= 20) while the overall reliability index yielded &= 0.89, n= 20. according to guidelines by sekaran (2003), a coefficient of .60 is considered to be poor, 0.70 is acceptable, while over 0.80 is good. olelewe and agomuo (2016) also stated that the closer the cronbach’s alpha is to 1, the higher the internal consistency. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 19 out of one hundred and nineteen copies of the questionnaire administered to the respondents by the researchers, only 98 copies were duly retrieved which represent 82.35 percent return rate. data collected were analyzed using mean for answering the research questions. any item with mean of 3.50 or above was regarded as required while any one with mean below 3.50 was regarded as not required. t-test was employed for testing all the null hypotheses at 0.05 and relevant degrees of freedom. the null hypothesis of no significant difference was accepted for any item whose pvalue was greater than the 0.05, but it was rejected for any item whose p-value was less than 0.05. results the results for the study were obtained from the research questions answered and hypotheses tested through data collected and analyzed. the data for answering research questions and testing hypotheses were presented in tables 1-5 tables i mean responses of the respondents on the challenges facing international human migrants s/n item statements sd pvalues remarks, ho 1 they face difficulties in accessing health care 3.80 0.95 0.53 required, ns 2 they lack fund to access good houses and accommodations 3.78 0.60 0.34 required, ns 3 expensive education for themselves and their children 3.82 0.85 0.56 required, ns 4 lack of good employment 3.58 0.71 0.33 required, ns 5 they become easy targets for abuse 3.50 0.78 0.24 required, ns 6 human migrants experience exploitation due to a lack of a protective family network 3.63 0.82 0.16 required, ns 7 they become easy targets for extortion 3.80 0.58 0.53 required, ns 8 they are being discriminated against 3.78 0.56 0.41 required, ns 9 lack of information or missing documents 3.82 0.63 0.56 required, ns igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 20 10 many suffer accidents or illness and cannot benefit from medical care 3.56 0.73 0.34 required, ns 11 some lose contact with their families 3.79 0.78 0.26 required, ns 12 some are detained for years for little offences 3.73 0.82 0.31 required, ns 13 some are detained without charging them to courts 3.67 0.56 0.34 required, ns 14 thousands of international human migrants die or disappear along the way every year 3.61 0.79 0.21 required, ns 15 many are held in prolonged detention for having entered or stayed irregularly in a foreign country 3.80 0.73 0.25 required, ns 16 some are killed during xenophobia fights 3.78 0.67 0.12 required, ns 17 most of the times migrants people are not skilled 3.72 0.61 0.32 required, ns 18 they are sometimes attacked by host people 3.58 0.59 0.11 required, ns 19 some of the migrants live with fears in foreign land 3.50 0.63 0.33 required, ns 20 some are detained in prisons illegally 3.63 0.62 0.23 required, ns 21 some have no money to fight for justice and freedom when situation arises 3.80 0.77 0.13 required, ns 22 majority of unskilled migrants are under paid for the daily menial jobs 3.78 0.60 0.21 required, ns 23 some are not educated therefore they usually employed as daily wagers 3.82 0.62 0.41 required, ns 24 migrants sometimes experience unfavourable atmospheric conditions 3.56 0.61 0.12 required, ns 25 some are used as sex workers 3.79 0.55 0.23 required, ns 26 they pay excessive tax 3.73 0.68 0.54 required, ns 27 their freedom of speech and other human rights are limited 3.50 0.61 0.50 required, ns keys: ns = not significant, ho = hypothesis, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 21 data in table 1 reveal that mean of the items ranged from 3.50 to 3.95. this indicated that all the 27 items were the challenges of international human migrants in their host countries. table 1 also shows that the standard deviations of the items were within the range of 0.55 to 0.95; this indicated that the respondents were not far from the mean and one another in their responses. the table also indicated that each item had its p-value greater than 0.05. this showed that there was no significant difference in the mean responses of respondents on the challenges of international human migrants in their host countries. therefore, the hypothesis of no significant difference was upheld for the 27 challenges facing international human migrants in their host countries tables ii mean responses of the respondents on the challenges facing local human migrants s/n item statements mean sd. pvalues remarks, ho 1 they are not fully integrated to their host communities 3.98 0.77 0.53 required, ns 2 they are used for rituals by host communities 3.76 0.79 0.34 required, ns 3 their movement and freedom are not guarantee 3.85 0.81 0.56 required, ns 4 they are being discriminated against 3.80 0.89 0.33 required, ns 5 local human migrants are not allowed to take part in the decision that will affect them 3.78 0.83 0.24 required, ns 6 they are being gang up against 3.82 0.86 0.16 required, ns 7 local human migrants are vulnerable to dangers and all kinds of assaults 3.58 0.85 0.53 required, ns 8 they are politically sanctioned or discriminated against 3.51 0.89 0.41 required, ns 9 some find it difficult to cope with laws and customs of the host communities 3.63 0.82 0.56 required, ns 10 human migrants experience exploitation due to a lack of a protective family network 3.80 0.80 0.34 required, ns igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 22 11 they become easy targets for extortion 3.78 0.71 0.26 required, ns 12 they are not allowed to partake in major social-cultural activities of the hosting communities 3.82 0.90 0.31 required, ns 13 they are sometimes terrorised by members of the host communities or state 3.56 0.81 0.34 required, ns 14 they are left out when it comes to state or local government appointment or employment 3.79 0.84 0.21 required, ns 15 their freedom of speech and other human rights are limited within the communities 3.73 0.88 0.25 required, ns 16 language barriers 3.67 0.72 0.12 required, ns 17 favouritism 3.61 0.80 0.32 required, ns 18 accommodation and transportation are expensive for human migrants in their host communities 3.55 0.70 0.11 required, ns keys: s.d. = standard deviation, ns = not significant, ho = hypothesis, sig. = significance data in table 2 reveal that 21 items had their mean values ranged from 3.51 to 3.98 and this shows that the mean value of each item was above the cut-off point of 3.50, indicating that all the 21 items were the challenges facing local human migrants. the table also shows that the standard deviations of the items were within the range of 0.73 to 0.90; this indicated that the respondents were not far from the mean and one another in their responses. the table 2 also indicated that all the items had their p-values greater than 0.05 which means that there was no significant difference in the mean responses of the respondents on the challenges facing local human migrants. therefore, the null hypothesis of no significant difference was upheld for all the 21 challenges tables iii mean responses of the respondents on the initiatives religious and community leaders can put in place for effective migration and development system in nigeria s/n item statements mean sd. premarks igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 23 values a initiatives that religious leaders can put in place 1 preaching of love for non indigenes in various churches 3.85 0.71 0.56 required, ns 2 provision of accommodations for migrants who can afford their rents 3.80 0.90 0.33 required, ns 3 preaching against crimes, rape and others assaults 3.78 0.83 0.24 required, ns 4 regular visit to new migrants in their various homes and locations to educate about the host communities 3.82 0.86 0.16 required, ns 5 provision of foods and other needs for new or poor migrants 3.58 0.85 0.53 required, ns 6 using of official language to preach in the churches and mosques and to communicate in the communities 3.50 0.89 0.41 required, ns 7 mounting religious programme on radio and television to educate general pubic effective migration 3.63 0.81 0.56 required, ns 8 conducting love-feast to enable church members to themselves and where they come from 3.80 0.81 0.34 required, ns 9 acting drama to educate church member s about important of migration and migrants 3.78 0.70 0.26 required, ns 10 meeting with migrants in religious homes to know their problems in order to find solutions or helping hands 3.82 0.93 0.31 required, ns b initiatives that community can put in place 11 setting industries to accommodate migrants who seek for jobs in order to reduce crime rate 3.79 0.84 0.21 required, ns 12 community leaders can meet with landlord or ladies on how to make accommodation available and affordable for migrants 3.73 0.88 0.25 required, ns 13 giving free health service in community health centre to migrants who cannot afford private hospitals 3.67 0.71 0.12 required, ns igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 24 14 giving free basic education to children of poor migrants 3.61 0.80 0.32 required, ns 15 anticrime bodies should be put in place to the environment save for migrants 3.55 0.70 0.11 required, ns 16 community can provide farmlands and tools for migrants who may be interested in farming 3.66 0.82 0.42 required, ns 17 giving stall in market place to enable migrants sell their commodities 3.95 0.71 0.53 required, ns 18 community can organise interactive forum with migrants to know their welfare so as to make their stay comfortable 3.76 0.79 0.34 required, ns 19 giving appointments to non indigenes who are fit for elective positions 3.85 0.81 0.56 required, ns 20 provide adequate information to non indigenes about restrictions and traditions of the land 3.80 0.90 0.33 required, ns keys: s.d. = standard deviation, ns = not significant, ho = hypothesis, sig. = significance data in table 3 reveal that 37 items had their mean values ranged from 3.50 to 3.95 and this shows that the mean value of each item was above the cut-off point of 3.50, indicating that all the 37 items were the initiatives religious and community leaders must put in place for effective migration and development system in nigeria. the table also shows that the standard deviations of the items were within the range of 0.70 to 0.90; this indicated that the respondents were not far from the mean and one another in their responses. the table 2 also indicated that all the items had their p-values greater than 0.05 which means that there was no significant difference in the mean responses of the respondents on the initiatives religious and community leaders can put in place for effective migration and development system in nigeria. therefore, the null hypothesis of no significant difference was upheld for all the 37 initiatives tables iv mean responses of the respondents on the initiatives government officials (immigration, custom and police officers) can put in place for effective migration and development system in nigeria s/n items statements mean s.d. pvalues remarks, ho igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 25 1 use of recent technologies to detect migrants who may pose threats 3.73 0.70 0.53 required, ns 2 establishment of law to quarantine immigrants or migrants 3.60 0.72 0.34 required, ns 3 government should educate migrants on their fundamental human rights 3.81 0.84 0.56 required, ns 4 government officials can provide temporal accommodations to stranded migrants 3.80 0.85 0.33 required, ns 5 police officers should provide secure lives and properties of the migrants 3.77 0.83 0.24 required, ns 6 custom officers should use recent technologies to check migrant loads and luggage before entering into host country or communities 3.80 0.86 0.16 required, ns 7 government officials should display decency in discharging their duties 3.58 0.85 0.53 required, ns 8 officers should ensure that adequate reasons are given by the migrants for their migration 3.56 0.89 0.41 required, ns 9 new migrants should be camped and brief about dos and don’ts of the host country or community 3.63 0.78 0.56 required, ns 10 security officers should always protect migrants against xenophobia attack by sons of the soil 3.78 0.88 0.09 required, ns keys: s.d. = standard deviation, ns = not significant, ho = hypothesis, sig. = significance data in table 4 revealed that 18 items had their mean values ranged from 3.56 to 3.81 and this shows that the mean value of each item was above the cut-off point of 3.50, indicating that all the 18 items were the initiatives government officials must put in place for effective migration and development system in nigeria. similarly, the standard deviation of contents of the training programme ranged from 0.70 to 0.89 indicating that the respondents were close to one another in their opinion. the table 3 also indicated that all the items had their p-values greater than 0.05. this indicated that there was no significant difference in the mean responses of the respondents on the initiatives government officials can put in place for effective migration and development system in nigeria. therefore, the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 26 null hypothesis of no significant difference was upheld for all the 18 initiatives tables v mean responses of the respondents on the policies government can formulate for effective migration and development system in nigeria s/n item statements mean s.d. pvalues remarks 1 government should ensure that adequate reasons are given by the migrants for their migration 3.63 0.78 0.56 required, ns 2 every legitimate migrant should be given free health care 3.78 0.88 0.09 required, ns 3 free and sound education for migrants’ wards and children 3.86 0.80 0.34 required, ns 4 support system (money, foods, mosquito nets) should be given to migrants 3.78 0.84 0.26 required, ns 5 any host member should not maltreat migrants 3.82 0.79 0.31 required, ns 6 government should be giving reduced tax to new migrants 3.56 0.82 0.34 required, ns 7 giving migrants freedom of speech and other human rights 3.77 0.84 0.21 required, ns 8 offer migrants automatic employments as they arrived 3.75 0.87 0.25 required, ns 9 promulgate law against xenophobia attacks 3.58 0.85 0.53 required, ns 10 promulgate law against favourism 3.59 0.89 0.41 required, ns 11 policies should be formulated to secure lives and properties of the migrants 3.63 0.78 0.56 required, ns 12 freedom of movement and speech should be given to migrants 3.78 0.88 0.09 required, ns 13 reduced tuition fee should be given to adult migrants who may wish to embark on further education 3.86 0.80 0.34 required, ns 14 loans should be given to migrants like other citizenry 3.78 0.84 0.26 required, ns 15 laws should be formulated to guide against nepotism and tribalism 3.82 0.79 0.31 required, ns 16 law should be put in place to guide 3.52 0.82 0.34 required, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 27 against discriminations ns keys: s.d. = standard deviation, ns = not significant, ho = hypothesis, sig. = significant data in table 5 revealed that 27 items had their mean values ranged from 3.52 to 3.82 and this shows that the mean value of each item was above the cut-off point of 3.50, indicating that all the 16 items were the policies government can formulate for effective migration and development system in nigeria. similarly, the standard deviation of contents of the training programme ranged from 0.78 to 0.89 indicating that the respondents were close to one another in their opinion. the table 3 also indicated that all the items had their p-values greater than 0.05. this indicated that there was no significant difference in the mean responses of the respondents on the policies government can formulate for effective migration and development system in nigeria. therefore, the null hypothesis of no significant difference was upheld for all the 27 policies discussion of findings the findings of this study revealed 27 challenges were facing international human migrants, and 18 were facing local migrants; 20 initiatives could be put in place by religious homes or leaders, 10 initiatives could be put in place by community leaders, 10 could be put in place by government officials/officers and 16 policies could be formulated by government for effective migration and development systems in nigeria. these findings agreed with the submission of international organisation for migration (iom) (2019) who stated that migrants at various locations or in different nations are facing different degrees of challenges and discriminations. that is, human migrants experience exploitation due to a lack of a protective family network, they become easy targets for extortion and also lack of information or missing documents. for migration systems to be effective, such policies like identifying, promoting and fostering strategic and technical partnerships globally in the area of migration research should be formulated. the findings of the study also agreed with the findings of ombugus (2015) who determined policy initiatives for stakeholders partnership in funding technical vocational education and training in north central nigeria. the findings were also in agreement with findings of olaitan (2011) who carried out a study on policy initiatives for effectiveness of vocational and technical education on rapid and sustainable national development where it was found out that there is need for strong government policies for effective vocational and technical education. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 28 the findings of the study agreed with submission of reich (2018), who stated that people may also move or are forced to move as a result of conflict, of human-rights violations, of violence, or to escape persecution. to buttress this, lafleur (2014) stated that in 2013, it was estimated that around 51.2 million people were maltreated and discriminated about and these are some of the challenges indirectly facing migration system. bakare (2010) also stated that there were no innovations and 21st century technologies such as modern equipment, tools and machines in some systems such as migration system. some of the activities that could be carried out for effective migration systems according to iom are monitoring and supporting iom migration research activities, and contributing to the knowledge base through gathering lessons learned and identifying best practices in activities related to migration research. these findings were in agreement with the findings of ogbuanya and bakare (2017) who that 22 competencies in e-teaching were appropriate for capacity building of technical education lecturers, 44 instructional strategies for implementing e-teaching contents for capacity building of technical education lecturers and 33 training facilities and procedures for building the capacity of technical education lecturers in e-teaching. the findings of this study agreed with the findings of asogwa (2010) who conducted a study on development of entrepreneurial competency support programme in goat production for enhancing the income of teachers of agriculture in secondary in enugu state and found that 11 competency items were required in planning for goat production, 17 in providing housing, 29 in breeding goat, 29 in rearing weaned goats, six in health management of goats, 10 in marketing of goats and 27 in packaging competency items in goat production enterprise into a competency based programme. this finding was also in agreement with the study of akinduro (2006) who carried out a study on electrical installation and maintenance work skills needed by technical college’s graduates to enhance their employability in ondo state. the author found out that the graduates of technical colleges needed domestic installation skills, industrial installation skills, cable jointing skills, battery charging skills and winding skills in electrical machine for employment in ondo state. the findings of this study agreed with the findings of ogbuanya, and bakare (2014) who conducted a study on mechatronics skills required for integration into electrical/electronic engineering technology programme in polytechnics for sustainable employment of graduates in contemporary nigeria. these findings agreed with the finding of olelewe and okwor (2017) that using ict supported strategies for teaching improves learning https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/human_rights_violations igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 29 outcome of students and make the teaching easier for teachers. the findings were in agreement with the finding of onah (2013) who carried out a study on development of a digital empowerment programme for students on e-learning in the universities in southeast of nigeria and found out that demonstration, cooperative learning, discussion and guided discovery are suitable as instructional strategies for teaching competence to students. teaching strategies/ methods serve as medium in which teachers transfer their planned instruction to students. also the finding were in consonance with the findings of ogbuanya, bakare and igweh (2009) that teaching strategies such as reciprocal peer tutoring improve someone’s competence in electrical/electronic and other related subjects when effectively applied during instruction. these findings were are also in line with the finding of adirika and alike (2008) that technologies such as computer, relevant electronic equipment, internet facilities, email, cell phones, e-teaching facilities, ipads among others are yet to be fully used for teaching of school subjects due to inadequate skill possessed by the lecturers. conclusion migration is the movement of people from one place to another for greener pasture. migrants are currently facing many challenges and there is need to provide solutions in form of initiatives to achieve effective migration and development system. the researcher now investigated the migrants’ challenges and initiatives required for effective migration and development system in nigeria in order to proffer solutions to the challenges and problems facing migrants in their various locations recommendations based on the findings of this study, the researchers presented the following recommendations for consideration: 1. the determined initiatives in this study should be put in place to improve migration systems 2. all the policies determined should be implemented by various governments for effective migration and development systems in the country references adirika, b.n. & alike, g.u. (2008). utilization of ict for teaching and learning in tertiary institution: a case study of nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. in b.g. nworgu (ed), education in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 30 the information age: global challenges and enhancement strategies (pp. 172-177). nsukka: university trust publishers akinduro, i . r. (2006) electrical installation and maintenance work skills needed by technical college’s graduates to enhance their employability in ondo state. an unpublished m.ed thesis, department of vocational teacher education, university of nigeria, nsukka asogwa, v. c. (2010). development of entrepreneurial competency support programme in goat production for enhancing the income of teachers of agriculture in secondary in enugu state. an unpublished ph.d thesis, department of vocational teacher education, university of nigeria, nsukka basch, l., schiller, n. g., b., c., s. (2005). nations unbound: transnational projects, postcolonial predicaments, and deterritorialized nation states. routledge. bauböck, r. (2006). towards a political theory of migrant transnationalism". international migration review. 37 (3): 700–723. bendig, a. w. (1954). reliability and the number of rating scale categories. journal of applied psychology, 38, 38–40. topguide, (2018). the role of housing in labour reallocation"(pdf). federal reserve bank of chicago: 50. retrieved 18 may 2019. kanu, a. i; omojola, i. o.; bazza, m. b. (2019). a discourse on migration and unemployment within the context of africa. nnadiebube journal of education in africa. vol. 4. no. 2. pp. 86-93. kanu, a. i; omojola, i. o.; bazza, m. b. (2020). the impact of migration on women and children. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of philosophy and theology vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 1-15. kanu, a. i; omojola, i. o.; bazza, m. b. (2020). migration and children. villanova journal of social sciences, arts and humanities vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 91-95. délano, a. & gamlen, a. (2014). comparing and theorizing state– diaspora relations. political geography, 41: 43–53. djelti s, (2017). the evolution of the human migration determinants" draft paper presented in the international conference on “crossing boundaries: youth, migration, and development”, at alakhawayn university in ifran, morocco – march 2–4, 2017 pearson, s. (2009). osmosis: the unifying theory of human migration. revue algérienne d’economie et du management vol. 08, n°: 02(2017) https://books.google.com/?id=sbjtohdpauqc&pg=pt5&dq=schiller+basch#v=onepage&q=schiller%20basch&f=false https://books.google.com/?id=sbjtohdpauqc&pg=pt5&dq=schiller+basch#v=onepage&q=schiller%20basch&f=false https://books.google.com/?id=sbjtohdpauqc&pg=pt5&dq=schiller+basch#v=onepage&q=schiller%20basch&f=false http://www.chicagofed.org/digital_assets/publications/working_papers/2010/wp2010_18.pdf http://www.chicagofed.org/digital_assets/publications/working_papers/2010/wp2010_18.pdf https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/federal_reserve_bank_of_chicago igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 31 jones, w. p. & scott, a. l. (2013). optimal number of questionnaire response categories: more may not be better. sage open 1–10 doi: 10.1177/2158244013489691 accessed on november 17, 2016 from http://sgo.sagepub.com/content/3/2/2158244013489691.ful l-text.pdf?html. kothari, c.r. & garg, g. (2014). research methodology, methods and techniques. india: new age international publishers lafleur, jean-michel (2014). "the enfranchisement of citizens abroad: variations and explanations". democratization. 22 (5), 840–860. lozano, l. m., garcı´a-cueto, e., & mun˜iz, j. (2008). effect of the number of response categories on the reliability and validity of rating scales. methodology: european journal of research methods for the behavioral and social sciences, 4(2), 73–79. mattell, m. s. & jacoby, j. (1971). is there an optimal number of alternatives for likert scale items? study i: reliability and validity. educational and psychological measurement, 31, 657–674. miller, m. & castles, s. (1993). the age of migration: international population movements in the modern world. usa: guilford press. ogbuanya, t.c., bakare, j.a. & igweh, a. u. (2009). reciprocal peer tutoring and academic achievement of students in electronic technology in technical colleges in southwestern, nigeria. a paper presented at annual conference of nigerian vocational association held at university of nigeria, nsukka on 22nd – 25th, 2009. ombugus, d. a. (2015). policy initiatives for stakeholders partnership in funding technical vocational education and training in north central zone, nigeria. a paper presented at the 23rd annual international conference of nigeria vocational association, held between 5th – 8th august, 2015 oiarzabal, p. j.; reips, u.-d. (2012). migration and diaspora in the age of information and communication technologies". journal of ethnic and migration studies. 38 (9): 1333– 1338. osuala, e. c. (2005). introduction to research methodology. enugu: cheston agency limited olelewe, c.j. & agomuo, e. e. (2017). effects of b-learning and 2f2 learning environments on students’ achievement in http://sgo.sagepub.com/content/3/2/2158244013489691.fullhttp://sgo.sagepub.com/content/3/2/2158244013489691.fullhttps://orbi.uliege.be/handle/2268/181007 https://orbi.uliege.be/handle/2268/181007 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 32 qbasic programming. computer & education, 103 (2016) 76-86 olelewe, c.j. & okwor, a.n. (2017). lecturers’ perception of interactive whiteboard for instructional delivery in tertiary institutions in enugu state, nigeria. journal of computers in education. doi 10.1007/s40692-017-0077-6. accessed on march, 2017 onah, b.i. (2013). development of digital empowerment programme for students on elearning in the universities in southeast of nigeria. an unpublished ph.d project submitted to the department of vocational teacher education, unn reich, d. (2018). who we are and how we got here ancient dna and the new science of the human past. pantheon books. reips, u. d. & buffardi, l. (2012). studying migrants with the help of the internet: methods from psychology, journal of ethnic and migration studies, 38(9), 1405–1424. sekaran, s. (2003). measurement: scaling, reliability, validity. in research methods for business: a skill building approach. london: john wiley. ultimate visa corporation (2019). migrants and migration. retrieved from www.ultimatevisacorporationdocument.com white, m. (2016). international handbook of migration and population distribution. usa: springer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/pantheon_books igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 72 improving teaching and learning experience in primary school using music ebele v. ojukwu, ph.d & chiamaka e. nwaodu department of music, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka e mail: ev.ojukwu@unizik.edu.ng, nwaoduchiamaka@gmail.com phone; +2348037244058, +2348065253760 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.16636.28806 abstract the goal of every teacher is to produce students with very impressive and outstanding performances at the end of teaching and learning exercise. sometimes, it seems as if the efforts of teachers are not productive. this may be traced boredom, loss of interest in learning and low attention span found in learners especially lower primary pupils. looking at this challenge, this study seeks to investigate how music can be used to improve teaching and learning experience pupils, get them actively involved in lessons and reduce low attention span. using two classes of eternal excellence christian academy lugbe abuja, an experimental group and control group was created. a total number of thirty (30) pupils were used. fifteen (15) pupils made up the experimental group and fifteen (15) made up the control group. active learning built on the theory of constructivism was adopted for the study. this theory postulates that learners who are actively involved in learning come out with excellent performance. the result showed that the experimental group‟s performance was high and impressive than the control group. based on this finding, the work concluded by suggesting that simple short melodies should be incorporated in classroom so as to help break down concept and facilitate easy transition from board to the minds of the pupils. provisions such as training and workshop for teacher on the effect of music towards learning should be made. key words: music, education, learning, and effective teaching introduction teaching is not all about finishing a given scheme and rolling over to the next task. but teaching is more than doing just a “talk and write” job. a teacher is one whose mandate is to spur learning interest, positive attitude and enthusiastic character from a learner. osele & obiesie (2017) points “the great teacher, who is also an outstanding and inspirational teacher, obliges one to have an enthusiastic character, a caring attitude, and a passion for learning” (p.1). nti (2011) in mailto:ev.ojukwu@unizik.edu.ng mailto:nwaoduchiamaka@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 73 ojukwu & onyiuke (2014) defining the concept of teaching and learning says “teaching is a process of manipulation of the environment to bring about the learning while learning is a deliberate change in behavior of learner(s) through activities, experiences leading to permanent improvement in skills, attitude, and modes of adjustment” (p.78). in order for effective transition from black board to the minds of the learners to happen, teaching has to be approached with a mind set to make a lasting knowledge impartation in the lives of the learners. this has to be deliberate and intentional. in the classroom, strategies for effective transition of concepts need to be adopted by the teacher so as to facilitate assimilation and make the classroom environment conducive for learning. some children have been labeled non-brilliant; academically dull due to the fact that they find some concepts or topic difficult to assimilate and understand but the fact remains that no child is dull. it only depends on what knowledge the child is exposed to and how the child is exposed. musical activities can turn the so called “dull child” into a brilliant and smart child. every learner has great potentials. a learner with good brain may have learning challenge. teaching this kind of learner, the teacher may need to first of all try to get along with the learner. the teacher may also need to make the child feel comfortable with his presence only then will the child be able to open up and feel relaxed for learning exercises. the challenge of breaking down topics and ideas a teacher is trying to convey in the classroom can be tackled by employing simply melodies in the classroom that will engage the learners and command practical participation from them which does not need special training and expensive resources. according to ojukwu & onuora-oguno (2015) declares that learning invariably commands practical participation and exploration (p.38). learning gaps can occur when the learner has not gain full understanding and mastery of the said concept and this can create loss of interest in the learner. learning is not complete if the learner does remember is learnt outside the school walls. onuigbo (1997) in ojukwu & onuora-oguno (2015) affirms “if learning is not remembered or made use of, there is no need learning at all, because learning involves applicability to life” (p.36). at every level of a child‟s development, different learning approaches are required. there is certain knowledge the child must acquire and the ways of assimilation differ at different stages of the child‟s growth. the way a child in upper primary assimilates is very different from the child in lower primary school. therefore, teachers in schools are expected to bring in different learning igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 74 styles and enjoyable activities that will facilitate learning. children in lower primary most times learn and comprehend when the learning is fun. children do not like boredom at any time. they like to be engaged with so many enjoyable activities because they have much energy to exert. therefore, learning through play most likely is advised for pupils in lower class. this can be achieved by relating the topic with music. the teacher can introduce a song and accompany it with some facial expressions, dance steps and demonstrations of which the children will joyfully participate in. with this approach to learning, whatever the teacher may have taught the child will be difficult to escape the memory of the child because learning is said to have happened if a student remembers what had been taught outside the learning environment. esimone (2015) explains that: children hate boredom and appreciate things that can put them on the move, because they have much energy to exert. they hate our remote way of teaching and learning but love it when play, singing and dancing is involved in whatever they are being taught (p.168). this work therefore, projects the importance of short simple melodies in classrooms especially in primary schools which help in easy transition of concepts to the learners. it stresses that integration of short melodies as learning aid in primary schools would spur learning interest. the following questions are put into consideration for the purpose of this work:  what is the difference between the performance of pupils who learnt using short simple melodies as learning aid in schools and those who do not  what are the possibilities of incorporating musical aid in primary schools? overview of concepts learning learning is an experience encountered by individual through activities which causes a change in behavior and improves skills, attitude and mindset of a learner. ojukwu & onyiuke (2014) defines learning as a deliberate change in behavior of learner(s) through activities, experiences leading to permanent improvement in knowledge, skills, attitude and mode of adjustment of learners” (p.78). ojukwu (2016) explains learning as “an integral part of education which should aim at preparing the learner for the future and ought to extend to all aspect of life for a learner to be a balanced individual” (p.134). learning is a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 75 process that brings together cognitive, emotional, and environmental influences and experiences for acquiring, enhancing, or making changes in one‟s knowledge, skills, values and world views (ojukwu 2016). music is an unseen vehicle through which learning can be achieved and has the ability to cause a permanent change in life of the listener. learning is a process that does not happen automatically. learning happens as a result of investment in training, education, personal development. learning in this case is seen as knowledge impartation from teacher to pupil with deliberate intention to improve the pupil‟s knowledge which involves active participation from the pupil. effective teaching oxford dictionary of current english (2006:283) defines effective as “successful producing a desired or intended result”. eyibe (2000) defined teaching as “an activity which a more experienced and educated person can engage in so as to enable others learn or get ideas” (p.3). chukwugozie (1998) in ocheje (2016), defines teaching as “as those series of activities, part of which are performed in the presence of the learners and part performed elsewhere all aimed at fostering learning in pupils” (p.27). based on this, effective teaching could be said to be an act of bringing activities in order to produce a desired result in learning. music is usually full of activities. it can be used to engage a learner in a powerful lesson. music can be expressed through demonstrations such as dancing, clapping, and stamping of feet. integrating music and musical activities in class will discourage learners from being passive listeners in class because they will be actively involved in the teaching and learning exercise in class. it has been noted that for learners to produce outstanding performances in class, they must be actively involved in the learning process. music music on its own has a force of penetration into the mind of the hearer. it has a way of creating a mental picture of the main idea. according to chukwu (2006:21) “whether the individual is born with some innate abilities or that the mind is blank; this external stimulus (music) has a great tendency of penetrating the same mind; conditions the mind and helps to reshape its thinking waves”. music simplifies learning and makes knowledge impartation easier and fun. introducing simple and short melodies in a classroom situation engages the learners and ensures they participate in the learning process. why simple and short melodies? this is because the simple the melodies are the easier for the teacher and for the learner. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 76 education education is part of human life. it is a fundamental experience every individual is expected to go through either formal or informal from childhood to adulthood. education however, is bound to happen because every sphere of the society has been structured in a way that people are educated directly or indirectly. the greatest asset of any society is its human resource. education is a means through which a society seeks to open its life to all the individuals within so as to enable them take part in it (akinbote 2008). nnamani (2017:1) states that “education is important for the development of an individual. it aids the spiritual, psychological, academic and moral well-being of the individual. education the world over has become a veritable tool for determining the level of development of any nation”. (psacharopoulos and woodhall (1985) in adebowale (2008) opine that education is regarded as a fundamental enterprise by virtually every society both in the developed and developing world. this is because it is through education that a society generates that a society generates the knowledge necessary for its continued existence and sustenance and transmits this from one generation to another. it guarantees a constant and relevant supply of human resources to facilitate her development process. theory of constructivism active learning is centered on the theory of constructivism which states that learners construct or build their understanding. constructivism, according piaget focuses attention on the need of the child, and emphasizes the importance for educators to allow learners explore their environment. neaum (2016) explains piaget‟s theory of constructivism as a theory that “provides rational for play as effective way for children to learn” (p.122). incorporating music in learning processes makes the pupils in primary school learn while playing. active learning places the learner at the center of a lecture‟s objective and its outcome. learners in these lectures are not just engaged in learning but also involved in cognitive processes such as comprehension and evaluation. these processes then translate in improved and deeper learning, better grades, and lower failure (nisha, 2019). methodology this study is conducted in eternal excellence academy lugbe, abuja. two classes form primary two have been selected and thirty (30) pupils have been involved: fifteen (15) from primary two (2) gold which was used as experimental igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 77 group and fifteen (15) from primary two (2) blue as control group. the researcher taught the pupils two times a week. and the teaching sessions lasted for four weeks. the researcher at first taught the experimental group in a conventional way afterwards, the researcher re-introduced the topics using musical aid. the researcher demonstrated the topics by setting them to music. the researcher also included some activities/demonstrations which go hand in hand with the songs such as dancing, clapping and stamping of feet. the control group was taught without musical aid just the conventional “talk and chalk” method. the subjects used for purpose this work are social studies, english composition, mathematics. the subjects taught and set to music are based on the scheme of work of primary two curricula. at the end of the period, assessments were taken. below are summaries of the groups performances represented in table below. result and discussion experimental group subject total no. in class 10 marks class population score population performance percentage performance remarks mathematics 15 6 2 13.3 8 4 26.7 10 9 60 total 15 15 100 impressive subject total no. in class 10 marks class population score population performance percentage performance remarks english language 15 9 6 40 10 9 60 total 15 15 100 impressive igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 78 subject total no. in class 10 marks class population score population performance percentage performance remarks social studies 15 8 3 20 9 5 33.3 10 7 46.7 total 15 15 100 impressive control group subject total no. in class 10 marks class population score population performance percentage performance remarks mathematics 15 3 6 40 3 8 53.3 10 1 6.7 total 15 15 100 poor subject total no. in class 10 marks class population score population performance percentage performance remarks english composition 15 3 5 33.3 2 7 46.7 5 3 20 total 15 15 100 poor subject total no. in class 10 marks class population score population performance percentage performance remarks social studies 15 5 12 80 8 3 20 total 15 15 100 poor igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 79 the experimental group had outstanding performances in all the text conducted compared to that of the control group. these results prove that eliminating musical aid in learning processes in primary schools causes low assimilation and performance. the performance of the experimental group is obviously contributed to by the effect of musical aid which as shown spurs learning interest in the pupils. evidently, there is little a teacher teaching without musical can do to stimulate the pupils‟ interest. music on its own is an effective stimulus. getting and sustaining learners‟ attention without them losing interest is usually very rare if not sustained with an external element. this explains the cause of the control group‟s poor performances. this work establishes the point that incorporation of musical aid (short simple melodies) would make lessons more accessible and it would also help in breaking down complicated concepts in teaching and learning in primary schools. musical aid would create a platform for teacher‟s effective expression. on the hand of the pupils, it will enhance assimilation, and comprehension because they are actively involved in the learning. thirty days have september april, june and november all the rest are thirty-one except february alone. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 80 there are seven continents in world i can name them what about you jesus loves all the children of the continents i can name them all one south america two north america three africa four asia five europe six antarctica seven australia igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 81 one two buckle my shoe three, four, knock at the door five, six, pick up sticks seven, eight, lay them straight nine, ten, a big fat hen fifty-two weeks recommendation based on the findings, these follow recommendations are made:  curriculum planners should produce a teaching manual for every subject which will include short music that will serve as aid to lessons in primary school level. the music can be put is cd, mp3, and dvd format.  workshops and training for teachers on the impact of music to learning be organized by ministry of education and private school owners.  government and private school owners provide gadget such as radios, televisions. conclusion it has been proven by this study the superiority of teaching and learning method using musical aid and the conventional teaching method. using two classes of eternal excellence christian academy lugbe abuja, experimental group and control group was selected. the experimental group was taught using musical igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 82 aid while the control group was taught in a conventional way. the experimental group performance was impressive while control group performed poorly. the performance outcome of the both groups agrees the with the position of this work that musical aid for teaching and learning in primary schools would make lessons in the classroom fun and accessible. reference adebowale, o.a. (2008). problems of learning keyboard at the university level. awka journal of research in music and the arts (ajrma).5, 1-15. akinbote, o. (2008). universal basic education in nigeria: prospects and problems. a paper presented at the national conference, school of education federal college of education ajeokwuta. alegeria, m. (2017). music as a teaching tool: arts integration. new york: george lukas. chukwu, s. k.i. (2006). the influence of background music on children‟s learning. awka journal of research in music and the arts (ajrma).3, 19-31. esimone, c.c. (2015). music: a viable tool in teaching and learning in early childhood education. awka journal of research in music and the arts (ajrma). 11, 164-178. eyibe, s.c. (2000). investigations in philosophy of education. onitsha: cape. nnamani, s.n. (2017). the place and future of music education in secondary schools in nigeria: a case for teacher availability and competence. in f. adedeji, c. onyeji, n. onuora-oguno (eds.), musical horizons in africa (essays and perspective) a festschrift for daniel chikpezie christian agu. (pp.412423). ocheje, d.u. (2016). the process of education. abuja: yinkus &sons ojukwu, e.v. (2016). learning for information: incorporating multimedia instructional aids in the teaching and learning music in nigerian schools. preorc journal of arts and humanities. 1, (2)133-149. ojukwu, e.v. & onuora-oguno, n.c. (2015). methodological approaches to musical arts education aimed at active learning. awka journal of research in music and the arts (ajrma). 11, 35-51. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 83 ojukwu, e.v., onyiuke, y.s., (2014). effective teaching of cultural and creative art (cca): integrated approach. awka journal of research in music and the arts (ajrma). 10,74-86. neaum, s. (2016). child development for early years students and practitioners. third edition. london: sage nisha, m. (2019). implementing active learning and student centered pedagogy in large classroom. higher education teaching strategies. madison: magna. osele, a. a. & ezikiel. n. c. obiesie (2017). professor daniel c.c. agu: an inspirational teacher. musical horizon in africa (eassy & perspectives). a festschrift for daniel chikpezie agu. oxford advanced learners dictionary of current english (2006). 6th ed. new york: oxford university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 410 naijapause: opportunities knocking, and it might just be once felix gabriel zombobah department of philosophy pontifical urban university rome, italy gzombobah@hotmail.com doi: 10.13140/ rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract everyone is now aware of the reality of the coronavirus in nigeria which has led to the cancelation of events, flights, and virtually everything that requires social, official, and religious gatherings. we are also aware that this pandemic will disrupt the nigerian economy. what is most important there is to realize and acknowledge the existing challenges and take this opportunity to cushion the impact of the virus by introducing measures to protect companies and their workers, most especially the vulnerable citizens. this article is a prayer that: the nigerian government should urgently develop a plan to deliver economic assistance to the vulnerable, clearly communicate its economic relief plans to the public and clarify eligibility, timelines, and procedures. for this, they should deploy more resources, creativity, and transparency to ensure the basic necessities of life to everyone. the opportunity is knocking… it might just be once. introduction no one would have ever thought that it will take a pandemic and an economic crisis to start thinking of how we can re-evaluate our future in nigeria! the coronavirus has shaken the entire world like a wave of the tsunami. it did not show any form of discrimination, it affects people regardless of religion, class or wealth, that is so obvious especially in nigeria it ignored any geographical border, and it demands attention by sweeping aside any attempts to deliver „business as usual‟. it exposed the ugly side of human selfishness as people stock-piled perceived necessities at the expense of others, ignoring requests by ncdc to stay at home and refusing to keep social distance. it has also shone a light on the strength of our nation, as many groups and individuals volunteered to help in cash and in many other ways. the health workers have placed themselves in danger everyday providing vital services, fighting the virus, and caring for the vulnerable and the sick. companies put aside their competitive mailto:gzombobah@hotmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 411 focus and profit-making activities as they transform products and services to overcome shortages in equipment and facilities. the period has brought families to spend more time together. we have seen renewed discovery of the value of nature and the outdoors as people find they have more time on their hands. we see people walking the distances they would have used cars. people grow their own vegetables, making their bread and buying produce from the local shops and farms. no one can predict the future, but we can see trends, and the more we are able to spot them, the better our chances are of securing a better future. the coronavirus is upending life as we know, and so i am writing this article not to join the many who do not see the light at the end of the tunnel for nigeria, but to give hope and courage that the covid-19 crisis, despite its many sad and horrible implications in terms of sickness and death, is exactly the time for the naijapause: the pause we actually need to galvanize us, to draw us together as one people, to see more clearly what we are collectively capable of achieving, and to bring into focus what needs to be done in the entire nation to secure the future of all nigerians. realizing that already the nigerian economic cycle is broken, or at least disrupted for some time. the usual naija style has changed – irreversibly and forever, and my hope and prayer and my aim of writing this article is that the change will be for the better. a search for different answers has begun and should be sustained and a new kind of normal should quickly take shape to help all. let our liability become our opportunity. necessity is the mother of invention it is said. so in my attempt to understand the turmoil effect on the nation, i summarize the effect of this „pause‟ on individual aspects of our economy, focusing on first, primary sectors, which include industries involved in the extraction of raw materials, second, secondary sectors, which is involved in the production of finished products and third, tertiary sectors, including all service provision industries. primary sectors industries under this category are basically involved in the extraction of natural raw materials. this explains why they are also called extractive industries; mining, fishing, farming, lumbering, and livestock. oil and gas industry: the petroleum industry is the backbone and the lifeblood of the nigerian economy. then on the background of a viral outbreak already dampening the demand for oil, and the already existing oil-price war is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 412 predicted to have grave implications for the nigerian economy. the price of fuel has increased and there is an outcry already. the nigerian association of petroleum explorationists have warned that nigeria risks disruption in oil and gas supplies and power generation, due to the declining exploration activity and depleting oil reserves. the industry faces inefficient contract and procurement awarding process, oil theft, and illegal refining as the key obstacles, says the president of nape, ajibola oyebamiji. he insists that oil theft and illegal refining are larger threats to nigeria‟s oil industry than a decline in oil prices.1 in more ordinary times, cheap oil may have functioned as an advantage for economies. however, savings on petrol are unlikely to be redirected into more spending as the people are instructed to practice social distancing and the working class are uncertain about job security. in march 2019, the nigeria national petroleum corporation plans to overhaul its refineries to help the nation save billions of dollars on fuel imports and has hired maire tecnimont from italy to handle the port harcourt plant. there is a 445,000 barrels per day of refining capacity across four separate facilities in nigeria, which operate well below capacity due to mismanagement and lack of investment, forcing the nnpc to import most of the gasoline into the country.2 the managing director of the nnpc, mr mele kyari in april hinted that all oil refineries in the country will be shut as it works to secure funding and a model to upgrade them. he said, “today, after proper scoping, which was not done in the past, we know exactly what to do to get them back on stream” … “we believe the ongoing engagements between global oil producers will bring back demand and once that happens, the market will balance and fully recover by year-end.”3 1 tsvetana paraskova, nigeria‟s oil industry faces an existential risk| oilprice.com, [internet]. [cited 2020 jul 2]. available from: https://oilprice.com/latest-energy-news/worldnews/nigerias-oil-industry-faces-an-existential-risk.html 2 nigeria‟s nnpc plans to revamp refineries to cut fuel imports| africanews, [internet]. [cited 2020 jul 3]. available from: https://www.africanews.com/2019/03/23/nigeria-s-nnpc-plansto-revamp-refineries-to-cut-fuel-imports/ 3 nigeria to shut down its oil refineries in upgrade effort| hydrocarbon processing, [internet]. [cited 2020 jul 3]. available from: https://www.hydrocarbonprocessing.com/news/2020/04/nigeria-to-shut-down-its-oilrefineries-in-upgradeeffort#:~:text=nigeria%20has%20decided%20to%20shut,due%20to%20years%20of%20underinv estment. https://oilprice.com/latest-energy-news/world-news/nigerias-oil-industry-faces-an-existential-risk.html https://oilprice.com/latest-energy-news/world-news/nigerias-oil-industry-faces-an-existential-risk.html https://www.africanews.com/2019/03/23/nigeria-s-nnpc-plans-to-revamp-refineries-to-cut-fuel-imports/ https://www.africanews.com/2019/03/23/nigeria-s-nnpc-plans-to-revamp-refineries-to-cut-fuel-imports/ https://www.hydrocarbonprocessing.com/news/2020/04/nigeria-to-shut-down-its-oil-refineries-in-upgrade-effort#:~:text=nigeria%20has%20decided%20to%20shut,due%20to%20years%20of%20underinvestment. https://www.hydrocarbonprocessing.com/news/2020/04/nigeria-to-shut-down-its-oil-refineries-in-upgrade-effort#:~:text=nigeria%20has%20decided%20to%20shut,due%20to%20years%20of%20underinvestment. https://www.hydrocarbonprocessing.com/news/2020/04/nigeria-to-shut-down-its-oil-refineries-in-upgrade-effort#:~:text=nigeria%20has%20decided%20to%20shut,due%20to%20years%20of%20underinvestment. https://www.hydrocarbonprocessing.com/news/2020/04/nigeria-to-shut-down-its-oil-refineries-in-upgrade-effort#:~:text=nigeria%20has%20decided%20to%20shut,due%20to%20years%20of%20underinvestment. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 413 president muhammadu buhari has pledged to stamp out corruption, invest in infrastructure and spread wealth evenly across the country. on all counts, his approach to the oil industry will be central. and so i believe that the problems are well known to all what we need is to use this moment to fix them. aliko dangote, is building a 650,000 barrels per day refinery around lagos, that would meet nigeria‟s current domestic demand and will still export. this project should be supported! agriculture: this sector as we all know is as well critical to the nigerian economy, it has recorded steady growth throughout the recent recession in nigeria and has supported macroeconomic stability against a backdrop of volatility in the global oil market. the workforce in the agriculture sector, exports and gdp contribution have fallen though, given that oil and gas production became nigeria‟s economic mainstay, nigeria is blessed with vast amounts of arable land and a large, diverse production base that includes many high-value cash crops, offering significant opportunity for development and investment. however, production hurdles have significantly stifled the performance of this sector and the coronavirus pandemic has further expanded its susceptibility and vulnerability to external factors. the security issues in many parts of nigeria also creates a very serious problem to the agriculture sector. the food and agriculture organization (fao) said that over the past two decades, value-added per capita in agriculture has risen by less than 1% annually and it is estimated that nigeria has lost 10billion dollars in annual export opportunity due to continuous decline in the production of some commodities.4 experts have identified the factors undermining agricultural production which include, reliance on rain-fed agriculture, smallholder land holding, and low productivity due to poor planting material, low fertilizer application, and a weak agricultural extension system and absence of long term accessible cheap funds amongst many.5 for sure the resilience of the nigerian agricultural sector has been tested by the coronavirus pandemic. according to the director-general, lagos chamber of commerce and industry, dr. muda yusuf, with covid-19 induced lockdown in many states, the food situation was most likely to worsen with farmers having to 4 oluchi chibuzor, repositioning nigeria‟s agriculture sector, |this day, [internet]. [cited 2020 jun 29]. available from: https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2020/05/14/repositioningnigerias-agriculture-sector/ 5 ibid. https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2020/05/14/repositioning-nigerias-agriculture-sector/ https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2020/05/14/repositioning-nigerias-agriculture-sector/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 414 cope with movement restrictions and paralyzed supply chains as transport restrictions and quarantine measures are likely to impede farmers access to markets thus curbing their productive capacities and hindering them from selling their produce.6 for this i am pleading with the government to invest in partnerships with local communities and groups to reach the millions of small scale farmers in nigeria and also create an enabling policy environment that takes into account the needs of farmers, so that small scale farmers can scale up their businesses and transition from micro businesses to small, medium and large businesses. if the agriculture sector is seen as an engine that contributes to the growth of the overall economy of nigeria, i recommend that at this time of the pandemic government should provide more funding for agricultural universities in nigeria to carry out researches on all areas of agricultural production that will lead to more exports and improvement in the competitiveness of nigeria agriculture production in the international markets. the central bank of nigeria should also come up with a stable policy for loan disbursement for farmers at a reasonable interest payback. this will in turn pull millions out of the existing cycle of poverty and drive the agricultural transformation that will ensure economic sustainability. this can be realized only through the provision of appropriate, affordable and timely financing, increased budget allocation to the agric sector, training and capacity building, innovation and skilled development. our government should importantly establish more research centers to improve seedling production, encourage use of irrigation farming system and provision of storage facilities for seasonal products as means of improving the country‟s agricultural output. this „pause‟ has created that opportunity to put in the necessary effort to ensure small scale farmers achieve the scale necessary to deliver real and long-term impact. secondary sectors the secondary sector of the manufacturing industry is concerned generally with turning raw materials into consumables or finished products. this sector includes: construction, textile, building, shipbuilding, iron and steel and chemical industries. 6 ibid. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 415 manufacturing industry: “the manufacturing industry is defined as the industry that is involved in the turning of raw material into a new product by mechanical or chemical processes at home or in the factory.”7 the impact of manufacturing on economic development in nigeria cannot be overemphasized. it is extremely difficult for any to grow its wealth without investing in the manufacturing industry. a strong and thriving manufacturing sector usually precipitates industrialization. this plays a vital role in the nigerian economy and also in the lives of the people. the manufacturing industry is motivated by a number of factors to utilize input like raw-materials, land and manpower in the production of physical or tangible products for their consumers‟ satisfaction. the manufacturing industry consists of: food industry, paper products industry, textile and apparel production industry, chemical manufacturing, leather and footwear production, furniture and wood production, metal manufacturing, computer and electronics products, coal products and petroleum, rubber and plastics manufacturing, mineral products (non-metal), machinery manufacturing, printing industry, tobacco products and beverages, and made in nigeria products. nigeria being blessed with different raw materials that serve the basic needs for manufacturing. the manufacturing sector in nigeria faces some difficulties; most prominent is the power supply. most firms rely on emergency power generators to run seamless operations, adding to the cost of their products. they also face regulatory issues, multiplicity of taxes, and trade facilitation issues, just to mention a few. nigeria‟s infrastructural deficiencies are also a major constraint. the covid-19 pandemic is already ushering challenges to the nigerian industrial manufacturers, especially those that depend on workers whose jobs cannot be carried out remotely. uncertainty surrounding the duration (or even a deepening) of those conditions clouds any insights into how a recovery could unfold for the industry. indeed, many beleaguered companies in manufacturing should be eligible for government stimulus support. but there is a real possibility that the crisis will result in bankruptcy for some manufacturers, as declining demand, production and revenues, along with debt obligations, take their cumulative toll. this coronavirus outbreak is causing widespread concern and economic hardship for consumers, businesses and communities across nigeria. 7 manufacturing industry in nigeria, |steemit.com, [internet]. [cited 2020 jul 1]. available from: https://steemit.com/science/@musteethany/manufacturing-industry-in-nigeria https://steemit.com/science/@musteethany/manufacturing-industry-in-nigeria igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 416 yes, it is true that lack of funds and an enabling environment for industrialists have denied the nation the capacity to achieve significant industrial growth or industrialization which nigeria has always hoped and craved for. this period of pause therefore, gives us an opportunity have a rethink, considering the enormous importance that we attach to industrialization and how it impacts on our economy, and so, whatever it is that militates against its achievement should be of interest to us all and especially our government. my plea here is to remind our politicians about the promises made about their desire to help our manufacturing and boost industrial production. it is a noble endeavor to boost our industry and rebalance the economy away from financial services to manufacturing especially at this period of the pandemic. so i suggest:  first and foremost, security is required in nigeria for any meaningful industrial venture to thrive.  that government should try and create a stable macroeconomic environment – low inflation, and a sustained positive economic growth.  provide satisfactory availability of credit – a working banking sector that is ready to lend to firms.  provide an improved labor productivity – to make sure workers have better education and training.  government should also invest in infrastructure – create better transport links to reduce firms‟ costs.  provision of subsidy to help develop certain technologies  there should also and very importantly be stable exchange rate. with all in mind we all know that the sector needs innovation and smart techniques to cut costs. until there is a complete implementation of the national industrial revolution plan, the sector may continue to struggle. as the pandemic continues to expand, manufacturers are facing challenges on numerous fronts. at the outset of any major commercial disruption, companies will be looking for immediate measures to keep their workforces safe and their businesses solvent. but companies should also be looking to the future. which assets, people, capabilities will they need or want then? most companies in the nigerian manufacturing sector will need to take concrete steps to succeed in this challenging climate. some will be austere, but austerity measures should be tempered to preserve long-term objectives. the best approach is likely to include making surgical cuts, while balancing short-and long-term needs. every company is unique, but each faces the same concerns: where to begin, how to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 417 keep people protected, when to communicate, and what is the right way to move forward.8 tertiary sector the tertiary sector normally provides services to other businesses as well as financial consumers. the focus usually on people interacting with other people and serving the customer rather than transforming physical goods. healthcare industry, education industry, finance industry, aviation and sports industry are a few to mention. i shall only reflect on education and healthcare industries which at this point if taken care of can also have great positive effects on other industries. healthcare industry: the coronavirus has drawn our attention to the already overburdened public health system in nigeria (just to be charitable), we have seen also the challenges faced in recruiting, deploying, retaining and protecting sufficient well-trained, and motivated health workers.9 the covid-19 outbreak has severely impacted in the entire supply chain in the healthcare industry from the procurement of raw materials to production and distribution. the need for medical ventilators at a global level triggered the manufacturers to increase production by up to 40% to 50%. the manufacturers have also collaborated with automakers to meet the growing demand.10 president muhammadu buhari is known for his anti-corruption campaign since taking over power in 2015. however, a lot of effort is focused on grand corruption at the higher levels of governance and politics. there is less emphasis 8 industries, |pwc, [internet]. [cited 2020 jul 6]. available from: https://www.pwc.com/us/en/industries.html 9 this is not ignoring the fact that our health workers complained and truly so, were not well taken care of. my point here is to stress the fact that amidst all these challenges they are always resilient and ready to motivate and support themselves to care for the sick. as we saw in the case of dr ameyo adadevoh, whom we all know despite the pressure and threat from the liberian government to discharge patrick sawyer, resisted and said for the sake of public good she will not release him. she prevented the nigerian index case from leaving the hospital, thereby curbing the spread of the virus in nigeria. she was infected by the ebola virus and later paid the supreme price with her life. 10 covid-19 outbreak impact on healthcare market analysis, size projection, regional insights, research overview and future trends by 2022 | medgadget newsletter, [internet]. [cited 2020 jul 4]. available from: https://www.medgadget.com/2020/05/covid-19-outbreakimpact-on-healthcare-market-analysis-size-projection-regional-insights-research-overview-andfuture-trends-by-2022.html https://www.pwc.com/us/en/industries.html https://www.medgadget.com/2020/05/covid-19-outbreak-impact-on-healthcare-market-analysis-size-projection-regional-insights-research-overview-and-future-trends-by-2022.html https://www.medgadget.com/2020/05/covid-19-outbreak-impact-on-healthcare-market-analysis-size-projection-regional-insights-research-overview-and-future-trends-by-2022.html https://www.medgadget.com/2020/05/covid-19-outbreak-impact-on-healthcare-market-analysis-size-projection-regional-insights-research-overview-and-future-trends-by-2022.html igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 418 on the less-talked-about but vulnerable areas such as the health industry. in the battle against this pandemic, health system resilience, accountability and integrity are more important than ever. the health systems of some rich countries have become overwhelmed by the rising number of infected persons and deaths from the disease. countries with less resilient health systems are more vulnerable. research has clearly shown the vulnerability of nigeria‟s health system. a consistently solid and accountable health system has eluded the country. the requisite health resources are also in short supply. the nigerian association of resident doctors demands that the government provide members with more personal protective equipment and hazard pay in treating patients infected with covid-19, or they will escalate the strike they began in june 2020. and the reality is that citizens, health workers and international development partners worry that nigeria‟s health system is very weak and may be unable to adequately combat covid-19.11 with the current situation in nigeria, even after the immediate emergency of the covid-19, the healthcare industry won‟t return to business as usual. on this the secretary to the government of the federation and the chairman of the presidential task force (ptf) on covid-19, boss mustapha, decried the poor state of nigeria‟s healthcare infrastructure. he said, “i can tell you for sure, i never knew that our entire healthcare infrastructure was in the state in which it is. until i was appointed to do this work.”12 he said this in a meeting he had with the leadership of the national assembly. he also acknowledged that it is an opportunity to now examine the state of the national health industry which requires immediate reforms and funding. the current pandemic has demonstrated the central importance of health in our national life – without it, we have nothing. it has also shown how we can do things differently as regards to financing health care in nigeria.13 11 obinna onwujekwe, et al., coronavirus: corruption in health care could get in the way of nigeria‟s response, | the conversation, [internet]. [cited 2020 jul 6]. available from: https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-corruption-in-health-care-could-get-in-the-way-ofnigerias-response-136913 12 queenesther iroanusi, i never knew nigeria‟s healthcare infrastructure was in such bad state, | premium times, [internet]. [cited 2020 jun 28]. available from: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/health/health-news/387036-i-never-knew-nigeriashealthcare-infrastructure-was-in-such-bad-state-sgf.html 13 oluwatola toluwani, opinion: covid-19 is a game-changer for health financing in nigeria, | devex, [internet]. [cited 2020 jun 30]. available from: https://www.devex.com/news/opinioncovid-19-is-a-game-changer-for-health-financing-in-nigeria-97117 https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-corruption-in-health-care-could-get-in-the-way-of-nigerias-response-136913 https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-corruption-in-health-care-could-get-in-the-way-of-nigerias-response-136913 https://www.premiumtimesng.com/health/health-news/387036-i-never-knew-nigerias-healthcare-infrastructure-was-in-such-bad-state-sgf.html https://www.premiumtimesng.com/health/health-news/387036-i-never-knew-nigerias-healthcare-infrastructure-was-in-such-bad-state-sgf.html https://www.devex.com/news/opinion-covid-19-is-a-game-changer-for-health-financing-in-nigeria-97117 https://www.devex.com/news/opinion-covid-19-is-a-game-changer-for-health-financing-in-nigeria-97117 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 419 amidst all these issues there is hope as mr boss mustapha assured nigerians that there are plans to lay a legacy foundation for the immediate, medium and long-term development of the health systemin the wake of the coronavirus pandemic across the country. on this he continues that the task force has proposed to utilize the resources mobilized in a “strategic way”. which is: direct development and delivery of critical infrastructure to states by donors; direct procurement and delivery of personal protective equipment (ppe) and other critical equipment by donors; deployment of rapid response teams to states for capacity building and support; and expansion of the testing capacity in the country.14 a period like is an opportunity to make amends and the pause also highlights the strong need for sustainable investment in the health systems, including the health workforce, and for decent working conditions, training and equipment, especially in relation to personal protective equipment and occupational safety. social dialogue is essential to building resilient health systems, and therefore has a critical role both in crisis response and in building a future that is prepared for health emergencies. education: the novel coronavirus has affected all levels of education system. many countries have (rightly) decided to close schools, colleges and universities. the crisis crystallizes the dilemma policymakers are facing between closing schools (reducing contacts and saving lives) and keeping them open (allowing workers to work and maintaining the economy). teachers have had to adapt to a world of almost universal distance education as nearly all students have faced school closures. majority of the teachers have embraced this challenge, although in many developing countries teachers lack the skills and equipment to provide distance education effectively. the covid-19 pandemic poses unprecedented challenges, for an already weak educational system, on the government, students and parents, that will highlight and could amplify some of the cracks in the system. as nigeria grapples with these challenges, a key question arises: is the nigerian education system designed to adapt rapidly to the changing world? looking at the reality of things around the world today, the nation‟s ability to ensure continuation of learning will depend largely on their ability to swiftly harness available technology, provide adequate infrastructure, and mobilize stakeholders to prepare alternative learning programs. 14 queenesther iroanusi, i never knew nigeria‟s… igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 420 this pandemic has uncovered substantial inequities in the education sector. private and non-governmental sectors are tirelessly working to salvage this situation. projects such as digiterate and teach for nigeria hope to ensure proper tools for education are available in lagos.15 generally, nigeria‟s education sector is not adapting, and it is expected to struggle on that front for the foreseeable future. however, the consequential socio-economic burden will be borne disproportionately by students in public schools, as compared to those in private schools. while several private have begun to initiate distance learning programs, taking advantage of the myriad of ict-learning opportunities provided by the international community, the government limited funds and persistent deficiencies in planning, is yet to announce any plans for providing distance learning opportunities, especially for public schools except of course the announcement that jss 3 and sss 3 will resume to write exam because they are transitional classes. the implication being that these students in public schools currently have no formal learning plans and could be missing learning altogether. 16 chief obafemi awolowo states that “the children of the poor you failed to train will never let your children have peace.” this is a clarion call on our government to use this pause to bridge the gap of educational inequity by funding sufficiently the education industry. the impact of the coronavirus pandemic is just one out of many implications of educational inequity, no one knows what awaits us in the future, so it is very important that our government provide an equitable and inclusive learning environment for the students to ensure continuity in learning for all, irrespective of their socio-economic background. we should never forget that education remains the solution to whatever kind of problems. let us therefore come all together to make nigeria better and greater through quality and wholistic education. education in nigeria should be seen as a high government priority especially at a time like this. help in increasing awareness of the pressing need for the country‟s children to be educated, 15 toritseju april amorighoye, covid-19 has exposed the education divide in nigeria, |world economic forum, [internet]. [cited 2020 jul 5]. available from: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/06/education-nigeria-covid19-digital-divide/ 16 thelma o & adedeji a, covid-19: impending situation threatens to deepen nigeria‟s education crisis, |csea, [internet]. [cited 2020 jul 7]. available from: https://media.africaportal.org/documents/covid19-impending-situation-threatens-todeepen-nigerias-education-.pdf https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/06/education-nigeria-covid19-digital-divide/ https://media.africaportal.org/documents/covid19-impending-situation-threatens-to-deepen-nigerias-education-.pdf https://media.africaportal.org/documents/covid19-impending-situation-threatens-to-deepen-nigerias-education-.pdf igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 421 especially those from low-income families, continue with the almajiri education, will benefit the nation‟s economy in years to come. funding provided for this noble endeavor is always seen and surely it is, an investment in human capital; the more educated a nation is, the more productive it is. of all sustainable missions, surely the most pressing is to improve lives, and there is no better way to do so than proper education for all. we should all look at large scale and national efforts to utilize technology to support remote learning, distance education and online learning during and after the coronavirus. and the biggest change may not end up being how much time we spend online but how we spend it. conclusion one thing most nigerians share is that there are so much unjust structures. they will surely not disappear quickly. we know as well that unjust structures require unjust beliefs to hold them up. taking apart the structures goes hand in hand with challenging the beliefs. this is something i hold dear to my heart. to always remind us that yes things are „bad‟ in nigeria but they can also be remedied if we collectively believe. by naijapause i mean we collectively retreat to see what our problems are and what we can do to resolve them. i chose a few major sectors that are the pillars of our great nation. the coronavirus has exposed the flaws in response of governments to healthcare and social security in both developed and developing world alike. nigeria‟s reliance on oil exports to fund government expenditure has made the country particularly vulnerable following the collapse in oil prices, embarking on medical tourism weakens the health system of the nation. we wait to see with great hope, whether the aggressive steps the federal government has taken will be enough to successfully mitigate the effects of the crisis. a small silver lining is the belief that the oil price fall and this pause will act as the catalysts for the economic diversification that we desire. there are fears of new recession and financial collapse, moments like this call for resilient and strong leadership in healthcare, education, agriculture, manufacturing, government and wider society. immediate relief measure needs to be implemented and adjusted for those that may fall through the cracks. medium and longer-term planning is needed to re-balance and re-energize the economy following this crisis. a better way to stimulate the nigerian economy at this time would be to have specific and measurable objectives that can unleash the potential of nigerians. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 422 bibliography a. babs fafunwa, history of education in nigeria, oxford: routledge revivals, 2018 akinmayowa adedoyin shobo, standard precautions in nigeria‟s healthcare industry, norderstedt: grin verlad, 2019. c. o taiwo, the nigerian education system: past, present, and future, toronto: nelson pitman, 1985. chinenyenwa ohia, et al., covid-19 and nigeria: putting the realities in context, international journal of infectious diseases, vol. 95, pp. 279281, june 01, 2020 joe parkinson & benoit faucon, oil slump, coronavirus create a perfect storm for nigeria‟s economy, |the wall street journal, [internet]. https://www.wsj.com/articles/oil-slump-coronavirus-create-a-perfectstorm-for-nigerias-economy-11588000761 kanu, i. a. covid-19 pandemic and the health of african migrants. amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 18. no. 2. pp. 56-64, 2020 kanu, i. a. covid-19 and the economy: an african perspective. journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 3. no. 2. pp. 29-36, 2020 kanu, i. a. (2020). saint augustine and covid-19 pandemic: the future and divine providence. tansian university journal of arts, management and social sciences. vol. 7. pp. 151-162. kanu, i. a. the culture of political corruption and the emergence of terrorism in nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli and rico sneller (eds.). the root causes of terrorism: a religious studies perspective (pp. 280-291). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing, 2017 kanu, i. a. corruption in nigeria as a socio-cultural context for the extraordinary jubilee of mercy. harvard journal of management sciences and entrepreneurship. vol. 3. no. 5. pp. 187-196, 2016 kanu, i. a. corruption in africa and its challenges for the enterprise of christian theology. international journal of research in arts and social sciences, vol.4. pp. 492-500, 2011. kanu, i. a. the culture of political corruption and the emergence of terrorism in nigeria. sub-saharan journal of african sustainable development. 3. 7. pp. 127-149, 2016 https://www.wsj.com/articles/oil-slump-coronavirus-create-a-perfect-storm-for-nigerias-economy-11588000761 https://www.wsj.com/articles/oil-slump-coronavirus-create-a-perfect-storm-for-nigerias-economy-11588000761 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 423 rabiu maijama‟a, et al., analysis of the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the nigerian economy, american journal of environmental and resource economics, volume 5, issue 2, pp. 39-43, june 2020. toyin falola, ed., et al., environment and economics in nigeria, oxford, routledge african studies book 4, 2012 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 39 igwebuike philosophy and ozo title-taking in nawgu, dunukofia l.g.a emmanuel c. anizoba department of religion and cultural studies university of nigeria, nsukka emmanuel.anizoba@unn.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.28703.51361 abstract this work studied igwebuike philosophy and ozo title taking nawgu, dunukofial l.g.a of anambra state. the aim was to critically analyzed the issues involved in ozo title taking in nawgu, such as the qualifications of ozo candidate, processes involved in initiation into ozo title taking in nawgu, processes involved in initiation into ozo title taking in nawgu, taking of the title itself in nawgu, privileges of an ozo man in nawgu, taking of the title itself in nawgu, obligations of an ozo man in nawgu, taboos of an ozo man in nawgu and death and burial of an ozo man in nawgu. primary and secondary sources of information were made use of while descriptive and narrative methods of data presentation were adopted. the study found out that five stages are involved in ozo title taking in nawgu and at any state certain rituals are performed. for one to qualify to take the title must be financially rich and person of no questionable character chosen by the community themselves. people accord them respects in the community. truthfulness is one outstanding obligations of an ozo title holder. they are not bound from committing adultery among other taboos in the area. finally, an ozo title holder is accord a befitting burial on their demise by the entire community. keywords: igwebuike philosophy, ozo title taking, nawgu community. introduction traditional ozo title taking constitutes one of the most fundamental and pronounced features of igbo land and nawgu town in respectively. achievement is a prominent principle in nawgu and igbo land in general. hence, people strive as much as possible to make something out of their existence on earth. people like to be looked upon as superior beings as a result of their achievements. they see title taking as a means or forum to establish their superiority and standard in the society. ozo institution had a widespread influence in igbo land, in that only few could claim not to practice it. the institution is looked upon as the most prestigious, noble and sacred in igbo land. the taking of title manifests to a greater extent a mailto:emmanuel.anizoba@unn.edu.ng https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.28703.51361?_sg%5b0%5d=mrxx0w1c49be1vvaby9sn1visj8exrdfdkdhxkedoo6bhkgz_vsgm7zxtpsm1bbd9vacl03zftbv5sxb8mj0cpzzea.olygo13oqi-taoioogrxxp6paj18kpkjm5do-foocpgd9pr73wlghn7ywnzeww5tyzq54r6cady4ozqm5syfmg igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 40 person‘s socio-economic status in the society. ozo men are regarded in igbo land as custodians of the people‘s culture and tradition. the institution has its core in the traditional igbo religion. an ozo holder to according to igwebuike philosophy is a symbol of justice. this explains why they make it mandatory in the traditional setting, for any aspirant to be a person of unquestionable character. some of educated elites take this title despite the influence of christianity on igbo culture and must be chose by the community as igwebuike philosophy implies. however, modern value system which enthrones materialism and success by all means fair or foul has affected the purity and sanctity of traditional ozo institution in igbo land especially in the area under study. the result is that nowadays anybody with cash can buy his way into this reputable system irrespective of his character dubious or not. the need therefore arises to investigate igwebuike philosophy on processes through which the traditionalist involved to ensure the purity of this institution and the worthiness of its aspirants with a view to predict its future survival. the broad main aim of this paper is to analyze igwebuike philosophy on the issues involved in taking ozo title such as the qualifications of the candidates, processes in initiation into the title, taking the title itself, the privileges of an ozo titled man, his obligations, taboos associated with an ozo titled man and his death and burial. concept of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike is the underlining principle of african philosophy and religion. it is the unity of the african philosophical experience. it is in fact, the fundamental category of african philosophy and religion. it is the substratum of african traditional values, philosophy and religion. therefore, ozo title taking will not been left out. across the length and breadth of igboland, ozo title is a major symbol of prominence. the title-taking event is typically organized with an abundance of yam, meat, wine and other staple foods, all of which symbolize prosperity in the igbo culture. this is used as a support from the relatives and community as the case may be in support of candidate taking the title to ensure the practice of igwebuike in the area mbiti (1969) sees african ontology as a religious ontology, which is heavily anthropocentric. in this ontology are god, the spirits, animals and plants, phenomena and objects without biological life; however, at the centre is the human person. if this ontology must be understand, there is the need to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 41 penetrate its unity. mbiti argues that the african concept of time is the key to understanding the basic religious and philosophical concepts of this ontology. he writes:the concept of time may help to explain beliefs, attitudes, practices and general way of life of african peoples not only in the traditional set up but also in the modern situation, whether of political, economic, educational or church life. (p. 16). he further writes that: this time orientation, governed as it is by this two main dimensions of present and past, dominates african understanding of the individual, the community and the universe which constitutes the five ontological categories mentioned above. (p. 17). in his interpretation of african philosophy on the concept of ―igwebuike‖ kanu (nd) observed that in igbo philosophy is idi, that is, to be, igwebuike is the modality of being (kanu 2015). it is an igbo word, which is a combination of three words. therefore, it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space (kanu 2016). the three words involved: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power. thus, put together, it means ‗number is strength‘ or ‗number is power‘. it was employed by igbo traditional philosophers as a theory based on an illustrative statement to teach that when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force, and more so, to express their world of relationship, harmony, continuality and complementarity. at this level, no task is beyond collective capability (kanu 2017). this provides an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. as an ideology, igwebuike argues that ‗to be‘ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‗to be‘ is ‗to be with the other‘, in a community of beings. this is based on the african sense of community, which is the underlying principle and unity of african philosophy (kanu 2018). igwebuike philosophy and qualifications of ozo candidate in nawgu in the past, it was a taboo for a man to take the ozo title while the father was alive. they argue that it helped to reduce leadership conflict within the extended family. moreover, the junior ones in the family, in order not to alter the authority igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 42 structure based on age seniority allows their senior ones to take the title first. however, nowadays the reverse in the case, according to my lovely father nze isaac anizoba (personal communications nov.8, 2001) who stipulated that ―any one can now take the title, even as a little child provided that he has the money and other important things that may be required‖. freemen are allowed to take the title but slaves are excluded. men are expected to get married before taking the title a father or a wealthy relative might perform ozo title for his sons or relations even as an infants. the most significant point to note here is that, it is the community that will present the candidate who claimed to be qualify for the title. this has proves the philosophy of igwebuike that ―no man takes the honour by him/her self except him/her is giving the honour by the community. at this juncture, one important point that should not been left out is about a group of people-who on no account should be admitted into the ozo society in, they are called osu (outcast) people and the slaves. in their practical liberty, as osu is the same as an oru (slave); none of them has personal freedom. when a human being is sacrificed to a deity as a living oblation, he or she is called and ―osu” the property of the deity and therefore should not be tampered with by the ozo society. the children and in fact the generations of these two categories inherit this unfortunate fate from their forefathers, but these “osu” and “oru” can take the title among their fellow ―osu”. moreover, good conduct also plays an important part in qualifying one for ozo title taking. bad conduct disqualifies one even towards the end of the title. a life of dishonesty is opposed to the moral code of the igbo ozo title society. an act of stealing for example merits an immediate termination of tilted man‘s active membership of the ozo title society. according to igwe nwegwu (2001) ―an nze never steals or else he is stripped of his title‖. igwebuike philosopy and processes involved in initiation into ozo title taking to initiate into ozo title is an elaborate affair here i shall only highlight a summarized version of the significant stages involved in taking the title. 1st stage: ofo ozo: the person has to tell the entire isi nze of his lineage, who calls a meeting of the ozo group to which the lineage belonged. the applicant also go along with 4 gallons of palm wine and 8 kolanuts. this is requirement for ofo ozo which meant that from the next day he could begin to take his share of payment. this stage can also be called amanwulu stage. the items presented will be giving to a particular group of people who will now igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 43 ascertain that he/she has commenced the processes of taking ozo title. without the group endorsement as individual he/she cannot start the move why because igwebuike. ―groups are the strength‖. same applies to every stage. 2nd stage: ime ekwu: here the person involved has to call entire nawgu community according to their groups and give them whatever they require from him such as money, yam, goat and so on. 3rd stage: ime mbara: this has to involve the entire nawgu community who has been initiated in the said title. he has give them whatever they require from him such as yams, goats and so on. 4th stage: imeazu: at this stage, one has to be initiated into azu title and also has to offer something to the said title holders in my town nawgu. at this stage also is entitled to wear ―owulu” without an iron on ozo. 5th stage: ime uno ngu: one is also expected here to bring to the groups their own requirements of initiation into 5th stage set of people. such requirements include some pieces of yams, goats, kolanuts and so on. igwebuike philosophy and taking of the title itself in nawgu having fulfilled all these processes of initiation at different stages as required by the title holder, the community now allowed the candidate to take the title ozo after fulfilling the demands of previous ozo holder. some of these are the requirements of the 1st stage, 2nd stage, 3rd stage, 4th stage and 5th stage of the qualifications of an aspirant into the title taking. as a matter of fact, the levels of the honour that accorded to an ozo titled man are determined by the amount of rich he is. that is so to say that the more you can be able to afford, the more honour you received from the previous ozo holders. in the light of the above, many try as much as they can to offer a cow when taking the title which will give them the title of ozo ogbuefii, likewise ozo ogbuanyinya and so on. obviously, at this juncture one is expected now to put on his full title dress and complete top anklet with red cap. on the next market day also he is expected to go to market in continuation of the celebration of the ceremony. later a certificate of honour will be issued to him by the previous ozo holder countersign by the igwe of the town. it is the duty of the community to grace the occasion and invites their family friends, relatives and so on. on the day the title will be taking. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 44 privileges of an ozo titled man in nawgu ozo taking can be seen as a cultural institution, or man-made social rank of distinction and honour based on recognized status of excellence occurring, from what a person is, has or has done. there are many privileges enjoyed or attributed to a titled man in the society. the ceremony has always been accomplished by traditional religious worship and rituals for the main purpose of preventing its essence, sanctity and respect. however, in modern times, the traditional religious aspects seem to be fast disappearing. the ozo tilted man has the following privileges, right to share in the admission fees and entertainments, wear special red cap with eagle feathers, rope anklets on both legs, right to carry and blow the elephant tusk and the use of a special staff during public ceremonies. a members‘ house is sacrosanct and cannot be searched, likewise his wife (or wives). if any member abuses any of the privileges, the punishment is always grave. in some places, the offender might to sell or killed. it is a taboo to kidnap an ozo title holder or cause him and bodily harm. he has the right of participation and consultation in most of the important decisions affecting his village and own. he takes precedent over other persons, after decisions have been reached; he gives or pronounces them with other members of the committee standing behind him. in kolanut breaking, the ozo titled man takes molestation and to be safe, people travels in his name in the near-by towns and distant places. infact, he is the village custodian of precious articles or articles in dispute. he is forbidden to tell lies. he is exempted from a number of duties and communal labour however poor he becomes. he will be stripped off of his title when found guilty of theft and other serious misconduct. an ozo man never travels at night creates food cooked by the wife during menstruation. it is a taboo. he is entitled to special burial; ceremonies. infact, most of the features of the title taking are repeated on the death of a holder, such as the cutting of the cord tied on the legs. the expense of his funeral is more painful than the death itself unless he is no longer a man of substances. singing and dancing form the foundation of the social recreation of igbo people and in this ozo titled people are not left behind. they have own means of amusement, special and entirely exclusive to them. they have what they call ufe music, to the time of which no titled man is permitted to move his legs or nod his head. this infringement carries a fat fine. in fact, the community that brings the candidate monitor all the processes involved in taking the title will ensure that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 45 all the aforementioned privileges will be accord to an ozo titled holder. that is igwebuike philosophy. igwebuike philosophy and obligations of an ozo titled man in nawgu the rights of ozo titled men begin right from their respective families where their wives and children are made to realize the wrath of their title people. there are certain rules of etiquette which every titled man has to observe and the observance must be made known to every member of the family. an ozo titled man eats late in the night. the present day method of measuring time came with the white men. ever wife of a titled man therefore must have supper ready and whenever she fails in this prime duty, ―the titled man in obliged to roast yams in his ―obi‖ and satisfy his hunger. when such negligence does occur, the wife receives appropriate punishment for that. both the wife and children are obliged to salute their ozo titled man by any of his names every morning, after each mean and any other occasion decrees. for example, after the wife has frank the palm wine offered her by his titled husband; instead of ―thank you‖ she will say ―nnaynelugo‖, nwachinaemere or the like. the ozo titled men are generally industrious men, but their rank forbids them to do certain of manual labour. as a universal rule, they do not climb trees including palm and coconut trees. it is not infrequently that disputes arise as to the correct boundary or the trees to be uprooted; all these come into the competence of the ozo men to resolve. ―sometimes but not regularly a dispute may arise as to the age-group that should participate in an take of the work‖ the ozo titled man is obliged to look into matters arising from these disputes. above all, an ozo man never tells lies or steals; he is the ambassador of peace among his people and makes sure that everybody‘s right is preserved. he is obliged o eat only pounded yam and avoids taking palm wine called ogoro. but today all these are forgotten. igwebuike philosophy and taboos of an ozo titled man in nawgu after the great initiation into the ozo title, the ozo man is forbidden to do certain things because of his new state. they include that an ozo man does not eat at random. he eats only in his house especially in his obi and does not eat in public places such as beer palours or clubs. again, it is a taboo to see an ozo man climbing a palm tree or any kind of tree at all. he should not be a drunkard so as to let down the whole society. furthermore, an ozo man should not be present where people are negotiating for the sale of a slave or killing of human being. he igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 46 should avoid telling lies no matter the kind of money or presents offered to him. it is also a taboo for an ozo man to sit directly on the ground or be pushed down by somebody knowingly or unknowingly. when it happens accidently, a chicken must be offered as a sacrifice for that. finally, his state of life would be in compatible with much labour which involves moral risks. he is also forbidden to go to war and on no account would he light in single or command combat all his life because he is not allowed to shed blood. it is a taboo for him to carry a corpse, to climb trees or to hire himself for labour however poor he later becomes. on a more serious note, certain misconducts does not only be a taboo of an ozo man but warrants instant expulsion from the said title. to acquire the title again is sometimes impossible for the candidate. such crime includes theft. again, an ozo man never travels at night or eats food cooked by the wife during menstruation. it is a taboo. he is entitled to special burial ceremonies. the funeral of an ozo man costs a great deal of money and resources. to this are added more costly ceremonies, fees and rites. igwebuike philosophy, death and burial of an ozo titled man the burial of an ozo man is always as important to him as his taking the titles. he is not buried anytime and anyhow in my town, because he is not a commoner. some ceremonies as colourful as they are sophisticated are his special prerogative, which make his burial different from that of his non titled compatriot. one of these specialties is that, he is not buried on the same day his death occurs. before his death, a diviner will be consulted to see if he has lived as is living a good and honest life. the answer to this will determine the type of burial to be given him. for an honest titled man, the general atmosphere at ceremonies of this type very closely resemble what is was that memorable day he was accepted as a full member of the respected ozo title society; feasting, dancing and shooting of guns occupy the entire period. in this regard, talbot (1967:248-9) remarked: ―among the ibos funeral ceremonies are considered of even more important than with most other tribes‖. his view is correct because not only the relatives of the dead gather, but also everyone who happened to know him when he was yet living and even those who are friends of his relatives. the igbo christian seem to be at variance with some funeral ceremonies of their non christian relatives and titled men. commenting on that cardial arinze (2970:4) has this to say: the members of the titled society, both christian and non-christians may attend the funeral rites of a deceased christian member, but the title igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 47 society will not perform religious ceremonies of any shape or form. similarly, christian titled men will not take part in any pagan religious ceremonies at the funeral rite of a deceased pagan member of the society. as soon as nawgu ozo titled man dies. odu, ekwe and oyo will be used to announce his death. an oracle will be consulted to find out who will give him lamb which he will go with to the ancestors. as an adage says: ebule ka dike ji ana (a worrior proceeds to the spirit world with a ram), a cock, ugo or iche may be used as well, depending on what the oracle says. this later will be killed and shared among members. next comes umuada (daughter of the lineage) bringing a hen, eight yams and eight kolanuts. these symbolically show what the titled man presented initially before the title was given to him. they will do the necessary cleaning up of the house, including the washing of the remains. then the deceased titled man is dressed up in his full title regalia and people are allowed to come to pay their last respects to him. to enlighten the otherwise gloomy atmosphere, palmwine and laikai (home-made brandy) are provided in sufficient quantity and the professional musicians especially the ufie players kept the air warm. most titled men do not bury their dead members with their ankle cords still around their legs. in my town, it must be cut by nwada (daughter of the lineage) who tied it on the initiation day. it was this that the titled man ogbuefi onwurah was referring to when he said: ―as a man comes into this world so he go out of it. when a titled man dies, his anklets of the title are cut so that he will return as he come…it will be in the end‖. with the cutting of this cord which shows the final separation with the living, the entertainment takes place with other ceremonies or sacrifices. actually, the burial of an ozo titled man is an elaborate affair just as taking the title. the fundamental religious significance is; the ancestors in the world beyond, and the acquisition of a social position commensurate with which he enjoyed in this visible world as titled man. recommendations a. that igwebuike philosophy should be held in high esteem, to ensure nice selection of any candidate starting from the presentation of the candidate, processes or stages of initiation and so on. to ensure that right, honest, trustworthy etc. candidates are chosen. b. ozotitle holders should not neglect the community decisions when the need arises, since the honour was not taking alone by themselves, it is a collective responsibility. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 48 c. community leaders should ensure that they executes laws that everyone in the community should respect an ozo titled man or woman. d. being a rich man as one the qualifications in taking the title, an ozo tilted holders should ensure that he/she is magnanimous to members of his/her community, since everyone is involved in the title taking. conclusion from the foregoing, igwebuike philosophy is a sine qua none in the study of ozo title taking such as qualifications of ozo title taking, processes involved in initiation into ozo title taking, taking of the title itself, privileges of an ozo man, obligations of an ozo man, taboos of an ozo man and death and burial of an ozo man in nawgu. as at time of this research work, the researcher found out that ozo title taking has been persistently practiced in the area as igwebuike philosophy rightly stipulated that no one takes the title by him/herself except he/she were giving the title by the community. references basden, g.t. (1966); among the nier ibos, london frankcass and co. ltd. egudu, r.n; ―igbo and ozo festival songs and poems‖. couich (1977), p.12. green m.m. (1947); the ibo cillage affaire, london: sidquick and jackson. ilogu, e. (1974); christianity and igbo culture, london: nok publishers ltd. isichei, e., (1970); a history of the igbo people, london: macmillian press ltd. nzimiro, i; ―studies in ibo political sytem, cleftency and political in four nigeria state‖ (1972). ogbalu, f.c. (1960); ibo institution and custom onitsha: university printing press. ugonna, n; ―ozo title in igbo land‖ daily times (march 7, 1983). kanu ikechukwu anthony. african philosophy, globalization and the priority of otherness. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. kanu ikechukwu anthony. a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. augustinian publications, 2015. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 49 kanu ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. nnadiebube journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 1-13. 2018. kanu ikechukwu anthony. ―igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization‖. nnamdi azikiwe journal of philosophy vol. 10. no. 2. pp. 6166. 2018. kanu ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike as the expressive modality of being in igbo ontology. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 4. 5. pp. 12-21. 2018. kanu ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. 2017. kanu ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. augustinian publications, 2015. kanu ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. 2017. kanu ikechukwu anthony. sources of igwebuike philosophy: towards a sociocultural foundation. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 9. no. 1. pp. 1-23. mbiti, j. (1969). african religions and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational publishers. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 3 parents also get abused: lessons from select films and biblical accounts franca shiminenge jando phd department of religion and culture studies benue state university makurdi email: wantorshimmy@mail.com & zack ver wade phd department of theatre arts benue state university makurdi-nigeria email: wadezack9@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29332.65925 abstract there has been so much discourse on the abuse of children by parents, teachers, guardians and other caregivers and less attention is given to the fact that parents too have been victims of abuse by their adult children. matter of fact, the abuse of parents in family circles has increased in recent years for a variety of reasons, including the increasing proportion of older adults in the total population, also the related increase in chronic disabling diseases, and the increasing involvement of families in care giving relationships with the old. in this wise, this paper identifies and conceptualizes the problems of parents or elder abuse in a wider perspective, while defining it in the context of the nigerian situation. it explains elder abuse from the global and historical perceptive, identifying the various forms of abuse, their prevention and intervention strategies, societal norms to confront it, the roles of individuals, family, the society and government and teaching the rights of older persons. this effort is to create awareness and sensitize the individual, family, society and government about the problems and consequences of continued, unabated gross abuse of senior citizens as they live in silence and ignorance of their rights.this paper selects films and biblical accounts for framing conceptually relevant and effective prevention strategies as well as for understanding the specific character of the broader issue of the intergenerational nature of the quality of life in an aging african and nigerian society, and discovers that there are no enough programs and laws put in place to secure the welfare and emotional security of the aged parents. it finally concludes that although the law enforcement in some instances have apprehended the assaulters but there still exists, a void in policy formulation in order to forestall future disrespectful occurrences. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 4 keywords: parents, abuse, film, biblical accounts introduction abuse of parents by their children, also known as child-to-parent violence (cpv) or elderly abuse, is a form of domestic violence and is one of the most underreported and under-researched subject areas in the field of humanitarian services. people are more sympathetic to propagating the stop child abuse campaign and little attention is turned to the abuses the elderly suffer from the hands of young adults. parents are quite often subject to levels of younger people’s aggression in excess of normal childhood aggressive outbursts, typically in the form of verbal or physical abuse. this abuse has been defined by cottrell (2001) as any harmful act of a teenage child intended to gain power and control over a parent. the abuse can be physical, psychological, or financial. though this type of abuse often takes places during the teen years (often from 12 to 17), it can happen earlier than that. there have been some reports of children younger than 10 years old, who for instance, refuse to run errands for their parents, neglect attending to house chores and even do not visit their parents. the saying that it takes a whole village to raise a child is stemmed out of the resolve that children have obligations of respecting the elders and playing the roles that seek to establishing and sustaining relationships of parents versus their children. in nigeria for instance, elders who are not gifted with children look up to other peoples’ children as theirs and any form of disrespect from the young children could trigger an emotional reaction from the elderly. nevertheless, the effects of experiencing abuse from one's child can be profound. in the short term, ongoing parent abuse has been found to impact on a parent's and other family members’ physical and psychological health, with specific negative emotions such as fear, shame, and guilt and despair commonly reported (cottrell & monk, 2004) the causes are yet to be properly studied, as there seems to be very little research on that, but the assumption that a child is abusive because he/she have suffered some form of abuse in first place goes against some of the evidence which shows this is not true in many cases. some abusive children have had very normal and adequate upbringing from loving and caring parents. as declan coogan says in his book; child to parent violence and abuse family interventions with non-violent resistance, that being violent because of violence exposure is a simple commonsense explanation, which is preferred by most because it fits the society norms for understanding people's behavior (23). finally, it is really a complex igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 5 phenomenon which may derive not only from individualized issues, but also from structural societal and cultural factors. elderly abuse in global perspective the classification of abuse is based on identified experiences and cultural definitions from different backgrounds. what is classified as elder abuse in one environment may not be regarded as abuse in some environments. cultures have peculiar expectations in relationship behavior. a slight deviation is considered abuse of that relationship. for example, a new elderly right law passed in china wags a finger at adult children, warning them to "never neglect or snub elderly people" and mandating that they visit their elderly parents often; regardless of how far away they live. the law includes enforcement mechanisms, too: offspring who fail to make such trips to their parents face potential punishment ranging from fines to jail term. karina martinez-carter, explains: chinese parent-child relationships have become a bit complicated lately. eastern cultures like china's adhere to the confucian tradition of "filial piety," which prioritizes the family unit and values elders with the utmost respect. but china's rapid industrialization has forced people to flock to urban areas for work, causing many adult children to move farther away from their parents, who often remain in rural areas and are unfit to pick up and move (3) it obvious from karina’s explanation that the way cultures view and treat their elderly is closely linked to their most prized values and traits. for example, not only do koreans respect the elderly, but they also celebrate them. for koreans, the 60th and 70th birthdays are prominent life events, which are commemorated with large-scale family parties and feasts. as in chinese culture, the universal expectation in korea is that roles reverse once parents get old, and that it is an adult child's duty (and an honourable one at that) to care for his or her parents. like the chinese and the koreans, the japanese prize filial piety and expect children to dutifully tend to their parents. but japan also faces the unique problem of tending to an increasingly elderly population. according to asuman kiyak and nancy r, hooyman (2010), 7.2 percent of the japanese population will be 80 or older in 2021 (compared to 4.1 percent in the u.s.), which will likely lead to a host of new problems for the country. adult diapers are already outselling baby diapers, and the pension system is on course to dry up. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 6 western cultures tend to be youth-centric, emphasizing attributes like individualism and independence. this relates back to the protestant work ethic, which ties an individual's value to his or her ability to work; something that diminishes in old age. anthropologist jared diamond, who has studied the treatment of the elderly across cultures, has said the “geriatric in countries like the u.k. and u.s. live lonely lives separated from their children and lifelong friends. as their health deteriorates, the elderly in these cultures often move to retirement communities, assisted living facilities, and nursing homes” (32) unfortunately, it is difficult to imagine such an elderly rights law being a legislative priority in many western cultures. france did, however, pass a similar decree in 2004 (article 207 of the civil code) requiring its citizens to keep in touch with their geriatric parents. it was only enacted following two disturbing events: one was the publication of statistics revealing france had the highest rate of pensioner suicides in europe, and the other was the aftermath of a heat wave that killed 15,000 people; most of them elderly, and many of whom had been dead for weeks before they were found. just like in nigeria and in other african regions, the mediterranean and latin cultures also place similar priority on the family. in both african and mediterranean cultures, it is commonplace for multiple generations to live under one roof, sharing a home and all the duties that come with maintaining one. in the contemporary iteration of this living arrangement, the oldest generation often is relied on to assist with caring for the youngest, while the breadwinners labour outside the home. as such, the aged remain thoroughly integrated well into their last days. although, in as much as cultures have similar ways of caring for the old, (like the mediterranean and nigerian) there still exists varying cases considered abuse which may not constitute same in seemingly similar cultures. an example is the issue of institutionalization of elderly. in western countries such as the united states of america, canada and the united kingdom, it is not considered abuse when a member of a family takes an elderly member to an old peoples’ home or a facility for old people where care is given. the same idea is not welcome in nigeria as such facilities for old people are even mostly run by religious bodies and some few non-governmental organizations (ngos) in nigeria, occupants of special homes are mostly destitute and elderly people whose children and relatives have abandoned them. worst still, some occupants may be people who were picked from the streets and rehabilitated while others, probably, were igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 7 removed from their homes on information supplied by neighbours following confirmed cases of neglect and abandonment. recently a top government official, in an interview on nigerian national television, was asked why government was reluctant to build such facilities for the elderly. his response was that the idea of old people’s home was alien, unafrican and disrespectful to the elderly. the premise of his allegation is on the assumption that it is the responsibility of the children or relatives of an elderly person to take care of them just like the nigerian saying that when the rabbit grows old, it depends on the younger ones for sustenance. consequently, the interviewee concluded that if his children took him to such a home, he would curse them every morning till he dies. a walk around nigerian urban centers would confirm that commercial drivers and their assistants (conductors) shout at, and bully, the slow and sluggish older persons who would find it difficult to cope with the fast-paced activities associated with urban transportation and would even tell them to “go and die at home!” similarly, the scripture in ephesians 6:1-4 says: children, obey your parents in the lord, for this right. honor your father and mother (this the first commandment with a promise), that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land. fathers do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the lord (esv). the verses above said that children should obey their parents in the lord, for this right which means that children should not in any way refuse to obey their parents but do that which they are told to do. they should not disregard or disdain their parents but respect them. by doing so, it will go well with the children on earth, which means they will be blessed. however, noncompliance or refusal will attract a course. on the other hand, parents too are warned not to provoke their children to anger but to bring them up in the discipline, love and instruction of the lord. the younger ones are therefore, to care for the elderly in the society and not just their parents. however, because there are many forms and categories of abuse, this paper has classified the forms and has equally pointed out the underlying abusive tendencies by the acts of omission or commission. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 8 elderly and parents abuse in select films what ever happened to baby jane, released in 1962; is a story of two aging sisters, one of whom is paraplegic and confined to a wheelchair on the second floor of their hollywood home. the movie features stunning performances by paraplegic blanche (joan crawford) and her abusive, psychologically imbalanced and alcoholic sister jane (bette davis). in the course of the film, blanche is horrifically abused by jane. the film presents a chilling but not-so-unrealistic portrayal of elderly abuse. blanche suffers several types of abuse in the hands of her sister, which can be classified as follows: 1. verbal abuse. blanche is called names and verbally demeaned by jane. 2. physical abuse. blanche is struck several times in the movie, including one chilling scene where she is kicked several times as she lays on the floor. 3. deprivation of services. blanche desperately tries to call a physician and jane interrupts, making sure the doctor does not arrive. 4. psychological abuse. blanche is kept isolated and the phone is taken away. 5. starvation and willful neglect. blanch is deprived of food, and given several meals that discourage her from eating. 6. physical restraint. blanche is eventually tied to the trapeze bar while in her bed. 7. financial exploitation. jane practices blanche’s signature and signs checks in her sister’s name. the unfortunate victim recognizes her sister’s disturbed mind and tries to survive by appealing to the saner aspects of her personality. joan crawford presents us with an accurate portrayal of a person embarrassed, frustrated, and overwhelmed by her isolated, abusive situation. she desperately tries to get help while jane descends into a world of fantasy, self-delusion, and violence. in doing so, jane reveals several hallmarks of an abusive personality, not the least of which is the defense mechanism of denial. on several occasions jane puts her hands over her ears when the topic of discussion turns to her own behavior. the events featured in this film are unfortunately common in day-to-day human interactions, but frequently go unreported and unnoticed. in this case, the abuser was the victim’s sister, but abusers can have many roles including spouse, adult child, or unrelated caregiver. although primary care providers are sometimes in the best position to diagnose and intervene, they may however, not be trained in warning signs or reporting mechanisms. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 9 the blood sisters similar to whatever happened to jane, is a nollywood film titled the blood sisters, played by genevieve and omotola and directed by tchidi chikere in 2003. the story too, revolves around two sisters; esther and gloria. esther develops an unjust hatred for her elderly sister gloria, who is more intelligent in school and is always coming out with better grades in her examinations. gloria is further blessed as she finds and marries a wealthy man and they both move to live in the city. esther is pained with yet another found success by her sister and is already putting in place, some evil machinations to usurp the marriage and render her elder sister hopeless. she moves to stay with them in the city and gloria welcomes her warmly and takes good care of her too. in spite all nice treatments from gloria, esther goes ahead to poison gloria’s food and finally killed her. gloria is dead and esther is bent on marrying her dead sister’s husband. the mother is very bitter about the evil esther has committed and the entire village elders are summoned to stop esther from marrying her elder sister’s husband but all warnings are not heeded to by esther. she finally gets pregnant for her late sister’s husband. esther has abused many elders in this movie: 1. parental abuse. esther refuses to obey her mother (who raised her as a single-mother). she refuses her advice but goes ahead to commit the abominable act of killing her own sister and seducing the husband. 2. murder and covet of the elderly. esther is driven by envy that she pursues her evil passion to deprive her sister of her marriage happiness through the act of covetousness. 3. treating community elders with disdain and scorn. esther ignored an entire council of elders and in her community and walked out on them in a meeting. this, in africa, is the highest form of disrespect and abuse of the traditional authority. daddy must obey the film is directed by sunday nnajiude. it is a story of two little brothers played by two nollywood midgets; chinedu ikedieze (aki) and osita iheme (paw-paw). the film showcases the stubbornness of two children against their father who is played by sam loco efe. the two miscreants have dropped out of school because of their nasty attitudes and have returned to terrorize their elderly father. they insult him, fight him, set traps to humiliate him, disgrace him and sometimes, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 10 steal the only money he has on him. in the same film, fatima’s husband played by chinwetalagu, suffers all kinds of abuse from his wife. she would beat and force him to cook, sweep wash her clothes including her panties and other under wears. it can be seen from these analogies that the abuse of the elderly is not limited to child-to-parent alone. matter of fact, it can be between two elderly adults; with a younger adult abusing an older adult. it can also be among spouses where a younger spouse abuses an older one. wherever an adult is harassed, whether in the home, office, bus, school, hospital or any other public or private place, it amounts elderly abuse. sharon stone this movie features genevieve nnaji (sharon stone), a psychedelic lady who is so passionate and desperate to make money by employing all gimmicks to attract men to her. she moves to the city to milk very rich and wealthy businessmen to amass wealth to herself. she meets other high class of girls and in order to maintain her pseudo-personality, she lies to her friends about her family. she says her mother is a rich business woman who holidays in dubai and the caribbean and so other classy things about her family. meanwhile her mother is a peasant old farmer in a remotest village in ibo land. abandoned by her daughter for years, the mother decides to search for her daughter and visit her in the city. luckily, the old woman finds her daughter and with happiness and satisfaction on a successful search, calls her by her native name and attempts to embrace her daughter in the presence of her new friends, sharon stone pushes her mother away from her and queries the old woman where she knew her from. she tells her friends that she does not know the old woman. the more the old woman tries to convince her that she is her mother, the more profusely she is pushed out. finally, the woman is abandoned and dies of grief. to further analyze the movie, sharon stone, most writers of parents and elderly abuse have discovered that mothers and women have suffered greater degrees of abuse as compared to fathers and men. in 2004, robinson of brigham young university, published: parent abuse on the rise: a historical review in the american association of behavioral social science online journal, reporting results of the 1988 study performed by evans and warren-sohlberg the results reported that 57% of parental abuse was physical; using a weapon at 17%; throwing items at 5% and verbal abuse reported at 22%. with 82% of the abuse igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 11 being against mothers (five times greater than against fathers) and 11% of the abusers were under the age of 10 years. the highest rate of abuse happens within families with a single mother. mothers are usually the primary caregiver; they spend more time with their children than fathers and have closer emotional connections to them. it can also be due to the size and strength of the abuser and women are often thought of as weaker and even powerless. categorizing elderly abuse in nigeria pensions are not enough to allow for reasonable quality of life. irregular payments and long delay in payments of gratuities after retirement are examples of abuse. periodic, hectic and improperly conducted verification and registration of pensioners is gross abuse of the elderly. for those who did work in these sectors and are not entitled to pensions, no social security system is available to cushion the effect of lack of income in old age. they also suffer difficulty in accessing government services due to mistreatment and harassment by government officials. age discriminatory policies and practices and the lack of adequate policies to cater for the needs and welfare of the elderly constitute elder abuse. another very significant form of abuse of the older person is the insecurity and violence that older people are subjected to in conflict situations and emergencies and lack of provision for the older persons in relief programmes. man-made and natural disasters do happen and the elderly are usually not considered in rescue plans and rehabilitation processes. for example, the condition of the elderly in darfur-sudan is dehumanizing. there are countless examples in nigeria. a walk round idp camp in daudu-benue state of nigeria and other northern cities in the country will further reaffirm this point. the recent communal clashes in some parts of plateau state have left the elderly in the regions vulnerable to untold hardships because frail and feeble older persons were abandoned in the various homes, some burnt along with the buildings when help was not forthcoming. government did not make any special arrangement or even consider the elderly in its rehabilitation programmes after the crises. notwithstanding, many people, during their active years, worked in the informal sectors like farming, fishing, business, etc without pensions or any other forms of income after retirement. they therefore depend solely on children and relatives for their livelihood. even for those who worked in the formal sectors, the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 12 irregular, insufficient and even non-payment of gratuities and pensions, force them to look up to their children for financial assistance. unfortunately, the financial and economic stress being experienced by the children due to the prevailing economic climate makes filial obligation very hard task. to these prevailing circumstances, most people who have dependent elders consign the needs of the elderly relative to the bottom of the list of issues to be given attention. any increase in the financial allocation to any other responsibility affects that of the elderly. most times the inability or failure to give is spurred by the statement, “after all i am not his only child; others too should give”. however, the bible says: give and it shall be given unto you. a good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. for with the measure you use, it will be measured to you" (lk 6:38). therefore, children should not maltreat or neglect their parents for whatever reason, whether they were not taken care of as a child or not. they should do their own best and god will bless them for taking good care of their parents. and their children too will care of them in return. migration, urbanization and industrialization greatly contribute to the risk factor of abuse as many elderly ones live in isolation and loneliness. unfortunately, children who should have provided strong companionship in old age are scattered all over the world in search of the proverbial golden fleece. the attraction of employment opportunities in cities has made them leave their parents and relatives in the rural areas where majority of the elderly reside and are therefore left to the vagaries of lack and poverty. festive periods such as christmas, easter and ramadan are the only times when some fortunate ones get to see their children. immediately, the children return to their places of work in the cities and the elderly are left alone to continue to face the hard realities of living. although, some may argue that taking the aged relative to the city sometimes could also constitute a risk of abuse as the dislodgement from the natural habitation to a new unfamiliar terrain where the opportunity to socially interact with peers is non-existent may adversely affects the older person. other critics may still argue that the elderly who have children abroad might enjoy the regular receipts of packages from across the oceans but does the contents of such packages substitute for the presence and care from loved ones? there are many perspectives to elderly abuse; unfortunately, most people who are abused may never know they are victims, especially in africa. some elders may think they have possessed more than enough especially with most needs already provided for by income from investments they had during their hay igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 13 days, unfortunately, the lack of companionship from their children, even in the midst of plenty, puts them at risk of abuse. in some african societies especially, when one grows old, he/she is automatically branded a witch or wizard and is believed to be responsible for all mishaps such as famine, deaths, poor agricultural yields, natural disasters and regrettably, flimsy accusations like stagnation of promotions of the younger ones in their places of work in cities. again, an elderly woman who outlives her husband faces many unpalatable experiences meted to her by some traditional customs. the accusation is more established if he woman looks frail and bent from the process of ageing in poverty. many elderly women have been put at risk of this gross abuse of their person, although with the upsurge and quest for western education, a lot of people are turning away from such beliefs but countless others still practice it. for example, burial rituals and horrific mourning rites subject the old widow to inhuman and cruel practices. sometimes it takes from having her dress in very uncomfortable clothing for a long period of time, eat on the tombstone or graveside or drink the water used in washing her late husband’s body to prove her innocence of accusation of killing her husband. this is abuse at its peak! even in the church, when a widow is mentioned in the scripture it appears to carry the ideal of a woman who has no one to provide for her. they are often grouped with vulnerable members of the society, such as the fatherless, aliens and the poor (deut.14:29 and 16:11). the bible says widows should be treated with honor and compassion and offered protection so that no one takes advantage of them. in africa and in nigeria in particular, the main purpose of marriage was to produce children and heir to carry the family line. a childless widow endured double adversity, with no husband to care and protect her. thus, god recognized the widow's plight and rose to her defense: "a father to the fatherless, a defender of widows is god in his holy dwelling'' (psalm 68:5). deut. 27: 19 says a person who denied justice to a widow was cursed by god. '' cursed is anyone who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow”. this is what the church preaches and stands for, that no one should mistreat widows and their children but care for them (john ahar, interview 12/3/2021). the practice of forced levirate marriages, where the widow is passed on like a piece of furniture to the brother or male relative of the late husband as wife even when it is against her wish is another form of abuse. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 14 nevertheless, in as much as the caregivers are rebuked and accused of abusing the elderly, it should also be noted that when consideration is not given to the problems encountered by the caregiver, the possibility of the caregiver also abusing the care-recipient is almost certain. for instance, when the government or other employers fail to promptly pay salaries and wages to the caregiver, or when the economy becomes so recessed that income of the caregiver can no longer take care of his needs and responsibilities, abuse becomes imminent. government policies too affect and promote abuse. the lack of political will by the government to make laws and institute policies specifically to address issues of the well-being of the elderly, issues of prevention and interaction, and how to seek redress in cases of abuse of the elderly makes the elderly susceptible to abuse. some failed governments, for instance, also share the insensitivity and disrespect by subjecting the senior citizens, who had worked very hard and retired, to a so-called verification exercise for pensioners and requires they are physically present before they are paid the peanuts called pensions. the lack of a social security system to carry the burden of these people who have put in the strength of their youth to build the nation allows all forms of abuse to be constantly meted out on them. no respect or considerations are given even for those who are sick, tired, incapacitated, demented or poor. in africa generally, most public buildings are not constructed to be elderlyfriendly. instead of implementing architectural policies for providing lifts and carriages for elders in storey buildings, most buildings in nigeria, especially hotels and offices rather provide very steep staircases as the only alternative for accessing offices and rooms respectively. there are also no specific crossing points for the elderly such that at road crossings, commercial motorists would shout abusive words at the elderly as they struggle to stoop their way to the other side. conclusion the paper has identified and conceptualized the problem of elder abuse in a wider perspective while defining it in the context of the african and especially the nigerian situation. it therefore, explained elderly abuse from the global and historical perspectives with special references to movies, the church and the general nigerian society. the paper also identified the various forms of abuse, their prevention and intervention strategies, the confronting societal norms, the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 15 roles of individuals, family, the society and government and teaching the rights of the older person in addition to seeking redress. works cited asuman kiyak and nancy r. hooyman social gerontocracy: a multidisciplinary perspective. uk: pearson publishers, 1988 blood sisters, a nollywood film directed by tchidi chikere and released in 2003 cottrell, b. (2001). “the abuse of parents by their teenage children” (pdf). parent abuse. archived from the original (pdf) on february 27, 2012. retrieved 26 april 2021. daddy must obey. a nollywood film directed by sunday nnajiude and released in 2004 jarred diamond collapse: how societies choose to fail or survive. uk: penguins book limited, 2011 martinez-carter, karina. ‘’how the elderly are treated round the world’’ theweek.com accessed 2019. report on the french ageing policy 15 years since the 2nd un world ageing plan (madrid international plan of action on ageing – mipaa) madrid 2002 robinson, p.w., et al. “parents abuse on the rise: a historical review”. in the american igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 185 sexism in english and igbo chibueze egbe aleke department of english university of uyo, uyo 08035496351; alekeegbechibueze@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.19482.59846 abstract this paper investigates the representation of women as espoused in selected english and igbo titles and names. the aim is to analyze the traditional and contemporary views on the perception and the roles of women as well as how power relationships of different gender are determined through linguistic choices in english and igbo societies. using interpretivist paradigm and critical discourse analysis, both english and igbo titles and names randomly selected from both oral and written sources are examined. furthermore, the data have been categorized and analyzed to examine how women are perceived, symbolized and portrayed through english and igbo titles and names. the study also examines whether the stereotypical image of the woman is same in english and igbo traditional and contemporary societies. the findings reveal that both cultures in the traditional setting have some elements that motivate their men to maltreat, even “man handle” women. findings also reveal that there are a lot of positive changes in the contemporary time in favour of the feminine gender courtesy of civilization. it also brings to the limelight the current image and representations of women in both societies which is far better than that of the traditional english and igbo societies. keywords: sexism, women, english, igbo, names, titles introduction language which is a system of habitual vocal symbols by which humans communicate, is a socio-cultural phenomenon. different socio-cultural groups have different levels of perception of language forms and meaning. this is in order to suit their communicative needs and intentions. this paper investigates sexism in two languages; english and igbo. the aim is to undertake a linguistic analysis of selected gendered titles and names and to provoke a deeper understanding of the intersection between the use of titles and names and sexism. this is in line with the fact that language is the sole of the people, through which the cultural norms and values of the people are inculcated. as such, the notion of sexism in english and igbo can be said to be influenced by the cultural values which holds between these two different linguistic communities. mailto:alekeegbechibueze@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 186 sexism is a common social phenomenon, which can be reflected in languages (lei, 2006). it refers to any discriminatory use of languages which is detrimental to any member of the opposite sex (mills, 2006). according to butler, (1993) the dichotomy male vs. female has always shaped our perception and interactions and that it even affects the way language is used on daily basis. the word `sex’ however, should not be confused with gender; while the former refers to biological differences as pitcher (2011) stipulates, such as, chromosomes, hormones physical appearances etc. the latter on the other hand is all the acceptable characteristics and behaviours that culture, society and politics confer on what is masculine and feminine. this is why atang et al (2013, p1) refer to gender as “a set of ideas, that is, what is thought, said and written about women, men, girls and boys; what they are like and do, what they should be like and should do, these ideas are often expressed through gendered discourses.” in the light of the above, this paper seeks to examine sexist forms and pattern in english and igbo and the explication of gender bias expressed in both languages by investigating some sexist formation and constructions and accounting for their variations in use. review of relevant literatures many scholars have examined the representation of sexism in language and have argued that language encodes a culture’s values and, in this way, reflects sexist culture. although cameron (1990) suggests that rather than seeing language as a reflection of society or as a determining factor in social change, it could be seen as a carrier of ideas and assumptions which through constant re-enactment in discourse, became so familiar and conventional that we miss their significance. however, scholars like kendall and tannem (2001, p. 248) note that ‘language and sex research tends to focus on three main areas; (1) documenting empirical differences between women’s and men’s speech, especially in cross-sex interaction; (2) describing women’s speech in particular and for many;(3) identifying the role of language in creating and maintaining social inequality between men and women’. the above stance is an indication that men and women are perceived differently with men seen as being superior to women. chan (2016) asserts that sexism is a belief system based on the assumption that the physical differences between males and females are so significant that they should determine virtually social and economic roles of men and women. in the same vein, xiaolan (2006, p. 87) demonstrates that sexist language is used to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 187 express “bias in favour of one sex and thus treat the other sex in a discriminatory manner”. in most cases, the bias is in favour of men against the women.” similarly, fuss (1989) points out that there is no linguistic reason for the biased nature of english in favour of the male in both syntax and semantics. fuss’s study finds out that many of the words for woman have sexual overtones and despite the fact that there were more words for men, of smaller sample assigned to women, that there were found 220 words for sexually promiscuous women and only 20 for sexually promiscuous men. as a result, chan (2016) ascribes all these, mediating that the english language as a system embodies sexual inadequacy. nevertheless, sexism in the real sense of the word is practiced in the igbo language society. mmadike (2014) demonstrates that igbos see women as lowerclass citizens, who require just minimum attention in comparison with their male counterparts. ikonne (2002) drawing inferences from the igbo traditional and contemporary societynoted that sexism in the real sense of the word is practiced in the igbo traditional society. ikonne (2002) further reveal that there is a level of antagonism towards women in different contexts in igbo society which shows that majority of the igbo folk are still holding tenaciously to the old practice of sexism against women. afigbo (1989) noted that sexism has been an age long practice in igbo society. right from the pre-colonial era women are meant to be dependent on men in igbo society, women are educated mainly on soft and easy works such as: cooking, washing, cleaning of the house and taking care of children, while men are trained on hard but socio-economic related works such as: blacksmithing, craft, fishing, hunting and other kinds of farm work presuming women to be weaker vessels. obi, (2016) revealed that even in our contemporary age too, most of the difficult and life-threatening roles in igbo society are restricted to men only. think of hard works like mechanic, wheel barrow pushing, carpentry, driving of commercial vehicle and heavy-duty vehicle, bricklaying, etc. are strictly done by men in igbo society. obi (2016) concludes that the assuming of the hard and life threatening role in igbo society by men projects them to be unequal with women. chavez (2000) argued that the real danger in sexism is that it can often time take shapes in covert forms as opposed to overt forms. chavez (2000) accordingly avers that overt sexism refers to sexism that is explicit and visible in its nature whereas covert sexism is difficult to pinpoint and often times comes in a cover up form such as; wage difference, employment opportunity and women in academia, but that covert igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 188 sexism lies in things we pick up from our surroundings as we grow up and are harder to identify, explain and point out. chavez’s view is that, sexist language often comes in covert forms. there include: the use of degrading words such as “bitch” “whore” and “slut” that perpetuate the notion of women as immoral by nature, whereas the same language will describe men as “pimp” and “player” thereby given men power and pride. on the other hand, chavez (2000) contends that sexism is intensified by the imbalances of power among people differentiated by class, age, race, sexual orientation, physical and mental ability. according to him, this has been the excuse for numerous acts of violence including battering, sexual harassment and rape especially against women. sexist studies have shown discrimination in language in referring to women and men respectively, (lei 2006; mills 2008). mills and mullany (2011, p145) observe that ‘women are portrayed negatively through languages or are generalized through language based on men and women stereotypes’. according to them, examples of generalization in english include: the use of generic nouns to refer to both men and women. for instance, ‘man is mortal’ where man in this case refers to both man and woman. similarly, the use of the pronoun ‘he’ as a generic pronoun. for example; ‘someone must be aware of what he is going to encounter’. the use of ‘man’ and ‘he’ in both examples refers to both men and women, thus, they are generic in favour of men as the equivalents for females; ‘woman and she’ cannot be used to refer to males consecutively. lei and mills further stated that the terms used to refer to females are routinely derived from that of the males. for instance: manageress from manager, goddess from gods, princess from prince, sailorette from sailor etc. lei (2006) observed that most of such terms referring to females, derived from males’ terms have different connotations from their parent terms. for instance; mistress derived from mister, whereas mistress refers to a partner in extramarital affairs and is actually negative as compared to ‘mister’ which simply means a male counterpart. similarly, ‘governor’ refers to a person appointed to govern a province or state but the word ‘governess’ is used for counterpart female refers to as nurse. moreover, lei, (2006, p88) posits that “some titles are traditionally man oriented; implying that women were not thought of in holding such titles”. examples of such titles are; chairman, congressman, newsman, footballer, foreman, professor, engineer, lawyer, doctor etc. more exhibition of sexism in language is the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 189 tendency to associate female candidates with negative connotations in the circumstance where a common term is used to refer to both male and female. the case in point is the term professional which is generic for both male and female. nonetheless, the connotative meaning of professional is only used for women to mean a prostitute. chen (2016), investigating sexism from a critical discourse analysis perspective says that language is a mirror of a speaker’s ideology and that sexism is a common social phenomenon reflected in languages. the source concludes that there is a great number of sexisms against women in language use and suggest that much attention should be given to it to enhance the critical language awareness. theoretical framework this study, owing to its nature, is based on more than one paradigm. it takes on an interpretivist paradigm based on the notion that reality is socially constructed. interpretivist paradigm is underpinned by observation and interpretation and focuses on the need to put analysis in (socio-cultural) context (reeves & hedberg, 2003). for the current research, critical discourse analysis provides the second paradigm as it provides the opportunity to see the power positioning of the feminine gender in terms of social role assigned to them and attributes associated with them. lazar (2005), for instance, argues from critical discourse analytical (cda) perspective that ‘issues of gender, power, and ideology have become increasingly more complex and subtle’ in present times. it can be argued that names and titles by their nature present more complex and subtle understandings; that is, by their opaque and sometimes ambiguous meanings, names and title often hide their intended meanings, thereby making their ideological underpinnings subtle, but quite pervasive. names and titles can therefore serve to sustain (hierarchically) gendered social arrangements, in which the woman is disadvantaged, and these may be presented in very subtle ways. the work of cda is to critique such unequal gender relations. it is in this light that we find it a useful analytical approach for this study. according to litosseliti (2006), cda ‘has an explicit interest in making transparent the “hidden agenda” of discourse – which, for instance, may be responsible for creating and sustaining gender inequalities’ (pp.55-56). wodak, however, describes it as fundamentally ‘interested in not only analyzing opaque igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 190 but also transparent structural relationships of dominance, discrimination, power and control as manifested in language’ (2002, p.11). similarly, van dijk defines cda as a ‘discourse analytical research that primarily studies the way social power abuse, dominance, and inequality are enacted, reproduced, and resisted by text and talk in the social and political context’ (2001, p. 352). cda therefore critiques social inequalities as reflected in language. in critiquing social inequalities then, cda’s interest ties in with the emancipator goal of feminism. accordingly, the overriding aim of cda is to develop an analytical resistance to these unequal gender practices. source of data and process of data collection data for this study are taken from english and igbo languages respectively. from both languages, sexist words and phrases ranging from names to titles in line with the scope of the present study were drawn. for this study, the investigation of the nature of sexism in english and igbo languages was restricted to these two categories. from both sources, the data for this study are drawn from oral sources. categorization of data for analysis owing to the nature of this research and to facilitate the analysis of the data, the following categories were developed: 1) sexism in titles 2) sexism in naming sexism in titles under this category, findings from both english and igbo titles are presented respectively. from the english titles, instances were used to examine the nature of sexism as may be gleaned from the following samples presented in table 1. table1: presentation of data on sexism in english titles. male female prince princess dr. dr. (mrs.) doctor woman doctor lawyer lady lawyer mr. mrs. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 191 engineer woman engineer chairman chairlady god goddess a critical examination of the examples in table 1 show that sexism is a salient social category in english speaking societies. as the titles in table 1 imply, there is deep rooted discrimination against women, that is, women have to be dependent on men and are seen as just some appendages of men. in comparison with the english titles, the igbo titles found under this category include the following as presented in table 2. table 2: presentation of data on sexism in igbo titles male female mazi(mr.) oriaku (mrs/consumer of wealth) onyeokikpe (lawyer) nwanyi onyeokikpe (woman lawyer) onyeisioche (chairman) nwanyi onye isi oche (chairlady) eze (king) ezenwanyi (queen) dibia (priest) dibia nwanyi (priestess) a close analysis of these titles is the understanding that sexism is highly evident in igbo language as women are fully dependent on men for their titles. little wonder the biblical injunction that woman was made out of the man. in other words, without man there will be no woman. this is sexism; pure and simple. the above examples also show the dominating force of the male gender as oppose to the feminine gender. in the light of these, we see the nothingness ascribed to the feminine gender as the woman is the consumer of the wealth produced by the man. other instances on the nature of sexism in english and igbo are demonstrated in the next category. sexism in names some english names are clear indication of the existence of sexism in the language. table 3: presentation of data on sexism in english names. male female igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 192 eric erica aubrey aubree audrey audree robert roberta malvin malvina the examples presented in table 3 again, exemplify the sexist nature of english societies as portrayed by their naming system. the names in table 3 are clear indication of sexism as the female names emanate from the male names. in comparison with the igbo names, examples of igbo names under this category are presented in table 4. table 4: presentation of data on sexism in igbo names. male female okoroeke (male child born on eke day) mgbeke (female child born on eke day) okebugwu (male child is an honour) nwanyi abu nwa (a female child is not a child) nwaesiaba (a child we boast with) amuru nwa (is a child born?) a close examination of the above names is the understanding that sexism has eaten deep in the igbo speaking communities as a male child born on eke day is called okoroeke. the opposite should be agboghoeke but the girl is stereotypically named mgbeke which connotes ugliness, prostitute, stupidity, etc. a male child is named nwabugwu, nwaesiaba, okebugwu etc, which semantically denote honorable, while a female child is named nwanyiabunwa, mgbechikwelu, amurunwa etc. which depict nothingness, worthless and so and so. a man who expected a male child and unfortunately got a female child would name her mgbechikwelu ‘whenever it pleases god. this name simply means whenever it please god to give him a child, meaning that a female child is not a child as some people will just name theirs nwanyiabunwa. developmental trends on sexism in english and igbo the belief that the woman is less important in english and igbo societies is far becoming a thing of the past. in recent times, everywhere in the world, the woman is industrious, enterprising and supportive. women are said to have made a lot of gains in education, politics, business etc. today, many women are liberated and are celebrated for it. this is as a result of educational exposure and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 193 cross-cultural contacts. moreover, education of women is on the increase to the extent that even lower educated men marry more highly educated women. in addition, families now confess that their utility children are mostly the females. a typical example is the positive change in the naming system of contemporary igbo societies where a female child is now named: nnekasi mother is the greatest nneamaka mother is beautiful nwanyibuihe woman is/worth something nwanyi bu ugwu woman is honour nnebuugwu motherhood is an honour nwakaego child is greater than money/wealth egodi there is money/wealth, wealth personified ije-ego journey/race/walk of money/wealth the above names are now given to female children in contemporary igbo society as compared to the erstwhile ‘nwanyiabunwa’ a female child is not a child, ‘amurunwa’is a child born? etc. similarly, a couple that has more girls than boys is no more derided as ‘amandom’ compound of women.now, there are names thatare unisex in igbo society unlike in the past that naming system is sex inclined. such names like: udoka, uzoma, mmesoma, chidera, chisom just to mention but few. the use of names to depict the dependence of women on men or to portray the fact that women are just some appendages of men in the igbo society is also embedded in the english socio-cultural context. names such as erica, aubree, roberta, etc. which are used to show women’s dependence on men are gradually being eroded. similarly, there are names that are unisex in the english communities’ noun. names like ashton, avery, jamie, kelsey etc. are unisex, demonstrating the equality between the two sexes. this is as a result of the fact that in domestic and social relations, women’s investments complement those of their spouses, they now form part of decision making in and out of their families and social environments. also, women are becoming their husband’s next of kin. in the present day of okpanam in anioma kingdom of delta and uwana kingdom of afikpo in ebonyi states women chiefs are crowned alongside men chiefs. in anioma for instance, the male chief is in charge of the men, male youths and the lands, while the woman chief is in charge of the women, female igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 194 youths, markets and custodian of the ancestral shrine. same applies to the english societies where there are men and women mayors. thus, the use of titles to depict man’s superiority in english and igbo societies no longer holds as women are now participating in leadership and administration in our societies today. in the english societies, discriminatory titles such as the use of ‘miss’ and ‘mrs.’ for females’ representation of unmarried and married women is gradually fading away. there are reported successes in making language gender neutral in the english societies. for instance, mills and mullany (2011) report a study of gender related language change that was exhibited and observed that the representation of women and the style of language have changed a lot over time, denoting that the campaigns against sexism have been a success, thereby making language gender neutral. a typical example is the use of ‘ms’ instead of ‘miss’ and ‘mrs.’. also, substituting the use of ‘man’ as a generic term with ‘someone’, ‘he or she’ in a sentence in place of the generic ‘he’ for both sexes is another success. in addition, there have also been the introduction of gender sensitive terms, like saying ‘person to person’ instead of ‘man to man’, ‘police officer’ instead of police man, ‘business executive instead of businessman’, ‘chairperson’ instead of chairman, ‘artificial’ instead of ‘manmade’, ‘layperson’ instead of layman, ‘human resource instead of manpower etc (lei,2006). in a related view, the igbo socio-cultural context which holds the position of placing the man above the woman no longer holds because the women now support and complements the man. the woman is now viewed positively and is also encouraged to queue in for opportunities. in this societal context, husband and wife are no more addressed as mazi /na oriaku– mr. and consumer of wealth, but, mazi na odoziaku, -mr. and keeper or custodian of wealth. similarly, women are now addressed with titles like; osodieme-one who works with her husband, omaobidiya-one who knows the mind of her husband etc. these show the extent to which women status have been changed. discussion the representation of women in english and igbo is in conformity to the traditional gender stereotype and ideals, and is socio-culturally accepted as it reproduces or reinforces gender stereotype and ideals, but there have been a lot igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 195 of positive changes with regards to the fight against sexism courtesy of civilization, which has seriously elevated the image and position of the feminine gender in both societies. in our interpretation of how language reinforces traditional gender stereotype and ideal, we make reference to the approaches we adopted for this study: critical discourse analysis (cda) and the interpretivist paradigm. according to van dijk, (2008, p85), ‘the ultimate aim of cda is to expose, understand and ultimately resist social inequality’. our reference to the interpretivist paradigm is based on the notion that reality is socially constructed. the interpretivist paradigm is underpinned by observation and interpretation and focuses on the need to put analysis in socio-cultural context (rerves and hedberg, 2003). similarities between the two cultural contexts owing to the two categories of female representations in the current research, some elements of similarities have been revealed. for instance, under the title category, in both languages there is dependence of women on men in that the female titles are derived from those of the males. typical examples are; princess derived from prince, lady lawyer derived from lawyer, etc. such dependence is also common in the igbo traditional society as we see in; onye okikpe-nwanyi onye okikpe, onye isi –nwanyi onye isi, etc. all depicting similarity in the traditional setting of the two socio-cultural contexts. conclusion this study has examined the linguistic nature of english and igbo societies. it draws a parallel between language, gender and culture of the english and igbo socio-cultural contexts. that is to say, it examines the gender parity between men and women, especially when it comes to rights and power positioning. women are seen as weaker beings in the society and as such, found to be dependent on men in many aspects of life. however, some of these positions no longer hold in modern times because of civilization where women are no longer confined to the kitchen. civilization has brought some positive changes in favour of the women that has brought some elements of equality between the two sexes. references afigbo, a. (1986) an outline of igbo history, enugu: snap press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 196 atang, l,l., ellece, s.e., litosseliti, l., & sunderland, j. (2013). gender and language in sub-saharan africa: a valid epistemology? in atang, l.l., ellece, s.e., littosseliti, l.&sunderland,j.(eds). gender and language in sub-sahan africa: tradition, struggle and change. pp 1-26. john benjamin publishing company. butler, j. and condry,s. (1976). sex difference: a study in the eye of the bachelor. child development.4-7-81-2-819. cameron, d. (2000). styling the worker: gender and the comodification of language in the globalised service economy.journal of sociolinguistics.4(3):323-347.s chavez, c. (2000). sexism in languges.gender equity resource centre, (510) 6435727. connell, r. w. (1987). masculinities. cambridge: polity press. connell, r.w. (1995). gender and power: society, the person and sexual politics. cambridge: polity press. fuss, d. (1989) essentially speaking: feminism, nature and differences. routeledge london. ikonne, h. u. (2002). sexism in igbo traditional and contemporary society: a challenge to igbo women. journal of advanced academic research-arts and humanities. 4(1), 97-110. lackeoff, r. (1972). language and a woman’s place. harper and rowe: new york. lazar, m.m. (2005). politicizing gender in discourse: feminist critical discourse analysis as political perspective and praxis. in: lazar m.m. (ed.) feminist critical discourse analysis: gender, power and ideology in discourse. basingstoke: palgrave macmillan, pp. 1-28. lei, x. (2006).sexism in language.journal of language and linguistics.5(1), 87-94. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 197 litosseliti, l. (2006). gender and language: theory and practice. london: hodder education. longman dictionary of contemporary english (2000), england. pearson educational limited. mills, s. (2008). language and sexism. new york: cambridge. mills, s. and mullany, l. (2011).language, gender and feminism.london and new york: routledge mmadike, b. i. (2014). the igbo perception of womanhood: evidence from sexist proverbs. research on humanities and social sciences. online (open-access). vol. 4.no.18,2224-5766. obi, o., (2016)marriage among the igbo of nigeria, asaba: atlantic press ltd. reeves, t.c., and hedberg, j.g. (2003). interactive learning system evaluation. englewood cliff, n.j: educational technology publications. tannem, d. (1993). gender and conversational interaction. oxford university press: new york. van dijk t. a. (2001). recovering the feminine other: masculinity, feminity, and gender hegemony. theory and society 36(1), 85-102. xiaolan, l. (2006) sexism in language.journal of language and linguistics.vol. 5.87-94 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 424 religious identity as instrument of political bargaining in post-colonial nigeria anene, chidi p. ph.d department of history and international studies imo state university amakeme@yahoo.com;+2348063414134 doi: 10.13140/ rg.2.2.23433.67684 & chinonyerem u. njoku ph.d department of history and international studies, imo state university chinonnjoku@gmail.com;+2348035079809 doi: 10.13140/ rg.2.2.23433.67684 & iyala theodore. o department of history and international studies imo state university iyalastone@yahoo.com;+2348037977157 doi: 10.13140/ rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract the study aims at establishing the relationship between religious identity and political bargaining in post-colonial nigeria. the study adopts qualitative historical method which involve use of published and unpublished sources, official documents, internet sources, workshop documents, newspapers and magazines, research works etc. the study argues that the history of post-colonial nigeria is replete with use of religious identity as a strong identity political tool to negotiate political power, political patronage, political appointments, as well as employment in both civil and public service institutions. the study further contends that this nexus between religious and political identity has profound implications in struggle for power, good governance, effective civil and public service delivery, transparency and accountability, as well as democracy dividends in nigeria’s fourth republic democratic experiment. key words: religious identity, political identity, post-colonial state, political, good governance, democracy. introduction nigeria‘s slide to the use of religious identity as a parameter for gaining access into the political space in terms of acquisition of political power, political appointments and obtaining employment into the civil and public service could mailto:amakeme@yahoo.com;+2348063414134 mailto:chinonnjoku@gmail.com;+2348035079809 mailto:iyalastone@yahoo.com;+2348037977157 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 425 well be traced to the era of colonial rule. the lopsided policy of divide and rule and religious centred segregation and spatial organization enacted during the colonial era laid a strong foundation for the postcolonial process of making religious identity as a yardstick for attaining positions of prominence in the political landscape of the country and in recruitment in the civil and public service in the nigerian state. this paper is a testimony that apart from ethnic identity, religious identity is also a formidable aspect of identity politics in nigeria which has contributed in no small way in determining who gets what political patronage and employment in the country. in view of the above religious consideration for employment into nigerian public office space, good governance and effective service delivery are sometimes sacrificed on the altar of religious identity politics as recruitments and promotions, discipline and performance index are oftentimes based on religious identity. this paper therefore is an attempt to examine the extent to which religious identity is used as an instrument of political identity in nigeria. in view of above, the paper revolves around the following themes: colonial buildup to religious identity politics; postcolonial foundations of religious identity politics; religious identity as yardstick for negotiating political power and patronage; religious identity consideration for employment in civil and public service; implication for good governance and efficient service delivery. colonial buildup to religious identity politics the british colonial administration in nigeria made some administrative overtures which set the stage for the subsequent use of religious identity for political negotiation. the policy that created competition for the nation‘s resources by the two main religions – islam and christianity was the inability of the colonial government to foster even socio-economic development between the muslim dominated northern region and christian dominated southern region after the 1914 amalgamation. the colonial administration instead sustained the existing dichotomy due to obvious religious reasons thereby creating a serious lacuna that set the stage for politicization of religious identity. in the first instance, after the amalgamation of 1914, the british did not allow the development-oriented christian missionaries who had been creating social and economic institutions of development in the greater part of the southern region to penetrate the north, rather the best that was bestowed on the north was to adopt and adapt the sokoto administrative system to the needs of british colonial rule by inventing ‗indirect rule. by so doing, the british strengthened the adherence to islamic system of administration. the reason for british adoption of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 426 islamic administrative system could be traced to the era of subjugation of the sokoto caliphate. upon the defeat of the caliphate and subsequent incorporation into the british protectorate of northern nigeria, the conditions of subjugation included provisions that the british would not interfere with their religion, in specific terms in the intimate association between islam and indigenous rule. in the end, by the time the amalgamation of the entire protectorates had taken place in 1914, islam had been fully entrenched as a legal system of administration in northern nigeria (gumi and isiga, 1994). the situation was the contrary in the southern protectorate where christian missionaries and subsequently the colonial administration alike did not strike any accord with local political officials to respect traditional religious institutions. as a result the missionaries quickly entrenched themselves and developed basic social capital institutions and social services such as western education,, provision of health services and institutions such as hospitals, orphanages for the outcast and downtrodden. hence, many people openly embraced them with all their socio-economic developmental programmes (gumi and isiga, 1994). the british in an attempt to honour the agreement it struck with the northern leaders, excluded the christian missionary activities and their social capital investments such mission-sponsored schools from the predominantly muslim areas thereby creating a huge imbalance in westernization between north and south. furthermore, the british discouraged any official political contact between north and south until 1947, when politicians from the two regions sat together for the first time in the central legislative council; officially promoted segregated residential settlement patterns referred to as sabon gari or strangers‘ quarters, institution of inflexible land tenure systems, both of which reinforced discrimination against migrant communities; and the lopsided recruitment of nigerians into the army and police (coleman 1958; diamond 1988; dudley 1973; luckham 1971). by so doing, religion became intertwined with politics leading to the politicization of religion wherein religious identity became a passport for acquisition of political and economic opportunities (the comet, 31 october, 2001. from then on religion became a defining index for political and administrative patronage. for example, religious influence over politics reared up its head when the political elites started playing religious tunes. it could be recalled that the religious identity-motivated lopsided development as earlier mentioned, particularly the barring of the christian missionaries from bringing western igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 427 education in the muslim dominated north saw the south dominance over the civil service; whereas the north was supported by the colonial administrators through the northern peoples‘ congress, a dominant political party with mostly islamic agenda to capture power at the centre. this led to intense competition and rivalry, suspicion and mistrust between the two regions. thus, many of the elite in the western–educated south felt undermined to be made to be subordinated under the neo-colonial oriented islamic oriented leadership of the north; the northern elite on their own part, felt it was unfair that the south should dominate the civil service, and by implication the economic base of the country (ikeanyi and enwere, 1995). being under the dominance of the two religions – islam and christianity, each was embroiled with constant struggle for power in attempt to enlarge their gains and limit their disadvantages and gain greater foothold on the country‘s socio-political and economic scheme. the above scenario set the stage for politicization of religion in the postindependence nigeria. post-colonial era of religious identity and political bargaining in nigeria as stated in the previous section, given the intense competition that raged on between the two major religions, each religion preferred a situation in which its members occupy positions of power in the economic and socio-political milieu of the country; hence the quest for winning of converts became very important. while the southern politicians saw independence as an opportunity to have a nigeria ruled by its citizens, the members of the hausa-fulani islamic ruling class on their own part saw it as an opportunity to rule by those either belonging to, or approved by the hausa-fulani islamic ruling class. for instance, the national party of nigeria in second republic effectively deployed a religious symbol to attain power at the centre in 1979 (ikeanyi and enwere, 1995). in the first republic, for instance in 1963, in an attempt to consolidate political power in the northern region, the then premier, ahmadu bello launched a conversion campaign to islamize the christian and animist populations of the north and the middle belt (ibrahim, 1978). for instance, according to kukah (1994), the middle belter people were induced by cash, provided by arab world and government coffers, as well as cloths produced by the government textile in kaduna to convert to islam. the converts were awarded islamic titles which indicated their social and political advancement in the society. through this strategy, the sardauna was able to widen the political base of the npc. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 428 while the nigerian constitution prohibits the formation of political parties along religious lines, political actors always seek and consolidate power by benefiting from and manipulating religious identities. predominantly in the north, political actors and their rivals have continued to use islam to mobilize support because the lives of the majority of people in the north revolve around islamic practices (falola, 2009). both islam and christianity compete for space, converts and political domination. leaders of religious organizations use the style and language of politics, in their quest for propaganda, control of converts, and the prevention of one another from dominating the political environment. in the first republic, the northern led government carved out the mid-western region but denied same to christian dominated middle belt which have clamoured for selfautonomy since the 1940s (dudley, 1982; iwara, 2004). religion, like ethnicity, is a source of mobilization for political actors. for instance, once a political candidate defines himself as a muslim and his rival happens to be christian, politics can acquire the coloration of religious conflict. in the north, many politicians have turned to islam for power legitimization. there have been power rivalries with christians and bids to impose the sharia over a larger region. these attempts have prompted swift response from the christian association of nigeria who resorted to contest all religious symbols and what it perceives as efforts to use islam to dominate politics. in essence, northern politicians have continued to take advantage of islam by using its symbols as political ideology in order to unite the region against the south and to mobilize their different constituencies. this approach to politics has bred mutual distrust and fears, particularly the christians have always been afraid of islamic/northern domination. thus, there is a pervasive fear that islam might expand and gain greater influence, by using the resources of the federal government to advance its political objectives and interests (falola, 2009). mobilizing religious groups has been an important tool in nigerian politics. although individual muslims and islamic groups are found throughout the country, they are most concentrated and religiously-politically active in the 19 northern predominantly muslim states. for them, islamic identity fosters a regional unity and maintains established privileges for the elite. the problem was compounded by the botched orkar led coup of april 22, 1990 in which some northern muslim dominated states such as sokoto, borno, katsina, kano and bauchi were excised from nigeria. the leader of the coup, major gideon orka was from the middle belt and attempted to contain what he considered to be the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 429 muslim threat. the coup was seen as as christian-motivated, and a number of christian leaders, hence many of the christian association of nigeria (can) were charged with unlawful assembly and illegal marching (africa watch, october 1991). in a similar vein the presidential aspirant of the all nigerian peoples party (anpp) was credited with statements inciting moslems not to vote for a christian candidate in the 2003 election. though he debunked the allegation, it however earned him the dislike of the southern christians. apart from these overt religious controversies spanning the nations political landscape, there has always been covert attempts by the ruling class (es) to ameliorate the fear of religious domination by balancing the various political positions with members of the two dominant religions. at all times the chief executive and his second in command has always been drawn from the two religious groups islam and christianity. in the first republic, the president in the person of chief hon dr. nnamdi azikiwe was a christian while the prime minister alhaji tafawa balewa was a muslim. the ironsi administration that succeeded it had babafemi ogundipe as vice, the gowon administration was a balancing of ethnicity than religion. but military consideration held sway. being a christian from the north, his second in command was first, joe r.i. akahan, followed by iliya b. bisalla, hassan usman katsina, david akpode ejoor, and then j.e.a. wey (obianyo, 2008). the administration that toppled him led by late gen murtala mohammed was a muslim but his second in command, rtd gen. olusegun obasanjo is a christian from the south west. when mohammed was murdered in the failed coup of 1975, obasanjo took over but his second in command was a muslim northerner, late gen shehu musa yar‘adua. the civilian administration of alhaji shehu shagari a muslim which followed had chief alex ekwueme as his vice. the gen. buhari administration that ousted the shagari regime did not think much about balancing of religion in the most powerful positions of the state as his second late major gen tunde idiagbon was also a muslim. the administration‘s primary aim of fighting corruption/indiscipline in the system did not leave much room for politicking, as many members of the political class at this period populated the prisons in nigeria over allegations of corrupt enrichment. the babangida regime that succeeded buhari had as the second in command air commader ebitu ukiwe, a christian who was later replaced by another christian admiral augutus aikhomu. when babangida stepped aside after the imbroglio surrounding the cancellation of the june 12 election in which a southern muslim was said to have won, the interim administration that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 430 succeeded him was led by a christian, chief ernest shonekan, assisted by late gen abacha who later ousted him in a palace coup to take over the reins of government. gen abacha was assisted by major gen oladipo diya a christian from the south west. following disagreements between the two he was replaced by gen jeremiah useni, another christian from the middle belt. the transition government of gen abdusalami was assisted by michael akhigbe, a christian. under the regime of obasanjo, his vice was alhaji atiku abubakar a muslim from the north, under the regime of alhaji umaru musa yar‘adua the vice president is a christian from the minority southsouth geo-political zone dr jonathan ebele goodluck (obianyo, 2008). when dr. goodluck jonathan became the president after the 2011 general election architect namadi sambo a northern muslim from kaduna state became the vice. in the present regime, president muhammed buhari picked a yoruba christian, pastor yemi osinbajo as the vice president. this in itself goes a long way to show the extent religious consideration determines the political positions in the country. in the public service, the minority christians began an agitation which was motivated by ‗islamaphobia of the hausa-fulani muslims due to the lopsided northernization policy‘ which favoured the muslims and excluded the christians. it follows that no matter the educational qualifications, status or merits the christians had attained, they were not allowed to attain the upper echelons of the native authority in northern nigeria (okwori, 2003). this same policy devise was extended to the national level. according to horowitz (1985), during the period of northernization policy which was introduced in 1959, at the eve of nigerian independence, there were virtually insignificant number of northerners in the upper rungs of the civil service. by 1965 the number of northerners in the upper echelon of the civil service had outnumbered the number of expatriates and southerners respectively. kukah (1993) further revealed that in the early parts of national independence, the northern aristocrats established jama‘atul nasir islam (jni) to champion the course of islam. with the northernization policy, islam became a major factor for the attainment of social carried out through what was referred to as ‗economic jihad‘ (okwori, 2003). according to ibrahim (1991), there is much evidence to suggest that gideon orka and his co-coup plotters and supporters alike were convinced that both political power and economic resources were distributed unevenly in favour of muslims in the country. a study carried out by ajayi (2009) revealed that the governments indeed oppress nigerians who belonged to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 431 a different religion. the ruling elite, particularly christians felt they were oppressed in the civil and public service when it comes to government positions and promotions. most of the respondents in that study commented that government appointments to positions were based on religious and ethnic affiliations. the study found out that nigerian government is deeply involved in religious affairs in terms of appointments and promotions, award of contracts and scholarships. on the whole, it was reported that the nigerian government at the centre indeed gives the muslims advantage over other religious groups in the country through overt and covert patronage. impact on effective governance both muslim and christian leaders have politicized their faithful‘s allegiance to mobilize and give dignity to marginalized constituents, demonize opponents, and gain power since ―religion provides a legitimizing framework for violence that would otherwise be considered unacceptable‖ (ostebo, 2012). religion, then, is a fast, easy way to obtain and manipulate power in nigeria—fighting over position and power rather than developing and delivering relevant policies and political platforms (falola, 2001). this religionalization of politics and public space in nigeria has led to myriads of factors that inhibit the smooth functioning of governmental business such as collaborated corruption, enthronement of mediocrity in positions of authority, lack of transparency and accountability, religious conflicts, mutual distrust and sabotage of the governmental business. a key consequence in the use of religious identity to muster public positions is that of rise and institution of prebendalism in the system. thus it is not uncommon to find religious identity groups supporting candidates to occupy the exalted position political and public offices after which the person (s) in question a handed down a catalogues of demands of what is expected of him/her as contribution to the in-group while in office (obianyo, 2008). the above is what joseph (1999) describes as prebendalism. according to joseph (1999), the term prebendalism is: one in which the offices of the state are allocated and then exploited as benefices by the office holders, but also as one where such a practice is legitimated by a set of political norms according to which the appropriation of such offices is not just an act of individual greed or ambition but concurrently the satisfaction of the short term objectives of a subset of the general population. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 432 thus the use of public office for personal aggrandizement or to sustain private loyalties (obianyo, 2008) has led to corruption and protection of such public office holders from prosecution since the public office holder in question perpetrates such on behalf of the religious group in question. ekeh (cited in obianyo, 2008) presented an eloquent explanation on the overlapping of the public and private sphere in africa in his theory of the two publics in which the civic public is marked by the two significant features, namely: it suffers from endemic crisis of ownership, the people do not claim or identify with it as they do the primordial public. it is marked by an us versus the relationship, where the us is the primordial public whose ownership, autonomy and sustenance is jealously guarded. the civic public is amoral and lacks the generalized moral imperatives operative in the private realm and in the primordial public .thus, the individual feels no moral urge to reciprocate the benefits he receives from it and the behaviour that would be regarded as morally reprehensible in the primordial public, such as embezzlement of public funds is permissible here in so far as the larger group directly or indirectly benefits from the loot. thus, ―the contradictory pulls and demands of simultaneous membership of the two publics is what underlie the pervasive problems of ethnicity, religious politics and state corruption that it engenders‖ (osaghae cited in obianyo, 2008). this religious identity aspect of influence and control of public space in nigeria explains ―why the state has continued to be an object of plunder and abuse by those who should protect it‖ and indeed the debilitating and crumbling of the norms of public service and the nigerian economy. conclusion the study examined the relationship and influence of religion on political and public service system in nigeria. it associated the colonial administration as the origin of the deployment religion to negotiate political and administrative power. the paper went further to examine the interplay of religion and politics during the various post-colonial regimes and substantiated the fact that religious identity has always utilized as instrument of politics by the elite, particularly the northern elite who manipulate politics with religion. the effective use of religion include appointments, award of contracts, employment opportunities of which igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 433 religious considerations were used as baits to become beneficiaries of such government patronage. the study therefore established that the consequences of these religious manipulation include corruption, mediocrity and incompetence and shielding of people from prosecution from the corrupt practices due to its prebendal nature. based on the above, it is therefore recommended that the secular nature of nigerian constitution be respected and appointments, ascension to political power be done on the basis of merit and competence irrespective of religious divide and affiliation. references ajayi, f. (2009). the effect of religion on the political process, new york/bloomington, universe inc. akinyele, r.t. (2003). ethnicity, religion and politics in nigeria, in richard, a. olaniyan (ed.) the amalgamation and its enemies: an interpretative history of modern nigeria, ile-ife, obafemi awolowo university press ltd. bouchat, c. j. (2003). the causes of instability in nigeria and implications for the united states, calisley, us army war college press. coleman, j.s. (1958) nigeria: background to nationalism, berkeley: university of california press diamond, larry. (1988) class, ethnicity and democracy in nigeria: the failure of the first republic. london: macmillan dudley, b. (1982). an introduction to nigerian government and politics, london and basingstoke, the macmillan press ltd. dudley, billy. (1973) instability and political order, ibadan: ibadan university press falola, t. (2009). islam and politics in nigeria, e-international relations. available at https://www.e-ir.info/2009/07/29/islam-and-politics-innigeria/(accessed 20/05/20). falola, t. (2001). culture and customs of nigeria. westport, ct: greenwood press. gumi, a. and isiga, i.a. (1994). where i stand, kaduna, spectrum books. horowitz, d.l. (1985). ethnic group in conflict, london, berkeley and los angeles, university of california press. ibrahim, j. (1991). religion and political turbulence in nigeria, journal of modern african studies, 29 (1). ikeanyi, m. and enwere, o.p. (1995). a dangerous awakening: the politicization of religion in nigeria, ifra-nigeria, https://books.openedition.org, ibadan, ifra-nigeria. https://www.e-ir.info/2009/07/29/islam-and-politics-in-nigeria/(accessed https://www.e-ir.info/2009/07/29/islam-and-politics-in-nigeria/(accessed https://books.openedition.org/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 434 iwara, a.u. (2004). identity politics, globalization andsocio-political engineering in nigeria, in d.oni, s.gupta, i. omoniyi, e. adegbaja and s. awonusi (eds.) nigeria and globalization: discourses on identity politics and social conflict, lagos, centre for black and african arts and civilization. joseph, r. (1991). democracy and prbendal politics in nigeria: the rise and fall of the second republic, ibadan, spectrum books. kukah, m. h. (1994). religion, politics and power in northern nigeria, ibadan, spectrum books ltd. kukah, h.m. (1993). politics and power in northern nigeria, ibadan, spectrum books ltd. luckham, r. (1971) the nigerian military: a sociological analysis of authority and revolt. new york: cambridge university press nigeria willinck report (1958). report of the commission appointed to enquire into the fears of minorities and means of allaying them, london, hmso. obianyo, n.e. (2008). behind the curtains of state power: religious groups and the struggle for ascendancy in nigerian public institutions: a critical appraisal, codesria 12th general assembly governing the african public sphere, yaoundé, cameroun, 07-11/12/2008 okwori, j. (2003). the patchwork that is nigeria: implication and impact on citizenship participation and accountability in s.o. abah (ed.) geographies of citizenship in nigeria, zaria, tamaza publishing company ltd. ostebo, t. (2012). islamic militancy in africa, africa security brief, no. 23, november 2012, available from africacenter.org/wpcontent/uploads/2012/11/africabrieffinal_23-2.pdf (accessed 20/04/20). yesufu, m. l. (2016). the impact of religion on a secular state: the nigerian experience, studia hist. ecc. vol.42 n.1 pretoria http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2412-4265/2016/255 http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2412-4265/2016/255 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 41 socio-religious and economic implications of traditional funeral rites in ezzaland, nigeria nwokoha, peter awa department of religion and human relations, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.16636.28806 abstract this study investigated socio-religious and economic implications of traditional burial and funeral rites, using ezzaland (as its scope). the purpose of this dissertation was to find solution to the burden of socio-religious duty of sending the dead home to the world of the ancestors by bereaved family, impact on families, causes of joy and merriment instead of mourning and sympathy, justification for expensive burial and funeral rites in ezzaland, nigeria. data for this work were collected using primary and secondary sources. the collected data were interpreted using the cultural and qualitative models. this work finally reveals the following: the practice of burial and funeral rites is culturally normative in ezzaland, and it is a social reality. it discovers also, that the existence of burial and funeral rites in their cultural and religious forms grant their socio-legal acceptance in ezzaland. furthermore, it reveals that the structural framework of ezza society permits burial and funeral rites as part of the institutions in ezzaland to perform various fuctions which include: socialization, social control, symbol-media of communiation and platform to remember the dead. the death of any member of the family leaves them with fear, sorrow and pain. therefore, the duty owed to dead by the living is a befittiing burial. however, the rites associated with burial and funeral rites are meant to send the dead home to the world of the ancestors. but in doing this, the process has rather become very expensive that people now wince under the burden of this socioreligious duty of sending their dead home .it reels that this problem has caused families a lot of socio-religious and economic problems such as poverty, indebtedness, prostitution, child labor, abortion, destitution, death, violation of human rights, environmental pollution and desecration of environmental sustainability. introduction funeral rites in ezzaland are characterized with social, religious and economic crises which range from repudiation of social norms, disobedience to some traditional and christian religious principles to violations of environmental rights of man and rights to ordered community existence. these crises concomitantly breed vices with burdensome socio-religious and economic implications in ezzaland. these problems are manifest in poverty, school igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 42 dropout, ostentatious culture of waste, hypocrisy, camouflage, class conflict, air pollution, noise pollution, epidemics predicated on open defecation, pollutions of the hydrosphere and the lithosphere, financial indebtedness and abject poverty. in addition, these problems lead to unwholesome practices in the forms of dubious business practices, cheating, stealing, corruption, looting and armed robbery. the challenges also include emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from heavy vehicular traffic and generating plants for life musical band public address systems. more still, there exist conglomeration of noises from music life band and public address systems, traditional music instruments such as native talking drums now and metal gongs ogene ndi igbo. at the same time, there is littering of the environment with waste cans, cellophane bags, plastic plates and spoons. again, sexual assaults on women at wake keeps and unwanted pregnancies constitute some of the implications of expensive burial and funeral rites in ezzaland. participants in the celebration of burial outing igba osukwa dress in war like attire in ezzaland. every one ties wrapper on his waist and palm leaf tendril (omu) on his head. as they move in group. they sing war song: kweke kweke ebule bu isi eje ogu kweke ebule bu isi eje ogu. this song has no english translation rather, it has connotation of dominant and zealous spirit of an ezza man to overcome the enemy, like the spartans who never surrender. the song also has the connotation of ezza‟s belief that any upright man or woman who dies at good old age lives after dead in the spirit world and may also reincarnates into the human world. the worry which necessitates this work is that in spite of modernity, the ezza people still indulge in expensive burial and funeral rites which have negative socioreligious and economic implications on the people. the scope of this work could be seen from two angles. the first is the content and the other is the area covered which is ezzaland in ebony state, nigeria. it comprises of two local government areas namely ezza north and ezza south local government areas. the capital of ezza north is ebiaji while the capital of ezza south is onueke, where the home of the founder of ezza ezekuna is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 43 domiciled. ezza south is made up of twelve communities namely amana, amaezekwe,amegu, idembia ,nsokara, amudo, okoffia, ezzama, amuzu,echara,amaewula and ameka. ezza north comprises of the following oriuzor, umuoghara, umuezeokoha, nkomoro, umuezeoka, ogboji, ezzagu and eka. the territory mentioned above shares boundary with ezzangbo, the ntezi, the okpoto and agba to the west. in the north, it bounds with izzi.to the east, ezza people shares boundary principally with the ikwo and agbo clan of cross river state, while to the south , it share boundary with the akpoha and amasiri, afikpo, ugwulangwu and the oshiri communities bound them to the south methodology the research employed both primary and secondary methods of data collection. the data collected were analysed using phenomenological approach which enabled the researcher to observe the activities of the people during funeral rites ceremonies. literature for the work was drawn from books, journals, newspaper, articles and magazines.in this qualitative research, the data indicate the compatibility of one finding with another. the use of the descriptive research technique was employed. the results of of the descriptive research were used in discussing socio-religious and economic implications of elaborate and expensive traditional burial and funeral rites in ezzaland, nigeria. burial rites ili ozu kanu (2019) observes that “one of the common rituals among the diverse african societies is the life circle rituals‟ (p.26). burial rites means first part of last rites of passage of man or woman in relation to physical burial or the act of committing a dead person‟s body or corpse into the mother earth. burial rites are distinct from funeral rites. while the former is the interment rites of a body of a deceased, funeral rites constitute the rites of passage and takes place after burial rites. in this work for the purpose of clarity burial and funeral are used interchangeably funeral rites ikwa ozu funeral rites constitute the last part of the last rites of passage of human being which represent rituals and practical measures taken to assist the dead to achieve his or her destiny, and sometimes to save the living from the dreaded molestation by the dead. they are carried out as second burial or proper burial for the dead in ezzaland. metuh (1999) concludes that, “the purpose of death rite is simply the interment of the corpse, whereas the purpose of funeral rite is to assure the deceased of entrance to the spirit world‟‟ (p.174). his view is in tandem with ezza belief and practices in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 44 relation to burial and funeral rites .their belief involves a complex number of beliefs and practices, prayers and rituals used to remember the dead and usually undertaken in honour of the death. in this work, rites are understood and applied as entitlements that are preformed methodically according to a set pattern on behalf of the deceased during the first or second burial conceptual framework burial rites ili uzu burial rites are the rites of passage. the word rites of passage was coined and first used by the german anthropologist, a. v. gennep far back in 1909. he argues that in simple societies, every change that could be thought of as passage from one state to another was ritualized. gennep (1909) in his work observes that burial rites are group of ceremonies carried out in connection to the interment and inhumation of the death. the functional role of rites of passage is important to the individuals, groups and society. in traditional ezza society birth rites, puberty rites and death rites are rites of passages which are both obligatory and sacrosanct institutions in the socio-structural framework of ezzaland. parrinder (1969) concludes in his work that burial rites are connected with rites of passage. he identifies two burials; the first and the second or final burial rites. this contribution has taken decades and this idea is still relevant to the religious beliefs and practices. on the other hand, he fails to differentiate between the qualifications of the beneficiaries of the burial and the funeral rites. awolalu and dopamu (1979) point to two important kinds of burial ceremonies for every adult who dies a good death in igboland. the first ceremony is the physical burial of the body, while the second burial is intended to make the dead man secure his place in the company of the ancestors. they submit that, "both burials are characterized by great feasts; singing, drumming, clapping, dancing and general rejoicing" (p.258). the above depends on the high social status of the deceased man or the relative‟s financial capability. however, this work does not consider socio-religious and economic implications of burial and funeral rites which have assumed the status of social narcotic in ezzaland. madu (2003) writes on rites of passage in traditional and modern igbo society. human life from birth to death is ritually celebrated. he maintains that, "rites of passage celebrate transition from one phase to the other. it means that one's igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 45 movement involves separating oneself from the former status and thus transiting into another status" (p.25). there is substance in articulating man's helplessness in the face of the mysteries surrounding him which is said to be responsible for his dependence on ritual actions. more still, burial rites are the first part of the last rites of separating the dead from the physical life to the ancestral world. ilogu (1979) points out that, after sometime of not performing these rites and rituals for the decease, the family will start experiencing some difficulties. such bad visit could result to accident, barrenness, late marriages, hard lucks and premature death. this is often regarded as generational curses because it continues recurring in the family. this view is in tandem with occurrences in ezzaland. metuh (1981) remarks that the aims of burial rituals are:“first to absolve the deceased of his transgression and to rid off all obstacles which could impede his entrance into the spirit land. and then pray for the deceased to-reincarnate and bring greater blessing to the family‟‟ (p.117).during the ritual ceremony, the divinities are asked to receive the dead and keep him in peace and also the deceased not to obstruct the family on earth rather to send them more blessings. this shows that death rites and rituals are necessary for the dead to enter into the spirit land. hence, in ezzaland, funeral rites are meticulously and purposefully prosecuted to create wealth for the death in the ancestral world. he remarks that happiness of the dead according to african beliefs, depend largely on the type of burial accorded him during and after death. to go home unhappy person means the wroth of his spirit to the departed family, his spirit would constantly visit the family members to torment them. there is no doubt that the coming of bad spirit is not a healthy visit to the living. he also observes that at burial rites and rituals the mourners and sympathizers from various clans or ethnic groups gather together, they feast, drink, dance and make new friends or renew their old friendship and induce a relation of crowd behaviour. in this way the individual lose their sense of individualism or separateness and isolation as a result of the inevitable excitement. agha's definition of rituals as ways of performing religious acts is in tandem with the beliefs ezza people. consequently death rites and rituals are one important means our fore fathers used to promote good moral behaviour in the society in one hand and enhancing the passage of a deceased into the ancestral world on the other hand. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 46 refusal of any family to perform the traditional rituals for their deceased sometimes result to difficult times like failure in business, lack of promotion in areas of work and poor harvests in agricultural practices. such family may not locate their problems, rather they accuse their neighbor and relatives as the source of their predicaments. the perspective of nzomiwu (2012) on the concept of burial rites is that the body of the deceased is given a ritual bath, anointed with cam wood, dressed in his or her best regalia and laid in state. the work of nzomiwu on the concept of burial rites is at one with ezza cultural rite of passage in a way. in ezzaland, wailing and prayer are essential components of rites of passage. funeral rites ime ekwa or igheye oku the idea of second burial is to ensure that no ritual element has been left unperformed, so that the danger of misfortune brought about by the displeasure of the deceased may be averted. basden (1966) in his work affirms that funeral rites among the igbo have differing customs and its practice has its own peculiar adaptation. he concludes that “second burial is the name adopted by europeans, from that time, to all intents and purpose, there are two burials the first real, the second by proxy‟‟ (p.124).he affirms that funeral rites among the igbo have little differences among communities. from the basden‟s idea, there exist the connotation of the fact that prior to the advent of the europeans, death rites were not considered as real and proxy rituals in nature, rather, all were expressed as burial and funeral rites in concurrence nature but not in a day. the idea of interdependent relationship between the living and ancestral world in igbo cosmology presents the living-dead as real member of the family in senior partner form. funeral rites predicated on this platform seems to nullify the view of european missionaries view which holds that funeral rites are burial by proxy. however, in ezzaland, the death rites are known by two names. the first is called burial rites ili ozu while the second is called funeral rites imeekwa or ikwa ozu. the categorizing of burial and funeral rites into numerical positions of first and second rites could be the impact of christianity on igbo traditional beliefs and practices in relation to burial and funeral rites as basden pointed out. yet, basden‟s work failed to outline the qualifications for first burial and the second burial and their importance to igbo society. funeral rites are traditional ceremonies performed on behalf of the deceased by the living relatives during the second burial rites. death rites will be incomplete without the performance of funeral rites in ezza cultural milieu. in ezza cultural setting funeral rites cannot be performed on the day of internment of the corpse. njoku and nworie (2010) affirm that, the date for these ceremonies is fixed by the eldest son or the closest igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 47 relatives of the deceased in consultation with the members of their kindred unwunnaji. (p.164). the scholars elaborate on the activities of the four days. okeke (2010) makes clarification between death rites and funeral rites thus: burial rites are distinct from funeral rites. while the former is the interment rites of the body of a deceased, funeral rites follow as ritual designated to ensure his or her save arrival in the spirit land .both can take place concurrently. (p.8). the difference he makes between burial rites and funeral rites is clear but his view that burial rites and funeral rites may take place concurrently does not apply in ezzaland. burial and funeral rites are rites of passage performed one after the other at different intervals in traditional ezza society. after the burial rites, the first son of the deceased or the oldest man in the extended family in collaboration with the kindred umunna will fix the funeral rites which will last for four days. theoretical framework conflict theory is used as a theoretical framework in this work. the relevance is found in karl marx‟s explanation of oppression of the poor by the rich (bourgeois). in this case the violations of human rights to life, human rights to freedom of movements and rights to ordered community existence by the bereaved wealthy members of ezzaland. summary of the literature review reviewed works such as ilogu (1979), agha (2012) and nzomiwu (2012) laid emphasis on elaborate and expensive burial and funeral rites in igboland for aged man or woman who had children and also lived morally upright life. however, none of them addresses the socio-religious and economic implications of expensive burial and funeral rites which is the gap which this research work seeks to address. okeke (2010) work deals on implications of igbo traditional burial rites in awka diocese and the content is conflict of culture between igbo traditionalists and the roman catholic christians in awka in which the problem is predicated on performance of the rite of dust to dust by a woman in the diocese. the geographical location and the content of the scope of the study is different from the scope of this research proposal which is socio-religious and economic implications of burial and funeral rites in ezzaland in ebonyi state. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 48 among the reviewed works on patterns of burial rites such as okeke (2010) nzomiwu (2012), ezenweke (2012) and alexander (2013) none addresses the dimension of the position of the head of man‟s corpse or the dimension of the position of the woman‟s corpse which have both denotative and connotative meaning with symbolic interpretations in burial rites in ezzaland which this workl is set to address. the reviewed literatures reveal that initially funeral rites were relatively expensive.this research work is poised to investigate and fill the yarning gap of socio-religious and economic implications of expensive, exorbitant and elaborate nature of burial and funeral rites in ezzaland which are not available in the body of the related and reviewed literatures. therefore, the wide and yarning gags in the body of the existing and reviewed literatures which necessitates this research work proposal to be imperative and germane include the following, to explore the culture of waste, and extortionist practices to which the bereaved family is oblige to in order avoid shame; to investigate the violations of social norms and natural justice, air pollution, noise pollution and environmental degradations orchestrated by elaborate and expensive burial and funeral rites in ezzaland, ebonyi state, nigeria that are glaringly missing in the reviewed related literatures. socio-religious and economic implications of traditional funeral rites in ezzaland, nigeria. 1 (i) social implications ezza people had flamboyant traditional burial and funeral rites from the beginning for rich, old and title men. the advent of christianity removed most costly aspect like burying rich and titled men with slaves. however, wealthy individuals with outrageous and irrational display of wealth during traditional burial and funeral rites make a shift from the cultural paradigm as they borrow some aspects of western culture to make their practice of burial and funeral rites reference point in ezzaland. sometimes, the people see it as a shame if they cannot accord their dead a befitting burial and the community frowns at the family that does not meet up with this social obligation. this has placed heavy burden on families that are less privileged since this socioreligious obligation requires so much money to accomplish. according to jimoh (1985) most burials in nigeria are characterized by elaborate funeral rites often lasting several days or weeks during which there is much merry-making and free spraying of money on igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 49 mourners, praise singers and hired musicians. a. ujebe (personal communication, may 28 th, 2019) observes that, “elaborate and expensive burial and funeral ceremonies gulps huge amount of money ranging from one million to five hundred million naira in the contemporary ezza society. it has become such entrenched practice that people break bank for a funeral while idlers sit around and grade various funerals that have occurred in the village within a particular time in terms of which was more grand. families who are unable to meet up with the expectations are often treated with some level of scorn. individuals who feel that they have attained a certain level or class in the community would want to show off in order to maintain their class consciousness. they feel that if they do not meet the standard of their class, they would be derided or scorned at by members of their class and the community in general. it is this group of people who alter the customs regarding burial rites by introducing aspects which lead to violations of human rights and ordered community existence like sewing special uniform, inviting live band, obituary announcement, printing of posters among others which make it very expensive. 1 (ii) violation of the rights of freedom of movement and residence within the state. bereaved families in their bid to practice ostentatious and elaborate funeral ceremonies are fond of barricading major and minor streets. this action infringes on fundamental human right of freedom of movement and residence within a state. iwe (1994) avers that, “it is a right and a natural prerogative deriving ultimately from the author of human nature, proximately the nature and natural exigencies of man”(p.235). the barricade of major and minor streets lead to road diversion, thus causing hardship for road users including pedestrian and motorists there is always a traffic hold-up as a result of such activities. traffic hold –up as a result of funeral rites ceremonies lead to lateness to work or some to be absent from work completely at such periods. this can make some people to loose their jobs. some people who get trapped in traffic hold-up can experience suffocation which can make them to die untimely. masquerades obstruct free movement of traffic as they block major and minor streets. these happen when masquerades dance around at elaborate and expensive burial funeral rites . the beat people indiscriminately. their actions violate rights to human degnity. t. igboji (personal communication, may 28th 2019) is of the view that, “if care is not taken quickly and if the development igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 50 is not checked, it could generate to intra and inter communal conflicts since nigeria is a pluralistic society where religion is always a volatile issue.” 1(iii) violation of the right to life and ordered community existence firing of cannon shots and other explosives take place at elaborate and expensive burial ceremonies which should not happen in residential areas under normal circumstances. such actions violate the right to life. according to iwe (1994) “it is a right which springs directly and immediately from the very nature of man. it is a right which a man or human being enjoys in virtue of the fact that he is a human person.” (p.163). right to life is the first of the fundamental rights of man deriving strictly from and based immediately on the disposition of the natural law. ezza people, like every other people of igboland inhale at funeral ceremonies gaseous wastes in forms of fumes and smokes from combustion, carbon monoxide from automobiles and giant generators which alter the chemistry of the air on which man depends. these are dangerous to human life, and moreover increase the volume of green house effect which depletes the ozone layer that allows the sun to releases harmful radiation from the sun on the ecosystem. this has bearing with the view of okecha (1999) that, “the accumulation of organic and inorganic pollutants in human blood, organs or the skeleton adversely impinge on the vital functions of the body such as the kidneys and liver. such wastes cause brain disorders and degrade the nervous system”(p.20). furthermore, noise pollution emanates from the use of western and indigenous musical instruments which culminates into a pollution of the environment and vicinities where burial and funeral rites operate in ezzaland. ayantayo (2009) observes that;” residents of villages and big cities are increasingly going through process of partial deafness. their sensitive eardrums are daily being bombarded by a continuous barrage of environmental noise overflowing from ear shattering drum-size speakers of prosecutors of burial and funeral rites” (p.371). in the same, abdu-raheem (2016) affirms that “noise make some human beings to loose their sense of hearing, makes it difficult for some people to sleep, make people to experience stress, promotes high blood pressure and causes headache” (p.11). bereaved rich families lither the environment with bill boards and posters in not only public places like banks, post offices, motor parks and even residential houses and schools which degrade the natural environment with negative social implications in the society. as a result, broken bottles, cans, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 51 broken plastic chairs, foil papers. cellophine bags are littered on the environment. in addition, biodegradable materials such as animal and vegetable decomposable residuals of the ceremony comprises of leaves, papers, carcasses and feces foul the air and water, though they can serve as manure. 2 religious implications the culture of second burial is a practice which is prevalent in ezzaland. it is the act of organizing an elaborate burial for the deceased after the initial burial. this second burial or funeral is necessary because the dead may feel offended and begin to appear to the members of the family in dreams or as ghosts and spirits to register their grievances and to torment them. again, if the funeral rites are not performed, the deceased may not reach the ancestral world to take up his ancestral responsibility of contributing to the welfare of the family. this can bring a family so low in the community and worse still the spirit of the dead will continue to rage and torment the family. and since reality is unified, people do what they can do to preserve and enhance life so as to be in harmony with other beings like the ancestors and other higher spirits. funeral rites demonstrate the close bond between the visible and the invisible world in an essentially igbo religious worldview. in ezzaland, if a man fails to perform the funeral rites for the dead father, his own funeral rites will not be performed when he dies until his father's funeral has been properly performed. if this lingers, it may bring about accumulation of funeral debts which may be too heavy for a family to bear. what this means is that a family may be banned by custom and tradition from honouring any other dead member of the family until then-grandfather is properly honoured. otherwise, the ancestors will strike such a person dead during the funeral rites. a similar incident happened at umuahia in 1983 when dr, m. i. okpara, a one-time premier of the then eastern region died while performing the burial rites of his late father. this beliefs and practices are at one with the assertions of eze (2001) who affirms that, “it is believed in ezzaland that any debtor of this ceremony who for any reason participates in any of the forbidden activities catches fever and drops death thereafter, it is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 52 either instant, either on the road, home and after”(p.397). he provides illustration of mysterious deaths recently in ezzaland, where a christian belonging to one of the churches, said that he would not perform the funeral ceremony of the late father, because he was born again. according to him, “when the family members consulted a fortuneteller, the cause of the two brothers was blamed on performing christian ritual ceremony without performing their late father‟s own”(p.407). 3 economic implications elaborate and expensive funeral rites violate environmental sustainability in ezzaland. during burial outing igba osukwa and funeral procession to market ichofu afia participants engage in indiscriminate cutting down of trees in the community which lither the environment with branches and leaves of trees and degrade the environment. furthermore, bennet (2008) affirms that, man “use of earthly resources for his benefit without conservation obliterates any possibilities of a meaningful life for the future generation” (p.50). the practice of elaborate and expensive traditional burial and funeral ceremonies have negatively impacted on the environment. schenck (2013) observes that ,although ecosystems are resilient, they are not indestructible”(p.8). this has bearing with the view of agha (2003),“that destroying our environment automatically meant destroying ourselves” (p.20). at times, a person may die due to lack of funds to secure prompt and effective medical care yet at death so much money is spent. such are the families that weep more out of the financial scare than out of the loss. most of such families go on borrowing, sell choice plots of family land, or even give their underage daughters out in marriage just to raise funds with all its attendant consequences. according to thomas (2010), “there are different types of caskets ranging from n30,000 to n500,000 and even at prices higher than that”(p.25). one buys what his or her pocket can afford. there are many people including parents, brothers and sisters who are suffering from one sickness or the other, some in the hospital, some at home, some cannot feed or afford drugs but as soon as they are confirmed dead, family members kill cows and put on expensive aso-ebi to celebrate their death. they wait until the aged person dies before they think of a new house that will igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 53 accommodate visitors in their compound. they imprison the corpse in the mortuary for more than one year, they also distribute series of uniforms to be used. all these with the cooking and feasting waste a lot of money. presentation of analysis of socio-religious and economic implications of traditional funeral rites in ezzaland, nigeria. exploring and analyzing data from questionnaire on socio-religious and economic implications of traditional burial and funeral rites in ezzaland, nigeria is needful. in doing this, the research descriptive approach in analyzing data corroborated by the responses of the respondents who strongly agreed, agreed, disagreed and strongly disagreed to socio-religious and economic implications of traditional burial and funeral rites in ezzaland, nigeria are analysed. hence, 82 respondents (54.67%) of the respondents strongly agreed while 16 respondents (10.67%%) of the respondents strongly disagreed that elaborate and expensive traditional burial and funeral rites burial has great negative social implications in ezzaland. on religious implications, 50 respondents (33.33%) of the respondents strongly agreed while 39 respondent (26%) of respondents strongly disagreed with the opinion that funeral rites religion has great religious implication in ezzaland 39 respondent (26%) of respondents strongly disagreed. item 2: shows responses to how elaborate and expensive traditional burial and funeral rites are causing poverty in ezzaland, nigeria. 53 respondents (35.33%) of the respondents strongly agreed while 19 respondents (12.67%) of the respondents strongly disagreed. 55 respondents, (36.677%) of the respondents strongly agreed to sales of valuable property such as land, house and economic trees to prosecute elaborate and expensive while 20 respondents (13.33%) of the respondents strongly disagreed with the opinion. the practice of elaborate and expensive traditional burial and funeral rites causes indebtedness as expressed by 31 respondents (87.33%) of the respondents who strongly agreed and 4 respondents (2.67%) of the respondents agreed that traditional burial and funeral rites causes indebtedness in ezzaland. although, 5 respondents (3%) of the respondents strongly disagreed on the above assertion, the number cannot be ignored as insignificant. their strong disagreement is unacceptable attitudes of ezza people to the view that elaborate and much igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 54 expenses for the death is unnecessary. complimentary role of observation and interviews may be adopted for a deeper insight into their view points. summary the culture of expensive burial is on the increase and is fast changing the people's cosmology on burial. people now inculturate some aspects to prosecute elaborate and expensive burial and funeral rites with huge financial investment. it is rather a culture of extravagace. ezza people do not see death as the end of life but as a transition from this earthly life to another life. this explains and tends to justify the heavy amount of money spent to send their dead home without taking cognizance of the socio-religious and economic implications. to them, a befitting burial is necessary for the dead to attain ancestorhood and to enable it reincarnate so that their fellowship would continue. it was discovered that there are violations of social norms. african traditional religion and christian religious principles with regards to traditional burial and funeral rites. human rights to life and rights to ordered community existence are violated. 6.2 conclusion ezza people see death as a transition to another life that is a life lived in the spirit world. to them, death is something to be celebrated if it occurred in good old age. moreover, if the person has offspring and lived a good moral life. to send the dead home, the people believed that he must be buried properly since he continues to live after death. it is only necessary that they perform the funeral rites so that he will continue to contribute to the welfare of the family. this informs why every family strives to bury their dead at any cost just to ensure that he reaches ,home. in their bid to bury the dead in a dignified way, they take the ceremonies out of proportion by indulging in elaborate and expensive traditional funeral rites with negative socio-religious and economic implications on the people. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 55 6.3 recommendation to achieve functional solutions, such measures as dialogue, tolerance,conflict resolution and integrated media platforms are recommended in addition, justice are to be more accessible and stiffer penalties meted to culprits. relevant authorizes should promulgate laws against keeping late at night during wake keeps, open defecations, elaborate and expensive traditional burial and funeral rites. references abdul -raheem .j. a (2016). isalm and noise pollution. ileife: noble agha, u.a. (2012). christianity and culture: a study of unwara. enugu: snaps. ayanto, j.k.(2009).religious interpretation and reinterpretation of space in nigeria: implications for inter-religious conflicts. ibadan: guuks. alexander, u.c.(2013).traditional burial and funeral rites in umuahia as basis of good moral behaviour. umuahia: udike. anizoba, o.m .(1990).the socio-philosophical importance of african traditional rites in ekporobi. unpublished thesis : university of nigeria, nssuka. anyacho, e.g.(2005). essential themes in the study of religion. obudu: niger link. awolalu, j.o. & dopamu, p. a. (1979). west african traditional religion. ibadan: onibonoje. basden, g.t. (1966). among the igbo of nigeria. nairobi: action. eze, s.o. (2011). ikwo cultural identity. abakaliki: idike. gennep, a.v.(1960). the rites of passage. london; routledge and kean paul. ilogu, e. (1979). transition-igbo boriel custom. in a. a adegbola (eds.) . traditional religion in west africa .(pp.35-50).ibadan: day star. ikime. o.(1977).the fall of nigeria: the british conquest. london: heinemann. ikwunne, u.n. (2005).christianity and burial in obosi. enugu:chuks. iwe, n.s.s. (1994). the history and contents of human rights: a study of the history and interpretation of human rights. calabar: saesprint. kanu,i.a.(2019). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. in international journal of religion&human relations (pp.25-50) vol.11. dept.rhr.faculty of arts, unizik.awka. kalu.o.u.(1979).church presence in africa: a historical analysis of the evangelization process. in a.k. appiah, kubi & s.torris (eds.). african theology enroute.(pp.150-170). maryknoll: orbis. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 56 madu, j. e.(1996).fundamentals of religious studies. calabar: franedoh. madu, j.e. (2003). fundamentals of religious studies. calabar: fronedo nzomiwu,j.p.c.(2012).trends in religion & society/christian ethics. a.a chiegboka (ed.).awka: fab. anieh. okecha, a.(1999). environmental pollution:all gloom, no glee. asaba: delta state forum. okeke, m. b. (2010). the implications of igbo traditional burial rites for the catholic christians of awka diocese. awka: ma thesis, unpublished work. department of religion and human relations, unizik awka thomas, t. (2010, 4-10 september).confessions of female casket maker . the gaurdian. spectator, p. 7. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 1 a philosophical inquiry into the fundamental issues with the meaning and nature of ethics aso, williams olorunfemi, ph.d. seminary of all saints, uhiele-ekpoma edo state, nigeria asoawoc@yahoo.com & usman, salaudin, ph.d. department of philosophy kogi state university, anyigba usmansalaudin@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.31258.06083 abstract the concept of ethics is often an object of misconception, misinterpretation and mismatching with other terms like morality, value and aesthetics in philosophy especially among undergraduate students of arts and humanities. it is evident that a good number of them are sometimes confused when it comes to the definition and meaning of ethics, its differences from the notion of morality and the relationship between the two in moral philosophy. there are those that do not know why there are various ethical theories and justification for them in the society that cherished such ethical theories. again, there are young learners who desire to know the similarities, differences and relationship between normative and meta-ethics. therefore, this paper is concerned with the definition and meaning of ethics, the differences between metaethics and normative ethics, the differences between ethics and morality, the significance each plays in the understanding of ethics and implications inherent in their relationship with one another. besides, the paper also gives a general survey of special ethics to young and curious minds with reference to various professions that are growing up in leap and bound of our contemporary society. keywords: ethics, morality, normative, meta-ethics, custom and value definition and meaning of ethics the common understanding of ethics is simply considered as the written and unwritten principles about what the society has defined, determined, justified, promoted and preserved for years as what is right and wrong in human relationship with others, transcendental realities like god, ancestral world, the land, societal authorities and concern for the ecosystem. in other words, ethics goes beyond what people ought to do or ought not to do to regular investigation and evaluation of what is morally good or bad, right or wrong mailto:asoawoc@yahoo.com mailto:usmansalaudin@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 2 and true or false. hence, the moral and cultural values of every ethnic group in the world are practically sourced from ethical principles that have relationship with the world view of the people and existential realities that are abound in their environment. the word ethics is etymologically a derivative of a greek word, ethica that has its root in ethos. thus, the primary meaning of ethos is the ultimate socio-cultural orientation and inner disposition inherent in every member of a society.1 it is evident that ethos is the energia that determines, defines, justifies and motivates the manner every member of a cultural group lives in a given society. this implies that cultural and ethical life of every man is a practical representation and demonstration of the ethos that his society cherished and ever ready to preserve from corruption. human history has shown that the onus is on every cultural group to define, determine, justify, sustain, promote and defend her ethical norms and customs from decadence and extinction. as a matter of fact, the ancient egyptian like merikare and ptahotep; and greek philosophers like socrates and plato made effort to demonstrate the ethos of the people of their time. the romans were the people that later translated ethos to mos or moris meaning customs, manners and practices of a particular land by which the citizens are characterized. the ancient egyptians and greeks were popularly known to be more theoretical on guiding principles on how to live so as to be successful in life while the romans emphasized a practical demonstration of the basic principles to attain a fulfilled life.2 in the perspective of the above, ethics can be philosophically defined as the culturally generated principles impacted in every member of a society for the appreciation of what is morally good, right, just, true, practicable and condemnation of what is morally bad, wrong, unjust, false and impracticable in human society. human history is dotted with many philosophers that have propounded variants of ethical theory for the society of their times as evident in the ethical theory of merikare, ptahotep, socrates, protagoras, plato and aristotle of ancient time; marcus aurelius, thomas aquinas and augustine of medieval period; thomas hobbes, adam smith, francis hutcheson and david hume of modern time; fredrick nietzsche, soren kierkegaard, immanuel kant, john mill, alasdair mcintyre and jürgen habermas of our contemporary time.3 any attempt to study the ethical theory of any of these notable moral 1asante, molefi kete, the egyptian philosophers: ancient african voices from imhotep to akhenaten (chicago: african american images, 2000), 81; george m. james, stolen legacy: greek philosophy is stolen egyptian philosophy. reprinted by molefi kete asante, (philadephia: african american images, 1954), 4. 2aso, williams olorunfemi. rudiments of philosophy for undergraduates (lagos: fropiel international limited, 2018a), 108. 3aso, rudiments of philosophy for undergraduates, 110. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 3 philosophers and their contemporaries exposes one to the nitty gritty of their moral philosophy and relationship to the meaning and definition of ethics either normative or meta-ethics. the fundamental differences between normative ethics and meta-ethics generally speaking, normative ethics is described as the formulation of stipulated norms, values, disposition, practice and character necessary for human beings to reasonably recognize the characteristics of what is morally good or bad, commendable or condemnable in human society. in philosophical parlance, normative ethics is defined as the formal structure of the basic principles that serve as the moral standard by which an individual in a given society is able to recognize the norms, values and practices that are acceptable and distinguish them from those that are detestable so as to live with others without any discord. in other words, “it attempts to make inquiries concerning the way and manner human beings ought to behave in particular circumstances. it is the content of the character that befits what set man apart from animals. the common morality in a given society is sourced from the normative beliefs and worldview of the people living in a given society.”4 it is pertinent to note that normative ethics actually serves as the foundation on which the ethical structure of any society is established, justified, promoted and preserved from any depravity. the concern of meta-ethics is usually about how human beings are to behave and demonstrate the rational capacities that set them apart from other animals in their genus like gorillas and chimpanzees. in other words, meta-ethics primarily deals with the rationality behind how human beings behave among their kinds and not actually what they ought to do morally or avoid in the society. in the context of this chapter, “meta--ethics fundamentally deals with the definition, nature, analysis, justification and implications of the concepts and language of expressing what a moral agent ought to do and avoid for the moral nobility inherent in his nature perceptible.”5 judging from this quotation, meta-ethics is concerned with the moral terms, concepts, ideas and language use in defining, determining, justifying, promoting and protecting ethical values, dispositions and characters. hence, “it is closely related to analytic philosophy where use of concepts, terms and language are properly 4asante, the egyptian philosophers: ancient african voices from imhotep to akhenaten, 80-82; omoregbe joseph, ethics: a systematic and historical study (lagos: joja educational publishers limited, 1993), 176-180. 5aso, rudiments of philosophy for undergraduates, 110. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 4 determined and justified to avoid ambiguity and equivocation.”6 for instance, the concerns of meta-ethics consist of issues like, justice, injustice, happiness, virtuous and vicious characters, good, evil, deliberative choice and similar terms. the differences between normative and meta-ethics lies on the fact that the former is basically concern with what a society actually judged to be morally good, commendable and practicable or what is morally bad, condemnable and impropriety; while the latter is strongly based on how human beings are expected to behave in accordance with the ontological reality inherent in human nature. the relationship of the duo is centred on the fact that meta-ethics defines, justifies and preserves that foundation on which normative ethics proposes how human beings are expected to live with others without any contradiction to the ontological reality that human beings are both rational and emotional; and none should be subservient to the other. in other words, normative and meta-ethics are complementary when one is talking about moral standard and disposition required of human beings to naturally demonstrate the moral nobility inherent in human nature. why everyone is required to live a moral life in human society anthropological studies about man clearly show that human beings are naturally composed of body and soul with complimentary relationship between them as the basis of human deliberative choice of moral action. the body is material and end of emotional desires for pleasure while the soul or the mind is the epic centre of intellectual activities that often culminate in rational and deliberative choice of moral judgment. it is obvious in the second part of aquinas’ summa theologiae that the rational that characterized human beings is fundamentally sourced from synderesis, practical wisdom by which he recognizes the inner moral principles of ‘do good and avoid evil’. the metaphysical organ of synderesis is conscience where the nitty-gritty of the knowledge and implications of moral issues are adequately defined, determined, evaluated and justified to derive motivation for moral judgment.7 hence, by the virtue of human rationality, every man that has deliberative choice of action is expected to live a moral life in human society as evident in the moral theories of socrates, plato aristotle and thomas aquinas. in this context, little children and victims of mental incapacitation are exonerated from 6aso, rudiments of philosophy for undergraduates, 110-111. 7aquinas, thomas the summa theologiae, trans. by the english dominican fathers (new york: 1947), first part, question 79, article 12. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 5 moral responsibility because their actions are mostly devoid of rational evaluation of moral issues before they arrived at their choice of action. it is indisputable that human beings are always conscious of the fact that social life is inherent in their nature. this consciousness started with the recognition of the presence of parents, siblings and extended members of the family of every man. it is obvious that the consciousness is nurtured in the family and blossomed in the larger society where social norms and customs are already in place for the young ones to appreciate, promote and preserve from decadence. the fundamental ethical principles that sustain the social norms and moral values that characterized the society are expected to be cherished, respected and practiced by every member of the society. in this perspective, moral revolutionists are often sanction as deterrent to whoever longs for obnoxious and irrational moral dispositions. therefore, the need to live harmoniously with other members of the family imputes the responsibility of living a moral life on every moral agent of a given society as palpable in the moral philosophy of plato, aristotle, thomas hobbes, david hume, george hegel, karl marx and a host of others. there is no doubt that every traditional culture that ever existed and the present ones in our world of today strongly believe that the ethical principles and moral values they cherished are derived from a divine command to live a righteous life for rewards and punishment for disobedience to his injunction. in this context, the need to live a life in which the honourable characters that distinguished human beings from animals is fundamentally based on the justification of divine authority. it is the duty of the traditional ruler, his chiefs in council and the messengers of the gods or god among the people that often interpret the moral injunctions of the divine for members of the society. in other words, they define, determine, justify and preserve the moral values that the people need to live acceptable and moral life in the society and before the gods or god. the adverse effects of disobedience to the moral guidelines of the gods or god over the individual offender and its ripple effects on the land and other members of the society often make the head of the community and associates to supervise and apply sanctions against moral deviants that live among the people. the analysis and justification for the requirements of divine authority that everyone in the society ought to live a moral life are well articulated in the moral philosophy of william of ockham, augustine of hippo and thomas aquinas. it is observable that man has ontological order and principles at the basis of his nature and existence that he needs to keep intact and sustain before the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 6 honorable characters inherent in his nature can be demonstrated for others to cherish in the society. judging from this background, it is cumbersome for a moral agent to live a moral life in conformity with the law of nature the moment he allows bad habits to underline his habitual way of life. in other words, those that it is a serious moral aberration for any man to cultivate any fashionable and habitual way of life that is detestable in the society because it is incongruous to human nature. therefore, the ardent desire of man to live a moral life is sourced from living in conformity with the natural law that confirms the appropriate characters inherent in human nature as obvious in the moral philosophy of socrates, plato, aristotle, augustine and thomas aquinas. besides, there is a passionate desire in every man to attain authentic happiness and final fulfilment in which one will not long for anything again. this is the moment that augustine and aquinas normally refer to as the perfect union with god. it is apparent that ontological principles and rational ability of human beings are responsible for their capacity to make judgment about the knowledge and details of how they can attain appropriate happiness and final fulfilment of moral life in this world. aristotle and aquinas articulated arguments to demonstrate the importance of natural law, intellectual and cardinal moral virtues of courage, prudence, temperance and justice in the attainment of eudaimonium, authentic happiness or final end of man. the final end of man in aristotelian understanding or authentic happiness of man is rooted in the supernatural union with god. it is evident in platonic and aristotelian-aquinas moral traditions that the final end of man or authentic happiness is accomplished as soon as one can demonstrate honorable characters that are divine for the approval of others in the society. therefore, the attainment and demonstration of divine characters in human society as children begotten by the gods or god is one of the reasons why everyone in the society is required to live a moral life. historical survey of the relationship between ethics and morality in the view of common people, ethics and morality simply means the same thing as the concern to differentiate between what is morally good from what is morally bad in human society. as of today, moral philosophers have come to identify the fact that morality is about the cultural norms and customs that characterized a particular socio-cultural group from others in the society. whereas, ethics is purported to be the instituted standard on which a particular morality can thrive, sustain and preserve from corruption in a given society. hence, an ethical standard in one community can go berserk in another community as evident in human history. an attempt to survey the history of a particular subject like ethics always helps young learners to have a better igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 7 understanding of the subject and its boundaries from other disciplines. this historical account will give a leverage to discover how the issues relating to ethics and morality were defined, determined, justified and preserved in the past. this attempt will expose undergraduates to various moral philosophers of different cultures, times and ethical theories associated with them. besides, history of ethics affords us the opportunity of knowing how some ethical concepts and terms were constructed, deconstructed, reconstructed and still relevant till date like justice, human right, good governance and ultimate goal of human life, pleasure and happiness. in actual fact, we observe in human history that what constitute moral good and bad, right and wrong is quite different in various cultures and at different times. as a matter of fact, the egyptian moral concern was different from greek contents of morality, the two are different from roman approach to morality, christian moral concerns are different from the ones existed before it, morality took a new dimension in the europe of the middle ages, the end of first and second world wars marked the beginning of a distinct morality from the previous centuries. therefore, the fundamental questions that distinguish one historical theory from another one are three: (i) what particular question was the ethical theory tried to resolve? (ii) what answer does the ethical theory provided for the question? (iii) how does the answer provided related to the ethical problems and concerns of the time? this historical survey of ethics is not intended to give details about the history of ethics in various cultures and time but a general overview of the characteristics that distinguish the ethical concerns of notable cultures in human history. egyptian maa’t or ethical theory in the egypt of old, the basis of ethical theory squarely rests on the knowledge of ma’at, a term ontologically known as truth, order and cosmic balance on which the universe is firmly established by the gods. the contents of the ancient egyptian ethical theory is both anthropomorphic and anthropocentric as evident in their religion, liturgy and relationship to moral disposition. the egyptian mysteries’ teachers (priests in the temples) in cities like memphis, heliopolis, thebes and alexandria took it as part of their responsibility to teach the neophytes how to live a disciplined life so as to be in harmony with the kings, with the gods and the ancestral world, with the land, the universe, with self and other in the society.8 any human act that causes disharmony in any of the above will invariably affects any other relationships in the society. for instance, any abomination committed by an individual often attracts not only 8george, stolen legacy: greek philosophy is stolen egyptian philosophy, 171-185. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 8 personal but also communal cleansing so as to avoid the wrath of the gods. what was obtainable in the egypt of that time generally became the source of the moral characteristics evident in the various cultures available in africa that predated european civilization.9 however, there may be variations in some african cultures as a result of migration from the nile to other parts of africa where environmental realities became a major determinants for their moral worldview. in ancient egypt, the temple priests tried to teach the younger ones how to have a clear knowledge of themselves so as to attain the highest good (summum bonum) in the society.10 this is done by training the soul to achieve the followings: (i) control of thought (ii) control of action (iii) steadfastness of purpose (iv) identity with spiritual life or the higher ideals (an attribute attained when one had conquered his passions) (v) evidence of having a mission in life (vi) evidence of a deep insight and graveness that befitted the faculty of seership or priesthood and spiritual orders (vii) freedom from resentment when one is under the influence of persecution (viii) confidence in one’s own ability to learn (ix) readiness or disposition for initiation.11 for individual to know himself and have the ability to live a good life, he must strive to achieve the nine goals identified in egyptian ethical theory popularly known as maat. after socrates visited and came in contact with some egyptian priests, he learnt about the egyptian idea of ‘man know thy self’ and carried the impression to athens as the basis of his ethical theory. plato, a student of socrates, later summarized the nine goals of egyptian moral theory he learnt from his teacher into four cardinal virtues namely: justice, temperament, courage and prudence.12 ethical theory and greek-roman culture the greek approach to ethics was remarkably rational rather than emotional, philosophically based rather than religiously or divinely established; it underlined the moderate rather than extreme moral disposition. the primary moral concern of ancient greeks was how to live a good life, a life of happiness and satisfaction. some notable greek moral philosophers of that time like 9turner william, history of philosophy (boston: ginn and company, 1903), 9; aso, rudiments of philosophy for undergraduates, 59; price a. joan, philosophy through the ages (california: wordsworth/thomson learning, 2000), 1. 10asante, the egyptian philosophers: ancient african voices from imhotep to akhenaten, 4 and 81; george, stolen legacy: greek philosophy is stolen egyptian philosophy, 4; aso, rudiments of philosophy for undergraduates, 56-57. 11george, stolen legacy: greek philosophy is stolen egyptian philosophy, 172-184; aso rudiments of philosophy for undergraduates, 57. 12asante, the egyptian philosophers: ancient african voices from imhotep to akhenaten 79-80; george, stolen legacy: greek philosophy is stolen egyptian philosophy, 1954, 3-4. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 9 socrates, plato, aristotle, epicurus and lucretius attempted to provide ethical theory to guide human life for the attainment of good life and satisfaction.13 however, none was able to give incontestable ethical theory as standard for attaining moral nobility and fulfilment. the sophists were the first group of scholars that identified a good life and satisfaction as evident in political influence, financial power and physical pleasure14 at this time in the history of greek culture, the sophists were moving from one place to the other to teach people how to be successful and charged money for their service. as a matter of fact, the actual philosophical concern for ethics began with socrates who started in greece the rational activity of definition, clarification and justification of issues pertaining to ethics and philosophy in general. he was the pioneer of scholars that raised questions about what actually constitute a good life and how one can accomplish this status in life. he objected to the moral view of the sophists as crafty and inappropriate for attaining a good life.15 socrates demonstrated that if success was actually characteristic of good and moral life, why are the successful people often become sad and unsatisfied and why were the successful tyrants in history not admired by many people? he opined that if one is knowledgeable about what a good life is all about, it will be easier to attain it. thus, he argued that ignorance is the cause of moral evil; hence any man that has the knowledge of a good life will not hesitate to live accordingly.16 the summary of his ethical theory was that man needed to be knowledgeable about moral virtues of courage, temperance, prudence and justice and the relevance of their interrelationship for character inherent in human nature. he employed dialogical methodology of inquiry to establish the meaning of each virtue and role in his ethical theory. plato was a dedicated student of socrates that made many of his philosophical thoughts appeared in print. he had his academy where he expressed his own answers concerning the problem of moral life. he acknowledged the fact that man is a combination of both material and immaterial entities: body and soul, reason and emotion, matter and spirit.17 he evaluated the soul, spirit and reason to be more superior to the body, matter and emotions. hence, he strongly argued that the only way man can live a good life is to subject his emotions and bodily desires to the governance of his intellect. he underlined 13composta dario, history of ancient philosophy (bangalore: theological publications, 1988), 62-63, 90-91. 14omoregbe joseph, knowing philosophy (lagos: joja educational publishers limited, 1990), 71-130. 15ethel m. albert, theodore c. denise and peterfreund, sheldon p., great traditions in ethics. sixth edition (belmont: wadsworth publishing company, 1988), 10-12; composta, history of ancient philosophy 100-104. 16omoregbe, ethics: a systematic and historical study, 155-175. 17mondin battisa, a history of mediaeval philosophy (rome: urbaniana university press, 1991), 112. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 10 the fact that human intellect has the ability to make human action conform to the perfection evident in the world of form. plato’s understanding of human nature serves as the foundation for his psychology of human behaviour. the different roles of cardinal virtues: courage, temperance, prudence and justice in his ethical theory were properly defined and articulated for holistic and deliberative action of man and became a replica for every citizen to live harmoniously with others in the society.18 as a matter of fact, plato developed all the basic concepts and notions of ethics that he learnt from socrates with the conclusion that ignorance is the cause of every moral agent that acts viciously in human society.19 this implies that “only (ethical) knowledge can lead to virtue; when people are ignorant, their personalities are disorganised, for the unruly desires and passions then control them. by contrast, when people truly know what is good…they will do what is good. hence, it is the virtuous person…the rational individual, who is truly happy.”20 in other words, the consequences of ignoring the necessary efforts and sacrifices required to live a moral life will certainly make it impossible for a moral agent to attain authentic happiness in the society. aristotle was a student of plato and in spite of their closeness, he objected to some of his arguments. for instance, he opposed to his idea of two separate worlds: the world of form and ideas. as a matter of fact, aristotle demonstrated that universal principles always appeared in concrete cases as they exist in our mind. the defense of aristotle about ethical theory based on human nature made him an outstanding representative of ancient greek’s position on moral naturalism.21 aristotle’s opinion about the quality of a good life is based on a life of activity that is directed by good principles. these are principles that facilitate the excellence performance of actions that characterized human nature. his explanation concerning good principles and moral justification of human action led him to develop his doctrine of golden mean. he maintained that every good principle of human action is balance between two extremes. for instance, courage is a mean between the extremes of rashness and cowardice.22 this is because rashness pays less attention to danger while 18annas julia, an introduction to plato’s republic (oxford: oxford university press, 1981), bk. ix, 591e, bk. i, 353d; composta, history of ancient philosophy, 181-182; aso, williams olorunfemi, david hume’s moral theory: a justification for its ethical reconstruction (lagos: fropiel international limited, 2018b), 206-208. 19annas, an introduction to plato’s republic, bk. iv, 441d-442a; omoregbe, ethics: a systematic and historical study, 161. 20ethel, theodore and sheldon, great traditions in ethics. sixth edition, 10. 21ethel, theodore and sheldon, great traditions in ethics. sixth edition, 36-39. 22aristotle, nicomachean ethics, terence irwin, trans. (cambridge: hackett publishing company, 1990), 1107a, 1109a-1109b. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 11 cowardice pays too much attention to danger. there are other students of socrates like protagoras, georgias, and thryrasmachus, that propounded different ethical theory but their theories are not as remarkable as the ethical theories of aristotle and plato.23 there are two contemporary schools founded at the same time by epicurus and the stoics around 200 bc. epicureans maintained that a good life is a life of mental pleasure of study and friendship that endures and attract less side-effects unlike sensual pleasure of eating, drinking and sexual intercourse.24 they strongly believed that the characteristic of good and moral life is based on getting adequate pleasure and less displeasure from time to time. apart from this, they recommended that everyone must live according to the values appreciated by the society of their choice. the stoics generally believed that the best way to attain a life of moral fulfilment was to live a life govern by nature. this is the kind of life in which man is simply depended on the basic natural wants and desires like food, drinks, clothes and shelter rather than sophisticated and expensive life.25 as a matter of fact, the stoics appreciated the value of family life especially of parents and children as a natural institution. moreover, they advocated for good citizenship, responsible parenthood and care for members of one’s family. however, they opposed to slavery, oppression and the lordship of one group over the other as atypical because members of every culture are considered as fellow citizen of the universe. stoicism and epicureanism quickly gained wider acceptance among the various classes in the roman society of that time: epicureanism appealed to the luxuryloving members of the society and stoicism fascinated those who cherished civility and social responsibility. this was evident in the lives of voluptuous and reckless aristocrats that prided themselves as epicureans whereas stoicism was religiously promoted among resolute roman rulers and administrators like marcus aurelius.26 the social class between the rich and administrators in the roman empire of that period were morally confused because the two ethical theories were too abstract and sophisticated for them to integrate with the roman traditional values and customs. the moral vacuum this circumstance created in their socioreligious lives made them susceptible to accept christian religion and moral values. before ethical theories were characterized by christian values and dogma, it is good to recall that ethical theory had no problem with relativism and egoism at the time of egyptian civilization. it was apparent that the classical period 23composta, history of ancient philosophy, 173-181. 24composta, history of ancient philosophy, 318-319. 25omoregbe, ethics: a systematic and historical study, 174; composta, history of ancient philosophy, 333-336. 26omoregbe, ethics: a systematic and historical study, 173. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 12 witnessed ethical skeptics and relativists as evident in platonic, aristotelian, sophist, stoic and epicurean moral theories, each of this moral theory defined and determined how to live a good life in a different perspective. ethics and judeo-christian culture there is no gainsaying that greek and roman cultures were distinct from the jewish culture where christianity derived its origin. what made jewish ethical theory fundamentally different from either greek or roman cultural based ethics is the fact that jewish ethics was based on divine revelation and not philosophical speculation that generated greek and roman ethical theories. the fact that jewish ethical views were strongly based on divine authority, objectivism and severe sanctions for dissidents made their morality punitive and unattractive to nonjews.27 the christian ethics that later developed from jewish ethics was basically dependent on god for code of conduct and not philosophical thought on the quality of good life. hence, the watch words for jews and christians all over the world is how to be in good relationship with god and one’s neighbours with the hope of getting a befitting reward from god either in this world or in the world to come.28 nevertheless, the primary goal of obedience to the commandments of god on how to live a good life by jews and christians goes beyond divine reward to absolute worship and honour to god. after a period of time, christian ethics gained a distinct characteristics from judaism. as judaism underlined the minutest parts of mosaic ethical, political, dietary and liturgical rules and regulations with intense study of the torah and intricacies, christianity accentuated the act of doing good works and cultivation of human will to divine submission.29 in spite of the differences between jewish and christian ethics, the duo highlighted and promoted the brotherhood of man in every culture to the fatherhood of god. this was the basis of major socio-political and economic changes evident in european world, including appreciation of human dignity, mutual co-operation and solidarity that were not prominent in the greek and roman cultures known for wars and domination. the emphasis on brotherhood and solidarity by the jewish and christian ethics made judeo-christian culture outstanding and distinguished from other ethical theories that predated the culture. the principles and promotion of moral relativism started after the age of enlightenment and the reformation in christianity spear-headed by martin luther and the corresponding consequences on religious discrepancies that later weakened christian influence and her promotion of universal and 27mondin, a history of mediaeval philosophy, 274. 28mondin, a history of mediaeval philosophy, 349-350; omoregbe, ethics: a systematic and historical study, 181. 29exodus, 20:1-17; deuteronomy, 5:4-21. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 13 objective morality.30 as a matter of fact, christian ethical principles suffered more lost after the two world wars as evident in europe especially in belgium, netherlands, france, britain, poland, austria and every part of former ussr. these were the areas that many soldiers of christian background turned into the theatres of war against their fellow christians apart from the six million jews that hitler and his cohorts callously eliminated. the dynamism and creativity in human nature makes human beings to remain unsatisfied with the various ethical theories that were propounded, defended and promoted by the previous generations. a good book on the history of ethics will illustrate how human beings of different times have constructed, deconstructed and reconstructed the theory of how man ought to live morally in human society. moreover, the definition and promotion of fundamental human rights by the world organizations like: united nation organization, world health organization, international court of justice, world trade union, international labour organization, world bank, amnesty international and a host of others have made moral objectivism and universalism unpopular at the expense of minority groups, multicultural, religious, socio-political and economic differences that are abound in our world of today.31 in actual fact, moral relativism and self-styled moral justifications palpable in homo-sexualism, lesbianism, pedophilia and zoophilia derive support and promotion from the aforementioned world organizations. the necessity for the origin and development of special ethics in the course of human history, many moral philosophers have developed various ethical theories purported to be appropriate for human beings in the society but none has the conclusive or incontestable theory of morality. the critical minds of these notable moral philosophers on adequate ethical theory for a society have given rise to various areas of specialization in moral theory. for this reason, there are suitable ethical theories for different professions in our contemporary world as apparent in medical ethics, nursing ethics, bioethics, teaching ethics, business ethics, environmental ethics, ethics of journalism, judiciary ethics and so on. the objective of any of these ethical theories is to give a clear definition, purpose, justification and preservation of the fundamental values that can enhance the integrity of the profession and dignity of human person. it is obvious that each profession has moral principles like respect for individual autonomy, justice and fairness, honesty, benevolence, non-maleficent and other values to preserve and promote from time to time. in actual fact, the moral principles of each profession is embedded in what is identified as morally right and wrong, while moral values 30aso, david hume’s moral theory: a justification for its ethical reconstruction, 5-7. 31aso, williams olrunfemi, will kymlica in nigeria with the scope and morality of liberal multiculturalism (benin city: floreat systems publications, 2019), 11-12. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 14 become the contents of the character associated with a person or a group of individuals in a given profession. therefore, the act of a moral agent becomes unethical when his character is contrary to the moral values and principles appreciated by his group or members of his profession. it is observable that ethical character is gradually acquired at various stages of relationship with others in a group and working place. hence, in every credible profession, ethical characters and mannerism are well-defined, indoctrinated, cultivated and encouraged like honorable level of integrity, accountability, honesty, dressing code, cordiality and similar ones.32 the members of any professional group that cherish, practice, sustain and promote the valued moral principles of the group are often classified as those that have attained moral nobility among their peers. the obligation is on the professional group that defined, determined and justified ethical characters and values to sturdily preserve them from fraudulence by applying sanctions against those that practice within the area of specialization with moral discrepancies. otherwise, the professional group that generated the ethical values and principles will lose them to self-styled moral revolutionists as observable today in our global society. conclusion the necessity of ethical theories to maintain law and order in human society can never be overemphasized because human beings are not angelic beings with the nature that is perfectly composed to remain the same like those in a mathematical world where 2+2 always equals to 4. it is evidently clear that human beings are composed of matter and form, body and soul, reason and passion by which they are uniquely different from other creatures like gorillas and chimpanzees that shared at least 97% of human characteristics. the fact that the material and emotional aspects of human beings make them susceptible to immoral actions capable of causing disorderliness in the society necessitates the need to have practicable moral principles needed to tame the excesses emanating from their passions. this is possible through the cultivation of necessary virtues for human beings to behave in such a way that the nobility inherent in their nature can be excellently made evident both in character and in the good of the society. therefore, human history will continue to have moral philosophers that will criticize, deconstruct, interpret and reconstruct available ethical theories before them to establish the ones that is justified for their culture and existing professions of the time. 32aso, rudiments of philosophy for undergraduates, 114. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 108 an appraisal of leibniz’s theodicy and its significance to the contemporary church onuche, joseph phd department of philosophy kogi state university, anyigba doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.36469.60642 & okpanachi, elijah phd department of philosophy kogi state university, anyigba & owoeye, e. akande department of philosophical theology baptist theological seminary, kaduna abstract a variety of arguments have been offered in response to the problem of evil, and some have been used in both theodicies and defenses. this paper seeks to elucidate for the church some significant understanding about evil using leibniz’s theodicy. a philosophical approach was used in its appraisal. the paper submits that god should be seen as a cosmic judge as well as a providential father who allows evils for the actualization of his purpose among others. keywords: leibniz, theodicy, evil, philosophy, church. introduction there are numerous philosophical approaches to the subject of theodicy. for instance, there is a view that evil is not an actuality in existent reality but rather, the absence of good, such as sight, health, love, or moral virtue. some of the philosophers whose work touches theodicy are augustine, st. thomas aquinas, and gottfried leibniz.1 of these three philosophers, this paper attempts to focus on the understanding of leibniz’s theodicy. what is leibniz’s definition of evil? and in what categories has he placed evil. how is the theodicy of leibniz relevant to the contemporary church? these are the issues this paper; an 1 https://www.britannica.com/theodicy-theology. accesses on 21st november, 2018 @ 11:53hrs. https://www.britannica.com/theodicy-theology igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 109 appraisal of leibniz’s theodicy and its significance to the contemporary church. the paper will be concluded with the significance/relevance of leibniz’s theodicy to the contemporary church. the goal of this paper is to elucidate for the contemporary church some significant understanding about evil using leibniz’s theodicy. in discussing this paper, the writer will begin with the biography of leibniz, followed by his philosophy, then his theodicy in their classifications. biography of gottfried wilhelm leibniz gottfried wilhelm leibniz was born at leipzig in 16462, his father being a professor of moral philosophy in the university.3 leibniz studied both greek and scholastic philosophy, and he speaking of himself at about age thirteen said, he read suarez with as much facility as people are accustomed to read romances.4 at age fifteen, he entered the university and studied under james thomasius. making the acquaintance of ‘modern’ thinkers like bacon, hobbes, gassendi, descartes, kepler and galileo, he found in them examples of a ‘better philosophy.’ according to his reminiscences, leibniz debated within himself during solitary walks whether to retain the aristotelian theory of substantial forms and final causes or to adopt mechanism. mechanism prevailed.5 indeed, the influence of his early studies of aristotelianism and scholasticism is obvious in his writings; and of all philosophers of the pre – kantian ‘modern’ period, it was probably leibniz who possessed the most extensive knowledge of the scholastic. in fact, he was certainly much acquainted with them than spinoza. and his baccalaureate thesis (1663) on the principle of individuation was written under the influence of scholasticism, though of the nominalist direction.6 2 sleigh says that leibniz was actually born on july 1, 1646. and that he trained in the law, he earned his living as a councellor, diplomat, liberian, and historian, primarily at the court of hanover. for details, see: r. c. sleigh, jr. “leibniz, gottfried wilhelm” in encyclopedia of religion, second edition, vol. 8. detroit: gale cengage learning, 2005, 5405. 3 frederick copleston, a history of philosophy: the rationalists descartes to leibniz, vol. 4 bedford square: bloomsbury publishing, 1958, 264. 4 copleston, 264. 5 copleston, 264. 6 copleston, a history of philosophy, 264. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 110 leibniz in 1663 went to jena, where he studied mathematics under erhard weigel. he then gave himself to the study of jurisprudence and took the doctorate in law at altdorf in 1667. he rejected the offer of university chair at altdorf but accepted a post in the court of the elector of mainz, where he was later sent on a diplomatic mission to paris in 1672. it was in paris that leibniz made the acquaintance of men like malebranche and arnauld. after visiting england in 1673 where he met boyle and oldenburg, he returned to paris and remained there until 1676; his memorable final year with the discovery of the infinitesimal calculus.7 leaving paris for germany, leibniz visited spinoza with whom he had already had correspondence and was extremely curious about his philosophy. though the precise relations between leibniz and spinoza are not very clear, however, it is clear that the former’s insatiable curiosity in intellectual matters produced in him a lively interest in spinoza’s doctrine.8 in the view of leibniz’s diplomatic character the philosophy of descartes leads by way of spinozism to atheism. owing to leibniz’s association with the house of hanover, he found himself involved in compiling the history of the family; the brunswick family, but his interests and activities were manifold. thus, in 1682 he founded at leipzig the acta eruditorum, and in 1700, he became the first president of the society of the sciences at berlin, which later became the prussian academy.9 in addition to an interest in founding learned societies he occupied himself with the problem of uniting the christian confessions. first, leibniz endeavor to find a common ground for agreement between catholics and protestants. later, when he realized that the difficulties were greater than had been anticipated, he tried, though again without success, to the way for the reunion of the calvinist and lutheran bodies. another of leibniz’s schemes was a plan for an alliance between christian states, the formation of a kind of united europe; and after having failed to interest louis xiv of france, he addressed himself in 1711 to the tsar peter the great. he also endeavored to bring about an alliance between the tsar and the emperor, but his plans for inducting christian monarchs to 7 copleston, 264. 8 radoslav a. tsanoff, the great philosophers, second edition. n.p.: harper & row publishers, n.d. 9 copleston, a history of philosophy, 265. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 111 abandon their quarrels and to join in alliance against the non-christian world were as abortive as his schemes for the reunion of the christian confession. it is also important to mention that leibniz took a considerable interest in the information about the far east which was beginning to percolate into europe, and that he warmly defended the jesuit missionaries in china in connection with the rites controversy.10 he was a polymath, he discovered calculus independently of isaac newton, contributed to logic and mechanics, and was an expert in law and history, and in chemistry. he founded the academy of berlin as mentioned earlier and corresponded with most of the distinguished philosophers and scientists of his time.11 leibniz was one of the most distinguished men of his time, and he enjoyed the patronage of many eminent people. but the closing years of his life were embittered by neglect, and when the elector of hanover became george i of england in 1714, leibniz was not chosen to accompany him to london.12 his death in 1716 passed unnoticed even in the academy which he had founded at berlin, the french academy being the sole learned body to do honour to his memory. during his life time, he published many articles in learned journals but only one book, theodicy.13 the adventurous course of leibniz’s ideas and influence was said to have perplexed historians of philosophy in deciding where to include most suitably their discussion of his thoughts. this is because few of his philosophical writings appeared prior to locke’s essay concerning human understanding but leibniz’s new essays concerning human understanding which was intended as a criticism of locke’s theory of knowledge did not appear until 1765 though was ready in 1704.14 this is because he changed his mind in publishing his new essay concerning human understanding when he heard of locke’s death. two of his masterpieces are discourse on metaphysics, written early in his philosophical career, and monadology (1711), written late.15 10 copleston, 266. 11 a. p. martinich, fritz allhoff & anand jayprakash vaidya, eds. early modern philosophy: essential readings with commentary. malden: blackwell publishing, 2007, 229. 12 tsanoff, the great philosophers, 316. 13 martinich et al, early modern philosophy, 229. 14 tsanoff, 315. 15 martinich et al, early modern philosophy, 229. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 112 the philosophy of gottfried w. leibniz leibniz in his philosophy required god as a deity to account for the cosmic activity essential in the nature of things. arriving at the natural idea on the existence of god, he wrote as a believer to instruct others. also in the defense of his theology, he revised two standard proofs; the cosmological and the ontological. he pointed out a clear distinction between necessary and contingent truths. a proposition affirming the existence of anything is contingent and depends for its truth upon a proposition about some other thing. his form of cosmological argument is based on fact that a world of contingent existence does not contain in itself the ultimate cause and ground of its being, thus the final reason of things must be in a necessary substance, and the sufficient reason of all existence is god. he believed that god is not only of existences but also of essences.16 furthermore, he noted that if there is a reality of eternal truths, this reality must be founded on the existence of an absolutely necessary being. “god alone (or the necessary being) has this prerogative that he must exist, if he is possible. and since nothing can hinder the possibility of that which has no limitations, no negation and consequently no contradiction, this alone is sufficient to establish the existence of god a priori.”17 there are two distinct sources of the problem of contingency in leibniz’s philosophy, one theological, and the other metaphysical.18 the metaphysical argument is centered on some of his theses about the nature of truth. he held that truth-value of all propositions is settled once truth-values have been assigned to the elementary propositions. that means those expressed by sentences in subject – predicate form.19 the theological argument focuses on the possibility of a world if god had not choose to create it. as with every choice, there must be a sufficient reason for that choice. the reason for god’s choice of a world to create must be located in god’s power and his moral character.20 16 tsanoff, the great philosophers, 316. 17 tsanoff, 316 18 robert c. sleigh, “leibniz” in the cambridge dictionary of philosophy. robert audi ed. cambridge: cambridge university press, 1999, 427. 19 sleigh, 427. 20 sleigh, the cambridge dictionary of philosophy, 428. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 113 in his thought and conviction of the pre-established harmony of the monads, he opines that: the monads are the creations of god, and god’s perfection is manifested in their harmonious correlation. he pursued the idea of god by both causal and teleological reasoning where he sees god the creator and also the architect or designer of the world, and he is likewise divine providence, cosmic judge, prince and “a father to his children.” 21 writing on moral philosophy, the author affirmed that leibniz held that moral intelligence recognizes the interrelatedness of human needs and satisfactions, which also respect in others the same right to happiness which it claims for itself and pursues a course of rational philanthropy.22 his interpretation of moral responsibility and freedom follows from his monadology. the activity of a monad is not causally affected by that of any monad but always expresses its own character as a unique version of the universe. the intelligent will is said to be free of any external determination; the intelligent will is determined in its own unique self-expression. of this self-determination, man’s intelligence may become progressively convinced as it matures.23 moral freedom is thus relative to self-understanding and rationality in conduct. in leibniz conception of values as his doctrine of substances, he emphasized the dynamic principle of activism. he said, the perfect world is eternally perfectible world, a world always in the process of creation and neither individual nor socially nor cosmically can there be an assignable limit to spiritual progress. this conviction implied the immortality of rational souls: “all the changes of matter cannot make them lose the moral qualities of their personality.”24 the theodicy of gottfried w. leibniz it is an attempt to solve the problem of origin and explanation of evil that leibniz devoted his theodicy (1710). leibniz’s theodicy was written at the request of sophie charlotte, whose christian faith had been disturbed by reading the historical-critical dictionary of pierre bayle (1647 – 1706).25 having been 21 tsanoff, 317. 22 herbert lockyer, sr. nelson's illustrated bible dictionary. nashville: thomas nelson publishers, 1986, 360. 23 lockyer, 360. 24 tsanoff, the great philosophers, 324. 25 tsanoff, 325. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 114 embroiled in the religious conflicts of the seventeenth century which affected his father, he became skeptical and engrossed by the problem of evil which has been a fundamental problem in the christian religion of salvation.26 leibniz preceded such evidence with a discourse, because a theodicy must evidently proceed on the assumption that reason and revelation do not contradict each other, and that the former has the ability to recognize the facts presented by the latter, whether in nature or in history.27 as the aim of theodicy is to refute by reason the objections of superficial reasoners against the wisdom and goodness of god, the work necessarily demands agreement between faith and reason. it is consequently the primary object of leibniz to show that such agreement exists, or that it must be presumed to exist as soon as a correct view of the idea and nature of reason is entertained. reason is the ‘rightful combination’ of truths, which is recognized, either directly or by means of revelation and there can be no conflict between it and the truth, which god reveals.28 in a bid to strengthen his cosmic reassurance in his theodicy, leibniz undertook a closer analysis of the nature of evil and discovered three kinds of evil, namely.29 the first is physical evil which he sees as suffering. on his account of this kind of evil, he claims that it is reflected in his optimistic temper. the second kind of evil according to leibniz, is moral evil. this he considers as sin. he claims that the bodily frailties and ailments are not as common or grievous as complaining men believe, and a great part of them can be blamed on our sin. the gravity of sin must be a central conviction in any christian theodicy.30 and finally, the third which he called metaphysical evil is the imperfect character of finite being. for a little more on metaphysical evil, leibniz began his discourse with the standard definition of god. god he argues, is “an absolutely perfect being.”31 in an 26 tsanoff, 325. 27 john mcclintock, and james strong, mcclintock and strong encyclopedia. in twelve volumes. grand rapids: baker book house company, 2006. 28 mcclintock and strong. 29 an online britannica concurring with tsanoff also affirmed that in leibniz’s thought, there are three forms of evil in the world: moral evil, physical evil, and metaphysical evil. “he using augustine’s analogy of a picture with dark patches, leibniz argues that it is best to have a world of rich variety and ‘plenitude.’ in this view, god chose which world to create from a infinite number of possible worlds that were present as ideas in his mind.” it meant since he wills what is best, the world he created has the greatest possible number of compatible perfections; it is the best of all possible worlds. check: https://www.britannica.com/theodicy-theology. accesses on 21st november, 2018 @ 11:53hrs. (cf. tsanoff, the great philosophers, 327) 30 tsanoff, 327. 31 martinich, et al, early modern philosophy, 229. https://www.britannica.com/theodicy-theology igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 115 attempt to explore the consequence of this definition, he used investigation in finding what perfection is, and how many kind of perfection there are.32 he found two kinds of perfections, namely, omnipotence and omniscience. by these two, he argues that since there is no contradiction, it then follows that “from the omnipotence and omniscience that whatever god makes is perfect in the highest degree.33 by implication, leibniz tends to affirmed that god being an absolute being (bearing in mind his omnipotence and omniscience) creates the best of all possible world evil or no evil. because a real factor in human nature is antagonistic to the perfect creator, he had to concede to bayle’s dualistic view. in leibniz, reaffirmation of god’s condemnation of sin, he finally reduced it to a variety of metaphysical evil, the imperfection of finite being. this is the moral ambiguity of his theodicy.34 in dealing with the ultimate problem of theodicy, leibniz exposed two sources of likely errors, both due to defective breadth of outlook. the first is that man “should not judge the divine plan with our brief span of experience, and condemn it because of blind impatience; nor should we draw conclusions about the vast universe from meager range of our life on earth. god’s justice operates on an infinite scale, eternal and cosmic.”35 the second source of error in theodicy according to leibniz arises “from a one-sided interpretation of god’s nature, a preoccupation with one attribute of divine perfection.”36 he insisted on the principle of the ‘compossibility’ of god’s attribute, infinite wisdom, infinite goodness, infinite power, all creatively active in perfect harmony. god’s goodness and love will the creation of all possible good. explaining further, leibniz opines that when the skeptic asks, why should there be any evil in the world, he fails to learn from god’s wisdom, because no created world could be without some imperfections, and for these are the marks of finite existence. absolute perfection is for god alone. summarily, leibniz believe that if the physical and moral evil are explain ultimately as metaphysical evils, imperfections essential to finite beings, humans 32 martinich, 229. 33 martinich, et al, early modern philosophy, 229. 34 tsanoff, the great philosophers, 327. 35 tsanoff, 327 36 tsanoff, 327 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 116 will see them as obviously natural conditions in created world and they will have no reasonable complaint against god. the significance of leibniz’s theodicy to the contemporary church sequel to the foregoing discussion, this writer finds it germane at this point, to draw for the contemporary church, some significance from the theodicy of leibniz. hence, the following: to begin, the church must come to terms with the understanding of evil. evil is a force that opposes god and his work of righteousness in the world (rom. 7:8 – 19). the word is also used for any disturbance to the harmonious order of the universe, such as disease (ps. 41:8). but the bible makes it plain that even these so-called "physical evils" are the result of a far more serious moral and spiritual evil that began with the fall of adam and eve in the garden of eden (gen. 3).37 secondly, evil being a discord or disturbance in the order of the universe may not necessarily be penalty for sin, but can be use of god to foster a greater good for humanity. just as leibnitz divides it into: metaphysical evil, i.e., imperfection; physical evil, i.e., suffering; and moral evil, i.e., sin. the distinction into natural and moral evil is the only one now generally recognized.38 the church should therefore have this understanding that: natural evil is whatever destroys or any way disturbs the perfection of natural beings, such as blindness, diseases, death, etc. but as all that people call natural evil is not the penalty of sin, nor, as some have supposed, only the penalty of it, such disturbance is not necessarily an evil, inasmuch as it may be counterpoised, in the whole, with an equal if not greater good, as in the afflictions and sufferings of good men. when such disturbance occurs as the penalty of transgression, it is the necessary consequence of moral evil.39 37 lockyer, nelson's illustrated bible dictionary, 360. 38 mcclintock and strong. 39 mcclintock and strong. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 117 more also, moral evil is the disagreement between the actions of a moral agent and the rule of those actions, whatever it be. applied to choice, or acting contrary to the revealed law of god, it is termed wickedness or sin. applied to an act contrary to a mere rule of fitness, it is called a fault.40 on evil, and its relations to the government of god, the church should know that sin or wickedness of man could bring about evil in relation god’s government as it is today. with the two exposed angles of errors mentioned by leibniz in dealing with the ultimate problem of theodicy, this writer submits just as he puts it that the church “should not judge the divine plan with our brief span of experience, and condemn it because of blind impatience; nor should we draw conclusions about the vast universe from meager range of our life on earth. god’s justice operates on an infinite scale, eternal and cosmic.”41 and the second source of error in understanding and explaining theodicy according to leibniz arises “from a one-sided interpretation of god’s nature, a preoccupation with one attribute of divine perfection.”42 just as he insisted on the principle of the ‘compossibility’ of god’s attribute, infinite wisdom, infinite goodness, infinite power, all creatively active in perfect harmony. god’s goodness and love will the creation of all possible good. this is what should matter to the church when seeking answers to the challenge and problem of evil in today’s world. conclusion from this researc, it was discovered that the early life and exposures of leibniz formed some basis of his philosophical arguments. but as he continue to study in his quest to achieve his aspiration of reconciling the political and religious enmities in europe, and seeking to unite spiritual energies of western civilization to a higher level of peace and christian culture, he discovered a plausible answer to the subject of theodicy with his two sources of errors to understand theodicy. at first, he established the existence of god in his philosophy and the reality of evil. then, he affirmed that god should be seen in the light of being a divine providential father to his children, and a cosmic judge. when god is seen as mentioned, and evil in whatever form, could be traced to human frailty in one 40 mcclintock and strong. 41 tsanoff, 327 42 tsanoff, 327 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 118 way or the other, the church (including christians) should therefore not hold god responsible for any form of evil. god is real, so is evil. but evil manifests as a preoccupation of divine plan of perfect harmony. works cited copleston, frederick. a history of philosophy: the rationalists descartes to leibniz, vol. 4 bedford square: bloomsbury publishing, 1958. https://www.britannica.com/theodicy-theology. accesses on 21st november, 2018 @ 11:53hrs. https://www.britannica.com/topic/problem-of-evil#ref1251994. accessed november 21st, 2018 @ 11:53hrs. lockyer, herbert sr. nelson's illustrated bible dictionary. nashville: thomas nelson publishers, 1986. martinich, a. p. fritz allhoff & anand jayprakash vaidya, eds. early modern philosophy: essential readings with commentary. malden: blackwell publishing, 2007. mcclintock, john and james strong, mcclintock and strong encyclopedia. in twelve volumes. grand rapids: baker book house company, 1981. sleigh, r. c. jr. “leibniz, gottfried wilhelm” in encyclopedia of religion, second edition, vol. 8. detroit: gale cengage learning, 2005. _____ “leibniz” in the cambridge dictionary of philosophy. robert audi ed. cambridge: cambridge university press, 1999. taliaferro, charles. “philosophy or religion” in the blackwell companion to philosophy. second edition. nicholas bunnin, and e. p. tsui – james, eds. hoboken: john wiley & sons, n.d. tsanoff, radoslav a. the great philosophers, second edition. new york: harper & row publishers, n.d. https://www.britannica.com/theodicy-theology https://www.britannica.com/topic/problem-of-evil#ref1251994 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 111 dialectics of freedom in frantz fanon and its releveance in contemporary africa evaristus emeka isife faculty of arts, department of philosophy, nnamdi azikiwe univeristy, awka, anambra state, nigeria emekaisife@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.31258.06083 abstract in the contemporary african world where national independence has not brought true decolonisation, as colonialism with its oppressive, exploitative and dehumanising tenets persists via socio-political and economic control, fanon’s anti-colonial philosophydialectics of freedomstands as an existential remedy. and as a matter of fact, the 2011 north africans’ (tunisia, morrocco, etc ) violent revolution, 2019 and 2020 sudanese and malians’ violent revolution that toppled the oppressive governments of omar albashir and ibrahim keita, respectively, lend credence to the effectiveness of antithesis of dialectics of freedom. still, in many african states; cameroon, egypt, nigeria, niger, burundi, uganda, etc exploitation and dehumanisation are increasing as consequences of western neo-colonial influences and dictatorship of indigenous african leaders. this paper therefore investigates fanon’s dialectics of freedom, visible in his anticolonial thought, in the light of the present african predicament, and argues for organised reimplementation of fanon’s antithetical strategy towards liberation of contemporary africa. the study finds that majority of the oppressed africans are insentient to their poor condition and unjust systems in the continent hence their show of indifference. the study therefore concludes that effectiveness of antithetical struggle towards authentic african liberation and freedom depends on the self-consciousness of the greater population of the oppressed indigenous africans. keywords: contemporary; dialectics; freedom; relevance; self-consciousness introduction the prejudices of western philosophers like hume, kant, hegel, etc resulted in the relegation of the african, especially the black, to the level of an irrational being (oguejiofor, 2001). hume, for instance, argued that the black man lacks mental capacity, invention, civilisation, ingenuity, and therefore inferior to the white race (immerwahr, 1992; immerwahr & burke, 1993). also, the denigration of the african by kant was very remarkable in his discourse on africans (oguejiofor, 2001). also, hegel excluded africans from the movement of history, projecting that the continent has no human consciousness, ‘movement or development to exhibit’ (hegel, 1956:99). no wonder, hountondji (1983:11mailto:emekaisife@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 112 12) asserts that ‘hegel provided a powerful philosophical base to the chorus of denigration of the non-white races which accompanied and buoyed up the european colonial white adventure all through the nineteenth and as well as into the twentieth century’. these irrational postulations of western thinkers however became the fertile ground for justification of slavery and consequent colonisation and exploitation of africa. moreover, fanon’s experiences in martinique and france were very instrumental to his anti-colonial stance and strategy visible in his dialectics of freedom. this dialectics exposes the gap between colonial policies and practices. this gap, for instance, is glaringly clear in the assumed policies of assimilation and association that signifies equality of all peoples, but are in reality a french cultural superiority, domination and hegemony in africa. the dialectics of freedom therefore became an anti-colonial philosophical thought relevant for curbing racism, social stratification and hindrance of africans’ socio-economic and political equality and mobility in western and african societies (adele, 1980). truly, fanon’s dialectics of freedom was born of his commitment to the algerian decolonisation struggle, but his thought remain existential in salvaging contemporary african states from the present neocolonial influences, domination and exploitations. thus, the post colonial africa is not much different from the colonial past as the masses are still captive, exploited and dehumanised. this is more pronounced as indigenous stooges now exploit the masses to their advantages, those of their cronies and western masters. in this situation, the oppressed african quest for true freedom is still crystallized in fanon’s dialectics of freedom propelled by self consciousness. this consciousness stands as the antithesis of the exploitative and dehumanising order which will ultimately lead to a better human condition. indeed, dialectics of freedom exposes the being of the oppressors and oppressed in what fanon terms the manichean colonial world (larose, 2011). this is a world where there is need to be a violent clash between the oppressors purported to be embodiment of universal good and the oppressed that are being projected as pure evil. the resultant synthesis from this clash, in the light of fanon, is the new order reflecting true liberation and freedom, end of domination and mental captivity of the oppressed. therefore, fanon’s dialectics remains a systematic movement of freedom from contradictory societal circumstances to a better form. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 113 explication of terms plato once asserts that people argue because they do not understand the word being used in the first place (oguejiofor, 2009). this position reflects the need to analyse these terms: “self-consciousness”, “dialectics” and “freedom”, which are outstanding terms in this discourse. self consciousness is a sense of rational self-awareness or self-awakening. it also connotes self-alertness and one’s capacity to think or entertain conscious thoughts. self-consciousness indeed points at rational introspection. it is the situation of being rationally in the know of one-self and the events connected to it. hence it is a rational awareness of one’s being and all the factors affecting it. furthermore, dialectics means friction, interaction or conflict of different points of view towards establishing the truth. as such, dialectics has to do with the conflict of two opposing positions or contradictory ideas towards a better position or idea. in this sense, dialectics points to the fact that idea develops in an interactive or conflictual manner through action or reaction of thought. in line with hegel, dialectics is a conflict of thesis and antithesis towards a synthesis that resorts to the same cycle till a better result emerges. so, dialectics is a process of overcoming the contradiction between thesis and antithesis by means of final and near perfect synthesis. indeed, dialectics is a necessary process that makes up progress in both thought and the world (blackburn, 2005). in other words, it is a systematic resolution of contradictions in opposing views or ideas in order to arrive at truth. based on these, dialectics depicts a contradiction of ideas that arrives at the determining and required factor in the interaction. finally, freedom is a state of being free. this state connotes absence of necessity, coercion, restraint or constraint in choice or action. blackburn (2005:141) agrees with this meaning and further explains freedom as a ‘condition of liberation from social and cultural forces that are perceived as impeding full selfrealization’. hence, dukor (2010:15) posits freedom as ‘liberty which means “doing as one wishes” or “doing what one ought” within the dictates and demands of the society, community or the state’. influences on fanon’s dialectics of freedom fanon’s dialectics of freedom came at the peak of western colonialism in africa. colonialism was a manichean system of profiteers and exploited, predators and predated, rulers and subjected/subjugated, and rich and poor. describing the colonial situation, fanon (2001:30) posits that ‘… the two zones are opposed, but not in the service of a higher unity. obedient to the rules of pure aristotelian logic, they both follow the principle of reciprocal exclusivity’. on the same note, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 114 micheal azar (1983) argues that the tension created by these two colonial manichean zones influenced fanon’s thought in which aristotelian logic, with its mutually exclusive oppositions stands on one side, and on the other side is the hegelian logic which stages the lack and contradiction in aristotelian logic by introducing a subversive negation. hence, the scourge of colonialism became a critical influence on fanon’s liberation thoughts, especially as colonialism ‘made us leave our own history and enter another history’ (cabral, 1972: 52). colonisation destroys history in order to create its own history. fanon’s dialectics of freedom, which is a theory of decolonisation, is meant to destroy the history of colonisation in order to create a new history, which is the history of humanity. influenced by colonial events in which he both experienced and participated, fanon out of inner debate with amalgam of ideas and thinkers such as hegel, marx, sartre, aimee, etc set to evolve an intellectual and political position of his own (gendzier, 1973). his encounter with hegel’s phenomenology of mind availed him of the idea of self-consciousness, violent struggle and social recognition which underscored his antithetical strategies (larose, 2011). as well, fanon critically appropriated hegel’s allegory of master and slave which enhanced his depiction of the distinctive properties of the colonisers-colonised relation (sekyi – otu, 1996). this allegory was however one paradigmatic form among the series of shapes through which self-consciousness leads to actualisation of genuine knowledge and true freedom. as such, ‘fanon follows hegel in describing the procession of the order of things and configurations of consciousness as a pathway’ to freedom (sekyi – otu, 1996:26). influenced by hegel still, fanon came to the conclusion that violent revolution is a sure dialectical means of achieving freedom by the oppressed (martin, 1970:392). but unlike hegel, fanon (2008) argues that the paradigmatic development of reciprocity has to be remapped whenever the black is involved. this is because the hegelian slave fights for his liberation through work but the negro slave fights for his liberation by struggling to be like the master (fanon, 2008). nevertheless, fanon’s call for self-consciousness of the oppressed to freedom also reflects his assimilation of marxist dialectical materialism, which anchors on social revolution and societal transformation. fanon’s radicalism however surpasses that of marx because he goes beyond the marxist characterization of violence as the midwife of history (larose, 2011). he rather projects forceful resistance of colonialism and human oppression towards restoration of equitable order in human societies. thus, fanon teaches that through violence directed at the oppressors, the oppressed peoples would reconstitute their human self in an autonomous and unrestricted way (kebede, 2001). this igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 115 violence is inevitable because there is a mutual suspicion as the oppressors guard the dividing line and the oppressed fights to cross the dividing line of oppression. meanwhile, fanon’s (2008) dialectics which was also meant to remedy the psycho-existential alienation of the negro, is heavily derived from sartre’s ‘orphee noir’; where the thesis is white racism, the antithesis is negritude or white mask, and the synthesis is a new humanism in a world freed from racism. in fact, one of the most outstanding influences of ‘orphee noir’ in fanon (2001), is visible in his projecting of colonial literature as that which must set the required revolution by informing the people and awakening their self and political consciousness. it is in this direction that mcculloch (2002:53) describes fanon’s dynamism as ‘what begins as a fierce attack upon “orphee noir” ends with fanon’s acquiescence to sartre’s dialectics’. so, fanon’s changing attitude towards negritude movement runs parallel with his gradual appropriation of sartre’s dialectics. therefore, it was until fanon had accepted the dialectical significance of negritude that he acknowledged the movement as politically and psychologically important. the progressive function of negritude consists of the negation and rejection of the colonial racism and the recognition and acceptance of the black man’s historical tradition, which colonialism threatened to consign to eternal oblivion. however, fanon (2008) criticised sartre, rejecting his collapse of race into a colourless class. he then reverses sartre’s proposition for a classless society, grounding mutual recognition in the movement or relation between selves, and calls for a recognition that reduces neither the self nor its other to identity. indeed, the issue of self-consciousness as envisaged by fanon in his literary production was also influenced by aimee cesaire’s psyche of ascent (consisting in self-reflection) contained in his subjective method. with all these physical and intellectual influences, fanon set to abolish colonialism, neocolonialism, dehumanization, exploitation, and to liberate both the oppressor and oppressed. this aim was reflected in his thought that independence and freedom ‘must not be the result of one barbarism replacing another barbarism, of one crushing man replacing another crushing man’ (fanon, 1965: 32). consequently, fanon’s philosophy became anchored on application of dialectics in explaining the movement of history and african society towards true freedom. in this process, fanon was convinced that african society could pass from its subjugated state to a better order with application of necessary antithetical strategies. this dialectics of freedom is possible because fanon’s antithesis is a nisus or tendency which when effectively applied leads to an intended socio-political and economic order in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 116 dialectics of freedom in frantz fanon dialectics of freedom in fanon revolves on the contradictions and resolutions arising from the coloniser-colonised and oppressor-oppressed relations. this dialectics of freedom is therefore ‘dialectics of experience’ (ato 1996:26), and ‘a movement of the colonised from colonisation to decolonisation’ (isife, 2020: 269). thus, dialectics of freedom is a contradictory relationship between the thesis of colonialism and the antithesis of revolutionary violence that will lead to the synthesis of freedom. colonialism contextually represents every oppressive system. as such, the oppression, exploitation and dehumanisation of contemporary africans resulting from western influences is colonialism. this means that fanon’s dialectics of freedom is existential and applicable in present african predicament, or contemporary africa. it is anticipated that the oppressive/exploitative systems being perpetuated by the political elite and the antithesis struggle/movements of the oppressed masses will eventually lead to the synthesis of a new societal order. in line with fanon, this movement has to be a revolution; an inevitable confrontation with predatory status quo to restore the proper order. the revolutionary violence is for fanon one of the means through which the colonised/oppressed achieve their freedom (carastathis, 2010; onwuanibe, 1983). this is so because, according to fanon, the oppressors are violent, and they use the language of violence and force and surround themselves with violence systems, institutions and apparatus. in the dialectics of freedom therefore, the oppressors are the principal catalysts of the oppressed violent movements based on the oppressors’ willful denigration of the life and humanness of the oppressed. ogbu (1975) reacts to this oppressors’ violent perspective as requiring the opposite reaction (antithesis) of breaking out in violent revolution in order to smash all suffocating oppressive and dehumanizing systems. no wonder, dialectics of freedom is a ‘therapeutic act by which oppressed man severs the umbilical cord that binds him to exploiters and thereby heals his psyche by a renovative act which purges him of his inferiority and helplessness’ (ogbu 1975:55). self-consciousness in fanon’s dialectics of freedom oppressive conditions cannot change without the self-consciousness of the oppressed. the struggle for freedom as evident in fanon’s dialectics of freedom begins with self-consciousness of the oppressed, and progresses to breaking the chains of mental and physical captivity. this means there is an absolute necessity for a liberated consciousness in order to achieve a liberated society (larose 2011). this is as self-consciousness facilitates mental decolonisation of inferiority complexes and internalised ideas planted by the oppressors to hold igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 117 the oppressed captive. self-consciousness therefore ushers in self-realisation and self-recognition of intrinsic values and worth. this awareness propels the oppressed towards reconstructing the oppressed self and society into true reflection of egalitarianism and human dignity. self consciousness is therefore the catalyst of the antithesis of dialectics of freedom. it is like the logical middle term which gives existence to the conclusion that is, intended synthesis. the antithetical violence in fanon’s dialectics of freedom violence is a product of self-consciousness and a fervent antithetical strategy in fanon’s dialectics of freedom. yet, the oppressors are the principal architects of oppressed self-consciousness through their violence, exploitation and dehumanising policies. this is why fanon insists that any system that does not totally recognise the people but opposes them represents the ultimate revolutionary challenge between the oppressed and the oppressors and calls for violent confrontation (larose 2011). fanon however considers this antithetical violence a risk but insists that ‘it is solely by risking life that freedom is obtained; only thus it is tried and proved that the essential nature of selfconsciousness is not bare existence…’ (larose 2011:17). for fanon therefore, violence embodies the risk of death. but the risk of death concretises the essence of human existence: the need for human recognition and the quest for freedom. violence and risk of death in this context mean that the life of the oppressed is transformed into the corporeal manifestation of the ‘universal objective truth’ of freedom (larose 2011:18). violence therefore becomes an important antithesis because oppressive system does not recognise the masses as human beings worthy of exercising their right to sovereignty. thus, the nature of dialectics forces the oppressed to demand recognition from their oppressors and court death to obtain it. with violence which connotes readiness to die, the oppressed clearly indicate the values of what they are dying for; the values of freedom and of being recognised and treated as humans. in all these, the ‘rehabilitative value of violence lies in the equation that the colonised are ready to risk the only and most precious thing they have, namely; their life, for their dignity and equality’ (kebede 2001:549) in clear terms, the thesis of fanon’s dialectics of freedom is the oppressive, exploitative and dehumanizing governance in african states. such governance is irrationally against humanity; it is enough violence and is sustained by violence. hence the choice of greater violence as fervent antithesis that can contradict the existing violence and then restore order. fanon explains this thus; ‘the violence of the colonial regime and the counter violence of the native balance each other, and respond to each other in an extraordinary reciprocal igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 118 homogeneity’ (fanon, 2001:69). of course, the synthesis is certain for ‘at the level of individuals, violence has a cleansing force’ (fanon, 2001:74). it frees the oppressed from their inferiority complex, despair and inaction, and restores their boldness and self-confidence. such resistance to oppression again takes freedom out of the realm of abstraction and inequitable world into the concrete equitable world of human relations. at the end, it again unifies the people; unraveling to them the fact that liberation struggle is the business of all the oppressed and that none has any special merit than others. though violent demand for recognition stands as the apex of human struggle for liberation, fanon did not glorify violence for violence sake. rather, he was convinced that it stands as a workable antithetical strategy to freedom. this is based on the rationale that true freedom or eradication of oppression and exploitation can never take the form of national independence conferred by the oppressors, but must come through violent actions from the masses. birt (1997:211) lend credence to this fact when he states; there can be no radical transformation of identity without an entire struggle to radically transform the social order. and no radical transformation of the social structure is possible (nor would it have a purpose) without the transformation of identity – the self creation of a new kind of human being. it is this self-creation and renewal that is the aim of all effort. however, violence is not envisaged to be persisting after the dialectics of freedom, for the thesis (poor situation) which propelled it must have vanished through its encounter with greater violence (antithesis). more so, the newly liberated masses would not prefer to devalue the eventual existential selfactualisation and human dignity born of violent confrontation and risking death. thus, the once oppressed would now reconstitute their human self in an autonomous and unrestricted way (kebede 2007). this hard won freedom leads to a radical transformation of society, specifically because the formerly oppressed have become instruments of true societal change by regaining dominion and control over their own selves, land, culture, resources and collective identity. the neocolonial condition of contemporary african states independence of african states were mere transformation of colonialism to neocolonialism. the attainment of political independence therefore only changed the composition of managers of most african states, not the character of the colonial era. hence, the attainment of independence by african states did not destroy but preserved the colonial structures and systems. this makes igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 119 fanon’s dialectics of freedom relevant in post-colonial africa. (isife, 2020). this is as much of the social, political and economic structures that today operate in almost all african states originate from the colonial past (oguejiofor, 2001). in fact, there was rarely any incorporation of indigenous african socio-political and economic institutions in the independent african states. as such, most african states are shaped by colonial tenets into arbitrary governance, exercise of absolute power and collision with citizens. so, most african states emerged as an apparatus of violence; lacking deep connection with the indigenous society and social forces, and thus reclining to coercion rather than consent (ake, 2000). the reality therefore remains that african nationalists and present leaders just accepted the colonial alienation they had set themselves to oppose and reject (davidson, 1993). this development can be attributed to a number of factors. first, the erstwhile colonists engineered the situation to maintain their claws on african states. this is in order to maximise the foreign income from their multinational corporations, to enhance cheap acquisition of raw materials for their industries and to have african market under their control for their surplus products. second, african leaders and stakeholders are largely products of colonial and western education. as such, they are still prisoners of the mode of thought which they have learned in european or american universities. too, they are still caught up in the paradigms established by european scholars for the study and administration of africa (eleazu, 1975). thus, from algeria in the north, namibia in the south, kenya in the east to nigeria and cameroon in the west, post colonial african states are not free. the west and china, through their multinational corporations, diplomatic missions and loans have continued to control african economies and politics in cohort with african dictators that run african affairs on behalf of these capitalists (ndlovu-gatsheni 2011). in continuation, italian prime minister, giuseppe conte, in al jazeera news of 10th february 2019, once blamed france for the incessant african migration through the mediterranean sea to their shores, stating that france dire grip on african states had led to such hardship that they were forced to leave their africa for presumed greener pasture in europe, america and other countries. it has been noted that till date france still ‘controls the leadership, printing and currency operations of senegal; and up to 13 other african countries to her advantage’ (chinweuba, 2019:13). britain similarly controls the socio-political and economic affairs of nigeria and other anglophone african states. china with its trojan loan lays control in congo, zambia, and many other african states. worst still, the poor and dictatorial governance in african states and her leaders’ dependence on western igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 120 governments and china to capture and remain in power result in spate of denigration, exploitation, impoverishment and dehumanisation of the larger population of africa. in some african states, it has even become part of national orientation to promote the absoluteness of these oppressors and to manipulate the already dehumanized masses towards remaining inferior and in denial of their humanness (sekyi – otu, 1996). and with colonial languages standing as lingua franca in many african states, coupled with western styled education curriculum, the psyche and destiny of the indigenous africans are still controlled. in the same vein, the mastery of french, english, german, chinese and other foreign languages is viewed as coming closer to being a real human being (fanon, 2008). with these, there is a constant and visible effort by many africans to run away from their individuality and identity or to annihilate their own presence (fanon, 2008). and in reality, many in this desperate journey have drowned in the mediterranean sea or perished in the sahara desert as they try to migrate to europe (chinweuba, 2019). the further result is the spate of evolue: a schizophrenic and crisis riddled personhood whose autochthonous constituent nature has been bastardised (odimegwu, 2008). these are coupled with predatory governance which as envisaged by fanon created in african states a manichean society with dual zones of profiteers and exploited, rulers and subjugated, rich and poor (fanon, 2001). relevance of fanon’s dialectics of freedom in contemporary africa fanon’s anti-colonial philosophy consisting in dialectics of freedom is not channeled against the european imperialists. this is because it is not a racist philosophy, but rather a remedy to the inhuman condition of indigenous africans who suffer directly from the crude economic and political exploitation as well as social injustice of the colonial and neo-colonial africa. since, the dialectics of freedom contributed to the independence of african states, it stands to salvage africans from the present neocolonial predicament. this is more so as colonial tenets; systems, institutions and patterns of operation when fanon’s thoughts came into being are direly functional in contemporary african states. in fact, the larger reality at independence of african states was visible change of expatriates with indigenous politicians. this is why akinola (1994:27) describes african states as ‘ready-made states disposing enormous power but with few virile institutions that could check the abuse of these powers’. and referring to nigeria as an instance, olusoji (2012:195) observes; there was no way in which the neo-colonial social formation inherited by nigeria with its conditions of dislodgement, confusion, dependence, foreign domination, alienation of the people from the state, an igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 121 unproductive and dependent dominant class and structural disabilities could have been stable or united following political independence on 1st october 1960. the relevance of dialectics of freedom therefore lies in the fact that the consistency of the antithesis as proposed by fanon will engender lasting freedom and a new humanism in african states; a new theory of humanity rooted in human nature (fanon, 1967). this will be a conscious humanity that would be active in self dialectics (self-consciousness) and self-other dialectics (communal relation and reciprocity) that promote healthy relationship, unity and development among the oppressed within the indigenous african states. apart from these, the antithetical violence when applied by the oppressed would mobilise and bind them together as one people. it thus would inculcate in each of their consciousness the idea of unity, a common cause, a national destiny and a collective history (fanon, 1963). this is because each of them will have a link in the great chain that would topple the oppressors’ violence and captivity. based on this, gordon observes that ‘at the centre of fanon’s dialectics of freedom is the possibility of symmetry; the self that sees another as other is also seen by the other as its other’ (gordon 2010:10). indeed, the antithetical violence when applied will remain a preventive mechanism from tendencies of future oppressors and exploiters. besides, the synthesis of fanon’s dialectics (liberation and freedom) stands to boost the confidence of the indigenous people to live, work and put a strong and consequential voice in the socio-political and economic affairs of their various states. this synthesis will along this line secure the self respect, dignity, identity, personhood and humanness of indigenous africans. on the other hand, the antithetical violence that leads to freedom would act as a cleansing force (fanon, 1963). this is as it would free the oppressed from inferiority complex, colonial ideas, despair and inaction, and fill them with fearlessness, self respect and human dignity. conclusion fanon’s dialectics of freedom signals a dialectical movement from freedom to bondage, liberation and freedom (gordon, 2010; wright, 1992). but freedom at last exposes a new creation visible in the liberated people comprising of the earlier oppressors and their victims. since his thought is meant to stir selfconsciousness and move for a counter thesis in the oppressed, fanon’s anticolonial philosophy is relevant towards solving the present neocolonial igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 122 predicament of contemporary african states. this is as all the systems and institutions of colonial africa are direly more functioning in contemporary africa. although, fanon chose violence as essential in antithetical march towards freedom, the oppressed africans must know that true freedom and free society does not emerge on a platter of gold and never conferred by the oppressors but through consistent counter actions from the oppressed masses. references adele, j. 1974. ‘review of frantz fanon: a critical study by irene gendzie’, the journal of developing areas 8: 300 – 303. adele, j. 1980. fanon: in search of the african revolution. enugu: fourth dimension publishers ake, c. 2000. the feasibility of democracy in africa. dakar: codesria books. akinola, g. a. 1994. ‘factors in the development of a democratic ethics in africa’, in l. a. thomson, ed. democracy, democratization and africa. ibadan: afrika link, 27-30. azar, m. 1983. ‘in the name of algeria: frantz fanon and the algerian revolution’, in frantz fanon: critical perspectives p. 25r africa, 11 -12. blackburn, s. 2005. oxford dictionary of philosophy. new york, ny: oxford university press. birt, r. 1997. ‘existence, identity, and liberation’, in l. r. gordon, ed. existence in black: an anthology of black existential philosophy. london: routledge. 211. carastathis, a. 2010. “fanon on turtle island: revisiting the question of violence” in elizabeth a. hoppe and tracey nicholls (eds.), fanon and the decolonization of philosophy.uk: lexington books chinweuba, g. e. 2019. ‘migration: a phenomenological analysis of its impact on nigerian socio economic development’, ikoro journal of contemporary african studies 12: 386-398. chinweuba, g. e. 2019. ‘the subjective base of objective interest in cosmopolitics: a philosophical analysis’, the jmc review an interdisciplinary social science journal of criticism, practice and theory iii: 1-21. davidson, b. 1993. the black man’s burden: african and the curse of the nationstate. ibadan: spectrum. dukor, m. 2010. african freedom the freedom of philosophy. saarbrucken: lambert academic publishing. eleazu, u. o. 1975. ‘some problems in the analysis of igbo political culture’, ikenga journal of african studies3, 1 & 2: 59-71. fanon, f. 2001. the wretched of the earth. london: penguin books. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 123 fanon, f. 1965. a dying colonialism. new york, ny: grove press. fanon, f. 1967. towards the african revolution. new york, ny: grove press. fanon, f. 2008. black skin, white masks. london: pluto press. gendzier, i. 1973. frantz fanon: a critical study. new york, ny: random house. gordon, l. 2010. ‘fanon on decolonizing knowledge’, in e. a. hoppe & t. nicholls, ed. fanon and the decolonization of philosophy. uk: lexington books, 8-10. hegel, g. w. f. 1956. the philosophy of world history. new york, ny: dover publications. hountondji, p. 1983. african philosophy, myth and reality. london: hutchinson university library for africa. immerwahr, j. 1992. ‘hume’s revised racism’, journal of history of ideas 52: 481483. immerwahr, j. & m. burke. 1993. ‘race and modern philosophy course’, teaching philosophy 16: 24. isife, e. e. 2020. ‘dialectics of freedom in frantz fanon: a potent tool towards achieving political stability in nigeria’, international journal of humanities and social studies 8: 265 – 273. kebede, m. 2001. ‘the rehabilitation of violence and the violence of rehabilitation: fanon and colonialism’, journal of black studies 31, 5: 539562. larose, t. p. 2011. ‘frantz fanon: existentialist, dialectician, and revolutionary’, the journal of pan african studies. 4, 7: 4-23. martin, t. 2007. ‘rescuing fanon from the critics’, african studies review 13, 3: 381-399. mcculloch, j. (2002). black soul white artifact: fanon’s clinical psychology and social theory,new york: cambridge university press. ndlovu-gatsheni, s. 2011. ‘fiftieth anniversary of decolonization in africa: a moment of celebration or critical reflection?’, third world quarterly 33: 7889. odimegwu, i. 2008. integrative personhood: a communalistic metaphysical anthropology. new brunswick: transaction publishers. ogbu, k. u. 1975. ‘tradition in revolutionary change’, ikenga journal of african studies 3, 1 &2: 53-58 oguejiofor, j. o. 2001. philosophy and the african predicament. ibadan: hope publications. oguejiofor, j. o. 2009. ‘is african worldview responsible for the african predicament?’, uche journal of the department of philosophy, university of nigeria, nsukka 15: 1-13. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 124 olusoji, g. 2012. ‘military interventions in the nigeria politics: a ‘time bomb’ waiting to explode? the avowal of a new management elites’, international journal of business, humanities and technology 2: 191-197. onwunanibe, r. 1983. a critique of revolutionary humanism: frantz fanon. usa: warren h. green inc. sekyi – otu. a. 1996. fanon’s dialectics of experience. london: harvard university press. wright, c. 1992. ‘national liberation, consciousness, freedom and frantz fanon’, history of europea ideas 15: 427 – 434. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 128 aspects of ihiagwa history in the post nigeria-biafra war era, 1970-2010 nwachukwu j. obiakor, phd department of history and international studies nnamdi azikiwe university, awka nj.obiakor@unizik.edu.ng & martins chinedu nkwopara department of history and international studies nnamdi azikiwe university, awka martinsnkwopara@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract this paper attempts to distill the different measures evolved by the general gowon ledgovernment towards alleviating the horrible and harrowing experiences suffered by the people of south east immediately after the nigeria-biafra war. it further highlights other measures used by the affected people of ihiagwa to help themselves both economically and socially. the work employed the qualitative method of research. the research was presented thematically in chronological order characteristic of historical research. sources were drawn from both primary and secondary sources to document aspects of ihiagwa history between, 1970 and 2010. it goes further to dwell on one-decade intra-communal conflict preceded by succession disputes that characterized the community in the early 1990s and how it was amicably resolved resulting in the creation of another community from the “old ihiagwa”, which some people saw as a win-win situation. it finally enumerates some of the modern challenges being experienced at present by the community and proffers solutions to some of these challenges. keywords: ihiagwa, history, igbo, biafra, nigeria, war igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 129 introduction ihiagwa community was one of the epicenters of the unfortunate and avoidable nigeria-biafra war that lasted for a period of 30 months. it is pertinent to observe that nigeria and the people’s republic of biafra1 engaged in an intractable war from july 1967, when the actual shootings started, to 15 january 1970, gen. yakubu gowon, the nigerian head of state ordered a ceasefire2. events that eventually culminated in the war led to a coup and counter coup in 1967, which were given ethnic colourations3. it further degenerated to the massacre of soldiers of igbo extraction, as well as a pogrom that culminated in the killing of about three thousand (3000) easterners (mostly people of igbo extraction)4. about two million other easterners returned to igboland as refugees, maimed, dispossessed and incapacitated5. the worth of property lost by the igbo in northern, western, midwestern nigeria, and lagos amounts to over forty million pounds6. furthermore, gen. gowon’s reneging on the agreement reached at aburi, ghana and the consequent declaration of the peoples republic of biafra pitted the former eastern region of nigeria against the rest of the country in a civil war7. it is noteworthy that nigeria’s position on biafra is premised on the assumption that if biafra is allowed to secede then a number of other ethnic nationalities within nigeria would follow suit8. in other words, the nigerian government’s blocking of biafra’s secession move was to prevent the dissolution and disintegration of nigeria9. as lame as the above position may seem to appear, the war had taken place with its consequences on the belligerents. the reasons for ihiagwa being one of the epicenters of the nigeria-biafra war are not far-fetched. firstly, it is one of the communities that are close to owerri, the present-day imo state capital. so, after “the fall of owerri” the nigeria soldiers found the community suitable for its military camps. secondly, the community served as a gate-way to port-harcourt through obinze, another contiguous community to ihiagwa at the western fringes10. immediately after the nigeria-biafra war with it’s devastating aftermath on the community and indeed the entire south-east. the nigerian government, led by general yakubu gowon, came out with programmes aimed at alleviating the sufferings of those who were severely affected by the bitter experiences of the war. one of such programme was the policy of 3rs which stood for reconstruction, rehabilitation and reconciliation. the programme, sadly, did not meet up with its mandate with regard to implementation as it concerned the yearnings of the entire area affected by the war. many communities whose means of livelihood were igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 130 greatly disrupted by the war, ihiagwa community inclusive, therefore went back and devised other means through which they helped themselves. agriculture which was the mainstay of the community, but was affected by the war was begun. other self-help projects and programme aimed at alleviating the sufferings of the people and empowering individuals were evolved. social institutions for the regulation of conducts in society were harmonized. although ihiagwa community is still faced with some of the ills associated with urbanization and inter-cultural exchanges, some of the self-help projects embarked upon by the community laid a very solid foundation in its rebuilding. ihiagwa in the post nigeria – biafra war era, 19170 – 2010 the civil war ended officially on the 12th of january 1970. after consultations with his colleague, colonel philip effiong who took over from ojukwu as the commander made a broadcast to the effect that: our people are now disillusioned and those elements of the old government regime who have made negotiation and reconciliation impossible have voluntarily removed themselves from our midst. i have therefore instructed an early disengagement of troops… i urge on general gowon in the name of humanity to order his troops to halt. a delegation of our people is …ready to meet the representatives of the nigeria federal government anywhere to negotiate a peaceful settlement on the basis of the oau resolution…11 with this, col. effiong accepted the concept of one nigeria in the context of the 12 states structure, biafra had thus surrendered. in response, general gowon in a broadcast to the nation referred to the surrender as “a great moment of victory for national unity and reconciliation”12. and that there was “no victor, no vanquished”. he praised the nigerian soldiers and recalled why nigeria had to fight in these words; “our objective was to crush the rebellion and to maintain the territorial integrity of our nation”13. the post war reconstruction programme and its effects to argue that a lot of people lost their lives in the war is an understatement. in fact, millions of people had died especially from the biafran side. thousands more were maimed, while others were thoroughly disorganized. but for those who were lucky to survive the war, the federal government took some policy measures aimed at ameliorating the situation. the federal government had to heed the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 131 warning by well-meaning nigerians, international agencies, countries sympathetic to the biafran course, as well as countries who still wanted to see a united, cohesive and indivisible nigeria that “if gowon had won the war now, he has to win the peace”14. the major demands of the time were one of the wars battered areas. there was the need for food, shelter and medicine. there was also the need to restore electricity supply, transport and communication services. the dire need to resettle farmers, reopen factories and then resume normal life in all facets of the society also came to the fore. these needs were encapsulated in a broadcast by gowon on the 1st of october 1970. one of the programmes was the 3rs namely – reconstruction, rehabilitation and reconciliation. to this end, the federal government appointed mr. ukpabi asika, an impressive political performer and a political science lecturer from the university of ibadan to coordinate relief matters and look into the refugee problem of the war affected areas15. in the course of his duties, he re-established administrative structure in the east central states and was subsequently appointed the administrator of the state. there was also the establishment of the abandoned property committee in all states to administer and collect all rents on all property belonging to the igbo who had abandoned such property during the war. many of these property owners who returned after the war received some money which went a long way towards their resettlement. there was also the establishment of national rehabilitation commission by decree no. 4116. this commission which was headed by timothy omo bare was charged with responsibility of collection and distribution of drugs and other humanitarian relief materials from foreign government and international ngos. with this arrangement, citizens were provided with food, clothing, and other medical care by the commission. the nigeria red cross, in league with the commission fed over 700,000 people daily in the eastern states. the red cross had also stockpiled 13,000 tons of food and assembled another 7,000 tons by the end of january 197017. according to anthony enahoro, the then federal commissioner for information, “nigeria’s immediate needs were for assistance aimed at solving acute transportation challenge and reopening public utilities and the restoration of social services and not food. calls made by gowon in his broadcast for volunteers were heeded to, as medical doctors, other paramedics, engineers, technicians and administrators offered their services. to facilitate the functions of these professionals, the federal government provided one million nigerian pounds. the process of rehabilitation was on course, and yielded fruits that the british parliamentary under-secretary for foreign affairs, mr. maurice foley igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 132 commended the federal government and people of nigeria in these words, “i have been moved by the spirit of reconciliation and brother hood which is guiding the nigerian people and their leaders”. in a similar vein the observer team sent to nigeria also observed that there was no genocide in the nearly liberated site visited and that within the limitation of available transport, federal troops carried food where it was most needed. gowon also announced the reunion in the civil service. under this arrangement, public servants were categorized; instructions were given to them to report to specific government agencies for re-absorption. as for those in the military, some of the soldiers who showed allegiance to the biafra state were re-absorbed, while some others were dismissed from the military alongside those officers who participated in the january 1966 coup. those who assisted the secessionist forces to attack the former mid-western region were detained18. in the area of economy, appreciable efforts were made to cushion the effects of the war on the entire nigerian economy. in this connection, gowon promulgated the nigerian enterprises promotion decree aimed at indigenizing the private sector. this policy was divided into two schedules. firstly, it provided for short term transfers of small business to nigerians. this made some shops and supermarkets owned by lebanese and people from other countries to close down or sold out to nigerians. thus, many of these foreign nationals sought and got naturalized during the period. secondly, larger business concerns which could not be indigenized within a short period, nigerians were asked to buy shares in trust for them, with the hope that they would buy in future. it was under this economic development programme that agricultural development bank (adb) was set up. the bank was meant to provide loans for farmers and encourage agricultural production and food surplus. there was a post-war national reconstruction and development plan for 1970-1974 which was launched in 1970. this was specifically for priority areas. they included government building that were damaged during the war; the university of nigeria nsukka received n12 million for its reconstruction while n6 million was expended in the rehabilitation of industries. the african continental bank (acb) was granted n5 million for its reopening19. despite these seemingly grandiose policy pronouncements, its implementation left much to be desired, in as much as it did not reach every hook and cranny of the war-torn area especially the interiors that were worst hit. at best, the implementation of the programme was selective, half-hearted and aimed at pacifying the international community who were aggrieved at the way the easterners were treated. these assertions have been gleaned from a number of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 133 studies and impeccable information. a typical case in point was the abandoned property saga. of a truth, it is important to observe that those igbo who left their property in the north and elsewhere, during the war took possession of same after the war. in fact, there were cases where the rents collected from those properties were given back to the original owners to enable them start life afresh after the war. it is still on record that properties of the igbo situated in rivers state were never handed back to them. it therefore stands to reason that hatred towards the igbo still exist despite the much talk mantra of “one nigeria”. again, it is a universal phenomenon that life is usually difficult during post-war years, biafran situation was not different, families were told to trade their biafran currency, no matter how many million biafran pounds, for a paltry total maximum of twenty nigerian pounds. it was bad, inequitable and left a bitter taste in the mouth for a people ravaged by war. in the case of soldiers who served on the biafran side, admittedly, some of them were reintegrated into the nigerian army. but properly speaking, quite a number of them were left to suffer, simply because of the roles they played during the war. this singular act of the government grossly belied its claim of “no victor no vanquished”. it can be deduced that these soldiers were not taken back into the army because of the area they came from. other than that, there was no justifiable and thoroughly convincing reason(s) to truly explain away their dismissal from the military20. worse still, the government did not put any workable programme in place aimed at cushioning the psychological effect of those who were maimed. the twin factors of having to depend economically on family members and their permanent disability killed them faster than other debilitating diseases between the first decades of post war life21. the spiritual growth and development of the community and indeed that of the entire igboland were not taken into consideration. all the machineries put in place by the europeans towards evangelization were abruptly stopped. a lot of missionaries were rounded up, taken to port-harcourt, hurriedly tried by a military court and declared personae non grata. their expulsion from the region was unceremoniously carried out with military dispatch. with the exodus of these europeans from the region the manpower needed for the proselytizing mission fell abysmally. although this move affected the spread of missionary activities in the region, the preemptive measure taken by bishop whelan was what saved the total collapse of catholic missions in owerri. shortly before answering the portharcourt summons, he quickly appointed monsignor okoroanyawu as the vicargeneral and administrator of the war ravaged owerri diocese. the onerous task igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 134 of picking the bits and pieces of what was left, fell squarely on him. he quickly rose to the occasion by assembling his indigenous colleagues. with these capable hands, he set out towards building a formidable, highly focused and determined team. the team channeled its attention toward the rehabilitation of the seminaries. the process of completely repossessing okpala seminary from the federal troops who occupied it during the war was begun. indigenous priests of owerri who were still abroad were asked to come home to assist in the post-war development of the diocese. the call was specifically directed at those who had completed their studies abroad but were held back because of the exigencies of the war. a greater number of them heeded to the call and did return. and their services helped the rehabilitation processes. although, ukpabi asika’s appointment as the administrator of the east central state was commendable, his consequent reestablishment of all administrative structure in the state was also equally applauded but the subsequent takeover of all the mission schools in the state deprived the churches of one of its most important tools for evangelization22. post war economic activities in ihiagwa although the nigeria-biafra war severely affected the economic lives of the people of ihiagwa, their interest in agriculture, particularly farming which dominates their economic activities never waned. traditional land ownership system which was kinship was not disrupted by the war. there was renewed interest in farming as people engaged in the cultivation of several crops, roots and so on. this was done on subsistence level, for the production of food for the immediate family. however, few others who had surplus either sold the produce for the procurement of other items or exchanged it for other needs of the family. there was the reintroduction of barns for the staking and preservation of yams, while cassava which was next to yam in the order of preference was processed to produce varieties of products to feed the people. hunting activities were led by professional hunters and others who specialized in using trained dogs to hound game, hunting exhibitions were organized. the products of these hunting exercises were either sold for money or used to enrich the protein intake. short distance trade which was affected by nigeria-biafra war hostilities was begun in earnest as a cross section of traders started the sale, distribution and exchange of goods and services with neighbouring communities23. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 135 attempts towards urbanization ihiagwa community and the entire igbo land have been known as people who never relied on outsiders for the provision of their immediate needs and solution to other associated human problems. these efforts towards growth and development manifested itself very glaringly before, during and after the colonial era. the first maternity home was established by the people of ihiagwa in cooperation with the church missionary society way back in the 1940s. the establishment of this maternity home greatly reduced the incidence of maternal and infant mortality. the baptist school and the catholic church mission were also built by the community. the first sets of graduates produced by the community were mostly beneficiaries of bursaries provided jointly by the community. these giant strides towards building a cohesive and united community were so much on course and yielding the desired dividend when the first salvo that heralded the civil war was heard. the war which lasted for 30months could not allow for the continued execution of these projects. the community was a theatre of war; there were lots of casualties, hunger and starvation in the community and the entire region. the horrible and harrowing condition as well as the despair and hopelessness could better be imagined. in spite of all these, the post war years witnessed a resurgence and intensification of communal efforts toward self-help efforts. with the help and support from different branches of ihiagwa welfare association across the cities and the coordinating home branch: ihiagwa central executive council, the revitalization of infrastructures and other social amenities destroyed during the war began, while the ideas of construction of new ones were also conceived. to this end, the road connecting ihiagwa to owerri through nekede which was severely damaged received rehabilitation24. other corridors linking ihiagwa and its contiguous neighbours were also rehabilitated. the maternity home that was razed down during the war was rebuilt and stocked with drugs. while the midwives and other paramedics who fled during the war were encouraged to come back and resume work. in the same vein, a committee that had earlier been set up for the renovation of schools damaged in the course of war rose to the occasion. the rebuilding of four elementary schools in ihiagwa was completed stipulated time frame. this enabled the children to go back to school soon after the war. another area that received attention was the market (nkwo-ukwu ihiagwa). this market was the epicenter of battles between the federal troops and the biafran soldiers. consequent upon which shops were looted, some seriously damaged while others were completely igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 136 razed down. it took the then central executive council and the committee several months to clear the dump, wreckages and all the building that fell into ruins after the war. this cleared way for people to resume economic and commercial activities once again. all arterial roads connecting the eight villages were manually repaired. artisans, farmers and traders whose trade and businesses were affected by the war also benefited from this venture. in this connection, some of them that showed manifest desire and interest in going back to their businesses were assisted with some money and other things needed. this assistance went a long way towards re-launching them back to life, thereby ameliorating the terribly harsh conditions occasioned by the war25. the draw-bridge linking ihiagwa community and its neighbours of obinze and mgbirichi on the western flank was destroyed during the war. this was to make the infiltration of the federal troops from port-harcourt into the community very difficult, if not completely impossible. it was after the war and in pursuance of self-help efforts of the community that the bridge was rebuilt. with every zeal and love for the community all artisans, labourers gathered to put the bridge back into place. the reopening of the road greatly increased the flow of goods and services from and into the community. there was also the resurgence of short and longdistance trade. the ihiagwa postal agency built in the late 1940s by communal labour was upgraded to a sub-post office. although it equally suffered from severe damage during the war, it was rebuilt soon after the war, and reopened by mr. a.c. orah, one of the commissioners in the ukpabi asika administration of the former east central state26. the high point of self-help efforts in ihiagwa was the period between 1976 and 1980. it was during this period that the battle to become an autonomous community as well as the establishment of a befitting secondary school were fought and won. the post-war community council sited the headquarters of ochee community council at eziobodo, instead of ihiagwa, thereby divesting ihiagwa community of her leadership roles. there was a protracted political battle which ultimately led to the creation of ihiagwa autonomous community. the multiplicity of antagonistic tongues also delayed the recognition and installation of the first recognized traditional ruler of ihiagwa. the selection of the tradition ruler was rancor free and the cost of the installation ceremony was born by the community. when the revolution in the establishment of secondary schools in imo state occurred by the late 1970s and early 1980s, the community had none. concerted efforts were made by the community to establish a secondary school with her sister igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 137 community of nekede at their common border that now houses the police training school. this suggestion was met with a sharp rebuff by nekede. similar offer was made to eziobodo, another neighbouring community. the community rejected it and went ahead to establish its own separate secondary school. the pride of ihiagwa community was hurt. consequent upon this, an emergency meeting was convoked by the central executive council in 1978, with a clear mandate to get a secondary school for the community. they went to work and after determined effort, the goal was realized. ihiagwa secondary school is located at the north – western end of the community. it is about one kilometer from nkwo ukwu market and is bordered by the otamiri river for about half of its size with an area of about ten hectares. the institution was founded to satisfy the yearning desire of the community to give education to its people. the school sprang up entirely from the community effort. after the erection of the first classroom blocks, it was handed over to the imo state school management board. the project was regarded by the community, as their own little contribution towards the widening of secondary education opportunity in the state in particular and the country in general. it was commenced early in 1978 when there was an upsurge in the establishment of secondary schools in every community in imo state following the introduction of universal free primary education in the country. under the management of mr. a.o. nwosu as the pioneer principal, the student population was eighty-one (81), with three streams of class one and five teachers27. the school was basically the brain child of the community and a neighborhood school at its inception. during this period, various churches in ihiagwa responded to the appeal of the parent teachers association by supporting in the construction of the administrative block. in 1981/1982 session, there arose the need for a science block. the self-help effort of the community was again rekindled. the building of the block was begun before the state education board donated some science equipment worth over one hundred thousand naira (n100, 000.00) to the school and by march of 1982, the building was completed with all the fitting and furniture. the school was inspected on the 19th, 26th and 31st of march 1982 for approval to be used for general certificate in education in september of that same year. the ministry of education and the west african examination council released the result of the inspection. consequent upon this, the school was approved to take all the science subjects and the general papers in the school curriculum. today, though not without its own problems, the school has produced responsible men and women in various professional callings, both from the community and beyond. these professionals have been contributing their own quota in the nigeria’s quest for sustainable development and nation building28. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 138 in the area of culture and tradition, african music and masquerades also contributed in bringing the name of the community to limelight. among the popular groups included those of akataka and agaba masquerades. the famous obiwuruotu dance group was founded in the early 1980s. this group of young men and women were known for their spectacular music genre and bravura performances. their musical performance spanned for about three decades and featured prominently in the entire traditional music scene in imo state and beyond. it is clear that the self-help efforts and projects embarked upon by the community before and immediately after the civil war went a long way not only in cushioning the effects of the war but also helped in building a more united and stronger community. the social (nnaochie) institution in ihiagwa the socio-political and cultural dynamics of change especially after the civil war exposed the community to the need of having a central leadership structure to conduct their affairs. first, their famous warrior who emerged during the famous (ogu mkpuru oka) died soon after the war; his reign was very brief. besides, he never commanded community-wide acceptability. second, the de-facto warrant chiefs also never enjoyed the respect and acceptance of the people. reasons being that, it was an entirely british idea, foisted upon the people of the community and the entire igbo land a novel concept as it were. third, the seed of christian faith sown even before the war began had begun to fructify such that it would be retrogressive and an exercise in futility to continue to appeal to deities for regulative influence and justice. a combination of these internal and external forces of change created a passionate demand for a traditional ruler in ihiagwa. this demand for a ruler expresses itself in series of conferences and meetings by the people29. just like the proverbial biblical story of the people of israel who made a demand to the effect that god should give them a leader30. these meetings yielded results, for on the 26th december 1977, the first nnaochie of ihiagwa was crowned. it is pertinent, at this juncture to run a brief profile of the nnaochie 1 of ihiagwa. eze john anozie ngoka was born in the 1900s in iriamogu village in ihiagwa. his father was ngoka okoroafor, while his mother was adanma okoroafor. the young anozie completed his primary education between 1924 and 1930 at saint john’s (cms) school ihiagwa, central nekede, and all saints (cms) egbu. he later took some home tuition courses from rapid results college. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 139 he was a devout anglican and a product of the missionary training. he started his missionary career in 1932 at saint john’s (cms) church ihiagwa where he worked for several years before he was posted to teach at umunam imerienwe in 1939. after further training at onitsha, he was sent to ife in present day osun state in 1942. his missionary journey took him to several other places before his retirement in 1976. he was still working in his local parish before he ascended the throne. he had three children, in his days as a missionary; he came in contact with a lot of people that influenced his life in positive ways, notable among who were; the late rev. j. n. onuwbuariri, rev. nkemena from obosi, late archdeacon s.n. okoli from akokwa and archdeacon chukwuezie. he was a complete gentleman who served ihiagwa during his missionary works. it was in recognition of his personal characters of love, humility, truth, that endeared him to the community and made him a consensus candidate for the throne. he actually brought these sterling qualities to bear during his reign that spanned for almost two decades. he constituted strong formidable cabinet members that advised him on several policy formulations. these members were selected, each from one village that constituted ihiagwa. apart from this body, there was also the council of elders. this assemblage of elderly men and the intelligentsia of the community deliberated on issues delegated to them by the cabinet, especially issues that bothered on customary matters. because of the harmonious relationship that existed between the crown and the subjects, the community recorded unprecedented peace and progress during his reign. and as a memorial to his enthronement, the 26th december of every year was set aside for the remembrance of his ascension to the leadership throne in ihiagwa31. the pomp and pageantry of this royal occasion was usually second to none around the neighborhood. ihiagwa sons and daughters from all works of life, both those at home and in the diaspora, looked forward to this festival which they believed was a unifying force. it usually commenced with thanksgiving service usually at saint john’s anglican church ihiagwa and ended with traditional and cultural displays by various troupes, goodwill message and speeches. the high point of the occasion usually, was the conferment of traditional titles to deserving sons, daughters, and in-laws of the community. the maiden edition of this installation and award was bestowed on selected scores of ihiagwa son who fought for the unity, growth and general development of the community. they were especially given different traditional titles according to their specific contributions to the development of the community and or their innate qualities. the period of his reign as the traditional ruler of ihiagwa also witnessed the cessation of hostilities and superiority contest between the community and her envious neighbors; there igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 140 was a revival to the community’s glorious past without unnecessarily offending the sensibilities of her neighbors and without going back to fetish practices. the period of his reign which also, happily coincided with the administration of the first executive governor of imo state (chief sam onunaka mbakwe) witnessed progressive changes. it was during this period that the community was connected to the national grid; though never completed, the construction of road from naze junction through nekede to the community was begun, while materials for the construction of the bridge linking ihiagwa and port-harcourt through obinze were stockpiled. ihiagwa community become characteristically urbanized, with the siting of both a customary court and a full fledge post office in the town. while the court dispensed justice to litigants both within and outside the community, using laid down general rules and procedure, though not without recourse to acceptable customs and tradition of the people. the post office facilitated communication. it increased the propensity to write and receive letters, telegraphic message. it also eliminated the transportation cost hitherto paid from ihiagwa to owerri just to post letters, and receive parcels. the siting of a police training college at the border between ihiagwa community and her sister community, nekede, greatly increased the urbanizing status of these two communities. this increased urban renewal also brought about employment opportunities especially at the junior cadre. there was marked decrease in crime rate in the communities as a result of the presence of the police college. although he suffered a debilitating condition a few years after his coronation, the fecundity of his ideas and leadership qualities never diminished throughout his reign. he lived for the community, and with the assemblage of capable and trusted cabinet members, served it assiduously for almost two decades32. intra-communal conflict in ihiagwa ihiagwa community is made up of eight villages. they include: ibuzo, nkaramochie, mboke, umuokwo, umuezeawula, umuelem and umuchima villages. the first three is collectively called ihiamogu nshiato, according to ihiagwa mythology; they are believed to be aboriginal ihabitants of the community. the second three is called umuoboalu, believed to be the scion of the first three, while the last two is collectively called chimealam. the community is further divided into two blocs traditionally and socially. while the first six villages are grouped together with the name dindi, the last two is called chimealem33 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 141 the first recognized traditional ruler of ihiagwa, eze john anozie ngoka, was from iriamogu, one of the villages that make up iriamogu nshiato. other than his sterling qualities and piety that distinguished him from other candidates, no other criterion was used during the selection processes. it was after his coronation that the first constitution of ihiagwa was drafted. in the section that spelt out the criteria and conditions regarding the selection of a traditional ruler, the framers made it rotational. this section of the constitution was vague, full of inexactitude and of doubtful phraseology. the framers were not circumspective; hence, they did not take into account the geo-political configuration of the community. it was not explicitly written whether the rotation was between the two blocs, among the eight village that constitute ihiagwa, or whether it was going to be among the three or six villages that make up iriamogu nshiato and dindi, respectively34. the death of the nnaochie 1 of ihiagwa in 1991 precipitated a leadership crisis that actually crystallized into long drawn succession dispute. immediately after his death, the ezeship stool and other paraphernalia of royalty were handed over to somebody from nkaramoche – one of the villages in iriamogu nshiato to act in regency capacity. incidentally, he was fated never to act in that capacity, for he died a few weeks into his regency, throwing the community into yet another state of confusion. it was in the midst of these mind-boggling complexities that a conference was convoked. the high-point of the meeting was to discuss ways to move the community forward politically and of course, on how to jointly give the late traditional ruler, eze john anozie ngoka, the nnaochie 1 of ihiagwa a befitting farewell ritual. the venue of the conference was the conference hall of ozuzu social club located meters away from the eze’s palace. in attendance were cabinet members, traditional titled men and people who mattered in the community35. in the course of their deliberations to reach an accord on the roadmap to peace and successful transition, a delegate from umuelem village, one of the two villages in chimealem bloc, a highly respected son of the community who allegedly had been feverishly and lavishly preparing to succeed the nnaochie reminded the conference of the infamous constitutional provision which stipulated that the position of the traditional ruler should be given to the bloc where he came from. his stance drew the ire of other members who saw it as untimely, ludicrous, and irrational and a complete disregard for traditional rules and conduct. in the midst of this outburst and furore, he staged a walk out from the conference, in league with quite a number of other delegations from chimealem bloc. few others from his side who expressed shock, disbelief and strong dissenting views from him stayed till the end of the deliberations. the ozuzu conference as the meeting came to be known igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 142 constituted a burial committee that oversaw the traditional funeral rites and final burial of the traditional ruler, without the contribution or participation, either in cash or moral support from the two villages that constitute the chimealem bloc. this was apart from very few exceptions who sent their condolences either individually or as families. the above incident was the fundamental casus belli for internecine tendencies and fratricidal killings that characterized the existence of the community shortly afterwards. the forceful installation of the nnaochie ii, following a court ruling on nze james muruako without the approval of the entire community, particularly from the six villages of dindi made matter worse. his reign as the de facto ruler of the community further accentuated the existing fault lines; it also widened the cleavages and created new ones. the protracted legal battle that lasted for several years was the clearest sign that there was the absence of a strong central leader in the community. the absence of a leader created the existence of warlords in the two blocs that made up the community: dindi with six villages and chimealem with two villages36. this phenomena of warlordism or the existence of unrecognized, de facto leaders with private militias who fought each other, creating political unrest and killings became a problem in the community. warlordism as a negative development kept the community disunited for several years. there were mutual suspicions, irrational fear, hatred, breakdown of traditional ties, name calling, relationships and other social intercourses were dictated by blood-lines and other cultural affinities as the people avoided occasions and situations that brought indigenes together. one tragic incident where this phenomenon manifested itself most glaringly was in 1998 when some young men were killed. these men were members of a vigilante group from dindi, the circumstances surrounding the gruesome killings of these men who have families to cater for is still shrouded in mystery, as nobody or group has come to claim responsibility. the existence of these strong men had a negative effect of denying the community of a strong leader capable of providing unity and attracting further developmental projects to the community. the phenomenon of warlordism therefore became a paradox. on the one hand, it caused disunity, but on the other, it produced a critical time for answers to some questions. elder statesmen, titled holders, intellectuals and students were angered by this phenomenon. they therefore began to demand for an end to warlordism and disunity. this demand expressed itself in series of meetings, and conferences especially by the six villages that make up dindi. these conferences eventually resolved to give their unflinching support for the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 143 emergence of another autonomous community from the old ihiagwa. this clamor for the creation of another autonomous community from the old ihiagwa, following this disagreement and crisis situation dovetailed nicely with the period when the imo state government was to recognize some areas that had been clamoring for separate existence. in 2013, the imo state government granted autonomous communities to score of areas where there had been problems of succession. happily, dindi autonomous community was carved out from the old ihiagwa, with one of the strongest contenders, eze kingsley ezewunwa odu as the first traditional ruler of the area. another factor that contributed to the prolonged succession dispute and ultimately led to the implosion of the community was the socio-political milieu of the time. although ihiagwa community recorded some noteworthy milestones in terms of developments before 1990, the community reached the peak of its urbanization status, in our considered opinion, at the turn of the 1990s. this is because one of the six federal universities of technology established by the then federal military government of nigeria was magnificently cited in ihiagwa. the siting of this institution in the community, no doubt increased the urban nature of the community. though, not a conventional institution that offers courses in the social sciences, and humanities, the rate of enrolment of students from ihiagwa into the school increased appreciably; there was rapid increase in population, as students, staff of the institution, and other people from different environment, cultural beliefs and religious orientation came into the community for different purposes. furthermore, the traditional kinship system of land ownership was greatly challenged. the commercialization of land and individualization of its ownership became the norm. lands were alienated and divested for commercial purposes, more often, to foreigners. the siting of the school in ihiagwa community became antithetical to development. this was because the culture of violence was introduced by some students allegedly from different rival cult groups. on different occasions, these cult groups either clashed among themselves or between them and the indigenes. the proliferation of light arms and small weapons as a result of these clashes made it easier for an average ihiagwa youth to own a gun. on several instances, there had been clashes between students and villagers, with casualties on both sides. the proliferation of arms and weaponization of the youths contributed in making the struggle for succession a long and inglorious chapter in the political history of ihiagwa community urbanization and some of its challenges on ihiagwa community igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 144 ihiagwa community has changed from her traditional eight village compartments to a kind of an urban slum; from a decidedly agrarian community to a semiindustrial one. so many reasons could be advanced for these changes. one of the reasons is the siting of the federal university of technology owerri in ihiagwa community. closely related to this is the presence of federal polytechnic and the police college both in nekede, a sister community37. the presence of these federal institutions has greatly doubled the population of the community. as would be expected, lots of challenges come with these developments. there are no corresponding infrastructural developments to take care of the influx of people into the community. about fifteen-kilometer road from naze junction to ihiagwa through nekede has been in a terribly bad condition since 1979. power supply to ihiagwa and other surrounding areas are terribly erratic or at best, non-existent. these dual needs that serve as catalyst to entrepreneurial skills and development are almost unavailable; sinking of bore holes are done individually. hotels and other allied industries have taken over every available space, with the existence of red-light districts in every nook and cranny of the community. this ugly situation has corrupted the minds of the youths, with some of them engaging in robbery and other social ills38. the number of buses and taxis that do ply the road in ihiagwa and its environs, including motorcycle riders has quadrupled. consequently, the available space (park) built can no longer contain them. this ugly situation is very good recipes for multiple accidents as a number of them now stay on the road, blocking both human and vehicular traffic, especially on local market days39. ihiagwa community is also in dire need of a modern cemetery where the dead could be buried. the two existing ones that belong to the roman catholic and anglican churches are filled. the people of ihiagwa community and indeed the entire igbo race believe in the linkage between the living, the dead and the yet unborn. a situation where the body of the dead would be unknowingly exhumed in the process of digging for the burial of another would leave a bitter taste in the mouth. we therefore call on the local government authority whose responsibility it is to build and manage cemeteries to rise to the occasion. the people of ihiagwa community could also procure one for the entire community. the project could serve as a source of employment to some people if commercialized and properly managed. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 145 conclusion the nigeria-biafra war of 1967-1970 devastatingly ravaged the entire east central state that made up the peoples republic of biafra. most communities were torn to shreds with infrastructure and institutions destroyed. people of biafra bore the brunt of the war with minor internal war technological advancements. the research and production unit (rap), comprising of engineers and scientists of eastern extraction championed and piloted manufacturing of war equipments used by the biafran state in prosecuting the war. post-war ihiagwa saw some community self-help efforts geared towards restoration and rebuilding of war-torn infrastructure. emerging from the war, there arose the need to complement the unsuccessful reconstruction and rehabilitation programme of the nigerian state. the 3r programme of gen. yakubu gowon was crafted to take care of the effects of the war, but the implementation pointed to the contrary. in order words, the post-war reconstruction programme was designed with an underlying intent to fail. in order to combat the challenges posed by the war and the post-war situations, the community devised means of rebuilding destroyed infrastructure. new institutions were also put in place to rise up to the occasion as provided by modern reality as exposed by the war. these institutions aimed at repositioning the community also came with its own challenges which the community had to grapple with. in situations like the above always created new leadership, while distorting the existing ones. this usually bred rancor and acrimony, especially when it had to do community leadership. ihiagwa in the course of repositioning also had a fair share of these crises. urbanization comes with its positives and negatives. establishment of public and government institutions in ihiagwa seems to be detrimental to the community’s development efforts. this is because public utilities and infrastructure provided did not take cognizance of the growing population, thereby leading to the overstretching of existing ones. social vices that are associated with population explosion occasioned by urbanization had its toll on ihiagwa community within the period of this study. they eroded the old known peace and traditional value system ihiagwa is known with. traditional institutions were adversely affected in response to the demands of the modern times. despite all these challenges, ihiagwa always rose to the occasion to tackle any threat posed to its existence by any factor or forces, both internal and external. endnotes igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 146 1. the eastern region of nigeria under col. emeka odumegwu ojukwu, with the approval of the eastern consultative assembly declared the peoples republic of biafra in 1967 thereby seceding from nigeria. 2. c. c. agbodike, jude madu, ngozi ojiakor, uchechukwu igwe, and nwachukwu obiakor, history of obosi from the earliest times, ibadan, mosuro, 2015, 335 3. c. c. agbodike, et al 4. ikenga r. a ozigbo, a history of igboland in the tweentieth century, enugu: snaap, 1999, 149 5. ikenga r. a ozigbo, a history of igboland in the tweentieth century 149. 6. ikenga r. a ozigbo, a history of igboland in the tweentieth century, 149. see also chinua achebe, there was a country: a personal history of biafra, new york: penguin, 2012, 96 7. c. c. agbodike, et al, history of obosi from the earliest times, 336 8. baum, american jewish congress, “memorandum”, december 27, 1968 9. baum, american jewish congress, “memorandum”, december 27, 1968 10. morocco, ndukwe, c78, retired civil servant/ex-biafran soldier interviewed at ibuzo village. 17/1/2018 11. broadcast speech by philip effong, announcing biafra surrender, january, 1970. 12. general gowon’s speech, january 1970. 13. gowon speech sited above 14. calls from international bodies (oau) 15. decree no. 41, 1970 16. decree no. 41, cited 17. daily times, january 7, 1970. p.i 18. ola-benson, the tragic years, nigeria in crisis, 1966-70, benin-ethiope publishing corporation, pp 113-114. 19. eliagu, j. “gowon. thebiography of a soldier, statesman, ibadan books publishers, 145 20. morocco, ndukwe, interview cited above. 21. goddy opara, c78, retired civil servant, interviewed at iriamogu village, 16/1/2018 22. outline history of catholic church in owerri, 19122012, centenary celebration of catholic church in owerri, ecclesiastical province, 2012. 23. gabriel, amadi, c54 historian/civil servant. interviewed at institute of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 147 archaeology/museum studies, jos. 31/12/2018 24. cletus, anah, c54, university lecturer, interviewed at federal university of technology owerri 5/1/2018 25. cletus, anah interview cited 26. james, muruako, “self-help projects in ihiagwa” since 1970. oha, journal of ihiagwa students association, 1982. 27. james muruako, “self-help project in ihiagwa” cited. 28. augustine, nwosu, “a history of ihiagwa secondary school” oha, p.12 29. sylvester, agoha, c 75, retiree. interviewed at umuezeawula village, 16/1/2018. 30. the holy bible, 1st samuel chapter 8. 31. martin ukawuba and ken. ajoku, “personality profile of eze john ngoka, nnaochie 1 of ihiagwa, 1900 – 1991 oha p.p15-20. 32. martin and ken “personality profile of eze john ngoka” cited 33. anele, iheanacho, c85, elder statesman, interviewed at ibuzo village, 18/1/2018. 34. sunday, ogwuru, c60, traditionalist/historian interviewed at ibuzo village 17/1/2018. 35. benjamin, osunkwo, c60, traditionalist/businessman, interviewed at ibuzo village, 17/1/2018 36. goddy, opara, interview cited. 37. john iheme c67, retired civil servant, interviewed in ibuzo, 19/1/2018. 38. emmanuel nkwopara, c57, public servant, interviewed at federal university of technology owerri, 20/1/2018. 39. joseph, iheme, c57, public servant, interviewed at ibuzo village 18/2/2018. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 15 the relevance of african t r a d i t i o n a l religion in contemporary health care delivery system in nigeria solomon ochepa oduma-aboh, phd department of christian religious studies kaduna state university, kaduna kaduna state-nigeria solomonoduma@kasu.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.31258.06083 abstract the paper examines the relevance of african religion in contemporary health care delivery system in nigeria viz-a-viz african traditional medicine and magic, which is one of the five basic components in african traditional religion. the paper used the expository, comparative cum analytic methodologies for a better grasp of the subjectmatter and was based on secondary sources. it is discovered that in contemporary health care delivery system in nigeria, african medicine is indispensable because orthodox or western medicine which is the hallmark of our health policy is limited in scope or coverage; hence a case is been made for the inclusion of african traditional medicine in our national health policy. this is because african traditional medicine is holistic, in that it takes care of the body, mind and spirit and that about 80% of nigerians lives in rural areas and depends wholly or partly on traditional medicine. it is recommended that; there should be a symbiotic and complementary relationship between traditional and orthodox medicines, so as to ensure quantitative and qualitative health care delivery system for the nigerian populace; the value(s) and practice(s) of traditional medicine should be taught from the primary school level to the tertiary level viz-a-viz african traditional religion so that the younger generation can appreciate and utilize the benefits of traditional medicine; and the government should make the necessary laws at all levels of government in order to give the practice and research of traditional medicine legal backing in nigeria. keywords: relevance, african t r a d i t i o n a l religion, contemporary health care delivery system and nigeria. introduction african worldview and belief system is replete with the idea that there are two spheres of existence the spiritual and the physical. and as such sickness or diseases have: natural or physical causation; supernatural causation (by the witch or sorcerer); and mystical causation (by spiritual agents such as spirits, angry ancestors and divinities). in other words, diseases or sickness have both spiritual and physical dimensions (awolalu & dopamu, 2005:275). mailto:solomonoduma@kasu.edu.ng igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 16 in concordance with the above view, gbenda (2006: 16-7), explains that african traditional religion generally believes in the spiritual and physical worlds. this conviction is rooted in man's dual nature. man is a physical and a spiritual being. on the whole, there is no sharp distinction between the physical and the spiritual worlds. the two realms shade into each other or they overlap. the visible world acts as a vehicle for spiritual power whilst the physical realm is held to be patterned on the model of the spiritual world. the african traditional religionist seeks to live in harmony and to balance their lives in a harmonious and peaceful existence with the entire world both physical and spiritual. hence, any disequilibrium in the harmonious and peaceful co-existence physical and spiritual can lead to calamities including sicknesses or diseases. this accounts for the african's belief in the physical and spiritual causes of diseases or sicknesses. in addition, health does not refer to just an absence of diseases or pains, but harmony of body, mind and spirit. this african notion, belief and practice of health is similar but differs from to the western cum scientific and technological belief in that, it excludes the spiritual aspect from health care delivery system. only a holistic approach to health and wellbeing can provide lasting solution to human diseases or sicknesses. healing is not an absence of pain but a transformation of worldview. therefore, the issue of health care for all also involves issues of social justice, environmental health, ecology, thermodynamics, politics and economic management. the world health organization (who) defines health as a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity (https:// apps.who.int.aboutwho/en/definition.html). what is african t r a d i t i o n a l religion? african religion is the religion of the forefathers of the africa people, handed down to them from time immemorial. the religion is preserved in their rites and rituals, practices, artifacts, folktales and ceremonies. this religion has not been preached to the african from outside, it is not imported from abroad; the african have not been proselytized into it, instead they are born with and into it and breathe it and in their daily lives. it has no missionaries to go out and proclaim its message. it needs neither books nor translators to communicate its word. no one born an african needs to be converted into this religion; rather it takes a great deal of effort to convert out of it because for an african, it is the normal way of experiencing life itself (etuk, 2002:30). corroborating the above view point, gbenda (2006:4-5), says it is religious tradition of the african peoples that is based purely on their culture. the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 17 religion was initiated by the ancestors of the present generation thousands of years ago and is still being practiced today. a renowned scholar states that: because traditional religious permeated all the departments of life, there is no formal distinction between the sacred and the secular, between the religious and non-religious, between the spiritual and material areas of life. wherever the african is, there is his religion ... (mbiti, 1999:2). for omoregbe (1999:644), african traditional religion grew spontaneously out of the culture of the african people. it has not founder and it has no sacred scriptures. it is handed down from father to son, from one generation to another. awolalu and dopamu (2005:26-7), in their contribution define african traditional religion as: ... the religion that has been handed down from generation to generation by the forebears of the present generation of africans. it is not a fossil religion (a thing of the past) but a religion that africans today have made theirs by living it and practicing it. this is a religion that has no written literature, yet it is "written" everywhere for those who care to see and read. it is largely written in the people's myths and folktales, in their songs and dances, in their liturgies and shrines and in their proverbs and pithy sayings. it is a religion whose historical founder is neither known nor worshipped; it is a religion that has not zeal for membership drive, yet is offers persistent fascination for africans, young or old. furthermore, another scholar enunciate that african religion is the product of the thinking and experiences of forefathers and mothers, that is, men, women and children of former generations. they formed religious ideas, they formulated religious beliefs, they observed religious ceremonies and rituals, they told proverbs and myths which carried religious meanings, and they evolved laws and customs which safeguards life of the individual and his community (mbiti, 1991:13-4). in this paper, the researcher has identified with the definition of ekwunife (1990: 1), because it is all embracing and encompassing. he defines african traditional religion as: .. .living institutionalized religious beliefs and practices, which are rooted in the past. . . religious culture; a religion that was transmitted to the present overt and covert votaries by igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 18 successive ... forebears mainly through oral traditions (myths and folktales, songs, and dances, liturgies, rituals, proverbs, dances, pithy sayings and names, sacred institutions like sacred specialists and persons, initiation rites, festivals, sacred spaces and objects and religious works of art; a religion which is slowly but constantly updated by each generation in the light of new religious experiences through the dialectical process of continuities and discontinuities. idowu (1991:129), posits that there are five basic component elements in african religion. they are: belief in god; belief in the divinities, belief in spirits, belief in the ancestors, and the practice of magic and medicines. but, he cautioned that distinctions should not be made too rigidly concerning these components. the last component is the focal point of this paper in regard to health care delivery system in contemporary nigeria. the concept of health care delivery system a discussion under this subheading must of necessity start from the concept of health. what is health? it is the general wellbeing of a people. this explains why it is said that a healthy man is a wealthy man. a healthy man is the one who is not ill or afflicted by any ailment that causes the malfunction of the soul, mind and body (alachi, 2007: 1). in addition, remaining healthy therefore becomes the cardinal thrust of life. though medicine and the act of medicating especially for curative reasons are important, remaining healthy is generally preferable. in nigeria however, like many african countries, too much emphasis is placed on treatment rather than prevention and behaviour change. moreso, nigeria like many other african countries, on achieving independence copied the health system of developed countries like those of the united kingdom and america; whose emphasis are on curative care based on doctors, drugs and hospitals. it is however being increasingly realized that the promotion of health and the prevention of diseases do not lie in large hospitals but in self-awareness, self-actualization and our willingness to change our perception and the way we do things (alachi, 2007:5-6). . our contemporary health care delivery system follows the western materialistic culture. science holds the key to all explanations. if a person is sick the natural thing to do is to rush him to a doctor who will go over his body thoroughly to determine the cause of the sickness. if his diagnosis fails to yield the cause of the sickness in the body of the sick, then perhaps the person is merely imagining that he is sick (etuk, 2002:71). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 19 challenges of contemporary health care delivery system the introduction of a new policy regime in nigeria since the mid 1980s is no longer disputable. under the new policy regime of privatization and commercialization in nigeria, the emphasis is that every service, including health services, attracts "user fees". user fees are a euphemism for commercialization of such services in contemporary nigeria. a corollary of this is the encouragement of privatization of such services (utume, 2007: 123). in addition, the health sector has witnessed a bourgeoning of private clinics. these developments have however, worsened the health care delivery system of the country. health services are now beyond the reach of the ordinary people, due to the cost of such services. where affordable, the man hours spent at the relatively cheaper clinics become embarrassing and economically unreasonable. specialists in government hospitals have also privatized and commercialized their services as they refer patients to their private clinics. public policy in nigeria since structural adjustment programme (sap) has been incongruous with the era of hiv/aids pandemic and the rampage of other killer diseases like malaria and tuberculosis. furthermore, another challenge was the adoption of the primary health care delivery system which was less capital intensive than curative medical service. over the years therefore, government has not provided as much as it should to expanded or improved health facilities and services. utume (2007: 15), states that: poverty is keeping more people in poor health, just as the poor health of an increasing number of nigerians is retaining them in poverty. we are therefore, at a point where we need to improve the health of nigerians not only to break the vicious circle of ill health, poverty and low level of development.. nigeria fundamentally comprises rural communities with few concentrations in state capitals, which can be designated as urban centres. modem health services are concentrated in the urban areas. in fact, modem hospitals and health centres are only for these urban areas which are the most efficient and popular. thus, the services of doctors, nurses and other health personnel are limited to the urban and semi-urban areas, even though about 80% 90% of the nigerian population lives in the rural areas (apenda & adega, 2007: 155). in addition, a survey of available health centres and their personnel in nigeria indicates that there is significant shortage of man power, drugs and equipments thus the provisions of health care delivery services are grossly inadequate. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 20 these realizations of these inadequacies had demonstrated the signal role of the involvement of african traditional religion viz-a-viz traditional medicine in the dispensation of health care delivery services (apenda & adega, 2007: 155). certain diseases are known to have eluded the care of modern or orthodox western medicine and others have spiritual dimensions or causes which are outside the mandate of modem medicine. these categories of diseases of ailments are taken care of by traditional medicine. african traditional religion, traditional medicine and contemporary health care delivery system in nigeria the practice of medicine is one of the fie-fold structure of african traditional religion. in nigeria just like most african countries, oral traditions have it that the basis of medicine is in religion, inasmuch as it came directly from the supreme being, and operated through a tutelary divinity of spirits. medicine is defined as "the art of restoring and preserving health" (ldowu, 1991:197). in addition, it is only logical in the above definition that the preservation of health is maintained after the mention of restoration, because man must have learnt that health could be lost or impaired only through practical experience. the purpose of medicine is essentially to help the body to help itself. it is curative, in that it helps the body to return to its normal state; it is preventive, in that it builds up resistance against infection by toning up its organs. it will be unrealistic for anyone to think that traditional medicine does not play a significant role in the health care system of the people. although, for some time, most modem trained doctors felt that traditional medicine was a mirage and an undesirable system of health care, it appears today that many of them are now changing their attitudes about the entire concept of traditional medicine. they have now discovered that millions of nigerians still live wholly or partly on traditional medicine in spite of the prevalence of modem techniques. this is most evident in the rural areas where people are still close to nature (apenda & adega, 2007: 152). in continuation, the important place or role of traditional medicine to the primary health care programme in nigeria is no longer in doubt, especially in our poverty stricken age when the imported drugs are no longer affordable to the majority of nigerians who need them due to prohibitive cost. undoubtedly, the resurgence of interest in traditional medicine not only for the cost, but also the efficacy of natural medicine is very glaring. with the present igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 21 trend in nigeria health care delivery programme or system, traditional medicine has achieved spectacular success(s). the philosophy of traditional medicine indicates that all the three parts of man namely body, mind and spirit play significant roles in the causation of diseases and maintenance of health unlike its western counterpart. the easy access, cost effectiveness, the more personal and most importantly the holistic approach of traditional medicine and the severe adverse effects of synthetic medicine have contributed to the new crave for traditional medicine (adodo, 2005:xv-xvii). there is also increased use and commercialization of these medicinal plants in african medicine, as raw materials and as finished products. this is necessitated by the emergence of various new and resistant ailments which conventional medicine has been unable to address (adodo, 2005:xvi). many people in the urban areas still rely on the assistance of traditional medicine heavily in the management of diseases and illnesses beyond the grasp of orthodox medicine. apenda and adega (2007: 152), quoted the chairman of traditional medicine in nigeria, j.o. lambo as saying: "the notion that traditional medicine thrives where scientific medicine has not established itself may not be exactly correct, for even in lagos, the heart of nigeria, traditional medicine has been found to thrive better than the orthodox". it is a known fact, which the world health organization (w.h.0) has recognized that (in nigeria) in africa, up to 85% of the population use traditional medicine for their health care delivery, spiritual and socioeconomic needs. for most, it is the only source' of health delivery known, available, acceptable, accessible and affordable (adodo, 2005:xvi). traditional medicine does not involve only herbs. the use of animal parts, music, sacred chants and potent speech (power of words and thought), dance and touch also play very significant roles in the healing process in traditional medicine practice(s) in nigeria. traditional medicine also has a vast economic, wealth and job creation potentials presently, the global business estimate in his sector is between 60-80 billion united state dollars. it is the realization of these vast potentials for improved health care delivery, wealth and job creation that the african union (au) summit of heads of states held in abuja, nigeria in april, 2001 directed that research in african traditional medicine should be made a priority. this was followed by the declaration that the period 2001-2010 be designated the decade for african traditional medicine and that august 31st every year be observed as african traditional/medicine day (adodo, 2005:xvii). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 22 reports show that people with the longest lives in the world depends on traditional medicine. they are the georgians of the caucasus mountains in southern russia, the hunzas of kashmire and the volcabamba indians of ecuador. these three share some common traits which must be the key to their longevity. one of the secrets is that they practice holistic medicine, applying traditional herbs and medicine to forestall and cure diseases. all these point to the fact that the healthiest life is the one with as much naturalness as possible (gbenda, 2006:49-50). when man fails to live spiritual and dutiful life expected of him, the supreme being or divinities, spirits and so on, more often than not punish the person or groups concerned in african thought and beliefs. punishment is normally in terms of diseases and other calamities. disease(s) in nigeria like any other african society is normally regarded as having some spiritual cause, and hence the need for spiritual solution which is lacking in orthodox medicine (gbenda, 2006:51). these are some of the roles of african trado-medicine which have been discussed in this paper already. challenges of traditional medicine in nigeria in spite of the enormous potentials of traditional medicine in health care delivery system, some major challenges persist. the fact that traditional medicine is still grossly mystified and misunderstood basically due the combined influence of colonialism, attitude of the practitioners, christianity, lack of proper and appropriate documentation and improvement over the years. other challenges include the following amongst others: as earlier mentioned, mystification and misunderstanding of, disrespect for, and denial of the role of traditional medicine and traditional medicine practitioners by many who are still skeptical about its potentials pose a great challenge to research, development and practice of trado-medicine in nigeria. the implication of this is that, many nigerians who would have gain from its richness in terms of health and wealth miss this opportunity. (adodo, 2005:xxi). insufficient data on the nation's medicinal, aromatic and pesticidal plant and traditional medical practices, knowledge, science and technology and importantly; concern on the safety, efficacy and quality of traditional medicine is another major challenge. this is because without statistical data it will be difficult to plan and coordinate the practice and administration of tradomedicine in nigeria. the implication of this is that it will be difficult to keep track of our trado-medicinal resources which will hamper its growth and development in all ramifications. (adodo, 2005:xxi). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 23 inadequate regimes for the protection of traditional medical knowledge and intellectual property rights are another challenge. this is because the practitioners' knowledge which would have brought him or her remuneration, which will further his or her ability to commit more funds into research and development of more trado-medicine(s) will be lacking because of the above mentioned challenge. the fall out of this is that efficiency and availability of more refined trado-medicinal products will be lacking (adodo, 2005:xxi). traditional medicine hitherto to the corning of islam, christianity, modernity, science and technology, westernization and the likes was the only source of the provision of health care delivery services. but since the advent of the aforementioned phenomena on the african continent, a lot of changes have taken place. many africans schooled in western hypocrisy and education is now looking at traditional medicine with scorn and disdain as something for the primitive only. recommendations some of the recommendations of this paper include the following: 1. there should be a symbiotic and complementary relationship between traditional and orthodox medicines, so as to ensure quantitative and qualitative health care delivery system for the nigeria populace which can be ensured by governments at all tiers providing the enabling laws and environments. 2. the federal government through the national educational research council (nerc) should review the nigerian educational curriculum in order to make provision for the value(s) and practice(s) of traditional medicine to be taught from the primary school level to the tertiary level viz-a-viz african religion so that the younger generation can appreciate and utilize the benefits of traditional medicine. 3. the government should make the necessary laws at all levels of governments to promote, make compulsory and regulate the practice and research of traditional medicine for a major role in the health care delivery system in nigeria. 4. the federal government through the enabling law should setup an agency responsible for overseeing the research, practice and administration of trado-medicine in nigeria in order to check the incidence of quacks, the present crude nature of its practice and the problem of overdose. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 24 conclusion by way of conclusion, from time in memorial, humankind has actively experimented with a couple of means to feed and safeguard its health and promote quality of life. over the years, african traditional (indigenous) medicine knowledge practices, sciences and techniques have accumulated worldwide to form a rich background of cultural heritage. within such a sociocultural context, african traditional medicine has emerged and enjoyed a central position in the provision of health care in nigeria where conventional medicine is grossly inadequate in terms of manpower, drugs, equipment and accessibility and a host of others; and indeed the whole of africa. in our contemporary health care delivery system, traditional medicine should be well grafted into the national health policy so as to ensure symbiotic and complementary roles of both traditional medicine and orthodox in a systematic, coherent and logical manner that will address the health needs of the majority of nigeria. references adodo, a. (2005). new frontiers in african medicine. ewu-esan: pax publishers. alachi, j.a (2007). “the humanities and the discourse on health in africa: health promotion and health education as a panacea”. faculty of arts journal, benue state university. vol.4, pp.1-4. apenda, a.z. & adega, a. p. (2007). “the contribution of african traditional herbal medicine to primary health care delivery in nigeria”. faculty of arts journal, benue state university. vol. 4, pp. 152-160. awolalu, j. o. & dopamu, p. a. (2005). west african traditional religion. revised edition. ibadan: macmillan nigerian publishers. ekwunife, a.n.o (1990). consecration in igbo traditional religion. enugu: snaap press limited. etuk, u. (2006). religion and cultural identity. ibadan: hope publishers. gbenga, j. s. (2006). african religion and christianity in a changing world: a comparative approach. nsukka: chuka educational publishers. https:// apps.who.int.aboutwho/en/definition.html (accessed 20th may, 2010) idowu, e. b. (1999). african religions and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational publishers limited. mbiti, j. s. (1991). african traditional religion: (2nd edition). oxford: heinemann. omoregbe, j. i. (1999). comparative religion: christianity and other world religions in dialogue. lagos: joja educational research and publishers limited. utume, d. a. (2007). “poor health services as a constraint on nigeria’s national development: the impact of the new policy. faculty of arts journal. 4, 123125. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 352 sustainable business a sine qua non for conflict management in south – east nigeria oliver okechukwu, okanazu, ph.d; maureen anayo, madu, ph.d, ugochi; lmmaculata chekwube and moghalu, favour amarachi department of business education university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu state oliver.okanazu@unn.edu.ng1, maureen.madu@unn.edu.ng2, immaculata.ugochi@unn.edu.ng3 and favour.moghalu@unn.edu.ng4. doi: 10.13140/ rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract this study identified ways sustainable business will serve as an indispensible condition for conflict management in south east nigeria. two research questions guided the study while two null hypotheses were tested at p ≤ 0.05 level of significance. survey research design was adopted for the study. the population for the study consists of all the business educators in public universities in south east nigeria. the instrument for data collection was a structured 19-item questionnaire titled: sustainable business for conflict management questionnaire (sbcmq). the reliability of the instrument was ascertained using cronbach alpha reliability method. the data collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviation for answering the research questions while t-test was used for testing the null hypotheses. result obtained indicated that sustainable business will management conflict through employment generation, increase productivity among nations, increase business ability to comply with regulations, attraction of employees and investors across nations. the study among others recommended that there should be interstate business bilateral relationships, inter community joint venture relationship so as to manage conflict in these states. key words: business, sustainable business, conflict, conflict management. . introduction a business according to hayes (2020) is defined as an organization or enterprising entity engaged in commercial, industrial, or professional activities. to the author, businesses can be profit entities or they can be nonprofit organizations that operate to fulfill a charitable mission or further a social cause. the term "business" also refers to the organized efforts and activities of individuals to produce and sell goods and services for profit. in the opinion of susan (2019), a business is said to occur when a person or organization profits by mailto:oliver.okanazu@unn.edu.ng1 mailto:maureen.madu@unn.edu.ng mailto:immaculata.ugochi@unn.edu.ng3 mailto:favour.moghalu@unn.edu.ng4 https://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/not-for-profit.asp https://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/not-for-profit.asp igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 353 providing goods or services in exchange for money. it is an organization or economic system where goods and service are exchange for one another or for money. businesses range in scale from a sole proprietorship to an international corporation. notwithstanding the size, every business required some form of investment and possibly enough customers to whom its output/products can be sold to on a consistent basis in order to make a profit to sustain the business. sustaining a business mean more than making sure that the business is generating profit. it is a holistic approach that will make the business live beyond human imagination. in today‟s world, sustainability is refers to continuity of resources for coming generation and how it can be used consciously. sustainability according to gupata, and kumar (2013) has often been defined as how biological systems endure and remain diverse and productive. the 21st century definition of sustainability goes far beyond these narrow parameters. today, sustainability okanazu and akele (2018) opined, refers to the need to develop the sustainable models necessary for both the human race and planet earth to survive. it is the study of how natural systems function, remain diverse and produce everything it needs for the ecology to remain in balance. sustainability looks to protect our natural environment, human and ecological health, while driving innovation and not compromising our way of life (keskin, diehl, & molenaar, 2013). sustainability, according to tokgoz and once (2009), focuses on meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generation to meet their needs. to the authors the concept of sustainability is composed of three pillars: environmental, social and economical which is the concern of the business enterprises. in terms of its economic perspective, sustainability is quite an important issue to any business but may not be achieved without imbibing sustainable business practices. sustainable business according to galvao, (2020) is an enterprise that has minimal negative impact, or potentially a positive effect, on the global or local environment, community, society, or economy. as succinctly put by edgeman & eskildsen (2020) sustainable business is any business organization that participates in environmentally friendly or green activities to ensure that all processes, products, and manufacturing activities adequately address current environmental concerns while maintaining a profit. in other words, the author continued, that it is a business that “meets the needs of the present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. sustainable business takes into account not only profits and returns on https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/soleproprietorship.asp igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 354 investment but also how business operations affect the environment, natural resources, and future generations (marrewijk, 2019). sustainable business management is concerned with all activities associated with running a business or company such as controlling, leading, monitoring, organizing, and planning that must be environmentally friendly and will not jeopardize the future of coming generation since businesses irrespective of size are facing a new paradigm especially in the area of conflict management. sustainability at the business level can be thought of as taking steps, such as recycling and conserving nonrenewable material and energy use to reduce the negative impact of a business‟s operations on the environment. while managing operations to reduce negative environmental impact is an important part of business sustainability, these types of activities are increasingly part of a deeper strategic perspective on sustainability for businesses. businesses implement sustainability in their organization for a variety of reasons which includes: reduction of energy used, materials used, reduction of waste and the costs associated with them; lowering of legal risks and insurance costs; differentiation of product or services and brand; drive toward innovation to create new products and serve new markets; improvement of organizational image and reputation with consumers, particularly the increasing numbers of consumers who are concerned about the environment and their own impact on the environment; enhancement of investor interest by increasing numbers of investors taking into consideration organizational sustainability practices when they make their decisions on how to invest; increase attraction and retention of employees who care about the environment and sustainability and finally creating peace and cooperation among communities, tribes, and nations. thought, in the context of this study the researchers are looking on how sustainable business will serve as a sine qua non for conflict management in south-east nigeria especially now that communal conflicts, boko harama insurgence, herderfamers‟ conflicts, boundary disputes, banditry among others are on a high increase. a pertinent question one will ask is what is a conflict in the first place? a conflict as opined by houghton (2020) refers to a sharp disagreement or collision as in interests or ideas and emphasizes the process rather than the end. it is a serious difference between two or more beliefs, ideas, or interests. to harper (2019), conflict is a serious disagreement and argument about something important. it can also be a state of mind in which an individual finds it impossible to make a decision. conflict with regards to the way this study viewed it, is fighting, struggle, especially a protracted one or war https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/difference https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/belief https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/serious https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/argument https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/important https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/mind https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/impossible https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/decision https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/protract https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/war igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 355 between countries, states, regions, communities or groups of people. it is a struggle between people which may be physical, or between conflicting ideas. conflicts can either be within one person, or they can involve several people or groups. as stated by smriti (2019), conflict occurs in „layers‟. first layer is always misunderstanding. while the other layers inclues: differences of values, differences of viewpoint, differences of interest, and interpersonal differences. according to smriti, it is also called a process because it begins with one party perceiving the other to oppose or negatively affect its interests and ends with competing, collaborating, compromising or avoiding. conflicts arise because there are needs, values or ideas that are seen to be different, and there is no means to reconcile the dispute. very often, conflicts lead to fights or even wars where the conflicting parties believed that conflicts are solved with weapons. conflict irrespective of its degree or nature, can be resolve through a proper conflict management. conflict management underlines the principle that all conflicts cannot necessarily be resolved, but learning how to manage conflicts can decrease the odds of nonproductive escalation. conflict management according to swetha (2020) is the process for handling disputes and disagreements between two or multiple parties. to the author, the goal of this system is to minimize the negative factors that are influencing the conflict and encourage all participants to come to an agreement. conflict management involves acquiring skills related to conflict resolution, self-awareness about conflict modes, conflict communication skills, and establishing a structure for management of conflict in an environment (smriti, 2019). to hrzone (2020), conflict management refers to techniques and ideas designed to reduce the negative effects of conflict and enhance the positive outcomes for all parties involved. members of every households, communities, organizations and nations need to have ways of keeping conflict to a minimum – and of solving problems caused by conflict, before conflict becomes a major obstacle to their existence and cohabitation. successful conflict management results in a mutually beneficial outcome that is agreed upon by each party. conflict management in the opinion of scalia and mckinney, (2020) is the practice of being able to identify and handle conflicts sensibly, fairly, and efficiently. as succinctly put by the authors, since conflicts in a community, nation or even business are a natural part of the business/workplace, it is important that there are people who understand conflicts and know how to resolve them. the techniques and ideas used in resolving conflict depend on the type of conflict that is being managed. conflict resolution can be an aim of https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/country https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/idea https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/need https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/value https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/idea https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/dispute https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/fight https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/war https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/weapon igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 356 conflict management but not all conflict management techniques or styles have conflict resolution as the ultimate target as it may not be feasible. conflict resolution can be defined as the informal or formal process that two or more parties use to find a peaceful solution to their dispute. it is the process by which two or more parties reach a peaceful resolution to a dispute (doyle, 2020). conflict resolution required a wide range of skills to succeed. in fact, individuals who are able to resolve conflicts are often excellent mediators, rational, and able to manage difficult personalities from a place of empathy. conflict resolution in communities, nations, country involves some or all of the following processes: recognition by the parties involved that a problem/ conflict exists; having some mutual agreement to address the issue and find some resolution; making an effort to understand the perspective and concerns of the opposing individual or group; identification of changes in attitude, behaviour, and approaches to work/issue by both sides that will lessen negative feelings; recognizing triggers to episodes of conflict; interventions by third parties such as human resources representatives or higher level managers to mediate; a willingness by one or both parties to compromise; agreement on a plan to address differences; monitoring the impact of any agreements for change; disciplining or terminating employees who resist efforts to defuse conflicts (doyle, 2020). though in the context of this study, the researchers are looking on how sustainable business will serve as a remedy for conflict management. sander and bordone (2019) outline ways sustainable business can resolve conflict in workplace, communities, states, nations and countries to include: diagnosing of dispute symptoms: here, sustainable business being business for the current and future generation is expected to do an assessment of the type of disputes that typically arise in the environment they operates and how organization can handle them. it must identify who is typically involved in the disputes. how frequently do disputes come up, and what trends that trigger them. having this information will enable the organization have interest-based structures that will help them in resolving disputes. similarly, fort and schipani (2014) confirmed that many businesses understand the conflict-related functions of their organizations in terms of corporate social responsibility, political risk management, and public and government relations, but most time do not integrated them in a way that reaps the benefits of peace-building among their host communities. how businesses respond to information asymmetries, market fragmentation, institutionalized corruption, and oppressive policy frameworks igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 357 varies, and the mitigation strategies they choose can have negative or positive consequences for peace (jane, 2012). the author opined that in some cases businesses resort to negative strategies as a coping mechanism against market and governance failure. others may use them as a means to maximize profit. negative strategies include bribery, flouting international laws and standards, cutting corners, and neglecting contractual arrangements. these can create new conflicts or exacerbate existing tensions. positive strategies include support for anticorruption activities, investment in human and physical capital, collaborations on social strategies, and leadership in multilateral regulatory reform efforts. regulation can influence greatly the strategies that businesses adopt and can have powerful implications for encouraging or discouraging conflict-sensitive approaches. as the engine behind economic activity, international alert (2006) affirmed that sustainable business can foster peace in a multitude of ways and facilitate transitions from aid dependency to selfsustained progress. conceptually, the goals of profitable business can be aligned with peace strategies if conflict-sensitive and ethical approaches are adopted. therefore, it is in the best interest of firms that adopts sustainable business management to work for peace where possible in the communities in which they operate; this is true for strategic and risk-mitigation purposes, as firms are not immune to tensions in conflict affected areas. despite laudable benefits that sustainable businesses are expected to bring, it seems that most communities especially the ones in south east nigeria are still facing challenges in the area of communal conflicts, herderfamers‟ conflicts, boundary disputes, among others these challenges most times lead to business failures as a result of poor patronage by the consumers who are on unstable condition as a result of uncertainty in their environment. it is against this backdrop that the researchers seek to identify how sustainable business will serve as a sine qua non for conflict management in south-east nigeria in other to foster peace and communal integration. purpose of the study the general purpose of the study was to determine how sustainable business will serve as a sine qua non for conflict management in south-east nigeria. specifically, the study sought to identify; igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 358 1. ways sustainable business will serve as an indispensible condition for conflict management in south-east nigeria 2. challenges faced by sustainable business in conflict management in southeast nigeria research question based on the specific purpose of the study, the following research questions were formulated to guide the study: 1. what are the ways sustainable business serves as an indispensible condition for conflict management in south-east nigeria? 2. what are the challenges faced by sustainable business in conflict management in south-east nigeria? hypothesis h01: there is no significant difference in the mean ratings of business educators in federal university and those in state university on ways sustainable business will serve as an indispensible condition for conflict management in south-east nigeria. h02 there is no significant difference in the mean ratings of experienced and less experienced business educators on the challenges faced by sustainable business in conflict management in south-east nigeria method two research questions guided the study and two hypotheses were tested at the probability level of 0.05. survey research design was adopted for the study. survey design was found suitable for this study because questionnaire was used to collect data from respondents on how sustainable business will serve as a sine qua non for conflict management in south-east nigeria. the population of the study consisted of all the entire 75 business educators drawn from the eight public universities that offer business education programme in south east nigeria. due to the relatively manageable size of the population, the entire population was used for the study without sampling. the instrument for data collection was a 19 item structured questionnaire titled: sustainable business for conflict management questionnaire (sbcmq). the questionnaire was structured on a 4-point rating scale of strongly agreed (sa); igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 359 agreed (a); disagreed (d); and strongly disagreed (sd) respectively. the instrument was facevalidated by three experts in business education department, unn. for the purpose of establishing the internal consistency of the instrument, cronbach alpha reliability method was used. the reliability coefficient obtained was 0.83. copies of the questionnaire were distributed by the researchers with the help of three research assistants. all the 75 copies of the questionnaire administered were retrieved representing 100% return rate. the data collected were analysed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions while t-test was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. the null hypothesis of no significant difference was accepted for items whose p-values were greater than 0.05 level of significance while hypothesis of no significant difference was rejected for items whose p-values were less than 0.05 level of significance. results research question one 1. what are the ways sustainable business serves as an indispensible condition for conflict management in south-east nigeria? h01: there is no significant difference in the mean ratings of business educators in federal university and those in state university on ways sustainable business will serve as an indispensible condition for conflict management in south-east nigeria. the data for answering the first research question and testing the first null hypothesis are presented in table 1. table 1 mean ratings and t-test of the responses of business educators on the ways sustainable business serves as an indispensible condition for conflict management (n 75) s/ n item statements ̅ sd rem . t-value remark ways sustainable business serves as an indispensible condition for conflict management include: 1. promotion of prosperity and stability in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 360 conflict prone/affected area through corporate citizenship and increase productivity. 3.41 .71 a .61 ns 2. development of risk mitigation strategies to resolve conflict through attraction of employees and investors across & within their host regions 3.56 .69 sa .79 ns 3. designing of high risk management strategies to combat endemic corruptions and myriad market failures. 3.67 .80 sa .58 ns 4. designing strategies that will distort weak economic governance and reinforced political economy to curb conflict. 3.47 .93 a .61 ns 5. performing of social cooperate responsibility to their host communities through increased business ability to comply with regulations. 3.87 .77 sa .82 ns 6. embarking on projects that may be jointly owned and managed by their host communities. 3.56 .46 sa .91 ns 7. creation of employment to their host communities 3.67 .81 sa .71 ns 8. producing products that are not harmful to their host communities 3.88 .61 sa .52 ns 9. properly disposing of waste products in case of manufacturing businesses to avoid environmental contamination. 3.51 .73 sa .43 ns grand mean 3.62 .80 sa .66 ns note: g ̅ = grand mean; ̅ = mean; sa = strongly agree; a = agree; n = no of respondents; s = significant; ns = not significant; sig. at 0.05. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 361 table 1 show that the mean ratings of the responses of the respondents on 7 out of the 9 items in the table ranged from 3.51 – 3.88 which are within the boundary limit of 3.50 – 4.00 on 4 point rating scale. this indicates that business educators strongly agreed that the seven identified items are ways sustainable business serves as an indispensible condition for conflict management in south-east nigeria. similarly, data in the table 1 show that the mean rating on items 1 and 4 are 3.41 and 3.47 which are within the boundary limit of 2.50 – 3.49 on 4 – point rating scale. by this finding, the business educators agreed that items 1 and 4 in the table are also ways sustainable business serves as an indispensible condition for conflict management in south-east nigeria. furthermore, the data presented in table 1 on the first hypothesis show that the tvalues of the entire 9 items in the table ranged between .43 .91 which are in each case greater than 0.05 level of significance. this indicates that there were no significant difference in the mean ratings of business educators in federal university and those in state university on ways sustainable business serves as an indispensible condition for conflict management in south-east nigeria. therefore, the null hypothesis of no significant difference was accepted on all the nine items. research question two: 1. what are the challenges faced by sustainable business in conflict management in south-east nigeria? h02: there is no significant difference in the mean ratings of experienced and less experienced business educators on the challenges faced by sustainable business in conflict management in south-east nigeria the data for answering the second research question and testing second null hypothesis are presented in table 2 on page 10. table 2 mean ratings and t-test of the responses of the challenges faced by sustainable business in conflict management in south-east nigeria. (n 75) s/ n item statements ̅ sd rem . t. value remark challenges faced by sustainable business in conflict management in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 362 south-east nigeria include: 1. neglect of business core social cooperate responsibilities among their host communities. 3.76 .74 sa .82 ns 2. bad leaderships in most of the business organizations. 3.56 .69 sa .52 ns 3. globalization which have affected most business operations. 3.77 .52 sa .34 ns 4. insincerity of government to tackle corruption 3.57 .49 sa .47 ns 5. illiteracy in most communities 3.92 .88 sa .86 ns 6. greed among some members of the business host communities. 3.89 .61 sa .41 ns 7. political interest among some members of the communities. 3.59 .89 sa .78 ns 8. laziness among youth in the communities 3.87 .66 sa .91 ns 9. poor disposer of business waste. 3.89 .93 sa .97 ns 10. poor government presence in must area. 3.49 .39 a .44 ns grand mean 3.73 .68 sa .65 ns note: g ̅ = grand mean; ̅ = mean; sa = strongly agree; a = agree; n = no of respondents; s = significant; ns = not significant; sig. at 0.05. data presented in table 2 revealed that the mean ratings of the respondents on 9 out of the 10 items ranged from 3.56 – 3.92 which are within the boundary limit of 3.50 – 4.00 on 4-point rating scale. this indicates that business educators strongly agreed that the nine identified items are challenges faced by sustainable igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 363 business in conflict management in south-east nigeria. furthermore, data in table 2 equally show that the mean rating on item 10 was 3.49 which is within the boundary limit of 2.50 – 3.49 on 4-point rating scale. by this finding, the respondents agreed that item 10 in the table is also a challenges faced by sustainable business in conflict management in south-east nigeria. similarly, data presented in table 2 also revealed that the t-values of the entire 10 items ranged between .34 .97 which are all greater than 0.05 level of significance. this indicates that there were no significant difference in the mean ratings of experienced and less experienced business educators on the challenges faced by sustainable business in conflict management in south-east nigeria therefore, the null hypothesis of no significant difference was accepted on all the ten items. discussion of findings this study identified ways sustainable business will serve as an indispensible condition for conflict management in south-east nigeria to include; promotion of prosperity and stability in conflict prone/affected area through corporate citizenship; development of risk mitigation strategies to resolve conflict in their host regions; designing of high risk management strategies to combat endemic corruptions and myriad market failures; designing strategies that will distort weak economic governance and reinforced political economy to curb conflict; performing of their social cooperate responsibility to their host communities; embarking on projects that may be jointly owned and managed by their host communities; creation of employment to their host communities; producing products that are not harmful to their host communities; properly disposing of waste products in case of manufacturing businesses to avoid environmental contamination. these findings were in agreement with the opinion of tyler (2012) who articulated that business sector can promote prosperity and stability in conflictprone and conflict affected regions through good corporate citizenship, operating in these high-risk, but high-rewarding environments is fraught with great difficulty. to the author, many firms develop risk mitigation strategies designed to minimize exposure. in the same vein, international alert (2010) asserts that poor risk management strategies combine with endemic corruption and myriad market failures and distortions resulting from weak economic governance to reinforce aspects of the political economy could trigger and sustain violent conflict. the agency maintained that effectively addressing these failings could reduce business costs, increase efficiency, and improve governance and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 364 livelihoods in fragile regions. to them lack of transparency and corruption among government and private sector is the hallmark to regional conflict across the globe. furthermore, luc (2010) opined that when adopting strategies to benefit from the immense potential of the business sector to foster peace in conflict areas, one must also look at the size of the firms, whether the firms are state or privately owned, which industries they are involved in, and their interconnectedness within supply chains. according to luc, key components of effective strategies include crafting incentives to reward investing firms that espouse good corporate citizenship, strengthening international initiatives that promote transparency and contain corruption, developing initiatives that will fully incorporate the local economy into global value chains, and introducing mechanisms to forge global consensus on appropriate conflict-sensitive business practices. as violence and instability persist in much of the world, spending trillions of naira on military activity each year is unsustainable therefore; alternative methods of fostering peace among nations which business can serve are called for in other to prevent conflict. there was no significant difference in the mean ratings of business educators in federal university and those in state university on ways sustainable business will serve as an indispensible condition for conflict management in south-east nigeria. this is in agreement with the opinion of darleen, (2018) who affirmed that conflict irrespective of one‟s location has the potential to cause serious problems if not managed effectively. when managed effectively, conflict can represent an opportunity. it can help in break through counterproductive ways of thinking, stimulate creativity and innovation, and ultimately bring people together. leaders play an important role in resolving these differences and their actions will often determine whether the conflict led to a positive or negative experience. conflict around business environments are unavoidable and tend to escalate if it is not managed quickly and effectively. while some conflict can be highly beneficial, unresolved conflicts can have very negative effects on an organization. rising tensions can reduce productivity, stifle creative collaboration, and create barriers to communication. furthermore, the study identified challenges faced by sustainable business in conflict management in south-east nigeria to include: neglect of business core igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 365 social cooperate responsibilities among their host communities; bad leaderships in most of the business organizations; globalization which have affected most business operations; insincerity of government to tackle corruption; illiteracy in most communities; greed among some members of the business host communities; political interest among some members of the communities; laziness among youth in the communities; poor disposer of business waste. poor government presence in most area the finding is in line with the report of kubiat (2018) who authenticated that globalization which is the spread of worldwide practices, relations, consciousness, and organization of social life has affected business operations in many ways. to the author, advancement in technological development especially as in information communication technology (ict) has made the world a small village in which case the world economy, culture, and political space are being integrated into a world economy. thus, globalization has affected virtually every aspect of man, culturally, economically, politically and institutionally. globalization is therefore a great challenge to insecurity and conflict management. globalization has brought benefit to some, but miseries to an increasing number of others. it has concentrated wealth in the hands of a diminishing few while denying access to such wealth to an increasing many. similarly, epstein and epstein (2006) listed top barriers to conflict resolution to include inadequate planning and preparation; grief; systemic distrust; failure to communicate and listen; insufficient focus on underlying interests; partisan perception, judgmental overconfidence, and wrong baselines; false first impressions and perceptions among others. to the authors, false first impression may be the most crucial barrier to successful conflict resolution. first impressions are terribly difficult to change. decision-makers make their decisions on the data available at the time and they are slow to recognize and appreciate later contradictory data. the battleship once set in motion is incredibly difficult to turn about. thus, the key is to make every effort to establish a good first impression. first impressions, which are generally lasting impressions, allow business organizations the luxury of not thinking or reasoning. the very best way host communities can deal with this unfortunate and stubborn shortcut is prevention. thus, business host communities should make every effort to create a well positive first impression with business organizations; they should create enabling environments for businesses to thrive in their communities and region. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 366 there was also no significant difference in the mean ratings of experienced and less experienced business educators on the challenges faced by sustainable business in conflict management in south-east nigeria. this is in line with the opinion of virginia (2012), who stated that too often parties in conflict create a barrier to conflict resolution because their risk assessments do not factor in the full range of key decision points that the court will be considering if there is litigation. this problem often leads to unrealistic client expectations. parties tend to be averse to risk regarding gain and would rather have a certain gain than an uncertain larger gain. on the other hand, people are risk-seeking with regard to loss. that is, they would rather avoid a certain loss and take a risk of a greater loss if there is some chance of avoiding that greater loss. in other words, some parties would rather postpone a certain loss (settlement) for an uncertain result in the future (trial). meanwhile treat others how you would like to be treated is an adage we all learned in childhood, yet we frequently forget to heed it in the heat of battle. business organizations should respect and regard their host communities as partner in progress. they should observe all the laws and corporate cultures of the communities so as to be able to resolve conflict that may hamper their business growth, development and sustainability. conclusion much attention has been devoted to understanding how sustainable business will serve as an important part of the solution in conflict-affected communities, region, states and nation. as the engine behind economic activity, sustainable business can foster peace in a multitude of ways and facilitate transitions from aid dependency to self-sustained progress. given the diversity of businesses and their varied responses to policies, threats, and incentives, an aggregated analysis of how businesses influence peace and conflict in an area cannot be overemphasized. distinctions should be made between large multinationals and domestic business, public and private ownership, types of industry, and formal and informal systems to identify the most effective peace-promoting behaviours required from each size. when circumventing challenges involving corruption and bribes to lubricate processes or avoid contractual and regulatory obligations that could trigger or sustain violence, adoption of a clear and comprehensive business regulation is one way to address the market and governance failures that compel sustainable businesses to adopt negative approaches in conflict management. however, it will be more effective and peace promoting if all players, domestic and foreign, business organization comply with the lay down rules so as to promote peace and resolve conflicts that will arise in their areas of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 367 business operations. peace-building in conflict-affected regions requires more than boots on the ground, signing of peace accords, making security arrangements, and focused diplomacy. practitioners, scholars, and policymakers agreed that successful conflict management requires the effective leverage of all stakeholders including the business sector on the holistic approach of conflict resolution. when this is done, there will be proper conflict management and resolution across nations especially in south east nigeria. recommendations based on the findings of the study, the following recommendations were made: 1. sustainable business should develop strategies like establishment of intercommunity joint venture relationship so as to manage conflict in communities, region or states they are operating. 2. sustainable business should live up to their social cooperate responsibility of employment creation, poverty reduction, wealth creation and proper waste management to abate conflict escalation in their area of business operations. 3. business organizations should also embark on projects that may be jointly own and managed by their host communities so as to create a sense of belonging to them. 4. there should be interstate business bilateral relationships that will create mutual benefits among boarding communities, region and states to prevent conflict. references darleen, d. (2018). 5 tips for healthy conflict resolution in the workplace. retrieved on 27th may, 2020 from https://www.business2community.com/humanresources/5-tips-for-healthy-conflict-resolution-in-the-workplace-02105355 doyle a. (2020). conflict resolution: definition, process, skills, examples. retrieved on 24th april, 2020 from https://www.thebalancecareers.com/conflictresolutions-skills-2063739 edgeman, r and eskildsen, j (2020). modeling and assessing sustainable enterprise excellence. business strategy and the environment. 23 (3): 173. doi:10.1002/bse.1779. https://www.business2community.com/human-resources/5-tips-for-healthy-conflict-resolution-in-the-workplace-02105355 https://www.business2community.com/human-resources/5-tips-for-healthy-conflict-resolution-in-the-workplace-02105355 https://www.thebalancecareers.com/conflict-resolutions-skills-2063739 https://www.thebalancecareers.com/conflict-resolutions-skills-2063739 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/doi_(identifier) https://doi.org/10.1002%2fbse.1779 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 368 epstein, j. and epstein, s. (2006). the top ten barriers to dispute resolution: retrieved on 25th june, 2020 from https://www.mediate.com/articles/epsteinjs2.cfm fort, t. l. and schipani, c. a. (2014). the role of business in fostering peaceful societies new york: cambridge university press. galvao, a. (2020). mind your own business, why sustainable operations must be everyone's chief concern. apics magazine. 18 (5). gupta, s. and kumar, v. (2013). sustainability as corporate culture of a brand for superior performance. journal of world business, 48(2)156-166. harper, c. (2019). conflict. retrieved on 27th may, 2020 from https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/conflict. hayes, a. (2020). what is a business? retrieved on 29th april, 2020 from https://www.investopedia.com/terms. houghton, m. h. (2020). conflict. retrieved on 19th june, 2020 from https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/conflict hrzone (2020). what is conflict management? retrieved on 27th may, 2020 from https://www.hrzone.com/hr-glossary/what-is-conflict-management international alert (2006) local business, local peace: the peace-building potential of the domestic private sector, case study south africa,” london, 2006, available at http://www.international-alert.org/sites/default/files/ publications/27_section_2_south_africa.pdf (accessed april 19, 2020). international alert (2010). the business of peace: the private sector as a partner in conflict prevention and resolution,” london, 2000, available at http://www.internationalalert.org/sites/default/files/publications/ the%20business%20of%20peace.pdf (accessed april 19, 2020). jane, n. (2012). the business of peace: business as a partner in conflict resolution. london: prince of wales business leaders forum, 2012. https://www.mediate.com/articles/epsteinjs2.cfm https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/conflict https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/business.asp#:~:text=a%20business%20is%20defined%20as,or%20further%20a%20social%20cause. https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/conflict https://www.hrzone.com/hr-glossary/what-is-conflict-management igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 369 katie, s. (2020). business conflict management. retrieved on march 5th, 2020https://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/conflict-resolution/businessconflict-management/ keskin, d., diehle, j. c, and molenaar, n. (2013). innovation process of new ventures driven by sustainability. journal of clean production 45, 111-115 kubiat, u. (2018). challenges of conflict management in nigeria. retrieved on 22nd april, 2020 from https://researchcyber.com/challenges-conflictmanagement-nigeria/ luc, z. (2010). opportunities for synergy: conflict transformation and the corporate agenda, bergh of conflict research, bergh of foundation, 2005. accessed may 9, 2020 from http://www.berghofhandbook.net/documents/publications/ marrewijk, van. m (2019). “concepts and definitions of csr and corporate sustainability,” journal of business ethics 44, 2–3 (2019). okanazu, o. o. and akele, f. e. (2018). green cultural practices for sustainable business management in a world of change. journal of african studies and sustainable development. 1 (4), 1 – 24. oliver, w. (2018). peace through commerce: responsible corporate citizenship and the ideals of the united nations global compact. south bend, in: university of notre dame press. sander, v and bordone, f. (2019). business conflict management. retrieved on 27th may, 2020 from https://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/conflictresolution/business-conflict-management/ scalia, s. and mckinney, p. (2020). definition of conflict management. retrieved on 17th may, 2020 from https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-conflictmanagement-definition-styles-strategies.html smriti, c. (2019). conflict management. characteristics, types, stages, causes and other details. retrieved on 7th april, 2020 from https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/business/conflict-managementcharacteristics-types-stages-causes-and-other-details/5431 https://www.pon.harvard.edu/author/katies5/ https://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/conflict-resolution/business-conflict-management/ https://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/conflict-resolution/business-conflict-management/ https://researchcyber.com/challenges-conflict-management-nigeria/ https://researchcyber.com/challenges-conflict-management-nigeria/ https://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/conflict-resolution/business-conflict-management/ https://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/conflict-resolution/business-conflict-management/ https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-conflict-management-definition-styles-strategies.html https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-conflict-management-definition-styles-strategies.html https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/business/conflict-management-characteristics-types-stages-causes-and-other-details/5431 https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/business/conflict-management-characteristics-types-stages-causes-and-other-details/5431 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 370 susan, w. (2019). the term business encompasses a wealth of activities retrieved on 6th may, 2020 from https://www.thebalancesmb.com/business-definition2947960 swetha, a. (2020). 5 conflict management styles for every personality type. retrieved on 23rd june, 2020 from https://blog.hubspot.com/service/conflictmanagement-styles. tokgoz, n., and once, s. (2009). corporate sustainability: alternative approach to traditional business management. afyon kocatepe university turkish 11, 2. tyler, r. s (2012) policy implications of natural resource conflict management. united nations public administration network, new york, available at http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/ apcity/unpan022237.pdf (accessed july 6, 2020). virginia, g. (2012). embedding sustainability in company culture: retrieved on 12th june, 2020 from http://128.175.63.72/projects/documents/greenbusiness.pdf. https://www.thebalance.com/susan-ward-2946932 https://www.thebalancesmb.com/business-definition-2947960 https://www.thebalancesmb.com/business-definition-2947960 https://blog.hubspot.com/service/conflict-management-styles https://blog.hubspot.com/service/conflict-management-styles http://128.175.63.72/projects/documents/greenbusiness.pdf the code of canon law and the scripture: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 91 the code of canon law and the scripture: an igwebuike perspective igboechesi, emeka stanley catholic institute of west africa port harcourt, rivers state padrestantall@yahoo.com abstract the purpose of the canon law is to help catholics live well as christians in line with the teachings of the holy bible. this piece studies the relationship between the canon law and the scripture. it adopts igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for a complementary relationship between these two disciplines of the church and their unique contributions to the development of igwebuike philosophy. it is employed as a transcendent complementary comprehensive systematic quest to penetrate the structure and dynamics of reality ultimately for the purpose of giving honest answers to fundamental questions or opinions to questions that arise within the arena of asking questions and questioning answers, and selfless enlightenment. in this search for truth, igwebuike is, therefore, understood as an integrated systematic framework that strives beyond all forms of particularities, peculiarities, paradoxes and contradictions, and espouses the path of complementation, therefore, showing how realities can relate to one another in a mutually harmonized non-absolutistic mode. this piece discovers that there is a very strong connection between the code of canon law and the scripture, and that the two, when studied together, can be very enriching. igboechesi, emeka stanley themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 92 keywords: igwebuike, philosophy, code of canon law, scripture, church, catholic introduction rules are needed whenever people work or live together. the church has its own system of law, known as ‘canon law.’ the purpose of canon law is to help catholics live well as christians in line with what the scripture teaches. in consideration of the relationship between the canon law and the scripture, some schools of thought in their approach propound for a virtual identity of the two. such an approach makes the study of canonical science not only dependent on but subservient to theological discipline. this work, in accordance with the tenets of igwebuike, seeks a more balanced relationship. the scripture in canonical texts the scripture is relevant to the development of the canon law. gratian, the father of the study of canon law, suggested this in his first compilation. the opening distinctio of gratian’s decretum began by stating that the human race is ruled by two things, natural law and customary usages. natural law consists of what is contained in the law and the gospel. the subsequent texts in the decretum bear out this theoretical statement of the sscripture’s legal importance. scriptural passages were cited frequently. professor gaudemet’s calculations put the number of references to biblical texts in the decretum at between thirteen and fourteen hundred. early commentators on the decretum followed this lead, themselves citing passages from the scripture with regularity (helmholz, 1994). it is, however, safe to say that the influence of the scripture on the canon law diminished after 1200 in favour of a more purely legal science; the bible was clearly not excluded altogether by later developments. the law of the church became a subject distinct from theology in a way that it had not earlier been, but the division did not necessarily spell the end of the bible’s utility in the law. canons included in the decretals continued to cite passages from the the code of canon law and the scripture: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 93 scripture. despite the reduction of influence, it is certain that the use of scriptural citation in the creation of law was neither excluded on principle nor ended in fact by the separation of law from theology (helmholz, 1994). nevertheless, the bible played a quantitatively smaller role in the formation of the law than it had in the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries, and this was true in the works of canonists as in the corpus iuris canonici itself. canonical understanding of the scripture when you think of law in the scripture, it is apt to think of the detailed rules of conduct found in the book of leviticus or the book of deuteronomy. this, however, was not the approach of the gratian, the father of canon law. he associated the scriptures with natural law, a changeless source of law written on our hearts by god. this approach was also found in the writings of the canonists that followed gratian (helmholz, 1994). the attitude was amiable, even self-evident to them. they regarded the bible and they used it, primarily as a way of showing what natural law required of the church’s legal system. the bible provided juridical norms that were useful in evaluating legislation and in providing guidance for positive law of all sorts. from the medieval point of view, at least, the approach characteristic of canonists made perfect sense. they held that the bible showed, in particular ways, and in particular episodes, how men and women ought to arrange their lives. it was up to them to understand its lessons and now apply them. these lessons the canonists sought to draw from scriptural texts. the bible is rarely used as enacted law. canonists do not treat biblical texts as direct sources or as statutes; they do not take passages from the bible and call them a canon or lex. instead, they draw legal lessons and legal principles from them. canon law and scripture: an igwebuike perspective igwebuike is an igbo word that is characterized by three simple words. according to kanu anthony, the three words involved are identified and explained thus: igwe is a noun which means ‘number’ or igboechesi, emeka stanley themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 94 ‘population’, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means ‘is.’ ike is another verb, which means strength or power. thus, put together, this means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power;’ that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force (kanu, 2017). from the etymological analysis, it is clear that the concept extends to solidarity, collectivism and interdependence. in the light of the foregoing, many of the canons in the decretum and some decretals cited passages or events from the bible as direct justifications for the rules enacted. a number of these were obvious. as a matter of fact, they were inevitable. the canons that dealt with the sacraments could not help but devote some attention to theological questions. here, the universal appeal of igwebuike comes into play as scripture is given an important role. no lawyer could deal with a theological question or with the sacramental life of the church without reference to the bible. for instance, in accordance with the prescription of canon 849, the correct baptismal formula is determined by the commands of jesus as found in the bible, “…baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit…” (mt28:19). jesus directed his followers to baptize in the name of the father, the son and the holy spirit. the words must refer to the trinity of persons, both individually and in their unity. if one refers to the trinity by such terms as “creator, sustainer and sanctifier,” as used in some circles to avoid so-called ‘sexist’ language, such a formula will be invalid, since it does not refer to the three persons of the blessed trinity (sheehy, 1999). no canonist or theologian could responsibly ignore the “proper form of words” as the bible commands when discussing this subject in the canon law. under procedural law, the book of daniel chapter thirteen recounts the story of susanna and the elders and how daniel received testimonies in private and separate examination of each witness. according to the book, when susanna resisted the advances of the elders, they resolved to revenge by accusing her of adultery with an the code of canon law and the scripture: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 95 imaginary young man. after susanna had been condemned to death in an open trial, daniel intervened. he questioned the two elders separately about the supposed crime. one of them placed her action under a yew tree, the other under a clove tree. thus, their perjury was revealed and the life of the innocent woman was saved (helmholz, 1994). proceduralists see in this story a clear support for the system of canonical procedure. canon 221 makes the point clear by insisting that procedural rights be respected in the penal process of the church. genesis 3:9, “but the lord god called to the man and said to him, “where are you?” thus, adam was called to answer for his action. this passage is said to have established one of the basic elements of procedural law, the necessity of a sufficient summons (helmholz, 1994). god knew where adam was, yet he called out to adam as if he was ignorant of adam’s whereabouts. he did that to demonstrate that defendants must be summoned before they are lawfully punished (c.2221). procedural justice must be accorded to all, even the manifestly guilty. as stipulated in canon 220, everyone has the right to good reputation. ecclesiastical penalties have their sources in the scripture. the old testament lays procedures where grievous sins like adultery, apostasy etc., (cf. gen 20:9; ex. 32, 21; 1kgs 2:17; jer. 19:11, lev. 4:2, 13 and 27) were proportionately punished with penalties like death, temporary exclusion from the community for omission of circumcision (gen. 17:14; num. 9: 1-3) or of the feast of expiation (lev. 23, 19:30) (kii, 2019). following the pattern set by the bible, canon 1311 states that the church has its own inherent right to constrain with penal sanctions christ’s faithful who commit offences. canonists sometimes see the admonition of jesus in mt. 22:21 and mk.12:17, the things that belong to caesar should be rendered to caesar and things that belong to god should be rendered to god as an endorsement for ecclesiastical taxation (helmholz, 1994). canon 222 § 1 prescribes the obligation of christ’s faithful to provide for the needs of the church. canon 1263 goes further to state that the diocesan bishop, after consulting the finance committee and the igboechesi, emeka stanley themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 96 council of priests, has the right to levy or tax juridical persons under his authority. in the mind of a canonist, the biblical texts and examples rarely state straightforward legal rules. they are not laws in the sense of enactments that could be applied directly by a judge or lawyer. instead, they demonstrate the existence of a norm or a basic legal principle. the passages of the scripture where it appears that a literal rule of statute appears to have been laid down, are for the most part, not used and applied by canonists, but if ever used, they are used as apt illustrations for general legal standards rather than literal rules to be put into practice. conclusion canonists often consider their work to be more than human science. it is part of a divine plan for the world; hence, they must bear in mind at all times that the salvation of souls is the supreme goal (c.1752). thus, the science of law in the church is not simply a way of meeting societal needs. it is part of the unfolding of god’s plan for mankind, a plan that is set forth preeminently in the scripture. the philosophy of , therefore, provides a fundamental reason why canonists see no absurdity between biblical narratives and legal conclusions. references helmhoz, h. r. (1994). the bible in the service of canon law. 70 chicago-kent law review 1557. kanu, i. a. 2017. “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3(7): 165-83. kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015b). igwebuike as an ontological precondition for african ethics. international conference of the society for the code of canon law and the scripture: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 97 research and academic excellence. university of nigeria, nsukka. 14 th -16 th september. kanu, i. a. (2015c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25 th -26 th november 2015 university of paris, france. kanu, i. a. (2016). igbo-african christology: a cultural christological construct in post-missionary africa. germany: lambert publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). african traditional folk songs as dialogue between education and entertainment. cambridge international journal of contemporary education research. 6. 6. pp. 53-64. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2016b). african traditional folktales as an integrated classroom. sub-saharan african journal of contemporary education research. vol.3 no. 6. pp. 107-118. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. igboechesi, emeka stanley themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 98 kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. kii, b. p. 2019. offences and punishments in the catholic church. enugu: fourth dimension publishing co., ltd. sheehy .g. et al. 1999. the canon law letter and spirit. london: geoffrey chapman. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 14 liberation theology, an antidote to the contemporary feudalism: the nigerian experience. amanambu, uchenna ebony, phd nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state. ebonyuchem@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.12241.35684 abstract this is a further investigation into the ideological history, causes, practices and reactions against the medieval feudalism and how it has metamorphosed into other socioeconomic and political phenomena in the modern times. similarly, the study probes into the origin, mode of operations and end results of another aspect of theology that sprouted from dehumanizing conditions of the people in the latin america around the nineteenth century called liberation theology. it analyzed the forces inherent in both of them and argues that the version of religiosity that teaches self-awareness, realization, selfdevelopment and esteem is needed to redeem majority of nigerians from the shackles of horrible conditions of life they found themselves in this era. the study submits that if nigerians especially the religious leader will conscientize the liberating force of theology among their followers, hunger, poverty, suppression, oppression, subjugation, discrimination, all manners of injustice and other vices will be checkmated in the country. keywords: liberation, theology, nigeria, religion, ideology, introduction the history of human being is replete with accounts of horrible and demeaning experiences. from the creation of man to the multiplication of mankind, every stage of man‘s life has come with all manner of experiences. from the homeric era, to the athenian polis era, greek times, the roman world, the coming of christianity, islam, medieval and modern times have doses of man‘s reactions (either as an individual or with help of fellow human beings) against unjust treatments and other inhuman activities. all these actions and reactions did not start with the feudalism and liberation theology, they have not stopped with them and will not stop as long as man continues to exist. however, nature will always call that repressive ideologies and actions are checkmated. nature seems to have a way of ontologically reacting against unjust and unnatural treatments. this is because there are rights that are natural with human and the nature in human has a way of reacting against any unnatural treatment. this study articulates briefly the accounts of unjust actions meted out against human beings mailto:ebonyuchem@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 15 and their reactions during the medieval feudalist society. it also delved into the origin and impacts of liberation theology and how it can be applied to ameliorate or checkmate the present day deplorable conditions of human beings in nigeria. clarification of terms 1. liberation theology: this is a combination of two words: ―liberation and theology‖. liberation is the noun form of the word ―liberate‖ according to hornby (2010) means to set somebody or a country free from the control of somebody else especially somebody that restrict another person from enjoying life (p.855). in other words, it implies, to set somebody free from bondage. the term ―theology‖ is derived from the two greek words ―theo‖ and ―logos‖ meaning ―god and word‖. liberation theology is a movement developed mainly in latin america which interpreted the word of god and used it to protest against social injustice meted out against the poor, downtrodden and other vices that confronted the poor masses. it is a process by which a subjugated or marginalized section of people, having gained an awareness of their deplorable conditions, take control of their destiny and fight to overthrow all the fetters of bondage against them. 2. antidote: it means a way of preventing or acting against something bad, a medicine taken or given to counteract a particular poison. it denotes something that counteracts an unpleasant feeling or situation. 3. contemporary: the term ―contemporary‖ means something existing or happening now, marked by characteristics of the present period, of the present or modern time, or relating to the present and recent time. it stands for something that is not ancient or remote. 4. feudalism: the word feudalism has generated some doses of arguments among scholars. some argued that it was a mere contract and the exchange of land tenure for military services. brook (1924) states that the term is derived from the latin words ―feudum‖ ―fief‖ and ―feodalitas‖ and it is connected to the services the fiefs rendered to their lords. both concepts were used during the middle ages and later was referred to a form of property holding in exchange for the provision of services and protection. for the sake of this work vis-à-vis in view of the range of meanings associated to feudalism, the study adopts largely the medieval version of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 16 feudalism, seeks to approach and use it to mean all manner of injustice, subjugation, suppressions, oppressions and underserved treatments meted out against the poor and defenceless nigerians because of their poor status, tribal origin, religious and political leanings. in the context of this work, liberation theology, an antidote to the contemporary feudalism: the nigerian experience, implies employing the aspect of theology that emphasizes the freedom of the downtrodden, poor, gullible and vulnerable nigerians from the claws of other individuals who derive joy in subjugating others for their primordial reasons. it is all about using the word of god to stifle the metamorphosed version of medieval feudalism in the form of impunity, subjugation, suppression, oppression, poverty, discrimination, hunger, corruption and all manners of injustice ravaging the nigerian society. theoretical frameworkdependence and functionalist theories the study adopts dependence theory as propounded by immanuel wallenstein. beyer (1994) states that it has its root to the french annales school history especially the work of fernand braudel and in the marxist driven dependency theory. both of these approaches emphasize that it is impossible to understand the political and ideological vicissitudes of history without setting these phenomena in their economic and material context. human history consists as much in the acts of ordinary people as it does in the more visible lives of the great and powerful individuals (p.15). it is chosen in this work because it identifies how both local and global structures had produced the unjust situation of the poor and downtrodden in the society. meanwhile, the study also considers the functionalist theory to explain the cohesive and progressive functions expected of religion and religious leaders to the society and the dangers when they work to the contrary. iruonagbe (2013) avers that durkheim, one of the proponents of functionalist theory believes that social life is impossible without the shared values and moral beliefs that form the collective conscience. the absence of the aforementioned threatens social order, social control, social solidarity or cooperation, development and unity of the people (p.5). functionalist theory is employed because religion is one of the factors that a society needs to properly function. therefore, the society will be in danger if religion and religious actors refuse to perform or function efficiently. it igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 17 is used to highlight the dangers of how a dysfunctional religion and its actors can retard the growth and progress of the society including nigeria. the origin, rise and idea of feudalism virtually every ―isms‖ in the world has been a subject of historical arguments and controversies and feudalism is not an exception. historicizing its origin, leys (1994) believes that the feudal system that evolved and developed in the northern french heartland had its antecedents also in late roman practice. beyer (1994) affirms that feudalism reached its most developed form in the latin kingdom of jerusalem in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. vassalage agreements similar to what would later develop into legalized medieval feudalism originated from the blending of ancient roman and germanic traditions. the romans had a custom of patronage whereby a stronger patron would provide protection to a weaker client in exchange for gifts, political support, and prestige. in the countryside of the later empire, the reforms of diocletian and his successors attempted to put certain jobs, notably farming, on a hereditary basis. as governmental authority declined and rural lawlessness increased, these farmers were increasingly forced to rely upon the protection of the local landowner hence a nexus of interdependency was established. the landowners depended upon the peasants for labour and the peasants upon the landowners for protection. meanwhile, before then fines (1970) stresses that at the exits of the carolingian rulers and charlemagne who reigned in the eighteenth centuries and succeeded remarkably in creating and maintaining some relatively unified empires, their political units were fragmented and its authority weakened. the mightier of the later carolingians attempted to regulate the emerging local political lords and enlist them into their services but the power of the emerging local nobles was never obliterated. in the absence of those forceful kings or emperors, local lords expanded the territory and intensified their control over the people (pp.55-67). iwe (1986) affirms that in the 17th century, the medieval ―feudal system‖ was characterized by the absence of public authority and the exercise by local lords over administrative and judicial functions. the prevalence of bonds between lords and free dependents known as the vassals as forged by the lords bestowed on them the property and homages of the dependents called the ―fiefs‖. these bonds entailed the rendering of services such as military obligations, counsel, financial support and the obligation of the lords to protect their vassals. brown (2016) states that feudalism as the social, economic and political conditions that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 18 emerged in the western europe during the early middle ages which stretched between the 5th and 12th centuries when central political authority in the western empire disappeared, to the 12th century, when kingdoms began to emerge as effective centralized units of government. feudalism and the related term feudal system are labels invented long after the period to which they were applied. they refer to what those who invented them perceived as the most significant and distinctive characteristics of the early and central middle ages. ancient germans had a custom of equality among warriors but an elected leader could keep the majority of the wealth especially lands and distributed them to members in return for loyalty. furthermore, iwe (1986) asserts that feudalism in the middle ages was a sociopolitical order which in essence and operation consisted in a hierarchical personal dependence for protection and service, based on land holding or the holding of any other desirable thingcattle or office. a dependence permeating all the main aspects of social life, military, judicial, economic and religious. it operated in two principles and they were principle of mutual obligation and loyalty, protection and service binding together all the ranks of society from the highest to the lowest. brooks (1924) stresses that the europe of the early middle ages was characterized by economic and population decline and by external threat. feudalism evolved as a way of maintaining a stable population engaged in farming. the towns had been in decline since the end of the western empire and to ensure that external threats were faced, levies were collected. there was the universality of feudal institutions. adam smith presented feudal government as an era characterized by the absence of commerce and the use of semi-free labour to cultivate lands (pp.47-65). feudalism is practiced in many different ways, depending on locations and periods. features and characteristics of feudalism apart from the notable features of the existence of lords, serfs and lands, from the works of brooks (1924), bean (1968), okey (1986), reynolds (1994) and beyer (1994) feudalism is characterized by the following: 1. castles: the feudal lords lived in strong, high walls with towers at their intervals and spacious palaces together with their courts. stored in the castles were grains, arms and weapons. whenever there was external igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 19 invasion, castles provided shelter to the serfs. in some cases, the castles were surrounded by wide ditch and towers erected. from the towers, people could watch the movement of enemies. the gateway of the castle was very strong. they were mostly connected with bridges, deep ditches were dug around the castle and filled up with water. during attack, those bridges were lifted up against the enemy. a feudal lord could have as many castles as he could and he lived inside different castles at different time. 2. manor: another significant feature of feudalist system was the existence of manor. it means the land associated with the castle. the lands were like mini estates and the castles, barons and church acquired these lands. 3. demense: demense was another characteristics of feudalism. this occurred after lands were distributed among the serfs by the lords, whatever remained with him was known as demense. this law entirely belonged to the lord which he could use according to his whims and caprices. 4. the knighthood: feudalism was characterized by knighthood as well. the knights took oaths to fight and protect the weak. it regarded education as the rights of the sons and relatives of the lords because they were meant to be knights. before a person became a knight, he had to work as a ―page‖ or servant near another knight. when he had served properly, he would be appointed as an ―esquire‖ or body-guard of that knight. during that period, he would learn how to clean the weapons and prepare a horse. after he had achieved mastery in these works, he would be appointed as a knight. but he had to spend a night inside the church in prayer. during the prayer, he had to kneel before a priest who would deliver a light blow on his palm and neck with this blessing, ―be a valiant knight‖. after becoming a knight, he had to purchase horse and arms for himself. by exhibiting chivalry, he could save an old man, the destitute and weak from the clutches of injustice and tyranny. a knight was also taught to respect women. 5. the rights and duties of feudal lords: there were duties and rights expected of the lords. their duty was to save their subjects from the invaders but they enjoyed certain rights as well. they lords could become igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 20 the owners of the lands of a vassal who died without leaving a son or none at all. 6. duties of vassals: in the feudal society, the vassals or subjects had duties toward the lords. the vassals had to be present in the court whenever the lords had the need of them. the vassals rendered compulsory military services to the lords for forty days in a year. he accompanied his master to the battle field and guarded his castle. the vassal had to pay money to his lord or master on the occasion of his daughter‘s marriage, when his son became a knight and when he became captive in the hands of his enemy and was to be released. the vassals had to render these duties because the lords guaranteed their security of life and property against external invasions. 7. ceremony of homage: the leading feature of feudalism prevailing in europe was the ceremony of homage. this ceremony was organized to cement the bond between the lords and vassals. after assembling in the castle of the lord, each man used to kneel before the lord with uncovered head. then each one placed his folded hands on the hands of the lord. he then took the oath to be his man or vassal. this ceremony was famously called ―homage‖ because the vassal used it to take a vow to remain loyal to his lord. 8. investiture: after the vassals have paid homage, then the lord raised him up and kissed them. he recognized them as his subjects or vassals. then the lord placed in the hands of the vassal a little earth or some leaves or a sword as a token of gift. it was a legal document concerning fief (land given to vassal), a staff and a flag were also handed over to the vassal. this sanction was termed as investiture. 9. judiciary was an incarnation of the caste: in the feudal society, the judiciary that ought to be the mouthpiece of the downtrodden which in the nigerian parlance stands as, ―the last hope of the common man‖ was at the whims and caprices of the castles. trevelyan (1960) concurs that the growth of a leisured class established a class of warriors living at the expense of the cultivators of the soil (p. 146). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 21 iwe (1986) regrets that medieval feudalism bastardized human right. the feudal hierarchical aristocracy subjected the mass labouring serfs to the privileged upper class of the society. the clergy, nobles and bourgeoisies made up the trinity that ruled human destinies and played part in the politics of the time. the upper class lived in considerable pleasure and leisure at the expense of the overburdened feudal serfs who formed good portions of the population. this harsh arrangement left the serfs in abject poverty, servile submission and inequality. the state of poverty and submission made them shifty, fearful, ignorant, full of superstition, trusting in charms and strange traditions of a folklore immemorial antiquity. even in his domestic life, the serf was still at the mercy of the lord. he was by birth an inheritance bound to the soil, he and his family could be combined when estates exchanged hands. he could not marry his daughter save with his lord‘s consent and on the payment of heavy fine. the medieval serfs were solely service to the lords. he could not at will withdraw his service. they were attached with bailiffs or overseers who ensured they do their work with fidelity. the sum conditions of the serfs were that they lived in hovels. he sums it up by alluding that feudalism has been regarded as the fabric of medieval society and the stage of social and economic. feudalism provided stability within societies, restoring public order and strengthening the monarchy. the level of pervasiveness of the feudalists made students of the past eager to understand how they had come into being. it is discovered that similarities of terminology and practice were found in the surviving documents from the middle agesespecially the libri feudorum (―book of fiefs‖), an italian compilation of customs relating to property holding which was made in the 12th century and incorporated into roman law. (pp.45-67). decline of feudalism bean (1968), iwe (1986), okey (1986) and reynolds (1994) maintain that the institution of feudalism survived in england until it was abolished by parliament in 1645. until their eradication by the national assembly between 1789 and 1793, they had considerable importance in france, where they were employed to create and reinforce familial and social bonds. by the thirteenth century, europe's economy was involved in a transformation from a mostly agrarian system to one that was money-based and mixed. coupled with the fact that over time, the lords could no longer provide new lands to their vassals neither could they enforce their right to reassign lands which had become de facto hereditary property, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 22 feudalism became less tenable as a working relationship. at some stage, payments for military service became quantified in the amount of gold instead of land. therefore, it became easier for the monarchs to pay peasants with mineral wealth, and many more were recruited and trained, putting more gold into circulation. by this way, the land based feudalism was undermined. by the end of the middle ages, the kings were seeking a way to become independent of willful nobles and they first hired mercenaries and later created standing national armies. feudalism declined also with the rise of towns and a money driven economy when land ceased to be the only important form of wealth. with the development of new methods of fighting, as human beings progressed, however, this system was broken down and the industrial revolution changed the structure of societies, allowing greater development of science and technology in the modern age. feudalism begins to reshape into other forms. the contemporary feudalism: the nigerian situation gutierrez (1988) avers that the tools used in analyzing the situation of the people latin america vary with time (p.24). therefore, contemporary feudalism in nigeria manifests in the aspects of ethnicity, economics, religion, politics, electioneering, civil and public services among others. 1. political feudalists nigerian politics is money driven and determines largely by the people often described as the god fathers. mayeni (2019) avers that godfathers in nigerian politics do not usually run for office themselves rather many people believe that they are the ones who decide the election winners and losers. they are political sponsors who use money and influence to win support for their preferred candidates. their choice sons are not always selected for their political acumen but on their ability to repay and enrich their godfather. the holder of the political position becomes a stooge to his godfather. by the time the godson refuses to meet their demands, he is eventually impeached from political office. apart from destroying governance, this ugly merchandise must have the culture of re-enacting political violence in the states. unfortunately, in the midst of these situations, nothing meaningful is done for the masses. while the god father is hatching the plot for the removal of his political son, the son is using public resources to fight for his survival. godfatherism is one of the pandemic that is endangering nigerian system. it compels elected or selected official to siphon funds made for public infrastructural development into private accounts, thereby igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 23 jeopardizing and mortgaging the future of the citizens and this is worse than medieval feudalism. 2. “use and dump” feudalists during electioneering, politicians bamboozled nigerians with all kinds of promises and they end up doing none. the worst of them is how they use the illicit drug induced youths to carry out their political campaigns. these boys are often mobilized for violence aimed at intimidating their opponents and rigging themselves into office. but as soon as these politicians get into office, these boys are abandoned. in the end these used and dumped youths became terrors to the poor masses. these politicians are addressed as ―use and dump‖ feudalists because they have refused to meaningfully develop or remunerate these boys who worked for them. 3. economic feudalists this is the case of where some people especially the wealthy people and bourgeoisie establishments employ others mostly poor ones, pay them peanuts, harass them and reject them as soon as these employees are in need or trouble. it is the mentality where some rich individuals pay little or nothing to the likes of their drivers, cooks, cleaners, gate keepers and others. this is when people are seen as mere instruments for achieving other people‘s selfish ends. hence, what some rich individuals and establishments pay their workers cannot feed the dogs in their house. 4. ethnic feudalists nigeria is theoretically run upon tripod ethnic nationals: igbo, hausa/fulani and yoruba and any other tribe outside these three is considered ―the minority‖. with time, it appears by all intent and purposes that the nigerian president is reserved for people from few tribes. unfortunately, any tribe that controls the central government begins to feel and behave as if others are serfs. the state apparatuses are subtly programmed to protect them and they are often treated as people above the law. the state law is interpreted differently for them and by them while others are treated with different law. 5. social feudalists nigerian society is patterned between the rich and the poor, politicians and the others. this accounts for why it is stratified between the government reserved areas (gras), urban and rural areas. while the wealthy people and politicians igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 24 live in the government reserved areas, the poor people live the ghetto, slumps and that is how social amenities are allocated to them. the public power supply can be seen functioning at the gras while those living in the ghetto and slumps are abandoned to their fate where it is supplied once at the end of the month, it is done to taunt them to pay bill. these slumps and ghettos can only be remembered during election campaign, they are usually visited with salt, soap and other insulting peanuts by these sociopolitical feudalists. 6. religious feudalists there are many atrocities being committed under the guise of religion in nigeria. for example, the poor members of some religious organizations usually contribute through their noses to sustain some of these organizations and even help establish investments like schools for them. but at the completion of those projects, these supposedly sacred organizations hike the prices of services and at the end, the poor people‘s children will never be educated in those schools. the implication is that the poor members of these organizations have unwittingly built good schools for the children of the wealthy and thereby extending their servitudes. more so, the pitiable conditions of some workers in these religious organizations who are mostly used to generate resources for these supposedly sacred organization through is nothing but despicable. sometimes the milk of their resources are sent to the man or men at the top. these religious bourgeoisies continue to lavish in pleasures at the expense of other lower workers who suffer in hovels. these workers who can be regarded as religious serfs find it extremely difficult to send their children to good schools or even get reasonable shelters for themselves. what some of these senior executives who can be considered as religious lords spend on their dogs can pay other workers for months not to talk of what they spent on their children as ordinary pocket money. this is why religion seems to be oblivious of its social change. no wonder udeaga (1992) argued that religion is an instrument used for securing dominance of the few over the masses (p.24). the roots and development of liberation theology by way of simplification, liberation theology is a christian concept of theology that was developed in latin america in the 1960s and 1970s, focusing on liberation of the oppressed. oji (2004) notes that in the sixteenth century, latin america was conquered and ruled by spain and portugal in close ally with igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 25 roman catholic church. the latin america experienced weighty political subjugation, economic exploitation and social injustice which resulted in degrading human poverty and sufferings. the people were not allowed to enjoy the wealth accruing from the gold they produced. hence, the lost their rights to the ownership of land and could not produce food for themselves. they were also discriminated based on occupation especially those from africa and indian decent. they were excluded from the schools similar to what happened in south africa during the apartheid. unfortunately, the catholic church that ought to have protected the people compounded their problems by being ally to the states that oppressed them. however, with the entrance of the protestant christianity as the religion of investors and developers, current enlightenment and post enlightenment alongside with the karl marx critique on religion led to the revolutionary agitations. both britain and america showed interests in the political and economic wealth of the latin american. they poured in investments and military might to protect their investments. regrettably, instead of the investments improving the living conditions of the people of latin america, they compounded it. this is because the foreign overlords who contributed to the investments wanted to more of their profits than people‘s improvement. the exploitations were heightened by poor remunerations. in 1965, a development programme in latin america came under critical essays and seminars by catholic priests sent to work among the poverty ravaged people and through their efforts liberation theory was born (pp.1-4). apart from them, the second vatican council (1962-1965). this summit opened the doors for catholic involvement in social issues and the conditions of human persons. haynes (1994) and beyer (1994) affirms that, to address the situation of poverty in latin america, some concerned individuals played huge roles in advancing the cause of liberation theology. they include: paulo freire a brazilian educator, suggested the program of ―conscientization‖ and taught that the oppressed and the oppressor must liberate themselves from their ―dominated-conditioned‖ and mentalities. gustavo gutiérrez (named the father of liberation theology) observed that liberation means a global and unique process through which persons become free, assume their proper destiny and become sons of god and brothers of men. praxis as commitment to this liberation should precede any theoretical reflection in theology. he believes that even the use of violence by the oppressed should be permitted for the purpose of liberation and it should not be equated with the unjust violence of the oppressor. oji (2004) adds that juan luis segundo did the hermeneutical treatment liberation from the bible and leonardo igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 26 boff challenged the church by asserting that it should be open for positive change because of the possibility that the holy spirit would take further action in the ―base communities,‖ josé míguez bonino in his marxists treatise has strongly defended the christian use of marxist as the best instrument available for social revolution in spite of its uneasy tension with the religious nature of the christian faith. rubem alves makes it a bit scarier when he said that unless the oppressed are willing to resist this world of injustice in favour of a future world of hope, ―god will suffer‖. like every other movement in human history, liberation theology did not go without an initial opposition from both the church and the state. kozloff (2008) avers that pope paul vi, who reigned the vatican from 1963 to 1978, tried to slow the progressive momentum highlighted from the second vatican council. pope benedict xvi known as former cardinal ratzinger, before he became the pope headed the sacred congregation for the doctrine of the faith from 1983. in march 1983, he published an article entitled ―ten observations on the theology of gustavo gutiérrez,‖ where he accused gutiérrez of giving political interpretation to the bible and also teaching people an earthly paradise. with the issuance of ―instruction on certain aspects of the theology of liberation‖ and ―instruction on christian freedom and liberation‖ in 1984 and 1986 respectively, ratzinger officially condemned liberation theology. beyer (1994) stresses that at the third conseiho epispocal latino-america (celam iii) simply called the council of roman catholic bishops of latin america in 1979, pope john paul ii took a pacifying stand when he expressed concern for liberation theology and the miserable condition of the poor in latin america. haynes (1994) argues that the second celam council in 1968 was like a hunting dog because the themes discussed there cannot be swept under the carpet. for the writer, liberation theology has its root from the old testament of the christian bible. in exodus chapter three, god said he had seen the sufferings of his people in egypt and had come to deliver them. when the powers that be resisted the liberation of the jews, it cost them their lives and that of every first born in egypt. liberation theology is similar to the concept of black theology which became a spiritual weapon in the hands of the oppressed who tried to regain their identity. contextualizing liberation theology in the african setting martey (1995) said liberation theology is a theological paradigm in africa, hermeneutic procedure that seeks to understand the african reality and to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 27 interpret this reality in the light of the gospel jesus christ and to bring transformation of the oppressive status quo (p.36). the impact of liberation theology liberation theology may not have solved all the problems of the poor masses, racial discrimination, injustice and other degrading conditions of human persons but it has had an impact much wider than an ecclesiastical dispute within the catholic church itself. it promoted awareness that the poor and impoverished can struggle for change instead of continuing to live in hovels. liberationists stood for social revolution and the catholic church and dominant political powers feared revolution and started preaching peaceful transformation. by contrast, many latin americans in base communities simply created parallel societies comprising their own communities instead of following the option of social revolution. however, they learnt self-reliance, hygiene, and various skills from priests and social workers and then from one another. protestant theologians watching the internecine catholic disputes exploited the situation to champion their cause. just like martin luther‘s criticisms four centuries earlier, they identified with their brothers. before then, liberation theology has been recognized within liberal protestants as an important school of thought, enjoying equal standing with other contemporary schools of theology such as black theology and feminist theology. the protestantism taught in latin america then emphasized an ethic of self-reliance and greater equality between men and women. meanwhile, beyer (1994) and haynes (1994) concur that black theology emerged in response to the problem of racism in the united states of america around the same time as liberation theology in latin america. liberation theologians see a close relationship between religion and the modern problem of the society. they argued that the marginalized and subjugated are not poor by providence or fate but by the unjust social structures of the society. they believe in giving religion back it liberating power. liberation theology therefore explicitly espouses key modern values especially with stress on inclusiveness, equality and progress. they believe that this values as the heart of authentic christianity. the condition of nigeria today nigeria as a country is amalgamated in 1914 and got her political independence on 1st october, 1960. having gone through the initial civilian rule that was halted largely because of ethnicity, passed through the throes of the military dictators igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 28 and returned to civilian rule in 1999 and probably being aware of the dangers of feudalism, the framers of the present 1999 nigerian constitution in chapters two and three outlined the following: 14. (1) the federal republic of nigeria shall be a state based on the principles of democracy and social justice. (b) the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government: 16. (1) the state shall, within the context of the ideals and objectives for which provisions are made in this constitution. (b) control the national economy in such manner as to secure the maximum welfare, freedom and happiness of every citizen on the basis of social justice and equality of status and opportunity...) that the economic system is not operated in such a manner as to permit the concentration of wealth or the means of production and exchange in the hands of few individuals or of a group; and (d) that suitable and adequate shelter, suitable and adequate food, reasonable national minimum living wage, old age care and pensions, and unemployment, sick benefits and welfare of the disabled are provided for all citizens. 18. (1) government shall direct its policy towards ensuring that there are equal and adequate educational opportunities at all levels. (3) government shall strive to eradicate illiteracy; and to this end government shall as and when practicable provide (a) free, compulsory and universal primary education; (b) free secondary education; (c) free university education; take a critical look at these italicized words and phrases and you will be shocked at the level of breach of trust and social contracts the state actors in nigeria have carried out against the nigerian masses. just like it was in medieval europe where feudalism was in operation and latin america before the founding of the liberation theology, that is how it is to nigeria today. despite the fact that the country is richly blessed with both human and natural resources, the country has myriads of man-made problems. alechenu, ihuoma, nwogu and isenyo (2020) state that the country is voted the global headquarters of poverty, the world bank added that seventy-one (71) million nigerians lack access to improved water, while one hundred and thirty (130) million people do not meet the millennium development goal standards for sanitation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 29 largely because of poverty, injustice and politics, the socioeconomic, political and religious life of nigeria has been roundly heated up with agitations and counter agitations and it has made the country a scary society. the return to the so called civilian rule in 1999, gave some group of politicians the avenue to churn out the agitation for the implementation of sharia in nigeria. expectedly, hundreds of thousands of poor people lost their lives and property of unquantifiable costs. simultaneously, the deadly kidnapping ventures took a wilder dimension beginning from the oil rich niger delta. similarly, other ethnic national movements sprouted in the likes of egbesu boys, opc (oodua peoples‘ congress), mosop (movement for the survival of the ogoni people), (ndpvf) niger delta people‘s volunteer force, massob (movement for the actualization of sovereign state of biafra), arewa youth forum, coalition of northern (youth) groups, later the indigenous people of biafra (ipob) and mafo (movement against fulani occupation). lately, the most horrible and dreadful dimension of all these have been the mindless invasion and destruction of farm lands, raping and murderous bloodletting of defenceless and innocent people by the killer herdsmen in nigeria. similar to the form of medieval feudalism and the state of latin american before the thought of liberation theology was borne, where might was right the government of the day especially the federal government seems to be looking the other side as if different laws are made for different people. for example, the same government has unilaterally proscribed massob and the indigenous people of biafra (ipob) who later took to the street with their countless processions to protest against perceived injustice. referring to the section 14 subsection 3 of the 1999 constitution, it is made clear that: the composition of the federal government or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner that as to reflect the federal character of nigeria and the need to protect national unity, also to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few states or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that government or any of its agencies. in flagrant to this provision, nigerian successive political actors seem to be promoting injustice in clear perversion of the quota system and federal character principles in appointments into key offices in nigeria. the impunity appears igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 30 much evident with the administration of president muhammad buhari. take for example, the nigerian heads of security and para military agencies except for chiefs of defence and naval staff appointed from the south, the heads of other security agencies such as the army, air force, police, nigeria intelligence agency, department of state security services, nigerian security and civil defence corps, defence intelligence agency, nigerian drug law enforcement agency, customs, nigerian correctional centers to mention but a few are all northerners and muslims. many people are of the view that these parochial, clannish, lopsided and provocative appointments are aimed at promoting superiority and the expansionist zeal of some groups. the country‘s system covertly encourages massive exploitations. for example, the premium motor spirit (pms) known as fuel (which god freely gave to the people) was close to five years ago hiked to close to one hundred percent without any tangible increment on the workers‘ stipends. when the thirty thousand (30,000) naira a month was reluctantly passed into law, many states refused to pay it to workers. before the increment by this current regime from eighty-six (86) naira to one hundred and forty-five (145) naira per a liter, a bag of rice was sold for six or seven thousand naira (7,000) while the minimum wage was eighteen thousand naira (18,000). today, a bag of rice is sold for about twenty thousand (28,000) naira and the worker is being reluctantly paid thirty thousand (30,000) naira by the federal government while the state governments paid whatever they like. the implication therefore is that, assuming the worker did not spend his/her wage on transportation, house rent, soaps for washing his/her clothes and any other need in a month, his/her earning in a month can only afford him/her a bag of rice without other condiments and firewood, kerosene or cooking gas that can be used for cooking the rice. again must the worker only live on eating rice in a month and still survive? has he/she got no children and other dependents? probably, this may be a person who has spent years in training and even the university. but in his/her village or street, one may see a school dropout who when appointed into a political office, within a few months, the person will become stupendously rich and powerful yet the worker may spend thirty-five years without anything to show for it. majority of the workers are not regularly paid their salaries and not to talk of pensioners who are dying on daily basis for lack of care from the governments they have served with their youthful days and energies. the security apparatus seems to be working optimally when it comes to protecting the wealthy and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 31 politically exposed individuals and their property. the same agencies only mobilize the remaining part of their formidability and astuteness to unleash, harass, intimidate and even kill armless and poor nigerians while killer herdsmen (rated the fourth most dangerous terrorists in the world) carry out their nefarious activities unchallenged. generally, like achebe (1983) pointed out that, bad leadership has been the only problem with nigeria (p.1). it has affected the economic condition of the country causing the horrible experiences such as unemployment, poverty, absence of social amenities, corruption, ethnicity, clannishness, parochialism, impunity, suppression and oppression. according to the nigerian minister of labour and employment, senator chris ngige, would rise to 33.5 per cent by 2020. the end result of unemployment in any society is poverty and escalation of crimes and crises. it is horrifying to watch how majority of the youths engage in illicit drugs, alcohol and betting activities meaning that in no distant future the country will brag more of betniger youths. in view of all these, nigeria has become a country where her people are highly vulnerable, gullible and afraid to ask questions. the much hyped fight against corruption has lost its acceptability among many nigerians. to have a glimpse of how majority of the so-called corruption is fought, in the build up to the 2019 senate presidential election, many analysts projected senator danjuma goje to head the nigerian red chamber. but on 6th june, 2019, immediately he had a meeting with the president, he publicly withdrew from the race and adebulu (2019) states that the corruption case of twenty-five billion naira against him at the court of appeal in jos was subsequently withdrawn by the attorney general of the federation, abubakar malami (san). instead of fighting against electoral corruption and building strong public institutions to where they can checkmate impunity and corruption, nigerian politicians are busy deceiving the poor mases with opiated slogans. nigeria has digitalized some of her modes of payments and taxations but has not digitalized her electoral system simply because politicians corruptly impose themselves on the people through the wobbling system. the worst form of corruption in nigeria is this unprecedented electoral corruption. this is because it has the ability to enthrone mediocre and bandits in office as leaders. the country is suffering from a wholesome infrastructural deficit. the deficits ranges from the epileptic power supply and near mortuary as health centers. majority of the social amenities are only built on radio and television stations. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 32 until the arrival of coronavirus, the secretary to the nigerian government, boss mustapha, according to iroanusi (2020) confessed that he never knew that nigerian health system was in such ―a bad state‖ (p.8). the nigerian politicians and privileged public office holders will not to know that nigerian health system is in a shambles since they trot us, europe and dubai with their families and cohorts to treat ordinary malaria while the poor masses they claim to be serving are abandoned to their fates. just as it was obtained in the medieval feudal system where judiciary was at the whims and caprices of the lords, many poor people are not getting justice today from the law court. the wealthy and politically exposed individuals usually hire the services of the best lawyers and through them delay justice and often buy it for the highest bidders. nigeria can only lay claim to judicial system without justice system. as noted earlier, the peasants in the medieval feudalism at a point protested against their lords in england, that is how agitations are growing especially for an ethnic presidency seems to be making headline news simply because other nigerians feel rightly insecure when a politician from other tribe is in the saddle because of the level of impunity and clannishness of some accidental leaders in nigeria. liberation theology an antidote to the contemporary feudalism liberation theology made impact from where it started. for example, it has helped many of the poor in the latin america to create their own self-reliant communities. one of the major problems nigeria as a country has been facing is the problem of self-reliance. majority of the youth are anxiously working towards securing government jobs while almost all the states cannot do anything meaningful in the area of development because they do not believe that they stand financially if they are not given allocation from the federation accounts yet in their various lands lie untapped natural resources. socrates opines that unexamined life is not worth living. liberation theology will help individuals, local and state governments in nigeria to look inward and tap their resources. liberation theology bequeathed marxist elements to black theology in the united states of america. ukpong (1995) maintains that liberation theology helped minjung theology (theology of people) in korea and dalit theology (theology of the untouchable) in india to emerge. it built a considerable base, when it was connected with the marxist-led sandinista government of nicaragua in the 1980s. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 33 moreover, many scholars such as durkheim and engels saw religion as materialist fact and they believed that it is the creation of man. but religion has gone deeper to remaining a cognitive phenomenon, a system of hypotheses aimed at explaining reality by reference to the supernatural entity and which also attracts veneration. in view of this, people are forced to depend on the supernatural entity and they are cultured to the feelings that what becomes their values are seen from the perspective of this supernatural reality. this recognition and dependence instill some kind of consciousness and reverence for the laws and tenets of the supernatural. moreover, religion has been an agent of social change and russell in all his fierce criticism of religion, reluctantly accepted that christianity has made unimaginable contributions to human developments. he cited as his proof, the establishment of universities of oxford, bologna, paris and cambridge and others in europe (p.24). unarguably, all the religions of the world have special place for the poor, abhors impunity, corruption, operation and suppression. the consciousness and reverence for the supernatural reality will checkmate the excesses and impunity of the state and social actors. to be religious is to be liberated, grace does not mean bondage neither does it exclude freedom rather grace establishes freedom. according to heselbarth (1985), the blacks believed that jesus christ was a black as long as he was sent to deliver the poor (luke 4:18). for them, ―to be black is to be where the oppressed are‖ (p. 217). the blacks understood their lives with the help of the biblical texts and also understood god in the light of their experience. apawo and sarogini (2000) state that african women theologians advocated that african theologies should focus on the transformation of the society and this places african theologies within the field of liberation theologies. such theologies should conscientize communities of people or to make them become aware of their deplorable conditions which is the first step towards overcoming it. osei–bonsu (2005) argues that the latin american liberation theology gave birth to the black african theology and he chose to re-caption it ―the african liberation theology‖ (pp.94-95). according to oji (2004), pope john paul 11 wrote that social thinking and social practice inspired by the gospel must always be marked by a special sensitivity towards those who are extremely poor, those suffering from, all physical, mental and moral ills that afflict humanity, including hunger, neglect unemployment (sic) and despair... igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 34 you must also seek out the structural which foster the cause different forms of poverty in the world… so that you can apply the proper remedies. it may not yet be the uhuru but… however, it should be noted that in spite of its strong theological and ideological stance on praxis for social revolution, liberation theology had hardly been able to accomplish that kind of revolution. sigmund (1992) observed that most of the poor people in latin america are by nature too religious and pious to accept liberation theology's radical program for social revolution. they have been mainly interested in the pursuit of their own parallel societies and looking at the condition and configuration of nigerian society today as a place where majority of the people are concerned with the momentary solutions to their challenges, bedeviled by ethnic cleavages and gullibility occasioned mostly by offensive poverty and colossal injustice entrenched in the country, liberation theology may not catch their attention. moreover, with the level of conspiracy among the rich and wealthy in the nigeria who use the security apparatuses to intimidate and even kill the people, liberation theology may not be popular. again, because the religious leaders who are supposed to champion the cause of liberation theology are culpable of the subjugation and really beneficence of the wobbling and oppressive system. however, munsterberg (1914) states that society is advanced by contrasting views, discussions and struggles (p.49). of course, nigeria is advancing both in population and idea and there is hope that the people one day will definitely be aware of who they are. similarly, brooks (1923) warns that a ruling class is seldom conscious of its own decay and most of the world‘s catastrophes of history have been caused by an obstinate resistance to change when resistance was no longer possible. thus, while an incessant alteration in social equilibrium is inevitable, a revolution is a problem in dynamics on the correct solution of which the fortunes of a declining class depend (p.47). iwe (1986) states that in the fourteenth century, these serfs revolted in places such as in france in 1357 and england in 1382. however, their protests could not depose the lords who employed the steel policemen against them. the end result was the massacre but their uprising in england led to sanctioning of the english magna carta. though it did not affect or ameliorate their sufferings, it was a good starting point for other good things to come. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 35 conclusion feudalism especially from the era of medieval was a socioeconomic and political idea of subjugation, suppression and oppression which even when it was thought to have stopped with the evolution of other world orders, it has just been modified and metamorphosed into other ideologies that are driven specifically by politics and economics. it is my unshaking belief that man is not merely an evolution as it has been propounded earlier but more of a revolutionary being and this unique quality has become historically and ideologically crystalized with the emergence of major world religions especially christianity. in the first century of christian era, human person is conceived as sacred, independent and indestructible. the rights of human person embody the spiritual image of his maker. the emergence and recognition of this sacred nature of human person as a personality was a major revolution and historic triumph of a fundamental and critical human value. liberation theology is a religious movement that arose in late twentieth-century in latin america that sought to apply religious faith in assisting the poor and oppressed expose both the heightened awareness of the sinful socioeconomic structures that caused social inequities and their active participation in changing those structures. it did not provide immediate relief but with time, it brought attention to the plights of the downtrodden. the same conditions prevalent in the latin america thrive in the present day nigeria and religion being one of the potent forces in nigeria can be interpreted the same as it was in latin america to inspire the downtrodden oppressed and subjugated in getting out of this socioeconomic and political dungeon. beyer (1994) argues that the liberation theologians want religion to be publicly influential, but they do not insist on a particular religion (p.141). in other words, the struggle for the liberation of the poor and oppressed is not particular to christianity rather all regions bodies and traditions should rise and use religion to defend the downtrodden. it will be mortally, injurious for religion to wait and another social force comes to redeem mankind from the claws of this horrific condition in nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 36 references achebe, c. (1983). the problem with nigeria. enugu: fourth dimension. adebulu, t. (2019). fg withdraws corruption charges against goje-one month after he endorsed lawan. www. thecable.ng. adeyeye, v.a (1987). rural crisis in nigeria: increase in food deficits, decline in real income and widespread rural poverty. ibadan: niser adeyeye, v.a (1999). designing social safety nets for rural poor: conceptual issues evidence and policy choices for developing countries. ibadan: memio niser. ajakaiye, d.o &. adeyeye, v.a (1999). concepts, measurement and causes of poverty. cbn economic & financial review, vol. 39 n0. 4 atkinson, a. b. (1970). ―on the measurement of income inequality‖. journal of economic theory (2) pp. 244-263 atkinson, a. b. (1991). comparing poverty rates internationally: lessons from recent studies in developing countries. ―the world bank economic review‖ vol. 8, no. 1, pp.3-21 alechenu, j, ihuoma, c, nwogu, s. &. isenyo, g (2020). 87% nigeria‟s poverty rate in north – world bank. ―the punch.‖ february 11. alves, r. (1969). a theology of human hope. washington: corpus. apawo, i. &. sarogini, n. (2000). african women‟s theologies in african theory on the way current conversations ed stinton d. spc.k london: ashford colour bean, j.m.w. (1968). decline of english feudalism, 1215–1540. london: oxford. berryman, p. (1987). liberation theology. philadelphia: temple university. beyer, p. (1994). religion and globalization. london: sage boff, l. (1986). church: charisma and power-liberation theology and the institutional church. new york: crossroad. boff, l. &. clodovis b. (1987). introducing liberation theology. new york: orbis. bonino, j.m. (1976). christians and marxists: the mutual challenge to revolution. grand rapids: william b. eerdmans. brooks, a. (1924). the theory of social revolutions. new york: macmillan brown, e. a.r. (2016). feudalism social system. www.britannica.com. burchaell, j. t. (1988). how authentically christian is liberation theology? ―review of politics‖ vol.50: 264-81. cone, j. h (1984). for my people: black theology and the black church. new york: orbis. de soto, h. (1989). the other path: the invisible revolution in the third world. new york: harper & row. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 37 ferm, w. d. (1986). third world liberation theologies: a reader. new york: orbis fines, j. (1970). who‟s who in the middle ages. new york: barnes&noble freire, p. (1970). pedagogy of the oppressed. new york: seabury. gutiérrez, g. (1984). the power of the poor in history. new york: orbis. gutiérrez, g. (1988). a theology of liberation: history, politics and salvation. maryknoll: orbis. heselbarth, h. (1985). christian ethics in the african context. nairobi: uzima. hornby, a.s. (2010). oxford advanced leaner‟s dictionary of current english 8th edition. oxford: oxford press. iroanusi, q. (2020) i never knew that nigerian health care infrastructure was in such bad statesgf. https://www.premiumtimesng iruonagbe, t.c. (2013). religion and its attendant conflicts in nigerian: a paradox. ogun: covenant iwe, n.s.s. (1986). the history and contents of human rights. new york: peterlang. kappen, s. (1977). jesus and freedom. new york: orbis. kozloff, n. (2008). the pope‟s holy war against liberation theology. https://nacla.org. access april 17/4/2020. leys, c. (1994). the rise and fall of development theory. nairobi: east africa edu. pub. mahan, b, & dale r. (1981). the challenge of liberation theology: a first world response. new york: orbis manyon. two volumes. chicago: university of chicago press. martey, e. (1995). african theology inculturation and liberation. new york: orbis. mayeni, j. (2019). nigeria election 2019: how „godfathers‟ influence politics. https://www.bbc.com accessed 12/04/2020 miranda, j. (1974). marx and the bible: a critique of the philosophy of oppression. new york: orbis oji, e. (2004). the relevance of liberation theology: the nigerian situation. umuahia: habhon okey, r. (1986). eastern europe 1740–1985: feudalism to communism. london: routledge. osei–bonsu, j. (2005). the inculturation of christianity in africa. new york: peterlang. ratzinger, j. c. (1990). ―ten observations on the theology of gustavo gutiérrez.‖ in liberation theology: a documentary history. ed. alfred t. h. pp.348-50. new york: orbis. https://nacla.org/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 38 ratzinger, j. c. (1985). the ratzinger report: an exclusive interview on the state of the church. san francisco: ignatius press. reynolds, s. (1994). fiefs and vassals: the medieval evidence reinterpreted. oxford: oxford university press. russel, b. (1963). why i am not a christian. new york: simon and schuster. schall, j v. (1982). liberation theology in latin america. san francisco: ignatius press. segundo, j.l. (1976). the liberation of theology. new york: orbis. sigmund, p.e (1992). liberation theology at the crossroads: democracy or revolution? london: oxford university press. smith, c. (1991). the emergence of liberation theology: radical religion and the social movement theory. chicago: university press. sobrino, j. (1985). christology at the crossroads. new york: orbis. trevelyan, g.m. (1960). history of england. london: longman. udeaga, a. n. (1992). liberation theology and the poor in nigeria. enugu: snaap. ukpong, j.s. (1995). contextual theology. lagos: campbell. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 247 the implications of wole soyinka’s season of anomy for conflict studies in nigeria solomon osekene (ph.d) department of english language and literature nnamdi azikiwe university, awka email: sosekene@gmail.com & ile, onyebuchi james (ph.d) department of english language and literature nnamdi azikiwe university, awka email: oj.ile@unizik.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29332.65925 abstract season of anomy mirrors a nigeria in turmoil in the sixties. it captures the ethnic violence of those years that took place in the northern part of nigeria. it is a description or representation of nigerian life and could, therefore, help to visualize ethnic conflicts, which most often cannot be directly observed. it is able to help in visualizing ethnic conflicts because it is a representation of reality and details, perceptively, in the reader’s mind, why ethnic conflicts occur. in its informative engagement with the reader, the reader identifies barriers to settlement, and may indicate procedures to manage or resolve the disputes. this paper, therefore, examined the wider implications of the work for conflict studies in nigeria. the paper problematized the functionality of the text by arguing that the text alone could not achieve functionality without the pragmatic involvement of the reader or scholar. most formalists have insisted that the text has no business with anything outside of it. they, however, agree that texts can humanize us or make us better persons; but they have not told us what to do with the state of being humanized or being better persons. the paper demonstrated to a very large extent that the scholar of the text, season of anomy, could mediate in nigeria’s ethnic conflicts through textual experience. keywords: ethnic conflict, the functionality of the text, formalists, the scholar, national orientation and development introduction in wole soyinka’s season of anomy, one is exposed to the nature of ethnic conflicts in nigeria. in the work, one sees the applicability of furlong’s (30), circle of conflict theory, which looks at the values, external factors, data, relationships igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 248 and the structures that fuel conflicts –be they ethnic, interpersonal, organizational, etc. therefore, in studying season of anomy as conflict story, the paper examined inherent values in the work in relation to the nigerian society, the nature of ethnic relations, the external factors, stored negative and positive information (stereotypes) as well as institutional structures that have the capacity to fuel ethnic conflict in nigeria. in nigeria today, if one tuned in the radio or turned on the television, the first thing one hears is corruption. therefore, in terms of value, every nigerian agrees that it is a negative value. in season of anomy, it is the value that dragged the country down the path of bloodshed. it is a value represented in the cartel; for when ofeyi subverts the interest of the cartel by hiding ironies and counterpropaganda in his promotional adverts for the cartel, it is because he believes the cartel’s humanity is no longer redeemable: it is enveloped in corruption; but confronting the cartel openly was going to be the undoing of ofeyi. corruption in the given society has become so endemic that it has lost its identity as a negative value. it has become rationalized, because it is legitimatized by the ethnic groups in order to strengthen their ethnic interests. this rationalization, as peter ekeh has argued, is as a result of the two public realms created by colonialism (108). that is, ethnic or primordial and civic or modern realms. both the primordial and civic realms relate differently to the private realm in regard to morality. the primordial public realm is based on the cultures and traditions of the different ethnic groups and they reflect for the ethnic groups a high moral standard rooted in their cultures, while the public, civic realm is associated with illegitimate and exploitative colonial rule. this realm has no moral connection to private realm; in other words, it is amoral, because it sees the state as something that has to be exploited for the benefit of the primordial realm, that is, the ethnic groups (ekeh 108). this amoral attitude toward the colonial state is transferred to the post-colonial state, and as attahiru jega has argued, ‘it defines the parameters of relative non-commitment to the nigerian nation-state and commitment to other levels of primordial identity’ (43). ofeyi’s desire to do that which is right portrays him as an honest man, and honesty is a positive value desirable in any society. when the cartel sends a trouble-shooter to hunt ofeyi down, it is because they believe he is ruining business for them. the people at the top, like zaki amuri and chief batoki, who are supposed to be doing everything within their power and within the bounds of the constitution to improve and ennoble the lives of people under them, rather igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 249 spend their years in government embezzling public funds, leaving the poor masses wretched and impoverished. during the mayhem against the people from across the river in season of anomy, the church minister is attacked, and aliyu, who now shares a sense of brotherhood with him (his church pastor), rushes at the mob and attacks them with his staff – and a few curses too. although aliyu is their kinsman, yet good conscience and a sense of brotherhood makes him understand that the pastor is his brother, not just the other stranger: it is by comparing the values, both positive and negative, like honesty, healthy conscience, sense of brotherhood, corruption, and so on, which are all in the work and those of the society it is reflecting, that one sees another human dimension in conflict resolution through literature: aliyu has proved himself to be a genuine human being, because he shows solidarity towards human suffering in the form of the suffering of his church pastor, who happens to be a stranger in cross river, the symbolic north in the novel. aliyu therefore represents the sense of one being one’s brother’s keeper. therefore, the need for nigerians to achieve authenticity as human beings like aliyu is highly desirable. the killings and maiming of the people from across the river, a symbolic terminology for the people of southern nigeria, particularly, the people of the southern eastern nigeria, the igbo, is for aliyu an absurdity, hence his revolt: the kind of revolt unah makes reference to in his study of heidegger’s existentialism (42-3). he has shown by that singular act of protest that nigerians could make their lives have meaning by loving and supporting one another in their country, and working together to create their common humanity by building a nation that will fulfill the needs of all. their humanism should consist in the mutual recognition of their human needs and of their right to their satisfaction (lowen 59-60). the killing of the church minister is as a result of the fact that he belongs to an ethnic group which is hated in cross river because they possess positive traits that is needed for the development of any society; but for which they are envied. already the people from across the river have been described by the clerk of zaki amuri as strangers and blaspheming kafiris, unbelievers all because they do not subscribe to the islamic code of existence. but being members of the same country, they are supposed to coexist under the same ideal so that as chinua achebe argues, the end to which unity is directed will be seen as unimpeachable; otherwise the clamour for unity in nigeria, for example, will simply be a hollow sham (12). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 250 it is believed by many that fiction is solely for entertainment. although this is one of the uses of fiction yet fiction is capable of instructing us on values and even healing us and the state. most fictional works as season of anomy reflect the conflict situations in our societies. it shows how prejudice and other factors play a big role in fueling ethnic conflict. but we still take it for granted that fiction can have such capacity. that, essentially, is the problem. the aim and objectives of this study were to show that a text as season of anomy could help to expose the nuances of conflict in nigeria and that the scholar of the text can actually be very relevant in conflict studies and conflict resolution in nigeria. historicism is a critical approach to textual analysis which recognizes that writers of texts belong to society and that they portray the state of their societies in texts as well as their objective experiences of the societies in question, which were at once only western societies. however, with new historicism, the marginalization of texts of non-western societies came to an end and the need to involve not only the objective engagement of the writer, but also his subjectivity as well as the objectivity and subjectivity of the reader of the text became rather very important. both historicism and new historicism became alternative ways of literary appreciation and criticism that are not marxist in nature and approach. the fact that we can historicize societies in appreciating texts and the fact the even as readers we can engage the text objectively and subjectively makes it rather obvious that the scholar of literary texts can apply his humanized self to bringing solutions to the numerous problems that present themselves in our various societies. in the twenty-first century, scholarship should be functional. if one immerses oneself in four years of pragmatic liberal education and even in some cases four years of practical liberal education, as in drama and theatre studies, it is expected that one’s life is affected in certain ways. in literary scholarship, for example, texts deal with a lot of issues so much so that one can talk about the various faculties of literary scholarship. for example, there is eco-criticism, conflict studies, gender and cultural studies, etc., inherent in literary scholarship. anyone who has engaged himself with the texts of these various faculties of life can actually be an advocate in those faculties. the method of approach used in undertaking this study was both inductive and deductive –it was essentially qualitative but very pragmatic. hypothesis igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 251 if the essence of studies in the humanities is to be humanized, then it is almost impossible for one in such condition or state to remain passive. somehow we influence our immediate environment one way or the other. therefore, hypothetically, a) season of anomy is a conflict story in which we can locate the causes of ethnic conflict discussion a) season of anomy is a conflict story season of anomy represents the morbid state of ethnic relations in nigeria, especially in the north, where so many skilled and unskilled workforces in the south migrated as a result of the vibrant economic activities in kano, one of the cities created by the colonizers during the colonial period. in other words, social mobilization gives rise to inter-ethnic relationship, especially in nigeria. such movements come with advantages and disadvantages. it could be imagined that the people from across the river, as they are referred to in season of anomy, migrate to the north because they know that they will fill the vacant positions there since they are better educated and most of the jobs there require qualifications. in other words, they are educationally at an advantage. if that is the case, should not the cross river people be made to understand the values and advantages of education? should they not be made to look beyond the horizon of reading the koran and going to the mosque? in historicizing the text, season of anomy, one cannot but appreciate the fact that the reason for the sorry state of education in the northern part of nigeria is traceable to the period of colonialism. charles jarmon argues that the highly theocratic fulani-hausa system is left intact and that muslim leaders achieve concessions with respect to exercising control over the penetration of western influence in the area. he argues that christian missions and schools are limited and education continues to centre in koranic schools and reflect arabic teaching (108-9). the need to make sure that cross river people or the hausa-fulani get education should not necessitate the implementation of policies which would deepen the existing ethnic conflicts instead of resolving them. for example, critics of governmental policies believe that the term federal character as a governmental policy, initiated by the federal government headed always by people from cross river in season of anomy and the hausa-fulani-kanawa-kanuri or the north in the reality of the nigerian condition, has been used as a subterfuge to unleash igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 252 unprecedented injustice on the people from across the river in season of anomy or the people from the south, particularly the igbo and the yoruba, in the reality of the nigerian ethnic condition. federal character principle is a term that was invented by the constitution drafting committee inaugurated by the military head of state of nigeria, general murtala mohammed, on the 18th of october 1975, to promote national unity (afigbo and toyin, eds., 423). while ethnic conflict theorist, g. william, believe on the one hand that “the federal character of nigeria refers to the distinctive desire of the people of nigeria to promote national unity, foster national loyalty, and give every citizen of nigeria a sense of belonging to the nation notwithstanding the diversities of the ethnic origin, culture, language or religion which may exist” (151), donald horowitz insists that “modernisation theories of ethnicity commonly also stress that the benefits of modernity are not equally spread among ethnic groups; this uneven distribution of economic and educational opportunities in the modern sector is an important source of group tensions” (103). he argues further in order to answer the how and why question by stating that “one answer given by modernisation theories is that, because some groups gain a head-start in the competition for the rewards of the modern world, the social classes that emerge tend to overlap and reinforce ethnic group boundaries, thereby making ethnic groups confrontations more intense” (103). however, ike udogu believes that one of the ways of ensuring that peaceful coexistence is achieved among the various nigerian ethnic groups is for government to guard against its application of federal character. this policy ensures that very good students from the so-called educationally advantaged states in the southern part of nigeria are denied places in the federal universities, while their counterparts in the so-called educationally disadvantaged states with much lower test scores are given places. this can only imbue a sense of injustice and marginalization in the people so treated (63). udogu states that “if the diverse marginalisation experiences of igbos and oil-producing minorities teach anything, it is that ethnic grievances do not go away until a government acts affirmatively, via an effective reconciliation policy to remove those grievances (63). in other words, merit and hard-work should be encouraged so that marginalization, which encourages ethnic conflict, could be eradicated from the body politic of the nation-state. marginalization is a negative value. by marginalizing others or giving preferences to someone from one’s ethnic group igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 253 or race, one would be encouraging injustice, disregard for merit, and hard-work as well as unhealthy racial or ethnic competition. in season of anomy, it can be deduced that the cross river people could not compete in the open market economy, because they lacked the necessary skills needed to be able to compete with others in the modern world. they are educationally disadvantaged probably because they are suspicious of western education, which, however, holds the key to success in the modern world in which countries like nigeria finds itself. they probably also see the colonialist as the victorious christian invaders of a moslem society. and because the people from across the river may be predominantly christians, the cross river people consider them and the colonizers as infidels. in the real world, similar things play out: the economic prosperity of the southerner, especially the igbo exposes them to the envy and jealousy of other ethnic groups. the domination of all aspects of life by the igbo would definitely perpetuate for the hausa-fulani the humiliation of colonial experience and even make it seem probable that they were going to be further colonized again. as otite and albert put it, “there is need at this point to shed some light on why the 1953 and 1966 ethnic hostilities occurred in kano it was more against the igbo than the yoruba or any other group […]. the igbo dominated the economy of kano and were the most easily blamed for the “colonisation” of the city’s economy” (283) furthermore, they argue that “to further complicate the matters, the igbo were found by their kanawa hosts not to be receptive to islam and the social practices that predominated in kano; on the one hand, some of the yoruba immigrants who were muslims were easily disposed towards hausa-fulani socio-cultural practices” (283). the nature of ethnic relations as portrayed in season of anomy in regard to its informing society which is nigeria is a clear case of ethnic relationships in an unranked society. in the reality of its informing society, the igbo and the hausa are perfect examples of unranked ethnic groups. for as horowitz points out that “in unranked systems, on the one hand, parallel ethnic groups coexist, each group internally stratified. unlike ranked ethnic groups, which are ascriptively defined components of s single society, parallel groups are themselves incipient whole societies and indeed may formerly have constituted more or less autonomous whole societies” (22-23). the nigerian ethnic nations were all autonomous whole societies before colonization. toyin falola had made several important points that professor adiele e. afigbo had made about the make-up of pre-colonial nigerian society in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 254 his researches, which showed that southern nigeria, the subject of his research, was made up of largely autonomous societies in pre-colonial era. however, policy makers in nigeria have repeatedly closed their eyes to that fact, which would have really helped nigeria to fashion a system that would have ensured justice and equity among its citizens. the writer, wole soyinka, a courageous critic of the various nigerian governments acknowledged this when he said that partly because the human factor was the most demonstrable determinant of social changes, he would caution himself and try substituting peoples for nations, for it was better to believe in people than nations. in moments of grave doubts, it was essential to cling to the reality of ethnic groups, for such realities hardly ever vanish: they cannot be questioned, because they exist. soyinka believed that for the truly independent thinker it was always easy – and often necessary – to recall the artificiality, the aristocratic arrogance, the exploitive motivations which went into the disposal of african peoples into nationalities. soyinka was of the opinion that the sense of humiliation that accompanied the recollection of such a beginning would be overcome once one established one’s essential identity as that which went into creating the entity of a people. he could not see that essence as part of the entity of boundaries. he argued that judgment in its basic ethical sense could only be applied to ethnic groups, just as loyalty, sacrifice, idealism, and even ideologies were virtues which were nurtured and exercised on behalf also of ethnic groups. therefore, any exercise of self-destruction solely in defense of the indestructibility of temporal demarcations called nations was a senseless imitation of idealism. for soyinka, ‘peoples are not temporal because they can be defined by infinite ideas. boundaries cannot (175).’ one would have expected that after the great wastage of human lives in a civil war just to keep nigeria one, issues of ethnicity would have been overcome. but the years of oil boom gave the naïve leaders of the nigerian state a false sense of accomplishment whereby they believed that their sudden wealth meant eternal solution to questions of ethnicity in nigeria. but with wealth came modernity and industrialization. nigeria witnessed a proliferation of cities. these cities became again gathering points of the ethnic groups of nigeria. whenever a member of each of the ethnic groups moves to the city, he or she first of all seeks out his own people. he or she joins their various unions, as was the case with the people of umuofia in chinua achebe’s no longer at ease, where they resolve to be of help to their members. they also articulate their interests there. apparently they would become more and more alike and their tangible interests would igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 255 increasingly be in conflict. however, this interaction of the ethnic groups in the cities ought to really engender the production of a third culture, for they would begin with contrasting perceptions and behavior. the interaction should definitely create a unique environment for a genuine relationship to develop, for in the coming together of their separate cultures, a more inclusive third culture ought to be created, which would enable effective communication among the ethnic groups, harmonizing the composite parts into a coherent whole (294). this is possible, because, according to h.j blackham, who was quoted by jeaneane d. fowler in her book, we are born potentially human but we become human in a society; that is, we are bred in a culture and in so far as we never know anything that is not mediated through the culture, we remain imprisoned in it. when, however, we become aware of other cultures, other ways of being human, we may begin to separate ourselves from the culture in which we were bred and begin to identify ourselves as man or woman. this independence is largely relative because we are always dependent on society and largely influenced by the culture in which we are bred; however, (142). once one is able to identify oneself as man, having separated oneself from the culture in which one was bred, one could be said to be tolerant; therefore, tolerance, which is a very positive value in every relationship, is also inherent in that third culture that would evolve once people have succeeded in separating themselves from the culture in which they are bred. this, however, does not seem to be the case in cross river, the symbolic northern nigeria in season of anomy. mass of stored information (positive or negative) as causes of conflicts in season of anomy, ofeyi is shocked by that great exhibition of intolerance by the cross-river people in refusing to accept the fact that the people from across the river have the right to choose to stay different in that part of the country. the people from across the river do not need to be muslims to live their lives in cross-river. such intolerance on the part of the people of cross-river gives force to the great destruction of life and property in the cross-river pogrom. the coming together of the people from across the river and the cross river people in the same environment makes it possible for them to find a way of comparing themselves regardless of the fact that they are all coming from different cultural, historical and psychic backgrounds. in comparing themselves, stereotypes, of course, crystallize. these stereotypes definitely affect the way the ethnic groups relate to one another. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 256 relating this to the reality of the nigeria condition, it is exactly the stereotype of the igbo being too aggressive in business and money-loving that leaders as zaki amuri, the leader of cross-river detests. he feels that if land is sold to the people from across the river –who symbolize the igbo and possibly the yoruba –with their sharp business acumen, they could take complete possession of the whole land. but people as zaki amuri in nigeria ought to be taught that human perception does not depend solely on the senses and the mind. for if they say that the people from across the river are strangers and unbelievers, then their judgment, which does not depend solely on the senses and the mind, has definitely imposed categories of thought on the people from across the river as objects for them to be able to make sense of what they sense. therefore, they become aware of these groups as strangers and unbelievers because they have perceived what they believe as realities through the lens of preconceived categories existing in their minds. in an editorial in the newspaper, the former minister of the federal capital territory of nigeria, mallam el’rufai, was said to have said that although 68 percent of the land in abuja was allocated to the 19 northern states, abuja being part of the north, yet the igbo own 73 percent of landed property in abuja. the same applies to all the cities in nigeria. he therefore praised the igbo enterprise and contribution toward the social and economic development of the capital territory. therefore, zaki amuri’s fears are not necessary in a country where positive values reign. but then the fears prompted his hostility to the people from across the river. therefore when the people of crossriver initiate ethnic violence against the people of the south, ofeyi, at the gory sight of the great human wastage, muses that differences in culture and material envy alone are not enough to justify such hideous wastage of human life, because a relish has colored those actions, a deep desire for perversion such that seems as if they seek to balance unnatural shortcomings, their human failings with a vengeful outrage on the face of humanity (season of anomy, 275-6). natural resources as external factor in fueling ethnic conflict in nigeria like in nigeria, where the presence of natural resources has been contributing to ethnic conflict, in season of anomy some of the causes of the ethnic conflict are also the presence of natural resources. while it is about crude oil in nigeria, it is about cocoa and land in season of anomy. all the same it is an acknowledgement that external factors play a big role in the escalation of ethnic conflicts. soyinka igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 257 may not have used them as direct sources of ethnic conflict, but the need for them by the cartel, who exploits the poor masses, exposes the nature of ethnic conflict in that given literary society, which is symbolic of the nigerian society. since the discovery of crude oil in the niger delta of nigeria in 1958, the nature of ethnic conflict in nigeria has taken another dimension. it is such that even policymakers, who are also participants in the affairs of their societies, may even entertain hostile feelings toward members of other groups. if they do not entertain such hostile feeling towards members of other groups, they at least have a view of inter-group relations that sees ethnic conflict as necessary for the advancement of the interests of their group (see horowitz, 564), hence, the disproportionate derivation policies, which leave meager 13 percent mineral revenue to the oil-producing states. ogoni and other niger delta groups are demanding 50 percent total control of their resources. however, the nigerian federal government could adopt only 18 percent increase in the revenue accruing to the oil-producing states at the national political reform conference in 2005-2006 (policy briefing, international crisis group, 18 september (2008).). it should be recalled that zaki amuri had ordered a clean sweep of cross river of everything supposedly alien. apart from the presence of natural resources, the availability of overwhelming human resources in some part of the country, in terms of highly educated professionals, has also engendered discriminatory policies that in themselves fuel ethnic hostilities and hinder innovation. furthermore, the people from across the river, symbolic for the south, being an advanced group in a backward region, cross river or the north, they are likely to export surplus capital and population outside their region. their prosperity will generate investment that does not respect regional boundaries and their education will of course create a talent pool in search of opportunities (horowitz, 250). however, it is their envied positions in the country as well as the putative qualities associated with their positionsascribable qualities that crystallized out of association in a common environmentthat will engender ethnic conflict in their given environment. it is interesting to note that although zaki amuri, the powerful tyrant from cross-river and chief batoki of gborulu are both leaders of the cartel, whose loyalty to a sodality transcends mere regionalism, yet zaki amuri sees the people of across the river, to which chief batoki belongs, as strangers in his cross-river. their genuine economic adventures in his cross-river is suspect to him and his folks, hence the debriefing of the prisoner by the clerk in the manner expected of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 258 the cross-river elite, who seems always to be taking advantage of the educational backwardness of their people in enriching themselves. but then again, chief batoki believes that the only true party that transcends local boundaries is the party of the mint. that means that he is not so much troubled that his people are being butchered in cross-river. in nigeria while the ruling elites engineer ethnic hatred and conflict among the ethnic groups, they share among themselves the gains of dividing the people and ruling them in sodalities that transcend ethnicity. isaac albert and onigu otite have noted at their methodical appendix that in the course of their research on the causes of ethnic conflict they had sought to know from their informants how they thought ethnic or religious conflicts could be managed; that the impression they got was that the people had a good knowledge of how to live together in peace among themselves in spite of their ethnic differences but that there was no serious institution put in place to galvanize their knowledge into concrete policies. they also said their informants believed that the conflicts were politically motivated by the elites (306). these elites have become strong political forces who seek to pull together the largest coalitions –be they ethnic, religious or regional –which would guarantee them access to power. these political forces know that in the process of living together in a common environment, groups build up stereotypes against one another. they also know that the pieces of information the groups store up for themselves in regard to others are more often than not pieces of information gathered from what other groups say about them or from what other groups feel about themselves in regard to others. but rather than emphasize the benefits of nigeria’s cultural diversities, they exploit the advantages of the conflict these diversities cause. institutional structures as causes of ethnic conflict in nigeria in season of anomy, there is cross-river, there is aiyero and there is aiyetomo, the state from which aiyero broke off and there is gborolu. from the knowledge of contemporary nigerian history which the novel represents, aiyetomo is, possibly, nigeria. cross-river is, possibly, northern nigeria. aiyero is, probably, south-eastern nigeria, while gborolu is, most likely, south-western nigeria. each of these regions is different by reasons of culture, language and location. furthermore, each of these regions contains ethnic minorities; as such, ethnic conflict has been fore-grounded in the founding of the geographical entity called nigeria. measures have been taken by various regimes at restructuring governmental apparatuses as well as the territorial constitution of the country. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 259 after independence, the first nigerian republic, which was from 1960 to 1966, was made up of three regions, the northern region, the western region and the eastern region. these three regions were dominated by the three major ethnic groups: the igbo, hausa and the yoruba. as such, in the opinion of horowitz, ‘the dominance of the three major groups in their regions weakened the representation of minorities by opposition parties. patronage, coercion, and the apportionment of seats worked together to over-represent the regional majorities. the first republic was terminated by a military coup of january 15, 1966, whose executers, being largely igbo, were accused of being ethnically biased in the execution of the coup. at the failure of the coup, major general aguiyi ironsi, another igbo became the head of state. his unification policy was again misconstrued as a ploy by the igbo, who already were over-represented in the professions, administration, trade and commerce, to dominate nigeria. the reason for the igbo presence in almost all sphere of nigerian life is already known. the prevalent ethnic distrust engendered a northern counter coup which aimed at checking the presupposed igbo domination of the country. consequently, the north took over the affairs of state, and the aftermath of all this is the civil war that lasted for three years from 1967. once in power, the northern military head of state with his cohorts attempted to restructure the existing quasi-federal system. in 1967, they carved out twelve states from the three regions in order to counter the biafran charge that nigeria was dominated by the large northern region as well as secure the loyalty of northern minorities strongly represented in the army, and wean the eastern minorities away from biafra. in other words, the state took upon itself the responsibility of resolving conflicts. and because, politically, power always somehow manages to remain with the north, state involvement becomes biased accordingly, repressing the political expression of other cultural identities. these cultural identities take recourse to ethnic clientelism, differentiation and polarization. from the first republic to the present republic thirty-six states have been created in nigeria and the regional strongholds have supposedly been destroyed, yet ethnic and intra-ethnic conflicts have persisted. alternative systems to the quasifederal system have been suggested –systems as confederation and true federation and even a reversion to the old regionalism, which, in the main, was federal in structure and practice. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 260 conclusion and recommendations clearly, season of anomy should be seen as more than just a simple mirror of the nigerian multi-ethnic society, because by reading the work, one experiences the dangers of ethnicity and sees the need for the ethnic groups to respect their cultural diversities. one would also see the need for the ethnic groups to copy whatever good values there are in their respective cultures. one would also see the need why the ethnic groups should respect the need for each one of them to preserve their identity; in other words, there is need to respect one another’s need to stay different in whichever part of the country the individuals of the various ethnic groups find themselves, just as the people from across the river desire to stay different in cross-river. as william zartman puts it: perceived collective need that is denied is the basic condition for conflict. denied need can refer to a broad range of grievances, from relief from political repression to redress for economic deprivation. these needs can be codified as rights, but they are ultimately subjective; it is not possible to establish a hierarchy of needs […]. needs are flexible and are satisfied at different levels under different circumstances; needs satisfied at one time do not always remain so, and need satisfaction – like other satisfactions – is a function of expectation, which are themselves manipulatable (141). therefore, it behooves the scholar articulating the conflict story to make the people of the different ethnic groups of nigeria to understand that ethnic conflicts are outgrowths of the diversity that characterizes their thoughts, attitudes, beliefs, perceptions, and social systems and structures; that it is as much a part of their existence as is evolution (see weeks, 7). once they are able to understand this, they would conquer their fears of being dominated by any group; for the only cause that is beyond mere differences in culture, beyond material envy is fear of domination which is always an offshoot of assimilated information reproduced as negative knowledge; for example, the people from across the river, symbolic for the igbo in the context of season of anomy in regard to nigeria, being an advanced group in a backward region, are seen by the cross river people as highly motivated, diligent, intelligent and dynamic. and because they are seen as such, they believe themselves to be all those things; and if they are all this, it can only be assumed that the people of cross river will see igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 261 themselves as they are seen by others outside of their group, that is, as indolent, ignorant and failures (horowitz 233). works cited achebe, chinua. the trouble with nigeria. enugu: fourth dimension publishers, 1983.print adejumobi, network bulletin vol. v111, n.3, september (2001): 37-39. print. afigbo, adiele eberechukwu & falola, toyin (eds), nigeria history, politics, and affairs: the collected essays of adiele afigbo. trenton nj: african world press, 2004.print ekeh, peter ‘colonialism and the two publics in africa: a theoretical statement’, comparative studies in society and history (1975): 108. print dudley, billy j. instability and political order: politics and crisis in nigeria. ibadan: university of ibadan press, 1973. el rufai “the igbos own 73% of abuja,” thisday. web. may 21, 2007. englebert & hummel, journal of royal african society volume 104 nr. 416 july, (2005): 425. print fowler, jeaneane d. humanism: beliefs and practices. london: sussex academic press, 1999. print furlong, gary t.the conflict resolution toolbox. ontario: john wiley & don canada, limited, 2005. print horowitz, donald. ethnic groups in conflict. berkeley: university of california press, 1985. print jarmon, charles. nigeria: reorganisation and development since the mid-twentieth century. leiden: ej brill, 1988. print jega, attahiru in identity transformation and identity politics under structural adjustment in nigeria. uppsala: nordic africa institute, 2000. print lande, casmir and lande, asuncion in j.a. anderson (ed.) communication yearbook,12 . newbury park, california: sage publication, 1989. print lloyd in panter brick (ed.) nigerian politics and military rule: prelude to the civil war. london: institute of commonwealth studies, 1972. print igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 262 onigu, otite,et al. ethnic groups and conflict in nigeria. ibadan: the lord’s creations, 2001. print soyinka, wole. the man died. london: arrow books limited, 1987. print udogu, emmanuel ike (ed.). nigeria in the twenty-first century: strategies for political stability and peaceful coexistence. trenton: african world press, 2005. print unah, j.i. heidegger’s existentialism: an essay on applied ontology. lagos: panaf publishing inc., 1996. print weeks, dudley. the eight essential steps to conflict resolution. new york: jeremy p. tarcher/putnam, 1994. print young, crawford. politics of cultural pluralism. madison: university of wisconsin press, 1979. print william, g. class relations in neocolony: the case of nigeria, in nnoli okwudiba, ethnicity and develoment in nigeria. hants: ashgate publishing, 1995. print zartmann, william i. in wimmer, andreas et al., (eds). facing ethnic conflicts: toward a new realism. lanham, md: rowman and littlefield publishers, 2004. print igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 253 sociolinguistic terminologies used by tricycle operators in lafia metropolis tanimu yusuf, phd department of english nasarawa state university, keffi email: tanyumus@gmail.com; mobile: 07037627496/08051520922 & chidimma esther nwaobasi department of english nasarawa state university, keffi email: chidinmaesther27@gmail.com; mobile: 08063871952 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.19482.59846 abstract the paper is an analysis of the sociolinguistic terminologies used by tricycle operators in the lafia metropolis in nasarawa state, nigeria. the ethnography of communication theory was applied as a frame of analysis with the use of primary method based on participatory observation by using recording and informal interview to acquire data. the data were primarily sourced within lafia metropolis, the main area of the focus of the paper. the analysis was basically by qualitative explanation and description of the data used and the findings reveal the nexus between language and the environment in which it is used. keke operators in lafia have developed unique linguistic nuances that are sociolinguistically tied to their occupational environment, social environment and, equally, their educational background. keywords: sociolinguistics, tricycles operators, lafia, language introduction language is one of man’s valuable assets used to mark identity, express thought and preserve culture. the view as such is shared by bloch and trager (5) who see language as a “system of arbitrary vocal symbols by means of which a social group cooperates”. language is a social art, one of the hallmarks of social behaviour. it is basic to social interactions and significantly represents important aspects of social behaviour and human interaction. language helps sustain interpersonal relationships. people use language to disseminate important information about who they are, what they represent, and where they come from. language use varies among social classes and that is one of the reasons mailto:tanyumus@gmail.com mailto:chidinmaesther27@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 254 why people’s character, background, affiliations and personalities are judged based on their choice of language/dialect. however way we may define language, we should know that definitions of language and society are not independent: the definition of language includes in it a reference to society. language and society are like siamese twins. they work hand in hand to examine how and why people use language in different social situations because people speak differently in different social contexts. the metropolitan nature of lafia, nasarawa state lafia is the state capital of nasarawa state, nigeria and its history and early growth is closely tied to her solid mineral. from a small town of less than 5,000 in 1930, the population grew to over 100,000 in 1973 and to over 400,000 in 1991 (npc, 1998). today the population of the city is estimated to be over 1.3 million people. lafia is a poly-nucleated metropolis due to the several settlements from which it has grown from and have grown and changed over the years, there exists high density settlements in various locations, such as in, bukan sidi, umbi i, umbi ii, shabu, sabon pegi shabu, azuba bashayi, mararraba/akunza, waakwa, kantsakuwa, agudu, gandu, etc. lafia is a major town in the north central area of nigeria, and inter-city roads linking urban areas to the south, north and east have attracted development along her corridors. the city is thus expanding rapidly along the lafia-jos road axis; the lafia-shandam road axis, and the lafia makurdi road. lafia plays host to nigerians from different states and diverse ethnic groups who have settled in and are contributing to the rapid development of the city. historical background of keke operation in nigeria tricycles known as ‘keke’ in local parlance, was first introduced in to nigeria in the late 1990s by the then military administrator of lagos state, colonel buba marwa under general sani abacha. prior to this time, the common means of public transportation was the use of taxi cabs with commercial buses joining as the population increased. it was then named after marwa for introducing it and called ‘keke marwa’ until the name was changed to ‘keke napep’ during the time of president olusegun obasanjo when the national agency for poverty eradication programme (napep) under the headship of dr. magnus kpakol igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 255 imported large quantity of tricycles for the teeming unemployed able – bodied youths as a poverty eradication scheme. the history of ‘keke’ as well as the antecedent issues that led to its introduction and popularity in nigeria necessitates that attention should be given to the language, which the work force engaged in this sector use in communicating among themselves and to the public. more so, an inquiry of this nature is bound to provide insights on how language works in different contexts, the societal factors that contribute to language development and the various purposes which language serves. ‘going operators’ language commercial transport workers in nigeria are certainly aware of the public assessment of their way of life. they know that the society to which they belong does not accept them on moral grounds and that there is the general tendency to brand their language dirty talk, street language, garage slang etc. however, the influence of language on the understanding of who is a member of the commercial transport community is unmistakable. it is perhaps in this sense that the idea of keke operation extends semantically to the street, so that what is couched in a rather accommodating formal term of discourse may simply be referred to in lay terms as street talk, with slangs and denigrating sleazy parlance in it. the present domain would indeed seem to be one of the most vivid illustrations of how language undertakes the process of carving out a group’s social identity. keke operation in lafia started in 2012. the then governor tanko almakura constructed many inner-city roads and this opened up opportunities for keke business in the city. there are two unions who control the operation of keke drivers in lafia – nactamoras (national association of tricycle and motorcycle association) and toan (tricycle owners association of nigeria). according to the chairman mr sule abubakar, there are 500 registered keke operators in lafia. the study seeks to provide insights on the way ‘going’ operators in lafia construct language patterns to serve their purposes and the effects of their nonstandard and linguistic variables on language. it focuses on the communication and linguistic behaviours that take place among keke drivers on lafia road. the entire apparatus of road transport work is probably non-existent without the commuters and passengers who constitute the clientele at the receiving end of its igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 256 services. a close analysis of the data gathered however reveals such common linguistic variations and strategies used within the environment of their job to include the ploys of deceit, costly humour, affectations, impersonation, sarcasm and face-threatening acts among others. literature review bernard spolsky defines sociolinguistics as a branch of linguistics and sociology which examines the individual and social variation of language. just as regional variation of language can give a lot of information about the place the speaker is from, social variation talks about the roles performed by a given speaker within one community. hudson asserts that sociolinguistics is also considered as a branch of sociology in that it shows the relationship between language use and the social basis for such use. it differs from sociology of language in that the focus of sociolinguistics is the effect of the society on the language, whereas the latter’s interest is on the language’s effect on the society. there are numerous definitions of sociolinguistics. however, each of these definitions does not fail to acknowledge that sociolinguistics has to do with language use and a society’s response to it. sociolinguistics examines why men speak differently from women, why rich people speak differently from poor people, and why educated persons do not use language the way uneducated people do. it also examines why people adjust the way they speak to suit different social situations. hudson defines it as “the study of language in relation to society.” every society or group of people have their linguistic codes that are acceptable for interaction. sociolinguistics shows how groups in a given society are separated by certain social variables like ethnicity, religion, status, gender, age and level of education and how adherence to these variables is used to categorize individuals in social classes. sociolinguistics and language variation language, as it is described in books on semantics and morphology, is often introduced as a uniform entity. variation is central to linguistics. indeed, there would be very little for linguists to study if, for instance, a computer had designed language and made everything completely orderly. but languages aren’t designed as perfectly regular systems. they take their shape in the way speakers use them in social and interpersonal contexts. the variation within and between speakers that we observe is partly the result of interactions between igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 257 linguistic factors (that is, aspects of the grammar and phonology of the language) and partly the result of interactions between social factors and language (who the speaker and addressee are, whether the talk occurs in a formal or informal context). a close study of variation involves taking all the social and linguistic factors into account, and for this reason the study of language variation is generally described as a form of sociolinguistics. social identity we categorize objects in order to understand and identify them. in a similar way we categorize people in order to understand their social environment. people are assigned to a category that tells us things about them and where they belong. generally speaking, the more central the place of an individual in a group, the stronger their adherence to the group’s norms of behaviour and the greater the normative influence of linguistic variables or forms, associated with that group (foulkes, scobbie and watt, 709). their behaviour is referenced to the norms of the group they belong to. this is called social identification where people adopt the identity of the group they are categorized in, conform to the norms and begin to act in ways they believe the group acts. code code linguistic behaviours seem inevitable when two languages albeit ethno linguistically different, are in constant contact. this is the scenario in nigeria, a multilingual country where various local languages that are representations of the diverse ethnic groups found in the country exist alongside a foreign language (english). this research work therefore examined code-mixing and codeswitching in spontaneous conversations. it also looked at the patterns of mixing and switching and the motivational factors for mixing and switching. a code is a system that is used by people to communicate with each other. when people want to talk each other, they have to choose a particular code to express their feelings and thoughts. sometimes people want to communicate only to certain people, community or group they belong to. to avoid the other community or people interfering their communication, they may try to exclude those people by using a language that not everybody knows/masters. pidignisation igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 258 it is a well-known sociolinguistic fact that when two or more languages come in contact, different kinds of sociolinguistic chemistry take place. sometimes a diglossic situation may result, or language shift, or even language death. in some other instance, it can lead to formation of a pidgin, or even birth of a new language altogether. a pidgin is a language with no native speakers: it is no one’s first language but is a contact language. that is, it is the product of a multilingual situation in which those who wish to communicate must find or improvise a simple language system that will enable them to do so. very often too, that situation is one in which there is an imbalance of power among the languages as the speakers of one language dominate the speakers of the other languages socially. a pidgin is therefore sometimes regarded as a ‘reduced’ variety of a normal language, with simplification of the grammar and vocabulary of that language, considerable phonological variation, and a mixture of local vocabulary to meet the special needs of the contact group. pidgin is a language system created with amazing rapidity. very often, it came as the distinctive by-product of european colonial exploits, though it should be stressed that there is a whole range of possible situations which might stimulate this kind of language formation. a paradigm case of pidginisation arose with the transportation of slaves from a variety of linguistic backgrounds to an isolated plantation. the resultant linguistic chemistry created the need for a shared lingua franca, especially as the opportunities for learning a fully-fledged second language became severely limited. theoretical framework in this paper, the adoption of the ethnography of communication is made and applied. ethnography of communication is the study of communication within the background of social and cultural practices and beliefs. first introduced by dell hymes in 1962, he describes it in detail in his article ‘introduction: toward ethnographies of communications’, which was published in 1964. this was to accommodate the verbal and non-verbal characteristics of communication. however, ethnography of communication researchers tends to focus on the speaking because it is considered to be the most prominent aspect of communication. hymes developed the speaking model which analyses speech in its cultural context: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 259 s – setting and scene the physical location where the speech takes place. setting refers to the time and place, i.e., the concrete physical circumstances in which speech takes place. scene refers to the abstract psychological setting, or the cultural definition of the occasion. for the purpose of this research, our setting and scene are the following; (keke and the designated routes they ply daily) p – participants the people who take part in the speech. these include various combinations of speaker–listener, addressor–addressee, or sender–receiver. they generally fill certain socially specified roles. a two-person conversation involves a speaker and hearer whose roles change; a ‘dressing down’ involves a speaker and hearer with no role change; a political speech involves an addressor and addressees (the audience); and a telephone message involves a sender and a receiver. (keke drivers, nactoramos, nurtw officials, passengers) e – ends the purpose and the outcome of the speech. ends refer to the conventionally recognized and expected outcomes of an exchange as well as to the personal goals that participants seek to accomplish on particular occasions. (business of transporting passengers from one point to another and movement from one destination to another) a – act the speech acts and the sequence in which they are carried out. it refers to the actual form and content of what is said: the precise words used, how they are used, and the relationship of what is said to the actual topic at hand. in this context, the acts are the following; (calling and picking passengers, calling out bus stops and destinations, paying road taxes, collecting fares, manoeuvring and beating traffic lights) k – key the tone and manner in which the speech is carried out. key also refers to the spirit in which a particular message is conveyed: lighthearted, serious, precise, pedantic, mocking, sarcastic, pompous, and so on. the key may also be marked nonverbally by certain kinds of behaviour, gesture, posture, or even deportment. (harsh, appealing, persuasive, insulting) i – instrumentalities the medium of communication used. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 260 it is the choice of channel, e.g., oral, written, or telegraphic, and to the actual forms of speech employed, such as the language, dialect, code, or register that is chosen. one may employ different instrumentalities in the course of a single verbal exchange of some length: first read something, then tell a dialect joke, then use an expression from another language, and so on. in this context, the instrumentalities include the following; (oral communication, verbal and facial expressions, gestures) n – norms of interaction the rules of speech, interaction and interpretation. it is the specific behaviours and properties that attach to speaking and also to how these may be viewed by someone who does not share them, e.g., loudness, silence, gaze return, and so on. these norms may vary from social group to social group. in context, the following are the norms of interaction for this group of people. (eccentric diction, street attitude, uncultured linguistic forms and behaviour) g – genres the type of speech and its cultural contexts. this refers to clearly demarcated types of utterance; such things as poems, proverbs, riddles, sermons, prayers, lecture, and editorials. in this context, genres are the following; (slangs, insults, salutations, prayers, swear words, curses, apologies) methodology given the noisy nature of the research environment, the researcher used recorded expressions and unstructured interviews obtained from ‘going’ operators, both at motor parks and on the road in gathering the data analysed in the study. participatory observation method was applied to observe and partake in linguistic conversations that involved the use of these forms, variables and linguistic expressions. it involved the researcher plying through the designated sample routes to identify instances of data for the study. the aim of the researcher was to collect and document factual information on the study and proffer answers to the research questions. with the data gathered in the field, it helped the researcher present possible recommendations to the problems this study tends to address. this study covers five major parks in designated areas within the metropolis. the parks include college of agric park which covers (the state polytechnic, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 261 shabu, sabonpegi, azuba bashayi), akurba park, mararaba park covering (federal university), emir’s palace and old and new markets. analysis/findings the analysis here is centred on how lafia ‘going’operators construct their social identity around their work environment and how to identify their speech, variant forms and linguistic behaviours. a factor that preoccupied the analysis in this paper is how the language of the keke operators reveal their identities. thus, the proceeding analyses present a list of examples illustrating the forms of expressions which articulate some speech and social identity of these operators. 1. mudagarinmu meaning the land belongs to us or in pidgin ‘na we get our land’ this is common among ‘going’ operators when they beat traffic and passengers caution them. it literary means “the land belongs to us and we can get away with whatever we do”. 2. kwaaro meaning my guy this is a form of salutation used by keke operators in college park. operators attached to college park cover routes from poly, college, shabu, azuba bashayi. when they meet themselves in the line of duty they call out ‘kwaro’. this shows a form of solidarity among them and gives them a sense of group identity. 3. mutabanki meaning always on speed this is a name tagged to operators who drive speedily on the road. it is very usual to hear their members call them ‘mutabanki’. in some cases they put such inscriptions on the body of their tricycle for easy recognition. 4. bird man meaning one that cannot easily be trapped as he is constantly in flight. this is used in same case as no 3 above. 5. duniya ba hutu meaning we have come to this world to work and we will work till we die. this expression is normally used when an operator is asked to take a break or rest from a busy day’s schedule or after many trips, he retorts ‘duniya bah utu!’ 6. ba wasa meaning no play, no joke. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 262 this shows how resilient and hardworking this group of people are. their doggedness in carrying out their duties cannot be compromised for anything. this expression tells the public and their colleagues that they do not joke or play with their business. 7. no time to look time meaning a stylistic way of telling commuters to hurry into their keke so they can move. 8. sharp sharp applicable in the same context as no 7 above. it is also used when a passenger is taking so much time to alight from a keke possibly because of too much load. 9. kwal(awa) meaning police. in hausa language, police is called dansanda however, this group of people have coined a name for police officers which only people within their work environment use and understand. 10. confirmed fine boy this phrase is used by a couple of operators as a means of identification. their colleagues call them this adopted name and in most cases they put the inscription on the body of their keke. in some cases, where a passenger wants to employ the services of any of them, it is easier for the person to identify the keke operator by the name especially at the park. 11. dan auta meaning last born 12. dan faari meaning first born nos 11 and 12 are applicable in the same context and situation with no 10 above. 13. nothing do you/me meaning no problem (show of approval; loyalty to the group). it is also another way of salutation among operators when they see themselves drive on the road. 14. inaruwanranka meaning what is your business or concern? the expression appears to serve as a retort against gossips and inquisitive passengers. most keke operators overload their tricycle, instead of having just three passengers at the back and the driver at front, the rider carries as much as five passengers. this they do by placing stools at both ends of the front row in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 263 the keke. usually, this sitting arrangement causes discomfort to the driver when driving however, when asked why they do such, they retort ‘inaruwanka’ 15. yau gareku meaning today is your day. this expression is used among keke operators to crack jokes and tease themselves. when a colleague makes great profit after a day’s job and possibly counting his money in the presence of his mates, it is normal for him to get the remark ‘yao gerinka’. 16. yau ka caba meaning – you have made so much money today. this is also applicable as in no 15. 17. dan sarauta meaning son of the king/ royalty this is another means of identification by keke operators. the bearer of this name does not come from royalty neither is he a child of any king but he impersonates this identity for personal interest and group identification. they also go ahead to place this inscription on the body of their tricycle. 18. infinity like no 16 above, this is also used as a means of self-identification; a nickname. 19. nwanne gbado anya, eke dey road meaning be watchful, police/road safety is ahead. this expression is used by igbo keke drivers to warn their brothers to be mindful of policemen or road safety on the road. ‘eke’ in igbo language is python but is used as a cover name or slang for police. the implication of this variation is that police is likened to a snake or python that bites or stings. 20. so mai sonka meaning – love who loves you. this expression depicts sarcasm and is also used for identification and as a means of salutation. 21. yakwa meaning – to get balance or debt on one’s head this expression is used by operators when they are trying to explain why they cannot get into any unexplainable venture that will put them in trouble or at loss. 22. i no get change fa meaning – i do not have change in hausa, ‘fa’ is used at the end of a sentence to emphasize how serious something is. therefore, when a keke man says he doesn’t have change and adds igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 264 the prefix ‘fa’, he is invariably saying he means it and no passenger should present a big denomination. 23. ruusheshe meaning – fat or a plus sized person. this expression is used to mock or crack jokes among keke operators when referring to a fat passenger or any of their fat colleague. 24. kanawa gwaranku meaning – i belong to the people of kano; it is better for you this expression is used by going operators in lafia who are from kano state in nigeria. the researcher was able to identify two operators who placed this inscription on the body of their tricycle. they use this expression to show solidarity and belonging as indigenes of kano which makes for easy identification among themselves. they have also adopted this as a name for identification and it is also used for salutation. findings the findings from the above analyses reveal both the linguistic variations and code choice which occur in the language of ‘going’ operators, as a result of the expected behaviour in the environment of their job. the findings show that since their job environment influences their behaviour and attitude, there is also a correlation in the manner with which they communicate. it is perceived not to be a profession for a calm and gentle person. therefore, it is expected of every operator to exhibit these behaviours, know and use these deviations and nonstandard language as it helps them relate among themselves and build their social identity. it also shows the nature/characteristics of the profession or operators as something practiced by other ethnic groups such as the igbo in lafia metropolis as instantiated by one of the data. the expression ‘bird man’ which is a code name and used by the keke operators means ‘one that cannot easily be trapped as he is constantly in flight; it shows the swiftness and speed with which they can get away from the scene of any wrong doing and crime. on the positive side though it also shows that they are time conscious, can meet with a client’s timing and can beat deadlines in their duty. ‘no time to look time and bawasa which means no play, no joke’ are variables that show how resilient and hardworking this group of people are. their doggedness in carrying out their duties cannot be compromised for igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 265 anything. this expression tells the public that they are a group of serious people who do not joke or play with their business. conclusion this paper examined linguistic variables and language patterns in the speech of keke operators in lafia which portrayed some of the group-based ideological patterns that underlie the sociolinguistic construction of such language, within the speech community. it also looked at the role played by such linguistic variables and behavioural practices in creating the identity of the group, of its members as well as of the occupation itself. the study therefore buttresses the position that social identity is the cumulation of a group of peoples’ chart of activity, self-expression and engagements, in relation to those of other groups in society, and within context of the generally understood placement of the parties involved within society, through language. works cited bernard spolsky. language management. cambridge university press, 2009. bernard bloch and george trager. outline of linguistic analysis. linguistic association of america waverly press. 1945. elugbe ben and omamor augusta. nigerian pidgin: background and prospects. heinemann educational books, 1991. hudson richard. word grammar, sociolinguistics and theory of grammar. cambridge university press, 1986. hymes, dell. pidginization and creolization of language. cambridge university press, 1971. dell hymes. foundations in sociolinguistics: an ethnographic approach. taristock publications london, 1974. john lyons. language and linguistics: an introduction. cambridge university press, 1981. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 266 judith mgbemena. “language, communication on wheels and national development: the inscriptions on tricycle (keke) example.” academic journal, vol 4, 2013, pp 529-537. paul foulkes, james m.scobble, dominic watt. the handbook of phonetic sciences, 2nd ed. blackwell publishing, 2010. sherzer, joel. stories, myths, chants and songs of the kuna indians. university of texas press, 2004. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 63 an assessment of governmental attitude towards small language groups in benue state: the etulo language example mbapuun, tordue festus & jones, ijoh ayuw department of linguistics &communication studies, university of port harcourt, nigeria. choba, rivers state, nigeria 1festus.sixtus@gmail.com, +2347062627620 2jones.ayuwo@uniport.edu.ng, +2348037072110 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.19482.59846 abstract the linguistic vitality status of the endangered small language groups in benue state nigeria, has become a matter of concern. the aim of this study was therefore, to assess the attitude of the benue state government including official status towards the etulo language an idomoid language spoken in buruku local government of benue state. the attitude and motivational questionnaire was administered to 340 respondents. the data collected was analyzed quantitatively using frequency tables and simple percentages. findings revealed that the attitude of the government towards the etulo language was very poor and meant to encourage the assimilation of the etulo language into tiv language as well as its abandonment by providing education in other languages as well as declaring other languages rather than the etulo language, the official language of the speech community. it was recommended that the government should introduce the etulo language as a subject of study in schools and make laws and policies that encourage its use in the new media and other domains of use, as well declare it an official language. keywords: small language groups, attitude, government, official language, new media, endangered small language groups introduction according to crystal (2000), language endangerment refers to a situation where children in a speech community are spoken to in a language other than, that of their parents, this happens mostly in speech communities where the endangered language is a small language group. batibo (2003b) state that language endangerment involves two or more languages where the stronger in the very end overpowers the weaker one. when this situation occurs, the stronger language assimilates the weaker one or the weaker language speakers can decide to shift to using the stronger language. within the area of study, the etulo mailto:festus.sixtus@gmail.com mailto:jones.ayuwo@uniport.edu.ng igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 64 language is a weaker language and is almost overpowered by the tiv language as a result of the political, economic and social influence of the tiv language within benue state. sengupta (2009), adds that the unesco’s atlas of the world’s languages in danger, (2009), presents a very grave picture of the languages of the world that are extinct or about to go into extinction. the report state that out of the 6000 languages of the world, about 200 have gone into extinction during the last three generations, 538 are critically endangered, 502 are severely endangered, 632 are definitely endangered and 607 are unsafe. brenzinger, et al (2003), posit that a country's government may have an explicit language use policy for its multiple languages. at one extreme, one language may be designated as the sole official language of the country, while all others are condemned. at the other extreme, all languages of a nation may receive equal official status. equal legal status, however, does not guarantee language maintenance and long-term vitality of a language. the objective of this study is to assess the attitude of the government towards the etulo language, that is the level at which the government prioritizes the etulo language within benue state and particularly within the speech community. the majority language in this case is the tiv language and is the language of those that are in government who have given more attention to the tiv language at the detriment of the etulo language. these questions demand for urgent answers are; does the policies of government favour of all languages? does the government prohibit the etulo language? is the government active or passive about the use of the etulo language, is the etulo language an official language within the speech community and does the government force the small etulo language group to assimilate into the majority tiv language? materials and methods this study is a survey design. it employed the use of the attitude and motivational questionnaire as the main data collection instrument in addition to focus groups discussions and participant observations. it used krejcie and morgan (1970) sampling techniques and had a sample of 340 respondents and administered the copies of the questionnaire based on quota sampling method. results were quantitatively presented in frequency tables and simple igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 65 percentages, a 5-point scale likert was used in the attitude and motivational questionnaire. the area of study is the etulo speech community of etulo council ward in buruku local government area of benue north-west senatorial district of benue state, nigeria. the speech community has seven clans namely: okpashila, ugye, ogulube, agia, agbatala, agbou, angwauje, otsafu and ogilazi. the scope of the study was an assessment of the attitudes and motivations for the use of the etulo language by the speakers of the language in buruku local government area of benue state, nigeria. results governmental attitudes including policies and official status towards the etulo language were assessed mainly by using the responses to the attitude and motivational questionnaire. focus groups discussions were conducted and participant observations were made so as to elicit more data from the field on the attitude of the government towards the etulo language of benue state, nigeria and are shown in table 3.1a-g below: table 3.1: governmental attitudes and policies including official status towards the etulo language. a. etulo is protected by a law that encourages its maintenance through policies options no. of respondents percentage strongly agree 0 0 agree 0 0 neutral 2 0.59 disagree 40 11.77 strongly disagree 298 87.64 340 100 b. the government gives the same support for etulo and other languages in the state options no. of respondents percentage strongly agree 0 0 agree 0 0 neutral 1 0.29 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 66 disagree 19 5.59 strongly disagree 320 94.12 340 100 c. a policy exists for the protection of etulo and other minority languages options no. of respondents percentage strongly agree 0 0 agree 0 0 neutral 1 0.29 disagree 142 41.77 strongly disagree 197 57.94 340 100 d. etulo is recognized as the official language of the speech community options no. of respondents percentage strongly agree 0 0 agree 0 0 neutral 0 0 disagree 0 0 strongly disagree 340 100 340 100 e. etulo language is prohibited in schools & offices options no. of respondents percentage strongly agree 328 96.47 agree 10 2.94 neutral 2 0.59 disagree 0 0 strongly disagree 0 0 340 100 f. government is encouraging the abandonment of the etulo language by providing education in english & tiv options no. of respondents percentage igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 67 strongly agree 338 99.41 agree 2 0.59 neutral 0 0 disagree 0 0 strongly disagree 0 0 340 100 g. the government has a policy declaring another language rather than etulo, the official language options no. of respondents percentage strongly agree 340 100 agree 2 0 neutral 0 0 disagree 0 0 strongly disagree 0 0 340 100 source: fieldwork, 2019 the responses presented in table 3.1a-g above, were those reported in the attitude and motivational questionnaire, by the respondents from the etulo speech community. the attitudes of the government towards any aspect of human life can be very powerful and effective because, the government is the custodian of the land and all that is in it. the responses above provided the requisite answers to the aim of this study. 87.64% (298) of the respondents strongly disagreed that the etulo language is protected by a law that encourages its maintenance, 11.77% (40) disagreed with the above assertion while 0.59% (2) of the respondents were neutral in their responses. this is because, there are currently government policies that prohibit the use of the etulo language in official domains within the etulo speech community and benue state. again, 94.12% (320) of the respondents strongly disagreed and 5.59% (19) disagreed that the government gives same support to etulo and other minority languages in the state, while 0.29% (1) remained neutral. this is to clearly state that the support given to other languages such as the tiv, igede, idoma, utonkon, iyive and uffia etc is more that the support given to the etulo language igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 68 in terms of funding for publication of books in the languages and the conduct of qualitative as well as quantitative researches on the languages in question. similarly, 57.94% (197) of the respondents strongly disagreed that a policy exists for the protection of the etulo and other small language groups in benue state and this position is supported by another 41.77% (142) of the respondents who also disagreed that the etulo and other small language groups have protection policies put in place by the benue state government, while 0.29% (1) reported of their neutrality on the issue of protection policies for the etulo and other small language groups in the state. in furtherance of displeasure over the attitude of the government towards the etulo language, 100% (340) of the respondents strongly disagreed that the etulo language is an official language within the speech community. this is because, tiv language and english are recognized as the official languages of communication and education as well as government businesses in the speech community other than the etulo language. on the prohibition of the etulo language in schools and offices except at home within the speech community, 96.47% (328) of the respondents strongly agreed that the etulo language is prohibited in schools and offices within the speech community except at home, 2.94% (10) of the respondents also agreed that the etulo language has been prohibited in schools and offices as it is referred to as a vernacular in schools and any student or pupil caught speaking the etulo language in school receives a mild punishment, while tiv and english are the only languages officially permitted to be used in offices, then 0.59% (2) of the respondents remained neutral about the above assertion on the prohibition of the etulo language in schools and offices within the state. the respondents also reported that the government is encouraging the abandonment of the etulo language by providing education in english and tiv languages only as 99.41% (338) of the respondents strongly agreed that the government is seriously encouraging the abandonment of the etulo language through its laws policies and 0.59% (2) agreed with the above assertion as well. this is very true because from our observations, the researcher observed that the government prohibited the use of etulo in all official domains in the speech community, thereby encouraging the abandonment of the etulo language for either tiv or english. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 69 and finally, 100% (340) of the respondents strongly agreed that the government has a policy declaring another language rather than the etulo language, the official language of the speech community. the official language within the speech community and the entire country is english, but within benue state and buruku local government in particular, tiv language has been permitted for use by the government at the primary school and junior secondary school levels. focus groups discussions and observations as well as face-to-face personal observations revealed that the attitude of the government towards the etulo language has been very poor and aimed at always encouraging the abandonment of the etulo language for the tiv language and also has laws and policies that encourage the assimilation of the etulo language into tiv language where the etulo language and culture will be assimilated into the tiv language and culture. it is pertinent to note that, the bad attitude and policies of the government which encourages the abandonment and assimilation of the etulo language into the tiv language towards the etulo language is a negative indicator for the vitality of the etulo language because according to the respondents, the government has a policy in place declaring another language rather than etulo the official language, does not have any law protecting and encouraging the maintenance of etulo and other small language groups, does not give same support to etulo and other languages in the state, the etulo language is prohibited in schools and offices, the government is also encouraging the abandonment of the etulo language by providing education in english and tiv and worst of all is that, the government does not have any law or policy in place to protect the etulo and other small language groups in benue state. discussions the relevant data above aimed at giving the suitable answer to our main objective in this study as presented in table in 3.1a-g above from the administration of the attitude and motivational questionnaire clearly defines the attitude of the benue state government towards the etulo language. as already stated above, brenzinger, et al (2003), posit that a country's government may have an explicit language use policy for its multiple languages. at one extreme, one language may be designated as the sole official language of the country, while all others are condemned. at the other extreme, all languages of a nation may receive equal official status. equal legal status, however, does not guarantee igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 70 language maintenance and long-term vitality of a language. the later clearly spells out the nigerian linguistic situation and benue state in particular. therefore, data emanating from the administration of the attitude and motivational questionnaire coupled with additional information from focus groups discussions and participant observations enabled this study to find out that there is no law by the government to protect the etulo language and other small language groups that encourage their maintenance. the study only discovered that the government has formulated policies that are detrimental to the vitality of the etulo and other small language groups in benue state. the benue state government does not give equal support to all the languages within the state, it gives preferential support to tiv and english as well as idoma and igede and abandons every other language to their fate. there is a policy that places a ban on the use of local languages (small language groups) for teaching science subjects at the primary and junior secondary school levels in benue state, nigeria. this policy identifies only three local languages that can be used and they include, tiv, idoma and igede, but bans the use of other small language groups in all official domains. it was also reported that the government has recognized another language as the official language even within the etulo speech community rather than the etulo language itself, has prohibited the use of the etulo language in schools and office. the government has encouraged the abandonment of the etulo language for other languages such as tiv and english by providing education for the etulo children in english and tiv languages. focus groups discussions as well as faceto-face personal interviews all showed that the attitude of the government together with its policies towards the etulo language are all aimed at encouraging the abandonment of the etulo language for another language and its assimilation into the tiv language. it has become evidently clear from the responses to the sociolinguistic questionnaire, focus groups discussions and face-to-face personal interviews that, the attitude of the government towards the etulo language is very bad, the government encourages the active assimilation of the etulo language into the tiv language, prohibited the use of the etulo language in schools and offices; is encouraging the abandonment of the etulo language by providing education at many levels of education within the etulo speech community in english and tiv. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 71 the government does not have a law in place that will encourage the maintenance of the etulo language, it has also put policies in place that will frustrate the use of the etulo language such as the abrogation of the otse etulo kingship and the consequent replacement of the same with a kindred head that has been immersed in the tiv traditional council. the benue state government most sadly does not give the same support to all languages especially the small language groups. consequently, there is no policy in place that exists in support of the linguistic vitality of the etulo language, but only those meant to encourage the abandonment of the etulo language for english and tiv languages and the assimilation of the etulo language into tiv language. conclusions from the foregoing, it was this research found out that the attitude of the government including official status towards the etulo language is very negative towards its linguistic vitality. the government is in the forefront, encouraging the abandonment of the etulo language by providing education in education in english and tiv languages and refusing to acknowledge the etulo language as one of the small language groups in benue state. the government has also proved the above statement by declaring the english and tiv languages the official languages of the etulo speech community and consequently prohibiting the use of the etulo language in all official environments as well proscribing the etulo traditional council and merging it with the bigger tiv traditional council in the amended benue state council of chiefs and traditional council bill, 2015. the government does not have laws and policies that protect the etulo language and other small language groups within the speech community and in benue state in general. there are laws and policies that encourage the protection of the english language and the major languages of benue state such as the tiv, idoma and igede languages. references batibo, h. m. (2003b). the marked bilingualism model and its relevance to africa. paper presented at a linguistics seminar, the university of manchester, uk, 11th november, 2003. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 72 brenzinger, m., dwyer, a., de graaf, t., grinevald, c., krauss, m., miyaoka, o., ostler, n., sakiyama, o., villalon, m., yamamoto, a., & zepeda, o. (2003). language vitality and endangerment. paris: unesco. crystal, d. (2000). a dictionary of linguistics and phonetics, 4th ed. oxford, uk: blackwell. krejcie, r. v. & morgan, d. w. (2006). determining samples for research activities in educational and psychological measurement, obtained from http//www.fns.usda.gov accessed on 13/08/2019. sengupta, p. (2009). endangered languages: some concerns. economic and political weekly, vol. xliv, no. 32, pp. 17-19 unesco (2009). atlas of the world’s languages in danger. geneva: unesco online publications. viewed on the 20th january, 2020 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 3 igbo traditional political government in the light of jean jacques rouseau’s political philosophy: a comparative analysis umeh, george-franklin department of philosophy nnamdi azikiwe university awka georgefranklin04@yahoo.com; 07030275410 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.10379.82727 abstract no history of mankind has been distorted like that of africa and the africans. the distorted picture about africa suited human trade and justified colonialism magnificently in the eyes of invading europeans. through abnegation of our history, the european was able to rape and exploit africans. hence, anything we had before the european contact was seen as primitive and unworthy to be counted. this research adopted a comparative analysis between the igbo traditional political government and jean jacques rousseau's political philosophy. thus, the aim of study is to show a tremendous similarity between the igbo traditional political government which was called an ordered anarchy and that of jean jacques rousseau; a political ideal society. thus, no nation is devoid of political thought and as such, our findings show that what the europeans thought they gave to us was initially with us from the beginning. in conclusion, the work recommends that what the africans need is freedom from mental slaveryso that they can see the inherent beautiful values in africa. keywords: igbo, traditional politics, governmnet, jean jacque rouseau, freedom introduction democratic system of government has been with igbo africa before the european invasion and this is evident in our political system of government. however, there is a conscious realization that the white colonialist sense of superiority has practically eliminated african’s identity. what is the best way to show this identity? africans are understood through their history and that is nothing but their experiences comprising of events, actions and inaction. thus, one cannot deny the significant role of oral tradition in the reconstruction of african history. furthermore, one may still ask: does any political system exist in africa prior to european invasion? if yes, then what is the nature of this political system in igbo igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 4 land? this work is preoccupied with task of finding out and establishing with facts that political government existed in igbo society before the advent of the colonialist and as such is similar to jean jacques rousseau’s political society. hence, the urge to uphold comparatively the similarities of igbo traditional political government prior to european invasion and the highly held jean jacques rousseau’s political society to show that both are almost the same. for the igbo, the most important element is community or any political unit is the human element. prof. onwuejeogwu once said that the word “igbo” itself means (to the igbo themselves) “a community of people”. the colonial masters can try as much as they can to deny this relationship of which is based on the dialects of understanding between the community and individual. as mulumba obiajulu (2009) asserted: the intention here is neither to deny the existence of government among the igbo prior to colonialism nor to suggest that it was completely imported as foreign. igbo society recognizes the concept of government and ipso facto, the individual who form the membership of the government that is government of people (p.13). therefore, the igbo land before the advent of british was characterized by aspect of culture and distinct political institutions that flourished and contributed in the maintenance of orderliness in various igbo communities. the territory of their political unit (whether it is a sub-lineage, a lineage, a village, village group or clan) is usually in terms of the people who make it up. the people are in turn defined as people belonging to one ancestor or father (umunna) or rather people belonging to one blood. this inclusiveness in extreme, inculcate even their daughters married into other political unit. the pre-colonial igbo traditional form of government is traditional republicanism, in true sense the egalitarian nature of it gave equal rights and privilege to all. hence, the igbo government was never by one person. it was government by a body of elders (council of elders) village assembly made up of all adult males, secret societies, age groups and diviners. it was a type of direct democracy that encouraged collective responsibility, individual participation and collective decision-making. it was democracy where decision was taken through dialogue and consensus, to convince and seek agreement from everyone involved, thus, demonstrating the type of respect the society had for every individual. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 5 this was the state of the igbo society before their contact with the colonial masters. the european could not understand their system of government ‘indirect rule’, hence, they called it an ordered anarchy. the external force of an imposition and political dominion by forceful means which was christened colonialism, were the means through which our european imperialist has tried to bastardize our culture. nevertheless, all that has happened is that changes have occurred here and there but the basic political culture will appear to have merely adapted itself to the changing times. as simon ottenberg (1963) aptly observed: …the igbos (sic) has probably changed the least while changing the most. …social, religion, economic etc has been modified through cultural contact, but many of the basic patterns of social behavior such as the emphasis on alternative choice and goals, achievement and competition, and the lack of strong autocratic authority, have survived and are part of the newly developing culture (p.142). all the movements above have proved beyond doubt that we have political structure before the european invasion and no one can deny the fact that we have history to call our own. igbo traditional political institutions having x-rayed the igbo people as being generally associated with traditional republicanism, hence, it is one that is replete with democratic principles. the above assertion is corroborated by theophilus okere, (2005:173) thus, “in the light of the above, one can say that in pre-colonial nigeria, when government was village based and small scale in igbo land, there was important democratic principles at work. he mentioned that they are direct participation in open parliamentary debate, either in the village or town level, consensus etc. in inclusion also is the means of sanction and social control of these democratic principles. moreover, we are going to expose the igbo traditional political institutions and also its means of sanction and social control will be outlined. the town assembly at the top of igbo traditional political institution is the town assembly. this is becauseas godalex ezeani (2003) would put it: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 6 the igbo nation, structurally, was not a republic. but within the igbo nation were many republics, each being autonomous in its organization vis-à-vis the others. it is clear from history that the entirety of the igbo people has no recognized single ruler or leader. rather, the obodo (town) represented the highest political unit; one compatible to say nigeria, ghana, togo etc (pp.38-39). however, these different towns enjoyed their respective autonomy within their territories structurally, the town is a collection of village which as we are going tosee, are themselves collection of kindreds, so that the town it the largest single collection of lineages which share several things in common. the strongest common interest which keeps the igbo together is attachments to one ala. anozie onyema (1999) recognized this governing body (town) as “ndi oji ofo” – according to him “at the town level a number of the “oji ofo” gather to form what is generally called “ndi oji ofo” (custodians of ofo). this is the highest governing arm in the town …”.(176) the town assembly is an informal body and not a regular constituted executive authority. thus, in case of a meeting, the town announcer (each town has one) goes around at night and announce the place, time and the main subject of the meeting. in the general gathering of all, the ofo bearer plays the leading role through directing the debates and announcing final decision. the important factor here is that issues are discussed openly and everyone especially the adult male has right to participate in the deliberation. in recent times, our political leaders and representatives have adopted the same structure in the name of town hall meeting. the village assembly next to the town assembly is the village assembly. this is composed of different kindred families or clusters of hamlets or maximal lineages. just as explicated in town assembly, the village assembly is made up of the eldest man from the different families that constitute the village. this governing body is called village council or council of elders (izundiichie). matters of village interest are deliberated upon in the village assembly and participation is open to even adult male. but matters or issues that could not be resolved at this level are taken to the town council. the venue of this discussion of issues and decision making is known as village square or as called “ogbakoro”. every activity whether legislative, judicial or festive was carried out in this place. decision are made (usually on consensus there and the decision were expected to be carried home to the families igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 7 that made up the village by the member of this body. nevertheless, it must not always be the eldest as the representative. occasions might arise for the family to send a junior person to the meeting. however, the eldest must be aware of such decision. the kindred (umunna) the african family is the foundation upon which the continuity of the african race resides. having the family at the root of igbo political organization, it is generally constituted by members of the partitineage called umunna (male fork). umunna is a group of families that has claim to common descent. thus, these families are related in the sense that they have common great grandfathers. hence, a village is compendium of three or more kindred; and a kindred is the basic unit of igbo traditional political institution. as okafor (1992:39) rightly observed, each igbo family is the original or of its own conduct. each kindred are allowed in the village council-just like in the town assembly and village assembly, the participation to the discussion of issues and decision-making in matters affecting the kindred is open to every male adults and everyone has the right to be heard the meeting of the members of the kindred is presided over by “okpala”. kindred (family) deliberates on issues in family level before presenting them during the general assembly of village. umuokpu the igbo’s popular or general participation in politics has no room for abrogative stance towards the female. although there is more emphasis on men in igbo culture or in traditional society, however the women are forces to be reckoned with when it comes to political issues in igbo traditional political set-up. in matters of communal interest, woman just like men are allowed to air their views. the above is based on the principles of extensive consultation in decision-making as a mark of community consciousness of the african (igbo) culture. age grade (otuogbo) the communal living of the igbo was such that all individual within the community were one way or the other integrated to the main stream of the society. ezenwaji ifeinwa (2002:206) rightly remarked that the igbo society is so organized igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 8 that every individual has a role and a responsibility as well as his place in the society, without one feeling that he is maltreated or discriminated against. this is group formed by men of about the same ageit is an important political institution in the traditional igbo society in the sense that it helps in the maintenance of law and order. egboh (1987:15) held that one of the sole objective of the age grade is to develop the consciousness and a strong sense of membership of oneness among the igbo community. just like woman wing (umuada), they are consulted in matters that concerns them like war, clearing of environment, making a pathway etc. their views or opinion in matters of communal interest are freely expressed and heard. the admission into this group is accompanied by some rites known as initiation rites which are one of the rites of passage in africa. sanctions and social control m.s olisa (2005) was of the opinion as regards the social control that – “the maintenance of law and order in igbo traditional society, as well as the enforcement of political decisions or political authority, rest on various categories of sanctions which can be applied on different occasion”(p.7). these sanctions are means through which the societal control can be possible. paul brown (2002:150) in her analysis of patterns of authority among west african communities identified three broad categories of which are moral, ritual and legal sanctions. among the igbo all these categories of sanctions exist and operate side by side, depending on the situation which has arisen. one cannot deny the communalist life of the igbo. hence, the moral sanctions refer to the strength of public opinion which can subject approved acts to praise and unapproved acts to ridicule. this ridicule is poured out on notorious characters or outright offenders through gossip of woman, satiric songs of right masquerades (mmuoanyasi) and of dancing groups, proverbs etc. ritual sanctions according to m.s. olisa are applied in igbo society when abominations or pollution of the land (alu or imeru ala). these atrocities are seen as direct provocation of the earth goddess; the function arise who handle the purification rituals are usually the ezeala (priests of the earth goddess). and finally, the legal sanctions. one might be thrown on awareness by the mention of legal. legality in traditional igbo society comes as the end judgment of subsequent deliberation by the assembly (people). the oath swearing of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 9 contemporary courts worldwide either through bible, koran or traditional object has been in existence in igbo traditional society from ages. ostracism was regarded as the severest of all legal sanctions in igbo society because to alleviate one form his community is a very great calamity on the person. there is no funeral for anyone ostracized. thus, the individual in igbo society must meticulously avoid any situation that could lead him or her to ostracism. these three sanctions are means through which the executive arm controls and operates the decision of the assembly. popular participation (ohacracy) the acme of igbo political society is their ohacracy. according to glodalex ezeani, “participatory democracy fully described and characterized the igbo mans political life issues were discussed collectively, with even (male) adult free to participate as actively as he was capable of (p.12). ohacracy is a compound word derived from two words“oha” (igbo) and “cracy” (greek) from their different etymologies. “oha” (igbo word) means “community”, “society” an assembly or gathering of people” while cracy (greek word) gotten form ‘kratos’. it literally means “the rule of”. thus, from etymological perspective, ohacracy can conveniently be defined as the rule by the people or community over themselves for their integral existential welfare. the sovereignty of igbo political society resides with the people (oha), they dictate their affairs of the community during the village assembly meeting. the oha is integral in both legislatives and executive powers and function. any decision enacted by the people becomes an unwritten law binding to all. these principles in our igbo traditional institution allowed more participants as a result of the communalistic nature of this african culture that sees everyone as important as other. hence, one’s social status play no determining factors in this participation. since the sovereign is the “oha” every adult is given the opportunity to participate actively in decision making concerning any issue. according to mr. mulumba obiajulu, among the igbo, this sovereignty resides with “oha”, the people on whose mutual and judicial agreement rests the understanding of laws. hence, we have concepts like oha-na-ekwu according to popular opinion or by representation we have onunaekwuruoha” the mouth piece of the people (p.19). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 10 he went further to assert the disparity between the representative form of leadership that was gotten from european and igbo unadulterated form of representative. he held that onunaekwuruoha – the mouth piece does not speak his opinions, rather he says what the people wants him to say with special oratorical skills garnished with legal and philosophical esotericism peculiar to or characteristic of inactive in it. ohaneze connotes that people are the ruler of their fate, or can be seen as the people in whose hands lies sovereignty. the oha during their village assembly holds with consensus on topic in question. the universal suffrage was not comprehensive to the european because they operate a highly limited suffrage as of that time. this was what made them to iron in the use of warrant chief. this warrant chief problem caused the aba woman riot of 1929. the europeans were looking for a single authority that will help them to perpetrate their evil plan but they don’t know that our system was built on the people. comparative analysis of jean jacques rousseau political philosophy and igbo traditional political government there has been lots of myth and propaganda about african traditional political culture. missionary, colonial officials and their intellectuals who were also called anthropologists, they had an interest on portraying the continent as a barbaric and brutal culture characterized by intense inter-tribal warfare, murder of twins and of pagan rites. nevertheless, this was the constant picture presented by the colonial masters of which up to this moment gave rise to lots of africans who by training lost his africannes and yet not european because a new political thought have been inculcated into us. since the europeans have claimed monopoly of civilization and at the same time deluded our historical background because they strongly believe that we had no history prior to european encounter. this denial of our historical background can be found in the work of a scottish philosopher “david hume” earlier in 1768 had written about africa and its people in the following words. “i am apt to suspect the negroes to be naturally inferior to the white. there never was a criticized nation of any other complexion than white... no ingenious manufacturers among them, no arts, no science”(erim et al, 1984: 1-2). yet again in the nineteenth century, a german philosopher of history, george hegel (erim et al, 1984) was apt to say this about africa igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 11 …it is manifest that want of self-control distinguishes the character of negroes (african). this condition is capable of no development or cut tine … at this point, we leave africa, not even to mention it again for it has no historical part for the world; it has no movement or development to exhibit (pp.1-2) this section (enters) into the terrain of our history prior to european contact so as to unveil and also compare that our traditional political thought, is of the same category with jean rousseau’s political philosophy. subsequently, this comparative analysis will be done on the similarity between their concepts and as well some perceived differences. direct democracy the political organization of the igbo (africa) traditional society is essentially on non-party basis. godalexezeani posits that “the existences of classified political parties or opposition camps was an abnormally. there was no party formation, more so of rival nature”. as mulumba opined as well that “in igbo community assembly, the individual contributes ideas to the assembly, as choosing for himself and the assembly, takesdecision through the contributions of the members of the community assembly…(p.20). this form of direct democracy is also high obtainable in the doctrine of jean jacque rousseau political philosophy. as the igbo political thought is divided into two of which consist of assemblies and elders, so is rousseau’s thought divided into sovereign and legislators. the sovereign is one who has supremacy of the legislator is to carry out the decision reached by the sovereign. the sovereign which is the people, air their view directly and not through and representative. hence, during any assembly, the people are heard and not their representative this was the ideal proposal of rousseau for guava. the political unit as g. ezeani (pp.38-39) posited functioned as a team, and as a team, every person had his or her role to play, all geared towards achieving a common goal. kolawole owolabi (2004:438) corroborated godalex assertion above by paraphrasing kwasi wiredu’s view that “african traditional democracy according to him, does not emphasize the victory of a party since the party system and voting are rather strange to the system in summation, in direct democracy, all decision are rather taken by all the members of society through consensus. hence, due to the communalistic nature igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 12 and the principle of solidarity in these two political societies, partisan politics was lacking. everyone contributes in the pursuance of the common goal, hence, the communal interest is emphasized over the individual or group interest. consensus due to the importance both rousseau and igbo political society placed on the individual and his contributions as a follow up to the non-party system and popular participation in decision making, decisions are taken based on consensus, that is, the agreement of all the participants on a decision concerning an issue. thus, in a situation whereby a consensus is not guaranteed, actions are suspended till further notice godalex ezeani in support of the above assertion, posits that “matters were discussed until consensus were reached (p.39). the idea of consensus is critical to an understanding of the political philosophy of rousseau. indeed, it was for him the “heart” of the society as he would posit that it must be held in the heart of each and every man within the society. its importance is indicated by the form in which he presented the basic question facing man. in wiredu’s view, he holds that decisions are only reached after careful deliberations and painstaking effort to convince the dissenting people. on all issues in traditional society the elders must take until they agree from the foregoing, it is a fact that the idea of consensus surrounds decision making in african (igbo) traditional society as a result of its communalistic nature which is all involving as against the idea of majority – rule of the contemporary african society. the same is obtainable in rousseau’s political thought. ohacracy and general will according to ekwenche research institute, ohacracy is the progenitor of democratic system of governance. “oha” meaning people in igbo language and “cracy” which meant the system of ruling or governance that governs a particular set of people. iroegbu (2012:188) went further to define ohacracy as an ethicopolitical theory which is community cantered and is capable of solving the long difficult situation of africans, the ohacracy is gotten form oha-na-eze which can be as the upliftment of sovereignty which resides on the people. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 13 moreover, the general will is considered to be the heart of jean jacques rousseau’s work on politics. since the general will directs all spheres of his political endeavor, sabines (1973) says: “the body politics, therefore is also a moral being possessed of a will, and this general will, which tends always to the preservation and welfare of the whole and of every part and is the source of law, constitute for all … the rule of what is just or unjust”(p.53). thus for rousseau, as observed by weldon (1962:18), the general will is “what is willed by a community as a whole. it is a common will for a common interest… different from and may be opposed to the particular interests of individuals. in rousseau’s thought, the general must embrace every aspect of its generality and should be particular in more. and in order to ensure this, rousseau (1947:23) distinguishes between the “general will” and the will of all”. there is often a great deal of difference between the will of all and the general will; the later considers only the common interest, while he former takes private interest into account and so, no more than a sum of particular wills. ohacracy on the other hand is expressed as well within the popular phrase “the people have spoken”, the people have agreed together”. however, the people which are the solid foundation of ohacracy which is by sheer extension the government of the igbo people, by the igbo people regardless of status and for the common good of the igbo. hence, the leadership series of ekwenuch research institute has it that in igbo society, power belongs to the people. ndi igbo elects their own leaders and tell their leaders what to do and how to lead them. ndigbo have never accepted rulers not even when british imposed warrant chiefs on them. therefore, ohacracy is the unanimous decision of the people and it’s the igbo model that is thousands of years old. a comparative study on these two concepts will unveil the universality in “oha” and “general”. they believe that the sovereign lies on the people who dictate everything. both of them become then a deliberator for common interest. thus, an individual cannot be the sovereign. s.e. stumpf (1994:296) affirmed this when he asserted that the general will of the sovereign is therefore the single will which reflect the sum of the will of all individual citizens can be considered one general will .this two concepts sums up idea of man and society in a communalistic background, laws are made and perfected by the people. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 14 difference between igbo and rousseau’s political thoughts mulumba obiajulu posited that the difference between the igbo and rousseau’s political society is in nomenclature and structure but not in function.(p.27) the striking similarity between them cannot be over emphasized but nevertheless, some differences can still be pointed out. the magistrates (legislator) enforce the laws passed by the sovereign in rousseau’s political society. however, the sovereign holds election for the position of these legislators. this process is similar to the way current elections are held today. in our igbo political society, the assembly does not hold election for the council of elders as we can see in rousseau’s notion of political society. each family is headed by title holder called okpara of who subsequently filled the council of elders. the okpara (oldest) helps to control the gathering and as well enforce the laws through direct order to age grades, umuada etc. the igbo have no separate arm called the judiciary as a zone in their political sphere. one can deduce that only two arms are obtainable in igbo political arena and they are executive and legislative body. in rousseau’s political society, he exhibits three arms of which are executive, legislative and judiciary. however, that judiciary is not an independent arm in igbo political sphere does not remove the fact of it’s existence. the igbo judiciary is cocooned inside its executive body. evaluation it is j.o. oguejiofor who opined that any system of government that does not consider the human nature would never workout. in this case, jj rousseau purpose fully considered the human nature in trying to draft out a political system that will be suitable for the people of “geneva”. in the case of african political system, our traditional model of administration creditably flourished before the advent of colonial masters. having juxtaposed between the igbo political government and rousseau’s political society, it is the conviction of this work that if lots of relevant concepts are applied in practice again, igbo and african society would be guaranteed sustainability. these concepts include communalism, consensus, non-party politics etc. concepts that gave us the similarity like non-party politics will lay to rest the ethnic interest since there will be no formation of political parties that are normally formed around ethnic and regional differences, given african’s multiethnic nature. hence, non-party politics will close the gap of ethnic differences igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 15 rather than widen it and the common good will be everyone’s interest. the problem of ncnc (igbo), ag (yoruba) and npc (hausa/fulani) during the first republic cannot be forgotten in a hurry. these parties are sometimes structured to exist on ethnic line. wiredu affirmed this when he asserts that: “when politics of party conflicts are introduced into the multi ethnic nation-state of africa, the situation is predictable. parties will operate along ethnic lines and the traditional ethnic rivalry and antagonism would be revised (oguejiofor:464). the emphasis on their consensus nature in the process of decision making will solve the problem of permanent division between the majority and the minority. this issue quickly fossilizes into ethnic majority or minority division giving rise to what okere enumerated as ethnic arrogance and riots. however, consensus on decision making will solve this predicament because everyone will be motivated by the communal interest rather than ethnic interest. the general will and ohacracy can be referred to as the will or voice of the “sovereign”, where the sovereign or assembly stands for the total number of citizens of a given society. such being the case, the general will of the sovereign is the single will, which reflects the sum of the wills of all the individual citizens. it holds the same with ohacracy. now, the thought espoused by rousseau and our igbo traditional political government has some affinity with the principles of democracy, especially in the concept of ohacracy and general will. these principles of democracy are distinctly shown in the definition of democracy, given by the chambers twenty-first century dictionary as ‘a form of government in which the people govern themselves or elect representatives to govern them. obviously democracy means rule by the people, the common people. a state of society where freedom for the people, justice and equality of rights and privileges; both political, social or legal equality are recognized. however, the factual experience of the nigerian democratic practice for three good republics now, betrays the fact and makes the constitutionalized principle a huge hoax. the principles of democracy have been completely distorted and misrepresented. it was as if franklin roosevelt had nigeria in mind when he talked about people being fed up with a democracy that breeds unemployment, insecurity, hunger and hopelessness. nigerians have continued to wait to no avail igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 16 for the dividends of democracy. the present dispensation leaves no light at the end of the tunnel. moreover, our contemporary political system which took after the western pattern never considered the african characteristic of communalism, hence the difficulty in sustaining democracy in contemporary african society. according to a.o. echekwube, (2004:464) “colonialism brought with it, the complete imposition of foreign ideas on the aborigines, seeking to blot out anything that they possessed by way of alienation from their own culture.” hence, one cannot cover the fact that there is need to revitalize some of our african principles in order to give democracy an african foundation. this explains the reason why leadership in african is in state of war of all against all as can be found in hobbesian state of nature because this hybrid imposition upon us by colonial masters caused us a fortune. conclusion in conclusion, this nexus should not be seen as a mere academic endeavor but a two-way practical work as well. firstly, it will liberate the africans to know and acknowledge their history and secondly, there is need to extrapolate the vital points of convergence between rousseau and igbo political government order, and inculcate them within the modern political structure, i believe that our nation shall be much better for that. more still, the praise attributed by scholars to the doctrine of rousseau political philosophy should as well be extended to the igbo for holding such articulated system of government. thus, what the europeans thought they gave to us was with us even before their mission of exploitation clothed with colonialism. references brown p., kinship terminology of a group of southern ibo, african, vol. 19, pp. 150-166. echekwube, a.o., “a philosophy for effective governance in africa” in j.o. oguejiofor, (ed) philosophy democracy and responsible governance in africa, enugu: delta publication ltd, 2004 egboh,e.o., community development effort in igboland onitsha: etukokwu press, 1987 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 17 erim e.d and uga,o.e perspective and methods of studying african history enugu: fourth dimension publishers, 1984 ezeani,g., omnitocracy: a discourse of the igbo world – view and its application to their socio-political life, in ogirisi vol. 1 number 1, 2003 pp. 38-49. ifeyinwa, e., traditional administrative system in nigeria enugu: priesthood publishers, 2oo2 iroegbu, p., ohacracy in godfrey ozumba and elijah okon (ed), african political philosophy, ugo: el-john publishers, 2012. obiajulu, m.,theme talking philosophy,onitsha: centre for liberation philosophies, 2009 ottenberg, s., “ibo receptivity to change”, in w.r. bashom and m.j. herskorits (eds) continuity and change in african cultures, chicago: university of chicago press, 4th impression., 1963. okere. t., human rights and democratization in west africa, nsukka: afro-oribis publication ltd, 2005 onyema,a., the igbo culture and the formation of conscience, owerri assumpta press, 1999 okafor, p., igbo philosophy of law, enugu: four dimension publication, 1992 olisa. m.s., igbo traditional socio-political system enugu: quintagon publishers, 2005 owolabi, k., “can the past salvage the future? indigenous democracy and the guest for sustainable democratic governance in africa,” in j.o. oguejiofor (ed), philosophy, democracy and responsible governance in africa, enugu: delta publication ltd, 2004 rousseau, j.j., social contract in social contract and other discourses, tran g.d.h. cole, london: dent and sons ltd. 1947 sabine, g.h and thorson, t.l., a history of political theory, orlando: harcourt brale college publishers, 1973 stumpf. s.e., philosophy: history and problem,s new york: mc-grawhill inc. 1994 weldon, t.d., states and moral: a study in political conflicts, london: john muny publishers ltd, 1962 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 198 perception of enugu state basic teachers on use of powerpoint as innovation in teaching during lesson preparation, delivery and evaluation for sustainable developmental goals’ attainment onah, eunice nwakaego (phd), department of computer & robotics education, university of nigeria nsukka. eunice.onah@unn.edu.ng & onah, ogechukwu (phd), department of agric. education, university of nigeria nsukka. traceogechukwu@gmail.com & obe, pauline ijeoma (phd), department of industrial &technical educ., university of nigeria nsukka. pauline.obe@unn.edu.ng & ude, veronica c. (phd), department of vocational & science ed, go university, enugu state, nigeria. drvcude@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29332.65925 abstract this study examined perception of enugu state basic teachers on use of powerpoint as innovation in teaching during lesson preparation, delivery and evaluation in attaining goal four (4) of the sustainable developmental goals. three research questions guided the study. inter-disciplinary basic teachers sent for enugu state 2020 sdgs workshop, numbering 20, constituted the population for the study. total population sampling technique was employed as sample due to manageable size of this population. as such, all the 20 basic teachers sent for the workshop formed the respondents. batepp instrument, made up of 12 items, with reliability of 0.87 using cronbach alpha, also face validated by three computer experts was used to collect data used to elicit information after being analysed in ms excel. means and percentages were igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 199 used to answer the three research questions that guided the study. it was found out that ict and mathematics teachers utilized powerpoint more than basic science and agricultural teachers as seen in the means and percentages during lesson preparation, delivery and evaluation. however, all the basic teachers sent for the workshop had perception above average in each stage of learning process and need to step down what they learnt to other teachers in the various lgas that sent them to be their representatives. every teacher needs to cooperate in this regard to facilitate the achievement of goal four (4) of the sdgs leading to development and progress in education sector. keywords: perception, basic teachers, sdgs, teaching/learning process, innovation, ms powerpoint. introduction perception is a way one regards or understood a concept. according to longman (2021), perception is the way one thinks about something. basic teachers’ perception can affect what they use in teaching in class at foundation level of education during lesson preparation, delivery and evaluation of the entire lesson contents. basic teachers are found in all primary schools (primary 1 to 6) and also in all junior secondary schools (js1 to 3). basic teachers teach pupils in primary schools. they also teach students in junior secondary schools. the basic teachers teach basic subjects that include ict in computer studies, mathematics, agricultural science, basic science and others. there is need to understand fundamental knowledge taught by basic teachers to enable better understanding at higher levels of education. teaching in the past, called traditional method, made use of chalk and board. teachers were more active than students leading to difficulty in transfer of knowledge by learners which may have in turn promoted development in education sector. learning with understanding currently involves the use of smart phones, computers and laptops which are needed in this 21st century classroom instructions (onah, ude & obe, 2017) . current researchers found out that when learners participate more actively in learning processes, they learn with understanding, which is promoted, leading to higher achievements (agwagah, 2007). this is why nti (2018) in her three consecutive ict modules for sdgs, boldly writes: ‘practice makes perfect’ and advise in her introduction leave no one behind (nti, 2016, 2017, 2018). the use of ms powerpoint software found in computer in teaching process is called for in this 21st century because it promotes understanding by learners. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 200 to show the importance of powerpoint, the concept of ms powerpoint is repeatedly seen in all the ict modules produced by nti including the nti (2020) for sustainable developmental goals’ (sdgs’) attainment. basic teaching using powerpoint (batepp) instrument developed by the researchers, made up of 12 items may be of great use to teachers because the instrument employed basic processes involved in lesson preparation, delivery and evaluation in ms powerpoint which the researchers have not seen before in any other write up. arrangement of learning contents from known to unknown / simple to more complex is also called for to promote understanding of what is being taught. each slide is sequentially arranged in ms powerpoint in ascending order of difficulty. suggested effects -both animation and transition effects need not be too much for better understanding of any of the stated educational objectives. this is in line with bloom (1954) who stated that there are six major categories of educational objectives in the following order: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation. while preparing lesson in any basic subject, the order is borne in mind especially in ms powerpoint. this is an innovation that needs to be adopted by every basic teacher in order to achieve goal four (4) of the sustainable developmental goals (sdgs). innovation in teaching using computer is needed in this 21st century as many educators recommend such for effective teaching and learning (onah and onyebuchi, 2018). to be an innovative teacher is to be a creative teacher – adopting something new to enhance teaching and learning. defining innovation, nkadi (2017) stated that innovation means creating something new by a teacher to promote effective teaching so that students learn with understanding. according to onah and onyebuchi (2018), effective teaching process occurs when students learn with understanding after lesson delivery using computer/smart phone in teaching every 21st century student . the researchers are of the view that positive leadership which is a consequence for sustainable developmental goals’ attainment is acquired from effective teaching from effective teachers. no wonder one of the nti slogan for teachers/students reads: ‘if you can write your name, thank your teacher. if you cannot, look for one.’ sustainable developmental goals (sdgs) which started in 2016 to end in 2030 is calling for development in every sector of life including education right from grass root. the sustainable development goals (sdgs) also called global goals are 17 interlinked goals adopted by the united nation in 2015 as a universal call igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 201 to end poverty, protect the planet and make lives better by 2030. the sdg 4 aims specifically to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities” (nti, 2020). this goal four (4) of the sustainable developmental goals (sdgs) is specific on improvement of teaching and learning leading to development in education industry. the actual statement of goal four of the sdgs means that there is need to include learning materials of teaching that is innovative in nature which can in turn promote lifelong learning opportunities for all especially learning of basic subjects taught by basic teachers in primary and junior secondary schools. this can equally promote transfer of learning at higher levels of education leading to growth and development in education industry. since sdgs were initiated by unesco (2015) to end poverty and improve development in every area of life by 2030, all hands must be on deck to achieve the 17 interlinked goals which are categorized into three dimensions: social, economic and environmental as in chart on sdgs dimensions according to nti(2018) and also nti(2020). the first five goals were under social to include: end poverty, end hunger, good health, quality education and gender equality. goal four (4) is on quality education. teachers’ focus on this goal four (4) realizations is the main concern of the present researchers and powerpoint use for enhancement of teaching of learning contents is an innovation in teaching. the way basic teachers perceive its use matters a lot and hence this study. powerpoint use is simply an innovation in teaching where slides are emphasized in place of pages in ms word. facilities for giving different effects to one’s created slides also exist in ms powerpoint. in the past, chalk/board method was used in teaching the pupils/students which has many disadvantages when compared with use of computer in teaching. previous researchers found out that out of the major factors influencing students’ achievement, that teacher factors appear prominent. (onah, ugwuanyi, okeke, nworgu, agwagah, ugwuanyi, obe, nwoye & okeke, 2020). when teachers use innovative methods in teaching the students, achievement of students in internal/external examinations will likely be high instead of low (azuka, 2013). perception of teachers on the use of new technology software like powerpoint may equally be high in teaching and learning processes when learning contents are sequentially arranged in innovation employed. one may at this juncture ask: what are the perception of teachers on the basic processes found in lesson preparation, delivery and evaluation using ms igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 202 powerpoint? to answer the above question is to portray the computer skills involved while using powerpoint to create, deliver and evaluate in other to find out the achievements of the stated objectives in any teaching and learning process. these needed powerpoint skills are embedded in batepp instrument which is made up of 12 items categorized into three groups of four items each for lesson preparation, lesson delivery and evaluation of learning contents delivered. defining powerpoint, azare (2016) indicated that powerpoint is a presentation programme developed by microsoft for microsoft office system. unlike ms word developed by the same group (microsoft office) where pages are emphasized, slides are always used in powerpoint and not pages. teacher’s detailed description of course of instruction, bearing learners’ level in mind, are sequentially arranged slide by slide in ms powerpoint. after keying in the contents slide by slide, from simple to a more complex learning material, slide show is run to check the animation and transition effects of the package and to correct any observed error in lesson plan developed before the actual presentation. these include correct words accompanying pictures seen in different slides. it is when this is done that the teacher starts the lesson presentation, followed by evaluation of objectives previously stated. some experts in nti (2020) refer to powerpoint as slideshow presentation or presentation package. one of the advantages of powerpoint is that although the learning contents are sequentially arranged, one can click on any slide of one’s choice and learn from it after running the entire package slide by slide. also, one can click on any slide to learn from each picture with accompanying words. one can easily critique for production of a better package. this teaching innovation is very practical and need to be adopted from grass root level in every basic school and not just in few schools. pictures of some nigerian children in powerpoint class retrieved from the net can be shown. also, some texts with pictures in slide of what one can be taught using powerpoint such as diagram of interconnectivity of computers for computer network with definitions of local area network (lan) and wide area network (wan) such as internet accompanying the pictures can be seen in nti (2020). following this example, one can include diagram of a three sided figure enclosed by straight lines in teaching triangle for the first time and writing text beside it to read that a triangle is a three sided plane figure enclosed by straight lines. diagrams of different types of triangles with texts can follow suit. similar examples from biology, agriculture or any other basic subject can follow suit with diagrams and explanations of texts indifferent slides of powerpoint. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 203 since learning from powerpoint slides is an innovation in teaching process and sdgs call for active participation of learners leading to understanding and transfer of knowledge, determining the perception of basic teachers on its’ use is called for so that effective learning can take place cannot be overemphasized. this is because a teacher is supposed to be above the learner in classroom instructions since teachers are curriculum implementers and if the teachers have positive perception on the use, employing the new technology in teaching will be made manifest. when learners learn with understanding, attainment of the stated objectives of the sdgs will be made possible at east as it affects quality education. problem of the study poor performance of students in external examination due to poor teaching methods adopted by some teachers constitute worries to educators in the field (azuka, 2013 ; agwagah, 2007). use of computer in teaching have been found to be effective ( onah,2015; laudon and laudon, 2001). the way basic teachers, who are grass root curriculum implementers, perceive the use of innovative method of teaching, especially use of computer play a vital role in nigerian society because one can only give knowledge acquired. attainment of sdgs in education industry which desire for proper understanding and transfer of learnt contents into another field of learning by every learner is called for to prevent poor performance and promote high achievement by students and hence this study. significance of the study this study will be beneficial to everyone in the field of education as a means of attaining the developmental goals irrespective of level of education. this is because students will learn with understanding from sequentially arranged learning contents by the teachers through pictures and texts in the same slide which powerpoint promotes and also which will enhance better understanding by learners leading to higher achievements in both internal and external examinations. also pupils /students can transfer knowledge into another field which indicates mastery of learning contents leading to development in every area of life. teachers and other educators will learn how best to use powerpoint by sequentially arranging teaching contents with accompanying texts in slides. scope of the study igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 204 the study was carried out in enugu state of nigeria and use of powerpoint as innovation in every aspect of teaching process was adopted ranging from lesson preparation, delivery and evaluation. purpose of the study the main purpose of this study is to ascertain the perception of enugu state basic teachers on use of powerpoint as innovation in teaching. specifically, the study sought to determine the perception of basic teachers on use of powerpoint during lesson: 1.preparation. 2.delivery. 3.evaluation of the prepared and delivered learning contents for sdgs’ attainment. research questions 1. what is the perception of basic teachers on use of powerpoint during lesson preparation as measured by their mean responses? 2. what is the perception of basic teachers on use of powerpoint during lesson delivery as measured by their mean responses? 3. what is the perception of basic teachers on use of powerpoint during lesson evaluation for sdgs’ attainment as measured by their mean responses? theoretical background of this study this study is related to the theory propounded by benjamin bloom (1954) that there are six major categories of educational objectives in the following order: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation. this present study is interested in sequentially arranging learning contents in ms powerpoint from prerequisite knowledge, emphasizing the objectives to be achieved from simple to a more complex one according to bloom. the arrangement in each slide also depends on the child’s level of education. the study is equally anchored on the cognitive theory of richard mayer (1947) that learning becomes effective when it comes from words and pictures than words alone. packages prepared in powerpoint promote learning from words and pictures and as such mayer’s cognitive theory of multimedia learning is related to this present study. according to onah(2015), ms powerpoint learning is an example of multimedia learning because of diagrams accompanying texts in each slide. when pictures /texts and words portray the same message, better understanding of learning contents is likely going to be achieved. the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 205 implication of this statement is that when basic teachers highly perceive the use of powerpoint in teaching and learning process, achievement of students in both internal and external examination is expected to be high leading to development and progress which goal four of sdgs is calling for. when one wants to teach internet as interconnectivity of computers, the person can click the click to add title and also click to add sub title in the powerpoint slide to enter texts with accompanying diagrams. diagrams on different subject areas like computers studies, mathematics, basic science, agric. science or technical subjects can be inserted inside texts in the powerpoint slides for better understanding. some illustrations include: teaching internet with pictures of interlinked computers; teaching triangles with diagrams of three-sided figures shown, teaching photosynthesis with pictures of green leaves shown or teaching packaging farm products with diagrams of primary and secondary packaging shown in different slides. one can use two straight woods to demonstrate the concept of orthogonal / perpendicular of the two objects with accompanying texts. this present study aims at finding out the basic teachers’ perception on the above issues and the like through powerpoint use in teaching and learning process which include lesson preparation, delivery and evaluation for sdgs’ attainment. review of related empirical studies many studies conducted on effect/perception of teachers on use of computer software to enhance teaching and learning are in existence. onah (2015) carried out a study on effect of powerpoint on senior students’ achievement in sets in enugu state, nigeria and found the package to have increased students’ interest and promoted high achievement. both male and female students performed highly. onah and agomuo (2016) researched on level of utilization of computer aided design, instruction and learning by lecturers in the faculties of education in the universities in enugu state and found out that some of the lecturers utilized, but some did not utilize the computer aided packages during lesson preparation, delivery and evaluation of learning contents. onah, ugwuanyi, okeke, nworgu, agwagah, ugwuanyi, obe, nwoye & okeke (2020) researched on evaluation of computer assisted instruction on mathematics and physics students’ achievement: implication for industrial technical education. the researchers found out that computer assisted instruction significantly improved mathematics and physics students’ achievement. the question now is; will the present study portray high perception? researching on the awareness and perception of educators on the use of some ict platforms: whatsapp, facebook and zoom on dissemination of information on covid-19 , onah, obe, ozioko, enema & igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 206 ude (2021), found out that all the educators were aware of the use of the different ict platforms in dissemination of information but all are not in high perception on the use. the need for retraining the basic teachers regularly/annually to update their knowledge for effective teaching and learning is called for always according to the above researchers and the present researchers are of the view that finding perception of the basic teachers on innovative method for effective teaching may be a way forward to promote the achievement of sdgs being the 17 interlinked goals according to nti (2018) as shown below (see appendix a) with emphases to goal four which emphasises quality education. method the design used for this study is descriptive research design because opinion of basic teachers were sought on use of powerpoint as innovation in teaching during lesson preparation, delivery and evaluation for sustainable developmental goals’ attainment. population for the study was twenty (20) enugu state basic teachers sent for 2020 retraining workshop who were also used as sample due to its manageable size. pilot test was done in a basic school in ebonyi state. basic teaching using powerpoint (batepp) instrument, developed by the researchers, made up of 12 items was used to collect data on perception of enugu state basic teachers on use of powerpoint as innovation in teaching during lesson preparation, delivery and evaluation. face validity of batepp was done by three computer experts and after trial testing, cronbach alpha was used for determining the reliability of batepp and it resulted to 0.87. the questionnaire had section a for demographic data and section b, partitioned into three for lesson preparation, delivery and evaluation. a 4point rating scale was used to collect data ranging from: very high perception (4pts), high perception (3pts), low perception(2pts), very low perception(1pt). after data analyses, decision was taken based on the following: mean of 2.5 and above corresponding to percentages of 62.5 % and above are for both high perception (hp) and very high perception (vhp) while below are for both low perception (lp) and very low perception (vlp). diagrammatically represented, one can use number line to show positions of 2.5 for mean of means, 1 for lowest score and 4 for highest score in raw scores of 1, 2, 3, 4 thus: 1 2 2.5 3 4 lowest mean highest of means igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 207 the above four-point rating scale was used in taking decision with the equivalence in percentage (%). results research question1 what is the perception of basic teachers on use of powerpoint during lesson preparation as measured by their mean responses? to answer this research question, the table below was generated from data collected, analysed and used as shown below: table 1 mean responses on perception of basic teachers on use of powerpoint during lesson preparation. n o items mm % cm % bsm % am % r1 r2 r3 r4 1 .creating learning materials starting with title /subtitle in testing prerequisite knowledge. 3.8 95% 3.6 90% 3.2 80% 2.8 70% vh p vh p vh p hp 2 creating slide’s learning materials sequentially, bearing bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives in mind. 3.6 90% 3.4 85% 2.8 70% 3.0 75% vh p vh p hp hp 3 adding animation effects to slide(s) one by one or adding transition effects to two or more slides. 3.4 85% 3.8 95% 3.0 75% 2.6 65% vh p vh p vh p hp 4 preparing offline/online packages in cdrom/ web respectively 3.6 90% 3.8 95% 2.6 65% 3.2 80% vh p vh p hp vh p igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 208 after running slide show. key: for table1 above and also for tables 2 and 3 below; the following key hold as guide : vhp,hp,lp,vlp respectively stand for very high perception, high perception, low perception, very low perception. mm,cm,bsm,am respectively stand for mean for mathematics, mean for computer studies , mean for basic science, mean for agriculture. with equivalent of each mean in percentage. r1,r2,r3,r4 each stands for remark in order of the listed basic subjects. table 1 above shows very high perception by mathematics and computer studies teachers on use of powerpoint during lesson preparation as measured by their mean responses. mean for basic science and mean for agriculture teachers however show high perception in three items each and very high perception in only one item each from the four items listed for lesson preparation. none of the four groups of basic teachers presented low perception during lesson preparation. research question2 what is the perception of basic teachers on use of powerpoint during lesson delivery as measured by their mean responses? table 2 mean responses on perception of basic teachers on use of powerpoint during lesson delivery. s/ n items m m % cm % bs m % am % r1 r2 r3 r4 5 delivering lesson from first slide to last slide during a first presentation in a basic class. 3.8 95% 3.6 90% 2.6 65% 2.8 70% vh p vh p h p h p 6 emphasizing mastering of slide one before proceeding to another slide that is following. 3.4 85% 3.8 95% 2.8 70% 3.0 75% vh p vh p h p h p 7 teaching /learning each slide’s object with accompanying texts. 3.2 80% 3.6 96% 3.0 75% 2.6 65% vh p vh p h p h p 8 explaining the relationship 3.6 3.4 2.8 3.0 vh vh h h igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 209 between all the slides prepared for one topic mentioned with first slide bearing title. 90% 85% 70% 75% p p p p table 2 above shows very high perception by mathematics and computer studies teachers on use of powerpoint during lesson delivery as measured by their mean responses. mean for basic science and mean for agriculture teachers however show high perception in the four items listed for lesson delivery. none of the four groups of basic teachers presented low perception during lesson delivery. research question3 what is the perception of basic teachers on use of powerpoint during lesson evaluation for sdgs’ attainment as measured by their mean responses? table 3 mean responses on perception of basic teachers on use of powerpoint during lesson evaluation. no items mm % cm % bsm % am % r1 r2 r3 r4 9 evaluating the mastery of test for entering behaviour. 3.4 85% 3.6 90% 3.0 75% 2.8 70% vhp vhp hp hp 10 asking probing questions that test objectives at both knowledge and comprehension levels. 3.2 80% 3.0 75% 2.8 70% 3.0 75% vhp vhp hp hp 11 testing the pupils/students understanding on objectives in application and analysis. 3.8 95% 3.6 90% 3.0 75% 3.0 75% vhp vhp hp hp 12 asking more comprehensive questions that bring concepts together in 3.6 90% 3.4 85% 2.6 65% 2.8 70% vhp vhp hp hp igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 210 form of synthesis and summary of evaluation. table 3 above shows very high perception by mathematics and computer studies teachers on use of powerpoint during lesson evaluation as measured by their mean responses. mean for basic science and mean for agriculture teachers however show high perception in the four items listed for lesson evaluation. none of the four groups of basic teachers presented low perception during lesson evaluation. discussion of findings the findings presented in tables 1, 2 and 3 above are discussed as shown below: table 1 shows very high perception by mathematics and computer studies teachers on use of powerpoint during lesson preparation as measured by their mean responses. mean for basic science and mean for agriculture teachers however show high perception in three items each and very high perception in only one item each from the four items listed for lesson preparation. none of the four groups of basic teachers presented low perception during lesson preparation. this finding is similar to the study carried out by onah, obe, ozioko, enema and ude (2020) who researched on perception of educators on use of ict and found out that some educators perceived highly the use of some ict platforms in dissemination of information on covid-19 . however, some showed low perception in some items on the use of ict platform items in the previous research. this research is also similar to uzoechi (2006) who worked on perception of the availability and usage of resources for primary science teaching in the federal capital territory abuja. the researcher found out that policy on the resource for teaching primary science is not adequately being implemented as schools lack both human and material resources for science teaching, resulting in the use of inappropriate method of teaching which has brought about poor achievement by pupils. the implication of this finding is that if basic teachers’ perception is high and also if teachers use appropriate method of teaching, that achievement of learners will be high. this is what sdg four (4) is clamouring for, to promote attainment of quality education by learners. table 2 above presents very high perception by mathematics and computer studies teachers on use of powerpoint during lesson delivery as measured by their mean responses. mean for basic science and mean for agriculture teachers however show high perception in all the four items listed for lesson delivery. none of the four groups of basic teachers presented low perception during lesson delivery. the finding is in line with onah (2015) that the use of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 211 multimedia projection package like powerpoint in teaching set enhanced students’ achievements and need to be encouraged for effective lesson delivery. table 3 above shows very high perception by mathematics and computer studies teachers on use of powerpoint during lesson evaluation as measured by their mean responses. mean for basic science and mean for agriculture teachers however show high perception in the four items listed for lesson evaluation . none of the four groups of basic teachers presented low perception during lesson evaluation. this finding is in agreement with laudon and laudon (2001), that in an organization like school, teachers as curriculum implementers perceive the use of computer software and hardware as being useful in classroom processes. this is why onah and agomuo (2016) referred to computer as versatile electronic device since every subject area uses it in teaching and learning. computer is user friendly as such, every area of life need to adopt the use for effective teaching and learning process. from all the results above, one can generally state that all the basic teachers perceived the use of powerpoint either very highly or highly for being effective in teaching and learning processes for sdgs attainment as reflected in the npe (2013). it is interesting to observe that none of the basic teachers had low perception on the use. these findings give hope to enugu state citizens in particular and nigeria at large, that all things being equal, there shall be development in education industry which sdgs is clamouring for before the deadline date of 2030. let there be development in every sector for the 17 interlinked goals. conclusion based on the findings, the researchers conclude that generally, basic teachers perceive highly the use of powerpoint as innovation in teaching during lesson preparation, delivery and evaluation. the problem of mass failures may lie on implementation. use of powerpoint in teaching process as an innovation actually promote understanding since pictures and texts accompany most slides. this idea need to be adopted by every teacher. also, arrangement of teaching contents bearing bloom’s taxonomy of education objectives in mind is needed from every teacher to attain the sdgs through understanding, followed by high achievements by students in both internal and external examinations. recommendations the researchers from the findings recommend as follows that: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 212 1.annual retraining of enugu state basic teachers through sdgs workshops be continued and more teachers should be sent for retraining and not just 20 basic teachers sent for 2020 workshop. 2.teachers who have benefited from this workshop should not be nominated again but give room for others to benefit equally from the government sponsorship. 3.already benefited teachers should step down what they have learnt to other teachers in the various lgas that sent them using detailed and updated manuals in the four key subjects for sdgs namely: information and communication technology (ict), language communication skills (lcs),teaching methods and skills(tms) and effective classroom management skills(ecms). 4.every basic teacher should adopt the use of powerpoint in classroom for better understanding of learning contents especially learning of abstract concepts in any subject area with both diagrams and texts in each slide. 5. bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives should be sequentially adhered to by classroom teachers for promotion of transfer of knowledge and better understanding by learners. 6. this innovation (powerpoint use) in teaching has to be embraced by all basic teachers as it will definitely lead to understanding, followed by high achievement by pupils/students which will in turn lead to development. 7. government in all the three tiers of education (primary, secondary and tertiary) levels should collaborate in sponsorship of teachers with school authorities in this regard for effective teaching and learning in all levels of education for sdgs’ attainment. references agwagah, u.n.v. ( 2007). aesthetic values of mathematics. journal of mathematical association of nigeria (man) , 32 (1), 8-11. azare, g.d. (2016). nti director and chief executive’s forward on information and communication technology module for retraining of 2016 basic teachers. fme/nti kaduna, sustainable developmental goals (sdgs) project. azuka, b.f. (2013). attitude of secondary schools’ mathematics’ teachers towards the teaching of mathematics in nigeria. journal of mathematical science education, 2(1), 181-182. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 213 bloom, b.s.(1954). taxonomy of educational objectives -classification of educational goals. retrieved from the net on april 28, 2021 from google books. laudon, k.c. and laudon, j. p.(2001). essentials of management information systems, organization and technology in the networked enterprise (4 ed.). pretice hall inc. upper sandle river, new jersey. longman (2021). online dictionary on meaning of perception retrieved from the net on 7th april, 2021. mayer r. (1947). theory of multimedia learning -powerpoint. retrieved from the net on 24th march, 2021 from www.mheducation.ca > blog nkadi, o.(2017). key note address at go university enugu, nigeria during the faculty of education international conference on innovative methods of teaching, held in october, 2017 in the school. npe (2013). national policy on education by the federal ministry of education 2013. nti (2018). information and communication technology module for retraining of 2018 basic teachers. fme/nti kaduna, sustainable developmental goals (sdgs) project. nti (2020). information and communication technology module for retraining of 2020 basic teachers in jan.2021 in every state of the federation. fme/nti kaduna, sustainable developmental goals (sdgs) project. onah,e.n. (2015). effect of multimedia projection on senior secondary students’ academic achievement and interest in sets in enugu state, nigeria. a ph.d thesis presented to the department of science education, faculty of education, university of nigeria nsukka. onah e.n. & agomuo e.e. (2016). level of utilization of computer aided design, instruction and learning by computer education lecturers and technical instructors in the colleges of education in south east nigeria. journal of technical vocational education and research vol. 1(2), 90-100. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 214 onah, e.n. & onyebuchi g.u. (2018). developing positive leadership of the 21st century nigerian secondary school students through ict and library programme. emerging issues in science and vocational education, edited by agwagah,u.. department of science and vocational education, go university, enugu, pp 215231, isbn: 978-2473-32-4 onah en., ude v.c and obe p.i. (2017). level of utilization of e-learning in teaching and leaming of selected programmes in universities in enugu state, nigeria, international journal of education a publication of the faculty of education godfrey-okoye university enigu vol.2(2), 247262.isbn:978-036-364-5 onah, e.n., ugwuanyi cs, okekec.l.,nworgu, b.g., agwagah, u.n.v., ugwuanyi c.c., obe, p.i.,nwoye, m.n. &okeke , a.o.(2021). evaluation of the impact of computer-assisted instruction on mathematics and physics students’ achievement: implication for industrial technical education. inter national journal of research and technology. issn 09743154 vol·13 (7) 2020, pp 1786-1794. onah, e.n., obe, p.i., oziko, a.n., enema f.e.& ude v.c. (2021). awareness and perception of educators in enugu zone on the use of some ict platforms : whatsapp,. facebook and zoom in dissemination of information on covid-19. 17th sept 2020. first published in 2021. a publication of the association for the promotion of african studies pp 116. isbn : 978-978-988-731-6 unesco (2015). the 17 interlinked goals of the sdgs. information and communication technology module for retraining of 2016 nigerian basic teachers. fme/nti kaduna, sustainable developmental goals (sdgs) project. uzoechi, b.c. (2006). teachers’ perception of the availability and usage of resources for primary science teaching in the federal capital territory (fct), abuja. resources for science, technology and mathematics (stm) education. proceeding of the 47th annual stan conference, editor nzewi,u. pp 310-318. isbn: 978-37639-7-0. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 64 a re-thinking of secret society and its role in premodern african society abalogu, divine, m. phd nnamdi azikiwe university, awka anambra state dm.abalogu@unizik.edu.ng; 08066672095 doi: 10.13140/ rg.2.2.23433.67684 & okolo, ekenedilichukwu, a. university of port harcourt port harcourt, rivers state ekeneokolo6@gmail.com; 08063344381 doi: 10.13140/ rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract in the pre-modern era, societies functioned and depended on the joint efforts and contributions of every member of the society. this brought about the formation of some groups that championed one project or the other within the society and beyond. these groups were formed either by people of the same age, the same ideology, the same target, or the same purpose with the mind of making positive impacts in the society. it is based on this note that the concept of secret society was born. in examining this concept, this work will be done using phenomenological method of study and the theory of functionalism. this is because the writer will make every effort to be neutral in finding out the functions of secret society before this modern time that ushered in a change in its formative perspective. the paper therefore finds that the present day idea of secret society is not what it was in the pre-modern society and has to be re-addressed. it also observes that secret societies played prominent role in the pre-modern society which was commendable. hence, the paper concludes that secret society as perceived and understood in the present time is a machinery for evil deeds and practices which are against its formative purpose and, therefore calls on all secret societies to re-evaluate their purposes and benefits to human societies which will either give credence to their continuing or being perceived from the same bad light. keywords: re-thinking, secret society, role, pre-modern, african society mailto:dm.abalogu@unizik.edu.ng mailto:ekeneokolo6@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 65 introduction secret society is one of the institutions of the society; hence, the nigerian society is seen as one of the societies that have its record and appearance. this is so because of its role and importance. it will be interested to note that the concept of secret society has always been interchangeable used as secret cult, which at sight has no specific distinction as per differentiating them, but in a careful and intellectual consultation, it gives a little difference. secret society is viewed by some scholars as a club that units people together, while using the nomenclature cult portends some atom of religious inclination. it is imperative to posit that the terms as used in the present day nigeria connote the same thing which is not supposed to be so. a closer examination, however, shows that beyond societal nuisance, secret societies fulfill economic, social, and political functions similar to those of associations based primarily on age and sex. for example, robert lowie was fascinated by functional resemblances between west african secret societies and certain men's organizations among the plain indians in america. this led him to suspect that the state might be found latent in solidarities or associations. the emergence of a splinter group of secret societies in the early 1970s, marked the beginning of a new orientation for future generations, as is being witnessed today. it also heralded the beginning of the proliferation of secret cult associations, not only in higher institutions of learning, but also in the society. at present, there are many secret societies all over the country, its members among other atrocities, kill, maim, rape, rob, steal, harass, intimidate, oppress, fight, kidnap, vandalize, repress, riot, assault, destroy and poison both innocent and rival members. in short they symbolize a myriad of vices. against this background, this work is intended to have a rethinking of secret society and its role in pre-modern african society. theoretical framework this work uses the theory of structural functionalism. this theory is a framework for building theory that sees the society as complex system whose part work together to promote solidarity and stability. functionalism addresses society as a whole in terms of the function of its constituent elements (macionis, 2011). furthermore, structural functionalism is a sociological theory that originally attempted to explain social institutions as collective means to meet individual biological needs. later, it came to focus on the ways social institutions meet social needs. the proponent scholars of this theory are emile durkheim, august comte, herbert spencer and talcott parson. in the opinion of derosso igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 66 (2003), structural functionalism looks at society through a macro level orientation by focusing on the social structures and institutions that make up the society, noting their respective and peculiar roles that shape the society. more so, the thrust of functionalism theory is that the society consists of several institutions performing specific functions for overall growth of the society. in the opinion of hoult (1969), the central concern of structural functionalism is a continuation of the durkheimian task of explaining the stability and internal cohesion of societies that are necessary to ensure their continued existence overtime. many functionalists argue that social institutions are functionally integrated to form a stable system and that a change in one institution will precipitate a change in other institution. it is in this regards that societies are seen as coherent, bounded and fundamentally relational constructs that function like organisms with their various parts working together to maintain and reproduce them. hoult goes further to posit that the various parts of society are assumed to work in unconscious, quasiautomatic fashion towards the maintenance of the overall social equilibrium. all social and cultural phenomena are therefore seen as being functional in the sense of working together to achieve this state and are effectively deemed to have a life of their own. these components are then primarily analyzed in terms of the function they play. in other words, to understand a component of society, one can ask the question of the function of the institution. hence, a function in this regards is the contribution made by a phenomenon to a larger system of which the phenomenon is a part. understanding secret society a secret society is a club or an organization whose activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed from non-members. the society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. the term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence agencies or guerrilla warfare insurgencies that hide their activities and memberships but maintain a public presence. it is an organization that does not allow people who are not members to fin d out about its activities and customs the exact qualifications for labeling a group a secret society are disputed, but definitions generally rely on the degree to which the organization insists on secrecy, and might involve the retention and transmission of secret knowledge, the denial about membership or knowledge of the group, the creation of personal bonds between members of the organization, and the use of secret rites or rituals which solidify members of the group. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/intelligence_agencies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/guerrilla_warfare https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/guerrilla_warfare https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/organization https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/allow https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/people https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/member https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/find https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/find https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/its https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/activity https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/customs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/secrecy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/secret_knowledge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/social_group igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 67 according to schurtz (1960), secret societies anthropologically and historically, have been deeply interlinked with the concept of the mannerbund, the all-male warrior-band or warrior-society of pre-modern cultures. a purported family tree of secret societies has been proposed, although it may not be comprehensive. spence (2019) defines a secret society as an organization that is exclusive, claims to own special secrets and shows a strong inclination to favour its members. he goes further to say that the group's existence is usually not kept secret, but some beliefs or practices are concealed from the public and require an oath of secrecy to learn. the group promises superior status or knowledge to members and the group's membership is in some way restrictive, such as by race, sex, religious affiliation, or invitation only. barrett has used alternative terms to define what qualifies a secret society. he defined it as any group that possesses the following characteristics (a) has carefully graded and progressed teachings, (b) teachings are available only to selected individuals, (c) teachings lead to hidden and unique truths and (d) truths bring personal benefits beyond the reach and even the understanding of the uninitiated. he goes on to say that a further characteristic common to most of them is the practice of rituals which non-members are not permitted to observe or to know its existence. a conceptual view of theories of the origin and function of secret society according to george (2005), many suggestions concerning the basic motivation for secret societies have been proposed of which one of those theories emphasizes the sexual element. in this view, secret societies constitute an attempt by men to establish a life independent of women, a rejection of feminine power and influence. secret societies that are not exclusively male are reluctant concessions or counter-reactions to this motive. other theories on the all-male composition of so many groups include suggestions of homoerotic attraction and the observation that many male animals cultivate activities limited to their gender. this pattern of male bonding can be as casual as the camaraderie incidental to the hunt or the neighborhood bar, or it can take the highly organized form of the secret society. patterns of gender grouping in work, war, and play also may have their roots in male bonding and thus contribute to the strength of the secret society phenomenon. the second analysis emphasizes the social and political functions of the societies. on the one hand, the secret society may be consonant with the existing social and political order and may reinforce that order through the fear it inspires. on the other hand, a secret society may be an agency for change, rebellion, or reform. in this situation, it will be opposed by the dominant forces in society, and its need for secrecy will be greater. its igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 68 membership and its very existence will be kept secret if possible. certainly, such groups will be labeled criminal by the dominant society, but they may also be understood as supporting an alternative political or social structure. going further in his assertion, he maintains that in many historical situations, the phenomenon of secrecy has given rise to the attitude that every secret organization is a conspiracy against the welfare of the rest of humankind. the rest of society, if sufficiently distressed, might blame all social ills on a real or even a supposed secret society. it is unlikely that many secret societies have been as powerful or as conspiratorial as public opinion has on occasion conceived them to be. especially destructive when used as a basis for discrimination and repression is the supposition that subversive secret societies exist among minority populations. the threat, real or imagined, that a secret society represents to the total community is an important factor in the social dynamics of such a group. a third theory about secret societies stresses more positive social functions. it is argued that secret societies foster a person's sense of identity. in tribal societies they afford some people a sense of privacy in the midst of proximity, and in modern societies, they give the individual a special status in the midst of pressures for conformity. it is clear that in some societies, the secret group is a primary means of education and socialization. insofar as the desire to improve oneself or to achieve greater power and status can be considered a beneficial motivation in human life, the secret society has had the positive function of offering people a way to advance their programs of social and financial success. such aspiration to greater significance and fuller existence brings us to the religious motivations and functions of the secret society. there is a style of being religious in which the reason and goal of religious activities is the improvement of one's strength or ontological status. by performing certain ritual, ascetic, or ethical acts, or by thinking certain thoughts and controlling the mind, this kind of religion seeks to promote one's career in this or another world. in light of this kind of religious motivation, the secret society is a major arena for structuring, formulating, and traveling a path toward that goal. the goal, as well as the path, varies from society to society, of course. among tribal peoples the attempt to progress beyond the stage of adulthood achieved through puberty initiation often takes the form of more and more rigorous physical ordeals. it may involve learning magical techniques. the goal may be conceived in terms of transcending the ordinary human condition, especially by identifying with the dead and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 69 the spirits who occupy the next higher rung in the hierarchy of being and power. many masked dancing rites performed by secret societies are understood to represent the return of the dead to the world of the living. some of the most shocking practices of secret societies for example, the eating of raw human flesh in a secret society of the kwakiutl indians of north america can be seen as a way of demonstrating the transhuman (and certainly nonhuman) nature of the life of a secret society member (members of this kind of secret society think of themselves as being something else, superior to humans; the cannibalism demonstrates that they are no longer human because they do something no normal human being would do). the right of secret society members to frighten or steal also derives from this supposed superior existence. the higher status and power bestowed through the secret society might be conceived as benefiting the fertility of the earth, improving one's health or wealth, giving greater power to the tribe, or enhancing one's interior life. when the secret society is seen as a school for attaining ecstatic states or mystical knowledge, its similarity to monasticism becomes apparent. the element of secrecy is not so prominent in the conventional monastic community; hence the connection between monasticism and secret societies has seldom been recognized. nevertheless, monastic communities do cultivate religious advancement and identify with a stage of humanity beyond the ordinary, as do many secret societies. there is nothing inevitably good or bad in the form of the secret society itself. it is a powerful human phenomenon that can be turned to purposes either beneficial or harmful to its members, the larger society, or both. of course, many of the factors listed here can be operative at the same time; thus they can strengthen the attraction of a secret society for its members by fulfilling many expectations, both religious and secular. distinguishing features of secret society still speaking on secret society, george (2005) opines that secret society is characterized first by its being a voluntary or selective group within a natural community. he noted that although there may be times and places in which nearly every one of a certain gender, age, and status may be included; there is always the theoretical possibility that some otherwise eligible person will not be elected to join the group. the possibility of exclusion is a powerful factor in the socio-psychological dynamics of a secret society. the pool of potential members is also restricted, usually to men beyond puberty. there are few secret societies that include women or https://www.encyclopedia.com/places/oceans-continents-and-polar-regions/oceans-and-continents/north-america igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 70 children, although secret societies restricted to women are known, such as the bundu society among the mende people of sierra leone. obviously, another primary characteristic of the secret society is secrecy. it is not characteristic of secret societies, however, that their very existence or their membership is secret. instead, it is the knowledge of their activities, rituals, texts, doctrines, myths and offices that are restricted to the group. some argued that such secrets are new, dangerous or deep matters that demand the protection of secrecy. in this light, it might be said that the secret society is humankind's nursery for new insights and new political or social structures. no matter what the depth or the power of the secrets, however, there is always a measure of artificiality in keeping them secret. furthermore, at least in some cases, the secrets so carefully guarded are actually trivial and assume importance only because they are shared secrets. at the base of secrecy lies not so much a set of hidden facts as a group of experiences, any group of people that works or performs rites together shares memories that others do not have. the third major feature of secret society is initiation. there is a logical necessity that entrance into the group be clearly marked so that the group and the individual can be sure exactly who is and who is not included. many of the initiatory practices can be understood as means by which the simple fact of inclusion in the group is emphasized and reinforced. there are other dimensions to these often elaborate initiation practices. however, in their use of ordeals and trials, the symbolism of death and rebirth can become apparent. one does not merely join an organization, but undergoes a transforming experience and achieves deeper contact with the meaning of life and the world. closely related to the phenomenon of initiation is the hierarchical structure of the secret society. often the society seems to be an outgrowth and extension of puberty-initiation practices. as such, it is based on the notion that human life does not merely grow into maturity, but that a distinctive, new kind of existence or ontology must be attained in the transformation from child to adult. likewise then, it is reasonable to recognize still higher stages of life with other initiations. the secret society itself represents such a stage beyond the status of simple adulthood and within the secret society there may be other stages or levels of advancement. role differentiation within the society is from this perspective, not merely a differentiation in function, but a manifestation of degrees of metaphysical weight or height. https://www.encyclopedia.com/places/africa/sierra-leone-political-geography/sierra-leone igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 71 finally, secret society regularly posits a myth concerning its origins that is central to its self-consciousness. such myths are probably not historically accurate, but should be read as indications of the concerns or mindset of the group. many primitive secret societies, for example, tell a story in which their secrets were derived from a woman, but subsequently kept from other women. this does not necessarily mean that the male secret society was a device by which the men in a previous age wrested control from the women in a matriarchal society. it does, however, indicate a tension in the men's psychology: they are keeping from the women something in which the women also have or have had a stake. examples of secret society in nigeria today the list of secret societies in nigeria today is endless. this is because of the gains gotten from being a member be it secular or sacred secret society. according to an internet source (https://www.legit.ng/1087120list-secret-societies-nigeria.html), chidirim noted some secret societies in nigeria which among others are: (a) freemasonry: first great masonic lodge was created in 1717. the masonic lodge is the basic unit of freemasonry organization. the lodge is created for regular meetings. these meetings can have a ceremonial part to confer a masonic degree of one of the presented members. one of the distinctive characteristics of freemasonry is their ceremonies and rituals. it`s known that secret societies have their rituals and are distinctive from one another, but freemasons pursue special treats in the rituals. the rituals should follow main principles of freemasonry, like morality, dignity, and freedom. grand lodges can accept any member as long as he/she is free and a person of a good nature. many famous people in nigeria, like singers, actors and politicians are part of freemasonry. according to the rules of freemasonry, a member can reveal that he or she is a participant of freemasonry lodge, but cannot reveal the identity of another member. (b) hashshashin: the hashshashin is in the secret society list as they had a tremendous power during the middle-age. it is a mysterious organization of muslim assassins that conducted their deeds in the 13th century. this member of secret societies in africa was formed out from shia muslims; they banded together to create a group of assassins who supposed to be protectors of the utopian shi`ite state. their numbers were small, and could use only guerrilla tactics to protect their community. they were assassins of extra class and supposedly responsible for killing kings and queens. some conspire theorists suppose that these famous assassins are https://www.legit.ng/1087120-list-secret-societies-nigeria.html https://www.legit.ng/1087120-list-secret-societies-nigeria.html igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 72 still alive and are amongst of secret societies in nigeria. they still use their secret tactics to prepare most notorious assassinations in the history. they have a purpose, they still desire to create shia muslim utopian world. assassins take only the best killers into their ranks and provide additional training to the members. (c) ordo templi orientis: the ordo templi orientis has mysteria mystica maxima as the main manifest of the secret society. their occult practices came to the world in the early twelfth century. this group is actively relying on the practices of mysticism and occultism. if a member has a desire to move on the career ladder within the borders of the organization, he or she should acquire a certain level of mystic knowledge. famous esoteric aleister crowley composed the core philosophy and lore of the group. after his death, the order started to experience serious problems with getting new members. the twenty-first century provided new ideas to the old occultist groups in the secret society list. the members of ordo templi orientis are present in many countries of the world, like the usa, the uk, france, nigeria, egypt, south africa and others. (d) bilderberg group: this group has its members as famous bankers and high society representatives from all around the world. they provide their operations under the same veil of mystery as secret cults. this participant of the list of secret societies in nigeria started in 1954. every year the group sends invitations to world leaders, media moguls, captains of industry all around the globe. the core philosophy of the group is resisting to americanism that was spreading in the world after wwii. the bilderberg group is suspicious due to several reasons: they never allowed press to be present during the conference. they never announce the topics of discussions. they never provided any information about purposes of their group, still all their meetings are highly secured from eyes of everyone. they are not open to the public and the places of the meeting can be patrolled by flying jets. (e) the knights templar: the full name of this secret society in nigeria is “the united religious, military and masonic orders of the temple and st. john of jerusalem, palestine, rhodes, and malta”. the members of this secret society do not claim the direct legacy from the templars – one of the most powerful orders in middle-age. they claim to be an offspring of masonic groups. the knights templar clearly follows the ideas of the historical knights’ order. the members of the organization are participants of the high hierarchy of the society, like politicians, business igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 73 owners, and media people. the knights templar also takes symbolism legacy from the freemasonry group. as they claim, they follow the same philosophy in the ideas of getting new members and symbolic rituals. it means that if a person has a desire to be a part of the knights templar, he or she should be free and has a good nature. (f) the order of the golden dawn: this group in nigeria was created by dr. william woodman, samuel liddell macgregor mathers, and william wynn westcott. the three persons were participants of societas rosicruciana in anglia and freemason order. the core of the philosophy for the order of the golden dawn is taken from renaissance writing, freemasons, ancient egypt tales, christian mysticism, hermeticism, and qabalah. the main document of the group is known as the cipher document. they follow the ideas of morality, but they have a belief that this morality can be achieved through the mystic rituals. nevertheless, they highly protect these rituals from the eyes of people. therefore, their vision of morality can be different from other secret societies in nigeria. it is unknown what the real price is for a person who desires to enter the order of the golden dawn. (g) the black hand: this was created in serbia in 1912. they followed the ideas of narodna adbrona, the organization that had a desire to create a united slavic federation across the whole world. in the very beginning of their history, they fought against austria-hungary. they also had strong politic connections with russian empire and were financed by it. the actions of the black hand led to the wwi and supposedly wwii and cold war. these cases make the black hand one of the most influential secret organizations during the twentieth century. some conspiracy theorists claim that the offspring of the black hand has influence across the world. they follow the ideas of creating the pan-slavic world. nevertheless, they do not have much response from other nations as their claims to the world can be distinguished as the same that had the nazi germany during the wwii. (h) the knights of the golden circle: the knights of the golden circle started as one of the religious secret societies during the american civil war. their main principles at the very beginning of creation were to make the slave trade flourish again. their main efforts at the very beginning were concentrated on the annexation of the mexico and other parts of central america. nevertheless, with the starting of the american civil war, they switched their direction from ideas of colonialism to the support of confederates. the group did not follow the ideas of mysticism, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 74 like other members of the list of the secret organizations in nigeria. they preferred strict ways in taking their goals, like creating bandit groups to take them seriously. (i) rosicrucians: the order of rosicrucian was believed to be the idea of german protestants in the 1600s. their main idea was derived from christian ideas and believes in the one true nation that comes from god. it`s believed that nazi germany officers also followed the ideas of this order. even adolf hitler was a potential member. he believed that one true nation of god to rule the world was the german nation. the idea of the members of this secret society in nigeria still lives, despite the nazi context of the cult. they believe that only one nation is to be ruled over the world, the nation that has been chosen by god. (j) the illuminati: this society gets the golden prize in the list of secret societies in nigeria. it seems to be the most influential and the most powerful secret society in the world. if you have a desire to become a member of illuminati, then you have to pay the blood price. many people are ready to pay this price for the fame, glory, and money that are offered. many influential people in nigeria are members of illuminati. all illuminati have only one idea – is to create a united world that can follow the orders of illuminati. they do not have any morality in taking the ways of achieving their supreme goal of taking the world. (k) the ogboni society: this should not be confused with the reformed ogboni society, which was created by christians in the 1900s. sources indicate that information about the ogboni society is limited. several sources also indicate that they are referred to as a "secret" society or as a "cult". in a chapter on organized crime in nigeria in the book entitled traditional organized crime in the modern world, obi n. i. ebbe catalogues the ogboni secret society as an organized crime organization, sometimes burdened by negative rumours, half-truths, and infamy. (l) ekpe: this is a masquerade cult with members who are typically wellrespected agents of wealth distribution in the community and other reputable and outstanding personalities. being a member of the group is a self-enriching quest for members and their families. to give back to the community, they sponsor feasts and throw parties for the sole merriment of the people. the ekpe from cross river and akwa ibom have migrated to other parts of africa and some foreign countries like cameroon and brazil. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 75 (m) okonko this is an igbo equivalent of ekpe, the okonko society is only open to a certain calibre of men in the community, including titled elders, kingmakers and law enforcers of no questionable character. its festivals are strictly meant for members, and only initiates can follow okonko processions at ceremonies. initiation holds in three stages and lasts for seven days. palm leaves to the group hold great significance. for instance, when held between lips, it shows silence and divinity secret society and the pre-modern african society the secret societies have played significant roles in the economic, political and social aspects of different communities in africa. their ideologies and way of life sometimes help redefine how an entire community was administered. members of these groups were influential and powerful. this institution played roles in the socio-political and religious affairs of the yoruba people. they aimed at striking a healthy balance in the aspects of fairness and justice. in pre-colonial history, the judiciary of yoruba kingdom was under the tutelage of the ogboni members. but this later changed with modernity and translated into dubious tendencies, attaching a derogatory tag to the group. it still functions in few remote kingdoms and was popular in nigerian yoruba and igbo-speaking communities, togo and republic of benin. it is clear that in some societies, the secret group was a primary means of education and socialization. in as much as the desire to improve oneself or to achieve greater power and status can be considered a beneficial motivation in human life, the secret society has had the positive function of offering people a way to advance their programs of social and financial success. the higher status and power bestowed through the secret society might be conceived as benefiting the fertility of the earth, improving one's health or wealth, giving greater power to the tribe, or enhancing one's interior life. when the secret society is seen as a school for attaining ecstatic states or mystical knowledge, its similarity to monasticism becomes apparent. it is pertinent to conclude here as this paper has noted before that, there is nothing inevitably good or bad in the form of the secret society itself. it is a powerful human phenomenon that can be turned to purposes either beneficial or harmful to its members, the larger society, or both. of course, many of the factors listed here can be operative at the same time; thus they can strengthen the attraction of a secret society for its members by igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 76 fulfilling many expectations, both religious and secular. these and more are reasons for the continued existence of secret society in nigeria today. conclusion secret society in our normal understanding has been a wrong organization which is labeled as a menace and evil in the society. the study has help in repositioning and correcting such notion. this work has been a concerted effort in understanding secret society in nigeria on which the paper has made an attempt to trace it from the origin, highlighted its features, pointed out some secret societies in nigeria and made some clarity and explanations on them. the paper therefore summarizes that some secret societies are not evil organization because they have helped in bettering the lives of the masses and bringing about a better government which has invariably brought a flourishing economy. it is based on this notion that it posits that, the goodness and badness of a secret society is dependent on the interest and mind set of the particular society. references chidirim .n (2019), the most prominent secret societies in nigeria, retrieved from https://www.legit.ng/1087120-list-secretsocieties-nigeria.html george .w (2005), conceptual theories of origin and function of secret society, encyclopedia of religion grecian .a (2014), the 7 most exclusive secret societies in history retieved from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-mostexclusivesecret_b_5398914 spence r. b (2019), the real history of secret societies, the great courses schurtz .h (1960), alterklassen und männerbünde, berlin, 1902; a. van gennep, the rites of passage, chicago. wellington .b (2007), nigeria's cults and their role in the niger delta insurgency, the jamestown foundation https://guardian.ng/tag/chidirim-ndeche/ https://guardian.ng/tag/the-most-prominent-secret-societies-in-nigeria/ https://www.legit.ng/1087120-list-secret-societies-nigeria.html https://www.legit.ng/1087120-list-secret-societies-nigeria.html https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-most-exclusivesecret_b_5398914 https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-most-exclusivesecret_b_5398914 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/the_great_courses http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5btt_news%5d=4288 http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5btt_news%5d=4288 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/the_jamestown_foundation igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 248 ethical underpinnings of women’s participation in politics victoria openif’oluwa akoleowo, phd department of philosophy and religious studies, dominican university, ibadan, nigeria e-mail: opeakoleowo@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract women, due to certain structural and functional constraints, are yet to achieve a favorable and expected position in societal politicking. despite various women’s liberation movements geared towards women’s emancipation and increased involvement in politics, nigerian women who account for 49.4% of the voting population, are yet to translate their numerical strength to electoral victory. this paper, therefore, advocates for increased women’s participation by identifying ethical principles which underpin women’s political participation. these principles are utilized to challenge existing religious and sexist classifications of women as politically inferior and mediocre. these classifications are identified as primary reasons for the poor participation of women in politics and governance. based on the enumerated ethical principles, this paper recommends increased political participation while recognizing challenges to such increased participation. utilizing the analytic and synthetic methods of research, it argues that these salient ethical principles demand healthy political environments, characterized by equal representation in governance and proper participation of women in politics, all of which engender social justice and the common good. keywords: challenges, ethical principles, nigeria, political participation, women. introduction political philosophy, as a branch of philosophy, concerns itself with analyzing and justifying explanations of politics. politics itself is the process through which humans order society according to their political values/ideals in accordance with their needs. as such politics is an indispensable aspect of human nature. through politics, resources and opportunities are allocated to different sectors of society via an agreed/acceptable arrangement which results in a power structured relationship between people and groups in society. people who are tasked with the distribution of such opportunities and resources are legitimately empowered to do so through a political participatory process. in contemporary times, this process is supposedly open to men and women for effective and efficient political igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 249 participation. political participation can therefore be defined as the activities through which members of society share in the selection of political leaders and public policy formulation, both of which determines the allocation of societal opportunities and resources (ugwuegede, 2014). as defined, political participation encompasses beyond voting and being voted for, to include all civic activities in the politicking process including political awareness, campaigning, as well as exercising political franchises either directly or indirectly through elected representatives. in nigeria, the political process paints a picture of inclusivity for women – the ratio of women who are members of political parties outstrips male members, and more women are seen on campaign grounds than men. however, while women are adequately represented on campaign grounds and in party affiliations, the percentage of women elected political leaders is negligible compared with the percentage of men in such elected offices. as at may 2019, women occupied 11 out of 360 seats in the nigerian house of representatives, and 7 out of 109 seats in the nigerian senate, representing 3.84% of federal lawmakers; and 40 seats out of 944 legislative seats in state houses of assembly. a total of 2,970 women were on electoral ballots nationwide, representing 11.36% of nominated candidates while 62 women representing 4.17% were elected. (development, 2019) these figures represented a sharp decline from the 2015 elections whereas at january 2017, women occupied 22 out of the 360 seats in the nigerian house of representatives, 7 out of the 108 seats in the nigerian senate, and 51 seats out of a total of 990 legislative seats in state houses of assembly, despite constituting 49.32% of the nation’s population (onyeji, 2018; review, 2018). this fact, in a contemporary age that preaches inclusiveness, seems to imply that women are marginalized in nigerian politics. politics aims at a well-ordered society, and political philosophers subject existing political ideas and theories to the anvil of rationalization and justification with a view to defining which, if any, of these theories and ideas approximate the political ideal. this task informs this discourse on women’s political participation. this paper, therefore, attempts an ethical justification of the theoretical discourse on why women should participate in the political affairs of society. this task would be accomplished by an initial identification of the arguments proffered against women’s political participation, an examination of the importance of ethics to politics, an enumeration of ethical principles which justify women’s participation in politics, and finally, a cursory look at challenges militating against effective participation of women in politics. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 250 statement of problem the advent of colonialism in nigeria truncated the complementary role assigned to women in the pre-colonial era. pre-colonialisation, the nigerian patriarchy system espoused the complementary role played by women in social, economic and political domains by providing opportunities for women to occupy economic, social, political and religious positions and wield considerable power in such positions. with the advent of colonialism, nigerian women lost their economic and political status to the colonial version of patriarchy which empowered men over women by providing opportunities for education and employment into white-collar jobs for men, thus ensuring that women lost their economic power to men, and eventually their political relevance. post-colonial era women have barely fared better, with a proliferation of women-focused organisations agitating for women to be given equal opportunities to ensure adequate representation in governance. factors that limit women’s political participation include gender stereotyping occasioned by patriarchy, poverty, illiteracy, religious interpretations and cultural norms. women under patriarchy are stereotyped as weak, inferior to men, and partially rational beings in comparison with men who are viewed as strong, rational and superior to women. characteristics and skills typically expected of leaders, including critical rationality and assertiveness are also attributed to men, resulting in the association of leadership positions with men. furthermore, women lack the adequate financial resources necessary for politicking, exacerbated by limited access to financial support. the girl-child’s education is also often sacrificed for the boy-child’s due to the prevalence of poverty, resulting in more illiterate women than men. religious and cultural norms also aid the stereotyping of women as the weaker sex who are forbidden from certain tasks and occupations, particularly leadership positions. all these factors act as justifications for the continued marginalization of women in the political sphere. the questions to ask at this juncture are therefore whether such continued marginalization is justified, and if not, whether the repeated calls for increased participation of women in politics is justified. justifications of this sort typically fall under political philosophy, and since it also pertains to social conduct, ethics. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 251 ethics and politics two schools of thought characterize the debate on the relationship between ethics and politics. one, the school popularized by niccolo machiavelli, a renaissance philosopher who specifically stressed that political leaders should discount moralistic limitations in political struggles for power, resulting in ‘the end justifies the means’ dictum often brandished by people to justify their unethical conduct, and the other the school based on the ideas of ancient greek and medieval scholars who opine that the common good surpasses selfish interest. both schools present contrasting opinions on the relationship between ethics and politics, with the machiavellian school arguing for a separation between ethics and politics, and the ancient greek/medieval scholars school asserting that ethics and politics are inseparable. this debate can be resolved with a cursory look at what ethics, as a branch of philosophy, concerns itself with. ethics concerns itself with the rightness or wrongness of human conduct and its effect on society, and is therefore of immense importance to the field of politics, given that politics is primarily individual or collective acting in engagement with the structure and institutions of governance. it is also apt to note, that ethics possesses a prescriptive nature through which it proffers advice on how to make determinations of which actions are right and which wrong. since it is the author’s view that women have equal rights with men, it is necessary to examine some ethical principles in order to ascertain whether women’s political participation is ethically justified or not. ethical principles and women’s political participation ethical principles refer to general judgments that serve as justifications for particular ethical prescriptions and evaluations of human actions. these principles provide generalized frameworks that can be applied in interpersonal relationships between members of society for resolving ethical dilemmas arising from daily activities. they are particularly useful in providing guidance on how ethical issues arising in particular professions are resolved (beauchamp & childress, 2001). ethical principles are of two types: positive and negative principles. positive principles espouse conduct to be adopted. among such conduct are honesty, respect for human dignity, cultivation of justice and consideration of the interest of others amongst other desirable conduct. negative principles indicate conduct to be avoided as such conduct are both self-destructive and destructive to society. these include murder and stealing among others. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 252 both positive and negative ethical principles are held as universally applicable in that they are valid at all times and in all societies, although they are not absolute, as they admit of exceptions and are applied in varying degrees. it is apt to note here that the idea of universal ethical principles has been challenged with ethical relativism which holds that morality is relative and differs from one society to the other. however, this challenge is easy to overcome. ethical principles can only be held as relative in the case that there is at least one society on the face of the earth where any ethical principle is overturned and its contrary held as the norm. thus, if there exists a society where a negative ethical principle is viewed as right, and a positive one as wrong, then it would be possible to assert the validity of relative ethical principles. ethical relativism also tends to conflate moral rules with fundamental ethical principles. the former simply prescribe how the latter should be applied in specific situations, and does not nullify the universality of the latter. thus, ethical principles are presented in this paper as universal moral principles which any rational being can apprehend and adopt. while not exhaustive, the ethical principles listed below comprise principles that hold in socio-political conduct and are therefore the focal point of this research. these include beneficence, non-maleficence, justice, reciprocity and respect for persons. beneficence simply defined, beneficence is a principle that holds that persons should act in ways to benefit others. it must be differentiated from benevolence, which is the moral virtue that predisposes one to acts of beneficence. beneficence is a concept which connotes kind and merciful acts which aim at promoting the good of others (beauchamp, 2013). as an ethical principle, it is a normative statement referring to actions that are intended to help others achieve their goals by either preventing possible harms or promoting their welfare. as such, it is regarded either as morally obligatory or as a moral ideal (singer, 1972; gert, 2005). in the social sphere, persons are treated ethically when their decisions are respected, and their wellbeing is sought by leaders of society. if being beneficent means acting in ways that will not only prevent harm from befalling others, but also in ways to promote others’ welfare, it follows that discriminatory acts run counter to this ethical principle. in nigeria, there is a long history of men discriminating against women, especially in economic and political affairs. nigeria is one of the few countries where 55% of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 253 respondents answered ‘no’ to the question of whether women should have equal rights as men, indicating an inbred aversion to the idea of women as first-class citizens (olurode, 2013, p. 3). this aversion is undoubtedly fed by religious interpretations and cultural norms which relegate women to the role of the subservient ‘other’, an other who lacks the ability to make sound decisions capable of leading to the public common good. little wonder women are relegated to socio-cultural circles and denied the right to wield effective political and economic powers. non-maleficence nonmaleficence is the principle that holds that one should act in ways that would not cause harm to others. where one’s actions are likely to cause harm, or there is a slight risk of harm, one should refrain from acting. it is closely related to the principle of beneficence and is often conflated with it. however, it is quite distinct from beneficence in that while non-maleficence means ‘do no harm’, beneficence espouses acting in ways that not only does one refrain from causing harm, one also removes or alleviates existing harms. the principle of non-maleficence is one of the easiest ethical principles to violate. while it states that one must avoid harm, it is difficult to ascertain all the consequences of one’s actions as harm can be occasioned from actions that are intended for good. it is also difficult to define the nature of harm, given that an action that is universally acclaimed as good could also occasion harm (beauchamp & childress, 2001). harmful acts could also be beneficial, particularly in cases where the benefits accruing from such harmful acts far outweigh the imposed harm. thus, harm is in the eye of the beholder. applying the principle of non-maleficence to societal issues, with particular emphasis on women’s inclusion in political affairs tends to imply that intentional or unintentional acts aimed at excluding women’s political participation or limiting such participation are acts that harm women by denying them equal participation in matters where determinations of how they should live are made. justice justice is the constant will to give every person his/her due. regarded as a cardinal virtue in human society, many philosophers have theorized about this principle, with many important works devoted primarily to its exposition. such works igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 254 include plato’s republic, john rawls’ theory of justice and justice as fairness: a restatement. justice is a quality found in human relationships which evinces a sense of satisfaction arising from dealings in such relationships. it can also be defined as treating persons in the right manner. it is an ethical principle that holds that persons should not be treated arbitrarily, and should be treated equally under similar circumstances. etymologically derived from ‘jus’ and ‘jungere’, meaning what is binding and to fit/join respectively, it is also loosely translated as the spider’s web which holds society together. various philosophers have also defined it in various ways, ranging from solon and hobbes’ ‘obedience to the law’, plato’s ‘proper action of all classes’, john stuart mill’s ‘ getting what is your right’, to john rawls’ ‘justice as fairness, the first virtue of a social institution whose idea is embedded in the rationality of every rational creature’. justice applies in various areas, resulting in a typology of justice which includes social, criminal and commutative among others. given the scope of this research, our major concern rests with social justice, the type of justice which is involved where society strives to achieve the common good based on equality of all members, as well as the recognition of the rights and dignity of all. social justice is thus a normative concept concerned with the notions of fairness and the principles of equality, equity, rights and participation, all of which underpin inclusivity (khechen, 2013). traditionally, theorists on social justice have propounded three criteria which guide this principle, including the principles of need, desert and equality. contemporary conceptions have however argued that these criteria and the distributive paradigm on which they are based, are insufficient for a framework of social justice, given that societal inequalities are perpetuated by societal structures and institutions (young, 1990). john rawls’ seminal book theory of justice in which he espoused the idea of justice as fairness is of particular importance to this work as it promotes the idea of justice as a principle which can be arrived at practically with the recognition of humans’ common rationality and equality. rationality is what distinguishes humans from other animals, and is defined as “…the ability to employ abstract concepts to grasp the relations among them, and to communicate this understanding to others” (halliday & long, 1997 p. 40). aristotle even holds it to be principal amongst all other human functions; being the primary determinant of choices made through a reflective decision-making process (aristotle, 1907). khechen identifies four necessary values from john rawls’ principles of justice (p. 5). these values are equality, equity, rights and participation. equality espouses igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 255 that all people, regardless of differences, are entitled to benefit from societal resources, including in the political sphere; equity, that equal distribution does not always ensure fairness, thus, the need to give everone what they need to succeed; rights, legal and moral, must be protected by adequate rules and norms; and participation, where persons are involved in decisions that govern their lives. extrapolating from the above, justice holds only in the presence of fair treatment of all persons and is based on the assumption that all humans are equal by virtue of their capacity for rational thinking. one wonders therefore why, if the above holds true, women are termed less rational than men, and are therefore excluded from political decision-making processes. reciprocity reciprocity is a social norm that holds that people should respond to others on the basis of how others behave to them. where they are treated kindly, they are expected to show kindness in return, and where they are received with hostility, they respond, either by ignoring the hostility or in kind. it is typically regarded as the basis for social life, as evident from daily interactions between persons, where each expects that the other would respond to an action in a particular way (restakis, 2013). in this sense, it is regarded as a determinant of human behaviour, a behavioural response to an action viewed as kind or unkind (falk & fischbacher, 2000). three main types of reciprocity have been identified as generalized reciprocity, balanced /symmetrical reciprocity and negative reciprocity (sahlins, 1972). generalized reciprocity occurs when persons share goods and services without expecting anything in return. this type of reciprocal behaviour is found between parents and children, married couples, and clans and is a form of reciprocal behaviour that fosters social cohesion by building trust between the involved parties. balanced or symmetrical reciprocity occurs when a person shares a good or service with the expectation of receiving an equal return from the beneficiary in future. this type of acting is found between neighbours, friends, relatives, and coworkers, and is an informal mode of social exchange. it is trust-based, with the expectation that any person who negates the expectation by refusing to repay gifts and favours will be made to face unpalatable social consequences. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 256 negative reciprocity is found in economic transactions. it occurs where persons trade their goods and services for goods and services of equal worth. it involves a low level of trust, as the ‘seller’ expects an immediate return on his/her ‘investment’. for this singular reason, it is the form of reciprocal behaviour found between strangers involved in economic transactions. from the above, reciprocity can therefore be identified as the practice of exchanging things with others for mutual benefit. it is defined by the need to want to give something in return when something is received, as well as the expectation of getting something back in return when one gives. humans typically feel compelled to give back when they receive something, whether in kind, cash, or in verbal appreciation. on the other side of the coin, humans also expect to derive something from their act of giving. such derived benefits could be monetary, or of a social nature, through the building of stronger relationships. reciprocity is a universal structure of human morality that is applied variously in accordance with societal norms. it is that norm which lies at the heart of the theological injunction to do unto others as you would have them do to you, as well as at the heart of the kantian injunction to act in ways such that we would wish our actions to be universalized. it is a norm governed by the principles of cooperation and equality, where each person engages in reciprocal actions with the strong belief in getting back an equal measure. this belief is anchored on the assumption that the recipient of the act is of equal worth, and values the act in the same vein it was done. this belief thus lays the foundation for cooperative endeavours, with each person’s assurance of equal cooperative behaviour from other members in a collective action. it is particularly evident in the assignment of worth and dignity to every human being, as encapsulated in the universal declaration of human rights. reciprocity can therefore be regarded as a stance of expecting similar behaviour from other agents who are of equal measure. for every act ‘a’ performed towards another person, the moral agent expects that reactions would occur, particularly where act ‘a’ is a behavioural act. reactions to act ‘a’ could be of equal worth and type to act ‘a’ and could be otherwise. it is a demand for the moral agent to behave kindly to those who behave kindly to her and to respond to benefits contingent on the value of the benefit received. in this way, social and stable relationships are built, and blame and punishment meted out for harmful conduct. over the ages, women have been treated as inferior to men, despite being accorded equal status as humans. applying reciprocity to this situation would imply that women should equally begin to treat men as inferior beings, in direct reciprocity igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 257 to the stance adopted by men towards them (women), or ignore men’s opinions. neither of these options seems particularly viable, as this age-long degradation of womenfolk has resulted in a deeply ingrained belief in the superiority of men buoyed by men’s appropriation of economic and political powers. the best that women can hope for at this time is therefore to be afforded opportunities via extra provisions under the law to enable more of them to participate in politics. respect for persons/ autonomy respect for persons is an ethical principle that acknowledges that by virtue of a person’s autonomy, the person has the right to hold beliefs and make choices of actions to take based on these beliefs. autonomy, a synonym of free will, is defined etymologically as self-rule. ab initio, it was used to refer to the greek city states’ ability to regulate their affairs independent of external control (anon). in contemporary times it is defined as a character ideal that grants persons the means to working out their projects in the world (young r., 1982); a necessary tool in the achievement and promotion of happiness, as it is only the autonomous person who has the capacity for self-governance. without autonomy, an individual is subject to the whims and caprices of his urges, and thereby lacks self-direction (mill, 1859), the type of control one has over one’s actions/behavior (clarke, 1992); and the capacity to determine the choice of action to be taken, based on reflection upon the reasons for taking such actions. respect for persons dictates that when persons make choices, such choices should be respected. even where such persons suffer from diminished autonomy, in cases of incarcerated, aged, and mentally ill persons, they are entitled to protection from forceful compliance. this respect is often missing in men’s relationship with women. the principle of paternalism – that the father knows best, or in this case, the husband, is often employed to persuade women to make particular choices. in a 2011 field study conducted by fatile, o. j. et al, all 635 female respondents voted for male candidates, with 37.2% stating they were not aware of any female candidate, closely followed by 29.8% who based their electoral behaviour on directives from their husband (p. 1086). this implies that if all respondents had been aware of the presence of female candidates, the highest frequency would have been respondents who were directed on how to vote by their husbands. ultimately, this paints a vivid picture of how women’s choices are typically subtly or forcefully influenced by their male folk who look down on women’s ability to make rational choices as they are seen as emotional beings. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 258 justifying women’s political participation ethically having examined the above ethical principles, it is crystal clear that none of these principles prescribes any untoward or discriminatory behaviour towards women. beneficence advocates that actions to be taken must benefit others, and where previous actions have occasioned harm, actions must be taken to remove or alleviate such harms. non-maleficence dictates ‘do no harm’; justice, that people should be treated fairly in distributions of benefits and burdens; reciprocity, that people should expect others to treat them in ways similar to the treatment they have meted out; and respect for persons (autonomy), that people have the right to make choices free from external cohesion and such choices should be respected. discriminatory acts of the type practised against women in the political arena are undeniably unbeneficial, harmful, unfair, and hardly reciprocal of women’s behaviour towards men. if this is so, and ethical principles provide justifications for evaluating conduct, the inevitable conclusion is that there is no ethical justification for sidelining women in the political arena. provisions for ensuring women’s full participation in politics given the above justifications of women’s participation in politics, it is necessary to identify specific provisions that have been made to ensure an increase in women’s political participation, both at international and national levels. 1. article 21 of the udhr decrees that everyone has the right to participate in governance either directly or through representatives (united nations, 1948); 2. articles 7 and 8 of the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women (cedaw) encourages member states to take appropriate measures to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women (united nations, 1979); 3. the beijing platform of action advocates for the removal of all obstacles to women’s participation in both public and private spheres and recommends governments to adopt the principles of shared power and responsibility (united nations, 995); igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 259 4. goal 3 of the millennium development goals calls for bridging the gender gap and encouraging the visibility of women in politics (united nations, 2000); 5. the maputo protocol calls for action on the part of member states to act in ways that promote equal participation of women in politics (african union, 2005); 6. sections 40 and 42 of the nigerian constitution provides for the right of all nigerians to participate in public life and forbids any form of discrimination respectively (nigeria, 1999); and 7. the nigeria national policy on women prescribes 35% of political appointments to be to women (nigeria, 1999). if these provisions have been made in the effort to secure a better acceptance for women in the political arena, one then wonders why these efforts have not translated to an increase in women’s political participation? this calls to mind isaiah berlin’s two senses of liberty – freedom from, and freedom to. women can only be free to participate effectively in governance when they are free from all limiting factors. this would therefore lead to an identification of such limiting factors in the next section. challenges militating against effective women’s political participation other women: women have been acclaimed as their own worst enemies. many women seek to perpetuate the traditional beliefs that women are less capable in the public sphere, and should be seen, not heard; socio-cultural and religious practices: two of the major religions in nigeria, christianity and islam have religious injunctions which forbid/limit women’s participation in the public sphere; indigenization: married female political aspirants are denied support from their birth states of origin and from their husbands’ states of birth because they are deemed to have lost their indigene-ship after marriage, or that they are strangers in their husbands’ states respectively; the feminisation of poverty: politics in nigeria requires huge financial involvement. nigerian women lack access to credit, financial backing, and a 2013 study found that 90% of nigerian women live below the poverty line. this effectively puts the cost of realizing electoral ambitions beyond the reach of the average nigerian woman; igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 260 lack of political support/base: political parties provide the platform for electioneering and are therefore key to effective political participation. political parties in nigeria are male-dominated and male-funded, and women are usually silenced by apportioning them ex-officio and women leader positions, rather than key party positions; prevalence of double standards: the timing and venue for most political meetings also present challenges for women. meetings typically hold late at night and require a lot of travelling. where a married or even single woman attempts to ensure her presence at these meetings, she is usually labelled as loose, even by her fellow politicians, when she acts tough, she is ‘too harsh’, and when she cautions on particular issues, she is labelled ‘meek’; political violence and lawlessness: the political terrain in nigeria is fraught with many violent measures including assassinations, intimidations, beatings and maiming (ugwuegede, 2014). most times, this atmosphere is less favourable to women. conclusion praxis has debunked all theoretical claims made that women have the right to equal participation and are therefore not marginalized; or that men are also marginalized by proving that women are more marginalized in the political arena. given the above examined ethical principles, this paper argues that women should enjoy equitable, effective and efficient political participation, with a resultant effect of increased solidarity and mutual respect for human dignity and the common good. however certain measures need to be put in place to assure such participation, including education, gender quotas, social media mobilization, mandatory social programmes to improve women’s welfare, solidarity through women’s intersecting identities, state provision of full security for all candidates during electioneering and voting, mandatory training for political parties on internal democracy and gender affairs, and modification of electoral laws and party manifestos to include gender-sensitive provisions. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 261 references anon. (n.d.). autonomy. online etymology dictionary. retrieved october 13, 2015, from http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=autonomy aristotle. (1907). de anima. (r. hicks, trans.) cambridge: cambridge university press. beauchamp, t. (2013). the principle of beneficence in applied ethics. in e. n. zalta (ed.), the stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (winter 2013 ed.). retrieved from https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2013/priniple-beneficence/ beauchamp, t. l., & childress, j. f. (2001). principles of biomedical ethics (fifth ed.). uk: oxford university press. clarke, r. (1992). freewill and the conditions of moral responsibility. philosophical studies: an international journal of philosophy in the analytic tradition, 66(1), 5372. development, c. f. (2019, march). how women fared in the 2019 elections. retrieved april 25, 2021, from https://www.cddwestafrica.org/wpcontent/uploads/2019/04/how-women-fared-in-the-2019-electionscdd.pdf dike, v. e. (n.d.). need for ethical politics and values. retrieved april 25, 2021, from http://www.gamji.com/article6000/news6659.htm falk, a., & fischbacher, u. (2000). a theory of reciprocity. retrieved october 14, 2015, from http://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/75813/1/cesifo_wp457.pdf. fatile, o., akhakpe, i., igbokwe-ibeto, c., & oteh, c. (2012). feminism and political participation in nigeria: an empirical analysis. international journal of asian social science, 2(7), 1077-1092. gert, b. (2005). morality. new york: oxford university press. halliday, r., & long, r. (1997). dialogue on archetypes. formulations, 40. retrieved april 4, 2014, from freenation.org/a/f43h4.html. khechen, m. (2013). social justice: concepts, principles, tools and challenges. asia: economic and social commission for western asia (escwa). mill, j. (1859). on liberty. london: parker, j.w. and son. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 262 nigeria. (1999). constitution of the federal republic of nigeria. nigeria. (1999). national gender policy. abuja: federal ministry of women affairs and social development. olurode, l. (2013). state and political participation: women in nigeria’s 2011 elections. nigeria: friedrich‐ebert‐stiftung. onyeji, e. (2018). fact sheet: women ‘poorly represented’ in nigeria’s 19 years of democratic rule – cdd. the premium times. retrieved august 10, 2018, from https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/274577-factsheet-women-poorly-represented-in-nigerias-19-years-of-democracy-rulecdd.html restakis, j. (2013). humanizing the economy: co-operatives in the age of capital. canada: new society publishers. review, w. p. (2018). nigerian population 2018. retrieved august 10, 2018, from nigerian population 2018, retrieved august 10, 2018 from http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/nigeria-population/ sahlins, m. (1972). stone age economics. new york: aldine de gruyter. singer, p. (1972). famine, affluence, and morality. philosophy and public affairs, 229-243. ugwuegede, p. n. (2014). challenges to women’s active participation in politics in nigeria. sociology and anthropology, 2(7), 284-290. union, a. (2005). protocol to the african charter on human and people’s rights on the rights of women in africa. united nations. (1948). universal declaration of human rights. retrieved april 25, 2021, from https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-ofhuman-rights united nations. (1979). convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women. new york. retrieved april 25, 2021, from https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/cedaw.aspx united nations. (1979). convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women. new york. retrieved april 25, 2021, from https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/cedaw.aspx united nations. (1995). beijing declaration and platform for action,. beijing. retrieved april 25, 2021, from https://beijing20.unwomen.org/en/about igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 263 united nations. (2000). millennium development goals. new york. retrieved april 25, 2021, from https://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/ young, i. m. (1990). five faces of oppression. in e. e. hackett, & s. haslanger (eds.), theorizing feminisms (pp. 3-16.). usa: oxford university press. young, r. (1982). the value of autonomy. the philosophical quarterly, 32(126), 3544. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 39 marginalization of some ethnic nationalities in the nigerian state: the igbo experience godwin okaneme, phd department of philosophy university of abuja, abuja godwin.okaneme@uniabuja.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.12241.35684 abstract the igbo people are found mainly in the south eastern parts of nigeria and also in some parts of present delta and rivers states. it is an established fact that igbo people have been marginalized for a very long time in nigeria but the marginalization actually got to a real climax immediately after the nigerian civil war in 1970 with the abandoned properties policy which was deliberately formulated by the powers that be to dispossess the igbo people of their legitimate properties mainly in port harcourt and other major cities. this paper chronicles some of these orchestrated cases of marginalization against the igbo people, including the celebrated case of the „abandoned property‟ saga that was perpetrated against them immediately the civil war ended in 1970. it suggests that igbo people should not chicken out of the nigerian federation as a result of the orchestrated marginalization against them. it also suggests that igbo people should stand up for their rights in nigeria in order not to be relegated to the background entirely in the nation‟s social, political and economic spheres. keywords: marginalization, ethnic, nationalities, nigerian state, igbo introduction the igbo ethnic nationality is the third largest ethnic nationality in nigeria after hausa and yoruba ethnic nationalities. there is no other ethnic nationality in the country that has suffered tremendous and orchestrated marginalization like the igbo people. indeed igbo people have suffered great frustrations and reverses in nigerian history. beginning with the infamous pogrom of 1966 in the north where igbo people lost up to one million lives which were followed by their bid for a separate and independent state of biafra, a move that was necessitated by endless acts of wickedness and man‘s inhumanity to man meted out to them in the northern parts of the country. this culminated in a costly and gruesome civil war and a defeat, the story has remained unpleasant for igbo people in nigeria till date. to worsen the already bad and uncomfortable situation of the igbo people in the nigerian federation, many of the religious crises in the north have mailto:godwin.okaneme@uniabuja.edu.ng igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 40 always had their kits and kins as targets where they are always killed at the slightest provocation in the name of religious disturbances or crises. today, igbo people have been wholly and truly marginalized in nigeria which is the only country they can rightfully call their own and this is simply unjustifiable. they have been economically emasculated and strangulated through deliberate unfavourable political, social and economic policies. they have also been marginalized in the politics of the country, in the public services, the armed forces and the police in terms of recruitment and promotion. this paper chronicles some of these cases of perceived marginalization against the igbo people in nigeria. however, the paper also admits and laments as well that igbo people in some cases have become the architects of their own misfortune through self-marginalization. it further suggests ways through which the igbo people can rescue themselves from the unfortunate web of marginalization in the nigerian state. definition of concepts the major concept in this topic is marginalization. the word “marginalize” means ―to treat someone or something as if they are not important”. marginalization is the social process of becoming or being made marginal. it involves people being denied degrees of power. according to mullaly (2007:252), ―marginalization has the potential to result in severe material deprivation, and in its most extreme form can exterminate groups”. alluding to this assertion, young (2000:35) opines that “along with material deprivation, marginalized individuals are also excluded from services, programmes and policies”. characteristics of the igbo people every nation or race all over the world has distinguishing characteristics or traits for which it is known and recognized. the igbo people are not left out of this phenomenon. one of the rare distinguishing traits of the igbo nation is that they are an achievement-driven society. the desire and drive to achieve and excel make them a highly mobile people. there is hardly any known country in the world today where you will not find an igbo person doing one legitimate business or the other to earn a decent living. according to onunwa (1994:11) ―inherent in any igbo irrespective of sub-culture area is the spirit to achieve and excel where others fail. in order to excel, the igbo continue to look for spheres or areas of influence‖. supporting this assertion, diara (2001:10) states that ―the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 41 igbo people migrate to different parts of the country and even beyond in pursuit of greener pastures‖. the igbos are exploration-oriented people and the reason for their exploration is to improve their lives socially, politically, economically and educationally. any achievement-driven society is obviously an industrious society and the igbo are known for their proven hard work and industry which has stood the test of time over the years. hard work is reflected in all facets of their life. they always strive to achieve excellence even under very difficult and unfavourable conditions. ohaike and ikonne (2007:17) say equivocally that: in the traditional igbo society, wealth did not come in dreams or overnight, it is acquired by dint of hard work. even the source of wealth, when it did come to the industrious is scrutinized and should be seen to be transparently honest. igbo people‘s belief in hard work is demonstrated in chinua achebe‘s okonkwo (1958:3-152) okonkwo, the main character in achebe‘s celebrated and renowned work “things fall apart” wholly embraced hard work. he was a warrior, a wealthy farmer, a great wrestler, a winner of two titles and so on. he never wanted to be associated with failure like his father unoka, who was a debtor, weakling and a fiddler. igbo people are known for their deep reverence for age because reverence for elders is a culture that is not toyed or joked with in igbo land. according to nwala (1985:151) there are elaborate practices relating to respect for seniority including rank. certain forms of greeting and address are appropriate for seniors and elders. in the breaking of kola and in the sharing of things, seniority is respected among individuals, towns and families. running errands for elders is a very important duty, and the young ones see it as an obligation on their part. other notable characteristics of the igbo people include among others egalitarianism, justice, rich cultural heritage, cooperation and perseverance. these salient characteristics have kept the igbo people together over the years leading to a strong bond of unity and togetherness among the people. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 42 marginalization of ndigbo: a critical analysis in a paper of this nature, it will be extremely difficult if not really impossible to catalogue fully, totally and effectively the many and varied issues concerning the marginalization of the igbo people in the nigerian state which many people of igbo extraction believe is done purely on purpose to undermine the people of the south east region. it may be right perhaps to argue that even if the igbo were marginalized before the nigerian civil war, it was not so pronounced. real, pronounced and full-scale marginalization of ndigbo could be said to have begun immediately after the end of the civil war in the country in 1970. one of the worst and brazen cases of such marginalization of ndigbo occurred in 1970, immediately the nigerian civil war ended. ndigbo were merely, callously, outrageously and ridiculously given twenty pounds irrespective of how much of biafran pounds they brought to the banks for exchange. this deliberate, wicked, heartless, obnoxious and outrageous policy was allegedly master-minded by late chief obafemi awolowo, the then finance minister of the nigerian federation purposely to cripple ndigbo economically and weaken their strong will and resolve. it was meant to wipe them out from the surface of the earth in droves. that the igbo people survived that outrageous economic onslaught against them in their own country was due to their sheer courage, willpower and dexterity as well as ingenuity and dogged determination to survive in a purely hostile environment despite man-made odds placed on their way. it may not amount to an overstatement to state that no other tribe in nigeria whether major or minor would have survived that kind of highly orchestrated and sophisticated economic onslaught and blockade against them. osudibia (2001:117) laments that: one of the problems and in fact a major obstacle on our way to true nationhood is that of marginalization. no one can truthfully, and without error of denying the obvious proclaim that nigeria is not without a marginalized people or section. i have noticed, on my own part, that the east has been apparently, imperiously and without qualms by the powers that be, marginalized in nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 43 the above lamentation does not translate to crying wolf where there is none but stating the obvious and sad truth and reality. another bizarre and glaring case of marginalization against the igbo people is the infamous and inhuman „abandoned property‟ saga that was perpetrated against the igbo people in rivers state immediately the civil war ended in 1970. the igbo people had a very rosy relationship with the people of rivers state prior to the outbreak of hostilities in 1967. the igbo people felt so comfortable with them that they bought land from them and built houses massively. in fact the development of rivers state in general and port harcourt city in particular is attributed to the igbo people. as hostilities during the war became intense and unbearable, the igbo people had to run for their dear lives, leaving behind their houses and other precious properties. when the war ended in 1970, they enthusiastically returned in droves to rivers state to reclaim their properties which they left behind at the peak of the war. to their greatest chagrin, they were told that their properties were abandoned by their owners and were therefore inherited by their hosts. though many prominent igbo lawyers took up the gauntlet and fought the legal battles and at the end recovered some of the houses, some of them were still not recovered. it is indeed astonishing that such a strange thing could happen in nigeria where we claim to uphold the human rights of our citizens. it is a national disgrace and a serious dent on our purported unity in diversity. how do we explain the bad nature of federal roads in the south east except to say that they are deliberately left unfixed to remind us perpetually that we lost the civil war and must pay the maximum price of that loss by having dilapidated roads? indeed it will amount to belaboring the obvious to state that the south east has the worst road network in nigeria, no thanks to the impassable federal roads that dot the entire landscape of the south east. the second niger bridge has been highly politicized. it is continuously used as bait for political currency in the south east. till date, there is no substantial federal investment in the south east. even in leadership roles in the country, ndigbo are utterly and maximally neglected. the minor positions are merely assigned to them in the armed forces and police, the civil service and the three arms of government. it is on record that since the end of the civil war in 1970 till date, no igbo person has been appointed igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 44 the chief justice of nigeria and yet we have eminent and erudite justices of igbo extraction at the supreme court. even in terms of state creation in nigeria, the south east is highly marginalized as the geo-political zone has the least number of states of five among the six geo-political zones in nigeria. the issue of self-marginalization ndigbo have truly been marginalized in nigeria and it is an established fact. it is indeed a well-established and incontrovertible fact which is beyond rhetoric. however there is a new source of worry among ndigbo especially the elites among them and that is the problem of self-marginalization or what can be called internal marginalization. a clear-cut case of this type of marginalization is the osu caste system in igbo land whereby some people are ostracized due to religious or ancient beliefs. such people are vehemently segregated against. surely that is a crass example of man‘s inhumanity to man which should be redressed for the entire igbo nation to have total cohesion and to be able to speak with one voice at all times and in all circumstances. another major area of concern is that of their unbridled quest for economic fortunes at the expense of their kits and kins. a vivid example will suffice. why do our transport magnets hike transport fares during festive periods like christmas and easter periods knowing full well that it is their brothers and sisters that are returning to the hinterland to celebrate with their families at home? again why should our governors not use substantial portions of revenues accruing to the states in the south east both from the federation allocation and the internally generated revenues to develop their states? if the federal government marginalizes the south east, must our own governors also marginalize us through non-performance and massive embezzlement of such funds meant purely for the development of states in the region? perhaps it may not be out of place to ask ndigbo to demand for good governance from their governors and other politically elected people holding different political offices in the region. igbo marginalization and the challenge of credible leadership leadership remains a very portent element in the advancement of social or political group. according to elaigwu (2011:48) ―leadership is very important in the dynamics of governance in any nation – state‖. just like political leadership has been a problem and indeed a major challenge in the nigerian state, it has also igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 45 been a major issue among the igbo people of south east and south south nigeria. during the hey days of igbo state union, igbos were very strong in terms of having strong leadership as well as political and social cohesion. however with the event of the 1966 coup leading to the banning of the igbo state union and other regional groupings in the country, things nosedived for the igbos in terms of having a credible and cohesive leadership that could galvanize the entire region into a credible and formidable force. the seeming confusion has further been compounded and aggravated by a new class of igbo social and political leaders who have emerged from the traditional institution and the political class who are highly morally challenged thus making selflessness which is a very cogent ingredient of political leadership a very scarce commodity in the eastern region. the emergence of ohaneze ndigbo, the apex igbo social and cultural organization which came to light in 1976 despite all the lofty hopes and high expectations from the igbo people has unfortunately not lived up to its billing. in fact some notable igbo personalities have in recent past accused the leadership of the organization of working against the interests of the igbo ethnic nationality on countless occasions. if ohaneze ndigbo is to capture the hearts of ndigbo, and command loyalty among them, then it must be ready to provide the much needed credible leadership for ndigbo and shun self-centered and egocentric interests that will subvert the interests of the igbo people at any and every given time. once they are able to do that, then it can rightly be said to have provided the much needed leadership platform for the igbo people and the mass of ndigbo will be ready to listen to them and follow them at all times and in every circumstance. overcoming the challenge of marginalization many igbo people erroneously believe that the marginalization of the south east geo-political zone will come to an end when eventually the region produces a nigerian president of igbo extraction. while clamouring for a nigerian president of igbo extraction is not a bad idea entirely, the truth is that it is not the magic wand that will totally and completely eliminate the obnoxious practice of marginalization against the igbo nation in this country. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 46 one sure way to overcome the challenge of marginalization of the igbo race is for ndigbo to stand up and be in the vanguard of the struggle to enthrone an egalitarian state where peace, progress and even development will be the watchword. nigeria was structured from the very beginning to favour a certain section of the country to the utter disadvantage of other sections. that is why it is a near impossibility for some sections of the country to produce the president of this country. the current deafening calls and clamour for the restructuring of the country makes a whole lot of sense in this direction. the nigerian state needs to be restructured in such a way that all sections of the country will have equal stake in the running of the country. restructuring the country from both the political and economic perspectives could give equal opportunity to all sections of the country to develop according to their potentiality and natural ability and reduce the excess, unbridled and acrimonious politicking in the country which is usually along ethnic and religious lines and therefore detrimental to the overall peaceful coexistence of the country. one other way out of the present dangerously dangerous logjam in the polity of the nigerian state is to ensure equitable distribution of the resources of the country. one sure way to help develop the country evenly is to keep a substantial percentage of the internally generated revenue of the various regions in such regions to be used in developing the regions. this confederal arrangement will obviously eliminate the current parasitic nature of some of the states who go cap in hand begging for funds from the nation‘s seat of power at abuja every month end in the name of collecting federal allocation. if the confederal system of government is adopted in the country, it will be highly beneficial to ndigbo as they are naturally a very hardworking people and can produce enough local resources to take care of their region without much stress and without much dependence on the federal government and its monthly allocation. the way out fanon (1965:166) succinctly states that “each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfill it, or betray it”. this should be a food-forthought for ndigbo. ohaneze ndigbo, the apex socio-cultural umbrella organization of ndigbo should rise up to the onerous and herculean responsibility of providing credible, effective, efficient and resilient leadership for the entire igbo nation. they should be in the very forefront of clamouring for igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 47 the igbo nation to come together as one body and fight collectively and vigorously for their common interest. unless ndigbo come together to pursue their collective interests, they will continue to be marginalized in nigeria. unfortunately, it is a matter of regret that ohaneze ndigbo in recent times has been thorn-apart by internal bickering and wrangling. that has left ndigbo in a state of frustration, despondency and near hopelessness. having a nigerian president of igbo extraction is realizable through careful and painstaking planning and reaching out effectively to other ethnic nationalities in the country. however ndigbo must appreciate the obvious fact that political power is not easily acquired or handed over on a platter of gold and since politics is the struggle for power, ndigbo should strenuously struggle for it in order to get it. finally there is every need for ndigbo to remain resolute and have an unwavering faith in one nigeria. they should not chicken out as a result of marginalization against them. they should stand up for their rights in nigeria. conclusion according to okolo (1994:1), ―nigeria may truly well be the gaint of africa but equally great are her problems‖. whether we like it or not, part of nigeria‘s problem is marginalizing ndigbo, an ethnic nationality that has sacrificed greatly towards the peace and development of the country. the wrongs done to ndigbo should be redressed. you cannot beat a child and at the same time ask the child not to cry as a popular adage says. until the crass marginalization of ndigbo in nigeria is redressed, nigeria as a country cannot develop fully. also such lamentable expressions like ‗ihe agha mere igbo‟ (the unfortunate misfortune the war inflicted on the igbo people) will continue to be a sad reminder of our estrangement in a country where we ought to have real freedom just like people from other ethnic nationalities in the country. the clamour is not just for the eradication of all forms of marginalization against the igbo people in nigeria but for bringing to an end all manner and forms of marginalization against other ethnic nationalities in the country since marginalization is antithetical to national development for an injury to one is an injury to all. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 48 if nigeria must develop as a strong and indivisible nation and frontally confront her numerous challenges, we must lay strong emphasis on peace, progress, development and egalitarianism. we must put to an end all manner of marginalization against some ethnic nationalities whether directly or indirectly, overtly or covertly. unless that is done and effectively too, it will be difficult if not impossible to bring to an end the current and deafening calls for selfdetermination by some of the ethnic nationalities that make up the nigerian state and this will surely hinder nation-building which the country has been laboring over the years to embark upon. references achebe, c. (1958). things fall apart. london: heinemann educational books. diara, b. (2001). the igbos and their hebrew relations. enugu: computer edge publishers. elaigwu, j.i (2011). topical issues in nigeria‘s political development. jos: aha publishing house. fanon, f. (1965). the wretched of the earth. middlesex: pengiun books ltd. mullaly, b. (2007). oppression: the focus of structural social work. in b. mullaly, the new structural social work. don mills: oxford university press. nwala, t.u. (1985). igbo philosophy. lagos: literamed publications (nig.) limited. ohaike, n.b. & ikonne, u.h. (2007). ―tradition and change in the moral values of the contemporary igbo society‖ in journal of nigerian languages and culture, vol. 9. no.2. okolo, c. b. (1994). squandermania mentality: reflections on nigerian culture. nsukka: university trust publishers. onunwa, u.r. (1994). studies in igbo traditional religion. obsi: pacific publishers. osudibia, k.c. (2001). challenges to the fourth republic: nigerian connexion. enugu: snaap pres ltd. young, i.m. (2000). five faces of oppression. in m. adams, (ed.). readings for diversity and social justice. new york: routeledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 17 la représentation de la religieuse dans anna pourquoi de pan bouyouca mary linda vivian onuoha ihm, phd department of foreign languages and literary studies university of nigeria, nsukka doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.28703.51361 abstract in fictional and non-fictional works, the woman has been represented in her various forms and shapes, her virtues and vices, her greatness and pettiness. she has played divergent roles: major, minor and even peripheral ones in novels. feminists theories have also contributed undeniably to the emancipation of women. they have indeed reshaped and redirected certain trends of thoughts, as it concerns a tolerable co-existence of the two major sexes in the society. while many critics and scholars applaud this ideology, some others find loopholes to puncture the “overblown theories”, either to bring them to their rightful place or to make them disappear completely. however, there is a group of women who seem to have been forgotten in this race. relegated to the background, they work in the shadows. these women give their lives for the society. they care for the human person from womb to tomb, from cradle to hospice, from day-care to tertiary institution, from nurturing a dream to its fulfillment. the very nature of their lives leaves them with little or no option when it comes to the spiritual, physical, social and psychological care and development of a person. yet, little is known and said of them in the society and in the literary world. these are the religious women, the catholic nuns!using the sociocritic method of patricia smart and the classification model of romain légaré, this paper aims at the exploration of the representation of the religious woman in the novel of this author, who dared to give them a central role in his work: anna pourquoi. the conclusion is that the author actually presented a positive image of the religieuse women in his work keywords: religious, agentivity, heteronomy, vocation, archbishop, autonomy. résumé dans les œuvres fictives et non fictives, la femme a été représentée sous les formes diverses, ses vertus et ses vices, sa grandeur et sa petitesse. elle a joué des rôles divergents : majeures, mineures et même périphériques dans les romans. les théories féministes ont également contribué indéniablement à l‘émancipation des femmes. elles ont, en effet, remodelé et réorienté certaines tendances des pensées, en ce qui concerne une coexistence tolérable des deux sexes majeurs dans la société. alors que beaucoup de critiques et de savants applaudissent cette idéologie, d‘autres trouvent des échappatoires pour percer ces « théories https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.28703.51361?_sg%5b0%5d=mrxx0w1c49be1vvaby9sn1visj8exrdfdkdhxkedoo6bhkgz_vsgm7zxtpsm1bbd9vacl03zftbv5sxb8mj0cpzzea.olygo13oqi-taoioogrxxp6paj18kpkjm5do-foocpgd9pr73wlghn7ywnzeww5tyzq54r6cady4ozqm5syfmg igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 18 exagérées », soit pour les amener à leur place juste ou pour les faire disparaître complètement. cependant, il y a un groupe de femmes qui semblent avoir été oubliées dans cette course. reléguées à l‘arrière-plan, elles travaillent dans l‘ombre. ces femmes donnent leur vie pour la société. elles prennent soin des êtres humains de l‘utérus à la tombe, du berceau à l‘hospice, de la garderie à l‘établissement tertiaire, de nourrir un rêve jusqu‘à son accomplissement. la nature même de leur vie leur laisse peu ou pas d‘option en ce qui concerne les soins spirituels, physiques, sociaux et psychologiques. pourtant, peu est connu et dit d‘elles dans la société et dans le monde littéraire. ce sont les femmes religieuses! utilisant la méthode sociocrtique de patricia smart et le modèle de classification de romain légaré ce document a pour but l‘exploration de la représentation de la femme religieuse dans le roman de cet auteur, qui a osé leur donner un rôle central dans son œuvre : anna pourquoi. la conclusion en est que cet auteur a bel et bien donné une image positive aux femmes religieuse. mots clé: religieuse, agentivité, hétéronomie, vocation, archevêque, autonomie introduction le fait que la religion et la foi font rarement l‘objet d‘une représentation littéraire positive est intéressant. plus souvent qu‘autrement, de nombreux écrivains, font état d‘une désillusion face à la religion. ainsi, des auteurs dont la culture est proche de la mienne dénoncent la religion de l‘homme blanc, comme on le voit dans things fall apart de chinua achebe, the trials of brother jero de wole soyinka, the old man and the medal et house boy de ferdinand oyono, pour ne nommer que ceux-là. godfrey mwakikagile, dans un essai intitulé africa and the west, explique : « the white man called himself christian, while at the same time he was busy oppressing the africans, contrary to his own ―belief‖ in the brotherhood of man as taught in the bible. it was a contradiction which never escaped the attention of many africans. » (2000 : 74) de nombreux écrivains français, québécois et africains expriment leurs déceptions à l‘encontre de l‘église. dans leurs œuvres, les thèmes de l‘hypocrisie, du dégout, de l‘intolérance et de la caricature y sont quasi présentent. les religieuses elles aussi sont soit négligées soit représentées d‘une manière négative. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 19 cette représentation négative de la vie religieuse est due donc aux expériences désagréables vécues dans les sociétés notamment: la domination de l'église catholique en france avant la révolution française de 1879, la domination de l'église dans le système politique du québec et la colonisation des pays africains par les puissances européennes. les missionnaires y sont arrivés en mêmes temps que les colonisateurs et l‘intérêt politique, économique, religieux et social s‘est confondu. si ces groupes des écrivains rejettent à travers leurs écrits, la domination politique et religieuse qui a marqué les débuts de leurs sociétés différentes, il est donc vrai qu'ils rejettent également ou font une présentation négative des femmes religieuses qui ont vécu et travaillé pour et avec les pauvres et les opprimés de la société. car les religieuses font partie de l‘église et en plus, certaines congrégations sont arrivées en même temps que les colonisateurs. en conséquence, très peu est connue sur la vie religieuse telle qu‘elle était. peu d'attention est accordée à cette vie telle qu‘elle est dans la société d'aujourd'hui et dans les romans contemporains. les quelques œuvres littéraires qui traitent ce sujet la diabolisent ou en faire une caricature. comme dans les enfants de sabbat de anne herbert où les personnages se sont vus ridiculisés ou sévèrement critiqués comme dans journal d‟un inquisiteur de gilles leclerc. ceci ne nie pas le fait qu'il y a une ou deux œuvres ici et là, qui reconnaît les contributions positives des femmes religieuses dans la société. puisqu‘il n‘a pas été aisé de trouver des œuvres romanesques pertinentes car, comme on le sait, la figure de la religieuse pèche, pour ainsi dire, par excès de discrétion. nous nous sommes donc tournée vers une société ou il semble que, dès les débuts de la nouvelle-france, la présence des religieux ait marqué les esprits. un roman quebecois a été choisi. si les documents sur leur vie n‘ont pas encore été suffisamment rédigés, il est alors vrai qu‘il reste toujours de recherche à effectuer. voilà donc ce qui le rend très intéressant et attrayant à explorer. peu a été fait dans ce domaine. méthode d‟analyse cette communication tient à voir dans quelle mesure la figure de la religieuse a pu évoluer, ou non, dans anna pourquoi. pour ce faire, des notions propres aux 2 modèles sont choisis soit : le modèle de romain légaré et celle de patricia smart. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 20 romain légaré a classé les oeuvres de fiction qui traitent la vie religieuse ainsi: primo; les romans traditionnels. secundo; les romans anticléricaux et tertio; les romans à la recherche d‘une vie authentique. la première catégorie campe les prêtres avec des idées traditionnels. il est un prêtre idéal, un représentant de dieu, celui qui agit entre le naturel et le surnaturel. il apporte les soutiens moraux et spirituels aux paroissiens. il est mystique, il célèbre la messe et administre les sacrements au peuple de dieu. il est un homme pas comme d‘autres hommes. il a une solution à presque tous les problèmes moraux, sociaux et spirituels des gens. deuxième catégorie: comme le suggère le nom de cette catégorie, ils sont des romans de révolte. les romans de refus du passé. ces auteurs sont plutôt non – conformiste à l‘idée traditionnelle du personnage de prêtre. parfois ils font une satire de la vie religieuse ou encore une caricature comme dans les demi-civilisés de jean-charles harvey. la troisième catégorie cherche à faire une représentation authentique de la vie religieuse. les auteurs ne cherchent ni l‘idéale ni la révolte. ils visent à présenter les prêtres comme des êtres humains, respectueux et travailleurs. ils tentent aussi de dévoiler la vie intérieure du personnage du prêtre au lieu de se tarder seulement sur sa vie sociale. nous verrons si anna pourquoi peut, ou non, être classifiée en fonction de ces catégories ou si il en inaugure de nouvelles, ou encore un mélange de deux ou tous. nous verrons aussi jusqu‘à quel point le temps et les époques différents de leurs productions auraient dû affecter les représentations de la vie religieuse dans cet ouvrage. nous nous inspirerons aussi de l‘essai de patricia smart intitulé écrire dans la maison du père, où elle maintient que la structure patriarcale du québec a résolument affecté la représentation des femmes dans les œuvres littéraires. smart montre notamment qu‘il y sévit une image de mère procréatrice, confinée à la cuisine et entourée de nombreux enfants. on y trouve aussi une forme de hiérarchie inspirée de l‘église catholique et « modelée sur la france prérévolutionnaire : hiérarchie dans laquelle le pouvoir se transmettait en lignée directe de dieu le père au roi de france au père de la famille, et ensuite au fils aîné ». (smart 1990: 30). elle soutient aussi que « [l] » idéalisation de la mère était une création d‘hommes » (smart 1990: 30) ; cette idéalisation se perpétue peutêtre jusque dans les représentations de la religieuse, surtout celles de la mère supérieure… igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 21 bien que smart n‘ait pas explicitement étudié les religieuses comme personnages de roman dans son livre, c‘est un fait connu que les religieuses subissent, comme leurs homologues laïques, les injustices, les mauvais traitements et les tortures psychologiques dans le roman. la violence aux religieuses dans ce récit fera aussi partie de notre étude dans cette recherche. anna pourquoi (2004) de pan bouyoucas synopse du roman sœur nicoletta, âgée d‘une cinquantaine d‘années, habite seule pendant quatre ans dans une forteresse du mont apitiki à léros, une île grecque. elle s‘occupe des fleurs et de la chapelle où sont déposés les ex-voto des gens guéris par la vierge miraculeuse. à propos du réel pouvoir de cette statue, sœur nicoletta reste sceptique, et elle croit plutôt en la charité et en l‘amour de dieu qu‘on doit montrer à son prochain. elle est prête à prodiguer cet amour, peu importent les conséquences. elle ne veut pas se séparer du monde, et, pour garder le contact, charge le cafetier du village de garder pour elle les magazines traitant de la sortie de nouveaux films, car elle est une passionnée de cinéma. envoyée par l‘évêque surveiller sœur nicoletta, la jeune et belle novice veroniki se rend à la forteresse pour y cohabiter avec la religieuse. zélée et remplie de pensées idéalistes, cette jeune femme de vingt-quatre ans porte des jugements hâtifs sur les paroles et les gestes de son aînée. elle l‘espionne et doute même de ses qualités de religieuse authentique. malgré tout, une sorte de respect finit par s‘instaurer entre les deux femmes, jusqu‘à l‘arrivée du diacre maximos. ce pauvre iconographe, traité de vagabond et méconnu dans le village, est invité par sœur nicoletta à effectuer des travaux de rénovation dans la chapelle. en arrivant à la montagne, maximos reconnaît en sœur veroniki la femme qu‘il aimait : anna. le cœur brisé, il exécute tout de même son travail. émue, sœur nicoletta va le consoler dans son atelier. veroniki, soupçonneuse, surprend maximos dans les bras de sœur nicoletta. scandalisée, la novice appelle l‘archevêque, lequel oblige nicoletta à s‘exiler en inde où elle meurt dans l‘incendie d‘un orphelinat après une vie bien remplie d'œuvres de charité. encore plus triste qu‘avant, le peintre/iconographe écrit, à la peinture, tout en haut de la montagne « anna pourquoi ? » cette question bouleverse le village, car les hommes soupçonnent toutes les femmes qui s‘appellent anna d‘avoir fait quelque chose de mal. quant à sœur veroniki, elle vit seule dans la forteresse, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 22 hantée par les remords. vers la fin de sa vie, elle a appris à aimer. elle enseignait aux petits à aimer en citant l‘exemple de la vie de sœur nicoletta. analyse du roman. quarante-trois ans après la révolution tranquille le québec témoigne la publication d‘anna pourquoi de pan bouyoucas. écrit par un romancier québécois immigré de grèce en 1963 à l‘âge de 16 ans. ce roman campé dans son pays natal risque d‘offrir une vision originale de la figure de la religieuse. silvie bernier et les irrésistibles sont d‘avis que malgré le fait que ce récit soit facile à lire, il provient d‘une tragédie grecque. nous appliquerons alors dans ce roman, les méthodes proposées par smart et légaré afin de déceler si la présentation de la figure de la religieuse a évolué ou non là-dedans. la méthode de smart les mauvais traitements que subissent les femmes dans la fiction dans son livre écrire dans la maison du père où ce modèle à été élaborer, elle commence par soulever les mauvais traitements faits aux femmes dans ce roman. smart a noté que les subjugations que subissent les femmes dans la société patriarcale sont aussi enseignés à l‘université et même prolongées dans les romans. selon elle, en lisant les notes prises par lapointe pendant le cours donné par charles de koninck à l‘université laval en 1937, on voit à quel point l‘idée de l‘infériorité de la femme était non seulement institutionnalisée par l‘enseignement universitaire, mais aussi sanctionnée par la fameuse « loi naturelle » de l‘église, qui reléguait la femme à tout jamais au domaine de la matière et du règne animal. (smart, 1990 : 170-171) elle propose que l‘écrivaine soit la voix qui crie pour que l‘ordre soit bouleversé. certaines traces de maltraitance de femme abondent dans le roman: anna pourquoi désormais ap pour décrire la statue de la vierge miraculeuse, «les traits de la vierge sont plus distincts et son regard détourné est empreint d‘une profonde tristesse, que soulignent ses lèvres figées… » (ap : 7). l‘iconographe confirme aussi que « l‘expression de la vierge est trop mélancolique » (ap : 37). même si c‘est une statue, c‘est celle d‘une femme. cet auteur pourrait nous presenter une statue igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 23 belle et souriante. la statue d‘une femme qui fait des miracles devrait être au moins attirante. la raison pour laquelle cet image a reçu une description mélancolique avec ―une profonde tristesse‖ est pour ridiculiser les femmes religieuse qui croient en ce qu‘elle leur donne. smart se plaint aussi de l‘autorité ou bien l‘hiérarchie dans laquelle le pouvoir se transmet du dieu au roi au père et puis au fils aîné. (smart 1990: 30). on constate dans le roman que le plus grand autorité est celle de l‘archevêque. il a envoyer une novice surveiller la femme. soeur nicolatta n‘a pas d‘autorité. pour l‘expulser/punir, il a cherché le pope un autre autorité patricial. donc ce mal fait aux femmes dans la société n‘a pas complètement disparu dans le roman. le plus grand mal fait à une femme dans ce corpus est l‘expulsion de sœur nicoletta du kastro. nous voyons dans cette religieuse, une femme pour qui l‘archevêque avait un très grand respect. véroniki parle de « …cette nonne dont on lui avait tant vanté les services qu‘elle avait rendus à l‘humanité, au nom du christ et de son église.» (ap : 18). une femme dont le cœur est plein d‘amour. mais pour une seule fois, elle a transgressé son vœu, on la voit jugée et condamnée. le pope qui est venu l‘expulser ne l‘avait pas laissé se défendre. « au début, elle demeura interdite, incapable de protester de rien alors que l‘autre l‘accablait. et quand il eut fini, elle s‘était transformée en une femme vieille brisée et regardait le pope de cet air triste, dira-t-il dans son rapport à l‘archevêque, qu‘on imagine comme un dieu contemplant l‘agitation des hommes. » (ap : 93) stoïquement, elle a annoncé la nouvelle au diacre et ils sont partis. arrivée en inde, elle recommence sa vie. elle a relevé ce défi en faisant de « son malheur, la gloire de sa vie. » (ap : 105) mis à part ce mauvais traitement, il n‘y a pas beaucoup d‘autres maltraitances de la femme dans ce corpus. nous y voyons plutôt le contraire. l‘ordre est déjà bouleversé dans la société où ce roman était publié. la femme est valorisée. ce livre apparu en 2003, reflet à sa façon, la société québécoise de son temps. la grande noirceur est déjà finie, l‘église séparée de l‘état. le féminisme est déjà en place et les mères célibataires ont leur droit dans la société. cela se voit apparaître dans la fiction québécoise. pan bouyoucas semble avoir répondu à l‘appel de smart en soulignant la faiblesse de l‘homme et à la fois mettant en relief le pouvoir de la femme. dans l‘histoire de la mort de jean baptiste – la version inventée par maximos. il met en évidence la grande faiblesse de l‘homme. c‘est à cause de son désir igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 24 charnel qu‘hérode ne peut pas refuser la demande déraisonnable de sa bellesœur et de sa fille. devant la fille, le roi n‘est plus capable de raisonner logiquement. « et quand se réveillait la petite «tête» qui lui pendait entre les jambes, la grosse que ce porc libidineux portait sur les épaules pouvait aller se coucher.» (ap : 28) ceci pourrait bien être une allusion à la propre perdition de maximos. le fait d‘avoir couché avec nicoletta l‘a expulsé de la seule maison où il a trouvé un vrai amour. sa petite tête le met sans abri. dans cette histoire aussi, le diacre met la parole suivante dans la bouche de hérodiade : «-ah! c‘est comme ça? dit celle-ci. le mangeur de sauterelles refuse de la boucler, l‘autre est trop lâche pour lui fermer le clapet. je vais leur montrer à ces caricatures d‘hommes ce dont est capable une femme pour parvenir à ses fins. » (ap : 29) ceci est une confirmation du pouvoir de la femme de cette époque. dans l‘île où le diacre maximos survient de nulle part. tout le monde le traite de vagabond et d‘ivrogne. « non seulement rit-on de mes icônes …voilà qu‘on me prend maintenant pour un pitoyable idiot. » (ap : 47) ce n‘est que sœur nicoletta, cette femme-sauveur qui a reconnu ses talents et l‘avait chargé de reconstruire les fresques de l‘église. « celle-ci les regardait intensément, une à une comme si elle voyait des choses que personne d‘autre n‘avait remarquées. le diacre en était flatté, » (ap : 41) c‘est maintenant donc au tour de la femme-sujet de sauver l‘homme. en se prenant pour dieu (15) elle lui redonne le gout de vivre. c‘est aussi au tour de la femme de se moquer de l‘homme. « -je voudrais repeupler la terre avec toi, véroniki resta un instant dans un silence stupéfié puis éclata de rire.» (ap : 43) le diacre devient l‘amant déçu, faible, malade, capricieux, en détresse et même suicidaire. la femme prend soin de lui, toutefois il l‘entraîne dans le scandale et la fait expulser de la forteresse. à l‘encontre d‘ève de la bible, l‘homme devient coupable du péché qui bouleversera le monde. ce roman est une manière subtile de détrôner les hommes (de l‘église) et de promouvoir les femmes (religieuses) dont les œuvres ne sont jamais reconnues. l‘archevêque a semé le désaccord entre ces deux femmes en les missionnant l‘une contre l‘autre. maximos réapparaît comme l‘avatar ou une ombre de l‘archevêque, (ou les hommes de l‘église) qui ne reconnaît guère l‘importance de la femme religieuse. maximos et l‘archevêque sont les deux faces d‘une pièce. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 25 cet homme de dieu représente la supériorité et l‘autorité des hommes, tandis que le diacre incarne le grand besoin et la faiblesse. malheureusement dans cet affrontement, c‘est la femme qui a souffert. une fois que sœur nicoletta est expulsée, le diacre va disparaître à jamais. toutefois la femme a retrouvé son épanouissement. classification de ce roman: la modèle de légaré suivant les critères énoncés pas légaré: les romans traditionnels prônent les personnages idéaux et la société parfaite. une religieuse qui croit au cinéma plutôt qu‘aux miracles de la vierge n‘est pas une religieuse exemplaire. (8, 10) si l‘archevêque a envoyé la novice véronique surveiller sœur nicoletta (14) cela pourrait témoigner qu‘on soupçonne qu‘elle n‘est pas fidèle aux règles et à ses vœux. mais, le fait que sœur nicoletta s‘intéresse à la botanique, aux fleurs, aux plantes, au cinéma et aux voyages (20/21) ne veut pas dire qu‘elle ne fait pas ses prières. elle prend soin de la chapelle, de la statue et « à son retour au kastro, elle entra dans la chapelle pour demander à la vierge de l‘aider à rallumer l‘étincelle de la joie et de la curiosité qu‘elle avait déjà vue dans le regard du diacre… » (ap : 54) nous voyons donc le désir ordinaire et la quête de la spiritualité combinés en cette femme. chez la novice, on rencontre une véroniki qui est avide de miracles et soupçonneuse. une femme qui juge et regrette ses jugements hâtifs. elle fait ses prières certes, mais il lui manque la force d‘aimer. ni l‘une ni l‘autre n‘est une religieuse idéale. le roman n‘est donc pas un roman traditionnel. il n‘est pas un roman qui prône la révolte non plus. aucun de nos personnages n‘est contre l‘église ni la vie religieuse. il n‘y a qu‘un homme malade qui veut que les hommes de l‘église tombent et se fracassent les mâchoires. « s‘ils pouvaient tous tomber et se fracasser la mâchoire comme lui, à commencer par l‘archevêque, qu‘on aurait la paix, hein!... ils sont tous obsédés, vous savez. » (ap : 59) cet homme, sans nom, n‘est qu‘un personnage très secondaire. il est probablement la voix de la populace, car c‘est l‘archevêque et le pope qui ont blessé la société le plus. ils ont éjecté sœur nicoletta de l‘île où elle a missionné pendant 4 ans sans lui laisser fait ses adieux parce qu‘ils voulaient éviter le scandale. le diacre se trouve encore une fois sans abri. par force, il a été dépravé de ses œuvres et de la femme qu‘il aime. il est bouleversé. hormis cet homme malade, tous nos personnages principaux et secondaires sont des croyants. cette oeuvre n‘est donc pas un roman de révolte. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 26 ce roman appartient naturellement à la troisième catégorie soit: roman de recherche d‘authenticité, car nous constatons chez ces deux protagonistes les traites des êtres qui cherchent un sens dans leur vie. la sœur nicoletta est très bien aimée, elle croit en l‘amour, mais elle n‘est pas infaillible. si elle se prend pour dieu, si elle est prête à contrevenir à son vœu de chasteté pour consoler un homme chagriné, cela veut dire qu‘elle ne connaît pas ses limites. la jeune novice, très belle, mais naïve. elle possède trop d‘imagination. malgré ses erreurs qu‘elle a bien sûr regrettées, elle a été vénérée lors de sa démise. toutes les deux ont cherché le sens de la vie religieuse et elles l‘ont trouvé d‘une manière ou l‘autre. sœur nicoletta est fière de ses accomplissements, cependant, elle n‘a pas caché ses doutes concernant les miracles attribués à la vierge ni son amour pour le cinéma. elle est plutôt d‘avis que dieu l‘utilise pour accomplir des miracles. (55) elle accepte son humanité en parlant de sa transgression de son vœu de chasteté. véronique pour sa part est au courant de sa petitesse (23), sa nativité, son imagination, et ses jugements hâtifs. elle les regrette parfois. rappelons que cette catégorie offre des représentations d‘une vie religieuse spirituelle et authentique. pan bouyoucas n‘a pas glorifié ni dénigré ses  personnages qui sont en quête de sens. il a présenté ses protagonistes comme des êtres humains, respectueux, travailleurs, faillibles et prêts à apprendre. c‘est pour cette raison que nous qualifions ce roman comme un roman de la recherche d‘authenticité. conclusion. bouyoucas nous présente ici l‘image de femmes qui sont tout d‘abord des êtres humains. elles ont leurs personnalités distinctes, mais complémentaires. véroniki pleure quand elle a de la peine et nicoletta la prend dans bras pour la consoler comme une sœur consolerait sa petite. elles se reprochent lorsqu‘elles sont en désaccord, mais elles règlent le problème aussi tôt possible. on voit en sœur nicoletta, une femme affectueuse, mais excessive (58). véroniki se protège trop, mais elle finit toujours par regretter. deux femmes avec leurs hauts et leurs bas, leurs vices et leurs vertus. malgré tout, ce que nous trouvons le plus important c‘est la fin de leurs vies. « il y avait d‘autres photos à l‘intérieur du livre. elles montraient nicoletta accomplissant avec joie même les tâches les plus répugnantes. et la gratitude igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 27 qu‘on lisait sur le visage des malades et des mourants dont elle s‘occupait auréolait son image de lumière. » (ap : 105) quant à la novice, «elle (véroniki) se rendait maintenant dans les écoles de l‘île pour parler aux élèves du travail de l‘église, citant en exemple la vie de nicoletta. -elle parlait le grec, le français, l‘arabe, l‘anglais, l‘italien et l‘amharique. mais la seule langue qui lui permettait de se faire comprendre partout où elle allait était celle de l‘amour.» (ap : 108) la toute dernière phrase du récit est : « il annonçait les obsèques de la vénérable sœur du kastro. véroniki avait quarante ans.» (ap : 109) d‘après la méthode de smart, la femme retrouve son épanouissement et pour légaré, les religieuses de ce roman sont des personnages qui recherche l‘authenticité. pan bouyouca a présenté une image positive de la femme religieuse qui ne nie pas sa faiblesse en tant qu‘être humain. le pouvoir de la femme est met en relief. une image authentique. bibliographie corpus à l‟étude bouyoucas, pan. anna pourquoi, montréal, les allusifs, 2003. références achebe, chinua. things fall apart, london, heinemman, 1958. montréal, bellarmin, 1988. beaulieu, bertille. la religieuse dans le roman canadien-français (1837-1979), thèse (ph. d.), université d‘ottawa, 1983, base de données : worldcat. bernier, silvie. « pan bouyoucas, anna pourquoi, les allusifs, 2003, 109 p. », liaison : journal de la communauté universitaire, [en ligne], 4 mars 2004, http://www.usherbrooke.ca/liaison_vol38/n14/a_sorti14.html (page consultée le 3 juillet 2014). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 28 blanchet, andré, le prêtre dans le roman d‟aujourd‟hui, coll. « présence chrétienne », paris, desclée de brouwer, 1955. gaulin, michel. « jeanne ponton, la religieuse dans la littérature française », études littéraires, vol. 3, no 2, 1970 : 268-270. légaré, romain, o.f.m. « le prêtre dans le roman canadien-français », mwakikagile, godfrey. africa and the west, new york, nova science, 2000. olivier, clément. l‟église orthodoxe, coll. « que sais-je ? », paris, puf, 2010. oyono, ferdinand. house boy, london, heinemman, 1990. oyono, ferdinand. the old man and the medal, london, heinemman, 1967. paquin, éric. « anna pourquoi. tragédie grecque », [en ligne], 4 avril 2004, http://voir.ca/livres/2004/04/07/anna-pourquoi-tragedie-grecque/ (page consultée le 3 juillet 2014). péan, stanley. « pan bouyoucas : nul n‘est une île », les libraires, [en ligne], 29 avril 2004, http://revue.leslibraires.ca/entrevues/litteraturequebecoise/pan-bouyoucas-nul-n-est-une-ile (page consultée le 3 juillet 2014). smart, patricia. écrire dans la maison du père. l‟émergence du féminin dans la tradition littéraire du québec, coll. « littérature d‘amérique », montréal, québec/amérique, 1988. soyinka, wole. the trials of brother jero and the strong breed, [s. l.], dramatist play service, 1969. http://voir.ca/ http://revue.leslibraires.ca/entrevues/litterature-quebecoise/pan-bouyoucas-nul-n-est-une-ile http://revue.leslibraires.ca/entrevues/litterature-quebecoise/pan-bouyoucas-nul-n-est-une-ile igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 120 enviromental sustainability in africa: a study of igala traditional religion israel yunisa akoh, ph.d department of religious studies kogi state university, anyigba, kogi state email: israelakoh3@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.16636.28806 abstract a level of consciousness is observable with regards to environmental sustainability in the igala religion of africa. the research seeks to motivate high and quality environmental consciousness based on the physical environmental challenges of soil erosion, flooding, physical environmental quality and deforestation within the environment. it also seeks to loud sufficient precautions that have been overlooked over time against the need to maintain desirable environmental quality. to achieve this, the researcher has the following in mind; to state a descriptive view of the igala people‟s environment in relation with her religion as well as to investigate the level of consciousness of the igala religion to its environment, and suggest ways of reducing the frequent global warming, climate disaster and destruction of environmental deposits. the methods adopted are descriptive, historical and phenomenological. data collections are done through interview and visitation. it is observed that environment plays a key role in the everyday practice of the igala people‟s religion hence, the need for more effective integration of its religion with its environmental policies. keywords: environmental sustainability, igala traditional religion introduction the igala people‟s religion like any african religion is not a religion of the holy books like the koran or the holy bible but written on the hearts of igalas and can be noticed through songs, myths/legends, idioms, wise sayings and arts/ symbols. this religion according to shishima, “is part and parcel of life in traditional african society. religion permeates all aspects of life, be it politics, economics, education, etc. this is to say, to be an effective member of the community, one must belong to the religion of the land” (2). the idea held by eurocentric authors as stated by idowu, “that the african people (igala inclusive) had no idea of god and where the devil in all his mailto:israelakoh3@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 121 abysmal, grotesque and forbidden features, armed to the teeth and with horns complete, held sway” (87). idowu thus cited the berlin journal to say; before the introduction of genuine faith and higher standards of culture by the arabs, the natives had neither political organization not strictly speaking any religion…. therefore, in examining the pre-mohammedan conditions of negro races, to confine ourselves to the description of their crude fetishism, their brutal and often cannibal customs, their vulgar and repulsive idols and their squalid homes (87). the researcher disagrees with the above statement because there could be no people all over the world who are totally devoid of cultures and religion as it relates to the knowledge of the living god. what igala people‟s religion does was that since the supreme being (ojo chamachala) is so mighty, powerful and above the physical reach of man, they convey their religious ideas through these supernatural beings as agents of reaching the supreme being. in our society today, environmental studies are receiving greater attention by biblical scholars. in some of such scholarly works, the ecological concept of the natural world, as distinct from the theological concept of creation, is clearly an emerging subject matter in biblical studies, thus in the words of one these biblical scholars, fretheim, “we have a lot of catching up to do” (16). in affirmation of lynn white‟s theory of ecology, eneji says: everybody now says they are christians and that the ancestral belief was misleading, god gave man dominion over all living creatures for man‟s satisfaction of his needs, so why would anybody put restrictions of the use of any part of god‟s creation? we must exploit these resources to our satisfaction. god was not a fool because he knew we were going to need these resources (50). with the above, one would accept lynn white‟s theory that christianity has played an important role in the erosion of former traditional belief systems. “things formerly held sacrosanct have been destroyed and thee ascription of psychic power to these objects of worship has been completely removed, hence traditional african religion is now seen as an evil thing to believe without considering the efficacy of the belief system in the conservation and management of environmental resources” (eneji 50). the researcher is therefore of the opinion igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 122 that other faiths should be blamed for the crises we experience in our world today. furthermore, religion without etiquette is bad. the question is, dwell in harmony when the rights of members of ecosystem are not respected? how could there be harmonious relationship when animals (land or sea) are killed with reckless abandon even to the point of using chemicals developed through technology and science to destroy them without the preservation of seedlings? following the question above, chiedozie and ufele comment, “more science and more technology are not going our old one” (4). because of these over exploitations as observed by chiedozie and ufele observed to say; “christianity is the most anthropocentric religion the world has seen because it gave man the right to dominate and exploit nature” chidozie and ufele (5). as to what christianity contributes to this emerging technological world view, lynn white as cited by chidozie and ufele further adds that “both our present science and technology are so tinctured with so called orthodox christian arrogance towards nature so that no solution for our crises can be expected from them alone”, chiedozie and ufele (5). judging from the above, the researcher wishes to state that humanity and all religious institutions should strive to respect, protect and preserve the natural environment for continuity and harmonious co-existence and relationship among all the sectors of the cosmos. human relationship with the natural environement as seen in igala religious system the igala people believed that god (ojo) is both the creator and the maker of all things. this is evident in igala story of creation that in the beginning, only god (ojo chamachala) existed, and the shapeless world was in total darkness. out of his eyes came lighting that brought forth the sun (olu) and the moon (ochu) with the stars (amilawo)… god created man out of the clay and breathed upon his forehead of the man created. thus the first man became atinalo (ata ene olo) (father from the sky), egbunu (9). the igala people lived harmoniously in a religious world where both human beings and their natural environment relate well with each other. the igala people consider the earth as both home and mother of all, but with the coming of the foreign religion things started changing from what they used to be. in line with lynn whites‟s theory as quoted by chidozie and ufele “what used to be the traditional method of environmental preservation collapsed and sustainability even disappeared” chidozie and ufele (32). nevertheless, religion still played a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 123 major role in igaka culture. though the exact time when man was created in igala creation story is not stated, it is evident that man was brought into being after the heaven and the earth and other heavenly bodies were created. man is regarded among igalas as the head of all things, but that god is the most powerful and the source of all power. the igala people regarded this god as the supreme being, the almighty, all powerful, dependable, and that he is eternal. as such, he is both creator and sustainer of all that was created. the igala people believed that the spiritual world is populated with divine beings. these beings, to the igala people are sometimes in a hierarchical order: miachi (114). they belief in the earth and material life created, they also have belief in a multitude of gods and other spirits; the foundation of the religion of igala people is faith in a dogmatic style, in that as one‟s fore fathers did shall continue to be and that is why nothing is taken for granted when it relates to religion. as such any member of the society that wishes to challenge the gods does so at his/her own risk. chidozie and ufele (54). important factors associated with are igala religious system are that spirits are everywhere in persons, trees, rivers, animals, rocks, mountains, forests and other sacred personal effects. interestingly, igala people believed that god could be at work any of the above since religion permeates all aspects of human life in igala society. it is therefore abnormal to be involved in crimes such as adultery, stealing, cheating and suicide. the priest and traditional custodians of the people communicate the wishes of the spirits to the people. in igala religious system, all events have their proper rituals that could not be over looked in anyway. these rituals are performed through dance, music, liberation or art. some of these rituals have been retained in one foem or the other in various communities concerned. in gbenda‟s view “part of god‟s self disclosure to human is in nature” (43). the igalas in their religious questions pondered on the mysteries of the universe such as mountains, rivers, streams, lakes, forest, animals, plants, season, weather and climatic changes. they then asked themselves questions such as “who could be the author of this well patterned universe, and what the mysteries behind them are”. usually they conclude that it must be the handwork of a supersensible intelligent being. according to gbeda, “man‟s responsibility was to maintain a harmonious relationship with cosmos and other beings such as the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 124 fauna, flora and spirits of ancestors in order to sustain perfect harmony with god and his agents” (44). awolalu and dopamu support gbenda‟s view that, “each people ina frica responded independently to the experience of our immediate environement. when all these beliefs and practices are put side by side, they present an unitary view with common orientation, religious thought and philosophy” (27). another action for man‟s relationship with nature is from the fact that the universe and all therein are creatures of the supreme being. it therefore means, everything that belongs to the ecosystem and the environment has strong spiritual meaning for man. the traditional igala view therefore, is profoundly religious and it forms the basic attitudes that characterize most, if not all spheres of life. that is why there is no basic distinction between the sacred and the profane, material and immaterial. to igala people, many of the things in his environment are held in high esteem for religious reasons. furthermore, the attitude of the igala people is rooted in the belief those things were created by the supreme being and for continuity of harmony with nature; there must be a relationship for mutual obligation between all the things created by the supreme being. since there is no visible dichotomy between the physical and the spiritual world in that they both interlock into each other or overlap, the visible world acts as a vehicle for spiritual power while the physical is held or modeled after the spiritual world. the igala people believe that the cosmos is a representation of an organic unity thus the environment is seen as a nurturing mother, sensitive and alive, and its capable of responding to human action. it is further believed among the igala people that these natural resources were provided for the benefit of man and man‟s duty is to explore, develop and use with moderation, all the available natural resources to enhance his well being. according to apendad and adega as cited by gbeda, “nature is created on the principle of balance and all the systems in nature must exist and function in harmony with their balance (387). this of course, is a contrast with the outright domination and control as in gen. 1:28 which lynn white says was the cause of the environmental crises seen today in our world. though, the igalas have always collected food, medicines, and other materials from the wild animals that all depend on these natural resources for their livelihood. “consequently, if these natural resources are used up to as a result of over exploitation, or lack of protection, or even due to our change of attitude towards them, their number would greatly reduced thereby depriving the future igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 125 generations the opportunity to either see them, talk more of even using them to better their lives” gbenda (46). that is why igala culture, reveres, protects and respect things in their natural environment. in igala religion, lands are often set aside at the out sketch of their settlement. examples are ayabi” in affa-ibaji, both sides are rivers and streams, okwula forest, egbe forest in egume, ojaina (royal cemetery at idah), farming and other human activities such as hunting, felling of tress, fetching of fire woods etc. were not allowed. these forests retain their original flora and fauna. to signify their importance, shrines of some deities are located therein. with singular action, the forest is the small forest dedicated to „agana-obagwu in ofu local government area of kogi state. in this case, only the priests who are custodian of such sacred forests could enter at specified time. the researcher‟s quest to know why the surrounding of ofu river remain bushy from ojofu anyigba to the lower part after okogba in ibaji continues as momoh omata (gago ajetachi) responded thus: “rivers and streams in igala religious setting are treated as sacred by people who lives in its forest”. to confirm this was the fact that between 19791984 while the researcher was schooling at cmml secondary school anyigba, there used to be strange noise within the source of the river ofu between 11:00am-1:00pm. it is then believed that the water spirits are celebrating at that period. consequent upon these we were not allowed to go to the stream within the same time to avoid wrath of these spirits. towards the middle of the river at ofokopi near ugwolawo, there is as point in the river called ulokoamo. tis place is said to be an abode of the spirit living in the river. similarly at ugwolawo, opposite the local government secretariat, there is a place which is referred to as ejuliomimamo( the eyes see water that cannot be drunk) within this point was a cave where some spirit were said to have lived. history has it that a priestess, serahagali, a traditional doctor had shrine ther. still on the spirit living in or within the river is also a case of maboloeganein olamaboro local government area of kogi state, a place said to be the home of aligenu (water spirit). most of the priests and priestesses of aligenu visit the site regularly, at times thy even jump into the dreaded area of the river maboloall in the name of getting more power and inspirations from the spirits dwelling within. because of such religious importance to such rivers or particular spots of vegetation becomes sacrosanct and the ecosystem is believed, should not be disturbed by humans. in line with the above, most of the people that live along river banks ion igala land mostly revere or venerate water spirits which to them gives them fortune in fishing, farming, prevention of water accidents, some even believe that the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 126 barren could be given children though some prescribed sacrifices and rituals. as a result people build shrines and veneration centers along the banks and mysterious parts of the rivers. in igala religious system as it were, there are absolute protections for totems. here, there is an intrinsic relationship of friendship and protection between a person or group persons and a particular animal or a natural object. both parties keep to mutual close bond of life. among the egwuafia(long masquerade) people in igala land, the animal called ewolois neither to be kelled nor eaten. some group in igala land e.g. some clans in ajire in ajaka forbid the killing and eating of alligator (abaji). some clans around ibochi prohibit the killing and eating of rabbits (afolo) because it was said to have saved their forefather from danger of being killed during war. among the decendants of ogbajele in ofakaga, ajetachi and agala in igala land, they are forbidden from using okopitree for fire wood because it was used to save their forefather from a dreaded disease. the igala people believe in the power of spirit behind lightning and thunder. it is believed to be an avenger of wrong dealings and as such when properties are stolen, the thunder spirit is consulted through the diviner. days are given to the victim to either confess before the day or be ready to face the consequence. when confession is not made as to who stole the property, full rituals are carried out. in effect, the victim would be stricken by thunder and in that case, nobody must cry or mourn for the victim, neither shall he/she be touched until the necessary rituals are observed. thus when an igala man or woman hers or perceives the sound of thunder they utter this expression(tukpara, tukpara, ojomudubanwu mi” (i recant, i recant, my god forgive me). therefore, with the fear of the wrath of thunder evil actions were curbed in igala communities. in another development, the earth is revered so much in igala land because of the religious important it occupies. specific locations are set aside where the earth divinities are venerated (ęręanę). there and then cleansing extends to the whole community (anę-efa). to the igala people, this cleansing brings about good rain, soul fertility, good fortunes and likes. the ereane is usually marked with the planting of a tree to mark the spot. a good example is the obala tree in the middle of omata‟s compound at ajetatchi-anyigba as the starting point of human dwelling in the area. because of the sanctity attached to the earth by igala religious system, it is purely an abomination to have intercourse with a woman on the ground. people who do igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 127 so were said to ever flourish in life because they have defiled the earth goddess and so they are under a course. effect of man, science and technology on the natural environmental resources according to david and dada, there are lots of ecological problems and hazards that man does to the world of nature. this can be due to the fact that the livelihood of man depends largely on natural resources which are obtained by striving for survival through massive production of food produce (32). man‟s quest to achieve the above; seek after land allocation which of course has its ecological consequences on the natural environment. this had resulted in wanton destruction of natural vegetation, leaching, disruption of biogeochemical circle among other negative effects of land used for farming. another activity of man that disrupts the originality of man‟s natural environment is the act of bush burning. this act destroys the potentials of the soil, soil structure and the ecology is arbitrarily destroyed. though bush burning so many microbes are destroyed as well as soil macro organisms in the likes of earthworm, snails, rodents, insects, etc. and his had led to their reduction as well as some going into extinction, the ecology is also interrupted when man uses pesticides and herbicides which have led to the death of many pests and herbs thus affecting the food chain and the biological importance to the study of man‟s environment. similarly, human activities have threatened the peace and stability of the natural environment of many of which obasola cited asiodu as saying: it is now plain that the path blazed the material civilization that has been dominant in the world in the last one and half centuries is leading mankind to disaster because of the devastation that is has brought on the environment. the motivation, orientation and goal modern civilization have been overwhelmingly materialism is one the major cause‟s wanton destruction of beasts and their habitats as well as the earth and its beauty (205). other agents disrupting the continuity of natural environmental resources are the issues of urbanization and industrialization. when land is cleared in large quantity for housing, construction of roads, industries, educational and social igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 128 reasons, it results to the destruction of many economical plants, pounds, lakes, etc. the above action of man brought about by science and technology also led to the destruction of wildlife habitats and species living among the vegetation of the affected areas. man‟s action on the ecosystem has been more negative than positive through his mode of operations. investigations have shown that the destruction caused by man to the ecosystem is far more that roles he plays in training and benefiting from the environments. the point above is manifested in the cutting and felling of the trees which have resulted to gradual desertification of igala land. not only that , the trees of religious importance in the land had been cut off thus depriving the spirits of their abode which has resulted theses spirits hunting for man since they have been made homeless. the attitude of rain makers is counter-productive in the sense that they prevent rain when it is needed for farming activities all in the name of festivals and mud house building. the action of these rain makers in igala land has in no small measure affected the rate of rainfall. if this is not checked, it could lead to crop failure, famine and untold hardship on both human on the ecosystem. the revering areas which used to be home of fish is no more because of man‟s inordinate desires to get rich quickly. to do this the rivers and streams are chemicalized thereby killing both the grown and fingerlings or growing species of fish and other aquatic habitats. in view of man‟s negative interaction with the natural environment, schumacher as quoted by obasola state; “we are at war with nature and if by chance we win the war, we shall be the loser” (199). by this he meant to say that our civilization is at risk because we are misusing natural resources and disturbing natural systems. another area worth noting is the area of pollution of air, soil, fresh waters and the oceans which has become a serious and continuing threat to humans and other species. because the forest by the sides of some rivers and streams in igala land have been destroyed, the streams are gradually drying up and the spirits there in are roaming round looking for who to devour or even make their new place of abode. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 129 to conclude this section, the words of hoffman as quoted by obasolaare is important; the true cause of the catastrophic environmental destruction is the hubris of modern man who has become godless, who believes himself to be an unlimited master of his environment and one unleashes his boundless hedonistic consumer passion on nature as if it has no right of its own to exist intact (201). this has gone a long way to confirm the stand of lynn white that the dominating role given by the christians in gen.1:28 to man has gone into his head and thus to be blamed for all the environmental disorders and crisis experienced in our world today. ways of reducing environmental crisis for the simple fact that each of the world religions has acknowledged care for the earth and all therein, the adherents need to be fast in recognizing and applying such ideas that expressed deep moral obligation to promote ecological justice. the inability of putting relevant strategies in their proper place would amount to guilt on the part of humanity. similarly, religious traditions should question any economic progress that allegedly could not afford the costly good of a clean environment since alternatives of such is more costly. there should be rediscovery of ecological sensitivity in the light of religious traditions so as to encourage this lagging behind to rediscover the ecological sensitivity above all take radical steps in combating ecological crisis. because the care of the environment is part of our responsible living by which we honour god, the knowledge of how to manage and preserve the environment should be imbibed in all human. to maintain the originality of the natural environment, the sacredness of the cosmos should be promoted, rotational farming and bush fallow system should also be adopted to protect the ecosystem. indiscriminate tree felling in igalaland should be stopped if the wildlife and trees and herbs used in traditional medicine is to flourish. an observation of odolu area in igalaland where hippo nigeria limited had deforestated is an example of the menace. many of the wildlife in igala land are no more because the forest they inhabited have been destroyed. similarly, bush burning should be discouraged so that there will be normal life in our natural environment. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 130 the acts of striping naked within our streams and rivers should be stopped hence, so as to allow the spirit therein dwell in their secluded abode and thus stop hunting humanity. furthermore, the issue of grazing by fulani herdsmen should be addressed since they also contribute to leaching, destruction of micro and macro organisms living in the soil as well as farm lands. since the use of chemicals is an interruption of organisms in the natural environment, its use for fishing should be discouraged and even stopped so that the species could be allowed to live for generations yet unborn to enjoy. igala taboos, religious beliefs, sacred rites and totems provide a frame works for defining acceptable resource use. when these traditional practices are promoted and protected, ecological balance would be created. recommendations in the light of the above discussion, the researcher makes the following recommendations: there is an urgent need for the people within the range of study and beyond to improve their living conditions and to maintain a healthy environment in relationship with other creatures. efforts should be made to protect the environment from over exploitation of its resources. our people should also cultivate the attitude of supporting life of humans as well as those of the species around man. similarly our people should develop the attitude to preserving the productive natural system to avoid extinction. to do this well the people at the local communities should be enlightened on the means and usefulness of making our environment a place to dwell alongside be educated on the necessity of preserving the land and waters on which all livelihoods depend. this paper also recommends a change in man‟s values, attitude and practice from being unfriendly to being friendly. man should also develop an awesome responsibility for the survival of god‟s creation. sacred places should be protected because of their socio-cultural and socioreligious significance to the people in the preservation of their environment. deforestation should be checked because of its negative impact on the environments. in this respect, relevant laws against deforestation should be enforced by those concerned. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 131 the government on her part should help to develop the sports, sacred places and religion to meet up with those of other parts of the world. the government should also put some measures in place to promote the ecosystem of the environment. on the other hand, communities that play host to these sacred places should by emphasis on the importance of these places as well as their socio-cultural benefits. remember if you do not blow your trumpet yourself, who else would you expect to blow it well as you would wish? conclusion the igala people believe in the existence of spirits/deities in their natural environment. they also believe that these spirits protect, heal, hear them and are capable of communicating their wishes and as inspirations to the supreme being (ojochamachala). because of belief that natural environments have some super natural powers in them, sacrifices are offered to them for onward transmission to the most high (ojochamachala). i could therefore be deduced that because man is not lording or claiming total dominion as in genesis 1:28 over the created beings, but that there are transcendental power in them, man protects them since their livelihood somehow depends on these agents of the universal creator. we submit that igala people should be friendlier so as to adequately protect the natural environment they live in become their socio-cultural and religious practices. works cited david, o. alibi and dada o., esther. “the ecological significance of sacred places sustainable development. religious journal of the association for the study of religious. vol. 23 no. 1 january, 2013, p. 29-41. egbunu, “fidelis eleojo. “igala worldview as a veritable basis for igala philosophy” in anyigba journal of arts and humanities. vol. 13, no 1, nov, 2013 p.9. eneji, c.v.o. “traditional african religion in natural resources conservation and management in cross river state, nigeria”. environmental and natural resources research vol.2, no. 4;, 2012pp.45-25. fretheim, t, „nature‟s praise of god in psalms: in ex audtu bol. 3, 1987. p. 16. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 132 obasola, kehinde e. “african religion and environmental dynamics: implications for human and sustainable development”. journal of studies in social sciences volume 4, number 2, 2013, 199-212. sussy, gumoetal. “communicating african spirituality through ecology: challenges and prospect for the 21st century”. open access religion. www.mdp.com/journal/religions. 2012pp. 523-540. thomas, wh. “one last chance: tapping indigenous knowledge to produce sustainable conservation policies” as cited by a. rim – rutehetal. international journal of biodiversity and conservation vol. 5 (7) july, 2013. chiedozie, anthony asoanya and ufele, angela. “global environmental and ecological crisis in the light of the holy scriptures”. snaap press enugu 2007 pp.3-17,81-90. gbenda, j.s. “religion and ecology: a comparative study. obeta press makurdi 2010pp. 17-32-43-59. idowu, e.b..oludujmare: god in yoruba belief. london: longman‟s publishers, 1962. miachi, t.a. “the igala incarnate being phenomenon in africa culture. kraft press ibadan 2012. shishima, s.d. “african religion: a bird‟s eye view”. obeta press makurdi, 2014 pp. 11 and 25. http://www.mdp.com/journal/religions igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 188 political parties and election violence in nigeria, 2007-2019: a historical evaluation festus c. ajeli department of history and international studies nwafor orizu college of education nsugbe ajeli.festus@nocen.edu.ng/actionblack28@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/ rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract political parties are one of the major pillars of democracy. this is because it helps in the peaceful transition from one political dispensation to another. political parties are expected to serve as an agent of change, peace and national unity as its members are drawn from across the nation irrespective of tribe, ethnic background or religious affiliation. but in the recent times political parties have been found to be involved in escalating political cum electoral violence in nigeria. the youth wing of some political parties now serve as an agent of pre, during and post-election violence. party thugs are so glaring that it is easy to identify which party that parades the most active and dreaded thugs in the political system. why do political parties involve in election violence and what are the implication to democratic stability in nigeria? methodologically, this paper adopts the historical analysis approach while data was collected from both primary and secondary sources. the paper finds out that political parties involve in election violence in order to win election and perpetuate their party in government. the paper concludes that to minimize the rate of political parties involvement in election violence, there is need for electoral reforms that will inculcate new provisions as a way to checkmate electoral violence and prosecute political parties who perpetrate or sponsor of electoral violence. keywords: political parties, election, electoral violence, democracy, politics. introduction this paper examines the role of political parties in electoral violence in nigeria. first, the paper looks as the definitions of these concepts in order to give insight on the subject matter. a political is an organized group of people (men and women) who has similar ideologies and who come together for the purpose of contesting and winning election for the purpose of controlling the machinery of government. therefore, a political party is as an organized group of individual seeking to seize the power of government in order to enjoy the benefits to be derived from such control. this definition in essence implies that political parties are organized for mailto:.edu.ng/actionblack28@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 189 the purpose of benefiting from such organization by the organizers especially in the corridor of power. electoral violence on the other hand is a form of organized acts or threats which may be physical, psychological and structural aimed at intimidating, harming or blackmailing a political stakeholder before, during and after election with a view to determining, delaying or otherwise influencing an electoral process, (nwolise, 2007). electoral violence in africa‟s electoral processes has become increasingly alarming. virtually every political process in africa such as party conventions, party primaries and party nominations are usually fraught with violence. party stalwarts/chieftains in a bid to install their puppets and ensures the control of government usually encourage violence in order to achieve their aims. thus electoral violence continued to be aided and abated by political parties in order to ensure that their party continues in power. to ojo (2014) electoral violence is any act of violence perpetrated in the course of political activities, including pre, during and post-election periods, and may include any of the following; thuggery, use of force to disrupt political meetings and or voting at polling stations as well as use of dangerous weapons to intimidate voters and other electoral process or cause bodily harm or injury to any person connected with the electoral process. from the above assertions, it is clear that electoral violence is aimed at thwarting the normal electoral process by the actors. whenever the electoral process is marred by violence, the choice of the electorates are always in jeopardy. the choice of the electorates may not have the political and economic will power to withstand the negative onslaught of the party stalwarts who has what it takes to install whomever they wish because of their status in the party at the detriment of the powerless choice of the electorates. evidence from existing studies shows that electoral violence is a recurring issue and has become an integral aspect of the electoral processes in nigeria and other emerging democracies especially in the casting of votes. political parties have continued to encourage electoral violence in the political system by ensuring that its members do everything possible to retain their position in office which invariably means retention of their party in power. the ruling party by hook or crook ensures they continue in power while the oppositions fought tooth and nail to ensure the dethronement of the ruling party. to achieve its aim, both parties enlarges and consolidates their tentacles to ensure they reach their destination which is to win election and control government power. further igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 190 evidences reveal that both ruling parties and opposition parties use violence to achieve their aims, (mehler, 2007). the opposition parties also employ violence to express their grievances over the outcome of the electoral process whenever they lose. in fact, it has become natural in africa, hence nigeria, that after elections, those who lose, always complain that the election was marred with fraud, while the winning party describes same election as the most free, fair and credible election in the country and vice versa. the ruling party usually take arbitrary and suppressive measures against the oppositions due to the fear of losing political power to opponents (laakso, 2007). election related violence typically includes clashes between political party supporters, incidents that take place at campaign events, and attacks on existing or aspiring politicians. the implication of the above is that competitive elections are prone to conflict and violence due to the interest of the stakeholders in the competition. this makes them to do everything possible to ensure that they retain the office for the fear of been maltreated when the opposition wins. thus, political parties employ the services of thugs, who happens to be the youths of their parties to unleash mayhem on their opponents in order dismantle them from power and assume leadership roles while those in the ruling party uses every strategy at their disposal such as the electoral umpire, the judiciary, security agents and other relevant agencies that matter in the electoral process to intimidate the opponents to victory and back it up when the result is being contested in the law court. this paper is an expose on the role of political parties in electoral violence in nigeria. the paper finds out that political parties, at one time or the other have orchestrated electoral violence in order to ensure that political powers does not elude their party for fear of being maltreated by those whom they lost to. the paper concludes that a law should be made that any party involved in electoral violence either by its members or candidates must be made to lose the position automatically to the opponent. this will help to sanitize the system and rid it of electoral violence. conceptual clarifications the concept of political parties a political party basically, is a group of people. these people come together to contest elections in order to hold power in the government. it is a way to mobilize voters to support common sets of interests, concerns, https://www.toppr.com/guides/civics/what-is-government/meaning-of-government/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 191 and goals. the primary roles of a political party is to fix the political agenda and policies and control the government. so, each party tries to persuade people by claiming their policies are better than those of other parties. many scholars have amply defined political parties from their own perspective and understanding of the importance of political parties in the society. nwankwo (1990) defines political party as an organized group of individual seeking to seize the power of government in order to enjoy the benefits to be derived from such control. this definition in essence implies that political parties are organized for the purpose of benefiting from such organization by the organizers especially in the corridor of power. to ward (1962), political party is a group with common views on certain political means. he insists that the day-to-day concern of politics is fundamentally with means and not ends. for his part, orji (1997) sees political parties as those organizations under whose ambit, people aspire to, and acquire political power in a system. from the above definitions, it could be said that a political party is a forum or platform under which political actors take decision on how to control the machinery of government to their advantage. this implies that political parties serve the interest of their members whose interest determines the success and otherwise of the forum. from the above we can identify some of the characteristics of political parties as follows:  there must be a group of people sharing the view on means to achieve an end  the aim of political parties is to promote the national interest of a political system  political parties have ideologies they tend to implement when they come to power  they have cohesive leadership  political parties have persuasive rather than cohesive means in coming to power. political parties represents aggregate of social forces and classes and bear the imprints, and characteristics of the individual and groups they represent and signify. parties therefore originates as an act of free will among people and group sharing the same vision. this is because people who make up political parties are volunteers who chose to be in that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 192 particular party amongst other parties in existence. to this end a political parties are means via which the people can speak to the government and have a say in the governance of any country. thus, political parties must be an agent of peace, change and an aperture through which the political system is kept alive. the concept of election the term election is associated with several meanings. ojo (2008) sees election, as a “formal expression of preferences by the governed, which are then aggregated and transformed into a collective decision about who will govern, who should stay in office, who should be thrown out, and who should replace those who have been thrown out.” in concurring, awopeju (2011) observes that election is a procedure that allows members of a given society to choose representatives who will hold positions such as leaders of local, state and national government. to dye (2001) election is an important mechanism for the employment of administrative governance in democratic social order, a major involvement in a democracy and the way of giving approval to a regime. election is a set of activities leading to the selection of one or more persons out of many to serve in positions of authority in a society (nwachukwu & uzodi, 2012) cited in onuoha (2017). for dibie, election is the act of electing candidates to represent the people of a given country in the parliament, the executive and other arms of government (dibie, 2018). sadly though, the conduct of vote-casting is usually not as easy as it may initially look, with several experts and researchers classifying them as turning points for violent acts. thus (ikyase & egberi, 2015) opines that elections have become the apogee for violence and uncertainty in many states in nigeria. the concept of violence in his earlier study, johan galtung conceptualized violence in terms of influence (to mean harm). he explains the relations between the influencer, the influenced and a mode of influencing; categorized in terms of a subject, an object and action. he accepted though within the limited assumption, that the end state of violence is its somatic incapacitation or deprivation of health of the individual by means of killing which is an extreme form of violence in the hands of actors who intend it to be the consequence of their action (galtung, 1969). he sees violence as “present when human beings are being influenced (harm) so that their actual https://www.toppr.com/guides/civics/how-the-state-government-works/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 193 somatic (body) and mental realizations are below their potential realization”. on the account of this, he went further beyond the limited assumption to theoretically, conceptualize and empirically clarify that violence is “defined as the cause of the difference between the potential and actual, between what could have been and what is. to him violence is that which impedes the decrease of the distance. thus, if a person died from tuberculosis in the eighteenth century it would be hard to conceive of this as violence since it might have been quite unavoidable, but if he dies from it today, despite all the medical resources in the world, then violence is present according to our definition” (galtung, 1969). in other words violence occurs in a situation where the possibility of averting impediment to its escalation are apparent but those responsible to do so are not willing to take deliberate responsibility. this can be termed, “shunning the process of conflict resolution mechanism”. shunning process in conflict resolution is the deliberate refusal to resolve a conflict in spite of the available instruments at one‟s disposal. this has to do with attitudinal disorientation and institutional breakdown in spite of a level playing field. the concept of electoral violence the concept of electoral violence is comprised two different concepts in one, which include electoral and violence. here, the two concepts are defined. the word electoral in the view of bamgbose (2011) is the process involved in the conduct of elections either at the public or private level. he further stated that electoral process at the public level is the process of planning and conducting elections to choose representatives of the people in public offices of governance such as the executive, legislative and judicial arms of government at state and national levels. electoral process at the private level includes all the processes involved in the successful conduct of elections into other types of groups other than those of government such as associations and clubs. thus, he concluded that electoral violence depicts acts of aggression, thuggery and other similar acts that are displayed in the course of the electoral process. ladan-baki (2016) states that electoral violence during general elections include the snatching of ballot boxes to rig and manipulate election results, causing pandemonium in polling stations to hinder voters from voting, beating up of electoral officers and sometimes killing same in the process when weapons such as guns and cutlasses are used during the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 194 elections. balogun (2003) sees electoral violence as any form of violence that arise at any stage (pre, during and post-election) from differences in opinions, feelings and engagements of electoral processes. igbuzor (2007) defines electoral violence as: „any act of violence perpetrated in the course of political activities, including pre, during and post-election periods, and may include any of the following acts: thuggery, use of force to disrupt political meetings or voting at polling stations, or the use of dangerous weapons to intimidate voters and other electoral process or to cause bodily harm or injury to any person connected with electoral processes‟. electoral violence is one major problem that has affected nigeria‟s democratic sustainability and achievement of good governance. absence of proper democratic institutions militates against the sustainability of democracy in nigeria. history of election violence by political parties in nigeria history of elections in nigeria from the period of political independence from the british colonial masters, till date is embedded on violence. the british colonial administration left behind several destabilizing policies that affected not only the nature of governance but some strange political relationships between and among the ethnic groups. as such, the ethnic groups relate with each other on grounds of suspicion and conspiracy. therefore, virtually all elections that were conducted in nigeria were definitively violent, often making the state ungovernable. the only periods that could be regarded as violence free were elections conducted under the tutelage of the military in 1979 and 1999. this was because the military would not tolerate any act of violence neither could the politicians allow it, in order to avoid a situation where the military might reneged in returning power to civilians. the military may cling to power on grounds that the politicians were yet to demonstrate political maturity to rule. thus, electoral violence is historical to the instrumentality of the political class. the collapse of the nigerian first republic in 1966 was precipitated by electoral violence of 1964 and 1965, (falola, 2003) in western nigeria but reinforced by coincidental and reactive crisis taking place in the north, in particular the tiv crisis of 1963 and 1964; as well as the controversial 1963 census. according to anifowose (1982) the official figure of the death in the 1965 election was about 153 people, out of which police killed 64 in direct confrontation, while the unofficial figure was speculated up to a total of 2,000 deaths. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 195 the second republican era that started from 1979 to 1983 when another coup took place was another era of serious political violence especially with the 1983 election which gave alhaji shehu shagari what the ruling party, national party of nigeria (npn) referred to as “landslide victory” but general danjuma termed it “gunslide victory”, depicts the level of how violence was used to win the election. in ondo state the federal electoral commission (fedeco) declared chief akin omoboriowo of npn as the elected governor. however, a counter announcement was made over the state radio by the unity party of nigeria (upn) pronouncing adekunle ajasin as the true winner. sokoto (2011) states that the later allegedly went round akure, the state capital in an open van “calling on his supporters to come out and defend their votes”. press conferences and radio broadcast by chief bola ige in oyo and sam mbakwe of in imo state threatened that “if npn went ahead to rig that election as planned the wives of those who helped them will become widows and their children orphans”. indeed both oyo and ondo states experienced monumental violence that eventually led to the collapse of the second republic. the weight of rigging in the 1983 election was so devastating that there were not only calls for its cancellation but the moves towards confederation (osaghae, 2005). meanwhile there began a second phase of military interregnum in 1983 which lasted till may 1999. during this period nigeria experienced some military coups and counter coups. however, efforts were made to organize elections to return the country to civil rule. the most feasible one was the 1993 elections which were fundamental to the quest of nigerians for liberal democracy. the military leadership under general ibrahim babangida however annulled the elections adjudged the most free and credible election in nigerian political history. the election was conducted peacefully but the reasons for the annulment which nigerians are yet to be told, precipitated the post-election violence (yoroms, 1994). again, in 1993 nigerians began to move back to their home state of origin for fear of impending war as they did in1967 during the civil war. there were also the 1964 and 1965 elections that led to the western regional crisis. giving the impending doom, babaginda decided to hand over power to an interim government headed by chief ernest shonekan, abiola‟s kinsman from abeokuta, ogun state. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 196 this arrangement however did not avert the doom as the interim government was declared illegal. the outcome of which general sani abacha exploited and upturned the interim regime and took over power in military styled coup. in the process, nigeria experienced for the first time serial bombings, killings and threats to life and property. nevertheless, general sani abacha began a series of transition programmes that would have led to his transmutation to a civilian president but was interrupted by death in 1998. at the time general abdulsalami took over power after the death of general sani abacha, it was not possible for the military to hang on to political power in spite of options given to him including extension of tenure to cushion the turbulent environment before election. therefore abubakar began a quick-fixed transition programme which led to the election of chief olusegun obasanjo that opened up nigeria‟s third republic on the 29th may 1999. unlike the 1979, the 1999 elections were conducted presumably in a peacefully atmosphere as it was done under military supervision. however subsequent elections conducted by obasanjo in 2003 and 2007 were fraught with serious irregularities and violence. it could be recalled that immediately the military left the political stage, nigeria began to experience several ethnic and religious conflicts earlier suppressed and bottled up by the military. according to the records of human rights watch between 1999 and 2011 more than 157,000 people died in communal conflicts, political and sectarian violence since the return to civil rules in 1999 (human rights watch, 1999, 2011). political parties as catalyst for electoral violence in nigeria political parties can sow the seed of political violence in many ways. sometimes they enact certain laws or use state power to monopolise the political space. the process of choosing flag bearers in different political parties makes it inevitable for violence to occur. political parties most of the times impose candidates on the party members as against the party constitution which stipulates the use of primary election to select the party‟s flag bearer. when this is done, those who are not in the camp of the chosen will do everything possible to frustrate the candidacy of the chosen flag bearer thereby creating room for electoral violence. during the period of the 1999 election, it was clear that the former president of nigeria, olusegun obasanjo was in prison prior to the election. he was not among the people who formed the people‟s democratic party, neither were the party formed on his behalf while he igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 197 was in prison. in 1998, the pdp in its first presidential primary election held in jos, plateau state, north central of nigeria nominated him, who had just been released from detention as political prisoner as the presidential candidate in the elections of february 1999. in this regard those who formed the party were ostensibly not happy because his candidacy was imposed on them. such situation could breed electoral violence among the party members. the pdp was the ruling party from 1999 to 2015. it obviously used all methods possible to perpetuate itself in power. according to albinlackey (2007) during the general elections in april and may 2003, human rights watch stated that “at least one hundred people were killed and many more injured. majority of serious abuses were perpetrated by members or supporters of the ruling party, the pdp”. the nigeria watch database confirmed that the pdp was the main party involved in political and electoral violence in 2007, as its followers were to be found in 73% of the total number of fatal incidents reported. between 2006 and 2014, the pdp was to be found in 474 electoral violence incidents out of a total of 915 extracted from the database, representing almost 52% of incidents (shamsudeen, 2015). the youth wing of all political parties are „combat-ready‟ thugs who are ready at any time to unleash mayhem on the opposition parties, should they try to do anything that will jeopardize the interest of their political parties. thus we hear that pdp and apc, or apga or any others party‟s youths/thugs clashes with one another during political rally. the truth is that the party leaders have instructed their members/youths/thugs to resist by whatever means any activity of the opposition that will place their party at disadvantage in the election. thus they boys were acting on the order of their pay masters. for instance, on november 2019, the guardian newspaper reported that some members of the people‟s democratic party were attacked on wednesday allegedly by members of the all progressives congress at king koko square in nembe, bayelsa state. the attack was said to be in retaliation of an alleged attack by pdp members on apc members on their way to their party rally at igbogene town in yenagoa lga in the state (guardian newspaper, november. 2019). this is a clear attestation that violence begets violence, thus political parties indulge in electoral violence in order to retain power in government. again, opposition parties in nigeria have been at the forefront of electoral violence as they are prone to resort to intimidation, in order to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/jos igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 198 compensate for their lack of base support. they always claim the election was never free, fair and credible. they are also quick at contesting election results in the court, hoping to use whatever means at their disposal to get the result reversed in their favour or be out rightly cancelled. they mobilize their members to protest against election results which are not in their favour. the protests always results in violence as thugs usually hijack the opportunity to loot properties of both government and individuals. for instance the election protest in kano on may 2007 left more than 100 people dead, (human rights watch, 2011). the youths cannot organize such a protest without the prior knowledge of their party and the party cannot deny being responsible for any unlawful acts committed by her youth wing. recall that in april and may 2011, scores were killed as a result of the statement credited to the main presidential election opponent, muhammadu buhari, if he loses the election. according to him, if what happened in 2011 should again happen in 2015, by the grace of god, the dog and the baboon would all be soaked in blood (premiumtimesng.com). this type of statement is not healthy for democracy as election is a game of win and lose. human rights watch reported that approximately about 800 people were feared killed after that election, and the protests was heavily masterminded by the main opposition party on the allegation or claim that the election results were rigged. political parties promotes political violence directly or indirectly by sponsoring violence directed at supporters of opposing parties. for instance, there are indications that, in order to ensure that general muhammadu buhari was declared the president of nigeria in 2011, the cpc, and the northern elements along tribal lines, unleashed violence on the people, leaving about 800 people dead. (human rights watch, 2011).this was in a bid for the cpc to ensure victory for their party and candidate and control the government of nigeria. similarly in anambra state, during the governorship election in 2007, the pdp candidate chief andy uba recruited thugs who happened to be cult members and they were responsible for rigging that election in his favour with total number of vote cast more than the total number of registered voters in the state during the election (sahara reporters, 2007). the formation and existence of political parties based on ethnicity remain strong in nigeria. during the first republic, most of the parties was formed on ethnic basis and some parties were bold to take tribal names such as the northern elements progressive union, northern people http://saharareporters.com/user/siteadmin igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 199 congress, middle belts democratic front, united middle belt congress, lagos united front and the niger delta congress (ndc) (anyaele, 2003, okereke, 1997) while some are formed and led by tribal leaders with followers usually from the same tribe as the leader. thus, the action group was formed and led by awolowo and s.l akintola with members from the west, and ncnc which has a more national outlook was formed and led by dr. nnamdi azikiwe, an easterner and based in the east (onwudufor and ughaerumba, 2017). from the above, it means that a tribe or ethnic group that is larger than all others and has ethnic or tribal party will control the government if supported by its tribesmen. on the other hand, if the tribal party lost election and decides to use violence to reclaim its mandate, it means the entire tribe or ethnic group will unleash its mayhem on other tribes thus committing post electoral violence. coalitions and alliances were also used by political parties to ensure victory in elections. unfortunately, coalitions were not helpful in bringing an end to ethnic politics which the emergence of political parties with tribal support had created. thus, ekemam, ogonor and udeaba (2013) argues that one of the major features of political parties that emerged as precursor‟s to independence was their ethnic colouration. even the alliance/coalition of tribal parties were viewed with suspicion. for instance, it was because of ethnic/tribal sentiments that the action group and the ncnc could not combine to control the central government (onwudufor and ughaerumba, 2017). this sentiments cost them their opportunity and gave it to the npc to perpetuate its domination of the country. the tribal and regional nature of political parties and politics in nigeria, robbed her politicians of true national consciousness. thus they see themselves first as hausa-fulani, yoruba and igbo, then secondly as northerners, westerners and easterners and finally as nigerians. this made the political parties and their politicians to pay more allegiance to their tribesmen and ensure that their tribesman is in the helm of affair. it is because of this sentiments that the northerners has continue to clamour to be in power whether person in charge is qualified or not. their main concern is that a northerner is in charge, and this has led to political violence within the party, between oppositions and finally between tribes as each tribe seeks to produce the leader of the party, governor or president. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 200 incidences of election violence in perpetrated by political parties elections in nigeria since independence is replete with violence. the violence could be pre, during and or post-election violence. some of this violence are perpetrated by political parties directly through their agents, youth wings, hired thugs or by aspirants who want to win the election by other means (kanu & obiefuna 2019). as a result of this unbridled quest for power, political parties do not care about the reputation or the ideology of their party but that they may control power and control it more abundantly. this explains the reason why several incidences of political cum election violence are triggered by political parties. during the 2007 governorship election in rivers state, one opposition party agent in ikwerre local government was dragged from the car of two journalists who was interviewing him and beaten unconscious after alleging that the pdp was rigging the tabulation of results in his area (human rights watch, 2007). police and state government officials standing nearby did not intervene probably because it is none of their business or they were acting on the orders of their pay masters. those who beat up the young man were probably pdp thugs who were in a mission to ensure the victory of the pdp by all means. the 2019 gubernatorial election in rivers state was a good example of what former president obasanjo called a do or die affair (suberu, 2007, alemika, 2011). the 9th march poll was a frontal conflict between incumbent governor nyesom wike of the people‟s democratic party (pdp) and his former friend, rotimi amaechi, who is wike‟s successor and federal minister of transport in the ruling all progressives congress (apc). shortly before the election, a supreme court ruling barred the apc from fielding candidate in rivers gubernatorial election. but former governor amaechi of apc took it upon himself that it is better that an insignificant party wins the election rather than the pdp. thus he aligned his controlled apc with a virtually unknown candidate of the african action congress (aac) biokpomabo awara. this backing of amaechi brought a lot of negative results with it. soldiers took over the streets in rivers and there were acts of vote buying, ballot-box snatching and voter intimidation that resulted to the death of five people. a lieutenant, soldier was killed at abonnema, headquarters of akuku toru local government area, while a chieftain of the all progressives congress (apc) and former chairman of andoni local government council, chief mowan etete, was killed alongside his elder brother and cousin in asarama (thisdaylive, 2019) while one ignatius was shot dead at ajakaja in andoni by suspected thugs. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 201 also, an unconfirmed number of persons believed to be members of the people‟s democratic party (pdp) were killed following the eruption of violence before the commencement of accreditation and voting in asaritoru, akuku-toru and degema local government areas of the state. this is a clear indication that the violence was the making of political parties. the obvious is that the apc chieftain and his relatives were killed by the pdp thugs while the pdp members were killed by apc thugs. thus, election violence became the order of the day in an election between members of the same state whose major aim would have been to ensure peace and development for every member of the state irrespective the political affiliation. party sponsored violence abound in almost all the states in nigeria in the form of rigging, ballot box snatching, harassment, intimidation and assassinations. it is as if violence is a legal weapon by politicians to win election in this part of the world. again, assassination of political opponents is rife in nigeria politics with either party members assassinating their co-contestants or opposition parties assassinating their major contenders in a bid to give smooth landing for them in the absence of such strong contenders. for instance in ekiti state, during the 2006 gubernatorial election, political opponent like dr. ayo daramola (pdp gubernatorial candidate) was assassinated on 14 august 2006 while chief funso williams (pdp gubernatorial candidate in lagos state) was assassinated on july, 2006. thus, high-profile candidates began to apply for police protection. there was also bombing of the home of senator patrick osakwe in delta state on 24 november 2006 and another bombing of the houses of two delta state house of representative aspirants, ndudi elumelu and theodora giwa-amu (vanguard 7 april 2007). why political parties orchestrate election violence politics, political parties and election seem to mean something different to nigeria politicians. it is viewed as the fastest and easiest way of becoming wealthy as far as nigeria is concerned. from independence in 1960 till date, nigeria politicians have construed election, politics and political parties as all that matters in life as it guarantees money, power and security. what is more, politics makes you command respect in the nigerian contest. that is why their slogan is always, till death do us part from politics. they see politics and election as a do or die affair and that if one is left behind in any political space, he is gone politically and will never rise again, hence the continued struggle to remain relevant in politics until death come knocking. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 202 since the notion of every politician in nigeria is that winner takes it all, it behoves them to be the winner that will eventually take it all. every politician wants to be a leader while none wants to be led. thus every opportunity of leadership that comes on any ones way, it is hoped will never slip from him until death. this explains the reasons why politicians and political parties indulge in violence in order to maintain stausquo to the detriment of the led. the notion of democracy is that power belongs to the people. in nigeria power belongs to politicians and once elected, they are above the law, the electorate and the state. they bend the constitution at will and frustrate any genuine effort to make the state work. the first republic political parties initiated political cum election violence in a bid to control the state. anyaele (2003) opines that in readiness for the 1964 election, all the political parties in the country polarized into two gigantic alliances. this alliances was to ensure that they win the election and control the state. thus the national council for nigeria and cameroon (ncnc) and what was left of the already battered action group (ag) and the northern progressive front (npf), made up the northern elements progressive union (nepu) and the united middle belt congress (umbc) joined together an formed the united progressive grand alliance (upga) and led by dr. m.i okpara while the northern people‟s congress npc, nndp, the mid-western democratic front (mdf), the niger delta congress (ndc) and the dynamic party (dp) formed the nigerian national alliance (nna) and led by sir ahmadu bello. this quest to control the government made them to, during the electioneering campaign employ all sorts of crude and obnoxious methods as campaign strategies. there was also cases of irregular nomination of candidates for the election and other vices such as intimidation, thurgery and kidnapping in the northern and western regions. supporting the above assertions in the case of nigeria politicians, professor billy dudley observed that in nigeria, the shortest cut to affluence and influence is through politics. politics means money and money means politics … to be a member of the government party means open avenue to government patronage, contract deals and the like”. the implications of this are as follows: prebendal politics, in which political office is sought primarily for the aggrandizement of self, family members, associates and cronies, tend to become a preoccupation of the vast majority of the politicians and electorates; patron-client relationship becomes entrenched in the polity and economy; the logic and desire to belong to government party undermine the sustainability of viable igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 203 opposition in the political system; instrumental use of violence by both ruling and opposition parties as instrument of retaining or capturing power at elections independently or in contempt of electoral choices of the citizens at the poll (dudley, 1961 cited in bidemi, 2014) furthermore, billy (1965), opines that once the politicians recognize or know “the profitability of having power, the party (and the individual members) naturally uses the same governmental machinery to stay in power. the leadership becomes a self-recruiting oligarchy and no selfrecruiting oligarchy has been known to tolerate opposition to itself”. in the circumstance, violence becomes instrument for seeking, gaining and retaining political power. the implication of the above is that political parties and politicians as well as political investors and other major financiers of the political process for individuals seeking political office expend huge sum of money on the electoral process with expected return. thus, no amount is too much to use in instigating electoral violence, including terminating the lives of opponents and valueless youths, provided their investment will generate profit for them and ultimately bring them closer to the corridor of power and to help secure their investments. effects of electoral violence on democratic stability in nigeria electoral violence has caused a lot of harm to the democratic stability in nigeria. an uncontrolled electoral violence has the potentials of truncating democratic stability in a country. one of the consequences of this, is truncating the good will of the electorate at the elections. it may lead to a situation where leaders that emerge, are elected by the minority because the majority that has fears for their lives will not go near the electoral process (amaka, 2005). more so, large scale electoral violence has adverse effect on democratic stability because it negates the essential purpose of elections as a popular basis for government, for instance; a government which by electoral violence sustains itself in power against the wishes of the majority of the electorate lacks the legitimacy or the moral authority that popular mandate bestows (ezeani, 2005). this is why some leaders/political parties have refused to implement any meaningful development in certain states, geopolitical zones, constituencies and wards because they felt that those areas did not give them any significant support during election. nigerian politics for example has always been characterized by violent conflicts even in the colonial period where state repression was a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 204 certainty. the women‟s riots of 1929, the egbo uprising of 1931, the general strike of 1945, the enugu colliery strike of 1949 and the kano riots of 1953 are cases of violence in colonial nigeria (anifowose, 1982). in the early years of independence the prospects of violence reared its head in the western region and the middle belt. the violence that ensued ultimately led to the collapse of the first republic (anyaele, 2003). electoral violence has created room for the emergence of incompetent persons who occupy vital political positions made possible by some political opportunists. the fact that such people are mediocre, they cannot deliver the dividends as expected by the masses. it is also important to note that due to political violence, some of the best brains in political and economic management are not in governance as a result of victimization, while others were brutally eliminated as was the case of chief bola ige or rigged out as in the case of chief mko abiola. conclusion political parties in nigeria are still very far from practicing the very norms of political parties the world over as a means through which one government transits to another peacefully. nigeria political parties has no ideological base and cannot boast of given the citizens robust and effective representation. this is why they move from one political party to another only to ensure they retain power and occupy political space. political parties here are only a platform or gate way for dubious politicians to cling to power and exploit the people. there is no single party or politician whose has the interest of the country and the masses at heart, and that is why their only interest is to win election and control both the political and economic structure of the country. it is as a result of the foregoing that election violence has become a legal weapon for them as a means of achieving their political mandates to the detriment of the masses. the politicians and their political parties recruit thugs, empower their youth wing to cause mayhem and destabilize the system if the election or the process is not in their favour. that is why some political fellows and opponents are kidnapped, maimed and killed before, during and after elections in order for them to become relevant in politics. those politicians we support and wish to die for has their kits and kins based in abroad, with good education, job and security while they neglect our education system, health system, security and other social infrastructures that helps the ordinary citizen to survive. if the politicians has the interest of the masses at heart, why is nigeria still having epileptic power supply, bad road, poor education facilities, bad or igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 205 no health facilities and the likes, rather their interest is only to cling to power perpetually. the thugs, cult members and others they use to perpetrate violence has none of their children among them. instead they provide their children with security or better still send them abroad during electioneering period for their safety while they adopt the helpless poor youths and entice them with peanuts only to expose them to danger and cut short their youthful glory. it is so painful to see political parties with both learned, intelligent and technocrats wallowing in abject senselessness with no clear cut objective of what they want to achieve for those they represent. lawyers, medical doctors, academics and technocrats once they venture into politics, transforms into political imbeciles and expunge their sense of reasoning and begin to act like „one of them‟ with the caveat that if you can‟t beat them you join them. why not make a difference with all the experiences and bring the needed change which the citizens yearn for. election violence increases by the day in every election as if violence is the only method available for political parties and politicians to win election in nigeria. we therefore, suggest that to minimize the rate of political parties involvement in election violence, there is need for electoral reforms that will inculcate new provisions as a way to checkmate electoral violence and prosecute political parties, their agents and politicians or candidates who perpetrate or sponsor electoral violence. if this is done we believe that political parties will call their politicians and agents to order to follow due process and avoid violence since any violence traced to any political party will cause them dearly. references alemika, e.e (2011). post-election violence in nigeria: emerging trend and lessons. lagos: cleen foundation. anifowose, r (1982) violence and politics in nigeria: the tiv and yoruba experience. enugu: nok publishers. anyaele, j. u (2003) comprehensive government. lagos: a johnson publishers ltd. awopeju, a. (2011). “election rigging and the problems of electoral act in nigeria.” afro asian journal of social sciences, vol. 2 (24) quarter iv 2011. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 206 amaka, b. (2005). electoral violence: the bane of democracy. enugu: ikenga press. balogun, t.a. (2003). nigeria: electoral violence and national security. retrieved on 20th august 2019 from the website http:// aceproject.org/eroen/regions/africayng/electoralviolencenigeria/view bamgbose, a.j. (2011). “electoral violence and nigeria‟s 2011 general elections.” international review of social sciences and humanities, vol. 4. dudley, b (1961) cited in bidemi badmus (2014). post electoral violence and national development in nigeria. agidigbo: abuad journal of humanities. vol. 2, no. 2. dudley, b. (1965) “violence in nigerian politics” transition. 5 (21): 21-29 dibie, c (2018) essential government. lagos: tonad publishers ltd. dye, r.t. (2001). politics in america. new jersey: prentice hall, upper saddle rivers. chuku-okereke, g.i (1997). evolution of nigeria as a political unit. a historical analysis. in c.a ndoh and c.e emezi (eds.) nigerian politics. owerri: crc publications ltd. ekemam, h.i, mac-ogonor, c.u, and udeaba, s.o (2013). political parties and political process in a democracy. in ekeman h.i (ed.) political process and contemporary political analysis, selected themes and concepts. owerri: great stars publishers intl. company. ernest, chinwo (2019) https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2019/02/23/soldierfive-others-killed-in-election-violence-in-rivers/ ezeani, e. o. (2005). fundamentals of public administration. enugu: snaap press ltd. falola, t., uhomoibhi, m,. amadi, a and anyanwu, u (2003) history of nigeria. lagos: longman nig. plc. guardian newspaper, november. 2019. vol 3. no 5 galtung, j. (1969) "violence, peace research" in journal of peace research. vol. 6, no. 5. https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2019/02/23/soldier-five-others-killed-in-election-violence-in-rivers/ https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2019/02/23/soldier-five-others-killed-in-election-violence-in-rivers/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 207 human rights watch (2007). nigeria: polls marred by violence, fraud. nigeria: human rights network human rights watch, 2011) nigeria: post-election violence killed 800. nigeria: human rights network igbuzor, o. (2009) electoral violence in nigeria. available at http://www.centrelsd.org/papers. accessed august, 20, 2019. ikyase, t.j. and egberi, a.e. (2015). political violence and democratic stability in nigeria: reflecting on the past and chatting the way forward. review of public administration and management, vol. 4, no. 1 kanu, i.a. and obiefuna b.a.c (2019). religion and voters behaviour in nigeria. in l. e. ijezie, s. audu and a. i. acha (eds.). the christian, elections and faithful citizenship in a pluralist society. cathan publications, port harcourt, nigeria. laakso liisa (2007) “insights into electoral violence in africa” in basedau, matthias, erdmann, gero and mehler, andreas, votes, money and violence: political parties and elections in sub-sahara africa. south africa: university of kwazulu-natal. ladan-baki, s.i. (2016). electoral violence and 2015 general elections in nigeria. global journal of human-social science research. vol.16. mehler andreas (2007) “political parties and violence in africa: systematic reflectionsagainst empirical background” in basedau, matthias, erdmann, gero and mehler, andreas,votes, money and violence: political parties and elections in subsahara africa. southafrica: university of kwazulu-natal. nwachukwu, o & uzodi, n (2012) „„the 2011 post-election in nigeria‟‟, in onuoha, b (2017) functions of political parties, in obi, e.a and onwubiko, o (eds) political parties and pressure groups. onitsha: book point ltd. nwankwo, c (1990). authority in government. markurdi: almond publishers. nwolise, o (2007) electoral violence and nigeria‟s 2007 elections. journal of african elections. volume 6. onwudufor, f and ughaerumba, v.m (2017) history of west africa; ad 1000-1970 vol. 2 nigeria. awka: petrobas nigeria limited. http://www.centrelsd.org/papers igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 208 ojo, o.m. (2014). „„electoral security and democratic consolidation in nigeria‟‟. in ikuejube, g and olupayimo, d.z. (eds) nigeria’s internal security challenges: strategies for sustainable development. ibadan: john archers publishers limited. ojo, e. (2008). vote buying in nigeria. in money and politics in nigeria. abuja: petra digital press. pp.109-122. osaghae, e.e. (2015). crippled giant—nigeria since independence. ibadan: john archers publishers limited. orji, r.n (1997). an introduction to political science. enugu: marydan publishers sahara reporters (april 16, 2007) http://saharareporters.com/2007/04/16/violenece-anambrastate-inec-announces-two-results-andy-uba suberu, r. (2007). “nigeria‟s muddled elections.” journal of democracy, 18(4): 95-110. sokoto, a (2011). secretary general g23 organisation: a rejoinder on re-buhari and his stolen mandate. daily trust may 2, 2011. shamsudeen k (2006) political and electoral violence in nigeria: mapping, evolution and patterns (june 2006 may 2014) ifranigeria working papers series, no. 49. http://saharareporters.com/user/siteadmin http://saharareporters.com/2007/04/16/violenece-anambra-state-inec-announces-two-results-andy-uba http://saharareporters.com/2007/04/16/violenece-anambra-state-inec-announces-two-results-andy-uba igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 127 racism and dogmatic political affiliations: a biblical response joshua j. zoaka, dmin & ikechi chidi ekpendu, phd department of religious studies babcock university ilisan remo ogun state, nigeria. ekpendui@babcock.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.14770.12482 abstract racism seems to stem from a misunderstanding of who god is, where we all emanated and a low grasp of where we all are going to; which is heaven, hence there is no special race made for its inhabitance. the prevalence of racism and dogmatic political affiliations that has been since then and now necessitated a biblical response to its effect. the idea that one race is superior to another is heretical, unbiblical and unchristian. it is also a mindset that yields to subjugation, supremacy, dehumanization and brutality. thus, distorting the doctrine of creation which reveals humankinds’ origin without any race being neither superior nor inferior. racism was traced to four main historical events namely (1) the development of slave trade; (2) the industrial revolution and its contribution to the reputation of europeans and americans; (3) the discovery of america and establishment of trade routes to india; and (4) darwin’s doctrine of evolution with the major idea of the survival of the fittest; which revealed that racism arose as an ideological rationalization for the accumulations of economic and political power which were expressed in slave trade and colonialism. the study used the qualitative method of research. i argued that racism will linger unless there is a realization of that god created all men equal. the study therefore surmises that racism, or for that matter prejudice of any kind, is totally inappropriate for god’s children or humankind. it recommends that the religious leaders, founders and believers of any religion in the world whether christianity, islam and all others should be in the frontline of dismantling and disabusing racism from the minds of people instead. keywords: racism, dogmatism, biblical, political, humanity, religion introduction anywhere different people converge, and anyplace western civilization has gotten, racism abounds in inexplicable complexity.41 racism, in its simplest 41 manning nash, “race and ideology of race,” current anthropology 3, 1962 285288; see also william j. wilson, power, racism and privilege (new york: free press, 1973; igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 128 connotation is an attitude, behavior or ideology that is based on the belief that one race is superior to all others.42 and so, so long as racists remain either on earth or in power, racism will keep prevailing. thus, this paper intends to explore the concept of racism and its dogmatic and political affiliations and present a biblical response to what has now become somewhat a religion43 for some people, and are dogmatized under the mask of political affiliations and economic and cultural factors. allan boesak explaining further posits thus: racism is an ideology of racial domination that incorporates beliefs in particular race’s cultural and/or inherent biological inferiority. it uses such beliefs to justify and prescribe unequal treatment of that group. in other words, racism is not merely attitudinal, it is structural. it is not merely a vague feeling of racial superiority; it is a system of domination, with structures of domination –social, political and economic. to put it in another way, racism excludes groups on the basis of race, but exclusion for the purpose of subjugating or maintaining subjugation.44 joseph arthur makes it clearer that the common strand in all expressions of racism –whether apartheid, tribalism, or white and black racism,45 et al, is the idea that one group, distinguished by certain easily noticed features, is innately superior to certain others. on the other hand, it holds that since some human beings are not true persons, where necessary, the inferior race may be dehumanized, oppressed or even killed. whereas the roots of racial prejudice can be traceable to several factors46 the foundational supposition upon which donald l. noel, ed., the origins of american slavery and racism (columbus, oh: merrill, 1972). a sociologist defined racism as both an attitude and an act of superiority that justifies its very existence by giving biological differences a negative meaning of inferiority. this negative meaning in turn legitimizes treating the other person as inferior to oneself. 42ibid. 43 george d. kelsey, “racism and the christian understanding of man”, (new york: scribners, 1965); see also richard j. gehman, african traditional religion in biblical perspective (kijabe, kenya: kisho publications, 1998) 38. 44 allan boesak, he made us all, but . . .” in john w. degruchy and charles villavicencio, eds., apartheid is a heresy (grand rapids, mi: eerdmans, 1983), 3. 45 joseph arthur, comte de gobineau (1816-1882) argued that the white race is superior, see also bruno leone, ed., racism: opposing viewpoints, 207-210, and adolf hitler, mein kampf (new york: reynal & hitchcok, 1939). 46 for a discussion of the six major factors that shape a person’s racial outlook – historical, sociocultural, situational, psychodynamic, phenomenological, earned reputation; see gordon w. allports, the nature of prejudice, 4th printing (reading, ma: addiso – igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 129 the different expression of racism is built is the pseudo-scientific dogma of biological determinism. this doctrine holds that natural law biologically transmitted physical features, (such as: the color of the skin, hair, eye or other physical features) do not simply influence, rather define the basic humanness and status of an individual in a society.47 such a belief may seem harmless; however, when it is joined as basis for a social dogma, the ensuing effects will be devastating powered in the flames of nationalism and tribalism. although, racism is just one of many prejudices, some others are: (1) educational snobbery, i.e. ignoring supposed junior scholars,48 or those regarded as not full of knowledge from a considered race or tribe; (2) social-economic arrogance; (3) self-righteous-religious legalism and (4) dogmatic political affiliations. this perhaps, quickens one to trace its history; hence god is not a god of racism. let us trace the history briefly and see the intrigues. a brief history of racism the proposition that some races are intrinsically or innately superior and inferior is objectively phenomenal, dating back some three-hundred years.49 t.b matson traced the rise or development of modern racism and as well color prejudices to four main historical events:50 (1) the development of slave trade51 (2) the industrial revolution and its contribution to the huge affluence and reputation of europeans and americans52 (3) the discovery of wesley publishing co., 1996) 206-218; cf. robert merton, discrimination and national welfare (new york: harper, 1949). 47 r. c lewontin, “foreword” in richard m. lerner. final solutions: biology, prejudice, and genocide, (pennsylvania, pa: pennsylvania state university press, 1992). 48 recent article on the “conversation”, snobbery in the academy is alive and well and doing harm, accessed 16/06/2020, https://theconversation.com/snobbery-in-the-academyis-alive-and-well-and-doing-harm-32037... 49 cornel west, prophetic fragments (grand rapids, mi: eerdmans, 1988), 100. as denoted by skp, the very first category of race was first employed as a means of classifying human bodies by francois bernier, a french physician in 1684. the first authoritative racial division of humankind is found in the influential natural system. 50 t.b maston, the bible and race (nashville, tn: broadman press, 1955), 124. 51 albert j. raboteau, slave religion: the “invisible institution” in the antebellum south (new york: oxford university press, 1978), 96. 52 samuel k., related that barzun, xix, argued that “since 1850, when industrialization broke traditional bonds and detached man from his native soil without affording him new loyalties, the idea of race has been put forward as a principle of political and emotional union.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 130 america and the establishment of trade routes to india and (4) darwin’s doctrine of evolution, with the focal idea of the survival of the fittest, which was welcomed by europeans standard who undoubtedly concluded they were the survival of the fittest.53 herbert spencer coined the phrase “survival of the fittest” in presenting to the evolution of cultures, and so charles darwin adopted the terminology which he used in describing the result of the process of natural selection.54 spencer argued that since certain inhabitants or population are naturally unfit; they therefore represent a biologically or innately inferior group of individuals. this view in all it connotes however has also advanced spurious credence to racism. although, this historical reference is used mostly, it has still remained the traceable link to modern race and color prejudices. thus, modern race arose as an ideological justification for the accumulations of economic and political power which were expressed in slave trade and colonialism. therefore, the arguments as spencer and darwin posits, following the brief history could reveal the fact that racism mindset stem from its acceptance by the acclaimed superior race. which is why today it affiliates and as well links up with dogma and politics among societies? racism and dogmatic political affiliations apparently, racism is a religion that is established on naturalistic55 world view and has the superior race as the focus of its future. ruth benedict identified the three cardinal dogmas of the racist faith and postulates that racism: is the dogma that one ethnic group is condemned by nature to hereditary inferiority and another group is destined to 53 alan burns, color prejudice, (london: george allen and unwin ltd., 1948), 23 (cited by samuel k, must we be silent, 310, and by t.b maston, the bible and race, 64). 54 e. tobach, j. gianutsos, et.al., the four horsemen: racism, sexism, militarism, and social darwinism, (new york: behavioral publications, 1974) 99, 101. 55 james w. sire, the universe next door, (downers grove, il: intervarsity 1988), 82. according to ronald nash, the naturalistic world view offers “the major competition” to the christian world view (ronald h. nash, worldviews in conflict [grand rapids, mi: zondervan, 1992], 116). for a discussion on how worldview shapes a person’s lifestyle, see samuel koranteng-pipim, “contemporary culture and christian lifestyle: a clash of worldviews,” journal of the adventist theological society 4 (spring 1993), 129-150. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 131 hereditary superiority? it is the dogma that hope of civilization depends upon eliminating some races and keeping others pure. it is the dogma that one race has carried progress throughout human history and can alone ensure future progress.56 in other words, racists or as a whole racism connotes that for one to understand what is really going on in a certain societal context, one must be part of the so called superior race. and it is evident today on different democratic strata across the globe. from the annals of history till now, pointers of remarkable showings of racism abounds; ranging from (1) the experiment of ethnic cleansing in bosnia in which tens of thousands of people were “collected”, “concentrated and “eliminated” by their neighbors because of the belief that some people cannot dwell together with the superior race; (2) the monumental experience of the holocaust by the german nazi regime between 1933 -1945. where the jews were regarded as an inferior race, and also an alien threat to german racial purity and community by the antisemitic nazi leader adolf hitler.57 thus, after years of nazi rule in germany, during which jews were constantly persecuted, hitler’s “final solution”–now known as the holocaust58–came to fruition under the cover of world war ii,59 with mass killing centers constructed in the concentration camps of occupied poland. approximately six million jews and some five million others, targeted for racial, political, ideological and behavioral reasons, died in the holocaust. (3) the tribal genocide in rwanda in which, in just three months, over one million people were massacred by their neighbors because they were deemed a threat to the superior race; (4) the apartheid law enactment in 1948 of south africa institutionalizing racial discrimination, which is still prevalence today; touching every aspect of social life, including a prohibition of marriage between non-whites and 56 ruth benedict, race: racism and politics, (new york: viking press, 1959), 98. 57 history.com editors, the holocaust, accessed 20/06/20, https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/the-holocaust... last updated by the editors april 20, 2020. 58 ibid 59 history.com editors, world war ii, accessed 20/06/2020, https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/world-war-ii-history... last updated by the editors october 1, 2019. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 132 whites, and the sanctioning of “white-only” jobs;60 (5) the practice, prevalent in some countries, of domination and exploitation of defenseless children, women, and the economically disadvantaged, hence these acts will perhaps enhance the quality life of the so-called superior race; and to (6) the countless cases of brutality, war, executions, killings, hate talks, et al, that are currently going on in several places because, racists believe that such act of violence will make the world safer and better for the acclaimed superior race.61 thus, the faith or beliefs and practices that racism generates whether through political and dogmatic mix up or religion distorts the epistemology of the biblical proclamations that all men are of one blood. which today some humanities in different places tries to theologize, philosophize, dogmatize and as well politicalize which will not only become devastating to those being hit by its effect but also fan the embers of animosity and aggressiveness which will linger, unless we come back to that one understanding that one “god created all men to live in different places of the earth”. that is why this study attempts to provide a biblical response to racism. it will be treated in the next section. racism and dogmatic political affiliations: a biblical response profoundly, racism seem to remain in the heart of men created by one god, and so each time, they exhibit it in one way or the other; thereby proving racism to be a universal expression by fallen mankind within his society. in other words, showing mankind ego, supporting itself on the backs of others. it has even crept gradually into the religions and across the christendom. this biblical response is replete in both the old and new testaments and it will serve as a principle, reminder and exhortation to 60 the history of apartheid in south africa, accessed 16/06/2020, http://www-csstudents.stanford.edu/~cale/cs201/apartheid.hist.html... furthermore, with the enactment of apartheid laws in 1948, racial discrimination was institutionalized. in 1951, the bantu authorities act established a basis for ethnic government in african reserves known as “homelands”. these homelands were independent states to which each african was assigned by the government according to the record of origin (which was frequently inaccurate). all political rights, including voting held by an african were restricted to the designated homelands. 61 samuel koranteng-pipim, “racism and racially separate conferences” must we be silent? issues dividing our church, (ann arbor, michigan: berean books, 2001), 311. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 133 dismantle racism in any way it permeates today and quickens us to live as one with the mindset that humankind came from one source –god. racism perhaps, is a modern phenomenon; however, nationalism or tribalism is a more ancient expression. biblically, nationalism began at babel (gen 11) which was originally related to noah’s three sons from which the so called races developed (gen 10). doug gay validates the fact that nationalism sprang up from the clan of noah at babel62 which perhaps is a basis for nationalism. all the same, it is gleaning and obvious from the scripture that humanity is from one source, hence paul had affirmed that “god made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on all the face of the earth” (cf. gens 1-3, acts 17:24-26). the entire creation has its root on one god, meaning that biological unity should rather be affirmed, for all men are of one blood.63 old testament in the ot, especially from genesis, humanity traces its origin and image from god, hence the account of creation. mankind, male and female, were made in the image and likeness of god, which makes them unique (gen 1:27). it also shows their individual worth and dignity (cf. john 3:16). records of the phrase according to its own kind are replete as used approximately ten times in the creation account (gen 1:11-25). however, instead of viewing this phrase in its intended connotations according to god, it has rather been used to support racial segregation. in its latent meaning, god was rather bringing to view the beauty in variety or even diversity among the creatures (animals and plants) which can only be appreciated when they are so. thus, it is obvious from the context that this refers to animals and plants and not to humanity. the ideology of supremacy and dominance has yielded to prejudged negative attitude and unjust acts leading to domination and dehumanization of one group by another.64 perhaps, genesis 9:18-27 which is known for noah’s drunkenness and the apparent statements of curses and blessings upon his sons has been misinterpreted today. today, this 62 doug gay, honey from the lion: christianity and the ethics of nationalism, (london: scm press, 2013), 34. 63 talbert o. shaw, “racism and adventist theology”, spectrum 3:4 (autumn 1971) 33. 64 manning nash, 285-288. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 134 verse is used to support racial domination. it must be remembered and as well noted that god did not curse canaan. noah, his father cursed him after awakening from a drunken stupor. and so, the bible never recorded that god confirmed this curse. even if he did, this does not affect the black race. hence, canaan was the father of those who inhabited palestine65 and the egyptian wall art66 shows that they were not blacks. more so, another connotation of racism is supremacy which will have a swift connection to subjugation and deny the people of the other race their essential humanness67 thereby heightening the intentions of a race serving another race. in the bible, joshua 9:23 has been tagged by some as a bearing and juxtaposition of this idea to mean that one race will serve another. however, in context, the gibeonites are of the same racial stock as the jews. equally, following the apartheid law enactment in south africa in 1948 which included the prohibition of marriages between non-white and white races, as we noted earlier in this work, ezra 9-10 and nehemiah 13 respectively have often been used in a racial sense because of the condemnation of the marriages between other races. conversely, the context shows that the marriages were condemned, not because of race (they were from the same son of noah, genesis 10), but for religious reasons; hence the foreign wives came with their gods leading the people to apostasy. if there was not such act, in a logical-normal sense, one could say 65 remennick, larissa; prashizky, anna (2012). “african hebrew israelites of jerusalem” “russian israelis and religion: what has changed after twenty years in israel?” israel studies review. 27, accessed 16/06/2020, (1): 55– 77. doi10.3167/isr.2012.270104 issn2159-0370 jstor41804786 66 mark, joshua j. “a brief history of egyptian art.” ancient history encyclopedia, accessed 17/06/2020, https://www.ancient.eu/article/1077/ last modified by the author may 30, 2020. 67 roger daniels and henry h. l kitano, american racism: exploration of the nature of prejudice, (englewood cliffs, nj: prentice hall inc., 1970), 9-28. they argued that a racism society tends to go through four stages, each stage distinguishable by identifiable characteristics. in stage 1, a member of minority group finds himself avoided, stereotyped and victimized by prejudice; in stage 2 and 3, he is deprived through discriminatory laws and insulated through segregation; finally in stage 4, the superior race adopts some extraordinary measures (isolation, genocide, et al). historically this last stage has translated as apartheid, expulsion, exile, lynching, and concentration camps. of these four stages, daniel and kitano maintained that states two and three (discrimination/deprivation and segregation/insulation stages) are the most damaging steps in race relations, since they provide the necessary condition form stage four. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 135 that there would not have been any condemnation of the marriages. meanwhile, there is no true justifiable evidence to make racism a concept to harbor by humankind. this is not only true of the ot but also of the nt. new testament in the nt, it is replete starting from the gospels; jesus made use of hatred between the jews and samaritans on several instances, which shows that racial hatred is inappropriate. for instance, the parable of the good samaritan (luke 10:25-37) which those perhaps, religious people, the priests and others saw laying on the road but because of their ancient deep animosity,68 they could not render help to him. however, in a bid to convey that racial hatred is overly inappropriate by jesus he gave that parable. another example is the “woman at the well (john 4:4) and the “thankful leper” (luke 17:7-19). these two individuals were counted off; however, it is intriguing how the “woman at the well” who was a co-samaritan with the “thankful leper” was channels of evangelism to others and an avenue to invalidate the racial barriers the jews were putting on them coupled with their shared animosity. jesus met them personally just as he met those that had no such case as they in other cities. the gospel is for all humanity undiluted, the gospel is for all humanity; its evidence is on the universal inclusive words of john 3:16 which connote that “god so loved the world”. the world here, is not white or black world, superior or inferior in nature, but all humankind which was why he also died for all and not for some (cf. luke 24:46-47). this is against the racist ideology that some races are not fit to be in the midst of some as the concept of biological determinism of racism posits. biological determinism connotes that those genetic transmitted features define basic humanness and status of an individual in a society69 thereby envisaging their type of societal relations. if this ideology is valid, there would be no reason for the generous inclusion of the “people of the earth, every nation and kindred and tongue and people in which the gospel must 68 johannes heil, deep enmity" and/or "close ties"? jews and christians before 1096: sources, hermeneutics, and writing history in 1996, jewish studies quarterly vol. 9, no. 3 (2002), 259-306. 69 r. c lewontin, 1992. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 136 be preached to (rev 14:6). if the gospel is for all humanity, then the kingdom as well is for all. the kingdom will include all humanity progressively, the study revealed that the issue of racism is not only a misunderstanding of whom god is and where we all came from or emanated, but also a low grasp of where we “all” are supposedly going; which is the kingdom of god. in luke 13:29, when jesus gave the parable of “the narrow gate” having given a sharp contrast on how alluring the “wide gate” will be, made known that there are no certain people or race made for the inhabitation of heaven. he said …and they shall come from the east, and west and from the north and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of god70…by implication, every created being on earth whether black or white, samaritan or jew, et al, will sit down in the kingdom of god hence one believes in the only begotten son –jesus and do his will (john 3:16, cf. john 14:15). also, the book of acts, especially acts 10 is a definitive passage on god’s universality of love and gospel message. similarly, peter was attacked for his actions in acts 11 (eating with the gentiles, which god commanded him through a trance, showing that there is no racial attachment to humankind as it regards which race is better than the other) and this problem was not resolved until the jerusalem council of acts 15 met and came to a solution. the tension between the first century jews and the gentiles was very intense. it has to do with ancient animosity, coupled with the legalistic idea that they must be circumcised and act according to the mosaic law before they may be incorporated71 hence they are being regarded as unclean race; following the jew-gentile tension. although, the jews in diaspora acted among the gentiles as agents in commerce and business.72 paul, a refined theologian, charged to preach to the gentiles (acts 9:1-22) made it clear that there is no barriers in christ. he said to the galatians and other gentile christians and humankind (gal 3:26-28, cf. eph. 2:11-22, col 70 luke 13:29, njv. …”and they shall come from the east, and west and from the north and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of god” 71 carus, paul. “jew and gentile in early christianity.” the monist, vol. 11, no. 2, 1901, 267–276. jstor, accessed 17/06/2020, www.jstor.org/stable/27899222... 72 carus, paul. “jew and gentile in early christianity.” the monist, vol. 11, no. 2. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 137 3:11) “for ye are all the children of god by faith in christ jesus”73 (kjv); bringing the biblical truth that “there is no jew or gentile in the sight of god” hence we are all one in christ. unitedly, paul and peter revealed that “god is no respecter of persons”, hence everyone is equal before him (rom 2:11, eph. 6:9 cf. 1 pet. 1:17), which is against one, but overall doctrine of racism that one ethnic group is condemned by nature to hereditary inferiority and another group is destined to hereditary superiority.74 and so, because god does not show partiality but parity, then neither should his creatures or people (james 2:1). ultimately, humanity might have been blinded with dogmas, politics, racism, economic controls, et al, and could not see the rationale of god against racism; one of which is 1 john 4:20 if a man say, i love god, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loved not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love god whom he has not seen? (kjv) this is the strongest statements on the responsibility of believers. however, some may argue that the “brother” is one who hails from your race, then the next question would be how about sister? does it mean that the mention of brother there, excludes sister? as many arguments will evolve, it will be interesting to balance it with the mindset of the statement of god “let us make man in our own image” (gen 1:26) thus connoting humankind, both female and male, in all places that is made in his image. as that may abound, brother according to that verse and context connotes in greek avdelfo,j75 (adelphos) which only do not depict your fellow believer but all men and in extension all people. therefore, it is the responsibility of humankind and believers to humanize and not dehumanize humanity in/of any society. the way forward consequently, christians have responsibilities76 to carry out in order to fan the embers of love and oneness against the heretical concept of racism. 73 gal 3:26-28, “for ye are all the children of god by faith in christ jesus. for as many of you as have been baptized into christ have put on christ. there is neither jew nor greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in christ jesus” (kjv). 74 ruth benedict, 98. 75 metzger, textual commentary on the greek nt, tischendorf, nt apparatus, accessed 17/06/2020, www.bibleworks.com... 76 what can i do? this section is taken from a christian life commission tract entitled: race relations. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 138 on the personal level: each person should accept responsibility in solving the problems associated with race. thus, through prayer, bible study, and fellowship with those of other races, strives to rid your live of racial prejudice. hence, you will express your convictions about race, particularly where those who stir up race hatred are unchallenged. in family life: christians should recognize the importance of family influence in the development of attitudes toward other races. should seek to develop christian attitudes by taking over what children and parents hear about the race issue outside the home. more so, parents should be careful to set a christian example in relating to people of other races. and seek opportunities to make family friendships across racial lines. in church level: by the preaching and teaching of biblical truth relating to race, the congregation can be motivated to set an example for the entire community. also, be sure that the worship, fellowship and service through the church are open to all, even as the nt churches observed no racial barriers (eph. 2:11-22, gal. 3:26-29). in daily life: help to overcome all racial discrimination in the world of work. it will need you to work through the community organizations of all kinds to secure equal rights and opportunities, remembering that it is the race problem which should be attacked, not people. thus, the aim is to promote understanding, not to create bitterness. also, if it seems wise, organize a special committee of concerned citizens for the purpose of opening lines of communication in the community for education of the general public and for specific actions in improving races relations. furthermore, support legislation and legislators in the passing of laws promoting racial justice and oppose those who exploit prejudice for political gain. similarly, commend law enforcement officials for enforcing the laws without discrimination. in the same vein, shun violence, and promote respect for law, doing everything possible as a christian citizen to make sure that legal structures do not become tools in the hands of those who would promote discrimination. and finally, exemplify the spirit and mind of christ in all relationship. conclusion / recommendations in conclusion, the study therefore surmises that racism, or for that matter prejudice of any kind, is totally inappropriate for god’s children. henlee barnette quoted that “racism is heretical because it is unbiblical and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 139 unchristian, not to mention unscientific.”77 in other words, the doctrines and ideology of dominance, supremacy, power and one race been superior to all others of racism are all against the biblical truth and doctrine of creation that “all were created from one source” thereby making all people neither superior nor inferior. thus, the problem of racism is a misunderstanding of who god is, where we all came from or emanated and a low grasp of where we all are going to –which is the kingdom of god; hence there is no special race made for its inhabitance except humankind. this problem therefore, gives christians the opportunity to show their christ like love, forgiveness and understanding to a lost world instead of adopting the doctrine of racism. christian’s refusal in this area shows immaturity and is an opportunity for the evil one to retard the believers’ faith, assurance, and growth. it will also act as a barrier to lost people coming to christ. therefore, the study recommends that the religious leaders, founders and believers of any religion in the world whether christianity, islam and all others should be in the frontline of dismantling and disabusing racism from the minds of people, hence the people in any society belongs to one religion or the other; thereby instilling in their ideologies “the one source and equality of humankind” as evident in the scriptures. which they will in turn carry out as they walk and work in the world. also, more frequent studies should be done by scholars who are interested in solving societal, or racial issues; accompanying the regular verbal agitations in order to proffer and emphasize the missing links that necessitates racism and its solution, thus, 77 a quote from henlee barnette, who spoke at a forum at glorieta, new mexico for christian life commission in 1964. racism is heretical because it is unbiblical and unchristian, not to mention unscientific. meaning that christians should not even take part in such a heretical act, else they become apostates. the doctrines and ideology of dominance, supremacy and power of racism are all against the profound truth and doctrine of creation that “all were created from one source” thereby making all people neither superior nor inferior. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 140 it will become gleaning to some humankind who perhaps harbor racism and color prejudices. bibliography benedict, ruth. race: racism and politics. new york: viking press, 1959. boesak, allan. he made us all, but . . .” grand rapids, mi: eerdmans, 1983. bruno leone, ed. racism: opposing viewpoints. new york: reynal & hitchcok, 1939. burns, alan. color prejudice. london: george allen and unwin ltd., 1948. cornel, west. prophetic fragments. grand rapids, mi: eerdmans, 1988. daniels roger and kitano henry h. l. american racism: exploration of the nature of prejudice. englewood cliffs, nj: prentice hall inc., 1970. degruchy john w. and charles villa-vicencio, eds. apartheid is a heresy. grand rapids, mi: eerdmans, 1983. doug, gay. honey from the lion: christianity and the ethics of nationalism. london: scm press, 2013. gehman, richard j. african traditional religion in biblical perspective. kijabe, kenya: kisho publications, 1998. gordon w. allports. the nature of prejudice, 4th printing reading. ma: addiso –wesley publishing co., 1996. gregory, of nyssa. “gregory of nysaa: dogmatic treatises,” etc. the great catechism. second series, vol. 5 of nicene and post-nicene fathers. ed. philip schaff and henry wace. oak harbor: logos research systems, 1997. heil, johannes. “deep enmity” and/or “close ties”? jews and christians before 1096: sources, hermeneutics, and writing history in 1996, jewish studies quarterly vol. 9, no. 3, 2002. henlee barnette. quote at a forum at glorieta, “racism is heretical because it is unbiblical and unchristian, not to mention unscientific. new mexico for christian life commission in 1964. history.com editors, the holocaust, accessed 20/06/20, https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/the-holocaust... last updated by the editors april 20, 2020. ____________ world war ii, accessed 20/06/2020, https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/world-war-ii-history... last updated by the editors october 1, 2019. hitler adolf. mein kampf. new york: reynal & hitchcok, 1939. joseph arthur, comte de gobineau (1816-1882). kelsey, george d. “racism and the christian understanding of man.” new york: scribners, 1965. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 141 koranteng-pipim, samuel. “racism and racially separate conferences” must we be silent? issues dividing our church. ann arbor, michigan: berean books, 2001. _______________. “contemporary culture and christian lifestyle: a clash of worldviews,” journal of the adventist theological society 4: spring 1993. larissa, remennick, and anna prashizky. “african hebrew israelites of jerusalem” “russian israelis and religion: what has changed after twenty years in israel?” israel studies review. 27 (2012), accessed 16/06/2020, (1): 55–77. doi10.3167/isr.2012.270104 issn21590370 jstor41804786. lewontin, r. c, “foreword” in richard m. lerner. final solutions: biology, prejudice, and genocide. pennsylvania, pa: pennsylvania state university press, 1992. mark, joshua j. “a brief history of egyptian art.” ancient history encyclopedia, accessed 17/06/2020, https://www.ancient.eu/article/1077/ last modified by the author may 30, 2020. maston, t.b. the bible and race. nashville, tn: broadman press, 1955. metzger, textual commentary on the greek nt, tischendorf, nt apparatus, accessed 17/06/2020, www.bibleworks.com... nash, manning. “race and ideology of race.” current anthropology 3, 1962. nash, ronald h. worldviews in conflict. grand rapids, mi: zondervan, 1992. noel, donald l, ed. the origins of american slavery and racism. columbus, oh: merrill, 1972. paul, carus. “jew and gentile in early christianity.” the monist, vol. 11, no. 2, 1901, 267–276. jstor, accessed 17/06/2020, www.jstor.org/stable/27899222... robert merton. discrimination and national welfare. new york: harper, 1949. raboteau, albert j. slave religion: the “invisible institution” in the antebellum south. new york: oxford university press, 1978. shaw, talbert o. “racism and adventist theology”, spectrum 3:4. autumn 1971. sire, james w. the universe next door. downers grove, il: intervarsity 1988. the history of apartheid in south africa, accessed 16/06/2020, http://www-csstudents.stanford.edu/~cale/cs201/apartheid.hist.html... tobach, e., gianutsos j., et.al. the four horsemen: racism, sexism, militarism, and social darwinism. new york: behavioral publications, 1974. wilson, william j. power, racism and privilege. new york: free press, 1973. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 114 africa‟s self definition in a pluralist world sylvester idemudia odia, ph.d. department of philosophy, university of benin, benin city slyodia2002@yahoo.com; sylvester.odia@uniben.edu doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.12241.35684 & cyril-mary pius olatunji, ph.d. department of philosophy, adekunle ajasin university, akungba-akoko cyrilbukkyp@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.12241.35684 abstract the looming trend of cultural assertion in our world is both indisputable and indestructible. the phenomenon therefore cannot be taken with levity or ignored. arguably, it is an offshoot of the epistemological crises that attend the modernist tradition and consequently of its post-modernist offspring. this growing trend necessitates a need for africa to assert her cultural difference from which it can project selfidentity. since africans are part of humanity, they share many things in common with people from other socio-cultural settings. however an authentic african cultural identity will be based on that which is in some ways peculiar to africans in their cultural practices. while avoiding misguided relativism as well as the fixed stereotypical conception of culture, which, paradoxically, breed not only polarism, but also negative pluralism, parochialism, ethnocentrism and primitivism, this paper espouses positive plurality as a means of ensuring genuine and original contribution of africa to the aesthetic goal of globalisation. the underlying assumption of this paper is that, in africa and for africa, a genuine cultural identity will reinforce positive national growth and development based on the fundamental principle of plurality which ultimately enhances the dignity of the human person. keywords: african cultural identity, cultural integration, cultural pluralism, cultural relativism, epistemological crises introduction the emerging trend of cultural assertion in our world is momentously unavoidable and glaringly so. this looming colossus must therefore be given the seriousness it deserves. arguably, it is an offshoot of the epistemological crises that attend the modernist tradition and consequently of its post-modernist mailto:slyodia2002@yahoo.com mailto:sylvester.odia@uniben.edu mailto:cyrilbukkyp@yahoo.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 115 offspring, which currently has given birth to pluralism in all aspects of life. this growing trend necessitates a need for africa to assert her cultural difference from which it can project selfidentity. since africans are part of humanity, they share many things in common with people from other socio-cultural settings. however an authentic african cultural identity will be based on that which is in some ways peculiar to africans in their cultural practices. while avoiding relativism as well as fixed and stereotypical conception of culture, which, paradoxically, breeds not only polarism, but also negative pluralism, parochialism, ethnocentrism and primitivism, this paper advocates a unique form of ‗glocalisation‘. the underlying assumption of this paper is that, in africa and for africa, a genuine rootedness in cultural identity will reinforce positive national growth and development based on the fundamental principle of plurality which ultimately enhances the dignity of the human person. cultures and peoples are becoming more conscious of their differences by the day. even the individual person is getting fixated to seeing differences. to stress these differences some have agitated for cultural relativism, while others who oppose cultural relativism have argued for some sort of objectivity as a method of maintaining standards even though there is no consensus as to which culture should be used as a paradigm to assess all other cultures. the search for an appropriate theoretical position has itself encouraged the current agitation for pluralism which this paper advocates and which is also the very point of departure in this discourse. from this stand point, using the method of critical analysis, the paper examines the consequence of pluralism on africa as a society on the one hand and proposes an african self-definition as a better way of africa maintaining its identity in the midst of the looming unavoidable cultural pluralism on the other hand. relativism and cultural pluralism cultural relativism is an offshoot of epistemic relativism, which arguably has been championed by v. w. o. quine. according to quine, ―the physical objects and the gods differ only in degree and not in kind. both sorts of entities enter our conceptions only as cultural posits.‖1 by arguing this way quine intends to say that the distinctions traditionally made between the synthetic and the analytic and between the mythical and the empirical are misleading and unnecessary because they are all products of various experiences. although it is difficult to 1w. v. o. quine "two dogmas of empiricism", the philosophical review 60: 1951, 20–43. reprinted in from a logical point of view, (harvard: harvard university press, 1953). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 116 give a one final interpretation of quine because even though he tends to referring to experience as diverse phenomena, it is also obvious that the diversity presupposes some general agreement or even universality on what is meant by experience in the first place. hence, quine further argues that the implied diversity does not in any way hinder intercultural communication. this difficulty in reference to understanding quine notwithstanding, he lays the foundation for a lively debate on relativism.2 this relativist trend has also been advocated by thomas kuhn who contends that change takes place revolutionary when mutually exclusive paradigms compete to substitute or displace one another in a somewhat political manner. 3 by implication, there is no one ideal or best paradigm. rather, there are numerous competing paradigms in a competition in which the emergence or ascendance of one among the competing paradigms do not in any way indicate that the emergent one is better than those defeated. each of the paradigms are as good or bad as the other only that one is luckier or more politically fierce than other relegated ones. wittgenstein also argues that ideas cannot be understood apart from the contexts that produces them. in wittgenstein‘s opinion philosophical problems are complications resulting from philosophers' attempts to interpret words independent of the context, usage, and grammar that produce them, which he describes as "language gone on holiday." 4 from the epistemological debate on knowledge relativity springs the corresponding question of cultural relativity and consequently of the belief in cultural relativity called cultural relativism. relativism is the view that our knowledge, ethical and aesthetic views and values ―are dependent on the social or conceptual systems that underpin them.‖ 5 put differently, relativism is the position that knowledge or standards are functions of the evaluating standard. it argues that all evaluations are value laden. relativists reject absolutes6 in favour of ―relational facts about what is allowed or forbidden by particular epistemic system.‖7 they also reject universalism, objectivism, and monism. in addition, cultural relativism rejects the use of any given culture as a paradigm to judge any 2 w. v. o. quine, ibid. 3t. s. kuhn, the structure of scientific revolutions, (chicago: university of chicago press, 1970). 4l. wittgenstein, philosophical investigations, g.e.m. anscombe (trans.), (oxford: blackwell, 1958). 5m. baghramian, relativism, (london & new york: routledge, 2004), p. 1. 6b. rosen, ethical theory: strategies and concepts, (california: mayfield publishing company, 1993), p. 159. 7p. boghossian, ―epistemic relativism defended‖, in alvin i. goldman and dennis whitcomb (eds.), social epistemology: essential readings, (new york: oxford university press, 2011), p. 44. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 117 other culture. perhaps b. hallen and j.o sodipo8 would appreciably count as some of the most recent advocates of cultural relativism. however johnson j. puthenpurackal articulates the ideals of cultural relativism uniquely thus: according to relativism the idea of absolute or universal truth is a myth. the customs of different societies are all that exist. these customs cannot be said to be right or wrong because there is no independent standard to judge them. every standard is culture-bound. 9 furthermore, maria baghramian sees cultural relativism as an aspect of social relativism that argues that ―there can be no such thing as a culturally neutral criterion for adjudicating between conflicting claims arising from different cultural contexts.‖10 recently too, paul boghossian, applying richard rorty‘s arguments adapted from philosophy and the mirror of nature (1979),11 defended epistemic relativism. according to boghossian, wittgenstein‘s comparison in on certainty (608-612) of those who believe in physics with those who believe in oracles, and evans-pritchard‘s studies of the azande people who explain reality by consulting oracles, show that: the most that any epistemic practice will be able to say, when confronted by a fundamentally different, genuine alternative, self-supporting epistemic practice, is that it is correct by its own lights, whereas the alternative isn‘t. but that cannot yield a justification of the one practice over the other, without begging the question.12 however, relativism fails, says baghramian, in its response to ―irreconcilable diversity and contingency‖ and its ―inability to compare and evaluate what lies outside our immediate cultural and conceptual surroundings‖ thus leading to parochialism and ethnocentrism.13 in spite of the arguments against relativism in general, it speaks in favour of tolerance, open-mindedness, and liberation ―from 8h. sodipo and b. hallen, knowledge, belief and witchcraft, (london: ethnographica ltd. 1986), pp.1539. 9 j. j. puthenpurackal (ed.), ―introduction‖, in pluralism of pluralism: a pluralistic probe into philosophizing, acpi philosophy series, 7, (bangalore, india: asian trading corporation, 2006), p. 105. 10m. baghramian, op. cit., p. 6. 11r. rorty, philosophy and the mirror of nature, (new jersey: princeton university press, 1979), pp. 328-331. 12p. boghossian, op. cit., p. 51. 13m. baghramian, op. cit., p. 232 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 118 the shackles of the dominant paradigm.‖14 this value of relativism, amongst others, is captured by pluralism. we currently live in the postmodern world where ‗uniformity‘ has become a myth.15 relativists, in the postmodern spirit consider absolute or universal truth a myth.16 pluralism agrees with relativism in rejecting monistic versions of reality. but disagrees with relativism in allowing limits to the scope of diversity, and distinguishes ―between better and worse, or more and less fruitful or productive, conceptual systems.‖17 pluralism also believes that ―there are culture-transcendent constraints on what is an acceptable belief -or value system‖18 which allows for ―comparisons between different conceptual frameworks and perspectives‖19, and ―acknowledge the possibility of giving preference to one framework over others, without embracing ethnocentrism or parochialism.‖20 cultural differences are felt more today than ever before. the mass media has made it possible for peoples of different cultures to know that ―there are people who ‗think‘ and ‗act‘ differently.‖21 nevertheless, pluralism provides contextindependent ground for resolving conflicts between incommensurable and incompatible values. this context-independent ground is essentially a respect for human life found in all cultures and among all societies. coupled with the respect for human life (which includes promoting life as much as possible) is the prohibition of murder and lying. though exceptions and disagreement to these values exist in some cultures and societies; ―this disagreement exists against a background of agreement on the larger issues.‖22 while admitting varieties and incompatible paradigms, pluralism aims at an existential dialogue among them.23 the existential dialogue is built on the 14ibid., p.10 15j. j. puthenpurackal, op. cit., p. 7. 16j. venattumattam, ―pluralism and relativism‖, in johnson j. puthenpurackal (ed.), pluralism of pluralism: a pluralistic probe into philosophizing, acpi philosophy series, 7, (bangalore: asian trading corporation, 2006), p.105. 17m. baghramian, op. cit., p. 233. 18idem. 19ibid., p. 244 20idem. 21j. j. puthenpurackal, op. cit., p. 7. 22j. venattumattam, op. cit., p. 118. 23j. j. puthenpurackal, op. cit. p. 20. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 119 principle that no single culture or people totally embody the whole of human experiences. we have equal approaches and different perspectives on reality with none superior or prior to the other.24 equal approaches and different perspectives imply that each human person, as a cultural person, comes into the world of pluralities rooted in his or her own cultural identity. as pure as one‘s own cultural identity may be, there is need for integration and enrichment through complementing one‘s own culture with other cultures for no culture is self-sufficient or complete in itself.25 integration does not mean interpreting one‘s own culture with the paradigm of another culture or to copy the values of another culture and paste it in one‘s own. it also does not mean proliferating foreign cultural practices in one‘s own culture. ―it means rather to be touched, to be coloured, to be influenced, to be inspired by the other without losing one‘s identity.‖ 26 in other words, to integrate demands that one reads, from within one‘s own rootedness in one‘s cultural, another culture that one wants to be complemented with following derrida‘s philosophy of deconstruction. here there is no monopoly of meaning, and no centre for, in union with ngugi wa thiong‘o, the centre is moved to plurality of centres. 27 having read from one‘s own cultural centre, one now implement in one‘s own culture what has been read. by so doing one achieves a form of unity with the human race that expresses itself in diversity.28 another principle of pluralism is that all thoughts and cultural patterns belong to humanity as a whole. so, no group of persons or cultures can lay claim in a monopolistic way to them. 29 thus, according to s. o. arifalo, all cultural or philosophical units have a universal character insofar as they belong to the being of humanity, although they are born and rooted in 24ibid., pp. 24-25. 25ibid., p. 27. 26ibid., p. 28. 27n. wa thiong‘o (1993), ―moving the centre: towards a pluralism of culture‖, in p. h. coetzee and a. p. j. roux (eds.), the african philosophy reader, 2nd ed., (london: routledge, 2003). 28j. venattumattam, op. cit., p. 119. 29j. j. puthenpurackal, ―pluralism: a philosophical clarification of the notion‖, op. cit., p. 32. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 120 a specific somewhere. this gives an added reason for each unit to be integrated with every other – the identity with the alterity.30 to properly integrate as africans demands a proper rootedness in african culture. let us now take a look at the african cultural identity. global plurality, african cultural identity and cultural integration to begin with, we are aware that africa as a continent contains many and diverse cultures and peoples, such that we can hardly talk of africa as a people, a culture or a political or social system. what is peculiar to a given culture in africa may be different from another culture. arriving at a definite and clear analysis of what african cultural identity is, is itself a complete intellectual discourse. it is an enormous job that gives the impression of impossibility to come up with an identity that will not leave out any culture in africa. hence this paper does not pretend to have identified a factor that perfectly represents the whole of africa or to have found another conglomerate in which the whole of africa could be represented. in fact, much of collective and collaborative actions did not emerge in africa until the rise of the need to combat the colonialists. an example was the delegate of educated lagosians and representatives of oba and chiefs from the interior of yoruba land to london in 1913 to protest a land ownership law.31 the event according to arifalo, marked the first time a collective action would be organized that would comprise of the entire yoruba.32 consequently, reference to africa only indicates certain qualities that could be found in some of the numerous african societies and cultures and sufficient to be representative of africa. in a manner similar to the situation of africa, the concept ‗global‘ refers to the entire human society which is equally made up of tremendously numerous cultures and sub-cultures. however, for so long, the western culture has been erroneously taken or accepted as the global culture. several things including the dominance of some western languages as well as modern technology that takes its root from the west certainly have contributed to the ascendance of the western culture as the global culture. there is no point rehearsing all the contributing factors here. like the case of africa where tanzania has not become ―the african culture‖ in spite of the dominance of kiswahili. this explains 30s. o. arifalo, the egbe omo oduduwa: a study in ethnic and cultural nationalism, (akure: stebak books and publishers, 2001), p. 5. 31ibid., p. 33. 32ibid., p. 33. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 121 perhaps, why ngugi wa thiong‘o is right advocating that ‗the centre‘ be moved from europe toward many centres – africa, asia, and south america. he did not agitate for moving the centre away from europe to another one, let alone to africa. he opposes generalizing and universalizing any culture as the global culture.‖33 he consequently supports shifting the centre from europe to a multiplicity of centres, a pluralism of centres.34 still around the question of cultural identity as cocodia puts it: “the world-wide surge in the number and violence of open conflicts revolving around ethnic …a powerful reminder that communal identities are…potent forces in contemporary politics.‖35 the foregoing arguments notwithstanding, we are conversant with the debate between the traditionalists and the modernist over african cultural identity. in post-colonial africa, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to live completely uninfluenced by other cultures, especially western culture. integrating with other cultures in line with the view of the modernist will go against the principles of proper rootedness in the african culture from which integration with other cultures should take place. oladipo proposes a third way that logically transcends the tradition-modernist divide. according to olusegun oladipo: to honour the past without being imprisoned by it; that we can develop an awareness of our cultural and intellectual traditions while, at the same time, we recognize their limitations; that, indeed, we can work within a tradition, and at the same time, move beyond it, that we can explore developments in other philosophies without endangering the evolution of our own philosophical tradition.36 the ‗third way‘ proposed by oladipo supports pluralism and situates the integration of other cultures and philosophies within the framework of an evolving african philosophical tradition. oladipo, in collaboration with wiredu, propose some aspects of african culture as examples of african cultural identity. these include dance, dressing, music, recreation, style of courtship, and a few 33n. wa thiong‘o, op. cit., p. 53. 34ibid., p. 55. 35j. cocodia, exhuming trends in ethnic conflict and cooperation in africa: some selected states‟, african journal on conflict resolution, vol. 8, no. 3, 2008, pp. 9-26. 36o. oladipo, the third way in african philosophy: essays in honour of kwasi wiredu, (ibadan: hope publications, 2002), p. 13. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 122 others.37 to the list may be added african way of naming human persons and veneration of ancestors. while an unmitigated implementation of the oladipo-wiredu‘s ―third way‖ may not completely address all issues surrounding cultural identity in africa it at least points stake holders in the appropriate direction in the search for solution. although as writing in philosophy, there should be more of analysis and diagnosis than prescriptions of therapy, any prescription should be given at least some further explanatory analyses. following the suggestions and principles of the ―third way‖ it would imply by practical application on factors such as names, food and music that there would be some mental reorientation. for instance, traditionally in africa, names (human or people‘s names) tell the historical experiences of the family of the bearer as well as their future aspirations. it is difficult however for a foreign language to completely and satisfactorily capture a personal experience of an african. at the same time, it is difficult to be under the illusion, at least since the colonial contact, to believe that the foreign languages of the colonialists bears no conceptual relevance on the personal experiences of africans to whom colonialism itself is a formidable personal and collective experience. by implication, it is very important that africans bear african names. if as a result of religious contamination or exposure to other cultures an african also has non-african names, it is more tolerable compared to when an african has no african name. african names are meaningful and speak volumes of african cultural beliefs and practices. while it would be over ambitious and a somewhat puritan project to imagine that some or all of african cultures or communities could remain un-touched by other non-african cultures in this age of globalization, by the same token, it would be unrealistic to imagine that africans can completely avoid taking foreign names as it would be unhelpful to propose that all africans should take only foreign names. hence, the ―third way‖ is not only most logical, but also a natural course and choice for the emerging generations. one unique thing about food crops is that they select the environment in which they can grow and produce. unfortunately, p. gheddo had earlier argued, perhaps ignorantly or following the testimonies of some who were ignorant of what africans do, to conclude that ―africans before they were brought out of 37o. oladipo, ―the issue of african self-definition in the contemporary world‖, in core issues in african philosophy, olusegun oladipo (ed.), (ibadan: hope publications, 2006), p. 65. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 123 their isolation, did not look for progress, but for balancing, maintenance of the status quo...‖38 and in contrast to the western man, the africans feared, contemplated, respected, divinized and submitted to nature, rather than violate and transform it.39 gheddo‘s assertion is perhaps as a result of ignorance because though it is undeniable that africans respect nature, it would be too ambitious on his part to assume that he knows why africans do what they do. for instance, yoruba people have a common saying that eponle l‟abubutan aye, iyi eledumare nikan ni kii tan. this translates manageably as: there is nothing inexhaustible on earth, only the creator‘s honour does not end. for instance, there are some food crops common to the african environment and are traditionally symbolic to africans. yam, for example, is very symbolic to some tribes in nigeria, and they celebrate yam festivals to this effect and in gheddo‘s language, these africans divinise yam. what he does not know is that perhaps, africans may simply have realised the limitedness of all material resources and therefore carefully designed their own way of ensuring some continuity amidst unstoppable but controllable changes. after all it is also undeniable that eating food crops grown in one‘s environment ensures healthier living and that nature itself in the final analysis is far more therapeutic than any modern technology. consequently, reliance on africa grown foods and crops and understanding their significance helps in promoting and sustaining african cultural practices. clothing, dressing, fashion and even tribal marks on the faces are also expressions of cultural identity. of particular interest is dance and music because of its prominence in contemporary society. dance is also a form of cultural identity. different cultures different, though similar, dances. dancing and music go together reflecting one form of culture or the other. no particular music or dance is superior to another. it is all a matter of preference. it is therefore erroneous in religious circles to believe that some music and dance (a product of a particular culture) is heavenly or of god while some others are not. african music and dance is beautiful, inferior to none and a gift from god. they express the rich, deep and entertaining aspects of african art and culture. in a world of cultural pluralities, especially in africa (which has its own culture as well as the culture of those who colonized it), an in-depth study of african cultural values and philosophy is paramount. this will help secure a solid base upon which cultural integration can take place. most of the courses taught in our 38p. gheddo, why is the third world poor? k. sullivan (trans.), (maryknoll: orbis books, 1973), pp. 43-44. 39ibid, p.44. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 124 tertiary institutions are tailored after the growth and development of other cultures (especially the science and technology of western culture). for instance, not much, if anything, is done in terms of teaching and research in african medicine. in the social and management sciences, the values of foreign cultures are being taught and recommended. the solutions proffered to problems in these foreign cultures are domesticated as solutions to african problems. these are examples of the ‗cut and paste‘ approach of integration we already rejected in this work. an adequate cultural identity for africa upon which integration can take place will accept solutions to african problems that has been adapted to suit the social and traditional values of africa. philosophy is not left out of the process of integrating cultural identity in africa. the teaching of african philosophy in african universities seems superficial, one of paying a mere lip service compared to the teaching of european philosophy. most departments have a full curriculum on the history of western philosophy. not much is being done in a similar vein to develop african philosophy. yet, as it has been rightly observed by j. obi oguejiofor, ―with such paltry exposure to african philosophy students are ironically expected to make a summersault and become sudden experts in african philosophy at the graduate studies.‖40 this further explains why african graduates of philosophy thrive more in the philosophy of other cultures than that of their own african culture. this situation needs to be rectified for a proper integration of african philosophy with other philosophies and consequently, of african culture(s) with other cultures. conclusion african cultural identity in a world of pluralities calls first and foremost for a proper understanding of pluralism which is beyond mere acceptance and tolerance of the ‗other‘ while refusing to integrate positive values from other cultures. since we are all human persons, and no one culture is auto-sufficient in human experiences, there is need for integration to help cultures grow and develop along respect for human life and promoting human wellbeing, while at the same time maintain their uniqueness and differences. there is beauty in variety of cultures just as we find in colours, music and nature in general. a proper understanding of pluralism demands that we reject relativism since it breeds parochialism and ethnocentrism. it also demands that the african, like 40j. o. oguejiofor, ―in praise of african philosophy‖, inaugural lecture series, no. 14, (awka: nnamdi azikiwe university, 2010), p. 22. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 125 any other person of other continents, be ‗rooted‘ in his or her own cultural beliefs and practices. it is from being ‗rooted‘ in african cultural beliefs and practices that the african can properly engage in a meaningful integration – an integration that maintains the unique african cultural identity while at the same time embraces the positive values of other cultures. by so doing one‘s humanity is enriched and broadened as one enjoys the unity in diversity that pluralities in nature already demonstrate to us. igwebuike: a key principle in african liberation theology igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 135 igwebuike: a key principle in african liberation theology nnoruga james department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe university, awka nnorugajames@gmail.com executive summary the ripples caused by the invasion and partition of african nations by the europeans many years ago have caused and are still causing havoc to african countries. it has led africans into bad leadership, migration and human trafficking. the economy of african nations is in constant meltdown . with crisis and political instability, africa remains undeveloped marginally, when compared to other continents of the world. there have been many advocates of african liberation, each with its own strategy towards the liberation of african nations. we are going to use igwebuike principles to navigate towards the liberation of african nations. the reflective and theological approach is employed in this research. keywords: igwebuike, african liberation theology, kanu ikechukwu anthony, philosophy, principle introduction there are many factors constituting the past and present ugly situation of things found in africa today. these crises or factors that shaped the situation of african people the way it is today came from internal and external spheres. hence, we have a lot of challenges that need to be tackled for the development and stability of the african countries. unfortunately, these crises in africa touch or spread all through the cultural, religious, political and social aspects of the african people. nnoruga james igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 136 this accounts for non-development or slow pace of development in almost all the sectors of their lives in different countries of africa. it is believed that most of the african countries have gotten their independence, yet they are ruled indirectly by the different strong countries of the world that colonized them initially. this makes africans to be marginalized in most parts of the world, because they are seen as slaves, undeveloped, and uncultured. even the colour of their skin (black) segregates them from the white people and makes them third class citizens; hence, today, africa is regarded as a continent of third world countries. in the religious sphere, africans, their god and their worship are regarded as nothing, and they were regarded as incapable of conceiving and worshipping the real almighty god as the rest of the world. hence, african traditional religion was called all sorts of names by europeans and arm-chair researchers. talbot (1926), mbiti (1969), quarcoopome (1987) and kanu (2015) all affirmed that names like idolatry, fetishism, animism, paganism, primitive were given to african traditional religion, because they fail to understand the culture and language of african people. achebe (1958) confirms the above: does the white man understand our custom about land, asked okonkwo, “how can he when he does not even speak our tongue”, responded obierika, and then he continued, but he says our customs are bad, and our own brothers who have taken up his religion also say that our customs are bad. (p. 124) this confirms the level of degradation africans were subjected to, even in terms of religion. this level of degradation or subjugation meted out to them is seen through other aspects of their lives. sequel to the above , many african scholars, including sociologists and theologians, have offered many ways to alleviate the oppressive or ugly state of african situation. many have advocated many options through which africa can be developed and sustained, just like other strong continents of the world. igwebuike: a key principle in african liberation theology igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 137 igwebuike, as a concept or key, will be used as a tool to seek ways to alleviate the condition of the african people. the cry by the advocates of african liberation theology cannot be complete without the igwebuike principles. this will help in developing african countries when the principles of igwebuike are fully applied. african continent will find real independence, not pseudo independence, as we are having it today. igwebuike, as concept or principle, is advocated for by an african scholar, professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, just like other advocates of african liberation theology. in this write up, we are going to use the principles of igwebuike to advance further the development, stability and independence of african nations. african situation: an overview there are fifty four countries in africa today, according to the united nations, with other territories which are dependent on stronger countries of the world or being colonized by other countries of the world, territories like reunion, which is dependent on or being colonized by france; mayotte, being colonized by france; saint helena, which depended on the united kingdom and western sahara, which is still under dispute. but wikipedia ( 2020) listed fifty six sovereign states ( fifty four of which are member-states of the united nations), two non-sovereign (dependent) territories of non-african sovereign states, and nine sub-national regions of non-african sovereign states. the african continent is being surrounded by water from all directions, with clearly defined borders. in the north, it is separated from europe by the mediterranean sea; in the north-east, it is separated from asia by the suez canal and farther by the red sea. from the east and southeast, it is surrounded by the indian ocean, and from the west by the atlantic ocean. the work of liberating african nations, which is a continent of immense diversity, according to oborji (2005), is not only on the level of geographical areas, but also includes cultural, sociological, political, religious and economic levels. though africa is a diversified whole, its unity can be seen in their tenets of african world view, life principles and unity of spirit. according to kanu (2015), its unity can nnoruga james igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 138 be seen in their belief in worship of supreme being, just like other people, but with a profound sense of sacredness and mystery. hence, for africans, it is difficult to separate their day-to-day activities of life from their personal inclination to the divine. no wonder, mbiti (1969) argued that: wherever the african is, there is his religion. he carries it to the fields where he is sowing seeds or harvesting new crop, he takes it with him to the beer parlour or to attend a funeral ceremony, and if he is educated, he takes religion with him to the examination room at school or in the university, if he is a politician, he takes it to the house of parliament. (p. 2) paris (1995) also echoed that “the ubiquity of religious consciousness among african people constitutes their single most important common characteristics” (p. 27). comparing african continent in terms of development from all sectors of life with other continents of the world, one will feel a great shock, because it is being ravaged internally and externally by many factors. they stretch from social crisis, political crisis, economic crisis, religious crisis, racism, human trafficking which is new form of slavery, and so on. these crises can be traced to have originated from when the african continent was divided by the strong powers, without the consent of africans. according to mbefo (1996): it was in berlin that the master plan and implicit agreement about european intentions in africa were decided and given active assistance. the result of the conference was that the on-going “scramble for africa” was organized systematically, according to agreed principles. while it is wrong to claim, as some have done, that africa was carved out by european powers at this conference, it is right to affirm that it was there the european powers agreed on maintaining colonies in africa. european powers agreed not to interfere but to igwebuike: a key principle in african liberation theology igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 139 respect the “areas of influence” acquired by any given power. it is remarkable that no african was invited to a conference that decided the fate of africa. (pp. 28-29) with the invasion by the super powers into africa, africa was subjugated, dominated, and the development of africa was stalled. there are many instances to show that africans were developed people before even the europeans came in contact with them. they have their own institutions with their own idea of government. but sadly, africa has been exploited and dominated over the years by stronger powers. rodney (2009) showed that using comparative standards, africa today is underdeveloped in relation to western europe and a few other parts of the world, and that the present position has been arrived at, not by separate evolution of africa, on the one hand, and europe, on the other, but by exploitation. in terms of social situation, africa has continued to deteriorate. this is evidenced by the pressure of urbanization and rural emigration. the decay in educational sector and health infrastructure, growing malnutrition and poverty, the worsening plight of refugees and displaced persons, and wide spread unemployment are signs of decay in african society. recently the ravage of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (aids) killed many african people. ebola disease was contained, but many africans died. as of today, the corona virus pandemic (covid-19) is ravaging the world. though it is not much in africa, but it is known that african countries lack the health facilities, quite unlike the other countries of the world, to stop its spread. economically, the african situation, according to drimmelen (cited by igboamalu, 2003), can be summarized thus: africa as a whole includes 33 of world’s 50 poorest countries. the combined gross national product (gnp) of the entire continent south of the sahara is less than that of the netherlands; the sub-saharan africa is the only region in the world likely to experience an nnoruga james igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 140 increase in absolute poverty over the next decade. (p. 48) african counrties are nowhere to be found in the global market economy. the globalization of economy today puts the african countries in the slow lane track. hence, they remain beggars among the continents of the world. the institutions that are developing economy are not developed, rather they are been looted out, and most african countries keep borrowing for consumption. world economic policies do not favour the african trade. this has contributed enormously to the impoverishment and underdevelopment of africa. africa is exploited by their colonizers who take most of their crude oil and agricultural products at a giveaway price only to sell them back to africa at a high price. oborji (2005) rightly observed that the present world economy manipulates prices of the raw materials from the african countries and, through the protectionist policies of the industrialized countries, blocks the inflow of manufactured goods from the developing countries. due to serious crises in african economies, african countries are variously referred to as underdeveloped, developing or less-developed countries. the above reality means that african economy is caged and in bondage, and this is expressed by adedeji (1984), that the african economy has meaning only to the extent it is allowed to be controlled by the former colonial masters. with this economic system, africa can never develop fully like other great countries of the world. politically, african countries have not found their feet, though they have gotten their independence. most of the african countries are still being ruled indirectly by strong powers that colonized them. according to igboamalu (2003), one of the major problems or crises of the african countries and other developing countries, with regard to the issue of global governance, is the tendency of the west and america or the colonizers to impose their socio-cultural and political standards and values, which they want, on the rest of the world. hence, africa is always suppressed politically, without these super powers remembering that we have our own ideas of government igwebuike: a key principle in african liberation theology igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 141 before their advent. this led to the enthronement of puppet leaders and presidents who would always obey the strong powers that put them put them in office. m. hence, achebe (1983) rightly observed that leadership remains the problem of african countries. this continues to make african countries to be political slaves to most nations in the world. this affirms oborji(2005) claim that “the newly independent african states were modeled politically and economically on the nations which had colonized them” (p. 34). again, dudley (1984) pointed out that the constitution handed over to the new nations was not founded on african cultural environment or atmosphere. by implication, the independence lacked the ingredients of its new nations; this accounts for political instability in most of the african nations. this political instability led to several military coups d’ etat in africa. this well-known military rule in africa helped in reducing africa to abject poverty. slavery and colonization were great blows to the african continent, judging from all aspects of african lives. this in particular perpetuated poverty in africa today. african countries gradually became poor with the conquest of african nations. african states were divided at the berlin conference, for self interest and exploitation. offiong (2001) asserted that: the conference produced the berlin act, an instrument to which the major european powers were signatories. it had as its aims those of fostering the development of trade and civilization… the moral and material wellbeing of the native populations. this was nonsensical because in all their undertakings, their interests came first and all was designed to enhance the exploitation of the people. (p. 9) it is well known that the conquest and occupation of the continent of africa by europeans spanned four centuries . during these centuries, africans were dominated, exploited. this led to the formulation of colonial policies and disorganization of the traditional pattern of societal organization in africa. this makes african countries to be nnoruga james igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 142 stooges to the stronger countries of the world. these situations above, in a nut shell, show the image of bondage in africa which has held the african people hostage for centuries. the african continent has been promised liberation (even by our colonizers), through many ways, out of their poverty, political instability and underdevelopment, yet things keep on becoming worse and backward when compared to this age of globalization. igwebuike as a principle of liberation with the critical situation of the african continent, which is being ravaged by constant wars because of forceful divisions or partition of african borders by the world powers, poverty now takes place in a continent known to be full of agricultural raw materials and crude oil. world powers rose to a greater height of industrial growth by impoverishing africa through slave trade and other exploitations. mbefo (1996) lamented that as of today, african nations are still undergoing new forms of slavery through our youths going back freely, and on their own, to europe, because of bad state of the economy and the political instability in africa. mbefo called it slavery in reverse gear. with the above situation, many scholars have advocated for many solutions to the african state of crisis. we apply the principles of igwebuike in seeking to control and redirect or restructure the african continent. according to kanu (2015), igwebuike is the modality of being, and being in igbo ontology is ‘idi’, that is ‘to be’. igwebuike is an igbo word which is a combination of three words. according to him: it can be understood as a word and as a sentence: as a word, it is written thus igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written thus, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space [and meaning]. (p. 67) he went further to explain the three words that make up the word igwebuike. igwe is a noun, which means number or population, igwebuike: a key principle in african liberation theology igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 143 usually a large number or population; bu is a verb which means ‘is’; ike is a noun, which means strength or power. when these words are put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power.’ this, in effect, means when a good number, group or society of human beings come together in solidarity, they are powerful. again, solidarity combines with complementarity, because everybody needs each other to make a complete whole; it constitutes a powerful group and an insurmountable force. at this level, kanu asserted that no task is beyond their collective capability. again, this analysis provides or proves an african ontology that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. mbiti (1960) also asserted that “man is at the very centre of existence, and african people see everything else in its relation to this central position of man… it is as if god exists for the sake of man” (p. 92). metuh (1991) affirmed that “everything else in african worldview seems to get its bearing and significance from the position, meaning and end of man” (p. 109). the above analysis shows that for man to achieve his aims or objectives in this world, he has to be in relational character with the other people around him. this will ensure a formidable force. the human person, following the african worldview, is understood in his relation with god and his fellow human beings. ideologically, kanu (2015) argued that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is to be with the other in a community of being. onwubiko (1991) expressed this sense of community rightly with lozi proverb which says: “go the way that many people go; if you go alone you will have reason to lament” (p. 13). anchoring or explaining igwebuike on the basis of the african world view, iroegbu (1994) described it as being characterized by a common origin, common worldview, common language, common historical experiences and common destiny. determining the role of community to the individual or human beings, mbiti (1969) asserted that “i am because we are and since we are, therefore i am” (p. 108). the sense of community here portrays family-hood or brotherhood, which means collaboration in existence. achebe (cited by kanu, 2015) in order to nnoruga james igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 144 bring out the essential nature of the igbo african communal relationship, related that: we do not ask for wealth because he that has health and children will also have wealth. we do not pray to have more money but to have more kinsmen. we are better than animals because we have kinsmen. an animal rubs its itching flank against a tree, a man asks his kinsmen to scratch him. (p. 68) the quotation above shows that life is shared in the african worldview which makes life meaningful. so it is in relationship or coming together that each completes a whole. thus, according to kanu (2015), every being has a missing part and is at the same time a missing part. ekwulu (cited by kanu, 2015) confirmed the above view by saying that “if the other is my part or a piece of me, it means that i need him for me to be complete, for me to be what i really am. the other completes rather than diminishes me” (p. 68). this rightly explains why igbo-african worldview would refer to the other as ‘ibe’, which means a piece of or a part of, as in ‘ibe ji’ (a piece of yam), or ‘ibe ede’ (a piece of cocoyam). kanu (2015) asserted that the igbo-african refers to the other person as ‘ibe,’ which means ‘my piece’, or ‘mmadu ibe m’ (my fellow human being). this concept is also employed in relation to relationships and reciprocity: love one another (hunu ibe unu n’anya), help one another (nyere nu ibe unu aka), respect one another (sopuru nu ibe unu) etc. from the above, we see that igwebuike portrays the african sense of commonality, solidarity, brotherhood, familyhood and complementality as the root of the african world view, thought and the ontological quality of real african, which is needed to liberate the african people from the state of anarchy seen in all aspects of their lives. igwebuike: a key principle in african liberation theology igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 145 igwebuike as a tool in african liberation theology the theology of liberation or liberation of africa has gone through many phases. and it arises out of the concern of african scholars or african theologians to address the people’s experience of exploitation, oppression and injustice that are going on through different means. in june 2020, there was a protest in all the states of america because of a black man killed by an officer of the law who is meant to protect life. though not african, the blacks protested against such oppression and injustice. african scholars continued to seek solutions to the current situation of exploitation, poverty, oppression and injustice in a continent which for a long time has suffered from subjugation, according to oborji (2005), in the forms of imperialism: slave trade, colonialism, multinational corporations, the activities of the national bourgeoisie, despotic regimes and racism. okolo (1994) asserted that the theology of liberation emerged as a response to experiences of negation, grinding poverty caused by greed, exploitation and oppression from world leaders and african leaders. though this critical reflection by okolo was in the light of the gospel, it was with the aim of inspiring in african people and their leaders the confidence to stop the horrors of oppression in africa and to build a more just and human african society. liberation has been a major theme or emergent theological thought in africa, in a bid to liberate africa from its current state of anarchy. oborji (2005) linked or related theology of liberation in africa with inculturation. according to him: the aim of inculturation is to facilitate an in-depth evangelization of a particular socio-cultural context or milieu. on the other hand, liberation theology seek, through the gospel, to address the oppressive elements in a traditional culture, and focus on political and economic situation of the particular cultural context so as to liberate people from the forces of sin and death, nnoruga james igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 146 reinforce their identity, and give a new orientation to their advancement. (p. 154) this implies that for any liberation to be real or authentic, it must be inculturated, in the sense that the social and cultural milieu of the particular people must be involved. this will make it easy and meaningful. it must not be transported or forced into people, so that their initial world view would be abandoned, rather it would start with their world view. this is exactly the aim of igwebuike as a tool of liberation in africa. igwebuike liberation constitutes majorly of using african world view, which is based on solidarity and complementarity, to seek freedom for african people in their state of anarchy that is still ongoing in this age of globalization. there have been many advocates of african liberation through their philosophical and theological critical reflections. many of the african scholars or advocates of african liberation hammered so much on the poverty of the african nations. many remarked that it is as if africans got political independence in order to enjoy poverty. ezeanya (1992) remarked that today in africa wherever anyone goes, he sees or notices poverty and suffering starring in the face of african people. surely, christ is suffering terribly among the african people. many african countries have gotten their independence yet under colonial yoke. going further, morrow (cited by oborji, 2005) described african poverty situation thus: africa-sub saharan africa, at least has begun to look like an immense illustration of chaos theory, although some hope is forming at the margins. much of the continent has turned into a battleground of contending dooms: aids and overpopulation, poverty, starvation, illiteracy, corruption, social breakdown, vanishing resources, overcrowded cities, drought, war, and the homelessness of war refugees. africa has become the basket case of the planet, the “third world of the third world”, a vast continent in free fall, a sort of precolonial breakdown. (p. 158) igwebuike: a key principle in african liberation theology igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 147 this is the reason why most advocates of african liberation (or african writers) conducted their critical reflection for a better sociopolitical cultural-cum-religious, and economic order in the nations of africa. at this time of the corona virus pandemic, world leaders in other continents of the world are projecting that it will later spread more in africa because health facilities are not in place, or are not found in most health centers in african countries. with their prediction, the world powers are evacuating their citizens from african countries back to their countries. one of the advocates, uzukwu (1996) traced the poverty of african nations to dependency status of african nations, seeing it as the major cause of poverty in the continent. this is because dependency is a system problem which is destroying the african nations from inside and makes the african countries to be beggar countries, and a beggar has no respect. hence, uzukwu advocated for an end to foreign aid to africa. in its stead, africa needs committed leadership at all levels of government who are not influenced by the world powers. igwebuike, as a tool for african liberation, hinges on the solidarity and complementarity of african people based on african world view, which is quite different from other principles of african liberation theology or black liberation theology. cone and wilmore (1979) described black theology or black liberation theology thus: black theology is that theology which arises out of the need to articulate the religious significance of black presence in a hostile white world. it is black people reflecting on black experience under the guidance of the holy spirit, attempting to redefine the relevance of the christian gospel for their lives…-black subjugation under white oppression. (p. 468) here, liberation from white oppression is based on the christian world view as a basis which is different from igwebuike as a tool for liberation, which is based on purely african world view. theology of black liberation was seen again, as we have noted before, with the protest of all blacks in america recently in june 2020, when a police nnoruga james igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 148 man killed a black man for no reason. again cone and wilmore (1979) described african liberation theology as a theology which is based on the biblical faith and speaks to the african soul: to speak of african theology involves formulating clearly a christian attitude to other religions. it must be pointed out that the emphasis is on christian theology, which could be expressed through african thinking and culture. (p. 473) mbiti (1979) also echoed the same when he described black theology as emerging from the pains of oppression of the negro’s experience in america in the social, economic, political, cultural and educational spheres of their lives, while african liberation theology grew out of joy in the experience of the christian faith preached to africans. all we are trying to establish above is that it is igwebuike as a tool that would touch fundamentally the african world view which needed liberation, than implanting another world view on the african soil, and then using it for liberation. the complementary role of igwebuike from its point of ideology will be used in solving the problems of african continent and advancing the quality of life in africa (kanu 2018). from the analysis done before, the ideology of complementarity in the african world view reaches to individual basis, ontological basis and social basis. the embracing of these entire bases will give a whole solution in which all the units when put together will give a formidable and dynamic force to achieve freedom and development. in africa today, what is needed is a formidable and dynamic force in pursuing a goal, like wiping away hunger or poverty in africa. when the efforts of our governments or leaders are combined as a unit whole with that of the masses, great achievements will be made in the economic and political lives of the africans. this automatically will ensure security and the employment of our youths. the communal life which is already in the african world view will help in great advancement of the african continent for which igwebuike, as a tool for liberation, is seriously advocating. this is also echoed by asiegbu (2010), in expressing the african world view as a igwebuike: a key principle in african liberation theology igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 149 fundamental constituent for an authentic dimension of thoroughgoing complementarism. the collective efforts seen in the igwebuike ideology relates again to the social dimension of action in any african society. here, the role of sharing life in a community makes life meaningful (kanu 2016). when conceived in terms of complementarity, a community life is full of relation and relationships. this brings in vividly teamwork which is against the choice of isolation. teamwork or team spirit is going on in the african continent to see how the corona virus pandemic can be contained, which is against the choice of the world powers, each are trying to work out something to be the first country to contain the pandemic. igwebuike again advocates complementary attitudinal change of all africans. africans from unit to the whole should liberate their psyche and undergo a total transformation that starts from the african world view than from other world views. this type of re-education ensures an authentic new understanding towards life as an independent being, not as a dependent being (kanu 2017). this again is in line with asouzu’s (2004) line of thought that the liberation of african nations constitutes a complementary attitudinal change of psyche which comprises their whole being, attitude and vision. the igwebuike ideology consists also of solidarity that, in the words of nnoruka (2009), means people coming together. in igbo expression: ayili n’igwe n’aga egwu a naghi atu (when people are marching together, there is no fear). people coming together stand for a reasonable number of people who have come together to achieve a common purpose, a common objective. no one loses his identity in a group. the solidarity of the african union (au) needs to be revamped. african solidarity is needed continually to fight insecurity and wars prevalent in african nations. with this solidarity, african countries will engage in more introverted economies which have some built-in protectionism and some trade barriers argued (offiong, 2001). nnoruga james igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 150 religiously, africa has, to some extent, achieved religion indigenous to africa, seen in the emergence of african independence churches (a. i. c.). according to ndiokwere (2019): as african saw it, it was not only the europeans who had the divine mandate to go and make disciples of all nations (mt. 28:19). discipleship was the universal vocation of every christian, but africans are not stopping at founding churches and religious movements… african prophets and self-acclaimed religious leaders found and run “churches” of their grass root tastes. (pp. 9-10) the above originated after the partition of africa by the colonial masters of europe, in which christian missionary organizations followed the flags of their respective nations to the shores of african nations. this supports the view that igwebuike as an ideology has a common origin, common shared culture, common historical experience and common destiny. today many african people are introducing new religious movements which bear features of the african traditional religion. this is possible because the common historical experience and cultures shared by africans necessitate this. this necessitates also the common trend today about the need for dialogue between the african traditional religion and christianity. from the dialogue so far, the question of how to merge the two religions (african traditional religion and christianity) become a problem. many theologians and african scholars have proposed inculturation, adaptation, hybridization, indigenization, translation and contextualization. muonwe (2014) argued that before the emergence of inculturation, a plethora of terms, as we see above, had been employed over the years in an attempt to fashion out the best model or approach to be adopted in relating the christian faith with the african traditional religion or culture. as a tool for liberation in africa, igwebuike is firmly grounded in the african sense of solidarity and complementarity and on the ontological quality of the african. igwebuike: a key principle in african liberation theology igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 151 conclusion the principle of igwebuike, when understood and properly applied towards the critical situation of africa, will go a long way in helping african nations to salvage themselves from all crises. its ideology is all embracing; hence, it is oriented towards the coming together of all people of africa. this will start from african leaders looking inwards than outside for the solution to the critical situation of the african continent. though there are internal and external factors constituting the deplorable state of african nations, it is true that many scholars have advocated for solutions igwebuike, as a key, ushers in a new ideology and combines with all other possible solutions for the liberation of african people. the igwebuike ideology comes from african world views; hence, it can trace and deal properly with the problems of africans themselves. references achebe, c. (1958). things fall apart. london: heinemann. achebe, c. (1983). the trouble with nigeria. enugu: fourth dimension publishers. adedeji a. (1948). the economic evolution of developing africa. in m. crowder (ed.). the cambridge history of africa. (pp.192-250) university press. asiegbu m. f. (2010). african renaissance, globalization and philosophy. in a. b. c. chiegboka and t. c udohezeajughi g. i. udechukwu (eds.). the humanities and globalization in the third millenium.( pp 77-92). nimo: rex charles & patrick. asouzu, i. i. (2004). the method and principles of complementary reflection in and beyond african philosophy. calabar. university of calabar press. cone j. h. and wilmore g. s. (1979). black theology and african theology: considerations for dialogue, critique and integration. in g.s. wilmore & j. h. cone (eds.). black theology. a documentary history. 1966-1979. (pp.463-476). new york orbis book. nnoruga james igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 152 dudley, b. j. (1984). decolonization and the problem of independence. in m. crowther (ed.). the cambridge of africa. (pp. 52-94). cambridge: university press. ezeanya, s. n. (1992). the poor in our midst. onitsha: tabansi press. igboamalu, u. b. (2003). globalization and the future of africa. enugu: san press. iroegbu, p. (1995). metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: international university press. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. igwebuike: a key principle in african liberation theology igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 153 kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. nnoruga james igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 154 kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. mbefo, l. n. (1996). coping with nigeria’s two-fold heritage. enugu: snap press mbiti (1969). african religions and philosophy. london: heinemann. mbiti, j. s. (1979). an african views american black theology. in g. s. wilmore & j. s. cone (eds.). black theology: a documentary history, 1966-1979 (pp.477482). new york orbis books. metuh, i. e. (1991). african religions in western /conceptual schemes. jos: imico. muonwe, m. (2014). dialetics of faith-culture integration inculturation or syncretism. bloomington: liberty drive. ndiokwere, n. i. (2019). christianity in turmoil: the african scenario. owerri: lui house of excellence ventures. nnoruka, s. i. (2009). solidarity: a principle of sociality. a phenomenologicalhermeneutic approach in the context of the philosophy of alfred schutz and an african culture. owerri: living flame resources. oborji, a. o. (2005) trend in africa theology since vatican ii; a missiological orientation. italy: leberit press. offiong, d. a. (2001). globalization: post-neodependency and poverty in africa. enugu: fourth dimension. okolo, b. c. (1994). african liberation theology: concept and necessity. in sedos bulletin. pp. 102-103 onwubiko, o. a. (1991). the christian mission and culture in africa. african thought, religion and culture. enugu: snapp press. paris, p. j. (1995). the spirituality of african peoples, the search for a common moral discourse. minneapolis. quarcoopome, t. n. o. (1987). west african traditional religion. ibadan: african university press. igwebuike: a key principle in african liberation theology igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 155 rodney, w. (2009). how europe underdeveloped africa. abuja: panaf publishing. talbot, p. a. (1926). the peoples of southern nigeria: o. u. p. uzukwu, e. e. (1991). a listening church: autonomy and communion in african churches. new york :orbis books. wikipedia ( 2008). sovereign states and dependent territories in africa. retrived july, 27, 2020. http://en.wikipedia. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 139 a review of ikechukwu anthony kanu‟s “igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education” achor, nnennia chibuzo foods and nutition unit examinations development department national examinations council minna, nigeris nnenniaachor@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.28703.51361 the most striking part of kanu‘s work is his prolific ability at relating the ―igwebuike‖ concept to varied scholarly perspectives. ―igwebuike‖ is an igbo word which means ―number is strength‖ or ―number is power‖ (kanu 2017). kanu is an ardent believer in the philosophy of complementarity which igwebuike denotes. it is an established fact that it‘s important for girls to have access and support to education because of their enormous contributions to family and national development. it is often said that to train a girl-child is to empower a nation. traditionally, the place and role of women in the nigerian society has been a huge barrier to the girl-child as against the boy-child. it has placed the girl-child at disadvantage thereby creating disparity between the two genders. the boychild is valued more and seen as the would be ―money earner‖ for the family in the future. consequently, to educate a girl-child is seen as a waste of resources as all she needs is preparations to be a suitable mate for the man in marriage. however, in this 21st century the value system have changed. boys and girls are seen as equally important and responsible for the development of the family units and the nation at large. in this discourse, kanu presents the situational analysis of the girl-child education in nigeria which does not stand at par with that of the boy-child. he establishes that girl-child education is a fundamental right and not a privilege which can be enhanced through the complementarity principle of ‗igwebuike‘. ―igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education‖ mirrors a sociological dimension to understanding and solving the disparity between the boy-child and the girl-child education in nigeria. according to mailto:nnenniaachor@gmail.com https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.28703.51361?_sg%5b0%5d=mrxx0w1c49be1vvaby9sn1visj8exrdfdkdhxkedoo6bhkgz_vsgm7zxtpsm1bbd9vacl03zftbv5sxb8mj0cpzzea.olygo13oqi-taoioogrxxp6paj18kpkjm5do-foocpgd9pr73wlghn7ywnzeww5tyzq54r6cady4ozqm5syfmg igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 140 berger, p. (2019), the basic insight of sociology is that human beings are shaped by the groups to which they belong and interact with. people tend to accept their social world unquestioningly, as something natural. however, he submitted that the sociological perspective enables us to see the society as a temporary social product, created by human beings and capable of being changed by them as well. kanu, from the sociological point of view opines that the factors militating against the girl-child education are society based and include: early marriage, early pregnancy, family preferences for the male child which make education of the girl-child secondary to that of the boys. others include religious inhibitions, gender stereotyping of school curriculum which continues to limit the aspirations and learning achievements of the girl (joel 2003 as cited in kanu 2019). it is also within the jurisprudence of society to make amends by reforming the value system in the positive for the girl-child even though kanu reported that there has been improvement in the efforts to narrow the gap between the inequality in the education and other experiences of the girl-child and the boy-child. there is a lot more to be done considering the fact that education is a fundamental right of the girl-child. he presents igwebuike complementarity philosophy as a plausible basis upon which the girlchild education can be fostered. according to kanu (2017), the ―igwebuike philosophy sees the other as part of me, and together, in our peculiarities, we make up the whole. and if together we make up the whole, it then means that the other is part of me and what affects the other affects me. to alienate the other is to alienate myself.‖ it therefore, follows that the girl-child is an integral and important part of the social system and so must not be delimited and disadvantaged in any form. this philosophy is contrary to the degrading traditional value or worth system on women which merely relegated them to the background. ―as a result the women in nigeria are shadows of the men‖ (kanu, 2017). applying the igwebuike principle of wholism and complementarity, kanu posits that the enforcement and realization of the right of the girl-child to education is a responsibility for government, the family unit, religious institutions, schools and every member of the society. for there is ―power in number‖. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 141 references kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and and logic (nka) of african philosophy‖. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2015a). a hermeutic approach to the study of african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015b). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no. 1.[ 97-101]. kanu, a.i. (2017). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no. 1. pg. 171 berger, p. (2019). the sociological perspective. retrieved july 17, 2019 from www.geneseo.edu kanu, a.i. (2017). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of the girl-child education. nightingale international journal of complementary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6 pg. 11-17. kanu, a.i. (2017). ―igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa.‖ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities 3(7); pg. 125. http://www.geneseo.edu/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 290 triple helix model: an integrated innovative strategic tool for achieving sustainable peace-building through business education programme for sustainable development moghalu, f. a; okanazu, o. o. & nwandu l. o. department of business education faculty of vocational and technical education university of nigeria, nsukka favour.moghalu@unn.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/ rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract conflict, if not properly handled at the formation stage, has the capacity of escalating to the complex level. the uncontrollable stage with its ripple effect can result to negative cultural, environmental, social, economic and political impact ripping off the society sustainable peace-building that would pave way for overall sustainable development. since it is now obvious that the government alone cannot proffer fruitful solution to conflict, hence, the introduction of a stronger synergy that is more result oriented even better than the usual linear method of public private partnership (ppp) becomes imperative. this study therefore explores the efficacy of an innovative tool; triple helix model that can harness all the relevant stakeholders in detecting, preventing, avoiding and managing conflict that would hamper business education programme’ effectiveness whose products (graduates) are expected to maximally contribute their competencies and proficiencies for sustainable development in nigeria and beyond. it was therefore recommended among others that; all the parties to the triple-helix model should be actively involved and to also extend the model by applying the more comprehensive quadruplex and quintuplet models for optimum result in business education programme for peace-building. keyword: conflict, peace-building, business education, strategies, triple-helix model, sustainable development. introduction recently, there has been an upsurge of diverse conflicts globally. these conflicts are witnessed in the form of ethnic, religious, political, individual, family and organizational crises among others. most times, these conflicts could emanate from the fact that personal interests tend to override collective interest in all mailto:favour.moghalu@unn.edu.ng igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 291 facets of endeavours. the escalation of these issues is tantamount to sustainable peacebuilding that would pave way for a sustainable development which we all yearn for. according to okebukola (2016), to promote sustainable development, there must be peace, not ordinary peace as defined by ‗the absence of ―war‘, but as an atmosphere of tolerance, harmonious co-existence and mutual development, where people are genuinely dedicated to co-habiting and working together with understanding, not oblivion of their differences – the concept of peace clearly identified in the swahili word: ubuntu. the ubuntu concept clearly specifies that in the absence of war, some social conditions should also be absent, such as: poverty, exclusion, intimidation, oppression of the poor and the vulnerable, police brutality, intimidation of ordinary people by those in power, oppression of women, favouritism in employment opportunities, monopolization of resources and power by some sections of the society among others. therefore, peace, apart from being crucial to human security, is also an essential condition for all development without which the social, economic and environmental triple bottom line of the global sustainable development goals will be hampered and unrealistic. one cannot talk about peace-building without first grasping the meaning of the concept that necessitates it, which is conflict. faleti (2016) revealed that conflict is a fluid and infinitely elastic concept which can be twisted into different shape and has become an issue over which scholars have not uniformly given a position. but david (2016) defined conflict as the pursuit of incompatible interests and goals by different groups. conflict comes in different forms. catholic relief services (2018) broadly categorized conflict into intra and inter conflicts. an intra-conflict consists of intra-personal conflict and intra-group conflict while inter-conflict is made up of inter-personal and inter-group conflicts. this categorization presupposes that conflict can generate from within an individual possibly due to some unmet needs, unachieved set goals, failed expectations among others. the effects of the unattainable goals could elude him peace of mind which can degenerate into transferred aggressions to his fellow individuals, down to group members and beyond. on this note, it is imperative to understand the various stages of conflicts for easy management. stages of conflict stage 1: gathering materials for the fire—at this stage there is no fire yet. it is equivalent to potential for conflict. stage 2: igniting the fire—at this stage the fire has been lit. it is equivalent to a trigger event that sets off confrontation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 292 stage 3: bonfire—at this stage the fire is burning with a lot of energy, consuming the woods that are fuelling it. this stage is equivalent to a conflict crisis. stage 4: coals—at this stage the fire is reducing, having burned out most of the woods, leaving some hot coals. this is equivalent to stage where conflict either continues to deescalate or, if there is another trigger and more fuel is added, then there is potential for further conflict. stage 5: fire out—at this stage, the fire is completely out and there are no flickers of fire in the coals. this is equivalent to a stage where focus is no longer placed on the fire, but on reconstruction and regeneration. it is important to understand in which stage the conflict you are addressing is because each stage presents opportunities for certain sets of peacebuilding interventions (neufeldt, fast, schreiter, starken, maclaren, cilliers, & lederach, 2002). in order to effectively prevent any form of conflict from being violent and destructive, there is need to make deliberate effort towards analyzing it so as to achieve a sustainable peacebuiding. conflict analysis is therefore a structured inquiry into the causes and potential trajectory of a conflict that seeks to identify opportunities for managing or resolving disputes (catholic relief services, 2017). key elements of conflict analysis when conducting a conflict analysis, africa peace forum, (2004) stressed that it is important to examine the profile, causes, actors and dynamics. these are the basic elements, broadly agreed in the conflict analysis field. profile: a brief characterisation of the context (political, economic, socio-cultural context including existing and emerging issues, affected areas and history). causes: structural and proximate / immediate causes as well as trigger events. actors: all those engaged in or being affected by the conflict (groups, institutions, individuals), including their interests, goals, capacities and relationships. dynamics: the resulting interactions between the conflict profile, the actors and causes including projected future scenarios. for crs, these key elements are represented by the profile, problem (causes), people (actors) and process (dynamics)—commonly known as the 4ps analytical framework. however, crs(2018) advocated for a participatory process—where data / information is gathered from carefully selected groups, including those directly involved and affected by the conflict. the general ambition of peace-building is ―to identify and support structures that will tend to strengthen and solidify peace in order to avoid a relapse into igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 293 conflict.‖ it connotes activities that go beyond crisis intervention, such as longerterm development, and building of governance structures and institutions (unitednaions for peace peacebuilding includes a wide range of efforts by diverse actors in government and civil society at the community, national, and international levels to address the immediate impacts and root causes of conflict before, during, and after violent conflict occurs.‖ (lisa, 2013). • peacebuilding is both a process and a goal, and it is a means and an end. • it seeks not just the end of direct violence, but also the building of a just and sustainable peace—the positive peace that most of the drawing depict (catholic relief service, 2018). hence, peace-building that promote collaboration, compromise and ownership of the process are preferred. these could include informal discussions, dialogue, negotiation and mediation. in achieving peace-building, conflict could be addressed using one method but oftentimes a mix of methods is employed to address a particular conflict. informal discussions happen within everyday situations. it is a form of very informal negotiations. negotiation is when the parties involved talk to each other to address a problem / conflict. it is an interactive process where there should be even power balance and parties want to reach a joint agreement. mediation is a form of facilitated negotiation process where parties invite a neutral third party, acceptable to all, to help them reach a joint agreement and is appropriate in situations of unequal power balance. arbitration is where an external third party (an arbitrator), someone with ―wisdom‖ or expertise, is asked to solve the problem and makes a ruling on behalf of the parties. adapted with modifications from african centre for the constructive resolution of disputes (accord), (2004) empirical studies have revealed that conflicts cannot be resolved only by the government especially by its popular method of imposing negative peace, by force. but to structurally deal with conflict, there is need for collaborative efforts of many stakeholders, hence the suitability of an integrated innovative strategic model known as triple helix. innovation is ….. strategy is a plan of actions designed to achieve a long term goal. it is a master plan or blue-print for the achievement of a set goal. in setting the goals, actions need to be determined and streamlined and necessary resources mobilized to for execution for effective result. kiechel (2010) perceived it as the human attempt to get to desirable ends with the available means. in the views of freedman (2015), strategy is a high level plan to achieve goals under conditions of uncertainty. it is a system of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 294 finding, formulating and developing a doctrine that will ensure long term success it followed effectively (rene, 2017). figure 1: triple helix model the triple helix model of innovation refers to a triadic relationship between university-industry-government in the knowledge society. this framework was initiated in the 1990s by etzkowitz (1993) and etzkowitz and leydesdorff (1995) with the introduction of ―the triple helix, university-industry-government relations: a laboratory for knowledge-based economic development‖. interactions between universities, industries and governments have given rise to new intermediary institutions, such as technology transfer offices and science parks. the triple helix also participated in the transformation of each institution (etzkowitz & leydesdorff, 1995; etzkowitz, 2008). the triple helix model sets the institutions in a pro-active stance in transfer of knowledge or putting knowledge to use, in creating new knowledge as well as initiating collaborative process. it operates according to an interactive rather than a linear model of innovation. as institutions raise their technological level, they engage students in higher levels of skill development and knowledge transfer. industries can act as venture capitalist by facilitating graduates‘ employability skills as well as assisting in funding research. while the government has traditional regulatory role by formulating policies and in setting the rules of the game as well as funding research (leydesdorff and etzkowitz, 1998). these interactions provide igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 295 students with new ideas, skills and entrepreneurial talent of wealth creation and self reliance. and these students turnout to become owners of tomorrow‘s industries contributing to sustainable economic growth and job creation in nigerian society. also these interactions enhance the capacity of the business education gradates to generate technologies that turn to become springboards to the formations of new industries thereby enhancing peace-building for sustainable development. the conceptualization of the triple helix model the former contract, based on the linear model of innovation that assumed that the contributions of academic research to the economy would be solely longterm, is said to be giving place to one in which longand short-term contributions are possible. a triple-helix-based mode of interaction emerges because ‗a spiral model of innovation is required to capture multiple reciprocal linkages at different stages of the capitalization of knowledge‘. the bottom line is that the triple helix model can be a driving force for innovation and economic development in a knowledge society, if the academia, business education play a proactive roles in the hybridization of elements from the academia, industry and government to generate new institutional and social structures for the production, transfer and application of knowledge. in this context, institutions has the mandate of conducting fundamental research that creates new knowledge to unravel fundamental principles with the focus of serving the needs of the students in terms of skill development of the society leading to sustainable economic development of the industry in terms of knowledge transfer and production output. and to shape the curricular to teach skills which produce workforce relevant to the needs of employers, and sustainable economic development in the society. business education as one of the programmes run in african higher institutions aligns to this pursuance of improved economy. business education is a broad and comprehensive discipline whose instructional program encompasses knowledge, skills, vacation and aptitude needed by all citizens in order to effectively manage their personal businesses and also function in the economic system (okoro 2013). in congruence with the above assertion, udo (2015) corroborated that business education is an encompassing activity-based educational programme that is concerned with the acquisition of practical skills, understanding, attitudes, work habit and competencies that are requisite to success in a chosen business occupation. through practical training, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 296 okolo (2014) maintained that business education graduates will be creative, innovative and business opportunity seekers that will transform opportunities and resources into useful goods and services. from the sustainable development perspective, ugwuogo (2013) revealed that business education programme supports its graduates in becoming active citizens and enables them to act responsibly and sustainably in their future work places. the author further buttressed that it enables its graduate to be more useful socially, economically, morally and politically to themselves in particular and to generally to their societies. similarly, gidado and akaeze (2014) remarked that the programme exposes its recipients to the economic system of the country and equips them with lifelong skills that would enable them to make reasonable judgement as producers, entrepreneurs, employers, employees and consumers of goods and services. all these lifelong preparation will in no small measure strengthen the efforts towards sustainable nation. sustainable development is therefore a state of having well balanced, steady and effective use of human, material and capital resources for total economic independent of a nation without compromising the future (umezulike and okoye, 2013). in the same vein, abubakar (2014) averred that sustainable development is a process of improving on the range of opportunities that will enable individuals and communities to achieve their aspirations and full potentials over a long period of time while maintaining the resilience of the economic, social and environmental system. kundan, in ugoh (2008) then posited that continued sustainability development is only feasible when concrete steps are taken to ensure that youths acquire skills that will enable them to be self-directed and thereby become the tools for achieving development and its sustainability. ajisafe, bolarinwa and edeh (2015) noted that since the primary goal of business education is to produce competent, skillful and dynamic business teachers, office administrators and business men and women that will effectively contribute to the national development; it can then be deduced that business education is an impetus for national development that will lead to a peaceful society. recognizing the place of innovativeness in achieving peace-building and a sustainable nation, ogakwu and isife (2013) expressed that sustainable development is a phenomenon associated with changes in human conditions through the use of their innovative and creative energies. these efforts are channeled an unending improvement of the capacity of individuals and society igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 297 to control and manipulate the forces of nature in order to live a better and more rewarding life. in his view, emeasoba (2017) suggested that university-industry should partner in areas such as curriculum development, improving practical training through siwes, knowledge transfer, financial support for institutions developmental projects, scholarships, career guidance initiatives among others to enhance graduate skills and ensure a smooth and effective transition between university and the business environments through collaborations. with that students especially, business education students will have opportunities to find placement in industries, update new skills, and meet market needs, increases research and training among others. this will promote employment opportunities. and when these graduates are gainfully employed or set up their own various businesses as entrepreneurs, they will experience both internal and external peace which will have a positive ripple effect for sustainable peace-building which will enhance sustainable development. conclusion when peace-building is not seen as participatory and transformative, but simply as a stop-gap measure left for the government alone to actualize, there is a strong tendency of it relapsing into conflict subsequently. this is in tandem with the united nations‘ evidences which revealed that about quarter of all peace agreements fail in the first five years they have been signed and nearly 50% fail within ten years. but if business education progamme, which produces societal responsible graduates, who have been rigorously equipped with up-to-date knowledge, attitudes, values, skills and competences, judiciously applies the triple-helix model, it will undoubtedly produce peaceful graduates. and these economically relevant graduate will not be part of the citizens indulging in antidevelopmental behaviours such as: vandalisation, stealing, cyber fraud, kidnapping among others, which endanger peaceful existence. rather, they will positively affect other individuals by engaging in economic, cultural, environmental and political ethical activities that will maximally satisfy consumers, protect their rights, while adhering to the enabling laws and regulations of the government. then will the triadic synergy form an enduring legacy that will be bequeathed to the future generations for sustainable peacebuilding that will ensure a sustainable development. recommendations igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 298 since the quest for sustainable peace-building as a pathway for attaining a sustainable development has emerged as one the priority areas in recent global issues, there is need for all the business education programme parties in the triple –helix model to:  actively participate and constantly evaluate activities for early adjustments and realignment towards the individual and collective goals;  apply more proactive efforts towards the programme by extending triplehelix model to a more comprehensive model of innovation which added ‗community‘ to form quadruplex-helix model. and also utilize quintuplex-helix model which is ecologically sensitive with the addition of the natural environment.  devise/modify other innovative strategies that will suit the dynamic nature of the african continent. references african centre for the constructive resolution of disputes (accord), 2004. training in negotiation and mediation: seeking african solutions to african challenges through a participatory learning processworkbook. adapted with modifications. africa peace forum et al., (2004). conflict analysis, conflict-sensitive approaches to development, humanitarian assistance and peace building: a resource pack, chapter 2. accessed from: http://local. conflictsensitivity.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/conflictsensitive african centre for the constructive resolution of disputes (accord), (2004). approaches-to-development humanitarian-assistance-and-peacebuildingresource-pack.pdf catholic relief services, (2017). peacebuilding, governance, gender, protection and youth assessments: a basic guide for busy practitioners, third edition—april 2017. accessed from: https://www.crs.org/sites/default/ files/toolsresearch/pggpy_third_edition_final_web.pdf etzkowitz, henry; leydesdorff, loet (1995). "the triple helix -universityindustry-government relations: a laboratory for knowledge based economic development". rochester, ny. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 299 etzkowitz h, ranga m (2003) triple helix systems: an analytical framework for innovation policy and practice in the knowledge society. ind higher edu 27: 237-262 etzkowitz, henry (2008). the triple helix : university-industry-government innovation in action. new york: routledge. isbn 9780415964500. oclc 173749026. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christianmuslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2016). christian-muslim relations in nigeria as a religio-political locus theologicus for misericordia vultus. harvard journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 117-128. lisa schirch, (2013). conflict assessment and peacebuilding planning: towards a participatory approach to human security, kumarian. neufeldt, r, fast, l., robert schreiter, fr r., starken, fr. b., maclaren, d., cilliers, j., & lederach, j.p. (2002). peacebuilding: a caritas training manual. vatican city: caritas internationalis. rossi, f. (2010). the governance of university – industry knowledge transfer. european journal of innovations management. 13(2). 155 – 171 unga (2015b) ‗transforming our world: the 2030 agenda for sustainable development. belongingness as igwebuike and african philosophy a critical relationship igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 147 belongingness as igwebuike and african philosophy a critical relationship jude i. onebunne, phd department of philosophy nnamdi azikiwe university, awka anambra sate, nigeria juno.anyi@gmail.com executive summary to be is to belong. that is to say being fundamentally belongs. being is belonging. belonging is being. to be, therefore, is to belong in one way or the other. by being and consequently belonging, human beings and realities are identified as such. being foundationally relates to belongingness and belongingness to being. belongingness, therefore, is an essential and indispensable character and intrinsic way of being. hence, belongingness defines and describes a being, thereby justifying the conclusion thus: to be is to belong; not to be is not to belong. until a being belongs, there is no identifying possibility with regard to what it can become or do amidst other realities. so, there is unity in strength by and in belonging. this is belongingness as igwebuike. belongingness guarantees the expression of relational unity as igwebuike, which literally translates to unity is strength and guarantees pragmatic relationship that is symbiotic. these concepts, belongingness and igwebuike, nevertheless are critically examined and philosophically contemplated within the paradigm of african philosophy amidst doubts of possibility and questions of existence with regard to nature, method, scholarship and history, which are genuinely part of world philosophical heritage. jude i. onebunne, phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 148 keywords: belongingness, kanu ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike, african philosophy introduction philosophy, philosophia, is love (philos) of wisdom (sophia). at the dawn of philosophy in the chequered history of man as rational animal, being question is very prominent and at the centre of philosophical discourse. different philosophical traditions as well as philosophical epochs and periods had different problems to tackle philosophically. contemporary period engaged more the reality as it confronts individual philosophy, demanding proper explanation and response. at this point, many western philosophico-traditional concepts are being replaced with complementary african philosophictraditional concepts like igwebuike, among others. these are individual philosophers’ attempt at articulating reality as it relates to them, solving their problems and explaining their immediate environment. belongingness belongingness is a definitive principle in african communalism. it is a kind of societal bonding and genuine relationship within a community that stipulates that a thing belongs as it identifies with the environmental realities. onebunne (2019a:) reiterates that, “belogingness is nevertheless expressed in few meta-theoretical concepts as: ibuanyidanda, ubuntu and ohazurume “ as well as in njikoka, ezumezu and more in igwebuike. belongingness, therefore, is the conceptual african metaphysics of being. belongingness has been identified as an ontological abstract term that specifies that a thing is because it belongs to one reality or the other. the idea of being as belongingness is nevertheless articulated on this understanding. being, therefore, expresses itself in belongingness. nothing actually is inactive or in its own unidentified with the other. it is only by implication that something can be thought to be inactive. belongingness is the propulsive move of being to perfect itself and belongingness as igwebuike and african philosophy a critical relationship igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 149 operates within an environment. belongingness, as the african metaphysics of to be, tries to locate by concretely defining and determining a being. belongingness concretizes a being in existence. hence, whatever is, as a being, must belong to something and/or somewhere. this is why being fundamentally belongs within the locus of spatial temporality. onebunne (2018:429) notes that the typological interconnectedness of belongingness is that it connects to every being and every reality is networked. being realizes its potentialities in belongingness. this is so because being fundamentally belongs within the spatial reality of space-time. igwebuike philosophy igwebuike is a modal action of a being in african worldview and understanding. it is an igbo word, which is a combination of three igbo words. kanu (2017:23) in systematizing igwe-bu-ike writes thus. ‘to be’ in igbo ontology is idi. however, the modality of being is igwebuike. it is an igbo word, which is a combination of three words. thus, it can be understood as a word and as a sentence: as a word, it is written thus, igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. let us try to understand the three words involved: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a large number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is a noun, which means strength or power. put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force. at this level, no task is beyond their collective capability. the three words involved are: igwe is a noun which means ‘number’ or ‘population,’ usually a huge number or population. it nevertheless means ‘sky’ or ’king,’ depending on the pronunciation and the syllable stressed. bu is a verb, which means is or that which is. ike is jude i. onebunne, phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 150 another noun, which means ‘strength’ or ‘power,’ and as a noun it means ‘buttocks,’ or even as a verb, it means ‘to create’ or ‘to share’ (kanu, 2014). thus, put together, igwebuike literally means number is power or strength is power. put it the other way round, it means ‘number is strength’. number here refers to a group of beings, population of persons or people or reality. it refers to a congregation or multitude of human beings, animals or any reality that is capable of activity. you cannot gather for nothing. the igwe (in the sense of masses or assemblage) gathers for action to be replicated or exerted (kanu, 2016). it is presupposed that the crowd or cluster of persons or any reality will exert enough might or vigour as well as force and supremacy or control for an end or activity to be achieved. onebunne (2018:65) explains that igwebuike “as employed by igbo traditional philosophers as a theory based on an illustrative statement to teach that when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force, and more so, to express their world of relationship, harmony, continuality and complementarity.” at this level, no task is beyond collective capability. this provides an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. as an ideology, igwebuike argues that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is ‘to be with the other’ in a community of beings. this is based on the african sense of community, which is the underlying principle and unity of african philosophy (kanu, 2019). this work suggests that igwebuike is the key to understanding african philosophy. while being in igbo philosophy is ‘idi’, that is, to be, igwebuike is the modality of being. it is an igbo word, which is a combination of three words. therefore, it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as igwebuike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. as an ideology, igwebuike postulates that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and belongingness as igwebuike and african philosophy a critical relationship igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 151 complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is ‘to be with the other’, in a community of beings (kanu, 2018). such being with others is guaranteed by such others. that means one belongs with others, strengthening their existence. this is based on the african sense of community, which is the underlying principle and unity of african philosophy belongingness as igwebuike igwebuike literally means number is power or strength is power. kanu (2017), the apostle of igwebuike, defines it as “the expressive modality of being in igbo ontology.” for him, igwebuike, which, according to asouzu (2007:11), is literally strength in togetherness, is the locus of meeting of beings in igbo communalist metaphysic, with special reference to existentialism and leadership. kanu (2017:34), however, opines strongly on the concept of igwebuike thus: igwebuike provides an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. as an ideology, igwebuike rests on the african principles of solidarity and complementarity. it argues that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is ‘to be with the other’, in a community of beings. this is based on the african philosophy of community, which is the underlying principle and unity of african traditional religious and philosophical experience. in developing this fundamental character of being as belongingness, iroegbu (1998:45) initially defines belongingness as a definitive principle in african communalism. he uses belongingness in a technical sense. it is, thus, for him, a principle of membership applied to a given community. this membership is not mere identification but a kind of belonging that is security-assured. this belongingness implies the basic commonness that makes a community a community, jude i. onebunne, phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 152 in our context, what makes a given african community as such. iroegbu shows that communalism makes belongingness an indispensible conceptual starting point for communal existence. accordingly, iroegbu explains thus: one native expression of belongingness is the term, umunna. in this sense, umunna, a basic community, transcends the nuclear family to mean, by extension, people of common lineage as well as commonness of origin. belonging, however, is the human need to be an accepted member of a group. abraham maslow suggested that the need to belong was a major source of human motivation. and since no man is an island, the need to belong to and with one another becomes a basic demand for man’s existence and co-existence. in belonging, people form a community of togetherness, and strengthened by such togetherness, many activities are possible. some theories in life have also focused on the need to belong as a fundamental psychological motivation. we belong to a group with which we have commonalities. this feeling of belonging is a basic need and a unique term in the dynamics of living and existence. hence, iroegbu (1995:19) asserts that “belongingness makes sure that all belong and none is marginalized, both contributively (duties and responsibilities) and distributively (sharing of communal cake).” this is the locus of igwebuike at play. one does not necessarily belong. one is ever conscious of where one is putting oneself or belonging. the importance of communal existence is a rational provision aimed at a better understanding and appreciation of man, not as a discrete individual but as a being properly expressed in belongingness as igwebuike this understanding has provided an enduring manner of attending to man as being with an inalienable interconnectivity with the rest of men. and so, the idea of coexistence as bedrock of caring and concern (sympathy) is highly significant in africa as a whole. hence, the igbo people normally talk of power as belong to the multitude (igwe-bu-ike), especially when they cohabit or live together as in extended family system, a form of onyeaghana nwanneya!. in fact, the very concept of the multitude is in itself understood as a source of power and authority. belongingness as igwebuike and african philosophy a critical relationship igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 153 understanding of african philosophy african philosophy is philosophy as it is done in and for africa and others. it is a philosophical tradition that is african within the mainstream of philosophy as a systematic study. african philosophy is the critical and universalizing interpretation of the culture and worldview of african people by philosophers within and outside the african continent. it is philosophy done within african philosophical tradition, designating the corpus of african philosophical writings. however, african philosophy, like other philosophical traditions, has a historical development along the path of human consciousness, critically encountering their realities (kanu, 2015). this is against some philosophers’ views and philosophical currents trying to demean and oppose the existence of african philosophy. african philosophy, therefore, is a systematic study within the limits of the africanity of philosophy and philosophicality of african realities and heritage. the philosophicality and africanity of african philosophy osuagwu (1999:28), in his criteria for the scientific philosophicality and scientific africanity of african philosophy, was apt to note thus: african philosophy is at the same time african and philosophical. in and by these terms, we are searching, on the one hand, for the genuine philosophicality, i.e., formal scientific philosophy, of the said african enterprise, and on the other hand, for the authentic scientific africanity of that scientific philosophy. these two basic scientific criteria make african philosophy to bear the characteristics marks of its particularity and universality. philosophicality simply places african philosophy at par with philosophia, which is love of wisdom. to this extent, african jude i. onebunne, phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 154 philosophy remains part of the world philosophical heritage, with one philosophical monoculture, though from african weltannchaunng. philosophicality, nevertheless, prunes african philosophy of the old socio-cultural bias of existence, and mere skeptical influence with pseudo-philosophical orientation. however, by this singular application of philosophicality, african philosophy is philosophy qua philosophy, irrespective of the philosophical traditions and/or philosophers’ postulations, as long as it expresses the needed love for wisdom and maintains the search for knowledge with an unaided reason as the most basic instrument. african philosophy, in this perspective, is philosophy per excellence, considering its contribution to world philosophical heritage and even to western ancient philosophers, like socrates and other known philosophical figures, periodisation and traditions. if socrates was regarded as a philosopher per se alongside western philosophical tradition, then the tradition that produced him, which is the egyptian african philosophical tradition, must have elements of such uncompromising philosophical innuendoes. onebunne (2019d:3) summarily opines thus: philosophicality is another principal criterion for determining african metaphysics. african philosophy is at the same time african, philosophical and metaphysical. by these terms, we are searching for the genuine understanding of philosophy. philosophicality, as a basic scientific criterion makes african philosophy to bear the characteristic mark of its universality. hence, echoing osuagwu, i.m., therefore, in line with this understanding, african philosophy is, therefore, a universalization, a universal vocation, ordination, destination and determination of and in the african particular. to this extent african philosophy or metaphysics is carried on at the same time according to philosophy’s general scientific norms, exigencies and african particular, traditional and natural factors. in this co-operation and mutual integration. belongingness as igwebuike and african philosophy a critical relationship igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 155 african philosophy has been very much neglected, rejected and denied on the purported grounds of its lack of genuine scientificity, authentic africanity and systematic philosophicality. through continued studies and sustained researches, african philosophy finds stability with its africanity and more by its philosophicality. it is no more a question of, is there an african philosophy? can there be african metaphysics? today, the emphasis of the question shifts rather from can there be african philosophy? to the issues of the possibility and how contemporaneously african philosophy is dealing with facts of historicity and method in african philosophy, principles, issues and special areas in african philosophy and her branches. equally, the africanity of african philosophy is worth the salt. scientific africanity is a complementary principle in the definition of african philosophy. africanity is a criterion that defines african philosophy properly with some parameters. according to osuagwu (2001:24), “by its africanity, it is a particular, that is to say, a particular reflection, concentration, concretization, contextualization, experience, identification and differentiation of the philosophic, scientific universal.” africanity tries to solve the controversy and the project of african philosophy by going beyond the boundaries of the geographical africa. within the geographical context, africanity expresses what it takes for any philosophy to be qualified, identified and differentiated as specifically and typically african. it contextualizes african experiences, life and reality within the realm of philosophy. for osuagwu (2001:26). therefore: scientific africanity refers to a set of african parameters or factors which include nature and culture, persons, places, times, events, doctrine, text and methods involved in philosophic enterprises so designated. these factors and many more constitute the common requirements by which a given subject matter is said to be african. jude i. onebunne, phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 156 borrowing an impressive idea from kinyongo, osuagwu (1999: 28) writes that “african philosophy is carried on at the same time according to philosophy’s general scientific exigencies and africa’s particular natural and cultural factors. in this cooperation, and mutual integration, philosophy and africanity look into each other to detect, engage and determine the scientifically valid and available in themselves.” belongingness and igwebuike as products of african philosophy african philosophy, having come to stay, gave room for philosophical concepts that ordinarily would not attract any serious attention. but as long as philosophers of african origin and background are concerned, many of our concepts, having received the needed critical attention, can be projected naturally to the realm of rigorous discourse. it is no more: can there be african philosophy? instead, it is dealing with african philosophy in a very sublime way, amidst given possibilities. the debate is over. what we are in now is doing african philosophy. oblivious of hegel’s doubts on the possibility of the existence of african continent and the known facts with regard to black pharoahs of the ancient egypt, contemporary history is saddened with facts that western philosophy is african philosophy in display as one doubts the authenticity of the burnt alexandria library. african philosophy has made it possible for the emergence of african concepts that can comfortably challenge her contemporaries. whatever it is like, placid tempels was bold enough to initiate then the debate on the possible existence of african philosophy with his publication of bantu philosophy. amidst every known criticism, one must note that african philosophy is a viable philosophical option. this is because, philosophy, like african philosophy, has been rooted in the culture and worldview of the people. these socio-cultural data and worldviews of people’s realities remain the given for critical appraisal in the quest or search for knowledge or wisdom which is philosophy. this is philosophizing per se. okere (1983:15) opines strongly for the possibility of african philosophy based on this opinion, thus: “it is belongingness as igwebuike and african philosophy a critical relationship igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 157 only within the context of hermeneutics that african culture can give birth to african philosophy.” why then do some philosophers refuse to accept and acknowledge that african culture has been reflected on and interpreted as such over the century amidst great scholarship and authorship, even as its methodological moments and scientific historicity are readily available? to this extent, any reference to african philosophy as mere derogatory ethno-philosophy than its foundation or fundamental root is a mark of great lack of scholarly ingenuity and serious disfavour to knowledge. instead, one is inclined to accept that african philosophy is part and parcel of world philosophical inheritance. definitional universality of african philosophy in relation to raw materials for philosophical reflection the definition and universality of african philosophy, against oddities of credibility and doubts of existence per chance, is resolved in the philosophicality and africanity of african philosophy. african philosophy, therefore, has a share in the mainstream of philosophical traditions growing as a human enterprise as a result of critical interpretation of tradition and cultural realities. okere (1983:38) asserts that “all philosophy is essentially an historical and time bound interpretation of being.” in this line of thought, however, there are ethno-philosophical foundations to philosophy as critical engagement and philosophical traditions of which african philosophy or chinese philosophy is no exception. this is far beyond referring to african philosophy as sage or mere cultural philosophy. amidst all sorts of bizarre and false ideas on the capability of african man to philosophize, questioning the depth of his philosophy, one can boast of african philosophical scholarship as well as african authorship. however, iroegbu (1994:116), an optimistic contemporary philosopher, was very apt in defining african philosophy as: the reflective inquiry into the marvels and problematics that confront one in african world, in view of producing systematic explanation and jude i. onebunne, phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 158 sustained responses to them. it is an inquiry with two aspects: philosophical and african. iroegbu was very premier in giving this succinct definition. in this definition, one can read a kind defense of african philosophy against being labeled mere folk, cultural or ethno-philosophy. the background at the time of this definition has to do with questioning and giving the possibility of african philosophy with regard to historicity and methodology. this is why for iroegbu, african philosophy is a philo-sophia, a quest for african wisdom. however, iroegbu was academically astute enough to reiterate that “african philosophy is philosophy done in an african context…the different aspects and complexities of existence that challenge him as an african person. in this respect, every philosophy is contextual philosophy.” by this very act, i strongly add that every philosophy worth the salt is ethno-philosophical, relatively cultural and appropriately traditional to the philosopher. alluding to this, iroegbu (1994: 122) was vehemently bent on this general understanding of philosophy as: the global participation of all realities and entities in the general fact and understanding of being as being whether in african, asian or western philosophy. summarily, iroegbu (1994:122) gave ten areas of any contextual or ethno-philosophical basic foundation for genuine philosophical enterprise thus: geo-environmental, socio-cultural, episteme, mythico-religious, political-moral, historic, ethnic – linguistic, existential, phenomenologico-pragmatical and ontological. for iroegbu, therefore, these philosophical concepts alone “are what we generally call the african philosophical philosophemena: raw materials for philosophical reflection, questioning, responses, analysis and eventual synthesis.” in this statement of fact, iroegbu, continued to echo his teacher okere theophilus, who had earlier conceived the idea of philosophemes as deposit of conceptual data or realities for philosophical enterprise. belongingness as igwebuike and african philosophy a critical relationship igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 159 conclusion a definitive thoughtful interpretation and critical analysis of the symbols of african cultures would be african philosophy qua tale. that is to say, igbo philosophy would, nevertheless, consist in the interpretation at a certain level of the various symbols and institutions or traditions of igbo culture. the concept: belongingness or igwebuike, for instance, stands for a kind of relationship or unity in strength respectively in igbo philosophy. however, all those institutions, concepts and symbols in igbo world that are ever-pregnant with sense and meaning are critically meaningful. therefore, a reflection with profound application of criticality, analyticity and originality on most african thoughts, concepts and culture gives credence to philosophy and, rightly put, african philosophy. such profundity in the critical appreciation of african or igbo worldview makes of them veritable moments for african or even igbo philosophy based on categories that are native to igbo culture and worldview. based on proper hermeneutics, one can dependably and realistically infer that african philosophy is a philosophy within the limits of african source and is nourished from african culture, as its cultural reservoir and primary critical nourishment as belongingness and igwebuike have done in african philosophy. reference asouzu, i.i (2007) ibuanyidanda: new complementary ontology, zurich: lit, verlag gmbh & co; wien iroegbu, p., (2004). kpim of time. ibadan: hope publication. iroegbu, p., (1995). metaphysics: kpim of philosophy. owerri: international university press. iroegbu, p (1996b) kpim of politics: communalism, owerri international press kanu i. a. (2017). sources of igwebuike philosophy. towards a socio-cultural foundation. international journal of religion and human relations vol. 9 no 1 june. jude i. onebunne, phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 160 kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and being in igbo ontology: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 4 no 5. [1221]. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kanu, i. a. (2019). on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159-176. kanu, i. a. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international belongingness as igwebuike and african philosophy a critical relationship igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 161 journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. jude i. onebunne, phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 162 kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. osuagwu, m. i., (2001). early medieval history of african philosophy. enugu: snaap press. osuagwu, m. i., (1999). african historical construction. owerri: assumpta press. okere,t. i., african philosophy: a historico – hermeneutical investigation of the conditions of its possibility, (lanham: university of american press), 1983. onebunne, j., being as belongingness; expanding the hermeneutics of african metaphysics of to be, awka: fab anieh nig. ltd., 2019a onebunne, j., belongingness: a definitive metaphysical principle in african communalism, awka: fab anieh nig. ltd., 2019b onebunne, j. in kanu, ,i,a., & chabi, k., (eds), a critical review of st. augustine’s concept of time. augustine through the ages: echoes of faith and reason, mauritius: lambert publishing c., 2018 onebunne, j.i., method: a definitive demand in african hhilosophy, awka: fab anieh nig. ltd., 2019d onebunne, j. in onebunne, j. haaga, p & ndubisi (eds), igwebuike: an african metaphysics of communal strength, igwebuike ontology: an african philosophy of humanity towards the other -papers in honour of professor kanu, ikechukwu anthony, o.s.a, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 116 revitalization of african moral values ifeyinwa cordelia isidienu department of igbo african and asian studies nnamdi azikiwe university, awka 08033027892;ifyisidienu@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/ rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract moral is being in compliance to a standard of right behaviour. it relates to the pri nciple of right and wrong in behaviour. african culture basically cherishes and e mphasizes high moral standard. wealth without moral is despised and unacceptab le to almost all african communities. people prefer good name as something more valuable than wealth. african values such as truthfulness and sanctity of life wer e regarded very highly. it has become worrisome how these values fare in the face of contemporary challenges, how they are safeguarded or discarded in many conte mporary african societies. the study therefore deems it necessary at the recovery and conservation of these values in order to give them their rightful place in the p resent day realities of change and advancement. the study drawing primarily fro m the igbo culture uses observational method, library sources and oral interview f or data collection. findings show that there is the need to revive the african mora l values. the responsibility for this revitalization lies on every african, starting fr om the family to proudly portray their rich african moral values. keywords: revitalization, moral, value introduction this paper is on the rebirth of african moral values at the verge of total an nihilation. african moral values are moral codes that were handed from g eneration to generation. they are the unwritten laws that guide the lives o f the people. onuoha (2015) refers to moral principles as that which guide the actions and belief systems of people. therefore any “action, decision o r belief which serves the purpose of a group, a community or race eventua lly becomes part of the value system of such a group”. (ezeoke, 2010:19). p eoples‟ moral value system evolves over a period of time through mutual experiences and collective relations. africans, especially the igbo people o f eastern nigeria were known to be truthful, honest, just, and humanitaria n, they are their brothers‟ keepers, and they have respect for the sanctity o f life among other values and virtues. in the past a truthful person is held i n high esteem, the person is looked for whenever there is conflict because he can be trusted to give a true verdict. however, presently most people with ill gotten wealth were accorded more respect to the detriment of the mailto:ifyisidienu@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 117 society. this could be part of what lead to the problem which the society i s battling today. these challenges are the immoral acts as murder, human trafficking, kidnapping, insincerity, injustice and lies among other ills whi ch have eaten dip into most african societies. it is a misplaced priority, jus t as mapaure (2011) has noted that africans as a product of colonialism an d imperialistic ambition, has contributed to the loss of african values. it ca n be said that westernization, coupled with globalization and quick mone y syndrome has given way to the loss of african moral values found in tru thfulness and sanctity of life. therefore, in the face of the onslaught from g lobalization, technological and scientific discoveries, many scholars are w orried that african values face the threat of total annihilations.(onuoha, 2 015). from the foregoing, revitalization of african moral values has become nec essary in this fast moving and changing world. moral values are the hub o f any given society. before now the africans were known for preserving t he sanctity of life and upholding truthfulness, which gave rise to africans being their brothers‟ keepers. but alas these great values are fading gradu ally as advancement and development continue to creep in. we now hear of murder in many african societies, and the murderers do not receive ad equate punishment for their offences. lies, including those that are very g rave and could lead to loss of lives and property, are no longer viewed as great evil in some parts of african societies. speaking about the igbo peop le of eastern nigeria, ezeoke (2010:20) states, “igbo were known and respe cted for their total regard for sanctity of life.” do we still merit that respect ? have the igbo not been known to shed the blood of their siblings or even their parents in the quest for material acquisition?” the rate of decay in m oral values among most africans has become worrisome for the imbalanc e it has created in the entire system. isidienu (2016: 128) decries thus and c autions that “this drift in value has a lot of consequences.” having seen t hat in many african communities life is wasted; and most people tell lies a t will and live a kind of life that totally negates african moral values. the researcher deems it necessary to proffer ways to revitalize african moral v alues, especially those found in truthfulness and value attached to life. thi s will go a long way in re-awakening the forgotten and neglected values a nd therefore enable the africans to live an upright life for a better african society. the study will therefore explore different concepts relevant to the study s uch as value, revitalization, moral; bring to light the value attached to life and the value attached to truthfulness; and the implication of neglect to th igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 118 ese values; solutions are proffered with regard to revitalizing the lost valu es. explication of concepts value value implies something of usefulness, importance and worthwhile. it is t hat quality that makes something to be desired and the amount of meanin g attributed to it. values are those things that make the life of a people ad orable. okoye (2010:63) states that, value as the single factor that mould character, conduct, cult ure and world view are central in the life of any people. they represent basic convictions that shape the specific modes of c onduct and ultimate objectives preferred by a people. value h as a judgmental element. they (value) prescribe what is right or wrong, good or bad, desirable or despicable. value is the ultimate for the survival of any group of people or society. ez eoke (2010: 22) captures this when he asserts, “a people without value are a people sliding into a fiery hell. they are doomed to a disgraceful extinct ion.” however when a people‟s value system threatens to skid due to mis placed value, the only option for the survival of such people is revitalizati on. revitalization revitalization is to provide novel existence, vigor, motion or attainment to a deteriorated situation. it means to stir something from the state of depre ciation to an enhanced situation. according to okwudishu (2010: 45), revit alization implies “reinvigoration, revival and restoration.” on the face of degeneration of moral values the only option is to revive or mobilize vario us agencies that will rejuvenate the people‟s moral standards. based on th e above mifflin (2016) avers that revitalization is betterment, improvement , a change for the better, and progress in development. generally speaking , there is need to revive african moral values, as iwe (nd: 85) rightly states , “there is an urgent need to revive and revitalize the drooping spirit and basic institution of our culture, if we have to avoid the incidence of selling our souls to foreign cultures.” from the foregoing, it seems therefore, that revitalization is the answer to the degenerating african moral lapses. moral moral actions and moral uprightness are highly appreciated among africa n communities. thus, speaking about igbo people of eastern nigeria isidie nu (2016: 84), affirms that “igbo people believe in hard work and good mo ral standard.” every culture, society, group or individual has some moral igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 119 standards it wants to protect. it is the moral standard, ethics and moral va lues that build up the people‟s identity. onyewuenyi (2002: 421) states tha t “ethics generally deals with judgment of approval and disapproval, right ness or wrongness, goodness or badness of actions”. the midpoint of the a bove opinion is the assessment of life which gives the african character. it is the intermediary between the seen and the unseen and both have a very strong binding relationship. an action does not only affect an individual personally; rather it also connects the community and the spiritual beings. this is why a “breach of customs normally earns for the community some evils and disharmonious reaction from the ancestral spirits.” (ilogu 1985:2 7) the assertion among the igbo that otu mkpịsị aka rụta mmanụ, o zue ọ ha literally translates as when one finger collects oil, it will affect other fin gers explains the fact that, there is a great relationship between morality a nd ontological order. further, and abomination such as murder committe d by an individual will arouse anxiety in the entire community. this is so because once it happens, an expression of untold wrong, solicitude, unnec essary calmness and anxiety grips the entire community because of the on tological relationship with the offender. kanu (2015:238) avers, “with rega rds to morality, there is a strong connection between moral rules and the t ype of communal kinship relationships that exist among african societies” . when an abomination is left unattained and the gods unappeased or an a ct of injustice is allowed to perpetuate in a community the consequential e ffect is usually calamitous. morality is highly advocated in african society because of the role it plays in the life of the community. mbiti (1981:175) adds that, “in the course of t he years, this moral sense has produced customs, rules, laws, traditions an d taboos which can be observed in each society”. it is a general belief amo ng the igbo that their morals were given to them by god. the ancestors th erefore keep watch over the people to ensure their observances of these m oral laws. ilogu (1985:26) enumerated some of these moral laws among th e igbo as: 1. do not take the life of the member of the commune 2. do not steal, especially yam, the staple food of the people 3. do not commit incest 4. do not defraud strangers 5. do not hide abominations certainly any deviation from these moral rules is highly punished becaus e “by committing a particular offence, a person puts himself and other peo ple in the dangerous situation where god punishes him and other people” (mbiti, 1981). morals help to keep the society together. its emphasis is on igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 120 human conduct that enables him to live at peace with himself and other m embers of the community. without morals, the society would be in a state of anarchy, as morals help people to ensure that they perform their duties to the society and enjoy certain rights from the society. “it is morals which have produced the virtues that society appreciates and endeavours to pre serve, such as friendship, compassion, love, honesty, justice, courage, selfcontrol, helpfulness, bravery and so on” (mbiti 1981:75). morals are deep rooted in the life of the african people because of their long standing tradi tion of what is right or wrong. high moral standard needs to be revitalize d because it keeps the society together and keeps them from disintegratin g. african moral values with respect to care for life in african ontology the desire to preserve life rates high in the act of mora lity. the idea that life is precious manifests in all aspects of their life such as personal names, proverbs, parables as well as in events and other activi ties of life. obi (2009:7) emphasizing on igbo peoples‟ value for life, states that everything the igbo do is towards the preservation of life. he enumer ated them thus: “eating, drinking, sacrifices, rituals and rites, kinship, tab oos and other moral provisions, worship and even the existence of sacred specialists is for the preservation of life”. ogugua (2003: 10) added that “t he enterprising spirit of the igbo is to preserve, maintain and better life.” s uch igbo clichés and statements as onye dị, ihe ọ ga-eme adị. literally, me ans that, as long as one lives he or she will still have responsibilities. this i dea also manifests in igbo justice, the principle of egbe bere ugo bere mea ning literally let the kite perch, let the eagle perch (live and let live).in afri can philosophy, once one is alive, he will be allowed to live freely and pe acefully with other members of the community. he will live and also allo w others to live their own lives. it is this communal living ideology that m ade mbiti (1982:108) to declare that “i am because we are and since we are , therefore i am”. it is the community that gives the individual his meanin g in existence, without which life is meaningless and unattainable. among the igbo, justice and moral obligation demands that both the eagle and th e kite should perch and that whichever denies the other the right should s uffer a broken wing. in admiration of this situation, amadi (2005:58) affir ms that this proverb expresses with varying subtlety the golden rule „live and let live‟. he points out that the “principle is regarded as the acme of g ood neighbourliness”.ndụ onye aghala nwanne ya, ndụ ịbụ onye nche nw anne. the assertions mean that one should be one‟s brother‟s keeper and a preserver of one‟s brothers‟ life. this life is further x-rayed by iroegbu in kanu (2015:191): igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 121 the community is the necessary and sufficient condition for t he life of the individual person. the individual person is imm ersed into the natural world and nevertheless emerges from it as an individual and a person within his conscience and free dom given him by the meditation of the community in which he senses a certain presence of the divine. the individual has the right and free will to live his life. however he shou ld bear in mind that his rights stop where another‟s starts and therefore, s houldn‟t infringe another‟s. if it does the community has the power to ad minister justice without fear or favour. according to onyewuenyi (2002:41 9) “life expresses the supreme value of igbo as betrayed in their speech, t hought, and their acts and deeds. people are named ndubuisi (life is first ), ndukaku (life is worth more than wealth). this means that no matter th e achievement of the individual, if it does not lead to the preservation and increase of life, then they are meaningless”. the sense of bodily mortal life or physical strength is not what an igbo understood as life. it is understoo d as existence, being. it means both living and existing. for instance, a hu man being who is dead is no longer living but existing. the implication of this is that life is, therefore fully actualized in the ancestral world. the anc estors on the other hand influence the growth of life of the living. onyewu enyi (2002:420) emphasizes that the concept of “ndụ is understood hierarc hically in that god is ndụ. the spirits and ancestors participate in a higher degree in the life of god; then the living according to primogeniture”. it i s clear that this ontological relationship prevails on every african to increa se, preserve and strengthen life. it is therefore not surprising that god, ear th, spirits, deities, ancestors, the living are usually called upon in matters r elating to uprightness of life. it is also strongly believed in african metaph ysics that other creatures have certain forces and power embedded in the m and are thus in most cases, beckoned on to manifest as witnesses in mat ters that affect life. based on findings therefore, it was observed that life is valuable and shoul d not be wasted. everyone has the moral obligation to protect life. the rea sons why africans attach much value to life as gathered were as follows: i. life is sacred, precious and sacrosanct. preservation of life brings pr ogress and development, but life destruction brings all kinds of evil to the community. ogugua(2003:10) avers that “the sacredness of li fe is what makes murder or homicide a heinous crime.” ii. life is given by god and very important to god and humanity and without life one becomes a non-living thing. life therefore ensures continuity of existence. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 122 iii. life is paramount, valuable, and fragile and a natural gift from the c reator and so man cannot create man. iv. life should be preserved to avoid silly behaviour from the citizenry . if you allow people to kill, there will be nothing like family, kindre d, village and community. therefore for harmony, peace and orderl iness, life must be preserved. v. life has no duplicate; life once taken cannot be replaced anymore so everything is done to avoid the loss of life. every life is from god a nd nobody has powers to terminate it. god gives life and no one sh ould take away what he did not give and cannot replace because lif e is irreplaceable. vi. life is very essential and every individual have right to life. also lif e is valued in order to protect the dignity, sanctity of life. it is also to ensure safe living in the community and protection of properties an d foreigners who came to the town. vii. value attached to life propels people to pursue peace and order in t he society. the reason is for security, production and economic gro wth. viii. value attached to life gives the citizenry a sense of freedom. t hey live without fear in the society. it therefore helps to curb social vices. also when one considers the value of life he or she may not t hink of killing another person. these help to move the community i n a better direction because the progress of any community is its re putation. it was also gathered that right to live is a natural justice recognized by the traditional religion, that everybody has a right to life which is nature‟s rul e. all humans value their lives and none wants to lose his or hers. truthfulness in the moral life of africans generally morality in african world view perceived truth as very importa nt to life. morality also deals with truth and truthfulness. africans value tr uth so much so that they do not want to associate with lie and liars. the ex tent can only be appreciated when one comes to understand that derogato ry names among the igbo such as ntụ bụ ọzọ meaning that, the person in q uestion has attained lie as his highest title. it should be noted that in most parts of igbo land ozo title is the highest title in igbo land; onye ire abụa meaning literally „a person with double tongue‟ and who speaks from bot h sides of his mouth or tongue. the other remarks are ọ sị gị kwuru, gbaba that is, if he tells you to stand at a place, what he actually meant is for you to run away for your safety. liars, as oputa (1998:93) maintains are, peo igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 123 ple “whose speech is full of contradictions, fictions and inconsistencies. s omehow, the igbo come to know and identify people who talk in this man ner and of course, such people are not respected in the society”. the way the igbo value truth made them to equate it to life. this is expres sed in their often used maxim eziokwu bụ ndụ meaning that truth is life. t ruth brings harmony in interpersonal relationships. it gives one security, s trength and makes one to be in a state of tranquility. truth gives meaning, reason and value to life. truth as noted by ogugua (2003:13) “is correlate d value of justice. real justice acts on the truth. the igbo say ihe a dighi e me onye aka ya kwụ ọtọ “nothing happens to the man of truth”. justice i s denied when truth is concealed. igbo people believe that truth can never be hidden; that one day the truth will manifest. meadow (2016) affirms th at “nothing speaks like the truth, and it cannot be hidden for long.” igbo people use to say, e tigbusie eziokwu, o gbaa ihe elu. after suppressing th e truth, it will surely manifest. e jighi aka ekpuchi eziokwu literally means that truth cannot be covered with hands. igbo people believe that anythin g that is true is as clear as day time as in eziokwu dịka ehihie. it is self-ex planatory and needs no conviction. from the forgoing it was clear that africans attach so much value to truth. the following observations were made: i. truthfulness brings god‟s nearness to a community. god means tru th. it is the key to all progress and development in the community. ii. truthfulness is life and can save every situation. one feels safe if on e is on the side of truth.onye na-ekwu eziokwu na-adị ogologo ndụ. onye na-ekwu eziokwu na-enwe nsọpụrụ. people value honesty. iii. when truthfulness is enthroned in every case in the community, jus tice must take its place. iv. truthfulness brings trust, equity, fairness, peace, love and unity am ong members of the community. truthfulness ensures that justice p revails. v. truthfulness exalts a nation. vi. value attached to truthfulness is that without it, one becomes a bad citizen. vii. truth is seen as divine, supreme and sets one free. it is an easy mea ns for resolving disputes. viii. another reason for this value is that people around you kno w you and whenever they need to rely on people, they come to you. „ezi afa ka ego‟ truthfulness is valued in order to build a fidelity re lationship amongst people and for justice and fairness to take place. truthfulness makes people to have trust in one another. truth boos ts people‟s trust and honesty. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 124 ix. truthfulness is a way to preserve life. it brings peaceful co-existence . truthfulness lessens the gravity of an offence. x. god is always beside whomever that says the truth. truthfulness br ings progress, peace and tranquillity. it was also gathered that truthfulness makes one to be justified, and that, i t is only the truth that can give justice. truthfulness in every matter will s urely pave way to justice and that when the truth is determined, justice is automatically done. without unveiling the truth of a matter justice cannot be possible. truth makes people responsible and trustworthy. truth enha nces final judgment. it is a divine dimension that ensures that life is preser ved. according to ogugua (2003:13) “it is truth that brings meaning to life . the truthful person is always at peace with himself; and he shows the wa y to the rest.” a truthful person makes things easy for others by ensuring t hat justice is maintained. truth and justice are the two sides of a coin. justi ce depends on truthfulness and truthfulness paves way for justice. when j ustice is done the value for life is attained. truthfulness results or translat es to a good society. it ensures that things are done the right way. when o ne admits that he or she has done wrong, it depicts remorse and willingne ss to change for better. implications of relegation of african moral values it was gathered that the value attached to life brings to lime light the need to uphold african moral values; this will help in binding the members of t he society together. it was indicated that life is sacred and very important to god and humanity and ensures continuity. according ogugua (2003:7) life proceeds from god and belongs to god. it is sacred, give n to man on trust. it is a supreme gift with irreplaceable value . every other human value is subordinated to it. the tradition al igbo do not toy with life. this is noticeable in the prayers t hey say daily before breaking kolanut, sacrifices they offer be fore their deities, and names they bear, myths and even in the organization of their community. the above is applicable to all african communities. the implication is that , if life is not preserved and the value attached to life not revitalized, the h uman race will diminish, and this will be against the law of nature. if valu e attached to life is neglected, human society might go into extinction. go d created the human race and gave them power to maintain its continuity; therefore everyone must be allowed to live his or her life. it was noted tha t people are aware of this fact since it was gathered that everybody has rig igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 125 ht to live, that nobody has right over another person‟s life, for that is the r ule of nature. it was opined that care for life makes people feel reluctant in doing evil si nce no one would want to be portrayed as an evil person. here value attac hed to life plays the role of making people to be good citizens. it was emp hasized that enlightenment on the value of life will help african communi ties to abstain or to avoid any act that threatens life. value attached to life therefore ensures security of life and property and will be used to maintai n orderliness, peace and harmony in the society. care for life gives the citi zenry a sense of freedom. freedom makes people to live without fear and helps to curb social vices. however, when value attached to life is neglecte d, the results are anarchy; insecurity, disharmony, hardship and these will make people to remain in perpetual bondage. it is therefore impossible to further the common good without acknowledging and defending the righ ts to life, upon which the other inalienable rights of individuals are found ed and from which they develop. a society lacks social foundations when on the other hand, it asserts values such as the dignity of the person, justic e and peace, but then, on the other hand, radically acts to the contrary by allowing or tolerating a variety of ways in which human life is devalued a nd violated especially where it is weak and marginalized. only respect for life can be the foundation and guarantee of the most precious and essenti al goods of the society, such as democracy and peace. (pope john paul 11, nd.) from the foregoing it is clear that the value attached to life helps to mainta in communities‟ reputation. it is impossible for any community in hostilit ies to experience peace. automatically the indigenes will migrate and inv estors will find it difficult to invest any meaningful business in a communi ty where there is no security of life and property. the situation will create a great setback in terms of economic growth, political peace, and social rel ationship among others. on the value attached to truthfulness, there is an indication that truth is lif e and a way to preserve life. truth is divine, supreme and gives freedom t o people. truth brings progress, peace and tranquility. the law of nature a sserts all human parts functions they perform. therefore lying to one anot her or lying in situation where people want to ascertain the truth of a matt er is wrong. it is against the role to which speech is supposed to play in hu man communication. communication deals with the thought in our mind, so an action becomes deceptive where there is desire or inclination and in tention to lie. lying creates hostilities and dishonesty so that the friendly r igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 126 elationship in the society becomes scornful. justice is easily attained in a c ommunity where people always say and stand on the truth. it lifts the co mmunity to a greater height, it lighten burden, makes people free and cre ates a harmonious living among people. the implication is that anyone w ho refuses to say the truth of a matter has denied justice to the people conc erned. suggestions on revitalizing the lost african moral values african moral values will be revived when africans make it a duty to pro udly display and uphold their rich moral values found in truthfulness and sanctity of life. when truth is said, justice is assured and life is persevered . african moral values are an important aspect of african culture. people an d their culture are inseparable, for this reason every african should be aler t to their moral values which made them unique and gave them identity. most foreign moral values that negate african moral values should be stro ngly discouraged. wars, murder, human trafficking, kidnapping and injus tice should be avoided by all african countries. african leaders should pr omote peace, togetherness, truthfulness, justice and concern for life. the family as an agent of socialization should carry it as a function and re sponsibility to orient the young ones on the need to imbibe the rich africa n moral values found in truthfulness and sanctity of life. families should make the young ones to internalize these values and virtues so as to ensur e same behavioural pattern and for the exhibition of african ideology. africans should always remember the sacredness of life and so learn to fo rgive others even when it pains to do so. revenge should not be desired fo r offence done to one, rather one should work towards forgiving and reco nciling with others. africans should stand firm on the promotion of african moral values even when it is opposed to foreign dominant moral values. they should vehe mently oppose the forceful imposition of foreign moral values and life styl e that is not in line with african ideology. teachers should exhibit high moral standards by practicing honesty, fair j udgments and having value for life. they should live an exemplary life, a nd be role models to the young ones. they should also emphasize the rich igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 127 african moral values found in truthfulness and sanctity of life which is th e hallmark of all the values. conclusion it is the stance of this study that the spirit of honest and urgent revival is n eeded in the african moral values found in care for life and truthfulness. life is so precious to be undermined; truthfulness one of the elements that preserve life need not be degraded. revival will be achieved by the availa bility of adequate cultural elements and organizations for the recapture of african cultural moral values for a total cultural emancipation, identity an d sanctity of life of african nations. references amadi, e. (2005). ethics in nigerian culture. ibadan: oluseyi press. ezeoke, j. (2010). “igbos, listen.”proceedings of the national seminar on revival of igbo values.benin: mindex publishers. ilogu, e. (1985). igbo life and thought. onitsha: the varsity press. isidienu, i. c.(2016). “igbo political organization and impinity.” in ogueji ofor,j. o. andadirika,b. n.mgbakoigba journal of african studies. ontisha: new life press. isidienu, i. c. (2016). “igbo traditional marriage customs and values.”in umezinwa, e. u. andnwadialor, k. l. humanities and african val ues.awka: fab anieh. iwe , n. s. s. (nd). christianity and culture in africa.onitsha : varsity ind ustrial press. kanu, i. a. (2015). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermen eutic approachto classical and contemporary issues. jos: augustini an publications. kanu, i. a. (2016). the fundamentals of african traditional ethics. cambri dge international journal of humanities and social sciences. 6. 4. pp. 5565. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. pp. 1 15-124. berkeley journal of humanities and social sciences. kanu, i. a. and ejike, n. (2017). religious and moral education in nigeria: a complementing search for development. oracle of wisdom journa l of philosophy and public affairs. vol. 1. no. 1. pp.79-84. mapaure, c. (2011). “reinvigorating african values for sadc: the releva nce of traditional african philosophy of law in a globalising worl d of competing perspectives.www.researchgate.net/ university of namibia.retrieved 15/3/2020. meadow,c. (2016).”15 ways to promote the sanctity of life.” www.goolg e.com/amp/s retrieved 15/3/2020. http://www.goolge.com/amp/s http://www.goolge.com/amp/s igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 128 mbiti, j. s. (1982). african religions and philisophy.london:oxford unive rsity press. mbiti, j. s.(1981). introduction to african religion. nairobi: heinemann. mifflin. h. (2016).“revitatization.”american heritage dictionary of englis h language.harcourt publishers.https://www.thefreedictionary.co m/revital obi,o. (2009). “igbo concept of „ndu‟ life: values and challenges.” ama mihe: journal of applied philosophy. ogugua,p.i. (2003). septenary nature of igbo cultural values.awka: pen mark publishers. okoye, c, o. (2010). “the remaking of the economy of igbo people.”proc eedings of the national seminar on revival of igbo values.benin: m index publishers. okwudishu, a. u. (2010). “revitalization of igbo language as revival of i gbo values.”proceedings of the national seminar on revival of igbo values.benin: mindex publishers. onyenwenyi, i. c. (2002). “igbo(african) philosophy” in ofomata,g. e. k. a survey of theigbo nation.onitsha:africana publishers. onuoha, f. (2015). “locating african values in twenty-first century eco nomics.” www.africanliberty.org// retrieved 15/3/2020. oputa, k. (1998). west african traditional religion. london: heinemann. pope john paul 11, (nd.). www.justiceandpeace.org/au./prot retrieved 15 /3/2020. http://www.africanliberty.org/ http://www.justiceandpeace.org/au./prot igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 25 pentecostalism and information communication technology in the face of the covid-19 pandemic in nigeria comfort k. gemade, phd. department of religion and cultural studies benue state university, makurdi-nigeria mimicomgemade@gmail.com; +234(0)8037158363 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.31258.06083 abstract since the announcement of the first case of the coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) on the 27th of february, 2020 in nigeria, there has been an upsurge in the number of confirmed cases of the virus in the country. this has necessitated the declaration of the social distancing policy and movement lockdown by the government of nigeria in most states. this policy led to the closure of worship centers and the prohibition of all forms of religious gatherings. this paper examines the impact of the covid-19 social distancing policy and movement lockdown on pentecostalism in nigeria. the paper also investigates the extent to which pentecostalism has employed ict to sustain and build the faith of its members in the face of the pandemic. the paper employs the expository and analytic methods of data analysis. this paper concludes that just like the spanish influenza of 1918-19 led to a great revival and the formation of prayer groups and churches to cushion the effects of the influenza, pentecostal movements in nigeria have not only used the ict to sustain and build the faith of its member in the face of the pandemic, it has also used the ict to evangelize and win new members to the fold. keywords: pentecostalism, ict, covid-19, pandemic. introduction the 21st century is referred to as the age of science and technology and the effects of scientific and technological advancement and innovations are far reaching. one way that science and technology unveils itself is through the gadgets and infrastructures of information and communication technology (ict) which has permeated all aspects of human life while at the same time, providing a faster and better means of communication. imhonopi, d and urim, u, m (2011:1) corroborated the above when they argued that: the emergence of information and communication technologies (icts) has provided the means for faster and better communication, efficient storage, retrieval and processing of data and exchange and utilization of information by its users, be they individuals, groups, businesses, organizations or government. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 26 the use of ict has as well, motivated people to modify their ways of doing things, this they have done by leveraging on the advantages and possibilities provides by ict. the advent of coronavirus 2019 otherwise referred to as covid-19 and the impact it has exacted globally has necessitated the modification of the way we do things. this is because of the movement lockdown and the physical distancing policy of government all over the world to cushion the spread of the virus. in this context, when the worship and practice of god by the various religious persuasions have also been affected. the fact that the various religious groups and within the context of this study, pentecostal christian religious groups cannot meet for their regular worship has prompted them to make recourse to the use of information communication technologies (icts) to enable them stay afloat during the pandemic. this paper seeks to explore how pentecostalism has fared in the face of the coronavirus 2019 pandemic using information and communication technologies (icts). hence, the paper proceeds from a preliminary discourse of the concepts of pentecostalism and information and communication technology (icts) ict through a discourse on the origin and spread of the coronavirus pandemic to a discourse on ict as the new normal in the sustenance and spread of pentecostalism in the face of covid-19 pandemic in nigeria. pentecostalism and information and communication technology (ict): an exposé pentecostalism is a global phenomenon with a large following in north america, latin america, asia, africa and other parts of the world. the rise, growth and influence of pentecostalism in africa are enormous and have, without fear of contradiction, become one of the dominant expressions of christianity on the continent. a contextual analysis of christianity in africa showed that the african soil is more fertile for this movement. its manifestation ranges from classical pentecostalism (first wave), to the charismatic movement (second wave) and the charismatic renewal movements (third wave) (mashau, d. t., 2013: 1). it refers to a renewal movement within christianity which places emphasis on direct personal experience with god through the baptism of the holy spirit. the term is derived from ‘pentecost’, the greek name for the jewish feast of week (allan anderson: 2015). according to livingstone, “pentecostalism is a moderate religious movement within christianity whose adherents share a common belief in the possibility of receiving the same experience as the first christians did” (1980: 391). consequently, pentecostal churches refer to all the churches within christianity that emphasize the personal experience of god through the holy spirit and have the speaking in tongues as it major mark and characteristics. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 27 some of the reasons for the growth of pentecostalism in africa include amongst others (1) emphasis on the ‘flexibility of the spirit’, which enables it to transplant itself easily onto any cultural context; (2) emphasis on the working of the holy spirit, especially the power to provide deliverance not only from sin, but also demonic attacks, demon possession, and poverty through healing and prosperity promises; and (3) spontaneity and communal participation in worship (2013:2). information and communication technology (ict) according to imhonopi, d and urim, u. m (2011:2) is the technology that has made positive impact on information generation, storage, retrieval, transmission and communication. it encompasses all those technologies that enables the handling of information and facilitates the different forms of communication amongst human actors between human beings and electronic systems and among electronic systems. for ughegbu as quoted in imhonopi, d and urim, u. m (2011), information and communication technology is a group of technologies that is used to handle and manage information and records as well as in transmitting such information to whosever needs it. it is also referred to as the amalgam of modern technology and tools such as computers, facsimile transmission, macro graph telecommunication, macro electronics, office information and control engineering. from the angle of the world wide web (www), information and communication technology is made possible by the internet through the interconnectivity of computers that allows the sharing and receiving of information through computer network systems. coronavirus 2019 (covid-19): the origin and the spread in nigeria the coronavirus 2019 (covid-19) is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (sarscov2) (joseph, a.a and joseph a.o, 2020: 73). the virus began in wuhan, hubei province, china. residents who live in wuhan had some link to large seafood and live animal market, which suggests that the mode of transmission of coronavirus was from animal to person. the first known patient of coronavirus started experiencing symptoms in wuham, china on december 1, 2019 (ozili, 2020). since then, there have been millions of recorded cases all over the world with an increasing death toll. it was however, on january 30, 2020 that the world health organisation (who) declared covid-19 virus as a public health emergency of international concern (pheic) because of its spread to countries of the world and its effect on trades and travels (dawn 2020). and according to joseph, a.a and joseph a.o (2020:73), on the 11th of march 2020, it was declared a pandemic. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 28 regarding the spread of coronavirus to nigeria, ebenso and otu (2020) averred that news broke on the 27th of february that an italian citizen was nigeria’s first case of coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19). the individual had landed at lagos airport two (2) days earlier on a flight from northern italy, and had subsequently travelled from lagos to ogun state, western nigeria where he became ill and was promptly isolated. while the federal ministry of health announced the confirmation of the first case of covid-19 in lagos state, nigeria, in the same communication, the minister of health announced that the multisectoral coronavirus preparedness group led by the nigerian center for disease control (ncdc) has immediately activated its emergency operation centers (see the nigerian education sector covid-19 response strategy in north east (2020). in their contribution to the discourse on the spread of the virus, jombo, g. t. a. et’al (2020:26) averred that: as at 6th april 2020 covid-19 has afflicted about 1.3 million people worldwide with 70, 590 deaths; spain recorded 135, 032 infections and 13055 deaths while italy has so far recorded 128, 958 infections with 15, 887 deaths and usa, 337, 797 infections and with 9, 670 deaths and in nigeria, it has infected 322 people with 5 deaths. these figures have since increased astronomically and within the context of nigeria, as at wednesday 29th july 2020, the nigerian centre for disease control (ncdc) daily update reveals that there are 41804 confirmed covid19 cases in nigeria out of which, 22172 are active cases, 18764 have been discharged and 868 deaths have been recorded. the wide spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19), all over the world is devastating, this has prompted most world leaders to employ adequate measures in order to curtail it from further spreading; this pandemic has become the subject of concern and deliberation across the globe because of its apparent impact on countries in all the continents of the world. one of the measures that have been put in place to curb the spread of the virus in the country is the imposition and enforcement of the governmental social distancing policy and movement lockdown (either total or partial) in the country, the effect of which have been felt by most citizens. the world is currently facing a human, economic and social crisis due to the surge of the novel coronavirus pandemic. that the policies of lockdown of the societies, the physical distancing or the stay-at-home order of governments are intended to cut the chain and possibly flatting the curve of the covid-19 transmission are currently the workable measures aimed at eradicating the disease, since there is no known cure or vaccine yet is a statement of fact. the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 29 mass compliance with the order is not without concomitant effects; such resultants consequences are exacted on the social and economic wellbeing of the globe, which ushered a direct human condition whose magnitude is not less than those of the disease if not checked. the social and physical distancing policy aimed at checking person-to-person viral transmission is in some way widening social crisis created by the pandemic which potently increases inequality, exclusion or discrimination, and global unemployment in the medium and long term, as projected by the united nations. the impact of the governmental lockdown policy during the pandemic is enormous. aside the fact that, jobs will be lost, there is hunger especially amongst the lower income earners, small and medium scale enterprises, petty traders and artisans who have to go out every day to work and earn a living. the pentecostal church is not left out in this regards, with the restriction of movements and gatherings of any kind, there will no more be meetings of pentecostal christians in the form of weekly activities, conferences, crusades, revival meetings amongst others. what this translates into is that, the christian life of pentecostal christians in nigeria will be affected and the impact of the absence of these meetings in the face of the uncertainties that comes with the pandemic is amazing. to this end, the pentecostal church in nigeria sought other means of reaching out to its members and sustaining as well pushing forward the frontiers of pentecostalism in the country in the face of covid-19 pandemic. ict as the new normal in the sustenance and spread of pentecostalism in the face of covid-19 pandemic in the research on local identities and global processes in african pentecostalism, ukah (2003) in his studies of the redeemed christian church of god, nigeria noted that, information technology also played a role in the church globalization. today the redeemed christian church of god makes global broadcast of her programmes through their television station. many church leaders see the internet as god’s solution to world missionary logistics challenges. the above goes for other such pentecostal churches as the deeper christian life ministry, the living faith church worldwide, mountain of fire and miracle ministries, assemblies of god’s church nigeria, royalty christian centre, the kicc, hilltop evangelical centre amongst others who have television channels and are broadcasting to the world. commenting on the internet evangelism day, pastor ayo oritsejafor, national president of the pentecostal fellowship of nigeria, pastor word of life bible igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 30 church and a former chairman of the christian association of nigeria (can) says (iec, 2011): the great commission of our lord jesus christ is that we should take the gospel to the end of the earth through various evangelistic activities. the internet has proved to be one of the most efficient and reliable means of communicating globally with little or no restrictions, which christians cannot ignore. like other means of communication, we urge christians to take advantage of the numerous opportunities provided by the internet for evangelism. churches should promote computer literacy programmes for members to enhance their use of the internet as outreach to many who need to hear about the gospel of our lord jesus christ. much as the gospel is eternal and never changes, it will be difficult for us to significantly influence the 21st century if we are not knowledgeable enough about modern tools for influencing world opinion like the internet. we need to sufficiently saturate the internet with evangelistic websites and information that can win over unbeliever from the kingdom of darkness into his marvelous light. deducible from the above is the fact that a good number of pentecostal pastors and ministries have to the realization of the propensity of the information technology at driving the gospel message beyond known boundaries and hence have keyed into it even before the advent of the covid-19 pandemic. for the few churches and heads of ministries that have not keyed into the use of information and communication technology, such myths as (i) that the internet is the devils playground which churches should stay away from, (ii) that the church will not reach the people through the internet (iii) that it is very expensive to manage and (iv) the use of social medias like facebook, whatsapp, youtube should be discouraged seems to hold sway. the awakening that stares pentecostalism in the face of the covid-19 pandemic in nigeria is that they have to be alive to the new normal of the understanding that they can “privately worship god in the comfort of their homes, even on designated worship day” (amunnadi and ezeugwu, 2020:31). the question that resonates ramifies that of how can they possibly do that? that is where the information and communication technology (ict) comes to play. new technologies, as anyone who is still in touch with reality will argue, have changed our ways and methods of communicating in the past decades, there igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 31 have been the adoption of information and communication technology (ict) by the contemporary church all over the world for communication with the intents of growing the church. in the face of the governmental policy on social and physical distancing as well as movement lockdown, pentecostalism in nigeria has continued to thrive regardless of the inability of the churches to conduct physical services in their church premises and meeting halls. in this regards, the frontiers of pentecostal christianity in nigeria has continues to move forward just like it did in the days of the influenza. during the lock down, the ict have been fully activated and utilized to attain this goal. this has occasioned the “change in the mode of conducting religious services using technological innovations like zoom, video conferencing and teleconferencing” (2020: 31). drawing from the above, ict and media technologies has come to be seen as the extension of the physical pulpit. pentecostal churches in response to the prevailing realities that has come to play with the coronavirus pandemic now have such ict infrastructures as the vsat, tv stations or television production, central storage or repositories of their resources, database portals, web portals, web servers, and wireless network infrastructures. they also have facebook pages and youtube channels through which they stream their programmes and services live to their social media followers and whatsapp group chats where they share materials ranging from resources in their archives, sermons, bible studies, soul lifting music, videos, prophetic declarations of their founders, daily devotionals, to prayer request and testimonies of god’s faithfulness for their members to download. with all these in place and the seeming reduction in the prices of data by the internet service providers in the country, pentecostal churches in nigeria have been able to meet the spiritual needs of the people in the face of the apparent uncertainties that comes with covid-19. in this context, even individual who do not go to church before, tends to yearn towards a return to god in the face of the pandemic and the various ict outlets of the pentecostal churches comes handy; believers are also strengthen in the faith and backsliders are restored to god in the process. through these ict infrastructures and social media outlets, prayer meetings and night vigils (all night prayers) are held, church seminars and conferences are also held, live streaming and live transmission of messages from the founders and heads of ministries are taken to members in the comfort of their sitting rooms and away from the pandemic, live musical concerts are also held to strengthen the faith of the people, an example of which is the “worship without walls 2020” concert by the sabbath embassy of christ (internet church), a twelve (12) straight hours internet concert with over fifty (50) gospel artists from different pentecostal churches on sunday, may 31st. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 32 this concert, according to one of the organizers, pastor (dr.) ope banwo is about the unstoppable worship of the king of kings regardless of what is going on around us. it is also a direct response to the covid-19 disruption of the regular places of worship and shut down our physical places of worship, it cannot and it will never shutdown our voices of praise to the almighty god. in all these attempts by pentecostal churches in nigeria, messages of hope and of god’s faithfulness are received through radio stations, satellite television stations, through smart phones and even to the isolation centres by people who have tested positive for covid-19 and are undergoing treatment. aside the above, pentecostal churches in the face of the movement restriction and lockdown provided dedicated telephone lines through which their members can call and receive prayers, pastoral care and counsels where the needs arise. in addition, a host of these churches also made use of short messaging services (bulk sms’) to keep in touch and to check on their members by sending them messages of hope in such trying times. drawing from the fact that tithes and offering is part of worship and thanksgiving to god, the most part of the pentecostal churches also harped into the possibilities of the ict to provide application, portals and account numbers through which its members can pay in their tithes and offering. this was made possible through the use of smart phones and codes that enabled willing members to pay their tithes from the comfort of their homes. while it is true that one of the factors that promoted the growth of african independent churches and pentecostalism in nigeria was the worldwide spanish influenza plague, it is believed that the coronavirus 2019 (covid-19) will also promote the growth of pentecostalism against all odd. and just like there was a massive revival after the spanish influenza of 1918 that led to the formation of prayer groups and churches to cushion the effects of influenza, the effect of which was the arrival of christ apostolic church, the assembly of god church, foursquare gospel church etc and the establishment of redeemed christian church of god amongst others in the decades following, it is believed that these attempts by the pentecostal churches to push forth the frontiers of the gospel of christ and the message of hope despite the movement lockdown period will lead to a sustained revival even after the pandemic. conclusion in the preceding paragraphs, attempts have been made to examinehow pentecostalism has fared in the face of the dreaded covid-19 pandemic. as we draw to the conclusion of this reflection, a number of positions have been raised and a rehearsal of a few of them is considered necessary. one that we live in an igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 33 age that is considered an age of science and technology and that science and technology has permeated every aspect of our existential life are statements of fact that coheres with the actual state of affairs. two, pentecostalism and pentecostal churches in nigeria, like elsewhere have had their places of meeting shut down as a result of the government movement lock down and physical distancing policies that have been put in place to curtail the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. however, pentecostalism in nigerian have been able to wither the storm and sustain itself regardless of the lockdown and prohibition of public gathering. this it has done, exclusively by leveraging on the advantages and possibilities of information and communication technologies (icts). through this medium, pentecostal churches have been able to convey the message of salvation and of hope to her members in the comfort of their houses, to the isolation centres and also to evangelize and win new members to the fold. in this context, they have leveraged on icts to get their messages, live sermons and messages from their archives, prophetic declarations, daily devotional amongst others to the people through radio, television production, church television broadcast station, facebook pages, youtube channels, zoom video telecast amongst others. furthermore, the have been able to hold live prayer meetings and night vigils to seek the face of god for the end of the pandemic as well as live internet concerts to worship god. what is to be noted is that, just like the spanish influenza of 1918 triggered a massive revival and led to the growth of pentecostalism globally, the covid-19 pandemic is it is believed, will lead to the growth of pentecostalism in nigeria in the post covid-19 era as against the predictions that it will negatively affect the growth of the same. references allen anderson (2015) “the origin, growth and significance of the pentecostal movement in the third world”. http://www.artsweb.bham.ac.uk/ aanderson/publications/origins.html. (assessed 12/6/2020). amunnadi, c. a. and ezeugwu, e.c (2020) “coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic a global menace: an appraisal of its philosophical and theological implication for the nigerian church” sapientia journal of arts, humanities and development studies (sgojahds). vol. 3, no. 1, 23-32. ebenso, b and otu, a. (2020) “can nigeria contain the covid-19 outbreak using lessons from recent epidemics?” the lancet global health. \ imhonopi, d and urim, u.m (2011) “information and communication technology (ict) and governance in nigeria: challenges and prospects” in journal of humanities, social sciences and creative art 2011, 6(2); 1-14. http://www.artsweb.bham.ac.uk/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 34 internet evangelism coalition (iec), internet evangelism day (2011). retrieved from http://www.internetevangelismday.com/supporting.php jombo, g.t.a et’al “covid-19 disease pandemic in the 21st century: as african braces up for the disease, what needs to be known” western journal of biomedical sciences. vol. 1, no. 1, 2020, 25-34. joseph, a.a and joseph, o.a (2020) “beliefs and perceptions about covid-19 amongst students of a higher institution in south-western nigeria” western journal of biomedical sciences. vol. 1, no. 1, 2020, 72-80. livingstone, e. a (1980) the concise oxford dictionary of christian church. oxford: oxford university press. mashau, t.d., (2013), ‘ministering effectively in the context of pentecostalism in africa: a reformed missional reflection’, in die skriflig/in luce verbi 47(1), art. #84, 8, http://dx.doi.org/ 10.4102/ids.v47i1.84 ozili, p (2020) “covid-19 pandemic and economic crisis: the nigerian experience and structural causes” retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/ publication/340439471. 23/05/2020. ukah af (2003). the redeemed christian church of god (rccg), nigeria. local identities and global processes in african pentecostalism, (unpublished phd thesis), universität bayreuth.\ https://www.researchgate.net/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 37 the mission of the church and membership plight of african polygamists: a biblical-contextual reflection joshua j. zoaka, phd department of religious studies, babcock university, ilishan-remo, ogun state, nigeria zoakaj@babcock.edu.ng & ucheawaji godfrey josiah, phd department of religious studies, adeleke university, ede, osun state josiah.ucheawaji@adelekeuniversity.edu.ng & innocent amagbaekhen department of religious studies, babcock university, ilishan-remo, ogun state, nigeria doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.14770.12482 abstract polygamy is termed “the most complex issue with which the christian churches in africa have had to deal with in its missionary enterprise.” the complication in the matter seems to have centered on baptism and admittance into membership of those, especially the males, who were in polygamous relationships at the time they received the gospel. these fellows are confronted with the challenge of whether to keep the family together or to dissolve it. this dilemma has continued to call for the church’s response. as an attempt to resolve this enigma, various church denominations had tackled the polygamous problem differently, yet the issue still persists. it is against this backdrop, that this paper adopts a critical-analytical approach towards analysing the official position of selected churches (the roman catholic, seventh-day adventist and anglican) on the membership status of polygamists, appraising same in light of biblical inferences and the church’s mission of disciple-making especially in africa. findings revealed that the church’s positions, suggest that the salvation of the multiple wives is more important than that of the polygamous man who was polygamous at his ‘heathen’ state and now wishes to be part of god’s church through baptism but is denied. the work recommends that a man who at the time of ignorance became a polygamist and then comes in contact with the gospel, be allowed into church membership though with certain conditions not inimical to the peace of his igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 38 household but mission oriented – a position which has been adopted by the anglican communion. keywords: church’s mission, african polygamist, church membership, anglican, communion, biblical reflection introduction polygamy, regarded popularly, as an african problem has been discovered to have its various types even in the developed parts of the world. it has indeed become a universal issue as scholars have observed.1 the practice of polygamy in contemporary africa especially, nigerian society with the attendant disagreements among christian scholars and churches, raises some social, ethical and religious questions as to where lies the place of the church’s mission to african polygamists? from its cultural milieu, polygamy was morally, ethically and socially accepted in africa, prior to the advent of christianity.2 the words of nwankpa below are also very informative: along the cross-river basin, the gospel did not penetrate deeply because of its confrontation with polygamy. there is even what one might term a contradiction and that is the situation where a man that has a polygamous home cannot be received into the membership of the church, whereas one of the man’s many wives could be ordained a ruling elder of the church.3 in view of the overwhelming effects of the issue of polygamy in various homes, and the attendant pastoral problems, and disagreement it creates among church members, as well as the evangelical implications, polygamy has been termed “the most complex issue with which the christian churches in africa have had to deal with in its missionary enterprise.”4 the complication in the matter seems to have centered on the baptism and admittance into membership of those, especially the males, who are in polygamous relationships at the time they received the gospel. they are confronted with the challenge of whether to keep the family together or to dissolve it. in the western world from which christianity got into subsaharan africa, monogamy is basically practised as a culture though 1 mmagu, m. uduma, (1980). polygamy in igboland of eastern nigeria, unpublished m.a. thesis, theological seminary, andrews university, michigan, 16. 2onyebuchi pu, nwankpa, (2014). the ethical, social and spiritual angst of polygamy: a pastoral and spiritual challenge cum strategies, (aba: okman prints ltd.), xv. 3 nwankpa, (2014). the ethical, social and spiritual angst of polygamy: a pastoral and spiritual challenge cum strategies. 4 staples russell, (1982). september “must polygamists divorce?” spectrum.13: 44. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 39 borrowed from the ancient roman culture. although, this loaned culture proscribed polygamy, it allowed for divorce and remarriage.5 the above does not in any way mirror the african society whose traditional culture may be considered to be polygamous. more so, in spite of the fact that the bible’s ideal is monogamy, more than 83% of the societies of the world allow for polygamy as a form of marriage.6 following this background, the missionaries who came from their monogamous milieu to africa, found the polygamous culture they met, as extremely difficult to understand and even to deal with, and as a result, they unflinchingly and uncompromisingly, insisted on monogamy the way they understood it and this posed a lot of social as well as pastoral problems. in fact, various church denominations tackled the polygamous problem differently.7 polygamy as a social phenomenon is indeed a challenge that has continued to call for the church’s response since the church is part of the society. it is against this backdrop, that this paper is geared towards analysing the official position (as documented) of select churches on the membership status of polygamists appraising same in terms of biblical inferences and the church’s mission of disciple-making especially, in africa. a critical-analytical as well as a historical approach is employed for the purpose of this study. the practice of polygamy in old testament times and its attendant consequences biblical records prove that lamech was the first polygamist in the history of human existence in the world (gen. 4:19-23). on the foregoing, tenney states: “the story of the creation of the first two human beings reveals monogamous marriage as the expression of the will of god. polygamy first appeared in the reprobate line of cain when lamech took two wives.”8 in her story of redemption with reference to lamech’s polygamous relationship, white writes: in the beginning... he never designed that man should have a plurality of wives. lamech... had two wives, which created discord in his family.... this was one of the great sins of the old world which brought the wrath of god upon them.9 5a. o. igenoza, (2005). polygamy and the african churches: a biblical appraisal of an african marriage system. (ibadan, ni: nigerian publications bureau), 27-28. 6 george murdock, (1967). ethnographic atlas. (pittsburg, pa: university of pittsburg press), 47-48, 62-122. 7 a. o. igenoza, (2005). polygamy and the african churches: a biblical appraisal of an african marriage system, 28-29. 8 merril c. tenney, (1975). the zondervan pictorial encyclopaedia of the bible. (michigan: zondervan publications), 93. 9 white, ellen gould (1948). testimonies to the church, volume 7, (california: pacific press), 75, 76. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 40 the above words of white, indeed express a shift from god’s intended ideal (of monogamous) marriage relationship to a polygamous one. although white infers that such polygamous relationship attracted god’s wrath on the people, the fact remains, that the scriptures did not expressly condemn such act but however, made allusions to god’s intended ideal for marriages. notwithstanding, john calvin in kunhiyop,10 holds that it may be possible to presume that the very mention that lemech had married two wives might suggest divine disfavour towards polygamy.11 similarly, he identifies lamech’s offense as a “corruption of lawful marriage” and says such was allowed to put polygamists to shame. as a response to the above scholars’ suppositions, it may be unfair to use lamech’s wicked life as judgment against polygamy and polygamists. however, it could be appropriate to say that his bad life’s disposition must have led him into making a bad decision of going contrary to god’s ideal. this position is echoed by whiteset12 who says that lamech was a bad example since he was both a murderer like his ancestor cain who he described as a selfish braggart. moreover, it is observed that “lamech was the first to prepare the way for polygamy by which the ethical aspects of marriage, ordained by god, were turned into the lust of the eye and the lust of the flesh.”13 however, etok14 argues that “at least in the ideal, the hebrews favoured monogamy although a plurality of wives was tolerated. this too, had not been so in the beginning according to the divine intention. following closely the polygamous practices in the old testament, we understand that the circumstance that led abraham into polygamy was the barrenness of his wife, sarah. nonetheless, the outcome of his action was not favourable but also heart-breaking as of those who pre-planned it. surprisingly too, the norms and ideals of the time he lived did not frown at the practice of polygamy. this is clearly addressed in nichol’s statement that “the legal codes of mesopotamia recognized the practice whereby a childless wife might give one of her slaves to her husband and obtain children by means of her and determine precisely the rights of such offspring.”15 10 samuel waje kunhiyop, (2004). african christian ethics, (kaduna: baraka), 319. 11 samuel waje kunhiyop, (2004). african christian ethics, (kaduna: baraka), 320. 12 dwight whiteset, ( 2006). polygamy vs god’s way, (arlington: mission pointing), 2. 13 c. f. keil and f. delitzch, (1988). commentary on the old testament in ten volumes, (grand rapids: w. b. erdmans), 118. 14 sylvanus etok, (1995). hebrew history and religion, university of port-harcourt, 31. 15 francis d. nichol (1954). the seventh-day adventist bible commentary, volume 1, genesis to deuteronomy, (washington d.c.: review and herald publishing association), 317. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 41 however, o’donovan commenting on such legal codes has the following to say: “from the time he took hagar as a second wife, abraham had no happiness in his home. there was jealousy between hagar and sarah and between isaac and ishmael. the jealousy between isaac and ishmael and their descendants has continued for 4000 years right down to the present day.”16 the above, highlights the dangers in polygamous relationships. nevertheless, white17 also commenting on abraham’s action pointed out, that the step he took resulted in evil not only to his own household, but to future generation. stringer adds that although abraham’s and jacob’s environment and culture accepted polygamy, the bible did not approve of it. abraham became a polygamist “because sarai seems unable to bear children; the spiteful jealousy that results is a common thread that weaves through most accounts of polygamy.”18 in genesis 30 we see the murderous jealousy that existed between the wives of jacob – leah and rachael. such jealousy brought about the unhealthy competition that ensued. rachael, seeing that leah was almost taking the entire heart and love of their husband by bearing him four children while she bore none, handed her maid over to their husband; thereby increasing the number of wives. leah also did the same thing; bringing the number of jacob’s wives to four. in this way also, the hostility and jealousy which were fraught with no mean heart-break, increased.19 the animosity that existed in the polygamous family of elkanah was very easy to imagine since it led hannah (one of the wives) to refuse to eat (1sam 1:6-8). the record has it that: and now there was a certain man... and his name was elkanah... and he had two wives; the name of the one was hannah, and the name of the other, peninnah.... and this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice.... he loved hannah... and her adversary (peninnah) also provoked her (hannah) sore for to make her fret... so she provoked her; therefore, she wept, and did not eat (1 samuel 1:1). the passage above indicates that elkanah did not get happiness in taking a second wife. according to white, in her book patriarchs and prophets, “sons and daughters were added to the household; but the joy and the beauty of god’s sacred institution has been marred and the peace of the family was 16 wilbur o’donovan, (2000). biblical christianity in african perspective, (ilorin: peternoster), 280. 17 ellen gould white, (1959). patriarchs and prophets, (washington dc: pacific press), 145. 18i. a. stringer, (1990). dictionary of bible knowledge, (london: grace baptist mission), 150. 19 nwankpa, (2014). the ethical, social and spiritual angst of polygamy: a pastoral and spiritual challenge cum strategies, xv. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 42 broken.”20 white further posits that “peninnah, the new wife, was jealous and narrow-minded, and she bore herself with pride and insolence. to hannah, hope seemed crushed and life was a weary burden.”21 nevertheless, chisto says that although elkanah was faithful, he still deviated from the right path and engaged in plural marriage. he buttresses: elkanah was apparently a faithful follower of the lord. yet, that faithfulness did not prevent him from deviating from god’s ideal in marriage, one man and one wife. that polygamy was permitted did not make it right or good. god has given us an ideal because he knows what’s best for us. when we depart from it, no good can arise.22 from the quote above it is increasingly clear that polygamy was tolerated in the old testament even though that did not make it right or acceptable. although elkanah was polygamous, he was also referred to as a “faithful follower of the lord.” there seemed not to be any family devastated, scattered, and in schism in biblical history as the house of gideon. as is true of most polygamous homes, the house of gideon managed to hold together for as long as gideon was alive. as soon as he died, and was buried, the suppressed polygamy problems began to surface; beginning with the conspiracy resulting in the massacre of the seventy sons of gideon by one of the same blood and to the unrest, insecurity, and confusion that developed, leading the entire israel back to the worship of baal.23 solomon was one of the most outstanding and most famous kings of israel. he was said in 1 kings 11:3, to have had “seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines.” in fact, he was acknowledged as one who loved many women of the daughters of pharaoh, of the moabites, of the ammonites, of the edomites, of the zidonians and of the hittites. the wives of solomon were mainly from forbidden nations and thus overwhelmed him and led him to idolatry. the bible recorded that “his heart was not perfect with the lord his god, as was the heart of david his father.” and this was because he had ignored god’s counsel that kings should not become polygamist (deut. 17:16, 17). 20 white, (1959). patriarchs and prophets, 145. 21 white, (1959). patriarchs and prophets, 39. 22 gordon rosenita christo, (2007). for better for worse: lessons from old testament couples, silver spring: general conference of sda, 56. 23 nwankpa, (2014). the ethical, social and spiritual angst of polygamy: a pastoral and spiritual challenge cum strategies. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 43 furthermore, kunhiyop describes the results of polygamy in the davidic home as: the result of having more than one wife created a rivalry for the throne, dividing the nation, (2 sam 15:6, 10-15). in fact, that solomon was trained up properly by his father and chosen by god to be israel’s next king (1 ki 1:29-35) did not negate the problems arising out of the rivalry between the son of david’s first wife and that of bathsheba.24 the footsteps of solomon were directly followed by his son, rehoboam. he grossly entered into polygamous life by marrying 18 wives and 60 concubines, which produced 28 sons and 60 daughters. as in the case of his father, where poor parenting was evident, so rehoboam could not control his children, because a man could not possibly control 88 children (2 chron 11:18-21). it was noticed that rehoboam’s polygamous expedition was not only detrimental to him and his household, but to the entire house of israel.25 furthermore, kunhiyop is of the opinion that bible passages on polygamy are only “descriptive rather than prescriptive”. he argues that there are no clearcut statements of either commendation or prohibition that could be picked from them.26 however, from the beginning, it is discovered that god’s ideal for marriage was “a helper suitable” (gen 2:18) which was in the singular and not in the plural. this suggests one marriage partner and not plurality of wives or husbands. three basic views have been advanced by scholars of the bible concerning the stand of the bible on polygamy. first, some bible students contend that the bible does not condemn polygamy, rather that it restricts it. the second group insists that the old testament allows for it while the new testament outlaws it. a third position holds that monogamy is promoted throughout the bible, while polygamy is ruled out.27 witherington cited in whiteset28 agrees with pipim when he argues that although polygamy was practiced in the bible times, it was neither a doctrine nor a command. he suggests that one reads both portions of the old testament and the new testament and not just focus on one, for a good representative sampling on such issues as polygamy. 24 samuel waje kunhiyop, (2004). african christian ethics, (kaduna: baraka), 309. 25 nwankpa, (2014). the ethical, social and spiritual angst of polygamy: a pastoral and spiritual challenge cum strategies. 26 samuel waje kunhiyop, (2004). african christian ethics, (kaduna: baraka), 317. 27 samuel koranteng pipim, (2005). here we stand, (michigan: adventist affirm), 601. 28 dwight whiteset, ( 2006). polygamy vs god’s way, (arlington: mission pointing), 1. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 44 analysis of the positions of selected churches on membership status of polygamists this segment captures and analyses the roman catholic official position as captured by gitari29; the anglican communion’s position30; and the official positions of the seventh-day adventist church31 on membership status of polygamists in the church vis-à-vis the mission of the church. official position of the roman catholic church the roman catholic church at the council of trent of 1563 agreed that: if anyone says that it is lawful for christians to have several wives at the same time, and that it is not forbidden by divine law (matthew 19:4f) let him be anathema. but in a case where a polygamist wishes to join church membership, divorce was permitted. it was agreed that a polygamist should divorce all his extra wives and retain the one he prefers most as long as the retained wife is willing to be baptized with her husband. there is no doubt however that the ideal marriage from the biblical point of view is monogamy as shown in the position above. however, this position unassumingly creates an imbalance with its idea of divorce except if the church is legalising divorce which is unbiblical anyway. more so, retaining the wife he prefers also suggests that the extra wives were legally married and are bound under the marriage covenant as does the first wife. nevertheless, what if all the wives are willing to be baptized what happens? what consideration does the church have for the salvation of the man, his wives and children? this needs an urgent attention in the church’s struggle over the membership of a polygamist in africa. official position of the anglican communion at the 1888 lambeth conference of the anglican communion, it was resolved that: 29 gitari, david. (1984). the church and polygamy in transformation, 1.1:4-5. 30 adrian hastings, (1973), christian marriage in africa being a report commissioned by the archbishops of cape town, central africa, kenya, tanzania and uganda (london, spck), 12. 31 general conference of seventh-day adventists, (1990-1991). working policy, 73-74, review and herald publishing association, 73-74. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 45 persons living in polygamy be not admitted to baptism, but that they be accepted as candidates and kept under christian instruction until such a time as they shall be in position to accept the law of christ. the wives of the polygamists however, may be admitted in some cases to baptism but it must be left to the local authorities of the church under what circumstances they must be baptized. the above position did not state whether the polygamist was in that condition in his heathen state before being confronted with the gospel. if he were polygamous in his heathen state before the gospel got to him, what is the church’s stand in that regard? no doubt, keeping the polygamist under christian instruction is not an issue but is this implying jesus’ injunction of letting people come to him the way they are? however, it appears that the church’s position changed from what it was in 1888 in the lambeth conference of 1988 as revealed in the subsequent section. 1988 lambeth conference resolution 26: church and polygamy32 at this conference, it was recommended that a polygamist who responds to the gospel and wishes to join the anglican church may be baptized and confirmed with his believing wives and children subject to the following conditions: (1) that the polygamist shall promise not to marry again as long as any of his wives at the time of his conversion are alive; (2) that the receiving of such a polygamist has the consent of the local anglican community; (3) that such a polygamist shall not be compelled to put away any of his wives, on account of the social deprivation they would suffer; (4) and recommends that provinces where the churches face problems of polygamy are encouraged to share information of their pastoral approach to christians who become polygamists so that the most appropriate way of disciplining and pastoring them can be found, and that the acc be requested to facilitate the sharing of that information. the above recommendations were made in amendment to the 1888 position of the church which appeared to have retard the missionary endeavours toward the polygamists within africa cultural ambience known for polygamous 32the lambeth conference resolutions archive, (1988), index of resolutions, published by the anglican communion office, anglican consultative council. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 46 relationships. the first to the third recommendations were made for men who before receiving the gospel, had been polygamists while the fourth recommendation appears to have been made to checkmate those whose names are already in church membership but chose to be polygamous. however, in 2008, the amended position seemed to have generated some concerns which is discussed in the next section. 2008 lambeth conference resolution 33 item 114 of the 2008 lambeth conference resolution presents the concern below: for some, the way the communion has been perceived to handle polygamy has complicated the issue. polygamy has been part of the history and of the present of some provinces of the communion. it is unacceptable in other parts of the communion. the communion made a space for such provinces to deal with this issue at their local level…. in the case of polygamy, there is a universal standard – it is understood to be a sin; therefore, polygamists are not admitted to positions of leadership including holy orders, nor after acceptance of the gospel can a convert take another wife, nor, in some areas, are they admitted to holy communion. the adoption of the 1988 amended resolution of the lambeth conference elicited some objection in relation to the perceived complicatedness of the way the church had handled the issue of polygamy in africa following the amendment. this warranted the 2008 lambeth conference. arising from that conference is item 114 of the 2008 lambeth conference resolution which addressed the objection. this concern was however addressed by stating that in addition to the 1988 lambeth conference recommendation, the communion in 2008 added that the accepted polygamist could be excluded from leadership position, and sometimes from partaking in holy communion. this position does not necessarily recommend the exclusion of the polygamist who accepted the gospel, from partaking in holy communion but states that in some areas, the exclusion could be enforced. this position appears to at least have a human face given the fact that the communion allows local congregation (s) the opportunity to make their 33 the lambeth indaba capturing conversations and reflections from the lambeth conference (aug., 3, 2008). equipping bishops for mission and strengthening anglican identity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 47 informed decision as it regards the admission or non-admission of polygamists into leadership position or as it regards their partaking n holy communion. an interaction with some anglican priest serving within ijebuode province confirmed that in some areas of the communion in nigeria, polygamists were allowed into leadership position as well as into holy communion. the next segment analysed the official position of the seventhday adventist church. official positions of the seventh-day adventist church position one a man found living in a state of polygamy when the gospel reaches him shall upon conversion be required to change his status by putting away all his wives save one before he shall be considered eligible for baptism and church membership. this position of the church, though, unassuming, creates an imbalance somehow. considering the fact that the polygamist in question married these wives both culturally and customarily, asking him to divorce all the wives except the first before becoming an eligible member of the church, seem to downplay the biblical position on marriage covenant (mal. 2:16). as a covenant, marriage (though heterosexual and monogamous) should be entered with unconditional commitment between the couple. the breaking of a covenant marriage results in the breaking of hearts.34 moreso, the family is the bedrock that forms the indispensable foundation for discipleship. in light of its fundamental place, namely ‘the primary place where the capacity for love and intimacy with god and other human beings is developed and where spiritual values are extended across generations,’ the family thus forms the indispensable foundation for disciple making process of the church in the larger human society.35 therefore, getting the man implies getting his wives and children; rejecting the man means creating a problem between him, his wives and children, which obviously, is not god’s intention for the church. secondly, reading through the instruction on making disciples for christ in matthew 28:19-20, the idea of teaching before baptism and continuous 34 f. lower, (2002). covenant marriage (west monroe: howard publishing company), 86. 35 k. flowers & r. flowers, (2004) human sexuality silver spring, md: department of family ministries, general conference of the seventh day adventist, 85. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 48 teaching even after baptism comes to the fore. thus, this paper proposes that polygamists, who come to know christ and are willing to be part of him, be allowed the right into the body of christ through baptism as the teaching continues. this does not in anyway, suggest that the church condones moral decadence. instead, it implies that the church is out to saving lost souls and pointing them to the salvation in christ jesus. moreover, the commission in mark 16:15-16 to preach the gospel to everyone and baptize those who accept does not exclude polygamists who are receptive to the gospel call. their salvation is also important. position two men thus putting away their wives shall be expected to make proper provision for their future support, and for that of their children, as far as it is within their power to do so. this position seems to emanate from the law of conjugal rights of marriage in exodus 21:7-11.36 the text reads: ‘…her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish’ (kjv); …not deprive the first one of her food, clothing and marital rights’ (nas); ‘…not neglect the rights of the first wife to food, clothing, and sexual intimacy’(nlt). from the text of exodus 21 above, the issue of conjugal right is defined within the context of an abandonment of a first wife (possibly a slave girl) in order to marry a second. although, polygamy is not the ideal marriage god intended for humanity, it has come to stay with man. it has become an endemic issue that the church needs to critically look at especially given the church’s mission to save. this paper suggests that the church should fulfil her mission role of getting to the polygamists who wish to join the faith, by accepting them, while the decision whether or not they will be candidates of heaven be left for god and themselves to decide. this idea which aligns with the resolution of the anglican communion in her 1988 lambeth conference will in away reduce conflict within the family of the polygamist at the point of accepting the gospel and as well enhance the church’s mission to polygamists in africa. more so, deuteronomy 21:15-17 regulates how a man must designate his inheritance to the sons of his multiple wives. he must assign the double portion to the first-born, even if the first-born is the son of his “unloved” wife. he must not give the double portion to “the son of the loved” wife.37 even the 36 walter c. kaiser (1983). toward old testament ethics (grand rapids, mi: zondervan publications), 288–90. 37 gordon j. wenham (1979), the book of leviticus, nicot (grand rapids, mi: eerdmans publications), 257– 58. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 49 case of elkanah in 1 samuel 1:1-5, suggests that polygamists were tolerated in israelites worship setting at shiloh (1 sam. 1:3). therefore, the sda church needs a rethink on this position regarding a polygamist who accepts the message. since he must take care of the family he has already, and not deny the children any form of right due to them. the wives should also partake in his care (exo. 21). position three we recognize that the message found people in certain countries living in a state of polygamy, where tribal customs subject a wife who has been put away to lifelong shame and disgrace, even to the point of becoming common property, her children also becoming disgraced thereby. in all such cases the church is to co-operate with the former husband in making such provision for these wives and children as will provide for their care and protect them from disgrace and undue suffering from the above position, it is understood that the polygamist who comes in contact with the message of the gospel could put away his wives save the first and as such, the church is willing to cooperate with him to take care of the wives so far put away with their children. to what extent would the church be willing to cooperate with him? in fact, it is arguably right to assume that inhumanity is involved. this is because, the church is aware of the fact that the wives so put away would suffer shame and disgrace alongside suffering and hardship and yet advises the man to put them away before accepting christ. such even does not exemplify the message of salvation. the wives and children of the converted polygamist in the instance would see the church as cruel to their feelings and not being compassionate. thus, the paper proposes that the church in africa looks into this position and re-consider how to rather help unite a family through conversion and thus form a family in harmony than bringing further dissension that may jeopardize the salvation of these family members. position four wives of a polygamist, who have entered into the marriage in their heathen state, and who upon accepting christianity are still not permitted to leave their husbands because of tribal custom, may upon approval of the local and union committees become baptized members of the church. however, should a woman who is a member of the church enter into a marriage as a secondary wife, she shall be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 50 disfellowshipped and shall not be re-admitted to the church unless she separates from her polygamous husband. this position opens the church to myriad of criticism. one, the concern here is on the multiple wives in their heathen state and not on the polygamous man in his heathen state. two, if tribal custom would not allow for the putting away of the multiple wives, and upon receiving christianity, they could be baptized, what happens to the man who in his heathen state became polygamous and now receives christianity? in fact, this position especially the first phase, suggests that the multiple wives’ salvation is more important to the church than that of the polygamous man who was thus polygamous at his heathen state and now wishes to be part of god’s church through baptism but is refused. conclusion/ recommendation although men and women were created for relationship, that relationship is not without regulations. in other words, god (author of relationship) gave guidelines for such purpose. however, the fact that, god wanted man to develop a moral character, places the ability to make choices on man, and thus opens the avenue for deviating from god’s ideal.38 given the fact that polygamy is as a result of man’s sinful choice; that more than 83% of the societies of the world allow for this form of marriage39; and that it has been “the most complex issue with which african church has had to deal with in its missionary enterprise,”40 there is then, the need for the church in africa to have some sort of consensus on how to deal with this endemic, societal as well as long-age cultural issue. therefore, this paper proposes, that the church in africa, as part of her mission of the saving of souls, should accept prospects who became polygamous in their heathen state but are willing to be part of christ’s body through baptism. this is because even the case of elkanah in 1 samuel 1:1-5, suggests that polygamists were tolerated in israelites worship setting at shiloh. elkanah participated in the temple worship and even in the offering of sacrifice like every worshiper of yahweh in his days (1 sam. 1:3). moreso, in the new testament, the phrase “husband of one wife” was applied as a qualification for the offices of elder (1 tim 3:2; titus 1:6) and deacon (1 38 johnson, w. kurt (2008). face to face with jesus, (accra: advent press), 24, 27. 39 murdock (1967). ethnographic atlas, 47-48. 40 russell, (1982). september “must polygamists divorce?” 44. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 51 tim3:12) and not as a pre-requisite for conversion. in fact, it further implies that polygamy was tolerated in the church of ephesus where timothy was the pastor. moreover, the commission in mark 16:15-16 to preach the gospel to everyone and baptize those who accept does not exclude polygamists who are receptive to the gospel call. their salvation is also important. therefore, this work recommends that other denominations should, in line with the anglican communion, seek for ways of accommodating polygamists who so became in their ‘heathen’ state and are willing to be part of the christian faith. references etok, sylvanus, (1995). hebrew history and religion, university of portharcourt, 31. christo, gordon, rosenita (2007). for better for worse: lessons from old testament couples, silver spring: general conference of sda. general conference of seventh-day adventists, (1990-1991). working policy, 73-74, review and herald publishing association. gitari, david. (1984). the church and polygamy in transformation, 1.1:4. flowers k. & flowers, r. (2004) human sexuality silver spring, md: department of family ministries, general conference of the seventh day adventist, 85. igenoza, a. o, (2005). polygamy and the african churches: a biblical appraisal of an african marriage system. (ibadan, ni: nigerian publications bureau), 27-28. kaiser, walter c., (1983). toward old testament ethics (grand rapids, mi: zondervan publications), 288–90. kunhiyop, samuel waje, (2004). african christian ethics, (kaduna: baraka), 317, 320. kurt, johnson, w. (2008). face to face with jesus, (accra: advent press), 24, 27 lower, f., (2002). covenant marriage (west monroe: howard publishing company), 86. murdock, george, (1967). ethnographic atlas. (pittsburg, pa: university of pittsburg press), 47-48, 62-122 nichol, francis d., (1954). the seventh-day adventist bible commentary, volume 1, genesis to deuteronomy, (washington d.c.: review and herald publishing association), 317. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 52 nwankpa, onyebuchi pu, (2014). the ethical, social and spiritual angst of polygamy: a pastoral and spiritual challenge cum strategies, (aba: okman prints ltd.). o’donovan, wilbur, (2000). biblical christianity in african perspective, (ilorin: peternoster), 280. pipim, samuel koranteng, (2005). here we stand, (michigan: adventist affirm), 601. russell, staples, (1982). september “must polygamists divorce?” spectrum.13: 44. stringer, i. a, (1990). dictionary of bible knowledge, (london: grace baptist mission), 150. the lambeth conference resolutions archive, (1988). index of resolutions, published by the anglican communion office © 2005 anglican consultative council. the lambeth indaba capturing conversations and reflections from the lambeth conference (aug., 3, 2008). equipping bishops for mission and strengthening anglican identity. tenney, merril c. (1975). the zondervan pictorial encyclopaedia of the bible. (michigan: zondervan publications), 93. uduma, mmagu, m. (1980). polygamy in igboland of eastern nigeria, unpublished m.a. thesis, theological seminary, andrews university, michigan, 16. wenham, gordon j. (1979). the book of leviticus, nicot (grand rapids, mi: eerdmans publications), 257–58. white, ellen gould (1948). testimonies to the church, volume 7, (california: pacific press), 75, 76. white, ellen gould, (1959). patriarchs and prophets, (washington dc: pacific press), 145. whiteset, dwight,( 2006). polygamy vs god’s way, (arlington: mission pointing), 1, 2. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 50 understanding „igwebuike‟ philosophy within the context of the religio-cultural activities of the yoruba southwestern nigeria omojola i. o. ssma, ph.d department of business administration and management villanova polytechnic imesi ile osun state omojolassma@yahoo.co.uk doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.28703.51361 abstract this work examined the igwebuike‟ philosophy in the religio-cultural activities of the yoruba people of southwestern nigeria. the idea of igwebuike philosophy as communal life was related to living and sharing together of the yoruba people no matter the age and condition and age of such. living together in a large number, with a recognised leader give much strength to them in times of good and bad, especially at every celebrations. also, in bad times like during dispute and mourning. they have time to do things together or in common even to the extent of raising children up or educating them in the community. igwebuike philosophy is not distant from yoruba style of life because, yoruba life is based on community living. keywords: igwebuike, philosophy, yoruba, religious, cultural, southwestern, nigeria, africa introduction the aim of this work is to present the igwebuike philosophy and the understanding of the philosophy in the religio-cultural life of the yoruba people of south-western nigeria. the work will point out the richness of the igwebuike philosophy and its relevance to the existential realities of human beings. in presenting a work that relates to a group of people like the yoruba people, it is good to present knowledge of the people with a view to establishing their geographical location. the geographical location of the yoruba people could be presented thus: the yoruba live in the south-western part of the present day nigeria and they occupy the states of ogun, oyo, osun, ondo, lagos and ekiti. they are also found in some parts of kogi, kwara and edo states and beyond the lower niger northwards into nupe land. they could also be found beyond the boundaries of the present day nigeria in mailto:omojolassma@yahoo.co.uk https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.28703.51361?_sg%5b0%5d=mrxx0w1c49be1vvaby9sn1visj8exrdfdkdhxkedoo6bhkgz_vsgm7zxtpsm1bbd9vacl03zftbv5sxb8mj0cpzzea.olygo13oqi-taoioogrxxp6paj18kpkjm5do-foocpgd9pr73wlghn7ywnzeww5tyzq54r6cady4ozqm5syfmg igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 51 dahomey (republic of benin) and togoland. since the result of the last census in nigeria is controversial, it is difficult to give the accurate total population of the yoruba people. all that is known about them is that they are regarded as one of the most advanced communities in west african in; religion, agriculture, commerce, education, art, intelligence, government and warfare.6 the understanding of the igwebuike philosophy is very necessary in understanding its relevance to the existential realities of human beings. the central knowledge of the philosophy could be presented in the following words: …. it is taken from the igbo language, and is a composite word made up of three words. therefore, it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. the three words involved: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power. thus, put together, it means ‗number is strength‘ or ‗number is power‘, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful and can constitute an insurmountable force. its english equivalents are solidarity and complementarity. it is anchored on the african worldview, which is characterized by a common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny. life is a life of sharedness7. it is clear from this extract that the igwebuike philosophy is established on the fact that ―‗number is strength‘ or ‗number is power‘, that is, when human beings 6 l. t. omojola. 2015. catholic church in ekitiland: yesterday, today and tomorrow. akure: don bosco press, 21 7 ikechukwu anthony kanu, igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development in african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038, a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies,17 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 52 come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful and can constitute an insurmountable force. ―8 „igwebuike‟ philosophy in the religious life of the yoruba people the yoruba people believe in the existence of a supreme being who they call olodumare, olorun, etc and they also believe in the existence of the orisa, the divinities. among the yoruba people, ...the annual festivals of the...divinities are usually the concern of the whole community. here the head of the community is particularly involved. even though each orisa has his own high priest, the head of the community is accorded the honour of the pontifex maximus and it is he who is ultimately responsible for all that happens during the festival. he also has a special ritual which, personally or by proxy, he must perform during each festival.9 the religious life of the yoruba people is not a private affair of an individual; rather, it involves a joint celebration of the people in the different villages and towns. in the different communities, the devotees of the different orisa celebrate the different occasions together. for example, the devotee of ogun celebrates with the devotees of osun on the feast of osun etc. it must be pointed out that the celebrations of these feasts involve not only food and drinks which are shared at elaborate gatherings. the igwebuike philosophy here could be understood in the sense that the celebration makes meaning when the people come out in their numbers. the number of worshippers at worship gives strength to the event. the yoruba will say, ka rin ka po, yiye nii yenithere is dignity when we come together in numbers for events. another saying that expressed the philosophy is that: ajoje lo ma ndun-there is joy in eating together. at the same time, the people in their numbers visit the shrines together which also point to the fact that that there is joy in worshiping together in numbers. the sharing of food and drinks point to the fact that there is strength in coming together in numbers to share meals together festivals.. 8 ikechukwu anthony kanu, igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development in african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038, a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies,17 9 b. idowu. 1970. olodumare: god in yoruba belief, 110 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 53 „igwebuike‟ philosophy in the yoruba families in the socio-cultural life of the people of yoruba, the family is a place where the number of people in the ‗akodi‘ helped to strengthen the bond of relationship in the different families. hence, among the yoruba people: one akodi normally occupies all the members in a family clan. [akodi could be understood as chain of buildings erected together that give opportunity for effective communication and access to one another] the good, the bad, the ugly, the beautiful, the lazy, the hard working, the super lazy drone and the workaholic all live together in the same akodi. even the mad-insane, lunatic-person is accommodated in the akodi. this possibility explains the existence of the saying in yoruba: ―tori were ita ni a se ni were ile-translated ―it is because of the mad men (or bad man) outside that you keep or have mad man (bad man) inside‖ thus in the akodi, all kinds of people are fully accommodated, known, noted and accepted for whatever the individual is and encouraged to fulfil his/herself as best in the common interest of all within the akodi. the lazy man, while often rebuked is still accommodated in the akodi. the saying ―igbon inu ole ni ole nje translated ―it is the cleverness or cunningness of the lazy man that he is eating-living on‖ shows the level of acceptance or at the least toleration given to even the lazy person. the only person that is not tolerated in the akodi is the thief. stealing is abhorred within the akodi. within children, pilfering is punished and discouraged in many ways. by the time a young person becomes a full professional thief such a person is either killed or exiled from the akodi for life. in the akodi, the aged, the just born baby and all in the different age grades and levels of life live together. the organisation is such that there is family clan head-usually a man, and all men in the akodi are responsible to him....within the akodi, there are all sorts of family relationships that include father, mother, children, uncles, cousins, half-brothers, half-sisters and such like. all the relationships in the male domain could be summed up as ―egbon‖ or aburo‖ meaning ―senior brother‖ or ―junior brother‖ as the whole clan is regarded as just one family. in the female domain, it is „egbon‟ or „aburo‟ and „oko igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 54 mi‟ or „iyawo mi‟ meaning ‗senior sister‘ or ‗junior sister‘ and ‗my husband‘ or ‗my wife‘ the religious setting in the akodi is totally absorbed in the entire activity of the akodi...there are periodic religious festive celebrations like „idun ij‟su[odun ijesu]-new yam eating festival, ―ikore-harvest, and such others. there are also local prescribed religious celebrations or sacrifice given to individuals ...all such festivals and celebrations are done in the spirit of survival for the all and the one in the akodi10 in the akodi, because of their numbers, the members are able to assist themselves and to do things together as members of the same family. the towns are also made of different ‗akodi‟ which ensures that they could come together in the numbers to fight external aggression. this is because, the yoruba ...society is highly hierarchical; so also is the religious belief system...[yoruba] society are organized in towns and villages. each town has an administrative set-up that can be likened to a sort of pyramid [akodi] structure. at the apex of the pyramid is the oba (king) followed by high chief: then other chiefs of less importance or honorary chiefs. then we have the elders before the generality of men and women and finally children.‖11 „igwebuike‟ philosophy in the yoruba social gatherings the yoruba social gatherings are another avenue where we could understand the strength in numbers as proposed by the philosophy under examination. this is because, the people‘s sense of solidarity is expressed in their life of sharing. they share many things together. these include ideas, conversations, gifts, meals, drinks, folk-tales and so on. in a typical ekiti household, a mother in the family would feed her children and share the same food with other children in the same household who are present at the time of the meal. the male in the same household would not exclude other males present who are of the same household at the time of the meal. 10 t. f. jemiriye, 2009, 21 st inaugural lecture delivered at university of ado-ekiti, nigeria “religion: the complex equation of acceptance between man, god-gods and materials, 54-56 11 o .e. alana, traditional religion in nike s. lawal, matthew n.o. sadiku and ade dopamu, (eds) 2004. understanding yoruba life and culture,74 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 55 children of a household do the same in imitation of their parents. kiddies learn to share their joys in playing together.12 in the same vein, ...is even extended to other various spheres of life including joint labour or community work. for examples, people offer assistance to one another when such labour is out of proportion for the individual. such community labour includes setting out of a new farm, laying the foundation of a building and roofing the same and mutual assistance during natural disaster. the community labour ranges from free manual labour, expertise knowledge and the donation of seedlings and financial assistance to the needy neighbour. monopoly was far from the people‘s life style in their social interaction.13 „igwebuike‟ philosophy in the yoruba dispute resolution the philosophy could also be understood in the dispute resolutions which are resolved through the different organs that made up of the hierarchical order of the yoruba society. this is because, ...the family head called ―baale‖ (baba ile) (father of the household) was virtually everything to his people. he led his house in religion and settled their differences. as the family grew larger, the leadership of the family became the bone of contention. then next higher grade of leadership emerged. he was called baale or oba-(baba ile, i.e., father of the land). he was the court of appeal. the baale settled his children quarrels with other people and if no satisfaction, an appeal could be made to the baale who, at the head of the several families, would see that justice was done. baale‘s words were final. to disobey his was risky to one‘s course. he took no bribe... in criminal cases, the offended party could do whatever he liked with the offender; but if the offender was stronger than the offended, the 12 j.o.ayeni and o. olawumi, a window to ekitiland and the man fagun(the mark of a religious leader on the land in recent times), ado-ekiti: hope paper mills ltd, 10 13 j.o.ayeni and o. olawumi, a window to ekitiland and the man fagun(the mark of a religious leader on the land in recent times), ado-ekiti: hope paper mills ltd, 10 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 56 case may be referred to the village head who in consultation with the elderly people of the village would look into the matter... in some cases, certain families served as places of refuge. the offender could run to such places to avoid being punished. if in a criminal case, the culprit was found guilty, he was handed over to the hunters who for many years protected their settlements and reported strange phenomena to the elders of the settlement. later, on, the elegbes took the place of hunters, and were charged with punishing offenders.14 „igwebuike‟ philosophy in the yoruba education yoruba traditional education is also effective because there are many individuals from the different families that contribute to the transmission of the traditional knowledge. in the sphere of education, generally the traditional ways of life is passed on to the youth by their elders through teaching. this form of teaching, usually informal takes different shapes. it entails for instance, moral formation, counselling and general rapport. the practice of moonlight tales is cherished among the people as a medium of formation, and developing social aspects of the people‘s culture. also, it is the practice among the people in a particular household for instance, to groom the young ones in their cultural pattern and professions. „igwebuike‟ philosophy in the yoruba choice of leaders the numbers of people involve in the selection of traditional leaders point to the fact of the strength in numbers. it is thus very difficult in most cases in the past for one to impose a candidate on the village without the consensus of his family members and the entire village in general. …most [ekiti] communities have a structure called ‗royal lineage‘ that produces traditional rulers. under a normal situation, no one outside the lineage is considered eligible for the throne of the king [and chiefs]…there is a group of kingmakers…who occupy an important position, and play such roles as dictated by the given tradition and historic/mythic origin of their family origin in the community…there are ritual experts or specialists who are involved in the selection and 14 a. oguntuyi, 1979, history of ekiti, from the beginning to 1939. ibadan: caxton press ltd,40 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 57 election of the traditional ruler through consultation of ifa oracle. they are instrumental to the initiation/installation of the traditional ruler through intense ritual including ritual instructions to the initiate.15 conclusion yoruba people are community people. they belief in each other as it reflects in situations when one is in need, or it is important to "lean" on others. (rely to some extent) on some people before one can make it in life or to gain independence is another way of expressing our sense of unity. proverb like "tí ò bá s'ígi l yìn ọgbà wíwó níí wó" which stresses one's need of others are regularly used to remind the yoruba that without others, one may not attain independence. discussion on ―esusu‖ which is another sign of the ommunitarian effort is important. that is, co-operative project by which members contribute together an agreed amount of money to be given to a member and this is repeated by for another member till the around is completed. with this a member can have a substantial amount of money at once for a particular project. finally, it has been established that the igwebuike philosophy could be understood in the religio life of the yoruba people, families, social gatherings, dispute resolution, education and choice of leaders. the relevance of the philosophy is that it encourages the need to enlist the cooperation of the others in the existential realities of the human beings. it thus not give room for individualism that is becoming the norms in the different regions of life. the fact that there is strength in numbers spurs all to know that we are human beings when we do things with others and not alone. bibliography a. oguntuyi, 1979, history of ekiti, from the beginning to 1939. ibadan: caxton press ltd b. idowu. 1970. olodumare: god in yoruba belief. london: longman group limited. 15 d.o. ogungbile and p.r. awoniyi, indigenous tradition in transition: „born again traditional rulers, religious change and power contestation in d. o. ogungbile (ed) 2015, african indigenous religious traditions in local and global contexts, perspectives on nigeria. a festschrift in honour of jacob k. olupona. lagos: malthouse press ltd, 71 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 58 d.o. ogungbile and p.r. awoniyi, indigenous tradition in transition: ‗born again traditional rulers, religious change and power contestation in d. o. ogungbile (ed) 2015, african indigenous religious traditions in local and global contexts, perspectives on nigeria. a festschrift in honour of jacob k. olupona. lagos: malthouse press ltd ikechukwu anthony kanu, igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development in african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. j.o.ayeni and o. olawumi, a window to ekitiland and the man fagun(the mark of a religious leader on the land in recent times), ado-ekiti: hope paper mills ltd kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike and and logic (nka) of african philosophy‖. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.3 no1 january 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 35-44. 2016. kanu, ikechukwu anthony. ―igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria.‖ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no.2. 24488-9210 (june 2016). kanu, ikechukwu anthony. ―igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholic-pentecostal relations.‖jos studies vol.22. 978-2023-36-1 (2014): 8798. l. t. omojola. 2015. catholic church in ekitiland: yesterday, today and tomorrow. akure: don bosco press igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 59 o .e. alana, traditional religion in nike s. lawal, matthew n.o. sadiku and ade dopamu, (eds) 2004. understanding yoruba life and culture. new jersey: african world press. t. f. jemiriye, 2009, 21st inaugural lecture delivered at university of ado-ekiti, nigeria “religion: the complex equation of acceptance between man, god-gods and materials igwebuike and language: in search of an ontological toolbox for igbo-african philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 79 igwebuike and language: in search of an ontological toolbox for igbo-african philosophy ikechukwu anthony kanu department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university umunya, anambra state ikee_mario@yahoo.com executive summary human beings are by nature enshrined in an inescapable world-hood web called language. as a symbolic construction and human agenda setting in semantic space, language ensures the application of social meaning, control, culture and social knowledge. as a result of the place that language occupies in the integration, interpretation and internalization of convention for the state of affairs of sociality, it is not surprising that it has always been an attractive area and a fascinating topic for philosophers. the history of philosophical thinking about language is almost impossible to separate from the history of logic and indeed the entire history of philosophy. this piece argued that human beings do not live in the world without the agency of language which becomes the medium of expression within particular societies. it is based on this understanding (that the real world of a people is based on their language habits) that this paper employed igwebuike as an ontological toolbox that forms the trajectory system of the igbo-african world. within the context of igbo-african philosophy of language, this piece argued for the necessity of the use of the word “igwebuike” as it captures and communicates the igboafrican world. igwebuike is the form (and symbolic) of the igbo-african mental being, and thus, the gateway to igboafrican philosophy. beyond the literal understanding of ikechukwu anthony, kanu igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 80 igwebuike (igwenumber; bu-is; ike-strength) as ‘there is strength in number’, it captures the igbo philosophy of relationality, complementarity and interconnectedness of reality. the objective of this work is to discover the centrality of language within philosophy and thus give correct bearing to philosophy. for the purpose of this piece, the igwebuike holistic approach will be employed. keywords: igwebuike, language, philosophy, igboafrican, ontological, toolbox introduction the concept of igwebuike as a toolbox of igbo-african philosophy is better understood from the background of wittgenstein’s concept of language as a toolbox which contains hammer, plier, saw, screwdriver, ruler, glue pot, nails, screws, etc. from this metaphor, language, therefore, offers functions through words that are as diverse as the objects in the toolbox (1961, p. 18). these functions would include that of communication, identification and instrument of thought. as practical as these objects are, so practical must a language be in its structuring of reality within its original home. it is through language that people are able to practically explore their world and reality. thus, according to sefler (1974): language and the world are two sides of one and the same reality. the world i know is known inseparable from the language i use. one cannot split the two and discuss them in isolation without some literal misrepresentation. such segregation necessitates some metaphysical device, such as local space, to be intelligible, yet its metaphorical character must be preserved and recognized to avoid even in this context misleading conclusions. an investigation of the aspects of language is at the same time an investigation of the formal aspects of the world. to give the essence of propositions is to give the essence of all description, therefore, the essence of the world (p 188). igwebuike and language: in search of an ontological toolbox for igbo-african philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 81 arguing along this line, okonkwo (2002) avers that the language of a people is a reflection of the world of the people: the worldhood of man is therefore his language. the language as a ‘given’ in a worldhood can be called legitimately ‘ontolingustic’. onto-linguistic defines language as the state of affairs that demarcates and structures the world of man (dasien) and his being-in-the-world. the world around me is the world made possible through my language. it is my language that concretely arranges, organizes, shapes and delineates my experience and knowledge of my environment, situation and history (p. 180). thus, one can argue that human beings do not live in the world without the agency of language, which becomes the medium of expression within the society in question. this implies that one cannot adjust to the realities within a particular people or place without the use of language as an instrument of communication, understanding and reflection. it is from this perspective that igwebuike is employed as a toolbox that forms the trajectory system of the igbo-african world. within the context of igbo-african philosophy of language, this piece argues for the necessity of the use of the word igwebuike as it captures and communicates the igbo-african world. igwebuike is the form (and it is symbolic) of the igbo-african mental being and the gateway to igbo-african philosophy. beyond the literal understanding of igwebuike (igwenumber; bu-is; ike-strength) as “there is strength in number”, it captures the igbo philosophy of relationality, complementarity and interconnectedness of reality (kanu 2014; 2015; 2016; 2017; 2018; 2019). it concatenates igbo forms, symbolism, signs, media, meaning, anthropologies, universal cosmic truths, functions, semantic powers, physics, phenomena, faculties, and igbo environ-mentalities, and symbolizes the propositional powers of igbo knowledge, perception, identity, phenomenalism, physics, metaphysics, logic, history of analytic character, speculative mindset and positive provisions for definitions of facts. ikechukwu anthony, kanu igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 82 philosophical perspectives of language the human person, not minding place and time, is enshrined in an inescapable world-hood web called language. as a symbolic construction and human agenda setting in semantic space, it ensures the application of social meaning, control, culture and social knowledge. as a result of the place that language occupies in the integration, interpretation and internalization of convention for the state of affairs of sociality, it is not surprising that it has always been an attractive area and a fascinating topic for philosophers. the history of philosophical thinking about language is almost impossible to separate from the history of logic and indeed the entire history of philosophy. thus, all major philosophers and schools of philosophy have had some doctrine about the relationship between mind and language, and language and the world. the earliest interaction between philosophy and language dates back to the ancient greek philosophical era. heraclitus, understanding logos within its semantic and symbolic function, had thought that the word was not merely an anthropological phenomenon but captures what he regarded as a universal cosmic truth. in him, ancient early greek thought moved from the study of nature to philosophy of language. plato’s life-long battle against the sophists is a typical example of the concerns of the ancients with the phenomenon of language. plato attacked the sophists because of their competent but dubious ability to twist language to their own advantage for the sake of making money. he was infuriated by what he saw as the danger and threat that sophistry posed to genuine communication and life in the society (pierer, 1992). the sophists, before plato, had dealt with linguistic and grammatical problems in a systematic way. unlike plato, they were not interested in the problem of language for theoretical purposes. they had a more urgent task to accomplish: to teach how to speak for the sake of igwebuike and language: in search of an ontological toolbox for igbo-african philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 83 political success and to win law suits. language was the greatest instrument for political struggle in the athens of the 5 th century. language became an instrument for definite, concrete and practical purposes. the sophists believed that one had to manipulate language to his or her own advantage, if such a person were to attain their objective. to enhance this purpose, the sophists began a new branch of knowledge called rhetoric (cassirer, 1976). as a result of their proficiency in rhetoric, they were able to make the weaker argument the stronger and to sweet-talk something bad into something good and turn black into white (honderich, 1976). in the plato’s dialogue, cratylus, he considered another dimension of language: the question of whether the names of things were determined by convention or by nature. in this case, his analysis of language addressed the problem of nomenclature. he criticized conventionalism because it led to the bizarre consequence that anything could be conventionally denominated by any name. hence, it cannot account for the correct or incorrect application of a name. he claimed that there was a natural correctness to names. to do this, he pointed out that compound words and phrases have a range of correctness. he also argued that primitive names had a natural correctness, because each phoneme represented basic ideas or sentiments. while plato concerned himself with meaning, aristotle, in his philosophy of language, steps up his concern to issues of logic and categories. he separated all things into categories of species and genius, and believes that the meaning of a predicate was established through an abstraction of the similarities between various individual things (kanu, 2010 & 2012). the stoics, in their philosophy of language, made important contributions to the analysis of grammar, distinguishing five parts of speech: nouns, verbs, appellatives (names or epithets), conjunctions and articles. they also developed a sophisticated doctrine of the lektón associated with each sign of a language, but distinct from both the sign itself and the thing to which it refers. this lektón was the meaning (or sense) of every term. the lektón of a sentence is what we ikechukwu anthony, kanu igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 84 would now call its propositions. only propositions were considered "truth bearers" or "truth-vehicles" (i.e. they could be called true or false), while sentences were simply their vehicles of expression (kanu 2014). medieval philosophers were greatly interested in the subtleties of language and its usage. this interest was provoked by the necessity of translating greek texts into latin. furthermore, the scholastics of the high medieval period, such as occam and john duns scotus, considered logic as the science of language (scientia sermocinalis). more so, the employment of greek words in the explanation of the christian faith remains a major contribution of the patristic and medieval philosophers and theologians. in line with the thoughts of the linguists of the renaissance and baroque periods, such as johannes goropius becanus, athanasius kircher and john wilkins, locke (cited in kanu 2012), in the 17 th century, argued that only an adequate or correctly formed language could be a vehicle for communication. he believed that the desire to know reality was the foundation of communication. even though there is the possibility of lying, locke argued that lies do not constitute communication, since to lie is to deny reality. to lie is the perpetration of inequality in society, since it denies the other his/her share and portion of reality. to deceive a person is an implicit assumption that he/she she is not worthy to know the truth. this explains why locke, like plato, condemned sophistry: nor has this mischief stopped in logical niceties, or curious empty speculations; it hath invaded the great concernment of human life and society; obscured and perplexed the material truths of law and divinity; brought confusion, disorder and uncertainty into the affairs of mankind; and if not destroyed, yet in great measure rendered useless, those two great rules, religion and justice. (p. 486). in the early 19th century, the danish philosopher, soren kierkegaard, insisted that language ought to play a larger role in western igwebuike and language: in search of an ontological toolbox for igbo-african philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 85 philosophy. he argued that philosophy had not sufficiently focused on the role language plays in cognition, and that future philosophy ought to proceed with a conscious focus on language. hence, language began to play a central role in western philosophy in the late 19th century. the philosophy of language then became so pervasive that for a time, in analytic philosophy circles, philosophy as a whole was understood to be a matter of philosophy of language (kanu 2014). during the 20 th century, ayer (1942) averred that our being as human beings was about the inversion of language for the all-encompassing agenda-setting of humanity. as such, humanity has no other choice than the total experimental engagement for the understanding of the workings of language. wittgenstein (1961), thus, argues that the function of philosophy is not to construct theories but to clarify thought. therefore, philosophy is an activity of elucidating propositions in order to make them clear, and this can only be done within the boundaries of human knowledge and the use of language. keller (1979) and rorty (1992) speak of modern trends within philosophical inquiry as a method that denotes philosophy as the passage from the philosophy of nature to the philosophy of language. they argue in favour of this linguistic turn on the basis that there is no singular possibility of human sciences outside the data base of human language. bell (1978) avers that “it is quite an illusion to imagine that one adjusts to reality essentially without the use of language and language is an incidental means of solving specific problems of communication or reflection” (p. 130). humbolt (1985) further underscores language as the totality of the human spirit which in itself is the central human activity that gives character and structure to human culture and individuality. language as the trajectory system of african philosophy this piece does not argue that african philosophy cannot be done in other languages; rather, it maintains that to engage in african philosophy more profoundly, the african language is indispensable. ikechukwu anthony, kanu igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 86 mbiti (1970) speaks of language as a very important element in understanding african philosophy: there is great potential in african scholars studying african traditional religion and philosophy, with the aid of scientific tools and methodology and with the advantages of being part of the peoples of africa, having almost unlimited access to information and speaking the languages which are the key to serious research and understanding of traditional religions and philosophy (p. 14). edeh (1985) further writes that: “our brief consideration of the igbo language leads us into the culture of the people since it is obvious that a language cannot be divorced from the culture which it expresses” (p. 56). while talking about destiny, gyekye (1987) brings out the link between language and philosophy as expressed by thinkers: the first relates to the link that a number of thinkers find between language and thought, or more precisely in the present context, between language and metaphysics. they claim that there is some kind of reality antecedent to language that language is developed to express or depict. language or linguistic structure, they hold, reflects a deep lying structure of reality or being. (p. 105). it is within this context that adeshina (2006) observes that every language system embodies a particular ontology and a system of knowledge about reality. language, from this perspective, becomes loaded with worldviews and metaphysics, and, more importantly, a person’s language determines, at least in part, the way to perceive and conceive the world. thus, when you lose the language of a people, you also lose a great chunk of their philosophy. it is not surprising that tempels (1959), edeh (1985), gyekye (1987) and iroegbu (1995) thought it significant to begin from the analysis of language in their philosophical searches. wittgenstein (1961), in his tractatus, argues that the structure of language is conditioned by the structure of reality, for language makes igwebuike and language: in search of an ontological toolbox for igbo-african philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 87 us see reality in a structure corresponding to the structure of language. he writes, “what every picture of whatever form must have in common with reality in order to be able to represent it at all… is the logical form, that is, the form of reality” (p. 18). he strongly believes that the structure of the world is pictured by language, which can now be considered a model of reality. wittgenstein (1974) further writes, “these facts (of which the world is made of) are pictured by language so that by means of language we make to ourselves pictures of facts” (p. 1). in this picture and the pictured, there must be something identical in order that one can be a picture of the other at all. language is like a mirror of facts, and if it does not correspond to it, it is false. what wittgenstein is saying is that just as you cannot use human language to talk about divine realities, you also cannot use european languages to talk about african realities, because there are so many things that the european language cannot picture in the african world, and even when it pictures it, it does that inadequately, for the simple reason that there are no such realities in the european world. ki-zerbo (1981) has argued that language is the treasury house of a people’s philosophy: language is like a bank or museum in which, over the centuries, each ethnic group has deposited all it has built up and accumulated in the way of mental and material tools, memories and resources of the imagination. by means of an in-depth and wide-ranging study of the language (both infra and supra linguistic). (p. 94). the emphasis on language as an indispensable element for doing profound african philosophy is very evident in the philosophical position of ethno-philosophers who view african philosophy as the philosophical thought of africans as could be gotten from their various world views, myths, proverbs, etc. in this sense, it is the philosophy indigenous to africans, untainted by foreign ideas. it places little or no emphasis on scientificity, logic, criticism and argumentation, and makes more emphases on local relevance or ikechukwu anthony, kanu igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 88 context. in studying ethno-philosophy, we discover the deep relationship between language and philosophy. in his work, african religions and philosophy, mbiti (1970) begins with an analysis of the african concept of time from the kikamba and gikuyu languages, in which he analyses three verbs that speak of the future, covering only a period of six months and not beyond two years at most. alexis kagame, in his work, philosophie bantou-rwandaise de l’etre, reveals that from the language of the rwandans who were called kinyarwanda they developed their thought through a linguistic ethno-philosophy. njoku (2010) discovered that ntu is the category of being or the generic meaning of something. this he classified into four: umuntu (human beings), ikintu (non-human beings), ahantu (place and time), and ukuntu (aristotelian category of quantity). ntu is the unifying notion among all these, even though god does not belong to it. iroegbu (1995) develops an african concept of being as belongingness from the igbo principle of egbe bere ugo bere (let the kite perch, let the eagle perch), which he believes re-enacts the contents and significance of belongingness. these developments in african philosophy are a pointer to the relevance of african language in doing african philosophy. it is also within the umbrella of this understanding that the igwebuike is adopted as a very significant concept in the understanding and communication of igbo-african philosophy. the tripartite dimensional reasons for igwebuike as a languagebased philosophy okosisi (2012) posits that each language of the world stands out as a configuration and mechanization of the people’s book of history and of philosophy, containing and concatenating their implications of real ‘worldhood’ of facts and metaphysics. thus, he avers, “the people who use that language are registered and known by the realities of that same language” (p. 9). it is in this regard that igwebuike stands out as a configuration and mechanization of the igbo-african book of history, and captures the igbo-african real world of facts and igwebuike and language: in search of an ontological toolbox for igbo-african philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 89 metaphysics. it is within this context too that it is referred to as the gateway to igbo-african philosophy or ‘worldhood.’ to understand better how igwebuike serves as a gateway to the igbo ‘worldhood’ of facts and metaphysics, it would be worthwhile to employ the tripartite dimensional functions of language in okonkwo (1994), which include: the function of communication, the function of interpretation of the real world (thought function) and the function of ontology (metaphysics or identity), and explain how igwebuike functions in these capacities. a. igwebuike as an instrument of igbo-african thought: igwebuike is an instrument of thought which natures and showcases the igbo-african human ideas that may be instances and stances of science in a fact of ‘worldhood’, and this is possible because of the central place of igwebuike in the igboafrican worldview. within this context, igwebuike becomes an expression of the igbo-african world because it captures and expresses igbo forms, symbolism, signs, media, meaning, anthropologies, universal cosmic truths, functions, semantic powers, physics, phenomena, faculties, and igbo environthought communication language igwebuike social identity ikechukwu anthony, kanu igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 90 mentalities, perception, identity, phenomenalism, metaphysics, logic, history of analytic character, speculative mindset and positive provisions for definitions of facts. it is a media for conveying basic facts about our relationship with one another, the environment and super-sensible world. b. igwebuike as an instrument of igbo-african social communication: communication speaks of the state of affairs within which human persons share commonly and mutually intelligible and knowledgeable competences. igwebuike, with all it embodies, is an instrument of social communication. this is possible because it is the moving spirit, and therefore captures the entirety, of the african means of communication which involves stories, proverbs, dancing, music, costumes, arts, religious ceremonies, rites and rituals, music, etc., which might be used for the transmission of cultural and religious heritages, skills and knowledge. c. igwebuike as an instrument of igbo-african social identity: igwebuike captures the social identity of the igboafrican. as a concept, it gives the igbo-african the identity of being in an integral framework of relationality. igwebuike is, therefore, not just a word but symbolizes the identity of the igbo-african. it is based on the worldview of the people which is a background to igbo behaviour and metaphysics. it explains the igbo attitude, blueprints, traits, skills, etc., that have registered on their identity, institution, organization, management, etc. the analysis of igwebuike from the stand point of the functions of language, and the discovery of the fulfilment of these functions by igwebuike, becomes a basis for the insistence on the importance of language in african philosophy and the emphasis on igwebuike as the gateway to igbo-african philosophy. igwebuike and language: in search of an ontological toolbox for igbo-african philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 91 conclusion this study on igwebuike as the ontological toolbox of igbo-african philosophy, which is a reflection within the parameters of african philosophy of language, has been undertaken on the basis that the igbo language and igbo world are merged into the same reality. any attempt to separate the two points to the impending danger of misrepresentation and misinterpretation. igwebuike is understood within this context as the gateway to igbo-african philosophy. thus, an investigation of the structure of igwebuike, which is an igbo language, is at the same time an investigation of the formal structures and aspects of the igbo world. it is within this context that wittgenstein stated that “the limit of my language is the limit of my world”. references adeshina, a. (2006). the language question in african philosophy. in olusegun, o. (ed.). core issues in african philosophy (pp. 41-58). ibadan: hope. ayer, a. j. (1942). language, truth and logic. new york: dover publications. bell, r. (1978). sociolinguistics: goals, approaches and problems. london: b. t. batsford ltd cassirer, e. (1976). an essay on man: an introduction to a philosophy of human culture. new haven: yale university press. edeh, e. (1985). towards ab igbo metaphysics. chicago: loyola university press. gyekye, k. (1987). an essay on african philosophical thought: the akan conceptual scheme. cambridge: cambridge university press. honderich, t. (1976). the oxford companion to philosophy. england: penguin books. iroegbu, p. (1995). metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: international universities press. ikechukwu anthony, kanu igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 92 kanu, i. a. (2010). towards an african cultural renaissance. professor andah journal of cultural studies. 3. 59-70. kanu, i. a. (2012). the colonial legacy: the hidden history of africa’s present crisis. an international journal of arts and humanities 1. 1. 123-131. kanu, i. a. (2014). igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholic-pentecostal relations. jos studies. 22. pp.8798. kanu, i. a. (2015). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2016). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2012). the role of language in the socio-political philosophy of john locke. international journal of humanities and social science. vol. 2. no. 14 pp.126-131. kanu, i. a. (2014). african philosophy and the problem of language. asian academic research journal of social science and humanities. vol. 1. no. 21. pp. 248-258. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in igwebuike and language: in search of an ontological toolbox for igbo-african philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 93 mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kanu, i. a. (2019). on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159-176. kanu, i. a. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. keller, a. (1979). sprachphiloosphie. muenchen: verlg karl alber. ki-zerbo, j. (1981). general history of africa, methodology and african prehistory. berkley: university of california. mbiti, j. (1970). african religions and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational. njoku, f. o. c. (2002). essays in african philosophy, thought and theology. owerri: claretian institute of philosophy. njoku, f. o. c. (2010). a search for unifying conceptsdestiny and change, freedom and determinism in african philosophy. in ikechukwu anthony, kanu igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 94 benjamin ike ekwelu (ed.). philosophical reflections on african issues. enugu: delta. okonkwo, j. i. (1994). nationalism and nationism: the sociolinguistic cross-road of the nigerian national language policy. aap. 40. 115-130. okonkwo, j. i. (2002). worldview and life form crisis of the nigerian philosophy of culture: an appraisal. journal of nigerian languages and culture. 4. 171-182. okosisi, j. i. (2012). okwu danahu onu: the basic principle of igbo philosophy of language. inaugural lecture series. no. 6. imo state university, owerri, nigeria. pierper, f. (1992). abuse of language, abuse of power. san francisco: ignatius press. rorty, r. (1992). the linguistic turn: essays in philosophical method. chicago: chicago university press. sefler, m. (1974). language and the world: a methodological synthesis within the writing of martin heidegger and ludwig wittgenstein. new york. tempels, p. (1959). bantu philosophy. paris: presence africaine. wittgenstein, l. (1961). tractatus logico-philosophicus. london: reute ledge and kegan. article 5 igwebuike 6. no7.cdr igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.6 no.7, 2020 www.igwebuikejournals.com a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 47 underrepresentation of women in leadership position: a study of anioma, delta state okoh ejime samuel department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe university, awka 08035824556; sallyugo2003@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract nigeria has been recording low participation of women in elective, leadership and appointive positions. this is a growing concern to many nigerians. however, concerted efforts have been made by government and non-governmental organizations to increase the level of participation of women in politics and other levels of leaderships positions in line with the declaration made at the fourth world conference on women in beijing, which advocated 30% affirmative action for women leadership roles. in nigeria, the extant national gender policy (ngp) recommended 35% affirmative action instead and sought for a more inclusive representation of women with at least 35% of elective political and appointive public service positions respectively. the under representation of women in political participation gained root due to the patriarchal practice inherent in our society, much of which were obvious from pre-colonial era till date. however, the re-introduction of democratic governance in nigeria has witnessed once again an increase in women political participation both in elective and appointive offices. gender equality is more than a goal in itself. it is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance. women participation in leadership roles in anioma is the focal point of this study. the paper used feminism theory to explain the study deployed personal communication method to gather information from people. data from inec offices in delta state were gathered. it was discovered that some of the factors that affect women underrepresentation in leadership roles include male domination, cultural influence, lack of money or fund, marriage, discrimination, lack of education and violence. proper sensitization, education, empowerment and legal protective measures are recommended for the solution to the problem keywords: women, underrepresentation, leadership position and anioma introduction women are underrepresented in leadership position in anioma delta state, just as it is noticed in nigeria and many other african countries. if nigeria or africa wants to move forward with development, sustainable economy and good leadership in the society, nigerians should known that gender equality is more than a goal in itself. it is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance. monica (nd) says true equality means holding everyone accountable in the same way, regardless of race, gender, faith, ethnicity or political ideology. in a situation where only men are the leaders of the society, then men only should be blamed for the bad leadership in the society. nigeria is a country like a bird with two big wings, and these two big wings (men and women) are to fly nigeria to suitable development and nation building for peace and progress. unfortunately nigeria went into using one wing(men) for long time with other wing(women) not utilized. a bird that has only one wing active cannot fly faster or may not be stable, because the two wings are for stability, therefore there is no way nigeria leaders can provide good leadership if the two wings are not active at the same time. leadership is not about a title or a designation. it is about impact, influence and inspiration. impact involves getting results, influence is about spreading the passion you have for your work, and you have to have inspired team-mates for all round societal inspiration. according to berkley (2013) leadership is about vision and responsibility, not power. a leadership that has no vision is like a blind man leading blind people. a good leader must be a leader who has principles of creativity and innovation. no one can actualize his destiny without creativity and innovation. therefore nigeria leadership should do justice immediately to incorporate women in leadership position for women to attain developmental goals in order to move the society forward. in line with global trend, nigerian women constitute nearly half of the population of the country. but despite the major roles they play with their population, women roles in the society are yet to be given recognition. this is due to some cultural stereotypes, abuse of religion, traditional practices and patriarchal societal structures. the reasons this paper is addressing the marginalization of women leadership position in anioma delta state is to curb this age long practice with a view to increasing women participation in leadership. women can only represent women and deliberate well on the issues concerning women .men cannot deliberate women issues more than women. there is an adage that said, “you don't cry more than the bereaved” poverty is much among women in anioma, so by giving women equal representation, women can empower their fellow women the entire anioma land. increasing anioma women participation in leadership roles is bound to unlock the other potentials inherent in their nature. being in greater number in anioma women can be the game changer in leadership functions. underrepresentation of women in leadership is mostly caused by men who always sideline them. the leadership potentials always seen in widows in the control of their family activities are to be harnessed for wider leadership roles in anioma. literature review this paper will be looking at others people's work critically to assess scholars' opinion on the roles of women in leadership in other societies. theory of feminism will be used to explain the work. the concept of women the word 'women' is the plural form of woman which covers both young and adult female members of a family. looking at women from creation, hubbard (1981) has rightly observed that “full right to personality, identity means, at heart, full right to know and love god. man and woman god special creation share that capacity and that opportunity” (p79 .). the study agrees with the above explanation that god created man and woman in his image according to gen. 1:26-38. it should be noted that the divine counsel for creating 48 underrepresentation of women in leadership position: a study of anioma, delta state mankind is to share in the divine personality. the word “man” here does not exclude woman, for god is thinking of human being in contradiction to lower animals, and trees. the woman possesses god's image just as man does. according to stone (1994), universalist feminism poses that women are biologically and culturally equal to men but are historically denied equality. equality exists within a mono cultural world. the paper agrees with the statement, that biologically and culturally, men and women are equal. if the two have the same view of things in common, both men and women were created in the same world with the same nature. in a world where two people were born or created, they are supposed to be equal in everything. one person just took it over as if he is the creator of the world, this is an oppression, injustice and violation of human right especially to women. we need to revisit the history of creation and see that both adam and eve (man and woman) are created equally in the image of god. according to nweze (2014) most people have one pair of sex chromosomes per cell, usually, female have two x chromosome and males have one x and one y. both sexes retain one of their mothers x chromosome and females inherit a second x chromosomes from their father. male inherit their father's y chromosome instead (p.316). from the researcher's elementary knowledge of biology, both sexes, male and female, are determined by the man. being determined by the man means that man by nature possesses xy chromosomes and woman by nature possesses xx chromosome. therefore during intercourse it is what the man gives to the woman that determines the gender of the child, either male or female. we can see that birth is not of man's making; it is nature and also by chance or probability, so whatever sex (man or woman) is a gift from god. the paper can conveniently say that no birth is more important than the other, either female or male. according to chrysostom (1969), slavery is the fruit of covetousness, of degradation of savagery … the subordination of women was a consequence of humanity's fall from grace (p.225). the paper agrees in what the scholar had said because the current condition of human community falls far short of what it was meant to be, many differ as to whether it can reach its potential in the foreseeable future. since the fall of humanity, women have been a victim. the fall was not only for the women but for both, men and women. man took advantage of the fall and started in oppressive, exploitative injustice, violence and marginalization of women, that were also created in the image of god. but the bible said “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of god” (romans 3:23). it did not say women had sinned and come short of the glory of god, but all meaning both man and woman. abogunrin (2003) says that it is an undeniable fact that women play certain irreplaceable roles in society but quite often these unique roles are not given adequate recognitions and sometimes not acknowledged at all. also when it comes to various opportunities of life, in some cases women are often denied equal right with their male counterparts (p. 1). what the scholar said above is true in the sense that women in man's world have not been given freedom to exercise their rights. opinions of scholars differ on what denial of women's right and freedom consist in different society. it takes a different shape in anioma and no scholarly study has been done on how women in anioma have been underrepresented in leadership functions, hence the gap in literature that the study seeks to fill 49okoh ejime samuel theoretical framework feminist theory supports equality for women and men. there are many feminine strive for gender equality, they include liberal feminist, socialist feminist and radical feminist. according to ruther (2008) feminism is a critical stance that challenges the patriarchal gender paradigm that associates males with human characteristics defined as superior and dominant (irrationality of power) and females with those defined as inferior and auxiliary (in tuition, passivity). most feminists reconstruct the gender paradigm in order to include women their full and equal humanity (p.3). this scholar is not satisfied with the pattern the patriarchal societies do things by giving much power and dominion to males and designating females as inferior. both females and males who identify themselves as femininists disagree on many things that being feminists consist but most feminists agree on five basic principles of working to increase equality. pushing for change toward gender equality and not just talking about it is important. feminists believe that both men and women should have the freedom to develop their human interests and talents, even if those interests and talents conflict with the status quo for example if a woman wants to be a mechanic, she should have the right and opportunity to do so. individuals associated with this school of thought identify the family as the main source of exploitation and feel that patriarchy is so deeply rooted in this society that even a socialist revolution would fail to see the evil. the only way to end this oppression is to create a gender-free society throme (1997) argues that feminism has contributed to sociological theories of the family in fire broad theories; feminist have challenged the ideology of the monolithic family which has elevated the nuclear family with a bread winner husband. feminists have challenged traditional dichotomies between what is private and public raising question about family boundaries and showing that isolation is in part illusory, given the close connections between the internal life of families and the organization of paid work, state-organized welfare and legal systems school, child care and other institutions (p.22). the paper agrees with the above view, because feminists have actually fought against monolithic family in anioma and challenged traditional dichotomies and discriminations between the males and the females in the society. according to pobee (2012), “feminism originates in the perception that there is something wrong with society's treatment of women; it attempts to analyze the reasons for and dimensions of women oppression and to achieve woman's liberation” (p.24). the paper is in agreement with this scholarly view because in anioma, something is wrong with the way women are being treated. how can a daughter be oppressed and discriminated against in matters of inheritance. boff (1986) says if by feminism we understand whatever defends the basic quality of women to men, it is certain that women are human persons, and opposes any institutions that seek to reduce them to the status of objects, then jesus was certainly a feminist. after all, the general teaching of his ethical preaching consist of the liberation of human being from a legalistic, discriminatory, freedom and a communion of sisters and brothers….this ethical revolution launched by jesus created a space for the liberation of women as person (p.79). 50 underrepresentation of women in leadership position: a study of anioma, delta state the paper agrees with the above view on the feminism of the new testament gospel according to jesus which was liberation to humanity and the women inclusive from every oppression of the judaic old testament ways of life. feminism, however, is not a coherent ideology. it is a combination of some major traditions. these are liberal feminism, socialist feminism, and radical feminism, new feminism and post feminism. the first law (probably and earliest among all such tradition) as the name suggests, was based on the principle of liberalism that advocated for equality of human individuals regardless of their sex and other distinctions. thus, it argues for women's equal entitlement to all rights and privileges in the society as enjoyed by men on the basis that both are human beings. the second one, which is “socialist feminism”, emerged as a reaction to the stand taken by the liberal thinkers. they put forward their view that only political and legal rights are all of their disadvantages which could only be done through social revolutions that would give them economic equality or economic freedom vis-à-vis men. the third tradition went further deeper by advocating equality of women not only in politics and economy but also in all aspects of personal and sexual existence. they started a crusade against patriarchy in all its forms and manifestations. the next one in this succession of tradition has been a number of schools of thought (examples, post modern, feminism, black feminism, lesbian feminism and so on). data source and method this paper will use primary and secondary sources of data collection and data analysis. in the primary sources we will interview some women and men in leadership, those in politics and education and their mode of selecting leaders. data from inec would also be obtained and analyzed mathematically using simple results of male and female elected people in the previous elections. brief history of anioma, delta state-nigeria the term anioma means 'good land'. while the meaning the word anioma is land plus good, the people and place so called have existed for centuries. anioma is a community of people who, for ages, inhabit the area between ubuluku and ebu in aniocha north local government area of the present delta state. a look at the colonial map of the area shows anioma wedged between ubuluku and ebu (kunirum, 2008). the modern anioma commonly called delta igbo, for administrative purpose, is referred to as delta north, thus, contrasting the delta central and delta south densely inhabited by the urhobo, the ijaw, the itsekiri, the isokos and the other ethnic groups inhabiting the state. according to anioma voice (2013) the anioma region has a total population of 1,229,371,00. the population figure quoted here does not include those of the anioma communities located outside delta state and the population of non anioma in anioma area. these include ukwuani, enuani, ika and aboh. a small ika population can be found in neighbouring edo state specifically igbanke, oza and ekpon. the term “anioma” is an acronym derived from the four original local government areas that is a for aniocha, n for ndokwa, i for ika, o for oshimili, m and a are common denominators found in the four original local government areas. the coinage was made by the founding father, chief dennis osadebay, in 1951 and has since remained the preferred indigenous name by which the people are collectively known (osogbue, 2011). there are also anioma people in neighbouring states of anambra that is onitsha, ogbaru, 51okoh ejime samuel oba, akwukwu, obosi ,ozoubulu, oraifite; imo that is oguta; and river state that is ndoni and ogba. anioma people had one destiny prior to the coming of the europeans but were balkanized after they lost the ekumeku war of resistance against the british imperialism in 1914 after 31 years of fighting. the population of the anioma in neighbouring states is approximately 140, 000. there are twenty five local government areas in delta state and nine of the local government areas makeup the anioma area. anioma local government of delta state constitutes 9 out of 25 local government areas as represented below. s/n local government area head quarter 1 aniocha-north issele-uku 2 aniocha-south ogwashi-uku 3 ika-south agbor 4 ika north-east owa-oyibu 5 ndokwa-east aboh 6 oshimili-north akukuigbo 7 oshimili –south asaba 8 ukwuani obiaruku 9 ndokwa – west kwale the anioma as a group is located in the west basis of the river niger in the present south –south, delta state, nigeria. anioma is bound to the east by anambra state, to the south east by imo and river states: to the south by bayelsa state: to the south west by the isoko ethnic group; to the west by the urhobo ethnic group, to the north west by edo state and the north by kogi state. there are very few nigeria communities that are as communicable to so many immediate neighbours as anioma. in spite of these contacts with so many states and ethnic groups, anioma people are united by cultural homogeneity and value consensus about their universe of experience. the communities that make up the anioma have one thing in common about their traditions. they remember the names of their various founders and in many cases also can identify where such founders came from. it is for the historians to interpret and explain what is so remembered or identified. according to mordi and opone (2009) four broad groups can be identified in the anioma areas. the first and largest group claims a definite benin origin. this is the ezechuma group, which make up over ten communities east and west of the niger. anioma group are obior, isseleuku, onicha – ugbo, onicha olona, onicha ukwu, obomkpa and ezi, in the enuni area. the second group claims origin, from nri and nri related communities or the igbo, asaba, ibusa (igbuzor), and isheagu, parts of ubulu-uku, issele uku and illah, among others. a third group claims origin from neighbouring communities but still strives to link its founders to benin. notable in this regard are the ubulu clans of ubulu-uku, ubulu uno and ubulu –okiti. ashama and adonta. the fourth group claims origins from yoruba and igala area of the south west and the niger benue confluence of nigeria. these are found in ugbodu, ukwunzu, ebu and illah, ubulubu, obomkpa, okpaman, okwe and oko. 52 underrepresentation of women in leadership position: a study of anioma, delta state people are defined by their culture, history and geography. history notes that anioma people comprise individuals of diverse origins, who over centuries and due to “culture contact” or cultural pollination, have developed a unique culture quite distinct from those of their immediate neighbours located at the cross roads of every diverse influences.. about thirteen languages (13) are spoken in anioma. some of which are enuani, bini olukumi (old and extinct yoruba language), igala, ishan, ika, ukwuani and aboh. enuani is the dominant language spoken by asaba, ibusa, ogwashi-uku, ubuluuku, ubulu-unor, issele-uku-mkipitime, onicha-olona, onicha-ugbo, onicha-uku, ejeme-unor, ejime aniogor, illah, ezi, obomkpa, oko anala, oko-amakom, oko-ogbele, parts of igbodo, akwukwu-igbo, akwukwu-ukwu, okpanan, idumuje unor, idumuje-ugboko, anwai, oraifite, ogbaru, onitsha, obosi and atani. ika is spoken by agbor, parts of igbodo, umunede, igbanke, oguta, ekwuoma, obior and so on. ebu speaks enuani, ishan and igala. aboh and the surrounding communities speak aboh, ukwuani is spoken by ukwuani/ndokwa, including asabaubulu-ashama, edo-ogwashi, azagba and so on. ebu is a bilingual town. some speak ishan, others speak igala enuani is comprehensible to all. the igbodo speak ika and enuani, this is due to the influence of its location between ekwuoma and onicha-ugbo. it must be noted that while some parts of anioma understand and speak a language close to urhobo and isoko, a sort of igbo language is intelligible to all the towns and communities that make up the anioma region. this is what the writer sees as the uniqueness that people have enjoyed as a result of peaceful coexistence with neighbours. afigbo (1982) opines that “in the pre-colonial igbo society, agriculture was the most important economic activity with regard to both the number of people engaged in it either on full or part-time basis and to the prestige attached to it (p.124). the importance of agriculture to the sustenance of life and economic development in nigeria cannot be over emphasized. hence, the efforts of the federal government, and several agencies in the development of agricultural policies and programmes, with the aim of increasing food production in the nation. anioma has vast area of arable land units of fertile soil. the people of anioma are the main producers of food in the state. they produce yams, cassava, garri, cocoyams, plantains, banana, citrus fruits and vegetable. anioma is one of the largest primary producers of cash crops. these cash crops include palm produce, kola nut latex and timber. the region has contributed to the economic development of the country in terms of mineral resources. anioma has large endowments of crude oil and natural gas in ukwuani of oshimili, aniocha and ika areas. the oil and gas resources of anioma remained largely untapped. also, some of the untapped mineral resource include; silica, ammonia, kaolin, clay and lignite (oganihe anioma, 2012). besides the oil and gas and agricultural endowment of the anioma people, the area offers a wide range of tourist attractions such as extended and roomy rivers and beaches ideal for swimming and other aquatic sports. other attractions include the obi ossai palace in aboh, preserved local customs, rich and varied land crafts. in continuation of the tourist attraction is the residence of mungo park in asaba, this was the first headquarters of the royal niger company allocated to the national commission for museum and monument, the lander brothers anchorage and the niger bridge built in 1965. others include the olona ranch, source of ethiope river in umuaja and otuogwu beach in asaba. traditionally, the attire of the anioma man is gifted with the choice which he may wear to any ceremony. however, quite commonly, the ''akwa ochia” is loosely worn on a white native shirt with native beads as adornment. for women, it is readily a wrapper to be worn on a white blouse. supported by beautiful beads while men wear a red cap, the 53okoh ejime samuel women wear “ichafor” (head gear). on special occasions, such as funeral ceremonies, “uya” or “azuzu” (horsetail) may be held to the hand with decorated hair by women. several traditional kinds of dances are in existence in anioma. the anioma dance requires so much energy and it is basically unique. some of the dances include agube royal dance uloko dance, egwu amala, okanga, egwu-osusu (ukwuani), egwu oshushu (enuani) and ute – okpu dance called egwu okpu. the ukwuani and ndokwa people are legendary in the performance of highlife music with songs composed in native tongue. organization for advancement of anioma culture (ofaac) (2014) is the culture umbrella body of the anioma people. it was established on november 2003 with the cove focus of preservation, promotion and advancement of the appreciation and development of the rich culture heritage of the anioma people and nigeria. the anioma along with other african societies are highly religious. the anioma people are so conscious of the world of the spirit and man's relationship with them. fatorkun (2013) said that before the advent of pentecostalism in twentieth century, christianity had been firmly rooted in nigeria. he affirmed that the portuguese missionaries had come to nigeria. the visit of alfonso de avairo to oba essigie and the subsequent arrival of missionaries in august 1515 met with some success in benin as some churches were built and some coverts, including one of the princes and a good number of chiefs were recorded. however, bablola (1976) argues that in spite of the above success, christianity remained confined to the palace of the oba, while majority of the people continued in their traditional religions. though there were efforts by the spanish and italian capuchins to resuscitate the evangelist work later, it yielded no positive result. this view is supported by ajayi (1965) when he emphasizes that christianity in benin kingdom continued fading away until finally the church disappeared, leaving only shrines called “altars of god” which were taken into the traditional religion. in warri, however, christianity thrived in the 1570s on political grounds and remained there for more than two hundred years. nweke (2002), said, crorick braile was born around 1882 and 1883 in obonoma. he got converted to christianity and attended sunday school when he was eight. by 1916 his revivalist movement had spread to other parts of the c.m.s. niger delta pastorate even to owerri. he was averted in 1916, being accused of perpetrating actions that could lead to thsurrections. he was kept in prison till 1918 and died 15 november 1918 (p. 52 -60). early missionaries were providing schools, hospital, churches. he however affirmed that with time these mainline (established) churches started losing their vision through lukewarmness, forms, ceremonies and religious rituals. he opined that the recent work is done by third generation missionaries. by third generation he refers to christians missionary who started evangelical campaigns from 1970 after the nigeria civil war. he thfurther asserts that anioma today is largely unreached. he started his gospel effort on 4 september 1971 in adonte in aniocha south local government area with one joseph idogbo from benin. in january 1972, william clims onyenekwue got converted and joined the work. at this time there were no evangelical activities anywhere in delta north except for little assemblies of god in ukwu-nzu and ababa. in 1972, he preached at agbor motor park during scripture union camp meeting and from there to ndemili, oligo, obeti, umuaja and umutu along that stretch of road. by 1985, ndokwa and ukwuani have been opened to the gospel. the only resistance had been mainly aboh area due to bad road network and poor living conditions and non-availability of personnel. 54 underrepresentation of women in leadership position: a study of anioma, delta state the paper wishes to convey, that there are many gospel ministries flourishing in anioma land including: baptists, anglican, catholics, winners church, redeem christian church of god, and so on. so the anioma people have had contact with the gospel of the lord jesus. the gospel of the lord is a transformative and modeling of characters, cultures and traditions. therefore, the people of anioma should be aware of the positive messages of the gospel and the changes being done in gender equality. the paper strongly believes that since anioma peopl believed the holy bible and its contents, therefore our research facts finding would be simple for general applications of the holy bible which speaks of men and women are equal before god. anioma leadership positions since 1999 till date looking at the historical background of the anioma people, one will wonder why anioma people are not moving forward. the anioma people have nine local government areas in the state, the writer wants to find out how many women have being elected into leadership positions either in politics or educational sector since 1999 till date. offices/appoint ments slots men women years % of reps. in leadership positions. men women results president 1 0 0 1999 0 0 0 nil v.p 1 0 0 1999 0 0 0 nil senate 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 0 0 0 0 0 0 unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair house of representatives 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 3 2 3 2 3 1 0 1 0 1 0 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 100 100 100 100 100 100 67 100 67 100 67 100 33 0 33 0 33 0 unequal unfair unequal unfair unequal unfair governor 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 100 100 100 100 100 100 0 0 0 0 0 100 0 0 0 0 0 0 nil nil nil nil nil unfair deputy governor 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 unfair unfair nil nil nil nil 55okoh ejime samuel house of assembly 9 9 9 9 9 9 8 8 7 7 7 1 1 2 2 2 2 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 100 100 100 100 100 100 89 89 77 77 77 77 11 11 23 23 23 23 unequal unequal unequal unequal unequal unequal l.g.a chairmen 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 8 0 0 0 0 0 1 1999 2002 2005 2008 2011 2015 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 89 0 0 0 0 0 11 unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unequal deputy l.g.a 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1999 2002 2005 2008 2011 2014 2017 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair analytical interpretation of the table above in 1999, nigeria transited from military rule to democratic governance. despite the return of democracy, however, women are yet to occupy up to 15 per cent of elective and leadership positions in anioma where the voting population of both men and women are almost equal. not only has a woman been elected as president, none has been elected as vice president nor elected as governor , and as a senator in anioma of nigeria's 19 years of democracy. according to figures by the national population commission (npc) and the national bureau of statistics (nbs) in april, anioma has a population of about 1,229,371,00 million people with approximately 51 per cent males and 49 per cent females. the population figure has, however, never turned in favour of women in elective and leadership positions. from the data above one can see that anioma women have never won elective positions of leadership in house of senate. women were underrepresented in the upper house. again in the lower house of representatives men have 83% representations since 1999 till date while the women have 17% representations since 1999 till date. the result shows that women are underrepresented in leadership positions. data for governorship and deputy show that men have 100% representations and women have 0% representations. in state of house of assembly, anioma has nine (9) slots men have seven (7) of 77% representations in the state house of assembly while the women two (2) of 23% representations of women in the state house of assembly in anioma since 1999 till date. this is underrepresentation of women. nigeria has been recording low participation of women in both elective and appointive positions. this is a growing concern to many nigerians. however, concerted efforts have been made by government and non governmental organizations to increase the level of participation of women in politics in line with the declaration made at the fourth world conference on women in beijing, which advocated 30% affirmative action fo women participation in politics. in nigeria, the extant national gender policy (ngp) recommended 35% affirmative action instead and sought 56 underrepresentation of women in leadership position: a study of anioma, delta state for a more inclusive representation of women with at least 35% of both elective political and appointive public service positions respectively. the under representation of women in political participation gained root due to the patriarchal practice inherent in our society, much of which were obvious from pre-colonial era till date. however, the re-introduction of democratic governance has witnessed once again an increase in women political participation both in elective and appointive offices. the national average of women's political participation in nigeria has remained 6.7 percent in elective and appointive positions. with the data above the paper can agree with the ngp that women should increase their elective and appointive offices in anioma. in most societies, women assume some key roles, which are: mother, producer, home-manager, and community organizer, socio cultural and political activists. of these many roles mentioned, the last has been engendered by women movement. in line with global trend, nigerian women constitute nearly half of the population of the country. but despite the major roles they play with their population, women roles in the society are yet to be given recognition. this is due to some cultural stereotypes, abuse of religion, traditional practices and patriarchal societal structures. since the return of civil rule in the country in 1999, statistics of women's political representation in nigeria's government as gradually increased though still less than 7 percent. the factors that gave women low percentage in leadership could be the following the political arena is too male dominated and this serves as a threat to most women and maybe referred to as a form of discrimination. one of the major factors militating against women is cultural factor. the society is primordially oriented and as such the 'african mentality' that a woman functional role is in the kitchen is what majorly restrict the women from politics as most of them do not get the support of their husbands, families and friends. so rather than lose their loved ones, most women would rather let go their political quest. honorable olayinke modupe (personal communication, 24th june2007) states that one of the challenges against women legislators in politics is fund. politics is expensive in nigeria and women by their nature do not have such money to flaunt around, thereby hindering them from participating in politics. more so, the competitive nature of politics in nigeria makes it difficult for a participant not to spend and most male counterparts are usually willing to spend any amount of money just to be victorious at elections. to mrs hajia mariam bimbola ogunlade (personal communication 26th august 2007) the women leader of labour party, ekiti state, she's of the opinion that until when “money is been separated from politics in nigeria, money will still deprive a lot of people especially women from politics”. very few percentages of them will agree that discrimination has been one of the major causes of low participation of women in politics. it is important to note that all the points above are in agreement that women have challenges they face in nigerian politics. one can deduce from the above contributions that the challenges of women leadership positions in politics are enormous and differ. conclusion all that the writer has attempted to show in this paper is that women have been under represented in the leaderships and appointments to offices, in anioma delta state, nigeria since 1999. the study has also shown that although women formed less than 9% in the state local council legislature, 9% in the state assembly and other electives and leadership positions in anioma delta state, nigeria from 1999 to 2019, however, the few 57okoh ejime samuel women elected created a significant impact especially with respect to the sponsorship of bills. in qualitative terms, the female representatives sponsored more bills than their male counterparts and these bills showed their mindset as regards the lives of the people. it is therefore the writer's conclusion in this paper that the leadership and appointments positions can only be made more vibrant, responsive and result oriented if more women are elected into the legislature in subsequent elections. women should be educated in leadership positions of higher levels in the society. references abojunrin, s.o. (2003). biblical studies and women issues in africa. ibadan: philarem. anioma, the story of a people anioma voice. accessed february 11, 2018 http://www.aniomavoice. net/#/about_us/gnl bablola, e.o. (1976). christianity in west africa: the historical analysis. ibadan: publication international. berkeley, h.(20130. redefining leadership innovation leadership development. califorina: ucpress boff, l.c. (1986). eccesiogenesis. the base communities reinvention church. new york: orbis.. chysostom, j. (1969). homoilies on ephesians: library of the nicene and post nicene fathers. oxford: eerdmans. fatokun, s.a. (2013). christian mission in nigeria, south of the sahara african before the rise of pentecostalism. a historical evaluation in christianity and african society. ibadan: book wright. heywood, a. (2002). political ideologies and introduction. london: palgrave maccmilm hubbard, d.a. (1981). right living in a world gone wrong. dowers grove: interversity press. kunirum, o. (2008). anioma people of delta. anioma association usa inc. accessed february 8, 2018. http:///www.anioma.org/about/ making. mordi, e.n. & opone, p.o. (2009). origins and migration of the enuani people of south central nigeria reconsidered. abraka: abk. nweke, d. (2002). mission in delta north in missionary efforts in delta state: pas, present and future. warri: harvestime. nweze, c. (2014). comprehensive biology for senior secondary school. lagos: johnson. osogbue, e. (2011). umu anioma foundation worldwide. accessed february 10, 2018 http://www.umuanioma.com/indexphp/anioma/anioma_nyere-37th-state-in-thepobee, j.s. (2012). biblical studies and feminism in the african context ibadan: nabis. ross, m. (1993). the management of conflict: interpretations and interest in comparative perspective new haven: yale university. ruether, r.r.(2008). the emergence of christian feminist theology. usa: cambridge university press. throne, b. (1997). gender play: girls and boys in school. new brunswick: rutgers university 58 underrepresentation of women in leadership position: a study of anioma, delta state igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 161 rational affirmation of god’s existence in meyer’s realist hermeneutic metaphysics ikechukwu anthony kanu department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university umunya, anambra state ikee_mario@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.36469.60642 & philip osarobu isanbor1 department of philosophy, st. albert institute, fayit-kagoma, kaduna state osarobuisanbor@gmail.com. & adidi, dokpesi timothy2 department of philosophy, veritas university, abuja timshow03@gmail.com abstract the debates on the certainty and uncertainty for the existence of god have been the major thrust of contemporary philosophical engagement as results of emotivist and relativist epistemic traditions, as they are hinged on the evaluation of human religious practices and epistemic conditioning. they have been problematic on the basis of their linguistic and pragmatic connotations of human attributes to god. the belief of the existence of god outside the workability of human senses remains epistemologically problematic. hence, the paper tries to explicate the criticisms and assertions for the existence and authoritative claims of the attributes of god as the ultimate metaphysical reality in ben meyer’s realist hermeneutic tradition/metaphysics. meyer observes that the general god-talks have not been done outside the realm and domain of science and its claim of exert methodology in establishing and verifying facts, especially in relation to indispensability of truth. therefore, the paper recognises that theology has been seen as an established science, especially by its tool of rational hermeneutics, by the virtue of it being methodological and rudimentary in attaining certain knowledge through faith and 1philip o. isanbor, lecturer, department of philosophy, st. albert institute, fayit-fadan, kagoma, pmb. 1006 kafanchan, kaduna state, nigeria. email: osarobuisanbor@gmail.com. 2timothy d. adidi, lecturer, department of philosophy, veritas university, abuja, fct, nigeria. email: timshow03@gmail.com. the corresponding author: phone: 0813-860-5055 mailto:ikee_mario@yahoo.com mailto:osarobuisanbor@gmail.com mailto:timshow03@gmail.com mailto:osarobuisanbor@gmail.com mailto:timshow03@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 162 revelation that are enlightened by reason, under the pavilion of truth, which is god, the author of knowledge, despite the gravity of the human limitedness in certainty. background realist hermeneutic tradition (the metaphysical affirmativeness of existents) is about the interpretation of theological-eschatological beliefs which are based on biblical claims and convictions, under the foundation of scientific modelling of the contents of truth. its scientific modelling, here, is on the materialistic judgment and evidences in the world and around humanity, especially; to ascertain the existence and attributes of god in relation to humanistic epistemic conventions. the fact may be that the rational affirmation of god’s existence does not fall within the ambit of empirical science.3 verification, on the other hand, crucial as it is to empirical science, is not relevant to every kind of knowledge. the sense of verification indicates the epistemic concern for the establishment of truth. truth here; is about the elimination of doubt and disappearance of unbelief. thus, there is no basis on which to insist on verification (in the strict sense) of things of common sense, or of mathematics or logic. not of common sense, for empirical data cannot be expected to reveal whether a possibly relevant unity or relationship (insight/construal) is actually relevant to this, or this kind of, concrete case. not of logic or mathematics, for in neither case are empirical data the relevant fulfilling conditions sought by reflection on hypotheses. idjakpo epistemologically puts it; what is truth? the holy bible records that pontius pilate was one of those who first raised this fundament question. it is commonly believed that the philosopher who is also concerned with ‘truth’ is one of those best suited to answer the question. many definitions have been given as answers to the questions of the meaning of truth and these answers are said to constitute the theories of truth. we have the correspondence, coherence, pragmatic and semantic theories of truth among others. conceptually speaking, do these theories really answer our question? if not. what does the question ‘what is truth’ really mean?4 3see, t. d. cooper and c. k. epperson, evil: satan, sin & psychology. mumbai: st paul., 2008, p. 35. 4onos godwin idjakpo, “the problem of epistemic truth.” aici journal of religious studies and theology, vol. 1, no. 1, 2105, pp. 85-91. see, p. 85. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 163 the question sounds widely impossible to infer any substantive answer meaningfully, when such is directed to the clarification of the existence of god. but there is ‘truth’ and there is something that regarded as being ‘truthful’. while drawing upon all the contributions made by the sciences and philosophy, catholic social teaching or philosophy is aimed at helping humanity on the path of salvation, understanding the social integration and interaction of god with the world (the physical phenomena).5 as a body of faith, she is not in doubt of the existence of god, but always ready in conformity with the truth for all knowledge in substantiating the claim, with or without science. this view about science can be aligned with the paul obada when he asserts that; “with the failure of science and secular humanism, religion becomes an avenue for lasting solutions to the innumerable problems of man. consequently, it is thought that salvation comes from zion. unfortunately, the condition of faith-expression in the religious arena is one to question the depth and genuineness of our religious convictions”6 the culture of epistemic verification of the contents of faith, as demand of their authentication; will always lead to another culture of insatiable desires for knowledgeable truth. so demandingly, in logic, the fulfilling conditions are what satisfy criteria of clarity, coherence, and rigor; in mathematics they are what reduce, in virtues of conclusions rigorously drawn, to any freely chosen set of suitable postulates.7 these features of the concept of verificationthat verification consists in the exclusion of grounds for rational doubt concerning the truth of some proposition; that this means its exclusion from particular minds; that the nature of the experience which serves to exclude grounds for rational doubt depends upon the particular subject matter; that verification is often related to predictions and that such predictions are often conditional; that verification and falsification may be asymmetrically related; and finally, that the verification of a factual proposition is not equivalent to logical certificationare all relevant to the verification of the central religious claim, “god exists”8, and that it takes some elementary level of epistemic interests to explain factual propositions of materials in relation to the transcendence. 5john paul ii, centesimus annus. rome: libreria editrice vaticana, 1991, no. 54. 6paul. o. obada, “bringing faith out of the closet”, the voice, vol. 42, 2004. 7ben f. meyer, reality and illusion in new testament scholarship: a primer in critical realist hermeneutics. minnesota: the liturgical press, 1994, p. 198. 8john hick, the existence of god. london: collier macmillan, 1964, p. 259. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 164 rational affirmation of the beingness of god in realist hermeneutic metaphysics from scholarly consideration and foundation, ben meyer for example, who is emeritus of mcmaster university, has an intellectual tradition on realist hermeneutic authority on biblical scholarship. his works bears the imprint of the late bernard lonegan’s “critical realism” and of the european tradition of philosophical and historical scholarship. he has a contemporary concern on the interplay of science and religion in understanding god, as the ultimate reality, in accordance with biblical convictions and scholarship. he studies this development with philosophical intellectual background, most especially, understanding human intentionality and epistemic interdependency of the minds. reflection on the growth of knowledge in the modern world and in particular of mathematics and the natural sciences since the seventeenth century has changed the state of the question for the rational affirmation of the existence of god to mere materialistic verifications. according to ben meyer; empirical science has become for western civilisation the supremely obvious instance of valid knowledge. it is empirical, for it proceeds from data and returns to data to verify all its affirmations in them. verification; in the strict sense is a cumulative convergence of direct and indirect empirical confirmations.9 such a factual claim is an empirical hypothesis and, as every empirical hypothesis must, it conveys definite expectations about the future. these expectations, under the appropriate circumstances, with either are satisfied or disappointed.10 with realist development, modern hermeneutics encompasses everything in the interpretative process including verbal and non-verbal forms of communicative as well as prior aspects that affect communication, such as presupposition, pre-understanding, the meaning and philosophy of language, and semiotics. the central notation of it is on the personhood of god.11 though, most of the implications are: there are no data, no empirical givenon god. then, there cannot be any factual claim on the personhood of god. accordingly, based on the explicated thrust of realist hermeneutic, god cannot be an object of scientific knowledge. science calls for the limitations of particular 9ben meyer, 197 10fredrick ferre, basis modern philosophy of religion. london: george allen & unwin, 1967, pp. 336-7. 11see, james collins, god in modern philosophy. chicago: henry regnery company, 1967. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 165 objects of realities to be verifiable. there is no verifiable principle by which to conclude from the world to god, for a principle is verifiable only if there are data on both the terms that the principle relates and of object of verification. since there are no data on god, there can be principle verifying a relation of the world to god. thus, for the purpose of clarity, that to be scientifically educated in this regard, will be on the condition that if informed question on the prospect for a rational proof of god’s existence is asked, then it will be “by what unverifiable principle do you propose to infer the existence of god from our world?”12 to john paul ii, when analysing the congruence of faith and reason to the establishment of human understanding of god, asserts that; on this understanding, everything is reduced to opinion; and there is a sense of being adrift. while, on the one hand, philosophical thinking has succeeded in coming closer to the reality of human life and its forms of expression, it has also tended to pursue issues—existential, hermeneutical or linguistic—which ignore the radical question of the truth about personal existence, about being and about god.13 the radical questions on the authenticity of truth may be personal but in most instances, are universally objective, because truth remains immutable. hence, realist hermeneutics seems to suggest the philosophical engagement of “transcendent realism” to remain in the realm of factual objectivity, to be within experiential pavilion. for paul oredipe, analysing the thoughtfulness of fides et ratio, a precise evaluation of philosophical modernity for the interplay of faith and reason for integral human development; recognises or admits that john paul ii makes informed statements about the philosophical, theological, and cultural roots of our crisis, the crisis of interrelation of faith and reason especially. here, we infer a process philosophy that deals with the understanding of the cosmos and our place in it, a religio-philosophical assertiveness on the exaction of the indispensable and indisputable placement of god’s active beingness in our universal cosmological common existence. this school of thought has proponents like henri bergson and alfred north whitehead, the philosophers who believe in absoluteness and progressiveness of god’s unquantifiable creativeness and the god in the progressiveness of the created order, respectively. in substantiating philosophical modesty of the valuation of truth, john paul ii asserts that; “with a false modesty, people rest content with partial and 12ben meyer, 197. 13john paul ii, fides et ratio. rome: libreria editrice vaticana, 1998, no. 5. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 166 provisional truths, no longer seeking to ask radical questions about the meaning and ultimate foundation of human, personal and social existence. in short, the hope that philosophy might be able to provide definitive answers to these questions has dwindled.”14however, he acknowledges the positive aspects and great merits of philosophical modernity as including, for example, the development of attention to humanity rather than the universe, to history and to the problem of knowledge; concern for the world of learning, and so on. yet he links this crisis to certain philosophical ideas: epistemological and moral relativism, materialism, and an undifferentiated pluralism, to name a few.15realist hermeneutic tradition possesses and tries to exhibit facts on the claim for the existence of god and his attributes, in his relationship with the created order of the world. it is by the assertion of the cosmic phenomenological events, about and around the existence of the physical world and humanity, about the supernatural happenings that are beyond human full comprehension and above human inventive skill when demanded, all based on biblical factual claims, especially around and about the personhood of jesus christ, the messiah (the suffered redeemer) of the good and not perfect world. a perfect world does not need redemptive intervention of any external personality to retain its holds. this is scriptural truth with meta-realist objectivity on the application of the interplay of human reason and faith in the affirmation of religious truth. meyer tries to distinguish the domain of scientific realism from idealistic or transcendent realism, in analysing the existence and attributes of god, by separating the factors of physicality from the domain of metaphysically acclaimed realities. in the words of mel thompson, “scientific realism is of the view that the objects with which science deals are separate from, and independent of, our own minds, and that scientific theories are therefore literal description (whether true or false) of the external, objective world.”16scientific realism may not support the epistemic certainty by mere metaphysical rationality, but cannot be distant from its epistemic foundation in the establishment of truth. “the implication is that we can assume that there is a truth out there to be had, even if we have not yet found the perfect theory by which to describe it.”17 in the other hand, “transcendent realism” is a 14john paul ii, fides et ratio, no. 5. 15paul oredipe, “the church’s diakonia of the truth: an appraisal of john paul ii’s philosophical legacy.” west african journal of philosophical studies, vol. 11, 2008. 16mel thompson, understanding philosophy of science. london: mcgraw-hill, 2012, p. 91. 17mel thompson, understanding philosophy of science, p. 91. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 167 philosophical practice merely by metaphysicians, by laying facts and rational existential assertions on the metaphysical realities, especially god. it is rational affirmation which is scientific, because of its exhibition and habitation of methodologies. it is on this that theology is taken as science. the philosophy of transcendent realism has its central objective based on the realisation of possible worlds under the possible existence of god. epistemic-religiosity of truth for scientific exaction of god’s existence scientific realism appears to be more exact than of transcendent realism epistemologically. be that as it may, “general transcendent knowledge,” in other words, the “rational affirmativeness” of god’s existence, is the only ‘principle’ apropos of which the issue of “verification” might arise: it is the human mind itselfa principle more fundamental than any process of verification, since every such process supposes it. and since any process of verification of any kind supposes it, there is no point in talking about verifying it.18 in the realm of scientific meanings, the ultimate mind appears as the truth. the “truth” in the religious sense does not mean simply the sum of the entire true propositions known and yet to be known. it means the one source and ground of all partial truths and the light that shine within every particular illumination of intelligence. the capitalised terms are symbols of “ultimacy” in relation to the enterprise of empirical inquiry.19 according to gbenga fasiku, analysing the thought of david lewis, on the possible worlds with meta-realist tradition, said that; the notion of possible worlds is not just a philosophical tool useful of the purpose of elucidating philosophical arguments or claims. possible worlds are real in some way. in this conception of possible world, what makes worlds distinct is that they are spatial-temporally separated from one another. in other words, existing physical world really is. so, possible worlds are real worlds and they actually exist in the same sense the real or concrete world we inhabits exists.20 18ben meyer, 198 19phillip h. phenix, realms of meaning. london: mcgraw-hill books, 1964, p. 247. 20gbenga fasiku, “moral facts, possible moral worlds and naturalised ethics.” west african journal of philosophical studies, vol. 11, 2008, pp. 105-128. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 168 almost generally speaking, the religious consciousness seeks to affirm a reality from which the phenomenal world is derived, a being whose intelligence is revealed in the laws and theories of empirical science. the man of faith affirms an explanation in which all particular explanations are comprehended, and a first cause (not in order of time, but of being) in which all proximate causes are grounded. the man, who is a being of faith, is the same man of science. both reason and belief reside in his “beingness” to exert the existence of the reality in accordance with his consideration and mental conviction. in some words of benedict xvi; “the world of the bible presents us with a new image of god. in surrounding cultures, the image of god and of the gods ultimately remained unclear and contradictory.”21it should be recognised that science and philosophy are not totally separable. this is because the former makes an exposition of the world realities while the latter provides the tool for establishment of realities.22 another way of putting this: when we grasp the idea of god, we do not grasp god, that is, an unrestricted act of understanding. we grasp an extrapolation that consists in removing the restriction from a restricted act of understanding (our own).23 the source, ground, light, being, reality, first cause, is named by many names, and all are names of the divine or of god, the term most commonly applied to the ultimate truth. by faith, the god is held to be the primal fact, whose being and nature are expressed in theological propositions and creedal formulas. these statements of faith are not regarded as empirical proposition in the same class as other such propositions referring to the finite realm. yet they are stated in empirical form to express the conviction that the god of faith is actual fact and not a fiction of the imagination. theology is regarded as the supreme science, providing systematic generalisations and theories about the ultimate reality.24 commonly inspiring is the epistemic condition for the truths concerning fact is not logically necessary. their contrary is never self-contradictory. but at the same time the bare logical possibility of error does not constitute ground for rational doubt as to the veracity of our experience.25 while it is a truism that individuals 21benedict xvi, deus caritas est. rome: libreria editrice vaticana, 2005, no. 9. 22j. o. ayeni, “naturalism: the foundation of scientific studies.” enwisdomization journal, 4(1&2), 2009, p. 77. 23ben meyer, p. 198. 24phillip phenix, p. 247 25john hick, p. 258. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 169 make perception, yet this is not to deny objectivity of perceptions since whatever maybe perceived has objective identity in nature. it is the impression a person forms about a phenomenon that carries the imprint of his personality. experience consists in perceiving ourselves along with other objects of cognition.26 but, the perception of nature has been the perception of god. hence, god has not been discussed outside the domain of science; since theology is scientific, as it is analytical and methodological in its assessment and consideration of the existence, nature and relevance of the believed realities and convictions. god’s talks have been realist and factual, even linguistically ascertain. surely demanding, the ontological argument requires that we make the transition from analytic proposition (a necessary and universal judgment relevant to possibility, i.e., leaving concrete existence bracketed) to an analytic principle (analytic judgment whose terms and relation are existential, that is, occur in judgments of facts). but we cannot make this transition except by affirming the fact of god’s existence. thus, the rational affirmation of the existence of god is requisite to its ontological argument; it is not its result but presupposition.27on this, oppy asserts that “ontological arguments are arguments, for the conclusion that god exists, from premises which are supposed to derive from some source other than observation of the world—e.g., from reason alone. in other words, ontological arguments are arguments from nothing but analytic, a priori and necessary premises to the conclusion that god exists.”28it is in view of the fact that they want to acquire more in-depth knowledge of the physical world in order to make fuller use of it for their survival; realists favour extrinsic use of knowledge.29 it is in knowledge as the truth. for saint paul, in the words of william ede in the interpretation of philosophical notation of the truth, that; in human’s search for the ultimate and indivisible truth, faith plays a fundamental role while man’s conscience ultimately determines the positive outcome. this gives st paul a relativist stance on the notion of truth, but he affirms that objectivity and universal certainty are the crowning of this process of the discovery of truth via a conscience search drive. here is a logical build-up from relativity to objectivity, from the particular mind to the universal mind, and 26j. o. ayeni, p. 79. 27ben meyer, p. 199. 28g. oppy, “ontological argument.” stanford encyclopaedia of philosophy, first published thu feb 8, 1996; substantive revision fri jul 15, 2011. 29o. e. ekpe, “applying four pedagogic perspectives and their didactic objectives to the teaching of information and communication technology (ict) at primary level.”journal of teacher perspective, 9(2), 2015, pp. 419-430. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 170 clearly put, from the state of conscience to the ultimate and unchanging ideathe truth which is god.30 affirming metaphysics of god in truth through biblical hermeneutics and theocratic exegesis in all indications, there have been several attempts to reconcile the existence of evil with the reality of a loving, powerful, good god.31from biblical hermeneutic on the creation account of the world; and on the certainty of the existence god, it is believed that the world is created by god. in it, god is said to have pronounced the created world as good. the account did not record that the world was created in accordance with the nature of creator, god. it only created humanity in its own image and likeness. it did assert that the creator pronounced the created world as good, just because it is good. also, the created world was not pronounced to be perfect. that is, the pronounced created order may be good but perfect. if the world is created in accordance with the ontological good of god, then the world is good not perfect. this is on the pronouncement of the nature of the created world and its ordering. the creating deity, god only pronounced itself to be perfect in terms of moral, attitudinal prowess and restiveness in relationship of its nature with humanity. it is ontological valuing of nature, not materialistic consideration of the creative ordering of existence. it is since the created world is not perfect but only good. “goodness has its perfection in god, and the real truth is the perfection of certainty realised in god, and knowing god as the ultimate being who created and rules over the universe”,32 but the world remains imperfect materialistically and demands the embrace of perfection as an intervention for its redemption. another point of limitation is the problem of evil which religious do not associate with the nature of god. god is claiming to be ultimately good, but of whom presence the reign of evil is mightily visible.33 before now, there is a usual question of “if god is the source of good? such question affirms the existence of god at a glance. this affirmation of the existence of god must be generally 30stan-william ede, “the pauline concept of truth: epistemological insights from the philosophy of st. paul.” enwisdomization journal, vol. 4, no. 3, 2010, pp. 71-89. 31see, francis a. olajide, in defence of the unborn and the limit of existential option. being 47th inaugural lecture of ekiti state university, ado-ekiti, nigeria, 2017, p. 28. 32s-w ede, “the pauline concept of truth: epistemological insights from the philosophy of st. paul.” ibid. 33p. o. isanbor, “evaluation of the meaning and working of religion.”the social scientist, 2(1), 2012, pp. 78-86. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 171 established before the discourses of the problem of evil. one way of approaching the question before us is to inquire whether, as a result of modern investigations into history, philosophy, comparative religion or what have you, we should sort the validity of the source of faith and reason in relation to human freedom and responsibility, before the questioning of god. it should be assumed that, there is the liturgical cosmos, confined to the realm of immediate sense data, and it is the sign of the presence of god and contains the pledge of the life to come. over against it stands the cosmos studied by the work of the mind. this arrangement increases the limitedness of human nature, because the devil, whose will is wholly given over to hatred, wishes to distort the cosmos as much as it can; to this end it tries to corrupt and pervert the human race.34 this development is a propositional and factual contradiction to the human reasoning and sensory conviction to assert the exactness of the existence of a good and perfect god as the pragmatic and divine entity or reality will always remain limitless. our precepts and concepts fashioned by the intellect as representation of reality in abstract and universal manner, do not as yet constitute knowledge; rather than being finished products, they are the materials of knowledge. knowledge comes from the affirmation of “something; and that takes place in the interpretative judgment. judgment here possesses a truthclaim, but also be erroneous. now, what is truth?35 it is important to remember that we do not speak of verifying logically necessary truths, but only propositions concerning matters of fact. accordingly verification is not to be identified with the concept of logical certification or proof. the exclusion of rational doubt concerning some matter of fact is not equivalent to the exclusion of the logical possibility of error or illusion.36 in nutshell, there have been series of arguments on the existence of god, and no one has been able to exact its claim optimally convincingly and maximally dominating. any of them has been meaningful and at the same time, very limited. but, on an idealist pavilion; based on naturalised convictions of ben meyer, which are also realistic, the god-talks are enough to ascertain that he exists, then beyond full comprehension by a particular mode of human knowledge. nowhere is this fascination with the world more evident than 34p. o. isanbor, “evaluation of the meaning and working of religion.”ibid. 35s-w. ede, “the pauline concept of truth: epistemological insights from the philosophy of st. paul.” ibid. 36john hick, p. 258. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 172 science and the technology that it make possible. from speculations about the origins of matter, to the understanding and manipulation of genetic information or the working of the human body, it thrives on the human desires to unlock the mysteries of the world around usboth for the sake of knowledge itself and for the benefits it can offer.37 there reside the powers of limitless self-transcendence, the ground for self-awareness, imagination, self-determination, and participation in real time, including the ability to remember and to anticipate. theology is thinking within the faith, through the faith and about the faith. philosophy as such is thinking on reality in general. theology is supernatural wisdom, since the faith is a gift from god coming from above; philosophy is natural wisdom in the light of reason alone. it is not surprising therefore that a christian (with faith) may engage in dialogue with a non-christian, since both are philosophers, that is to say, both are interested in the great questions of man, the world and god, and both know what they are talking about when they engage in dialogue. the philosophical dimension to be noted in this biblical vision, and its importance from the standpoint of the history of religions, lies in the fact that, on the one hand, we find ourselves before a strictly metaphysical image of god: god is the absolute and ultimate source of all being; but this universal principle of creation—the logos, primordial reason—is at the same time a lover with all the passion of a true love.38 hence, phenix asserts that; in the light of faith these latter capacities betoken the union in the soul of the temporal and the eternal, and form this joining spring intimations, hopes, and expectations of a destiny of the soul beyond the mortal span, as symbolised in doctrines of pre-existence, reincarnation, immortality, and resurrectionthe various beliefs differing in the matter of the relation between the body and soul in the person.39 on the other hand, the act of will include affirmations on man and on god: affirmations of man’s spiritual nature, freedom, responsibility, and sinfulness, of the existence and nature of god, and of “the solution” that transcendent solution that god provides for man’s problem. it will include an announcement and an account of the solution.40certain tendencies in contemporary moral theology, under the influence of the currents of subjectivism and individualism just 37mel thompson, understanding philosophy of science. london: mcgraw-hill, 2012, p. 1. 38benedict xvi, no. 10. 39phillip phenix, p. 249. 40ben meyer, p. 164. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 173 mentioned, involve novel interpretations of the relationship of freedom to the moral law, human nature and conscience, and propose novel criteria for the moral evaluation of acts. despite their variety, these tendencies are at one in lessening or even denying the dependence of freedom on truth.41 these tendencies have projected unified consideration of god, and that he exists. some scientists and thinkers may say that the conception of the existence and attributes of god is on the realm of faith only, not on reason. the domain of faith cannot be illusive of the working of reasoning. it takes the compatibility of both reason and faith to perceive and assert the domain of the transcendent and divinity, where the thought and belief of the existence and attributes are asserted. in fact, these assertions are beyond one domain of knowledge, especially that of science. ferre will further expound that; of course, this does not mean that all genuine empirical hypotheses have to be actually falsifies. some empirical hypotheses happen to be consistently reliable in the expectations they support, and it would be absurd to mistrust them just because they never known to let us down.42 put simply, in the analogue of the scientific community, the pursuit of truth is a collaboration on which “science” in the concrete term, is a compound of belief and immanently generated knowledge. but among scientists this collaboration is an entirely human affair. brought to bear on human living, a purely human collaboration would be flatly implausible. hence, the new and higher collaboration belonging to the solution could hardly be the work of human beings alone. it must be mainly the work of god. indeed, if a human role is to be functional at all, the solution must provide an enabling form qualifying the intelligence of human subjects for a share in this cognitive quest. we may call this form “faith”; and since belief and only belief is universally accessible and fits harmoniously within a continuation of the actual order of the world, this faith will be a transcendent belief, its motive, the omniscience, goodness, and omnipotence of god, originate and preserver of this divine-human collaboration.43 then, the union of faith and reason in ascertain the existence of god is realistic, especially it is situated in the domain of biblical hermeneutic tradition, as he is personified in the personhood of factual messiah, the christ. 41john paul ii, veritatis splendor. rome: libreria editrice vaticana, 1993, no. 34. 42fredrick ferre, p. 337. 43ben meyer, p. 164. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 174 so, the assertions and the certainty of the existence are in the domain of the collaboration of faith and reason. though, the sceptics are on the position that there is no knowledge so indubitable that cannot be doubted. so, meyer’s realist hermeneutic tradition for the affirmation of the god’s existence is not an exception. the factual positioning remains that the realist tradition for the existence of god and for the oiling of its attributes ascribed to it by humanity, is needed, within the pavilion of abstraction. that, there are wonders and other non-explainable events, especially in the name of miracles are not enough to exact the existence of god. these are the happenings that associated and ascribed to chance and the cosmic privilege. it is beyond the domain and application of reason in the name of verifiable principle and falsification without the atom of faith. humanity is a complex entity of matter and spirit, and the union of these make-ups is even beyond scientific proving and assertions, and the above the establishment of the existence of the divinity. the realist tradition based on the biblical hermeneutics is a reaffirming notation in the establishment of already existing facts of the ultimate being, the ultimate truth, in which all knowledge reside and all atoms of facts are verified. conclusion the discourses of the existence of god may be different from that of the attributes of god. that god exists or not, is rather of separate consideration of his attributes. for example, the goodness of god is distinct from his existence. it is transcendent. it is beyond the realm of science and its evaluation. even, many theorists, while claiming to be operating strictly as scientist, make metaphysical or ultimate claims about life.44 true knowledge or human wisdom is metaphysical. it consists of the understanding of forces in their hierarchy, cohesion and interaction.45the existence and attributes of god are on the realistic apprehension and comprehension of the physicality of the world in relation with man’s metaphysical limitedness, by faith which engages the revelation of his personhood in a transcendental apprehension. the relation is that of mundane to eternal. the disclosure of this relation is revelation, and its mode of apprehension is faith. 44see, t. d. cooper and c. k. epperson, evil: satan, sin and psychology. mumbai: st pauls, 2008, p. 35. 45c. b. okoro, tempel’s bantu philosophy: analysis and critique. journal of african philosophy and studies, vol. 1, nos. 1 & 2, 1988, pp. 83-92, see, p. 85. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 175 therefore, the philosopher who tends his or her heart and soul to the philosophic reasons for establishment of the goodness of god will find nourishment therein, in order to sustain his or her sense of the world and world-process as good. for most of the world’s contents of truth, it will be from other sources, perhaps unsearchable, inaccessible sources for his or her academic or intellectual gymnastics.46 it may well be that the horizon requisite to the rational affirmation of the existence and attributes of god is not open to many. of the numerous blocks to that horizon, some may prove to be relatively irremovable. others, however, may yield to the cultivation of specifically religious experience.47 so, understanding the grounds of meyer’s realist hermeneutics tradition, we do not accept any argument for the goodness of god (in the sense of god as moral agent caring for the world) from an independent premise of the goodness of the world. but, ascribe to the rational affirmation and conviction, based on the indispensable epistemic connection of faith and reason, that the world is good and life is good on condition that god, the author of the world and life, is good. if the creative fiat is good, then the world and world process, the origin and destiny of the world is good, and it is good to believe that god is good, only in order for him to be in tune with the world. 46see, reginald o. idode, god’s attributes and the problem of evil: a critique of hume on the design argument. enwisdomization journal, vol. 6, no. 3, 2016, pp. 94-109, see, pp. 106-7. 47cf, ben meyer, p. 254. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 176 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 82 hundred years of britain‟s nigeria: a historical and philosophical analyses of the idea of a "non-negotiable unity” joseph nnnemeka agbo, ph.d department of philosophy and religion ebonyi state university, abakaliki, nigeria jeocoagbo@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.12241.35684 abstract nigeria has a fundamental existential malady: the fact that she does not appear to meet the standard of a well-formed state (wfs). she, therefore, does not meet the logical standard of a well-formed formula (wff). the fear of failure for the frail and fragile formula of the nigerian formulation is at the foundation of the frequently and fragrantly fronted mantra, “nigeria‟s unity is non-negotiable”. this paper, therefore, analyzes the logic behind the idea of a “non-negotiable unity” and shows that it is an insult on the sensitivity of the peoples of the ethnic nationalities within the nigerian geographical space whose sovereignties were imprisoned by the 1914 amalgamation. the paper equally observes the impossibility of a unity that is non-negotiable, and via the application of expository, historical and critical analysis, shows that it is (paradoxically) disunity that the powers that superintend over nigeria‟s affairs end up engendering. the paper gives some socio-political, economic and religious reasons why some forces want the status quo to remain the same and proves historically that the lure for economic control and religious domination are the hub that turns the unity-at-all-cost agenda. the paper concludes by showing that unless we have a no-holds-barred, unconditionally-negotiated unity, the militancy, insurgence, demand for fiscal federalism, resource control, self determination, secession etc that have characterized the nigerian state in the past decade or thereabout would most likely bring africa‟s largest country to her feet. for man cannot be held for long against his will. keywords: federalism, nation-state, philosophical analysis, religion, unity introduction we have released northern nigeria from the leading strings of the treasury. the promising and well conducted youth is now on allowance on his own and is about to effect an alliance with a southern lady of means. i have issued the special license and sir frederick lugard will perform the ceremony, may the union be fruitful and the couple content.lord lewis vernon harcourt (1913)1 mailto:jeocoagbo@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 83 obsessed by two manias, the segregation fad and the furor faciends leges, for frederick by means of the one, consciously or unconsciously endeavored to intensify, in the colony and southern provinces raced antipathies between blacks and whites which had never been suspected nor dreamt of during the palmy days of old colony of lagos….. whilst by means of the other, a classified as bad and in different and are distinguished more for their repressiveness and brutality, rather than for their juridical lure and enlightened statesmanship…. sir fredrick has also won for nigeria the unenviable distinction of being the greatest ordinance-ridden colony within the british empire. the lagos weekly record (1919)2 holding this country together is not possible, except by means of the religion of the prophet. if they want political unity, let them follow our religion -conference of northern chief (1942)3 these southerners who desire a united nigeria should first embrace islam as their religion –sultan of sokoto (1944)4 since 1914, the british government has been trying to make nigeria into one country, but the nigerian people themselves are historically different in their background, in their religious beliefs and customs and do not show themselves any sign of willingness to unite. nigerian unity is really a british intension for the country. –sir. ahmadu bello (1948)5 many nigerians deceive themselves by thinking that nigeria is one, particularly some of the press people. this is wrong, i am sorry to say that this presence of unity is artificial and it ends outside this chamber. the southern tribes, who are now pouring into the north in ever increasing numbers, and are more or less domiciled here do not mix with the northern people and we the north look upon them as invaders. -alhaji abuakar tafawa balewa (1948)6 nigeria is not a nation; it is a mere geographical expression. there are no nigerians in the same sense as there are english, welish or french. the word ―nigeria‖ is merely a distinctive appellation to distinguish those who live within the boundaries of nigeria from those who do not –obafemi awolowo (1947)7 suffice it to say that putting all considerations to test-political, economic as well as socialthe base for unity is not there or is so badly wrote, not only once, but several times. -yakubu gowon (1966)8 nigeria never was and can never be a united country. the very nature of nigeria inevitably gave rise to political power groups, goaded by sectional rather than national igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 84 interest. these groups were clearly defined and perpetuated by the constitution itself. the veneer of unity generated and maintained by the veiled became exposed with the coming of disjointed mass…. nigeria was not united the nigerians knew it. chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu. (1969)9 we the people of the federal republic of nigeria, having firmly and solemnly resolved to live in unity and harmony as indivisible and indissoluble sovereign nation under god… on the principles of freedom, equality and justice…nigeria is one indivisible and indissoluble sovereign state to be known by the name of the federal republic of nigeria. -1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria (2011 as amended) 10 we have chosen to start this essay with the above quotes from the so called founding fathers of nigeria, british and ―nigerian‖, so that we can get from the onset what sort of attitudes and conditions that informed the birth of nigeria. we have decided to chronicle these positions in order to help us search deeply into the depth so that we can unearthen the reason why the question concerning the unity of the peoples within the geographical space of nigeria became so inevitable, irrevocable and sacrosanct that it has to be enshrined in the grand norm – the constitution of the federal republic of nigeria 1999 – that nigeria is ―indivisible‖ and indissoluble‖. but granted that the social, political and economic relations of the people in nigeria could be (and indeed, has been) existing indivisibly,‖ does it then mean that something called ―unity‖ can also be so externally decreed? is the indivisibility and indissolubility of nigeria as well as the ―non-negotiability‖ of the ―unity‖ of her peoples so flaunted because it is impossible in principle, logically invalid or conceptually inconceivable? or are there other reasons? besides, what does a unity that is ―not negotiable‖ look like? and is there such a thing as a ―non-negotiable unity‖? this paper would be very critical and analytic in approach. with the intensions of the british colonial masters, the way nigeria has been in a hundred years, and the historical facts available to us, we shall philosophically analyze the often repeated mantra, ―nigeria‘s‖ unity is non-negotiable‖. our objective is to show that the mantra is an insult on the sensitivity of the ethnic nationalities that occupy nigeria‘s geopolitical space as well as a logical impossibility. sometimes the mantra is expressed as a divine pronouncement; that is, as the biblical law of medes and persia, which is not subject to any changes. but our position is propelled by the historical truth that nation-states that would endure, survive igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 85 and prosper must be product of agreement, or what has been called a ―social contract‖. but since its british birth, nigeria has been the product of ―force‖. her citizens are called upon to ―defend her unity‖ 11 since it is said to be ―one nation bound in freedom, peace and unity‖ 12. this is a country that puts the cart before the horse. otherwise, how does one explain the desire ―to build a nation where peace and justice shall reign‖,13 instead of one where justice and peace shall reign. how can a country that has put justice in prison expect peace to be released to her? but how possible is it to defend a nonnegotiable, and consequently, non-existent unity? our discovery is that the protagonists of a non-negotiable unity are paradoxically, those who do not want unity, who want to keep nigerians continually divided so as to continue to rape the country‘s wealth. we follow chinweizu to identify the root of this mantra in ―caliphate colonialism,‖ a concept that we shall be explaining and drawing from in this paper. what are the grounds and circumstances under which the british put nigeria together as an amalgam? why has the unity or ―one nigeria‖ slogan become a basic political good in nigeria? what are the historical and philosophical bases for nigeria‘s and nigerian unity? what is the possibility of a non-negotiable unity? why has the fear of the failure of the nigerian experiment produced such a chilling tension that hangs over the country like the sword of damocles? would something happen essentially and existentially to the oluwoles, okoros, harunas, dipriyes, okons, aminas, attas, agbo nifos ifeomas, etc within the nigerian space if, by design or decision, the country named ―nigerian‖ ceases to be a geopolitical entity and a subject of international law? these questions (and similar ones) shall provide the orbit around which this paper shall revolve. but we shall be ending with a postmorodernist reflection on the concept of unity. let us proceed. clarifications as a matter of necessity, it is important for us, in the manner of all matured philosophizing, to make our discussion simple and easier to follow, by explaining some of the terms that inform our paper, especially the ones in the title. words must communicate meanings and these meanings become understood, via communication (verbal or written) on the basis of shared meanings15. and with the somewhat tacitly acknowledged condition that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 86 philosophy thrives more in the midst of dispute, it would not be a bad idea to reduce the areas of such disputations by clarifying the terms we use. and shouldn‘t that be a basic need in a work whose method is ―analysis‖ and whose theme is ―unity‖? consequently, we would attempt to clarify the following: britain‟s nigeria implicit in this phrase is the idea of `―amalgamation‖. there is also the inherent implication that what we call ―nigeria‖ is not a creation of nigerians but that of britain. like this author bears the surname ―agbo‖ the (progenitor), so the surname of nigeria should be ―britain‖ and although we do not subscribe to the position that the 1914 amalgamation of the northern and southern protectorates by lord lugard is the only problem in nigeria today, we argue that it is the major root of nigeria‘s current fixation. analysis a crucial method of this essay, ―analysis‖ is very important because it displays the logical structures of concepts and expressions. it involves the process of breaking down such concepts into more simple parts. in analysis, ―the meaning or truth conditions of propositions would be displayed by a process that revealed hidden logical structure beneath the surface form of statements‖ 16 we therefore, intend to analyze the ideas of a ―nonnegotiable unity‖ and point the way forward to the logic hidden behind that frequently used phrase, by nigeria‘s rulers. however, we would endeavour to avoid unnecessary and unreasonable analysis, especially when we realize that concept that do not permit uncontroversial analysis are grossly very few. idea a word that comes from the greek word eidos, which means ―visible form‖, idea begins as subjective, internally-present reality in the mind. yet it is said to have a bearing on something in the world ―out there‖ although ―ideas provide the way in which objective knowledge can be expressed.17 there is the no doubt that ideas begins subjectively as something present in the human mind. and in this paper, we have carefully chosen to refer to the ―nonnegotiable unity‖ mantra as an ―idea‖ and not a concept‖, since the latter involves ―recognizing when the term applies and being able to understand the consequence of its application‖ 18 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 87 nigeria‘s rulers during and after the war with biafra, conceived the ―idea‖ of a ―non-negotiable unity‖ in the subjective interiority and have been attempting to express it as an objective reality, with eternal, marble-cast truth-ladden. but we argue in this paper that their failure to ―conceptualize‖ that ―idea‖ of a ―nonnegotiable unity‖ becomes a water low of some sort for nigeria because they do not know ―when the term applies nor do they care of the ―consequences of its application‖ to the true survival and progress of the nigerian peoples. the subjectivity, mental imagery and internal nature of ideas make them private to their holders and may, more often than not, betray and in fact, display the individual interests of their holders. other concepts used in this paper shall be analyzed and explained in the body of the paper, since they form the crux of this essay. these include, ―unity‖, ―nonnegotiable‖, ―amalgamation‖, ―sovereign national conference‖, ―state‖, ―nation state‖, ―state building‖, ―ethnic nationality‖ etc. still on well-formed states (wfs) any average scholar, marginally interested in nigeria, does not need to be a historian to know or say something about the ―birth‖ of nigeria as a subject of international law. when the big european nations (britain, france, portugal, germany belgium, etc) met at the infamous berlin conference of 1884-5, in order to amicably resolve the famous ―scramble for africa‖, the area that later became nigeria was ceded to britain. earlier before then, lagos had become a british colony in 1861, following the forceful annexation of the territory and the inhuman banishment of its king (kosoko) was exiled. that a king in a far away land, somewhere in buckingham palace in england (king george v) would decide to wield together peoples of diverse cultures, religion, languages and identities, without their consent, has become the biggest tragedy that hit these peoples. in the words of sir fredrick lugard on january 1, 1914: his majesty, the king has decided that from today all the country‖ from the sea to near the desert in the north and from the french country in the west to the german kamerouns, in the east shall be one single country under one governor general, so that there may be no jealousy or rivalry between the north and the south, and all may cooperate together for the advancement of peace and prosperity… it would be my earnest endeavour to promote peace and justice for all men, to protect every man in the observance of his own religious faith and to administer equal justice alike igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 88 for great and small.. i trust that as one united country, nigeria would increase in prosperity and wealth and its people in happiness 19 it is interesting to note that even at the onset, the british amalgamators were aware of a simmering and (sometime) blossoming ―rivalry and jealousy‖ among the peoples of nigeria. again, it is ―his majesty, the king‖ that ―decided‖, not the peoples of within nigeria. the implication is that ―nigeria‖ is a foreign product. furthermore, it seems to me that there was awareness by the amalgamators that religion would be a thorny matter in nigeria. and, also from lugard‘s quote, we see that the illusion of building a society where ―peace‖ would come before ―justice‖ was the false foundation upon which nigeria was laid. and in line with the principles of ignorance (one of the 3 basic principles upon which the rudder of the nigerian system turns), we have groped in the dark, in search of a nigerian identity-all to no avail. and, no doubt about it, nigeria has grown in ―prosperity and wealth‖, but to the people of nigeria, ―happiness‖ is an alien. the implication of the above words from lord lugard, and proceeding analysis from it, is that nigeria does not appear to meet the standard of a well formed state (wfs), an analogous derivative from the concept of a ―well formed formula‖ (wff). in my essay, ―transforming the formless: the inevitability of a new constitution for the survival and development of nigeria,‖20 i argued that nigeria cannot be transformed since she has not been ―formed‖, drawing from the logical idea of a well formed formula i demonstrated that nigeria is not a well formed state. the emergence of modern nation states is function of a social contract among the people. it is people that decide the nature and character of the state that would be so formed and the form of administration (government) that would be best give that state its respiration. unfortunately for the african states of today, they are products of colonialism and all the fraud associated with it. abdulahi smith expresses the dilemma of modern african state in this regard, in the following words: no one is likely to dispute the suggestion that the most important of political problems facing the african continent today, is that relating to the formation of states further, so many ―new states‖ have been theoretically created over night during the past 2 decades by the sudden passing of constitutional laws or the signing of constitutional agreements igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 89 that the process of state formation would seem to be one of almost magical simplicity. yet, we also know that practice and theory in this matter are far divorced from each other and that no amount of waving the wand of independence can make a state if the human conditions, in which the attempt is made to create it, are not appropriate. and it is our bitter experience that human conditions do not change overnight nor do new allegiances suddenly develop without long and complicated processes of social adjustments 21 from smith‘s position above, we see that the states that exist in africa today are not products of meticulous and carefully-entered contracts. they emerged by the whims and caprices of external powers who, after the so called independence, handed over power to those who would continue neocolonialist and imperialist intensions. how could a nation-state emerge in such a simplistic and brazen manner and then we turn around and imagine that it would produce magical, enduring and integrating foundation for people of diverse cultures? this is what smith calls ―magical simplicity‖, where the theoretical emergence of states does not tally with the practical ―human conditions‖ for such creation. the case of nigeria is even a more painful because the british overlooks knew the country cannot be united and they still felt they could hold the country together by what chinua achebe has called ―delicate…. artificial lattice 22 but for achebe, it was not just nigeria that suffered this fate. he states that the berlin conference ―created new boundaries that did violence to africa‘s ancient. societies and resulted in tension prone modern states‘23 nigeria, with over 250 ethnic groups and languages was formed without even the courtesy of informing the peoples. and with the words of its so-called ―founding fathers‖, which we deliberately showed at the beginning of this paper, is it any wonder why there has not been (and would probably never be)unity in nigeria among the various peoples within her territory, whose allegiance has always been (expectedly and naturally too) with their ethnic foundations? the way in which nigeria‘s rulers celebrate the fact that nigeria has ―remained together‖ since independence is both laughable and annoying. it is laughable to those outside nigeria, who know the enormous potential inherent within the nigerian state and annoying to those of us within her territory who remembers that while edwin buzz aldnn was landing in the noon on july 29, 1969, nigeria was using russian migs and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 90 delphin fighter bombers, driven by egyptian pilots, to pound her own people (the biafra‘s) in a bid to force a non-existent (non-negotiable) unity. writing in the daily sketch newspaper of october 3, 1995 (when nigeria turned 35 as an independent country), olusegun oladipo said that the country should look beyond survival; that is, beyond the ―chest beating about how the country has survived as one entity since independence‖, noting that a people need much more than survival in order to be able to cope with the enormous challenges of human existence in today‘s world‖ oladipo argues that ―we have all along been travelling in the wrong direction‖ and locates the genesis of this existence in her colonial formation. for him: a fact of our historical development as a nation whose implications we need to grasp is the fact that nigeria started its life as a colonial creation. the purpose of its creation was not to enhance the capacity of the people to achieve a better life for themselves and their offspring‘s. on the contrary, nigeria was invented to create the conditions for the maximization of returns from the colonial enterprise. essentially then, the colonial state was an instrument of exploitation, and since it is not easy to exploit a normal people with their cooperation, the colonial state also had to be an instrument of oppression… our leaders at independence, simply inherited the structures left behind by the colonial masters, without giving much thought to the issue of their suitability for the task of national reconstruction. they all shared in the illusion popularized by kwame nkrumah, when he said, ―seek ye first the political kingdom and everything shall be added there to‖ 24 nigeria, thus, is not a well formed state and so cannot expect magic to happen overnight. and since she has equally entered the stage of what chinweizu calls ―caliphate colonialism, 25 she cannot expect any real unity. reading this chinweizu‘s latest and explosive analysis of the nigerian situation shows that caliphate colonialism is even more devastating, hegemonic, strangulating and destructive for nigeria than british colonialism. but we shall return to the book later. i am neither a proponent of statelessness, ala marx, nor am i an anarchist ala proudhorn-i do not demand the ―withering away of state‖ nor am i opposed to government or governance. however, the crises exacerbated by states not ―well formed‖ (and thus weak and orphaned) as well as governments that lack igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 91 legitimacy have become the biggest challenge of the global community, one of the most consistent and critical reflectors on the origin nature and scope of stateness in our world today is francis fukuyama. although popularized by his ―end of history‖ article and book 26, fukuyama has, over the years, dedicated much attention to how to strengthen of week and failing (or failed) states because of the danger they pose to the international community. in his book, state building, fukuyama set out to show that state building ―is one of the most important issues for the world community because weak or failed states are the source of many of the world‘s most serious problems, from poverty to aids, to drugs, to terrorism‖ 27 he argues that although his position (that states should be ―built‖) may appear ―perverse‖ in an age when the call for the cutting down or limiting the powers of the state (even with some calling for outright statelessness), yet ―the task of modern politics has been to limit the power of the state, to direct its activities toward ends regarded as legitimate by the people it serves and to regulate the exercise of power under a rule of law‖ 28 but it is obvious that fukuyama‘s concern for ―building‖ of state becomes both necessary and possible only when the proper ―foundations‖ have been laid. when there are no foundations at all or when the foundation is very weak, when institutions are lacking, how can states be ―built‖? the attempt to construct a ―state out of the many ―nations‖ within nigeria, without their consent, is perhaps the reason why there may never be unity in nigeria among the peoples within her territory. and fukuyama makes the point of the relationship between nation buildings and state building when he writes that the terminology, ―nation building‖; perhaps reflects the nationals‘ experience in which cultural and historical identity was hearty shaped by political institutions, like constitutionalism and democracy. europeans tend to be more aware of the distinctions between states and nation and points out that nation building, in the sense of the creation of a community bound together by shared history and culture, is well beyond the ability of any outside power to achieve. they are, of course right. only states can be deliberately constructed. if a nation anises from this, it is more a matter of luck than design 29. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 92 consequently, when the chips are down, allegiances go to the ―nation, and the alien ―state‖ (nigeria, for example) employs repression in order to extract obedience. the state is seen as illegitimate, as the ―other‖, as an outside, when ordinarily, ―it is the perceived legitimacy of the government that binds populations together and makes them willing to accept its authority‖30 nigeria is an ―alien power controlling the peoples, the nationalities within her territory. in fact, she appears like an ―occupation force‖ within their borders both conceptual and geographical. the import of what we have written so far is to show the logical and conceptual impossibility of a nigerian unity or a unity of nigerians, even at birth. having, therefore, failed to meet the standard of a well formed state, the question of surviving to meet the needs and aspirations of her ―bound‖ citizens became something that any one that is reasonably informed would not expect to happen. in his frank, sole-searching and critical analysis of the nigerian situation, author nwankwo had asked: ―the nigerian experiment: is it working?‖ 31 his answer is that the experiment is not working because of ―systemic injustice‖, ―blind conservatism‖ and then concludes that not only is it not working, it is not showing ―any sign that it will ever work‖ 32 from the quotations we deliberately put up at the introductory part of this paper, from colonial conception through the comments and positions, of her founding fathers to the uncritical constitutional provisions, we see then that nigeria has no seed of unity. why then is there a sudden demand for fruits of unity in a soil deliberately infected with acidic substance? why, if it is clear that this experiment is not working, is it difficult to ―pull down‖ the current experiment, undertake serious observations of the conceived past failed experiment in order to come up with reasonably conceived hypothesis, on the basis of which we can set up a new, workable experiment? let us attempt to find out. political unity in nigeria: a historical exploration. if we decide to use the 1914 amalgamation as the beginning of the attempt at the political unity of nigeria, would it be correct/those who answer it in the affirmative would be quick to point out that it was at that time that nigeria came under one governor general, lord lugard. but those that might hold the opposite view would point to the fact that; one, an amalgam is different from a compound and two, even in the midst of the amalgamation, not only did the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 93 british overlords not bother about nigeria‘s unity (they were interested in ―administrative‖ convenience), they even went further to sow seeds of discord and disunity among the people within nigeria. in his interesting essay, ―one hundred years of nigerian nationhood: drifting from amalgamation to amageddon,‖ akubor emmanuel osewe, after a historical examination of both the amalgamation and the happenings in nigeria since then, argues that: the nigerian state is a colonial creation. its structures, institutions and composition are super imposed by the colonial overloads. as a result, its activities are external in orientation and stand aloof the society. the state is inherently violent and repressive, right from colonial time… from the amalgamation till date; nigeria has been experiencing violent crises, political antagonism and religious intolerance…. this is the result of the faulty foundation on which the amalgamation was built 33. if the 1914 amalgamation sewed discordant seeds among the peoples within her territory and if the pre-independent leaders were not really interested in actual unity, how did unity enter into the political unity of nigeria and why is it being sustained even at the cost of the human beings being told or made to unite? in what can be said to be the greatest political irony in nigeria, it may surprise those without a sense of the history of whatever could have been rescued of nigeria that it is actually the rejection of unity that ensured that whatever could have been rescued of nigeria was lost. the only nigerian leader who talked about unity, who meant it, and actually went out of his way to practice it, was major general johnson thomas umunnakwe aguyitronsi. after taking power, following the first military coup led by major chukwuma kaduna nzeogwu on 15th january, 1966, general aguyitronsi (who was not part of the coup), promulgated decree n0. 34 on 24th may, 1966. writing on the promulgation of this unification decree, onyefuru says: it would appear that this decree was what angered northern army officers the most this decree sought to make the country operate as one composite entity, without due recognition to ethnic and regional factors this would imply, overtly or covertly, and abolition of the quote system, favour of merit only. whether this was what the irons government meant or not, this was exactly how the north, and perhaps, the greater bulk of the nation understood it. it was, perhaps, obvious that if such a policy was implemented in the country, it would have meant that the southerners, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 94 especially the igobo, who appeared to be better placed education wise would take all the privileged positions in the country 34 our interest as political philosophers is to raise questions around the philosophy of the decree no. 34. what is the ―why‖ and ―how‖ of that decree? was there a justification for such a decree at that time in nigeria? and realizing our earlier discovery that nigeria, at birth, was not united was ironsi naïve, idealistic or ignorant in enacting the decree? could there have been better ways of responding from the north, apart from what collin legum of the london observer called the ―polgrom‖, which began 5 days later (may 29, 1966)? the question of whether the ironsi government mistook military like centralization for unity or if the unification decree was really mearnt to arrest the continuous drift of the country into anarchical balkanization, would tilt to the latter when certain other indices are collated. first, ironsi agreed to the request of the leaders of the north that the strong unity base of the igbos the igbos state union (isu), should be disbanded by executive fiat. ironsi did it, inspite of being an igbo himself just to help win the support of the north. and for j. chiozie chukwuokolo, naigbo has never been the same again since then 35. secondly, ironsi, in a bid to encourage unity, also made a northerner, t.y. danjuna (then a captain) his adc, which ended up to be his waterloo. during the counter coup of july 29, 1966 coup, mentioned was that those he called ―politeers‖ seek to ―keep the country divided permanently divided so that they can remain in office as ministers or vips at look big for nothing before international circles 36 following from the above, therefore, it may not have been unusual for ironsi to imagine he could solve the problem of the ―permarient division‖ which nzegwu mentioned in his broadcast. but were the planners and executors of the january 1966 coup unaware of the positions of the leaders of nigeria, that nigeria is not and cannot be one country? or did they choose to ignore those comments? perhaps, achebe was right when he talks of the naively idealistic coup of january 15, 1966‖, which for him ―proved a terrible disaster‖ because ―it was interpreted with plausibility, as a plot by the ambitious igbo of the east, to take control of nigeria from the hausa/fulani north‖ 37 the merely ―among the first couples may have come from the fact that in change of those holding political power would change in nigeria and for nigerians. of course, they are idealistic on the ground that they felt that nigeria could be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 95 united, even when the cultural, human and historical conditions do not appear to support it. available historical records show that northern leaders never believed in the concept of a ―united‖ or ―one‖ nigeria, even after the amalgamation. and the idea of a united nigeria couldn‘t have meant anything to northerners because the british colonialists had created not only a casted dichotomy between the whites and the blacks, but equally among the many black nationalities in the metropolitan cities in the north, especially kano. akubor osewe observes that ―whole the colonialists were celebrating the amalgamation of nigeria in 1914, the same system had succeeded in creating 3 different the indigenous population; tudeen wada, housing non-indigenous northerners; and sabon gori, for southerners, whom the colonialists referred to as ―native foreigners‖ 38 and till today, these separate settlements are still there and have grown in leaps and bounds, with the gaps even widening more and more. the hausa language word ―araba‖ (which means ―share‖ or ―divide‖) had been the slogan or cliché on the lips of those who perpetuated the sabon gari riots and massacres of may, 1953 as well as the may and july 1966 piolgroms. corroborating this onyefuru writes (concerning the july, 1966 coup) that at this time the northerners, as during the may riots, chanted their slogan, which was like the theme of their action, ―araba‖, meaning, ―let us separate‖, a desperate cry for northern secession‖ 38 those ignorant of nigeria‘s history imagine that the word, ―secessions‖ within the nigerian context, first came to the fore in the biafran declaration of independence on may 30, 1967. but disunity, lack of unity or division of nigeria was originally a northern agenda, from what we have shown so far. the question then becomes: how did the idea of an at-all-cost-unity enter into the nigerian space and why? the idea of ―one nigeria‖ that should be indivisible and indivisible was hatched in 72 hours, between july 29 and august 1, 1966. and once against came from the british and american diplomats in nigeria, especially the former. british, sensing that their plan to use the north to maintain her dominance of nigeria, quickly moved in to convince gowon and the north not to secede from nigeria. according to ojukwu: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 96 gowon in fact, personally told me over the phone (and the conversation was duely recorded) that the north wanted to secede. much as the idea shocked me at the time, i told him that if that would lead to peace, they could go ahead. gowon had left the lagos island to go to ikeja barracks, where the northern flag of the new republic of the north was flown…. it was the british and american diplomatic representatives in north, who intervened and stopped the north from seceding… the british high commission in lagos, after expounding the opportunities now offered to him and the northern people for the domination of nigeria, also assured gowon of the british government pledge to give him every support to maintain that domination 39 as onyefuru further posits: the british convinced gowon that the north need not settle for a part, when they had already won the whole, which they could keep for as long as they wanted frantic last minute modifications were made to gowon‘s broadcast to the nation on august 1, 1966; but part of the original intensions still filtered into the address… gowon, much to the consternation of those who had known his stand previously, declared himself head of state of nigeria. those who were conversant with the historical issues in the country, laughed themselves to scorn, when gowon was recorded as ―fighting to keep nigeria one‖40 from the foregoing, the name ―gowon‖ was turned into an acronym: go on with one nigeria (gowon). the british ―eye-opening‖ of the north to the crude oil in the south of nigeria meant that any attempt by the north to secede from nigeria would mean an automatic loss of the lure of the wealth in the south the petroleum decree of 1969 changed the ―derivation formula‖ of revenue to ―allocation‖ the ―unity‖ intended by ironsi was conceived as centralization. states in nigeria became a creation of the federal government. and once resources in nigeria became a matter of centralized distribution, population figures became politicized since it is what determines what each state gets, by 1979 when civil rule was to be restored, the then head of state, lt. gen. olusegun obasanjo favoured the american presidential system rather than the cabinet system of the first republic, which it inherited from the british colonial masters. why would people be called ―invaders‖ of the north, maltreated, massacred, and almost-exterminated, yet are not allowed to be on their own? why should the north, that or originally had no faith in amalgamation or in unity and actually igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 97 had always wanted to pull out, now consider it abominable if another region or group want to secede? when all the above is put into context, we see that there is a philosophy behind the insistence that ―nigeria‘s unity is non-negotiable‖. this insistence is so strong, so permeating and so-desperately enforced that even genocide is not only not ruled out, but even encouraged. according to chinweizu, the caliphate colonial agenda is so strongly driven that ―their insistence on ruling nigeria in perpetuity and on exploiting the south, to gather with the resistance of that insistence, is the dynamic behind the recurring instability and mayhem in nigeria‘s history‖ 41 this desperation, this attempt to enforce the surduana‘s nigeria-is-the-northernestate declaration of 1960 (and re-emphasized by alhji maitama sule in 1992 in kaduna 42), is the basis for the unbelievable call of s northern members of the house of representatives for genocide in the niger delta. on the floor of the house and before the whole world, bala ibn n‘ala had said: what is happening in the niger delta is pure criminality of the highest order arising from total disregard for constituted authority. in irag, thousands of people lost their lives because of an insurrection against the government during the reign of former iraqi leader, saddan hussein. we can do away with 20 million militants for the rest 120 million nigerians to live 43 coming from kebbi state, the base of the caliphate; we can see that n‘ala‘s thoughts are not the musing of a deranged person. he knew exactly what he was saying, and given the chance, he could detonate a nuclear warhead on the niger delta, and go to sleep. hitler‘s extermination of close to 6 million jew has remained a horror for humanity. but over 60 years later, a man wants to annihilate 20 million of his ―fellow nigerians‖ for the sake of a unity that is nonexistent. of course, having played his role well, the same bala ibn n‘ala is now (in 2016) a member of the senate. can anyone reflect on the type of laws he would advocate for? the lure for the wealth in the south and the desire to have ―followers‖ for the northern ―kings‖ are, thus, the bases for the unity mantra. add these to the plan by the british imperial power to continue, to ―do nigerian business‖ with the north (instead of the shrewd southerners, especially the igbos) and one then gets igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 98 a clearer picture of why those who want to keep nigeria together will do it at all costs, human and material. on the possibility of a “non-negotiable” unity we want to subject the mantra that gave rise to this essay to critical analysis. our purpose is to prove that such a unity is not just practically unrealizable, but equally a conceptual and logical impossibility. in order to achieve our purpose, we need must subject certain concepts, notions or ideas employed in this context, to critical clarifications. what does the word ―unity‖ mean? even from the dictionary, the word ―unity‖ is a noun from the verb ―unite‖; the latter meaning ―to become or make people or things become one, to come or bring people or things together‖ 44 when the process of ―unity‖ is something that ―becomes‖ or that one or something ―comes‖ into, it is smoother and, perhaps, more natural. however, if that unity is one that an external body attempts to ―makes‖ or ―bring‖ about, then certain conditions must be met before that uniting process would be successful. in the first place, if it is human beings, their consent must be sort; two, their compatibility for co-existence must be examined; certain structural and institutional frameworks must be established. only then would the term ―unity‖ refer to ―the state of being united or in agreement: thus ―being one‖ is a process that involves a ―becoming‖ or ―making‖. uniting, consequently involves both a being and an acting together in oneness. on its part, to ―negotiate‖ is ―something that is done with someone, or for or about something and it means ―to try to reach agreement by discussion‖ and ―negotiable‖, following there from, means ―that can be settled by discussion‖ as a being-with other humans, man is by nature a negotiating being, even in the hobbesian ―state of nature‖ when the prefix ―non‖ (which means ―not‖) is added to ―negotiable‖ becomes ―non-negotiable‖ which, in our analysis, would mean ―not able to reach agreement by discussion. the logical conclusion that would be drawn, following our interpretations above, from the brandished mantra ―nigeria‘s‖ unity is non-negotiable‖, is thus the following: ―nigeria‘s state of being united or in agreement is not settled by discussion. but is this possible? how can something be said to be in a particular ―state‖ (or condition) and yet it is ―not settled‖? besides, how can agreement be reached without discussion? to be ―in agreement‖ presupposes that a particular issue was tabled, opinion sought and perhaps, some level of consensus reached. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 99 the above analysis renders any unity that is non-negotiable impossible. to have been or become united presupposes an initial state of disunity, with the latter being annulled and the former coming into effect by negotiation. how can ethnic nationalities that have existed for years and established civilizations that existed before colonial imposition be made to belong to something called a ―modern nation-state ― without their discussion of the nature and dynamics of that union? the truth that must be reflected upon is that it is not the ethnic groups in most african states (nigeria, for example) that is the problem of these states. it is rather theater way round. it is the hoisting of a power called ―state‖ upon these ethnic groups, without their consent, that is at the root of the many challenges within african states. a people‘s ―ontological distinctiveness from the other, which is grounded in the memory of common origins and ancestry‖ 45 cannot be wished away or forcefully bent ―in the image‖ of something called ―state‖. this recourse to ontological distinctiveness it known as ethnic primodiality or ethnic essentialism. realizing this kind of ontological distinctiveness, ―making‖ a modern state requires more than a pronouncement by a sovereign external power. certain frameworks must be created and certain human conditions must be present. unity in nigeria has became a fugitive because it has largely ignored the ontological distinctiveness among nigeria‘s ethnic nationalities whose possibility of political co-existence can only be negotiated. no wonder brue gilley defines ethnicity as ―that part of a people‘s identity which is drawn from one or more markers like race, religion, shared history, region, social symbols or language‖ 46 the ontological difference which a people possess, which makes them unique and identifiable, demands that any desire for unity must be necessarily anchored on negotiation. of course, in the case of nigeria, when her rulers, especially those ravaging her resources for personal gains, talk about her ―unity‖ being ―nonnegotiable‖, what they want is the maintenance of the centralized status quo that have ensured that her vast population live below the poverty line. no doubt, any unity that cannot be negotiated exists only in the imagination of those who think it. religion, federalism and the fear of failure having seen that without agreement reached by discussion, unity for the various ontologically distinct nationalities in nigeria would not only be difficult but equally impossible, we must turn now to consider the problem of the lack of true federalism in nigeria and the role played by religion in the disequilibrium in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 100 nigeria, all these have, unfortunately, placed nigeria in the 14th position in the index of failed states 47. all the indices of determining a ―failed state‖ point to nigeria being one huge failed state. however, in a country where nothing appears to work, talking about the ―failure‖ of the state might seem very normal. that is why in every october 1 (so-called independence day), the only achievement we celebrate is that ―nigeria has remained one country‖. the fear of failure, or more precisely, the fear of total disintegration has loomed over nigeria since the federal arrangement became a central arrangement with the coming of the military. nigeria, appears to be in such structural and institutional confusion that the more the central government tightens its grip on the lives of the people, the more, it (paradoxically) loses the people. majority of the people seem to be exactly where the coup leaders of january 15, 1966 did not want the people to be: the psychological place where they ―would no longer be ashamed to say that they are nigerian‘s‖. as i update this paper on the night of april 27, 2016, the people of uzo-uwani, in enugu state are mourning the dawn massacre of scores of sleeping villagers by people alleged to be ―fulani herdsmen‖ days earlier (25th april). and as i write, the federal (or is it central?) government has not made an official statement. yet, the same government would release a solidarity message to the people of belgium, just few hours after a terror attack in that country. the occurrence of the past two days has become not just regular but (painfully) normal in nigeria, to the extent that it seems the country has become an abattoir of some sort. even, francis fukuyama, in one of his recent books, the origins of political order, uses denmark as a metaphor for a good state. but our interest is that he mentions nigeria as one of the countries that requires to be denmark-like. in his words: for people in developed countries, ―denmark‖ is a mystical place that is known to have good political and economic institutions. it is stable, democratic, peaceful, prosperous, inclusive, and has extremely low levels of political corruption. everyone would like to figure out how to transform somalia, haiti, nigeria, iraq or afghanistan into ―denmark‖. and the international development community has long lists of presumed demarklike attributes that they are trying to help failed states achieve 48 although fukuyama argues that ―denmark-ing‖ cannot be achieved in a giffy given how long such institutions took to build and also since there are ―cultural igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 101 values‖ which inform and provide the bases for these institutions, the fact that nigeria is mentioned in the same group that includes somalia and afghanistan appears to worry everybody except our visionless and corrupt rulers. our interest in the current status quo in nigeria and why the slogan of ―unity‖ has acquired the capacity of an irrevocable and necessary good, must be sought in the jihadist movement in islam. in the beginning of this essay, we saw how the demand for association with the ―south‖ is linked with the acceptance of ―the religion of the prophet‖. the statement ―if they want political unity, let them follow our religion‖ was not a personal opinion. it was a communique issued by a conference of northern chiefs in 1942. the implication is that a is that apart from the desire of the north to exploit southern wealth (as lord harcourt‘s lady of means‖), there is a looming and lurking islamic agenda in the ―one nigeria‖ reality. but as the years turned to decades and southerners continued to display gross ignorance of this agenda, and with the political power already handed to the north, the possibility that islam can be pushed down south from the north became more and more a daring adventure. that anyone who ―desire a united nigeria, should embrace islam as his ―religion‖ (according the sultan in 1944) was made when the north thought that the unity is not possible in persuasive methodologies. however, by the time ―democracy‖ came in 1999, there was a leeway provided and of course, federalism was the hiding place for the year 2000 sharia-nization by the 12 core northern states, to the chagrin of the rest of the country. and on august 27, 2001, mohammadu buhari (who today is nigeria‘s president!) said, ―i will continue to show openly and inside me the total commitment to the sharia movement that is sweeping all over nigeria. allah willing, we will not stop the agitation for the total implementation of the sharia in the country‖49 (emphasis mine). it has become practically impossible to keep statistical records of the number of churches that have been destroyed (bombed or burnt) by the ja‟amatu alhis sunna liddda wati wal-jihad (otherwise known as boko horam) and its diversionary group called ―fulani herdsmen‖ and can any prophet or political prognosticator peep into the future to say when and where all these would end? to support the line of argument we have been exploring, fukuya provides us a historical analysis of the spread of islam, not just in other places, but equally as it relates to nigeria. according to him, the mamluks sultanate was in power for igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 102 300 years (from the end of the ayyubid dynasty in 1250 up to 1517) before its defeat by the ottoman empire. he states, therefore, that: today we take the existence of islam and a large global community of muslims, now numbering about a billion and a half people, for granted. but the spread of islam did not depend simply on the appeal of its underlying religious ideas. it depended also very much on political power. the extent of muslim belief was determined in the first instance, by muslim armies waging jihad or holy war against non-believers in the dar-ul harb (land of war) bringing them into the dar al-islam (land of islam). just as the muslims themselves eliminated christianity and zorostrarism as major religions in the middle east, so too might islam have been relegated to the status of a minor sect, had the christian crusaders succeeded in dominating the region or had the monguls swept all the way to north africa. the border of muslim communities in the northern part of nigeria, cote d‘lvoire, togo and ghana was determined by the reach of muslim armies 50 but what comes out of this analysis is that this islamic over threw was not just religions or strictly a factor of military prowess. it largely depended on the control of political power. why would a people posse a near-obsessive desire for unity with another people, who only a few decades ago were referred to as ―native foreigners‖ or ―invaders‖? why would ―the mistake of 1914‖ (as sir ahmadu bellow once described the amalgamation) be now so ignored that nigeria must, without discussion of terms of co-existence by nigerians, be ―bound in freedom, come will, come? is it not obvious from fukuyama‘s historical analysis that islam exists and (especially) spreads more for instrumental rather than religions reason? when one critically reflects on the way muslims talk in nigeria, one is at a loss whether such attitudes and impressions are peculiar to nigerian muslims or are they part of islam as a religion. if the 1942 declaration by northern emirs that the only condition for political unity is for southerners to embrace ―the religion of the prophet‖, is treated as the position of some ill-informed traditional rulers, how does one explain the position conversed by one of the most celebrated muslim clerics in nigeria, sheikh abubaker mahamoud gumi? in a non-holdsbarred and damming manner, gumi had stated that it would be better for nigeria to divide on religious grounds (or lines) than for a muslim to allow a non-muslim to rule over him. gumi‘s position is of interest for us because it has a direct bearing on the unity that concerns us in this paper. when he interviewer igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 103 told him that his position is detrimental to unity in nigeria, he declared emphatically: ―nigerian unity, if i am to do my best, is to try is to convert indent until christians and non-muslims, as much as possible, until other religions become minority and they would not affect our society… i do not think muslims can allow a non-muslim to be their prime minister by election. it could be by use of force or by army coup. but by election, it will be difficult for a non-muslim to be a leader in nigeria‖ 51 q51. if for the sake of religious belief, nigeria could divide, if ―unity‖ can be jettisoned politically if it cannot be fostered at the religious sphere, then why should the unity of nigeria be preserved at all (even human) costs? is there a sinister belief among northern muslims that instead of dividing the country and allowing the southern ―invaders‖ to have political and religious freedom, there is a chance to ―convert‖ them into islam with the ―non-negotiable unity‖ mantra? in 2011 after good luck jonathan won the presidential election of that year? in an attempt to link the religions, the political and the crises that have bedeviled the nigerian state since the advent of the boko haram sect, john odey argues that: whether we are christians or muslims, we cannot deny the fact that religion gets men mad more easily than any other persuasion… the truth about boko haram phenomenon is that those who have told us in plain language that they are born to rule, while the rest of us are born to serve them have discovered in the sect a ready tool with which they can destabilize nigeria rather than allow their servants rule them 52 the implication of the above is that as bizzaire and as irrational as the idea of a non-negotiable unity is, it can at least be explained by the fact that there is, for some people in nigeria, symmetric relation between religion and politics or political power. for while religion is ridden upon to acquire political power, the latter is further used to expend the former. unfortunately, it appears that, in all these, god is completely left out of the picture. or is the god involved in these religious conflicts so weak that he requires men to fight to prevent him from being destroyed by those who do not know him? all these religious men and women forgets thomas jefferson‘s liberal view that ―it does me no injury for my neighbor to say that there are 20 gods or no gods‖ 53 however, whether men are fighting ―over‖ or ―for‖ god, what is clear is that in the nigerian situation, religions are a critical factor in the consideration of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 104 relationship among the ethnic groups. unfortunately, the religions at the flagship of these crises are all imported ones: islam and christianity. it becomes imperative at this point for us to ask ourselves whether the kind of unitism or unitarism that we witness in nigeria today should be part of a political or constitutional arrangement that has been designated as ―federal‖. can one comfortable describe nigeria as a true federal state without having to grapple with so much contradictions, paradoxes and ironies when such definition is juxtaposed with the facts on ground? how can revenue be ―allocated ― to states monthly from the ―federal‖ government, in a manner once described as ―feeding bottle federalism‖ by current deputy senate president, ike ekweremadu? what happens to the derivation principle enshrined in sections 136 and 140 of both the independent (1960) and republican (1963) constitutions of nigeria? what, for example, is the word ―sharia‖ or (more specifically) sharia law doing in a federal constitution of a country that is said to be a secular state? what happened to the ―self-governing‖ status which the regions had in the 1950s and the 1960 and 1963 constitutions? where are the ―federating units‖ of today‘s nigerian federation? how come today‘s 36 states in nigeria have no constitution, no coat of arms of their own like the erstwhile regions? these questions must stimulate critical reflections on the forced and enforced unity under which nigeria exists today. every student of federalism knows that is it that structural arrangement that enables a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multireligious and multi-cultural people to exist as one country or nation-state, with a commitment to a horizontal power-sharing formula. in a federal state a vertical power sharing arrangement that makes the regional or state governments subordinate to the federal or central authority spells doom for such federations, as we see today in nigeria. although at the intellectual or scholarly sphere, prof. ben. nwabueze remains the most-acknowledged reference on both federalism and constitutionalism, there is no doubt that at the political plain, obafemi awolowo remains the most consummate student and reflector on federalism. in thoughts on nigerian constitution, awolowo states clearly that‖ from our study of the constitutional evolutions of the countries of the world, two things stand out quietly and prominently. first, in any country where there are divergences of language and nationality, particularly of language, a unitary constitution is always a source of bitterness and hostility on the part of linguistic or national minority group. on the other hand, as soon as federal constitution is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 105 introduced, in which each linguistic or national group is recognized and recorded regional autonomy, any bitterness and hostility against the constitutional arrangement as such disappear. if the linguistic or national groups concerned are backward or weak, vice-versa, the majority group or groups, their bitterness or hostility may be dominant or suppressed. but as conscious and for courageous, leadership emerges amongst them, the bitterness and hostility come into the open and remain sustained, with the possible venom and rancor until home rule is achieved. 54 one does not need to be a prophet or a seer to see that awolowo‘s words are revibrating across the country today. the ―bitterness and hostility‖ within the nigerian states of 2016 are like ―venoms‖ threatening to destroy the ―weak‖ foundation on which the nigerian state rests. ethnic nationalities (especially within the niger delta), which have over the years been suppressed and dominated by the majority have become ―enlightened and politically conscious and courageous‖ and have brought their bitterness and hostility to the open‖, in search of ―home rule‖, resource control, fiscal federalism and self-determination. unfortunately, the country still stutters on in a business-as-usual manner, with her rulers imagining that force, threats, intimidation, blackmail, deceit and lies would sustain the country that achebe says is being held together by an artificial lattice. it has, therefore, been argued that: not only is awolowo‘s statement absolutely correct, it is even more accurate about today‘s nigeria than the nigeria of the forties. inter-ethnic intolerance, which has become chronic, confirms that we are a country of many mutually distrustful nations, as is evident from the clashes we have experienced since the return of civil democratic rule in 1999. 55 the self-governance, autonomy and financial freedom which federating units should normally have under a proper federation do not exist in nigeria because the original federating units (regions), which formed the nigerian federation, have been balkanized as states, which largely depend on the ―hand outs‖ allocated monthly by the maximum control of the central authority. the so-called ―principle of freedom, equality and justice‖ which form the basis for ―consolidating the unity of our people‖ 56are mere words that have never seen any manifestation on the socio-political sphere. philip idachaba‘s revealing discussion of the issue surrounding federalism in nigeria, from the etymology of the word ―federal:, is very interesting. it provides a paradoxical or ironical dimension to its practice in nigeria. we noted earlier igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 106 that one of the reasons why federalism exist only in name in nigeria is the desire of certain elements in the north to promote an islamic agenda. however, this promotion is not aimed at propagating the core values and ideals of islam as a religion of peace. it is rather a political one. but idachaba‘s thesis is that federalism is not working in nigeria because the nigerian version lacks the original religious meaning 57. idachaba‘s argument is that the religious root of federalism became regimented in the modern period following the instrumental perspective hoisted upon reality by science. he sought to demonstrate that ―one‖, federalism is severed from its original meaning and major focus, which is the covenanting of wills for proper social order… two, that this unfaithfulness of federalism to its original roots, is as a result of the dearth of the religious orientation in the modern perspective on human affairs…‖ 58 going back to root of the word ―federalism‖, idachaba says that the word comes from the latin, ―foedus‖, which means covenant, compact or contract. he, however, argues that it‘s most appropriate meaning is ―covenant‖. covenants, for him, are ―grounded in moral commitment‖ and ―provide the basis and the means for placing all parties to the covenant under judgment‖ 58 our interest in idachaba‘s essay is to note that the religious dimension that is destroying the federal arrangement in nigeria should (ironically) have been its greatest promoter. the further implication that emerges from this is that the moment this moral ground that federalism is the ―covenanting of the wills‖ of ethnic nationalities was destroyed, federalism in nigeria turned into a yoke, and the basis of unity (as gowon told us on august 1, 1966), no longer existed. once this understanding of federalism as a ―covenant‖ is lost on the people and within the polity, the moral basis for any unity disappears and all that would be left is a rigid, rancorous and regimented existence. the result is that every person and group would be seeking for how and where to catch a breathe of the air of freedom. that is where nigeria is now. it is this fugitive kind of unity that makes the rulers blot out the facts of history so that ―ignorance, fear and (military) terrorism‖ would reign supreme. a post-modern perspective on unity from our analytic journey so far (a journey made smoother by the incontrovertible foots of history), we can see that there is something essentially igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 107 wrong with any unity qualified by the adjective ―non-negotiable‖ consequently, the problem in nigeria is that her political unity is both historically false and logically invalid. unity cannot be legislated, it cannot be compelled. those who want to unite (form an association, a club, a party, a company, a state, etc) necessarily and essentially must have that initial agreement that makes it even possible to begin. as we saw in our last analysis from idachaba, true federalism must be a covenanting of wills. with the obvious fact that the soul of the nigerian state is already, as author nwankwo puts it, ―poised on a precipice… heavy with aguish… with the attendant risk of its snapping up and falling into the abyss‖, 59 what then, is to be done? post-modernism provide as an attitude towards reality as a whole. although defining post-modernism is itself anti-post-modern, we would at least attempt to explain it.60 no doubt, post-modern writings can be weird, confusing, compounding, exasperating, even convoluting, our interest in it here is its rejection of meta-thinking (meta narrative) and its celebration of plurality or multiplicity… in the view of one of the leading figures in post-modern thinking, post-modernism is ―incredulity towards meta narrative‖ 61. that is to say, it is the abandonment of the hope or demand for a transcultural, transhistorical, universal and permanent algorithm or conceptual scheme, with which we can legitimize, chose or justify theories about reality. postmodernists are aversed to any totalizing thinking. in the view of edwin etiyobe: postmodern thinking can be described as a philosophical direction or movement that is critical, both of the foundational assumptions of western thinking and its totalitarian and universalizing tendency…. it can be seen as largely a reaction against the philosophical assumptions, values and intellectual world view of the modern period of western (specifically european) history, a period of the 16th and 17th centuries right up to the second half of the 20th century. central to postmordern thinking is its emphasis on the importance and discourse in the way truth and world view are traded and constructed, and rule of ideology, and asserting and maintaining political and economic power and relationships. 62 our interest is not, strictly speaking, on postmodernism. our interest is on what postmodern thinking can bring on board, both in understanding the situation within the nigerian state and in providing a direction to a possible panacea. the colonization (in 1860) and the amalgamation (in 1914) of nigeria both occurred within the modern period when the intellectual, political, economic and religious igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 108 world views of western europe were exalted, packaged and exported as the ultimate and essential ideologies and exported as the ultimate and essential ideologies of the human species. with colonial and imperialistic intensions, britain ―united‖ nigeria politically, without thinking about the people being so put together. acquiring colonies and making states out of them became universal imperatives, and these colonies (and later states) had to imbibe all that was (is) western culture -language, religion, political organization, economic system, even dressing and diet. consequently,‖ the universalizing tendency of modern thinking is totalitarian, since it effectively imposes conformity on other perspectives and discourses, thereby oppressing, marginalizing or silencing them‖. 63 the nigerian state, therefore, inherited this modern colonial tendencies and has, over the years, insisted on the compulsory unity of nigerians. a grandnorn (constitution of the federal republic of nigeria, 1999) and a constantly declared cliché ―one nigeria‖ are used to force (instead of foster) unity. the questions of ―one nigeria‖ has become so perniciously posited that people are even afraid to discuss anything to the contrary, for fear of being branded an enemy of the state. today, the leader of the indigenous people of biafra (ipob) and director of radio biafra, namdi karnu, is facing trial (slammed with all manner of thrumped-up charges) for saying his group does not want to be nigerians anymore. yet, we are told it is a democratic state. postmodern thinking abhors this type of totalitarian and totalizing conception of reality. in an earlier essay 64, i had shown that one of the things that post modern science did, was to reject the idea of a ―unity of science‖; that is that ―science is science‖, no matter what its subject matter is. the postmodernists argue, plausibly, that each science should articulate its method in line with its objectives and subject matter, instead of lumping all sciences together in the hope that they would all follow the procedural matrix of the physical sciences and its frequently brandished steps called ―scientific method‖. the result of the postmodern conception of reality is that there is the opening of the intellectual space, hegemanically closed by the western epistemic foundation. realities long abandoned and ignored by the ignorance of western epistemology are finding expression in the hermeneutically cleared space of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 109 comity of cultures. i had discussed this matter as it relates to africa, in my essay, ―science and the ―end‖ of epistemology‖ 65 totalizing principles are like yokes inhibiting progress in human affairs. the postmodernists believe that with the ―end‖ of epistemology (that is, the end of a theorizing about knowledge in order to know), the cultural space earlier occupied by the western mode of knowing, disappear and reappear. what this means is that the attempt being made by nigerian‘s rulers over the years is an attempt at the impossibility as it is a political suicide. even god does not like overcrowding. that was the reason for the sacrifice of stephen in the bible book of acts of the apostles, chapter 7. god had told them (earlier in acts 1:8) to take the gospel from jerusalem, to judea, then samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth. but, they got to jerusalem and ―bound‖ or ―grounded‖ the gospel there, with thousands of people coming into the gospel movement daily, they began to choke. however, with the death of stephen and the persecution that followed, they were forced to move (the instruction that was given in acts 1:8, which was ignored, began to take place from acts 8:1:‖…. and at that time, there arose, a great persecution against the church that was at jerusalem and many were all scattered abroad throughout the region, in judea, in samaria…‖. these were the exact places they were told to go many years earlier. nigeria and her rulers have refused to hear the voice of reason. and all the crises within the country seem to be ―persecutions‖ proceeding her eventual ―scattering‖, unless there is an urgent, no-hold barred conference of her ethnic nationalities. the call for a sovereign national conference (snc) has been on for over 2 decades, not the type that cost over 7 billion naira, organized by former president good luck jonathan. unfortunately, the conference considered the question of nigeria‘s unity ―a no-go area‖ it does appear that those chinweizu have referred to as ―caliphate colonialists‖ are hell-bent to destroying nigeria, in the name of a ―non-negotiable‖ unity. the violence and blood-letting that is going on in the country has turned nigeria into are huge abattoir and our rulers go on as though nothing is happening. when one tries to discuss it or raise alarm, one is reminded that it may be an incitement to ―disunity‖ we would end this section by quoting emmanuel uchena ugwu‘s piece on the recent slaughter of nigerians by their ―fellow (fulani) nigerians‖. according to him: the killings have not moved buhari [nigeria‘s current president] in body or spirit. the killings of udni ruwa, nasarawa state on january 4, 2016, between 12 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 110 and 38 people died. the killings of denisaro, wunanokoih, dikajam and taboungo, all in adamawa state on january 23, between 30 and 60 died. the killings of agatu, benue state on january 10, 45 people died. the repeat killings of agatu on february 2nd, 7 people died. the killings of tom-anyin, benue state on feb. 7, 16 people died. the killings of abi, enugu state on feb. 11, 19 people disappeared. the third slaughter of agatu on feb. 24, between 300 and 500 people died. the fourth slaughter of agatu on feb. 28, 9 people died. the killings of mbaya tombo on march 13, 2 people died. the 3rd slaughter of mbaya tombo on march 17, 15 people died. the killings of ohalielu, rivers state on march 29, between 7 and 16 people died. the killings of angai, dashole doriand lesuma, taraba state on april 10, between 15 and 44 people died. the killings of moor, benue state on april 18, 18 people died.66 now, this is a country that wants to force unity and citizens are being slaughtered in a manner characteristic of somalia. however, ugwu observes what he calls a ―scandalous irony‖. the fact that within the four months of the above slaughter, president mahammadu buhari has visited 11 countries, without even stopping by to console any one of the victims in any of the places where these are happening. he laments that the president has failed to ―as much as publicly acknowledge that nigeria is facing an existential threat. he has yet to deem the national emergency worthy of his utterance‖ 67 in the midst of the unfolding occurrences, and as anger degenerates to late, can anyone prognosticate or prophesy where the next attack and slaughter would occur, and who the victims or villains would be? and would the next killing be repeats or retaliation? have we now, seen why unity or co-existence must be negotiated? nigerians certainly have a choice to make. conclusion in this paper, we have tried to examine the basis for the often cited mantra that ―nigeria‘s unity is non-negotiable‖. we have traced the antecedents of that position and shown conclusively that: one, even the british amalgamators of nigeria know that nigeria cannot be and was never united; two, that the socalled ―founding fathers ―of nigeria also knew that nigeria was not ―one and so had to fashion a federations as the minimum basis for co-existence; three, that the north of nigeria that is screaming the ―one nigeria‖ mantra originally never believed in it, four, that the philosophy behind the ―non-negotiable unity‖ brouhaha is economic and religious. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 111 however, a much more philosophical (logical) issue is the fact that the paper showed convincingly that there cannot be anything like a ―unity‖ that is or can be ―non-negotiable‖, for it would be a contradiction in terms. the paper also examined the issues against the backdrop of the postmodern attitude to reality. what came out of that consideration is that the current situations in nigeria is a fallout from the, modern instrumental thinking, where in what something is used for is of more significance that what that thing is. the implication is that the socalled unity of nigeria is for the economic benefits of the rulers, since the people are used as canon folders to fight their way to ―federal power‖, with the people living on promises drummed into their ears by a media that plays the tunes dictated by the piper-politicians. what also emerged from the postmodern perspective is that a unity that must work in nigeria is one that the people themselves consent to in a free way, without inducement or compulsion. also, it is obvious that the often chestthumbing that ―nigeria has survived as a nation‖ usually made by her rulers may even become history if things are allowed to continue, unchecked, uncontrolled and sincerely addressed. anyone that thinks there is something sacrosanct about nigeria should ask where persia, babylon, soviet union, czechoslovakia, yugoslavia, etc are. or have the people that belong to these defunct states ceased to be on earth? did the people in ukraine, for example, stop being humans because they were not going by the name ―union of soviet socialist republics (ussr)‖? end notes 1. lagos: february 1-22, 1919. a lagos newspaper of colonial nigeria, writing under the headline, ―the retirement of sir frederick lugard‖. see, ―document vi‖ in a.m. kirk-green, the amalgamation of nigeria (london: frank cass and co. ltd., 1968) 1. quoted in omo omoruyi, the tale of june twelve (london: press alliance network ltd. 1999), 300. lord harcourt was the then british secretary of states for the colonies to whom port harcourt, the capital city of rivers state, nigeria is named. 3 the chiefs were responding to a letter written by the west african students‘ union (wasu) based in britain requesting that the chief emirs requesting their support for a constitutional evolution, obafemi awolowo, path to nigerian freedom (london: faber and faber, 1947), 51. 4 as in note 3 (above), the sultan was responding to wasu demand for his support for constitutional reform. quoted in james coleman, nigeria: background to nationalism (london: university of california press), 361. 5 balewa said this during a session of the nigerian legislative council in 1948, quoted in coleman, ibid., 320. 6 balewa, as parliamentary leader of the northern people‘s congress (npc) said this during the budget session of the nigerian legislative council in 1948. quoted in coleman, ibid., 361. 7 awolowo, path to nigerian freedom, 48. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 112 8 in an addrefss to the country on august 1, 1966, which was originally written to pull northern nigeria out of the nigerian union. quoted in adewale ademoyega, why we struck: the story of the first nigerian coup (ibadan: evans brothers, 1981), 122. 9 odumegwu ojukwu, biafra: selected speeches of chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu (new york: harper and row, 1969), 1. 10 preamble, section 2 (l). 11 this call is contained in nigeria‘s national pledge‖ 12 the idea of being ―bound‖ and at the same time ―in freedom‖ is contained in the first stanza of the national anthen of nigeria. and is this not interesting because nigerians cannot be ―free‖ since nigeria has ―bound‖ them into a non-negotiable unity. 13 this is the last lie in the second stanza of nigerians national anthem. 15 see, kwasi wiredu,‖* 16 marice blackburn (ed.) oxford dictionary of philosophy, 6th edition (oxford university press, 1996), 14 17 blackburn, 183. 18 blackburn, 72. 19 kirk-green, the amalgamation of nigeria, 27-28. 20 paper presented at the conference organized by the faculty of management and social science (fmss), ebonyi state university, abakaliki, nigeria, august 10-14, 2012 21 abdulahi smith “the early states of the central sudan” in j.f.a. ajayi and m. crowther (eds.) history of west africa, vol. 1 (london: longman publishers, 1971), 37. 22 chinua achebe, there was a countruy: a personal history of biafra (london: penguin books, 2012), 2 23 achebe, there was a country, 1 24 olusegun oledipo, beyond survival: essays on the nigerian condition (ibadan: hope publications, 1999), 33-34. 25 chinweizu, caliphete colonialism: the taproot of the trouble with nigeria (lagos: clear coast communications, 2015). 26 when the crises that precipitated the breakup of the soviet union (the then largest country in the world)began, fukuyama, a then policy analyst in the us state department, wrote a very controversial article: see, francis fukuyama, ―the end of history?‖ national interest, rol. 18 (summer, 1989), which he later developed into a book titled, the end of history and last man (new york: random house, 1992). 27 francis fukuyama state building: goverance and world order in the twenty-first century (london: profile books, 2004), ix. 28 fukuyama, state building, 2. 29 fukuyama, state building, 134. 30 francis fukuyama, the origins of political order: from pre-human times to the french revolution (london: profile books limited, 2012), 1. 31 authur a. nwankwo, ―the nigerian experiment: is it working?‖ in c.s. mermoh, uche jack osimiri and a.i. umezulike (eds.). law, democracy and its dividends (enugu: snaap press ltd., 2004), 447-465. 32 ibid., 463. 33 in, international journal of history and cultural studies (ijhcs), vol. 1, issued (2014), 53-64, www.arcjournals.org. accessed 20/2/2016. 34 goddy, onyefuru ‗to save nigeria: the revolutionary coup and the civil war‟ (enugu: rabboni, 2009). 35 j. chidozie chukwuokolo posited this view in a radio programme on solid 100.9 fm, enugu titled ―people‘s court,‖ april 8, 2016, sponsored by movement of voice for democracy (movers nigeria), 9-10.30 am. 36 c.k. nzeogwu in a speech read at kaduna on the morning of january 15th 1966 which announced the military overthrow of nigeria‘s first republic; quoted in ojukwu, biafra: selected speeches…114. 37 achebe, there was a country, 82 38 onyefuru, to save nigeria, 23. 39 ojukwu, biafra: selected speeches.,. 5. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 113 40 onyefuru, to save nigeria, 124-5. 41 chinweizu, caliphate colonialism, i5-6. 42 during the launching of the power of knowledge written by alhaji isa kaita, at durbar hotel, kaduna, made the following statement in arabic, on december 22, 1992: ―everyone has a gift from god. northerners are endowed by god with leadership qualities; the yoruba man knows how to earn a living has diplomatic qualities; the igbo is gifted in commerce, trade and technological innovation. ―if there are no followers, a king will not exist. if there are no students, a teacher will not be required, etc‖ (quoted in, j.a.a. ayoada, nigeria and the squandering of hope) (ibadan: university of ibadan press, 1997), 14. 43 reported in the guardian newspaper, may 28, 2009. 44 oxford dictionary of english 45 ronald olufemi badru,‖ the problem of ethnic conflict and the question of national integration in nigeria: considering the moral resource of trust in the group mind of anyiam osigwe‘s political thought‖, in kolawole a. olu-owolabi and adebola b. ekanola (eds.) a holistic approach to human existence and development (ibadan: hope publications, 2013), 90. 46 bruce gilley, ―against the concept of ethnic conflict‖, third world quarterly, vol. 25, no 6 (2004), 11551166. 47 onyeso 48 fukuyama, the origins of political order, 14. 49 quoted the guardian, february 12, 2015, 50. 50 fukuyama, the origin of political order, 202. 51 gumi‘s view were expressed in an interview in quality magazine, october, 1987, 34-39. 52 john odey, ―boko haram: nigeria‘s path to disintegration”, a simon d. anyanwu and isidore u. nwanaju (eds.) boko haram and terrorism: religious conflicts and dialogue initiatives in nigeria (enugu: snaap press, 2012), 56. 53 quoted by richard rorty, ―the priority of democracy to philosophy‖, in richard rort‘s, objectivity, relativity and truth (cambridge: clip, 1990), 175. 54 obafemi awolowo, thoughts of nigerian constitution 55 the level of ethnic resentment and its attendant violent since 1999 has become difficult to calculate forestall or even avoid. it is so bad that some of the violent groups even possess missiles. 56 see ―preamble‖ to the constitution of the federal republic of nigeria‟s 1999 (2011, as ameended). 57 philip ada idachaba, ―modern federalism and its fracture from the covenanting of wills: towards a postmodern reconstruction‖, in kolawole a. olu-owolabi and adebola b. ekanola (eds.) a holistic approach to human existence and development (ibadan: hope publications, 2013), 313-337. 58 idachaba, 315. 59 nwankwo, ―the nigerian experiment: is it working?‖, 447. 60 postmodernists abhor definitions because they believe that definitions end up exposing the idiosyncrasies of the definer instead of exposing what is being defined. 61 jean francis lyotard, ―the postmodern condition” bayies, kenneth et al (eds.) after philosophy: end or transformation (cambridge: mit press, 1987), 244. 62 edwin etiobe, ―postmodern thinking and african philosophy‖, in filosofia theoretica 63 etiobe, 68. 64 joseph n. agbo, ―the postmodern scientific thoughts of thomas kuhn and paul feyrabend: implications for africa‖, in filosofia theortica, vol. 3, no. 2 (2014), 9-37. 65 joseph n. agbo, ―science and the ‗end‘ of epistemology‖,in m.f. asiegbu and j.c. chukwuokolo (eds.) truth, knowledge and society (abakaliki: pacts gm press, 2012), 138-156. 66 emmanuel uchenna ugwu, ―enugu massacre: buhari, the comedian in chief‖ in, naij.com accessed may 4, 2016. 67 ugwu, ―enugu massacre‖ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 138 christianity in the african context: theological interpretation of 1 corinthians 9:19-23 obielosi, dominic department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state, nigeria dobielosi@yahoo.com & aboekwe, mary emilia chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu university igbariam, anambra state, nigeria emiliachy@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29332.65925 abstract christianity was introduced to africa from the west. the available options for studying and learning christian religion are all conveyed from the western perspective, utilizing references, cultural norms and experiences that have no relevance to christians in africa. the cultures and traditional values of african people are important and have valid influences in their christian life. to avail african christians same opportunities to strengthen their faith like the westerners, biblical resources must be contextualized. contextualization does not mean changing the meaning of sacred scripture. paul himself explains in 1 corinthians 9:19-23 that he worked to be relevant to each culture to which he brought the gospel. notwithstanding that the truth contained in god’s word are universal and will not change, the illustrations, applications, and additional contexts provided prompt deeper understanding and should change according to the audience. this will create greater opportunities to know, understand, and apply god’s word in daily life experiences. in this study, we are going to identify and study some reasons why context matters. the way the bible is understood comes with context. the bible itself must be understood within its settings and cultures. the researchers made extensive use of exegetical and hermeneutical methods of interpretation to study 1cor 9:19-23. from the backdrop of the result from the interpretation, the paper then posits contextualization of scriptural messages as a necessity if the bible will remain valuable to all cultures especially africa. keywords: christianity, african, theology, contextualization, culture. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 139 introduction africa, though the seat of christianity, lost her position as the first recipient of the good news to the west before the religion became institutionalized. formal christianity was therefore introduced to africa from the west wearing western culture. at the advent of christianity to africa, there were no available options for evangelization other than the western culture. niebuhr (1951) asserts that christianity is not a culture, but the christian faith can be expressed and communicated only through cultural media. hence, christianity cannot be expressed or communicated without a cultural medium. ironically, christianity in africa is introduced cloned with western culture. this is inevitable because culture is a medium for the expression and communication of all religions. jacobs (cited in niebuhr, 1951) likened the christian faith to a jockey who rides a racing horse as long as the horse is a faster runner. when the horse loses its racing ability, the jockey chooses another horse, and by so doing he remains on the racecourse. christianity portrays the culture in which it is developed. there is nothing like christian cultures, but christians in a culture can greatly influence the culture. lamentably, those that evangelized africa imposed western culture on the peoples on the assumption that western culture was “christianity, while other cultures were dismissed as “pagan” and “heathen”. this is a theological error. the christian faith can be effectively expressed and communicated only in “culturally designed” media. for the work of a missionary to be effective, an evangelizer must learn to appreciate the culture of the people whom he is evangelizing. he must learn their language and appreciate their art, music, dance, architecture, ritual and all other aspects of their culture. he must identify himself with the community of those whom he is introducing to jesus christ. then he must go further and translate his understanding of the christian faith into the cultural terms familiar and traditional to his prospective converts. he must be willing to be changed. this is a very difficult task, but effective christian mission demands nothing less. saint paul, one of the greatest missionaries in the history of christianity, appreciated this demand, and lived up to it. in the 1 corinthians 9:19-23 he says: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 140 even though i am a free man with no master, i have become a slave to all people to bring many to christ. when i was with the jews, i lived like a jew to bring the jews to christ. when i was with those who follow the jewish law, i too lived under that law. even though i am not subject to the law, i did this so i could bring to christ those who are under the law. when i am with the gentiles who do not follow the jewish law, i too live apart from that law so i can bring them to christ. but i do not ignore the law of god; i obey the law of christ. when i am with those who are weak, i share their weakness, for i want to bring the weak to christ. yes, i try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything i can to save some. i do everything to spread the good news and share in its blessings. it is regrettable that these profound insights from paul are not observed in the modern missionary enterprise. the effect of this theological error is that many african converts to the christian faith are taught to accept the view that becoming a christian means dropping one’s cultural heritage and adopting the cultural norms of foreign missionaries. conversion is determined through behavioral norms, in terms of abandoning traditional african customs and adopting western ones. this results in a life of double standards among african converts. on the one hand, they accept the norms introduced by the missionaries who see nothing valuable in african culture. on the other hand, the converts cannot deny their own cultural identity. they cannot substitute their denominational belonging for their cultural and religious heritage. yet they cannot become europeans or americans merely by adopting some aspects of the missionaries' outward norms of conduct (taylor, 2001). early christian missionaries encounter with african culture a big question mark is placed on the content and method of catechesis being used by the european missionaries towards conversion of the locals. there is no doubt that the message of christianity brought by the europeans is coated with western culture and taught with a kind of imperialist tone. in most instances, the message africans receive from the missionaries is that their culture and traditional practices are not good. according to edusa-eyison (2006), these european missionaries did not respect the people’s culture as they perceive “everything africa as primitive, pagan, fetish, and heathen.” hence, africans are told that in order to become christians they must renounce their cultural igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 141 practices and accept that of the europeans. on ndigbo axis, nwosu (1987) affirms that “the missionaries adopted a negative attitude that was tantamount to condemnation of disproval of traditional igbo society.” the adverse effect of this teaching is that it makes people develop inferiority complexes concerning their cultural identity. this is because they now believe that in order to be a christian; one must abandon his/her culture since they are thought to be “barbaric” and “heathen”. according to schreiter (1994) all these “have undermined african christians in two ways: by demeaning their own sense of worth and dignity as africans.” this situation is therefore confusing as the scenario is not clear as to whether the missionaries are really christianizing or westernizing. critical observation could claim that they are westernizing more than christianizing, and they might have done this consciously or unconsciously but the fact is that they acknowledged european culture with christianity. the outcome of their evangelization is the imposition of the western culture on the africans which resulted in the denial of african cultural heritage. the missionaries consider the white man’s civilization as good for the so called ‘heathen” africans, and as such, they caricature african cultures and traditions, presenting theirs as superior. ifemesia (1972) affirms that some missionaries are not actually presenting christ but rather the superiority of their culture and personality. the problem now emanates from the fact that the first african converts assimilate this wrong teaching as the real gospel message and passed it on to their brothers and sisters. they thought that accepting their cultural identity/traditional cultural practices and the message of christianity preached by the missionaries is a rejection of their cultural practices. for them, being a christian and traditionalist are two different states of life. it is either this or that. hence those who see the good in the message of christ and embrace it but still want to maintain their cultural heritage have to resort to a kind of hypocritical life. they practice christianity during the day and go during the night to participate in their cultural rituals and ceremonies. this causes lots of misunderstanding in local christian communities and families as members are embarrassed and are called “pagans” and “heathens” by their fellow brothers/sisters, just because they participate in a traditional ceremony. this phenomenon raises a big theological question for african christians on how to understand the relationship between the message of christ and cultures of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 142 those that receive it. there is need to critically examine culture in relationship with christ and how to understand the message of christ communicated through cultures. christ and cultures if culture is a way of life of people ordained by god, one can then ask: why must a person do away with his/her cultural identity in order to accept the message of christ? is it because the message of christ cannot fit into these receptor cultures without annihilating them? some people obviously thought so among whom are the early missionaries to africa; however, let us also note that the same problem reared its ugly head during the early days of christianity. the apostles of christ and early christians come in contact with people of other cultures right at the onset of christian missionary. consequently, there are cultural problems in the early church of the acts of the apostles, between the gentiles who accept the message of christ and the jewish followers of christ (acts 15:1-35). one of the issues raised concerns circumcision, a jewish cultural practice that marks one as a member of the jewish community. the problem is that some jewish christian elders want the gentile converts to become circumcised and also to abandon some of their cultural practices and accept the jewish ones. their reason being that it should be so since christianity is born into the jewish tradition and assumes its religious worldview. however, the apostles and elders meeting at the first council in jerusalem are enlightened to realize the problem in asking people to leave their cultural identity and accept that of the jews because they want to accept the message of christ. so they rule that circumcision is not necessary for christians, but that they should abstain from cultural practices that involve idolatry and immorality. in effect they are able to discern that the message of christ is not culturally bound as peter had earlier asserted that in any culture anyone who receives christ pleases god and is saved (acts 10:34). hence, the message of christ can fit into other cultures without altering or uprooting them. ilogu (1974) asserts “christianity is intended to be the religion not of one particular race of people, but of the whole world; but in different countries it will wear different clothes.” such different “cloths” take the shape of the cultures of the people to whom the christian gospel and faith is brought to. paul vi (1975) observes that “there are many links between the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 143 message of salvation and cultures as god spoke according to the culture proper to each age.” st paul at athens was able to make people understand the way to the true god, through their own traditional religion (acts 17:22-28). paul was the epitome of a good missionary who understands that the message of christ can find means of expression in different cultures without uprooting or annihilating the said culture. hence, christianity can find a way of growth in any culture but this can only be possible, if the evangelizers of the christian message adopt the approach of the apostles of christ; paul. regrettably, this message could be hampered when the evangelizers like some missionaries to africa cannot distinguish between their own cultural bias and the christian message they bear. it is this failure that has resulted in the conflict between christianity and the african culture. christian missionary hegemony on african culture african societies start to disintegrate when traditional religion is attacked. achebe (1959) portrays a situation in which an african indigenous missionary succeeds in separating a son from his african parents so that the son can become a christian. as the son leaves his parents’ house for the mission compound, the missionary quotes the bible, “blessed is he who forsakes his father and mother for my sake (matthew 19:29). ngugi wa thiongo similarly depicts a situation in which the family is utterly divided as a result of the parents’ conversion to christianity. a rift occurs between the family and the extended family. instead of bringing reconciliation and understanding, christianity in this case brings division. this is because converts are instructed to leave everything behind, including families, for the sake of the gospel. african religion looks at life in a holistic way. there is no dichotomy between sacred and profane; hence many people are horrified when the first converts want to set themselves apart, away from other members of the community. this is why indigenization is important, as it enables the african christian to see and experience life in a holistic manner without doing needless violence to cultural values. the missionaries endeavour to jettison the culture and religion of the african. they term it conversion both spiritually and culturally. murzorewa (1985) observes that the missionaries are convinced that unless africans adopt much of the western culture and civilization, it was difficult to measure the success of the missionary work. with this attitude, they launched a contagious attack on igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 144 african social organisations, such as family, marriage, rituals, festivals, funeral rites and entire world-view. to this extent, christianity becomes synonymous with westernization. they apply strategies such as prohibition of polygamy, the ancestral cult and rituals and food taboos, the introduction of western formal education and the creation of separate christian communities among others. contextualizing christianity in africa contextualizing christianity in africa is a crucial venture if christianity is to communicate to the africans. among many religions, christianity is the most universal religion; hence it has to find an expression within each and every cultural context it finds itself if her evangelization is to be meaningfully advantageous to the adherents. however, this adventure may result to syncretism among the african christians if not properly checked. prior to the advent of christianity, africans have their indigenous religion which is part and parcel of their culture. their culture is their religion and their religion is their culture. both are interwoven. according to mbiti (1969 p1) “africans are notoriously religious.” africans can never and will never be separated from their culture for religion. there is a strong move by many african scholars to contextualize christianity. a great number of african scholars contend for the contextualization of christianity, which aims at providing a link between the african culture and christian foundations. a process where christianity will be at home in africa and africans will be at home with christianity. late prof bolaji idowu made a significant contribution in making christianity at home in africa and africa at home with christianity. he succeeded in creating christian versions of the rites of naming, marriage and burial. but what seems to be lacking in this debate is the critical evaluation of how christianity can fully be expressed or practiced within the cultural context. even though it is apparent that africans long to experience christianity within their cultural setting, it still remains to be established how christianity can best be communicated within an african cultural context. so far, the attempt to contextualize christianity seems to permit syncretism. it results in the emergence of “african christianity”, which is the amalgamation of christianity and african traditional religion (atr). the amalgamation of christianity and african traditional religion appears to overlook the essence of both religions, as the elements of one religion are expressed through the other. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 145 in an effort to contextualize christianity, certain terms will be unavoidably used: adaptation, inculturation, africanization, and indigenization.  adaptation: this refers to areas of apparent similarities and contacts between christianity and african cultural practices. to the proponents of this view, immediate adaptation is experienced when elements of christianity are taken to mean something that is already familiar. for instance, when missionaries go to different african communities they adopt the term for god that is used by the traditional religion. thus in igbo, god is chukwu, in yoruba, god is oluwa, in hausa, god is ala. this intends to show that christians worship the same god as the traditionalists, the difference being in the understanding of who this god is.  inculturation : the term “inculturation” expresses the encounter between christianity and african traditional religion, which is basically an encounter between two cultures. since christianity comes to africa from another culture it is expected to grow within the african culture in order to become truly african. there is a process of transformation that takes place in order for christianity to reflect authentically the african cultural milieu.  indigenization: while “indigenization” basically means the same thing as inculturation, indigenization is meant to emphasize the incarnational aspect. the concept, drawn from christology, means that just as jesus became human in order to redeem humankind so must christianity become african in order to reach the african soul. christianity must grow within the african environment so as to acquire the characteristics, forms, and trappings of african spirituality. generally african people believe in god as the supreme being, called by different names in different communities. god is worshiped through different rituals according to the traditions of the people. africans believe that everything has its origin in god and nothing comes into existence without divine sanction. african people also believe that there are lesser spirits through whom god speaks to people and who serves as mediators between god and humans. includes in this category are the ancestral spirits or the spirits of the living-dead who, together with the living, make up a community. going back to time immemorial, african religion is interwoven with the experiences, history, and cultures of the african peoples. it prepares the ground for the reception of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 146 christianity and islam (idowu 1965). african christians see the hand of god at work in and through african religion. hence, it is obvious that the western missionaries made grave mistake when they jettison african religion as fetishism, spiritism, animism, or paganism. the way forward the first step towards solving the contemporary conflict between christianity and the african cultures in general and igbo cultures in particular, is to make efforts towards re-catechizing people by returning to the essential christian proclamation of the sovereignty of the one god in three persons, and the incarnation, passion, death and resurrection of our lord jesus christ who has redeemed us and made us members of god’s family. the believe that many traditionalists have about god can then be rejuvenated and integrated into the christian faith. strip the gospel of non-essential elements and concentrate on the person of jesus christ. this idea can foster a reflection on what is acceptable in the moral code of the local people that does not contrast with gospel values. the consequence should also be a re-thinking of the ways to worship and to administer the sacraments in rituals that carry the proper symbolism for the people and reflect the inner theology of the sacred actions. furthermore, most of the problems african christians who try to maintain their culture and still be good christians are provoked by the colonized brothers and sisters, who are in charge of catechesis at the different levels of christian communities. these converts adhere to the early teachings of the missionaries and have refused to accept the fact that people can retain their cultural identity and still belong to christ. hence, they help in widening the chasm between christianity and african cultures and this is evident in some of the demands they make of people, for example, to baptize a child or a convert in most parishes in igboland, some catechists or parish priests insist in using a foreign saint’s name; and one does not really understand for what theological reasons is this request made, when many local names show a connection to god. in fact, the natives have good names, most of which are traditional religious names that tell of the great works of god in their lives; so why should they not be allowed to use such names? people should be allowed to use names that have meaning for them and show a focus in their lives. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 147 ndigbo have strong traditional religious background and also valuable cultural practices. the concept of a supreme god is not alien to the igbo religious psyche; they refer to the supreme god as chukwu (big god). they believe that god works through and blesses them through their ancestors and the lesser gods and goddesses of the land identified with the nature around them; hence they have gods/goddesses dedicated to hills, rivers, lands, trees, animals, seas, etc. the rituals and festivals of ndigbo are thus geared towards the worship of god and reverence of the gods and ancestors of the land. on the side of cultural ceremonies in igboland, such prestige taking ceremonies like the ozo, nze, ichie, chieftaincies, are done in order to recognize deserving members and elders of the community as vanguards of the moral fibre of the communities. these ceremonies are ritualized and sacrifices are made to invite chukwu, the gods of the land and the ancestors to come and sanctify and sanction the installations. other rituals include those done by the masquerade cults and the elders during initiation of young men into adulthood; sacrifices made as part of sending a dead into the world of ancestors, etc. all these have caused lots of misunderstanding resulting to those who participate in them oftentimes excommunicated from parishes and regarded as heathens. looking at these ceremonies one notices that there is no element in them that contradicts the law of love in christ. it is true however that in the past, some of the sacrifices involve humans, but these days, people know this evil and have abolished such sacrifices and used other means to sanctify these ceremonies, yet, it still causes lots of problems. the issue of traditional rituals and sacrifices are a no-go-area for some of our priests and african theologians. they condemn them as part of idolatry; but then it is no problem to talk about the sacrifice of christ on the cross. one cannot but ask why the fuss about sacrifices? christians got their idea of sacrifice from that of the hebrew religion and this involves blood, so why should that of africans be such a big issue? we must understand that sacrifices are means by which people are reconnected with the sacred and divine as evident in the sacrifice of christ which reconnected sinful humans to god. the igbo culture and traditional religion asks to be understood. the misunderstandings between the church and igbo culture stems from the fact that the church leaders in igboland has not understood that to be a christian, ndigbo need not abandon their cultural heritage and those practices which identify them as such. according to ilogu (1974) “the ibo christian...can be taught to feel at igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 148 home from the totality of his (sic) being, as obtained in his past and his present experiences, both as a christian as well as a member of his societ”. hence there is need for dialogue between the theologians in igboland and the experts of igbo traditional religion and culture towards finding ways in which inculturation can be realized between the two cultures. pauline adaptability: a textual analysis of 1 corinthians 9: 19-23 for though i am free from all men, i have made myself a slave to all, that i might win the more. to the jews i became as a jew, in order to win jews; to those under the law i became as one under the law, though not being myself under the law, that i might win those under the law. to those outside the law i became as one outside the law, not being without law toward god but under the law of christ, that i might win those outside the law. to the weak i became weak, that i might win the weak. i have become all things to all men that i might by all means save some. i do it all for the sake of the gospel, that i may share in its blessings (1corinthians 9: 19-23). paul began this narrative by first declaring himself a man ‘free from all men’ who makes himself ‘a slave to all’. it is really remarkable for a man to be free and yet enslaves himself for the sake of what he believes in. why does paul declares himself a slave for all? why would a free man make himself a slave (or enslave himself)? these are questions we need to tackle in the course of this study to unearth how it contributes to genuine evangelization in africa. pauline adaptability in the text has been analyzed by different scholars and viewed with different nomenclatures. (tucker 2012) perceives paul as a ‘spiritual chameleon’ why (richardson (1980), considers pauline adaptability as ‘pauline accommodation’. others analysis of pauline adaptability are as follows: ‘pauline flexibility’ (longenecker 1964), ‘pauline incarnational principle’ (daube 1956), ‘pauline versatility’ (prior 1993) and ‘pauline inconsistency” (carson 1982). nonetheless, all agree that paul’s ‘adjustment’ is for the penetration of the gospel into the complex lives of the people. to begin an exploration therefore, into his adaptability, it is necessary to identify the explicit groups paul is referring to in his ‘becoming all things to all men’. a study of verses 20 to 22 reveals four categories of men (reuf 1977). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 149 1. the jews: these are those jews who do not accept the messianic reality of jesus. 2. those under the law: these are jewish christians who still observe the prescription of the jewish law, though they accept jesus as the messiah. 3. those outside the law: these are the people that the law is not meant for because they are non-jews. they constitute the gentile nations. 4. the weak: these are gentiles who hold strongly and naively on the pagan world view, though they accept jesus as the messiah. they are weak in conscience and weak in faith. for these four classes of people to whom paul adjusts himself, he has but one aim ‘to win’. the word ‘win’ (kerdaino) appears repeatedly five times in the text, and can also be seen in 1cor. 6:16 and rom. 9:14. afterwards, the focus is changed by moving from ‘win’ to ‘save’ (1 cor.19: 22), pointing to the essence of the winning strategy, which is saving. the word ‘save’ (sozo) states what ‘win’ (kerdaino) can imply. kerdaino is used in active sense of an evangelist. prior (1993) opines that due to the implicit consideration for sozo. paul was ready to adapt to or adopt any legitimate ‘means’ from efforts to win people. paul identifies with the jewish point of view, as when he wants timothy circumcised or agrees to share vow at jerusalem (acts 16:3; 19:20 ff). he enters into the feelings of the jews, considering their thinking pattern and frailties, and seeks with sympathy and empathy to appreciate their world view. with pagans born outside the law tois onomois. paul declares “i make myself” or “i become as” “one outside the law hos anomos ,“(not becoming ‘lawless’ in any sense or ‘an outlaw’ (prior (1993). paul refers to his freedom from the code of torah, but subject to the law of christ. he also identifies with the weakness of his contemporaries in order to strengthen their faith and consciences as touching controversial matters. he stoops low to raise them. in this way, he becomes a slave to all in order to rescue them from the pending judgment which will not recognize their cultural differences. dodd (1968) in his ennomous christou agrees that paul saw himself as ennomous christou (1cor.9:21) who would not use all his exousia (right or freedom), rather as an expression of his commitment in his apostolic ministry. this consciousness paul has that he owes the gospel to all, whatever their nationality, temperament or social class, carries him far beyond the restrictions of pharisaic dispositions. going by his pharisaic training, paul is not supposed to associate with pagans in any social standing, but under the law of christ, the law igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 150 of love, the apostle paul has the spiritual mandate to bridge the gap and save the souls. paul’s intent is to discover, combine and use any collection of methods, strategies which would combine the greatest integrity with the greatest impacts. paul is the most versatile of men who is never locked into any single way of operating. prior (1993) submits that “paul’s versatility in seeking to win men of all backgrounds to christ challenges us to cross the culture-gap between the christian sub-culture and the pagan culture of our local community.” it is not uncommon that paul is accused of maintaining double standards in the affairs of dealing with the different sects. however, bruce (1958) notes that paul’s behaviour is rescue from being unprincipled by only one thing: his goal. his goal of saving helps put his pattern in proper perspective. paul is certain of his mission, not leaving any man as he meets him. prior (1993) explains that paul’s life is that of self-discipline, self-control, while aligning himself with all sorts and conditions of men. in prior’s word, the fact that paul lives daily in the light of eternity, means for him evangelism with integrity, relationship with adaptability and personal holiness with single-mindedness”. paul places himself alongside the people and not against them (hargreaves 1978). there is an alignment for purpose. joseph (2012) asserts that the phrase “all things to all men” does not mean that paul is not the same person to all groups of people; rather he is sensitive to the challenges of each cultural group. joseph (2012) therefore concludes that the basis of pauline adaptability is determined by the norm of the gospel. references achebe, c. (1959). things fall apart. new york: heinemann. bruce, f. f. (1958). the spreading flame. paternoster. carson, a. d. (1982). pauline inconsistency: reflections on 1corinthians 9:19-23 and galatian 2:11-14, grand rapids, zondervan. dodd, c. h. (1968). theology and ethics in paul. usa: westminster john knox press. daube, d. (1956). missionary maxims in paul. the new testament and rabbini judaism, 1956: 336-351. edusa-eyison, j.m.y., dickson, k. a. (2006). the bible and african life and thought in dialogue”, in african theology in the 21st century. nairobi: paulines publications africa, 2006). hargreaves, j. (1978). a guide to 1corinthians. london: spck. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 151 idowu, b. (1965). olodumare: god in yoruba belief. london: oxford univ. press. ifemesia, c. c. (1972). the social and cultural impact of christian missionaries on west africa in the 19th and 20th centuries. west african religion, 12, 66-78. ilogu, e. (1974). christianity and ibo culture. leiden: brill. joseph, m.j. (2012). a leap into the ‘slavery of paul’ from an indian angle. india: kottayarn. longenecker, r. n. (1964). paul, apostle of liberty. new york: harper and row. mbiti, j. s. (1970). african religions and philosophy. london, england: monison & gibbs. murzorewa, h. g. (1985). the origins and the development of african theology. maryknoll, ny: orbis books. nwosu, c. u. (1988). the catholic missionary’s method and strategies among the igbo’s of nigeria (1885-1930): a socio-theological critical survey. (stl thesis, katholieke universiteit, leuven, 1987), 139. uzoh, l.n., the missionary apostolate of bishop shanahan in igboland of nigeria. (phd dissertation, pontificia universitas urbaniana, romae, 1988). niebuhr, h. r. (1951). christ and culture. new york: harper and row. paul vi, (1975). evangelii nuntiandi. london: catholic truth society. prior, d. (1993). the message of 1corinthians: life in the local church. the bible speaks today. england: intervarsity press. richardson, p. (1980). pauline inconsistency: 1corinthians 9:19-23 and galatians 2:11-14. retrieved on 12th june, 2021 from https://discoverarchives.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/peterrichardson-pauline-inconsistency-1-cor-9-19-23-and-gal-2-11-14-newtestament-studies-26-1979-80-347-62 reuf, j. (1977). paul’s first letter to corinth. ed. d. e. nineham. london: scm press. schreiter, r. j. (1994). jesus christ in africa today, in faces of jesus in africa. maryknoll: orbis books. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 152 tucker, b. b. (2012). all things to all people: a chameleon paul? journal of beliefs and values. taylor, j.v. (2001). christian presence amid african religion. london: scm press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 165 political marginalization and issues around the inclusion of the other: africa’s albatross charles c. nweke phd department of philosophy, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, nigeria, nkesun2002@yahoo.com +2348063398522 & chukwugozie donatus nwoye phd department of philosophy, chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu university, igbariam campus, anambra state, nigeria, cd.nwoye@coou.edu.ng, +2347034542127 & philip emenike ayika phd spiritan international school of theology, attakwu, enugu state nigeria. email: ayikas@yahoo.com, +2348033250829 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.16636.28806 abstract since the exit of the physical presence of the colonial masters on african soil some decades back, it has become an obvious fact that africans have found it increasingly difficult to live harmoniously among themselves in a particular country or locale. this is encapsulated in what we termed, primarily, political marginalization. that is, the controversies and struggles that are involved in accepting or rejecting an african on an african soil by fellow africans irrespective of the african‟s place of origin. instances to buttress this fact include the agitations for self-determination, secession by africans in many african countries in addition to the recent xenophobic attacks in south africa. it is therefore an examined position of this paper that disunity among africans caused by political marginalization and other attendant issues are the major albatross to africa‟s quest for greatness. in line with this position, this paper essays to offer mere narration of the cause(s) of conflicts by the parties involved in dispute and the employment of violence if need be, as complements to habermas‟ discourse ethics which is overly dependent on rationality (better argument as the best means of conflict resolution) as enduring solutions to the aforementioned challenge of political marginalization. keywords: politics, marginalization, inclusion, identity, albatross. introductory remarks there are many disturbing issues bedeviling african continent today. but we make bold to argue that beneath these issues is political marginalization prefiguring prominently. this problem cuts across almost every african country the only seeming exceptions being theuncolonized ethiopia and the newly mailto:ayikas@yahoo.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 166 created countries in the name of eritrea and southern sudan. this political marginalization is not unconnected with the incursion of the colonial masters in african continent. it is imperative to state at the outset that africa understood in the context of this discourse are african countries who have in one way or the other come under the influence of colonial administration. and under this categorization, it is hard to discover an african country not within the compass of this discourse, either directly or indirectly. this is because, as the study will reveal, the seminal legacy of colonial incursion of divide-and-rule method -the common brush that seems to have tarred all african countryhas snowballed into a big problem we have in africa today in the manner of political marginalization and other attendant challenges emanating there from. to show that political marginalization is a common problem to almost all african countries, one country at least is investigated from the different sub-regions that africa is divided into, that is, northern africa, west africa, east africa, southern africa and central africa. having said this, this discourse is outlined as follows: part one explains the key concepts engaged in the study; part two instantiates the experience of political marginalization with the countries selected as case studies; part three explores the idea of discourse ethics of habermas as a veritable solution to the problem under view with the mind of supplementing it with other views for an endurable solution to this daunting challenge facing africa; part four brings the discussion to an end with summary and conclusion. 1. conceptualizing the kernel concepts in employ here politics, this is seen as “the art and science of the government of a state; public affairs or public life as they relate to this; the opinions, principles or policies by which a person orders his participation in such affairs; scheming and maneuvering within a group.”14 for sinclair, politics, is“1, the art and science of directing and administering states and other political units; government. 2, the complex or aggregate of relationships of people in society, especially those relationships involving authority or power.”15 according to harold d. lasswell, 14lawrence t. lorimer, the new webster’s dictionary of the english language international edition, (new york: lexicon publishers, inc., 1995), p.777. 15j.m. sinclair, collins concise dictionary fifth edition, (glasgow: harpercollins publisher, 2001), p.1160. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 167 politics is simply defined as “who gets what, when and how.”16 lasswell‟s definition is quite insightful and appears to have captured the heart of what we intend to unravel. this is because africans are always in the struggle over the control of one resource or the other: oil in nigeria, gold in the democratic republic of congo, fertile lands in kenya and rwanda, etc. in each instance, some people through manipulations lay undue claim to one thing or the other and it automatically land the nations involved in one conflict or the other. and so it is the issue of how a hausa/fulani man in the northern part of nigeria, for example, will muster the effrontery to say that the oil deposit in the south-south, south-eastern parts of nigeria is his without due consultation, compensation for damages done in the course of exploitation of the resource. the question becomes when (the circumstance, time) and how (in what manner) has a particular resource (what) become another person‟s own. this is the hub of political marginalization in africa and that is why the researchers here maintain that the definition of lasswell is quite ad rem for this discourse. what marginalization is not: “marginalization is not simply one thing, not just one status. while an absence of economic resources may, to be sure, characterize a marginalized group, lack of knowledge, political rights and capacity, recognition and power are also factors of marginalization.”17 for iris marion young, marginalization is maybe the most perilous form of injustice. an entire group of people is deprived of useful participation in social life and accordingly possibly condemned to severe material deprivation. she presents the list, broadly, as including the youth, people not employed for a long time, single mothers, people living with disabilities, indigenous people, the elderly.18 in addition to the following elucidations, jenson maintains that “marginalization is a phenomenon of material resources, but it also includes, for both the efa forum and for iris marion young, lack of capacity to participate politically and culturally, in markets and in other institutions. lines of social difference and discrimination often overlay, indeed sometimes promote, patterns of 16harold d. lasswell, politics: who gets what, when, how (new york: whittlesey house, 1936), pp. ix &264. 17jane jenson, “backgrounder: thinking about marginalization: what, who and why?”canadian policy research networks inc., (cprn) web versionnovember, 2000.p.1.http://www.cprn.org accessed: 13/6/2016. 18iris marion young, justice and the politics of difference, (princeton,nj: princeton university press,1990),p.53. http://www.cprn.org/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 168 marginalization.”19 a school of thought says: “marginals are people the system of labor cannot or will not use.”20 being marginalized entails more than earning low income. it encompasses the inability to participate or earn full respect in society. to instantiate this, the community of people with disabilities dread isolation, marginalization and devaluation in a milieu in which their physical difference – not danger of poverty alone-is a barrier to complete inclusion into society.21 for jenson as well, marginalization emerges as a result of being unemployed (absence of jobs), being poor (absence of material resources) and being isolated (absence of social ties).22 to marginalize means, “to push something or someone to the edges of anything (especially of society or one‟s consciousness), in order to reduce its or their effect, relevance, significance,etc.”23 but for international consultative forum on education for all (efa forum), unesco status and trends, 2000 “marginalization occurs when people are systematically excluded from meaningful participation in economic, social, political, cultural and other forms of human activity in their communities and thus are denied the opportunity to fulfill themselves as human beings.”24 this is insightful. by political marginalization we therefore mean, the systematic and often clandestine maneuovering of political powers such that a group of people who often time has a natural claim to a particular resource is schemed out of it and placed under second-class citizen status and made to have the impression that they do not have equal claim, right to such resource with others who happen to be wielding political powers. it the use of the advantage of political power to deprive other people what they should ordinarily have, covertly or overtly. this is the mother of all problems in african continent today. african challenges may come in different guises but a painstaking analysis will ultimately reveal it to be of political marginalization. 19jane jenson, “backgrounder: thinking about marginalization: what, who and why?”canadian policy research networks inc., (cprn), op. cit.,p.2. 20 iris marion young as quoted in jane jenson, “backgrounder: thinking about marginalization: what, who and why?”canadian policy research networks inc., (cprn) web version november, 2000.p.1.http://www.cprn.org accessed: 13/6/2016. 21 www.pcs.mb.ca ccd. quoted in jen jenson op.cit., p. 3. 22 jen jenson op.cit.,p.4. 23mairi robinson, chambers 2ist century dictionary of current english, (london: university press, 1998), p.839. 24 quoted in jen jenson, op.cit., p.1. http://www.cprn.org/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 169 …africa is a vast and varied continent made up of countries with specific histories and geographical conditions as well as uneven levels of economic development. the causes of conflicts in africa reflect the continent‟s diversity and complexity. while some causes are purely internal and portray specific sub-regional dynamics, others have a significant international dimension. notwithstanding these differences, african conflicts show a number of cross-cutting themes and experiences.25 it is the examined position of this research work that the cross-cutting and common experienced problem of africa is political marginalization and issues around the inclusion of the other fundamented in the lumping together of seemingly incompatible people in africa. this position finds eloquent testimony in un secretary-general‟s report on africa, (un 1999,3-5) secretary-general‟s views on the causes of conflicts; among them are: (a) historical legacies: (i) the colonial boundaries forced on the newly independent states a simultaneous task of state-building and nation-building. state-building led to heavy centralization of political and economic power and the suppression of pluralism. but the challenge of forging a genuine national identity from among disparate and often competing communities has remained; (ii) the character of the commercial relations instituted by colonialism, also created long-term distortion in the political economy of africa. the consequences of this position of production and exchange spilled over into the post-independent state. as political competition was rooted in viable national economic systems, in many instances the prevailing structure of 25 adedeji, adebayo (ed), comprehending and mastering african conflicts (london: zed books, 1999), p.364.quoted in abdalla bujra, “african conflicts: their causes an their political and social environment” development policy management forum (dpmf) occasional paper, no.4, 2002, pp.6-7. http://www.dpmf.org accessed: 13/6/2016. http://www.dpmf.org/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 170 incentives favoured capturing the institutional remnants of the colonial economy for factional advantage;…26 political marginalization thus far explained originated from the colonial masters system of administration. with their singular aim of economic interest they pitted africans against themselves that up till date africans are still battling with the same problem that appears to be something else. a look into some african countries selected as samples will buttress the point being underscored here. 2. instantiatingthe phenomenon of political marginalization in africa an eloquent testament to the fact of political marginalization in africa is given by abdalla bujra below. rebellions, by groups not within the military outfit of a country and which angle for a change of a government, are the widely known types of political conflict in almost all african countries. these rebellions are commonly conceived by urban elites who are unhappy with the manner the government had handled them and their region or ethnic group. they gather a section of their regional or ethnic loyalists, secure arms secretly and usually aided by a neighbouring country and occasionally a nonafrican power as well. starting grudges of the leadership of such a rebel group would differ from being obstructed from getting political power, under representation of their region/ethnic group in the government and administration, their region intentionally disallowed access to development funds, to ban of their ethnic groups from the private sector, and given out of their land to other ethnic groups (of the ruling ethnic groups), etc. continuing bujra says, these unsettling instances may be felt by other ethnic groups, in which instance the rebel group forges coalitions with others and the rebellion gets more widespread. the survival of such rebel movements is only feasible if it is supported and aided by a close by country from where it can have launch pads and arms supplies.27 26quoted in abdalla bujra, “african conflicts: their causes an their political and social environment” development policy management forum (dpmf) occasional paper, no.4, 2002, p.17.http://www.dpmf.org accessed: 13/6/2016. 27abdalla bujra, “african conflicts: their causes an their political and social environment” development policy management forum (dpmf) occasional paper, no.4, 2002, pp.6 7. http://www.dpmf.org accessed: 13/6/2016 http://www.dpmf.org/ http://www.dpmf.org/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 171 a. political marginalization: the nigerian situation william o. idowu is of the view that the incessant conflicts in nigeria are political in essence and they are occasioned by: (i) lack of democracy; (ii) the particular organization of the nigerian federal system has abetted local and ethnic solidarities, and as such, failed to evolve a national consciousness/unity or citizenship; (iii) the domination and sole handling of the federal government by the northern hausa/fulani and the resultant marginalization of the other regions and ethnic groups in nigeria. “in the present-day, the „northern elites‟ ” refusal to share power is the single most important reason why tribes have been resurgent and ethno national consciousness has come to override overall nigerian nationalism.”28 owing to the absence of genuine citizenship, nigeria has witnessed a series of baffling contradictions: a state of political conflict and instability, and irreconcilable struggle for power, reflected in antagonism and warfare, the politics of alienation, exclusion, and domination, accompanied by an incredible variety of micro-nationalism and pseudonationalism; and regrettably a forlorn search for the existence, establishment and sustenance of a wellrounded, vibrant system of democratic governance.29 since the inception of nigeria as a state, political marginalization has been its quotidian experience. the northern hausa/fulanis falsely assume the rulership of nigeria as their birthright. a seeming respite only came during the 1999 democratic rule of olusegun obasanjo. during this period, the president fairly incorporated other ethnic groups in his governance especially the south eastern part of the country and the country experienced relative peace, progress and development to the extent of cancellation of nigeria‟s foreign debts among other remarkable achievements. in the background of all this, the hausa/fulanis disgruntled by the development staged many destabilizing programmes against the government, prominent among which is the introduction of sharia laws as part of state laws in some northern parts of the country (zamfara state especially) which is against the constitution of federal republic of nigeria. the hausa/fulani destabilizing antics came to a head during the administration of 28 william o. idowu, “citizenship, alienation and conflicts in nigeria” africa development xxiv, nos. 1 and 2, 1999, p.53. quoted in abdalla bujra op.cit., p.19. 29 abdalla bujra, op.cit., p.19. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 172 goodluck ebele jonathan. simply because he is from the ethnic group other than the north, the hausa/fulani north vowed to make his government ungovernable and the emergence of the deadly terrorist group known as boko haram is not unconnected with this.30 with the turn of events, 2015 general elections saw the emergence of a hausa/fulani north, muhammadu buhari, as the president. today in nigeria, the situation is best described as an uneasy calm. this is because there are so many frayed nerves in the country. the south-eastern part is back with their agitation for the sovereign state of biafra under the platform of indigenous people of biafra (ipob), the south-south militancy is in full swing now with bombing and destruction of oil installations in the country which has seen the country producing and exporting oil, the mainstay of the nation‟s economy, to almost less than half of its normal production and exportation capacities. these displays of grievances are as a result of the exclusive and lopsided appointments by the hausa/fulani led administration under muhammadu buhari. political marginalization! today in nigeria, the security of the country is manned by more than eighty per cent of the hausa/fulani north, also the director generals of most agencies and parastatals are headed by the hausa/fulanis of the northern extract whether they are duly qualified or not; among other acts of political marginalization. recently, the legislative arm of government in nigeria had to reject the list of ambassadorial nominees because it did not respect the federal character formula in giving such appointments. states like ebonyi, bayelsa and plateau, not from the hausa/fulani north were excluded, hence, the rejection of the list. there are so many instances to portray political marginalization which has become africa‟s albatross not found only in nigeria but almost in all african countries. b. the kenyan experience 30 edwin k. clark, “an open letter to the speaker of the federal house of representatives rt. honourable aminu waziri tambuwal and all honourable members of the house of representatives on the motion directing the inspector general of police, igp, to arrest/investigate honourable kingsley kuku an alhaji mujahid asari-dokubo for their alleged statements and a demand that the investigation should also include all others who have made similar inflammatory, seditious and more provocative statements on the issue including mallam adamu ciroma, gen. muhammadu buhari (rtd), shehu sani, lawal kaita, the national president of the arewa youth forum, mallam gambo ibrahim gujungu, farouk aliyu, amongst others. date: 9 th may, 2013,” vanguard friday 10 th may, 2013,p. 53. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 173 as earlier stated that the seminal cause of the problem is colonial machination, kenya‟s experience is another good example. the luo and kikuyu ethnic groups in kenya were the most penetrated by capital during the colonial era, and as such, were the most influenced by the colonial economy and culture. they formed an alliance in the dominant nationalist party, kanu , which later came to be the ruling party. the instance of political marginalization in this country played itself out thus: however, very soon after independence the dominance of governments and political arena by the kikuyu-luo alliance became clear and overwhelming. immediately after seizing state power, kenyatta started implementing his agenda of looking after the needs of his basic community the agikuyu. by 1978, he had secured for them the state government, a vast homeland in the rift valley and along the kenya coast, put commerce in their hands, in appropriate alliance with asian and european bourgeoisies, and underwritten their security by manning the police, the military, intelligence and the brutalizing apparatuses such as the general service unit.31 at the demise of jomo kenyatta and the then vice president daniel arap moi succeeded him as the president in 1978, he discovered that (i) the government and the military, police and intelligence, (ii) almost all the perceived fertile land, and (iii) the private sector open to africans, that is, all these strategic locations were occupied and managed by the kikuyu. moi as the then vice president saw how the state was deployed as a tool to produce the kikuyu domination that stared him in the face. to correct the imbalance, “president moi therefore set out to address this situation confronting him and to address the inequalities suffered by his ethnic group and his allies – the small tribes who had lost out during this period (i.e., the followers of kadu who had merged with kanu in 1964).”32 it is the situations like the foregoing that have dominated africa‟s polity, and as such, bedeviled african greatness. it is in the bid to counter balance politically perceived anomalies that many conflicts erupted on african continent thereby obstructing the necessary peace needed for peaceful coexistence and progress. “it 31 ogachi oanda, “economic reform, political liberalization and ethnic conflict in kenya” african development xxiv, nos. 1 and 2, 1999. quoted in bujra, op.cit., p. 23. 3232 abdalla bujra, op.cit., p. 23. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 174 can be safely argued that by 1990, two decades of policies to advance ethnic and individual economic interest, had created a volatile ethnic situation in kenya. at this point a number of significant forces were beginning to affect the political arena and the economy of kenya.”33this is a common trajectory among african governments till date. c. from the perspective of rwanda the rwandan civil unrest can be sourced to the belgian colonial rule of 1916-1962 which was marked by poor or dissimilar divisions between the two principal ethnicities by the colonial government. tutsis were systematically advantaged when it comes to education and employment over the hutus who were neglected. equally, the belgian administration brought in the idea of identity cards to identify one‟s ethnic origin. these acts expectedly led to tensions between the hutus and tutsis34 these highlight the seminal cause of the problem under discourse, that is, the colonial masters‟ element in the making of africa‟ albatross. “the effects of colonial rule were felt during the next few decades that followed the independence. hutu leaders were determined to retain power rather than repairing the psychological damage done by the colonizers”35 batware says, specifically, in„le rwanda‟ emergence d‟un eat, l‟harmattan, paris 1993, p.103,that f. nahismana pointed out factors that brought the division of rwanda between a pastoral or umukenke zone and an agricultural or ubukonde zone averring categorically that the division is political.36 this political marginalization is seen in circumstances such as this: “in july 1994, an army of tutsi rebels of the rwandese patriotic front set up a new ethnic hegemony based on a search of firm tutsi supremacy in the military administration and the economy.”37 this marginalization is a phenomenon that has appeared to be permanent in african existence. this is well illustrated by shreya samant, when he enthused as follows: the rwanda genocide of 1994 is a mark of shame in the human history. it was a ghastly time where two ethnic races of rwanda were at loggerheads and this conflict resulted in 33 ibid.,p.24. 34 billy batware, “rwandan ethnic conflicts: a historical look at root causes” european peace university, austria 15/1/2012, pp.1-17. 35 ibid., p.2. 36 ibid., p.4. 37 ibid., p.13. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 175 the outright and blatant slaughtering of over 800,000 people in rwanda. the two tribes, tutsi and hutu were the ones involved where the tutsi tribe was the victims and the hutu tribe was the perpetrators. tensions exist between the two even today and even a small spark can ignite the fore of blood and hate in the country.38 d. sudan’s example in line with the thesis of this research work, aleksi ylӧnen maintains that it has been shownhow politicians in africa took to exploit specific factorof individual identities to delineate constituencies and optimally make gains. this was the situation among the elites already during colonialism, but immediately after independence the spreading of the identity of the ruling elite to replace the persisting colonial political boundaries became part and parcel of nation building in a number of states, and in most situations reducing political plurality by the dint of establishment of authoritarian regimes and one-party political systems became the order of the day. as a corollary, repression and co-optation stayed as chief instruments of governance targeted to exploit political and economic inequalities and disequilibria that had occurred during the colonial era or external administration before that. this has projected political decision-making towards making sure of the continuity of elite monopoly of power. in sum, he says: “it is argued here that generally the main motivations that drive regionalist or secessionist movements to take up arms against a government are a combination of political and economic factors, including grievances, greed, and others, all linked to structural conditions, and generated or exacerbated by exclusive and marginalizing state policies.”39 in sudan, peripheral armed conflicts should be viewed as political challenges to the monopolized rule of the state‟s arab-muslim elite that inherited exclusive political power from the british. however, the armed opposition also defies the arab-muslim elite‟s political project of assimilation of the periphery to build a culturally homogenized arabized and islamized polity through extension of their self 38 shreya samant, top 12 most racist countries in the world-listovative. listovative.com˃top12-most-racist-cou… accessed: 20 7 2016 39 aleksi ylӧnen, “on sources of political violence in africa: the case of „marginalizing state‟ in sudan” polit.cult.no.32 mexico ene.2009. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 176 proclaimed arab cultural identity, deeming non-arabs and non-muslims as second class citizens.the implementation of this program was initiated shortly before independence by the northern sudanese nationalists who have instrumentalized it and drawn support and influences from arab states, merging it as part of a repressive system deliberately creating inequality, exclusion, and uneven development, against which marginalized communities of the periphery have mobilized politically and militarily.40 furthermore, the carrying out of the governing elite‟s political objective had buoyed pre-existing political and economic division between the center and the periphery both regionally and ethnic or cultural identity wise. in these conditions, economic progress of the central riverine sudan, the habitat of the arab-muslim patricians, has betrayed the lopsided systematic economic and political marginalization of those peripheral missions. sequel to this, the imbalanced development designs emanating from colonialism have been purposefully maintained, making use of repressive control and policies to enable poverty and dependency, to sustain relative difference in prosperity between the ruling patricians and its constituency in the center and the marginalized periphery, eliciting political and economic unhappiness among the regional aristocrats and their followers.41 it is a quotidian fact that in sudan numerous groups and regions have been marginalized or isolated outrightly from political and economic endeavours, like political participation and economic development. this marginalization and isolation has been intentionally executed, standardized and institutionalized in the ruling systems, governance, and strategies of sudan‟s „marginalizing state‟, which has guaranteed its minority central riverine arab-muslim ruling patricians‟ sole control of political power. tracing the sources of conflicts in sudan, aleksi further argues that calculated violence against the state in southern sudan first emerged in the era of decolonization in the mid-1950s. that its structural causes are cardinally connected to the policies of the colonial „marginalizing state‟ advantaging arab-muslim groups economically and politically, while southern sudan excluded from the northern parts from the 1920s to the 1940s, was excised from both political participation and economic development. that misgivings, lack of trust towards 40 ibid. 41ibid. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 177 northerners linked with the bequeath of violence of the 19th century slave raiding, the sole control of the state machinery by the arab-muslim aristocrats, and the loss of hope for economic progress and job opportunity in the efforts of de-colonization turned out to be crucial inspiring factors for the advancing southern political patricians to demand for guarantees or federal arrangement for the southern region to avoid the dreaded domination by the more educated, and economically and politically better placed northern arab-muslims.42 as the instances broached in this paper reveal, the causes of conflicts in sudan have been principally political and related to governance of the „marginalizing state‟. the lack of just redistribution of economic resources nationally is an important element producing grievances which are principally political ones because the distribution of material wealth is dictated by political power and political decisions. even the more clandestine organized violent rebel leaders, is conditioned to the political situation. thus, economic agendas and motivation related to the conflicts in sudan, and in a number of other african countries, are inherent to their political context.43 e. the case of angola talking about the historical and root causes of angola‟s inequality at independence, kamia opines that, first, it is occasioned bythe racial bequeath of colonialism and the sub-human politics of assimilation. that in the course of portuguese governance in angola, few black angolans were positioned in strategic posts within the government. the greater number of doctors, teachers, lawyers, municipal administrators, and industrial workers were non blacks. contrary to this, the local angolans, known as indigena, were envisioned to fish, plow, and to be blacksmiths and cattle herders. the setting up of a two-tier system of citizens‟ rights which permitted for the indigena population to attain a new status and climb up the social ladder, premised on their acknowledgement of european values and customs was part of the portuguese colonizers‟ vision for establishing a „modern‟ colony in angola. superficially, the assimilado strategy appears less aggressive if one juxtaposes it with the apartheid 42ibid. 43ibid. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 178 experienced in south africa. “however, it alienates, disintegrates, separates, and marginalizes. in short, it creates inequality. the only difference is that apartheid was practised in the open and assimilado had been done clandestinely. both policies dehumanized the native africans and fundamentally changed their traditional economic activities.”44 quoting cornelio caley, kamia says: the main conclusions of his preliminary analysis on the issue point to the continuing practice of assimilation and discrimination as designed by the colonial powers. this is still being applied with naming and distinguishing between the variations of colour or mixed races (branco puro, cabrito, mestiço, mestiço escuro e claro, cafuso, negro escuro e claro) still playing a role in the access to education, jobs and resources. the main problem is that the issue is often ignored and simply presented as an issue of education.45 f. central african republic experience for louisa lombard, at the end of 19th century, central africa was being integrated into trans-sahara (muslim) network via the creation of raiding-andtrading outposts. the advent of the french initially gave a spike in the slaveraiding. the french deemed the raiding sultans useful as go-betweens, hence, arming and equipping them. but at the turn of events the french murdered the most powerful raiding sultan when they felt he would run to a new place where he would be more difficult to be controlled. trans-saharan network remained crucial, continues lombard, butthat after the first ten years of the 20th century, the vibrant trade and warfare were supplanted by stagnation, and french administrative efforts remained centralized in the capital. they temporarily gave outalmost all the colony to concessionary firms. the abode of most muslims, the northeast, was pronounced an „autonomous district‟ for it was too secluded and depopulated to keep up with the circulars given out in the capital. due to the fact that the territory is inhabited almost solely by „foreigners‟, says lombard, the central government performs little or no function there. 44kamia victor de carvalho, luciano chianeque and albertina delgado, “inequality in angola,”p.48.www.osisa.org/sites/default/files/sup_files/chapter1-angola.pdfaccessed: 20/7/2016. 45 ibid., p.82. http://www.osisa.org/sites/default/files/sup_files/chapter1-angola.pdfaccessed igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 179 individualsin northeastern car feel abandoned. people with islamic-sounding names are forced to pay more at the roadblocks that is a common place experience especially in the southern and western areas of the country than individuals with christian names, and it is knottier for people from the northeast to acquire national identity documents. many muslims, such as former president michel djotodia, adopt a christian name in order to reduce the discrimination they meet on daily basis. the consequence of this political mishandling is what lombard summed thus: members of the rebel groups that emerged in northeastern car between 2006 and 2009 and eventually became part of seleka took up arms not so much to replace the government as to force it to distribute more largess to them. among their grievances: the largest town in northeastern-most vakaga prefecture, sikkikede, had not seen a government official in nearly a decade. people in the northeast are in a bind: not central african enough for the car, but not foreign enough to count as citizens of other countries, either.46 the foregoing amply shows the malaise of political marginalization as the albatross of african greatness. it shows as well how it is an inherited problem from the colonial masters. apart from the foregoing instances of political marginalization in africa as a continent, related to it is the fact that africans seem to have a serious dislike for their fellow africans, what we termed in this paper as the issues around the inclusion of the other. that is to say, challenges emanating due to fellow africans who found themselves living in a particular african society. this phenomenon is bothinter-africa and intra-africa. the former is illustrated by jonny steinberg below. he says, between 1984 and the end of hostilities in mozambique, an estimated 50,000 to 350,000 mozambican fled to south africa. while never granted refugee status they were technically permitted to stay in the bantustans or black homelands established by the apartheid regime. the situation was more ununiformd, with the homeland of lebowa not allowing mozambican settlers; 46 louisa lombard, “central african republic—marginalization is the problem not incipient genocide”https://africajournalismtheworld.com/2014/01/27/central-africanrepublicmarginalization-is-the-problem-not-incipient-genocide/accessed: 20/7/2016. https://africajournalismtheworld.com/2014/01/27/central-african-republicmarginalization-is-the-problem-not-incipient-genocide/ https://africajournalismtheworld.com/2014/01/27/central-african-republicmarginalization-is-the-problem-not-incipient-genocide/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 180 the gazankulu welcomed the refugees with open hands and supported them in the manner of land and equipment. “those in gazankulu, however, found themselves confined to the homeland and liable for deportation should they enter south africa proper, and evidence exists that their hosts denied them access to economic resources.”47 similarly, he points out further,“unrest and civil war likewise saw large numbers of congolese immigrate to south africa, many illegally, in 1993 and 1997. subsequent studies found indications of xenophobic attitudes towards these refugees, typified by their being denied access to the primary healthcare to which they were technically entitled.” 48echoing the same phenomenon, justin nwankwo and obinna ofozoba stated as follow: “…. however, seven years after, in 2015, xenophobic attacks have again resonated and meted out on zambians, zimbabweans, botswana‟s, congolese, nigerians and indeed a whole lot of foreigners who were legally living and working in the cities of south africa.” 49 it is not only in south africa, similar experiences exist in other african countries but south africa appears to be the worst. from intra-africa perspective, it is a known fact that in some african countries, albinos and hunchbacks are still kidnapped and used for ritual issues by their own brethren. in nigeria, the intra-africa relationship is quite worrisome. today we experience a scenario where people will carry their cows recklessly into other people‟s farmlands for grazing; as such destroying the farmers‟ efforts and, when the farmers protest they are either maimed or killed outrightly and the government of the day keeps mute because the cattle rearers are of the same ethnic extract with them. in the same country, the constitution speaks of a secular state, but in a broad day light, members of the muslim communities have unprovocatively killed christians even to the extent of invading a church on a friday disrupting their worship and damaging their property in the claim that christians have only on sundays to gather for worship. and the government of the day abets such crimes with its calculated silence. all these negative elements have: kept africans in their own countries, homes as slaves, second-class citizens, consequently unhappy with the vexing question as to whether they are fully 47jonny steinberg, “iss monograph no.117: mozambican and congolese refugees in south africa: a mixed reception” institute of security studies oct.3.2008 48 ibid. 49justin o.nwankwo and obinna c. ofozoba, “xenophobia and south african uprising: reflections on ubuntu as an african philosophy of peace” in emmanuel c. umezinwa et al (eds) humanities and african values, (awka: fab anieh nig.ltd, 2016), p. 4. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 181 included in their supposed countries, homes and, in the overall, have inhibited africa‟s quest for greatness. the situation as seen above calls for a genuine dialogue among africans both at the intra-african and inter-african relationships. of all the models of dialogue, habermas‟ discourse ethics holds the most promising platform and that is why this paper recourses to it. 3. discourse ethics of habermas as a way forward to understand habermas‟ discourse ethics, one has to know his idea of communicative rationality that propelled his theory of communicative action which in turn informed his idea of discourse ethics. these steps to be taken are occasioned by the fact that it is rationality that forms the leit motif of his philosophical endeavours. for habermas, this concept of communicative rationality carries with it connotations based ultimately on the central experience of the unconstrained , unifying, consensus-bringing force of argumentative speech, in which different participants overcome their merely subjective views, and owing to the mutuality of rationally motivated conviction, assure themselves of both the unity of the objective world and the intersubjectivity of their lifeworld.50 with the above foundation laid, habermas postulates communicative action in the following terms. in communicative action participants are not primarily oriented to their own individual successes; they pursue their individual goals under the condition that they can harmonize their plans of action on the basis of common situation definition. in this respect the negotiation of definitions of the situation is an essential element of the interpretive accomplishments required for communicative action. 51 50habermas jürgen, the theory of communicative action vol.1. (cambridge: polity press, 1984), p.10. 51 ibid., p.286. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 182 “the concept of communicative action presupposes language as the medium for a kind of reaching understanding, in the course of which participants, through relating to a world, reciprocally raise validity claims that can be accepted or contested.” 52 the foregoing articulations gave rise to habermas‟ idea of discourse ethics which he named a programme of philosophical justification. this justification carries with it the barrage of two most important steps: (a) a principle of universalization that serves as a rule of argumentation in practical discourse and (b) the rule of argumentation is grounded in terms of the substance of the pragmatic presuppositions of argumentation as such in relation to an explication of the meaning of normative claims to validity.53discourse ethics, therefore, is informed by two principles, namely: principle of universalization (u) and the principle of discourse ethics (d). the principle of universalization (u) stipulates that: “for a norm to be valid, the consequences and side effects that its general observance can be expected to have for the satisfaction of the particular interest of each person affected must be such that all affected can accept them freely.”54 while the principle of discourse ethics (d) states that: “every valid norm would meet with the approval of all concerned if they could take part in a practical discourse.”55 habermas explains practical discourse as “a procedure for testing the validity of hypothetical norm, not for producing justified norms. it is this proceduralism that sets discourse ethics apart from other cognitivist, universalist and formalist ethical theories, and thus from rawls‟ theory of justice as well.”56 these principles mainly unite peoples‟ minds, course of actions through common understanding in the background of rational argumentation. explaining the four cardinal traits of argumentation, that is, rules of the principle of discourse ethics (d), habermas opines: that nobody who could make a relevant contribution may be excluded ;(ii) that all participants are granted an equal opportunity to make contributions.(iii) that the participants must mean what they say; and(iv) that communication must be freed from external and internal coercion so that the 52ibid., p.99. 53habermas jürgen, moral consciousness and communicative action, (cambridge: mit press,1983),p.116. 54 ibid.,p.120. 55ibid.,p.121. 56ibid,,p.122. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 183 “yes” or “no” stance that participants adopt on criticizable validity claims are motivated solely by the rational force of the better reasons.57 furthermore, habermas states that: if everyone who engages in argumentation must make at least these pragmatic presuppositions, then in virtue of (i) the public character of practical discourses and the inclusion of all concerned and (ii) the equal weight to the interests and evaluative orientations of everybody can influence the outcome of practical discourses; and because of the absence of (iii) deception and (iv) coercion, nothing but reasons can tip the balance in favor of the acceptance of a controversial norm. finally, on the assumption that participants reciprocally impute an orientation to communicative agreement to one another, this „uncoerced‟ acceptance can only occur „jointly‟ or „collectively‟.58 the hallmark of habermas‟ discourse ethics above is that in practical discourse, that is, open discussion in the background of equality of all, freedom of all, sincerity of all, without any form of coercion apart from the rational force of better reasons of argument; that people can harmoniously live together without much tension occasioned by pent-up unresolved differences having talked out their grievances and being listened to as well. indeed africans in different african countries need this form of genuine dialogue in order to live peacefully among themselves. it is the absence of this kind of quality dialogue that has kept the continent where it is till date. indeed, there is no gainsaying the salutary effects of this dialogical method if employed in tackling the problem of political marginalization in africa. it will help to resolve our problems amicably having carried everybody along after thorough discussions that must have allowed all to voice their grievances. these positive effects of habermas‟ discourse ethics notwithstanding, one will not hesitate to point out that its major flaw lies in the fact that it is overtly relied on 57habermas jürgen, the inclusion of the other: studies in political theory, (cambridge: mit press, 1998),p.44. 58ibid. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 184 reasoning alone as a means of conflict resolution. and this rationality dependent of discourse ethics is far from being objective and universal as habermas would make one believe. his discourse ethics is purely western oriented and exclusive of other means of conflict resolution that can be found in other worldviews outside of the west.in the view of mechthild nagel, there is a ring of unobjectivity in habermas‟s discourse ethics. for him, discourse ethics is alien to african way of discussion in terms of settling disputes or conflict resolution but only oriented to the western style of democracy. “..., discourse ethic insists on the primacy of democratic institutions and values and therefore, it is only applicable in communities and states where „pure‟ western style of democracy is enforced.”59 in the same vein, quoting ali mazrui as claiming that the complex histories of african nation-state are beholden to a “triple heritage,”60 nagel argues that “..., a far more complex social ordering occurs in the post-colonial world than in the global north”, and that “habermas‟s discourse model could be considered monological in so far as the intersubjective equality demand concerns only a community of scholars who share a precise hermeneutic and cultural background.”61 against habermas‟s sole dependence on rational arguments or better reasons winning in discourse, nagel poses the question “..., what of the claim that „non-rational‟ arguments might win out in subaltern discourses?”62 using the account of adjudication in navajo (diné) peacemaking circles given by a criminologist hal pepinsky, that is, mere narration by each party to a case‟s point of view, nagel maintains that these peacemaking circles are equally termed healing circles for they resolve conflict and not administer punishment or establish a win-lose judgement. in essence, what appears as non-rational to a western observer is ingrained in a cultural-spiritual world-view.63that is to say; the reality of this non-rational approach counters and vitiates habermas‟s sole reliance on rational basis. coming to this angle of incompleteness (that is, exclusion of non-rational approach) of habermas‟s theory, nagel opines thus: discourse theory presumes the cultural, homogeneous background of social contract theory, the enlightenment and western democratic ideals, which in fact are not 59 mechthild nagel, “what if habermas went native?” peace studies journal vol.1. issue1. fall 2008 p.7. 60 mazrui, a.a. the africans: a triple heritage (bbc). quoted in mechthild nagel, op.cit., p.8. 61 mechthild nagel, op.cit., p.8. 62 ibid. 63 ibid.,pp.8-9. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 185 universalizable. it is unfortunate that habermas seems to forego the opportunity to shed light with the tools of critical theory onto subaltern histories of struggle at the same time that he ordains discourse theory to have universalizaiton import.64 the point raised by nagel above simply buttresses our view that habermas thought his discourse ethics to be objective and universal which it is not.furthermore, habermas has no room for violence in his discourse ethics. we are of the view that violence is another means of conflict resolution for those who can only be drawn to the table of negotiation through that means alone. the phenomenon of niger delta avengers‟ use of violence in the form of destruction of oil installations -the mainstay of nigeria‟s economyand the federal government of nigeria‟s new position in terms of calling for dialogue with the avengers, is a good testament to the efficacy of violence as another veritable means of conflict resolution. but that should be used when the need for it arises. with habermas‟ rationality approach, non-rational approach as well coupled with violence as a method of conflict resolution, the researchers here firmly believe that the issue of political marginalization and issues around the inclusion of the other in africa will be seriously addressed. 4. concluding remarks in this piece, we made the case that the primary challenge to africa‟s quest for greatness is the issue of political marginalization which breeds other forms of problems with it. it was abundantly made clear that this albatross to africa‟s greatness is rooted in the colonial masters‟ use of divide-and–rule policy in africa then. this fact as a common problem to almost all african countries was buttressed with instances from african countries that represent the sub-divisions of african continent. with that done the paper proceeded to buy into the logic of habermas‟ discourse ethics as a good tool to resolving the problem under study. however, the researchers pointed out the over emphasis on rationality to the neglect of other means of conflict resolution as a major flaw in habermas‟ efforts. in conclusion, categorically, we are of the view that with the combination of habermas‟ signature of forceless force of better argument being allowed to prevail through genuine dialogue as he outlined, with the non-rational approach 64 ibid.,p.9. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 186 cum application of violence when the need arises; the issue of political marginalization as africa‟s albatross will meaningfully be addressed thereby paving way for the much sought out greatness. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 142 a review of anthony kanu‟s “igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering” nnoruga james, ph.d department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe university, awka anambra state nnorugajames@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.28703.51361 the problem of evil and human suffering have being a disturbing factor for human being since the existence of the world. human being has been trying their best to stop or reduce the source of evil and human sufferings it brings to human existence. but it seems the more human beings tries to stop it, the more it increases in the everyday lives of human beings. not only does it keeps increasing but in different dimensions. does it mean that it has no end, or its source cannot be traced or controlled? hence kanu came up with igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. this paper under review is timely in our society today judging from number of human beings going into depression, becoming mad over night due to one suffering or problem of the other. again many people in our society are committing suicide because problem of evil and its consequent suffering that follows it. the problem of evil and its suffering to human being ranges from psychological, emotional to so many other deeper problems. the paper under review tries to give a response to these problems in order to ameliorate human sufferings. the paper is divided into five parts for easy understanding and its application towards solving problems of human suffering. the introductory part traces the origin of evil through igbo mythology which dates back to the earliest periods of human history. in the western world, the problem of evil and human sufferings has agitated many authors like augustine who sought the answer to the problem of evil and human suffering. though kanu made it clear that the aim of this paper is not about the origin of human suffering but on how to help human sufferings, hence several approaches were examined but an igbo-african wholistic approach was adopted to explain and help human suffering. mailto:nnorugajames@gmail.com https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.28703.51361?_sg%5b0%5d=mrxx0w1c49be1vvaby9sn1visj8exrdfdkdhxkedoo6bhkgz_vsgm7zxtpsm1bbd9vacl03zftbv5sxb8mj0cpzzea.olygo13oqi-taoioogrxxp6paj18kpkjm5do-foocpgd9pr73wlghn7ywnzeww5tyzq54r6cady4ozqm5syfmg igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 143 in the approaches to the problem of evil and human suffering, dualistic approach holds that there are two opposing forces at work in the world good and evil (bad), light and darkness. this view was rejected because it is opposed to monotheism of christian god. augustine advanced the manichean dualistic approach in solving the problem of evil. the manicheans claimed that ormuzd and ahriman are two principles of good and evil respectively found in the world. their conflicts reflect the evil found in the world but this was rejected by augustine in favour of plotinus. the classical approach or augustinian theodicy holds the view that evil and human suffering came as a result of free choice of human beings, beginning with adam and even (original son). augustine divided human nature into three states: the state of original blessedness, fallenness and restored nature. the question that arises from this approach is: is very human suffering caused by the free choice of human beings? hence, the theory does not really hold water. the expiatory approach sees evil and human suffering as god‘s punishment. this means that god punishes humans by evil and suffering. according to kanu its flaws lies on the view that it distorts our understanding of god as loving and merciful father. redemptive approach sees our suffering as redemptive. it took its root or reference to the suffering servant songs in isaiah and on the passion and death of jesus christ. it is criticized on the ground that human being cannot possess the redemptive power being just ordinary human. process approach sees evil and suffering as realities that one will pass through, in an unfinished world, evolving towards its goals. this view according to kanu (2014) is criticized because it potrays god as being harsh and suffering as necessary condition of life. remedial approach sees evil and suffering as being remedial, that is god uses them as tests. god uses suffering and evil to test our love towards him. this view among other things sees god as harsh task master. faith solution approach sees evil and suffering as mysteries. in the face of suffering one is to follow or imitate the examples of job and jesus christ without questioning the situation. though accepted more by christians because it focuses on jesus christ. it is faulted for its tendency to promote ―christian masochism‖. the third part of the paper dealt with igwebuike as a wholistic approach to human suffering. kanu described the concept of igwebuike in general. igwebuike according to kanu is therefore, ―a philosophy of harmonization and complementation‖ (p. 7). it is anchored on the african world view, from igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 144 philosophy of igwebuike as being complementary; it shows that no individual approach to the problem of evil and human suffering can adequately provides solution of evil and suffering among human beings. igwebuike with its principle of solidarity among people can always attack evil and human suffering in a wholistic manner. the pragmatic approach being adopted by igwebuike is heavily anchored on the basis that it is indifference that makes evil to persist. kanu advocated that there is need for an ethics of responsibility in the face of evil and human suffering, that is, massively seeking for solution and massively attacking the evil rather than sit and look towards the future or just hoping on god as other approaches advocated. in this case, igwebuike as a principle reminds us of the adage that ―necessity is the mother of inventions‖. it is through the moral responsibility of community in the face of human suffering that solution can be found. community in solidarity will always find a practical way to alleviate human suffering posing a challenge in a community. in conclusion, kanu argues positively the necessity of a wholistic approach to the problem of human suffering. different approaches as parts of the whole cannot give solution to the problem of human suffering. common problems equally calls for common solution like in the spread of infectious diseases called ebola. the solidarity of igwebuike was needed and was used in curbing the situation. igwebuike as a concept, through its propagator kanu has helped us, especially the africans to seek unity in every thing we are doing since it is in our world view and natural to africans. for individualism on the western world has affected our world view negatively. on the contrary, the problem of evil and human suffering is not tied to some parts of world, for igwebuike as a concept seems to suggest that it can only fit into the context of the african world views. since we have mentioned that the problem of evil and human suffering is universal. so, the complementary and solidarity of igwebuike cannot be practiced in the western world because of individualism seemingly practiced by them, what then remains about them in response to problem of evil and human suffering since it is community based? igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 145 bibliography kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and and logic (nka) of african philosophy‖. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2015a). a hermeutic approach to the study of african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015b). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no. 1.[ 97-101]. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 44 relegation of the youth to the margins of public service: an enervating feature of contemporary african societies okoro charles kenechukwu, ph.d department of philosophy, university of nigeria, nsukka. charles.okoro@unn.edu.ng; kenecharles@yahoo.com 07032712275 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract the youth constitute greater percentage of the efficient workforce of virtually every human society. indeed, healthy, educated, and gainfully employed youth are the drivers of national development. the african tradition has a socio-cultural framework that favours gerontocracy, as an ideal system of leadership. it also advances an epistemological orientation that associates wisdom with advancement in age. this system, as examined in this discourse, has unfavourable implications for development in africa. the association of wisdom with age often culminates in the relegation of the youth to the margins of public service. thus, the youth play second fiddle to the elders whose wise counsels are often presumed to be absolute ideals. this paper contends that the african socio-political climate is not altogether youth-friendly as far as leadership is concerned. denying young people of the opportunity of utilizing their characteristic vigour for the society’s development amounts to stifling useful ideas, occasions energy leakage and loss, as well as effects unwarranted wastage of invaluable human resources. as a panacea to this limitation, the paper recommends a radical re-orientation in africa’s perspective on leadership. the paper ultimately defends the thesis that a conscious and habitual integration of the youth’s potentials into the mainstream of african leadership framework would make for efficiency and effectiveness, thereby fostering sustainable development in contemporary african societies. key words: the youth, african societies, gerontocracy, marginalization, public service introduction the apparent setback experienced by many modern african societies lends credence to the urgency of the project of re-structuring and remodeling of their administrative policies and programmes. this paper identifies the underutilization of the youth’s potentials as a factor militating against efficient igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 45 public service in contemporary african societies. it advances the thesis that the obvious, perhaps inadvertent, negligence of the youth’s critical role in national development in africa has a causal link with african socio-cultural orientation. it promotes an authoritarian-epistemological tradition that associates wisdom and insight mainly with advancement in age. such epistemological tradition not only undermines the effective utilization of the youth’s potentials and militates against their active participation in leadership but also weakens the fibers of development in contemporary african societies. while acknowledging that wisdom, to a considerable extent, correlates with accumulated wealth of experience, it is observed that age does not exhaust the essence of wisdom or experience. after all, precociousness remains a conceivable human attribute. against the backdrop that time is a critical factor in the utilization of ideas, this discourse observes that the useful ideas of a given generation of people could become obsolete, irrelevant, unsuitable and untenable if they are not timely utilized, as they would fail to square with realities and experiences of another generation. such ideas could, at best, become square pegs in round holes. the contemporary african societies must tap from the resources availed by the progressive, innovative and adventurous mindset of their youth. it is imperative, therefore, to review the stiff-necked, inflexible, and age-conditioned approach to knowledge and leadership with a view to improving youth involvement in public service, since their novel ideas can add value to contemporary leadership principles and policies. hence, it is argued that the wisdom and experience of the aged must be complemented with the characteristic vigour of the youths in order to ensure positive development in contemporary african societies. the african youth: definition, delineation, and prospects while an unquestionably universal and all-embracing definition of the concept “african culture” or “african ideology” may not be possible, the fact remains that a considerable number of values cut across the diverse african socio-cultural orientations. thus, in spite of their apparently varying shades, there is a certain commonality in the different african ideological orientations. the common social, cultural, political, religious and ethical values shape their thoughts and worldview, determine their socio-political framework, and form the basis of their actions. indeed, it is on the basis of such similar or common denominatorprinciples that they are conceived as a people. in furtherance of this line of thought, martin meredith (2011:14) affirms the existence of underlying common features among african countries thus: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 46 although africa is a continent of great diversity, african states have much in common, not only their origins as colonial testimonies, but the similar hazards and difficulties they have faced. indeed, what is so striking about the fifty-year period since independence is the extent to which african states have suffered so many of the same misfortunes. against this backdrop, one finds justification for such working concepts as african culture, african tradition, african ideology, african mindset, african worldview, etc. in the light of this, too, one can reasonably conceive and discuss the african youth as a group of young people having a mindset specifically formed by their immediate african socio-cultural environment. at least a geographical criterion belts the young people inhabiting definite african regions and sharing similar socio-cultural values and ideologies. generally, the youth have the natural wherewithal to play critical role in public service and in economic development of any nation, given that they constitute the greater percentage of the active and efficient work force of many human societies. a society that relegates its major work force to the background, inadvertently cuts off the branch on which it is sitting. in the foreword to the regional situation analysis report of the united nations’ economic commission for africa, abdalla hamdok (february 2017) shares this view as he observes that the “potential of young people is the driving force of our collective prosperity. this is particularly relevant to africa, whose population is projected to represent over 40 per cent of the world’s young people, in less than three generations. by 2050, the teeming numbers of young africans are forecast to form over a quarter of the world’s labour force. moreover, there is growing consensus that africa’s youthfulness will continue to grow for the next 50 years while the other continents are aging.” corroborating the central idea expressed in this discourse, that the marginalization of the youths in african militates against the achievement of the sustainable development goals in the continent, hamdok (february 2017) further writes: …young africans who should give momentum to the continent’s transformation are largely alienated and marginalized. although past decades have seen advances in terms of policy commitments to youth development, both nationally and regionally, such gains have not always been matched by actions on the ground. far too many young people are still jobless, and struggle to access public resources and quality social services. they are barely involved in policy formulation and programme design as their participation in politics and decision-making is limited and often ad igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 47 hoc. at the same time, the yardstick for success of african countries will be adequately measured by future generations if policies are weighed against action to foster transformative and inclusive development. the united nations defines youth as persons between the ages of 15 and 24. the un also recognizes that this varies without prejudice to other age groups listed by member states such as 18-30. however, within the universe of this discourse, the concept of youth goes beyond specific delineation of numeric age-bracket or definite age range. the emphasis is rather on the prime of human existence, when one expresses optimum functionality in terms of physical and mental relevance as well as maximal utilization of one’s potentials for the benefit of the society. thus, the youthful age is characterized by a great measure of creative powers, astute mindset, skilled hands and broad-range of positive ideas capable of engendering positive transformation of the society, positioning it for socio-economic progress. in the brookings report, african youth leadership: building local leaders to solve global challenges, landry signe (march 2019) identifies accountable leadership and youth empowerment as effective panacea to the challenges of development in africa. expressing the hope that youth inclusion in governance would lead to successful economic transformation, and strengthen democracy and governance in africa, he writes: accountable leadership remains one of the biggest challenges to development in african. leaders in africa have not always responded effectively to the needs of the continent, but there is hope in the rising generation of youth who could play a critical role in building accountability for successful economic transformation, representation, and public service. the urgency of these efforts is not lost on the youth, as they have the most to lose if solutions are not enacted. the human resources, science and technology department of the african union (january 2021) acknowledges the youth as a formidable force of development in africa and expresses the imperative of promoting effective youth participation in public service. in its report on youth development, the department observes that “africa has the youngest population in the world with more than 400 million young people aged between the ages of 15 to 35 years. such a youthful population calls for an increase of investment in economic and social development factors, in order to improve the development index of african nations.” in its effort to reposition the african youth, the summit of the african union, in july 2006, adopted the african youth charter (ayc) as a political and legal igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 48 document which serves as the strategic framework that gives direction to youth empowerment and development at the continental, regional and national levels. the charter basically aims at strengthening, reinforcing and consolidating efforts to empower young people through meaningful participation and equal partnership in driving africa’s development agenda. thus, the african youth charter, which is one of the au’s youth development policies and programmes, highlights the rights, freedoms and duties of young people in african; it recommends the protection of young people from discrimination and ensures freedom of movement, speech, association, religion, ownership of property and other human rights, while committing to promoting youth participation throughout the human society. gerontocracy: the metaphysical and religious foundations of african epistemological tradition gerontocracy, within the purview of this discourse, is understood as a form of oligarchical rule in which an entity is ruled by leaders who are significantly older than most of the adult population, or a society where leadership is reserved for elders (https://en.mwikipedia.org). it refers to a form of social organization in which a group of old men or a council of elders dominates or exercises control (https://www.merriam-webster.com). the concept succinctly describes the sociopolitical climate of most contemporary african societies. it advances a conceptual scheme in which wisdom is largely considered a function of old age. thus, the subtle variations in individual african cultures notwithstanding, there exists a predominant frame of mind that undergirds its epistemological system, one that associates wisdom with advancement in age. this fosters a worldview or ideology that largely bears on africa’s leadership values. against the backdrop that the general characterization of authentic african epistemological tradition is that it consists of a canonization of age-related or experience-based knowledge, a popular expression among africans holds, “the words of our fathers are words of wisdom.” this expression has more than an epistemological or cognitive import or significance; it is an expressive index of profound african socio-cultural ideology. it largely squares with francis bacon’s idea of associating knowledge with power (bacon, 1902: xvii). the association of wisdom with age and experience not only culminates in the conferment of leadership authority on the elders but also projects them as reliable sources of knowledge and truth. they are seen as sages and often consulted for solutions in matters of great dispute. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 49 the african epistemological orientation and the leadership roles assigned to the elders have both metaphysical and, especially, religious justifications. the high regard accorded the elders in african traditional religion transcends ordinary respect for elders associated with the ethics of the temporal order. given that religion pervades virtually every aspect of life in africa, including modes of dressing, eating, working, dancing, praying, etc., the authority of the elders has a religious undertone, and is considered uniquely sacrosanct. moreover, the african ontology features a belief in an interlocking relationship between the physical and the spiritual realms of existence, as well as an intertwining hierarchy of beings, in which the elders are next in rank to the ancestors, who are closer to the gods. a considerable number of the ancestors are dead elders who lived decent lives and have received proper burial. this belief system, sometimes considers the gods as deified heroes of the past, including kings and warriors. shango, the yoruba god of lightning and thunder, for instance, is believed to have been the fourth king of oyo, the ancient yoruba capital (parrinder, 1974: 47). buttressing this thought, e. g. parrinder (1974: 27) observes: …but it should be clear that there is no sharp dividing line between sacred and secular such as is usually assumed in europe. material and spiritual are intertwined, the former as a vehicle of the latter. those who have crossed to that further shore are with us still, in dreams in offerings, in rites performed and oracles consulted. indeed, they are nearer than before, and as being invisible one cannot tell when they are around. on the strength of its metaphysical and religious backdrop, the african epistemological tradition is predominantly authoritarian and has the tendency to stifle independent thoughts. while it often expresses critical and rational insights, it sometimes features uncritical thoughts, rationally unjustifiable body of knowledge and highly contestable assumptions. unfortunately, when the latter is the case, its tenets and presuppositions are hardly opposed given their authoritarian feature. this approach to human knowledge finds an appropriate critique in book i of francis bacon’s celebrated work, the advancement of learning, published in 1605. bacon (1851:35) identified and criticized what he characterized as the three “distempers of learning” or vanities in studies, namely, “fantastical learning,” “contentious learning,” and “delicate learning,” (otherwise known as “vain imaginations,” “vain altercations,” and vain affectations,” respectively). these distempers of learning entail using fixed positions and unverified assumptions of earlier thinkers as starting points for epistemological inquiries and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 50 contentious argumentation. they unduly emphasize trivialities, profess ideas that lack substantial foundation, and stifle genuine intellectual progress. from bacon’s perspective, therefore, the distempers of learning offer a false route to knowledge and advance an epistemological tradition that mixes up superstition and unguided speculations, and has the tendency to distort the mind’s capacity to acquire true knowledge. jettisoning this approach, he advocates for a new approach to knowledge based on a new method of observation and interpretation of nature. in fact, for him learning and human progress require rechanneling human’s creative energy into socially useful new discoveries. unarguably, the emphasis on the wisdom of the african sages has its merits. to a very large extent it highlights the pragmatic essence of knowledge. its communalistic undertone naturally accords with epistemological values that enhance the common good. however, its extreme conservatism and rigidity do not often square with the innovative and progressive dispositions of the youth. its dogmatism and “dictatorship of the old” contribute a great deal to the marginalization of the youth. notably, too, human knowledge, human experience and their concerns are sometimes generation-specific. hence, current and useful ideas could, in the course of time, become obsolete and hardly square with contemporary realities. insisting, therefore, on solving modern problems with obsolete ideas amounts to putting a square peg in a round hole. a more objective approach to human knowledge, therefore, should embrace dynamism and openness as its essential features. youth marginalization in leadership: implications for african development the socio-cultural, political, economic, religious, and sciento-technological institutions of the modern human society are often sustained by the youth as its basic work force. the sublime imports of the youthful vigour would be largely undermined if they are not gainfully employed or brought to bear on the life of their community. indeed, the relegation of the youths to the margins of public service or, worse still, their total exclusion from issues that naturally concern them has a plethora of unfavourable consequences for the youths in particular and the society in general. the oligarchical political structure characteristic of most traditional african societies borders on traditional hereditary monarchies and chiefdoms. the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 51 monarchical system of administration allows the king or the traditional ruler to stay in office till death. the exclusivity this feature brings to bear on leadership overflows into the mainstream administrative structures of the modern african countries, fosters a tendency for political office holders to remain sit-tight, occasions youth disenfranchisement and ultimately undermines national development. corroborating meredith’s view that such unwholesome desire of african leaders to perpetuate themselves in office undermines socio-political progress in the continent, w.f. deedes (see meredith, 2011) writes: “it is true, as meredith says, that fifty years after the start of africa’s independence, the prospects seem bleaker than ever before. he is right, too, in asserting that africa has suffered grievously from its big men and the ruling elite’s preoccupation with holding power for self-enrichment.” the authoritarian epistemological tradition stimulated by the african culture and tradition inadvertently advances a stereotyped and sacrosanct perspective on reality, which often stifles ingenuity and limits independent thoughts. there is a natural tendency among many africans to hold onto their values and traditions with the pertinacity of the asp, thereby maintaining an attitude that hardly yields to the allurements of dynamism. with regard to human knowledge, such unyielding insistence that wisdom is an exclusive prerogative of the elder’s smacks of ‘adult chauvinism’, stifles resourcefulness, and whittles creativity among the youth down to the lowest ebb. such inadvertent negligence or subtle disregard for the youth, with its consequent exclusion of the youth from mainstream public service and administration, breeds disgruntled, unproductive and indolent youth. this often manifests in youth restiveness or indifference to public service, either of which weakens the fibers of the contemporary african societies and undermines their progress. among other identifiable positive imports, the modern advancement in science and technology occasioned an expansion of the frontiers of human knowledge, enhanced human cognitive capacities with a decisive impact on knowledge acquisition and utilization. hence, sagacity cannot be considered an exclusive reserve of the aged. in addition to their youthful vigour, therefore, younger people could demonstrate wisdom and good judgment approximating to those of the elders. the wise saying in igbo language “onye nje nje ka onye isi awo ama ihe” (one who is widely travelled is often more experienced than the grey-haired) beautifully captures this idea, as it suggests that old age alone cannot guarantee wisdom. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 52 an administrative system the mainstream of which feature mainly those at the twilight of their lives neither favours the old nor the young. save in a number of cases where experience of the elders may be of essence, the ideas of the older generation may be unfashionable, untenable and even irrelevant to contemporary concerns. moreover, the burden of governance with its attendant challenges may not be altogether good for the health and general well-being of the aged. the youth, on the other hand, are denied the opportunity to make their timely contribution in such a system. sometimes the hitherto ingenious ideas of the youth also become obsolete by the time they are given opportunity to lead. the thoughts of shakespeare (1951:993) in julius caesar (act iv, scene iii, lines 216 – 222), as captured in brutus’ words to cassius, aptly express the imperative of timely utilization of ideas and opportunities thus: “there is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune: omitted, all the voyage of their life, is bound in shallows and in miseries. on such a full sea are we now afloat, and we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures.” no doubt, a number of unsung heroes have lived and died in africa without recognition and the society never benefitted from their gifts and talents consequent upon an epistemological system and worldview that often promote the subordination of ingenuity and even precociousness to age. youthful ideas that are not timely and gainfully employed become redundant, fossilized, atrophied, useless, and eventually lost. the youth, from the african perspective, may be limited in experience, but they are never bereft of decisive potentials capable of stimulating a positive transformation in contemporary african societies. in contrast to the older people who are naturally associated with more frequent health challenges, lower energy level, obsolete ideas or, at least, ideas incompatible with contemporary events and realities, the younger people often express higher energy level and physical strength, current ideas and increased desire for knowledge. in the youth, therefore, one finds an interplay of zeal, vigour and ideas necessary for socio-political development. on this stress, robert f. kennedy (june 6, 1966) in his day of affirmation address at the university of cape town, south africa, expresses the view that the panacea to most of the contemporary global challenges lies in the demolition of the borders of social class and ignorance, and especially the adoption of the characteristic dispositions of the youth. hence, he writes: our answer is the world’s hope; it is to rely on youth. the cruelties and the obstacles of this swiftly changing planet will not yield to obsolete dogmas and outworn slogans. it cannot be moved by those who cling to a present igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 53 which is already dying, who prefer the illusion of security to the excitement and danger which comes with even the most peaceful progress. this world demands the qualities of youth: not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the life of ease. for the purposes of clarity, it is imperative to reiterate that the critique of what has been characterized in this discourse as ‘authoritarian epistemological orientation’, as a feature of african tradition, is far from any attempt to belittle ‘philosophic sagacity’ in africa or to imply that african epistemological system is entirely bereft of positive values. odera oruka (1991: 123) had rightly asserted that “a person is a sage in the philosophic sense only to the extent that he is consistently concerned with the fundamental ethical and empirical issues and questions relevant to the society and his ability to offer insightful solution to some of those issues.” from the point of view of their social relevance, therefore, sages play critical roles in the sustenance of their traditional values, culture, and ultimate survival of their immediate communities. however, an epistemological orientation that considers knowledge an exclusive reserve of wise elders and considers an idea absolute and sacrosanct, merely on the basis of its purportedly sagacious source, is not only fallacious but often gives vent to social exclusion and marginalization of those who do not share such idea. obviously, any socio-political or epistemological value system that underrates or totally disregards the youth’s potentials lags behind in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. relegating the youth to the background of public administration amounts to improper human resource control and management, as well as creates room for energy leakage and loss. improved work force and efficient service delivery can only be guaranteed in african societies if the youth are given a sufficient sense of responsibility in public service. recommendations in the quest for sustainable development, the authoritarian epistemological system that holds sway in contemporary african societies, with its consequent sociopolitical superiority claims, must be considerably reviewed. this system is often unscientific and largely reliant on age-conferred authority and experience of the elders, who pose as reliable sources of truth, as well as final arbiters and authentic verdict givers in conflict situations. this authoritarian approach to knowledge igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 54 limits its scope and perspectives given its presupposition that the views or opinions of elders exhaust all possible perspectives. while acknowledging the pragmatic imports of many traditional african values, they must be re-assessed in the light of current demands and concerns of the modern world. dynamism, as a necessary feature of virtually every progressive human society, must bear on african traditional values. the contemporary african societies ought to jettison unnecessary rigidity and unreasonable insistence on stereotyped mode of life or unnecessarily being pigeon-holed in some obsolete cognitive patterns. for the contemporary african societies to meet the high demands of the competitive modern world and be strategically positioned for meaningful progress, novelty, ingenuity, and open-mindedness must constitute their hallmarks. more still, mutual collaboration between the youths and the elders, interactive learning processes, unprejudiced modelling, and proper mentorship also advance the course of achieving sustainable development in african. indeed, effective mentorship remains a laudable and highly treasured value in social development. however, care must be taken that it does not degenerate to servitude or personality cult that eventually jeopardizes discrete individuality, the uniqueness of individual youths and initiatives. the youth often possess a peculiar sense of purpose and unique potentials that must be timely utilized for the benefit of their society. in addition to the experience and sagacity of the elders, therefore, the vibrancy of the youth must be allowed to drive development at all social levels and institutions of government. by so doing, african countries would not only surmount its present development challenges but would be strategically positioned to achieve sustainable development goals. landry signe (march 2019), in the brookings report, observes that most african countries feature greater percentage of older people in governance, an arrangement which must be reviewed if meaningful socio-political progress must be made. he identifies specific agencies of administration where the youth could be of immense relevance, especially when they are included in decision making. accordingly, he recommends more involvement of the youth in public service, especially in such executive positions as the presidencies, councils of ministers, parliaments, national committees, corporate boardrooms, and civil society organizational teams. most african leaders are 55 years old or older, with some as old as 75. this represents a significant gap between those deciding policy and those who have to weather its effects. at the parliamentary level, only 14 percent of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 55 members are under 40 years old. african parliamentary compositions reflect the global trend, wherein only 14.2 percent of the world’s members of parliament are under 40 years old. with african countries on track to account for half of the world’s population growth and an exponential increase in the number of young people, the number of young parliamentarians should be higher. as a reasonable and practical means of unlocking youth potentials and ensuring effective youth participation and representation in governance and public policy development, it is strongly recommended that definite quotas and specific elective positions and opportunities for appointment in ministries, agencies and parastatals be reserved for the youth. this proactive measure ensures an integration of youth development initiatives in the formulation of policies and programmes, especially on matters that directly concern them. granted that a few instances of youth involvement in mainstream public service abound in the continent, the number of youths engaged in such instances is not sufficient to make significant impact. youth inclusion in public service and administration would not only curtail youth restiveness but would give them a sense of responsibility and belonging, provide a formidable ground for effective mentorship and smoother transition from one generation to another. in a typical traditional african society, the elders’ position of authority is considered a sacred responsibility, which must not only be exercised with great wisdom, but must be carefully transmitted to the next generation through reliable heirs or successors. this is especially in the knowledge that posterity will judge them on the basis of their actions, and that their successful transition to ancestorhood is largely dependent on the quality of life they lead in the present world. for them, tradition is a treasure in an earthen ware which must not be allowed to break; it is like fire from the spirit world that must not be allowed to be extinguished out of share carelessness and acts of irresponsibility. many elders, therefore, exercise great restraint and caution in order to avoid handing over the mantle of leadership to carefree, irresponsible, untrustworthy or incompetent successors either in their families or the wider society. little wonder, some elders at the hour of death reveal some secrets and entrust some values and valuables only to trustworthy people or wise children, hoping that they would maintain the family tradition and preserve the family name, which are held to be sacrosanct. the youth must therefore demonstrate sufficient sense of social responsibility in order to win the confidence of the elders if the latter must in good conscience involve them in leadership and ultimately bequeath leadership positions to them. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 56 while it is recommended that older people freely give younger people the opportunity to utilize their innovative ideas in public service, the youth must express significant interest, and manifest the necessary wherewithal and courage to shoulder the responsibilities of mainstream public service. in addition to the acquisition of leadership skills, the youth must embark on individual capacity building and acquire useful skills and knowledge that would boost their relevance in the society. in fact, a positive self-concept is needed to bolster the ego of the youth that is often cowed by the world outlook that presents them as second fiddle to the older people. with a positive air of confidence and demonstration of strength of character, the youth can consciously, through all possible legal means, acquire and exercise political power. in essence, strategic inclusion of the youth in public service is a socio-political imperative. complementing the experience of the elders with the vivacity of the youth or young adults in the different spheres of public service gives the youth proper sense of belonging and responsibility and makes for social and political stability. mutual collaboration between the young and the old not only promotes understanding and mutual trust, but creates a conducive atmosphere for crosspollination of ideas. in fact, this administrative strategy borders on poverty alleviation, reduction of youth unemployment and general improvement on the youth’s social conditions, which invariably inspires a sense of patriotism and increases their love for their immediate communities. conclusion the contemporary african societies may be inadvertently wasting their golden opportunities and losing highly treasured values embedded in their vibrant youth if they do not consciously and deliberately make good use of them. it is imperative to prioritize investment in youth development if a positive change must be achieved in african leadership and public service. indeed, if meaningfully engaged and properly utilized, the exuberant disposition and vigour associated with the youth can promote socio-political progress in african societies. in order to effect the desired positive change, the authoritarian epistemological world outlook characteristic of most african societies must give way for a more dynamic approach to knowledge. a more effective management of the african societies would be realized if an enabling environment is created for a crosscurrent of ideas between the youth and the elders. mutual interplay of age-related experience and the vivacity of the youth would not only foster proper mentorship igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 57 but occasion a more effective leadership as well as improved state of affairs in the african societies. youth involvement in public service and governance would surely guarantee civil society growth, development and progress. their vigour and enthusiasm contribute a great deal to ensuring a more viable socio-political climate, facilitate poverty reduction and economic expansion, and promote human rights and justice. the african youth must be properly and timely guided, empowered and positioned for global action and relevance. in the global and highly competitive modern human society, they must bring their vivacity to bear on the project of improving the fortunes of africa. references african union, human resources, science and technology (january 2021). “youth development”. retrieved february 2021 from www.au.int>youthdevelopment bacon, f. (1902). novum organum. new york: p.f. collier. bacon, f. (1605/1851). of the persistence and advancement of learning, b. montagu esq (ed.). london: william pickering. bodunrin, p.o. (1985). “sciento-technical rationality and african reality” in alwin diemer (ed.), africa and the problem of its identity. frankfurt: verlag peter lang. hamdok, abdalla. (2017). africa’s youth and prospects for inclusive development. regional situation analysis report. united nations economic commission for africa. retrieved 24 february 2021 from https://www.ohchr.org kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). theological models of youth in christus vivit. nnadiebube journal of religion, culture and society. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 1-11. a publication of the department of religion and society, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). (ed.). nigerian youths in the face of migration, drug abuse and fundamentalism. plateau state: fab anieh nigerian limited. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 58 kennedy, r.f. (june 6, 1966). day of affirmation address, university of cape town, cape town, south africa. presidential library and museum. retrieved february 2021, from www.jfklibrary.org meredith, m. (2011). the states of africa: a history of the continent since independence. london: simon & schuster. oruka, h. o. (1991). “critique of three negative claims and the issue of sagephilosophy,” in africa, in christian neugebauer (hrsg), philosophie, ideologie und gessellschaft in afrika: wien 1989. frankfort am main; bern; new york; paris: peter lang. parrinder, e. g. (1974). african traditional religion. london: sheldon press. shakespeare, w. (1951). julius caesar in peter alexander (ed.), william shakespeare: the complete works. tudor edition. london and glasgow: collins cleartype press. signe, landry (march 2019). africa youth leadership: building local leaders to solve global challenges. brookings report. retrieved february 2021 from www.brookings.org the teachings of the church on the dialogue between christians and muslims in the current world a model for igwebuike philosphy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 191 the teachings of the church on the dialogue between christians and muslims in the current world a model for igwebuike philosphy naanmiap baamlong, osa estudio teologico de valladolid spain fadabaamlong@yahoo.com executive summary going through the history of the human beings, it is clear that, the human person is a religious and social being. religious because he believes and professes belief in the existence of a deity (a supreme being, god, a creator of the universe) and realities that are supreme to the realities surrounding man. he is social because he lives not alone but with other humans in the society. with the diversity of nature of the human person, it has become very necessary to always cultivate dialogue and interraction for peaceful coexitence. interreligious dialogue is one aspect of the different forms of dialogues existent amongst humans. in this brief reflection, we are going to present the teachings of the catholic church about dialogue between christians and muslims. in a document of the second vatican council nostra aetate, these guidelines and teachings about dialogue are discussed. in view of this, from the theological point of view, this paper aims at demonstrating how the message about interreligious dialogue can contribute more lessons and values to the principle of complementarity of the igwebuike philosphy, illustrating, therefore, how theological values can help to improve, as well, the values already existent in the igwebiuke philosophy. naanmiap baamlong, osa igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 192 keywords: god, nostra aetate, dialogue, kanu ikechukwu anthony, interreligious dialogue, igwebuike philosophy, christians, muslims, unity. introduction interreligious dialogue, also referred to as interfaith dialogue, is about people of different faiths coming to a mutual understanding and respect that allow them to live and cooperate with one another, in spite of their differences. the term refers to cooperative and positive interaction among people of different religious traditions, at both the individual and institutional levels. each party remains true to their own beliefs, while respecting the right of the other to practise their faith freely. although interreligious dialogue is a recent term in the vocabulary of the church, its reality is not new, but has always been existent in the church 1 . the document nostra aetate of the second vatican council is a document that presents the church's relations with non-christian religions. it gives us some key guidelines for establishing a fraternal dialogue, of relations, of mutual trust and respect between christians and muslims. certainly, when they promulgated the document, the council fathers took into account the pluralism of both religions and cultures and ideologies. although basically, the texts deal with questions concerning what practical relationships between christians and muslims should look like; however, they also offer suggestions on aspects of a new catholic theology on dealings with muslims. the following reflection will be based on this document and other texts of the popes (encyclicals and messages), in order to present some of the teachings of the magisterium on the dialogues of the catholic church in reference to islam, with special emphasis on the practical 1 cf. dupuis, r, “cristología fundamental”, en diccionario de teología fundamental, latourelle, r., fisichella, r. y pié-ninot, s. (directores), madrid, ediciones paulinas 1992, the teachings of the church on the dialogue between christians and muslims in the current world a model for igwebuike philosphy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 193 demonstrations of these teachings of the popes from vatican ii. this paper will point out very important aspects about inter-faith dialogue beneficial to the igwebuike philosophy. this philosophy is based on the igbo-african worldview of complementarity, that is, the manner of being in african ontology. it is a worldview in which individuating differences must work towards a corporate existence, where the ‘i’ does not stand as the ‘i’ but as a ‘we’, where life and living makes meaning. in a scenario of this kind, difference does not divide nor does it constitute a threat, but rather unites and gives hope that future existence would have meaning. in a cosmogony of this kind, while the ontology of the person is founded on the particularity of the individual, implying that it is the metaphysics of the particular that founds identity, it is the community that gives meaning to such an existence and grounds such an identity 2 . the church always calls for 2 cf. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igboafrican modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. naanmiap baamlong, osa igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 194 dialogue between all people. it calls all to a dialogue and solidarity as human persons, to work for the common good of all 3 . the teachings of the church on dialogue the beginning of this document indicates that all peoples form one community and have the same origin, because god made all humanity dwell on the whole face of the earth 4 . the text continues with an affirmation of islam's link to biblical tradition, as can be read in number 3; “the church also looks with appreciation at the muslims, who worship one living and subsisting god, merciful and omnipotent, creator of heaven and earth, who spoke to men, to whose cult designs seek to submit entirely, as was submitted to god abraham, to whom the islamic faith refers willingly”. although the reference to muslims’ professing to abraham's faith seems to be on a subjective level, its position as one of the nonchristian monotheistic religions can be clearly seen. this is inferred from the phrases that speak of muslims who worship the one god, merciful, omnipotent, and creator of everything, and also wait for the day of dudgment, when god will reward all men once they are resurrected. therefore, they appreciate moral life and venerate god above all, with prayer, alms and fasting 5 . the document states that the church sees muslims with great appreciation. they worship one god of mercy and almighty creator of everything. two things attract attention to the document reader. the first thing is that it emphasizes what muslims and christians have in common and at the same time emphasizes the essential point of difference, with reference to christ, whom islam venerates as a 3 cf.http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/ papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html. accessed 10/07/2020. evanglii gaudium, nn. 217-237. 4 cf. nostra aetate, n.1. 5 ibíd., n.3 the teachings of the church on the dialogue between christians and muslims in the current world a model for igwebuike philosphy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 195 prophet, and does not recognize him as god. in addition, they also honour mary the mother of jesus christ and sometimes even invoke her devoutly. the document states that the church sees muslims with great appreciation 6 . undoubtedly, a mention of jesus and mary is a sign of the special place they occupy within the quran. it describes jesus not only as a prophet and messenger of god, but also as the word of god (cf., quran 3:45; 4.171) strengthened by the holy spirit (cf. quran 2:87, 235; 5.110). these notes mentioned above also open up the possibility of cooperation between the two religions, in situations of religious conflict, especially in today's world. the phrases at the beginning of this document appear only as an ordinary preamble, but it is a fact that makes the statement exceptional. this official declaration on islam made by a church council should be seen as a point of reference and an absolutely new beginning. the creed and the worship of one god are the center of the muslim religion, as it is also for christians whose faith solemnly professes, “credo in unum deum”. the document briefly mentions some aspects of islamic eschatology, referring to the final judgment. this aspect is essential for both the christian religion and islam. as you study these aspects in more details in both religions, you will no doubt see that there are notable differences. however, in both the new testament and the quran, it is mentioned that in the final judgment, each will receive his/her reward, according to the actions performed during his/her pilgrimage in the world. in addition, if you look closely at the document, three basic elements of the muslim religion are also mentioned in it: prayer (salat), alms (zakat) and fasting (sawm) 7 . as regards to its profession of faith, (shahada; there is no god but allaah), it has been mentioned in the beginning of the document. 6 ibíd. 7 ibíd. naanmiap baamlong, osa igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 196 the second part of the document deals with the prospects for understanding and collaboration between christianity and islam in the present and in the future. the hatred and war of the past must be forgotten, not ignored but overcome, in order to achieve a mutual understanding, which is the goal that the two religions must secure. it says; “since in the course of centuries not a few quarrels and hostilities have arisen between christians and muslems, this sacred synod urges all to forget the past and to work sincerely for mutual understanding and to preserve as well as to promote together for the benefit of all mankind social justice and moral welfare, as well as peace and freedom 8 . to succeed, therefore, in addition to seeking sincere understanding, believers have the responsibility and need to go beyond a simple dialogue between christians and muslims. our greatest responsibility as believers is to actively cooperate in preaching and in the experience of the message of peace and dialogue that our faith in god demands. in this message, we are all called to reproach as alien to the spirit of christ, any discrimination against men or harassment of them because of their race, colour, condition of life, or religion. on the contrary, following in the footsteps of the holy apostles peter and paul, this sacred synod ardently implores the christian faithful to maintain good fellowship among the nations (1 peter 2,12), and, if possible, to live for their part in peace with all men, so that they may truly be sons of the father who is in heaven, thereby building a better world 9 . practical actions of the popes in relation to the declaration nostra aetate the progress of interreligious dialogue since the second vatican council has certainly been positive and deserves praise. the first protagonists of this are the popes themselves. it is worth emphasizing the role of the popes in this mission as a service to the unity exercised 8 ibíd. 9 ibíd., n.5. the teachings of the church on the dialogue between christians and muslims in the current world a model for igwebuike philosphy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 197 by them on behalf of the whole church, so that the prayer of jesus, “that all may be one” ( jn 17,21) may continue to strengthen his church. pope john xxiii himself, when he convened the ecumenical council, had in his mind the idea of dialogue, which we know or we heard of his famous saying; “let the wind of change blows into the church.” this is a clear sign of his desire for dialogue. it can be said that this idea underlies the whole council. if we take a look at his encyclical pacem in terris of 11 april 1963, it speaks on peace among all peoples that will be founded on truth, justice, love and freedom; an encyclical intended not only for christians, but also for all men of good will. paul vi, in whose hands was the task of presiding over and concluding the second vatican council, was thinking of the prevailing need for dialogue among all humanity. this is evident in his encyclical ecclesiam suam of 6 october 1964, which deals with the church's mandate in the contemporary world. number 27 of the document deals specifically with this idea of dialogue. for its part, the practicality of its actions is a very significant element, of its willingness to promote a church in dialogue with the world. in january 1964, he paid a visit to the holy land, where he embraced the patriarch of constantinople atengoras. that same year, he went to bombay in india, preaching once again the gospel of dialogue. he then paid a visit in 1969 to africa in kampala uganda, during which he had some meetings with muslims. and in manila, the philipines in 1970, he made great praise of the religious wealth of the asian continent. it is almost impossible to cover all the teachings of john paul ii, on christian-muslim dialogue. but he certainly kept in line with his predecessors by emphasizing the need for dialogue. in most of his papal trips, he had meetings and conversations with different muslim leaders, for example, his speech to young muslims in casablanca in morocco in 1985 and his visit to egypt in 2000. on one of his visits to naanmiap baamlong, osa igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 198 turkey, he addressed the people with words of dialogue. on the other hand, it shows much of the dialogue and relational character that the church must play, with his gesture when he entered a mosque in damascus on 6 may, 2001, an action that many people today remember as a great display of love and dialogue. benedict xvi also made works to strengthen dialogue between christians and muslims, like the meeting with representatives of muslim communities in germany in august, 2005. also, the current pope, whose pontificate is still young, has already made many visits to the middle east, central africa, preaching a message of peace and mercy. it is worth mentioning the importance of his commentary on the current situation of terrorism in the world as the beginning of the third world war. these practical examples presented show the evident actions and efforts of the popes in the implementation of the council's teachings not only in their words, but above all in their actions. if we look at the efforts and the results that have come out of all of them, we can confidently say that, although it has not been easy, and despite the apparent setbacks, progress has been made on the path of reconciliation. as christians and catholics, at this time full of challenges and difficult situations to manage, let us not forget the words of jesus: “i am with you always, to the close of the age” (mt 28:20). we must encourage one another to preach peace and dialogue. our christian conduct towards dialogue must be a translation of the values of the gospel, which we are called to live with hope, even if the other does not want it. that is not why we must be discouraged, because, “though the fig tree do not blossom, no fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet i will rejoice in the lord, i will joy in the god of my salvation” (habakkuk 3, 17-19). the teachings of the church on the dialogue between christians and muslims in the current world a model for igwebuike philosphy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 199 benefits church’s teaching on interreligious dialogue to igwebuike philosophy from the above discourse on the church and interligious dailogue, it is clear that the central message is about peaceful coexistence amongst people of distinct religious beliefs and practices; this will rightly contribute good ideas to this african philosophy of complementarity. one of the principles of the igwebuike philospohy is unity. in fact, it is the inner or underlying principle of this african philosophy 10 . this unity stems from the coming together and putting into one place the various and different exiting realities. the principle points to the fact that in spite of the contrariety of reality, in spite of the singular identity of each reality, there is something common to everything. igwebuike understands every individual reality as part and completion of the whole, and thus there is a unity in the midst of diversity. igwebuike presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. thus, ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is ‘to be with the other’, in a community of beings. “i am because we are and since we are, therefore i am” 11 . 10 cf. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. 11 cf. kanu, i. a. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy, 14. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national naanmiap baamlong, osa igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 200 the document nostra aetate emphasizes aspects that muslims and christians have in common. and like we have seen, at the heart of this similarity is the act of belief in only one god. god is the binding force and the belief in this one supreme god is at the heart of the interaction and dialogue. it is, therefore, obvious that what is involved here is very important and serves as the basis on which all other dialogues can be established. consequently, this of course, without any doubt, fits well for the igwebuike philosophy which preaches complementarity and unity. “i am because we are and since we are, therefore i am”. and because of this strong sense of togetherness and unity, everyone in a given community considers the next person as a brother. as such dialogue can easily be made, and by the very nature of this belongingness and togethernes, there is intimately in existence dialogue because no one is considered different or outside of the circle that binds the community. to be identified as an individual one is first considered as part of the whole group. it is the whole that gives meaning and importance to the individual or a particular reality and aspect. that is dialogue in play. interreligious dialogue increases the understanding christians and non-christians have of the beliefs and practices of the other. this enhanced understanding can lead to a more peaceable coexistence in the pluralistic culture of the 21st century africa. as people of different religious communities encounter another in mutual service in schools, in government, and in civic activities, the foundations established through dialogue will enable these people to know the areas in which mutual activity can enhance society (as well as to know in advance the areas in which religious differences can make mutual undertakings difficult). development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. the teachings of the church on the dialogue between christians and muslims in the current world a model for igwebuike philosphy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 201 as stated above, dialogue enhances the efficacy of peaceful coexistence. the clarified understanding of other religions will be published in books and articles about the religions, many of which will be read by all, as well as transmitted to everybody person. this, therefore, effectively addresses and shapes the thinking of one group of people about the beliefs and cultures of the other group. it helps each group to better understand their own faith. because the focus of interreligious dialogue is on the differences between religions, people are forced to examine their own beliefs in order to support these positions. this examination will increase the self-understanding of christians and muslims, helping them to see the great values they both possess. this enables both groups to identify and contextualize the teachings of other religions, and to present a reason as to why each believes differently. finally, interreligious dialogue increases and breeds love and unity. this is another aspect that the igwebuike philosophy stresses, the advantage that stems from this union of various parts. according to the study of kanu, igwebuike strongly holds that the whole is greater than the corresponding parts. it is also a view that maintains that by the coming together of the individuals or parts, a viable and sustainable whole will emerge, and by this, the parts will get to the brim purpose of their existence 12 . the coming together of the parts to form one single unit makes the various parts strong and powerful. in line with this, it will be relevant the teaching of nostra aetate. it emphasizes this concept of dialogue, because to produce fruit, there has to be strongly in place understanding and integration a 12 cf. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cociopolitical system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kanu, i. a. (2019). on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159-176. kanu, i. a. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. naanmiap baamlong, osa igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 202 community that is together in harmony and dialogue. igwebuike philosophy preaches harmony and relationship. according to the study done by kanu, igwebuike is an ordered relationship, even though the idea of igwe (large number of people or group) may give the impression of a mob or disordered relationship. igwebuike is a relationship guided by the igbo-african principle: egbe bere ugo bere (let the kite perch, let the eagle perch). the idea of egbe (kite) and ugo (eagle) speaks of a variety of positions, personality, creed, culture, etc., and in fact, differences in life, which is found in the world, and yet must coexist together. when the egbe settles in the uwa (the world) and imagines that the ugo has no right of existence and then begins to castigate ugo and to push it out of being, at that point, the egbe alienates the being of the ugo. when egbe castigates and condemns the ugo, it thinks that it is making progress; it is rather alienating itself, because the being of the ugo has an existential and fundamental contribution to make to the being of the egbe. it is such that when egbe kills the uugo, the egbe also kills itself. to be in the world, kanu assert that the egbe and the ugo must dialogue. the world is such that differences would always exist and to try to destroy the other as a result of difference is to waste one’s time; to end the variation of reality is to end reality itself, for reality is by its nature variegated. egbe beru, ugo beru (let the kite perch, let the eagle perch). this implies they must dialogue and, therefore, must have a relationship. they have the options of either relating and being happy or being in perpetual discord which alienates their being in the uuwa. when the egbe and ugo harness their energies towards a common project, need and desire, they can constitute an insurmountable force in pursuing their collective vision. only then can they overcome their collective difficulties. in the same way, only when muslims and christians come together in existential solidarity, which is a correlative and complementary solidarity, a ‘we’ relationship, can they fulfill their divine mandates. both religions have something to learn from each other, and to avoid or alienate the other is to deny oneself the teachings of the church on the dialogue between christians and muslims in the current world a model for igwebuike philosphy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 203 of knowledge and growth, and, thus, expanding the capacity of ignorance. when both religions slight each other, look down on each other, segregate each other and reject the contribution of each other, they are committing the ontological evil of alienation 13 . nostra aetate, in the concluding part, warns against all these negative aspects amongst the different religions calling for dialogue and understanding. 14 conclusion interreligious dialogue involves meeting people themselves and getting to know their religious traditions. inter-faith dialogue is not just words or talk. it includes human interaction and relationships. it can take place between individuals and communities and on many levels. for example, between neighbours, in schools and in places of work it can take place in both formal and informal settings. in nigeria, for example, muslims and christians live on the same streets, use the same shops, buses, and attend the same schools. normal life means that we come into daily contact with each other. dialogue, therefore, is not just something that takes place on an official or academic level only – it is part of daily life during which different cultural and religious groups interact with another directly, and where tensions between them are the most tangible. christian-muslim dialogue should always aim at providing a positive alternative to destructive violence, especially in situations of tension and strife. the situation in nigeria calls for dialogue, if people must live in peace 13 cf. kanu, i. a. (2019). collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. 14 cf. nostra aetate, n.5. naanmiap baamlong, osa igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 204 with one another. wherever christians and muslims live in peace, dialogue between them should aim at addressing common problems for the good and peaceful coexistence of the society. this is important because today muslims and christians are now neighbours, colleagues at work, members of the same political parties and football clubs. their children attend the same nurseries, schools and universities. having seen the relationship between the teaching of the church on dialogue and philosophy, one can see how theological values can help to improve as well the values already existent in the igwebiuke philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 127 the church as a social welfare institution; an evaluation ekenedilichukwu a. okolo department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state ea.okolo@unizik.edu.ng, ekeneokolo6@gmail.com 08063344381 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.10379.82727 abstract the issue of poverty and its adverse effect in the society is not new of which has called for the attention of the church in its battle. it is on this base that this paper is focused on the church as a social welfare in nigeria. it looks at the concept of church and social welfare with regards to identifying how the church has helped and will still help in bring a change to the unfavourable conditions of people and also how she has been carrying out charitable works in the society. the paper gives a vivid understanding of the concept of church and social welfare. social welfare as founded by either the nongovernmental bodies or individuals have in myriad ways made contributions in changing the pitiable conditions of the masses. the church on the other hand in recent times has taking a centre stage in this direction which is seen as part of her social gospel. in this regard therefore, this work will look at some of those areas of concern the church has helped and is still helping in bettering the lives of the masses. omega power ministry as one of those churches has been outstanding in her role on social welfare which is worthy of note hence this work examines her role in the society. this work is theoretically framed with the christian theory of human development. this theory was advanced by r.m thomas (1990) who posits two cardinal goals to human endeavour, which is christian’s pursuit of everlasting life in heaven and the practice of doing good in individual’s live by helping the poor, the needy, the depressed and contributing to societal development. thus these cardinal goals of human development are hung on two principals of charity and justice which are seen in church’s work of social services to the societies. this work adopts a phenomenological method in its discussion and therefore recommends that the church of christ as seen in the societies today should try to make her impact visible in ameliorating and helping in changing the deplorable conditions of the people. key words: church, social welfare, christianity, nigeria igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 128 introduction nigeria has been seen as a complex country of about 140 million people with many “nations” within it. it has over 250 ethnic groups speaking different languages and dialects and also has the biggest population in africa with 1 in 6 africans being nigerian. with the rise of poverty and inhuman condition prevalent in her, many scholars have researched on the roles played by individual of self-interest and organization in battling with the issue of social problem. this in the words of berger and neuhaus (1977) is termed mediating structures on which the structures serve as bridging gaps in mediating and helping to provide the basic things needed by these people in the society. in this regard, this article is set to spotlight and examine the roles churches have played as a mediator in contributing to alleviating poverty, medical service administration, youth and women empowerments, speaking for justice for the people unjustly treated in the society, contributed in building schools and giving free education to the masses and empowerment of the members of the society. conceptual clarification church: many people today understand the church as a building which is not a biblical understanding of the church. the word “church” is a translation of the greek word ekklesia, which is defined as “an assembly” or “called-out ones.” the root meaning of church is not that of a building, but of people. it is ironic that when you ask people what church they attend; they usually identify a building. in romans 16; 5 paul said, “greet the church that is in their house.” paul refers to the church in their house not a church building, but a body of believers. the church is the body of christ, of which he is the head, hence in ephesians 1:22–23 paul puts it thus, “and god placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” the body of christ is made up of all believers in jesus christ from the day of pentecost (acts 2) until christ’s return. biblically, we may regard the church in two ways, as the universal church or as the local church. according to macarthur (2019), the universal church consists of everyone, everywhere, who has a personal relationship with jesus christ. “for we were all baptized by one spirit into one body whether jews or greeks, slave or free and we were all given the one spirit to drink” (1 corinthians 12:13). this verse says that anyone who believes is part of the body of christ and has received the spirit of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 129 christ as evidence. all those who have received salvation through faith in jesus christ comprise the universal church. sequelly, in holman bible dictionary, the use of the greek term ekklesia for the word church prior to the emergence of the christian church is important as two streams of meaning flow from the history of its usage into the new testament understanding of church. first, the greek term which basically means 'called out' was commonly used to indicate an assembly of citizens of a greek city and is so used in acts 19:32, 39. the citizens who were quite conscious of their privileged status over slaves and noncitizens were called to the assembly by a herald and dealt with matters of common concern. when the early christians understood themselves as constituting a church, no doubt exists that they perceived themselves as called out by god in jesus christ for a special purpose and that their status was a privileged one in jesus christ (eph. 2:19). secondly, the greek term was used more than one hundred times in the greek translation of the old testament in common use in the time of jesus. the hebrew term (qahal) meant simply 'assembly' and could be used in a variety of ways, referring for example to an assembling of prophets (1 sam. 19:20), soldiers (num. 22:4), or the people of god (deut. 9:10). the use of the term in the old testament in referring to the people of god is important for understanding the term 'church' in the new testament. the first christians were [mostly] jews who used the greek translation of the old testament. for them to use a self-designation that was common in the old testament for the people of god reveals their understanding of the continuity that links the old and new testaments. the early christians understood themselves as the people of the god who had revealed himself in the old testament (heb. 1:1-2), as the true children of israel (rom. 2:28-29) with abraham as their father (rom. 4:1-25), and as the people of the new covenant prophesied in the old testament (heb. 8:1-13). as a consequence of this broad background of meaning in the greek and old testament worlds, the term 'church' is used in the new testament of a local congregation of called-out christians, such as the 'church of god which is at corinth' (1 cor. 1:2), and also of the entire people of god, such as in the affirmation that christ is 'the head over all things to the church, which is his body' (eph. 1:22-23)." social welfare: the term “social welfare” in hansan (2017) does not have a precise definition. currently, social welfare is referred to a wide range of activities and services by volunteers, non-profit organizations and governmental agencies providing help to needy persons unable to care for themselves; activities and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 130 resources designed to enhance or promote the well-being of individuals, families and the larger society; and efforts to eliminate or reduce the incidence of social problems. furthermore, the history of social welfare is an interdisciplinary study of the evolution of charitable works, organized activities related to social reform movements and non-profit or public social services designed to protect or benefit individuals, families and citizens of the larger society. charitable efforts in the words of hansan have often grown out of religious beliefs beliefs that inspired reformers to deep compassion, firm ethical convictions, and a strong sense of justice. the reformers’ faith backgrounds were the foundation of movements such as abolition, temperance, and the establishment of settlement houses. and from the nation’s earliest days, religious groups and individuals have provided significant labor and financial support for social reform and humanitarian aid. having understood the basic notion of church and the explanation of social welfare institution, we want to have a vivid look at some of the works the church has done in combating with the challenges of the populace. we intend to examine the church’s roles in terms of poverty alleviation, youth and women empowerment, medical services, school apostolate and social justice. church and poverty alleviation poverty and its alleviation has been a concern to almost all the government that has come to power in nigeria. in this regard, many programmes were put in place to harness the lingering issue with little or no results. hence, odili (2012) opines that the issue of poverty is both disturbing and frightening to the nation. since the time nigeria had her independence, both the military and civilian governments have all contributed to abating the menace, like the better life programme (blp) which was introduced in 1987, the family support programme (fsp) in 1994, the family economic advancement programme (feap) in 1997, the people’s bank of nigeria (pbn) in 1987 but all these aims yielded little or no results. it is on this note that the church despite the mandate of being spiritual, has conform to her mission of participating in the fight against poverty and fulfilling the mandate of christ who served both the rich and the poor and gave them hope. (ayiemba et al, 2015). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 131 poverty according to undp (1996) is a lack of productive resources, income and capacities, which contribute to individual or group isolation, vulnerability, powerlessness, economic, political and social discrimination and participation in unsustainable livelihood. in this definition, undp perceived the issue of poverty as when one is totally in lack of productive resources that aids in the maintaining and keeping of life. once these resources are reduced and do not reproduce more but is in a static condition. it is when one has no source of income which has kept him / her isolated from the community. this lack of source of living had also made some people vulnerable, powerless, economically, politically and socially discriminated. furthering on this, undp (1996) posits that poverty manifests in myriad dimensions which includes hunger, illhealth, lack of access to education, medication, employment, safe residence (housing) a malnutrition. in his work, “the role of churches in government eradication programmes in nigeria’’, antyo (2012) opines that poverty is seen as a state of deprivation of wellbeing which comprises many dimensions that includes low income and the inability to acquire basic things necessary for a dignified survival. he further opines that poverty involves low level of healthy, lack of education, poor access to clean water, sanitation, inadequate physical security, lack of voice to address issues of the society, and the insufficient capacity to better one’s life. taylor (2003) saw poverty as predominant in the world today with more than a million people living in it. in the words of ayiemba, theuri, mungai and kimathi (2015) in their work on “the mandate of the christian church in poverty alleviation, the case of the anglican church of kenya, (ack) in maseno and winam division of kisumu district, kenya”, the people of maseno and winam are people noted for their abject poverty which includes the absent of everything needed for a comfortable living. in their words, this includes clothing, education, housing, clean water e.t.c. which the church has helped in providing to the society which has helped in changing their way of life. it is observed by kodia (2005) that the church is taking after the ministry of jesus who went about preaching and doing good. odili and eluke (2016) in their unpublished work on, “the church and poverty alleviation in bundu ama of rivers state’’, presented a concerted effort made by st mary’s catholic church located at aggry road in port harcourt in poverty alleviation. in their words, the church helped some individual in solving their personal problems, she also has school were members of bundu ama are admitted in a reduced cost, some children were given igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 132 scholarship by the church. members of the area were also employed in the school as teachers, gardeners, drivers, cleaners’ e.t.c. which in turn has being helping their families and relations. furthering on this, odili and eluke (2016) spotlighted the efforts st barnabas anglican church bundu ama is also making in giving the poor masses relief from their problems. in their observation, the church is doing everything within her reach to help the masses. despite the fact that the church is a small church, she oftentimes organizes programme where members learn different skills to better their lives, hence the youths and women are empowered to cater for their families with the skills learnt from the programme. the church also provides means of transportation to convey church members from their areas to parish and diocesan programmes thereby reducing the burden of catering for the transport themselves. the church hosts health care programme on which those with health or medical issues were cared for. children were also immunized and parents were taught on good and healthy living. similarly, antyo (2012) gives a vivid instance of how churches have helped in poverty alleviation. in his word, the early roman catholic missionaries, the church of christ in the sudan, the evangelical church of the west african in the north, the catholic church in benue state have helped in establishing massive agricultural farm which serves as a benefit to the church. also the church used such means to teach the people basic agricultural practices which helped them out of poverty. church and youth/women empowerment; in the opinion of stormquists in odili (2015) in his work on “sustainable development and women education, empowering women through part time theological education programmes in nigerian higher institution of learning”. “empowerment is seen as a process to change, distribution of power both in interpersonal and in institutions throughout the society. in this regard, empowerment, is seen in four dimensions which are a) cognitive empowerment, which is meant for the understanding of subordinate conditions and their causes at macro levels of life. it also aims igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 133 at receiving one’s experiences in order to notice and identify pattern of behaviour which leads to dependence and reinforces subordination. b) economic empowerment, which aims at the ability to engage oneself in income generating activities that will enable one have access to independent income. c) political empowerment is the ability to analyze issues politically and to effectively make a mobilization for a social charge and d) psychological (spiritual) empowerment which is aimed at ones behaviour that he/she can change his situation himself which calls for competent decision making and effort in improving on such decision. in his contribution, kindervatter in odili (2015) opines that empowerment can be liken to any endeaviour which helps people gain control of their living through raising awareness, taking action and working together in order to exercise greater control. there is no gain saying the fact that government has tried in improving members of the society. this according to aliyu in antyo (2012) in his work, “the role of church in government poverty eradication programme in nigeria”, has been evidenced by the establishment of diverse bodies to see that the masses are empowered. among which are, youth empowerment scheme (yes), rural infrastructural development scheme, (rids), social welfare service scheme (sowes), capacity acquisition programmes (cap) and mandatory attachment programme (map), all these groups have not achieved any positive impact despite the huge amount of money spent on them. according to the researcher, it is a failed attempt on the government which invariably leaves the responsibility to the church to perform. it is agreed that the church has not betrayed this trust on her as the hope of the masses. consenting to this, antyo (2012) in his discussion on “church and poverty eradication initiatives in nigeria” highlights on the works of roman catholic church of the ancient and modern missionaries, and of the evangelical church of west africa etc. who established a massive orchards with the aim of teaching the people basic agricultural practices. he noted that the roman catholic church also set up a famous trade centre in markurdi where students are taught a variety of trades and the students in turn make their living from those trades learnt from the school. antyo further posits that nongo u kristu u sudan ken, tiv (nkst) since its igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 134 establishment has helped in developing local craftsmen among her members. these people learn how to make sweaters, weave baskets, and other crafts and a market was open in the hospital were people come and patronize them. ecwa church was also known of setting up many rural farms where eggs, chickens and animal feeds are produced. the farm later graduated to centre for improvement and learning of poultry farming which helped to empower the masses. oladipo (2000) in tracing the church record in poverty alleviation and empowerment noted that, many churches have set up programmes to empower the masses. the european voyage of world discovery as he opined introduced new staple crops and use of animal power for farming. they also brought in skill training and modern health care services on which members were trained. furthermore, he asserts that churches are working tirelessly in setting up household income-generating activities for the members of the society. he noted the assistance of the church to the people in poultry, pig and bee-keeping farming while most of the youths were trained in mason work, carpentry work and other craft works. also in his contribution, odili (2016) unpublished work on ‘’the church and poverty alleviation in bundu ama, rivers state’’, spotlighted the effort of st. mary‘s catholic church, which has a school in a nearby area and has members of bundu ama as her workers which is aimed at empowering them to take care of their families. the church also gives free education which serves as an encouragement and morale to the children. st. barnabas anglican church on her own has also embarked on many programmes on skill acquisition and empowerment to both women and youth which has made them to learn skills that have been helping them in meeting with their personal and family demands. most of these skills include bead making, baking, phone repair, interior decoration and more. church and medical services one other area the church’s social welfare is evident is in the field of medical services. the researcher observed that churches of today are contributing immensely in helping the sick ones through hosting of programmes aimed at having a free medical treatment and checkup. in line with this assertion, olayinka (2016) in his work “rccg offers free medical service” opines that churches have igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 135 really been making impact in the society, noting the work of redeemed christian church of god who organized a free medical programme in orisumbare in alimosho local government area of lagos state of which over two hundred persons were attended to. the services among others include free diagnostic tests to ascertain their blood sugar level, blood pressure, and other blood related examinations like widal test, typhoid test and others. the beneficiaries were offered drugs as their health examination demanded. in their appreciation, mr adeoye balogun who was a beneficiary and a muslim thanked the church for such gesture which he noted that took the church a huge money and further remarked that many persons that were treated were people that could not have attended for their hospital bills and would have died in their sickness, which was also emphasized by mrs suraju sulaiman in her word of thanks. mccaughan (2011) in his work, “need a doctor, free church medical clinics offer hope”, spotlighted st timothy’s episcopal church in brookings who takes care of the poor by annually organizing a free medical service on which dozens of people are recorded. the people are fed from the free medical soup kitchen and thereafter the medical checking. the church also offers help to the poor, empowers those that need empowerment and administers medications on the masses. st. peter’s church is also known for their medical services; the church is a small church but has been known of her medical treatment every tuesday on which people are attended to. the church’s clinic has been hope to people that would have died of their sickness because they are ever ready to attend to the need of the people. narrating the importance of this service by the church, a mother who had diabetes thanked the church for their checkup on the community and administration of drugs on the people with remark that she got the supply she needed which were a meter and test strips to monitor her blood sugar level, noting that the service by the church has helped them. the services of st. james church which opens every wednesday between 6am and 9pm and offer eye medical, dental service and preventive care services was also noted. the church maintains that their service is not only to the soul but also to the body which is their propelling force in carrying out these social responsibilities in the society. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 136 church and school apostolate. the church has played a very prominent role in the field of education. this is traceable to the early missionary days when schools where managed by the church. it is in line of this that odili (2016) opines that among christian missions, education and evangelism were inseparable, which was the way the missionaries used in converting the heathen to christianity. he noted that even though various missions adopted different approaches of the implementation, they all regarded education as an indispensable tool in evangelical endeavour. recommending the effort of the mission in establishing education, odili opines that while the methodists should be applauded for establishing school in ukwuaniland, it was the church missionary society that made the most contributions to education in the early period, he went further to observe that the various missions established myriad of primary schools for boys and girls all over western nigeria. in a similar way, ademola in odili (2010) in his work “christian mission and evolution of the culture of mass education in western nigeria”, opines that the beginning of western education in western nigeria is traceable to the era of church missionaries who established contact with this part of the country in 15h century which began with the portuguese who entered into the coastal areas in about 1472. fafunwa in odili (2010) is in agreement with ademola, who also opines that missionaries without exception used the school as means of conversion and the government was not interested in educational endeavour which made education to be in the hand of the missions. although, schools are now under the government but the church is still actively participating in the maintenance of the standard of education. the church has also in diverse way contributed in making sure that the masses have their share in educational product. it is in line of this that oladipo (2000) opines that many of our leaders were trained and educated in christian schools. he further observed that in the western, schools were taken away from the church which affected the levels of education in the country. this agrees with adomah and aluede of which the mission or church did not sleep but opened up vocational training school were the youths were skillfully trained. it was the vocational schools that gave rise to the government establishment of polytechnic for skill training. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 137 also antyo (2012) in his work on “the role of churches in government poverty eradication programmes in nigeria”, posits that with the bead of contributing in poverty alleviation, the church is fully involved in the field of education. knowing full well that with education, poverty is alleviated, hence he said, education is generally aimed at addressing poverty which has a tremendous influence is fighting poverty. he noted that nongo u kristus u sudan, (nkst) the church of christ, and the evangelical church of west africa (ecwa), have all established, primary, secondary and tertiary schools which admit students in low fees and also give scholarships to children of the less privileges in ensuring that they are not deprived of education. these schools he noted also train the students in skillful acts so that they will not only hope for white collar jobs but can also be entrepreneurial on their own after school years. he further noted that the pentecostal group of churches is not left out in establishing schools and helping in educational endeavour with scholarship awards given to children by most of these churches as ways of making impact in the society. also in his work on “the role of the church in poverty alleviation in africa”, oladipo (2000) opines that one of the strategic advantages of the church in poverty alleviation is her educational impact in the society. this he observed is evident in urban and rural areas and even been carried out by church that may not be capable of such but because they understood the expectations on her as the hope of the hopeless, she has to shoulder such responsibility, knowing full well that once one is educated, he is liberated from the clutches of poverty and ignorance which aids him to be a reasonable and impacting member of the society. uchegbue (2013) in his work “the place of the church in the socio-political and economic liberation of nigeria”, remarked on the impact the national christian council of kenye (ncck) is making in the educational endeavour in the lives of the youth. he observed that when there was an increase in the number of school leavers, the national christian council and the christian churches educational association began to innovate ways forward for the educational system and the village polytechnic in kenya was a child of this thought which helped to admit and train the youth and equip them to overcome the challenges of life. it will not be an irony to posit that, churches have helped in the missionary age in establishing schools and have gone beyond in sponsoring and carrying responsibility for the people’s igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 138 education endevour with the view to making sure that her impact is positively felt in the society. church and social justice. poverty which has been a cankerworm that is ravaging many communities in nigeria today has been on the increase despite all the efforts made by the government and the church in arresting it. gnanakarn (2004) opines that, poverty has been on the increase because of injustice made on the poor masses by the rich ones which has brought about inhuman living conductions and its accompanied disease and malnutrition. in his view, the struggle against this inhuman practice of injustice is one that the church must fight and make her impact in the liberation of the masses. according to boff (1994) the rich through injustice has related to inequality and inequitable practice in discharging of justice which has contributing to the perpetuation of poverty in the nation and the church should not be isolated in the fight of this but should address it because it is among her collective responsibility. in line with this, okwoeze (2005) in his book, “africa the agony of a continent: can liberation theology offer any solution”, reacting to the role of the church in the fight against injustice opines that in this fight, the church is thus confronted with two costly options, the less, costly would be for it to be quiet and live. but the problem is that if it keeps quiet, the people who fill up the pews every sunday would begin to see it as having aligned itself with the powerful oppressors and then desert it which will be the real death. on the other hand, if the church takes the courage to follow the more costly option by speaking out in favour of the exploited. for a time, she may be crucified but eventually, it will resurrect because the people on account of whom it is crucified will fill up its pews and make it reverberate with life to the utter consternation of its oppressors. in his work, “the place of the church in the sociopolitical and economic liberation of nigeria”, uchegbue (2013) opines that the church has a significant role to play in nigeria politics by acting as a moral watchdog of the society. he noted that the level of injustice prevalence in the nation now is alarming such as niger delta military, indigenous people of biafra, the bokoh harram episode etc. injustice in nigeria today according to him has a global foundation and international connection of which experiences will leave one with the conclusion that the society is solely unjust and has a need of social justice. according to rodney in adegbola igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 139 (1984) the issue of injustice in nigeria demands cooperate efforts of the government and the church to fight. this according to him is so because, during european colony, all that africa had was taken from her and still impoverished her, but today it is known that colony did not end with the flagging of independence but after the colonial masters left, neo-colonialism began which puts the masses under a local colonialism by some rich few, which demands the voice of the church for justice. speaking on the need for the voice of the church in the economic direction of the nation, adegbola (1984) opines that the elite today have constituted themselves into a circle to squander the rich resources of the nation without equitable distribution to the lesser individuals. this he likened to the practice of europeans and americans who constituted themselves into a circle to ensure that the resources of the third world are transferred to the developed world. the consequence of this action was that it created ways for imperialism within the nation of which injustice is perpetrated. in the socio psychological direction of injustice in nigeria adegbola (1984) further observed that it is reflected in the employment of racism in nigeria. it is a situation whereby a set of people see themselves as born to rule, while other races are on the ruled side. this demonstrates to the obvious manifest of tribalism, ethnicsm, nepotism and classism. this is in agreement with olukoju (1997) who noted that nigerian politics has been filled with racism which made the hausa’s to see themselves as the only people to be producing the president. this is injustice manifested, which must be addressed if the nation will progress. okwoeze (2004) in his book “the paradox of a nation”, lamented for this unjust practice in the democratic rule of this nation and queries if nigeria is really practicing democracy or demofacism. thus the practice as in nigeria today is a rape on democracy, which has laid down justice and rule of law and needs combine effort to speak for justice. also in his book “democracy and the ripples of executive rascality ”, okwoeze (2005) opines that the level of lawlessness in the nation which is evident in the executive class has brought about an increase in corruption and injustice, which the church will not be silent and the pews are been use as mess in fulfilling selfish political ambition. on this note, he calls on the church to rise and let her voice be heard against injustice. the situation of the injustice in nigeria can be described in what hasting (1976) termed a country with few rich and very many poor people with the majority of the masses seen as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 140 marginalized citizens who have learnt to live and be accommodated in the culture of penury and poverty. a country where many graduates are moving around the street without jobs and the unborn children of the rich have places already kept for them in places of work. in view of the ongoing, abati (2009) posits that it is clear that injustice is an issue that has lingered which demands for deliverance and liberation of which the voice of the church must be loud for she is a religious organization and viable social institution which must take a positive stand in the fight of injustice wherever it appears. it has been observed that christians and churches have not relented in speaking against injustice in nigeria no matter who does it. okwoeze (2004) in his book “c .a .n my foot, the reckless utterances of a willful president” posits that during the kano riot in 2004, in which most christians were brutally killed by the muslims of which the number were about 3000 people, and 30 churches burnt down. the c.a.n branch of kano state categorically spoke against that thus “it is inhuman, barbaric and an act of vandalism for kano state government to throw into challawa river dead bodies of these christians. we condemn in strong term the mass burial. the blood of these christians will rise in judgment before god against them”. similarly, with the rise of killing of the igbo’s in the north, and the incessant killing of christians on which the government will just make a perfunctory condemnation of the killing, threaten fire and brimstone on the killer, set a commission of inquiry to investigate both the remote and immediate causes of the killing, get the report from the commission, hide the report somewhere so that nobody will hear of it or see it again, and then wait for another round of killing to start all over again. the killers are not punished, often, they are even rewarded. the victims and their relatives are not compensated instead, the dead bodies of the latest killing in kano were insulted by being thrown into the river (okwoeze, 2004). he further observed that when the outcry against the cruel neglect and the calculated attempt to destroy the igbo’s were discovered to have reached its peak, the bishop catholic of onitsha in his pastoral statement spoke against such treatment on the igbo’s and asked the government to rise and give justice a place in her administration so that everybody and tribes will have equal share in the government of the day. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 141 also in his book “martin luther king jr; his life and message”, okwoeze (1995) discussing on the church and social justice made it clear that the church has ever been in the fight for injustice which was what martin luther king jr, was known for. he further related it to nigeria context on which he stood on the ground that without the voices of the church in nigerian’s administration, she would have been worse than what she is. it is clear that the church has not been quit in the face of injustice, especially when mrs. magret was murdered by the muslims; the church did not keep silent but made her voice heard through writing and preaching. omega power ministry and social welfare; an overview according to george (2016) in his book “apostle dr. chibuzor chinyere, making a difference”, the omega power ministry (opm) under the leadership of apostle dr. chibuzor chinyere has made extensive monetary contributions into so many projects like skill acquisition, borehole, renovation of schools, building of houses for widows, poverty alleviation etc where thousands of people have benefited from. it is pointed by george that the church does not only give god’s people spiritual food, but also gives them cloths, free education, accommodation etc. this is in line with its ground of formation on humanitarian works with the aim of reaching out to the helpless and the downtrodden with the gospel and the love of god. the foundation has been noted for the rehabilitation of thousands of boys, girls, men and women alike, empowering them to achieve their goals in life, training them in various volitions and also giving them financial empowerment. in 2010, the omega power ministry foundation commissioned a free computer training centre at elele prison in rivers state of which many prisoners are graduates of the scheme. this program equipped so many youths who later got employments into private and government section in the state and beyond (george, 2016). in 2012, the omega power ministry foundation commissioned a free tailoring and computer training centre in rumuji town in which both non indigenes and indigenes have benefited from. the foundation provided and commissioned a water borehole in rumuji and ohaji of which many persons are benefiting from. (amadi, 2017, oral interview). in 2014, according to cletus in an oral interview, the foundation was responsible for the opening and running of the omega power ministry free restaurant to caters for the needs of the hungry in our society; this has igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 142 been going on now. he further remarked that the foundation has also floated the omega power ministry free education in ohanku, abia state, where the children of the less privileged can get basic and quality education. the foundation is also running the same school in port harcourt where children are given four sets of uniforms, free sandals, free lunch, free computer training, free text and exercise books, fully air conditioned classroom and an equipped laboratory (cletus, 2017, oral interview). in the words of gogo (2017) in an oral interview, the omega power ministry foundation dug a water borehole for people of mkpukpuwa community in abia state. the foundation built housing estate in rumokuruishi, rumuigbo and aluu communities among others for the masses. this foundation also built two bedroom flats for widows. omega power ministry has established a multi skill acquisition centre in the areas of oil and gas, carpentry, tailoring, rig welding, scaffolding, free training school, batch building etc which was commissioned in port harcourt at 62 circular road by apostle dr. chibozor chinyere and a record of 6000 beneficiaries and more have benefited. gogo further noted that omega power ministry in her work in the society did not leave the educational section. this is shown in her reconstructing of the ikuorie comprehensive secondary school that was in a sorry state for over 10 years in ohanku ukwa east local government area of abia state. the school was equipped with computers, and a power generator, copper’s lodge was built for serving corps members. in fact, the effort of omega power ministry in contributing to societal development is great. in his contribution to poverty alleviation, according to gogo (2013), a scene reminiscent to that of the holy pilgrimage was witnessed at the omega power ministry headquarters in port harcourt on wednesday february 6, 2013, as nigerians gather in the area to be partakers of the ministries free kerosene donation given to them through the church by chairman managing director of capital oil and gas limited. mr. ebubechukwu aso ifeanyi uba, who gave the donation through the general overseer as a sign of appreciation to god for all he has done for him. omega power ministry donates motor-bikes, hair dryers, other items to buru tai indigenes in tai local government area of rivers state on saturday, may 4, 2013. the general overseer on the said day gave out about ten (10) motor bikes, twelve (12) hair dryers’, seventeen (17) sewing machines and many farm implements to the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 143 members of the community. (port harcourt telegraph. vol v. no 22 of october 2-8, 2010) omega power ministry has also extended hand of charity on skill acquisition to accra ghana. a different scenario plays out in that area as the general overseer apostle (dr) chibuzor chinyere stormed that country to propagate the word of god and to explore avenues of opening more branches. the apostle used the occasion to commission three free skill acquisition centres at edytech refrigerator and air condition service training centre, osu, accra, ghana which is to train both members and non members of the church. it is not hidden that so many individuals are looming the street in search of where to rest their heads as their apartment. this is another area omega power ministry has ventured into with the view of reducing the population of homeless people. according to george (2016), the church built many houses for members of the society who have no affiliation with the general overseers of the church. speaking further, he posits that omega power ministry has built housing estates in rumuokwurushi, rumigbo and aluu communities among others for nigerians to occupy free of charge. the foundation still built two bedroom flats for widows in the society. a beneficiary mrs. precious a native of elebrada in emohua thanked the general overseer, who gave the gift of 2-bedroom flat and i bedroom flat to her daughter for graduating as the best student of port harcourt free school. the woman further admitted having a problem of accommodation since the husband died but by the charitable work of omega power ministry, she and her children have become owners of houses. (national network vol. 9, no 43, page 10 of october 3-9, 2012). the provision of free medical services is another way omega power ministry has been contributing to the society. according to gogo in omega power ministry goodness magazine vol. 2, no 10, nov. 1-30, 2013, omega power ministry built and commissioned free medical centre at ohanku ndoki in ukwa east local government area of abia state. speaking at the ceremony, the general overseer, apostle (dr) chibuzor gift chinyere noted that the idea of providning the free medical care services was borne out of passion for the people who could not afford the high cost of medical treatment. speaking with mr. amadi cletus in an oral igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 144 interview, it was also recorded that during the flood time in 2012, omega power ministry commissioned rehabilitation centres where people were medically treated for free and were also given relief materials. the church often times organizes a free medical program of which people normally participate (cletus, 2012). the omega power ministry foundation has also showed her commitment in education thus in 2016 she registered the west african examination council (waec) for all the 45 senior secondary three student of ikwuorie comprehensive secondary school, ohanku in ndoki ukwa east local government area of abia state. (verite newspaper vol. 7, no 44 of nov 1-7, 2016). in an oral interview grated to mr. talbot uzu, on sunday 12/03/17, it was gather that omega power ministry has not only provided material benefits to the society but has also brought sources of joy and happiness to the people. in his words space cannot enter thousands of testimonies recorded every sunday by members on what god has been doing in their lives. also in an oral interview granted to sis. loveth okerie who is from umuezala nsu of ehime mbano local government area of imo state but living at no. 1 nwele street rumodara, port harcourt recorded that she has been in the problem of getting and loosing but was in 2009, delivered from the spirit. another sis. nkechi godwin from ndokwa west local government area of delta state but living in rumukurushi, port harcourt told the researcher in an oral interview that she was healed of 24 years of bedwetting. sis beinnonyo yusuo also living at no 17 okereh street, mile 2 diobu port harcourt, testified on how god restored her menses which was not seen for over 5 years, but god through the general overseer restored it. according to omega power ministry good news of february 2017, mr. chiks, gombs nte living at no 3 njuru street agbonchia eleme was healed of 11 years of wound. mr. sampson ejike alezander living at no 7 faith close ogbatai, woji was delivered from 10 years of masturbation. sis chibuzor oguzie living in etche within the premise of omega power ministry but hails from umuezom umuekwune in ngo-okpala local government area of imo state, testified of having been healed of a problem that started immediately she got married in december 31st 2009. mrs ngozi okeke a resident of rumuodumaya in port harcourt who hails from osumenyi in nnewi south local government area of anambra state was healed of hiv disease. another mrs. ruth demian in an interview testified how god saved her three (3) years and two (2) months son from crawling. the researcher also in one of the sunday service in omega power ministry noted mr. simeon karshima igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 145 who was suffering from ulcer for the past five years, testified about his healing. there are millions of miracles recorded everyday in omega power ministry which space will be a constraint in putting them down. conclusion man has always been surrounded with unpleasant situations which have called for the intervention of non governmental bodies and individuals. in this regard, so many non governmental bodies and individuals have contributed their quota in abating these conditions. it is germane to postulate that the contribution of the church is of utmost important as the conscience of the society. this work has been a concerted effort in examining the roles of the church in contributing to changing the deplorable conditions of the people of which the writer has explored her efforts in poverty alleviation, youth and women empowerment, medical services, school apostolate and social justice. in this regard and more, the voice of the church has been loud and her actions felt which has contributed to a better society. the roles of omega power ministry in this regard has also been noted which is laudable in the society. recommendations the paper recommends that churches should make judicious use of their incomes in changing the lives of their members who are members of the society because those incomes are generated by the people and should not be used in exotic and flamboyant living. it also recommends that pastors should be up to the responsibilities of taking care of the social wellbeing of their members with the view that it contributes more to their spiritual stability. this is so because when an individual has a depressed and disturbing issue, his or her spiritual life will be affected but when those disturbing issues are arrested, it helps for a stability in the spiritual being. the paper goes further to recommend that churches should also try to work in synergy with the government to bring about a conducive and better society. this is so because the church as the conscience of the society cannot but be alive in her speaking to the government to make sure that the resources available are used for the betterment of the masses. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 146 any religious leader who knows that he is not called but has an ulterior motive for the ministry should close and look for other ways to make ends meet to avoid bringing shame and evil label to the proliferated churches (new religious movements). government should be active in her regulation of places of worship and if possible close some proliferated churches that have no impact in the society but are interested in enriching themselves and their family members. references abati r (2009) the expulsion of the fulani in wase, guardian newspapers sunday; may 17, 2009 adegbola a. e (1984) the church of the middle class elite in s.a adewale (ed) christianity and socio-political order in nigeria, ibadan; the nigeria association for christian studies press. antyo j (2012) the role of churches in government poverty eradication programmes in nigeria; a paper presented at the faculty of theology, stellenbosch university south africa, retrieved from http://ngtt.journal.ac.za ayiemba j.o, theuri m. mungai p.c, kemath .c. (2015) the mandate of the christian church in poverty alleviation, the case of the anglican church of kenya (ack) in maserio and winam divisions of kisumu district kenya; international research journal of arts social science vol. 4 (2) pp 43-54. berger p. l and neuhaus r.j (1977) to empower people, the role of mediating structures in public policy. washington d.c; american enterprise institute for public policy research boff l (1994) social ecology; poverty and misery in hallman d.c (ed) ecotheology, voice from south and north, new york; ny, orbis george m. (2016) apostle dr chibuzo chinyere, making a difference, port harcourt; spine prints. gnanakan k (2004) responsible stewardship of god’s creation, world evangelical alliance, bangalore; theological book trust hansan j. e (2017) what is social welfare history? social welfare project retrieved from http://socialwelfare.liberal.rcu.edu/recollections/socialwelfare-history igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 147 hasting a (1976) african christianity, london; geoffrey chapman. holman and broadman (1991) holman bible dictionary; holman bible pub. kodia d.h (2005) poverty in grace; social responsibility of the church and society in war against poverty, nairobi; uzima publishing house. macarthur j, what is the church retrieved on wed 26th june, 2019 from http://the master’s plan for the church. com mccamphan p (2011) need a doctor, free church medical clinics offer hope, http: //www.dailystandard.com/archieve/2015-1210/stories/28377/st-marys-church-offeringfree-medical-service, retrieve on mon 13/02/17 odili j. u (2012) new religious movements; the problem of definition and typology in owete k.i (edt) an introductory survey of the history of new christian religious movements in nigeria, choba; university of port harcourt press ltd. odili j. u (2014) indigenous agents and the school apostolate in ukwuaniland, 19101941, studia historiae ecclesiasticae, journal of the church history society of southern africa vo. xl, pp 215-323 odili j. u (2015) sustainable development and women education; empowering women through part-time theological educational programmes in nigeria higher institutions of learning; icheke journal of the faculty of humanities, ignatius ajulu university of education rumolumeni, port harcourt, nigeria vol. 13 no 1, pp 153-165 odili j. u and eluke p (2016) the church and poverty alleviation in bundu ama, rivers state, (an unpublished article) okwoeze j. o (1995), martin luther king jnr; his life and message, enugu; snapp press okwoeze j. o (2004) c. a. n my foot, the reckless utterance of a willful president, enugu; snapp press okwoeze j. o (2004) the paradox of a nation, enugu; snapp press okwoeze j. o (2005) africa, the agony of a continent, can liberation theology offer any solution (second edition), enugu; snapp press. okwoeze j. o (2005) democracy and the ripples of executive rascality, enugu; snapp press igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 148 oladipo j (2000) the role of the church in poverty alleviation in africa, jorunal of transformation vol 17. no 4, pp 146-15 olayinka l (2016) rccg offers free medical services http: //www.vanguardngr.com/2016/03/rccg-offers-free-medical-services. retrieved on mon. 13/02/17 olukoju a (1997) nigeria a historical review in f.u okafor (ed) strategies for curbing ethnic and religious conflicts in nigeria, enugu; fourth dimension publishers. omega power ministry goodness magazine special edition vol. 2 no 10, november 1-30, 2013. omega power ministry goodnews magazine, february 1-28, 2017. taylor m (2003) christianity, poverty and wealth; the findings of project 21 geneva world council of churches uchegbue c.o (2013) the place of the church in the socio-political and economical liberation of nigeria, a paper presented at 1st annual international interdisciplinary conference allc, portugal, retrieved on 18/02l/17 from www.allc.com undp (1996) progress against poverty; a report on activities since copenhagenundp progress report new york igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 77 return of mission schools and stakeholders’ discipline in rivers state, nigeria jones ugochukwu odili, phd & patrick eluke, phd department of religious and cultural studies faculty of humanities, university of port harcourt rivers state, nigeria jonesuodili@gmail.com; +2347038133706 doi: 10.13140/ rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract this study investigates stakeholders’ discipline and the return of mission schools since after their return to their original proprietors. data were gathered from secondary school students in mission schools returned to the roman catholic church in rivers state. a total of 381 respondents participated in the study. a structured questionnaire which adopted the 4-point likert scale was used to gather primary data. mean statistical tool with a cut-off point of 2.50 value and above as accepted factor was used for data analysis of the research questions, the hypotheses was analyzed using the z-test. the results reveal that there is a stakeholders’ discipline in mission school in rivers state since after the return of such schools to their original owners is quite commendable. it recommends that better incentives, such as retirement benefits, be made available to teachers in mission schools. the study finally suggests that an exhaustive inquiry into the relationship between mission schools and other private schools be carried out. keywords: mission schools; stakeholder‟s discipline, education, indiscipline, discipline, roman catholic schools. study background formal, western-type of education was introduced by british missionaries in the 1840s. the anglican church missionary society (cms) started several schools in the mid-1800s. the colonial government gave the church financial aid, but in the early twentieth century the government began building primary and secondary schools. by the time the british combined the northern and southern regions into one colony in 1914, a total of 11 secondary schools were in operation, all but one run by missionaries. there were also 91 mission and 59 government elementary schools. these mission schools provided low-cost qualitative education until 1970 when the schools were seized and nationalized by the government. at the end of the nigerian civil war in 1970, government seized and nationalised all schools that were hitherto owned by the missions “in an attempt to defuse tribalism”. with the government takemailto:jonesuodili@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 78 over the standard and quality of education fell. fees were introduced and hiked, which kicked millions of children out of school. school infrastructures deteriorated. libraries and laboratories disappeared in the schools. the welfare of teachers was ignored, etc. strikes, examination malpractice, truancy on the part of students and teachers became the order of the day. the concomitant effects of these were a water-washed quality of education in nigeria. the takeover of mission schools after nigerian civil war which led to the collapse of education in nigeria gave rise to an upsurge in crime and other anti-social activities in nigerian schools and society at large. there is the popular opinion that the result and product of new government schools are the hired killers, kidnappers, armed robbers and the moral failure which now characterize the society. the sudden takeover of the schools by the government brought about the collapse of education in schools that were hitherto reputed for high standards. morality and character building also collapsed. rather than recording improvement, the schools went into decadence to the present level where they are a mere shadow of what they used to be. bad governance and corruption compounded the problem, as money meant for the schools were embezzled leaving the institutions in squalid condition. it is this state of affairs that fired the clamour for the return of the schools to their owners. the rationale for return of mission schools to their original owner includes the cost implications, on state governments, of running such schools at their original standard. there is reason to believe that some state governments decided to hand over the schools by compulsion rather than reason. over the years, mounting pressure by interest groups on the states to return the schools to their owners led to this turn of events. besides, the failure of state governments to adequately fund education and improve the condition of the schools created burden. apparently, the state governments, which appeared over-burdened, found the demand for handover of schools a ready escape route from the statutory responsibility of catering for the schools. thus, by handing over hundreds of schools to the churches, they have lesser burden to carry on the education front. having handed over mission schools to their original owners, it is pertinent to ask if there has been any observable improvement in the abject academic and moral performance of students and teachers of most of the schools since they were returned to their owners. which primary or secondary school has been renovated to show that the rightful owners of the schools have taken over? which school is reputed for its excellent library or laboratory as it used to be? which of the schools has igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 79 transformed from poor performance in public examinations? mission schools of old used to be models and their products extraordinary; which of today‟s mission schools is maintaining that enviable standard? have the “new” mission schools been able to curb the social vices of examination malpractice, cultism, truancy and absenteeism? have these mission schools, since their return to their original owners been able to inculcate discipline in students and teachers in particular and the society in general? these and other issues inform this study, „return of mission schools and stakeholders‟ discipline in rivers state‟. objectives of the study specifically the objectives of the study include to investigate: 1. the rate of truancy among students of mission schools since after the return of such schools to their original proprietors. 2. the rate truancy among teachers of mission schools since after the return of such schools to their original proprietors. 3. the rate of examination malpractice among students of mission schools since after the return of such schools to their original proprietors. 4. the rate of examination malpractice among teachers of mission schools since after the return of such schools to their original proprietors. 5. the rate cultism among students of mission schools since after the return of such schools to their original proprietors. 6. the rate absenteeism among students of mission schools since after the return of such schools to their original proprietors. 7. the rate absenteeism among teachers of mission schools since after the return of such schools to their original proprietors. research questions to accomplish the objectives of this study, the following research questions have been postulated: 1. how prevalent is truancy among students of mission schools since after the return of such schools to their original proprietors? igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 80 2. how prevalent is truancy among teachers of mission schools since after the return of such schools to their original proprietors? 3. what is the rate of examination malpractice among students of mission schools since after the return of such schools to their original proprietors? 4. what is the rate of examination malpractice among teachers of mission schools since after the return of such schools to their original proprietors? 5. how prevalent is cultism among students of mission schools since after the return of such schools to their original proprietors? 6. to what extent is absenteeism prevalent among students of mission schools since after the return of such schools to their original proprietors? 7. to what extent is absenteeism prevalent among teachers of mission schools since after the return of such schools to their original proprietors? research hypotheses based on the specific objectives set out to be achieved in this study, the following hypotheses have been postulated in the null form to help guide the study: 1. there is no significant relationship between stakeholders‟ discipline and the academic performance of students in mission schools since after the return of such schools to their original proprietors. 2. there is no significant relationship between qualitative education in nigeria since after the return of mission schools to their original proprietors. 3. there is no significant relationship between the handing over of mission schools to their original proprietors in rivers state and the curbing of examination malpractice in that state. stakeholders’ discipline and the academic performance of students scholars have dealt with teachers‟ disciplinary approaches on students‟ indiscipline in secondary schools and its correlation with students‟ academic performance (nakpodia 2010; kibet, 2012; ehiane, 2014; musa, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 81 2014; sambe and sambe, 2015). some draw a correlations between school leadership styles with discipline in a school system (njoroge and nyabuto 2014, mahmud, 2014; moye, 2015). scholars like kibet, (2012), in an attempt to establish the relationship between leadership approach and students‟ discipline in secondary schools lay most of the blame on the school management who frequently and very frequently retains the final authority in the school. scholars such as abayomi (2002) and mlowosa and mathias (2014) express concern that there are a lot of effects of indiscipline on a child and society in general. it may lead a child to become hardened criminal in future life, if not curbed. in her discussion of the home factor and truancy, musa (2014:83) sees the home as a powerful determinant factor in the behaviour of children and, that children who are not adequately monitored by their parents may show a variety of unhealthy symptoms in behaviours. in most cases a child, for instance, turns truant because parent do not show any interest in their academic performance. scholarly findings reveal that peer group factors, socio economic background of the students, poor academic performance of students, are contributory factors to indiscipline in the school system. in their paper, “to discipline or to punish? a critical discourse on schooling in south africa” ndofirepi, makaye and ndofirepi (2012), note that the issue of discipline is a major challenge faced by educators and parents in most of the south african schools. they lament that the south african schools act (sasa) (1996) is not explicit on the disciplinary strategies educators should adopt to handle learner indiscipline in schools. they argued that the failure of government to suggest an immediate alternative form of punishment has led to the continuation of corporal punishment thereby causing conflict between teachers, learners, and parents. consequently, indiscipline by students in south african schools is on the increase. in another vein, cornelius-ukpepi and ndifon (2012) study “factors that influence examination malpractice and academic performance in primary science among primary six pupils in cross river state, nigeria”, investigate factors that influence examination malpractice and academic performance in primary science among primary six pupils in cross river state, nigeria. they noted that the poor and declining academic performance of students in nigerian schools owing to examination malpractice is becoming so alarming that the achievement of the set goals of teaching science in primary school for sustainable science and technological development is endangered. examination malpractice is one of the common social ills threatening the educational sector at all levels and the fact that it is found among the primary school pupils is even more igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 82 worrisome. this is because the primary school is the foundation of any child‟s educational development. their study further affirmed that examination malpractice is thriving in nursery and primary schools where one would have thought that the children are young and innocent. cornelius-ukpepi and ndifon (2012:60) note that teachers have been variously accused of abating examination malpractice. teachers read answers to pupils in examination hall and even work sums for them to copy quickly before they are cleaned off. based on this statement, teachers may feel that if the pupils fail to perform well, it will be a slap on their faces hence the public will know that they did not carry out their teaching effectively. omemu (2015) laments that, this all important means of assessing students has become ineffective as all forms of malpractice have been introduced into the school system. jimoh‟s (2009) findings concur with the above findings. his study reveals that examination malpractice has become so widespread that there is virtually no examination anywhere at all levels and even outside the formal school system that there is no one form or sharp practice or the other. every examination season witnesses the emergence of new and ingenious ways of cheating. he sees examination malpractice as a social evil that can damage society to the extent of possibly leading to a failed state. it has very serious economic, political and social consequences. he reports that in the last ten years alone, the west african examinations council (waec) had to cancel the results of 814,699 candidates in its may/june examinations. considering the cost of buying examination forms alone, this amount to a waste of about 2.5 billion naira. jimoh‟s (2009) study further asserts that malpractice leads to irreversible loss of credibility. a country that becomes noted for examination malpractice losses international credibility. academic documents emanating from such country will be treated with suspicion. the literature so far revealed shows that the much needed stakeholders‟ discipline is lacking in the school system, especially in public schools. it is obvious that such negative behaviours such examination malpractice, truancy, cultism and lack of commitment are common features of government owned schools. findings from scholars so far reviewed showed that due to the aforementioned factors, government owned schools have not been able to provide the much needed qualitative education in nigeria, and that the much needed qualitative education can only be achieved if mission schools are returned to their former proprietors. it is against this backdrop that the current research examines stakeholders‟ discipline in mission schools in rivers state since after the return of such schools to their original proprietors. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 83 methodology the peculiar nature of this study pre-supposes the use of survey method. this method provides the researcher the opportunity to investigate the place of mission schools on the academic performance of students. the area of this study is port harcourt city local government area of rivers state, nigeria. the target population of this study is all roman catholic mission secondary schools in port harcourt local government area of delta state. teachers and students from j.s.1, j.s. 2, s.s.1 and s.s. 2 were randomly selected from one secondary school in each of the districts that make up the local government area through a simple random sampling technique. a total sample of 361 respondents was sampled out of the entire population. the instrument used in collecting data was the questionnaire containing items developed from the research question, purpose of study and the literature review. the questionnaire is framed in four points likert scale of 4,3,2 and i points for strongly agree (sa), agree (a), disagree (da) and strongly disagree (sd) respectively. the questionnaire was personally administered and retrieved by the researchers to the 381 selected teachers and students from j.s.1, j.s. 2, s.s.1 and s.s. 2 in the selected roman catholic mission secondary schools. responses obtained from the four point likert scale were treated to frequencies and mean calculated items by items. decisions were reached based on the mean comparing with decision of 2.50. thus any item having a mean value of 2.50 and above was accepted while any item having a mean value of <2.50 is rejected. the z-test statistics was 0.05 significant level. data presentation and analysis research question 1 how prevalent is truancy among students of mission schools since after the return of such schools to their original proprietors? table 1: opinion on the prevalence of truancy among students of mission schools s/no item mean remarks 1 there is a reduction of truancy among mission schools. 3.75 accepted 2 truant students are severely punished. 2.75 accepted 3 there are frequent roll calls to check truancy. 2.71 accepted 4 parents are consistently reminded of the consequences of truancy on students‟ academic 2.61 accepted igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 84 performance 5 truant students in mission schools are continuously counselled 2.83 accepted 6 extra curricula activities in mission schools attract students to school. 2.55 accepted in table 1 above items were examined to assess the frequency of truancy among students of mission schools since the return of such schools to their original proprietors. the result indicated that the mean severs from the items ranged from 2.55 to 3.75. judging from the 4-point scale, with a cut off of 2.50, it is evident from the data that all the areas covered are accepted as evidence that the frequency of truancy among students of mission schools since the return of such schools to their original proprietors is low. this may not be unassociated with the high level of discipline in such schools. research questions 2 how prevalent is truancy among teachers of mission schools since after the return of such schools to their original proprietors? table 2: opinion on teachers’ commitment in mission schools. 12 teachers in mission school are punctual to class 2.40 accepted 13 teachers in mission schools have a good rapport with students 2.53 accepted 14 teachers in mission schools are disciplined. 3.45 accepted 15 teachers in mission schools take time to explain concepts to students 2.91 accepted in table 2 above, the mean scores of the items assessed to ascertain the commitment of teachers in mission schools ranged from 2.40 to 3.42. apart from item 12 (with a mean of 2.40) the other items assessed were above 2.50 cut of level of the 4 – point scale, and as such were accepted. research question 3 to what extent have mission schools in rivers state been able to curb examination malpractice among students since their return to their original proprietors? table 3: opinion on mission schools and examination malpractice. 7 students in mission schools are not involved in examination malpractice. 3.51 accepted 8 teachers in mission schools do not aid their students 3.33 accepted igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 85 during external examination 9 students involved in examination malpractice are expelled from mission schools 2.91 accepted 10 students do not get involved in examination malpractice in in mission schools because they are well taught. 3.21 accepted 11 teachers and students in mission schools do not get involved in examination malpractice because they are afraid of sanctions imposed on the vice. 3.46 accepted table 3 above shows that all the items assessed to ascertain the opinion on mission schools and examination malpractice were accepted since their mean score varies between 2.91 and 3.51. hypothesis 1 there is no significant relationship between stakeholders‟ discipline and the academic performance of students in mission schools since after the return of such schools to their original proprietors. table 4: z–test on the relationship between of stakeholders‟ discipline and the academic performance of students in mission schools since after the return of such schools to their original proprietors status of school m sd n df table of zvalue calculated z-value level of sig value after the return 3.32 78 241 before the return 3.20 78 140 379 1.45 1.96 0.05 total 381 table 4 above shows that at a degree of freedom of 379, the calculated z – value of 1.96 is greater than the table value of 1.45 at a 0.005 significant level; hence we reject the hypothesis that there is no significant relationship between stakeholders‟ discipline and the academic performance of students in mission schools since after the return of such schools to their original proprietors. hypothesis 2 there is no significant relationship between qualitative education in nigeria since after the return of mission schools to their original proprietors. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 86 table 5: z-test on the quality of education in nigeria since after the return of mission schools to their original proprietors status of school m sd n df table of zvalue calculated z-value level of sig value remark after the return 3.38 87 191 379 1.96 2.16 0.05 before the return 2.33 75 190 total 381 table 5 shows that the calculated z – value of 2.16 is greater than the table value of 1.96 at a degree of freedom of 379 and a 0.05 level of significance. therefore the hypothesis that there is no relationship in the qualitative education in nigeria since after the return of mission schools to their original proprietors in rivers state is rejected. hypothesis 3 there is no significant relationship between the handing over of mission schools to their original proprietors in rivers state and the curbing of examination malpractice in that state. table 6: z-test on the effects of mission schools and examination malpractice in rivers state status of school m sd n df table of zvalue calculated z-value level of sig value after the return 2.94 62 191 1.96 6.53 0.05 before the return 2.90 70 190 379 total 381 data in table 6 shows that the calculated z – value of 6.53 was significant at the table zvalue of 1.96 at a degree of freedom of 379. since the calculated z-value of 6.53 is greater than the table z-value of 1.96, we, therefore, reject the hypothesis that there is no significant relationship between the handing over of mission schools to their original proprietors in rivers state and the curbing of examination malpractice in that state discussion of finding igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 87 the results of the hypothesis 1, 2 and 3 revealed that there is a significant relationship between the handing over of missions schools and discipline of stakeholders ( in this case students) in rivers state. this result is in consonance to the findings in the literature reviewed in, which missions schools were shown to influence students‟ academic performance. scholars such as agi (2013) study had found significant relationship between mission schools and the academic achievement and moral standards of students in such schools. according to agi‟s (2013) findings mission schools in the rivers state rate highly in terms of academic performance, good facilities, discipline, and good school climate. from research question 1, it is evident that the rate of truancy in mission schools since after the return of such schools to their original proprietors is low. this is due to the fact that there is a high sense of discipline among students in such schools just as it was before the takeover of such schools by the federal government of nigeria. the study also shows that there is a high sense of discipline in mission schools. reason may not be unrelated to the emphasis on spirituality and goodliness. mission schools are known to inculcate godly and goodly virtues in their students. mission schools also maintain a very high sense of discipline and decency. this is what is often lacking in public schools ere the authorities do not a grip of control over their students. this finding is contrary to a popular opinion held by those who were against the return of mission schools to their original owners. it has been observed that mission schools have a high sense of discipline (iaarr 2013). it is evident from research question three that contemporary mission schools have been able to curb, to a greater degree, examination malpractice in rivers state. from the study it is discovered mission schools do not hesitate to punish teachers who aid and abate examination malpractice, while guilty students are expelled from the school. besides students from such schools are well taught and disciplined. the teachers from mission schools do justice the school curriculum and scheme of work. at the long run, the students are confident of themselves. the study further revealed that the infrastructures in mission schools are often adequate. there is a good sense of maintenance culture on the part of the school authority. the laboratories are well equipped. the libraries are often stocked with good books. all these go a long way to improve the academic performance of students in mission schools in rivers state. the commitment of teachers in mission schools in rivers state is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 88 commendable; they are punctual and regular to classes and equally do justice to the scheme of work. some scholars like ugwulashi (2011) have argued that that the establishments of mission schools have made it easier for even small communities have access to quality education which the public school cannot assure in the locality. education has been communalized by this process that even the lower class competes with the middle class and middle class with upper class on choice of schools for their children. these schools have narrowed the gap and improved the system to a great extent in standardizing education which the public schools failed to provide for the nation at large because of decaying state in the management of education. the study also discovered that this effort is highly appreciated by many parents for creating standard considering the messy situations public educational institutions are faced mostly at the primary and secondary levels. the deteriorating state of public school has led to critics about its future by the society. most of the public schools have the best teachers but enthusiasm is lost because of the place of teachers in the society. also there are no funds and cannot properly generate funds for its management, meeting school demands became extremely difficult thus affecting organization performance. finance is one problem that crumbles effective administration of public school. unlike public schools that depend on government in the face of dwindling economy, mission schools are sole dependent on private finances. conclusion this study has surveyed the stakeholders discipline in mission schools since after the return of such schools to their original proprietors in rivers state. the stakeholders examined in this study are teachers and students. it areas of discipline covered are include the frequency of truancy, examination malpractice and teachers‟ commitment. while it is evident that there are other variables that affect the academic performance and moral standard of students, this study has shown that the positive effects of handing over of schools to missions on the academic performance, moral development and attainments of students can never be overemphasized. the findings of this study have a lot of implication for policy makers, stakeholders in the educational industry, the economy of the nation and the general society at large. since the gesture of handing over of schools to missions has yielded positive impact on the educational sector, other public institutions can equally be privatized. secondly, a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 89 further attempt in the future to disturb private participation in the educational sector would lead to a further deterioration of the standard of education in the country. this, in the long would adversely affect the general development of the country since most of the man power of the nation was under developed, it should be emphatically stated the government alone cannot provide sufficient and adequate education for the teaming population of the country. the cost implications of be solely responsible for the provision of education is nigeria would be much for the government. this is the major factor responsible for the poor funding of public schools in nigeria. the concomitant effect of this is a decline in the standard of education in the country. indiscipline would be high on the part of the teachers who may not see the need to be committed to jobs since they are poorly paid and the motivation is low. following this would be the tendency for teachers in public schools to embark on industrial action which would in turn disrupt the academic calendar of the school system in the country. since the teachers are not committed to their jobs, it simply means that the curriculum would not be covered. the attendant implication of this is that teachers of public schools would devise means to aid and abate examination malpractice by collecting money from the students for both internal and external examinations. based on the implications of the study, we wish to recommend as follows: i. government should sponsor legislation that will favour private participation in the provision of standard education in the country. ii. mission schools should allow those who could not pay their school fees to continue their studies until the end of their study; but such fees should be paid before giving them their certificates. iii. more schools, especially primary schools should be handed over to missions. iv. retired teachers from mission schools should be given pensions and gratuity. v. the fees charged by mission schools should be moderated by a govern agency. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 90 vi. the government should subsidize the cost of education. vii. there should be an aggressive enlightenment campaign on the need for proper funding of schools in nigeria may we conclude by stating that faith-based organizations and private schools operators will find this study very significant, especially missionary churches in rivers state and other states in nigeria. stakeholders of the educational sector in nigeria will benefit immensely from this study. this study is equally hoped to be able to influence government‟s policy on education at the federal and state levels. the research would equally go a long way to checkmate those who are against the return of schools to missions in nigeria. finally, the findings of this study will be an issue of great concern for the minister of education and other related cum allied agencies in nigeria. references adomeh, ilu o.c. and oyaziwo aluede (2007). “harnessing the gains of public and private cooperation in education delivery in nigeria” journal of social sciences, 14(1): 73-79. ajayi, ademola s. (2006). “christian missions and evolution of the culture of mass education in western nigeria” in journal of philosophy and culture, vol. 3, no. 2 june 2006, 33-54. agi, ugochukwu k. (2013). “the challenges and prospects of managing private school system in rivers state” an international multidisciplinary journal, ethiopia vol. 7 (1), serial no. 28, pp. 340351 issn 1994-9057 (print) issn 2070--0083 (online) doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/afrrev.v7i1.23p340-351 catholic church policy on education; approved for use in enugu state by the catholic bishops of awgu, enugu and nsukka diocese (2010), enugu: lay apostolate publications. ememe, ogbonna n., chinasa c. ezeh, and grace uzoaru onwuchekwa (2008). “truancy and academic performances of students in secondary schools in aba north, abia state south-east nigeria” in international journal of research development pp 24-34 gusau, bello umar (2008). “educational reforms in nigeria: successive years of inconsistences and confusions”, gusau educational development association (geda), interactive session. january 2008. iaarr (2013): www.afrrevjo.net 347 indexed african journals online: www.ajol.info: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/afrrev.v7i1.23p340-351 http://www.ajol.info/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 91 kibet, m.j. et el. (2012,) “principal leadership and its impact on student discipline in kenyan secondary schools: a case of koibatek district” in inkanyiso, journal of humanities and social sciences 4(2): 111-123 mahmud, mohd zaki (2014) “leadership and management school in controlling discipline” in journal of education and practice vol.5, no.23, 128-132. mlowosa, tiberius p. natalia kalimang‟asi, and bundala dodo mathias (2014). “the impacts of truancy in academic performance among secondary school students: a case study of kigamboni ward in temeke municipality” in international journal of scientific and research publications, volume 4, issue 11, november 2014 moye, gbemi peter (2015 ). “students‟ indiscipline and principal attitude in ondo state secondary schools” in journal of education and practice vol.6, no.16. pp80-91 musa, titilayo m. (2014) “absenteeism and truancy on academic performance of secondary school students in ogun state, nigeria” in journal of education and practice vol.5, no.22 pp 81-87. nakpodia, e. d. (2010). “teachers‟ disciplinary approaches to students‟ discipline problems in nigerian secondary schools” in international ngo journal vol. 5(6), pp. 144-151. http:// www.academicjournals.org/ingoj ndofirepi, amasa; jeriphanos makaye and elizabeth s. ndofirepi (2012) “to discipline or to punish? a critical discourse on schooling in south africa” greener journal of educational research vol. 2 (4), pp. 083 090, november 2012. ngutor sambe et al (2015).”the impact of truant behavior on academic achievement of secondary school students in the ukum local government area” in international journal ofeducation science 10(2): 311-317 njoroge philomena mukami and ann nduku nyabuto (2014). “discipline as a factor in academic performance in kenya” in journal of educational and social research, mcser publishing, romeitaly vol. 4 no.1 289 -307. nnamdi anero, (n.d.) “the experiences of government politicization in participating over policies and programmes of primary education in nigeria” proceedings of the 2011 international conference on teaching, learning and change (c) international association for teaching and learning (iatel) odili, jones u (2010). “the roles of pastoral agents at indigenising anglican chruches in ukwuaniland, 1841-1941”. a ph.d. http://www.academicjournals.org/ingoj igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 92 dissertation submitted to the school of graduate studies university of port harcourt, port harcourt. oluremi, fareo dorcas (n.d.). “truancy and academic performance of secondary school students in southwestern nigeria: implications for counselling” stanley, ehiane, o. (2014,) “discipline and academic performance (a study of selected secondary schools in lagos, nigeria)” in international journal of academic research in progressive education and development, vol. 3, no. 1 pp. 181-194. taiwo, foluso (2010) “federal government take over of schools in the 70s, a great mistakearch bishop okoh” http://www.facebook.com/notes/the-church-of-nigeria-anglicancommun... tuluhi and bello (1985) principles and practice of education. oxford university press ibadan. wosu-akpah, n. (1997) “statistical analysis of the effect of secret cult in our tertiary institution (a case study of some selected tertiary institution in edo state)” unpublished research seminar in sociology of education, university of port harcourt, port harcourt. http://www.facebook.com/notes/the-church-of-nigeria-anglican-communion/federal-government-take-over-of-schools-in-the-70s-a-great-mistake-arch-bishop-o/469275431917 http://www.facebook.com/notes/the-church-of-nigeria-anglican-communion/federal-government-take-over-of-schools-in-the-70s-a-great-mistake-arch-bishop-o/469275431917 the igbo-african kola nut as a symbolic manifestation of ‘igwebuike’ philosophy igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 41 the igbo-african kola nut as a symbolic manifestation of ‘igwebuike’ philosophy ikechukwu anthony kanu department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university umunya, anambra state ikee_mario@yahoo.com executive summary among the igbo of eastern nigeria, symbols are not only important, but have become indispensable in their daily lives. several symbols used include: ofo, which is a symbol of authority; ogu, the symbol of innocence; ikenga, a symbol of strength, uprightness, success, integrity and ancestry; mbari, the symbol of culture and aesthetics; mmanwu, the symbol of the ancestors; udara, the symbol of fertility, procreation and abundance. all these symbols among the igbo put together are not as important as the symbolic expressions of the igbo kola nut (oji igbo) ‘cola acuminata’. it is among the greatest, if not the greatest symbol among the igbo, and belongs to the mysteries of igbo history, culture and tradition. it symbolizes the well-acclaimed igbo hospitality, and manifests goodwill. it is used to settle disputes and make peace, and serves as a link between human beings and the divine. this work studied the igbo kola nut in relation to its symbolic expression of igwebuike philosophy. igwebuike, at the philosophical level, provides an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. taking from the igwebuike worldview, which places the human person at the centre of the universe, the kola nut was employed to advance the understanding of the human person’s relationship with fellow human beings, and the relationship between human beings and the gods, ancestors, etc. this piece discovered that the kola nut ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 42 expresses igwebuike philosophy which is the operative condition of the igbo universe. for the purpose of this study, the igwebuike holistic and complementary approaches were employed. keywords: oji, igbo kola nut, africa, igwebuike, complementarity, symbol, philosophy introduction the african is a homo symbolicus, and one does not need to live long among them to discover that symbols occupy a very significant place in their life. as representational beings, they have a distinctive character of creating and using symbols to communicate evocative messages that represent aspects of their lives or those around them. the african is, therefore, not just a symbol-making being, but a symbolizing being. farchild (1965) describes a symbol as: …that which stands for something else particularly a relatively concrete explicit representation of a more generalized, diffuse, intangible object or group of objects. a very large part of social processes is caused on by use of symbols such as words, money, certificates and pictures. a true symbol excites reactions similar to, though perhaps not quite as intense as those created by the original object. (p. 314). it is from the above perspective that madu (2011) maintains that symbolism implies the practice of using acts, sounds, objects or other means which are not of importance in themselves for directing attention to something that is considered important. among the igbo of eastern nigeria, several symbols are used to direction attention to significant realities; symbols like the ofo, which symbolizes authority; ogu, the symbol of innocence; ikenga, a symbol of strength, uprightness, success, integrity and ancestory; mbari, the symbol of culture and aesthetics; mmanwu, the symbol of the ancestors; and udara, the symbol of fertility, procreation and abundance. all these symbols among the igbo put together are not as the igbo-african kola nut as a symbolic manifestation of ‘igwebuike’ philosophy igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 43 important as the igbo kola nut (oji igbo) cola acuminata. it is among the greatest, if not the greatest symbol among the igbo. of the many cultural symbols in igboland, none has received attention like the kola nut. it is very important and central to the life and ceremonies of the igbo. this work studies the igbo kola nut in relation to its symbolic expression of igwebuike philosophy. igwebuike, at the philosophical level, provides an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. taking from the igwebuike worldview, which places the human person at the centre of the universe, the kola nut, as a symbolic expression, will be studied to see to what extent it expresses the understanding of the human person as a being relationship with fellow human beings and the divine: gods, ancestors, etc. the igbo kola nut in igbo-african religion and culture for the igbo, the kola nut goes beyond the red and yellow seed that you find in trays sold on the streets and in kiosks. it is not just the biannual crop grown and stored in sacks and baskets (kanu, 2015a). it is a food that must be eaten with relish; it commands adoration and many accolades and must be attended to with deserving feast. it unites the living and the dead, and symbolizes a feast of togetherness, love and trust. the kola nut is a symbol of life ndu; this is why the igbo say: “he that brings kola brings life” (kanu, 2019). uchendu (1965) refers to the kola nut as “the greatest symbol of igbo hospitality. it always comes first. ‘it is the king’”(p. 74). and because of the important place it occupies, presenting it is very ceremonial. the ceremony begins with the presentation of the kola nut to the guests through the next ranking male after which it is returned to the host. it is usually presented alongside with white chalk (nzu), alligator pepper, garden egg, bitter kola, groundnut butter (okwa ose) in a wooden dish (okwa oji). inside the wooden dish is added a knife for the breaking of the kola. even if the visitor is just a person, more than one kola nut is presented in case the visitor may need to take one back home. anything less than two must be presented with apologies ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 44 before any other ritual commences. the presentation is followed by a prayer, said by the host if he is the eldest; if not, the prayer is said by the eldest person present. during the prayer, chukwu is invoked with incantations garnished with proverbs and prayers for life, good health, prosperity, children, peace, justice, etc. after the prayer, the kola nut is broken into its various lobes; this is followed by distribution and chewing. it is expected that everyone present would partake in the kola nut to avoid the euphoria of suspicion. figure 1: the kola nut: culled from www.pinterest.com as the heart beat of the igbo culture and tradition, the igbo kola nut is used for several purposes, which include: 1. to welcome a visitor to welcome a visitor with a kola is to receive the visitor into one’s life. it is also a sign that you wish the visitor life. 2. to open a prayer it is used for prayers and sacred communion because of the special place it occupies among the gods. 3. for rites, rituals and ceremonies the igbo-african kola nut as a symbolic manifestation of ‘igwebuike’ philosophy igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 45 it is what the gods, ancestors and men eat together during these ceremonies. 4. food and nutrition it is a food that contains caffeine, theobromine, tannins, potassium, magnesium, glycosides, etc. 5. commerce it is bought and sold just like any other goods and services. 6. cleansing it is used for ritual of cleansing of a person, property or place. 7. flavoring it is used for flavoring food, drinks and beverages. in 1886, pendergrast (2000) observes that it was used to flavor coca cola. 8. oath-taking, covenant and settlement of disputes when used during these circumstances, it is employed to call on god to be a witness. 9. divination and prophecy usually it is broken into lobes and cast on the ground, then the diviner makes an interpretation. 10. sacrifice and worship this is very important as it is a sacred meal, the meal of the gods. 11. receiving a new day it is used in the morning during invocatory poems and prayers. 12. medical and mystical uses because of its nutritive value, it has health consequences. it helps strengthen the tooth enamel surface. every kola nut can be broken into lobes, and these lobes signify numbers. and number is very important for the african. some have one lobe, some two lobes, some three, some four, some five, some six and some seven. one can also find a kola nut with more than seven lobes. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 46 the kkola nut with one lobe is a dumb kola (oji ogbi). it is also called the kola nut of the spirits (oji mmuo), round kola nut (oji ifilifi or nkpurukakpu), kola nut of the mystical circle or zero kola nut(oji akwu na ogbi or obi); it is not eaten by human beings because it belongs to chukwu; chukwu is a spirit (chukwu bu mmuo). a onelobed kola nut is neither male nor female, since chukwu is one and indivisible in nature. when it has two lobes, it is called oji gworo, symbolizing male and female. it is an elliptical gender shadow of oji ogbi and the first child of the one-lobed kola nut. it is the cola nitida. just like the one-lobed kola nut, it belongs to the spirits and is not used for religious and cultural celebrations in igbo land. however, it can be eaten after some prayers. three-lobed kola nut is called oji ikenga (ike eji aga, ikenga is a spirit of power and achievement) or oji dike (the kola nut of the brave or valiant), or oji echichi (the kola nut of titled people). it is the masculine kola. as a matter of principle, it is eaten only by warriors, brave men, the consecrated or the ordained. it is not eaten by women, except for those who may be seeking for a male child. the kola with four lobes (oji aka ano) is the kola of peace (oji udo) and blessings (oji ngozi), the kola nut of the four market days (oji ahia na ano ubosi na ano: afor, nkwor, eke and orie). it also symbolizes completeness (izu zuru oke, referring to the four market days). it is the kola nut for both male and female genders (oji nwoke na nwayi), and thus considered the most gender-sensitive kola. it is also called the kola nut of the family (oji ezinuno) because it is believed to unite the family. the kola with five lobes is the kola of procreation (oji omumu), protection, of industry and achievement (oji aka na okpa), of wealth (oji una or oji ubalaka), progress and good luck (oji sirili werere). whenever it is broken and shared, it is a sign that things will go well. the igbo-african kola nut as a symbolic manifestation of ‘igwebuike’ philosophy igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 47 it came from the four-lobed kola; however, unlike the four-lobed kola with two males and two females, the five-lobed kola comes with three males and two females. the kola with six lobes is called the kola nut of the ancestors (oji ndi chie), or the kola that doubles the ikenga kola (oji ikenga abuo). it is also called the covenant kola nut (oji ogbugbandu), the kola nut of communion (oji oriko) or the kola nut of blood and spirit ties (oji umume na umuite). it is the kola of blood and spirit, and thus, indicative of communion with the ancestors. no wonder the smallest part of it is not eaten but given to the ancestors. it is used to make peace, covenant ties, taking of oath and punishment of offenders. the last is the seven-lobed kola, which is known as the kola nut of perfection of man and spirit (oji asaa mmadu asaa mmuo), consummations, fulfillment, and completeness (oji kpurugede), the kola nut of the titled cow killer (oji ogbuefi), the kola nut of ozo title and prophecy (oji ozo na amuma), the kola nut of celebration and festivities (oji emume na mmemme), the kola nut of law and judgment (oji iwu na ikpe). it is also the kola of endlessness or eternity. thus, the igbo would say: uwam uwa asaa; asaa ndu na anwuanwu; ikpa naasaa mmiri naasaa (kanu, 2015b). the kola nut and the expression of igwebuike philosophy igwe bu ike is an igbo proverb and also a typical igbo name. igbo proverbs and names are among the major traditional vessels where african philosophy, religion and culture have continued to be preserved. they contain the wisdom and experience of the african people, usually of several ages gathered and summed up in one expression (kanu, 2018a). thus, beyond the linguistic expression lies a deeper meaning. it is at the philosophical level that igwebuike is understood as providing an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations (kanu, 2016a). the expression, igwebuike, is a combination of three igbo words. it can be understood as a word or a sentence: as a word, it is written as ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 48 igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. literally, igwe is a noun which means ‘number’ or ‘multitude,’ usually a large number or population. the number or population in perspective are entities with ontological identities and significances; however, they are part of an existential order in which every entity is in relation to the other. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is a noun, which means strength or power (kanu, 2016b). igwe, bu and ike put together, means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’ (kanu, 2017a). however, beyond the literal sense of igwebuike, it means otu obi (one heart and one soul) – cor unum et anima una. in a metaphoric sense, it is used within the igbo linguistic setting to refer to relational engagement in the world, accomplished in solidarity and complementarity, and the powerful and insurmountable force therein (kanu, 2017b). the closest words to it in english are complementarity, solidarity and harmony. if igwebuike provides an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations, the major question looming at the horizon is how the kola nut symbolizes this mutual relational character. it is in this regard that kola nut symbols of human/human and human/divine relationships will be studied. 1. the kola nut symbol of divine/human relationship the kola nut is a sacred symbol among the igbo, and it tells the story of the igbo religious reality. it is, therefore, not surprising that, in relation to its beginnings, the kola nut is presented in igbo mythologies as belonging to the plant world of the spirits and has remained associated with the spirit world. umeogu (2019) gives several mythical stories in this regard; however, the following three are of relevance to this research: 1. the autochthonous origin of the kola nut holds that it was planted by chukwu as the first tree planted on igbo land. it was planted by chukwu so that the fruits would serve as fruits for both the gods and human beings. it was also planted that it may become the gateway of communion between spirits and human beings. the igbo-african kola nut as a symbolic manifestation of ‘igwebuike’ philosophy igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 49 2. a second myth holds that the gods lived on kola nuts and sacrifices. usually, when they were offered sacrifices, they consumed the sacrifice with kola nut. human beings used sacrifices to invoke the presence of the gods so as to attend to human needs or challenges. during one of such invocations and the appearance of the gods in igbo land, they forgot to return with some of the kola nuts that they had brought to eat their sacrifice with. the kola nut then sprouted and became a cherished tree in igbo land. 3. a third myth has it that the founding fathers of igbo land paid a visit to the gods. as part of the welcome ceremony, the gods went to their orchard, plugged a fruit and offered it to the founding fathers of igbo land. on their return home, these founding fathers returned with the kola nut to igbo land, planted it and began using it in the world of human beings. since then, it has been used for welcoming visitors, rituals, ceremonies, etc. because of the sacred dimension of the kola nut, it has been regarded as a symbol of sacred communion between human beings and the gods, spirits, ancestors, etc. thus, during the blessing of the kola nut, osamugha (2006) observes that the prayer below is said: god in heaven come and eat kola. unfathomable god, come and eat kola. king who is the final arbiter, come and eat kola our ancestors, recent and remote, come and eat kola (p. 10). from the foregoing, the kola nut has been used by the igbo in their relationships with the divine. it is at this level that the kola nut is understood as a symbol of divine and human relations. through the kola nut, human beings do for the divine what they cannot do for themselves, and through it too, they appeal to the gods to do for them (human beings) what they cannot do for themselves. this communion between human beings and the gods is symbolized in and attained through the use of kola nut. there are special events when and where ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 50 it is used by human beings in their relationship with the divine. these times include: e. prayer it is very important in prayer because the kola nut speaks, and also used to communicate between human beings and the gods. it is so important that in every gathering of the igbo it is employed for the opening prayer. nzekwu (1966) presents a typical igbo prayer with the kola nut thus: creator of the universe, chew kola nut. our ancestral spirits, chew kola nut. he who brings kola nut brings life. wherever a child may be, may it wake each dawn. we will all live. forward jumps the male monkey; it never jumps backward. if a kite and an eagle perch, whichever says the other should not perch, may its wings break. whatever one’s occupation, may it provide for his old age. (p. 48). the oji (kola nut) and mmanya-oku (hot drink) are also important during libations, the food and drink of the gods. it is through libation that the african tries to normalize or balance the relationship between the three worlds. this libation is made to god through the agency of the ancestors and other deities. the igbo believe that through gifts, like the kola nut, they can gain god’s favour. f. divination and prophecy the kola nut is an important element during divination and prophecy among the igbo. divination involves a process of inquiry. people who wish to know why certain things happen, how to solve certain problems, and so on, go to diviners. this is usually done through the agency of a particular deity. the igbo would say onye amaghi ebe mmiri bidoro maba ya, anaghi ama ebe okwusiri (he who does not know where rain started beating him cannot know where it stopped.). the kola the igbo-african kola nut as a symbolic manifestation of ‘igwebuike’ philosophy igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 51 nut in divination speaks the minds of the gods. when it is broken and thrown to the ground, the diviner or prophet interprets what the gods are saying to a particular situation or individual. this interpretation is shaped by the way the lobes fall, whether facing up or down. for instance, if after the lobes are thrown to the ground or in a plate and they lie open on their backs, it is called itu mnwiri enu and is a sign of good things to come, but if they lie on their faces with their backs up, it is called itu mnwiri ala, and is a sign of bad omen. when it is a half face up, it is called itu mnwiri nko enu. when it is a half face down, it is called itu mnwiri nko ala. if the lobes forma circle, it is a sign of life. if they form a cross, it is sign of conflict or death. g. festivals, rites, rituals and ceremonies the kola nut is never absent in igbo religious festivals, rituals, rites and ceremonies. the reason is simple; the gods cannot be invited for a ceremony without making provision for their food: the kola nut. religious festivals and rituals, such as new yam festivals, harvest seasons, hunting seasons and planting season festivals, are activities that demonstrate and express belief and faith in chukwu and the spirit world. during these ceremonies, what god or the spirits have done for human beings are commemorated and powers obtained from the spirit world. for instance, the igbo’s celebration of the new yam festival is connected to the month of ahiajioku. it is a time when they give thanks to chukwu, his deans and the ancestors for granting them a bountiful harvest for the year. igbo traditional marriage ceremonies, etc., also provide an opportunity for communion with the ancestors, as the igbo invoke their blessings upon the newly married couple. h. sacrifice and worship the kola nut occupies an important place in igbo ritual home. for some, it is a crop grown in the forests and sold; but for the ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 52 igbo, it is an instrument for a holy communion. its sacredness explains why it is used by human beings during sacrifices and worship. through it, the human person is able to reach out to the gods. i. oath-taking, covenants and settlement of disputes the five and six-lobed kola nuts are used during oath-taking (inu iyi), covenants (igbo ndu or igbo oriko) and settlement of disputes (ikpe ikpe) to invite the gods and ancestors to be witnesses to the covenant that is made or oath that is taken or agreement reached during dispute settlement. the five-lobed kola is used for the settlement of dispute. if after the dispute is settled and the kola nut is broken, shared and eaten, it is sign that peace must reign between the persons involved. if afterwards, a mischief maker arises from among the persons, he would be in trouble. 2. symbol of inter-human relations the igbo kola nut symbolizes the unity and togetherness of the igbo people. this understanding begins from the shape of the kola nut itself: it has the shape of the human heart, and so it is regarded as the heart of the igbo people. it is in this regard that it is said that ‘the kola nut is the heart of the igbo people’ (oji bu mkpuru obi ndi igbo). it does not just symbolize the igbo people in an abstract sense, it is also a culture that holds the igbo people together; wherever they meet, the kola nut carries the same meaning and power. once it is presented, every igbo person knows what it symbolizes and what should be done. it is within this context that the igbo say that ‘the kola nut is the culture that holds the igbo together’ (oji bu omenani jikotaru ndi igbo). it is at this level of understanding that it becomes easier to connect the igbo kola nut with igwebuike philosophy which means otu obi (one heart and one soul) – cor unum et anima una. this philosophy of otu obi that the kola nut signifies is evident when it is presented to a visitor as a sign of reception and hospitality. to offer the igbo-african kola nut as a symbolic manifestation of ‘igwebuike’ philosophy igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 53 a visitor kola nut is to receive the visitor with one’s life, and beyond that, it is also wishing the person life, because an igbo proverb says that ‘he that brings kola brings life’ (onye wetara oji wetara ndu). according to uchendu (1964), “kola nut features in all aspects of igbo life. it is the symbol of igbo hospitality. to be presented with a kola nut is to be made welcome; and one is most welcome when the kola nut turns out white, whether this is by accident or by design” (p. 448). the lobes of the kola point to the reality of complementarity in human relationships. when these lobes stay together they remain alive, but when they separate they die and dry off. their togetherness is a symbol of life, and their separation, death. life in africa is about being in relation to the other. to be is to belong, and not to belong is to suffer alienation (kanu, 2017d and 2016d). the kola nut also symbolizes the african worldview, which is characterized by a common origin, common worldview, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny. the communal-individuality of the african is expressed in the igbo proverb which says ‘if a lizard stays off from the foot of a tree, it would be in danger’ (ngwere ghara ukwu osisi, aka akpara ya) (kanu, 2014). mbiti (1970) classically proverbialized the community-determining role of the individual when he writes, “i am because we are and since we are, therefore i am” (p. 108). the existence of others assures one of their solidarity and complementarity, without which i cannot be. achebe (1958) brings the essential nature of the igbo-african communal relationship to a higher and more fundamental focus when he writes: we do not ask for wealth because he that has health and children will also have wealth. we do not pray to have more money but to have more kinsmen. we are better than animals because we have kinsmen. an animal rubs its itching flank against a tree, a man asks his kinsman to scratch him. (p. 132). the kola nut points to the fact that existence is not only meaningful, but also possible only in a community. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 54 the kola nut and igwebuike philosophy of science there might have been other sources of knowledge of african philosophy of science; however, the kola nut as a symbol inundated with multiple meanings among the african people must have contributed to or deepened the understanding of african philosophy of science. this is very important, especially as the kola nut is a gift from chukwu, who is himself the source of all science and knowledge. 1. the kola nut and igwebuike physics the two-lobed kola nut has implications for an african physics. the two lobes signify actions and events within the african world. umeogu (2019) refers to it as that force of impression that would move a body and stop a body in motion, and the kola produces cause and effect, action and reaction. it is through the movement and interaction of these forces of nature that reality comes into existence (kanu, 2020). instances include: a. universal gravitational forceeverything works towards the centre of the earth which points to the african concept of the complementarity of reality. in spite of the multiplicity of reality, reality is one. b. synthesis theory of urea: this theory believes that the synthesis of inanimate things brings about the formation of animate realities. it points to the interconnected of reality. c. neutralization reaction: it holds that the combination of elements brings about the formation of new ones. for instance, oxygen + hydrogen=water or acid + base= salt + water if it is through the interaction of forces, and sometimes conflicting forces, that new realities come into existence. it then implies that in african physics, alterity is not a problem but a potentiality for the birth of new reality. it further presents the igbo universe as one of conflicts of opposites: good and evil, light and darkness, hot and cold, wet and dry, male and female, etc. these conflicts do not spell the end of the universe but the hope of sustenance and remaining in being. the igbo-african kola nut as a symbolic manifestation of ‘igwebuike’ philosophy igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 55 2. the kola nut and igwebuike astronomy and theogenesis the unity of the lobes of the kola nut, in spite of their divisibility, unrepeatability and uniqueness, registers the fact about the ‘commonness’ in the midst of alterity in the african universe. it manifests the fact that reality in the african universe is one. it does not just point to the oneness of reality but to the mysterious beginning of the universe (from the one-lobed kola a symbol of chukwu). it all began from the one, with whom there was no second. that one is chukwu who alone, in himself and by himself, created the universe. we did not create it but found ourselves in it. we are because he does exist, and nothing would be in existence without him, for everything was made through him and in him. the case of the one-lobed kola nut, oji ogbi, tells his story. it is the first kola from which other kola nuts emerged. it is neither a male nor female, just as chukwu is neither male nor female. the one-lobed kola nut points to the importance of numbers in the african universe, and how igbo-africans devoted much time and interest in mathematics. they did not only develop it, but used numbers to explain the reality of the universe. it is in this regard that 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 lobed kola nuts give profound explanations about the igbo universe and how realities can be explained in relation to numbers. the one-lobed kola, being the beginning and source of other kola nuts, points to the important place that the number one occupies in igbo astronomy. the number one is not only the central number but the centre of the universe and the heart of reality. every reality began from the number one its destiny is determined by the one and would end in the one. this one is chukwu. since everything exists in and through the frame of the one, every reality finds its unity in him. it is within this context that igwebuike understands every individual reality as part of and the completion of the whole, and thus, there is a unity in the midst of diversity (kanu, 2019). ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 56 3. the kola nut and igwebuike biology and anthropogenesis focusing on the four-lobed kola nut, which is made of two female lobes and two male lobes, in which the male lobe faces the female lobe and the female lobe faces the male lobe, the source and foundation of the igbo-african family is traced. it makes it clear that according to igbo biology, it is from the union of the male and female that other males and females emerged. it is through the crossing of the male and female that every other thing was generated. the male and female speak of the positive and negative polar charges of being that must cross each other before a being of their kind can come into existence. thus, the four-lobed kola nut speaks of the source of creative light and life. when the male and female lobes cross each other, light is ignited which further brings about life in the igbo world. 4. the kola nut and igwebuike scientific method the multiplicity of the lobes, which does not in any way make the kola nut two or three or four kola, but united to form a whole, points to a holistic approach in science. its ‘holisticness’ of the approach is anchored on the fact that all parts of reality are interconnected and find identity, meaning and purpose through relationships. thus, igwebuike emphasizes the importance of multidimentionality in research (kanu, 2017g). an investigation of a particular situation or reality should imply several viewpoints or perspectives so as to arrive at a global, balanced and enriched position (kanu, 2017h). the implications of the lobes of the kola nut lying side by side as support to each other establish the importance of interdisciplinary approach in scientific investigations. the interdisciplinary approach is based on the interconnectivity of reality. by interdisciplinary approach, it is meant the combining of two or more established academic disciplines in a process of research (kanu, 2019). thus, an interdisciplinary research synthesizes perspectives, knowledge, skills, interconnections, epistemologies, etc. the interdisciplinary method draws knowledge from several other professions, technologies and fields (kanu, 2016a). this further implies that science as a field of the igbo-african kola nut as a symbolic manifestation of ‘igwebuike’ philosophy igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 57 study is not independent of other fields of human endeavour. while it can give explanations for the causes of certain realities in the universe, it cannot alone give meaning or purposefulness to human existence. conclusion among the igbo-africans, the kola nut remains one of those symbols that have defied the blades of civilization. it is, therefore, not surprising that, in spite of the influx of modernity into the african society, the place of the kola nut remains undiminished, and may have even grown in stature. one of the reasons for its persistence through time is because of its sacredness and place in ceremonies and festivals. it is such that ceremonies like marriage, child birth, naming of a child, new yam festivals, etc., without the kola nut, may be considered incomplete. the kola nut does not only symbolize the essence of the african acclaimed hospitality, it manifests the goodwill employed to welcome a visitor. it is also used to settle interpersonal or inter-communal disputes. from the foregoing, acholonu (2006) avers that “the kola nut functions at the heart of igbo-african collective psyche and spirituality” (p. 1). it is because of the centrality of the kola nut in the igbo psyche and spirituality that its relationship with igwebuike philosophy, which captures the igbo-african worldview, becomes unavoidable. this work has unveiled the symbolic manifestation of igwebuike philosophy in the kola nut. the kola nut manifests the reality of being human within the context of a web of relationships with persons and other inhabitants of the universe. the kola nut and igwebuike philosophy understand the human person and other realities around him/her as a social being, rather than a solitary individual. herein, being human involves an unfolding, evolving and developing dimension, one that has a cumulative experience and wisdom of one’s community, locally and globally. it is within this context that the kola is understood as a symbolic expression of igwebuike philosophy. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 58 references achebe, c. (1958). the things fall apart. england: heinemann. acholonu, r. (2006). women and the kola nut saga in igbo culture: a human rights abuse. in uchem, r. (ed.). women and the kola nut (pp. 1-8). enugu: snaap press. fairchild, h. p. (1965). dictionary of sociology and related sciences. england: little field adams. kanu i. a. (2015b). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu i. a. (2017a). igwebuikeconomics: towards an inclusive economy for economic development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 6. 113140. kanu i. a. (2017b). sources of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. 9. 1. pp. 1-23. kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. kanu, a. i. (2016b). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 1-7. kanu, a. i. (2016d). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. kanu, i. a. (2014). igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholic-pentecostal relations. jos studies. 22. pp.8798. kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. the igbo-african kola nut as a symbolic manifestation of ‘igwebuike’ philosophy igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 59 kanu, i. a. (2016c). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. kanu, i. a. (2017c). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017d). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2018a). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018b). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2019). collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2020). african culture as an ancient landmark: culture versus identity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. pp. 49-54. kanu, i. a. (2014a). igbo proverbs as depositum of igbo-african philosophy. international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 4. no. 1. pp. 164-168. kanu, i. a. (2014a). suicide in igbo-african ontology. developing countries studies. vol. 4. no. 5. usa. pp. 27-38. kanu, i. a. (2014b). suffering in igbo-african ontology. research on humanities and social sciences. vol. 4. no. 5. pp. 8-13. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 60 kanu, i. a. (2014b). the place of igbo myths in igbo-african philosophy. american journal of contemporary research. vol. 4. no. 2. pp. 98-102. kanu, i. a. (2015). african traditional democracy with particular reference to the yoruba and igbo political systems. international journal of philosophy and public affairs. vol. 2. no. 3. pp. 147-160. kanu, i. a. (2015). personal identity and punishment in john locke (a dissertation for the award of master of arts degree in philosophymetaphysics), university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu state. kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (ed.) (2016a). complementary ontology: provocative essays on innocent asouzu’s african philosophy of integration for progressive transformation. germany: lambert academic publishing. kanu, i. a. (ed.) (2016b). ibuanyidanda: a complementary systematic inquiry. reflections on innocent asouzu’s african philosophy. germany: lambert academic publishing. kanu, i. a. (2016). igbo-african christology: a cultural christological construct in post-missionary africa. germany: lambert publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). african traditional folk songs as dialogue between education and entertainment. cambridge international journal of contemporary education research. 6. 6. pp. 53-64. madu, e. j. (2011). symbolism in african cosmology: the igbo perspective. nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. lecture notes, 2011. mbiti, j. (1970). african religions and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational publishers. nzekwu, o. (1966). wand of noble wood. new york: signet. the igbo-african kola nut as a symbolic manifestation of ‘igwebuike’ philosophy igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 61 osamugha, c. (2006). women and the kola nut in igbo culture: a theological reflection. in uchem, r. (ed.). women and the kola nut (pp. 9-14). enugu: snaap press. pendergrast, m. (2000). for god, country and coca-cola. new york: basic books. uchendu, v. c. (1964). kola hospitality and igbo lineage structure, man. vol. 64. britain: royal authr institute. uchendu, v. c. (1965). the igbo of south east nigeria. new york: holt rinehart and winston. umeogu, b. u. (2019). kolanut in igbo metpahysics: a phenomernalysical research into its symbolismic universe. inaugural lecture delivered on 26 th september at the nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 16 impact of insecurity on education: tips for internet media peace intervention in nigeria vincent emmanuel achi, phd department of arts education, faculty of education, university of jos, plateau state. achibalat@yahoo.com; 08034507788 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29332.65925 abstract insecurity in nigeria is causing panic. it is complex and difficult to tackle because it comes in different forms. the paper sees attacks on educational institutions, killings and abduction of school children by insurgency, ethnic and religious militias, bandits and kidnappers as security challenges impeding the progress of the nation. the use of the internet media to spread sentiments of hate is a thing of worry that it addresses. the paper discusses internet media peace education as an intervention program that may be effective and serve as a better option of peace building. the paper concludes that online peace building has not been given enough attention in nigeria. it recommends online media interactive dialogue, religious peace education programs, peace jingle etc. as the possible panacea. key words: insecurity, education, internet media and peace intervention introduction nigeria that used to be known as the giant of africa, a blessed country with abundance of human and natural resources and the promised land of africans, is becoming a large cemetery. the common ceremony on daily basis in churches, mosques, traditional religious shrines and village/town squares is burial. towns, villages, offices, high ways, forests, recreational centers, sport gymnasiums, schools, farms and homes are now potential mortuaries. the menace of insecurity is on the educational system. bombing of institutions of learning and destruction of educational facilities, abduction of school children and students of higher institutions of learning for ransom, are security issues that are paralyzing the educational system of the country. apart from security measures by the armed forces and police, non-governmental organizations, individuals and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 17 religious groups have tailored their efforts towards finding a solution to the security crisis bedeviling the nation. this paper is another attempt to examine and bring out the resources in internet media that could be of help in peace mediation for national development. definition of terms the paper has some key concepts that need to be clarified in order to put readers in the right perspective. they include; insecurity, education, internet media and peace. peace. they form the core of the discussion in the paper. insecurity insecurity is a state of being subject to danger. it is lack of safety for individuals, groups and communities. insecurity is a condition that exposes people to the danger of death in a particular place or area. it creates fear and panic on the populace. insecurity could be a product of natural disasters or human activities. in this paper, the insecurity addressed is caused by humans (obiezu, 2021). education every society is a collection of individuals with different gifts and abilities. the gifts and abilities of an individual has to be developed and harnessed for the development of the society through a process commonly referred to as education. education is the total and balanced development of all abilities (mental, physical and emotional) of an individual for his functional survival and effective contribution in a constantly changing society (ajayi, oluwa & oridola, 2019). internet or new/digital media internet or new/digital media is an interactive two-way communication with users being the active producers of content and information. the internet is considered as a highly interactive mass medium and can be simply defined as the “network of networks” (edu, 2021). news outlets in the internet include; social networking media (facebook, instagram, twitter, youtube, tumble, linkedin, snap-chat, pinterest etc), online forums (quora and reddit) that serve as websites where the community can comment on, text or discuss a particular igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 18 topic and podcasts (a series of sounds focused on a particular topic or theme. we can listen to them on computers or cell phones). internet or new/digital media is considered the center of mass media because it has integrated all other types of mass media. it is the media super power today (edu, 2021). peace peace is often taken for granted or not valued until its absence is felt in the society. in the negative sense, peace can simply be described as the absence of war. a nation in this sense is referred to as peaceful when its borders are free of violence. on the positive dimension, it consists of all the conditions that contribute to the sustenance of harmony or tranquility in a nation (rank, 2008). insecurity and its impact on education in nigeria as europe and some western nations are battling with natural disasters, nigeria has human disasters to wrestle with. humans create the insecurity in the polity. in all parts of the country, bloodshed is increasing on a daily basis. innocent people get trapped and killed due to ethno-religious conflicts, boko haram attacks, farmers/herders clashes, bandits and kidnappers. sadly, these conflicts often obstruct educational activities that are necessary to the development of every nation. ethno-religious conflicts nigeria though a rich nation in natural resources, has been host to different ethno-religious conflicts (igbuzor, 2012). these conflicts assumed a massive scale in 1980s and 90s. today, the conflicts have devalued the social and cultural fabrics of the nation. the gaining of independence in 1960 was accompanied with the birth of new identities seeking relevance in the nation. few years after independence, military coups and counter coups became the order of the day. at some point, the east of the country demanded self-rule. the declaration of the biafra state by emeka odumegwu ojukwu led to the nigerian civil war from 1967 to 1970. the insecurity that accompanied the war rendered the east of the country unhealthy for human survival. many school children were recruited both in the federal and biafra army to fight the war. schools and other educational activities were closed down in the east due to the war. the tension igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 19 created by the war could not allow a free flow of educational activities in the country (achi, 2021). the decline of security continued to manifest in different inter-communal clashes in the nigeria. in 1992, a land dispute between takad and ganawuri in plateau state metamorphosed to an arms conflict. during the thirty years of military rule in nigeria, the ogoni land protest in the niger delta over the extortion of oil and the alienation of the people from its benefits became burning issue in the nation. kaduna state wrestled with the ikulu and bajju clashes in early 2000s. taraba state turned to another axis of violence due to the clashes between kuteb, jukun and chamba on the stool of the ukwe takum that became vacant in 1996. shagamu in lagos state played host to the clash between yorubas and hausas on the violation of a yoruba custom by a prostitute alleged to be from the north in 1996 (achi, 2021). plateau state witnessed the pan/goemai clashes of 2005 instigated by land ownership, disagreement on chieftaincy and government declaration of namu development area. these clashes led to death of bread winners and sponsors to some students in institutions of learning. the insecurity created grounded educational activities. many school children were recruited into ethnic and religious militias. some schools became refugee and military camps. hunger, displacement and migration caused by the crises dash away the hope of any educational career of children and young people (yakubu, 2008). ethnic crises were accompanied with religious unrest in different parts of the country. the religious conflicts between christians and muslims in nigeria formerly started in 1962. muhammadu marwa (maitatsine) a cameroonian by birth became a resident of kano that year. with a trained militant group of 10000 followers, he unleashed havoc in kano, bulumkutu (maiduguri), jeimeta (gongola state) and gombe (bauchi state) from 1980 to 1985. the religious unrest that was averted with staggering success was the attempt to make nigeria a member of the organization of islamic countries (oic) by the military administration of babangida in 1986. the oic saga planted religious sentiments capable of degenerating into crisis between christians and muslims in the polity. the kafachan debacle of 1987 was an explosion of such sentiments. sadly, the violence started in an educational institution, the kaduna state college of education. a trail of religious unrest emerged and advanced with the kano 1991 protest against the christian crusade of reighard bonke, the tafawa balewa civil disturbances of 1991 (bauchi state), zangon – katab clashes of 1992, sharia violent conflicts of 2000, miss world mayhem of 2002 and religious conflicts between christian and muslim students in the institutions of learning from 2002 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 20 to 2006 in kaduna state. plateau state joined the queue with the jos crises of 2001 and yelwa shendam conflicts of 2002 and 2004. the religious sensitive atmosphere aggravated insecurity in nigeria with the crises on the danish cartoons in 2006. the obstruction of educational activities by these violent skirmishes cannot be overemphasized (achi, 2021). boko haram attacks boko haram (western education is a sin) – acronym is different from the arabic name for the organization which is “sunnis for dawa (islamization) and jihad”. the arabic name indicates that the organization is dedicated to the overthrow of the secular government and establishment of sharia law (oby, 2012). boko haram attacks started in 2009 (agbibo, n.d). the group introduced suicide mission which is strange to nigerians. boko haram’s hostility to secular education made it to gain notoriety for its repeated attacks on schools, universities, teachers, administrators and students. the group killed an estimated 2,295 teachers and displaced over 19,000 of them. more than 1,400 schools have been destroyed and about 600,000 children lost access to education in the northeast (gcpea, 2018). boko haram abducted 276 girls from their school in the town of chibok in 2014. it also abducted 111 girls from government girls science and technical college in dapchi, yobe state in 2018. five girls were killed, while leah sharibu is yet to be released. approximately about 600 women and girls were abducted from their schools by the group (gcpea, 2018). boko haram uses schools for military purposes. this made parents and their children to be afraid of their safety. “as of may 2017, a u.n agency reported that nigerian government forces were using 17 schools for military purposes” (gcpea, 2018). the presence of armed forces near a school can make it a target of retaliatory attacks, increasing the risks to children and teachers (gcpea, 2018). in borno state, schools were closed at all levels in 22 out of the 27 local governments’ areas for a minimum of two years. “with this gridlock on education, children are more vulnerable to becoming trapped in a cycle of poverty” (waller, 2017). farmers/herders clashes the current clashes of fulani herders and their host communities date back to 2012. in delta state that year, one mr. benjamin was killed by herders. in benue, inoli, ologba, olegeje, olegogboche, olegede, adana, inminy and abugbe igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 21 communities in agatu were attacked on 29 february 2013. another attack took place in agatu local government area on february 2016, killing 500 and displacing 7000 people. people in jalingo (taraba state) were attacked on 15 june, 2019. a similar one took place on the residence of tudiri and janibanibu communities in ardo kola local government area in taraba state on 16 and 17 june, 2019, leaving 10 people death (ngwoke and ituma, 2020). the conflict reached an alarming level in 2017 when 1000 people were killed in more than 50 clashes. in this year, “as fireworks were lighting up the skies to usher in the new year across the world, gunfire was echoing out in nigeria’s benue state. on this night alone, 73 people were killed and hundreds were injured after herdsmen unleashed terror in two local government areas mostly populated by farmers” (ajola, 2018). a 2017 global terrorism index report said that over 2,500 deaths were recorded between 2012 and 2016 in sub – saharan africa with majority of the deaths recorded in nigeria. and while there were 67 clashes between farmers and herdsmen in nigeria between 2007 and 2011, there were 716 clashes between 2012 and 2018 (ajola, 2018). the orgy of herders/farmers clashes led to the death of not less than 35 people and abduction of over 58 in attacks in chikun local government area of kaduna state on january 6, 2020. another attack took place on march 2020, leading to the death of 51 people. in the south – west of the country, attacks in arimogija, ose council area of ondo state claimed three people in march, 2020. uwheru community in delta state was attacked, destroying farm-lands on 13 february, 2020. nimbo community in uzo-uwani local government area of enugu state was attacked on 25 april 2016, leading to the death of over 40 persons, burning of 11 houses and destruction of vehicles (ngwoke and ituma, 2020). the clashes have turned many schools into migrant camps. tens of thousands of children have been pushed out of school by the violence (unah, 2018). banditry/kidnapping as the northeast is tormented by boko haram, the northwest is harassed by the onslaught of banditry and kidnapping. one of the worst heat institutions is the educational sector. in february 17, 2021, twenty-seven boys and their teachers were kidnapped form a school in kagara, niger state (orjinmo, 2021). in may igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 22 2021, 136 children were kidnapped from an islamic seminary, niger state (reuters, 2021). gunmen abducted 39 students from the federal college of forestry mechanization, kaduna in 11 march 2021 (sotunde, 2021). in 20 april 2021, armed men attacked green field university in kaduna state, murdered six people and abducted and later release 14 of the students (bori, 2021). in march 2021, nearly 300 students from government girls science secondary school in jangebe, zamfara state were abducted (orjinmo, 2021). in june, at least 80 pupils and five teachers were abducted from federal government college, birnin yawuri, kebbi state (reuters, 2021). “more than 700 people have been abducted from schools in northwest nigeria since december in a rash of kidnappings for ransom in the volatile region" (sotunde, 2021). “amnesty international reports more than 600 schools have been shut down in at least six states in nigeria’s north where education have been shaky” (obiezu, 2021). internet media and escalation of insecurity the internet is masses controlled media. it is difficult to manipulate or censor it. it can escalate conflicts when used to spread sentiments that breed anger (pantograph, 2020). as more and more people move online, individuals and groups have found new niches to play out their sentiments of hate and discrimination. the internet networks have reinforced their views and goad them to violence. “social media platforms also offer actors the opportunity to publicize their acts” (laub, 2019). religion seems to be the scaffolding for the orchestration of such violence across the world. the united states of america have been battling with internal violent activities related to religion acrimony. the charleston church shooter that killed nine black clergy and worshipers in june 2015 was inspired by online self-directed learning. the circulation of whites’ supremacy theories online and on the social media influenced the man to carry out violence against the blacks. the 2018 pittsburgh synagogue shooter was a participant in online racist indoctrination. the propaganda that jews want to bring to the us immigrants that will edged out the whites population moved the man to carry out the killing of the eleven worshippers at a refugee – themed shabbat service (laub, 2019). new zealand played host to a similar kind of violence in 2019. a fear of nonwhites replacing the whites made many of their patriots and racist to become restless. this situation led to the 2019 new zealand mosque shootings. in the violence, forty-nine muslims were murdered in their prayer ground. the perpetrators even sought to broadcast the attack on youtube (laub, 2019). a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 23 similar racist related violence was expressed in myanmar. the military leaders and buddhist nationalists used the internet media to slue and demonize the rohingya muslim minority during a campaign of ethnic cleansing. “though rohingya comprised perhaps 2 percent of the population, ethno nationalists claimed that rohingya would soon supplant the buddhist majority” (laub, 2019). since 2014, india has been suffering the harassment of a group known as “lynch mobs”. the lynch mob’s violence in many cases is inspired by rumors from whatsapp groups. such violence has been on the increase with the coming into power of the hindu – nationalist bhairaitiya janata party in 2014. in sri lanka, violence inspired by rumor spread online has been meted on tamil muslim minority. “during a spade of violence in march 2018, the government blocked access to facebook and whatsapp, as well as the messaging app viber, for a week, saying that facebook has not been sufficiently responsive during the emergency” (laub, 2019). autocratic governments see the internet media as the worst technological innovation that came with the 21st century. it is people centered, as such, subject to so many abuses. it is sometimes identified with rumor mongering, fake news, exaggeration of conflict related issues and hate speeches to fuel existing sentiments. “a burmese monk self – titled himself the “burmese bin ladin” to fuel racism and hatred on social media forums like youtube and facebook. he spread anti-muslim sentiments and blaming middle eastern forces for providing local muslims with financial, military and technical ability to attack buddhists” (madzima, 2013). sometime people in the internet “spread unfounded rumors, half-truths, and can also be used to mobilize people to commit acts of violence” (junne, 2013). the internet media “may foster the formation and strengthening of like – minded people, and add to the fragmentation of opinions and views rather than building compromises” (makinen and kuira, 2008). in kenyan election conflict of 2007, “many bloggers took sides and the discussion could be ethnically tense. similarly, while sms has been a powerful tool for good during and after the elections, it was used to spread rumors and messages laden with ethnic hatred. it was reported that sms predicted attacks and called recipients to act on the basis of their ethnicity. people also received anonymous calls or flyers threatening” (makinen and kuira, 2008). in nigeria, “expression of ethnic and religious sentiments in the new (social) media has led to some inter-ethnic, inter-religious disputes and crisis in the northern part of the country” (uzuegbunam and omenugha, 2018). gory pictures and videos of threats, murder, and bombings igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 24 from boko haram are turning the country into a state of anarchy (uzuegbunam and omenugha, 2018). internet media intervention insecurity the media outlet that is raising noise in the world today is the internet. it is sometimes conceived as a breeding ground for violence. however, it is undeniably a resource for peace mediation. internet media serves the purpose of peace building by countering false information and enhancing interaction among people (pantograph, 2020). today, every conflict often ends up assuming a global dimension due to media publicity. the internet media that has a large coverage can be of help in reaching people with peace decisions and jingles in different parts of the world. facebook has a large coverage of subscribers. with about “1.06 billion monthly active users and 680 million users as of february 2013” (madzima, 2013). “google + has 343 million active users, twitter pulls 500 million, and there are 800 you tube million users generating 4 billion news per day” (madzima, 2013). internet media can serve as an instrument for changing perception on ethnicity, attitudes and for enhancing tolerance and mutual understanding. “thus it can bridge the divide between ethnic groups that wouldn’t otherwise communicate with one another” (madzima, 2013). rather than proscribing internet media activities, they could be transformed into peace building exercises. the millennium development goals achievement fund (mdgaf) is helping “young people run peace programs and intercultural activities, such as organizing multiethnic youth festivals, using social media to promote peace and tolerance and discouraging hate speech in social media” (madzima, 2013). mdgaf is funding workshops for young people to change their perception and attitudes that generated the macedonians and albanians clashes in 2001 via the social media. through the social media monitoring technology developed by ihub, the violence that threatened the kenyan election in 2013 was controlled. the technology fostered civic participation, transparency and accountability (madzima, 2013). internet media has fared well in checkmating domestic violence in the world than the mainstream media. “the international global campaign themed “one billion rising” on the social media got a mass gathering of over 200 countries to put an end to domestic violence” (madzima, 2013). the key to effective action lies in the ordinary citizens, the change makers at the grassroots. engaging and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 25 making them aware of the power of social media is a step towards transforming communities and curbing violence (madzima, 2013). during crisis, the internet media “especially mobile phone technology, have provided new opportunities to collect data from many different localities and to aggregate these data to provide a real time overview of local development.” also it provides “unique opportunities for individuals to articulate their opinion get their voices heard and draw public attention to issues that need to be addressed” (junne, 2013). at a hot phase of a crisis, internet media can be used to keep contact with relatives, warn people not to enter dangerous zones, rescue people and reunite families dispersed by the conflict (junne, 2013). in the kenyan 2007 post-election conflict, the internet media was highly instrumental to the peace process that later on restored the country to normalcy. the social media offered narratives by “citizen reporters” and digital activities that were more diverse than the views presented in the mainstream media, and represented grassroots reactions during the crisis. while the international media only scratched the surface of what was happening, and the traditional media partly resigned to censorship due to fears of repression, the social media acted offered swifter, more subjective, and more detailed coverage during a fast moving and changing situation” (makinen and kuira, 2008). the ushahidi – website that was launched helped a lot. “ushahidi.com is a tool for people who had witnessed acts of violence in kenya after the election to report them. the website shows the incidents on a map of the country, and the site also accepts sms – delivered reports about ongoing events” (makinen and kuira, 2008). conclusion from the discussion so far, it is evident that insecurity creates uncertainty about the future of nigeria. as such, it is important to present the following as conclusion from the study. i. insecurity is difficult to handle in nigeria because it comes up from time to time in different forms. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 26 ii. the conflicts reviewed indicate that education is always one of the major casualties of insecurity. this reality counts against the development of nigeria as a nation. iii. the inability of the measures taken by the government, nongovernmental organization and religious bodies to produce the desired result in checking the menace of insecurity call for the use of alternative means. iv. human interaction is today is majorly in the internet media. therefore, it provides as good ground for mediation. a resource that nigeria is yet to fully tapped and harnessed for peace building. recommendations considering the pressing needs of security for national development in nigeria, it suffices to make the following recommendations as the way forward. i. religion is highly significant in the lives of people in nigeria. what and how it is taught matters a lot in curbing insecurity or promoting insecurity. religious educators should create internet media platforms for moral instructions on the value of human life and the dangers posed by insecurity in the country. ii. good moral education has the capacity of producing god fearing and loyal citizens, which may not be achieved in the churches and mosques because of sectarianism that feeds on division. therefore, religious educators in the educational system should explore the online resources to educate nigerians on the importance of peaceful co-existence towards the development of the nation. iii. critics often blame the insecurity in the nation on the failure of governance. those in government are the products of the nation’s educational system. it means there is the need for a review of the educational system in order to produce functional leaders that will secure the nation and protect its educational system. iv. sectarianism in christianity and islam makes it difficult for uniformity of teaching on peace in each religion. this is partly responsible for violence carried out in the name of religion. the educational system that has a religious curriculum that centers on peaceful co-existence should organize and air online programs on interactive dialogue for peace. this will educate the populace and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 27 reduce the ignorance that makes people to go into violence in the name of god. v. government, non-governmental and religious bodies should invest on training experts in online media peace mediation. since the internet has been used for escalation of insecurity, its constructive use by such experts may hopefully promote the peace that is needed for the thriving of nigeria’s educational and national development. references achi, v. e. (2021). ethno-religious conflicts in nigeria: tips for peace and reconciliation. abuja: ya-byangs publishers. agbibo, d. i. (n.d). the social dynamics of nigeria’s boko haram insurgency: fresh insights from the social identity theory. https://cega.berkeley.edu>110. retrieved 26/6/2021. ajayi, n. o., oluwa, m. o., & oridola, i. o. (2019). arts education: a catalyst of sustainable development of a global society. university of jos journal of arts education. vol. 2, 1. abuja: yabyangs publishers. ajola, o. (2018). why clashes are on the rise between farmers and herdsmen in the sahel. https://reliefweb.int/report/nigeria/why-clashes-are-rise-betweenfarmers-and-herdsmen-sahel. retrieved 26/2/2021. bori, n. (2021). kidnappers free 14 nigerian students abducted in kaduna state. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/529. retrieved 30/6/2021 edu, t. l. (2021). types of mass media. https://leverageeolu.com/blog/typesof-mass-media. retrieved 3/3/2021. gcpea, (2019). “i will never go back to school”: the impact of attacks on education for nigerian women and girls. https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/04/11. retrieved 30/6/2021. igbuzor, o. (2012). nigeria’s experience in managing the challenges of ethnic and religious diversity through constitutional provisions. http:///www.encburma.net/index.php/feature/54-feature/166-nigeria. retrieved 5/7/2013. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 28 junne, g. (2013). the role of media in conflict transformation. www.ireness.net.bdf-fiche-analyses-1002-en.html. retrieved 23/2/2021. laub, z. (2019). hate speech on social media: global comparisons. https://www.cfr.org/background/hate-speech-social-media-globalcomparisons. retrieved 3/4/2021. madzima, t. (2013). harnessing the power of social media for conflict prevention. https:www.peaceinsight.org/articles/social-media-conflict-conflictprevention. retrieved 23/2/2021. makinen, m. & kuira, m. w. (2008). social media and post election crisis in kenya. https://respository.upenn.edu/egi/viewcontent.cgi?article. retrieved 26/2/2021. ngwoke, n. & ituma, e. a. (2020). ethno-religious conflict and sustainable development in nigeria. https:org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/6090/16135. retrieved 24/2/2021. obiezu, t. (2021). search underway for kidnapped students from nigeria’s kaduna state. https://www.voanews.com/africa/search. retrieved 30/6/2021 ------------(2021). in nigeria, rising insecurity leads to growing separatist calls. https://www.voanews.com/episode/nigeria. 28/6/2021. oby, i. r. (2012). how the media whitewashes muslim persecution of christians. file:///c:/users/user/documents/how%20the%20media%20whitewas hes%20muslim. retrieved 8/08/2012. pantograph, (2020). what are the 4 types of media? https://pantograph.io/whatare-the-4-types-of-media. retrieved 3/3/2020. orjinmo, n. (2021). nigeria’s school abductions: why children are being targeted. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa. retrieved 30/6/2021 rank, c. (2008). promoting peace through the arts: the role of anti-war and peace art igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 29 in building cultures of peace. https://escolapau.uab.cat/img/programme/music. retrieved 20/5/2019. reuters, (2021). nigeria: gunmen kidnap over 80 students from school. https://www.olw.com/en/nigeria. retrieved 30/6/2021. sotunde, a. (2021). kidnappers free 29 students abducted in nigeria’s kaduna state. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/5. retrieved 30/6/2021 unah, l. (2018). nigeria’s herder – farmer conflict affects future of thousands of children. https://www/trtworld.com/magazine/nigeria. retrieved 30/6/2021. uzuegbunam, c. e. & omenugha, n. o. (2018). mainstream media, social media and peace building in nigeria: old challenges, new opportunities. the nigerian journal of communication. vol.15(2). https://wwwresearchgatenet/pubication. retrieved, 26/2/2021. waller, m. (2017). boko haram’s impact on education in nigeria. https://borgenproject.org. retrieved 30/6/2021. yakubu, j. (2008). the namu conflict: a problem solving approach. http://www.monitor.upeace.org/innerpg.cfm? retrieved 26/9/2019. association of behavioral social science online journal (retrieved 2 april 2021) sharon stone (nollywood version) directed by adim williams and released in 2003 whatever happened to jane? a feature film directed by robert aldrich and released in 1962 article 26 igwebuike 6. no5.cdr igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.6 no.7, 2020 www.igwebuikejournals.com a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 112 religious identity as instrument of political bargaining in post-colonial nigeria anene, chidi p. ph.d, chinonyerem u. njoku ph.d & iyala theodore. o department of history and international studies imo state university amakeme@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract the study aims at establishing the relationship between religious identity and political bargaining in post-colonial nigeria. the study adopts qualitative historical method which involve use of published and unpublished sources, official documents, internet sources, workshop documents, newspapers and magazines, research works etc. the study argues that the history of post-colonial nigeria is replete with use of religious identity as a strong identity political tool to negotiate political power, political patronage, political appointments, as well as employment in both civil and public service institutions. the study further contends that this nexus between religious and political identity has profound implications in struggle for power, good governance, effective civil and public service delivery, transparency and accountability, as well as democracy dividends in nigeria's fourth republic democratic experiment. keywords: religious identity, political identity, post-colonial state, political, good governance, democracy. introduction nigeria's slide to the use of religious identity as a parameter for gaining access into the political space in terms of acquisition of political power, political appointments and obtaining employment into the civil and public service could well be traced to the era of colonial rule. the lopsided policy of divide and rule and religious centred segregation and spatial organization enacted during the colonial era laid a strong foundation for the postcolonial process of making religious identity as a yardstick for attaining positions of prominence in the political landscape of the country and in recruitment in the civil and public service in the nigerian state. this paper is a testimony that apart from ethnic identity, religious identity is also a formidable aspect of identity politics in nigeria which has contributed in no small way in determining who gets what political patronage and employment in the country. in view of the above religious consideration for employment into nigerian public office space, good governance and effective service delivery are sometimes sacrificed on the altar of religious identity politics as recruitments and promotions, discipline and performance index are oftentimes based on religious identity. this paper therefore is an attempt to examine the extent to which religious identity is used as an instrument of political identity in nigeria. in view of above, the paper revolves around the following themes: colonial buildup to religious identity politics; postcolonial foundations of religious identity politics; religious identity as yardstick for negotiating political power and patronage; religious identity consideration for employment in civil and public service; implication for good governance and efficient service delivery. colonial buildup to religious identity politics the british colonial administration in nigeria made some administrative overtures which set the stage for the subsequent use of religious identity for political negotiation. the policy that created competition for the nation's resources by the two main religions – islam and christianity was the inability of the colonial government to foster even socioeconomic development between the muslim dominated northern region and christian dominated southern region after the 1914 amalgamation. the colonial administration instead sustained the existing dichotomy due to obvious religious reasons thereby creating a serious lacuna that set the stage for politicization of religious identity. in the first instance, after the amalgamation of 1914, the british did not allow the developmentoriented christian missionaries who had been creating social and economic institutions of development in the greater part of the southern region to penetrate the north, rather the best that was bestowed on the north was to adopt and adapt the sokoto administrative system to the needs of british colonial rule by inventing 'indirect rule. by so doing, the british strengthened the adherence to islamic system of administration. the reason for british adoption of islamic administrative system could be traced to the era of subjugation of the sokoto caliphate. upon the defeat of the caliphate and subsequent incorporation into the british protectorate of northern nigeria, the conditions of subjugation included provisions that the british would not interfere with their religion, in specific terms in the intimate association between islam and indigenous rule. in the end, by the time the amalgamation of the entire protectorates had taken place in 1914, islam had been fully entrenched as a legal system of administration in northern nigeria (gumi and isiga, 1994). the situation was the contrary in the southern protectorate where christian missionaries and subsequently the colonial administration alike did not strike any accord with local political officials to respect traditional religious institutions. as a result the missionaries quickly entrenched themselves and developed basic social capital institutions and social services such as western education,, provision of health services and institutions such as hospitals, orphanages for the outcast and downtrodden. hence, many people openly embraced them with all their socio-economic developmental programmes (gumi and isiga, 1994). the british in an attempt to honour the agreement it struck with the northern leaders, excluded the christian missionary activities and their social capital investments such mission-sponsored schools from the predominantly muslim areas thereby creating a huge imbalance in westernization between north and south. furthermore, the british discouraged any official political contact between north and south until 1947, when politicians from the two regions sat together for the first time in the central legislative council; officially promoted segregated residential settlement patterns referred to as sabon gari or strangers' quarters, institution of inflexible land tenure systems, both of which reinforced discrimination against migrant communities; and the lopsided recruitment of nigerians into the army and police (coleman 1958; diamond 1988; dudley 1973; luckham 1971). by so doing, religion became intertwined with politics leading to the politicization of religion wherein religious identity became a passport for acquisition of political and economic opportunities (the comet, 31 october, 2001. 113anene, chidi p. ph.d, chinonyerem u. njoku ph.d & iyala theodore. o from then on religion became a defining index for political and administrative patronage. for example, religious influence over politics reared up its head when the political elites started playing religious tunes. it could be recalled that the religious identity-motivated lopsided development as earlier mentioned, particularly the barring of the christian missionaries from bringing western education in the muslim dominated north saw the south dominance over the civil service; whereas the north was supported by the colonial administrators through the northern peoples' congress, a dominant political party with mostly islamic agenda to capture power at the centre. this led to intense competition and rivalry, suspicion and mistrust between the two regions. thus, many of the elite in the western–educated south felt undermined to be made to be subordinated under the neocolonial oriented islamic oriented leadership of the north; the northern elite on their own part, felt it was unfair that the south should dominate the civil service, and by implication the economic base of the country (ikeanyi and enwere, 1995). being under the dominance of the two religions – islam and christianity, each was embroiled with constant struggle for power in attempt to enlarge their gains and limit their disadvantages and gain greater foothold on the country's socio-political and economic scheme. the above scenario set the stage for politicization of religion in the post-independence nigeria. post-colonial era of religious identity and political bargaining in nigeria as stated in the previous section, given the intense competition that raged on between the two major religions, each religion preferred a situation in which its members occupy positions of power in the economic and socio-political milieu of the country; hence the quest for winning of converts became very important. while the southern politicians saw independence as an opportunity to have a nigeria ruled by its citizens, the members of the hausa-fulani islamic ruling class on their own part saw it as an opportunity to rule by those either belonging to, or approved by the hausa-fulani islamic ruling class. for instance, the national party of nigeria in second republic effectively deployed a religious symbol to attain power at the centre in 1979 (ikeanyi and enwere, 1995). in the first republic, for instance in 1963, in an attempt to consolidate political power in the northern region, the then premier, ahmadu bello launched a conversion campaign to islamize the christian and animist populations of the north and the middle belt (ibrahim, 1978). for instance, according to kukah (1994), the middle belter people were induced by cash, provided by arab world and government coffers, as well as cloths produced by the government textile in kaduna to convert to islam. the converts were awarded islamic titles which indicated their social and political advancement in the society. through this strategy, the sardauna was able to widen the political base of the npc. while the nigerian constitution prohibits the formation of political parties along religious lines, political actors always seek and consolidate power by benefiting from and manipulating religious identities. predominantly in the north, political actors and their rivals have continued to use islam to mobilize support because the lives of the majority of people in the north revolve around islamic practices (falola, 2009). both islam and christianity compete for space, converts and political domination. leaders of religious organizations use the style and language of politics, in their quest for propaganda, control of converts, and the prevention of one another from dominating the political environment. in the first republic, the northern led government carved out the mid-western region but denied same to christian dominated middle belt which have clamoured for self-autonomy since the 1940s (dudley, 1982; iwara, 2004). 114 religious identity as instrument of political bargaining in post-colonial nigeria religion, like ethnicity, is a source of mobilization for political actors. for instance, once a political candidate defines himself as a muslim and his rival happens to be christian, politics can acquire the coloration of religious conflict. in the north, many politicians have turned to islam for power legitimization. there have been power rivalries with christians and bids to impose the sharia over a larger region. these attempts have prompted swift response from the christian association of nigeria who resorted to contest all religious symbols and what it perceives as efforts to use islam to dominate politics. in essence, northern politicians have continued to take advantage of islam by using its symbols as political ideology in order to unite the region against the south and to mobilize their different constituencies. this approach to politics has bred mutual distrust and fears, particularly the christians have always been afraid of islamic/northern domination. thus, there is a pervasive fear that islam might expand and gain greater influence, by using the resources of the federal government to advance its political objectives and interests (falola, 2009). mobilizing religious groups has been an important tool in nigerian politics. although individual muslims and islamic groups are found throughout the country, they are most concentrated and religiously-politically active in the 19 northern predominantly muslim states. for them, islamic identity fosters a regional unity and maintains established privileges for the elite. the problem was compounded by the botched orkar led coup of april 22, 1990 in which some northern muslim dominated states such as sokoto, borno, katsina, kano and bauchi were excised from nigeria. the leader of the coup, major gideon orka was from the middle belt and attempted to contain what he considered to be the muslim threat. the coup was seen as as christian-motivated, and a number of christian leaders, hence many of the christian association of nigeria (can) were charged with unlawful assembly and illegal marching (africa watch, october 1991). in a similar vein the presidential aspirant of the all nigerian peoples party (anpp) was credited with statements inciting moslems not to vote for a christian candidate in the 2003 election. though he debunked the allegation, it however earned him the dislike of the southern christians. apart from these overt religious controversies spanning the nations political landscape, there has always been covert attempts by the ruling class (es) to ameliorate the fear of religious domination by balancing the various political positions with members of the two dominant religions. at all times the chief executive and his second in command has always been drawn from the two religious groupsislam and christianity. in the first republic, the president in the person of chief hon dr. nnamdi azikiwe was a christian while the prime minister alhaji tafawa balewa was a muslim. the ironsi administration that succeeded it had babafemi ogundipe as vice, the gowon administration was a balancing of ethnicity than religion. but military consideration held sway. being a christian from the north, his second in command was first, joe r.i. akahan, followed by iliya b. bisalla, hassan usman katsina, david akpode ejoor, and then j.e.a. wey (obianyo, 2008). the administration that toppled him led by late gen murtala mohammed was a muslim but his second in command, rtd gen. olusegun obasanjo is a christian from the south west. when mohammed was murdered in the failed coup of 1975, obasanjo took over but his second in command was a muslim northerner, late gen shehu musa yar'adua. the civilian administration of alhaji shehu shagari a muslim which followed had chief alex ekwueme as his vice. the gen. buhari administration that ousted the shagari regime did not think much about balancing of religion in the most powerful positions of the state as his second late major gen tunde idiagbon was also a muslim. the 115anene, chidi p. ph.d, chinonyerem u. njoku ph.d & iyala theodore. o administration's primary aim of fighting corruption/indiscipline in the system did not leave much room for politicking, as many members of the political class at this period populated the prisons in nigeria over allegations of corrupt enrichment. the babangida regime that succeeded buhari had as the second in command air commader ebitu ukiwe, a christian who was later replaced by another christian admiral augutus aikhomu. when babangida stepped aside after the imbroglio surrounding the cancellation of the june 12 election in which a southern muslim was said to have won, the interim administration that succeeded him was led by a christian, chief ernest shonekan, assisted by late gen abacha who later ousted him in a palace coup to take over the reins of government. gen abacha was assisted by major gen oladipo diya a christian from the south west. following disagreements between the two he was replaced by gen jeremiah useni, another christian from the middle belt. the transition government of gen abdusalami was assisted by michael akhigbe, a christian. under the regime of obasanjo, his vice was alhaji atiku abubakar a muslim from the north, under the regime of alhaji umaru musa yar'adua the vice president is a christian from the minority southsouth geo-political zone dr jonathan ebele goodluck (obianyo, 2008). when dr. goodluck jonathan became the president after the 2011 general election architect namadi sambo a northern muslim from kaduna state became the vice. in the present regime, president muhammed buhari picked a yoruba christian, pastor yemi osinbajo as the vice president. this in itself goes a long way to show the extent religious consideration determines the political positions in the country. in the public service, the minority christians began an agitation which was motivated by 'islamaphobia of the hausa-fulani muslims due to the lopsided northernization policy' which favoured the muslims and excluded the christians. it follows that no matter the educational qualifications, status or merits the christians had attained, they were not allowed to attain the upper echelons of the native authority in northern nigeria (okwori, 2003). this same policy devise was extended to the national level. according to horowitz (1985), during the period of northernization policy which was introduced in 1959, at the eve of nigerian independence, there were virtually insignificant number of northerners in the upper rungs of the civil service. by 1965 the number of northerners in the upper echelon of the civil service had outnumbered the number of expatriates and southerners respectively. kukah (1993) further revealed that in the early parts of national independence, the northern aristocrats established jama'atul nasir islam (jni) to champion the course of islam. with the northernization policy, islam became a major factor for the attainment of social carried out through what was referred to as 'economic jihad' (okwori, 2003). according to ibrahim (1991), there is much evidence to suggest that gideon orka and his co-coup plotters and supporters alike were convinced that both political power and economic resources were distributed unevenly in favour of muslims in the country. a study carried out by ajayi (2009) revealed that the governments indeed oppress nigerians who belonged to a different religion. the ruling elite, particularly christians felt they were oppressed in the civil and public service when it comes to government positions and promotions. most of the respondents in that study commented that government appointments to positions were based on religious and ethnic affiliations. the study found out that nigerian government is deeply involved in religious affairs in terms of appointments and promotions, award of contracts and scholarships. on the whole, it was reported that the nigerian government at the centre indeed gives the muslims advantage over other religious groups in the country through overt and covert patronage. 116 religious identity as instrument of political bargaining in post-colonial nigeria impact on effective governance both muslim and christian leaders have politicized their faithful's allegiance to mobilize and give dignity to marginalized constituents, demonize opponents, and gain power since “religion provides a legitimizing framework for violence that would otherwise be considered unacceptable” (ostebo, 2012). religion, then, is a fast, easy way to obtain and manipulate power in nigeria—fighting over position and power rather than developing and delivering relevant policies and political platforms (falola, 2001). this religionalization of politics and public space in nigeria has led to myriads of factors that inhibit the smooth functioning of governmental business such as collaborated corruption, enthronement of mediocrity in positions of authority, lack of transparency and accountability, religious conflicts, mutual distrust and sabotage of the governmental business. a key consequence in the use of religious identity to muster public positions is that of rise and institution of prebendalism in the system. thus it is not uncommon to find religious identity groups supporting candidates to occupy the exalted position political and public offices after which the person (s) in question a handed down a catalogues of demands of what is expected of him/her as contribution to the in-group while in office (obianyo, 2008). the above is what joseph (1999) describes as prebendalism. according to joseph (1999), the term prebendalism is: one in which the offices of the state are allocated and then exploited as benefices by the office holders, but also as one where such a practice is legitimated by a set of political norms according to which the appropriation of such offices is not just an act of individual greed or ambition but concurrently the satisfaction of the short term objectives of a subset of the general population. thus the use of public office for personal aggrandizement or to sustain private loyalties (obianyo, 2008) has led to corruption and protection of such public office holders from prosecution since the public office holder in question perpetrates such on behalf of the religious group in question. ekeh (cited in obianyo, 2008) presented an eloquent explanation on the overlapping of the public and private sphere in africa in his theory of the two publics in which the civic public is marked by the two significant features, namely: it suffers from endemic crisis of ownership, the people do not claim or identify with it as they do the primordial public. it is marked by an us versus the relationship, where the us is the primordial public whose ownership, autonomy and sustenance is jealously guarded. the civic public is amoral and lacks the generalized moral imperatives operative in the private realm and in the primordial public .thus, the individual feels no moral urge to reciprocate the benefits he receives from it and the behaviour that would be regarded as morally reprehensible in the primordial public, such as embezzlement of public funds is permissible here in so far as the larger group directly or indirectly benefits from the loot. thus, “the contradictory pulls and demands of simultaneous membership of the two publics is what underlie the pervasive problems of ethnicity, religious politics and state corruption that it engenders” (osaghae cited in obianyo, 2008). this religious identity aspect of influence and control of public space in nigeria explains “why the state has continued to be an object of plunder and abuse by those who should protect it” and indeed the debilitating and crumbling of the norms of public service and the nigerian economy. 117anene, chidi p. ph.d, chinonyerem u. njoku ph.d & iyala theodore. o conclusion the study examined the relationship and influence of religion on political and public service system in nigeria. it associated the colonial administration as the origin of the deployment religion to negotiate political and administrative power. the paper went further to examine the interplay of religion and politics during the various post-colonial regimes and substantiated the fact that religious identity has always utilized as instrument of politics by the elite, particularly the northern elite who manipulate politics with religion. the effective use of religion include appointments, award of contracts, employment opportunities of which religious considerations were used as baits to become beneficiaries of such government patronage. the study therefore established that the consequences of these religious manipulation include corruption, mediocrity and incompetence and shielding of people from prosecution from the corrupt practices due to its prebendal nature. based on the above, it is therefore recommended that the secular nature of nigerian constitution be respected and appointments, ascension to political power be done on the basis of merit and competence irrespective of religious divide and affiliation. references ajayi, f. (2009). the effect of religion on the political process, new york/bloomington, universe inc. akinyele, r.t. (2003). ethnicity, religion and politics in nigeria, in richard, a. olaniyan (ed.) the amalgamation and its enemies: an interpretative history of modern nigeria, ile-ife, obafemi awolowo university press ltd. bouchat, c. j. (2003). the causes of instability in nigeria and implications for the united states, calisley, us army war college press. coleman, j.s. (1958) nigeria: background to nationalism, berkeley: university of california press diamond, larry. (1988) class, ethnicity and democracy in nigeria: the failure of the first republic. london: macmillan dudley, b. (1982). an introduction to nigerian government and politics, london and basingstoke, the macmillan press ltd. dudley, billy. (1973) instability and political order, ibadan: ibadan university press falola, t. (2009). islam and politics in nigeria, e-international relations. available at https://www.eir.info/2009/07/29/islam-and-politics-in-nigeria/(accessed 20/05/20). falola, t. (2001). culture and customs of nigeria. westport, ct: greenwood press. gumi, a. and isiga, i.a. (1994). where i stand, kaduna, spectrum books. horowitz, d.l. (1985). ethnic group in conflict, london, berkeley and los angeles, university of california press. ibrahim, j. (1991). religion and political turbulence in nigeria, journal of modern african studies, 29 (1). ikeanyi, m. and enwere, o.p. (1995). a dangerous awakening: the politicization of religion in nigeria, ifra-nigeria, , ibadan, ifra-nigeria.https://books.openedition.org iwara, a.u. (2004). identity politics, globalization andsocio-political engineering in nigeria, in d.oni, s.gupta, i. omoniyi, e. adegbaja and s. awonusi (eds.) nigeria and globalization: discourses on identity politics and social conflict, lagos, centre for black and african arts and civilization. joseph, r. (1991). democracy and prbendal politics in nigeria: the rise and fall of the second republic, ibadan, spectrum books. kukah, m. h. (1994). religion, politics and power in northern nigeria, ibadan, spectrum books ltd. kukah, h.m. (1993). politics and power in northern nigeria, ibadan, spectrum books ltd. luckham, r. (1971) the nigerian military: a sociological analysis of authority and revolt. new york: cambridge university press nigeria willinck report (1958). report of the commission appointed to enquire into the fears of minorities and means of allaying them, london, hmso. obianyo, n.e. (2008). behind the curtains of state power: religious groups and the struggle for 118 religious identity as instrument of political bargaining in post-colonial nigeria https://www.e-ir.info/2009/07/29/islam-and-politics-in-nigeria/(accessed https://www.e-ir.info/2009/07/29/islam-and-politics-in-nigeria/(accessed https://books.openedition.org ascendancy in nigerian public institutions: a critical appraisal, codesria 12th general assembly governing the african public sphere, yaoundé, cameroun, 07-11/12/2008 okwori, j. (2003). the patchwork that is nigeria: implication and impact on citizenship participation and accountability in s.o. abah (ed.) geographies of citizenship in nigeria, zaria, tamaza publishing company ltd. ostebo, t. (2012). islamic militancy in africa, africa security brief, no. 23, november 2012, available from africacenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/africabrieffinal_23-2.pdf (accessed 20/04/20). yesufu, m. l. (2016). the impact of religion on a secular state: the nigerian experience, studia hist. ecc. vol.42 n.1 pretoria http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2412-4265/2016/255 119anene, chidi p. ph.d, chinonyerem u. njoku ph.d & iyala theodore. o page 1 page 2 page 3 page 4 page 5 page 6 page 7 page 8 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 209 covid-19 induced hate speech and austin’s speech act theory perspective: implications for peace building agwuocha, ugomma anaekperechi directorate of general studies federal university of technology owerri imo state ugommaagwuocha@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/ rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract hate speech has become a matter of grave concern globally. it has continued to generate defamatory and stereotypical language which has perverted various platforms of information dissemination especially the social media. as the world is currently battling the covid-19 pandemic, a lot of information on it is being disseminated via online platforms. based on the covid-19 „infodemic‟, a lot of hate speech has emerged and language use has come to be at the centre of it all. such use, from the speech act theory perspective, elicits actions and reactions which most times are detrimental to people‟s harmonious existence. using austin‟s and culpeper‟s models of speech act and impoliteness theory, respectively, this study analysed various data on covid-19 related information shared on the social media to determine the level of toxicity of language use, and the effect on peace building amongst nations, nigeria inclusive. amongst other findings, this paper discovered that communications on the social media, in reaction to covid-19 issues are laden with hate speeches which have given rise to instances of violence, unrest, stigmatization and racism against the target people. it recommends, amongst other things, that all social media/online platforms should put in place strict guidelines for users, in its fight against hate speech. it also advocates the inclusion of language and communication arts as a course of study in the tertiary education curriculum. keywords: language, communication, hate speech, social media, covid-19 and peace building background information on the 31st of december, 2019 the world woke up with a new wave of disease at her hands, the 2019 novel corona virus (also named covid-19 by who on 11th february, 2020), which later became a pandemic. it was first discovered in wuhan, hubei province of china and is believed to belong to the sister clave of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (sars) virus. the virus has practically brought the world to her knees. it spared neither mailto:ugommaagwuocha@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 210 world powers such as the usa, uk, italy etc, nor the developing nations such as nigeria, ghana, madagascar etc. just like a wildfire and to the chagrin of respectable world leaders, the disease has continued to ravage the human system, take lives, cripple economy, close borders, ignite political tension, widen social relations, cause scientific and medical confusion, closed schools etc. it literally brought the world to a standstill. there became total lockdown of activities! the way and manner of its modus operandi beats the human comprehension and elicited questions on its possible origin, whether it was natural or manufactured. nations are asking questions, world powers are perplexed, scholars are reading and scientists are researching. all of these have a common goal of demystifying the supposedly existing mystery surrounding covid-19. exciting about them all is that there are accusations that the disease must have been manufactured in its country of origin (china) by their scientists‟. in addition, questions are asked on the proper handling of information about its discovery and its virulent nature. the who seems to be at the centre of it, having been accused to be in complicity with china. consequently, there were accusations on whether covid-19 was actually manufactured or natural. the media outfits did well to capture and document events as they unfold. people gave various interpretation to the to various news items. they took their reaction & outburst to the social media. a cursory study of these reactions reveals that the gains of language use have not been properly harnessed by the interlocutors. to release pent-up emotions and frustrations, derogatory and toxic comments have been directed to china. the handlings of it by various nations have also been generating hateful accusations. the social media such as facebook, whatsapp, twitter, etc. are replete with these inciting comments which are threat to the existing peace in and amongst nations. language has come to be at the centre of this because it is a tool for such communication. more so, some of the pieces of information circulated via these media outfit could be classified as “infodemic” (unverified and false information). the “infodemic” has led to toxicity in language use which is capable of disrupting a nation‟s peace building process. they constitute data for hate speech as aspersions are being cast on china. part of the „infodemic‟ has it that covid-19 is man-made, not natural orchestrated by the communist china. little wonder it has been derogatorily labelled the “chinese virus” by trump (twitter-@realdonaldtrump) and the “communist virus” by the anti-chinese government narrative igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 211 (kozlowska, 2020). since language is core to communicating these feelings, there abound rich resources therein for investigative studies. one of the tenets of academic investigations from the arts and social science perspective is to engage in objective enquiry into the philosophical as well as pragmatic underpins of events of particular concern. they are studied and explained through concepts, theories, experiments as well as ideologies with the aim of achieving set objectives. to this end, this research seeks to draw from the rich sources of data on covid-19 communications on the social media to analyse toxic comments which are identified as hate speeches. using austin‟s model of speech acts and culpeper‟s model of (im)politeness as theoretical lens, the data would be examined to verify how they constitute instances of impoliteness. it seeks to argue that such improper language use in its perlocution acts has dire implication on peace building of any nation, especially nigeria. the objective of this study therefore is to identify toxic comment generated on social media discourse on the covid-19 pandemic. they would be analysed and thus adjudged hate speech, using the mentioned theories, to portray their possible implication on peace building. language competence in a social discourse/ context given the vital role of language in peace building of a nation, it is appropriate to understand the required level of competence in its use in any social discourse. language is structured for and by communication, and as such it is indispensable in every discourse, whether it is as a sign language, meta language or human language, its use is for communication. it is used in various ways, for several intentions and at different context to achieve effective communication. language is used for communication and communication is made possible through language, therefore, they are intertwined, hence will be used interchangeably here. it is therefore pertinent to also point here that the use of language competence in this study also refers to communicative competence (hereafter known as coc). the notion of language has been defined by various scholars according to the perceived function it performs. some of them are limiting or encompassing while others are abstract rigid. very important to this study, is that given by the international language services translation. the ilstranslation (2020) defines language as “a distinctly human activity that aids in the transmission of feelings and thoughts from one person to another”. this means that human feelings and thoughts are communicated via language. be it as it may, one important fact that cuts igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 212 across all definitions of language is that language is used for communication. it is the primary means of communication for humans. this entails that language and communication are inseparable. again, lucey, quoted in adedun (2010:3) defines communication as involving the “interchange of facts, thoughts, values, judgments and opinions”. this is also beneficial to this study because it brings to fore the fact that speakers‟ opinion, perception, interest and judgment on key issues are expressed during communication. furthermore, communication is also described as “an act of interchanging ideas, information or messages from one person to another, via words or signs which are understood to both parties” (ilstranslation, 2020). the above definition stipulates that communication makes way for exchange of feelings and messages, and such ensures cooperation amongst users. having said that, we should note that language is made functional when it is used to achieve the desired aim of communication. communication is usually done to achieve such purposes as information dissemination, enlightenment, requests, command, admonition, persuasion and most importantly to foster sustainable relationship among human beings. and they are all achieved using language. hence, this important aspect of language breeds peace and stability at any given time. language is used to maintain peace, in other words, if not properly used can promote chaos. this brings to fore the notion of language competence also referred to as communicative competence (coc) in this study. the term coc is credited to dell hymes, an american sociolinguist in 1966 in contrast to noam chomsky‟s linguistic competence (1965). the concept is defined by hymes (1972) as “the ability to communicate in everyday situation and includes both structural and functional aspects of language”. the author posits that it also “includes the knowledge of grammar, vocabulary, rules of speaking and responding, and use of language appropriately in different context”. for hymes, coc primarily involves knowing what to say to whom in what circumstances and how to say it. however, he posited that it includes knowledge of linguistic performance, which basically involves language function and use; as well as linguistic competence which involves grammaticality, language forms and structures.. one of the above facts stipulates that interlocutors must use language appropriately, and such ensures peace. language is indeed crucial in determining the course of communication in a social discourse. otagburuagu‟s (1995:7) coc typology reveals that speakers should make right choices to generate intended meaning. it suggests the use of language appropriately to suit discourse contexts. more so, for holmes igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 213 (2013:440), language competence involves the “adapting to the sociolinguistic rules for speaking in a community”. this takes cognizance of the appropriateness of language use in various social contexts. a speaker should possess language competence to ensure peace and harmony. in addition, yule (1995:197) also talks about sociolinguistic competence as a component of coc which refers to the ability to use language effectively while taking into consideration the social as well as cultural context. the understanding of coc is influenced by works in related fields of speech acts and pragmatics. due to speech act functions of our utterance in a social discourse, speakers must possess the knowledge of the required politeness for social cohesion in different contexts. therefore, for effective communication, great competence must be employed while using language. this is why ahumaraeze and nwachukwu stated that “language constructs the way we think and the way we act” (2016:78), and thus great care must be exercised in its use to breed peace. be that as it may, one discovers that the trend in social media is one that reveals a negative use which language has been put to. language as used herein is replete with toxic comments and statements which are considered as hate speech. this anomaly in language use has generated concerns for researchers. to the language scholars, it elicits questions on where lies the competence of language use as buttressed by yule, 1995, otagburuagu, 1995, holmes, 2013 and hymes, 1972, ahumaraeze and nwachukwu, 2016. competence in language use in a social discourse promotes the „howness‟ in the use of a language. however, users are constantly violating this principle through unguarded comments which are inimical to the peace building of a nation. to an african, language is culture and context specific. by implication culture and context comes to bear when using a language. the igbo culture (igbo – a tribe in eastern part of nigeria) would say“onye ire oma ga enweta udo, nwetakwa ihe o na acho” (he, who is courteous in the use of his tongue – language, will have peace and also obtain any favour he seeks). this further buttresses the fact that language competence in a social discourse is very key to progress and peace building process of any individual, society or nation. politeness of interlocutors is a tenet of language or communicative competence which therefore must be ensured in any interaction. hate speeches on the social media: an overview this section reviews definitional and empirical studies on the concept of hate speech with reference to its use on the social media. the social media igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 214 has become a platform that aids the quickest and fastest spread of communication with the speed of a lightening. it has fostered good relationship amongst families and friends. it has also reconnected lost friends and also helped to form new ones. above all, it has made information dissemination easier, faster and with a wide coverage. the social media is a virtual community where everything relating to life and relationships are lived out. there are many platforms of social media where all these are possible. cohen-almagor (2015:29) defines social media platforms as those “internet based application that enable every individual to share contents such as ideas, photos, audio and video files, etc”. again, sangsuvan (2014:721) sees it as that “group of internet-based applications built on the ideological and technological foundations of web 2.0 and that allow the creation and exchange of user generated content”. such platforms include blogs such as twitter & instagram; content communication such as youtube; networking sites such as facebook and whatsapp. amongst these, the facebook and twitter enjoy the highest number of users, just as joseph (2012:147) asserts, they are “among the most popular with billions of users”. information dissemination and relationship building on the social media is done using language. in as much as it provides avenue for these, however, it has been noticed recently that language use therein are eliciting actions which are capable of disrupting the peace building of any nation. just as brittan and larry (n.d ) opined, some of the interactions on the internet are used “to demean, insult and abuse”(1) globally, defamatory and stereotyped language has perverted the social media platforms. it constitutes what is globally identified as hate speech. hate speech has been in existence, bleich (2011) has it that its emergence as a public concern dates back to the events of the 2nd world war. however, it has become a matter of grave concern since the advent of the social media in this 21st century. brittain and larry ( n.d ) in their study defined hate speech as being “more than just harsh words”. they said it can be a” form of expression intended to vilify, humiliate or incite hatred against a group or class of people” (1). more so, they opined that “it can be communicated using words, symbols, images, memes, emojis and videos”, which could “occur offline or online or both”. (1) in their recommendation, they proffered that educators should lead by example in showing their students how not to use hurtful words. they also commended the implication of digital citizenship curriculum which started in elementary school s1 continuing in high school. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 215 for katarzyna (2018), hate speech is defined as “an expression of hostility towards individual or social groups based on their perceived group membership which can refer to their race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, disability, gender or sexual orientation” (2). again, the above authors quote the council of europe in their definition of hate speech as “all forms of expression which spread, incite, promote or justify racial hatred, xenophobia, anti-semitism or other forms of hatred based on intolerance, including: intolerance expressed by aggressive nationalism and ethnocentrism, discrimination and hostility against minorities, migrants and people of immigrant origin” (2). the reality in the above is that the social media is constantly under exploitation as a platform for racism, xenophobia, etc. another interesting observation of hate speech is that, by the united nation (un). the un understands hate speech as “any kind of communication in speech, writing or behavior that attacks or uses pejorative or discriminatory language with reference to a person or a group on the basis of who they are, in other words, based on their religion, ethnicity, nationality, race, colours, descent, gender or other identity factor”(2019:2). they posit that hate speech can be demeaning and divisive, thus, they decided to play active part in addressing the issue around the world. in a five paged document titled “united nations strategy and plan of action on hate speech” and signed by the un secretary – anthonio gutteres, on may, 2019, it is maintained that “hate speech is a menace to democratic values, social stability and peace”. (1) part of the un‟s key commitment is to “recognize, monitor, collect data and analyse hate speech trends” with the view to engage “with new traditional media to address hate speech narratives and promote the value of tolerance” (4), amongst others. the concept of hate speech in many researches has various interpretations and connotations due to context and objectives of study. in line with the others, this study would refer to hate speech as all manner of online or offline expressions both in linguistic and non-linguistic forms made to incite, induce or justify intolerance and hatred, which are capable of destroying the peace building of a nation. hate speech also is looked at here as those speech acts which insult the sensibility of individuals or groups based on their ethnicity, religion, gender, disability, association and literacy level. more so, it refers to any speech act capable of causing hatred, violence, insecurity, dehumanization and breech of peace building of any nation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 216 from the foregoing hate speech is seen as an evil wind which blows no one any good. just as gelber and mcnamara in their 2016 study on „evidencing the harms of hate speech‟ discovered, hate speech causes the following types of harm on its targets. such include, “unfairly ranking target persons as inferior, risk of self-esteem destruction, silencing the victims, harms to dignity, making onlookers to believe negative stereotypes that would make them carryout harmful conflict, discriminatory behaviour, restrictions on freedom of movement and association, etc” (5) theoretical framework: austin’s model of speech acts and culpeper’s model of impoliteness theories austin, j.l’s speech acts theory the speech act theory is a theory propounded by j.l austin in the series of williams james‟s lecture he presented at harvard university in 1955. the basic of the theory is „how to do things with words‟, which is also the title upon which the series was published in 1962. through this theory, austin posits that people make utterances where they state facts; make predictions, accusations, requests or promises; issue order or give advice. such utterances are made to elicit actions and reactions. it holds that words are not used to convey information only, but are also used to initiate and carry out actions, sometimes actions which have dire implications. to the philosopher, language is considered as a sort of action, more than a medium to convey information. in other words, the theory postulates that for every speech made, there is an act elicited or performed. austin explicated his idea through the philosophical triad of locution, illocution and perlocution. a locutionary act according to austin (1975.92) quoted in osisanwo (2003.58) entails the meaning which is derived through phonemic components of an utterance. simply put, it refers to the meaning inherent in any utterance performed by a speaker. while an illocutionary act is the effect which the utterance of a speaker has on the listener. technically put, an illocution is non-linguistic acts performed upon the understanding of a linguistic act or a locution. for instance, the utterance „shut the door!‟ uttered by a speaker, is a locutionary act. its interpretation as a command or request which requires the listener to close the door is considered to be an illocutionary act. when the listener closes the door, he has performed a perlocutionary act elicited by the illocutionary force of the utterance. this is to say that a perlocutionary act is an action which a listener performs upon the interpretation and understanding of an utterance. to illustrate igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 217 more, let us take a look at this example: speaker a says to speaker b – „you ghamas are infidels.‟ the above utterance is a locutionary act, which is the act of speaking. if speaker b understands and interprets the statement as an insult on his religion, an illocutionary act has been performed. and when speaker b then chooses to engage the speaker a in a duel, the combat is said to be a perlocutionary act elicited by the utterance. therefore, speech act theory analyses instances where language is used in a communication to perform various acts which in turn elicits or is capable of eliciting reactions. a speaker through an utterance might be advising, informing, requesting, asserting, insulting, admonishing, predicting, etc., and any of this is expected to elicit an appropriate reaction referred to as a perlocutionary act. it is pertinent to note here that sometimes the interpretation (illocutionary act) given to an utterance is culture and context specific. culpeper’s impoliteness theory impoliteness theory is a theory propounded by culpeper, jonathan, with its preoccupation on how impolite linguistics and non-linguistics practices can lead to face-damaging, face aggravating of an interlocutor. the theory was incorporated into language scholarship in 1977. researchers such as culpeper (1996, 2008, 2011, and 2015), culpeper, bousfield and wichmann (2003), rudanko (2006) & bousfield (2007, 2008) have made significant impact on the area. culpeper‟s point of view on impoliteness will be vital to this study. to this scholar, impoliteness is ascertained in a communication where it is the intention of a speaker to damage the face of the listener during communication. impoliteness is defined by culpeper (2015) as the “communicative behaviours that attract negative evaluations in context and course”. furthermore, culpeper (1996; 2008) sees impoliteness as that linguistic behaviour which is aimed at attacking the face of another. his model of impoliteness presents these impoliteness super strategies which threatens the face of an interactant. they include: bald on-record impoliteness, positive impoliteness, negative impoliteness, sarcasm or mock impoliteness, off-record impoliteness and withhold impoliteness. the principles of the first three strategies would be adopted in this study as analytical lens. bald on record impoliteness is a situation where a speaker uses a direct, clear and unambiguous impoliteness strategy, be it linguistic or non linguistic to threaten the face of another speaker where face is relevant. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 218 while positive impoliteness entails a situation where a speaker uses impolite strategies aimed at damaging a receiver‟s positive face want. positive face want means the desire to be appreciated and talked good about during a social interaction. the impolite strategies amongst other strategies include: 1. the use of taboo words – swear, abusive or offensive words, or profane language. 2. to call the other names as well as using derogatory terms or names labels against them. finally, the negative impoliteness is a situation whereby an interactant uses strategies designed to damage the addressee‟s negative face wants. negative face wants of an interlocutor means the desire of the person to be free from all forms of imposition or force to coerce one into a perceived action. it also includes impolite actions which frightens ridicules or associates an addressee with negative things. one of its output strategies vital to this study is the strategy of frightening and instilling a belief that action detrimental to the other would occur. impoliteness is achieved whenever a face of an individual is threatened, association is threatened and enhancement is also threatened. it is otherwise known as a face threatening act perpetuated by the speaker or by the listener in response to a speaker‟s language use. impoliteness theory is interdisciplinary, just as kuntsi (2012) states that impoliteness in its interdisciplinary nature cuts across research fields such as media, psychology, conflicts studies and sociology. culpeper‟s impoliteness theory just like austin‟s speech acts is context and culture specific. this is to say that most times, the context or cultural background of the speakers determines what interpretations to be given to utterances. in harmony with this, for the social media, what might be termed impolite as well as the expected perlocution depends on the cultural, contextual, philosophical or ideological stance of the speakers. this study would therefore, tap into the rich tenets of these two theories to reveal the appropriateness or inappropriateness of language use from the comments emanating from covid-19 pandemic discourses. it would also reveal the possible perlocution effect of such utterances on peace building of any nation, nigeria inclusive. discussion of data igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 219 as the covid-19 is currently raping the world of its will to survive amidst already existing health, economic and political harsh realities, another wave of disease has been induced through it on the social media. this new wave of disease is in the form of toxic comments, which is equally threatening the existing peace amongst nations. language competence has been mis-used in reaction to series of „infodemic‟ and misinterpretation of the possible origin, and handing of the rising cases covid-19. in reaction and response to covid-19 related issues, people practically fulfilled austin‟s philosophy of „how to do things with words‟. generally, to speak or use a language is to perform speech acts. the acts are meant to follow the dictates of language competence so as to ensure harmonious existence in a society. however, it has been discovered that communications on covid-19 events have sparked off series of comments, reactions and actions. language use in all these has reflected hatred and bitterness felt by the users. there is so much impoliteness of language dictated amongst the related communications on the social media. the result could be nothing other than stigmatization and violence against the target group or persons. let us take a cursory look at the president donald trump of the usa controversial tweets on the social media. on the 16th of march, his twitter handle @realdonaldtrump has it that – “the united states will be powerfully supporting those industries like air lines and others that are practically affected by the „chinese virus‟”. more so, in another tweet, in response to cuono, @realdonaldtrump wrote “cuono wants „all states to be treated the same‟, but all states are not the same some are been hit by the „chinese virus‟…”. similarly, trump was also reported by euro news and dfrlab to have retweeted one of his twitter handle followers who called the virus a „chinese virus‟. more so, in fulfilling a locutionary act, @realdonaldtrump also tweeted on may 28, 3:34pm saying “all over the world, the corona virus, a very bad „gift‟ from china, marches on. not good!” some of the reactions to this tweet are as follows: @errol/webber for congr – “we can‟t let china get away with this” (28th may). @awn micheal, phd, tweeted – “china must pay for what they unleashed on the world, so that this never happens again!” @dawn michael, phd“china not only was irresponsible in allowing the virus to get out of the lab, but once it spread(sic) they did not inform the world and that is unacceptable”. then, @luke bryans, on 28th may, tweeted “yes! it came from china! **chinaliedandpeopledied**. it is pertinent to note here that tweets from @error/webber, @dawn michael threatened the negative face want igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 220 of the addressee, just as culpeper‟s negative impoliteness strategy stipulates. there were lots of chain reactions following this trump‟s tweet. some aligned with him while others raised concern on the implications of such use of language on harmonious living. the majority are in agreement, though. one of them is from the twitter handle @intymedia whose response is “thank you mr trump! this „vrisu‟ made in china! it is a chinese virus”. while @cody84 tweeting on 17th march asked if trump was “trying to start a hate movement so that we can have a war to bring us out of the depression like wwi? these responses reveal that trump has not harnessed the rules of language competence in his comment. his level of impoliteness and use of defamatory labels against china has yielded illocutionary acts through the evoked feelings of prejudice and resentment against china in the ensuing tweets. in reaction to the fire of hatred ignited by this, geng shuang, the chinese foreign minister spokesperson tweeted that such hurtful comment amounted to china‟s stigmatization. similarly, major bill de blasio of new york said that such statement was tantamount to “fuelling more bigotry” especially at the asian-americans, (bbc news, 2020). while @ajrafael also tweeted “….and i hate to bring more attention to the fact that he said „chinese virus‟…. but i‟d like us to continue to look out for our asian brothers and sister who are experiencing attacks against them because people are assuming they have the virus because they are chinese”. again, according to an analysis from the atlantic council‟s digital forensic lab (dfrlab), the us republican representative paul gosar had tweeted on march 8 referring covid-19 as „wuhan virus‟. while the republican house leader kevin mccarthy on march 9, also used the term „chinese virus‟ in his tweet. it was further gathered by the bbc news (2020) that michael pompeo, the us secretary of state repeatedly referred to the virus „wuhan virus‟. the description of the novel coronavirus as the „chinese virus‟, the „china virus‟ and the „wuhan virus‟ are examples of offensive language according to impoliteness strategy, used by these speakers. the tweets are analysed here as performing austin‟s locutionary act. they are statements made by these speakers which revealed defamatory words against china. they are instances of bald on record strategy of impoliteness. furthermore, the series of re-tweets of the derogatory labels against china, against the asian community shows the respondents agreement and alignment with the us tweets on the claim that china manufactured igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 221 the coronavirus as a form of thirdworld war weapon against the world. the traffic such use of offensive labels generated is captured in dfrlab‟s analysis report which posits that the re-tweet of the terms „wuhan virus‟, „wuhan coronavirus‟, „china virus‟ and „chinese coronavirus‟, which were relatively nonexistent, became re-tweeted about 24,049 times just within an hour of the paul gosar‟s march 8, tweet at 9:08 pm. quartz analysis of data from crowd tangle, a social media monitoring tool owned by facebook also has it that there is “a similar rising trajectory in mid – march for terms like „china virus‟, „chinese virus‟ or „wuhan virus‟, on facebook” , (kozlowska, 2020). still on the traffic generated by the top us men„s tweet, aljazeera found more than 72,000 and 10,000 post with the tags „wuhan virus‟ and „kung flu‟ respectively , while a chinese-owned app tiktok as at saturday, april the 14 has a record of 110 million views of similar posts tagged chinese-corona virus. for aljazeera, „kung flu‟ label was found within march alone, noting that it is possible the number is higher considering the variations of the phrase used across the site. the foregoing brings to fore austin‟s concept of illocution. an illocutionary act refers to the effect an utterance has on the receiver. it also implies the feelings evoked by a speech or an utterance. this analysis posits that there seems to be a general feeling of agreement by all those who re-tweeted the various corona virus labels to the fact that china is indeed responsible for inflicting the world with corona virus. they are analysed here to be saying that china manufactured the disease, thus manifesting the illocutionary force of the speech acts theory. according to culpeper‟s bald on record and positive impoliteness strategy, these discriminatory and stereotypical language labels of covid-19 are unambiguous and by implication are direct uses of offensive language against china. reiterating, they evoked the feelings of hatred and belief in the culpability of china in the accusation, and this is analysed here as illocutionary act taking place. a perlocutionary act is the consequence or result evoked by the interpretation of an utterance. in a research x-raying the current trends and challeges of language use on the social media, agwuocha (2019) opined that if destructive language use on the social media is not checked, the perlocutionary act might be in the of violence or war. true to the above author‟s findings, the analysis here has justified such postulation. the data analysed here reveals that the impolite use of language against the chinese nationals elicited several perlocutionry act. one of them is that it resulted in the stigmatization of the asian communities. reports have it that it also resulted in violence against the chinese all over the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 222 world. for instance, the euronews reported on march 20 that trump‟s constant reference to the „chinese virus‟ have already sparked off xenophobia in asian communities. there has been anti-asia hate which has continued to spread online amid covid-19 discourses. (macquire, 2020). kozlowska (2020) similarly has it that several countries have reported violence towards asians since the corona virus began spreading. for bloomberg news, there has been “fuel added to fire with beijing” since trump‟s „chinese virus‟ tweet. to worsen the matter, the vanguard newspaper (2020), reported that there is even a video on skynews australia with the title“china wilfully inflicted corona-virus upon the world”, which it gathered to have sparked off “toxic and hateful” comments reaching over „5k comments‟ (five thousand comments). from the foregoing, it is obvious that the impolite use of language in covid-19 communications has threatened and is threatening the face want of the interlocutors from this particular region, nation and race. it has violated their desire to be talked good about and be appreciated as unique and good people in such social interaction. it has induced hate speeches against this target audience. just as the vanguard newspaper, quoting the tech startup report states that “the coronavirus outbreak has led to a 900 percent uptick in hate speech towards china and chinese people on twitter”. through this, the peaceful coexistence between china and usa and also china and the rest of the world has been threatened, coming down to nigeria, it is also discovered that hurtful comments are trending on the social media following communications on events around the coronavirus pandemic. for instance, a tweet from the federal ministry of health nigeria on the 27th of february, through the twitter handle @fmohnigeria, on the confirmed index case of covid-19 in nigeria generated series hate speeches. responding to the tweet by @fmonigeria on the covid-19 index case in nigeria, @naija…, on the 28 of february tweeted“…..turns that it‟s an italian that brought this virus to nigeria, our useless @faan official and ministry of health didn‟t realize that italy already has a worse case of coronavirus outbreak…, yet they allowed this guy into our country”. also, @sunday lhino... responded“what do you expect from unserious govt.”. and, @real_gloria sarcastically responded“lai mohammed said nigeria has what it takes to tackle it, you remember? watch him now; he will blame pdp for this”. in a response to @real_gloria‟s tweet, @ nigeria will be great, yet another twitter account, tweeted“that mna (man) na fool, i hope he will be among the beneficiary”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 223 the above tweets are laden with sarcasm and derogatory remarks capable of inciting hatred and lack of trust and belief one‟s government. in line with culpeper‟s model of impoliteness theory, @paldron use of a direct, abusive and derogatory label„useless,‟ against italy is considered highly impolite. the twitter account has it that “italy has proved itself to be useless. it should be a country in africa”. besides, a derogatory remark has also been made against africa, which nigeria is part of. an illocution act of asking if africa is made up of useless countries has been initiated. therefore, @gosh_12 referred to @paldron as an imbecile, questioning what right the person has to talk to africans in that way. precisely, @gosh_12 tweeted “such imbecility, africa is better than your country, your people are idiots, worse than africa”. in addition, the coronavirus has been labelled „almajiri virus‟, just as the case with the „chinese virus‟. the „almajiri‟/ „almajirai‟ (singular/plural) is a system practiced in the northern part of nigeria where children are literally abandoned in the care of an islamic teacher for an islamic education. as a result of „almajrai‟s cluster accommodation, they were easily infected by the virus in a large number. this study therefore discovered tweets referring to the coronavirus as „almajiri‟ virus. for instance, @teniolu tweeted“their government should not import those „almajiri virus‟ to our state or else.…”. the „almajirai‟ became a symbol of coronavirus and thus were stigmatized and rejected even by their states of origin. the above analysis revealed the new dimension of hate speeches and how it is creating a divide in nations and amongst nations, threatening the existing peace therein. as culpeper‟s impoliteness theory suggests, any language use should be devoid of profane usage, abusive and offensive words which are capable of threatening the positive face want of an interactant in any discourse. apart from threatening the face of an addressee, austin‟s speech act theory as already explicated shows that for every locutionary act of utterance, there is an induced illocutionary effect on the receiver. the analysis of all the hurtful comments, derogatory and defamatory remarks against the target audience which sum up to be termed hate speeches. they are instances of locution which sparked of illocutionary effect of hatred. their perlocutionary act lead to several almajiri stigmatization as well as anti-asian violence and stigmatisation, and has equally pitched china against the world. conclusion the issue of hate speech especially on the social media has been a matter of great concern. but, with the emergence of covid-19, it has taken a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 224 drastic turn as it has been discovered in this study to have already instigated violence and stigmatization against a particular people, posing a threat to the existing peaceful co-existence amongst nations. the 2019 novel coronavirus lesson has exposed what harm hate speeches are capable of causing. it has given the growing concern for online/social media hate speech a new dimension. the implications on peace building amongst nations are glaring as has been explicated through the analysed data. although they are discourses online, the data analysed here as hate speeches however, have shown that they are capable of causing offline harm which are inimical to the peace building process of any nation. their implications are on the rising anxiety, fear and insecurity amongst the target group, in this case, amongst the asian community as well as the almajirai community. while there is resentment, dehumanization, negative stereotyping, stigmatization and violence from the rest of the world towards these people. these have pitched nations and tribes against one another thereby inhibiting any possible peace building processes. all these implications are as a result of lack of communicative competence amongst most of the social media speakers of the english language. given the role and indispensability of language in any society, be it virtual or physical society, there is the need to assess and comprehend its implications on existing interpersonal relationship in any context before it is used. any language use capable of endangering interpersonal relationship as well as peace building of a nation should not be used. in other words, communicative/ language competence should be effectively utilized for the surviving peace of any society and nation especially in this era of social media revolution, giving the coronavirus lessons learnt. recommendation going by the revealed consequences of covid-19 induced online hate speeches; this study thus recommends the following:  language and communication arts should be taught as a course in the language departments as well as the general studies units of all tertiary institutions. while language literacy in the social media and communicative competence should be composites of the course.  secondly, administrative managers of all social media platforms should be mandated to put in place measures to ensure that hate speeches are not allowed to go viral. some of the measures could be removing offensive contents and giving warning labels to users who post such. then, upon consistent receipt of warning labels without change, such accounts can be blocked from access to the site. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 225  in addition, there should be constant sensitization on every platform by the administrative group on the need to be courteous in every social discourse.  finally, digital literacy should be incorporated into the senior secondary school curriculum. references agwuocha,u.a. (2019). language use in the social media and national integration: current trends and challenges. in international journal of development and management review. (injodemar) 14(1) june. adedun, a. (2010). effective english for business and professional communication. lagos: university of lagos press. isbn: 978-704846-5 ahumaraeze,c.i & nwachukwu, u.a. (2016). language use: implications for peace and global reconciliation. in review of arts and social sciences. quarterly journal of inter-university friendship association with contributions from science and technology, 76-83 austin, j.l. (1962). how to do things with words. oxford: oxford university press bbc news (march 17, 2020). trump angers beijing with „chinese virus‟ tweet. retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia, on 16-06-2020 bleich, e. (2011). the freedom to be racist? how the united states and europe struggle to preserve freedom and combat racism. oxford: oxford university press. bousfield,d. (2007). impoliteness, preference organisation and conducting. multilingua, 26(1-2), 1-33. __________ (2008). impoliteness in interaction. philadelphia and amsterdam: john benjamin publishing. brittain, h. & larry, m. (n.d). the parent‟s and educator‟s guide to combating hate speech. retrieved from https://www.connect safely.org, on 08-06-2020. cohen-almagor, r. (2015). confronting the internet‟s dark side: moral & social responsibility on the free highway. cambridge: cambridge university press culpeper, j. (1996). towards an anatomy of impoliteness. in journal of pragmatics, 25, 349-367. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 226 __________ (2008). reflections on impoliteness, relational work and power. in d. bousfield and locher, m. (eds.) impoliteness in language: studies on its interplay with power in theory and practice. berlin and new york: mouton de gruyter, 17-44. __________ (2011). impoliteness: using language to cause offence. in studies in interactional sociolinguistics, 28, 263-287. cambridge: cambridge university press. __________(2015). impoliteness. international encyclopedia of language and social interaction. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118611463.wbiels.i0 culpeper, j., bousfield, d., wichmann, a. (2003). impoliteness revisited: with special reference to dynamic and prosodic aspects. journal of pragmatics, 35, 1545-1579. euronews & bullet (17th march, 2020). „chinese virus‟donald trump sparks backlash over coronavirus tweets. retrieved from https://www.euronews.com, on 15-06-2020 gelashvili,t.(2018). hate speech on social media: implications of private regulation and governance gaps. international human rights law, 30 higher education credits. faculty of law, lund university. retrieved from lup.lub.lu.se> record, on 9-6-2020. gelber, k. & mcnamara, l. (2016) evidencing the harms of hate speech. social identities, 22(3), 324-341. retrieved from https:// doi-org/ 10.1080/13504630. 2015.1128810. gutterres (may, 2019). united nations strategy and plan of action on hate speech retrieved from https:///www.un.org.unst, on 806-2020 herskovitz, j. (bloomberg news, march 17, 2020). trumps „chinese virus‟ tweet adds fuel to fire with beijing. retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com > articles, on 16-06-2020 holmes, j. (2013). an introduction to sociolinguistics (5th ed). england: pearson education limited. hymes, d.(1966). “two types of linguistic relativity” in bright,w. (ed.) sociolinguistics. the hague mouton, 114-158. oclc 216 44 08. _________(1972). on communicative competence. in pride, j & j, holmes (eds.) sociolinguistics. harmonds worth: penguin books, 269-293 international language services (2019). language vs communication. they are not the same thing. retrieved from www. ilstranslations.com/blog/ language, on 08-06-2020 joseph, s. (2012). social media, political change and human rights. boston college international and comparative law. review 145, 35(1) 3. retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118611463.wbiels.i0 https://www.un.org http://www.bloomberg/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 227 https://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/iclr/vol35/iss1/3, on 08-062020 kanu, i. a. (2020). covid-19 and the economy: an african perspective. journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 3. no. 2. pp. 29-36. katarzyna, b. (2018). the dynamics of hate speech and counter speech in the social media-summary of scientific research. centre for internet and human rights, europauniversitat viadrina frankfurt. retrieved from cihr.eu>2018, on 08-06-2020. kozlowska, h. c. (march 25, 2020). how antichinese sentiment is spreading on social media. retrieved from qz.com. (quartz), on 9-6-2020. macguire, e. (april 5, 2020). anti-asian hate continues to spread online amid covid-19 pandemic. retrieved from www. aljazeera.com, on 03-05-2020. ndtv coronavirus (2020). donald trump tweets describing corona virus as a very bad „gift‟ from china. retrieved from https://www.ndtv.com/trump tweets, on 03-05-2020. okogba, e. (march 29, 2020). coronavirus: huge surge of hate speech towards chinese on twitter. retrieved from https://www.vanguardngr.com, on 16-06-2020. osisanwo, (2003). an introduction to discourse analysis. lagos: otangburuagu, e. (1995). new perspectives in business communication. onitsha: africa first publisher plc. rundako, j. (2006). aggravated impoliteness and two types of speaker intention in an episode in shakespeare‟s timon of athens. journal of pragmatics, 38(6), 829-841. sangsuvan, k. (2014). balancing freedom of speech on the internet under international law. north carolina journal of international law & commercial regulation, 39,701. retrieved from https://scholarship.law.unc.edu/ncilj/vol39/iss3/2, on 16-062020. world health organization (2020). who timeline-covid-19. retrieved from tps://www.who.int./new, on 05-052020. __________(april 8, 2020).who director – general‟s opening remarks at the media briefing on covid-19. retrieved from tps://www.who.int, on 05-05-2020. https://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/iclr/vol35/iss1/3 https://www.ndtv.com/ https://www/ https://scholarship.law.unc.edu/ncilj/vol39/iss3/2 http://www.who/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 228 __________(may 4, 2020). rolling updates on coronavirus disease (covid-19). retrieved from tps: //www.who.int /diseases, on 05-05-2020. yule, g. (1995).the study of language. (2nd ed.) cambridge: cambridge university press. article 14 igwebuike 6. no7.cdr igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.6 no.7, 2020 www.igwebuikejournals.com a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 144 african traditional solidarity among nsukka people as model for national unity ezugwu onyinyechukwu joy department of religion and cultural studies university of nigeria, nsukka enugu state ezugwujoyonyinye@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract cultural solidarity which is explained as the unification of people belonging to the same cultural identity among nsukka people is deeply rooted and embedded in their way of life. this interconnectedness has contributed immensely to their spirituality and so formed the bedrock as well as catalyst for development and integration. it is in view of this that this research is poised to explore, so as to be used as model for nigeria to enhance national development and integration. in a country where the call for restructuring and true nationalism in the spirit of the founding fathers of nigeria is high, there is need to recommend the solidarity that exists among nsukka people as a model for the country. the qualitative phenomenological research method will be used in this study. data for the study were collected using oral interview as primary source. also, as a secondary source of data collection, library materials, internet sources and written documents were used. the result revealed that if emulated, nsukka cultural zone has a lot to offer to the nation for national unity. keywords: african, tradtional, solidarity, community, nsukka, national unity introduction nigeria is a country blessed with many natural and human resources. her amalgamation by the british colonial masters saw the fusion of peoples of different languages, religions and tribes. this amalgamation of people with different tribe and religion has been severally identified as the major source of division in the country. in a country where the call for restructuring and true nationalism in the spirit of the founding fathers of nigeria, nnamdi azikiwi, awolowo, tafawa balewa and lots more no longer holds ground, nsukka people of northern igbo-land have an example rooted in the idea of solidarity that could be modelled for national integration. in the face of religious and tribally anchored chaos and call for disintegration faced by the nigeria state, there is a very germane necessity to propose a model that will help balance the differences aroused by the multi-faceted realities of the nigerian state. this work is therefore geared towards proposing the elements of cultural solidarity among nsukka people as a model for national integration. the fact that nsukka has practitioners of all the three major religions of african, islamic and christian regions adds impetus to the model. the elements of cultural solidarity among nsukka people of enugu state are observable but not limited to the following activities; respect for constituted traditional institutions (onyishi/igwe), agriculture and hard-work, eating habit, festivals, use of symbols, the concept of umuada and masquerade cult. the nsukka people like most organized culture areas in africa are bounded by certain features like the concepts of umunna, umuada, masquerade cults, festivals, general sanitation etc. all centred in the concept of igwebuike (solidarity). whenever any form of dispute reared its head in the land, the people of nsukka culture zone, like other non-centralized societies have different traditional techniques for dispute-resolution procedures in order to maintain internal peace. based on the existing virtue of solidarity imbedded in african/nsukka religion, disputes were easily resolved through some cultural institutions who are very familiar with the approved solidarizing strategies. one of such strategies was oat taking which indicates the power of the gods/spirits. this interconnectedness has contributed immensely to their way of life and so formed the bedrock as well as catalyst for development and integration. the political life of nigeria in recent times has been agog with the call for restructuring. this call for restructuring is anchored on lack of trust for other component members of the nation as well as negligence. an average nsukka person seems to be a very hard working and independent achiever seeking to make ends meet without egocentric dependence on another. ugwu (2018) recently observed that people and regions are more productive when they are self-reliant. thus he observed that: the restructuring of the nation back to real or true fiscal federalism will no doubt strengthen the sub-units and make them less dependent on the federal government. for instance, after the nigerian independence in 1960 the university of nigeria was built by the defunct eastern region with the resources raised mainly through agricultural products and inaugurated in october 7, 1960 just a few days after independence. dr. nnamdi azikiwe did not wait for any federal allocation or budget. they knew what the people needed and went ahead to produce quality and affordable education. the inability of the different geo-political regions in nigeria to fulfil their dream has triggered division in the country. the oil rich south-south wants to control their oil wealth, the south east believes they are industrious and can exist as an independent sovereign state other regions in the country have also given different reasons while they need to be restructured. since regions in nigeria are clamouring for self-determination, it is pertinent to mention that nsukka people are self-dependent and have the zeal for hard work which has become part and parcel of the average nsukka man. this culture has seen one beckoning on his neighbour to be hard working and cooperative in the collective zeal to excel, protect one another in the face of attack and seek the good and success of his kinsman. factors like ethnicity, religious pluralism, corruption, nepotism etc. have negated the concept of national solidarity as found among the nsukka people. the aforementioned problems are the focus of this work using cultural solidarity in nsukka as the panacea to solve the nigerian problem. problem the focus of this work is particularly about the total loss of trust for one another in nigeria. hatred and wickedness are daily being brewed in the nation. people are no longer their brother or sisters keepers. daily, one cannot tune to the television or pick a national daily 145ezugwu onyinyechukwu joy without news of deaths of fellow citizens. stories about how innocent citizens are killed are told daily. chains of terrorists attacks are also being reported. these disheartening atrocities have sowed seeds of discord and disintegration in the hearts of nigerians. the positive powers of cultural solidarity manifested amongst the nsukka people, is presented in this research as a model towards solving this problem that is cancerous to our national growth. this can be anchored through cultural solidarity that had sustained nsukka people from time immemorial. despite the fact that nigeria as a country had made several efforts to foster solidarity, like the national confabs, development of different stages and types of nigerian constitutions and daily debates at the upper and lower chambers of the national assembly, the quest for the disintegration of the country still persists. the persistent nature of nigeria problems is the problem this work on the elements of cultural solidarity among nsukka people as a model for national integration seeks to address. this work will examine how a model for true national solidarity in the face of the call for restructuring can be planted using the cultural model of nsukka as an example or case study for resuscitating a greater nation built on trust. the main aim of this study is to examine the concept of cultural solidarity among nsukka people of northern igbo culture area of enugu state as model for national integration. the specific objectives are to: examine solidarity among the nsukka people of northern igbo culture area; examine previous failed or successful strategies in nigeria before the adoption of the cultural solidarity as a model; use nsukka cultural solidarity as a model for national integration. examine the effects of solidarity on the development of nsukka cultural area; proffer solutions to the nation using nsukka solidarity as a model. cultural solidarity the definition of cultural solidarity as the unification of people belonging to the same cultural identity as defined by khurana (1998) is adopted in this work. the cultural solidarity existing among nsukka people in seem in their respect for constituted traditional institutions (onyishi/igwe) as final decision making body, eating habit, farming habit, hunting, festivals, use of symbols, communication network, ostracism in case of default or deviant behaviour. these are the cultural elements that the people of enugu north senatorial zone are known for. every nsukka man sees it as both a religious and cultural duty to ensure that none of these defaulted for doing so will amount to disobeying nature and god. as okwueze (2004:11) noted “each community in igbo-land maintained a traditional system of belief and practices through which the people showed their subordination to a supernatural, transcendent supreme being”. plato in his work the republic was probably the first to have advocated for solidarity among a people when he wrote to say that maintaining a state religion, even if it was not true, is strictly a sort of social adhesive (plato in russell 1988). as have been noted, the way of life of the africans cannot be different from their religion and culture. the african man as described by mbiti (1970) is chronically religious seeing god in almost everything. the nsukka people as africans also see solidarity as a duty. religion refers to human beings' relationship with that which they regard as holy, sacred, transcendent, worthy of special reverence or divine. it is important to note that religion is not just about humans' relationship with the supernatural or sacred. it also includes the connection between this human-god (vertical) relationship and humanhuman (horizontal) relationship. it is the understanding of religion from both angles that 146 african traditional solidarity among nsukka people as model for national unity allows us to understand the nature of the role of religion in societies, the social relevance of religion. according durkheim (1947:37), 'religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say, to things set apart and forbidden, beliefs and practices which unite into a single moral community to all those who adhere to them.’ durkheim (2001:88) further elaborated on the cultural role of religions when he commented on solidarity. by solidarity, durkheim referred to a people's ability to perform similar tasks and develop a shared consciousness for commitment. he illustrated solidarity using a farming community in which everyone is involved in planting, cultivating, and harvesting. members of this group have so much in common that they know how almost everyone else in the community feels about life. societies with mechanical solidarity tolerate little diversity in behavior, thinking, or attitudes for their unity depends on similar thinking. roy (2016: 54) agrees perfectly with walsh when she added that a united family cannot easily be penetrated by external forces; as people encountered new information and experienced some disorientation, or simply a confrontation with information that did not agree with the views they previously held, they were more likely to question their prior assumptions about a range of topics. adding impetus to the idea that cultural solidarity could be exploited politically. ezike, (2010:12) asserted that; belief and acceptance of blood relationships among communities can be exploited fruitfully for political, social and economic ends. there is no doubt that the knowledge and appreciation of the history, tradition and other cultural attributes of a people provide the facts for socio-economic and political development planning. african culture, despite the presence of foreign religions like christianity and islam in the area under study still holds sway. custom which is an established socially accepted practice of the society still holds deep on the nsukka people. solidarity makes people strong. it is usually observed that whenever nsukka people decides on an issue, they are all spiritually bound in the spirit of brotherhood to implement that decision, going contrary will be breaking that cultural solidarity. hobbes in russel (1987:203) stated that cultural solidarity is when people belonging to the same cultural identity unite. as for it's uses if a group has a common cause or grievance, it could be a tool to support action. a humorous example would be the 'one day solidarity' the irish have on saint patrick's day in new york city. back to our dear country, activities leading to independence 1960 show that all nigerians had cultural solidarity against the british colonialism. nigerian elites all rallied around nnamdi azikiwe, tafawa belewa and other independence fighters. in doing this, their cultural solidarity was made manifest. sociologist ednar (2017:20) went further to assert that what forms the basis of solidarity varies between societies. in simple societies it may be mainly based on kinship and shared values. the european union according to woods (2002:12) a british anthropologist, has a day set aside for solidarity; “solidarity is also one of six principles of the charter of fundamental rights of the european union and december 20 of each year is international human solidarity day recognized as an international observance”. woods (2002:12) africans are deeply connected to their culture. culture defines the day to day activity in more advanced cultures like nsukka. in the words of quarcoopome (1987:68), although africans are different individuals, they perform different tasks and often have different 147ezugwu onyinyechukwu joy values and interest, the order and very solidarity of society depends on their reliance on each other to perform their specified tasks. different individual here refers to the interdependence of the component parts. thus social solidarity is maintained in more complex societies through the interdependence of its component parts. the important role of cultural solidarity in the formation of formidable institutions; like traditional institutions (onyishi/igwe) as final decision making body, farming and hunting regulations and communication network, which were developed by the creative genius of the nsukka people over the years can induce one to appreciate its relevance to national integration. the immense importance which the mutual-support instincts, inherited by nsukka people from its long evolution play even now in our modern society and have been used as a good tool in the hands of strong politicians of nsukka extraction to foster development. today, the nigerian federal and state governments and their agents are in many ways more exploitive of individuals at the local level as were the colonialist this negates the principle of solidarity advocated among the nsukka people. but now the “native,” is mostly educated, and has a public voice while this rarely occurred under colonialism. according to him, african spiritual communalism is an idea that derives from the indigenous african principles of “live and let live; collective sharing; common concern for one another; sense of belonging together; social justice; economic progress and viability for all; and the african indigenous political process of participatory democracy”. further, in line with the african spiritual communalism, it is one's age, responsibility and service to the community that are valued. the economic principle and process recognize sharing according to the needs and responsibility of the individual. whatever economic benefits that accrues to the individual must be shared with the individual's family and community. he states socially, in african spiritual communalism, there is a collectively acknowledged hierarchical order based on age, responsibility, and service to the people. it is not class consciousness hierarchy but rather service for the people consciousness. hence age, wisdom, accomplishment, and responsibility are very important variables (onwuachi 1977:17). nyerere (1968), following the african communalism ethics, rejects atheism and a materialistic view of african societies. he insists that african societies are communitarian by 'nature' and are characterized by a profound sense of collective identity eschewing any traits of individualism. a man's livelihood has a meaning only within the context of his family, kinsmen and tribe. his advocation for a socialist africa derives from these principles, with “ujama”—familyhood as its underlying philosophy. culture and national integration the people of nsukka has a strong belief in respect for constituted traditional institutions (onyishi/igwe) as final decision making body, eating habit, farming habit, hunting, festivals, use of symbols, communication network, ostracism in case of default or deviant behaviour. these are all the elements of cultural solidarity among nsukka people and they have proven that culture can unit people. there has always been a call for mutual respect, understanding and communication for there to be national integration in our nation. believers in cultural solidarity advocate that parents should start by teaching their children values that are original to africans. this is because when family solidarity is strong where children obey their parents and consider their guidance, then the nation will collectively enjoy solidarity. 148 african traditional solidarity among nsukka people as model for national unity agbese (2007), pearl (2018) and ugwu (2018) all mentioned problems that threatens national unity among which are the following: resources control, ethnic diversity, poverty, language multiplicity, structural imbalance, revenue allocation, religious fanatism, youth restiveness, nepotism, corruption, political wranglings and agitation. this research agrees with the aforementioned problems of nigeria as a source of serious threat to nigerian national unity. anti-secessionists like nnamdi azikiwe, obafemi awolowo, gowon, obasanjo and incumbent president buhari all see lack of solidarity as one factor that poses a great danger to our unity. the declaration of the state of biafra in late 1960s triggered by lack of national trust (manifested in the incessant killing of the south-easterners) in the north led to terrible communal riots which culminated into the 1967-1970 bloody civil war. a very large number of people lost their lives and their homes and had to undergo a lot of suffering to resettle. the failure of the citizens of the nigerian state to see themselves as brothers, an understanding that obtains among the nsukka people, has led to “the call for restructuring”. people call for restructuring because they see a great lacuna in cultural solidarity. ugwu (2018) in a recent paper delivered at the college of education eha-amufu noted that a graphic representation of what restructuring is can be linked to an ecosystem or a habitat with some many big trees and shrubs (flora) and powerful animals (lions and tigers) and other rodents, insects etc all co-habiting in the same environment. in this scenario, the iroko and mahogamy trees as well as other smaller plants all survive each naturally acting as a check on the other. enugu north senatorial zone among other culture zones seems to have the highest number of igbo muslims, all forms of churches exists and traditional religion is still intact yet the regions enjoys peace and cultural solidarity because there is trust in the culture that bounds all together. lack of trust is also because of the exploitation of such feelings by some politicians to further their interests. cultural solidarity as an enhancement to the economy and politics when a people's culture is respected the cultural artefacts are also respected thus building the economy, through export and tourism. prior to independence, the nation had a lot of locally produced goods but with the discovery of oil all these were abandoned. cultural solidarity will help our nation to appreciate what we can locally produce and free us from dependence. as igbo and anugwom (2007:36) noted;... the economic factor is the fundamental basis of society. the economic system determines the other institutions of the society. this is what has been termed economic determinism in marxian terminology” soyinka (2018) lauding the cultural festival of the ogun people expressed that national festivals also act as an important unifying force. cultural solidarity among nsukka people is usually made manifest during cultural festivals. eze (kings) are seen paying courtesy visits and homages to their colleagues in other communities during festivals. by extension activities like independence day, democracy day, and other national festivals that are celebrated by all nigerians and in all parts of the country, regardless of language, religion or culture should be fostered because they remind us of our common nationality. solidarity is also seen in the political parties we have in nigeria. recent days have witnessed chains of decamping from political parties for different reasons ranging from ego-centricism to deceptive altruism. in nsukka cultural solidarity the allegiance to traditional institutions like onyishi (eldest man)/ igwe (traditional ruler) prevents people from betraying others. once a decision is made by the chief in council it stands and every member of the community is expected to publicly support that decision and vote 149ezugwu onyinyechukwu joy accordingly punishment for breaking decisions that fosters solidarity can lead one to been ostracized from the community, lack of support for rival, removal from party etc. if a member of the community wants power or a cabinet position, they follow the rule of the game. over the years, nigerian national integration started suffering some threats leading to divisions along the lines of social status, ethnicity and religion. the call for national solidarity has always been associated with the entity nigeria. efforts have previously been made to ensure that all the regions are united in solidarity. these efforts manifest in the development of the different nigerian constitutions in the country, national confabs and panels set up by different governments. findings and conclusion nigeria had previously adopted failed strategies like the development of the different nigerian constitutions, national confabs and panels set up by different governments. nsukka cultural solidarity can serve as a model for national integration given the fact that the zone among other culture zones seems to have the highest number of igbo muslims, all forms of churches, and traditional religious practitioners yet the region enjoys peace. the nsukka people like most organised culture areas in africa are bounded by certain features like the concepts of umunna, umuada, masquerade cults, festivals, general sanitation and many others; all are centred in the concept of igwebuike-(solidarity) and these can generate development of nsukka cultural area. nigeria should emulate the peaceful co-existence of the three major religions found in nigeria among the nsukka people and emulate their tolerance. the review of related literatures has shown the overwhelming scholarly attention the issue of national unity and solidarity have received from scholars. many scholars approached the issues of solidarity from different perspectivesranging from conceptualization, the identification of the root causes of nigerian problems, through the discussion on their impacts, to the elaboration of their different suggestions for a better nigeria. however, there were few authors or study that has examined or explored the role of the solidarity that exists among the nsukka people in relation to national development and unity. these authors did not advocate the way forward, thus the gap this work intends to fill is the cultural solidarity of nsukka people as a model for national integration. the envisaged result is that in the near future, the life of our people will be better and nigeria will be great again. this is where the literature gap lies. this justifies the focus of the present study which is to explore the role of elements of cultural solidarity among nsukka people as model for national integration and development. references agbowo, f. i. (2005). the culture of umunko. online accesed 21-april, 2018. durkheim, é. (1947) the elementary forms of religious life. new york: free press. durkheim, é. in cosman, c. (2001) the elementary forms of religious life. oxford: oxford university press. e z i k e , s ( 2 0 1 0 ) h i s t o r y a n d t r a d i t i o n o f t h e p e o p l e o f i g b o etitihttp://igboetiti.blogspot.com/2010/10/history-and-tradition-of-people-of-igbo.html accessed 22-07-18) 150 african traditional solidarity among nsukka people as model for national unity federal republic of nigeria (2016) national gazette. federal republic of nigeria national gazette 2016, (national population commission). gyekye, h (1996) african moral values. (2008). nairobi: safari press. igbo e.u.m and anugwom, e.e (2007). sociology: basic concepts and issues. nsukka: great ap publishers ltd. khurana, m. (1998). solidarity/89227.htmlhttps://definition-of-cultural kropotkin, p (2008). mutual aid: a factor of evolution. – los angeles: freedom press. lavine, t. z (1984). from socrates to sartre. new york: bantam books. lugira, a.m. (1999) world religion: african traditional religion. new york: chelsea house. mbiti, john s. (1970). african religion and philosophy. london: heinnmann. national population commission, 2007. nigerian national gazette 2016). nyerere, j. k., 1968. ujamaa: essays on socialism, dar es salaam, tanzania: oxford university press okwueze, m.i (2004) exorcism and healing in igbo traditional religion, old testament and pentecostalism. in religion and societal development. lagos: mip. omeregbe j (1991). a simplified history of western philosophy. lagos: joja educational publishers. onah (2018) http://nigeriafacts.net/ibagwa-aka/wikipedia onwuachi, l (1977). socialism and welfarism. atlanta: city publishers. pearl, p (2018) problems of nigeria national integration and possible solutions. internet resources thdownloaded 16 january, 2019) pearl, p. accessed 22 june, 2018https://infoguidenigeria.com/problems-nigeria-national-integration/ quarcoopome, t.n.o (1987). west african traditional religion. ibadan: african university roy, r (2016: 54) documentary film festivals, transformative learning, building community and solidarity. new york: sense publishers russell, b (1988). history of western philosophy. london: urwib press. soyinka (2018) ogun festival. saturday sun. 17-03-2018. taye, (2016:39) nigerian national symbols and common identity. ibadan: carol phil ltd ugwu (2018), restructuring nigeria for greater development. being a key note address presented th during the 6 annual conference organized by the school of arts and social sciences, federal college th th of education, eha-amufu between 16 -20 july, 2018. walsh, f. (2008). spiritual resources in family therapy. new york: guilford press. 151ezugwu onyinyechukwu joy page 1 page 2 page 3 page 4 page 5 page 6 page 7 page 8 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 119 film as a purveyor of nigeria’s image and socio-cultural development: an analysis of selected nollywood movies ogbe, sunday john institute of development research and training (idr&t) ahmadu bello university, zaria +2348180248654 sunnyogbe76@hotmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.36469.60642 & ayodele, b. joseph (phd) department of mass communication kaduna state university, kaduna +2348037036578 mcmdr001@gmail.com & onyeka, ebiere donli department of theatre and performing arts faculty of arts, ahmadu bello university, zaria +2348169581277 onyekadonli@yahoo.com & william, yakubu department of mass communication kaduna state university, kaduna +2347064369447 sdealz@yahoo.com abstract film is one of the significant tools of communication available to human society. in nigeria, the nollywood which is the household name for the movie industry in nigeria can be described as a potential tool for the promotion of cultural identity and national development. however, there seems to be some lapses and permissiveness of undesired contents in most nollywood films which tend to imprint negative socio-cultural images of the country in the mind of viewers. lately, nollywood movie producers have started looking socio-cultural themes and concepts to drive home the quest for promoting nigeria’s rich cultural heritage so as to limit the effect of globalized media contents on our socio-cultural development and national integration. this paper intends to evaluate how nollywood movies which is the most accessible form of exhibiting nigeria’s cultural indigenous heritage, is promoting and projecting the indigenous cultural values of nigeria to the outside world. of consideration to this paper, was the theme of the selected mailto:sunnyogbe76@hotmail.com mailto:mcmdr001@gmail.com mailto:onyekadonli@yahoo.com mailto:sdealz@yahoo.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 120 nollywood movies within the context of indigenous cultural development. the paper made use of documentary observation and content analysis methods on selected nollywood films such as: ‘inale’–produced by keke bongos and directed by jet amata in 2010, lion heart produced by chinny onwugbenu and directed by genevieve nnaji 2018, and ‘wedding party 1’ directed by kemi adetiba in 2016. the selection of the films was based on the fact that they reflect some of the genres like classic, comedy, romance and so on in nollywood. these categories of films contributed significantly in unraveling the different lifestyles and socio-cultural experience of nigerians in their ethnic and socio-cultural contexts. from the analysis of these films, it was found that the potential for cultural representation and portrayed of the diverse indigenous cultural heritage of the nigerian society in nollywood is immensely high. this, one would say, could help in ensuring cultural renaissance in the face of erosion of our cultural values due to globalization. keywords: film, nollywood, culture, nigerian image, globalization introduction the nigerian movie entertainment industry popularly known as nollywood is a very powerful communication platform. the industry evolved on the platform of nigeria’s rich cultural heritage in the arts. the talents from traditional street theatres, traditional story telling cultures and early attempts at indigenous television programming also made enormous contributions to this evolution. in building on the antecedents of indigenous cultural values, esan (2005) is of the veins that “nollywood evolved around a dominant language structure which also reflects the original geopolitical structure of nigeria. nigerian’s nollywood remains the dominant film industry in africa that is poised to championing the projection of the nigerian cultural values through film.” the development of nollywood dates back to the colonial era, through the efforts of the european merchant, colonial administration and the church (ibe, 2004) statement of the problem film is one of the significant tools of communication available to human society. in nigeria, the nollywood which is the household name for the movie industry in nigeria can be described as a potential tool for the promotion of cultural identity and national development. however, there seems to be some lapses and permissiveness of undesired contents in most nollywood films which tend to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/kemi_adetiba igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 121 imprint negative socio-cultural images of the country in the mind of viewers. lately, nollywood movie producers have started looking socio-cultural themes and concepts to drive home the quest for promoting nigeria’s rich cultural heritage so as to limit the effect of globalized media contents on our sociocultural development and national integration. this paper intends to evaluate how nollywood movies which is the most accessible form of exhibiting nigeria’s cultural indigenous heritage, is promoting and projecting the indigenous cultural values of nigeria to the outside world. aim the aim of this paper is to established the significance of nollywood movies as a purveyor of nigeria’s socio-cultural development with the view of enhancing social identity, integration and development. objectives i. to explore the potential of nollywood movies in projecting nigerian indigenous culture. ii. to examine the themes of the selected nollywood movies within the context of indigenous cultural development. literature review film as a meaning-making site of cultures today, much emphasis is still being placed on the social interactions that spectators bring to ‘reading’ films (campbell, 2005) and the way meanings are made by their reception and interpretations. this study’s filmic analysis aims to arrive at the interpretation of cultural symbols invested in films to gain meanings of the socio-cultural activities among the communalistic people of africa and nigeria, in particular. in this way, the nigerian national cinema is being used to explore the representations of africa from across europe and america. since ‘a film is not only a sequence of moving images but also an organized mixture of images, words, texts, music and noises that are characterized by a constant displacement and circulation of meaning’ (jensen, 2002). what all these show is that in films, there is an ample array of meanings that can be made of human societies, especially of african continent and people, given the dominance of their representations. nollywood films embody much of the history and stories that could be read to illustrate that filmic text conveys a huge range of meanings of societies and their cultures as seen in most studies done already in film studies. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 122 nigerian indigenous cultural values and nollywood the nigeria movie industry evolved on the platform of nigeria’s rich cultural heritage in the arts. the talents from traditional street theatres, traditional story telling culture and early attempts at indigenous television programming also made enormous contributions to this evolution. for building on the antecedent of indigenous cultural values, esan (2008) states that; ‘nollywood evolved around a dominant language structure which also reflects the original geopolitical structure of nigeria. the industry thus has three distinct sectors; yoruba movies, igbo movies and hausa movies. the movies tend to reflect the cultures in these areas and are often produced and distributed from the commercial nerve center in these regions and lagos-the nation’s commercial capital. this structure has been inherited by the nigerian film and video censors board as a basis of classifying the videos. there are also english language productions and what has evolved as a distinct category – the engligbo, so labeled because of the tendency to use both igbo and english languages.’ the ethnic affiliation around the industry is very clear in the storylines, shooting location and sometimes even in the cast. to this end, it becomes easier for audiences to relate to and identify with nollywood. the collateral challenges fostered by nollywood are as a result of diverse interests, needs and preferences of its heterogeneous audiences. this heterogeneity is rooted in the range of ethnic, linguistic, religious and other socio-political factors within nigeria and other parts of africa that constitute the primary market for nollywood movies (esan, 2008).it is therefore important to restate here that culture identifies a people and is central to primordial and selfdetermination sentiments in the themes of its movies. methodology the paper made use of documentary observation and content analysis methods on selected nollywood films such as: ‘inale’–produced by keke bongos and directed by jet amata in 2010, lionheart produced by chinny onwugbenu and directed by genevieve nnaji 2018, and wedding party 1’ directed by kemi adetiba in 2016. the selection of the films was based on the fact that they reflect some of the genres like classic, comedy, romance and so on in nollywood. these categories of films contributed significantly in unraveling the different https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/kemi_adetiba https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/kemi_adetiba igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 123 lifestyles and socio-cultural experience of nigerians in their ethnic and sociocultural contexts. these films were analyzed in details according to the criteria indicated earlier in the research methodology. the research has detailed the sampling procedure and the justification for the choice of the films, the method to be used in the analysis and the reasons for the choice of particular methods over others. the unit of analysis of the qualitative content analysis is as follows: culture portrayed = local or foreign costumes/props = traditional or western language = nigerian or english setting/location = rural or urban food = local or foreign etiquette = proper or improper names = local or english dressing = traditional or western song/dance = afro-hip hop or western igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 124 result and analysis table 1: content analysis for the film “lionheart 2018.” lo cal fore ign tr ad west ern niger ian engli sh ru ral ur ba n loca l intercontin ental cuisin e pro per impr oper lo cal engli sh tra d wes tern afro west ern variabl es cuis ine hiphop cultura l portray al * * costu mes * * langua ge * * setting /locati * * igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 125 on food * * etiquet te * * names * * dressi ng * * song/d ance * * source: qualitative observation, 2019. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 126 the movie lion heart produced by chinny onwugbenu and directed by genevieve nnaji was a rich nigerian film released in 2018. the film strive to promote local industry especially in car manufacturing and transportation sector of the nigerian economy. the movie which started in a car park somewhere in enugu state, south east, nigeria depicting the notoriety of motor part touts who go about elicit for the payment of operational levies is synonymous to the everyday experience of what most nigerians go through when using this form of transportation. however this negative portrayal of human relation, the ability of nigerians in managing conflict situation was brought to bear in genevieve interaction with the motor part tout leader. finally, the voice of reason overcame that of violence. the lion heart movies is said to be a promoter of indigenous innovation in the car manufacturing industry. here again, industrialization of a society is seen as a form of its cultural industry. although some might claim, the technological advancement like vehicle production and transportation business should not form a part of cultural portrayal, advance countries like america, germany to mention a few have all used this to portray their culture to the rest of the world especially in movie like 007 and transporter 1&2. enugu state being a state created out of the old anambra state in 1991 does not only serve as the administrative capital of eastern nigeria but also the transportation hub of most popular transport companies in nigeria. some of the common companies include ekene dili chukwu, abc transport, f.g. onyenwe motors, labour mass, udenu mass transit, cross line to mention a few. this partially support the choice of the city and state by genevieve in depicting the transportation business prowess of the peple of the area. the use of modern costumes as depicted in the clothes worn by genevieve and her assistant (jemima osunde) as well as those worn by peter okoye, and kalu ikeagwu and some other character who played less prominent roles in the film. on the part of costumes also, the use of traditional clothes by pete edochie, who was all adorn in igbo clothes associated with royalty alongside the use of stick and fan as well as wearing of traditional beads on the neck and wrist promote indigenous culture of the people from the east. similarly, the adorning of kaftani by yakubu mohammed and baban riga by sani mua’zu also portrayed and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 127 projected the way of life of most people in northern nigeria especially the city of kano. language is one form of communication that a society is identified with. in this regard, there are three languages that were spoken i.e. english, igbo and hausa languages. the choice of english as used in the movie is to enable the movie audience understand the movie without readily resorting to reading the translation as it is been shown on the film. however, there is the predominance in the use of igbo language in this movie. one of the reason adduced for this could be the fact that the producers as well as most of the actors and actresses were igbo. for example, pete edochie, onyeka owenu, nkem owoh, kanayo kanayo, ngozi ezeonu, peter okoye and chika okpala. similarly, in the instance where hausa language was used, it was used at the instance where actors such as sani mua’zu and yakubu mohammed conversed and later at an interaction between pete edochie and sani mua’zu. the use of these two languages which are two of the predominant languages spoken in eastern and northern nigeria could be said to have reflected a very significant portion of the nigerian culture. the setting of a movie is also another way of portraying indigenous way of life. however, in this film, the only depiction of rural area was at the beginning of the movie especially when the film took a bird eye view of the entrance into enugu town. the rest of the settings were modern or urban in nature which hardly project nor promote our indigenous architecture and building techniques. furthermore, the film made use of office locations and furniture’s as most of the scenes were shots in offices and homes in enugu as the main thrust of the movie in the promotion of transport business through the patronage of local vehicle manufacturers for example, innoson vehicle manufacturing company – ivm based in nnewi. the food used inn the film were basically local meal especially “apku” (fresh cassava flour meal) with “ukazi” soup. this is a clear example of a local way of life. however, the use of china wares, spoons and fork in eating of the meal is completely a negation of nigeria mode of eating the type of meal with the hand. again, the etiquette depicted in the films to a large extent is culturally inclined. take for example, the exchange of pleasantries between nkem owoh and pete edochie is typical of the exchange of salutations common to the igbo speaking tribe of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 128 nigeria. similarly, the exchange of serious thoughts and discussion over the meal although a very bad eating habit or etiquette when weighed within the standard of european and western table manner, it is actually a very good thing within our cultural setting a view shared by ezenweke and nwadialor (2013) where he states that more robust conversation and dialogue takes place while the meal is being served. every work of art is a reflection of the society that created it. nollywood films cannot be an exception. film is art, and therefore, it is the reflection of the cultural sensibilities, beliefs, values and the world view of society that created it. this implies that film is largely concerned with the preservation and propagation of people’s culture across the globe. nollywood film emerged as a response to satisfy the audience clamor for indigenous film reflect the culture of nigerians and to market their national agenda to rest of world. dressing is an act of expression. it readily tells us when a person comes from. it is a mark of social identity. in this film, the igbo traditional clothes especially the use of “akwa-oche” by pete edochie and the use of “baban riga” by sani mua’zu expressed the hausa culture. this type of dress mode is exemplary and encouraged in order to safeguard our cultural identity from western influence. however, the promotions of indigenous dressing, the film fell culprit of over use of western dressing by the lead actress – genevieve who most of the times wore western styled dresses. another low point in her dressing was the exposure of her cleavage which got one of the creditors to be carried away. an action that got nkem owoh to intervene by covering it up. also, by the pool side while visiting peter okoye to solicit for aid, the concentration of the camera short on the semi-nude lady did not speak well of the propriety of dressing in the cultural context. another variable which was considered in this analysis with regard to culture portrayal was the use of songs and dances. the sound track is an afro-pop song that could readily resonate with the people from the eastern part of nigeria. the playing of the “goje” sound and song at the time genevieve and nkem owoh’s visit to kano is also cultural expression common to the people of northern nigeria and appropriate a way of cultural portrayal in the film. the cultural display by the atilogwu cultural dance group is another positive of indigenous culture of the people. again, the last song “obi-agu” performed by phyno which is another afroigwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 129 nigerian hip-hop is one which could also be said a better portrayal of the culture of a people in the nigerian society. name calling is also a very vital part of the culture of the people in nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 130 table 2: content analysis for the film “inale 2010.” lo cal fore ign tr ad west ern niger ian engli sh ru ral ur ba n loca l intercontin ental cuisin e pro per impr oper lo cal engli sh tra d wes tern trad / afro west ern variabl es cuis ine hiphop cultura l portray al * costu mes * langua ge/ mode of comm * setting * igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 131 /locati on food etiquet te * names * dressi ng * song/d ance * source: qualitative observation, 2019. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 132 inale was a nigerian movie that portrayed the rich cultural traditions and heritage of the idoma people. the film completely portrayed the local tradition of the idoma people in a folkloric way especially through the act of story telling, song and dances. the portrayal of the forms of the peoples way of life was shown at the movement of king oche from his palace to the village for the commencement of the contest through which the champion would be given his daughter inale’s hand in marriage. the movement of the king and his entourage accompanied by some number of different masquerade, drumbeats and dance to the village is akin to the modern day escort blaring siren that announces the arrival of a very special guest. the significance of the masquerade in idoma society is that it represent the physical presence of the spirit of the ancestor among the people. common masquerades in this ceremony are the “odomu”, “akatakpa”, “elechi”. masquerade performances and all the associated theatricalities according to ted (2015) reinforces the people’s close relationship with the spiritual and physical world. the costumes largely used in the film were basically props that could be said to be significantly traditional and local to the idoma people. the adoring of king oche and queen omade traditional idoma cultural attires in red and black. the red colour according to ogbe (2013) is one which signifies strength while the black colour signifies the fertility of soil in areas where the people lived being an agrarian society. the language promoted in the film was the idoma language although the film was acted in the english, the idoma language was used in the songs, interjections. the use of maiden of same age group in the opening of the film after the meeting between inale and odeh is one other practice of the idoma people that was aptly captured in the film. the essence of this group for the building f cordiality among this level of sorority. the lady in the age group also act as a support base for any of their kind who is about getting married or going to her husband place as seen in their accompanying of inale to agaba’s village. the setting of the movie depicted a communal living which is characterized by mud building roofed with thatch mostly built close to each other. more so, the use of the village square as a place of social gathering and public communication is also one that is very popular with igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 133 the idoma people. the village square and not the king’s palace is the place for public ceremony as well as public communication. another feature which was also highlighted although not allowed to play any prominent role when compared to another film in this analysis “iyore” is that of the “elders”. in nigeria socio-cultural set up, the elders are known to be the custodian or the store house of social knowledge which could be relied upon to tell the history of the people, event and economic development. their knowledge and wisdom is also relied upon in the time of serious decision making. no wonder, they were always shown at scenes such as the wrestling contest when the king had to follow through with his decision to give the hand of his daughter in marriage to anyone who wins the contest. wrestling (otambla) among the idoma people does not only serve the purpose of sport which young agile and able bodied men participate in. wrestling also serve the purpose of entertainment and comical relief as shown in the use of a dwarf to fight odeh which amuses the people. the accompanying local song and the playing of the local drum “uba” further attaches the importance of the use of the village square to also play the function of entertainment and sport beyond just its use for social gathering and public communication. in this film also, some of the song and dance at both of the wrestling contest like the “ogrinya” and “kpalo” are common place in the idoma society. finally, a significant aspect of cultural representation in the name given to people, events, things etc. the names of the lead actors and actresses such as oche, ochanya, odeh, inale, omei, agaba and omade are all idoma names and appropriately pronounced to a large extent even when the cast are mostly not from the area. hence, it could be said that inale significantly portray and promote the idoma culture positively. the place of the children playing at the playground is another way of enhancing social harmony as well as a way of encouraging youthful participation in the social development of the society. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 134 table 3: content analysis for the film “wedding party 1.” lo cal fore ign tr ad west ern niger ian engli sh ru ral ur ba n loca l intercontin ental cuisin e pro per impr oper lo cal engli sh tra d wes tern trad / afro west ern variabl es cuis ine hiphop cultura l portray al * * costu mes / props * * langua ge/ mode of comm. * * igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 135 setting /locati on * food * * etiquet te * * names * dressi ng * * song/d ance * source: qualitative observation, 2019. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 136 the cultural portrayal of this film is the focus of this analysis beyond any other theme such as love and intermarriage that he movie tries to promote. the film had a strong representation of two predominant cultures in nigeria namely the yoruba and igbo culture. the main thrust of the film is the promotion of interethnic cohesion in a diverse society such as nigeria. another culture reflected in this movie is the western mode of marriage depicted in joining of the husband and wife at the church rather than a traditional marriage rite. similarly, the adornment of wedding suit by the groom and that of the bride alongside the accompanying groom friends and brides maids also relegated the place of indigenous cultural propagation which the film should engender. however, this lull in the traditional cultural portrayal, the wedding party proper is one that could be said to be inundated with a plethora of cultural events and displays. the costumes used by the okafor’s and that of the ade-coker were all traditionally inclined. mr okafor specifically was adorn with a red cap filted with a bird feather on his head. his wrist was adorned with a white bead which is also adorn round his neck. similarly, he wore the signature igbo shirt “akwaoche” alongside a chieftaincy fan signifying royalty. mr. ade-coker wore the popular yoruba “fila” typical of a yoruba man from ile-ife. he wore the popular “agbada” long robe with a moderate creamy coloured beads round his neck. his wife was adorned with a red beaded necklace with a head tie “gele” on her head or an “iro” styled “buba” shirt. most of the guest at the party to a large extent were dressed in traditional apparel representing one culture or the other. there was the use of yoruba and igbo language on few occasion but not an extensive to signify the true representation of the two culture. the setting used in this film was urban and therefore did not promote local architecture of the people from these two cultures. there was a very significant show of social etiquette with regard to act of the white lady who knelt down to greet mr. coker who in turn reprimanded the nigerian lady to do same before accepting their salutation. food again could be a variable that promotes the identity of a society’s culture. in this film, the display of “amala” in a three legged pot, the use of leaves to serve the meal on a “gbegiri” and “ewedu” soup is one that resonate easily with the yoruba. however, the film failed to also highlight igbo foods and delicacies as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 137 was done with the yoruba cuisine. the film also failed to show any local drink or beverage as a way of portraying either culture. the playing of the popular marriage song, “adan’ma” by flavour to usher in the okafor’s and “emi by yinka ayefele to user in the bride family was a focal manifestation of cultural promotion. to a large extent, the audience from both culture appreciated these songs by dancing to its melodious tunes and beats. although, a comical film intended to promote cultural cohesion through intermarriage and tolerance, it has to a large extent also portrayed nigeria culture significantly. from the analyses of the selected films, it was found that: 1. the potential for cultural representation and portrayed of the diverse indigenous cultural heritage of the nigerian society in nollywood is immensely high. this, one would say, could help in ensuring cultural renaissance in the face of erosion of our cultural values due to globalization. 2. theme selection in the films analysed were positively inclined marking a shift from the barbaric and weird classification of previous film in this regards. themes such as peaceful co-existence, trust, heroism, love, justice, truth, bravery, industry, social integration to mention a few were adequately featured in the films, thereby ensuring content and contextual representation of nigerian culture. 3. the forage into movie production and directing by stars such genevieve nnaji, kunle afolayan and jetta amata to mention a few has tremendously boosted the quality of culturally inclined movies being produced by the industry today. similarly, accessibility of funding, availability of technical capacities and capabilities as well as researched scripts have contributed significantly to the improving of the industry’s drive to promote indigenous culture. 4. the ability of cast to speak indigenous languages even when they are not from the clime whose culture is being projected was seen as a way of cultural socialization and integration. 5. more, the significant use of local dress modes in the movies analysed shows a deep projection of our rich cultural heritage and therefore a positive way of projections indigenous culture. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 138 conclusion as earlier stated, film is the harbinger of the culture of the producer. no one film is devoid of cultural products, promotions, attributes and characteristics. the more advanced movie industry in the west and asia have all continually projected their way of life to the outside world either overtly and covertly. being a cultural diverse society, the nollywood movie indigenous is one that would be the best medium is first projecting our heritage cross-culturally so that every nigerian would learn to know about other nigerian society’s culture and cherish it. secondly, projected to the outside world, so as to portray the cultural essence and product of the over 500 indigenous language and 300 societies that make up the nigerian nation state. the study therefore concludes, that the nollywood movie industry serves a veritable medium that could well project and promote indigenous cultural development of nigeria better than any medium. no one can tell and show out story better than ourselves. references achebe, c. (1958). things fall apart. london: heinemann educational books barlet, o. 2000. african cinemas: decolonizing the gaze. translated by chris turner. london and new york: zed books campbell, j. (2005). film and cinema spectatorship: melodrama and mimesis. cambridge: polity press. esan, o. (2005). appreciating nollywood: audiences and nigeria films. “inparticitions, 5 (1).special edition. retrieved from http://www.participations.org haynes, j. (2005). nollywood in lagos, lagos in nollywood. africa today, 54(2): 131-150. ibie, n. (2004). how video film developed in nigeria. retrieved from http//www.nollywood.net kalu, a. (1994). the priest/artist tradition in achebe’s arrow of god”, in today, 41. indiana: indiana university press. http://www.participations.org/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 139 larkin,b (2005). video awodjo: popular video film in the aff/ny 2001 festival. 11 september. retrieved from https://www.africanfflmmy.org/network/new/rlarkinhtmi . ogunleye, f. (2003). female stereotypes in the nigerian home video films: a case for re-socialization. humanities review journal 3(2). oha, o. (2002). ‘yoruba christian video narrative and indigenous imaginations: dialogue and duelogue’, in cahiers d’etudes africaines. 165. xlii-i. pp 121 okome, o. (2007). ‘nollywood: spectatorship, audience and the sites of consumption’ in post-colonial text, 3(2). retrieved from http://pkp.ubc.ca/pocol/index.php onwubiko, o. (1991). african thought, religion and culture. volume 1. enugu: snaap press ltd. https://www.africanfflmmy.org/network/new/rlarkinhtmi http://pkp.ubc.ca/pocol/index.php igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 1 the plights of female internally displaced persons (idps) in borno state: the response christian association of nigeria (can). obiefuna, b.a.c. & adams, peter akpo department of religion and cultural studies university of calabar, calabar adamsakpo.@unical.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.19482.59846 abstract displacement of individuals, especially females in borno state, north east of nigeria has become a serious social problem. this ugly situation which is caused mainly by the activities of islamist jihadists, fulani herdsmen and armed bandits has led to many humanitarian crises faced by female idps in jerusalem idp camp, zabarmari idp camp, muna dati idp camp, ethiopia idp camp and teachers’ village idp camp. these kismetic and ineluctable predicaments experienced by female idps include: sexual abuses, human rights abuse, sexual violence, silent treatment environmental racism, hunger and starvation, blacklisting, health issues, educational marginalization and social ostracism. in view of these prevailing circumstances, this paper investigated the response of christian association of nigeria (can) and other christian charities in attending to the humanitarian crises faced by female idps in the selected camps within the study area. the study made use of observer as participant ethnographic method. the study made use of two data collection techniques which were qualitative and quantitative in nature in order to arrive at a conclusion. the data generated from the survey were analyzed using statistical package for the social science (spss). the study leaned on the human needs theory. the research results revealed that christian association of nigeria (can) and other christian charity organizations have done commendably well. this is indicated by 98.1% response. the study concludes that since female idps face various forms of humanitarian challenges in the selected idp camps, the response of can is timely and should be intensified and that if the basic tenets of the human needs theory are identified and applied, their crises would be reduce drastically. introduction mailto:adamsakpo.@unical.edu.ng igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 2 in contemporary nigeria, there are a plethora of perilous social problems that its citizens are faced with. in almost all the six geopolitical zones, states, local government areas, wards and communities, people face all forms of social problems which include, but are not limited to: acts of terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, armed robbering, police brutality, cabal or corporate influence, islamophobia, child abuse, poverty, abortion, religious fundamentalism, unemployment, gambling, various forms of sharp practices, cultism, gangsterism, drug abuse, social deviations, forced labour, forced and / or early marriage, youth restiveness and protest and displacement. the list is ending. some of these social problems are caused by the government’s inability and failure to attend to the essential needs of its citizenry. the situation in nigeria has become so volatile that one needs to be seriously conscious, careful and vigilant wherever one finds his or herself. in borno state for instance, one of the major problems faced by its citizens is the issue of displacement. studies such as those of imasuen (2015), fatile and bello(2015) adesote and peters (2015) and adams (2019) indicate that the major cause of displacement in borno state in particular and the north east in general, are the activities of terrorists in the region. however, there are also other factors such as farmers herders clashes, intra and inter communal dashes and natural catastrophes. the main aim of this paper is to investigate to what extent has the christian association of nigeria responded to the challenges of female internally displaced persons (idps) in jerusalem idp camp, zabarmari idp camp, muna dati idp camp, ethiopia idp camp and teachers’ village idp camp respectively. because of the complex nature of the study, observer as participant ethnographic method was used. this is an urban ethnographic method that makes use of research assistants and the researcher in conducting or studying a particular phenomenon. this method was used since the study was field based. this study is multifactorial and was conducted through the use of two data collection techniques which were qualitative and quantitative in nature in order to arrive at a conclusion. the study leaned on the human needs theory (hnt) as the theoretical framework in explaining the response of can to female idps within the five randomly selected idp camps. the estimated population caseload of jerusalem idp camp is 500, zabarmari idp camp-500, muna dati-7,500, ethiopia idp camp igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 3 10,000 and teachers’ village-9,500 respectively. the population caseload is indeterminate which is why it is estimated because the population of each camp is a function of the prevailing security or economic situations in any camp. where there are favourable situations in any camp, the population caselead increases, where there is insecurity or threat to life and property, the population caseload decreases. these circumstances affect female idps who are the worst hit, especially lactating mothers, who keep moving from one makeshift settlement to another in order to make ends meet. theoretical foundation the use of social theories in contemporary researches are crucial since they do not only serve as the driving forces behind the researches, but give strength to such academic ventures. in view of this, the human needs theory propounded by abraham maslow in 1943 and fully developed in 1954 is used here to support the response of can to female idps in the five randomly selected idp camps in borno state of nigeria. this theory stresses that for humans to exist and achieve a state of being comfortable, healthy or happy, certain basic needs are absolutely necessary or extremely important. these are called basic human needs or fundamental human needs. proponents of this theory hold that where these basic human needs are lacking or unachievable, the tendency is that humans would be forced or have the natural inclination to behave in a particular characteristic manner. in fact, most conflict theorists believe that if these needs are unmet by human beings, violence or any other untamed behaviour would be the consequence. max-neef, elizalde and hopenhayn (1991) affirm that among the third world countries, this theory’s basic principle holds sway, especially when one looks at the economic situations of these third world countries. it is these basic needs of humans that made abraham maslow to advance a classification system that embodied the universal needs of humans in all societies. this system of classification is what danielsen (2005), calls maslow’s hierarchy of needs, represented as a pyramid with the more basic needs at the bottom. self-actualization social/esteem love and belonging safety igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 4 this framework, though a psychological one, has become popular in diverse fields of scholarship including sociology. thus, maslow’s theory in the words of rubenstein (2001), became more population and fully expressed in 1954 when he wrote on motivation and personality. these five hierarchies of needs include: self-actualization, which has to do with human needs that border on morality, creativity, spontaneity, problem solving, lack of prejudice, acceptance of facts. the next is esteem. this has to do with self-esteem, confidence, achievements, respect for, and by others. love and belonging is the next on the hierarchy. it deals with friendship, affection, family, and sexual intimacy. safety needs has to do with one’s security in such areas as personal security, job security, security of resources, of finance, of morality, of the family, of health and of one’s property. the physiological needs are breathing, food, water, sex, sleep, homeostasis and excretion. the above characterizations are the original basic needs as postulated by the leading exponent abraham maslow. there are some variations as postulated by other proponents of the theory such as john burton, marshall rosenberg, the chilcan economist manfred max-neef, chilean sociologist antonio elizalde, chilean philosopher martin hopenhayn and edward azar. basic assumptions of the human needs theory the basic tenets of human needs theory (hnt), emphasizes the idea that certain basic needs are necessary prerequisites for human beings’ survival. these basic needs include physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual needs. scholars have not really agreed on which needs precedes the other, eventhough abraham maslow’s hierarchy of needs seem to divide them into five characterizations as stated above, with the most basic at the bottom. this divide among scholars seem not to blur the basic tenets of the hnt since they (proponents) agree that be these needs physiological, safety, love and maslow’s hierarchy of needs (source: danielsen, 2005, p.5) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 5 belonging, esteem and self actualization as posited by the maslowian school of thought; or the fundamental human needs (fhn) which are: subsistence, protection, affection, understanding, creation, identity, leisure and idleness, freedom and participation as propounded by the max-neef (1991) school or be they distributive justice, safety and security, belongingness and love, self-esteem, personal fulfilment, identity, cultural security, freedom and participation as advanced by burton (1993); or the seven basic needs – physical nurturance, interdependence, integrity, autonomy, play, celebration and mourning and spiritual communion by rosenberg (2003); needs of human beings are the same. ramsbotham (2005), however, declares that they may vary from one culture to the other or from one individual to the other and in different societies. variants of human needs theory (hnt) the hnt do have different perspectives. these perspectives are so called because they represent views by various proponents of the hnt. the first variant is the five-tier model of pyramid. this model originally propounded by abraham maslow (1943, 1954) depicts the needs of humans in a hierarchical manner. the most basic needs are found at the base of the pyramid. as stated above, they start from the bottom of the pyramid from physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem and finally, self-actualization. mcleod (2018) affirms that the model could be subdivided into just two – the deficiency needs and growth needs. mcleod (2018) declares that, from the bottom of the pyramid up, the first four needs have to do with deficiency needs and that these needs arise as a result of deprivation, and usually motivate or drive people whenever they are unattainable. one good example is hunger. the longer one goes without food, the more hungry one becomes. these four needs are physiological, safety, love and belonging and esteem. the last one atop the pyramid is self-actualization. this is the growth need because motivation increases as needs are met. on the other hand, growth needs are not as a result of lack of resources or anything but rather, they stem from an urge to grow as a person. one can only reach the highest level-self-actualization if these needs are satisfactorily met. in summary, therefore, maslow’s model appears to focus mainly on subsistence needs. however, mcleod affirms that later in his (maslow) life, he expanded the model to include cognitive and aesthetic needs and much later to transcendence needs. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 6 burton (1990a) holds a similar view to that of maslow. however, he is one of those proponents at the forefront of the human needs theory with emphasis on social and political theory. burton (1990b, 1997) concludes that where universal human needs are unmet and neglected, the attendant result is the eruption of violence between groups as a means to claim the fundamental rights and needs. the other variant theory that emerges from the maslowian model is the existence, relatedness and growth – erg theory. this theory was propounded by clayton alderfer in 1969. alderfer (1969) expanded the maslowian pyramid when he developed and categorized the hierarchy into existence, relatedness and growth theory. this paradigm focuses on three acronyms – erg. the e stands for existence and focuses on the basic existential needs of humans. this group includes those items listed in maslow’s physiological and safety needs. the r stands for relatedness. this group focuses on the importance of intergroup or interpersonal relationships among people. alderfer affirms that for one to get satisfaction one must align these social and status desires with malsow’s esteem categorization. finally, the g stands for growth. here, alderfer sees these groups as intrinsic and essential for personal development. this belongs to the maslowian self-actualization category. other variations that are built within the framework of basic hnt are engel’s law, an economic model for how well basic needs are met; fundamental human needs (fhn) by manfred max-neef, antonio elizalde and martin hopenhayn and their human scale development model; marshall rosenberg’s seven subgroups and its non-violent communication model; spontaneous and rational motivation paradigm by juan antonio perez lopez; metamotivation and murray’s psychogenic needs model. these variations notwithstanding, the basic tenets of the hnt remain the same. limitations of human needs theory (hnt) in spite of the obvious and wide publicity and applicability of the hnt, there exist few drawbacks. the main issue is the inability to verify, empirically, the hierarchy of needs. max-neef, elizalde and hopenhayn (1991) affirm that since people’s needs are believed to be traditionally infinite, subject to change, different in each culture or society and are also different in each historical time, the basic assumptions of hnt are therefore, “inaccurate, since they are the product of a conceptual shortcoming” (p.16). this empirical unverifiability and conceptual pitfall is therefore, the major problematique or criticism of the hnt. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 7 kunchala (2017) also declares that the theory is cumbersome since one cannot correctly ascertain how satisfied one level of need must be met, especially in turbulent circumstances before proceeding to the next level. take for example the plight of female idps in the selected camps under study. how could one determine which need is paramount? there is general disagreement among theorists on the hierarchy of needs. maslow himself maintains the view that human needs are hierarchical, but danielsen (2005) declares that this is not the case with other theorists like burton, rosenberg and max-neef, elizalde and hopenhayn. these five theorists, though unanimous on the universality of human needs, differ in the sense that they rather emphasize the non-hierarchical and complementary nature of human needs. danielsen affirms that, “if a human need is simply what we perceive it to be, it will be hard to truly address human needs in a conflict situation” (p.7). this assertion or viewpoint is especially true among idps whose conditions are varied from camp to camp. another setback of the hnt is its emphasis on ‘priority’ of needs. could it be true that the maslowian emphasis on subsistence (food and shelter) supersedes those of self-esteem, self-fulfillment or even security. this prioritization of need, certainly, would not be applicable in situations of conflict, for the hnt to maintain that basic needs must be met before other needs is unscientific. this is because progress could be disrupted by inability to fulfill all the lower needs. life experiences differ from one individual to another. issues such as displacement, unemployment, divorce, war, ill-health and other life’s challenges could retard or fluctuate an individual’s movement or progress between the hierarchy. the hnt, and its later theorists, example burton, rosenberg and azar, seem to emphasize the relevance of dialogue. how can this approach be effective among warring groups? take the current boko haram terrorists and its splinter groups and the fulani herdsmen for instance, how can one get these groups into believing that meeting their essential human needs through dialogue could solve the problem of terrorism and its attendant issue of displacement? apart from this problematique, how can the hnt be useful in human relations, issues of displacement and conflict management in contemporary nigeria. on the other hand, supposing the boko haram terrorists and fulani herdsmen needs are identified, and modalities are put in place to meet all their needs, how igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 8 do one ascertain the fact that the needs so identified are the most important or most desired? danielsen (2005) and park (2010) confirm the above position by contending that even if these needs are sorted out, the strategies put in place or applied may not be the most accurate ones. furthermore, the hnt appear to be culture-bound. kunchala (2017) declares that the culture-boundedness of the theory makes it lack validity across diverse cultural backgrounds and the outcome of the pyramid may be restricted to few cultures or societies. this position is also affirmed by ojo (2018). this case is especially true in the nigerian situation where some ethnic groups and some fundamental ideologies push certain persons to be involved in terrorist acts. this shows that peoples’ needs differ across cultures, individuals and societies. strengths of human needs theory (hnt) despite criticisms levelled against hnt, the theory is very much appealing and has been used and applied in various fields of endeavour, especially among conflict scholars. this appeal and wide acceptability is as a result of the fact that it is neither complex nor complicated. it gives a natural insight into the human nature. its usefulness especially in human relations, in the world of business (especially when considering motivations and incentives) in management of individuals and other areas of life is invaluable. little wonder, kunchala (2017) affirms that, “it provide an advantageous summary of human needs, which can also be used in product planning, product positioning, product pricing and also sales channels” (p.14). applying this model in issues of displacement could also be necessary and relevant, especially when looking at the humanitarian crises among idps in borno state. in addition, rosenberg (2003) also confirms the fact that the framework could also be applied in pre-conflict, post-conflict and mediation processes. the perspective could also be relevant in reconciliation efforts and non-violent communication (nvc). danielsen (2005) concludes thus: “nonviolent communication (nvc) is being used currently in restorative justice structures in brazil and the u.s. equally, it can be applied in all levels of society for intra-and inter-personal conflict, inter-group conflict and in an international setting” (p.6). thus, can’s response to the humanitarian needs of female idps in selected camps under study is in line with this assertion of the human needs theorists. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 9 the hnt also enjoys wide acceptability and applicability because it centres on the causal factors of conflict. these root causes or drivers as it were, help practitioners in applying the hnt when necessary. the framework helps in both identifying the needs of aggrieved parties and advancing modalities on how to resolve conflicts. danielson (2005) posits that, “finding strategies to meet underlying needs, we may be able to reduce the use of expensive peacekeeping, peace enforcement and creating of buffer zones” (p.6). this framework is therefore, relevant in studying the conflict situation in the north east and the situation of the idps in various camps within the study area. it is in the hnt that the whole idea of a common humanity is made most prominent. it is in the hnt that one sees the unity and universality of human needs. however one prioritized human needs, whether the maslowian hierarchy of needs or other priorities advanced by burton, rosenberg, azar, max-neef and his contemporaries, humans have needs that must be met. these needs may not be the same amongst persons, cultures or even societies. this theory is therefore, indispensable as it deals with the basic humanitarian needs of idps in the study area. another credit to the hnt is that it shows that human needs cannot be negotiated. this is the strongest argument put forward by susan marker. marker (2003) affirms that “human needs theory point out that human needs are nonnegotiable” (p.10). she further posits that the non-negotiability of the hnt helps practitioners in handling conflict situations. it gives insights into which needs are most important and which needs immediate attention. in view of this, walsh (2015) concludes that this helps practitioners to single out essential areas of needs such as “identity, recognition and security, since scholars agree that they are critical to most, if not all, intractable conflicts” (p.3). moreso, walsh (2015) posits that institutions are capable of building radical structures that would meet the needs of humans. this position is especially held by john burton. by implication, the hnt is again applicable and relevant to this study since it seeks to investigate the response of the religious institutions to the plights of idps in the north east of nigeria. it is this role of institutions that was the outcome, and in fact, the main focus of burton’s theory. faleti (2016) concludes that when humans are deprived of these needs, conflict is therefore, the inevitable outcome. he further affirms that “burton identified a link between frustration which forces humans into acts of aggression and the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 10 need on the part of such individuals to satisfy their basic needs” (p.52). this shows that when people’s needs are not met, they could become frustrated and hence, are more likely to turn to aggressive behaviour. this again is relevant in examining the menace of boko haram and fulani herdsmen terrorists in the north east of nigeria, which in turn has led to displacement of people in the study area. the perils of female idps in borno state the plights of female idps in borno state are numerous. since female idps are the worst hit of all the victims of displacement in borno state, their plights include but not restricted to sexual abuses, denial of fundamental human rights, second class treatment, forced and underaged marriage, forced labour and host of others. these, and many more are the existential realities staring female idps in their faces. the following challenges of female idps would therefore, suffice: sexual abuses this is one area of the plights of female idps that is most pronounced. in fact, it is as if female idps are kept in camps for this very inhuman wyrd. in a well researched study, adams (2020) declares that out of 1278 respondents who were interviewed on variables such as sexual abuses on female idps, the mean rating indicates that 3.7% of the participant accepted that women and female children age 7-17 were sexually abused almost on a daily basis. the study further shows that percentage distribution of respondents based on gender, males represent 34.4% while females represent 65.6% of the total population. this is significant as this reveals the reason why insurgents keep attacking idp camps in order to cart away young female idps. in several focused group discussions with respondents, the study reveals that boko haram terrorists and its splinster groups such as islamic state of west africa province (iswap), herdsmens and armed bandits target vulnerable female idps in various camps. these attacks have become recurrent decimals as women and female children are the worst hit since they have become victims of this ugly and unfortunate kismet. this almost pandemic-like increase in the sexual abuses of women especially female idp is what made yakubu (2007) to aver that buying and selling of female minors for immoral reasons, forcing them into prostitution, and the inordinate possession of girls under age 13, sending girls under age 13 to brothels, abduction of girls under age 18 for sexual intercourse are all abuses that are igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 11 inhuman and therefore should be jettisoned. in fact, in contemporary nigeria, abduction of young girls under age 16 by bandits and terrorists has become a new trend. these girls that are sexually molested and raped without conscience by their perpetrators, become aggrieved, emotionally injured, spiteful and harbour resentments as a result of unjust treatment. denial of fundamental human rights the phenomenal and arbitrary deprivations of rights of females in borno state is so common and frequent that it has attracted the attention of a wide rage of female human rights activitists. adams (2020) in a recent study declares that notable among them are the following vociferous and outspoken female activists: olaoluwa abagun; betty abah; abisoye ajayiakinforarin; chief temitope ajayi; ezinne akudo, bibi bakare yusuf; joy isi bewaji; aisha buhari; thelma ekijor; funmi falana among others. these female activists have spoken against the abuses and denials of females’ human rights at various levels and forums. some of them have founded nongovernmental organizations to order to defend the economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights of females, especially the minority groups and those in internally displaced persons camp. ezinne akudo for instance, has spoken vehemently against sexual violence such that she founded the rape crisis centre, a non-governmental organization that shows keen interest in inhuman sexual abuses on women. another female activist is olufunke baruwa who founded nigerian women’s trust fund and thelma ekiyor, who founded women peace and security network africa. most notable among them is the first lady of nigeria. aisha buhari. her commitment and relentless effort at attending to female idps are most noticeable in borno state. she criticizes child marriage and is currently working hard to meet the daily needs of female idps in borno state and the entire north east of nigeria. adams (2020) in a study that investigated the religious response to the plight of idps in borno state of nigeria, declares that in eight focused group discussions in different camps randomly selected for the study, respondents were unanimous when variables such as denial of fundamental human right were tested. participants accepted that 2.5% mean rating of participants indicative of the fact that female idps experienced arbitrary deprivation of human rights and that they are often degraded, tortured, raped and their privacies arbitrary interfered with. taiwo (2007) and enwereji (2007) also lend their voices to the denial of women’s rights. like the above suffragists mentioned by adams (2020), igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 12 the duo assert that female children are often the worst victims of all human right denials. okoronye (2007) however, differ in his discussion on human right deprivation. for him, the elderly are the ones that face the brunt. he maintains that in the area of health, food, shelter and physical protection, the elderly are often abused and neglected, especially those who are in vulnerable situations. similarly, the national human rights commission (nhrc 2015) and alobo and obaji (2016) affirm that there is an exponential increase in rates of human rights abuses especially among the female idps in borno state and other north eastern states of the country. all these studies show that there exist, high rates of human rights violations. second class treatment in a patriarchal society and culture whose emphasis is on male domination and female subjugation, one would of course expect nothing less in this regards. women are generally treated like second class citizens and household properties. their value and worth is not being appreciated by the male folks. adams (2020) opines that females idps experience the worst second class treatment as they are often not being recognized and are prohibited from expressing themselves publicly. they live like slaves in their parents’ houses as well as in their husbands’ houses. in religious centres, they are discriminated and treated like less humans. they have little opportunities in work places as well as in public offices with no social protection and less cultural freedom. they are often alienated from the civil and political rights except during voting. females who find themselves in idp camps experience even the worst as their situation is further complicated by a surfeit of societal “don’ts” which restrict them in all ramifications thereby reducing their sense of humanity. female idps in borno state who experience this kind of treatment feel that they have been rejected and these feelings, according to adams (2019) cause some kind of psychological trauma. he declares thus: apart from these psychological problems associated with this migrantophobic discrimination, emotionally, [idps] are depressed and see themselves as socially alienated and as social destitute, with no value to add to human society. this situation has brought about feelings of resentment among [idps] in the north east (p.81) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 13 it is therefore, in this line of reasoning that oladeji (2015), iwuoha (2018) and adams (2020) agree that female idps are the worst hit in terms of second class treatment in borno state north east of nigeria. social ostracism it is a well documented fact that female idps are socially ostracized by virtue of the fact that they find themselves in makeshift idp camp settlements. adams (2020) in a survey carried out in selected idp camps in borno state of nigeria, observes that 2.62% mean rating, participants agree that they feel socially excluded and disconnected from society. respondents in ten focused group discussions agree that this social exclusion makes them feel rejected and discriminated against, a situation adams (2019) describes as “migrantophobic discrimination” (p.81). that is, they (idps) are perceived as unwanted migrants in their homeland. he further assays that this circumstance creates a sense of ‘loss of identity’. he opines thus: this is one of the major crises encountered by internal migrants in north east. these migrants, who hitherto lived in the comfort of their homes, carrying out legitimate businesses of farming, fishing, herding, trading, public service work, wielding et cetera, are now forced to seek ‘asylum’ in host communities and in internally displaced persons’ camps. (p.8182). oladeji (2015) also tends his voice in support of the fact that female idps who are socially alienated from main stream society feel psychological pain and stress as a result of social marginalization. the result is that they become emotionally disturbed and experience post-traumatic stress disorders (ptsd). furthermore, adams (2017) posits that as a result of social alienation from main stream society, it makes the less privileged feel annoyed and rejected. he avers that: “this leads to frustration on the part of the poor and less privileged in society. take the provision of social amenities for instance, 60-70% of nigerians do not have access to electricity, water and good road networks” (p.31). these and many more are the predicaments of idps especially women in borno state of nigeria. environmental racism environmental racism is akin to social ostracism. it is a situation whereby those who by virtue of their precarious existential circumstances, find themselves in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 14 slums, odd and unhealthy places or environments thereby attracting discrimination against them. environmental racists are people who segregate against others because those segregated live in unhealthy or slum settlements or environments. adams (2020) avers that female idps are faced with all forms of racisms including environmental racism as a result of the fact that they find themselves in makeshift settlements. in four different focused group discussions with female idps, it was discovered that people do not identify with them because they are settled in makeshift settlements that are not hygienic enough for human residence. a significant portion of participants (89%) agree that their being in idp camps puts them at the other side of human residential continuum. for instance, in most of the idp camps, there are obvious lack of basic social amenities that make life enjoyable. this make camp life unhygienic and unbearable. this makes people that often visit them to stop at the gate because of the stench of inner camp waste. educational marginalization because female idps find themselves in camps, there is little or no provision for educational facilities. the few makeshift structures that are meant for residential purposes are inadequate and in short supply. besides, fluctuation in population caseload of various camps makes provision of educational facilities almost impossible. adams (2020) asserts that because of varied and fluctuating population caseload of idp camps, participants in focus group discussion agree that educating idps, especially female idps is a huge task. this factor accounts for a 3.8% mean rating of those interviewed. this is significant because females are not allowed to mingle with male idps during classes. this further complicates the whole situation. movement restriction on female idps does not allow them to attend classes that are seldom arranged for idps. this leads to a bigger margin and further increases the illiteracy index of female idps. the result of this, according to adams (2017) is that it leads to a serious social problem where adult female idps cannot read and write in simple english, thereby could be easily brainwashed into acts of terrorism or religions fundamentalism. education of female idps is crucial. it is therefore in view of this assertion that adu (2016) posits that quality education is a necessary prerequisite for alleviating the situation of these socially marginalized groups. in addition, badu and ndagana (2016) stress that there is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 15 need for idps to be educated since that would rehabilitate them and position them for better economic liberation and empowerment. silent treatment this is another perilous experience of female idps. silent treatment is a situation whereby someone who is willing to talk or interact is left incommunicado either verbally, in written form or electronically. merriam webster dictionary defines silent treatment as “an act of completely ignoring a person or thing by resort to silence especially as a means of expressing contempt or disapproval”. this is one silent but nerve wrecking experience of female idps in borno state. adams (2020) in a survey conducted on female idps in selected camps in borno state, reveals that 3.9% mean rating of participants confessed that they are being treated like animals with no regards to their feelings. the study also reveals that they are often ignored and neglected. women in six focus group discussions affirm the fact that idps, especially females are treated with contempt and disregard. participants in muna dati, teachers’ village, jerusalem and zabarmari idp camps affirm this silent treatment by saying when relief materials are shared attention is always given to their male counterparts than they. onojete (2007) avers that the only remedy to this kind of situation is to show the affected individuals affection and love. without this, the victims may feel abused and rejected, similarly ott (2011) posits that if victims of displacement are not being attended to, they may experience all forms of psychological traumas including feelings of silent treatment. hunger and starvation to say that female idps experience hunger and starvation is an under statement. this is one of the painful plights of female idps in borno state. adams (2020) opines that female idps experience hunger and starvation in camps. this account for the mean response of 3.9%. respondents in nine focused group discussions confirm that among the most desired relief materials given to them, food items are the most cherished. this lends credence to the fact that physiological needs as emphasized by the maslowian theory of needs used in this study is not out of place. it affirms the importance of food in the hierarchy of needs. in the randomly selected idp camps in borno state, food supply is a serious problem. this is mainly as a result of the activities of terrorists. little wonder igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 16 food crisis prevention network fcpn (2016) in its annual report, submits that over 4.4 million people in the north east suffer massive poverty and food insecurity. states like adamawa, borno and yobe, the agency affirms, “reached extreme high levels food insecurity in 2016”(p.1). it is predicated upon this report that the nigerian government announced a nutritional state of emergency in borno in june 2016. likewise, norwegian refugee council nrc (2016) in another report affirms that hunger and livelihood crises are escalating at a frightening rate in the north east of nigeria. health challenges there is no denying of the fact that female idps do not have health problems. in fact, this is one aspect of their plights that is of utmost importance to them and many donor agencies including christian association of nigeria. adams (2020) avers that 94.6% of participants interviewed in five focus group discussions agree that health and hygiene are their major concerns after food. in another study, brian, lizette, charles, chika chiadichiem and ogechukwu(2016) affirm that health is of great importance to idps and those in vulnerable circumstances. moreover, adams (2019) observes that female idps live in open camp settlements that are not adequately taken care of in terms of hygiene and sanitation. this situation exposes idps and makes them more vulnerable to all sorts of snake and insect bites. he writes that “majority of them suffer from pneumonia, neurasthenia, malaria, typhoid, diarrhea, dysentery, and stomach upset all as a result of the kind of water and unhygienic ways that meals are prepared especially in camps”(p.83). health is therefore, a serious challenge to female idps in selected camps in borno state because there are no standard hospitals or clinics with resident doctors and medical practioners. what one sees in camps are scanty health workers with few drugs that are grossly insufficient to meet the health needs of idps. blacklisting this is similar to silent treatment. however, female idps feel they are boycotted and avoided by many people as a result of the precarious circumstances they find themselves. this kind of withheld patronage creates in them feelings of anger, resentment and frustration. adams(2020) declares that 87.9% of respondents agree that female idps are often blackballed and ostracized from mainstream events in society. by virtue of their being in idp camps, they are igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 17 excluded from events like birthdays, marriage ceremonies, burials and other events happening in society. no body extends invitation to them because of their ill-fated situation. buba (2015) avers that because females are often seen as the rejected, shunned and blacklisted individuals, they have of recent, become preys to all kinds of human predators including boko haram. she submits that a conservative estimate shows that this terrorist group “has abducted at least 500 women and girls from northeast nigeria since 2009 and has perpetrated numerous physical and psychological abuses against them in captivity” (p.6). apart from the above listed challenges faced by female idps other challenges include: insecurity, forced labour, underage and forced marriage of young girls. response of can and other christian charities adams (2020) writing on the perils of idps in borno state avers that can and other christian organizations have commendably responded to the kismetic and ineluctable predicaments of female idps in borno state of nigeria. research findings from the analysis of the result pertaining to research question on responses of can and other christian charity groups indicate that 80.7% strongly agreed that can and other christian charity groups have positively responded to social invisibility and ostracism of idps. in a focused group discussion (conducted 23rd october, 2019), participants agree that christian charity groups and can have adequately identified with the plights of idps. they have vehemently spoken against the discrimination, criticisms and ostracism of female idps. m. audu and y. abori (personal communication 23rd october, 2019) cite several instances where members of can visited them in muna dati idp camp and openly preached against the restrictions and social exclusion of female idps from mainstream activities of society. this, in several ways, gives evidence that the human needs theory discussed in this study is relevant. participants of another focused group discussion (conducted 23rd october, 2019) all agreed that the preaching gave some female idps hope of a better future since majority of them now see themselves as the rejected of society. this point is corroborated by scholars such as adesote and peter (2015). female idps see themselves as those who have become invisible and handicap to contribute meaningfully to society. these feelings are associated with their being igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 18 excluded from main stream society. it is therefore in this sense that the christian association of nigeria has responded by attending to their various humanitarian needs, especially those female idps who are reduced to the fringes of society. this is exactly what idps in the study area need for themselves. stanley (2007), silver (2007a) and mathieson, popay, enoch, escorel, hernandez, johnson et al (2008) assert that those excluded suffer all forms of ostracism, silent treatment, social abuse and environment racism. a. a. gawa (personal communication 23rd october, 2019) said idps are perceived by other free citizens as prisoners and those that are backlisted. this justifies the use of human needs theory has responded used in this study since christian association of nigerian to the perils of female idps within the study area. in spite of all these social discriminations, participants in another focused group discussion (conducted 23rd october, 2019) said that can and other christian charity groups such as christian aid in nigeria had spoken seriously against military brutality of female idps in camps. this accounts for the whooping 85.3% response by respondents. furthermore, three focused groups discussions (conducted 23rd october, 2019) at different intervals and places within muna dati idp camp revealed that young women christian association of nigeria and catholic women organization had responded by speaking against social rejection of female idps. 84.9% of respondents strongly agreed that both organizations have seriously criticized those who rejected idps and call them beggars. in an attempt to better their lives can has responded by providing social amenities like bole holes with over head geeree tanks that store water for use by idp. this can be seen in jerusalem idp camp, teacher village idp camp and ethiopia idp camp. h. adim, m. isa and i. yagama (personal communication 23rd october, 2019) also confirmed the fact that catholic women organization had spoken against rape, sexual abuse and exploitation of idps in various camps. the realities of rape, sexual abuse and exploitation lend support to the realist view that humans have defects in their genetic makeup. in fact, studies such as those of kim (1988), campbell (2010), tropman (2013) and faleti (2016) explain in details this defect in humankind. other scholars like dellsen (2015), golub (2017) and taylor (2018) in their various studies, also conclude that humans tend to act negatively toward others as a result of these genetic defects. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 19 the abuse of idps in camps and the intervention of religious groups further shows that the submissions of studies such as those of russell (2000), barkan (2003), sleat (2014) and rogan (2018) on scholars’ understanding of the relevance of realism especially in conflict situations is key even in one’s study of idps. these studies’ conclusions further show that the human needs theory is most relevant in explaining the peculiarities and challenges of female idps in various camps, since the can attends to their needs in almost all ramifications. b. wandama (personal communication 23rd october, 2019) praised the enlightenment given to female idps by these christian religious groups. b. w. azabe, g. shetima and m. fanani (personal communication 23rd november, 2019) confirmed the presence of the red cross society and society of saint vincent de paul. they all agreed that these two societies pay the civilian joint task forces (cjtf) staff salaries. in seven different focused group discussions (conducted 23rd november, 2019), participants strongly agreed (85.4%) that both christian associations have done commendably well in meeting the humanitarian needs of idps. a. tahiru (personal communication 23rd november, 2019) also affirmed that the red cross society in particular, have shown presence in various camps within the study area. this view is also expressed by emeka (2017) who asserts that christian organizations have impacted positively on idps. findings from this study also indicate that 85% of the respondents strongly agreed that the catholic men organization provides sports and recreational facilities in idps camps. this response takes care of blacklisting as a challenges by female idps. participants of a focused group discussion (conducted 23rd november, 2019), agreed that the c.m.o. have made frantic efforts to create recreational facilities. they however noted that this is restricted to most camps that are dominated by christian idps like jerusalem, ethiopia and teachers’ village idp camps. this development has to some extent, laid to rest, the issue of environmental racism. other people from outside the camps now come into such camps and utilize the facilities thereby, giving idps a sense of belonging and identity. t. z. audu and u. diko (personal communication 23rd november, 2019) observed that they only see the presence of the c.m.o. in ethiopia idp camp, jerusalem idp camp and teachers’ village idp camp. findings from this study also revealed that society of saint vincent de paul has spoken outrightly against human rights abuses in idp camps. the evidence igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 20 shows that 83.3% of the respondents strongly agreed that the society have noticed fundamental human rights abuses and have openly preached against it. in zabarmari idp camp for example, participants of a focused group discussion (conducted 23rd november, 2019) all accepted that abuses of human rights are rampant in various camps. it is in this sense that the national human rights commission – nhrc (2015) in its annual reports concludes that there is an increase in rates of human rights abuses of idps in north east nigeria. n. ibrahim, i. a. saleh and m. umar (personal communication 24th november, 2019) confirmed that abuses of fundamental human rights are frequent. b. a. mustapha and i. abdulahi (personal communication 24th november, 2019) added that this has become a menace and abuses are so unrestrained and unchecked in various camps. they further stated that especially in camps where some civilian jtf are absent. p. ababayana (personal communication 25th november, 2019) also emphasized that in most camps that are located in the outskirt of the town, for example custom house, gonikachalari, zabarmari and farm centre, abuses of human rights are frequent and usually go unchecked. m. adamu (personal communication 25th november, 2019) narrated how she and her sister mawa ganali were molested and almost raped. she said that it took the intervention of civilian jtf before they were rescued from the rapists. this tough circumstances experienced by female idps are vividly captured by scholars such as albert (2016), ademokoya (2016), adu (2016) and famuyiwa (2016) and described as difficult situations. alobo and obaji (2016) also commented on the human rights abuses of idps in nigeria. the study concludes that even though fundamental human rights are enshrined and protected under the united nation’s guiding principle, various idp camps are rifed with several cases of abuses. findings from the analysis of the response of t. y. danjuma foundation revealed that 51.0% of the respondent strongly disagreed that this christian foundation has provided health facilities. 44.2% of participant agreed that it has showed presence among idps in various camps. the result revealed that this christian charity group was not seen in most camps. majority of the participants noted that this foundation restricted its operations. hence, only few christian camps were visited by the foundation. y. bali (personal communication 26th november, 2019) affirmed that the foundation was found in jerusalem camp and teachers’ village idp camp. in teachers village idp camp for instance, b. abacha, f. mundo and b. u. forko (personal communication 26thnovember, 2019) all accepted that t. y. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 21 danjuma foundation was restricted for security reasons and that the group assisted christian idps that were found in christian idp camps. another focused group discussion (conducted 26th november, 2019) affirms its presence in most christian camps. all these statistical and non-statistical evidence show that can and other christian charities have shown interest on the plights of female idps in the selected camps within the study area. conclusion displacement of people be it as a result of terrorist activities, intra and inter communal clashes, government or military occupations, violent conflicts or wars and / or as a consequence of natural phenomena such as tsunamis, earthquake, hurricanes, floods, mud or land slides, volcanic eruptions et cetera, comes with a lot of challenges. like those displaced in the world war i and world war ii, displacement, either as the refugee type or the idp type, has severe consequences on the victims. in nigeria for instance, the igbo suffered severely before, during and after the nigerian versus biafran war. this left many people in dire circumstances. in contemporary nigeria however, terrorist activities in northern nigeria especially in the north east of the country have left many people homeless and displaced. these displaced persons among whom women are in majority, are left with no choice than to find solace and comfort in makeshift settlements called idp camps. this ugly phenomenon has affected mostly people in borno state which is one of the worst hit in the north east of the country. female idps especially lactating mothers and underage girls are the most severely hit by the unfortunate situation. apart from the general insecurity that characterizes the state and the region in general, this study asserted that female idps in borno state, particularly those in the selected idp camps under study, suffer various degrees of inhuman experiences which include but not restricted to sexual abuses; denial of fundamental human rights; second class treatment; educational marginalization; social ostracism; environmental racism; hunger and starvation, health and hygiene issues; silent treatment; blacklisting; forced labour; underaged and forced marriage. the study concludes by indicating how christian association of nigeria and other christian charity organizations have responded to the plights of female idps in the randomly selected camps in borno state of nigeria. the spss analysis of the result showed that christian association of nigeria and other christian igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 22 charity groups have done commendably well in attending to the inescapable challenges of female idps in the selected camps by indicating 98.1% response thereby justifying the basic tenets of the human needs not theory as applied in this study. references adams, p.a. (2017). religion, insecurity and change: the nigeria experience. journal of african society for the study of sociology and ethics of religions, 1, 2,105-157. adams, p.a. (2019). religious violence and migration crises in north east nigeria. journal of african studies and sustainable development, 2,6 77-87. adams, p.a. (2020). a religious response to internally displaced persons in borno state of nigeria. a ph.d dissertation submitted to the department of religion and human relations, faculty of arts, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka anambra state nigeria. ademokoya, j. a. (2016). difficult circumstances: concepts, causes, effects and interventions. i.o. albert, o.a. moronkola & j.a. ademokoya (eds.). people in difficult circumstances in nigeria, (pp.12-18), ibadan: royal people. adesote, s.a. & peters, a.o. (2015). a historical analysis of violence and internal population displacement in nigeria fourth republic 1999-2011. international journal of peace and conflict studies (ijpcs), 2, 3, 13-22. retrieved from: http://remss.com/2015/ijpcs/september/a%20historical%20anal ysis%20of%20violence%20and%20internal%20population% 20displacement%20in%20nigeria%c3%87%c3%96s%20fourth %20republic%20199-2011.pdf. accessed 3rd february, 2018. adu, e. o. (2016). access to quality education and it challenges for the refugees: a global perspective. i.o. albert, o.a. moronkola & j.a. ademokoya (eds.). people in difficult circumstances in nigeria, (pp.19-32), ibadan: royal people. adu, e. o. (2016). access to quality education and it challenges for the refugees: a global perspective. i.o. albert, o.a. moronkola & j.a. ademokoya (eds.). people in difficult circumstances in nigeria, (pp.19-32), ibadan: royal people. http://remss.com/2015/ijpcs/september/a%20historical%20analysis%20of%20violence%20and%20internal%20population%20displacement%20in%20nigeria%c3%87%c3%96s%20fourth%20republic%20199-2011.pdf http://remss.com/2015/ijpcs/september/a%20historical%20analysis%20of%20violence%20and%20internal%20population%20displacement%20in%20nigeria%c3%87%c3%96s%20fourth%20republic%20199-2011.pdf http://remss.com/2015/ijpcs/september/a%20historical%20analysis%20of%20violence%20and%20internal%20population%20displacement%20in%20nigeria%c3%87%c3%96s%20fourth%20republic%20199-2011.pdf http://remss.com/2015/ijpcs/september/a%20historical%20analysis%20of%20violence%20and%20internal%20population%20displacement%20in%20nigeria%c3%87%c3%96s%20fourth%20republic%20199-2011.pdf igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 23 albert, i.o. (2016). rethinking “difficult circumstances” in nigeria. in i. o. albert, o. a. moronkola & j. a. ademokoya (eds.) people in difficult circumstances in nigeria. pp.1-11. ibadan: royal people. alderfer, c. (1969). an empirical test of a new theory of human needs. organizational behaviour and human performance. 4, 2, 142-175. alobo, e. & obaji, s. (2016). internal displacement in nigeria and the case for human rights protection of displaced persons. journal of law, policy and globalization, 51, 26-33. retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/.../307582949-boko-harram-insurgencyinternally-displaced.pdf. accessed 3rd february, 2018. badu, k.m. & ndagana, j.m. (2016). managing multicultural education programmes for rehabilitating boko haram internally displaced persons in refugee camps of north eastern nigeria. british journal of education 4, 1, 5163. retrieved from: http://:www.eajournals.org/wpcontent/uploads/managing-multicultural-education-programmesforrehabilitating-boko-haram-internally–displaced-persons-in-refugeecamps-of-north-eastern-nigeria.pdf. accessed 3rd february, 2018. barkan, j. s. (2003). realist constructivism. international studies review,5, 3, 325342. brian, o.o., lizette, n.e, chales, n.n., chika, p.i., chidichiem, c.i. & ogechukwu, l.n. (2016). impact of refugees and internally displaced persons on international health. international journal of tropical disease & health, 20, 1, xx-xx, 1-6. retrieved from: http://www.journalrepository.org/media/journals/joh19/2016./oct/brian2012016ijdh28019.pdf. accessed 3rd february, 2018. buba, i. a. (2015). terrorism and rape in nigeria: a cry for justice. arabian journal of business and management review (oman chapter), 4, 11, 112. burton, j. (1990a). conflict: human needs theory, new york: macmillan. burton, j. (1990b). conflict: resolution and prevention. new york: st. martins. burton, j. (1993). conflict resolution as a political philosophy. conflict resolution theory and practice: international and application. j. dennis d. sandole & h. https://www.researchgate.net/.../307582949-boko-harram-insurgency-internally-displaced.pdf.%20accessed https://www.researchgate.net/.../307582949-boko-harram-insurgency-internally-displaced.pdf.%20accessed http://www.journalrepository.org/media/journals/joh-19/2016./oct/brian2012016ijdh28019.pdf http://www.journalrepository.org/media/journals/joh-19/2016./oct/brian2012016ijdh28019.pdf igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 24 van der merwe (eds.). manchester: manchester university press. retrieved online at:http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/transform/burton.htm. accessed 29th february, 2019. campbell, n. (2010). explanatory exclusion and the intentionality of explanation. theoria, 76, 3, 207-220. danielsen, g. (2005). meeting human needs, preventing violence: applying human needs theory to the conflict in sri lanka. dellsen, f. (2015). explanatory rivals and the ultimate argument. theoria 82, 3, 217-237. emeka, u. u. (2017). religion, insurgency and the role of church leaders in nigeria. nocen international journal of arts and social sciences. 1, 1, 108125. enwereji, e. e. (2007). gender and violence: the situation in abia state of southeastern nigeria. the abused and the society. j. a. yakubu, o. a. moronkola & g. o. sokoya (eds). ibadan: royal people. pp.53-72. faleti, s.a. (2016). theories of social conflict. s.g. best (ed.). introduction to peace and conflict studies in west africa, (pp. 35-60), ibadan: spectrum. famuyiwa, s.a. (2016). vulnerability and health risks of refugees, internally displaced persons: strategies of meeting their needs for sustainable development. i.o. albert, o.a. moronkola & j.a. ademokoya (eds.). people in difficult circumstances in nigeria, (pp.33-45), ibadan: royal people. famuyiwa, s.a. (2016). vulnerability and health risks of refugees, internally displaced persons: strategies of meeting their needs for sustainable development. i.o. albert, o.a. moronkola & j.a. ademokoya (eds.). people in difficult circumstances in nigeria, (pp.33-45), ibadan: royal people. fatile, j.o. & bello, w.o. (2015). managing internally displaced persons in nigeria: the case of insurgency in the north east geo-political zone. international journal of development strategies in humanities, management and social sciences, 5, 2, 145-166. retrieved from: http://www.internationalpolicebrief.org/images/2015/hummgt52/art icle.%20(11).pdf. accessed, 3rd february, 2018. http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/transform/burton.htm http://www.internationalpolicebrief.org/images/2015/hummgt52/article.%20(11).pdf http://www.internationalpolicebrief.org/images/2015/hummgt52/article.%20(11).pdf igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 25 golub, c. (2017). expressivism and realist explanations philosophical studies, 174, 6, 1385-1409. imasuen, e. (2015). insurgency and humanitarian crises in northern nigeria: the case of boko haram. african journal of political science and international relations 9, 7, 284-296. retrieved from: . accessed, 3rd february, 2018. iwuoha, c. m. a. (2018). islamic fundamentalism and the nigerian nation state. the nigerian journal of heology, 32, 43-59. kim, j. (1988). explanatory realism, causal realism, and explanatory. kunchala, k. s. r. (2017). limitations of maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory. retrieved at: www.mbahelp24.com//limitation/maslow/kanchala.htm. accessed 7th april, 2019. marker, s. (2003). what human needs are: beyond intractability. retrieved from: http://beyondintractability.org/m/human_needs.jsp. accessed 5th february, 2018. martin, s.f. (2001). global migration trends and asylum. new issues in refugee research: research paper no. 41. retrieved from: https://www.unchr.org/3af66ccc4.pdf. accessed 5th february, 2018. mathieson, j., enoch, e., escorel, s., hernandex, m., johnson, h. & rispel, l. (2008). social exclusion, meaning, measurement and experience and links to health inequalities: a review of literature. retrieved from: htt://www.who.int/social-determinants/media/sekn-meaningmeasurement-experience-2008.pdf. accessed 18th april, 2018. max-neef, m. a., elizalde, a., & hopenhayn, m. (1991). human scale development: conception, application and further reflections. new york: the apex. mcleod, s. (2018). maslow’s hierarchy of needs: simply psychology. retrieved online at: www.simpylypsychology.org/maslowhtml: accessed 7th april, 2019. national human rights commission – nhrc (2015). human rights annual report on idps in north east nigeria. http://www.mbahelp24.com/limitation/maslow/kanchala.htm http://beyondintractability.org/m/human_needs.jsp https://www.unchr.org/3af66ccc4.pdf http://www.simpylypsychology.org/maslowhtml igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 26 ojo, j. r. (2018). understanding the twists and turns of terrorism among muslims in the nigerian experience: an assessment. journal of religion and theology. 2, 1, 1-15. okoronye, i. (2007). humna rights protection for elderly persons. the abused and the society. j. a. yakubu, o. a. moronkola & g. o. sokoya (eds.). ibadan: royal people, pp.73-81. oladeji, a. (2015). humanitarian crisis and internally displaced persons (idps): addressing the plights of youths and women victims in nigeria. basic research journal of social and political science, 3, 3, 42-55. retrieved from: https://www.basicresearchjournals.org/social%20potitical%20science/pd f/oladije.pdf. accessed, 3rd february, 2018. ramsbotham, o. 92005). the analysis of protracted social conflict: a tribute to edward azar. review of international studies, 31, 1, 109-126. rogan, t. (2018). putin is a realist, not a russian neoconservative – there is a difference. washington examiner. retrieved online at: www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/putin-is-a-realist-not-a-russianneoconservative-there-is-a-differecne.html. accessed 25th march, 2019. rosenberg, m. (2003). nonviolent communication: a language of life. california: puddle dancer. rubenstein, r. e. (2001). basic human needs theory: the next steps in theory development. the international journal of peace studies, 6,1, 51-58. russell, r. (2000). american diplomatic realism: a tradition practiced and preached by george f. kennan. diplomacy and statecraft, 11, 3, pp.159-183. sleat, m. (2014). legimacy in realist thought: between moralism and realpolitik. political theory, 42, 3, pp.314-337. stanley, j. (2007). the usefulness of social exclusion as a theoretical concept to inform social policy in transport. retrieved from: http://www.thredboconferecne –series.org/downloads/threadbo10-papers/thredbo10-themed-stanley.pdf. access 18th april, 2018. https://www.basicresearchjournals.org/social%20potitical%20science/pdf/oladije.pdf https://www.basicresearchjournals.org/social%20potitical%20science/pdf/oladije.pdf http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/putin-is-a-realist-not-a-russian-neoconservative-there-is-a-differecne.html http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/putin-is-a-realist-not-a-russian-neoconservative-there-is-a-differecne.html igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 27 taiwo, e.a. (2007). checking the child rights abuses under the nigeria laws. j.a. yakubu, o.a. moronkola & g.o. sokoya (eds.). the abused and the society, (pp. 20-38) ibadan: royal people. taiwo, e.a. (2007). checking the child rights abuses under the nigeria laws. j.a. yakubu, o.a. moronkola & g.o. sokoya (eds.). the abused and the society, (pp. 20-38) ibadan: royal people. taylor, e. (2018). against explanatory realism. philosophical studies, 175,1, 197219. taylor, e. (2018). against explanatory realism. philosophical studies, 175,1, 197219. tropman, e. (2013). making sense of explanatory objections to moral realism. american philosophical quarterly, 50, 1, 37-50. uche, o.o.c. & uche, m.c. (2017). a social discourse on non-violence approach to terrorism in nigeria. nocen international journal of arts and social sciences, 1, 2, 142-190. udama, r.a. (2013). understanding nigeria terrorism, its implications to national peace, security, unity, and sustainable development: a discuss. iosr journal of humanities and social sciences (iosr-jhss), 8, 5, 100-115. ujomu, p. o. (2002). social conflicts, resource distribution and social justice in nigeria. journal of asian and african studies, 63, 197-2288. umar, a., abideen, a. m. & yusuf, i. (2018). closing the idps camps in yobe state, north-eastern nigeria: what options for the internally displaced persons? retrieved from: hit://articles.sapub.org/10.5923.j.jamss.20180401.03.html. accessed 4th april, 2019. united nations (2017). annual report on solutions for return and recovery for internally displaced persons and refugees in north east nigeria. retrieved from: http://earlyrecovery.global/sites/default/files/report__ws_solutions_12130717-final.dpf. accessed 4th april, 2019. united nations children’s fund (2017). nigeria humanitarian sitrep no.7. retrieved from: http://www.unicef.org/nigeria/ng_wwd-sitrep7-15apr2017.pdf. http://www.unicef.org/nigeria/ng_wwd-sitrep7-15apr-2017.pdf http://www.unicef.org/nigeria/ng_wwd-sitrep7-15apr-2017.pdf igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 28 united nations educational, scientific and cultural organization – unesco (2016). cities welcoming refugees and migrants. retrieved from: http://www.unesco.org/open-access/terms-use-ccbyso-en.html. accessed 18th april, 2018. walsh, d. (2015). how a human needs theory understanding of conflict engances the use of consociationalism as a conflict resolution mechanism. birmingham: university of birmingham press. walsh, d. (2015). how a human needs theory understanding of conflict engances the use of consociationalism as a conflict resolution mechanism. birmingham: university of birmingham press. weiss, m. & hassan, h. (2015). isis: inside the army of terror. new york: regan arts. wiley online library at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com>doi?abs. accessed 23rd november, 2019. winslow, a. (1989). refugee. encyclopedia americana vol.23. danburry: grolier. pp.334-337. yakubu, j.a. (2007). children and the criminal law. j.a. yakubu, o.a. moronkola & g.o. sokoya (eds). the abused and the society, (pp. 1-19), ibadan: royal people. yusuf, s.a. (2003). sampling techniques. t. agbola, l. egunjobi, c.o. olatubara, d.o. yusuf & m. alabi (eds.). contemporary social science research methods: a practical guide, (pp. 129-140), lagos: murlab. zampano, g., maloney, l. & juan, j. (2015). migrant crisis: a history of displacement. http://www.unesco.org/open-access/terms-use-ccbyso-en.html igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 114 igwebuike philosophy in biblical context and the interpretation of human suffering mike boni bazza, phd veritas university abuja (the catholic university of nigeria) department of history and internal relations danbazza68@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.28703.51361 abstract whenever we find ourselves in a precarious situation as the case is today vis-à-vis the rising wave of insecurity in nigeria which manifests itself in different forms ranging from boko haram insurgency, kidnapping, herders-farmers conflict, armed banditry, violent cult activities, etc. these security challenges, occasioned by leadership failure, massive corruption all together constitute a disturbing trend in nigeria‟s development process. as a consequent, we are left with „man made‟ human suffering. faced with such problem of evil and human suffering, the most natural and spontaneous thing that have continued to arise in the minds of men and women of various generations and classes are to look up to god for divine intervention with questions such as: why does god permit wickedness? is this just the way things supposed to be? is the earth always being lived in, in accordance to god‟s will? these questions, no doubt, border on the origin, cause, purpose, etc., of human suffering and its interpretation. while these questions continue to arise in the minds of scholars even in the contemporary era, this work is interested, in providing a biblical, philosophical and pragmatic interpretation to human suffering, and how to help those who are victims to accept that it has some eschatological proportions. although several approaches have been taken to explain and interpret human suffering, this work, however, adopts an igwebuike philosophical method of pragmatic and wholistic approach. it sees the different approaches to the problem of human suffering as dimensions of the whole, which, as individuals do not provide a wholistic solution to the problem of human suffering, however, when placed within the realm of theology, it provides that sense of fulfillment and everlasting contentment. keywords: igwebuike philosophy, wholistic response, theological interpretation, problem of evil, human suffering, insecurity, wickedness introduction the question of suffering has been puzzling to people almost from the beginning of time. the old testament book of job is an attempt to answer some of these questions. if god is all good, and there is no evil in him, does it mean that satan mailto:danbazza68@gmail.com https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.28703.51361?_sg%5b0%5d=mrxx0w1c49be1vvaby9sn1visj8exrdfdkdhxkedoo6bhkgz_vsgm7zxtpsm1bbd9vacl03zftbv5sxb8mj0cpzzea.olygo13oqi-taoioogrxxp6paj18kpkjm5do-foocpgd9pr73wlghn7ywnzeww5tyzq54r6cady4ozqm5syfmg igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 115 is more powerful than god? absolutely not! of course, satan is a powerful creature as he was once one of the most beautiful and intelligent of the angels, but he lost his way when he chose to rebel and tried to usurp the power that belongs to god alone. god will always be god from eternity to eternity, while satan is still a created being (bazza: 2013). the problem of evil and human suffering on the other hand, is the great enigma vitae, the solution of which, forever attempted, may forever baffle the human mind (strahan 1913). and as far back as the 6th century bc, the question of the problem of evil and human suffering had burdened the heart of man; answers to such questions were sought through mythology (kanu: 2017). in western philosophy, this burden can be noticed even in the 4th century bc in epicurus, the founder of epicureanism. hume (1947) in his dialogues concerning natural religion puts the following words into the mouth of philo, ―epicurus‘ old questions are yet unanswered. is he [deity] willing to prevent evil, but not able? then he is impotent. is he able, but not willing? then he is malevolent. is he both able and willing? whence then is evil?‖ (p. 243). even more agitating, is the mystery of suffering, or to put it more precisely, the mystery of unjust suffering (gordis: 1965). during the medieval era, the idea of an infinitely good god and the presence of evil in the universe disturbed augustine (omoregbe: 1991). whence then is evil? he asked, what is its origin? how did it steal into the world? what is the root or seed from which it grew? can it be that there is simply no evil? whence then does evil come if god made all things, and because he is good made them good too? (confessions, p. 138). in the confessions, book seven, the energy and passion with which augustine pursued an answer to this question is further revealed: i anxiously sought the answer to the question, ‗where does evil come from?‘ how great were the pangs of my overflowing heart, what inward groans i had, my god! yet even then your ears were open to me, though i did not know it. when in silence i vehemently sought an answer, those silent sorrows of my soul were strong cries to your mercy, (p. 164). while these questions continue to arise in the minds of scholars, this work is interested, not in the origin of human suffering, but on how to help mankind igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 116 cope with human suffering by drawing strength from biblical examples. several approaches have been taken to explain and help human suffering (kanu 2017), this work, however, adopts an igwebuike philosophical method of pragmatic and wholistic approach. the method views the different approaches to the problem of human suffering as dimensions of the whole, which, as individuals do not provide a wholistic solution to the problem of human suffering. however, when placed within the realm of theology, it provides that sense of fulfillment and everlasting contentment. in order to tackle the statement of the problem of this discourse adequately, the first step this research would take is to study and interpret from the perspective of the bible, the different reasons why human beings suffer at all, since we were told at the summit of creation that: ―god saw all that he had made and it was very good…‖ (genesis 3:31). why do human beings suffer? one of the greatest puzzles for many people is why god allows good people to suffer. what is the benefit, many asked, of trying to live according to god‘s instructions if we all have to suffer? a best-selling book states the dilemma in its title: when bad things happen to good people. the book of 1 peter deals specifically with the suffering of believers. peter understood the significance of the suffering of people who live righteously in the light of jesus christ and his suffering. here, peter notes two categories of suffering. one is for righteousness‘ sake and brings us nearer to the kingdom of god. the other is largely unnecessary because it is usually the result of problems we bring on ourselves. we earnestly need god‘s help, however, during both types of suffering. experience for instance, reveals that christians generally, like the thought of sharing in christ‘s glory, but what about sharing in his suffering? jesus took care of the death penalty once and for all so we don‘t ever have to worry about that again. but the bible teaches us that we must suffer times of trial if we are to share in the glory. is it worth it? here is what paul says: ―…for i consider that the sufferings of this present life are not worth being compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to us and in us and for us and conferred on us‖ (rom. 8:18). acting right when things are wrong many people think they suffer because of their circumstances. they believe that if their circumstances would change, they would be able to act right. but god wants us to become so mature and stable that we act right even when none of our circumstances are good. there are different levels of faith and most of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 117 time we want to use our faith to get rid of a problem. but sometimes god‘s plan is for us to exercise a higher level of faith that will carry us through life‘s challenges. this requires even greater faith than being delivered from situations (bazza: 2013). too often, we marvel at the delivering power of god and overlook his keeping, strengthening and enabling power. although there are many reasons why people suffer, in this paper, focus would be on the eight most common reasons why there is suffering in human lives. 1) for lack of knowledg many people suffer because they are too busy seeking carnal knowledge instead of the word of god. the lord himself said: ―my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…‖ (hosea 4:6). paul was an educated man with a wealth of carnal knowledge. when he realized the importance of spiritual knowledge, he said: ―…i resolved to know nothing, to be acquainted with nothing, to make a display of the knowledge of nothing, and to be conscious of nothing among you except jesus christ (the messiah) and him crucified‖ (1 cor. 2:2). like paul, we need to realize the importance of spiritual things, for galatians 6:8 says: ―…he who sows to his own flesh (lower nature, sensuality) will from the flesh reap decay and ruin and destruction, but he who sows to the spirit will from the spirit reap eternal life‖. 2) disobedience hinders god‟s blessings once we know the word of god, we have a responsibility to be obedient to it. too many of us intend to be obedient, but put it off. even procrastination is disobedience, and it can cause us to suffer. james in his epistle gives us a good advice: ―submit yourselves therefore, to god‖ (4:7). when god tells us to do something, we find it helpful to write it down. this serves as a reminder that we must be obedient if we want god‘s blessings. ―if you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land‖ (isaiah 1:19). 3) purify and test your faith sometimes people seem surprised that they must go through a time of trial or suffering. perhaps, they have been faithful to learn and obey the word and the trials still come. sometimes, trials come simply to test and purify your faith. you should be exceedingly glad on this account, though now for a little while you may be distressed by trials and suffer temptations, so that the genuineness of your faith may be tested. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 118 your faith is infinitely more precious than the perishable gold which is tested and purified by fire. this proving of your faith is intended to redound or contribute to your praise, glory and honour when jesus christ (the messiah, the anointed one) is revealed (1 peter 1: 6-7). 4) a need for brokenness the word brokenness may strike fear in some people, but it‘s really not a bad word. god doesn‘t desire to break our spirits, but he wants to break that outer shell, the flesh that prevents him from being all he wants to be in and through us. he wants to break off things like pride, rebellion, selfishness and independence. god wants us to be totally dependent on him, and suffering seems to bring us to that point. however, having to depend on god shouldn‘t cause us to feel sorry for ourselves. i once said, ―oh god, i‘m so lonely, and i don‘t have anybody but you‖. and the holy spirit said, ―poor mike, you‘re just stuck with god‖. i have discovered that having only god is a good position to be in (bazza: 2013). 5) build compassion compassion is born out of experiencing similar problems. the bible says: ―we do not have a high priest who is unable to understand and sympathize and have a shared feeling with our weaknesses and infirmities and liability to the assaults of temptation, but one who has been tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sinning‖ (hebrew 4:15). it comforts to know that jesus understands us and has compassion. going through trials and experiencing god‘s deliverance better equips us to minister to others. our pain is never wasted; it brings about compassion that reaches out to other hurting people by saying, ―i‘ve been there and god brought me through it, and he will do the same for you‖ (bazza: 2013). 6) to encourage others apostle paul said there were many things that god allowed him to go through simply as object lessons for other people. hear him: i want you to know and continue to rest assured, brethren, that what has happened to me (this imprisonment) has actually only igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 119 served to advance and give a renewed impetus to the spreading of the good news (the gospel),…most of the brethren have derived fresh confidence in the lord because of my chains and are much more bold to speak and publish fearlessly the word of god… (philippians 1: 12-14). even in paul‘s imprisonment, his stability and ability to be used by god was evident. if we are to minister to others, we too must face some adverse circumstances. but if we stand in faith and confidence, god will bring us through to victory, and we will be a great encouragement to others in the process. 7) because of the word sometimes we suffer attacks from the enemy simply because of our involvement with the word of god. for example, mark 4:7 speaks in the parable of the sower, of those who hear the word and endure it for a while… then when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, they immediately are offended (become displeased, indignant, resentful) and they stumble and fall away. when someone receives the word of god, satan delights in coming immediately to try to steal what‘s been sown in their heart. he knows the word will strengthen us and help us live a victorious christian life, and he wants to stop it if he can. so it‘s imperative to guard the word in your heart and resist the devil from stealing it away from you. 8) because of living in the world people may also face trials and suffer simply because we live in a world full of sin. but jesus said: ―i have told you these things, so that in me you may have perfect peace and confidence. in the world, you will have tribulations, and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer (take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted); for i have overcome the world. i have deprived it of the power to harm you and have conquered it for you‖ (jn. 16:33). what a promise! understanding the reason for our suffering and having the assurance of the final glory we‘ll share should make it a little easier to enjoy our lives…even during the times of sharing in suffering. the word of god in romans 8:17 encapsulate his invitation for us to exercise a higher level of faith that will carry us through life‘s challenges. it says: ―and if we are his children, then we are his heirs also; heirs of god and fellow heirs igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 120 with christ sharing his inheritance with him; only we must share his suffering if we are to share his glory‖. the problem of human suffering the problem of human suffering is better viewed from the perspective of st. thomas aquinas the great dominican theologian who sought to find an explanation for suffering. according to him, there are two kinds of evil in the world: physical evil and moral evil. both have come into the world and into our human race as a result of original sin. both physical evil and moral evil are absence of the good that should be there (bazza: 2013). take for example, when a two year old infant is suffering and dying of hiv/aids, in such a scenario, there is an absence of the good health that the infant should be enjoying. when there is a flood that results in the deaths and displacement of many people and the destruction of millions of naira in property damage, there is an absence of good weather that should be enjoyed. when someone makes the decision to rob, kidnap or kill travellers on the abuja-kaduna highway, there is an absence of the good morality that should make up the character of the criminal. why do the evil so often seem to prosper? st. thomas aquinas says that the evil prosper for two reasons: first, that the evil person might look around and be ashamed of his/her conduct in the face of so good and loving a god, that they might be converted from their sinful ways; and secondly, so that god might be all the more justified when the evil person dies and faces god for judgment. the great king david made a very peculiar statement once. he had just done that awful episode in his life with bathsheba, and he wrote psalm 51. and in that psalm he makes this peculiar statement to god, ―… against you, you alone have i sinned, what is evil in your sight i have done‖. he just murdered a man, committed adultery, and yet he says to god: ―against you alone have i sinned‖. king david represents the fickleness of human mind. finding god in our pain (job; isaiah 53; luke 13:1-5) pain and sorrow are part of human existence. each of us has known hurt and sadness, and often our instinct is to search for a reason why. are we being punished for some wrongdoing? is god trying to teach us something? is god testing our faith? the truth however, is to state unequivocally that we learn and grow through suffering, but there is also a bigger picture. see job 42:1-6; mark 1:9-13; 2 cor. 1:3-7; phil. 3:7-11. the lesson we draw from all the foregoing texts is that when we face hardship, many of us take comfort in the thought that we will igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 121 grow and become better people for it. but is that always the ultimate reason for our suffering? mark galli posits that there is a bigger picture, and sometimes we can‘t see the larger reasons behind our life‘s circumstances (bazza: 2013). what is the purpose of suffering? does it happen randomly? does god send it or simply work through it? how does suffering demonstrate god‘s character? these are the questions we will find answers to in the following scriptural texts: job 38:1-41; daniel 2:20-22; proverbs 31:8-9; psalm 33:5; mark 15:33-34; romans 8:17-25; 1john 3:16-20. from the aforementioned, we can safely conclude that, sometimes, evil happens as a result of people exercising or abusing the free will that god lovingly bestowed on them. redeeming suffering we don‘t always know why bad things happen, but we do know the one who brings good from them. genesis 37:12-26; psalm 44:1-26; isaiah 55:1-9; john 9:1-7; acts 3:11-21; romans 8:18-39. followers of god have long wondered why the omnipotent and completely good god allows evil and suffering if he can stop it. the new atheists have thrown this argument at believers in recent years, with varying degree of success. and of course, the issue of theodicy the branch of theology that defends the ways of god is of perennial interests to students, clergy and the laity. but the existence of suffering in god‘s world is much more than an academic question or an intellectual conundrum. just ask someone who has faced unjust suffering and you are likely to hear: where did my prayers go, my cries for mercy and deliverance? did i have the laziest of guardian angel in all of heaven? igwebuike cum biblical response to unjust suffering if the concept of igwebuike as developed by the nigerian augustinian professor of african philosophy, anthony kanu ikechukwu, a distinguished academic: the concept of igwebuike describes the unity of the african philosophical experience, which profoundly relates to a perspective driven ideology that epitomizes the manner of being in african ontology. with this description then, it can safely be concluded that the biblical response to unjust suffering is aptly captured by st. peter the apostle in his epistle when he says: ―therefore, let those who suffer according to the will of god commit their souls to him in doing good, as a faithful creator‖ (1 peter 4:19). let us bear in mind that jesus explained to his disciples why they should respond to mistreatment with love, kindness and good work just as it is being done in the spirit of igwebuike. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 122 but i say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. for if you love those who love you, what rewards have you? do not even the tax collectors do the same? therefore, you shall be perfect, just as your father in heaven is perfect (matthew 5:44-48). believers are called to be the ―light of the world‖ (matthew 5:14). they are always to reflect the character of their heavenly father, who provides the necessities of life even to the unjust. they are to live as examples even under difficult circumstances. ―and you became followers of us and of the lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the holy spirit, so that you become examples to all in macedonia and achaia who believe‖ (thessalonians 1:6-7). suffering for god‟s kingdom according to st. paul, ―the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory which shall be revealed in us‖ (romans 8:18). in addition to the afflictions described earlier, he endured a ―thorn in the flesh‖ possibly a chronic health problem that he had pleaded with god to remove on three occasions. having a clear perspective of the future, and an understanding of god‘s purpose for us, is crucial in facing life‘s difficulties. only when we earnestly look forward to the glories of the kingdom of god can we view our own sufferings in a proper perspective. certainly, our trials and difficulties are real and cannot be wished away. yet their long-term importance pales into insignificance when compared with the sure realization of our great calling (philippians 3:11-14). conclusion right from the beginning of time, questions bordering on the origin, cause, purpose, etc., of human suffering and its interpretation have agitated the minds of people from one generation to the next. while these questions continue to arise in the minds of scholars even in the contemporary era, this work concentrated on providing a biblical, philosophical and pragmatic interpretation to human suffering, and how to help those who are victims to accept the fact that human suffering, when properly interpreted and placed within the realm of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 123 theology, has some eschatological dimensions that provide the sense of fulfillment and everlasting contentment. to articulate this point, this work, adopted an igwebuike philosophical method of pragmatic and wholistic approach, a method which presents the problem of human suffering as dimensions of the whole. using the aforementioned approach, this piece argued for a wholistic approach to the problem of human suffering. this in turn will help us have a clearer perspective of the future, and an understanding of god‘s purpose for us, is crucial in facing life‘s challenges. references bazza, m.b. (2013), boko haram terrorism: my personal story as a victim in the context of christ‘s own suffering. lagos: atrik ventures limited. hick, j. (1994). philosophy of religion, new delhi: prentice hall of india. hume, d. (1947). dialogues concerning natural religion, indianapolis: bobbsmerrill. iroegbu, p. (1995). metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: international universities press. james strahan, the book of job interpreted, edinburgh 1913, 1. jean, g. (1982). christ our liberator. rome: gregorian university press. kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. augustinian publications. kanu i. a. (2015b). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101 kanu, i. a. (2016b). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 1-7 kanu, i. a. (2014). suffering in igbo-african ontology. research in humanities and social sciences 4. 5. 8-13 kanu, i. a. (2015a). igwebuike as the consumate foundation of african bioethical principles: a paper presented at the international conference on igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 124 law, education and humanities. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france. kanu, i. a. (2015b). igwebuike as an ontological precondition for african ethics: international conference of the society for research and academic excellence, university of nigeria, nsukka. 14th -16th september. kanu, i. a. (2015c). ―igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education‖: a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france. kanu, i. a. (2015d). ―igwebuike as the unity of the african philosophical experience‖: international conference of the society for research and academic excellence, university of nigeria, nsukka. 14th -16th september. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. kanu, i. a. (2017). ―igwebuike and the logic of african philosophy.‖ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. kanu, i. a. (2017). ―igwebuike and the question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge.‖ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. kanu, i. a. (2016). ―igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles.‖ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 2. mbaegbu, c. c. a. (2012). hermeneutics of god in igbo ontology, awka: fab. omoregbe, j. (1991). a simplified history of western philosophy: ancient and medieval philosophy. lagos: joja. rahner, k. (1983). theological investigations, vol. 19: faith and ministry. london: darton, longman & todd ltd. richard sparks, ―suffering‖ in the new dictionary of catholic spirituality, michael downey (ed.), collegeville, minnesota, the liturgical press, 1993, pp. 950-952. robert gordis, the book of god and man: a study of job, chicago 1965, 135. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 125 saulytis, g. (2011). augustine and the problem of evil. retrieved 16/9/12 fromhttp://www.btz.lt/english/giedrius/works/augustine_problem %20of%20evil.pdf. st augustine (1961)., the confessions. england: pengiun classics. wiesel, e. (2005). noaptea, univers, bucureşti. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 35 conversation analysis in an els classroom interaction abiodun c. ayeni english and literary studies department veritas university abuja fct, abuja ayeniabbey2013@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.31258.06083 abstract this paper examines the conversation techniques used in an els real-life classroom interaction to establish how useful conversation techniques are to the realisation of effective classroom pedagogy. working within conversation and discourse analysis theories, with restriction to five conversational techniques -turn-taking, turn design, sequence organisation, repair mechanism and overlapping-, data was drawn from six (6) teacher-student classroom interactions randomly recorded, transposed to writing, labelled and subjected to a quantitative methods of analysis. the transcripts labelled a – c were analysed based on the five conversation techniques above. the finding revealed that five conversation techniques – turn-taking, turn design, sequence organisation, repair mechanism and overlapping – were engaged in real-life classroom. it was also observed that turn-taking was the most frequently used conversation technique, followed by turn design and repair mechanism. while sequence organisation and overlapping were less frequently used because a classroom conversation is an organised type of conversation. the paper therefore concludes that turn-taking as a conversational technique will go a long way improving students’ ability of getting involved in classroom interaction because turn-taking, as a vital aspect of conversation technique, enables one to start and be involved in an effective conversation. key words: conversational analysis, teacher-student conversation, turn and turntaking, els classroom interactions introduction the classroom is the practical meeting point of nearly all the educational practices ranging from curriculum planning to implementation (fagbamiye, 1998). the success or failure of the goal of classroom activities may be affected by the different aspects of educational system, but it primarily dependent on the pedagogical technique used by the two major participants in the classroom – the teacher and student (hall & walsh, 2002). the knowledge of the right interactional patterns to adopt in an els classroom is paramount to understanding the activities in the classroom. through these same patterns, communication in the classroom would improve, so also will students mailto:ayeniabbey2013@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 36 participation and learning opportunities. kumaravadivelu (1999) believes that what happens in a classroom, to a large extent, determines the degree to which desired outcomes are realised. evidence of teaching and learning are shown through language use, also, patterns of interactions are formed through language. walsh (2006) holds that language in a second language (l2) classroom serves a special purpose, which makes it different from other classrooms. he also believes that in l2 classrooms, learners learn better when they get involved in interaction amongst themselves or with the teacher. in most l2 classrooms, language is not just a medium of instruction but also, an objective for learning (lee. 2010). lier (1996) argues that interaction is the most vital element of the curriculum while chandron (1993) concludes that teachers talk for about two/third of the interaction time. nunan and bailey (2009) affirm to the findings of chandron (1993) that teachers dominate the class during interaction for two reasons; either because the teacher does not give the students the opportunity to express themselves; or the students are not willing to be involved in the interaction. based on the above findings and conclusions, this present study examines the pattern of conversation characteristics in an esl classroom in a tertiary institution to determine to what extent this pattern will help in the development of learners’ interaction in an esl classroom. basically, the major purpose of this study is to examine classroom pedagogical processes to find out what really goes on in different context classrooms, and, to unearth what pattern of conversation could enhance meaningful pedagogical process. theoretical framework and methodology conversational and discourse analysis theories which are the mostly used theories for analysing talk-in-interaction are adopted for this study. conversation analysis (ca) is a rigorous empirical approach to the analysis of oral discourse, with its discipline rooted in sociology. it employs inductive methods of searching for recurring sequential features by investigating various cases without appeal to intuitive judgement of what speaker means or thinks (boxer and cohen, 2004). the ca theory began with harvey sack’s lecture on conversation in 1964 where he discovered that talk-in-interaction is orderly, methodical, and systematically organised (seedhouse, 2004). discourse analysis (da) on the other hand came into research through zellig harris, since 1952 whose interest was the distribution of linguistic elements in extended texts, meaning; viewing language above the sentence level. sinclair and coulthard (1975) were among the earliest researcher to use da approach in a classroom discourse. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 37 the data sample for this study consist of six (6) full-length 400 level teacherstudent classroom interactions randomly recorded from three departments english and literary studies, history and international relations and philosophyin the college of humanity, veritas university abuja. the recorded interactions and discussion of the subjects on varied topics in the classroom were recorded; and because the classroom discourse is dominated by the teacher, the areas of dialogue between the teachers and students (not necessarily the entire lecture) were purposively transposed to writing for convenience of analysis. the study adopts both conversation and discourse analysis approach in analysing the data. conversational analysis conversational analysis (ca) was a method of analysing discourse, introduced by emmanuel schegloff, harvey sacks and gail jefferson in the early 1970s. ca can be said to be an approach to discourse analysis that is concerned with the study of talk in interaction. the major aim of ca is to describe how conversationalists achieve orderliness in their interaction. it studies how interactions are structured in a sequential manner. ca studies any instance of talk, which may include institutional discourse, such as, classroom discourse between the teacher and the students, doctor-patient interaction, antenatal classroom discourse, courtroom discourse. it also studies routine or casual conversation. ca’s guiding principle is that interaction should be orderly at all points (sacks, 1992). this orderliness is produced and maintained by the participants themselves in their orientations to social rules or expectations. a vital conversational norm is one party speaks at a time’ (sacks, schegloff, & jefferson, 1974). this is evidenced not only by the fact that conversations tend to proceed well in this way, but also maintains to an extent, some degree of orderliness and understanding of one another. participants in a conversation attend to talk not for its propositional content, nor as a channel through which information is received, but because of achieving the actions in the conversation (e.g., asking, requesting, complaining, noticing, and so on), and the real life consequences of those actions (schegloff, 1995). furthermore, talk is examined not as isolated utterances, but as talk-ininteraction, an activity that transpires in real life settings between people. in this respect, actions in interaction are always contextually situated. there are several intersecting machineries required for conducting a conversational analysis but five would be used for this study: turn-taking, sequence organization, turn design, repair mechanism and overlapping. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 38 turn-taking: turn taking is a basic characteristic of any normal conversation. speakers and listeners change their roles in order to begin their speech (coulthard, 1985). turn taking mechanisms may vary between cultures and languages. scholars have identifies a set of rules that govern turn taking in discourse. these are: 1 when the current speaker selects the next speaker, the next speaker has the right to and is obliged to commence the turn • 2 if the current speaker does not select the next speaker, any one of the speakers has the right to self-select and become the next speaker. 3 if neither the current speaker selects the next speaker, nor the next speaker self-selects him/herself, the current speaker may resume his or her turn (sacks, schegloff and jeffeson 1974). turns are composed of one or more turn-constructional units (tcus), which consist of linguistic units (words, phrases, clauses, etc.) that form a recognizably complete utterance in a given context. as one turn approaches a point of adequate completeness, then comes the possibility of turn-transfer—a transition-relevance place (trp). at a trp, participants use turn-allocation techniques (self-selection or selection by current speaker). turn-taking provides for the orderly distribution of turns-at-talk in any organised conversation. sequence organization: this refers to how successive turns link up to form coherent courses of action (schegloff, 2007). the adjacency pair is the basis of this organization: two turns/actions, produced by different participants, where the first pair part (fpp) is followed in next position by a type-matched second pair part (spp), which, where not produced, would be ‘noticeably absent’. examples of adjacency pairs include greeting-greeting, question-answer, invitation acceptance/declination, complaint-account, and so on. the property that unites fpps and spps is called conditional relevance because the relevance of the second action is contingent upon the production of the first. turn design: turn design refers to how speakers format their turns to implement some action, in some position, for some recipient(s) (drew, 2013). a basic assumption in ca is that participants use talk and other conduct to produce recognizable actions, often employing particular grammatical formats as resources to do so (see levinson, 2013). to make an offer, for example, speakers can design their turn as a conditional (if your parents would like weekend online classes, i would gladly administer them), declarative (i’ll come to school on sunday), or interrogative (do you want me to get you a bottle of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 39 water?), each of which systematically occurs in particular sequential positions (curl, 2006). repair mechanism: this practice address troubles in speaking, hearing, and understanding a repair procedure includes three basic components: trouble source (e.g., an unfamiliar word), repair initiation (i.e., a signal that begins a repair procedure), and repair solution (e.g., a rephrasing of the unfamiliar word). either the speaker of the trouble source or its recipient can initiate a repair procedure and/or produce a repair solution. thus a distinction is made between, for example, self-initiated self-repair (e.g. so she didn’t come on sat uh friday), in which the speaker of the trouble source initiates and executes the repair procedure independently (e.g., a: so she didn’t come on saturday. b: saturday? a: friday.) (schegloff, jefferson, & sacks, 1997). overlapping: an overlap in speech occurs when two or more interlocutors are trying to take their turns at the same time when the current speaker had or is about to finish his turn. the real overlap occurs when the two participants start their turns simultaneously and none of them relinquishes the floor for the other. an overlap in speech may occur in any of the following situations: when a speaker deliberately comes in while another speaker is having turn; when a speaker thought the current speaker had finished their turn and decided to come in; or when two speakers self-selects themselves as next speakers (levinson, 2013). classroom interaction walsh (2002) sees classroom interaction as a place where language use and pedagogic purpose coincide, and learning opportunities are facilitated. sinclair and coulthard, (1975) on the other hand, view classroom interaction as relying heavily on teacher-initiated three-part sequences, (initiation, responsefeedback/evaluation). another growing body of micro-analytic research challenged the assumptions of earlier discourse analytic studies (i.e. sinclair and coulthard 1975) which allows us to have a better understanding of the context-sensitive nature of classroom interaction by reporting, for instance, how participants accomplish learning collectively (pochon-berger, hellermann and doehler, 2010; mondada and doehler, 2004). classroom interaction has been researched using different methods of inquiry ranging from; discourse analysis, critical discourse analysis, systemic functional linguistics to; various qualitative and quantitative paradigms within applied linguistics. one should be aware of the fact that different research methodologies, when applied to the same discoursal data, can reach diametrically opposing conclusions (seedhouse, 2010). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 40 below is a tabular breakdown of the data collection table 1: summary of data collection department level course no. of student s duration of recording date of recording english and literary studies 400 els 432 multilingualis m 15 10:00am – 12:00am monday, 20th and 27th may, 2019 history and internationa l relations 400 hir 442 nigerian foreign policy since independence 46 2:00pm – 4:00pm wednesda y, 29th may, and 5th june 2019 philosophy 400 phl 452 existentialism and phenonenolog y 3 8:00am – 10:00am tuesday, 11th and 18th june, 2019 the researcher coded the data collected as transcript a, b and c; a for department of english and literary studies, b for history and international relations and c for philosophy, for proper analysis findings and discussion the patterns of conversation found in the transcripts are shown below in their number of occurrences. table 2a: summary of patterns of conversational techniques and their number of occurrence in transcript a patterns conversation no. of occurrence turn-taking: when a speaker takes the floor 30 turn design : using talk to produce action 18 repair mechanism: rephrasing an earlier speech 8 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 41 the table above presents the summary of the various ca patterns and their number of occurrences observed in a real life english and literary studies classroom situation. from the findings shown in table 2a above, it was observed that turn-taking -when a speaker takes the floorwas mostly used in the class, making it the most frequently occurred with 30 occurrences. the reason for this as observed in the study is because, in a classroom interaction, speakers are not allowed to talk constantly during a conversation. turn-taking in this class was used by both teacher and students showing that an interaction has ended and another has begun. example: transcript a: students: noise, sounds and chattering everywhere, seeing the lecturer walk in, all became quiet and went to their seats. lecturer: good morning class. can someone remind us where we stopped last week? student 1: good morning ma. in our last class, you introduced multilingualism and said we’ll continue with “nigeria as a multilingual society” in the next class. the above transcript a extract opens with a non formal and unorganised interactive session, as the students in the class were in disarray in little groups of twos/threes, having their separate discussions. in this opening, there is to some degree sequence organization where adjacency pair (which includes greeting-greeting, question-answer and a host of others) is obvious as the students are seen in little groups of twos and threes. as the lecturer walked into the class, the mood in the class immediately took a turn to a conversational class mood. the lecturer started with, good morning class, a discourse initiator the lecturer’s question; can somebody remind us where we stopped last week, portrays the turn-taking characteristic of, ‘current speaker (lecturer) does not select the next speaker’ (sacks and jefferson, 1974). the lecturer’s question was thrown to all of the students, no one in particular. also, student 1 who said, ... in our last class, you introduced multilingualism and said sequence organisation: forming coherence with successive turns 2 overlapping: two or more speakers taking a turn at the same time 2 total 60 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 42 we’ll continue with “nigeria as a multilingual society” in the next class in response to the lecturer’s question depicts another turn-taking characteristic by sacks and jefferson (1974) which says, “next speaker self-selects current speaker. the current speaker (the lecturer) did not select who takes the turn after her, so the student 1 self-selected himself and current speaker when the floor was free. a remarkable feature of the interaction in extract a is that speaker change is coordinated smoothly. both interruptions (or other kinds of simultaneous talk) and gaps are relatively rare table 2b: summary of patterns of conversational techniques and their number of occurrences in transcript b patterns of turn-taking no. of occurrence turn-taking: when a speaker takes the floor 36 turn design : using talk to produce action 12 repair mechanism: rephrasing an earlier speech 8 sequence organisation: forming coherence with successive turns 3 overlapping: two or more speakers taking a turn at the same time 2 total 61 table 2b above presents the summary of the various turn taking patterns and their number of occurrences observed in a real life history and international relations classroom situation. it is also obvious from the findings above that turn-taking -when a speaker takes the floorwas mostly used in the class, making it the most frequently occurred with 36 occurrences. this was as a result of the lecturer adopting turn-taking in the administration of the lecture. nevertheless, some other conversational machineries were also evident in the cause of the lectures as can be seen in transcript b below. lecturer: judith, can you say one thing you observed between nigerian foreign policy under military rule and nigerian foreign policy under goodluck jonathan? student 1 (judith): there are no genuine conscious efforts to move closer to any of the communist powers but during jonathan’s reign, there was mindful effort to break the communists’ power, curb insecurity and corruption and economic diversification. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 43 lecturer: thank you judith, but it will be nice if someone else counters judith’s take. student 2: i stand to disagree with the judith concerning curbing insecurity and corruption. research has proven that there was no insecurity and corruption under the regime of jonathan. sorry, meant to say, there was a high rate of insecurity and corruption. the above extract from transcript b started with the lecturer asking a specific student (judith) a question. the lecturer, directing her question to judith has automatically selected who takes the turn after her, -current speaker selects next speak-, which is also an aspect of turn-taking. turn design, with which participants use talk to produce actions in the hearer, is seen in the lecturer’s second utterance where he said ...but it will be nice if someone else counters judith’s take. the use of if in the above utterance produced the action/utterance of student 2 where he tries to debunk or counter the take of student 1. the basic assumption in turn design is that participants use talk and other conduct to produce recognizable actions, often employing particular grammatical formats as resources to do so (levinson, 2013). also in the utterance of student 2, there is a trace of repair mechanism where the student said, sorry, meant to say, there was a high rate of insecurity and corruption. according to schegloff, jefferson, and sacks, (1977), a repair procedure is tripartite; trouble source, repair initiation and repair solution. the repair mechanism used in the above extract is repair solution as the speaker tries to rephrase his utterance by removing an unfamiliar word no. table 2c: summary of patterns of conversational techniques and their number of occurrence in transcript c patterns of turn-taking no. of occurrence turn-taking: when a speaker takes the floor 18 turn design : using talk to produce action 8 repair mechanism: rephrasing an earlier speech 2 sequence organisation: forming coherence with successive turns 1 overlapping: two or more speakers taking a turn at the same time 1 total 30 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 44 table 2c above presents a summary of the various ca technique patterns used in the study and the number of their occurrences observed in a philosophy real life classroom situation. from the findings in table above, it was observed that turn-taking was mostly used in the class, making it the most frequently occurred with 30 occurrences. going by the observation in the study, turntaking appeared most frequently because, in a classroom interaction, speakers are not allowed to talk randomly during a conversation. turn-taking and some other ca techniques were used in this class by both the teacher and the students, showing that a mutual interaction has taken place. a good example: is seen in the extract from transcript c below: lecturer: good morning class. students: good morning ma. lecturer: can anyone remind us where we stopped in the last class? students: (all at the same time) we stopped at..... , no, you introduced ....., we were about to start..... (and so on). lecturer: hello, can there be some orderliness in this class please. student 1: ma, we stopped at existentialism. student 2: (talking to student 1) did we stop at existentialism or where she introduced us to phenonology and said that’s where we’ll continue from in this class? student 1: oh yes, that’s true ma, you introduced phenonenology at the end of the last class and said we are continuing from there. this extract above opens with some sort of adjacency pair of greetings – greetings which is commonly used by two interlocutors to initiate a conversation. nevertheless, the lecturer in this class employed the adjacency pair technique to initiate interaction in her class. this technique was successful as the students in one voice chorused back the greetings to her good morning ma as though it was one person answering. also, it succeeded in helping to captivate the interest of the students in the class to carry out an interactional session, hence conversation initiation. coulthard (1985) posits that turn-taking has three major turn allocation techniques: current speaker selects next speaker; next speaker self-selects him/herself; or current speaker resumes a new turn. the lecturer’s question can anyone remind us where we stopped in the last class which was not thrown to any student in particular (did not select next speaker) gave room for any student to self-select him/herself. in the above scenario in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 45 this particular class, all three of the students self-selected themselves and spoke at the same time we stopped at..... , no, you introduced ....., we were about to start..... resulting in overlapping. according to levinson, 2013) an overlap in speech occurs when two or more interlocutors try to take their turns at the same time when the current speaker had finished his turn. he further explained that the real overlap occurs when the two participants start their turns simultaneously and none of them relinquishes the floor for the other. this is evident in the students’ response after the lecturer had asked her questions. again, the lecturer used one of the three turn-taking techniques -current speaker resumes a new turnto get back the attention of the class. finally ensued repair mechanism again. in the last two utterances above, student 2 made and assertion which was corrected by student 1. student 2 keyed into the correction and came up with the obtainable situation. in repair mechanism, this is known as repair initiation -a signal that begins a repair procedurebecause the repair was initiated by student 1. conclusion the findings in this study, it has been observed that classroom interaction, various conversational techniques were used in the classrooms which helped the learning ability of the students as lecturers were free to conduct their lectures the way they prefer. also from the findings of the study, using five conversational techniques, have shown that turn-taking conversational technique is highly used in real life classroom observation of 400 level students from three departments -english and literary studies, history and international relations and philosophyof the college of humanities; veritas university abuja . bit was also observed in the study that it will be difficult to have mutually flowing interactive class conversation without the use of turntalking technique as the only time a lecturer did not use it, there ensured overlapping. hence, it also was observed that turn-taking as a conversational technique will go a long way improving students’ ability of getting involved in classroom interaction because turn-taking is a vital aspect of conversational technique, enabling one to start and be involved in a conversation. references aduwa-ogiegbaem & iyanu (2016). analysis of turn-taking strategies. journal of language teaching and learning 1(1) 54 63 allwright, d. & bailey, e. (1991). focus on the language classroom. cambridge: cambridge university press. bakeman, r. & gottman, j. (1986). observing interaction: an introduction to sequential analysis. new york: cambridge university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 46 boxer, d & cohen, a (2004). studying speaking to inform second language learning. (eds) clevedon, england: multilingual matters. 330 -335 channdon, d. (1988). second language classroom. cambridge: cambridge university press. chika, n. (2018). promoting learning through interaction: from the english language classroom. journal of literature, language and linguistics. 11 (2). 86 99 curl, t. s. (2006). offers of assistance: constraints on syntactic design. journal of pragmatics, (38), 1257–80. doehler, s. (2010). conceptual changes and methodological challenges: on language, learning and documenting learning in conversation analytic sla research. in seedhouse, p., walsh, s. and jenks, c. (eds.). conceptualising learning in applied linguistics. (p. 105-126), basingstoke: palgrave : macmillan. drew, p. (2013). turn design. in j. sidnell & t. stivers (eds.), the handbook of conversation analysis (p. 131-149). malden: wiley-blackwell. fagbamiye, a. a. (1998). examination malpractice in nigeria education institution: is there any hope? in a. adegboye, o. olutoye, & j. o. adetunberu (eds). issues on examination malpractice in nigeria (pp. 3342). ado-ekiti: petoa educational publishers. gorjian, b. & habibi, p. (2015). interaction: the case study of turn-taking. journal of applied linguistics and language learning. 1 (1), 14 – 23. hall, j. k. & walsh, m. (2002). teacher-student interaction and language learning. annual review of applied linguistics, usa. cambridge university press. kalu, s. (2012). turn taking as discourse strategy in an els university classroom. unpublished ma thesis unn nsukka kumaravadivelu, b. (1999). critical classroom discourse analysis. tesol quarterly. 33 (3), 453 – 484 lee, j. (2010). the uniqueness of efl teachers’ perception of japanese learners. tesol journal, 1(1), 23 – 48. levinson, s. c. (2013). action formation and action ascription. in j. sidnell & t. stivers (eds.), the handbook of conversation analysis (p. 103-130). malden: wiley-blackwell. mckay, s. (2006). researching second language classroom. mahwah, nj: lawrence erlbaum associates. mondada, l. and pekarek doehler, s. (2004). second language acquisition as situated practice: task accomplishment in the french second language classroom. the modern language journal. 88(4), 501-518. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 47 odinaka, m. (2011). development and validation of classroom interaction: analysing instrument for primary school education in nigeria. european jornal of educational studies. 3 (3), 236 – 576. sacks, h. (1992). lectures on conversation, vols. 1 & 2, edited by g. jefferson. oxford: blackwell sacks, h., schegloff, e. & jefferson, g. (1974). simplest systematic for the organisation of turn-taking for conversation. language journal (50), 696 -735 schegloff, e. a. (1995). discourse as an interactional achievement iii: the omni-relevance of action. research on language and social interaction, 28, 185–211. schegloff, e. a. (1997). practices and actions: boundary cases of other-initiated repair. discourse processes, 23, 499–545. schegloff, e. a. (2007). sequence organization in interaction. cambridge: cambridge university press seedhouse, p. (2004). the interactional architecture of the language classroom: a conversation analysis perspective. malden, ma: blackwell. seedhouse, p. (2010). how research methodologies influence findings. novitas-royal (research on youth and language). 4(1), 1-15. retrieved from http://www.novitasroyal.org/vol_4_1/seedhouse.pdf sinclair, j. & couldhard, r. (1985). towards an analysis of discourse: the english used by teachers and pupils. london: oxford university press. walsh, s. (2002). construction or obstruction: teacher talk and learner involvement in the efl classroom. language teaching research. 6(1), 323. walsh, s. (2006). investigating classroom discourse. london: routledge. walsh, s. (2011). exploring classroom discourse. london: routledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 198 the call of abraham (genesis 11:2712: 20) and its implication on the christian faith daniel bem apuuivom, ph.d department of religion and philosophy, university of mkar, mkar, benue state, nigeria. 09066787271; apuuivombem@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.19482.59846 abstract the problem of lack of faith in god in our present generation motivates the author to write about the call of abraham in genesis 11:2712:20 and its implication on the christian faith. the research has adopted historical and exegetical approach in the study of abraham the hero of faith. yahweh in his grace called abraham from ur of the chaldeans and made a promise to abraham who responded to the call in faith and went to the land of canaan. and god later appeared to him in canaan and promised to give his descendants the land of canaan. abraham responded in worship and sacrifice. the research findings reveal abraham as a man of great faith who was called by grace. through god’s promises to abraham mankind is saved through jesus, the messiah who came from abraham’s descendants. the call of abraham is a central passage as the jewish scripture and the christian bible and the gospel are all built upon the event of abraham’s call. the research recommends that the service to god has to be done as a team work hence abraham did not respond to god’s call alone but together with his family and his entire household. the vitality of the research is that it could increase faith in god and religious commitment to people who are called by god. keywords: call, abraham, nigeria, christian, faith introduction a significant event took place about 4000 years ago, when yahweh was working with a man called abraham. abraham was a remarkable figure, god made astounding promise to him that continued to affect not only his descendants but the whole world. god choose abraham to be his servant purely by grace not by his worthiness. abraham responded to the call of god in great faith and devotion. the call of abraham has great implication on the christian faith as it resulted to universal blessings for all the nations of the world as jesus the messiah of the world originated from the descendants of abraham. the three abrahamic religions (judaism, christianity and islam) trace their origin back to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 199 the call of abraham. the morality of these three religions has significant influence on world’s ethics. this paper is centred on genesis 11:2712:20. who is abraham? derek williams states that abraham is a hebrew name which means “father of a multitude”; originally called abram meaning “the father is exalted”, (11) it was god who changed his name from abram to abraham as stated in gen. 17:5. abraham is a bible character who has a clear faith in monotheistic god, unlike his ancestors (jos 24:2). he revered god as almighty; he had a close relationship with god (gen. 18:33) and received visions (gen. 15:1) and angelic visitors. he was always willing to obey god’s call, even when he was told to sacrifice his son isaac at moriah, he was stopped at the last moment when a ram was provided as a substitute (gen. 22:1-14). israel was considered abraham’s seed and throughout scripture god is called “the god of abraham.” he was an ancestor of the messiah (matt. 1:1). paul sees abraham’s faith as that which leads to justification by god (rom 4:3ff). abraham plays unique role in christian, jewish and muslim traditions. abraham’s family (gen. 11:27-30) as one studies this family, one notices several of interesting relationships. first, abraham has married his half-sister (“the daughter of my father though not of my mother”, gen. 20:12). second, abraham’s brother nahor married his niece, milcah, the daughter of his deceased brother haran. similar cases of marrying one’s relation are found in genesis as isaac married his cousin rebecca; and jacob married his cousin rachael and leah. this kind of marriages within the clan, though later prohibited in the mosaic law (lev. 18) was not viewed as incestuous within the culture. rather is an example of endogamy, marriage with a tribe or kinship unit, in order to maintain culture and religious values and property rights. one who is not convinced with the above explanation may ask, does god contradict himself by allowing the ancient people to practice incest. all these cases of incest took place before the sinaitic period. jamie frater provides an answer to the above raised question when he comments that “god suspended the laws of incest in the early days of man in order to ensure that man spreads on earth” (5) the call of abraham (genesis 11:31-12:1) from ur to haran (genesis 11:31-33). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 200 it is not certain whether ur mentioned in this text was in lower mesopotamia or northern mesopotamia, not too far from haran. no matter which location, abraham’s migration was in two phases: (1) from ur to haran and (2) from haran to canaan. according to stephen’s account in acts 7:2-3, it was god’s word to abraham that had initiated the family’s move from ur. they had set out for canaan, but when they came to haran, they settled there. they stopped and settled, why? ralph f. wilson noted that “perhaps terah the father of abraham was in ill health, perhaps the grazing was too good in haran to pass up. we are not sure. abraham waited until terah died; and then began the journey” (2). joseph s. excel observes that “first steps of faith are not always giant steps, which explains why abraham did not fully obey god. instead of leaving his family, as he was commanded” (electronic copy). abraham took his father and his nephew lot with him when he left ur; and then he stayed at haram until his father died. whatever you bring with you from the old life into the new is likely to create problems. terah, abraham’s father kept abraham from fully obeying the lord; and lot created serious problems to abraham until they finally had to agree to part. abraham and sarah brought a sinful agreement from ur (20:13), and it got them into trouble twice (12:10-20;20:1-18). the life of faith demands total separation from what is evil and total devotion to what is holy (2 cor. 6:147:1). from haran to canaan. (genesis 12:1) “the lord had said to abram, leave your country, your kindred and your father’s household and go to the land i will show you” (gen. 12:1). whether this verse is recording a renewed call or a referral to the previous call in ur is not certain. mathew henry stated that “the call of abraham took place in about the year 1921 bc” (52). god called abraham to leave his home and go to a new land, so that he might give humanity a new beginning. because of god’s call and abraham’s obedient faith; abraham and sarah ultimately gave to the world the jewish nation, the bible and the saviour. where would we be today if abraham and sarah had not trusted god? consider the elements involved in their experience. warren w.wiersbe states that “salvation comes because god calls in grace and sinners respond by faith (eph. 2:8-9; 2 thess. 2:13-14)” (38). god called abraham out of idolatry (josh 24:2), when he was in the city of ur of the country of chaldea (citizens of chaldea are called chaldeans of chaldees) (gen. 11:28, 31;15:7; neh. 9:7), a city devoted to nannar the moon-god, inhabitants of the city igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 201 worshiped the sun, moon and stars. abraham did not know the true god, and had done nothing to deserve knowing him, but god graciously called him. it was not abraham that chose god but it was god who chose abraham (john 15:16). abraham was 75 years old when god called him, so age doesn’t need to be an obstacle to faith. he trusted god for 100 years (gen. 25:7) without giving up and from his experience, believers today can learn how to walk by faith and live to please god. abraham was married to sarah, his half-sister (20:12), because in the ancient days when the population of people was not much on earth, incest was not firmly established as a taboo. abraham and sarah were childless; yet god used them to found a great nation. wiersbe noted that “god called abraham after the gentiles had failed and turned away from the true and living god” (39). that process of devolution is described in rom. 1:18-32; man, originally knew the true god, but he would not glorify him or give thanks to him for his gracious provision. man substituted idols for the true and living god. idolatry led to immorality and indecency; and before long, the gentile world was so corrupt. then he called abraham, the first jew, and made a new beginning. b. walvoord and roy b. zuck acknowledge that the idea of faith is stressed in this passage; “abraham was told to leave several thingshis country, his people and his father’s household. but he was told nothing about the land which he must go; his departure required an unparalleled act of faith” (electronic copy). how god called: the god of glory appeared to abraham (acts 7:2). how god appeared to abraham, we are not told: but it was the first of the seven god’s communications to abraham recorded in genesis. the revelation of god’s glory would have shown abraham the variety and folly of the idol worship in ur, who wants to worship a dead idol when he has met the living god! god spoke to abraham and the word brought about the miracle of faith. “so, then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of god” (rom. 10:17). it was a call to separate himself from the corruption around him, and abraham obeyed by faith. (heb. 11:8). true faith is based on the word of god and leads to obedience. wiersbe comments that lost sinners today are not likely to receive special revelation of god’s glory as did abraham and sarah; however, “they can see his glory in the lives of his people (matt. 5:16), and hear his word of faith when they share their witness” (40). god spoke to abraham directly, but today we hear the truth of salvation through the witness of his people (acts 1:8). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 202 why god called abraham: wiersbe pointed out three reasons why god called abraham and sarah as paraphrased here; one, in his love, god was concerned about their salvation. two, god had the purpose of blessing the whole world. this was accomplished when god sent his son into the world through the jewish nation. christ died for the sins of the world and wants his church to tell the good news to the whole world. three, the life of abraham is an example for all christians (40). abraham was saved by faith (gen. 15:6; rom. 4:1-5; gal. 3:6-14) and lived by faith (heb. 11:8-19) and his obedience was the evidence of his faith. abraham obeyed when he did not know where (heb. 11:8-10), how (vv. 11:12), when (vv.13-16) or why (vv. 17-19) and so should we. abraham and sarah were not perfect, but their walk was generally characterized by faithfulness. when they sinned, they suffered for it; and the lord was always ready to forgive when they repented. as one studies the life of abraham and sarah one will learn what faith is and how to walk by faith. god’s covenant with abraham (gen.12:2-3) fruchtenbaum states that this passage is the first of the six passages in genesis dealing with abrahamic covenant (gen. 12:1-3; 12:7; 13:14-17; 15:1-21; 17:1-21; and 22:15-18). (14). god and abraham are involved in this covenant, in which abraham stood as the representative head of the whole jewish nation. the covenant is a promise of blessing. eight provisions of the covenant are pointed out as follows: first, a great nation was to come out of abraham, namely the nation of israel (gen. 12:2); second, he was promised a land, specifically the land of canaan (gen. 12:1). third, abraham himself was to be greatly blessed (12:2b), forth, abraham’s name would be great (gen. 12:2c); fifth, abraham would be a blessing to others (gen. 12:12d) sixth, those who bless israel will be blessed (gen. 12:3a); seventh, those who curse israel will be cursed (gen. 12:36); and eight, in abraham, all families of the earth will ultimately be blessed (gen. 12:3c) (15). these provisions are here discussed. i will make of you a great nation: robert jamieson, andrew r. fausset and david brown noted that nothing was more improbable at the time, since he was childless (gen. 11:30). yet this promise was verified in his numerous posterities, the arabs (gen. 17:20; 21:13) and edomites etc, but especially the jews, who though comparatively small in number, have, their influence on the moral and religious interest of the world, been a great nation (gen. 18:18) (electronic copy). abraham will be greatly blessed: many special token of the divine favour, temporal as well as spiritual, are recorded in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 203 the personal history of abraham. abraham’s name would be great: although not renowned in science or arts, in civil or military affairs, abraham has been distinguished by higher honours and more extensive fame than any mere man; he was revealed by the jews as the founder of their nation. abraham is looked up to by the christians as “the father of the faithful;” honoured by the arabians as their progenitor; and the religion of islam trace their example from abraham. abraham would be a blessing to others: jamieson, fausset and brown interpret the hebrew word braakaah in genesis 12: 2 to refer to object of blessing (electronic copy). history shows this in various ways, abraham was a blessing to his numerous household, and many were specifically favoured for his sake. all the true blessedness the world is now, or ever shall be possessed of, is owing to abraham and his posterity: through abraham, we have a bible, a savior and the gospel. they are the stock on which the church is grafted. those who bless abraham will be blessed and he who curses abraham will be cursed: his friends and his enemies would be regarded as the friends and enemies of god, who would reward their kindness and avenge their wrong done to him as done to himself. it is observable, however, that the former are mentioned in the plural, while the latter is in the singular, as if multitudes would be sure to bless, but few to curse him. in abraham all families of the earth will ultimately be blessed: god told abraham that through “your seed” i.e. christ all the nations of the earth will be blessed. the families of the earth will be blessed with the knowledge and the means of salvation. adam clarke explains that “in you means in your posterity, in the messiah who shall spring from you shall all families of the earth be blessed” (82). he shall take on him human nature from the posterity of abraham, he shall test death for every person, his gospel shall be preached throughout the world, and innumerable blessings be derived on all mankind through his death and intercession. these provisions of the abrahamic covenant can be categorized in three areas: to abraham, to the seedisrael and to the gentiles. to abraham: abraham was to be the father of great nation, israel. he was to possess all of the promised land. other nations including the arab states were ultimately to descend from abraham. many of his descendants would become kings both jewish and nonjewish kings. abraham was to receive personal blessings. abraham was to be a blessing to others. his name was to become great, and so it is among jews, muslims and in all christendom. to the seedisrael: the nation of israel was to become great. it was ultimately to become innumerable. it was to possess all of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 204 the promised land. it was to receive victory over its enemies. the fact that the promises were made to both abraham and his seed shows that these blessings have not yet received complete fulfillment but await the messianic kingdom. to the gentiles: the gentiles would be blessed for blessing israel and cursed for cursing israel. also, they were to receive spiritual blessings but ultimately these were to come through one specific seed of abraham, the messiah. the abrahamic covenant contains both physical and spiritual promises while the physical blessings were limited to the jews only, the spiritual blessings were to extend to the gentiles but only through the messiah. abraham’s journey to canaan (genesis 12:4-5) god had called abraham to go to canaan, but abraham didn’t really know where he was going. he was pointed to canaan, a land he had heard about, but he was going “to the land i will show you” (acts 7:3). the writer of hebrew puts it that: by faith abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. by faith he made his home in the promise land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did isaac and jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. for he was looking forward to the city with foundations whose architect and builder is god (heb. 11:8-10). wilson attests that it is easy when god calls people to do something that they are familiar with; “but when he asks them to do something they don’t know anything about or to go far away from their home or their family, and their support system that takes real faith.” (5 ). god has put the kind of faith of father abraham within the hearts and minds of faithful christians. abraham’s removal out of his country, out of ur first and afterwards out of haran, was in compliance with the call of god. so abraham departed; henry states that he was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but did as he was directed, not conferring with flesh and blood (gal. 1:15, 16) (59). his obedience was speedy and without delay, it was with submission and without dispute; for he went out not knowing where he went (heb. 11:8) but knowing whom he followed and under whose direction he went. his age when he was called was seventy-five years old, an age when he should rather have had rest and settlement; but, if god will have him to begin the world again now in his old age, he will submit. here is an instance of an old convert. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 205 the company and cargo that he took with him: he took his wife, and his nephew lot, with him; not by force and against their wills, but by persuasion. sarai his wife, would be sure to go with him; god had joined them together, and nothing should put them asunder sarai means quarrelsome. god later changed her name to sarah meaning princes (gen. 17:15). it is very comfortable when husband and wife agree to go together in the way to heaven. lot also his kinsman was influenced by abraham’s good example, who was perhaps his guardian after the death of his father and he was willing to go along with him too. they took all their substance and movable goods (recush) which consisted chiefly in livestock particularly cattle; lot and abram were nomads. abraham was a wealthy man and walked out of haran with quite an entourage of staff and livestock. to have thrown away his substance, because god had promised to bless him, would have been to tempt god, not to trust him. they would not be under any temptation to return; therefore, they left not a hoof behind, least that should make them mindful of the country from which they came out. they took with them the souls that they had gotten, these refer to the servants they had bought, which were part of their substance, but are called souls, to remind masters that their poor servants have souls, precious souls which they ought to take care of and provide food for. the souls that they had gotten according to henry also refer to “the proselytes they had made, and persuaded to attend the worship of the true god, and to go with them to canaan” (61). followers of god must persuade others to follow them and serve god. by the good hand of their god upon them, they arrived in canaan. through a fresh revelation they were told that this was the land god promised to show them. they were not discouraged by the difficulties they met with in their way, nor diverted by the delight they met with, but pressed forward. note, those that set out for heaven must persevere to the end. abraham had confidence to obey god to the extent that when famine came in the land of canaan (12:10) he was not discouraged to reverse and return back to his father’s land. henry states that “the arrival of abraham in canaan took place in about 1920 bc” (62). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 206 abraham’s devotion (genesis 12:6-9) abram travelled through the land (v.6). here moses the writer of genesis shows that abram did not immediately, on his entering into the land, find a habitation in which he might rest. for the expression travel through and the position of the place (sichem) to which he passed showed that the length of his journey is not great. sichem is not far from mount gerizim, which is towards the desert of the southern region. it is just as moses had said, that the faith of abram was again tried, when god suffered him as a wanderer to traverse the whole land, before he gave him any fixed abode. the hebrew word “elon” mentioned in this verse is translated by some as an oak forest, by some a valley; others take it for the proper name of a place. calvin does not doubt that moreh is the proper name of the place; but he explains elon to mean “a plain, or an oak, not that it was a single tree, but the singular is put for the plural number” (59). according to john walton, victor h. mathew, and mark w. chavalas, “sichem mentioned in this verse has been identified with tell balatah, east of modern nablus and thirty-five miles north of jerusalem.” (70). h. d.m. spence and joseph s. excel also support the fact that “the modern name of sichem is nablus. perhaps because of its proximity to two nearby peaks, mount zerizim and mount ebal, it has long history as a sacred site” (83). gordon wenham attests that sichem is mentioned in the egyptian texts of pharaoh sesostris iii in 1880 bc-1840 bc (48). and the canaanite was then in the land (v.6). although the canaanites were occupying the land but centuries later, god would give the land to abraham’s descendants; but when abraham and sarah arrived, they were strangers and pilgrims in the midst of a pagan society (heb. 11:13). wilmingtom states that “entering canaan is a picture of the believer claiming his or her inheritance by faith. god has appointed a “canaan” for each of his children (eph. 2:10), and it is obtained only by faith” (33). claiming your inheritance involves tests and temptations, challenges and battles, but god is able to see believers through (phil. 1:6). one would have expected that abram having such an extraordinary call to canaan some great event should have followed upon his arrival there, that he should have been introduced with all possible marks of honour and respect, and that the kings of canaan should immediately have surrendered their crowns to him, and done him homage. but he comes not with observation, little notice is taken of him, for still god will have him to live by faith, and look upon canaan, even when he was in it, as a land of promise. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 207 what a little comfort he had in the land he came to. he had it not to himself the canaanites were then in the land. he found the country possessed by the canaanites who were likely to be but bad neighbours and worse landlords and he could not have ground to pitch his tent but by their permission. thus, the canaanites seemed to be in better circumstances than blessed abram. he had not a settlement in the land. he passed through the land. abram sojourned first in a plain (v.6) then in a mountain (v.8). all good people must look upon themselves as strangers and sojourners in this world and by faith sit loose to it as a strange country, so abraham did (heb. 11:8-14). obedience always leads to blessing. after abraham arrived in canaan, the lord appeared to him to further assure him: to your offspring i will give this land. abraham did not hesitate to confess his faith before the heathen in the land. wherever he went, he pitched his tent and built his alter (gen. 12:7,8;13:3-4,18). according to lawrence o. richards, “the tent speaks of the pilgrim, the person who trusts god and is always ready to move. the alter speaks of the worshipper who brings a sacrifice and offers it to god” (electronic copy). interestingly, at abraham’s location, bethel (“the house of god”) was on the west, ai (“the heap of ruins”) was on the east. as soon as abraham had got to canaan, though he was but a stranger and sojourner there, yet he set up and kept up the worship of god in his family. he not only minded the ceremonial part of religion, the offering of sacrifice, but made conscience of the natural duty of seeking to his god, and calling on his name, that spiritual sacrifice with which god is well pleased. wiersbe interpreted that “he preached concerning the name of the lord, that is he instructed his family and neighbours in the knowledge of the true god and his holy religion” (48). those that would approve themselves the children of faithful abraham, and would inherit the blessing of abram, must make conscience of keeping up to the solemn worship of god, particularly in their families, according to the example of abraham. henry noted that “the way of family worship is a good old way, is no novel invention, but the ancient usage of all the saints” (66). abraham was very rich and had a numerous family, was now unsettled and in the midst of enemies, and yet, wherever he pitched his tent, he built an altar. christians should not fail to take their religion along with them wherever they go. abraham called on the name of the lord v.8. here the hebrew word “gara” connotes “calling one to a specific task” in the context of a critical or chronic need. abraham calls on the name of yahweh in a new place. according to wilson, “he recognizes his need, his loneliness; he needs yahweh igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 208 for guidance and direction. god has revealed himself to abraham and now it is in abraham’s spirit to respond and seek him” (8). to call on the name of god is to invoke god or ask for his help. on mount carmel, elijah lays out the rules for the contest between the true god yahweh and baal, and instructed, “then you call on the name of your god, and i will call on the name of the lord. the god who answers by fire – he is god (1 kings 18:24). in this passage it is significant that abraham is calling upon the name of yahweh, not another god. the culture all around him was religious, calling on various supposed deities. but abraham is now a believer in the one god-yahweh. he has cast lot with him and now seeks him continually, openly and boldly. abraham in egypt (gen. 12:10-20) canaan is the land of promise for abraham’s household, but canaan was not ready for them just yet. what could they do when there was famine in the land? although god later warns isaac not to travel to egypt during a famine (26:1-2), he later instructs jacob to do so (46:3). here god simply seems silent since the narrative does not tell everything that was once known. at least it can be suggested that leading one’s family to egypt may have simply been the wisest course available. craig keener observes that “obedience pleases god, but it does not solve every problem or imply perfection in every other area of life” (4). when abram and later his son isaac, present their wives as their sisters (12:13; 20:2; 26:7), the biblical text offers no indication that this strategy was divinely ordained. in fact, god had to rescue abraham and sarah, from this strategy. abram’s deception: although a man of wealth and status such as abraham often married multiple wives, and customarily did so if one wife could not bear children. abraham did not marry another woman so long as sarah lived (25:1-6). abraham and sarah may have been following a custom from mesopotamia. there a wife of means might give her female servant to her husband as a concubine. if abraham and sarah attempt to follow this custom, certainly they did not attempt it as a first resort (genesis suggest that ishmael was not born until abraham was 86 and sarah 76. sarah was presumably extraordinary special to abraham). nevertheless, abraham wanted her to claim to be his sister to protect his life (20:11). perhaps, abraham expected god to deliver them, but then why not trust god to protect them without this ruse? the narrative suggests that passing sarah igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 209 off as abraham’s half-sister was a bad idea (12:18-19; 20:6, 9-10), even though it was a half-truth (she was his half-sister 20:12). sometimes life presents us with only uncomfortable alternatives on the human level, none of them is good. sometimes, at least the ruse might be the best viable alternative. sarah’s beauty: pharaoh’s officials took sarah into his harem. young readers in particular, may wonder how a woman past 65 years of age might be considered beautiful to a king. keener suggested that “middle eastern nomads tended to overestimate their ages, and she was younger in literal years than the text sounds to us” (6). one could also reason that when sarah was nearly ninety and another king took interest in her, the issue may be more her nobility than her physical attractiveness, although the reason for the interest is not specified here (20:2). one consideration is that kings often and want women in their harems who established ties with a range of other princess; abraham had enough servants to constitute by the standards of that era, a small army or militia (14:14). sarah was thus from wealthy and high-status middle-eastern family, even if they were semi-nomadic pastoralists, her status of another culture might be a part of her beauty and appeal to pharaoh. god rescued sarah: pharaoh gave abraham animals and servants as a bride price for sarah, this nomadic princess; undoubtedly one of the servants is the egyptian woman named hagar, who figured prominent in later chapter (16:1ff). but even by ancient standards, none of these could compensate for taking one’s wife (2 sam. 12:9; deut. 5:21). pharaoh sent abraham and sarah away, but they are able to retain the gifts that pharaoh had given them (12:20). perhaps the positive outcome was why abraham unfortunately tried the ruse again later (20:2), and why his son isaac, who had undoubtedly heard stories, did same (26:7). god plagued pharaoh’s household to protect the promise of abraham’s seed (12:17). similarly, in exodus, god will plague pharaoh’s household to bring abraham’s seed from egypt and establish the promise land. the narrative does not invite the readers to follow abraham’s example of deception, but it does invite the readers to trust abraham’s and sarah’s god, because god kept his promise to imperfect followers who do their best to obey his explicit commands. implication of the call of abraham on the christian faith the call of abraham is a pivotal passage. everything that follows genesis 12 throughout the old testament; the coming of christ; the establishment of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 210 church; the spread of the kingdom of god all over the world; and the new heaven and the new earth all flow from this divine promise to abraham. god’s promise to abraham was not limited to a small and ancient people in the middle east. it extends far into the future, and it is not limited by national boundaries. god designed this promise to bring blessings to all nations. when people of any race or background enter into covenant relationship with christ, they too become abraham’s seed as paul made the assurance in galatians 3:28-29. abraham answered the call of god and persuaded his wife, servant and all members of his household to join him respond to the call of god. abraham left a legacy for the believers who receive the call of god to engage their family, servants and neighbours to join them to respond to god’s call and engage in god’s service. the service to god has to be done as a team work for one tree cannot make a forest. christians should constantly learn to make devotion to god with their families through family alters such as abraham frequently built alters to worship god with his family. christians should have faith like father abraham to respond to god’s call to labour for his kingdom and transform the whole world with the gospel of christ. just as abraham made a pilgrimage to canaan, and he was motivated by his faith in god, christians are also on their pilgrimage to heaven. their journey to heaven must be motivated, guided and influenced by their faith in christ the messiah. conclusion abraham was called by yahweh right from the city of ur of the country of the chaldea, to go to an unknown land that he would show him. the land was unknown to abraham, until he arrived at canaan and god assured him that this land he will give to his descendants. this research has found out that yahweh did not call abraham because he was righteous (abraham even demonstrated his shortcoming of deception in egypt and elsewhere). he was called out of idolater. his call was a matter of choice that was not based on merit but by grace. the author has revealed that the compromise of abraham to god’s call or his act of following god’s instruction competently without knowing the destination he was going to and without knowing the final outcome of his journey reveals his great faith in yahweh. this act exhibits his virtue of faith which made him to become the father of the faithful. another research finding reveals that the jews benefit physically from god’s promise to abraham, while the entire world igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 211 benefit spiritually from the promise, this is because god’s primary aim of calling abraham was to send the messiah through his descendants. jesus christ the saviour of the world originated from the descendants of abraham to save and bless the entire world to fulfill god’s promise to abraham. works cited calvin, john. calvin’s commentary. new york: thomas nelson and sons, 2005. print. clarke, adam. clarke’s commentary. grand rapids: william b. eerdmans, 1996. excel, joseph s. (ed.) the biblical illustrator: old testament. 2006. software. c:/program files (x86).biblesoft/pc study bible/refwork/bi_nt jsr. frater, jamie. “top 6 incestuous relationships in the bible” 26/05/2008 http://listiverse.com/2008/05/26/top_6_incestuous_relationships_in_the bible/ retrieved 14/10/2020. fruchtenbaum arnold. “the eight covenants of the bible.” www.messianicassociation.org/ezine 17-af.covenants.htm retrieved 10/11/2020 henry, mathew. mathew henry’s commentary on the whole bible. new york: fleming h. revell, 2006. print. holy bible.grand rapids:zondervan, 1984. niv.print. jamieson, robert, andrew robert fausset and david brown. a commentary: critical, experimental, and practical on the whole bible. 2006. c:/programe files (x86)biblesoft/ pc study bible/refworks/mbc.jsr. keener, craig. “god preserves his promises _ genesis 12:10-20.” www.craigkeener.com/go-preserves-his-promise-genesis-1210-20/ retrieved 10/12/2020 richards, lawrence o. the teacher’s commentary 1987. c:/program files (x86).bible soft/pc study bible/refworks/t.comm.jsr. spence, h. d. m; joseph s. excel (ed). the pulpit commentary. new york: funk and wagnalls co., 2006. walton, john, victor h. mathew, mark w. chavalas. the ivp bible background commentary: old testament. leicester: inter-varsity press, 2019. walvoord, b. and roy b. zuck. bible knowledge commentary, volume 2. grand rapids: zondervan publishing house, 1984. c:/program files (x86) biblesoft/pc study biblee/refworks/bk comm. jsr. wenham, gordon j. expository commentary on genesis. grand rapids: william b. eerdmans, 2011. print. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 212 wiersbe, warren w. wiersbe’s expositary outline on the old testament. zondervan: chariot victor publishing 1992. print. williams, derek (ed.) new concise bible dictionary. leicester: inter-varsity, 1989. print. wilmingtong, harold l. wilmington’s bible handbook. wheaton: tyndale house publishers, 2020. print. wilson, ralph f. “the call of abraham (genesis 11:27-12:9).” www.jesuswalk.com/abraham/1_call.htm. retrieved 15/02/2020. article 17 igwebuike 6. no5.cdr igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.6 no.7, 2020 www.igwebuikejournals.com a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 5 peace linguistics: imperatives for escaping friction and peacebuilding in social interaction. ahumaraeze chinwe innocentia directorate of general studies federal university of technology owerri iahumaraeze@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract peace seems to have become humanity's most sought after desire and value in our dispensation given its elusive nature. friction, conflict and chaos have continued to have their toll on humanity. this trend has been fueled by the acts of individuals, even the verbal/ language acts, which have increasingly become violent. in social interactions today, language is often marked with disharmony and communicative violence evident in the use of aggressive, offensive and dehumanizing constructions that have the potentiality to harm and, by extension, escalate friction and conflict. it is in line with the foregoing that this paper examined peace linguistics' imperative for escaping friction and building peace. peace linguistics advocates for the prevention of communicative aggression, creation of harmony and promotion of peace using language principles and applications. the study adopted the cooperative principles of grice (1957) and culpeper's (1996) model of impoliteness as working frameworks. the researcher also hinged the study on corpus linguistic approach as data were sourced from social media interactions and used to investigate how language can deconstruct and how it can construct and foster peace. the paper identified that since communication and language [its vehicle] are what human life revolves around, language could, thus, be used to champion peace building when it is used constructively and made to possess human dignifying attributes. the paper posited that the tenets of peace linguistics which include effective use of language, harmonious exchange, humanized constructions and communicative peace should be adopted in social interactions. recommendations were made on the need to escape friction, prevent conflict and strengthen peace through humanizing language performances. keywords: communicative violence, friction, peace, communicative peace, peace linguistics, peacebuilding. introduction linguistics, the scientific study of language, is a field that is ever current given its focus on man's means of interaction and social involvement. linguists have continued to explore its branches of psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, historical and computational linguistics as they affect man's cognitive tendencies, man's language use and its intersection with society, man's application of language to real life situations, man's application of computer science to linguistic studies and man's documentation of language change over time. whitla (2010) opines that linguistics studies many aspects of language like the sound systems, conversational interactions, uses men put language to in social situations, relationship of language to the functions of the brain, how languages develop and change and how machines can store and produce language. language, which occupies the center space in linguistic studies as man's tool for interaction and for carrying out social actions, has also received no less attention. for gomes de matos (2005, p. 2), language is “the complex cognitive or mental system of symbols shared by all humans everywhere and used for communicating intra and interpersonally through spoken, written or sign languages”. this definition highlights the following indices of language: it is a system of shared symbols, it is cognitive, it is a communication tool and it has channels of use. deducible from the foregoing is the communicative import of language. language functions in communication as a tool for information dissemination and for the building of interpersonal relationships (leblanc, 2011). language use is one area that has witnessed increasing waves of researches in recent times as it crisscrosses the subfield of applied linguistics, sociolinguistics and pragmatics. applied linguistics according to gomes de matos (2016, p. 161) is “an interdisciplinary field that addresses an increasing variety of language-based context, language policy… and language use”. sociolinguistics studies the relationship between language and society with focus on how language is used by individual speakers and groups of speakers in social interaction (wardhaugh, 2016, p. 10) while pragmatics “studies the factors that govern our choice of language in social interaction and the effects our choices have on others” with particular focus on humans as language users and their language production in context (crystal 1999). the researcher deems it necessary to state that this research has beamed its searchlight on language use and its dualistic tendencies of constructivism and destructivism. it is pertinent to point out that knowledge of language does not end at knowing the abstract formal system that characterizes a language. one should also be aware of the sociolinguistic and pragmatic indices that characterize language use. a language user who knows his onions should get familiarized with the relationship between language and society and how to communicate in appropriate contexts and situations. this brings us to the competences one needs to imbibe to be able to function well in language acts. linguistic competence propounded by noam chomsky accounts for the correctness and grammaticality of language as a rule governed phenomenon. from the chomskian notion of competence, other forms of competencies have evolved to account for the complexities in language use. the communicative competence moves beyond chomskian correctness and grammaticality to look at appropriateness in language use. for canale and swain (1980, p. 165) cited in leblanc (2011, p. 25), communicative competence entails that following the rules of the language, users communicate according to social expectations in situational contexts given that language cannot be divorced from its social realities and responsibilities. this involves choosing the right words to convey appropriate meaning. canale and swain (1980) also identified the sociolinguistic competence which accounts for the appropriateness of utterances in relation to the sociocultural context and, the strategic competence which imbues a language user with the ability to consciously plan language use. the survey of these competences is important to the thought process development of this paper because they will account for proficiency in language use as andrew (2001, p. 30) has noted that language proficiency includes sociolinguistic, strategic and communicative competencies. one who has acquired these competencies plans one's language use harmoniously while lack of acquisition of these competences leads to 6 peace linguistics: imperatives for escaping friction and peacebuilding in social interaction improper language use, language devoid of harmony and capable of sparking off friction and conflict. as has been hinted earlier, communicative competence focuses on appropriateness in language use which includes choosing right words to reflect socio-cultural linings, recognizing the purpose of communication, recognizing participants and the meaning they have brought into the communication process and striving for a cooperative exchange. failure to put such things into consideration results in a failed and unharmonized exchange. this must have informed gomes de matos' (2001) definition of communication as an act of sharing which is capable of bringing about harmony or disharmony. in a bid to ensure that language is devoid of disharmony, gomes de matos has propounded the notions of peace linguistics which he projects as an advocacy for peaceful language use and communicative peace which he sees as an offshoot of communicative competence which is an advocacy for communication to be made more peaceful (gomes de matos, 2008, p. 341). statement of the problem in this twenty-first century, there are increasing and cyclic waves of friction, bitterness and conflict globally and these have invaded our language acts. the human emotion of compassion seems to have lost in the lopsided competition with the negative emotional outflows like conflict. schilling (2011, p. 14) must have had this in mind when he asserts that “conflict and misunderstanding hold sway in many human encounters as socio economic pressures build up tension in social setting”. today, there are clashes of interest and rancor globally and these have infiltrated into our language use. this is because language cannot be divorced from the society where it engages to influence social structures which also influence its (language) structure (wardhough, 2006, p. 10). this sociolinguistic perspective holds validity in our time because, as the world is increasingly heating up, linguistic productions are becoming less compassionate and more violent. this brings us to the problem this study has set out to investigate, the use of language to cause friction and perpetuate violence. linguistic violence occurs when language is used in dehumanizing forms. gomes de matos (2001) has noted that language use can either bring harmony or disharmony depending on the level of responsibility a language user exhibits in communication. to this author, one can communicate responsibly to create harmony (friendly and respectful communication) or irresponsibly to create disharmony by the use of offensive, impolite, aggressive and insensitive language. once the later happens, friction ensues because of its potentiality to spark friction, create distance and defensiveness and usher in an era of conflict. thus, the problem of language violence and its aftermaths are what this paper studies with a view to proffering solutions. it is pertinent to point out that this research not only seeks to establish the link between linguistic violence and impoliteness and their role in causing friction and thereby leading to lack of cooperation in communicative exchange. it also captures the role of peace linguistics in calming every storm. thus, its contribution to existing knowledge is that impoliteness and linguistic violence breed disharmony which stalls cooperative exchange while peace linguistics balances the equilibrium. purpose of study this study is aimed at investigating linguistic violence as causation to friction in social structures and interactions. schilling (2011, p. 202) has noted that violence consists not only of actions, structures or systems that cause physical or environmental damage but also 7ahumaraeze chinwe innocentia of attitudes and words that cause psychological and social damage. freidrich (2012, pp. 17-18) has opined that language can be employed as an instrument of harm. he goes further to say that the scale needs to be tipped in the opposite direction by the reinforcement of the humanizing uses of language that espouse respect for human dignity which in turn helps us develop a non-killing mentality. freidirich's postulation brings us to another factor that the study aims to advance, the non-killing and non-violent properties of language in order to cushion the effects of linguistic violence. having known the effect linguistic violence can have on the psych of individuals, the study projects non-violent communication as an alternative. non-killing linguistics, just like peace linguistics, focuses on language use for peace making while non-violent communication highlights the language of compassion. gomes de matos (2014c) and resenberg (2003, p. 8) who are proponents of these concepts are much aware that language principles and applications can also be used to quell the evil effects of linguistic violence. for gomes de matos, nonkilling linguistics, henceforth nkl, is the employment of linguistic principles by language users to prevent acts of communicative violence and killing. rosenberg, on his own, projects non-violent communication, henceforth nvc, as an approach that encourages exchanges that focus on shared human values needed to increase goodwill and to resolve differences peacefully. thus, this study aims not only to investigate the effects of linguistic violence but to also highlight the importance of peace linguistics and its offshoots of nonkilling linguistics and non-violent communication as parameters for escaping friction and for peace building. research questions the following question were formulated to guide the society 1. does violence emanate from language use? 2. what are the manifestations of linguistic violence? 3. can language principles and applications be used in fostering peace? 4. in what ways can language be used for peace building? significance of study this study is significant in more than one ways. in the main, it will reveal the dualistic applications of language use: for violence and for peace. by juxtaposing the effects and gains of these dual applications of language, it will make language users become more aware of their linguistic choices and their applications in social communicative interactions. conceptual review this section is a copious survey of the concepts that populate this research. as the study investigates peace linguistics' imperative for escaping friction and for peace building in social interaction, peace linguistics, its parent concepts like language and communication and its offshoots of communicative competence, communicative peace, non-killing linguistics and non-violent communication need to be explicated, drawing signposts of their potentiality in escaping friction and in peace building. language and communication are concepts that enjoy a relationship of connectivity and are man's tools for social actions, engagements and exchange. language drives communication which in turn enriches it. the two concepts have also received variants of 8 peace linguistics: imperatives for escaping friction and peacebuilding in social interaction definitions that have revealed their nature and function. language is a rule governed symbolic system that enables users to generate meaning and also to define reality (trembolen, 1995 in dada, 2010). merriam webster online dictionary defines communication as “an act of transferring … a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs or behaviour”. this definition highlights the functions of language in communication. thus, language functions as a tool for information exchange and the coordination of the realities of life through processes and space provided by communication. in language use in communication, interactants pass across messages which are expected to be understood, acted upon, and feedback sent to complete the cycle. communication becomes effective when this cycle is completed. there is a breakdown if the process remains incomplete or when linguistic choices mar the flow of the message or the rapport that exists between the interactants. the foregoing highlights the view of language as dual-edged, which use either creates rapport or destroys shared values depending on the choice of linguistic items. language is a social interactive tool and should have norms of use. first and foremost, a language user must acquire competences in the use of language. these competencies, ranging from sociolinguistic, communicative to strategic, provide the mental and psychological apparatus for proper and appropriate language use. gay (1988) thinks on the board in his assertion that language, as an institution, can do violence that is psychological and that linguistic violence occurs when we are both psychologically and socially hurt by words. in order to escape friction and make our language use violent-free, the notions of peace linguistics and communicative peace are advocated. peace linguistics, henceforth pl, is an interdisciplinary approach to language study that advocates for peaceful language use. having witnessed the increasing waves of linguistic violence, gomes de matos propounded the notion of peace linguistics and has remained an advocate of this, churning out countless publications on the concept. according to him, aspects of language and peace can be woven into an applicable form in human communicative interaction (gomes de matos, 2005). definitively crystal (1999, pp. 254-255) asserts, “peace linguistics is a climate of opinion which emerged during the 1990 in which linguistic principles, methods, findings and applications were seen as a means of promoting peace and human rights at a global level … to foster language attitudes which respect the dignity of individual speakers and speech communities”. for curtis (2018a, p .12) “peace linguistic is concerned with the applications of the insights gained from the [scientific] study of language to practical problems such as how to help bring about world peace”. gomes de matos (2018, 2014a) lending voice in furtherance of this discourse asserts that pl attempts to create conditions for language users to communicate peacefully as peace is a new awareness in language education. this brings us to the notion of peace in language studies. linguists like gomes de matos, richard and rogers (2011) and freidrich (2007) have proposed the integration of peace into language education. leblanc (2011) submits that the peace linguistic approach finds itself in peace studies which is the united nation's response field to the pressing need for peace after world war ii. richard and rogers see pl's emergence as a response to the need assessment by linguists to address conflict and violence through language while friedrich points out that peace education focuses on conflict resolution and peace cultivation using language. pl is, thus, an emergent approach to conflict resolution, born out of the need to curb linguistic violence which seems now to exist on a large scale. its basic message is using language not only as an ordinary tool for exchange but as a tool for communicating 9ahumaraeze chinwe innocentia peacefully. it maintains that certain types of language spark off violence by creating hurt (hurtful/ harmful language) and gomes de matos (2006, p. 160) has isolated “verbs of violent communicative act' that abuse, humiliate, oppress, disrespect and stigmatize as demeaning words that show how language can spark off a state of violence. gomes de matos (2000, p. 341) maintains that “human beings' right to peaceful and just life should be matched by a corresponding human responsibility to communicate peacefully”. this assertion seems to be in tandem with the united nations educational, scientific and cultural organization's (1996) report's adoption of a universal linguistic human rights which demands that linguistic communities worldwide be rallied around the belief that “language as an essential vehicle for identity and cultural expansion is inseparable from the peace and intercultural understanding”. the foregoing typifies that responsible language use can create pathways for acceptance, understanding and escaping friction in social communicative interactions. also deducible is the underlying peace potential of language. thus, gomes de matos (2002) has given the injunction that language users be educated “not only to talk about peace in their communication acts but to communicate in peaceful ways” and that communicative peace should be seen as a “deeper dimension to communicative competence”. pl is, thus, an advocacy that language be used to “promote peace” by incorporating the values of “human rights, justice and peace into one's array of core values” (friedrich, 2007, p. 50). gomes de matos (2006) has proposed the notion of applied peace linguistics as an offshoot of applied linguistics. since applied linguistics investigates and proffers solution to language-based problems, applied peace linguistics emerged with the aim of providing conditions for teaching language users to use language peacefully so as to escape friction. applied peace linguistics, henceforth apl, focuses on how language can be applied in the pursuance of peace. apl is charged with a dualistic function. on one hand, it helps users to identity states of harmony, agreement, communicative dignity and communicative peace. again, it functions to isolate states of disagreement and disharmony that culminate in communicative conflict, discord and contentions. thus, apl charged with twofold responsibility probes these questions: · what is a lack of harmony marked by communicative hostility? · what vocabulary and phraseology does a person rely on when arguing, quarreling or bickering? · what communicative exchanges involve disagreement and conflict? · how do language users apologize the cause of humiliation? · how do language users monitor, reward, rephrase communicative insensitivity or contemptuous rudeness? · how do we make regretful acknowledgment of a communicative offense? · how do we blame someone/persons when we consider them responsible for a misdeed or failure: do we treat them with communicative dignity? (gomes de matos, 2014) these questions and the answers they generate basically summarize peace linguistic application. deducible from them are the notions of communicative hostility or aggression, communicative insensitivity, communicative offense, communicative dignity and communicative harmony. in the application of language, a user needs to know the 10 peace linguistics: imperatives for escaping friction and peacebuilding in social interaction import of his language use (vocabularies and phraseologies) on the receiver. one can be communicatively hostile, aggressive and insensitive with his choice of words and this leads to communicative disharmony. one's language use can also dignify others thereby bringing about communicative harmony. the foregoing is a pointer that language can be used to escape friction and avoid conflict when users know and apply certain principles and practices which gomes de matos (2012, p. 3) has termed “principles and practices of conflict resolution” which are approaches proposed to highlight the communicative life improving force of peaceful language use embedded in these two concepts: communicative peace and communicative dignity. pl has great imperative for escaping friction and for peace building because of its mantra of communicative peace, non-violent communication and non-killing linguistics. friction and conflict in a communicative interaction come as an aftermath of irresponsible and incompetent use of language. gay (1999) has isolated friction and conflict-causing linguistic choices to include hurtful language (racist comment), conscious, hurtful form of violence (aggressive) and harmful language (oppressive). gomes de matos (2006) cited earlier has identified verbs of violent communicative act as friction-causing and conflict escalating and canale and swain (1980, p.30) have stated that in a bid to resolve emergent problems occurring from linguist violence, language users should be made aware of the difference between violent and peaceful language so as to make informed choices. it is imperative to point out that in language use, peace is established when an exchange comes from the point of valuing the other as a human that has rights, feelings and needs. in the secular world today, there seems to be a dearth of peace, thus, it has come to occupy a focal position in the list of individual and national aspirations. peace has continued to receive unabated attention because of its dynamics of ousting conflict and violence. peace literally means the absence of all forms of violence. schilling (2011, p. 20) states that peace is a process, a struggle to transform violence as it “describes the unfolding of conflict in a constructive way”. schilling goes further to say that peace does not mean the total absence of conflict and exists where people interact nonviolently and manage their conflict positively, paying attention to the needs of others. she noted that peace could be negative (absence of war, direct violence and conflict at all levels of human engaging activities) or positive (absence of indirect and structural violence) which makes for bridge building between conflicting parties which, in turn, translates to building a culture of peace. building bridges to curb violence among/ between conflicting parties is known as peace building which is a process of intervening in conflicts and maintaining peace. schilling (2011, p. 29) sees the term as including processes like peacemaking (interactions designed to end hostilities using non-violent dialogue to reach peace agreements) and peace-keeping (monitoring and enforcing agreement). peacebuilding, no doubt, is a process that is interventive for it seeks ways to move beyond conflict to induce a culture of peace. how then can peace linguistics help in escaping friction and peacebuilding? linguists gomes de matos and friedrich and psychologist rosenberg seem to have handed down non-negotiable ways in their communicative peace, non-killing linguistics and non-violent communication chants. in 1984, marshal rosenberg, a psychologist propounded the notion of non-violent communication where he proposed that a language of compassion be used in all communicative interactions. nvc focuses on ways of interaction that do not impede the communication flow required for information exchange and the peaceful resolving of differences (schilling 2011, p. 202). rosenberg (2003, p. 18) 11ahumaraeze chinwe innocentia notes that nvc focuses on shared human values and needs and encourages language that increases goodwill against those that contribute to resentment or lowered self worth. analyzing with the giraffe against the jackal, rosenberg used body parts to symbolize nvc thus: heart – emotion and empathy; focusing on needs and feeling height – ability to look into the distance -keen and sensitive awareness of future possibilities. long neck – symbol of vulnerability as well as affection-attracting. rosenberg (2005) (2006) has noted the role of empathy in nvc while noting how participants in an exchange can communicate: · use a list of feelings – affectionate, cheerful, and loving. · do not use authoritative words. · listen empathetically by focusing on speakers feeling and needs. gomes de matos' writings all have bearing to the imperatives of peace linguistics in escaping friction and conflict and in peacebuilding. first, he coined the concept of communicative peace (1991b) that preaches that communication be done in constructive and in human-dignifying ways. gomes de matos (2006) projects the use of humanizing language that is friendly, responsible, sensitive and compassionate rather than using dehumanizing language. gomes de matos (2005) has, in furtherance of the foregoing, listed the functions and principles of a peaceful language user which are imperatives in peace building in these injunctions: dignify your dialogue by · addressing others with respectful language and optimistic vocabulary, by disagreeing through empathetic language, · using positivizers (adjectives and verbs that enhance positive values on people), · convincing others cooperatively, honour humanism and foster humanization by · avoiding verbal harm and humiliation, · applying justice and peace in communication acts, · rephrasing potentially dehumanizing language. act as a peace patriot by · promoting a passion for peace especially in aggressive contexts, · being a peaceful bridge person between persons and groups · letting your communication contribute to a culture of peace. these can only be achieved if the tenets of gomes de matos and friedrich's (2012) nonkilling linguistics and gomes de matos, communicative peace are imbibed. nkl emerged as an offshoot of pl which aim is to apply the principles of linguistics in helping users prevent acts of communicative violence and killing (gomes de matos, 2014c) and to communicate life improving forces necessary for peace building (gomes de matos, 2012). knowing full well peace linguistics' imperatives for escaping friction and for peace building, gomes de matos postulated in his numerous writings the following: 12 peace linguistics: imperatives for escaping friction and peacebuilding in social interaction · language should perform peace building, supporting and sustaining functions. · users of language should interact constructively in character elevating ways. · languages should be learned and used for human lifeimproving purposes. · language users should nurture communicative compassion. · users of language should prevent acts of communicative aggression. · interactants should communicate cooperatively and peacefully. the foregoing has made certain establishments. language use can lead to friction and conflict when it is not humanized. language can also be employed constructively when it is imbued with humanizing tendencies. it is the constructive use of language that ousts friction and makes for peaceful and harmonious co-existence of individuals. theoretical framework this study adopted culpeper's (1996) impoliteness model and grice's (1975) cooperative principles as working frameworks. these approaches were chosen given their capacity to highlight areas of friction and conflict in communication. culpeper's model of impoliteness impoliteness is a linguistic theory that hinges on face-damaging linguistic and nonlinguistic acts. impoliteness is juxtaposed against brown and levinson's (1978) politeness theory that sees politeness as face-saving linguistic acts. impoliteness, just like politeness, has been given various definitional conceptualizations but this researcher focuses on culpeper's view that sees it as all communicative behaviours intended to cause the “face loss” of the hearer. it includes all face threatening acts directed at the hearer which in turn affects the speaker through response. impoliteness is an act that is faceaggravating or face-damaging in a particular context. context here is important because what is face-damaging in one context could not be in another. there are many models of impoliteness since it was first introduced in language studies in 1977. linguistics like hickey (1791), culpeper (1996) and bousfield (2006) have continued to research and further its use. culpeper has continued to churn out works on impoliteness (1996, 208, 2011). culpeper's model of impoliteness manifests in communicative interactional settings where speakers, through their language, act intentionally to damage the face of the hearer. culpeper states that impoliteness and its sister, rudeness, are inappropriate in interactional exchanges, thus, they are negatively marked concepts. culpeper (2008) stresses that all behaviours, linguistic or non-linguistic, that are intentionally used by a speaker in a communicative interaction to damage the face wants of other participants are said to be impolite. to him impoliteness is intentional while rudeness is unintentional. culpeper (2011) sees impoliteness as a multidisciplinary concept which has bearing with almost all humanistic disciplines – sociology, psychology, media and conflict studies. culpeper (2006, 2008) postulated two categorical divisions of impoliteness -inherent impoliteness and mock impoliteness or banter. inherent impoliteness, according to culpeper, are those acts that are innately face-threatening regardless of context, while those that are superficial and not intended to insult are called mock impoliteness (culpeper 1996). again, culpeper has outlined five impoliteness strategies which include: · bald on record – where acts are clear and direct where face is relevant. 13ahumaraeze chinwe innocentia · positive impoliteness – use of strategies designed to damage addressee's positive face wants. · negative impoliteness strategies used to damage addressee's negative face wants. · sarcasm or mock impoliteness – use of politeness strategies that are insincere. · withheld politeness -absence of politeness work where it would be expectedshowing concern to someone in need (culpeper, 1996, pp. 8-9). culpeper (2011) has also isolated types of withheld politeness to include: · affective impoliteness -when a speaker makes obvious his anger towards the hearer in a discursive interaction which in turn creates a negative atmosphere. · coercive impoliteness ˗ manifests when speaker demonstrates power over hearer through use of command and imperatives. · entertaining impoliteness – manifests in speaker making jest of hearer to gain amusement. culpeper, looking at the concepts of positive and negative impoliteness, has put forth their strategies of output and manifestation. his positive impoliteness output strategies include: · snub, ignore and fail to acknowledge the other's presence, · exclude the other from activity, · disassociate from the other ̠ deny common ground, · be disinterested, unconcerned and unsympathetic, · use inappropriate identity makers, · use secretive and obscure language – jargon, · seek disagreement ˗ select a sensitive topic to make the other feel uncomfortable, · use taboo words ̠ swear abuse, · use profane language , · call the other names, · use derogatory nominations. also, his negative impoliteness output strategies include: · frighten the other – instill fear that a detrimental action will occur, · scorn, ridicule – emphasize your relative power, belittle the other, · invade the others space literally – come closer than necessary by asking intimate questions, · explicitly associate the other with a negative aspect, · personalize using i and you, · put the other indebtedness (vulnerability) on record. 14 peace linguistics: imperatives for escaping friction and peacebuilding in social interaction impoliteness and power have been seen to have a relationship of interconnectivity as relative power is seen to manifest in impolite acts. power is welded by those who are highly placed in different fields over others to influence and limit them. culpeper (1996, p. 354) links power with impoliteness when he asserts that, impoliteness is more likely to manifest when the speaker is more powerful than the hearer. as power relations are determined by access to valued resources (status, wealth, jobs), a speaker who is highly placed tends to exhibit impolite acts more freely because he is capable of limiting the less powerful participants' ability to retaliate. bousfield (2008, p. 150) reechoes culpeper's position that a person who manifests impoliteness creates and reactivates some aspects of his relative power. the researcher has chosen this model because, in discursive acts involving quarrels and showing difference in power relations, impoliteness can occur although culpeper did not make the former explicit, a perceived seeming shortcoming of this theory. grice's (1975) cooperative principles this is another theory the study hinges on. cp is a communication principle that describes the level of achievement of conversational interactions. in communication, speakers (s) and hearers (h) engage in exchanges that are expected to be cooperative, where hearers are expected to associate speakers with such intentions by cooperating in the exchange in order to arrive at mutual understanding. grice's postulations about cooperation in interaction are subsumed in these four maxims. quantity · make contributions as informative as is required for the current purpose of exchange. · do not make it more informative than is required. · provide only necessary information. quality · do not say what you believe to be false. · do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence. relation · be relevant. · maintain the focus of the conversation -do not veer off from the main topic. manner · be brief and orderly. · avoid obscurity of expression. · avoid ambiguity. grice has noted that these maxims are not always adhered to in a discursive exchange. they could be violated, flouted, infringed on or opted out of. our focus here is on flouting, which occurs when participants deliberately cease to apply the maxims because they want their listeners to infer the hidden meaning behind their utterance; the meaning they implicate by their utterance. this theory was chosen to draw out evidences of uncooperativeness in interaction that are friction-causing. 15ahumaraeze chinwe innocentia methodology the study is corpus linguistic based and followed the descriptive analytical model. the data analyzed in this research were gotten from the whatsapp page of a network business group. the data were analyzed qualitatively using the peace linguistic tenets, grice's cooperative principles and culpeper's impoliteness model. data presentation and analysis background: this data was gotten from a group whatsapp page where a woman asked for monetary assistance during this covid-19 lockdown. it is pertinent to point out that the researcher used the raw data as it is, hence, the non-adherence to grammar rules in the constructions. however, translations were provided for some of the social media coinages and contractions. discussions and analysis the research has isolated linguistic choices that are impolite and face-damaging. use of bald on record impoliteness these are statements that are insultive and directly attack the face of speaker. a. the truth remains that you can take a dog to the river but you cannot force it to drink. b. this ur [your] mindset that's y [why] u [you] find urself [yourself] in this kind of situation begging to eat. qualitative analysis these statements by speaker b to speaker a are insults and direct attacks on her person and are, thus, face-damaging. positive impoliteness: these are strategies designed to damage the addressee's positive face wants where positive face is the desire to be appreciated in social interaction. output strategies for positive impoliteness include: ignore the other a. i will join but i [i] hv [have] to eat before investing. b. you should have put down that little you have before lock down by now, every ten days u [you] will be sure of something no matter how small. qualitative analysis in these conversations, b ignored the issue raised by speaker a and chose to tell her how beneficial joining the business is. disassociate from the other a. please member's [members] of this group, i need help financially. me and my kids need to put food on our table. please somebody help. b. you have chosen just to remain an observer since you were added holding tight to the seed you were supposed to sow [money you were supposed to have invested] and expect yield or rather you used your seed for your priority. 16 peace linguistics: imperatives for escaping friction and peacebuilding in social interaction qualitative analysis these strings show that the interactants do not have a common ground to agree. these strings also flout the maxim of relation because what b said is not related to the idea a expressed. exclude the other from activity: not found within the corpus be disinterested, unconcerned and unsympathetic a. i will join but i [i] hv [have] to eat first before investing b. you have to change your mindset eating first before investing. i sorry for thee [i pity you]. qualitative analysis. in this exchange, b was unconcerned and unsympathetic towards a. use of inappropriate identity markers. not found in the corpus. use of obscure, secretive language. not found. seek disagreement: c: u [you] shouldn't talk to anyone like that. are u [ you] trying to mock her? all fingers re [are] not equal .we should be careful of what we write n [and] post. if u [you] can't help, kindly shut ur [your] mouth and dont add to her problems . even d [the] so called rich ones/investors like u [you] re [are] crying harder behind d screen e: my brother these words are not welcomed either. if you need to correct someone not with abusive words. pls [please] try and render apology to him you might do it here or in his private chat. one lov [love] c: apology on what pls [please]? qualitative analysis. in these strings, c disagrees with e that he has used words that should warrant an apology. use of taboo words. not found. call the other name. c. even d [the] so called rich ones/investors like u [you] re [are] crying harder behind d screen. b. the truth remains that you can force a dog to the river but you can not force it to drink. negative impoliteness: these are strategies designed to damage the negative face wants of individuals in a discursive interaction. they include: frighten d. don't forget that table turns around [do not forget that conditions change over time]. 17ahumaraeze chinwe innocentia qualitative analysis. here, d tries to warn people about their attitude by telling them that tables can turn and they find themselves at the receiving end. condensed scorn or ridicule. a. the truth remains that you can force a dog to the river but you can not force it to drink. b. this your mindset that's y [why] u [you] find urself [yourself] in this kind of situation begging to eat [begging for alms]. qualitative analysis. these statements by b clearly ridicule speaker a. invade the other's space. not found explicitly associate the order with a negative aspect. a. i will join but i [i] hv [have] to eat first before investing b. this your mindset that's y [why] u [you] find urself [yourself] in this kind of situation begging to eat [begging for food]. c: u [you] shouldn't talk to anyone like that. are u [you] trying to mock her? all fingers re [are] not equal .we should be careful of what we write n [and] post. if u [you] can't help, kindly shut ur [your] mouth and dont add to her problems . even d [the] so called rich ones/investors like u [you] re [are] crying harder behind d [the] screen e: my brother these words are not welcomed either. if you need to correct someone not with abusive words. pls [please] try and render apology to him you might do it here or in his private chat. one love. qualitative analysis. b and e associate a and c respectfully with the negative aspects of begging and abusing. put the other's indebtedness on record. a: i will join but i [i] hv [have] to eat first before investing b. this ur [your] mindset that's y [why] u [you] find urself [yourself] in this kind of situation begging to eat. u [you] have to change ur [your] mindset.... eating eating first before investment. i sorry for thee [i pity you] qualitative analysis. speaker b magnifies a's vulnerability by his statement. sarcasm or mock politeness use of politeness strategies that are insincere. f: the truth is that there is no amount of money one can keep for feeding without any source of adfition [addition] to it that will ever be enough. however, i believe that most of us must have learnt one thing or the other at this period. no one is to be blamed every situation has a message it passes across. it is well with all of us. b. i sorry for thee [i pity you] 18 peace linguistics: imperatives for escaping friction and peacebuilding in social interaction qualitative analysis. these statements, though seemingly polite, are sarcastic and mock speaker a. use of taboo words – swearing and using of abusive words c. if u [you] can't help, kindly shut ur [your] mouth and dont add to her problems. withhold politeness: absence of politeness work where it would be expected. a. affective impoliteness b: what we do here is to teach and encourage everyone to engage into [in] a business that will put food on your table without stress and that we have been doing here excellently well. the truth remains that you can force a dog to the river but you can not force it to drink. you have chosen to just remain an observer here ever since you were added holding tight to the seed you were supposed to sow [the money you were supposed to have invested] and expect yield or rather you used your seed for your priority. qualitative analysis. this first turn of speaker b in response to speaker a's opening turn is devoid of any trace of politeness. speaker a must have swallowed her pride to come up with that plea and in our culture, such a person in need should at least be comforted even when the help sought for is not granted. b. coercive impoliteness. c. if u [you] can't help kindly shut ur [your] mouth and don't add to her problems. qualitative analysis. speaker c uses an imperative to cower speaker b thereby making him to understand that the power he thinks he has to talk to speaker a anyhow he pleases can also be wielded by another person over him. cooperative principles the researcher found out that there was no mutual cooperation in this data. interactants never understood one another hence, there was no successful exchange. some of the cooperative principles were flouted. flouting of the relevance maxim. a: pls [please] member's [members] of this group i need help financially. me and my kids need to put food on our table.pls [please] somebody help b: what we do here is to teach and encourage everyone to engage into [in] a business that will put food on your table without stress and that we have been doing here excellently we. here, a was talking about financial help and hunger, but b chose to focus on business investment. by so doing, his unwillingness to help is implicated. flouting of the manner maxim. a: i will join but i [i] hv to eat first before investing b. this ur [your] mindset that's y [why] u [you] find urself [yourself] in this kind of situation begging to eat.u [you] have to change ur [your] mindset.... eating eating first before investment. i sorry for thee [i pity you]. 19ahumaraeze chinwe innocentia here, b needed to say that he cannot help but he obscured his lack of sympathy and rather talked ill or questioned the mindset of speaker a. findings the analysis revealed that there was lack of cooperation in the discursive interaction which resulted as a result of the flouting of the manner and relevance maxims of grice's cooperative principles. it is pertinent to note that the impolite choices were made because the interactants are not exposed to the tenets of peace linguistics which preaches the use of humanizing language as against demeaning language. thus, gomes de matos' (2014) human improving relevance of pl seen below was lost to them. ccc – communicate cooperatively and cordially. (constructively– emphasis mine). mmm – make your messages models of communication. ppp – plan your prose/ poetic posters peacefully. rrr – refrain from replying rudely. aaa – apologize right after addressing a person aggressively. it was also revealed that the interactants lack communicative competence and, by extension, communicative peace which makes for appropriacy in language use with special focus on situational context. this lack of knowledge is evident in their use of friction-causing, human demeaning expressions isolated below. speaker b. this ur mindset that's y u find urself in this kind of situation begging to eat. the truth remains that you can take a dog to the river but you cannot force it to drink. speaker c. if you can't help kindly shut up your mouth and don't add to her problems. even d so called rich ones/investors like u re crying harder behind d screen c: apology on what pls? c: there is no need for apology really. ma'am [madam] don't worry. the study revealed that one of the interactants, speaker e, seems to have been exposed to the tenets of peace linguistics, and, having known the effects of dehumanizing language use, he tried so much to influence others by telling them to adopt humanizing language and apologize in the invent of the use of demeaning language. this is evident in these extracts. e: my brother these words are not welcomed either. if you need to correct someone not with abusive words. pls try and render apology to him you might do it here or in his private chat. e: read ds [these] pls [please] ....and tell me if ds [these] complimentary or mockery/insultive? e: your choice of words are not right.1. "shut your mouth up"2. even the so called rich/investors like you. if i may ask do you know this person in question? even if you do those words are insultive. had speaker e's injunctions which resonant the human improving relevance of pl been adhered to by the interactants, the volume of friction in that exchanged would have been toned down and there would have been cooperation which would have ushered in a peaceful exchange. 20 peace linguistics: imperatives for escaping friction and peacebuilding in social interaction conclusion and recommendations the thrust of this paper has been on peace linguistics and its imperatives for escaping friction and for peacebuilding in social interactions. globally, friction and conflict have witnessed waves of increase due to issues like socio-economic pressure, religious intolerance and political bias. thus, the need to temper down the heat from these foreseen cyclic, friction-causing and conflict escalating situations through language use from the peace linguistics perspective becomes imperative. the society revolves around and functions on the dialogic use of language and thus its continued peaceful existence depends hugely on language use patterned not in the notion of destructivism but on that of constructivism (ahumaraeze and nwachukwu, 2016, p. 82). through data analysis, the patterns of destructive, demeaning and dehumanizing exchanges that are frictioncausing and uncooperative were revealed to make peace linguistics a must for all as, its application by people of different creed and clime has the potentiality of reducing friction and ensuring peaceful and harmonious living. it is on this premise that the following recommendations were made: · communicative peace, a deeper dimension of communicative competence, should be introduced in the language classroom from the high schools as a compulsory course so that students will be taught while in school to be peaceful language users. · language users should learn the act of non-violent communication through non-killing linguistics so as to avoid acts of linguistic violence that are friction-causing. they should, rather, lift up souls with their life – improving language (lll). · interactants should avoid acts of communicative aggression by humbling their hubris and exhibiting shared humanity in human communication (hhh). interactants should engage in peacebuilding and, by extension, become peacemakers by using peaceful phraseologies. references ahumaraeze, c.i. & nwachukwu, u. a. (2016). language use: implication for peace and global reconciliation. in review of arts and social sciences. quarterly journal of inter-university friendship association with contributions from science and technology. pp 76-83. andrew s. (2009). teacher language awareness. cambridge: cambridge university press. bousfield, d. (2008). impoliteness in interaction. amsterdam: john benjamin publishing. canale & swain (1980). theoretical bases approaches to second language teaching and testing. applied linguistics.1 (1) 1-14. crystal, d. (1999). the cambridge encyclopedia of language. cambridge: cambridge university press. culpeper, j. (2006). towards an anatomy of impoliteness. journal of pragmatics. 25. 349-367 ________(2008). reflections on impoliteness, relational work and power. in d. bousfield & m. locher (eds). impoliteness in language (pp.17-44). berlin: mouton de gruyter. ________(2011). impoliteness: using language to cause offence. cambridge: cambridge university press. curtis, a. (2018a). introducing and defining peace linguistics. the word. 27(3). 11-13. friedrich, p. (2007a). language negotiation and peace. the use of english in conflict resolution. london: continuum. dada, s. a. (2010). language use and communication artifacts in gsm adverts in nigeria. retrieved from on may 20, 2020.www.linguisticonline.com 21ahumaraeze chinwe innocentia http://www.linguisticonline.com friedrich, p. (2012). (ed). nonkilling linguistic: practical applications: honolulu: centre for global nonkilling. gay w, (1998). exposing and overcoming linguistic alienation and linguistic violence. retrieved on may 10, 2020 from http://www.philosophy.uncc.edu/pubexposeoverconnlvla.htm gomes de matos, f. (2000). harmonizing and humanising political discourse. the contributions of peace linguistics. in peace and conflict resolution: a journal of peace psychology 6 (4) 339-344. _____ (2002a). teaching peace promoting vocabulary: a new frontier. glosas didactices. 8 (spring). _____ (2005 ). using peaceful language: from principle to practice. peace, literature and acts. vol 11. _____ (2008). a plea for the humanizing use of language. humanizing language teaching. 10 (3). _____ (2012). lifplus: the life-improving force of peaceful language. in p.t. coleman & m. deutsch (eds). psychological components of sustainable peace (pp.121-127) new york: springer. _____(2014). peace linguistics for language teachers. delta. documentacao de estudos em linguistic teorica e aplicada. 30(2). 412-424 _____(2014c). language, peace and conflict resolution. in m. deutsch, p.t. coleman & e. c. marcus rd(eds). the handbook of conflict resolution: theory and practice. (3 edition) (pp.158 – 175). san fransisco: jossy-bass. _____(2016). pedagogy of positiveness: applied english for diplomatic purposes. in p. friedrich (ed). english for diplomatic purposes (pp.173-190). bristol: multilingual matters grice, p. (1975). logic and conversation. in p. cole & j. morgan (eds). studies in syntax and semantics 111: speech arts. new york: academic press. leblanc, j. (2011). how esol teachers become aware of communicative peace. ma tesol c o l l e c t i o n . s i t d i g i t a l c o l l e c t i o n . r e t r i e v e d o n m a y , 2 0 , 2 0 2 0 f r o m http://digitalcollections.sit.edu/ipp_collection/506. merriam webster online dictionary. st nurdquist, r. (2019). definition and examples of linguistics. www.thoughtsco.com. accessed on 1 june, 2020. ndrosenberg, m. b. (2003). non-violent communication: a language of life. 2 edition. usa nd_______ (2005). non violent-communication: a language of peace. 2 edition. encinita. ca: pudlledancer press. schilling, k. (2011). peace and conflict resolutions: a resource book. c. kayser & f. djatteng (eds). berlin: cps/ bx dw batoussum. u n e s c o ( 1 9 9 6 ) . u n i v e r s a l d e c l a r a t i o n o n l i n g u i s t i c r i g h t s . http://www.unesco.org/cpp/declaration/linguistic-pdf. accessed on 10th may, 2020. whitla, w. (2010). the english handbook: london: willy-blackwell. 22 peace linguistics: imperatives for escaping friction and peacebuilding in social interaction http://digitalcollections.sit.edu/ipp_collection/506 page 1 page 2 page 3 page 4 page 5 page 6 page 7 page 8 page 9 page 10 page 11 page 12 page 13 page 14 page 15 page 16 page 17 page 18 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 33 a speech act analysis of selected english-based consumer goods advertisement messages in the electronic media in ekiti state, nigeria ogunrinde, ebenezer deji ph.d department of english and literary studies federal university oye ekiti, nigeria ebenezer.ogunrinde@fuoye.edu.ng;rindeayodeji@gmail.com +2348060754263, +2347087804089 doi: 10.13140/ rg.2.2.23433.67684 & adedoja olayiwola mofoluwalope department of english and literary studies federal university of oye ekiti olayiwola.adedoja@fuoye.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/ rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract in the awake of the revolutionary shift in interest by linguists, from language form to language functions, several attempts have been made by scholars to investigate what people are doing whenever they use language, and the basis upon which the meaning of an utterance can transcend the conventional meaning of the words the speaker uses in a given conventional message. the current study is one of such attempts, and seeks essentially to investigate the act contained in the selected consumer goods english-based advertisements in the electronic media using j.r. searle’s model of speech act theory. the paper analyses six (6) adverts selected from radio and television in ekiti state. the goal of such analysis is to find out the acts contained in such adverts with the conditions necessary for the successful performance of such acts. the findings revealed that assertive is predominantly used in consumer goods advertisements in electronic media. it also discovered that the hearer or the viewer needs to bring his experience in the world into use before fully internalizing the content of such adverts. keywords: speech acts, advertisement, electronic media introduction ever since the post humous publication of austin‟s post ground breaking work “how to do things with words” in 1962, the attention of linguists have shifted drastically from language form to language functions. thus, unlike earlier linguists such as halliday (1975), palmer (1952), quirk (1962) and chomisky (1965) whose aim in language study was basically dissecting the system and conventions embedded in human language, mailto:ebenezer.ogunrinde@fuoye.edu.ng mailto:rindeayodeji@gmail.com mailto:olayiwola.adedoja@fuoye.edu.ng igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 34 modern linguists are increasingly becoming pre-occupied with what users of language, do when they use language and the conditions necessary for valid and authentic interpretation of their utterances. although this new functional approach to language studies has been variously used by scholars in such areas as classroom conversation, commercial advertisement, radio interview, among others, little or nothing exits to this researcher‟s knowledge on how consumer goods advertisers manipulate language in advertising their products via electronic media. the electronic media, since their inception in nigeria, have played a significant role not only in the dissemination of information but also as veritable means through which adverts of products, services as well as propaganda of government policies are relayed. despite the fact that the development of electronic transmission of advertisement message is sound to the invention of printing in the history of advertising, it has great advantage of making reading ability unnecessary for a great number of uneducated nigerians. some of the works that have been done on the language of advertising include that of leech (1966) and adegbija (1982). adegbija in his work, “a speech act analysis of consumer goods advertisements” applies speech act theory to advertisement message in the electronic media. this can be achieved by relating the form of the utterance to the functions they are expected to perform. in this study, our aim is to apply j.r. searle‟s model of speech act theory to selected advertisement messages in the electronic media. the paper will therefore serve as complement to the work done by adegbija. this study shall be undertaken with a view to describing the illocutionary force of each of the messages presented for analysis. contributing to the field of study, ogunrinde (2012) and (2016) worked on “a stylistic analysis of consumer goods advertisements in selected newspapers”. his works were linguistics in nature. his main focus was the graphological and syntactic analysis. a pragma-stylistic analysis of selected english-based pentecostal gospel print advertisement in ekiti state. statement of the problem it is a known fact that an advertisement message creates in the consumer the desire for a particular product or service. by providing vital information about a product or service, an advert enables the consumer to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 35 make informed choice. there are, however, adverts which employ, styles which are at best metaphoric and at most meaningless to the uninitiated. for example, the advert of one mobile telecommunication company in nigeria says. bizlink mtn… your passport to reach the world. mtn… welcome to the new world this kind of advert could create confusion for the hearer or viewer because it contains additional conveyed meaning. the hearer or viewer needs to understand the fact that the word “passport” in this context does not necessarily mean an official document you may have to show when you enter or leave a country. in contrast, the word has got more meaning than what is exhibited in the linguistic context of the entire massage. the implication of the example above is that very many nigerians are using their hard-earned money to buy what may turn out undesirable for them. this is due to their inability to comprehend the message contained in the adverts related to the products bought. it is for this reason that we shall carry out in this paper a speech act analysis of selected advertisement messages in the electronic media. aim and objectives of the study the aim of this paper is to carry out a speech act analysis of selected advertisement messages in the electronic media in ekiti state. however, the analysis shall be based on j.r searle‟s model of speech act theory. specifically, the paper serves to: i. identity the predominant speech act used in each message. ii. explain how each advert constitutes a speech act on its own. iii. consider what constitutes the illocutionary force of each message. scope of work this paper will carry out a speech act analysis of selected advertisement messages in the electronic media in ekiti state. in terms of scope, it will deal with some selected adverts in the electronic media i.e. television and radio. all other ways of advertising like the newspaper, billboards, catalogues, and the like, are not examined. however, only six advertisement messages shall be examined in this paper. this is to permit a detailed study on the selected few. the messages were selected from the four electronic media in ekiti state. they are: ekiti television (ektv), igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 36 nigeria television authority (nta) ekiti, progress fm and broadcasting service of ekiti state (bses). background to the study advertising in nigeria has undergone significant improvement since the attainment of political independence. this is mostly in line with massive growth and development in the social-economic system, but has not only become an integral part of our social and economic system, but has grown in such a way that the society as a whole feels the impact. the language of advertising is indubitably different from everyday language. everyone living and working in nigeria today is under the influence of advertising. every day of our lives we see and hear many adverts, even if we do not listen to the radio or watch television, we still find it impossible to avoid some forms of advertisement. there are various ways through which adverts could be carried out. some of these include the use of publications of all kinds on the television, radio and almost an endless list of miscellaneous signs and displays, posters, mailings, package enclosure, catalogues, films, billboards, newspapers and so no. taking a cursory look at the above, we realize that adverts need not have the selling of a product as its primary objective. there are instances when it serves as promotion of goods and services like those of the banks, insurances and at times, for the promotion of government policies. however, despite the conspicuous nature of adverts, it has not been given the necessary attention it deserves by linguists. this study in its own little way will contribute its quota to whatever has been achieved. methodology in the study, all advertisement messages on both radio and television in ekiti state advertised between may2014 –july 2014 represent the target population. however, because it is not possible to carry out a study of all messages due to a number of constraints, there is a need to delimit the population and focus on a few of them. the four government owned electronic media in ekiti state radio are: progress fm, ektv, nta, bses. progress fm and ektv were selected to represent federal and state respectively. the total adverts gathered were twelve but because of time and space only 50% would be used. three consumer goods adverts were cast in the period of study by each station. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 37 the researcher has decided to study only six advertisement messages in this paper. the researcher employed two different types of sampling techniques in selecting the data for study. the techniques employed were stratified sampling and random sampling. the stratify sampling was used to further stratify the advertisement into different characteristics. this was done by grouping the adverts into groups. the random sampling was then used by writing the name of each other advertiser on sheets of paper which were then folded into pieces. anyone picked at this stage represented the data presented. speech act theory speech act theory was developed in the 1960s. it has its proponents in scholars like austin, searle and a host of others. the theory is one of those early frameworks used to describe language used in the context. as it is, each sentence taken as a whole is designed to serve a specific function see austin(1962), searle (1969), clark and clark(1972), osisanwo (2003), dada(2004). in other words, every time a speaker utters a sentence, there is an attempt to accomplish something with the words. thus clark and clark (1972) commenting on the function of utterances say “it may be meant to inform listeners, warn them, order them to do something, question them about a fact or thank them for a gift or act of kindness.” the implication of the above is that speakers expect listeners to recognize function of the sentences as they speak and to act so accordingly (ogunsiji 2009:209). whenever they ask question for example, they expect their listeners to realize that it is a request for information. if the listener fails to appreciate this intention, they are judged as having misunderstood, even though they may have taken in everything else about the utterance. there are a number of distinctions in the speech act theory. one of which is dichotomy between „performatives‟ and „constatives‟. perfomative utterances are used to perform actions and they cannot be subjected to a truth value test. kempson (1977:51) citing autin (1962:70) says that it is these types of utterances that austin says it makes no sense to talk of their being true or false because such utterances are not descriptions but actions. utterance like “i hereby sentence you to five years in jail” and “i pronounce you as husband and wife” are performatives in austinian sense. a constative utterance, on the other hand, states a fact, reports or describes something (ogunsiji 2002:209). a constative utterance can be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 38 subjected to a truth value test. in other words, the truth or falsehood of a constative utterance can be verified. hence, utterance like “i am happy,” “oil floats on water” and “she is beautiful” are costative utterances. engaging in a speech act means performing three complementary acts. these are locutionary act, illocutionary act and perllocutionary act. thus , the locutionary act is the act of producing a meaningful utterance of a certain grammatical order ,the illocutionary act is that which we perform in uttering certain words. this can be regarded as the force with which an utterance is employed. the perlocutionary act is the consequent effect on the hearer which the speaker intends should follow from his or her utterance. every illocutionary act can be either „‟happy‟‟ or „‟unhappy‟‟, „‟felicitous‟‟ or unfelicitous‟‟. this means in order to be „‟happily‟‟ or felicitously‟‟ performed, the illocutionary act must be uttered under the necessarily appropriate conditions. these conditions, known as the appropriacy condition or the felicity condition, are the propositional content rule, the preparatory rule, the sincerity rule and the essential rule. austin (1962) classified speech acts into five categories. the five classes are: verditives, excercitives, commissives, behabitives, and expositives. searl (1969) criticizing austin‟s classification on the basis of overlapping came up with his five categories of assertives, directives, commissives, expressives and declaratives. the language of advertisement there appears to have been a timeless consensus among linguists that language exists primarily for the purpose of communication. this communication essence of language is reflected in virtually every department of human activity, and remains one of the most cohesive pillars of the human society. in each of its sphere of communicative influence, language wields a powerful influence over people, especially in relationship to the decisions they make vis-à-vis the choices they have. one area in which the fore-going has had an unqualified application is in the use of language within the field of advertisement. this being so, however, a sufficient grasp of the dynamics of the language of advertisement is not unconnected with the field of advertisement itself, since it is within the domain of the latter that the former derives its distinctiveness, especially in contrast to the registers of other fields, such as politics and medicine for instance. consequently, an attempt is first igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 39 made here to examine the views of few scholars, on advertisements generally. advertisement is a type of communication and therefore language use within its domain has generated considerable intellectual attention among linguists. for instance, leech (1996) attempts a comprehensive study of the language of advertisement as it relates to such aspects of linguistics such as grammar, vocabulary, rhetoric, discourse and rhyme, with particular focus on how these areas of language are manipulated in advertisement on television. leech (xx) also demonstrates how the use of words, phrases and clauses constitute a unique characteristic of advertising language. in their study of the language of advertising in the commercial press, vestergaard and schroder (1985) analyse how the expressive, informational, contextual and directive functions of language are manipulated in advertisements to encourage consumers to patronize a particular product. in jefkin‟s (1985) view, the language of advertisement is characterized by a number of preferred linguistic techniques and patterns, some of which include simple, personal and colloquial style with a familiar vocabulary having such phonological devices as rhyme and alliteration to sustain consumers‟ attention, and a generous use of superlatives and hyperbole in characterizing products with often indirect reference to rival products. theoretical framework it is implied in the title of this paper that the speech act theory will be used in this study. however, the tool we shall employ in the analysis of data is j.r. searle‟s model of speech act theory. based on austin‟s speech act theory, searle developed a schema in line with austin‟s speech performative and constative dichotomy. searle also identified the distinction between the direct and indirect speech act. searle posits five illocutionary points which are the main intentions behind an illocutionary act. the five illocutionary points are: a. assertives: the speaker in uttering an assertion, conveys his belief that something is true. b. directive: by uttering a directive, the speaker attempts to get the listener to do something. results and questions are two main types of directives. c. commissives: by uttering a commissive, the speaker is committing himself to some future course of action. d. expressives: if the speaker wishes to express his psychological state about something, he utters an expressive. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 40 e. declarations: when the speaker utters a declaration, his very words bring about a new state of affairs. also, according to wale osisanwo (2006:58) an illocutionary act can be said to be a non-linguistic act performed through a linguistic or illocutionary act. a hearer listening to an utterance made by a speaker perceives him (the speaker) to be doing certain thing with the utterance(s). the speaker might be “asserting”, “informing”, “predicting”, the “listing of something”, “requesting”, “questioning”, “promising”, “advising someone”, “deducing”, “commending”, “condemning”, etc. hence in making an utterance, a speaker is seen to have performed an act. this act is an illocutionary act. a force normally accompanies the act, illocutionary force. illocutionary act can be effected through performative sentences, even when they do not contain performative verbs. when somebody says. „‟the man is very strong now.‟‟ this is an implicit performance of stating. kempson (1775:51) puts the distinction among the three speech act types succinctly thus: …. a speaker utters a particular utterance (loctionary act) and with a particular intention (illocutionary act) in order to achieve a certain effect (perlocutionary act) on the hearer. data presentation and data analysis there are six advertisement messages interpreted in this paper. their mode of selection has been explained earlier in the study. the adverts analaysed are: 1. mtn 2. sunlight 3. closeup 4. golden penny food 5. vaseline 6. royco the interpretation of the above adverts shall be done based on j.r. searle‟s model of speech act theory. mtn mtn bizlink utterance: your passport to reach the world. welcome into the new world. your passport to profitable business. introduction the above utterances are contained in the advertisement messages as put up by „‟mtn communications limited. the company is nigeria‟s igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 41 foremost and largest mobile operator. at present, mtn covers all states of the federation. analysis this kind of advert could create confusion for the hearer or viewer because of the expended use of metaphor. the hearer or viewer needs to understand the fact that the word „‟passport‟‟ does not necessarily mean an official document that you may have to show when you enter or leave a country. in contrast, the world depicts an avenue through which nigerians can communicate with people in other climes via mobile telecommunication system. the phrase „‟new world‟‟ does not mean heaven but a new life. the above message is a constative utterance. in other word, the utterance is the act of stating and, at the same time, describing the effectiveness of the service rendered by mtn. the illocutionary intention of the utterance is to persuade or appeal to nigerians to patronise the mobile telecommunication company. sunlight utterance: buy any of the sunlight products the more sunlight you buy the more airtime you get smell and clear all days. introduction: the above utterance is contained in the advertisement message as put up by unilever nigeria plc. the company is the maker of sunlight detergent. analysis the hearer or viewer of the above utterance begins his interpretation based on the mutual beliefs that exist between him and the speaker. the hearer must be one who recognises the significance of adverts in the society as a means through which information on new products are passed to the consumers, and also as a means through which old consumers, attention is sustained. what this means in essence is that, the hearer or viewer is one who realises the proposition which the speaker has in mind before marking the utterance. the inherent speech act in the utterance is assertive. the speaker performs the act of stating and describing the effectiveness of the advertised detergent. in the alternative, the act performed will be that of directive and declarative as the speaker of the utterance is informing the hearer on the gains of buying the soap and also requesting the hearer to carry out an igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 42 action by uttering a directive, the speaker attempts to get the listener to do something. therefore, the illocutionary intention will be a request from the speaker to the hearer to carry out an action. the gain of buying this product is also attached to the volume or quantity bought. many people who do not have money to buy airtime will take advantage of this advert. introduction of airtime into this kind of advert is to induce the prospective buyers. closeup utterance: the closer, the better introduction this utterance is contained in the advertisement messages sponsored by unilever nigerian plc. closeup toothpaste is endorsed by nigerian dental association. analysis the first thing that the hearer or viewer considers in the interpretation of this advert is the fact that the speaker has a proposition in his mind which is arrived at through locutionary and illocutionary acts. he is also aware that the utterance is made so as to create awareness about the advertised product. this advertisement message is a constative utterance. as it is, the truth or falsehood of the utterance can be verified. the act performed in this utterance is assertive. it is assertive because the speaker performs the act of stating flatly his belief about the propositions. the illocutionary intention of the utterance is to persuade the hearer or viewer to buy the advertised toothpaste (close up). it can be deduced from the utterance that the new close up active gel gives the consumer the confidence of a dazzling smile and fresher breath. the reason might be that the toothpaste has a unique formula with active clean mouthwash that reaches all over your mouth to help remove germs and plaque, giving you a clean mouth and fresher breath for hours. as a result of this the consumer does not need to exercise any fear of foul breath oozing out of his mouth after the usage. golden penny food utterance: we have provided quality food for your family. golden penny, the home of good food. introduction igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 43 the above utterance is contained in the advertisement message as put up by flour mills of nigeria plc. the corporation was set up by the federal government but became privatised some years later. analysis: the speaker posits the utterance based on the proposition that he has in mind, as well as the type of relationship that he has with the hearer which is purely transactional in nature. the hearer is also aware of the fact that the advert is relayed to influence and persuade him as an old customer, or even as an intended customer who is not aware of the value of the product. the above message is a constative utterance. the utterance can be assessed as true or false because it is description. the hearer will need to activate his linguistic knowledge to arrive at the meaning of the most functional words in the message. this knowledge enables him to know what such words as „‟quality‟‟ „‟home‟‟ and „‟food‟‟ mean literally. the act that is performed in this utterance is assertive. the speaker utters the assertion to convey the strength of his belief in the truth of the proposition. the hearer or viewer also knows that the speaker presupposes his awareness of some food companies in nigeria that have no quality product like this. for example, there are instances where customers buy some foods product and resulted into misfortune or do not enjoy the value as advertised. the illocutionary intention of the utterance is to persuade and influence the hearer or viewer to patronise golden penny food. the hearer realizes the fact that the speaker wants him to consider the advantages and the benefits that he can derive from the food. datum 5: royco buy new royco maggi cube new royco cube gives real chicken taste introduction: the utterance above is contained in the advertisement sponsored by unilever nigeria plc. royco cube is endorsed by nigeria food and nutrition association (nfna). analysis: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 44 the hearer or viewer, through the mutual he beliefs shares with the speaker, realizes that the primary aim and objective of the speaker is to make him buy his product. the speaker believes that the viewer or hearer is not aware of the instance of the new royco product. he is willing to inform him so that he can buy and use it. the act that is performing is directive. by uttering a directive, the speaker attempts to get the hearer or viewer to do something. in other words, the speaker of this utterance is requesting the hearer or viewer to carry out an action. the speaker likens the taste of the maggi to the real taste of chickens. every cook likes using chicken to prepare delicious soup because of the delicious taste. the advertiser is now trying to convince cooks that they will derive the real taste of chicken in the new advertised maggi. however, the illocutionary force of the advert is to persuade prospective buyers and influence the hearer or viewer to patronize the new royco maggi cube. the hearer realizes the speaker wants him to consider the advantages and benefits that he will derive from the product. datum 6: vaseline utterance: now back, the new vaseline is bouncing again dry skin restored the restoring power of vaseline introduction this utterance is contained in the advert message sponsored by unilever nigeria plc. analysis the first thing that the hearer or viewer considers in the interpretation of this advert is the fact that the speaker has a proposition in his mind which is arrived at through the locutionary and illocutionary acts. he is also aware that the utterance is made so as to create awareness in him about the advertised product. this advertisement message is constative. as it is, the truth or falsehood of the product can be verified. the act performed in the utterance is assertive. it is assertive because the speaker performs the act of stating flatly his belief about the proposition. another act perform in the utterance is expressive. the speaker is informing the viewer or hearer about the value and power of the new vaseline. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 45 the illocutionary intention of the utterance is to persuade and convince the viewer or the hearer to buy the advertised cream. it can be deduce that the new vaseline can restore freshness into any dry skin by removing the various skin problems or diseases. findings and recommendation the findings of this study revealed that first, assertive is predominantly used in consumer good advertisement in electronic media. this is done to persuade the hearer and the viewer that the product advertised in true. occasionally, declarative is used to bring a new state of affair so that more action will follow. it is also observed in the interpretation that the cultural settings are not only taken into consideration when an advert is made, but they also enable the hearer or viewer to give right interpretation to the advertised message. for example, in the advert of “aromatic schnapps”, attention is forced on the traditional way of using hot drink to pray. another observations made in this paper is that in all the advertisement messages interpreted, it is discovered that the hearer or the viewer needs to bring his experience in the world into use. for example, in the interpretation carried out on “mtn", the hearer or viewer needs his world experience to know that the world “passport” does not necessarily mean an official document that you may have to show when you enter or leave a country. in contrast, the word depicts an avenue through which nigerians can communicate with people in other climes via the mobile telecommunication system. “new world” does not also mean “new heaven” but new life and new enjoyment. concerning the linguistic competence of the hearer or viewer, it is revealed in the interpretations that this is of utmost importance. the reason is that english, being a second language in the county, does not easily lend itself to quick understanding, especially to the uninitiated. the hearer or the viewer needs to be versed in the language to actually comprehend the adverted message. finally, the language of advertisement provides good opportunities for research work like this. this explains why a number of researches have been carried out in the area of language of advertisement. it is the opinion of the researcher that whoever will like to work in the area of pragmatics and advertisement should pay special attention to other areas that this research could not cover because of time and space. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 46 conclusion the conclusion that can be drawn is that advertisement is aiming at achieving a persuasive goal. there is no doubt that this study has succeeded in revealing the significance of advertisement to every facet of our lives. if advertisement plays such an important role, it is only fair that it should be objectively studied in such a way that all the extralinguistic and intra-linguistic factors that the hearer needed to be equipped with are pointed out. from the study, we have noticed how important research is to the testing of the suitability or comprehensibility of a particular advert. in other words, researches on advertising can help in deciding what to say, and through creative research, how to say it. it also revealed, if what is said is actually communicated and understood as planned. work cited adegbija, e.e. (1982)a speech act analysis of consumer advertisements. university microfilms, no.807973, bloomington indiana university, ph.d dissertation austin, j.l. (1962) how to do thing with words london: oxford university press chomisky, n. (1965) aspect of the theory of syntax cambridge: mass m.a. press. clark, h.h. and e.v. clerk (1977) psycholinguistics new york: harcourt brace jovanovich, inc dada s.a. (2004) “introduction to pragmatics” in bamisaye, t.o. (ed) an integrated study in language and society 1 lagos: majab publishers. jefkin (1985) advertising writing (new edition) london: mc donald and evans limited kempson, r.m. (1975) semantic theory, cambridge: cambridge university press lamidi, m.t. (2002) “a pragmatic analysis of songs in yoruba invective poety” in babatunde, s.t. and d.s. adeyanju (eds) language meaning & society. ilorin: haytee press & publishing co.nig.ltd. leech and geoffrey (1983) principle of pragmatics: london: longman leech and geoffrey (1996) english in advertising: a linguistic study of advertising in great britain london: longman. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 47 ogunrinde, e.d. (2012) a stylistic analysis of consumer goods advertisement in selected nigerian newspapers. unpublished m.a. thesis, ekiti state university, ado-ekiti. ogunrinde, e.d. (2016) a pragma-stylistic analysis of selected english-based pentecostal gospel print advertisements in ekiti state: unpublished ph.d thesis. department of english and literary studies, faculty of arts, ekiti state university, ado-ekiti. ogunsiji, ayo (2007) “a speech act analysis of analysis of soyinka‟s etike revo wetin?” in babatunde, s.t. and d.s. adeyanju (eds) language meaning & society. ilorin: haytee press & publishing co.nig.ltd. (2004) okpen o.c. et al (2004) “a speech act analysis of pentecostal gospel program advertising” in research journal of english language and literature (rjelal). http://www.rjelal.com vol.2issue.2:2004 olateju, m.a. (2007) “the structure of yoruba local drug advertisement”: the socio-linguistics as in the nigerian content (ed). adeyanju, d. (ed) ile-ife: obafemi awolowo university press osisanwo, wale (2006) introduction to discourse analysis and pragmatics. lagos: femolus-fetop publishers. palmer p.r. (1990) semantics london: cambridge university press quirk, r (1962) use of english london: longman searle, j.r. (1969) speech act: an essay in the philosophy of language cambridge university press vestagaard, t. and schroder, k.(1985) the language of advertising oxford: basil blackwell. yule, george (1985) the study of language cambridge university press. http://www.rjelal.com/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 3 a descriptive study of selected noun pluralization processes in jju u. n. butari, dept. of english and drama, kaduna state university. nmwunubete@yahoo.com & john jacob, dept. of english and drama, kaduna state university. jacob.john36@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract this study entitled: a descriptive study of selected noun pluralization processes in jju examines the processes involved in the formation of selected plurals in jju with a view to identifying the different factors determining the pluralization of nouns in jju. the study adopts carl’s analytic comparison model as theoretical framework. descriptive approach was employed in the analysis of the data that were collected through both primary and secondary sources. the study reveals that jju uses prefixation predominantly as a plural marker. the study concludes that any jju learner of english who attempts to transfer the process(es) of pluralization from jju to english may likely end up with faulty grammatical constructions because of the disparate and complex nature of the synthetic process of jju pluralization as compared to english. keywords: noun pluralization, jju, english, word formation, plural marker introduction every language has its distinctive syntactic processes usually intended as a guide to the learning and usage of that language. a grammar of a language must contain a lexicon: the vocabulary of the language along with its other linguistic properties. language is a system of symbols designed for the purpose of communication with due adherence to its phonetics, phonology, morphology, and syntax, the violation of which mars rather than generates meaning. language, like human beings, is comprised of parts, known as structures. it begins from sounds, which are combined at the level of form to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 4 express meaning. the basic structure of language is phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics. all languages possess these macrolinguistics levels, each of which plays important roles in language. the desire to focus on structures or forms of words number, case, tense, and the arrangement of words to facilitate construction of sentences descriptively and scientifically so as to evaluate the ‘grammar’ of nouns – nouns inflect and undergo the morphological processes of pluralization. linguistics is the scientific study of language; and every language has its peculiar syntactic processes linguistically designed as a guide to the learning and usage of that language. a grammar of a language contains a lexicon the vocabulary of the language along with its other linguistic properties. acquiring or learning a language, therefore, means learning how these properties apply to a particular language besides which combinatorial processes are appropriate for each parameter for that language. in fact, radford (1988), captures this better when he says that: ...a grammar of a language specifies how to combine words to form phrases and sentences, and it seems entirely appropriate to suggest that native speakers of english and of other languages have access to cognitive systems which ... specify these possibilities for combination. (1988:4) the strength of radford’s argument is that a grammar generates a language because it provides rules that account for the syntax of that language and its speakers have mental systems that enable them generate infinite combinations. this aligns with cook and newson’s postulation that “[a] set of phrase structure and transformational rules form a generative grammar, as they state precisely what the structures are in a language and how those structures may be transformed into other structures” (2007:35). derivational and inflectional processes enable us to form words from other words, and the field of linguistics which examines the internal structures of words and processes of word formation is known as morphology. plurals and pluralization involve quite varying processes in different languages. in some languages, there might be no variation between the singular and the plural forms of nouns. however, this is, only in a few cases, applicable to languages such as english, jju, tiv, kiswahili, japanese, igbo, and turkish. the morphological processes of pluralization in jju, in spite of their complexity, are scholarly intriguing and absorbing. these morphological processes are comprised igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 5 of prefixation, suffixation, duplication, infixation besides replacives, morpheme additives, tonality and plural markings and morpheme deletion. english, too, though largely viewed as regular and irregular with the plural forms of most nouns created by simply adding the morpheme or letter ‘s’ to the end of the word. a brief history of the bajju bajju is an ethnic group found in the northern part of the middle belt area of nigeria precisely the southern part of kaduna state. ‘kajju’ is the land, ‘jju’ is the language and the people are ‘bajju’. the derogatory name commonly known to the people is ‘kaje’ especially the hausas who could not pronounce the name ‘kajju’ (meaning the land of the bajju people). the jju language is from the ‘kwa’ language family with a tradition of origin relating to earlier habitats from bauchi and plateau state, and mainly found in zangon-kataf local government area and part of jama’a and kachia local government areas, all in kaduna state. the bajju derived their name from their language: jju, a descriptive name meaning ‘the people who speak jju of the west plateau language’. fig. 1: benue congo languages showing the position of jju source: (https://amightytree.org/niger-congo-languages-and-history/) noi igboid edoid yoruboid akokoid yeai akpes ayere ahan nupoid oko idomoid central nigeria kainji north-west plateau beromic central plateau se plateau tarok jukunoid bantoid-cross bantoid cross river south jju (kaje) west benue congo proto-benue east benue congo north bendi ? ukaan ? igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 6 fig 2: map showing the jju homeland in kaduna. source: (https://joshuaproject.net/assets/media/profiles/text/tl12435.pdf) according to oral history, the origin of the bajju can be traced as far as bauchi state where a group of people loved in hill caves and had watchers atop the hill to watch for enemies. these people were called ‘mutaneduwatsu’ (literary translation in english is ‘stone people’). it was believed that their migration was for the search of better hunting grounds. they migrated from bauchi state to plateau state and settled on a hill called ‘hurruang’. the hill was already occupied by a tribe called the jarawa, but the jarawa people left and lived on another hill called ‘tsok-kwon’. (dambo, 2011). morphology the term “morphology” according to aronoff and fudeman (2005:1) is generally attributed to the german poet, novelist, playwright and philosopher, johann wolfgang von goether (1749-1832), who coined the term in the early nineteen centuries in the content of biological science. the coinage has its etymology in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 7 greek, where morph means “shape forms”, and morphology means study of forms. in biological science, morphology refers to the study forms and structure of organisms, and in geology, it refers to the study of the configuration and evolution of land forms. according to suleyman (2015:169) morphology as a sub-discipline in linguistics was named for the first time in 1859 by german linguist august schleicher who used the term for the study of the form of words, today morphology forms a core part of linguistics. in linguistics, morphology refers to the mental system involved in word formations or the branch of linguistics which deals with the words, their internal structure and how they are formed. (aronoff and fudeman, 2005:2) lieber (2009:2) asserts that morphology is the study of word formation, including the ways new words are coined in the languages of the world, and the way forms of words varied depending on how they are used in sentences. fromkin and rodman (2011:41) posit that “the study of the internal structure of words, and the rales by which words are formed is called morphology. tomori (1999:21) sees morphology as the study of the structure of words, the study of the rales governing the formation of linguistic words in a language. crystal (2008:314) is of the view that morphology is the branch of grammar which studies the structure of words, primarily through the use of morpheme constructs. the structure of words consists of the different parts that make up the entire word. o’grady, et al (1996:132) conceptualized morphology as the system of categories and rales involved in word formation and interpretation. therefore, one can presume that morphology is a. linguistic field where words are categorized in structures and also the various processes of creating new words. malkjaer (1991:314) simply sees morphology as the study of the meaningful part of words. winkler (.2012:113) shares her opinion that morphology is the field of linguistics that studies the structure of words and their component. she further states that all words are made up of one or more part that have meaning. to explain this, the word “unhappy” was use which has two meaningful parts: “happy” describing an emotional condition and a prefix “un” meaning not. the combination of these two parts gives us the complete meaning of the word "unhappy”. taking a similar track, is yule (2001) who refers to morphology as a kind of study which explores all the basic elements of words used in language through analysis. hartmann and stock (1972:145) assets that morphology deals with the analysis of structures, forms and classes of words. thus, the detention ending of inflection such as “-s” in walks and the derivational ending such as “-ness” in happiness illustrates this. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 8 following the above definitions by various scholars, it is observed that most linguists share similar view on morphology. it is palpable that morphology is a branch of linguistics which studies the various elements that make up a word. morphology studies words by way of looking at the various structures that come together to form the bigger unit “word” and how they must form linguistically acceptable word. most linguists have agreed that there are two major types of morphology namely: inflectional morphology and derivational/lexical morphology. i. inflectional morphology inflectional morphology studies the way words vary in their form in order to express a grammatical contrast. huddleston & pullum (2002) state that inflectional morphology deals with inflectional forms of various lexemes. it has something of the character of an appendix to the syntax. where syntax tells us when a lexeme may carry a certain inflectional property whereas inflectional morphology tells us what form it takes when it carries that inflectional property. aronoff & fudeman (2005:168) share this view that inflectional morphology does not change the core lexical meaning or the lexical category of the word to which it applies. thus, a noun with a plural suffix attached to it, is still a noun. for instance: “book” and “books” take the same lexical meaning and belong to the same class of word. in a nutshell, inflectional morphology comprises the ending in a grammar of a language, mainly the declensions of nouns and the conjugations of verbs. ii. derivational/lexical morphology derivational morphology studies the way in which new items of vocabulary can be built up out of combination of elements. derivational morphology is also referred to as lexical morphology. it is related to the dictionary. it describes the processes by which new lexical bases are formed and the structure of complex lexical bases, those composed of more than one morphological element. (huddleston & pullum 2002) aronoff & fudeman (2005:168) state that derivational morphology may or may not affect the lexical category of a word it applies to, and it typically changes it meaning. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 9 simply put derivational morphology is concerned with all types of word formation which involves the addition of affixes to bases, the linking of two bases together. it is to note that derivational morphology have class maintain words and class charging words. the morpheme the term ‘morpheme’ according to fromkin and rodman (2011:41) is derived from the greek word “morph” meaning forms. thus, it is the linguistic term for the most elemental unit of grammatical form. lieber (2009:32) defines it as the minimal meaningful units that are used to form words. aronoff and fudeman (2005:2) posit that it is the smallest linguistic pieces with a grammatical function. downing and locke (1992:13) share this opinion that the morpheme is an abstract category, which has either lexical or grammatical meaning. crystal (2008:313) sees it as the minimal distinctive units of grammar and the central concern of morphology, it is worthy to note that its original motivation was as an alternative to the notion of the term word which had proved difficult to work with in comparing languages. words however become complex in structure and there a need for a single concept. the morpheme accounts for the smallest meaning a unit of word makes, hi the words of yule (2001:75), the morpheme is a minimal unit of meaning or grammatical function. tomori (1999:25) is of the view that the morpheme is the smallest unit of speech that has semantic or grammatical unit. thus, he explains that the word "salt” is a single morpheme while “salts”, “salting” and "salted” each are made up of two morphemes with its grammatical meaning, where s” in salts signifies plural, “ing” in salting signifies continuous tense and “-ed” in salted signifies past tense. similarly in jju the words “riyei”(plate), “ron”(pot) and “fuwo” (ear) are single morpheme each. whereas “ariyei” (plates), “aron” (pots), and “afuwo” (ears) are made up of two morphemes, where the sound “a-” found in the words depicts a plural meaning. thus, a morpheme accounts for the smallest meaningful unit of a word. suleyman (2015:163) assets that the term morpheme is used by linguists to describe the meaningful elements that compose a word. awolaja & awolaja (2008:52) consider the morpheme to be the smallest meaningful grammatical unit in systematic grammar. thus, it is the lowest on the grammatical rank scale. fromkin and rodman (2011:42) also posit that a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 10 morpheme is an arbitrary union of a sound and a meaning (grammatical function) that cannot be further analysed. he illustrated this by stating that: a morpheme may be represented by a single sound such as the morpheme “a” meaning without as in "amoral” and "asexual” or by a single syllable such as child and ish in child + ish. a morpheme may also consist of more than one syllable: by two syllables as in camel, lady, water, by three syllables, as in hackensack and crocodile, or by four or more syllables, as in hallucinate, apothecary and onomatopoeiafromkin & rodman (2011:42). following the definitions by linguists above, the morpheme has being depicted as the smallest unit of a language that bears grammatical meaning. thus, it could be a sound (that bears meaning), a single word such as "hand” or a meaningful piece of a word such as -ed of “looked”, that cannot be divided into smaller meaningful parts. i. free and bound morphemes linguists such as yule (2001), fromkin & rodman (2011), robin (1967) have all distinguished the morpheme into free and bound morpheme. the free morphemes are morphemes that can stand alone as words, not dependent on any structure for meaning. examples: boys, kind, head, wipe, etc. in bound morphemes, the morphemes cannot stand on its own but must be attached to a free morpheme where ever it is used. examples: ‘-s’, ‘-ness’, ‘-ing’, ‘unas found in boys, kindness, heading, unwipe respectively are never words by themselves but are always parts of words. robin (1967) shares his views that the free morpheme is a type of morpheme that can stand as a word and act as a root or stem in which other morpheme can be affixed to. thus, a free morpheme can constitute a word by itself and exist independently with both grammatical and semantic meaning without combining with other morphemes. he also states that a bound morpheme is a type of morpheme that is unable to establish words by itself but must appear with at least one other morpheme either bound or free in a word. in jju language, free morphemes are identifiable: where we have words such as: “ba” (come), “nat” (go), “suruwan” (sit), tiyon (run), ya (eat), and also bound morphemes are seen in words such as “nyon” (hens), “nyak” (grains), “ntunga” (markets), “nvak” (hands). where the “n-” in each of the words are meaningful part of the word indicating plural but cannot occur alone as words. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 11 awolaja & awolaja (2008:52) also share their opinion that some elements in the structure of the words can occur alone which is known as free morphemes, whereas those parts of the word which are meaningful but which cannot occur alone as word are called bound morphemes. similarly, tomori (1999:29) stresses that “a morpheme is isolatable if it occurs in isolation, that is if it can exist alone in the language. for example, boy, girl, stone, water, are all isolable morpheme because each of them occurs in isolation in the english language.” hence, they are free morpheme. fromkin and rodman (2011:47) identify bound roots where they state that bound roots do not occur in isolation and they acquire meaning only in combination with other morpheme. for example words of latin origin such as receive, conceive, perceive, and deceive,_ share a common roots “ceive” in the same vein, the words remit, permit, commit, submit, transmit, and admit, share the root “mit” in a nutshell, a free morpheme can appear alone, and be independent, while bound morpheme must be attached to another morpheme to make its meaning. thus, it can only occur in connection with a further morpheme. ii. lexical morpheme and functional morpheme the free morpheme is further divided into lexical morpheme and functional morpheme. suleyman (2015:164) assets that lexical morpheme just like the name implies are the ones identified with the lexeme of a language. the lexical morphemes are also called referential morphemes, those that have semantic meaning and usually refer to a thing, quality, state or action. these morphemes generally take the forms of nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. examples: dog, house, come, cook, happy, red, fat, quickly, slowly etc. therefore they form the content words in a language. buhari (2011:14), also states that a morpheme is considered a content or lexical morpheme when it has a relatively more specific meaning. thus, it is a morpheme that names a concept or idea in our record of experience of the world. some examples of lexical morphemes in jju can be seen below: kavou – dog (noun) ba – come (verb) athrow – cloth (noun) ayuyon – quietly (adverb) kasham – beautiful (adjective) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 12 ajiyiyad – white (adjective) e.t.c. functional morphemes on the other hand are often defined by their functions. it is also called grammatical morphemes. these morphemes have little or no meaning on their own but show grammatical relationships in and between sentences. buhari (2011:14) assets that a functional morpheme is that morpheme that has relatively less specific meaning than a content morpheme, it is a morpheme whose primary meaning is to signal relationship between other morphemes. these morphemes are usually presented by prepositions, conjunction, articles, demonstratives, auxiliary verbs, pronouns. examples: with, on, of, and, but, a, the, can, who, me etc. in jju, these types of morphemes are not easily identifiable but are used according to the meaning the speaker wants to achieve. examples: a. ba tyong bu kawon lea. they escape with the baby. in sentence (a), the functional morphemes are: bu (with) and ka (the) b. yakubu bu yohana ban nat makaranta. james and john went to school, in sentence (b), the functional morphemes is “bu” (and) whereas “to” as seen in the english translation is not indicated in the jju sentence. simply put, lexical morphemes are those morphemes which have a specifiable independent meaning, whereas grammatical morphemes are also units which carry meaning but occur in combination with other lexical morphemes. roots, base and stem the root according to tomori (1999:32) is the very heart of a word, thus it is the root morpheme. for instant in the word “disagreement”, the heart of the word is “agree" which is the root morpheme. suleyman (2015:169) sees the root as the irreducible core of a word with absolutely nothing else attached to it. it is the part that is always present, possible with some modifications in the various manifestation of a lexeme. the root is a form that is not further analyzable, either in terms of inflectional or derivational morphology. it is that part of word form that remains when all inflectional and derivational affixes have been removed. (bauer 1983:20). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 13 katamba (1993:42), also assets that roots tend to have core meaning which in some way modified by the affixes. for instance, in jju a root can be identified in words such as: zigwai (we thanks/ happy), zidype (we praise), kutyak (it is finished), zabrang (help us), where the core words are: gwai (happy), dype (praise), tyak (finish) and brang (help) respectively. buhari (2011:14) opines that the root is usually a free morpheme around which words can be built through the addition of affixes. she further explains that the root is the item left when a complex word is stripped of all other morpheme. therefore, the root is the semantic core of the word to which prefixes and affixes are attached. the stem on the other hand refers to that part of a word to which the last morpheme in the word is structurally added (tomori 1999:32). aronoff and fudciman (2005:2) conceptualize a stem as a base unit to which another morphological piece is attached. for instance, the word "unemployment”, the last morpheme structurally added to the word is “ment”. katamba (1993:45) is of the view that the stem is in existence before any inflectional affixes (i.e those affixes whose presence is required by the syntax such as makers of singular and plural, number in noun, tense in verbs etc) have been added. in the same vein, bauer (1983:20) states that the stem is the part of a word to which inflectional affixes are added to, and also that word form that remains when all inflectional affixes have been removed. thus, a stem is concern only when dealing with inflectional morphology. following the above definition of stem, one can easily identify a stem in jju as follows: bathro (clothes) bakumbvon (daughter-in-laws) bakpandan (friends) where the last morpheme added to each of the word is “b-”. therefore, in the words of fromkin and rodman (2011) when a morpheme is combined with an affix, it forms a stem. a base is another morpheme which needs to be distinguished from roots and stem. a base is any form to which affixes of any kind can be added. (bauer,1983:20). this means that any root or any stem can be termed a base, although the set of base-is not exhausted by the union of the sets of roots and the set of stems. a derivationally analysed form to which derivational affixes are added can only be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 14 referred to as a base. therefore, the word “touchable” can act as a base for prefixation to give “untouchable” but in this process, “touchable” could not be referred to as a root because it is analyzable in terms of derivational morphology nor as a stem, since it is not the adding of inflectional affixes that is in question. therefore all roots and stem are bases but not all bases are root and stem. similarly, it is worthy to note that the root morpheme also acts as the stem for the occurrence of other morpheme that result in the derivation of other stem or words. the distinction between the three can simply be said that a stem is that part of a word which remains if the last added inflectional affix is removed. a base on the other hand is that part of a word which remains if the last added inflectional or derivational affix is removed, where as a root is that part of a word which remains if all affixes are removed. morphological processes every language has its own way of word formation that generates meaningful grammatical expressions. this is a morphological process, which, john goldsmith confirms, “...is a means of changing a stem to adjust its meaning to fit its syntactic and communicational context” (goldsmith, 1994:48). this aligns with matthews’ position that: morphological process [is] any of the formal processes or operations by which the forms of words are derived from ‘stems or roots’. e.g. reran is derived from the root run by two morphological processes, one adding re(rerun), the other changing u to a (rerun reran) (matthews, 2007:252). matthews further lists types of morphological processes such as affix; compound; modification; reduplication; subtraction, suppletion. according to randolph quirk and sidney greenbaum: ...the chief processes of english word-formation by which the base may be modified are: affixation (a) adding a prefix to the base, with or without a change of word class (eg: author co-author... ) (b) adding a suffix to the base, with or without a change of word-class (eg: drive-driver ... ) (quirk and greenbaum, 2007:430) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 15 linguistic studies have recognized certain procedures from which pluralization in human language are achieved. applicable to the jju grammar are affixation, tonality, morpheme transformation or replacives, vowel and consonant mutations, morpheme substitution and others. unlike english, jju nouns take the prefix morphemes ‘a’, ‘d’, ‘k’, ‘n’, copular as well as tone to form plurals. again, in contrast to jju, the english plural morphemes are morphological and then phonological condition has three shapes: /s/, /z/, and /iz/, the realization of which is determined by the type of segmental phoneme preceding it; as in hats /hats/, bags /bagz/, and boxes /boksiz/ respectively. apart from some instances of vowel change or zero morpheme which exist in both jju and english, the morphemes in the latter, unlike the former, take the plural form with the addition of-s books, -es mangoes, -ies flies, -ves knives, -en women. plural and pluralization in linguistics, grammatical number is a grammatical category of nouns, pronouns, and adjective and verb agreement that expresses count distinctions such as ‘one’, ‘two’, or ‘three or more’. in many languages including english and jju, the number categories are singular and plural. some languages also have a dual number or other arrangements. the count distinctions typically, but not always, correspond to the actual count of the referents of the marked noun or pronoun. in any human language, “a plural”, as matthews asserts, “is often a term, in the category of number...”. it is a semantic feature of forms used in referring to more than one, or more than some small number of individuals or things. this aligns with ugande (2005:32) and murthy’s (1998:18) position when he observed that “[a] noun which denotes one person or thing is known as singular number”. pluralization is the process of forming plurals in languages, in this study; the concept is related to english and jju. in his appraisal of jju pluralization, tartule has this to say: pluralization entails the various procedures which are inherent in the linguistic repertoire of jju native speaker that enables him to form quantitative nouns in the language. it is a process because, there are acceptable morphological conventions or rules in the language for plural formation which must be observed, maintained, and adhered to without violation (tartule, 2013:26) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 16 from the forgoing postulation therefore, to say that pluralization is an outgrowth of morphological study in linguistics is simply stating the obvious, in this context, english and jju language precisely. joan bybee l. opines that “a language has grammatical number when its nouns are subdivided into morphological classes according to the quantity they express; such that every noun belongs to a unique number class (nouns are partitioned into disjoint classes by number) (bybee, 1982:65). in addition to bybee’s observation above, it is noticeable that noun modifiers (such as adjectives) and verbs may also have different forms for each number class and be inflected to match the number of the nouns to which they refer (number is an agreement category). this is partly the case in english: every noun is either singular or plural (a few forms, as ‘fish’, can be either, according to context), and at least some modifiers of nouns – namely the demonstratives, the personal pronouns, the articles, and verbs – are inflected to agree the number of the nouns to which they refer: ‘this car’ and ‘these cars’ are correct, while ‘*this cars’ or ‘*these car’ are ungrammatical and, therefore, incorrect. however, adjectives are not inflected and most verb forms do not distinguish between singular and plural. only count nouns can be freely used in the singular and in the plural. mass nouns, like ‘milk’, ‘silverware’, and ‘wisdom’, are normally used in only the singular form. many languages distinguish between count nouns and mass nouns. theoretical framework. this study concentrates on jju pluralization thereby x-raying the complexities involved in the morphological processes of plural formation in jju language. using contrastive analysis theory, the study looks at the noun pluralization processes in jju and the challenge(s) jju speakers learning english, as their second language, may encounter. in line with this direction, therefore, contrastive descriptions can be evaluated at every level of linguistic structure. therefore, this study used a descriptive approach, where carl’s (1996) model of descriptive analysis was adopted methodology certain combinations of methods were used to collect data for this study. the methods used to elicit and collect information for this study were introspection (as earlier mentioned), unstructured interview and participant and non-participant observation. the method of introspection engaged the researcher in deep thought igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 17 about jju linguistically. to achieve this, the researcher relied on his knowledge of the language as a native speaker (linguistic competence) and also his expertise and skill in understanding how the language works (linguistics knowledge). based on these attributes, the researcher was able to generate some data used in the study. there was also the use of participant and non-participant observation. in linguistic research, the idea of obtaining linguistic data that is spontaneously generated by the speakers of a language is paramount. consequent upon this, the researcher uses the methods of non-participant and participant observation to collect firsthand information that was spontaneous and ‘natural’. in many instances of the observed conversations and discussions, the researcher only notes privately how the native speakers expressed themselves using the various plural forms in their conversation. pluralization processes in jju pluralization in jju involves several processes as discussed below: pluralization by prefixation prefixation is a very productive word formation process in both languages. the major plural form in jju language is by prefixes which are‘a’, ‘b’and ‘n’ which are found in pfuo (ear) – apfuo (ears), arantyok (man) –barantyok (men), kub (bone) – nkub (bones). the following are prefixes ‘b’ examples of plural form in jju language. addition of ‘b’ to form certain plurals in jju (‘b’ prefixation) singular plural jju gloss jju gloss akprok chair bakprok chairs attyi father battyi fathers anaa mother banaa mothers awhai son bawhai sons ayechen visitor bayechen visitors arundong gun barundong guns igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 18 awoi butcher bawoi butchers ayekwuo elder bayekuo elders exception: singular plural jju gloss jju gloss awumba brother bawumbiyang brothers aranbying woman banyiring women the above exception does not just add the prefix ‘b’, but also a suffix (iyang or ring) is added to realizetheir plural forms. plural formed by ‘d’ prefixation consonant ‘k’ changes to consonant ‘d’ to form plural in jju singular plural jju gloss jju gloss kassiyang boy dassiyang boys kaniyang girl daniyang girls kakunak orphan dakunak orphans kakrong knife dakrong knives kanshang basket dashang baskets katsung axe datsung axes kahyuai twin dahyuai twins katanghurung finger datanghurung fingers exception: singular plural jju gloss jju gloss igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 19 kawon child dawon/nawong children the above exception does not just change the prefix ‘k’ to ‘d’, but also changes it to ‘n’ and adds a suffix (g) to realize the plural form. plural formed by ‘n’ prefixation singular plural jju gloss jju gloss hyuet arrow nhyuet arrows nom day nnom days tswan pestle ntswan pestles kup cord nkup cord kub bone nkub bones rong fire ndong fires rung pot ndung pots note that in the last two examples, other than the addition of the ‘n’ prefix to the singular to form the plural, the ‘r’ in the singular words changes to ‘d’ before the addition of ‘n’ prefix. plural formed by substitution in the following examples, there is consonant and vowel deletion before the addition of the vowel ‘a’ to form the plural. singular plural jju gloss jju gloss dichuu head achuu heads dichat hair achat hairs dissi eye assi eyes pfuo ear apfuo ears diryen tongue ariryen tongues igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 20 din-yyi tooth anyyi teeth shong cheek ashong cheeks tag leg atag legs exception: singular plural jju gloss jju gloss pfuo ear apfuo ears shong cheek ashong cheeks tag leg atag legs the above exception does not undergo consonant and vowel deletion, but rather adds a suffix ‘a’ to realize the plural form. double plural form in jju language, there are words that have double plural forms. in this case, the consonant ‘k’ is substituted for ‘d’ or ‘n’ to form certain plurals in jju. singular plural jju gloss jju gloss kawon child dawon or nawon children kabawon small child dabawon or namawon small children kassiyang boy dassiyang or namassiyang boys kaniyang girl daniyang or naniyang girls kahyuai twin dahyuai or nahyuai twins kakunak orphan dakunak or nakunak orphans kakrong knife dakrong or nakrong knives katsuong axe datsuong or natsuong axes katanghurung finger datanghurung or natanghurung fingers igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 21 tonality plurals there is no distinction between the singular and plural in the written jju. however, in spoken manifestation, the plurals, some of which are listed below, can only be determined by tonal change. examples: singular plural jju gloss jju gloss bvon goat ́bvon goats chunyyi rat ́chunyyi rats assi face ́assi brooms tswa nshuu groundnut ́tswa nshuu groundnuts nyreng marriage ́nyreng marriages bassok blood ́bassok blood bashekwuot water ́bashekwuot water nyuon chicken ́nyuon chickens bvontsaap sheep ́bvontsaap sheep areas of similarities with english pluralization is a universal linguistic concept. english is a global language while jju language is a local one that is spoken in a part of kaduna state of nigeria. pluralization has been well-studied and documented in english while in jju, the study has hardly started. in spite of the disparity in the level of study in the two languages. the semantic implication of the concept is still similar if not the same. the semantic distinctiveness of pluralization is a mark of plurality in a nominal phrase. pluralization is a morphophonemic process, a grammatical category that has both a function and a meaning. in english and jju, it functions as a mark of plurality which is affixed to the subject or object of a verb in a grammatical structure while it means a morphophonemic process which changes one number quantity (singular) to more than one (plural). pluralization therefore, means a mark of a process which changes a singular number to a plural one in both english and jju. examples: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 22 english jju singular plural singular plural boy boys kassiyang nassiyang girl girls kaniyang naniyang the mutation this plural system has a limited number of noun forms in the english language. it affects only few noun forms in the english language. the structure of the singular noun form changes by substituting the internal vowel. in other words, the singular noun forms are made up of both front and back vowels, but when the words are made plural, the vowels automatically become front ones only. whereas in jju, such mutations only occur with certain consonants. examples: english jju singular plural singular plural woman women kakunak nakunak foot feet katsuong natsuong tooth teeth katanghurung natanghurung while the english language changes the internal vowels to make word plural, the jju changes the initial consonant to vowels to perform the same. since some of the noun forms start their spelling with consonant/vowels, it is the initial consonant/vowel of singular noun forms that change to front ones in order to make a word plural. the zero structural pluralization this is another similar plural system in both english and jju. it is the manifestation of pluralization without any formal structural difference between the singular and the plural forms. the semantic difference between the singular and the plural forms is not obvious from just the orthographic forms of the two nouns. the structures of the singular and plural forms are usually the same. in other words, there is a zero structural difference between the singular noun and plural one. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 23 the english language has several noun forms which are culturally bound to maintain their spellings in both singular and the plural usages of such noun forms. this class of words comprises of common nouns, nationality names pre-modified quantitative. examples: english jju singular plural singular plural sheep sheep trang trang furniture furniture hwon hwon information information nyak nyak staff staff mun mun swine swine kpang kpang equipment equipment bvuu bvuu in the above examples, there is no structural difference between the singular and plural forms. in this case, the semantic difference cannot be determined until such noun forms are used in sentences. when they are used in sentences, the context use of pre-modifier like numerals and determiners help to determine the semantic difference between the singular and plural usage. examples: i. the hunter shot and killed that deer. (one) ii. the hunter shot and killed those deer. (more than one) iii. the japanese came to our house on sunday. (one) iv. the japanese came to our house on sunday. (more than one) in sentence (i), the use of the determiner ‘that’ quantifies the number to be one (singular) ‘deer’, while the use of ‘those’ in sentence (ii) quantifies the number to be more than one (plural). in jju zero plural morphological process, like the english one, is the manifestation of singular and the plural forms as the same; there is no noticeable structural difference between the singular and the plural forms. examples: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 24 singular plural jju gloss jju gloss nyak cow nyak cow(s) bvuu zebra bvuu zebra(s) trang bear trang bear(s) bassok blood bassok blood kkwu tuber kkwu tuber(s) kup cover kup cover(s) hwon fish hwon fish(es) kpang stone kpang stone(s) mun mosquito mun mosquito(es) tswong mushroom tswong mushroom(s) zuom elephant zuom elephant(s) bassi tear bassi tear(s) implications for jju speakers of english from the discussion presented above, it is clear that jju has pluralization processes that are majorly by prefixation. the implication therefore, is that jju users and learners of english may erroneously transfer the process of pluralization from jju to english and end up with faulty grammatical constructions. jju learners of english might find difficulties in learning the process as lado (1957) claims that wherever there is divergence between the structure of foreign language and that of mother tongue, there must be difficulty in learning and error in performance in a classroom situation, the implication of grammatical and pronunciation errors will manifest in the student’s blemish in their use of english consequently affecting competence and performance. when one spends time and examines linguistically the way some of the jju speakers communicate in english, since english happens to be the language of education, media, commerce etc, they mostly violate the phonotactic and pluralization rules of the language especially in articulating consonant clusters, assimilation and vowel harmonization in jju aspect of pluralization because of mother tongue interference complemented by the ignorance of the correct spellings of such words. for example, the plural marker igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 25 ‘s’ is pronounced as /z/ when the sound preceding it is a vowel or voiced consonant sound. however, some jju english speakers realize the plural markers ‘s’ in such words as mirrors, crabs, boys, arrows as zero plurals instead of the /z/ sound because those words are pluralized in jju without affixing ‘s’ to them. the consequence of such wrong pronunciation arises and poses problem of mutual understanding of their speeches when teaching or discussing in any social event, pupils and students tend to copy their teacher or presenter in almost everything the latter has done, even the errors they are likely to commit in any situation. conclusion pluralization as a linguistic concept is an incremental mark of a morphophonemic process which increases a singular quantity to a plural one. this study has discovered that the concept is functionally the same in the two languages in the areas of manifestation, it was discovered that, in spite of dissimilarities in the structures and forms of jju and english, for example, the different forms of the plurality morpheme /-s/ for english and /a/, /d/, /k/ etc for jju. similar characteristic features also abound, for example pluralization is marked in nouns, pronouns and determiners of both languages. based on the above findings, it may be concluded that structural and formal difference exist in the plural morphophonemic processes of both the jju and the english languages, and there are also notable functional similarities in them. the areas of similar characteristic features constitute area of positive transfer in english language learning efforts of the jju learners of english. for example: singular plural english man men jju antyok bantyok this is an example of positive transfer of the knowledge of vowel to vowel and vowel and consonant mutation from jju to english. the internal vowel changes in english but in jju the initial vowel/consonant changes. in short, there is always a change of vowel or consonant both in jju and in english. in other words, the areas of similarities constitute the input competence of the english learning efforts of jju speaker. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 26 singular plural english man men jju antyok(man) bantyok (men) english calf calves jju din-yyi (tooth) an-yyi (teeth) this research work on the jju and english and pluralization process (plural forms) has attempted to reveal to a great extent, how diverse, complex and similar the languages are at the pluralization level. english has played a significant role of a base language whose pluralization forms are used to elicit word formation processes in jju for the purpose of contrastive study. it must be mentioned at this juncture that even though the present study is not pursued for its academic value, it shall serve as a reference material to sociolinguists, morphologist and educationists, especially text book writers. besides, it is believed that the jju part of this work will be an eye opener to future jju linguists especially those who may be interested in the area of morphology. the study will also contribute in no small measure, to facilitating more research into the syntax, semantics and pragmatics of jju. it is true that works already exist on some of these fields of linguistic study in jju, but some controversial issue may be resolved of the pluralization process or plural forms discussed are carefully studied. the analysis carried out shows that jju has rich linguistic properties that can further be developed to attract linguistic attention and deeper research could be conducted to describe its linguistic properties more fully. it is believed that some of the questions raised at the beginning of this work have, to a reasonable extent, been answered. works cited aronoff, m. and fudeman, k. (2005). what is morphology? london: blackwell publishing. awolaja, o. o. and awolaja, a. a. (2008). what is morphology? london: blackwell publishing. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 27 bauer, l. (1983). english word formation. cambridge. cambridge university press. buhari, h. a. (2011). a comparative analysis of word formation process in english and hausa. m. a. thesis, department of english and literary studies, ahmadu bello university, zaria. crystal, d. (2008). a dictionary of linguistic phonetics. (6th ed). uk: blackwell publishing ltd. bybee, j. l. (1958). morphology: a study of the relation between meaning and form. amsterdam: john benjamins. dambo, a. b. p. (2011). bajju tradition. nigeria: kenyi prints. fromkin, v. and rodman, r. (1974). an introduction to language. library of congrass cataloging in publication data. hartmann, r. r. k. and stock, f. c. (1972). dictionary of language and linguistics. england: applied science publisher ltd. huddleston, r. and pullum, g. (2002). the cambridge grammar of the english language. cambridge. cambridge university press. katamba, f. (1993). morphology. london: macmillan press ltd. jju at ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) hammarström, harald; forkel, robert; haspelmath, martin, eds. (2017). "jju". glottolog 3.0. jena, germany: max planck institute for the science of human history. lado, r. (1957). linguistics across cultures. ann arbor: university of michigan press. lieber, r. (2009). introducing morphology. usa: cambridge university press. mathews, p. h. (1974). morphology: an introduction to the theory of wordstructure. cambridge, cambridge university press. o’grady, w. et al (1996). contemporary linguistics: an introduction. united kingdom: pearson education ltd. quirk, r. and greenbaum, s. (1985). a contemporary grammar of the english language. radford, a. (1988). transformational syntax: a first course. cambridge: cambridge university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 28 suleyman, a. g. (2015). “morphology” in olatunde, a. and butari, n. (eds). issues in language and lingusitcs: perspective from nigeria (vol 3). kaduna: lsgn kaduna. tartule, t. (2013). “aspects of tiv pluralization” in national association of igbo teachers, nigeria. no. 7, march 2013. pp 25 – 31. tomori s. h. o. (1979). the morphology and syntax of present-day english: an introduction. winkler, e. (2012). understanding language (2nd ed). cambridge: cambridge university press. yule, g. (2010). the study of language. (4th ed) cambridge: cambridge university press. https://amightytree.org/niger-congo-languages-and-history/ https://joshuaproject.net/assets/media/profiles/text/tl12435.pdf igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 264 covid-19 and the prophetic business in nigerian church abiona lawrence adekunle department of religions university of ilorin lorenzomaria421@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract the advent of covid-19 has opened a new chapter on prophecy and its relevance in modern times. biblically, prophecy is a charism that is bestowed to serve the church, but it is doubtful if it is really serving the church in nigeria, as it ought to do. using the historical and descriptive research, the study examined the nexus between covid-19 pandemic and the prophetic business in nigerian church. data were gathered through oral interview, participant observation, and whatsapp. findings revealed that the inability of any of the renowned nigerian prophets to prophesy about the pandemic during their december 31, 2019 prophetic night cast a negative light on the prophetic business in nigeria and it made some people to declare most nigerian prophets as charlatans and deceivers. it was found that most nigerian prophets had departed from the more difficult path of social justice of the biblical prophets who challenged the political leaders of their days, but they had rather chosen the easier path of the fortune-tellers that brings quick financial rewards. most christians in nigeria were not pleased with the materialistic trend of prophecy, which had made some christians to lose faith in the church. the paper recommends that the christian association of nigeria (can) need be reorganised as a watchdog to curb the excesses of the self-acclaimed prophets who give christianity a negative image through exploitative fake prophecies. keywords: covid-19, prophecy, divination, business, church, nigeria introduction prophet, according to mckenzie, is from the greek word “prophetēs” and it means the same thing as the hebrew word “nabî”, that is, one who speaks before others, one who communicates divine revelation.1 therefore, a prophet is one called by god to communicate divine message to fellow human beings. in biblical israel, prophets censured the immorality of the nation; they were gadflies that stung the consciences of the people when the people deviated from the path of god. for instance, nathan rebuked david for adultery and murder (2 sam 12:1-14); gad delivered a threat of punishment to david for taking census (2 sam 24:11-13), etc. in fact, the biblical passage, “where there is no vision, the people perish” (prov. 29:18a, kjv), succinctly captures the necessity of prophecy in the society as a guide igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 265 through the mirage of life. without the prophetic guidance, human beings wallow in ignorance and they stumble. in his study, abioje groups prophets into critical prophets who are sanitizers of the society through their criticisms of social injustice and divinatory/esoteric prophets that help to resolve the mysteries in human existence.2 however, while the critical prophets are prone to persecution, the esoteric prophets are liable to exploitation and manipulation. most biblical prophets combine both critical prophecy and esoteric prophecy. hence, the practical test for esoteric prophecy is that the message of a true prophet must be fulfilled (deut. 18:20-22). in fact, this practical test cannot help people to differentiate between a true and a false prophet especially if the prediction of a false prophet happens. hence, it is in critical prophecy that a true prophet can be known. that means, the message of a true prophet must confront evil doers and his life must condemn immorality (jer. 23:9, 13-14).3 the moral test therefore unmasks false prophets who are ravenous wolves with high proclivity to acquire wealth with total disregard for morality. usually, a false prophet disregards the reality of sin; in the midst of evil, he prophesies fortune for the sake of his personal benefits.4 during the midnight of every 31 december, most nigerian pastors, at their crossover services, roll out divine messages for the nation in order to guide fellow citizens divinely, and most nigerians usually believe these prophetic messages as the “will of god”. however, media reports confirmed that in early december 2019, there was an outbreak of coronavirus disease (covid-19).5 it is reported that covid-19 is caused by a novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (sars-cov-2) that occurred in wuhan city, hubei province, china.6 on 30th january 2020, the world health organisation (who) had declared covid-19 as a public health emergency of international concern.7 record shows that as of february 14, 2020, the number of laboratory confirmed cases was 49,053 while 1,381 deaths were recorded globally.8 as of friday 24th april 2020, the national centre for disease control (ncdc) gave the following statistics of covid-19 in nigeria: confirmed cases were 981, active cases were 753, discharged cases were 197, while 31 deaths were recorded.9 however, most nigerians felt that the covid-19 pandemic that ravaged the world and most especially nigeria in the 2020 new year should not have met the nation unawares because of the abundance of prophets who saturate the public space igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 266 with prophecies through television, radio, and social media. nevertheless, none of these “prophets” was able to warn the nation about the impending disease. up until date, it has not been proven that any of the miracle-working prophets have cured any covid-19 patients, and media reports show that the pandemic had not abated. the fear of covid-19 led the federal government to lockdown abuja, lagos state, and ogun state for 14 days from march 30, 2020,10while other state governments took a cue from the federal government and issued similar law in the states. the lockdown affected worship centres drastically until the federal government of nigeria ordered “restrictive opening” of the worship centres on june 1, 2020,11 and kwara state lifted the ban on religious gathering on june 5, 2020.12 in other words, the advent of covid-19 has opened another chapter on the relevance of prophecy in nigeria. therefore, the purpose of this study is to interrogate the nexus between covid19 and the prophetic business in nigerian church. the study hopes to achieve this purpose by finding answers to the following research questions: 1. in your opinion, is the nature of prophecy a business in nigeria today? 2. has covid-19 pandemic affected the act of prophecy in nigeria today? 3. have the modern nigerian prophets deviated from the pattern of biblical prophets as we read in the scriptures? 4. does the failure to prophesy the covid-19 pandemic have any effect on the faith of christians in nigeria? 5. does the failure to prophesy the covid-19 pandemic have any effect on the reputation of the church in nigeria? 6. does the failure to prophesy the covid-19 pandemic have any effect on the prophetic business in nigeria? research methods the purposive sampling method was adopted in order to choose participants for the research. foley explains that the purposive sampling, also known as judgmental, selective, or subjective sampling is a form of non-probability sampling in which researchers rely on their own judgment when choosing members of the population to participate in their study.13 the sampling method was adopted because the selection of eligible participants for the study was not based on probability. data were collected through structured and unstructured interviews, participant observation, and whatsapp social media. interviews were conducted with the pastors, prophets, and christians of different denominations igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 267 in odo-owa, a village in kwara state, nigeria as participants. whatsapp social media was used to gather data from other eligible nigerians living at ilorin, kaduna, lagos, new bussa in niger state, funtua in katsina state, and port harcourt. findings were critically analysed and qualitatively generalised. the prophetic business in nigerian church the prophetic business in this study consists of the soothsaying ability of pastors that has become an enterprise in the church especially in nigeria. this prophetism is noticeable mostly in the pentecostal brand of christianity. pentecostalism is a collection of different christian groups demonstrating spiritual experiences, such as speaking in tongues, as a mark of the presence of the holy spirit in them.14 other pentecostal beliefs and practices in nigeria include faith healing, holiness of life, evangelism, emphasis on material possession as a mark of god’s favour or blessing, prophecy, repeated prayers and emphasis on deliverance, prayer against witches and wizards, payment of tithes in order to receive god’s blessing, etc. the christian association of nigeria (can), odo-owa chapter’s prayer booklet for the 2020 universal week of prayer reveals that there are twenty-three (23) churches in odo-owa.15 the presence of 23 churches in a village where the inhabitants are predominantly farmers and petty traders is a sign that church is a lucrative business in nigeria. this lucrative feature of the church informs oderinde’s assertion, “owning a church has become a big businesspastopreneurs are on the rise in nigeria”.16 the researcher agrees with oderinde because it is reported that oyedepo, the founder of living faith church, has earmarked n10.3 billion to build ten thousand (10,000) new churches in nigeria,17 a nation that is noted as the “poverty capital of the world”.18 one may ask whether nigeria is bereft of churches. however, investing n10.3 billion in churches is an indication that churches are faster means of generating returns on investments. as long as pentecostalism projects owning church as a means of social mobility and financial breakthrough, pentecostal churches will continue to multiply. furthermore, the study of adedibu shows that nigerian pentecostal adherents are now missionaries in england and other urban cities in the west. this reveals that nigerian pentecostalism is now a “non-commodity export to the west”.19 it is doubtful whether the boom experienced in nigerian pentecostalism would have occurred if the founders tow the path of critical prophets in the bible or the apostolic poverty. prophetic churches have become moneymaking ventures in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 268 nigeria through advertising miracles, competition for crusades, vigils, conventions, prayer sessions, exorcism, selling of books, olive oil, stickers, and prophesying. generally, prophecy is one of the charisms (1 cor. 14:1), and the prophets edify, exhort, and encourage the church (1 cor. 14:3). “prophecy is one essential christian heritage and a sign that god still speaks.”20 however, in modern nigeria, prophecy has been abused. covid-19 pandemic and the prophetic business in nigerian church like most nigerians, adadevoh believes that the emergence of the covid-19 pandemic in nigeria without prior notice should make everyone doubt the authenticity of the so-called prophecies by most nigerian pastors. adadevoh is disappointed that while the “prophets” forecast bliss, political upheavals, natural disasters, or demise of public nigerian figures21, which are normal events in human societies, none of the 2020 prophecies that flooded the social media in january 2020 concerned covid-19 to the best of the knowledge of the researcher. the question on the lips of most people is whether covid-19 has not exposed most nigerian prophets as fake. one cannot come to any conclusion until the answers to the research questions have been analysed. based on the objectives set at the beginning of the study, it was discovered that although money and finance have affected modern prophecy in nigeria, genuine prophets do not merchandise. however, “it is evident that any christian ministration without esoteric/divinatory prophecy as a major ingredient is not regarded as an authentic one. therefore, esoteric/divinatory prophecy has become a way of selling our ever-increasing new churches. one can therefore say that esoteric/divinatory prophecy is a big business today. this is why “christian praying ministry” is more lucrative than “teaching ministry””.22 hence, “it is evident that the self-acclaimed prophets who see prophecy as a business are the people who project prophecy as strategic advertisement for a new christian assembly and a way of attracting followers and growing their membership”.23 most participants believe that prophecy has become a business that brings in quick money, and “this makes it attractive to most pastors such that even when they are not prophets, they ascribe prophets to themselves”.24 therefore, prophecy has become a lucrative business in nigeria, “a means to cajole and brainwash people in order to exploit”.25 adewumi believes, “most prophets are in the business today because of what they want to eat. because of money, prophets have become soothsayers who say what people will like to hear”.26 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 269 furthermore, findings showed that the massive crowd that used to attend programs at babalola memorial prayer mountain, odo-owa before covid-19 was no longer available.27 with regard to this, a participant said, “it is now difficult for prophets to identify themselves as prophets because the pandemic has cast a doubt on their prophecy”.28 although some respondents opined that it may be too early to assess the negative effects of covid-19 on prophecy in nigeria, however, it was asserted, “some people now doubt if there are actually prophets in nigeria because if there are prophets, they should have seen the pandemic beforehand.”29 while another respondent opined, “covid-19 has shown that most modern prophets are fake prophets because none could forecast the pandemic, and none has predicted correctly when it would end”.30 however, even though the “prophetic noise” has waned during the pandemic, it was believed that after covid-19, “the business will pick up since most nigerian prophets are more of fortune telling rather than prophets”.31 onyekwelu is apposite when he affirmed, “covid-19 has not actually affected the prophetic business negatively. every good marketer knows the act of rebranding. business only changed from the usual prophecy to a blend with coronavirus phenomenon.”32 notwithstanding, all respondents believed that the lockdown due to the pandemic has temporarily halted the multiplication of churches and it has decimated the number of crusades and revivals, which serve as platforms for prophecy in nigeria. how the prophets will couch their post covid-19 preaching to attract prospective clients is what everyone awaits. it is the general opinion that the effects of the pandemic would be short-lived because the so-called prophets will soon come up with new narratives that will suit the mentality of their gullible audience. what is happening in nigeria is similar to the events in biblical times concerning true and false prophets. the encounter of amaziah, the priest of bethel who would not want king jeroboam of israel to hear of any misfortune, with amos (amos 7:10-13), the true prophet, is obvious in nigeria. this case shows that dependence on the king, or any political power for living may easily corrupt the prophet. “most modern nigerian prophets are not prepared to suffer like jeremiah or amos; they do not like to become the enemies of the state because this will lead igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 270 to stoppage of their sources of income. hence, most have turned to electoral prophetism because this type of prophecy brings in more money rather than towing the path of righteousness”.33 in addition, the study also inquired into whether the failure to prophesy the pandemic has any effect on the faith of christians in nigeria. most respondents declared that the failure to prophesy the pandemic has greatly affected the faith of most christians “because many people ordinarily had expected the prophets to warn them about the pandemic before the various health institutions started to declare measures to curb it. if the prophets had forewarned the people, it would have contributed to the prestige of christianity in no small measure and to the christian faith, and more importantly to the reputation of the prophets”.34 in the same light, “the failure to foresee the pandemic has affected the faith of some christians because such christians now doubt whether god has power to kill covid-19”.35 on the other hand, it was noted that the pandemic has strengthened the faith of some christians. thus, afolabi opined, “the pandemic has drawn people more to god for help where human solution has been in vain”.36 moreover, opinions differed on whether the failure to prophesy the pandemic has any effect on the reputation of the church in nigeria. while some interviewees opined that because no prophet predicted that the church would be lockdown in the year 2020 before it happened, therefore, covid-19 has affected the reputation of the church in nigeria, others believed that the failure to prophesy covid-19 did not necessarily affect the reputation of the church. for instance, asaju reported, “because of the covid-19, some people now suggest that there is no need to attend church anymore since the pandemic has led to the closure of churches and forced pastors to conduct their services online”.37 whereas, ghado declared, “only shallow-faith christians have lost faith completely in the church”.38the different opinions reveal the level of peoples’ understanding of the church. “people who have a limited understanding of the church as an institution for fortune telling were those who should be disappointed. people who understand the message of jesus know that there is more to christianity than ostentatious display of prophecy because the essence of the church is to proclaim the values of the good news of jesus christ and translate these values into everyday life”, musa declared.39 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 271 lastly, by investigating whether the failure to prophesy the pandemic has any effect on the prophetic business in nigeria, findings revealed that covid-19 had affected the prophetic business negatively because of the inability of the so-called prophets to foretell the pandemic.40 a respondent observed, “even apostle suleman and prophet t. b. joshua gave conflicting messages concerning covid19”,41 which indicated that they did not receive any vision about the pandemic. since the so-called prophets and miracle workers did not prophesy about covid19, it has cast doubt on their miraculous claims and powers. “covid-19 has exposed most nigeria prophets as deceivers; it has blocked their sources of income due to the absence of congregation to whom they prophesy in order to get money”.42 there was a prophet who used to sell handkerchiefs, stickers, and water for miracles, but “the storm of covid-19 has affected his church and it had collapsed. his members had dwindled drastically because of lack of signs and wonders”,43 ajimoti declared. in addition, evangelist sanni noted, “covid-19 has negatively affected the prophetic business because some prophets lamented that they had no job.”44 conclusion and recommendations the study has shown that there is a connection between covid-19 pandemic and the prophetic business in nigeria. it revealed that there is a problem with prophecy in nigeria orchestrated by several factors such as poverty, love of money, desire for fame, power, and lack of central institutional control over churches, and this has made some so-called prophets to abuse the charism of prophecy. the study also revealed that true prophets still exist even if they are few. one of whom is evangelist sanni who said, “around december 2019, as i was praying on babalola memorial mountain, odo-owa, god revealed to me that a sickness was coming that would begin from the political leaders, the wealthy, and those in power. i rang the bell round the village to inform the villagers to pray and move near to god. i believe that covid-19 has fulfilled this revelation”.45 some pastors46 testified that sanni rang the bell round the village concerning this vision. however, sanni is not a popular television prophet; hence, his revelation did not go viral. furthermore, the study revealed that the advent of covid-19 pandemic had greatly affected the prophetic business in nigeria. however, it was found that sooner than later the prophetic business will resurrect in nigeria as long as there are gullible christians who would consult the prophets. in addition, most nigerians have a wrong perception of prophecy in terms of only igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 272 esoteric/divinatory role. hence, for such people, a prophet is an herbalist, a fortune-teller, and an exorcist. therefore, nigerians with such wrong perception will easily fall victims of prophetic manipulation and exploitation. christians are advised to have a holistic understanding of a prophet in terms of critical and esoteric/divinatory roles while the criticisms of social injustice and personal morality form the basis of ascertaining a true prophet. investigation has revealed that money is the motivation for most nigerian prophets. therefore, it is recommended that the christian association of nigeria (can) needs to be reorganised as a watchdog to curb the excesses of the selfacclaimed prophets who give christianity a bad image through exploitative fake prophecies. although, religious freedom is enshrined in the nigerian constitution, the study believes that the nigerian government needs to protect its citizens from fake prophets. therefore, there is a need for a deliberate collaboration between can and nigerian government to curb the activities of prophets who make spurious claims with the intention to deceive people so that sanity may descend on the prophetic climate in nigeria. endnotes 1 j. l. mckenzie, dictionary of the bible (bangalore: asian trading corporation, 2002), 694. 2 p. o. abioje, the one hundred and sixty-seventh (167th) inaugural lecture “christian prophets and other prophets in nigeria”(ilorin: the library and publications committee university of ilorin, 2017), 38. 3 i. j. julius, “prophecy and inspiration: any relationship?” umcatc journal of theological studies vol. 7, october 2010, 119-135. 4 mckenzie, 697. 5 “coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19): a literature review”, journal of infection and public health, vol. 13, issue 5, may 2020, 667-673. https://www.sciencedirect.com/sciencearticle/pii/s1876034120304329 accessed 29/06/2020 6 “coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19): a literature review”, journal of infection and public health, vol. 13, issue 5, may 2020, 667-673. https://www.sciencedirect.com/sciencearticle/pii/s1876034120304329 accessed 29/06/2020 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 273 7 “coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19): a literature review”, journal of infection and public health, vol. 13, issue 5, may 2020, 667-673. https://www.sciencedirect.com/sciencearticle/pii/s1876034120304329 accessed 29/06/2020 8 https://doi.org/10.1016/j/jiph.2020.03.019 accessed 29/06/2020 9 channels television news, april 24, 2020. 10. https://www.garda.com/crisis24/news-alerts/327406/nigeria-government-locks-down-majorcities-due-to-covid-19-from-march-30-update-4 accessed july 3, 2020. 11 o. ajayi, b. obahopo & d. yakubu, “nigeria: covid-19-churches, mosques to reopen as schools remain shut”, https://allafrica.com/stories/202006020647html accessed july 3, 2020 12personal observation, june 5, 2020. 13. b. foley, “purposive sampling 101”, https://www.surveygizmo.com accessed june 30, 2020. 14 k. enang, the nigerian catholics and the independent churches, a call to authentic faith. (nairobi: paulines publications africa, 2012), 43. 15the universal week of prayer for christian association of nigeria, odo-owa, oke-ero lga, kwara-state, 2020, 3. 16. oderinde, olatundun. ethical misconduct among nigerian church leaders in the context of 1 timothy 3: 1-7. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328133398_ethical_misconduct_among_nigerian_chu rch_leaders_in_the -context_of_1timothy_3_1-7/. accessed on march 17, 2020. 17. oyedepo, david. “i will establish 10000 new churches in nigeria”. 1 feb. 2020: http://www.vanguardngr.com /. accessed february 1, 2020. 18. mailafia, obadiah. poverty capital of the world. november 15, 2019: https://www.businessday.ng , accessed on march 17, 2020. 19. b. a. adedibu, “checking out for good! a critique of the nigerian economic migrants turned missionaries in london”, ilorin journal of religious studies (ijourels), vol. 8, no. 1, 2018, 114. 20. rev. fr chukwubueze onyekwelu, whatsapp, funtua, june 29, 2020. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 274 21. r. adadevoh, “nigeria: virus spread proves nigerian prophecies false”, 10 march 2020: https://allafrica.com/stories/202003100081.html accessed 28/06/2020 22. rev. fr chukwubueze onyekwelu, whatsapp, funtua, june 29, 2020. 23. rev. fr gerald musa, whatsapp, catholic institute of west africa, port harcourt, june 26, 2020. 24. pastor joseph olayinka jesukayode, interview, sanctuary of praise and prayer church, pamo area, odo-owa, june 22, 2020. 25. pastor tolorunloju, whatsapp, ilorin, june 27, 2020. 26. evangelist oye adewumi, interview, babalola memorial prayer mountain odo-owa, june 25, 2020. 27. personal observation, babalola memorial prayer mountain, odo-owa, june 25, 2020. 28. evangelist oye adewumi, interview, babalola memorial prayer mountain odo-owa, june 25, 2020. 29. pastor joseph olayinka jesukayode, interview, sanctuary of praise and prayer church, pamo area, odo-owa, june 22, 2020. 30. catechist olalere raphael, interview, roman catholic church, odo-owa june 23, 2010. 31. mrs adeoti, interview, anglican church, odo-owa, june 22, 2010. 32. rev. fr chukwubueze onyekwelu, whatsapp, funtua, june 29, 2020. 33. mr bayo jacob, interview, odo-owa, june 25, 2020. 34. mrs adekunle kolawole, interview, odo-owa, june 25, 2020. 35. pastors m. k. thaddeus, interview, christ apostolic church, oke isegun, odo-owa, june 23, 2020. 36. ms afolabi catherine, whatsapp, lagos, june 28, 2020. 37. mr victor asaju, whatsapp, ilorin, june 26, 2020. 38. rev. fr augustine ghado, whatsapp, kaduna, june 26, 2020. 39. rev. fr gerald musa, whatsapp, catholic institute of west africa, port harcourt, june 26, 2020. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 275 40. pastor j. a. olajide, interview, christ apostolic church, oke iye, odo-owa, june 23, 2020. 41. rev. j. y. olarewaju, interview, evangelical church winning all, odo-owa, june 25, 2020. 42. pastor joseph olayinka jesukayode, interview, sanctuary of praise and prayer church, pamo area, odo-owa, june 22, 2020. 43. pastor gabriel sunday ajimoti, interview, christ apostolic church, agbala iyin, odo-owa, june 23, 2020. 44. evangelist a. sanni, interview, christ apostolic church, oke isegun, odo-owa, june 24, 2020. 45. evangelist a. sanni, interview, christ apostolic church, oke isegun, odo-owa, june 24, 2020. 46. pastors m. k. thaddeus & pastor d. a. adegboyega, interview, christ apostolic church, oke isegun, odo-owa, june 23, 2020. catechist olalere raphael, interview, roman catholic church, odo-owa, june 23, 2020. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 483 religion and security challenges: the nigerian situation (1999 2019) jonathan o. dimobika ph.d department of religious studies. faculty of humanities, imo state university, owerri email: venojdim@gmail.com, phone no: 08037898759 doi: 10.13140/ rg.2.2.23433.67684 & veronica onyemuwa ph.d department of religious studies, imo state university, owerri email: onyemuwav@yahoo.com, phone no: 07035024138 doi: 10.13140/ rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract most countries of the world are presently on red alert with regards to the issue of the security of their citizenry both locally and globally. what is more disturbing is that this security challenge and emergency is emanating from a sector which should ordinarily and otherwise be regarded as a low security risk area and that sector is religion. a cursory survey of various parts of the world, nigeria inclusive, reveals a convulsive atmosphere of insecurity, violence, insurgency and terrorism, fueled by religious extremists and fundamentalists. this state of affairs have prompted most nations of the world to institute very strict immigration policies and also adopt more stringent security measures in their airports and other key sectors of their economy and infrastructure. in the midst of these ugly developments and the misuse of religion for selfish and mischievous activities, how then can religion be rescued from such negative connotations and be seen in its true light and nature, not as a security threat but as a harbinger of peace? the methodology employed in this research is historical phenomenology. findings show that although religion is seen to be playing ambivalent roles with regards to either threatening or promoting security depending on how it is applied, however other mitigating factors such as political, economic, ethnic or territorial ones can take advantage of religion or use it as a cover to perpetrate mayhem and cause security breaches. recommendations include advising governments and religious leaders and practitioners to practice the ethics of inclusiveness among others. keywords: religion, international security challenges, nigeria mailto:venojdim@gmail.com mailto:onyemuwav@yahoo.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 484 introduction many countries of the world are currently on red alert and standing on their toes with regards to the issue of the security of their citizenry, both locally and globally. what is more disturbing is that this security challenge and emergency is emanating from a sector which should ordinarily and otherwise be regarded as a low security-risk area, and that sector is religion. for instance, quite recently the present united states‟ administration of president donald trump, on assumption of office, issued what is termed an immigration/travel restriction or ban from countries that are regarded as „high-risk‟ security zones stemming from the prevalence of islamic militancy and terrorist activities and operations from those countries. this is one of the instances where religion is being indicted as constituting one of the major security challenging issues in the contemporary world. some security experts have noted that ever since the 9/11/2001 islamic terror attack on the twin towers of the world trade center and other targets in the united states, religion has been regarded as constituting a major security threat to the world. thus according to hpcr international (2007 – 2008), “in the post 9/11 world, religions and religious actors are more commonly associated with extremism and conflict between religious communities than before, in particular in the popular mind.” a cursory survey of various parts of the world reveals a convulsive atmosphere of insecurity, violence, insurgency and terrorism, fueled by religious extremism and fundamentalism. from the genocidal campaign of the islamic state (isis) in iraq and syria fighting to enthrone an all islamic caliphate, to the taliban islamic war in afghanistan, to the boko haram insurgency in north-eastern nigeria, the al-shabab islamic warfare in somalia and the long-running civil war in south sudan among others. all these have religious under-tones as the causative factor. furthermore, most nations of the world have instituted stricter immigration policies and also adopted more stringent security measures in their airports and other key sectors of their economy and infrastructure due to the threat of religious extremists and terrorist masterminds. thus people dressed in erstwhile sanctimonious religious gabs are now held suspect since terrorists can hide under such religious gabs or use them as undercover while carrying heavy explosives with which they perpetrate their suicide-bombing activities with heavy tolls on the unsuspecting public and security agencies. also such terrorists, hiding under the gab of religion, do employ the use of seemingly igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 485 harmless and innocent children and especially girls, to perpetrate their heinous and dastardly acts in a bid to beat the security agents and take them unawares. there is no doubt that these turn of events could lead to undue harassment of true, innocent and harmless religious practitioners and also of undue security search and surveillance of children especially the girl-child. for instance, some countries like france and belgium among others recently proposed a ban on the wearing of full-face hijab by islamic women in the public as a result of such threats, thus offending true religious people desirous of putting on their religious wears. in the midst of these ugly developments and the misuse of religion for selfish and other ends, how then can religion be rescued from such negative connotations and colorations and be seen in its true light, not as a security threat but as a harbinger of peace? why have people and groups with mundane ambitions found religion as a ready tool to perpetrate their unholy and obnoxious agenda, and how can such trends be reversed and/or stopped altogether? these are the pressing issues and questions that this paper is out to investigate. the methodology employed in this research is historical phenomenology. religion, conflicts and the emergent security challenges in the world a review of world history from at least the last 2000 years, as well as scholarly opinions show that religion has been implicated in many conflicts and wars down the ages. according to one of such opinions as expressed by bakaki (2009:2), citing david little, “for many centuries religion has been involved in both inter-communal and international conflicts. it is in fact broadly accepted that religion is a cause rather than a solution to many conflicts in the world today.” supporting this view, wikipedia citing encyclopedia of wars (2004: 1484-1485), pointed out that out of all 1,763 known/recorded historical conflicts, 123, or 6.98%, had religion as their primary cause. furthermore, white (2011:544) gives religion as the cause of 11 of the world's 100 deadliest atrocities. reflecting on historical cases of religious conflicts, bakaki cited above noted that religion has systematically been attached to numerous genocides and dehumanization in various civilizations. he thus noted that: “one may argue that religion cannot exist without bloodshed while violence may be credited for readily and intimately being available at the heart of religion. the question why religion openly permits/supports violence and destruction actually still baffles” (bakaki 2009:3). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 486 a further review shows that the most popular religious conflicts usually referred to as „holy wars‟ began with the islamic expansion missions within the 7th century and the emergent crusades of the 11th century, as well as the restoration wars in the 16th century by the roman church. further expatiating on this, bakaki pointed out that: it is often revealed that muslims mistreated and pressed their religious beliefs upon christians in the holy land. in retaliation, the roman christians started to persecute the jews and muslims, pagans and protestants (mc bride 2002).the roman catholic church also grew zeal to (re)capture the „sacred‟ territories, extend its influence and explicitly condemn the growing spirit of liberalism, religious pluralism, and take over democratic platforms. so the conflict between christians, muslims and jews continued to escalate in the crusades which were declared toward the close of the 11th century by the church against the muslims to recapture the holy places and restore christianity. pointing to how these events and conflicts contributed in bringing about the present security challenges, bakaki (2009:3) explained that: it is worth keeping in mind that the democratic thoughts of the catholic church were not bearable at all, because it granted discriminations against other religious faiths. while such platforms were being sought by the christian church, the muslims were fighting for space to spread their doctrines, something which inflamed brutalities and violence. such cases are still very fresh in the minds of fundamentalists, muslims, protestants and thus, acts of terrorism have been inevitable even today. moving on to the crusades, bakaki noted that: in 1095, pope urban ii started what historians have named „crusades‟ against the muslims to recapture the holy places and restore christianity (snell, m. 2009). speaking at the council of clermont, he claimed that the war would have god‟s mercy and support as he pronounced that wars could be justified as “just wars” but also “holy wars.” christians inhumanly invaded and seized jerusalem and massacred its residents. j. denny weaver (2001) noted that; “the crusades, the multiple blessings of wars, warrior popes, support for capital punishment, corporal punishment under the guise of „spare the rod and spoil the child,‟ justification of slavery, world-wide colonialism in the name of conversion to christianity, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 487 the systemic violence of women subjected to men, and more.” this infringement is still engraved among islamic fundamentalists, and this has been a driving force in the islamic invasions of christianity in many parts of the world. the late 1500‟s crusades and the modern religious conflicts, violence and wars are a serialization of the so-called crusades of 1095…. sadly, these crusades sowed seeds for the modern terrorist attacks in many parts of the globe. the terrorist attacks on the twin tower buildings which most scholars have branded „9/11 attacks‟ is a classic example of such terrorist activities. along that line also, the israel-arab wars which have been raging since 1947 have also often been seen as a war fought along religious lines although other issues like nationalism, self-defense and liberation of territory are involved. the war started after the united nations general assembly divided palestine which erstwhile had been a muslim state into two parts between the jews and the palestinians who are muslims and who did not accept the partitioning. referring to this and similar conflicts in the region, wikipedia, the online encyclopedia pointed out that in several conflicts including the israeli-palestinian conflict, the syrian civil war, and the wars in afghanistan and iraq, religious elements are overtly present but variously described as fundamentalism or religious extremism depending upon the observers sympathies. supporting this view bakaki, cited earlier, noted that: one could ascertain that the partitioning of palestine was a factor that triggered the israel-arab war, a sign of inhumanity. the september 11th, 2001 (9/11) terrorist attacks on washington d.c. u.s.a can actually be counted as an extension of the israel-arab conflict. in 2004, the terrorists (al-qaeda and osama bin laden) claimed and defined their reason for the attack on usa. the source indicates that terrorists accused usa for its continued support to israel. the foregoing analysis thus reveals the history of religion and conflicts leading to the present day security challenges in the form of terrorism and similar attacks as an inevitable build-up of events culminating in the contemporary undesirable out-come. although terrorism cannot be justified by any reasons or arguments whatsoever, the natural build-up to it should share much of the blame and also serve as eye-opener on the trend of events. the question however is whether religion is to be blamed for these outcomes or rather other arising and contributory factors or variables as can be deduced from the unfolded events. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 488 reflecting on the causes of religious conflicts, bakaki citing jeffrey haynes (2009:53) pointed out that “religion can increase aggressiveness and the willingness to use violence,” and further noted that most of the wars in the world have been instigated by religion. on the factors responsible for this, bakaki (2009:3) commenting on the external forces responsible, noted that “religion is inseparably attached to politics, a well-recognized agent of violence. religion is often put at the forefront in mobilizing people to enrich support of politicians to take over resourceful regions or even states.” religion and present security challenges in the world although religion has been inextricably linked with conflicts and violence down the ages leading to the present state of security challenges in the world today, the arising question is whether religion is intrinsically violent and constituting security risk and challenges. the consensus opinion gathered does not portray religion in that negative light, as intrinsically violent and constituting security risk and challenges as such. rather accusing fingers are being pointed to other factors and intervening variables. for instance, wolffe and moorhead (2014:33) summarizing their findings on the inter-connectedness of religion and security threats and challenges pointed out that: in general, our participants have the view that religion in itself was seldom a threat to security. rather problems arise when religion operates in tandem with other factors, especially political ones, or as rooney puts it, provides „competitive branding‟ for divisions with political, cultural and territorial roots. at the extreme it can provide spurious legitimacy for violent actions by marginalized and/or unbalanced individuals, who may in fact have been stimulated by wider social norms that glorify violence. thus from this viewpoint, religion in itself does not often constitute a security threat, rather problems arise when other factors take advantage of religion and use it to achieve their unwholesome objectives – such factors as political, ethnic or territorial ones. supporting this view, bakaki (2009:1) argues that: “ethnicity, nationalism, colonialism, economic struggles, terrorism, political insurgencies have put religion at the front-doors of violence…” along this line, wikipedia the online encyclopedia, noted that studies on many of the cases often conclude that ethnic animosities drive much of the conflicts. according to wikipedia: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 489 some historians argue that what is termed "religious wars" is a largely "western dichotomy" and a modern invention from the past few centuries, arguing that all wars classed as "religious" have secular (economic or political) ramification. according to jeffrey burton russell, numerous cases of supposed acts of religious wars such as the thirty years war, the french wars of religion... were all primarily motivated by social, political and economic issues rather than religion. (accessed on july 9, 2020). further exonerating religion, some respondents cited by wolffe and moorhead (2014:32) even saw religion as the last resort of the oppressed common man and rather heaped the blame on some oppressive state authorities. according to them: religion is often a response to the failure of the state to deal with human security …. and that if the state experiences religion as a threat to its security, rather than human security, that often is a consequence of its failure. once the breakdown occurs, there may become negative consequences for human security more generally, if the state and religious groups fall in conflicts with one another, as we are seeing with boko haram in northern nigeria. but boko haram arises in a situation in which the nigerian state has spectacularly failed to provide for the human security of the nigeria population. thus it is obvious that various factors are responsible for the arising security challenges and problems other than heaping the whole blame on religion which is often made the scape-goat. so in tackling the arising problems, the various contributory factors ought to be taken into consideration. wolffe and moorhead (2014:34) pointed to such other contributory factors posing security threat when they noted that: the other elements that are thought to contribute to radicalization include disenfranchisement and exclusion, economic marginalization and poverty, and threats to identity, including secularization. all these are rooted in a failure of government sufficiently „to encourage an ethic of inclusivity.‟ thus instead of blaming or scape-goating religion as a threat to security, the governments have to play their own roles sufficiently well to discourage the radicalization of disgruntled groups who are aggrieved by various deprivations. governments are also advised to always endeavour to encourage an ethic of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 490 inclusivity so as to sufficiently give every segment of the society a sense of belonging and to carry everyone along in the scheme of things. however, on a more consensus viewpoint regarding whether religion is a threat to security or not, wolffe and moorhead (2014:2) came to the conclusion that: religion plays an ambivalent role when it comes to threatening or promoting security. that is, in certain situations it can be a threat, in other situations it promotes security. as a consequence, it is crucial that practitioners (policymakers, academics and journalists) get a deep understanding of a particular context before they evaluate or seek to predict the role of religion in security issues. assessing the view that religion plays an ambivalent role in either threatening or promoting security, it therefore means that religion can serve either way, depending on how it is handled. this then calls for a more careful handling of religious matters, since a mishandling will yield unpleasant consequences. along this line wolffe and moorhead (2014:34) noted that “religion is often used to conceal other non-religious motives and to justify aggression and violence.” they thus further gathered from their respondents that: killing in the name of religion is morally more comfortable. so, if you want to kill someone because you want to have his house, well it is not a very nice thing. but if you want to kill him because he is an infidel and he is god‟s enemy, and god wants you to kill him, then it‟s a morally laudable thing and you can have his house as well. thus people use religion to achieve their unreligious, sinister and misguided goals and in the end, religion is blamed. wolffe and moorhead therefore observed that “used in this way, religion is an effective tool because it „hardens conflicts‟ by providing „emotional ammunition.‟” and this is exactly how and why terrorists and insurgents employ religion to perpetrate their heinous agenda as evident in various parts of the world today and consequently giving religion a bad name. religion and security challenges in nigeria the present situation in the nigerian nation could be cited as a classical example where religion have played a major pervasive role in bringing about a very critical and worsening security situation in the world. previously in nigeria, it had been cases of minor and sometimes major misunderstandings and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 491 skirmishes between the adherents of the two major/prevalent religions in the land – islam and christianity. however, since the emergence of the dreaded boko haram islamic terror group from the year 2002, with their avowed aims of dismantling western education, the civil service and the christian religion from across the northern states of nigeria, as well as to purify islam and spread it by force, since then the security situation in nigeria, especially in the north-eastern section of the country have continued to deteriorate to alarming proportions. coupled with that is the emergence of the blood-letting and killer fulani herdsmen that are ravaging almost every section of the country, armed with automatic ak47 and other deadly weapons; with similar aims as the boko haram terror group. currently in nigeria, the headlines from the daily newspapers read as follows: “herdsmen kill 25 farmers, students in bornu, plateau. victims for mass burial friday. four die in bornu attack.” (new telegraph, wednesday, march 7, 2018). “herdsmen kill four in southern kaduna; kill two policemen in benue. opc moves against herders in ondo.” (daily independent, monday, february 12, 2018). “five feared dead, worship centers, houses torched in kaduna. army admits withdrawing troops before girls‟ abduction… says it handed over to police in dapchi. army didn‟t hand over to us – yobe police commissioner.” (the punch, tuesday, february 27, 2018). “murder in the cathedral – anguish as herdsmen kill 2 priests, 17 others in benue. bring back our girls now and alive – the primary responsibility of government is the protection of lives and properties.” (daily sun, wednesday, april 25, 2018). breaking: scores killed as herdsmen strike in itakpa, near otukpo in benue on sunday, may 30, 2020 (from operanewsonline, monday, june 1, 2020). these are only but few tips of the horrendous and blood-letting escapades of these murderous hordes which almost on a daily basis harass, kill and maim helpless, innocent and law-abiding citizens, rendering many homeless and driving numerous others into idp camps. even in the present-day lock-down period occasioned by the covid-19 pandemic ravaging both nigeria and the entire world, these murderous hordes are still bent on terrorizing helpless and unarmed citizens, like the incidents presently happening in the kajuru area of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 492 kaduna state which has been described as a genocide being committed by the herdsmen against the indigenes of the area. thus presently, no day passes in nigeria without such gory tales of woes and shedding of innocent blood of helpless nigerians by these blood-thirsty islamists who are bent on what is termed ethnic cleansing and dispossessing other nigerians of their lawful property with the aim of islamizing the whole land. their ultimate aim is to take the country to the primitive and dark ages since they are fighting against both western and christian education and consequently against everything modern and contemporary. the daily and unrestrained onslaught of both the boko haram terror group and the killer fulani herdsmen on the helpless nigerians is seen as stemming from the failure and inability of the government to secure the citizenry from such horrendous onslaughts. some are even of the opinion that the government seem to be conniving with the islamists and the terror groups to terrorize the citizenry so as to actualize their hidden agenda. thus, according to the guardian newspaper of thursday, february 8, 2018 titled “herdsmen‟s killing: can passes vote of no confidence in buhari,” the report noted that: the kaduna chapter of the christian association of nigeria (can) has passed a no confidence vote on president muhammadu buhari, saying his administration had failed to decisively tackle the herdsmen pogrom currently threatening the corporate existence of the nation. the body also opposed the establishment of cattle colonies across the federation, pointing out that the move was tantamount to creating the colonies for the “foreigners to continue to wage unrelenting war against innocent nigerians.” speaking while receiving the leadership of the state council of the nigeria union of journalists (nuj), ibrahim said government had failed in delivering governance. his words: “the federal government has consistently told us that these fulani herdsmen attackers are foreigners. they said that the attackers are members of the islamic state of west africa (iswa), who are on a jihad mission. if that is true, it then means that the government of nigeria has failed us. but we are saying that enough of this blood-shed in our land.” pathetically, the situation in nigeria is quite complicated as the citizenry does not actually know who the real enemies are. for instance, are the killer fulani herdsmen actually nigerians or are they of the islamic state of west africa on a jihad mission here as the government are claiming? if they belong to the islamic igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 493 mission, why is the government reluctant to declare an all-out war against them and why are they allowed into the country in the first place and marauding freely everywhere and causing mayhem on the citizenry? these are very nagging questions seeking for answers. the guardian newspaper cited above also reported a statement credited to a serving state governor, nyesom wike of rivers state nigeria, who was said to have slammed the federal government of nigeria, accusing them of failure in providing security to lives and property of nigerians. he made the statement on february 7, 2018 when he went to makurdi to commiserate with the people and government of benue on the massacre of over 70 of its citizens by the fulani herdsmen. the vanguard newspaper of wednesday, february 7, 2018 also reported on the damages caused by fulani herdsmen in imo state to include invasion of farmlands, raping of women and mayhem visited on host communities. these ugly incidences have been occurring in various imo communities from the year 2013 to the present day. massive displacement of people the security situation in the middle belt and the north central states of the country have continued to deteriorate resulting to huge humanitarian crises and massive displacement of people from their homes and turning them into refugees and internally displaced persons (idps). a report from the daily sun newspaper of wednesday, april 25, 2018 noted that “there were over 170,000 internally displaced persons in eight camps in benue before the naka invasion, stressing that the current invasion of mbalom would further swell the humanitarian crises in the state.” also a daily independent newspaper report of monday, february 12, 2018 described similar situations in taraba state, noting that “several communities (were) deserted over herdsmen attack in taraba.” according to the report: following yet another night raid by suspected fulani herdsmen several hamlets and farmsteads in gassol local government area have been deserted. suspected herders few days ago raided ikyaagba village in wuro jam ward of gassol local government area of taraba state, killing four persons including a pregnant woman… as at the time of writing this report, virtually all the hamlets and farmsteads that traverse the road igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 494 stretching deep into the interior from sabon gidan in gassol lga have been deserted by their occupants for fear of attacks. villagers were seen evacuating their farm produce and other belongings to take refuge in sabon gidan which is along the jalingo wukari highway. thus the humanitarian crises continues to worsen, leading to the displacement of over 700,000 persons in the affected areas and the death toll of victims continue to rise daily. abduction of large number of school girls a dangerous twist in the onslaught of the islamic terrorists in the northeastern part of nigeria is the resort to the invasion of schools, especially girls‟ schools and abduction of large number of female students by the terrorists. in april 2014, it was the case of the abduction of about 276 girls from the government secondary school chibok in bornu state. after the abduction, most of the girls were reportedly forcefully married away by the terrorists and the greater number of them who were christians, were forced to convert to islam. though since the abduction some of the girls who had suffered untold abuses and forced to become mothers have been released through government-sponsored negotiations and possible ransom payment, however a greater number of them have not returned nor regained their freedom. the terrorists even claimed that there is no hope of the girls‟ return since according to them, they are now „happily‟ married away to even foreign countries. what a terrible occurrence and experience by the helpless girls. the latest abduction which occurred on february 19, 2018 was that of the government science and technical girls‟ college in dapchi, yobe state, where the boko haram terrorists invaded and abducted about 110 school girls and took them to an unknown destination after beating all the security apparatus of the nigerian government stationed all over the place. though the latest report shows that most of the girls from the dapchi school have been released except one named leah sharibu who the terrorists refused to release due to her refusal to renounce her christian faith, however the cases of abduction of school girls have been described as very distressing incidences. according to a punch newspaper report of tuesday, february 27, 2018 (p.7), the nigeria union of teachers (nut) among others, pointed out that it was distressed by the attack on the dapchi schoolgirls, and the inability of the government to immediately rescue them. the report noted that: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 495 the nut, in a statement by its secretary general… demanded “an urgent upgrade of the security architecture, deployment of security personnel in all schools in the north-east and a 24-hour military patrol. the union is distressed by the news of the terrorist attack on the government science and technical girls college, dapchi, yobe state, with the resultant missing of as many as 110 pupils of the school. we are vexed by the security operatives‟ inability to gather enough intelligence to avert the situation and their failure to swiftly move in to rescue the pupils. with this development, it has become evident that pupils, teachers and the academic activities in north-east nigeria remain vulnerable. thus, all the reports and complaints point to security lapses and failures on the part of the government and security agencies to adequately secure the citizenry from these attacks. the attacks also point to increasing and outright affronts by the islamists and terror groups on the adherents of christianity whose members they attack, kill, maim and abduct with the intent of either forcing them to convert to the islamic faith or have them killed as infidels if they refuse to give in. the christians who are not prone to the use of violence and bloodletting are thus increasingly pushed to the wall and the eventual outcome may lead to an all out religious or civil war which will be very disastrous and detrimental for the nation. commenting on this incident, the daily sun report of wednesday, april 25, 2018 has it that, “as herdsmen attack benue church… 2 catholic priests, 17 worshippers (were) killed.” according to the report: there was palpable tension and near breakdown of law and order in makurdi, benue state capital, yesterday, following fresh killings by suspected fulani herders. in the attack, two catholic priests and 17 parishioners of st. ignatus quasi parish, ukpor mbalon, ayar mbalon village, gwer east local government area were confirmed killed. daily sun gathered that the parishioners and the priests have gone for early morning mass at about 5.30 am when the herders invaded and mowed them down. reactions following such mindless and callous killings which have even defied and negated the sanctity of worship places as well as casting aspersion on the immunity which should be accorded to the servants of god in their own sanctuaries have generally been outrageous with condemnation of such horrendous and barbaric acts. no wonder the spokesman of the catholic diocese igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 496 of makurdi, while regretting the destructive and murderous escapades of the herdsmen, maintained that the police seemed to know nothing of the attacks which have been going on in other villages within the state since the anti-open grazing law came into effect in the state. the spokesman then traced the root of the mayhem going on presently to the jihadists mission of the perpetrators. according to him, “it has been the goal of the jihadists to conquer benue and tiv people who resisted their advance into the middle belt and the eastern part of nigeria since 1804, the people who rejected islam and fought for the unification of nigeria in the civil war of 1967-1970…” thus, each attack incident by the herdsmen and the reactions to it show obvious uncoordinated and insensitive attitude of the security agencies to the murderous acts of the herdsmen and the grave distress of the citizenry. although the security outfits especially the armed forces have been making huge claims about their efforts in addressing the security situation, however, their outlandish claims have not tallied with the situation on ground but have rather aggravated it. this is because, as the security forces and the federal government of nigeria claim to have degraded the terrorist insurgents and almost blotted them out, the insurgents on the other hand make fresh incursions and launch fresh deadly attacks on various targets to counteract the claims of the government and prove the point that they are still very much alive and active. the federal government of nigeria on their part also make statements which tend to portray them as playing politics with the whole scenario and also with peoples‟ lives when they blame the insecurity situation and the killings going on, on the machinations of their perceived political enemies to instigate war in the country. in one of such statements credited to the president of nigeria, mohammadu buhari himself and which was made available to newsmen by the presidential spokesman and reported by the vanguard newspaper of tuesday, may 8, 2018, the president was reported to have said that “the continuous killings in the country were planned by enemies of peace to instigate war in the country for selfish purposes.” although the government went further to outline their plans and strategies to equip the security forces to checkmate the gruesome attacks, however the general opinion is that they should match their statements with swift actions in order to restore hope and confidence on the traumatized citizenry. resolving religious security challenges igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 497 going back to the initial arising question of how religion could be rescued from the negative connotations and colorations as a result of its misuse for selfish and mischievous activities and be seen in its true light and nature, not as a security threat but as a harbinger of peace, the following suggestions are proffered: in order to make any appreciable progress in the attempt to free religion from the entanglement of being complicit in constituting security challenge both in the nigerian nation in particular and the world generally, it demands that proactive steps be adopted by all concerned in the realization of that objective. first, the study of religion should be widely encouraged and promoted in the universities and other institutions of learning both locally and globally with a view to exposing and emphasizing the peaceful tenets and attributes of religion and as well disabusing it from any violent or conflict-producing tendencies. it seems presently that the important and preeminent place that religion occupies in the society is not being sufficiently recognized and appreciated. also the study of religion is not being given the pride of place it deserves and thus the society is paying dearly for such negligence. according to obiefuna & uzoigwe (2012: 132): institutions of learning shy away from studying religion as such. religion, nonetheless underpins and gives force to ethnicity and culture… religion is then seen as dysfunctional to development. the problem however, is that people are not educated formally and informally, on the possible contributions of religion in human development. nigeria‟s tertiary institutions serve as the starting point. emphasizing further on this, obiefuna & uzoigwe cited above noted that: religion is fundamental to humans‟ life and living, thinking pattern, attitudes and relationships. religion is therefore considered critical for any meaningful, total and sustainable development in human society. in pluralistic societies of culture, ethnicity and political affiliations, religion can institutionalize along those lines. this is because religion originates in a culture that is more often than not determined by an ethnic group that is defined by a dominant political party/body. if this plural structure of the society (including religious) is not properly managed, it becomes an instrument of conflict than stability, a situation that undermines development… the way out of dysfunctional character of religion in human society is rigorous study of religion especially in institutions of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 498 learning. the aim would be to understand religion as such; its meaning and content, the basic differences and similarities with the determination to play down the differences and emphasize the similarities. so the study of religion should be emphasized so as to reap the great benefits and dividends thereof, which would include the prevalence of peace, avoidance of conflicts and the realization of sustainable development among others. secondly, to effectively resolve religious security challenges prevalent in our society and the world today, the government(s) of the day should not overlook religion and its importance. this is to avert the obvious danger such negligence may portend to the nation. it is thus suggested that the government considers as necessary and urgent the need to create a ministry for religion/religious affairs, to supervise and oversee this very important and delicate aspect of the national life. it is no gainsaying that religion occupies an important place in the lives of not only nigerians but quite a considerable number of others throughout the world, since it a truism that man is a religious being. thus the place and role of religion should not be underestimated or underplayed in our nation and the world over. obiefuna & uzoigwe (2012:139) cited udoidem who made an inciting study of the place of religion in the political life of nigeria by carrying out a survey of religious-related crises in nigeria since independence. for him, religion and politics are related. after all, it is often said that all power belongs to god. continuing the analysis, they further pointed out that: islam sees a fusion of religion and politics. christianity, coming from a more secular west upholds a separation of the two. granted there are doctrinal foundations for religious conflicts in nigeria… the major problem is the political manipulation of religion to hang on to power. it is the struggle between islam and christianity on who owns nigeria. udoidem cites matthew hassan kukah as asserting that “ these two religions are straddled across the nigerian polity, each no longer knocking and pleading to be admitted but seeking to take over the architectural design and construction of the nigerian polity.” he went on to examine the underpinning causative factors of religious conflicts, the magnitude of infrastructural destruction and number of deaths in various periods and administrations (civilian and military) in nigeria. for him, it is the “struggle for control that is the root cause of the conflicts and crises in the nation‟s political and religious life.” property worth trillions of naira and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 499 thousands of lives are lost in these conflicts and crises. it would be convulsive to imagine the added numbers lost in the recent boko haram crises, jos crises, and the post-2011 election crises. all these arising religiously motivated crises make imperative the need to create a ministry of religious affairs solely charged with the management of religious matters in the country to ensure peaceful co-existence, speedy resolution of arising conflicts and the sustenance of inter-faith dialogue. this will make for a more stable and prosperous nation. conclusion security is a fundamental need and right of every human person all over the world and governments exist in each and every country of the world to provide security of lives and property to its citizenry. where this is lacking or the government and its security apparatus fail to meet up with this their fundamental duty to the citizenry, then the legitimacy of such a government will be called into question. governments are also advised to practice the ethic of inclusivity so as to avoid the radicalization of disenfranchised, excluded and marginalized individuals and groups. on the other hand, religion which is the desire and need of each individual to commune with the supernatural ultimate reality (the creator god), while being practiced with a guarantee of freedom and right of each individual to choose his/her religious affiliation, should as well be practiced with tolerance and recognition of the other‟s right to practice his chosen religion unhindered and undisturbed, without force or cohesion. religious intolerance should therefore be eschewed and rejected. furthermore, people with various ill-motives and selfish ambitions should not hide under the guise of religion to perpetrate violence, evil and crime in a bid to achieve their hidden agenda because religion is antithetic to such negative tendencies. killing in the name of religion is an aberration as all „true‟ religions abhor violence and the shedding of blood, especially innocent blood. god, who the religionists profess to worship is, according to the holy scriptures an advocate of peace and also eschews violence, bloodshed and lawlessness. insecurity should not emanate from the religious sector. references igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 500 bakaki, a. (2009). the role of religion in leadership for conflict resolution and peacebuilding. www.bpu.ac.ik/resources. enuka, c. (2010). terrorism: theories and effects on international security. in arts & humanities quarterly, volume 5, october, no. 4, pp. 58-66. falola, t. (1998). violence in nigeria: the crisis of religious politics and secular ideologies. new york: university of rochester. fromkin, d. (2004). the strategy of terrorism. journal of foreign affairs, vol. 11, no. 53. holt, a. (2018). religion and the 100 worst atrocities in history. https://apholt.com/2018/11/08/religion-and-the-100-worst-atrocitiesin-history/ hornby, s. (2000). oxford advanced learner‟s dictionary, (6th ed.). new york: oxford university press. hpcr international (2007-2008). religious contributions to peacebuilding (www.peacebuildinginitiative.org.). huntington, s. p. (2003). the clash of civilization and the remaking of the world order. new york: simon and schuster. kanu, i. a. (2016). christian-muslim relations in nigeria as a religio-political locus theologicus for misericordia vultus. harvard journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 117-128. kanu, a. i; omojola, i. o.; bazza, m. b. (2019). boko haram and forced migration: a focus on the northeast and lake chad basin. published in nnadiebube journal of education in africa. vol. 4. no. 2. pp. 1-13. kanu, ikechukwu a. & ndubisi j. o. ejikemeuwa (2018) (eds.). religion, morality and peace-building in africa: ambiguities and the imperfect human condition. lambert academic publishing: germany. kanu, i. a. & ushe m. u. (2018). the religious politics of boko haram and fulani herdsmen menace: a resurgence of islamic fundamentalism. in kanu, i. a. & ndubisi j. o. e (eds.). religion, morality and peace-building in africa: ambiguities and the imperfect human condition (pp. 109-183). lambert academic publishing: germany. kukah, m. n. (1994). religion, power and politics in northern nigeria. ibadan: spectrum. nmah, p. (2012). “religious fanaticism, a threat to national security: the case of boko haram sect.” in agu, d. c; i. odimegwu & a. asiegbu (eds.). unizik journal of arts and humanities (vol.13, pp. 106-131). awka: fab aniel nigeria limited. http://www.bpu.ac.ik/resources http://www.peacebuildinginitiative.org/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 501 obiefuna, b. & a. uzoigwe (2012). “religion for sustainable development.” in unizik journal of arts and humanities (vol. 13, pp. 132-159). awka: fab aniel nigeria limited. tanko, p. b. (2007). conflict in northern nigeria: toward a resolution. koinonia journal, vol. 3 no. 3, pp. 99-128. udoidem, s. i. (1997). religion in the political life of nigeria. f. u. okafor (ed.) new strategies for curbing thnic and religious conflicts in nigeria. enugu: fourth dimension, pp. 152 – 183. white, m. (2011). the great big book of horrible things. w. w. norton & company. wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/religions_war. (assessed on july 9, 2020). wolffe, j. & g. moorhead (2014). religion, security and global uncertainties. london: www.paccsresearch.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/religionsecurity. daily independent (2018). herdsmen kill four in southern kaduna; kill two policemen in benue; several communities deserted over herdsmen attack in taraba. february 12. daily sun (2018). murder in cathedral: anguish as herdsmen kill 2 priests, 17 others in benue. april 25. operanewsonline (2020). scores killed as herdsmen strike in itakpa, near otukpo in benue. june 1. the guardian (2018). herdsmen killings: can passes vote of no confidence in buhari. february 8. the punch (2018). five feared dead, worship centers, houses torched in kaduna attack. february 27. vanguard (2018). damages caused by fulani herdsmen. february 7. vanguard (2018). killings: plot to instigate war in nigeria – buhari. may 8. http://www.paccsresearch.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/religion-security http://www.paccsresearch.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/religion-security article 16 igwebuike 6. no5.cdr igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.6 no.7, 2020 www.igwebuikejournals.com a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 1 the dynamics of the western racialization of africa (in the reflective ideas of ekwuru) obinna victor obiagwu directorate of general studies federal university of technology owerri obinnaobiagwu71@gmail.com; 08033433261 & okwara donatus uzoma directorate of general studies federal university of technology owerri doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract africa and its inhabitants have been one of the mysteries of nature that most of the western nations have always desired to demystify. the western nations, therefore, in their eagerness to demystify the african reality, have often reconstructed it in ways that seem strange even to african reality. the main issue then, in the modern african history, is the fact that both africa and africans were created and defined by the west. all about africans were handled by non-african, who were not experts. because of the invaded and conquered nature of the sole called white race to some part of african continent, that lead to the domination or assertion that blacks are inferior race. and this conquered continent meant the casting of the net of eternal dominion all over its shores and hinterlands. again the defeat of the white to black race leads to eternal dynamics of the western racialization of african. the westerners handicapped the rationality of africans in all aspect of life: medicine, culture, history and even religion etc. this paper observes that although the white races humiliated the black races without taken cognizes of the human right. these tinkering have caused both races a perpetual and eternal war. it is the thinking of this paper to look into meaning and understanding of terms, and then articulate, the dynamics of the western racialization of africa. introduction the western effort to present image of the african continent in their own thought culminated in the invention of the term race. for an enlightenment thinker like immanuel kant, that the term 'humanity' was posited and regarded as a regulative term, which means that the concept of race was invented for this purpose. the term 'regulative' here means 'adjust, arrange,' 'direct, 'govern' or rule.' it is therefore very clear that the term 'race,' is being used by the western world, for the purpose to holding, control of entire humanity, thereby forcing it into the intellectual vocabulary of the modern world. this however, made it an effective instrument for the discourses of difference. according to ekwum, the term race being so much useful in this sense, gradually graduated into an interdisciplinary keyword for the delimitation of a common zone of joint cultural project of imperial domination. going further into the matter, ekwuru also observed the fact that by defining and classifying human beings into races, western modernity attempted to advance higher genetic laws for the explanation of 'classes' and 'differences' in the landscape of humanity. with this new science of classification, ekwuru saw, race became a logic of separation, division, difference and reference in the larger family of human beings. just as some groups were placed on top of the racial pyramid, as the noblest of all the races, while others were placed at the bottom of it as the least worthyand despicable. this form of comparative classificatory logic that sets the white people of the west on top as the caucasoid race, and places the black people of africa at the bottom as the negroid race, according to him became the basic scientific logic of racial discourses of difference and discrimination against black africans. ekwuru went further to explain that through this way of representing the fact of differences in human reality, 'race-talk' as it came to be known, became a central theme linking the anthropological studies of physiology, physiognomy and genetics in their varied connections, with polygenism and monogeninsm respectively. in this sense, the adoption of the term race became an organizing principle of humanity, implying permanence of essence and possession of certain traits and disposition that are biologically and psycho-physiological determined. as a result of this classification, africa as race, was placed in the extreme position of opposition to the west as caucasoid race. by this logic of race, therefore made, africa into viewed as the opposite of the west. this baseline mythology of race, which became both the philosophical and scientific axioms for moral and social discriminations against black africans, is what ekwurum have designated as afri-raciology. consequent upon this, ekwurum also invested the fact that in the various dynamic modes of comparative differentiation and distinction between races, afri-raciology, gives rise to the notion of socio-ecological strife and competition among races. thus, while the white races are seen to be progressive, the black race is interpreted to be nearing extinction. in this way, according to him, a form of racio-ecological tension was mounted: the progressive races would like to determine and control the pace of the regressive trend of the race that is near-extinction. this makes it appear as if nature, in dividing peoples of the world into races, had designed it for a kind of cultural racing bout, with a mandate clearly that the winning race should dominate and reconstruct the reality of the other. if this was nature's design, the west believes they have won it and is ready to make full use of it. in the reconstruction of the african reality by arrogating to the white european race the leadership position of the entire humanity as the "tougher' stock. western modernism therefore uses the term race for all kinds of anthropometric measurements, and as comparative indices of socio-historical records. in this way, 'race' becomes, not only a regulative term for determining who is and who is not human, but also, a distinctive measure of human types and cultural levels of achievement and advancement. (ekwuru 2011). the western world therefore sees the visualization of the logic of a common humanity in terms of racial athletics, as a moral guarantee for imperial domination. if in the racio-athletics of becoming human, and ever more human, a particular 'race,' sees itself as having excelled more than others in its cultural achievements, then, it is a clear sign that it should lead by determining and controlling the humanity of others. according to ekwuru, this type of 'racial competition' that the west recognized in human nature, is an inter-racial competition between herself and others both real and imagined. ekwuru further observe that it is a competition in which the west started right from the early period 2 the dynamics of the western racialization of africa (in the reflective ideas of ekwuru) of greek imperialism as a winner, and in which she is determined to continue to win by controlling, determining, and dominating the social and cultural humanity of others. she achieves this through various means of constant invasion, conquest and imperial domination of the political, socio-economic and cultural spheres of other lands, cultures and peoples of the world (ekwuru 2011). race and politics of colour variation the west has on various occasions tried to determine the humanity of the african, using the politics of colour variation. the colour difference between the white man and the black man is of a very high margin of what is being put into consideration here is not that the so-called white man is called “white” and the black man is called “black” but with the meaning attached to the human colour as 'white' and as 'black.' this is what ekwuru described as the culture politics of assigning symbolic meanings to colours. he obviously, started that this form of cultural politics has been in the main, an indubitable politics of racial definition and castigations. the white man according to ekwuru defines the black man as black, with its semiotic assemblages of symbolic meanings. for him, the meaning attached to racial colours, carries with it varied ensembles of moral definitions of 'goodness.' and ''badness... and this makes one to keep wondering when such an issue is raised, whether the variety of colours in nature is meant primarily for disagreeable structures of opposition or for beautiful forms of combinations. ekwuru maintain that the theme of colour variation has gone a long way in the history of western encounter with other races of the world. for him it is one of the issues that gave origin to the science of modem physical anthropology of which that in the 19th century america, racial colourbar was a central issue in the socio-political life. ekwuru posited this was the problem president lincoln had to confront in some of this discussions about the blacks and slavery in usa. looking at this statement, from lincoln one can see that he was merely reaffirming the general assumption of his contemporaries. the average white american believes that african skin colour, hair texture, and facial features were associated in some way with the african way of life (in africa) and his status as slave (in the americans). it is very important to note at this point the fact that the colour variation on which the west base its arguments for discriminating against black africans have became a major bone of contention among scholars globally, what this means in effect is that the problem is not the simple issue of racial colour identification, but the cultural politics of colour distinction. this is what ekwuru we have designated as “neroisation” the negative symbolisation of the black colour, meaning therefore, that the major issue has been the politics of colour, following the ambition of the west to dominate as a superior white race. however, ekwuru maintains that to make colour the central fact of racial distinction was, in the main, the heart of racial politics of the white european civilisation framework. for him, colour in itself as a natural fact of identification and distinction, is a neutral element subject to the meaning given by human beings. he posits that colours in themselves, whether black, white, red, blue, and others, are just the same in their substantial natures and qualities. for him again, colours assume their values in the role of signification assigned to them by human beings in their different cultural set-ups. of which he states in this case, that black or white could be used to designate the worst or the best in their various symbolic functions. whatever meaning each colour designates the symbolic convention of the human community. ekwuru went further again to state that it is the advantage of neutrality of colour that the west took to paint the african as black as 3obinna victor obiagwu & okwara donatus uzoma the devil. looking at the antipodal structure of western pattern of thinking, which opposes the good against the bad, god against the devil, white colour was equally opposed to black colour, and taking white as the description of their colour, black was used to depict the african. western scientists are yet to convince us about the natural basis of this colour opposition, if not cultural ekwuru insists. conclusion according to george ekwuru (2011), race is a logic of separation, division, difference and reference in the larger family of human beings. this places some group of humans on top of what ekwuru described as racial pyramid, as the noblest of all the races, while others were placed at the bottom of it as the least worthy and despicable. this form of comparative classificatory logic that sets the white people of the west on top as the caucasoid, and places the black people of africa at the bottom as the negroid race, become the basic scientific logic of racial discourses of difference and discrimination against black africans. for the west, there is a "racial competition". this she achieves through various means of constant invasion, conquest and imperial domination of the political, socio-economic and cultural spheres of other lands, cultures and peoples of the world, especially the black africans. a typical example is the case george floyd, the african-american, who was denied "breathe" recently by the white police, even after calling the mama africa. this level of dominance, by whites over black. to achieve this, the black race shall employ the concept of morality, humanity and self esteem, as guiding principles of life, knowing fully well that in the words of socrates, an unexamined life is not worth living. the blacks are not in any wsy inferior to the whites. rather, the racists who painted the devil black and the angel white are pushing the blacks towards this inferiority complex. rather, it is all about racial politics. the whites know the stuff the blacks are made of, but socially they would still pretend ignorance, simply because they wrote the black man's history. references ekwuru, e.g.; the dynamics of afri-raciogenesis and the dialetics of afrirealitism. owerri: totan publishers, 2011. oliver, r., the african experience. new york: weidenfeld and nicolson, 1991. onyeoche, m.i., africa: the country, the concept and the horizon. owerri: university press, 2007. tsenry, s. (ed). african philosophy: the essential readings. new york. paragon home, 1991. young, j.c.r.; post colonialism: an historial introduction. oxford: blackwell, 2001. 4 the dynamics of the western racialization of africa (in the reflective ideas of ekwuru) page 1 page 2 page 3 page 4 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 95 philosophical examination of educational theories and curriculum development in nigeria adeleye, joseph olusola, phd educational foundations and management bamidele olumilua university of education, science and technology ikere ekiti oluadeleye4real@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract this paper dwelled on the structure of the curriculum both at the pre independence and post-independence in nigerian education with the analysis that methods of teaching in pre-independence nigeria encouraged creativity as students learned informally through imitating and practicing the roles of the elders in contrast to the methods adopted from the colonial masters which appeared to be strange to the learners. it is observed through the method of philosophical analysis that the theories propounded by the psychologists of learning were predicated on idealized theoretical positions and experiments outside the human culture. the earliest psychologists carried out their experiments on animals and these became the foundations of human learning. the paper criticized curriculum built as a result of one’s experience on animals since the brain structures of animals and that of human beings are different. the paper submitted that curriculum should be a reflection of what the people think, feel, do and believe within a given society. this will reflect their ways of developing and shaping an individual, in terms of skills and attitudes. therefore, each culture will have different philosophy, which results in different ways of doing things especially in educating the next generation. keywords: philosophy, teaching, learning, educational theories and curriculum development introduction curriculum development is defined as the process of planning learning opportunities intended to bring about certain changes in students and the assessment of the extent to which these changes have taken place. curriculum comes from the words (race) meaning to run a course and refers to a sequence of steps or stages in teaching and learning. it is a total guided learning experience igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 96 design to facilitate learning for establishing quality relationship between what is learned and what is operated outside the school system. john dewey defined curriculum as a continuous reconstruction, renewing from the learner’s present experience out into that represented by organised bodies of truth (dewey,1944). ralph tyler (1949) defined curriculum as learning experience planned and directed by the school to attain its educational goals. it is a comprehensive overview of what students should learn, how they will learn it, what role the instructor is playing, and the framework in which learning and teaching will take place. curriculum is developed according to a set of guidelines, it may be characterised by centralization or decentralization depending on the culture of an educational institution in a country. curriculum development is a planned, purposeful, progressive and systematic process to create positive improvement in the educational system. whenever there are changes or development happening around the world, the school curricula are affected. there is a need to update them to address the society’s needs and aspirations. this is evident as one observed that during the ancient times people taught their children knowledge and skills to survive. they had no formal education during that time. people at that period had a curriculum that another educator regarded as the saber-tooth curriculum. this type of curriculum refers to a kind that existed during the ancient time in which the purpose for teaching was for survival. however, when the effect of discovery and innovations became inevitable, ancient people’s way of life has changed accordingly and as a result, education becomes formal and curriculum development involved systematic, planning and purposeful. preindependence curriculum theory and development in nigeria prior to the advent of the missionaries and introduction of formal school system in nigeria, the people of this country had their traditional way of educating themselves (fafunwa, 1974). there were varieties of institutions where learning did take place, where knowledge, ideas and code of behaviour were transmitted. training for a particular function within society either in economic and noneconomic basis were very common and still persist till today. family life, work play, initiation rites, ceremonies and other public functions, discussion at meetings, peer groups/age group ceremonies were all avenues of learning during the ancient days. traditional musicians, dances, and songs set pace for the cultural standards and ethics of the people. most of these songs and other moon night igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 97 stories conveyed genealogy and stories of the past and to most cases set a warning signal to their listeners. most adults and youths during this period had their memories exercised and learnt something following the accepted techniques of communication as well as absorbing the mythological of historical content of these stories. arotiba (2004) said the most significant and perhaps crucial aspect of traditional education was its relevance to nigerians in contrast with what was later introduced. what was taught in traditional education was put into use immediately. the practice of education or rather methods of learning then were very effective. this is because during that time there were no passive classrooms where learners could doze away into sleep or be wearied into tiredness and boredom by the continuous talk of unwilling and uninterested teachers. what existed then was learning on the job through imitation, mimicking, learning to do things by watching those who could do it right where the real job was. brown and hiskett (1970) commenting on the method of learning among indigenous traditional societies said that the indigenous method of learning was not training people for a futuristic society or imagined hypothetical case but for life as it is lived in the present and for a real situation. the curriculum was based on learning by doing which involved active participation and physical involvement. from all available evidences, the content of education given to the people during the colonial period was nick-named “the 3r’s. the 3r’s consisted of reading, writing and arithmetic. owoseni (2006) described the 3r’s as a humorist coinage of the curriculum contents which the colonialist taught the people. this coinage was to express the inadequacy and irrelevance of the content which were so apparent then that very many concerned people even among the europeans and americans criticized very seriously. the phelp-stoke commission (1920 – 1921) that visited nigeria among many other african countries then commented on the type of education being offered in a very critical manner. though educational facilities in african are largely credited to missions and a great service has been rendered by them to the native people, many of the missions have yet to realize the full significance of education in the development of african people. the deffects in the educational programme, so far as they exist have usually been due to their concept of education. for the masses, they provided the 3r’s for the catechists, literature, including, of course, an interpretation of religion. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 98 the beginning of the development of educational content or curriculum for educating the colonised masses was traced to the missionaries who started active evangelization of the south western nigeria around september 1842. the content was based on the main need to train interpreters of the english language to the yoruba language and vice-versa among the people. the interpreters were to help the missionaries carry out their objectives of evangelization quickly and effectively. thus, reading and writing were thought necessary and when the european traders moved in after missionaries, it was conjectured that arithmetic should be added to the existing syllabus to help boost trading. it was later when some of the nigerian converts were found responsible to hold the office of teachers for the europeans in remote interiors or in those places where they could not venture to, “literature” along the line of interpretation of religion was added to teach those few brilliant and trusted native teachers who were called catechists (akinlua 2002). even with the narrow and deficient content of education, the depth of the syllabus in each area emphasised british and other foreign ideas. lewis (1976) explained that by 1933, when various concerned analysts and commissions had succeeded in expanding the school curriculum to include some other subjects, these subjects were the traditional british history and geography of england. lewis said that “the content of the syllabus placed emphasis on british history and geography, approaches were based on the rote learning of facts such as the lists of kings of england, names of rulers, mountains, rivers and their heights. the development of primary, secondary and tertiary education was reluctantly embarked upon by the colonialist government over a long period of time and with much pressure and coercion by many progressive forces. from 1842 to 1949, the feat was finally achieved. the progressive forces were the members of the colonial government, other concerned european and american bodies and later the pressure group of nigeria elites though the three levels of education were reluctantly put up, the curriculum of learning never at any time and at all levels departed much from the mainstream of the 3 r ‘s’ though the memorandum of education and other reviews before and after then [1923 up to 1948] had suggested a much diversified and culturally rich curriculum for educating the people, the situation did not so much improve that even by 1952, the nigeria press was quoted as saying that the content of higher education and of course all education in nigeria was not related to the needs and culture of the nigerian society. the methods of teaching during the period were also not suitable and effective. the pragmatic learning on the job modes of the pre – colonial periods were totally igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 99 discarded and much attention was crowded under learning. learners were crowded under the nee or mud – walled classrooms and were subjected to chorus shouting and memorization of insignificant strange items all the day long. some of the successes that were recorded then were assumed to be only due to the dedication of the native teachers, the determination of the “aged” learners and the novelty of the whole learning art by the period then and not to any syllabus or methods of learning. postindependence curriculum theory and development in nigeria according to lewis (1976) as late as 1961, the syllabus and methods of learning were still seen as alienating the students from their environment. lewis mentioned that “one gets the impression that the pupils were just sponges imbibing knowledge not understood or digested, for the sole purpose or regurgitating it for examinations”. attempts to provide vocational courses and practical learning were to some extent successful by 1955 when the secondary modern school was inaugurated to provide the key to vocational and professional training at the lower levels. the successes were however not tangible as most of the schools established were said to lack adequate staff and that very few offered the vocational courses. it was reported that “most of them (the modern schools) offered purely academic courses which provided only a polished type of education received at the primary school. secondary grammar schools were also introduced, but were reported to neglect any technical or practical education in their curriculum. it was reported that the grammar school graduates were so removed from the realities in the syllabus and methods they employed was good for manual work only. the little science that was taught then was dismissed as being out dated and not related to the students’ environment and societal needs. the continuous state of irrelevant and inadequate curricula and methods for learning at all levels of education in nigeria finally led to the 1969 conferences on education in lagos. the conferences were held for the review of content and method of learning. the conference recommended among other things and for the first time, that the content of education should reflect the need, the environment of the people and the interests of professions like faming, blacksmithing, bricklaying among others. this was sequel to the ashby commission of 1960 which examined the inadequacies of the nigerian educational content and practice to meet the need of nigeria up till 1980. akinlua (2002) said that the efforts of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 100 1969 conference did not yield so much results in changing the content and practice of education in nigeria for the better. it was observed that the existing old structures were impediments to the new development and since the government was not wholly prepared to scrap these old structures and start on a new foundation, much of the suggested innovations were quickly swallowed up and forgotten. the 1979 conference that came later on with 6-3-3-4 curricula which stressed the importance of achieving meaningful and relevant education in nigeria could be said to be achieving nothing today. according to ehindero (1984), this new system was also built to operate within the poor structures of the old 8-5-2-3 and 6-5-2-4 system of the 1950’s – 1960’s. the 1979 – 6-3-3-4 system of education was borrowed from america, though was based on purely nigerian utopian educational goals and aspirations, very little modification is seen in her operations. the syllabus for each subject in the traditional arts and sciences remained confined to names of things and facts about items which are much strange and incomprehensible to the learners. practical science and business which the learners are familiar with their environments do not feature in the document and neither in the practice of the document. the most hindering factor is also the fact that the same old classroom, old science laboratory built to accommodate learning of rote nature are still being used by unwilling teachers to teach the less interested pupils. the accommodation in these 1979 curricula of vocational and technical subjects that are meant to train the learning masses in the society to bring about quick technological developments are without proper planning and there was lack of provision of the necessary resources that could make them effective. it has been observed that this american type of 6-3-34 curricular is very expensive in nature and practice and to make it successful, much money and resources must be pumped into it. the technical laboratories are not in existence in most schools today in nigeria and where they exist, the government has perhaps forgotten to equip them. hence, one is battling with massive problems of examination malpractices today at all levels of our educational system. the nigerian education system of 9-3-4 came to replace 6-3-3-4 system of education. the replacement came as a result of some development believed to enhance nigerian education system and foster rational advancement (athanasius, 2017). the 6-3-3-4 system of education did not meet the aspirations of nigerians, it was not commensurate with the expectation of nigerian citizen on education, the government had to intervene by way of implementing the kind of education igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 101 system that will suit into the yearnings of nigerians. the government believed that adopting an excellent education will foster national development. however, before 6-3-3-4 system of education, there were questions raised as to whether the existing education system was suited with the nigerian nation’s reality, in terms of socio-economic growth, political stability and the nation’s cultural heritage. with the introduction of 9-3-4, obioma (2012) reported that all local, national and global issues currently influencing the lives of nigerian children are adequately reflected in the curricula. he said, “the curricular (subjects) are up to date with current demands and practices in the disciplines. this clearly departs from the vicious cycle of theory or mere memorization. the curriculum content activities are presented in practical oriented steps by steps that enable the learners to see, touch, handle and feel. this will enable the pupils to truly learn, internalize what they learn, and use it for problem solving and for living. the curriculum encourages learning by doing and use of self-learning strategies’. a functional curriculum, according to him, fosters national development and this informed the careful efforts put into the revision exercise. the school curriculum by its essential purpose is the mechanism through which the educational system will address the need, problem, religion and aspirations of a nation or society. conclusion certainly, it is expedient that nigeria needs a curriculum review that will recognize all the factors that once made the nation succeed. a curriculum review that will include subject that enhance entrepreneurship; one that makes for functional education in a way that will involve the use of nigerian cartoons, audiovisuals or software that emphasis nigeria as an independent nation and as well recognize our cultural orientation as practiced in russia, china, japan, indian among other countries. nigeria needs a curriculum revolution that will trigger education for development. a revival of the old teacher training colleges is, of course, needed. therefore, since government has started on a wrong premise, it should suspend the colonial controversial curriculum and start a process that will reflect nigeria’s need, diversity, culture and of course, lead to development that is globally acceptable and relevant. it is equally expedient to have curriculum that is going to target critical thinking, scientific discovery and empowerment. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 102 references adu, e.t. (2012). curriculum implementation: an overview. ibadan. demilade omotayo publishers. arotiba, t. (2004). curriculum theory and planning. ibadan. olaoluwa printing press. akinlua (2002). fundamentals of curriculum studies for beginners. ado-ekiti. yemi prints & publishing services. athanasius, j. (2017). problems and prospects of 6-3-3-4 education system in nigeria. retrived from https/info.guide nigeria.com. brown, g.n and hiskett, m. (1970). conflict and harmony in education in tropical africa. london. george allen unwin ltd. dewey, john (1944). democracy and education. london. collier macmillan ehindero, o.j. (1984). curriculum foundations and development for nigerian studies. london. concept publications. fafunwa, a.b. (1974). history of education in nigeria. routledge lewis, l.j. (1976). society, school and progress in nigeria. london. oxford pergamum press. obioma, g.(2012). curriculum development in nigeria. a paper presented at a workshop held in september,2012 and reported by vanguard newspapers, september 6, 2012. owoseni a.a. (2006). foundations of education. ikere. notech printing press. tylers, r. w.(1942). basic principles of curriculum and instruction. chicago. university of chicago press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 66 emerging trends in scenographic design in nigeria: an appraisal of some selected wedding ceremonies and places of worship musiliyu olorunnishola sanni school of visual and performing arts, kwara state university, malete musiliyu.sanni@kwasu.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.31258.06083 abstract in the pursuit of an aesthetically pleasing performance, scenography, being a visual component of a production, is almost impossible to deemphasise. as a matter of fact, its prominence is not only for fulfilling technical and artistic qualities in the theatre and film productions but also for its intervention for achieving an excellent production. this study, therefore, examines the emerging trends in scenographic conceptions with particular attention to scenery, lighting, and make-up, among other performance spectacles, in some selected wedding ceremonies and religious programmes in nigeria. the paper employs the descriptive and participant-observation methods, while the interview instrument complements the two methods. these methods enable us to study the emerging trends and techniques of scenographic presentation engage in some technical interpretations of the selected productions. relevant journal articles, textbooks and online materials are employed as secondary sources of data. more so, postmodernism is adopted as our theoretical framework. our findings reveal that scenographic input does not only assist in the classification and delineation of both technical and dramatic qualities of a production, but indeed, contributes significantly to ensuring a pleasing performance. the study concludes that scenic artistry is the hub of any theatrical production and recommends that technical designers should promote the emerging design trends beyond the theatre and filmmaking. keywords: scenography, postmodernism, trends, emerging introduction depending on which side of the global divide and practice one finds himself, scenography is differently referred to as production mise-en-scéne, scenic artistry, cinematic design, filmographic spectacle, scenographic input, and performance aesthetics; all refer to the technical and artistic interventions that advance the overall visual concept and aesthetic values of a production. being a visual concept of a production, scenic artistry in the overall production process cannot be overemphasised in the pursuit of an aesthetically pleasing mailto:musiliyu.sanni@kwasu.edu.ng igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 67 performance. this is because scenographic input is an integral component of performance tradition, all over the world. scenographic designs consisting of scenery, lighting, costume, make-up, among other performance spectacles, are arguably too important to deemphasise in any production. their additive functions of embelishment gives high technical and artistic qualities to both the theatre and film productions; not also leaving out other perfomative arts that we encounter in daily life, such as carnival, wedding, political campaign, advertisement and sales promotion, to mention but a few. this confirms the reason why lotker and gough quoted in hann aver that, multiple scenographics are encountered in daily life, and the “notions of expanded scenography such as environments that we perform in – our home, a restaurant, a cruise ship, a parking lot, a public square, a theatre venue, a parliamentary building and everest make us rethink scenography as a system” (6). however, while so observing the systemic concept of scenographic presentation in the performance-making, it is noteworthy to mention that scenography is rooted from the classical period be it western or african perspective. informed by the foregoing observation, oni and ododo explicate that: starting from the alarinjo fare, through the boisterous popular yoruba travelling theatre championed by hubert ogunde and the literary theatre in nigeria, instituted by geoffrey axworthy/martin banham/dereck bullock galvanised by wole soyinka and his contemporaries to the present day theatre enterprises, a quantum of technical inputs must have been made to sustain these theatre heritage (p.xv). a cursory look at this citation will undoubtedly reveal that scenographic design is one of the mechanisms used to sustain theatre tradition from the beginning to date. this authenticates the fact that, it provides a background for the artistic interpretation of dramatic and technical concepts of any cultural production. in this respect, it has to be borne in mind that scenography goes beyond performance spaces in the theatre-making, but indeed, includes all human and non human aspects of a performance that are carefully drawn to ensure pleasing and satisfying production. but interestingly, its advancement and adaptability starting from indigenous, popular, literary, modern, and postmodern theatre, makes the art of scenography indispensable, and as well fundamental in the production conception and performance-making. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 68 this paper, thus, examines how scenographic design has been creatively discharged and adequately used in our postmodern society using some selected wedding ceremonies and religious service programmes in nigeria as paradigms. in doing this, any form of temporal assemblage or ornament, whether physical, technical, or artistic in the selected productions are given attention. specific areas of focus include trend, approach, technique as well as equipment used in their scenographic conceptions and design execution. theoretical underpinning ‘postmodernism’ there are several arguments and counter arguments that revolve around the intrinsic nature of postmodernism and its concept in the academic towers. some intellectual bodies, scholars and critics argue that postmodernism is a complex and controversial philosophy of the century. but in spite of all these counter discourses from both pro and anti postmodern schools of thought, its relevance cannot be overemphasised in the present-day ‘theatre enterprises’. jeanfrancois lyotard (1979), jean baudrillard (1983), fredric jameson (1984), and david harvey (1989) as quoted in richard devetak, anthony burke, jim george, describe postmodernism as “both a changing attitude and a fundamentally novel historical condition” (92). the above citation sterms from the fact that postmodernism believes in the frequent changes over the world views, thoughts, principles, rules, cultures, and traditions; and the “key features of this new postmodernity are associated with processes of globalisation, such as rapid evolution and spread of mass media, computers and other communicative features” (devetak, et. al, 93). this suggests that, postmodernism is a term with multidisciplinary applications. besides, it also points to the fact that we live in a ‘pluralised society’ circumscribed by a multiplicity of style, knowledge, interpretation and understanding. the above explication may inform why pauline rosenau as quoted in doki and odeh opines that: postmodernism rejects epistemological assumptions, reflects methodological conventions, resists knowledge claims…postmodernism is against any form of totalitarianism, the possibility of truth or moral universals, any form of objectivity, logo-centric world views, they question authority, and the arbitrary imposition of any singular, systematic point of view (32). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 69 this corroborates the fact that postmodernism is an art movement that reexamines the conventional templates of most modernistic theatrical works to give place to the contemporary trends in the areas of interpretation and understanding. postmodernism also advocates for pluralism which utilises multiple ways of knowing, cultural transformation, new communicative arts and media society particularly in the phase of scenographic presentation and representation in the wedding ceremonies among other religious service programmes. therefore, the following features of postmodernism will be adopted in our examination of the emerging trends of scenographic design in some selected productions: • deconstruction styles in the scenographic conception in the selected works; • pluralistic concepts in the creation of scenographic art in the two media; • multiple use of techniques in the scenographic design in the wedding ceremonies; • flexibility in the design process and execution in the religious service programmes; • post-structural methods in the scenographic presentation in the selected productions; • technological involvement and adaptability in the production process; and • radical approaches and constant changes in the presentation and representation design concepts in the selected productions. however, the underlying factor for the adaption of postmodernism as a theoretical construct for this paper is due to its relevance in our contemporary society, particularly in the aspect of scenographic conceptions and execution in performance-making via technological involvement and adaptability, as evidenced in the selected productions. scenographic design beyond theatre and film orthodoxies it is worrisome to note that seconographic presentation has been suffering from multiple marginalisations in recent scholarship. this constant discrimination could be specifically associated to its ill-defined term and ambiguous concept right from the start of the greek theatre. historically, scenography revolved around the developmental stages in the theatre. these stages had continually influenced developmental trajectory of the theatre and had resulted in various igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 70 production styles, theories, principles, with no exemption to theatre design and technology. evidently, scenography evolved from the greek word skenographia, which literally translates as scene-painting. in the greek theatre, skene from which the word scene derived is a fragmented hut or temporary background where actors changed their masks, costumes and other performance spectacles. besides, roman theatre was an extension of the greek theatre models. romans designers also built their performance spaces either on the flat surfaces or hillsides just like their counterparts in greek theatre using makeshift wooden or stone structure, to celebrate various roman festivals known as ludi ‘game’. whereas in the medieval theatre, religious plays were performed under the supervision of clergy within and outside the church premises. subsequently, liturgical drama were moved to the street where elaborate scenery, costumes, lighting, among other spectacles were sufficiently used. however, these notable periods in the theatre history marked the beginning of elaborate and extensive use of technical elements in productions. they also recognised scenic artistry as one of the major components of a production, rather than a supplement to other practices like directing, acting, playwriting, music, and dance, as is currently being experienced. brockett and ball share this view when they state that “most performances require the creative efforts and cooperation of many people: playwright, director, actor, designer, and technicians” (8). why lending his voice on the importance of scenography in the overall performance dramaturgy, baugh argues that: scenography has become the principal dramaturgy of performance-making–perhaps close to a direct translation of ‘scaena and graphos’ drawing with the scene – where all aspect of ‘the scene’ (scenic space, embodied action, material, clothes, light and sound) may become the materials laid out on the performance–maker’s palatte (240). from this, it is evident that scenographic design is a synthesis of all the audiovisual elements of a production and without its complementary roles; other parts of the production may not be properly accomplished. be that as it may, scenography has been identified as one of the predominant tools that is currently in vogue in the production of advertisement, sales promotion, wedding, and carnival, birthday party, convocation, funeral and ceremony, among other religious programmes in any technological-driven society. although many people tend to think or assume that scenographic igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 71 design and decoration are the same, however, there is proof to show that this is not so, because scenography is a logical process characterised by so many underlying design principles and elements. nevertheless, irrespective of design nomenclatures such as interior decorations, exterior designs, flower arrangements, furniture materials, draperies and curtain placements, floor coverings, wall finishes, lighting designs as well as set designs and colour applications are set out mainly to create pleasing and enabling environments. decoration is any ornament, material or embellishment used to enhance a particular setting, place or thing such as home, theatre, hall, hotel, school, office and so on. singh lends credence to the relevance of decoration and their materials in the production process, when he submits that “some textiles are used in interior environment, such as homes, offices, hospitals, hotels, schools, aircraft and automobiles interiors…” (31). it is generally believed that the nature and form of an event determine the type of decorations, colours, textiles and materials to be used. these materials include ribbon, china cloth, flowers, flower vase, lanterns, rug, paint, wood, thumb pin, scissors, and so on. it therefore, goes to say that scenographic art is an extension of decorative art. because any decoration using led screen, led lantern, led cloth, and gobo template, 3-d design, animation design, chromatic and superimposition designs, as well as flats, among other multimedia technologies, software and computer-generated images, can never be regarded as a mere decoration, rather could be placed within the cannon of scenographic designs. scenographic conceptions in the places of worship and weddings it is an incontestable fact that modernity has come to stay in our contemporary society, and nigerian places of worship and wedding ceremonies are not exempted. churches, especially the new ones generation, have been rebranded and transformed through the use of scenographic interventions, such as sophisticated lanterns and lighting equipment, scenery design and virtual background, digital studios and advance musical instruments. this portends a current trend in nigerian society. identified churches with manifested of this trend include synagogue church of all nations, christ embassy, rhema chapel, coza, among others. the conventional churches also, such as redeemed christian church of god, deeper christian life ministry, living faith worldwide are gradually tilting towards postmodern scenographic designing, but not as radically as done by the new generation churches. the reason, therefore, for the massive population of the new generation churches igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 72 by the nigerian is not only because of their pentecostal principles and styles of worship, but due to their technological involvements and adaptability in the postmodern society. in the same vein, scenographics have recently occupied a central position in most of the islamic programmes, and this will continue to be so because of its potency in ensuring aesthetically pleasing and satisfying production. islamic programmes where elaborate technical inputs have been constantly deployed include lailatul qadr prayer (night of decree) where the making of dua (prayers) and dhikr (praising) supplications take place. this night is usually organised among the islamic sects, primarily for praising and worship of allah (swt) and prophet muhammed (saw). these sects include nasirul-lahi-faith society of nigeria (nasfat), quorribullah faith society of nigeria, qadirriya movement and tijaniyya group among other islamic da’wah (propagation) groups. on the other hand, though wedding ceremonies take on nomenclatures such as traditional wedding, white wedding, court wedding, church wedding and islamic wedding. regardless of this, scenographic design has contributed impressively, not alone in the area of promoting stunning and colourful ceremony, but also, assists to facilitate pleasant and memorable event. arguably, no wedding may possibly claim to be complete without the involvement of scenographics. it is interesting to note that after the couple in the wedding ceremony, scenographic design such as scenery, make-up, costume, sound and lighting occupy another important position. emerging trends in scenographic design in wedding ceremonies and places of worship for the appraisal of the emerging trends in the scenographic designs in wedding ceremonies and religious programmes in nigeria; the following areas such as trends, dimensions, techniques as well as equipment used in the scenographic conceptions and execution, particularly in set design and stage lighting, will be examined through the use of media mapping projection design and virtual design. virtual design this is an extension of physical or conventional method of scenographic design. this concept of design can only be accomplished via the use of modern technology and emerging software such as laptop, notebook computer, and desktop. other devices include camera, autocad, sketchup pro, adobe photoshop, and other electronic gadgets such as projector screen and flat screen igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 73 which are employed to ensure three-dimensional effects in the production. examples of this design are 3-d design, animation design, chromatic and superimposition design, direct image printing, graphics design, as well as computer-generated images. in his explanation, sanni opines that this design concept is also capable of creating representational and presentational designs “through the use of lanterns, such as moving head led spot, moving head led wash, mac lanterns” (87) and so on. therefore, most of the scenery, lighting, makeup, and props, among other performance spectacles that we encounter daily, particularly in the places of worship and wedding ceremonies, are possible as the results of these evolving trends in the scenographic presentations. in this respect the below will be illustrative: fig 2: virtual lighting design thrown from cyclorama using led lanterns to give dimensional effects and depth at wedding ceremony, 2020. photo credit jaf clothings fig 1: virtual design that depicts postmodern trend in set and lighting design at “the redeemed christian church of god; 75 hours marathan praise, 2017”. photo credit: rccg platform, lagos. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 74 media mapping projection design media mapping projection design is a postmodern design concept that is capable of providing multimedia designs and dynamic performance backgrounds simultaneously through the use of digital gadgets, sophisticated lanterns, among other lighting equipment in order to add extra dimensions and depth to the performance. this design method is the combination of physical and virtual design. from this, it is believe that media mapping design comprises tangible and intangible aspects of scenographic design to facilitate a luminous production via the use of giant led screen, led lantern, led cloth, gobo template, as well as green-hippo software, turbocad among other virtual design equipment. this form of design concept is common in most of the nigerian churches. figures four and five below provide visual examples that buttress our point: fig 4: mmpd lighting dimension generated through led lanterns that favours postmodern lighting for special effects at “synagogue church of all nations, 2019. photo credit: emmanuel tv fig 3: virtual background design that portrays new dimension to set design at triumphant assembly city of david, overflow conference, 2015. photo by oladeji taiwo, ibadan igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 75 in this end, we could state that postmodernism is considered appropriate and relevant as our theoretical framework, because, all of the above illustrated in the structure of this paper are postmodern scenographic designs and the concepts beyond the four walls of theatre and the film orthodoxies. conclusion this paper, has examined the emerging trends in scenographic designs beyond the theatre and film orthodoxies in nigeria, with particular attention on wedding ceremonies and places of worship. the paper, therefore, concludes that scenographics are being creatively deployed and adequately used in nigeria’s day-to-day cultural and creative productions such as advertisements, sales promotions, carnivals, and churches. and these quarters of emerging designs should be appreciated and thoughtfully explored by the theatre designers in the country. in this, we conclude that, scenic artistry is the hub of any production and without its interventions technically and artistically theatre and film productions, among others performative arts, may not be properly accomplished. it is further concluded that scenographic input does not only assist in the classification and delineation of both technical and dramatic qualities of a production, it indeed contributes significantly to the achievement of an artistically pleasing and audience-satisfying production in the wedding ceremonies and other celebrative and performative events. the work recommends that, technical designers should promote the emerging design trends beyond the film and the theatre. fig 5: mmpd scenographic design via led screen that provides special background effect for church service at “triumphant assembly international 20th anniversary”, 2017. photo credit: oladeji taiwo, ibadan. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 76 references baugh, christopher. theatre, performance and technology: the development and transformation of scenography. united kingdom: palgrave macmillan, 2013. brockett, oscar and ball robert. the essential theatre: seventh edition. new york: harcourt brace college publishers, 1999. devetak, richard, burke anthony, and gorge jim. an introduction to international relation. accessed on june 6th, 2020, from https://www.cambridgebook.online.com, 2015. singh, surender. interior decoration. accessed on june 21st, 2020, from https://www.researchgate,net/publication, 2017. doki, gowon ama, and odoh, jerri idah. “verisimilitude and aesthetics in selected nigeria home videos”. sonta: nigeria theatre journal, 2015, vol. 15; 28-43. hann, rachel. beyond scenography. new york: routledge, 2019. oni, duro, and ododo, sunnie enessi. “confronting the mirage of technical theatre challenges in nigeria. technical theatre and the performing arts in nigeria: celebrating olateju wasee kareem, eds. oni duro and ododo sunnie enessi, lagos: center for black and african arts and civilization (cbaac), 2011, xv-xvii. sanni, musiliyu olorunnishola, “dimensions to state lighting in ultima studios and zmirage, lagos”. scene dock: sonta journal of theatre design and technology, 2019, vol. 3; 76-99. https://www.cambridgebook.online.com/ https://www.researchgate,net/publication semiotic interpretation and the igwebuike identity: an antidote for interpersonal misunderstanding igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 11 semiotic interpretation and the igwebuike identity: an antidote for interpersonal misunderstanding dozie iwuh, osa department of philosophy augustinian institute makurdi benue state registered501@gmail.com executive summary that which is validly true about our human existence and all that pertains to it is the reality of communication. it is communication that breeds human interrelationships, a rapport, assuring us that we are not isolated in the world, but have access to other human persons like us. the communication that is spoken of here cannot be limited to just the verbal type, if we do that, we would be registering a stereotype. communication also pertains to the non-verbal, the non-visible (the supposedly telepathic means of communication), etc. yet, what is to be maintained is that whether it is verbal or non-verbal, visible or non-visible, communication is mediated through the use of signs. language is what can be defined as an oral/worded/lettered, yet mental (this is because before ever a word is uttered, it is first constructed in the mind, whether it be consciously or unconsciously. more to that, people think or construct their line of thought in tandem with the language they speak.) representation of signs. this goes to indicate that, even though there is the external world, the human person, in his own subjective worldview (which is internal), is able to make contact with the external world, by means of sign inter-rapport. that is to say that he understands the signs that are external to him and is able to relate to the external world also by means of signs. the external world that is being spoken of here also pertains to dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 12 the other human person that is not “i”, but the “you”. the individual mediates the external world, by means of signs received and perceived (the focus of this piece is between the “i” and the “you.”). there is no means of really understanding what lies in the depths of the mind of the other person, the “you”. the “i” can only decipher according to those signs that have been let out by the “you”. it should be noted that misunderstandings arise when the signs given by the “i” is not properly deciphered by the “you”. misunderstandings have been the bane of the human existence, causing strife, suspicion, conflicts, divisions, etc. the igwebuike ideology proffers what its name signifies, namely “togetherness”, arising on the wings of a better understanding amongst persons. yet, this would not be the case when there is a failure to rightly understand and decode those signs that are received, with the reciprocal giving of the right signs as well. semiosis, which considers the meaning of signs, can also prove to be very vital in the ensuring of the “togetherness” which the igwebuike stands for. igwebuike itself is a sign, one that communicates to us and that needs to be semiotically interpreted, to make sense of what it proffers, namely “ensuring a communal existence of the humanity.”yet, it seems as if the issue of misunderstanding will always remain with the human personthis is because there is a near impossibility of decoding what is the in the mind of the other. that is to say that the mental state of the other person remains his exclusive hub, unless such a one allows another in, via the unleashing of signs. the other side of the coin is the right way in which such mental state should be conveyed to the other. this piece will be dedicated to the rightful appreciation of the sign igwebuike communicates. keywords: igwebuike, kanu ikechukwu anthony, semiotics, semiosis, human person, igwebuike, social interaction. semiotic interpretation and the igwebuike identity: an antidote for interpersonal misunderstanding igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 13 what is semiotics? semiotics is properly referred as the science of signs and developed out of the need of physicians of the western world to understand the interactive pattern between the body and the mind within certain cultural domains. 1 it is the study of signs and symbols as elements of communicative behaviour, the analysis of systems of communication, as language, gestures or clothing. at its most fundamental level, semiotics is the study of how meaning is made. even if we endorse the fact that it studies signs, this is to be taken on a broad spectrum of the meaning of a sign: that is to say, sign as that which communicates a meaning beyond itself. we call signs all and only those things which represent something other than themselves, and we have found that this can occur only when and insofar as the “other” is represented to or for some other still. 2 for example, a rose may represent naturally a flower (plant), or it may indicate love or passion. at the most basic level, human beings interpret signs as they communicate with one another. meaning derivation from signs denotes that which is proper to the animal (even brutes, what has now come to be referred to as zoosemiosis 3 ). nonetheless, “semiotics”, however, as a term, has become conventionalized as the generally accepted term to label the study of signs in their distinctive action. 4 “semiotics” as an english word comes to us from a kind of bastard greek coinage made by john locke in the essay concerning humane understanding that he published in 1690, where, at the conclusion of his book, he proposed semiotike as the one-word equivalent of the 1 t.a. sebeok, an introduction to semiotics, university of toronto press incorporated, 1994, xi. 2 j. deely, on ‘semiotics’ as naming the doctrine of signs, in semiotica vol 152, 2004, 75-139. 3 there are other areas of semiosis added to the zoosemiosis, they include, anthroposemiosis and phytosemiosis, all these pertain to a larger area of study known as biosemiosis. 4 j. deely, on ‘semiotics’ as naming the doctrine of signs. dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 14 english expression, “doctrine of signs”. 5 this term, as it appears in locke, according to j. deely, is malformed. deely remarked that, according to the applicable requirements of greek grammar, the term should have had an epsilon separating the mu from the iota, as in semɛiotike. this is not apparent. furthermore, in his reasoning, one cannot say that this malformation be dismissed as a printer’s error; for, in every subsequent edition of the essay prepared by locke prior to his being overtaken by the boundary of time and made a definitively past author, the original malformation is meticulously maintained. 6 j. deely notes: now it is interesting that “semiotics” is not a straight transliteration of locke’s greek malformation. what is a straight transliteration of the greek malformation locke introduced, however, is the latin term “semiotica”, which no latin author ever used. so the term, a greek malformation in locke’s essay, is in effect a neologism in latin transliteration, but it means in english “the doctrine of signs”, according to the only definition locke provided in his original introduction of and comment upon the term. the reason that this detour through the latin transliteration of locke’s greek malformation is interesting is because “semiotica” as latin neologism would be a neuter plural name that could only be translated into english as “semiotics”. professional linguists have been careful to point out that there is in english a class of “-ics” words which do not conform to the usual rule that an english noun is made plural by adding an “s” to its ending. by this reckoning, “semiotics” is not the plural form of “semiotic”. nonetheless, “semiotics” is the direct english transliteration of the latin “semiotica”, which in turn is the direct transliteration of the greek malformation locke introduced into the closing chapter of his 5 j. deely, the red book. the beginning of postmodern times or charles sanders peirce and the recovery of signum, in the metaphyiscal club for the university of helsinki, finland, 2000, 1-79. we ought to note that even though john locke had translated this word semiotike from the greek, to mean semiotics, it was 50 years earlier thoroughly studied by john poinsot, unknown to locke. 6 ibid. semiotic interpretation and the igwebuike identity: an antidote for interpersonal misunderstanding igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 15 essay. so a latin, rather than a greek, background proves etymologically decisive for sign and semiotics alike as contemporary notions, despite locke’s conscious choice of the greek root (sem-) for the notion of “natural sign” (semeion) in his one-word summation or name (semiotike) for the doctrine of signs. 7 the phenomenon that distinguishes life forms from inanimate objects is semiosis. this can be defined simply as the instinctive capacity of all living organisms to produce and understand signs. a sign is any physical form that has been imagined or made externally (through some physical medium) to stand for an object, event, feeling, etc., known as a referent, or for a class of similar (or related) objects, events, feelings, etc., known as a referential domain. in human life, signs serve many functions. they allow people to recognize patterns in things; they act as predictive guides or plans for taking actions; they serve as exemplars of specific kinds of phenomena; and the list could go on and on. the english word ‘cat’ for example, is an example of a particular kind of human sign known as verbalwhich stands for a referent that can be described as a 'carnivorous mammal with a tail, whiskers and retractile claws. each species produces and understands certain kinds of specific signs for which it has been programmed by its biology. these can range from simple bodily signals to advanced symbolic structures such as words. signs allow each species to (1) signal its existence, (2) communicate messages within the species, and (3) model incoming information from the external world. semiotics is the science that studies these functions. the goal of this opening chapter is to introduce several basic notions for the formal study of semiosis. 8 7 ibid. 8 t.a. sebeok, signs. an introduction to semiotics 2 nd ed, university of toronto press incorporated, toronto, 2001, 3. dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 16 the primary objective of semiotics is to understand both a species' capacity to make and understand signs and, in the case of the human species, the knowledge-making activity this capacity allows human beings to carry out. the former is known, as mentioned above, as semiosis, while the latter activity is known as representation. representation is a deliberate use of signs to probe, classify, and hence know the world. semiosis is the biological capacity itself that underlies the production and comprehension of signs, from simple physiological signals to those that reveal a highly complex symbolism. 9 human intellectual and social life is based on the production, use and exchange of signs and representations. when we gesture, talk, write, read, watch a tv program, listen to music, look at a painting, etc. we are engaged in sign-based representational behaviour. representation has endowed the human species with the ability to cope effectively with the crucial aspects of existence knowing, behaving purposefully, planning, socializing and communicating. however, since representational activities vary from culture to culture, the signs people use on a daily basis constitute a mediating template in the worldview they come to have. 10 semiotics considers both verbal and non-verbal signs, enabling a community of communication between and amongst biological species. verbal and non-verbal signs according to semiology, there are six types of verbal signs, which include: 1. symptom: the symptom is a reflex of anatomical structure. animals with widely divergent anatomies will manifest virtually no symptomatology in common. it is interesting to note, by the way, that the term symptom is often extended metaphorically to refer to intellectual, emotional and social phenomena that result from causes that are perceived to be analogous to physical processes. 9 ibid, 8. 10 ibid. semiotic interpretation and the igwebuike identity: an antidote for interpersonal misunderstanding igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 17 2. signal: all animals are endowed with the capacity to use and respond to species-specific signals for survival. birds, for instance, are born prepared to produce a particular type of coo, and no amount of exposure to the songs of other species, or the absence of their own, has any effect on their cooing. 3. icon: an icon is a sign that is made to resemble, simulate or reproduce its referent in some way. photographs may be iconic signs because they can be seen to reproduce their referents in a visual way. onomatopoeic words are also iconic signs because they simulate their referents in an acoustic way. 4. index: an index is a sign that refers to something or someone, in terms of its existence or location in time or space, or in relation to something or someone else. smoke is an index of fire, pointing out where the fire is; a cough is an index of a cold; and so on. the most typical manifestation of indexicality is the pointing index finger, which humans the world over use instinctively to point out and locate things, people and events in the world. 5. symbol: a symbol is a sign that stands for its referent in an arbitrary, conventional way. most semioticians agree that symbolicity is what sets human representation apart from that of all other species, allowing the human species to reflect upon the world separately from stimulus-response situations. words in general are symbolic signs. but any signifier object, sound, figure, etc. can be symbolic. a cross figure can stand for the concept ' christianity'; a v-sign made with the index and middle fingers can stand symbolically for the concept 'victory' ; white is a colour that can be symbolic of ' cleanliness,' 'purity,' or 'innocence,' but dark can be a symbol of 'uncleanness,' ‘impurity,' or 'corruption'; and the list could go on and on. these symbols are all established by social convention. ‘ 6. name: this is an identifier sign assigned to the member of a species in various ways, as we shall see subsequently, that sets the specific member off from the others. a human name is a dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 18 sign that identifies the person in terms of such variables as ethnicity and gender. added names (surnames, nicknames, etc.) further refine the 'identity referent' of the name. 11 another form of sign conveying is by non-verbal communication. non-verbal communication takes place within an organism or between two or more organisms. within an organism, participators in communicative acts may involve as message sources or destinations or both on rising integration levels, cellular organelles, cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems. in addition, basic features of the whole biological organization, conducted non-verbally in the milieu interieur, include protein synthesis, metabolism, hormone activity, transmission of nervous impulses, and so forth. 12 homo sapiens are capable of communicating, simultaneously or in turn, by both nonverbal and verbal means. the expression 'by verbal means' is equivalent to some such expression as 'by means of speech , ' or ' by means of script,' or 'by means of a sign language ' (e.g., for use in a deaf group), that are , each , manifestations of any prerequisite natural language with which human beings are singularly endowed. however, not all humans are literate or can even speak: infants normally do develop a capacity for speaking, but only gradually; some adults never acquire speech; and others lose speech as a result of some trauma (e.g., a stroke) or in consequence of aging. such conditions, notwithstanding, humans lacking a capacity to verbalize speak, write, or sign can, as a rule, continue to communicate non-verbally. 13 these two modes of signature can also stand in as the two modes of communication in the human person. understanding the concept of “igwebuike” igwebuike is the heart of african thought and, in fact, the modality of being in african philosophy. it is taken from the igbo language, and is a composite word made up of three dimensions. therefore, it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as 11 ibid, 9-11. 12 ibid, 12 13 ibid, 11-12. semiotic interpretation and the igwebuike identity: an antidote for interpersonal misunderstanding igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 19 igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. the three words involve: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power. thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force. 14 igwebuike is anchored on the african 14 a.i. kanu, igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2, no. 1, 2016, 97-101. kanu, ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy, 14. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kanu, i. a. (2019). on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159176. kanu, i. a. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 20 worldview, which is characterized by a common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny. 15 life is a life of sharedness, one in which another is part thereof. it is a relationship, though, of separate and separated entities or individuals but with a joining of the same whole. 16 philosophically, according to a.i. kanu, igwebuike points to the complementary nature of reality and is not limited to the igbo world, it is a universal philosophy that is the incarnation and confirmation of the universal relevance of solidarity and complementarity. 17 the richness of this philosophy an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. 15 a.i. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity, in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017, 153-160. 16 a.i. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education, a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25th 26th november 2015 university of paris, france. 17 a.i. kanu, on the origin and principles of the igwebuike philosophy, in journal of religion and human relations, volume 11 no. 1, 2019, 159-176. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and semiotic interpretation and the igwebuike identity: an antidote for interpersonal misunderstanding igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 21 pointing to the complementarity and solidarity of reality also has much relevance in a meaningladen reality. what is being said is that the reality that confronts the human person is a reality that is teeming with meaning. thus, it is worthy of note to insist that this philosophical term, although of igbo origin, has universal implications. a.i. kanu succinctly touches on this point as he says negotiation is very important in the african universe because it is a world that one shares with the other in an atmosphere of inter-subjective relations. this intersubjective relations only plays out without chaos when the individual is able to skillfully bridge his or her interiority with the individuality of the other. 18 can there be negotiations, without an in-depth grasp of the terms of negotiations? can humans engage in any meaningful discourse, pertaining to ways and means to forge ahead in the bond of solidarity, when misunderstanding looms large? can we as humans complement one another, in the absence of true brotherhood soldered on the ground rules of a rich understanding of each person’s individuality? this is where semiotics (or semiosis) meets with the igwebuike. igwebuike in the light of semiosis: part one the igwebuike philosophy is grounded on certain principles that have their roots in african proverbs and idioms. it should be said that communication in the african verse, before the dawn of the colonial rulers, was by means of idioms, proverbs and the likes. according to j.j dyikuk, conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. 18 ibid. dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 22 communication in the traditional igbo societies was by the means of idioms, proverbs, and figures of speech…without idioms, proverbs, and figures of speech, conversation would be bland and distasteful. it is only infants and little children that speak in plain language. 19 while the major reference in the aforementioned quotation is to the igbo traditional society, it should be noted that such means of communication cut across the entirety of the african traditional society. as earlier noted, the igwebuike is grounded on certain principles having their roots in the african proverbs and idioms, a few of these proverbs and idioms include: a. a person is a person because of other people. b. sticks in a bundle cannot be broken. c. when spiders unite they can tie up a lion. d. if one finger tries to pick up something from the ground, it cannot. e. behind an able man there are always other able men. f. it takes a village to raise a child. g. if you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together. h. i am because we are, and since we are, therefore, i am i. if a lizard stays off from the foot of a tree, it would be caught. j. a tree does not make a forest. k. if two or more people urinate in the same place at the same time, it would produce more foam. l. when a bird builds its nest, it uses the feathers of other birds. m. one person is not the whole world. n. it is by taking a goat around that you are able to sell it. 20 19 j.j. dyikuk, the intersection of communication in igwebuike and trado-rural media: a critical evaluation, in journal of african studies and sustainable development vol. 2 no 3, 2019, 175-192. 20 a.i. kanu, on the origin and principles of the igwebuike philosophy. semiotic interpretation and the igwebuike identity: an antidote for interpersonal misunderstanding igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 23 there is a seeming thread that cuts across the above-mentioned proverbs, namely “togetherness”. the igwebuike ideology that is borne on the wings of these proverbs express a sign, a sign that should be well elaborated in semiotic terms. at this point, we need to really understand what a sign is, because inherent in every aspect of communication is the penchant to understand what is being communicated or signaled from the “signaler” to the one who is communicated to or signaled. in other words, in communication, there is a back and forth movement of signs. this back and forth movement of signs is conveyed verbally and non-verbally by words and actions . a word is the sign of some “thing” 21 which can be understood by the hearer when pronounced by the speaker. 22 according to augustine, a sign is something that shows itself to the senses and something other than itself to the mind. 23 he repeats this further in his de doctrina christiana, where he says, a sign is a thing which, over and above the impression it makes on the senses, cause something else to come into the mind as a consequence of itself, just as when we see a footprint, we conclude that an animal whose footprint this is has passed by; and when we see smoke, we know that there is fire beneath; and when we hear the voice of a living man, we think of the feeling in his mind and when the trumpet sounds, soldiers know that they are to advance or retreat or do whatever else the state of the battle requires. 24 augustine gives two distinct types of signs, namely; the natural and the conventional signs. 21 a thing according to augustine, in his de dialetica,v, «is whatever is felt (sensed) or understood or ‘latet’ (is hidden, inapprenhensible) » 22 augustine, de dialetica, v. «uniuscuisuque rei signum, quod ab audiente possit intellgi, a loquente prolatum.» 23 ibid. «signum est quod se ipsum sensui et praeter se aliquid animo ostendit. » 24 augustine, de doctrina christiana, ii, i,1. dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 24 natural signs are those which, apart from any intention or desire of using them as signs, do yet lead to the knowledge of something else, as for example, smoke when it indicates fire. for it is not from any intention of making it a sign that it is so, but through attention to experience we come to know that fire is beneath, even when nothing but smoke can be seen. and the footprints of an animal passing by belong to this class of signs. and the countenance of an angry or sorrowful man indicates the feeling in his mind, independently of his will; and in the same way every other emotion of the mind is betrayed by the tell-tale countenance, even though we do nothing with the intention of making it known. 25 as pertaining to signa naturalia, no mental state is induced when such signs arise in our consciousness:, that is to say that we do not enter into any mental state when we become aware of such signs. for instance, when we think of some natural or cultural entity, like a tree, or a flag, we are not aware of any "mental state" as such. rather, we are aware of a tree or a flag, 26 just that. conventional signs are those which living beings mutually exchange for the purpose of showing the feelings of their minds or their perceptions, or their thoughts. 27 in other words, conventional signs are the exclusive reserve of the human beings. these are articulate signs that reflect the mindset, thought pattern, emotional state, and mood of the one who is talking or speaking. the hearer is able to perceive directly and understand wholesomely what the speaker is saying. in conventional signs, signa data, mental states are induced. augustine continues, nor is there any reason for giving a sign except the desire of drawing for the conveying into another’s mind what the giver of the sign has in his own mind. we wish then to consider and discuss this class of signs so far as men are concerned 25 augustine, de doctrina christiana, ii, i, 2. 26 j.n. deely, cognition from a semiotic point of view, in semiotics 1981, j.n. deelym.d. lenhart (eds), plenum press, new york, 1983, 23. 27 augustine, de doctrina christiana, ii, ii, 3. semiotic interpretation and the igwebuike identity: an antidote for interpersonal misunderstanding igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 25 with it… the beasts, too, have certain signs among themselves by which they make known the desires of their mind. for when the poultry-cock has discovered food, he signals with his voice for the hen to run to him, and the dove by cooing calls his mate, or is called by her in turn… 28 according to a medieval thomisitic commentator, john poinsot, there are two things that concur to constitute the general rationale of a sign. the first is the rationale of something manifestative or representative. the second is an order to another, specifically, on the one hand, to the thing which is represented (which must be other than the sign, for nothing is a sign of itself nor signifies itself), and, on the other hand, to the cognitive power to which the sign manifests and represents the thing distinct from itself. 29 to the division of the sign, he notes: there are twofold division of the sign formal and instrumental signs… but insofar as signs are ordered to something signified, they are divided according to the cause of that ordering into natural and stipulative and customary. a formal sign is the formal awareness which represents of itself, not by means of another. an instrumental sign is one that represents something other than itself from a preexisting cognition of itself as an object, as the footprint of an ox represents an ox. and this definition is usually given for signs generally. a natural sign is one that represents from the nature of a thing, independently of any stipulation and custom whatever, and so it represents the same for all, as smoke signifies a fire burning. a stipulated sign is one that represents something owing to an imposition by the will of a community, like the linguistic expression "man." a customary sign is one that represents from use alone without 28 ibid. 29 john poinsot, tractatus de signis, part one, bk 1, q.1i, 646a9-41, university of california press berkeley, los angeles, california, 1985. dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 26 any public imposition, as napkins upon the table signify a meal. 30 what should be said here is that, in the thought pattern of john poinsot, also known as john of st thomas, there are two categories of signs. there is the sign that is ordered according to power and that which is ordered according to something signified. as regards that which is ordered according to power, the sign can either be the formal or the instrumental. and for that which is ordered according to something signified, it is divided into the natural, stipulative and the customary sign. in the light of the explication given by john poinsot, we can situate igwebuike as a stipulative sign, one that represents something owing to an imposition by the will of the community. 31 this implies that a stipulative sign is one that is knowable not immediately but mediately by means of another. the knowledge of igwebuike is mediated upon the principles on which it stands. in line with the aristotelian categories of the substance and nine accidents, a sign resides in the level of a relation. this relation, according to john poinsot, is not a transcendental one, according to the way of being, but is an ontological one, that is according to the way the relation has being. 32 while it stands that to represent another is indeed required for a sign, a sign does not consist in this alone; for a sign adds something beyond representing, and formally bespeaks of representing another deficiently, or dependency upon the very thing signified, and by substituting in the capacity of that thing. and thus, a sign respects a significate, not as something purely selfmanifested and self-illuminated, but as the principal knowable and the measure of the sign, something in whose place the sign is surrogated and whose vicegerent the sign is in bringing that knowable thing to a cognitive power. 33 a vivid example is in the case of smoke that signifies fire. as 30 john poinsot, tractatus de signis, part one, chapter ii, 9b34-10a26. 31 ibid. 32 ibid, part one, bk 1, q.1i 647al6-b26. 33 ibid. semiotic interpretation and the igwebuike identity: an antidote for interpersonal misunderstanding igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 27 an ontological relation, a sign is not formally a relation but is the foundation of a relation. john poinsot, notes, therefore a sign does not formally consist in a relation, but in the fundament (foundation) of a relation. the major premise follows from the definition of sign. if a sign is "that which represents something to a knowing power," then it is accordingly something leading the power to an object signified. 34 the foundation of a sign is seen in its propensity to move the cognizing power, or arouse in such mind, that to which it points to. it is to this that john poinsot refers to the sign as a mover or an arouser, because it belongs to the capacity of arousing or moving. 35 igwebuike as a stipulative sign bears the major mark of a sign, namely; that it is the foundation of a relation. it is for this that we say that a stipulated sign moves (acts) by reason of the imposition, not as knowable immediately and by reason of itself, but mediately and through another, just as any other unreal beings; and thus, we say, presupposing that its knowability is got by borrowing, a stipulated sign takes on the rationale of something moving and representing, just as it also takes on the rationale of something knowable. 36 igwebuike in the light of semiosis: part two as already noted there are principles on which igwebuike is founded, and these include: 1. the principle of identity 2. the principle of hierarchy 3. the principle of contrariety 34 ibid, 650b20-651al4. 35 ibid, 652al4-bl6 36 ibid, 653b29-654a40 dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 28 4. the principle of unity 37 yet, igwebuike is anchored on an igbo-centric african worldview, which, according to iroegbu, is characterized by a common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny. it is a complementary philosophy which understands life as a shared reality. 38 it indicates literally ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power;’ that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force. 39 its english equivalent is ‘complementarity’. at this level, no task is beyond their collective capability. it is a concept that was employed by african traditional philosophers of the complementary school of thought to discuss the nature of the observed african reality. 40 igwebuike rests on the african principles of solidarity and complementarity. it argues that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is ‘to be with the other’, in a community of beings. this is based on the african philosophy of community, which is the underlying principle and unity of african traditional religions and philosophical experience. 41 according to b.i. ekwulu: if the other is my part or a piece of me, it means that i need him for me to be complete, for me to be what i really am. the other completes rather than diminishes me. his language and culture make my own stand out and at the same time, they enrich and complement my own. in the presence of his language and culture, the riches and poverty of my language 37 a.i. kanu, on the origin and principles of the igwebuike philosophy. 38 a.i. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity, in igwebuike. an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017, 153-160. 39 a.i. kanu, igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy in igwebuike. an african journal of arts and humanities, 2. 1. 2016, 97-101. 40 a.i. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 2016, 1-7. 41 a.i. kanu, igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy in igwebuike. semiotic interpretation and the igwebuike identity: an antidote for interpersonal misunderstanding igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 29 and culture become clear and i see that his own and my own when put together form a richer whole when compared to any of them in isolation. 42 it is a sign that indicates a move towards the other, the “you”, for the sake of existential thriving of the self, the “i”. this is the bedrock of igwebuike. the implication of this is the rich complementarity that the igwebuike philosophy brings to bear on s the broader spectrum of philosophy. it indicates how much of the “other” is in the “i”, or better put, how much of you is contained in me, and me in you. 43 ekwulu opines further that the self is not only completed in relating with the other, but that it attains self-realization in the other: i realize myself in the other because it is in the ‘thou-ness’ of the thou that my ‘is-ness’ is realized. i am ‘i’ because you are ‘you’. without thou there is no i. we are ‘we’ because they are ‘they’, and without ‘they’, there is no ‘we’. 44 it is within this being-laden context, which is life as sharedness, that all questions of meaning can be handled adequately and fully within the context of mutual complementarity of all possible relations. 45 according to kanu, from the foregoing, this explains why the igbo would refer to the ‘other’ as ibe, which means ‘a piece of’ or ‘a part of’, as in ibe anu (a piece of meat) or ibe ede (a piece of cocoyam). the igbo would, therefore, refer to the ‘other person’ as ibe m, which 42 b.i. ekwulu, igbo concept of ibe (the other) as a philosophical solution to the ethnic conflicts in african countries in b. i. ekwulu (ed.), philosophical reflections on african issues, enugu publications, delta, 2010, 183-192 43 d. iwuh osa, action understanding is not entirely neutral it is existential, it is igwebuike, in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019, 51-70. 44 b.i. ekwulu, igbo concept of ibe (the other) as a philosophical solution to the ethnic conflicts in african countries. 45 i.i. asouzu, ibuanyidanda. new complementary ontology. beyond world immanentism, ethnocentric reduction and impositions, lit verlag publications, munster, 2007, 252-253. dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 30 means ‘my piece’ or mmadu ibe m (my fellow human being). this is the concept also employed in reference to relationships and reciprocity: love one another (hunu ibe unu n’anya); help one another (nyere nu ibe unu aka); respect one another (sopuru nu ibe unu), etc. since, the ‘other’ refers to my own piece; it would, therefore, mean that to love the other is to love oneself, to help the other is to help oneself and to respect the other is to respect oneself. 46 put in another way, to hate the other is to hate oneself, to refuse help to the other is to refuse help to oneself and to disrespect the other is to disrespect oneself. 47 this complementarity that is the crux of the igwebuike is that which is being given out as a sign or symbol that ought to be understood. it is a concept that is existential and ontological, arising from a culture and a people that have assimilated within themselves the importance of standing together and working together. it does not negate the reality of individuality; it rather pays a lot of tributaries to it by means of emphasis, as seen in the principle of identity (which is one of the principles, albeit the first principle, of the igwebuike). as to the human individuality, it also endorses the fact of contraries, in life, in reality (physical and spiritual), in the mindset of persons, etc. that is to say that, in just as we would find contraries in reality and in every aspect that surrounds the human person, there is also bound to be contraries in thought patterns in each individual. this also emphasizes the individuality in persons. it supports and aligns itself with the principle of hierarchy, which appreciates the fact that in reality, although the physical is separated from the spiritual, yet there seems to be a communication between both, a communication of forces; the spiritual stands as a force higher than that of the physical. yet in the singular reality of the spiritual, there is a gradation of powers, a diversity of forces, inherent in all these is the presence of contraries, all working together for the furtherance of one cause, namely existence. this is also visible in the physical realm. nonetheless, there 46 a.i. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. 47 d. iwuh osa, action understanding is not entirely neutral it is existential, it is igwebuike. semiotic interpretation and the igwebuike identity: an antidote for interpersonal misunderstanding igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 31 is a united working of each person, force or power, in a united front (the principle of unity), for the sake of existence. according to i.m. onyeocha, “the african conceives of reality in terms of a universe of forces that are linked together, and are in constant interplay with one another”. 48 this is because what is pertinent to igwebuike is not that the branch grows out of the tree; it is that the branch remains connected to the tree, sharing one life force. it knows the tree as much as the tree knows it. 49 igwebuike understands every individual reality as part and completion of the whole, and thus, there is a unity in the midst of diversity. igwebuike presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. 50 as a stipulative sign, what does igwebuike indicate? from the aforementioned, we have seen solidarity; we have also seen complementarity and we earlier saw togetherness. and all these are aimed towards one end, namely, existence. the beauty of the human existence is seen not in isolation, but in interaction; it is not seen in a solipsistic reality, but in a shared reality; it is not seen in “i” alone, but in “you and i”. final remarks a cursory look at the work of john poinsot, also known as john of st thomas, will reveal that his definition and understanding of signs have no special affinity with the real or the unreal, being equally at home in signifying either. that is to say that signs can be equally and conveniently used to explain both the real and the unreal, the abstract and the concrete. again, signs are necessarily mind-dependent, for it is the function of a sign as such to represent, not to explain. it follows that to some extent, signs can take on a life of their own. sign thus,is a being in its own right, as our words do, becoming relatively mindindependent as they are embedded in our culture by linguistic habit. 48 i.m. onyeocha, africa’s idea about the nature of reality in maryland studies. 3. 5., 2006, 89-105. 49 d. iwuh osa, action understanding is not entirely neutral it is existential, it is igwebuike. 50 a.i. kanu, on the origin and principles of the igwebuike philosophy. dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 32 words, that are internally and externally representations of signs, are cultural signs; thus, to translate them is to bridge cultures, bringing one way of life into contact with another. igwebuike philosophy has arisen from the igbo people with their own culture, mode of thinking and operation. but, it is philosophy that has far-reaching implications. the igwebuike sign is one that does not seek to explain what it stands for; it only seeks to represent or indicate what it refers to, namely; complementarity, solidarity and togetherness. as already noted, it is a sign that shows how much of the “i” resides in the “you”, and how the “you” and the “i” complement each other. it represents how much can be achieved when human persons graft together, working for a well-defined purpose. in his magna moralia, aristotle defined the friend as a second self, “for the friend is as we assert a second self”. 51 there are far-reaching implications to this aristotelian mode of thinking, one of which is this: since this friend is a second self, it stands affirmative that knowledge of the self, can also be attained by focusing on the friend, the second self. even though aristotle downsized this relationship to existing between friends, that is, friends of character (friends of virtue, in the thought of aristotle, are rare, because people of this kind are few. 52 ), we can in the thought pattern of the igwebuike extend this beyond the confines of the friends of character. igwebuike maintains that we are all born out of one thread. it is to this effect that “i” find myself in “you”, as much as “you” find yourself in “me”. as rare as it might seem to be, the friendship of virtue was never rare to the african, for it has always been a part of the african. we might allude here that the friendship of this sort (friendship of virtue) in the present time, for the african, is rare; igwebuike calls out to us all, telling us to retrace our steps, to find out who we truly are. in igwebuike, the strength of the other is my strength; the glory of the other is my glory; the positives of the other and her concomitant negatives are mine. i live for the other, just as the other lives for me. it is a reality founded on the friendship of virtue, 51 aristotle, magna moralia, bk ii, i2i2b20-i2i3a23, translated by g. stock, clarendon press, oxford, 1908. 52 aristotle, nicomachean ethics 1156b31-32. semiotic interpretation and the igwebuike identity: an antidote for interpersonal misunderstanding igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 33 thus making it an existential reality that ought to stand the test of time. 53 bibliography aristotle, magna moralia, bk ii, i2i2b20-i2i3a23, translated by g. stock, clarendon press, oxford, 1908. aristotle, nicomachean ethics 1156b31-32. b.i. ekwulu, igbo concept of ibe (the other) as a philosophical solution to the ethnic conflicts in african countries in b. i. ekwulu (ed.), philosophical reflections on african issues, enugu publications, delta, 2010. d. iwuh osa, action understanding is not entirely neutral it is existential, it is igwebuike, in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. d. iwuh osa, aristotle’s concept of friendship and the igwebuike philosophy in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. i. a. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity, in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. i. a. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 2016. i. a. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education, a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france. i. a. kanu, on the origin and principles of the igwebuike philosophy, in journal of religion and human relations, volume 11 no. 1, 2019. 53 d. iwuh osa, aristotle’s concept of friendship and the igwebuike philosophy in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019, 46-57. dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 34 i. a. kanu, igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2, no. 1, 2016. i. a. kanu. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. i. a. kanu. igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 5983. 2018 i. a. kanu. igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. 2018 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no. 1 2016:1-6. i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. 2017 semiotic interpretation and the igwebuike identity: an antidote for interpersonal misunderstanding igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 35 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christianmuslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. 2019 i. a. kanu. igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. 2019 i. a. kanu. igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cociopolitical system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. 2018 i. a. kanu. new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. 2018 dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 36 i.i. asouzu, ibuanyidanda. new complementary ontology. beyond world immanentism, ethnocentric reduction and impositions, lit verlag publications, munster, 2007. i.m. onyeocha, africa’s idea about the nature of reality in maryland studies. 3. 5., 2006. j. deely, cognition from a semiotic point of view, in semiotics 1981, j.n. deely-m.d. lenhart (eds), plenum press, new york, 1983. j. deely, on ‘semiotics’ as naming the doctrine of signs, in semiotica vol 152, 2004. j. deely, the red book. the beginning of postmodern times or charles sanders peirce and the recovery of signum, in the metaphyiscal club for the university of helsinki, finland, 2000. j.j. dyikuk, the intersection of communication in igwebuike and trado-rural media: a critical evaluation, in journal of african studies and sustainable development vol. 2 no 3, 2019. john poinsot, tractatus de signis, part one, bk 1, q.1i, 646a9-41, university of california press berkeley, los angeles, california, 1985. t.a. sebeok, an introduction to semiotics, university of toronto press incorporated, 1994, xi. t.a. sebeok, signs. an introduction to semiotics 2 nd ed, university of toronto press incorporated, toronto, 2001, 3. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 49 african culture as an ancient landmark: culture versus identity ikechukwu anthony kanu department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university, umunya, anambra state ikee_mario@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.12241.35684 abstract culture remains an important theme in discourses as it is necessary for the understanding of human relationships and interactions among peoples. it has attracted the attention of both scholars and non-scholars who have focused on different dimensions of discourses, including the problem of an imprecise definition and the changing nature of culture. however, this paper focuses on the african culture as the ancient african landmark. it begins with an understanding of culture and landmark and spelling out the necessity of the discourse on culture as an ancient landmark. within this context, it emphasized the relevance of the concept of identity which landmark introduces in the discourse on culture, the necessity for the discourse, symbolic expression of culture, giving particular attention to the kola nut and finally the path towards the preservation of the african culture. this piece discovered that culture is indispensable for the definition of the identity of a people. for the purpose of the study, the hermeneutic and phenomenological methods of inquiry were employed. keywords: african, culture, identity, landmark, ancient, igbo, yoruba, hausa introduction landmark is from two english words: land and mark. it was used to describe an object set up to mark the boundaries of a kingdom, estate, etc. from the year 1560 ad, a landmark became a conspicuous object in a landscape. being the age of exploration, it was a geographic feature used by explorers and others to find their way back or through an area (online etymology dictionary 2016). in modern usage, a landmark includes anything that is easily recognizable, such as a monument, building, or other structures (kevin 1960). this notwithstanding, in what way does landmark relate to culture? or, how is culture an ancient landmark? to understand this, there is the need to understand the concept ‗culture‘. culture refers to the sum total of a people‘s way of life, which embraces their mode of dressing, talking, food, and the way they conceive death and welcome life (rodney, 1972). culture is the integral system of learned behavior patterns, mailto:ikee_mario@yahoo.com https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/geographic_feature https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/exploration https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/monument https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/building https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/structure igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 50 which are the characteristic of the members of society and which is not the result of biological inheritance (kanu 2010). in other words, culture does not come from human genes, but rather, it is learnt and taught. this bears with the latin root of the word culture as cultura, which means ―to cultivate‖ or ―to practice‖. this gave rise to agricultura (agriculture) and agricola (famer). the human person is, therefore, the author and architect of culture (kanu 2015). having understood culture, what is the relationship between culture and landmark? how is culture an ancient landmark? landmark talks about the identity of a place. therefore, the idea of landmark within the context of culture emphasizes an important dimension of culture which is identity. it speaks of culture as that which makes a people who they are, thus, differentiating them from other people. no wonder, once you see a hausa man, his dressing already tells you who he is and where he comes from; the same with the yoruba, igbo, edo, etc. it is within this context that culture is understood as an ancient landmark. it is from the context of this understanding that the other parts of this paper would proceed. however, looming at the horizon is the question of the relevance of this discourse? why is this discussion relevant at this time? the encounter between european and african culture can be described as a forced acculturation. it is a word that describes a situation in which a highly developed society imposes certain elements of its culture on the other, thereby, forcing it to derail from its unique path of cultural civilization. kwame (1981) describes it as an ideology of condemnation, which identified everything ―good to be white‖ and everything ―bad to be black‖. the basic purpose of condemnation was to create a moral ground for the destruction of the traditional society in its various forms and modes. according to ekwuru (1999), this was followed concurrently by a process of re-assemblage, which involved the reconstruction of the african cultural space in accordance with colonial vision and mentality. europeans in general, with some few exceptions, admitted little if any culture of value in africa, and so: o our traditional religion was called various derogatory names likejuju, heathenism, idol worship, primitive, paganism, fetishism, animism, polytheism, savage, ancestor worship, magic, totemism. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 51 o ―his mind is far nearer to the animal world than that of the european or asiatic, and exhibits something of the animal‘s placidity‖ (lugard 1970). o linnaeus (1758), stated that africans are cunning, slow, negligent and ruled by caprice. o gobineau (1915), said that africans were closest to lower animals, in relation to other races. o hume said that the black race is inferior to the whites and that no individual eminent in action or speculation has ever come from people of this kind of complexion. o even the missionaries who came to evangelize africa doubted if we were human beings. no wander, it is alleged that they baptized africans conditionally initially. the consequence of the encounter the consequence of the encounter between european and african culture was that it dealt a coup de grace to the african personality, to his is-ness, by destroying the african cultural values. the west looked down on our peculiarities, our languages enriched with traditions of centuries, our parables, our proverbs, our myths, many of them the quintessence of family and national histories; our modes of thought, influenced more or less by local circumstances, our poetry which reveals the profundity of african literary wizardry. thus, , the african drum was not heard in churches, african languages were not used in liturgy and african names were not used for baptism (hastings, 1976). symbolic expression of culture of the many cultural symbols in nigeria, none has received attention like the kola nut. it is very important and central to the life and ceremonies of the igbo. it is a food that must be eaten with relish; it commands adoration and many accolades and must be attended to with deserving feast. it is a holy communion that unites the living and dead. it symbolizes a feast of togetherness, love and trust. the kola nut is a symbol of life ndu, this is why the igbo say: ―he that brings kola brings life‖, and to share in it is to be part of the project of the preservation of life. it is, therefore, not surprising that the poetry of the kola breaks the day for the typical igbo (nwachukwu 2012 and kanu 2019). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 52 every kola can be broken into lobes, and these lobes signify numbers. and number is very important for the african. some have 2 lobes, some 3, some 4, some 5 and some 6. a. kola nut with two lobes is a dumb kola and is not eaten because it is understood as the kola of the spirits. b. when it has three lobes, it is called the kola of the valiant. as a matter of principle it is eaten only by warriors, brave men, the consecrated or ordained. c. the kola with four lobes is the kola of peace and blessings. it is a sign of completeness and signifies four market days in igbo society. d. the kola with five lobes is the kola of procreation, protection and good luck. e. the kola with six lobes is indicative of communion with the ancestors. no wonder the smallest part of it is not eaten but given to the ancestors (ukaegbu 2012). the african philosophy behind the kola nut o complementarity: when these lobes stay together they remain alive, but when they separate they die and dry off. their togetherness is a symbol of life, and their separation, death. life in africa is about being in relation to the other. to be is to belong, and not to belong is to suffer alienation (kanu 2017 and 2016). o male and female lobes: this notwithstanding, among the lobes, there is always a female and male lobe, whose union brings about life. it simply says that homosexual and lesbian relationships are entirely un-african. o world of probabilities: you hardly find one lobe in a kola nut. it is either two or three or four or five or six. this is the african universe. an african proverb says: ―if a thing remains one, then nothing remains‖. this is because one is not strong enough to withstand the existential gamble of life; thus the need for an existential backing. o epistemology: the multiplicity of the lobes and their lying side by side each other as support, points to an african epistemology which is interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary, for a balanced and global perspective (kanu 2017). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 53 o science and technology: the multiplicity of the lobes and interaction can be a basis for an african science and technology which believes that it is through the interaction of the forces of nature that reality comes into existence. instances include: a. universal gravitational forceeverything works towards the centre of the earth which points to the african concept of the complementarity of reality. in spite of the multiplicity of reality, reality is one. b. synthesis theory of urea: this theory believes that the synthesis of inanimate things brings about the formation of animate realities. it points to the interconnected of reality. c. neutralization reaction: it holds that the combination of elements brings about the formation of new ones. for instance, oxygen + hydrogen=water or acid + base= salt + water conclusion: what we need to do to preserve our culture the collapse of the african culture during the colonial era and missionary enterprise was captured by chinua achebe in the title of his novel: things fall apart. to save the african culture and thus identity, africans need to give a prime of place to her culture. this needs to begin from the smallest sociological unit: the family. the family is the maternity home, the nursing home and primordial school of society. the family is the birth place of culture, and at the same time where it is nurtured and developed. one great instrument for cultural renaissance is language. irrespective of where parents find themselves with their children they should endeavor to teach their children their native language. language carries with it the culture and worldview of the people who own it. learning institutions also have a role to play in this process. it is through education that our values can be restored in the heart of young africans. for africans to be africans they must know what makes them africans. our system of education needs to have an african touch. if this is done, the child then grows up to learn the fundamental traditional and cultural values and truth (adegbola, 2005). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 54 the african law making bodies also have a role to play; if the laws and policies that can safeguard our values are promulgated by the government, the decay of our values will be impeded and their recovery enhanced. references adegbola, m. (2005). the christian family: parental responsibility in childcare, kaduna: allahmagani ventures. ekwuru, e. (1999). the pangs of african culture in traivail, owerri: totan publishers ltd. etymonline.com (2016). landmark. retrieved 25 january 2016. https://www.etymonline.com/word/landmark hastings, a. (1976). african christianity, new york: crossroads books kanu i. a. (2015). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2010). towards an african cultural renaissance. professor bassey andah journal of cultural studies. volume 3, pp. 146-155. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2019). collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. kanu i. a. (2017b). sources of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. 9. 1. pp. 1-23. kanu, a. i. (2016). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. kwame, n. (1981). the struggle continues, london: panaf books lugard, f. d. (1926). the dual mandate in british tropical africa. blackwood and sons, edinburgh. lynch, kevin. the image of the city. mit press, 1960 nwachukwu, p. (2012). what is this about kola nut in igbo land? vanguard newspaper. https://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/04/what-is-thisabout-kolanut-in-igboland. ukaegbu, j. o. (2014). the kola nut: as an igbo cultural and social symbol. igbonet. http://kolanutseries.igbonet.com/jukaegbu. https://www.etymonline.com/word/landmark https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/mit_press https://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/04/what-is-this-about-kolanut-in-igboland https://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/04/what-is-this-about-kolanut-in-igboland http://kolanutseries.igbonet.com/jukaegbu article 7 igwebuike 6. no7.cdr igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.6 no.7, 2020 www.igwebuikejournals.com a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 65 sustainable business a sine qua non for conflict management in south – east nigeria oliver okechukwu okanazu ph.d; maureen anayo madu ph.d; ugochi lmmaculata chekwube& moghalu, favour amarachi department of business education university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu state oliver.okanazu@unn.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract this study identified ways sustainable business will serve as an indispensible condition for conflict management in south east nigeria. two research questions guided the study while two null hypotheses were tested at p ≤ 0.05 level of significance. survey research design was adopted for the study. the population for the study consists of all the business educators in public universities in south east nigeria. the instrument for data collection was a structured 19-item questionnaire titled: sustainable business for conflict management questionnaire (sbcmq). the reliability of the instrument was ascertained using cronbach alpha reliability method. the data collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviation for answering the research questions while t-test was used for testing the null hypotheses. result obtained indicated that sustainable business will management conflict through employment generation, increase productivity among nations, increase business ability to comply with regulations, attraction of employees and investors across nations. the study among others recommended that there should be inter state business bilateral relationships, inter community joint venture relationship so as to manage conflict in these states. keywords: business, sustainable business, conflict, conflict management. introduction a business according to hayes (2020) is defined as an organization or enterprising entity engaged in commercial, industrial, or professional activities. to the author, businesses can be profit entities or they can be non-profit organizations that operate to fulfill a charitable mission or further a social cause. the term "business" also refers to the organized efforts and activities of individuals to produce and sell goods and services for profit. in the opinion of susan (2019), a business is said to occur when a person or organization profits by providing goods or services in exchange for money. it is an organization or economic system where goods and service are exchange for one another or for money. businesses range in scale from a sole proprietorship to an international corporation. notwithstanding the size, every business required some form of investment and possibly enough customers to whom its output/products can be sold to on a consistent basis in order to make a profit to sustain the business. sustaining a business mean more than making sure that the business is generating profit. it is a holistic approach that will make the business live beyond human imagination. in today's world, sustainability is refers to continuity of resources for coming generation and how it can be used consciously. sustainability according to gupata, and kumar (2013) has often been defined as how biological systems endure and remain diverse stand productive. the 21 century definition of sustainability goes far beyond these narrow parameters. today, sustainability okanazu and akele (2018) opined, refers to the need to develop the sustainable models necessary for both the human race and planet earth to survive. it is the study of how natural systems function, remain diverse and produce everything it needs for the ecology to remain in balance. sustainability looks to protect our natural environment, human and ecological health, while driving innovation and not compromising our way of life (keskin, diehl, & molenaar, 2013). sustainability, according to tokgoz and once (2009), focuses on meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generation to meet their needs. to the authors the concept of sustainability is composed of three pillars: environmental, social and economical which is the concern of the business enterprises. in terms of its economic perspective, sustainability is quite an important issue to any business but may not be achieved without imbibing sustainable business practices. sustainable business according to galvao, (2020) is an enterprise that has minimal negative impact, or potentially a positive effect, on the global or local environment, community, society, or economy. as succinctly put by edgeman & eskildsen (2020) sustainable business is any business organization that participates in environmentally friendly or green activities to ensure that all processes, products, and manufacturing activities adequately address current environmental concerns while maintaining a profit. in other words, the author continued, that it is a business that “meets the needs of the present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. sustainable business takes into account not only profits and returns on investment but also how business operations affect the environment, natural resources, and future generations (marrewijk, 2019). sustainable business management is concerned with all activities associated with running a business or company such as controlling, leading, monitoring, organizing, and planning that must be environmentally friendly and will not jeopardize the future of coming generation since businesses irrespective of size are facing a new paradigm especially in the area of conflict management. sustainability at the business level can be thought of as taking steps, such as recycling and conserving nonrenewable material and energy use to reduce the negative impact of a business's operations on the environment. while managing operations to reduce negative environmental impact is an important part of business sustainability, these types of activities are increasingly part of a deeper strategic perspective on sustainability for businesses. businesses implement sustainability in their organization for a variety of reasons which includes: reduction of energy used, materials used, reduction of waste and the costs associated with them; lowering of legal risks and insurance costs; differentiation of product or services and brand; drive toward innovation to create new products and serve new markets; improvement of organizational image and reputation with consumers, particularly the increasing numbers of consumers who are concerned about the environment and their own impact on the environment; enhancement of investor interest by increasing numbers of investors taking into consideration organizational sustainability practices when they make their decisions on how to invest; increase attraction and retention of employees who care about the environment and sustainability and finally 66 sustainable business a sine qua non for conflict management in south – east nigeria creating peace and cooperation among communities, tribes, and nations. thought, in the context of this study the researchers are looking on how sustainable business will serve as a sine qua non for conflict management in south-east nigeria especially now that communal conflicts, boko harama insurgence, herderfamers' conflicts, boundary disputes, banditry among others are on a high increase. a pertinent question one will ask is what is a conflict in the first place? a conflict as opined by houghton (2020) refers to a sharp disagreement or collision as in interests or ideas and emphasizes the process rather than the end. it is a serious difference between two or more beliefs, ideas, or interests. to harper (2019), conflict is a serious disagreement and argument about something important. it can also be a state of mind in which an individual finds it impossible to make a decision. conflict with regards to the way this study viewed it, is fighting, struggle, especially a protracted one or war between countries, states, regions, communities or groups of people. it is a struggle between people which may be physical, or between conflicting ideas. conflicts can either be within one person, or they can involve several people or groups. as stated by smriti (2019), conflict occurs in 'layers'. first layer is always misunderstanding. while the other layers inclues: differences of values, differences of viewpoint, differences of interest, and interpersonal differences. according to smriti, it is also called a process because it begins with one party perceiving the other to oppose or negatively affect its interests and ends with competing, collaborating, compromising or avoiding. conflicts arise because there are needs, values or ideas that are seen to be different, and there is no means to reconcile the dispute. very often, conflicts lead to fights or even wars where the conflicting parties believed that conflicts are solved with weapons. conflict irrespective of its degree or nature, can be resolve through a proper conflict management. conflict management underlines the principle that all conflicts cannot necessarily be resolved, but learning how to manage conflicts can decrease the odds of non-productive escalation. conflict management according to swetha (2020) is the process for handling disputes and disagreements between two or multiple parties. to the author, the goal of this system is to minimize the negative factors that are influencing the conflict and encourage all participants to come to an agreement. conflict management involves acquiring skills related to conflict resolution, self-awareness about conflict modes, conflict communication skills, and establishing a structure for management of conflict in an environment (smriti, 2019). to hrzone (2020), conflict management refers to techniques and ideas designed to reduce the negative effects of conflict and enhance the positive outcomes for all parties involved. members of every households, communities, organizations and nations need to have ways of keeping conflict to a minimum – and of solving problems caused by conflict, before conflict becomes a major obstacle to their existence and cohabitation. successful conflict management results in a mutually beneficial outcome that is agreed upon by each party. conflict management in the opinion of scalia and mckinney, (2020) is the practice of being able to identify and handle conflicts sensibly, fairly, and efficiently. as succinctly put by the authors, since conflicts in a community, nation or even business are a natural part of the business/workplace, it is important that there are people who understand conflicts and know how to resolve them. the techniques and ideas used in resolving conflict depend on the type of conflict that is being managed. conflict resolution can be an aim of conflict management but not all conflict management techniques or styles have conflict resolution as the ultimate target as it may not be feasible. conflict resolution can be defined as the informal or formal process that two or more 67 oliver o. okanazu, ph.d; maureen a. madu, ph.d, ugochi; l. chekwubeand moghalu, f. amarachi parties use to find a peaceful solution to their dispute. it is the process by which two or more parties reach a peaceful resolution to a dispute (doyle, 2020). conflict resolution required a wide range of skills to succeed. in fact, individuals who are able to resolve conflicts are often excellent mediators, rational, and able to manage difficult personalities from a place of empathy. conflict resolution in communities, nations, country involves some or all of the following processes: recognition by the parties involved that a problem/ conflict exists; having some mutual agreement to address the issue and find some resolution; making an effort to understand the perspective and concerns of the opposing individual or group; identification of changes in attitude, behaviour, and approaches to work/issue by both sides that will lessen negative feelings; recognizing triggers to episodes of conflict; interventions by third parties such as human resources representatives or higher level managers to mediate; a willingness by one or both parties to compromise; agreement on a plan to address differences; monitoring the impact of any agreements for change; disciplining or terminating employees who resist efforts to defuse conflicts (doyle, 2020). though in the context of this study, the researchers are looking on how sustainable business will serve as a remedy for conflict management. sander and bordone (2019) outline ways sustainable business can resolve conflict in workplace, communities, states, nations and countries to include: diagnosing of dispute symptoms: here, sustainable business being business for the current and future generation is expected to do an assessment of the type of disputes that typically arise in the environment they operates and how organization can handle them. it must identify who is typically involved in the disputes. how frequently do disputes come up, and what trends that trigger them. having this information will enable the organization have interest-based structures that will help them in resolving disputes. similarly, fort and schipani (2014) confirmed that many businesses understand the conflict-related functions of their organizations in terms of corporate social responsibility, political risk management, and public and government relations, but most time do not integrated them in a way that reaps the benefits of peacebuilding among their host communities. how businesses respond to information asymmetries, market fragmentation, institutionalized corruption, and oppressive policy frameworks varies, and the mitigation strategies they choose can have negative or positive consequences for peace (jane, 2012). the author opined that in some cases businesses resort to negative strategies as a coping mechanism against market and governance failure. others may use them as a means to maximize profit. negative strategies include bribery, flouting international laws and standards, cutting corners, and neglecting contractual arrangements. these can create new conflicts or exacerbate existing tensions. positive strategies include support for anticorruption activities, investment in human and physical capital, collaborations on social strategies, and leadership in multilateral regulatory reform efforts. regulation can influence greatly the strategies that businesses adopt and can have powerful implications for encouraging or discouraging conflict-sensitive approaches. as the engine behind economic activity, international alert (2006) affirmed that sustainable business can foster peace in a multitude of ways and facilitate transitions from aid dependency to self-sustained progress. conceptually, the goals of profitable business can be aligned with peace strategies if conflict-sensitive and ethical approaches are adopted. therefore, it is in the best interest of firms that adopts sustainable business management to work for peace where possible in the communities in which they operate; this is true for strategic and risk-mitigation purposes, as firms are not immune to tensions in conflict affected areas. despite laudable benefits that sustainable businesses are expected to bring, it seems that 68 sustainable business a sine qua non for conflict management in south – east nigeria most communities especially the ones in south east nigeria are still facing challenges in the area of communal conflicts, herderfamers' conflicts, boundary disputes, among others these challenges most times lead to business failures as a result of poor patronage by the consumers who are on unstable condition as a result of uncertainty in their environment. it is against this backdrop that the researchers seek to identify how sustainable business will serve as a sine qua non for conflict management in south-east nigeria in other to foster peace and communal integration. purpose of the study the general purpose of the study was to determine how sustainable business will serve as a sine qua non for conflict management in south-east nigeria. specifically, the study sought to identify; 1. ways sustainable business will serve as an indispensible condition for conflict management in south-east nigeria 2. challenges faced by sustainable business in conflict management in south-east nigeria research question based on the specific purpose of the study, the following research questions were formulated to guide the study: 1. what are the ways sustainable business serves as an indispensible condition for conflict management in south-east nigeria? 2. what are the challenges faced by sustainable business in conflict management in south-east nigeria? hypothesis h0 : there is no significant difference in the mean ratings of business educators in federal 1 university and those in state university on ways sustainable business will serve as an indispensible condition for conflict management in south-east nigeria. h0 there is no significant difference in the mean ratings of experienced and less 2 experienced business educators on the challenges faced by sustainable business in conflict management in south-east nigeria method two research questions guided the study and two hypotheses were tested at the probability level of 0.05. survey research design was adopted for the study. survey design was found suitable for this study because questionnaire was used to collect data from respondents on how sustainable business will serve as a sine qua non for conflict management in southeast nigeria. the population of the study consisted of all the entire 75 business educators drawn from the eight public universities that offer business education programme in south east nigeria. due to the relatively manageable size of the population, the entire population was used for the study without sampling. the instrument for data collection was a 19 item structured questionnaire titled: 69 oliver o. okanazu, ph.d; maureen a. madu, ph.d, ugochi; l. chekwubeand moghalu, f. amarachi sustainable business for conflict management questionnaire (sbcmq). the questionnaire was structured on a 4-point rating scale of strongly agreed (sa); agreed (a); disagreed (d); and strongly disagreed (sd) respectively. the instrument was face validated by three experts in business education department, unn. for the purpose of establishing the internal consistency of the instrument, cronbach alpha reliability method was used. the reliability coefficient obtained was 0.83. copies of the questionnaire were distributed by the researchers with the help of three research assistants. all the 75 copies of the questionnaire administered were retrieved representing 100% return rate. the data collected were analysed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions while t-test was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. the null hypothesis of no significant difference was accepted for items whose p-values were greater than 0.05 level of significance while hypothesis of no significant difference was rejected for items whose p-values were less than 0.05 level of significance. results research question one 1. what are the ways sustainable business serves as an indispensible condition for conflict management in south-east nigeria? h0 : there is no significant difference in the mean ratings of business educators in federal 1 university and those in state university on ways sustainable business will serve as an indispensible condition for conflict management in south-east nigeria. the data for answering the first research question and testing the first null hypothesis are presented in table 1. table 1 mean ratings and t-test of the responses of business educators on the ways sustainable business serves as an indispensible condition for conflict management (n 75) s/n item statements ää? sd rem. t-value remark ways sustainable business serves as an indispensible condition for conflict management include: 1. promotion of prosperity and stability in conflict prone/affected area through corporate citizenship and increase productivity. 3.41 .71 a .61 ns 2. development of risk mitigation strategies to resolve conflict through attraction of employees and investors across & within their host regions 3.56 .69 sa .79 ns 3. designing of high risk management strategies to combat endemic corruptions and myriad market failures. 3.67 .80 sa .58 ns 4. designing strategies that will distort weak economic governance and reinforced political economy to curb conflict. 3.47 .93 a .61 ns x 70 sustainable business a sine qua non for conflict management in south – east nigeria table 1 show that the mean ratings of the responses of the respondents on 7 out of the 9 items in the table ranged from 3.51 – 3.88 which are within the boundary limit of 3.50 – 4.00 on 4 point rating scale. this indicates that business educators strongly agreed that the seven identified items are ways sustainable business serves as an indispensible condition for conflict management in south-east nigeria. similarly, data in the table 1 show that the mean rating on items 1 and 4 are 3.41 and 3.47 which are within the boundary limit of 2.50 – 3.49 on 4 – point rating scale. by this finding, the business educators agreed that items 1 and 4 in the table are also ways sustainable business serves as an indispensible condition for conflict management in south-east nigeria. furthermore, the data presented in table 1 on the first hypothesis show that the tvalues of the entire 9 items in the table ranged between .43 .91 which are in each case greater than 0.05 level of significance. this indicates that there were no significant difference in the mean ratings of business educators in federal university and those in state university on ways sustainable business serves as an indispensible condition for conflict management in south-east nigeria. therefore, the null hypothesis of no significant difference was accepted on all the nine items. research question two: 1. what are the challenges faced by sustainable business in conflict management in south-east nigeria? h0 : there is no significant difference in the mean ratings of experienced and less 2 experienced business educators on the challenges faced by sustainable business in conflict management in south-east nigeria the data for answering the second research question and testing second null hypothesis are presented in table 2 on page 10. 5. performing of social cooperate responsibility to their host communi ties through increased business abil ity to comply w ith regulat ions. 3.87 .77 sa .82 ns 6. embarking on projects that may be jointly owned and managed by their host communities. 3.56 .46 sa .91 ns 7. creation of employment to their host communities 3.67 .81 sa .71 ns 8. producing products that are not harmful to their host communities 3.88 .61 sa .52 ns 9. properly disposing of waste products in case of manufacturing businesses to avoid environmental contamina tion. 3.51 .73 sa .43 ns grand mean 3.62 .80 sa .66 ns note: g = grand mean; = mean; sa = strongly agree; a = agree; n = no of respondents; s = significant; ns = not significant; sig. at 0.05. 71 oliver o. okanazu, ph.d; maureen a. madu, ph.d, ugochi; l. chekwubeand moghalu, f. amarachi xx data presented in table 2 revealed that the mean ratings of the respondents on 9 out of the 10 items ranged from 3.56 – 3.92 which are within the boundary limit of 3.50 – 4.00 on 4point rating scale. this indicates that business educators strongly agreed that the nine identified items are challenges faced by sustainable business in conflict management in south-east nigeria. furthermore, data in table 2 equally show that the mean rating on item 10 was 3.49 which is within the boundary limit of 2.50 – 3.49 on 4-point rating scale. by this finding, the respondents agreed that item 10 in the table is also a challenges faced by sustainable business in conflict management in south-east nigeria. similarly, data presented in table 2 also revealed that the t-values of the entire 10 items ranged between .34 .97 which are all greater than 0.05 level of significance. this indicates that there were no significant difference in the mean ratings of experienced and less experienced business educators on the challenges faced by sustainable business in conflict management in south-east nigeria therefore, the null hypothesis of no significant difference was accepted on all the ten items. s/n item statements ää? sd rem. t. value remark challenges faced by sustainable business in conflict management in south-east nigeria include: 1. neglect of business core social cooperate responsibilities among their host communities. 3.76 .74 sa .82 ns 2. bad leaderships in most of the business organizations. 3.56 .69 sa .52 ns 3. globalization which have affected most business operations. 3.77 .52 sa .34 ns 4. insincerity of government to tackle corruption 3.57 .49 sa .47 ns 5. illiteracy in most communities 3.92 .88 sa .86 ns 6. greed among some members of the business host communities. 3.89 .61 sa .41 ns 7. political interest among some members of the communities. 3.59 .89 sa .78 ns 8. laziness among youth in the communities 3.87 .66 sa .91 ns 9. poor disposer of business waste. 3.89 .93 sa .97 ns 10. poor government presence in must area. 3.49 .39 a .44 ns grand mean 3.73 .68 sa .65 ns x note: g = grand mean; = mean; sa = strongly agree; a = agree; n = no of respondents; s = significant; ns = not significant; sig. at 0.05. 72 sustainable business a sine qua non for conflict management in south – east nigeria x x discussion of findings this study identified ways sustainable business will serve as an indispensible condition for conflict management in south-east nigeria to include; promotion of prosperity and stability in conflict prone/affected area through corporate citizenship; development of risk mitigation strategies to resolve conflict in their host regions; designing of high risk management strategies to combat endemic corruptions and myriad market failures; designing strategies that will distort weak economic governance and reinforced political economy to curb conflict; performing of their social cooperate responsibility to their host communities; embarking on projects that may be jointly owned and managed by their host communities; creation of employment to their host communities; producing products that are not harmful to their host communities; properly disposing of waste products in case of manufacturing businesses to avoid environmental contamination. these findings were in agreement with the opinion of tyler (2012) who articulated that business sector can promote prosperity and stability in conflict-prone and conflict affected regions through good corporate citizenship, operating in these high-risk, but highrewarding environments is fraught with great difficulty. to the author, many firms develop risk mitigation strategies designed to minimize exposure. in the same vein, international alert (2010) asserts that poor risk management strategies combine with endemic corruption and myriad market failures and distortions resulting from weak economic governance to reinforce aspects of the political economy could trigger and sustain violent conflict. the agency maintained that effectively addressing these failings could reduce business costs, increase efficiency, and improve governance and livelihoods in fragile regions. to them lack of transparency and corruption among government and private sector is the hallmark to regional conflict across the globe. furthermore, luc (2010) opined that when adopting strategies to benefit from the immense potential of the business sector to foster peace in conflict areas, one must also look at the size of the firms, whether the firms are state or privately owned, which industries they are involved in, and their interconnectedness within supply chains. according to luc, key components of effective strategies include crafting incentives to reward investing firms that espouse good corporate citizenship, strengthening international initiatives that promote transparency and contain corruption, developing initiatives that will fully incorporate the local economy into global value chains, and introducing mechanisms to forge global consensus on appropriate conflict-sensitive business practices. as violence and instability persist in much of the world, spending trillions of naira on military activity each year is unsustainable therefore; alternative methods of fostering peace among nations which business can serve are called for in other to prevent conflict. there was no significant difference in the mean ratings of business educators in federal university and those in state university on ways sustainable business will serve as an indispensible condition for conflict management in south-east nigeria. this is in agreement with the opinion of darleen, (2018) who affirmed that conflict irrespective of one's location has the potential to cause serious problems if not managed effectively. when managed effectively, conflict can represent an opportunity. it can help in break through counterproductive ways of thinking, stimulate creativity and innovation, and ultimately bring people together. leaders play an important role in resolving these differences and their actions will often determine whether the conflict led to a positive or negative experience. conflict around business environments are unavoidable and tend to escalate if 73 oliver o. okanazu, ph.d; maureen a. madu, ph.d, ugochi; l. chekwubeand moghalu, f. amarachi it is not managed quickly and effectively. while some conflict can be highly beneficial, unresolved conflicts can have very negative effects on an organization. rising tensions can reduce productivity, stifle creative collaboration, and create barriers to communication. furthermore, the study identified challenges faced by sustainable business in conflict management in south-east nigeria to include: neglect of business core social cooperate responsibilities among their host communities; bad leaderships in most of the business organizations; globalization which have affected most business operations; insincerity of government to tackle corruption; illiteracy in most communities; greed among some members of the business host communities; political interest among some members of the communities; laziness among youth in the communities; poor disposer of business waste. poor government presence in most area the finding is in line with the report of kubiat (2018) who authenticated that globalization which is the spread of worldwide practices, relations, consciousness, and organization of social life has affected business operations in many ways. to the author, advancement in technological development especially as in information communication technology (ict) has made the world a small village in which case the world economy, culture, and political space are being integrated into a world economy. thus, globalization has affected virtually every aspect of man, culturally, economically, politically and institutionally. globalization is therefore a great challenge to insecurity and conflict management. globalization has brought benefit to some, but miseries to an increasing number of others. it has concentrated wealth in the hands of a diminishing few while denying access to such wealth to an increasing many. similarly, epstein and epstein (2006) listed top barriers to conflict resolution to include inadequate planning and preparation; grief; systemic distrust; failure to communicate and listen; insufficient focus on underlying interests; partisan perception, judgmental overconfidence, and wrong baselines; false first impressions and perceptions among others. to the authors, false first impression may be the most crucial barrier to successful conflict resolution. first impressions are terribly difficult to change. decision-makers make their decisions on the data available at the time and they are slow to recognize and appreciate later contradictory data. the battleship once set in motion is incredibly difficult to turn about. thus, the key is to make every effort to establish a good first impression. first impressions, which are generally lasting impressions, allow business organizations the luxury of not thinking or reasoning. the very best way host communities can deal with this unfortunate and stubborn shortcut is prevention. thus, business host communities should make every effort to create a well positive first impression with business organizations; they should create enabling environments for businesses to thrive in their communities and region. there was also no significant difference in the mean ratings of experienced and less experienced business educators on the challenges faced by sustainable business in conflict management in south-east nigeria. this is in line with the opinion of virginia (2012), who stated that too often parties in conflict create a barrier to conflict resolution because their risk assessments do not factor in the full range of key decision points that the court will be considering if there is litigation. this problem often leads to unrealistic client expectations. parties tend to be averse to risk regarding gain and would rather have a certain gain than an uncertain larger gain. on the other hand, people are risk-seeking with regard to loss. that is, they would rather avoid a certain loss and take a risk of a greater loss if there is some chance of avoiding that greater loss. in other words, some parties would rather postpone a certain loss (settlement) for an uncertain result in the future (trial). meanwhile treat others 74 sustainable business a sine qua non for conflict management in south – east nigeria how you would like to be treated is an adage we all learned in childhood, yet we frequently forget to heed it in the heat of battle. business organizations should respect and regard their host communities as partner in progress. they should observe all the laws and corporate cultures of the communities so as to be able to resolve conflict that may hamper their business growth, development and sustainability. conclusion much attention has been devoted to understanding how sustainable business will serve as an important part of the solution in conflict-affected communities, region, states and nation. as the engine behind economic activity, sustainable business can foster peace in a multitude of ways and facilitate transitions from aid dependency to self-sustained progress. given the diversity of businesses and their varied responses to policies, threats, and incentives, an aggregated analysis of how businesses influence peace and conflict in an area cannot be overemphasized. distinctions should be made between large multinationals and domestic business, public and private ownership, types of industry, and formal and informal systems to identify the most effective peace-promoting behaviours required from each size. when circumventing challenges involving corruption and bribes to lubricate processes or avoid contractual and regulatory obligations that could trigger or sustain violence, adoption of a clear and comprehensive business regulation is one way to address the market and governance failures that compel sustainable businesses to adopt negative approaches in conflict management. however, it will be more effective and peace promoting if all players, domestic and foreign, business organization comply with the lay down rules so as to promote peace and resolve conflicts that will arise in their areas of business operations. peace-building in conflict-affected regions requires more than boots on the ground, signing of peace accords, making security arrangements, and focused diplomacy. practitioners, scholars, and policymakers agreed that successful conflict management requires the effective leverage of all stakeholders including the business sector on the holistic approach of conflict resolution. when this is done, there will be proper conflict management and resolution across nations especially in south east nigeria. recommendations based on the findings of the study, the following recommendations were made: 1. sustainable business should develop strategies like establishment of intercommunity joint venture relationship so as to manage conflict in communities, region or states they are operating. 2. sustainable business should live up to their social cooperate responsibility of employment creation, poverty reduction, wealth creation and proper waste management to abate conflict escalation in their area of business operations. 3. business organizations should also embark on projects that may be jointly own and managed by their host communities so as to create a sense of belonging to them. there should be interstate business bilateral relationships that will create mutual benefits among boarding communities, region and states to prevent conflict. 75 oliver o. okanazu, ph.d; maureen a. madu, ph.d, ugochi; l. chekwubeand moghalu, f. amarachi references thdarleen, d. (2018). 5 tips for healthy conflict resolution in the workplace. retrieved on 27 may, 2020 from https://www.business2community.com/human-resources/5-tips-for-healthy-conflictresolution-in-the-workplace-02105355 th doyle a. (2020). conflict resolution: definition, process, skills, examples. retrieved on 24 april, 2020 from https://www.thebalancecareers.com/conflict-resolutions-skills-2063739 edgeman, r and eskildsen, j (2020). modeling and assessing sustainable enterprise excellence. business strategy and the environment. 23 (3): 173. doi:10.1002/bse.1779. thepstein, j. and epstein, s. (2006). the top ten barriers to dispute resolution: retrieved on 25 june, 2020 from https://www.mediate.com/articles/epsteinjs2.cfm fort, t. l. and schipani, c. a. (2014). the role of business in fostering peaceful societies new york: cambridge university press. galvao, a. (2020). mind your own business, why sustainable operations must be everyone's chief concern. apics magazine. 18 (5). gupta, s. and kumar, v. (2013). sustainability as corporate culture of a brand for superior performance. journal of world business, 48(2)156-166. t hh a r p e r , c . ( 2 0 1 9 ) . c o n f l i c t . r e t r i e v e d o n 2 7 m a y , 2 0 2 0 f r o m https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/conflict. t h hayes, a. (2020). w h a t i s a b u s i n e s s ? r e t r i e v e d o n 2 9 a p r i l , 2 0 2 0 f r o m https://www.investopedia.com/terms. t h h o u g h t o n , m . h . ( 2 0 2 0 ) . c o n f l i c t . r e t r i e v e d o n 1 9 j u n e , 2 0 2 0 f r o m https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/conflict t hhrzone (2020). what is conflict management? retrieved on 27 may, 2020 from https://www.hrzone.com/hr-glossary/what-is-conflict-management international alert (2006) local business, local peace: the peace-building potential of the domestic private sector, case study south africa,” london, 2006, available at http://www.internationalalert.org/sites/default/files/ publications/27_section_2_south_africa.pdf (accessed april 19, 2020). international alert (2010). the business of peace: the private sector as a partner in conflict prevention a n d r e s o l u t i o n , ” l o n d o n , 2 0 0 0 , a v a i l a b l e a t h t t p : / / w w w . i n t e r n a t i o n a l a l e r t . o r g / s i t e s / d e f a u l t / f i l e s / p u b l i c a t i o n s / the%20business%20of%20peace.pdf (accessed april 19, 2020). jane, n. (2012). the business of peace: business as a partner in conflict resolution. london: prince of wales business leaders forum, 2012. k a t i e , s . ( 2 0 2 0 ) . b u s i n e s s c o n f l i c t m a n a g e m e n t . r e t r i e v e d o n m a r c h 5 t h , 2020https://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/conflict-resolution/business-conflict-management/ keskin, d., diehle, j. c, and molenaar, n. (2013). innovation process of new ventures driven by sustainability. journal of clean production 45, 111-115 nd kubiat, u. (2018). challenges of conflict management in nigeria. retrieved on 22 april, 2020 from https://researchcyber.com/challenges-conflict-management-nigeria/ luc, z. (2010). opportunities for synergy: conflict transformation and the corporate agenda, bergh of conflict research, bergh of foundation, 2005. accessed may 9, 2020 from http://www.berghofhandbook.net/documents/publications/ marrewijk, van. m (2019). “concepts and definitions of csr and corporate sustainability,” journal of business ethics 44, 2–3 (2019). okanazu, o. o. and akele, f. e. (2018). green cultural practices for sustainable business management in a world of change. journal of african studies and sustainable development. 1 (4), 1 – 24. oliver, w. (2018). peace through commerce: responsible corporate citizenship and the ideals of the united nations global compact. south bend, in: university of notre dame press. thsander, v and bordone, f. (2019). business conflict management. retrieved on 27 may, 2020 from https://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/conflict-resolution/business-conflict-management/ th scalia, s. and mckinney, p. (2020). definition of conflict management. retrieved on 17 may, 2020 from https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-conflict-management-definition-styles-strategies.html smriti, c. (2019). conflict management. characteristics, types, stages, causes and other details. thretrieved on 7 april, 2020 from https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/business/conflict76 sustainable business a sine qua non for conflict management in south – east nigeria https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-conflict-management-definition-styles-strategies.html management-characteristics-types-stages-causes-and-other-details/5431 thsusan, w. (2019). the term business encompasses a wealth of activities retrieved on 6 may, 2020 from https://www.thebalancesmb.com/business-definition-2947960 rd swetha, a. (2020). 5 conflict management styles for every personality type. retrieved on 23 june, 2020 from https://blog.hubspot.com/service/conflict-management-styles. tokgoz, n., and once, s. (2009). corporate sustainability: alternative approach to traditional business management. afyon kocatepe university turkish 11, 2. tyler, r. s (2012) policy implications of natural resource conflict management. united nations public a d m i n i s t r a t i o n n e t w o r k , n e w y o r k , a v a i l a b l e a t http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/ apcity/unpan022237.pdf (accessed july 6, 2020). th virginia, g. (2012). embedding sustainability in company culture: retrieved on 12 june, 2020 from http://128.175.63.72/projects/documents/greenbusiness.pdf. 77 oliver o. okanazu, ph.d; maureen a. madu, ph.d, ugochi; l. chekwubeand moghalu, f. amarachi igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 87 the making of an african god: mwangi’s apotheosis of haraka in carcase for hounds felicia nina nwulu, ph.d directorate of general studies federal university of technology, owerri, nigeria ninanwulu@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.14770.12482 abstract of all the few commentators on meja mwangi’s carcase for hounds, none has approached the explication of the text from the perspective that mwangi created a god out of his major character in this novel. why did mwangi assign such super human qualities to the character of haraka? why is haraka’s gun so powerful that it equalizes, if not surpasses, haraka himself? and why was haraka’s lieutenant (kimamo) so devoted to the services of his principal until death? this paper sets out to explore all these issues and goes ahead to argue and demonstrate that given the treatment of haraka, his gun (the patchett), and haraka’s over all relationship with his lieutenant, that mwangi created a god out of haraka. the text carcase for hounds will form the primary text for explication. there shall be references to other works that are ancillary to the job the author intends to do in this paper. given the foregoing therefore, the author shall explore the space within which haraka operated by describing the texture and structure through which mwangi has created and concretized human action. the paper concludes that given the interplay between haraka, his lieutenant, and his gun, that mwangi created a god out of a human being haraka. keywords: god, apotheosis, mwangi, haraka, african introduction in judeo-christian culture, human beings have been known to be made into gods. apart from the supreme being, jehovah that is said to be nonsenescent, omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient, other gods do not possess all the qualities mentioned above. humans such as elijah, moses and jesus christ who has been a subject of controversy because of being born in human form, have all been said to be made into gods. in the bible account of moses, god said to moses concerning pharaoh, “i am going to make you like god to the king and your brother aaron will speak to him as your prophet.” (exodus 7:1) elijah was a man like every igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 88 other man but god endowed him with supernatural powers such that he would issue an order and the heavens will obey. when king ahab had become too wicked, elijah locked the heaven’s to protest his evil rule and rain did not fall for three years in israel. elijah said to king ahab, “i tell you that there will be no dew or rain for the next three years until i say so.” (1 kings 7:1) and it was so. jesus christ was born the natural way like any other human being but performed actions beyond human capacity. he died and was raised to heaven. he is touted to be the second person of the godhead in christianity. the holy spirit of god, active force with which jehovah works, is said to be the third. in my approach to the explication of the trinity in carcase, haraka the protagonist of the novel will be looked upon as the leader of the godhead. kimamo, his companion and first lieutenant will be looked upon as the son and haraka’s gun, the patchett, will be discussed as the spirit behind the super human qualities of haraka. since this is the case, i shall attempt to describe the novel used in this paper, carcase according to the different modes of expressions through which its author, mwangi, has achieved his aim the creation of haraka as a god who fought the occupying white settlers in kenya. it shall not be out of place, therefore if in the process of my discussion, issues of form and texture come into play. this is because, over the years , i have come to realize that there is no way form is discussed without touching content, and vice versa, in a given novel. mwangi wanted us to see his images as something to be understood and this we could achieve only through an additive manner. the task i have undertaken is therefore to teach the reader how this has been made possible by the author, nwangi. and how his additive system finally leads to the making of haraka a god is the burden of this paper; and i shall validate this assertion by giving specific quotations from my primary text, carcase. definition of operative terms god: the term god has been viewed from different perspectives and among different cultures and belief systems. some people view god from a monotheistic context. in this context, or thought, god is seen as a supreme being, creator deity and principle object of faith. swinburne (1995) argues that in a monotheistic context that god is usually conceived as being omniscient (allknowing), omnipotent (all-powerful), omnipresent (all present) and as having an eternal and necessary existence, and that god is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 89 often held to be incorporeal. bordwell (2002) corroborates this claim when he argues that god is “often held to be immaterial.” (p.84). in monotheism, its adherents refer to their gods by using names prescribed by their respective religions, with some of these names referring to certain cultural ideas about their god’s identity and attributes. this view is attested to by assmann (2005) when he argues that in the ancient egyptian era of atenism, possibly the earliest recorded monotheistic religion, that their deity was called “aten” as a result of it being seen as the one “true” supreme being and creator of the universe (p.59). watanabe (2006) argues that in chinese religion, shangdi is conceived as the progenitor (first ancestor) of the universe, intrinsic to it and constantly bringing order to it, that other religions have names for the concept of god, including baha in bahai faith. in judeo-christian religion, the names adonai, elohim and yahweh or jehovah are used to refer to god, the supreme deity. in christianity, there is a christian doctrine of the trinity god exiting in three “persons”, categorized as god the father, god the son and the holy spirit. god the father is the creator of the universe; he is non-senescent, omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient. jesus is referred to as god the son who was made man so that man can, through him, attain divine status. there was nothing that was created that he did not participate in its creation. he is said to be co-equal with the father; the holy spirit is the divine force with which the father operated and at his baptism, jesus christ was endowed with this active force. i shall discuss mwangi’s carcase from the perspective of the christian trinity of god the father, the son and the holy spirit , and explicate the complex relationship, between haraka god the father, kimano god the son, and haraka’s gun the patehett as the active force with which haraka operated and relate this to how mwangi has made a god out of haraka in carcase apotheosis: the term apotheosis has its origin from greek apotheo and simply means “to deify” its latin equivalent is deification which means “making divine”. the english equivalent is divinization or deification. put together, apotheosis simply means the exaltation or glorification of a subject to divine level or status. it is the treatment of a human like a god. apotheosis has meanings in theology and in art. in theology, it refers to the idea that an individual has been raised to godlike stature, even though igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 90 most christian commentators argue that christ was a preexisting god who undertook mortal existence and not a mortal being who attained divinity, some commentators argue that jesus christ was made god as a result his super human qualities. in art, the elevation of a figure to divine level entails certain conventions. the artist sees the subject as possessing and exhibiting super human qualities that finally aligns him in death, with heroes and gods. fox (1973), argues that in the greek world, phillip ii of macedon was the first to accord himself divine honours, that at his (phillip’s) wedding to his sixth wife, phillip’s enthroned image was carried in procession among the olympian gods, that “his example at aigai became a custom , passing to the macedonian kings who were later worshipped in greek, asia, from them to julius ceasar and so to the emperors of rome” (p.20) fox (1973) goes further to argue that such hellenistic state leaders might be raised to a status equal to the gods before death. he gave example with alexander the great who was apotheosized, or that they (hellenistic state leaders) may be apotheosized after death. he argues that members of the ptolemaic dynasty were accorded this honour after death haraka in mwangi’s carcase is a deliberate creation by the author in the making of an african god; how this has been made possible is the burden of this paper. literature review meja mwangi has had a series of literary achievements attached to his name. he won the lotus prize for literature in 1978. his kill me quick (1973) won the kenyatta prize for fiction in 1973 and so did his carcase for hounds (1974) in 1974. mwangi has a considerable experience in film and television. he worked for the french broadcasting corporation in nairaobi and has turned carcase (1974) into an adventure film. (see the blurb of carcase). at present, mwangi has many books to his credit. they are in order of publication: kill me quick (1973), taste of death (1974), carcase for hounds (1974), going down river road (1976) and the bush truckers (1979). others are the cockroach dance (1979), bread of sorrow (1987), weapon of hunger (1989), the return of shaka (1989), striving for the wind (1990), the last plague (2000) and the big chiefs (2008) there are also children’s books written by mwangi. they include the hunters dream (1993), the nzunga boy (2005), and the boy gift (2006). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 91 carcase and taste of death explore the trying period of the mau mau struggle for independence in kenya . the author in these books writes from the angle of a film producer hence the cinematographic nature of his works. carcase is centered on the mau mau struggle in kenya during the colonial period. the book explores the relationship between haraka the protagonist of the novel and his trusted lieuntenant kimamo, and the war that raged on between the mau -mau and captain. kingsley’s colonial forces and why it took so long before the defeat of the freedom fighters. the values analyzed in these works – that to achieve success, sacrifice is important while sabotage is evil are narrow, and the spectrum of events covered, limited. while highlighting the characters of the two chief actors in the book , the socio-economic issues that gave rise to these struggles were subtly discussed. carcase mainly explores the exploits of general haraka, a one -time chief of pinewood forest and an ex home guard. haraka lives his position as chief of pinewood forest station and runs into the jungle to lead the mau-mau. haraka considers the white man a colonial misanthrope, land grabber, liar and mindless exploiter. for this, the whiteman and anybody supporting him is an enemy including his childhood friend now turned collaborator chief simba, and all must die. taste of death is all about the period of emergency to independence in kenya in 1963. the central focus is on kariuki the freedom fighter with the will of iron, and kitango with dewis the colonial officer. neither torture nor isolation could make kariuki renounce the struggle for freedom until independence was finally granted to kenya. kill me quick and going down river road are set in nairaobi, kenya and they explore the dehumanization of the african by the white colonialist. meja and maina are the chief character s in kill me quick who, irrespective of their possession of the school certificate, finally became robbers who torment the kenyan society. going down river road tells us about the degeneration of ben and ocholla and the racial factors responsible for this degeneration. the bush trackers explores the exploits of two rangers who in a game reserve, try all they can to thwart the designs of a mafia-organized team of poachers and extortionists. the overall design of the novel follows the thriller tradition and is directed at the popular market. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 92 bread of sorrow (1987), weapon of hunger (1989), the return of shaka (1989) striving for the wind (1990), the last plague (2000) and the big chiefs (2008) all have vivid naturalistic narration. the books are protest books but hilarity abound in this works. palmer (1979), argues that carcase has a setting that reinforces the hardened nature of the book’s characters. that haraka and company could afford to move through such queer space because their nature has been nurtured by the environment through which they operate (p.310). knight (1983) while highlighting the environment of carcase and taste of death as a mirror of reality argues that the most enduring feature of the two novels is the persistent use of nature to mirror and intensify the feelings of the actors. she goes further to say that the lives of kimamo and haraka are seen to be transcient as opposed to the great liki, the rainbird and the hyena which “laugh closes the novel (p.146). eko (1986), studied the relationship that exists between mwangi’s characters in the author‘s novels. in carcase , she examines the relationship that exists between haraka and his lieutenants and especially kimamo. she tries to ascertain the degree of loyalty between the two in a command and obey relationship. she is of the view that kimamo gave an excessive heroworship of haraka, and this finally leads to the death of the lieutenant, kimamo. eko does not sanction this kind of relationship in which one ( kimamo) would obey even unto death. it is not surprising that eko thinks this way. if she has been aware, she would have realized that mwangi made a god out of haraka and he (haraka) is in a father/ son relationship with his son kimamo in whom he is “well pleased” and who would obey his father even unto death. nwulu (2013), while writing on the technique of mwanyi (as a modern novelist) traces the origins of the cinematic technique in fiction from the 19th century in the novels of joyce and conclude, that mwangi writes in the tradition of a cinematographer. her analyses are based on two of mwangi ‘s novels carcase and kill me quick . she argues that because mwangi writes as a cinematographer having studied the film technique and having studied the modern practitioners of the technique in fiction especially joyce, dos passes and hemmingway that there is so much to be seen in the novels of mwangi and that this makes mwangi an avant –garde african writer that employs the film form in crafting his novels. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 93 textual analysis: the apotheosis of haraka at his first presentation of haraka, mwangi presents the maumau leader as one kind of anthropomorphic god moving through queer space and filled with a welter of inanimate objects and environmental detail: the ground was wet underfoot. the two men kept away from all beaten tracks to avoid leaving prints. the smaller of the two was leading, his 1913 winchester carbine slung by a leather thong, over his right shoulder. in his left hand, he carried a deerskin bag. the long, stringy hair fell to his shoulders over the tattered, dark great coat. at the bottom of his baggy, ragged trousers, so that they seem to peer out from under them were his oversized army boots, lashed to the small feet with leather thongs. the trousers were held in place round the waist by a leather cord. his companion was an immense, huge man, over six feet of tough muscle and bone. the massive chest was covered by a khaki shirt and an old jungle –jacket. he wore a patched –up pair of trousers and very old jungle-boots. on his large head, covering it so that the long hair flowed out from under it in pigtails was a black cap and had once belonged to a police officer. the police officer had lost his head and no longer needed the cap (p.1). this descriptive lust fills everywhere in carcase. the second man in this movement through the jungle is no other person than haraka. he is immense; his immensity does not stop only in his physical structure or body geometry; it is carried over to his uncanny ability to organize his band of freedom fighters and in his confrontation of the colonial army with its vast array of men, weapons and fighter – bombers. his “tough muscle and bone” equals his rigidity of spirit as we shall see later in our discussion. the “black cap” he wears is the booty he got from his decapitation of a “police officer”. this man is therefore no ordinary man, he is a special kind, the kind that obtains his weapon of war from the enemy since he has none ab-initio . the “smith and wesson revolver” he possesses is “acquired from a white farmer, the victim of one of the dreaded haraka swoops out at timau (p.1). this same man, a walking dynamite , is in possession of a “sinister british patchett” (p.1) why did mwangi introduce his hero amid a welter of inanimate objects that spit fire and death? this man materializes before us, a nameless, inanimate male form in military costume and jungle bric-a-brac. mwangi, from the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 94 beginning, wants us to know that this human freak is the god who would spread death and destruction not only to the colonial misanthrope but also to all african collaborators with the whiteman. after the raids that led to the seizure of the guns and caps in possession of haraka and his trusted lieutenant kimamo, captain kingsley now amasses a vast array of soldiers well equipped with rapid-fire guns and helicopter gunships against haraka’s little army: “the captain stacked his gun and pack in a corner of the room. he proceeds to undress and take a bath… the rugged windsock rose and fell lazily. aircrafts of various types were assembled near the large hangers. men were busy refueling while repair work went on inside the hangers. as he watched, a light plane, the property of the kenya police reserve air wing, touched down… an aviation ranker came into view in the direction of the fuel depots behind the workshop (p.10) captain kingsley’s troop, assisted by air power, goes on the hunt for haraka and his ragtag army. the result? total failure: “captain kingsley speaking.” “any luck, any action? “no contact whatsoever the captain told him “..we worked fifteen miles north of the liki from timau. three miles in the jungle along the ridge. no sign of him or anybody”. ‘there couldn’t have been,” the other said…” while you were up north looking for him, haraka was down south at naromoru. mr whitney of springbok farm was murdered together with his family last night. they set the house on fire too… somebody has got to put an end to this camage captain (p.12). there is no doubt that haraka is an immensely rough character endowed with super human capacities. this is why everybody in the camp of the whiteman is apprehensive, and this is why the commanding officer (co) brigadier thames instructs that the haraka group not be allowed to join with the aberdare bands. ‘the result could be disastrous (p.12)” according to brig. thames. because haraka is evasive and destructive, the emergency committee, according to brigadier themas, has its doubts whether captain kingsley could nail the “terrorist”. it is this ugly situation that makes captain kingsley remember who haraka is, “ a brawny giant with cunning igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 95 calm eyes that seemed to hide all feeling” (p.13). this haraka, “ is not the same haraka anymore,” (p.13) he reasons , and how on earth could this freak move through the dense and thick of the oldaiga hills circumscribed by mount kenya without leaving any trace to enable his (kingsley’s) troop catch him? thousands of streamlets flowed through the mount kenya forest combined into rivulets such as naromorou and timau, which either ran themselves dry in the thorn tree covered laikipia plains or combined and formed tributaries to the liki and nanyuki… how the devil i did the notorious haraka live through that? (p.16). the thought of haraka, to all appearances, eluding and outwitting him “was most painful” (p.16) to the captain. the raids carried out by haraka and his men have come to deplete the freedom fighters stock of ammunition. weru was sent out to look for ammunition he didn’t show up. the rest of the groups are afraid of the situation but in a paternalistic tone, haraka reassures them “don’t worry, all will be well. we shall have the arms soon. (p.18) nguru is confused by the assurance and calm equanimity in the voice of the general. that night, haraka takes his men, finds weru the deserter and decapitates him. in the morning, weru’s headless body is found and the refrain, in the village, among villagers and whites alike, is “haraka again?” (p.32) like a god haraka is invisible to his non-followers. the story when it was unfolded turned out to have no complication at all. the home-guards had just heard shots from the village. when they went out to investigate they came across the body. the murderers were gone. simple as that. it was a straight forward maumau killing. a haraka thing (p.33) stealth and speed are therefore part of the qualities that mwangi endows haraka with in the character delineation of the protagonist of the novel, carcase. haraka exhibits the same quality during the raid of timau police post by haraka’s gang. haraka has taken his men out of their hideout for a raid at timau police post. the mission is to get more arms and ammunition to fortify his gang with. the expectation of haraka on the night of the raid is that the approaching vehicle heading towards the gate of the police post will pass and he would use its light to see clearly the environment and give the signal required in the storming of the police post; then it happened. instead of the car going past the police post as they expected, it slowed down on the approach and turned in. its igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 96 lights played on the gate and on the sentries as the driver waited for the tall gates to be opened. haraka’s spirit sank in disappointment and rage. his heart beat fast and his bared teeth emitted a low snarl. the vehicle would not stop him. nothing would… general haraka got on to one knee, the patchett at the ready... he leaped forward and ran… the vehicle was through the gate and the sentries were pushing back the doors. he gave the signal then, at ten years away. the two policemen screamed and died at their posts. haraka went after the car…. he shot a burst into it, shattering the glass and killing the three men inside (p.36). the result of this stealthy and speedy movement is the total devastation of the timau police post and more than enough arms and munitions including grenades in the hands of general haraka and his men. captain kingsley is devastated at the hearing of this sad news: “the whole crazy attack smelt haraka, haraka? in the rain, across the plains all the way from his mount kenya sanctuary? damned insanity” (p.39). the emergency committee in charge of this operation was furious. brigadier thames is furious: their fury is the more amplified because on the same night that timau police post was raided, kimamo, haraka ‘s 1st lieutenant led another band that stormed 0l pejeta post and made a mess of it . according to brigadier thames, the “0l pejeta post attack was a complete job, a total massacre… and they fairly cleaned up the armory. (p.45) the emergency committee now decides that haraka should be dealt with once and for all. the fighting force of the whiteman is beefed up: more helicopter gunships were supplied; the army is beefed up. new weapons were put into the hand of the soldiers. but first haraka would be asked to surrender on his own before the final onslaught on him and his men. the government forces now prepares and bombs the entire circumference of mount kenya area with surrender leaflets bearing the picture of haraka. he is asked to surrender by the 23rd of october. nguru burst into the general’s hut, his rifle slung over his shoulder and a white leaflet in his hand… what is it. he did not look up “a letter”, the other said, from the government. “what do they want this time? igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 97 “surrender that is what they want us to do” “so that is what the aeroplane was up to this morning,” the general drawled. “well what about it? you have seen the letter before (p.49) general haraka is not moved by the surrender paper. he cannot be moved. god’s are not ruffled under any condition. haraka is a god and cannot be moved, “ if the government wants to throw away paper, “ it’s their paper… let them (p.49). kimamo is back from the rail of oi pejeta post. his report on the general situation of the mau-mau struggle in kenya is not an edifying story to hear,” they said, “ he shook his head to clear the fog, “ they said the fight is lost in the south. general jembe is dead. and general karanga has surrendered to the white soldiers. it is very bad down south. and it is getting worse” (p.51). the news could make any steel-hearted general melt but not general haraka. for him, “the tide will turn” ...(p.51). even his trusted lieutenant kimamo is of the view that they surrender. haraka cannot, instead let him die fighting the exploiters: “you know i shall not surrender, don’t you?” kimamo nodded, “never, the general affirmed “(p.52) the bargain the government wants to enter with haraka is considered a “cruel bargain. the devil’s bargain (p.54) instead of entering into it, haraka’s mind is somewhere else, the administration of the oath of allegiance on the people of pinewood and acacia before the surrender date, 23rd october, to win them over to the struggle. it is in the process of carrying out this administration of allegiance oath that he was mortally wounded at old mwaniki‘s compound. corporal njoro (of the white army) has come out to urinate during the second night of the administration of the oath of allegiance and discovers that haraka is in town. “at the sight of these men and the thought of haraka, the urine that has frozen in his system thawed out and warmed its way. down his legs. he retraced his way slowly, silently on trembling legs, glancing back every now and then, when he was safely out of earshot, he ran. a few huts up the pathway he slipped and crashed to the ground losing his rifle in the dark. he nearly screamed with fear and could have igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 98 sworn that someone tripped him. he got up on his hands and knees and looked around (p.76) there is no doubt therefore that the presence of haraka instills morbid fear into the collaborators and their white masters alike. to confront haraka is to engage the devil in a fight and the fear of haraka is the beginning of wisdom in the collaborator camp: “the corporal sincerely hoped that haraka was nowhere near the village and that that was not his gang in the village. he did not want to have anything to do with haraka, never. he would gladly forfeit the chevron” (p.76). it is this urge to have an extra stripe that propels him to report harakas’ presence in the village to chief simba, and the subsequent gathering of the guards to take on haraka in a surprise attack. haraka is wounded but not killed. he flees to his hideout, the cave in the mount kenya area. one man that stands out in haraka’s camp is his lieutenant kimamo – a son in whom haraka is well pleased. it is kimamo’s leadership capacities and in his unwavering support, obedience and loyalty that haraka’s prowess finds its final expression. right from the beginning of this novel, carcase to its final pages, haraka stands out as a bulwark upon which haraka’s strength is supported. at our fight seeing of these men, “the smaller of the two (kimamo)” (p.1) was leading the movement of the two in the jungle. it is kimamo, who after haraka as chief of pinewood forest station slaps back at captain kingsley then district commissioner, that advises haraka to run away and join the maumau struggle otherwise captain kingsley would have murdered him. sometimes, haraka relishes having kimamo as his second in command: haraka sighed. kimamo, so reliable. it was he who had persuaded nguru (haraka) and the others to flee to the forest with him. it was kimamo too who urged him to meet the forest fighters in old mwaniki’s hut… there he had met the little leader and his band. a small ragged man…. he was a good fighter, though (p.19). the leader of the gang talked about land and the exploitation of the whiteman . it was the talk of the former leader of the maumau that finally igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 99 makes “haraka the chief” turn “into a militant” (p.19). unlike his second lieutenant, lieutenant nguru: kimamo was the man. hard, brave, commanding and yet understanding. he could keep the fighters in a group and that was the aim for survival kimamo was made purely of officer material just what a general, any general wanted. he wished he had a hundred kimamo (p.21) when haraka wanted more arms and ammunition, he divides his soldiers into two: one under the command of kimamo, and the other under his own command. while the father was at timau police post causing destruction and looting the government armoury, kimamo the son was at oi pejeta police post raining sulphur and brimstone. the father is apprehensive that his son is not yet back from the raid. “now he had arms. more arms than he had hands to operate them. if only those fighters from the south, from the capital, would come now. and what was keeping kimamo and the rest of the gang? they should have put in an appearance last night as planned. unless, unless….then there was commotion outside the hut and kimamo walked in, wet, muddy and exhausted. the general’s heart lit up (p.49). kimamo and his father in the jungle are one. his fearlessness, tact and obedience to instruction given by the general is second to none. he is not given to worry in any situation but when the white government gives orders for surrender, kimamo becomes afraid. he is afraid because the overall situation in the maumau struggle has become so bad. he saw the gangs running away and the report of the death of general jembe and general karanga’s surrender is not good to their cause. he wants his general to surrender: but general, these ones have your name on them” he made no indication of having heard. he finished cleaning the guns first. if kimamo was worried; maybe there was something in it after all kimamo was not one to scare easily. (p.15) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 100 the general knows that his lieutenant is saying the truth. but real generals never surrender easily even though his “lieutenant was speaking a lot of truth” (p.53). haraka’s wounds sustained during the night of the administration of oath of allegiance begins to weigh him down. captain kingsley plans a final onslaught on the hideout of the general. the stage is set, to be or not to be, that is the question now. kimamo suggests that they move out of the hide out to a new place but could the badly wounded haraka manage? there is no doubt that, “the fighting had reached a turning -point one that was not in the list in their favour. great changes were afoot” (p.98). kimamo then musters the courage and tells his commander -in chief. “i wish we could leave now ….. now!” (p.98). but his general is not an ordinary being. he is not in a hurry for anything.” there is no hurry” he said quietly. “we have enough men, enough guns, and enough food. we could hold our own” (p. 98). the band finally did not move. haraka’s health has gone down too low such that when more men from the villages come to join him in his camp, he orders kimamo to let them go. but kimamo knows the quandary the men are in. he tells his general, “general …. they are from acacia ranch” (p.99). the pleading of god the son to god the father softens the heart of the father and he orders that the men stay and be fed. “give them some food and fire, he said to kimamo (p.101). now the storm gathers greatly against haraka and his group. captain kingsley plans a final hunt for haraka and his group and the elements that have helped haraka’s group evade capture and total annihilation the rains, the rivers etc seem now to turn against him: even more, now, he could feel the forces, his enemies closing in on him the rivers the home-guards and the soldiers. the soldiers! he remembered the amnesty. the vultures were hovering and waiting for his carcase. only two days to go and they were soaring lower, closer to his life. yes, they were coming, and this time, he felt they were serious (p.101). god the son is concerned that they move the men under them to safety now that the river, “has gone down” (p.103). even though general haraka accepts that they move, his (haraka’s) condition cannot allow them. he is dying, he is now delirious. captain kingsley’s search party now closes in on him. while in his final fission haraka is reduced to a dehumanized grotesquerie: “the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 101 wound was swollen ugly. gangrene had formed and now blood mixed with the dark green mess oozing out…. a fowl stench of rotten flesh wafted to their noses’ (p.122). here haraka’s graphics and the ugly mechanics of his body cannot allow him organize his men nor fight the enemy. all the men kimamo sent out to fight did not come back. in his delirium, haraka murders his trusted son, kimamo: i am not njogu… i am kimamo. your lieutenant. the other stared icily back at him over the menacing revolver with no sign at all at recognition. his lips tried to form the name kimamo but quivered to a voiceless stop halfway through. kimamo’s head throbbed. the images formed in front of his eyes, blurred, weird and frightening: the biting pain washed over his body in a continuous wave. his heart went into a wild gallop that caused warm blood to flow faster from the wound on his forehead. (p.134). in that instant that kimamo died, haraka finally gives up the ghost. he joins his beloved son to the other world: in the dark he was alone, cold and lost. and then suddenly he (kimamo) was not alone. through the gloom he saw a tall, powerful phantom glide over to where he sat worn and lost. the ghost placed its hand on his weak shoulder and said comfortingly, voicelessly: let’s go! ‘where?” kimamo’s lips moved but no sound came. “the gate! horsley (p.134) while both men lay dead in the cave, the greatest blunder occurred in kingsley’s search party: “captain kingsley gradually drifted into a shallow disturbed sleep…. at the precise moment the captain closed his eyes, the greatest blunder in operation haraka occurred. four miles up the jungle into the forest, a tired and careless soldier drifted past the hideout where the wounded and dying general haraka lay half asleep waiting …. for the darkness to fall. the innocent private passed by the cave, his automatic rifle in hand… thinking about his girl back home in liverpool (p.130) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 102 mwangi tells us that no one knows about this slip excepting the jungle , the birds and trees. these are all totemic items of the sacred and they could not tell about this “gigantic slip” (p.130). this is so because mwangi wants us to see haraka as a god, something that is sacred and the sacred will not tolerate too much human understanding of its forms and operations. when a mystery is seen (and to the whiteman , haraka is a mystery) and thus understood, it is no longer mystery, and the understanding of the sacred is its profanation. this is why only the birds, the jungles and the grove should know but could not tell that haraka is dead. the context of mystery that mwangi wishes to create concerning haraka will be punctured if the soldier had seens and kills haraka himself. even though haraka is dead, the whiteman does not know and still lives in fear of him. the third aspect of the godhead in mwangi’s creation of haraka as a god is the aspect that deals with the force with which haraka operates his gun, the patchett. spiegel (1976) argues that in post –joycian fiction, “things increase in symbolic value as they stand equal to man, representing him in the world of the narrative, made resonant and animate by his living presence in them… for things to surpass humanity, for things to go off, as it were, on their own. (p.185). the patchett acts as the totemic double of mwangi throughout carcase. right from the beginning of this book, haraka’s patchett stands out as a weapon of immense destruction, a revelation, a myth and transcendence. the gun is in fact haraka’s psychology made manifest in a machine. in its introduction the gun is seen as “a dark sinister british patchett” (p.1). whenever haraka is angry, he shows his emotion through the use of this gun. at this instant, both man and material vie for expression. the gun, like it s possessor is a messenger of death to every opposition. it does no other thing than the expression of the inner feelings of its possessor. when the general raided timau police post, the gun was brought to its internal use: “the guns? general haraka asked. the constable who looked like throwing up moved. he came closer, slowly, menacingly. “the guns, where are they?” the police man had his back to the wall. the general jabbed him with the patchett. he pointed into an inner office too scared to speak. haraka pushed the man into the inner office (p.36) the very sight of the gun (patchett) strikes the policeman dumb and releases the emotion of fear in him. as haraka ransacks the inner office, the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 103 constable takes to his heels. his escape means trouble for haraka and company. haraka brings the patchett to its murderous use to stop the escaping constable, “haraka let him have it. he fairly flew into the air, then crash landed in a mess of flesh and bones. (p.37).” the patchett, the active force of its carrier is a loaded death that strikes at the heart of the offender. the gun, as can be seen, is employed by mwangi to express an aspect of haraka’s psychology. the expressiveness of the gun, its killing, is therefore the link that binds the human to it, the link that equalizes the one with the other. in this relationship however, we can still perceive the separatist strivings of the gun , for as haraka associates himself with it, he relinquishes that much of his power to act to the gun which proceeds to function, as it were, on his own behalf. it is the gun that always saves haraka (apart from kimamo, god the son) in every difficult situation. the gun was brought to its murderous use when the party was attacked at old mwaniki’s hurt and the wounded haraka escapes from the attack. “the murderous racket of the damned patchett” (p.82) is its epiphany, the showing forth, the outward sign of its struggle to realize itself as that thing which it is and no other. it is the sound of the gun that informs captain kingsley that haraka’s party is in town but before he could reach the scene, the party disappears. the gun has become as mysterious, cunning, enigmatic and aloof as its possessor. when haraka could no longer use the gun and lies dying in the cave and kimamo uses it in his final attempt to kill chief simba the government forces attribute the raid to haraka. this is the reason why lieutenant peter’s exclaims, “haraka” (p.131). the gun here is memorable because its constant possessor has always been haraka. but now kimamo is in possession of it. the gun has been employed in the narrative in an eisenstein manner, “pars prototo” (p.14). that is a part – a part of the hero (the gun) – is used to represent the whole (the hero himself). the gun is therefore a kind of emblem the material signature of the character himself. (haraka’s holy spirit). but one essential feature of haraka’s gun is that it becomes so powerful that it finally detaches itself from its possessor and assumes a life of its own. the shooting of the patchett represents its logical extension and conclusion of its animation that autotelic condition that every other object in the book seems to strive but rarely attain. with haraka’s gun, we enter into a world of demonology, a world where things seem to represent the locks and keys of darker, deeper forces just beneath their surfaces. this is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 104 why haraka rarely talks but kills with passion. this is why he stands or sits aloof from the rest of the characters in his group except his son kimamo whom he cherishes and discusses within one line sentences. it is haraka’s patchett that complete the union of the trinity in haraka, kimamo and the patchett. one depends on the other for sustenance and survival yet each achieves a life distinct from and yet dependent on the other. conclusion human beings have been made into god’s both in the judeochristian cultures and other cultures of the world especially in hellenistic times. elijah, moses and jesus christ were heroes and gods of the judeo-christian culture alexander the great was said to be a god and was so pronounced during the hellenistic period. his father king philip ii pronounced himself a god: in rome julius ceasar was pronounced a god by pompey who died before he could explain his reasons for pronouncing him such. in china, members of the taoist patheon and descendants of the ming dynasty were accorded the status of gods. most of these men were accorded such status because of the super human qualities they exhibited. in carcase, mwangi made a god of haraka and goes ahead to argue that the man man struggle took so long to defeat because their leader had super human qualities. this is the reason why haraka is never ruffled under any condition and his presence in the enemy’s camp instills boundless fear into the collaborators as well as the whiteman. haraka’s frame is superhuman, “an immense huge man, over six feet of tough muscles and bone” (p.1), he is elusive, “ an immensely rough character. very elusive (p.12), he is a constant pain to the colonial misanthrope captain, kingsley for he (haraka) is always “outwitting him” (p.16). his organizational ability is second to none. he has a band of only eighty soldiers at the most yet he deals devastating blows to the occupying army. the sophisticated war machines of the whiteman does not perturb him and he therefore speaks with assurance all the time. he tells the lieutenant nguru, “don’t worry…. we shall have the arms. soon “(p.18). he takes on the occupying forces by raiding their police poststiman and oi pejeta and thereby collects as much arms as he needed. when the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 105 occupying forces asks him to surrender, he did not but prefers to die while fighting them. attached to the help of haraka is his first lieutenant kimamo, brainy, organized, loyal unto death and merciful like jesus christ who cares for his followers. he is the second person of the god –head. mwangi further endows haraka with a gun as sinister as the man who uses it. the gun is sinister and is the psychology of its ownerthe intention to main, kill and destroy. this gun finally, struggles for its autotelic existence until finally the inevitable happens: the gun, now more powerful than its owner detaches itself from haraka and assumes a life of its own. to ordain the gun in order to have a life of its own as an active agentthe force with which haraka operates – mwangi imbues in it a lukacsian tenor “lukacs (1964) argues that: objects come into life poetically only to the extent they are related to men’s life: that is why the epic poet does not describe objects but exposes their function in the mesh of human destinies, in introducing things only as they play a part in the destinies, action and passion of men (p.15). the gun the active force of haraka is as much powerful as the possessor if not more. thus, mwangi through a combination of the activities of these three haraka, kimamo and the patchett builds haraka into a god such that when haraka died, his corpse was not seen and until today, he remains a mystery to the whiteman. this is why mwangi allows, or brings in, the surface ward of chance and mistake, to come into play in the search for haraka. human mistakes sometimes turn personalities into gods and mwangi knows this. could the author give up haraka the man he wants to make a god so easily? the context of mystery that haraka wanted to create would have been punctured if the soldier had seen haraka as he lay dying. part of haraka’s mysterious nature lies in the fact that even as he lies dying in the cave, his active force –the gun is still put to use and its further use by kimamo is attributed to haraka. by so doing mwangi places haraka the african alongside heroes, and gods: moses, elijah, jesus, brahma, etc. works cited assman, j. religion and cultural memory: ten studies. stanford: stanford university press, 2005. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 106 bordwell, r. catechism of the catholic church new york: continuum international publishing, 2002. eisenstein, s. film form and film sense ed. trans jay leyda. new york: harcourt brace and jovanovich, 1957. eko, e. “an approach to the novels of meja mwangi” in studies in the africa novel, eds , s.o assein and a.o ashadu. ibadan : ibadan university press, 1986. fox , r. alexander the great. newyork: garrett and mackintosh, 1911: repr 1973. knight, e. ‘minor of reality: the novels of meja mwangi, “in e.d jones ed. african literature today, no 13 london: heineman, 1978. lukacs , g. studies in european realism. new york: random house, 1964. mwangi, m. carcase for hounds london : heinemann 1974, repr 1981. mwangi, m. kill me quick london: heinemann educational books , 1973. mwangi, m. going down river road. london: heinemann educational books , 1976 __________.taste of death . nairaobi : east africa rep pushing house, 1974. __________.the bush trackers. nairobi: longman kenya ltd, 1979. __________.the cockroach dance. london : heinemann 1979 __________.bread of sorrow. london : heinemann 1987 __________.weapon of hunger. london : heinemann1989 __________.the return of shaka. nairobi: longman kenya ltd, 1989 __________.striving for the wind. nairobi: longman kenya ltd, 1990 __________.the hunters dream. nairobi: longman kenya ltd, 1993 __________.the last plague. london : heinemann 2000 __________.the boy gift. london : heinemann 2006 __________.the big chiefs. london : heinemann 2008 __________.the nzunga boy nairobi: longman kenya ltd, 2008 nwulu , f. “ fiction and the camera eye: a study of meja mwangi’s carcase for hounds and kill me quick”. a paper presented at the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 107 annual conference of english language teachers association of nigeria, university of port harcourt, september, 2013. palmer, e, the growth of the african novel london : heinemann, 1979. spiegel, a. fiction and the camera eye: visual consciousness in film and the modem novel. charlottsville: university press of california, 1976. swinburne, r. “god” in t. honderrich ed. the oxford companion to philosophy. oxford : oxford university press 1995. watanabe, j. “a feast for the soul : meditation on the attributes of god “in baha u” iiah. delhi press of india , 2006. bible the (good news bible) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 126 the role and criticisms facing the faculty senate in american system of higher education peter bakwaph kanyip, phd department of educational foundations veritas university abuja (catholic university of nigeria) bakwaph@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.12241.35684 abstract the senate is recognized by the american university system as an advisory and consultative body to the president on all matters that may affect the attainment of the university‟s educational objectives. the senates play a vital role in formulating educational policies and the most important exercise of senate influence is in the area of academic policymaking. the paper showed that with the advent of faculty unionization, there are series of clashes between the senates and unions and the main issue tackled in this work is why the faculty senates that retain control over academic policy are generally viewed as weak, ineffective and have only a symbolic governance function. the methodology used on this work is survey method using case study and the sources of the work are based on the research works of steven p. young (2009), emil ricci (2001), and case study is on penn state university faculty senate (2008). keywords: faculty, senate, higher education, university, college, criticism, governance, advisory introduction the university faculty senate is the representative body of any given college or university faculty with legislative authority on all matters pertaining to the educational interests of the college or university and all educational matters that concern the faculties of more than one college. senates were created by faculty in reaction to conditions on campus, such as faculty dissatisfaction with their role in institutional governance, or were created by presidents as a means to proactively modernize the functions of the university. in some cases, the conditions that lead to the creation of a senate were dramatic crises that immediately brought to light the limitations of the campus governance system. a major cause for the creation of senates was the growth of the faculty of the university, which created a need for a representative body to replace meetings of the faculty as a whole. at the time of instituting senates, universities were also making improvements in the quality of the faculty and becoming increasingly focused on research (anderson, mailto:bakwaph@yahoo.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 127 2007). the senate is recognized by the university as an advisory and consultative body to the president on all matters that may affect the attainment of the university‘s educational objectives. the faculty senate represents all faculties through the process of shared governance. each college and campus elects one senator from the faculty (university senate faculty, http://www.senate.psu.edu). the officers of the academic senate may include the president of the university and the provost of the university. other officers are academic senate members who are elected to officer posts by the members of the senate. deans of colleges as well as department chairs may be ex officio members of the academic senate. there are dearth of research literature that examined the roles and functions of faculty senates in american colleges and universities. statement of the problem in the united states of america the academic senate, also known as the faculty senate, is a governing body for a university made up of members of the faculty from various units within the university. shared governance in higher education is a critical component of academic management. the use of faculty senates is the primary mechanism for engaging faculty, yet these bodies have been increasingly viewed as ineffective. the main question i want to tackle in this work is why is it that the faculty senates that retain control over academic policy are generally criticized as weak, ineffective and have only a symbolic governance function? faculty senate sometimes ends up pitted against each other. as an example, a faculty member from cal state fullerton said that as the state‘s general education and major requirements change, engineering faculty fight to expel the arts and humanities requirements from the engineering major, and so members of those departments end up battling each other (tilsley, 2012). in approach to this challenge, i will look at the literature reviews on the historical development of faculty senate, membership, structure, role and responsibility, weaknesses and challenges facing the senate body as pointed out by scholars and finally draw my own conclusion. methodology the primary sources of the work are based on the research works of steven p. young (2009), emil ricci (2001), and case study conducted on penn state university faculty senate (2008). these scholars did a good literature review on faculty senate and penn state university senate has recently published works on its faculty senates, also being one of the oldest senates in america founded since https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/university_president https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/provost_(education) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/dean_(education) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/chairman https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/united_states_of_america https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/university https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/faculty_(division) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 128 1921 with a well organized structure which stands as a model for most universities. the work is also based on the following sources: survey conducted by the national institute for education from 1971 to1974, the preliminary result from the 2001 survey on higher education governance sponsored by the american association of university professors and the american conference of academic deans and the databases from jstor, and academic search premier (ebsco host). literature review most of the reviews of literature on faculty senates which exist tend to treat senates as part of the academic governance structure of each institution (baldridge et al., 1978; birnbaum, 1989; edelstein, 1997; floyd, 1985; gilmour, jr., 1991; flines, 2000; lee, 1991; trow, 1990; wolvin, 1991). some view faculty senates as decision-making bodies through which faculties participate in shared governance (baldridge et al., 1978; birnbaum, 1989; floyd, 1985; gilmour, jr., 1991; lee, 1991; wolvin, 1991). others are process of sharing authority and management with trustees and senior administrators over the functions and operations of the university (balderston, 1995). still, much of the literature suggests that senates are perceived as weak and ineffective bodies (baldridge et al., 1978; birnbaum, 1989; floyd, 1985; keller, 1983; weingartner, 1996), regardless of their decision-making powers in the campus governance structure (baldridge et al., 1978; floyd, 1985; gilmour, jr., 1991; i-enes, 2000; lee, 1991; wolvin, 1991). (ricci, 2001). larry gerber, chair of aaup‘s committee on college and university governance and a history professor at auburn university, said faculty members have a responsibility as the academic experts on campus to play a role in colleges‘ academic decisions, like those about the curriculum, graduation requirements or hiring (tilsley, 2012) historical development of faculty senate: there is no precise date that can be traced as the origin of faculty senate however, in the 1960s the concept of shared governance in the colleges and universities system has both blossomed and became well established, which led to the founding of faculty senate on the principles of western european workerparticipation models (young, 2009). the faculty senates arose after a period of explosive growth in higher education because faculties grew so large that it was igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 129 no longer practical for the faculty to operate as a committee of the whole (a full faculty meeting). hence, a need for ―representative‖ faculty bodies was created to help to facilitate the smooth running of colleges and universities. therefore, faculty senate was created to give professors a collective voice in campus decision-making, and is meant to exercise power and influence over a broad range of academic and professional issues (ricci, 2001). hines (2000), commented that since the 1960s, faculty senates, sometimes referred to as academic senates, has been key institutions in the governance structure of american colleges and universities. looking at the case study of the penn state university faculty senate, the first time it met was october 21, 1921 but prior to that date, the entire faculty met as a general assembly. as the faculty grew in number, a more efficient means of faculty governance became necessary and the "modern" senate, which dates back to 1966 when the body reorganized itself and adopted a new constitution, was approved by the board of trustees later that year (penn state university, 2009). the aim and practice of instituting faculty senates at universities and colleges throughout america was intended to alleviate the growing pains of the higher education system brought about by the influx of baby boomers (persons who were born between the years of 1946 and 1964, and who enrolled as traditional college students between the years of 1964 and 1987). the american association of university professors (aaup) first suggested formalized shared governance schemes in the 1966 statement on government of colleges and universities. as a result, many institutions began to experiment with various shared governance arrangements, primarily in the form of faculty senates (young, 2009). according to lee (1979), the ebb and flow of shared governance has been guided by two driving forces: politics and economics. collins (1996) contends that during the 1960s and 1970s a unique set of political factors, including the civil rights movement and the vietnam war, converged on american campuses. in response to the unrest and mistrust this politically ripe time instilled in students, faculties began using senates to ensure their influence over decisions that would affect an increasingly large portion of campus life for both students and faculty. a third interpretation, as expressed in tierney and rhoads (1993) work on faculty socialization, addresses the effect of culture: the culture of the discipline, of the institution, and of the profession. they argue that the culture of the profession engendered a need for faculty service roles in the institution and that this need created a condition that allowed for the inception of faculty senates. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 130 conceptual clarifications 1. senate membership the senate comprises faculty senators, who are elected from each college and campus in proportion to the total number of faculty in their units; ex officio; and members appointed by the president. senate committee chairs often invite other members of the university community to participate in the work of the committees as resources (penn state university, 2008). the preliminary result from the 2001 survey on higher education governance reports that 58.59% of faculty members participate in governance by election into the senate. the academic senate meets periodically with a published agenda. meetings normally use robert‘s rules of order. the senate will have a set of committees, both standing committees and ad hoc or working committees, which are assigned particular areas of responsibility for policy formation. 2. senate structure the officers of the academic senate may include the president of the university and the provost of the university. other officers are academic senate members who are elected to officer posts by the members of the senate. deans of colleges as well as department chairs may be ex officio members of the academic senate. the senate is under the leadership of an elected chair and three other elected officers. it has standing committees, which may include curricular affairs, educational equity and campus environment, faculty affairs, intercollegiate athletics, research, undergraduate education etc. in addition, the senate elects or appoints members to and participates in various joint committees, commissions and boards, including the university promotion and tenure review and the faculty rights and responsibilities committees. the work of the senate is accomplished primarily through its committees and subcommittees. an executive secretary is responsible for the operational duties of the senate and supervises a number of staff assigned. motions, recommendations, or actions that are generated by the academic senate through discussion and which are passed by the body will normally be referred to the president of the university for final approval (penn state university, 2008). role and responsibility of the faculty senate http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/president http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/provost_(education) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/dean_(education) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/chairman igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 131 faculty senates have shared responsibilities, ranging from a limited role in program approval and review of tenure and faculty promotion to a more comprehensive role that includes budget review and allocation (which is rarely), senior administrative recruitment (which is still rare), and strategic planning. the composition and strength of senates vary according to institutional type and culture (baldridge, curtis, ecker, & riley, 1978; blau, 1973; floyd, 1985; lee, 1991; wolvin, 1991). the senates play a vital role in formulating educational policies and perhaps the most important exercise of senate influence is in the area of academic policymaking (baldridge et al., 1978; trow, 1990). traditionally, college and university faculties, through their senates (baldridge et al., 1978; edelstein, 1997; floyd, 1985; hines, 2000; trow, 1990), determine policies governing the curriculum, degree requirements, and academic program quality (trow, 1990). the majority of faculty senates operate under a mission statement. these mission statements give the senates guidelines and provide them with an outline of their areas of authority. blendiger, cornelious, and mcgrath (1998), list six strengths of academic senates, stating that they provide the means for: (1) determining short-and long-range interests and needs of faculty; (2) articulating expectations of faculty, staff, and students; (3) developing goals and planning strategies; (4) establishing standards and procedures for the review and evaluation of proposed administrative action dealing with curricula offerings, budgetary practices, and faculty recruitment and retention; (5) increasing knowledge and understanding of issues in departments and units; and (6) allocating resources equitably. the debate about the worth and ultimate viability of faculty senates lies in these senates‘ missions. the senate fact sheet of penn state university (2008) summarizes the role and responsibility of faculty senate: --serves as the sole legislative body representing the university faculty as a whole with primary authority (subject to the approval of the president) over all educational matters, including curriculum, academic policies, admissions, and graduation requirements. --acts as an advisory and consultative body to the president, both through its corporate whole and any of its constituent parts, on any other matter that may affect the attainment of the educational objectives of the university; --serves as a forum for the exchange of ideas among the members of the university faculty. one of the ways the senate facilitates communication among faculty, students, and administration is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 132 through visits by the senate officers to all university campuses and colleges every three years. criticisms on the faculty senate studies of faculty senates have shown their effect on participation and influence of faculty members and as a result, they have met with both praise and criticism. according to baldridge and kemerer (1976), the faculty senates are often criticized because their powers are largely advisory; senates have nevertheless played a valuable function in symbolizing the academic community's commitment to shared governance. with the advent of faculty unionization, there are series of clashes between the senates and unions. there are also serious questions about the relationship between senates and unions, and about the impact unions may have on shared governance. the basic difference between faculty senates and unions is that senates operate on delegated authority and depend on institutional appropriations and staffing. faculty senates are dependent bodies; their power to affect decision-making is granted by the grace of the governing board and the administration. the senates have their greatest influence in academic areas such as curriculum and degree requirements while unions, on the other hand, economic matters are their province. unions undoubtedly have more power than senates to gain economic benefits. with unions legal backing and their legal right to economic information, unions have more power than senates to gain economic benefits particularly faculty salaries, promotions, and working conditions. where the lines of demarcation are unclear, such as in faculty working conditions and long-range planning, the union and senate converge on degrees of influence to bargain. historically, elite private liberal arts institutions have encouraged faculty input in decision-making and consequently are more likely to retain the influence of faculty senates. but younger senates may, under the influence of environmental pressures, find their role in shared governance reduced (baldridge and kemerer, 1976). according to baldridge and kemerer (1976), a spokesman active in senate affairs at central michigan university has noted, "we became aware that we enjoyed the benefits of our hard-won battles purely at the pleasure of the board of trustees." senates are therefore susceptible to being labeled "company unions. in addition, since administrators are often included in senate membership, senates are not really representative of the faculty qua faculty. since the senate functions outside of a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 133 legal framework, it lacks the legal backing to challenge the administration unlike the unions. why is it that much of the literature suggests that senates are perceived as weak and ineffective bodies regardless of their decision-making powers in the campus governance structure? according baldridge and kemerer (1976), many institutions have weak faculty governance and have been unable to safeguard faculty interests from the onslaught of economically related environmental pressures. a study funded by the national institute for education, undertook a major research effort to study the impact of faculty collective bargaining on governance and decision-making in higher education in 1971 and 1974, suggest that broad-based senates disperse much of their energy to deal with campus wide problems and faculty interests cease to be a primary concern. scholars such as baldridge et al (1978), suggest that even though faculty senates retain control over academic policy, they are generally weak and have only a symbolic governance function. in baldridge et al. (1978) analysis of policymaking and academic management, they found that faculty senates "on most campuses are ineffective and weak" (p. 80). still, their extensive study of senates and academic unions at a variety of institutions report that senates have considerable influence over issues of curriculum and degree requirements (baldridge et al., 1978). furthermore, baldridge et al. (1978) conclude that senates do not perform substantive governance and policymaking functions directly instead, it performs through the academic departments and administrators who control key decisions regarding the curriculum, faculty appointments and dismissals, budgets, and related institutional matters since majority of members are faculty senates. in an extensive study of college and university management, keller (1983) argues that faculty senates are ineffective, stating that "the old faculty senates are now ragged, poorly attended oratorical bodies in most cases" (p. 127). keller‘s (1983) criticisms extend even to faculty participation in the policymaking arena. as such, he notes ‗faculties are becoming more interested in reviewing, criticizing, and modifying policy as in making policy" (keller, 1983, p. 127). thus, even though keller (1983) recognizes the importance of the faculty in academic and other institutional matters, he believes that faculty senates are ineffective. an additional research was conducted by floyd (1985), birnbaum (1989), and lee (1991), which underscores further the view that senates could be more effective governance bodies. floyd (1985) analyzed faculty involvement in academic decision-making and comments; igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 134 senate authority on most issues is the functional authority of providing advice to the university administration with the expectation that reasons will be given when administrative officers take a course of action different from that advised by the senate (p. 19). such a view suggests merely an advisory role for faculty senates. but floyd (1983) in her earlier work contends that "in a few areas, the most notable of which is curriculum, senates have quasi-formal authority" (p. 19). trow (1990) and hines (2000) affirm this notion, suggesting that of all policy matters in the governance process; academic senates probably have most influence over educational policy. floyd (1985) concludes that faculty senates are useful participatory bodies for decisions on curriculum and faculty issues primarily at research institutions and elite liberal arts colleges. in the present millennium era, more recent studies as shown by the preliminary result from the 2001 survey on higher education governance suggest that faculty senates retain control over academic policy. the survey reports that 35.46% of faculty senates have more authority in decision making and resolving of governance issues, while 56.52% believe that there is no change and 8.02% says faculty senate has less authority (p.9). the survey reports that 97.98% of councils or committees whose members include faculty representatives in areas such as academic policy, budget matters, promotions, and/or employment policies are considered part of campus governance structure. furthermore, the survey reports that 16.15% of faculty says faculty senates are advisory body to the administration and /or the board that simply conveys faculty opinion as reference point in decision making. 68.06% says that the faculty senates are policy influencing body which recommends and passes on to the administration and /or board policies they may decline or accept. however, 15.79% says that faculty senates are policy making body which proposes and votes on policies or financial decision that the administration and board almost always adopt as a matter of course. in final analysis, the survey shows that 72.28% agrees that the primary means by which faculty members participate in governance, express their views to the administration, and/or shape policy is through institutionwide bodies of governance which is the faculty senates (p.11) conclusion i agree with trow (1990), while acknowledging the weakness of academic senates, claims they have a key role in issues involving the curriculum and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 135 maintaining academic program quality. besides influencing academic policy, senates and their committees do defend academic values and academic freedom, and resist the "managerialism" of an activist president and a partly professional, partly bureaucratic administrative staff' (trow, 1990, p. 27). senates are meant to serve in order to limit administrative power. just as trow (1990) noted, the faculties and senates hold considerable authority over academic affairs (and that contributes to the notion that faculty senates have an important academic policymaking role. on this point, i agree with edelstein (1997) and gilmour jr. (1991) that faculties are interested in curricular issues and new academic programs. the most recent result from the 2001 survey on higher education governance shows that faculty senates are policy influencing body which recommends and passes on to the administration and /or board policies which they may decline or accept. the overall literature review confirms that faculty senates are not strong governance bodies because they can only recommend which is subject to approval or disapproval. nevertheless, through their senates, college and university faculties hold legitimate and exclusive authority to formulate and adopt educational policies governing the curriculum, academic programs, instructional methods, and standards of student performance. the degree of senate influence over these academic issues may vary according to institutional type just as lee (1991) observed but faculty senates generally seem to have considerable power in this policy area despite their weaknesses. i believe with all the arguments presented in this work, and the survey conducted by the american association of university professors and american conference of academic deans in 2001, which reports that 97.98% believe that senates are part of campus governance structure, it will be right to conclude that the faculty senates are part of campus governance structure but mainly advisory body. therefore, senate leaders must come to understand that their role is not to simply get through an experience or to run efficient meetings, but to represent their constituents and bring together an institutional faculty for the best interests of an institution, and as a result, might explore faculty senator orientations and leadership development programs as mechanisms to improve the operations of contemporary senates. recommendations 1. first recommendation is to improve communication and education. faculty senates, need to do better public relations for themselves and need to also educate both administrators and faculty on their role, and on igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 136 what‘s at stake. faculty senate behaviors should encourage open communication and discourse about issues that face their institutions. 2. senate leaders also need to follow up on senate work and show faculty the impact of all the committee meetings and reports so that it can be implemented 3. senate faculty should be transparent in their affairs and it should broadly be seen and encourage within the higher education system. references balderston, f. e. (1995). managing today's university: strategies for viability, change, and excellence (2d ed.). san francisco, ca: jossey-bass. baldridge, v. j. and kemerer, f. r. (jul. aug., 1976), academic senates and faculty collective bargaining, the journal of higher education, vol. 47, no. 4 pp. 391-411 baldridge, j. v., curtis, d. v., ecker, g., & riley, g. l. (1978). policy making and effective leadership: a national study of academic management. san francisco, ca: jossey-bass. basinger, j. (2000, august 11). a new way of classifying colleges elates some and perturbs others in the chronicle of higher education. p. a3 5. bendiger, j.; cornelious, l. and mcgrath, v. (february, 1998). faculty governance: the key to actualizing professionalism. paper presented at the annual meeting of the american association of colleges for teacher education, new orleans, louisiana. bess, j. l. (1982). university organization: a matrix analysis of the academic profession. new york: human sciences press. bess, j. l. (1988). collegiality and bureaucracy in the modern university: the influence of information and power in decision making structures. new york: teachers college press. birnbaum, r. (1988). how colleges work: the cybernetics of academic organization and leadership. san francisco, ca: jossey-bass. birnbaum, r. (1989). the latent organizational functions of the academic senate: why senates do not work but will not go away in the journal of higher education 60 (4), 423-443. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 137 blau, p. m. (1973). the organization of academic work. new york, ny: john wiley & sons, inc. collings, v. h. (1996). the faculty role in governance: a historical analysis of the influence of the american association of university professors and the middle states association on academic decision making. paper presented at the annual meeting of the association for the study of higher education, memphis, tennessee. dye, t. r. (1998). understanding public policy (9' ed.). upper saddle river, nj: prenticehall, inc. edelstein, m. g. (1997). academic governance: the art of herding cats. in j. martin, j. e. samels, & associates (eds.), first among equals: the role of the chief academic officer (pp. 58-78). baltimore, md: the johns hopkins university press. floyd, c. e. (1985). faculty participation in decision making: necessity or luxu!y? (asheeric higher education report no. 8). washington, dc: association for the study of higher education. gary (1986). a matter of degree: faculty morale as a function of the involvement in institutional decisions during times of financial distress. in review of higher education 9 (3):287–301. gilmour, j. e., jr. (199 1, september-october). your faculty senate: more effective than you think? academe, 77 16-19. hines, e. r. (2000). the governance of higher education. in w. g. tierney (series ed.) & j. c. smart (vol. ed.), higher education: vol. xv. handbook of theory and research (pp. 105-155). bronx, ny: agathon press. kaplan, gabriel e. (2002, february). part ii: survey on higher education governance. in preliminary result from the 2001 survey on higher education governance. pp. 9-11 keller, g. (1983). academic strategy: the management revolution in american higher education. baltimore, md: the johns hopkins university press. lee, barbara a. (1979). governance at the unionized four-year college: effects on decision making structures. in journal of higher education 50 (5):565–585. lee, b. a. (1991). campus senates and campus leaders. in m. kramer (series ed.) & r. birnbaum (vol. ed.), new directions for higher education: vol. 19. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 138 faculty in governance: the role of senates and joint committees in academic decision making (pp. 41-61). san francisco, ca: josseybass. penn state university faculty senate (july, 2008). senate fact sheet, http://www.senate.psu.edu/factsheet.htm penn state university faculty senate (october, 2009). http://www.senate.psu.edu/senate.html ricci, e. a. (2001). the policymaking function of the faculty senate in a comprehensive liberal arts university: a case study http://www.newfoundations.com/policy/ricci.html#references ridgely, j. (1983). "faculty senates and the fiscal crisis." academe 79 (6):7–11. tierney, w. g., and rhoads, r. a. (1993, october). enhancing promotion, tenure, and beyond: faculty socialization as a cultural process. in ahseeric education report 93 (6) trow, m. (1990). the academic senate as a school for university leadership. in liberal education, 76 (1), 23-27. wolvin, a. d. (september-october, 1991). when governance is really shared: the multiconstituency senate. in academe, 77 26-28. young, s. p. (2009). college faculty senates and university. http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1973/faculty-senates-collegeuniversity.html mailto:ericci0001@aol.com http://www.wiley.com/wileycda/section/id-302475.html?query=robert+a.+rhoads http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1973/faculty-senates-college-university.html http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1973/faculty-senates-college-university.html igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 82 failure of ranching policies in nigeria: proposed cattle colony and ruga settlement in perspective, 1914-2018 anene, chidi p. ph.d department of history and international studies imo state university anenechidi770@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.36469.60642 & iyala, theodore o. department of history and international studies imo state university iyalastone@yahoo.com & nlemchukwu vivain o. department of history and strategic studies alex ekwueme federal university ndufu-alike abakiliki, nigeria. olachiokere@yahoo.com abstract the study critically examined failure of ranching policies in nigeria from the colonial to the present post-colonial era. the study delves into history to explore the political and economic motives behind the various ranching policies, as well as the most recently proposed cattle colony and ruga settlement policies. adopting a qualitative method of data collection which involves use of archival sources, published and unpublished written texts, journal articles, conference proceedings, official documents, and news media, etc., the paper argued that beginning with the colonial administration, ranching policy is replete with political intrigues and underlying motives which often led to its failure. furthermore, with the advent of the nigerian independence, ranching policies had been serially subjected to political intrigues without genuine desire to making it a full-fledged commercial and profitable venture that could really transform its mode of operation or the life pattern of the herdsmen, reminiscent of the colonial ranching policy. the study concludes with nostalgia that it was the same resettlement posture of the herdsmen rather than embarking on real profitable ranching venture in the country that the cattle colony and ruga settlement could be located with all shockwaves, panic and political undertones, hence its failure and continued obsolete and conflict ridden open grazing system. mailto:anenechidi770@gmail.com mailto:iyalastone@yahoo.com mailto:olachiokere@yahoo.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 83 keywords: cattle colony, farmers, proposed ruga, herdsmen and ranching. introduction apart from the boko haram insurgency, another issue generating more heat in nigeria at the moment is the violent clashes between farmers and herders that are usually over access to land and grazing rights. herding in nigeria predates colonialism. however, historically speaking, the issue of ranching is a by-product of colonial administration. in the pre-colonial era, herding of cattle has predominantly been the occupation of the itinerant fulani herdsmen who move their cattle from place to place in search of pasture. this is regarded as traditional open grazing system, which was mainly restricted to the northern parts of the country. traditionally, the fulani herdsmen and their farmer counterparts usually collaborate in the appropriation of the land for herding and farming purposes. even when there appears to be conflicts, they were resolved within the available local diplomacy. however, all these changed with colonial administration, particularly when the north and southern protectorates were amalgamated to form the nigerian state. in other words, colonial administration began the policy of politicization land use by introducing grazing reserves, grazing routes and ranching. the colonial government made the movement of herdsmen southwards a lot easier having welded the north and south into one entity called nigeria with pertinent land use laws, which tried to alienate the people from the traditional ownership of their lands and vesting it on the government. this singular act engendered and facilitated the free movement of the fulani herdsmen who wandered from one part of the country to the other in search of pasture, besides settlement in their host communities. furthermore, the issue of failure of the colonial administration to restrict the free movement of herdsmen via functional ranching was transferred into the postcolonial nigerian state. thus, as a result of the prevailing politics of ethnicity in country, which was eminently stoked up and promoted by the same colonial government, the issue of grazing was further politicized leading to the numerous conflicts emanating from failures of subsequent policies of the postcolonial state to address the grazing challenges. past and present attempts at regulating cattle grazing appear to be ineffective in nigeria, hence, the various veiled political attempts to resolve the herdsmen-farmer conflicts under such suspicious igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 84 ranching projects such as cattle colony, grazing reserves, ruga settlements programme. this paper therefore attempts to examine the following themes: literature review; pre-colonial history of cattle grazing, colonial ranching policies and politics, post colonial ranching politics and policies and lastly, the consequences of the prevailing ranching policies (cattle colony and ruga settlements). literature review according to blench (2017) the term ranching is not usually clearly defined, however, there are essentially three different types of enclosed livestock production that might fall under this term; a) ranching. a very large area of rangeland is enclosed and the livestock migrate freely within its boundaries, finding their own food. b) intensive livestock production. the animals are kept in paddocks, and graze partly on natural pasture, partly on intensive feedstock. c) zero grazing. the animals are kept in stalls and fed entirely on purchased feeds. they are subject to intensive veterinary care, and often given diet supplements to enable them to fatten quickly. in conclusion, blench contended that at present, none of these are practiced anywhere in sub-saharan africa except parts of ethiopia, kenya and south africa. the food and agricultural organization (fao) (2020), on its own part described ranching as a system which consists labour-extensive enterprises specializing in one or more livestock species and producing mainly live animals for slaughter (for meat, skins and hides), but also for wool and milk. in essence its management is characterized by grazing within the fixed boundaries that delimit tenure. oyeleye (2019) description of ranching revealed that it involves the demarcation of an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat, milk or wool. the practice exposes cattle to paddock grazing with improved varieties of forages and fodders all year round and modern livestock management practices such as feedlot fattening, artificial insemination and others. this practice is an improvement over the traditional livestock management system. harping on the importance of ranching, ohuabunwa (2018) adduced three main reasons which gives ranching an edge over the open grazing system. thus: https://businessday.ng/editorial/article/making-the-livestock-plan-work-for-nigeria/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 85 1. it will lead to production of healthier cows that will produce more milk and better beef than the current “wakaabout” method which generations of herdsmen have used; 2. it will create jobs in the chain-grass growers, veterinary technicians, milk and meat processing plants, veterinary agricultural extension workers; and transporters who will move the cattle and the processed milk and beef to the markets – north or south, east or west; 3. it will stop or at least drastically minimize open grazing that often result in cows freely entering into farms and eating up crops and eliciting conflict between the herders and the farm owners. moving away from description of ranching, kachergis, derner, roche, tate, lubell, mealor, magagna (2013) in their study on ‘characterizing wyoming ranching operations: natural resource goals, management practices and information sources’ argues that wyoming rangelands spanning 12 million hectares, produce food and provide other vital ecosystem services. the authors contend that wyoming ranching operations are diverse, which may represent a challenge for policy makers designing programs and incentives to increase production of food and ecosystem services. however, efforts that focus on livestock and forage production and supporting ecosystem functions are likely to find synergies with ongoing management goals and strategies. a multi-pronged outreach and education approach using several different media sources may be most effective as new policies and management practices become available. kachergis et al’s work sees ranching as a private business with varied profitability unlike nigeria’s type of ranching programmes in which the government is heavily involved with sinister motives of resettling certain ethnic groups in colonies rather than objectively creating enabling environment for ranching to thrive. corroborating kachergis (2013), on the fact that ranches are supposed to be purely profitable venture, fao (2020) assert that ranches are generally commercial enterprises, with generation of a cash income as the primary function of the livestock raised on them. in addition to its management and production objectives, the above organization stated that ranching differs from traditional pastoralism in such ways as: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 86 supporting fewer people per land area, since tenure is generally individual (although not necessarily private), and providing options for intensifying water and feed supplies. ranching may take any of the following forms: cattle ranching for meat (the most common type), dairy ranching, sheep and/or goat ranching for wool, meat and skins (e.g. the karakul breed of sheep), and/or stud breeding. according blench (2017) while explaining the demands of ranching which are non-existent in nigeria leading to its failure pointed out that those ranching systems reflect modern economies where the transport infrastructure is well developed, so animals can be moved rapidly from remote areas to urban markets. fencing is a high cost in a ranch operation. blench went on to say that ranches of this type are typical of the united states, australia and the rangelands of south america, particularly uruguay and argentina. they function in areas of low human population, where land tenure is secure. in other words, farmers are not usually trying to access the same land for crops. furthermore, such ranches are mainly operative in african countries such as botswana, namibia and parts of south africa, where the rainfall is so low or poorly distributed that ordinary agriculture is impossible. the situation is quite different in nigeria where rather than individuals who have interest in ranching business opt for the project; the government has been making attempts to acquire land for building ranches for private individuals to do the business with tax payers’ money, thereby generating conflicts and failures which this present study seeks to examine. corroborating the fact that ranching policies so far made by governments were ill suited for the country, dunbar (1970) and gefu (1992) asserts that the record of ranches or any type of intensive livestock production in nigeria is not encouraging, indeed ranching has a long history of failure in nigeria. dunbar recounts the establishment of a large-scale ranch in western borno in 1914, which collapsed during the great depression of the 1930s. understanding the trajectory of nigerian ranches is not always easy, since although they were established with great fanfare, their decline and collapse is undocumented. even when gefu had a listing of some of these ranches, there were no serious comments made on their failure. thus, the issue of documentation of the failures of different ranching attempts in nigeria prompted this present study. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 87 iro (2019) identified the problems associated with the idea of government established ranching and not running ranching as a purely profitable venture. the author stated that ranching schemes suffer from frequent policy shifts due to changes of governments, administrators, or sources of funding. for example, the fluctuation in the annual budget for the livestock sub-head has prevented the government from establishing the required number of livestock improvement centers that sell or exchange breeds with farmers and pastoralists. a reduction in the budget for a year has triggered the neglect of the infrastructure in the few existing centers. interruption or a reversal of government policies usually accompanies military coups in nigeria. since nobody is penalized or held responsible for policy or project failure, greedy staff takes advantage of any switch in policy to steal government property. in the ranching sector, the staff takes away the animals and removes hardware from the stockyard, or refuse to deposit monies raised by selling milk or livestock. furthermore, the staff and the ranch managers use government commercial ranches as their personal belongings. the managers organize auctions to sell animals cheaply to themselves. highly placed government officials go to the ranches and take out the best stock that are meant for breeding without paying for them. the officers also divert livestock feeds and drugs to private use. iro (2019) on the other hand observed that even the privately owned ranches were owned by absentee investors, who have the money but not the time to develop the ranches. the ranching enterprise in nigeria is dominated by absentee herd-owners whose primary motif of starting ranching may not be commercial. a rancher interviewed in this research says hobby is his main interest in ranching. the study of iro on the failure of ranching policies in nigeria is closely related to the present study, however the present study is an attempt to move beyond the failure of ranching policies to prove that the motives behind the setting up of ranching as well as perceptions of actors are at the centre of this failure in nigeria. the pre-colonial history of cattle grazing the primitive cattle industry is controlled and managed by the nomadic fulani. it has been their way of life from the beginning. they have been in this profession for hundreds of years. the fulanis are said to have migrated to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 88 nigeria about the 6th and 7th century ad (stride and ifeka, 1973). iloeje (1972) is of the view that the fulani people are nomadic herdsmen who are believed to have come to nigeria from the north as invaders at different periods from the 13th century to the 19th. some fulani’s are still nomadic and others live a sedentary life. however, the issue of migration from the north probably suggests that they came into the country either from mali, burkina faso, niger or even the senegambia region. all these suggest that they are immigrants. it is postulated that the original home of the fulani may have been the senegal river valley and the eastern guinea area, and they expanded eastwards from about the 12th century (kajubi, lewis; taiwo, 1974). indeed, there are two classes of fulani known after their settlement in nigeria. these are the “cow” fulani who still retain their tall, slim features and light complexion. others are the “town” fulani have since learnt to live with the hausa and even intermarry with their neighbours. the cow fulani live in temporary tents made of cow hides or grass easy to set up and equally easy to dismantle. this is practical in view of the fact that they are nomadic pastoralists who are always on the move. this is also a confirmation that the cattle industry in nigeria began between the 12th and the 19th centuries, and has been heavily controlled, managed by the nomadic fulani. in the northern parts of nigeria they exchange their cattle and milk and cheese for instance, for agricultural products from their hosts. the fulani in this way supply 90 per cent of nigeria’s beef and cattle hide (kajubi, lewis, taiwo, 1974). however, this purely traditional phase and spatial organization of pastoral herding changed with the advent of colonialism which made an attempt to introduce modern ranching to exist side by side with traditional herding system as discussed in the next section. colonial grazing politics/policies accounts of fulani pastoralists moving southwards into nigeria's sub-humid “middle belt‟ zone appear as early as the 1820s; however, tsetse flies and the associated trypanosomiasis disease necessitated return northwards into the semiarid zone during the rainy season. however, this movement became prominent with the colonial policies towards grazing. first, the relative security of the british colonial period, when violence related to the trans-saharan slave trade was curtailed. migration was also seen as a way to avoid the hated jangali (cattle tax) imposed by the british with the introduction of trypanocidal drugs further igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 89 enabling pastoralist cattle herds to access the high-quality grazing land in the southern sub-humid zone (blench, 1994). for example, adamu (2007) observed that colonial policies in katsina state led to the seizure of vast tracts and farming lands and turned it into native authority forest reserve. the immediate impact of this was that it made the herders and farmers to compete over land that had shrunk as a result of colonial forest policy. the rate of the competition resulted in conflict between the groups. modern ranching was supposed to be an improvement over traditional livestock management as well as transform the social and economic life of the fulani. commercial ranching was also supposed to become the focus of agro-pastoral development that would meet the minimum of twenty-five grams of mutton per cattle a day. however, when the british introduced commercial ranching in nigeria, their aim was to boost the supply of milk, meat, butter, and hides to europe and anglophone countries of west africa (dunbar, 1970). thus, it is not out of place to state that the foundation of ranching programme in nigeria was laid on the altar of ulterior motive. an evaluation of the livestock sector showed that in spite of government spending and incentives, ranching schemes had failed in nigeria. a european who started a ranch in 1914 in northern nigeria folded up in 1920 in spite of establishing his ranch on the best grazing land (niamir, 1990). this made the european to express that commercial ranching was not viable in nigeria due to the following reasons: first, contrary to expectations, the fulani did not embrace ranching as the alternative to traditional pastoralism. second, ranching did not raise the output of milk and meat. in fact, traditional pastoralism continued to record higher output per unit of land than commercial ranching (grandin, 1988). third, the anticipated economic benefits of ranching did not materialize; rather, the prices of milk and meat from the ranch grew beyond the means of the ordinary citizens. fourth, there was no evidence that ranching had facilitated the resettlement of the fulani. thus, the reality of pastoral formation in nigeria, as in much of africa, was that almost universally, a ranching scheme was a financial catastrophe (galaty, 1980). the restriction of the movement of livestock is seen by the fulani as a sequential destruction of vegetal resources and an invitation to livestock diseases (igbozurike 1980; and ellis and swift 1988). citing the work of cruz de carvalho igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 90 (1971), goldschmidt (1980) stated a case in which the ranchers broke the fences and returned to active traditional pastoralism, because the fenced territory could not provide adequate food to raise the livestock. the faulty foundation of ranching policies and programmes upon which colonial administration was hinged on dovetailed the post-colonial administrations, and became the fulcrum of the failures as discussed in the subsequent sections. post-colonial ranching politics/policies the policy on ranching continued after independence when the government of nigeria tried to use ranching to resettle the nomadic fulani (dunbar 1970). however, rather than consolidate on existing ranching policy in order to modernize and ensure that the fulani discard the problematic old method of cattle rearing, the nigerian government rather passed the nigerian grazing reserve act of 1964 as an initial attempt to improve fulani access to grazing land for their cattle, simultaneously encouraging sedentarization in order to address existing conflicts between farming and grazing communities and improve provision of essential amenities to pastoralist families. in a broader sense, it was expected that the policy would help address some of the wider constraints facing livestock development in nigeria at the time, such as disease control and market supply (ingawa, tarawali, kaufmann, 1989). following this, the national agricultural policy of 1988 declared that a minimum of 10% of the national territory, equivalent to 9.8 million hectares, would be allocated for the development of grazing reserves in an attempt to protect pastoralism. however, this policy has not been enforced; as at 2012 only 2.82 million hectares has been acquired in a total of 313 reserves (ibrahim, 2012). attempts to encourage ranching in the post-colonial nigeria were also subjected to the whims and caprices of politics rather than effective policy for improving livestock and encourage modern cattle rearing methods of restricting open and itinerant grazing. when ranching was introduced, the economic contribution of the livestock was the major consideration. this consideration relegated the multiple functions and non-economic uses of livestock, which might be more important to the fulani. ranching capitalized on enhanced production output, but overlooked the potential use of animals as self-reproducing wealth, symbol of prestige, medium of social exchange, and insurance policy (cisse, 1980; igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 91 schneider, 1981). a major policy mistake was that of failing to understand that traditional pastoralism was an important source of food and employment on a continuous basis to most of the household members (sandford, 1982; cossins, 1983). the fulani are reluctant to enter the ranching enterprise because they worry that they will face problems similar to those of raising livestock in sedentary camps ranching conflicts with communal land use. some of the limitations to the ranching enterprise include situating them in populated areas and using poor quality stock. government ranches are being used as private property by ranch staff. lack of qualified, experienced and dedicated staff is a part of the predicaments of successful commercial ranching in nigeria. herd-owners see ranching schemes as an obstruction of freedom and as a forceful imposition of the advice of young men sent to work as technicians and livestock assistants (grayzel, 1986). extension staff consists of young technicians who are dispatched to pastoral areas to train and deliver services under specific state ordinances and by-laws. the fulani see these young men as inexperienced intruders with little or nothing to offer (sandford, 1982; gryzel, 1986, p.159). since ranching requires some degree of sedentariness, the mere mention of ranching raises suspicions that the authorities are planning for resettlement or disruption of communal land tenure system. the high cost of land discourages many pastoral fulani from starting commercial ranching. the fulani do not have the skill or the financial propensity to building the fences, grain stores, feed lots, and watering places. the emphasis on land conservation and improvement, requiring some monetary outlay, prevent even the most enterprising fulani from raising their animals in a ranch-like setting (iro, 2019). the defunct allied ranch near kaduna epitomizes the problems of institutionalized livestock schemes in nigeria. the ranch imported cattle and horses from australia and argentina. the animals were housed in artificially ventilated rooms, supplied with food, water, and vitamins. each heifer cost about $1,000-$2,000 by the time it arrived on the ranch. in spite of eating a lot of food, the animals started losing weight, apparently emaciated from heat exhaustion and intercurrent diseases. the animals could not produce the expected amount of milk and red meat. three years after inception, nearly all the animals except the race horses had been sold or slaughtered (iro, 2019). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 92 ranching schemes suffer from frequent policy shifts due to changes of governments, administrators, or sources of funding. for example, the fluctuation in the annual budget for the livestock sub-head has prevented the government from establishing the required number of livestock improvement centers that sell or exchange breeds with farmers and pastoralists. a reduction in the budget for a year has triggered the neglect of the infrastructure in the few existing centers. interruption or a reversal of government policies usually accompanies military coups in nigeria. since nobody is penalized or held responsible for policy or project failure, greedy staff takes advantage of any switch in policy to steal government property. in the ranching sector, the staff takes away the animals and removes hardware from the stockyard, or refuse to deposit monies raised by selling milk or livestock. after decades of waste and inactivity in the state ranches, the government of nigeria has decided to include ranches and dairy plants among the numerous ventures it intends to sell under its privatization policy (iro, 2019). the staff and the ranch managers use government commercial ranches as their personal belongings. the managers organize auctions to sell animals cheaply to themselves. highly placed government officials go to the ranches and take out the best stock that are meant for breeding without paying for them. the officers also divert livestock feeds and drugs to private use. studies show that many ranches are owned by absentee investors, who have the money but not the time to develop the ranches. studies show that the most successful ranches are those supervised directly by their owners. the more time the owners spend on the ranch the more they reduce the chances of theft, loss of man hours, and workers' neglect. the ranching enterprise in nigeria is dominated by absentee herdowners whose primary motif of starting ranching may not be commercial. a rancher interviewed in this research says hobby is his main interest in ranching (iro, 2019). the international livestock centre for africa sought the reasons for its failure. the answer came from a fulani man in the adjoining camp. responding to the questionnaire survey, the man gave a simple but valid answer. the i.l.c.a. should not expect good herd management from a hired fulani man having no cattle of his own. not having cattle suggested weak management skills among the fulani. if a man had the skill, he would tend his own flocks not someone else's. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 93 manchok cattle ranch demonstrated some of the causes of the failures of ranching schemes in nigeria. with the american aids, the kaduna state ministry of animal and forest resources established the manchok cattle ranch in 1964. increase milk output as a raw material for the local dairy companies was the purpose of the ranch. like most ranches, the phasing of the scheme started with the building of basic infrastructure: sheds, fences, paddocks, offices, storage spaces, staff quarters, access roads, and a clinic. stocked in 1980 by 156 imported francaise fisanne, the ranch also provided scales, electricity, water pumps, and farm yards. then in 1980, dermatophiliasis hit, causing the ranch to sell or slaughter most of the animals. in 1984, the ranch replaced the imported cattle with 785 local breed. the same year, however, the rinderpest struck. again, the ranch sold or butchered most of the animals. the few remaining animals that survived the epidemic were transferred to the kaduna-karaduwa river basin and rural development authority. all that remained on the barnyard were broken fences, dilapidated buildings, and rusting implements buried in the growing grass (ezeomah, 1987). associated with the ranching schemes are livestock improvement centers that focus on beef and lacteal improvement. the purpose of the centers is to manage the rangeland, develop fodder banks, and provide seeds, fences, and salt licks. set up within a livestock improvement center are schools and veterinary centers. each livestock service center has drivers, laborers, storekeepers, range guards, and motor mechanics. project officers and livestock assistants offer extension services to the fulani settlers. management and grazing control assistants work with the fulani on inter-cropping and range-fire control. veterinary officers and livestock superintendents treat and vaccinate the herds (n.l.p.d. record, 1992). like the ranching schemes, livestock improvement centers have failed miserably in nigeria. the livestock improvement centers neither enhance the quality nor the quantity of the animals. range use has not improved either. services at the centers benefit a few mixed-farmers rather than the targeted pastoral fulani. as a result of the disappointing performance of the centers, the government has converted them into research centers. two cases, the butura livestock improvement breeding center and the pambegua sheep improvement subsector show the extent of the failure in livestock improvement centers in nigeria. the butura livestock improvement breeding center started in 1967 as an experimental farm for cross-breeding of local cows with friesian breeds. the center was located twenty-six kilometers west of barikin ladi, near jos, in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 94 plateau state. the goal of the center was to demonstrate to the local herdsmen the advantages of mixed stocking. on the five hundred acre center, the government spent large sums to build fences, paddocks, garages, spray races, grain stores, veterinary centers, staff quarters, and office buildings. the government also provided seeds, imported grass, and farm-land for growing grains and livestock feeds. in 1970, the center imported sixteen friesian cattle to be bred and used as the center's foundation stock. one after another, all the imported cattle died of dermatophiliasis before the experiment could be completed. five years later, the center imported another forty friesian stock and cross-bred them with the local zebu. dermatophiliasis struck again and all the forty foreign stock died. by early 1980s, the experimental farm had taken a clear path to failure. in 1985 the plateau state had to convert the center into a ranch, using local breeds. the government expected the ranch to succeed since it was on a flat land, supplied with abundant grass, farm residues, perennial rivers and streams, and mining depressions that served as artificial ponds. the absence of tsetse and the presence of a teeming work-force from the mining camps were expected to provide the market boost for livestock products. the butura ranch, however, started showing signs of failure. the pens were broken, so were the paddocks. the fences were torn, most animals were sold or taken away, and the few animals left on the ranch were herded by hired pastoralists (ezeomah, 1987). the pambegua sheep improvement sub-center was another disaster. it began in 1970 from an attempt by the then north-central state to boost livestock production, particularly the ruminant population. using imported balouchie sheep from iran, the state established a cross-breeding center in katsina. with identical weather as iran, katsina appeared a suitable location for raising the balouchie sheep. the initial success of the balouchie encouraged the government to replicate its efforts in other parts of the state. created in 1976 on 388.6 acres, the pambegua sub-center took advantage of the quick maturation and highquality mutton of the balouchie breed. located about three hundred kilometers southeast of katsina, pambegua was thought to provide an excellent breeding environment. the government built fences, offices, and staff quarters. it provided electricity, tap water, and land clearing equipment for growing livestock feed. the experimental breed was brought from katsina, but many of them died because of the humid weather in pambegua, despite de-ticking and the shearing igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 95 of their wool to prevent deaths (iro, 2019). the disappointing performance of the livestock improvement centers necessitated government's investigation into the causes of the failures. the problems were the flaws in the design of the schemes, which differed markedly from the traditional system of livestock management. many centers were based on western models and used extension staff who literally knew less than the fulani about raising livestock in nigeria (iro, 2019). the failure of the government to sincerely modernize the cattle grazing methods of the fulani by carrying them along in the ranching project and processes coupled with the avowed fulani resistance to the so-called change from open grazing sustained mobile grazing method. thus, the inability to sustain the grazing routes due to population and development, the fulani herdsmen stray into farmlands and destroy crops leading to herdsmen-farmer conflicts, violent attacks, counter violence, reprisal attacks and vicious cycle of violence, crimes of armed robbery, rapes, killings etc. these started gradually until it rose to a crisis levels. the escalation of the conflict arising from the inability of the government to contain the herdsmen-farmer conflict, and the persistent environmental and climate change due to desertification, drought in the sahel and the shrinking of lake chad, which used to be a buffer for the migrant herdsmen, led to the massive movement of the fulani herdsmen into the middle-belt and further southern nigeria for sustainable pasture, settlement and livelihood thereby putting more pressure on the land persistent clashes with the farmers and locals in their host communities. for instance, the gradual desertification in the north, due to climate change and other factors has rendered massive tracts of land unusable for agriculture or cattle herding; currently, 11 out of 19 states in the north are severely threatened by soil erosion. all this has not only shrunk the amount of land available for farming and pastures but has also pushed cattle herders further south. besides, in the past, farmers and herders were able to manage disputes, primarily through the community justice system that employs dialogue and small peace talks in village squares. but that inter-community conflict resolution process no longer works because grievances have increased in number and dimension. individual resentment transformed over time into large-scale violence. the issue eventually assumed an ethnic dimension and has been presented as a problem between the north and the south (orji, 2019). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 96 furthermore, the use of police and courts to resolve conflicts between fulbe cattle herders and farmers by government has been ineffective. this has contributed to the frequency of the clashes especially since the 1980s sequel to the democratic dispensation, introduction of modern weapons in the conflict and communication devices as well as the use of bandits in terrorists‟ activities. all these have exacerbated chronic insecurity that has encouraged the conflicting parties to take responsibility for their own security and to defend themselves, which is a threat to the sustainability of the federation (abbas, 2009). as the state cannot regulate the mutual coexistence of its citizens in the harmonious sharing of the competed resources, the parties now resolve to struggle among themselves with no retreat, no surrender and for the survival of the fittest. the failure of the state, for example to resolve the “settler/indigene” identity and the inherent struggles over resources can be adduced to have brought dangerous dimensions of economic and political elements in the fulani cattle herders and farmers conflicts (abbas, 2009). it appears that government and security agencies have taken sides in the herder/farmer conflict which has claimed numerous lives and property in virtually all the states in the north-central and southern nigeria. the sympathy shown to the fulani herdsmen has resulted in persistent killings and wanton destruction of lives and property. thus, rather than apprehend and disarm the marauding fulani herdsmen who have come out openly to claim responsibility for these heinous crimes inflicted on their host communities, for instance, about 40 persons were killed in enugu, while the blood let in agatu (benue state) accounted for about 500 deaths; the government came up with the idea of settlement of the fulani herdsmen across the country with different code names such as cattle colony; ranch; and ruga as a panacea to the incessant herdsmen attacks on their host communities (orebe, 2018). this brings us to the discussion on the politics of cattle colony, grazing reserves and ruga settlement ranching policy of the president buhari administration in the next section. implications of politics and policy of cattle colony, grazing reserve and ruga settlement ranching of president buhari administration for a very long time, the nigerian government did not offer a concrete plan to solve the problem of herdsmen-farmer conflict, as it does little more than giving cliche political sermons, condemning the killings and issuing palliatives. but after the latest killing spree in early january, 2017, the government igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 97 announced that they have finally found a solution that would end these clashes once and for all: this is located in "cattle colonies" as announced by then minister of agriculture and rural development, chief audu ogbeh (orji, 2019). according to the ministry of agriculture and rural development, the "cattle colony" policy is going to solve the ongoing problems between herdsmen and farmers by designating vast tracts of lands in each state as herding grounds. herdsmen will use these designated herding grounds, or "cattle colonies" to feed their livestock, and as a result will not feel the need to disturb the fertile agricultural lands that belong to farming communities. following this announcement, the nigerian public's initial reaction to the announcement was one of disinterest and confusion, as no one seemed to understand what a "cattle colony" was. eventually, many communities realized that implementing this policy could lead to a disaster and outrightly rejected it. in their rejection of the policy, some nigerians resorted to sarcasm. "what is cattle colony? we have been colonized by the colonial masters, and now we will be colonized by cows?" quipped attorney general and commissioner for justice of taraba state yusufu akirikwen (orji, 2019). it is also perceived that the proposed grazing colonies is akin to expropriation of land from states as ranches for the fulani herdsmen. given the spate of criticisms leveled against the creation of cattle colony policy, in spite of the assurance that the discretion was given to the states to decline or donate land to the project; and the government’s response that 16 of nigeria’s 36 states had already agreed to host cattle colonies, the project was totally rejected by majority of the states, mostly from the south. the outright rejection of the cattle colony project prompted the federal government to switch to ranching proposal in the 36 states of the federation. national ranching project what appears to be a clearer understanding by the buhari administration in its effort to tackle the escalating herdsmen/farmers clashes and the resultant bloodbath across the country is the federal government plans to set up cattle ranches in some states. this effectively cancels the earlier proposal by the minister of agriculture and rural development, chief audu ogbeh, which proposed to establish cattle colonies in 16 states. under this programme, the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 98 federal government and states have agreed to set up cattle ranches in 10 states — adamawa, benue, ebonyi, edo, kaduna, nasarawa, oyo, plateau, taraba and zamfara to end herders, farmers’ crisis in the country. the 10 states are in the first phase of the national ranching project. the disclosure was made in abuja at the unveiling of the national economic council’s national livestock transformation plan as part of efforts to end clashes between farmers and herdsmen. while presenting the plan, the secretary of the nec sub-committee, dr. andrew kwasari, said the federal government and states would spend n70 billion in the first three years of the pilot phase of the programme. he also said that n179 billion would be spent over a period of 10 years on the national livestock implementation. nec, had in january, set up a committee headed by the vice-president, prof. yemi osinbajo, to look into herdsmen and farmers’ clashes. the sudden u-turn by government shows that there was no thinking through before ogbeh’s announcement (onyekakeyah, 2018). it appears that government have seen reason why ranching instead of cattle colony is the way to go and that ranching is the globally accepted and modern method of beef cattle production. much as ranching rather than open, criminal, willful and reckless grazing of cattle on people’s farms appears to be a veritable solution to fulani herdsmen’s murderous onslaught against law abiding, innocent farmers; however, it appears to be a politics of favouritism in favour of the herdsmen, particularly where cattle rearing is a private enterprise, with profits accruable to private entrepreneurs. ploughing in public funds into private business of the fulani without collateral, amounts to favouritism, simply because a fulani is the current president, or to appease the fulani over and above other private enterprises such as rice, cocoa, oil palms, rubber, groundnuts, cassava, etc, who are only supported with repayable loans with collateral (akiri, 2018). akiri (2018) while stressing the political undertone of the pilot ranching project stated that with historical evidence, it is not out of place to adduce that these so-called pilot ranches are designed to be future fulani emirates, who in the near future may not be disentitled of the expanse of grazing territories acquired from state/local governments by the federal government of nigeria, on their behalf. part of the politics of favouritism exhibited by the federal government on behalf of the fulani could be noticed by the biased mode of handling the herdsmen killings. whereas miyetti allah had come out openly to claim that the killer igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 99 herdsmen killed and are killing farmers, their wives and children to avenge the theft of their cattle by rustlers, and they have not been arrested or prosecuted according to the extant criminal codes of nigeria clearly shows that there is government’s complicity in the conflict in favour of the fulani herdsmen. again, whereas section 319 of the criminal code act (cap.77 laws of the federation of nigeria, 1990) provides that, any person who commits murder shall be sentenced to death and be hanged by neck until he is dead, section 390 (3) of the same act, which is tangentially on all fours with section 287 of the penal code act, stipulates that any of the following, that is to say, “a horse, bull, cow, ox, ram, ewe, whether goat or pig or the young of any such animal”, shall be liable on conviction, to pay a fine of two hundred naira (₦200.00) or to imprisonment for two years (akiri, 2018). the pertinent question is, how can 300 cows allegedly rustled by unidentified persons be an excuse (in law, morality or religion), for fulani herdsmen butchering of over 200 human beings in plateau state or elsewhere; while the security agencies, as “though afflicted with selective amnesia and aural impairment”, pretend not to have heard the boasts, confessions, and threats of miyetti allah, whose leader once publicly enthused about nigeria being allah’s biggest gift to the fulani ethnic nationality. what appears to serve as an example of government’s complicity on the issue of grazing/ranching in nigeria is a case in adamawa, where, while killers of human beings are rendered immune to arrest, let alone trial, for their heinous crimes; five young men in adamawa state were promptly apprehended by the police, tried, convicted and sentenced to death by hanging for allegedly killing one fulani herdsman. further example could be drawn from mr. mansur danali, minister of defence appeal to benue state house of assembly and the benue state governor to suspend the anti-open-grazing law, passed by the state house of assembly and assented by the governor, as a condition precedent for the effective performance of the functions of his office. it therefore appears that the plan to establish “pilot ranches; akin to grazing colonies in 94 locations in ten states of the federation is designed to reward the killer herdsmen for their murderous proclivities (akiri, 2018). it is not a hidden truth that cattle herding or rearing is essentially a private business like cassava, yam or millet; trading textiles, cola nuts or motor-spare parts. it is a traditional forte of the fulani ethnic group, just as trading in spare parts has become the forte of the igbo; farming of cocoa and kola nuts the forte of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 100 the yoruba and fishing and fish selling a major occupation of the ijaw etc. every ethnic group in nigeria has its main occupation. therefore, it will be unjust to single out one ethnic group’s occupation or trade and directly budget national resources for its development like building ranches or colonies and choosing where to locate them. if we allow this to go, then the next president may follow suit and this will be creating more tension and division instead of uniting the country. the best thing the government should do to support cattle ranching as it is supporting other crop agriculture is to direct the herders to the banks, including the development banks like the bank of agriculture and bank of industry. they should design a programme for cattle ranches like the central bank (cbn) anchor programme. thus, supporting private business, otherwise getting government to directly build ranches for herdsmen will amount to using public funds for private gain and that will spell corruption and nepotism (ohuabunwa, 2018). it is rightly perceived that the essence of government’s direct involvement in building ranches is because the real owners of the cattle to be ranched are very rich nigerians, which include: presidents (military and civilian, past and present), governors (past and present), legislators (serving and past), ministers (living and dead), senior public servants (serving and retired). given that these classes of people can afford to build ranches to promote their businesses, thus, it will be highly unethical for them to use public funds to further their private interests (ohuabunwa, 2018). the outcry and condemnation that greeted the proposed national ranching programme led to its suspension by the federal government and came out with yet another brand of politically motivated ranching policy known as rural grazing area (ruga) settlement aimed at pacifying the fulani herdsmen, as discussed below. the rural grazing area (ruga) settlement the ruga settlement, the latest plan by the president buhari-led administration was approved on may 21, 2019. according to a statement released by the presidency on june 30, the objective of implementing the ruga settlements include, to: 1. curb open grazing of animals that continue to pose security threats to farmers and herders; igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 101 2. the settlement will house herders and animal farmers. by this, the herdsmen will be settled and water would be provided for their animals, pasture, schools for their children, security, agro-rangers, veterinary clinics, markets and manufacturing entities that will process and add value to meats animal products; 3. the federal government believes that ruga settlements will be of benefit to everyone in terms of putting an end to the nomadic lifestyle of herdsmen, put an end of herdsmen having to transport their herds on foot; avoid conflict with local farming communities, provide at least 2000 jobs and will be a major attraction to foreign investors; increase the quality and hygiene of livestock in terms of beef and milk production, increased quality of feeding and access to animal care and private sector participation in commercial pasture production by way of investments; access to credit facilities, security for pastoral families and containment of cattle rustling (toromade, 2019). just like the previous brands of ranching proposals, the ruga settlements project was met with considerable outrage from nigerians, particularly the benue state government and several notable southern and middle belt sociopolitical groups. many of these groups slammed ruga settlement as further confirmation of the president buhari’s plan to islamize the country (toromade, 2019). benue state government publicly denounced ruga settlements after the federal government appeared to ignore its objections and tried to implement the plan in the state, in spite of the renouncement by the federal government that it will not force ruga settlements on any state. furthermore, in spite of the denials by the federal government that ruga was not covered in the national livestock transformation plan (nltp), yet the ruga settlements initiative share significant similarities. just like nltp, ruga promotes ranching as the way forward for cattle rearing in the country. herders that hope to benefit from ruga settlements are expected to be registered with cooperatives for the purpose of the ranching scheme. it is only the cooperatives that will then be able to get rental agreements for land from state governments and also benefit from ranch resources on several terms. these are similar conditions stipulated under the nltp. following the outcry of the people and their accusation that the federal government was bent on using the ruga settlements as an undercover for igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 102 settling the fulani in fulfillment of the islamic agenda that was envisaged by the late sadauna of sokoto, sultan ahmadu bello, coupled with allegation of the president’s penchant of enriching his fulani kinsmen from the national funds through the ruga settlement initiative, the federal government succumbed to these pressures and announced the suspension of the ruga scheme. on the whole, it is not out of place to state that the underlying political and ethnic motives of the nigerian government for setting up its own brand of ranching, which is quite different from the pure objective of raising the product of livestock production and improve performance is the reason for the failure of ranching projects in country. hence, other ethnic groups had resisted the foisting of skewed ranching system which tends to favour or put differently suit the interest of a section of the country over the others. this resistance and rejection of the tainted ranching programmes have ended up leaving the country with the traditional roving herding system of cattle breeding with its manifold incessant lethal violent clashes between the herders and farmers in the some parts of northeast zone, north central zone, south-south and south east zones of nigeria. conclusion the study has been able to critically examine the political intrigues and history of herding and ranching programmes in nigeria. it traced the precolonial, colonial and post-colonial cattle grazing systems, and the motivations of north-south movement of cattle by the fulani herdsmen. the study discovered that in the pre-colonial period, the herdsmen predominantly carried out their open grazing business in the northern part of the country until the advent of colonial administration when the southern and northern protectorates were amalgamated coupled with series of colonial land policies which favoured the free movement of cattle from one part of the country to the other. the policies aimed at ranching were poorly implemented and ineffective thereby giving fillip to the open grazing. this poor ranching policy and lack luster appeal continued with the post-colonial government while migratory open grazing continued on a wider scale over and above ranching. over time, due to climate change, population growth and competition for igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 103 land resources, the southward movement of cattle became pervasive leading to violent clashes between the herdsmen and farmers, which reached its crescendo in the new millennium until it became a security threat to the point of assuming terrorist dimension where villages are torched and sacked with reckless abandon, while the security agencies seemed helpless due to their subtle, covert and overt political, ethnic and religious sentiments over time. thus, under the pretext that it wants to resolve the lingering herdsmenfarmer violent clashes, the federal government surreptitiously decided to introduce the much politicized ranching systems such as cattle colony, national ranching settlements, and finally the botched ruga settlements scheme. these ranching schemes were rejected due to presumed political, economic and religious undertones which favoured the fulani herdsmen over and above farmers and indigenous land owners. it is therefore concluded that for there to be a proper, acceptable and successful ranching system in nigeria, ranching should be run as a commercial enterprise through various incentivization schemes and must not be forced on the people by the federal government. it must not be seen solely as a means of settling the fulani herdsmen on host communities that are not fulani origin due to the volatile political and religious identity question in nigeria. it will be very difficult to settle the fulani in the same communities they have clashed with the host farmers and in some cases communities they had once displaced through violence and rendered homeless as internally displaced people (idps) and refugees in their own land. therefore, the federal government could encourage ranching through support schemes through repayable and revolving loans like any other small and medium scale business and not construct ranches and settlements for the fulani with national wealth given its political and religious undertones. practically speaking, cattle ranching can just be a business of its own that should attract investors even if they have to be incentivized. they should design business plans and provide collaterals to enable them secure loans and they can approach land owners to buy land in any part of the country of their choice as long as the land is available and can be negotiated. that is the way igbo traders go to build their market places all over nigeria – idumota, ladipo, and aspanda in lagos, onitsha main market, kano central market and ariaria market in aba. for example, when market stalls are built by local igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 104 councils or developers, they pay rents or buy up the stalls. thus, to treat cattle ranching differently will be discriminatory against other business groups (traditional or modern). on the whole, given prominence to the fulani herdsmen by using national funds to set up ranches all over the country would rather than solve the herdsmen-farmer conflicts, create new ones in terms of land acquisition and usurpation as well as agitations by other ethnic groups to fund their own trade mark occupation like fishing and farming as that of cattle rearing of the fulani. this, notwithstanding, any attempt to solve the problem from the prism of politics rather than the globally accepted way of handling cattle farming vis-à-vis the intervening factors of people, land, etc, would be counterproductive. it will not work. this is why government should first thoroughly examine all the issues pertaining to ranching in a manner that is devoid of sentiments and emotions, except there is a hidden agenda. there are global best practices pertaining to ranching that should be adhered to for it to be sustainable. otherwise, if government cuts corners to establish ranches by executive fiat, they may not be sustainable. in the united states and south america from where the idea of ranching originated, there are ranches that have been in existence for hundreds of years and still running. there should be thorough feasibility study including impact assessment before setting up any ranch. references abbas, i. m. (2009). no retreat no surrender conflict for survival between fulani cattle herders and farmers in northern nigeria, in european scientific journal, 8(1), 331-349. adamu, m. m. (2007). colonial origins of post-colonial conflicts between cattle rearers and farmers in katsina state, in olayemi, a., fwatshek, s.u. and okpeh, o.o. (eds.) historical perspectives in nigeria’s postcolonial conflicts, nigeria, unimark ltd. akiri, c. (2018). proposal for pilot ranches: reward for criminality? available at https://www.pressreader.com, july 10. (accessed 24/08/19). blench, r. (2017). pastoral conflict and supplying nigeria with meat: how can the paradox be resolved?, cambridge. https://www.pressreader.com/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 105 blench, r. (1994). the expansion and adaption of fulbe pastoralism to subhumid and humid conditions in nigeria, cahiers d'etudes africaines 34, pp.133-135. cisse, s. (1980). sedentarization of nomadic pastoralists and 'pastoralization' of cultivators in mali. in the future of pastoral people: proceedings of a conference held in nairobi, august 4-8, 1980, by the institute of development studies. nairobi: i.d.s., pp.123-144. cossins, n. (1983). production strategies and pastoral man, in pastoral systems research in sub-saharan africa, proceedings of the workshop held at i.l.c.a., addis ababa, ethiopia, august 1983, by the international development research centre (idrc) and i.l.c.a. addis ababa: i.l.c.a., pp.213-231. cruz de carvalho, e. (1971). traditional and modern patterns of cattle-raising in southwestern angola: critical evaluation of change from pastoralism to ranching, paper presented at the 14th annual meeting of africa studies association in denver, november 3-6, 1971 denver: african studies association. dunbar, g. (1970). african ranches ltd, 1914-1931: an ill-fated stockraising enterprise in northern nigeria, occasional paper no.5 department of geography, ahmadu bello university, reprinted from annals of the association of american geographers, 16, (v) march, zaria: ahmadu bello university press, pp.102-123. ellis, j., and d. swift. (1988). stability of african pastoral ecosystems: alternative paradigms and implications of development, journal of range management 14, november pp.450-459. ezeomah, c. (1987).the settlement patterns of nomadic fulbe in nigeria: implications for educational development. cheshire: deanhouse limited. galaty, j. (1980). the maasai group-ranch: politics and development in an african pastoral society, in philip salzman (ed.), when nomads settle, new york: praeger. gefu, j.o. 1992. pastoralist perspectives in nigeria: the fulbe of udubo grazing reserve (vol. 89). nordic africa institute. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 106 goldschmidt, w. (1980). the failure of pastoral economic development program in africa, in the future of pastoral people: proceedings of a conference held in nairobi, august 4-8, 1980, by the institute of development studies. nairobi: i.d.s.,pp.101-117. grandin, b. (1988).wealth and pastoral dairy production: a case study from maasailand, human ecology 16,march. grayzel, j. (1986). libido and development: the importance of emotions in development work, in michael horowitz and t. painter (ed.) anthropology and rural development in west africa: ida monographs in development anthropology, 189, boulder: westview press. ibrahim, a. (2012). linking vision with reality in the implementation of policy framework for pastoralism in nigeria, pastoralism: research, policy and practice 2: 7. iloeje, n. p. (1972). a new geography of west africa, london: longman group limited. ingawa, s. a., tarawali, g and kaufmann, r. (1989). grazing reserves in nigeria: problems, prospects and policy implications. african livestock policy analysis network. network paper no. 22, december. http://www.ilri.org/infoserv/webpub/fulldocs/x5516e/x5516e00.h tm iro, i. (2019). where modernism has failed and traditionalism has thrived: a look at commercial ranching and fulani herding system, washington, d.c., african development foundation, available at gamji.com. kachergis, e. derner, j., roche, l.tate, k., lubell, m., mealor, r., magagna, j. (2013). characterizing wyoming ranching operations: natural resource goals, management practices and information sources, natural resources, 2013, 4, pp.45-54. kajubi, w. s., lewis, l. j., taiwo, c. o. (1974). african encyclopedia, oxford, oxford university press. niamir, m. (1990). community forestry: hunter's decision-making in natural resources management in arid and semi-arid africa. rome: food and agriculture organization of the united nations. ohuabunwa, s. (2018). government funded cattle ranches: doing the right thing in a wrong way, available at igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 107 https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/06/govt-funded-cattle-ranchesright-thing-wrong-way/ (accessed 20/09/19). onyekakeyah, l. (2018). how not to set up cattle ranches, available at https://guardian.ng/opinion/how-not-to-set-up-cattle-ranches/ (accessed 28/09/19). orebe, f. (2018).neither grazing reserves nor ranches: let history be our guide, available at https://thenationonlineng.net/neither-grazingreserves-ranches-let-history-guide-2/ (accessed 20/08/19) orji, s. (2019). nigeria cattle colony problem, available at https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/nigeria-cattle-colonyproblem-180128104645450.html (accessed 25/08/19). oyeleye, o. (2019).establishment of cattle ranches in western nigeria: an immediate imperative, available at https://businessday.ng/agriculture/article/establishment-of-cattleranches-in-western-nigeria-an-immediate-imperative/ (accessed 20/10/19). sandford, s. (1982). management of pastoral development in the third world. new york: john wiley & sons. schneider, h. (1981).the pastoralist development problems, in john galaty, and philip salzman (ed.) change and development in nomadic and pastoral societies, pp. 27-32, netherlands: e. j. brill. stride, g. t. and ifeka, c. (1973). peoples and empires of west africa: west africa in history 1000-1800; lagos: thomas nelson (nigeria) ltd. toromade, s. (2019). ruga:7 things to know about buhari’s controversial settlements, available at https://www.pulse.ng/news/local/ruga-7things-to-know-about-buharis-controversial-settlements/tcjmrt (accessed 22/09/19). www.fao.org (2020).non-traditional production systems, available at http://www.fao.org/3/y4176e/y4176e07.htm (accessed 20/10/19). https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/06/govt-funded-cattle-ranches-right-thing-wrong-way/ https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/06/govt-funded-cattle-ranches-right-thing-wrong-way/ https://guardian.ng/opinion/how-not-to-set-up-cattle-ranches/ https://thenationonlineng.net/neither-grazing-reserves-ranches-let-history-guide-2/ https://thenationonlineng.net/neither-grazing-reserves-ranches-let-history-guide-2/ https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/nigeria-cattle-colony-problem-180128104645450.html https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/nigeria-cattle-colony-problem-180128104645450.html https://businessday.ng/agriculture/article/establishment-of-cattle-ranches-in-western-nigeria-an-immediate-imperative/ https://businessday.ng/agriculture/article/establishment-of-cattle-ranches-in-western-nigeria-an-immediate-imperative/ https://www.pulse.ng/news/local/ruga-7-things-to-know-about-buharis-controversial-settlements/tcjmrt https://www.pulse.ng/news/local/ruga-7-things-to-know-about-buharis-controversial-settlements/tcjmrt http://www.fao.org/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 1 virtue ethics: the pathway to a sustainable moral character francis, terna patrick ahmadu bello university, zaria department of philosophy ternapfrancis@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.12241.35684 abstract every human society develops a set of ethical principles that guide the conducts of its members. in the ancient greek society, various ethical norms were presented; popular among them were deontoloigism and teleologism. however, these two stood at extremes. this prompted aristotle to propose an alternative. greek philosopher aristotle introduced the idea that ethics should focus on how we act, and less on the effects of our actions or the intentions behind them. this study undertook an analysis of the aristotelian virtue ethics. the study was a qualitative work and so adopted the qualitative research design by relying on secondary sources for data collection. thereafter, the expository and comparative evaluative methods were used for data analysis. the study found out that the virtue ethics of aristotle has been conceived and interpreted differently by various philosophers and epochs. it is the conclusion of this paper that aristotle‟s virtue ethics remains timeless even in the contemporary society. its right interpretation and application can improve contemporary society which has almost gone bereft of morality. keywords: virtue ethics, sustainability, morality, character introduction aristotle was a greek philosopher who lived around 350 b.c.e. along with studying philosophy, aristotle was an astronomer, a writer, a biologist, and a geologist. he was a student of plato and is known for his ideas on politics, government, and often most notably, ethics (hursthouse 214). in aristotle's time, most philosophers were focused on one of two dominant types of ethics. one is called deontological ethics, which judges ethics by how well a person follows the laws and rules of society. deontologists would say, '‖it doesn't matter what happens, following the rule is always the right thing to do‖ (murdock 48). the second, teleological ethics, judges ethics based on the outcomes of a person's actions. teleological ethicists would say, ―if what you do leads to something good, you did the right thing‖ (hursthouse 216). there are flaws in both types of thinking, so aristotle introduced a third option. aristotle's perspective on ethics was based on the virtue of being human; in other words, virtue ethics. there are mailto:ternapfrancis@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 2 two important distinctions between aristotle's approach to ethics and the other predominant perspectives at the time. first, aristotle did not consider ethics just a theoretical or philosophical topic to study. to understand ethics, aristotle argued, you actually have to observe how people behave. that led to the second distinction. ethics is not about ―'what if‖ situations for aristotle; instead, he took a very practical approach and much of his ideas on ethics were based on what someone did and how their virtues impacted their actions. the notion of virtue ethics virtue ethics is a broad term for theories that emphasize the role of character and virtue in moral philosophy rather than either doing one‘s duty or acting in order to bring about good consequences. a virtue ethicist is likely to give you this kind of moral advice: ―act as a virtuous person would act in your situation‖ (oakley 114) most virtue ethics theories take their inspiration from aristotle who declared that a virtuous person is someone who has ideal character traits. these traits derive from natural internal tendencies, but need to be nurtured; however, once established, they will become stable. for example, a virtuous person is someone who is kind across many situations over a lifetime because that is her character and not because she wants to maximize utility or gain favors or simply do her duty. unlike deontological and consequentialist theories, theories of virtue ethics do not aim primarily to identify universal principles that can be applied in any moral situation. and virtue ethics theories deal with wider questions — ―how should i live?‖ and ―what is the good life?‖ and ―what are proper family and social values?‖ (williams 91). since its revival in the twentieth century, virtue ethics has been developed in three main directions: eudaimonism, agent-based theories, and the ethics of care. eudaimonism bases virtues in human flourishing, where flourishing is equated with performing one‘s distinctive function well. in the case of humans, aristotle argued that our distinctive function is reasoning, and so the life ―worth living‖ is one which we reason well. an agent-based theory emphasizes that virtues are determined by common-sense intuitions that we as observers judge to be admirable traits in other people. the third branch of virtue ethics, the ethics of care, was proposed predominately by feminist thinkers. it challenges the idea that ethics should focus solely on justice and autonomy; it argues that more feminine traits, such as caring and nurturing, should also be considered. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 3 aristotle‟s virtue ethics aristotle‘s postulations on virtue are encapsulated in his nicomachean ethics. in these writings, he uses logic to determine a definition and the potential impacts of ethics. he starts his presentation of ethics with a simple assumption: humans think and behave in a way to achieve happiness, which aristotle defined as the constant consideration of truth and behavior consistent with that truth (adkins 84). aristotle defines virtue as the average, or 'mean,' between excess and deficiency. basically, he says, the idea of virtue is ―all things in moderation‖ (trianosky 162). humans should enjoy existence, but not be selfish. they should avoid pain and displeasure, but not expect a life completely void of them. by striving to live this virtuous life of moderation, human beings can find happiness and, therefore, be ethical. most importantly, going back to one of the differences between virtue ethics and other theories of ethics, morality or being ethical cannot be achieved abstractly, meaning it cannot only be based on someone's beliefs. ethical behavior requires behavior by individuals in a social environment (adkins 90). aristotle is known for his study of politics and government as well as his ideas on ethics. in many ways, he didn't separate these areas of study. he believed that the role of government and politics was to create a society where individuals could live happy lives and realize their full potential. in that way, the science of politics and governance, from aristotle's perspective, was to allow citizens to be happy by letting them search for their truth and behave in ways consistent with that truth. aristotle claims that ―… for all things that have a function or activity, the good and the ‗well‘ is thought to reside in the function‖ (bk ii, 7b, 215). aristotle‘s claim is essentially that in achieving its function, goal or end, an object achieves its own good. every object has this type of a true function and so every object has a way of achieving goodness. the telos of a chair, for example, may be to provide a seat and a chair is a good chair when it supports the curvature of the human bottom without collapsing under the strain. equally, says aristotle, what makes good sculptors, artists and flautists is the successful and appropriate performance of their functions as sculptors, artists and flautists. this teleological (function and purpose) based worldview is the necessary backdrop to understanding aristotle‘s ethical reasoning. for, just as a chair has a true igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 4 function or end, so aristotle believes human beings have a telos. aristotle identifies what the good for a human being is in virtue of working out what the function of a human being is, as per his function argument: 1. all objects have a telos. 2. an object is good when it properly secures its telos. at this point, aristotle directs his thinking towards human beings specifically. 3. the telos of a human being is to reason. 4. the good for a human being is, therefore, acting in accordance with reason. in working out our true function, aristotle looks to that feature that separates man from other living animals. according to aristotle, what separates mankind from the rest of the world is our ability not only to reason but to act on reasons. thus, just as the function of a chair can be derived from its uniquely differentiating characteristic, so the function of a human being is related to our uniquely differentiating characteristic and we achieve the good when we act in accordance with this true function or telos. aristotle‟s doctrine of the mean blum establishes that the core of aristotle's account of moral virtue is his doctrine of the mean (71). according to this doctrine, moral virtues are desireregulating character traits which are at a mean between more extreme character traits (or vices). for example, in response to the natural emotion of fear, we should develop the virtuous character trait of courage. if we develop an excessive character trait by curbing fear too much, then we are said to be rash, which is a vice. if, on the other extreme, we develop a deficient character trait by curbing fear too little, then we are said to be cowardly, which is also a vice. the virtue of courage, then, lies at the mean between the excessive extreme of rashness, and the deficient extreme of cowardice. aristotle is quick to point out that the virtuous mean is not a strict mathematical mean between two extremes. for example, if eating 100 apples is too many, and eating zero apples is too little, this does not imply that we should eat 50 apples, which is the mathematical mean. instead, the mean is rationally determined, based on the relative merits of the situation. that is, it is ―as a prudent man would determine it‖ (113). he concludes that it is difficult to live the virtuous life primarily because it is often difficult to find the mean between the extremes. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 5 most moral virtues, and not just courage, are to be understood as falling at the mean between two accompanying vices. his list may be represented by the following table: vice of deficiency virtuous mean vice of excess cowardice courage rashness insensibility temperance intemperance illiberality liberality prodigality shamelessness modesty bashfulness callousness just resentment spitefulness throughout the list he insists on the ―autonomy of will‖ as indispensable to virtue: courage for instance is only really worthy of the name when done from a love of honor and duty; munificence again becomes vulgarity when it is not exercised from a love of what is right and beautiful, but for displaying wealth (crisp and slote 77). this aristotelian idea of morality is given by the faculty of moral insight. the truly good person is at the same time a person of perfect insight, and a person of perfect insight is also perfectly good. our idea of the ultimate end of moral action is developed through habitual experience, and this gradually frames itself out of particular perceptions. it is the job of reason to apprehend and organize these particular perceptions. however, moral action is never the result of a mere act of the understanding, nor is it the result of a simple desire which views objects merely as things which produce pain or pleasure. we start with a rational conception of what is advantageous, but this conception is in itself powerless without the natural impulse which will give it strength. the will or purpose implied by morality is thus either reason stimulated to act by desire, or desire guided and controlled by understanding. these factors then motivate the willful action. freedom of the will is a factor with both virtuous choices and vicious choices. actions are involuntary only when another person forces our action, or if we are ignorant of important details in actions. actions are voluntary when the originating cause of action (either virtuous or vicious) lies in ourselves (dent 81). for aristotle, moral weakness of the will results when someone does what is wrong, knowing what is right, and thereby follows his or her desire rather than reason. for him, this condition is not a myth, as socrates supposed it was. the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 6 problem is a matter of conflicting moral principles. moral action may be represented as a syllogism in which a general principle of morality forms the first (i.e. major) premise, while the particular application is the second (i.e. minor) premise (foot 121). the conclusion, though, which is arrived at through speculation, is not always carried out in practice. the moral syllogism is not simply a matter of logic, but involves psychological drives and desires. desires can lead to a minor premise being applied to one rather than another of two major premises existing in the agent's mind. animals, on the other hand, cannot be called weak willed or incontinent since such a conflict of principles is not possible with them. pleasure is not to be identified with good. pleasure is found in the consciousness of free spontaneous action. it is an invisible experience, like vision, and is always present when a perfect organ acts upon a perfect object. pleasures accordingly differ in kind, varying along with the different value of the functions of which they are the expression. they are determined ultimately by the judgment of ―the good person‖ (mcdowell 109). our chief end is the perfect development of our true nature; it thus must be particularly found in the realization of our highest faculty, that is, reason. it is this in fact which constitutes our personality, and we would not be pursuing our own life, but the life of some lower being, if we followed any other aim. self-love accordingly may be said to be the highest law of morals, because while such self-love may be understood as the selfishness which gratifies a person's lower nature, it may also be, and is rightly, the love of that higher and rational nature which constitutes each person's true self. such a life of thought is further recommended as that which is most pleasant, most selfsufficient, most continuous, and most consonant with our purpose. it is also that which is most akin to the life of god: for god cannot be conceived as practising the ordinary moral virtues and must therefore find his happiness in contemplation (hursthouse 59). friendship is an indispensable aid in framing for ourselves the higher moral life; if not itself a virtue, it is at least associated with virtue, and it proves itself of service in almost all conditions of our existence. such results, however, are to be derived not from the worldly friendships of utility or pleasure, but only from those which are founded on virtue. the true friend is in fact a second self, and the true moral value of friendship lies in the fact that the friend presents to us a mirror of good actions, and so intensifies our consciousness and our appreciation of life (rorty 95). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 7 how to develop the virtues the sum of the aristotelian view on how to develop the virtues is ―… we are what we repeatedly do. excellence…is not an act but a habit‖ (nicomachean ethics, bk iii, 3c, 371). it is fairly obvious that we cannot become excellent at something overnight. making progress in any endeavour is always a journey that requires both effort and practice over time. aristotle holds that the same is true for human beings attempting to develop their virtuous character traits in attempt to live the good life. cultivating a virtuous character is something that happens by practice. aristotle compares the development of the skill of virtue to the development of other skills. he says that ―… men become builders by building‖ and ―… we become just by doing just acts‖ (nicomachean ethics, bk iii, 5a, 557). we might know that a brick must go into a particular place but we are good builders only when we know how to place that brick properly. building requires practical skill and not merely intellectual knowledge and the same applies to developing virtuous character traits. ethical characters are developed by practical learning and habitual action and not merely by intellectual teaching. in the end, the virtuous individual will become comfortable in responding to feelings/situations virtuously just as the good builder becomes comfortable responding to the sight of various tools and a set of plans. a skilled builder will not need abstract reflection when it comes to knowing how to build a wall properly, and nor will a skilled cyclist need abstract reflection on how to balance his speed correctly as he goes around a corner. analogously, a person skilled in the virtues will not need abstract reflection when faced with a situation in which friendliness and generosity are possibilities; they will simply know on a more intuitive level how to act. this is not to say that builders, cyclists and virtuous people will not sometimes need to reflect specifically on what to do in abnormal or difficult situations (e.g. moral dilemmas, in the case of ethics) but in normal situations appropriate responses will be natural for those who are properly skilled (engstrom and whiting 217). it is the need to become skilled when developing virtuous character traits that leads aristotle to suggest that becoming virtuous will require a lifetime of work. putting up a single bookshelf does not make you a skilled builder any more than igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 8 a single act of courage makes you a courageous and virtuous person. it is the repetition of skill that determines your status and the development of virtuous characters requires a lifetime of work rather than a single week at a virtue ethics bootcamp. the relevance of aristotle‟s virtue ethics to rebuilding society it is a truism that ―human profession and practices would thrive better if they are fortified with basic general ethical knowledge background of good conduct for the citizens‖ (unah x). moral theories are concerned with right and wrong behavior. this subject area of philosophy is unavoidably tied up with practical concerns about the right behavior. however, virtue ethics changes the kind of question we ask about ethics. where deontology and consequentialism concern themselves with the right action, virtue ethics is concerned with the good life and what kinds of persons we should be. ―what is the right action?‖ is a significantly different question to ask from ―how should i live? what kind of person should i be?‖ where the first type of question deals with specific dilemmas, the second is a question about an entire life. instead of asking what is the right action here and now, virtue ethics asks what kind of person should one be in order to get it right all the time (adkins 173). whereas deontology and consequentialism are based on rules that try to give us the right action, virtue ethics makes central use of the concept of character. the answer to ―how should one live?‖ is that one should live virtuously, that is, have a virtuous character (174). also, aristotelian character is, importantly, about a state of being. it is about having the appropriate inner states. for example, the virtue of kindness involves the right sort of emotions and inner states with respect to our feelings towards others. character is also about doing. aristotelian theory is a theory of action, since having the virtuous inner dispositions will also involve being moved to act in accordance with them. realizing that kindness is the appropriate response to a situation and feeling appropriately kindly disposed will also lead to a corresponding attempt to act kindly (macintyre 166). another positive feature of virtue ethics is that character traits are stable, fixed, and reliable dispositions. if an agent possesses the character trait of kindness, we would expect him or her to act kindly in all sorts of situations, towards all kinds of people, and over a long period of time, even when it is difficult to do so. a person with a certain character can be relied upon to act consistently over a time. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 9 it is important to recognize that moral character develops over a long period of time. people are born with all sorts of natural tendencies. some of these natural tendencies will be positive, such as a placid and friendly nature, and some will be negative, such as an irascible and jealous nature. these natural tendencies can be encouraged and developed or discouraged and thwarted by the influences one is exposed to when growing up. there are a number of factors that may affect one's character development, such as one's parents, teachers, peer group, role-models, the degree of encouragement and attention one receives, and exposure to different situations. our natural tendencies, the raw material we are born with, are shaped and developed through a long and gradual process of education and habituation (169). moral education and development are major aspects of aristotle‘s virtue ethics. moral development, at least in its early stages, relies on the availability of good role models. the virtuous agent acts as a role model and the student of virtue emulates his or her example. initially this is a process of habituating oneself in right action. aristotle advises us to perform just acts because this way we become just. the student of virtue must develop the right habits, so that he tends to perform virtuous acts. virtue is not itself a habit. habituation is merely an aid to the development of virtue, but true virtue requires choice, understanding, and knowledge. the virtuous agent doesn't act justly merely out of an unreflective response, but has come to recognize the value of virtue and why it is the appropriate response. virtue is chosen knowingly for its own sake (dent 107). the development of moral character may take a whole lifetime. but once it is firmly established, one will act consistently, predictably and appropriately in a variety of situations. aristotelian virtue is defined in book ii of the nicomachean ethics as a purposive disposition, lying in a mean and being determined by the right reason. as discussed above, virtue is a settled disposition. it is also a purposive disposition. a virtuous actor chooses virtuous action knowingly and for its own sake. it is not enough to act kindly by accident, unthinkingly, or because everyone else is doing so; you must act kindly because you recognize that this is the right way to behave. note here that although habituation is a tool for character development it is not equivalent to virtue; virtue requires conscious choice and affirmation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 10 finally, virtue is determined by the right reason. virtue requires the right desire and the right reason. to act from the wrong reason is to act viciously. on the other hand, the agent can try to act from the right reason, but fail because he or she has the wrong desire. the virtuous agent acts effortlessly, perceives the right reason, has the harmonious right desire, and has an inner state of virtue that flows smoothly into action. the virtuous agent can act as an exemplar of virtue to others (blum 137). modern resurgence of aristotle‟s virtue ethics: e. anscombe aristotle‘s virtue ethics has continued to make impacts all through the epochs of philosophy. there is in modern times a call for the resurgence of aristotelian value ethics. a typical work in this direction is that by anscombe. in 1958 elisabeth anscombe published a paper titled ―modern moral philosophy‖ that changed the way we think about normative theories. she criticized modern moral philosophy's pre-occupation with a law conception of ethics, which deals exclusively with obligation and duty. among the theories she criticized for their reliance on universally applicable principles were j. s. mill‘s utilitarianism and kant's deontology. these theories rely on rules of morality that were claimed to be applicable to any moral situation (that is, mill's greatest happiness principle and kant's categorical imperative). this approach to ethics relies on universal principles and results in a rigid moral code. further, these rigid rules are based on a notion of obligation that is meaningless in modern, secular society because they make no sense without assuming the existence of a lawgiver, an assumption we no longer make (anscombe 91). in its place, anscombe called for a return to a different way of doing philosophy. taking her inspiration from aristotle, she called for a return to concepts such as character, virtue and flourishing. she also emphasized the importance of the emotions and understanding moral psychology. with the exception of this emphasis on moral psychology, anscombe's recommendations that we place virtue more centrally in our understanding of morality were taken up by a number of philosophers. the resulting body of theories and ideas has come to be known as virtue ethics (oakley 314). anscombe's critical and confrontational approach set the scene for how virtue ethics was to develop in its first few years. the philosophers who took up anscombe's call for a return to virtue saw their task as being to define virtue ethics in terms of what it is not, that is, how it differs from and avoids the mistakes made by the other normative theories (315). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 11 objections to aristotle‟s virtue ethics various scholars have raised objections and critiques to aristotle‘s virtue ethics. scholars like rorty maintain that its theories provide a self-centered conception of ethics because human flourishing is seen as an end in itself and does not sufficiently consider the extent to which our actions affect other people (90). the point of departure here is that morality is supposed to be about other people. it deals with our actions to the extent that they affect other people. moral praise and blame is attributed on the grounds of an evaluation of our behavior towards others and the ways in that we exhibit, or fail to exhibit, a concern for the wellbeing of others. virtue ethics, according to this objection, is self-centered because its primary concern is with the agent's own character. virtue ethics seems to be essentially interested in the acquisition of the virtues as part of the agent's own well-being and flourishing. morality requires us to consider others for their own sake and not because they may benefit us. there seems to be something wrong with aiming to behave compassionately, kindly, and honestly merely because this will make oneself happier (mcdowell 128). related to this objection is a more general objection against the idea that wellbeing is a master value and that all other things are valuable only to the extent that they contribute to it. this line of attack, exemplified in the writings of tim scanlon, objects to the understanding of well-being as a moral notion and sees it more like self-interest. furthermore, well-being does not admit to comparisons with other individuals. thus, well-being cannot play the role that eudaimonists would have it play (dent 117). finally, there is a concern that virtue ethics leaves us hostage to luck. morality is about responsibility and the appropriateness of praise and blame. however, we only praise and blame agents for actions taken under conscious choice. the road to virtue is arduous and many things outside our control can go wrong. just as the right education, habits, influences, examples, etc. can promote the development of virtue, the wrong influencing factors can promote vice. some people will be lucky and receive the help and encouragement they need to attain moral maturity, but others will not. if the development of virtue (and vice) is subject to luck, is it fair to praise the virtuous (and blame the vicious) for something that was outside of their control? further, some accounts of virtue are dependent on the availability of external goods. friendship with other virtuous agents is so central to aristotelian virtue that a life devoid of virtuous friendship igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 12 will be lacking in eudaimonia. however, we have no control over the availability of the right friends. how can we then praise the virtuous and blame the vicious if their development and respective virtue and vice were not under their control? (mcdowell 221). conclusion aristotle‘s virtue ethics initially emerged as a rival account to deontology and consequentialism. it developed from dissatisfaction with the notions of duty and obligation and their central roles in understanding morality. it also grew out of an objection to the use of rigid moral rules and principles and their application to diverse and different moral situations. characteristically, virtue ethics makes a claim about the central role of virtue and character in its understanding of moral life and uses it to answer the questions "how should i live? what kind of person should i be?" thus, while other ethical theories are outcome-based and agentbased, virtue ethics is character-based. it is holistic and could be used to revolutionise the morality of contemporary society. works cited adkins, a.w.h. moral values and political behaviour in ancient greece from homer to the end of the fifth century. london: chatto and windus, 1972. print. anscombe, g.e. m. ―modern moral philosophy‖, philosophy. 33 (1958): 71-84. print. aristotle, the nicomachean ethics, http://sacredtexts.com/cla/ari/nico/index.htm. retrieved 21/12/2019. web. aristotle, the nicomachean ethics. trans. william david ross. oxford: clarendon press, 1908. print. blum, l.w. friendship, altruism and morality. london: macmillan, 1980. print. crisp, r. and m. slote, how should one live? oxford: clarendon press, 1996. print. crisp, r. and slote, m. how should one live? oxford: clarendon press, 1996. print. dent, n.j.h. the psychology of the virtues. g.b.: cambridge university press, 1984. print. engstrom, s. and whiting, j. aristotle, kant and the stoics. usa: cambridge university press, 1996. print. foot, p. natural goodness. oxford: clarendon press, 2001. print. hursthouse, r. on virtue ethics. oxford: oup, 1999. print. http://sacred-texts.com/cla/ari/nico/index.htm.%20retrieved%2021/12/2019 http://sacred-texts.com/cla/ari/nico/index.htm.%20retrieved%2021/12/2019 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 13 hursthouse, rosalind, ‗normative virtue ethics‘, in ethical theory, ed. by russ shafer-landau oxford: blackwell publishing (2007): 701–09. print. macintyre, a. after virtue. london: duckworth, 1985. print. mcdowell, j. ―incontinence and practical wisdom in aristotle‖. lovibond, s. and williams, s.g., essays for david wiggins, aristotelian society series, vol.16. oxford: blackwell, 1996. print. murdoch, i. the sovereignty of good. london: ark, 1985. print. oakley, j. ―varieties of virtue ethics‖. ratio. 9 (1996): 88 – 95. print. rorty, a.o. essays on aristotle's ethics. usa: university of california press, 1980. print. slote, m. from morality to virtue. new york: oup, 1992. print. trianosky, g.v. ―what is virtue ethics all about?‖ statman, d. virtue ethics. cambridge: edinburgh university press, 1997. print. unah, i.j. ―emerging ethical issues in nation building‖ unah, i.j, fasiku, g. african moral character and creative thinking principles. vol. 3. ile-ife: obafemi awolowo university press, 2019. print. williams, b. ethics and the limits of philosophy. london: fontana, 1985. print. ‘igwebuike’ philosophy of science and technology igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 79 ‘igwebuike’ philosophy of science and technology ikechukwu anthony kanu department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university umunya, anambra state ikee_mario@yahoo.com executive summary contrary to the opinion of some scholars which holds that science is independent of particular worldviews in its presuppositions and method, this paper argues that although the presuppositions of science have no worldview content, science may provide evidence that has a bearing on a certain worldview . this dependence on a worldview is what gives science some level of political autonomy; that is, some kind of scientific citizenship in philosophy that gives credence to a form of local knowledge, and thus, gives voice to a group of people. this is very important as science and technology is not just about doing or making by hand; it involves not only human activities, but also the skills of the crafts-man or woman, which does not leave out the art of the human mind that does the manufacturing. it is on this basis that this paper studies igwebuike as the basis for science and technology in africa. igwebuike falls within the parameters of the art of the african mind. it shapes the african thinking as it is the basis of the african logic. at this point, science and technology become a revelation of the igwebuike framework. this piece, therefore, studied how igwebuike impacts on science and technology through its determination of the logic (nka) employed in science and technology. it discovered that the african worldview conceptualized in igwebuike is capable of a science that is anchored on the structure of the african world. for the ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 80 purpose of this study, the igwebuike complementary method of inquiry was employed. keywords: igwebuike, science, technology, pillar, logic, worldview, complementarity introduction scholars like cherry (1965) and okonkwo (2012) observe the importance of a people’s language and worldview in the shaping of their thoughts, including thoughts and developments in the areas of religion, philosophy, science, technology, among others. he writes: the language of a people largely constrains their thoughts. its words, concepts and syntax, out of all the signs that people use, are the most important determinant of what they are free and able to think. it makes their particular epistemology, their special view of the world, and what they notice or do not notice, (p. 73). it is in this regard that fuller (cited in okonkwo, 2012) speaks of a scientific citizenship in philosophy that should be “designed to give credence to a form of local knowledge... to retain a certain level of political autonomy” (p. 73). the implication of this is that every language community has its own science and technology, which should be integrated into what is now known as technology. this, according to okonkwo (2012), would deepen ordinary democratic franchise by giving voice to a group of people. moreover, if science is understood as “an organized, systematic enterprise that gathers knowledge about the world and condenses the knowledge into testable laws and principles” (wilson 1998, p. 58), and in the perspective of afisi (2016) “as the concerted human effort to have a clear understanding of the history of the natural world, and how the natural world works, with observable physical evidence as a basis for that understanding” (p. 59), it then implies that peoples and societies, both local and advanced rational and intellectually open societies, are capable of science, even if it might not be in full accord ‘igwebuike’ philosophy of science and technology igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 81 with what the west has developed as science. beyond the reality of pluralism in the world, science has a social character that makes it part of social and cultural traditions, and it is at this point that we can speak of particular worldviews as characterising different sciences. it is also within this context that igwebuike philosophy of science and technology is discussed. an understanding of technology makes profound the idea of the social character of science and technology. technology is not just about doing or making by hand, it involves the skills of the crafts-man or woman, which involves the art of the human mind. the art of the human mind is shaped by particular worldviews, and, therefore, the source of the influence of the worldview on science and technology. to understand the power of worldview on a particular science and technology, there is the need to go back to the definition of technology. etymologically, it stems from the greek techné, which designates “skill,” “art,” and “craft,” a mode of doing or making. it is in this spirit that plato understood politics as fundamentally belonging to the domain of techné, politics as first and foremost a political skill to be learned, an art or, better yet, a kind of technology of the polis. techné, in the original greek usage, refers to both the skill or power of doing/making and that which is performed, produced, or fabricated—in other words, techné designates both art and artifice. from this perspective, techné (art/artifice) is opposed to physis (nature), most fundamentally in terms of causality. thus, techné implies a mediation by an external agent (reason) to an object in order to bring about change in it, which means that the principle of change is here foreign to the object (nadal 2012). technology is a product and performance of man’s dealings with physis through techné, the bridge is the materialization or actualization of an intended, desired end (jean-luc 2000). thus, heidegger (1977) writes that: “the manufacture and utilization of equipment, tools, and machines, the manufactured and used things themselves, and the [social] needs and ends that they serve, all belong to what technology is” (p. 288). it can be, therefore, said that science and technology only ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 82 become a revelation or the bringing forth of what the art of the mind conceals. it is from the context of the dynamics of ‘the art of man’ and the ‘artifice’ that this work studies igwebuike (which conceptualizes a worldview) as the basis for science and technology in africa. igwebuike falls within the parameters of the art of the african mind. it shapes the african thinking as it is the basis for african logic. from the forgoing, science and technology become a revelation of the igwebuike framework. this piece would, therefore, study how igwebuike impacts on science and technology through its determination of the logic (nka) of the scientific and technological. it argues that the african worldview conceptualized in igwebuike is capable of a science, notwithstanding that it is a predominantly religious worldview. what a worldview provides is the framework capable of responding to several questions at the same time, be it in the area of science, religion, politics, economics, etc. it is in this regard that worldview would be understood as a world of possibilities. worldview as a framework for science/technology gauch (2007) o u t l i n e s seven pillars that define and hold science. these pillars include: 1. realism: it holds that the world is real. if it were not real, then it cannot be studied or analyzed 2. presuppositions: it holds that the world is orderly and comprehensible. if it were not comprehensible, then it wouldn’t be studied by science. 3. evidence: this means that science requires empirical, public evidence for its conclusions. 4. logic: it holds that scientific thinking employs standard logic. 5. limits: it holds that science has limits; it cannot explain everything. 6. universality: this holds that science is open to all people from all cultures; in principle, anybody can engage in scientific activity. ‘igwebuike’ philosophy of science and technology igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 83 7. worldview: this states that science contributes to a meaningful worldview. developing his thesis further, gauch (2007) argues that science is independent of particular worldviews in its presuppositions and method. this notwithstanding, he avers that science can have worldview import. interpreting the position of gauch, irzik and nola (2009) write: we understand this as follows. gauch believes that although the presuppositions of science and scientific method/reasoning have no worldview content, science may provide evidence that has bearing on a certain worldview belief, say p. such evidence can be employed as a premise in an argument. then using scientific reasoning (that includes standard logic), p is reached as a conclusion. gauch seems to think that this is the only way science is relevant to worldview beliefs—if, that is, they can be obtained as the conclusion of an argument that contains evidence as one of its premises. let us call this the argument–argument. (p. 735). reacting to the position of gauch, irzik and nola (2009) argue that science does have worldview content, even in its presuppositions and method. in other words, the scientific method is not worldviewindependent. thus, science, in the quite minimal sense, has worldview content in other respects as well. this content derives from its presuppositions that include its criticizability, logic, the orderliness and the comprehensibility of the world, from its method of inquiry and mode of explanation. of course, science is also relevant to worldviews by also providing empirical evidence and then reaching conclusions that have worldview content. this is not to say that science can answer every worldview question, but it is a rich and powerful source of worldview beliefs. furthermore, by challenging, confronting and conflicting with other worldviews, it forces their defendants to improve upon them. natural theology, for instance, owes as much to ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 84 science as it does to religion (p. 744). this position is based on the fact that the history of science reveals how it emerged from mythological and religious worldviews; using a remarkable episodes in the history of human kind, they made reference to the scientific revolution in the 16th and 17th centuries, which was highly influenced by philosophical and religious beliefs. thus, from the above perspectives, it can be said that science, as a universal enterprise, is independent of worldview; however, in relation to the person who does the science and the influence of his or her background, science can be said to have a worldview. african worldview (logic) and science in africa like the discussion on whether there is an african philosophy or not, there has been a debate on whether there is an african science or not. this section of this paper joins the position of scholars who have argued for an african science, and the basis which this piece provides for the possibility of an african science is the african logic. it is the african logic that shapes what ezeabasili (1977) refers to as the “african account of nature and how it works” (p. xi), or what in the contention of murfin (1992) is africa’s attempt to unfold the truth in nature. the idea of an african attempt to unfold the truth in nature or give an account of the workings of their universe points to the pluralism in science, involving the inquiries of systematic cultures. one of the pillars on which science stands, as seen in the work of gauch (2007), is logic. it is also logic that gives and directs the scientific process and findings. it is at the point of logic which is embedded in the african worldview that the african worldview makes its distinctive impact on science in africa. speaking of african logic, the focus is on the structure of african thought. every culture or people have their own peculiar way of thinking or reasoning, and it is the african pattern of reasoning that has led to an investigation into the african logic. speaking on the diversity of logic, momoh (1989) relates logic to human language which differs from culture to culture: ‘igwebuike’ philosophy of science and technology igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 85 in everyday usage of natural language we talk of a person as being logical if he is reasonable, sensible and intelligent; if he can unemotionally and critically evaluate evidence or a situation; if he can avoid contradictions, inconsistency and incoherence, or if he can hold a point of view argue for and from it, summon counter-examples and answer objections. (p. 174). the adjective ‘african’ attached to the word ‘logic’ speaks of the context or the locus of logicality. it is the application of reason to the world and culture of the african people (kanu, 2017). there are two implications to this: first, it sees logic as a universal phenomenon. this is very important, since logic is a fundamental ingredient of the human person whose thoughts and thinking are organized, analyzed and sustained by some intrinsic structures that make the way for a systematic conception of reality. this being the case, it can be said that logic is thus a necessary element of every culture. there is no culture that does not accommodate a good argument, especially as it concerns their conclusions. whether in africa or in europe or in america or in asia, if the assumption of an argument is true, the conclusion of the argument would always be true. for instance: if njoku is an african philosopher, then njoku is a great african thinker, njoku is an african philosopher, therefore, njoku is a great african thinker if kanu is shorter than emeka, then kanu should be taller than usman kanu is taller than emeka therefore, kanu is taller than usman ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 86 these are arguments that are logical and cannot be accepted in one culture and rejected in another culture. their conclusions are all acceptable as their assumptions are true. thus, the principles of logic are universal principles that could be generally applied to diverse situations, no matter where. they are, thus, topic-neutral and concontingent, in the sense that they do not depend on any accidental features of the world. second, there is the particularity of logic, by which is meant the context in which logic is applied. it speaks of the worldview which differs from one place to another; this bears on the universal application of logic. while logic is universal, it is clear knowledge that the cultural experiences of people are meaningful within the context of an organized language that points to a logical abilityit is a people’s language that communicates their logical world. it is in this regard that kuhn (1962), in his incommensurability theory, speaks of competing paradigms without a common measure, and feyerabend (1981) holds that there does not exist a single scientific method that we can agree on as the “events, procedures and results that constitute the sciences have no common structure” (p. 1). following from the construct of the african ontology which is complementary, african logic in general is complementary and integral in character, accepting the co-existence of opposing realities as complementary. it is based on its capacity for complementarity and openness to co-existence of opposing realities that it is described within the context of igwebuike. igwebuike is the modality of being in african philosophy. it is from the igbo composite word and metaphor igwebuike, a combination of three words. therefore, it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space (2018a). the three words involved are: igwe is a noun which means ‘number’ or ‘population,’ usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is a noun, which means strength or power (kanu, 2018b). thus, put together, it literally means ‘number is ‘igwebuike’ philosophy of science and technology igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 87 strength’ or ‘number is power’. beyond the literal sense, it speaks of otu obi (one mind and one heart), asserting that when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force or strength, and at this level, withstand the probabilities of life. igwebuike is, therefore, an african philosophy of harmonization and complementation. it understands the world immanent realities to be related to one another in the most natural, mutual, harmonious and compatible ways possible (kanu, 2016a&b). thus, ‘to be’ is ‘to be with the other’, in a community of beings (kanu, 2017a). the african worldview, therefore, is ruled by the spirit of complementarity, which seeks the conglomeration, unification, summation of fragmented thoughts, opinions and other individualized and fragmented thoughts and ideas. it understands reality within the context of the whole being greater than the corresponding parts. it is also a view that maintains that by the coming together of the individuals or parts, a viable and sustainable whole will emerge (kanu, 2017b). because igwebuike captures the dialectical character of african thought, it is referred to as african logic. and by dialectics, it is meant a method of philosophical argument that involves some sort of contradictory process between opposing sides. in african logic, there is the reliance on the contradictory process of opposing sides, though in a unique manner. for instance, day is vivified and complemented by night, and good by evil. the adage that “abasi obot mbat, abot udara ikpat,” meaning “the god who creates mud made available something to wash off the mud”, explains this fact of the complementarity of contradictory realities. the two realities – “mud” and “water” – are mutually opposed, but are two sides of the same coin. anyanwu (1981) describes this contradictory dialectics as the “inner curve of reciprocity” (p. 87) that makes african epistemology to avoid the dualism of subjectivism and objectivism. the contradictory dialectics is not negative but affirms the functionality of differences as essential and incomplete dimensions of the whole. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 88 the openness of african science the nri hegemony and its influence on igbo history cannot be overemphasized. thus, madubuko (1994) observes that the story of the igbo, no matter how briefly considered, would be incomplete if one omits the eri-nri contribution. afigbo (1981) shows eri clan as originating from the regions of anambra river, at aguleri; from there they fanned eastward and established various communities. in a discourse of this kind on african science and technology, knowing full well the place that nri myth occupies in igbo history, religion and culture, it would not be out of place to search beyond the surface of the mythology of nri to discover profound ‘senses’ of african science and technology. the myth has it that eri is the father of all nri; and tradition says that he came from chukwu. it is reported that the earth was not firm when he came to the world. to solve the problem of flood, he employed blacksmiths from awka to use their bellows to dry the flooded land (uzukwu, 1988). that eri, the father of all nri who came from chukwu, needed blacksmiths from awka to use their bellows to dry the earth already shows the dialogue between philosophy, religion and science. in spite of the fact that chukwu, with all his wisdom and knowledge, would allow for his son to employ the help of these traditional scientists and technologists, the fact is established that science and technology are also part of his divine arrangement for the human person achieving his purpose in life, and thus, does not contradict the divine purpose, if employed in proper perspective. within the context of igwebuike philosophy of science, in spite of the fact that philosophy religion and science deal with different aspects of human life and the existence of the universe, these areas of study achieve their full potentials only when they collaborate with other areas of study. this notwithstanding, there are two major implications that can be drawn from this myth in relation to the african concept of science. ‘igwebuike’ philosophy of science and technology igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 89 1. science as an independent dependent worldview there is a seeming categorization of worldviews into different types. freud (1933) categorized worldview into religious or philosophical and rational or scientific worldviews and understands the categories are completely independent from each other. irzik and nola (2009) made categorization of worldviews into religious, philosophical, political, cultural, scientific, etc. these categorizations are done in a manner that poses that these worldviews are antagonistic to one another. obviously, science is a special cognitive activity aimed at objective and systematic knowledge about reality, different from religion which is based on faith or mystical experience, and also different from philosophy which studies the fundamental characteristics and principles of reality. in spite of their uniqueness as areas of study with different interests, there is always a meeting point, where an aspect of one influences or flows from the other. the categorization of religious worldview that is differentiated from others on the basis of the predominance of the belief in a universal spirit: god, deity or divine entity, in which the divine entity has established a moral order which is known to human beings, and human beings have a moral duty to obey it as it has future consequences in relation to life after death, with a comprehensive perception of the world. under this categorization, you find the mythological worldview, especially when it uses myths, folklore or legends believed to be supernatural and true for the interpretation of nature, universe, events and humanity. the distinction between religious and mythological worldviews, not withstanding, a mythological worldview can also be a religious worldview. nonreligious worldviews also include the philosophical worldview, which uses logical reasoning, mathematics and speculation to interpret and provide answers to fundamental questions about reality. the third is the scientific worldview, which uses the premises and findings of science in explaining the meaning of life, morality, creation, etc. although it is more exact and authentic, it does not provide meaning to existence as it is limited to the material realm. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 90 the researcher’s argument is that a scientific worldview can still have elements of religious beliefs. the fact that a person is a scientist does not necessarily mean that the person ceases to have a religion. one can be a christian or a muslim and still be a scientist. more so, science can still emerge from a worldview that is dominated by religious perspectives. this is very important because the african worldview is highly considered to be a religious worldview. if understood purely as a religious worldview, then it would be incapable of science and technology. and yet science emerges from the african worldview. it is on this basis that the researcher argues that worldviews are not independent but dependent. science itself is not an independent field of human inquiry as it requires other perspectives in the search for the meaning of life. it is, therefore, understood as an independent dependent worldview. this explains why eri, the son of chukwu, in spite of his rich religious and philosophical background, implored the help of awka traditional scientists; in this, he showed that science complements philosophy and religion, and vice versa. 2. the human person is central to science what compelled heidegger to write on technology lies in his observation that “everywhere, man remains un-free and chained to technology”(p.287), a situation in which the more technology advances, the more it “threatens to slip from human control” (p. 289). this adversely has affected the ordering of the world in fact, disordering the world. as a result, a questioning of technology became necessary and urgent for heidegger. balancing his critique of technology further, heidegger (1966) thinks that there is the possibility of the use of technology in such a way that it would further the being of man: we can use technical devices, and yet with the proper use also keep ourselves so free of them, that we may let go of them at any time.... we can affirm the unavoidable use of technical devices, and also deny them the right to dominate us, and so to warp, confuse, and lay waste our nature.... i would call this comportment toward technology which expresses “yes” and at ‘igwebuike’ philosophy of science and technology igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 91 the same time “no,” by an old word, releasement toward things (p. 54). from the myth of nri, when eri called the blacksmith to come and help him move the water away with their scientific and technological expertise, the myth only resounds that science and technology is relevant only to the extent that it helps the human person to advance and preserve his life. this is based on the fact that the igwebuike worldview is anthropocentric. man is at the centre of the universe. mbiti (1970) asserts that “man is at the very centre of existence and african people see everything else in its relation to this central position of man… it is as if god exists for the sake of man” (p. 92). corroborating mbiti’s assertion, metuh (1991), avers that “everything else in african worldview seems to get its bearing and significance from the position, meaning and end of man” (p. 109). the idea of god, divinities, ancestors, rituals, sacrifices etc., is only useful to the extent that they serve the needs of the human person. science is, therefore, meant for man and not man for science and technology. heidegger’s argument against modern technology is that it looks at realities that do not conform to the standard of calculability and utility with suspicion, and addresses such as mere myth or superstition (adorno and horkheimer, 2002). heidegger (1977) describes this as a challenge that “puts to nature an unreasonable demand that it supply energy, which can [then] be extracted and stored” (p. 296). the work of the peasant does not challenge the soil of the field. in the sowing of the grain it places the seed in the keeping of the forces of growth and watches over its increase. but meanwhile even the cultivation of the field has come under the grip of another kind of setting-in-order, which sets upon nature. it sets upon it in the sense of challenging it. agriculture is now the mechanised food industry. air is now set upon to yield nitrogen, the earth to yield ore, ore to yield uranium, for example; uranium is set upon to yield atomic energy, which can be released either for destruction or for peaceful use (p. 15). ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 92 he argues that modern technology ‘enframes’ nature only to capture it; that is, it sees nature merely as a valuable material resource to be extracted, expropriated, and used-up for whatever man desires or wills of it. under conditions of modern technology, “the earth,” as heidegger (1977) notes, “reveals itself as [only] a coal mining district, [its] soil as a mineral deposit” (p. 296). he believes that modern technology sees the world as an energy resource, a thing to be used, what he describes as a “standing-reserve” (p. 309). taking from the african complementary perspective of reality, nature is not just as a thing to be exploited; nature is part of a whole to which we belong as human beings. the exploitation of nature by science and technology is the exploitation of oneself because one belongs to nature as one is a part of nature. thus, to treat nature with respect is to treat oneself with respect, and to treat nature without respect is to treat oneself without consideration and respect. more so, science and technology is meant to advance the freedom and humanity of the human person, and not to bring about human slavery. conclusion ozumba (2004) observes that every society has its own stock of epistemological thoughts, methods and worldviews. this assertion is fundamental to epistemology as the quest for knowledge is part of human nature; and thus, it is the prerogative of every culture or tradition. like every other people, the african has his/her own method or means of acquiring knowledge, which is based on what bacon (1952) calls the alphabets or forms of the world around him/her . nature consists of alphabets or forms, and the discovery of these alphabets or forms of nature helps us to understand the multifarious complexities of the universe in which we live. beneath the surface, igwebuike philosophy of science understands science and technology as a collective achievement of the ‘art of the human mind’ and the ‘artifice’ involved with the purpose of generating a new order upon nature. the understanding of the dynamics of the alphabets or forms of nature involved in the process equips us better in the transformation ‘igwebuike’ philosophy of science and technology igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 93 of bodies, as these forms (the art of the mind and the artifice) are the determinants of the fundamental structure of the world. a basic form or alphabet within the parameters of science and technology is the ‘art of the mind’ which flows from the worldview of the scientist and the technologist. it is from the worldview that the artifice of the scientist or technologist emerges (that is, the pragmatic side of science and technology). the artifice, therefore, reveals the art of the mind. it is on the basis of the discovery of these forms that the discourse on igwebuike philosophy of science and technology is possible. the understanding of the nature of the forms involved in science and technology in africa would help us understand the secret motions in the scientific and technological enterprise in africa. in this, we see science and technology in partnership with nature to provide human needs in an environment in which they must survive by sustaining the existential grid in a cooperative fashion. in discovering the forms of nature and the utilization of these forms for the betterment of human life, igwebuike philosophy of science understands this pursuit or enterprise as a collaborative effort tailored towards the needs of the human person in a challenging universe. since it is a collaborative effort, igwebuike philosophy of science and technology does not in any way see science and technology as independent fields of human inquiry, but in a spirit of complementarity with other fields of human inquiry work towards the achievement of a balanced solution to human needs or problems. this is the complementarity that produces a scientific citizenship in philosophy, which gives credence to a form of local knowledge. it is only within this context that we are able to speak of an igwebuike philosophy of science and technology. references afigbo, e. a. (1975). towards a history of the igbo-speaking people of nigeria. in ogbalu, f. c. and emenanjo, e. n. (eds.). igbo language and culture (pp. 11-27). ibadan: heineman. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 94 anyanwu, k. c. (1981). pre-suppositions of african socialism. the nigerian journal of philosophy. 1.2. asouzu, i. (2011). ibuanyidanda and the philosophy of essence. calabar: university press. cherry, c. (1975). on human communication. cambridge mass: mit press freud, sigmund (1933). new introductory lectures on psychoanalysis. se, 22: 1-182. gauch, h. g. (2007). science, worldviews and education. science and education. vol. 18. 729-745. heidegger m. (1966). discourse on thinking. trans. john m. anderson and e. hans freud. new york: harper and row. heidegger m. (1977). the question concerning technology. trans. william lovitt, basic writings. new york: harper and row. irzik, g. and nola, r. (2009). worldviews and their relation to science. science and education. vol. 18. 729-745. jean-luc n. (2000). being singular plural. trans. robert d. richardson and anne o’byrne. stanford: stanford university press. kanu i. a. (2017). igwebuikeconomics: towards an inclusive economy for economic development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 6. 113140. kanu i. a. (2017). sources of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. 9. 1. pp. 1-23. kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. kanu, a. i. (2016b). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 1-7. kanu, i. a. (2014). igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholic-pentecostal relations. jos studies. 22. pp.8798. ‘igwebuike’ philosophy of science and technology igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 95 kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2014a). igbo proverbs as depositum of igbo-african philosophy. international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 4. no. 1. pp. 164-168. kanu, i. a. (2014a). suicide in igbo-african ontology. developing countries studies. vol. 4. no. 5. usa. pp. 27-38. kanu, i. a. (2014b). suffering in igbo-african ontology. research on humanities and social sciences. vol. 4. no. 5. pp. 8-13. kanu, i. a. (2014b). the place of igbo myths in igbo-african philosophy. american journal of contemporary research. vol. 4. no. 2. pp. 98-102. kanu, i. a. (2015). african traditional democracy with particular reference to the yoruba and igbo political systems. international journal of philosophy and public affairs. vol. 2. no. 3. pp. 147-160. kanu, i. a. (2015). personal identity and punishment in john locke (a dissertation for the award of master of arts degree in philosophymetaphysics), university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu state. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 96 kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (ed.) (2016a). complementary ontology: provocative essays on innocent asouzu’s african philosophy of integration for progressive transformation. germany: lambert academic publishing. kanu, i. a. (ed.) (2016b). ibuanyidanda: a complementary systematic inquiry. reflections on innocent asouzu’s african philosophy. germany: lambert academic publishing. kanu, i. a. (2016). igbo-african christology: a cultural christological construct in post-missionary africa. germany: lambert publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). african traditional folk songs as dialogue between education and entertainment. cambridge international journal of contemporary education research. 6. 6. pp. 53-64. madubuko, l. (1994). igbo world-view. bigard theological studies. 14, 2. 13. mbiti, j. (1970). african religions and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational publishers. metuh, i. e. (1991). african religions in western conceptual schemes. jos: imico momoh, c. s. (ed.) (1989). the substance of african philosophy. auchi: african philosophy projects publications. okonkwo j. i. (2012). okwu danahu onu: the basic principle of igbo philosophy of language. inaugural lecture, imo state university, serial no. 6. owerri: imo state university press. ozumba, g. o. (2001). a concise introduction to epistemology. calabar: ebeneger printing press. nadal, p. (2010). heidegger’s critique of modern technology: on “the question concerning technology”. retrieved 27/4/17 from https://belate.wordpress.com/2010/07/12/heideggermodern-technology. ‘igwebuike’ philosophy of science and technology igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 97 theodore adorno and max horkheimer (2002). dialectic of enlightenment. stanford: stanford university press. uzukwu, e. e. (1988). nri myth of origin and its ritualization: an essay in interpretation. in e. e. uzukwu (ed.). religions and african culture, inculturation: a nigeria perspective (pp. 56-80). enugu: spiritan publications. afisi, o. t. (2016). is african science true science: reflections on the methods of african science. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion. vol. 5. no. 1. pp. 59-75 wilson e. (1998). consilience: the unity of knowledge. knopf: new york ezeabasili, n. (1977). african science: myth or reality. vantage press: new york. murfin, b. (1992). african science, african and african-american scientists and the school science curriculum. a paper presented at the nsta national convention, boston, massachusetts on 26 th march. kuhn, t. (1962). the structure of scientific revolutions. university of chicago press: chicago. feyerabend, p. (1981). against method. verso of new left books: new york. igwebuike, individual freedom and responsibility in african ethics igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 157 igwebuike, individual freedom and responsibility in african ethics jude i. onebunne, phd department of philosophy nnamdi azikiwe university, awka juno.anyi@gmail.com & mirian n. alike, phd department of philosophy nnamdi azikiwe university, awka mirianngozialike@gmail.com executive summary the concept of igwebuike as a philosophy of inclusive action in unity still respects the individual person in the african world view. igwebuike is possible when the individuals congregate, defined by a common interest as a goal. the individuals, therefore, make up the igwe (populace, unison, people) that exercises or has the enormous ike (strength). hence, igwe is ike. by and large, the morality or the ethical demand of the individual is not lost amidst the population or in the igwe, with regard to the exercise of ike; rather, the individual is responsible for every action within the igwe, and the igwe, via individual actions, has a cooperate responsibility to bear and as such there is an individual responsibility in igwebuike as regards african ethics. the act of belonging within the african community entails a duty within the limits of the communal ethics. applying the method of critical analysis, this paper explores and finds out that the communalistic relationship between igwebuike and the individual person is within the bounds of african ethics. jude i. onebunne, phd & mirian n. alike, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 158 keywords: igwebuike, individual person, kanu ikechukwu anthony, freedom, responsibility, african ethics introduction this work proposes igwebuike as the key in understanding african philosophy and, by implication, african ethics as its main branch. igwebuike is a relational concept that defines a communal action in the african world view. man, the individual human person, is always, to a great extent, the product of his environment, that is, the community known for communion and other forms of human interactions. the community must be understood as being one and the same with the society, environment or group of people, though with differential nuances. however, maritain (1951:2) maintains that “a community is more of a work of nature and more nearly related to the biological; a society is more of a work of reason, and more nearly related to the intellectual and spiritual properties of a man”. in both senses, however, community is synonymously interchanged with the state. the human person interplays out his life within the community as an individual within a group. in this sense, it is applicable to say that, no individual, no community; that is, if there is no individual person, there is no group formation as a result of the aggregate of individual persons. this is the hallmark of igwebuike. igwebuike, as an african relational concept, is the modality of being in african metaphysics. it is an igbo concept, which is a combination of three words. therefore, as kanu (2017:23) explains, it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some form of spatial independence. according to kanu, igwebuike is anchored on the african world view. kanu (2017:23), the apostle of igwebuike, defines it as “the expressive modality of being in igbo ontology”. for him, igwebuike, which, according to asouzu (2007:11) is literally strength in togetherness, is the locus of meeting of beings in igbo communalist metaphysics, with special reference to existentialism and leadership. onebunne (2020), in igwebuike, individual freedom and responsibility in african ethics igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 159 a paper titled belongingness as igwebuike and african philosophy: a critical relationship (unpublished), sees a crucial but necessary relationship between igwebuike and belongingness. in developing the fundamental character of being as belongingness, however, iroegbu (1996:45) initially defines belongingness as a definitive principle in african communalism. he used belongingness as a principle of membership applied to a given community. this membership is not a mere identification, but a kind of belonging that is security-assured. in this understanding, belongingness implies the basic commonness that makes a community a community, and in our context, it is what makes a given african community as such. this feeling of belonging is a basic need and a unique term in the dynamics of living and existence. hence, iroegbu (1995:19) asserts that “belongingness makes sure that all belong and none is marginalized, both contributively (duties and responsibilities) and distributively (sharing of communal cake)”. this is the locus of igwebuike at play. one does not necessarily belong. one is ever conscious of where one is putting up or belonging. continuing, one can therefore appreciate belongingness as igwebuike; hence, they are being characterized by a common origin, common worldview, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny. the communalindividuality of the african life is expressed in the igbo-african proverb: ngwere ghara ukwu osisi, aka akparaya (if a lizard stays off from the foot of a tree, it would be caught); otu osisi anaghi emebe ohia (a tree does not make a forest); gidigidi bu ugwueze (the dignity of a king is the number of his supportive followers); mmetuko ahu bu utondu (the beauty of life is in mixing up with others). mbiti (1970:108) has classically proverbialized the community by determining role of the individual when he wrote, i am because we are and since we are, therefore i am. this would mean that the confidence of being is because others are in being. the existence of others assures me of their solidarity and complementarity without which i cannot be. achebe (1958:133) brings the essential nature of the igbo-african communal relationship to a higher and more fundamental focus when he wrote: jude i. onebunne, phd & mirian n. alike, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 160 a man who calls his kinsmen to a feast does not do so to save them from starving. they all have food in their own homes. when we gather together in the moonlight village ground it is not because of the moon. everyman can see it in his own compound. we come together because it is good for kinsmen to do so. the community in question is ever guided by principles which, of course, are the hallmark of personal actions of the individual persons. hence, the individual person in igwebuike has a defined responsibility within a defined group that opts for it. such is the thrust of african ethics, guiding the operations of igwebuike in a communal state. the full understanding of this kind of relationship is properly expressed in the meaning of community and or a state, as already referred to above as communal state. maritain (1951:2), however, maintains that “both community and society are ethico-social and truly human, not mere biological realities”. as a consequence, therefore, if they are truly human and more real africans, they need a moral principle and should be under moral obligation as well as have a practice of african value system as the cardinal points of african ethics. these cardinal practices are regarded as african way of life, at least, in pristine and still in modern african societies and groups. such cardinal acts are more of communalistic in nature. this understanding underlines the key characteristics of a human communal state, namely: mutual participation, social relationship, fellowship and equal sharing of certain fundamental rights, origin (root), good or orientation in the community. it entails sharing a defined locality and communality, which are often expressed in the concept of a nation as people from the same root, natus. many will refer to this form of communal nature as mere communalism as such. according to ekennia (1998: 348), the idea of communalism expressed in a communal state ‘’refers to social relationship, fellowship, socialites, organized society. it invokes obligingness”. in our popular parlance and understanding, it invokes belongingness. belongingness has been identified as an ontological igwebuike, individual freedom and responsibility in african ethics igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 161 abstract term that specifies that a human person is because he belongs within the communal state. a human person, as the primary subject of african ethics, displays and defines himself more in belongingness. belongingness, in this understanding, is the propulsive move of a human person to perfect himself so as to operate within an environment, a kind of communal state. onebunne (2019a:2) expatiates on this idea of belongingness, thus: belongingness is a fundamental quality in understanding being. no being can be understood in terms of its completeness but in its relation to other beings, defining itself through other beings. every being is defined by a relation, that is, a being is in relation to something, or with an attribute of engaging in something. and this fact of beingness, which is a form of relation, is a form of belonging to, belonging with, and belonging in. relation, therefore, becomes a kind of state by which being realizes itself among others and others within it. belongingness, to this extent, concretizes one in existence in relation to others within the spatial temporality like the communal state. the communal state in question is understood as a nexus of inter-relational relationship for human actions and interactions, that is, existence in the broadest perception. igwebuike, nevertheless, becomes a practical expression of communal interaction and responsibility in this communal state, since it is the basis for a communal life that demands a just ordered and well-organized society as african ethics demands and opines. concept of igwebuike igwebuike is the action of human beings as an entity. it is the modality of human beings. in our context, and as a concept, igwebuike is the african mode of human beings’ style of belonging in african communalistic metaphysics and socio-political philosophy. therefore, it is the actus humanus of a being to belong within a communal jude i. onebunne, phd & mirian n. alike, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 162 setting. it is the mode of any and every reality as such in african philosophy. kanu (2017:1) was clear in placing igwebuike at the hub of african philosophical enterprise on which many african institutions and societal interactions are built. it is, therefore, the background to meaningful communal interaction and significant existence. hence, there are values of igwebuike, for kanu, a. they are in its complementary character, solidarity form, unitary nature and concordance style. igwebuike is an igbo word, which is a combination of three words. therefore, it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. the three words involved: igwe is a noun, which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power. thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’. it was employed by igbo traditional philosophers as a theory based on an illustrative statement to teach that when human beings come together in solidarity and complementary relationship, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force to express their world of relationship, harmony, continuality and balance. at this level, no task is beyond their collective capability. this provides an ontological horizon that presents human beings as that which possess relational character of mutual interest. as an ideology, igwebuike argues that to be is to live in solidarity and harmony, and to live outside the parameters of complementary solidarity is to suffer alienation. to be is to be with the other, in a community of human beings. this is based on the african sense of community, which is the underlying principle and unity of african philosophy. igwebuike philosophy is, therefore, sourced from the proper and professional but critical interpretation of the african world view and praxis, with regard to their thoughts and culture mostly embedded in the african orature. this, to a large extent, has to do with the african myths, folklore, symbols, proverb and songs. igwebuike, individual freedom and responsibility in african ethics igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 163 person the concept of person, with its root in latin as persona and in greek as prosopon meaning mask or disguising, explains concretely the human being, often the man. sacred scripture was apt to acknowledge that man, a living thing, is a creature of god with body and soul, made in the image and likeness of god (cf. gen. 1 26 ff). man was created by the immediate hand of god, and is generically different from all other creatures. his complex nature is composed of two elements, two distinct substances, viz: body and soul. the scriptures, nevertheless, appreciate man based on the hebrew word 'adam, used as the proper name of the first man. hence, the first man was called adam because he was formed from the red earth (cf. gen.1-8). the name is derived from a word meaning to be red. it is also the generic name of the human race. its equivalents are the latin homo and the greek anthropos. the hebrew 'ish’ denotes also man in opposition to woman, h’isha. equally, human evolution has it that human beings have common ancestorship with the apes, the chimpanzees, as characterized by a number of morphological, developmental, physiological constituents and behavioural changes unto the moment of homo erectus, irrespective of the discovery of the much-lauded missing link of man’s ancestry. it was charles darwin’s 1958 publication on the origin of species which, according to bowden (1991: x), “provided evidence to show how the very diverse animals now existing had evolved from earlier primitive life over a long period of time”. this is the beginning of the great controversial theory of human evolution, which is the evolutionary process that led to the emergence of anatomically modern humans, beginning with the evolutionary history of primates—in particular, genus homo—and leading to the emergence of homo sapiens as a distinct species of the hominid family, the great apes. amidst these theories of human evolution, pierre teihard de chardin’s hominization, in line with the becoming of man, along with the crossing the threshold of reflection, culminating in his omega point, is against the mere physical science that man is not uniquely man but ape-man. according to lewis (1969:3), “scientists generally accept the fact that human beings jude i. onebunne, phd & mirian n. alike, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 164 evolved from ape-like ancestors”. scientific human evolution based on evidence from comparative anatomy, paleontology and embryology and as a result of mutation, adaptation and natural selection acknowledges man as human person, that is homo sapiens, homo faber, homo loquens, and a homo cogitans. all these definitional concepts differentially define the human person as a rational animal than an animal with instinctual nature. in the words of mondin (1985:243), “historically the word person marks the line of demarcation between pagan and christian culture…until the advent of christianity, there did not exist, either in greek or in latin, a word to express the concept of a person, because in pagan culture such a concept did not exist, these cultures did not recognize the absolute value of the individual as such, and made their absolute value depend essentially on class rank, wealth and race.” mondin (1985: 256) continuing, gave an authoritative definition of a person, thus, “the person can be defined as a subsistent gifted with self-consciousness, communication and self transcendence.” isaka seme was one of the first western-educated africans to challenge the european colonialism and malevolent explorations then sweeping across the continental africa. in 1906, however, he addressed the royal african society in london. below is the excerpt from his speech titled regeneration of africa: man, the crowning achievement of nature, defies analysis. he is a mystery through all ages and for all time. the races of mankind are composed of free and unique individuals. an attempt to compare them on the basis of equality can never be finally satisfactory. each is self. the speech was an epoch-making event that woke up the europeans to the fact that africans are human beings as a result of their human personhood. their personality gives them the title of a human person with defined rights and responsibility. he reminded them that the years of slavery, yokes of dehumanization of africans as mere object and plundering of africa are over. africa, therefore, must be regenerated igwebuike, individual freedom and responsibility in african ethics igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 165 as they have degenerated it. the starting of course is the recognition that the races of mankind are composed of free and unique individuals as african persons as such. african person african persons are people who are native to africa, descendants of natives of africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of africa. this person in question enjoys the quality of a human person and, added to that, the singular privilege of being culture-bound. africanity, therefore, becomes another defining character and peculiar value amidst other continents and comity of nations in the new world order. an african person is a human person with african weltanschauung as a basic background. continental africa has lot of possibilities, in spite of the rare privilege of africa being the cradle of ancient civilization and mother of civilization of all civilizations. as oguejiofor (2001:24) puts it : “the african continent was also host to ancient civilizations such as egypt, kush, napata and meroe, nubia and axum. when these had had their days, the continent kept pace with the rest of the world”. the contemporary and renewed continuation of the scramble for africa, after the much-lauded independence and end to open slavery, leaves every good-thinking man with a lot of questions, with regard to africa’s coming of age to be (amidst the inherent racism and resurgence of white supremacy). the beauty of africa, as plo mulumba would alert, makes africa still attractive to the west and the rest of the world. this attractiveness is very much seen and exceptionally dependent both on the human and natural resources within the african continent. explaining further, plo mulumba said: when i look at africa and see how attractive she is, one word comes to mind globalization. when they talk about globalization, they talk about it as if it were new. africans were once globalized as a commodity in the slave market, we were sold everywhere in the world, that was globalization. jude i. onebunne, phd & mirian n. alike, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 166 then we were globalized again through colonization. then, again, through neo-colonization. now we are being globalised again in the context of opening our markets: it was julius nyerere who in many of his enlightened moments said, "we should open our markets in the name of globalization and they say that the rules are the same." "i laugh," he said. then he went on to say, "it's like a boxing match, the rules are the same but you don't put a heavyweight boxer with a lightweight boxer in the same ring and say the rules are the same, it's murder. the african person, therefore, is appreciated more from the context that human beings are the centre of all reality, based on the fact that human life, from the ethical point of view, is of primary value. mondin (1985:25) puts it thus: “of all the forms of human action, the most elementary and fundamental one, and the one which at the same time emerges as the most complex and rich with content, is life.” human life, not animal life, nor plant life, therefore, places the human person as the locus of creation and created things. this is why human life is a primary value. it is the value of all values, and without it, no other value is valuable. human life, therefore, vivifies the human person and as a consequence the african person. as iroegbu (1994:136) rightly puts it, “there is in african anthropology an anthropocentricism that is nonetheless a humanism and an integralism.” an african person, therefore, has a holistic personality that is very dynamic and exceedingly unique, in line with the shakespearean (hamlet, act ii, scene ii) descriptive exaltation of man, thus: what a piece of work is man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals! igwebuike, individual freedom and responsibility in african ethics igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 167 the african person, therefore, is fundamentally culture-bound and communally understood and appreciated. this is the background knowledge of a person through the sense of extended family system and super hunger for human interaction. the african person of the 21 st century unfortunately must once again be liberated from the shackles of structural imperialism, racial discrimination and white supremacy. back then in 1906, isaka seme daringly spoke boldly fearless, thus: by this term regeneration i wish to be understood to mean the entrance into a new life, embracing the diverse phases of a higher, complex existence. the basic factor which assures their regeneration resides in the awakened race consciousness. this gives them a clear perception of their elemental needs and of their underdeveloped powers. it therefore must lead them to the attainment of that higher and advanced standard of life. concluding, isaka seme was vehement in addressing the issue of reviving africa from all forms of mis-educated and misguided ideas imported into africa. he was blunt against the carting away of what they branded blackishly evil and despicably demonized. a civilization they wickedly denounced, yet they cherished to covertly import and appropriate them. seme, however, concluded thus: the regeneration of africa means that a new and unique civilization is soon to be added to the world. the african is not a proletarian in the world of science and art: he has precious creations of his own—of ivory; of copper and of gold; of fine, plaited willow-ware; and weapons of superior workmanship. civilization resembles an organic being in its development—it is born, it perishes, and it can propagate itself. more particularly, it resembles a plant; it takes root in the teeming earth, and when the seeds fall in other soils, new varieties jude i. onebunne, phd & mirian n. alike, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 168 sprout up. the most essential departure of this new civilization is that it shall be thoroughly spiritual and humanistic-indeed, a regeneration moral and eternal. freedom and responsibility rousseau’s renowned phrase, in his social contract, is that man is born free, but he is everywhere in chains. with this form of chained freedom, he asserts his exalted idea of the contemporary nature of humanity. this chained freedom, nevertheless, suppresses the basic expression of freedom that is our birthright and is absolute against every natural instinct that is mere animalistic, and for this reason, man enters into civil society with every duty and responsibility. it is, therefore, freedom in responsibility. it is freedom that is accounted for and such is a responsible freedom. it has to do with the ability to respond as need be in the cause of exercising free actions. you are free to the extent you can account for it. this is responsibility. it is freedom in responsibility. freedom to this extent is duty-bound. in this is basic understanding that man is free but everywhere in chains, according to j. p. sartre. man is free as long as his freedom respects others’ free acts. man is free within boundaries. this is a limited freedom. this is the fundamental idea behind freedom to and freedom from. the concept of freedom is from the latin word, libertas, and the greek word, eleutheria, both of which indicate a condition of independence, a kind of autonomy, a form of self-determination. freedom is the liberty, license or ability to do something. it is a rational concept reflecting an inalienable human right to realize one's human will in form of freedom to and freedom from. freedom, according to online webster’s dictionary, is the quality or state of being free: such as (a) : the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action, (b) : liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another : independence, (c) : the quality or state of being exempt or released usually from something onerous. igwebuike, individual freedom and responsibility in african ethics igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 169 the word, freedom, therefore, stands for something greater than just the right to act in whichever way one wishes to act. it also stands for securing to everyone an equal opportunity to life, emancipation, and the pursuit of happiness. freedom is a term which is synonymous with liberty. it has been a point of deliberation among various epochs of philosophy in both ethical and political circles. a man is said to be free to the extent that he can choose his goals or the course of his conduct, without being compelled to act as he would not himself choose to act. it is the absence of the imposition of one’s will by any other authority or power. karl jasper is reputed for his philosophy of freedom which he considers not free but gained. according to jasper (1959: 32), “freedom is not absolute; it is always bound at the same time. i do not have it, i gain it.” the exercise of freedom in real practice, at the long, necessitates a kind of limit to what an individual does in a community. the whole idea is about the place of african ethics in a community. african ethics ethics, western ethics to be precise, deals with the moral value of human actions and decency of human behaviour against all forms of animality. the human actions and behaviour, by this understanding, must be accounted for as long as one confronts confusing but decisive moments in living out his daily experience on what is right or bad and what ought to be done or not. from this ethical appreciation, one moves unto traditional african ethics. traditional ethics has to do with norms, precepts, doctrines, principles and moral codes, which regulate the conduct and actions of individuals in african societies. kanu (2015:166) confirms that “traditional african societies had had their traditional ethics”. traditional, however, informs african ethics as it tries to maintain and ensure social order and stability in conventional african societies. african ethics is a realistic and pragmatic philosophy that involves and engages the african person with regard to limits of freedom and, as a result, his responsibility in a communal engagement. african ethics is a main branch of african philosophy. it jude i. onebunne, phd & mirian n. alike, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 170 is a practical philosophy which, according to maritain (2005:177), “is for the good man”. iroegbu (1994: 136), defines african ethics, thus: this is a horizontal aspect of metaphysics and the consequence of epistemology. ethics in african philosophy has been argued to be independent of religion. to this we say yes and no. while god does not directly determine all moral norms, the fear of god makes the realization of those norms effective. ethics, as a branch of practical philosophy, deals directly with human actions in relation to others. however, philosophers today usually divide ethical theories into three general subject areas: meta-ethics, normative ethics and applied ethics. stanford online dictionary, however, gave a general descriptive definition of ethics thus: the ethics of a society is embedded in the ideas and beliefs about what is right or wrong, what is a good or bad character; it is also embedded in the conceptions of satisfactory social relations and attitudes held by the members of the society; it is embedded, furthermore, in the forms or patterns of behavior that are considered by the members of the society to bring about social harmony and cooperative living, justice, and fairness. the ideas and beliefs about moral conduct are articulated, analyzed, and interpreted by the moral thinkers of the society. here, we see the difference between morality (that is value) and religious innuendoes (nuances of belief), as regards the fear of god. it is all about the question of the defining differential nuances between moral instruction and religious education. onebunne and alike (2017) reiterate that “religion and morality are not synonymous. religion and morality are concepts whose conceptual relationships are expressed between religious views and informed conduct of morals…morality igwebuike, individual freedom and responsibility in african ethics igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 171 does not necessarily depend upon religion”. however, african ethics is all about value, rather than religious belief. over the years, stanford online dictionary offers that “african societies, as organized and functioning human communities, have undoubtedly evolved ethical systems—ethical values, principles, rules—intended to guide social and moral behaviour”. hence, there are outstanding african values which are the thrust of african ethics; they include: respect for the sacredness of human life, extended family system, large family system, industry, hard work, respect for senior members of the society, religion, value for private property, language, to mention but a few. african ethics, therefore, has to do with the conduct and action of the human person within a specified community. maritain (2005:173) maintains that, “ethics is as practical to any true science in the strict sense can be, for it teaches not only the most general rules of remote applications but also the particular rules applicable to the particular action to be performed.” it has the good of man in every explicit term by defining what is right and determining what is wrong. in spite of the progress already made in science and technology amidst transvaluation of values and disparagement of the fundamentals of african culture and the threat of monoculture via globalization, an african man is still very conscious of his root and identity as an african. an african man by nature is morally conscious of his attitude, especially within the community. hence, he lives on the pretext of what community identity offers, approves or disapproves. the communal life often determines the african man with the spirit of extended family system already in practice. african ethics is african morality. it is the african value. it has to do with african value system, with regard to the norms and morality of the african human person’s right or bad conduct within the community of persons. it is the modus operandi as well as the modus vivendum of an african man as an african. african ethics is operational within the african world view which is holistic and encompassing. hence, african ethics starts with the individual in the community and extends beyond that. kanu (2015:170), explains it, jude i. onebunne, phd & mirian n. alike, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 172 thus, “the community in africa survives on the contributions of individual endowments. ” according to bujo (2003:20), african ethics is “realized primarily by means of a relational network that is equally anthropocentric, cosmic and theocentric”. from this, one discovers that african ethics is a kind of relationship with man at the centre in relation to uwa as a generic term that englobes all that is. uwa, however, is the locus of operation for human living and necessary interaction. however, against other philosophers who have delved into philosophical excursus, iroegbu was very rigorous in adopting from okere the uses of the concept of uwa, which is an igbo word meaning world. for iroegbu, uwa is the totality and fullness of being in its self expression. it is the theatre of activity for being as belongingness. to this view, asouzu (2007:204) appreciates thus, that. “this ethnocentric flavour notwithstanding, what i find very positive in iroegbu’s use of the concept uwa, is that this concept gives us some feelings concerning the comprehensiveness, totality and wholeness of reality itself; an understanding of reality quite in consonance with the teaching of traditional philosophers of the complementary system of thought”. through different mutual dynamics of relationship, the term, uwa, remains a universalising concept, respecting the boundaries of african ethics in any community living and interaction. bujo (2003:20) further reiterates that “the main goal of african ethics is fundamentally life itself. the community must guarantee the promotion and protection of life by specifying or ordaining ethics and morality.” igwebuike expressing african ethics of living igwebuike is a lived out principle of participation. the concept of igwebuike expresses concretely the african ethics of living. something, of course, is holding and binding them so as to form and be referred to as igwebuike. there is an underlying fact or rightly put , a guiding principle of operation. igwebuike is a practical expression of communal attitude with underlying guidance, based on the value system of the people, and in our context, african value system. igwebuike, individual freedom and responsibility in african ethics igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 173 igwebuike specifically spells out the communal strength that is exerted in moments of communal need in order to execute or achieve a feat. such communal enterprise, nevertheless, is within specified principles as african ethics. it is the individuals that actually make up the population that is identified and empowered as such as igwebuike. these individual persons are very conscious of their individuality and responsibility towards the other and the community in general as a result of their free will to associate and relate as such. bujo (:114) explains that “it must be recalled that african ethics does not define the person as selfrealization or as ontological act; rather, it describes the person as a process of coming into existence in the reciprocal relatedness of individual and community….” there is a collective responsibility that is rightly translated as igwebuike in this context. personal responsibility succinctly defines a response-able person. that is, an individual who is capable of giving a response, albeit in every situation that demands so. such idea of responsibility defines a permissible person, with regard to age and the expected accountability. this has to do with the idea that a human being is ever the architect of his ideas, with a status within the bounds of moral obligation. this is the border line of an african person as an individual in the igwebuike crusade. hence, the attended personal responsibility attunes one into the level of individual commitment which all congregating individuals are willing to make or sacrifice in setting clear goals needed for full responsibility in their achievement of the igwebuike mandate. bujo (2003:112) affirms accordingly that “the position of the individual and the community in ethical behaviour is very important”. there must be a morally bottom line of action. the individual responsibility in question is as a result of the aggregates of acceptable single individual behaviour that is of course bordered on choice. however, bujo (2003:115) explains further that: the individual becomes a person only through active participation in the life of the community. it is not membership in a community as such that constitutes jude i. onebunne, phd & mirian n. alike, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 174 the identity: only common action makes the human person a human person and keeps him from becoming an unfettered ego. the community becomes a veritable ground for the true meaning and expression of the individual participation in and for the community based on igwebuike. this is solidarity in the form of concrete expression of igwebuike. therefore, every form of interaction of the individual in the community is based on the needed solidarity. bujo (2003:117) continues to buttress that “life in a community demands alertness and the maintenance of one’s own individuality”. igwebuike, therefore, respects and recognizes the individual amidst other persons. though igwebuike thrives on the strength of the igwe (number, population), yet it appreciates the minor individual, as well, the concrete contributions of each in strengthening the other are recognized. a good understanding of the individual persons’ response-ability, as well as the responsible freedom in a community, while expressing their appreciable solidarity in their best interest too, is what igwebuike is all about. part of the african value system is a well-defined relationship that is well spelt out on mutual interest and common good of all. igwebuike is for the common good. igwebuike is a unification of communal talents and possibilities harnessed for the general interest. bye and large, such interest and communal expression must be under some guiding principles. this is what african ethics is all about. conclusion life is of primary value. according to iroegbu (2000:179), “life is the highest, foundation and end-point of all values”. the life in question, especially human life, is the locus of operation for the concepts like igwebuike and african ethics in the exercise of freedom and practice of responsibility. however, iroegbu (2000:182) buttresses this enduring fact, thus “every life has meaning. the highest meaning of life is to live for somebody, for something, for others, for igwebuike, individual freedom and responsibility in african ethics igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 175 society…making others alive”. igwebuike is possible as a result of the individual persons acting as a group within the bounds of peculiar moral guidance for the good of all in a communal setting. african ethics, however, is that value parameter that vivifies igwebuike as the modality of human beings in the african community. contemporary african philosophers have tried to give sustained reflective attention to the implementation of african ethics as it contributes to the understanding of the african human person. through the african human person and african language of morality expressed as such in the practise of igwebuike, african ethics is given a prominent place through the individual’s responsible freedom and responsibility. in the exercise of the communal effort, informed most probably by the spirit of igwebuike, african ethics becomes the yardstick for the involved individuals. references achebe, c. things fall apart. england: heinemann. 1958 asouzu, i.i (2007) ibuanyidanda: new complementary ontology. zurich: lit, verlag gmbh & co; wien boweden, m. science vs evolution. kent: sovereign publications. 1991. bujo, b. foundation of an african ethic: beyond the universal claims of western morality.nairobi: paulines publications africa. 2003. ekennia, j. african communalism and political rationality: a critique in african philosophy and public affairs. enugu: delta publications, 1998. iroegbu, p. enwisdomization & african philosophy. owerri: international universities press ltd, 1994 iroegbu, p., metaphysics: kpim of philosophy (owerri: international university press), 1995. iroegbu, p. kpim of politics: communalism, owerri: international university press. 1996 iroegbu, p. kpim of personality: treatise on the human person. owerri: eustel pubs. 2000 jaspers, k.. philosophy vol. 2 trans. new york: chicago press. 1959. jude i. onebunne, phd & mirian n. alike, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 176 kanu, a. african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. awka: fabanieh ltd. 2015. kanu, i. a. igwebuike and being in igbo ontology in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 4 no 5. [12-21]. 2017 kanu, i. a “sources of igwebuike philosophy: towards a sociocultural foundation” traditional african personality, identity and philosophy: challenges and ways forward. 5thinternational annual conference of the association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars, 28th30th june 2017, school of postgraduate studies conference hall, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka anambra state, nigeria. kanu, i. a. (2014). igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholic-pentecostal relations. jos studies. 22. pp.87-98. kanu, i. a. (2015b). igwebuike as an ontological precondition for african ethics. international conference of the society for research and academic excellence. university of nigeria, nsukka. 14 th -16 th september. kanu, i. a. (2015c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25 th -26 th november 2015 university of paris, france. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud igwebuike, individual freedom and responsibility in african ethics igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 177 misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. jude i. onebunne, phd & mirian n. alike, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 178 lewis, j. anthropology made simple. great britain: richard clay (the chancer press) ltd. 1969. maritain, j. man and the state. chicago: university of chicago press, 1951 maritain, j., an introduction to philosophy, london: continuum, 2005 mbiti, j. s. african religion and philosophy. london: heinemann. 1969. mondin, b. a history of medieval philosophy. india: theological pub.1991 onebunne, j.i., being as belongingness: expanding the hermeneutics of african metaphysics of to be, awka: fab anieh nig ltd,. 2019a onebunne, j. & alike, m. religious and or moral education: in search for a critically defining difference in ejikemeuwa j.o. & ejikeme, p.o. (eds). society and human development: essays in honour of j.b. akam. ng: bobpecco pub. 2017. p. 335-353. online webster’s dictionary, https://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/freedom. retrieved 04/07/2020 shakespeare, w. hamlet, act ii, scene ii stanford online dictionary, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/africanethics/. retrieved 10/07/2020 seme, i. https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/1906-isakaseme-regeneration-africa/. retrieved on 04/07/2020 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 68 the philosophical foundation of african system of kinship obinna victor obiagwu, phd directorate of general studies federal university of technology owerri, nigeria obinnaobiagwu71@gmail.com & samuel ugochukwu obasi directorate of general studies federal university of technology owerri, nigeria lordugosamuel@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.14770.12482 abstract in societies that are more complex in terms of industrialization and territorial endowment kinship is difficult to be notice. this is largely because such societies have other agencies that carryout the duties the kin groups is supposed to perform. but in less industrialized societies where traditional values are prevalent kinship still play role for the individual. most societies in africa fall under this category. in these small scale traditional societies, social organizations and social structure are understood only through the idiom of social relationship arising from the mutual rights and obligations which mark the kinship system. in africa, the foundation on which kinship operate outside the society is through the family and marriage. they are the only biological influence in kinship formation. keywords: african system, kinship, family, marriage, society introduction the advanced learners dictionary defines kinship as blood relationship with special attributes like closeness, sympathy or similarity of character. the male partner is known at kinsman while the female partner is known as kinswoman. this definition is for the purpose of plain understanding of what kinship is all about. more elaborate definitions were the ones given by robin fox and winick. for fox, kinship is the relationship between "kin” example, persons related by real, putative or fictive (consanguinity).1 for winick, kinship is the social igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 69 recognition and expression of genealogical relationship based on supposed as well as actual genealogical ties.2 the conditions necessary for kinship to be created requires societal acceptance. impregnation and birth are not enough to create kinship. for birth and parenthood to have any relevance the society will have to sanction it. it is the legitimacy conferred by the society that can confirm kinship. this requirement as it is applied justifies the aristotelian view that the society is where man can actualize his potentials. among the yoruba in western nigeria the marriage is consummated by fulfilment of some traditional requirements. the offspring of this union belongs to the kin group of the father. a woman can still have children for different men while she is still in her parent's house. these children will be identified by their different fathers; they cannot be said to belong to their mothers’ kin group though these men did not marry her officially. the igbo's consummate their fatherhood by the payment of bride price. the children born in such union belong to the father's kin group. if the woman is not married the children born to her will belong to the mother's kin group. this is in contrast to what is obtainable in yoruba area of nigerian. among the igbo's there are peculiar situations where women marry fellow women and chose a particular man to impregnate her. children born under such arrangement belongs to the kin group of the woman that married her. these variations in different areas go to show that birth does not confirm kinship. it is the society that confirms which kin group one belongs. francis suarez position that “since man is by nature a social being he needs a political society in which to live"3 is justified. it is this society that defines his status and gives him the sense of belonging. different societies in africa have divergent application of kinship status. this difference is also manifest in the functions, expectations and importance of kinship to individual and the society at large. concept of family the family forms the building block for kinship systems. it is family that forms the basis for the expression of kinship systems. kinship derives its relevance from the society. this is due to the fact that it is from the family that kinship is formed. the family is an important channel for the process of socialization from childhood to adult life. the origin of the family has been a subject of controversy among philosophers with different specialization on the origin of family. frederich engels and l.h. morgan posits that the family has passed through four successive stages.4 the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 70 primitive stage, punaluan family, the pairing family and the monogamous family. at the primitive stage men were promiscuous. this stage witnessed marriage between distant brothers and sisters. the second stage, the punaluan family restriction were introduced to prevent distant brothers from sexual relations with their distance sisters. the third stage the pairing family, one man to one woman arrangement began to dominate marriage. at the fourth stage according to morgan and engels marriage ties became more rigid. one man one wife was finally established. these classification shows that each stage is an improvement of the former stage. karl marx and engels clearly demonstrated that the different stages were an advance progressively.5 in modern times studies have shown that there are five types of family in africa. i. nuclear family: this is a family made up of father, mother and their children. ii. polygamous family: this is made up of the father, his two or more wives and children. iii. stem family: this is made up of two married couples who are related and their offspring. iv. joint family: this is made up of two or more families with a family head and their children under one compound. v. extended family. this is made up of many families in most cases blood relations. they might live in different houses. the extended family group more than any of the other types of family advances to kinship group in africa. one will first of all be a member of his family before he identifies with his kin group. the extended family system is the most popular family system in africa. it is from this extended family system that we graduate to kin group, from kin group to clan (tribe). uduigwomen writes that: “african society has been based on an extended family system which in turn expanded into kinship groups which further expanded into clan system.”6 the family is the basis of the african social life. it is from the family of a man that he undertakes both economic, social, religious and educational functions. at the level of the family he generates the necessary support to enable him carve a niche for himself. the african believes in his family and strives to maintain his family's good name. he struggles to uplift his family and assist as much as he could in solving their daily problems. he derives his social status from his family. the great philosopher plato in his theory of social stratification insisted that the guardians who should rule the republic should not be allowed to have a family or private property as these are the two most igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 71 important hindrance to impartial rulership. plato insists that the interest of the family tends to supersede public welfare.7 the igbos in south east nigeria takes issues in their family serious. they are prepared to work extensively to satisfy their family. in their kin-group the family is known and no man will like his family to be made a laughing stock in their kin group. african kinship cum philosophy kinship in africa has formed the social instrument in the society for creating enabling environment to assist the individual achieve his potentials. kin group has mechanism to enthrone unity, peace and orderliness among the members. for aquinas writes; for the good life of the community three things are required. first, that the community should be established in the unity of peace, second that the community united in the bond of peace should be directed to good actions, third that through the rulers diligence there should be sufficient supply of the necessities for good life.8 various kin groups in africa strive to create as to aquinas peaceful environment. among the kin-group any activity that will endanger peace is nipped in the bud. before the coming of the white man to africa the igbo kinship system maintained the security of their territories. because they live close to each other it was easy for them to mobilize and counter an attack. they became more capable of monitoring themselves to prevent any member of the kin group hunting the other members. according to rousseau; "human beings are driven by their instinct to live in clusters, in groups and this mode of life affords them the opportunity to socialize."9 this need in man is the driving force behind kinship in africa. it is the attempt to meet up their need and care for the interest of one-another. kinship in africa has done more than what rousseau has said. the african of today has come to rely on his relationship with his kin group to enable him fulfil the spirit of oneness in africa interaction with his environment. the individual african can thus only say “i am because we are”. the fundamental of the existence of the individual is the kin group. there upon the individual can only use his life-energy towards maintaining the cosmological or ontological interpretation and balance which generate positive social control and ensure genuine kin-cooperation. the african who fails to conform to the dictates of his kin group pays dearly for it. the kin group applies strict disciplinary measures against him. the individual can be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 72 ostracized from the kin group. once this happens he loses the cooperation of his kin group. at this stage he can be attacked by other people because he has lost his kin-group protection. at this stage he becomes an island unto himself, which is not an african way of life. the life of the individual at this stage becomes an unauthentic life that is not worth living. for aristotle said that; “right is the basis of the political association and right is the criterion for deciding what is just”.10 in most african societies it's extremely difficult to become member of their kin group while in some societies it will be easy. nwanunobi (2001) recounts how one anthropologist, for instance recounts how he had to be adopted as a son (kinsman) by the oldest male in a kung hunting and gathering group in botswana before he was allowed to stay with these people during his fieldwork. the capacity of kinship ties to remain strong in advance societies is in doubt but in some modern african societies kinship has continued to be a dominant force in the election and voting pattern of the people. in the south african election, the kwazulu nathal province voted for nkantna freedom party of mongosutu buthelezi of the zulu ethnic nationality while anc won in other areas. the voting pattern in nigeria election is also a reflection of the over dominant presence of kin group (ethnic nationality). in the first republic the action group won in the area dominated by the yoruba ethnic nationality. the national council for nigeria citizens won in the area dominated by the igbo ethnic nationality. the northern people's congress won in areas dominated by the hausa fulani ethnic nationality. this same tendency manifested itself in the second republic with nigerian peoples party dominating the igbo ethnic areas while the national party of nigeria dominated the hausa fulani ethnic areas. the unity party of nigeria controlled by the yoruba ethnic nationality. extreme kin group solidarity can sometimes result in negative effect on the society. this madness was witnessed in burundi were tutus tribe and hutu tribe engaged in wide spread massacre against each other. this type of extremism was demonstrated by adolf hitler when he said: “we aspire not to equality but to domination. the country of foreign race must become once again a country of serfs, of agricultural labourers, or industrial workers. it is not a question of eliminating the inequalities among men but of widening them and making them, into law.”11 the burundi violence is a manifestation of kinship extremism. the african in his kin group is not alone he is seen in the picture of plato's organicist theory where individuals are relevant only when seen as a whole. the kin group is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 73 always there to create soft landing in times of adversity. even in very old age a man's kin-group absorb him. the africans in proper kin group arrangement do not need the old people's home. the man's economic activity and material needs are mostly exercised within the kin group. in times of natural disaster, the kin group can come to the assistance of the kin member. during the nigerian civil war, the displaced igbo tribesmen easily found shelter among their fellow kinsmen. this was the major reason why refugee centres were not common in igbo land despite the high casualty suffered by the igbo people. plato like most scholars holds the economic function as the basis upon which society builds with a view to satisfying those basic needs for food, clothing and shelter.12 the three institutions, marriage, kinship, and the family are closely related. in traditional african society kinship groups have contributed immensely in the consolidation of marriage contracts. it is through marriage that parent-child kinship connections in most societies are established. traditional marriages in african contexts have been more a relationship between two individuals. in most cases the kin group decides the nature of marriage that is contracted. they act as pressure group in the process of selecting a partner. for mbiti j. s.: “kin-group pressure is manifest in all segments of the man's social13 life. the man among his kin group will enjoy love, unity and trust". the marriage of the individual members becomes the concern of all the kinsmen since such marriages carry with them the potentials of affecting the size and fortunes of the kinship group as a whole. this informs the seriousness with which kin groups view marriage since the offspring of that marriage will be counted among their kin-group. for mbiti js: “to be human is to belong to the whole community, and to do so involves participating in the beliefs, ceremonies, rituals and festivals of that community”.14 in most african societies it is the kin group that helps to sustain marriage. this is done in the areas of assistance in farming periods. chinua achebe recorded in his work “things fall apart" that okonkwo visited nwakaibie to solicit for yam seedlings to plant. nwakaibie obliged and okonkwo was assisted to start his own farm.15 this assistance okonkwo received from his kinsman enabled him to start his private business in farming to sustain his family. among the igbo, for instance, it is very rare for a wife or husband to decide unilaterally to terminate the marital union. before the cases goes out of hand kinsmen on both sides intervene to sustain the union. this is also predominant among the zulu's of south africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 74 conclusion in africa, kinship is a major social institution for interaction among the people. the differences inherent in the application of kinship in different areas in africa does not deny the fact that the african man knows that the family and marriage are crucial to the practice of kinship. the degree of kinship influence to a large extent is influenced by the industrialized nature of the society. if the society is highly industrialized other agencies emerge to perform the role of kinship in the society. in less industrialized society the influence of kinship increases both as a means of identity and social participation. plato's organicist theory encapsulates the importance of the institution of kinship to the individual. kinship can be beneficial in modern period as a measure of control at this period of social moral and political corruption. the african kinship institution if not for anything has contributed immensely towards minimizing divorce in africa. it has also helped the african man to survive adverse economic problems. in the kin group the utilitarianism as conceived by jeremy benthan which preaches happiness for all persons is actualized. though there are where inter kinship struggle has led to devastating consequence like in burundi. kinship for a long time to come will remain a veritable social institution for africans. references achebe, c., (1958); things fall apart, new hampshire (usa), william heinemann ltd. nwanunobi, c. o., (2001); african social institutions. nsukka, university of nigeria press. okpata, u., (1998); essays on igbo world view. nsukka, ap express publishers. ozumba, g. o., (2004); a colloquium on african philosophy, vol. i & ii. calabar, joclvisan publishers. dukor, m. (2003); philosophy & politics. lagos,, malthouse press ltd. ogugua, p., (2003); igbo understanding of man. awka, penmark publishers. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 197 indegenous performances and economic recession: ikeji arondizuogu festival as a paradigm emmanuel o. iroh, ph.d department of theatre and film studies, nnamdi azikiwe university awka, anambra state irohemmaogbo@gmail.com, eo.iroh@unizik.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract the need to uncover the dramatic elements in a traditional festival and to expose the rich cultures of arondizuogu is the pivot of this paper. festival is a product of culture. culture is the totality of the way of life of a people. culture and festival are intertwined and inseparable as festival touch all aspects of the people’s life and is not restricted to any particular sphere of their living. drama is the representation of life; it mirrors life. therefore, drama as embedded in festivals is used as a machinery to portray the culture of the people through the particular festival being celebrated. this work examined the ikeji festival of arondizuogu, which is a traditional festival that necessitates the renewal and group reenactment of the shared past experience of the life of the people of arondizuogu with a view to uncovering the dramatic performances in the festival. it used the ethno research method of participant observation as well as the library to explore the dramatic elements and contents in the performance of ikeji festival. the research is hinged on joseph pieper’s theory that festival takes place through the arts as festival is the celebration of existence under various symbols through the arts which is a medium and contributor to the joy of festival. the paper acknowledges that ikeji festival embodies dramatic elements and contents of dance, costume, setting, properties, languages, make up and also attracts large audience from far and near to make it a total theatre; and concludes that in an economic recession period, these dramatic elements and their appurtenances could be exploited for economic gains by the people to fight recession. the paper recommends that more studies be carried out on ikeji arondizuogu to expose grey areas particularly in tourism development as this will lead to the provision of more jobs for our teeming youths as well as raise the internally generated revenue of government. keywords: festival, drama, performance, culture, arondizuogu igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 198 introduction arondizuogu, is the largest and most dynamic of the numerous aro settlements outside arochukwu, their ancestral home from where they migrated. arondizuogu may have been founded around the early eighteenth century by mazi izuogu mgbokpo ogbunukpo akuma nnachi, a great merchant and warrior, son of ogbunukpo whose father, akuma nnachi hailed from amankwu, arochukwu. izuogu’s mother mgbokpo is from ohafia. aro-ndi-izuogu means “izuogu‘s people”(ohia uche,8). however, okoro was more detailed in tracing the meaning of arondizuogu. according to him,the name arondizuogu is apparently a coinage of four distinct words, namely, aro-ndi-izu-ogu. aro is a prefix inherited from “arochukwu”. “ndi” stands for “the people”, izu means “council”, “ogu” means “war”. pieced together, the four words give the name, “arondizuogu” a name which literally means the “aro peoples war council” (58). presently, arondizuogu is in three local government areas of imo state, namely ideato north, okigwe and onuimo local government areas. the origin of the ikeji festival of arondizuogu is traced to arochukwu, the ancestral home of the arondizuogu people from where they migrated. the ikeji arochukwu is celebrated in september of every year. ikeji is “a shortened form of ike ji isi (to detach the tendril of the yam) which is usually done in preparation for the farming season or for the preservation of seed yams in the yam barn” (ohia, 4). the former, preparation for the farming season applies to arondizuogu while the later, preservation of seed yams in the yam barn applies to arochukwu people who celebrate the ikeji during the harvesting and storing for yam seeds in the barn. mazi iheme, a trusted servant of mazi izuogu, having been appointed the regent was compelled “by the circumstances of his appointment to move and live in the new settlement” (okafor-ogbaji,12). he would travel to arochukwu to pay homage to his master during this period with large quantities of food items donated to his master to assist him in hosting his guests. ikeji arondizuogu is usually celebrated between late march and april of every year which is the beginning of the planting season. the change of the period for the celebration from september to march/april as it is celebrated in arochukwu is linked to the annual visit of mazi izuogu to his territory to perform the ceremony of laying of hands onto the farmland. “emume ibinye aka n’ubi” (okafor ogbaji,16). this visit/ceremony is done to receive the blessing of his master, mazi izuogu before mazi iheme and his people, “ndi ya” begins the clearing of the farm lands in preparation for the planting season. it is this time of visitation igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 199 (march/april) to the izuogu territory to perform this “emume ibinye aka n’ubi” that accounts for the celebration ikeji festival at the beginning of planting season instead of the harvesting season. during this period of visit by mazi izuogu, his regent mazi iheme would strive to impress his master. to this end, he would organize dancers, elderly singers who sing odes to his master while expert cooks were carefully selected to cook the best meals for his master. also, during this period, lots of animals were lavishly slaughtered and their blood used “for propitiation, libation and prayers to the ancestors and to various gods through whom the people sought to appease the ‘chi ukwu’ the most high god” (ohia, 8). this was done so that the gods will protect their farmlands and give them abundant and plentiful harvest. this work is therefore concerned with locating the dramatic elements of ritual, dance, song and entertainment in the celebration of the ikeji festival of arondizuogu. theoretical frame work: an overview according to microsoft encarta dictionary, festival is derived from a medieval latin festivalis, classical latin festum which is a day or period set apart for holiday, anniversary, carnival, event, religious observance. similarly, reynolds in obuh, stanley asserts that it is a period of feast or holiday, vigorously used to include traditional times of celebration, sacred or secular days especially appointed for local or national rejoicing and in modern times exhibition of art and industry. (25) festivals are period’s community celebrate events or seasons. it is a time for merry making, rest or holiday when members travel from far and near to celebrate and are reunited with their kits and kin. this period of merry making affords men and women to make peace with each other. joseph pieper observes that festival takes place through the arts as it is only a medium and contributor to the joy of festival. in essence, festival is the celebration of existence under various symbols through the arts (dance, music, songs, spectacle, dialogue, ritual and religious praise) which acts as a fire that kindles festivities. he therefore, submits that festivals without gods (ritual) is a non-concept and inconceivable; insisting that festivals and rituals are inseparable. frederickson further submits that dramatic dancing and athletic events also form part of the activities that take place during festivals. this is corroborated by josef pieper in obuh who agrees that “festival is associated with drama because no real festival can be conceived, unless the ingredient of the play has entered it and that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 200 festival concept, like death or love touches the whole of the world and of life”(26). he further asserts that real festivity is accompanied by the arts of singing, dancing, music and other visible forms of celebration” (28). no wonder pieper postulated that festivals take place through the arts. this is because components of drama are encapsulated in festivals. from the above, it is evident that festivals touch all aspects of the community’s life as it is not restricted to any particular sphere of their living. some festivals celebrate the history and culture of a people while some reenact their spiritual essence. in all, festival remains an important aspect of our culture. culture and festival are inseparable. festivals according to obuh: “are communal expressions organized to celebrate a people’s worldview. the celebration usually involves the recreation of the people’s mythic past, their migratory wars, and other heroic exploit. it may also be merely an annual event that marks seasons circle…these festivals are sometimes organized around certain deities or spirits or to mark generational transition or the passage of season whether, climate or agricultural production (25). culture as espoused in the national cultural policy of nigeria, is the “totality of the way of life, endowed by a people in their attempts to meet the challenge of living in their environment which gives order and meaning to the social, political, economic aesthetic and religious norms and modes of organization, thus distinguishing a people from their neighbours”(5). this is rightly observed by soyinka, where he submits that culture is not often a sum of parts but a summation… a synthesis nothing is exempted not even the malfunctions” (2). therefore, culture contains the norms, beliefs, values, routine, recipes, customs etc of a people traditionally, a festival, or a feast, is a day set apart; a day that interrupts the everyday world of work, and into which that world -the world of labour and of practical ends and means cannot intrude. it is a preserve of total theatre as they showcase the historic wind, traditional technology, occupation and other creative expressions. festivals as celebrated today are only the reenactment of religious ritual of the old which reemphasizes the relationship between drama and festivals. drama is a part of festival which also has other activities included in the celebration. in his efforts to trace the origin and contents of african traditional theatre, ilami stresses that african traditional theatre originated from festivals. this is because the festivals of our local communities use elements like “masks, costumes, sound, music, dancing, feasting, myth, games, sports, stories” (8) which are universally accepted as part of the celebration. he further cites the view of adedeji who also igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 201 corroborated that “yoruba traditional theatre is rooted in festival theatre which is a courtly form of entertainment, characterized by song, dance, music, costume and spectacle” (8). he further located secular activities such as economic, political and social which are derived from daily ordinary events that make up the everyday life of an african traditional societies as a primary origin of african theatre and festivals. it is on this premise that we shall now turn to examine the ikeji festival of arondizuogu to see its conformity with the above submissions and to extract the dramatic, ritualistic and spectacle dimensions of the festival, as well as examine how these components can be utilized during economic recession to turn things around. this is the pivot of this work. ikeji iheme ikeji arondizuogu is preceded by a one-day ikeji iheme celebration which holds at the obi iheme. it is at this one-day event that the date for the ikeji arondizougu is pronounced. ikeji iheme also marks the beginning of dramatic activities which are embedded in the ikeji festival. act 1 scene 1(inside; ime obi) the scene opens with the male descendants of mazi iheme and the descendants of his servants seated inside the obi iheme (which is the oldest obi in arondizuogu community), known as iheme na asato exchanging greetings. the chief priests walk in and takes his proper place at the low stool (oche mpata) positioned directly in front of the traditional alter. kolanut in a wooden tray (okwa orji) is brought to him by one of his attendants. okafor ogbaji specifically noted that the kolanut must be native kolanut and must be eight in number to reflect the iheme na asato. the kolanut is then celebrated by passing it round to all the persons present from the youngest to the oldest. the igbo refer to this by saying that the kolanut has started travelling but will surely come back. when the kolanut has finished going round and comes back to the chief priest, he offers prayers to their ancestors, breaks a kolanut and first feeds the ancestors by dropping a lobe on the shrine. a bottle of hot drink is handed over to him. holding the drink in his left hand, he uses his right hand to uncork the drink and pours a part of the drink into a wooden cup. he again offers prayers and pours libation to the gods. the kolanut is then passed dramatically to the youngest in the gathering to split. he diligently finishes the assignment and returns the okwa orji to the high priest, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 202 who places it in front of the altar. all the members of the iheme na asato (descendants of mazi iheme) will now go to the altar to pick the kolanut according to seniority. each of them, on getting to the okwa orji picks a lobe, raises it up to the direction of the alter before eating it. thereafter, he picks the bottle of hot and pours the drink into the wooden cup and drinks. this further serves to bind the community together as anybody who has dipped his hand into that bowl will not contemplate evil for his fellow brother. act 1, scene 2 (outside the obi) some young men from ndiakunwanta village which is the youngest village in arondizuogu will prepare the cow for sacrifice by tying the fore and hind limbs. the chief priest comes outside from the “ime obi” with a sharp knife and slashes the throat of the cow. the blood is collected in a clay pot and as the chief priest retires back to the ime obi with the blood-stained knife, the blood of the slaughtered cow is carried in. act 1, scene 3 (at the altar; inside) the blood of the cow is placed at the altar. the chief priest cleans his knife on the sacrificial mat (akpukpo aja) and sprinkles the blood on the ofo iheme, ogirisi leaves spread on akpukpo aja as well as all the artifacts at the altar. he picks the horn form the altar and knocks it four times on the floor, signifying the four market days of eke, oye, afor and nkwo. thereafter, he picks the native nzu from the altar and draws four parrarell lines on the floor in front of the alter and at the entrance. at the end of this, some gun shots are fired. this is followed by other gunshots by all the villages. the chief priest now returns to the altar to announce the date for the ikeji arondizuogu festival which is usually falls on the oye market day after seven native weeks (28 days from the date of ikeji iheme). ikeji arondizuogu ikeji arondizuogu is usually celebrated in four days. using the native igbo calendar, it lasts for one native igbo week, from oye to eke. okafor-ogbaji reports that “ikeji arondizuogu begins with eke-odu” (29). eke odu ikeji ushers in the ikeji festival. it is on this day that all the food items needed for the ceremony is purchased and stored by members of the community. the activities at the market start as early as 6am and lasts beyond 7pm. the atmosphere is usually rowdy igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 203 because of the rush be people to buy up what they will need for the next four days. but one spectacular event that happens on this day is the procession of the prestigious ekpe na mboko society. this procession takes place once in three or four years. usually, members of the ekpe na mboko society will come from arochukwu to join their counterparts in arondizuogu for the procession. act 2, scene 1 (village square) the procession usually takes off from either from ama edward or nkwoachi, where the members of the ekpe na mboko society assembly. after the exchange of pleasantries and banters in their traditional manner, the drummers call the members to order as they dance to form three lines. the drummers continue to dish out rhythmic tunes. the sound rises to a climax as the manwu ekpe (ekpe masquerade) appears. there is a loud ovation that heralds the arrival of the ekpe masquerade, the manwu ekpe performs and after the performance/display by the manwu ekpe, the procession takes off to the eke market. describing the procession and the costumes of the members of the ekpe na mboko, ohia reports that it “features elegant rows of the members of the association decked out in ukara cloth and traditional top with a matching woolen cap (okpu george) ululating to regal dance of the pulsating drums of the revered organization”(6). the procession moves to the market where they dance round the market to the admiration of all. the only spectacular event that happens on the eke odu ikeji is the display by the ekpe na mboko society at the market square and along the road to the market where people come out to catch a glimpse of the group. the first day of the festival is the oye day. this is regarded as a day of propitiation, when supplications are made to the ancestors, gods of the land and personal chi’s for continuous favour in the incoming new season. oye egbugbu which literally means slaughter day is set aside for the killing of animals bought the previous day at eke odu. it is a day of feasting when subjects pay special respect or homage to their masters or to the eldest member of the family known as “ibu-ihu”. the killing of the animals for sacrifices has dramatic connotations similar to what happens during the ikeji iheme. the difference here is that almost every kindred perform the ritual simultaneously at their individual obi or at the entrance of the compound. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 204 act 2, scene 2 (family altar scattered in different kindreds) as early as 5am, the head of each family calls out his children to the obi in front of the family altar. some people have a make shift altar while some have a permanent one. whichever they choose, the sacrifices are performed there. whether in a family or kindred setting, the eldest in the setting presides. kola nut is handed over to him by the first son to the family head who offers prayers to the gods. this is followed by the pouring of libation with hot drink. sometimes a greater quantity of the hot drink is poured /splashed on the artifacts, leaving a small quantity for the people around to sip. the libation is closely followed by the killing of an animal. it may be a fowl, goat or cow depending on the economic weight of the family. the first son of the family binds the animal and positions the neck for the father or the eldest in the family who slashes the head of the animal with a sharp knife. the blood is collected in a bowl and the chief priest who is the eldest in the family sprinkles this blood on the artifacts on the altar while making some incantations. however, some families who have since accepted the christian faith no longer join in this ceremony. while their counterparts are worshiping and pouring libations, they attend church services and sometimes invite the clergy to their homes to pray and bless their animals before they are slaughtered. the ceremony and the coming of the clergy to the family are also dramatic in nature. it involves rehearsals and preparations before the arrival of the priest. here the head of the family sends out invitations to his friends and relations of the visit of the clergy. canopies are hired and a table decorated. the audience is sited before the arrival of the clergy who walks straight to the high table. he opens the event with praises and prayers. he is led to the store where food items are kept and he prays and blesses them before going to where the animal is tied to bless the animal. he comes back to the audience for some words of exhortation before saying the grace. at the end of the blessing, the head of the family now kills the animal without collecting the blood. the meat is shared and used for cooking. the ceremony continues with visits to friends and exchange of gifts till the evening. act 2 scene 3 (late evening: masquerade coven; ima mnanwu) it is a tradition that people must be initiated into the masquerade group before they join or start following masquerades around. after this initiation which is also igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 205 very dramatic, the secrets the group are revealed to them (inductees) which they must not divulge to non-initiates no matter how closely related they may be. the highlight of the ceremony is the izi nmanwu (presentation of the masquerade) to the inductees. at around 7pm, the parent of the inductee, having earlier obtained clearance for his son’s induction and having provided all the requirements needed for the ceremony will lead his son to the masquerade coven (induction ground) which is usually at the house of the head of the masquerade group in the kindred. a thatched house covered with palm raffia. the parents of the inductees are seated in front of the thatched house in a semicircular format as well as other old members of the group while the inductees are seated on the right side. the inductees are giving palm fronds which they continuously used to beat around ant holes while calling on the masquerades to come out. this is done rhythmically to the beating of the ekwe and the flute as the elders sit down to enjoy their palm wine. the essence of this is to disabuse the popular notion held in the community that masquerades come out from ant holes. after tirelessly trying to call out the masquerade from ant holes, the inductees are now led into the thatched house where the secrets behind the masquerade (ikpa akwukwo nmanwu) are now revealed to them. the climax of the ceremony which may last till mid night is the izi nmanwu (showing of the masquerade) to the inductees. the appearance of the masquerade thus ends the induction ceremony as the inductees are now eligible to follow the masquerade anywhere having been exposed to all that pertains to the group. the second day of ikeji festival (afor) is the start of masquerade display when newly acquired masquerades are exhibited. the young initiates now use the day to tell their mates that they have been fully initiated into the group. some masquerade groups also use the day to pay homage to some prominent members of the community. the third day of the festival is nkwo. it is the day for masquerade displays. they come in different sizes and shapes with colourful costumes. ohia reports that: “nkwo is the main carnival day when all new, old and ceremonial masquerades assemble at the central arena. it is also the day that masquerades pursue individual spectators in the race known as oso nmanwu”(8). similarly, okaforogbaji, more descriptively explained the activities on the nkwo day as a day where: “youths display all kinds of masquerades while some do not even care about masquerading but instead disguise themselves in many bizarre attires. some young men would paint themselves in various disguising colours like red, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 206 charcoal black and white emulsion paints. others come out half naked; yet others adorn themselves with snail shells, sea shells and feathers of the ugliest birds …some men young and old would even decorate themselves with ugly charms and other occultic objects… but all these are their own ways of trying to frighten others. in summary, all these bring joy and jubilation and constitute the mystique of ikeji izuogu” (35). however, in the midst of all the above, the day is characterized by many dramatic and theatrical activities as we shall now see below. act 2 scene 4 central arena (nkwo achi) the arena is big and a very large crowd has gathered to watch masquerade performances. there are different types of masquerades dancing. a man appears carrying an earthen pot belching with smoke. he places on the centre of the arena and dances round it seven times. uses one hand to lift up the pot which he places back on his head and jumps up three times with holding the pot, yet it did not fall. he dances out of the arena. as soon as he leaves, another man with a basket full of water appears and drops his basket on the ground. he brings out a plastic cup, fills it water from the basket and turns it back into the basket. he vigorously shakes the basket for all to see yet the water will not spill out. a “mad man” enters the arena, his face is painted black and he is carrying loads of rubbish on his head. he drops them close to basket. through a sign language, he begs for water to be given to him. the basket man brings out his plastic cup and gives him water which he tries to drinks but ends up pouring the water on his body. as the mad man is gathering his load to leave, the ogene boys accompanied by a large crowd and known for their mastery of iron metal gong, arrives with different sizes and shapes of their ogenes. upon sighting the basket man and the mad man, they instantly compose a song with their names and rhetorically ask them what business they have together or if the basket man is trying to cure the mad man of his madness? the crowd joins in the song, clapping and dancing to the well-coordinated beating of the ogene. act 2 scene 5 (nkwo achi; school field, ito ebune) this is more like a choreographed drama dance. a fat goat is tied to a tree by the school field. the spectators are sitting in a semicircular position. there is the traditional ikeji masquerade music being vigorously played by a traditional group. it is a competition of who will dance or walk or crawl to the tree and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 207 successfully untie the goat. the first man, (middle aged) attempted but after three steps, shrugged his shoulders and withdrew. the crowd booed him and some called him funny manes like lizard, frog, and chicken. more attempts were made by other men who equally fell by the side. finally, this young man ran out to the centre of the arena, danced to the rhythm of drums, salutes the drummers, advances to the elders, salutes them, and points at the tree, nods and energetically jumps up three times and dances towards the tree. half way he freezes, not moving again. the sound of the drums rose high but he was not moving his body. two elderly men stood up, one of them raised his staff up and the musicians stopped playing. he beckoned on four young men who carried him off the arena. he was dead. still holding his staff up and without showing any remorse or pity on the dead young man, the elderly man merely remarked that “nnunnu isi na akaghi aka, anaghi eje akwam ozu oturukpokpo” and as soon as he raised his staff down, the musicians resumed playing again. for some time, no body danced or attempted to untie the ram until a middle-aged man limbed to the stage. after acknowledging greetings from the flutist, he manages to dance, though uncoordinatedly to the tree and unties the ram, drags it to the drummers and temporarily the drumming stops. he greets the crowd with three thunderous izuogu kwenu! izuogu kwenu!! izuogu kwezuo nu!!! and dances out with his goat. as soon as he leaves the arena with the goat, and at the recommencement of the drumming, the crowd jumps into the arena and it becomes an all-comers dance. appearance of okwomma okwomma masquerade is the highest masquerade in arondizuogu and does feature with other masquerades. it is usually owned by a group or a whole village managed by the village council and has in their group all the classes of masquerades which make way for its appearance as well as maintain order during the performance. okafor-ogbaji states that “in arondizuogu, there is no other masquerade as prestigious, powerful and colourful as okwomma” (51), while ohia reports that “it’s grand and stately appearance is planned and coordinated to command admiration and reverence” (19), the okwoma does not just appear like any other masquerade as a lot of preparations are made before its appearance. other lesser masquerades must first come to water the hard ground for the arrival of the big masquerade. that subsequently brings us to the next scene. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 208 act2 scene 5 (ama edward) this scene opens with a masquerade dressed in police costume known as okwomma police with a baton coming out to inspect the arena. it goes round searching for harmful objects and warning people to behave themselves when the okwomma appears. at its exit, another masquerade, nwa abuuja, popularly known for its mother figure in the masquerade family appears with its longoversized walking stick to entertain the audience with its comic reliefs, storytelling and admonishing the women to stay clear of the okwomma when it appears. the abuuja is interrupted by the osi asiri, (gossip) grotesque and bizarre in outlook, who appears to warn the abuuja that he will report it to okwomma since it has left its duty to fraternize with women. the abuuja either rebuffs it or starts begging the gossip. once the gossip gets the assurance of the abuuja that she will sleep with him that night, the two intimately holds each other as walk out. the ojionu appears after their exit with his flogging whips and anybody who disobeys the earlier warnings by the other lesser masquerades is flogged by the ojionu. the ojionu will not leave arena without entertaining the spectators with his athletic dance steps, popularly called ime okwe. the ojinu is sometimes so engrossed in the ime okwe that it forgets that his time is limited. he is only called to order by the sound of the bell which heralds the arrival the mgbadike masquerade. this gives the audience the notion that the okwomma would soon arrive. the mgbadike, known as nna nmonwu (father of masquerade) is covered with dried raffia leaves on its body and a bunch of date palm husks on its head is more energetic, fearless, and highly aggressive. that explains why a rope is tied around it’s waist with a restrainer holding the rope and a bell to prevent it from wreaking havoc and warning the people to steer clear of the way. the high point is the appearance of the okwomma; the king of the masquerades. its steps are dignified and graceful and it does not engage in the frenetic displays of the lesser masquerades. it majestically and disappear into the crowd to maintain order and ensure the full protection of the big masquerade. the fourth day of the festival counting from oye egbugbu is eke. it is also known as eke nwusa akpata. the dramatic connotations of the day come when people who have not had enough of the masquerade flogging will flood the eke obinikpa and eke uwakonye to interact with the masquerades. there they taunt the masquerades by exposing their legs for it to flog them. while chasing them, the masquerade may slip and fall down and is booed by the spectators. if the masquerade flogs a person and the sound reverberates, the crowd acknowledges igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 209 with thunderous ovation and rushes to hail the masquerade. one after the other the spectators take turns as the masquerade flogs them. this is also used as endurance test for young men. as they take turns to be flogged by the masquerades, those who are able to endure the pain arising from the floggings are regarded as real men while those who groan are waved aside as mere boys. ikeji and recession there is no doubt that during recession, sponsorship of the festival which come as monetary grants, provision for souvenirs and entertainment like free drinks may dwindle and, in most cases, out of reach. however, as creativity is the mother of invention, the people of arondizuogu are therefore called upon to be creative in order to beat the effects of recession and to survive. one of the ways of survival is to cash in on the multiplier economic effect of the ikeji festival. during this festival, arondizuogu community experience influx of people from all over the world. there is economic boom. therefore, the people should take the opportunity offered by this mass influx of visitors and tourists to seal the holes in their pockets through effectively taking up economic ventures like selling of souvenirs, food vendors or organizing reality and entertainment shows. poultry products like chicken and eggs will be in high demand during this period. to this end, people are encouraged to start poultry business and supply to hotels and food vendors who will readily buy them during and after the festival. the production of local wooden instruments like ekwe (wooden gong), ogene (metal gong), colourful dried raffia leaves, date palm husks, local flutes(oja) should be intensified as they provide alternative sources of income to the people. the costumes of the various masquerades and indeed most of the different traditional entertainment groups could be locally produced within the community. this will in no small measure engage majority of the youths and keep them away from such vices like arm robbery, cultism, kidnapping etc. conclusion from the foregoing, it is evident that african theatre as noted by adegbite is “linked with several communal interactive activities” (115) of which festivals as represented by the ikeji arondizuogu is one of them. african theatre is total theatre and ikeji arondizuogu is embodied with all the trappings of total theatre. ikeji arondizuogu has different colourful settings which vary from location to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 210 location. from the alter at the ime obi of obo iheme, adorned with many historical artifacts where the ikeji iheme is performed to announce the date for ikeji arondizuogu, to the village square where the ekpe na mboko society assemble for their procession to eke obinikpa on the eke odu ikeji day; the different family alters where libations and incantations are done on the oye egbugbu day and christian homes where priests and clergies are invited to pray and bless the animals before they are slaughtered and church auditoriums where church services are held; the masquerade covens where new initiates are inducted into the masquerade cult; to the village squares where spectators gather for the masquerade display are all village settings, appropriate for communal activity. furthermore, during ikeji festival, different colourful costumes are used. the ukara cloth with traditional top and a woolen handmade cap is the trademark of the ekpe na mboko society; the okwomma group ties a traditional george wrapper on their trouser upon white shirt. the ojionu masquerade is costumed in a trouser like gear with sewn up legs in cotton material while that of the mgbadike is made in a net like form with raffia and a date palm husks covering its head. similarly, the properties used by the performers include bunch of whips by the ojionu masquerades, long ropes and bells as well as wooden reproduction of axes and machetes of the mgbadike, the long wooden staff of the nwabuuja, baskets filled with water, earthen pot of fire among others. there is dance, music, songs, spectacle and dialogue, important elements of drama as seen in ikeji festival. most of the songs are composed extempore as situation arises. the traditional music groups known as umu nkwu (masquerade followers) use local instruments like ekwe (wooden slits) ogene (metal gong) tortoise shell, date palm husks, bells of different sizes and shapes to produce the music. though it may be noisy and rowdy, on the other hand, it is synchronized, coordinated and melodic. the dialogue which ranges from communing with the ancestors through the chief priest and the responses of the audience as well as interactions and conversations of the participants with the masquerades are all indices that qualify ikeji festival as drama. the paper therefore recommends that apart from the dramatic dimension investigated in this study, there are many grey areas in ikeji arondizuogu which needed to be exposed particularly in the area of tourism development as this will lead to the provision of more jobs for our teeming youths as well as raise the internally generated revenue of the state. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 211 works cited adegbite adesina. “design and technical concepts in nigerian theatre practice: a postulation of redefinitive approach towards a sustainable development”. nigerian theatre journal: a journal of the society of nigerian theatre artistes.vol.8, no.1. lagos, 2005. federal ministry of information. national cultural policy. lagos,1998. ilami, karma c. african traditional theatre & drama: themes and perspectives. port harcourt, university of port harcourt press, 2013. kanu, i. a. (2017). ikeji festival of arondizuogu: retelling the stories and rekindling the values of an ancestral homeland. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 9. no. 1. pp. 156-179. obuh stanley. issues, playwrights, plays, and artistes in nigerian drama, theater and drama. port harcourt: pearl publishers. 2007. ohia uche. ikeji festival arondizuogu: an introduction. aba. silverduck services, 2014. okafor-ogbaji nath. ikeji festival arondizuogu: ancient & mordern. aba. clearprint publishing, 2009. pieper, josef. theory of festivity: in tune with the world http://www.staugustine.net/our-books/books/intunewiththeworld. accessed 18/10/15 soyinka wole and junzo kwanda. development and culture. ota. african leadership forum, 1988. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 435 religion, population growth and violence in contemporary nigerian nation clara m. austin iwuoha, phd department of religious studies faculty of humanities imo state university, owerri ausiwuoha@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/ rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract with a population of about 190 million, nigeria is africa's most populous nation by double and fertility levels remain higher than most other sub-saharan african nations. throughout the last decades, the fertility gap between christians and muslims has widened with significant political implications for her nascent democracy. since nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999, thousands of people have died in the wake of identity-based vicious, murderous and destructive violence mostly fought along ethnoreligious lines. in 2009, a radical islamist sect from north-eastern nigeria, boko haram, started a campaign of terror that has so far intensified the schismatic and apprehensive religious atmosphere in the country. this had been preceded by the vicious maitatsine sect of the 1980s. the formal institutionalization of sharia law in the north in 1999 have also not helped matters. while the boko haram crisis cannot be said to be strictly religious, this paper will locate the group within the context of the mobilization and politicization of religion in nigeria, which along with the heavy-handedness of nigeria’s conflict management processes, informs religious militancy and sectarian violence in the country. the paper argues that a process of transition from a killing society to a nonkilling society is needed to provide an alternative perspective to the existing pedagogy of religion, violence and population growth for which northern nigeria is notorious. keywords: religious violence, politicization, boko haram, population growth introduction religious violence in nigeria is vividly linked with the proliferation of uncompromising muslim and christian activism, a relationship that has led to a burgeoning culture of religious intolerance particularly in northern nigeria. prior to the advent of islam and christianity in nigeria, african traditional religion, was the religion of africans and during this time when africans worshipped god the indigenous way religious violence was rare. the introduction of islam and christianity in nigeria marked the beginning of religious violence as both mailto:ausiwuoha@yahoo.com https://journals.sagepub.com/keyword/religious+violence https://journals.sagepub.com/keyword/religious+politicization https://journals.sagepub.com/keyword/boko+haram https://journals.sagepub.com/keyword/and+non-killing+society igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 436 religions struggled for supremacy. the concept of national security encompasses both military and non-military security such as economic security, energy security, food security etc. security threats can come in any form. the present security threat in nigeria is the boko haram terrorist attacks on the government and the country at large. equally, religious violence is a threat to the well-being of the adherents of the religions in nigeria. several political problems assume religious dimensions; manipulated by politics, poverty, illiteracy and ignorance in nigeria. violence predicated on religious affiliation and religious policies has indeed caused physical and psychological damage to several people, thereby legitimizing religious schism among nigerians who simply have different religious affiliations. it is therefore paramount that we look at factors responsible for religious violence in nigeria since the inception of democracy in 1999 and to find out how religion can bring about peaceful co-existence. the 1980s witnessed an upsurge in violence resulting from the death of mohammed marwa, the leader of a sectarian group known as "maitatsine". at about the same time, the former self-styled military president of nigeria, general ibrahim babangida, enrolled nigeria in the organization of the islamic conference, oic. this move aggravated religious tensions in the country, particularly among the christian communities. since the return of democracy to nigeria in 1999, sharia has been instituted as a main body of civil and criminal law in nine (9) muslim-majority and in some parts of three (3) muslim-plurality states. the then zamfara state governor, ahmad rufai sani yerima is known to have started the push for the institution of sharia at the state level of government. in the 1980s, serious outbreaks of conflicts between christians and muslims occurred in kafanchan in southern kaduna state in a border area between the two religions, propagated by extreme leaders who were able to rally a young, educated group of individuals who feared that the nation would not be able to protect their religious groups. the leaders were able to polarize their followers through speeches and public demonstrations. the activities of some of these sects led to the loss of lives and properties as they moved about destroying government facilities which they saw as legacies or replica of western cultures in their various communities. these religious campaigns have seen an increase in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 437 sophisticated gun battles between the members of these sects and security forces with loss of precious lives witnessed on both sides. although direct conflicts between christians and muslims were rare from the outset, tensions did flare between the two groups as each group galvanized and radicalized. there were clashes in october 1982 when muslim zealots in kano were able to enforce their power in order to keep the anglican house church from expanding its size and power base. they viewed it as a threat to the nearby mosque, even though the anglican house church had been there forty years prior to the building of the mosque. similar thing almost happened at the university of ibadan when the muslim worshippers demanded that a cross which had been there years before the mosque be pulled down because they faced it when praying. christians stood their ground to protect the cross and tensions escalated. to ensure peace, a wall was raised between the cross and the mosque. elsewhere, there were two student groups who came into contestation in nigeria the fellowship of christian students and the muslim students society. on one occasion there was an evangelical campaign organized by the fcs that questioned why one sect should dominate the campus of the kafanchan college of education. this quarrel escalated to the point where the muslim students organized protests around the city which culminated in the burning of a mosque at the college. the christian majority at the college retaliated. twelve people died, several mosques were burnt and a climate of fear and apprehension was created. the retaliation was pre-planned. exploitation of the media as a means of propagating the ideas of the conflict, have also contributed in radicalizing each force even more. media was biased on each side so while places like the federal radio corporation discussed the idea of defending islam during this brief moment of terror, it did not report the deaths and damage caused by muslims, thereby galvanizing the muslim population. similarly, the christian papers did not report the damage and deaths caused by christians but rather focused on the islamic terror. other individuals leading these religious movements used the media to spread messages which gradually became more toxic and intolerant of other religions, and because of these religious divisions radical islam continues to be a problem in nigeria today. religious conflict between muslims and christians has erupted several times since 2000 for various reasons, often causing riots with several thousands of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 438 victims on both sides. since 2009, the islamist movement boko haram has fought an armed rebellion against the nigerian military, sacking villages and towns and taking thousands of lives in battles and massacres against christians, students and others deemed enemies of islam. the chibok girls saga and the abduction of leah sharibu are still very fresh in the mind. the thrust of this investigation is propelled by the ferocious and colossal eruptions of religious conflict occasioned by extreme display of religious fanaticism and intolerance and how it has impacted on the peace and progress of the populace. religious violence among scholars, there is no acceptable definition of violence. violence is viewed from diverse perspectives. riches (1986:8) cited in afolabi (2016) defines violence from an anthropological point of view as ‗‗an act of physical hurt deemed legitimate by the performer and illegitimate by (some) witnesses‘‘. riches‘ definition according to afolabi (2016) is compatible with ‗‗basic properties‘‘ of violence, which have cross-cultural validity, i.e. that the performance of violence requires relatively little by way of specialized equipment or knowledge, that the practice of violence is highly visible to the senses and that, therefore, violence as such is unlikely to be mistaken. afolabi (2016) maintains that discrepancies in basic understanding amongst those implicated in the performance of a violent act are likely to be minimal. nevertheless, violence is inherently liable to be contested on the question of legitimacy. hann (2008) asserts that riches‘ incorporation of the concepts of legitimacy and illegitimacy in the definition of violence raises problems because it is unclear how the discrepancy in basic understanding amongst those implicated in the performance of a violent act can be ‗likely to be minimal‘ when an act of violence by definition is deemed legitimate by the performer and illegitimate by (some) witnesses. in an attempt to introduce a more systematic, comprehensive analysis of violence, several propositions have been made for a more extended notion of violence which is defined in a more inclusive way. two examples of inclusive definitions of violence presented by barak (2003) and henry (2000) will suffice. barak (2003) has made an attempt to be conceptually inclusive, that is, to take into account the full range of harms associated with a variety of interpersonal, institutional, and structural relationships and behaviours and to not exclude any form and expression of violence, whether they refer to individual acts, institutional arrangements or structural conditions as well as whether or not they are prohibited by law. to this end, he adopts a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 439 definition of violence as ‗‗any action or structural arrangement that results in physical or non-physical harm to one or more persons‘‘ (iadicola and shupe, 1998: 26; quoted in barak, 2003: 26). in a similar vein, henry (2000:3-5,116) suggests that a more inclusive, integrated definition of violence is necessary, which replaces the term ‗force‘ with ‗power‘ and takes a more comprehensive view of harm. violence is thus defined as ‗‗the use of power to harm another, whatever form it takes‘‘. in this case, harm is not only physical pain and suffering. it can also occur along many dimensions beyond the physical to include psychological or emotional, material or economic, social or identity, moral or ethical, and so on. within each dimension, the harm can be of two kinds: ‗harms of reduction‘ and ‗harms of repression‘ (henry and milovanovic, 1996:103). harms of reduction remove something from a person‘s existing status as a human being. for instance, physical harms of reduction produce bodily pain or loss (of blood, organs, limbs, physical functioning). material harms of reduction threaten or downgrade some of the person‘s economic status (property, wealth, money). psychological harms of reduction have destructive effects on the human mind and weaken a person‘s emotional or mental functioning (such as in posttraumatic stress syndrome). social and symbolic harms of reduction lower a person‘s social status (by violating their human rights, sexuality or social identity). moral or ethical harms of reduction corrupt standards of concern for the well-being of others (as in hate, pressure to cheat, and the like). in contrast, harms of repression reveal how the exercise of power acts to systematically limit another person‘s capability of achieving higher levels of accomplishment along any of these dimensions. violence, then, is the exercise of power over others by some individual, agency, or social process that denies those subjects of their humanity either by reducing them from what they are or by limiting them from becoming what they might be. after looking at the concept of violence from the perspective of inclusive and restrictive definitions, hann (2008:29-33) came to the conclusion that depending on the contexts of discovery and justification, valid arguments are feasible for either inclusive or restrictive definitions of violence. any definition of violence, however, should be considered as a temporary outcome of theoretical debate – an outcome which may or may not prove to be useful in future research. exploring diversity of definitions is useful in understanding violence from a religious perspective. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 440 from these definitions, it can safely be deduced that ―religious violence is a term that describes a phenomenon where religion is either the subject or object of violent behaviour. religious violence is, precisely, violence that is motivated by or in reaction to religious precepts, texts, or doctrines‖. it involves all forms of violence against religious institutions, persons, objects, or when the violence is motivated to some degree by some religious aspect of the target or precepts of the attacker. this phenomenon does not only refer to violent acts committed by religious groups, but it also includes acts committed by secular group against groups. thus, it is pluralistic in its incidence. religious violence in nigeria has caused not only physical pain but also psychological, emotional, material, economic and social loss. it has also caused harms of reduction and repression. many people have been dehumanized, lost their wealth and sources of livelihood to intermittent religious conflicts in several parts of the northern states. religious violence has weakened their emotional or mental proper functioning. the exercise of power and domination by hausafualni indigenes in the north on the settlers limit the latter from achieving their utmost potential. the violent and murderous activities of the maitatsine sects in nigeria between 1980 and 1985, and the present boko haram violence are few examples of sad situations religion has caused humanity. the events of abuja in 2000 and jos in 2001 were riots between christians and muslims in jos, nigeria about the appointment of a muslim politician, alhaji muktar mohammed, as local coordinator of the federal programme to fight poverty. another such riot killed over 100 people in october 2001 in kano state. in 2002, the nigerian journalist isioma daniel wrote an article that led to the demonstrations and violence that caused the deaths of over 200 in kaduna, as well as a fatwa placed on her life. the 2002 miss world contest was moved from abuja to london as a result. the rest of the 2000s witnessed continuous interreligious violence in jos and kaduna. the reaction to the mohammed cartoons brought about a series of violent protests in nigeria. clashes between rioters and police claimed several lives, with estimates ranging from sixteen to more than a hundred. this led to reprisal attacks in the south of the country, particularly in onitsha. more than a hundred lost their lives. a woman was killed in kano for her early morning ministrations which the muslim youths considered as disturbance. recently, fulani herdsmen have been known to commit all manners of unrestricted violence in almost all parts of the country with reckless abandon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/jos igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 441 overview of religious violence in nigeria 1. 01-jul-99: sagamu, ogun state crisis between yoruba traditional worshipers and hausa groups as a result of the killing of a hausa woman by the oro masqueraders for violating traditional rites. 2. 20-dec-99: ilorin, kwara state muslim fundamentalists attacked and destroyed over 14 churches, properties worth several millions of naira destroyed. 3. 28-feb00: aba, abia state religious crisis that led to the killing of over 450 persons. 4. february 21-22, 00: kaduna, kaduna state crisis over the introduction of sharia, an estimated 3000 people died. 5. 12-oct-01: kano, kano state religious crises, in protest to u.s. invasion of afghanistan over osama bin laden. over 150 persons were killed. 6. september, 7-17, 07: jos, plateau state religious crisis between muslims and christians. mosques, churches and several properties were damaged. 7. 16-nov-02: kaduna, kaduna state attack of christians by the muslims over article written by lsioma daniel on miss world, over 250 people were killed and several churches destroyed. 8. 14-feb-04: numan, adamawa state religious crisis between christians and muslims over location of the central mosque close to bachama paramount ruler‘s palace. over 17 persons killed. 9. 18-feb-06: maiduguri, borno state religious crisis between christians and muslims over danish cartoon on prophet mohammed in jyllandsposten newspaper. over 50 persons killed and 30 churches destroyed over 200 shops, 50 houses and 100 vehicles vandalized. 10. 22-mar-07: gombe, gombe state religious crisis over the killing of a christian teacher for allegedly desecrating the qur‘an while attempting to stop a student from cheating in an examination hall. 11. 28-nov-08: jos, plateau state religious crisis between muslims and christians over the controversial results of local election. over 700 people killed. 12. july 26-30, 09: bauch, borno, kano and yobe states religious crisis unleashed by boko haram sect on christians. over 700 people killed 3,500 persons internally displaced, 1,264 children orphaned, and over 392 woman widowed, and several properties destroyed. 13. 07-mar-10: jos, plateau state attacks by fulani moslems on christiansdominated villages of dogo-nahawa, shen and fan. 13 persons killed. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 442 14. 11-jul-10: jos south, plateau state attack on a christian village by fulani herdsman. 3 houses and 6 vehicles were torched. 15. january 5-6-12: gombe, gombe state gunmen stormed a deeper life church, shooting indiscriminately at worshippers. the boko haram islamist sect claimed responsibility for the shooting. 16. january 5-6-12: mubi, adamawa state suspected boko haram militants stormed a gathering of igbo christians and shot sporadically, killing over 12 and injuring others. 17. may-2016: padongari, niger state religious crisis that left 4 persons dead. 18. 08-jun-16: kakuri, kaduna state a christian man was stabbed for not joining ramadan fast. 19. 14-mar-18: abuja protest by muslim groups rocks national assembly on the public hearing over amasa firdus, law school hijab controversy. source: adapted from sampson, 2018; sahara reporter, 2018; apuwabi, 2018. factors responsible for religious violence religious violence has become a defining personality of nigeria and her politics since independence. kukah (1993:9) argues that both islam and christianity are straddled across the nigerian polity, each no longer knocking and pleading to be admitted, but seeking to take over the architectural design and construction of the nigerian polity. thus, religion has been politicized and politics has been religionized thereby making it difficult to draw a line of demarcation between the two entities. religion that has bound us together in two strands has caused much damage than good in northern nigeria. under the guise of religion, many religious fundamentalists and violent religious fanatics have frequently plunged the country into unnecessary wanton destruction of innocent lives and properties (iwe 4). in nigeria some islamic fundamentalists and fanatics have in the guise of religion, knowingly or reluctantly, repudiated the spirit of islam as a religion of peace and social justice, by their irrational and reckless destruction of the lives and properties of their fellow citizens and their defiance of constituted military and civil authorities. the intermittent outburst of violent destruction of lives and properties by ill-advised moslem youths who sometimes surface from their mosque or after a secret deadly resolution to impose catastrophe and havoc on their fellow citizens for flimsy and unjustified reasons is also another instance. these fanatics and fundamentalists, misguided by a wrong understanding and interpretation of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 443 true spirit of islamic jihad have often sought to provoke war and violence for selfish interests (james 143). several factors responsible for religious violence in nigeria have been identified in literature (omotosho, 2003; gofwen, 2004; iwara, 2006; salawu, 2010; sampson, 2012; alao, 2019). whereas most of these causes conflate, emphasis in literature has been on the underlying socio-economic, political and governance factors that gestate not only religious conflicts, but violent conflicts in nigeria generally. however this paper is focused on the immediate and visible factors that generate religious violence and how it impact on the population. some of these factors include: personalization of religion in non-western countries, people find it convenient to identify themselves through religion in terms of dressing, name or conversation. with the introduction of modernity, there was an increased amount of religious consciousness and personalization. in nigeria, especially in the north, identity is based on primordial factors such as ethnicity, nation, race, language and religion. these primordial factors separate an individual from another. religion, which is one of the most important primordial factors have led to personalization among the same citizens of different ethnicity, nation and language in nigeria. in the northern part of nigeria, there are two distinct religions that are personalized, islam and christianity. the majority of the citizens are muslims while the minorities are mostly christians. this has generated discrimination by the majority against the minority. that is why gurr (1993) argues that discrimination against an ethnic minority provides the basis for the minority to form an opposition to protest and terminate the perceived discrimination. fox (2000) concurs with gurr by stating that religious factors are capable of giving rise to discrimination and grievances, which can give rise to ethnic and religious conflicts. in a nutshell, religion personalization can lead to religious discrimination and ultimately degenerate to extremism, fundamentalism and terrorism. when religion is personalized, adherents tend to see their religion as superior to another which forms a strong mark in their mind to fight and die for their religious beliefs and use religion to justify the use of violence. this is the true picture of religious violence in nigeria. extremism and intolerance igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 444 extremism is as good as fanaticism. extremism on both sides is another important reason behind religious crisis in nigeria. in most cases this extremism results from poor knowledge and understanding of the teachings of the religion being defended by the groups from the two sides. religious intolerance means hostility towards other religions, as well as the inability of religious adherents to harmonize the theoretical and the practical aspect of religion. intolerant devotion to one‘s opinions and prejudices especially the expression of intolerance and animosity toward persons of differing beliefs leads to violence. religious conversion religious adherents of both islam and christianity in nigeria believe that their religion is not only superior but possess salvation for one‘s soul and the enjoyment of life after death. this is done by preaching religious conversion. jenkins (2002) argues that the mechanism of religious conversion has the capacity to promote rivalry and shift the demographic balance between adherents of different religions within a state. thus, religious conversion can bring about demographic shift and cause religious violence. although, boko haram may not be able to account for religious conversion as a factor for religious violence because their activities have shifted from persecuting christians to muslims that they believe are not true believers of islam. however, religious conversion is a significant threat to muslims in the north who are dominant citizens in the area. depletion of cultural values this is ramified in the fact that man no longer attaches the expected value to the sanctity of life. the african virtue of being our brother‗s keeper has been eroded. isolated settlement and heterogeneous state olomojobi (2013) asserts that islamic faith is largely practiced in the northern region of nigeria in sixteen states: adamawa, bauchi, borno, gombe, kano, kaduna, katsina, kebbi, kogi, kwara, jigawa, nassarawa, niger, sokoto, yobe and zamfara. three states, benue, plateau and taraba have a muslim minority while kano, kastina and sokoto are historically centers of islamic education and missionary activities. he notes that commercial activities and the existence of profitable opportunities in agriculture and trade, including the railway system and the establishment of federal institutions across the north led to the increased influx of other ethnic groups from other parts of nigeria to the north. instead of the indigenes of the north to allow other ethnic groups to settle wherever they found space, they are stationed to a particular territory called sabon gari igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 445 quarters (strangers‘ quarters) across the north. this is so because the practice of islam which is based on sharia law divides men into two groups: those belonging to the umma and those outside the community. this brings us to the issue of heterogeneous states. wimmer, 2003; fox, 2000 and gurr, 1993 argue that the initial stages of establishing a democratic order in a heterogeneous state are likely to produce ethnic and religious conflicts. nigeria, which is a heterogeneous state have witness more religious and ethnic crises since 1999. thus, separate settlement and heterogeneous states give room for contention between the indigenous muslim and the immigrants especially those that belong to nonislamic faith. religious hegemony both islam and christianity adherents fight for dominance of their religious faith. however, islamic religion does not only unite ethnic groups but also dominate the northern part of nigeria. along this line, lincoln (2003) argues that religious conflict arises when the ‗religion of the status quo‘ is used as a source of domination over ‗religions of resistance‘. this, in the long run, can result in religious conflict between the dominant majority and the dominated religious minorities. hence, while islam is the ‗religion of the status quo‘, christianity is the ‗religion of resistance‘. unemployment/illiteracy youth unemployment and illiteracy are no doubt major problems in nigeria, threatening its national security, considering the inability of the government to adequately engage the teeming youth population to be productive. according to the national bureau of statistics (nbs), statistics show that unemployment rate in nigeria increased to 23.9 % during the first half of the year 2011. in addition to the already daunting statistics of over 43 million unemployed youth, an additional 1.8 million people joined the long queue. this was attributed to fresh entrants to the job market and worker layoffs across all sectors of the economy in the year (afolabi, 2013:2). also, of the 100 million nigerians living in abject poverty, those who can afford essentials of food, shelter and clothing — the majority reside in the northern states. the north-west has the highest poverty rate with 70% of its people living below $1 per day. the north-east follows with 69% and the north-central with 59.5%. the three southern zones have no cause to rejoice either as poverty level there ranges between 49.8% and 58.7%. this shows the level of frustration of unemployed youth who have constituted a threat to the national security of the state because invariably, an idle hand is the devil‘s igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 446 workshop. hence, the alarming rate of youth unemployment impact on the level of insecurity in the country whereby youths are recruited into terrorism, kidnapping, armed robbery, theft and also as instruments for religious violence. poverty poverty is a worst and unpalatable situation which can make man to think of getting rich by any means possible without thinking of the consequences. some of our religious and political leaders are deliberately creating situations of poverty among their adherents and followers and they capitalize on the opportunity offered by this ugly situation to employ these hungry youths in unleashing terror and threat to life. the almajiri system is a case in point. negative roles of some religious leaders obioha (2008) submitted that, the occurrence of these conflicts cannot be divorced from the activities of some religious leaders, both of christian religion and islam. according to him, some of them present their religion as the best, while others are no religion, or worse still, false religions. some preach inciting sermons that encourages their followers to violence. cases abound in kano and kaduna where muslims would commence rioting from the mosque after listening friday sermons from their imams. it is such that people approach fridays with trepidations. suspicion among the various adherents involved it can be rightly said according to alabi and lateju, (2014) that, just as christians are suspicious of muslims, so also muslims mistrust christians. for clarification, adeniyi, for example, blames christianity for the violent religious climate in nigeria. he explained that islam and african religion co-existed peacefully until christianity came in ten centuries later, with its evangelistic determination to wipe out islam and african religions. religion and population growth in nigeria literature confirms that nigeria is the most populous nation in sub-saharan africa. but according to adekoya (2017) and evidenced in afolabo (2016) this rapid population growth is not an economic advantage rather it has become a looming disaster that politicians have either been powerless to stop or lacks the political will to control. a few years ago, when the ―africa rising‖ mantra was in full force, the continent‘s population growth was touted as an asset, a comparative advantage over the rest of the world. while western populaces, https://foreignpolicy.com/author/remi-adekoya/ https://blog-imfdirect.imf.org/2015/08/03/the-african-century/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 447 particularly in europe, were aging and was predicted to shrink in the coming decades, africa‘s fast-growing and youthful population was expected to provide the dynamism and consumer base needed to power its economy and transform the continent into a global growth engine. for adekoya (2017), one country that to personified this narrative was nigeria, sub-saharan africa‘s most populous nation, which boasted between 7 and 8 percent gdp growth for much of the 2000s. unfortunately, now that the global commodity slump especially in the oil sector has plunged nigeria into its worst economic crisis in two decades, and pushed youth unemployment through the roof, it is evident that far from a dividend, the country‘s demographics is now a disaster waiting to happen. and the time bomb is ticking faster than we feared. for example, hausa youths are being stowed to the south as willing tools for violence. back in 2017, nigeria‘s national bureau of statistics revealed that the country‘s population was estimated to have surpassed 193 million, significantly exceeding the earlier u.n. projection of 187 million in 2016. meaning that, the u.n.‘s much-publicized forecast that nigeria will overtake the united states as the world‘s third-most populous nation by 2050 will likely happen much sooner than projected. (nigeria‘s fertility rate is 5.13 children per woman, compared with 1.87 per woman in the united states). part of the optimism surrounding nigeria‘s population growth stemmed from the country‘s abundant natural resource wealth, which was expected to power investments in infrastructure, industry and education, among others. but with markets as volatile as they are, it is clear that oil and gas revenue which accounts for 95 percent of export earnings and 70 percent of government revenue is no longer enough to keep a country the size of nigeria afloat. indeed, since oil prices started to drop in mid-2014 to its current lowest, nigeria‘s currency has depreciated more than 170 percent against the dollar while the country‘s gdp has contracted accordingly in dollar terms. the 2017 national budget was the largest ever when measured in local currency, but at the then current market exchange rate though not the official one, which has been largely fictitious it amounts to a meager $15 billion. the government of kansas, population 2.9 million, has a bigger budget than nigeria. in per capita terms, the situation is even bleaker. the government had just $77 to spend on each citizen in 2017. a nation with a population fast approaching 200 million earmarked just $290 million for education (including capital spending), less than https://foreignpolicy.com/author/remi-adekoya/ http://nigerianstat.gov.ng/report/475 http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?newsid=51526#.wg9wpixxliu%20] https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ni.html http://abokifx.com/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 448 a third of what harvard university spent on research and development alone meaning that many of the country‘s newest citizens were likely to join the 62 million nigerians who are currently illiterate and most of them from the north. in other words, a large percentage of nigeria‘s rapidly expanding population will have few or none of the skills needed to secure decent-paying jobs, build sustainable businesses, or otherwise contribute to a globalized 21st-century economy. many are likely to join the already 30-million-strong army of unemployed youths aged 15 to 34. according to the national bureau of statistics, more than 45 percent of the country‘s 69 million youths are either unemployed or underemployed — and this is a conservative estimate. with such grim employment statistics, it‘s little wonder that violent crime, including kidnappings and armed robberies, is on the rise while ethnic tensions, never far from the surface in nigeria, are growing. so what can be done to defuse this ticking time bomb? various nigerian governments have attempted to promote family planning, but these programmes have had limited impact due to their modest scope and inability to change deeply embedded cultural and religious sensibilities that encourage large families and unbridled procreation through polygamy and multiple marriages especially in the north. pushing birth control is not easy in a society where children are widely regarded as ―blessings from god.‖ human interference in such heavenly matters is considered arrogant and presumptuous especially by the catholics. economic calculations also drive the desire for many children, especially in rural societies. in a society lacking a social safety net, parents rely on their children to provide for them in old age. the more future caregivers you have, the brighter your retirement prospects. there is also a pervasive cultural belief, perhaps reinforced by the ―africa rising‖ narrative, that nigeria draws strength from its numbers. a large and growing population is one of the two main pillars supporting nigeria‘s vaunted status as the ordained ―giant of africa‖ (the other pillar is the country‘s significant natural resource wealth, the value of which most of the population overestimates). it is partly for this reason that family planning campaigns, perceived as driven by foreigners and especially white people, are often viewed as a conspiracy to weaken nigeria and africa in general. https://www.iriweb.org/sites/default/files/2016globalr&dfundingforecast_2.pdf https://www.osac.gov/pages/contentreportdetails.aspx?cid=19500 https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/11/peaceful-pro-biafra-activists-killed-in-chilling-crackdown/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 449 given these entrenched realities, it makes sense to turn to the only people capable of changing minds on issues as sensitive as family planning: religious leaders. most nigerians are fiercely attached to their religious leaders, be it the imams and mallams in the predominantly muslim north or the charismatic pastors of the mostly christian south. in a society where the corrupt political class has been thoroughly discredited, religious leaders are the authority figures. if enough of them could be persuaded that the country is heading for disaster if population growth is not curbed, they might be willing to support a broad-based family planning campaign. traditional rulers could also be engaged in such an exercise, since they also retain significant authority at the grassroots level. this type of cooperation between religious and political leaders has succeeded in promoting family planning in other deeply conservative societies postrevolutionary iran, for instance and the basis for it is already in place. nigeria‘s politicians and religious leaders have long enjoyed a symbiotic relationship: politicians rely on religious leaders to bolster their legitimacy and in return provide generous funding to build mosques and churches. this quid pro quo is especially pronounced in the northern muslim parts of the country where sharia, or islamic law, is practiced, religious authority is especially strong, and birth rates tend to be higher than among southern christians. the latest population figures must serve as a clarion call for the nigerian government and its international partners to come up with policies, programmes, and campaigns aimed at slowing down the birth rate while also providing better opportunities for those already born. the country‘s demographic explosion should stop being presented as an opportunity or an asset; it is a disaster waiting to happen for a nation with nigeria‘s limited resources. effects of religious crisis in nigeria critically speaking one does not need to be soothsayer, fortune-teller or a prophet to appreciate the fact that religious crisis has colossal negative effects on the socio-moral and economic growth of the society. religious and ethnic crisis affects the foreign direct investment (fdi) flow into nigeria. fdi has positive relationship with economic growth as the more fdi flows into the country the more jobs are created, the higher the per capita income and the higher the standard of living. this is buttressed by onwumah (2014) who posited that in economic terms, religious and ethnic crisis damages resources and facilities https://www.ft.com/content/14962a72-8ebf-11e6-8df8-d3778b55a923 https://www.ft.com/content/14962a72-8ebf-11e6-8df8-d3778b55a923 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 450 which took time to acquire. no foreign investor will like to invest funds in a country that is divided by communal, religious and ethnic crises (ayinla, 2003). the basic aim of foreign investment is to make profit which is not possible in an environment of crises. the resources invested already will definitely go down the drains. mechanism for peace in religious violence paden (2005) argues that the first step in conflict resolution and mediation is to analyze the nature and dynamics of the grassroots conflicts, then to assess the human resources available for the conflict mitigation, including the capacity of traditional civic cultures to adapt to new conflict challenges. this is an important mechanism of bringing peace in religious violence due to the fact that conflict is fueled with resources which can be used to bring sustainable peace and development in the society. however, it is important to note that strategies used in curtailing conflict differ from one culture to the other. moreover, resources should be distributed evenly across the country. nigeria is too rich to be among the poorest countries in the world. the wealth of the country is more concentrated in few individuals and this lead to abject poverty of large percentage of nigerian citizen where the gap between the rich and poor is wide. one of the root causes of religious violence is the poverty level in the country, most especially in the north. the poor in the north are the unemployed youth, miscreants, the talakawa and the almajirai. olomojobi (2013) argues that in northern nigeria, the root of religious clashes could be traced to class struggles and resources control. in social terms, the lack of economic independence for the young generation leads to denial of economic welfare such as housing and the lack of access to justice. this leads to the lack of education, producing disadvantaged adults, which leads to the tendency to commit crimes. in addition, the government should reduce the level of illiteracy by providing education to the teeming youth, most especially in the north where there is high rate of illiteracy. also, they should imbibe the culture of accountability, good governance and bring the dividends of democracy to the grassroots by improving their quality of lives through economic empowerment. more importantly, they should be alert to early warning signals of conflict so as to prevent it early enough before it escalates. moreover, religion can bring about peace where religious violence thrives by stressing the importance of religious tolerance and peaceful co-existence. though this might not go down well with some muslims who view such tolerance as sacrilegious, but this can be done by various religious leaders in teaching their followers that both islam and https://foreignpolicy.com/comments_view/?view_post_comments=https%3a%2f%2fforeignpolicy.com%2f2017%2f01%2f10%2fonly-religion-can-defuse-nigerias-demographic-time-bomb%2f https://foreignpolicy.com/comments_view/?view_post_comments=https%3a%2f%2fforeignpolicy.com%2f2017%2f01%2f10%2fonly-religion-can-defuse-nigerias-demographic-time-bomb%2f https://foreignpolicy.com/comments_view/?view_post_comments=https%3a%2f%2fforeignpolicy.com%2f2017%2f01%2f10%2fonly-religion-can-defuse-nigerias-demographic-time-bomb%2f https://foreignpolicy.com/comments_view/?view_post_comments=https%3a%2f%2fforeignpolicy.com%2f2017%2f01%2f10%2fonly-religion-can-defuse-nigerias-demographic-time-bomb%2f https://foreignpolicy.com/comments_view/?view_post_comments=https%3a%2f%2fforeignpolicy.com%2f2017%2f01%2f10%2fonly-religion-can-defuse-nigerias-demographic-time-bomb%2f https://foreignpolicy.com/comments_view/?view_post_comments=https%3a%2f%2fforeignpolicy.com%2f2017%2f01%2f10%2fonly-religion-can-defuse-nigerias-demographic-time-bomb%2f https://foreignpolicy.com/comments_view/?view_post_comments=https%3a%2f%2fforeignpolicy.com%2f2017%2f01%2f10%2fonly-religion-can-defuse-nigerias-demographic-time-bomb%2f https://foreignpolicy.com/comments_view/?view_post_comments=https%3a%2f%2fforeignpolicy.com%2f2017%2f01%2f10%2fonly-religion-can-defuse-nigerias-demographic-time-bomb%2f https://foreignpolicy.com/comments_view/?view_post_comments=https%3a%2f%2fforeignpolicy.com%2f2017%2f01%2f10%2fonly-religion-can-defuse-nigerias-demographic-time-bomb%2f https://foreignpolicy.com/comments_view/?view_post_comments=https%3a%2f%2fforeignpolicy.com%2f2017%2f01%2f10%2fonly-religion-can-defuse-nigerias-demographic-time-bomb%2f https://foreignpolicy.com/comments_view/?view_post_comments=https%3a%2f%2fforeignpolicy.com%2f2017%2f01%2f10%2fonly-religion-can-defuse-nigerias-demographic-time-bomb%2f https://foreignpolicy.com/comments_view/?view_post_comments=https%3a%2f%2fforeignpolicy.com%2f2017%2f01%2f10%2fonly-religion-can-defuse-nigerias-demographic-time-bomb%2f https://foreignpolicy.com/comments_view/?view_post_comments=https%3a%2f%2fforeignpolicy.com%2f2017%2f01%2f10%2fonly-religion-can-defuse-nigerias-demographic-time-bomb%2f https://foreignpolicy.com/comments_view/?view_post_comments=https%3a%2f%2fforeignpolicy.com%2f2017%2f01%2f10%2fonly-religion-can-defuse-nigerias-demographic-time-bomb%2f https://foreignpolicy.com/comments_view/?view_post_comments=https%3a%2f%2fforeignpolicy.com%2f2017%2f01%2f10%2fonly-religion-can-defuse-nigerias-demographic-time-bomb%2f https://foreignpolicy.com/comments_view/?view_post_comments=https%3a%2f%2fforeignpolicy.com%2f2017%2f01%2f10%2fonly-religion-can-defuse-nigerias-demographic-time-bomb%2f https://foreignpolicy.com/comments_view/?view_post_comments=https%3a%2f%2fforeignpolicy.com%2f2017%2f01%2f10%2fonly-religion-can-defuse-nigerias-demographic-time-bomb%2f https://foreignpolicy.com/comments_view/?view_post_comments=https%3a%2f%2fforeignpolicy.com%2f2017%2f01%2f10%2fonly-religion-can-defuse-nigerias-demographic-time-bomb%2f https://foreignpolicy.com/comments_view/?view_post_comments=https%3a%2f%2fforeignpolicy.com%2f2017%2f01%2f10%2fonly-religion-can-defuse-nigerias-demographic-time-bomb%2f https://foreignpolicy.com/comments_view/?view_post_comments=https%3a%2f%2fforeignpolicy.com%2f2017%2f01%2f10%2fonly-religion-can-defuse-nigerias-demographic-time-bomb%2f https://foreignpolicy.com/comments_view/?view_post_comments=https%3a%2f%2fforeignpolicy.com%2f2017%2f01%2f10%2fonly-religion-can-defuse-nigerias-demographic-time-bomb%2f https://foreignpolicy.com/comments_view/?view_post_comments=https%3a%2f%2fforeignpolicy.com%2f2017%2f01%2f10%2fonly-religion-can-defuse-nigerias-demographic-time-bomb%2f https://foreignpolicy.com/comments_view/?view_post_comments=https%3a%2f%2fforeignpolicy.com%2f2017%2f01%2f10%2fonly-religion-can-defuse-nigerias-demographic-time-bomb%2f https://foreignpolicy.com/comments_view/?view_post_comments=https%3a%2f%2fforeignpolicy.com%2f2017%2f01%2f10%2fonly-religion-can-defuse-nigerias-demographic-time-bomb%2f https://foreignpolicy.com/comments_view/?view_post_comments=https%3a%2f%2fforeignpolicy.com%2f2017%2f01%2f10%2fonly-religion-can-defuse-nigerias-demographic-time-bomb%2f https://foreignpolicy.com/comments_view/?view_post_comments=https%3a%2f%2fforeignpolicy.com%2f2017%2f01%2f10%2fonly-religion-can-defuse-nigerias-demographic-time-bomb%2f https://foreignpolicy.com/comments_view/?view_post_comments=https%3a%2f%2fforeignpolicy.com%2f2017%2f01%2f10%2fonly-religion-can-defuse-nigerias-demographic-time-bomb%2f https://foreignpolicy.com/comments_view/?view_post_comments=https%3a%2f%2fforeignpolicy.com%2f2017%2f01%2f10%2fonly-religion-can-defuse-nigerias-demographic-time-bomb%2f https://foreignpolicy.com/comments_view/?view_post_comments=https%3a%2f%2fforeignpolicy.com%2f2017%2f01%2f10%2fonly-religion-can-defuse-nigerias-demographic-time-bomb%2f https://foreignpolicy.com/comments_view/?view_post_comments=https%3a%2f%2fforeignpolicy.com%2f2017%2f01%2f10%2fonly-religion-can-defuse-nigerias-demographic-time-bomb%2f https://foreignpolicy.com/comments_view/?view_post_comments=https%3a%2f%2fforeignpolicy.com%2f2017%2f01%2f10%2fonly-religion-can-defuse-nigerias-demographic-time-bomb%2f igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 451 christianity accommodates plurality of religious faiths. the government should take the responsibility to orientate the populace while the press should use their resources to curtail conflict by promoting inter-faith programmes and revealing areas of inter-faith harmony. conclusion although religion has been portrayed as a source of worry to humanity due largely to the vicious, violent and murderous activities of some religious zealots and fanatics; misconceptions and selfish interests of religious leaders which negates the spirit of religion, it can safely be deduced that religion as institution, play enormous role in the lives of a people. we can therefore conclude that, there is a need to understand the etymology of peace which is derived from the latin word pax; meaning agreement or contract. for peace to reign there is a need for agreement or contract between and among diverse religions, ethnic groups, languages, race and political parties etc. it is the people that would determine when and how they want peace in a given society. in a nutshell, if the spirit of true patriotism is instilled in the heart of every nigerian citizen through transparent and exemplary leadership in political and religious practices, the rate of religious violence would be significantly reduced to a minimal level. it is important to conclude by affirming what olomojobi (2013) said in suggesting that the basis of the ongoing religious crises in contemporary nigeria is deeply rooted in the country's ontological and historical inheritance as a state. also, it is due to perceived grievance in respect of ignorance, economic stagnation, youth unemployment and disempowerment in the northern part of nigeria. references abeysekara, a. (2002). colors of the robe: religion, identity and difference. colombia, south carolina: university of south carolina press. adah, a. (2013). "will relocation of tafawa balewa lg headquarters guarantee peace?" hallmark. archived from the original on 2014-06-21. retrieved 201406-21. adamu, j. and igboeroteonwu, a. (2014). "nigerian sharia architect defends law". bbc. retrieved, 7 june, 2014. adekoya, r. (2017). only religion can defuse nigeria‘s demographic time bomb https://foreignpolicy.com/2017/01/10/only-religion-can-defusenigerias-demographic-time-bomb/ retrieved 18/05/2020 https://foreignpolicy.com/comments_view/?view_post_comments=https%3a%2f%2fforeignpolicy.com%2f2017%2f01%2f10%2fonly-religion-can-defuse-nigerias-demographic-time-bomb%2f https://foreignpolicy.com/comments_view/?view_post_comments=https%3a%2f%2fforeignpolicy.com%2f2017%2f01%2f10%2fonly-religion-can-defuse-nigerias-demographic-time-bomb%2f https://foreignpolicy.com/comments_view/?view_post_comments=https%3a%2f%2fforeignpolicy.com%2f2017%2f01%2f10%2fonly-religion-can-defuse-nigerias-demographic-time-bomb%2f https://foreignpolicy.com/comments_view/?view_post_comments=https%3a%2f%2fforeignpolicy.com%2f2017%2f01%2f10%2fonly-religion-can-defuse-nigerias-demographic-time-bomb%2f https://foreignpolicy.com/author/remi-adekoya/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 452 afeno, o. s. (2012). the boko haram uprising and insecurity in nigeria: intelligence failure or bad governance? afolabi o. o. (2016). religious violence and national security in nigeria, 1999 – 2011 international affairs and global strategy www.iiste.org issn 2224-574x (paper) issn 2224-8951 (online) vol.42, 2016 afolabi, o. o. (2013). ―the rate of youth unemployment and its effects on national security‖, cultural and religious studies. vol. 1, no1. 2. astill, j. and bowcott, o. (2002). "fatwa is issued on nigerian journalist". guardian unlimited. retrieved, 2007-07-21. awolalu, j. o. (1976). ―what is african traditional religion?‖ studies in comparative religion, vol.10, no. 2. (spring), 1. barak, g. (2003). violence and nonviolence. pathways to understanding, thousand oaks: sage, 26. clinton, h. (2009). ―nigeria: lack of good governance‖, the nation, 14 august, 1. dickson, d. (2008). political islam in sub-saharan africa: the need for a new research and diplomatic agenda. [online] available: http://www.usip.org/pubs/specialreports/sr140.pdf (november 30, 2008). dzugba, a. (1991). ―res 214: an introduction to sociology of religion. second edition‖, the centre for external studies, university of ibadan, 93. eills, s and haar, g. t. (1998), ―religion and politics in sub-saharan africa‖. the journal of modern african studies 26 (2), 188. fox, j. (2000). ―religion as an overlooked element in international relations‖, international studies review 3(3), 53-73. fox, j. (2000). ―religious causes of ethnic discrimination‖. international studies quarterly, sept, 423-450. fox, j. (2000). ―the effects of religious discrimination of ethnic protest and rebellion‖. journal of conflict resolution 20 (2), 16-43. funk and wagnalls. (1993). standard desk dictionary. u.s.a r.p donnelley & sons company. gofwen, r. i. (2004), religious conflicts in northern nigeria and nation building: the throes of two decades 1980–2000, kaduna, human rights monitor. gurr, t. r. (1993). minority at risk: a global viewpoint of ethnopolitical conflicts. washington, dc: united states institute of peace press. hann, w. d. (2008). violence as an essentially contested concept in: s. body gendrot and p. spierenburg (eds.) violence in europe. springer. [online] https://www.researchgate.net/profile/afolabi_oluwaseun2 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 453 available: www.springer.com/cda/content/.../cda.../978038 7745077c2.pdf? (july 28, 2015). harnischfeger, j. (2008). democratization and islamic law: the sharia conflict in nigeria campus verlag. henry, s. (2000). what is school violence? an integrated definition. annals of the american academy of political and social science, 16–30, 567. henry, s. and d. milovanovic (1996). constitutive criminology. beyond postmodernism. london: sage, 103. holman, m. (1986). "nigeria, politics; religious differences intensify", financial times hornby, a. s. (1995). oxford advanced learner‗s dictionary: students edition london: oxford university press. http://hrmars.com/hrmars_papers/the_effects_of_religious_crisis_on_econo mic_development_in_nigeria.pdf iadicola, p. and a. shupe (1998). violence, inequality, and human freedom. new york: general hall. ibrahim, j. (1989). "politics of religion in nigeria: the parameters of the 1987 crisis in kadana state'. review of african political economy, 45, 65-82. pp. 65– 68, https://www.jstor.org/stable/4006011, accessed on 01/11/2011 iwara, u.e. (2006). ―religious violence in nigeria: causes and consequences‖, sophia: an african journal of philosophy, 8 (2), 153–157. jenkins, p. (2002). the next christendom: the coming of global christianity. oxford: oxford university press. juergensmeyer, m. (2001). terror in the mind of god: the global rise of religious violence. berkeley: university of california press, 105. juergensmeyer, m. (ed.). (2005). religion in global civil society. oxford, new york: oxford university press, 26. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2016). christian-muslim relations in nigeria as a religio-political locus theologicus for misericordia vultus. harvard journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 117-128. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 454 kanu, a. i; omojola, i. o.; bazza, m. b. (2019). boko haram and forced migration: a focus on the northeast and lake chad basin. published in nnadiebube journal of education in africa. vol. 4. no. 2. pp. 1-13. kanu, ikechukwu a. & ndubisi j. o. ejikemeuwa (2018) (eds.). religion, morality and peace-building in africa: ambiguities and the imperfect human condition. lambert academic publishing: germany. kanu, i. a. & ushe m. u. (2018). the religious politics of boko haram and fulani herdsmen menace: a resurgence of islamic fundamentalism. in kanu, i. a. & ndubisi j. o. e (eds.). religion, morality and peace-building in africa: ambiguities and the imperfect human condition (pp. 109-183). lambert academic publishing: germany. kukah, m. (2003). human rights in nigeria. hopes and hindrances. aachen: missio. [online] available: http://www. missio-aachen. de/images/mr%20nigeria%20englisch_tcm14-12285.pdf. 31. kukah, m. h. (1993). religion, politics and power in northern nigeria, ibadan: spectrum, 9. lincoln, b. (2003). holy terrors: thinking about religion after september 11. chicago, iii: university of chicago press. longman dictionary of contemporary english. (1995). 3rd edition. maier, k. (2000). the house has fallen: nigeria in crisis. london: penguin books, 154. national bureau of statistics. (2010), national survey, 2010. abuja: nigeria. minchakpu, o. (2001). "religious riots in nigeria leave hundreds dead". christianity today. retrieved 2008-11-30. olomojobi, y. (2013). islam and conflict in northern nigeria. lagos: malthouse press limited. omotosho, a. o. (2003). religious violence in nigeria – the causes and solutions: an islamic perspective. swedish missiological theme, 16. paden, j.n. (2005). muslim civic cultures and conflict resolution: the challenge of democratic federalism in nigeria. washington d.c: brookings institution press, 29. riches, d. (ed.) (1986). the anthropology of violence. oxford: basil blackwell, 8. salawu, b. (2010). ―ethno-religious conflicts in nigeria: causal analysis and proposals for new management strategies‖. european journal of social sciences, 13 (3), 345–353. sampson, i. t. (2012). religious violence in nigeria: causal diagnoses and strategic recommendations to the state and religious communities. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 455 the "miss world riots": continued impunity for killings in kaduna. human rights watch, vol. 15, no. 13 (a), 23 july 2003. ukiwo, u. (2003). ―politics, ethnic-religious conflicts and democratic consolidation in nigeria‖, journal of modern african studies 41(1), 124. "understanding boko haram – a theology of chaos: by chris ngwodo". nigeriaplus.com. 2010-10-06. archived from the original on 13 march 2012. retrieved 13 march 2012. violence in nigeria: the crisis of religious politics and secular ideologies, by toyin falola, pg 212. wimmer, a. (2003). ―democracy and ethno-religious conflict in iraq‖. survival 45(4), the international institute for strategic studies, 111-134. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 99 zhibaje ritual festival and the gbagyi world view alheri precious sarki dept. of english and drama, kaduna state university, kaduna +2348039652616 alherisarki.79@gmail.com & methuselah jeremiah dept. of english and drama, kaduna state university +2348134947770 mekau05@kasu.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.19482.59846 abstract zhibaje practice is one of the essential aspects of the gbagyi folk life which celebrates the quintessential humanity of the gbagyi people in central nigeria. it is one of the religious performances that prove the vitality of the gbagyis irrespective of the balkanization of the people across several states in nigeria. this study examines the functionality of zhibaje ritual and folklore in the fragmented postcolonial nigerian state. it appraises the social constructivist values in zhibaje practice and how aspects of the ritual practices convey doctrines of sharing, social harmony, love and human dignity; all which are fundamental to nation building. we use performance ethnography and functional theories as a theoretical premise to assert that zhibaje practice convey an epistemic bastion upon which humanity’s racial prejudices can be suppressed for social integration to take its course. we draw our data from the performance of zhibaje ritual by the gbagyis of gonin-gora area of kaduna state. we used participant observation and key informant interview instrumentality to maintain that the ritual corpus of zhibaje is philosophical and contained sundry episteme that can preserve world’s humanity. we conclude that harmony amongst nigeria’s diverse populations can only be attained by drawing from aspects of nigerian nativist beliefs that sanctions the inviolability of human dignity. the study found out that the gbagyi cosmic world is hierarchical and as a result influences the character of the gbagyis in central nigeria. keywords: zhibaje, ritual festival, folklore, gbagyi introduction mailto:alherisarki.79@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 100 zhibaje is one of the festivals celebrated by gbagyi communities of central nigeria. it is an important aspect of the gbagyi folk-life in that it celebrates the spine that holds gbagyi people together in spite of their geographical fragmentation in present-day central nigeria. the festival emphasizes single humanity in a diverse multicultural world and promotes sharing irrespective of creed. nevertheless, the festival is rarely known. the principle underpinning the ritual performance in zhibaje is rebirth, community sharing and participation. it is anti-capitalist and against individualism. it underscores the common african metaphysics which emphasizes collectivism. this is evident in the indigenous belief on fako ‘family service’, fwapa ‘collective service ’before anugba ‘personal service’ for all gbagyi. zhibaje festival, like other festivals in nigeria, has an intrinsic inclination to social and cultural reconstruction. nevertheless, zhibaje has received only a passive amount of critical attention from scholars, ethnographers, cultural institutions and government departments. the festival is largely unknown in many gbagyi communities due to the growing status of christianity and islam among the people. so far, only zhimiko (2005) has put in effort to document zhibaje festival. nevertheless, zhimiko’s (2005) essay mostly explicates the processes of the festival without richly demonstrating the imports of zhibaje festival in socio-cultural engineering, political participation, sharing and the centrality of the gbagyi humanity in a diversified world. to this end, the intrinsic cultural, social and developmental export and value of the ritual festival is threatened due to extinctive factors such as none or poor documentation, demonization of the festival by islamic and christian clerics, and the apathy of gbagyipeople themselves on this indigenous practices. the aim of this paper is to convey the tropes of zhibaje ritual festival with a view to express functional ways in which zhibaje fosters social cohesion and sharing among the gbagyi peoples of nigeria. specifically, the paper will try to understand the nature of gbagyi worldview and its implication on gbagyi’s cultural practice, examine aspects of zhibaje ritual festival that foster respect for human dignity, participation and sharing and assess the functional value of zhibaje ritual festival in understanding gbagyi nationalism. conceptual clarification: festival there are many explications of what constitute a festival and what it is not. nsofor (1975) defines festivals as “a period set apart by communities or groups of individual, for commemorating important events in the life of community or an individual. the events may be connected with homage to the gods, ancestors or spirits, or they may be concerned with the transition from one season to the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 101 other. this definition posits that festival is an event that is time and space bound. the time of festivals turn out to be the time when individuals, families or communities celebrate and attempt to reinstate any disharmony among them. according to this definition, festivals can be religious or ritualistic in nature. festivals usually are times to honour gods or ancestral spirits either by supplication or thanksgiving. ogunba (1978) on the other hand describes festival as “an integral dynamic part of the culture of an unalienated african, an occasion to which he responds spontaneously to societal and cultural yearning. this definition means that festival is an institution that harmonise almost all the art forms of the community. festival usually has a set time, which has a story or myth to perform. it is an avenue to showcase and propagate community’s culture. festival contains much of the folklore genres that are important to the understanding of the cultural life of the people. it is believed to improve, revitalize and regulate the lives of the people in the community especially ritual or religious festivals. one of the main functions of ritual festival is to maintain equilibrium between and among the people, spirits, ancestors, deities and other powers. according to idegu (1988), ritual festival is an occasion for expressing and reinstating religious values and contact with gods or ancestral spirits. ukala (2014) notes that ritual festivals renew the bond between the ancestors and their progeny, emphasize cyclical time and keep track of the community’s legacy. turner (2002:13) opines that: a [ritual] performance is a cultural activity in which the central meanings, values and goals of a culture are seen in action as they shape and explain [ritualistic] behaviour. it is declarative of our shared humanity, yet it utters the uniqueness of particular cultures. we will know one another better by entering one another’s performance and learning their grammars and vocabularies. turner’s (2002) assertion points to one of the aspects of zhibaje ritual festival— shared humanity among the people of gbagyi. ogunba (1978:1) notes that ritual festivals are primordially conceived by the society with the objective of maintaining a relationship between the spiritual and the living world. ahithophel (1982:34) agrees by noting that: ritual festivals are connected to the worship of gods or goddesses, sacrifices, libation and prayers offered to unseen beings to pacify or igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 102 appease them for all the crimes and mistakes that members of the community may possible have committed against the gods or goddesses. in addendum to ahithophel’s (1982) claim, ritual festival can also be about thanksgiving for a particular purpose, especially for a bountiful harvest, abundance of rain, fruitfulness, blessings of children, protection from the gods and many more. these sacrifices consequently renew and strengthen the bonds of unity between the living and the deities. this shows that the community depends on the gods and ancestors as being capable of influencing their lives. obiechina (1978:46) brings another insight into understanding festival when he avers that it is an “event of coming together periodically to express their sense of communion through those things which not only defined their unique relatedness, but also distinguishes them from all other people”. from this description, it can be deduced that festival has unique social unifying tools that bring people together which contain all the intrinsic and extrinsic culture of the people. from the aforementioned definitions, religious rituals performed during festivities can be said to preserve the life of the community thereby enhancing continuity. intrinsically, festivals also embody social aspects [of] entertainment and relaxation, a channel for re-union, making new friends and adding more contacts. it is also a medium of showing off the rich culture of the people – their identity. economically, festivals encourage enterprise through the sales of souvenirs, sacrificial items, food and drinks to participants which serves as a source of wealth creation for the local populace and their environs. nigerian festivals such as argungu, igue, ofala, leboku and osun-oshogbo festivals portray all these traits and continue to be appreciated by all who love traditions. it is the contention of this paper that these festivals should be upheld as a means of appreciating the nigerian identity and promoting unity in nigeria as well as the continuous existence of the communities in which they are practiced.mbiti’s (1970:32) submission finds expression thus: through festival the life of the community is renewed. people are entertained and their tension finds outlet. it also brings together the people as a group, thus strengthening their unity and cohesion. religious and secular values are repeated and renewed through communal festivals. artistic talents are utilized, drama and oral communication. where the festival involves beliefs concerning the unseen world, the link between human beings and the spirit is renewed. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 103 mbiti’s (1970) assertion supposes that festivals, among other reasons, are functional in celebrating or renewing the fertility of terrestrial or aquatic spaces. it offers a platform within which communities can purge themselves for productivity. this paper is rooted on this premise theoretical underpinnings this study is fore-grounded on two theories namely: performance ethnography and functional aesthetics. these theories are chosen because each covers up the gaps inherent in the other. furthermore, each offers vantages within which this study can achieve its aim. performance ethnography, according to conrad (2008:611),“describes a set of interrelated qualitative approaches that bring together systematic methods from performance studies”. denzin (2003) sees it as a field of inquiry that bridges communications studies, drama and theatre. performance, bial (2004:) notes, includes cultural activities deemed theatrical or self-consciously constructed performative works of art such as play productions, performance art, or educational drama inclusive of any performative forms— festivals, storytelling, dance, music, street theatre, video, and so on. conrad (2008:612) affirms that performance ethnography: provides insights into the nature of social relations by examining performances in real life, such as public gatherings, rituals, festivals, games, carnival or sporting events that are seen as performative. it also investigates social performance or dramatic moments in everyday life, such as moments of conflict, and inquires into everyday interactions, which include culturally conditioned behaviour of the performance of social roles—roles as father, daughter, employee, and so on, as well as roles associated with gender, race, status, age, and so on—and communicative or speech acts that are performative. the notion of performativity, associated with performance studies, is a way of conceiving of an activity or action as similar to a theatrical event in form and/or effect and to describe the potential of language to be performative. this assertion affirms that performance ethnography can be used to study both the cultures of a people, their communication systems, and arts. this paper sees zhibaje ritual festival as a form of communication. the use of theatrical elements in the divergent representations places the festival in a position where it can facilitate and bring about cultural assertion and social change. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 104 according to given (2008), an exploration of performance in qualitative research indicates that performance ethnography has emerged as a collection of interrelated methods that can be employed at any or all stages of the research process—for generating or gathering research material, for interpreting or analyzing material, and for representing research. performance ethnography as a method for generating research material—for gathering participant responses— may take various forms. the primary methods in ethnography are observation or participant observation, along with interviews, focus groups, and field notes. performance ethnographyinvolves inquiry into performance in any or all of its cultural or social contexts—in theatrical performancesand/or in everyday life performances. the theory offers an alternative performative way of knowing—a unique and powerful way of accessing knowledge, drawing out responses that are spontaneous, intuitive, tacit, experiential, embodied and affective, rather than simply cognitive. it engages participants in a process of knowledge production— of expressing, interpreting, and re-presenting their ideas. performative ethnographic inquiry in the context of literary or theatrical creation may also include investigation of real-life performances that occur in the process of creation, but outside of the theatrical performances themselves, in conversations arising from the performance or in preparation for performance—in other words, in participant observation of those conversations and preparations. conrad (2008:611) notes that “in the analysis or interpretation of research, performance ethnography also has applications that are inherent in the process of performative creation.“ acting out” involves a process that is critical and analytic”. as performance theorists such as richard schechner and richard courtney describe, by taking on a role, the “player” exists simultaneously in two worlds: as a character in the experience of the “as if” world and as an actor evaluating the situation from the outside, within the real world (schechner 1985). the player is both involved in and detached from both realities, alternating from one to the other, observing the self in action, comparing the two worlds to arrive at some new understanding or meaning. this paper follows this path of inquiry in that it considers zhibaje festival as a text. it draws from the processes in the ritual enactments to make statements on social and cultural engineering. this echoes denzin’s (2003:609) belief that“ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 105 performance ethnography as praxis is a way of acting on the world in order to change it”. this is applicable to zhibaje ritual festival because its performance creates an open, dialogic space for inquiry and expression through an interpretation of events and their contexts. this is also true considering the fact that performance creates opportunities for communion among participants, researchers, and research audiences. in performance ethnography, participants’ performances, both staged and in real life, provide insight into their lived experiences and their cultural worlds (ogunkoya 2018). on the other hand, every cultural performance serves certain functions within the precinct of the producer culture. functional aesthetics offer this paper insight into understanding the functions of zhibaje in contemporary world. according to bueno (2009:47), functional aesthetic arts are highly crafted creations that can perform or serve utilitarian purposes. bueno (2009:47-48) notes that: central to performance is the idea that functionality is a crucial aspect of aesthetic appreciation. if we know the proper function of a given object (or event in a case of carnivals), we can appreciate it better and have a more favorable response to it. consider, for instance, why a car with a flat tire looks so displeasing; the account in terms of functional beauty can readily explain why this is so. the proper function of a car—to allow us to move quickly and efficiently between two locations—cannot be realized with a flat tire. the result, we can say, is not pretty. in the analysis or interpretation of festivals, functional aesthetics form a basis of appreciating the cultural products on display. this paper deploys this knowledge to assessing the functionality of zhibaje festival in understanding the realities of the gbagyi people in nigeria. the theory is predicated on the argument that every performance within a given cultural context has a functional reason and is complemented by adding social value both to the producer (community) and its shopper or consumer (non-community member). the key principles of these theories hinge on the belief that: every performance has innate functional value and that the social value it institutes in relation to others contributes to the macro-economic value of the owners of art forms. this paper examines the value of zhibaje vis-à-vis how it can contribute meaningfully to the social and cultural integration in a way that it can usher in development. methodology igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 106 this paper is rooted in qualitative research methodology. it considered the functional aesthetics in aspects of zhibaje ritual. the study deployed key informant interview and participant observation as research instruments. zhibaje chief priest and the oldest gbagyi man in gonin gora were interviewed. data gotten from the qualitative instrumentation were triangulated and subjected to content analysis. the paper adopted an interpretive inquiry method as tool of analysing data. interpretive inquiry is a type of qualitative research where data do not necessarily speak for themselves. rather, findings can be viewed from multiple perspectives. it focuses on understanding (interpreting) “the meanings, purposes, and intentions (interpretations) people or groups give to their own actions and interactions with others” (smith 2008:459). this suggests that the understanding of a phenomenon is largely dependent on individual or a group rather than universal comprehension. meaning is therefore determined from each distinct reader’s connotative response than from a universal outlook. zhibaje ritual festival in context zhibaje ritual festival is mostly celebrated in the month of december every year in gonin gora, kadunacentral nigeria. although some gbagyi communities across the middle-belt region celebrates the festival in the months of january and for some others february or march, the ritual is celebrated to usher in the new planting season and to cleanse the community from any potential danger ahead of the coming season. the ritual festival is usually announced by the cry of zyikuku, a bird whose cry signifies that the gods are hungry and requires food (madami, 2018). with this, the community members prepare to carry out the ritual. the priest who offers the sacrifice usually goes to the nest or spot where zyikuku perches when crying. while there,hewould lie-down and speak to the gods believing that they are listening to him and the entire people. before the actual sacrifice takes place, the hunters usually go for a hunting expedition. during the game, if they catch plenty bush animals it is believed that the gods are with them. one of the key informants, the oldest gbagyi man in gonin gora report that; i also want to tell you that friday is the day that was always used for the drinking of zhibaje, and certain domestic works are not allowed to be done like, sweeping of the house, pounding and other things are to be observed until those that went to perform the sacrifice have returned(key informant interview with bagudu madami, 2018).. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 107 the priest would then lead selected members of the zhibaje cult to perform the sacrifice in the forest. at the scene of the sacrifice, the priest bows before the gods, greets them, makes some incantations and then offers sacrifice to the gods. the sacrifice takes place on a specified place among trees and before a stone in the forest. a stone is fixed there and is usually bathed with the blood of animals. after that sacrifice, parts of the ritual meat are shared and eaten among the cult members with sizable part reserved and taken to the etsu (king). after this, the gbagyi believe that their gods will protect them from their enemies. the ritual meat is presented to the etsu who prays and blesses the people. one of the key informants notes that the gyeita tree bears witness to every of the prayers made. during such prayers, whatever the community is asking for from the gods is believed to be offered when the zhikuku bird(s)come down to eat from the sacrifices and then fly into the thick forest. this is followed by rapturous celebration which sometimes lasts three to four days which culminates in the drinking of locally brewed beer, oje. two subjects of the ritual performance is central to gbagyi folklore. thezhikuku (bird) which announces the time for the ritual and takes the ritual food to the ancestral plan; and the gyeiyi (tree).zhikuku and the gyeiy iresonate the quintessential connection between the natural and the supernatural in gbagyi folklore. one key aspects of the zhibaje ritual festival that bespeaks the humanity of the gbagyi is their proclivities to trees as well as the natural habitats. for them, trees are symbolism provided by shekwoi to tie man to the earth while at the same time reaching out to the supreme being. hence, most of the ritual rites take place under a tree and by a stone. one of the trees that bear serious significance to gbagyi people is the gyeyita (rimi tree) which exist in the village square in every gbagyi community as well as the compound of its etsu. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 108 plate 1: gyeiyi tree standing at the compound of the king of gonin gora (source: sarki alheri precious 2018) the tree is, in itself, a signpost of the gbagyi presence. it is believed that the tree cannot be planted neither can it be cut down and that it has the ability to grow by itself swiftly whenever it is brought down. gyeyi is seen as the king tree by the gbagyi people. anywhere you see the tree, it means gbagyi people owned that place or are the first settlers around that place. the tree was a centre where people use to gather and drink the zhibajehappily because their gods have answered their prayers. going further, one of the attendants of chief bagudu madami, amuamua notes that gyeyi tree shares part of the same essence in the performance of zhibaje. according to him, “the gyeyi is like a masquerade but it covers itself with leaves. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 109 the leaves can be used to beat out sickness out of children and adults in accordance with the belief of gbagyi people”. the tree is a proof of our presence and footprints in nigeria. if you go to zaria, just before the entrance of the city gate whether you are coming from the north, south, west or east of the entrance, you will see gyeiyita there, everywhere. attempts have been made in the past to clear the place but the tree keeps resurfacing. people who now occupies that area may be wondering why it is so but it is because we or our footprint cannot be wiped from the surface of our anyhi—earth. the same way zhibaje ritual is done to ward off evil, the leaves from gyeyi is deployed for ritual cleansing and to ward off sickness which affects children and adults(interview with amuamua, attendant to chief bagudu madami 2018). amuamua’s statement reveals a lot about the connection between zhibaje ritual and gyeyi tree. it is not coincidental that a lot of the drinking of the locally brewed juice and sacrifice is done under the tree and that the pronouncements and blessings of the land and its people during the festival are witnessed by the tree itself. all the activities that take place under the gyeiyi tree or by the tree are retained as the people believes that the gyeyi tree has retentive memory. this is the reason it is said to have the ability to spring up without being planted. the tree is believed to exist side-by-side every gbagyi community and shows the footprint of gbagyi people through their sojourns on earth. the chief priest who performs the zhibaje ritual notes thus: the tree is seen as a spirit itself. hence, it is revered and in some cases worshipped. it is not seen or perceived as a tree but as part of the anyhi (the earth) — a source that gives the gyeiyiits vitality. it is on the tree zhikuku appears to take its food to the gods and that is why we talk and pray to the tree (key informant interview with zhibaje chief priest, danladijatau, 2018). from the foregoing, it can be stated that there is a connection between zhikuku and gyeiyi—one that has to do with the transportation of earthy wishes and prayers to the ancestral planes. the zhikuku in this context is the bearer of messages. one who conveys messages from the gods to mankind and from mankind to the gods.it is the duty of zhikuku to ensure seamless communication between the world of the living, spirits and plane occupied by the supreme being. for order to reign in the world of the living and spirits, zhikiku bears the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 110 burden to commune with forces across the planes. the nucleus of the festival is connected to the human origin of the gbagyi—ensuring harmony between the human and cosmic world. order in the two worlds bring about good harvests and ward off evil. the gbagyis believe that peace is only attainable where there is order in the cosmic world. bagudu (2019) reveals that the words, ‘gbagyi’ and ‘zhibaje’ bear dense relevance to the ritual process. according to him, the words mean “love one another by giving a helping hand to each other”. to do this means that people must gather together to sacrifice to the gods and afterwards drink local beer (oje)”.the act of ‘calling together’ to ‘share’ is ritualistic. during zhibaje festival everyone drinks from one drum or earthen pot; an act that signifies the life source of humanity.for the celebrants as well as guests, it does not matter where or what land one comes from, religion or faith one professes, what matters is the shared humanity and love that holds communities and people together. plate 2 & 3: zhibaje participants in gonin gora drinking from the same bowl (credit:sarki alheri precious, 2018) this practice accounts for why it is difficult for agbagyi to live in an environment bereft of peace and cooperation. where necessary, the gbagyi try or strive to create peace or harmony among the peoples occupying such space. the celebration of zhibaje festival is a celebration of the moral fibre and temperament igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 111 of gbagyi people within the different intercultural encounters they have had on anyhi (earth). one aspect of gbagyi folklore which stands out during the ritual is the magical display of selected gbagyi community members who are mostly youths. the invincibility of the gbagyi person is tested as the magical ‘knife dance’ is carried out. here, a youth, or, a group of youth emerges to cut each other’s flesh with a sharpened knife or object. this is accompanied with ritual chants. the performer(s) cut his flesh but surprisingly the knife cannot penetrate. he tries the knife on all parts of his body but the object will not pierce through his skin. he is applauded as the chants intensify. he starts from his neck then moves to his ear, tongue, stomach and other parts of his body. plate 4: gbagyi hunter testing his invincibility with a dagger knife (source: sarki alheri precious, 2018) apart from the knife, he tests the invincibility of gbagyi hunting and farming communities using both traditional and western weaponry on his body. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 112 he is cheered by fellow hunters for every successful display. as he performs, a fellow hunter narrates diverse stories about successes and battles won by the gbagyi people of central nigeria. one after the other, the retinue of farmers attempts to cut off parts of the body of the performer-hunter but they fail to spill his blood. this performance is significant because, among the gbagyi at gonin gora, it is believed that one with a pure heart is un-killable; his ashah will see him through any attempt targeted at destroying him physically and his human spirit. the king of gonin gora, etsu doma yusuf sarki (of blessed memory) revealed something very significant during a key informant interview. the human spirit of the gbagyi person is unbreakable and this manifests outwardly so much so that no human object can penetrate him. however, his heart must be pure or be without sin when fighting for a just cause or battles. the magical hunter display you saw is only an aspect of the real thing. if you observe very well, you will discover that the performance had a witness. the gods were present themselves bearing witness to the state of the heart of the hunter. did you notice that it was done some distance away from the gyeiyi? the tree bears witness from the roots upon which the hunter stood up to the cosmic world (key informant interview with etsu gbagyi doma yusuf sarki 2018). this statement is revealing. a closer look at the picture shared above shows the very presence of gyeiyi which a t first appears to be meaningless to the researcher as well as evades many participants who may not know the import of the tree to the invincibility of the hunter-performer. the existence of the tree suggests one thing and it is that as long as the gyeiyi is rooted deep down to the ground and cannot be destroyed, the life source of the gbagyi sons and daughters, irrespective of their trades, whose life is pure and free from evil, cannot be destroyed by weapons made by mortals. the significance of this standpoint is that zhibaje is a kind of regenerative ritual that offers a chance to the community to purge themselves of behaviours and practices that is not gbagyi; behaviours that threaten their existence and continuity here on earth. from the conversation with three of the key informants, the researcher discovered that zhibaje ritual has many other functional values apart from farming. one of the key informants notes; igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 113 the sacrifice is not done for farming alone.it is also performed for the protection of the entire community. therefore, with or without farming, they will still observe the culture, and do not forget that some people still go out to farm elsewhere. i even saw the village head of gonin-gora with his hoe that he used in the farm till date. in fact, i have told my children not to shun farming because it is the key to success for every gbagyi man (key informant interview with madami, 2018). the above statement reveals that zhibaje, over the years has evolved to serve other sacred functions other than a religious fete celebrated for agricultural purposes. aspect of the zhibaje ritual festival is often performed during wedding ceremonies or other ceremonial rites that is performed to keep the gbagyi universe in harmony. the multiplicity of deities and cults contribute in creating balance in the gbagyi universe as the activities of the respective cults are checked and regulated within the cosmic order. thus, it can be said that the structuration of gbagyi worldview is such that everything is controlled and the gods are revered based on the functions they serve in the traditional society. sociologically, zhibaje ritual festival serves a broad spectrum of functions in gbagyi land. the diverse performative components of the festival reflect gbagyi society, preserve its legends, its lore and ethos; explore its problems and criticize its weaknesses. the ritual is a call to humanity to love , share and live together. according to danladi jatau, many gbagyi children are known to come home during the celebration of zhibaje. the ceremony brings them back home away from… to connect to their roots. some of the gbagyi children who do not follow the ways of our forefathers because of islam or christianity participate in the drinking of the oje. it is a period in our calendar when our children scattered all over nigeria have the opportunity to meet themselves and share their experiences (key informant interview with the chief priest of gonin gora, dalandi jatau, 2018). zhibajeritual festival is one of the most anticipated festivals in gbagyi land. this is because it engenders togetherness, brotherhood and fosters ethnic cohesion among the gbagyi people. it is a period of self and community reflection for an average gbagyiman/woman. danladi jatau asserts that, during zhibaje, important decision affecting us or the community are taken after due consultation with the ashnah. we take stock of the past igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 114 seasons, reflect upon our place amidst our relations with other communities; emerging vices and issues affecting us are discussed. prayers and blessings are also poured on the land according to the belief of our people (key informant interview with the chief priest, danladi jatau, 2018). this implies that zhibaje ritual functions as a form of a peace-builder or peace building process. the aura of celebration and jubilation that grip the whole town during the festival blurs all religious lines as some of the people who profess christianity or islam are soaked together in the excitement of the festival. this infers that people are not alienated from tradition regardless of their religious learning. psychologically, zhibaje festival results in a sense of mental security among members of the community especially when the traditional priests and etsu bless the land and the people. as a whole, every member of the community goes about his or her duties with peace of mind when the outcome of the ritual is good and especially when the traditional priest does not pronounce any eminent danger like hunger, poor rainfall, diseases or any form of epidemic after the festival. politically, the festival brings all the opinion leaders like the chiefs, traditional priest and clan heads of the gbagyi community together. these are parties that meet to plan the zhibaje festival celebration, and to decide on the type of rituals to perform during and after the festival. the gbagyi people vests political power on their king and during the festival, obeisance is paid by chiefs as well as family heads. conclusion it can be argued that the zhibaje ritual festival embodies, partly, the fullness of gbagyi belief system, its philosophies and essence. every aspect of shekwoi has its personality. thus, within the traditional belief system of the gbagyi shekwoi is a body or a way of knowing. the episteme embedded within the practice of gbagyi belief system helps the gbagyi person to understand his place in the world; to understand science and the malleability of this world. conclusively, the functionality of the zhibaje on the gbagyi polity given its stabilizing factor on the people in all facets of human endeavor whether religious, social, political or even psychologically cannot be over-emphasised. it has served as a stabilizing factor and a platform for the maintenance of law and order. references igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 115 ahithophel, s. (1982). west african traditional religion for senior high schools. new york: np. bial, h. (. (2004). the performance studies reader. new york: routledge. bueno, o. (2009). "functional beauty: some applications, some worries". philosophical books, vol. 50, 1. conrad, d. h. (2008). "performance ethnography". the sage encyclopedia of qualitative research method, vol. 1-2. denzin, n. k. (2003). performance ethnography: critical pedagony and the politics of culture. thousand oaks, ca: sage. filaba, m. a. (2008). koro and gbagyi subgroup and relations. ethiopia: maf. given, l. m. (2008). "performance ethnography". the sage encyclopedia of qualitative research method, vol. 1-2. gwamna, d. j. (2005). "gbagyi identity crisis". gbagyi journal, 4-19. idegu, e. (1988). "the socio-cultural significance of ogono festival among the igala people". zaria: ahmadu bello university. ihidero, v. o. (2020). "liminality and the liminoid in zhi baje ritual festival of the gbagyi people of nigeria". the performance, vol. 13. mbiti, j. s. (1970). an introduction of african religion. new york: praeger. obiechina, e. n. (1978). reading in african humanities. enugu: fourth dimension. ogunba, o. (1978). "ceremonies". in s. o. biobaku (ed.). sources of yoruba history. ibadan: university press. ogunkoya, n. j. (2011). "an assessment of the impact of globalisation in osun osogbo festiva". zaria: ahmadu bello university. schechner, r. (2007). "the performance studies: the broad spetrum approach". the performance studies reader, 5-7. shekwo, j. a. (1984). understanding gbagyi folktales: premises for targeting salient electronic mass media programmes. zaria: ahmadu bello university. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 116 shekwo, j. a. (1986, april 3). the origin of gbagyi people. the african guardian, pp. 46-49. shekwo, j. a. (1988). the common clusters. abuja: garkida press. shekwo, j. a. (2002). the declining and beleaguered gbagyi nation and culture. gbagyi journal, 23-39. smith, j. k. (2008). "interpretive inquiry". encyclopedia of qualitative research methods, 1-2. temple, o. a. (1967). notes on the tribes, provinces, emirates and states of the northern provinces of nigeria. new york: barnes and nobles. turner, v. (1982). from ritual to theatre: the human seriousness of play . baltimore: paj. ukala, s. (2014). a folkscript: drama. ibadan: kraft books. zhimiko, d. h. (2005). "zbi baje: gbagyi religious festival". gbagyi journal, 17-27. key informant interview bagudu, m. (. (2019, january 26). on zhibaje festival and the gbagyi people of nigeria. (a. p. sarki, interviewer) jatau, d. (. (2018, december 12). the foundational story of the gbagyi zhibaje. (a. p. sarki, interviewer) sarki, y. d. (2017, january 27). on gbagyi history and zhibaje ritual festival. (a. p. sarki, interviewer) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 325 underrepresentation of women in leadership position: a study of anioma, delta state okoh ejime samuel department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe university, awka 08035824556; sallyugo2003@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/ rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract nigeria has been recording low participation of women in elective, leadership and appointive positions. this is a growing concern to many nigerians. however, concerted efforts have been made by government and non-governmental organizations to increase the level of participation of women in politics and other levels of leaderships positions in line with the declaration made at the fourth world conference on women in beijing, which advocated 30% affirmative action for women leadership roles. in nigeria, the extant national gender policy (ngp) recommended 35% affirmative action instead and sought for a more inclusive representation of women with at least 35% of elective political and appointive public service positions respectively. the under representation of women in political participation gained root due to the patriarchal practice inherent in our society, much of which were obvious from pre-colonial era till date. however, the reintroduction of democratic governance in nigeria has witnessed once again an increase in women political participation both in elective and appointive offices. gender equality is more than a goal in itself. it is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance. women participation in leadership roles in anioma is the focal point of this study. the paper used feminism theory to explain the study deployed personal communication method to gather information from people. data from inec offices in delta state were gathered. it was discovered that some of the factors that affect women underrepresentation in leadership roles include male domination, cultural influence, lack of money or fund, marriage, discrimination, lack of education and violence. proper sensitization, education, empowerment and legal protective measures are recommended for the solution to the problem keywords: women, underrepresentation, leadership position and anioma introduction women are underrepresented in leadership position in anioma delta state, just as it is noticed in nigeria and many other african countries. if nigeria or africa wants to move forward with development, sustainable economy and good mailto:sallyugo2003@yahoo.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 326 leadership in the society, nigerians should known that gender equality is more than a goal in itself. it is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance. monica (nd) says true equality means holding everyone accountable in the same way, regardless of race, gender, faith, ethnicity or political ideology. in a situation where only men are the leaders of the society, then men only should be blamed for the bad leadership in the society. nigeria is a country like a bird with two big wings, and these two big wings (men and women) are to fly nigeria to suitable development and nation building for peace and progress. unfortunately nigeria went into using one wing(men) for long time with other wing(women) not utilized. a bird that has only one wing active cannot fly faster or may not be stable, because the two wings are for stability, therefore there is no way nigeria leaders can provide good leadership if the two wings are not active at the same time. leadership is not about a title or a designation. it is about impact, influence and inspiration. impact involves getting results, influence is about spreading the passion you have for your work, and you have to have inspired team-mates for all round societal inspiration. according to berkley (2013) leadership is about vision and responsibility, not power. a leadership that has no vision is like a blind man leading blind people. a good leader must be a leader who has principles of creativity and innovation. no one can actualize his destiny without creativity and innovation. therefore nigeria leadership should do justice immediately to incorporate women in leadership position for women to attain developmental goals in order to move the society forward. in line with global trend, nigerian women constitute nearly half of the population of the country. but despite the major roles they play with their population, women roles in the society are yet to be given recognition. this is due to some cultural stereotypes, abuse of religion, traditional practices and patriarchal societal structures. the reasons this paper is addressing the marginalization of women leadership position in anioma delta state is to curb this age long practice with a view to increasing women participation in leadership. women can only represent women and deliberate well on the issues concerning women .men cannot deliberate women issues more than women. there is an adage that said, “you don‟t cry more than the bereaved” poverty is much among women in anioma, so by giving women equal representation, women can empower their fellow women the entire anioma land. increasing anioma women participation in leadership roles is bound to unlock the other potentials inherent in their nature. being in greater number in anioma igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 327 women can be the game changer in leadership functions. underrepresentation of women in leadership is mostly caused by men who always sideline them. the leadership potentials always seen in widows in the control of their family activities are to be harnessed for wider leadership roles in anioma. literature review this paper will be looking at others people‟s work critically to assess scholars‟ opinion on the roles of women in leadership in other societies. theory of feminism will be used to explain the work. the concept of women the word „women‟ is the plural form of woman which covers both young and adult female members of a family. looking at women from creation, hubbard (1981) has rightly observed that “full right to personality, identity means, at heart, full right to know and love god. man and woman god special creation share that capacity and that opportunity” (p79 .). the study agrees with the above explanation that god created man and woman in his image according to gen. 1:26-38. it should be noted that the divine counsel for creating mankind is to share in the divine personality. the word “man” here does not exclude woman, for god is thinking of human being in contradiction to lower animals, and trees. the woman possesses god‟s image just as man does. according to stone (1994), universalist feminism poses that women are biologically and culturally equal to men but are historically denied equality. equality exists within a mono cultural world. the paper agrees with the statement, that biologically and culturally, men and women are equal. if the two have the same view of things in common, both men and women were created in the same world with the same nature. in a world where two people were born or created, they are supposed to be equal in everything. one person just took it over as if he is the creator of the world, this is an oppression, injustice and violation of human right especially to women. we need to revisit the history of creation and see that both adam and eve (man and woman) are created equally in the image of god. according to nweze (2014) most people have one pair of sex chromosomes per cell, usually, female have two x chromosome and males have one x and one y. both sexes igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 328 retain one of their mothers x chromosome and females inherit a second x chromosomes from their father. male inherit their father‟s y chromosome instead (p.316). from the researcher‟s elementary knowledge of biology, both sexes, male and female, are determined by the man. being determined by the man means that man by nature possesses xy chromosomes and woman by nature possesses xx chromosome. therefore during intercourse it is what the man gives to the woman that determines the gender of the child, either male or female. we can see that birth is not of man‟s making; it is nature and also by chance or probability, so whatever sex (man or woman) is a gift from god. the paper can conveniently say that no birth is more important than the other, either female or male. according to chrysostom (1969), slavery is the fruit of covetousness, of degradation of savagery … the subordination of women was a consequence of humanity‟s fall from grace (p.225). the paper agrees in what the scholar had said because the current condition of human community falls far short of what it was meant to be, many differ as to whether it can reach its potential in the foreseeable future. since the fall of humanity, women have been a victim. the fall was not only for the women but for both, men and women. man took advantage of the fall and started in oppressive, exploitative injustice, violence and marginalization of women, that were also created in the image of god. but the bible said “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of god” (romans 3:23). it did not say women had sinned and come short of the glory of god, but all meaning both man and woman. abogunrin (2003) says that it is an undeniable fact that women play certain irreplaceable roles in society but quite often these unique roles are not given adequate recognitions and sometimes not acknowledged at all. also when it comes to various opportunities of life, in some cases women are often denied equal right with their male counterparts (p. 1). what the scholar said above is true in the sense that women in man‟s world have not been given freedom to exercise their rights. opinions of scholars differ on what denial of women‟s right and freedom consist in different society. it takes a different shape in anioma and no scholarly study has been done on how women igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 329 in anioma have been underrepresented in leadership functions, hence the gap in literature that the study seeks to fill theoretical framework feminist theory supports equality for women and men. there are many feminine strive for gender equality, they include liberal feminist, socialist feminist and radical feminist. according to ruther (2008) feminism is a critical stance that challenges the patriarchal gender paradigm that associates males with human characteristics defined as superior and dominant (irrationality of power) and females with those defined as inferior and auxiliary (in tuition, passivity). most feminists reconstruct the gender paradigm in order to include women their full and equal humanity (p.3). this scholar is not satisfied with the pattern the patriarchal societies do things by giving much power and dominion to males and designating females as inferior. both females and males who identify themselves as femininists disagree on many things that being feminists consist but most feminists agree on five basic principles of working to increase equality. pushing for change toward gender equality and not just talking about it is important. feminists believe that both men and women should have the freedom to develop their human interests and talents, even if those interests and talents conflict with the status quo for example if a woman wants to be a mechanic, she should have the right and opportunity to do so. individuals associated with this school of thought identify the family as the main source of exploitation and feel that patriarchy is so deeply rooted in this society that even a socialist revolution would fail to see the evil. the only way to end this oppression is to create a gender-free society throme (1997) argues that feminism has contributed to sociological theories of the family in fire broad theories; feminist have challenged the ideology of the monolithic family which has elevated the nuclear family with a bread winner husband. feminists have challenged traditional dichotomies between what is private and public raising question about family boundaries and showing that isolation is in part illusory, given the close connections igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 330 between the internal life of families and the organization of paid work, state-organized welfare and legal systems school, child care and other institutions (p.22). the paper agrees with the above view, because feminists have actually fought against monolithic family in anioma and challenged traditional dichotomies and discriminations between the males and the females in the society. according to pobee (2012), “feminism originates in the perception that there is something wrong with society‟s treatment of women; it attempts to analyze the reasons for and dimensions of women oppression and to achieve woman‟s liberation” (p.24). the paper is in agreement with this scholarly view because in anioma, something is wrong with the way women are being treated. how can a daughter be oppressed and discriminated against in matters of inheritance. boff (1986) says if by feminism we understand whatever defends the basic quality of women to men, it is certain that women are human persons, and opposes any institutions that seek to reduce them to the status of objects, then jesus was certainly a feminist. after all, the general teaching of his ethical preaching consist of the liberation of human being from a legalistic, discriminatory, freedom and a communion of sisters and brothers….this ethical revolution launched by jesus created a space for the liberation of women as person (p.79). the paper agrees with the above view on the feminism of the new testament gospel according to jesus which was liberation to humanity and the women inclusive from every oppression of the judaic old testament ways of life. feminism, however, is not a coherent ideology. it is a combination of some major traditions. these are liberal feminism, socialist feminism, and radical feminism, new feminism and post feminism. the first law (probably and earliest among all such tradition) as the name suggests, was based on the principle of liberalism that advocated for equality of human individuals regardless of their sex and other distinctions. thus, it argues for women‟s equal entitlement to all rights and privileges in the society as enjoyed by men on the basis that both are human beings. the second one, which is “socialist feminism”, emerged as a reaction to the stand taken by the liberal thinkers. they put forward their view that only political and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 331 legal rights are all of their disadvantages which could only be done through social revolutions that would give them economic equality or economic freedom vis-à-vis men. the third tradition went further deeper by advocating equality of women not only in politics and economy but also in all aspects of personal and sexual existence. they started a crusade against patriarchy in all its forms and manifestations. the next one in this succession of tradition has been a number of schools of thought (examples, post modern, feminism, black feminism, lesbian feminism and so on). data source and method this paper will use primary and secondary sources of data collection and data analysis. in the primary sources we will interview some women and men in leadership, those in politics and education and their mode of selecting leaders. data from inec would also be obtained and analyzed mathematically using simple results of male and female elected people in the previous elections. brief history of anioma, delta state-nigeria the term anioma means „good land‟. while the meaning the word anioma is land plus good, the people and place so called have existed for centuries. anioma is a community of people who, for ages, inhabit the area between ubuluku and ebu in aniocha north local government area of the present delta state. a look at the colonial map of the area shows anioma wedged between ubuluku and ebu (kunirum, 2008). the modern anioma commonly called delta igbo, for administrative purpose, is referred to as delta north,thus, contrasting the delta central and delta south densely inhabited by the urhobo, the ijaw, the itsekiri, the isokos and the other ethnic groups inhabiting the state. according to anioma voice (2013) the anioma region has a total population of 1,229,371,00. the population figure quoted here does not include those of the anioma communities located outside delta state and the population of non anioma in anioma area. these include ukwuani, enuani, ika and aboh. a small ika population can be found in neighbouring edo state specifically igbanke, oza and ekpon. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 332 the term “anioma” is an acronym derived from the four original local government areas that is a for aniocha, n for ndokwa, i for ika, o for oshimili, m and a are common denominators found in the four original local government areas. the coinage was made by the founding father, chief dennis osadebay, in 1951 and has since remained the preferred indigenous name by which the people are collectively known (osogbue, 2011). there are also anioma people in neighbouring states of anambra that is onitsha, ogbaru, oba, akwukwu, obosi ,ozoubulu, oraifite; imo that is oguta; and river state that is ndoni and ogba. anioma people had one destiny prior to the coming of the europeans but were balkanized after they lost the ekumeku war of resistance against the british imperialism in 1914 after 31 years of fighting. the population of the anioma in neighbouring states is approximately 140, 000 . there are twenty five local government areas in delta state and nine of the local government areas makeup the anioma area. anioma local government of delta state constitutes 9 out of 25 local government areas as represented below. s/n local government area head quarter 1 aniocha-north issele-uku 2 aniocha-south ogwashi-uku 3 ika-south agbor 4 ika north-east owa-oyibu 5 ndokwa-east aboh 6 oshimili-north akukuigbo 7 oshimili –south asaba 8 ukwuani obiaruku 9 ndokwa – west kwale the anioma as a group is located in the west basis of the river niger in the present south –south, delta state, nigeria. anioma is bound to the east by anambra state, to the south east by imo and river states: to the south by bayelsa state: to the south west by the isoko ethnic group; to the west by the urhobo ethnic group, to the north west by edo state and the north by kogi state. there are very few nigeria communities that are as communicable to so many immediate neighbours as anioma. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 333 in spite of these contacts with so many states and ethnic groups, anioma people are united by cultural homogeneity and value consensus about their universe of experience. the communities that make up the anioma have one thing in common about their traditions. they remember the names of their various founders and in many cases also can identify where such founders came from. it is for the historians to interpret and explain what is so remembered or identified. according to mordi and opone (2009) four broad groups can be identified in the anioma areas. the first and largest group claims a definite benin origin. this is the ezechuma group, which make up over ten communities east and west of the niger. anioma group are obior, isseleuku, onicha – ugbo, onicha olona, onicha ukwu, obomkpa and ezi, in the enuni area. the second group claims origin, from nri and nri related communities or the igbo, asaba, ibusa (igbuzor), and isheagu, parts of ubulu-uku, issele uku and illah, among others. a third group claims origin from neighbouring communities but still strives to link its founders to benin. notable in this regard are the ubulu clans of ubuluuku, ubulu uno and ubulu –okiti. ashama and adonta. the fourth group claims origins from yoruba and igala area of the south west and the niger benue confluence of nigeria. these are found in ugbodu, ukwunzu, ebu and illah, ubulubu, obomkpa, okpaman, okwe and oko. people are defined by their culture, history and geography. history notes that anioma people comprise individuals of diverse origins, who over centuries and due to “culture contact” or cultural pollination, have developed a unique culture quite distinct from those of their immediate neighbours located at the cross roads of every diverse influences.. about thirteen languages (13) are spoken in anioma. some of which are enuani, bini olukumi (old and extinct yoruba language), igala, ishan, ika, ukwuani and aboh. enuani is the dominant language spoken by asaba, ibusa, ogwashi-uku, ubuluuku, ubulu-unor, issele-uku-mkipitime, onicha-olona, onicha-ugbo, onicha-uku, ejeme-unor, ejime aniogor, illah, ezi, obomkpa, oko anala, okoamakom, oko-ogbele, parts of igbodo, akwukwu-igbo, akwukwu-ukwu, okpanan, idumuje unor, idumuje-ugboko, anwai, oraifite, ogbaru, onitsha, obosi and atani. ika is spoken by agbor, parts of igbodo, umunede, igbanke, oguta, ekwuoma, obior and so on. ebu speaks enuani, ishan and igala. aboh and the surrounding communities speak aboh, ukwuani is spoken by ukwuani/ndokwa, including asaba-ubulu-ashama, edo-ogwashi, azagba and so on. ebu is a bilingual town. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 334 some speak ishan, others speak igala enuani is comprehensible to all. the igbodo speak ika and enuani, this is due to the influence of its location between ekwuoma and onicha-ugbo. it must be noted that while some parts of anioma understand and speak a language close to urhobo and isoko, a sort of igbo language is intelligible to all the towns and communities that make up the anioma region. this is what the writer sees as the uniqueness that people have enjoyed as a result of peaceful coexistence with neighbours. afigbo (1982) opines that “in the pre-colonial igbo society, agriculture was the most important economic activity with regard to both the number of people engaged in it either on full or part-time basis and to the prestige attached to it (p.124). the importance of agriculture to the sustenance of life and economic development in nigeria cannot be over emphasized. hence, the efforts of the federal government, and several agencies in the development of agricultural policies and programmes, with the aim of increasing food production in the nation. anioma has vast area of arable land units of fertile soil. the people of anioma are the main producers of food in the state. they produce yams, cassava, garri, cocoyams, plantains, banana, citrus fruits and vegetable. anioma is one of the largest primary producers of cash crops. these cash crops include palm produce, kola nut latex and timber. the region has contributed to the economic development of the country in terms of mineral resources. anioma has large endowments of crude oil and natural gas in ukwuani of oshimili, aniocha and ika areas. the oil and gas resources of anioma remained largely untapped. also, some of the untapped mineral resource include; silica, ammonia, kaolin, clay and lignite (oganihe anioma, 2012). besides the oil and gas and agricultural endowment of the anioma people, the area offers a wide range of tourist attractions such as extended and roomy rivers and beaches ideal for swimming and other aquatic sports. other attractions include the obi ossai palace in aboh, preserved local customs, rich and varied land crafts. in continuation of the tourist attraction is the residence of mungo park in asaba, this was the first headquarters of the royal niger company allocated to the national commission for museum and monument, the lander brothers anchorage and the niger bridge built in 1965. others include the olona ranch, source of ethiope river in umuaja and otuogwu beach in asaba. traditionally, the attire of the anioma man is gifted with the choice which he may wear to any ceremony. however, quite commonly, the „‟akwa ochia” is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 335 loosely worn on a white native shirt with native beads as adornment. for women, it is readily a wrapper to be worn on a white blouse. supported by beautiful beads while men wear a red cap, the women wear “ichafor” (head gear). on special occasions, such as funeral ceremonies, “uya” or “azuzu” (horsetail) may be held to the hand with decorated hair by women. several traditional kinds of dances are in existence in anioma. the anioma dance requires so much energy and it is basically unique. some of the dances include agube royal dance uloko dance, egwu amala, okanga, egwu-osusu (ukwuani), egwu oshushu (enuani) and ute – okpu dance called egwu okpu. the ukwuani and ndokwa people are legendary in the performance of highlife music with songs composed in native tongue. organization for advancement of anioma culture (ofaac) (2014) is the culture umbrella body of the anioma people. it was established on november 2003 with the cove focus of preservation, promotion and advancement of the appreciation and development of the rich culture heritage of the anioma people and nigeria. the anioma along with other african societies are highly religious. the anioma people are so conscious of the world of the spirit and man‟s relationship with them. fatorkun (2013) said that before the advent of pentecostalism in twentieth century, christianity had been firmly rooted in nigeria. he affirmed that the portuguese missionaries had come to nigeria. the visit of alfonso de avairo to oba essigie and the subsequent arrival of missionaries in august 1515 met with some success in benin as some churches were built and some coverts, including one of the princes and a good number of chiefs were recorded. however, bablola (1976) argues that in spite of the above success, christianity remained confined to the palace of the oba, while majority of the people continued in their traditional religions. though there were efforts by the spanish and italian capuchins to resuscitate the evangelist work later, it yielded no positive result. this view is supported by ajayi (1965) when he emphasizes that christianity in benin kingdom continued fading away until finally the church disappeared, leaving only shrines called “altars of god” which were taken into the traditional religion. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 336 in warri, however, christianity thrived in the 1570s on political grounds and remained there for more than two hundred years. nweke (2002), said, crorick braile was born around 1882 and 1883 in obonoma. he got converted to christianity and attended sunday school when he was eight. by 1916 his revivalist movement had spread to other parts of the c.m.s. niger delta pastorate even to owerri. he was averted in 1916, being accused of perpetrating actions that could lead to surrections. he was kept in prison till 1918 and died 15th november 1918 (p. 52 -60). early missionaries were providing schools, hospital, churches. he however affirmed that with time these mainline (established) churches started losing their vision through lukewarmness, forms, ceremonies and religious rituals. he opined that the recent work is done by third generation missionaries. by third generation he refers to christians missionary who started evangelical campaigns from 1970 after the nigeria civil war. he further asserts that anioma today is largely unreached. he started his gospel effort on 4th september 1971 in adonte in aniocha south local government area with one joseph idogbo from benin. in january 1972, william clims onyenekwue got converted and joined the work. at this time there were no evangelical activities anywhere in delta north except for little assemblies of god in ukwu-nzu and ababa. in 1972, he preached at agbor motor park during scripture union camp meeting and from there to ndemili, oligo, obeti, umuaja and umutu along that stretch of road. by 1985, ndokwa and ukwuani have been opened to the gospel. the only resistance had been mainly aboh area due to bad road network and poor living conditions and non-availability of personnel. the paper wishes to convey, that there are many gospel ministries flourishing in anioma land including: baptists, anglican, catholics, winners church, redeem christian church of god, and so on. so the anioma people have had contact with the gospel of the lord jesus. the gospel of the lord is a transformative and modeling of characters, cultures and traditions. therefore, the people of anioma should be aware of the positive messages of the gospel and the changes being done in gender equality. the paper strongly believes that since anioma peopl believed the holy bible and its contents, therefore our research facts finding would be simple for general igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 337 applications of the holy bible which speaks of men and women are equal before god.. anioma leadership positions since 1999 till date looking at the historical background of the anioma people, one will wonder why anioma people are not moving forward. the anioma people have nine local government areas in the state , the writer wants to find out how many women have being elected into leadership positions either in politics or educational sector since 1999 till date. offices/appointments slots men women years % of reps.in leadership positions. men women results president 1 0 0 1999 0 0 0 nil v.p 1 0 0 1999 0 0 0 nil senate 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 0 0 0 0 0 0 unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair house of representatives 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 3 2 3 2 3 1 0 1 0 1 0 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 100 100 100 100 100 100 67 100 67 100 67 100 33 0 33 0 33 0 unequal unfair unequal unfair unequal unfair igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 338 governor 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 100 100 100 100 100 100 0 0 0 0 0 100 0 0 0 0 0 0 nil nil nil nil nil unfair deputy governor 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 unfair unfair nil nil nil nil house of assembly 9 9 9 9 9 9 8 8 7 7 7 1 1 2 2 2 2 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 100 100 100 100 100 100 89 89 77 77 77 77 11 11 23 23 23 23 unequal unequal unequal unequal unequal unequal l.g.a chairmen 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 8 0 0 0 0 0 1 1999 2002 2005 2008 2011 2015 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 89 0 0 0 0 0 11 unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unequal deputy l.g.a 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1999 2002 2005 2008 2011 2014 2017 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair unfair igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 339 analytical interpretation of the table above in 1999, nigeria transited from military rule to democratic governance. despite the return of democracy, however, women are yet to occupy up to 15 per cent of elective and leadership positions in anioma where the voting population of both men and women are almost equal. not only has a woman been elected as president, none has been elected as vice president nor elected as governor , and as a senator in anioma of nigeria‟s 19 years of democracy. according to figures by the national population commission (npc) and the national bureau of statistics (nbs) in april, anioma has a population of about 1,229,371,00 million people with approximately 51 per cent males and 49 per cent females. the population figure has, however, never turned in favour of women in elective and leadership positions. from the data above one can see that anioma women have never won elective positions of leadership in house of senate. women were underrepresented in the upper house. again in the lower house of representatives men have 83% representations since 1999 till date while the women have 17% representations since 1999 till date. the result shows that women are underrepresented in leadership positions. data for governorship and deputy show that men have 100% representations and women have 0% representations. in state of house of assembly, anioma has nine (9) slots men have seven (7) of 77% representations in the state house of assembly while the women two (2) of 23% representations of women in the state house of assembly in anioma since 1999 till date. this is underrepresentation of women. nigeria has been recording low participation of women in both elective and appointive positions. this is a growing concern to many nigerians. however, concerted efforts have been made by government and non -governmental organizations to increase the level of participation of women in politics in line with the declaration made at the fourth world conference on women in beijing, which advocated 30% affirmative action fo women participation in politics. in nigeria, the extant national gender policy (ngp) recommended 35% affirmative action instead and sought for a more inclusive representation of women with at least 35% of both elective political and appointive public service positions respectively. the under representation of women in political participation gained root due to the patriarchal practice inherent in our society, much of which were obvious from pre-colonial era till date. however, the re-introduction of democratic governance has witnessed once igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 340 again an increase in women political participation both in elective and appointive offices. the national average of women‟s political participation in nigeria has remained 6.7 percent in elective and appointive positions. with the data above the paper can agree with the ngp that women should increase their elective and appointive offices in anioma. in most societies, women assume some key roles, which are: mother, producer, home-manager, and community organizer, socio cultural and political activists. of these many roles mentioned, the last has been engendered by women movement. in line with global trend, nigerian women constitute nearly half of the population of the country. but despite the major roles they play with their population, women roles in the society are yet to be given recognition. this is due to some cultural stereotypes, abuse of religion, traditional practices and patriarchal societal structures. since the return of civil rule in the country in 1999, statistics of women‟s political representation in nigeria‟s government as gradually increased though still less than 7 percent. the factors that gave women low percentage in leadership could be the following: the political arena is too male dominated and this serves as a threat to most women and maybe referred to as a form of discrimination. one of the major factors militating against women is cultural factor. the society is primordially oriented and as such the „african mentality‟ that a woman functional role is in the kitchen is what majorly restrict the women from politics as most of them do not get the support of their husbands, families and friends. so rather than lose their loved ones, most women would rather let go their political quest. honorable olayinke modupe (personal communication, 24th june2007) states that one of the challenges against women legislators in politics is fund. politics is expensive in nigeria and women by their nature do not have such money to flaunt around, thereby hindering them from participating in politics. more so, the competitive nature of politics in nigeria makes it difficult for a participant not to spend and most male counterparts are usually willing to spend any amount of money just to be victorious at elections. to mrs hajia mariam bimbola ogunlade (personal communication 26th august 2007) the women leader of labour party, ekiti state, she‟s of the opinion that until when “money is been separated from politics in nigeria, money will still deprive a lot of people especially women from politics”. very few percentages of them will agree that discrimination has been one of the major causes of low participation of women in politics. it is important to note that all the points above are in agreement that women have challenges they face in nigerian politics. one can deduce from the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 341 above contributions that the challenges of women leadership positions in politics are enormous and differ. conclusion. all that the writer has attempted to show in this paper is that women have been under represented in the leaderships and appointments to offices, in anioma delta state, nigeria since 1999. the study has also shown that although women formed less than 9% in the state local council legislature, 9% in the state assembly and other electives and leadership positions in anioma delta state, nigeria from 1999 to 2019, however, the few women elected created a significant impact especially with respect to the sponsorship of bills. in qualitative terms, the female representatives sponsored more bills than their male counterparts and these bills showed their mindset as regards the lives of the people. it is therefore the writer‟s conclusion in this paper that the leadership and appointments positions can only be made more vibrant, responsive and result oriented if more women are elected into the legislature in subsequent elections. women should be educated in leadership positions of higher levels in the society. references abojunrin, s.o. (2003). biblical studies and women issues in africa. ibadan: philarem. anioma, the story of a people anioma voice. accessed february 11, 2018 http://www.aniomavoice. net/#/about_us/gnl bablola, e.o. (1976). christianity in west africa: the historical analysis. ibadan: publication international. berkeley, h.(20130. redefining leadership innovation leadership development. califorina:ucpress boff, l.c. (1986). eccesiogenesis. the base communities reinvention church. new york: orbis.. chysostom, j. (1969). homoilies on ephesians: library of the nicene and post nicene fathers. oxford: eerdmans. fatokun, s.a. (2013). christian mission in nigeria, south of the sahara african before the rise of pentecostalism. a historical evaluation in christianity and african society. ibadan: book wright. heywood, a. (2002). political ideologies and introduction. london: palgrave maccmilm igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 342 hubbard, d.a. (1981). right living in a world gone wrong. dowers grove: interversity press. kunirum, o. (2008). anioma people of delta. anioma association usa inc. accessed february 8, 2018. http:///www.anioma.org/about/ making. mordi, e.n. & opone, p.o. (2009). origins and migration of the enuani people of south central nigeria reconsidered. abraka: abk. nweke, d. (2002). mission in delta north in missionary efforts in delta state: pas, present and future. warri: harvestime. nweze, c. (2014). comprehensive biology for senior secondary school. lagos: johnson. osogbue, e. (2011). umu anioma foundation worldwide. accessed february 10, 2018 http://www.umuanioma.com/indexphp/anioma/anioma_nyere37th-state-in-the pobee, j.s. (2012). biblical studies and feminism in the african context ibadan: nabis. ross, m. (1993). the management of conflict: interpretations and interest in comparative perspective new haven: yale university. ruether, r.r.(2008). the emergence of christian feminist theology. usa: cambridge university press. throne, b. (1997). gender play: girls and boys in school. new brunswick: rutgers university http://www.anioma.org/about/ http://www.umuanioma.com/indexphp/anioma/anioma_nyere-37th-state-in-thehttp://www.umuanioma.com/indexphp/anioma/anioma_nyere-37th-state-in-theigwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 165 pressure, space and identity in the practice of traditional medicine in ogba, gokana, degema and ikwerre traditions obodoegbulam, agi otto (ph. d)1; rev. fr. stephen egwuatu amadi, (ph. d)2 rev. fr. cletus monday ngbara3; kpe, emmanuel lionel4 religious and cultural studies department ignatius ajuru university of education rumuolumeni port harcourt 1obodoagi@yahoo.com; 2stephen.amadi05@gmail.com3;clemon2006@gmail.com; 4emmanuelkpe12@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29332.65925 abstract over the years, the practice of traditional medicine in africa has undergone many stages. until recently, this was a form of community assistance. the shaman and herbalists were duly part and parcel of the communal system where everyone was his brother’s keeper. no service provider ordinarily made money from another. to an extent, the knowledge of plants roots and herbs and their medicinal potencies were for the use of community members. in the course of time, specialists emerged in the practice and some individuals started specializing and making practice a means of livelihood. this paper focuses on the pressure, space and identity crises which confronted the practice of traditional medicine in ogba, gokana ikwerre and degema traditions. it observed that following the upgrading of traditional medicine from a community service to a professional calling, practitioners now commercialise their service thus, are faced with the challenge of space and identity. this article adopted the complementary alternative medicine theory of sickness and healing by eskinazi (2000) as the lens of this study. it employed the historical phenomenological approach in the discussion. the work observes that the competition for space and identity has exacted enormous pressure on the practice. it concludes that the guild of traditional medicine practitioners in ogba, gokana degema and ikwerre in conjunction with their counterpart in other parts of africa should convoke a conference to discuss the issues and challenges in the field. keywords: pressure, identity, traditional medicine, traditions introduction igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 166 every serious health care practice which aims at bringing treatment to any sickness, begins with the why and how question. this is owing to the general perception in africa and other parts of the world that, there can be no effect without a cause. in the practice of traditional medicine in africa, the cause of illness is always seen to have a spiritual and material dimension. thus, it is perceived to come as a result of breakdown of filial relationship that exist between humans, their ancestors, and the divinities. in his explication of the causations using the etiological theory, ejizu cited by lawrence-hart (2014) maintains that sicknesses and disease can be placed under three categories to include the physical causation, the socio-moral causation, and the mysticspiritual causation. it is no wonder, that, ezeliora (1994) observed that, african traditional medicine baffled scholars because of the complete interpretation or magico-spiritual and rational elements. the practitioners use a combination of powers; the assistance from the super natural and other unseen forces which are fundamental to the efficacy of the trado-medicine. in any case, diagnosis and prescriptions from the practitioners could cure any identified illness not necessarily because the plant herb, root or other extracts have all inherent and demonstrable pharmacological powers but because there is the general belief that plants, roots and herbs especially when the requisite ritual are integrated, can facilitate recovery. human life is challenged with myriads of problems that threaten its very existence in the universe. these forces are many and everywhere, visible, and invisible, natural, and supernatural. health is a basic human need which contributes to one’s happiness and fulfilment, without which nothing else seems possible. it is no wonder then that illness, suffering and misfortunes are regarded as signs of disharmony and so detrimental to a person’s fulfilment. notably, the first law of nature is self-preservation. therefore, it is man’s determination to survive and bring these forces under control that has given rise to what is known today as traditional medicine. this paper focuses on the pressure, space and identity crises which confronts the practice of traditional medicine in ogba, gokana degema and ikwerre traditions. this article adopted the complementary alternative medicine theory of sickness and healing by eskinazi (2000) as the lens of this study. it employed the historical phenomenological approach in the discussion. the work observes that the competition for space and identity has exacted enormous pressure on the practice. it concludes that the guild of traditional medicine practitioners in ogba, gokana degema and ikwerre in conjunction with their counterpart in other parts igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 167 of africa should convoke a conference to discuss the issues and challenges in the field. theoretical overview: according to eskinazi (2000), alternative medicine can be defined as a broad set of health care practices (that is available to the public) that are not readily integrated into the regular health care model, because they posed challenges to diverse societal beliefs and practices (cultural, scientific, medical and educational). this definition brings into focus factors that may play a major role in the prior acceptance or rejection of various alternative health care practices by any society. unlike the current definitions those of the proposed definitions would not be expected to change significantly without significant societal change. alternative medicine comprises a large and heterogeneous group of treatments many of which are procedures that are not readily testable under double blinded conditions. furthermore, alternative medicine therapists may also possess a theoretical basis. many stem from a cultural tradition that is singly antithetical to a quantitative, biomedical framework, or may possess little fundamental research on which to base a controlled evaluation. it is also argued that the different sets of axioms in diverse systems requires a mode of evidence that the currently dominant chemical paradigm. traditional medicine teaches that energy flows from within, around and through all things in the universe. energy cannot be destroyed, but can be affected negatively, leading to flow imbalance or disease. traditional medicine does not view disease as an invasion of poisoning of the body by a foreign organism. instead, it sees the disease as a condition when they human body is out of balance with its milieu. healing therefore, is the act of manipulating the flow of energy to re-establish balance in the whole person. rather than just the area of complaint. spiritually, unlike the allopathy, is an integral part of traditional medicine as a result, traditional medicine therapy, can be very individualised, with no two people receiving the same treatment, despite similar complaint or the same disease. in contrast, western medicine tends to divide the body into systems and compartments and measures functions by evaluating tissues and examining body fluid. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 168 the concept of traditional medicine traditional medicine is as old as human existence. in the quest to respond to the challenges of human sickness and sufferings, the practice started with the collection of medicinal plants which will include among others, roots, stems, leaves, bark, flowers, fruits, seeds etc. also, some extracts from animals and insects like snails, snakes, chameleons, tortoise, lizards, cats, bees are used to treat any ailment he suffered from (aquaowo, 2000). traditional medicine, according to the world health organization (who), “is a sum total of the knowledge, skills, and practices based on the theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or not, used in the maintenance of health as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement, or treatment of physical and mental illness”. other scholars like bolaji idowu (1973) defines traditional medicine as “an art of restoring and preventing…which is applied not only to magical substances but also to medical herbs or drugs of any kind, native as well as europeans whose properties are assessed essentially empirical”. idowu’s assertion here incorporates the use of all medical properties that can be assessed locally, and chemically manufactured drugs verified through the canons of sciences. notably, this definition is broader in the sense that it is not limited to traditional medicine but also the orthodox. however, knowledge is more than that which is empirically verifiable. the means (drugs) and the end or goal (cure or wellbeing) in both approaches are the same. laguda (2003) argues that indigenous medicine practitioners as in ikwerre are in themselves scientists; in that they seek to discover and use the law of the universe, not only of nature but also spiritual forces, believing there are hidden powers that can be tapped to meet various ailments. he further maintains that the operational technique of indigenous health practitioners in africa is comparable to western medical practices; they listen to case history of the patients, diagnose, and make prescriptions based on the experiences and directives given by spiritual elements, that is, the gods. because of the envisaged holistic approach to prevention and care for the patients, the diagnosis often involved the consultation of the oracles which include magic, divination, and rituals to properly investigate for the purpose of ascertaining there causes. according to owete (2013), indigenous medicine is the total combination of knowledge, ideas, and practices whether explicable or otherwise, used in diagnosing, treatment or eliminating a physical, mental, social, or even hereditary disease. the knowledge of which may be derived exclusively on past experiences and observation as transmitted from generations after generations. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 169 ogba philosophy of traditional medicine the ogba people occupy the northern margin of the niger delta. among the people, traditional medicine occupies a prominent position in their practice of health care. the understanding is that one has to be healthy before he can engage in any meaningful activity. as a result, there is this wise saying that ä healthy person does not know what those confined are going through”. in this regard, an ogba person will spend his last resources to procure good health. in their search for good health, traditional medicine is highly regarded. in fact, every ogba person has a knowledge of at least one medicinal plant. however, some persons professionalise in the practice of traditional medicine. as it were, this is a latter development. in ogba, sickness is identified to originate from two sources—etiological and symptomatic. while plants, roots and herbs are used to treat symptomatic ailments, etiological sickness which are not symptomatic requires divination and rituals to obtain treatment. obodoegbulam (2019) holds that in ogba worldview, diviners and medicinemen occupy an important position. etiological treatment as earlier noted, involves a set of ritual where the diviner will have to consult and negotiate with the particular spirit force responsible for any sickness before treatment can be successful. in most cases, sending ritual items to the cross-road (mbaga-uzor), outskirt (ishi-uzor) of the community or to the evil forest(ohiya-ojor) will be the only remedy. where a ritual bath (ihianmini-uzor) is prescribed, the sick person will have to be given a ritual bath at the road junction (mbaga-uzor) or outskirt (ishi-uzor) of the community (believed to be the abode of the spirits) in order to secure treatment. here, it is believed that where the spirit receives a sacrifice, they pay with good health for the sufferer. the rituals of traditional medicine operate on certain principles. these are; (i) that there are super natural forces which govern the visible tangible world. (ii) that the spirits which inhabit the super natural world, can be appeased so as to release their good will in order to provide cure for sick people. (iii) that herbs, roots and plants have spirits which under-pin their medicinal potency. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 170 (iv) that apart from the super natural forces which guide the practice of traditional medicine, specific spirits inhabit and guide the different plants, herbs and roots to make available their curative potencies for the benefit of humans. (v) that words of mouth rendered during prayers, equally carry super natural powers. (vi) that such prayer must be rendered with the use of appropriate words and the officer must at the same time, be in a pure ritual state. (vii) that the sufferer of the ailment in question, must be in a pure ritual state and not under any obstructive influence. (viii) that the medicineman or shaman is not under any entanglement which is likely to make the medicine not to work. (ix) that the client is willing and has provided the required fees charged by the shaman the failure of which is likely to make the medicine not to work. (x) that the client including his relatives are prepared to obey all the rules or prohibitions associated with such medicine. (xi) that for the medicine to work, all the prescribed items have been provided or made available. (xii) that the medicineman will need to perform all the required activities which will make the medicine to work. (xiii) that the medicineman has adequately acknowledged the person who gave him the medicine, during the ritual prayer energising the potency of such medicinal object. the gokana experience in gokana like other parts of the niger delta, sickness and healing operate on certain ideologies. this perception is based on the world view that health matters must be tackled holistically. however, among the gokana, specialists evolved to attend to specialised incident of health challenge, as the discussion bellow indicates. a broken bone in any region of the body is a fracture otherwise known as ''buna kpoo'' among the gokana people of ogoni. this is generally believed to be caused by numerous factors such as falling from a height, home or road accident, tackle, etc and at any point this occurs, the sufferer experiences pains, swelling and in most cases discoloration of skin within the affected region. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 171 hence, when this occurs adequate care and attention is given to remedy or cure such an individual. in attempt to cure the person, he is taken to a specialist who operate under the general name of (dombie) where he is to be treated. the first treatment given is to carefully massage the affected region after which alligator pepper(kel) and locally distilled gin (mii beke) is applied to avoid clothing of blood. the essence of this is to treat the wound first before the fractured region is treated. when the wound heals, attention is turned to joining the bone (akpo/kpoo). at this stage, the bone is thoroughly massaged after which traditional medicine prepared with herbs is applied on the region affected using a merge-like basket known as ''sagara'' among the gokana people to wrap it. the purpose of the above measure is to prevent the medicine applied from falling off. this is done simultaneously and after some days the merge-like basket is untied in order to apply a fresh medicine after which is it covered again. this is routinely followed until there is a sign of improvement in health before it is removed and stopped. malaria treatment: traditional method of treating malaria in gokana involves the following. i. quaver leaf (yah ekwava) ii. lemon grass (yanyor) iii. lime fruit (unripe) (kae-mene-dede) iv. ginger (zinza) v. water (maa) after collecting the items listed above, the sufferer is required to boil them very well, to bring the medicinal potencies, filter the liquid and drink twice daily after warming. each preparation serves for three days. another method takes the following procedure: i. mango bark (ekpa mango) ii. lemon grass (yanyor) iii. paw-paw leaf (yah temene) iv. paw-paw fruit (unripe) (ekporo temene) v. lime fruit (kae-mene-dede) vi. water (maa) add together and cook it to a maximum boiling point, filter and drink twice daily after warming igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 172 traditional medicine in ikwerre traditional medicine in ikwerre society as is the case in ogba and gokana, is very holistic as it focuses on the physical, mental, psychological, spiritual, and general wellbeing of the individual and his cosmos. it is about personal fulfilment and cosmic harmony (asiegbu, 2000). from the foregoing, it is no gain saying that traditional medicine goes beyond the treatment of symptom for disease as may be manifested physically but also about the spiritual forces that could afflict humans with ill health and other conditions of suffering. in this wise, most sicknesses, misfortunes and sufferings are believed to be because of some evil machinations of humans through witchcraft, spirits or angry ancestors and the gods. it is with this perception of realities and precarious nature of human existence that initial reaction to sickness and sufferings of any kind is to invoke the spirits, ancestors, diviners, and medicine men. in whichever way this human misery is manifested, it constitutes a cog in the wellbeing of the victims with the intention to destroy the human’s material and spiritual good. the desire to regain wholeness from these malignant forces brings to the fore the role and services of traditional medicine men and women being vested with the fact that neither the body nor the mind suffers, but the whole person (heston et al cited in asiegbu, 2000). the process is ultimately oriented towards seeking a spiritual solution which is more effective than ordinary human efforts. besides seeking relief from misfortunes, the search to preserve and protect life against ones spiritual and physical enemies, wicked men and women is overwhelming. there is the paranoia of becoming victims of envy and targets of harmful charms especially if one is seen to be making progress and successful in his or her lives endeavours, and the nagging fear of one’s neighbours or clans with whom one has land disputes. in the real sense of the ikwerre and gokana worldview, most sicknesses, misfortunes, and sufferings are believed to be linked to the forces of evilhuman and spiritual. the former could be form of witchcraft, and the later from the spirits due to some infractions against the gods, ancestors or through invocations and other forms of manipulation. in whichever way this is experienced, they bring so much discomfort and uneasiness to human existence and are regarded as anti-life, anti-progress, and anti-wholeness. there can be no happiness or fulfilment in the face of all these fears and uncertainties about life. the assistance of the diviners, medicine men and women are often sought after to bring relief in situations like these. the traditional medicine in ikwerre as obtained in ogba and gokana, is diagnosed through divination, sorcery, magic, witchcraft and so on. observable igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 173 symptoms are treated successfully. in a case where the illness persists, recourse is made to the diviner’s expertise to unravel the real cause of the disease or the affliction and to prescribe appropriate ritual/sacrifices. traditional medicine in udekama (degema) in udekama-degema traditional setting as part of ogba, gokana and ikwerre societies, there was always an explanation as to why someone was suffering from a certain disease at a particular time. according to ayodele (2002) diseases mostly revolve around witchcraft/sorcery, gods or ancestors, natural, as well as heredity, which are similar to the ogba, gokana and ikwerre experience. illness in the udekama-degema/ central niger delta cultures of ogba, gokana and ikwerre is different from the allopathic western medicine point of view. illness is believed to be natural, cultural or social origin (white 2015). cultural or social illness is thought to be related to supernatural causes such as angered spirit, witchcraft or alien/evil spirits, even for condition now known to be well understood in modern medicine such as hypertension, sickle-cell anaemia and diabetes. the udekama-degema as part of central niger delta society considers the human being (owei) as being made up of the physical, spiritual, moral and social aspect, the functioning of these three aspects in harmony signifies good health, while if any aspect should be out of balance it signifies sickness. thus, the treatment of an ill person or medication of a sick person (owei mokpoma) among the udekama-degema people involves not only aiding his/her physical being but may also involve the spiritual being and social components of being as well. the traditional udekama-degema before the advent of agent of change sees treatment of an ailment or a sick person to be wholistic, therefore uses every avenue such as psychotherapy, proficient in faith healing (spiritual healing) therapeutic, circumcision of the male and female, treatment of snake bite, treatment of white low, cutting the umbilical cord, piercing ear lobes, reducing of tooth ache, midwifery and so. sources of traditional medicine before the advent of change, the traditional udekama-degema people as part of african society engage in different sources of health care such as herbal igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 174 medicine, divination, appeasing of the gods, exorcism, libation, orthopaedic (bone setting) is another prominent area the traditional udekama-degema (owei) man uses to treat or heal people in the past even today. here the traditional healer known as herbalist (obu itain) specializes in the use of herbs to treat various ailment (ikpom). their role is very remarkable since it arises from a thorough knowledge of medicine properties of indigenous plants and pharmaceutical steps necessary in turning such plants into drugs such the selection, compounding dosage, efficacy and toxicity (tabuti, 2006) the udekama-degema “obu-itain” after collection of herbs from the forest such as “ubusaoliri; abi-egberin (mango leaves, abisatu-scent leaves etc prepares it and administers to the sick person. the “obu itain” herbalist uses methods like oral, rectal and nasal. other methods include the use of steaming from the boiling plant materials or covering oneself around the fire to absorbs the heat from the boiling concoction. these treatments are used to cure malaria, congestion, pulmonary problems etc (otekinomo, oral interview 2021). the treatment of malaria among the udekama people, is similar to what obtains in gokana as earlier mentioned in this article. divinationis another means the udekama-degema people uses to treat ailment before the modern medicine. it is a means of consulting the spirit world. it is a method by which information concerning an individual or circumstance of illness is obtained through the use randomly arranged symbols in order to gain healing knowledge. it is also viewed as a way to access information that is normally beyond the reach of the rational mind. it is a transpersonal technique in which the diviners base their knowledge on communicating with the spirit forces such as the ancestors, spirits and deities (olupona, 2004). this is another udekama-degema way of diagnosing disease. here the spirit world is consulted by the chief priest (udede izu) to identify the cause of the diseases or to discover whether there was a violation of an established order from the side of the sick person. this is established through the use of cowries (ekoba), leaves (abi erurum) and other objects which is believed to be of spiritual help by the diviner. this to the udekama-degema traditional voteers is the first step in the treatment and medicine because of the revealing powers of the divination. it can be considered in modern science or medicine as consultation of the specialist (doctor). appeasing the godsthe udekama-degema people with the belief system that nothing happens on earth mostly when it comes to sickness, or death without a cause always appease the gods. it is believed that a disease is caused by an igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 175 invocation of a curse or violation of taboos making the ancestors or gods to be angry, therefore the need to appease them to avert the curse (s). the diviner (obu) appease the ancestors, spirit or the gods according to the severity of the case. to appease the gods, the individual is often required to provide certain items for sacrifice such as spotless animals (dogs-abua, goat-ebui, ram-ushumas) local dry gin-akambere, and sometimes white or black cloth, eggs (fresh) etc. the use of these items is to appease and avert of the gods from the sick patients. the items after been used are thrown into the river left to rot, carried away or placed at strategies places usually at crossroad at the outskirt of the community the traditional udekama-degema (owei) man believes that when this is done the curse of the person sickness is taking away. libationlibation is another way the udekama-degema people employs to treat the sick. according to adjaye (2021), libation involves the pouring of some liquid (local dry gin) on the ground followed by chanting or in chanting some words. it is regarded as prayers. the essence of the ritual is to invoke, offer supplication to the gods and to conclude. in the invocation the presence of the gods and ancestors are invited. in supplication a request is made for mercy and forgiveness and finally, the gods and ancestors are being thanked for help. the traditional udekama-degema people uses libation as a means to invite the gods and plead for mercy anytime one is sick and also to thank the gods for help. in doing this the diviners pours the drink on the ground calling the names of the ancestors or the shrines to ward off the powers that are believed to must have caused the sickness. when the person is healed from the sickness, the sick person or families through the diviners carried out some sacrifice to thanked the diviner and the gods. exorcismthis is a practice of expelling demons or evil spirits from people or places that are possessed or are in danger of being possessed by them (avorgbedor, 2000). the traditional udekama-degema people as part of african society believed that illness especially mental illness is mostly caused by evil spirits and to cure it is by exorcism. the udekama-degema diviner (obu) in curing of this sickness of any patient offers sacrifices which are carried out around the person house or the patient in question. sometimes the sacrifice will be used to round the person’s head or the house seven times before it will be thrown away to the ebbing tide. the essence of these sacrifices is to cleans, heal the person diseases which is believed to be caused by the gods. (newton, oral interview 2021). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 176 conclusion the traditional ogba, gokana, ikwerre and udekama-degema people see sickness as not ordinary but caused by the ancestors, spirits or divinities and therefore must be treated with every source of power available to them. in other words, treatment must be holistic. thus, majority of the ethnic societies in the central niger delta, employ both physical and spiritual means to treat any sickness in the society. similarly, despite the successes of modern medicine the people still value traditional herbal treatment to be natural, with the strong belief that it comes from the super natural. on the contrary, christianity was averse to the traditional methods of dealing with diseases, misfortune, and suffering. christians were opposed to almost all the methods, which the traditionalists used when they are ill, or when they are faced with misfortune and suffering. before the advent of christianity, the herbalist and medicine men acted as counsellors, priests, opinion leaders and diviners. unfortunately, western-styled medical practitioners are unlike medicine men of the african traditional society. this has resulted to some form of identity crisis on which way to go. many have accepted the supposed orthodox drugs while in some health centres people are referred to go for the traditional medicines as most potent remedies for some ailments. in the light of the fore-going argument, the paper concludes that the guild of traditional medicine practitioners in ogba, gokana, ikwerre and udekama (degema) in conjuction with their counterpart in other parts of africa, should convoke a conference to discuss the issues and challenges in the field. recommendations: in view of the arguments in this paper for the quest for space and identity of african traditional medicine, the research makes the following recommendations. (i) alternative and complementary medicine should be incorporated in to the government health care policy. (ii) complementary and alternative medicine should be taught in our universities and health institutions. (iii) practitioners of complementary medicine should evolve a standardized mechanism of transferring the skill to the younger generation. (iv) practitioners of the two systems of health care should collaborate in their activities as experience has shown that both are really complementary. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 177 (v) governments at all levels should set up training facilities for officers of traditional medicine as is the case with orthodox medicine. references primary sources s/n name sex age status place of interview date 1 netton elekima m 65 civil servant okudeke compound 18/5/2021 2 otekinomo fred m 50 civil servant okaw compound 19/5/2021 secondary sources adjaye, j.k. (2001) the performativity of akan libation: a theopoetic construction of reality. ghana studies. 2001; 4; 107-138 aquaowo, m.g.u. (2000). “a socio-religious study of health and healing in annang society.” unpublished phd dissertation, department of religious and cultural studies, school of graduate studies, university of port harcourt. asiegbu, a.u. (2000). a crisis of faith and a quest for a spirituality: an inquiry into some syncretistic practices among some christians in nigeria. avorgbedor, d.bildung dee (2000) itoo; source articulation in healing and exorcism practices of the anio-ewe. the world of music. 2000; 42 (2):9-24 ayodele, s.j. (2002) the yoruba cultural construction of health and illness. nordic journal of african studies university of ibadan press. 2002: 11(3) 322-355. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 178 ejizu, c.i. (1987). “healing as wholeness: the igbo experience.” in africana marburgensia, vol. 20, no. 1. eskinazi et al (2000) “factorrs that shape alternative medicine; the role of the alternative medicine research community´ www.pubmed.gov idowu, b. (1973). african traditional religion. s.m.c. press. kofi-tsekpo, m (2004) institutionalization of african traditional medicine in health care system in africa. african journal of health science. 2004;11 (12):1-11. laguda, d.o. (2003). “development in traditional healthcare delivery in yeruba land”. in p. ade dopa dopamu (ed.) african culture, modern science and religious thought. university of ilorin lawrence-hart, g. (2014). medical healthcare in african traditional societies. in k.i. owete & n. gbule “medicine witchcraft and sorcery in africa:” a reader. enhanced digital press. mbiti, j.s. (1973). african religion and cosmology. lumen press. obodoegbulam, a. o. (2019) ogba religion: the pre-christian heritage. pearl pub. ogbu, u.k. (1980). african cultural development. fourth dimension publishing co. okeke, c.o., ibenwa, c.n., & okeke, g.t. (2017). conflict between african traditional religions and christianity in eastern nigeria: the igbo example. sage journals, 1-18. olupona, j.k (2004) owner of the day and regulator of the deities: ifa divination and healing among the yoruba of south-western nigeria. in winkelman m. peeks m. editors. divination and healing potent vision. tueson; arizona. university of arizona press. owete, k.i. (2014). paradigm of healing and disease causality in africa: a question on the germ theories. in k.i. owete & n. gbule (eds.). medicine witchcraft and sorcery in africa: a reader. tabuti tzrs (2006) herbal medicine used in the treatment of malaria in budiope country, uganda; a case study of budiope country. journal of ethnopharmacology. 2006; 116:33-42. white, p. (2015) the concept of disease and heath care in african traditional religion in ghana hts theological studies. 2015;11 (3):5. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 60 igwebuike as an igbo philosophy of mutual relations between diocesan priests and consecrated persons aliba, samuel ifeanyi saint dennis rectory danladi, kaduna state samali20002000@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.28703.51361 abstract the working relationship between some priests and consecrated persons in most catholic dioceses within our clime would reveal a history of both positive and negative experiences. often times, the reasons for these negative experiences (which dominates this history) stem from a lack in the collaborative spirit that should exist among them, undue prejudice against each other, feelings of superiority and intolerance, amongst others. as expected, these experiences pose a scandal to the mystical body of christ which demands otherwise from them. these negative experiences also militate against the effectiveness of the evangelising mission of the church. thus, this piece is poised to share some thoughts on how consecrated persons and diocesan priests can work together more effectively, so that together, they can lead the people of god on their journey to heaven. it employs the principles of igwebuike philosophy as a theoretical framework. the principles of igwebuike remind us that we need each other, because to be, is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. to be, is to be with the other, in a community of beings. thus, if diocesan priests and consecrated persons harness their energies towards a common project, need and desire, they can constitute an insurmountable force in pursuing their collective vision. keywords: introduction a critical examination of the working relationship between some priests and consecrated persons in most catholic dioceses within our clime would reveal a history of both positive and negative experiences. often times, the reasons for these negative experiences (which dominates this history) stem from a lack in the collaborative spirit that should exist among them, undue prejudice against each other, feelings of superiority and intolerance, amongst others. as expected, these experiences pose a scandal to the mystical body of christ which demands otherwise from them. these negative experiences also militate against the mailto:samali20002000@yahoo.com https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.28703.51361?_sg%5b0%5d=mrxx0w1c49be1vvaby9sn1visj8exrdfdkdhxkedoo6bhkgz_vsgm7zxtpsm1bbd9vacl03zftbv5sxb8mj0cpzzea.olygo13oqi-taoioogrxxp6paj18kpkjm5do-foocpgd9pr73wlghn7ywnzeww5tyzq54r6cady4ozqm5syfmg igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 61 effectiveness of the evangelising mission of the church. thus, this paper is poised to share some thoughts on how consecrated persons and diocesan priests can work together more effectively, so that together, they can lead the people of god on their journey to heaven. consequently, the paper will discuss some of the factors that have lead to these negative experiences between diocesan priests and consecrated persons. this is in a bid to learn from such experiences, to correct them and to forgive whatever mutual misgivings they may nurse against each other. in doing so, the paper would employ the igbo complementarity philosophy of igwebuike as a paradigm of the sort of relationship that should exist between them, hoping that they would become better collaborators (aliba, 2016). the igwebuike philosophical thought the word igwebuike is an igbo word. it is a composite word made up of three dimensions. therefore, it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. the three words involved: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power. thus, put together, it means ‗number is strength‘ or ‗number is power‘, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force (kanu, 2017). igwebuike is a principle that is at the heart of african thought, and in fact, the modality of being in african ontology. as an ideology, igwebuike rests on the principles of solidarity and complementarity. thus, to be, is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. to be, is to be with the other, in a community of beings. this is based on the african sense of community, which is the underlying principle in african philosophy and religion, and as such, the unity of african philosophy. in this case, to be with the other becomes the modality of being in african ontology. this is anchored on the african cosmology which iroegbu describes as being characterized by a common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny (kanu, 2014). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 62 as an indigenous african philosophy, igwebuike philosophy gives an understanding of the human person as a being who is in relation with the other in the world. it establishes that there exists a common link between human persons and that it is through this relationship that every other person realizes himself/herself. igwebuike philosophy is the capacity in igbo-african ontology for the expression of complementarity, solidarity, compassion, reciprocity, dignity and harmony for the purpose of building and maintaining community. it celebrates in a deep cultural and philosophical modality our relatedness, our inter connectedness, our common humanity, our common responsibility towards each other and for each other. the philosophy of igwebuike is a complementary philosophy which understands life as a shared reality. life is a life of sharedness; one in which another is part thereof. it is a relationship, though of separate and separated entities or individuals but with a joining of the same whole. it is a relationship in which case the two or more coming together makes each of them a complete whole; it is a diversity of being one with each other. thus, mbiti classically proverbializes the community determining role of the individual when he writes, ―i am because we are and since we are, therefore i am‖ (kanu, 2017). reflecting on the african idea of life as a shared reality, and in which complementarity is observed, kanu avers that it presupposes a tailor-made cloth, measured, cut and sewn to fit into the curves, contours, shape and size, peculiarities and particularities of a being. thus, every being has a missing part and is at the same time, a missing part. ekwulu (2010), therefore, writes that: "if the other is my part or a piece of me, it means that i need him for me to be complete, for me to be what i really am. the other completes rather than diminishes me. his language and culture make my own stand out and at the same time, they enrich and complement my own. in the presence of his language and culture, the riches and poverty of my language and culture become clear and i see that his own and my own when put together form a richer whole when compared to any of them in isolation." he further opines that the self is not only completed in relating with the other, but that it attains self-realization in the other: i realize myself in the other because it is in the ‗thou-ness‘ of the thou that my ‗is-ness‘ is realized. i am ‗i‘ because igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 63 you are ‗you‘. without thou there is no i. we are ‗we‘ because they are ‗they‘, and without ‗they‘, there is no ‗we‘. therefore, in the contention of asouzu as quoted by kanu (2017): ―it is within this ontological context (of life as sharedness) that all questions of meaning can be handled adequately and fully within the context of mutual complementarity of all possible relations.‖ diocesan priests in perspective a priest is a man who has received the sacrament of holy orders, which confers on him certain powers of christ, principally the power to consecrate bread and wine into the body and blood of christ, and the power to forgive sin in the sacrament of penance and reconciliation. when he does these things he acts in the person of christ. furthermore, diocesan priests are ordained to serve souls in a particular diocese. this is their main work, although some are engaged in other ministries as well. at their ordination as deacons they incardinate (affiliate) with a particular diocese or archdiocese. at this time they make a promise to obey their bishop who has been placed by christ as the head of that diocese. the diocesan priest serves in collaboration with him in the parishes and institutions within the diocese. they administer the sacraments, they are responsible for the instruction of their people, they are close to them in their lives and trials, they counsel, forgive and serve constantly, heroically and patiently (aliba, 2016). the term "secular clergy" is also used to refer to diocesan deacons and priests who are not monastics or members of a religious institute. while religious priests take religious vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience and follow the rule of life of the institute to which they belong, diocesan priests take vows of chastity and obedience, and they live among the people they serve, and not in a religious institute. in the latin church, among other regulations, priests are obliged to observe perfect and perpetual continence for the sake of the kingdom of heaven and therefore are bound to celibacy and to carry out the liturgy of the hours daily. they are also forbidden to assume public offices which entail a participation in the exercise of civil power. all clerics, once ordained, are forbidden from marrying or remarrying. (aliba, 2016). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/deacon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/priest https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/monk https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/religious_institute https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/religious_vows https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/chastity,_poverty,_and_obedience https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/latin_church https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/liturgy_of_the_hours igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 64 consecrated persons in perspective consecrated persons according to kanu (2015) are the members of religious institutes and societies of apostolic life. the code of canon law (1983) teaches that they are lay persons or clerics who assume the evangelical counsels by means of a sacred bond, and become members of an institute of consecrated life according to the law of the church. they totally dedicate themselves to god with the goal of pursuing perfection in charity by faithfully embracing the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience. in this sense, consecrated persons respond freely to the invitation of the holy spirit to follow christ the poor, the celibate the obedient son, more closely, thus becoming in this life a sign of the life to come. the very first paragraph in the 1996 post-synodal apostolic exhortation vita consecrata sets the scene for a current understanding of consecrated life. it states that: "the consecrated life, deeply rooted in the example and teaching of christ the lord, is a gift of god the father to his church through the holy spirit. by the profession of the evangelical counsels the characteristic features of jesus — the chaste, poor and obedient one — are made constantly ‗visible‘ in the midst of the world and the eyes of the faithful are directed towards the mystery of the kingdom of god already at work in history, even as it awaits its full realisation in heaven.‖ thus, consecrated life is not an appendage to the church, nor an optional extra, it is part of the living breathing church. noteworthy, is the very idea of consecration as explained by kanu (2015). it is derived from the word 'holy' or 'holiness'. in hebrew it is qadosh and in greek hagios; these are translated to mean 'to consecrate' (cf. leviticus 15:31; ezekiel 14:7). in numbers 6:5-7, 12, the nazirites were referred to as consecrated because of their vows to god. this makes the person holy, a consecration that separates the person from others. thus the word consecration implies a setting apart or a separation. this separation does not imply superiority, or complete severance from those the consecrated are called to serve. lumen gentium (1964) says "the state which is constituted by the profession of the evangelical counsels, though it does not belong to the hierarchical structure of the church, nevertheless, undeniably belongs to the life and holiness of the church" (no. 44). from the foregone, it is pertinent to state that the use of the term "consecrated persons" within this piece is meant to refer to three categories of persons which are: the lay consecrated life (lay people who though consecrated, remain ―in the world‖ and often exercise careers while giving a priority in their lives to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 65 prayer, witness and service), female religious (who consecrate themselves to god through promises of poverty, chastity and obedience, and often times live and work in their various communities) and the male religious who may be either priests or brothers. while the religious priest receives the sacrament of holy orders, the religious brother does not. however, they are both under the authority of their own superiors and serve the local diocese through the works of their order or congregation located there (aliba, 2016). consecrated persons and diocesan priests: the experience so far as stated in the introductory part of this piece, the history of the relationship between consecrated persons and diocesan priests working in a diocese is one that is punctuated with some negative experiences. right from the beginnings, the use of the term "secular" to designate the diocesan clergy and "consecrated" to designate religious persons and priests has in no small measure affected the good working relationship that should exist between them. this designation lead to a sort of supremacist mentality between the duo and also to the unofficial but popular opinion that one is "higher", "better" or "holier" than the other. also, the designation of vows taken by consecrated persons (poverty, chastity and obedience) as opposed to the promises made by both the religious and diocesan priests at ordination (to pray the liturgy of the hours daily, to obey his bishop/superior and to live a celibate life) further fuels this sense of supremacy that is held by some school of thoughts (aliba, 2016). furthermore, experience reveals that some diocesan clergy uphold that most consecrated persons display a care free attitude in matters that affect the pastoral and administrative life of the diocese. their loyalty and attention is primarily given to their various orders, congregations and superiors, thereby giving a secondary attention to matters of the diocese in which they work in. as expected, this affects the collaboration that should exist between the two. however, same experience also reveals that some diocesan priests tend to be autocratic, take pastoral and administrative decisions alone, and do not give enough room for collaboration to consecrated persons working in such a place (aliba, 2016). experience also shows that there is often a lack of common planning, dialogue, mutual appreciation, sharing of responsibilities, and mutual accountability between consecrated persons and diocesan priests. in some places, there is no igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 66 clear contract between dioceses and religious superiors and therefore the hierarchical authority proper to the bishop and / or priest is abused without adequate and respectful dialogue (aliba, 2016). all these, and many other negative experiences (which does not undermine the positive experiences they also share) punctuate the working relationship between consecrated persons and diocesan priests in our local churches and is a scandal that harms and affects the mission of the church in our modern world. this anomaly demands due and urgent attention, if the evangelising mission of the church is to remain relevant. towards a stronger/fruitful collaboration in the spirit of the igwebuike from the foregoing, one can posit that a possible solution to these negative experiences between diocesan priests and consecrated persons lies in the understanding and employment of the merits of igwebuike. igwebuike enunciates a principle of collaboration aimed towards a unified and greater existence. therefore, collaboration in the spirit of igwebuike is a way out of these conflicts that punctuate the relationship between consecrated persons and diocesan priests in our local churches. however, before now various resource persons/churches in the past have written and discussed extensively on the subject matter of collaborative ministry in our local churches. thus, the idea of a move towards a stronger and fruitful collaboration between consecrated persons and diocesan priests is aimed towards offering practical steps that should help to solidify the tie that should exist between them, after the need to forgive and forget past hurts. according to ngahy (2015), it is an undisputable fact that collaborative ministry does not just happen because people work together or cooperate in some way. collaborative ministry is a gradual and mutual evolution of new patterns, new attitudes and new self understanding, which do not happen by accident. it begins from the fundamental desire to work together not only because we are all called by the lord to be a company of disciples but an understanding of the human person as a being who is in relation with the other in the world as expressed by igwebuike. hence, there exists a common link between human persons and that it is through this relationship that every other person realizes himself/herself through a unity of purpose. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 67 nevertheless, it must be stated that this collaboration in the spirit of igwebuike grows through a mutual process of conversion and formation especially within the human community. it also requires a willingness to face and work through conflict because of the attraction and value of a common good, supported by an awareness of participating in the work of the spirit in the church. this means; conflicting situations or misunderstandings can also be an opportune moment when our collaboration would be ironed out objectively and positively in order to solidify it as we grow. the igwebuike ideology does not rule out the possibility of a conflict of interest or misunderstandings. however, such conflicts of interest and misunderstandings are sacrificed on the altar of the common good, so that together we achieve a greater good. collaborative ministry is a way of relating and working together in the life of the church which expresses the communion which the church is given and to which it is called. it is a way of working in which the quality of relationships developed is as important as the task in which we are engaged. in fact, it is an ecclesial activity, implying that it is not a private affair of a consecrated person, a clergy or a laity. as an ecclesial activity it brings together into partnership, people who, through baptism and confirmation, as well as ordination and marriage have different vocations, gifts and offices within the church. it does not blur the distinctiveness of each vocation or gift. rather it enables the identity of each to be seen and expressed more fully. hence, it is safe to state that ministry is a service given by different people according to their different gifts and talents in the name of god for the good of the people of god so as to further christ's mission. in a very broad way, ministry is the variety of ways that christians in all walks of life carry on christ's compassionate presence in the world. collaborative ministry is cooperating and uniting our gifts in the service of the people of god. it is the identification, release and union of all the gifts in ministry for the sake of the greater good. therefore, consecrated persons and diocesan priests in our local churches must of necessity, be willing to uniquely harness their charisma, gifts and talents for the furtherance of the evangelising mission of christ through the church. it should be done in such a manner that no one should claim to possess a more superior gift, charisma or talent, knowing that each is given a manifestation of the spirit for the common good (1. cor. 12:7). furthermore, in a bid to achieve a stronger and a more fruitful collaboration in the spirit of igwebuike, consecrated persons and diocesan priests should be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 68 willing to come together and dialogue over old issues. conversion and change of attitude is indispensable for collaborative ministry. for us to work effectively in collaborative ministry, mutual prejudices against each other must be put aside as we allow the spirit of co-existence and cooperation to animate us. this would entail the creation of forums to listen to one another, share our visions and discuss openly the obstacles that we have to overcome if we want greater and more authentic collaboration. also, commitment and honest dialogue, willingness to grow in the dynamics of cooperation, open exchange of information and better understanding among the various religious orders and congregations working in a particular diocese are all ways which might help us collaborate better and thus realize more effectively the mission that has been entrusted to us as church. local ordinaries are encouraged to welcome and esteem the charisms of the consecrated life, and to give them a place in the pastoral plans of the diocese. they should have a particular concern for institutes of diocesan right, which are entrusted to the special care of the local bishop. a diocese which lacks the presence of consecrated persons would not only be deprived of many spiritual gifts, of suitable places for people to seek god, of specific apostolic activities and pastoral approaches, but it would also risk a great weakening of that missionary spirit which is characteristic of the majority of institutes. religious congregations and their competent members should be more involved in the pastoral planning of the diocese, since by the very nature of the church, they are not strangers or aliens in the local church. thus, all religious and consecrated persons have the duty, each according to his proper vocation, of cooperating zealously and diligently in building up and increasing the whole mystical body of christ and for the good of the particular churches. in the same vein, superiors of religious houses should ensure that religious brothers, sisters and priests are adequately trained so as to competently and effectively participate in the pastoral mission of the church. better collaboration will result from greater reciprocal knowledge. thus, it is recommended that the theology and the spirituality of the consecrated life be part of the theological preparation of diocesan priests, and adequate attention to the theology and the spirituality of the diocesan clergy be included in the formation of consecrated persons. this will help a great deal in reducing the mutual prejudice they both share. furthermore, consecrated persons and diocesan priests working in a particular local church can create avenues and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 69 opportunities to socialize together where they could have periodic common meals, games, informal discussions, etc. this would help to neutralize possible tensions that may arise in their working relationship and further strengthen the bond that exists among them. it would also help curtail occasional conflicts and mutual suspicions. conclusion having discussed some of the reasons for the negative experiences that punctuate the relationship between consecrated persons and diocesan priests, and also proffering practical steps towards overcoming this anomaly, it is pertinent to re-affirm that, if the duo are not willing to forgive and forget past hurts, they may scarcely make head way. the principles of igwebuike reminds us that we need each other, because to be, is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. to be, is to be with the other, in a community of beings. thus, if diocesan priests and consecrated persons harness their energies towards a common project, need and desire, they can constitute an insurmountable force in pursuing their collective vision. also, if diocesan priests and consecrated persons would come together in a unity of hearts, heads and hands, which is a correlative and complementary solidarity, (a ‗we‘ relationship) there is scarcely any challenge that they cannot surmount in their evangelizing mission. but, when they slight each other, look down on each other, segregate each other and reject the contribution of each other, in the contention of ireogbu (1994), is to commit the ontological evil of alienation, and thus become a homo hipus homini, which is a scandal to the world. references aliba, s. i (2016). consecrated persons and diocesan priests in the jubilee year of mercy. consecrated life and the jubilee year of mercy: contexts and perspectives. lagos: conference of major superiors (men). boudinhon, a. (1912). secular clergy. in the catholic encyclopedia. new york: robert appleton company. retrieved july 19, 2016 from new advent: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13675a.htm. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 70 ekwulu, b. i. (2010). igbo concept of ibe (the other) as a philosophical solution to the ethnic conflicts in african countries. in b. i. ekwulu (ed.). philosophical reflections on african issues (pp. 183-192). enugu: delta. http://olqmseekonk.org/holy-order-and-consecrated-life. http://www.africamissionmafr.org/celebrating_the_year_for_the_c onsecrated_life john paul ii (1996). post-synodal exhortation vita consecrata, no. 1. nairobi: paulines publications. kanu, i. a. (2016) ―igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology.‖ journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. kanu, i. a. (2016). ―igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles.‖ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). ―igwebuike and the logic of african philosophy.‖ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. kanu, i. a. (2017). ―igwebuike and the question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge.‖ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. kanu, i. a. (2017). ―igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education.‖ nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. kanu, a. i. (2014). igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholicpentecostal relations. jos studies. 22. 87-98. plateau: jos. kanu, a. i. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. 153-160. kanu, i. a (2015). consecrated persons as agents of pastoral care of the family. nigerian joras : a publication of good shepherd major seminary. vol. 5. kanu, i. a (ed.) (2013). echoes of hope: the stand of the conference of major superiors of nigeria on issues of faith and life. jos: conference of major superiors (men). lumen gentium (1964). in a. flannery (ed.) documents of the second vatican council. dublin: st. pauls publications. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 71 ndagoso, m (2009). archdiocesan synod work document. kaduna: mach's graphic press. ndagoso, m (2010). the mission of the church in kaduna: post synodal message. kaduna: digitones. ngahy, j.d (2015). formation and collaboration in communion as it affects collaborative ministry in osogbo diocese for the past 20 years; paper presented at the seminar marking the 20th anniversary of osogbo diocese. oke-gada, ede. the code of canon law (1983). bangalore: theological publications in india. volpe, b. australian confraternity of catholic clergy. in http://www.clergy.asn.au/pastoral/consecrated-religious-in-australianparish-life/. accessed on 19th july, 2016. article 9 igwebuike 6. no7.cdr igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.6 no.7, 2020 www.igwebuikejournals.com a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 91 the role of religion in peace building among ethnic groups in nigeria godwin aturuchi eche phd & fortune okechukwu department of religious and cultural studies ignatius ajuru university of education rumuolumeni, port harcourt, rivers state godwineche1@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract today, africa is faced with some of the most obstinate conflicts, most of them constructed from differences in religious and ethnic identities. religious and ethnic nationalism has led to conflicts about control of state power, unequal allocation of resources, citizenship issues, state collapse, economic decline and ethno-religious clashes. nigeria has been pushed hither and thither by recurrent crises of regional or state illegitimacy, often impairing efforts at economic transformation, democratization, national cohesion and stability (osaghae and suberu, 2005:4). with this continental background in mind, this research paper seeks to examine the relationship between religion, ethnicity and conflict in nigeria, focusing mainly on issues in the north of the country. the question is: to what extent are conflicts emerging from ethnic or religious sources? this paper examined the notion of identity and how it explains the crisis of development and complexities in modern nigeria. keywords: religion, peace-building, nigeria, ethnic groups introduction nigeria is synonymous with deep divisions which cause major political issues to be vigorously and violently contested along the lines of intricate ethnic, religious and regional divisions. issues that raise the most dust are those regarded essential for the existence and the validity of the state. opposing and contending assemblages have a tendency to assume an exclusionary winner-take-all approach. these issues include the control of state power, allocation of resources and citizenship. as a result, states with such divisions are disposed to be delicate and unstable because by definition, they have very little in common with regard to convergence and harmony which are necessary to reduce the centrifugal forces that rip them apart (osaghae and suberu, 2005:4). breakdown, breakaway, civil strife, civil war, minority nervousness, and violent clashes, all of which would typically be regarded unusual in normal states are common forces or actual occurrences in divided states (osaghae and suberu, 2005:4). due to complicated network of politically silent identities, coupled with a history of protracted and seemingly stubborn wars and instability, nigeria is high on the list as one of the most unstable states in africa. since its independence, nigeria has been driven hither and thither by recurrent crises of regional or state illegitimacy, often impairing efforts at democratization, stability, economic transformation and national cohesion. a peak of the crisis appears to have occurred during the civil war of the 1960's, which began shortly after independence (okpanachi, 2010). since 1999 when nigeria transited into civilian rule, the country has witnessed a rapid increase in the number of conflicts. the aim of this study is to examine the relationship between religion, ethnicity and conflicts in the country. it looks at the notion of identity in an attempt to explain the crisis of development and the complexities of modern nigeria. a high level of corruption and the looting of state resources is another serious and 'pandemic' problem that makes all forms of conflict and trouble worse in nigeria (dike, 2005). the country is 'richly endowed with natural resources and high quality human capital' (ogbeidi, 2012:1), but corruption is one of the main reasons that affect the development of the country in a negative way. the appropriation of state resources by certain hands makes poverty and bitter anger inevitable aspects of daily socio-economic and political routine. in this sense, though corruption is not peculiar to nigeria, many sources call it the 'bane of the country' (dike 2005; ogbeidi, 2012:21). corruption is considered to be one of the main causes of ethno-religious conflicts in nigeria (nwankwo, 2015). poverty and injustice caused by corruption weaken any sense of mutual tolerance, social solidarity or coexistence, while reawakening social hatred, radicalism and violence. for this reason, corruption is seen as one of the most important issues that have to be resolved in order to cope with ethno-religious conflicts in nigeria. the identity factor from a socio-political perspective, 'identity' bears a personal and a social meaning. processes related to identity are 'located at the core of the individual and yet in the core of his community's culture' (erikson, 1968-57; okpanachi, 2010). this, identity can be said to be an individual's 'sense of belonging to a group if it influences his political behavior' (erikson, 1968:57; mary anderson, 2010; okpanachi, 2010). identity is built into an individual's physiological 'givens' and in social roles (erikson, 1968:57; okpanachi, 2010). identity is characterized by features such as an 'emotive tie to a group', 'love and belief for a group', 'pledge to a cause', and 'commitments and duties to a group' with which a person identifies (smyth and robinson, 2001:7-11; okpanachi, 2010). general studies in identity underscore the fact that identity implies similarity and contrast at the same time (jenkins, 2004; okpanachi, 2010). 'for an individual, or for a group, there may be a plurality of identities. yet, such a plurality is a source of stress and contradiction in both self-representation and social action. this is because identity must be distinguished from role-sets' (okpanachi, 2010). oftentimes, self-definition of identity overlaps with role expectations, but identities are more stable springs of meaning than those social roles. this is because identities establish the meaning, while social roles shape the functions (okpanachi, 2010; castells, 2010:7). however, identity is not uniform or stable among groups or individuals. its strength and importance is dynamic and differs from group to group. while identities are somewhat stable, identity consciousness keeps on changing to reflect the fluctuating role of the identities and the swelling magnitudes (jega 2000:11; okpanachi 2010). this elasticity of identity avoids coming up with an all new identity for the particular role and circumstance. recent studies on religious identity have also underscored the positive function of religion 92 the role of religion in peace building among ethnic groups in nigeria in promotion of peace. on the other hand, however, mobilization of identity has been used to incite political groups to struggle; and religious groups to legitimize wars and various modes of brutal and violent acts (alger 2002:101; okpanachi 2010). politics of ethnic identity in nigeria ethnicity is a social phenomenon that is manifested in interactions among individuals of different ethnic groups within a political system where language and culture are the most prominent attributes. the formation of dialects within languages was one of the ways in which ethnicity became fixed in nigeria. although there are over 400 languages in nigeria, only three are considered 'major', while the rest are considered minor languages. however, the distribution of these languages is directly proportional to both political and socio-economic power, and therefore the language group to which one belongs defines his/her status in the society. missionaries and local politicians created standard languages and hoped that they would homogenize language and ethnicity, and create more harmonious ethnic identities. ethnicity is natural in almost all societies made up of more than one ethnic group. this observation tends to offer the suggestion that the interaction between different ethnic groups within a single political set-up generates ethnic identity. an interaction of this kind can create 'a common consciousness of being one in relation to other relevant ethnic groups' (eriksen, 1996:30). that in turn, results in the emergence of ingroup and outgroup confines which come to be guarded jealously over time. based on this approach, ethnicity thus becomes a process through which ethnic identities are politicized (eriksen, 1996:30). historically, identities have played a significant role in the nigerian political process during the colonial period and in the post-colonial era. during the colonial period, the administrators allowed the emergence and aggravation of an 'us' versus 'them' syndrome, where muslims were pitted against christians, northerners against the southerners, hausa-fulani, yoruba and lgbo against each other, and so on (adefemi 2003:14; okpanachi 2010). in this era religious and ethnic differences became prominent factors in instituting and executing socio-economic strategies and applications. therefore, the differentiating outcomes of colonialism became the forerunner of the socio-economic disequilibrium among the different regions, and then this became an important factor in the stimulation of identity awareness so as to efficiently 'divide and rule' (fearon and laitin 2003:82; okpanachi 2010). but, as a counter argument it must be said that internal factors are more determinant than the external ones in creating the cleavages in nigeria. this is also the case in many other countries. ethnicity is seen as the most basic and politically salient identity of nigerians. this argument is based on the premise that in competitive and non-competitive contexts, nigerians tend to define themselves in terms of ethnic affinities as opposed to other identities (osaghae and suberu 2005:8). a survey conducted in nigeria by lewis and bratton found that almost half of nigerians (48.2%) labeled themselves with an ethnic identity compared to 28.4% who labeled themselves with respect to class and 21% who identified with a religious group (lewis and bratton 2000:27; osaghae and suberu 2005:9). this means that over 66% of nigerians view themselves as members of an elemental ethnic or religious group. what is even more interesting is the fact that religious and ethnic identities are more salient than class identities (lewis and bratton 2000:26; osaghae and suberu 2005:9). however, this is not at all that surprising, especially if one considers that ethno-religious formations are the most persistent behavioral units in 93godwin aturuchi eche phd & fortune okechukwu nigeria (nsongola-ntalaja 2004:404; osaghae and suberu 2005:9). nevertheless, notwithstanding the fact that ethnicity is the most salient, and the large number of studies conducted on this issue, the total number of ethnic groupings in nigeria remains unknown (osaghae and suberu 2005:9). some sources put it at 374 (otite 1990:34; okpanachi 2010), while some other sources count more than 250 different ethnic identities (central intelligence agency 2016). however, the population percentages of the majority of these groups are small when compared with the seven largest ethnic groups constituting about 88% of the country's population. these are hausa and fulani (29%), yoruba (21%), igho (18%), ijaw (10%), kanuri (4%), ibibio (3.5%), and tiv (2.5%) (central intelligence agency: 2016). this population disproportion, when combined with the disparities in the political influence of individual ethnic groups roughly classifies the nigerian population into two major groupings: the majority and minority ethnic groups. while the hausa-fulani, the yoruba and the igbo form the majority, the rest of the ethnic groups are fitted into the minority classification which in itself possesses different degrees of status relative to their size and political influence (rakov 1990; paden 2008:4; okpanachi 2010). the hausa-fulani and other smaller ethnic groups that inhabit the north of the country are muslims while the igbo and the other smaller groups residing in the south are mainly christians. groups lying in the middle comprise of a mixture of christians and muslims while the yoruba found in the southwest are almost half muslim and half christian. this muslim north and christian south cleavage enhances ethnic fractionalizations in nigeria, especially in northern nigeria where islamic identity plays a dominant role (paden 2007:8; okpanachi 2010). it is clear that nearly the entire northern half of the country consists of states with sharia law. of course, exceptions should not be overlooked for both parts of the country. there is a considerable population of muslims in the south, especially in the southwest, and a sizeable number amongst the benin in edo state. even in the southeast, amongst the igbo, there has been a rising number of muslims, causing the governors of some igbo-speaking states to introduce state programmes for muslims. the same goes for christians in the north, where the considerable number of christians cannot be disregarded in any analysis of religious groupings in nigeria. lewis (2007:6) attributes the historical prominence of islam during the formation of northern states in the early 19th century to the continued prominence of emirs and religious authorities in framing identities in northern nigeria. lewis argues that a number of principles of ethnicity are used by political leaders and others to frame their arguments as to how things should be accomplished. first, ethnic identity is the most important and consistent basis of social identity in the country. second, ethnicity is seen as a way for collective action. finally, ethnicity is presumed to be a destabilizing factor with farreaching impacts on democracy. these principles breed a number of outcomes. because political competition is played along lines of ethnicity, the resultant 'democratic' but authoritarian government ostensibly has an ethnic character (lewis 2007:2). lewis states that civilian governments supposedly promote the creation of an ethnic politicization and political schism. on the other hand, non-democratic regimes like military rules are usually repercussions from the side of the political elite. in most cases, therefore, mechanisms of political governance are formed on the basis of ethnicity via custom-made patronage systems (lewis 2007:2). for instance, in nigeria the ethnic factor is seen when political parties are formed and during elections. the northern people's congress (npc) was formed in the first republic and it was a hausa-fulani party. 94 the role of religion in peace building among ethnic groups in nigeria similarly, the igbo belonged to the national council of nigeria and cameroon (ncnc) while the yoruba prided themselves as members of the action group (ag) (cohen 1968). these parties later transformed into the national party of nigeria (npn), the nigerian people party (npp) and the unity party of nigeria (upn) during the second republic (edoh, 2001:87). the third republic had the social democratic party (sdp) and national republican convention (nrc), which were disbanded by annulment of the june 12, 1993 elections by general ibrahim babangida, due to suspected ethnic reasoning when it became clear that the northern political hegemony risked losing out. thus, here it is possible to detect that stimulation of ethnic awareness easily turns into a conflict in order to get more from scarce societal resources. and this situation provokes political tensions and cleavages among the ethnic groups. nigeria is not the only country in the world where such things are experienced. in recent times, socio-economic and political changes have taken place and transformed the delineations of identities and politics in nigeria. to begin with, patterns of group mobilizations have shifted, in the traditional models of nigerian ethnic politics, emphasis was on competition among the country's three largest groups – the hausa-fulani, the yoruba and the lgbo. the minority groups comprising over 250 smaller ethnic groups have often been regarded as inconsequential in political contests. however, since 1999, nigeria's political arena has been changing following political action by groups in the niger delta and the 'middle-belt' communities who have increasingly become vocal in national politics and economy (soludo 2007). ethnic solidarity has also faced opposition from religious mobilizations by the muslims and the christians especially in the muslim north. since the restoration of democratic rule, ethnic identity and mobilization in the nigerian political landscape has often resulted in political instability. between 1999 and 2013, more than 11,000 deaths have occurred as a result of more than five hundred incidents of communal violence. ethnic violence has been witnessed in almost all regions in the country but with particular frequency in the niger delta, the muslim north and northwest and along the middle-belt (uzodike and whetho, 2011:220). the level of insecurity witnessed during the post-military period is considerably higher than that experienced during the three decades of military rule that ended in 1999. it is often assumed that there exist stable identities in nigeria and consistent group motives in the approach to ethnic politics (rotberg 2002:88). religious identity nigeria is the most crowded african country with a population of about 182 million by 2015 (world population prospects 2015:21). a majority of the scientific academic sources accept that half of the population is christian and the other half muslim. however, there is uncertainty about the exact percentages hence various sources give different figures. in a report published by pew research center in 2010 the numbers from different sources are compared in the report's appendix b. if we mention them chronologically for instance, the 1963 census certified 36% christian, 48% muslim and 16% other. however, the demographic and health survey gave 53% christian, 45% muslim and 2% other in 2008. similarly, afro barometer found 56% christian, 43% muslim and 1% other, also in 2008. and finally, pew forum declared 46% for christians, 52% for muslims and 1% for others in 2009 (pew research center 2010). whatever the exact percentages are, it is clear that nigeria is a country with very large 95godwin aturuchi eche phd & fortune okechukwu christian and muslim populations. this situation makes this country a potential fault line between the two different identities and even civilizations. in this sense, nigeria, with the largest christian plus muslim population in the world, can be defined as a 'cleft country' and then a 'test case' of huntington's clash of civilizations thesis (paden 2007; olojo 2014:7). although the general presumption is that ethnic identity is a more prominent and stable source of identity in nigeria, some researchers have demonstrated that religion was more significant than ethnicity as a source of identity and conflict in nigeria (ruby and shah 2007; pew research center 2010; green 201 1). in fact, in the hausa-fulani north, religious identity is more pronounced than ethnic identity and only serves to stimulate ethnicity (osagbae and suberu 2005:10). therefore, of the two major ethnic groupings in the country, the yoruba are more likely to identify themselves with their ethnic group than are the northern hausa-fulani (lewis and bratton 2000:20; osaghae and suberu 2005:11). nigeria has three major religious identities: christian, islam and traditional religions (omorogbe and omohan 2005:557). traditional religions are the most politically inactive of the three groups, 'numbering several hundreds of ethnic groups and subgroups, villages, clans and kin groups; and, involving the worship of different gods and goddesses' (osaghae and suberu 2005:11). on the other hand, christian and muslim identities have continued to be the backbone of religious disparity and conflict (lewis and bratt on 2000:5; osaghae and suberu 2005:1 1). this differentiation underlies the north-south cleavage. it is worth noting that, within the wide christian and muslim categories, there lie many sub-cleavages and intra-group conflicts that have either been active politically in the past or have a potential of being salient in the future. among the christians, sub-cleavages include the protestants (anglican lo%, baptist 8%, methodist 5%, and lutheran 5%), the catholics 15%, the evangelical church of west africa 2%, jehovah's witnesses 5% and a myriad of other local (aladura, cherubim and seraphim, celestial church of christ 20%) and pentecostal churches 30% (osaghae and suberu 2005:11% the pentecostal churches form the fundamental division of christianity in nigeria which has experienced rapid growth in numbers of followers in the last few years with the majority of adherents, especially the youths, joining the church from the older and more traditional denominations. the church has played an important role in civil society in antimilitary struggles and democratization. this has been made possible through umbrella bodies such as the christian association of nigeria (can), the pentecostal fellowship of nigeria (pen), and the catholic bishops conference (osaghae and suberu 2005:11). however, politicization of christianity has been reliant on moves by the muslims and the interventions of the government. still, protestant-catholic cleavages have continued to play an important role in elections among the lgbo communities living in the southeast of nigeria (osaghae and subeni, 2005:11). muslims also belong to a number of sub-cleavages that include ahmadiyya 12%, sanusiyya 5%, tijanniyya 3%, and quadriyya 8% which have in turn been in conflicts. as among the christians, the muslims also have umbrella bodies which aim at propagating different understandings of islam. notable among these organizations is the jamaatu nasril islam (jni) which was established by sardauna of sokoto in 1961. following events in iran during the islamic revolution of 1979, radical fundamentalist activities increased among muslim youths. these conditions resulted in the formation of fundamentalist muslim factions such as the maitatsine, the isala movement, the shiites, the talibans and 96 the role of religion in peace building among ethnic groups in nigeria most recently the boko haram (fayemi: 2011) which demanded the establishment of a purist islam based on sharia law, the abolition of unorthodox innovations, and the creation of an islamic theocracy (osaghae and suberu 2005:11). these relatively new sentiments that depend on a unique and radical interpretation of islam provoke conflicts with the traditional and/or more moderate understandings ethno-religious conflicts the fact that an average nigerian is very religious was observed by some sources (oluduro 201.0:209; athyo 2013:29). religion plays a critical role in nigerian society and has expressed itself as a potent force in the geopolitical development of the country. this force which has been used to unite nigerians is the same force that has led to numerous conflicts in the country. nigeria has been engulfed in numerous religious crises or conflicts between 1980 and 1994 (warner 2012:38). due to their tendency to spread into other areas after an early stay in one area, ethnoreligious conflicts have gained notoriety as the most violent crises in nigeria. most of these conflicts occur in the middle-belt and along the culturally borderline states of the predominantly muslim north, and also take place between hausa-fulani groups and nonmuslim ethnic groups in the south (osaghac and subeni 2005:19). in conflicts of this nature occurring along the convergence of ethnic and religious lines, it is often very difficult to tell the differences between religious and ethnic crises because the dividing line between them is slimmer than thin. examples of such ethno-religious conflicts are the kafanchan-kaduna crisis that occurred in the i 980's and i 990's, the kaduna sharia riots of 2000 and 2012 (osaghae and suberu 2005:19). several hundred lives were lost during the kaduna crisis of 2000 and the jos insurrection of 2001. the crises caused violent ripple effects that spread beyond kaduna and jos (enukora 2005:633). other recent ethno-religious conflicts include the july 1999 conflict among the oro cultists in sagamu in ogun state who claimed that the hausa women had come outside when the cultists were outside with their gnome. the result were arguments that finally turned into a fill—scale crisis. many yoruba and hausa people were killed before a dusk to dawn curfew was imposed on the sagamu town. even as the infamy was being put under check in sagamu, reprisal attacks continued in kano a hausa city leading to deaths and destruction of property worth billions of naira (kura, 2010:33-34). another ethno-religious conflict that had far reaching impacts on the people of nigeria was the october 2000 lagos-kane (idi-araba/oko-oba) conflict which was caused by a misperception between the hausa inhabitants and the yoruba living in lagos over the use of a convenience by a man from hausa, the mayhem resulted in the death of many yoruba. as a consequence, the o'dua people congress (a yoruba militia) was formed and worsened the situation as the violence later spread southwards to kano (enukora 2005:633; kura 2010:34). worse still, in september 2001, ethnic friction between the tivs and the bunkums in the plateau state reached fever pitch following what came to be referred to as 'mistaken identity'. 'what this means is that some tiv took some nineteen soldiers to be bunkums in fake army uniform. the tiv youths captured them and slaughtered them one by one' (kura 2010:34-35). and then the nigerian army embarked on devastating reprisal attacks in zaki-biam. according to some controversial mm hers at least a hundred people died in the army attacks (human rights vatch 2001). violence spread to jos plateau especially after a christian was appointed as a local council chairman. by the time the menace was brought to a standstill, over 160 lives had been lost (kura 2010:35). 97godwin aturuchi eche phd & fortune okechukwu a case of the north: boko haram between 1999 and 2013, numerous conflicts have been witnessed in nigeria. the most important among them is the boko haram crisis which is on-going. this group has started a bloody campaign to impose a sui-generis islamic regime based on sharia in the muslim north of the country. actually, it is hard to argue that boko haram is a religious or ethnic conflict. in the former case, it targets more muslims than christians. in the latter, it is mostly an ethnic northern conflict. for this reason, though boko haram uses a religious discourse, it may be more appropriate to call it simply a terrorist organization. with regard to the numerous conflicts and the boko haram menace in particular, the country's stability is under constant threat boko haram has introduced into nigeria's political and social life a level of insurgency never witnessed before. the insurgency became violent in 2008 even before the country could heal from previous ethno-religious conflicts (shehu 2011:3). boko haram was founded in 2002 by muhammad yusuf. it is formally identified by its members as 'jama'at ahlissunnah lid da 'waswal jihad', which means 'people committed to the propagation of the prophet's teachings and jihad'. the name of the group 'boko haram' is loosely translated from the hausa language to mean 'western education is sinful'. this meaning is extended to mean any western culture is prohibited. it is for this reason that followers of this outfit advocate for a government based on sharia as opposed to a democratic one. it is possible to count wahhabism, salafism and islamic fundamentalism as the basic items of the boko haram's ideology. the group which was founded in 2002 in maiduguri did not become militant until 2009 when its leader was captured and killed by the nigerian army. since then, the group has engaged in gun battles, arson, bombing and stabbing, in promoting their ideology (warner 2012:40). moreover, boko haram has captured a territory in and around borno state in the northeast part of nigeria in 2014. however, the territorial control of the group has been removed by the nigerian army in 2015. boko haram can be examined in various ways. firstly, it refers to a long history characteristic of northern nigeria and the continued radical islamic movements. secondly, the group has its foundations in the socio-economic marginalization of the country's northern population. thirdly, boko haram is understood as seeking revenge especially in response to unacceptable behavior of the law enforcers. the fourth understanding is based on the perception that boko haram is utilized by the elites from the north to express their grievances over lack of interest demonstrated by the central government. finally, the group can be understood as developing as an offshoot of the al.qaeda in the islamic maghreb (aqim) and probably al-shabaab (warner 2012:39). it is important to note that apart from the group targeting national events, markets and churches, they are sometimes engaged in sporadic bombings in major towns in northern nigeria including kaduna, zaria, jos, kano, maiduguri, and in damaturi. during such instances, the fighters kill indiscriminately – muslims and christians alike. despite everything, the group leaders have often stated that they are still fighting for justice and the islamization of nigeria (roach 2012:4). the group has declared its allegiance to the islamic state (is), as has been done by a series of terrorist groups from various parts of the world. in this context, boko haram can be seen as yet another reflection of the religious looking international tenor campaigns now sweeping the globe scene. inter-religious conflicts inter-religious conflicts in nigeria form part of the dynamics of identity politics. political elites in nigeria have always sought to reap advantages from the multidimensional 98 the role of religion in peace building among ethnic groups in nigeria identities, more so during electioneering periods, and this has resulted in conflicts and instability. this politicization of religious identities during contests for political office often lacks any sustaining unifying ideology. somehow, politics in nigeria are fashioned on the appeasement of religious motives. as a consequence, religion attains the level of deification that is difficult to challenge or overpower. in the quest to assume power and control state resources, the elites constantly modify patterns of political domination. in this perpetually changing pattern of domination, fears and anxieties are breed that motivate an upsurge in struggle and intolerance (ibrahim and kazah-toure 2003:18; okpanachi 2010). since the return of civilian rule in 1999 following a protracted period of military rule, nigeria has continued to experience recurring ethno-religious conflicts. although some of these struggles are low-intensity contestations and rancorous wars of words, other has degenerated into bloody sectarian fights. thousands of nigerians have been left dead, wounded and homeless over the years due to constant religious strife pitting people of different religions against each other (okpanachi 2010). the main forms of inter-religious conflicts in nigeria are between the muslims and the christians, the conflicts are sometimes so intense that they have turned into wars in different parts of the country, and they range from the kano revolt (1980), bulunktu bisarre (1982), kastina crises (1999), zamfara conflict, kaduna revolt, bauchi crises and sokoto (1999). more recent examples are the jos crises and the current conflict by boko haram against christians and moderate muslims. these are only a few examples of interreligious conflicts in nigeria, since not a year passes without three to four incidences of inter-religious conflicts. inter-religious conflicts are brought about by a number of factors. one of these causes is the clashing interests of those in authority. the ruling class has applied a number of processes to express their dissatisfaction with exclusion from important decision making processes of the country. the methods employed include religious violence and military coups d'état. a majority of the religious conflicts in northern nigeria are reported to be due to the large number of rich southerners who reside there. many northern elites are hurt by the business inventiveness of the southerners and employ religious calls to incite people to destroy property belonging to non-natives. the results are wars fought under the pretence of being religious (falola 1998). major causes of ethno-religious conflicts in nigeria unlike other forms of social conflicts, ethno-religious conflict entails different ethnic groups that belong to different religions. it is essential to advert that both religious and ethnic causal agents have always acted together in the majority of social conflicts in nigeria. at different levels and times in the past, the nigerian people have complained of religious and ethnic discrimination. most ask for religious and ethnic rights within their state. another cause of the conflicts has been the state's use of religion and ethnicity in political discourse or action. therefore, it is clear that accusations and allegations of neglect oppression and domination are the major causes that fuel ethno-religious conflicts (ikelegbe 2001:14; kura 2010:35-36; salawu 2010:348). nigeria, like many other countries in the world, lacks a consensus on how necessary changes and reforms are affected. this is caused by the fact that different religious and ethnic groups have varying benefits in which case some groups will have their interests met while others will not. this means that tension occur when individuals who feel that they are deprived attempt to increase their stake of power or wealth or to alter the central beliefs, values, norms and philosophies. in nigeria therefore, there appears to exist a contentious interaction of politics, ethnicity and religions, which has resulted in an increased sense of 99godwin aturuchi eche phd & fortune okechukwu belonging and militancy. it is important to note that the general outcome of this is the intensification of numerous ethno-religious struggles in nigeria. and this intensification can be seen as the main source of ongoing discrimination, subordination and domination in this country (kura 2010:36). from one perspective, the failure' of the nigerian political elite to enact good governments, promote national integration and foster good economic progress via thoughtful and pronounced policies has resulted in massive unemployment. this has in turn led to the rise of communal, ethnic and religious conflicts that are characteristic of the nigerian politics. since poverty and unemployment have acted as the mainstay for various ethno-religious conflicts in the country, an accumulation of pauperized people can end up acting as paid militants. this could be the reason why any conflict in nigeria is usually characterized by a large number of fighters (kura 2010:36; mu'asu 2011:19-20). there is a correlation between ethno-religious conflicts and low standards of democracy due to protracted military interferences in politics. this appears to legalize the application of coercion and violence as tools for social change and for the achievement of anticipated desires and objectives (kura 2010:37). based on this understanding, it is common in nigeria to observe that as a consequence or an aftereffect of a military period, the application of both force and intimidation as a means of settling a misunderstanding has become very frequent. when this is coupled with easy acquisition of illegal fire arms, violence erupts more quickly and there is more difficulty in negotiating peaceful settlements. the absence of vehicles of social control that were characteristic of traditional african societies, such as kinship, religious and political systems concerned with the wellbeing of the community, has led to the escalation of ethno-religious conflicts. the failure of these institutions is partly to blame for the ethnic and communal conflicts witnessed in nigeria today. broken families and the inability to make ends meet in many homes have led to an increase in the level of immorality while at the same time providing a reservoir of youths who readily take up arms to execute ethno-religious conflicts at a fee. conclusion this study in one sense has tried to look at the emergence of identities and their impact on the conflicts in the most crowded african country, nigeria. from social and political perspectives, 'identity' has a personal and social meaning. identity can be defined as distinct qualities, characteristics and beliefs of an individual or a group of people. and it is an individual's sense of belonging to a group which often has mi impact on his/her political behavior (erikson 1968:57; mary anderson 2010). identity has been a significant aspect of the nigerian political process, during the colonial period and in the post-colonial era. ethnicity is a social phenomenon that is related to interactions among individuals of different ethnic groups within a political system where language and culture are the most prominent attributes. both ethnicity and religiosity have emerged as the most basic and politically salient identities of the nigerians. in nigeria, structures of political control are formed on the basis of ethnicity and religiosity via a custom-made patronage system. these identities have been a constant source of conflict and cleavage in the country. since the restoration of democratic rule, ethnic identity and mobilization in the nigerian political landscape has often resulted in political instability and constant conflicts. a number of uprisings and concomitant mayhem have been reported since 1999 and have resulted in the loss of thousands of lives and the destruction of property. in recent times, for instance, the militarization of boko haram has undermined nigeria's stability and placed the country under constant threat. 100 the role of religion in peace building among ethnic groups in nigeria despite some exceptions, such as the yoruba being made up of both christian and muslim segments, ethnic identities generally overlap with religious identities in nigeria. for that reason, it is difficult to distinguish ethnic conflicts from religious ones in this county. however, it can be said that ethnic differences in nigeria would not have been such a prominent cause of conflict if they had not overlapped with the religious identities, or vice versa. in other word, in many instances, religion provides a mobilization flame for conflict and this effect is amplified when religious and ethnic cleavages run parallel. and there is no doubt that inter-religious conflict in nigeria form part of the dynamics of identity politics. as stated above, while some sources (lewis and baton 2000) reveal the importance of ethnicity as a causal factor of cleavages, others (ruby and shah 2007; pew research center 2010; green 2011) underline religious identities as a more determinant element in the perception of difference. the diversity in the scientific findings and literature was probably caused by researchers focusing on different groups in nigeria. basically this means that for some groups ethnicity is more binding, while in others religion plays a dominant role in group identification and a sense of belonging. since this paper has been mostly concentrated on conflicts in the north, the religious factor might be highlighted – due to the decisive religious cleavages in this region. of course, there is much ethno-religious conflict in nigeria, not only in the north and in the delta, but also in the middle belt. however, the importance of the conflict in the north comes from its global origin. it is apparent that this conflict is a manifestation in nigeria of religiously oriented global-scale violence. there are similarities between boko haram and other radical lslamist groups like ai-qaeda, al-shabaab, al-nusra and the is in terms of discourse and praxis. this makes the conflict in the north more interesting for the rest of the world and this is the main reason for the emphasis on the subject in this paper. it is generally accepted that the inefficacy of politicians in nigeria at the points of good governance, national consolidation and economic development has caused political cleavages, social disintegration and massive unemployment (kura 2010:36; mu'asu 2011:19-20; ogbeidi 2012:21). this, together with the absence of social control mechanisms and a high level of corruption, has stimulated ethno-religious finally, the nation-state model is in danger in nigeria, as in many other so-called nation-states. of course, globalization feeds this process, but the main reason is related to inherent features of the model. the majority of modern states consist of different groups and usually one of them tries to rule the system while provoking the objections of others. consequently, the ethnic, religious and maybe ideological groups compete for dominance and this weakens the basis of any achieved unity. this is then seen as the inevitable character of heterogeneous nation-states (gordon anderson 2010:29) this paper having examined all the factors which possibly may militate against peace, hereby recommends that: 1. there is the need for various religious and ethnic groups to have a form of dialogue whereby they can interface through discussion for a meeting ground. 2. the christians represented by the christian association of nigeria (can), and the muslims represented by the islamic supreme council (isc) should regularly meet and dialogue for peace among the various religious 3. various political parties as well as regional interests should be tackled to disabuse followers from self-centeredness (which often create conflict) in order to make way for peace among the various ethnic groups in nigeria. 101godwin aturuchi eche phd & fortune okechukwu references adefemi, l. v. (2003), “migration, land tenure, citizenship and communal conflicts in africa” in nationalism and ethnic politics, 9 (1), pp. 1– 9 alger, c. f. (2002) “religion as a peace tool” in the global review of ethno-politics, 1 (4), pp. 94–109. anderson, gordon l. (2010), resolving ethnic conflicts in nation states, introduction to ijwp, june. available from> [accessed 25 july 20161. anderson, mary r. (2010), community identity and political behavior. new york, palgrave macmillan. canci, haldun and azevket s. men (2010), “turkish dilemma after operation desert storm (1990-1991): an analysis of 'negative consequences” in the european journal of social science research, 23 (3), pp.279—292. castells, manuel (2010. “the power of identity” (2nd ed). london wiley-blackwell.available from: c e n t r a l i n t e l l i g e n c e a g e n c y ( 2 0 1 6 ) t h e w o r l d f a c e b o o k a v a i l a b l e from: >[accessed 12 https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ni.html july 2016]. cohen, abner (1969), custom and polities in urban africa. berkeley; university of califonia. press. a v a i l a b l e from:https://books.google.com.cy/books?id=oroodripvgmc&pg=pa141&hl=tr&source=gbs _toc_r&cad=4#v=onepage&q&f=false[accessed 12 july, 2016]. dike, victor e. (2005), corruption in nigeria: a new paradigm for effective control. africa economic a n a l y s i s . a v a i l a b l e from: [accessed 25 http://www.africaeconomicanalysis.org/articles/gen/corruptiondikehtm.html july 2016]. edoh, t. (2001), “the upsurge of ethno-religious sentiments and the future of democracy in nigeria” in nigeria journal of political and administrative studies, 1 (2), pp. 79 – 92 ekundayo, john iwo (2013), “out of africa: fashola reinventing servant leadership to engender nigeria's t r a n s f o r m a t i o n ” . b l o o m i n g t o n , a u t h o r h o u s e . a v a i l a b l e from:<https://books.google.com.cy/books:id=nu5foxojbt4c&pg=pa29&1pg=paz9&dq=an+ average+nigerian+is+very+religious&source=bl&ots=8miovk9_f&sig=iu8hwisholhokhcx odpeq6aeljjac#vonepage&gan%20average%2onierian%2ois%2overy%2oreligious&&fhl se> [accessed 25 july 2016]. enukora, lo. (2005) “managing ethno-religious violence and area differentiation in kaduna metropolis” in, yakubu,alhaji m; r.t.adegboye; c.n. ubah and b. dogo (eds). crisis and conflict management in nigeria since 1980 (i1) kaduna, nigerian defense academy. pp. 610 – 635. eriksen, thomas h. (1996), “ethnicity, race, class and nation” in, hutchinson, j. and a. d. smith (eds) ethnicity. oxford; oxford university press. pp. 28 – 31. erikson, erik h. (1968), identity, youth and crisis. new york; w.w, norton. falola, toyin (1998), violence in nigeria: the crisis of religious politics and secular ideologies. new y o r k , u n i v e r s i t y o f r o c h e s t e r p r e s s . a v a i l a b l e from:https://books.googie.com.ng/books?id=o7wna3imksc&printsec=frontcover&hl=tr#v=o nepage&q=inventiveness&f=false [accessed 25 july2016]. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, a. i; omojola, i. o.; bazza, m. b. (2019). boko haram and forced migration: a focus on the northeast and lake chad basin. published in nnadiebube journal of education in africa. vol. 4. no. 2. pp. 1-13. kanu, ikechukwu a. & ndubisi j. o. ejikemeuwa (2018) (eds.). religion, morality and peace-building in africa: ambiguities and the imperfect human condition. lambert academic publishing: germany. kanu, i. a. & ushe m. u. (2018). the religious politics of boko haram and fulani herdsmen menace: a resurgence of islamic fundamentalism. in kanu, i. a. & ndubisi j. o. e (eds.). religion, morality and peace-building in africa: ambiguities and the imperfect human condition (pp. 109-183). lambert academic publishing: germany. 102 the role of religion in peace building among ethnic groups in nigeria https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ni.html https://books.google.com.cy/books?id=oroodripvgmc&pg=pa141&hl=tr&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=4 https://books.google.com.cy/books?id=oroodripvgmc&pg=pa141&hl=tr&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=4 http://www.africaeconomicanalysis.org/articles/gen/corruptiondikehtm.html https://books.googie.com.ng/books?id=o7wna3imksc&printsec=frontcover&hl=tr https://books.googie.com.ng/books?id=o7wna3imksc&printsec=frontcover&hl=tr article 19 igwebuike 6. no5.cdr igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.6 no.7, 2020 www.igwebuikejournals.com a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 30 religion and human security in africa nganwuchu, geoffrey chiazo ph.d anizoba, emmanuel ph.d department of religion and cultural studies university of nigeria nsukka geoffrey.nganwuchu@unn.edu.ng & molokwu, geoffrey chidebem ph.d institute of theology paul university awka doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract security is sacrosanct in the world. decades had passed and the certainty of insecurity has become a global african phenomena despite millions of dollars spent on security issues in africa. the global governments have spent much to ensure that life is not brutish and short in africa to no avail. it has been discovered that the main debilitating issue in african security is corruption. african leaders are paying lip service to security as they squander monies borrowed for security purposes with their cronies and the result is heaping quantum debts for incoming administrations. the researcher employing maslow's theory of corruption discovers that the only remedy to africas mounting insecurity is elimination of corruption in her polity. if this call is ignored africa will remain a continent that is not safe and livable. keywords: africa, security, continent, maslow debt. introduction security in africa is as old as religion. religion is argued to be illusory by many pundits and security definitely is not illusory. it is not just a concept but a phenomenon that has endured for ages. it involves all actions and inactions appropriated through arms and negotiations to ensure that life is not threatened and property lost to intruders. armed warfare often occurs when there is inconclusive agreement on the moves to obtain peace. when armed conflict arises amongst states, the need to obtain peace starts arising and nations or states involved start to negotiate moves that broker peace. kegley and blanton (2010) aver that in international relations, conflict regularly occur when actors interact and disputes over incompatible interests arise. conflict like politics is activities aimed at getting another actor to do something. conflict many be seen as inevitable and occurs whenever two parties perceive differences between themselves and seek to resolve the differences to their own satisfaction. it is that idea and resolution of differences that brings to bear the issues of security. the term security is seen as the act of protection of a person, building, organization or country against threats such as crime or attacks by foreign countries. inscribing united nations view on security, junkel (2001) says that in polity terms, human security is an integrated sustainable, comprehensive security from fear, conflict, ignorance, poverty, social and cultural deprivation, and hunger, resting upon positive and negative freedoms. security therefore has come under different views but the underlying factor has remained that human security encapsulates those agencies and bodies charged with protecting human beings, countries, establishments and property from insurrection, attacks, plundering and extermination. this task has its certain vulnerabilities and weaknesses because it is an act though divine but handled by human beings. as human agency, security issues have bothered the global forum that the united nations has one of its strongest arms as the security council. one of the functions of the arm is the prevention of genocide. according to the u. n. charter, prevention requires importuning responsibility and promoting collaboration between the concerned states and the international community. the duty to prevent genocide and mass atrocities lies first and foremost with the state, but the international community has a role that cannot be blocked by the invocation of sovereignty. sovereignty no longer exclusively blocks states from foreign interference; it is a charge of responsibility where states are accountable for the welfare of their people. this principle is enshrined in article i of the genocide convention and embodied in the principle of “sovereignty as responsibility”, and in the concept of the responsibility to protect”. as a divine act, security speaks to mankind as god assures that he is the most dependable global security architect. divine action in global security is seen in david song in psalm 91 where mankind is reminded that god secures those who trust in him. many cases in the bible underscores divine security for instance in exodus 15, the passage through the sea of reeds protects god taking charge of the jews and securing them through the middle of the sea and where the pillar of fire and cloud acted as divine nearness. the egyptians who where following them were drowned in the sea, while the fleeing jews got away safely in the midst of the raging storm. throughout all ages, religion and security have been on the front burner of theological and social debates. the issue of religion being a major chunk holder in security and global defense has not been resolved. this could be seen in myriads of destructions occasioned by religious based bodies in several parts of african continent but most notably the almost institutionalized macaberic massacre of isis, boko haram in south and north africa. in nigeria, the herdsmen (miyethi allah cattle breeders) and boko haram insurgency have rendered some states immotile and inevitable. this is despite governments claims of victory over the insurgents and most confusedly the national forgiveness of “repentant” boko haram insurgents and incorporating them into national life. religion (it seems) has not actually provided solution to issues of insecurity, insurgency and mass murder in africa. the onus of this paper therefore is to draw the nexus between religion and security in africa and establish that both are indomitable ingredients of the contemporary surviving humanity. theories of security by immanuel kant and durkheims theory of religion will be used as bases of discussion. theoretical perspectives kant propounded the theory of “freedom as the basis of the state”. in this theory, he states that “there is only one innate right”, “freedom (independence from being constrained by another choice), in so far as it can coexist with the freedom of every other in accordance 31nganwuchu, g. chiazo ph.d, anizoba, emmanuel ph.d & molokwu, g. chidebem ph.d with a universal law”. kant rejects any other basis for the state, in particular arguing that the welfare of the citizens cannot be basis for state power. he argues that a state cannot legitimately impose any particular conception of happiness upon its citizen. to do so would be for the ruler to treat citizens as children unable to understand what is truly useful or harmful to themselves. this claim must be understood in the light of kants more general claim that moral law cannot be based upon happiness or any other given empirical good. in the groundwork, kant contrasts an ethics of autonomy, in which the will (willie, or practical reason itself) is the basis of its own law, from the ethics of heteronomy in which something independent of the will, such as happiness, is the basis of moral law. kant argues that happiness (the agreeableness of life when things go in accordance with ones wishes and desires), although universally bought by human beings, is not specific enough to entail any particular universal desires in human being. further even there any universal desires among human beings, those desires would as empirical be merely contingent and thus universally of being the basis of any pure moral law. no particular conception of happiness is too vague to serve as the basis of a law. hence “a universal principle of right” kant offers is thus “any action is right if it can coexist with everyone’s freedom in accordance with a universal law, or if on its maxim the freedom of choice of each can coexist with everyone freedom in accordance with universal law. durkheim (1912) on the other hand propounded the elementary form of religion theory. he reasons that religion is an independent system of beliefs and practices regarding things which are sacred, that is to say, apart forbidden, beliefs and practices which unite all those who follow them in a single moral community called a church” (p.21). pryer (2012) says that according to durkheim, religion is a division of the word into two kinds of phenomena namely the sacred and the profane. the sacred refers to things human set apart; including religious beliefs, rites, deities or anything socially defined as requiring special religious treatment. profane is just the opposite of the sacred, which is not sacred is called profane. on the one hand, the sphere of the sacred is the area that pertains to the numerous, the transcendental, the extra-ordinary. pryer maintains that in the other hand, the sphere of the profane refers to the realm of everyday utilitarian activities. when a number of sacred things maintain relations of co-ordination and sub-ordination with one another so as to form a system of the same kind, this body of corresponding beliefs and rites constitutes a religion. objects and behaviours deemed sacred were considered part of the spiritual or religious realm. they were part of rites, objects of reverence or simply behaviours deemed special by religious beliefs. those things deemed profane were everything in the world that did not have a religious meaning but while these two categories are rigidly defined and set apart, they interact with one another and depend on each other for survival. there is an intriguing part of the conviction between the profane, the sacred and the society. that is the fact that society creates religion by defining certain phenomena as sacred and others as profane. those aspects of social reality that are defined as sacred that is that are set apart and deemed forbidden form the essence of religion. the rest are defined as profanethe everyday, the common place, the utilitarian, the mundane aspect of life. the sacred brings out attitude of reverence, respect ,mystery, alive and honour. the respect accorded to certain phenomena transforms them from the profound to the sacred. the differentiation between sacred and profane is necessary but not sufficient conditions for the development of religion. 32 religion and human security in africa durkheims theory in all things dismissed religion as a phenomena that will surely recede and wane and which will give rise to developed sociological thinking. to durkheims, religious dwindling would give rise to scientific discoveries and which will shake the world and encourage positive sociological avenues to life. this feat has not being achieved. this assertion was heightened by ingleheart and norris (2014). according to them, the great nineteenth century social thinkers argued that the rise of modern industrial society entailed the decline of religion. modernization has indeed involved the rise of rationalbureaucratically authority with that of the professional and technocratic elites. but in recent decades, a resurgence of religiosity and religious fundamentalism seems to have reversed the global trend toward secularization. norris and ingleheart explained that the experience of people living in weak and vulnerable societies heightens the importance of religious values, whereas the experience of people in rich and secured societies lessens it. indeed, they find that in most developed countries, church attendance and the authority of religious figures have continued to decline (although the u.s, is a bit of laggered because social inequality and the massive immigration of people with traditional worldviews). in contrast, poor countries are not secularizing and they contain a rising share of the world's population. religion and security intertwine in africa. ellis and herr (2010) concur that: religion is of great importance in africa in that most people engage in some form of religious practice from time to time and many profess some formal religious organizations, traditional, muslim, christian or otherwise. many africans voluntarily associate themselves with religious networks, which they use for a variety of purposes-social, economic and even politicalthat go beyond the strictly religious aspect…religious ideas typically govern relationships of people with a perceived spirit world (p.9). sociologically speaking, religion is a set of beliefs, symbols and practices (for example rituals), which is based on the ideas of the sacred and which unites believers into a socio religious community. scotland and marshall (1994) say that the sacred is contrasted with the profane because it involves feelings of awe. sociologists have defined in a god or gods, because it makes social comparison possible: for example some versions of buddhism do not involve a belief in a god. religion is not just a social fact. it is strongly issue of security. the name of god portrays a security architecture. the yoruba of nigeria has several names for god. elemii is one of the names they give. it means owner of life. according to awolalu (1979), the name as applied to the supreme being suggests that all living beings owe their breath of life to him. in other words, without the supreme being no creature can live. when the owner of life takes away the breath of a living soul, that soul dies. if man needs security of his life, he must trust in god who provides that security. without god, it is impossible for man to live. turaki quoting styne (2020) opines that: life's essential quest is to secure power and use it. not to have power or to access to it produces great anxiety in the face of spirit caprice and the regards of life. a life without power is not worth living… power offers man control of his uncertain world. the search for and acquisition of power supercedes any commitment to ethics or morality. whatever is empowering is right. life and security thus have something in common. life subsists because there is an agent that ensures its worth and there is a system that sustains it. that system is security. when 33nganwuchu, g. chiazo ph.d, anizoba, emmanuel ph.d & molokwu, g. chidebem ph.d security is not functional in any state, or system, that organ will surely collapse because it is left at its own. in a macrocosm, the state is created to ensure that life is not snuffed out. in other words, security is the sole purpose of creation of state. actually, state is voiceless if life is not secured. the act of revenue generation is not feasible if security of life is not guaranteed. here, engels (1942) view is apt. viewing the state politically, he maintains that: the state is therefore, by no means a power force on society from without; as little is it, the reality of the ethical ideas, the image and reality of reason that hegel maintaining rather, it is a product of society at certain state of development. it is admission that this society become entangled in an ensoulble contradiction with itself, that is has split into irreconcilable antagonism, which it is powerless to dispel. but in order that these antagonism, these classes with conflicting economic interest might not consume themselves and society in fruitless struggles, it became necessary to have power seemingly standing above society that would alleviate the conflict and keep it within bound of 'order' and the power, arisen out of society but placing itself above it, is the state (p.153). it is true that the state creates security and through constitutionalism empowers it to operate; the state all roundly depends on security to subsist. the apparatus that protects the state from crumbling is the anchor on which life revolves. the military, police, navy and other uniformed apparatus are the wings on which state fly and the feet on which the state lands. they are the imagery figure of each state internationally. so, without security, it is solemnly difficult for state to withstand external and internal aggression. with uncorrupt security apparatus, the state stands on its feet to face the world and forge a spawning economic environment. so it is a common place for any state to boast of s strong, viable and indivisible egalitarianism based on a strong security operative. thus developed states like the unites states of america, canada, russia, china and so forth can come out audibly before the global community and boast of impregnability against external disturbances and international confrontation. the reason is because their apparatus of security is not just dependable, they are sophisticated by all worlds standards and they can even form allies against other non-secured and vulnerable states who live in fear. hence, the regulation of security and its apparatus in developing countries have suffered intractable losses many decades ago. the reason is that many african states lost out in purposeful and human orients governance. rather corruption has been ruling african governance and this have colored greatly the process of administration of human lives. the incidences of myopic leadership and insensitivity coupled with capricious ethnocentrism have reduced the process of human values in administration into religious cognition. instead of religion being a base at which strong security administration of state will subsist, governments have introduced it as a facet of division and instrument of oppression amongst other members and citizens of the same state. one of the countries affected by religion-security politicking is nigeria. one issue about situating nigeria intractable problem on issues of security and religion has defied appropriation and classification. usman and badmus in albert and olarinde (2010) posit that: the study by the institute for peace and conflict resolution identified that many of the causes of (conflict) are essentially similar and can be explained in terms of ethnic, succession/dethronement of religious. however, over the course of time, their original causes have been lost and the conflicts manifested themselves around a single issue that had become a focus of 34 religion and human security in africa antagonistic and intractable attitudes. for example, the ife-modakeke conflict began as territorial dispute in 1835, but now has been situated in ethnic gone from one about eh environment. the pendant for attacking nigerians from other parts of the country, particularly igbo in northern cities like kaduna and kano, over religion that has little or no bearing to those being attacked defy logic. the crescendo with which plateau state often regarded as the melting pot of nigeria groups and religious is engulfed in crises suggests an undercurrent to this conflict hotspot (p.141). the worry over this matter of security and religion has become so heavy that an academic enquiry has to be undertaken to uncover the mystery and solution. this worry was expressed by soludo in chiegboka and utoh ezeajugh (2012). he insists on a question of who will bail the cat. according to him, it is the current players in the political terrain, and perhaps even the beneficiaries of the current order who would be expected to change it. a constitution of the federal republic of nigeria already exists, and this needs to b fundamentally amended. under current power relations, a coalition of elected governors is the most dominant political force in the country. soludo avers that “to amend the constitution, you require not only the national assembly (atleast 24 out of the 36 states)…..” (p.31). as observed by basedau and kehnert (2018), “the rise in religious discrimination in sub-saharan africa has coincided with a rise in religious armed conflicts”. (p6). with the salvo recurrent on religion and security, it is apparent that researchers works reveals certain concurrent link with maladministration and copious ethnocentrism. the work will now focus on those vital ingredients that contribute to leakages in security and religion and how they can be overcome. causes of insecurity in africa before vital issues insecurity and religion in africa are discussed there are vents to insecurity. why are there so much occurrences and re-occurrences of insecurity in africa and particularly nigeria? such issues like: poverty, religious/intolerance, lack of good governance, migration, international policies on wars and armaments, insatiable lust for power and fear of ethnic domination, will be discussed. poverty when people do not found food to eat, they become vulnerable and could become a toll for all facets of violence especially against authorities. a common saying that “a hungry man is an angry man” could be understood in a clearer term. the incidence of hunger is captured by the f.a.o report actions through the agency of africa regional overview of food security and nutrition. it was a downward trend and upward curve of food and nutrition fracas in africa. according to this ugly report: the latest data shows that the deterioration has slowed, but there remain 256 million hungry people in africa today. the upward trend in undernourishment over 2014 to 2018 period in africa is confirmed by the rise in the prevalence of severe or moderate food insecurity, a complementary indicator of food insecurity introduced by fao in 2017. this measure also shows that in addition to 277 million people in africa who are severely food insure, i.e they do not have regular access to nutritious and sufficient food, 35nganwuchu, g. chiazo ph.d, anizoba, emmanuel ph.d & molokwu, g. chidebem ph.d even if they were not necessarily suffering from hunger (p.1). this report revealed a dastardly decline on food security in africa which is one of the worst scenarios of africans poverty and governance. african countries record over 87% of citizens who live below poverty level (below one dollar per day). these are people who are farming the fields and harvesting from the scorched lands and can hardly find enough food to sustain them. further analysis replays a grim reality for the continent in the area of food value chain. the report claims and rightly so that: food insecurity has been rising in africa in recent years and the continent is not on tract to eliminate hunger by 2030. the 2071, 2015 spatial inequalities, is essential to strengthening household resilience, laying the part for inclusive growth and reducing food insecurity and tackling the multiple forms of malnutrition (p.4). this report makes far reaching suggestions on methods and models of tackling food insecurity in africa. this suggestions is a ploy to governments in power in africa of the continent must sail through in her bid to conquer food insecurity and thereby possibly reduce the incidence of impending mass action on government establishments which lie insecure as far as africans' hungry masses are concerned. the model and methods is: addressing acute and chronic malnutrition also requires both nutrition specific and nutrition sensitive approaches that are multi sectoral in nature. policies and interventions must focus on promoting nutrition sensitive food systems that can promote and sustain healthy and diverse diets. policy makers should put particular emphasis on maternal and child malnutrition and health in the first 1000 days, both as a moral imperative but also as a high return investment (p.5). there is no doubt that this report underscores a highly rigid political game of insensitivity over the plights of african population by her rulers. high levels of hunger and despondency are highly noticed amongst the vast population of citizens who live in the sahel regions of africa where food and water are almost unreachable luxuries and where people drink their own urines and that of famished animals as water. the result of high incidence of food insecurity is high death and mortality rate and rising expectancy of mass action against politicians from affected countries. uchendu and abolarin (2015) attributes this high level of food insecurity to corruption and ineptitude by the political authorities in the continent. religious intolerance it is not news that religious intolerance has proved a strong indication of insecurity in africa. form nigeria to senegal, from burkina faso to libya and kampala, africa has had her toll of killings and blood lettings as a result of religious intolerance. though highly political and sociological in out-lay, religious colouration has been the regular picture attached to this malaise. haldeem (2013) refers to osaghae and suberu (2005) that: nigeria is synonimous with deep divisions which cause major political issues to be vigorously and violently contested along the lines of intricate ethnic religious and regional divisions. issues that raise the most dust are those regarded essential for the existence and the validity of state. opposing and contending assemblages have a tendency to assume an exclusionary winner take all approach. these issues include the control of state power, allocation of resources and citizenship. as a result, states with such divisions are disposed to be delicate and unstable because almost by definition, they have very little in common with regard to convergence and harmony which are 36 religion and human security in africa necessary to reduce the centrifugal forces that rip them apart (p.1) it is a common place that religious intolerance has contributed its own quota to the displacement of the populace from their original settlements into new territories thereby forcing migration on the inhabitants. for instance, the influx of the almajiris and the almajirai from the north of nigeria into the south south and south east of nigeria was traced to internal conflict based on misunderstandings in that region. the almajiri school system according to awofeso, ritchie and degeling (2003) served as an instrument of radicalization for three important reasons. first, it involves children been relocated or separated from their family and friends to the guardianship of mallams in towns. second, it is restricted almost exclusively to boys. third, the curriculum of the schools is concerned primarily with teaching the sixty chapters of the koran by rite memorization. fourth, each school serves 25 to 500, from the ages of 6 to 25. these schools are largely autonomous from government oversight” (p8). being that the system does not support any lucrative or any useful knowledge; the common characteristics of the almajiri became domestication of radicalism in the young boys. being taught the basic tenets of islam and little knowledge or none at all of other religions and being deprived of basic life support systems, they resort to violence. their targets have always being members not of their religion. the level of physical destruction of these young domestic radicals is beyond description. the lack of understanding of the tenets of other religions in nigeria has also forced up loathing of those attached religious to official kleptocracy. moving up to outright religious stigmatization, many juicy positions even through justified constitutional rights were denied. most countries in africa and most especially in nigeria have made official rejection of members of other religions a hallmark”. people lose their jobs or are threatened either to forcefully proselyte or are denied their rightful constitutional positions. those who are sacked in this manner constitute national security risks to the country. lack of good governance lack of good governance has been a bane in most african countries. when governance lacks human face and the political administrators go all out to achieve personal and family oriented satisfaction and utility on the alter of public good, that administration is judged as having failed. many countries in africa lack people oriented policies and programmes. in most countries like nigeria, ghana, guinea, morocco, somalia etc, the constitution or programmes of government may not actually be the issues, the issues become the political personal handling of policies and programmes of government. for instance in nigeria,, the president buhari immediately after his second term election flew to germany in a conference and declared that his concern was not the 17% regions that did not vote him but the 98% that voted him to power. this singular executive assertion had posited him as an executive chairman who was already biased ethnocentrically against a part of his country. most executives in africa seen presidential opportunities through the eyes and perspective of and ethnocentric and machiavelian policy of “the winner takes it all”. with such political mindset, some african countries like nigeria has suffered under the hands of suffocating political gladiators with intense myopic political tenets and values. the direct effect of the actions are untold sufferings of both people favoured and those who are unfortunate to be in minority of political executive interest. okechukwu & duru in chiegboka, utoh-ezeagugh & ibekwe (2012) advocated that: 37nganwuchu, g. chiazo ph.d, anizoba, emmanuel ph.d & molokwu, g. chidebem ph.d the world bank (international bank for reconstruction and development) founded after the second world war had grown so wide and influential that it has directly or indirectly affected the political colour of many countries. as international, financial, it has decided to attach good governance as a major prerequisite for a country to obtain financial assistance from her. as agwu observed, it has identified three distinct indicators of good governance as (a) the form of political regime (b) process by which authority is exercised (c) capacity of government to discharge its responsibilities (p.134) true to its accredited statement, the people of south-south and south east of nigeria have had their “stories” that touch the heart” to tell as they grapple with inept and capricious handling of their regions under the present government. another effect is the “radicalization' of pressure groups which its youths have continually posed dire assaults to government. such groups as indigenous people of biafra (ipob), mobilization for attainment of sovereign state of biafra (massob), niger delta boys, amotekun in the south west, herdsmen and farmers clashes, banditry, insurgence of boko haram and other internal facts have arisen. the country's borrowing formula has arisen to about 68% of the total revenue thereby debts are the only instruments used in financing national budgets. these policies will only ensure national insecurity and eventual loss of lives and property if care is not taken. international policies on wars and armaments wars across the world and production of armaments had affected african security system in a large scale. as the international policies has not actually encouraged using third world countries as dumping grounds of war equipments and arsenals, many dictators had been encouraged by the countries producing these armaments to stage uprising through enactment of draconian policies that will negatively affect their citizens. the motive was for those countries to sell their weapons of mass destruction to the gullible countries. skons (2014) agree that: many african countries depend to a significant extent on the economic development and security related activities of external actors. the life saving impact of externally supported example. however, external engagement presents challenges to african security efforts. in order for african countries to best benefit from external activities, they need locally strategy for incorporating external support civil society now has an opportunity to play a major role in shaping these policies (p.1). because african countries are prone to internal wrangling and secessionists tendencies (as result of bad governance), international actors are always invited to play the roles of peace negotiators, peace watch and mediators etc. over the past decade and half, international efforts on peace and security initiatives were borrowed from international financiers thus forcing up africa continental borrowings to about 46%. skon maintain that: visible external security activities on the soft side, direct interventions by external military and security forces in conflict or past-conflict situations (either bilaterally or multi laterally) in the form of peace operations). another visible form of external activity is the transfer of weapons, either legal or illicit; to african states and armed groups. in addition, external actors train military and security personnel; conduct joint exercises; and provide support 38 religion and human security in africa for the reform of the security sectors (p.4). nigeria as a major peace keeping country has over the decade sent forces to liberia on peace mission in ecomog operations (economic community of west african states monitoring group) which was formed and started operation in 1993 to foster peace amongst warring groups in that country. one of the victims of that peace keeping was former president samuel doe. in nigeria (1967-1970) was a period of interest when all peace negotiation had failed and most prominent was the aburi accord signed between nigeria and biafra at ghana in 1967. some of such peacekeeping operations are still going on in congo-brazziville, sudan, mali, etc. after those peace keeping operations, the arms race and arm deal lead to arms surrender by the conquered forces. the tragic affects of those surrender is the internal use unsurrendered arms for internal use by criminals and bandits who are not favoured by the government that and initially adopted as reperant soldiers. one of the side effects of nigeria civil war was the criminal activities of soldiers who had fought in those wars and had not surrendered their armament. fear of ethnic domination one of the major under-balance of african countries and their politicians has always being fear of ethnic group toppling another ethnic group in pursuit of top executive positions. for instance, before the independence of south africa in 1984, the african national congress ( a.n.c) led by nelson mandela had battled with the inkatha freedom party (i.f.p) led by mongosuthu buthelezi. in nigeria, before the political independence in 1960 and 1963 republicanism, the fear of hausa/fulani oligarchy and igbo ethnic group tussles had been the mainstay of political parties and associations. the effect of this fear led the formation of political parties that are more of ethnic associations with both parochial and myopic political manifestoes. in fact, the only political party in nigeria which had allayed this ethnic domination fear was the national party of nigeria (n.p.n) that produced both mallam shehu shagari as the president and dr. alex ekwueme as the vice president. the bottom pot of national unrests in african countries had bred from sectional and ethnic interests in national affairs. irobi (2005) discovers ethnicity (ethnic groups) “as a community of people who share cultural and linguistic characteristics including history, tradition, myth and origin”. (p.3). because an ethnic group feels like they are shortchanged in the share of the “national cake' they compete for external and internal recognitions and participation have been identified as one of the major causes of conflict in africa. terrorists believe that competition for scarce resources is a common factor in almost all ethnic conflicts in africa. according to him; in multi-ethnic societies like nigeria and south africa, ethnic communities violently compete for property, rights, jobs, education, language and health care facilities,…” in the case of south africa, gehard mare confirms that ethnicity and ethnic conflict appear to be a response to uneven development in south africa, which caused ethnic groups (xhosa, zulus, and even afrikaans) to mobilize to compete for resources along ethnic lines. it follows that multi-ethnic countries are likely to experience distributional conflicts (p.6). external conventions on security and religion in africa right from 1888 when there was the “scramble for africa”, the continent has been a volatile area seared by different religious beliefs, observations and values. this is coupled 39nganwuchu, g. chiazo ph.d, anizoba, emmanuel ph.d & molokwu, g. chidebem ph.d with also volatile political views of tribal leaders who wedged untold powers over the regions they ruled either through the kings, obas, obis and other designated office holders. many of these countries which later became colonies to those western nations that grabbed them have to face a new political and religious realities following either from their countries of their colonial masters or from the counties that has dominant religious (or even denominational muzzles). for instance nigeria became a colony of great britain who also was the parent body of anglicanism. painting a dominating feature of anglicanism in free town and nigeria, okeke (2006). in his words: the most important outcome of patriotism was the preservation of tribal languages. each tribe endeavored to hand overt its language and culture to a succeeding generation. this language continuity eventually led to s. koelle's polyglotta africanaa collection of vocabularies phrases, varies geographical and cultural information concerning over zoo african groups. against such syncretism, j.f.schon complained and preached. part of this religious continuum still persist in the creole awujoa ceremony which origins ought to be traced to the cultural background of the liberated africans .it is a ceremony of peace and blessing in which the generations are telescoped and their influenced solicited (p.12-13). the religious influences of these colonial masters are in so /many degrees positively influential on the scrambled people. for a race just recovering from intractable atlantic slave trade and its vagaries the need for “fresh air” was rife. change in values orientation and new political ideas were to wash away the wounds of oriental servitude those races and countries had suffered in the hands of the white supremacies who had rough handled them in more than one century years of slave dealing. by the late 1930's, the first and second wars had come and gone and the cold war of intellectualism and political advocacy. the formation league of nations in 1919 and united nations organization in 1949 put up new political viewpoints which provided new guidelines on emerging religious and security situations in the globe. one of those arms was the security councils. kegley and blanton (2012) advocated that : the founders of the u.n(united nations) expected the security council to become the organization primary body, because it was designed to maintain peace and its permanents members were the victorious great powers that had been allied during the use of force. the general assembly can only make recommendations (p.145). in this guise, gutterres (2014) in conjunction with the security council made some recommendations that will help stem the tide of insecurity and violence in africa. some of these recommendations are grouped under “silencing the guns by 2020”. they are: strengthening the legal regime also means bringing more precision to it. the international legal definitions of a mercenary is very narrow and therefore poses a challenge to effective investigations and prosecutions we need to increase bilateral, regional and international cooperation. cooperation on border management will be crucial in stemming the largely unhindered flow of weapons and foreign armed actors throughout central africa. such steps could include mixed border commission, joint border security monitoring mechanisms and regular intelligence sharing between national defence forces. cooperation will also be essential for building the capacity of national institutions responsible for justice, security and human rights to carry out these vital functions and to 40 religion and human security in africa implement the relevant legal instruments. a state must be able to exercise a monopoly on the use of force within its territory with armed forces capable of protecting people while upholding the rule of law. there was need to also decipher that some of the provisions while limit international deals on arms and transfers they also empower internal usage of ammunition amongst african leaders and separatist/irredental groups. on referring to the weakness harsch (2010) reports that in south africa: yet in addition to those nations still affected by armed conflict, others remain politically fragile… they have weak institutions, vulnerable economics and growing number of jobless youths. they face a new lost of new challenges ranging from transnational crime to climate change. if left unaddressed, such problems may lead to resumption of old conflicts or the outbreak of new ones. to avoid a resurgence of war, the secretary general argues a new report. “african countries and their outside partners need to provide the minimum conditions for human sustenance and forge a security policy that has people, developmental and social issues at its core”(pi). panacea to security and religious issues in africa. many countries in african have been facing untold religious and political hardships due largely to both religious intolerance and insensitivity coupled with political radicalization of executive office holders. one of the compounding problems of african leaders o is paid government is using religious ethnic sentiments to whip-up political unrests. the gullibility of africa citizens who are whipped with hunger and lost values give rise to this menace and greatly discourage political gladiators to use religious sentiments to acquire personal political gains and clanish ascendency. it is important to note that most uprisings in africa are just direct assault by those in power to flush out religio-political elements in service to entrench mono-based religious loyalists in positions of power. this has continued to encourage politico, nepotic administrative systems in african countries. in nigeria for instance, this method has encouraged fulani led oligarchic monopoly of political positions in the country and the feeling that have powers to instill themselves nepotically has been on the increase in the past four decades in the country. the removal of president goodluck jonathan in 2015 elections did not come as a surprise. this is most evident in adeniyi (2015) who vividly recounted how a sitting president lost out in an election nigeria. that is first of its kind in africa in many countries. one ugly impact of religion-ethnic myopism is the country's debt burden. nigeria with her soaring oil profile since 1956 would have been on line of credit nations, but that was not be. between 1979-2000 nigeria has continually been a debtor nation and her debt profile has risen significantly astronomic in the past three decades. okonjo-iweala and soludo (2003) paint ugly and scary picture of this debt enigma like this: after decades of dictatorship and misrule, nigeria, africans most populous country and potentially its largest economy, has emerged as a nascent democracy, and is leadership is determined to start anew. however, the average nigerian is poorer today than n 1972, despite the country's nearly us and 300 billion earnings from all exports between 1973 and 2000. poverty is deep and pervasive with about 70% of the population in absolute poverty infrastructure decay is significant, corruption is endemic and accountability is grossly weakened (pi). 41nganwuchu, g. chiazo ph.d, anizoba, emmanuel ph.d & molokwu, g. chidebem ph.d observing a colossal waste of general enterprise and political malfunctioning, it becomes evident that neglect of this gross political waste will not just spell economic doom for africa. nigeria will suffer both political and religious peril. one evidence is the conflict between farmers and herdsmen in nigeria states and the hardest hit area is katsina in the north central of nigeria. that is also the home state of the country's president. the fear of travelling between abuja (the capital city of nigeria) and the next sister state of kaduna, one faces the most daring risk. religio-political assault on both religious and political institutions in the north of nigeria has become scary faces for instance a roman catholic ordinand was abducted and murdered in cold blood after a ransome of over twenty million naira (nm20) had been paid. one of the governors had only boasted that foreign observers who try to report cases of extra-judicial murders will be carried on “body bags” went viral on both social and government media. this is a daring assault on international intelligence. with all these on, there must be a respite and panacea to the impending security and religious breaches in africa countries. one wonders what would be the panaceas to this obvious security and political anomalies in africa. here, few suggestions are put forward. balanced religious freedom for the citizenry one issue with africa leadership is the inordinate ambition for one particular religion to bottle-hole others especially when such group finds itself in the vantage populous. the result is attempt to eliminate employees of other religions or at least to ostracize them to ignominy. in order to do or achieve this task, official government communications pass through informal and unruly home avenues and deposited in unofficial gazette files. in some cases, experienced hands in offices are transferred to areas where they are not relevant and inexperienced and untrained hands are replaced on the after of religious or denominational caprices. so, the issue of religious freedom is a “must” agenda for africa and nigeria state on true application of that policy will not just move africa and indeed nigeria forward, it will entrench a free society where everyone is free to practice this religion without fear. notuce, danji and oladeje (2009) observed as they analyzed the religio-political landscape in nigeria. the obasanjo administration presideded over a constitution, which, despite the considerable experience of nigeria with constitution-writing the country has had nine constitutions/ since the first [clifford constitution in 1927], was somewhat ambiguous with regard to the role of religion in the state. this section 10 of the 1999 constitution of nigeria….. announces that the government of the federation of the state shall not adopt any religion as state religion. however, section 38(i) holds that every person shall be entitled to the freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including freedom to change his (sic) religion or belief and freedom (either alone or in community with others, and in public or private) to manifest and propagate its religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice and observance (p. 16). the implication of this section of the constitution is secularization of religion in nigeria. however, it impoverishes sections of their ability to practice their religion as it also empowered the majority to push others to the wall religiously. because of what that law implies imo (2008) opuses that despite heated about sharia at the time of its introduction, the boundaries in the struggles by religious groups and organizations over public space 42 religion and human security in africa and recognition are filled. restructuring of political system in nigeria. the idea of restructuring lays credence to delimitation and devolution or powers of state to all aspects of development. it is the idea of seeing areas of need and assigning workable tools to facilitate reforms. the objective of restructuring is to steer mechanism properly and to give focus and locus to attempt at collective identity and distributive politics. according to amuwo, suberu, agbaje and herault (ed) (1998): to thinker with political structures is perharps suggestive whilst democratic practice may not yet have firm roots, the democratic idea has same form of expression. the importance of the latter idea in a federal system can hardly be over emphasized, particularly where there are not only actually existing feudalist movements but also nationalities being driven to agitate for separatist identities. two, political restructuring is intended to lay institutional foundation for a more just and equitable sharing of the political space by multinational grout's cohabiting in a federal polity. the strategic objective seems to be the solidifying – or perhaps merely engendering – of a sauce of a national community. within this context, political restructuring is an indication that some spirit of political bargaining, however circumscribing does not exist notwithstanding whether or not the decision to restructure the polity by the ruling class or clique was voluntary or otherwise (b6) restructuring implementation and execution will eliminate in high measure the democratic fascism and the policy of cabalism that has bedecked nigeria in the fast ten decades or more. with collective bargaining amongst the religious that make up nigeria, security apparatus will face reshuffle as well as other key agencies in nigeria. the result will be total elimination of insecurity and the rootization of safety and trust in governance and administration in the country. institution workable peace and conflict platform for national peace initiative. it is imperative that without peace no system works. many nerves have been strained both nationally and state wise. when men are at each others, throat campaigning for one position or the other, it is evident that such system is heading for the rock. nigeria has fought a civil war from 1967 – 1970 and the impact of the war is yet to subside. it is true that the regime-change had declared “no victor, no vanquished”, but the underlining factor is that the nation still sees the south-east part of nigeria as a conquered territory and so servitude affect that region. there was need for national reconciliation process in nigeria that will assuage the hunger for peace which citizens from the minority and conquered regions have been clamoring for. preventive actions will also be taken to combat future occurrences of bad blood and hatred amongst citizens of africa and more especially in nigeria. the effect of this is confidence building, national reconciliation and trust in governance. gaya-best (2006) offers that preventive action comprises many activities. according to him: preventive action therefore comprises a host of other activities ranging from confidence – building, national reconciliation and fact finding missions to preventive diplomacy, including medication, negotiation and facilitation. it also includes peace initiatives, like the deployment of observers, verification or monitoring missions, the deeping of democratic values and institutions, the strengthening of accountability and monitoring institutions, the improvement 43nganwuchu, g. chiazo ph.d, anizoba, emmanuel ph.d & molokwu, g. chidebem ph.d of electoral processes and financial assistance (p. 199). without sustainable peace and trust in the government and governance in africa, it is impossible to obtain a humane and administration. citizens must have reasons to revere their political and religious leaders and thus sustainable development will be ensured in africa nay nigeria. instituting the exemplary lives of religious stages there is no gainsaying the fact that the founders of religious bodies have their lives and teachings buried in love and peace on the earth. both jesus christ (the founder of christianity) and prophet muhammad (the founder of islam) lived and practiced peace and taught same. most of their disciple lived like them and moved on teaching baptizing and encouraging their followers to do the same. even moses the founder of judaism taught the ways of yahweh (though yahweh was a man of war) also instructed moses to teach peace amongst the jews. but in his teaching to christian listeners insisted on obeying the law and being subject to administrators both of his time and now as antecedent to peace. bowen (1975) in discussing the word “be subject to” says that: this word does not simply mean “obey”, though it may include the idea of obedience. paul here used neither of the two greek words which normally conveyed the idea of obey. the word he used means “submit to”, and it conveyed the idea take up your proper rank beneath…(p.176). when there is peace in the polity, ineptitude and kleptocracy will be a thing of the past in africa. those in authority will copy the foot prints of these religious leaders by making peace through, negotiation and round-table conference. those in authority will copy hookline and sinker the uncorrupt and non-violence stance of founders of the religions. the effect of corruption has continually being evidence in any polity. ampitan and ige (2018) underscores the endemic// nature of corruption in these words: corruption in high places has no doubt brought the country /to her kneels. those who have had the opportunity of occupying the positions of authority somewhat abuse the position in collaboration with their cohorts. they connive with their cronies to defraud the country (p.8). both jesus christ and mohammed lived lives of peace, sacrifices ascstism and love as they taught about god who will one day judge the world. if the african leaders will understand that death seals the destiny of man and that includes position, wealth and name, the footprints of religious founders will be their focal point. conclusion having at length discussed the issue of religion and violence in africa, it has become clear that religion has served as a building block for peace. the issue in question is that african leaders have turned backwards and utilized it negatively. integrating ethnicism, cabalism and myopism, the instrument of violence has served as a boost to achieve personal political ambition. religion was supposed to usher-in peace and unity, egalitarianism and understanding amongst people of divine and the same faith. rather than doing that, religion rather serve as an umbrella for misunderstanding clannish sentiments and parochial desires. religious leaders instead of copying the worthy lives of founders of religious became puppets and toys in the hands of political leaders to unleash untold terrors on the populace. faith in christ or muhammed instead of unveiling the realities of heaven and vileness of the earthly 44 religion and human security in africa riches rather becomes its boost. politicians offer them juicy positions and undue political recognitions and convert them almost to card carrying members of choice political parties. the result is that prophecies meant to correct political anomalies turned to praise instruments for corrupt politicians. teachings for universal love have become love for “members of my faith”. this has led to clannish feelings amongst faiths and insatiable lust for bloodletting. the work concludes by saying that religion must be a vehicle of love in africa and must not be counter-used for spreading of violence and misunderstanding. african leaders both religious and political must learn to speak the truth at all times and remove endocentric ideas in pursuit of personal goals. this will set africa on the pedestal of progress and sustained industrialization. references albert, i.o & olarinde, o.n (2010). trends and tensions in managing conflicts. abuja: society. allis,s &haer, g.t (2010). religion and development in africa. openaccess. leideuuniversity.nl stretrieved 21 june, 2020. ampitan, j.p.a, ige, a.i (2018). ineptitude of nigerian leaders: major causes of underdevelopment. in, religious journal of the nigerian association for the study of religions, vol. 8:2. ilorin: decency. anuwo, k; subaru, r; agbaje, a & herault, g. (1998). federalism and political restructuring in nigeria. ibadan: spectrum. awofeso n. ritchie, j & degeling p. (2003). the almajiri system and insurgency in the northern nigeria: sta reconstruction of the existing narratives for policy direction. researchgate.net retrieved 21 june, 2020. basedau, m & kehnert, j. (2018). religious discrimination and religious armed conflict in sub-saharan africa: an obvious relationship? journal of religion, state and society, vol. 47.1. th www.tandfonline.com retrieved 18 june, 2020. bowen, r. (1975). a guide to romans. london: spck. chiegboka, a. b. c; utoh – ezeajugh, t. c & ibekwe, e. u (ed). the humanities and good governance. nimo rex. engels, f. (1942). the origin of the family, private property and the state. moscow: progress. food and agriculture organization report (2017). containing the damage of economic slowdowns and th downturns to food insecurity in africa retrieved 18 june, 2020. www.fao.org gaya-best, s: (2006). introduction to peace and conflict studies in west africa. ibadan: spectrum. thginkel, s. (2001). global peace and security. www.wordtrend.com retrieved 18 may 2020. stgutterres, a. (2020). united nations charter on security in africa. www.un.org retrieved 21 june, 2020. haldun, i & opeyemi a.o (1999). ethnic and religious crisis in nigeria: a specific analysis upon th identities (1999-2013). www.accordorg.za retrieved 16 june, 2020. harsh, e. (2010). securing lasting peace in africa. www.un.org/africanrenewal.com retrieved 18th june, 2020. imo, c. (2008). evangelicals, muslims and democracy with particular reference to the declaration of starch in northern nigeria in ranger, terrence (ed) evangelical christianity and democracy in the global south. oxford: oxford. irobi, e. g. (2005). ethnic conflict management in africa: a comparative case study of nigeria and south nd africa www.beyondpracticalbility.org retrieved 22 june, 2020. kanu, a. i; omojola, i. o.; bazza, m. b. (2019). boko haram and forced migration: a focus on the northeast and lake chad basin. published in nnadiebube journal of education in africa. vol. 4. no. 2. pp. 1-13. kanu, ikechukwu a. & ndubisi j. o. ejikemeuwa (2018) (eds.). religion, morality and peace-building in africa: ambiguities and the imperfect human condition. lambert academic publishing: germany. kanu, i. a. & ushe m. u. (2018). the religious politics of boko haram and fulani herdsmen menace: a resurgence of islamic fundamentalism. in kanu, i. a. & ndubisi j. o. e (eds.). religion, morality and peace-building in africa: ambiguities and the imperfect human condition (pp. 109-183). 45nganwuchu, g. chiazo ph.d, anizoba, emmanuel ph.d & molokwu, g. chidebem ph.d lambert academic publishing: germany. kegley, c. w (jr) & blanton, s. l. (2010). world politics trends and transformations. australia : wordsworth. ingleheart, n, p. (2014). sacred and secular: religion and politics// worldwide. www.foreignaffairs.com th retrieved 18 june, 2020. noite, c; danjibo, n & oladeji, a. (2009). religion, politics and governance in nigeria. resarchgate.net thretrieved 28 june, 2020. okechukwu e & duru, e. (2012). civil interest civil unrest and good governance in nigeria in utoh ezeagugh, i. c. chiegboka, a.b.c., ibekwe, e.u (ed). the humanities and good governance. nimo: rex. okeke, d.c (2006). people of the book (vol. 1). enugu: rabboni. okonjo-iweala, n; soludo, c & mausur, m. (2003). the debt trap in nigeria : towards a sustainable debt strategy. africa: trenton. prya /r. (1912). the darkheims sociology of religion and its function. http//www.yourarticlelibrary.com thretrieved 18 june, 2020. scott, j and marshal, g. (1994). oxford dictionary of sociology. oxford university. skonas, e. (2014). the challenge of external engagement in african security. www.sipri.org retrieved nd 22 june, 2020. standard encyclopedia of philosophy (2012). freedom as the basis of state. ststyre, r.e. (2020). security and power in africa www.styreacademy.org retrieved 21 june, 2020. uchendu, n.f & abolarin, th.o (2015). corrupt practices negatively influenced food security and live expectancy in developing countries. pan-african medical journal, vol. 20.110. th www.ncbi.nim.nih.gov retrieved 18 june, 2020. 46 religion and human security in africa page 1 page 2 page 3 page 4 page 5 page 6 page 7 page 8 page 9 page 10 page 11 page 12 page 13 page 14 page 15 page 16 page 17 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 139 lessons from a comparative study of jesus‟ and inikpi‟s sacrifices for the nigerian context eneojo abalaka idachaba, ph.d william wheatley theological college, azuiyi oloko, ikwuano lga, abia state eneojoaidachaba@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.12241.35684 & abel aor inyaregh, ph.d department of religious studies national open university of nigeria (noun), ainyaregh@noun.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.12241.35684 abstract this study attempted an understanding of jesus‟ sacrifice in hebrews 10:1 – 18 in the context of the sacrifice of inikpi in igala society with the aim of proffering a model for communicating the gospel to igala traditionalists within their own cultural setting with lessons for the society. this is in line with the global task of making the gospel relevant to every context. this paper focuses on some lessons from a comparative study of jesus‟ and inikpi‟s sacrifices. it seeks to encourage people and their leaders to have other people at heart. the researcher used the inculturation method, which is an aspect of contextualization of biblical interpretation in africa. the researcher also used a combination of the library-based source of data and survey method to obtain information for the study. the findings of the study reveal some similarities and lessons drawn from the love, selflessness, courage, determination, volition, patriotism and obedience of jesus christ and inikpi. the researcher therefore recommends that the lessons in both sacrifices should be used in communicating the gospel in igala society since they create more understanding of the gospel to the people. key words: comparative study, sacrifice, jesus christ, inikpi, selflessness introduction the interpretation of jesus christ‘s sacrifice in hebrews 10: 1 – 18 in the context of the inikpi sacrifice provides the researcher an opportunity to draw some lessons from a comparative study of both sacrifices. this task requires a comparative analysis to show some of the characteristics of the inikpi sacrifice that illuminates the preaching and teaching of the gospel. some of the characteristics of jesus‘ sacrifice and that of inikpi that aid the understanding of jesus‘ sacrifice include love, the substitutional character of their sacrifices and the mailto:eneojoaidachaba@gmail.com mailto:ainyaregh@noun.edu.ng igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 140 incapability of animal sacrificial victims to serve as substitutes for the sacrifices. moreover, selflessness, submission and willingness in the sacrifices, victory and peace derived from both sacrifices, and the efficacy of the sacrifice of inikpi and jesus christ aid the understanding of jesus christ‗s sacrifice. this study hinges on justin ukpong‘s theory of inculturation hermeneutic, a contextual hermeneutic methodology that seeks to make any community of ordinary people and other social – cultural context the subject of interpretation of the bible using conceptual frame of reference and involvement of the ordinary people in the interpretation process. the study therefore attempts to pinpoint lessons from a comparative study of jesus christ‘s and inikpi‘s sacrifices. this paper therefore seeks to answer the question: what are the lessons that may be drawn from a comparative study of the sacrifice of jesus christ and that of inikpi? the sacrifice of jesus christ in hebrews 10: 1 – 18 the book of hebrews 10:1 avers that the levitical sacrificial system is unable to perfect worshippers since god intended it to prepare the way for the expected consummation of their perfection in the single sacrifice of jesus christ. the conjugation γάρ links the argument on the inability of the levitical sacrificial system to make worshippers perfect with the previous one in chapter eight and nine which dealt with the superiority of the priesthood of jesus christ to that offered by the levitical priests. the conclusion of the discussion in chapter nine is that the single sacrifice of jesus christ is sufficient to take away the sins of humanity and that at the parousia, jesus christ will bring salvation to the people waiting for his return. hence, jesus christ has finally dealt with the sin problem of humanity. hebrews 10:1 – 18 expands on this point and rounds off the argument that the priesthood and the sacrifice of jesus christ are superior to that of the old testament regulations. hebrews 10:2 asserts that the levitical sacrifices were deficient in that they could not cleanse men‘s consciences of their consciousness of sin. the author of hebrews buttressed his point by stating that the levitical sacrifices in their repeated form cannot cleanse the worshippers. ―that is to say, no worshipper was ever brought into the real and enduring fellowship with god; for none fully lost his feeling guilty fir sins‖ (hawthorne 1524). each time they prepared to meet god in fellowship they remembered that they were sinners whose sins must be atoned for by the blood of animals before they can worship him. they often had guilty conscience, which reminded them of their sins. even after offering of the sacrifices the worshipper‘s conscience is not cleared of the guilt igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 141 since the guilt is not permanently removed. the conscience thus places the worshipper under god‘s judgment. larm rightly observes that the concern of the author of hebrews here is not just the subjective need that sacrifices meet but on what it takes sacrifices to cease (3). under these regulations and sacrifices, the price of sin can never be paid. the author, in hebrews 10: 2, therefore asks a rhetorical question, ―if it could, would they not have stopped being offered?‖ (niv). the answer to this question implies that the impotency of these sacrifices remains evident as long as the worshippers repeatedly offered them. the inadequacy of the levitical sacrificial system is equally evidenced in the fact that sin offerings offered by the israelite community annually on the day of atonement (leviticus 16) only served as a reminder of their sins. the author of the epistle begins his contrast in hebrews10:3 by using the conjugation αλλ‘ (but) to introduce the next line of thought contrasting the unreal condition of hebrews 10:2 with the real situation that follows. he had indicated that the levitical sacrifices could neither perfect nor cleanse the worshipper‘s conscience of sin because they were not meant for that purpose. hebrews 10:3 shows that the law and the sacrifices were introduced as an annual reminder of sins. the sacrifices are a ―reminder of sin‖ for the people and not for god. moreover: leviticus 16:20-22 calls for a confession of sins on this day, a sure reminder. rather than the new covenant hope of jeremiah 31:34 (hebrews 8:12 and 10:17) where god promises to ―remember their sins no more,‖ the early sacrifices serve as a continual remembrance of sins. not only are the cultic sacrifices of no positive value, they are a disadvantage because they remind us of our sins (gordon 129). those sacrifices were instituted to remind the worshipper that his sins were not permanently removed or erased and that the sins were temporarily covered. in other words, they reminded the worshipper how sinful he was and that his sins are yet to be fully paid for (ritenbaugh 4). similarly, gordon clarifies that the rituals of the day of atonement involved the calling of sins to remembrance as the high priest confesses all the sins of the people of israel over the head of the scapegoat in compliance with leviticus 16:21 (129). he reiterates that these reminders of the community‘s sins cannot banish igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 142 sin from the consciousness of the community (gordon 129). this implies a contrast with the provision of the new covenant, according to which sins are erased from the divine memory (cf. 17:18; 8:12) (gordon 129). in the same vein, constable states that the day of atonement reminded the israelites yearly that their sins needed removed so they could continue to have fellowship with god (86). according to hawthorne, the author of hebrews declares that the fact that the sin offerings were made continually, year after year, was itself proof that the institution of the ancient order, though divinely ordained, was not final (1524).this researcher agrees with the scholars cited above that the levitical sacrifices, like the traditional sacrifices, were inadequate due to their repetitive nature. worshipers were required to offer sacrifices daily or annually as against jesus‘ single sacrifice. if those sacrifices had met god‘s requirements for making worshippers perfect, they would not have been repeated. the author of hebrews brings his argument on the inadequacy of the levitical system to its climax in hebrews 10:4 by stating that they cannot completely remove the sins of the worshipper. the key explanatory clauses are ―for or because it is impossible‖ (αδμναθον γάρ) which corresponds with ―can never or it is never able‖ (ούδέποτε δύναται) of hebrews 10:1. similarly, ―take away sins‖ (άϕαιρειν άμαϱτίαϛ) correlates with ―make perfect or perfect‖ (τελειῶσαι) of verse one and ―for the blood of bulls and of he-goats‖ (γὰρ αἷμα ταύρων καὶ τράγων) which corresponds with ―the same sacrifices‖ (ταῖς αὐταῖς θυσίαις ) mentioned in hebrew 10:1. these terms indicates that in hebrews 10:4, the author of hebrews is trying to conclude the argument he began in hebrews 10:1. therefore, αδμναθον, which is the accusative form of the nominative αδμναθος, meaning ―impossible‖ rules out the efficacy of the blood of these sacrificial victims in taking away the sin of the worshipper. this is the blood of the victims used for the sin offering on the day of atonement, which surpassed all other sacrifices and offerings, only covered the sins of the worshippers. covering excreta with sand does not amount to its removal. remove the sand; you will still see it underneath. although the sin offering seems to have atoned for the israelite community, it never completely removed sin and its consciousness from them. in view of the inadequacy of the sacrificial system discussed above, hebrews 10:6 shows god‘ s displeasure with sacrifices and offerings which gave rise to the final sacrifice of jesus christ. god‘s rejection of sacrifice and offerings in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 143 hebrews 10:6 is based on the attitude of the worshippers who came before god to offer ritual sacrifices without a commensurate repentance from sin, obedience to god, faith, self-dedication and service (hewitt 156). hebrews 10:15-18 reveals the adequacy of jesus christ‘s sacrifice in his abolishment of sin consciousness and perfecting god‘s people. thus, the decisive character of the perfection achieved through jesus christ‘s single sacrifice is rhetorically presented in hebrews 10:10, 14 and 18: we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of jesus christ once for all (hebrews 10:14). by one sacrifice, he has made perfect for ever those who are being made holy (hebrews 10:14). where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sins (hebrews 10:18). these verses reveal that the sacrifice of jesus christ has done what the repeated sacrifices could not to by qualifying god‘s people for acceptable worship. he did this perfection for the last time. the author of hebrews calls the holy spirit to witness to the fact that jesus has finished the work of redemption. consequently, he has fulfilled god‘s promise in jeremiah 31:33 cited earlier in hebrews 8:10. god promised that he would abolish the old covenant and establish a new covenant since the old covenant could not produce the desired result in the life of his people. the provisions of the mosaic covenant were written on tablets of stone but under the new covenant god promised to put his laws in the heart of his people and write the laws on their minds. this makes it easier for them to remember and obey the laws since it becomes part of their lives. god also promised that under the new covenant he would remember the sins of his people no more (hebrews 10:17). poole rightly observes that ―by so doing, god sanctifies and justifies his people, so as their sins shall be remitted, and god will solemnly absolve them from the punishment they merit‖ (855). this promise refers to the contents of jeremiah 31:33-34 where christ‘s death is implied. the author of hebrews referred to this covenant in hebrews 8:6 where he asserts that the death of jesus christ, confirms this covenant as the mediator, and obtains forgiveness of sins for believers. under the new covenant, sin consciousness gives way to justification and sanctification. the climax of the whole argument igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 144 about the superiority of the sacrifice of jesus christ to the levitical sacrificial system is in verse eighteen that concludes: now where there is absolute remission – forgiveness and cancellation of the penalty of these (sins and lawbreaking) there is no longer any offering made to atone for sin (amplified bible). the issue is that the single sacrifice of jesus christ has finally settled the sin problem of humanity by offering complete eternal forgiveness of sin whereby god remembers their sins no more. adam clarke points out that where sin is pardoned, there is no further need of a sin offering; but every believer on christ has his sin blotted out, and therefore needs no other offering for that sin (1272). therefore, there is no need for repetition of the sacrifice again or of any other sacrifice for sin (poole 854). barker and kohlenberger make a very solid conclusion: the body of jesus‘ body was made ‗once and for all‘ … it matters immensely that this one offering avails for all people at all times. this contrasts sharply with the sacrifices under the old covenants, as the author has been emphasizing. but it contrasts also with other religions. no other religion speaks of one great event that brings salvation through the centuries and through the world. this is the distinctive doctrine of christianity (986). the point in hebrews 10:18 is ―where sins have been effectively dealt with, there can be no additional offering for sin‖. barker and kohlenberger posit that ―since the new covenant has been established as a reality, the prophetic word allows no further sacrifice for sin‖ (987). jesus christ views his death as a sacrifice for the sin of humanity. in matthew 20:28 jesus christ says ―just as the son of man did not come to be cared for or served but to care for or serve and to give or donate his life as a means of redemption instead of many‖ (ὥσπερ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἦλθεν διακονηθῆναι ἀλλὰ διακονῆσαι καὶ δοῦναι τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ λύτρον ἀντὶ πολλῶν ). in mark 10:45, jesus christ states ―for the son of man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many‖ (καὶ γὰρ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἦλθεν διακονηθῆναι ἀλλὰ διακονῆσαι καὶ δοῦναι τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ λύτρον ἀντὶ πολλῶν). these scriptures show that the purpose of his coming into the world is for him ―to give life as a ransom for many‖ (δοῦναι τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ λύτρον ἀντὶ πολλῶν). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 145 apostle paul speaks of the death of jesus christ in substitutionary terms. jesus christ died for humanity that others might not experience the second death. similarly, the high priest, caiaphas, at the trial of jesus christ, saw the death of jesus christ as a substitutionary one since he posits that it is appropriate for one man to die for many (jn.11:50). matthew slick rightly observes that the death of jesus christ is seen as a substitution (12). hence, jesus christ as the sinner‘s substitute bore the awful judgments of god against sin (slick 13). the preposition, άντι serves the same purpose with ύπέϱ since both of them mean ―for,‖ ―instead of‖ or ―in place of.‖ this researcher therefore translates the phrase, δοῦναι τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ λύτρον ἀντὶ πολλῶν ―he gave his life as a ransom in place of many people.‖ this is because πολλῶν is used here as a substantive adjective and is genitive, masculine plural, indicating that the word translated ―many‖ refers to people not things. matthew 26:28 reads, ―this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins‖ (τοῦτο γάρ ἐστιν τὸ αἷμά μου τῆς διαθήκης τὸ περὶ πολλῶν ἐκχυννόμενον εἰς ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν). other scriptures in the new testament buttress the fact that the sacrifice of jesus christ was substitutionary. the sacrifice of inikpi sacrifice plays a very important role in african traditional religion as it is in every religion of the world. edwin emererenu rightly observes that it is inconceivable in african mind to have a religion without a system of sacrifice. he sees sacrifice as the act of offering the life of an animal or a human being to the divine power or powers since it serves as a means of communion between humanity and god (web). writing form the point of view of african traditional religion, yusufu turaki rightly observes that sacrifices are gifts required to atone for some wrong doings while offerings are gifts that are given voluntarily (79). he sees sacrifices and offerings as means of maintaining harmony between human beings and the spirit world. moreover, the concepts of sacrifices and offerings are common to all traditional religion (tukari 79). similarly, adeyemo et al. posit that almost every people group in africa seems to have had some forms of traditional sacrificial system in which cattle, sheep, goats and chickens, kola nuts, grain, beer, etc were items for sacrifice (1502). furthermore, human sacrifice was not common, but it was sometimes, practiced in circumstances of extreme need… a crisis such as that caused by hiv igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 146 /aids in many villages in africa might have called for the highest possible sacrifice to appease god so that he would remove the plague. the thinking was that it would be worth sacrificing one human life to save many from dying (adeyemo 1502). joseph onuche rightly observes that inikpi‘s sacrifice is an example of human sacrifice required to avert an imminent enemy who could have destroyed the igala kingdom. inikpi was the beloved daughter of ayegba oma idoko who reigned about ad 1500 as the fourth attah igala (usman, 37). there is controversy on the war during which the inikpi sacrifice took place. the popular opinion of earlier scholars like okwoli and, simon sugei usman (37) is that inikpi sacrificed herself for the salvation of igala kingdom during the war between the igala kingdom and the jukun (37). however, in an oral interview with james agama of the akogu royal lineage, he posited that inikpi sacrificed herself during the war between the igala and benin kingdoms considering the fact that her grave is located beside the river niger at the ega market at idah, the route the benin people took to idah. this view corroborates with that of idegwu and some recent researchers that inikpi sacrificed herself for the igala and benin war. peter adebo opaluwa (the ejeh of ofu local government) and james alaji abalaka (the district head of ugwolawo) postulate that omodoko was the one sacrificed for the jukun war. this position is substantiated by the fact that omodoko was buried beside inachalo river, which served as the war front between the igala and jukun kingdoms (personal interview with peter adebo opaluwa and james alaji abalaka at ugwolawo). this researcher, against the popular opinion, supports and adopts the view that inikpi sacrificed herself during the war between benin and igala kingdoms because her grave is located beside the river niger at the ega market in idah, the route the benin people take to idah. according to umonu james yusufu, the current chief diviner to attah igala, the war for which inikpi sacrificed herself is not the basic issue in the inikpi sacrifice. he asserts that ―the basic issue is that she was buried alive as a substitute for the igala nation; and that the efficacy of the sacrifice is evident in igala‘s freedom and victory‖ (oral interview with umonu james yusufu at idah). since the blood of animal victims could not save or purge the land from this predicament, inikpi surrendered to her father‘s will, and was buried alive as a substitute for the igala people. it became incumbent on inikpi to die since the gods of igala kingdom rejected animal substitutes for the sacrifice. there lies the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 147 significance of inikpi‘s sacrifice, in the sense that she did what animal sacrifice could not do. as egbunu puts it: the blood of goats and bulls were to no avail in appeasing the gods of the land against the impending doom. however, the blood, the head, the life of inikpi (om‘ufedo baba) alone, the beloved, it is believed, could perform this feat. moreover, she did offer herself vicariously like a sacrificial lamb (egbunu, igala 20-21; egbunu, religion 114). adejo, umonu, haruna and ibrahim aruwa state that special sacrifices like that of omodoko and inikpi were offered to purge the land of defilement that could have led to greater calamity in the land. according to egbunu, the sacrificial death of inikpi is esteemed higher and above that of omodoko sacrificed for another war. this is because inikpi voluntarily begged her father nine times before he consented to allow her to die for his own survival and that of the entire igala kingdom (religion 112). lessons from jesus‟ and inikpi sacrifices 1. love this study shows how god through jesus christ demonstrated his love for humanity. the study also shows how ayegba oma idoko and inikpi demonstrated their love for the igala nation. their love was sacrificial and overwhelming. it cost god to release jesus christ to die for humanity just as it cost ayegba oma idoko to release inikpi for the igala nation. emmanuel ubolo states that no one in our generation will agree to offer his child in the way ayegba did even if the child is incapacitated (personal interview). jesus christ and inikpi allowed themselves to be sacrificed as a demonstration of their love for other people. this kind of sacrificial love is required of the people as well as political and religious leaders in the country. the citizens and the leaders need to develop love for one another in order to develop the country. tradition states that inikpi‘s love for her father moved her to beg him nine times, to allow her die for him and for the igala nation to survive the impending doom. this kind of love is comparable to the ―agape‖ type, which does not look for personal gain but for the good of others. it does not look at what the giver gets out of his or her, serves as a reference point for interpreting the superior type of love between god the father and jesus christ. it also exemplifies god‘s love for the world stated in john 3:16. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 148 the sacrifice of inikpi and jesus christ were products of the love of their fathers as well as their own love for the people. we need to develop love for others in order to develop the country. joshua odeli rightly observes that love pushed jesus christ and inikpi into offering themselves as sacrificial victims on behalf of others. consequently, leaders and their services to the nation should be rooted in love (personal interview). odeli reiterates. we should serve people because we love them. we should not serve people just because we want money in our pockets or because we want to enrich ourselves or save an inheritance for our children. love for our country should be the essence of our service to the nation (interview). unlike ayegba oma idoko, some leaders would prefer sacrificing other people‘s children, if an occasion demands, rather than giving their own child as a ransom. some people have lost their children and loved ones during ―ethno‖ religious and socio political crises in the country. some unemployed youths are involved in such crises as they are employed as thugs. children of some leaders, on the other hand, may not even be in the country during such crises. hence, none of the children of the people these youths fight for is ever involved in such violence. these selfish leaders love their children but sacrifice children of the poor masses for their selfish gain. this kind of attitude impairs the peace, stability and prosperity of the nation. people and their leaders should be prepared to demonstrate their personal love for others in order to curb the rate of poverty and shedding of innocent blood in the land. love for others places premium on other people‘s lives. genuine love is one of the key elements for national development. 2. selflessness the story of inikpi is a story of selfless sacrifice (kate, chukwu web). inikpi‘s selflessness is evident in her unreserved surrender regardless of her royalty. egbunu expressed this fact: far wondrous, indeed it was that one who was the most beloved of the royal heart, in all her beauty and regality should think of relinquishing all the appurtenances of princely might and gait for the sake of her fatherland. nevertheless, what is her life, her beauty, her wellbeing to her compared with the joy of seeing the whole land in peace? for her, life meant nothing without a sacrifice (igala 20). the above description of inikpi‘s selflessness elicits a high sense of concern for others rather than a a concentration on the loss of all she was and had. self meant igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 149 nothing to her. as we have said earlier, the salvation of her people was paramount in the scheme of things. according to agama, tradition states that while inikpi‘s father was devastated by the news of her death, she sent some slaves to dig a big hole for the burial at ega, near river niger at idah. when it was ready, she entered the hole on her own and asked the men to cover her and the nine slaves buried alive with her (personal interview). inikpi was neither forced nor pushed into the hole. she entered the hole on her own volition. moreover, agama said that inikpi‘s father was in the palace when he heard that his daughter was already at the graveyard (personal interview). samuel alfa and emmanuel ubolo observe that the kind of selflessness found in inikpi is rarely seen in igala society and among igala people today (personal interview at ankpa). inikpi offered herself for the sacrifice unmindful of her life‘s ambitions and that of her royalty. the sacrifice saved others while she lost her life. chukwu, kate corroborates this feet thus: ―she was from a royal family and a heroine with great attributes. the story of inikpi is a story of a selfless sacrifice‖ (web). idegwu rightly observes that people need to have an understanding that in the present age, though we do not need to go into ritual murder, there are several levels of sacrifice that we ought to give to keep the society afloat. he posits that we need such heroes and heroines in the society today (web). furthermore: if we can be selfless and give our little sacrifice to our community, not necessarily to be killed, it would pay off. years after we are gone, people will still remember us for it. the point is that even should leave a credible legacy (behind), which people can refer to even when we are no more. today, so many people bear the name inikpi in honor of the… (idegwu web). people should emulate the selflessness of jesus christ and inikpi instead of greed and selfishness which perpetuate corruption in our society (musa hassan). it is a common knowledge that some people, political and religious leaders no longer take interest in the development of their areas of jurisdiction but in what they will get and in the acquisition of material wealth to the detriment of other people. this frame of mind compels some contractors to do shabby jobs that lead to the collapse of some structures before or after completion. these contractors igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 150 use substandard materials that are not suitable for storey buildings not minding the grave danger their jobs constitute to the poor masses. some leaders instigate crisis for selfish reasons. some of the events that take place after election in some countries might be traced to this kind of instigation. such crisis does not lead to development of the country since it leads to destruction of lives and property. according to the traditional ruler of ogugu, hi royal highness michael aduku salifu, we have to sacrifice our resources to save the country from being plunged into hardship. some people embezzle money entrusted to them for development. igala should have been wiped out completely if attah and his family refused to release inikpi for the sacrifice. for the nation to b survive we must voluntarily sacrifice so many things (personal interview). selflessness is a virtue all people need in every society to eradicate corruption that has adversely affected the image of the nation. people and their leaders need to imbibe the culture of selflessness as epitomized in the sacrifice of jesus christ and that of inikpi. rebranding the nation therefore, should begin with the eradication of selflessness and greed within the society. this will happen when people become more concerned about what they can do for the country rather than what they can get from it. when office holder genuinely pursue he development goals of their ministries, they make positive impacts in the society, beginning form their offices. 3. courage jesus christ and inikpi courageously paid the price for the benefit of the people. umonu yusufu james states that inikpi had a lion‘s heart (personal interview). the kind of courage, determination and volition that made jesus christ and inikpi to offer their lives for many is required of the people in every fact of life for the good of the society. the imagination of the horror of pains, shame and death involved in the sacrifices of inikpi and jesus christ is enough to deter someone from facing it. in the case of jesus christ, he asked the father if he could possibly be relieved of the ordeal. he prayed until the sweet from his body was like drops of blood. despite that, he finally courageously passed through the pains of crucifixion at calvary. inikpi‘s courage is evident in the fact that she pleaded with her father, ayegba oma idoko, nine times to release her for the sacrifice that would save his life and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 151 that of the entire igala nation form destruction and bondage. she was not afraid to die. she courageously entered the big hole in which she was buried alive with nine female slaves. she asked the people to cover them up. jesus christ and inikpi were not married when they died. they did not mind their lack of children, a thing that is so painful to people in many african cultures. fear kills a man faster than death. in spite of the challenges facing individuals and various institutions and parastatals, courage is an indispensible tool in the hands of leaders to face such challenges believing that as they do their own little portion o work, they will overcome some of the challenges 4. determination jesus christ determined to face the cross without turning back. inikpi determines to face death for the salvation of the igala people unmindful of the commission that ended her life,. she did not change her mind at the covering of the grave. both jesus christ and inikpi were determined to affect the lives of others at their own expense. this is evident in the fact that nothing could discourage them from offering themselves for the sacrifice. determination to serve other people, and do the right thing at the right time and place will no doubt lead to the development of the nation. leaders should focus on social amenities and human development as well as the welfare of the populace. 5. volition jesus christ says in john 10 that he has the authority to lay down his life and to take it. he surrendered to the soldiers during his arrest. he chose to endure pain on the cross. inikpi voluntarily offered herself for the life burial since her father did not force her to do so. egbunu commenting on inikpi‘s volition states that she offered herself vicariously like a sacrificial lamb (igala 20-21). he reiterates: most important of it all was that she gave up her life not by compulsion, nor was she put to death by some murderous intent or violence but on her own accord, not being ashamed or afraid to do the land proud. in addition, as a heroine so dear, her beauty, her golden and legacy was not interred with her. that was how the patriotic act of a pricely maiden impacted so much on the welfare of the entire igala nation (egbunu, igala 20-21; egbunu, religion 114). religious and political leaders need to learn endurance form inikpi and jesus chrust‘s experience when faced with the pain of losing elections to ensure peace and stability in the country. endurance accompanied inikpi‘s courage and determination, she endured the pain and the loss of personal ambitions to ensure igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 152 the completion of her task. each of them endured the pain. leaders and populace of the country should not wait to be forced to discharge their legitimate duties. 6. patriotism according to tamim ansary ―patriotism refers to pride in one‘s country, and intense love for her and a zealous devotion to her interests‖ (web). it takes a patriotic heart to face the sacrifice. only a person with fervent love and one has made up one‘s mind to see to the progress, peace and overall wellbeing of one‘s people can do what inikpi and jesus christ did. such patriots know that the society cannot thrill without peace and tranquility. they therefore play their own roles to ensure that other people benefit from their lives and activities. if people are patriotic, put others first, pursue progress, peace and overall wellbeing of the country there will be more development here. 7. obedience children and youths should learn obedience from inikpi and jesus christ in order to avoid participation in political and religious violence as well as other societal ills. the act of obedience to one‘s parents is demonstrated in inikpi‘s appeal to her father to permit her to be sacrificed for others. she did not force her way into it without her father‘s consent. jesus came into the world to do the will of his father and to save humanity from sin. obedience to parental and constituted authority will equally produce the desired peace and stability required for the development of the nation. conclusion the sacrifice of jesus christ in hebrew 10:1-18 has fulfilled all the requirements for the salvation of humanity for the last time because it cleanses the consciences of the worshipper and fulfilled the task partially excelled by the levitical sacrifices. moreover, jesus christ‘s sacrifices is a finished work since jesus sat down at the right hand of god‘s grace to humanity and has reconciled man to god. jesus christ therefore died as a substitute for humanity as evidenced in the analysis section of this study. he died t set humanity free from sin. he did not die for his sin for he was a sinless man according to scriptures (1corinth.5:21; hebrews 4:15; 7:26-27; 1peter 2:22, 24: 1john 3:5). similarly, the sacrifice of inikpi for the igala nation was not in recompense for her ins but as a fulfillment of the requirement of the gods of igala society for victory in a given war. she died instead of the larger populace of the igala kingdom. her death was a sacrifice like that of jesus christ. jesus christ and inikpi died for the benefit of many people. however, jesus christ‘s sacrifice was for the benefit of humanity while igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 153 inikpi sacrifice was for the benefit of the igala nation. jesus christ died as a substitute for humanity while inikpi died for the ninth largest tribe of nigeria. the study reveals that love, submission, obedience to the father‘s will, selflessness, willingness to die as a substitute for others are some of the f characteristics of the inikpi sacrifice which appear similar to that of jesus christ. no matter the efficacy of the inikpi sacrifice, it is limited to igala people alone. this shows that the sacrifice of jesus christ is superior to that of inikpi. inikpi‘s sacrifice cannot provide the forgiveness of sins, the grace of god and the salvation of humanity available in jesus christ‘s sacrifice. this makes it inevitable for any igala person seeking salvation through jesus christ to accept his finished work of redemption. recommendations communicators of the gospel in igala society should use the inikpi sacrifice as an entry point for interpreting jesus christ‘s sacrifice either in evangelism or for bible teaching. whenever a communicator of ideas begins from the known to the unknown, the listener understands the lesson better than when a communicator of ideas begins from abstract communications. the value placed by igala people on the inikpi sacrifice in igala society very appealing and persuasive. moreover, communicators of the gospel in igala society should use the elements of similarities between jesus christ‘s sacrifice and the inikpi sacrifice in the area of love, selflessness, willfulness, obedience, courage, substitution and efficacy in order to enhance understanding and a positive response from listeners. igala sons and daughters should remember that without the inikpi sacrifice, the igala kingdom would have only existed in history and they might not have been what they are today. igala people are known for honesty and integrity but it seems that the story has changed. the inikpi history should motivate them to be patriotic as they seek to serve god and humanity. despite the fact that some people in igala society still worship inikpi, igala people should accept the superior sacrifice of jesus christ by receiving him as their personal lord and savior. turning back to traditional sacrifices as some people do when in difficulty or contemplating to do so. like some jews wanted to do, which led to the writing of the epistle to the hebrews, is an aberration of god‘s standard for his people. christians should therefore turn to god and seek the counsel of their pastors whenever they are at the verge of backsliding. igala people who are christians should avoid religious syncretism since it hampers effective and efficient relationship with jesus christ. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 154 the act of obedience to one‘s parents is evident in inikpi‘s appeal to her father to permit her to sacrifice herself for others to live. she did not force her way into it without her father‘s consent. obedience is a virtue required by god and carries many blessings a. obedience to god, parents and to constituted authority is a necessity in any given human society. children and youths should learn obedience from inikpi and jesus christ in order to avoid participation in political and religious violence. they should obey those that encourage them to do what will foster peace, stability, development and progress of the larger society. they should not obey leaders or people that send them out to kill, maim and destroy lives and property. the leadership and followership should avoid violence and whatever could breach the trust reposed on them for the development of their nation. where personal interest and national interest are at conflict with each other, the leaders and the led should be willing to sacrifice the former for the later. people should learn from the love, selflessness and courage demonstrated by jesus christ and inikpi. selflessness and love will deter people from succumbing to the urge to partake in that menace of corrupt practices bedeviling development in various parts of the world today, people should put others first and be ready to make sacrifices for which they will be remembered. works cited ansary,tamim. ―what does it mean to be patriotic?‖ microsoft encarta copyright 2009 [dvd]. chukwu, kate. ― inikpi buried alive! nigerian village square.‖ 17th aug, 2007: 29 june, 2010.http://www.nigeriavillagesquare,com/articles/katechukwu/-inikpi buried alive.4html . egbunu, fidelis eleojo. igala traditional valuesversus modernity. nsukka: afro-orbis, 2009. gehman, richard j. african traditional religion in the light of the bible. bukuru: acts,2001 idegwu, emmy ikanaba unuja. the legendary inikpi. 2nd ed. kaduna: t. w. press&publishers, 2005. ―igala world.com.‖ 16 dec. 2010: http://igalaworld.com/igala_kingdom.html. ―inikpi…parting salvo for a retiring vc/nigerian general topics …‖ 29 june, 2010. < http://www.nigerianbestforum.com/generaltopics/?p=8995>. web igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 155 okwoli, p. e. a short history of igala. ilorin: matanmi, 1973. print okwoli, p. e. introduction to igala traditional religion. anyigba: the pastoral centre, 1996. onuche, joe. inikpi as a kinsman redeemer: a contextual theology of sacrifice. kaduna:ojima, 2007. onucheyo, the igala man‘s burden.‖ thisday magazine. 13 jan2002. 18 dec, 2010.http://www.thidayonline.com/archive/2002/01/13/20020113discol. html. pounds, wil. ―the sacrifice of jesus‖ http://www.abide. turaki, yusufu. foundations of african traditional religions and world view. jos 2000. umolo, ebiloma, aibo. historical and contemporary notes on the igala people. mushin, lagos: al – sabuur ventures, 2008. usman, simon sugeyi. rev. j. y. okpanachi (mon) dead yet living. makurdi: living faith printers, 2000 usman, sugei simon. igala tourism. makurdi: maxson, 2005. yarbrough, r. w. ―atonement‖ new dictionary of biblical theology: ed. t. d. et al. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 147 managing crisis in business through the media approach leader stanley department of mass communication university of africa, torou-orua, bayelsa state email: leadstan28@gmail.com; telephone: +2348038910621 & benemone e. osadi, phd department of business administration university of africa, torouorua, bayelsa state email: osaben2007@yahoo.com; telephone +2347068829283 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.19482.59846 abstract this paper discusses the centrality of media approach to effective management of crisis in business organizations. a descriptive survey was carried out to explain the relationships existing between the media and the business organizations. it also stresses on how mass media aims at helping business managers and their subordinates in business operations. the paper employs developmental theory and agender setting theory which literally give the media audience in business a list of things that they must consider or act upon two ways by framing the messages to tell the people on how to think about an issue through slant it is given. by building agenda, the media plays up news worthy issue to arouse public attention and action. the media can be used as an effective instrument to managing crisis in modern business originations. keywords: crisis, approach, effective, management, organization. introduction our business environment of today is a mass media society. media approach is a best way to promote ideas and ideals and therefore maybe suitably used for crises management in modern businesses. the integration of mass media role in the societies these days is to building the society of businesses together, that is such managers and subordinated to live in harmony and unity providing leadership to the public, acting as the conscience of business society satisfying needs of information, helping the public to establish public acceptance and to providing the business society with mirror of itself (hanno, hardt 2019), mass media thus mobilizes people in businesses (deflaur m. l denis mc. quail 2007) mailto:leadstan28@gmail.com mailto:osaben2007@yahoo.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 148 the mass media virtually sharpens public opinions providing information about events and maintaining commonality of value and creates awareness to the public through dissemination information, caused the masses about work stability and peaceful atmosphere (defleur m.l and balt rokeach 1982). crisis is inevitable in every human setting. to be precise, crisis is any event issue, occurrence or situation that could be described as a turning point for better or for worse. for positive and negative impact both of them need proper management through media approach. a crisis is also one of the most effective agents of change imaginable (nwosu, 1996). while crises management means taking appropriate measures to prevent crisis before it occurs. it is proactive, preventive and preplanned in nature. tools for proactive crisis management are: information, knowledge and communication. in order to achieve proper crises management, there must be an established twoway communication channel. this can only be achieved with media consideration. crisis are unavoidably existing in businesses, which occurs between superior and superior, or between subordinates and subordinates etc. there are two types of crisis:  known unknown-predictable e.g., fraud, protest, embezzlement.  unknown unknown (natural crisis)-unanticipated. e.g. accident, hurricane, flood, volcanic eruption etc. review of related literature the literature undertakes a theocratical framework of two theories of developmental theory and that of agenda setting theory and other related issues including the role of mass media as a mediator and the relationship between the media and the business society. developmental theory the developmental theory of the media focusses on how the mass media can be used to develop the state in terms of their reportorial activities. according to okon (2001, p 133). citing kunzick (1995): the term “developmental theory” first cropped up around 1967 to define a notion of journalism according to which reporting events of national and international significance should be constructive igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 149 in the sense that it contributes positively to the development of the country concerned. according to okon (2001) in vilalilan (1979) when he opened that development theory is centered around “journalism relating to projects and programme lunched in an economically back ward country to provide certain minimum standard to its people”. the theory tries to explain the relationship existing between media, society and business organizations. it otherwise addresses the processes and the mechanisms that allow communication to take peace. mass communication theory is explanation and prediction of social phenomena that attempts to relate mass communication to various aspects of our personal, cultural and social lives. kurt lewin assert is that there is nothing as practical as a sound theory as it helps us to put facts in their basic understandable forms and also to predict events even before they occur. mass communication is suitable according to okwenwan examines human attitude, behavior and habit, how and why they differ. theory as a guide to discovering facts. agenda setting theory the agenda setting theory centers around the idea that media outlets tell the public “not what to think, but what to think about.” agenda theory hypothesis that media have the power to influence the public discourse, and tell people what are important issues facing society. in other words, the media do influence what we think about. what we think about influences what we do. thus, the agenda setting theory is premised on the assumption that the messages carried out by the media can influence the action if the media consumers. as cohen (1963: 13) notes: “the media may not be successful much times in telling telling5 people what to think but it is stunningly successful in telling its reader what to think about. and it follows from th6is th6at th6e world looks different to different people, depending not only on their personal interests, but also on the map that is drawn for them by the writers, editors and publishers of the papers that they read.” dominic (2005) quips that the agenda theory literally gives the media audience a list of things that they must consider or act upon. he explains that the media achieves this in toe ways: by framing their messages or by agenda building. by framing, th6e media tells people how to think about an issue through slant it is given by agenda building the media plays up newsworthy issues to arouse public attention. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 150 the agenda theory thereby encapsulates that the media can be used to make the people think of peace and actually takes step to actualize it in business. this is so because the media can predetermine what crisis issue are meaningful managed through media approach in such business societies in this modern day. the role of mass media as the mediator in business crisis management media becomes the third parties that can intervene to identify and enable the getting rid of social challenges. as bittner (1999) notes: all through history the press has inadvertently or deliberately become deeply involved in the course of events. the media set the agenda for public discussion. burton (1995) that what third party interveners do is to create an enhanced environment where “controlled communication’ between the parties in any given crisis can take place. the purpose of this communication is to give or obtain information. it has been established, that mediation is a way of resolving crisis. the media can be used to achieve resolution because communication is an instrument for social change, public mobilization, enlightenment and promotion of the public goods. as olurunyoni (2003) points out: “the media plays a catalytic role in creating and sustaining a common public culture and its components in terms of books, newspapers, television, videography, films and radio which will help to forge communities in general and thematic terms.” baumann and siebert (1993) emphasized that the media can become the agent mediator and agents for or against conflicts / crisis and their resolutions. the media can choose two options for crisis managements such as low and high roads to mediation low road mediation: the low road mediation sees crisis or conflict as battles that must be won, even when the war may be lost. the combatants strive to impose their goals on the other party or parties. in other words, media reports are propaganda. propagandists mislead, deceive or distort to get public attention. the high road to mediation: the high road sees conflict/ crisis as opportunities to change the parties in crisis. whichever party has the upper hand in the conflict/crisis does not use violence to push its views down the throat of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 151 opponent. the media reports are programmed to engineer peace and human progress. media accounts encourage the parties in the conflict/crises to use the crisis as a platform to identify new ways to manage their differences. from the above foregoing, it is obvious that fir the media too be mediators, they must follow the high road and choose to refuse a ride long the low road. this means that the newspapers and magazines must frame their stories to build peace. the media as a mediator must be financially independent and strictly adhere to its mission of promoting peace, dialogue and participation. the media should remain independent watchdogs. relationship between the media and the society of business most importantly, there is interface between the media and the society of businesses. the media are important of the society particularly the business organizations. the media greatly serve the businesses in the society at large. the mass media of communication include the newspapers, magazines, radio, television, films, cinema and the internet. with a single message the media can reach millions of different places at the same time, for example, a single radio broadcast station can reach the ears of millions of listeners who are tuned to that station that time. the media are the mirrors of crisis resolution in the society in businesses and not business organizations. media can inform, educate and entertain. they inform by telling significant messages, ideas and feelings of uniting the minds of people. shadrack (2020) observes that mass media is essential agent or way of preventing and removing crisis situation in organization. the relevance of mass media cannot be overemphasized as it causes stability among people within an organization like business entities, by preaching peace and unity/harmony among workers in businesses, in essence, mass media is a way that brings people together in business. at times, the top-down structure of media system seems to contribute to the development of business culture, particularly business media through television, radio or internet. theoretically, media technology has the capability to bridge the business environment distance without any scale bias. however, in practice, olagunju (2002) points out “the simple secrete of media system is easiest mediation igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 152 method forum of business where they are able to listen to each other with empathy.” methology a descriptive survey was employed in generating data for the study. the raw data collected from respondent were presented in tabular form and analyzed using simple percentages. to ensure the validity of the study, few questionnaires were pretested in the faculty of social and management sciences at university of africa, torou-orua. the instrument, 20 questionnaires were self-administered to 20 lecturers by the two researchers, to ensure the efficient gathering of data. it was a satisfying random sampling technique was adopted to select the data from different departments from the faculty of social and management sciences. the data for this study was collected through two sources namely; the primary and secondary sources from published works, book, internet, articles and journals and questionnaire reports respectively. the data collected through the primary source of questionnaires were processed on statistical package of social science (spss) by frequency table. analysis of data / discussion of findings / results the interpretation and discussion of data gotten from the analysis of responses to the questionnaires administered to academia’s of the faculty of social and management sciences, university of africa, torou-orua, which was to give intended audience and future researchers the method of riving at result and making generalizations from the study. a total of 20 questionnaires were administered to and all was received by five departments of the faculty by the two researchers, therefore, represents 100%. discussion and interpretation are based as; table 1; respondent view on media approach to generate solution to business crisis. options frequency percentage strongly agree 5 25 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 153 agree 10 50 disagree 2 10 strongly disagree 3 15 don’t know 0 00.00 total 20 100 sources: research data, 2020 the above table depicted the various responses that 15 respondents, representing 75% agreed and confirmed that media approach is best way to management of crisis in business. this response is in line with the assertion of olagunju (2002) shadrack (2002) that mass media is an essential agent to preventing and removing crisis situation in organizations. whereas 5 respondents (25%) disagree on the above view. the table above authenticated that media approach is one best way crisis management in organizations. options frequency percentage strongly agree 7 35 agree 10 50 disagree 3 15 strongly disagree 0 15 don’t know 0 00.00 total 20 100 sources: field data, 2020 the table indicates that 17 respondents representing 75% are of the view that the increased relationship between media and the society of business workers. this is in conformity with the assertion of baumann and siebert (1993) that there is an increased relationship between media and organization workers. while 3 respondents (15%) disagreed. the table had authenticating the facts that media igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 154 can be agent for mitigating relationship between managers and their subordinates in every business organization. conclusion and recommendations in our previous survey of opinions conducted on media approach to crisis managements of business, it was concluded that a relatively media can be agent for preventing and removing conflict or crisis situations available to the parties in business conflict. it is also a simple secrete of mediation in resolving crisis, which thereby promotes relationship between management and employees and vice vasa. in order mitigate peaceful atmosphere in every business environment, then the following recommendations are proffered as follows. there must be a critical application of business media as peace generation strategy by each business managers, there is urgent need for adoption of crisis management principles which is proactive in nature rather than management of crisis. management should always embrace peacebuilding media in businesses and public relations mass communication systems be always applied in everyday business situations and activities. finally, the business management board should employ experienced public relations practitioners and mass communicators in their businesses. references baumann, e.m & siebert. h (1993). media as mediator. new york: mc millan burton, j.w (1965). conflict and communication: the use of controlled communication in international relations. london: mc millan ben u. nwanne (2015). functional public relations. abraka : university printing press corser, l.a (1956). the functions of social conflict, glencoe, illinois: the free press defleur, m.l & ball rokeach s (1982). the theories of mass communication defleur, m.l & denis m.q (2007). understanding mass communication. (new edition): a liberal art perspective boston: houghton mifflin. c.o igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 155 dominick, j. k (2005). dynamics of mass communications: media in the digital age (8thed). new york: mc grawhill g.b okon (2001) basic dimension in mass communication hanno, h (2019) mass communication theories and principles (4th) edition. marie dalton, dawn hoyés, and marie watts. (2006) human relations 3rd edition, south-western centage learning. olagunju. o.o (2002) peace making. corporate mediators: lagos. olorunyomi d (2003) the media and management of ethnonational differences. in e. babawale (ed) urban violence, ethnic militia and the challenge of democracy consolidation in nigeria lagos; malthouse press ltd/ institute for media and society shadrack, g (nd). the methods of conflict resolution and transformation. shadrack g.b (ed). introduction to peace and conflict studies in west africa ibadan: spectrum books. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 30 the coptic separation from the universal church: the causes and the effects johnmacartan abuchi atukosi nnamdi azikiwe university awka abuchiatukosi@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29332.65925 abstract the seed of christianity planted in the land of egypt in 68 ad by evangelist mark sprouted and recorded a gigantic growth. egypt became the power house, the theological and catechetical centre of the universal church, at the height of which she prided herself above other churches, and separated from the agreed christological definition arrived at by the universal church. as a lone church vulnerable to external aggressions, she failed prey to the islamic jihadists who conquered her in 641 ad. the write up closely looked into the effects and causes of the separation. it discovered that the remote cause of this evil that bedeviled the egyptian church was pride and arrogance; and the pitfall should serve as a lesson to the contemporary christian churches. keywords: coptic separation, church, universal church, christianity, evangelism introduction the copt, the ancient name for egypt according to burton (1979) has over 5,000 years of recorded history; this entails that civilization has been in egypt for many millennia ago. this political entity existed for thousands of years till 2950 bce when an ancient coptic temple priest menetho united the fragmented tribes into upper egypt (upper nile valley) and lower egypt (nile delta). the copts at present are taken as christians and the indigenous people of egypt; direct descendants of the ancient egyptians. the word copt is derived from the pharaonic word ypt and the subsequent greek word, aigyptus meaning egypt. coptic church also is one of the most ancient churches in the world, and it is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 31 founded by saint mark the apostle, the writer of the gospel of st. mark. the church claimed to have preserved the orthodox christian faith in its earliest form, handing it down through generations and has also claimed to have remained true to the apostolic doctrines and patterns of worship. the church spiritual aspect emphasizes holiness, divine mysteries and fellowship rooted firmly in the canons of the holy scriptures, the apostolic and orthodox creeds, the teachings of the church fathers and the first three ecumenical councils. however, before arriving at these conclusions, the coptic or egyptian christians had been part and parcel of the one universal church, believing and teaching one christian doctrine. being the power house of early christian church, she contributed immensely to the growth and stability of the church. through her many great fathers and saints whose inputs and writings sustained the early church, the copt has played a leading role. the coptic church was equally a vanguard to the church in confessing christ and in martyrdom. the first and second century christian persecution saw the copts standing tall in the midst of horrible torture and threat of death. as a citadel of christian studies, many of the early church heresies directly or indirectly sprang up from the egyptian soil. in order to retain its pride and its prestigious position as a custodian of christian orthodoxy, the fathers of egypt defended the stand of their patriarch dioscorus at chalcedonian council too far, that they severed their communion with the universal church. this singular act relegated the coptic church to the background and later resulted into grave set back to christianity in egypt. the advent of christianity in egypt according to dryton (2002), before the advent of christianity, the ptolemic regime in egypt had already watered the ground for the coming of christianity through its people friendly laws and civilization. during ptolemaic era, egypt witnessed massive growth in economy and developmental strides that made it a rival of rome, and becoming the capital of mediterranean world. alexandria city then became the city with the largest concentration of jews in diaspora. the greek, jews and egyptians shared civilization and culture together, there was freedom of religious belief; the jews were allowed to practice their religion freely. this template was equally adhered to by roman regime in egypt which was well accepted for its noninterference with egyptian culture and ways of life. both the roman and ptolemaic era played a major role in disposing the inhabitants to accepting christianity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 32 writing on the origin and advent of christianity in egypt, roberts (1977) noted that the major problems had always being lack of substantial historical evidence associated with the period; which would provide the answers to exactly when christianity reached egypt; who was responsible for bringing christianity in egypt and the nature of early christianity in egypt. many theories have been advanced to explain these, but the conclusions remain speculative. generally, it is believed that christianity arrived in egypt in the middle of the late first century and was given ecclesiastical structure in the early second century. however, for the coptic orthodox church, christianity arrived egypt in early 1st century and was given episcopal structure within the period, and evangelist mark for them, is the first to preach there and the first to find church in egypt. the view is generally current among historians and coptic orthodox christians, especially when considering the fact that jewish mission was assigned to peter and mark. alexandria, the city with the largest concentration of jews in diaspora must have been visited by either peter or mark or both of them. the growth of christianity in egypt in the course of second century a.d, alexandria in egypt became a leading center in christianity. as egyptian christianity became the rallying point of christian world, a theological cum catechetical school was opened in alexandria under the leadership of pantaenus in 180 ad. clement took charge of the school in 220 ad after the exile of pantaenus. boer (1976) noted that at martyrdom of clement in 250 ad, origen became the head of the school. however, these growths recorded by egyptian church was drastically reduced by christian persecution initiated by emperor septimius severus. origen who became the head managed the affair of the school during this persecution and was later killed in 254 ad under the persecution of emperor decius when the school has reached its zenith. the persecution notwithstanding, christianity continued to grow in egypt. lovasik (1990) stated that by the year 235, a synod of egyptian bishops was hold in egypt and the participating bishops numbering about 20. in corroboration, baur (1994) noted that christian theology first started in alexandriaegypt in the name of alexandria catechetical school. theology according to him develops when faith encounters a specific philosophy, be it by way of confrontation or adaptation. in his words: the first attempt made by the agnostics to influence the faith failed utterly. they taught that salvation was to be found in knowledge and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 33 this reduced christianity to philosophical speculation, mixed with some egyptian pagan rituals. to its great credit, alexandria theological school was able to quench the thirst for knowledge of the young christians of egypt, avoiding the pit falls of the gnostics without condemning it out rightly, as some bishops usually did (p.22). baur further stated that in the ecclesiastical field during the second and third centuries, egypt played a leading role, second only to rome. the patriarchate’s first known bishop is demetrius (189-231ad), the bishop of clement and origen; though eusebius listed st mark as the first bishop of the see. during the episcopate of demetrius, the church of egypt recorded great growth. according to latourette (1945), demetrius ordained many bishops, even outside the patriarchate of alexandria, though he placed them under his supervision. by 231 ad when he died, the number of bishops under alexandrian patriarchate rose to one hundred. establishment of catechetical school according to masri (2012), mark was the person that established the first catechetical school in egypt. the school according to him exercised limited influence; they offered only an elementary catechism to pagans and new converts alike. the school soon became the lighthouse of christianity; throughout its life of five centuries, it maintained the same reputation of erudition and scholarliness. the first dean of this school according to masri was athenagorus, an outstanding philosopher, who studied christianity in order to refute it better. however, the deeper he delved into it, the more did it quench the thirst within his soul. this later led to his full conversion to christianity. masri further noted that among the students of anthenogoras were pantaenus, clement, justus and eumanius. in his words, “justus succeeded anthenagoras as the dean. when justus was erected as bishop of alexandria, he appointed eumanius to succeed him as the dean. then, when eumanius succeeded justus as the pope of egypt, he handed over to pantaenus” (p.30). the catechetical school as noted by baur (2009) entered into prominence in 180 ad when pantaenus took over the school as the dean, and the school became known as didascalia. pantaenus lectured in his own house and charged no fees for his students. as opined by boer (1976), he even rejected free gifts given to him by his students. masri (2002) narrated how abba demetrius, the 12th pope of egypt appreciated his zeal in the school and singled him out for a missionary journey to india; this he willingly accepted and handed the school over to clement of alexandria. however, masri (2002) noted igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 34 that pantaenus later returned to egypt from india with a copy of matthew’s gospel which showed that matthew had brought good news to the indians. masri further posited that pantaenus with the help of clement translated the whole old and new testament bibles into greek, the general egyptian language, and the then known international language. this became the highest feat the alexandria theological school achieved. pantaenus continued working with clement to consolidate the school till his dead when clement took full change of the school and brought the school to the peak of its popularity. boer (1976) stated further that clement’s time as the dean of the school, attracted people from all works of life, both the rich and the poor; young and the old. they flocked in the school seeking for knowledge. boer noted that at peak of his life, clement wrote three works. he persevered in teaching and writing until 194 ad when the persecution of emperor septimus serverus drove him out of alexandria and the school was destroyed and brought to an end. clement according to masri (2002) fled alexandria at the request of his friends and he died in exile. when the emperor serverus persecution subsided, abba demetrius appointed origen as the dean of the alexandria theological school. origen as described by masri (2002) was son of parents who were martyrs, the first church father to be born of christian parents. at a very tender age of nine he was rescued on his way to join in the martyrdom of his father leonidas, when the persecution of septimus severus broke out. he did not only attend catechetical school but he was also disciple of ammonius saccas, an alexandrian, and a founder of neoplatonism. masri stated that at the age of 18, origen was appointed the dean of theological school of alexandria by bishop demetrius, to replace clement who went on exile at the peak of serverus persecution. origen brought the catechetical school to an enviable height. the school served as both theological and philosophical school. baur (2009) while buttressing this fact admits that “to work all the elements of faith and philosophy into a theological system was the glory of origen (p.23). describing origen, nwakanma (2014) noted that he was an embodiment of eidetic memory, who was able to quote at length from scriptures to works of philosophers; a powerful force for intellectual christianity of the old who was very productive that he employed six secretaries in writing down the thought that he lectured. masri (2002) contended that origen later life was not wonderful. according to him, he misinterpreted the scriptural verse that instructed one to cut off an object of temptation, and castrated himself. he skipped his bishop demetrius who refused him ordination and got ordained by another bishop, and he was excommunicated. he never reconciled with his igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 35 bishop before suffering server torture under decius which led to his death in a foreign land. alexandria theological school contributed immensely in shaping the early church and translation of old and new testament bibles. the school gave birth to numerous leaders in the church and satisfied the thirst of early christians for religious and philosophical knowledge. establishment of monasticism egyptian church offered to the universal church the practice of christian monasticism. though st. anthony of egypt was reckoned as the father of monastic life, however, a certain paul of alexandria had been in desert living monastic life for decades before the beginning of anthonian monasticism. masri (2002) in confirmation stated that paul went into desert when he was twenty years in 249 ad at the behest of her elder sister, who pleaded with him to escape to desert to avoid the wrath of emperor decius who had been informed of paul’s christian faith. masri further asserted that paul initially grudgingly went into desert life abandoning his huge wealth. but as the light of god shone more on him, he retreated deep into dessert so that nobody could locate him or disturb him. he became the first christian hermit. masri further reveals that st. anthony under the inspiration of the holy spirit found hermit paul who had stayed in desert seclusion for 80 years, fed only by god’s angel. paul strengthened encouraged anthony at the meeting and later died at the age of 103. giving credence to this, drayton (2002) pointed out that although paul, the hermit was the first man to retreat into the desert, his life was one of utter solitudes, and he was discovered at the end of his life. st anthony of egypt on the other hand, was the first christian to blaze the trail of a consecrated life of solitude, and to live in a manner that attracted many followers. he further posited that when anthony was surrounded by disciples, he laid for them a simple rule of life and of spiritual self-discipline. he thus gained the title “father of monks’ and “star of the desert”. the story of his life was written by st. athanasius, the apostolic who was his disciple and had very chose relationship with him. x-raying athanasius write up on st. anthony, knowles (1969) finds out that anthony was born about the year 250 ad and of very wealthy parents, both of whom died before he reached the age of twenty. narrating anthony’s turning point further, knowles noted that: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 36 one sunday, as anthony was entering the church, the gospel message he heard was: “if thus wilt be perfect go and sell all that thou hast and give it to the poor and follow me”. anthony felt within his heart that the message was being addressed directly to him. as soon as he returned home, he obeyed it literally. he distributed all his wealth, took his only sister to a house where devout women lived, then went to a deserted place overshadowed by a sycamore tree, on the outskirts of his home town. his one burning desire is to have no other companion but god, to be alone with the “alone” (p.81). however, he did not enjoy his solitary life for long before he was discovered by many who would like to be his disciples, not only from egypt but from other part of the world. he responded to the spiritual thirst of his visitors. according to rouseau (1955) he allowed them to build cells not far from each other. they lived their ascetic lives daily and met together every sunday for common prayers. gould (1993) succinctly summarized anthony’s last days thus: after spending eightyfive years in the desert to which he had resorted to at the age of twenty, st. anthony was translated into the world of light. when he felt that the hour had come, he called unto himself two of his closest disciples and requested them to bury him in the vast desert and to tell no one his burial place (p.87). corroborating with the above fact, evyly-white (1932) admits that in egypt a monastery bearing his name stands today. this monastery is situated at a cave covered with rocky boulder where the saint (anthony) spent most of his life. at the demise of st anthony of egypt, many of his disciples dispersed and founded their own monasteries. however, one of the most prominent of them was makarius. he was later known as st. makarius of egypt, till date with a church dedicated to him. in 314 ad another great contribution to the universal church in the area of monasticism also came from egyptian pakhom (pachomius) who found a cenobite monastery, different from that of anthonian. he was called the father of cenobitism and with the title “great”. his monasticism was taken as the third and the final stage in the evolution of the phenomenon of consecrated life. writing on his life, masri (2002) stated that he came from a lowly pagan background. he succinctly puts it thus: “pakhom was born of pagan parents in one of the southern towns of upper egypt in 290ad, and was conscripted into the army at the age of twenty by emperor constantine the great. he became a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 37 christian after the conquest of constantine through a hospitality shown him by christian” (p.213). pakhom (pachomius), after his conversion to christianity, joined palamon, a desert father to build his spiritual life. rousseau (1985) pointed out that after seven years’ formation under palamon, pakhom under the guardian of the holy spirit established pakhomian monastery, the first ever organized monastery. in corroboration, drayton (2002) reported that pakhom not only founded male monastery, but he equally founded the first ever recorded female monastery which his sister mary was in-charge of. drayton further stressed that the pakhomian monastic rule was the foundation on which the celebrated benedictine rule was built. giving credence to this, gould (1993) admits that pakhom contributed greatly to the civilization and spiritual growth of early church and the west. he clearly captured it thus: the deepest impact of abba pakhom on europe was exercised on benedictine order which was the cradle of western civilization and spirituality. st benedict, an italian saint legislated the same laws concerning obedience, labour, orderliness; in some cases, word-toword with pakhomian rules, influencing both the spiritual and social harmony of europe. pakhomian influence could also be traced down the centuries as it led to the rise of cistercian and carthusian orders during the 11th and 12th centuries, and franciscan and dominican orders in the 13thcentury (p.220). gould further points out that the above orders were ultimately responsible for the rise of the humanistic movement leading to the institution of universities. he noted further that abba pakhom spirituality which started in tabennesi in upper egypt reverberated in the great spiritual and intellectual movements in europe. the growth of christianity in egypt was also punctuated with presence of great fathers of the church such as bishops demetrius, athanasius and cyril of alexandria who during the second and third centuries played great role in stabilizing the coptic church and the universal church. separation of the copts from the universal church after the council of ephesus, a cold war began between patriarch cyril of egypt and patriarch john of antioch. this standoff was later resolved by the emperor through acacius, bishop of borea in 433 ad. thomas (2005) confirmed that the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 38 two great patriarchs later jointly condemned nestorius in a meeting and upheld the inseparable and united two natures in christ. however, in 448 ad when the major figures of the council of ephesus (cyril of alexandria, john of antioch, proculus and nestorius) had all died, a new heresy emerged from eutyches, a holy monk from constantinople. eutyches was taken as the third most influential man in the city after the emperor theodosius ii and the patriarch flavian. eutyches taught that in jesus christ, there was only one nature that was divine nature. he taught this in a bid to stop what he saw as a new outbreak of nestorianism. as this heresy was spreading, a local synod according schaff (1990) was held by flavian, patriarch of constantinople. eutychianism was condemned. at the request of flavian, pope leo the great approved a general council of the church and sent his legates to hold brief for him. the council according to thomas (2007) was high jacked by the emperor whom eutyches served as a spiritual director. he connived with dioscuros, the patriarch of egypt and recalled the deposed eutyches. bishops flavian, ibas of edesa and irenaeus of tyre were excommunicated, and bishop barsumar, a monophysite was installed as patriarch of constantinople. thomas (2007) further added that dioscorus and emperor theodosius denied papal legates the opportunity of reading pope leo’s tome during the council. the legates managed to escape from the council and reported the outcome to the pope. thomas stated that: pope leo wrote a protest letter to the emperor telling him that the synod of ephesus was an insult to the faith and an injury to the churches of the world. he told the emperor that it was proper to call a general council somewhere in italy in which all the bishops of the universal church could take part (p.37). this second synod of ephesus in 449, was not counted among the legitimate council of the church, rather it is known in history as “robber’s synod”. the request of pope leo for emperor theodosius to call another council was not adhered to till after the death of the emperor who was succeeded by emperor marcian, a true catholic. marcian on october 8,451 ad assembled 550 bishops around the world in a city of chalcedon near constantinople for the fourth ecumenical council of the church. the council was under the leadership of bishop pashasinus of lilybacum, a papal representative, who together with the council condemned eutyches, dioscorus and their supporters. the council according to orlando & nickoloff (2007) reaffirmed that the divine and human nature of christ exists without confusion, without change, without division and without separation in one nature and one person of jesus. the council ended on igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 39 november 3rd, 451 ad after the enactment of some canons. nickoloff and orlando further opined that this resolution though initially accepted by all the council fathers including delegates from egypt but was later rejected by some fathers. according to them, “the settlement was acceptable by the both eastern and western christians with the exception of the armenian, coptic egypt, ethiopia and syrian orthodox churches. they continued in the line of dioscorus and eutyches to assert that christ has one nature” (p.218). these churches separated themselves from the churches of the west and east and became known at monophysite orthodox churches. at the passage of time, the coptic and the oriental churches constantly repudiate the western identification of alexandria christianity with eutychianism – monophysitism. they identify their churches presently as miaphysitism, this they claimed was the stand of cyril and athanasius. by miaphysitism, alexandrian christianity teaches that jesus has two natures in one person but these two natures were united but confused and overwhelmed by the divine nature. but pro-chalcedon teaches that the two natures were not divided and not confused and not overwhelmed by the divine nature. the separation of the coptic and the oriental churches from the eastern and western christianity ushered in sever persecution from the roman and byzantine emperors with the blessing of pope. the persecution of coptic church though patriarch dioscorus of egypt has soft spot for heresy of eutychianism, however, the major crimes he committed according to masri (2012) was not heresy; he convoked the council of ephesus without the permission of the bishop of rome, leo the great; he denied pope legates the opportunity of reading leo’s tomes, and he equally excommunicated pope leo and approved the deposition of the innocent flavianus, patriarch of constantinople. (the patriarch later died in few days after his deposition). in addition, dioscorus refused to appear at the council chalcedon to answer for these allegations. after the traditional triple summons by the church at chalcedonian council, he was judged in his absence and deposed with all his supporters. his suppression and deposition according to masri (2012) was orchestrated by long time rivalry among the three great patriarchates (alexandria, rome and constantinople), and the need to suppress the growing orthodoxical, doctrinal and ecclesiastical dominance of alexandria; this development, the church of rome was not comfortable with, especially as rome igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 40 was and is taken as the first among equals. in obedience to the verdict of the council, marcian, the emperor of the east exiled abba dioscorus to the island of gangra in asian minor, where he later died in 456 ad. robert (2008) in his investigation of the event of chalcedon stated that after the banishment of dioscorus, a new patriarch in the person of proterius was appointed for alexandria; and the people were properly communicated to. the persecution of egyptian christianity started when they revolted the banishment of dioscorus and their rejection of the new patriarch. instead of accepting proterius, they elected a new patriarch in 456 ad in the person of bishop timotheos. through, the one hundred years of byzantine and roman persecution of egyptian church was ushered in. according to davis (1983), egyptian christians went too far in their resistance; they invaded the residence of patriarch prosterius and murdered him in order to install their elected preferred timothoes. this led to merciless retaliatory persecution from the prefect, court dionysius, who was strongly supported by the emperor. many egyptian christians died in the process. the demise of emperor marcian in 474 ad brought emperor basiliscus to the throne. he recalled the exiled bishops of egypt and suspended the persecution to look for common ground for peace and reconciliation. the interlude of the persecution was disrupted by emperor zeno usurpation of power and the deposition of basiliscus. the death of zeno in 491 ad halted the persecution and opened a new chapter for egyptian church through the regime of emperor anastasius. in order to rule a united eastern and western empires, he refused to accept the instruction of roman bishop to forcefully subject the egyptian church to rome and to compel them to accept the resolution of the council of chalcedon. the emperor allowed each camp to carry on practicing its faith in its own way without molestation. in addition, ostrogorsky (1956) stated that this benevolence shown to coptic christian by emperor anastasius was as a result of favours he got from egypt. before anastasius became emperor, he took refuge in egypt when he was being hunted by byzantine emperor; secondly an egyptian monk restored his only daughter to life with prayer as she was about dying of incurable disease. these according to ostregorsky were why anastasius never oppressed the egyptian christians. he even built churches for them. however, masri (2012) wrote that the death of emperor anastasias brought to an end peace and security enjoyed by the egyptian christians. the era of byzantine despotism and persecution was re-introduced. he further noted that: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 41 the successor of anastasius, emperor justin i interfered in theological controversies of the church and tried forcing the egyptian church to abide by the chalcedonian council. the egyptian resistance led to the banishment of the egyptian patriarchs and imposition of foreign patriarchs. many churches were destroyed or desolated, and abuses of all kinds were meted out on the christians. the people were forced to pay dearly in life and property for their refusal to accept any other interpretation or form of christian faith. many outrageous acts of oppression and persecution were carried out on individuals and on the church (p.341). in all these trials as observed by masri, the egyptian church had faithfully continued to elect their patriarchs at the death of each one; this normally took place in exile. however, the thirty third patriarch of alexandria, abba theodosius after his election courageously refused to rule from cave but entered the egyptian cathedral. he was given an ultimatum by the emperor to accept the chalcedonian decrees or suffer the fate of other patriarchs. he fearlessly appeared before the emperor and asserted his belief. masri (2012) captures his testimony thus: “the emperor has power over this corruptible body of mine, but my soul belongs to jesus christ my great king. you can do with me whatever you please… but i will follow in the footsteps of my fathers, the teachers of the apostolic church” (p.343). patriarch theodosius was severely dealt with and banished. the copts continued to pay homage to the exiled patriarch theodosius and scorned the foreign one imposed by the emperor. this act increased the egyptian persecution, with their churches closed. at the death of patriarch theodosius in exile, the copts elected bishop patros iv to succeed him. emperor justin i also died and was succeeded by emperor justinian ii who was sympathetic with the egyptian christians. the tempo of persecution became high again; byzantine empire was still oppressing and exploiting the copts to the extent that majority of egyptian christians started losing their faith and accepted chalcedonian decrees. the reign of emperor justinian ii was followed up respectively by emperors tiberius, maurice and phocas who like justinian ii mercilessly persecuted the egyptian christians. the persecution of phocas according to silverman (2003) can only be compared with that of diocletian in severity. thousands of egyptian christians died and thousands freed egypt and took refuge in nubia (south sudan). silverman further posited that the population that migrated to the nubian region still remained there till date. they dominated the region and introduced christianity that still thrives in south igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 42 sudden. the reign of phocas was cut short by heraclius, his army general who overthrew and beheaded him. poole (1999) noted that persian empire constituted great threat during phocas reign and the threat led to the attack and invasion of egypt and other palestine regions in 619 ad during. he equally noted that these regions were recovered by heraclius when he ascended the throne as the emperor of byzantine in 625ad. arthur (2008) in addition, opined that it was in 639 ad in the nineteenth year of the reign of emperor heraclius of byzantine that the arab jihadists invaded and initiated the systematic conquest of egypt that was rounded up in 641 ad. arab invasion and the conquest of the copts long before the invasion of egypt by the arabs, people of egypt were polarized into two distinct camps: monophysite sect and melkite sect. melkites are christians who were royal to the byzantine emperors in acceptance of chalcedonian council. they follow byzantine rite and are in communion with the church of rome. the monophysites are against the stand of byzantine emperors on chalcedon and not in communion with the church of rome. the both sects were in egypt decades before the arab invasion. the disputes between these groups were very bitter. according to sell (1984): it has been well said that in the seventh century egypt, the interest in politics was quite secondary to the interests in religion. it was opinion on matters of faith and not on matters of government which formed the divided parties in the state men debated with fury upon shadows or shades of belief (p.3). emperor heraclius who was emperor before and during the invasion was very anxious to win the coptic people and to effect a union between the monophysite and the melkite sections of the church. the two patriarchs of alexandria, nicetas (melkite) and john the almoner (monophysite) were wise and tolerant rulers. inspired by a laudable desire for unity, emperor heraclius according to sell thought that he might go one step further; and so, at last, in hieropolis in ad 631, he issued his decree for the union of the churches and appointed cyrus as patriarch of alexandria to unite the two churches. this effort some historians described as the greatest mistake of the century. cyrus was imprudent and intolerant. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 43 however, geanakoplos (1984) observed that both the monophysites and the melkites had watched with interest the emperor’s contest with persia and had rejoiced with him as the emperor defeated khosrou ii, sassinid persian king who had occupied egypt for ten years. for heraclius, the time was propitious for an attempt to soften the asperities of religious strife. the emperor made a fatal mistake in his choice of the agent employed to carry out this imperial wishes. he courted disaster in making choice of cyrus. sell (1984) described him thus: an evil genius who not only wrecked the emperor’s hopes of religious union in egypt but who after making himself a name of terror and loathing to the copts for ten years, after stamping out to the best of his power, the coptic belief by persecution, made coptic allegiance to byzantine rule impossible he is the tyrant who misgoverned the country into hatred of the byzantine empire and so prepared the way for the arab invasion. he is also the traitor who at the critical moment of the invasion of the arab delivered egypt to the enemy (p.29). hitti (1984) noted that cyprus was both the appointed patriarch and governor of egypt. hitti further averred that: he failed to satisfy either party by the emperor’s proposed formula of compromise, looking back, one may conclude that both parties were intractable, but it seems clear that cyprus was over bearing in a situation which required gentleness and courtesy. then again the copts love their ancient church intensely. as a nation, the copts had not known independence; as a church, they had fought for independence and never wished again to be under constantinople’s bandage (p.5). other submissions were equally made to change the formula of compromise; these modifications were not accepted by the copts. cyprus resolved to attempt to drive the copts into submission by offering them union with the melkite catholics or face bitter persecution. bulter (1978) confirmed that the copts bravely chose bitter persecution than compromising their belief. it was a sorry story; great number of the copts stood the firm and faced deaths and exiles in the hand of cyprus. this deepened their hatred for the byzantine emperor and for cyprus, his representative in egypt, and for the church into which both tried to force them to enter. such was the state of egypt till 638 ad when amr started planning attacking egypt from syria. describing amr back ground, sell (1984), noted that amr ibn-alas was of quraiush tribe of mecca who got converted to islam after hijra, and was igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 44 appointed by mohammed to a military command in which he displayed martial qualities. in syria, he displayed himself as a bold warrior and skillful general. it was with great alarm that patriarch cyprus received the news of the presence of this great warrior at the egyptian border of pelasium. by 639ad, byzantine has lost levant and all its ghassanid allies in arabia to the rashidum isamic caliphate, whose caliph umar, has permitted amr to attack egypt. amr with tiny of 4,000 soldiers invaded poorly defended pelusium and conquered it. hitti (1984) observed that the loss of pelusium has serious consequences; it opened a free way of communication for further troops from syria. he equally pointed out that it shows either weakness or treachery on the part of cyprus who doubled as the patriarch and the governor general of egypt; considering the few enemies that did the war. in affirmation, butler (1978) argued that the conquest by the few armies was an insult on byzantine. in his words: it was taken as an act of betrayal on the part of cyprus, who may have had some hopes of establishing an independent patriarchate of alexandria by alliance with the arabs against the byzantine empire. on no other theory does it seem possible to explain his action and the loss of pelusium (p.7). according to ferguson (1960) after the fall of pelusius, amr with his army marched to bilbeies, 40 miles from memphis, through desert roads and besieged it. bilbies was the first place the byzantine offered resistance; armanousa, the daughter of cyprus gave the arab stiff resistance. at the height of this cyprus accompanied by two monks and famous roman general, aretion came out to negotiate with the arab. (aretion was previously the byzantine governor of jerusalem, and had fled to egypt when the arab conquered the city). andre (2000) pointed out that amr, the arab commander gave the envoy the options: to either convert to islam and live in peace, to pay jizya tax and live as inferiors or to fight with the arab until god gives the decision. after the five days deliberation of the options, governor cyprus of egypt chose paying the jizya, the two monks and general aretion disobeyed the governor and preferred fighting the arab, in the process of which general aretion was killed. the arab persuaded the people to surrender to the arab rule; pointing out that the both the arab and egypt were of one parent – hagar. however, as the arabs bent on conquering the whole of egypt, cyprus the governor and the archbishop of egypt entered into treaty with the arab. sell (1984) stated that cyprus and copts recognized the supremacy of muslims over emperor heraclius and accepted the payment of jizya to the arabs and sent the resolution to byzantine for confirmation. heraclius rejected this treaty and exiled cyprus. before cyprus igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 45 embarked on the exile according to child (1991), he made three requests from the arabs: (i) do not break your treaty with the copts (ii) if the byzantine after this repudiation of the treaty later ask for peace, do not make peace with them, but treat them like captives and slaves (iii) when i am dead, allow me to be buried in the church of st. john at alexandria. by and large, some copts from personal considerations continued to support byzantine, its persecution notwithstanding. the copts according to child were not supposed to fight against the byzantine on behalf the muslims, but they undertook to help the muslims in the promotion of war. butler (1973) equally wrote that heraclius, the byzantine emperor, as the arab held sway in egypt, prepared a mother of all wars against the arab, deploying of army in five thousand ships and was prepared to lead the army by himself. unfortunately, he got sick and died on february 11, 641 ad. the battalion notwithstanding, still moved on by now under the command of constantine, the son of heraclius. according to sell (1914), the army arrived alexandria in march 641 and met the arab at sulteis arranging on how to attack alexandria. the two armies ensued in a great fight that lasted for ten days. great casualties according to andre (2000) were recorded at the both armies but the muslims eventually carried the day by launching vigorous attacks that saw the byzantine on run. the arab conquest of alexandria in march 641 marked the round –off of the conquest of the whole egypt. butler 1978) equally remarked that subsequent efforts were made in 646 by the byzantine empire to re-take egypt, but was repulsed by the arab. amr, the arab general after these battles was made the governor of egypt. in his capacity as the governor, he imposed tax far-less than what the byzantines imposed on the egyptians and initiated religious toleration that allowed both the monophysite coptic church and melkite pro-chalcedonian church to thieve. according to geanakoplos (1984), he even yielded to the coptic request and recalled patriarch benjamin, whom melkite patriarch cyprus exiled, to his patriarchate of alexandria. he restored all his powers and rights. the whole cities of egypt fall to the arab within a space of two years (639-641), and they had come entirely under arab rule. even more remarkably, it has remained under muslim rule ever since. seldom in history can so massive a political change has happened so swiftly and been so long lasting. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 46 the effects of the islamic conquest of coptic christians amr, the arab commander and governor of egypt at the tail end of his life had serious misunderstanding with new caliph, uthman for not collecting enough tax from the egyptians. his death in 663ad brought new arab governor in the person of abd-al-hakam. his rule modified egypt and imposed heavy tax on the people. both land and poll taxes were implemented. some other rules and discriminations that singled the egyptians out as conquered people were enacted; the violation of which attracted grave punishment. these discriminating rules against the coptic christians are outlined by butler (1978) as follow: i. the quran is not to be reviled, nor its copies be burnt ii. the prophet mohammed must not be called a liar nor spoken of contemptuously iii. the religion of islam must not be condemned, nor must any attempt be made to refute it. iv. no christian man may marry a muslim woman. v. no attempt may be made by the christians to seduce a muslim from his religion nor injure him in pulse or person. the enemies of islam must not be assisted nor the rich men among the christians be entertained. vi. subjects must wear a distinctive garment with a girdle fastened round the waist vii. the home of the conquered must not be built higher than those of the muslims viii. the sound of the christian bells must not be forced on the ear of muslim, nor their reading, chanting, nor their opinions on their peculiar tenets, whether jewish or christian ix. crosses must not be displayed nor wine drank in public, nor must swine be seen x. the dead are to be mourned in private and to be buried in private xi. the conquered must ride only common horses or mules, not thorough breeds. xii. it is not lawful for the christian subjects to build a new church or synagogue in the territory of islam, and any such building must be demolished; but they may restore old churches or synagogue which have fell into ruin, though with permission. the above rules together with the introduction of heavy tax led the copts to revolt against arab rule. however, the revolt was quickly silenced by the arab igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 47 commander and governor, abd-al-hakam’s. gradually, the above rules became part and parcel of islamic rule in egypt till date. the post islamic conquest of egypt witnessed the rule of many dynasties. according to arthur (2008), the arab ruled egypt from the time of their conquest (641ad) to 868ad during which egypt was ruled by the governor appointed by the caliphs. the favoritism of the ruling family of umayyad in 750 ad attracted revolt in arab dynasty, and abbasid family ceased power and moved islam’s seat of power to baghdad (iraq). islamization and arabization in egypt was gradually carried out. however, some forceful and oppressive act towards the christian copts always attracted revolt and crisis in egypt. conclusion the words of jesus that the first will become the last and the last becoming the first could be said to have fulfilled in the event of the coptic christians. in the early christian era, egypt occupied a revered position in christendom. as a power house of universal church, they furnished the church with renowned fathers and theologians whose teaching consolidated the orthodoxy of the church. however, their importance in survival of the church pride them off that they arrogantly and lonely pursued a christological definition that pitched them against the whole world churches and thus leading to their separation from the universal church. as a separated defenseless church, they came under heavy persecution of the western and eastern roman emperors. the final blow became the attack and the conquest of the islamic arabs which mercilessly led to the fall of coptic christianity, and also brought the mass conversion of the copts to islamic religion. works cited baur, j (1994). 2000 years of christianity in africa. nairobi: pauline. bell , h.(1953). cults and creeds in greeco roman empire. liverpool: liverpool university briggs, c.w.(1991). early egyptian christianity from its origins. new york: brill burton, b. (1979). sinai: the great and terrible wilderness: new york: viking champman, j. (2016). st cyril of alexandria. new york: appleton company. child, j. (1991). the rise of islam. london: heinemann. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 48 dryton, j.m. (2002). saint pachomius as discovered in the world of fourth century christian. egypt. sidney: sidney university. gould, g. (1973). recent works on monastic origin: letter of anthony. oxford stadia patristica. gwynn, n. (1997). a history of ancient egypt. new york: barnas & noble. kelly, j.n.d. (1974). early christian doctrine. london: blackwell lovisik, l.g. (1990). church history. new york: herder &harder. majri, i. h. (2012). the story of the copts. california: saint anthony. pearson, s.(2017).phenomenon of the established christianity in the western world. london: routlage. robert, c. (2008). fathers of the church. washington d.c. catholic university press. schaff, p. (1990). the seven ecumenical councils. michigan; grand rapids silverman, d.p. (ed.) (2003). the ancient egypt poole, (1999). history of egypt in the middle era. london: haskell: pennsylvia: fact and on file. igwebuike philosophy, strategic religious action and the theory of change igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 205 igwebuike philosophy, strategic religious action and the theory of change mike boni bazza, phd veritas university abuja (the catholic university of nigeria) department of history and international relations danbazza68@gmail.com executive summary this paper examines the root causes of the problems of religious tensions, violent conflicts and killings, using the north central region of nigeria as a case study. consequently, the paper develops a strategic religious action to tackle the menace. the research uses the tools of an indigenous african philosophy called igwebuike, which is a substratum of african traditional values, philosophy and religion. it embodies an integral principle of african philosophical experience which enhances the unity of all africans. igwebuike philosophy is an accepted tactics of soft power, i.e. the ability to attract and co-opt people, expose problems about human rights on freedom of religion or belief (forb), and then proffer a strategic religious action. the submission quickly addresses all the contentious issues that facilitate agitations from different sections and players in the region under focus, and submits that traditional african values, in relation to the igwebuike philosophy, strategic religious action and the theory of change (collectively speaking), are sine qua non for prosecuting the problems in question. to achieve the goal of this study, historical and phenomenological methods of enquiry are deployed in the collection and analysis of data, while the ‘indigenous holistic theory’ and the ‘theory of change’ were adopted mike boni bazza, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 206 for the interpretation and understanding of the problems at hand. furthermore, it concludes by stating the ultimate aim of the study, which is basically to examine the root causes of the aforementioned problems in the middle belt of nigeria, namely: religious tensions, violent conflicts and killings and proffer a strategic religious action within the context and framework of the theory of change (toc). keywords: igwebuike, philosophy, kanu ikechukwu anthony, human rights, freedom of religion, african traditional values, theory of change introduction professor ikechukwu anthony kanu developed the concept of ‘igwebuike’ to describe the unity of the african philosophical experience, which profoundly relates to a perspective-driven ideology and epitomizes the manner of being in african ontology. this, according to him, includes african cherished traditional values such as complementarity, harmony, communality, etc. thus, igwebuike, being the inner or underlying principle of african philosophy, has successfully been used as a holistic response to the problem of evil, and sometimes it has been applied to define the logic of african philosophy, inclusive leadership and even the issue of national development. for the purpose of this discourse, igwebuike philosophy is adopted as a solution to the problems about human rights on freedom of religion or belief (forb) which, on the long run, encompasses a strategic religious action. strategic religious action promotes and builds on its extensive experience and best practices, which specifically focus on women and youth as contained in article 18 of the universal declaration of human rights on freedom of religion or belief (forb). 1 while admitting that forb is a fundamental human right enshrined in international treaties and constitutional provisions in most countries, the actual practice of forb encounters many challenges, particularly in the sphere of religious tensions, violent conflicts and killings. 2 our igwebuike philosophy, strategic religious action and the theory of change igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 207 ultimate aim in this paper is to examine the root causes of the aforementioned problems in the north central region, i.e., the middle belt of nigeria and proffer a strategic religious action within the context and framework of the theory of change (toc). 3 the presentation in presenting the igwebuike philosophy as an accepted tactics of soft power about human rights on freedom of religion or belief (forb), we will like to explore the kanu school of thought as a remedy for almost every human problem. doing so will enable us to appreciate immensely the apt and scholarly interpretation of igwebuike from this perspective. according to this school of thought, igwebuike is from an igbo composite word and metaphor: igwebuike, a combination of three words. therefore, it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. 4 the three words involved are explained thus: igwe is a noun, which means ‘number’ or ‘population’, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means ‘is’. ike is another verb, which means ‘strength’ or ‘power.’ thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’; that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force or strength, and at this level, no task is beyond their collective capability. 5 igwebuike is, therefore, a philosophy of harmonization and complementation. it understands the world immanent realities to be related to one another in the most natural, mutual, harmonious and compatible ways possible. 6 tackling the root causes of religious tensions, violent conflicts and killings by applying the pprinciple of igwebuike philosophy the root causes of the above-listed problems in the north central region (middle belt) of nigeria can be understood by using a ‘causal factor’ approach. using this approach, the root causes of the problems can be classified into factors which include: economic, political and socio-cultural factors. mike boni bazza, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 208 economically, the root causes of the identified problems in the north central region of nigeria include the scramble for economic opportunities and resources. the economic opportunities in the north central region are scarce. these opportunities include employment and trade. as a result of the scarcity, the ethno-religious backgrounds are resorted to, in order to get access to these opportunities, on the one hand. on the other hand, the inability of some people to have access to these opportunities is interpreted along ethno-religious lines. with this situation, a “we versus them” construct is created among the people of various backgrounds in the region, thereby deepening the differences among the people and raising conflictive tendencies, which eventually manifest in the problems within the region. 7 the dominant and most important economic resource in the region is land. acquiring portions of land in the region is tantamount to wealth acquisition, as the land can be used for farming or grazing livestock. accordingly, farmers-herders dimension of the identified problems in the region is basically as a result of clashes over land. politically, the identified problems in the north central region of nigeria are as a result of the weak government institutions, lack of political will by the government agencies and political leaders, the quest for territorial expansion by migrating stock of people into the region, the struggle for the control and domination of the region among the diverse ethnic groups found therein, 8 et cetera. government institutions which are supposed to control human behaviours in the society and ensure social order have not been performing their duties. the police, courts, military, have even been accused of partiality, partisanship, and even connivance as perpetrators of the problems within the region. weakness of the institutions has eventually ossified into a lack of political will by the institutions and political leaders to finding lasting solutions to the problems. hence, the problems have become a daily reoccurrence in the region. 9 as a matter of fact, many political leaders have been associated with all the identified conflicts in the states igwebuike philosophy, strategic religious action and the theory of change igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 209 within the region, but of course, because “this is nigeria,” nothing has been done to bring them to book. constitutional weakness has also been one of the root causes of the identified problems in the region. the nigerian constitution makes provisions for citizenship and indigenity. constitutional provisions, by virtue of their ambiguity over the terms “indigene” and “residency” for accessing citizenship rights, have not been satisfactorily clarified. it appears that the indigene principle promoted in section 147 (3) 10 is not in line with the citizenship provisions of section 15 (3) (b), 11 which stipulate that “for the purpose of promoting national integration, it shall be the role of the state to secure full residence rights for every citizen in all parts of the federation.” 12 this provision becomes difficult in being implemented in various states of the region. consequently, indigenes of the states in the region and other citizens of nigeria residing within the region are constantly struggling for citizen rights and privileges, where the indigenes believe the rights and privileges are reserved for them within their domains. 13 this sets a fertile ground for the endless myriad of problems in the region. there has been a wave of north-south migration from the northernmost part of the country into the north central region. this migration is basically a movement of the hausa/fulani ethnic nationalities. these immigrants into the region not only seek means of livelihood, but seek to assert themselves (in the context of one nigeria) on the indigenes of the region. hence, there has been a perception of extra-territoriality which must be confronted by irredentism, leading to reoccurring bloodshed and damage of property in the region. socio-culturally, the north central region is made up of diverse ethnic groups which have not been able to harness their diversity for progress. rather, these groups found themselves in constant competition, which is problematic for the society. equally, the social conditions within the region provide a fertile ground for the preponderance of problems. these conditions include: high level of poverty, high population density, religious antagonisms, inadequate mike boni bazza, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 210 social and infrastructural facilities, high level of illiteracy and unemployment, et cetera. the failure of government and religious and traditional institutions to properly manage these social conditions of the region has become a recipe for the identified problems to persist. igwebuike philosophy, strategic religious action and the theory of change after defining igwebuike as a philosophy of harmonization and complementation that understands the world immanent realities to be related to one another in the most natural, mutual, harmonious and compatible ways possible, 14 we will now focus our attention on the strategic religious action that is incumbent towards contextualizing the theory of change. we begin our discourse by asking: what is the theory of change? the theory of change as the name suggests, is a hypothesis of how we think change occurs. so essentially, it is a comprehensive description and illustration of how and why a desired change is expected to happen in a particular context. 15 therefore, in the context of this study, the theory of change can be said to be a paradigm which promotes social change in the society, albeit positive. the theory explains the linkages in an initiative by explaining the processes of change. this link shows why an outcome, step or action is a prerequisite for another. 16 in other words, the theory suggests why a particular action is necessary for a particular result to be achieved. using the theory of change, the strategic religious action i will humbly suggest is inter-religious dialogue, using the tool of igwebuike. interreligious dialogue is necessary for social order and human and societal development. the role religion plays in the society cannot be overemphasized. religion has become the way of life for many people. religion appeals to their consciences and determines who they relate with, how they interact with their environment and what awaits them in the world and beyond. the connection people have with their religion is as strong as glue, that anything which seeks to undermine their belief or relationship with their religion, whether perceived or igwebuike philosophy, strategic religious action and the theory of change igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 211 real, is considered an affront that must be confronted immediately. hence, religion has become a tool for conflict, progress and propaganda. 17 with the place religion has taken in the society, a strategy of interreligious dialogue is sine qua non for finding solutions to the problems bedeviling the human society. without regard to extremists’ perspectives on some religions, all religions seek a good society (put in other word, life) for their respective followers. when inter-religious dialogue is adopted, a better understanding of various religions and the complementary roles they play in the development of the society and enhancement of human existence will be put in place. this is necessary for the prevention of religious extremism, violence and intolerance, which have often resulted in religious tensions, violent conflicts and killings. 18 through inter-religious dialogue, religious leaders will be given additional roles to their primary role of evangelism. they will be able to play mediatory roles in issues of human society and not just that of the religious realm. with that, religious institutions and leaders will play complementary roles to the efforts of government, civil society organizations and traditional institutions as they seek to develop the society and enhance peaceful co-existence. evidence-based outcome essentially, inter-religious dialogue will enable inter-religious relationship. this will bring the various people in the society into a common front for peaceful co-existence. inter-religious dialogue has played vital roles in conflict resolution and sustaining peace, even in the north central region of nigeria. this was the case in the yelwa-shendam religious conflict of the early 2000s in plateau state. 19 in the june, 2018 violent ethno-religious conflict in riyom, barkin ladi and jos south local government areas, 20 where some victims of armed attack were saved by an imam, mike boni bazza, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 212 due to the relationship that had existed between him and the people of the community. conclusion in the context of this study, we have employed the use of the word, igwebuike, as a philosophy of harmonization and complementation, because when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful and can constitute an insurmountable force or strength, and at this level, no task (even the complexity of inter-religious dialogue) is beyond their collective capability. although inter-religious dialogue has empirically played cogent roles in addressing human problems, it has not been given a proper place to flourish as it has not been formerly adopted as a strategic action. the government of the united states, through its embassies, has been making efforts to encourage the adoption of inter-religious dialogue, with the commemoration of world religions day. when inter-religious dialogue is adopted as a strategic action, many problems bedeviling the society can be solved and future ones prevented. once again, my humble submission in this study is that traditional african values, in relation to igwebuike philosophy, strategic religious action and the theory of change (collectively speaking) are sine qua non for prosecuting the problems in question. in addition, it is important to note that inter-religious dialogue is very necessary for social order, human and societal development, and igwebuike philosophy is the right tool to achieve this onerous task. endnotes 1. article 18 of the universal declaration of human rights on freedom of religion or belief (forb) specifically focuses on women and youth. 2. ibid 3. in the context of this study, the theory of change can be said to be a paradigm which promotes social change in the society, albeit positive. the theory further explains the processes of change. 4. kanu, i. a., igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. a paper presented at the international igwebuike philosophy, strategic religious action and the theory of change igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 213 conference on law, education and humanities. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france, 2015a. 5. kanu, i. a., igwebuike as an ontological precondition for african ethics. international conference of the society for research and academic excellence. university of nigeria, nsukka. 14th -16th september, 2015b. 6. ibid. 7. bazza, m. b., a special submission made to: the joint initiative for strategic religious action (jisra) as a member of the nigeria input team on 24 th july, 2020. 8. ibid. 9. ibid. 10. the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria (as amended), section 147 (2). 11. the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria (as amended), section 15 (3b). 12. ibid. 13. this is the author’s interpretation of section 15 (3b) of the 1999 constitution as amended. 14. kanu, i. a., igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france, 2015a. 15. the joint initiative for strategic religious action (jisra) theory of change (both narrative and visual), 2020. 16. bazza, m. b., a special submission made to: the joint initiative for strategic religious action (jisra) as a member of the nigeria input team on 24 th july, 2020. 17. ibid. 18. ibid. 19. a research interview on the berom-fulani ethnic conflicts, 2001-2018, with h. salleh, kurra falls, gashish, plateau state. salleh expressed how imam abubakar saved christians by hiding them in his house when muslim gun men stormed the communities in gashish district on 23 rd june 2018. the report was captured by many media outlets and the imam was given an mike boni bazza, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 214 award and subsequently honoured by the united states of america embassy here in nigeria in the year 2019. 20. emmanuel innocent, “imam ashafa and pastor james wuye: bringing peace to warring nigerian communities”. premium times, april 9 th 2020, retrieved july 24 th, 2020. https.//crcc.usc.edu/imam-ashafa-and-pastor-james-wuyebringing-peace-to-warring-nigerian-communities/ bibliography akanni, a.a. (2014), ‘history of terrorism, youth psychology and unemployment in nigeria’ in journal of pan african studies, vol.7, no. 3. article 18 of the universal declaration of human rights on freedom of religion or belief (forb) augustine, saint. ‘just-war theory’, available at http://www.mtholyoke.edu/-jasingle/justwar.html bandura, a. (1973), aggression: a social learning analysis. england cliffs, nj: press. bazza, m. b., a special submission made to: the joint initiative for strategic religious action (jisra) as a member of the nigeria input team on 24 th july, 2020. centre for defense information,(2003), a brief history of terrorism. available at http://www.cdi.org/friendlyversion/printversion.cmf?docum entid=1502. chalianda, g. & blin, a. (2007), (eds.) the history of terrorism. (schneider, e., pulver, k. & browner, j. trans.), berkeley, university of california press. dollard, j., doob, l., mowver, o., & sears, r. (1939), frustration– aggression. new haven, c.t. university press. ebun-amun, c. (2010), ‘bombing as nigeria’s new sub-culture?’ the nigerian tribune, may 11. emmanuel innocent, “imam ashafa and pastor james wuye: bringing peace to warring nigerian communities”. premium times, april 9 th 2020, retrieved july 24 th, 2020. https.//crcc.usc.edu/imamigwebuike philosophy, strategic religious action and the theory of change igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 215 ashafa-and-pastor-james-wuye-bringing-peace-towarring-nigerian-communities/ fiala, a. (2002), ’terrorism and the philosophy of history: liberalism, realism and supreme emergency exemption’ in essays in philosophy, a biannual journal, vol.3, special issue. frey, r.g. & morris, c.h. (1991), violence, terrorism and justice. cambridge university press, new york. hegel, g.w.f. (1967), the phenomenology of the mind. (j.b. baillie, trans.), new york: harper & row publishers. ikime, o. (1985). in search of nigerians: changing patterns of intergroup relations in an evolving nation-state. presidential inaugural lecture, 30th congress of the h.s.n., university of nigeria nsukka. kamal, m. (2008) ‘the meaning of terrorism: a philosophical inqury’ in national centre of excellence for islamic studies nceis research papers, vol.1, no.1 university of melbourne. kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. 2016 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. 2016 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. 2016 kanu, i. a. african traditional folktales as an integrated classroom. sub-saharan african journal of contemporary education research. vol.3 no. 6. pp. 107-118. 2016 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christianmuslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international mike boni bazza, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 216 journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. 2017 kanu, i. a. african philosophy, globalization and the priority of ‘otherness’. journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 40-57. 2018 igwebuike philosophy, strategic religious action and the theory of change igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 217 kanu, i. a. african traditional philosophy of education: essays in igwebuike philosophy. germany: lambert publications. 2018 kanu, i. a. igbo-african gods and goddesses. nnadiebube journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 118-146. 2018 kanu, i. a. igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 5983. 2018 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. 2018 kanu, i. a. new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. 2018 micewski, e.r. (2006), ‘terror and terrorism: a history of ideas and philosophical-ethical reflections’ in cultic studies review, vol.5,no.2. primoratz, i. (2004), terrorism: philosophical issues. palgrave macmillan, new york. roberts, a. (2008), the ‘war on terror’ in historical perspective. in t.g. mahnken & j.a. maiolo (eds.), strategic studies: a reader. new york: routledge. rootberg, r. (2002), the new nature of nation-state failure. the washington quarterly 25 (3) rootberg, r. (2003), state failure and state weakness in a time of terror. washington dc. brooklyn institution press. the joint initiative for strategic religious action (jisra) theory of change (both narrative and visual), 2020 zoro, s. (2011). the north: development and discontent. the african report 35:10-11. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 215 the north and the rest of us: a historical evaluation of the paradox of one nigeria, 2007-2020 festus c. ajeli nwafor orizu college of education nsugbe actionblack28@gmail.com, ajeli.festus@nocen.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29332.65925 abstract nigeria, a country with a population of about two hundred (200) million people and about two hundred and fifty (250) ethnic groups with the igbo, hausa and the yoruba as majority is currently under the domination of the north. under the 1960 constitution and subsequent constitutions, nigeria was to practice a federal system of government which implies that all governmental powers are to be shared between the central government and the component units. thus, one nigeria was born under a federal system. but from 1960 when nigeria gained her independence till date, it is evident that one section of the country (north) is heavily dominating the rest. thus this paper seeks to answer the questions bordering on the following; is nigeria really one? is nigeria actually practicing federalism? is the north actually dominating the rest of the country? what are the evidences to show the dominance of the north against the rest of the country? what is to be done to ensure that equity is achieved in nigeria? methodologically, the paper adopts the historical investigative method. data for this paper was from both primary and secondary sources. the paper found that nigeria is one in theory but in practice is heavily divided with most of the section marginalized. it therefore suggests true federalism as a panacea to the problem of northern domination against the rest of nigeria. keywords: nigeria, amalgamation, federalism, domination, restructuring. introduction the lowering of the british union jack and the mounting of the green and white flag which symbolizes the independence of nigeria from her colonial overlord was greeted with such enthusiasm like that of an apprentice who served out his master with high hopes of becoming his own master. the british through lord lugard had on 1914 amalgamated the northern and southern protectorate made up of different ethnic groups and gave it the name nigeria by flora shaw, a british journalist who was later to become the wife of lord lugard. with the birth igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 216 of nigeria in 1914, nigeria became the official property of the british until october 1, 1960 when they handed the reins of power to nigerians in a parliamentary system of government in which the queen of england was represented by the president, in the person of dr. nnamdi azikiwe. nigeria was looking forward to feeling the great joy that india felt in 1948, or perhaps the joy that ghana must have felt in 1957, when they eventually laid off the british apron string which tied them to their then colonial master, (achebe, 2012). but it was unfortunate that unlike india or ghana, nigeria had no idea of where she was going or even how to get there because the union in which they are about to enter had no solid foundation as was the case of india and ghana. the british had lured the different ethnic groups into a forced union for their own selfish interest. perhaps to use the riches of the south to develop the north and get the best of its resources for onward repatriation to their home country. the amalgamation negated the saying that two cannot work unless they agree. thus the north and south had nothing in common. they have different cultures, language, religion, educational abilities as well cordial human relations with one another. soon after independence, the two separate but now married regions began to sow seeds of discord among themselves resulting in ethnic, tribal and religious competition for resource control in the country. prominent among the crisis was the kano riot of 1953, census crises of 1962-1963 and the electoral crisis of 1964, (anyaele, 2003). these crisis was mainly ethnic in nature as different ethnic groups try to consolidate and retain the state power which is a vital tool for any region or state to survive. according to mbalisi and okeke (2020), the fusion of northern and southern nigeria in 1914, under british colonial rule laid the foundation for ethnic based politics in nigeria. this is so because even before and after independence, the leaders of the different ethnic groups developed ethnic consciousness in their dealings among other ethnic groups. for instance, political parties were formed along ethnic lines. the northern people’s congress (npc) was formed in 1951 which metamorphosed from the northerner’s cultural organization known as jam’iyyar mutanen arewa (anyaele, 2003). it had absolute political control in the north and had automatic northerner’s allegiance with a strong tradition of obedience to islam and support for traditional rulers. the action group was formed in march 1951 through the conversion of the egbe omo oduduwa a yoruba cultural organization. the party was a yoruba oriented party with its leaders and executive officers from the west and also igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 217 located in the west. other minor political parties were also formed along ethnic lines which deepened ethnic consciousness and rivalry in nigeria. such parties include the united middle belt congress (umbc), the northern elements progressive union (nepu) and the niger delta congress (ndc) (ojiakor, 2021). again, all the recorded military coups and counter coups in nigeria was done along ethnic lines starting from the first to the last with the north having the highest coup plotters and executors all in a bid to maintain the dominance of the entity called nigeria. this was in furtherance of their belief that they were born to rule not minding their lack of exposure to modern way of life and the development of human resources as they have the least number of educated elites and with the philosophy that western education is a taboo as envisaged by the boko haram sect, (allison, 2020). this paper seeks to address the question of whether nigeria as a country is really one as always acclaimed by our leaders who address it as one nigeria. it will appraise the relevant areas that show nigeria is not one in reality because of the tendencies of the northerners resolve to dominate the rest of nigeria. historical evolution of the nigerian state, 1914-1960 nigeria officially came into being in 1914 when lord lugard amalgamated the northern and southern protectorate into one entity, (ojiakor, 2001). the economic motive of the amalgamation was to create a big trading empire for the purpose of sourcing raw materials for and markets for the british industrialized goods. in order to achieve this, it became necessary for the british to allow separate development of nigeria economically, socially, culturally and religiously. therefore, this informed the british introduction of the divide and rule approach in colonial nigeria. the political development of nigeria was characterized by many problems such as ethnicism, corruption, constant drifting apart of various peoples of nigeria, hatred of which the climax was the military takeover and the resultant civil war. it was the british secretary of state for colonies, james harcourt who presented a proposal to the british house of commons to merge the southern and northern protectorate. according to tamuno quoted in ojiakor (2001) the protectorate of northern nigeria proved a relatively poor neighbour without direct access to the sea, with large area and population, with costly igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 218 railway construction, the protectorate of northern nigeria experienced serious financial difficulties only slightly relieved by the annual grant in aid from her imperial treasure this proposal finally gave birth to what is called nigeria today with the attendant consequences of using the riches of the south to develop the north. although, this proposal was rejected by sir ralph moore who saw no reason why the riches of the south should be used to develop the north, it was approved on ist january 1914, apparently because britain did not want any financial commitment to the development of nigeria. lugard was appointed its first governor general. nigeria’s constitutional development and movements to independence could be traced to 1922 with the introduction of elective principle by the clifford constitution which gave birth to the development of first political party in nigeria in 1923, the nigeria national democratic party, (nndp). the constitution was a landmark in the constitutional development of nigeria. the elective principle which it introduced was the first of its kind in the whole of tropical africa. the constitution promised more rapid progress towards selfgovernment for nigeria. but the constitution has one major defect. it was for the southern protectorate alone. the north continued to be administered by proclamation from the governor. europeans and other business representatives from the north were in the legislative and executive councils and thus spoke for the north on matters of financial policy, (onwudufor, 2017). the hugh clifford constitution of 1922 increased political agitations in nigeria. several newspapers also appeared such as the lagos weekly records and the lagos daily news which helped to create more consciousness on nigerians. the formation of the national council for nigeria and the cameroon in 1944 gave more impetus to the struggle. it was led by sir herbert macaulay with dr. nnamdi azikiwe as secretary. its views were propagated by the west africa pilot. by means of these media, nigerian nationalists agitated against british misrule and lack of constitutional progress as promised by clifford constitution in the last 20 years. these agitations therefore gave rise to the richards constitution of 1946 which was another milestone to the achievement of the independence of nigeria (falola, 2003). in 1948, the british colonial administration in nigeria at the instigation of the british government took a number of measures to address several of the nationalist grievances. this included the revision of the much hated richards igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 219 constitution, acceleration of the africanization/ nigerianization of the civil service, rapid and substantial democratization of from the native authority system and the extension of facilities for higher education. the year 1948 was significant in two ways. first, there was political reforms as demanded by the nationalists since 1945, (falola, 2003). secondly, an important segment of nigeria’s population previously inactive or opposed to the ideas and methods of national congress for nigeria and the cameroon (ncnc) became increasingly articulate and started to agitate, though along different lines for the same selfgovernment. in 1951, for reasons of expediency, the ncnc, also opted for regionalism which was earlier favoured by most educated elites of western and northern origin. this resulted in the establishment of houses of assembly in the regions and in the federal parliament in lagos. between 1954 and 1957, the country witnessed yet another important political development. these developments were the holding of election into the house of representatives and the attainment of selfgovernment by western and eastern regions of nigeria. the western and eastern government of nigeria were to attain full self-government in 1957. at the last major constitutional conference of 1957, the north opted for self-government in 1959. at the conference a ‘national government’ under the leadership of abubakar tafawa balewa was established. on january 14, 1960, alhaji tafawa balewa moved the independence motion which was unanimously passed. on october 1, 1960, a united nigeria became an independent sovereign nation within the commonwealth. when it became independent in 1960, nigeria comprised of three autonomous regions of varying sizes. but in august 1963, the mid-west region was carved out of western nigeria. thus nigeria became a federation with four regions. nigeria and the practice of federalism federalism is a system of government in which all governmental powers are shared between the centre and the component regions i.e. the state and local government. federalism in nigeria is a product of the colonial administration. the richards constitution of 1946 provided the ground work for the take-off of the federal constitution. but it was the lyttleton constitution of october 1954 that introduced real federalism in nigeria which was made up of three regions of north, west and east. in 1963 the mid-west region was created making it a federation of four regions. the aim of this federation was to carter for the diverse igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 220 elements that made up the nigerian nation and to protect the interest of the minority (anyaele, 2003). on 29th may 1967, under the administration of general gowon, the four (4) existing regions were subdivided into twelve (12) states with powers and functions similar to those of the regions. this was an attempt to weaken the administrative area of lt. col. odumegwu ojukwu, the then governor of eastern nigeria, and to prevent him from seceding from the federation with the whole region. the four regions were restructured into twelve states with the former northern region having six, the eastern region having three, the mid-west having one, the western region having one, and the old lagos colony with some parts of the western region making up a state. a military government headed each state with the exception of the east central state with a civilian administrator. the general murtala muhammad regime created additional seven states on 3rd february 1976 making a total of nineteen states. in 1987, the babangida administration created two more states and in 1991, under the same administration, nine more states were created, bringing the number of states to thirty, with abuja as the federal capital territory. the abacha regime finally created six additional states on 1st october 1996 to bring the total number of states to thirty-six which it presently enjoys. the replacement of the regions with states hijacked the regional status of nigerian federalism and made it a kind of federal-unitary state with the federal government controlling almost everything in the country as against the provision of a regional government which stipulates that different regions control its resources. to this end the federal government controls the affairs and resources of the thirty-six states which formally gave the federal government the right to use the resources of one region to develop other regions while neglecting the affairs of the regions which owns the resources. this implies that nigeria is not practicing federal system of government. the north and the rest of us: an appraisal this section seeks to appraise the unequal relationship of the north with the rest of the regions that made up nigeria. the north which comprised the hausa/fulani extraction since independence has been lording it over all other sections of the country despite their educationally disadvantaged status in the polity. the north has the highest number of non-educated persons, highest igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 221 number of out of school children, uneducated women because of their pudah status (chukwuokpala, 2020) as well as people with disabilities. how this low profile status of the north improved to be the ones controlling the affairs of nigeria is unimaginable. it was because of this low status of the north and the fear by the northern leaders that they may be dominated by south that delayed the attainment of independence of nigeria (falola, 2003). but from 1960 when nigeria achieved her independence, the north had devised means and strategies through which they manipulated and control the rest of the country against the stipulations of the constitution of the federal republic of nigeria. because of their land mass, they claim the highest population in the country even when they population is only measured in quantity without quality. from independence till date, the north had produced the highest number of presidents both military and civilian as against the true nature of federalism which should have been rotational so that all sections of the country would have a taste of the national leadership as is found in a federation. for instance, out of the fourteen presidents of nigeria (civilian and military), the north had ten while the rest had four. (www.google.com). thus, the north had made marginalization of the rest of the sections of the country an instrument to weaken them and maintain absolute supremacy over them. let us examine the regimes and administrations of northern leaders and how they have clearly allocated everything that belong to nigeria to themselves that informed our decision to title this article the north and the rest of us. first, in nigeria’s 60 years of existence, the north has presented ten leaders at the top made up of six military men and three civilians. this is not because of their excellent leadership abilities and good performance but because of their burning desire to be at the top and dominate the affairs of the country. in fact, from records of presidential administrations by leaders of northern (fulani) extraction with the exception of late umaru musa yar’dua, the northern leadership in nigeria is adjudged the worst since the independence of nigeria with the current administration of general muhammadu buhari as a template, (igwe, 2020). it is equally true that all the nigerian leaders so far have performed beyond expectation, but that of the north is absolutely worrisome. nigeria is a secular state with major religions as christianity, islam and the african traditional religion. but the north has constantly tried to make islam the official religion of the country and this happened during the leadership of a northern extraction. aitah (2020) writes that nigeria joined the organisation of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 222 islamic cooperation in 1986 under the leadership of general ibrahim babangida. this was to make nigeria an islamic country. what a foolishness? his action was in solidarity with his northern kinsman, general buhari. buhari had in 1983, when he was the nigerian military head of state diplomatically wishes to promote nigeria membership of the conference by writing to the nigerian foreign affairs ministry under ibrahim gambari who ostensibly advised against the move since nigeria is a secular state according to the 1979 constitution, (aitah,2020). but the intentions of the buhari regime concerning nigeria’s full membership in the organisation of islamic cooperation never materialized as he was removed from office by general ibrahim babangida on august 27, 1985. the above analyses show how the northern leaders were hellbent on making nigeria an islamic state despite the secular nature of the country and its constitutional provisions. thus the north is in the business of making nigeria a northern property. second, the north favoured the introduction of sharia law in nigeria’s legal system which was not originally supported by the nigerian constitution. in october 27 1999, the then governor of the northern state of zamfara, ahmed sani, introduced sharia for criminal law in the state. the sharia establishment law was introduced in zamfara state on october 27, 1999, and came into force on january 27, 2000. the introduction of sharia in zamfara state attracted a huge amount of attention, and ahmed sani became the self-appointed champion of sharia in nigeria (human rights watch, 2004). the controversies raised by this singular action raised the suspicion of what the north want to achieve with the sharia law because after the introduction of sharia in zamfara state, other states in the north followed suit. bauchi, borno, gombe, jigawa, kaduna, kano, katsina, kebbi, niger, sokoto and yobe adopted the sharia in their states’ legal system. these twelve states are so far the only states in nigeria where sharia courts have the jurisdiction to try criminal cases. the primary concern about the introduction of the sharia law is because, the states mentioned above comprised muslim and christians alike. thus adopting the law of the north by the north in nigeria means subjecting the while section of nigeria to northern domination. the leadership of the umaru musa yaradua, though acclaimed the best among his kinsmen was no better in his political appointment and the sharing of the national cake cum commonwealth. otherwise how can you explain that notable ministries in the federal service including petroleum resources, justice, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 223 agriculture, water resources, finance, works and housing, national planning, federal capital territory, defence, amongst others are in the hands of the north. during his era, minister of agriculture alhaji abba ruma is from katsina state. the minister of federal capital territory (fct) adamu aliero is from kebbi state. the finance minister, dr mansur mukhtar, is from kano state; minister for national planning, shamsudeen usman, also hails from kano; national security adviser, major genabdullahi sarki mukhtar (rtd.), kano; chief of army staff, gen dambazau,is from kano state; sanusi lamido sanusi, governor of central bank also hails from kano. (alazua, 2009) the chief economic adviser to the president, alhaji taminu yakubu is from katsina. again, in the ministry of petroleum resources, the same lopsided arrangement also played out. for the avoidance of doubt, the petroleum minister, dr rilwanu lukman hails from kaduna state, the group managing director of the nnpc, sanusi barkindo hails from adamawa state. the director general of the national petroleum directorate, alhaji bello gusau hails from zamfara. the executive secretary of the petroleum technology development fund (ptdf), mustapha rabe darma hails from katsina. this is unfortunate for it seems the country is a northern country. going by this appointment, it revealed that nobody from the south has ever been appointed executive secretary of ptdf; nobody from the south has ever been appointed agriculture minister; no southerner has equally tested the ministry of water resources as a substantive minister, and nobody from the south has been appointed the fct minister since its creation. but that was just the beginning as the president of muhammadu buhari is to confirm the northernization agenda of nigeria as is been justified by his appointments, developmental projects and security appointments/strategies and deployments. in 2015, major general muhammadu buhari was elected the president of nigeria. his election was as a result of what people believe about him ‘a man of integrity’, but they easily forgot that a leopard can never change its skin. the north has one agenda which every northern leader pledges to uphold; the islamization/northernization of nigeria. the first political appointment of the president left much to be desired. the rule of law was undermined; the federal character status of nigeria was relegated to the background while glorifying northern supremacy over the rest of nigeria. premium times, the guarding recorded that buhari approved the appointment of the following as service chiefs of the federation. major-general abayomi gabriel olonishakin – chief of defence staff is from ekiti state. major-general t.y. buratai – chief of army igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 224 staff comes from borno state, rear admiral ibok-ete ekwes ibas – chief of naval staff, from cross river state, air vice marshal sadique abubakar – chief of air staff, hails from bauchi state, air vice marshal monday riku morgan – chief of defence intelligence, hails from benue state, while major-general babagana monguno (rtd.) – national security adviser is from borno state, (the guardian, july 2015). from the above, we can clearly see that the north had the lion’s share of the appointment as out of the six appointments, only the north had four (4) slots, south west, one, the south south had one while the south east had nothing. where is the federal character in practice here? where is the presence of one nigeria? as if that was not enough for public outcry, below was his appoint of other security chiefs; the inspector general of police, ibrahim kpotun idris was from the north, l. m daura was appointed the director general of the state security service replacing ita ekpeyong of south south extraction. the head of immigration was david paradang from the north, the commandant general of the nigeria security and civil defence corps abdullahi gana mohammadu hails from the north, the controller general of the nigerian customs hameed ali is also from the north, the director of fire service is from the north, the head of national emergency management agency (nema) is from the north. the chairman of economic and financial crimes commission (efcc) also comes from the north. it was only the director of national intelligence agency and federal road safety corps that is from the south west (saturday punch, july 2016). what happens to the south south and south east? a breakdown of the following appoints revealed that out of the ten appointments, eight is from the north while only two is from the ‘rest of us’. it beats one’s imagination that in a country with different ethnic nationalities, languages, culture and orientation that only one group of people dominates the national security council which determines the safety, security and otherwise of the entire nation. this indeed is an aberration to democratic norms which nigeria claims to be practicing. the constitution of the federal republic of nigeria provides for the federal character commission which guides all federal appointment in the country. thus all the states, tribes and regions are to be duly and equally represented in any federal appointment in the country, recruitment and distribution of both infrastructure and social amenities. it is surprising that the president who has been trumpeting constitutionality and the rule of law mantra could brazenly subvert without a sense of guilt the very constitution he implored nigerians to abide by. section 14(3) of the 1999 constitution clearly igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 225 affirmed that appointments from the same state and ethnic group in a particular federal agency is a breach of the law of the land. in november 2015, buhari approved the appointment of thirty high court judges distributed as follows; north 16, south west 4, south east 3 and south south 7 (premium times, november 28, 2015). when did the north suddenly become educationally advantaged than the rest of us? it could be recalled that just before the general election of 2019, that the president removed the chief justice of the federation, justice walter onnoghen with flimsy allegation and back by his northern apologist and replaced him with justice tanko mohammed from the north. his decision was informed by his greed to perpetuate his stay in government despite his incompetence in the business of governance. the north, boko haram, fulani herdsmen and the rest of us the northernization/islamization of nigeria was to be carried out by boko haram terrorist and killer herdsmen activities. in 2002, a northerner, mohammed yusuf, conceived the boko haram sect which is also known as jamā'at ahl assunnah lid-da'wah wa'l-jihād. the group has since 2009 unleashed unprecedented terror on nigerians through massive attacks on churches, mosques, markets and parks and killing thousands of people and destroying properties worth of billions. abduction and kidnapping is also another strategy used by the sect to unleash mayhem on the nigerian populace. meanwhile, the term boko haram,” is derived from a combination of the hausa word, boko which means (book), and the arabic word, haram (forbidden). thus, boko haram means “western education is forbidden” (agbiboa, 2013). however, since 2009, the boko haram sect based in the north east nigeria, has been responsible for more violence than any other armed group in nigeria. bombing both military facilities and other installations and kidnapping people at will. in april 2014, a total of 276 students of chibok in borno state was abducted from their school (abubakar, december 30 2020). some escaped from their custody while some is still held by the boko haram sect. on december 25, 2011 boko haram bombed st. theresa’s catholic church, madalla killing at least 43 people—the highest death toll in a single church bombing (hrw, 2012). again, the nation’s capital, abuja, witnessed several boko haram bombings, including attacks on the united nations building on august 25, 2011 and this day newspaper offices on april 26, 2012. boko haram jihadists believed to be from the is-supported faction loyal to abu mus’ab al-barnawi igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 226 attacked three military bases in northeast nigeria, destroying one military base and killing a soldier, according to the military and vigilantes, (vanguard, 2017). in the face of all these attacks, the federal government led by a northerner had never taken any decisive decision on how to end the menace of the boko haram sect simply because according to them an attack against boko haram is attack on the north (all africa news, june, 2013). the implication of the statement is that boko haram should be allowed to operate. the fulani herdsmen of the same northern extraction descended massively on farmers destroying their farms and killing anyone who dare to challenge them. they were seen carrying arms prohibited by the government and the same government came out to say that the herders carry arms to protect themselves. this was in the words of bauchi state governor bala mohammed (oyeleke, 2021). they are notorious for attacking poor farmers from trying to protect their farms. sundry examples abound on the fulani herdsmen attack on communities who try to stop them from destroying their farm. we shall use some communities in all the all the six geopolitical zones to buttress our examples. on february 2016, no fewer than 7,000 persons were displaced in the wake of a crisis between fulani herdsmen and agatu farmers of benue state. the displaced persons who were sacked from okokolo, akwu, ocholonya, adagbo, ugboku and aila by the rampaging herdsmen were camped at the ochi idoma square in otukpo, ugbokpo, adoka, ojantele, ikobi and other neighbouring communities. (duru, 2016) in a related development, a middle-aged woman mrs. grace zeku was attacked by suspected armed herdsmen who chopped off her left arm at gboogyo village in guma local government area of the state, (duru, 2019). vanguard reported in enugu state, that on april 2016, about 40 persons were killed by some fulani herdsmen at nimbo in uzouwani local government area of the state. about seven villages in nimbo (nimbo ngwoko, ugwuijoro, ekwuru, ebor, enugu nimbo, umuome and ugwuachara) were among the areas attacked. ten residential houses and a church, christ holy church international were also burnt by the herdsmen just as vehicles and motorcycles were destroyed and domestic animals killed, (vanguard april, 2016). in abia state, a community in arochukwu council of was invaded and attacked by fulani herdsmen, and another community, ozu item in bende council was again attacked three weeks afterwards with scores of farmers sustaining life threatening injuries. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 227 in benin, herdsmen raped a woman and beat her husband to a pulp, at a farm in ubuneke-ivbiaro, owan east local government area of edo state. husband of the rape victim, umoru agunu, confirmed that armed herdsmen, numbering six, invaded his farm at about 10.30am beat him up and raped his wife. (vanguard, may 17, 2017). in ikoyi-ile in orire local government area of oyo state, farmers were alleged attacked by fulani herders. they also cut off the hand of one of the workers and destroyed their farm produce. another farmer was attacked with machete and two minors were also raped, (ajayi, august 6, 2020) in all these attacks, the federal government had done nothing to stop its reoccurrence and that is why it keeps repeating every month and every year. the federal government may claim to have been doing something about it but they were only paying lip services to dowse tension from unsuspecting nigerians. if we are one nigeria, then the government should do something to protect the life and property of all nigerians instead of treating some like sacred cows. in the recent past, the federal government declared the non-violent, armless and course fighting independent peoples of biafra a terrorist group while granting amnesty to boko haram sect and fulani herdsmen whom the international community classified as the third terrorist groups in the world. this is simply because the ipobs are not from the north and are not muslims. if the ipobs had come from the fulani extraction, will the federal government treat them the same way as they are doing to the eastern agitators who are fight a just cause. what cause is the boko haram and fulani herdsmen fighting? the above assertion is support by a statement credited to the federal government when they insisted that fulani herdsmen would be treated with deodorant, while the ipobs will be treated with insecticide. according to the vice president yemi osinbajo, "ipob is a threat to nigeria's unity and we the federal executive must crush them and their activities by fire by thunder. so we beg true nigerians to provide our security agencies with ipob's information/plans/activities for proper action to be taken immediately!" but when asked about fulani herdsmen killings, he had this to say; “i plead to nigerians, don’t retaliate fulani herdsmen killings, pray for them instead; just as we the federal executive are praying hard now" (www.nairaland.com). what an injustice coming from one who is supposed to make peace and reconcile all aggrieved sections of the society as a solution to the problem plaguing the country. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 228 concluding reflections the federal republic of nigeria as enshrined in the 1963 republican constitution is only in theory than in practice since the creation of twelve state by general gowon. from henceforth, the federal government seem to have taking the place of the regions in practical terms while the regions operate only in theory. a federal structure entails that the regions have their own powers and maintain their own separate administration while maintaining close tie with the central government. in a federal system, the regions share governmental powers with the federal government among other things. in nigeria, the federal government is the custodian of all powers. they control all security apparatus such as the army, the police, department of state services, nigeria security and civil defence corps and the immigration service. but since the northern fulani have been in the helm of power, the federal government have hijacked all the government apparatus with which they use to intimidate the rest of the regions in nigeria. this is simply because of their agenda to dominate the rest of the country. the northern leaders don’t believe in the leadership of any other tribe in nigeria that is why they do everything to remain in power. they therefore ensure that all strategic positions in the country are controlled by their northern kinsmen as was recorded above. they clamour for one nigeria because they are using the riches of the south to develop the north knowing fully well that the north offers nothing. if the country is really one, the federal government should be fair in dealing with all sectors of the country and ensure equity in the distribution of all resources and amenities. for instance, the ongoing construction of rail way has not found its way into the east while the north and some parts of the west had as many railways as possible even ones constructed to connect the north to its niger counterpart. the federal government controlled by the north is clearly dominating the rest of the country and they knew it. it is the position of this paper that nigeria is not practicing federalism of any sort. therefore, we recommend that for the term one nigeria to reflect its meaning, the following must be considered by the federal government, otherwise one nigeria will remain a paradox. first, the constitution must be altered to ensure that true federalism is practiced, so that the regions that made up the federation have a sense of belonging and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 229 develop at their own pace. in this way, the whole region will control its resources and end marginalization of the federal government against the regions. second, the constitution must be revisited to include rotational presidency so that each region will be allowed to produce the president when it is their turn. this way, domination of one section of the country (the north) against others will be a thing of the past as each section should know that whatever evil meted against one section should be remembered against them when they assume the leadership of the country. third, the federal character commission must be strictly adhered to in terms of any appointment and recruitment in the federation so that equity and fairness is achieved. the north will no longer take it all. what is due for one section will equally be for all other sections. it is therefore believed that if the following recommendations are strictly adhered to, nigeria will come out of its present state of ‘‘northern republic of nigeria’’. references abubakar, a. m (2020). chibok community demand release of 112 remaining schoolgirls abducted in 2014. retrieved from https://www.premiumtimesng.com/regional/north-east/433939chibok-community-demand-release-of-112-remaining-schoolgirlsabducted-in-2014.html. achebe, chinua (2012). there was a country. a personal history of biafra. london: penguin books. adebiyi, d (2015). buhari appoints new service chiefs, nsa, others. retrieved from https://guardian.ng/news/buhari-appoints-new-service-chiefsnsa-others/ agbiboa, d. e (2013). no retreat, no surrender: understanding the religious terrorism of boko haram in nigeria. retrieved from https://core.ac.uk/download/ pdf/156622638.pdf ajayi, ola (2020). farmers in oyo raise alarm over fulani herder’s attacks. retrieved from https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/08/farmers-inoyo-raise-alarm-over-fulani-herders igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 230 alazua, z (2009). yar'adua's appointments: northernization of government or political mischief. retrieved from http://saharareporters.com/2009/06/10/yaraduas-appointmentsnorthernization-government-or-political-mischief allison, j (2020). ‘‘personal interview’’ 20 december, 2020. anyaele, j.u (2003) comprehensive government. lagos: a johnson publications limited. aitah, eddy (2020). nigeria’s membership in the organization of islamic cooperation: origin, nature, and impact. a master of arts degree thesis. chukwuokpala, p (2020). women in socio-economic development in anambra east local government area of anambra state. unpublished ba, ed project. dibie, c (2018) essential government. lagos: tonad publishers ltd. duru, p (2016) 7,000 persons displaced in fulani herdsmen, agatu farmers’ clash in benue retrieved from https://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/02/7000persons-displaced-in-fulani-herdsmen-agatu-farmers-clash in-benue/ duru, p. (2019). suspected herdsmen attack benue woman in her farm, chop off arm. retrieved from https://www.vanguardngr.com/tag/herdsmenattack/ falola, t., uhomoibhi, m,. amadi, a and anyanwu, u (2003) history of nigeria. lagos: longman nig. plc. gabriel e. (2017). herdsmen rape woman, beat husband to pulp in edo retrieved from https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/05/herdsmen-rapewoman-beat-husband-pulp-edo/ human rights watch, (2011) nigeria: post-election violence killed 800. human rights network. https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/07/boko-haram-attacks-military-basescast doubt-fgs-claim/ https://www.nairaland.com/5134043/hypocrisy-vice-president-prof-osibanjo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/list_of_heads_of_state_of_nigeria. accessed on 25/3/2021 https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/05/herdsmen-rape-woman-beathusband-pulp-edo/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 231 igwe, uche, (2020). five years on: are nigerians better or worse under president buhari? retrieved from https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/africaatlse/2020/10/01/ fiveyears-on-nigerians-better-worse-under-president-buhari-development/ mamah emeka and clifford ndujihe, (2016) bloodbath in enugu as fulani herdsmen kill 40. retrieved from https://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/04/bloodbath-enugu-fulaniherdsmen-kill-40/ mbalisi, c.n and okeke, c.a (2020). the 1914 amalgamation: pre-cursor to misconstrued unity in post–colonial nigeria. kenneth dike journal of african studies. 1(2), 2020. 83-107 nnochiri, ikechukwu (2015). buhari okays appointment of 30 new federal high court judges. retrieved from https://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/11/ buhari-okays-appointment-of-30-new-federal-high-court-judges/ ojiakor ngozi, (2001). the historical and socio-political evolution of nigeria1800-1970. in ojiakor, ngozi, and unachukwu g.c (eds). nigeria’s sociopolitical development, issues and problems. enugu: john jacob’s publishers ltd. okoli, anayo (2016). fulani herdsmen attack another abia community. retrieved from https://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/12/fulani-herdsmen-attackanother-abia-community/ onwudufor, f and ughaerumba, v.m (2017) history of west africa; ad 10001970 vol. 2 nigeria. awka: petrobas nigeria limited. oyeleke, s (2021, february 19). why i said herdsmen can carry ak-47. retrieved from https://punchng.com/why-i-said-herdsmen-can-carry-ak-47bauchi-gov/ tamuno, t (1980) quoted in orjiakor n. (2001). the historical and socio-political evolution of nigeria-1800-1970. in ojiakor, ngozi, and unachukwu g.c (eds). nigeria’s socio-political development, issues and problems. enugu: john jacob’s publishers ltd. saturday punch, july 2016. security appointments under buhari. retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/figure/security-appointments-underpresident-buhari_tbl3_320448982 appointments. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 232 the shari'a establishment law was introduced in zamfara state on october 27, 1999, and came into force on january 27, 2000. retrieved from https://www.hrw.org/reports/ 2004/nigeria0904/4.htm usman t (2015). buhari names new service chiefs, nsa. retrieved from https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/186581-buharinames-new-service-chiefs-nsa.html. the dimensions of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 1 the dimensions of igwebuike philosophy ikechukwu anthony kanu department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university umunya, anambra state ikee_mario@yahoo.com executive summary this paper has studied the dimensions of igwebuike. as a unifying concept of african thought, especially, igwebuike is understood as that aspect concerning the human person’s conception of the spiritual and material universe in which they live. it is an explanatory theory or principle that interprets the puzzle of our complex relationship with the non-corporal world and human social life, that is, the major social institutions that ensure social continuity and group identity, and further underpins the epistemological manifestations of the human person’s universe. this piece has studied the dimensions of igwebuike, which include its place within the theater of being, and its literal and linguistic meanings. it also focused on the anthropological and epistemological foundations of igwebuike, and also its ontological and cosmological foundations. this work, although it has studied the linguistic and literal senses of igwebuike, goes further by focusing on the philosophical dimension of the concept. the method of inquiry employed for the purpose of this research is the igwebuike complementary approach. keywords: igwebuike, linguistic, literal, ontological, epistemological, anthropological introduction igwebuike, essentially, is a transcendent complementary comprehensive systematic quest to penetrate the structure and ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 2 dynamics of reality ultimately for the purpose of giving honest answers to fundamental questions or opinions to questions, for selfless enlightenment and furthering of human happiness. in this search for truth, igwebuike, within an integrated systematic framework, strives beyond all forms of paradoxes and contradictions and espouses the path of complementation, therefore, showing how realities can relate to one another in a mutually harmonized non-absolutistic mode. thus, igwebuike explores methods and principles for the mediation, coalescing and comprehension of the different units of reality: ideal and real, universal and particular, progressive and conservative, necessary and contingent, transcendent and immanent, essential and inessential and other units of reality within the same framework. it treats all units, fragments or components of reality, no matter how minute, as units and combinations, or missing links that are necessary for the conceptualization of reality as a whole. the above notwithstanding, this piece will study the dimensions of igwebuike philosophy. this would include its understanding within the theater of being, and the literal and linguistic settings. it will further focus on the anthropological and epistemological foundations of igwebuike, and also its ontological and cosmological foundations. igwebuike in the theatre of being ‘to be’ in igbo ontology is idi. the operative word in idi (to be) is di (be), and it comes from the word odi (it is), which is the third person of the singular idi. it means ‘to exist’ or ‘to be’. it is an adjective and can be suffixed to anything to show that it exists. for instance, okwute di (stone exists), nkita di (dog exists), kanu di (kanu exists), uwa di (the world exists). although every reality has a force, not all realities have the same amount of force. the variety of the degree of forces is at the base of the categorization of being, and thus, the hierarchy of forces (kanu 2017a). in the hierarchy of forces, those with a greater force come first, with god at the apex as the source of all force (kanu, 2017b). in igbo-african ontology, reality is subsumed into the following categories: muo (spirit), madu (human being), anu (animal), ihe the dimensions of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 3 (thing), ebe (place), oge (time) and uzo (manner, modality or style of being). everything is in relation to the other, except the creator (kanu, 2017c). as subjects in the horizon of perception and realization of their existential ends, beings depend on each other for their temporal flourishing. the dependence here is a positive dialectics, resulting from their physical and spiritual limitations. human beings are not ontological creators of themselves; they are essentially limited, and their existence and action, in the midst of communication, are limited by time, place, perception and knowledge. their being is existentially complementary (kanu, 2017d&e). hence, they are, naturally, candidates for company and co-operations. this modality of being is what igwebuike conceptualizes. igwebuike in its literal and linguistic setting igwe bu ike is an igbo proverb and also a typical igbo name. igbo proverbs and names are among the major traditional vessels where african philosophy, religion and culture have continued to be preserved. mbiti (1970) writes that: “it is in proverbs that we find the remains of the oldest forms of african religious and philosophical wisdom” (p.89). they contain the wisdom and experience of the african people, usually of several ages gathered and summed up in one expression. proverbs spring from the people and represent the voice of the people and also express the interpretation of their beliefs, principles of life and conduct. it express the moral attitudes of a given culture, and reflect the hopes, achievements and failings of a people (kanu, 2018). this is to say that beyond the linguistic expression lies a deeper meaning, that is, the spirit of the letter. it is at the philosophical level that igwebuike is understood as providing an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations (kanu, 2016c). the expression, igwebuike, is a combination of three igbo words. it can be understood as a word or a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. literally, igwe is a noun which means number or multitude, usually a large number or population. the number or population in perspective ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 4 are entities with ontological identities and significances; however, it is part of an existential order in which every entity is in relation to the other. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is a noun, which means strength or power (kanu 2016a&b). igwe, bu and ike put together, means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’ (kanu, 2017f). however, beyond the literal sense of igwebuike, it means otu obi (one heart and one soul) – cor unum et anima una. this is anchored on the fact that the universe in which the human person lives is a world of probabilities. an igbo proverb says: “if a thing remains one, then nothing remains”. this is because the power or strength generated by a person is not strong enough to withstand the existential gamble of life, as the chances of being overcome are on the high side; thus, the need for an existential backing. there is also an african proverb that says: “while going to the toilet in the morning, ensure that you carry two sticks”. the sticks are used for cleaning oneself after using the convenience. but because there is always the high probability of the stick falling into the pit, it is always advisable to take a second stick, just in case. with two sticks, one has a greater assurance of cleaning oneself up after using the toilet; the higher the number, the greater the preparedness towards minimizing the casualty of life.the second stick is also necessary in case of a second coming or remainder of the output. in a metaphoric sense, it is used within the igbo linguistic setting to refer to relational engagement in the world, accomplished in solidarity and complementarity, and the powerful and insurmountable force therein (kanu, 2017g). the closest words to it in english are complementarity, solidarity and harmony. anthropological and epistemological foundations of igwebuike igwebuike has anthropological and epistemological foundations, which are based on the nature of the human brain which functions in an inclusive manner for the realization of holistic knowledge. a cursory glance at the human brain reveals different sections which could be described as circles. below is a diagram to explain the different sections of the brain and what they represent. the dimensions of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 5 a diagram showing the dimensions of the human brain the human brain has the olympic dimension, referred to as olympic brain, and the noecortex dimension, also referred to as the noecortex brain. the olympic brain has two sections, which include the inner and outer olympic brain. thus, the three circles of the brain are the inner olympic brain, the outer olympic brain and the noecortex brain. these different parts of the brain concern themselves with different questions that arise in human relationships: the questions of why, how and what. while the inner olympic brain responds to the question of why, the outer olympic brain responds to the question of how, and the noecortex brain responds to the question of what (kanu, 2017c). for knowledge to be holistic and translate into action for transformation, it must be based on an understanding of the what, how and why questions about reality. for a leader to be effective, the led need to know what they do, how to do what they do, and why they do what they do. the absence of any of these strangles followership. in ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 6 advertisements, most organizations only explain what they do, how they do what they do, without explaining why they do it. this explains why many organizations fail. this is based on the fact that people patronize you because of why you do what you do, and not only because of what or how you do it. the question of why speaks of your uniqueness and the newness you are bringing into the system. it is at the why level that you find: feelings, loyalty, trust, decision making and human behaviour. for a comprehensive understanding, they must complement one another. the connection of complementarity to the human brain explains the epistemological and anthropological foundations of igwebuike. ontological foundations of igwebuike the mutual relations and complementarity that igwebuike conceptualizes is are anchored on the following basic human conditions (njoku 2015): a. the world in which we live is one in which we encounter several needs, however, with very little resources to take care of the needs. this limitation calls for the mobilization of other forces outside of the self, a social fellowship for the satisfaction of particular needs. b. nature has placed in us the alikeness for fellowship. this is based on the fact that we were created by god in his own image and likeness. c. although we are equal essentially, we have different gifts and abilities. what i may be able to do, another may not be able to do, meaning that my relationship with the other completes what is lacking in me. d. collaboration with the other is ground for becoming, as everything takes a bit of another to make itself. it is a ground for staying alive and transforming the universe. human fellowship and cooperation is a reality that is rooted in the human nature, and to keep away from relating is to place a limitation on our being. it is, therefore, a unit of order inscribed in the human nature the dimensions of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 7 for survival. the more a person relates, the more he/she lives out his/her or her being to the full. mutual cooperation and fellowship in the society increases protection, assistance, etc. being in the company of the other reduces the burden that nature imposes on a person as an individual. cosmological foundations of igwebuike igwebuike is a cosmological idea enshrined in the african cosmos that shapes the african cultural, religious and social activities. it is a universe of particularities where every creature as an independent entity must negotiate another’s existential highway for mutual survival. it is a dependent, interdependent and combinational universe. negotiation is very important in the african universe because it is a world that one shares with the other in an atmosphere of intersubjective relations (kanu, 2018). these inter-subjective relations only play out without chaos when the individual is able to skillfully bridge his/her interiority with the individuality of the other. the african universe has physical and spiritual dimensions. in the spirit realm, god represents the chief being, and sits at the apex of power. in the physical world, human beings dominate, occupying the central position in the scheme of god’s creation. the structure of the african universe can be illustrated in three levels: the sky, the earth and the underworld. the sky is where god chukwu or chineke and angels reside; the earth, where human beings, animals, natural resources, some devils and some physical observable realities abide; and the underworld, where ancestors and some bad spirits live (kanu, 2013). these worlds interact in spite of their peculiarities, and persist because of a healthy inter-subjective relation. there is really no wall between the physical and spiritual worlds, between the visible and invisible, the sacred and profane, as there is a cooperate existence of reality. thus, certain elements can move from one structure to another to commune with other elements. in this interaction, human beings commune with god, the divinities, the ancestors and vice versa. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 8 conclusion from the foregoing, igwebuike is employed as a unifying concept of african thought, especially, that aspect concerning the human person’s conception of the spiritual and material universe in which he/she lives. it is an explanatory theory or principle that interprets the puzzle of our complex relationship with the non-corporal world and the human social life; that is, major social institutions that ensure social continuity and group identity, and further underpins the epistemological manifestations of the human person’s universe. this piece has studied the dimensions of igwebuike. these dimensions include its place within the theatre of being, and its literal and linguistic meanings. it also focused on the anthropological and epistemological foundations of igwebuike, including its ontological and cosmological foundations. although this work included the study of the linguistic and literal senses of igwebuike, it goes beyond that in its focusing on the philosophical dimension of the concept. references kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. kanu, a. i. (2017c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 7. pp. 165-183. kanu, a. i. (2017d). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 6. pp. 16-50. kanu, a. i. (2017f). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. pp. 153-160. kanu, i. a. (2013). african identity and the emergence of globalization. american international journal of contemporary research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 34-42. the dimensions of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 9 kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2012). the problem of being in metaphysics. african research review: an international multi-disciplinary journal. vol.6. no.2. april. pp. 113-122. kanu, i. a. (2012). the problem of personal identity in metaphysics. international journal of arts and humanities. vol.1. no.2. pp.1-13. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 10 kanu, i. a. (2012a). the concept of life and person in african anthropology. in e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (eds.). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 61-71). nigeria: augustinian. kanu, i. a. (2012b). towards an igbo christology. in e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (eds.). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 75-98). nigeria: augustinian. kanu, i. a. (2013). african identity and the emergence of globalization. american international journal of contemporary research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 34-42. kanu, i. a. (2013). globalisation, globalism and african philosophy. c. umezinwa (ed.). african philosophy: a pragmatic approach to african probems (pp. 151-165). germany: lambert. kanu, i. a. (2013). on the sources of african philosophy. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 337-356. kanu, i. a. (2013). the dimensions of african cosmology. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 533-555. kanu, i. a. (2014). a historiography of african philosophy. global journal for research analysis. volume. 3. issue. 8. pp. 188190. kanu, i. a. (2014). being and the categories of being in igbo philosophy. african journal of humanities. volume 1. issue 1. pp. 144-159. mbiti, j. s. (1970). african religions and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational publishers. njoku, f. o. c. (2015). the philosophical grid of igbo socio-political ontology: ibu anyi danda. 147 th inaugural lecture of the university of nigeria, nsukka. the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 95 the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse hilary ugwu, msw university of oklahoma school of social work norman, usa, hiugwu@yahoo.com executive summary why are some bible-believers and judeo-christian and islamic scholars so reluctant about investigating extrabiblical facts that contradict existing biblical and theological constructs? the answer is simple! it has to do with the problem of theological dogmatism. webster dictionary defines dogma as “a system of doctrine proclaimed true by a religious sect,” or “principle, belief or idea especially one considered to be absolute truth.” webster equally defines dogmatism as “the expression of an opinion or belief as if it were a fact…” or “a viewpoint or system of ideas based on insufficiently examined premises.” dogmatism of any kind inhibits sound scholarly research. there are dogmatist physicists who refuse to abandon some of the outdated theories of einsteinian-type classical physics, even in the face of the triumphant new discoveries in quantum physics. such physicists prefer traditionalism over facts. thus, they have difficulties conceptualizing that solidity and individuation of matter within the realm of perceptible physical world is an illusion. this is because the atomic and the subatomic quantum realm operates with the law of pure potentiality or possibility. it is consciousness that brings density into materialization. this fact has been proven by the new research in “double-slit experiment.” in the same way, the dogmatic pharmacological scientist hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 96 is closed-minded and will not investigate the universal harmonic frequency in order to consider that homeostatic natural foods and herbs are way superior to their bigmoney-driven allopathic synthetic pills. these pills are not in tune with the human biorhythm and bio-vibratory frequency. the problem with dogmatism of any kind is that they make laws, ordinances, sanctions, rules, and condemn oppositions. dogmatists often hold the key to certifications, and if you don’t agree with them, your certification is frozen. their arrogance and attitude is much like: ‘if you are not with us, you are a heretic and dangerous.’ i am certainly one of those who consider theological dogmatism as inhumane, ungodly and absurd. dogmatism of any kind is counter-research as well as contra-scientific. dogmatists are nothing but ideological bullies as well as intellectual harassers. this is how dogmatism works: first it displays its version of ‘the truth,’ like a pre-manufactured industrial consumer goods. it calls this version absolute. then, it forces the masses into uncritical consumption of that brand or version. any real or perceived opposition is aggressively and apologetically rejected. ideological dogmatism is a servant-slave to the status-quo. with theological dogmatism, there is no room for a dialectical scrutiny of the structural components of the belief system in question. theological dogmatists are closed-minded religious luddites, with rigid authoritarian worldview. they are ecclesio-theological buffers against critical intellectual and historical searchlights. a dogmatist is insecure and will attack every attempt to throw new light on some old information systems. dogmatism is like a self-preserving narcissistic poltergeist afraid to come out to the sunlight. religious dogmatists, especially, utilize guilt, shame, condemnation, excommunication, ‘sending-to-hell,’ character assassination, intimidation, thuggery as well as doctrinal nazism to create a colonial monopoly of the the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 97 thought processes of the masses. in theological dogmatism, a point of view is manufactured and imposed as irreducibly infallible wherewith one must swallow or be vilified as a rebel. a typical fanatical dogmatist mindset runs thus: “the bible is the absolute word of god, end of argument, take it or leave it” or “the church says it and you must follow with no questions.” this explains why so many people are not just incapable of looking beyond what is fed to them as ‘truth,’ but are actually afraid to do so. there are those who can decipher the fallacy of biblical chronology but choose to persist in the error of their fallacy. this might be due to fidelity to statutory ecclesiasticism, cooperate orthodoxy, ritualism, institutional didacticism and mass kerygmatic pentecostal showmanship. to speak the truth often means compromising a position. this work is meant to push the envelope and invoke a critical examination of the established narrative, particularly relative to the mysterious identity and/ or events surrounding the person of moses. keywords: african, biblical, old testament, moses, igwebuike, philosophy, kanu ikechukwu anthony introduction religious and non-religious folks alike study the bible for moral codes of conduct, spiritual guidance, part-time explorative curiosity, scholarly investigation, etc. whichever the case may be, the bible continues to be both a source of simplistic pious inspiration as well as a source of fierce controversial pedagogical debate. my intension is to awaken some critical insights and stretch the mind to a new and higher dimension of reasoning and conceptualization. i do not believe for a moment that the bible is a book of absolute historical facts. the bible is more of a compilation of astro-theology, zodiac myths, moral codes, hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 98 tribal religious rituals, etc. historical facts in the bible are very minute and highly corrupted when one considers the book in its entirety. both the old and the new testaments are full of manufactured falsehoods, psydo-epigraphical deceptions, intentionally omitted facts, inaccurate dates and so on. in the new testament, for example, ecclesio-patristic regimes created so much intentional forgeries. the brutal repression of the socalled heretics was a form of clampdown of all other facts which the church feared. origen adamantius, also known as origen of alexandria or simply origen, is one of the brightest scholars in the history of christian theology. but, he fell out of favour with the church and he was vilified and refused to be according the title of ‘sainthood,’ despite his undisputed acetic discipline and moral beacon. he was defamed by the claims that he got himself castrated in his quest for purity of the body. this story is probably an ecclesiastical fabrication. what was origen’s error? part of his vilification was very obvious. he spoke the truth. i am currently looking into the reason why so many christian scholars and theologians coming out of africa (alaxandra in egypt) as well as cartage were termed heretics. it has to do with the fact of them being in possession of the original stories from where the new testament derived. the imperial, expansionist, euro-roman church condemned many bright out-of-africa scholars as heretics. the ecclesiastical regime wanted a monopoly of the religious narratives which was achieved not by the free will and superior intellectual debate but by force and brutality. so many large libraries were destroyed by ecclesiastical regimes, especially those of north africa church scholars. many scholars believe that the church would never have defeated gnostic movements, if it was not through military force, because they possessed superior knowledge. reading the account of the gnostic movement from the point of view of the church, one encounters so much propaganda and falsehood. some of the propaganda are funny and absurd. origen linked jesus and the story of his death and resurrection with the pre-existing religious sect like that of the dionysian cult. the cult the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 99 of dionysus pre-existed in greece thousands of years before christianity. dionysus’ birth had an annunciation from a divine being, his mother was called the virgin, he was born through immaculate conception, he taught in the temple at the age of twelve, he had twelve disciples, he was crucified on a tree, and he resurrected and is celebrated in paschal mystery with bread and wine. dionysus enjoins his followers to drink his blood and eat his flesh to have life— exactly the same doctrinal translations present in the new testament. we must bear in mind that even the greek dionysus was a copycat of the african/egyptian cult of horus/heru. according to the historian, diodorus, the africans/egyptians mocked the greeks as infantile because when they copied their astro-theology, they made it real history. the egyptian god, set, shetan (satan), for example became the greek god, typhon. if the ancient egyptian priests and philosophers were to come back in our own time, they will mock as absurd so many things that the christians believe today . this is because they would know that the beliefs are mirrors of their ancient astro-theological mythos. the twelve houses of israel were nothing other than the twelve houses of zodiac astrological constellations. it is difficult to prove the actual existence of the twelve tribes of israel. hebrew history scholars are trying to convince us that following the military campaign of the assyrian kings, tiglath-pileser iii (745–727 b.c.e.), shalmaneser v (727–722 b.c.e.) and sargon ii (722–705 b.c.e.), the israelis were permanently deported and from this deportation came the story of the lost tribes. where is the archeological evidence? in the new testament, we see so many fish symbolisms: mathew 4:18-19; mathew14:17-21; mathew 7:9-10; matthew12:40; luke 24:42; john 21-13, and there are many more. the new testament’s allusion to fish connotes zodiac astrology. we were told that jesus fed the people with “two fishes.” anyone who investigates astrological houses will know that pieces is the 12 th sign. it is symbolized by two fish. two thousand years ago, the sun was in the constellation of pieces. it was called the age of pieces or the age of fish which became esoterically coded in the new testament. we were told that hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 100 before the feast of passover (this is not actual history), the israelites were asked to slaughter lambs. if egyptians actually lost every first male child in the last plague, how come they did not record it? how come there were no further records of it by world renounced historians. there is a fragmented piece of archeological document known discovered in egypt called the papyrus ipuwer or the admonitions of ipuwer. many biblical scholars are stating that this is an evidence that the egyptians recorded the famous “hebrew plague.” but in that papyrus, ipuwer who might have been a priest, an official scribe or just a private scribe wrote expressing certain tragedy that took place in the land akin to war tragedy or years of national difficulties. it is irresponsible to conclude that this is a sign that the hebrew sadistic blood thirsty tribal deity, yahweh, was the cause. the slaughtering of lambs as hebrew passover even was an astrological symbolism as well. lamb is the symbol of the zodiac sign of aries. it was a ritual performed in commemoration of the sun leaving the constellation of aries—that is, passing over to a new zodiac house—that of pieces. it is to mark the ending of an old age and the beginning of a new zodiac era. we also see that jesus was described feeding the people with fish. this description is purely esoteric because at that time, the sun was in pieces constellation. it takes the sun about 25,000 years to complete its procession through the twelve zodiac houses. when the sun moves into a new zodiac constellation house, it affects earth’smagnetosphere. there have been geomagnetic changes recorded in history due to solar procession through the different consolations. new solar frequencies will trigger the human genetic mutations and dna updates and people will evolve. there is no doubt that the sun is the major source of genetic evolution of man. if there is a solar flare or solar storm, plasma, solar waves and photons are discharged throughout the space. the earth’s ozonosphere will filter radioactive solar materials but will also permit certain passages throughout planet through different electromagnetic frequencies. it is because we are dumb that we condemn the ancient when they venerate the sun. the sun is an active intelligence and it is what activates the code of dna without this biosphere. the age of the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 101 pieces is gone. this age was characterized by blind belief systems and rigid religious rituals. with the sun moving into the current aquarius constellation, we will notice changes in the structure of the human society. blind religious belief will decline drastically. people will want to know and not just believe. science, inner reflection, selfawareness, liberation from religious dogmas is going to override simplistic will, override religious mass mind-controls. institutionalism and traditionalism will decline. in the gospel of st. luke 22:10, the pseudo-epigraphical writer(s) made us believe that jesus said the following: (he said to them) “behold, when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. follow him into the house that he enters.” this statement is purely a coded esoteric symbolism, alluding to the sun’s procession through the zodiac houses. remember, from the age (house) of aries, the sun moved to the age (house) of pieces. then the next solar age is the age of aquarius. so jesus was referring to the “aquarius mam.” the word aquarius means “water carrier.” if one researches the symbol of aquarius, it is depicted in all ancient astrological pictographic murals as a man carrying a water pitcher and pouring the water content down. the symbol of the pouring is the “the new spirit’ or dna update or activation. jesus told them to follow this man into his “house.” each zodiac constellation is called by all ancient scripts as “a house.” jesus was esoterically telling them that the great age of pieces in which they were in (symbolized by two fish) will soon end after in about 2000 years. he then pointed them to follow the next age, the age of aquarius symbolized in ancient paintings as a man carrying a water jar. in the grand scheme of things, we are currently in the age of aquarius. any astronomical scientist will tell you that the sun is now entering the constellation of aquarius and will remain there for the next 2000 years plus before it moves to the next which is the constellation of sagittarius. this is why the church does not want people to study astrology and they vilify it as occultic or evil to frighten the people. this is because a sound knowledge of astrology hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 102 will expose so many information hidden from the ordinary people. the term “holy bible” tells it all. it is greek words for “helios byblos” which literarily means “sun book” or the book of the sun. consequently, the book if full of zodiac symbolism, sun worships and the whole compendium of ancient esoteric astrological events. many bible scholars have never known that there were so many other messianic figures that predate the christian doctrinal theology. jesus’ story of annunciation, virgin birth, teaching in the temple at the age of twelve, performing miracle, betrayal, crucifixion on a cross and resurrection had the exact repeated pattern of these other historical personages as chronicled in these other sacred texts. who copied from whom? and why are they hiding it from the people and scaring people from finding out? christianity is very new and recent compared to others. there is a lot of historicizing of astro-mythology in the new testament, including the story of jesus. my interest in this work is to awaken a critical discussion on a topic which many apologetic bible scholars shy away from. many bible teachers assume the story of the bible are facts and thus, need no investigation. and, when some actually investigate, they keep to the status quo by subliminally evading the consequences of their research entirely. my sole purpose here is to investigate the african identify of the character identified in the bible as moses. i could not have done this without preparing readers to have at the back of their minds, that a lot of things written in the bible were not facts. there is higher probability that moses, if indeed he existed, was of african bloodline. thus, before accusing me of having an afro-centric view of the bible, take time to investigate thoroughly any evidence that i will be raising herein. knowledge of the great ancient african nile river civilization as one of the major civilizations that shaped humanity’s theological conceptions is important. majority of people who read the bible do not have access to extra-biblical material facts or sources to compare with the stories they are reading and believing. thus, a lot of people, including prominent bible teachers, are prone to digesting the bible with acute historiographical, historiological and metaphysical the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 103 blunders. when religious gaffe translates into metaphysical dogmas, the result could be profound mass delusion. orthodox theological establishment could serve as a fertile ground for mass folie-a-deux as well as anti-fact religious movement. there is need for an authentic epistemo-cognitive praxeology in the examination of the historical claims of all religious documents. hellenism and the name egypt when reading the bible, one comes across names like egypt and egyptians. another name which is used in the old testament to refer to egypt is mizraim (genesis 10:13). however, the fact remains that the people and the place being referenced to as egypt or the egyptians were africans. these africans did not identify themselves with such names as egypt of egyptians. so, what did the socalled egyptians call themselves? before delving into this question, let’s look at what led to foreigners’ re-naming of africa land as egypt. there were historical factors that led to the decline and eventual collapse of the great nile river civilization of egypt (africa). the name ‘egypt’ came as a result of greek invasion. before the greeks invaded, there were the assyrians, the persians, the hyksos, etc. each of these invasions vulturized the black land and its civilization. alexander the great, son of philip of macedon, arrive in africa with his army in 332 b.c. by this period, the land had already been weakened militarily, culturally and economically. the egyptian global influence had waned. the great african pharaohhood had been compromised. this led to the hellenic foreigners forcing themselves into the pharaohic thrown of the africans beginning in 334 b.c. the first hellenic coronation introduced a new era called the ptolemy dynasty. greek invaders even started changing the name of the african god and imposing their own version. for instance, they created the cult of oserapis. the image of oserapis would later become the iconic picture of jesus christ painted and kept in homes all over the world— continued imperialism of the mind of the indo-european and angloamerican psychological warfare. the ptolomy kings confined the hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 104 word ‘oserapis’ from eclectically combining two names of egyptian deities, osiris and apis (also known as hapi). with the greek take over came the re-naming of africans, their lands and their culture. the african city of men-nefer was misnamed by the greek as memphis. this city was where the temple of the god, ptah, resided. ptah was the same creator-god that would later emerge in the hebrew creation myth as the creator-deity of the garden of eden myth. this is a replica of memphite theological construct. the temple of ptah, situated in memphis, was called by the african people of the time “hikuptah,” which could translate as ‘house of the soul of ptah.’ eventually, the greeks started calling the entire city of memphis, aigyptos, which is a mispronounced, hellenized and misunderstood word for hikuptah. it is from aigyptos that we have the name egypt. from calling the city of memphis aigyptos, they proceeded further to apply the name to the entire land. similarly, the greek used to call africans αἰθίοψ, aithiop (ethiop) which meant “burnt face” or black face, a name that now becomes identified specifically with ethiopia. due to the re-naming of place and erasing of ancient identities, it is difficult to contextualize history in its purity. we read books and watch movies. we see how anglo-america’s powerful cinematographic mind-controller—the hollywood has produced multiple movies and books in which egyptians and their people are depicted with caucasian or arabic features. i still have to reiterate this fact to many of my non-african friends that egypt is in africa. many africans who read the bible are unaware of the level of mind-control they are dealing with. one will be surprised to find out that majority of bible readers do not know that mount sinai, which was significant in the story of moses and the exodus, is in africa as well. the name ‘sinai’ has an etymological derivative from the sumerian word sin. sin is a moon deity (natan, 2006). this deity was very popular throughout the mesopotamian region in ancient times. sin is the father of the sun god, shamash. innana is the mother of shamash. inanna took different names in different cultures, such as anat, ishtar, venus, asherah, and astarte, isis and, in the modern time, the virgin mary. all named goddesses are referred to as “the the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 105 queen of heaven.” the cult of goddesses was a universal occurrence. these goddesses have luna crescent as symbols. many pictures virgin mary have her standing with her feet resting on a crescent moon; the same ancient coded esoteric imagery of the ancient mother goddess. often they are seen carrying a baby or nursing a baby who is the “sun god” or “son of god.” this is why virgin mary is often drawn standing on a crescent moon. so mount sinai is obviously associated with the concept of the mountain of the moon god. sin, with his female companion innana, engendered as son, the sun god shamash. what did the egyptians call themselves? but what did the africans who established one of the greatest civilizations around the nile river call themselves? they identified themselves with the word kmt or kemet, which means ‘black land,’ indicating the colour of the people who lived there. whether you call it kemet, chem or chemi, they are the same and mean black. the word chemistry is etymologically derived from the ancient african name, chem or kemet. the arabic word kimiya, probably with a greek derivation, means black. it is from this arabic word that the word alchemy comes . alchemy initially was an advanced african ‘magical’ formula of transforming base matter into pure gold. the term ‘black magic’ is used today in a derogatory way. but the term originally stood for the ancient african (chem) knowledge of advanced science. it literarily means ‘african science.”. the indoasiatic/indo-aryans called it ‘black magic’ because it was the science of the ancient (black, kmt, chem) africans. black magic, in its original meaning, did not mean evil, as we have been brainwashed to believe. it used to refer to certain knowledge of quantum physics and how to manipulate etheric energy forms to create solutions within the visible spectrum of light. for instance, black magic is not different from the science of manipulating radio waves in the electromagnetic spectrum in order to receive telephone, television and radio signals. black magic/black science is the ancient african knowledge and application of the law of physics and the quantum realm. it was the hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 106 ignorance of the indo-asiatic and indoeuro-aryanists that termed it “black magic.” they called it magic because they did not understand it. today, many africans use the term “black magic,” not understanding that it is a self-mockery. it is equivalent to calling the use of radio wave frequency to make telephone calls “white magic.” moses as an african was very versed in the egyptian alchemical black magic—advanced knowledge of the invisible realms and how they interact with the visible light spectrum. these are advanced knowledge. where did the egyptians originate from? the current people in north africa who are called egyptians are not the descendants of the original historical egyptians. these were recent invaders who spread to africa from arabia. the original inhabitants of the land of the pharaohs were blacks. for some racist europeans who claim that egyptian civilization is not an african civilization, the great scholar, dr. ben-jochannan (1989), disagrees. according to him, the egyptians themselves attested to the fact of whom they are and where they came from. he cited an excavated papyrus containing funerary rites belonging to an ancient egyptian (african) called hunefer. in this priced archeological document, the egyptians made it clear that “we came from the beginning of the nile where god hapi dwells, at the foothill of the mountain of the moon.” this referenced mountain of the moon is not the same as mount sinai described above. rather this is in reference to a mountain range in east africa, kenya and uganda and the democratic republic of congo. mount kilimanjaro is in kenya. mount ruwenzori is between uganda and the democratic republic of congo. my curiosity was alerted when the egyptians identify the god, hapi, with the mountain of the moon in africa. hapi is one of the oldest gods on the planet. so, the egyptians were also attesting to their pre-history as being authentically african. hapi/api is the god of the annual flooding. we know for certain that the nile river in egypt has its origin in east africa. the ugandan word for the ruwenzori is “rain maker.” i am just curiously making a connection between the ugandan word describing the mountain of the moon “ruwenzori” with “rain’ and the egyptians identity the god the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 107 who dwell in the same region with annual flooding (rain). to any racist who is in denial, hunefer’s papyrus is a strong piece of historical evidence of the african origin of egyptian civilization. the egyptologist, robert bauval and his colleague thomas brophy, published their work under the title of: black genesis: the prehistoric origins of ancient egypt in which they made it clear that egyptian civilization, with their highly advanced technological prowess, was an authentic black african civilization. the name moses: etymological exposition the egyptian word ‘ms’ or “msi” (mose) passed from its greek linguistic hellenization to its present construct, moses. the hebrew word , transliterates as mosheh (moses). hebrew language has the word, which is different from for those who have at least some elementary understanding of hebrew. if you have basic knowledge of hebrew, you will notice diacritical differences in both words. the word, transliterates as mashah. mashah literarily implies “to draw.” therefore, a correlation between mashah and mosheh was somehow falsely established (thanks to the nameless egyptian princess). this correlation was crafted to justify moses’ nonafrican or rather assumed hebraic bloodline. greenberg (2008) is among the researchers who reject this engineered cut-and-join explanation. sigmund freud (1939) of psychoanalytic theory, himself a jew, rejected the hasty correlation of mashah and mosheh as well. freud exposed a biblical fallacy hiding in plain sight. he stated that it is very “nonsensical” to believe that an egyptian princess had good knowledge of hebrew linguistic and cultural etymologies as shown in her naming of baby moses. biblical narrator states thus: “she (pharaoh’s daughter) named him moses, saying i drew him out of the water” exodus 2:8). this is a huge red flag. if the story is true, the egyptian princess must have been a hebrew scholar or linguist. she must have lived in hebraic culture to know their language and naming rituals. this is very unlikely. if the hebrews were salves in egypt (it is not very certain), one must also believe that a princess will not copy hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 108 the inferior culture of the slaves. it is the other way round; the slaves will learn the superior culture of their enslavers and masters. this is much like assuming that president trump’s daughter, ivanka, found an abandoned yoruba (nigerian tribe) baby from a poor immigrant labourer floating in the mississippi river in the southern part of usa and gave him an authentic yoruba name, eniolorunopa and then proceeded further to provide a solid cultural etymology to the name as meaning “the one whose life god will spare.” the first mistake is clean. it is very unlikely that ivanka would understand a single word in yoruba language. as a highly placed princess of his father, living in super affluence, interacting with the world’s most powerful people, it is highly unlikely that she spends time socializing with poor common workers, let alone learning their language and understanding specific linguistic and cultural meanings. then, compare this to the claim attributed to the egyptian princess and do the math. the drama of naming of moses by pharaoh’s daughter was a façade, a historical fabrication, and a lie. the process of converting moses from his african root into a hebrew was gradual. as described above, we saw that the greeks invaded and controlled the entire levant region, foisting their colonial culture over the people. hellenistic elites translated the original hebrew-stolen african name mose (mosheh) to mosis; then from greek mosis to our popularly adopted anglicized (english) translation, moses. in ancient egypt, the word “ms” means “is born.” the hebraic corruption of this name is obvious for any scholars who can look deep enough. hebraic plagiarized version is a mockery to egyptian child-naming culture. egyptians would not just name a child “ms” or moses. for instance, in igbo (nigerian tribe) language, chukwubuike (god is strength) could be corrupted as “buike,” which translates as “is strength.” igbos do not just name a child “buike.” a non-igbo who decides to plagiarize the name “buike” and impose such a name on his/her child has committed an epistemological error for those who understand igbo cultural and linguistic root. the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 109 the above analogy provides a picture of the hebrew corruption of the egyptian word “ms” (mose). there is usually a prefix to the name mose. egyptians give their children names, such as: amenmose (amen-moses), which means the god amen is born; tutmose (tut/thot-moses), the god tut or thot is born; ramses (ra/re moses), the god ra (sun god) is born; ptahmose (ptah-moses), the god ptah is born; ahmose (ah/aa/iah-moses), the moon (god) is born, etc. in his book, history of egypt, breasted (1905), the famous egyptologist, re-echoed similar hebraic plagiarism of egyptian babynaming style. he translated the word “mose” to mean “a child” is born. breasted indicated that amen-mose could also stand for “amena-child” (is born). that is, the god, amen (as a child) has been born. to understand this psychology of child naming, i would like to invoke the new testament in the gospel of st. mathew (1:23). the hebrew has the following equivalent english alphabetical transcription: -yi/, -ma/ -nu/ אל-el) pronounced y’manu-el or emanuel, el standing for god as in (el’ohim. the hebrew word, as translated in the new testament following isaiah’s prophesy, means “god is with us.” so, when the egyptians name a child amenmose(s), for instance, they are alluding to divine incarnation through the birth of a child. it means god has manifested in the named newborn child. it is worth noting here that it is the same egyptian god “amen” deity that christians and muslims invoke at the end of prayer when they say “amen,” indicating that all religions came out of the mystery systems, particularly from egypt. church fathers have plagiarized an enormous number of documents from ancient egyptian astro-theologies and deities. the church destroyed, through years of persecution and death, any documents that would expose origin of their significant theological personalities and doctrinal constructions. coming back to our central topic, sigmund freud contends that the bearer of egyptian name, in this case moses, is egyptian. although, to be intellectually fair, bearing of any name from any culture does not necessarily make one part of that culture, as it might just imply cultural adoption, appropriation, or assimilation. however, there are other factors which provide concrete evidence of moses being an hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 110 egyptian and not hebrew. the problem is that some read the bible as though it is some scientific historical facts, thus, locking their minds out of any authentic extra-biblical accounts of history. another possible evidence of moses being a true egyptian and not hebrew could be deciphered in exodus (4:10): moses said to the lord, “pardon your servant, lord. i have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. i am slow of speech and tongue.” interpretations of this verse often allude to him as being a stammerer, as in verbal impediment. but this could mean that moses was explaining that he was not familiar with hebraic language, culture, and the entire social psychology of the population he planned to lead out of egypt. he could not speak the language. he did not understand them. they were not in the same social, educational, or statutory psychology. moses belonged to the egyptian elite. it could mean that as a highly placed scholar, highly learned it would be hard to speak to the understanding of mostly illiterate agrarian community and convey a revolutionary philosophy (in this case, monotheism, which i will come to shortly) to them. he needed an intermediary. someone who was part of and used to the lower class since aaron provided a way out. for instance, imagine a harvard super-elite scholar, who works with the world’s superpower president and government all his life, born into wealth, never been close to, nor understands rural village life or the psychology of poor people. imagine such a person coming back to an impoverished people in rural village, trying to get them to abandon their way of life and to follow him and study quantum physics. that was how it was for moses, if we follow the trend of the story. the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 111 the appropriation of moses’ african identity in the book of exodus chapter 2, pharaoh’s daughter provided an account of moses’ identity. when subjected to exegetical contextualization, this account is false. many bible scholars never questioned why chroniclers of this biblical birth event omitted the specific name of the egyptian princess who supposedly rescued abandoned baby moses from the nile river. this pharaoic princess (who has no name) went on and testified regarding moses’s identity thus: “this is one of the hebrew babies” (vs 6). the psychology of this statement has a hideous intent. those who can read in between the line can detect the lies. bible writers were carefully emphatic and specifically descriptive in linking the messianic type moses with hebraic root. within this emphasis is a covert implant of fabricated falsehood. the reason was that they were trying to claim the child, so that through him they could manufacture a historical narrative that justifies an existence of a people belonging to a deity who supposedly orders the making of that historical narrative. prehistoric israel is non-existent. extra-biblical, genetic, archaeological and paleontological evidences do not support the existence of prehistoric israel. the great african scholar, cheikh anta diop (see, civilization or barbarism), explains that there is a “paleontological vacuum” to the notion of garden of eden origin of humanity. he further states that the levant region was once populated by negroids. there was a time when the entire planet was populated by negroid humanity, according to diop. there was no mongoloid and no caucasoid. if this, and the science of mitochondrial dna, is true, it is an assault on human intelligence to credit the creation of man by a group of extra-terrestrial space-invading elohim beings in the garden of eden somewhere in the middle east. diop confirms with biological science that all other shades of racial colours results from the synthesis of vitamin d through the sun’s ultraviolent frequency. paleontologists have been able to establish that the oldest anatomically modern human such as australopithecus afarensis came from africa, that is, assuming that darwin’s evolutionary theory is hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 112 true. the british paleontologist, professor louis leaky (1903 – 1972), attested to an african origin of modern humanity. a critical mind would have been asking by now, if humanity existed in africa millions of years before the garden of eden creation, why have theologians continued to promote garden of eden fairy tale. because the negroid has always existed on the planet before any other race, the goal of many history creators of the past has always been to fabricate a narrative that supports historical emergence of certain people on this planet. in so doing, where facts are lacking, religious myths fill in the gap. let us return to pharaoh’s daughter’s false testimony that moses was a hebrew child. the false testimony was put into the mouth of this nameless egyptian princess by the religious elites and scholars of the bible. we see a similar birth story preexisting in akkadia, samaria. the story of sargon of akkad had exact birth circumstances with moses and it is questionable if chroniclers of moses birth did not plagiarize sagon’s messianic symbolism, including his mysterious birth and miraculous survival by being rescued from the rivers by a maiden. narrator(s) of moses’ birth reported that pharaoh’s daughter named the child, moses, saying, “i drew him out of the water.” thus, they succeeded in making pharaoh’s daughter to provide a pseudo etymology of the name moses. the decipherment of egyptian hieroglyph has provided an understanding of the historical morphology of the name, moses. in any case, it is non-hebraic and has never been. it is rather african, egyptian. there is a deceptive reason as to why bible writers used the general term, pharaoh, when discussing egyptian kings. pharaoh is not a name of a person; it is rather a position, an office, much like the office of the president. if bible chroniclers had mentioned specific names of individual pharaohs and periods of their reigns, it would have been easy to unearth the complicated inaccuracies of biblical reports when fact-checked against extra-biblical authentic historical records. the fact that they did not shows a hideous intention. for instance, any honest historian would be filled with rage, reading the enter four the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 113 hundred years of african slavery in america, without specific mention of specific president during specific time. if between 1648 and 1863, a group of scholars were chronicling african slavery in america, and instead of identifying specific names of individuals occupying the office of the president, they resorted to using the world “the president,” how would that history be. by using the name pharaoh, this is what scholars who wrote the bible did—cover their tracks. granted, they mentioned one or two specific names of pharaoh but that is about it. therefore, it is difficult to double-check reports of biblical events such as the plagues, with actual factual written histories by the egyptians themselves. it appears bible writers knew their tricks ahead of time and that they were trying to hide the nonexistence of the ancient history which they had invented. why did moses and his followers leave egypt? it was not any deity commanding moses to get out of egypt. a civil war broke out due to religio-ideological factions. moses was following a new revolutionary teaching--the monotheism. this teaching was invented and promoted by the pharaoh akhenaten. pharaoh akhenaton (circa 1353 b.c to 1336 b.c) reigned during egypt’s 18th golden dynasty. he was the pharaoh amenophis iv, but took up the name akhenaton after his spiritual awakening that led him to invent monotheism. akhenaton stood out prominent in history. many people, based on the hebrew bible, attribute universal monotheism to the hebrew deity javhe (yahweh). this demonstrates lack of knowledge of the egyptian history. moses, having been under pharaoh akhenaton, was only an ambassador to pharaoh’s universal religious doctrine. sigmund freud established an inseparable dependence of the jewish concept of monotheism on that of the monotheistic emergence out of egyptian history. when akhenaten died, moses was promoting his monotheistic teaching. it was a radical shift in the human concept of self and the divine—a shift towards the left-brain hemisphere, involving cognitive abstraction. prior to akhenaton, gods were represented all over egypt hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 114 and, in fact, all over the world in anthropomorphic imageries, concrete symbols, visual pictographs, statues, zoomorphism, etc. this approach uses the famine right-brain hemisphere of conceptualizing reality. akhenaton destroyed statues of the gods causing so much controversy. he was the first human in history to invent monotheism, not moses. moses was just his advanced imitate servant. monotheism, for the people of that era, was a mathematical abstract concept. it was unnatural to them, unheard of. akhenaton’s new religion condemns representing god in visual images, only abstract universal concept. we can see, historically, that once monotheism got hold of humanity, the art of writing became alphabetical and no longer pictographic. akhenaton’s destroying of the statues of the gods did not go well with the priests and local political establishments. he was hated and they wanted him dead and gone. one could rationally understand why moses was hesitant in proceeding with his akhenaton-driven monotheistic mission. after the death of akhenaton, it was almost suicidal for him to continue to promote monotheism in a society that hated the pharaoh and all he stood for. egypt was polytheistic, and the powerful establishment wanted it remain so. for moses to continue to promote and practices belief in a single universal god, he had to leave the land with all his akhenaton followers. akhenaton died in his seventeenth year of reign as pharaoh. for his role in disturbing and offsetting the established political, religious and social status quo, he was disliked in egypt. after his death, egyptian elites sought to erase his memory from history. the city he founded, amarna, was destroyed and abandoned. his monuments and status were destroyed. his image was defaced on public buildings. thus, his reputation suffered within the egyptian society. sigmund freud’s research work placed moses as living in the time of akhenaton. the religion of monotheism which moses gave to a group of people he led out of egypt is akhenaton’s religion of aten. akhenaton redirected the motion of history and thinking by initiating an act that was considered treasonable. what he did was unheard of in the annals of egyptian history and the world of the ancient time. the the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 115 old testament’s psalm 104 was originally akhenaton’s composition known as hymn to aten, the one god he promoted. expulsion of moses and his rebellious group from africa (egypt) there are scanty extra-biblical accounts of exodus. the only evidence for exodus is the book of exodus. biblical historians and archeologists are still wondering how come there is no archeological evidence of the israelites’ wandering in the desert for forty years through the mountains and deserted places. there is no artifacts, no focalized human bones nothing. the event did not take forty years as alluded. this paucity of materials makes it somewhat easy to gesticulate that exodus’ of the hebrews out of egypt was nothing but dramatic mythic creation. however, the few extra-biblical egyptian records show series of events which indicate possible mass exodus. freud placed exodus out of egypt around 13 th century b.c. he explained the sequence of anarchic events chronicled by egyptians themselves which might indicate civil unrest and mass movement. egyptian pharaonic chroniclers did not appear to identify any pharaohs ruling egypt at this period. this might be due to the fact that egypt was under what we consider today as military decrees. it was the time of the strong egyptian military tactician, haremhab /horemheb. haremhab’s military strength ended the civil unrests. the great scholar, greenburg (2008), dated exodus out of egypt to be 1315 b.c., following the death of haremhab. greenburg concluded that moses would have been born in 1395 b.c. and may have been about eighty years old during exodus. exodus were rebellious sects sent out due to a new religious concept. the jewish historian, josef ben matityahu popularly known by his roman adopted names flavius josephus, commenting on the work of another historian called manetho, stated that moses might have been known by the name osarseph. monetho, according to josephus, reported that moses organized a mass rebellion of the oppressed leprosy-ridden population against the egyptian authority. this account indicated that osarseph caused trouble for some years until he was driven out of egypt into canaan--the same land the israelites were hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 116 said to have settled in after leaving egypt. as indicated above, many egyptologists conclude that the exodus occurred in the period following the death of the revolutionary pharaoh akhenaton. sigmund fraud (1939) confirmed this in his brilliant work on monotheism thus: “all conditions, internal and external, favoring the exodus coincide only in the period immediately after the death of the heretic kind.” a form of civil war erupted in egypt. the status quo, now emboldened by akhenaton’s death, would no longer put up with monotheism. moses was having a serious hard time promoting akhenaton’s monotheistic religion. as an ardent believer in akhenaton’s “one god” view of the world, he no longer had a place within the highly polytheistic social, cultural and political system. thus, this was the beginning of exodus. many scholars conclude that the people who were expelled from egypt were native egyptian rebels in which moses was the leader—not hebrews. egyptology vs biblical history with the advent of egyptology, we are beginning to have extrabiblical information relative to some events chronicled in the bible. as i have pointed out above, the egyptian myth provides insightful back-story into the stories chronicled in both the old and the new testaments. one can state, with strong conviction, that the egyptian astro-theological myth, in addition to so many other astromythologies, is what informed the entire bible. to claim to understand the bible, without a sound understanding of pre-existing astro-theologies, is tantamount to claiming to be a car engineer without being able to account for the specific inner components of a car engine. astrological twelve houses of the zodiac were converted, by hebraic religious scholars, as the symbolic number 12 which continued to reappear throughout the bible. if biblical stories are factual historical events, then we can conclude that the major players, evidently, learned whatever they knew and wrote from africa i.e. egypt. abraham was from the land of ur in chaldea (genesis 11:28). chaldea is the modern-day iraq. my critical mind never ceases to ponder on the absurdity as to how come a full-blooded babylonian man (abraham) became the first hebrewspeaking guy. the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 117 if chronology of the bible is a fact, we were informed that abraham migrated to the land of mizraim, i.e. africa, specifically egypt. he married an african woman and followed the ancient egyptian custom of circumcision. later, biblical myth-makers would claim this ancient african custom of circumcision as hebraic. but african (egyptian) records discredit such ridiculous claims. we also see that the hebrew scribes created a story in which joseph ended up in egypt (genesis, 37:28). thus, this was how they carefully got the character of moses carefully interwoven into the history of egypt and later made him a hebrew messianic figure (exodus 2). the new testament is not complete without egyptian association. the pseudo-epigraphic writers of the new testament created a typology between the old joseph, who was sold into slavery, and the new joseph, who became the surrogate father of jesus. this typology creates an obvious covert psychological game called typology. the two josephs had a persecutory type connection. the first joseph was persecuted and sold by his brothers to egypt. the second joseph fled from palestine, out of persecution, with baby jesus. this is an advanced psychological operation. anyone who read both stories would make subconscious association and, thus, deep subconscious validation of the latter story, without even being consciously aware of it. again, they have to like a history to egypt because egypt was the light of the work. jesus was also in egypt. thus, egypt was cardinal in the historical mythologies found in both the new testament and the old testament. what did all these people learn from egypt when they were there? we know that a latter-day myth took the story of heru, the egyptian god, and made it theirs. heru was the son of god; there was annunciation and immaculate conception. he was born on december 25, taught in the temple at the age of twelve, had twelve disciples, engaged in public ministry in his 30s, worked miracle, was betrayed, and killed and rose again. new testament writers are quite aware of this preexisting story and it surely informed their thought process. sumerology is another area of studies that has provided much information as to the origin of some of the prominent biblical stories. for instance, the creation of man in genesis, the deluge and the hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 118 covenant were all lifted by hebraic scholars from the original sumerian stories. the first massive contact of hebrews with advanced babylonian philosophies, myths and cosmologies came during the exile of 597 b.c. – 538 b.c. it is naïve, blindness and uncritical adherence to religious traditions that made the materialist, karl marx, voice out his dialectical mockery of religious beliefs as being synonymous with “opium” addiction. mental health professional will tell you that opiates are neurodepressant. opiate absorption causes adverse bio-synaptic impact on the neurotransmitters in such a way that individuals exhibit an altered state of consciousness. opiate has chemical substances that literally put coherency and cognition to sleep. it creates a sense of false euphoria. karl marx, though blatantly anti-religion, presented his historical “opium of the masses” mockery with communist propaganda. his agenda being to replace transcendental beliefs and worship of god(s) with belief in and worship of the almighty state god, the communist state. nevertheless, one must not deny the fact that fundamentalism in religion could tranquilize the mind into a state of excitatory delirium to the extent that any facts outside the scriptural canon becomes instantaneously trashed into the mental delete bin. this sort of cognitive ejection of truth and extra-biblical facts, by religious fundamentalists and their fanatical factions, has led materialists, like richard dawkins, to write a book titled “the god delusion.” how oold is the bible? the bible is not as old as many would want to believe. some consider genesis creation history a factual history. this is such a monumental cognitive error. there is no evidence of the existence of israel/the hebrews in terms of nationhood prior to the 13 th b.c. the concept “the land of israel” is a modern creation through a forceful but systematically induced evolution of religio-national identify by certain rabbinical and euro-christian planners. the historical process that went into the formation of the concept “the land of israel” is clearly elucidated by shlomo sand, in his eye-opening book, the invention of the land of israel: from holy land to homeland. the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 119 there is no extra-biblical evidence anywhere, no archaeology, no paleontology, nothing pointing to ancient (prehistoric) israel. there is no existing record of any scriptural texts earlier than the 4 th century b.c. we have account of written histories at this period from other nations and cultures, but israel/hebrew nation cannot be found. none of these advanced nations with elaborate written culture mentioned hebrew nation in their official or unofficial chronologies. some argue the pre-existence of oral history which later was translated into written document (pentateuch). let us assume that was the case. this would mean that oral history was transmitted for over a thousand years accurately before being written down in scripts. how possible is this? even if oral history existed, they were legends, myths, fabricated hero deifications and religio-philosophical speculations. the pre-existing pentateuchal scripts were not fully developed until late 6 th century b.c. bible writers collected divergent narratives which they used to fashion a comprehensive history. this mishmash of divergent scripts created a big chronological, epistemological, metaphysical and historical discrepancies. this led scholars to study and isolate the multiple sources of biblical composition. one needs to understand that there was a team of religious intellectuals who came together and compiled divergent accounts and myths into a centralized form, the pentateuch. scholars noticed that pentateuch utilized different names to refer to god, implicating different eras, styles, mindsets, textual contents, compositions, and timelines. during the 19 th century a.d., scholars exposed these sources and identified them by letters, such as: the j source which referred to god as yahweh; the e source which used the name elohim, the third is the p source named due to its ritualistic priestly nature and, finally the d source (deuteronomist) which is limited to the book of deuteronomy. the j scripts creators appeared to have composed theirs between 922 b.c. to 722 b.c.; e source between 848b.c. to 722 b.c.; p between 722b.c. to 600b.c. and d is sometime around 622 b.c. hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 120 following king cyrus of persia’s conquest of babylon in 539 bce, he (cyrus) granted freedom to the jews to return to the land from where they were taken and to rebuild the temple which was previously destroyed by king nebuchadnezzar. many years later, the jews again fell under colonial hellenism. the greeks conquered the entire levant region, including egypt. at this time, they foisted certain brand of kingship over their subjects, called the ptolemy dynasty, as i have described somewhere above. it was the ptolemy ii philadelphia (282—246 b.c.) who forced hebrew sacred scripture to be translated into greek. the greek translated version of the hebrew bible is known as the septuagint. septuagint means “the seventy’. this name came about because the named greek king selected a group of seventy hebrew religious scholars, believed to be members of the essene (group of ascetic, esoteric religious practitioners and intellectuals), and forced them to translate their sacred scriptures from hebrew to greek. reason was that as a colonizing force, greek was a universal language to the colonizers, much as english is today. so, greek rulers wanted to liberalize the knowledge contained in the hebrew scripture and make it available for studies for everyone. anyone who understands the religious history of the hebrews and their reverence for their deity yahweh/elohim will understand that this request to translate their scripture in into greek was an abomination. the original document from where the greek translation was derived was not preserved. scholars believe that the group of seventy hebrews who provided the translation gave a deceptive/false interpretation account in greek. they did not want to provide accurate knowledge of their sacred text and the god to greek heathens with their ungodly hellenistic imperialism. in the year 382 a.d., st. jerome was assigned by pope damasus to translate from the greek septuagint into latin for the catholic church. the romanized imperial church fathers were known for creating a form of rational syncretism between jesus’ teaching and greek intellectual/rational philosophical worldview. jerome’s translation is known as the catholic vulgate. in the late 13 th century, john wycliffe, an english scholar, attempted to translate the catholic the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 121 vulgate version into the english language. this attempted latin to english translation was later improved by a man known as william tyndale, another english scholar, during the 15 th century a.d. william tyndale’s version was where king james bible version derived from. king james of england summoned over forty of his scholars and asked them to translate the bible in his name because he fell out of favour with the authoritarian catholic church at the time over some dogmatic altercations regarding polygamous lifestyle. king james version of the bible was supervised under the all-seeing eyes of some secret society. we know this because francis bacon (1561 – 1626) edited the bible. francis bacon was a high initiate in the rosicrucian secrete society. that explained why king james version of the bible is one of the most corrupt and inaccurate translations— misguided translation. it is specifically sympathetic to europe and the church of england, just like the entire new testament, especially the epistles, was a roman psychological operation. many things written there are very sympathetic to the imperial colonizing roman government—like slaves obey your master; if a man slaps you on one cheek, turn the other one; if someone asks you to carry his luggage for a mile, go two miles; and your pay tax. any jewish scholar will tell you that the new testament was a tool of the imperial rome for mind-control and to neutralize the possibility of the jewish messianic uprising and revolution. the romans had hard times dealing with the maccabean revolt and they had to find away to destroy the strict jewish religion. that is why many writers of the new testament will never be known. they were not meant to be known. so, there continued to be some questions as to if initial greek septuagint bible translation was even accurate to begin with. and there were many scholars lamenting the monumental corruption in biblical translations down through history. we know this by the publication of cardinal ximenes in 1515 a.d titled the polyglot of paris (paris polyglot). he compared all the historical versions and reported all the biblical translations to be in error. antonio fabre d’olivet (1767 1825) also published a work titled hebraic tongue restored. he, like cardinal ximanes, concluded, through his hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 122 extensive work, that all the versions were mistranslated based on poor knowledge of hebraic tongue and culture. the point we are arriving at is that the bible is not as old as millions of people presume, coupled with the acts of historical misunderstandings, mistranslations, and blatant inaccuracies. when biblical history is compared to the entire history of the earth, one could metaphorically state that the bible was written like few minutes ago. the earth is millions of years old. similarly, when biblical history is compared to the history of human civilization, one wonders how such a book can lay claim to knowledge of the beginning of the world and time. the jewish masoretic account vs the christian accounts of creation the jewish masoretic chronological account of creation is the most original of all the other biblical versions, like the sumerian and the septuagint versions. masoretic derives from the word mesorah, which indicates tradition. so masoretic text deals with official rabbinic jewish scholars who were the didactic writers of text in question. according to the masoretic account, the creation of the world is dated to 3761 b.c. the religious revolutionist/revivalist and an ex-augustinian monk, martin luther critically examined the genesis chronology and dated the creation of the world to 3960 b.c. during the 17 th century, archbishop james usher also did a chronological study of creation and he came up with the conclusion that the world was created in 4004 b.c. these scholars were all rock stars in their time, due to the fact that majority of the people did not challenge their religious indoctrination, but accepted myth as facts. if the bible is true, adam died in the year 2831 b.c. at that time in history, africa (egypt) had already had thousands of years of established dynasties. this means one thing: people have existed and created advanced civilization before adam, first human on earth, was even created. and, we are not even talking about the egyptian predynastic period which dates even farther thousands of years back to the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 123 pre-history. the egyptian sacred book, called the book of the coming forth by day and by night was written 3400 years before the hebrew old testament and 4200 older than the new testament (benjachannan, 1995). something does not add up and we do not have to accept concocted history simply because the bible said so. such is for the illogical, uncritical and infantile minds. the fact of the matter is that the old testament is only a few thousand years old. how can a book that is not more than seven thousand years old teach humanity about the history of the planet that is millions of years old? age of the earth in perspective: the geologic timetable the universe is about 16 million years in formation. our solar system is about 10 million years old. paleontologists generally agree that the planet earth, as part of the solar system, came into existence some 4.6 billion years ago. evidence from the fossil indicates that single-celled organism was on this planet some 3.5 million years ago, which were the only form of life on earth. about 630 millions of years ago, multicellular organisms were present on earth. the following is a rough draft of geologic timetable, according modern science: era period years (in millions) prominent animals cenozoic holocene .02 mammoths and mastodons, saber-toothed tigers present on earth pleistocene 2 emergency of australopithecus hominid –homo habilis pliocene 5 emergence of up-right walking primates hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 124 miocene 25 first ape in line of humans such as dryopithecus (ramapithecus) oligocene 38 first appearance of ape-like creature on the planet eocene 55 hoofed mammals present on the planet paleocene 65 appearance of rodent-like multituberculates mesozoic cretaceous 144 dinosaurs and lizards jurassic 213 emergency of gigantic sauropods, like the diplodocus triassic 248 age of reptiles populating the planet permian 286 creatures like finback pelycosaurs the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 125 paleozoic carboniferous 360 amphibians populate the planet devonian 408 emergency of terrestrial arthropods, including wingless insects silurian 438 sea creatures were prevalent at this period ordovician 505 diverse marine invertebrates cambrian 590 emergence of trilobites – aquatic arthropods the ten commandments is copied from the egyptian 42 laws of ma’at in ancient egypt, there was a universal ethical code that was meant to govern all human intentions and behaviours. this code is called the 42 laws of ma’at, the negative confession, or the declaration of innocence. ma’at is the universal principle of righteousness, equity, balance, harmony which ought to govern all humans. ma’at is anthropomorphized as a goddess with a feather planted on her hair. we see this symbolism copied all over the world today, with people putting feathers on their hats. ma’at feather represented purity of heart, sincere intention, truth, justice, honesty, righteousness, etc. so next time you see someone with a feather on their hat or cap, you know it is an ancient symbol of godliness from the african universal mother goddess, ma’at. the egyptians believe the dead will appear hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 126 before a panel of 42 judges, each representing one of the moral principles. everyone will be judged according to if his/her life was in harmony with certain universal laws. for the egyptians, living according to these set of principles means living in harmony not just with the society, but with the entire universe. disharmony with these laws implies chaos and disharmony with all of existence. if anyone wants to have a good live on earth, the egyptians believe he/she must follow these universal codes. moses, having had an elevated position within the egyptian elite, was familiar with these universal ethical codes. many scholars now report that moses copied his decalogue (the ten commandment) from the 42 laws found in egyptian mystery system. below is the egyptian negative confession or 42 laws of ma’at. i implore readers to pay keen attention to the following egyptian universal moral code: african/egyptian 42 law of (the goddess) ma’at: 1. i have not committed iniquity/sin. 2. i have committed robbery with violence. 3. i have not stolen. 4. i have committed murder. 5. i have not defrauded offerings. 6. i have not diminished obligations. 7. i have not plundered the thing that belong to god 8. i have not spoken falsely. 9. i have not snatched away food. 10. i have not caused pain. 11. i have not committed fornication. 12. i have not caused shedding of tears. 13. i have not dealt (with neighbors) deceitfully. 14. i have not transgressed. 15. i have not acted treacherously. 16. i have not laid wasted the ploughed land. 17. i have not eavesdropped. 18. i have not borne false witness against anyone 19. i have not been wrathful for no reason. 20. i have not defiled the wife of any man. the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 127 21. i have not defiled the wife of any man. 22. i have not polluted myself. 23. i have not caused terror. 24. i have not transgressed. 25. i have not consumed with rage. 26. i have not turned my ears against truth and righteousness. 27. i have not caused sorrow. 28. i have not acted with insolence. 29. i have not stirred up strife. 30. i have not judged hastily. 31. i have not committed acts of eavesdropping 32. i have not exaggerated my words. 33. i have not done neither harm nor ill. 34. i have never cussed the king. 35. i have polluted the water. 36. i have not been disdainful in my words. 37. i have not cursed the god (s). 38. i have not stolen. 39. i have not swindled the god (s) of their offerings. 40. i have not plundered the offerings of the blessed dead. 41. i have not stolen food from a child. 42. i have not slaughtered with evil intent the cattle of the god(s). moses’s ten commandments switched from negative confession to positive admonition. instead of “i have not,” moses used “thou shall not.” reader can easily fish out the moral codes of the ten commandments from the above egyptian negative confession or the 42 laws of ma’at. the moral code of the bible can be authoritatively said to come from ancient africa egypt. the biblical ten commandments as copied from the 42 laws of ma’at in egypt 1. thou shalt have no other gods before me. in the original egyptian version, we see respect for god in lines numbers, 37, 39 and 42. many christian and non-christian theologians believe this first biblical code is the origin of hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 128 monotheism. but as i have discussed above, moses’ idea of monotheism came from his association with pharaoh akhenaten, who was the first to make a law abolishing polytheism and uphold the worship of only one god. moses’ association with this radical pharaoh has been established by egyptologist and historians. 2. thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image. the second biblical law is also of egyptian origin. refer to earlier discussion on akhenaton’s abolishment of every engagement and physical representation of the gods in any form. monotheism was not moses invention. he was only continuing akhenaton’s religious revolution. 3. thou shalt not take the name of the lord thy god in vain. refer to the egyptian version above in lines, 7, 37. this moral code deals with, not defiling, abusing or profaning the name of god. 4. remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. this code could be deciphered from the original egyptian version in lines 37, 39 and 42. 5. honor thy father and thy mother. this code could be decoded from lines 7 and 34 in the above original egyptian version. honoring one’s parents and elders is intrinsically encoded in the african culture; that it is not even a debate. 6. thou shalt not kill. compare this code with the original egyptian version in lines 4, 12, 27 and 33. 7. thou shalt not commit adultery. refer to similarity in the original egyptian lines 20, 21 and 11. the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 129 8. thou shalt not steal. compare with the original egyptian version in lines 2, 3, 5, 38 and 41. 9. thou shalt not bear false witness. compare with the original egyptian version in lines 8, 15, 17, 18, 30, 31,32 and 36. 10. thou shalt not covet. compare this with the original egyptian version in lines 11, 21 and 22. conclusion so much has been stolen from africa— philosophical, religious political and cultural ideologies. it becomes difficult to tell africans that certain things which they assume belong to other races are actually theirs. for instance, the head dress which judges all over the world wear is from africa. it is a symbol of the god, anubis or ampu. many african scholars have shallow indoctrinated information and have not lived up to the expectation of the term “research scholarship.” african scholars are helplessly stuck in pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial histories/societies when it comes to research. they promote redundant researches of transatlantic slave history, poverty and wars. there is no deep exploration of true history and deep scientific knowledge. africa should not overly dwell on the european-induced stereotyped information, such repeated slaveinferiority narrative. there have been few outstanding scholars who have done exceptionally brilliant works in the field of pre-historical and historical research relative to africa. black african diasporas, especially in the western hemisphere, have championed the reinvestigation of african prehistory and history, and have continued to fight to place africa in her proper perspective in history. african history and knowable have been stolen, colonized and re-baptized by other races. for instance, the entire idea of the immaculate conception, virgin birth, a virgin /mother carrying a son-god, the concept of the mother of god, the suffering and death of an incarnate god, the ideas hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 130 of an incarnate god who was tempted, suffered, crucified and rose, the twelve disciple, the twelve (zodiac)houses of israel etc., were present in africa hundreds of years before indo-asiatic civilizations stole such concepts and re-articulated them in their own sacred scriptures and fine-tuned them to their specific cultural psychologies. ancient historians, such as herodotus, erastosthenes, diodorus and plutarch, established the superior antiquity of ancient africa over all others. the assyrians, the persians, the hyksos, the greeks, the turks, the romans, the british, the french and, recently, the arabs were some of the invaders of egypt/north africa. with all these invasions came stealing of african religion, sciences, art forms which are repackaged and given back to africans as a ‘gift of civilization.” no doubt, one continues to see ‘educated africans’ continue to post pictures of a white man in their homes, believing they are jesus and god. this is a hypnotically induced mind-control and a form of mental illness. with all these in mind, one would not be distraught to learn that if moses was an actual historical character, he was an african, and not a hebrew. bibliography cheikh anta diop, civilization or barbarism: an authentic anthropology, lawrence hill books, illinois, 1991 gary greenberg, the moses mystery, pereset press book, ny, 2008 gerald massey, the egyptian book of the dead and the ancient mysteries of amenta , cosimo inc., new york, 2008. james h. breasted, a history of egypt: from the earliest time to the persian conquest, the new era printing co., pa, usa, 1905 john g. jakson, christianity before christ, american atheist press, nj, usa, 2002. john j. jackson, pagan origins of the christian myth, american atheist press, nj, 2010 josef ben-jochannan, a chronology of the bible: challenges to the standard version , black classic press, md 1973 the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 131 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. 2016 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. 2016 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. 2016 kanu, i. a. african traditional folktales as an integrated classroom. sub-saharan african journal of contemporary education research. vol.3 no. 6. pp. 107-118. 2016 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christianmuslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. 2017 hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 132 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. 2017 kanu, i. a. african philosophy, globalization and the priority of ‘otherness’. journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 40-57. 2018 kanu, i. a. african traditional philosophy of education: essays in igwebuike philosophy. germany: lambert publications. 2018 kanu, i. a. igbo-african gods and goddesses. nnadiebube journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 118-146. 2018 kanu, i. a. igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 5983. 2018 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. 2018 kanu, i. a. new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. 2018 the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 133 richard a. scott john r. ward exodus reality: unearthing the real history of moses, identifying the pharaohs and examining the exodus from egypt, the career press, usa, 2014. richard marlow, moses in ancient egypt and the hidden story of the bible, richard darlow, 2006. robert bouval and timothy brophy: black genesis: the prehistoric origins of ancient egypt, bear & company, vermont, usa, 2011. shlomo sand, the invention of the land of israel: from holy land to home land, verso, ny, 2014. sigmund freud, moses and monotheism, vintage books, ny 1939 yoel, natan, moon-o-theism: religion of a war and moon god prophet vol. i of ii , 2006 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 229 african ideologies, human security and peace building: the case of child adoption in igbo communities ohachenu, e. i. phd department of sociology and anthropology nnamdi azikiwe university, awka ifeomaohachenu@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/ rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract childlessness is a major source of insecurity and conflict in most igbo communities. the problems it creates for the childless are both social and psychological. igbo society places a high premium on children. children make for peace and stability n marriages. they serve as assets and assurance for security in old age; and they are generally seen as a blessing not only to the individual parents but also to the society at large. childlessness on the other hand leads to problems b othering on peace and security of individuals in society in the form of marriage instability, mutual suspicion and distrust among couples, lack of peace in the home and in matters pertaining to inheritance and distribution of critical resources including land and property rights. this paper argues the need to promote the practice of child adoption as an urgent step for attaining the needed security, succor and peace for the childless in our society. there were various coping strategies and customary arrangements evolved by various igbo communities in the past to mitigate the human security challenges posed by childlessness. these and other strategies worked perfectly well in pre-capitalist igbo communities but most of them are no more compatible with the changing demands of the modern society. similarly, the modern child adoption processes and methods have tried to address the aforementioned problems of childlessness but their expected impact has been vitiated by the failure to make them homegrown. social institutions, notably the kinship-based institutions provide the necessary social context in which child adoption takes place, and through which human security and peace building are mediated and expressed in these communities. there is therefore the need to bring them into the mainstream of discourse and fashion out ways and means of aligning their operations with the modern system of child adoption. keywords: african, ideologies, peace-building, human security, igbo communities mailto:ifeomaohachenu@yahoo.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 230 introduction childlessness is a major source of insecurity and conflict in most igbo communities. the problems it creates for the childless are both social and psychological. the society places a high premium on children (adenike o. omosun & odeyemi f 2013, nachinab g.t.et al 2019, oladokun, a.et al.2009). children make for peace and stability in marriages. they serve as assets and assurance for security in old age; and they are generally seen as a blessing not only to the individual parents but also to the society at large. childlessness on the other hand leads to problems bothering on peace and security of individuals in society in the form of marriage instability, mutual suspicion and distrust among couples, lack of peace in the home and in matters pertaining to inheritance and distribution of critical resources including land and property rights. there is therefore the need to promote the practice of child adoption as a necessary step to attain the needed security and peace for the childless in our society. conceptual framework african ideology eagleton t. (1991) defines ideology as “the process of production of meanings, signs and values in social life; a body of ideas characteristic of a particular social group or class” perdue (1993) aptly describes it as a mirror and smokescreen reflecting and protecting the objective and material world. its intricacies include legitimations, thought-patterns and mores which are transmitted over time through the daytoday operations of familiar social institutions, customs and traditions. african ideology, therefore, is the theory and practice of african society, theory about its nature and operations. in the context of this paper it specifically refers to african systems of thought, ideas, norms and values which form the basis of social behaviour as it relates to child adoption. human security human security refers to the protection of individuals from harm (anderson-rogers & craword, d. 2018). in the words of the authors of the united nations 1994 human development report: “human security has the characteristic of universality; as it applies to individuals everywhere. they thus defined it as “people’s safety from chronic threats and protection from sudden hurtful disruptions in the patterns of daily life.” (undp 1994). human security means freedom from pervasive threats to https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=omosun%20ao%5bauthor%5d https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=omosun%20ao%5bauthor%5d https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=kofoworola%20o%5bauthor%5d https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=oladokun%20a%5bauthor%5d&cauthor=true&cauthor_uid=22314902 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 231 people’s rights, safety and lives. it is freedom from fear, want and freedom to live in dignity (op cit). the focus is on the human individual or group in society in matters concerning their right as active participants in the society. in the words of paul, j. 2014, gazizolun, a. 2016 “human security has ceased to be the vague, amorphous add-on to harder areas of security such as military or state security but to mean a shift in the discourse on security away from its traditional state-centered orientation to the protection and advancement of individuals within societies.”. the commission on human security (2003) defines this shift from the point of view of “strategies, set up by states, international agencies, ngos and the private sector, to shield people from menaces,” including the norms, processes and institutions required to protect people from critical and pervasive threats in society. childlessness in igbo society is one of such threats, and (indeed a major threat) to human security. peace building peace is a necessary ingredient for human existence. it is one of man’s highest, core values that cannot be divorced from good life. rummell, r.j. (1981) talks of its indispensability when he said that: …the most disadvantageous peace is better than the most just war. peace is more important than all justice. i prefer the most unjust peace to the justest war that was ever waged. peace building is the application of the tools that guarantee peace. it is a set of values, relational skills, analytical frameworks and social processes to create sustainable, just and peaceful communities/societies. boutros boutros-ghali’s 1992 report, an agenda for peace, defined peace building as action to solidify peace and avoid relapse into conflict. the brahimi report (2000) defines it as “activities undertaken on the far side of conflict to reassemble the foundations of peace and provide the tools for building on those foundations something that is more than just the absence of war.” in this discourse peace building is, therefore, operationally defined as measures that address core human security issues that affect the functioning of the society, and that seek to enhance the capacity of the individual members of that society to effectively carry out their functions in their everyday life. our position is that child adoptions essentially a peace -building process in marriages, families and communities. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 232 the child a child is a biological offspring of a couple or a single person be it male or female. the children and young persons law of the federation (2003) makes a clear distinction between a child and a young person. a child is any person who has not attained the age of fourteen years, while a young person means someone who is above fourteen years of age, but below seventeen years. child adoption child adoption is a process which ensures a dependent child a permanent family. it is a means by which the legal relationship hitherto existing between a child and its natural parents is cut and reconnected between it and a third person or persons (friedlander (1992), kigbu, salome & konkat, 2002). according to modell (2000), “adoption is the legal act of permanently placing a child with a parent or parents other than the birth mother or father.” an adoption order has the effect of severing the parental responsibilities and rights of the birth parents and transferring those responsibilities and rights onto the adoptive parent(s). after the finality of an adoption, there is no legal difference between adopted children and those born to the parents. the children can inherit the ascribed status of the adoptive parents, that is, they inherit the same legal rights as biological children. in other words, if the parent dies, they inherit on the same basis as biological offspring. indigenous ideologies the african ideology of the child there abound sentiments and emotional expressions of africans depicting the importance of children, as shown in their dance-songs, proverbs, choice of names etc. we have these names as nwa ka aku (child is more valuable than wealth), nwa amaka,( child is precious) nwabundo (child is social security), nwa ka ego (child is more valuable than money) , ugwu dinanwa (child is source of honour and prestige), etc. children are a source of pride and social status for both men and women, and women often define success in marriage primarily in terms of having children (karanja, 1987; 1994; calve-dominic, 1999). this preference for having children has been attributed mostly to traditional pro-natalist igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 233 belief systems that stress the importance of the lineage (caldwell and caldwell, 1987) and the economic advantages of children in terms of labor supply and support in old-age (boserup, 1985). ejiofor (1981) maintains that children are considered very precious and parents are expected to toil for their survival, suitable up-keep, and recognition in the society. africans value children more than any asset. having children increases a couple's social status, and their chances of receiving economic support in old age. it guarantees the woman’s access to her husband’s property at death which is under contest if she does not have a child. results of a study conducted on child adoption in orlu north east imo state {ohachenu, 2016) shows that couples needed a child who would assist in chores, care for them in old age, replace them when they die and take over their inheritance thereby maintaining family lineage and continuity. according to these participants an igbo man adopts to get someone who would answer his name. families are thus considered unfortunate if there is no child in the family. in fact nothing challenges the security of a family as childlessness. the insecurity occasioned by this condition is unparalleled and like all other human problems it brings with it discomfort, anxiety, and sometimes, guilt. it can make a marriage relationship grow sour. in our society a woman perceives her inability to bear a child as an unbearable suffering especially as loss of fertility means the loss of women's hope for future inheritance. infertility and childlessness thus cause great personal suffering and distress. infertile couples are socially isolated and emotionally very vulnerable (hashmi, 2011). most of the agony and misery are hidden from the public gaze. some of the danger signals to be noticed among childless couples include being quarrelsome, harsh, rigid or erratic discipline or threat of divorce. most of the studies indicate that marital breakdown is clearly associated with childlessness (unisa, 1999; kiernan, 1989; tilson & larsen, 2000).results of a survey of families and households, in order to update and test earlier findings of negative consequences related to childlessness in later life, by koropeckyj-cox (2008) indicate that both loneliness and depression are significantly related to childlessness. although a childless marriage may look solid and respectable, it conceals great bitterness and unhappiness. it is under severe stress and there is a great deal of marital conflict. such circumstances cause chronic family disruption, loneliness and fluctuating living arrangements (parkin & nyamwaya, 1989). results of fgds conducted in a study conducted in orlu north east of imo state (ohachenu, 2016) reveal that a family is not complete without children.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 234 couples without children felt they were incomplete. to the igbo man children are regeneration of a family “uto ntochi,” and they maintain family continuity. childless couple’s lineage terminates at their death (ama oshishi . indigenous coping strategies, customs and traditions there were various coping strategies and customary arrangements evolved by various igbo communities in the past to mitigate the human security challenges posed by childlessness. they include: the institution of “female husbands” (amadiume, 1987) otherwise known as woman to woman marriage: there is a cultural provision of a childless woman marrying a wife in her name and she bears children for her husband. she cares for these children as her own and they are duly acknowledged as hers. this is done when the husband is still alive or at his demise. the institution of “male daughters” (amadiume,1987) meaning a daughter assuming the position of a son in the family this is a situation where a couple with only female children keeps one of their daughters from getting married but living with them and bearing children for them. they make her a male head and perfect that through traditional rites of notification (with ceremonies) to the kinsmen for the legitimization of the offspring from that arrangement. this and the above practice are what amadiume (1987)branded as “male daughters, female husbands.” procreation through a kinsman: a childless man can arrange with his relation to make children for him. it is a secret affair that is only known and arranged by the couple. bequeathing a child to one’s childless relation this is a situation where a caring relation gives out his or her child to a childless relation. the child is to live with the couple until she gets married or dies. this is mostly done with female children as they are known to only belong to a family by marriage. for the male child he leaves for his family at a later time, probably when he’s ready for marriage. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 235 about the end of the nineteenth century there appeared in african societies several new ideas and values. the colonization that followed had a definitive impact on african societies and igboland in particular. in terms of values embedded in their laws and customs. that notwithstanding, the african norms and mores which explained social events in terms of rational motives and declared their opposition to the trend of the modern societies towards a new way of life still hold water. hence there is perceived serious reluctance to yield wholly to the colonialists’ philosophies and impositions. till date, decades after the advent of civilization and colonialism most traditional practices are still in place. the traditional social and political institutions namely, the patrilineage members {umunna}, the patrilineage daughters (following the rule of sexual dualism) that is the umuokpu or umuada (in some places), the patrilineage wives – the inyom di or nwunyedi (in some parlace/ language} still exist and perform their social functions and roles pertaining to birth, marriage, death, settling disputes and other ceremonies. their interests and rights in the life-cycle ceremonies of their members remain the same. the only difference is that many of their judicial functions have been taken over by law courts. some indigenous rituals have been replaced by christian ceremonies or exterminated due to their inhuman and obnoxious nature. (amadiume, 1987). child adoption in nigeria: an overview before 1965, there was no statutory provision for adoption anywhere in nigeria. this created a lacuna in our law and thus created untold hardship to many couples anxious to adopt children either because they had no children of their own or because they wanted more children in their families. in 1958 both the eastern region and the federal government attempted the introduction of adoption laws to favour the interest and welfare of an adopted child but those genuine efforts failed. however, in 1965, the eastern region government, after due consultation in harmony with the federal government of nigeria produced a law that was enforced in eastern nigeria. this regional legislation kick-started other similar legislations in other parts of nigeria (kigbu, salome & konkat, 2002). specifically, the lagos state adoption law of 1968 was enacted and other states subsequently followed suit viz, bendel state (1979), cross river state (1981), ogun state (1983) and oyo state (1984). all the same adoption was rare. odujinrin & lawson(1993) report that between 1972 http://www.eric.ed.gov/ericwebportal/home.portal?_nfpb=true&_pagelabel=ericsearchresult&_urltype=action&newsearch=true&ericextsearch_searchtype_0=au&ericextsearch_searchvalue_0=%22odujinrin+o.+m.+t.%22 http://www.eric.ed.gov/ericwebportal/home.portal?_nfpb=true&_pagelabel=ericsearchresult&_urltype=action&newsearch=true&ericextsearch_searchtype_0=au&ericextsearch_searchvalue_0=%22lawson+s.+b.%22 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 236 and 1993 there were only 26 adoptions in lagos state. recently the federal government of nigeria young persons act (2003) stipulates that every state government should institute adoption services in the state. adoption laws / child rights act 2003 the only person qualified to adopt a juvenile (i.e infants inclusive) is that person authorized by the court. only one person is allowed to adopt a juvenile except in the case of married couples. where the applicant is married, the consent of the other spouse is legally required so as to preserve family harmony. if the applicant is an unmarried male, then he would not be allowed to adopt a female juvenile. this prohibition guards against the danger of sexual corruption (fgn child’s rights act, 2003). the prospective adopter (couple) must have attained the age of twenty – five years each, if a single person he must have attained the age of thirtyfive years, provided the child to be adopted is of the same sex as the person adopting or found suitable by the appropriate investigating officers to adopt the child in question. the court makes such authorization through adoption orders to applicants that had duly applied. this includes presentation of applicant’s marriage certificate if it is a couple, birth certificate or sworn declaration of age, medical certificate from a government hospital, two passport photographs and such other documents, requirements and information as the court requires for the purposes of the adoption. it is worthy of note that the biological father of the child can be such an applicant. however, such adoption orders cannot be made in some cases especially where the applicant is less than 25yrs and not at least 21yrs older than the juvenile. (frn child’s right acts 2003). the applicant should be a citizen of nigeria and must have lived in the state in which the application is made for a period of, at least, five years. the applicant should be in custody of the child for three months immediately preceding the date of the adoption order. after the investigation by the child development officer, supervision officer and such other persons as the court may determine, to assess the suitability of the applicant as an adopter and of the child to be adopted the juvenile court then calls up the case and the welfare officer represents the child. the adoption order is granted generally to safeguard and promote the welfare and the best interest of the child. the adopter – where a husband and wife are joint adopters of a child, they shall stand to each other and to the child in the same relationship as they would stand if the child were igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 237 their natural child. the adopted child enjoys all the rights of a biological child. a licence is granted (frn child rights act 2003) the welfare office and the juvenile court maintain adopted children register but the adoption exercise is secret. adoption is also free, except with the sanction of the court. a person who contravenes this commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding thirty thousand naira or to an imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or to both such fine and imprisonment ((frn child’s right acts, 2003). an adopted child should not be transferred to any other person unless the minister is satisfied that it is for the welfare and best interest of the child. the minister shall in granting licence under this section give consideration to the wishes of the child having regard to the age and understanding of the child. otherwise there is no revocation of adoption order. more so for an adoption order to be made, the applicant and the juvenile to be adopted must be residents of the state under whose law the application is sought. the applicant must be a nigerian. however, in the case of joint application if either of the spouses is a nigerian and the other is not it may be granted. those that may be adopted under statutory law it is an essential pre-requisite that the person to be adopted must be a juvenile who has been abandoned or his/her origin unknown (frn child’s right acts, 2003). for example, in some jurisdictions like anambra, enugu, imo, abia and rivers state, adoption of a child with known origin or guardianship can be authorized by the court in circumstances where it is very necessary for the interest and welfare of the child. usually, it is done as a corrective order but consented by the parents or guardian. once such consent is given, the parent cannot withdraw the juvenile from the custody of the applicant except with the leave of court. some of these states’ legislations say the age of a juvenile is below seventeen years while others say below eighteen years (nwogugu, 1990). legal implication of statutory adoption child adoption under the statute carries along with it numerous important legal consequences, with regards to the rights and duties of the natural parents of the juvenile vis-à-vis the adopted. this is so especially when an adoption order is duly made. thus, the effect of adoption order is two-fold in all the existing legislations on adoption. in the first place, parental rights and obligation between the juvenile and his/her natural parents are severed. secondly, it establishes a legal relationship of parent igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 238 and legitimate child between the adopter and the adopted juvenile. both ways put together have the effect of making the adopted child as if born in lawful wedlock by the adopter. everything concerning the custody, maintenance and education of the child is taken over by the adopter as if they are the natural parents. where the adopter dies, his estate devolves on the adopted child as if he/she is a lawful or blood child (frn child’s right acts, 2003). apart from the issue of inheritance, there are legally prohibited acts that accompany adoption orders. of utmost importance is the prohibition of marriage between the adopter and his/her adopted children. this restriction is basically to maintain and uphold the essence of adoption orders which supposedly created blood relationship between them. the violation of this prohibition is punishable with fourteen years imprisonment. finally, and of immense importance is the fact that once an adoption order is made, the chief welfare officer or permanent secretary of the ministry of women affairs and social development is automatically conferred with the duty of being fully informed about such adopted persons. he can do this by delegating his officers to make periodic visits at reasonable times, in the homes of the adopted persons at least until the adopted child is of age. while on such visit, the juvenile is produced and every welfare information about the adopted child is expected to be willingly given. any obstruction in this regard is an offence and is punishable by a fine not exceeding five hundred naira or imprisonment not exceeding three months or to both such fine and imprisonment (the federal republic of nigeria child’s right act, 2003). customary adoption in nigeria under customary law, adoption is rare. this is so because children are seen as the greatest gift from god and as such parents are reluctant to let go of all parental rights and obligations as in the case of statutory adoption. hence adoption is either done formally or informally. under the customary formal procedure, some areas would ordinarily arrange a meeting of elders of both families (i.e, adopter and adopted). in this meeting, formal transfer of parental rights and obligation is done with both families’ approval. in other areas, the elders of the adopter’s family would meet and the adopter declares his intentions and if approved, formal initiation rites are done to adopt the person into the family. informally, the adopter just brings in the adopted child into his family without consulting anybody and the child must remain with him for life. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 239 under this arrangement foster parentage matures into adoption (nwogugu, 1990). another aspect of informal adoption is connected to widows or divorced women. in the course of the second marriage, if the new husband accepts the children of the former union and indeed allows them to answer his name, such relationship matures into adoption (nwogugu, 1990). those that may be adopted under customary law. under customary law only infants may be adopted except where adoption of an adult is allowed (nwogugu, 1990). customary requirement of those that may adopt only males of full age are capable of adopting children under the customary law. this is basically because men play prominent role in determining the membership of a family. note also that marriage under the marriage act does not prevent customary adoption since it is not in any way inconsistent with the obligation of marriage under the act. consent of the natural parents is not required here. however, the consent of the person to be adopted is fundamental. where the adopted person is not of age, such consent is obtained on attainment of full age. this position contrasts with consent under statutory adoption where three types of consent may be relevant (that is, consent of spouse, parental consent and consent of a person interested in adopting the child) (nwogugu, 1990). implications of customary adoption the child bears the name of his/her adopter as well as being regarded as a legitimate child. the adopter and his family members are forbidden from marrying the adopted child. in addition, the adopted child has rights with legitimate children in terms of property. finally, it suffers one major defect that is very risky. this risk is the fact that the adopted child may eventually return to his parents in future. this is possible because the parents’ rights and obligations between them and their parents were not severed. the effect of this aspect is the conferment of dual succession rights on the adopted child (nwogugu 1990). statutes and legal provisions in recent time, adoption rate has drastically increased and has become the order of the day, the reason being the increased anxiety and social igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 240 problems faced by barren women and married couples wanting to mix up the sex of their children. this quest had triggered national interest and indeed various states are responding positively to this need through the various adoption laws made (nwogugu, 1990). many legal provisions have been made to favour the interest and welfare of an adopted child both nationally and internationally. each in its own part offers legal protections to the right and obligations of an adopted child (ibid). in nigeria some of them are:  the federal republic of nigeria child’s right act 2003  the 1999 constitution of the then federal republic of nigeria chapter iv s.42 (2).  the various state legislations on adoption, e.g, adoption law, cap 5, laws of lagos state, 1973. 1968  the united nations convention on rights of the child– article 21  adoption rules of juvenile courts existing in some states, e.g, lagos state adoption (juvenile courts) rules, 1968.  o.a.u charter on the right and welfare of the child – article xxiv. types of adoption there are various types of adoption as identified by many authors, namely barth (1992), borchers (2003), miller (2008), they include inter country adoption, transracial adoption, single parent adoption, subsidized adoption, relinquishment or agency adoptions, independent or private adoptions, and stepparent adoptions. also they identified several kinds of adoption which can be defined both by effect (eg, whether the adoption is open or closed and by location and the origin of the child (i.e., domestic or international adoption). types of adoption (by effect on the parties involved) open adoption open adoption is defined as sharing of information and or contact between the adoptive and biological parents of an adopted child. this can occur before, during or after the placement of the child. the birthparents relinquish legal and basic childrearing rights to the adoptive parents. both sets of parents retain the right to continuing contact and access to knowledge on behalf of the child holden, l. carroll, l. 2009). semi – open adoption igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 241 a semi-open adoption is similar to open adoption but the relationship does not include the sharing of information and typically involves the agency as an intermediary for on-going contact. after child placement, many semi-open adoptions include mailing photos and letters between adoptive families and birth families and the adoption agency mediates all communication to preserve confidentiality. the identity of all the parties is usually kept confidential and there is no complete exchange of identities or contact information. the advantages include sense of control for the birthparents and reduced uncertainties and fears about the welfare of the child. it affords the adoptive parent, through the adoption agency the opportunity to request and obtain additional medical information about the child, based upon changing circumstances. semi-open adoption provides adopted children with access to birth families through the adoption professional (american pregnancy association, 2016). closed adoption the practice of closed adoption, in contrast, bars all identifying information from being shared between adoptive parents, biological kin, and adoptee. all decisions about who adopted which baby were made solely by agency social workers. closed adoption, normally does not stop exchange of non-identifying information such as medical history and religious and ethnic background (berry,1993). the hidden identity/official documentation helps to guard against mother changing her mind after the baby is born – usually in the direction of keeping a child she had talked of relinquishing. step parent adoption stepparent adoption is adoption by relatives for example stepfather’s adoption of his wife’s children. such adoptions are also subject to social investigation. affinity is not necessarily a guarantee of effective parenthood. stepparent adoptions refer to the adoption of the children of one’s spouse (findlaw,2019). relinquishment or agency-sponsored adoptions in agency-sponsored adoptions, social workers obtain consent from the biological parents or seek involuntary termination of their rights and then proceed to select and investigate adoptive applicants. recommendations are subsequently made to the court. in addition, social workers provide casework services to the biological and adoptive parents and to children http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/closed_adoption igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 242 to be placed. it follows the voluntary or involuntary legal severance of parental rights to the child and are overseen by a public or private agency. subsidized adoption some adoptions are subsidized hence they call it subsidized adoption. it is another development designed to expand adoption resources in which a social agency makes financial payments to a set of adoptive parents beyond the point of their legal consummation of the adoption. its purpose is to help poorer persons become adoptive parents, and it is especially helpful in providing special needs children with homes because of physical or mental disability, emotional disturbance, recognized high risk of physical or mental disease. the focus in this type of adoption is on the child and his or her needs rather than on the financial ability of the adoptive parents to meet those needs. types of adoption (by location and origin) – domestic, intra-family, international and adoption by same sex couple international / inter-country adoption this is the act by which people in a country become interested in adopting a child from another country. it involves the adoption of foreign – born children by adoptive families (borchers, 2003, miller, 2008, findlaw, 2018). factors contributing to inter country adoption include the mobility of families around the world, the increase in international marriages, the greater ease of communication between countries, the continuing large number of american military personnel stationed abroad, many of whom seek to adopt children during their residence in another country or father children outside of marriage with no means to care for them; and a humanitarian concern by many persons for the plight of refugees and other homeless children, many of whom are grossly neglected or discriminated against in their own country because of illegitimacy or mixed racial background. independent or private adoption independent or private adoption takes place when placement is arranged between the biological and adoptive parents, sometimes through a doctor or an attorney who serves as broker. the identified biological parent is typically an unwed mother, and the adoptive person generally pays for her expenses related to childbirth (findlaw,2019). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 243 black market adoption barth (1992) also identifies a type of adoption he called black market adoption. this involves purchasing a child from a third-party seller that is, not the child’s parent. such adoptions according to him are illegal across the globe. single-parent adoption this means legal adoption by single parents either married, widowed or divorced. in the 1960s, the practice of single parents in the united states of america was given considerable publicity in newspapers and popular magazines, through appealing photographs and stories of successful adoptions. social workers have reported instances in which they have been highly impressed by the positive development of children placed with single mothers and the recognizable “good parenting” that followed placement. placement with single males have been made, but more rarely. method and procedures of child adoption placement in nigeria qualifications for adopters/ eligibility requirements the adoption home study once you apply to adopt a child (whether you apply through an agency, an attorney or facilitator, or directly to the court in an independent adoption), the laws of all states require that you undergo a "home study" home studies are conducted to evaluate your desire and commitment to adopt, to explore the reasons why you want to adopt, to evaluate you as a prospective parent, and to provide education about adoption (frn child’s right acts, 2003). adoption agencies must follow the general regulations of their state, but they have the freedom to develop their own application package, policies, and procedures within those regulations. some agencies will have prospective parents attend one or several group orientation sessions or a series of training classes before they complete an application. others will have their social worker start by meeting with family members individually and then ask that they attend educational meetings later on (adamec and pierce, 2000, adoption. com, 2009). the home study itself is a written report of the findings of the social worker who has met with the applicants on several occasions, both individually and together. at least one meeting will occur in the applicant's home. if there are other people living in the home, they also will be interviewed by the social worker. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 244 on the average the home study process takes three to six months to complete, but it can take longer through public agencies or less time in certain situations. the home study process, the contents of the written home study report, and the time it will take to complete vary from state to state and from agency to agency. in general, the following information is included in the home study: personal and family background-including upbringing, siblings, key events, and what was learned from them, significant people in the lives of the applicants, marriage and family relationships, motivation to adopt, expectations for the child, feelings about infertility (if this is an issue), parenting and integration of the child into the family, family environment, physical and health history of the applicants, education, employment and finances-including insurance coverage and child care plans if needed, references and criminal background clearances, summary and social worker's recommendation (adoption.com, 2009). conclusion and recommendations african ideology reveals the strength of african culture. one area in which africans and nigerians still hold firm to culture is the revered value placed on the child. children are great assets that make for peace, stability, progress in marriages. absence of children in a marriage challenges man’s security and peace in life in africa and in igboland in particular. child adoption fills the gap created by childlessness in a marriage. the indigenous coping strategies and customs to address the social security problems and conflicts arising from childlessness worked perfectly well in pre-capitalist igbo communities but most of them are no more compatible with the changing demands of the modern society. similarly, the modern child adoption processes and methods have tried to address the aforementioned problems. regrettably, their expected impact has been vitiated by the failure to make them home-grown. indigenous social institutions, notably the kinship-based institutions, provide the necessary social context in which child adoption takes place ( as noted above) , and through which human security and peace building are mediated and expressed in these communities. there is therefore, the need to bring them into the mainstream of discourse with a view to fashioning out ways and means of aligning their operations with the modern system of child adoption. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 245 our discussion thus shows a gap in child adoption actual practice. it is done without regard to the indigenous social institutions and this neglect creates relationship challenge for the adoptive family and endangers the acceptability of the adopted child and the adoption itself, in fact in most igbo communities this exclusion of the indigenous cultural players fuels the expression of the negative attitude of the people towards the adopted child as “onye biara abia,” that is, a stranger. there are many cases of reluctance of other family members to confirm the adoptive parents as the child’s actual parents. we therefore strongly recommend that the home study in the adoption process must include the relevant community groups and institutions to achieve the necessary synergy between the indigenous social institutions and the modern institutions that handle the process of child adoption in nigeria. this will ensure the security of both the adopters and the adoptee, guarantee acceptance of the adopted child and the adoption process, and engender peace both within and between the relevant groups in the community. references adamec, c. & pierce, w. (2000).adoption. in the encyclopaedia of adoption, 2nd edition. adoption media (2009). the adoption home study. retrieved from https://adoption.com., california: amadiume,i. (1987). male heads female husbands. gender and sex in an african society. london & new jersey,zed books, pp 31-33. american pregnancy association (2016). semi-open adoption: advantages and benefits. retrieved from americanpregnancy.org/adoption.. anderson rogers, d. & craword, k.f. (2018) human security: theory and action ( peace and security) in the 21st century isbn – 13: 978-1442273771 araoye, m.o. (2003). epidemiology of infertility: social problems of the infertile couples. west african medical journal, 22,(2), pp190-6. australian demographic statistics, (1999). lifetime childlessness, september quarterly (abs catalogue number 3101.0). avidime, s., ameh, n., adesiyun, a.g., ojabo, a.o.( 2013)knowledge and attitude towards child adoption among women in zaria, northern nigeria july 2013 · journal of the nigeria medical association http://adoptionshop.com/adoption_products/adoption-books-for-professionals/the-encyclopedia-of-adoption.html http://adoptionshop.com/adoption_products/adoption-books-for-professionals/the-encyclopedia-of-adoption.html https://www.researchgate.net/profile/solomon_avidime https://www.researchgate.net/profile/adebiyi_adesiyun https://www.researchgate.net/profile/augustine_ojabo2 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258703260_knowledge_and_attitude_towards_child_adoption_among_women_in_zaria_northern_nigeria https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258703260_knowledge_and_attitude_towards_child_adoption_among_women_in_zaria_northern_nigeria https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258703260_knowledge_and_attitude_towards_child_adoption_among_women_in_zaria_northern_nigeria igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 246 barth, r. p. (1992). adoption. in p. pecora, j. k. whittaker, & a. n. maluccio (eds.). the child welfare challenge: policy practice and research.(pp. 361-398) new york: aldine de gruyter. berry, m. (1999). risks and benefits of open adoption, the future of children 3, (1), 125-138 borchers d.(2003). families and adoption: the paediatrician’s role in supporting communication. pediatrics 112(6 pt 1),1437-41 boserup, e.(1985). economic and demographic inter-relationships in sub-saharan africa. population and development review. 11(2), caldwell, j.c. & caldwell, p. (1987). the cultural context of high fertility in sub-saharan africa. population and development review. 13(3), carroll, l.(2009). the history of open adoption. retrieved from www adoption.com andersen-rogers, d.&crawford, k.f.(2018). theory and action (peace and security in the 21st century. asia. rowman & littlefield publishers, march 15, undp commission on human security(2003).human security dattijo, l.m. (2016). the prevalence and clinical pattern of infertility in bauchi, northern nigeria abubakar tafawa university teaching hospital, bauchi. ejiofor, l. u.(1981). dynamics of igbo democracy: a behavioural analysis of igbo politics in agunri clan . nsukka: university press. federal government of nigeria (1999). the various state legislations on adoption e.g adoption law, chap 5, laws of lagos state, 1968, 1973 federal government of nigeria (1965). children and young person’s amendment act, lagos. . federal ministry of justice (1991).towards a restatement of customary law in nigeria. in federal republic of nigeria child’s rights act (2003). lagos: official gazette,.90(116) article 125-148. federal republic of nigeria (2003). child rights act. retrieved from https//www.unicef.org.nigeria.ng_pu findlaw (2018). the differenttypes of adoption forti g, krausz c. clinical review 100: evaluation and treatment of the infertile couple. j clin endocrinol metab. 1998;83:4177– 88. [pubmed] [google scholar] gazizolun, a. (2016). human security paradigm in international politics. hashmi, h. (2011). childlessness, herbal fertility treatment. available from http:// doctoradvice. org //childlessness – support. html. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/lamaran_dattijo https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322486952_the_prevalence_and_clinical_pattern_of_infertility_in_bauchi_nor_thern_nigeria https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322486952_the_prevalence_and_clinical_pattern_of_infertility_in_bauchi_nor_thern_nigeria igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 247 holden, l. (2015). the open-hearted way to open adoption: helping your child grow up whole. colorado free university. rowman & littlefield. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2016). christian-muslim relations in nigeria as a religiopolitical locus theologicus for misericordia vultus. harvard journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 117-128. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. karanja, j.(1987). help needy children. social welfare. kenya times column.2-4 p 20 kiernan, k. (1999).social policy and social work. otago: otago university. kigbu, salome & konkat (2002). child adoption: nature and procedure under nigerian law. jos. faculty of law, university of jos. koropeckyj – cox, t. (2008). loneliness and depression in middle and old age: are the childless more vulnerable. philladelphia. parc working paper series wps 96-02 national institute on aging, grant number p30 ag12836, b.j. soldo, p.1. miller, l. (2008). international adoption: joys, challenges, and infectious diseases. journal of clinical infectious diseases: 47: usa. infectious diseases society of america. 815-817. modell, m. (2000). children’s adjustment to adoption: developmental and clinical issues. family practice ,17, (1), london. oxford university press. p 94-102 nachinab g.t., donkor e. s. & naab, f. (2019) perceived barriers of child adoption: a qualitative study among women with infertility in northern ghana. nwogugu, e. (1990). family law in nigeria (revised edition). ibadan: heinemann o.a.u charter on the rights and welfare of the child – article xxiv. addis ababa. odujinrin, o., & lawson, s. (1993). adoption in nigeria: a review of the lagos case. early child development and care, 93, lagos: 71-77 organization of african unity (1990). charter on the right and welfare of the child. addis ababa: paul, j. (2014). human security as a left-over of military security or as an integral to the human condition in bacon p. hobson c. (ed) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 248 human security and japanese triple disaster. london. routledge pennington, j.p. (2004). letting go and holding on. new york: the chapman and hall. retrieved from www.indiatimes.com. parkin, d.& nyamwaya, d. (1989) eds. transformation of african marriage. international african institute seminar studies (3), manchester: manchester university press. rummel, r.j. (1981). understanding conflict and war vol. 5 the just peace the united nations convention on the rights of the child– article 21 tilson, d. & larsen, u. (2000). divorce in ethiopia: the impact of early marriage and childlessness. journal of biosocial science.32,(3), 35572. unisa, s. (1999). childlessness in andhra pradesh, india: treatmentseeking and consequences, reproductive health matters,7,(13). united nations development programme (1994) human development report igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 34 covid-19 pandemic, conspiracy theory and the nigerian experience: a critical discourse vitalis jafla pontianus department of sociology taraba state university, jalingo pontianus2004@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.36469.60642 abstract no health crisis has hit the world and brought so much controversy like the novel coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic. at the heart of these controversies are conspiracy theories making the rounds on various traditional and social media platforms. to investigate the matter, the researcher embarked on a critical review entitled “covid-19 pandemic, conspiracy theory and the nigerian experience: a critical discourse.” the qualitative study which reviewed extant literature on the subject matter found that conspiracy theories among high profile religious leaders have significant consequences on the public such as vaccine hesitancy, risky health choices, slow responses to who recommendations for social distancing, face masking and regular hand washing and, has even led to violence and prejudice. the work recommended that both leaders and the led should scrutinise the type of information they share on critical issues while urging everyone to uphold what is true for the common good of all. it concludes that public figures who have a loud voice or are placed in privileged positions in the society and command a multitude of followers ought to influence their followers through responsible and authentic information-sharing which does not pose a threat to themselves or humanity in general. keywords: conspiracy, theory, covid-19 pandemic, social media, pastors/leaders introduction when the world's most prestigious supersonic plane concorde crashed on july 25th 2000, the global aviation and scientific successes as well as progress came to a halt in amazement about how such an advanced and carefully crafted piece of technology could be easily subjugated. this concern gave rise to the grounding of the plane and a slowing down of human quest to conquer space at an mailto:pontianus2004@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 35 unprecedented speed. as events unfold, this slowing down was short-lived. this could be the same bewilderment that greeted the world since the advent of the novel coronavirus codenamed the covid-19. since the outbreak of the disease in wuhan province, china in december 2019 the pandemic offered more questions than answers. its spread pattern and style is so supersonic that the virus seems not to respect national, continental, regional, racial or ethnic boundaries. its' fatalistic blow seems to be evasive of human effort giving birth to the 8th wonder of our age and time. in its 184th report of july 2020, the world health organisation (who, 2020) observed that at least 14,977,470 cases have been recorded in 196 countries and territories, with nearly 700,000 losing the battle to the virus (who, 2020). it is generally believed that when there is no information, there can certainly be deformation which can lead to a lot of controversies. one of such controversies is conspiracy theories about this global health crisis. conspiracy theory is widely acknowledged to be a loaded term. while politicians use it to mock and dismiss allegations against them, philosophers and political scientists warn that it could be used as a weapon of rhetorical to pathologize dissent (michael, 2006). conspiracy narrative is compelling in its rapid global movement, its focus on the actions of both the perpetrators of the evil conspiracy and the defenders of the moral order. it also attempts to explain a wide range of seemingly disparate past and present events and structures within a relatively coherent framework using disparaging facts and stereotypes as tools. the term conspiracy theory and its derivatives are often used as pejoratives implying that devotees are not reasonable interlocutors (husting et al., 2007). if there is something every sociologist and historian can agree about in their analysis of pandemics, it is that it brings forward a new world order (nwo). disregarding for a moment, the conspiracy theory of the televangelist, pat robertson, whose idea of 'new world order' was that a secret elite establishment would create a singular government to rule the world and which evokes fear in people (robertson, 2020). the new world order is a system where structures of political and economic powers, deference to traditional authority, and social relations are reassigned in the wake of the urgent changes that needed to be made during the pandemic. in abnormal times such as this covid-19 era, time itself compresses and reality seems blique with a lot of obscurity. the legislation and social processes that would have taken a long time to prepare, and whose instituting norms would have crept on us gradually, happens in a matter of hours. that sense of urgency igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 36 envelopes us and evokes the trauma of a looming apocalypse. without clarity on what this historical moment means and with no viable source of information than conspiracy theories circulated on social media platforms, people lost in this meaning-destroying event will eventually see through their pastors' old gimmicks of attributing things to demons and supernatural forces or to their so called leaders's political opponents and detractors scheming their political downfall or conspiracy against their good economic reforms which would have benefited the people. the principal characteristics that define a conspiracy theory: conspiracy is a secret plot by two or more powerful actors (keeley, 1999; pigden, 1995). conspiracies typically attempt to usurp political or economic power, violate rights, infringe upon established agreements, withhold vital secrets, or alter bedrock institutions. a conspiracy theory is an attempt to explain the ultimate cause of a significant event or situation as the result of a secret plot by a powerful group (aaronovitch, 2010; byford, 2011; coady, 2006; dentith & orr 2017; keeley, 1999). conspiracy theories are often about the actions of governments, but they can accuse any group that is perceived to be powerful and malevolent. for example, conspiracy theories about 9/11 terror attacks of the twin towers in newyork have accused not only the us government but also other groups such as the saudi government, other world corporations and the jewish people. there has been conspiracy theories about climate change that have also accused climate scientists, the united nations and the oil industries among others (douglas et al., 2019). husting,g., et al (2007) observed that conspiracy theory revolves around three basic characteristics namely; routinized strategy of exclusion, reframing mechanism and a mechanism of simultaneous control of information to demoralise dissenting voices. in the first instance, this happens when a person or a group is labeled a conspiracy theorist that automatically excludes them from being part of the discussion and becomes a suspect. in the second instance, it can be a reframing mechanism which deflects questions or concerns about power, corruption and motives. in the last case, conspiracy theory is viewed as a mechanism for simultaneous control of the flow of information which symbolically demobilizes certain voices on issues in public discourse. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 37 why certain people embrace conspiracy theory: research in psychological studies suggest that people are attracted to conspiracy theories when important psychological needs are unsatisfied (douglas, sutton, & cichocka, 2017). the taxonomy derived from the system-justification theory serves as a useful heuristic to classify the motives why people are associated with the conspiracy beliefs (jost, ledgerwood, & hardin, 2008). the first of these psychological needs are epistemic needs. specifically, people are looking for knowledge and clarity about important events. indeed, research shows that people are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories under conditions of uncertainty (van prooijen & jostmann, 2013). the second set of needs is existential. specifically, people need to feel secure and in control of their surroundings, and studies reveal that people who feel that they lack agency and power are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories (douglas et al., 2017; pratt, 2003). the final need is social. that is, people need to maintain a positive image of themselves and the groups they belong to (cichocka, marchlewska, & golec de zavala, 2016). evidence which supports this shows that people who experience a strong need to feel unique compared to others tend to show greater beliefs in conspiracy theories (imhoff &lamberty, 2017; lantian, muller, nurra, & douglas, 2017). conspiracy theory and the covid-19 pandemic: a critical analysis all the aforementioned needs are likely to be heightened in times of crisis, such as the covid-19 pandemic. the concern however is that whether or not these needs are satisfied by believing in conspiracy theories is another matter. however some experts suggest that believing in conspiracy theories is not a very good coping mechanism (douglas et al., 2017). one example connotes the fact that instead of increasing feelings of power, conspiracy theories seem to make people feel more powerless (abalakina-paap, stephan, craig, &gregory, 1999). a distinct psychological motivation, with a more social and political flavour, was identified by franks et al (2013). they argued that conspiracy theories spread as a device for making sense of events that threaten existing worldviews. they draw on social representation theory (moscovici, 1961) to argue that conspiracy igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 38 theories help groups to symbolically cope with threatening events by making abstract risk more concrete and by focusing blame on a set of conspirators. franks and colleagues (2013) argue that the spread of conspiracy theory allows people to challenge abstract expert-dominated discourses about important events. they further recommend that conspiracy theories are communicated as devices to cope with collective trauma. conspiracy theories that deal with public health are likely to have a serious negative impact on society. this is especially perceived in the area of vaccination where research shows that people who believe and even just read about antivaccine theories are more vaccine hesitant (jolley & douglas, 2014). the covid19 pandemic may have provided a fertile ground for conspiracy theories. there is a belief that this could be harmful too. if people believe that the virus is a hoax, they might be less likely to take preventive measures such as social distancing in public places, hand washing, and working from home when possible. they might also likely refuse to be subjected to testing. those who subscribe to conspiracy theory, who are often very distrustful of science and conventional medicine, could also be more likely to try alternative remedies that are at best useless, and at worst fatal. apparently, those who belong to this school of thought response to unmet psychological needs. human beings experience these needs at some time or another. as such to some extent, humans can be said to be 'conspiracy theorists.' conspiracy theories: some consequences conspiracy theories may allow individuals to question or challenge the dominant hierarchies and query the actions of powerful groups. one positive consequence of these challenges could be that governments are encouraged to be more transparent (clarke, 2002; swami & coles, 2010). conspiracy theories can also reveal inconsistencies in government or official versions of events (clarke, 2002), may also open up issues for discussion that would otherwise be closed (miller, 2002), and may even uncover real conspiracies (swami & coles, 2010). oliver and wood (2014) hold that conspiracy theory could build a strong relationship between medical conspiracy beliefs and people's health choices. people who endorse medical conspiracy theories are less likely to engage with medical professionals, and are more likely to trust medical advice from alternative sources; they are also more likely to choose unconventional igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 39 medicines. observations from medical professionals (chung, 2009) suggest that conspiracy theories lead to mistrust of medical authority and are associated with vaccine refusal among parents. another possibility of the negative effects of conspiracy theories is the denial of science. goertzel (2010) ties ideology and political commitment to conspiracy theories about science, including hiv/aids conspiracy theories, genetically modified food (gmo) conspiracies theories, 'anti-vax' conspiracy theories, and climate change conspiracy theories (weigmann, 2018). one recent survey showed that over third of americans agree that global warming is a hoax (public policy polling, 2013), making climate skepticism very much a mainstream belief. this situation is not any different from the covid-19 pandemic because a good number of people still believe it is a hoax. for instance, at the onset of the pandemic, the president of the united states of america, donald trump undermined the reality calling it a hoax, a chinese virus while insinuating that the who could be part of the conspiracy (caballero-anthony, m., et al 2020). such an attitude from the world's most powerful nation on earth could have devastating effects not only on americans but even to other nations that look up to the us especially, third world countries. covid-19 and 5g conspiracy theory in nigeria: a crucial review as a nation which got its political independence in 1960, nigeria has had great deal of struggles in its socio-political, economic and religious spheres of life. amidst all these, ethnicity and religion have always been fingered as major concern for nigerians who are mostly christians, muslim and african traditional religionist. for some times now, nigerians have been accustomed to sensational prophecies by pastors and various religious leaders. these so-called prophecies are often given at the beginning of the new year. unfortunately, when the covid-19 pandemic hit the world, it sent a powerful message to the world leading her into a tailspin. it also revealed the vulnerability of the human body even as it exposed how weak and unreliable our constructed economic, political and religious systems could be. the apocalyptic effects of the global pandemic landed on nigerian consortium of religious leaders as well. for the time being, pastors and imams are still scrambling for an answer to these world-changing events. from the frivolous igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 40 ones who threaten that they will go to china to destroy the virus or confront it with 'corrosive anointing oil' to pastors of megachurches such as enock adeboye of the redeemed christian church of god who has provided a moral meaning for the moment, to pastors like johnson suleiman of omega fire ministries international and chris oyakhilome of christ embassy, or some imams in the northern part of the country who claim that the virus does not exist, or who in their desperation to seize control of the narrative, resorted to circulating antivaxxer and 5g truthers conspiracy theories about the looming 'new world order'(thisday, 7th april, 2020). nigerian prophets, pastors and imams responses in the past days about new world order, demonic attacks, anti-vaccine campaign, and retroactively claiming god warned them about the pandemic but they kept it to themselves suggest they are still reeling from the aftershocks and have not yet fully processed what the pandemic would ultimately mean for them.when it was announced that an italian infected with the virus was being isolated in lagos, many nigerians on the social media called it a hoax contrived by the government to siphon money (punch, 2020). till this moment, some naysayers remain incredulous about the existence of coronavirus in nigeria. they include popular personalities like femi fani-kayode, who shared a lengthy conspiracy theory on facebook that covid19 was a lie concocted by the illuminati in concert with the world health organisation to create fear in the world and then launch a lethal vaccine that would reduce the world's population. in the same event, senator dino melaye, a former lawmaker believes the 5g network has something to do with the coronavirus-related deaths. according to him, 5g technology is what is now helping to mobilize flu that comes in the form of coronavirus (@dino_melaye, 2020). when nigeria recorded its first coronavirus case, in february 2020 (rest of world, 2020), the immediate concerns were familiar: a lack of adequate testing kits and personal protective equipment for frontline healthcare workers, the potential collapse of an underfunded and overburdened public health-care system, and the disease’s effects on a fragile economy. there was also fear of misinformation on social media. what nobody saw coming was popular religious leaders and prominent politicians spewing conspiracy theories. as the world grapples with finding its bearing on the ongoing outbreak, apostle johnson suleiman, a nigerian televangelist and the senior pastor and general overseer of omega fire ministries international in nigeria held that the disease igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 41 is a chemical weapon contrary to what medical experts are classifying it to be. “covid-19 is an experiment and now they are rejoicing that they could share the world. they will wait for another two years to strategize again and bring something worse in 2022 and it will originate from them” (sulieman in mnewafrica.com, 2020). according to him, he got a revelation that world leaders will come together and have synergy and make all religions have a common ground and the pope is part of it. “america is their target but the president (donald trump) is their obstacle. america should not joke with the next election because they all will support the opponent of the current president. if donald trump is not re-elected, then the world is finished. the opponent is not the issue but his running mate is,” the nigerian clergyman added. he revealed that the running mate to the opponent is a lady. if the opponent wins, he would be impeached and the lady will take over to fulfill the new world order. he pointed out that “the virus was manufactured by these people. it is not a biological issue; it’s a chemical weapon. many people contracted it through testing.” he informed his congregation that a vaccine would be introduced but it will be a carrier of the actual disease. this report from him created great controversy across the nation making many people believe that covid-19 was a hoax. this created complacency among many people and uncertainty. in his account on the disease pastor chris oyakhilome of christ embassy in his account about covid-19 asserted that unnamed but powerful forces were ushering in a “new world order” through 5g technology. he claimed that lockdowns were happening so that 5g structures could covertly be built while disclosing that the ultimate goal of the lockdowns and social distancing was not to curb the spread of the disease, but to create the antichrist and go after the church of jesus christ. as oyakhilome devoted more and more airtime to this fringe theory, the link between 5g and coronavirus became a mainstream topic of conversation in nigeria. as of may 7, his april 5 video has been viewed 148,534 times on his personal youtube channel (rest of the world, 2020), and has been disseminated even more broadly through other accounts and platforms. government agencies also felt obliged to weigh in on the controversy. as theories were starting to circulate, the ministry of communications and digital economy tweeted that it had not issued any fully operational 5g license despite having initially been enthusiastic about an mtn 5g trial run in november 2019. http://venturesafrica.com/mtn-launches-5g-trial-to-drive-economic-growth-in-nigeria/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 42 many nigerians assailed oyakhilome for promoting a dangerous fiction, but his followers came out in force with the hashtag #istandwithpastorchris which trended on social media for several days. in a sermon, pastor chris oyakhilome told his members in a sermon that the lock-down over corona-virus was to facilitate the 5g and the new world order wherein some figures of authority in the world were trying to build a religion, economy, and government for the entire universe. quoting revelation chapter 13, he said there is no need for a vaccine, adding that these are part of the antichrist’s plan for a new world order. in a viral video where pastor chris was responding to questions, the cleric maintained his claims and further explained that president muhammadu buhari was forced to lock down abuja and lagos so that the 5g would be installed adding that other states would follow suit. he insisted that coronavirus did not kill anyone in the wuhan city of china but 5g did. on his part, the founder of the synagogue church of all nations (scoan), temitope balogun joshua, simply known as ‘t.b. joshua’ was the first to put his credibility on the line when he predicted an end to the deadly corona-virus pandemic. the famous man of god mentioned the end of march 27, 2020, specifically as the time the novel virus was to go away at its own will, saying the situation cannot be remedied by the power of medicine because it was not medicine that brought it (vanguard, 2020). unfortunately, the cure for covid-19 is not yet a reality. the general overseer of the redeemed christian church of god (rccg) pastor enoch adeboye, opined that god told him loud and clear that the world will be on a compulsory holiday. he claimed that he didn’t include this vision on coronavirus in the new year 2020 prophecy because he thought it would be a terror attack. he described coronavirus as a compulsory public holiday from heaven. he said god will remove the plague once he achieved his purpose. adeboye also urged nigerians not to panic as coronavirus spreads across nigeria, adding that only those “whose time has come” will die of the disease. the pastor also indicated that the pandemic will soon be over after god intervenes and mankind would have learned their lessons that god is in control. an excerpt from an article published in the sahara reporters titled “covid-19 and mark of the beast” written by femi fani-kayode and dated april 1, 2020, has it that “the illuminati and the agents of satan are at work. the whole thing igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 43 was planned and contrived over the centuries and they are firmly on course. they are trying to destroy us all and establish a new world order in the name of lucifer and place us under the rulership of beelzebub and the prince of darkness. coronavirus or "covid-19" is part and parcel of that unholy and evil agenda. it is a ravenous beast and an unrelenting evil plague. it is a demonic spirit that they cultivated and manufactured through the introduction and usage of 5g network and that they invoked from the pit of hell (fani-kayode, 2020). kayode also revealed the source of his privileged information as revelations of one david icke – a well-known british conspiracy theorist whose work he acknowledged he has been reading for many years. he also asked members of the public to ditch science and listen to someone that once described how he visited a psychic and was told how he was placed on earth for a purpose and so would be getting direct messages from the spiritual realm. he also advised that when the covid-19 vaccine finally becomes available, people should stay away because it is from satan and the illuminati noting that it is meant to kill everyone in their quest to dominate the world. kayode argued that the solid facts of science cannot measure up with the divine revelation available as a committed disciple of david icke and his school of conspiracy theories (kayode, 2020). senator dino melaye, the former lawmaker claims the 5g technology is responsible for deaths associated with coronavirus. according to him, it is the reaction from this 5g that has some biological interactions with our cells (melaye, 2020). in a trending video (https://www.legit.ng/1318203-dinomelaye-attack-coronavirus-deaths-caused-by-5g-mobile-networks.html), senator dino melaye asserted that 5g technology is evil, 5g technology is a killer, and that the technology is what is now helping to mobilize flu that comes in form of coronavirus. he also claimed that it is also helping to kill the human immune system and called on president muhammadu buhari to make hay while the sun shines. reported cases versus effect of covid-19 conspiracy theories in nigeria the mainstream conspiracy theories about coronavirus in nigeria comes are in four categories viz: those who doubt the existence of a virus or see it as a hoax, those who believe it is a chemical weapon, those who blame it on 5g technology and the creation of a new world order and those who accept it as a divine igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 44 punishment from god. as of july 19, nigeria recorded 36,663 confirmed cases of coronavirus, 15,105 patients have been treated and discharged and there have been 789 fatalities in 36 states including the federal capital territory (ncdc, 2020). however, there are still thousands, if not millions of nigerians still living in denial and believing that the covid-19 story is a spurious tale. to them, the viral pandemic is a hoax. many of them are quick to back the numerous conspiracy theories in the country as discussed. these nigerians are the most difficult to convince to abide by the ncdc (nigeria centre for disease control) protocols which are aimed at curtailing the spread of the rampaging disease across the country. on the 18th of march 2020, a nigerian polling service, noipolls announced that 26 percent of nigerians were in doubt as to the existence of the disease (punch, 2020) (https://healthwise.punchng.com/covid-19-in-nigeria-a-tale-of-denialand-deaths/). it noted that while some claimed they are protected by their religion from contracting covid-19, others believed that their strong genes, alcohol and hot climate were the antidotes to covid-19. although these myths have since been debunked by the ncdc, and several medical professionals in the country, many still hold unto the belief that the disease is not real. this conspiracy belief by the majority of the citizens that the virus is a hoax has rendered the process of contact tracing, testing and isolating of index victims a herculean task. there is strong certainty among health workers that more people might likely be infected by the virus than the current reported confirmed cases. this is obvious as most people do not subject themselves to testing even though they might be showing symptoms. keying into the conspiracy theory that people get infected in the process of testing has made many people afraid of testing, fear has been developed in individuals not to succumb to testing. those who think that the virus is a divine intervention from god, do not border on anything but are rather looking forward to the appointed time the pandemic will miraculously disappear as prophecy by their pastor or prophet. it is a known fact that the more testing, the more confirmed cases are reported. the sabotage of conspiracy has affected the work of the ncdc. as a consequence, it is likely that the updated reported cases in nigeria are far less than the true number. the nigerian government, therefore, needs to do more in the area of the enlightenment campaign to educate members of the public who are still in denial and doubt no thanks to conspiracy theories. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 45 conclusion conspiracy theories have significant consequences. they are associated with vaccine hesitancy and other risky health choices, climate denial, violence, crime, and prejudice (jolley & douglas, 2014 a & b; einstein & glick, 2015). conspiracy theories are important to study because they can have harmful consequences which by far outweighs its pros. while people are drawn to conspiracy theories to cope with difficult circumstances, they seem, if anything, to make things worse. when trusted and powerful men of god venture an opinion, their followers tend to see it as sacrosanct and sacred, even over government and experts recommendations and policies. spreading of fake news is a tool which leaders use to take advantage of people’s ignorance for their gain. that way, pastors, imams and politicians keep their followers at their beck and call. because nigeria is divided by ethnic, religious, and political lines, when controversial issues arise, opportunistic leaders often deploy the “us versus them” narrative to keep a hold on their followers. as citizens of the world, it is both a duty and a responsibility to be a bit more circumspect in what one says or put out for others to consume. the audience must not be offered if there is no proof that the theory propagated by one is true. it borders on criminality when such distortion tends to sway the public into making irrational decisions. the unfortunate part is that the most vulnerable in society are the ones who have been victimized by these misinformation campaigns. human beings do not live in a vacuum and their actions do have consequences. this is obvious when one is a public figure with a loud voice and commanding a multitude of followership. unfortunately, a good number of influential individuals continue to act irresponsibly in a way that poses a danger to themselves and to humanity. such recklessness from those that should know better is a sad menace. references aaronovitch, d. (2010). voodoo histories: the role of the conspiracy theory inshaping modern history. new york, ny: riverhead books. abalakina-paap, m., stephan, w. g., craig, t., & gregory, w. l. (1999). beliefs in conspiracies. political psychology, 20(3), 637– 647.https://doi.org/10.1111/0162-895x.00160 https://doi.org/10.1111/0162-895x.00160 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 46 byford, j. (2011). conspiracy theories: a critical introduction. basingstoke, unitedkingdom: palgrave macmillan caballero-anthony, m., bernes, t., brozus, l., hatuel-radoshitzky, m., heistein, a., greco, e., muhibat, s. (2020). challenges of global governance amid the covid-19 pandemic (pp. 42-45, rep.). council on foreign relations. doi:10.2307/resrep24934.15 chung, k. (2009). the phenomenon of the conspiracy theory has contributed substantially to the belief that vaccination is the direct cause of autism. journal of the american osteopathic association, 109(7), 384–386. retrieved from https://www. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19654281 cichocka, a., marchlewska, m., & golec de zavala, a. (2016). does self-love or self-hate predicts conspiracy beliefs? narcissism, self-esteem, and the endorsement of conspiracy theories. social psychological and personality science, 7(2), 157– 166.https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550615616170 clarke, s. (2002). conspiracy theories and conspiracy theorizing. philosophy of the social sciences, 32(2), 131–150. https:// doi.org/10.1177/004931032002001 coady, d. (2006). conspiracy theories: the philosophical debate. farnham, united kingdom: ashgate dentith, m. r., & orr, m. (2017). secrecy and conspiracy. episteme, 14, 1– 18.https://doi.org/10.1017/epi.2017.9 douglas, k. m., sutton, r. m., & cichocka, a. (2017). the psychology of conspiracy theories. current directions in psychological science, 26(6), 538–542. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721417718261 douglas, k.m., uscinski, j., sutton, r.m., cichocka, a., nefes, t., ang, j., & deravi, f. (2019). understanding conspiracy theories. advances in political psychology, 40 (s1), 3-35. einstein, k. l., & glick, d. m. (2015). do i think bls data are bs? the consequences of conspiracy theories. political behavior, 37, 679–701. franks, b., bangerter, a., & bauer, m. w. (2013). conspiracy theories as quasireligious mentality: an integrated account from cognitive science, social representations theory, and frame theory. frontiers in psychology, 4(424), https://doi. org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00424 https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550615616170 https://doi.org/10.1017/epi.2017.9 https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721417718261 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 47 goertzel, t. (2010). conspiracy theories in science. embo reports, 11(7), 493 – 499. https://doi.org/10.1038/embor.2010.84 husting, gina, and martin orr. 2007. "dangerous machinery: 'conspiracy theorist' as a transpersonal strategy of exclusion." symbolic interaction 30:127-150 imhoff, r., & lamberty, p. k. (2017). too special to be duped: need for uniqueness motivates conspiracy beliefs. european journal of social psychology, 47(6), 724 –734. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2265 jolley, d., & douglas, k. m. (2014a). the social consequences of conspiracism: exposure to conspiracy theories decreases intentions to engage in politics and reduce one’s carbon footprint. british journal of psychology, 105(1), 35–56. https:// doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12018 jolley, d., & douglas, k. m. (2014b). the effects of anti-vaccine conspiracy theories on vaccination intentions. plos one, 9(2), article e89177. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal. pone.0089177 jost, j. t., ledgerwood, a., & hardin, c. d. (2008). shared reality, system justification, and the relational basis of ideological beliefs. social & personality psychology compass, 2, 171–186 keeley, b. l. (1999). of conspiracy theories. journal of philosophy, 96, 109–126. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1084585 lantian, a., muller, d., nurra, c., & douglas, k. m. (2017). “i know things they don’t know!” the role of need for uniqueness in belief in conspiracy theories. social psychology, 48(3), 160– 173.https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-9335/a000306 michael j. w., some dare call it conspiracy: labeling something a conspiracy theory does not reduce belief in it, political psychology, university of winchester, vol. 37, no. 5, 2016, https://doi.org/10.1111/pops. 12285 miller, s. (2002). conspiracy theories: public arguments as coded social critiques: a rhetorical analysis of the twa flight 800 conspiracy theories. argumentation and advocacy, 39(1), 40– 56.https://doi.org/10.1080/00028533.2002.11821576 moscovici, s. (1961). la psychanalyse, son image et son public: étude sur lareprésentation sociale de la psychanalyse. paris, france: presses universitaires de france https://doi.org/10.1038/embor.2010.84 https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2265 https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1084585 https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-9335/a000306 https://doi.org/10.1080/00028533.2002.11821576 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 48 oliver, j. e., & wood, t. j. (2014). medical conspiracy theories and health behaviors in the united states. jama internal medicine, 174(5), 817–818. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.190 pigden, c. (1995). popper revisited, or what is wrong with conspiracy theories? philosophy of the social sciences, 25, 3– 34.https://doi.org/10.1177/004839319502500101 pratt, r. (2003). theorizing conspiracy. theory and society, 32(2), 255– 271.https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1023996501425 public policy polling (2013). conspiracy theory poll results. retrieved from http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2011/ swami, v., & coles, r. (2010). the truth is out there: belief in conspiracy theories. the psychologist, 23(7), 560–563. van prooijen, j.-w., & jostmann, n. b. (2013). belief in conspiracy theories: theinfluence of uncertainty and perceived morality. european journal of social psychology, 43(1), 109–115. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.1922 weigmann, k. (2018). the genesis of a conspiracy theory: why do people believein scientific conspiracy theories and how do they spread? embo reports e45935. https://doi.org/10.15252/embr.201845935 https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.190 https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.190 https://doi.org/10.1177/004839319502500101 https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1023996501425 http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2011/ https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.1922 https://doi.org/10.15252/embr.201845935 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 17 missionary strategies of bishop ephraim ikeakor of amichi diocese, anambra state: a paradigm for anglican expansionism in nigeria akam, chukwumanyaia nwachukwu department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe university, awka doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.16636.28806 abstract the anglican mission in nigeria was notable for its holistic evangelism (undertaking the spiritual and social uplift of the people). such holistic approach to evangelism was made manifest in their educational and medical approach to evangelism which in turn led to influx of nigerians into the church and eventually culminated in social-economic and political development of nigeria. however, it has been observed that in most dioceses of the anglican church in nigeria today, such holistic evangelism appears to be in sharp decline. attention appears to be geared more towards infrastructural development of the church and the ultimate welfare of the hierarchy of the church at the expense of social and economic welfare of the members. this is fast resulting to members drifting away from the anglican church to the new generation churches whose policies and evangelical approaches appear to appeal more to the welfare of the people. nevertheless, the life and ministry of ephraim okechukwu ikeakor, the evangelical anglican bishop of amichi diocese, has shown considerable interest in the social responsibility of the church, not just to the members of the church but also for the communities within the ecclesiastical circle of the diocese. this study was therefore, conceived to examine the evangelistic arm of the anglican diocese of amichi, as it concerns its expansion or numerical growth and strategies for soul winning/conversion to its membership. it is believed that a study of such pragmatic approach to evangelism can inspire so many other diocese of the anglican communion towards more human centred evangelical approaches. the research method adopted in this study was historical and phenomenological method of the qualitative research, which enabled the researcher to find out the philosophy behind bishop ikeakor‟s evangelical success and the rapid growth of amichi diocese. data collected were analyzed to reach a logical conclusion that a project for evangelism geared towards the social responsibility of the church to its followers as is seen in the life and ministry of ephraim okechukwu ikeakor of amichi diocese is a follow up of the evangelistic ideas of the pioneers of the church missionary society to nigeria and which if adopted by other anglican dioceses in nigeria, could address the issue of anglican members moving away to the new generation churches and revamp their commitment to the growth and spread of anglicanism in nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 18 introduction the anglican diocese of amichi was inaugurated on the 13th day of january, 2009. the diocese came as a new diocese out of the diocese of nnewi, province on the niger. the pioneer bishop, rt. rev‟d ephraim okechukwu ikeakor was formerly elected on 2008 and was enthroned on 11th day of january, 2009. the pioneer bishop encountered some challenges which could be likened to the challenges faced by the cms pioneer missionaries to nigeria in the 19th century. however, the early missionaries adopted certain approaches for their evangelistic campaigns such as school approach, hospitals, medical approach, agricultural approach, community development approach and so on. all these approaches were employed by the early missionaries to encourage the evangelistic drive. although they were faced with setbacks such as lack of man power and materials that made the initial mission to concentrate in onitsha, yet the mission achieved a lot. so many primary and secondary schools were established. hospital and health centres were built to take care of the deteriorating health of the people. according to dike (1996) funds were raised through the efforts of rev. henry robinson and rev. f.n. ede to aid mission work. that pioneer missionary enterprise yielded a lot of fruits as so many converts were made and lives were affected positively. some of the schools and hospitals were with affordable fees and sometimes free education or scholarships were granted. so many crops were introduced by missionaries and people were taught on fruitful ways for both annual and perennial crop production. the pioneer missionaries helped to develop rural roads, sourced for clean water, educated the people on the health hazard of unhygienic life style and so on. however, it is worrisome that the generosities of the early missionaries in providing these aids are not followed by most of the anglican dioceses in nigeria today. the dioceses where these facilities are found have not made them affordable to the wholesome benefit of the host communities. schools for instance owned by the churches appear to be the exclusive reserve of the rich people‟s children. even most clergy cannot afford to train their wards in church owned colleges and universities. it is in search for a solution to this problem and a follow up of the strategies of the pioneer missionaries that propelled bishop ephraim ikeakor into a pragmatic approach to evangelism as is seen in amich diocese today. it is indeed a great privilege for the church to have such evangelical person as rt. rev‟d ephraim ikeakor whose evangelistic impact spans across the length and breadth of church of nigeria anglican communion. the need arises for a written exposure igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 19 of this great strategy. this study is geared towards getting other bishops and pastors to copy from bishop ikeakor so as to awaken the slumbering situation of the present anglican church in nigeria. theoretical framework for a better understanding of the success of the pragmatic approach to evangelism by bishop ephraim ikeakor, donald mcgavran church growth theory will be employed. dr. donald mcgavran in the 1930s, was a missionary in india, mcgavran formed several hypotheses that with time proved to be the foundation stones of what was to become a modern church growth movement theory. to mcgavran, evangelism was an input term, which means that the last should be evangelized (gospelized) and when that was done, they would be baptized and brought into the church (as a result, the church grew). to mcgavran, growth is the output of evangelism. as time passed church growth theory evolved into three definitions first it is described as growth in numbers – an increase in attendance offerings, baptism, or membership. hence the initial concern of church growth was with observable countable repeatable phenomena that could be measured. the second meaning to the term comes to be church planting. to mcgarvan, the answer to matthew 28:19 commission was to plant churches in every group of people believing that the new group in an effort to grow will evangelize their own people in their culture hence the phrase cross cultural evangelism. third definition which is scientific defines church growth as a discipline that takes its place under systematic theology – bible based ministry that was data driven in strategy. this theory seeks to discover those principles that were most successful and effective in evangelizing new people groups. it applied the scientific method of research that was used by all disciplines to determine principle and methods of evangelism. it developed further when peter c. wagner became the spokesman for church growth. by 1980, academic leaders including seminary and college professors, spearheaded the church growth movement when they became involved in research, the basic understanding of church growth was expanded through these academic pioneers: george hunter, john vanghan, kent hunter et cetra. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 20 by the turn of 1988, diversity of paradigm shift in this theory took place and they included signs and wonders (power evangelism) through peter wagner. second and third generation abandoned much of mcgavran‟s biblical and theological correctness critics leveled against church growth movement. shallow, gimmicky that elevates pragmatism and methodology over theology. being influenced more by modernity than the scripture. however, there is an obvious need to state here that mcgavran theory of church growth is global in focus which is solidly evangelical and conservative, it holds to a conversionoriented approach to evangelism which rely much on contextualization but never relegating these to prominence over the biblical record. he further opines that problem in mission are serious issues that affect the entire body of christ. healthy mission makes the whole body vibrant and alive. he asserts that mission can be a same culture of a cross-cultural endeavor. furthermore he observed that jesus did not create a church and then give it mission as one of its tasks, but the sending comes prior to the church. that is to say mission gives birth to the church and is its mother. he posits that “the very essence or nature of the church is mission. if the church ceases to be missionary, it has not simply failed in its tasks, but has actually ceased being the church. it becomes only a religiously oriented social organization. the coming of anglican church to igboland slave trade was abolished in british empire in 1833. slaves captured by european slave dealers were freed and sent to free town in sierra leone. the slaves having lived with the westerners have accepted christianity. towards the end of the 19th century, some of the freed slaves began to trace their ways back home. and those who returned home between 1839 and 1845 with the aid of foreign missionary pastors under the (cms) established christianity in various parts of what later became nigeria including igboland. success followed the efforts of the pioneer missionaries. cms churches were firmly established in several important towns such as abeokuta (1846), lagos (1851), ibadan (1853), oyo (1856), onitsha (1857). next branches of the cms churches were formed in south-southern nigeria, the chief centers being bonny and brass. the effect of works done by bishop ajayi crowder, assisted by an igbo recaptive, the rev. j.c. taylor, in parts of southern nigeria can still be seen today. they worked with certain policies. the policies were developed as an ideology in which africans would work or take over from the europeans in propagating the gospel of jesus igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 21 christ in their own lands. ekechi (1972) maintained that each of the policies was in a bid to achieve a self ideology and an indigenous ministry. they were concerned on how the church in african can be fully managed and controlled by the africans themselves. this according to spitzer (2013) began with enlightenment brought to igboland by crowther and other christian missionaries. the then cms secretary, henry venn believed that africans could lead when they are trained and that africans could lead africans, he vehemently opposed any effort to discredit the africans as an inferior human being and incapable of leadership, omali (2012) noted that in coining these policies. venn believed that the european missions in africa would ultimately eliminate themselves to build a native church that enjoyed self governing, self supporting and self propagating status. the cms led by crowther believed a healthy native church required local leaders. the leadership of crowther eagerly promoted henry venn‟s four-part mission strategy: (1) evangelize the native population (2) train leaders (3) establish the native pastorate, and (4) move on to virgin lands. once crowther established a native pastorate according to this strategy, it successfully created many self-sufficient local churches that were the local believers. all this helped to establish a distinctly african, orthodox christianity. according to okafor (2016). colonialists, was not the only factor that led to the philosophical down turn among british missionaries. crowther believed his own country men were capable of leading themselves. his role in producing a native church led the then cms secretary, henry venn, who saw him as capable of actualizing the vision of self governing, self supporting and self propagating african churches. in 1857, venn sent him to open a new mission on the niger. together with j.c. taylor, simon jonas and other indigenous missionaries with him from sierra leone, they sustained the igbo mission. crowther, oversaw j.c. taylor‟s ground breaking work in igbo land and directed the evangelization of the niger delta and it yielded some positive results at such centers as bonny. taylor, an igbo ex-slave and a convert from sierra leone, was given the responsibility of establishing the first mission in igboland. it fulfilled crowther‟s expectations and fervently expressed prayers: “may this be the beginning of a rapid overspread of christianity in the countries on the banks of the niger, and in the heart of africa, through native agents” (nweze, 2014). the revd. taylor was very instrumental to most of the successes of the cms in the niger mission. he was busy teaching, preaching, visiting, building, healing, settling quarrels, studying the language and writing journals. nwokoye (2016) added that j.c. taylor was helped in his igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 22 pastoral work by simon jonas, the catechist. one of taylor‟s most important tasks was to open schools. he achieved that by the establishment of mr. romaine school at onitsha which extended to the neighbouring towns. okeke (2006) listed the igbo ordained men in the cms church by 1931 which was the result of taylor‟s achievements in his missionary activities as the leader of the onitsha mission. crowther, taylor, simon jonas and the host of cms church really achieved their objectives in establishing an igbo church that is self reliant, self propagating and self governing. from onitsha, the igbo mission spread to other parts of igboland including the hinterlands and suburbs. the system, in addition to being an evangelistic factor, brought a lot of social and economic development to igboland. these included among other things: education, enhanced human health via scientific medicare, legitimate trade and agriculture and infrastructural facilities. bishop ephraim ikeakor and the anglican diocese of amichi the anglican diocese of amichi is the 144th diocese of the church of nigeria anglican communion. it was inaugurated on monday 13th january, 2009 with the enthronement of her pioneer bishop, the rt. rev‟d ephraim okechukwu ikeakor. the episcopacy of bishop ikeakor has brought about a tremendous transformation to all the communities making up the diocese. the physical development is fuelled by a spiritually vibrant and effervescent episcopacy and is consolidated with the underlining legal and administrative framework. the chief instrument in this regard is the diocesan constitution which was approved by the church of nigeria in record time. the document has since been in use. the constitution of the diocese of amichi surely lays the framework for the smooth administrative machinery of the diocese. however, it does not say everything in particular details. to cover for the gaps in worship, life and conduct of members, the diocese at various times and different circumstances has come up with policies and guidelines to order the life of worshippers as well as respond to social issues confronting her in her life of witness. this is partly the subject of this study. an attempt is hereby made to collate these various policy statements into one handy document that can be referenced. one in which all the policies and guidelines of the diocese may be found without necessarily scavenging through a gamut of documents that may not be comprehensive and readily comprehensible. this is why a deliberate attempt has igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 23 been made not just to produce it as a volume but to also include the basic background that will enhance understanding. according to a. umeakuana (personal communication, 10/07/2019), the bishop is an evangelist, a tele-evangelist, a teacher, and a dynamic apostle of the 21st century. he went further to explain that the great preacher traveled far and near preaching the gospel both local and internationally presenting papers and seminars. the aforementioned not withstanding ikeakor has his own peculiar evangelistic style aimed at populating god‟s kingdom and depopulating hell. the evangelistic style can best be described as programs oriented. he opined that the programs are heavenly conscious and rich in spirituality. bible based with fervent prayers. the bishop teaches the members on how to pray on their own and develop a steady prayer life-style in other to receive all round victory in life. he does not support people being prayer collectors but should learn to pray on their own. the bill boards, handbills, posters and advert banners leading to the programs are super packaged and the theme well designed. he does not often go into fund raising in his programs, he seem to be more interested in teaching his congregation the pure and undiluted truth of the word of god. most importantly the programs are designed as inter-denominational programs. speaking on the spiritual effects of bishop ikeakor‟s radio/television programs, p. ukachukwu (personal communication, 10/07/2019), states that the undiluted word of god transmitted through the air is quite a relief to people who could not have the opportunity to attend the programs at cathedral church of st. andrew‟s amichi. for each of the gospel outreaches, it is believed that unction of the holy spirit is made available to hungry souls of god‟s word. sinners are drawn back to god, sick persons healed, backsliders restored and many miracles occurs through these transmissions. ukachukwu went further to state that the pragmatic approach of the bishop to biblical standard is unequivocal to any other standard in gospel preaching as he speaks from indebt knowledge of the scriptures. the delivery of the word of god is well articulated and very suitable to the present technological age bedeviled with perdition, spiritual violation of god‟s order and rebellion in a society where consciousness of avoidance of sin is completely lost. he concluded by saying the impact of bishop ikeakor‟s gospel out reaches‟ is felt among all people without church denominational boundary. it is also noticed that bishop ikeakor involves commerce and community development such as community road maintenance amongst his strategies. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 24 evangelical strategies of bishop ephraim ikeakor of amichi diocese the bishop of anglican diocese of amichi, rt. rev‟d ephraim okechukwu ikeakor, in the first synod of the diocese held on 12th – 14th june, 2009 at st. stephen‟s church, osumenyi, nnewi south, anambra state, nigeria, unveiled the missionary strategies or made his mission statements thus: that the new diocese of under his leadership shall do evangelism through four cardinal points. he said “we wish to have a diocese that preaches a holistic gospel of our lord jesus christ through:  education  agriculture  health care  community development. education: through the educational strategy, schools such as the holy child convent, amichi, master‟s vessel seminary osumenyi, college of nursing sciences, amichi are put in place. both the convent, the seminary and college of nursing are open to the general public and persons from different denominations. they have not only turned out to be the best but forms evangelistic magnets. students trained are also given spiritual direction. agriculture: the diocese developed a large farm at utuh where people go to buy chickens, fish, eggs, bitter leaf, melon, garden eggs and some other products. there is also a piggery at ezinifite. agricultural research is gradually taken place in this farm. health care: the anglican diocese of amichi hospital commonly called „diocesan hospital‟ is geared towards provision of health care to the whole nnewi south and beyond. it is gradually developing into a reference and a teaching hospital. it often hosts persons coming from america for free medical mission. dr. obichi free medical mission from united states of america has become an annual event. the obichi and his team have been of many blessings to so many. the fruitfulness of bishop ikeakor,s health care as part of the mission strategies has brought relief to so many people and so many families. community development: under this strategy, we see the microfinance bank amichi, musure table water unubi and carrying out of palliative measures on amichi – ekwulumili road. all these geared towards community development granting employments and effecting people‟s life positively. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 25 lessons from bishop ikeakor’s evangelical strategies for the growth of anglicanism in nigeria so much can be credited to the strategies of bishop ikeakor‟s evangelistic strategies for growth of anglicanism in nigeria. listed are certain qualities that led to his success: 1. understanding ones role as a servant: he saw himself as first god‟s servant then servant of the people. such quality is a lesson to the ministers of the gospel both in anglican communion and other churches. 2. learn the culture of your list communities: learning and understanding the culture of the host communities enabled ikeakor to direct the people in the ways of the lord. differentiating from real worship of god and idolatory. 3. learn to speak the language of the people: speaking in the language that the people can understand is a time quality. every people understand specific language. 4. keeping sweet and honest spirit: honestly of action and purpose is very necessary for evangelistic growth. this quality is seen in the life and ministry of bishop ikeakor as he exposes the truth of god‟s word. 5. adjust to a new environment: bishop ikeakor quickly adjusts to any environment he finds himself. and this has actually assisted in ease of mission and evangelism. 6. identifying with the people: the bishop gladly answers „ephraim amichi‟ speedy identification with the people is a key to meaningful success. when you identify with the people, the people identify with you. 7. affirming a call to serve: a continual affirmation to render service is ikeakor‟s steady and continuous practice. no affirmation without an attendant faith. it instills success and assurance of the same. 8. focus on assignment: bishop ikeakor with a man of focus. he from the start of every activity or event stands against distraction and possible failure. he strongly believes on success story. 9. being accountable for decision and actions: his readiness to take responsible of personal actions. and readiness to give account of his stewardship leads to quest for sincerity and honesty in his ministerial life. bishop ikeakor preaches eternal and immediate work place accountability. 10. closeness to god: a minister shall be deficient of everything necessary for god‟s service if is not close to god. bishop ikeakor is an advocate of firm relationship with god which can only come through close relationship igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 26 with god. his personal relationship with god has boasted his missionary endeavour. 11. charitability: care of the needy is part of evangelism. the bishop organizes widow‟s party, takes care of the aged and the indigent. pays school fees for so many poor children. these are the lessons from bishop ikeakor‟s evangelistic strategies for the growth of anglicanism in nigeria. it also must be stressed that he focused on god. finally being in eternity with christ. urging every christian to strive to finish strong. it is greatly believed that if christians especially the pastors shall take these acts to heart and practice success is rest assured in their evangelistic efforts. all these are part of these things that makes writing a thesis on bishop ikeakor‟s missionary endeavour necessary. conclusion the rt. rev‟d ephraim o. ikeakor, the bishop of diocese of amichi (anglican communion) is a teacher of god‟s word, and evangelist, youth minister, marriage counsellor. he is also a radio and television evangelist. he hosts the popular radio programme “in touch with god” in six radio stations every week. he also hosts the “in touch with god” programs in anglican cable network nigeria (acnn) every friday. bishop ephraim ikeakor is a national and international conference, crusade, seminar, revival speaker for many years now. bishop ephraim okechukwu ikeakor‟s missionary and evangelistic endeavour is bent on turning away obnoxious traditions, working assiduously for the salvation of human souls. idolatry and paganism practices are of the same family being under the umbrella of sin. it is therefore recommended that other bishops should adopt what ikeakor is doing and possibly it should be adopted by church of nigeria anglican communion for effective spread of anglicanism in nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 27 references dike, k.o. (1996). origin of the niger mission 1841 – 1857. in adiele, s.n. (ed.). the niger missioin origin, growth and impact 1857 – 1995 (pp 294 – 319). aba: isaeco. ekechi, f.k. (1972). missionary enterprise and rivalry in igboland, 1857 – 1914. london: frank cass. nweze, e.i. (2014). adventures and missionary labours of crowther. enugu. okeke e.o. (2006). the great niger mission: sebacks and recovery. ibadan daystar. omali, d.o. (2012). methods and ideology of the church missionary society in igboland 1857 – 1890, london: longman. spitzer, d.b. (2013). fighting the spiritual beauty of god‟s church. enugu: oriental. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 117 palestinian internally displaced persons and refugees inside israel: a schismatic history chukwuemeka nwosu, ph.d department of history and international studies imo state university, owerri 08037112023; barrchukwuemekanwosu@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.19482.59846 abstract the palestinian-israeli conflict does not date from today or the 1967 war rather it dates back to the 1930’s and 1940’s when the zionist movement stepped up its efforts to bring jewish to palestine, thus setting the stage for a future confrontation with the palestinian arabs. thus, this confrontation had its full expression in the 1948 war, as a result of which the state of israel was created and more than two-thirds of the palestinians were uprooted from their homeland and became refugees. undoubtedly, the international community failed then as well as have continued to fail so far to resolve this problem, and general assembly resolution 194 remains largely a symbol of the palestinians demand to be allowed to return to their homes and lands in what became known as israel. any discussion since then, revolving around the israeli-palestinian conflict switches immediately to a discussion of the palestinians’ right to return. indeed, civilians are not under any obligation to endanger their lives by staying in battle zones and they have the full right to flee for their lives as well as go back home when the fighting stops. it is important to note that this principle, which is enshrined in international law, was enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of israelis who fled their homes in northern israel just recently in summer 2006, during the second lebanon war, was not applicable to the palestinian arabs. the palestinian refugees despite that and for over six decades, have identified with their aboriginal cities and villages from which they, their fathers or even grandfathers were expelled or displaced. introduction the palestinian refugee issue touches on a number of sociopolitical elements that embody deep-rooted israeli fears, both past as well as the future. at the same time the basic framework for the peace process is predicated on concluding the historical conflict between jews and palestinians, the refugee issue is the only basic issue that relates directly to the events of 1948, rather than to those of 1967. in fact the outbreak of the 1948 war as well as its impact are central events in the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 118 identities of both nations-the establishment of the state of israel for the victorious jews and the nakba (the catastrophic) and the creation of the refugee problem for the defeated palestinians. however, any israeli leadership negotiating an agreement on the refugee issue will inevitably be faced with domestic political barriers relating to historical narratives as well as collective identity and constituting myths, any re-appraisal of which will be presented by the opposition as threatening to the future character of the jewish state. therefore, to a large extent, it is the explicit and implicit declaratory dimensions of any agreement on the refugee issue that affect israeli perspective the most1. note however, that the palestinian internally displaced persons (idps) inside israel are part of the larger population that was expelled or displaced from their homes during the 1948 war in palestine-nakba as earlier stated. to some extent, while most of the refugees were displaced to the arab states as well as the palestinian territories that did not fall under israel control that is, the west bank and the gaza strip, some 150,000 palestinians remained in the areas of palestine that became the state of israel. during the war, this included approximately 30,000-40,000 palestinians who were also displaced. although in the case of the palestinian refugees who were displaced or expelled beyond the borders of the new state, israel refused to allow internally displaced palestinians to return to their aboriginal homeland. the main theme of this paper is on israeli perspectives on the palestinians idprefugee issue and exercising the right of return. on the subject under review, while the issue is little discussed within the general public domain in israel, perhaps the best way to describe the israeli perspective, from a leadership standpoint, is that there seems to be a sense of being overwhelmed. this sense emerges from two key factors: one is the realization that a failure to address the issue could ultimately prevent a final peace settlement, therefore closing the window of opportunity on what is still held to be israel’s leading strategic objective-a negotiated comprehensive permanent status agreement (psa); the other is the inability to clearly define israel’s interests concerning most of the detailed elements involved2. how should the palestinian demand for israel to take responsibility for the creation of the idps and refugee problem be addressed? this demand places the israeli leadership negotiating the agreement in a difficult predicament vis-à-vis the israeli public, as this element touches on two “traditional collective” point of view: (i) the rationale that it was palestinians igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 119 who provoked or started the war, israel cannot be expected to take responsibility for its consequences; and (ii) a lack of conceptual and emotional distinction made between the events of the war itself and the creation of the state of israel, that is, the idea of taking some responsibility for the creation of the problem is immediately associated not with the events of this war, however, with the very presence of a jewish community in this area, a presence that has yet to be accepted by the arabs. this view may be summed up as “we cannot apologize for existing”3. thus, the right of return became a symbol of the palestinian national struggle as well as a subject of competition among the different palestinian political faction. furthermore, giving up on the right of return come to be regarded as an act of treason, and many politicians refrain from saying aloud what they really think in private about the possibility of exercising this right or the practicality of insisting on it, at least for some of them, as a bargaining chip at the negotiating table. undoubtedly, the right of return according to palestinians is a thorny as well as sensitive subject and thus difficult to broach because of the great deal of charged emotions involved. also, there is not a single palestinian who, deep down inside or purely out of choice, would give up the right of return. besides, the palestinians believe that the international community-mainly in europe-let down the palestinians as well as made them pay the price for the crime they did not commit nor were part of-the holocaust perpetrated by the nazis in europe-so that a jewish state could be created to receive the jews who were victims of nazism as well as to compensate them. be that as it may, closely related with the status of stateless persons is that of refugees exacerbated by the world wars as well as other wars that took place in south-east asia and africa. however, the international refugee organization was set up under the un but became involved in the cold war between the east and west. although it had no member-states from the socialist countries and was dissolved in 1951 and its functions were taken over by the un commissioners for refugees with extended powers. the refugees convention 19514, and the protocol relating to the status of refugees 19675, tried to ameliorate the condition of refugees. furthermore, the african refugees convention 1969, while reaffirming the earlier conventions, applies to the specific conditions of refugees in africa where over half of world’s estimated 10 million refugees are located by 2004. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 120 who is a palestinian displaced person? the term “palestinian refugees” refers to all the palestinians who since 1948 have become displaced outside the area that became the state of israel6, and those who since the 1967 war have become displaced outside the 1967 occupied palestinian territories. another group of displaced palestinians as yet not referred to as “refugees” is that of the palestinians who have become internally displaced either within the 1948 areas or the 1967 occupied palestinian territories. in the “glossary” to key terms in badil resource centre for palestinian residency and refugee rights’ handbook on the protection of palestinian refugees, the term “displaced persons” (dps) in the palestinian context is defined as follows: united nations terminology for palestinians displaced in/from the west bank and the gaza strip in the context of the 1967 israeli-arab conflict and falling within the scope of united nations security council (unsc) resolution 237 (1967) […] includes persons displaced externally and internally at that time, as well as their descendants. the term is also used by the united nations relief and work[s] agency (unrwa) as a reference to persons falling under its mandate in accordance with united nations general assembly (unga) resolution 2252 (1967)7. in a similar vein, another definition was suggested during the oslo peace talks by both the jordanian and palestinian delegations to the quadripartite continuing committee (qcc), which was established to deal with the issue of dps8: displaced persons are those individuals and their families and descendants who left their homes in the west bank and gaza, or were unable to return to their homes as a consequence of the 1967 war9. moreover, a much more narrower, minimalist definition of palestinian dps was suggested by the israeli delegation to same (qcc) to refer to palestinians “who were residents of the west bank and the gaza strip and were displaced as a result of the fighting”.10 in attempting to resolve the question of “a displaced persons,” the committee divided the displaced persons into three categories: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 121 (1) those palestinians who were of the west bank and gaza on the eve of 1967 war, and who were registered in the population registry of jordan and the gaza strip. those include students businessmen, workers, etc., who could not come back to their homes due to the israeli occupation. (2) those citizens of the west bank and gaza who were displaced during or in the aftermath of the war. (3) those who left the occupied territories after the census of september 1967 and were prevented from coming back by the israelis. most people in this category belong to the so-called “latecomers” (people whose exist permit was not renewed) and deportees.11 as a result of strong israeli objections to categories 1) and 3),the qcc decided to establish a consensus on category 2) and to continue debating the other two. the israeli delegation also objected to the inclusion of the terms “families” and “descendants” to the definition of dps. at this junction and aside from the foregoing definition of dps, it is important to state here for the avoidance of doubt that the scope of this paper is limited to palestinian internally displaced persons and refugees inside israel. displacement did not come to a halt with the 1948 war. internally displaced palestinians, a small number of refugees who had returned spontaneously to their villages and palestinians who had not been displaced during the war were expelled for security and other reasons, in the years following the establishment of israel. also, israeli officials embarked on forced transfers of palestinians from one village to another within the borders of the state in order to facilitate colonization of these areas. for instance, this included palestinians from the villages of iqrit, bir’im, al-ghabsiyya, krad al-baqqarah and krad alghannamah. put differently, residents of these villages were expelled to lebanon and syria or transferred and resettled in nearby palestinian villages. the israeli defence forces (idf) forced the bedouins of the naqab (negev) to abandon their traditional nomadic lifestyle; some 110,000 bedouins were concentrated in designated zones in the north of the naqab.12 the israeli military forces during the 1950s, destroyed most of the depopulated palestinian villages, except for some mosques, churches, as well as cemetries. according to palestinian historian walid al-kuda lidi, out of 420 villages, only six were not destroyed.13 and jewish settlements were established on the land of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 122 these destroyed palestinian villages. the israel government built 109 settlements14, between october 1948 and august 1949, and also planted forests in order to “hide” the traces of the original palestinian villages. the israeli land administration in order to resolve the idps housing challenges, the israeli authorities built new housing units for some idps in designated so-called “shelter villages”.15 although it was argued that the number of housing units constructed by the government was marginal compared to overall idp housing needs after the war and in order to acquire these units, idps were required to cede their housing as well as property rights in their villages of origin. in 1960, the knesset passed a law establishing the israel land administration (ila) as the government agency to manage israel’s land considered “public domain” and comprising 93% of the land under israeli control. also, on the same day the knesset approved the israeli basic land law, which specified the exceptions to the land administration law, including the activities of the development authority. however, these laws meant, among other things, that all the lands and properties belonging to the palestinian refugees had been transferred to the state of israel as the sole owner, regardless of their use and who is using them, and that, except for exceptional cases, they could not be sold or transferred to others.16 the israel land administration (ila) continued after its establishment with the leasing of these properties, whether to the de facto occupiers/users or to new lessees, including jewish settlements and neighbourhoods, the ila for years, held discussions with respect to the refugee property. these debates from the palestinian refugees perspective, were an extension of the continuous efforts by various israeli officials and public figures to legalize the appropriation of the refugees’ properties through the transfer of their ownership to jewish individual and groups. the ila policies and practices, especially since the late 1990s and through 2007, shows that efforts were made to transfer ownership and titles of properties in cities, especially mixed cities, to the de facto jewish tenants of houses belonging to arab refugees. infact this has intensified real estate transactions as well as raised the market value of the refugees’ houses, especially in jerusalem and jaffa, to record prices of millions of dollars per house. indeed the refugees houses in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 123 talbiyeh, qatamon and other former arab neighbourhoods of west jerusalem, and jaffa’s neighbourhoods of al-ajami, jabalieh and the old city are being grabbed by jewish millionaires, often citizens of american antecedents. the ila, in addition has gradually increased the allocation of agricultural land, including the refugees’ land, which has leased or grabbed by jewish farmers for the construction of residential as well as commercial dwellings. undoubtedly, this brought millions of dollars to israeli farmers who never paid for or legally purchased these lands. in other words, the refugees’ dwellings and lands have generated vast amounts of income and revenues illegally earned.17 the palestinians refugees: the palestinian position on the right of return it is significant to state here that the palestinian position has generally been consistent with the premise of return, from their perspective nothing that has transpired since the early exodus in 1948 has changed their inherent right to return. one of the members of the palestinian delegation at camp david, hassan asfur, summarized the palestinian position, arguing, “in the swedish channel just [prior to camp david negotiations] our position was decisive: to grant each and every palestinian the right of right. the israeli side kept trying to negotiate over compensation that would be given to the refugees instead of the right of return, and we refused”18. however, other palestinians at camp david might have agreed to forgo the sweeping right of return, the two sides did not reach a full agreement on the right of return issue through the swedish channel. be that as it may, the palestinians demanded that israel assume legal and moral responsibility for the plight of more than 4 million refugees and also apoogise to them-a demand israel vehemently and categorically rejected. however, in march 2002, the saudis offered a new arab peace initiative (api) and reintroduced it in march 2007, offering israel a comprehensive peace with all arab states in exchange for the territories captured in the 1967 war. in line with the general arab position, the api also stipulated “[a]chievement of a just solution to the palestinian refugee problem to be agreed upon in accordance with un general assembly resolution 194”.19 both literally and figuratively, this provision is viewed by israel as a threat to its very existence as a jewish state. furthermore, israel has thus far refused to embrace the api, especially because of the reference to the right of return. in november 2007, since the annapolis peace igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 124 conference, the palestinians have held fast to their position throughout the negotiations. the palestinian refugees: the israeli position on the right of return against this background, israel rejects, in principle and in real terms, the palestinian right of return on a number of grounds, and it does not accept responsibility for the plight of the refugees. generally, the israeli position is predicated on the fact that, in times of war, many people end up being displaced and that history is replete with examples of refugees settling elsewhere, especially when the conditions in their country of origin have changed so dramatically. undoubtedly, israel insists that the return of any significant number of palestinian refugees to israel proper would obliterate the jewish identity of the state, which was created as the last refuge for the jews. indeed israel further insists that the claim of the right of return is based on united nations resolution 194, passed by the un general assembly in 1948. although the resolution stipulates “achieving a just solution to the palestinian refugee problem… and resolves that the refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so…,”20 it was superseded by security council resolution 242, which was accepted by the arab states and israel, and which affirms the necessity of “achieving a just settlement of the refugee problem”.21 note however, that resolution 242 does not mention the palestinians by name, as there were also jewish refugees from arab lands. the israelis, in any event, argues that resolution 194 is not legally binding, which is the case for all general assembly resolutions. moreover, the oslo accords, which were signed in september 1993 at the white house, stipulated that the refugee problem would be discussed as a part of talks on a permanent settlement, without making any reference to the right of return at all. the israeli strategy at camp david in 2000, was to induce the palestinians to concede the right of return in exchange for israeli withdrawal from most of the occupied territories and at no point, and did israel agree to accept more than 10,000 refugees under the family reunification framework. in january 2001, in subsequent negotiations in taba, egypt, no position papers were exchanged concerning the refugee problem, which was seen as a good sign for open-ended talks. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 125 both sides stated that a comprehensive and just solution to the issue of the palestinian refugees is central to “a lasting and moral scrupulous peace22. it was further agreed by both sides to adopt principles and references that could facilitate the adoption of an agreement in accordance with un security council resolution 242. however, the refugees issues is still the main problem to contend with and is imposing itself on every agenda of negotiating the question of palestine.23 patterns of displacement of palestinians during the 1948 conflict the displacement of palestinians followed two basic patterns. the first was characterized by direct displacement to the “permanent” places of refuge, such as the arab countries. indeed this type describe the movement of most of the externally displaced palestinian refugees. also, the second pattern was characterized by indirect displacement from one place to another (three to four times on average)24, according to the sequence of the occupation of the palestinian villages by the israeli troops. infact, this type of displacement describes the movement of all the idps in israel. it was less organized as well as more anarchic than external displacement, but still collective, according to the family or the village.25 yet the latter pattern was continous and spread out over a longer period of time than the first pattern of displacement. inside israel, several factors explain the patterns of internal displacement. some idps found refuge in nearby villages in which they had relatives, family as well as friends. to the depopulated village, nearby villages were also the most similar socially and culturally. religion also played a role in the choice of shelter villages, especially for the displaced christian minority (some 10% of the total idp population)26. in the latter part of 1950s economic considerations also influenced the choice of shelter villages and by the beginning of the 1960s after the idps realized that the period of displacement would not be short as they had expected and hoped. in the shelter villages economic conditions were generally miserable due to restrictions on freedom of movement, the effects of the war on the palestinian economy and the limited resources in the villages. since the beginning of the 1950s, many idps have migrated from the villages to urban centres in search of better economic opportunities.27 idps from the depopulated village of saffuriya, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 126 for example, migrated to nazareth from the upper galilee during the end of the 1950s28. the palestinian sociologist majid al-haj noted that, during the end of the 1950s and the beginning of the 1960s, approximately 35.5% of the idps who migrated to urban centres were pushed by economic considerations.29 economic prosperity was seen as an alternative and a key factor to their refugee status as was perceived by many of them. it is germane to state that israeli involvement in the idps affairs was another factor affecting the choice of a shelter village. the israeli authorities transferred idps as well as local villagers from one place to another for military and security reasons. this form of internal population transfer was often carried out to facilitate the repopulation of areas targeted for jewish settlements.30 while israeli authorities helped idps to rent empty homes in shelter villages31 or, in some cases, register the property in their names, they also forced the idps to give up their rights in their villages of origin.32 furthermore, with respect to the primary patterns of displacement, there were two rare patterns of idp displacement that took place after 1948. under the first, israel permitted some idps to return to their villages and cities of origin. some of the idps from the cities of haifa, acre and jaffa, and from the villages sha’ab and eilut, for instance, were allowed to return to their localities, but were not permitted to repossess their homes and property. they were only permitted to look for new housing in their localities of origin as mentioned above.33 under the second rare pattern of displacement, a small number of displaced communities were able to rebuild their neighbourhoods on land beside their village of origin. part of the population that remained from the village of ayn hawd, located at the foot of mt. carmel, for example, rebuilt homes adjacent to their original village which was settled by israeli artists.34 further examples include almansura in the wadi a’ra area, as well as the case of displaced bedouin communities in the north and south of israel. many of these villages are not recognized by the government-they are known as “unrecognized villages”-and do not receive government services.35 conclusion it is significant to note that the struggle of the internally displaced inside israel is not easy nor pleasant at all. infact in the past, idp committees had to confront interference in their work by the plo, which was concerned that idp activities igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 127 could damage the peace process with the israeli government.36 moreso, the committees face other challenges, including defining a policy vis-à-vis israeli public opinion. among other issues include the position of the committees towards idps who received compensation from the israeli government and the relationship of the situation of idps to the larger refugee issue. although the campaign of the palestinian idps inside israel has also been affected to a large extent by the process of building palestinians civil society inside israel. in the aftermath of the 1948 war, the establishment of the state of israel and the mass displacement of palestinians, palestinian civil society structures virtually disappeared. following the end of military rule inside israel in 1966, some civil society organizations sprang up, especially in the political arena as well as in the spheres of social services. some 656 new palestinian association, during the 1990s, were registered inside israel, including ittijah (the union of palestinian ngos inside israel), established in 1995. an increasing number of palestinian political parties, on the political level, have focused on the problem of the internally displaced palestinians. besides during the 1996 israeli general elections, hadash ( a joint arab-jewish party) and balad raised the case of the idps as one of the main issues affecting the palestinians inside israel. other palestinian parties have also raised the issue of idps,37 in conjunction with some of the zionist left forums such as ta’ayush as well as gush shalom movements. regardless of how sensitive this issue may be for the palestinians, the existence of israel as the home for the jews, in the view of an overwhelming majority of israelis rests entirely on securing a sustainable jewish majority within the state. it is critically important to understand that this is not a question of right or wrong. it is what has been established on the ground and is not subject to change, short of a catastrophic event. israel will not accept the right of return even in principle, fearing that such an acceptance will be construed as an admission of guilt. moreover, israeli officials have argued over the years that even the principle of acceptance of the right of return could haunt the israelis indefinitely. in conclusion therefore, as a framework for a solution, the palestinians do have a right in their homeland, but this right must be addressed justly, primarily through resettlement in the future palestinian state and through financial igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 128 assistance and concerted humanitarian efforts from israel and the international community. endnotes 1orit gal, israeli perspectives on the palestinian refugee issue in palestineisrael journal vol. 15 no.4 2008 and vol. 16 no 1, 2009 p. 15. 2ibid p. 14 3ibid p. 16 4u.o. umozurike, introduction to international law, (ibadan: spectrum books ltd, 2010), p 161. 6unrwa uses the term “palestine refugees” in its registration system to refer to “any person whose normal place of residence was palestine during the period june 1, 1946 to may 15, 1948 and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict”. see unrwa, consolidated eligibility and restoration instruction, department of social relief and social services, january, 2002, p. 4. 7badil resources centre for palestinian residency and refugee rights, closing the gaps: handbook on the protection of palestinian refugees, in states signatories, the 1951 refugee convention (bethlehem, palestine, 2005), p xxiv. 8the committee was established according to article xii of the declaration of principles (dop) to “decide by agreement on the modalities of admission of persons displaced from the west bank and the gaza strip in 1967”. the committee was composed of jordan, the palestine national authority, egypt and israel. 9salim tamari, “return, restitution, repatriation: the future of palestine refugees in the peace negotiations, see v, fofognet digest, april 22, 1966, archieved on the website of palestinian refugee research net:www.arts.mcgill.ca. 10ibid. 11ibid 12nihad boqa’i, palestinian internally displaced persons inside israel: challenging the solid structures, in palestineisrael journal vol. 15, no. 4 2008 and no. 16, no. 1, 2009, p.32. 13walid al-khalidi, all that remains. the palestinian villages occupied by israel in 1948 (beirut: institute for palestine studies, 1987). 14ibid. 15nihad boqa’i, palestinian internally, p. 32. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 129 16the land basic law1960 was published in the official publication s.h. number 312, p. 56. the israeli land law-1960 was published officially on july 29, 1960, in s.h. number 312, p. 56. 17all these publications, including the ila decisions and laws, can be found on the ila site <www.mmi.gov.il>. 18uriya shavit and jalal bana, “everything you wanted to know about the right of return but were too afraid to ask”, haaretz, july 16, 2001. 19from the text of the arab peace initiative, which can be found at: http://www.jordanembassyus.org/arab initiative.htm. 20from article 11 of un general assembly resolution 194, passed on december 11, 1948. 21from article 2 of u.n. security council resolution 242 passed on november 22, 1967. 22israeli private response to the palestinian refugee proposal of january 22, 2001, “non-paper-draft 2,” january 23, 2001. 23nur masaiha, expulsion of the palestinians: the concept of transfer in zionist political thought, 1882-1948 (washington, dc, 1992). 24nihad boqa’i, palestinian internally, p. 33 25majid al-haj, “the arab internal refugees in israel: the emergence of a minority within the minority”, in lan lustick (ed), arab-israeli relations: a collection of contending perspectives recent research (london: garland publishing, 1994). 26nihad boqa’i, palestinian internally, p. 34. 27ibid. 28ibid. 29ibid. 30ibid p. 35 31ibid 32ibid 33ibid 34ibid 35for more details on the unrecognized villages see http://www.ass040.org. 36nihad boqa’i, palestinian internally, p.40 37ibid p. 41. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 103 a critical analysis of the impact of covid -19 on family relationshps: igbo nigerian perspective mary winfred eche, dmmm, phd st thomas aquinas major seminary makurdi, benue state doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29332.65925 abstract the coronavirus pandemic has had far reaching effects on the whole of humanity. it brought about several changes in peoples’ lifestyles. even though it is a problem that has affected the whole world, this article concentrated on the igbo people of nigeria. the igbo race love communing and identifying with one another, both in moments of joy and sorrow. they love visiting one another, sharing their experiences and encouraging one other. families come together to celebrate. but the coronavirus has constituted a barrier to this way of life. for example, covid-19 dismantled this family relationship especially during the quarantine period. the emphasis of the covid-19 protocol is on isolation. people are to be on their own. families are not to mingle with other families. this has caused anxiety, fear, stress, conflicts, abuse etc. families have been affected morally, psychologically, emotionally, financially, etc. therefore, this paper using expository and analytical methods looked at the areas that the family has been affected. finally, suggestions were made on how best to respond in this kind of situation. keywords: impact, covid-19. family, relationship and igbo-nigerian perspective introduction there is no doubt as affirmed by many that the world will no longer remain the same after the menace of covid -19 in this our generation. things have already started changing, some of the changes are positive while others are problematic and negative. the attack of covid-19 as has been accepted world-wide originated from china, precisely in wuhan, a city in the hubei province of china. the world health organization (who) declared it a pandemic in march 2020. according to some medical personnel, coronaviruses are mostly common in certain species of animals, such as cattle and camels. according to them, its transmission from animals to humans is rare but this new strain likely came from bats, though one study suggests that pangolins may be the origin. they are not really sure the particular animal it came from. therefore, it remains unclear exactly how the virus first spread to humans. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 104 according to the report made by who, on the 30th of march 2021, it says, “we have not yet found the source of the virus, and we must continue to follow the science and leave no stone unturned as we do, said dr tedros. finding the origin of a virus takes time and we owe it to the world to find the source so we can collectively take steps to reduce the risk of this happening again.”55 it is called covid-19 because it started in december 2019. this disease rapidly spread all over the world in a very short period of time. covid-19 has affected and damaged different areas of our lives. the unprepared lockdown had massive impacts in the lives of many family relationships. many homes were shattered, marriages broken, relationships destroyed, loss of lives, abuses are taken place etc. in this paper, we shall concentrate on the positive and negative effects of covid-19 on family relationships among the igbo tribe of nigeria. who are the igbo people? before explaining who, the igbo people are, the paper gives a clue on the meaning of the word ‘igbo’. indeed, some scholars have tried to explore the etymology of the nomenclature ‘igbo’. this is to offer clues to their origins and common cultural identity even though, this paper is not going to dwell on that. “m.d. jeffreys, for example, argues that “igbo” means “forest dwellers” or the indigenous inhabitants of the forest region, where as c. ifemesia postulates that it is associated with the ancient igbo people (ndi-gbo) who lived in the forest region. in his own contribution, m. onwuejeogwu maintains that the concept “igbo” simply means “a community of people” who shared common values and ideas”56 the igbo people, occasionally referred to as ibos are the oriental people of nigeria. they are the third-largest ethnic group in nigeria. their indigenous language is also called igbo. the native igbo states in nigeria are anambra, abia, imo, ebonyi and enugu states. “the igbo people also occupy more than 25% of the population of 55 who, 2021, “who calls for further studies, data on origin of sars-cov-2 virus, reiterates that all hypotheses remain open” available at https://www.who.int/news/item/30-03-2021-who-calls-for-further-studies-data-onorigin-of-sars-cov-2-virus-reiterates-that-all-hypotheses-remain-poen? accessed12/05/20 21. 56 john n. oriji, (2011). political organization in nigeria since the late stone age: a history of the igbo people. palgrave macmillan, usa. pg. 5. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 105 rivers and delta states”57 located in southeastern nigeria with a total land of about 15,800 square miles (about 41,000 square kilometres). igbo people are socially and culturally diverse. they have many interesting customs and traditions with a population of over 40 million throughout nigeria. they consist of many subgroups. although they live in scattered groups of villages, they all speak one language and different dialects. the one language makes it easier for them to understand each other. igbo tribe is one of the biggest and most influential tribes in nigeria. they are wellknown for their entrepreneurial endeavours, both within nigeria and around the world.58 in the midst of the so many interesting things to say about the igbo people the paper is concerned with an aspect of the igbo tribe, which is their family relationship and how covid-19 has affected their family relationship. therefore, the paper will discuss, the concept of family first, its relationship and effects. igbo concept of the family believing that universally, the family is an institution cherished by every culture, so, it is applicable to the igbo people. igbo tribe sees the family as a very important institution in the lives of its people. all relationships, according to igbo culture, emanate from the family. igbo people have what is called immediate or nuclear family, polygamous family which was common in the south-east in the past and extended family. the immediate family consists of the man who is the husband/father, the woman who is the wife/ mother and the children. part of the immediate family also includes the man’s servants, and other dependents. the polygamous ffamily ssetting involves one man with mmultiple wives: “polygamy is part of igbo culture and is well accepted and acknowledged by our people as a man’s legitimate right, if he so chooses to have multiple women as mothers in his household”.59 while the extended family comprises as the name implies the 57 osita fabian chinedu (2020). “impact of covid-19 on the survival of igbo owned businesses in nigeria: the nexus” international journal of financial, accounting, and management (ijfam) issn: 2656-3355, vol 2, no 2, p.123. 58 adejoke adeboyejo (2018), “an introduction to nigeria’s igbo people” in culture trip. available at http://theculturetrip.com>africa>nigeria. accessed 14/05/2021 59 uiu-la (2018). “igbo family structure”. available at https://www.uiulosangeles.org>post>the -igbo-familystructure. accessed 16/05/2021. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 106 immediate or nuclear family and all the in-laws, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, stepbrothers and stepsisters etc. most often the extended family is a strong support for each member of the household. this is because some members of the nuclear or polygamous family may not be so rich, some might have lost their husbands or wives, in which case some children may be orphans etc. but among the extended family, there might be persons that are capable of taking care of the above-mentioned persons, which brings to fulfilment the popular igbo saying that “igwe bu ike” (which means that there is power in number). part of the meaning of ‘igwe bu ike’ implies the high value which igbo people place on the extended family setting. in as much as every member is important in the family the father remains the head of the family. three considerations are to be considered for further understanding of igbo family life. these are the three kinds of family settings that are common among the igbo people. the various family members have the specific responsibilities they play in the family. such responsibilities are enumerated below: the father represents and speaks on behalf of the family in public forums. it is his responsibility to cultivate, grow, and develop the family wealth and resources. he serves as the family priest and spiritual leader and teacher of igbo culture and traditions to members of his household. it is the fathers’ responsibility to lead by example, correct deviant members of the family when they go wrong, and provide for the needs of his household. the mother’s role is that of inspiring and fuelling the father with ideas to move the household forward towards progress and development. she is expected to preserve the family wealth and resources. it is the responsibility of the mother to set and uphold standards of morality and purity in the family. she has to make the household homely and comfortable for every member of the family including occasional visitors. finally, it is her duty to love the father and children of the house, cook their meals, especially when the children are still very young. it is also her duty to maintain the cleanliness of the home. for the children, according to igbo culture and tradition, children and dependants are expected to serve and remain under the umu igbo unitelos angeles chapter ("uiu-la"), chartered in april 2017 is a local chapter of the national umu igbo unite organization, and the first chapter on the west coast. umu igbo unite is a u.s.-based, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that consists of a wide range of professionals and college students of nigerian igbo heritage who reside in the united states. uiu -la was created to bring igbo youths and professionals together, establish a sense of community and educate members about the rich igbo culture, while giving back to local communities and ensuring the younger igbo generation in la have role models to emulate. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 107 mentorship of father and/or mother. male children and dependants are supposed to be under the mentorship of the father, while the females are supposed to be under the mentorship of the mother.60 igbo family relationships the igbo people love being with one another. they love staying together, eating and drinking together. they love celebrating themselves. they hold many festivities and cultural performances, which bring them often together, such as, new yam festival (iri ji ohuru), (igba mmanwu), masquerade annual festivities, burial rites, iwa akwa festival, ekpe festival, the famous august break celebration for women and other social gatherings. few of the listed festivities will be briefly explained. they travel far and wide to attend these ceremonies. yam festival: this is mostly celebrated between august and october. many igbo sons and daughters travel back home to celebrate their annual yam festival. the essence of this celebration is to “officially present the newly harvested yams to god and the ancestors of the land. the festival is also an avenue to thank god for sustaining the life of the farmers, the indigenes of the land and the farm product (yam) through a successful planting season.”61 masquerades come out whenever there are serious festivals like those mentioned in this paper and more. today when people are celebrating, they will invite soldiers or police to guard the place to make sure that there is peace and order. masquerades were used for such purposes in the past. “while entertaining through dances and exhibiting extra-human feats, the masquerades would walk up to certain individuals and loudly expose any bad habits, crimes or misbehaviour of that person. as people would always take corrections from these exposures, the masquerades were effective in keeping up with traditional norms and values in the communities”. 62 iwa akwa: this is an initiation into manhood. this is one of the most beautiful igbo festivities. it is celebrated on every 3 years’ interval. it is a cultural heritage of the 60 ibid. 61 mazi ogbonna (2019). “the most important and celebrated festivals in. igbo land”. available at http://www.ekwendigbo.com>ar-aa>entertainment>item. accessed 17/05/2021. 62 ibid. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 108 people of imo state. it is mainly celebrated in obowo local government area of imo state. the initiation is also held in other neighbouring towns like ihitte /uboma, ehime mbano, parts of ahiazu mbaise and other communities. iwa akwa takes place between the ages of 26-30 years. after the initiation, members are then eligible to pay taxes, partake in communal discussions and decision making of the community. the essence of this ceremony is to give the young men who have gone into the initiation to manhood the opportunity to make their contributions in social cultural and political affairs of the community. in this stage of life, they can now sit with elders, wine, dine, discuss issues as it affects the community and suggest solutions. this affirms the igbo saying that ‘nwata kwo aka, osoro okenye rie nri’ meaning that if a child washes his hands clean, he joins the elders to eat. having made these preliminary discussions, the paper now discusses how covid-19 has affected the above relationships among the igbo people. impact of covid -19 on family relationships as of today, there is less tension as regards covid-19 compared to 2020 and early 2021. the concern of this paper was to analyse the effect of covid-19 on the igbo family relationship during the lockdown in nigeria. there was so much emphasis on the compulsory staying at home of everyone in other to decrease the chance of getting and spreading covid-19. center for disease control and prevention (cdc) recommended and still recommends that people should avoid attending crowded events because such events and gatherings increase people’s risk of getting and spreading covid-19. stay at home became the slogan so that one can protect oneself and others as well. the worst part of this was that it came without adequate preparation from both the government and the people. it indeed, caused a lot of havoc in the family. parents and children were psychologically, socially, financially, emotionally, morally, etc. affected but the level of impact differs from one family to the other. what is obvious was that covid-19 was very difficult to manage. it came with a shock, therefore created worries and damages as well. we shall now discuss some of the effects of the pandemic on family relationships among the igbo people of nigeria. psychological impact: by nature, the igbo man is brave and bold. he loves life and does everything to protect it. he does not fear challenges or threats. he takes responsibility for his actions and works hard to take care of his family, relatives and friends. the average igbo man sees himself as a king in his own house, so nothing shakes him as such. but this braveness of the igbo man was shattered by covid-19. the emergence of covid-19 caused a lot of disorganization in the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 109 society. this was caused by self-isolation, quarantine, social distancing and the news of the spread of the virus and the death of some of the infected persons. the above listed points drastically reduced social interactions which led to various forms of psychological disorder. many persons suffered from depression, tension, anxiety and severe stress which led to increase in cases of high blood pressure. many out of fear developed non – existent illnesses that led to spending of thousands of naira, only to discover that, there was nothing apart of fear of dying. this is because the igbo man and woman cherish life so much and will not want to lose it. the social impact: the social impact on family relationship is like the two sides of a coin, the positive and negative. as earlier mentioned, the igbo man is business inclined and so the slogan ‘stay at home’ became a serious issue. he could not tolerate himself staying at home doing nothing. it was a big challenge. apart from being an industrious person, the igbo person enjoys being with others. according to aristotle, man is a social being. the igbo person, as a social being, interacts with others on daily basis and depends on communication for his continual existence and survival. even in the business enterprise, interaction is inevitable. other resources of the business cannot be properly coordinated without effective communication between those involved in this enterprise. this is also because man is relational being. this means that communication or interaction and other social activities are indispensable in man’s daily activities. “communication is an indispensable component in human lives and existence and no society has been known to exist without it. however, the presence of any outbreak or pandemic poses a threat to human existence and inversely affects his social live, interactions and relationships”63. such is the case with the covid-19 pandemic. on the positive impact, since igbo men is mostly business inclined, they hardly give enough time to their family to the extent that sometimes, children are not close to their fathers because they rarely have time with them. covid-19, therefore brought increase in social interactions within the immediate family. at this time, fathers can have time with their wives and children due to the stay-at-home guidelines. 63 mirian oc, danjuma ym, amaonyeze nb (2021) impact of corona virus disease-2019 (covid-19) pandemic on social lives and interactions of nigerian citizens. arch med vol.13 no.3:15 , p.1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 110 moral impact: in some cases, the obligatory stay-at-home led to domestic violence and abuses. cases of illicit sexual relationships were all over the air, married or unmarried, underage, stepchild abuses by the father and stepbrothers, even abuses of one’s own female child etc. all sorts of atrocities took place. it was so bad to the extent that on the 10th of june 2020 the nigerian minister of women affairs, mrs pauline tallen, called on law enforcement agents to expedite investigation and prosecution of rape cases as they spiked during lockdowns. her call was followed up by protests over sexual violence in nigeria.she also said that rapes had reached an “alarming rate” three times the typical level as women and children were locked down with their abusers. every state in nigeria was affected she said. in addition, cece yara foundation’s report of may-august 2020 has this to say, we recorded an increase in the number of child sexual and physical abuse reported to the foundation as a result of the lockdown measures imposed by the authorities. an average of 15 child abuse cases was reported per week as against the 2 to 3 cases reported pre-covid 19. the reason for this could not be farfetched as children were locked-in with abusers and there is limited access to schools and other safe places64. financial impact: igbo people are known for their struggle to survive no matter the situation. they are hardworking and abhor laziness. they are highly gifted in diverse areas. the source of their financial strength is based on this spirit of ‘we must survive no matter the condition’. the development of their homes, families and communities through business endeavours has always been the trademark of the igbo people. according to history the igbo people at several times had demonstrated a strong will and desire to develop their environment and economy. the source of their economy was mainly based on three sectors. they are agriculture, non 64 grace ketefe, (2020) “help to stop child sexual abuse in nigeria” cece yara foundation. available at https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/sto/child-sexual-abuse-in-nigeria/reports/subid=155356.accessed 19/05/2021. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 111 agricultural production, such as delivering of newspapers to customers, babysitting, acting of movies etc., and trade. according to history, they were said to have a high literacy rate more than other tribes in nigeria, a factor which contributed to them occupying most of the strategic positions in the nigerian civil service before the nigeria biafra war. due to the loses they incurred during and after the war, most of them resorted to trading. the contributions of the igbo people to the nigeria economy, host states and communities over the decades have attracted comments about their character and entrepreneurial spirit. i have heard people saying that any village in nigeria that has no igbo man doing business, that village is terribly bad. it does not matter how remote the village is and how meagre the business is. this implies that the igbos can survive and prosper anywhere that human beings are. in view of that, olanrewaju (1999) in his paper: “the igbo entrepreneur in the political economy of nigeria” says that the igbo people, when compared to other major ethnic groups in nigeria, dominate the entrepreneurial activities, especially in the areas of micro, small and medium enterprises. the distinctive characteristics the igbo entrepreneurs have over others is the determination and perseverance with which they carry on despite the civil war experiences and unfavourable economic policies meted on them.65 all the efforts of the people were badly affected by coronavirus with its policies especially the restriction of movement order in nigeria which was for the good of the citizens to avoid the spread of the virus. the restriction on movement orders included ban on inter-state travel (except those on essential duties), ban on mass gatherings of people, closure of markets, worship centres, social gathering, schools, offices etc. this restriction of movements and closure of markets and offices seriously affected the businesses of many igbo people. they lost their goods, some of their goods were seized or stolen, some materials and some goods got spoilt because of the lockdown. many are still suffering from the adverse effects of covid 19 on their businesses. the economic impact of the pandemic has affected family relationship in the following ways: a) the loss of joy and happiness in the family: the joy of a family is greatly affected by their financial situation. when there is lack and poverty people are bound to be sad as hardship increases. many well-to do families were badly 65 osita fabian chinedu (2020). “impact of covid-19 on the survival of igbo owned businesses in nigeria: the nexus” international journal of financial, accounting, and management (ijfam) issn: 2656-3355, vol 2, no 2, p.123 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 112 affected. when a man has no money as he ought, he gets angry at little provocation, which leads to domestic violence. b) paying of school fees at reputable universities and colleges became difficult. children were withdrawn from such schools and registered at lowincome schools. this affected children’s happiness too and their relationship with their parents. c) increase in ill-health and death: some families lost their breadwinners and other members to covid -19 and other forms of illness. this is the worst scenario as regards the covid-19 pandemic. conclusion from the analysis made above, it is obvious that the emergence of covid-19 was traumatic and destabilized many families. the quarantine period made people’s lives to become more difficult and challenging. family relationships were put to the test and some problems naturally occurred. it negatively affected the daily routine of every family which led to severe changes in their lives. lives cannot remain the same based on the effects of covid-19. igbo people like social gatherings, attending tribal meetings and weddings, travelling from one country of the world to another. these were greatly reduced because of the pandemic. it is necessary to note that although the pandemic had several adverse effects, it also had some positive effects since it led to the cutting down of excesses in peoples’ life styles and the discovery of alternative ways of doing things. journeys were cut down and people used modern means of communication to pass information and to hold meetings online. business trips have reduced. orders are being placed for goods and they are being delivered. this has reduced the rate of road accidents and road mishaps. these sudden changes known as the new normal will gradually become part of life. one of the advantages of rational beings is that they can easily adapt to situations. despite the negative impact of the covid-19 pandemic on family relations among the igbo people, many have adapted well by readjusting their lives. works cited adejoke adeboyejo 2018, “an introduction to nigeria’s igbo people” in culture trip. available at http://theculturetrip.com>africa>nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 113 danjuma mirian oc, ym, and amaonyeze nb, 2021, impact of corona virus disease-2019 (covid-19) pandemic on social lives and interactions of nigerian citizens. arch med vol.13 no.3:15, p.1 john n. oriji,. political organization in nigeria since the late stone age: a history of the igbo people. palgrave macmillan, usa. 2011. ketefe, grace (2020) “help to stop child sexual abuse in nigeria” cece yara foundation. available at https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/sto/child-sexual-abuse-innigeria/reports/subid=155356. ogbonna mazi (2019). “the most important and celebrated festivals in. igbo land”. available at http://www.ekwendigbo.com>araa>entertainment>item. osita fabian chinedu (2020). “impact of covid-19 on the survival of igbo owned businesses in nigeria: the nexus” international journal of financial, accounting, and management (ijfam) issn: 2656-3355, vol 2, no 2, p.123. uiu-la (2018). “igbo family structure”. available at https://www.uiulosangeles.org>post>the -igbo-family-structure. who, 2021, “who calls for further studies, data on origin of sars-cov-2 virus, reiterates that all hypotheses remain open” available at https://www.who.int/news/item/30-03-2021-who-calls-for-furtherstudies-data-on-origin-of-sars-cov-2-virus-reiterates-that-all-hypothesesremain-poen? igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 172 the nigerian federation and illicit drug business and consumption: case study of lagos and imo states, from 1989-2015 dike, felix uju department of history and international studies, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. michealfelix_dy@yahoo.com; 08035457599 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract the present study highlights illicit drug businesses and consumption in nigeria as a phenomenon that had intensified as far as early 1980s, its consumption and abuses has threatened human welfare and dignity, and this has brought about several negative effects and nightmares to the nation and the entire society. the internal challenges occasioned by drug-related problem revolve mainly around the illicit drug trafficking, production, local sales, distribution, consumption and abuses. this uncomfortable and ugly situation has continued to shape the illicit drug statues of nigeria ever since. it is based on the recognition of this growing notoriety that the present study is set to analyse the issues concerning the nigerian federation and illicit drug businesses and its consumption, using lagos and lmo states as a case study. the study has adopted both the quantitative and qualitative approaches of research methodology. this leads to a discovery that links the various societal predicaments and vices to drug crime. the study however, concludes that the fight to eradicate drug businesses and consumption is not all about making stricter policies for nigerians, but in introducing measures such as home-grown character-building and good morals that could affect the people’s psyche. finally, the research recommends various ways which drug scourge could be managed introduction the drug crime in nigeria has a long history, the origin of illicit drug activities in nigeria could be traced back to world war 11 in the 1940s, when demobilised soldiers of nigerian extraction, who fought in india and burma (now myanmar) came back from the war, with some seeds of cannabis sativa, also known as indian hemp, which they, in turn, experimented and discovered that the plant could do well in some parts of the country. with time, the cultivation of cannabis sativa began to grow and with its subsequent increase in demand, it graduated to commercial quantities for local consumption, later to export quantity for shipment to europe and america. hemp trafficking became prevalent and widespread, thereby prompting many regimes in the past to maintain combative postures with igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 173 the culprits, and they enacted laws prescribing stiff penalties for those caught and convicted by the long terms of the law.1 while, the incidence of hard drug was said to have manifested about the year 1982, its trafficking was known to have been wide spreading among nigerians even since, with hard drugs like cocaine, heroin, morphine and other synthetic drugs gaining grounds and have been spreading ever since like wild fire. accordingly, findings have also indicated that over the past few decades, nigeria has emerged as a major drug trafficking hub, as reported in 2012 by the international narcotics control board (incb), which noted that nigeria at the time topped the list of the highest trafficking and drug using country in west africa.2 this report also added that in the past decades, west african countries have become the transit hub for cocaine and heroin coming from latin america and asia respectively, which were destined for europe. it added that lagos, nigeria’s commercial capital, was gradually emerging as the most active centre for air trafficking of cocaine among other african countries. the report further noted that close to 50 per cent of africa’s drug couriers arrested in europe since 2011 were mostly nigerian citizens. similarly, the report also added that nigeria features prominently among the west african countries that produce and export cannabis to countries of europe.3 however, nigeria federation and illicit drug business and consumption: a case of lagos and imo states, 1989-2015 is our main point of focus. the choice of 1989 is informed by the fact that it was when an agency (the national drug law enforcement agency) for the coordination of efforts aimed at tackling drug challenges in nigeria was established. the inauguration of another section of the ndlea, the national drug control master plan (ndcmp), which revolves around a comprehensive approach that addresses a range of drug-related issues like illicit drug supply, drug demand reduction, as well as control of illicit substances based on international drug control convection, informed the choice of 2015 for the termination of the research. the study adopted lagos and imo states as a reference point, because of the strategic importance of the two states, as it relates to drug trafficking and consumption. even though, lagos is the location of ndlea headquarters and a major commercial centre with all the facilities for a major commercial transportation in nigeria. its land border through seme links other west african countries. it is these features that made it a major transit port for traffickers. the choice of imo is influenced by the activities of peddlers in the state, in relation with criminal activities, which are influenced by drug abuse in the state. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 174 therefore, to get the in-depth analysis of the situation, the work will be examined under three broad headings. the first is the introduction to the study, followed by the national drug law enforcement agency (ndlea) records and observation since 1989, drug production, local drug sales and consumption, illicit drug consumption in lagos state, local drug consumption and finally, drug peddling in some areas in imo state, this will enable the study to portray a clear understanding of the situation under examination. national drug law enforcement agency (ndlea) records and observations since 1989 in this section effort will be made to assess some records and observation since 1989. for instance, the national drug law enforcement agency (ndlea) describes the southwest region of nigeria as one of the main centres of illicit drug production as made manifest in the cultivation of the product in the country. in the region, in 2008, an estimated amount of 196.5 acres (0.795 km2) of cannabis farmland was discovered and destroyed.4 also, edo state (in the south region of nigeria) was pointed as having the highest rate of production, where the seizure of cannabis and subsequent destruction of cannabis farmlands were made frequently in the country by the officials of the ndlea. in another instance, the ndlea was reportedly to have confiscated 6.5 tons of marijuana in april 2009, from the home of a man in ogun state, who claimed to be 114 years old and a further destruction of about 24 hectares of cannabis plantation in a forest reserve in osun state in september 2009 was made.5 this uncomfortable and ugly situation has continued to shape the illicit drug status of nigeria. in that same year, 2009, the ndlea officials reportedly publicly burnt 5,605.45 kilograms of drugs seized from traffickers in the historic town of badagry, lagos state. the bonfire included 376.45 kilograms of cocaine, 71.46 kilograms of heroin and 5,157.56 tons of cannabis. this, among other activities, indicated the level of availability of illicit drugs in nigeria.6 however, few other examples shall be drafted in to show the complexity and comparative examples of the various drug related issues in the country. in other words, the research may not cover all the activities in this context, probably, because of the vast nature of the drug trafficking in the country. rather, the study focuses more on few examples, in a view to bring about clarity in the study area, which are the nigerian federation and illicit drug business and consumption. as a follow up to the current narration, the ndlea report of 2012 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 175 revealed that the number of suspects arrested in 1991 rose from 293 persons to close to 6,323 persons in 2006, showing an increase of 2,158 per cent. the study also noted steady increases in the number of suspects arrested for drug-related offences in nigeria between 1990 and 2011. the study further took cognisance of an increase in female involvement in drug-related offences, with the increase ranging from 61 females in 1994 to 440 in 2006.8 the ndlea on its part disclosed an arrest of a total of 6,308 suspects in 2007 and 7,899 in year 2008, showing an increase of 1,591 cases representing 20.14 per cent.9 these and other activities and reports may have been responsible for the u.s. state department’s 2007 international narcotics control strategy report that claimed that the sale of hard drugs and local consumption of marijuana in nigeria were on the increase. it linked the rise in the domestic use of the product in nigeria to the increased quantities seized, the number and size of illicit plots discovered and destroyed, and also the number of arrests made by the ndlea.10 below is a table 1 showing the distribution of drug seizures and arrests between 1990 and2011 table 1.the distribution of drug seizures and arrests between 1990 and 2011 in nigeria source: ndlea annual report for 2012 year cannabis cocaine heroin others total male female 1990 170.6 110.6 861.25 na 1,142.45 na na 1991 1,496.61 545.39 66.82 15.72 2,124.54 na na 1992 2,508.11 415.67 690.84 3.51 3,618.13 na na 1993 7,378.89 1,293.69 283.51 1.87 8,957.96 na na 1994 19,732.66 90.76 91.65 94.3 20,009.37 632 61 1995 15,258.74 15.91 30.27 210.39 15,515.31 732 66 1996 18,604.72 6.16 19.38 1,203.79 19,834.05 1,099 88 1997 15,904.72 31.9 10.49 1,736.01 17683.12 2,208 164 1998 16,170.51 9.26 3.62 2,609.75 18,793.14 2,610 204 1999 17,691.14 15.64 81.35 322.25 18,110.38 2,380 121 2000 272,260.02 53.42 56.6 234.28 272,604.32 2,253 132 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 176 an analysis of the table above shows that with the exception of a few years, there was a consistent upsurge in the quantity of drugs reportedly interdicted by the ndlea between 1990 and 2011. for instance, from 1994, it is clear that the figure shifted from that of single digit to double digits, and continued in an upward direction with three digits. the same trend is observed with the number of persons interdicted for various drug dealing offences. in 2008, however, the case was no different, as the subsequent report by the united nations office on drug crime (unodc) published a threat assessment of trans-nationally organised crime in west africa. according to the report, nigerian trafficking group based in brazil, and elsewhere in south america, remained quite active in cocaine trafficking through containerised consignment and maritime shipping, air couriering and postal shipment.11 in the course of the above analyses, the report also indicated another source of growing concern, which revealed that methamphetamines production had found its way into nigeria and some west african countries. the report further discovered that the main market for nigerian and west african methamphetamines was east africa and to a lesser extent south africa. the thrust of that report gave verdicts that nigerian citizens had been over-represented in the number of west africans arrested either in west africa or in europe for 2001 317,950.20 195.82 46.63 308.84 318,501.49 2,693 136 2002 506,846.09 35.35 55.62 791 507,728.06 2,549 108 2003 535,593.75 134.74 87.58 937.41 536,753.48 2,316 174 2004 68,310.07 124.47 90.94 233.83 68,759.31 3,382 318 2005 125,989 395.91 70.42 88.72 126,543.65 3,181 292 2006 192,368.30 14,435.88 33.09 515.57 207,352.84 5,883 440 2007 210,262.90 393,678 120,638 699,735 211,476.00 5,891 417 2008 335,535.34 3,654,904 116,054 5,304,033 336,442.84 7,584 315 2009 na na na na na 6,700 342 2010 174,661.59 706.433 202.08 2,550.622 178,120.725 6,296 492 2011 191,847.91 410.805 39.752 2,982.45 195,283.917 8,639 567 total 3, 027,851.50 19,781.24 2,954.83 16,071.17 3,085,355.15 47,028.00 4,437.00 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 177 smuggling heroin, cocaine and other psychotropic substances.12 the possible consequence of these negative notoriety was the constant humiliation of innocent nigerian citizens, who became the victims of the bad image created by the few criminals, whenever they travel to foreign countries. apart from the unodc publication, the ndlea annual report for 2013 identified that drug trafficking remained a thriving business and a serious issue in the society. it then proposed that a strong concerted effort was needed to control the trade. the report noted that ndlea in 2013 arrested 8,843 suspected drug offenders. the total quantity of drugs seized at the time stood at 339,968 kilograms.13 like in the previous years; cannabis was said to have topped the list of drugs seized with a total of 205,373 kilograms. psychotropic drugs followed with 133,920 kilograms. then methamphetamine with 340.8 kilograms, cocaine 290.2 kilograms, heroin 24.53 kilograms, amphemine 19.297 kilograms and ephedrine 0.287kilograms, as compared to the 2012. there was as a result a 10 per cent increase in the number of arrests made as year’s progressed.14 having seen the range of activities and the drug crime situation in nigeria, arising from the aforementioned instances, one would likely observe that the trafficking epidemic appears to be raging far ahead of the consumption habit .15 for obvious reasons, nigerians joined the drug business more for the profit motive than for the pleasure of consumption.16 a close examination of the psychological make-up of the society reveals these obvious materialistic tendencies. the average nigerian in the business has the astute marketeering qualities; he is versatile, adventurous and is known to be particularly quick-witted in the area of striking bargains.17 the foregoing attributes have been readily adapted in turning the unscrupulous nigerian into a trafficker with unbelievable skills earning him the admiration of the drug lords whose ware he ferries across the globe. this is how nigeria came to be known as a transit country for a drug it neither cultivates nor produces in large quantities.18 even though accurate statistics of the involvement of nigerians in the drug crime may not be available, and cannot be, and if the number of nigerian traffickers arrested within and outside the country is anything to go by, then it can be asserted that there is a steady increase in the number of nigerians in the drug business from year to year, beginning from 1982, when the first arrest and seizures were made, to when the ndlea was established in 1989.19 the aforementioned instances have clearly shown the gradual proliferation of the drug trafficking business in nigeria as the years rolled by; bringing the figure to a disturbing level from 1989.20 it may be necessary to further examine other factors that may be responsible for this trend. first, the account of the turnout of the civil igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 178 war in nigerian, which started in 1967, and lasted till january 1970, the account suggest that the local participation in the drug trade may have been a respond to the perceived alienation of particular groups from official roles of the state after nigerian/ biafra civil war of the late 1960s.21 this however, coincided with the economic situation of 1980s, and was followed up with implementation of structural adjustment programmes (sap) which ushered in a period of sustained under investment in key social and economic sectors.22 secondly, nigeria is said to have been involved in the luxury of materialism and the extravagant living habits occasioned by the numerous opportunities that came with the oil boom of the 1970s to the dawn of the 1980s.23 the collapse of the oil economy was said to have brought into the system a lot of untold hardships to the citizens. as a result, people were retrenched, and so many contractors were not paid. hence, the introduction of a re-adjustment measure to comb with the issue.24 however, before it had a chance to show its positive results, impatient nigerians had looked beyond the frontiers of their country for a quick money-spinning business, no matter how derogatory the business might be. the answer was the drug trade. accordingly; nigerians mustered all their business talents and became the favourite courier of the drug barons. 25 on the other hand, the demand for drugs in nigeria could be said to be fallout of the trafficking business. as exportation became more difficult due to intensified law enforcement (both in nigeria and abroad) there was a build-up of un-exported drugs which began to find local markets for internal consumption. the drug distributor, in search of patronage, usually begins by offering the substances on a complimentary basis for experimentation purpose. by so doing, the gullible youth, who succumb to peer group pressure for the rest of their lives, are enslaved to the drug supplies, who then sell to these addicts on their own terms. regrettably, the drug culture or habit among the youth in the society is now gradually sweeping through the younger generation in institutions of learning, drinking bars, and different kinds of joints, nightclubs, and so on. they have gradually entered into the streets and these have increased the activities of drug peddlers in the streets.26 drug production the higher demand for illicit drug in nigeria has by far increased the activities of drug production in the country. before the coming of other hard drugs in nigeria, it was obvious that indian hemp and ogogoro (a name for nigerian locally manufactured gin) had remained the only drugs with clear evidence of local cultivation and manufacturing in the country.27 the cultivation of indian hemp hitherto was a phenomenon believed to be more prevalent in the southern states igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 179 of nigeria. in the opinion of m.s dagmar thomas, the country representative of the united nations office on drugs and crime (unodc), nigeria is acknowledged as one of the largest cannabis growers in africa, with over eight per cent of the population abusing cannabis.28 he mentioned the annual cannabis seizures to have increased from 126 metric tons in 2005 to 210 metric tons in 2007.29 in line with this seizure, the ndlea, on its part, described the southwest region of nigeria as one of the main centres of illicit drug production in the country, where about 196.5 acres (0.795 km2) of cannabis farmland was discovered and destroyed in the region in 2008.30 in september, 2009, as pointed out elsewhere in the study, the ndlea reported the destruction of about 24 hectares of the cannabis plantation in a forest reserve in osun state.31 however, other activities, have shown the extent to which the production of cannabis has continued to spread to almost all other parts of the country. apparently, nigeria’s own challenges of drug, according to experts, present a pathetic case, for it is neither a hard drug producer nor primary consumer country. however, with the recent development, record has shown that nigeria enjoys the same level of notoriety as producing and primary consumer countries – a development that presents a case for national concern.32 the present observation has also revealed that, apart from indian hemp cultivation in the country, another type of illicit drug production, which appears to be steadily creeping into the nigerian society, is the high rising number of factories where methamphetamine and other synthetic drugs are produced. the methamphetamine drug is a white, odorless and bitter drug, which dissolves easily in water or alcohol. it has been discovered that this drug can be taken orally, intravenously or by smoking and snorting. in street parlance, the drug is known as ‘paya’ or ‘meth’. it became popular among nigerian drug users for its capacity to enhance sexual performance and for its medical property as a pain killer.33 for some time, meth was imported into the country by drug barons perpetually on the lookout for quick profits. the barons began to distribute the drug in capsules known as d10 and addicts found it easy to purchase it over the counter. meth is commonly used by wrestlers and touts locally to improve performance. along the line, drug addicts found other substitutes for meth, and these included ephedrine, procaine powder and tramadol, among others. in 2010, for instance, meth was said to have become central to the federal government’s campaign to rid the country of narcotics after the ndlea had observed an outward flow of the drug from nigeria to the western and asian countries. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 180 this was the warning bell that foretold the possibility of illegal meth factories flourishing within the country.34 similarly, in the earlier 2005, the united nations office on drugs and crime had raised the alarm over illegal meth factories in nigeria and other west african countries. according to a report published by the agency in 2011, there was an increase in the demand for this drug in asia. some countries in southeast asia were also said to have reported a 250 per cent increase in the meth-related arrests between 2004 and 2009.35the japanese authorities had also observed an increase in the number of people trafficking in the narcotic from africa to japan. nigeria was listed as a source country in west africa alongside benin republic, cameroun and senegal.36 clearly; drug trafficking syndicates are known to have expanded their network to include the production of meth. a 2012 unodc report listed an increase in the smuggling of meth to asian countries such as japan and korea. the ndlea reports for 2010 on meth seizures at the murtala mohammed international airport, in lagos, nigeria, indicated that from the 83 arrests made 62 of the suspects were heading for various asian countries. while 38 were travelling to malaysia, seven were heading for india and japan. four of the suspects were heading toward thailand and two others were travelling to bangladesh.37 indeed, more worrisome was the fact that foreigners had infiltrated the drug scene in nigeria. within a two-year period, a total of 284.583kilogram of meth was seized by the ndlea, the largest seizure being 50 kilogram of ephedrine that was destined for mozambique. the former chairman and chief executive of the ndlea, ahmadu giade, explained the trend in the following words: all over the world, the war on narcotics is tightening and drug barons are on the lookout for cheaper and easier alternatives that can provide the same euphoric effect as cocaine and heroin. meth quickly became this alternative as it can be produced in laboratories; now it is in high demand in europe.38 however, the snag is that there are very few persons globally who have the expertise to produce meth. that is why nigerian drug syndicates are seen to be sourcing the expertise of foreigners to help establish meth laboratories. if nigerians should master the art of producing meth locally, the health and environment implications would be disastrous. studies have shown that the preferred destination for meth traffickers in nigeria is asia and the reason has been that the penalty for drug trafficking in most asian countries is death. this penalty has influenced in maximizing profits of hard drugs trafficking to asia countries, because of the risk involved in trafficking. as a matter of fact, it becomes igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 181 more profitable for drug traffickers to ply their trade in asia than in other western nations.39 the consequence of this is the increase in production factories of meth in the country to satisfy the rising demand in the far east countries. for instance, the ndlea report of 29th march 2016 was said to have uncovered another super methamphetamine laboratory that dislodged a major drug trafficking organisations in the country. these were discovered by the officials of the special enforcement team (set) of the national drug law enforcement agency (ndlea), who made a significant breakthrough with the discovery of a super laboratory for the illicit production of methamphetamine, located at asaba, delta state. this super methamphetamine laboratory was estimated to be similar to the ones found in mexico and was the first to be discovered in the country. the report mentioned the involvement of four nigerians and four mexicans the brains behind the setting off the production centre in asaba.40 similarly, the ndlea found other illicit drug laboratories, with three clandestine laboratories, used for illegal mass production of methamphetamine. this was made known by the former chairman and chief executive officer of the ndlea, amadu giade, during one of his tenures. he was quoted to have disclosed how the agency discovered the illegal drug factories in akubuezem, nnewi, anambra state, which was reportedly owned by a suspected drug kingpin, chukwunwendu sylvester ikejiakwu.41 the disclosure was made in lagos, according to the ndlea report, when he was briefing journalists on the successes of the agency. mr. giade reiterated that ikejiakwu was also the leader of an international drug trafficking syndicate that recruits and sponsors drug couriers to china, malaysia, turkey and italy, among other countries. he also disclosed that the 37-year-old suspect was found to be deeply involved in unlawful exportation of illicit drugs and unlawful assembling, as well as running of methamphetamine production laboratories in the eastern part of nigeria. 42 local drug sales and consumption we have mentioned elsewhere in this study that nigeria is a transit country and a country gradually shifting into a narcotic consuming one. now it becomes imperative to understand that apart from cannabis, which is indigenous and constantly an item of abuse in great proportion, there are other illicit drugs like cocaine, heroin, and morphine, which were brought into the country through the existence of the country’s porous borders, but which could not find their way out igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 182 of the country as a result of the ndlea activities, and have risen as an alternative market for the traffickers, who looked back for internal market to dispose of them. the probable implication of the situation was the creation of a lot of local drug sales and consumption cantres in the immediate society. the development did further create a loophole for a possible proliferation of the activities of street peddlers within the local environment. these peddlers, in turn, also created a network within the nooks and crannies of the city, where none hitherto existed for possible increases in the distribution channel of local drug sales and consumption. illicit drug consumption in lagos state in 1992, for instance, the ndlea report, revealed that illicit sales and use of substances were on the rise among the nigerian urban youth.43 using lagos as a case study, the report revealed the existence of constant uses and abuses of substances such as alcoholic beverages, tramadol, codeine, cigarettes, cannabis, amphetamines, heroin, cocaine, other stimulants and synthetic depressants by young nigerians in the urban secondary schools. this report further revealed the activities of nigerian youths, adults and the consumption of hard drug in some major corners of lagos metropolis. it indicated how a psychiatric hospital was getting overfilled; how careers were crashing, promising lives were falling apart; how, many nigerian youths, were treading the path of mental destruction, and the report cautioned, that the way things were going, by the next 20 years, if not checked, the country would ruin with the negative effect of consumption of narcotics drugs and other psychotropic substance. however, among all the challenges mentioned about trafficking, local sales and consumption of drugs, the most worrisome was the consumption among children, adolescent and youth, whose addiction to these drugs had gain ground in the society.44 a brief investigation of federal neuropsychiatric hospital, yaba and oshodi, lagos state justifies this assertion. in an oral interview with dr. oluwayemi cecelia ogun, the medical director of the federal neuropsychiatric hospital, yaba, lagos state on 16th september 2018 in her office, 45 she had decried the impact of hard drugs on the society. citing few examples from the statistical record of a research available to her, she noted that 40.1 per cent in ilorin, kwara state (were addicted with the use of kola nut, alcohol, glue as an alternative drugs), 46.6 per cent in edo state institution, 43.9 per cent among some university students (uses coffee, alcohol, glue, kola nut, tobacco, cannabis, while 22.1 per cent in some igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 183 private secondary schools and 15.3 per cent in public schools in jos, plateau state, use drugs.46 in her further explanation, she categorised the abused drugs and substances in four distinctive categories: (a) illicit/illegal drugs and substance of abuse; (b) licit//legal drugs and substance of abuse; (c) medical drugs of abuse; and (d) the utility chemicals around the household.47 in the first category, she outlined illicit drug and substances of abuse such as heroin, cocaine, morphine, indian hemp, ecstasy, lsd, flakka, concoction of illicit drugs, cocktails, and so on. in addition, she mentioned those that fell within the second categories of licit/legal as those which comprise the regular day-to-day drugs that can be purchased behind the canter as “drugs and beverages” like, cigarettes (nicotine), coffee (caffeine), alcohol, energy dinks mixed with alcohol, among others, while, medical drugs of abuse are codeine (cough syrup), tramadol, valium, calamine, pentazocine, fentanyl, amphetamine (itaalim, palm pills, sleeping pills, (valium, diazepam, nitazepan), loatidine, rohypnol and others. finally, she mentioned the fourth categories as the one that fell within the utility chemicals around the household that which are abused. they are petrol, bleach, chemical, and so on.48 among all the drugs mentioned, dr, a. i. bello, of the federal neuropsychiatric hospital of oshodi, lagos, (annex) in a similar interview on 21st september 2018, made an additional contribution to dr. ogun’s explanation. on his part, bello outlined the various commonly abused substances by children, adolescent, and youth in the society to conclude the following 49; a. coffee used commonly at home and in school as beverages; b. tramadol for energy/power, sleep (users claims); c. cannabis (indian hemp/weed), cheap and widely offered by others (users claims); d. codeine sometimes mixed in different bottles of soft drinks – users claim it’s for relaxation; e. slimming pills/teas – amphetamine, mostly used by females; f. nicotine(cigarettes) usually offered (users claim; g. glue – easily accessible, available, users claim; h. pentazocine (a pain killer, injection used especially among sickles children); i. steroids’ – to develop muscles packs, win at sporting events (users claim); j. heron (prohibitively costly for most young uses; igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 184 k. cocaine (prohibitively costly for most young users; l. crack (prohibitively costly for most young users; m. morphine (prohibitively costly for most young users; and n. alcohol – young users claim it is bitter and expensive. in another interview held on 22nd september, 2018 with destiny a 20-year-old male inmate at child and adolescent mental health services centre oshodi, lagos, (annex) 50 (the first name is used only because the respondent declined to supply his surname) he shared his experience and how his addictive lifestyle started-a habit which he said, almost destroyed his life and future. he narrated how the security man in their residence (called mallam garba) who was also a peddler, disguised as a gateman and dealer in mini-provision shop at their gate, introduced him to the use of drugsa habit which he nurtured and later introduced to some of his friends in the school. he narrated how he was introduced into the use of drugs from tramadol and later to other hard drugs, until he became addicted to the use of the substances. he reiterated how his problem started and the subsequent illness associated with his addiction that manifested with the addiction. these included constant headache, convulsion, feeling of rejection, depression, temporary madness, memory loss, hallucination, among others. these illnesses and signs were what caught the attention of his parents when they manifested. accordingly, he was subsequently brought to a rehabilitation centre for treatment.51 apart from the oral interview with destiny, another disturbing situation was an eye witness account and an interview with a 35-year-old drug addict called uche obiekwe, 52 who was said to have been living with his mother, before he was admitted at federal neuropsychiatric hospital, yaba, lagos state, for rehabilitation. in uche’s own case, he was said to be an exceptionally intelligent student, before he became more dependent on hard drugs – a development that led to his lost of interest in attending classes and ultimate dropout of school. when he dropped out, according to his testimony, he latter fetched a job with a construction company. while staying with his mother, he added, his addiction became severe, to an extent that he was not capable of holding down a full-time job in the company.53 it is against the above, that seye afolabi, a child mental psychologist with the child and adolescent mental health services centre, oshodi (annex), in an interview on 22nd september, 2018, outlined certain issues responsible for child, adolescent, youth involvement in drug abuse. the issues include the following54 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 185 a. ignorance of the danger of drug use – the children and adolescents simply do not know the consequence of the use of drugs; b. involvements in cultism, social clubs, like palm wire clubs in higher institutions; c. lack of parental supervision of time and money in the hands of their children; d. family hostilities, for instance, some children have been excluded from family life and decision; e. child labour – especially, kids who do menial jobs outdoors; f. depression becoming more common among children; g. home exposure to substance uses especially with the new home fashion of having family drink; h. academic issues, if protracted, unresolved and associated with criticisms from loved ones and tutors; i. media projection that substance use is “cool”; j. disciplinary failure by stakeholder; k. lost trust in all authority figures; l. desire for beauty and body weight; m. quest for excitement, fun and independence; and n. excessive shyness (low self esteem) in this same development, mrs. grace fatai kadiri, 55 a secondary school teacher, believed that the current crises concerning drug related challenges was occasioned by the societal laxity to confronting illicit drug offences. she blamed the general public for not contributing immensely on the eradication of hard drug in the society. according to her, nigeria is one country where substance and drug screening is not commonly done. in other climes, as she explained, some people on essential services are regularly screened before they assume duty. for examples, the long-distance truck drives, the pilot, commercial vehicle drivers, the train or school bus drivers, and so on. he advised, that owners of schools and institutions of learning should brace up to current drug abuse challenges by purposing that all their students and school teachers with known addiction problems would be screened for drugs periodically. local drug consumption and drug peddling in some areas in imo state like other areas in the country, local drug consumption and peddling has been a serious issue of concern in imo state. an interview with the imo state ndlea commander, mr. nse jack, testifies the ugly incidence as that which has caused disaffection among people of the state. he narrated the successes recorded in the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 186 seizure of 248,58 kilogrammes of hard drugs and the arrest of 67 suspected traffickers last year alone. he therefore, cried over the discovery of a clandestine laboratory manufacturing methamphetamine by the agency in obinigwu village in orlu local government with suspects currently undergoing trials at the federal high court in lagos.56 similarly, at the present year, 2019, about 130, 17 kilogrammes of hard drugs has been seized from traffickers and peddlers, 30 drug abusers counseled, three drugdependent persons undergoing rehabilitation, while 53 suspects were said to have been arrested and currently being persecuted. jack advised that public enlightenment campaigns on the dangers of drug abuse are needed by all sector, example of such campaign as he emphasized, is the current partnership with mtn in schools and tertiary institutions across the state. he concluded that the dangers of drug abuse to human includes the damaging of vital organs of the body, such as kidney, liver, and lungs as well as its implication on socio-political and economic well being of the people and the future generation.57 in view of the outcry by the ndlea boss in imo state, the higher demand for illicit drug in the state has been far discovered by the present study to be on increase, various interview conducted recently by the researcher has attested beyond reasonable doubt the proliferation of the activities of drug peddlers in the state. apparently, the choice of the interview of the local dealers (peddlers) is rooted from the findings to ascertain why people engaged in local drug sales and consumption. in these findings, however, the research discovered that it’s not usually an easy task to identify the black market were peddlers carry out their sales and trading, even though they are located in every nook and crannies of the city. it was noted that the areas where drugs are sold cannot be discovered or noticed without having the cooperation and the aid of drug consumers or those leaving nearby. these findings according to an eye witness, mr. chibuzor okafor, who deals on drugs, informed the researcher, the difficulty involve in locating where drugs are sold, because of the secrecy involve in the trade. in his words, it requires languages and codified words which only those involve in these activities use and can only be understood and interpreted by peddlers and consumers alike to penetrate the arena where drugs are sold. some of these signs can come in form of facial expression, coded names or ‘local parlance” used to call the substance and so on.58 another interview with mr. okechukwu ogunna, who lives within the researcher’s neighbourhood, is an addict in marijuana (india hemp). in our igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 187 interaction, he mentioned peer group pressure, unemployment and frustration as the major reason which made him indulged in his habit. according to him, he started doing drugs after he was laid off by his master, whom he served for seven years in onitsha main market. on returning home, he discovered that his mate has gone far ahead of him in both academic and business progress. this prompted him into drug consumption in order to easy off frustration.59 ogunna aided the researcher on 7th july 2019 to the area near a primary school, where sales and buying of marijuana takes place on daily basis. there and then, the researcher met a peddler, mr. chijioke maduabuchukwu, who sales drug to them. in further inquiry, mr. maduabuchukwu, mentioned drug dealings as the only trade he knows and trained to do. in absent of drug dealing according him, “hunger will kill me” he reiterated, how ndlea activities forced him out of international drug trafficking. he narrated many countries, like usa, germany as area where he had served prison sentences and was deported after serving. when he came back finally to nigeria, he had no other plan, than to continue in local sales of india hemp in his village orji in owerri north local government.60 similarly, in a street called oguamanam by douglas road in owerri urban local government, is another area where different types of hard drugs are sold and distributed secretly by peddlers. according to mr. a e. anozie, who lives within the area, spoke on the activities in oguamanam street. according to him, “the drug activity at the area is suspected to have been of a great influence to the increasing criminal activities in the area around douglas road. for instance, drug users around the neighbourhood engage in criminal activity, such as burglary, snatching of people’s properties and prostitution, to raise the money to buy illicit drugs.61 douglas road is notorious area in owerri due to the above influence, especially during the evening period. it is an area where so many vices are perpetrated by drug addict who engages in crime to raise money to buy drugs. another witness to this account, mr. godwin nwoke, who claimed to be a repented peddler, confirmed anozie’s pronouncement, while narrating the criminating activities in douglas. in his words, the majority of crimes within douglas road are committed under the influence of hard drugs by drug addict leaving within the area. he also mentioned “timaya” (a brothel by onitsha road) as major source of concern, due to the criminal activities, prostitution and peddling of drugs that has been on increase in the area. in his narration, he sees the place as another major area for criminal activities and prostitution before 2017 in imo state, until the former governor of imo state, rochas okorocha, busted the place in 2017 to flush out the criminals living within the area. he later renamed it “jacob zuma avenue”. he concluded.62 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 188 another interview on monday 15th july, with nicholas amobi, 63 a drug peddler, who started his discussion by condemning the consumption of hard drugs. according to him, “it is almost impossible to stop abusing hard drugs once you begin unless you choose to attend a professional rehabilitation program and learn the skills you will need to end the use of hard drugs”. he mentioned the various places and ways, tricks used by peddlers to reach out to their various customers. he mentioned places like: a. car wash area. b. motor parks. c. stadium. d. university hostels. e. mammy market (army barracks) f. imo state university (imsu) junction g. drinking places (beer parlours), to mention but a few. in most of this area the consumer identified the peddlers through signs, codified languages, like “ole way”, how far (a greeting in pidgin language) or facial expression like touching their nose. by so doing, according to amobi, communication will be perfected, leading to the sales of the substance. often times, peddlers have different names for each of their product. for instance, white, (cocaine), brown (heroine), weed, gambo, s’k, miracles leaf, jumbo, wewee (india hemp), to mention but a few. these names can only be understood by a person who is into drug consumption alone.64 to support amobi’s account, mr. julian nwogu, (a.k.a frontman) a friend to amobi who is also a peddler, mentioned youths and young women as the highest petronisers of their trade. he mentioned lack of opportunities as the reason why they entered into the drug sales and distribution. in his words, “my parents died when i was 12 years, and were left alone to cater for my younger ones, no uncle, no aunty, only me and my siblings” this according to him made him enter into drug trade, in other to make it fast. he talked about his awareness about the danger posed by drug addiction, and advised the authorities to create jobs for them to be able to live a better life in the society.65 three other peddlers from nwangale local government of imo state, mr. john nwafor,66 mr. andrew onyewuche,67 jonathan uzoma,68 all spoke about the deceptive and disguising nature of drug distribution business and the creation of network by drug peddlers throughout the nook and crannies of the environment. this according to them makes it impossible to fully arrest the proliferation of drug peddlers in nigeria. according to them, sometimes igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 189 peddlers act as shoe menders, rat killer sellers, scrap pickers, mad people, beggars, and even use the disabled persons in order to beat security network to reach out to their customers. in addition to this, is the challenge posed by state security syndicates who aids and collaborate with peddlers to carry out their business successfully. according to one repented peddler johnbosco, who preferred to be called by his nickname “jagaban” who operate from works layout, owerri made a very surprising and shocking revelation, that even state security agents, like the military, are actively involved in the distribution of hard drugs. in his words, “when i was in the business of drug peddling, some corrupt military personnel normally supply me india hemp in quantity with their vehicle, which i will eventually sale in bit and pay them back in their next supply.” he also mentions that some ‘presumed’ responsible men and women in the society patronise their trade, some of them, he said, preferred a home delivery of the substance.69 there are also incidences where young girls are lured into drug addiction by their male partners. an interview with a young lady, miss. vivian ekeoma,70 who claimed to be a third-year student of abia state university, narrated her ordeal to the researcher on 26 july 2019, when she came to buy illicit drug at oguamanam street. before the commencement of her story, she asked the researcher for two favours: 1. that the researcher should pay for the bill arising from the cost of her purchase; 2. and her story should be protected; at first instance, she narrated how she started using drugs. according to her, her involvement with drug use and other psychotropic substances started when she gained admission into her present school (abia state university) were she met her late boyfriend, who was also a student in the same institution, as well as “yahoo boy” (an acronym used for internet fraudster in nigeria), who later died on motor accident. her life as an addict was said to have started when she was convinced by her late boyfriend that using the substance can be very benefiting, especially in the area of sexual enhancement and performance. but overtime, she discovered that whenever she is under the influence of this substance, it makes her feel “cooool” (hallucination). the mood that goes along with drug consumption apparently became interesting to her, and this continued until she became addicted to drugs. she also expressed how only one hypodermic syringe or needle is usually used by peddlers to inject drugs through their veins igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 190 to almost all the drug consumers. in her words, drug consumption has lured her into other habits. for instance, she now begs for money from people at random in public places. it also makes her engage in prostitution. sales of her properties and other precious belongings, all to raise money to satisfy her drug addiction. apart from mr. ejike experience another thrilling circumstance was an interview with mr. collins ejiogu,71 a civil servant, with state ministry of trade and industry, who spoke extensively on the rate of drug consumption and the danger associated with drug trafficking and consumption in the society. he sees illicit drug consumption, as the major factor responsible for most of the social vices in the society. in his view, most parents should be blame for their inability to raise their children in a proper way. he condemned the new home fashion of having fancy drinking bars built into the common sitting room. pointing out that, such facilities have a way of misleading the children. for instance, the relations who use drugs/ substances can expose the children into drug use, while using these facilities. he further advises parents to supervise their children very well, while been wary of who visit their homes. in the part of mr. david nwachukwu, 72 a retired health worker, condemned the media exposure by most parents to their children, especially those which propagate and exposes immorality and encourage drug consumption. he advised, that illicit drug consumption can lead to some undesirable circumstances like 1. criminal activities 2. it can lead to incessant family/parental conflicts 3. it destroys/truncates schooling and careers 4. it isolates youth from good companion 5. it brings embarrassment to the abuser child, parents, family, school and community, he concluded. however, the growing effect of this trend has created a very complex development for ndlea to overcome. the biggest issue confronting ndlea at the moment is not anymore on how to curb drug trafficking in and out of the country, but rather the internal problems associated with local drug sales and distribution within the country. conclusion the reasons for the establishment of the ndlea in nigeria were to fight the crime of drug abuse as made manifest in illicit drug production, trafficking and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 191 consumption in the society and to curtail the availability of drugs. considering that there are vulnerable classes of people and army of youth who are unemployed and who have continued to find reasons to trade and consume these substances, and on the other hand, women who are continuously driven by desperation. the research also identified corruption, duplications of duty, and delay of justice as major issues of concern militating against the prosecution of the war of illicit drugs, especially drug trafficking in the country. it also identifies drug crimes and abuse of the substance as an obstacle primarily linking other social vices. in all this challenges, however, it appears reasonable to predict that the war will only continue to worsen the problems associated with drugs. while reviewing the global drug situation and the apparent drug war failure, studies have shown that no government can ever conceivably convince all segments of the general public to either abstain from illegal trading in these substances, or from consumption or drug use. this research, however, is not only about giving nigerian drug policy makers suggestions on water-tight alternatives on how hard drugs or narcotics could be eradicated in nigeria. it is about analysing the array of critical issues and implications of trafficking and consumption of illicit drug among women and youth in our society. nevertheless, it becomes imperative to call on drug policy makers for a rethink, recognising that the pros and cons of this war are multiple. in other words, the present study suggests a need for a nuanced debate on the war and the need for experimentation with other drug policy alternatives, especially a homegrown alternative, which traditionally will centre on grassroots norms and values. for instance, the advocacy of gottfedson and hirschi’s social theory, should be made relevant, which talks about the control of individual’s behaviour by establishing a strong moral bond between the juvenile and society, consisting of an attachment to others, commitment to conventional behaviour, involvement in conventional activities, and a belief in the moral order and law, which tends to promote conformity and prevent delinquency. this suggestion becomes necessary, based on the fact that the current prohibition laws has not being much effective, as the number of arrested persons trading in the illicit substances increases on daily basis. therefore, there is a need to advocate for a new approach to this important social problem, through policy change. finally, while advocating for this change in approach, the research laid further emphasis on youth unemployment, poverty and general loss of hope in the society as another major factor encouraging indulgence of persons, particularly the youth, in crime related activities in nigeria. in that vein therefore, the research also igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 192 suggests the implementation of gottfedson and hirschi’s social theory, which also advocate human capital development by government as a way to deter youth from criminal activities. increasing burden of drug crimes and its related vices in the nigerian society. apparently, this social theory if well harnessed will by far, remain an ideal philosophical response to remedy and checkmate the illicit drug related challenges. recommendations however, since, it has been argued that the majority of those associated with illicit drugs, both in respect of abuse and trafficking are mostly youths. it, therefore, means that if the youth are kept away from drugs, the entire problem is almost solved. in other words, the nigerian youth need to be further oriented on the dangers involved with engaging in trafficking and abuse of drugs and should further discourage to see it as a means of livelihood. this orientation should not be left only with the ndlea and government or educational institutions. adequate awareness should be strengthened by print and electronic media on the dangers posed by illicit drug trafficking and consumption. furthermore, religious leaders, teachers, parents, guardians and all molders of opinion should also step up to the challenges and play their role in this regard and to ensure that through institutional pressure, that the youth in our society are discourage from getting involved in the trafficking, use and abuse of hard drugs. this preventive education is one of the best measures to be in place to avoid problems associated with drug abuse. in line with the preventive education, the modern leaders in nigeria should gather under one roof and trash out these issues. they should put human development in high priority; otherwise, it wouldn’t be good to rest, until this issue is settled in this country. apparently, the society should be made conducive for all, by finding a lasting solution to eliminate this problem from grassroots. these will only be possible, through finding a meaningful solution to the current state of the drug problem by ndlea and concern nigerians. other recommendations, remedial measures, should also be looked into. first, the control of illicit drug demand is no doubt the major war in the drug consumption and trafficking control. for instance, where demand is properly controlled, there will be no need for illicit drug trafficking or supply. this fact contradicts the effort of ndlea in trying to push forward their best in the control of supply of narcotics without appropriate logistics. this contradiction arises igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 193 when those drugs which came in through our porous border could not find its way outside the country and certainly revolves within the internal market. the study recommends therefore, that the ndlea should concentrate its effort, predominately on the drug demand reduction strategy, in other to abate or discourage supply. by this means therefore, when the demand is discouraged, through this regulative approach, supply will die a nature death. to achieve this, ndlea should establish more rehabilitation centres to address the problems of drug addiction. more special centres for the treatment and rehabilitation of drugdependent persons will be needed in every locality. these centres should develop a range of treatment and rehabilitation programmes, which will combine strategies for medical, psychological and social services. such centres will need interdisciplinary staff. the rehabilitation centres should be made available to the grassroots level. in other words, every local government area or even communities in the country should have these facilities for the treatment of drug addicts. since the drug abuse issue has entered deep in every nooks and crannies of the country. existing centres should also be expanded and equipped for more effectiveness. and to do this efficiently, motor vehicles, equipped materials, should be adequately supply. more funds should be made available to official of the agency to enable them perform to this expectation, because there is no output without input. endnotes 1. aa. anivbassa, “the enforcement of drug law in nigeria” an unpublished paper presented at a symposium organized by nigeria association of academic pharmacists at ahmadu bello university, zaria on 30/7/92.p.1 2. issa sikiti da silva, general news, “nigeria tops the list of the drug trafficking, use in west africa” the international narcotics board (ineb) report for 2012. 3. issa sikiti da silva, general news, “nigeria tops”… 4. issa sikiti da silva, general news, “nigeria tops”… 5. daily triumph newspapers. “abuse”. july 14, 2009. p, 20, also in a, ahemba, "very elderly man caught with huge marijuana haul" time reuters. april 1, 2009.p,12 6. daily sun newspapers, “the ndlea publicly burned 5,605.45 kilograms of drugs seized from traffickers in the historic town of badagry, lagos the bonfire included 5,157.56 tonnes of cannabis” in. january 22 2009. 7. daily sun newspapers, “the ndlea publicly”… igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 194 8. j.e. gyong, b. tamina, “a sociological assessment of the national drug law enforcement agency, ndlea, strategies of arrest and detention”, nigeria journal of social science. 2010. p, p, 2(3) 127-134. 9. j.e. gyong, b. tamina, “a sociological assessment of the national”… 10. i. s. obot. “assessing “nigeria’s drug policy 1994-2000” international journal of review of african political economy 28;13-32.2007, 11. united nations office on drug and crime, (unodc) “drug trafficking as a security threat in west africa”, november 2008, p.7 12. ndlea annual report for 2014. p, 13 13. ndlea annual report... 14. ndlea annual report... 15. awa u. kalu, yemi osinbajo, narcotics, law and policy in nigeria, federal ministry of justice law review series 16. awa u. kalu, yemi osinbajo, narcotics… 17. awa u. kalu, yemi osinbajo, narcotics… 18. awa u. kalu, yemi osinbajo, narcotics… 19. awa u. kalu, yemi osinbajo, narcotics… 20. b. henry, “ghana’s drug economy: some preliminary data”. journal of review of african political economy 26: 13-32. 2007 21. b. henry, “ghana’s drug economy: some preliminary”… 22. f. pearce, “crimes of the powerful: marxism, crime and deviance” national criminal justice reference service for 1976.p,34 23. mark shaw, “regional traffic: towards an understanding of west african criminal networks in southern africa”. a journal for african security review, vol. 10, no.4, 2001. 24. awa u. kalu, yemi osinbajo, narcotics,… 25. awa u. kalu, yemi osinbajo, narcotics,… 26. awa u. kalu, yemi osinbajo, narcotics,… 27. aa. anivbassa, “drug trafficking in nigeria” , an unpublished lecture delivered to the defense adviser’s conference held at the officers mess of 26 guards battalion, bonny camp lagos on 23rd july, 1993. 28. global security report "national drug law enforcement agency". retrieved 2009-09-27. 29. global security report "national drug law enforcement agency"… 30. this day nigeria, "ndlea's worries over indian hemp farms". 1 february 2009. p,16 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 195 31. channels television, "ndlea destroys cannabis plantation in osun state".. september 2009. archived from the original on november 7, 2009. retrieved 2009-09-29 32. awa u. kalu, yemi osinbajo, narcotics,.. 33. awa u. kalu, yemi osinbajo, narcotics… 34. national drug law enforcement agency, annual report for 2010, 35. united nations office on drug and crime, (unodc) report for 2011. 36. united nations office on drug and crime, (unodc), report for 2012. 37. national drug law enforcement agency, annual report for 2010. 38. national drug law enforcement agency, annual report… 39. national drug law enforcement agency, annual report… 40. national drug law enforcement agency, annual report… 41. national drug law enforcement agency, annual report… 42. national drug law enforcement agency, annual report… 43. national drug law enforcement agency annual report for1992 44. otunba, ipinmisho, “the assessment of level of drug abuse today in nigeria” thisday newspapers, interview with kasin samania, may,20,2016 45. oluwayemi cecelia ogun, c56 years, medical doctor and the medical director of the federal neuropsychiatric hospital, yaba, lagos state, interviewed on 16th september 2018 46. oluwayemi cecelia ogun, interview. 47. oluwayemi cecelia ogun, interview 48. oluwayemi cecelia ogun, interview 49. a. i bello, c58 years, medical doctor with the federal neuropsychiatric hospital of oshodi lagos annex, interviewed on 21st september 2018, 50. destiny, c20 years, male inmate in child and adolescent mental health services centre oshodi annex, interview at drug and mental rehabilitation for child and adolescent on 22nd september 2018, destiny for some obvious reasons insisted on keeping his surname anonymous 51. destiny, interview. 52. uche obiekwe , c35 years, male inmate at the federal neuropsychiatric hospital, yaba, lagos state, interviewed at the drug and mental rehabilitation for adult drug addict, on 16th september, 2018 53. uche obiekwe, interview. 54. seye afolabi, c49 years, a child mental psychologist with the child and adolescent mental health services centre oshodi, lagos state annex, interviewed at oshodi office on 22nd september of 2018. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 196 55. grace fatai kadiri, c56year, secondary school teacher, interviewed at school premises, c.m.s grammar school. bariga, lagos, 15th november, 2018 56. nse jack, c54 years, commander, imo state ndlea, interviewed at owerri headquarters, 4th july, 2019. 57. nse jack, interview. 58. chibuzor okafor, c38 years, drug peddler, interviewed at umudagu, mbaeri, mbaitoli l.g.a, 5th july, 2019 59. okechukwu ogunna, c32 years, drug addict, interviewed at residence at 32, tenant road, mbaeri, mbaitoli l.g.a, 6th july, 2019 60. chijioke maduabuchukwu, c42years, drug peddler, interviewed at orji primary school, 7th july 2019. 61. anthony emeka anozie, c42 years, informer, interviewed at his residence, 30, uche street, off oguananam street, owerri, imo state, 8th july, 2019. 62. godwin nwoke, c39 years, repented drug peddler. interviewed at his residence, 16, uche street, off oguananam street, owerri, imo state, 8th july, 2019. 63. nicholas amobi, (nickname, nicompoo), c35 years, drug peddler, interviewed at oguananam street, owerri, imo state, 8th, july, 2019. 64. nicholas amobi, interview 65. julian nwogu, (a.k.a, frontman) c32 years, drug peddlers, interviewed in his area, near okigwe road motor park. owerri, imo state, 10th july, 2019 66. john nwafor, (nick, jonny brazil), c28years, drug peddlers, interviewed in abba, nwangale l.g.a, imo state, 9th july, 2019 67. andrew onyemauche, (nickname, andy) c37 years, drug peddlers, interviewed in abba, nwangale l.g.a, imo state, 9th july, 2019 68. jonathan uzoma, (nickname, president) c25 years, drug peddlers, interviewed in abba, nwangale l.g.a, imo state, 9th july, 2019 69. johnbosco, (nickname, jaggaban), c42 years, repented peddler, interviewed at works layout, owerri, 10th july. 2019. johnbosco for some obvious reasons insisted on keeping his surname anonymous, but rather preferred to be called “jaggaban” 70. vivian ekeoma, c25years, addict, interviewed at oguananam street. 8th july 2019, 71. collins ejiogu, c57 years, civil servant, imo state ministry of trade and industry, interviewed on 20th august 2019. 72. david nwachukwu, c73 years, a health worker, interviewed at his resident, on 26th august, 2019 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 125 sending the gods to exile: the effects of deforestation on shrines in africa gideon y. tambiyi, phd department of religion and philosophy university of jos, nigeria tambiyig@unijos.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.31258.06083 & nenman danjuma wapwera department of religion and philosophy university of jos, nigeria wapweran@unijos.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.31258.06083 abstract the rate of deforestation in africa is always growing in an alarming rate. despite all the awareness and campaigns on the effects of deforestation, the problem kept on continuing on daily basis. this study aims at assessing the effects on the deforestation on the habitation of the gods in some parts of central plateau state and southern kaduna. the researchers in this study argued that deforestation in african soil is an intentional activity initiated by the colonialists to weaken the activities of african traditional worshippers who have high regards for the forests habitations. this the researchers claimed was for them (colonialists) to have easy access to introduce their foreign god thereby relegating the assumed powers of the african gods to the background. this research employs a historical, descriptive and analytical approach to some african existing and already destroyed shrines and how it affects the religious activities of the people of some parts of ngas land of plateau state and the bajju people of southern kaduna. keywords: ngas, gods, bajju, southern kaduna, kajju, africa, deforestation, and shrines introduction many observers have criticised the global political response to environmental change, which largely seeks to institutionalise scientific solutions to contemporary environmental problems. some of these authors, according to shehu and molyneux-hodgson, argue that scientific approaches tend to undermine the role of cultural and social forces that shape perception and adaptation to environmental change within societies and can alienate peoples who are most vulnerable to climatic and environmental change. in an effort to mailto:tambiyig@unijos.edu.ng mailto:wapweran@unijos.edu.ng igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 126 relate environmental change with religion, they also stated that, in many societies across the world, religion provides an important lens for understanding human worldviews, attitudes and behaviour regarding major issues such as social and environmental change.61 apart from shehu and s. molyneux-hodgson, there are other scholars who have researched the role of religious beliefs in environmental conservation. these studies were based on surveys conducted in western countries, where christianity is the dominant religion, although differences between christian denominations were evidenced; particularly among those having a more literal interpretation of the bible (some evangelical churches), which were found to have less environmental concern than catholics or orthodox communities. however, previously distinguished research does not assess whether christianity is more or less environmentally friendly than other major religions, such as islam, buddhism or hinduism.62 it is evident that such environmental changes have had great influenced on the religious life of the african people particularly in the aspect of deforestation and the gods in traditional african societies. this work examines the effects of deforestation on the african traditional religion and its roles in decongesting the abode of some of the african gods thereby sending them on exile. it considers the concept of a forest and how it is viewed within an african context. it also looks at the idea of deforestation in african countries and studies the influence of deforestation on religious activities particularly on the gods and their shrines in traditional african societies, sampling the ngas land of plateau state and kajju land of southern kaduna. the work equally discusses some socio-econmic and religious effects of deforestation on the african societies and it also makes some recommendations on curbing the issues of deforestation and to save the african gods from being exiled. the brief concept of a forest forest in african thoughts, as viewed by omorovie ikeke, is held and revered to be a sacred entity and in most cases the habitation of supra-human forces, and as such preserved and protected from endangerment. ikeke adds that 61 m. shehu, and s. molyneux-hodgson, “faith communities and environmental degradation in northeast nigeria.” international journal of environmental sustainability. vol. 10, no. 1 (2014): 2740. 62 emilio chuvieco, mario burgui and isabel gallego-álvarez, “impacts of religious beliefs on environmental indicators: is christianity more aggressive than other religions?” worldviews 20 (2016): 253. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 127 forests hold great value in every local community and global world as they are not only important to human lives but also important for the survival of other non-human lives and species that depend on forests environments for survival and flourishing.63 the implication of this submission is that the make-ups of forests includes both trees and other lives inhabiting the forests. as a result, forest, according to webster’s dictionary of english language, refers to “a large area of land covered with trees and bush growing thickly”.64 forest involves land, trees and bushes. africa has been considered to contain so much undeveloped land and has so many trees and bushes growing around the societies. of the many problems in africa, environmental problems constitute and integral part in many african societies. amongst the concerns raised is the issue deforestation. deforestation and land use is being a problem to the coming of the colonialists into africa. they argued that before the coming of the colonialists, africans were environmentally friendly, as they are good in the preservation of the nature.65 ikuenobe summits that traditional african thought sees nature as holistic and as an interconnected continuum of humans and all natural objects which exist in harmony. according to him, people’s actions and ways of life reflected the efforts to exist in harmony with nature. these efforts led to the preservation of nature. many of these traditional african values, ways of life, and the moral attitudes of conservation were destroyed by the exploitative ethos of european colonialism and modernity.66 science daily records that “the first study to link pre-colonial african leadership and current levels of deforestation has shown a strong correlation between areas with historic leadership structures more susceptible to corruption and higher rates of forest loss today”.67 their report also submits that, areas with 'social standing' leaderships in pre-colonial times have approximately 50% more deforestation than the average rate of forest loss for africa over this period. this is indication supports the assumption of the intentional deforestation of africa by the colonialists, using african machineries to achieve their aim of frustrating the african gods, thereby sending them packing in their motherland. 63 mark omorovie ikeke. “the forest in african traditional thought and practice: an ecophilosophical discourse”. open journal of philosophy, vol. 3, no. 2 (2013): 345. 64 merriam-webster, webster’s dictionary of the english language (bendon, 2014), 358. 65 p. a. ikuenobe, “traditional african environmental ethics and colonial legacy”. international journal of philosophy and theology 2:4 (2014), 1. 66 ikuenobe, “traditional african environmental ethics and colonial legacy”, 1. 67 university of cambridge. “traditional authority’ linked to rates of deforestation in africa”. science daily, nov. 24, 2015. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 128 there are different types of forests in africa and all these forests did not actually carry out the same function and also some forests may be perceived differently in different areas with different imaginations. some forests are restricted to some people and one may even discover some parts of the forests that is still being feared by many, such as the cases of evil forests. africans believed that plants, animals and other living things that lives in the forests possess some spirits but the spirits are not the same and some may be possessed by good spirits while others with evil spirits.68 this briefly presents an idea of what constitutes a forest within the african continent. deforestation in africa according to chakravarty, ghosh, suresh, and shukla, “deforestation is the conversion of forest to an alternative permanent non-forested land use such as agriculture, grazing or urban development.”69 they see “deforestation to primarily become a concern for the developing countries of the tropics as it is shrinking areas of the tropical forests causing loss of biodiversity and enhancing the greenhouse effect.”70 deforestation could also be defined as the depletion and exploitation of forest resources, as well as the conversion of forested land into alternative land uses.71 there have been a lot of deforestation activities in africa. many of them started during the colonial period in the 19th century. for example, commenting on when deforestation began in kenya, flannery bethel wrote: the path toward deforestation began when kenya became a part of the british empire in 1895 and ownership of public forestland was transferred from ethnic communities to state control. with this western presence came western approaches to forestry, conservation, and land tenure decisions. in the 1930s, large portions of the mau forest were cleared in order to establish plantations of primarily exotic tree species for logging purposes and tea plantations. the colonial government did not recognize the okiek people’s claim to the land, and chose to move forward by displacing them into designated reserves in other forests across kenya. these land use changes escalated over time, and over the 68 ikeke, 347. 69 sumit chakravarty, s. k. ghosh, c. p. suresh, a. n. dey and gopal shukla, “deforestation: causes, effects and control strategies” in clement akais okia ed., global perspectives on sustainable forest management. croatia: intech, 2012, 1. 70 chakravarty, ghosh, suresh, dey and shukla, 1. 71 flannery bethel, “deforestation threatening practical and cultural livelihoods: lessons learned from participation in tree planting by rural women in kenya and ghana. june, 2016. <https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/d537/caa9eefd265e9a41b026c4f2b26b3a13238c.pdf>, 8 https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/d537/caa9eefd265e9a41b026c4f2b26b3a13238c.pdf igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 129 last two decades, over 107,000 ha of forest, accounting for over 25 percent of the mau complex, has been destroyed.72 citing the work of klopp and sang, bethel notes that the forests of kenya had never suffered such extensive devastation rather than before the destruction of this large closed canopy forest beginning in the 1930s. he notes that in 1963, ten percent of kenya’s land was covered by forest (5.81 million ha), but as of 2011 that figure was close to dropping below 6 percent, leaving total area in forest loss comparable to the size of puerto rico.73 bethel further cites the growth of the community as a major cause of deforestation. according to him, 80% of the people rely on fuel and space for agriculture, hence resorted to cutting down of trees.74 bethel identifies logging and harvesting, fire and conversion of forests into lands for agriculture and human settlements, and the increase in climate change, intensified droughts and floods which forced poverty driven people and those in the rural areas to rely on forest resources in order to maintain their livelihoods as causes of deforestation in kenya.75 according to daniel asante boamah, deforestation is a major problem in ghana. he notes that according to a report, an estimation of 33.7% of the forest cover of ghana was lost between 1990 and 2010. together, deforestation and land/soil loss have led to loss of significant biodiversity.76 these environmental issues have created a lot of problem in ghana and many parts of africa. in a study in ghana on deforestation, abubakari sadik mohammed states that “deforestation has affected crop production in the areas of delayed commencement of planting seasons, pest and diseases infestation, level and quality of crop yields and reduction in the income levels of farmers. the study recommended among other things, the continuous education and sensitization of farmers, strengthening of the public institution stakeholders and promotion 72 bethel, 21. 73 bethel, 20. 74 bethel, 20. 75 bethel, 22-23. 76 daniel asante boamah, “akan indigenous religio-cultural beliefs and environmental preservation: the role of taboos.” master’s essay submitted in partial fulfillment of the degree master of arts in the school of religion at queen’s university august, 2015. <https://www.queensu.ca/religion/sites/webpublish.queensu.ca.rlgnwww/files/files/rels/grad/daniel% 20asante%20boamah%20mrp.pdf> p.3. https://www.queensu.ca/religion/sites/webpublish.queensu.ca.rlgnwww/files/files/rels/grad/daniel%20asante%20boamah%20mrp.pdf https://www.queensu.ca/religion/sites/webpublish.queensu.ca.rlgnwww/files/files/rels/grad/daniel%20asante%20boamah%20mrp.pdf igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 130 of active research that will ensure a decline in deforestation.”77 apart from these issues, there are also religious challenges which deforestation has caused to the gods and shrines in africa, which this work will survey among the ngas people of plateau state and the bajju people of southern kaduna. exiling the gods and their shrines in traditional african societies shrines in african religious thought are sacred places where rituals are performed and they are predominantly located in the forests or sometimes at homes. it is believed that all the objects of worship are domiciled in the shrines, so also some of the gods. setting aside a sacred place where certain rituals are performed is one of the core features of traditional religions in africa. in african traditional thought, the gods inhabit the shrines in search for safer abode. shrines and sacred lands are common in ngas land. these areas, as noted by gontul et al, are “strictly prohibited from all forms of human exploitations except for acceptable and prescribed uses.”78 any attempt to carry out any activity or duty that is not prescribed or accepted within the sacred place or shrine is strongly frowned at and usually attracts punishment. african traditional religion plays a vital role in environmental conservation and this may not be unconnected with the fact that africans believe in the powers or spirits that reside in the conserved environment. the advent of christianity in african soil has seriously affected the views of the africans on the preservation of the shrines and the sacred places. this decision is informed by the fact that many of the africans have accepted the new faith and therefore are seeing nothing good emancipating from the existing traditional religion. the new religion has disapproved all the religious practices of the africans with its sacred places and shrines. this notion has resulted in exposing the hitherto conserved shrines to all forms of exploitation such as grazing, hunting and wood extraction.79 polycarp ikuenobe argues that prior to colonialism, the activities that have raised environmental concerns in africa did not exist. in his argument, he insists that africans had conservationist values, practices and ways of life. he notes also that the people’s ways of life reflected the efforts to exist in harmony 77 abubakari sadik mohammed, “deforestation and its effects on livelihood patterns of forest fringe communities in the asunafor north municipality.” <http://ir.knust.edu.gh/bitstream/123456789/7539/1/abubakari%20sadik%20mohammed.p df accessed 16th april, 2020, p. v. 78 t. k. gontul et al. “conflicting religious practices and environmental resource conservation in the ngas community of plateau state, nigeria”, journal of research in tourism. vol 4. (2013): 60. 79 gontul, 61. http://ir.knust.edu.gh/bitstream/123456789/7539/1/abubakari%20sadik%20mohammed.pdf http://ir.knust.edu.gh/bitstream/123456789/7539/1/abubakari%20sadik%20mohammed.pdf igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 131 with nature. to him, these actions led to the preservation of nature. a nature friendly people cannot in any way partake in anything that can lead to the destruction of that same nature.80 the europeans do not have the same view as the africans as far as nature in africa is concerned. ikuenobe summarizes the view of the europeans on africa’s nature thus: for the europeans, africa’s rain forests and jungles can be destroyed, lumber can be harvested for homes, furniture, and as export to europe. the land and forests are to be converted into industrial and real estate complexes or into farms and plantations to produce cash crops and export for industrial europe. the mountains are to be mined indiscriminately for minerals, the rivers dammed for electricity, and the swamps drilled for oil.81 the europeans actually dealt mercilessly with the natural habitat of the africans and thereafter posed to claim that the africans are not nature friendly. these activities of the europeans affected the relationship that the africans had with the nature to the extent of the africans themselves seem to forget the relationship that existed between them and the nature prior to the time of the europeans. colonialism destroyed and supplanted african ways of life and beliefs to create colonial structures which were eventually left behind in africa.82 it is no doubt that the friendly relationship that the africans had with nature was strongly based on their religious beliefs. many activities of the colonial masters, which range from mining, cutting down trees for building and commercial purposes, had succeeded in rendering most of the african gods, whose abode is either the forests, rivers, and caves into exile as they no longer have a place to live comfortably. to buttress this point, this work samples two lands and culture in the middle belt of nigeria. 1. shrines among the ngas land of plateau state ngas is one of the ethnic groups on the plateau. history has it that the ngas people originated from yemen, and migrated through borno and from there continued the journey until they arrived their present locationyil ngas, which is in the present day pankshin and kanke local government areas of plateau state. on the history of the ngas people, goyol and dimka state thus: 80 ikuenobe 2. 81 ikuenobe, 12. 82 ikuenobe, 13. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 132 the ngas are said to have originated from yemen and belonged to the sudanic kash group of people who were originally a cognate to the ‘kash’ of the contract of the nile, the ancient nebatse-nubians. the ngas language belongs to the group of very ancient languages interrelated to some common stock with the ancient egyptian language from which some stock has grown into the hausa language. the ngas migrated to nigeria through borno and moved to bauchi at about ad 1100. they later moved to settle at ‘yam’ in kanam lga where they split into two groups. one group is called the ngurna came to the present day ngas land through gyangyang to what is today called the plain ngas areas such as: kabwir, amper and part of ampang east districts. the second group called the kangchan moved up hill to settle at what is today called the hill ngas areas like wokkos, pankshin, garram and part of ampang east districts.83 the traditional world-view of the ngas people is populated with the myriads of spirit forces that interacts with man who is at the centre of the hierarchy. the spiritual forces which cannot be seen physically, can be experienced by the people. the man interacts with these spirit forces through constant worship which constitute prayers, offerings, sacrifices etc. the hierarchy of the spiritual beings in the ngas cosmology has nen (the supreme being) at the helm. wambutda notes that the word nen does not have etymology. nen in ngas language means spider, as such, the nature of the supreme being cannot be understood superficially.84 nen, basically describes the attribute of the supreme being rather than the name. the ability of the spider to create its webs from within itself out of nothing, explains that nen (supreme being) is a powerful creative being. the second in the hierarchy is the zigwol. they are said to be referred to as the sons of nen. the ngas according to wambutda, conceives of a counterpart world to his own with all the counterpart institutions as he sees them in this world. the zigwol are said to be part of the counterpart world from whence they perform their activities. they are only seen by very special breeds of people, the goputurmwa ‘the people with the chest’ and the jepritmwa ‘the good boys’ (men of second sight). it assumed in ngas land that children up to the age of twelve or so years might have been in contact with the zigwol, but as they grow older the ability disappears. they are usually black or red. their consent 83 a. goyol, and e. dimka, pusdung: ngas festival of art and culture (jos, 1999), 5. 84 daniel nimcir wambutda, a study of conversion among the ngas of plateau state of nigeria with emphasis on christianity (new york: peter lang, 1991), 97. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 133 is always sought before one erects a house or compound so as not to build in their meeting place. the zigwols may be associated with a particular place.85 the ancestors (wongmwa) are the third in the hierarchy of beings. in the realm of religion, what occupies the mind of the ngas people most is the ancestors. the ngas man swears by his deceased father, or grandfather if his father is still alive. libations of beer are first poured on the ground before it is drunk in honour of the ancestors. they are also referred to as d’demwa (the lords). their abode is in the sacred grove, usually on a hill. the grove usually belongs to the compound which is nearest to it. a thatched hut is always built in the groove. ridges of stones usually surrounds the hut representing various names of the ancestors. not everyone can become an ancestor. only those who die of natural causes, and who are not younger than middle age within the patrilineage.86 one can become an ancestor if he dies young only if he holds a responsibility of either a chief or the overseer of a compound (gopobong). the importance attached to the ancestors in yil ngas (ngas land), led to the preservation of the place of abode of the ancestors in form of groves, which had been the practice for time immemorial. most of the communities in the ngas land used to have number of groves (shrines) dedicated for the worship of the ancestors. this practice is gradually fading with the coming of christianity and modernization that is gradually taking over the activities of the people. most of the people accepted christianity and the shrines are no longer relevant and the trees that make up the shrines are cut down for other usages. the effects of these activities have endangered the bio system as groves or shrines serves as abode for even some animals. in a study carried out in some villages in pankshin district of pankshin lga, it was discovered that most of the shrines are in good shape, akin to the fact that most of the villages visited still have good number of the practitioners of the traditional religion. most of the festivals that requires the appearances of the ancestors like the moswong, morgi, chenshwe, chikshwe are annually celebrated with each of the ancestors having their specific shrines. a visit to ner (the headquarter of the district), three major shrines; lit morgi, lit moswong, and lit burtuk were discovered which two are in good shape (lit morgi and lit moswong) and the lit burtuk which was used by women had since been abandoned and the shrine not in use. despite the fact that the area is still reserved, and the trees have been affected by bush burning and encroachment. 85 wambutda, 101. 86 wambutda, 101-102. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 134 dilla is one of the villages in the district, which holds the traditional activities in high regards as such, you hardly find a compound that does not have an active traditionalist who still maintains the family heritage. this made it easier to preserve the shrines in the village. only few shrines have been tempered with but most of them are in good shape. in an interview with the nde joseph, the galadiman dilla, he revealed that the village community always ensures that the heritage of the forefathers is held in high regards because the land can only succeed if it has the blessings of the ancestors. in a study carried out by gontul et al on the topic “conflicting religious practices and environmental resource conservation in the ngas community of plateau state, nigeria”, the authors selected 15 villages in kabwir district of kanke local government area had at least on shrine and one sacred place, making a total number of 30 for the 15 villages. also during this research, they discovered that seven of the sampled villages were still actively practicing african traditional religion, the other 8 (eight) according to them, had abandoned the traditional religion in favour of christianity.87 the implication, therefore, is that those villages that are still practicing the traditional religion should have their shrines and sacred places intact. the villages that had since abandoned their traditional religion had for a long time abandoned their shrines and sacred lands, which they put them into other uses. for the villages that still maintain the traditional religion, they still maintain their shrines with two of the village still maintaining their sacred lands. it is then glaring that even amongst the villages that still practices the traditional religion, not all the sacred places are standing. in their study of the 30 (thirty) shrines and sacred areas, they discovered that more than 21 (twenty-one) of the over thirty (30) protected areas (shrines and sacred lands) or more than two third of them had been abandoned and converted to other uses. two possible reasons for the abandonment were suggested by them, which include; the disapproval by christianity and the escalating population increase.88 the aforementioned study revealed that if strict measures are not put in place to curtail further abandonment of the protect areas, soon the impact of the ancestors will not be felt and they may have no option than go on exile, which 87 gontul, 62-63. 88 gontul, 63. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 135 in turn, leading the traditional religion to extinction. this makes this study of importance among societies in order to understand the influential link between deforestation and shrines among the ngas people. 2. shrines in kajju land of kaduna state historically, the bajju people are known to have migrated from zamfara to bauchi, then jos. they moved and settled in dibiyi/kurmin bi, in the zonkwa chiefdom of what is present zangon kataf local government of kaduna state. now they can be found in other lgas in kaduna state such as jemaa and kachia. they speak jju language and the land occupied by the bajju is called kajju. with an estimated 600, 000 native speakers, the bajju, commonly referred to as kaje (a pejorative term), constitute one of the largest ethnic groups in southern kaduna. the bajju are particularly found in zangon-kataf, jemaa and kachia local government areas of kaduna state.89 among the bajju people, there have been a high belief in witchcraft and juju practices. the bajju, who live in southern kaduna state, nigeria, west africa, believe that individuals are born with an inherent inherited capacity to use spiritual power through psychic emanations to harm others in the spiritual realm which results in evil, misfortune, illness, or death in the physical realm. bajju people assert that some people are born without this power, but later acquire it. use of spiritual power is a psychic act; it involves no rites, spells, sorcery, or medicine.90 in many bajju societies, there are separate words for sorcery; the use of magic for evil purposes, and for witchcraft. in other societies, these two concepts blend together with a single word encompassing both concepts. among the bajju if sorcery or miracles occur, the phrase nkyang mamaki is used, which literally translates as “things of wonder.” bajju distinguish two types of nkut: good nkut (atsatsak nkut) and evil nkut (əbibyyi nkut or əkatuk nkut). good nkut is protective discernment.91 the bajju believed in gods and witchcraft or nkut. nkut is the power to exert spiritual influence over another person. people who use nkut are referred to as akut, and are believed to have a second set of eyes. the first set allows one to 89 “jju” http://dice.missouri.edu/docs/niger-congo/jju.pdf accessed 18th january, 2020. 90 carol virginia mckinney, “the bajju of central nigeria: a case study of religious and social change” (phd thesis: southern methodist university, 1985), 17. 91 mckinney, 18. http://dice.missouri.edu/docs/niger-congo/jju.pdf igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 136 see the physical, while the other is used to see into the spiritual realm.92 this was reflected in the concept of the gajimale. a gajimale is a water spirit that comes out to seduce its victims by coming in the form of a good-looking opposite sex partner. the bajju believe that the gajimale gave riches in exchange for the lives of children and that epilepsy, rong ncen or 'fire of the river' was caused by the water spirits. there is also the abvoi belief. the bajju worship the god, abvoi. godo abvoi or dodo is the leader of the shrine while the magajin abvoi is the one who relays the messages of the god to the people. kings men, traditional council and elders guided by the gado of the abvoi and the tradition were respected and valued making it compulsory for anyone who wants to embark on anything like: farming, hunting, marriages, festivals, and gathering and worship rites to consult him. the abvoi was seen as god. the abvoi has a gado, who is also regarded as the highest leader in the community.93 there is the idea of the akurusak: they are masquerades, which represent the abvoi spirits during the celebrations. all these people and practices are done in the shrines. the idea of the shrine became a common thing among the bajju people and they have served them till the coming of christianity.94 it is historically stated that christianity first entered the bajju area in the late 1920s, and the first bajju christian conversions occurred in 1929. other denominations and missions to establish a presence include; the united native african church, church missionary society (anglican), baptists, cherubim and seraphim church, apostolic church, assemblies of god, and methodists. today there are almost 200 churches on their land, and as many as 90% of the people identify as christian. church now plays an important role in society, being a place of gathering and where problems are addressed in the community.95 introduction of christianity caused a strong decrease in the occurrence of polygamous marriage patterns, traditional religious beliefs, and many other 92 mckinney, carol v. “witchcraft or spiritual power among bajju christians” on knowing humanity journal 2:2 (2018): pp. 17-24. 93 isuwa, sunday. “the values, taboos in bajju kingdom” https://www.academia.edu/8523332/the_values_taboos_in_bajju_kingdom_from_sunday_isuwa accessed 4th january, 2020, p. 1. 94 onyeakagbu, adaobi. “popular taboos, beliefs and superstitions of the bajju people of kaduna”https://www.pulse.ng/lifestyle/food-travel/popular-taboos-beliefs-and-superstitions-of-thebajju-people-of-kaduna/pyjljdk accessed 21st january, 2020. 95 “jju” http://dice.missouri.edu/docs/niger-congo/jju.pdf accessed 18th january, 2020. https://www.academia.edu/8523332/the_values_taboos_in_bajju_kingdom_from_sunday_isuwa https://www.pulse.ng/authors/adaobi-onyeakagbu https://www.pulse.ng/lifestyle/food-travel/popular-taboos-beliefs-and-superstitions-of-the-bajju-people-of-kaduna/pyjljdk https://www.pulse.ng/lifestyle/food-travel/popular-taboos-beliefs-and-superstitions-of-the-bajju-people-of-kaduna/pyjljdk http://dice.missouri.edu/docs/niger-congo/jju.pdf igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 137 traditions and rituals.96 in the bajju area of southern zaria alone, the ecwa churches have grown from a very small beginning, with the first bajju convert in 1929, to a denomination with twenty-nine churches and an average attendance of about 3346 by 1985.97 with the coming of christianity in kajju land, it has become difficult to find a shrine in any of the villages. a survey of many villages reveal that there is no shrine apart from sakwak, which has a symbol-like or remains of the shrine, which has even been demolished. such demolishing attitude shows how concentrated christianity has grown in these areas. although some inhabitants within the kajju land still find witchcraft and traditional practices interesting and appalling considering the amount of insecurity challenges and diseases, which are befalling their people. although christianity penetrated the land and has changed the beliefs of the people concerning the gods, traces can be found in the land, where people still see witchcraft activities or traditional religions as meeting their socio-economic and religious demands in the societies. such traces are considered devilish and barbaric by people who consider themselves christians. it is no doubt that the the gods are exiled in kajju land, a similar scenario with what j. j. van der leeuw called, gods in exile.98 some of those shrines have been demolished without even their remains. the elderly ones in the societies are dying and are being buried with the histories behind the shrines. it is hard today to find children who know a bit about the shrines and their activities in this 21st century. the society has become digital and the gods and the chief priests find technology uncomfortable and antagonistic to their activities. there is need to revisit the histories and practices of the gods to promote the culture of the people. socio-economic and religious effects of deforestation according to asante, ababio and boadu, forests are important for the socioeconomic development of societies, as they help in ameliorating global warming, providing income and also serve as homes to most of the world’s plants and animals. accordingly, they submitted that people believed that forests were sacred resources associated with spiritual relatives and inter 96 “jju” http://dice.missouri.edu/docs/niger-congo/jju.pdf accessed 18th january, 2020. 97 ikeanyi m. enwerem, a dangerous awakening: the politicization of religion in nigeria. ibadan: ifra-nigeria, i995. web. <http//books.openedition.org/ifra/400>.; mckinney, “the bajju of central nigeria” 264-268. 98 j.j. van der leeuw, gods in exile (chicago: the american theosophical society, 1926). http://dice.missouri.edu/docs/niger-congo/jju.pdf igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 138 connected with humans, nature and the universe.99 their views on the forests are virtually the views of many african societies on forests. forests, as noted above, are mostly revered in africa because they are sometimes referred to as the homes or the abode of the gods and ancestors; thus, activities around the forests are in most times monitored to ensure that the activities are not detested by the gods and do not also disturb their activities so as not to incur the wraths of the deities. traditional africans see mountains, trees rivers, and different animals as representations of the deities and as such, they are divine, sacred and are highly revered.100 this view of the traditional africans cannot permit them to partake in any activity that can lead to the destruction or anything that can affect the nature as any attempt to do that can affect not only the natural object but the people at large. deforestation has serious effects on the bio-diversity of the africans, the religion of the people, and the entirety of the people. many of the adherents of even the newly found religions even complain about the disappearance of the forests and the sacred areas. for the adherents of the traditional african religions, it seems that the distance created between them and their gods makes it difficult to access the favours and the blessings of these gods who now live away from them. these disappeared bio-diversity could have served as places for tourist attraction even if they are not used for religious purposes. it has become obvious that these trees have been cleared and the essential purpose for which they were planted has lost its place. africans need to understand that there are virtues associated to the trees and religious places. tropical deforestation increases uncertainty and risks for food production due to direct physical changes that alter temperature and rainfall, both near and far from where forests are cleared. deforestation in the tropics is also therefore beneficial at both local and global scales.101 however, its influence on human and animal societies could be seen to have dominated the benefits. 99 asante, eric appau, stephen ababio and kwadwo boakye boadu. “the use of indigenous cultural practices by the ashantis for the conservation of forests in ghana.” sage open januarymarch 2017. doi 10.1177/2158244016687611. journals.sagepub.com/home/sgo p. 1. 100 ikuenobe, “traditional african environmental ethics and colonial legacy”, 5. 101 effects of tropical deforestation on climate and agriculture.” in nature climate change. http://www.climateandlandusealliance.org/wphttp://www.climateandlandusealliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/effects_of_tropical_deforestation_policymaker_summary.pdf igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 139 also, forest conservation should also occur inside private land. private forestreserves and permeable agroforestry systems may be the key components of the landscape to maintain the connectivity among large public natural reserves, if they act as biological corridors, stepping stones or even as permeable matrix for some forest species.102 deforestation has reduced the amount of rainfall in jos and kaduna. some years ago in the eighties, the weather and climate in jos and kaduna was dense. however, recently, jos and kaduna particularly southern part, has become extremely hot. the amount of rainfall has reduced drastically. there is need to reinstate the planting of trees and enforce their religious significance in africa, particularly in jos and kaduna. because of development, these trees have been deforested and most exposed the ground to heat. even if the religious significances are not advocated, it is good for the society as the trees preserve sheds to the earth, making the amount of heat to reduce on the face of the earth. conclusion this work argues the effects of deforestation on religious beliefs within the people of ngas people in plateau state and kajju land in southern kaduna state. the attitude of cutting down trees in the society has succeeded in exiling the gods, which our traditional fathers’ worshipped and such idea of worshipping the gods has contributed in protecting them from their enemies. but today christians in the villages are killed despite the belief in god as the ultimate. such an orientation needs to be instated among africans which will help redefine our beliefs in god and jesus or the gods in order to avoid being slaughtered in our own homelands. there is need to engage in afforestation in our societies to safeguard the presence of the gods and god in our lands. this collaborative effort would make our societies experience a touch of ancestral demarcation from the god that is being worshipped by christians today. content/uploads/2016/02/effects_of_tropical_deforestation_policymaker_summary.pdf accessed march 16th, 2020. 102 jean paul metzger, “effects of deforestation pattern and private nature reserves on the forest conservation in settlement areas of the brazilian amazon” http://www.scielo.br/pdf/bn/v1n12/a03v1n1-2.pdf accessed 24th april, 2020. http://www.climateandlandusealliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/effects_of_tropical_deforestation_policymaker_summary.pdf http://www.scielo.br/pdf/bn/v1n1-2/a03v1n1-2.pdf http://www.scielo.br/pdf/bn/v1n1-2/a03v1n1-2.pdf igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 140 bibliography asante, eric appau, stephen ababio and kwadwo boakye boadu. the use of indigenous cultural practices by the ashantis for the conservation of forests in ghana. sage open january-march 2017. doi 10.1177/2158244016687611. journals.sagepub.com/home/sgo. bethel, flannery. “deforestation threatening practical and cultural livelihoods: lessons learned from participation in tree planting by rural women in kenya and ghana.” <https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/d537/caa9eefd265e9a41b026c4f2b26b 3a13238c.pdf>. accessed 14th april, 2020. boamah, daniel asante. “akan indigenous religio-cultural beliefs and environmental preservation: the role of taboos.” master’s essay submitted in partial fulfillment of the degree master of arts in the school of religion at queen’s university, august, 2015. <https://www.queensu.ca/religion/sites/webpublish.queensu.ca.rlgnw ww/files/files/rels/grad/daniel%20asante%20boamah%20mrp.pdf>. accessed 27th may, 2020. chakravarty, sumit, s. k. ghosh, c. p. suresh, a. n. dey and gopal shukla. “deforestation: causes, effects and control strategies” in clement akais okia ed., global perspectives on sustainable forest management. croatia: intech, 2012, p. 1. chuvieco, emilio, mario burgui and isabel gallego-álvarez. “impacts of religious beliefs on environmental indicators: is christianity more aggressive than other religions?” worldviews 20 (2016): pp. 251–271. “effects of tropical deforestation on climate and agriculture.” in nature climate change. december 18, 2014. http://www.climateandlandusealliance.org/wpcontent/uploads/2016/02/effects_of_tropical_deforestation_policymak er_summary.pdf accessed march 16th, 2020. enwerem, ikeanyi m. “a dangerous awakening: the politicization of religion in nigeria.” ibadan: ifra-nigeria, i995. web. <http//books.openedition.org/ifra/400>. accessed 23rd may, 2020. gontul, t. k. et al. “conflicting religious practices and environmental resource conservation in the ngas community of plateau state, nigeria.” journal of research in tourism. vol 4. (2013); pp.59–66. goyol, a. and dimka e. pusdung: ngas festival of art and culture. jos, 1999. ikeke, mark omorovie. “the forest in african traditional thought and practice: an ecophilosophical discourse”. open journal of philosophy, vol.3 no.2 (2013). pp. 345-350. ikuenobe, p.a. “traditional african environmental ethics and colonial legacy”. international journal of philosophy and theology. 2:4 (2014). pp. 1-21. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/d537/caa9eefd265e9a41b026c4f2b26b3a13238c.pdf https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/d537/caa9eefd265e9a41b026c4f2b26b3a13238c.pdf https://www.queensu.ca/religion/sites/webpublish.queensu.ca.rlgnwww/files/files/rels/grad/daniel%20asante%20boamah%20mrp.pdf https://www.queensu.ca/religion/sites/webpublish.queensu.ca.rlgnwww/files/files/rels/grad/daniel%20asante%20boamah%20mrp.pdf http://www.climateandlandusealliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/effects_of_tropical_deforestation_policymaker_summary.pdf http://www.climateandlandusealliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/effects_of_tropical_deforestation_policymaker_summary.pdf http://www.climateandlandusealliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/effects_of_tropical_deforestation_policymaker_summary.pdf igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 141 isuwa, sunday. “the values, taboos in bajju kingdom” https://www.academia.edu/8523332/the_values_taboos_in_bajju_kin gdom_from_sunday_isuwa accessed 4th january, 2020. “jju” http://dice.missouri.edu/docs/niger-congo/jju.pdf accessed 18th january, 2020. mckinney, carol v. “witchcraft or spiritual power among bajju christians” on knowing humanity journal 2:2 (2018): pp.17-24. mckinney, carol virginia. “the bajju of central nigeria: a case study of religious and social change” (phd thesis: southern methodist university, 1985), pp. 264-268. merriam-webster. webster’s dictionary of the english language. bendon, 2014. metzger, jean paul. “effects of deforestation pattern and private nature reserves on the forest conservation in settlement areas of the brazilian amazon” http://www.scielo.br/pdf/bn/v1n1-2/a03v1n1-2.pdf accessed 24th april, 2020. mohammed, abubakari sadik. deforestation and its effects on livelihood patterns of forest fringe communities in the asunafor north municipality. april, 2014. <http://ir.knust.edu.gh/bitstream/123456789/7539/1/abubakari%2 0sadik%20mohammed.pdf. onyeakagbu, adaobi. “popular taboos, beliefs and superstitions of the bajju people of kaduna”https://www.pulse.ng/lifestyle/foodtravel/popular-taboos-beliefs-and superstitions-of-the-bajju-people-ofkaduna/pyjljdk accessed 21st january, 2020. shehu, m. and molyneux-hodgson, s. “faith communities and environmental degradation in northeast nigeria.” international journal of environmental sustainability. vol. 10, no. 1 (2014): pp. 27-40. university of cambridge. “traditional authority’ linked to rates of deforestation in africa”. science daily, nov.24, 2015. van der leeuw, j.j. gods in exile. chicago: the american theosophical society, 1926. wambutda, daniel nimcir. a study of conversion among the ngas of plateau state of nigeria with emphasis on christianity. new york: peter lang, 1991. https://www.academia.edu/8523332/the_values_taboos_in_bajju_kingdom_from_sunday_isuwa https://www.academia.edu/8523332/the_values_taboos_in_bajju_kingdom_from_sunday_isuwa http://dice.missouri.edu/docs/niger-congo/jju.pdf http://www.scielo.br/pdf/bn/v1n1-2/a03v1n1-2.pdf http://ir.knust.edu.gh/bitstream/123456789/7539/1/abubakari%20sadik%20mohammed.pdf http://ir.knust.edu.gh/bitstream/123456789/7539/1/abubakari%20sadik%20mohammed.pdf https://www.pulse.ng/authors/adaobi-onyeakagbu https://www.pulse.ng/lifestyle/food-travel/popular-taboos-beliefs-and%20superstitions-of-the-bajju-people-of-kaduna/pyjljdk https://www.pulse.ng/lifestyle/food-travel/popular-taboos-beliefs-and%20superstitions-of-the-bajju-people-of-kaduna/pyjljdk https://www.pulse.ng/lifestyle/food-travel/popular-taboos-beliefs-and%20superstitions-of-the-bajju-people-of-kaduna/pyjljdk igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 29 igwebuike: the hermeneutics of agbaa ndụ, ekekọta ndụ (the igbo spirit of bound and unity) anselm c. onuorah c.e.o, anchor book publishers africa president, anchor book club foundation africa www.anchorbookpublishers.com email: aconuorah@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.28703.51361 abstract human beings are generally social inclinators, and have natural inclination to be associated with others in the society for their very existence or survival. by this association, man enjoys the fruits of common wealth of the society which provides a favourable condition for the development of human personality. a society refers to the whole and individuals represent only its parts. it is obvious that the individual is both a social factor as well as a social product. a rich and varied social life provides man with immense opportunities to be his best self. society provides social insurance or security against odds in life and the individual falls back to the society as bedrock of knowledge and experience. socialist, collectivists, idealists and organismic theorists argued that the society as a collective whole is bigger and greater than the individual. while individual may be egocentric in social justice, ignoring social interest of the greatest number of the people and pursuing self-interest. it is the duty of the society to adjust him to the social norms, and compel him to conform to the pattern of social life and code of conduct acceptable to each society. in igbo communities for instance, there are norms that guide the living conditions of the people collectively. when life is threatened, there are cultural principles that are invoked to secure it. igba ndụ is one of such principles that give a sense of security and unity among inhabitants when life is made insecure by human elements. when one faces those challenges that threaten one‟s well-being as result to his association with others, igba ndụ is evoked to secure trust and make peace paramount. this paper therefore presents igba ndụ as the igbo custom of securing and making life meaningful when threatened by distrust and fear. in igbo land, agba ndụ, ekekota ndụ. keywords: igwebuike, hermeneutic, agbaa, ndu, ekekota, philosophy, complementarity introduction to be is to live, and living implies existence, existence therefore is a state of being real, actual rather than imagined, invented or obsolete. the natural inclination for human beings to find security, inner peace and joy is an indissoluble fact of http://www.anchorbookpublishers.com/ mailto:aconuorah@yahoo.com https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.28703.51361?_sg%5b0%5d=mrxx0w1c49be1vvaby9sn1visj8exrdfdkdhxkedoo6bhkgz_vsgm7zxtpsm1bbd9vacl03zftbv5sxb8mj0cpzzea.olygo13oqi-taoioogrxxp6paj18kpkjm5do-foocpgd9pr73wlghn7ywnzeww5tyzq54r6cady4ozqm5syfmg igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 30 human existence. every conscious being in so far as it exists fears the danger of insecurity of its being and the protection of its life is paramount to his daily living. thus human beings are quick to react in defence to anything that threatens its ‗being‘ or mode of that ‗being‘. existence is never complete for human beings if their mode of living is not secure and protected; in other words, a sense of security is part of a living condition for the individual being and any environment that suspends this security and peace is call to question and in many instance, efforts are made to remove or avert such threat to life. and because man's nature is influenced by his desires for survival, dominance and control over his environment, this leads to issues of conflict among them. such conflicts could attain the dangerous dimension of taking of lives, physical and spiritual injuries or material destruction leading to thomas hobbes‘s state of nature in which he repudiated the argument that god gave kings absolute and indivisible power to rule. hobbes had argued that human beings make a conscious decision to be led; people voluntarily contracted to create a common governmental power over them. according to hobbes, total freedom in the state of nature left each man insecure and frightened at the unrestrained power of other individuals, all of whom were driven by insatiable self-interest. thus, hobbes argued, government emerged from a rational and prudent act of will. formerly free men consented to give up their freedom and to be governed, or, as hobbes put it, to be held in awe by a common sword. the restraint that government imposes on personal freedom is thus justified by the security and order that government provides. leviathan infuriated the royalists by challenging the notion of divine right. hobbes argued that the consent of the people to be led justifies an all-powerful government. either a legislature or a monarch may exercise power as long as authority over society is complete. any challenge to this authority jeopardizes the peace and security provided by government and is thus both illegitimate and dangerous. in hobbes‘s view, disobeying government will return individuals to the chaos and fear of the state of nature, where nothing restrains the appetites of competitive men. in igbo traditional setting, there are norms that guide the living conditions of the people collectively. when life is threatened, there are cultural principles that are invoked to secure it. igba ndụ is one of such principles that give a sense of security and unity among inhabitants when life is made insecure by human elements. ordinarily, when one faces what seems to be a serious threat to one‘s igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 31 well-being, one may react with the state of immediate alarm, and this is therefore a fact of life. it is an everyday experience which may be said to be adaptive because it helps us thread more cautiously in life. every one experiences some degree of fear at some time or the other, and in one way or the other. igba ndụ therefore is a principle of bond and unity. where doubt exits that threaten the unity in a place, the people agbaa ndụ so that doubt can seize and sincerity of purpose is restored. igba ndụ gives among the people a sense of unity and trust. igwebuike as a scientific approach igwebuike is an igbo word, which is a combination of three words. thus, it can be understood as a word and as a sentence: as a word, it is written thus, igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space (kanu 2015a&b). igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a large number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is a noun, which means strength or power. put together, it means ‗number is strength‘ or ‗number is power‘, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force (kanu 2017a&b). at this level, no task is beyond their collective capability. this provides an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. as an ideology, igwebuike rests on the african principles of solidarity and complementarity. it argues that ‗to be‘ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‗to be‘ is ‗to be with the other‘, in a community of beings (kanu 2018 a&b). this is based on the african philosophy of community, which is the underlying principle and unity of african traditional religious and philosophical experience. as a scientific approach, it emphasizes the whole or the entire structure or makeup of reality. it does not see or treat reality as departmental alone, but as interrelated and complementary, the point where untimate significance is achieved. hermeneutics as an act of interpretation hermeneutics broadly speaking means interpretation; it has ―grosso modo‖ of finding and getting meaning out of something (okere, 1983). in his attempt of enquiry into the possibility and conditions of establishing african philosophy, theophilus okere adopts a hermeneutical method which proceeds from the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 32 heideggerian-gadamerian conception of interpretation as an ontological event.1 hence, hermeneutics is seen as an epistemological tool mediating culture and philosophy since every philosopher is a product of a particular culture, and every material for philosophizing is a cultural material; philosophy therefore is said to be related to culture in a unique way. in other words, philosophy is in fact a unique cultural form. this fact triggers a lot of questions like; what aspect of culture is philosophy? what is the nature of the relationship between culture and philosophy? can there be a philosophy outside the cultural setting? these and other likely questions can be answered under the prism of hermeneutics. accordingly hermeneutics is that which can happen to culture that brings forth philosophy. e.g. giving authentic/actual explanation or reasons for an aspect of a people‘s cultural form such as igba ndụ or getting a clear statement out of an observed ancient text like the bible is one responsibility of hermeneutics. hermeneutics brings light to a hidden meaning, obscurities. the truth is like a tree, we see stems and branches, but the root is hidden, and the root can be the root of the matter and the mother of the whole tree. digging for the truth is like and archeological excavation. the truth likes to hide itself and the greeks call its search aletheia, that is laying bear open exposed. 2 the igbo people the igbo are one of the major groups of nigeria. they are located in the southern part of nigeria. experts are not yet certain about the origin of the world ‗igbo‘3. it certainly did not originally refer to the whole igbo tribe as we know it today, for before the arrival of the europeans over hundred years ago, there was no common name for the tribe, but each town or village-group had its particular name often taken from the ancestor. thus the word ‗igbo‘ primarily refer to the language and speaking group. the igbo are very religious people with metaphysical rationality and as such make recourse to metaphysical interpretation of phenomenon. with such metaphysical disposition they pass their rich and ‗ominous‘ culture and belief in 1 b.e. nwigwe: the philosophy and society written in african philosophy and the hermeneutics of culture. essays in honour of theophilus okere. edited by j. obi oguejiofor 33and godfery igwebuikem onah. reprinted and bind in nigeria by victojo productions uwani enugu. p.10 2 ibid. 3 f.a. arinze, sacrifice in igbo religion, university press, ibadan,p 1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 33 a symbolic appresentation. thus they make use of symbols in their everyday communication and religious cult. igbo traditional religion religion plays an important role in the life of an igbo person. morality and religion are intermingled. moral codes are believed to be sanctioned by the gods. according to arinze, religion is subjectively define as ―the consciousness of one‘s dependence on a transcendent being(s) and the tendency to worship him (them)‖. with that consciousness of dependence on these supernatural beings, the igbo endeavours to be at peace and communion communication with this spirits, they therefore make the home of the spirits presence and visible among them, through the shrines. the object of igbo belief system is the supreme spirit beinggod, and the ancestors4. and the ultimate purpose of igbo worship is to preserve and make life better, even here and life after. igbo worship is denotes with signs and symbols, a symbols according to cohen (1974) is ―objects, acts, concepts or linguistic formations that evoke sentiments and emotions and impel men to action‖. firth (1974) is of the opinion that ‗the essence of symbolism lies in the recognition of one thing as standing for another, the relation between them normally being that of concrete to abstract, particular to general‘ (p.15). these definitions bring out the generating and receiving effects otherwise reserved for the object to which it refers. there are important aspects of symbolism according to ifesieh (1989) ‗because the effects could go as far as changing the impressed objects in a remarkable and emotional way‘ (p.125). he went further to states that symbol has at least dual characteristics, namely, of concealment and revelation. for sylvanus nnoruka therefore, ―symbols help man to give intelligible meaning to the transcendent phenomena from the standpoint of our perceptible world. they are the appresentational relations that pair objects of the everyday world with objects transcending the everyday world.‖5 symbols like ritual can be religious and cannot be religious. zuesse (1979) states that ―in terms of awareness, religion is not really the matter of the specific data of consciousness; so much as it is a matter of the value given them‖ (p.11). what makes the same cognitive content religious for one and not for another is the presence or absence 4 f.a. arinze, sacrifice in igbo traditional religion p 14 5 s.i nnoruka, african culture and the quest for truth, p 416 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 34 of transcendental internationalities. ifesieh (1989) defines ritual ―as a socioreligious act capable of levels of meaning, which may be portrayed as a symbol of cosmic truth, yet, puts first the transcendental and cosmic level, as this uniquely forms the heart of every ritual action‖ (p.123). ifesieh states further that ―the sacred is an ontological reality and that man is able to become aware of it if only he wills; but then if he chooses not to recognize the sacred manifesting itself to him, he is equally free, but his conscious and intentional will not to confirm self transcendence with respect to the object of his sight does not mean the nonexistence of that object image‖ (p.124). igba ndụ in igbo tradition, igba ndụ means to bond life, to unite and unify life‘s essential elements; to unite both in physical and spiritual sphere of living. ndụ on the other hand is life, the essence, kpim or vital force of every living organism, living organism sizes to be once their lives are cut off. in the earthly hierarchy of creatures, human beings stand at the apex of all other living creatures, and in igbo tradition, every cosmic thing and actions gear toward securing life for to human beings and the other elements of the world. igba ndụ therefore means to tie knot of accenting to live in peace, agreeing to disagree in unity or agreeing to agree both in principles and practise and to keep watch of other‘s back. the hermeneutics of igba nd is better understood as a covenant among human beings, individuals or group people. since in igbo tradition, life is the summa prima of every event and action. igbo people do whatever possible to secure and grantee life‘s longitivity. the continuous socio-economic interaction among the people in terms of their commerce, trade, etc, among themselves and close boarder inhabitants, such interactions breeds mutual respect and peaceful coexistence but not also without mistrust and conflict. hence the need to institute a principle which can help to sustain such peaceful co-existence and subdue fears and mistrust often arising with such close association among individuals led to the covenant of igba ndu. therefore, the idea of igba ndụ originated not only out of fear of some uncertainties of men or by the basic knowledge that some men are inherently greedy, irreverent, impious, evil and wicked, to check on the wiles of men therefore, the igbo people had to resign to the practice of igba ndụ to protect, and assured one another that communal living and confidence of the parties that have entered into the agreement are restored. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 35 one may also add other reason as to the practice of igba ndụ as a result of human‘s desire to maintain peace, orderliness and harmonious living among themselves, hence where such is existing there is the need to consolidate such harmony among peoples. the socio-religious implication of this is the belief that there is a supreme deity up there in the sky who oversees the affairs of human beings and can punish anybody who defiles the terms and condition of every igba ndụ. this deity, chukwu abia ama dispenses justice to defaulters of igba ndụ once entered. for any igba ndụ to be efficient, it is usually tied to particular deities who are mostly invoked during the act. theses deities are called upon to bear witness to such covenants. the parties to the covenant while swearing will pronounce punishments which the deities are to excise on the defaulters. igba ndụ gives a sense of unity among the people and some degree of truth among partakers. once the oath is taken, life is bound together. bonds are strengthened and life is shared. thus, the igbo saying that agba ndụ, ekekota ndụ: once convent is taken, life is no longer individualized but is communalized; thus a major truck of the igbo spirit of communalistic livelihood. though generally, the purpose of igba ndụ is to secure life and restore trust and declare innocence, there are quite some discrepancies in the types of igba nd among individuals or group of people depending on the need or reason for the particular igba ndụ. just as we have different types of agreements among individual, one may rightly say that there are different types of igba nd and it can take different form, namely; among individuals in a family, among one community or another, between friends, business associated and co-workers in an environment. there is another aspect to this practice that has nothing to do with a threat to life. rather it assures one of the others steadfast in a decision taken. for instance, two people who are in love may decide to engage in igba ndụ to secure their love, determination and commitment to one another. it is also common for individuals, families or communities sharing the same boundary of land to bind up in igba ndụ even when there is no foreseen crisis or dispute but they do that to assure one another that none will or may necessarily trespass the other‘s land with permission. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 36 agba ndụ in a community, the scepticism or doubt of malicious act is gone and life becomes a community life. though cautions are taken but not in a bid or suspicion of other‘s evil intension. the eyes of the gods are ever believed to be on defaulters for serve punishment, in most cases, confession and death is the resultant effect for those defaulting rules of igba ndụ. igba ndụ brings unity and peace. it connotes a bound, commitment stand for each other, the determination never to let the other down. it is a sign of strength. in many igbo communities, during wars, the villagers collectively commit to igba ndụ never to let, perhaps, previous individual misunderstanding or squabbles come in as they collective go to war against the opponent. the people swear not to harm each other in any way either physically or spiritually. some of the items needed are kola nut, palm wine, hot drink, of staff, blood, plantain stalk, white chalk, (nzu), palm frond, snail, and yam. the significance of these items is in their symbolism in igbo tradition and culture. each of these items has spiritual connotations; the snail for instance, symbolises the gentle and cordial atmosphere in a peaceful environment; but again, its slowness in movement stands for a slow movement in progress or in life in general for defaulters of igba nd . submissions this paper has shown that the igbo socio-political setting is centered on the security of life and property of the inhabitants and efforts both spiritually and physically are made within the igbo community to secure and eliminate anything that may make life unsecure and bitter. it has also shown the place of symbols in igbo traditional religion as a physical object that help man to give intelligible meaning to the transcendent phenomena from the standpoint of our perceptible world. it goes on to note that igba ndụ is one of such igbo tradition that portrays the people‘s desire for peace, unity and security of lives and property. it underlines that igba ndụ can be understood from the angel of axiom or practice of socio-spiritual control and a sign of unity; a commitment to stand with one another. igba ndụ eliminate deep seated hatred and calm frayed nerves. it ensures that the parties to a dispute settle such disputes amicably without physical or spiritual attacks on each other. it strengthens the unity between the individuals, groups or communities. igba ndụ not only plays the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 37 task of mediator, negotiation and the final pact of settlement in which parties concerned, it invoke the gods in the process of ensuring peaceful coexistence. hence when administered it becomes the final process of peaceful resolution as parties concerned have involved the spiritual world to adjudicate on their behalf. it exorcises fear and establishes confidence. it acts as external expression of both inward and outward commitment to be bid together and bridging of gap, the communicative equivalence between man and supernatural forces; it is a symbolic sign and the manifestation of the igbo saying that igwebụike; strength lies in being together-unity. bibliography 1. arinze, f. a. (1970). sacrifice in ibo religion. ibadan: ibadan university press. 2. anyanwu, u. d. and j. c. u. aguwa, eds. (1993). the igbo and the tradition of politics. enugu: fourth dimension. 3. basden, g. t. (1966). niger ibos. london: frank cass. 4. cole, herbert, and chike aniakor (1984). igbo arts: community and cosmos. los angeles: university of california, museum of cultural history. 5. forde, d., and g. i. jones (1962). the ibo and ibibio-speaking peoples of southeastern nigeria: ethnographic survey of africa. london: stone & cox. 6. green, m. m. (1947). ibo village affairs. new york: praeger. 7. isichei, elizabeth, (1976). a history of the igbo people. new york: st. martin's press. 8. ---------------------, (1978). igbo worlds: an anthology of oral histories and historical descriptions. philadelphia: institute for the study of human issues. 9. kanu, i. a. (2015). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. augustinian publications. 10. kanu, i. a. (2015). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. augustinian publications. 11. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. 12. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. 13. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. published in nnadiebube journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 1-13. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 38 14. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. nnamdi azikiwe journal of philosophy vol. 10. no. 2. pp. 61-66. 15. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. 16. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. 17. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. 18. metuh, e. i. (1981). god and man in african religion: a case study of the igbo of nigeria. london: chapman. 19. okere. t. (1983). african philosophy, a historico-hermeneutical investigation of the condition of its possibility, boston: university press of america. 20. onuh justus izuchukwu. (2016): sacred symbols in igbo traditional religion: shrine as a case study. published online article. http//:www. sacredsymbolsinigbotraditionalreligion:shrineasacasestudy/google/com urban university rome, italy. 21. okafor, f.u., (1992). igbo philosophy of law, enugu, fourth dimension publishers. 22. adibe, g.e., (2009). igbo issues: values, chi, akalaka, ikenga, magic, agwu, and manipulation of divinities, onitsha, mid-field publishers ltd. 23. ---------------, (2009. igbo mysticism: power of igbo traditional religion and society, onitsha, mid-field publishers ltd. 24. nnoruka, s.i., (2009. solidarity: a principle of sociality, imo, living flame resources. 25. aniago, m., (2015). deities and shrine in african traditional religion: the spark in igboland, enugu, idosi publications. 26. ifeoma, g., (2005). igbo ritual symbols and their functions, aba, noecy publications. 27. ifesieh, e.i., (1989). religion at the grass roots, nigeria, enugu, fourth dimension publishers. 28. firth, s.a., (2000).symbols: public and private, london, university press. 29. cohen, a., (1970). a two dimensional man, london: university press. igwebuike_6_8_1.cdr 1 semiotic interpretation and the igwebuike identity: an antidote for interpersonal misunderstanding dozie iwuh, osa department of philosophy augustinian institute makurdi benue state registered501@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.36016.38405 abstract that which is validly true about our human existence and all that pertains to it is the reality of communication. it is communication that breeds human interrelationships, a rapport, assuring us that we are not isolated in the world, but have access to other human persons like us. the communication that is spoken of here cannot be limited to just the verbal type, if we do that, we would be registering a stereotype. communication also pertains to the non-verbal, the non-visible (the supposedly telepathic means of communication), etc. yet, what is to be maintained is that whether it is verbal or nonverbal, visible or non-visible, communication is mediated through the use of signs. language is what can be dened as an oral/worded/lettered, yet mental (this is because before ever a word is uttered, it is rst constructed in the mind, whether it be consciously or unconsciously. more to that, people think or construct their line of thought in tandem with the language they speak.) representation of signs. this goes to indicate that, even though there is the external world, the human person, in his own subjective worldview (which is internal), is able to make contact with the external world, by means of sign inter-rapport. that is to say that he understands the signs that are external to him and is able to relate to the external world also by means of signs. the external world that is being spoken of here also pertains to the other human person that is not “i”, but the “you”. the individual mediates the external world, by means of signs received and perceived (the focus of this piece is between the “i” and the “you.”). there is no means of really understanding what lies in the depths of the mind of the other person, the “you”. the “i” can only decipher according to those signs that have been let out by the “you”. it should be noted that misunderstandings arise when the signs given by the “i” is not properly deciphered by the “you”. misunderstandings have been the bane of the human existence, causing strife, suspicion, conicts, divisions, etc. the igwebuike ideology proffers what its name signies, namely “togetherness”, arising on the wings of a better understanding amongst persons. yet, this would not be the case when there is a failure to rightly understand and decode those signs that are received, with the reciprocal giving of the right signs as well. semiosis, which considers the meaning of signs, can also igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 2 prove to be very vital in the ensuring of the “togetherness” which the igwebuike stands for. igwebuike itself is a sign, one that communicates to us and that needs to be semiotically interpreted, to make sense of what it proffers, namely “ensuring a communal existence of the humanity.”yet, it seems as if the issue of misunderstanding will always remain with the human personthis is because there is a near impossibility of decoding what is the in the mind of the other. that is to say that the mental state of the other person remains his exclusive hub, unless such a one allows another in, via the unleashing of signs. the other side of the coin is the right way in which such mental state should be conveyed to the other. this piece will be dedicated to the rightful appreciation of the sign igwebuike communicates. keywords: igwebuike, kanu ikechukwu anthony, semiotics, semiosis, human person, igwebuike, social interaction. what is semiotics? semiotics is properly referred as the science of signs and developed out of the need of physicians of the western world to understand the interactive pattern between the body and the mind within certain cultural domains.1 it is the study of signs and symbols as elements of communicative behaviour, the analysis of systems of communication, as language, gestures or clothing. at its most fundamental level, semiotics is the study of how meaning is made. even if we endorse the fact that it studies signs, this is to be taken on a broad spectrum of the meaning of a sign: that is to say, sign as that which communicates a meaning beyond itself. we call signs all and only those things which represent something other than themselves, and we have found that this can occur only when and insofar as the “other” is represented to or for some other still.2 for example, a rose may represent naturally a ower (plant), or it may indicate love or passion. at the most basic level, human beings interpret signs as they communicate with one another. meaning derivation from signs denotes that which is proper to the animal (even brutes, what has now come to be referred to as zoosemiosis3). nonetheless, “semiotics”, however, as a term, has become conventionalized as the generally accepted term to label the study of signs in their distinctive action.4 1 t.a. sebeok, an introduction to semiotics, university of toronto press incorporated, 1994, xi. 2 j. deely, on ‘semiotics’ as naming the doctrine of signs, in semiotica vol 152, 2004, 75-139. 3 there are other areas of semiosis added to the zoosemiosis, they include, anthroposemiosis and phytosemiosis, all these pertain to a larger area of study known as biosemiosis. 4 j. deely, on ‘semiotics’ as naming the doctrine of signs. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 3 “semiotics” as an english word comes to us from a kind of bastard greek coinage made by john locke in the essay concerning humane understanding that he published in 1690, where, at the conclusion of his book, he proposed semiotike as the one-word equivalent of the english expression, “doctrine of signs”.5 this term, as it appears in locke, according to j. deely, is malformed. deely remarked that, according to the applicable requirements of greek grammar, the term should have had an epsilon separating the mu from the iota, as in sem�iotike. this is not apparent. furthermore, in his reasoning, one cannot say that this malformation be dismissed as a printer’s error; for, in every subsequent edition of the essay prepared by locke prior to his being overtaken by the boundary of time and made a denitively past author, the original malformation is meticulously maintained.6 j. deely notes: now it is interesting that “semiotics” is not a straight transliteration of locke’s greek malformation. what is a straight transliteration of the greek malformation locke introduced, however, is the latin term “semiotica”, which no latin author ever used. so the term, a greek malformation in locke’s essay, is in effect a neologism in latin transliteration, but it means in english “the doctrine of signs”, according to the only denition locke provided in his original introduction of and comment upon the term. the reason that this detour through the latin transliteration of locke’s greek malformation is interesting is because “semiotica” as latin neologism would be a neuter plural name that could only be translated into english as “semiotics”. professional linguists have been careful to point out that there is in english a class of “-ics” words which do not conform to the usual rule that an english noun is made plural by adding an “s” to its ending. by this reckoning, “semiotics” is not the plural form of “semiotic”. nonetheless, “semiotics” is the direct english transliteration of the latin “semiotica”, which in turn is the direct transliteration of the greek malformation locke introduced into the closing chapter of his essay. so a latin, rather than a greek, background proves etymologically decisive for sign and semiotics alike as contemporary notions, despite locke’s conscious choice of the greek root (sem-) for the notion of “natural sign” 5 j. deely, the red book. the beginning of postmodern times or charles sanders peirce and the recovery of signum, in the metaphyiscal club for the university of helsinki, finland, 2000, 1-79. we ought to note that even though john locke had translated this word semiotike from the greek, to mean semiotics, it was 50 years earlier thoroughly studied by john poinsot, unknown to locke. 6 ibid. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 4 (semeion) in his one-word summation or name (semiotike) for the doctrine of signs.7 the phenomenon that distinguishes life forms from inanimate objects is semiosis. this can be dened simply as the instinctive capacity of all living organisms to produce and understand signs. a sign is any physical form that has been imagined or made externally (through some physical medium) to stand for an object, event, feeling, etc., known as a referent, or for a class of similar (or related) objects, events, feelings, etc., known as a referential domain. in human life, signs serve many functions. they allow people to recognize patterns in things; they act as predictive guides or plans for taking actions; they serve as exemplars of specic kinds of phenomena; and the list could go on and on. the english word ‘cat’ for example, is an example of a particular kind of human sign known as verbalwhich stands for a referent that can be described as a 'carnivorous mammal with a tail, whiskers and retractile claws. each species produces and understands certain kinds of specic signs for which it has been programmed by its biology. these can range from simple bodily signals to advanced symbolic structures such as words. signs allow each species to (1) signal its existence, (2) communicate messages within the species, and (3) model incoming information from the external world. semiotics is the science that studies these functions. the goal of this opening chapter is to introduce several basic notions for the formal study of semiosis.8 the primary objective of semiotics is to understand both a species' capacity to make and understand signs and, in the case of the human species, the knowledge-making activity this capacity allows human beings to carry out. the former is known, as mentioned above, as semiosis, while the latter activity is known as representation. representation is a deliberate use of signs to probe, classify, and hence know the world. semiosis is the biological capacity itself that underlies the production and comprehension of signs, from simple physiological signals to those that reveal a highly complex symbolism.9 human intellectual and social life is based on the production, use and exchange of signs and 7 ibid. 8 t.a. sebeok, signs. an introduction to semiotics 2nd ed, university of toronto press incorporated, toronto, 2001, 3. 9 ibid, 8. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 5 representations. when we gesture, talk, write, read, watch a tv program, listen to music, look at a painting, etc. we are engaged in sign-based representational behaviour. representation has endowed the human species with the ability to cope effectively with the crucial aspects of existence knowing, behaving purposefully, planning, socializing and communicating. however, since representational activities vary from culture to culture, the signs people use on a daily basis constitute a mediating template in the worldview they come to have.10 semiotics considers both verbal and non-verbal signs, enabling a community of communication between and amongst biological species. verbal and non-verbal signs according to semiology, there are six types of verbal signs, which include: 1. symptom: the symptom is a reex of anatomical structure. animals with widely divergent anatomies will manifest virtually no symptomatology in common. it is interesting to note, by the way, that the term symptom is often extended metaphorically to refer to intellectual, emotional and social phenomena that result from causes that are perceived to be analogous to physical processes. 2. signal: all animals are endowed with the capacity to use and respond to species-specic signals for survival. birds, for instance, are born prepared to produce a particular type of coo, and no amount of exposure to the songs of other species, or the absence of their own, has any effect on their cooing. 3. icon: an icon is a sign that is made to resemble, simulate or reproduce its referent in some way. photographs may be iconic signs because they can be seen to reproduce their referents in a visual way. onomatopoeic words are also iconic signs because they simulate their referents in an acoustic way. 4. index: an index is a sign that refers to something or someone, in terms of its existence or location in time or space, or in relation to something or someone else. smoke is an index of re, pointing out where the re is; a cough is an index of a cold; and so on. the most typical manifestation of indexicality is the pointing index nger, which humans the world over use instinctively to point out and locate things, people and events in the world. 10 ibid. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 6 5. symbol: a symbol is a sign that stands for its referent in an arbitrary, conventional way. most semioticians agree that symbolicity is what sets human representation apart from that of all other species, allowing the human species to reect upon the world separately from stimulusresponse situations. words in general are symbolic signs. but any signier object, sound, gure, etc. can be symbolic. a cross gure can stand for the concept ' christianity'; a v-sign made with the index and middle ngers can stand symbolically for the concept 'victory' ; white is a colour that can be symbolic of ' cleanliness,' 'purity,' or 'innocence,' but dark can be a symbol of 'uncleanness,' ‘impurity,' or 'corruption'; and the list could go on and on. these symbols are all established by social convention. ‘ 6. name: this is an identier sign assigned to the member of a species in various ways, as we shall see subsequently, that sets the specic member off from the others. a human name is a sign that identies the person in terms of such variables as ethnicity and gender. added names (surnames, nicknames, etc.) further rene the 'identity referent' of the name.11 another form of sign conveying is by non-verbal communication. non-verbal communication takes place within an organism or between two or more organisms. within an organism, participators in communicative acts may involve as message sources or destinations or both on rising integration levels, cellular organelles, cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems. in addition, basic features of the whole biological organization, conducted non-verbally in the milieu interieur, include protein synthesis, metabolism, hormone activity, transmission of nervous impulses, and so forth.12 homo sapiens are capable of communicating, simultaneously or in turn, by both non-verbal and verbal means. the expression 'by verbal means' is equivalent to some such expression as 'by means of speech , ' or ' by means of script,' or 'by means of a sign language ' (e.g., for use in a deaf group), that are , each , manifestations of any prerequisite natural language with which human beings are singularly endowed. however, not all humans are literate or can even speak: infants normally do develop a capacity for speaking, but only gradually; some adults never acquire speech; and others lose speech as a result of some trauma (e.g., a stroke) or in consequence of aging. such conditions, 11 ibid, 9-11. 12 ibid, 12 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 7 notwithstanding, humans lacking a capacity to verbalize speak, write, or sign can, as a rule, continue to communicate non-verbally.13 these two modes of signature can also stand in as the two modes of communication in the human person. understanding the concept of “igwebuike” igwebuike is the heart of african thought and, in fact, the modality of being in african philosophy. it is taken from the igbo language, and is a composite word made up of three dimensions. therefore, it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. the three words involve: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power. thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force.14 igwebuike is anchored on the african worldview, which is characterized by a common origin, common world-view, common 13 ibid, 11-12. 14 a.i. kanu, igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2, no. 1, 2016, 97-101. kanu, ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy, 14. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientic and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kanu, i. a. (2019). on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159-176. kanu, i. a. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 8 language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny.15 life is a life of sharedness, one in which another is part thereof. it is a relationship, though, of separate and separated entities or individuals but with a joining of the same whole.16 philosophically, according to a.i. kanu, igwebuike points to the complementary nature of reality and is not limited to the igbo world, it is a universal philosophy that is the incarnation and conrmation of the universal relevance of solidarity and complementarity.17 the richness of this philosophy pointing to the complementarity and solidarity of reality also has much relevance in a meaning laden reality. what is being said is that the reality that confronts the human person is a reality that is teeming with meaning. thus, it is worthy of note to insist that this philosophical term, although of igbo origin, has universal implications. a.i. kanu succinctly touches on this point as he says negotiation is very important in the african universe because it is a world that one shares with the other in an atmosphere of inter-subjective relations. this intersubjective relations only plays out without chaos when the individual is able to skillfully bridge his or her interiority with the individuality of the other.18 15 a.i. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity, in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017, 153-160. 16 a.i. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education, a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france. 17 a.i. kanu, on the origin and principles of the igwebuike philosophy, in journal of religion and human relations, volume 11 no. 1, 2019, 159-176. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientic community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. 18 ibid. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 9 can there be negotiations, without an in-depth grasp of the terms of negotiations? can humans engage in any meaningful discourse, pertaining to ways and means to forge ahead in the bond of solidarity, when misunderstanding looms large? can we as humans complement one another, in the absence of true brotherhood soldered on the ground rules of a rich understanding of each person’s individuality? this is where semiotics (or semiosis) meets with the igwebuike. igwebuike in the light of semiosis: part one the igwebuike philosophy is grounded on certain principles that have their roots in african proverbs and idioms. it should be said that communication in the african verse, before the dawn of the colonial rulers, was by means of idioms, proverbs and the likes. according to j.j dyikuk, communication in the traditional igbo societies was by the means of idioms, proverbs, and gures of speech…without idioms, proverbs, and gures of speech, conversation would be bland and distasteful. it is only infants and little children that speak in plain language.19 while the major reference in the aforementioned quotation is to the igbo traditional society, it should be noted that such means of communication cut across the entirety of the african traditional society. as earlier noted, the igwebuike is grounded on certain principles having their roots in the african proverbs and idioms, a few of these proverbs and idioms include: a. a person is a person because of other people. b. sticks in a bundle cannot be broken. c. when spiders unite they can tie up a lion. d. if one nger tries to pick up something from the ground, it cannot. e. behind an able man there are always other able men. f. it takes a village to raise a child. g. if you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together. h. i am because we are, and since we are, therefore, i am i. if a lizard stays off from the foot of a tree, it would be caught. j. a tree does not make a forest. k. if two or more people urinate in the same place at the same time, it would produce more foam. 19 j.j. dyikuk, the intersection of communication in igwebuike and trado-rural media: a critical evaluation, in journal of african studies and sustainable development vol. 2 no 3, 2019, 175-192. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 10 l. when a bird builds its nest, it uses the feathers of other birds. m. one person is not the whole world. n. it is by taking a goat around that you are able to sell it.20 there is a seeming thread that cuts across the above-mentioned proverbs, namely “togetherness”. the igwebuike ideology that is borne on the wings of these proverbs express a sign, a sign that should be well elaborated in semiotic terms. at this point, we need to really understand what a sign is, because inherent in every aspect of communication is the penchant to understand what is being communicated or signaled from the “signaler” to the one who is communicated to or signaled. in other words, in communication, there is a back and forth movement of signs. this back and forth movement of signs is conveyed verbally and non-verbally by words and actions . a word is the sign of some “thing”21 which can be understood by the hearer when pronounced by the speaker.22 according to augustine, a sign is something that shows itself to the senses and something other than itself to the mind.23 he repeats this further in his de doctrina christiana, where he says, a sign is a thing which, over and above the impression it makes on the senses, cause something else to come into the mind as a consequence of itself, just as when we see a footprint, we conclude that an animal whose footprint this is has passed by; and when we see smoke, we know that there is re beneath; and when we hear the voice of a living man, we think of the feeling in his mind and when the trumpet sounds, soldiers know that they are to advance or retreat or do whatever else the state of the battle requires.24 augustine gives two distinct types of signs, namely; the natural and the conventional signs. natural signs are those which, apart from any intention or desire of using them as signs, do yet lead to the knowledge of something else, as for 20 a.i. kanu, on the origin and principles of the igwebuike philosophy. 21 a thing according to augustine, in his de dialetica,v, «is whatever is felt (sensed) or understood or ‘latet’ (is hidden, inapprenhensible) » 22 augustine, de dialetica, v. «uniuscuisuque rei signum, quod ab audiente possit intellgi, a loquente prolatum.» 23 ibid. «signum est quod se ipsum sensui et praeter se aliquid animo ostendit. » 24 augustine, de doctrina christiana, ii, i,1. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 11 example, smoke when it indicates re. for it is not from any intention of making it a sign that it is so, but through attention to experience we come to know that re is beneath, even when nothing but smoke can be seen. and the footprints of an animal passing by belong to this class of signs. and the countenance of an angry or sorrowful man indicates the feeling in his mind, independently of his will; and in the same way every other emotion of the mind is betrayed by the tell-tale countenance, even though we do nothing with the intention of making it known.25 as pertaining to signa naturalia, no mental state is induced when such signs arise in our consciousness:, that is to say that we do not enter into any mental state when we become aware of such signs. for instance, when we think of some natural or cultural entity, like a tree, or a ag, we are not aware of any "mental state" as such. rather, we are aware of a tree or a ag,26 just that. conventional signs are those which living beings mutually exchange for the purpose of showing the feelings of their minds or their perceptions, or their thoughts.27 in other words, conventional signs are the exclusive reserve of the human beings. these are articulate signs that reect the mindset, thought pattern, emotional state, and mood of the one who is talking or speaking. the hearer is able to perceive directly and understand wholesomely what the speaker is saying. in conventional signs, signa data, mental states are induced. augustine continues, nor is there any reason for giving a sign except the desire of drawing for the conveying into another’s mind what the giver of the sign has in his own mind. we wish then to consider and discuss this class of signs so far as men are concerned with it… the beasts, too, have certain signs among themselves by which they make known the desires of their mind. for when the poultry-cock has discovered food, he signals with his voice for the hen to run to him, and the dove by cooing calls his mate, or is called by her in turn…28 according to a medieval thomisitic commentator, john poinsot, there are two things that concur to constitute the general rationale of a sign. the rst is the rationale of something manifestative or representative. the second is an order to 25 augustine, de doctrina christiana, ii, i, 2. 26 j.n. deely, cognition from a semiotic point of view, in semiotics 1981, j.n. deely-m.d. lenhart (eds), plenum press, new york, 1983, 23. 27 augustine, de doctrina christiana, ii, ii, 3. 28 ibid. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 12 another, specically, on the one hand, to the thing which is represented (which must be other than the sign, for nothing is a sign of itself nor signifies itself), and, on the other hand, to the cognitive power to which the sign manifests and represents the thing distinct from itself.29 to the division of the sign, he notes: there are twofold division of the sign formal and instrumental signs… but insofar as signs are ordered to something signied, they are divided according to the cause of that ordering into natural and stipulative and customary. a formal sign is the formal awareness which represents of itself, not by means of another. an instrumental sign is one that represents something other than itself from a pre-existing cognition of itself as an object, as the footprint of an ox represents an ox. and this denition is usually given for signs generally. a natural sign is one that represents from the nature of a thing, independently of any stipulation and custom whatever, and so it represents the same for all, as smoke signies a re burning. a stipulated sign is one that represents something owing to an imposition by the will of a community, like the linguistic expression "man." a customary sign is one that represents from use alone without any public imposition, as napkins upon the table signify a meal.30 what should be said here is that, in the thought pattern of john poinsot, also known as john of st thomas, there are two categories of signs. there is the sign that is ordered according to power and that which is ordered according to something signied. as regards that which is ordered according to power, the sign can either be the formal or the instrumental. and for that which is ordered according to something signied, it is divided into the natural, stipulative and the customary sign. in the light of the explication given by john poinsot, we can situate igwebuike as a stipulative sign, one that represents something owing to an imposition by the will of the community.31 this implies that a stipulative sign is one that is knowable not immediately but mediately by means of another. the knowledge of igwebuike is mediated upon the principles on which it stands. 29 john poinsot, tractatus de signis, part one, bk 1, q.1i, 646a9-41, university of california press berkeley, los angeles, california, 1985. 30 john poinsot, tractatus de signis, part one, chapter ii, 9b34-10a26. 31 ibid. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 13 in line with the aristotelian categories of the substance and nine accidents, a sign resides in the level of a relation. this relation, according to john poinsot, is not a transcendental one, according to the way of being, but is an ontological one, that is according to the way the relation has being.32 while it stands that to represent another is indeed required for a sign, a sign does not consist in this alone; for a sign adds something beyond representing, and formally bespeaks of representing another deciently, or dependency upon the very thing signied, and by substituting in the capacity of that thing. and thus, a sign respects a signicate, not as something purely selfmanifested and self-illuminated, but as the principal knowable and the measure of the sign, something in whose place the sign is surrogated and whose vicegerent the sign is in bringing that knowable thing to a cognitive power.33 a vivid example is in the case of smoke that signies re. as an ontological relation, a sign is not formally a relation but is the foundation of a relation. john poinsot, notes, therefore a sign does not formally consist in a relation, but in the fundament (foundation) of a relation. the major premise follows from the denition of sign. if a sign is "that which represents something to a knowing power," then it is accordingly something leading the power to an object signied.34 the foundation of a sign is seen in its propensity to move the cognizing power, or arouse in such mind, that to which it points to. it is to this that john poinsot refers to the sign as a mover or an arouser, because it belongs to the capacity of arousing or moving.35 igwebuike as a stipulative sign bears the major mark of a sign, namely; that it is the foundation of a relation. it is for this that we say that a stipulated sign moves (acts) by reason of the imposition, not as knowable immediately and by reason of itself, but mediately and through another, just as any other unreal beings; and thus, we say, presupposing that its knowability is got by borrowing, a stipulated sign takes on the rationale of something moving and representing, just as it also takes on the rationale of something knowable.36 32 ibid, part one, bk 1, q.1i 647al6-b26. 33 ibid. 34 ibid, 650b20-651al4. 35 ibid, 652al4-bl6 36 ibid, 653b29-654a40 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 14 igwebuike in the light of semiosis: part two as already noted there are principles on which igwebuike is founded, and these include: 1. the principle of identity 2. the principle of hierarchy 3. the principle of contrariety 4. the principle of unity37 yet, igwebuike is anchored on an igbo-centric african worldview, which, according to iroegbu, is characterized by a common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny. it is a complementary philosophy which understands life as a shared reality.38 it indicates literally ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power;’ that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force.39 its english equivalent is ‘complementarity’. at this level, no task is beyond their collective capability. it is a concept that was employed by african traditional philosophers of the complementary school of thought to discuss the nature of the observed african reality.40 igwebuike rests on the african principles of solidarity and complementarity. it argues that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is ‘to be with the other’, in a community of beings. this is based on the african philosophy of community, which is the underlying principle and unity of african traditional religions and philosophical experience.41 according to b.i. ekwulu: if the other is my part or a piece of me, it means that i need him for me to be complete, for me to be what i really am. the other completes rather than diminishes me. his language and culture make my own stand out and at the same time, they enrich and complement my own. in the presence of his language and culture, the riches and poverty of my 37 a.i. kanu, on the origin and principles of the igwebuike philosophy. 38 a.i. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity, in igwebuike. an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017, 153-160. 39 a.i. kanu, igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy in igwebuike. an african journal of arts and humanities, 2. 1. 2016, 97-101. 40 a.i. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 2016, 1-7. 41 a.i. kanu, igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy in igwebuike. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 15 language and culture become clear and i see that his own and my own when put together form a richer whole when compared to any of them in isolation.42 it is a sign that indicates a move towards the other, the “you”, for the sake of existential thriving of the self, the “i”. this is the bedrock of igwebuike. the implication of this is the rich complementarity that the igwebuike philosophy brings to bear on s the broader spectrum of philosophy. it indicates how much of the “other” is in the “i”, or better put, how much of you is contained in me, and me in you.43 ekwulu opines further that the self is not only completed in relating with the other, but that it attains self-realization in the other: i realize myself in the other because it is in the ‘thou-ness’ of the thou that my ‘is-ness’ is realized. i am ‘i’ because you are ‘you’. without thou there is no i. we are ‘we’ because they are ‘they’, and without ‘they’, there is no ‘we’.44 it is within this being-laden context, which is life as sharedness, that all questions of meaning can be handled adequately and fully within the context of mutual complementarity of all possible relations.45 according to kanu, from the foregoing, this explains why the igbo would refer to the ‘other’ as ibe, which means ‘a piece of’ or ‘a part of’, as in ibe anu (a piece of meat) or ibe ede (a piece of cocoyam). the igbo would, therefore, refer to the ‘other person’ as ibe m, which means ‘my piece’ or mmadu ibe m (my fellow human being). this is the concept also employed in reference to relationships and reciprocity: love one another (hunu ibe unu n’anya); help one another (nyere nu ibe unu aka); respect one another (sopuru nu ibe unu), etc. since, the ‘other’ refers to my own piece; it would, therefore, mean that to love the other is to love oneself, to help the other is to help oneself and to respect the other is to respect oneself.46 put in another way, to hate the other is to hate oneself, to refuse help to the other is to refuse help to oneself and to disrespect the other is to disrespect oneself.47 42 b.i. ekwulu, igbo concept of ibe (the other) as a philosophical solution to the ethnic conicts in african countries in b. i. ekwulu (ed.), philosophical reections on african issues, enugu publications, delta, 2010, 183-192 43 d. iwuh osa, action understanding is not entirely neutral it is existential, it is igwebuike, in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019, 51-70. 44 b.i. ekwulu, igbo concept of ibe (the other) as a philosophical solution to the ethnic conicts in african countries. 45 i.i. asouzu, ibuanyidanda. new complementary ontology. beyond world immanentism, ethnocentric reduction and impositions, lit verlag publications, munster, 2007, 252-253. 46 a.i. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. 47 d. iwuh osa, action understanding is not entirely neutral it is existential, it is igwebuike. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 16 this complementarity that is the crux of the igwebuike is that which is being given out as a sign or symbol that ought to be understood. it is a concept that is existential and ontological, arising from a culture and a people that have assimilated within themselves the importance of standing together and working together. it does not negate the reality of individuality; it rather pays a lot of tributaries to it by means of emphasis, as seen in the principle of identity (which is one of the principles, albeit the rst principle, of the igwebuike). as to the human individuality, it also endorses the fact of contraries, in life, in reality (physical and spiritual), in the mindset of persons, etc. that is to say that, in just as we would nd contraries in reality and in every aspect that surrounds the human person, there is also bound to be contraries in thought patterns in each individual. this also emphasizes the individuality in persons. it supports and aligns itself with the principle of hierarchy, which appreciates the fact that in reality, although the physical is separated from the spiritual, yet there seems to be a communication between both, a communication of forces; the spiritual stands as a force higher than that of the physical. yet in the singular reality of the spiritual, there is a gradation of powers, a diversity of forces, inherent in all these is the presence of contraries, all working together for the furtherance of one cause, namely existence. this is also visible in the physical realm. nonetheless, there is a united working of each person, force or power, in a united front (the principle of unity), for the sake of existence. according to i.m. onyeocha, “the african conceives of reality in terms of a universe of forces that are linked together, and are in constant interplay with one another”.48 this is because what is pertinent to igwebuike is not that the branch grows out of the tree; it is that the branch remains connected to the tree, sharing one life force. it knows the tree as much as the tree knows it.49 igwebuike understands every individual reality as part and completion of the whole, and thus, there is a unity in the midst of diversity. igwebuike presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations.50 as a stipulative sign, what does igwebuike indicate? from the aforementioned, we have seen solidarity; we have also seen complementarity and we earlier saw togetherness. and all these are aimed towards one end, namely, existence. the beauty of the human existence is seen not in isolation, but in interaction; it is not 48 i.m. onyeocha, africa’s idea about the nature of reality in maryland studies. 3. 5., 2006, 89-105. 49 d. iwuh osa, action understanding is not entirely neutral it is existential, it is igwebuike. 50 a.i. kanu, on the origin and principles of the igwebuike philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 17 seen in a solipsistic reality, but in a shared reality; it is not seen in “i” alone, but in “you and i”. final remarks a cursory look at the work of john poinsot, also known as john of st thomas, will reveal that his denition and understanding of signs have no special afnity with the real or the unreal, being equally at home in signifying either. that is to say that signs can be equally and conveniently used to explain both the real and the unreal, the abstract and the concrete. again, signs are necessarily minddependent, for it is the function of a sign as such to represent, not to explain. it follows that to some extent, signs can take on a life of their own. sign thus,is a being in its own right, as our words do, becoming relatively mind-independent as they are embedded in our culture by linguistic habit. words, that are internally and externally representations of signs, are cultural signs; thus, to translate them is to bridge cultures, bringing one way of life into contact with another. igwebuike philosophy has arisen from the igbo people with their own culture, mode of thinking and operation. but, it is philosophy that has farreaching implications. the igwebuike sign is one that does not seek to explain what it stands for; it only seeks to represent or indicate what it refers to, namely; complementarity, solidarity and togetherness. as already noted, it is a sign that shows how much of the “i” resides in the “you”, and how the “you” and the “i” complement each other. it represents how much can be achieved when human persons graft together, working for a well-dened purpose. in his magna moralia, aristotle dened the friend as a second self, “for the friend is as we assert a second self”.51 there are far-reaching implications to this aristotelian mode of thinking, one of which is this: since this friend is a second self, it stands afrmative that knowledge of the self, can also be attained by focusing on the friend, the second self. even though aristotle downsized this relationship to existing between friends, that is, friends of character (friends of virtue, in the thought of aristotle, are rare, because people of this kind are few.52), we can in the thought pattern of the igwebuike extend this beyond the connes of the friends of character. igwebuike maintains that we are all born out of one thread. it is to this effect that “i” nd myself in “you”, as much as “you” nd yourself in “me”. as rare as it might seem to be, the friendship of virtue was never rare to the african, for it has always been a part of the african. we might allude here 51 aristotle, magna moralia, bk ii, i2i2b20-i2i3a23, translated by g. stock, clarendon press, oxford, 1908. 52 aristotle, nicomachean ethics 1156b31-32. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 18 that the friendship of this sort (friendship of virtue) in the present time, for the african, is rare; igwebuike calls out to us all, telling us to retrace our steps, to nd out who we truly are. in igwebuike, the strength of the other is my strength; the glory of the other is my glory; the positives of the other and her concomitant negatives are mine. i live for the other, just as the other lives for me. it is a reality founded on the friendship of virtue, thus making it an existential reality that ought to stand the test of time.53 bibliography aristotle, magna moralia, bk ii, i2i2b20-i2i3a23, translated by g. stock, clarendon press, oxford, 1908. aristotle, nicomachean ethics 1156b31-32. b.i. ekwulu, igbo concept of ibe (the other) as a philosophical solution to the ethnic conicts in african countries in b. i. ekwulu (ed.), philosophical reections on african issues, enugu publications, delta, 2010. d. iwuh osa, action understanding is not entirely neutral it is existential, it is igwebuike, in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. d. iwuh osa, aristotle’s concept of friendship and the igwebuike philosophy in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. i. a. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity, in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. i. a. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 2016. i. a. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education, a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france. i. a. kanu, on the origin and principles of the igwebuike philosophy, in journal of religion and human relations, volume 11 no. 1, 2019. i. a. kanu, igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2, no. 1, 2016. i. a. kanu. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. 53 d. iwuh osa, aristotle’s concept of friendship and the igwebuike philosophy in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019, 46-57. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 19 i. a. kanu. igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. 2018 i. a. kanu. igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientic community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. 2018 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no. 1 2016:1-6. i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. 2017 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 20 i. a. kanu. igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientic and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. 2019 i. a. kanu. igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. 2019 i. a. kanu. igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. 2018 i. a. kanu. new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. 2018 i.i. asouzu, ibuanyidanda. new complementary ontology. beyond world immanentism, ethnocentric reduction and impositions, lit verlag publications, munster, 2007. i.m. onyeocha, africa’s idea about the nature of reality in maryland studies. 3. 5., 2006. j. deely, cognition from a semiotic point of view, in semiotics 1981, j.n. deelym.d. lenhart (eds), plenum press, new york, 1983. j. deely, on ‘semiotics’ as naming the doctrine of signs, in semiotica vol 152, 2004. j. deely, the red book. the beginning of postmodern times or charles sanders peirce and the recovery of signum, in the metaphyiscal club for the university of helsinki, finland, 2000. j.j. dyikuk, the intersection of communication in igwebuike and trado-rural media: a critical evaluation, in journal of african studies and sustainable development vol. 2 no 3, 2019. john poinsot, tractatus de signis, part one, bk 1, q.1i, 646a9-41, university of california press berkeley, los angeles, california, 1985. t.a. sebeok, an introduction to semiotics, university of toronto press incorporated, 1994, xi. t.a. sebeok, signs. an introduction to semiotics 2nd ed, university of toronto press incorporated, toronto, 2001, 3. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 371 national security and crime in era of covid-19 in nigerian major cities: beyond a lockdown amara egboh f. nnamdi azikiwe university awka, anambra state, nigeria. amyfrances2000@yahoo.co.uk doi: 10.13140/ rg.2.2.23433.67684 & nweke george igboanugo chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu university igbariam, anambra state, nigeria. gi.nweke@coou.edu.ng or nwekeigboanugo@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/ rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract security is the responsibility of every citizen of every country but security agencies are established by law to handle the security affairs of the country. security becomes a problem and very precarious if an unplanned and unexpected threat occurs when there are no laid down laws to tackle them. when such events occur in a country like nigeria without adequate procedures put in place to checkmate it, the nation suffers from different criminal activities which pose serious security issues. nigeria is a nation populated with over 200 million residents with different multi-religious, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds affected by the ongoing global pandemic known as the coronavirus. covid-19 as abbreviated by world health organization (who) is a highly infectious disease with a high mortality rate ravaging the population of the country of which the government-mandated a lockdown in the country to slow the spread of the disease. the pandemic and forced dependence on nothing due to the lockdown further exacerbated people’s already fragile egos and pushed them into an abyss of despair. analysis of secondary data on the effect of the virus due to forced lockdown by the government showed that there was a considerable spike in crimes committed by both citizens and security operatives within major cities. the increase in such crimes like armed robbery, extrajudicial killings, and kidnapping, was propelled by a lack of governmental intervention to the plight of the majority of citizens of the country. the resultant effect was that it created a strain on the national security of the country. this work recommended for increased governmental intervention both for citizens and security mailto:amyfrances2000@yahoo.co.uk mailto:gi.nweke@coou.edu.ng mailto:nwekeigboanugo@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 372 operatives in the country. also to implement relevant policies geared towards the future occurrence of a pandemic and checkmate the activities of security personnel. keywords: covid-19, crime, security, government, strain. introduction a society ill-prepared and ill-equipped for unforeseen and unprecedented attacks both from man-made and natural sources suffers devastating effects through such debilitating consequences as crime and crime-related activities. the effects are devastating especially as it leads to such consequences as criminal activities which affect national security of a country. crime becomes synonymous with national security and citizens of a country live in fear of their lives and properties. nigeria is a country that has witnessed a lot of instabilities starting from its independence in 1960 to the present pandemic. the country has been besieged by different political, economic, social, and religious uprisings both planned and unplanned. these insecurities have been caused by the different and unstable political and economic systems found within the country. one factor remains constant within all these and that is the prevalence of crime which instead of abating with new political power always increases. the present political administration in nigeria has been besieged by different criminal activities ranging from the nefarious activities of the bokoharam sect to fulani herdsmen, kidnapping, armed robbery, rape, arson, pedophilia which are undertaken by the criminally minded in the society. the activities have been caused by corruption, unstable economy, illiteracy, failure of the government to provide basic amenities for its citizens. crime has now become the order of the day in nigeria. in modern times, crime is socially and legally constructed but for this paper, the legal construction will be used. in modern criminal law, the term crime does not have any simple or universally accepted definition because different societies view crime from different perspectives. for certain purposes, the statutory definition of crime is used which has both social and legal meaning. crime is viewed as an intentional act or omission that is committed by an individual with no justification or defense which violates the criminal statutes of a given state, characterized as either a felony or misdemeanor and punishment ascribed for the act. crime is viewed as a socio-political-economic act that is subject to the society that it is found in whether modern or ancient. so invariably crime is a byproduct of civilization because according to emile durkheim (1938) a little bit of crime is good for the advancement of society. the punishment which is adopted for crime igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 373 is seen as a form of social response that has economic and political implications that is subjective to how developed or underdeveloped that society is. this is attributed to the wealth and impact of a nation because the wealthier the society, the higher the crime rates and vice versa, and the level of sophistication attributed to the crime and criminals. crime is one of the sole contributors to the national insecurity of any country because it is a major security threat in whatever form it manifests. the security threat to any nation or society comprises not only those conventional foes such as nation-states but is inclusive also of non-state actions, narcotics cartels, multinational corporations, and nongovernmental organizations; some authorities include natural disasters and events causing severe environmental decay (fjader, 2014). these security threats can also include manmade disasters of which the coronavirus (covid-19) belongs to. national security becomes imperative with these security threats in the country. national security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the state through the use of economic power, diplomacy power projection, and political power (fjader, 2014). covid-19 as it is popularly known is a virus that originated from wuhan, china in 2019 december with no known cure for now and imported into nigeria by an unnamed italian in march 2020 and after its inception into the country, the tide changed in so many ways in the country. in the wake of the infectious deadly virus which had caused a pandemic in the whole world, individuals began responding contrastingly to it. the nigerian society which was used to „suffering and smiling‟ a popular adage by the late fela kuti became significantly affected negatively. the vivacious and energetic social orders in the nation albeit confronting a great deal of hardship due to the lingering of other financial and political factors found within the nation turned into a sad remnant of themselves. the situational changes became more poignant when the federal government mandated a lockdown in the whole country and limited social interaction by advocating for „social distancing‟, „stay home and stay safe‟ with no provision of palliatives for the majority of the country living below the poverty line. it amounted to a sense of obscure dread and trepidation in the populace because individuals who were characterized by daily interactions, visitation both at workplaces, market, and social avenues were now compelled to suffer in private their insecurities about the unknown. resultantly, fear became exacerbated due to economic instability, job loss especially for a great number of the populace and those with menial jobs, and the worst of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 374 fear was that of contracting the dreaded deadly virus. the virus in its inception into the country created previously unthinkable levels of desperation, suffering, and panic (charles & mckinley, 2020) and invariably contributed to the increase in criminal activities by both the governed and the governors. research methods this research paper adopts different approaches which included analyzing the statute of law regarding pandemic in nigerian society (of which there is none but in paper). the presence of such a case was looked at in trying to find ways of approaching it; unfortunately, nigeria has not had similar cases of this magnitude before. therefore, this work adopted secondary sources of data collection as a result of the risk of contracting covid-19 and insecurity involved in seeking primary sources of data collection. other rationales that necessitated the adoption of secondary sources were because of the high rate of crime and deviant behaviors associated with the lockdown in the country. these had lead to the loss of lives and properties of the citizens without any hope of getting succor from the government. sources of secondary data used include; books, unpublished books, journals, newspapers, websites, blogs, and government records. conceptual review crime crime is a social problem, a social phenomenon that affects society in general. it varies according to the social milieu or context it is found in. it is a word that invokes trepidation and demands an expedited action whenever it is heard in society. the definition of crime varies in particular and different periods in society as well as in different countries of the world. “crime is only assessed through criminal law, the fact that criminal law varies from country to country makes it known that crime is relative in nature” (schur, 1969, p. 10). the reason stems from the fact that what one country posits to be a crime cannot be called so in another country. for example, having twins in nigeria years ago was considered a crime while it was not so in england, also gays and lesbians are considered criminals in nigeria in the 21st century while they are not in england. accordingly, „crime does not exist, only acts exist, acts often given different meanings within various social frameworks‟ (christie, 2004) criminologists have a consensus agreement that, crime be viewed as what societies by its laws posits to be a conduct that breaches the norms, social igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 375 equilibrium, moral compass, of that society. in other to express censure, resentment, or criticism of the said act or conduct, the society exerts punishment on the offender and this is derived from the criminal laws guiding the society. accordingly “crime is an intentional act in violation of the criminal code committed without defense or excuse and penalized by the state as a „felony or misdemeanor‟ (more or less serious criminal acts)” (tappan, 1947, p.100). in other words “the essential characteristics of crime is that it is behavior which is prohibited by the state as an injury to the state and against which the state may react at least as a last resort, by punishment” (sutherland, 1949, p. 39). crimes are defined by two components which are act (actus reas), are the acts itself and circumstances that prompted such acts) and criminal intent (men's rea), relates to the mental state of the person that commits the act). the crime involves criminal intent which is defined by elements of purpose, knowledge, negligence, and recklessness as well as being classified into two different ways. acts committed by individuals commit are divided into two: those that are considered to be evil acts themselves (mala in se) and those acts that are wrong because they are prohibited by law (mala prohibita) or grouped according to the seriousness of the act committed, (felonies) or as a petty act (misdemeanors). crimes then are those acts which „shocks the conscience collective‟ of people living in the society (durkheim, 1960). an act is deemed criminal when society condemns, determines, and labels it as so and makes its law as it pertains to that society. security “there will be no development without security and no security without development” (annan, 1995). security is viewed from the above statement as freedom for states to develop to full potential without having any activities both natural and man-made deterring from achieving the goal of freedom for all. this has led to the emergence of human security in the early 1990s brought about by the devastating effects of both natural and manmade disasters like hiv, tsunami. human security came to the limelight through the 1994 united nations development project (undp) human development report which posits that „security has been relocated more to a nation-state than the citizens and the legitimate concerns of ordinary people forgotten, for many of them, security symbolized protection, from the threat of diseases, hunger, unemployment, crime, social conflict, political repression and environmental hazard‟ (undp human development report 1994). this approach to security advocates for a shift from a state-centered approach to individualization of security in any igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 376 country. the reason for this shift is on the assumption that individuals who constitute the state are better equipped in knowing the nuances of security breaches and how best to tackle it. the types of security in nigeria are; environmental security which aims to protect people from ravages of natural disasters, food security aims to provide access to food both physically and economically to citizens, economic security ensures equal employability and wages to all citizens, personal security works at protecting people from both external and internal factors that endanger life‟s and properties, political security aims to protect the basic human rights and social justice of everybody living in the society and finally health security which involves maximum protection from pandemics and diseases. in a pandemic situation in nigeria due to covid-19, all these types of security are constantly violated. definition of a security warrants comprehensive analysis of the term especially as it relates to whom the security is meant for, how much security is needed, by what means is it to be achieved, what are the values aimed at, at what cost is it to the society and finally what is the time frame for achieving this security (baldwin, 1997). accordingly, a concept of security that fails to specify a „referent object‟ such as „the state‟ or „the individual‟ does not suffice because there are many states and individuals and their security interdependent (buzan, 1984). specifically, a better understanding of security can be deduced from the different theoretical schools in security and the tenets found in them. the idealist approach of security adopts and advocates for democracy in dealing with issues relating to security. it is based on the fact that security is achievable through nonviolent and non-coercive means and this guarantees world peace. realist approach advocates for the use of force, control, or threat to achieve maximum security. the pluralist advocates for the discountenance of state self-interest policies that are capable of undermining international security but for states to come together as one and have uniform security. marxist is of the view that the state should be in control of the economy whereby private ownership of the property abolished. the reason for state ownership relates to the fact that it limits the selfish pursuits of individuals which will undermine security. social constructivism looks at the ways to overcome fears related to security threats. security means a system whereby the lives and properties of individuals in a given state are guaranteed by those in the helm of affairs. the security of any igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 377 state should advocate for order, protection, and stability as well as making provisions for a better society through effective policies geared towards the actual realization of such. this culminates in national security which is synonymous with the national interest, which emphasizes how the security policy subordinates any other interests to those of the nation (wolfers, 1952). it then goes that the stability of both state and international security is hinged on the premise that in the maintenance of state security, citizens will be secured which invariably goes to maintain national security. it is understood that national security is shared freedom from fear and want, and the freedom to live in dignity (prabhakaran, 2008). national security is best described as a capacity to control those domestic and foreign conditions that the public opinion of a given community believes necessary to enjoy its self-determination or autonomy, prosperity, and wellbeing (maier, 1990). concept of covid-19 coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) is a novel strain infectious disease which is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (sars-cov-2) (han & yang, 2019). it first manifested in wuhan china in december 2019 and has since spread globally, resulting in the ongoing 2019-2020 coronavirus pandemic disease (chen, 2019). according to the world health organization (who) 2019, the virus initially spread through bats to humans through consumption and later spread between people through close contact often via droplets produced by coughing, sneezing, or talking. the standard method of diagnosis according to who 2020, is by real-time reverses transcription polymerase reaction (rt-pcr) from a nasopharyngeal swab. also, chest ct imaging may be used for diagnosis in individuals where there is a high suspicion of infection based on symptoms and risk factors; however, it is not recommended for routine screening. the common symptoms include fever, cough, tiredness, aches and pains, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat or diarrhea, and experience shortness of breath. the time from exposure to onset of symptoms is typically around five days but may range from two to fourteen days. some people become infected but do not develop symptoms, the majority of the cases progress from mild to viral pneumonia and multi-organ failure though 80% of sufferers recover from the disease without needing special treatment (who, 2020). the who declared the 2019-2020 coronavirus outbreaks a public health emergency of international concern (pheic) on 30 january 2020 and a pandemic on 11 march 2020. more than igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 378 2.5million are suffering from the coronavirus with over 160 million deaths in many countries across the six who regions of the world. as of the time of writing this paper nigeria had tested 214,228, out of which 37,225 were confirmed positive, while the active cases were 21,091. however, on tuesday 21st of july, 2020 ncdc recorded the number of discharged cases is 15,333 with 801 deaths. theoretical framework in criminology, different theories can be used to understand crime and the contributing factors to high levels of crime in society. these theories are classified by their level of analysis. some theories operate on micro levels-biological and psychological theories, while others on macro levels-sociological theories of crime. conflict theory posits that due to the conflict found in the society due to class inequality, crime is bound to be used by those who feel that they have been marginalized by the elites of the society (sellin, 1938). in nigeria, this theory holds because the underclass feels that the government does not care about them especially in this covid-19 by not providing adequate amenities to look after their welfare resorts to crime to achieve their aim. social disorganization theory is based on the belief that a society with decaying social structure has the highest likelihood of high crime levels especially if it has poor schools, vacant and vandalized buildings, high unemployment, and a mixture of commercial and residential buildings (shaw & mckay, 1942). the individuals residing in such an environment when they look at the affluent sections of the society, they feel marginalized and thereby resort to crime to equalize. the covid-19 has brought this to the forefront, because the wealthy made provisions before the lockdown of which the lower classes were not able to do so, and this creates fracas in the society. strain theory this paper used strain theory to understand the high levels of crime during the pandemic (covid-19). it does not only describe the behaviors of those involved in the criminal activities of the present but can be used to analyze certain criminal behaviors in other aspects of life. it can also be utilized for better it explains better especially in detail the reasons why individuals who commit a crime in the pandemic resort to so doing. this theory is attributed to robert k. merton in his 1938 article „social structure and anomie‟. the argument was that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 379 anomie manifests when individuals have faulty relationships between their cultural goals and the legitimate means of acquiring or achieving it. it is also used to examine group differences in crime rates as it relates to inequality and „relative deprivation‟. the suggestion of this is that social and economic as well as political inequality has a direct link to societal crime rates. this is noticeable in the crime rates found in different communities in this pandemic era in nigeria. the level of criminal activities found in lagos does not tally with the neighboring community of ogun or delta or anambra communities. one of the major reasons stems from the fact that lagos is very populated with different ethnic groups and cultures residing there with different perspectives, upbringing, educational qualifications, religious beliefs, and outlook in life. the nigerian society fosters an „anything goes‟ mentality (messner and rosenfield, 2007) when individuals are pursuing the goals and aspirations. for these individuals, failure to achieve success is deemed unacceptable as well as failure to be meaningful and represented in life and this has led them to crime. the cultural goals which individuals aspire to are numerous and widespread but the problem of actualizing them depends on the social structure of the society. the social structure to those who belong to the underclass “restricts or eliminates access to approved modes of acquiring these symbols” (merton, 1968 p. 680). this leads to what he called „structural impediments or obstacles‟ which for him exists to make it virtually impossible to achieve legitimate means of wealth for those middle and underclasses which invariably makes it possible to achieve the wealth illegitimately through crime though it was sought for before legitimately. this is conversant with the middle-class and underclass who share the same cultural goals with the upper class for success but lack or have limited means of attaining them due to poverty, lack of education, inequality, bias, religious bigotry, and political subjugation. this creates what merton called strain in the society towards creating anomie which is a state of „normlessness‟ or chaos which translates to crime. strain theory uses five principles of adaptation of which three relates to the present situation found in nigeria with the pandemic. the key to the manifestation relates to acceptance or rejection of cultural goals of success which is wealth through legitimate means. people who are committing these crimes during the pandemic in nigeria are mostly the middle-class and the underclass igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 380 who are trying to achieve wealth through illegitimate means because though they have accepted the cultural goal of success, but have no legitimate means of acquiring it. they can be classified as innovators because they are looking for new ways to acquire wealth and these are the armed robbers, thieves, drug dealers, and financial criminals. some of the criminals found in these cities are those merton sees as being the true aliens (because they have rejected the cultural goals and the legitimate means of obtaining wealth (merton, 1968, p. 153). they are the homeless and the serious drug dealers found in every street corner in nigeria. also inclusive are the rebellious groups who are the political deviants trying to change the society to their liking. they adopt whatever means necessary to reach their chosen goal and they are the terrorist groups (bokoharam and fulani herdsmen) who use violence in an attempt to achieve their political goal. individuals who are committing these heinous crimes in the pandemic do so because they have been denied the legitimate means of acquiring wealth especially through the imposition of the lockdown by the federal government. other factors that contributed to them resorting to crime and the break down in law and order are massive corruption in the society, poverty, bias, religious bigotry, favoritism, ethnicity, political thuggery, and most important covid-19 which brought about a host of uncertainties for the underclass. their current criminal behavior stems from the government‟s inability to cater to their basic needs despite administering lockdown in the whole society. the resultant effect which is a crime and crime-related activities shows how the middle-class and underclass who are denied the legitimate means of acquiring wealth daily resort to criminal activities to survive. for the present study, strain theory has been adopted because it is the best suited as well as having the relevant perspectives required for the paper. problem formulation there were already existing social problems witnessed in the country due to the economic deprivation situation but these were exacerbated by the covid-19 anomaly. the social problems created by covid_19 relate to the magnitude of the crime and crime-related activities that were manifested in different cities across the country which had become commonplace. the federal government did not and was unable to put factors in place to checkmate the excesses of certain groups of people in society. measures like palliatives ranging from relief materials like food, shelter, and other basic amenities were not put in place for igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 381 those people who had no other means of survival due to their daily living existence. the fear of contracting the disease further moved for individuals to become limited around the country for the fact that the virus had no cure presently. this brought about the rising, unprecedented, and brazen attacks by criminals of different guise who were determined to succeed by all means. armed robbers with bold attitudes began to post messages to households and cities „advertising‟ the day, time and manner of their visitations and what was required of the citizens to produce in other to make life easier for the two parties involved (1 million gangs). other crime incidences like police brutality, extrajudicial killings, rape, kidnapping, insurgency, communal clashes increased, and made citizens of different communities begin to live in fear and trepidation. findings nigeria is one of the most populated countries in the world with an estimated population of 200 million. the figure consists of citizens with diverse cultures, ethnic backgrounds, and religious upbringings. major cities like lagos, ogun, anambra, abuja, delta, edo, and borno witnessed unprecedented criminal activities during the lockdown caused by the pandemic covid-19. the pandemic had wreaked untold havoc on the fragile state of nigeria and this triggered a lot of unrest and conflict in the country and the resultant effect was the increase in crime rates. after the initial furor of the pandemic in the nigerian cities, the rate of criminal activities declined due to the fear of the unknown but the lockdown contributed to the increase in criminal activities despite the fear of contracting the virus. the major reason for the lockdown was because the world health organization advocated for social distancing in other to minimize the transmission of the coronavirus. the pandemic brought about the closure of almost all infrastructure and businesses in society except for essential services like hospitals, pharmacies, and basic food markets. when people did eventually venture into the not-so-free world, it was solely for basic survival essentials like food and medicine and exercise (marra, 2020). the pandemic which covid-19 is referred to became classified as a national security risk and was given the highest priority in the country. the problem with making the pandemic a top priority in nigeria was that not enough resources igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 382 were allocated to it in other to help the citizens. subsequently, the minimal resources available were overstretched which led to crime agencies' inability to handle the unprecedented surge in the crime rates. most of the agencies under the aegis of crime control like the police, army, navy, and corrections found it difficult to train and equip their staff for such emergencies. this brought a paradigm shift in the way the different criminal cases were brought and handled by the police. the level of criminal activities had increased because poverty which is the main social milieu that prompts people to commit the crime had been exacerbated by the lockdown. although violent crimes such as shootings, armed robbery, and kidnapping had been occurring at a slower rate, they still drove the waves of social dysfunction during the pandemic crisis (martha, 2020). there were palpable increases in such nefarious activities as: armed robbery in the wake of the pandemic, after the lockdown began in the country, armed robbery instances became a daily occurrence in so many major cities in nigeria. armed robbers became a menace to the citizens of the country in their different homes and those in the streets for essential services. densely overpopulated lagos was the highest hit with daily news filtering the airwaves of the fear and problems created by the dissidents. „one million gang‟ as they were popularly called were one of those gangs terrorizing the residents and they achieved this by creating fear with the posters of visitation and their numbers in carrying out the attacks. different headline news related to increasing criminal activities in the country. for example vanguard news of 12 april 2020, „covid-19 lockdown: armed robbers, miscreants on the rampage in the suburbs‟ draws the vivid picture of the mayhem caused by the criminals around the country during the lockdown. cybercrime according to the bbc news report of 7 april 2020, cybercriminals were taking advantage of the covid-19 pandemic to reap citizens off their hard-earned currency. the cybercriminals steal sensitive materials from individuals through their mobile devices or computers to perpetrate the act. they use different methods like phishing campaigns, relief packages, and impersonation of the victim‟s friend or family. they send messages through social media like facebook, twitter, instagram, or emails whereby the victim is required to register, claim to be calling from their bank to for irregularities in their account or igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 383 by them telling them to download an app to make transactions easier in the comfort of the homes. sometimes they send messages to the victim claiming to be from who or nigeria centre for disease control (ncdc) and once the victim clicks on any of the links sent, they will steal the person‟s money or identity to further their nefarious activities. kidnapping kidnapping is described as a forceful abduction of an individual by another or a group for the ransom which can vary depending on the aim or for death purposes. the rate of kidnapping increased in the wake of the pandemic according to reports from different news agencies in nigeria. according to punch news of 2 may 2020, kidnappers of three uniport students apprehended. the three university students were kidnapped on 7 april 2020 but were later killed by their abductors. the kidnappers who were later apprehended led the police to the burial site of the kidnapped victims after the families had already paid their ransom. the female kidnapped victim was gangraped by the assailants before being killed with the other two and buried in a shallow grave. in another news, in cross river state, mrs. ekanem, a staff, and wife of one of the doctors of the university of calabar teaching hospital in the state was kidnapped on march 10 2020 at the hospital's car park. also in the news, two nigerian professional football players ekundayoojo and benjamin iluyomade of abia comets club were kidnapped for ransom on 22 march 2020 and were later released with the help of the nigerian police (bbc news 25 march 2020). these and many more reported and unreported news of kidnapping has littered the airwaves. terrorism terrorism is the use of threats and violence to destabilize and create fear in the populace to achieve political gains. boko haram is one of the terrorist groups found in the world and residents in the nigerian borders. according to the global terrorism index, it had named the group as the world‟s deadliest terror group in 2013 and was designated a terrorist group by the united states of america in the same year. the group has been terrorizing the whole country since its inception in 2012, more so now that the pandemic has been ravaging the country. according to aljazeera news of 10, june 2020, at least 81 people were killed at the felo herding village in borno state likewise on the 13th of june (three days later) 20 soldiers, and 40 civilians were equally killed in the same borno igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 384 state. these are some of the reported cases through group had become more daring because of the lockdown in the country. extrajudicial killings an extrajudicial killing is viewed as an unauthorized and legal killing of people by government authorities. the police through the constitution of nigerian has the responsibility of protecting lives and property. their duties are the exact opposite of that proscribed by the law. the nigerian police commits all levels of atrocities like bribery, extortion, brutality, in their bid to carry out their duties. extrajudicial violence and killings with total disregard for the sanctity of lives are now synonymous with the nigerian police. they summarily execute and torture people at random or those accused of committing a crime albeit more so in the era of the pandemic lockdown in the country. according to vanguard news of 11 march 2020, lagos state accounts for 38% of extrajudicial killings in nigeria. during the curfew enforcement, according to the bbc news report of 24 april 2020, „security forces in the country had killed more nigerians than the covid19‟. the killings started with the murder of joseph pessu in warri, delta state which was because he flouted a stop and search order during the lockdown. the trend has become worrisome with different news highlighting the level of atrocious behaviors and inhumane treatment perpetrated daily by the police. in different cities of nigeria, victims of police brutality recount their ordeals which ranged from flogging with hard objects to rape, sodomy, and molestation. other crimes like domestic violence, banditry, rape, and pedophilia were on the increase and became daily occurrences on the news during the lockdown. the high rise in crime rates witnessed by different communities put a strain on the maintenance of law and order in the country. police stations became overcrowded and cases piled up with the stations most often refusing to handle new cases. in the wake of these problems, police brutality increased indiscriminately which made residents take up arms against those who had the duty of taking care of their safety. police and civilian confrontation became almost a daily occurrence with incidents reported from cities like onitsha, lagos, warri, and the rest of the cities clustered around the country. the high rise in such crimes can be attributed to people confined in the same place for long periods with no escape and no means of acquiring the necessities to make life worthwhile. individuals dwelling in the different cities and suburbs of the nation whose daily survival was not guaranteed became unduly igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 385 constrained and lacked survival instincts. the government of the country whose duty was to sustain the populace failed in carrying out their duties diligently. consequently, the resultant effect was that some people took laws into their own hands to survive. mass delinquency of the citizens can become a trigger towards the higher level of crime witnessed during the pandemic. mass delinquency triggers an inclination to aggressive behavior when the individuals assemble. the assembly of these individuals in the pandemic in anger and with entitlement mentality pushes for a revolutionary change in the affairs of their lives. they lose their sense of individuality in their bid for self-righteous acts in what is called „deindividuation‟ (zimbardo, 1969). these people, who have lost their individuality, commit crime at random and at will in the sense that they are trying to assuage their sensibility of righteousness against the atrocities committed against them by the ruling elite. they feel invisible because of the presence of crowds while they are committing crimes and they work as an entity. this is what makes them successful especially in the pandemic in carrying out successfully their nefarious activities. the increase in crime is equally attributed to the attitudes of those imbibed with keeping and maintaining the law, which are the security forces in the nation. security agents became laws themselves and unleashed their menace on the unsuspecting populace. the reason can be attributed to unchecked corruptive practices practiced by them which amount to the commission of different atrocities ranging from brutality, bribery, extortion, intimidation as well as the harassment of members of the public. the nigerian public had somewhat become adaptive and immune to these deficiencies of the security forces but the increase in their activities during the pandemic led to retaliation by the masses. in ohafia, abia state and onitsha, anambra state, for example, policemen who were drunk killed indigenes of the mentioned communities and the indigenes retaliated by pouring acid, burning of cars, and police station which belonged to the security forces. the result amounted to more brutality and deaths unleashed on the masses by the police. when cases of injustices are reported, the perpetrators of the crime were let off due to bribery and corruption found in the environment and this makes the society angry and apprehensive especially being denied their rights in the society. these can be explained with strain theory because people who have igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 386 denied their rightful way of acquiring wealth and sustaining themselves during the pandemic, do so through illegitimate. summary in times of old, the government had the sole responsibility of sustaining individuals residing in different communities through the welfare system. basic amenities like jobs, food, shelter, water were the sole responsibility of the government without the application of bias or ethnicities. the reverse is the case in modern times because corruption, tribalism, nepotism, had taken over the system to corrode it. citizens of the country except the elites feel and bear the brunt of government‟s insensitivity to modern societal problems and some have become outcasts in their societies. this has led to an increase in criminal activities found in the country and has equally put a strain on the national security of the country. initially, national security in nigeria had greatly been affected by issues of boko haram attacks, fulani herdsmen, kidnapping, armed robbery, arson attacks on different sectors of human life, and the economy but 2020 brought another wakeup call in form of coronavirus (covid-19). over the years, in the country, there had been serious advocacy for the improvement of measures through policies to tackle both the foreseen and unforeseen actions of man and nature but nothing has been done about it. the pandemic had brought to the forefront that the country had failed in the basic needs of protection of the lives and property of citizens. the fact that there are no laid down policies and procedures to it, though it had been made a top priority in a paper, unfortunately, there is no concrete evidence to show the feasibility of it. all these issues had made it almost impossible for security operatives to be trained in ways of tackling the resultant issues of such an outbreak especially the increase in crime and criminals. it then calls for changes in the country on ways to handle such acts when they occur in the future to reduce the effects it imposes on citizens barely surviving due to bad economic situations. recommendations the recommendations are that implementable policies be made which reflects on ways to tackle such outbreaks in the future. these policies should be reflective of the plight of masses in such cases to provide adequately for needs that will accrue in such situations. religiosity and ethnicity should not be put into consideration in issues relating to the masses. there must be a humane face to those dealing with security in the country especially as regards their encounter with the masses. dissemination of information relating to issues of such igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 387 magnitude should be public knowledge on the procedures to follow. the welfare state should be revived and brought back to alleviate the suffering of the masses. mass delinquency should be eradicated through the provision of basic education for all. the psychological evaluation should be mandatory in the recruitment of officers in the force as well as to the criminals themselves in ascertaining the reasons behind their behaviors. the objectives of law enforcement agencies and the criminal justice system should be in the rule of law not in bias and bigotry. security should both the responsibility of the state and the people residing in the state to ensure. security personnel should be trained adequately to tackle such situations and should be proactive and diligent in carrying out their duties both in and out of season. all these are achieved through the collective efforts of both the masses and the leaders. a better understanding of all these can especially as it relates to crime and deviant behavior in the pandemic can lead to a better productive society fit for all and sundry. a better understanding of the masses and the political leaders who work together for the betterment of the society can bring crime to the minimal which will become tolerable to all. the safety of the masses should be a top priority both from the ravaging effects of the pandemic, the criminals, and the security agents. and finally, there is an urgent need for the strengthening of different institutions most importantly the criminal justice system and health care services to discourage foreign medical tourism. reference akasike, chukwudi. (2020, may 2). updated: why we kidnapped killed three uniport students-suspects. punch newspaper. retrieved from https://punchng.com/updated-why-we-kidnapped-killed-threeuniport-students-suspect/ akoni, olasunkanmi. (2020, april, 12). covid-19 lockdown: armed robbers, miscreants on rampage in lagos suburbs. vanguard newspaper. retrieved from https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/04/armedrobbers-miscreants-on-rampage-in-lagos-suburb/amp/ retrieved 20/04/2020. aljazeera news (2020, june 10). „fighters kill dozens, raze village in nigeria‟s borno state. retrieved from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/06fighters-kill-dozens-razevillage-in-nigeria-borno-state 20061005549580.html https://punchng.com/updated-why-we-kidnapped-killed-three-uniport-students-suspect/ https://punchng.com/updated-why-we-kidnapped-killed-three-uniport-students-suspect/ https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/04/armed-robbers-miscreants-on-rampage-in-lagos-suburb/amp/ https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/04/armed-robbers-miscreants-on-rampage-in-lagos-suburb/amp/ https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/06fighters-kill-dozens-raze-village-in-nigeria-borno-state%2020061005549580.html https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/06fighters-kill-dozens-raze-village-in-nigeria-borno-state%2020061005549580.html igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 388 annan, kofi. (2005). „larger freedom: towards development, security and human rights for all. report of the secretary-general, 2005. retrieved from http://www.ohchr.org/documents/publications/a.59.2005.add.3.pdf. baldwin, david. a. (1997). „the concept of security‟ review of international studies, 23, p. 5-26. bbc news. (2020, april 25). security forces kill more nigerians than covid19. retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa52317196. bbc news. (2020, march 25). kidnapped nigerian footballers freed. retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/sport/amp/africa/52044193. bbc news (2020, april 7). crime during coronavirus: see how cyber-criminals they take advantage of covid-19 to tiff from nigerians. retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/pidgin/tori-52196311 buzan, barry. (1984). „peace, power and security: contending concepts in the study of international relations‟. journal of peace research, 21, p. 109-125. charles, c. &mckinley, j. (2020). tide of violent crime that consistently caused chaos in nigeria. retrieved from https://www:nytimes:com/2020/03/13/nyregion/alex-jonescoronavirus-cure:html. chen, u. (2020). covid-19: why it matters that scientists continue their search for source of 'patient zero's' infection. retrieved from https://www:up:ac:za/news/post 2880755covid-19-why-it-mattersthat-scientists-continue-their-search-for-source-of-patientzerosinfection/ chritie, nils. (2004). a suitable amount of crime. london: routledge durkheim, emile. (1938). the rules of sociological method. new york: free press. fjader, christian. (2014). the nation-state, national security and resilience in the age of globalisation. journal of resilience, international policies, practices and discourses, vol. 2, p. 114-129. retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1080/21693293.2014.914771. han,yu, & yang, hailan. (2020). the transmission and diagnosis of 2019 novel coronavirus infection disease (covid-19): a chinese perspective. journal of medical virology, vol. 92, issue 6. retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1002/jmv.25749. http://www.ohchr.org/documents/publications/a.59.2005.add.3.pdf https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-52317196 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-52317196 https://www.bbc.com/sport/amp/africa/52044193 https://www.bbc.com/pidgin/tori-52196311 https://www:nytimes:com/2020/03/13/nyregion/alex-jones-coronavirus-cure:html https://www:nytimes:com/2020/03/13/nyregion/alex-jones-coronavirus-cure:html https://doi.org/10.1002/jmv.25749 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 389 kanu, i. a. (2020). covid-19 pandemic and the health of african migrants. amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 18. no. 2. pp. 56-64. kanu, i. a. (2020). covid-19 and the economy: an african perspective. journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 3. no. 2. pp. 29-36. kanu, i. a. (2020). saint augustine and covid-19 pandemic: the future and divine providence. tansian university journal of arts, management and social sciences. vol. 7. pp. 151-162. maier, charles . (1990). peace and security for the 1990‟s. paper for the mac arthur fellowship program, social science research council. environmental change and security project report, issue 4. washington: the woodrow wilson center. marra, s. (2020). this is what bill gates had to say about epidemics, back in 2015. accessed: 20 march 2020. url: https://www:weforum:org/agenda/2020/03/bill-gates-epidemicpandemic-preparedness-ebola-covid-19/. martha, hand k henry. (2020). coronavirus lies | debunking the hoaxes around covid-19. retrieved fromhttps://www:news24:com/africa/news/dettol-garlic-and-fakecases-in-north-west-cape-debunking-the-hoaxes-lies-aroundcoronavirus-20200306 merton, robert, k. (1938). social structure and anomie. american sociological review, vol. 3, no. 5. (oct) pp. 672-682). merton, robert, k. (1968). social theory and social structure. new york: free press. messner, s. f., & rosenfeld, r. (2007). crime and the american dream (4thed). belmont, ca: thomson wadsworth. onyegbule, esther. (2020, march 11). lagos accounts for 38% of extra-judicial killings in nigeria-noprin. vanguard newspaper. retrieved from https:www.vanguardngr.com/2020/03/lagos-accounts-for-38%-extrajudicial-killings-in-nigeria-noprin./amp/. prabhakaran, paleri. (2008) national security; imperatives and challenges. new delhi: tata mcgraw-hill publishing company. schur, edwin. (1969). our criminal society: the social and legal sources of crime in america. engelwood cliffs, n.j: prentice-hall. sellin, t. (1938). culture, conflict and crime. new york: social science research council. https://www:weforum:org/agenda/2020/03/bill-gates-epidemic-pandemic-preparedness-ebola-covid-19/ https://www:weforum:org/agenda/2020/03/bill-gates-epidemic-pandemic-preparedness-ebola-covid-19/ https://www:news24:com/africa/news/dettol-garlic-and-fake-cases-in-north-west-cape-debunking-the-hoaxes-lies-around-coronavirus-20200306 https://www:news24:com/africa/news/dettol-garlic-and-fake-cases-in-north-west-cape-debunking-the-hoaxes-lies-around-coronavirus-20200306 https://www:news24:com/africa/news/dettol-garlic-and-fake-cases-in-north-west-cape-debunking-the-hoaxes-lies-around-coronavirus-20200306 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 390 shaw, clifford r. & mckay, henry d. (1942). juvenile delinquency in urban areas. chicago: university of chicago press. sutherland, edwin. (1949) white collar crime. new york: the dryden press. tappan, paul. (1947). who is a criminal?.american sociological review 12.10:96102. undp. (1994). human development report 1994: new dimensions in human security. retrieved from http://www.hdr.undp.org/en/content/human-development-report1996 wolfers, arnold. (1952). “national security” an ambiguous symbol. political science quarterly, 67, p. 483-485. world health organization. (2020). who director-general's opening remarks at the media briefing on covid-19. retrieved from https://www:who:int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-generalsopening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19/ world health organization. (2020). sars (severe acute respiratory syndrome). retrieved fromhttps://www:who:int/ith/diseases/sars/en/ zimbardo, philip, g. (1969). the human choice: individuation, reason, and order vs. deindividuation, impulse and chaos. in arnold, w.j. & levine, d. (eds) nebraska symposium motivation (pp. 237-307). lincoln: university of nebraska press. http://www.hdr.undp.org/en/content/human-development-report-1996 http://www.hdr.undp.org/en/content/human-development-report-1996 https://www:who:int/ith/diseases/sars/en/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 213 nigerian politicians, discipline, integrity, character and the rule of law: application versus financial spending in 2019 federal elections gabriel asuquo college of social and management science achievers university owo – ondo state email: gabrielmarcel76@yahoo.com & peter adelaja akerele department of sociology, criminology and security studies college of social and management sciences achievers university, owo ondo state, nigeria. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.19482.59846 abstract this paper gives an ethical evaluation of the 2019 federal elections in nigeria as it bothers on questions of discipline, integrity, and character of nigerian politicians with attendant consequences on the rule of law. the 2019 general election was characterized by severe malpractices, irregularities and gross abuse of the rule of law that governed democratic elections. from the critical review of relevant literatures and opinions of political analysts on the 2019 general elections, the paper identifies the following burning ethical issues: vote buying, underage voting, snatching of ballot boxes by political thugs, phenomenon of inconclusive elections and compromising nature of security operatives, inducement of electoral officers at the polling units’ levels, and pre and post-electoral violence. these acts were perpetrated by politicians and their proxies all in the bid to win elections, in order to have access to state power and resources. these acts so perpetrated by politicians raised ethical and legalistic questions. however, the major concern of the paper is on the unprincipled implications of these acts. thus, the paper argues that for nigeria to address these ethical issues arising from the 2019 federal elections and subsequent elections there is need for nigeria to have a new approach to leadership recruitment and governance. the paper deduces that discipline, integrity, and character excellence should be the guiding values for nigerian politicians and prospective politicians. the paper employs the method of critical analysis. keyword: elections, politicians, ethics, voting, character igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 214 introduction the task before this paper is to give an ethical evaluation on 2019 nigerian federal election, as it bothers on discipline, integrity, and character of nigerian politicians with its attendant consequences on the rule of law. rule of law is an ethical and legal axiom that finds expression in the extant laws of the land and the conventions of a people. this is why the strength of democracy or any regime that claim to be democratic must conform to its processes and institutions to the rule of law as different from the whims and caprices of individuals (montesquieu, 1949). the 2019 general election as reported from various editorial reviews of the dailies, public commentators, and eye-witness account indicated that there were incidents of widespread electoral irregularities such as rigging, ballot box snatching, thuggery, intimidation of opposition by security operatives as directed by the ruling party (abati, 2019). more so, it was reported that in some places that electoral officers were molested (yiaga africa, 2019). there were also report of logistical failure on the part of the electoral commission which was deemed by the opposition as premeditated by the ruling party to frustrate electorates who are sympathetic to their manifesto. these logistical failures include card reader failure, late arrival of electoral materials and officers in some perceived opposition ‘stronghold’, and compromising nature of electoral officers and security agents at the polling unit level. these incidents that emanated from the 2019 federal election raises fundamental ethical issues such as: is there a connection between the ethical values a people holds and the nature of their election? what is the moral disposition of nigerian politicians towards election? is election a war or a civil activity? what kind of ethical blueprint (theory) does nigeria politician operate? is there a place for ethical values like discipline, integrity and character formation in upholding the rule of law in an election? what role should money play in the electioneering process? these and other questions are the philosophical cum ethical issues that this paper will be interrogating. furthermore, nigeria in the course of her history had witnessed various elections in its political development, however, the 2019 federal election marks a milestone achievement of democratic governance in nigeria. this is because it marks the 20 years of uninterrupted democracy in the history of nigeria. hence, it is this significance that gives this paper it credence to reflect on nigerian journey of democracy as it bothers on ethical imperatives and the rule of law in the conduct of free, fair and credible election that can enthrone a legitimate igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 215 government that is truly based on the ‘consent of the people’ (locke, 1823). though there are debates on the relevance of ethics in politics, with some scholars arguing that ethics should not have a place in politics because politics is a science that should not entertain normativity in its approaches (girardin, 2012). whereas, others (arendt, 2012; freire, 2000) argues that politics without ethics poses a danger to civil society. thus, this paper is grounded on the latter, which means that politics without ethics can be a tool for evil in the hands of unscrupulous politicians. hence, the very relationship upon which politics is based in society, necessarily entails that it should be guided by ethical imperatives or considerations. ethics becomes the searchlight that beams on political actors as they carry out their activities in society. therefore, this paper shall be divided into three sub-sections. section one deals with ethical issues that emanate from the 2019 nigerian federal election, section two will give a critical analysis of nigerian politicians and ethical imperatives, and the rule of law. while, section three will deal with the implication of money politics in the form of vote buying, inducement of electoral officers and security agents on the integrity and credibility of subsequent elections in nigeria. 2019 nigerian elections: some ethical consideration according to abati (2019), “nigeria 2019 federal election was not about ideas. it was about brawn, cash, and impunity”. if what abati reported as the state of affairs in the 2019 federal election holds true, it then means that the election falls short of what is obtainable in democratic society elsewhere. more so, for yiaga africa (a local observer group that deploy the use of ict tools in observing the election), the 2019 federal election especially the presidential election was characterized by shortcoming like logistical challenges faced by inec, which resulted in late opening of polling units in some areas, gross misconducts by political parties which compromised the ability of citizens to vote and undermined public confidence in the process. the group further states that the election was not what nigerians expected neither is it what they deserved (2019:1). from the submissions of abati and yiaga africa, it is clear that the 2019 federal election is filled with its own contradictions and ethical dilemma on the part of the electoral commission, the electorates, political parties, and politicians. what are those actions and inactions that was performed by parties during the elections to circumvent the rules of the elections? this question igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 216 assumes that election is a legal and human affair, however, since it is a human affair it raises moral questions on the part of the actors involved. no doubt the independent national electoral commission (inec), operates in a very frustrating and difficult conditions like lack of autonomy, inadequate funding, and lack of appropriate organizational and managerial capacities (adetula, 2008). there is still a need to raise and discuss the various fundamental issues that arise from the 2019 federal elections which are capable of marring the conduct of free, fair and credible election in nigeria. some of these issues include:  underage voting  snatching of ballot boxes by political thugs  inconclusive election phenomenon  pre and post-electoral violence  vote buying  inducement of electoral officers at the polling unit levels  compromising nature of security operatives these issues need ethical evaluation to ascertain their moral status. more so, it is very pertinent to add that some of the above actions were carried out by politicians either directly or through their proxies. the reasons for this are that politicians are the major players in an election and it is very germane that they won at all cost, hence, accusing them of the above is stating the obvious. underage voting in nigeria the minimal age required for an individual to be judged eligible to vote in an election is 18 years and a person below 18 years is not eligible to vote (2010 electoral act). thus, underage voting is a situation whereby politicians conniving with electoral officers from the point of registration of voters, register persons below the age of 18 years, consequently, are allowed to vote in an election. the reason some politicians involve themselves in underage voting, is because with it, they can have majority vote in order to have unfair advantage over their opponents. this action is not only criminal it is also immoral. the morality of this action is that election which is based on universal adult suffrage is made for those who are constitutionally recognized as adults, and are expected to vote and be voted for, not for minors. hence, it shows the desperations and criminal mindedness of some politicians. although underage age voting is not widespread, it mostly occurs in the northern part of nigeria, especially, kano igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 217 and sokoto during the general elections (punch newspaper, february 23, 2019 & this day newspaper 2019). snatching of ballot boxes by political thugs one of the tenets of democracy is that leaders or rulers emerge from the result of the total vote cast in an election. the ballot is the avenue for electing leaders in a democratic society and not the employment of instruments of violence. hence, to disrupt the electoral process in other to weakened an opponent in his or her perceived stronghold, politicians use thugs to snatch ballot boxes either during the voting process or after the voting process, in order to make the election either inconclusive or to reduce the margin of lead in the election. this act is not only criminal is against the democratic ethos and expectation of a sane society. civility entails that every person’s respect the basic rules of conduct in any sphere of society, and if a person refuses either deliberately or out of greed for power to disrupt a civilized process that goes to show the mental state of that person. if some politicians are deliberately sending thugs to disrupt the electoral process that shows that such politicians are not only immoral but criminal. and if they eventually win, it will reflect in their style of governance. perhaps this can account for the fact why nigerian has not got it fair share of true democratic leadership. in conclusive election phenomenon there is no election in the world that is perfect, even in advanced democracies elections still have its own inner contradictions and challenges. however, in a situation whereby politicians use means order than the legally accepted means to determine the outcome of an election is not only immoral but also criminal. inconclusive election is becoming a cog in the wheel of nigeria’s democracy, it not only raises the question about the credibility of such election, but it creates a situation whereby elections no longer reflect ‘the will of the people’. preand post-election related violence violence is one moral question that still bothers nigeria election. pre-election violence involves assassination, attempted assassination, and disruption of political party campaign rallies by opposing political party. more so, pre-election violence includes threats and intimidation of candidates during the electioneering processes. on the other hand, post-election violence involves total mayhem of perceived supporters of a candidate who won an election, and the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 218 use of political thugs to provoke the loser in an election. although, electionrelated violence are not new in nigeria but the inability to eliminate it is a challenge to democracy in nigeria. consequently, due to sporadic nature of electoral violence and the volatility involve in such situation, it has resulted in high voter’s apathy. therefore, how can we justify the fact that an election where 84 million persons register and 72 million collected their permanent voter’s card (pvc), only about 35 million actually voted in the general election (www.inecnigeria.org)? according to smah (2008), there are two factors that are responsible for electoral violence in nigeria include, nigerian political culture and the zero-sum philosophy that drive the process of politicking in nigeria. this zero-sum philosophy is rooted in the ‘investment mentality’ that govern political party and election funding in nigeria (olorunmola, 2018). the interplay of these twin factors is responsible for election violence in nigeria. what smah (2008) is say essentially is that election violence has a long history in nigeria and the ‘win at all cost’ mentality is fuelling this behavior in nigeria. vote buying one of the hallmarks of electoral democracy is the opportunity it gives to eligible citizens to elect their leaders in a civilize manner. it presumed that the citizens are open to a myriad of choices, in terms of candidates and their manifestoes from which they (citizens) choose who will lead them for a particular duration. the choice so made is based on the promises, manifesto, and ideology of the leader. thus, anything outside the above practice is antidemocracy (ojo, 2008). hence, issues like vote buying or harvesting are antidemocratic. vote buying is a deliberate inducement or enticement of voters with money, food items and other material values, with the intention of influencing their decision during voting. this practice is gradually becoming the norm in nigeria’s democracy with severe consequences on who eventually becomes a winner in an election. the problem with this practice is that it gives those with too much money the leverage to hijack the electoral process, in order, to determine the outcome of an election (yagboyaju and simbine 2020, p.5). if this practice is not checked it can degenerate nigerian democracy to a plutocracy, whereby political rent-seekers without any people-centric developmental agenda will be administering the nigerian state. though many factors are responsible for the phenomenon of vote buying, however, the high rate of poverty and ignorance in nigeria stands at the apex of other factors. to paint the picture further, adetula (2008, p.xxviii) opines that “today in nigeria, money politics, vote buying, godfatherism and “share the money” are regular household phrases igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 219 or slogans portraying moral decadence of politicians”. this goes to show the pathetic situation of electoral democracy in nigeria. inducement of electoral officers at the polling unit level due to the desperation to win an election at all cost, political parties and their candidates usually involve in the act of inducing electoral officers with money and other material means to condone their act of malpractices and irregularities at the polling unit. some electoral officers are given amount of money that is far bigger than the stipend that inec gives them. this is made possible because election in nigeria is won or lost at the polling unit level, if a politician can ‘buy’ as many electoral and presiding officers at the polling units, then, he or she is sure of victory in the election. this act of bribing electoral officers compromises the integrity of the electoral process at the long run. compromising nature of security operatives it is a commonplace in nigeria to see security operatives aligning with the political party that is in power and not the nigerian people during an election. there are reports in so quarters that security operatives were used deliberately by the party in power to intimidate, harass and terrorize the opposition during the election. security operatives are agents of the nigerian state not the machinery of any political party or politician to actually their will. in a situation where security operatives instead of protecting the citizenry are used by the ruling party, to perpetuate their interest in an election, is not only immoral but it is against the logic of a sane society. hence, the use of security operatives by the party in power to intimidate and harass opposition is an act of state terrorism. nigerian politicians, character and the rule of law this section will look at the importance of rule of law and the character of nigerian politicians in the conduct of free, fair and credible election that commands the confidence of all nigeria which ensure the legitimacy of government. according to akhaine (2019), a sound electoral process is meant to achieve four cardinal objectives: accountable rulers, open society, social justice, and mass participation of the citizenry in the art of governance. it is very germane to add that democracy which election is one of its institutions is different from other political arrangements because it gives the power of the state to the people themselves. hence, if the people’s will are respected, as reflected in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 220 the outcome of a credible election it promotes good governance and legitimacy. rulers who respect the will of the majority in an election will be accountable to the people. more so, credible elections that recognizes the desire of the majority and respect it promotes the principles of the open society. thus, the strength of democracy is actually anchored on free, fair and credible elections that are organized on the principles of social justice, fair play and accountability. furthermore, good character and the rule of law are the cornerstones which can be used to build a just, democratic and open society. if the ruling class of any society, lack good character and disregard the rule of law with impunity that society is doomed in the right sense of the word. hence, from the ancient period of western and african philosophy, philosophers have prescribed and are still interrogating the imperatives of good character, and its importance for good governance and social cohesion. to corroborate the above point, falana (2007) opines thus: “the rule of law, transparency, and accountability in government served not only as means to counter corruption but also as fundamental conditions of good governance”. in essence, falana (2007) submission emphasizes the point that, respect for the rule of law and good character on the part of politicians are the necessary condition to promote good governance. from the above it suffices to say that dishonest, corrupt and unethical behavior among politicians sometimes undermines the trust and confidence of the people that government can do “good” and advance the public interest. it becomes very worrisome when nigerian politicians employs unorthodox methods as enumerated in the previous section, all in the bid to win an election, in order to have access to state resource to appropriate to themselves and those connected to them. there is empirical research that has rightly shown that there is a significant relationship between free and fair election and sociopolitical development of a society (omilusi, 2019). therefore, elections provide the avenue for the emergent of a people-centric ruler who is disposed to address the concerns of the people because he/she came to power based on the people choice. any unconventional conducts that are geared towards undermining the people choice in any election can only produce self-centered rulers who are interested in amassing wealth and looting the resources of the state. the moral rectitude of rulers comes to bear in this matter of elections and the rule of law. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 221 as we have established beforehand that democratic leadership is a product of popular consent express through voting. if this holds true about democracy it then means that democracy abhors all forms of unconventional means that boycott popular choice in order to win an election. these unconventional means we have outlined in the preceding sections raises moral questions. the two major political parties in nigeria (people democratic party and the all progressives congress) cannot claim saint when it comes to the employment of unconventional means to win election, which was evident in the 2019 federal elections. this is rooted in that nigerian attitude mostly among the elite that election is a “do or die” affair and the winners takes it all. this way of viewing election is detrimental to nigeria’s democracy and the emergent of credible rulers who can stir the wheel of the country in the path of progress and socioeconomic development. it is clear then that elections malpractices and irregularities are promoting a culture of moral decadence that can create a situation of moral dislocation in nigeria. it is very pertinent to add that nigeria does not lack appropriate laws to regulate human actions in any sphere or sector but the fundamental problem is the enforcement and compliance of such laws by the people most especially the rich and highly connected individuals. like any other country, the rich in nigeria break the law with impunity and depend on their brigand of lawyers to defend them and their money to buy the conscience of some judges who are morally weak. this is the nigerian situation. hence, it means that law alone is not sufficient in regulating human conducts in the nigerian context, we also need people of good character who have assimilated the principles and spirit of the law and are living it out in their everyday life. due to the limited supply of people of good character in our political space, ejue and ekanem (2011) opines that “the moral dislocation prevalent in our democratic and electoral systems are due to the lack of spiritual content of our educational system that include citizenship education” (p.293). this position of ejue and ekanem (2011) shows that the lack of proper citizenship education that is grounded on spiritual values are the prime cause of some of the moral decay we are experiencing in nigeria electoral processes. the ancient greek society that gave the world democracy, understood this fact that is why they made it mandatory that for anyone who desire to participate in the life of the polis that person must be educated. the sophists and socrates were the ready teachers of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 222 politicians in the ancient greek poleis and their teachings of ethics, rhetoric, and city customs were geared toward preparing future political leaders (ejue & ekanem, 2011). according to socrates to know the good is to do the good and ignorance is vice (cited in edet, 2016). if this socratic dictum holds true, it then means that nigerian politicians, in using unconventional means to win elections are acting in ignorance. this is because if nigerian politicians understands that free, fair and credible elections are the building block of a solid democratic culture, they will not resort to the use of means that are not only illegal but immoral in the bid to win an election. furthermore, a solid democratic culture that is mid-wife by free, fair and credible elections will bring about social peace and more development in nigeria. this is because a democratic culture makes it possible for citizens to exercise their rights to vote and make the appropriate choices that will result in policies that will safeguard their wellbeing. this can only happen in a democratic system that is open to continuous change, through the applications of new ideas and innovative thinking. this is why democracy promotes institutions that create more incentives for all and at the same time create more opportunities for all. thus, if what is prevalent in nigeria is not address it will lead to a precarious situation whereby “money bags” will determine who get what, when and how. this is the reason integral ethical formation of the consciences of our politicians are a sine qua non to the conduct of free, fair and credible elections in nigeria. nigerian politicians, discipline, integrity and financial spending it has been argued in some quarters that politics and moral values are parallel entities that cannot be reconciled. this is because politics operates on different realm from morality as such moral imperative are incompatible with the nature of politics. however, ajayi (2016) argues on the contrary that morality ought to be the defining factor in politics and politicking including elections. he further states that killing, electoral malpractices, and political corruption are consequences of immoral politics. immoral politics is a situation where unconventional means are employed by politicians to manipulate, and undermine the electoral processes in order, to win elections and have access to the resources of the state. one of the fundamental problems of immoral politics is that it undermines the rule of law and negates the logic of democratic and civilized society. thus, to address the problem caused by immoral politics, nigerian politicians need a guiding value that should guide their conducts and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 223 practices in an election. these guiding values must also be the basis for training future politicians. this paper identifies discipline and integrity as that guiding values that should guide financial spending and general conduct in an election. the value of discipline discipline is the ability to control one's behavior or the way ones live, work and interact with others (hornby, 2005). in another sense, discipline is the inner propensity to obey rules, laws and agreed upon obligations, with the intention of fulfilling one's responsibility and duty. the value of discipline entails that one must conform and comply with legal and moral imperatives, even if it is against one personal interest. the value of discipline is like a categorical imperative that implies that one should act in that maxim that is stipulated by the law and moral authority. sometimes human beings act irrational and are derived by selfinterest but discipline is what curtails the animalistic tendencies in human beings. hence, all forms of training whether academic or professional training are geared towards the inculcation of the value of discipline. the question we need to ask is: to what extent do nigerian politicians obey the laws and rules of election spending in nigeria? it is an indubitable fact that money drives politics and elections cost money. this is because it takes money to set party’s secretariats in virtually every ward, local government areas, states and at the national level. it takes money to promote the brand of a political party, and do advertisement in the media. a political party needs to spend money on logistic, transportation, campaign rallies, entertainment, buy vehicles, pay sitting allowance for it executive officers, pay staff salary, organize meetings, and support their candidates. more so, not only political party that has huge bills to pay as a result of politicking, candidates who are contesting various positions also have their own share of huge bills and financial obligations to meet. this is why to be a candidate for any of the major political party in nigeria, one must have the money and control an enormous amount of resources (abati, 2018). nonetheless, the fear of making money the sole driver of the electioneering process has made governments globally to enact laws that are geared towards monitoring, auditing and checkmating election revenue and spending. in nigeria, sections 222-229 of 1999 nigerian constitution (as amended) stipulates rules and regulations that should guide the operations of political parties. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 224 furthermore, sections 225 and 226 affirms the powers of inec to monitor, inquire into and assess campaign finances and party sources of and management of fund. what all these goes to show is that nigeria has the appropriate laws to guide elections spending but the problem is the enforcement. the same politicians who made these laws are sometimes the ones who violate them. furthermore, according to the 2010 electoral act, it stipulates that all political parties must submit the audited version of their account 6 months after election and failure to comply will attracts some sanctions. the rationale behind this regulation is that the commission should scrutinize suspicious expenditure and quarries illegal sources of finance. however, it is so pathetic that some political parties violated this law with impunity and it seem the commission is handicap when it comes to enforcement of this law because there is no court case on infraction of election spending. thus, all these goes to show lack of discipline among nigerian politicians when it comes to adherence to basic rules of election. the value of integrity humans are value-driven beings, which account for the multiplicity of ethical values that define the morality of human actions. integrity is one of such ethical values that represents honesty, uprightness, adherence to rules and regulations, beliefs, and principles that guide conduct and actions. hence, a man of integrity is one who abhors all forms of lying, cheating, theft, impartiality and undue advantage over others. the defining characteristics of a leader is the level of integrity she or he commands. aristotle (2000) opines that integrity is the virtue that should guide the ruler because ruling the state is an art that is rooted in virtue. if what aristotle states hold true, it then follows that a politician who has integrity will not involve himself or herself with electoral irregularities and malpractices of any kind. thus, integrity is the litmus test of nigerian politicians. however, the sad part of the nigerian situation is that some of our politicians lack integrity which is evidently seen in the way and manner they conducted themselves in 2019 federal elections. the ethical issues that arise from the 2019 federal elections were perpetrated by some unscrupulous politicians who want to capture power at all means, not necessarily to serve but to have access to the resources of the state. political parties, politicians’ spending in 2019 federal election and the rule of law igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 225 in this section, we will like to look at what the 2010 electoral act stipulates about the revenue and spending limit of political parties and what political parties and their candidates actually spent during the election. the essence is see whether political parties and their candidates spend above or below the benchmark set by independent national electoral commission (inec) and what punitive action was carry out by inec against defaulters. as regard spending limits a federal election, the section 91 subsection 2-5 of the 2010 electoral act stipulate thus: elective office limit on election expenses president n 1,000,000,000 governorship n 200,000,000 senate n 40,000,000 house of representatives n 20,000,000 state of assembly n 10,000,000 table 1: election expense limits (source electoral act 2010) the above benchmark is what the act set for political parties and politicians to spend during election. consequently, the act prescribes sanctions on political parties and politicians who spend above these legal limits. for the office of the president the act prescribe a fine of n1,000,000 the office of the governor fine is n 800, 000 and senate, house of representative and state house of assembly fine is n 600,000, n500,000 and n 300,000 respectively. having established what the law stipulated, the pertinent question is what did political parties and politicians actually spend in 2019 federal election? there are scarcity of data as regard the expenses of political parties on electioneering campaign due some factors like lack of proper recording keeping by political parties, failure on the part of inec and other agencies to monitor, track and report political parties income and expenses ( yagboyaju & simbine, 2020). according to yagboyaju and simbine (2020), another factor that may be responsible for the scarcity of data on political parties funding and expenditure is due to the weak financial regulatory mechanism of inec as it bothers on political parties’ expenses. more so, olorunmola (2017) submits that due to the weak enforcement of inec financial regulations on political parties, it has igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 226 consequently led to rising cost of elections in nigeria. the commission have failed to hold any political party accountable on their funding sources and expenditure during and after any election circle in nigeria. nonetheless, yagboyaju and simbine (2020), citing data from the centre for social justice and inec office were able to give an excerpt of the media expense of the two major political parties, pdp and apc during the 2019 federal elections. from the available data it was shown that in the 2019 presidential election, pdp/atiku spent 2,865,066,886.00 while apc/buhari spent 4,600,047,886.00. the above expenses is only for media and if other expenses like mobilization of party’s men to rallies, logistic for campaign venue, vote buying and giving of bribe to inec officials and security agents were included it would be a different figure from the above. in other words, only expenditure on media is more than the legal limit for a presidential election in nigeria. this is where some of the issues are and the commission is even weak to enforce its own laws on the limit of expenditure for campaign in any election. conclusion the paper has highlighted the ethical issues that arise from the 2019 election and how it bothers on financial spending and the character of the nigerian politicians. from the conduct of the 2019 general election, the paper identifies voting buying, thuggery, underage voting, snatching of ballot boxes, and disruption of an election in the perceived stronghold of opponents, compromising nature of security operatives, inducement of electoral officers by politicians, and the phenomenon of inconclusive elections. these ethical issues and the legal implication is a clear demonstration that elections in nigeria are far behind what is obtainable in civilized democracies. it shows the enthronement of money as the yardstick for choosing and electing rulers in nigeria. if this practice is not abated it will make nigerian democracy degenerate to plutocracy and only the money bag will determine the political process of the country, which consequently, will enthrone mediocre, moral questionable characters and incompetent rulers who will only the driven by self-aggrandizement at the detriment of the common good. recommendations the paper makes the following recommendations: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 227  the government should as a matter of urgency enrich the current curriculum on citizenship education to include the inculcation of values like integrity, discipline and the respect of the rule of law.  nigerians should deemphasize monetary inducement in electioneering rather emphasize the supremacy of ideas and ideology that are capable of building a just, democratic and prosperous nation.  finally, national orientation agency should articulate nigerian national ethos and make all nigerians to believe in it and make it their guiding philosophy. references abati r (2019). 2019 and the politics of campaign finance. proshare (tuesday, may 15) in www.proshareng.com/news/politics/2019-and-the-politicsof-campaign-finance/40034 access 24/05/2019, time: 12pm. adetula v. a. o (2008). money and politics in nigeria. abuja: petra digital press ajayi s. d (2016). towards the enhancement of morality in the nigerian politics. afro asian journal of social sciences vii (iv), quarter iv akhaine o. s (2019). nigeria’s 2019 general elections: a bumpy road ahead. sahara report, feburary 22. www.saharareporters.com/2019/02/22/ aristotle (2000). politics. jowett b (trans.). new york: dover edet m.i (2016). ancient and medieval philosophy. uduigwomen and ozumba (eds.), a concise introduction to philosophy and logic. calabar: jochrisam business ventures. ejue j. b & ekanem a. s (2011). voter rights and credible election in nigeria: the imperative of rethinking the content of citizenship education. international journal of humanities and social science, 1(9) december. published by center for promoting ideas, usa falana f. (2007). ethics and governance, the rule of law and anti-corruption: a nigerian dilemma. sahara reporter december, 08. www.saharareporter.com/2017 federal republic of nigeria (1999) constitution of the federal republic of nigeria 1999: lagos federal government press. girardin b (2012). ethics in politics – why it matters more than ever and how it can make a difference. geneva: globethics.net hornby a.s (2005). “discipline”, oxford advanced learner dictionary. london: oxford university press http://www.proshareng.com/news/politics/2019-and-the-politics-of-campaign-finance/40034%20access%2024/05/2019 http://www.proshareng.com/news/politics/2019-and-the-politics-of-campaign-finance/40034%20access%2024/05/2019 http://www.saharareporters.com/2019/02/22/ http://www.saharareporter.com/2017 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 228 locke j (1823). two treatises of government. london: mcmaster university archive montesquieu d b (1949). the spirit of the laws. thomas nugent (trans.). new york: hafner publishing company olorunmola a (2017). cost of politics in nigeria (background paper), westminster foundation for democracy, london omilusi m (2019). electoral behaviour and politics of stomach infrastructure in ekiti state (nigeria). available in https://www.intechopen.com/books, accessed 2/12/2020 punch newspaper, february 23, 2019 smah s. o (2008). money politics and electoral violence in nigeria. adetula (ed). money and politics in nigeria. abuja: petra digital press thisday newspaper 2019 www.inecnigeria.org yagboyaju a. d and simbine t. a (2020). political finance and the 2019 general elections in nigeria. journal of african elections, 19(1). yiaga africa (2019). statement on the 2019 presidential election results (wednesday, february 27, 2019) https://www.intechopen.com/books http://www.inecnigeria.org/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 91 pragmatic conversational implicature: a study of language use of social media and users emmanuel chukwudi ugwu department of english language and literature, unizik, awka anambra state ec.ugwu@unizik.edu.ng; +2348066181358 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.10379.82727 abstract in every utterance uttered or words written there is this tendency of meanings laying underneath the real surface of the words used. conversational implicature incorporates that what is meant often goes beyond what is said and this additional meaning is inferred and predictable. what was said is not actually the problem but the unravelling the intended meaning by the hearer is the greatest challenge. to avoid misconception from both parties: the speaker and the hearer need to come to the terms and understand each other’s language during the communication. the work used the theory of conversational implicature with the idea of an attempt to clarify the intuitive difference between what is expressed literally in a sentence and what is merely suggested or hinted at by an utterance of the same string of words during chats. the data of this work were guided by purposive sample technique and the research was based on texts of the writer or the speaker as he or she originates, forwards, receives and comments on them in chats from facebook and whatsapp conversations. it was observed that users of these social media sometimes do not know what actually is going on during the interactions especially the intended meanings behind those posts, they are commenting on. people make choice in doing things with words in this area. social media are always and ever friendly to the users especially when certain norms peculiar to the conversation are well followed. keywords: conversation, implicature, communication, language, social media, facebook, whatsapp introduction communication is the primary purpose of language. whenever two or more persons interact using language or even in non-verbal means, communication occurs. communication takes place through channels like face-to-face interaction, town cries, letters, radio, television, fliers, brochures, e-mail and phone calls. in this dispensation, social media platforms like facebook, whatsapp, instagram, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 92 telegram, snapchat and other ones have been added to the different channels through which people interact. ideally, communication comprises a speaker, a message, a listener and a feedback. a speaker sends a message across to the listener through a channel. the listener decodes the message and gives the speaker a feedback. it is important that the listener clearly decodes and understands the message in order to successfully interpret and provide the necessary feedback. if not correctly decoded, effective communication will not take place because feedback will not align with the speakers intended meaning. the speaker, on the other hand, while encoding the message, has to be aware of the hearers face. one has to be careful not to mitigate the hearers face in order to achieve effective communication. during conversation, the hearer needs to maximise extreme potentials in language use especially the intended meanings, in order to interpret the views in such writings and also the speech used in that environment for conversation. according to ezeifeka, participants mean more than they actually express in words. they often leave certain meanings implicit (79). it also entails a lot of underlying meaning to untie the knots in the language involved. at times the speaker and the hearer may share background knowledge, attitudes, situations, locations and so on. they may also share mutual context and understanding so that the grammatical construction and language usage will be well understood during their conversations and in their interactions. in actual sense of use of language in a given social media, do people (reader) understand the gap the writer wants to fill? the writer at some point in time may want to ponder on some ideas or by writing or sharing them as his thoughts to his readers, in some cases the inspiration might be well misconstrued by the next commenters and various interpreters in doing analysis to those ideas of the posters. in filling this gap of implicature in the use of words horn states thus implicature is a component of speaker meaning that constitutes an aspect of what is meant in a speaker’s utterance without being part of what is said. what a speaker intends to communicate is characteristically far richer than what she directly expresses; linguistic meaning radically underdetermines the message conveyed and understood. speaker s tacitly exploits pragmatic principles to bridge this igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 93 gap and counts on hearer h to invoke the same principles for the purposes of utterance interpretation. (3) to align with their view, saeed continues in his works to achieve what is known as conversational implicature. grice had postulated in his earlier works with approach to the speaker’s and hearer’s cooperative use of inference; that the predictability of inference formation could be explained by postulating a cooperative principle: whereby the speakers and listeners have this kind of tacit agreement and cooperate in communication. he assumes that: the assumptions that hearers make about a speaker’s conduct seemed to grice to be of several different types, giving rise to different types of inference, or, from the speaker’s point of view, implicature. in identifying these grice called them maxims, and phrased them as if they were injunctions: do thus! this can be misleading: it is important to realise that the conversational principles that grice proposed are not rules, like phonological or morphological rules, which people have to follow to speak a language; nor are they moral principles. (204) indirectly, the speaker or the writer says or writes something which is tantamount to have diverse meaning on the hearer or the reader sequel to what was said or written and what was decoded and understood by various readers. some words are employed to draw a concluding analogy in the quest for inference to be deduced in the words stated. by the underdertemined the message in question, someone needs to go deeper in the meaning to look for the actual meaning of the thing the user of the words might want to convey. also, to prove that actual order the words might flow or express has been achieved as ariel states “[u]nderderterminancy is an inherent characteristic of human language, since no natural language sentence can encode interlocutors’ intended statements fully” (265). the actual problem is not what was said but the unravelling of what is the intended meaning on what was said. it may cause some to react negatively towards the context of analysis and discussion. grice points that “what is said cannot be equated with pure linguistic meaning but rather is closely related to the conventional meanings of the language used during the utterance or in writing” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 94 (44). so for one to be able to analyse the implicature, a lot has to be played and certain indices must be put into consideration to obtain the real analogy of the intended speech or written words meaning: the force in the speech and senses related to the writing. leech in his own account was able to analyse that one cannot ultimately be assured of what a speaker or a writer means in their utterances or writing. so a closer observation will determine what the speaker’s intended meaning is all about and the message he wants to pass which at times can result to assumption and other guess work and leech illustrated them using the followings: a: when is aunty rose’s birthday? b: it’s sometime in april. the sense of the reply is simply a proposition to the effect that aunt rose’s birthday occurs in april (it could have been expressed in the form of a long disjunction. it’s either on the first of april, or on the second of april. or …). but a will derive from it an additional piece of meaning: viz. that b doesn’t know the exact date of the birthday … how is the extra meaning, or implicature, arrived at? the following are the three main stages: (i) the prima-facie observation is that there is something ‘up’ with b’s reply. b does not give the right amount of information for a’s needs. that is, b has apparently violated the cp (especially, the maxim of quantity). (ii) there is, however, no reason to suppose that b is being deliberately uncooperative. therefore, a can reasonably assume that b is observing the cp, and that this apparent breach of the quantity maxim is due to a’s wish to uphold the cp at another point. therefore, we must look for a reason why the cp should cause b to give less information than a needed. (iii) this reason can be supplied on the grounds that b was trying to uphold the maxim of quality. suppose that b is observing the cp and that b does not know when her birthday is, except that it is in april. then b will not randomly state that her birthday is in any particular day of april, since to do so, although it would uphold the maxim of quantity, would be to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 95 violate the maxim of quality in order to avoid telling lies. therefore, to be on the safe side, b will merely say that the birthday is in april. in the absence, of any other explanation, this explanation will be accepted as consistent with the cp. therefore, it will be concluded that b does not know which day in april is her birthday. (30-31) from leech’s above observation, it is believable that language users on social media always work under assumptions on various posts. the implicature lies that the lots of replies are filled with hypothesis of guessing the mind of the writer and even answer to imply on certain assumptions. the implicature may be conversational in nature towards the questions and can operate in such area of guess work along the line of conversing, until the actual intentions and purposes are met. green posits that, “it arises from the assumption that it is reasonable (under the particular circumstances of the speech event in question) to expect the addressee to infer that the speaker intended the addressee to recognize the speaker’s intention from the fact that the speaker uttered whatever the speaker uttered (424).” recanati, (457) states also that “there are aspects of meaning that are not part of the literal content of the utterance. those aspects of meaning are not aspects of what is said. rather, the speaker manages to communicate them indirectly, by saying what she says.” bach on his contrary view to conversational implicature utilise the violation which presumably may lead to the successful aspect in the discussion in line with the aspects of grice’s analogy of having successful communication during conversation. he is of the view that: grice made progress in explaining what this ability involves, as in his account of conversational implicature … such as when one says of an expensive dinner, “it was edible,” and implicates that it was mediocre at best. grice proposed a cooperative principle and several maxims which he named, in homage to kant, quantity, quality, relation, and manner …. his account of implicature explains how ostensible violations of them can still lead to communicative success. although grice presents them as guidelines for how to communicate successfully, i think they are better construed as presumptions (they should not be construed, as they often are, as sociological generalizations). (471) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 96 the height of flouting in conversation always arrives at the peak of breaching the communication gap in interactions. so the conversation can go weird once the two parties fail to understand the maxims needed to follow in their discussion. intentions of a given post needed to be understood to avoid flouting the implicature. but in the course of conversation there is room for such ruptures. a.k. greenall in his assertion on flouting states, “a seeming breach will trigger a reasoning process whereby the hearer will try to come up with a meaning for the utterance that turns it into an act of observing the given maxim(s) (an implicature)” (570). it is like a situation of critical literary analysis were the analysts give diverse opinion about a work even beyond the originator’s imagination. although one needs to be cooperative in the speech and in conversation, so that one needs not to flout in the course of reply on a given conversation. much observations have been noticed especially using facebook’s reactionary icons to flout in some posts. for an example one posted about a death on social media which requires sad icon but you see people flouting the message with like icon. note that currently facebook has added extra five reactionary icons instead of the usual like icons. theoretical framework and methodology the theory of conversational implicature is attributed to paul herbert grice, who observes that in conversations what is meant often goes beyond what is said and this additional meaning is inferred and predictable. most of the body of grice’s work consist in an attempt to clarify the intuitive difference between what is expressed literally in a sentence and what is merely suggested or hinted at by an utterance of the same string of words. according to grice, the sum of what is said in a sentence and what is implicated in an utterance of the same sentence is called “the total signification of an utterance” (14). implicature itself is meant to cover a number of ways in which literally unsaid information can be conveyed. grice proposes that participants in a communicative exchange are guided by a principle that determines the way in which language is used with maximum efficiency and effect to achieve rational communication. he calls it the cooperative principle which he states thus: make your conversational contribution such as is required, at the stage at which it occurs, by the accepted igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 97 purpose or direction of the talk exchange in which you are engaged. this cooperative principle is an umbrella term for nine components that guide how we communicate. these nine components are grouped together into four categories, called the maxims of conversation: the maxim of quality (truthfulness), the maxim of quantity (informativeness), the maxim of relation (relevance), and the maxim of manner (perspicuity). methodology the methodology focused on conversational implicature. this was done to look at the hidden meanings behind the posts, and some of the pragmatic strategies employed by these posters. since purposive sample style guided this work and the research was based on texts of the writer or the speaker as he or she originates, forwards, receives and comments on them. qualitative method of data analysis was used to ascertain already established and discussed pragmatics concept on conversational implication. these analyses focused on realising how people do things with words at the various stages of the language usage in the social media. the data were analysed with descriptive analysis of the texts generated from the posts and comments. analysis of the data collected some data were collected in the course of this article and they were analysed using concepts of pragmatic conversational implicature. the data were basically analysed using the research question generated in the course of the research. these data were collated within the areas of the social media: facebook and whatsapp. the posts were made between 2018 and 2020 on those social media. their comments were lifted and unedited with what implicatures are realised in social media chats? most posts in social media fall into the category of what has poster posted, the meaning and what the post implies? then the general outcome of the post and how the readers were able to grasp the information passed through the post(s). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 98 the researcher posted these words on his facebook page, on 12th march 2018. but carefully did not mention any name and the five comments the post got implicated that they understood the post even when no name was mentioned. it shows that they shared privileged knowledge about the post and the environment they belonged. emmanuel chukwudi ugwu do not forget that he was treated of ear problem, so if he gat to know today that his orders were not obeyed: kindly bear with him celestine obi no be only ear problem, i think his brain need total overhauling, to upgrade his reasoning and thinking ability. unfortunately, he has little time to make any meaningful impact even if we succeed in rejuvenating him. desmart kalumalu orakaeze you are not serious. anosike chinedu what a shameful choice we made! 2019, let's use our pvc.. abuoma agajelu the man showcases his incompetence daily and actually advertises it as if it is a virtue obiorah chinyere hmm the first in the list from celestine, came up with more insights of going for overhauling of the brain, instead of stopping at ear surgery the said figure underwent. he was of the negative face that he has little time to make meaningful impact, even if every support is given to him succeed. desmart careful stated that the poster is not serious just to save face. note that sometimes on social media one needs to save face. to avoid threatening any face implicature needs to play out and the discussion will be mild and welcoming. the third comment was negatively impolite in his comment. he tries to support the original post and also blame everybody as the cause of the woes they are igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 99 facing. he made a suggestion of using pvc by next year to do the needful. still it is only person in that circle that will still understand the ideas he is suggesting. pragmatically and doing things with words the fourth on the list was brunt to state that man showcases incompetent on daily basis. the implicature lies here what has the poster written and what did he meant and the implication on the post. he the reply accepted that there is a man in question who still revolve around the post. he implied that the incompetence is threatened to become a virtue. the last on the list just made a cue which by implication is of the view that every comment is somehow accepted by her. she simply attested to the post and comments that followed. despite that she was not explicit like others to air her view but decided to be welcoming the others already suggested by others. note that hmm can be supporting or refuting. the researcher, also has once met two colleagues arguing over a post he made on a whatsapp both belonged on the idea of different interpretation of the meaning behind the researcher’s comment on a given post. the post was made on 28th january 2019, attached to a picture of various items meant for what a man will provide before he can be given a wife to marry in a particular town and her traditional marriage rites, (igbo traditional marriage at a glance from south east states). the researcher commented and appreciated the town he married from but unfortunately these two colleagues of him later meet offline and the discussion was rolled over with more details of the meaning of the comment from the researcher. coincidentally, one of the colleagues was from the same town. so the researcher later went back to tag the post where his name was mentioned and comment again to solve the implicature already established among the other members of the group unknowingly. he later on 4th february 2019 tagged the reply of 4a in other to expatiate further on his reply 3 which was misunderstood. below are the excerpts of the discussion from the whatsapp group. reply 1: i think anambra is the most economical reply 2: ya (tagging reply 1) reply 3: it can only happen in alor town lemme kom and go and be going oo before people will pounce on me (tagging reply 1) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 100 reply 4: hahaa (tagging reply 3) reply 4a: emma nwayoo kwaa reply 5: what is depicted for anambra is fa fa foul even zeeby alias 4.30 will testify to its falsehood reply 6: nwayoo gini? at least alorlondon gives their daughter almost free to their inlaws. i am witness oo bachelors in this group don’t be left out. (tagging reply 4a) justin daniels on facebook’s timeline on june 8 2020 and made a wonderful submission on what usually go on social media with a picture of where corns and pears are being roasted in usual homemade style beside tripod kitchen fire. but the major comments implicated and centred mostly on the picture with despite the numerous listing of various acts on facebook, the post stated thus with its replies: justin daniels welcome to facebook where people that are trekking are trying to sell you cheap cars through custom auction. welcome to facebook where poor people are trying to make you rich through bitcoin, binomo, binary and co. welcome to facebook where you are under a curse for not typing amen to prayers by people who need prayers themselves. welcome to facebook where men are all over small small girls inbox thanking them for accepting their friends request. welcome to facebook where people who should have helped you now call you boss because of fake life. the list is endless; you can add yours. welcome to facebook. you can join me, i dey roast corn and pear. (the picture below was attached to the above post) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 101 here, the most relevant comments and replies were lifted and analysed: maryjane ojirinnaka every body with his or her own way of life, don't mind them but am salivating already the author justin daniels maryjane ojirinnaka haha from above there is the impicature of stating the fact about those edible there with the idea of not requesting to be given but already salivating. though maryjane has stated her implicature of the said post on what people usually do on facebook. the author just replied with only haha that is laughter especially for the assumption of her. bukky ogunsanya see better combo now...those pears though, chai who dey do me this thing ohh author justin daniels bukky ogunsanya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 102 they are rainy season compliant. bukky ogunsanya justin daniels i dey tell you the comments and replies of the author and bukky implicate that the major info on the post was not attended to but the pictures attached to the post attracted their conversation. especially implicating that corn and pear are suitable during drops of rain and cold hours. maria ibe interested in this corn and pear author justin daniels maria ibe wait till december. maria ibe justin daniels awwww! that's too far... the conversation here implicates understanding among the author and maria as people who know each other beyond facebook and they definitely will meet during december when they may return to their place in order to grant the wishes maria requested. though one may have noticed that picture attached to the post is not directly from the author justin and there is no way he can provide the request to maria since these are edible and cannot be provided at the very moment of request. also notice the ellipsis in the last content of maria’s comment which implies that some words are yet to be said on the conversation box. eguriase ovie i am watching and waiting for you to finish and leave... i have a bag full of corn to roast all night... author justin daniels eguriase ovie i'm coming over. eguriase ovie igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 103 justin daniels coming over to do what again sir ? justin daniels to collect the bag full of . eguriase ovie hahahaha the conversation here added little comical aspect to ease down the post by ovie which he brought in a situation of bringing in a bag of full of corn including the image of a full corn. is he actually watching the poster as he was typing and uploading the post and picture? one can imply the actual meaning of going over to ovie’s house by the author to collect the bag and the question from him including his final hahahaha exhibited, showing that someone is seriously joking to other one, which finally elucidated laughter. prince clovis you look at the negative side of facebook. you don't even mention the positive side. welcome to facebook where you can reach the unsaved with the gospel. welcome to facebook where you can win soul online and minister to over 300000soul at onve author justin daniels prince clovis facebook definitely has its positive sides. lot more than the few you mentioned. thanks a lot. prince clovis justin daniels thanks the implicature brought in by clovis, in his remarks implies that what justin was implying that most things he enumerated are in negative perspectives but ended up implying that major achievement on facebook ought to be preaching the gospel, winning souls and for over three hundred thousand people listening to the preacher. the author also tagged him to explain that definitely facebook has igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 104 other positive sides and also unscratched. finally, both agreed in affirmation of appreciation in the exchange of their ideas. andy omelihu hahahahah.abeg i need my share oooo author justin daniels andy omelihu onye ozizi. the comment above seems to arrive first after the post was made. when one observes the reply of the author of the post which reads “onye ozizi” meaning first person which implicates first comment to the post. the reply from andy was able to ignore the message the author trying to pass about the post and focused on picture attached to the post, by replying with long laughter and ended up adding that he needed his own share from the corn. here, he implicates that first demand at the concluding part of the post is not that important to him, but last request of the post. temi comfort ademola like seriously sir. i hiss at such instances & move on. author justin daniels temi comfort ademola it's sad temi here considers the post and added her grievances on those things happening on facebook as the sad enumerated. she is of the view that those things in a serious way but always hiss which implies ignoring the total and continue to move on to avoid been distracted. then the author tagged her to concur with sadness to the helpless situation of the acts. chia paul wow this is good i missed it author justin daniels chia paul delicacy igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 105 the above comment also played that he is more interested on the same picture of the post. he posited that he has missed the roasting food considering the time of the reply came in, consider his exclamation of “wow” and the author tagged and replied that it is delicacy. the idea remains that the food is wholesome represented with acceptance as wonderful food. notice also that in the next data author replied with the same delicacy but qualifies it with great. chichi okoye na this corn and pears i want oh! author justin daniels chichi okoye great delicacy. chichi supported the previous data and states that she wants the corn and pears. it implicates that one corn and more than a pear are what she wants, that a pear can make do with a corn but several of the pears. the author understands her request and supported her that her demands are well noted and that the request is in right direction. uche ojinnaka onuchukwu make i come collect my own ooooooo author justin daniels uche ojinnaka onuchukwu carry pear dey come o, na only corn remain. in the last data, one will understand the drama that actually played on in that comment. here uche laid emphasis on the need to partake in the sharing by observing her last word with great emphatic o. the author was fast enough to remind her that while coming to pick corn, she should come with pear. note that in chichi’s request above he made mention of collecting corn and pears. so it implicates that uche’s coming will be right if she comes with pear because most people who came earlier might have picked most of the pears leaving behind only corns at the fire. e-starqueen hadassah chinenyeonodu leave all those fb matter, na that you corn and pear be the main matter. how this one fit take reach me igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 106 obiageli sylvia the thing taya pesin ooo author justin daniels obiageli sylvia as in eh, e really tire me o aunty. here, she strongly acknowledged the post made by the author about facebook but was of opinion that the main focus is on the items on the picture and how she can get access to them. a quick reply came from obiageli to support her on disgusting aspect of those style and manner of the posts on facebook as the author initiated. the author also supported the last reply since she is more concerned on the post instead of the picture. the author addressing her as aunty also implicates the close relation in obiageli, without a reply to hadassah’s comment and request as he has been doing in others. precious gonum shebbs no bi small tin oo, d amen own na wahala. author justin daniels precious gonum shebbs no be small thing. here precious singled out the point on not typing amen implicates or attracts curse to the person who refused typing, as most problematic and annoying one among them. the curse aspect of the implicature is really worrisome as the author is of the view that those request for the amen are the one needed the prayers more of. the author also agree with the reply to her as real problematic one. ademola clinton adebare welcome to face book where you can set up your business to reach the potential buyers, welcome to facebook where you get the real customers to your potential buyers.... it's all depends on how you make use of your facebook... author justin daniels adebare ademola sure igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 107 the author’s request on the reader adding the list of what goes on facebook since they are endless. clinton here did justice to the request and push more on a positive welcome side unlike juxtaposition of the author’s points and concluded that: “it's all depends on how you make use of your facebook...” and ended it with ellipsis since others can still come up with other contrasting points. the author simple replied “sure” implicating that no one has the monopoly of meaning to given idea on social media like facebook. conclusion the work has tried to make its own impact in pragmatics world through conversational impicature by using the scale in social media. people make choice in doing things with words in this area. social media are always and ever friendly to the users especially when certain norms peculiar to the conversation are well followed. basically, conversational implicature was employed to boost the work and see what happen as people respond to issue on social media. how they present their languages, when they are conversing with their peers. even discussing with superiors, also how superiors manage their subjects with words during conversation on social media works cited ariel, mira. pragmatics and grammar. cambridge: cup, 2008. print. bach, kent. “pragmatics and philosophy of language” the handbook of pragmatics. eds. horn, laurence r. and gregory ward. london: blackwell publishing, 2006. 463-87. print. ezeifeka, chinwe. discourse analysis: concepts and approaches. awka: patrobas nigeria ltd. 2018. print. greenall, a. k. “maxims and flouting” concise encyclopedia of pragmatics. 2nd ed. ed. mey, jacob l. oxford: elsevier ltd., 2009. 569-572. print. grice, herbert paul. studies in the way of words. cambridge, ma: hup. 1989. print. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 108 horn, laurence r. “implicature.” the handbook of pragmatics. eds. horn, laurence r. and gregory ward. london: blackwell publishing, 2006. 3-28. print. leech, geoffrey n. linguistics: principle of pragmatics. london: longman group limited, 1983. print recanati, françois. “pragmatics and semantics.” the handbook of pragmatics. eds. horn, laurence r. and gregory ward. london: blackwell publishing, 2006. 442462. print. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 1 effect of cross-cultural management dimensions on performance of manufacturing firms in the south-east, nigeria: a study of emenite manufacturing company ltd nduji, romanus department of business administration college of management sciences veritas university, abuja doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.36469.60642 abstract in recent times, the issue of cross cultural management has taken the centre stage both in the areas of research and practice. as a result of the globalization of business operations, with its attendant culturally diverse workforce, there is the need to pay attention to the roles and impact of cross-cultural aspect of management in organizations. the target of this research is to examine the effect of cross cultural management dimensions on performance of manufacturing firms in the south-east,nigeria (a case study of emenite manufacturing company ltd,enugu). the study adopted the survey research method. the population was 42 employees of the firm which also served as the sample size. in this work., primary data was collected through questionnaires from 42 workers . the regression and correlation analysis were used to test the hypothesis. the cross cultural management dimension has a positive effect on performance of emenite manufacturing company ltd.,enugu. similarly, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism and collectivism, masculinity and femininity also have a positive significant effect on performance of emenite manufacturing company ltd,enugu.. it was recommended that management of emenite manufacturing company ltd should establish structures in their organization that will encourage equitable application of cross-cultural management dimensions as this has significant effect on the organizational performance. keywords: culture, cross-cultural management, its dimensions and emenite manufacturing company ltd, enugu introduction in recent times, there has been growing recognition for contemporary managers to develop a universal focus to management practices as narrow view is inappropriate due to diversity in culture which often time poses some serious challenges for managers in today’s organization. hence, it is pertinent for managers to instill social cultural issues in management practices, opportunity to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 2 enter into, contribute to, and learn about a new culture, present an opportunity to learn new ways of thinking about the management of people, resources and processes in organization, about working with and through people across a range of national and international business and management backgrounds, in order to enable management professionals clearly identify with the impact of different cultural values on management and leadership styles in different cultures globally. hicks and gullet (2016) observe that a general applicability of management fundamental is culture bound as many applications ton organization and leadership were inappropriate to local situations, as the native culture and personality play a significant role in organizational success. cultural differences do affect managerial behavior and practices. it is unquestionable that culture influences management practices in any country (schein ,2014), posit that the way of doing things in one culture may not always be the same in another country. hence, what is good in one culture may be bad in another, as people tend to act, perceive, see things and do things in different ways, at different time and at different places. moers (2015) further asserts that cultural differences do affect managerial behavior and practices such as planning, organizing, staffing and controlling. in line with this view, eccles (2017) affirm that culture also affects interpersonal relations as seen in negotiation; hence it is essential that being aware of cultural difference is a prerequisite for personal and organizational success. however, schein (2014) opined that cross cultural management practice is even more important today than it has been in the past due to increased competition, globalization, mergers, acquisition, takeovers, alliances and various workforce development which have created a greater need for coordination and integration across organizational units in order to improve efficiency, quality, and speed of designing, manufacturing and delivering product and services, product strategy and process innovation and ability to successfully introduce new technologies, such as information technology, effective management of dispersed work unit and increasing workforce diversity, and managing of workforce diversity facilitation and support teamwork. in the same vein, simons and davila (2014) note that there is greater need to adapt to external and internal changes of organizational culture because it has become imperative today as the world is moving towards knowledge based economy. maximizing the values of employees as intellectual assets requires a culture that promotes their intellectual participation and facilitates both individual and organizational learning, new knowledge creation and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 3 application, and the willingness share knowledge with others (simons and davila ,2014). it is in the course of the above that this study intends to determine the effect of crosscultural management dimensions on performance of performance of emenite manufacturing company ltd, enugu, nigeria statement of the problem the number of multinational corporations investing in the country has been increasing and thus all multinational organizations have the objective of maintaining a competitive edge over others. it is for this reason that crosscultural management practice is a key concept that merits the attention of scholars when analysing organizational performance (hofsteede, 2014). manufacturing firms in nigeria have tried to incorporate cross-cultural management practices into their operations. however, they continue to face increasing challenges in implementing these practices due to nigeria’s status as a multi-cultured country and that most foreign organizations still continue to apply home country practices (dimba & k’obonyo, 2017). despite the increase in local and foreign firms, there is still limited literature on cross-cultural management practices in developing countries and their impact on performance of manufacturing firms (debrah & ofori 2015). nigeria is a developing country with a diverse cultural orientation and therefore it is imperative for foreign firms to understand this diversity and develop practices that harmonize difference in operating environment between home country and host country. the existing studies in this relation (kandula, 2016) have taken a universal approach in relation to cross-cultural management practices and organization performance. this has created a gap on the issue of the effect of cross-cultural management practices on organizational performance in developing countries (kotter & heskett, 2012). the effect of cross-cultural management practices on organization performance has been extensively discussed. various researchers have looked at organization performance through different views, but few have focused on the effect of cross cultural management practices (dimba et al, 2017). in addition, there have been mixed findings with regards to the influence of cross-cultural management practices on organizational performance. therefore, despite the growing research in this area, there seems to be no agreed consensus on the influence of crossigwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 4 cultural management practices on organizational performance neither had any research be done with regards to impact of cross cultural management dimensions on firm`s performance in developing countries (kandula, 2016; cleveland, 2015). on this premise, this study sought to determine the effect of cross-cultural management dimensions on performance of emenite manufacturing company ltd enugu, nigeria objectives of the study in line the challenges aforementioned, the major objective of the study is to determine the effect of cross cultural management dimension on performance of manufacturing firms in the south-east (a case study of emenite manufacturing company ltd, enugu, nigeria). specifically, other objectives are: i. to determine the effectiveness of power distance on performance of emenite manufacturing company ltd, enugu. ii. to ascertain the effectiveness of uncertainty avoidance on performance of emenite manufacturing company ltd iii. to examine the effectiveness of individualism and collectivism on performance of emenite manufacturing company ltd., enugu. iv. to determine the effectiveness of masculinity and femininity on performance of emenite manufacturing company ltd., enugu. research questions i. to what extent does power distance influence the performance of emenite manufacturing company ltd, enugu? ii. to what extent does the uncertainty avoidance influence the performance of emenite manufacturing company ltd., enugu? iii. to what extent do individualism and collectivism influence the performance of emenite manufacturing company ltd.,enugu? iv.to what extent do masculinity and femininity influence the performance of emenite manufacturing company ltd.,enugu? igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 5 statement of hypothesis the statement of hypothesis include the following: 1. ho; power distance has no significant influence on performance of emenite manufacturing company ltd., enugu. 2. ho: uncertainty avoidance has no significant influence performance of emenite manufacturing company ltd., enugu. 3. ho; both individualism and collectivism have no significant influence on performance of emenite manufacturing company ltd., enugu.. 4. ho: both masculinity and femininity have no significant on performance of emenite manufacturing company ltd., enugu. literature review culture in the word of gullet (2016), the word culture comes in two meanings. the first meaning is “civilization” which entails arts and crafts, education and manners. while the second meaning refers to the way people think, feel and act in accordance with the values and norms dominant in their society. according to cleveland (2015), culture is defined as “the collective programming of the mind distinguishing the members of one group or category of people from another.” in simple words, culture refers to the values known to a certain ethnic group of the same social background. most of one’s culture is acquired during childhood, before puberty. hofstede (2014) define culture as a mental program that differentiates a group of people from another. people are connected to their close by society through this mental program and it helps people identify who they are and where they belong. trompenaars and hampden-turner (2017) identifies that culture has several layers where values and norms are one of them. norms are unspoken mutual rules among a group of people and describe how people would normally act in different situations. values are the definition of good and bad relevant to ideals shared by people belonging to the same group and describe how people strive to behave. axelrod (2017) concluded his research about culture by seeing a common thread used by scholars that culture is a set of features. these features can be ideas, norms, beliefs, knowledge, behavior, etc. even though culture is not universally defined, the presented definitions have a common understanding that culture subsets of something shared and learned by people. however, the content of the culture depends on diverse definitions. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 6 cross-cultural management adler (2018) defines cross-cultural management as the description, comparison and interaction of organizational behavior within countries and cultures, organizational behavior across countries and cultures; and between coworkers and other people from different countries and cultures. according to richard (2019), cross cultural management is the study of the behavior of people in organization located in cultures and nations around the world. it focuses on the description of organizational behavior within countries and cultures, on the comparison of organizational behavior across countries and cultures and most importantly, on the interaction of people from different countries working with the same organization or within the same environment. richard (2019), note further that the implication is that often time different meanings, interpretations may be given to similar activities in two different cultures but the diverse nature of the workforce accounts for the variations of interpretation given to employee behaviors depending on its cultural setting. cross-cultural management mainly deals with concepts such as values, attitudes, assumptions, behavior and organization al outcomes such as motivation (brooks, 2016). some other concepts employed in cross-cultural management are derived from social psychology, sociology, anthropology: cognition, perception and attributions. some of these concepts are most relevant and they include cognition, perception, attribution, attitudes, values norms and rules. lahey, (2017) state that cognition encompasses the intellectual processes through which information is obtained, transformed, stored, retrieved, and used. gudykunst, (2015) posit that perception may be defined as our awareness of what is taking place in the environment or as one’s experience of an event or the process by which a person senses reality and comes to a particular understanding or view. gudykunst, (2015) define attributions as the attempts made by people to explain others' behavior. in other words, attribution signifies determining why events occur and the reason may be either personal or situational. adler (2018) observes that attitudes are formed through direct, personal experience, genetic and physiological factors, and third determinants like parents and groups, and mass media, and can, but are not necessarily predictive of behavior. unlike attitudes, hofstede, (2014) identify that values are general in nature; they do not focus on a specific event, but they cover many attitudes. rokeach, (2017) defines values as enduring belief that a specific mode of conduct igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 7 or end-state of existence is personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or end-state of existence. hofstede (2014) further explain that values as broad tendency which exhibited by people to prefer certain states of affairs over others. gudykunst, (2015), state that norms are guidelines of how we should or should not behave. they have a basis in morality. according to hofstede (2014), rules are guidelines for the ways we are expected to communicate, and are not based in morality. crosscultural management dimensions from the cross-cultural study, geert hofstede developed four dimensions of national cultures: consisting of power distance, masculinity/femininity, individualism/collectivism and uncertainty avoidance. these dimensions apply to the differences in behavior and attitudes of individuals (hofstede, 2014) e.g. employees and managers operating in different countries. another researcher, michael bond conducted the chinese value survey in 1991 and realized that there is a wider difference between eastern and western cultures, and from this hofstede developed a fifth dimension which is long-term orientation versus short-term orientation (hofstede, hofstede & minkov, 2016). later on, a sixth dimension was developed which is indulgence (hofstede, hofstede & minkov, 2016). they are:  power distance index (pdi): the power distance index is defined as "the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions (like the family) accept and expect that power is distributed unequally". in this dimension, inequality and power is perceived from the followers, or the lower strata. a higher degree of the index indicates that hierarchy is clearly established and executed in society, without doubt or reason. a lower degree of the index signifies that people question authority and attempt to distribute power.  individualism vs. collectivism (idv): this index explores the "degree to which people in a society are integrated into groups". individualistic societies have loose ties that often only relate an individual to his/her immediate family. they emphasize the "i" versus the "we". its counterpart, collectivism, describes a society in which tightly-integrated relationships tie extended families and others into in-groups. these in-groups are laced with undoubted loyalty and support each other when a conflict arises with another in-group. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 8  uncertainty avoidance (uai): the uncertainty avoidance index is defined as "a society's tolerance for ambiguity", in which people embrace or avert an event of something unexpected, unknown, or away from the status quo. societies that score a high degree in this index opt for stiff codes of behavior, guidelines, laws, and generally rely on absolute truth, or the belief that one lone truth dictates everything and people know what it is. a lower degree in this index shows more acceptance of differing thoughts or ideas. society tends to impose fewer regulations, ambiguity is more accustomed to, and the environment is more free-flowing.  masculinity vs. femininity (mas): in this dimension, masculinity is defined as "a preference in society for achievement, heroism, assertiveness and material rewards for success". its counterpart represents "a preference for cooperation, modesty, caring for the weak and quality of life". women in the respective societies tend to display different values. in feminine societies, they share modest and caring views equally with men. in more masculine societies, women are somewhat assertive and competitive, but notably less than men. in other words, they still recognize a gap between male and female values. this dimension is frequently viewed as taboo in highly masculine societies. other cross cultural management dimensions  long-term orientation vs. short-term orientation (lto): this dimension associates the connection of the past with the current and future actions/challenges. a lower degree of this index (short-term) indicates that traditions are honored and kept, while steadfastness is valued. societies with a high degree in this index (long-term) view adaptation and circumstantial, pragmatic problem-solving as a necessity. a poor country that is short-term oriented usually has little to no economic development, while long-term oriented countries continue to develop to a point.  indulgence vs. restraint (ind): this dimension refers to the degree of freedom that societal norms give to citizens in fulfilling their human desires. indulgence is defined as "a society that allows relatively free gratification of basic and natural human desires related to enjoying life and having fun". its counterpart is defined as "a society that controls gratification of needs and regulates it by means of strict social norms". igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 9 organization performance organization performance can be described as the attainment of particular objectives measured on the basis of identified set standards (richard, 2019). kenney (2012) stated that employee's performance is measured against the performance standards set by the organization. good organization performance illustrates how well an employee has performed his or her assigned task. all organizations have set certain expectations towards the employees and their performance in order to achieve allocated objectives. to achieve this, they should set goals and standards against which individual and organizational performance can be measured (needy, 2019). performance measures are largely described as two dimensional (adler 2018). one dimension is the objective performance, which involves financial and market-based measures, such as capacity utilization, profitability and market share. the other is subjective (judgmental) performance which involves customer and employee based measures, such as service quality, employee and customer satisfaction (ojo, 2019). judgmental measures are important prerequisites for profitability and imply that for a company to achieve successful objective performance, careful attention must be paid to the service quality offered, as well as to both customer and employee satisfaction (adler 2018). according to neely (2019), organization performance can be measured by financial and non-financial indicators. financial indicators are the traditional performance measures that use figures and include revenue, profit, return on investment, cash flow position and sales among others (luther, 2015). on the other hand, non-financial indicators give information on the activities that an organization sees as important to the achievement of its strategic objectives. nonfinancial indicators include measures that relate to customer relationships, employees, product and service quality, and market share (kaplan & norton, 2017). the roles of financial performance measures used by organizations are becoming inadequate because of rapid changes such as accelerated technologies, increased product and movement of people across the globe and which in turn leads to multi-cultured organizations (moers, 2015). from a uniquely financial perspective, modern day organizations have begun to consider non-financial perspectives, as well as to include a cause and effect relation between the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 10 operational dimension and the organization behaviour dimension (torres & bruelles, 2019). the crucial importance of non-financial indicators which are based on employee success strategies are perceived to be immune from the various shortcomings of financial measures (kaplan, 2017; eccles, 2018). simons and davila (2014), argued that classic financial indicators for measuring performance are useful but are not specifically destined to reflect the organization’s quality of work when implementing strategies. lockwood (2017) indicated that cross-cultural management practices with strong momentum and adoption have a positive effect on improving performance of a company. tumer (2017) argued that organization members with different nationalities need to be encouraged to cooperate, explore and innovate especially when there is a change in the working environment in order to improve performance. organizations can create a wonderful phenomenon of complementing or melding different cultures in cross-cultural management to enable its members to accommodate, or accept all cultures, for achievement of organizational goals (lahey, 2017). the organizations performance measure that this study therefore focused on was employee satisfaction. this is because the study adopts people based independent variables and thus this indicator will be based on employees in an organization. kenny (2012) added that, if employees are satisfied with working in a particular organization or team, they create more value, both individually and collectively, because the services they offer are improved by their better knowledge of their team-mates and of the particular methods and environment of the organization. gullet (2016) in his study pointed out that as an employer, you need to understand why your employees are emotionally connected to your organization. he further argues that emotionally connected employees are employees who perform better because they are engaged and productive, and they feel validated and appreciated. managing cultural differences managing a culturally diverse labor force properly results in a competitive advantage since people from different cultures contribute with different viewpoints, skills, and concerns. managing the workforce effectively means that the workforce is able to execute their work at its full potential in a work environment where there is no discrimination among the employees (torres & bruxelles, 2019). one of the key components to create an advantage is to make the employment connected to the organization (farren & nelson, 2015). to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 11 succeed with managing cultural diversity, the organization has to obtain a culture where people respect each other, where people feel included and where the employees can use their knowledge to its full potential (lockwood, 2017). the ability to effectively manage diversity encourages innovation that is fundamental for development and keeping a competitive advantage in a global economy. researchers within cross-cultural management have suggested several ways for organizations to manage cultural diversity. however, it seems that there is an agreement regarding the organizations need to use an open-minded approach and have to reshape how they work. having employees from different backgrounds means that the company culture have to be adjusted to fit them in order to conduct their work as efficient and effectively as possible. kundu (2017) presents different approaches managers take towards differentiation. they can ignore, minimize or manage the differences among the labor force. if managers adapt to the ignoring approach they believe that the way they are doing things is the best way and consider diversity having an insignificant effect on the organization. when management chooses the minimizing approach, they acknowledge the diversity but see it as a problem rather than an advantage. with this approach managers tries to get all the employees to adapt to a homogenous culture, or force them into the patterns of the culture that is dominating within the organization. the last approach presented is where management managing the differences since they recognize that there can be both advantages and disadvantage with diversity. management is trained to acknowledge the cultural diversity and to know how to best adopt the differences to maximize the benefits. furthermore, crosscultural training can be used to minimize the gap between the employment. organizations can implement training to get their employees to understand other cultures to decrease biases and discrimination to make the employees work well when situated with others from different backgrounds (farren & nelson, 2015). there are two types of training that can have a big impact on how diversity is managed. the first is where employees with different backgrounds are trained together for a specific skill (kundu, 2017). the other training is for managers and employees who frequently work with people from diverse cultures. organizations can use practical real-life training to show how employees should handle different situations that can emerge from diversity (kundu, 2017). there are several techniques that can be used when training the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 12 employment in cross-cultural diversity. the employees can get environmental briefings, orientation in other cultures, language training, and field experience (needy 2019). there are several advantages with a culturally diverse workforce and if managed right, organizations can create a competitive advantage. to remain the competitive advantage, organizations have to establish long-term strategies rather than short-term. management has the important task to remove the limitations with diversity so the labor force can accomplish work reflecting their full potential. the task should be perceived as an opportunity to maximize the positive effect of the organization and has to be utilized to every business activity of the organization (kundu, 2017). however, there is no “best way” to manage people from different cultures and one management style may not fit all types of labor forces ( hofstede, hofstede & minkov, 2016). it is of importance for managers to understand different values, attitudes and behaviors that differ between national cultures. therefore, cultural diversity calls for variation in management practices (schein 2014). strategies for managing cultural differences the extent to which managers and employees recognize cultural diversity and its potential advantages and disadvantages defines an organization’s approach (strategy) to manage cultural diversity. adler (2018) has identified the following strategies for managing cultural differences. ignore differences: by following this strategy, managers do not recognize cultural differences (diversity) or its impact on the organization. this strategy is very popular in parochial type of organizations. in such type of organizations, managers and employees believe that “our way is the only way” to manage and organize. therefore, they do not see any impact of cultural diversity on managing an organization. they consider the diversity is irrelevant. the strategy of ignoring differences precludes effective management of cultural diversity and also precludes the possibility of minimizing negative impacts and increasing positive impacts of diversity. minimize differences: this strategy of minimizing cultural differences is commonly adopted by ethnocentric organizations. here managers do recognize cultural diversity but only as a source of problems. in an ethnocentric organization, managers believe that “our way is the best way” to organize and manage. they consider others’ ways of doing as inferior ways of managing. in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 13 this approach managers try to reduce the problems of differences by reducing diversity. they do not think about the advantages of diversity. such type of organizations tries either to select a culturally homogenous workforce or to attempt to socialize all employees into the behaviour patterns of the dominant culture. ethnocentric organizations, by minimizing differences, prevent the possibility of benefiting from the many cultures present. managing differences: the organizations which adopt the strategy of managing differences are synergistic organizations. these type of organizations recognize the impacts of cultural diversity that leads to both advantages and disadvantages. managers using synergistic approach believe that “our way and their way of behaving and managing differ, but neither is superior to the other”. creative combinations of our way and their way may be the best approach to organizing and managing. by adopting synergistic approach, managers and employees minimize potential problems by managing the impacts of cultural diversity, not by attempting to minimize the diversity itself. in the same manner, managers maximize the potential advantages by managing the impacts of diversity, rather than by ignoring them. organizations which use the strategy of managing differences train their managers and employees to recognize cultural differences and to use cultural differences to create advantages for the organization. correlations of values with other country differences researchers have grouped some countries together by comparing countries' value scores with other country difference such as geographical proximity, shared language, related historical background, similar religious beliefs and practices, common philosophical influences, and identical political systems; in other words, everything which is implied by the definition of a nation's culture. for example, low power distance is associated with consultative political practices and income equity, whereas high power distance is correlated with unequal income distribution, as well as bribery and corruption in domestic politics. individualism is positively correlated with social mobility and national wealth. as a country becomes richer, its culture becomes more individualistic. another example of correlation was drawn by the sigma two group in 2015. they have studied the correlation between countries' cultural dimensions and their predominant religion based on the world factbook2014. on average, predominantly catholic countries show very high uncertainty avoidance, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 14 relatively high power distance, moderate masculinity and relatively low individualism, whereas predominantly atheist countries have low uncertainty avoidance, very high power distance, moderate masculinity, and very low individualism. needy (2019) found inverse correlations between rates of specific kinds of innovation in manufacturing companies and the percentage of large companies per country as well as the employment of a specific kind of manufacturing strategy. the national culture measure of power distance is positively correlated with the ratio of companies with process innovation only over the companies with any of the three types of innovation considered in the country (determinant of correlation: 28%). hence in countries with higher power distance, innovative manufacturing companies are somewhat more bound to resort to process innovations. torres et al (2019) created an automated computer framework to compute cultural distance (score that quantifies cultural similarity between two countries) from online social networks data and correlated their results with hofstede's cultural dimensions. they found positive correlations between their results of cultural distance and distances based on hofstede's cultural scores. in addition, they correlated their cultural metrics of online social networks with hofstede's dimensions which resulted in four strong correlations. e.g., countries with higher individualism score have more tendency toward art-oriented tweets. the quantification of cultural dimensions enables people to make cross-regional comparisons and form an image of the differences between not just countries but entire regions. for example, the cultural model of the mediterranean countries is dominated by high levels of acceptance of inequalities, with uncertainty aversion influencing their choices. with regard to individualism, mediterranean countries tend to be characterized by moderate levels of individualistic behavior. the same applies to masculinity. future orientation places mediterranean countries in a middle ranking, and they show a preference for indulgence values. effect of crosscultural management practices on organizational performance eccles (2018) note that an important factor influencing the challenges, understanding and interpretation of the appraisal process, its development, implementation, and other appraisal related elements and functions in organizations, is related to important organizational outcomes such as performance. according to brooks (2016), an intimate knowledge of cross-culture igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 15 should improve managerial ability to analyze organizational behavior in order to manage and lead people in organizations. brooks (2016) state that cross cultural management practices enables managerial ability to analyze organizational behavior which translates into superior corporate performance. kundu (2017) observe that cross-cultural cultural management practice help employees to understand organizational event, and employees can communicate more efficiently and effectively thereby, reaching higher level of cooperation with each other because they share common mental models of realities. tumer (2017) point out that cross-culture management practices influences organizational performance. to this end, gullet ( 2016 ), cited in kundu (2017), suggest that the reliability of cross-culture and organizational performance encourages the identification of relevant determinants of organizational performance. in compliance with this thought, some indicators were used to assess the impact of cross-culture practices on organizational performance. luther (2015) cited in kaplan (2017), contend that one of the relevant determinants of organizational performance is employee behaviour. he further observed that some of the crosscultural factors that determine employee’s behaviour such as the family background, beliefs and religion, values, attitudes and perception of work, commitment to work; norms and collectivism versus individualism have positive impact on workers. according to eccles (2018), when workers exhibit positive work values and attitudes in organization, this will reduce the incidences of lateness to work and absenteeism, labour turnover are very low, the level of commitment to work is relatively high while the premium and emphasis placed on the achievement of power, wealth and prestige made the workers more effort at work. ojo (2019) emphasizes the impact strong powerful culture has on organizational performance. he posited that strong culture have been hailed as key to improved performance. however, strong culture has almost always been the driving force behind continued success in business. accordingly, strong culture firms are said to generate an almost tangible social force field of energy that empowers employees and drives the organization towards superior performance. cleveland (2015) cited in ojo (2019), have connected strong shared values with commitment to self-confidence, ethical behavior and reduced job stress. on the hand, lahey (2017) argue that for firm’s culture to provide sustained competitive advantages and thus by implication, be source of sustained superior financial performance, certain conditions must be fulfilled; the culture must be valuable, it must enable igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 16 a firm to do things and behave in ways that lead to high sales, low costs high margins, or in other ways add financial value to firms. however, lahey 2017) posits further that superior financial performance is an economic concept; hence for culture to generate such performance, it must have positive economic consequence. as such, lahey (2017) suggests that culture must be rare; it must have attributes and characteristics that are not common to the cultures of multiple firms. therefore, such culture must be imperfectly imitable; and firms without these cultures cannot engage in activities that will change their culture to include the required characteristics and if they try to imitate these cultures they will be at some disadvantages e.g. reputational, experience e.t.c. compared to the firm they are trying to imitate ( lahey (2017). perceptions on cross-cultural management practices in africa the culture of a society describes the pattern of behavior which relates to the values and beliefs that are developed over a period of time. the cultural impact of management on organizations is reflected in the basic beliefs and behavior of managers. the most common aspect is how people think and behave (dimba et al,2017) for example in south africa which is made up of a population of well over 42 million people, comprising of about 75% blacks, 12% whites, 9% colored and 3% indians, is already known as is a culturally diverse nation. this diversity goes on, as population grows and long exposure to western education and management practices persist, it has influenced different styles of management in south africa (schein (2014). however, needy (2019) observe that ghana, comprises of about 100 linguistic and cultural groups whose major ethnic groups are akan, ewe, mole-dagbane, guan and ga-adangbe. these ethnic groups share a common cultural heritage, history, language and origin. the major languages are twi, fanth, ga,hausa, dagbane, ewe, and nzema with english language as the official language. the management style prevalent in a culturally diverse society like ghana can be appraised in line with the common characteristics of africa society and hofstede’s (2014) classification of societal cultures. moreover, schein (2014) note that organizational power in ghana is based on clear system of hierarchy as autocratic leadership style is common place as a result of organization hierarchy and respect for age in africa. hence, authority is rarely questioned and decision making is highly centralized as absolute objectives rests with god. managers are paternalistic in nature as they show adequate concern for the welfare of the subordinates and harmony is thus maintained. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 17 research methodology this research work adopted survey research design in order to determine the effect of cross-cultural management dimensions on performance of manufacturing firms in the south east,nigeria(a study of emenite manufacturing company ltd.,enugu).the population was 42 employees of the firm which also served as the sample size because of the poor population . in this work. primary data was collected through questionnaires from 42 workers . the regression and correlation analysis were used to test the hypothesis. hypothesis testing data was analyzed using spss version 16 and microsoft excel. the pearson correlation was used to show the degree of linear relationship between variables while one-way anova was employed to determine the significance of the relationship. according to table 1 below, there is an evidence to accept the hypothesis that cross-cultural management dimensions have a significant effect on performance at the confidence level of 0.99.table 2 also confirms that dimensions of cross-cultural management practices such as power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism and collectivism, etc also have significant effect on performance at a confidence level of 0.99.based on this, there is enough evidence to accept hypothesis. table 1: correlation analysis cross cultural mgt. org perf. cross cultural pearson correlation 1 .839** management sig.(2 tailed) .000 n 42 42 organizational pearson correlation .839** 1 performance sig. (2-tailed) .000 n 42 42 ** correlation is significant at the level 0. 01(2-tailed) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 18 table 2 shows the correlation analysis of all variables involved. these variables have a positive effect on organizational performance. the value of power distance for organizational performance is 0.736 significant at r = 0.01%. the value for uncertainty avoidance is 0.837% (r = 0.01%) which shows the high significance relations while values for individualism and collectivism as well as of masculinity and femininity are 0.767 and 0.815 both with r = 0.01%. as all the values of cross-cultural management dimensions have significant positive effect on organizational performance so hypothesis is acceptable that cross-cultural management dimensions have positive effect on organizational performance. table 2: correlation analysis pd ua ic mf og power distance pearson 1 .812** .910 .736 correlation sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .000 uncertainty pearson .812** 1 .829** .841** .837** avoidance correlation sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .000 individualism pearson .910** .829** 1 .861**.767** and correlation collectivism sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .000 masculinity and femininity pearson .773** .841** .861** 1 .815** correlation sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .000 organizational performance pearson .736** .837** .767** .815** 1 correlation sig. (2-tailed .000 .000 .000 .000 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 19 n 42 42 42 42 42 ** correlation is significant at the level 0. 01(2-tailed) table 3 shows that the value of r square is .744 which is the explained variance in the dependent organizational performance. as value of r = 83 which shows the model fit and quite acceptable value for acceptance of model. table 3 model summary model r r square adjusted r std. error of the estimate 1 .863 .744 .695 8.80383 a. predictors: (constant):power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism and collectivism, masculinity and femininity table 4 shows that f statistics is significant at .000 which shows that fitness of the model. therefore, cross-cultural management dimensions are a strong predictor of organizational performance. table 4 anova model sum of squares df mean square f sig. regression 4729.247 4 1182.312 15.254 .000 residual 1627.657 21 77.507 total 6356.904 42 a. predictors: (constant):power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism and collectivism, masculinity and femininity b. dependent variable: emenite manufacturing company ltd.,enugu conclusions this study presented the effect of cross-cultural management dimensions on performance of manufacturing firm in the south-east, nigeria. cross-cultural management practice is a complex and multi-leveled concept that requires various types of indicators. for this study, the cross-cultural management igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 20 dimensions that were used were power distance, uncertainty avoidance, collectivism and individualism as well as masculinity and femininity. from the data that was presented many multinational corporations are now increasing their operations in developing countries such as nigeria. this is evident by the fact that many of them owned by both locals and foreigners and that these organizations have a fair number of employees. in addition, the study revealed that emenite manufacturing company ltd,enugu,nigeria has to some extent adopted these cross-cultural management practices in order to influence performance. however, very few organizations have adopted these practices to a great extent which would enable them reduce the conflict of cultural diversity and hence improve their performance. the relationship between cross-cultural management dimensions and organization performance was analyzed using regression analysis. the results showed that power distance, uncertainty avoidance, collectivism and individualism as well as masculinity and femininity were significant in explaining organizational performance. recommendations the findings of this study show that cross-cultural management dimensions have effect on organizational performance. this provides a strong indication that organizations that adopt cross-cultural management practices within their operations have a high chance of ensuring organization performance. the most common cross-cultural management dimension was power distance followed by uncertainty avoidance. in this regard, it is recommended that organizations need to ensure that once they have the most suitable employees, they need to develop their skills in the area of cross cultural dimensions to enhance performance. in an era of increased globalization, organizations that explore different markets need to adopt cross-cultural management dimensions in order to reduce conflict arising from different cultures. the findings of the current study provide important pointers and recommends to managers of organizations the need to ensure that they adopt cross-cultural management dimension specifically power distance and uncertainty avoidance which will improve the overall organization performance. suggestions for future research igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 21 cross-cultural dimensions studies dealing with organizational performance in nigeria remain largely an uncharted course. in short, there are not many studies that have focused on how organizations perform in the different ethno-cultural and geographical locations in nigeria and beyond. there is therefore a tremendous potential for research in this direction. the present study of the effect of cross cultural management dimensions on organizational performance is an ambitious attempt to pave the way for future research from a similar perspective. moreover, this study is a relatively small one. in this regard, survey research methods covering large number of firms from diverse ethnogeographical and cultural background will be relevant. however, such research efforts will require greater financial, human and material resources than are currently at our disposal. fundamentally, there appears to be a veritable gap in the sociology of organizations dealing with the way in which cultural dimensions and values influence work behaviour and how this in turn determines organizational performance. management scientists must think anew about the roles of cross-cultural management dimesions in organizations and its overall impact of organizational performance. references adler, n.j (2018) cultural dimensions of organizational behavior, boston: thompson publishing co.administration vol.8 nos 1 & 2 luther (2015). the impact of culture on organizational performance in selected textile firms in nigeria. nordic journal of african studies 12(2): 164–179 schein (2014) “coordination economies, advertising, and search behavior in retail markets,” american economic review, vol. 84, no. 3, june, pp.498517. brooks, i. (2016). organizational bahaviour: individuals, group and organization. essex: pearson education limited. communication. thousand oaks, ca: sage. needy (2019). a literature survey on organizational culture and innovation, business and management (iocbm, 2008) florida: boca raton, florida pp539-550 gudykunst, w. b. (2015). bridging differences. effective intergroup and book of cross-cultural management. oxford: blackwell, pp. 190-216. hicks, h.g and g.r. gullet (2016) management. 4th ed singapore: mc-graw hill inc igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 22 dimba & k`obonyo(2017). international management, new york: mcgraw, hill. hofstede, g. (2014). culture’s consequences: comparing values, behaviors, institutions and organizations across nations, 2nd edition. thousand oaks, ca: sage publications. ehtesbam m. u, tahir .m.m & shakil a.m (2011).relationship between organizational culture and performance management practices. a case of university of pakistan. journal of competitiveness issue 1(2011) lahey, b. b. (2017). essentials of psychology: an introduction. 7th edition, management 5th ed planotexas: business publication inc. management including african cultures nigeria journal of business richard (2019)). organizational behaviour: emerging for workplace revolution. newyork: mcgraw-hill international edition. new york, ny: mcgrawhill. kenny (2012) achieving unity in diversity through cross cultural management of resources empirical evidence from nigeria.journal of business systems, government and ethics. vol. 5, no. 2 ojo, o. (2019) organizational culture and corporate performance: empirical evidence from nigeria journal of business systems, government and ethics. vol. 5, no. 2 cleveland (2015) management across cultures. challenges and strategies. cambridge university press cambridge, new york, melbourne, madrid, cape town, singapore, são paulo, delhi, dubai, tokyo kundu (2017). the nature of human values. new york, ny: free press. debra & ofon (2015). the cornerstones of competitive advantage: a resourcebased view. strategic management journal, 14(3), 179–191. kandula, s. r. (2016). performance management. new delhi: prentice hall of india private limited. lockwood,m (2017)the impact of organizational culture on the implementation of performance management (doctoral dissertation). available from dissertations and theses database (umi no.3047909). kotter, p. & heskett, l. (2012). corporate culture and performance. new york: macmillan. moers. s (2015). current performance management practices. worldatwork journal, 12(2), 49-60 eccles (2018) quantitative assessment of organizational culture. group and organizations studies, 15(4), 448-460. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 23 hofsteede & minkey(2016). organizational culture and leadership, san francisco: jossey-bass. tumer (2017)). time the next source of competitive advantage. harvard business review, 2017, jul-aug, 41-51. axelrod (2017). organizational culture and firm effectiveness: an examination of relative effects of culture traits and the balanced culture hypothesis in an emerging economy. journal of world business, 43, 290–306. torres & bruxelles (2019) organizational culture and performance: proposing and testing a model. organization science, 4(2), 209-225 farren, m & nelson. l. (2015). leadership style, organizational culture and performance: empirical evidence from uk companies. international journal of human resources management, 1(4), 766-788. simons l & davis .h (2014) managing cross-cultural activities to enhance organizational performance. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 229 an evaluation of edmund gettier’s paper: “is justified true belief knowledge?” okechukwu, chidiebere peter department of philosophy university of nigeria, nsukka chidiebere.okechukwu@unn.edu.ng;+2348030978892 & bruno yammeluan ikuli institute of foundation studies, federal university otueke, yenagoa, bayelsa state. ikuliby@fuotueke.edu.ng; +2348052500435 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.19482.59846 abstract the problem of philosophy within the gamut of epistemology has been the issue of knowledge and the justification of the knowledge one claims to have, if at all. some theories and positions have come up in order to establish the certainty-ness of knowledge, while some cast some skepticism about knowledge; and all these come in divergent forms and formats. sequel to this, there had been a long-held account of knowledge as “justified true belief”. the justified true belief account of knowledge holds that knowledge is equivalent to justified true belief. hence, we have knowledge of that claim if all three conditions: justification, truth, and belief, are met of a given claim. edmund gettier challenges and argues against this long held belief, and goes further to point out its flaws in a logico-propositional format. he explicates with the use of double counter-instances that there exists a situation where an individual can have a true belief that is justified, as regards a particular claim and yet cannot know it due to the fact that the rationale for the said belief, and its substantiation, cannot defy truth in the end. critically, edmund gettier did not give any sequence of argument and propositions that would stand in place of the justified true belief account, since he adjudged it to be false. against this backdrop, therefore, the aim of this work is to access the claims therein, and strike a possible balance by establishing the possibility of such knowledge in part, and in a context. the work, among others, argues that the case 1 (especially) presented by gettier is rare, hypothetical and does not always happen that someone will forget such within that context. it also argues that there exists some level of knowledge that is fundamental and not untrue given his analysis, namely; that someone necessarily will get the job in so far as there was a vacancy that needed to be filled, even though it was not pronounced. even if it happens to be so, this work advances for the relevance of the possession of some reasonable and mailto:chidiebere.okechukwu@unn.edu.ng mailto:ikuliby@fuotueke.edu.ng igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 230 indubitable epistemic virtues, (possibly lacking in the case he gave) that are pertinent to any claim, knowledge; strengthen the justified true belief, especially within the contexts presented by gettier, and thus forestall such occurrences. introduction the problem of what constitutes "knowledge" has been one of the hard nuts of philosophy since its inception. there have been instances found in the dialogues of plato, namely; the theaetetus and meno. an edmund gettier’s 1963 three paged paper “is justified true belief knowledge?” changed the course of epistemology by refuting the traditional view that knowledge is justified true belief. in the paper, gettier used the tools of logic and analytic philosophy of language to argue that the justified true belief account of knowledge is not adequate in accounting for the entire prerequisites that are imperative and enough for the possibility of knowledge. this is then what orchestrated the term ‘gettier problem or gettier case’, mostly employed to delineate any case in the theory of knowledge that refutes justified true belief account of knowledge. as it were, edmund gettier is not in principle, did not first raise the issue that is accredited to him. bertrand russell had raised the issue in his write up; human knowledge: its scope and limits. to state the fact, this contention has been known long ago as a philosopher from indiadharmottara and peter of mantua have given some instances of it.1 however, the relevance of the formulation of the problem by gettier coincides with the springing up of a kind of philosophical naturalism which was promulgated by quine w. v. o, and a host of others. it has been used as an argument for a movement for the justification theories of the externalists. it has been observed that in the recent times, the edmund getteir issue has primarily upturned the traits of contemporary epistemology since it poses a clear barrier to analyzing knowledge.2 hence, the task of this work is to evaluate his position and establish also that he could be right in certain senses when his arguments are so found, but that does not totally dismiss the fact that in some instances and conditions, justified true belief could give knowledge, at least momentarily and contextually. a brief idea of the theory of justified true belief plato, (428-347 bc), one of the best known ancient greek thinkers, a student of socrates and the teacher of aristotle had written and postulated his famous doctrines of theory of forms, and immortality of the soul. in the same light, he is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 231 known for the idea that justified true belief is knowledge. the discourse on “true belief” and “knowledge” in meno springs in the analysis of the traveling men; of which, one knows the right pathway to larissa and the other who is said to possess a true belief of the correct path to larissa. socrates thus tells meno that if the duo men led to similar outcome, then true belief is no more valuable than knowledge and both beneficial.3 plato then holds that, in order to know something, there are some criteria that must be ascertained. these are: 1. there must be a belief that the said thing is true. 2. the said thing must in fact be true. 3. there must be a justification in believing the said thing to be true. this theory made a lot of sense to most epistemologists, and was generally accepted as true for a very long time. as it were, the justified true belief account of knowledge holds that knowledge is equivalent to justified true belief. hence, we have knowledge of that claim if all three conditions: justification, truth, and belief, are met of a given claim. in other words, it claims that knowledge is possible to be conceptualized as justified true belief, implying that the significanvce of a sentence such as ‘john is aware that snow fell today, could be some sets of condition which are intrinsically sufficient and essential for the possession of knowledge. here is the official statement of the justified true belief theory: [a] s knows that p if and only if (i) s believes that p, and (ii) p is true, and (iii) s is justified in believing that p.4 however, the theory of justification has been put forward to attempt an answer the question. “is justified true belief knowledge?” – the edmund getteir’s counter examples the 1963, article (is knowledge justified true belief?) of edmund gettier opens up a strong, yet a possible argument against the hitherto position that justified true belief amounts to knowledge. the article shattered the epistemological orthodoxy which the theory of justified true belief had enjoyed. to stretch his argument better, he traces other arguments by some thinkers like ayer and chisholm. for chisholm; [b] s knows that p (if and only if). (i) s accepts p, (ii) s has adequate evidence for p, and (iii) p is true.5 while ayer states the necessary and sufficient conditions for knowledge thus: [c] s knows that p (if and only if) (i) p is true, (ii) s is sure that p is true, and (iii) s has the right to be sure that p is true.6 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 232 from the position of the justified true belief theory highlighted above, gettier argues with counter examples that there exist several instances of beliefs that are justified, true, and fulfilling every of the highlighted three stipulations logically stated above as the conditions for knowledge, within the analysis of the justified true belief theory, but do not come out to be certified cases of knowledge. he thus insists that his two counter instances indicate that the justified true belief submission about knowledge is untrue. in other words, to demonstrate his claims, he gives two instances whereby intuition gives the subject a justified true belief but fails therein to know. gettier sustains that [a] is false because the conditions given do not in any way represent a sufficient condition for the legitimacy of the proposition that s knows that p. he gives similar argument for [b] and [c] above, showing that they both failed if the statement "has adequate evidence for" or "has the right to be sure that” is substituted for "is justified in believing that" all through.7 he notes two seemingly strong points. firstly, in the instance of "justified" where s's being justified in consenting for p is an indispensable stipulation of s's knowing that p, it is probable for someone to be justified in consenting a proposition that is not true in reality. secondly, for one proposition p, if s is justified in consenting for p, and p entails q, and s deduces q from p and acknowledges q due to the above inference, then s is justified in believing the q.8 from these points stated, gettier edmund gives his arguments where the state of affairs pointed out in (a) are true for a few propositions, though it is at the same time not true that the person in question knows that proposition. he thence contends that there is need for a divergent analysis that would impeccably trace what knowledge means. he gives two cases: case i gettier states the first case thus: presume that jones and smith have both sent an application for a particular work. furthermore, presume that smith has worthy proofs for these deductions: (d) jones is the one who will be given the work, and jones is in possession of ten coins in his bag. gettier explains that the proof smith has for the (d) position could be on the ground that the leader of the firm has given him an assurance that the work will be given to jones and secondly, smith himself has before now counted the coins in the bag of jones. hence, the deduction (d) involves: (e) the one who will eventually be given the work has ten coins in his bag. presumably, smith views this entailment starting from (d) to (e), and agrees on (e) based on the facts provided by (d), for which he has worthy igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 233 proofs. from here, smith is noticeably justified in having the belief that (e) is not false but true. on the contrary, picture more that without smith knowing it, that he (smith) has ten coins in his bag also, and on that ground, will be given the work. analytically, deduction (e) is thus true, although the deduction (d), on which smith assumed (e), is not true, rather false. in the instance given, these are all true: (i) (e) is true, (ii) smith has the belief that (e) is true, and (iii) smith is justified in the belief that (e) is true. on the contrary, it is lucid that smith has no knowledge that (e) is true; for (e) is true because of the amount of coins in the bag of smith; while smith does not know how many coins are in the bag of smith, and based his strong belief in (e) strictly on the number of coins in the bag of jones, whom he erroneously taken to be the one who will get the work.9 this first case is the most discussed of the two cases he presented. the case 1 has a hero called smith. he and jones had applied for a certain job; however, smith has been told by the president of the company that jones will be considered for the job because, anyone who has ten coins as a prerequisite for the job gets it. smith then combines that testimony of the president with his observed evidence of the certainty of ten coins in the pocket of jones, because he counted them himself. this informs his (smith’s) inference that whoever will get the job has ten coins available in his pocket. for clarity sake, and to explain further; the belief “x” (which is that jones will get the job) of smith is true and justified because there is an “n” (10 coinsa condition sine qua non for the possession of the job; and confirmed by smith), in the pocket of jones, coupled with the “m” (testimony of the president) that jones will get the job. to state this with mathematical symbols; x ≡ n + m; where “x” is the belief (called the ‘initial’ “knowledge” that jones will get the job; and “≡” herein symbolizes “implies”, and “m” means (the testimony of the president). belief “x” is in that way, at the slightest way, moderately well justified, beefed by a proof which is excellent in a rationally common manner. on the contrary, and as it became evident, the belief “x” is true, even though, not in the manner expected by smith as true. this research therefore, calls the ‘new or later’ belief that was not known by smith as ‘x2. the contrary manner that was not expected by smith, as interpreted by gettier could be stated thus: “for it is ‘smith’ who will be given the work and ‘smith himself’ is in possession of ten coins in his bag.” the duo particulars combined to give his belief “x” a position that is said to be true. nonetheless, none of those truths was known by smith in the prior instance (on its own), (say igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 234 the actual knowledge x2). is his belief “x” thus, not knowledge? by implication, does smith fail to know that the person who will get the job has ten coins in his pocket? getteir here in case 1, thinks that smith failed to know that the person who will get the job has ten coins in his pocket. it therefore follows that the case 1 herein alleged would be: “x” encloses a belief that is true and justified, but does not amount to knowledge (which later turned to be the case, termed in this work x2). getteir argues that if the immediate submission is the correct interpretation of the case, then, the ‘justified true belief’ as a condition for knowledge is false, since smith, the actor in the analysis failed to know that: (a) it was himself who will get the job, (b) that the person who will get the job (smith actually) has ten coins in his pocket, (which in what turned out to be the case, and termed x2 in this work). by judgment, case 1 has shown that the amalgamation of belief, truth, and justification do not in this case justify for the presence of knowledge. this, he argues, is a clear fact that the trueness and the justified-ness of a belief would not satisfactorily amount for is being termed knowledge. from this point, let us consider the second case according to gettier. case 11 in the case ii, smith also is used as the hero. he has a positive proof that jones owns a ford. smith also has a friend brown, whom he does not know his whereabouts. “jones owns a ford” is what gettier holds as proposition f, this is because smith had in several occasions seen jones riding a ford and has even been given a ride by jones. smith went on to select three places at random and gives the proposition thus: (g) either jones owns a ford, or brown is in boston. (h) either jones owns a ford, or brown is in barcelona. (i) either jones owns a ford, or brown is in brest-litovsk.10 gettier explicates that each of the propositions “g, h, and i”, takes its standing on “f”; and was accepted based on that f (jones own a ford), and upon which smith is justified in believing each of them (g, h, i). note that from the foregoing, there is no evidence of the whereabouts of brown. gettier there from imagines two further conditions; firstly, that jones does not possess a ford, but driving a rented car; and secondly, the place mentioned in proposition “h”(barcelona) coincidentally and unknown to smith is where brown is. gettier with these stances infer that, if these conditions hold, then smith has no knowledge that “h” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 235 is true, “even though (i) (h) is true, (ii)smith does believe that (h) is true, and (iii) smith is justified in believing that (h) is true.”11 here, gettier draws the conclusion that the examples given show that definition [a] above, namely; (s knows that p if and only if (i) s believes that p, and (ii) p is true, and (iii) s is justified in believing that p) does not affirm an adequate provision for someone's knowing a certain proposition. in the same vein, he insists that the same cases, with appropriate changes, will be sufficient to show that neither the explanation [b] namely; (s knows that p if and only if: (i) s accepts p, (ii) s has adequate evidence for p, and (iii) p is true ) nor [c] namely; (s knows that p if and only if: (i) p is true, (ii) s is sure that p is true, and (iii) s has the right to be sure that p is true) do so either. evaluation from the foregoing, it can be rightly said that, only things that are true will constitute knowledge. the truth in this manner and context will always be in tandem with whatever is the claim, evidenced and justified. there are some sentences that literarily untrue. for instance, i know that atiku was going to win the presidential election. in the past, some thinkers have maintained that the gettier’s case cannot be escaped. in this light was linda zagzebski , who in her article of 1994 titled “the inescapability of gettier problems”, insists that there is no breakdown that is similar to that of the justified true belief that would substantially push out the issues pointed out by gettier’s cases. in clear terms, she argues that any point like justified true belief plus “x”, where “x” is a further condition for more justification would throw out the examples of getteir, and would not solve it.12 against this backdrop by zagzebksi, there are some certain points that are worth noting, and are seemingly not thoroughly considered by gettier cases. in the case i of gettier, there exists a level of knowledge, (that is fundamental), and is not untrue in his analysis in case i, namely; that “someone necessarily will get the job.” in an unpronounced way, smith has the intuitive knowledge that someone will get the said job, even though not pronounced, and even though he thought it would be jones in the analysis. this position in a sense is itself “knowledge” not pronounced though, given that the analysis of gettier was hypothetical. other things being equal, one would know at once that someone will necessarily get the said job, if and only if, the job must be given, and in so far as the vacant position remains constant. this addresses the issue that gettier example was looking for the knowledge of the “to whom” exactly (specificity, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 236 that isspecific pointer), not necessarily the knowledge of “someone” (possibility, that isprobable pointer) that answers the question of “who”, not that of “to whom.” suffice it to state categorically that the gettier case 1 is hypothetical and rarely happens within the context he analyzed the smith and jones case. however, even if it were feasible that such will happen, will only be so when smith lacks (the necessary) epistemic virtue, which is an approach to the study of epistemic evaluations. arguably, the justified true belief theory needs further elements that will strengthen it, which could be the problem of smith at that moment in the case presented by gettier, hence; the epistemic virtues. these epistemic virtues are some traits that scientists would possess to arrive at truth or knowledge better than others possibly. for instance, a scientist who possesses patience, curiosity and doggedness, is likely to get the experiment with a good result. this epistemic virtue is likened to william james’ passional considerations when he averred that in some unique categories of instances, “it is sane to believe propositions even if one has small or no proof to sustain one’s beliefs, and one’s beliefs, in such situations can be established by the considerations that are passional. these considerations that are passional are: partisanship and imitation, hope and fear, passion and prejudice, the circumpressure of one’s caste and set.13 williams advances that “there exists two distinct paths of which one can view one’s duty in the case of opinion. these paths he contends are completely special, and yet paths about whose dissimilarity, the theory of knowledge seems thus far have shown very slight worry. this is expressed thus; one should discern the truth; and one should stay away from any form of error.14 in the light of the preceding argument, these virtues are necessary for knowledge, in which case, smith could have lacked (if one follows the analysis of gettier), that made him not to remember that he had ten coins on him. these epistemic virtues are: (1) patience to actually reconsider the moments past, in the form of examination of consciousness; (2) the power of reminiscence which would have also helped him to recall that he had those ten coins; which was eventually discovered, (3) diligence, and open-mindedness which are all naturally pragmatic. anyone, in such manner as smith, without these attitudes, is possible to have a momentary forgetfulness as in the case of smith. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 237 gettier confuses a probable belief with a factual belief. in principle, the justified true belief theory is that which is factual in its stance. let us examine this reality: mr john slept for the night. he had a dream where he slept in that same dream world that he drove a car. he eventually woke up and found out that he was actually dreaming, and that also, he slept in that dream world and dreamt where he rode a car which he does not own in reality. the instances of gettier could be said to be like this man who dreamt in his dream world that he rode a car, yet wakes up to see that he actually was in a dream, and dreamt in that dream (which is of course feasible in reality that someone could be in a dream, yet dreamt in that dream world). hence, dreaming in a dream does not make a reality but that of a fiction in a fiction. the case ii (particularly, the part two of those premises that tries to place a tag on the location of brown) of gettier is such like a dream in a dream, vested with a probable belief statement namely; “either”. each of the examples of the justified true belief always begins with a bi-condition: “if and only if”; and by extension, the truth position of that knowledge, coupled with the justification and adequate evidence for such a belief and knowledge, it then suffices to state that the examples of gettier , especially in case ii, failed in that the premises he used began with a probable word “either”. it is apparent that the last part of each of the propositions in case ii was based on probability (“either”) of which, going by their constructions are statements of belief in a weak sense, by high merit of being quite confident that “it is most likely true.” however, the belief” in the framework of the justified true belief theory is that (of a belief in a “strict sense”) which is full and outright; filled with evidential justification, that cannot be otherwise; hence the phrase, “if and only if”. gettier would have had a case if he had insisted on the failure of the justified true belief theory on the premise of the possibility of someone knowing something (say p); that is true also, but the person does not believe in it. hence, mr lagbaja might hear and know about a man who is good and philanthropic; but does not belief he can help him probably because of his personal hatred for that man, and would not want such help from him by any means whatsoever and no matter the situation either. it could be argued further that the cases presented by gettier have no justified belief, due to the fact that it is not possible to justify anything that is untrue; and in so far as any proposition happens not to be true is a clear indication that it was not in the first instance justified substantially. by this fact, the justified true belief stands, thus, the movement of the problem from knowledge to the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 238 definition of justification. in order to strengthen this view, boghossian argues that justification and non-justification are not in double resistance. he avers that justification is predicated on the case of amount or better still, degree, with the idea of being more justified or even in the lesser instance, justified.15 furthermore, gettier did not give any sequence of argument and propositions that would stand in place of the justified true belief account, since he adjudged it to be false. conclusion it is worth noting that the level of attention paid to the article of gettier by thinkers has made it an outstanding thought overtime. glaringly, it changed the course of the thought of time from the justified true belief stance, to the new world of thought and seemingly possibility within the history of philosophy. with the tools of logic and analytic philosophy of language, he argued out that the justified true belief account of knowledge is not adequate in accounting for every condition essential and enough for knowledge. apparently, the cases of gettier have substantially shown that not all feasible “justified true beliefs” can be said to be knowledge. hence, a belief, that is justified and true is never enough to be adjudged as knowledge.16 the gettier cases have made an epistemological advancement in the real sense in that it reveals the paucity of being justified and true in making a belief count as knowledge. this is of course the reason for philosophizing; as no theory in philosophy without some flaws. one would necessarily want to appreciate knowledge in all its conceivable illustrations and externalizations, and not only in a certain number of them. nevertheless, the research among others has shown that his work is more of a rare case, and hypothetical in its sense. it has furthered that gettier did not give any sequence of argument and propositions that would stand in place of the justified true belief account, since he adjudged it to be false. be that as it may, even if gettier’s examples remain constant, the work has shown and advanced for the relevance of the possession of some reasonable and indubitable epistemic virtues, (possibly lacking in the case he gave) that are pertinent to any claim, knowledge; strengthen the justified true belief, especially within the contexts presented by gettier, and thus could forestall such occurrences. endnotes igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 239 1. edward n. (ed.),”the analysis of knowledge”, in the stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (summer 2018 ed.), metaphysics research lab, stanford university, retrieved 10/07/2019. 2. john l. pollock; joseph cruz, contemporary theories of knowledge,(lanham, md: rowman & littlefield publishers, 1999), 13. 3. plato, meno, 97a-c. 4. https://spot.colorado.edu, accessed 10/07/2019. 5. roderick m. chisholm, perceiving: a philosophical study, (ithaca, n.y: 1957),16. 6. a. j. ayer, the problem of knowledge, (london: st. martins press,1956), 256. 7. edmund gettier, “is justified true belief knowledge?” in analysis, vol. 23, doi: 10.2307/3326925, 121-123. accessed 11/07/2019. 8. edmund gettier, “is justified true belief knowledge?” in analysis, vol. 23, doi: 10.2307/3326925, 121-123. accessed 11/07/2019. 9. edmund gettier, “is justified true belief knowledge?” in analysis, vol. 23, doi: 10.2307/3326925, 121-123. accessed 11/07/2019. 10. edmund gettier, “is justified true belief knowledge?” in analysis, vol. 23, doi: 10.2307/3326925, 121-123. accessed 11/07/2019. 11. edmund gettier, “is justified true belief knowledge?” in analysis, vol. 23, doi: 10.2307/3326925, 121-123. accessed 11/07/2019. 12. zagzebski, linda, “the inescapability of gettier problems”, the philosophical quarterly, 44(174), 1994: 65–73. doi:10.2307/2220147, retrieved 20/06/2019. 13. james williams, the will to believe and other essays in popular philosophy, reprinted version, (new york: dover publications, 1897), 9. 14. williams, 17. 15. paul boghossian, fear of knowledge: against relativism and constructivism, (oxford: clarendon press, 2007), 96-100. 16. stephen, “internet encyclopedia of philosophy and its authors”, https://www.iep.utm.edu/gettier/. https://spot.colorado.edu/ https://www.iep.utm.edu/gettier/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 75 broken homes and academic performance of junior secondary school students in awka south: a christian response anthony b.c. chiegboka & scholastica chizoba nwekwe nnamdiazikiwe university, awka email: chizobasnwekwe@gmail.com abstract the family is a basic unit of the society and also the child’s first place of socialization. the family influences the child at a time when his mind is most receptive. these influences are capable of either promoting or diminishing the child’s self-worth and academic behaviour when at school and these impressions may last for a life time. different scholars have written extensively on broken homes but this study aimed at discovering the relationship between broken homes and the academic performance of junior secondary students in awka south local government area, thereby addressing the issue of broken homes with some christian teachings (christian response). the study adopted the qualitative approach of data collection using observation, interview and questionnaire. therefore, it was discovered that children from intact homes perform better in their academics than children from broken homes. so, the paper encourages that couples should not push their marriage to shambles because, when the home is broken, the children are affected too. keywords: broken homes, academic performance, junior secondary students, awka south, christian response. introduction the family is the basic unit of society and the child’s first place of socialization. family is also traditionally and legally formed by marriage, which is the legal union of man and woman to live together happily as husband and wife. umunnakwe (2015) sees family as a socially approved group made up of the husband, wife and their children. from this, one can say that every individual comes from one family or another, bond together in the sense that they do everything together including in time of peace, war or problem and also protect one another. religion and law are bedrocks of marriage as an institution that introduces family, enables spouse to build a home, and raise up their children together. in any situation where marriage as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 76 an institution could not be upheld and its legal and divine laws tampered, the consequences therefore could be referred to in this work as broken home. in keeping the home intact. ekwukoma (2011) sees the family as legally bound through marriages, adoptions and guardianships, including the rights, duties and obligations of those legal contracts.the family portrays the spiritual, moral and psychological development of every child. if there is harmony, peace and joy within the family, it translates into a happy and healthy home for the children. ekanam (2004) notes that the home influences the child at a time when his or her mind is most receptive, and this impression may last throughout the child’s life. every family member and things in the home environment are seen as most significant in the life of the child and are capable of either promoting or diminishing the child’s self-worth and academic behaviour when at school. okoro (2000) observes that a child’s education is a gradual process of acquiring skills which starts in the family when the mind is still tender. when family is uttered, what comes to the mind immediately is the home. a home is one’s dwelling place especially with their family members. from birth, children spend more of their times at home where they are nurtured into adults, observing the parents and living their lives in accordance with their observations, negatively or positively. when the cordial relationship of the spouses is strained, the outcome may be bearing grudges, hatred, quarrelling, fighting, or even refusal to comply in the mutual or conjugal obligations. if these are not tackled soon, they may eventually lead to separation, divorce, or single parenting. homes are broken when members of the family are not living together either as a result of death of any of the spouse, separation, divorce or the like. wiseman (2010) notes that broken homes may affect the development of the child in all aspects of his or her life. that is to say, children from broken homes are most emotionally, socially, religiously, morally and psychologically imbalance. according to ayodele (2007), the environment where a child finds himself or herself goes a long way in determining his learning ability and ultimately his academic performance in school. children from broken home are found to be not very bright in their learning skills, and these affect the children’s academic performance in school. such children also seem to find it difficult to learn morals from their parents. brief history of awka south local government area awka south local government area counts as one of the twenty-one (21) existing local government area in anambra state. awka south local government area comprises of nine (9) towns. these towns include: okpuno, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 77 awka, amawbia, nise, nibo, mbaukwu, umuawulu, isiagu and ezinato. awka south local government area is bounded on the north by awka north local government area, on the east by oji river local government area of enugu state, on the south by aniocha local government area and on the west by njikoka local government area. it was noted that in the past, the people of awka south local government area were well known for their blacksmithing. but nowadays, the people of awka south local government area are respected and known among the igbo people of nigeria for their technical and business skills. awka south is a mixed society which does not only comprises of the indigenes but also accommodates people from various towns, cities and states. causes of broken homes in awka south local government area so many reasons have been advanced for broken homes, but the summary is that it could be due to internal and external forces. the husband and the wife constitute the internal forces while the other factors constitute the external forces. i. adultery – unfaithfulness in marriage is now a universal cause of broken homes. adultery calls for lack of trust among spouse. adultery is an act which affects the whole personality. that is why when it is seen in marriage, there is tension, which could lead to disagreements and even separation. adultery is a dirty game, as long as you are legally married, it is not right and it does not promote intimacy. unfortunately, in our societies today, so many marriages are breaking up as a result of adultery. it should not be so because marriage is for life, once a couple is married, they must remain committed to the covenant and observe all the guiding rules of marriage. none is permitted to break the hedge or do anything against the success of the union not even adultery that tears the home apart. ii. strife: this is defined as a state of conflict, striving to have your own way irrespective of your spouse opinion or feelings. strife is rooted in lack of understanding. most couples misunderstand each other’s motives and instead of settling down to sort out the issues involved or already existing, they allow self to come in. thereby planning on how to revenge on each other’s mistake, think on how to insult each other or even respond back roughly to each other. strife is a destroyer of homes. iii. differences in background – differences in religion, age, and race are seen as having a causative relation to the problem of broken home. margaret (1998) opines that even though both man and woman come from good igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 78 homes, if these homes are widely and radically different in standards and in cultural backgrounds, strains may develop in later life between the couple. in terms of age, the gap between the age of the husband and the wife might pose a threat or problem to the wife or vice versa. even in the religion of the spouses. in a case where after marriage, the husband might seem to return or engage in traditional worshiping whereas the wife is a christian worshipper. this might turn out to be a serious problem to the couples. this also can tear the home apart. another is when the husband and the wife are of different nationality or even from the same nation but come from different ethnic groups. language barrier may set in thereby causing misunderstanding in one way or the other by the couple. iv. the in-law factor or the interference of relatives: the harmful interference of relatives may break a stable, happy home. for example, a couple may be too inclined to the act of quarrels just because of parents, friends, in-laws, and relatives who at all times are ready to accept or welcome their son/daughter back whenever the couple choose to stay apart or differently. these external interferences can be from those living within the couples’ home and as well those outside the home. v. sexual incompatibility: sexual incompatibility in marriage contributes to the destruction of many homes today. if the sex life of the couple does not match or is not compatible, the home is set to be broken. there is no substitute for sex in marriage. that is why most people believe that once a marriage breaks down in the bedroom, the couple may eventually pack it up if nothing is done to restore their sex life. some wives shy away from sex because they feel ashamed of demanding from their husbands, some shy away because according to them, it is boring, their spouses don’t make it interesting. so any time there is a demand for sex they come up with all manner of excuses –like i am tired, i am not in the mood, i am feeling headache, let’s leave it till tomorrow, do not disturb me and so on. all these can lead to separation in marriage, divorce or broken homes. vi. financial issues and poverty: if poverty is to be measured to the part of the husband, it will be identified or seen that poverty is the major factor that is responsible for broken homes. today, many graduates are roaming around the nation without jobs to better their lives in the society. the economic system in the nation is too poor that even those with jobs (workers) have been deprived of their jobs as they now queue with the unemployed. this had made so many homes to survive from hand to mouth as a result of poverty or financial problem. majority cannot afford a good three square meals daily, let alone meeting up other financial needs in the home. therefore, this posits a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 79 great problem in some marriages as some husbands and wives break up in their marriages due to hardship in the family. for instance, in a family that the husband is jobless and the wife has something doing, yet not being able to meet up with all the family needs. life will not be easy for the man that stays home every day doing nothing. likewise, the wife that spends and provides for the family without support by her husband. if care is not taken, this kind of life may make the wife to separate, leave or break up with the husband. then the home is said to be broken at this very stage. the home can also be broken as a result of poverty when both husband and wife are working but are not earning much, thereby the husband cannot satisfy his wife all the needs in the family. the wife might feel not protected or provided for. so she decides to quit the marriage to search and begin a better life elsewhere. vii. sickness and infertility: ill health or sickness among couples affect them differently depending on who is sick at that particular time. in the case of the man being sick, the sickness reduces his vitality, causes irregular work (sexual functions) and keeps him unhappy. to the woman’s side, she might care less in keeping the house intact (clean), not being attractive to the man (husband), and also disclamation to sexual intercourse (feeling reluctant in sexual intercourse). continuous sickness in the husband or wife will continually consume enough amount of money in the family and no doubt causes frustration which may lead to a broken home. infertility is one of the major issue that leads or brings about broken home in the family. infertility in the home is inability to have children or failure to have children. this is one of the problems that shatters home or marriage, this is because having children is first of all the main purpose of marriage so as to have and build a happy marriage thereby extending life or generation. therefore, in a situation where husband and wife live together and sharing everything together for years and still no child to prove their marriage positive, there is no doubt that problems will arise. infertility will cause the spouse to start suspecting each other of their misfortune or unlucky life. suspecting each other may cause misunderstanding among the couple which may lead to problem in marriage or the breaking of homes. viii. suspicion: suspicious life in marriage is very wrong and brings about husband and wife quarrelling at all times. some couple keeps suspecting each other’s movement because of lack of trust between them. suspicious life should be destroyed and put aside in every home for proper growth and lasting of the home. the only simplest way to destroy suspicion in marriage is to believe and accept all things with love in each other’s life. for any wall of break down totally means or shows that, there has been a crack somewhere. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 80 therefore, if there is suspicion among couples, it means that, there must be a crack in that marriage if not destroyed in time. it is through the problem that will set in the family that the home can be threatened to be broken at any point in time. therefore, suspicion should be dealt with seriously, to avoid the consequences that follows in a home. ix. wrong choice of spouse: this can also be called wrong basis of marriage. here, a man or woman makes wrong choice of partner due to one reason or the other. it can be that the woman was impregnated and had no other choice than to remain with the wrong choice of man by which they considered themselves good in friendship but not the right choice to be with in marriage. sometimes, the fault of being in the wrong marriage comes from either parents, who forces their child or children to get married to whom they do not develop love for. when such children find themselves in the wrong hand, they naturally do not show love, peace and understanding in the marriage rather they exhibit hatred, quarrels and fights, always looking for a means to get away from the marriage. by these acts, the marriage cannot make progress and cannot stand, but breaks down. wrong choice of partner or spouse can also be caused by early marriage (under aged), or in contrary the over aged (late marriage). in the aspect of the early marriage, some people especially girls who are not up to the age of marriage, under the age of eighteen (18) do rush into marriage thinking that marriage is full of milk and honey only. not being knowledgeable of what marriage is, for marriage is an institution which you get admission into and never graduates from it. you can only quit in marriage at death, but in the case of separation or divorce, you can remarry. therefore, when problems arise in the family, the person who is under aged might not be able to handle all cases in the family and she might not find the marriage easy any more, thereby looking for a way out. or the girl in question might notice in the marriage as the year goes by that the man she is married to is not the right person for her. but in the case of late marriage, the woman in question gets married to any man that comes around due to her overdue age for marriage. along the line in marriage, she might not be comfortable with the man, maybe she is educated and the man is not, or that she is earning a reasonable income and the man’s not. she might find the man not being presentable at any point in time. these can cause the marriage to begin to collapse and may eventually end in broken home. x. religious conversion: some broken marriages or homes were as a result of religious conversion or change in religion. in this situation, the man or woman abandons or leaves the family religious root to join another. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 81 effect of broken homes on academic performance of the children in awka south local government area broken home adds to the stress that children undergo both in the home and in school (academics). broken home makes children unsafe. for instance, children who always watch their parents fight severally, watch their father strike their mother (his wife) feels unsafe, unprotected, insecure and helpless because they fear that something bad might happen to them at any point in time. since their mother is being strike so hard, theirs will not be an exception. therefore, these children have developed the spirit of fear in them, that scene of striking at all times has been in them that they don’t feel free both in home and in school. thereby not having relaxed mind to learn and perform better academically. also children from broken homes in awka south local government area in the course of not performing better in academics are not likely to be in school and in class thereby missing some lessons which had been taught before their arrival in school. this is because the parents or guardians’ cares less about the good of the child in school. at the same time these children are also less likely to have a help in their homework (assignment) given to them by their tutor to keep their brain busy at home. adding to the effect of broken homes on the academic performances of children in awka south, it is noticed that children are born with some psychological, emotional and intellectual needs like need for live, need for security, need for or to obtain new experiences, need for praise and recognition and need for responsibility. therefore, when these needs are not met or offered to the children, they are likely to be seriously lagging behind in their performances. so many broken homes in awka south are not and cannot provide or meet up with these needs for their children. this is because the family or home might in one way or another be effected with some factors like the socio economic status of the family to meet up with their responsibilities towards the children like buying of learning materials and paying of the children’s tuition fees. some broken homes are also affected by the parent’s attitude towards the children as the children observe their parents’ attitudes to be good. a child that watch his/her parents quarrel always could be a quarrelsome child both in school and in the society. also, the absence or presence of parents in broken homes affects the social and intellectual learning experiences of children in school. this is because when parents are separated in a home, it might be that the present parent is not knowledgeable enough to handle the children in their academic life that will boost their positive performance. on the other hand, the absence of one parent igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 82 in the home affects the children’s academic performance because, the absent parent may be the one that gingers the children to study always whom the children respect and fear more when he/she is around. another effect of broken home on the academics of children in awka south is that it makes children to feel different in the eyes of their peer group, friends and fellow students. when investigation is made among students, children that are involved in broken homes, feel embarrassed and ashamed of the ill situation. therefore, by feeling different among their colleagues, they therefore do not like to associate much in the group discussion and reading that helps so many students to understand their courses better thereby performing well during examinations because they hardly forget what they discussed among them. for instance, a child who hardly have enough time to study at home to be brighter in his/her academics may participate in the group discussion or reading among students and performed excellently in his/her academics at the end of the session, meaning that the child in question would not have done well if not for his/her participation in the group reading and discussion. therefore, it can be said that the failure of parents in awka south l.g.a. to modify, rectify and improve their homes to be better affects the academic performances of their children. that is to say, a child in awka south that is from a broken home have challenges in his/her academic performances. the problem of such child can be traced to be psychological, economic, social and emotional instability because children differ accordingly as a result of differences in home background which makes them to perform positively or negatively in academics. these differences in children solely depend on parents’ attitude to the children, parents’ child training techniques, and the socio-economic status of the parents. so, these parents’ status contributes to the performance of children in academics either positively or negatively. christianity and the stability of marriage again chiegboka (2015) quoting the fathers of second vatican council says that marriage is: an institution confirmed by divine law and receiving its stability even in the eyes of security, from the human act by which the partners mutually surrender themselves to each other, for the good of the partners, of the children and of society, this sacred bond no longer depends on human decision alone. for god himself is the author of marriage and has endowed it with various benefits and with various igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 83 ends in view: all of those have a very important bearing on the continuation of the human race, on the personal development and eternal destiny of every member of the family on the dignity, stability, peace and prosperity of the family and of the whole human race. (p.65). it is good to note that the stability of every marriage in the society should be based and channelled towards god. this is so, because marriage is so close to god’s heart as marriage is the first and the oldest institution in the world which attracts god’s attention from the beginning. god is committed to marriage as an institution and the human person must also be committed to god for him to make the marriage to work. in this light abioye (2015) notes marriage as the coming together of a man and woman for harmonious living, a covenant agreement between a man and a woman (couple) and god. by the covenant agreement, it is believed that god established marriage for his concept not man’s concept. this is seen in genesis 2:18 which reads “and the lord said, it is not good that the man should be alone; i will make him a help meet for him”. therefore, marriage is never a set trap as some people see it today, truly marriage is a covenant, an institution established by god for the betterment of mankind (the human person). marriage as an institution can be equalled to a learning environment where you begin to adjust yourself within the new environment to improve better in that learning institution for a better result after each examination at any point in time. therefore, every couple undergo one examination or another at any point in time. so husband and wives are to be ready, praying without season in other to overcome any marital challenges that might come across them any day, any time. this is because marriage is a life time affair for there is no date or year of graduation in marriage. once a man and woman is welcomed into marriage, there is no going back, they must be committed to each other and never to break the hedge or should the couple welcome anything or anyone that will work against the success of the union. in this institution the involvement of the body, soul, and spirit of the couple is highly required to make the marriage and their life great and complete. toward cushioning the effects of broken homes in school children the effect of broken home on the school children as observed by the researcher is worthy to note that it poses a serious threat to the academic performance of the children and also the future of these children. then the question is what are the things that can be done to address the challenges faced by these children from broken home? there are different ways in which igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 84 these children from broken homes can be taken care of. they are as follows: christians as a religious body or organization should take cognizance of families within the organization that have broken up. for example, churches can create a welfare department within the church that should be taking care of the poor, the needy, children from broken homes, the sick and so on. the church can provide them with money, food, shelter, clothes and so on. these children’s parents can now use the money given to them by the church to attend to the needs of the children in school and at home. the church can also embark on evangelism and charity works. by evangelism, the church is now reaching out for souls not only in the church but in the society too. converting someone to your faith needs some charity works, therefore, almsgiving to these people in the society is needed to attract them to the church. this is to be done continuously because religion was built on the foundation of good works. the church can also take care of these children from broken homes through the mission schools owned by the church. in these mission schools, these children should be given free education or a reasonable discount in paying of school fees. these children from broken homes can also be provided with learning materials, if not given to them personally, then the mission school libraries should be well equipped with books. by so doing, the school children can have access to the learning materials to read thoroughly and prepare for any given exams. so then will the children perform better in school as many of them lack materials on their own. the priests in the church can also take home some of these children from broken homes to their vicarages, thereby assisting the parents in training and caring for them. the care given to these children have to cover spiritual, educational, financial, emotional and physical needs. by all these, the church is carrying out its task properly. it is not only the duty of the church to take care of the children from broken homes, the government at large is not an exception. therefore, the government should reinforce, create and pay attention to welfare scheme in the society. by so doing the children from broken home will have a place to access help in any of their needs. the government should make this welfare scheme open and known by building an office that is accessible. the government should announce and circulate the phone number to be reached in case of any report by these children. the welfare office should be one that the children from broken homes can go to the office to complain the issues bordering them. for instance, a child can go to the welfare office to report that his or her home is very much unconducive for him/her. may be the child is no more comfortable with the parents, or issues happening in his/her home. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 85 but prefers to stay in the welfare house. then, the child can be accepted after consulting the single parents and also be cared for. again, the government should create a department in the school that take notices of these children to take care of their needs. just as the governor of anambra state, dr. willie maduaburochukwu obiano stated earlier on, by feeding the primary pupils twice a week. food were cooked and served in government primary schools. so should the government do the needful for the children from broken homes in particular. this government agency to be created in different schools should at least visit the school twice or once in a month to know the welfare of these children. the government should also come to the aid of the children who are involved in broken homes by taking them away from their single parents and put them in the custody of the government. the government will thereby build a structure in the school (a hostel) that the students or children will stay. when the children are sent to boarding schools, then, the government can now make provisions for them as the children are secured in a known place. provisions like food, school uniforms, learning materials and dictionaries can be given to them in boarding house. by building the structure in schools for the children, the government has given the school children a shelter that they are longing for. then, the children will relax to read and learn for the benefit of their future and life. it will also be of great benefit if special attention should be given to these children from broken homes in the school. the teachers in the school can help to amend their rate of failing by calling them together at the teacher’s convenient time to give them a make-up examination because some of them do miss the summative exams given to students may be when they were absent in the school because of school fees. in some cases, these children from broken home might be in school during the summative exam but do not participate because they lack materials for writing that particular subject. at the end, their scores are not recorded and that marks their failing point. therefore, special attention should be given to these children from broken home in school by their teachers before the end of the session. so, if those efforts can be put into consideration, the challenges that the children from broken homes are facing will be highly minimized. conclusion by being human beings we all have limitations and shortcomings. family filled with mutual love and care is the ideal for all humans. but because of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 86 human incapacity, we cannot succeed it. therefore, problems and conflicts arise which cause broken homes. however, it is to be noted that when there is problem and impact, there is also the solving idea. broken family can also be solved and at the same time broken homes can be prevented. this is because the children are the ones who suffer most in any broken home. when a couple split up, it is the children that are greatly affected, scaring them physically, emotionally and socially. children’s future and growth lies in a healthy family where they could receive love, care and support from their parents. the members of the family constitute the child’s first environment and are the most significant people during the early years of life. the kind of family in which children grow up affect their development by determining the kind of relationship they share with different family members. these are essential for personal and social adjustment. anything that interferes with those feeling of security and stability by the children is hazardous for them. however, the children from broken family/home are normally growing up with having low and bad manner. also slowed academic development is another way that broken home affects the children. the emotional stress of broken home can be enough to stunt a child’s academic progress. all these show that broken home is one of the major problem of the society just as in awka south local government area that should be given enough attention, for more broken families produce more negative effects in the society. references ayodele, s.o. (2007). educational opportunities for nigerian learner: how do we fare thus far? journal of educational management 38, 51-71. chiegboka, a.b.c. (2015). christian community renewal through catechetical retreat awka: fab education books. ekanam, t.f. (2004). the school as substitute home in q.i. obinauju (ed). the theory and practice in early childhood education. calabar: bon. ekwukoma, v. (2011). christian religious knowledge. ibadan: spectrum. okoro, g.j. (2000). the nigerian child and the crises in his education. lagos: coutour holdings. umunnakwe, t. n.j. (2015). religion and national values. owerri: alphabet. wiseman, s. (2011). education and environment. manchester: manchester university. article 18 igwebuike 6. no5.cdr igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.6 no.7, 2020 www.igwebuikejournals.com a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 23 triple helix model: an integrated innovative strategic tool for achieving sustainable peace-building through business education programme for sustainable development moghalu, f. a; okanazu, o. o. & nwandu l. o. department of business education university of nigeria, nsukka favour.moghalu@unn.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract conflict, if not properly handled at the formation stage, has the capacity of escalating to the complex level. the uncontrollable stage with its ripple effect can result to negative cultural, environmental, social, economic and political impact ripping off the society sustainable peace-building that would pave way for overall sustainable development. since it is now obvious that the government alone cannot proffer fruitful solution to conflict, hence, the introduction of a stronger synergy that is more result oriented even better than the usual linear method of public private partnership (ppp) becomes imperative. this study therefore explores the efficacy of an innovative tool; triple helix model that can harness all the relevant stakeholders in detecting, preventing, avoiding and managing conflict that would hamper business education programme' effectiveness whose products (graduates) are expected to maximally contribute their competencies and proficiencies for sustainable development in nigeria and beyond. it was therefore recommended among others that; all the parties to the triple-helix model should be actively involved and to also extend the model by applying the more comprehensive quadruplex and quintuplet models for optimum result in business education programme for peace-building. keywords: conflict, peace-building, business education, strategies, triple-helix model, sustainable development. introduction recently, there has been an upsurge of diverse conflicts globally. these conflicts are witnessed in the form of ethnic, religious, political, individual, family and organizational crises among others. most times, these conflicts could emanate from the fact that personal interests tend to override collective interest in all facets of endeavours. the escalation of these issues is tantamount to sustainable peacebuilding that would pave way for a sustainable development which we all yearn for. according to okebukola (2016), to promote sustainable development, there must be peace, not ordinary peace as defined by 'the absence of “war', but as an atmosphere of tolerance, harmonious co-existence and mutual development, where people are genuinely dedicated to co-habiting and working together with understanding, not oblivion of their differences – the concept of peace clearly identified in the swahili word: ubuntu. the ubuntu concept clearly specifies that in the absence of war, some social conditions should also be absent, such as: poverty, exclusion, intimidation, oppression of the poor and the vulnerable, police brutality, intimidation of ordinary people by those in power, oppression of women, favouritism in employment opportunities, monopolization of resources and power by some sections of the society among others. therefore, peace, apart from being crucial to human security, is also an essential condition for all development without which the social, economic and environmental triple bottom line of the global sustainable development goals will be hampered and unrealistic. one cannot talk about peace-building without first grasping the meaning of the concept that necessitates it, which is conflict. faleti (2016) revealed that conflict is a fluid and infinitely elastic concept which can be twisted into different shape and has become an issue over which scholars have not uniformly given a position. but david (2016) defined conflict as the pursuit of incompatible interests and goals by different groups. conflict comes in different forms. catholic relief services (2018) broadly categorized conflict into intra and inter conflicts. an intra-conflict consists of intra-personal conflict and intragroup conflict while inter-conflict is made up of inter-personal and inter-group conflicts. this categorization presupposes that conflict can generate from within an individual possibly due to some unmet needs, unachieved set goals, failed expectations among others. the effects of the unattainable goals could elude him peace of mind which can degenerate into transferred aggressions to his fellow individuals, down to group members and beyond. on this note, it is imperative to understand the various stages of conflicts for easy management. stages of conflict stage 1: gathering materials for the fire—at this stage there is no fire yet. it is equivalent to potential for conflict. stage 2: igniting the fire—at this stage the fire has been lit. it is equivalent to a trigger event that sets off confrontation. stage 3: bonfire—at this stage the fire is burning with a lot of energy, consuming the woods that are fuelling it. this stage is equivalent to a conflict crisis. stage 4: coals—at this stage the fire is reducing, having burned out most of the woods, leaving some hot coals. this is equivalent to stage where conflict either continues to deescalate or, if there is another trigger and more fuel is added, then there is potential for further conflict. stage 5: fire out—at this stage, the fire is completely out and there are no flickers of fire in the coals. this is equivalent to a stage where focus is no longer placed on the fire, but on reconstruction and regeneration. it is important to understand in which stage the conflict you are addressing is because each stage presents opportunities for certain sets of peacebuilding interventions (neufeldt, fast, schreiter, starken, maclaren, cilliers, & lederach, 2002). in order to effectively prevent any form of conflict from being violent and destructive, there is need to make deliberate effort towards analyzing it so as to achieve a sustainable peacebuiding. conflict analysis is therefore a structured inquiry into the causes and potential trajectory of a conflict that seeks to identify opportunities for managing or resolving disputes (catholic relief services, 2017). 24 triple helix model: an integrated innovative strategic tool for achieving sustainable peace-building key elements of conflict analysis when conducting a conflict analysis, africa peace forum, (2004) stressed that it is important to examine the profile, causes, actors and dynamics. these are the basic elements, broadly agreed in the conflict analysis field. profile: a brief characterisation of the context (political, economic, socio-cultural context including existing and emerging issues, affected areas and history). causes: structural and proximate / immediate causes as well as trigger events. actors: all those engaged in or being affected by the conflict (groups, institutions, individuals), including their interests, goals, capacities and relationships. dynamics: the resulting interactions between the conflict profile, the actors and causes including projected future scenarios. for crs, these key elements are represented by the profile, problem (causes), people (actors) and process (dynamics)—commonly known as the 4ps analytical framework. however, crs(2018) advocated for a participatory process—where data / information is gathered from carefully selected groups, including those directly involved and affected by the conflict. the general ambition of peace-building is “to identify and support structures that will tend to strengthen and solidify peace in order to avoid a relapse into conflict.” it connotes activities that go beyond crisis intervention, such as longer-term development, and building of governance structures and institutions (unitednaions for peace peacebuilding includes a wide range of efforts by diverse actors in government and civil society at the community, national, and international levels to address the immediate impacts and root causes of conflict before, during, and after violent conflict occurs.” (lisa, 2013). peacebuilding is both a process and a goal, and it is a means and an end. it seeks not just the end of direct violence, but also the building of a just and sustainable peace—the positive peace that most of the drawing depict (catholic relief service, 2018). hence, peace-building that promote collaboration, compromise and ownership of the process are preferred. these could include informal discussions, dialogue, negotiation and mediation. in achieving peace-building, conflict could be addressed using one method but oftentimes a mix of methods is employed to address a particular conflict. informal discussions happen within everyday situations. it is a form of very informal negotiations. negotiation is when the parties involved talk to each other to address a problem/conflict. it is an interactive process where there should be even power balance and parties want to reach a joint agreement. mediation is a form of facilitated negotiation process where parties invite a neutral third party, acceptable to all, to help them reach a joint agreement and is appropriate in situations of unequal power balance. arbitration is where an external third party (an arbitrator), someone with “wisdom” or expertise, is asked to solve the problem and makes a ruling on behalf of the parties. adapted with modifications from african centre for the constructive resolution of disputes (accord), (2004) empirical studies have revealed that conflicts cannot be resolved only by the government especially by its popular method of imposing negative peace, by force. but to structurally deal with conflict, there is need for collaborative efforts of many stakeholders, hence the suitability of an integrated innovative strategic model known as triple helix. innovation is ... strategy is a plan of actions designed to achieve a long term goal. it is a master plan or blue-print for the achievement of a set goal. in setting the goals, actions need to be determined and streamlined and necessary resources mobilized to for execution for effective result. kiechel (2010) perceived it as the human attempt to get to desirable ends with the available means. in the views of freedman (2015), strategy is a high level plan to achieve goals under conditions of uncertainty. it is a system of finding, formulating and developing a doctrine that will ensure long term success it followed effectively (rene, 2017). 25moghalu, f. a; okanazu, o. o. & nwandu l. o. the triple helix model of innovation refers to a triadic relationship between universityindustry-government in the knowledge society. this framework was initiated in the 1990s by etzkowitz (1993) and etzkowitz and leydesdorff (1995) with the introduction of “the triple helix, university-industry-government relations: a laboratory for knowledge-based economic development”. interactions between universities, industries and governments have given rise to new intermediary institutions, such as technology transfer offices and science parks. the triple helix also participated in the transformation of each institution (etzkowitz & leydesdorff, 1995; etzkowitz, 2008). the triple helix model sets the institutions in a pro-active stance in transfer of knowledge or putting knowledge to use, in creating new knowledge as well as initiating collaborative process. it operates according to an interactive rather than a linear model of innovation. as institutions raise their technological level, they engage students in higher levels of skill development and knowledge transfer. industries can act as venture capitalist by facilitating graduates' employability skills as well as assisting in funding research. while the government has traditional regulatory role by formulating policies and in setting the rules of the game as well as funding research (leydesdorff and etzkowitz, 1998). these interactions provide students with new ideas, skills and entrepreneurial talent of wealth creation and self reliance. and these students turnout to become owners of tomorrow's industries contributing to sustainable economic growth and job creation in nigerian society. also these interactions enhance the capacity of the business education gradates to generate technologies that turn to become springboards to the formations of new industries thereby enhancing peace-building for sustainable development. the conceptualization of the triple helix model the former contract, based on the linear model of innovation that assumed that the contributions of academic research to the economy would be solely long-term, is said to be giving place to one in which longand short-term contributions are possible. a triplehelix-based mode of interaction emerges because 'a spiral model of innovation is required to capture multiple reciprocal linkages at different stages of the capitalization of knowledge'. the bottom line is that the triple helix model can be a driving force for innovation and economic development in a knowledge society, if the academia, business education play a proactive roles in the hybridization of elements from the academia, figure 1: triple helix model 26 triple helix model: an integrated innovative strategic tool for achieving sustainable peace-building industry and government to generate new institutional and social structures for the production, transfer and application of knowledge. in this context, institutions has the mandate of conducting fundamental research that creates new knowledge to unravel fundamental principles with the focus of serving the needs of the students in terms of skill development of the society leading to sustainable economic development of the industry in terms of knowledge transfer and production output. and to shape the curricular to teach skills which produce workforce relevant to the needs of employers, and sustainable economic development in the society. business education as one of the programmes run in african higher institutions aligns to this pursuance of improved economy. business education is a broad and comprehensive discipline whose instructional program encompasses knowledge, skills, vacation and aptitude needed by all citizens in order to effectively manage their personal businesses and also function in the economic system (okoro 2013). in congruence with the above assertion, udo (2015) corroborated that business education is an encompassing activity-based educational programme that is concerned with the acquisition of practical skills, understanding, attitudes, work habit and competencies that are requisite to success in a chosen business occupation. through practical training, okolo (2014) maintained that business education graduates will be creative, innovative and business opportunity seekers that will transform opportunities and resources into useful goods and services. from the sustainable development perspective, ugwuogo (2013) revealed that business education programme supports its graduates in becoming active citizens and enables them to act responsibly and sustainably in their future work places. the author further buttressed that it enables its graduate to be more useful socially, economically, morally and politically to themselves in particular and to generally to their societies. similarly, gidado and akaeze (2014) remarked that the programme exposes its recipients to the economic system of the country and equips them with lifelong skills that would enable them to make reasonable judgement as producers, entrepreneurs, employers, employees and consumers of goods and services. all these lifelong preparation will in no small measure strengthen the efforts towards sustainable nation. sustainable development is therefore a state of having well balanced, steady and effective use of human, material and capital resources for total economic independent of a nation without compromising the future (umezulike and okoye, 2013). in the same vein, abubakar (2014) averred that sustainable development is a process of improving on the range of opportunities that will enable individuals and communities to achieve their aspirations and full potentials over a long period of time while maintaining the resilience of the economic, social and environmental system. kundan, in ugoh (2008) then posited that continued sustainability development is only feasible when concrete steps are taken to ensure that youths acquire skills that will enable them to be self-directed and thereby become the tools for achieving development and its sustainability. ajisafe, bolarinwa and edeh (2015) noted that since the primary goal of business education is to produce competent, skillful and dynamic business teachers, office administrators and business men and women that will effectively contribute to the national development; it can then be deduced that business education is an impetus for national development that will lead to a peaceful society. recognizing the place of innovativeness in achieving peace-building and a sustainable nation, ogakwu and isife (2013) expressed that sustainable development is a phenomenon associated with changes in human conditions through the use of their 27moghalu, f. a; okanazu, o. o. & nwandu l. o. innovative and creative energies. these efforts are channeled an unending improvement of the capacity of individuals and society to control and manipulate the forces of nature in order to live a better and more rewarding life. in his view, emeasoba (2017) suggested that university-industry should partner in areas such as curriculum development, improving practical training through siwes, knowledge transfer, financial support for institutions developmental projects, scholarships, career guidance initiatives among others to enhance graduate skills and ensure a smooth and effective transition between university and the business environments through collaborations. with that students especially, business education students will have opportunities to find placement in industries, update new skills, and meet market needs, increases research and training among others. this will promote employment opportunities. and when these graduates are gainfully employed or set up their own various businesses as entrepreneurs, they will experience both internal and external peace which will have a positive ripple effect for sustainable peace-building which will enhance sustainable development. conclusion when peace-building is not seen as participatory and transformative, but simply as a stopgap measure left for the government alone to actualize, there is a strong tendency of it relapsing into conflict subsequently. this is in tandem with the united nations' evidences which revealed that about quarter of all peace agreements fail in the first five years they have been signed and nearly 50% fail within ten years. but if business education progamme, which produces societal responsible graduates, who have been rigorously equipped with up-to-date knowledge, attitudes, values, skills and competences, judiciously applies the triple-helix model, it will undoubtedly produce peaceful graduates. and these economically relevant graduate will not be part of the citizens indulging in anti-developmental behaviours such as: vandalisation, stealing, cyber fraud, kidnapping among others, which endanger peaceful existence. rather, they will positively affect other individuals by engaging in economic, cultural, environmental and political ethical activities that will maximally satisfy consumers, protect their rights, while adhering to the enabling laws and regulations of the government. then will the triadic synergy form an enduring legacy that will be bequeathed to the future generations for sustainable peacebuilding that will ensure a sustainable development. recommendations since the quest for sustainable peace-building as a pathway for attaining a sustainable development has emerged as one the priority areas in recent global issues, there is need for all the business education programme parties in the triple –helix model to: · actively participate and constantly evaluate activities for early adjustments and realignment towards the individual and collective goals; · apply more proactive efforts towards the programme by extending triplehelix model to a more comprehensive model of innovation which added 'community' to form quadruplex-helix model. and also utilize quintuplexhelix model which is ecologically sensitive with the addition of the natural environment. · devise/modify other innovative strategies that will suit the dynamic nature of the african continent. 28 triple helix model: an integrated innovative strategic tool for achieving sustainable peace-building references african centre for the constructive resolution of disputes (accord), 2004. training in negotiation and mediation: seeking african solutions to african challenges through a participatory learning process-workbook. adapted with modifications. africa peace forum et al., (2004). conflict analysis, conflict-sensitive approaches to development, humanitarian assistance and peace building: a resource pack, chapter 2. accessed from: http://local. conflictsensitivity.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/conflict-sensitiveafrican centre for the constructive resolution of disputes (accord), (2004). approaches-to-development humanitarian-assistance-and-peacebuilding-resource-pack.pdf catholic relief services, (2017). peacebuilding, governance, gender, protection and youth assessments: a basic guide for busy practitioners, third edition—april 2017. accessed from: https://www.crs.org/sites/default/ files/tools-research/pggpy_third_edition_final_web.pdf etzkowitz, henry; leydesdorff, loet (1995). "the triple helix -university-industry-government relations: a laboratory for knowledge based economic development". rochester, ny. etzkowitz h, ranga m (2003) triple helix systems: an analytical framework for innovation policy and practice in the knowledge society. ind higher edu 27: 237-262 etzkowitz, henry (2008). the triple helix : university-industry-government innovation in action. new york: routledge. isbn 9780415964500. oclc 173749026. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2016). christian-muslim relations in nigeria as a religio-political locus theologicus for misericordia vultus. harvard journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 117128. lisa schirch, (2013). conflict assessment and peacebuilding planning: towards a participatory approach to human security, kumarian. neufeldt, r, fast, l., robert schreiter, fr r., starken, fr. b., maclaren, d., cilliers, j., & lederach, j.p. (2002). peacebuilding: a caritas training manual. vatican city: caritas internationalis. rossi, f. (2010). the governance of university – industry knowledge transfer. european journal of innovations management. 13(2). 155 – 171 unga (2015b) 'transforming our world: the 2030 agenda for sustainable development. 29moghalu, f. a; okanazu, o. o. & nwandu l. o. page 1 page 2 page 3 page 4 page 5 page 6 page 7 article 30 igwebuike 6. no5.cdr igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.6 no.7, 2020 www.igwebuikejournals.com a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 152 religion and security challenges: the nigerian situation (1999 2019) jonathan o. dimobika ph.d & veronica onyemuwa ph.d department of religious studies. faculty of humanities, imo state university, owerri email: venojdim@gmail.com, phone no: 08037898759 email: onyemuwav@yahoo.com, phone no: 07035024138 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract most countries of the world are presently on red alert with regards to the issue of the security of their citizenry both locally and globally. what is more disturbing is that this security challenge and emergency is emanating from a sector which should ordinarily and otherwise be regarded as a low security risk area and that sector is religion. a cursory survey of various parts of the world, nigeria inclusive, reveals a convulsive atmosphere of insecurity, violence, insurgency and terrorism, fueled by religious extremists and fundamentalists. this state of affairs have prompted most nations of the world to institute very strict immigration policies and also adopt more stringent security measures in their airports and other key sectors of their economy and infrastructure. in the midst of these ugly developments and the misuse of religion for selfish and mischievous activities, how then can religion be rescued from such negative connotations and be seen in its true light and nature, not as a security threat but as a harbinger of peace? the methodology employed in this research is historical phenomenology. findings show that although religion is seen to be playing ambivalent roles with regards to either threatening or promoting security depending on how it is applied, however other mitigating factors such as political, economic, ethnic or territorial ones can take advantage of religion or use it as a cover to perpetrate mayhem and cause security breaches. recommendations include advising governments and religious leaders and practitioners to practice the ethics of inclusiveness among others. keywords: religion, international security challenges, nigeria introduction many countries of the world are currently on red alert and standing on their toes with regards to the issue of the security of their citizenry, both locally and globally. what is more disturbing is that this security challenge and emergency is emanating from a sector which should ordinarily and otherwise be regarded as a low security-risk area, and that sector is religion. for instance, quite recently the present united states' administration of president donald trump, on assumption of office, issued what is termed an immigration/travel restriction or ban from countries that are regarded as 'high-risk' security zones stemming from the prevalence of islamic militancy and terrorist activities and operations from those countries. this is one of the instances where religion is being indicted as constituting one of the major security challenging issues in the contemporary world. some security experts have noted that ever since the 9/11/2001 islamic terror attack on the twin towers of the world trade center and other targets in the united states, religion has been regarded as constituting a major security threat to the world. thus according to hpcr international (2007 – 2008), “in the post 9/11 world, religions and religious actors are more commonly associated with extremism and conflict between religious communities than before, in particular in the popular mind.” cursory survey of various parts of the world reveals a convulsive atmosphere of insecurity, violence, insurgency and terrorism, fueled by religious extremism and fundamentalism. from the genocidal campaign of the islamic state (isis) in iraq and syria fighting to enthrone an all islamic caliphate, to the taliban islamic war in afghanistan, to the boko haram insurgency in north-eastern nigeria, the al-shabab islamic warfare in somalia and the long-running civil war in south sudan among others. all these have religious under-tones as the causative factor. furthermore, most nations of the world have instituted stricter immigration policies and also adopted more stringent security measures in their airports and other key sectors of their economy and infrastructure due to the threat of religious extremists and terrorist masterminds. thus people dressed in erstwhile sanctimonious religious gabs are now held suspect since terrorists can hide under such religious gabs or use them as undercover while carrying heavy explosives with which they perpetrate their suicide-bombing activities with heavy tolls on the unsuspecting public and security agencies. also such terrorists, hiding under the gab of religion, do employ the use of seemingly harmless and innocent children and especially girls, to perpetrate their heinous and dastardly acts in a bid to beat the security agents and take them unawares. there is no doubt that these turn of events could lead to undue harassment of true, innocent and harmless religious practitioners and also of undue security search and surveillance of children especially the girl-child. for instance, some countries like france and belgium among others recently proposed a ban on the wearing of full-face hijab by islamic women in the public as a result of such threats, thus offending true religious people desirous of putting on their religious wears. in the midst of these ugly developments and the misuse of religion for selfish and other ends, how then can religion be rescued from such negative connotations and colorations and be seen in its true light, not as a security threat but as a harbinger of peace? why have people and groups with mundane ambitions found religion as a ready tool to perpetrate their unholy and obnoxious agenda, and how can such trends be reversed and/or stopped altogether? these are the pressing issues and questions that this paper is out to investigate. the methodology employed in this research is historical phenomenology. religion, conflicts and the emergent security challenges in the world a review of world history from at least the last 2000 years, as well as scholarly opinions show that religion has been implicated in many conflicts and wars down the ages. according to one of such opinions as expressed by bakaki (2009:2), citing david little, “for many centuries religion has been involved in both inter-communal and international conflicts. it is in fact broadly accepted that religion is a cause rather than a solution to many conflicts in the world today.” supporting this view, wikipedia citing encyclopedia of 153jonathan o. dimobika ph.d & veronica onyemuwa ph.d wars (2004: 1484-1485), pointed out that out of all 1,763 known/recorded historical conflicts, 123, or 6.98%, had religion as their primary cause. furthermore, white (2011:544) gives religion as the cause of 11 of the world's 100 deadliest atrocities. reflecting on historical cases of religious conflicts, bakaki cited above noted that religion has systematically been attached to numerous genocides and dehumanization in various civilizations. he thus noted that: “one may argue that religion cannot exist without bloodshed while violence may be credited for readily and intimately being available at the heart of religion. the question why religion openly permits/supports violence and destruction actually still baffles” (bakaki 2009:3). a further review shows that the most popular religious conflicts usually referred to as th'holy wars' began with the islamic expansion missions within the 7 century and the th themergent crusades of the 11 century, as well as the restoration wars in the 16 century by the roman church. further expatiating on this, bakaki pointed out that: it is often revealed that muslims mistreated and pressed their religious beliefs upon christians in the holy land. in retaliation, the roman christians started to persecute the jews and muslims, pagans and protestants (mc bride 2002).the roman catholic church also grew zeal to (re)capture the 'sacred' territories, extend its influence and explicitly condemn the growing spirit of liberalism, religious pluralism, and take over democratic platforms. so the conflict between christians, muslims and jews continued to escalate in the thcrusades which were declared toward the close of the 11 century by the church against the muslims to recapture the holy places and restore christianity. pointing to how these events and conflicts contributed in bringing about the present security challenges, bakaki (2009:3) explained that: it is worth keeping in mind that the democratic thoughts of the catholic church were not bearable at all, because it granted discriminations against other religious faiths. while such platforms were being sought by the christian church, the muslims were fighting for space to spread their doctrines, something which inflamed brutalities and violence. such cases are still very fresh in the minds of fundamentalists, muslims, protestants and thus, acts of terrorism have been inevitable even today. moving on to the crusades, bakaki noted that: in 1095, pope urban ii started what historians have named 'crusades' against the muslims to recapture the holy places and restore christianity (snell, m. 2009). speaking at the council of clermont, he claimed that the war would have god's mercy and support as he pronounced that wars could be justified as “just wars” but also “holy wars.” christians inhumanly invaded and seized jerusalem and massacred its residents. j. denny weaver (2001) noted that; “the crusades, the multiple blessings of wars, warrior popes, support for capital punishment, corporal punishment under the guise of 'spare the rod and spoil the child,' justification of slavery, world-wide colonialism in the name of conversion to christianity, the systemic violence of women subjected to men, and more.” this infringement is still engraved among islamic fundamentalists, and this has been a driving force in the islamic invasions of christianity in many parts of the world. the late 1500's crusades and the modern religious conflicts, violence and wars are a serialization of the socalled crusades of 1095… sadly, these crusades sowed seeds for the modern 154 religion and security challenges: the nigerian situation (1999 2019) terrorist attacks in many parts of the globe. the terrorist attacks on the twin tower buildings which most scholars have branded '9/11 attacks' is a classic example of such terrorist activities. along that line also, the israel-arab wars which have been raging since 1947 have also often been seen as a war fought along religious lines although other issues like nationalism, self-defense and liberation of territory are involved. the war started after the united nations general assembly divided palestine which erstwhile had been a muslim state into two parts between the jews and the palestinians who are muslims and who did not accept the partitioning. referring to this and similar conflicts in the region, wikipedia, the online encyclopedia pointed out that in several conflicts including the israeli-palestinian conflict, the syrian civil war, and the wars in afghanistan and iraq, religious elements are overtly present but variously described as fundamentalism or religious extremism depending upon the observers sympathies. supporting this view bakaki, cited earlier, noted that: one could ascertain that the partitioning of palestine was a factor that thtriggered the israel-arab war, a sign of inhumanity. the september 11 , 2001 (9/11) terrorist attacks on washington d.c. u.s.a can actually be counted as an extension of the israel-arab conflict. in 2004, the terrorists (al-qaeda and osama bin laden) claimed and defined their reason for the attack on usa. the source indicates that terrorists accused usa for its continued support to israel. the foregoing analysis thus reveals the history of religion and conflicts leading to the present day security challenges in the form of terrorism and similar attacks as an inevitable build-up of events culminating in the contemporary undesirable out-come. although terrorism cannot be justified by any reasons or arguments whatsoever, the natural build-up to it should share much of the blame and also serve as eye-opener on the trend of events. the question however is whether religion is to be blamed for these outcomes or rather other arising and contributory factors or variables as can be deduced from the unfolded events. reflecting on the causes of religious conflicts, bakaki citing jeffrey haynes (2009:53) pointed out that “religion can increase aggressiveness and the willingness to use violence,” and further noted that most of the wars in the world have been instigated by religion. on the factors responsible for this, bakaki (2009:3) commenting on the external forces responsible, noted that “religion is inseparably attached to politics, a wellrecognized agent of violence. religion is often put at the forefront in mobilizing people to enrich support of politicians to take over resourceful regions or even states.” religion and present security challenges in the world although religion has been inextricably linked with conflicts and violence down the ages leading to the present state of security challenges in the world today, the arising question is whether religion is intrinsically violent and constituting security risk and challenges. the consensus opinion gathered does not portray religion in that negative light, as intrinsically violent and constituting security risk and challenges as such. rather accusing fingers are being pointed to other factors and intervening variables. for instance, wolffe and moorhead (2014:33) summarizing their findings on the inter-connectedness of religion and security threats and challenges pointed out that: in general, our participants have the view that religion in itself was seldom a threat to security. rather problems arise when religion operates in tandem with other factors, especially political ones, or as rooney puts it, provides 155jonathan o. dimobika ph.d & veronica onyemuwa ph.d 'competitive branding' for divisions with political, cultural and territorial roots. at the extreme it can provide spurious legitimacy for violent actions by marginalized and/or unbalanced individuals, who may in fact have been stimulated by wider social norms that glorify violence. thus from this viewpoint, religion in itself does not often constitute a security threat, rather problems arise when other factors take advantage of religion and use it to achieve their unwholesome objectives – such factors as political, ethnic or territorial ones. supporting this view, bakaki (2009:1) argues that: “ethnicity, nationalism, colonialism, economic struggles, terrorism, political insurgencies have put religion at the front-doors of violence…” along this line, wikipedia the online encyclopedia, noted that studies on many of the cases often conclude that ethnic animosities drive much of the conflicts. according to wikipedia: some historians argue that what is termed "religious wars" is a largely "western dichotomy" and a modern invention from the past few centuries, arguing that all wars classed as "religious" have secular (economic or political) ramification. according to jeffrey burton russell, numerous cases of supposed acts of religious wars such as the thirty years war, the french wars of religion... were all primarily motivated by social, political and economic issues rather than religion. (accessed on july 9, 2020). further exonerating religion, some respondents cited by wolffe and moorhead (2014:32) even saw religion as the last resort of the oppressed common man and rather heaped the blame on some oppressive state authorities. according to them: religion is often a response to the failure of the state to deal with human security …. and that if the state experiences religion as a threat to its security, rather than human security, that often is a consequence of its failure. once the breakdown occurs, there may become negative consequences for human security more generally, if the state and religious groups fall in conflicts with one another, as we are seeing with boko haram in northern nigeria. but boko haram arises in a situation in which the nigerian state has spectacularly failed to provide for the human security of the nigeria population. thus it is obvious that various factors are responsible for the arising security challenges and problems other than heaping the whole blame on religion which is often made the scape-goat. so in tackling the arising problems, the various contributory factors ought to be taken into consideration. wolffe and moorhead (2014:34) pointed to such other contributory factors posing security threat when they noted that: the other elements that are thought to contribute to radicalization include disenfranchisement and exclusion, economic marginalization and poverty, and threats to identity, including secularization. all these are rooted in a failure of government sufficiently 'to encourage an ethic of inclusivity.' thus instead of blaming or scape-goating religion as a threat to security, the governments have to play their own roles sufficiently well to discourage the radicalization of disgruntled groups who are aggrieved by various deprivations. governments are also advised to always endeavour to encourage an ethic of inclusivity so as to sufficiently give every segment of the society a sense of belonging and to carry everyone along in the scheme of things. 156 religion and security challenges: the nigerian situation (1999 2019) however, on a more consensus viewpoint regarding whether religion is a threat to security or not, wolffe and moorhead (2014:2) came to the conclusion that: religion plays an ambivalent role when it comes to threatening or promoting security. that is, in certain situations it can be a threat, in other situations it promotes security. as a consequence, it is crucial that practitioners (policymakers, academics and journalists) get a deep understanding of a particular context before they evaluate or seek to predict the role of religion in security issues. assessing the view that religion plays an ambivalent role in either threatening or promoting security, it therefore means that religion can serve either way, depending on how it is handled. this then calls for a more careful handling of religious matters, since a mishandling will yield unpleasant consequences. along this line wolffe and moorhead (2014:34) noted that “religion is often used to conceal other non-religious motives and to justify aggression and violence.” they thus further gathered from their respondents that: killing in the name of religion is morally more comfortable. so, if you want to kill someone because you want to have his house, well it is not a very nice thing. but if you want to kill him because he is an infidel and he is god's enemy, and god wants you to kill him, then it's a morally laudable thing and you can have his house as well. thus people use religion to achieve their unreligious, sinister and misguided goals and in the end, religion is blamed. wolffe and moorhead therefore observed that “used in this way, religion is an effective tool because it 'hardens conflicts' by providing 'emotional ammunition.'” and this is exactly how and why terrorists and insurgents employ religion to perpetrate their heinous agenda as evident in various parts of the world today and consequently giving religion a bad name. religion and security challenges in nigeria the present situation in the nigerian nation could be cited as a classical example where religion have played a major pervasive role in bringing about a very critical and worsening security situation in the world. previously in nigeria, it had been cases of minor and sometimes major misunderstandings and skirmishes between the adherents of the two major/prevalent religions in the land – islam and christianity. however, since the emergence of the dreaded boko haram islamic terror group from the year 2002, with their avowed aims of dismantling western education, the civil service and the christian religion from across the northern states of nigeria, as well as to purify islam and spread it by force, since then the security situation in nigeria, especially in the north-eastern section of the country have continued to deteriorate to alarming proportions. coupled with that is the emergence of the blood-letting and killer fulani herdsmen that are ravaging almost every section of the country, armed with automatic ak47 and other deadly weapons; with similar aims as the boko haram terror group. currently in nigeria, the headlines from the daily newspapers read as follows: “herdsmen kill 25 farmers, students in bornu, plateau. victims for mass burial friday. four die in bornu attack.” (new telegraph, wednesday, march 7, 2018). “herdsmen kill four in southern kaduna; kill two policemen in benue. opc moves against herders in ondo.” (daily independent, monday, february 12, 2018). 157jonathan o. dimobika ph.d & veronica onyemuwa ph.d “five feared dead, worship centers, houses torched in kaduna. army admits withdrawing troops before girls' abduction… says it handed over to police in dapchi. army didn't hand over to us – yobe police commissioner.” (the punch, tuesday, february 27, 2018). “murder in the cathedral – anguish as herdsmen kill 2 priests, 17 others in benue. bring back our girls now and alive – the primary responsibility of government is the protection of lives and properties.” (daily sun, wednesday, april 25, 2018). breaking: scores killed as herdsmen strike in itakpa, near otukpo in benue on sunday, may 30, 2020 (from operanewsonline, monday, june 1, 2020). these are only but few tips of the horrendous and blood-letting escapades of these murderous hordes which almost on a daily basis harass, kill and maim helpless, innocent and law-abiding citizens, rendering many homeless and driving numerous others into idp camps. even in the present-day lock-down period occasioned by the covid-19 pandemic ravaging both nigeria and the entire world, these murderous hordes are still bent on terrorizing helpless and unarmed citizens, like the incidents presently happening in the kajuru area of kaduna state which has been described as a genocide being committed by the herdsmen against the indigenes of the area. thus presently, no day passes in nigeria without such gory tales of woes and shedding of innocent blood of helpless nigerians by these blood-thirsty islamists who are bent on what is termed ethnic cleansing and dispossessing other nigerians of their lawful property with the aim of islamizing the whole land. their ultimate aim is to take the country to the primitive and dark ages since they are fighting against both western and christian education and consequently against everything modern and contemporary. the daily and unrestrained onslaught of both the boko haram terror group and the killer fulani herdsmen on the helpless nigerians is seen as stemming from the failure and inability of the government to secure the citizenry from such horrendous onslaughts. some are even of the opinion that the government seem to be conniving with the islamists and the terror groups to terrorize the citizenry so as to actualize their hidden agenda. thus, according to the guardian newspaper of thursday, february 8, 2018 titled “herdsmen's killing: can passes vote of no confidence in buhari,” the report noted that: the kaduna chapter of the christian association of nigeria (can) has passed a no confidence vote on president muhammadu buhari, saying his administration had failed to decisively tackle the herdsmen pogrom currently threatening the corporate existence of the nation. the body also opposed the establishment of cattle colonies across the federation, pointing out that the move was tantamount to creating the colonies for the “foreigners to continue to wage unrelenting war against innocent nigerians.” speaking while receiving the leadership of the state council of the nigeria union of journalists (nuj), ibrahim said government had failed in delivering governance. his words: “the federal government has consistently told us that these fulani herdsmen attackers are foreigners. they said that the attackers are members of the islamic state of west africa (iswa), who are on a jihad mission. if that is true, it then means that the government of nigeria has failed us. but we are saying that enough of this blood-shed in our land.” 158 religion and security challenges: the nigerian situation (1999 2019) pathetically, the situation in nigeria is quite complicated as the citizenry does not actually know who the real enemies are. for instance, are the killer fulani herdsmen actually nigerians or are they of the islamic state of west africa on a jihad mission here as the government are claiming? if they belong to the islamic mission, why is the government reluctant to declare an all-out war against them and why are they allowed into the country in the first place and marauding freely everywhere and causing mayhem on the citizenry? these are very nagging questions seeking for answers. the guardian newspaper cited above also reported a statement credited to a serving state governor, nyesom wike of rivers state nigeria, who was said to have slammed the federal government of nigeria, accusing them of failure in providing security to lives and property of nigerians. he made the statement on february 7, 2018 when he went to makurdi to commiserate with the people and government of benue on the massacre of over 70 of its citizens by the fulani herdsmen. the vanguard newspaper of wednesday, february 7, 2018 also reported on the damages caused by fulani herdsmen in imo state to include invasion of farmlands, raping of women and mayhem visited on host communities. these ugly incidences have been occurring in various imo communities from the year 2013 to the present day. massive displacement of people the security situation in the middle belt and the north central states of the country have continued to deteriorate resulting to huge humanitarian crises and massive displacement of people from their homes and turning them into refugees and internally displaced persons (idps). a report from the daily sun newspaper of wednesday, april 25, 2018 noted that “there were over 170,000 internally displaced persons in eight camps in benue before the naka invasion, stressing that the current invasion of mbalom would further swell the humanitarian crises in the state.” also a daily independent newspaper report of monday, february 12, 2018 described similar situations in taraba state, noting that “several communities (were) deserted over herdsmen attack in taraba.” according to the report: following yet another night raid by suspected fulani herdsmen several hamlets and farmsteads in gassol local government area have been deserted. suspected herders few days ago raided ikyaagba village in wuro jam ward of gassol local government area of taraba state, killing four persons including a pregnant woman… as at the time of writing this report, virtually all the hamlets and farmsteads that traverse the road stretching deep into the interior from sabon gidan in gassol lga have been deserted by their occupants for fear of attacks. villagers were seen evacuating their farm produce and other belongings to take refuge in sabon gidan which is along the jalingo wukari highway. thus the humanitarian crises continues to worsen, leading to the displacement of over 700,000 persons in the affected areas and the death toll of victims continue to rise daily. abduction of large number of school girls a dangerous twist in the onslaught of the islamic terrorists in the northeastern part of nigeria is the resort to the invasion of schools, especially girls' schools and abduction of large number of female students by the terrorists. in april 2014, it was the case of the abduction of about 276 girls from the government secondary school chibok in bornu 159jonathan o. dimobika ph.d & veronica onyemuwa ph.d state. after the abduction, most of the girls were reportedly forcefully married away by the terrorists and the greater number of them who were christians, were forced to convert to islam. though since the abduction some of the girls who had suffered untold abuses and forced to become mothers have been released through government-sponsored negotiations and possible ransom payment, however a greater number of them have not returned nor regained their freedom. the terrorists even claimed that there is no hope of the girls' return since according to them, they are now 'happily' married away to even foreign countries. what a terrible occurrence and experience by the helpless girls. the latest abduction which occurred on february 19, 2018 was that of the government science and technical girls' college in dapchi, yobe state, where the boko haram terrorists invaded and abducted about 110 school girls and took them to an unknown destination after beating all the security apparatus of the nigerian government stationed all over the place. though the latest report shows that most of the girls from the dapchi school have been released except one named leah sharibu who the terrorists refused to release due to her refusal to renounce her christian faith, however the cases of abduction of school girls have been described as very distressing incidences. according to a punch newspaper report of tuesday, february 27, 2018 (p.7), the nigeria union of teachers (nut) among others, pointed out that it was distressed by the attack on the dapchi schoolgirls, and the inability of the government to immediately rescue them. the report noted that: the nut, in a statement by its secretary general… demanded “an urgent upgrade of the security architecture, deployment of security personnel in all schools in the north-east and a 24-hour military patrol. the union is distressed by the news of the terrorist attack on the government science and technical girls college, dapchi, yobe state, with the resultant missing of as many as 110 pupils of the school. we are vexed by the security operatives' inability to gather enough intelligence to avert the situation and their failure to swiftly move in to rescue the pupils. with this development, it has become evident that pupils, teachers and the academic activities in north-east nigeria remain vulnerable. thus, all the reports and complaints point to security lapses and failures on the part of the government and security agencies to adequately secure the citizenry from these attacks. the attacks also point to increasing and outright affronts by the islamists and terror groups on the adherents of christianity whose members they attack, kill, maim and abduct with the intent of either forcing them to convert to the islamic faith or have them killed as infidels if they refuse to give in. the christians who are not prone to the use of violence and bloodletting are thus increasingly pushed to the wall and the eventual outcome may lead to an all out religious or civil war which will be very disastrous and detrimental for the nation. commenting on this incident, the daily sun report of wednesday, april 25, 2018 has it that, “as herdsmen attack benue church… 2 catholic priests, 17 worshippers (were) killed.” according to the report: there was palpable tension and near breakdown of law and order in makurdi, benue state capital, yesterday, following fresh killings by suspected fulani herders. in the attack, two catholic priests and 17 parishioners of st. ignatus quasi parish, ukpor mbalon, ayar mbalon village, gwer east local government area were confirmed killed. daily sun gathered that the parishioners and the priests have gone for early morning mass at about 5.30 am when the herders invaded and mowed them down. 160 religion and security challenges: the nigerian situation (1999 2019) reactions following such mindless and callous killings which have even defied and negated the sanctity of worship places as well as casting aspersion on the immunity which should be accorded to the servants of god in their own sanctuaries have generally been outrageous with condemnation of such horrendous and barbaric acts. no wonder the spokesman of the catholic diocese of makurdi, while regretting the destructive and murderous escapades of the herdsmen, maintained that the police seemed to know nothing of the attacks which have been going on in other villages within the state since the antiopen grazing law came into effect in the state. the spokesman then traced the root of the mayhem going on presently to the jihadists mission of the perpetrators. according to him, “it has been the goal of the jihadists to conquer benue and tiv people who resisted their advance into the middle belt and the eastern part of nigeria since 1804, the people who rejected islam and fought for the unification of nigeria in the civil war of 1967-1970…” thus, each attack incident by the herdsmen and the reactions to it show obvious uncoordinated and insensitive attitude of the security agencies to the murderous acts of the herdsmen and the grave distress of the citizenry. although the security outfits especially the armed forces have been making huge claims about their efforts in addressing the security situation, however, their outlandish claims have not tallied with the situation on ground but have rather aggravated it. this is because, as the security forces and the federal government of nigeria claim to have degraded the terrorist insurgents and almost blotted them out, the insurgents on the other hand make fresh incursions and launch fresh deadly attacks on various targets to counteract the claims of the government and prove the point that they are still very much alive and active. the federal government of nigeria on their part also make statements which tend to portray them as playing politics with the whole scenario and also with peoples' lives when they blame the insecurity situation and the killings going on, on the machinations of their perceived political enemies to instigate war in the country. in one of such statements credited to the president of nigeria, mohammadu buhari himself and which was made available to newsmen by the presidential spokesman and reported by the vanguard newspaper of tuesday, may 8, 2018, the president was reported to have said that “the continuous killings in the country were planned by enemies of peace to instigate war in the country for selfish purposes.” although the government went further to outline their plans and strategies to equip the security forces to checkmate the gruesome attacks, however the general opinion is that they should match their statements with swift actions in order to restore hope and confidence on the traumatized citizenry. resolving religious security challenges going back to the initial arising question of how religion could be rescued from the negative connotations and colorations as a result of its misuse for selfish and mischievous activities and be seen in its true light and nature, not as a security threat but as a harbinger of peace, the following suggestions are proffered: in order to make any appreciable progress in the attempt to free religion from the entanglement of being complicit in constituting security challenge both in the nigerian nation in particular and the world generally, it demands that proactive steps be adopted by all concerned in the realization of that objective. first, the study of religion should be widely encouraged and promoted in the universities and other institutions of learning both locally and globally with a view to exposing and emphasizing the peaceful tenets and attributes of religion and as well disabusing it from any violent or conflict-producing tendencies. it seems presently that the 161jonathan o. dimobika ph.d & veronica onyemuwa ph.d important and preeminent place that religion occupies in the society is not being sufficiently recognized and appreciated. also the study of religion is not being given the pride of place it deserves and thus the society is paying dearly for such negligence. according to obiefuna & uzoigwe (2012: 132): institutions of learning shy away from studying religion as such. religion, nonetheless underpins and gives force to ethnicity and culture… religion is then seen as dysfunctional to development. the problem however, is that people are not educated formally and informally, on the possible contributions of religion in human development. nigeria's tertiary institutions serve as the starting point. emphasizing further on this, obiefuna & uzoigwe cited above noted that: religion is fundamental to humans' life and living, thinking pattern, attitudes and relationships. religion is therefore considered critical for any meaningful, total and sustainable development in human society. in pluralistic societies of culture, ethnicity and political affiliations, religion can institutionalize along those lines. this is because religion originates in a culture that is more often than not determined by an ethnic group that is defined by a dominant political party/body. if this plural structure of the society (including religious) is not properly managed, it becomes an instrument of conflict than stability, a situation that undermines development… the way out of dysfunctional character of religion in human society is rigorous study of religion especially in institutions of learning. the aim would be to understand religion as such; its meaning and content, the basic differences and similarities with the determination to play down the differences and emphasize the similarities. so the study of religion should be emphasized so as to reap the great benefits and dividends thereof, which would include the prevalence of peace, avoidance of conflicts and the realization of sustainable development among others. secondly, to effectively resolve religious security challenges prevalent in our society and the world today, the government(s) of the day should not overlook religion and its importance. this is to avert the obvious danger such negligence may portend to the nation. it is thus suggested that the government considers as necessary and urgent the need to create a ministry for religion/religious affairs, to supervise and oversee this very important and delicate aspect of the national life. it is no gainsaying that religion occupies an important place in the lives of not only nigerians but quite a considerable number of others throughout the world, since it a truism that man is a religious being. thus the place and role of religion should not be underestimated or underplayed in our nation and the world over. obiefuna & uzoigwe (2012:139) cited udoidem who made an inciting study of the place of religion in the political life of nigeria by carrying out a survey of religious-related crises in nigeria since independence. for him, religion and politics are related. after all, it is often said that all power belongs to god. continuing the analysis, they further pointed out that: islam sees a fusion of religion and politics. christianity, coming from a more secular west upholds a separation of the two. granted there are doctrinal foundations for religious conflicts in nigeria… the major problem is the political manipulation of religion to hang on to power. it is the struggle between islam and christianity on who owns nigeria. udoidem cites 162 religion and security challenges: the nigerian situation (1999 2019) matthew hassan kukah as asserting that “ these two religions are straddled across the nigerian polity, each no longer knocking and pleading to be admitted but seeking to take over the architectural design and construction of the nigerian polity.” he went on to examine the underpinning causative factors of religious conflicts, the magnitude of infrastructural destruction and number of deaths in various periods and administrations (civilian and military) in nigeria. for him, it is the “struggle for control that is the root cause of the conflicts and crises in the nation's political and religious life.” property worth trillions of naira and thousands of lives are lost in these conflicts and crises. it would be convulsive to imagine the added numbers lost in the recent boko haram crises, jos crises, and the post-2011 election crises. all these arising religiously motivated crises make imperative the need to create a ministry of religious affairs solely charged with the management of religious matters in the country to ensure peaceful co-existence, speedy resolution of arising conflicts and the sustenance of inter-faith dialogue. this will make for a more stable and prosperous nation. conclusion security is a fundamental need and right of every human person all over the world and governments exist in each and every country of the world to provide security of lives and property to its citizenry. where this is lacking or the government and its security apparatus fail to meet up with this their fundamental duty to the citizenry, then the legitimacy of such a government will be called into question. governments are also advised to practice the ethic of inclusivity so as to avoid the radicalization of disenfranchised, excluded and marginalized individuals and groups. on the other hand, religion which is the desire and need of each individual to commune with the supernatural ultimate reality (the creator god), while being practiced with a guarantee of freedom and right of each individual to choose his/her religious affiliation, should as well be practiced with tolerance and recognition of the other's right to practice his chosen religion unhindered and undisturbed, without force or cohesion. religious intolerance should therefore be eschewed and rejected. furthermore, people with various ill-motives and selfish ambitions should not hide under the guise of religion to perpetrate violence, evil and crime in a bid to achieve their hidden agenda because religion is antithetic to such negative tendencies. killing in the name of religion is an aberration as all 'true' religions abhor violence and the shedding of blood, especially innocent blood. god, who the religionists profess to worship is, according to the holy scriptures an advocate of peace and also eschews violence, bloodshed and lawlessness. insecurity should not emanate from the religious sector. references bakaki, a. (2009). the role of religion in leadership for conflict resolution and peacebuilding. www.bpu.ac.ik/resources. enuka, c. (2010). terrorism: theories and effects on international security. in arts & humanities quarterly, volume 5, october, no. 4, pp. 58-66. falola, t. (1998). violence in nigeria: the crisis of religious politics and secular ideologies. new york: university of rochester. fromkin, d. (2004). the strategy of terrorism. journal of foreign affairs, vol. 11, no. 53. holt, a. (2018). religion and the 100 worst atrocities in history. https://apholt.com/2018/11/08/religionand-the-100-worst-atrocities-in-history/ 163jonathan o. dimobika ph.d & veronica onyemuwa ph.d http://www.bpu.ac.ik/resources thhornby, s. (2000). oxford advanced learner's dictionary, (6 ed.). new york: oxford university press. h p c r i n t e r n a t i o n a l ( 2 0 0 7 2 0 0 8 ) . r e l i g i o u s c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o p e a c e b u i l d i n g ( .).www.peacebuildinginitiative.org huntington, s. p. (2003). the clash of civilization and the remaking of the world order. new york: simon and schuster. kanu, i. a. (2016). christian-muslim relations in nigeria as a religio-political locus theologicus for misericordia vultus. harvard journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 117128. kanu, a. i; omojola, i. o.; bazza, m. b. (2019). boko haram and forced migration: a focus on the northeast and lake chad basin. published in nnadiebube journal of education in africa. vol. 4. no. 2. pp. 1-13. kanu, ikechukwu a. & ndubisi j. o. ejikemeuwa (2018) (eds.). religion, morality and peace-building in africa: ambiguities and the imperfect human condition. lambert academic publishing: germany. kanu, i. a. & ushe m. u. (2018). the religious politics of boko haram and fulani herdsmen menace: a resurgence of islamic fundamentalism. in kanu, i. a. & ndubisi j. o. e (eds.). religion, morality and peace-building in africa: ambiguities and the imperfect human condition (pp. 109-183). lambert academic publishing: germany. kukah, m. n. (1994). religion, power and politics in northern nigeria. ibadan: spectrum. nmah, p. (2012). “religious fanaticism, a threat to national security: the case of boko haram sect.” in agu, d. c; i. odimegwu & a. asiegbu (eds.). unizik journal of arts and humanities (vol.13, pp. 106-131). awka: fab aniel nigeria limited. obiefuna, b. & a. uzoigwe (2012). “religion for sustainable development.” in unizik journal of arts and humanities (vol. 13, pp. 132-159). awka: fab aniel nigeria limited. tanko, p. b. (2007). conflict in northern nigeria: toward a resolution. koinonia journal, vol. 3 no. 3, pp. 99-128. udoidem, s. i. (1997). religion in the political life of nigeria. f. u. okafor (ed.) new strategies for curbing thnic and religious conflicts in nigeria. enugu: fourth dimension, pp. 152 – 183. white, m. (2011). the great big book of horrible things. w. w. norton & company. wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/religions_war. (assessed on july 9, 2020). wolffe, j. & g. moorhead (2014). religion, security and global uncertainties. london: www.paccsresearch.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/religion-security. daily independent (2018). herdsmen kill four in southern kaduna; kill two policemen in benue; several communities deserted over herdsmen attack in taraba. february 12. daily sun (2018). murder in cathedral: anguish as herdsmen kill 2 priests, 17 others in benue. april 25. operanewsonline (2020). scores killed as herdsmen strike in itakpa, near otukpo in benue. june 1. the guardian (2018). herdsmen killings: can passes vote of no confidence in buhari. february 8. the punch (2018). five feared dead, worship centers, houses torched in kaduna attack. february 27. vanguard (2018). damages caused by fulani herdsmen. february 7. vanguard (2018). killings: plot to instigate war in nigeria – buhari. may 8. 164 religion and security challenges: the nigerian situation (1999 2019) http://www.peacebuildinginitiative.org http://www.paccsresearch.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/religion-security page 1 page 2 page 3 page 4 page 5 page 6 page 7 page 8 page 9 page 10 page 11 page 12 page 13 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 456 the importance of african traditional medicine and healing techniques in the fight against covid – 19 pandemic utsua, t. peter phd department of philosophy and religious studies nasarawa state university keffi nigeria emil: ustupetterz@gmail.com gsm-07032196002 doi: 10.13140/ rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract covid – 19 pandemic has rekindled the need for the development of traditional healing techniques using traditional medicine in health care delivery. orthodox drugs and medical services are no longer available due to border closures. this has led to the increasing interest and the interest in herbal medicines not only because of cost of orthodox medicine, but it is simply because herbal medicine has proven to work competitively effective on this novel coronavirus when western scientific medicine failed to provide effective solution to the problem while, traditional herbal medicine is making appreciate breakthrough. this paper examined the contribution of african medical practice essentially as contextual solution to the various medical challenges. this research attempted to address the problems attached to covid – 19 disease and the stigmatization attached to indigenous medicines used in the treatment of some simple diseases ailments such as; cough, fever, headache, poison from bites, skin diseases and other infections, perhaps, because of the method of preparation used by the traditional healers. africans can use their medical talents to apply new medicinal trials for diseases like covid -19. the researcher discovered that, despite the benefits of the advancement of orthodoxy healing techniques, though yet to be found and made available for the treatment of covid -19, it is also true that globalization has endangered the vitality of the shrines and sacred places that were used for providing solution for difficult issues like this. the research supports the need to redecorate the instrumentality of improving the techniques of the traditional healing heritage among african people. the paper advocates the importance of corroboration between the orthodox and traditional medical techniques with the view of equipping ourselves against emerging contemporary global challenges. keywords: covid – 19, ethics, heritage, medicine. mailto:ustupetterz@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 457 introduction there is no doubt that covid – 19 pandemic has posed serious global threat to public health. following the conspiracy theories of population reduction concerning the spread of the virus in china and other countries, it was thought that this virus and others, such as the sars and swine flu viruses, were deliberately created and spread by some people, in order to make profit through the sale of vaccines against these diseases. others were of the opinion that the virus was part of an economic and psychological war waged by the u.s. against china with the aim of weakening it and presenting it as a backward country and a source of diseases. while the china accused us of transmitting the virus to china during the military games that took place in wuhan.1 whatever is the ulterior motive or blame game, the whole world has been plugged into a very serious health challenge and every continent and country is faced with the reality of finding solution to safeguard the citizens from the issue at hand. this challenge serves as call to stimulate and revitalize the long neglected african traditional medicine and healing heritage. traditional medicine is the total body of knowledge and the use of techniques for the preparation and use of substances that are based on the socio-cultural and religious bed-rock of african people, which are used for the diagnosis, healing, prevention, and elimination of imbalances in the physical, mental or social well being of a person. they are established on experience and handed down from generation to generation either verbally or in writing.2 african medicine is aimed at healing the whole of man; it is close to the christian concept of healing i.e. „making whole‟ in contrast to western medicine which emphasizes the restoration of health in the body. this is because health and life constitute a single scope with the need to maintain life in its vital totality especially with the rise in the current challenge of covid19 pandemic. the aim of this paper is to examine the concept of traditional medicine and establish their significance in the provision of techniques for containing, preventing and healing techniques against covid-19 and other emerging diseases. covid – 19 pandemic as public health challenge the outbreaks of viral diseases are no news. in the past number of decades, viral diseases have continued to emerge and constituted serious public health challenge. viral epidemics such as influenza in the 18th century, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (sars-cov) in 2002 to 2003, and h1n1 influenza in 2009, have been recorded. the middle east respiratory syndrome igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 458 coronavirus (mers-cov) was first identified in saudi arabia in 2012.3 this outbreak presented with cases with unexplained low respiratory tract infections, these were first detected in wuhan, the largest metropolitan area in china's hubei province and reported to the world health organization‟s country office in china, on the 31st december, 2019. these first cases were classified as "pneumonia of unknown etiology." the chinese center for disease control and prevention (cdc) and local cdcs organized an intensive outbreak investigation program. the illness was attributed to a novel virus belonging to the coronavirus (cov) family. initially, the new virus was called 2019-ncov. subsequently, the experts of the international committee on taxonomy of viruses (ictv) termed it the sars-cov-2 virus as it is very similar to the one that caused the sars outbreak (sars-covs). the covs have become the major pathogens of emerging catastrophe of respiratory disease outbreaks. they are a large family of singlestranded rna viruses that can be isolated in different animal species.4 for reasons yet to be explained, these viruses can cross species barriers and can cause in humans, illnesses ranging from common cold to more severe diseases such as mers and sars. interestingly, scientists have discovered that these later viruses have probably originated from bats then moved into other mammalian hosts. the dynamics of sars-cov-2 are currently unknown, but there is speculation that it also has an animal origin. the potential for these viruses to grow into a pandemic constitute a serious public health risk. at the moment, world governments are at work to establish countermeasures to curtail possible devastating effects. while, health organizations coordinate information flows and issue directives and guidelines to mitigate the impact of the threat. at the same time, scientists around the world are working tirelessly to provide information about the transmission mechanisms, the clinical spectrum of disease, rapidly develop new diagnostics, prevention and therapeutic strategies. many uncertainties remain with regard to both the virus host interaction and the evolution of the epidemic.5 consequently, the therapeutic strategies to deal with the infection are only supportive, and prevention aimed at reducing transmission in the community is our best weapon. the mode of transmission of covid-19 the virus is transmitted from human to human, and symptomatic people are the most frequent source of covid -19 spread. the possibility of transmission before symptoms develop seems to be infrequent, although it cannot be excluded. moreover, there are suggestions that individuals who remain asymptomatic igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 459 could also transmit the virus. this suggests the use of isolation as the best way to contain this epidemic. as with other respiratory pathogens, including flu and rhinovirus, the transmission is believed to occur through respiratory droplets from coughing and sneezing. aerosol transmission is also possible in case of protracted exposure to elevated aerosol concentrations in closed spaces.6 further studies are needed to understand the mechanisms of transmission, the incubation times and the clinical course, and the duration of infectivity. the conspiracy of covid 19 pandemic the fatal outbreak of covid 19 started in wuhan, china on the 31st december, 2019. the ugly scenario began when li wenliang, a 34-year-old ophthalmologist at wuhan central hospital, raised alarm on december 30th 2019 about the existence of a contagious new virus that resemble the deadly sars, but was muffled into silence by the chinese government. unfortunately, li wenliang died of the deadly coronavirus disease.7 on the 20th january, 2020, eric feiglding a harvard epidemiologist called the attention of world health organisation (who) and center for disease control and prevention (cdc) to immediately declare a public health emergency on the new coronavirus but was ignored. 7 who later came up with an official statement on 11th february, 2020 and designated it as “covid-19”, instead of “wuhan-coronavirus” or “chinacoronavirus for avoidance of stigmatization, contrary to the previous similar experiences we have before. surprisingly, while the who had not advised the world on the concrete steps to avert spread of the outbreak, china had already built a “state of the-art facility” to contain the disease.8 the us and europe took things for granted until around april when the disease had already spread from asia to many other parts of the world. it was at this point that who started emphasizing on the need for testing, contact tracing and management of the disease. in the interim, the numbers of infections and deaths had reached an alarming rate in italy, iran, spain and later the united states and the united kingdom with more than 118,000 infection cases and 4,291 fatalities in 114 countries across the globe.9 it was at this point that who described the outbreak as a pandemic and epidemic on march 11, 2020. consequently, many countries in african like; nigeria, ghana, zimbabwe, morocco, rwanda, kenya and south africa started enforcing lockdown measures to reduce infections and minimize fatalities. the action of who suggests complicity and justifies the perception of the conspiracy that coronavirus was manufactured, manipulated https://twitter.com/who https://twitter.com/who igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 460 and reengineered in the laboratory. one aspect suggests that the project started in the us before it was moved to a lab in china. while the other aspect holds that the virus originated from a wuhan lab as part of china‟s efforts to compete with the us. whatever may have been the case, the virus has been transported to all seven continents of the world.10 language kept changing as the predicament lasted and studies into the pandemic continued to advance. 0n the 7th april, 2020, the who came out to say that, wearing of facemask was less important in the fight against the disease. later, the narrative suddenly changed as the body issued another statement encouraging people to wear a facemask before going out to avoid being infected with the virus, there was no clear explanation of the distinction between social distancing and physical distancing. by mid-april that who advised various nations to declare lockdown with other effective measures such as staying at home, maintaining social distancing and frequent washing of hands with soap under running water, application of alcohol based hand sanitizers among others, businesses, schools, sports and religious activities were shut down. there was dichotomy created between those who tested positive and other potential victims. another divide is that one between people who were quarantined and those who were locked down in their homes.11 the stigma attached to those who test positive for the disease is yet to be addressed as counseling is not been put in place for the families of those who died of coronavirus. it is surprising that who was quick to believe whatever china said but slow to carry out a random investigation on any trial drugs or vaccines, especially from africa. african healing techniques and the quest for cure against covid – 19 many academic institutions are working to find a cure against covid 19 using animal testing. in the interim, the anti-malarial drug, chloroquine and its derivative hydroxychloroquine have received substantial attention. what is the nigerian government doing concerning those who have made claims of a possible cure for the disease? is the federal government looking in the direction of those claims? perhaps we can also support home invented products and efforts at biodiversity using the strength of the many universities with their research laboratories including pharmaceutical and medical research institutes as we look inwards for solutions. this will surely be of help to handle the challenges of overdose and self-medication with some remedies. it will also handle the problem of combining the use of herbal remedies together with prescribed medicines, which usually interfere with the normal metabolism of drugs leading to adverse effects. no doubts, the covid-19 pandemic has come igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 461 at a period of a growing call for collaboration amongst traditional medicine experts, chemists, pharmacologists, virologists and clinicians to accelerate research which would produce remedy to this existential problem. 11 africa has a very rich tradition and medicine and healing heritage which had been useful in the treatment of various disease ailments ranging from viral to bacteria and protozoa to fungi infections. this rich traditional healing heritage needs to be encouraged. this can be achieved by stimulating talents in this fields who show good result to enjoy some degree of security as they collaborate with medical science research institutes and pharmacological industries in order to come up with medicines which can carry ingredients components, dosages, methods of storage or preservation instructions, side effects and expiry dates.12 we can continue to improve on that until we shall attain perfection. such attempts will go a long way in solving our contextual medical challenges instead of going medical tours to europe, america and asia committing huge sums of money to the advantage of citizens in those countries. with the challenge posed by covid -19 pandemic our leaders are expected to rise up and rethink on how to protect their territorial integrity by putting modalities on ground backed by legislation with the view of forestalling future occurrences. it is crucial to note how the inhabitants of the world have been divided along continental lines. since the g-8 countries of the world have not been able to proffer for themselves solution to the problem of covid – 19, any solution from any quarters other than from the g-8 cannot be respected. for example, the president of madagascar, andry rajoelina would have been given a pat on the back for developing covidorganics (cvo) herbal-solution, what the g-8 countries of the world have so far not been able to do. again, who was quick to distance itself from the covidorganics (cvo) herbal-solution developed by the malagasy institute of applied research, who neither endorsed nor show any interest in the herbal cure because it originates from africa (madagasca) let alone to attempt to send scientists to investigate the new found cure for coronavirus which is still harvesting lives across the globe. however, it is good and encouraging that other african countries are ordering for the madagascan recipe to help curb the threat.13 it is confirmed that there is a marked improvement in the country‟s covid-19 recovery ratio as 105 of 171 patients had reportedly been cured. until now, there are no covid-19 deaths in madagascar and schools have reopened. interestingly, the madagascar president declared that, “whether who approves of the herbal medicine that has been discovered to cure covid 19 or not, he will continue to use it to heal people.” for him, it is not the time to play or make money but it is time to save the lives of his people and africa as a whole from https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000368900.locale=en igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 462 covid 19 pandemic using god‟s given medicine.13 while, who is in the process of decision making, many african countries like equatorial guinea, guinea bissau, senegal, congo, comoros and tanzania have picked interest in the products. madagascar‟s miracle medicine, has made the country to be considered an intruder in the high class global politics enveloped in the race for the cure of covid 19. madagascar has disrupted the narrative of the so-called technological fortress that the world powers claim to have built for themselves. for example, the way who relates with china in the wake of this pandemic is suspicious as part of the grand plan by china to overtake the us as an economic world power, because aside from the $20 million china offered who in march, china was swift to offer an additional $30 monetary aid to the who immediately trump threatened to halt financial help to the body. trump‟s decision might suffer some moral convulsions, but sadly too, who has failed in terms of providing the right leadership. more damaging is the fact that, it helped china, where the crisis originated, to cover its tracks. while who vehemently resisted naming corona-virus as “wuhan-corona-virus” or “china-corona-virus” in nigeria, the body watched while lassa, a community in southern borno, borno state where a certain fever broke out was named after the disease “lassa fever”. till date, lassa fever is used in all who documents for the hemorrhagic sickness. the silence of the number one health organisation amidst this discrimination calls to question its sense of fairness, equity and justice. perhaps, diseases that are not on a large scale domiciled in black africa have no commercial value and deserve no attention. one clear lesson for the african union (au) and economic community of west african states (ecowas) is that they should use this covid-19 experience which has shot medical tourism abroad on the foot to rally round madagascar and other countries with the potential for local solutions to the disease to find homemade solutions to every problem. the content of covid-19 predicament is more than what we see with our eyes. 14 indeed, african traditional herbal medicine has contributed so much to health care delivery in many communities in africa which comprises of many rural communities with majority of the entire population and a few concentrations in the local and the state government headquarters where modern health services like specialist hospital, federal medical center and general hospitals are established. since such medical facilities do not cover the need of the teaming population who are the rural communities in dire need of such health services, alludes to the fact that there is significant shortage of man power, drugs and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 463 equipment's thus the provision of health services is grossly inadequate. in fact, even those in the urban areas still patronize the herbal doctors. the services of the few doctors, nurses and other health personnel are limited to the urban and semi-urban areas to the disadvantage of the population living in the rural areas as is currently applicable to the dreaded covid – 19 pandemic. these inadequacies have signaled the important role and the involvement of traditional herbal medicine men, whose efforts were until now discriminated and targeted for defamation is now recognized as front line health personnel. this approach reiterates the importance of herbal medicine to the healing and restoration of man‟s health. apenda and adega observe the practice as devoted to maintaining good health: this involves detecting and prevention of disease, curing of these disorders for which treatment exists, and amelioration of pains and minimizing of disabilities. modern medicine has also assumed the task of improving public health by promoting hygiene and standards of nutrition and environment. 15 these herbal medicines are obtainable from herbs, roots, bark of trees, shrubs, plants and animals substances, which abound in the forest could be used as food that could be used for nourishment. in their search for nourishment, ballick discovers that; primitive humans sampled many kinds of plants. those that were palatable were used for food, while plants with toxic or unpleasant effects were avoided or used against enemies. still, other plants: those that produced physiological effects were saved for medicinal purposes. the commonest methods of treating patients consists of medical preparations made of mixture of roots, leaves, barks, fruits, parts of animals and rituals involving offering to the superhuman forces of nature.16 it is against this backdrop that one can adequately evaluate the contribution of traditional herbal medicine as it positively affects the total well being of the people despite the great challenges in the scientific research and development of african traditional medicine. this calls for the need to find ways of engaging interdisciplinary teams of african scientists and traditional modern practitioners as well as with scientists and practitioners from other lands for the purpose of transforming african herbal drugs and traditional remedies into modern medicines. this blending of knowledge will go a long way to help provide solution to many of the complex medical challenges we have across board. the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 464 benefit of which would not be limited only to the urban communities but also to the rural settlements. improving traditional medicine for effective health care delivery in the age of covid 19 pandemic the progression of the traditional herbal industry would be important for effective health care delivery in africa. the poor ratio of trained doctors to patients in africa, as well as the preferences of many africans, for natural medicine over conventional western pharmaceutical treatments, emphasizes the necessity of quality herbal alternative within the continent as about 70 to 80% of africans rely on traditional healers as their first care givers.17 many african healers believe that, every plant has a disease it can help to cure. they believe that there are ingredients in the plants which have the capacity to fight against the disease. therefore, many african people use herbal mixtures prepared by they themselves. they could boil some of these herbs and abstract the useful ingredient to help them cure diseases. this struggle for breakthrough in herbal medicine does not end in the fight against covid – 19. much of the world still relies on herbs for medicines. despite their effectiveness, the challenges are that such practitioners are ignorant about what truly work and what does not truly work. there is also the challenge of quality control of products that are not the result of standard production methods. to overcome those deficiencies in a continent that is particularly dependent more on herbal medicine, a group of researchers have embarked on the bid to assemble of a pan african pharmacopoeia database of plants' with medicine properties each profile will contain descriptions of the plants itself, of its medical properties, and chemical tests that can be used to identify it. this information will help local health workers to check what works from what does not work. it may also increase international trade in african herbal medicines.18 therefore, the need for the promotion of herbal healing remedies is more felt today than ever before hence, herbal medication is gradually becoming a standardized practice to achieve effective health care delivery for everyone to enjoy. in nigeria, as well as in china, japan, india and peru, efforts have been made to identify many roots, barks and herbs as contribution to herbal medicine. for instance, among the igbo, iroko, orji (melicia exelsa) produces cure for malaria, fever and stomach pains. these herbs are soaked in water and taken before breakfast; usolala-ocha (hybanthus anneaspermus) is another herb which is added to food for pregnant women in order to strengthen the child and prevent igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 465 after effects as well as treatment of women suffering from paralysis following delivery.19 similarly, the yoruba do not only have the knowledge of various diseases, but they also have numerous formula. for instance, "parunpo" (an assemblage of recipes) has been in existence since 1970s. parunpo is a pharmacopoeia on the various diseases recognized among the yoruba, and the various remedies that can be used. in this document alone, there are 600 different remedies for "eda" (leucorrhoea). the other document "kuseke" (the book of medicine) is active like fire and gum powder. it contains numerous instructions for many diseases.20 in an interview with few native doctors in nasarawa state reveal that, there are a number of native doctors who have good knowledge of neuro-anatomy and neurological symptoms and could use traditional herbal medicine to treat them. a traditional medicine man called nakowa whose herbal medical center was located in morao, a local mada village settlement in gudi district of akwanga lgc, there are other ones among the eggon people called baba alakyo, were baba ajili, whose herbal shrines are located in a local village settlement called alakyo in lafia lgc. he has healing centers across nasarawa north and south senatorial districts especially those places that are predominantly inhabited by eggon people. there are other herbal specialists like ajili, mama sarah nalah and mama mariyamu now late. there are famous bone setting homes across nigeria, these include; baba asoo, the chief priest of the traditional orthopedic center in ikyogen, near a village called yelwata along makurdi road in guma local government area of benue state narrated that; this bone treatment center has a history of successes in bone setting and has been in existence for over 200 years, in fact the germans indicated interest to build elaborate wards to accommodate patients who were receiving treatment at the shrine, unfortunately, the custodians of the shrine turned the offer down for fear and avoidance of impurities that would likely profane the shrine. other known place are; tse gbazun in tulan tiev ward and tse kwagh agule in mbanyange ward all of logo local government area of benue state. patients whose fracture cases were hopeless in places like germany, france, etc came to receive their cure from ikyogen bone setting shrine.21 gbuje in akwanga lgc is another place that is dependable for the treatment of fracture cases. some of the herbal doctors have improved their preparation in form of powder, liquids. there are evidences of the use of pills, enemas, infusions and elixirs and evidence of experimental medicine in surgery, orthopedics, gynecology and pharmacology. surgery has included male and female circumcision, excision of tumors. the alignment of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 466 dislocated bones and the treatment of collarbone fractures have been traditionally handled using anesthetics which were derived from plants identified to have pain killing capabilities, thereby contributing to effective health care delivery nasarawa state. some of the areas that became well known for certain types of medical expertise are tse akaha in awe lgc of nasarawa state which known for orthopedics treatment, anal prolapsed, heart disease, infertility in both men and women. in fact the treatment of patients with cancer, obesity, diabetes and other related ailments have benefited directly or indirectly from traditional african pharmacopoeia through herbs.22 many of these traditional techniques are still utilized in some areas. in some cases, preparations of medicine may be by burning, grinding or boiling. the particular object or plant may be used in many different types of formula. in each case, what it symbolizes in one way may not be the same thing in another. accurate pharmacological knowledge about the particular herbal mixture may be necessary if they are to be used nationally in therapy. this implies that plants are used medicinally alone, or in a mixture and the preparations vary in composition from user or user, according to individual preference or availability of ingredients. the same plants may have been used quite differently in jamaica, india, china, south africa, cameroon, nigeria, depending on the cases in point be it gynecological, pediatric, osteopathy and many other medical problems. conclusion africa carries unique vegetation which has been an inherited key part of traditional medicinal practices for thousands of years can be part of the solution as a larger amount of its population heavily rely on medicinal plants for their healthcare. this is particularly true in rural areas, where access to basic conventional health care is extremely limited. herbal medicine has played a substantial role in the discovery of several drugs from plants to treat diseases by traditional healers such as; malaria, pneumonia, dysentery, cancer, spiritual attacks, infertility etc. this shows how the study of african plants gives hope for an accepted cure for covid-19. perhaps, as part of effective strategy to contain covid 19, herbal medicine can be used to improve one‟s health, reinforce immunity, and stimulate ability to resist the infection. the use of medicinal plants as components african healthcare system is one of the oldest of all therapeutic systems in african tradition. in rural communities, traditional healers are easily accessible, available and affordable health resource and at times the only therapy that subsists. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 467 in the age of covid 19 pandemic, the promising medicinal plants from the african biodiversity can be developed and checked by the various medical and pharmacological research institutes to authenticate and provide dosages to treat or manage the different infectious and chronic disease conditions. it is encouraging that there is currently a renewed interest in african-plant-based medicines in the prevention and cure of various pathologies. medicinal plants still play an important role in healthcare system in african countries. nevertheless, there are some challenges that need to overcome and address for its full acceptability as effective treatment of diseases as plant products have not been validated thoroughly with robust scientific criteria to compete with conventional therapies23. if access and benefit sharing of african herbal products is to increase, the issues of sustainable use and development of plant products need to be addressed. recommendations the following recommendations if achieved would put african heritage in herbal medicine in an admirable position in world health care system, perspectives in this area include but not limited to the followings: i. african all countries should seek to recognize traditional medical practice by encouraging documentation and putting out regulations and policies that will be fully implemented to ensure that the traditional herbal/medical practice are qualified and accredited but at the same time pay respect to their traditions and customs. they should also as a matter of necessity issued with authentic licenses to be renewed frequently. ii. government should provide an enabling environment to promote capacity building, research, and development, as well as production of traditional herbal medicines of high standards. iii. the importance of traditional herbal medicine should be harnessed and integrated into the conventional medicine to combat priority diseases such as covid – 19, malaria, hiv/aids, diabetes, sickle cell anemia, hypertension and tuberculosis etc. iv. raising the standards of african traditional herbal medicine to international standards through inter-country collaboration. v. herbal medicine should be encouraged since it has played a substantial role in the discovery of several drugs from plants to treat diseases by igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 468 traditional healers such as; malaria, pneumonia, dysentery, cancer, spiritual attacks, infertility etc. vi. as part of effective strategy to contain covid 19, herbal medicine can be used to improve one‟s health, reinforce immunity, and stimulate ability to resist the infection. vii. in the age of covid 19 pandemic, the promising medicinal plants from the african biodiversity should be developed and checked by the various medical and pharmacological research institutes to authenticate and provide dosages to treat or manage the different infectious and chronic disease conditions. viii. concerted effort should be made to address some challenges that need to be address for its full acceptability as effective treatment of diseases as plant products have not been validated thoroughly with robust scientific criteria to compete with conventional therapies. ix. the issues of sustainable use and development of plant products need to be addressed if access and benefit sharing of african herbal products is to thrive. x. ensure strict adherence to the globally acceptable best practices such as frequent washing of hands, use of spirit based hand sanitizer, wearing of face masks and maintenance of social distance. this will go a long way in reducing the rate of spread of the disease references 1. shishima, s.d. “the wholistic nature of african traditional medicine: the tiv experience, benue valley journal of humanities, vol. 1, no. 2. 1997. p. 37. 2. metuh e.i. (1986) african traditional medicine and healing: a theological and pastoral reappraisal”, seminar paper. 3. chan jf, etal. (2013). interspecies transmission and emergence of novel viruses: lessons from bats and birds. trends microbiol. vol. (10): p. 544. 4. chen y, liu q, guo d. (2020). emerging coronaviruses: genome structure, replication, and pathogenesis. j. med. virol. apr;92 (4): p. 418. 5. bauch ct, etal. (2005). dynamically modeling sars and other newly emerging respiratory illnesses: past, present, and future. epidemiology. vol. (6):791-801.] 6. li q, etal. (2020). early transmission dynamics in wuhan, china, of novel coronavirus-infected pneumonia. retrieved 2020 jan 29 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 469 7. tian s, (2020). pulmonary pathology of early phase 2019 novel coronavirus (covid19) pneumonia in two patients with lung cancer. j thorac oncol. retrieved 27th february, 2020. 8. kogan a, (2019). acute respiratory distress syndrome following cardiac surgery: comparison of the american-european consensus conference definition versus the berlin definition.vol. 97(6): 518. 9. singer m, etal (2016). the third international consensus definitions for sepsis and septic shock (sepsis-3). jama. p. 801. 10. perlman s, netland j. (2009). corona-viruses post-sars: update on replication and pathogenesis. nat. rev. microbiol. p. 439. 11. dyikuk, justine john. (2020) china, usa, who versus the rest of us: matters arising from the covid-19 quagmire, the new chronicle. retrieved 13 june, 2020. 12. dyikuk, justine john. (2020). 13. ezekwesili-ofili josephine ozioma and okaka antoinette nwamaka chinwe (2019). herbal medicines in african traditional medicine. available from: https://www.intechopen.com. 14. dyikuk, justine john. (2020). p. 2. 15. apenda, a.z. (2006) "the crisis of traditional medicine and the new directions in the 21th century: problems and challenges. presented at the faculty of arts national conference, ab.u. zaria, 14th january,p. 15. 16. ballick, mj. "medicinal plants". in grolier international encyclopedia, vol. 13. p. 266 17. adenika, f.b. developing traditional medicine in nigeria: lessons from chinn. ikeja: panpharm, 1990. p. 32. 18. okafor, emeka (2006). "association for african medicinal plants standards". in timbukuchronicles. friday, october, 06. p. 1. 19. ogbonna, p.a (2001). "the use of alternative medicine: the contribution of an african herberlist". in philosophy, christianity and science in the third millennium. ed. f.o.c njoku. owerri: assumpta press. p. 94. 20. dopamu, a (1955). "health and healing within the traditional african religious context". in orita: lbadan journal of religious studies xvii. 2. p. 68. 21. dangana ekom and david ashenghanye, oral interview ikyogen village nasarawa eggon local government area nasarawa state. 11/4/2020. 22. abraham asoo. oral interview ikyogen village guma local government area benue state 21/4/2020 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 470 23. kanu, i. a. (2020). covid-19 pandemic and the health of african migrants. amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 18. no. 2. pp. 5664; kanu, i. a. (2020). covid-19 and the economy: an african perspective. journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 3. no. 2. pp. 29-36; kanu, i. a. (2020). saint augustine and covid-19 pandemic: the future and divine providence. tansian university journal of arts, management and social sciences. vol. 7. pp. 151-162. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 140 thematic relevance of music in nollywood movies ayodele b. joseph, phd department of mass communication kaduna state university mcmdr001@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.36469.60642 & isuwa hosea department of mass communication kaduna state university hisuwa24@gmail.com abstracts the production of a rational film entails a proper utilization of both visual and audio elements to realize effective message delivery via ideal communication. the industry of film is an important tool to humans for mirroring, creating change and for the projection of his perfect world. the nigerian movie industry has enjoyed so much attention both within and outside the shores of the country i.e africa, europe asia and beyond. the growing popularity that has trailed the industry has been bedeviled with heavy criticism. there has been several calls from different works of life on the contents of the works been produced in great quantity with particular reference to thematic relevance of music in films which is seen by many as significantly ignored by movie producers or not properly placed in sequential arrangement of events or scenes in the play. the major concern of this paper is to understand the thematic relevance of music in nollywood movies. the study was anchored on apparatus theory of film. using the evaluation and survey research designs, the study sampled 150 respondents using questionnaire on multistage sampling design. the study found out that; music is very much relevant in nollywood movies. though music are not rightly placed in nollywood movies. furthermore, music pre-empts film plots and music in nollywood film helps in message delivery. it is therefore recommended that movie makers and stakeholders in the nollywood should make use of music in their movies in a more objective and innovative manner. keywords: theme, nollywood, films, music and message background movies as an integral medium for mass communication cannot be over emphasized. home video gives it viewers an insight and imaginary vision. the art of communication in movies is propelled by the visual and audio elements. mailto:mcmdr001@gmail.com mailto:hisuwa24@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 141 while visual simply refers to the things we can feel and touched e.g. make up, custom, light etc. the auditory in film are referred to the items that the audience cannot see but they can hear some of which are; sound, conversation, monologue, and musical aesthetic. music however, is an indispensable element in film production process as it entails powerful film skills, which when rightly used, lubricates communication in movies. that is why, when watching a film, the audience adapts with the changes in music and the music been played which is in line with the events in the movie story. however, musical themes have not hugged the headlines and seem to be a downplayed phenomenon in the production of films. little wonder bordwell and thompson (2004) assert that film cannot be stopped to freeze an instant of music, just as one can study a frame to scrutinize scenic presentation and cinematography; neither can we sieve out a song or music for our scrutiny as simply as one can inspect the editing of sequence shots. in the works of emelobe (2008) he postulated that, video films in nigeria utilize narrative styles that are usually poor, acting majorly over low quality and exaggerated pictures that are juxtaposed with un-rhythmic audios and songs without thematic message. emelobe (ibid) opines that, music is regarded as a part or a subset in the whole. but in as much as this statement might be regarded, contemporary nollywood films have shown that there has been a great deal of change in acting, narrative styles, and visual representation of reality. emelobe (2008, p.264) notwithstanding, songs with thematic relevance or implication still has grey areas as it still leaves alot to be desired in the film industry in nigeria. nigerian filmmakers do not take cognizance of music with themes. in nigeria, so many movie producer and production houses do not carefully consider the right music, its effects and theme during production planning. here, they only use any music they choose without putting into cognisance the thematic implication of the song in respect to the film (anything goes). contrary to hollywood films, there has been a great development in sound recording and choice of songs. dolby noise reduction process and four-and six-track theatre songs are one major development to reckon with in foreign movies. platoon of the dead and star wars which where all produced in 2009, with their stereo and surround channels has shown that viewers appreciate quality music tracks and music with related themes. no one is disputing the fact that nigerian movies has made a great igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 142 influence or impact on nigerian viewers, as this movies are most times based on our cultural inclinations and they mostly addresses the people on their problems in a manners that they can easily relate and understand. ones understanding of these movies sometimes depend on how one perceives the filmmaker’s idea and how well he or she relates with the themes and musical interpretation of the songs in relation to the film. however, the thematic relevance of these songs used remains questionable. statement of problem in laying the foundation of this study, it was captured that music serves the function of communicating a message through story-telling and transferring emotions of a film to its viewers. the production of a rational film entails a proper utilization of both visual and audio elements to realize effective message delivery via ideal communication. the industry of film is an important tool to humans for mirroring, creating change and for the projection of his perfect world. the nigerian movie industry has enjoyed so much attention both within and outside the shores of the country i.e africa, europe asia and beyond. the growing popularity that has trailed the industry has been bedeviled with heavy criticism. there has been several calls from different works of life on the contents of the works been produced in great quantity with particular reference to thematic relevance of music in films which is seen by many as significantly ignored by movie producers or not properly placed in sequential arrangement of events or scenes in the play (plot). the major concern of this paper is to understand the thematic relevance of music in nollywood movies. study objectives this study amongst other thing set out to achieve three objectives which include the following; 1. to understand if music is rightly used in nollywood films 2. to determine if music pre-empts film plots 3. to find out if music enhances message delivery in film literature review earliest films debuted around 1890, before the advent of technologies that allows synchronization of images with sound (buhler et. al.2010). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 143 though, forerunners of electronic music such as wendy carlos who for long have been creating for film from the late 60s, pop and electronic artiste are only starting to get recognize as music composers in their own right. with the likes of daft punk original song for tron “legacy in 2010 was the watershed of the mainstream (anderson, 2012). gillick and bamman (2018) allude that music track have an integral role in conveying the picture or story of a film. in their article about psychological impact of music on audience, parker & fischoff (2005) pointed that the viewer need not know what the music entails. he is more concern with how it makes him feel. ibid (2013), further notes that the average film viewer, gives little or no attention (i.e. granted) to musical accompaniment if songs with thematic relevance are not properly placed in film. this goes without saying that in as much as music is a germane factor and or element to communicate emotions, the song in a movie should know where it is to be juxtaposed with other film elements. contrary to concert where songs are composed and played for audience who come explicitly for the purpose of listening to music, music in films should preferably be treated with distinctively from musicals made exclusively for shows. film as a medium is often likened to a canonical example of narrative multimodality; it combines both pen down narrative of dialogue and visual imagery. while words alone cannot bears the burden for creating good characters, scene, in textual formats e.g. literary novels. in films, this duty is divided by each member, including the screen writer, director, music supervisor, effects technologist, etc (gillick and bamman, 2018). there is no gain saying, that music is an integral, and indispensible weapon in the armory of contemporary filmmaker; however, music did not play out its importance in film so easily. not until the 1930s where music was reckoned with; when it was purposely and specifically used for films (this implies that music is exclusively written to compliment on-screen actions). therefore, except the song is specifically made to accompany music tracks in other to promote the film, music directly use for screen cannot exist on its own without the film. placement of music in nollywood films according to ajiwe and chukwu okoronkwo (2015), songs may not be noticed when watching a movie. it however connotes a strong technique which when appropriately used helps in message delivery in film. this is why audiences react igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 144 to changes in sound and is in line with the action depicted in the film. yet sound seems to be relegated to the background in film production and analysis. in respect to the use of music and emotion, prendergast (1992) outlines two schools of thought: the cognitive theories that posit that music only stand for emotional meaning and cannot arouse its listener. while on the other hand, the emotive school of thought argues that music often do arouse emotional response. as confusing as this theory may seem, it should be underscored that music only seeks to do one thing; it is to prick our emotions. it is a non intellectual interaction between the unconscious mind and the song being played. in the works of stuart (2005), where he talked about the psychological effect of music on its viewers, he note that, “the audience is not concern with what the music stands for, rather he is concerned with how it makes him feel”. music and message delivery in nollywood films although the nigerian film produce quality film stories, the poor treatment of music in these films can be traced to poor technical knowhow on how to manipulate effects and the use of aesthetics in sound. unlike the comic movies produced where the use of technique and sound are salient which has helped in understanding the comic films and the way there shots are harnessed together with the music and its effects (ajiwe and chukwu, 2015). songs in films may not necessarily contribute in creating emotional response from viewers, but equally affects the viewer’s judgement of the visual content of the film. that is why the treatment of music becomes necessary so the viewers can appreciate their physical world. in a nut shell, music in films requires perceptive positing in other to convey a coherent message. thematic placement of music in plots sound effects and music are accompaniment to characters in films. this is why bodwell and thompson (2004), posit that rhythm connotes little of beat, tempo, pace, pulse and pattern of accent that are the main features of any musical composition. these characteristics are equally identifiable in music in films where speech creates a rhythm in which characters are easily identified by their igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 145 voice prints. these do not only show characteristic frequencies and amplitudes, it is equally different in pattern of pacing and syllabic stress. for example, the reverberating tune of a gong which may offer a slow but dying accent is different from the fast paced rhythmic beats from a local drum that give an exciting impression. this is why the rhythmic use of music is often at time complicated as it often requires the harmonious synchronization of both image and sound thus giving the music a thematic relevance. the end of this is that musical theme is related with some aspects of the film narrative in so doing; music in the film will be enhanced with its own narrative based on the story of the film. hence, it becomes paramount for film producers to give more attention to music used in the movie produced which in turn gives it a good overall quality. methodology in general, the reason for a research is a determinant of its design, target population, methodology and methods of data analysis. consequently, this particular research, on the thematic relevance of music in nollywood movies, is simultaneously an evaluation research and employs survey as its research design. the study is an evaluation research because it seeks to evaluate the relevance of music in nollywood movies. furthermore, the study employed survey design as it collected and analyzed quality data from a sub-set of the research population. the research population is the population of interest which could provide the desired information on relevance of music in nollywood movies. a structured questionnaire on four-likert was validated and used in this research. research population a population is termed as finite when it consists an identifiable number of recognized units. the identifiable number is known as the population size. for this study, the population is made up of nigerians, aged 18 years and above who patronize the nollywood movies. the sample size was drawn from the target population to get the desired information. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 146 sample and sampling design inferences about the population can be made on the basis of a properly designed and well selected sample. moreover, the representative sample was derived from the research population using a statistics-backed and efficient sampling method. drawing out of sample size is a frequent activity in a research; unsuitable or poor population sample continues to dabble with the validity and reliability of a research. the method for determining the representative sample for a study is hinged on a level of significance and a determined error margin is as follows (levy & lemeshow, 2015). 2 2 /2 1.96 150 2 2 0.08 z n               n=sample size and 0.08  ( margin of error of the study). the value of the standard normal ordinate at % level of significance is 2/z . at the 5% level of significance, 96.1025.02/  zz . hence, the sample size of 150 was used to determine a sampling error of at most 8%. an effective sampling strategy was used in order to reduce non-response and response error to the barest minimum. in this strategy, the questionnaires not returned or not properly filled were replaced with new ones in order to maintain an effective sample size of 150. the multistage sampling design was used. in the first stage, a sample of one state was selected while in the second stage a sample of one local government area was selected. consequently, in the third and final stage, a simple random sample of 150 respondents was selected. the one-samplet-test and descriptive statistics were used for data analysis. all data generated in this study would particularly be analyzed by ibm spss version 23 throughout. the test value for the one-sample t-test is 2.5 since the questionnaire is on four-likert scale. result and discussion the results from the study are presented an analyzed as follows. table 1: summary statistics items strongly agree agree disagree strongly disagree total music is relevant in 65 53 18 14 150 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 147 nollywood movies (43.3%) (35.3%) (12.0%) (9.3%) (100%) music are rightly placed in nollywood movies 23 (15.3%) 56 (37.3%) 62 (41.3%) 9 (6.0%) 150 (100%) music pre-empts film plots 79 (52.7%) 41 (27.3%) 25 (16.7%) 5 (3.3%) 150 (100%) music in nollywood film helps in message delivery 39 (26.0%) 82 (54.7%) 17 (11.3%) 12 (8.0%) 150 (100%) from table 1 above, it can be said that a total of 78.6% of the sampled agreed that music is relevant in nollywood movies. similarly, a total of 52.6% of the sampled population agreed that music are rightly placed in nollywood movies. furthermore, a total of 80.0% of the sampled population agreed that music preempts film plots. lastly, a total of 80.7% of the sample agreed that music in nollywood film helps in message delivery. table 2: descriptive statistics items n mean sd remark music is relevant in nollywood movies 150 3.13 0.957 agree music are rightly placed in nollywood movies 150 2.62 0.817 agree music pre-empts film plots 150 3.29 0.863 agree music in nollywood film helps in message delivery 150 2.99 0.835 agree as depicted in table 2, since the standard deviations across all items are reasonably small, the mean values could be used sufficiently to represent each item. hence, the mean statistics shall be used as the measure of location for the summary of responses. on an average, the sampled population agreed, with a mean value of 3.13, that music is relevant in nollywood movies. similarly, on an average, the sample population agreed with a mean value of 2.62, that music is rightly placed in nollywood movies. furthermore, on an average, the sampled population agreed with a mean value of 3.29, that music pre-empts film plots. lastly, on the average, the respondents agreed with a mean value of 2.99, that music in nollywood film helps in message delivery. table 3: one-sample t-tests items test value = 2.5 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 148 t df sig. (2-tailed) mean difference music is relevant in nollywood movies 8.016 149 0.000 0.627 music are rightly placed in nollywood movies 1.800 149 0.074 0.120 music pre-empts film plots 11.253 149 0.000 0.793 music in nollywood film helps in message delivery 7.135 149 0.000 0.487 from table 3 above, the inferential analysis has revealed that music is relevant in nollywood movies (p<0.05).therefore, it can be concluded that music are very important when it comes to movies especially in nollywood films as they keep the viewers well entertained and also serve as effect to actions that are portrayed on screen. this goes side by side with the accretion of jonathan demme, which bordwell and thompson (2004) cited that mood can be expressed as an element of the numerous importance of music in movies. it is on the basis of appropriateness in music use that a film pricks the emotions of audiences, by the virtue of what they feel and see on their screens. on the other hand, the inferential analysis has revealed that music are not rightly placed in nollywood movies (p>0.05). therefore, most songs are not rightly placed in nollywood movie. this also corroborates the views of thompson (2004) where he asserts that, the use of music in the creation of the mood of a film compliments the void that cannot be visually achieved. this is however on the basis of how makers of film utilize music and effects from music to juxtapose images. this therefore means that instrumentation, harmony, tempo and melody of music can sturdily affect the audiences’ reactions emotionally. it is on the back of the sort of instrumentation and time of the music well-fitted to a particular action, thereby causing the viewers’ mind to muse on the actions in the film that pricks their emotions. furthermore, the inferential analysis has revealed that music pre-empts film plots (p<0.05). therefore, it can be deduced that music in nollywood films mostly pre-empt the plot of the film. this however has a great effect on the quality of the film produce and as well on its patronage. as a result of this, nigerian youths prefer western films to home movies because of their production quality. this assertion goes hand in hand with the views of davies igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 149 (1999) were he posits that a good film song is not tied to penning good music; it is writing good score that is an apt accompaniment of on-screen action, keeping its audience on suspense, and at the same time enthusiastic for the next scene. this entails discovering the heart and soul of film and capturing it in music instead of revealing it all even before the film is midway. furthermore, a single musical theme has the power to transform the quality of a film when associated with different situations. this is dependent on the varying tempo of a music utilized at the various scenes or actions. if the tempo and rhythm of the music employed at a particular time or scene is high or lifting tempo, it conveys something gloomy at serene and comforting environs. thus, the switch from a higher tempo to a lower tempo and one musical genre to another in tandem with the action in a film is a rhythmic and harmonic choice that aids merge film indicating the change from a period to another, however, this technique is not rampant in nollywood films. directors do not have the technical know-how in relation to song placement in scenes. lastly, the inferential analysis has revealed that music in nollywood film helps in message delivery (p<0.05).this can therefore be deduced that music in nollywood films helps in message delivery. this goes hand in hand with the views of bordwell and thompson (2004) were they opine that; music in films may not only aid in inducing emotional responses in audiences, but can also influence viewer’s perception about the visual contents of a film. therefore, treatment of music often exists not in the audiences’ social, but in their physical world too. in essence, music in narrative films are strategically positioned to deliver a lucid message. in other words, music in films affects audiences’ perceptions of the film narrative. music in any vague content of film toward a character of the film narrative affects the understanding of the plot by audiences. the opening sequence of a film (the opening images) is very crucial because they offer a lot of clues as to what the film will be about. conclusion and recommendation music is an integral part in film as a production. the type of music used in a film must serve the rationale of proficiently communicating the emotions and delivering the messages effectively. it must as well have a message it aims at passing across to its audience. filmmakers in nigeria’s film industry must strive to get produce films that captures diversity and multiculturalism. this will in hugely contribute to the general development of the sector. this would also give igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 150 the nollywood industry an important edge over rival national industries in tan expansive international market. this research work has revealed that music is relevant in nollywood movies. though music are not rightly placed in nollywood movies. furthermore, music pre-empts film plots and music in nollywood film helps in message delivery. it is therefore recommended that movie makers and stakeholders in the nollywood should make use of music in their movies in a more objective and innovative manner. references ajiwe, u. and okwuowulu, c. (2010). from script to screen: a semiotic approach. in nereus, y. t. et al. (ed.) nigerianliterature, structural adjustment policy and globalization: proceedings of the international conference on nigerian literature; 263-273. gombe׃ gombe state university. ajiwe, u.c & chukwu-okoronkwo, s.o. (2015). perception of sound: a study of selected nollywood video films. journal of social sciences and humanities. vol. 1 (2). 48-58. retrieved from: http://www.publicscienceframework.org/journal/jssh anderson, s. (2012). electronic dance music goes hollywood. the new york times. buhler, j., neumeyer, d., and deemer, r. (2010). hearing the movies: music and sound in film history. new york: oxford university press. bordwell, d. and thompson, c. (2004). film art: an introduction. (7th ed.) boston: mcgraw hill. gillick, j. and bamman, d. (2018). telling stories with soundtracks: an empirical analysis of music in film. proceedings of the first workshop on storytelling (33–42). new orleans, louisiana. levy, s.p. & lemeshow, s. (2015). sampling of population (4th ed.). new york: john wiley. prendergast, r. m. (1992). film music a neglected art: a critical study of music in films. london: w.w. norton & company.prendergast igwebuike_6_9_6.cdr 98 igwebuike: a key principle in african liberation theology nnoruga james department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe university, awka nnorugajames@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.36016.38405 abstract the ripples caused by the invasion and partition of african nations by the europeans many years ago have caused and are still causing havoc to african countries. it has led africans into bad leadership, migration and human trafcking. the economy of african nations is in constant meltdown . with crisis and political instability, africa remains undeveloped marginally, when compared to other continents of the world. there have been many advocates of african liberation, each with its own strategy towards the liberation of african nations. we are going to use igwebuike principles to navigate towards the liberation of african nations. the reective and theological approach is employed in this research. keywords: igwebuike, african liberation theology, kanu ikechukwu anthony, philosophy, principle introduction there are many factors constituting the past and present ugly situation of things found in africa today. these crises or factors that shaped the situation of african people the way it is today came from internal and external spheres. hence, we have a lot of challenges that need to be tackled for the development and stability of the african countries. unfortunately, these crises in africa touch or spread all through the cultural, religious, political and social aspects of the african people. this accounts for non-development or slow pace of development in almost all the sectors of their lives in different countries of africa. it is believed that most of the african countries have gotten their independence, yet they are ruled indirectly by the different strong countries of the world that colonized them initially. this makes africans to be marginalized in most parts of the world, because they are seen as slaves, undeveloped, and uncultured. even the colour of their skin (black) segregates them from the white people and makes them third class citizens; hence, today, africa is regarded as a continent of third world countries. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 99 in the religious sphere, africans, their god and their worship are regarded as nothing, and they were regarded as incapable of conceiving and worshipping the real almighty god as the rest of the world. hence, african traditional religion was called all sorts of names by europeans and arm-chair researchers. talbot (1926), mbiti (1969), quarcoopome (1987) and kanu (2015) all afrmed that names like idolatry, fetishism, animism, paganism, primitive were given to african traditional religion, because they fail to understand the culture and language of african people. achebe (1958) conrms the above: does the white man understand our custom about land, asked okonkwo, “how can he when he does not even speak our tongue”, responded obierika, and then he continued, but he says our customs are bad, and our own brothers who have taken up his religion also say that our customs are bad. (p. 124) this conrms the level of degradation africans were subjected to, even in terms of religion. this level of degradation or subjugation meted out to them is seen through other aspects of their lives. sequel to the above , many african scholars, including sociologists and theologians, have offered many ways to alleviate the oppressive or ugly state of african situation. many have advocated many options through which africa can be developed and sustained, just like other strong continents of the world. igwebuike, as a concept or key, will be used as a tool to seek ways to alleviate the condition of the african people. the cry by the advocates of african liberation theology cannot be complete without the igwebuike principles. this will help in developing african countries when the principles of igwebuike are fully applied. african continent will nd real independence, not pseudo independence, as we are having it today. igwebuike, as concept or principle, is advocated for by an african scholar, professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, just like other advocates of african liberation theology. in this write up, we are going to use the principles of igwebuike to advance further the development, stability and independence of african nations. african situation: an overview there are fty four countries in africa today, according to the united nations, with other territories which are dependent on stronger countries of the world or being colonized by other countries of the world, territories like reunion, which is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 100 dependent on or being colonized by france; mayotte, being colonized by france; saint helena, which depended on the united kingdom and western sahara, which is still under dispute. but wikipedia ( 2020) listed fty six sovereign states ( fty four of which are member-states of the united nations), two nonsovereign (dependent) territories of non-african sovereign states, and nine subnational regions of non-african sovereign states. the african continent is being surrounded by water from all directions, with clearly dened borders. in the north, it is separated from europe by the mediterranean sea; in the north-east, it is separated from asia by the suez canal and farther by the red sea. from the east and southeast, it is surrounded by the indian ocean, and from the west by the atlantic ocean. the work of liberating african nations, which is a continent of immense diversity, according to oborji (2005), is not only on the level of geographical areas, but also includes cultural, sociological, political, religious and economic levels. though africa is a diversied whole, its unity can be seen in their tenets of african world view, life principles and unity of spirit. according to kanu (2015), its unity can be seen in their belief in worship of supreme being, just like other people, but with a profound sense of sacredness and mystery. hence, for africans, it is difcult to separate their day-to-day activities of life from their personal inclination to the divine. no wonder, mbiti (1969) argued that: wherever the african is, there is his religion. he carries it to the elds where he is sowing seeds or harvesting new crop, he takes it with him to the beer parlour or to attend a funeral ceremony, and if he is educated, he takes religion with him to the examination room at school or in the university, if he is a politician, he takes it to the house of parliament. (p. 2) paris (1995) also echoed that “the ubiquity of religious consciousness among african people constitutes their single most important common characteristics” (p. 27). comparing african continent in terms of development from all sectors of life with other continents of the world, one will feel a great shock, because it is being ravaged internally and externally by many factors. they stretch from social crisis, political crisis, economic crisis, religious crisis, racism, human trafcking which is new form of slavery, and so on. these crises can be traced to have originated igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 101 from when the african continent was divided by the strong powers, without the consent of africans. according to mbefo (1996): it was in berlin that the master plan and implicit agreement about european intentions in africa were decided and given active assistance. the result of the conference was that the on-going “scramble for africa” was organized systematically, according to agreed principles. while it is wrong to claim, as some have done, that africa was carved out by european powers at this conference, it is right to afrm that it was there the european powers agreed on maintaining colonies in africa. european powers agreed not to interfere but to respect the “areas of inuence” acquired by any given power. it is remarkable that no african was invited to a conference that decided the fate of africa. (pp. 28-29) with the invasion by the super powers into africa, africa was subjugated, dominated, and the development of africa was stalled. there are many instances to show that africans were developed people before even the europeans came in contact with them. they have their own institutions with their own idea of government. but sadly, africa has been exploited and dominated over the years by stronger powers. rodney (2009) showed that using comparative standards, africa today is underdeveloped in relation to western europe and a few other parts of the world, and that the present position has been arrived at, not by separate evolution of africa, on the one hand, and europe, on the other, but by exploitation. in terms of social situation, africa has continued to deteriorate. this is evidenced by the pressure of urbanization and rural emigration. the decay in educational sector and health infrastructure, growing malnutrition and poverty, the worsening plight of refugees and displaced persons, and wide spread unemployment are signs of decay in african society. recently the ravage of acquired immune deciency syndrome (aids) killed many african people. ebola disease was contained, but many africans died. as of today, the corona virus pandemic (covid-19) is ravaging the world. though it is not much in africa, but it is known that african countries lack the health facilities, quite unlike the other countries of the world, to stop its spread. economically, the african situation, according to drimmelen (cited by igboamalu, 2003), can be summarized thus: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 102 africa as a whole includes 33 of world’s 50 poorest countries. the combined gross national product (gnp) of the entire continent south of the sahara is less than that of the netherlands; the subsaharan africa is the only region in the world likely to experience an increase in absolute poverty over the next decade. (p. 48) african counrties are nowhere to be found in the global market economy. the globalization of economy today puts the african countries in the slow lane track. hence, they remain beggars among the continents of the world. the institutions that are developing economy are not developed, rather they are been looted out, and most african countries keep borrowing for consumption. world economic policies do not favour the african trade. this has contributed enormously to the impoverishment and underdevelopment of africa. africa is exploited by their colonizers who take most of their crude oil and agricultural products at a giveaway price only to sell them back to africa at a high price. oborji (2005) rightly observed that the present world economy manipulates prices of the raw materials from the african countries and, through the protectionist policies of the industrialized countries, blocks the inow of manufactured goods from the developing countries. due to serious crises in african economies, african countries are variously referred to as underdeveloped, developing or lessdeveloped countries. the above reality means that african economy is caged and in bondage, and this is expressed by adedeji (1984), that the african economy has meaning only to the extent it is allowed to be controlled by the former colonial masters. with this economic system, africa can never develop fully like other great countries of the world. politically, african countries have not found their feet, though they have gotten their independence. most of the african countries are still being ruled indirectly by strong powers that colonized them. according to igboamalu (2003), one of the major problems or crises of the african countries and other developing countries, with regard to the issue of global governance, is the tendency of the west and america or the colonizers to impose their socio-cultural and political standards and values, which they want, on the rest of the world. hence, africa is always suppressed politically, without these super powers remembering that we have our own ideas of government before their advent. this led to the enthronement of puppet leaders and presidents who would always obey the strong powers that put them put them in ofce. m. hence, achebe (1983) rightly observed that leadership remains the problem of african countries. this igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 103 continues to make african countries to be political slaves to most nations in the world. this afrms oborji(2005) claim that “the newly independent african states were modeled politically and economically on the nations which had colonized them” (p. 34). again, dudley (1984) pointed out that the constitution handed over to the new nations was not founded on african cultural environment or atmosphere. by implication, the independence lacked the ingredients of its new nations; this accounts for political instability in most of the african nations. this political instability led to several military coups d’ etat in africa. this well-known military rule in africa helped in reducing africa to abject poverty. slavery and colonization were great blows to the african continent, judging from all aspects of african lives. this in particular perpetuated poverty in africa today. african countries gradually became poor with the conquest of african nations. african states were divided at the berlin conference, for self interest and exploitation. ofong (2001) asserted that: the conference produced the berlin act, an instrument to which the major european powers were signatories. it had as its aims those of fostering the development of trade and civilization… the moral and material wellbeing of the native populations. this was non-sensical because in all their undertakings, their interests came rst and all was designed to enhance the exploitation of the people. (p. 9) it is well known that the conquest and occupation of the continent of africa by europeans spanned four centuries . during these centuries, africans were dominated, exploited. this led to the formulation of colonial policies and disorganization of the traditional pattern of societal organization in africa. this makes african countries to be stooges to the stronger countries of the world. these situations above, in a nut shell, show the image of bondage in africa which has held the african people hostage for centuries. the african continent has been promised liberation (even by our colonizers), through many ways, out of their poverty, political instability and underdevelopment, yet things keep on becoming worse and backward when compared to this age of globalization. igwebuike as a principle of liberation with the critical situation of the african continent, which is being ravaged by constant wars because of forceful divisions or partition of african borders by the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 104 world powers, poverty now takes place in a continent known to be full of agricultural raw materials and crude oil. world powers rose to a greater height of industrial growth by impoverishing africa through slave trade and other exploitations. mbefo (1996) lamented that as of today, african nations are still undergoing new forms of slavery through our youths going back freely, and on their own, to europe, because of bad state of the economy and the political instability in africa. mbefo called it slavery in reverse gear. with the above situation, many scholars have advocated for many solutions to the african state of crisis. we apply the principles of igwebuike in seeking to control and redirect or restructure the african continent. according to kanu (2015), igwebuike is the modality of being, and being in igbo ontology is ‘idi’, that is ‘to be’. igwebuike is an igbo word which is a combination of three words. according to him: it can be understood as a word and as a sentence: as a word, it is written thus igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written thus, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space [and meaning]. (p. 67) he went further to explain the three words that make up the word igwebuike. igwe is a noun, which means number or population, usually a large number or population; bu is a verb which means ‘is’; ike is a noun, which means strength or power. when these words are put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power.’ this, in effect, means when a good number, group or society of human beings come together in solidarity, they are powerful. again, solidarity combines with complementarity, because everybody needs each other to make a complete whole; it constitutes a powerful group and an insurmountable force. at this level, kanu asserted that no task is beyond their collective capability. again, this analysis provides or proves an african ontology that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. mbiti (1960) also asserted that “man is at the very centre of existence, and african people see everything else in its relation to this central position of man… it is as if god exists for the sake of man” (p. 92). metuh (1991) afrmed that “everything else in african worldview seems to get its bearing and signicance from the position, meaning and end of man” (p. 109). the above analysis shows that for man to achieve his aims or objectives in this world, he has to be in relational character with the other people around him. this igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 105 will ensure a formidable force. the human person, following the african worldview, is understood in his relation with god and his fellow human beings. ideologically, kanu (2015) argued that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is to be with the other in a community of being. onwubiko (1991) expressed this sense of community rightly with lozi proverb which says: “go the way that many people go; if you go alone you will have reason to lament” (p. 13). anchoring or explaining igwebuike on the basis of the african world view, iroegbu (1994) described it as being characterized by a common origin, common worldview, common language, common historical experiences and common destiny. determining the role of community to the individual or human beings, mbiti (1969) asserted that “i am because we are and since we are, therefore i am” (p. 108). the sense of community here portrays family-hood or brotherhood, which means collaboration in existence. achebe (cited by kanu, 2015) in order to bring out the essential nature of the igbo african communal relationship, related that: we do not ask for wealth because he that has health and children will also have wealth. we do not pray to have more money but to have more kinsmen. we are better than animals because we have kinsmen. an animal rubs its itching ank against a tree, a man asks his kinsmen to scratch him. (p. 68) the quotation above shows that life is shared in the african worldview which makes life meaningful. so it is in relationship or coming together that each completes a whole. thus, according to kanu (2015), every being has a missing part and is at the same time a missing part. ekwulu (cited by kanu, 2015) conrmed the above view by saying that “if the other is my part or a piece of me, it means that i need him for me to be complete, for me to be what i really am. the other completes rather than diminishes me” (p. 68). this rightly explains why igbo-african worldview would refer to the other as ‘ibe’, which means a piece of or a part of, as in ‘ibe ji’ (a piece of yam), or ‘ibe ede’ (a piece of cocoyam). kanu (2015) asserted that the igbo-african refers to the other person as ‘ibe,’ which means ‘my piece’, or ‘mmadu ibe m’ (my fellow human being). this concept is also employed in relation to relationships and reciprocity: love one another (hunu ibe unu n’anya), help one another (nyere nu ibe igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 106 unu aka), respect one another (sopuru nu ibe unu) etc. from the above, we see that igwebuike portrays the african sense of commonality, solidarity, brotherhood, familyhood and complementality as the root of the african world view, thought and the ontological quality of real african, which is needed to liberate the african people from the state of anarchy seen in all aspects of their lives. igwebuike as a tool in african liberation theology the theology of liberation or liberation of africa has gone through many phases. and it arises out of the concern of african scholars or african theologians to address the people’s experience of exploitation, oppression and injustice that are going on through different means. in june 2020, there was a protest in all the states of america because of a black man killed by an ofcer of the law who is meant to protect life. though not african, the blacks protested against such oppression and injustice. african scholars continued to seek solutions to the current situation of exploitation, poverty, oppression and injustice in a continent which for a long time has suffered from subjugation, according to oborji (2005), in the forms of imperialism: slave trade, colonialism, multinational corporations, the activities of the national bourgeoisie, despotic regimes and racism. okolo (1994) asserted that the theology of liberation emerged as a response to experiences of negation, grinding poverty caused by greed, exploitation and oppression from world leaders and african leaders. though this critical reection by okolo was in the light of the gospel, it was with the aim of inspiring in african people and their leaders the condence to stop the horrors of oppression in africa and to build a more just and human african society. liberation has been a major theme or emergent theological thought in africa, in a bid to liberate africa from its current state of anarchy. oborji (2005) linked or related theology of liberation in africa with inculturation. according to him: the aim of inculturation is to facilitate an in-depth evangelization of a particular socio-cultural context or milieu. on the other hand, liberation theology seek, through the gospel, to address the oppressive elements in a traditional culture, and focus on political and economic situation of the particular cultural context so as to liberate people from the forces of sin and death, reinforce their identity, and give a new orientation to their advancement. (p. 154) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 107 this implies that for any liberation to be real or authentic, it must be inculturated, in the sense that the social and cultural milieu of the particular people must be involved. this will make it easy and meaningful. it must not be transported or forced into people, so that their initial world view would be abandoned, rather it would start with their world view. this is exactly the aim of igwebuike as a tool of liberation in africa. igwebuike liberation constitutes majorly of using african world view, which is based on solidarity and complementarity, to seek freedom for african people in their state of anarchy that is still ongoing in this age of globalization. there have been many advocates of african liberation through their philosophical and theological critical reections. many of the african scholars or advocates of african liberation hammered so much on the poverty of the african nations. many remarked that it is as if africans got political independence in order to enjoy poverty. ezeanya (1992) remarked that today in africa wherever anyone goes, he sees or notices poverty and suffering starring in the face of african people. surely, christ is suffering terribly among the african people. many african countries have gotten their independence yet under colonial yoke. going further, morrow (cited by oborji, 2005) described african poverty situation thus: africa-sub saharan africa, at least has begun to look like an immense illustration of chaos theory, although some hope is forming at the margins. much of the continent has turned into a battleground of contending dooms: aids and overpopulation, poverty, starvation, illiteracy, corruption, social breakdown, vanishing resources, overcrowded cities, drought, war, and the homelessness of war refugees. africa has become the basket case of the planet, the “third world of the third world”, a vast continent in free fall, a sort of pre-colonial breakdown. (p. 158) this is the reason why most advocates of african liberation (or african writers) conducted their critical reection for a better socio-political cultural-cumreligious, and economic order in the nations of africa. at this time of the corona virus pandemic, world leaders in other continents of the world are projecting that it will later spread more in africa because health facilities are not in place, or are not found in most health centers in african countries. with their prediction, the world powers are evacuating their citizens from african countries back to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 108 their countries. one of the advocates, uzukwu (1996) traced the poverty of african nations to dependency status of african nations, seeing it as the major cause of poverty in the continent. this is because dependency is a system problem which is destroying the african nations from inside and makes the african countries to be beggar countries, and a beggar has no respect. hence, uzukwu advocated for an end to foreign aid to africa. in its stead, africa needs committed leadership at all levels of government who are not inuenced by the world powers. igwebuike, as a tool for african liberation, hinges on the solidarity and complementarity of african people based on african world view, which is quite different from other principles of african liberation theology or black liberation theology. cone and wilmore (1979) described black theology or black liberation theology thus: black theology is that theology which arises out of the need to articulate the religious signicance of black presence in a hostile white world. it is black people reecting on black experience under the guidance of the holy spirit, attempting to redene the relevance of the christian gospel for their lives…-black subjugation under white oppression. (p. 468) here, liberation from white oppression is based on the christian world view as a basis which is different from igwebuike as a tool for liberation, which is based on purely african world view. theology of black liberation was seen again, as we have noted before, with the protest of all blacks in america recently in june 2020, when a police man killed a black man for no reason. again cone and wilmore (1979) described african liberation theology as a theology which is based on the biblical faith and speaks to the african soul: to speak of african theology involves formulating clearly a christian attitude to other religions. it must be pointed out that the emphasis is on christian theology, which could be expressed through african thinking and culture. (p. 473) mbiti (1979) also echoed the same when he described black theology as emerging from the pains of oppression of the negro’s experience in america in the social, economic, political, cultural and educational spheres of their lives, while african igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 109 liberation theology grew out of joy in the experience of the christian faith preached to africans. all we are trying to establish above is that it is igwebuike as a tool that would touch fundamentally the african world view which needed liberation, than implanting another world view on the african soil, and then using it for liberation. the complementary role of igwebuike from its point of ideology will be used in solving the problems of african continent and advancing the quality of life in africa (kanu 2018). from the analysis done before, the ideology of complementarity in the african world view reaches to individual basis, ontological basis and social basis. the embracing of these entire bases will give a whole solution in which all the units when put together will give a formidable and dynamic force to achieve freedom and development. in africa today, what is needed is a formidable and dynamic force in pursuing a goal, like wiping away hunger or poverty in africa. when the efforts of our governments or leaders are combined as a unit whole with that of the masses, great achievements will be made in the economic and political lives of the africans. this automatically will ensure security and the employment of our youths. the communal life which is already in the african world view will help in great advancement of the african continent for which igwebuike, as a tool for liberation, is seriously advocating. this is also echoed by asiegbu (2010), in expressing the african world view as a fundamental constituent for an authentic dimension of thoroughgoing complementarism. the collective efforts seen in the igwebuike ideology relates again to the social dimension of action in any african society. here, the role of sharing life in a community makes life meaningful (kanu 2016). when conceived in terms of complementarity, a community life is full of relation and relationships. this brings in vividly teamwork which is against the choice of isolation. teamwork or team spirit is going on in the african continent to see how the corona virus pandemic can be contained, which is against the choice of the world powers, each are trying to work out something to be the rst country to contain the pandemic. igwebuike again advocates complementary attitudinal change of all africans. africans from unit to the whole should liberate their psyche and undergo a total transformation that starts from the african world view than from other world views. this type of re-education ensures an authentic new understanding igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 110 towards life as an independent being, not as a dependent being (kanu 2017). this again is in line with asouzu’s (2004) line of thought that the liberation of african nations constitutes a complementary attitudinal change of psyche which comprises their whole being, attitude and vision. the igwebuike ideology consists also of solidarity that, in the words of nnoruka (2009), means people coming together. in igbo expression: ayili n’igwe n’aga egwu a naghi atu (when people are marching together, there is no fear). people coming together stand for a reasonable number of people who have come together to achieve a common purpose, a common objective. no one loses his identity in a group. the solidarity of the african union (au) needs to be revamped. african solidarity is needed continually to ght insecurity and wars prevalent in african nations. with this solidarity, african countries will engage in more introverted economies which have some built-in protectionism and some trade barriers argued (ofong, 2001). religiously, africa has, to some extent, achieved religion indigenous to africa, seen in the emergence of african independence churches (a. i. c.). according to ndiokwere (2019): as african saw it, it was not only the europeans who had the divine mandate to go and make disciples of all nations (mt. 28:19). discipleship was the universal vocation of every christian, but africans are not stopping at founding churches and religious movements… african prophets and self-acclaimed religious leaders found and run “churches” of their grass root tastes. (pp. 9-10) the above originated after the partition of africa by the colonial masters of europe, in which christian missionary organizations followed the ags of their respective nations to the shores of african nations. this supports the view that igwebuike as an ideology has a common origin, common shared culture, common historical experience and common destiny. today many african people are introducing new religious movements which bear features of the african traditional religion. this is possible because the common historical experience and cultures shared by africans necessitate this. this necessitates also the common trend today about the need for dialogue between the african traditional religion and christianity. from the dialogue so far, the question of how to merge the two religions (african traditional religion and christianity) become a problem. many theologians and african scholars have proposed inculturation, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 111 adaptation, hybridization, indigenization, translation and contextualization. muonwe (2014) argued that before the emergence of inculturation, a plethora of terms, as we see above, had been employed over the years in an attempt to fashion out the best model or approach to be adopted in relating the christian faith with the african traditional religion or culture. as a tool for liberation in africa, igwebuike is rmly grounded in the african sense of solidarity and complementarity and on the ontological quality of the african. conclusion the principle of igwebuike, when understood and properly applied towards the critical situation of africa, will go a long way in helping african nations to salvage themselves from all crises. its ideology is all embracing; hence, it is oriented towards the coming together of all people of africa. this will start from african leaders looking inwards than outside for the solution to the critical situation of the african continent. though there are internal and external factors constituting the deplorable state of african nations, it is true that many scholars have advocated for solutions igwebuike, as a key, ushers in a new ideology and combines with all other possible solutions for the liberation of african people. the igwebuike ideology comes from african world views; hence, it can trace and deal properly with the problems of africans themselves. references achebe, c. (1958). things fall apart. london: heinemann. achebe, c. (1983). the trouble with nigeria. enugu: fourth dimension publishers. adedeji a. (1948). the economic evolution of developing africa. in m. crowder (ed.). the cambridge history of africa. (pp.192-250) university press. asiegbu m. f. (2010). african renaissance, globalization and philosophy. in a. b. c. chiegboka and t. c udoh-ezeajughi g. i. udechukwu (eds.). the humanities and globalization in the third millenium.( pp 77-92). nimo: rex charles & patrick. asouzu, i. i. (2004). the method and principles of complementary reection in and beyond african philosophy. calabar. university of calabar press. cone j. h. and wilmore g. s. (1979). black theology and african theology: considerations for dialogue, critique and integration. in g.s. wilmore & j. h. cone (eds.). black theology. a documentary history. 1966-1979. (pp.463-476). new york orbis book. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 112 dudley, b. j. (1984). decolonization and the problem of independence. in m. crowther (ed.). the cambridge of africa. (pp. 52-94). cambridge: university press. ezeanya, s. n. (1992). the poor in our midst. onitsha: tabansi press. igboamalu, u. b. (2003). globalization and the future of africa. enugu: san press. iroegbu, p. (1995). metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: international university press. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientic and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 6166. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.2340. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.1221. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 113 kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientic community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girlchild education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. mbefo, l. n. (1996). coping with nigeria’s two-fold heritage. enugu: snap press mbiti (1969). african religions and philosophy. london: heinemann. mbiti, j. s. (1979). an african views american black theology. in g. s. wilmore & igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 114 j. s. cone (eds.). black theology: a documentary history, 1966-1979 (pp.477 482). new york orbis books. metuh, i. e. (1991). african religions in western /conceptual schemes. jos: imico. muonwe, m. (2014). dialetics of faith-culture integrationinculturation or syncretism. bloomington: liberty drive. ndiokwere, n. i. (2019). christianity in turmoil: the african scenario. owerri: lui house of excellence ventures. nnoruka, s. i. (2009). solidarity: a principle of sociality. a phenomenological hermeneutic approach in the context of the philosophy of alfred schutz and an african culture. owerri: living flame resources. oborji, a. o. (2005) trend in africa theology since vatican ii; a missiological orientation. italy: leberit press. ofong, d. a. (2001). globalization: post-neodependency and poverty in africa. enugu: fourth dimension. okolo, b. c. (1994). african liberation theology: concept and necessity. in sedos bulletin. pp. 102-103 onwubiko, o. a. (1991). the christian mission and culture in africa. african thought, religion and culture. enugu: snapp press. paris, p. j. (1995). the spirituality of african peoples, the search for a common moral discourse. minneapolis. quarcoopome, t. n. o. (1987). west african traditional religion. ibadan: african university press. rodney, w. (2009). how europe underdeveloped africa. abuja: panaf publishing. talbot, p. a. (1926). the peoples of southern nigeria: o. u. p. uzukwu, e. e. (1991). a listening church: autonomy and communion in african churches. new york :orbis books. wikipedia ( 2008). sovereign states and dependent territories in africa. retrived july, 27, 2020. http://en.wikipedia. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya article 10 igwebuike 6. no7.cdr igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.6 no.7, 2020 www.igwebuikejournals.com 103 naijapause: opportunities knocking, and it might just be once felix gabriel zombobah department of philosophy pontifical urban university rome, italy gzombobah@hotmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract everyone is now aware of the reality of the coronavirus in nigeria which has led to the cancelation of events, flights, and virtually everything that requires social, official, and religious gatherings. we are also aware that this pandemic will disrupt the nigerian economy. what is most important there is to realize and acknowledge the existing challenges and take this opportunity to cushion the impact of the virus by introducing measures to protect companies and their workers, most especially the vulnerable citizens. this article is a prayer that: the nigerian government should urgently develop a plan to deliver economic assistance to the vulnerable, clearly communicate its economic relief plans to the public and clarify eligibility, timelines, and procedures. for this, they should deploy more resources, creativity, and transparency to ensure the basic necessities of life to everyone. the opportunity is knocking… it might just be once. introduction no one would have ever thought that it will take a pandemic and an economic crisis to start thinking of how we can re-evaluate our future in nigeria! the coronavirus has shaken the entire world like a wave of the tsunami. it did not show any form of discrimination, it affects people regardless of religion, class or wealth, that is so obvious especially in nigeria it ignored any geographical border, and it demands attention by sweeping aside any attempts to deliver 'business as usual'. it exposed the ugly side of human selfishness as people stock-piled perceived necessities at the expense of others, ignoring requests by ncdc to stay at home and refusing to keep social distance. it has also shone a light on the strength of our nation, as many groups and individuals volunteered to help in cash and in many other ways. the health workers have placed themselves in danger everyday providing vital services, fighting the virus, and caring for the vulnerable and the sick. companies put aside their competitive focus and profitmaking activities as they transform products and services to overcome shortages in equipment and facilities. the period has brought families to spend more time together. we have seen renewed discovery of the value of nature and the outdoors as people find they have more time on their hands. we see people walking the distances they would have used cars. people grow their own vegetables, making their bread and buying produce from the local shops and farms. no one can predict the future, but we can see trends, and the more we are able to spot them, the better our chances are of securing a better future. the coronavirus is upending life as we know, and so i am writing this article not to join the many who do not see the light at the end of the tunnel for nigeria, but to give hope and courage that the covid-19 crisis, despite its many sad and horrible implications in terms of sickness and death, is exactly the time for the naijapause: the pause we actually need to galvanize us, to draw us together as one people, to see more clearly what we are collectively capable of achieving, and to bring into focus what needs to be done in the entire nation to secure the future of all nigerians. realizing that already the nigerian economic cycle is broken, or at least disrupted for some time. the usual naija style has changed – irreversibly and forever, and my hope and prayer and my aim of writing this article is that the change will be for the better. a search for different answers has begun and should be sustained and a new kind of normal should quickly take shape to help all. let our liability become our opportunity. necessity is the mother of invention it is said. so in my attempt to understand the turmoil effect on the nation, i summarize the effect of this 'pause' on individual aspects of our economy, focusing on first, primary sectors, which include industries involved in the extraction of raw materials, second, secondary sectors, which is involved in the production of finished products and third, tertiary sectors, including all service provision industries. primary sectors industries under this category are basically involved in the extraction of natural raw materials. this explains why they are also called extractive industries; mining, fishing, farming, lumbering, and livestock. oil and gas industry: the petroleum industry is the backbone and the lifeblood of the nigerian economy. then on the background of a viral outbreak already dampening the demand for oil, and the already existing oil-price war is predicted to have grave implications for the nigerian economy. the price of fuel has increased and there is an outcry already. the nigerian association of petroleum explorationists have warned that nigeria risks disruption in oil and gas supplies and power generation, due to the declining exploration activity and depleting oil reserves. the industry faces inefficient contract and procurement awarding process, oil theft, and illegal refining as the key obstacles, says the president of nape, ajibola oyebamiji. he insists that oil theft and illegal refining are larger threats to nigeria's oil industry than a decline in oil prices. in more ordinary times, cheap oil may have functioned as an advantage for economies. however, savings on petrol are unlikely to be redirected into more spending as the people are instructed to practice social distancing and the working class are uncertain about job security. in march 2019, the nigeria national petroleum corporation plans to overhaul its refineries to help the nation save billions of dollars on fuel imports and has hired maire tecnimont from italy to handle the port harcourt plant. there is a 445,000 barrels per day of refining capacity across four separate facilities in nigeria, which operate well below capacity due to mismanagement and lack of investment, forcing the nnpc to import most 66of the gasoline into the country. 104 naijapause: opportunities knocking, and it might just be once 66 nigeria's nnpc plans to revamp refineries to cut fuel imports| africanews, [internet]. [cited 2020 jul 3]. available from: https://www.africanews.com/2019/03/23/nigeria-s-nnpc-plans-to-revamp-refineries-to-cut-fuel-imports/ https://www.africanews.com/2019/03/23/nigeria-s-nnpc-plans-to-revamp-refineries-to-cut-fuel-imports/ the managing director of the nnpc, mr mele kyari in april hinted that all oil refineries in the country will be shut as it works to secure funding and a model to upgrade them. he said, “today, after proper scoping, which was not done in the past, we know exactly what to do to get them back on stream” … “we believe the ongoing engagements between global oil producers will bring back demand and once that happens, the market will balance and 67fully recover by year-end.” president muhammadu buhari has pledged to stamp out corruption, invest in infrastructure and spread wealth evenly across the country. on all counts, his approach to the oil industry will be central. and so i believe that the problems are well known to all what we need is to use this moment to fix them. aliko dangote, is building a 650,000 barrels per day refinery around lagos, that would meet nigeria's current domestic demand and will still export. this project should be supported! agriculture: this sector as we all know is as well critical to the nigerian economy, it has recorded steady growth throughout the recent recession in nigeria and has supported macroeconomic stability against a backdrop of volatility in the global oil market. the workforce in the agriculture sector, exports and gdp contribution have fallen though, given that oil and gas production became nigeria's economic mainstay, nigeria is blessed with vast amounts of arable land and a large, diverse production base that includes many high-value cash crops, offering significant opportunity for development and investment. however, production hurdles have significantly stifled the performance of this sector and the coronavirus pandemic has further expanded its susceptibility and vulnerability to external factors. the security issues in many parts of nigeria also creates a very serious problem to the agriculture sector. the food and agriculture organization (fao) said that over the past two decades, value-added per capita in agriculture has risen by less than 1% annually and it is estimated that nigeria has lost 10billion dollars in annual export opportunity due to continuous 68decline in the production of some commodities. experts have identified the factors undermining agricultural production which include, reliance on rain-fed agriculture, smallholder land holding, and low productivity due to poor planting material, low fertilizer application, and a weak agricultural extension system and absence of long term accessible 69cheap funds amongst many. for sure the resilience of the nigerian agricultural sector has been tested by the coronavirus pandemic. according to the director-general, lagos chamber of commerce and industry, dr. muda yusuf, with covid-19 induced lockdown in many states, the food situation was most likely to worsen with farmers having to cope with movement restrictions and paralyzed supply chains as transport restrictions and quarantine measures are likely to impede farmers access to markets thus curbing their productive capacities and 70hindering them from selling their produce. for this i am pleading with the government to invest in partnerships with local communities and groups to reach the millions of small scale farmers in nigeria and also create an enabling policy environment that takes into 105felix gabriel zombobah 67 nigeria to shut down its oil refineries in upgrade effort| hydrocarbon processing, [internet]. [cited 2020 jul 3]. available from: https://www.hydrocarbonprocessing.com/news/2020/04/nigeria-to-shut-down-its-oil-refineriesi n u p g r a d e effort#:~:text=nigeria%20has%20decided%20to%20shut,due%20to%20years%20of%20underinvestment. 68oluchi chibuzor, repositioning nigeria's agriculture sector, |this day, [internet]. [cited 2020 jun 29]. available from: https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2020/05/14/repositioning-nigerias-agriculture-sector/ 69 ibid. 70 ibid. https://www.hydrocarbonprocessing.com/news/2020/04/nigeria-to-shut-down-its-oil-refineries-in-upgrade-effort https://www.hydrocarbonprocessing.com/news/2020/04/nigeria-to-shut-down-its-oil-refineries-in-upgrade-effort https://www.hydrocarbonprocessing.com/news/2020/04/nigeria-to-shut-down-its-oil-refineries-in-upgrade-effort https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2020/05/14/repositioning-nigerias-agriculture-sector/ account the needs of farmers, so that small scale farmers can scale up their businesses and transition from micro businesses to small, medium and large businesses. if the agriculture sector is seen as an engine that contributes to the growth of the overall economy of nigeria, i recommend that at this time of the pandemic government should provide more funding for agricultural universities in nigeria to carry out researches on all areas of agricultural production that will lead to more exports and improvement in the competitiveness of nigeria agriculture production in the international markets. the central bank of nigeria should also come up with a stable policy for loan disbursement for farmers at a reasonable interest payback. this will in turn pull millions out of the existing cycle of poverty and drive the agricultural transformation that will ensure economic sustainability. this can be realized only through the provision of appropriate, affordable and timely financing, increased budget allocation to the agric sector, training and capacity building, innovation and skilled development. our government should importantly establish more research centers to improve seedling production, encourage use of irrigation farming system and provision of storage facilities for seasonal products as means of improving the country's agricultural output. this 'pause' has created that opportunity to put in the necessary effort to ensure small scale farmers achieve the scale necessary to deliver real and long-term impact. secondary sectors the secondary sector of the manufacturing industry is concerned generally with turning raw materials into consumables or finished products. this sector includes: construction, textile, building, shipbuilding, iron and steel and chemical industries. manufacturing industry: “the manufacturing industry is defined as the industry that is involved in the turning of raw material into a new product by mechanical or chemical 71processes at home or in the factory.” the impact of manufacturing on economic development in nigeria cannot be overemphasized. it is extremely difficult for any to grow its wealth without investing in the manufacturing industry. a strong and thriving manufacturing sector usually precipitates industrialization. this plays a vital role in the nigerian economy and also in the lives of the people. the manufacturing industry is motivated by a number of factors to utilize input like raw-materials, land and manpower in the production of physical or tangible products for their consumers' satisfaction. the manufacturing industry consists of: food industry, paper products industry, textile and apparel production industry, chemical manufacturing, leather and footwear production, furniture and wood production, metal manufacturing, computer and electronics products, coal products and petroleum, rubber and plastics manufacturing, mineral products (non-metal), machinery manufacturing, printing industry, tobacco products and beverages, and made in nigeria products. nigeria being blessed with different raw materials that serve the basic needs for manufacturing. the manufacturing sector in nigeria faces some difficulties; most prominent is the power supply. most firms rely on emergency power generators to run seamless operations, adding to the cost of their products. they also face regulatory issues, multiplicity of taxes, and trade facilitation issues, just to mention a few. nigeria's infrastructural deficiencies are also a major constraint. the covid-19 pandemic is already ushering challenges to the nigerian industrial manufacturers, especially those that depend on workers whose jobs cannot be carried out remotely. uncertainty surrounding the duration (or even a 71 manufacturing industry in nigeria, |steemit.com, [internet]. [cited 2020 jul 1]. available from: https://steemit.com/science/@musteethany/manufacturing-industry-in-nigeria 106 naijapause: opportunities knocking, and it might just be once https://steemit.com/science/@musteethany/manufacturing-industry-in-nigeria deepening) of those conditions clouds any insights into how a recovery could unfold for the industry. indeed, many beleaguered companies in manufacturing should be eligible for government stimulus support. but there is a real possibility that the crisis will result in bankruptcy for some manufacturers, as declining demand, production and revenues, along with debt obligations, take their cumulative toll. this coronavirus outbreak is causing widespread concern and economic hardship for consumers, businesses and communities across nigeria. yes, it is true that lack of funds and an enabling environment for industrialists have denied the nation the capacity to achieve significant industrial growth or industrialization which nigeria has always hoped and craved for. this period of pause therefore, gives us an opportunity have a rethink, considering the enormous importance that we attach to industrialization and how it impacts on our economy, and so, whatever it is that militates against its achievement should be of interest to us all and especially our government. my plea here is to remind our politicians about the promises made about their desire to help our manufacturing and boost industrial production. it is a noble endeavor to boost our industry and rebalance the economy away from financial services to manufacturing especially at this period of the pandemic. so i suggest: · first and foremost, security is required in nigeria for any meaningful industrial venture to thrive. · that government should try and create a stable macroeconomic environment – low inflation, and a sustained positive economic growth. · provide satisfactory availability of credit – a working banking sector that is ready to lend to firms. · provide an improved labor productivity – to make sure workers have better education and training. · government should also invest in infrastructure – create better transport links to reduce firms' costs. · provision of subsidy to help develop certain technologies · there should also and very importantly be stable exchange rate. with all in mind we all know that the sector needs innovation and smart techniques to cut costs. until there is a complete implementation of the national industrial revolution plan, the sector may continue to struggle. as the pandemic continues to expand, manufacturers are facing challenges on numerous fronts. at the outset of any major commercial disruption, companies will be looking for immediate measures to keep their workforces safe and their businesses solvent. but companies should also be looking to the future. which assets, people, capabilities will they need or want then? most companies in the nigerian manufacturing sector will need to take concrete steps to succeed in this challenging climate. some will be austere, but austerity measures should be tempered to preserve long-term objectives. the best approach is likely to include making surgical cuts, while balancing short-and long-term needs. every company is unique, but each faces the same concerns: where to begin, how to keep people protected, when to communicate, and 72what is the right way to move forward. 72 industries, |pwc, [internet]. [cited 2020 jul 6]. available from: https://www.pwc.com/us/en/industries.html 107felix gabriel zombobah https://www.pwc.com/us/en/industries.html tertiary sector the tertiary sector normally provides services to other businesses as well as financial consumers. the focus usually on people interacting with other people and serving the customer rather than transforming physical goods. healthcare industry, education industry, finance industry, aviation and sports industry are a few to mention. i shall only reflect on education and healthcare industries which at this point if taken care of can also have great positive effects on other industries. healthcare industry: the coronavirus has drawn our attention to the already overburdened public health system in nigeria (just to be charitable), we have seen also the challenges faced in recruiting, deploying, retaining and protecting sufficient well-trained, 73and motivated health workers. the covid-19 outbreak has severely impacted in the entire supply chain in the healthcare industry from the procurement of raw materials to production and distribution. the need for medical ventilators at a global level triggered the manufacturers to increase production by up to 40% to 50%. the manufacturers have also 74collaborated with automakers to meet the growing demand. president muhammadu buhari is known for his anti-corruption campaign since taking over power in 2015. however, a lot of effort is focused on grand corruption at the higher levels of governance and politics. there is less emphasis on the less-talked-about but vulnerable areas such as the health industry. in the battle against this pandemic, health system resilience, accountability and integrity are more important than ever. the health systems of some rich countries have become overwhelmed by the rising number of infected persons and deaths from the disease. countries with less resilient health systems are more vulnerable. research has clearly shown the vulnerability of nigeria's health system. a consistently solid and accountable health system has eluded the country. the requisite health resources are also in short supply. the nigerian association of resident doctors demands that the government provide members with more personal protective equipment and hazard pay in treating patients infected with covid-19, or they will escalate the strike they began in june 2020. and the reality is that citizens, health workers and international development partners worry that nigeria's health system is very weak and 75may be unable to adequately combat covid-19. with the current situation in nigeria, even after the immediate emergency of the covid-19, the healthcare industry won't return to business as usual. on this the secretary to the government of the federation and the chairman of the presidential task force (ptf) on covid-19, boss mustapha, decried the poor state of nigeria's healthcare infrastructure. he said, “i can tell you for sure, i never knew that our 73 this is not ignoring the fact that our health workers complained and truly so, were not well taken care of. my point here is to stress the fact that amidst all these challenges they are always resilient and ready to motivate and support themselves to care for the sick. as we saw in the case of dr ameyo adadevoh, whom we all know despite the pressure and threat from the liberian government to discharge patrick sawyer, resisted and said for the sake of public good she will not release him. she prevented the nigerian index case from leaving the hospital, thereby curbing the spread of the virus in nigeria. she was infected by the ebola virus and later paid the supreme price with her life. 74 covid-19 outbreak impact on healthcare market analysis, size projection, regional insights, research overview and future trends by 2022 | medgadget newsletter, [internet]. [cited 2020 jul 4]. available from: https://www.medgadget.com/2020/05/covid-19-outbreak-impact-on-healthcare-market-analysis-size-projectionregional-insights-research-overview-and-future-trends-by-2022.html 75obinna onwujekwe, et al., coronavirus: corruption in health care could get in the way of nigeria's response, | the conversation, [internet]. [cited 2020 jul 6]. available from: https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-corruptionin-health-care-could-get-in-the-way-of-nigerias-response-136913 108 naijapause: opportunities knocking, and it might just be once https://www.medgadget.com/2020/05/covid-19-outbreak-impact-on-healthcare-market-analysis-size-projection-regional-insights-research-overview-and-future-trends-by-2022.html https://www.medgadget.com/2020/05/covid-19-outbreak-impact-on-healthcare-market-analysis-size-projection-regional-insights-research-overview-and-future-trends-by-2022.html https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-corruption-in-health-care-could-get-in-the-way-of-nigerias-response-136913 https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-corruption-in-health-care-could-get-in-the-way-of-nigerias-response-136913 entire healthcare infrastructure was in the state in which it is. until i was appointed to do 76this work.” he said this in a meeting he had with the leadership of the national assembly. he also acknowledged that it is an opportunity to now examine the state of the national health industry which requires immediate reforms and funding. the current pandemic has demonstrated the central importance of health in our national life – without it, we have nothing. it has also shown how we can do things differently as regards to financing health 77care in nigeria. amidst all these issues there is hope as mr boss mustapha assured nigerians that there are plans to lay a legacy foundation for the immediate, medium and long-term development of the health systemin the wake of the coronavirus pandemic across the country. on this he continues that the task force has proposed to utilize the resources mobilized in a “strategic way”. which is: direct development and delivery of critical infrastructure to states by donors; direct procurement and delivery of personal protective equipment (ppe) and other critical equipment by donors; deployment of rapid response teams to states for capacity building and support; and expansion of the testing capacity in 78the country. a period like is an opportunity to make amends and the pause also highlights the strong need for sustainable investment in the health systems, including the health workforce, and for decent working conditions, training and equipment, especially in relation to personal protective equipment and occupational safety. social dialogue is essential to building resilient health systems, and therefore has a critical role both in crisis response and in building a future that is prepared for health emergencies. education: the novel coronavirus has affected all levels of education system. many countries have (rightly) decided to close schools, colleges and universities. the crisis crystallizes the dilemma policymakers are facing between closing schools (reducing contacts and saving lives) and keeping them open (allowing workers to work and maintaining the economy). teachers have had to adapt to a world of almost universal distance education as nearly all students have faced school closures. majority of the teachers have embraced this challenge, although in many developing countries teachers lack the skills and equipment to provide distance education effectively. the covid-19 pandemic poses unprecedented challenges, for an already weak educational system, on the government, students and parents, that will highlight and could amplify some of the cracks in the system. as nigeria grapples with these challenges, a key question arises: is the nigerian education system designed to adapt rapidly to the changing world? looking at the reality of things around the world today, the nation's ability to ensure continuation of learning will depend largely on their ability to swiftly harness available technology, provide adequate infrastructure, and mobilize stakeholders to prepare alternative learning programs. this pandemic has uncovered substantial inequities in the education sector. private and non-governmental sectors are tirelessly working to salvage this situation. projects such as digiterate and teach for nigeria hope to ensure proper tools for education are 76 queenesther iroanusi, i never knew nigeria's healthcare infrastructure was in such bad state, | premium times, [internet]. [cited 2020 jun 28]. available from: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/health/health-news/387036-inever-knew-nigerias-healthcare-infrastructure-was-in-such-bad-state-sgf.html 77oluwatola toluwani, opinion: covid-19 is a game-changer for health financing in nigeria, | devex, [internet]. [cited 2020 jun 30]. available from: https://www.devex.com/news/opinion-covid-19-is-a-game-changer-forhealth-financing-in-nigeria-97117 78 queenesther iroanusi, i never knew nigeria's… 109felix gabriel zombobah https://www.premiumtimesng.com/health/health-news/387036-i-never-knew-nigerias-healthcare-infrastructure-was-in-such-bad-state-sgf.html https://www.premiumtimesng.com/health/health-news/387036-i-never-knew-nigerias-healthcare-infrastructure-was-in-such-bad-state-sgf.html https://www.devex.com/news/opinion-covid-19-is-a-game-changer-for-health-financing-in-nigeria-97117 https://www.devex.com/news/opinion-covid-19-is-a-game-changer-for-health-financing-in-nigeria-97117 79available in lagos. generally, nigeria's education sector is not adapting, and it is expected to struggle on that front for the foreseeable future. however, the consequential socio-economic burden will be borne disproportionately by students in public schools, as compared to those in private schools. while several private have begun to initiate distance learning programs, taking advantage of the myriad of ict-learning opportunities provided by the international community, the government limited funds and persistent deficiencies in planning, is yet to announce any plans for providing distance learning opportunities, especially for public schools except of course the announcement that jss 3 and sss 3 will resume to write exam because they are transitional classes. the implication being that these students in public schools currently have no formal learning plans and could be 80missing learning altogether. chief obafemi awolowo states that “the children of the poor you failed to train will never let your children have peace.” this is a clarion call on our government to use this pause to bridge the gap of educational inequity by funding sufficiently the education industry. the impact of the coronavirus pandemic is just one out of many implications of educational inequity, no one knows what awaits us in the future, so it is very important that our government provide an equitable and inclusive learning environment for the students to ensure continuity in learning for all, irrespective of their socio-economic background. we should never forget that education remains the solution to whatever kind of problems. let us therefore come all together to make nigeria better and greater through quality and wholistic education. education in nigeria should be seen as a high government priority especially at a time like this. help in increasing awareness of the pressing need for the country's children to be educated, especially those from low-income families, continue with the almajiri education, will benefit the nation's economy in years to come. funding provided for this noble endeavor is always seen and surely it is, an investment in human capital; the more educated a nation is, the more productive it is. of all sustainable missions, surely the most pressing is to improve lives, and there is no better way to do so than proper education for all. we should all look at large scale and national efforts to utilize technology to support remote learning, distance education and online learning during and after the coronavirus. and the biggest change may not end up being how much time we spend online but how we spend it. conclusion one thing most nigerians share is that there are so much unjust structures. they will surely not disappear quickly. we know as well that unjust structures require unjust beliefs to hold them up. taking apart the structures goes hand in hand with challenging the beliefs. this is something i hold dear to my heart. to always remind us that yes things are 'bad' in nigeria but they can also be remedied if we collectively believe. by naijapause i mean we collectively retreat to see what our problems are and what we can do to resolve them. i chose a few major sectors that are the pillars of our great nation. the coronavirus has 79 toritseju april amorighoye, covid-19 has exposed the education divide in nigeria, |world economic forum, [internet]. [cited 2020 jul 5]. available from: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/06/education-nigeriacovid19-digital-divide/ 80thelma o & adedeji a, covid-19: impending situation threatens to deepen nigeria's education crisis, |csea, [internet]. [cited 2020 jul 7]. available from: https://media.africaportal.org/documents/covid19impending-situation-threatens-to-deepen-nigerias-education-.pdf 110 naijapause: opportunities knocking, and it might just be once https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/06/education-nigeria-covid19-digital-divide/ https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/06/education-nigeria-covid19-digital-divide/ https://media.africaportal.org/documents/covid19-impending-situation-threatens-to-deepen-nigerias-education-.pdf https://media.africaportal.org/documents/covid19-impending-situation-threatens-to-deepen-nigerias-education-.pdf exposed the flaws in response of governments to healthcare and social security in both developed and developing world alike. nigeria's reliance on oil exports to fund government expenditure has made the country particularly vulnerable following the collapse in oil prices, embarking on medical tourism weakens the health system of the nation. we wait to see with great hope, whether the aggressive steps the federal government has taken will be enough to successfully mitigate the effects of the crisis. a small silver lining is the belief that the oil price fall and this pause will act as the catalysts for the economic diversification that we desire. there are fears of new recession and financial collapse, moments like this call for resilient and strong leadership in healthcare, education, agriculture, manufacturing, government and wider society. immediate relief measure needs to be implemented and adjusted for those that may fall through the cracks. medium and longer-term planning is needed to re-balance and re-energize the economy following this crisis. a better way to stimulate the nigerian economy at this time would be to have specific and measurable objectives that can unleash the potential of nigerians. bibliography a. babs fafunwa, history of education in nigeria, oxford: routledge revivals, 2018 akinmayowa adedoyin shobo, standard precautions in nigeria's healthcare industry, norderstedt: grin verlad, 2019. c. o taiwo, the nigerian education system: past, present, and future, toronto: nelson pitman, 1985. chinenyenwa ohia, et al., covid-19 and nigeria: putting the realities in context, international journal of infectious diseases, vol. 95, pp. 279-281, june 01, 2020 joe parkinson & benoit faucon, oil slump, coronavirus create a perfect storm for nigeria's economy, |the wall street journal, [internet]. https://www.wsj.com/articles/oil-slump-coronavirus-createa-perfect-storm-for-nigerias-economy-11588000761 kanu, i. a. covid-19 pandemic and the health of african migrants. amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 18. no. 2. pp. 56-64, 2020 kanu, i. a. covid-19 and the economy: an african perspective. journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 3. no. 2. pp. 29-36, 2020 kanu, i. a. (2020). saint augustine and covid-19 pandemic: the future and divine providence. tansian university journal of arts, management and social sciences. vol. 7. pp. 151-162. kanu, i. a. the culture of political corruption and the emergence of terrorism in nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli and rico sneller (eds.). the root causes of terrorism: a religious studies perspective (pp. 280-291). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing, 2017 kanu, i. a. corruption in nigeria as a socio-cultural context for the extraordinary jubilee of mercy. harvard journal of management sciences and entrepreneurship. vol. 3. no. 5. pp. 187-196, 2016 kanu, i. a. corruption in africa and its challenges for the enterprise of christian theology. international journal of research in arts and social sciences, vol.4. pp. 492-500, 2011. kanu, i. a. the culture of political corruption and the emergence of terrorism in nigeria. sub-saharan journal of african sustainable development. 3. 7. pp. 127-149, 2016 rabiu maijama'a, et al., analysis of the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the nigerian economy, american journal of environmental and resource economics, volume 5, issue 2, pp. 39-43, june 2020. toyin falola, ed., et al., environment and economics in nigeria, oxford, routledge african studies book 4, 2012 111felix gabriel zombobah https://www.wsj.com/articles/oil-slump-coronavirus-create-a-perfect-storm-for-nigerias-economy-11588000761 https://www.wsj.com/articles/oil-slump-coronavirus-create-a-perfect-storm-for-nigerias-economy-11588000761 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 48 tourism and hospitality development: a panacea for effective image laundering and improved economic gains in kaduna state methuselah jeremiah department of english and drama kaduna state university, kaduna 08134947770; mekau05@kasu.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.31258.06083 abstract this paper explores tourism and hospitality as viable means of laundering the image of and improving economic gains in kaduna state. the purpose is to nudge government and other stakeholders to focus on ubiquitous tourist sites in the state and by doing so, make policies and efforts towards building such sites and making them attractive to leisure seekers. this is because kaduna state is, no doubt, endowed with colourful cultural and numerous natural resources most of which, if well harnessed, can offer a leeway for revenue generation. the advantage of this, the paper submits, would afford the state the needed resources to build infrastructure, fund advertisement, and among other things, engage its indigenes in more lucrative activities. with these, the state would curb the surging impact of unemployment and curb the increasing rate of insecurity in the state. keywords: tourism, kaduna state, festivals, hospitality, panacea, economy introduction beginning in the 20th century especially after world war ii, tourism has become an important platform not only for socio-cultural integration, distraction from work and recreation for pleasure seekers but also a vital service sector with the capacity for employment, revenue generation and, among many other things, image laundering. harnessed particularly by “middle classes in america and in certain european countries” (bhatia 2006:11). tourism, over the years, has, in the words of bhatia (2006: vii) “become a larger giant in terms of employment and investment”. this is even truer given the statistical evidence provided by world travel and tourism council (wttc) in 2006. their findings show that the travel and tourism sector “with around 600 million customers each year, generates an annual gross output of about us $ 3,400 billion, about 10 per cent of the world’s total gross domestic product (gdp)” (bhatia 2006: vii). with this statistics, world economies have continued to readjust their economic focus by investing their time, finances and energies into ways through which they can develop and harvest the available tourist potentials in their countries; such that will guarantee them viable and self-generating economic growth. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 49 keying into this emergent sector with untold economic potentials, many african countries have began to look inwards for some unique physical, social and cultural phenomenon with potentials to guarantee their place in the tourism industry. given that the core of tourism is to attract inflow – of persons, of ideas and of potentials – into a particular destination, more african countries, as fatai (2011:4) posits “are getting awareness about the need to develop tourism for socio-economic advantages”. it is, however, no doubt that the development of tourism is by no means an easy nut to crack. this is because it entails recognizing gaps within the framework of ‘glocal’ tourism and providing some compelling platforms worthy of drawing the attention of people – both foreign and local. in the context of tourism, attraction must be proportional to satisfaction. this means that drawing attention to a site, a phenomenon or a people is not enough until it is able to create a lasting impression on them. it is the commoditization of this impression that guarantees constant flow of income to host localities. it is important for countries to understand the benefits of investing in the tourist sector. first, it promotes growth-oriented innovations. atuk (2014:1), postulates that tourism demands “the positive transformation of tourism potentials to tourism products”. it, in this regard, entails the transmutation of potentials from their latent stages into tangible and usable ‘products’ for economic gains. these potentials, according to okechuku (1990) “fall into protected ecosystems (game reserves and recreational parks), protected landscapes or natural sceneries, cultural sites, coastline, traditional festival and historic relics and monuments. in addition to the above submission, okoli (2001), sees tourism development as the provision of infrastructure and superstructures. these infrastructures, he adds, include roads, water supply, communication system etc. the superstructures, according to him, include hotels, motels, guesthouses etc. if harnessed, these structures have the capacity of pulling people towards sites where they are evidently present to relish the comfort they embody. in this wise, infrastructure such as road networks, efficient transport system, water and power supply, hospitals, schools among others, as defined by atuk (2014), can become ‘products’ when they not only serve the purpose of providing services to their people but become a destination for comfort seekers. the reason is that beyond the services they render, these products offer potentials for the development of many other money generating services such as hotels, resorts, recreation centres, and restaurants among others. this means therefore, that infrastructural development provides the leeway for superstructure which, in turn, offers tourism potentials. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 50 the development and enhancement of socio-cultural phenomenon peculiar to a people can, in addition, become tourism potentials. defined by krippendorf (1980:665), tourism potential entails “a complex of material and nonmaterial elements to provide satisfaction of needs and benefits to the tourist, offered for consumption”. since the drive of every tourist is to seek pleasure and satisfaction, socio-cultural phenomena such as festivals, music, dance, for instance, provide huge resources for them to relish. this is why okpolo (2002) see tourism as “a complex and pervasive phenomenon which touches all aspects of man and society, cultural, social, historical and physical environments”. in his study, chhabra (2003:423) provides a close example of festival as tourist potential when he maintains that, festivals are often part of the economic development strategy of rural areas. this study estimates the economic impacts of visitor expenditures at two scottish festivals in rural north carolina, using tourist survey data and an input-output model. while local restaurants and lodging and festival vendors and sponsors benefit from substantial visitor expenditures, the multipliers are relatively small, and hence the total economic impact of the festivals represents only a small percentage of economic activity in the two regions considered. lodging expenditures have the greatest impact on the region with a multiple-day festival, while expenditures on food and beverage have the greatest impact on the region with a single-day festival. the magnitude of the economic impact depends on characteristics of both the festival (number of days) and the local economy (other attractions and linkage. this is significant to the present study in a number of ways. first, it shows that festivals, defined by janiskee (1980:97) as ‘‘formal periods or programs of pleasurable activities, entertainment, or events having a festive character and publicly celebrating some concept, happening or fact’ allows for the integration and engagement of both the urban and rural dweller. although festivals are influenced by traditions, they require some influences especially by agencies of government to gain national and even global attention. it is through such partnership can it transmute from being some local dreary event to one worthy of tourist attention. in fact, tourism itself is a latent essence which requires some prodding as people around the world seek pleasurable places and events to ease off tension or explore the beauty of nature, as it were. hence, festivals are handy socio-cultural forms of public displays igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 51 which, according to turner (1982:11), are “set aside …for communal creativity and celebration”. this means, therefore, that tourism encourages the improvement of cultural heritages from their original or what may be termed ‘unrefined states’ to more acceptable and appreciable forms. in this sense, festivals, a mutated form of cultural practices, offer, not only a platform for cultural integration but also provides a source of revenue generation. this is possible when local cultures are consciously developed and positioned to harness economic gains. to achieve this, these displays must be given virtual presence by providing web sites for and placing images of such on same. through this, local socio-cultural events will transmute into global entertainment sites. what this means is that when these hitherto cultural practices and traditions are strategically planned and privileged, they become potential targets for tourism. this way, they are transformed into ‘lobal’ essence (that is, from local to global) physical features and natural sceneries such as beaches, caves, forests, harbours, mountains, natural heritage sites, rivers and lakes, rock faces, wildlife – flora and fauna can provide tourist potentials as well. these features known collectively as ‘landscape’ inspire tourism particularly to those whose love for, and interest in nature is unequivocal. as atuk (2014:32) maintains, “with the growing concern about conservation, environmental protection, landforms, natural vegetation and wildlife, natural features provide valuable resources for the development of nature-based travel and/or eco-tourism” a landscape, according to atuk (2014:201432), will be typically composed of three major geographical elements: • the landform and geology – hills, mountains, plains, plateaus, coastlines, the water systems which drain the various landforms, and geological determinants of landforms such as rivers, oceans and volcanic activity. • the natural vegetation (flora) and the animals (fauna) which depend upon it. • the presence of man which may modify both landforms and vegetation. of these three geographical elements, landforms and geologies are the most ubiquitous from which tourism can be harnessed within a short time. the reason is that these elements are nature endowed and require little to develop. reasoning in this direction, dowling (2010:2) maintains that landforms and geologies are “distinct subsectors of natural areas” which “promote tourism to geosites and the conversation of geo-diversity and an understanding of earth igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 52 sciences through appreciation and learning.” the conversation around these geographical elements is both educational and ecological. for the former, it provides conversation around landscape and the cultural relevance of such to both the locals and their visitors. this conversation guarantees sustained understanding of natural phenomenon and how they can be harnessed for human development. the latter, on the other hand, creates an illuminating conversation on geological information; one that seeks to interpret the earth’s geological features in order to enhance the understanding of the world around us. the tourist potential in this sector lies in its demand for facilities that enhance tourist activities. such potentials, according to dowling (2010:3), include the demand for effective and efficient “transport system, accommodation and services, staff training and skill development.” the result of this is the creation and sustenance of what is referred to as ‘ecotourism’. the notion of eco-tourism, according to the wto, “involves travelling to relatively undisturbed natural areas within specialized object of studying, admiring and enjoying the scenery and its wild, plants and animals, as well as any existing cultural aspects (both of the past and present) found in these areas.” to the eco-tourism society, eco-tourism entails “purposeful travel to natural areas to understand the cultural and natural history of the environment, taking care not to alter the integrity of the eco-system, while producing economic opportunities that make the conservation of natural resources financially beneficial to local citizens.” running through these definitions is the fact that ecotourism is nature oriented – it, in this regard, provides the link between nature, locals and the tourists. the relevance of ecotourism is, therefore, in its symbiotic relationship between the environment, the locals and these pleasure seekers. the result of this socio-ecological relationship, kiper (n.y:773) maintains, is that besides providing ecological experience to travelers, it involves local community in the conservation of the ecology and biodiversity of their area. more so, the biodiversity in return provides the economic incentives to the local community. in addition to these, there are man-made attractions that were not originally designed to attract visitors but can be made attractive for tourism. these may either be deliberately converted into attraction potentials or may have spontaneously evolved into and become such over time. some of the commonly visited potentials as cited by peters and weiermair (2016) are: ancient monuments and historic buildings, gardens, archaeological sites, cathedrals and temples, cultural heritage sites, industrial heritage, archaeology sites, stately homes and historic houses, steam railways and reservoirs. the presence igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 53 or relics of most of these man-made creations possess elements which, they maintain, can “encourage people to travel”. according to ferrario (1979:18), the real element that determines destination attractiveness is the presence of “something attractive or unusual to see or do.” hence, the peculiarity of certain man-made sites can provide attraction if they are, to borrow from ferrarior (1979:24), ‘unusual to see’. the notion of the ‘unusual’ in ferrarior’s definition is context-bound and purpose influenced. according to hu and ritchie (1993:34), the attractiveness of tourism destinations depends on the context of the vacation experience and, in particular, educational and recreational travel context. an important finding from their study shows that “certain potentially negative attributes of destination are more acceptable for certain types of vacation (educational) than others (recreational)”. this is why mayo and jarvis (1981:201) define destination attractiveness as “the relative importance of individual benefits and the perceived ability of the destination to deliver these individual benefits” in all, the more a destination is able to meet the needs of tourists, the more it is perceived as attractive and the more the likelihood to be chosen in preference to other available ones. thus, kim and lee (2006:np) submit that “the major value of destination attractiveness is the pulling effect attractiveness has on tourists”. the notion of polling effect as vengesayi, mavondo and reisinger (2009:661) posit, is tie to “the opinions of visitors about the destination’s perceived ability to satisfy their needs.” there are usually certain forms of resources that attract visitors to a particular destination. these, according to crouch and ritchie (1999:137), include “all forms of natural and created (manmade) resources, culture, heritage, history, customs, architectural features, traditional artwork, cuisine, music, and handicrafts that attract travelers.”it is important to note, therefore, that economic gains can be derived from such resources only when they are designed to attract visitors. the economic gains of tourism there is therefore a correlation between tourism and economic growth. this correlation is the result of the pull-push factor; namely demand and supply, which drive economic activities. in this regard, cultural activities as well as cultural artifacts, sights and values, when harnessed into tourist potentials attract influx of tourists whose taste for entertainment can be satisfied by these activities. this influx has the capacity to drive economic growth. recognizing the economic impacts of cultural activities as tourist potentials, chhabra (2003:421) opines that festivals are often part of the economic development strategy of rural areas. his study estimates the economic impacts of visitor igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 54 expenditures at two scottish festivals in rural north carolina, using tourist survey data and an input-output model. he identified two beneficiaries of festival. these are local restaurants and lodging and festival vendors and sponsors. though he points that the multipliers are often small, he recognized the fact that this activities provides substantial room for visitor expenditures. this expenditure is the result of lodging as well as food and beverages. the take from chhabra’s study is that festival, as an example of tourist resources, provides social atmosphere for boosting local economy. not only does it create the platform for reviving cultural heritage it also enables social interaction between locals and their visitors. this social interaction is crucial as it provides the people the opportunity to showcase themselves to the world and model themselves as tourist destination. the result of this is that the locals are encouraged to preserve and ‘export’ natural and man-made tourist potentials and by so doing, create a sustainable source of income. the influx of people to these areas creates business opportunities for ventures such as food vendor, transportation, lodging, experts and scholars. a study by world travel & tourism councilprovides an economic insight that shows the contribution of travel and tourism to nigeria’s gdp in 2017. according to the study, leisure travel spending generated 54.1% of direct travel & tourism gdp (ngn1 668.7bn) as compared to 45.9% for business travel in 2016. in 2017 spending for leisure travel is expected to grow by 0.4% in 2017 to ngn1,675.8bn, and rise by 3.3% pa to ngn2,313.9bn in 2027. furthermore, business travel spending is expected to grow by 1.9% in 2017 to ngn1,443.4bn, and rise by 3.9% pa to ngn2,111.8bn in 2027. domestic travel spending generated 93.2% of direct travel & tourism gdp in 2016 compared with 6.8% for visitor exports (ie foreign visitor spending or international tourism receipts). the above data shows the important place the tourism sector occupies in nigeria. this sector, as the study shows, contributes in no small way to the nation’s gross domestic product – the major economic measurement that reflects the economic well-being of a nation. the bureau of economic analysis (bea) gives a clear definition for gdp as: the value of the goods and services produced by the nation’s economy less the value of the goods and services used up in production. gdp is also equal to the sum of personal consumption expenditures, gross private domestic investment, net exports of goods and services, and government consumption expenditures and gross investment. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 55 as a service oriented sector, tourism is a social platform with enormous income generating potentials. it is even so as it offers a one-off investment with selfgenerating economic output. this way it is a stimulant of economic growth, a potential with self-sustaining capacity. tourism and job creation opportunities in nigeria nigeria, in the context of african countries, has been overwhelmed by the implosion of its youth and women population. this population, rather than being an economic asset is becoming a threat to the country. one of the reasons for this is that policy makers have, over the years, failed to factor in and provide policy framework that envisions the economic importance of this portion of its population. this lack of commitment generates a sustained fear and provides the platform for global discourse. in one of these platforms ruhl, the country director for africa region expresses his worries by arguing that: youth constitute not only a formidable demographic force, but also make up the next generation of parents, workers and leaders. their well being, therefore, has implications not only for their own lives, but also for the societies they will build and maintain. their ability to play these roles effectively depends on the support of their families, communities and on the commitment of their governments to their development. meeting their needs is a major continuing public policy challenge which calls for constant rethinking of policies, re-assessment of priorities, commitment of adequate financial resources, and effective implementation of programs (james and akpokos 2005:44). consequent upon this, tourism, if utilized with sincerity of purpose, provides huge potentials for policy makers to cushion this fear given the potential option it provides in creating both short-term and long-term employment opportunities for women and youth. this is so largely because it is a comparative job-rich sector with potential to employ a good number of women and youth. the reason is that tourism is a, service industry, comprising several tangible and intangible components. the tangible components include transport systems — air, rail, road, water, and hospitality services — accommodation, food and beverages, tours and souvenirs, and related services, such as banking, insurance and safety and security. the intangible components include rest and relaxation, culture, escape, adventure and new and different experiences (malviya 2005:2). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 56 whether tangible on intangible, all the components of tourism hold potentials for job creation. this is so largely because these components provide economic activities that require the services of young and viable hands. as a sector that demands effective transport system, for instance, tourism opens up all forms of transportation depending on the number of visitors and their point of visit. it should be understood at this point that the whole concept of tourism entails the influx of visitors to a particular destination. a visitor, as defined by unwto is “someone who is making a visit to a main destination outside his/her usual environment for less than a year for any main purpose[including] holidays, leisure and recreation, business, health, education or other purposes” (np). by their nature, most africans, (at least nigerians, to be precise) place premium on their visitors. the result of this is that they strive towards ensuring their visitors have maximum comfort and that they appreciate their stay around them. this means therefore, that jobs can be created to enhance this disposition. in light of this, the government can provide hire-purchase vehicles and give same to young people specifically for transporting visitors on tourism related visits to the country. the importance of this cannot be downplayed given the statistical evidence on the yearly influx of tourist into country. data has shown that nigeria’s visitor arrival recorded 1,889.00 people in december 2016recording 50.5 % of visitor arrival to the country. this figure holds a promising statistic to the economy as it shows the opportunities prevalent to the country’s transport system. if harnessed, this sector of the economy will see to the employment of some of its teaming youth. based on these statistics, the world travel and tourism council projects that travel and tourism will grow at 5.1 per cent annually from 2016 to 2026, contributing $121.6 billion by 2026 to africa’s gdp, earning $77.6 billion in exports and directly supporting over 11million jobs. again, this number carries a multiplier effect as other sectors such as hotel, food and beverages, tour and souvenir, banking, insurance and security will experience patronage in no small way. the effect of this is that abounding business opportunities will guarantee formal and/or informal business activities that will lead to employment. hence, if properly harnessed, tourism could be a major driver of employment in nigeria. tourism opportunities and economic potentials in kaduna state situated in the north western geopolitical zone of nigeria, kaduna state which came into existence in 1987, when it was detached from katsina province is, broadly speaking, divided into two regions namely, northern and southern kaduna. these regions are, incidentally, characterized by the dominating igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 57 presence of believers of the two religions – islam and christianity. while the northern part is largely mono-cultural (dominated by hausa speaking ethnic group) the southern part is dotted by “a potpourri of over 30 ethnic nationalities, including: atyap, attachirak, tsam, kagoma, fantswam, adara, akurmi, ninkyop, agbiri, amap, asholio and others, all of whom are predominantly christian”. the state is composed of 23 local government areas as shown in the map below: table 1: map of kaduna state showing the 23 local government areas the state is divided into three senatorial zones namely northern, central and southern senatorial zones. these are represented in the table below. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 58 table 2: showing the three geographical zones and their composition s/no. senatorial zones composition 1 northern zone zaria, sabon-gari, lere, makarfi, kudan, soba, ikara and kubau, local government areas. 2 central zone kaduna-north, kaduna-south, igabi, chikun, kajuru, giwa and birnin-gwari, local government area. 3 southern zone jama’a, kaura, jaba, kachia, kauru, sanga, kagarko and zango-kataf local government area. source: adapted from kaduna state tourist guide, (2010). as captured by kaduna state government, the state has a total area of 1,190 sq mi (3,080 km2) and its coordinates are 10°31’23’n’7°26’25’’e. the state share common boundaries with niger, katsina, kano, bauchi, plateau, nassarawa, and zamfara states as well as the federal capital, abuja. according to the national population commission, the 2006 census puts the population of the state at 6, 113, 503 people. additionally, the housing census of the same year stated that kaduna is made of 3, 090, 438 males and 3, 023, 065 females. the national bureau of statistics (nbs) put the annual population growth rate at 2.47%. kaduna state is endowed with numerous tourism potentials. while some of these are nature –based others are purely man-made. the following are some of the tourism potentials prevalent in kaduna state. man-made tourism attraction sites in kaduna state • general hassan usman park • city wall – zaria local government • kamuku national park– birnin gwari local government • trappco ranch and resort–igabi local government • pixie-dixie amusement park • lugard hall kaduna • kajim dam – kaura local government nature-based tourism potentials • kajim dam – kaura local government igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 59 • kagoro hills– kaura local government • zaria dam – zaria local government • pampada hill –kauru local government • turunku hill – igabi local government • kufena hill – sabon gari local government • jaba hill – jaba local government • gurara dam – kagarko local government • gbakuru pond kagarko local government • turunku hill – zangon kataf local government • gwong hill – jama’a local government • gwong hill – jama’a local government • nizom natural water – jama’a local government • mada hills – sanga local government • kangimu dam – igabi local government • fifth chukker recreation center –igabi local government • kamuku wild life – birnin gwari local government • kudaru hillslere local government • kono hills-kauru local government • kajuru castlekajuru local government some culture-based tourism attraction potentials • durbar festival – zaria local government • afan (kagoro) festival – kaura local government • tuk-ham festival – jaba local government • jacaranda pottery – chikun local government • atakar pottery – kaura local government • akurmi daylere local government • ayet atyap annual festival-zangon kataf ancient settlements and historical sites in kaduna state • the ancient nok settlement – jaba local government • the emir of zazzau’s palace – zaria local government • sarkin kagoro palace – kaura local government • queen amina chair – zaria local government • kufena settlement site – kajuru local government • st barth church – zaria local government • queen amina chair – igabi local government • swinging bridge – kaura local government • dyeing center – zaria local government • nok museum – jaba local government igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 60 the map below presents a graphic detail of sites with tourism potentials and their specific locations. the map shows the preponderance of tourism potentials unevenly distribute in twelve (12) local governments namely igabi, zaria, jaba, chikun, birnin gwari, kauru, kagarko, jama’a, sabon gari, kaura, zangon kataf and sanga while the remaining nine namely lere, kubau, ikara, kudan, kajuru, kachia, giwa, kaduna south, kaduna north and soba have not explored theirs. the disadvantage of not doing so is that such local governments will not only feel neglected if the government focuses on developing local governments with igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 61 such tourism potentials but will miss out in the quest to create tourism-based economy that will drive employment. viability of tourism potentials in kaduna state: the study context it has been established that there are tourism potentials in kaduna state. what remains doubtful, however, is the extent to which these value addition potentials have been harnessed. the doubt around the commitment in harnessing this potential is the problematic which the present study is set to explore. the essence is to capture and provide workable template within which policy-makers in the state can use tourism to drive the economy of the state. in principle, however, the kaduna state ministry of commerce, industry and tourism provided a template caption “sector implementation plan (sip) 20172019” with the vision of developing tourism sites and facilities for recreation, job creation and revenue generation. the ministry further provides an outcome target 2019 which envisions: • the construction of 5km road at kagoro hill • renovation of hassan katsina park • construction of standard zoo along the eastern bypass this drive is commendable but a closer look at it reveals that it is not only unclear but is lacking in terms of ambitious and drive. one reason for this conclusion is that it fails to provide an out-of-the-box strategy – one that will place the state on global radar. this is largely because from the strategy one can see through that it does not see tourism as “an agglomeration of separate but related services”. this understanding is crucial to the extent that it enables policy-makers to see the connection between tourism and other productive sectors; the connection that spurs local entrepreneurship, on the one hand, and opens up new business opportunities on the other. it is through this understanding can this sector “contribute to poverty reduction…and thereby play a role in fostering social inclusion while promoting rural development, and possibly helping to stem rural–urban migration”. set within this gap, the study differs significantly from earlier works that focus on tourism in kaduna state in that it aims at undertaking on-site study of some of these tourism potentials with a view to offering workable conclusion that will guarantee a purpose driven tourism development in the state. to the end, it will provide viable template within which tourism potential can become one of the leeway for revenue generation and image laundering in the state. the difference of this study from earlier ones is seen from the perspective it offers. for instance, atuks (2014) work entitled “an assessment of tourism potentials igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 62 in kaduna state, nigeria” focuses on examining the reason for low influx of tourist in kaduna state despite the availability of tourism potentials in the state. among other things, atuk’s (2014) study finds that the major reason for this is inadequate infrastructures, poor funding, lack of advertisement, and insecurity. suggested income yielding tourist developments in kaduna state 1. investing in the annual festivals of the various ethnic groups: we have already identified some tourist-oriented activities around the state, ranging from festivals and tourism sites which can be revenue yielders. the problem with many of these activities, they have hardly ever been upgraded to international standards. the usual circle of gathering at a designated date to dance and sing has become more of a ritual. other additional activities that can serve as elixirs and catalysts for a more aesthetic appreciation are, unfortunately, missing. beyond that, the facilities like hotels and other amusement centres are not there. the biggest issue, in our view, is funding. many of the tribal nationalities struggle on a yearly basis to fund these festivals. they struggle to upgrade presentations; costumes are hardly there and if they are ever used, they are ill-fitted and inadequate, hence may not go round all the performers. this kills the beauty and harmony or contrast being created. publicity is poor as many of these activities cannot be accessed online so the international community can hardly aware of them. given the epileptic nature of their delivery they are more of an annual merry-goround; going through the motions so that they do not just die off. no wonder it takes years before the organizers are able to get funding for the festival once again. the zaria durbar is better organized and is more visible probably because of the finance poured into it. no wonder it enjoys a lot of patronage from within and without of not just the state but even from wide spectrum of the nigerian society and beyond. in 2020, kebbi state government invested a whooping n650, 000,000 on the annual argungu festival. this amount would have gone far in publicizing the festival and internationalizing it given the number of people that patronize this annual meet. according to seun adeyeye (2020) the kebbi state commissioner of works reported that the money was to be used for “rehabilitation of dilapidated structures, roads, pavilions, culverts, motels and grand-fishing hotel, among others”. this is the kind of intervention that the government needs to consider to aid these activities to be noticed and patronized, the end result of which revenue will accrue to the state coffers given the massive patronage that will be enjoyed from near and far. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 63 2. five star hotels in both kudaru and kagoro hills. the interesting thing about these two hills is their topography at the top which is flat and wide covering a large expanse of land. this land can be used to develop many recreational facilities. to garnish this development, an escalator can be used to link it to the hotel at the base. this is apart from the road to be developed that takes people up the hills. the scenic beauty of the landscape coupled with the pure sweet unblemished air is an attraction that very few will resist, especially if well publicized in a functional and attractive website, handbills, brochures etc. 3. a big five star hotel by matsirga water fall (river wonderful) in kafanchan: the beauty of the matsirga waterfall has always been a point of fascination to people. the cascading waters rushing down the river with the attendant noisy fall is as beautiful to hold as it is refreshing. the location of a high class hotel in the vicinity of this natural wonder will most certainly attract many there, even as the surrounding area around the waterfall is beautified and made appealing. 4. upgrading website to be more interactive and provide more information on the tourism hotspots in kaduna state. conclusion this paper has consciously set out to chronicle the vast potentials inherent in the tourism industry in kaduna state. the terrain and scenic landscape in the nooks and crannies of the state; the centrality of the state within its geographical location can, if well harnessed, be a vast source of income for the state just as the influx of tourists who visit any of the sites can help in laundering the image of the state to the outside world as they interact with the disparate groups dotted all over the landscape and encounter a multitude of cultures which reside in kaduna state. if well harnessed, this can supplant the overdependence on oil revenue which has brought so much friction and tension among polities in the country. references adeyeye, s. (2020) “kebbi government to spend n650, 000,000 on argungu fishing festival” http://www.pulse.ng atuk, j.j. (2014) an assessment of tourism potentials in kaduna state, nigeria. an unpublished thesis submitted to the postgraduate school, ahmadu bello university, zaria in partial fulfillment for the award of msc (tourism recreation management) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 64 chhabra, d. (2003) "the significance of festivals to rural economies: estimating the economic impacts of scottish highland games in north carolina." journal of travel research, 41 (4) 421–427. crouch, g., & ritchie, b. (1999). tourism, competitiveness and societal prosperity. journal of business research, 44, 137–152. dowling, r.k. (2010)“geotourism’s global growth.” doi10.1007/s12371-010-0024-7. accessed on 30th january, 2020. eco-tourism society (2008). ecotourism guidelines for nature tour operators. michigan: university of michigan. ekechuku l.c (1990). “encouraging national development through the promotion of tourism: the place of archeology”. west africa journal of archeology.vol 20 fatai, o. a. (2011). “social-economic impact of tourism development in nigeria: case study of tourist attraction along the coastline of lagos”. a thesis submitted to central ostrobonia university of applied sciences. ferrario, f. (1979). “the evaluation of tourist resources: an applied research (part 2)” journal oftravel research,17:(4), 24–30. hu, y., & ritchie, b. (1993l). “measuring destination attractiveness: a contextual approach.” journal of travel research, 25–34 james, g. and akpokos, j.a (2013) “gender disparity and social-demographic characteristics of adolescents in northern nigeria.” european journal of sustainable development. vol 2:3.pp 43-46. janiskee, r. (1980) “south carolina’s harvest festivals: rural delights for day tripping urbanites,” journal of cultural geography, 1(fall/winter): 96104. kaduna state ministry of culture and tourism (2011) tourist map of kaduna state, nigeria: up to date information. sameka press. www.ministryofcultureandtourismkd.com. access on december, 12, 2019. kim, h. j., gursoy, d. and lee, s. b. (2006) “the impact of the 2002 world cup on south korea: comparison of pre-and post-games,” tourism management, 27: 86-96. kiper, t (n.y). “role of ecotourism in sustainable development.”advances in landscape architecture. http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/55749. (accessed on 5th january, 2020). krippendorf, k. (1980). “residents’ perceptions on tourism impactscited by 730. annals of tourism research. volume 19, pages 665-690. malviya, s (2005). tourism: tourism, environment and the society. delhi: isha. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 65 mayo, e. and jaris l. (1981) “psychology of leisure travel: effective marketing and selling of travel service”. journal of travel research. baston: mass. okoli .c. (2001). “tourism development and management in nigeria”. enugu: jee. o‟neil .m.j. et-al, (2002). 70101, omahany, wine tourism web. pdf-sustainable tourism www, crctourism.com.au/bookshop/70101:2000 mahanoy. okpoko, et al (2002) tourism in nigeria. afro-orbis. peter, m and weiemair, k. (2016). “tourist attractions and attracted tourists: how to satisfy today ‘fickle’ tourist clientele”. the journal of tourism studies. vol. 11:1. turner, v. (1982) ‘introduction,’ in turner, v. (ed.) celebration: studies in festivity and ritual. washington, d.c.: smithsonian institution press. pp.11-29. the world tourism organization. (1994), national and regional tourism planning: methodologies and case studies. unwto (2010). “positioning tourism in economic policy: evidence and some proposals. unwto statistics and tourism satellite account programme”. http://cf.cdn.unwto.org/sites/all/files/pdf/t20_document.pdf (accessed 3 november, 2019). world travel and tourism council, (1992). the wttc report: travel and tourism in the world economy, brussels. world travel and tourism council (2015). global talent trends and issues forthe travel and tourism sector. london. available at http://www.wttc.org//media/382bb1e90c374262bc951226a6618201.ashx (accessed 2 february 2020). www.ceicdata.com. nigeria visitor arrival 2015-2017. vangesayi, s., mavondo, f., and reisinger, y. (2009). “tourism destination attractiveness facilities and people as predictors”. tourism analysis, vol. 14, pp.621-636 the bureau of economic analysis (bea). “measuring the economic analysis: a primer on gdp and national income and product”. http://www.bea.gov (accessed 2 february 2020) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 290 the quest for certainty and st. augustine’s divine illumination onyeakazi jude chukwuma phd philosophy unit, directorate of general studies federal university of technology owerri. email: jude.onyeakazi@futo.edu.ng; judefuto@gmail.com phone: 08129937821, 08033694748 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract the inquiry into the origin, certainty and extent of human knowledge, together with the grounds and degrees of belief, opinion and assent has been the task of most philosophers of all epochs. consequent upon this quest, most philosophers have emerged with their divergent thoughts as answers to the epistemological questions bordering on the ultimate foundation of human knowledge. meanwhile, while some have adopted skepticism as a method for the discovery of the foundation of new knowledge, others upheld rationalism and the rest opined empiricism. this paper is about to delve into st. augustine’s position with regard to the possibility of certainty of knowledge. succinctly, augustine’s theory of knowledge departed with an affirmation of the possibility and accessibility of human knowledge. epistemology for him serves a practical religious purpose. it helps us live a happy life only when it brings us to the author of truth (god). to attain these objectives, augustine became concerned with the quest for certainty and this certainty can be attained through what he calls divine illumination. this work therefore wishes to cast a critical look at st. augustine’s divine illumination as a means of attaining epistemological certainty (truth). keywords: truth, certainty, augustine, divine illumination, epistemology introduction the tradition of philosophy is one that has held knowledge as its utmost priority. little wonder daniel a. kaufman maintained that the mainline tradition in philosophy has held knowledge as its highest aim and has shown little interest in wisdom.1 but however, the nature of knowledge and its relation to certainty, belief and doubt has been a philosophical topic ever since the beginning of philosophy. from time immemorial, man has been puzzled with the reality and authenticity of 1 daniel a. kaufman, knowledge, wisdom, and the philosophers, philosophy, the journal of the royal institute of philosophy, vol. 81, no. 315, january 2006, 141. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 291 what he believes. the question of ‘’how can we justify our belief? how plausible is that which we believe? how certain is that which we know? has preoccupied man and his philosophy. the ancient philosophers established a number of certainties about knowledge that (1) knowledge can only be of what is true (2) a belief in only knowledge if it can appeal to some kind of warrant (3) one who claims knowledge must have a resolute commitment to the position claimed to be known.2 this implies that if one claims to know something, then one excludes the possibility of that being at some later time rightly converted to a different view. from the common-sense parlance, certainty is the claim that an object of knowledge is objectively what it is independently of every relative density like biases, subjective interpretations etc. for example, a tree is a tree independently of the sentiments of the subject, i.e., whether or not he sees this to be the case. omoregbe, therefore, defines certainty to be one of the conditions or characterizations of knowledge. for him, before a person can claim knowledge of anything, it must be certain that it is really the case. he goes further to state that acquaintance is a necessary tool for certainty in that one must have some kind of direct encounter with a thing before one can claim knowledge of the thing.3 thus, all knowledge must be certain in order to be worthy of the name.4 consequently, a certain or valid judgment is often found to be objective. in fact, the certainty or validity of judgment lies solely on objectivity. meanwhile, objectivity from its latin etymology objectum means,‘that which stands out or that which is out there, pure and uncorrupted by prejudices or biases; that which is above doubts, opinions, beliefs etc. that which is objective possesses an undeniable property. p. glenn argues that the validity or certainty of judgment is based directly upon the objectivity of the ideas used in the judgment. p. glenn is arguing that the object of our judgment must be valid and objective. for him, “the human mind enunciates judgment by reason of evidence which the mind discovers in the ideas themselves or upon reliable authority”.5 however, he averred that there can be erroneous judgments due to accidental causes, chief of which is precipitations of mind in pronouncing before the evidence is properly obtained and evaluated.6 2 anthony kenny, knowledge, belief, and faith, the journal of the royal institute, vol. 82, no. 321, july 2007, 381. 3 omoregbe j., epistemology, a systematic and historical study, lagos: joja press limited, 1998, 17. 4 cf. omoregbe j., epistemology, a systematic and historical study, 17. 5 p. j. glenn, criteriology, p. 224 6 p. j. glenn, criteriology, p. 224 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 292 glenn sought to show that judgment when legitimately evidenced is true and certain. therefore, he outlined four cardinal points upon which stands a certain judgment. they are self-evidence, relation of ideas, fact of experience and authority. in his work entitled truth or throws, (how to over – throw opponents’ arguments). protagoras begins with his famous claim “man is the measure of all things, of the things that are that they are, and of the things that are not that they are not”7. this implies that truth is relative, there is no objective truth. the world is for each person as it appears to that person. for example, if the same wind appears cold to one person and warm to another person, then the wind is warm to the person to whom it appears warm and is cold to the person to whom it seems cold. but since man is the centre of everything, it therefore follows that all perceptions are true and the ordinary view is mistaken, according to which, in cases of conflict, one person is right and the other person is wrong about the quality of the wind or of anything else. thus truth becomes relative. thus, protagoras’ doctrine poses a great problem to certainty of knowledge. gorgias on his part denied the possibility of knowledge. he holds that nothing exists, and that if anything did exist nobody could really understand it, and that even if you could understand it, you could not communicate it. according to him, to communicate requires the use of words, but words are only symbols, and a symbol is always different from that which it is supposed to refer to; and so we all get hung up on words. in the final analysis gorgias concluded that nothing can be known. but how tenable is his position? we really know that human faculties can indeed, know and communicate ideas else how did gorgias think we will understand him in the first place. the quest for certainty still advanced in the renaissance period. michel de montaigne orchestrated for the renaissance a captivating version of classical skepticism. the french thinker made some positive submissions as regards skepticism as he sought to destroy superstition, prejudice and error. he accepted the judgments of the skeptics, who held that “there is no more likelihood that this is true than that it is false.”8 thus montaigne saw in skepticism a liberating force, which would in the end make doubt superfluous because one would never make any permanent commitment to any doctrines but would assume a perpetual mood 7 protagoras, truth in benjamin jowett, dialogues of plato, oxford: claredon press, 1953, p.612 8 michel. montaigne, the essays, in the great books of the western world, trans. donald m. frame, chicago, encyclopedia britannica inc., 1952, p.284 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 293 of inquiry. he showed that the criteria employed to determine standards of judgments are themselves open to question and doubt, unless god gives us some indubitable first principles and make our faculties reliable. unaided by grace, all of man’s achievements are dubious. to reinforce this view, he writes: the more we cast ourselves back on god and commit ourselves to him, and renounce ourselves, the better we are. receive things thankfully says the preacher, in the aspect and taste that they are offered to thee, from day to day; the rest is beyond thy knowledge.9 because of the intricate nature of knowledge, montaigne holds that contentment was possible only when one achieves the tranquility of the mind. what disturbs this tranquility, montaigne contends is the attempt to go beyond our ordinary experiences and penetrate the inner nature of things. thus, he agreed with the pyrrhonians to suspend judgments with regard to knowledge as he says, “is it not better to remain in suspense than to entangle yourself in many errors that human fancy has produced? is it not better to suspend your conviction than to get mixed up in these seditions and quarrelsome divisions?”10 thus montaigne showed the inability of man to find truth by means of his natural capacities and his need to rely on faith as his sole access to truth. but this position of montague is problematic because it leaves everything at the mercy of god. hence, may be tantamount to blind credulity. however, locke set out to describe what knowledge consists of, how it could be obtained, and to determine the limits and describe what constitutes intellectual certainty. locke stated his aim categorically when he says, that his purpose is to inquire into the original, certainty, and extent of human knowledge11. thus, for locke, human faculty can attain intellectual certainty. for him, “all ideas come from sensation or reflection”12. hence, knowledge comes from external sensible objects, or from the internal operations of our minds perceived and reflected on by ourselves. at birth, the mind is like a blank slate until experience writes knowledge on them. he criticized and rejected the view that knowledge is innate as held by the rationalists. to this, he says, “i know it is a received doctrine that men have native ideas, and original characters stamped upon their minds in their 9 michel . montaigne, the essays, in the great books of the western world, p.283 10 michel . montaigne, the essays, in the great books of the western world,p.282 11 john. locke, essays concerning human understanding, ed., r. wool house london: penguin books., 2004, p.23 12 john. locke, essays concerning human understanding, p.25 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 294 first being”13. locke was particularly concerned to expose the groundless claim for innate ideas as held by the rationalists. he argued against such innate ideas like logical rules. for him, such rules might be self-evident to those who have intellectual training and not automatically grasped by people who are feeble minded or even babies. thus, he pointed out that the doctrine of innate ideas as rather superfluous because it contains nothing that he could not explain in terms of his empirical account of his origin of ideas. locke’s epistemology comes to the fore when he presented the view of what can be known. he postulated three factors in the process of knowing, namely: the external objects, the ideas or representations in the mind, and the mind. the mind, he maintains knows the ideas, but never knows the object. whenever the mind tries to know the object, the ideas insist on intervening and getting known instead. this is referred to as representative realism. thus, the immediate object of human knowledge is ideas. this implies that we have no direct knowledge of things themselves, but only our ideas about them. when we perceive things, we are not getting them directly, but are getting a copy of them from our senses. locke contends that the world is not directly presented to our senses, but is represented by them. standing between our ideas and the world is our perceptual apparatus. thus, we come to know objects of the world not directly, but rather through perceptions. however, john locke’s epistemology poses great problems to epistemological certainty; in an attempt to solve the problems created by the lockean thesis, berkeley holds that locke’s representative realism leads to skepticism14. in his attempts to rid humanity of skepticism, he developed a theory of knowledge termed immaterialism or idealism. he argued that material substances apart from their perceptual qualities are utterly unknowable and should be unthinkable. berkeley’s fundamental view was that for something to exist, it must either be perceived or else be the active being that does the perceiving. thus, he came to his classic conclusion that “to be is to be perceived, esse est percipi.”15 he did not believe that we could know anything that we cannot perceive, “their esse is percipi.”16 for berkeley, knowledge is said to be certain if and only if it can be perceived. berkeley therefore destroyed the bridge which will get us from directly perceived ideas and 13 john. locke, essays concerning human understanding, p.24 14 george. berkeley, principles of human knowledge and the three dialogues between hylas and philonus, ed., r. wool house london: penguin books ltd., 2004 p.4 15 george. berkeley, principles of human knowledge, p.10 16 george. berkeley, principles of human knowledge, p.54 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 295 things unlike locke. he says that the ideas we directly perceive are things. our ideas of rivers, mountains, tables and chairs are those rivers and mountains, tables and chairs. he made his point clearer when he says, “those immediate objects of perception, which according to [some] are only appearances of things, i take to be the real things themselves.”17 he rejected the distinction between ideas and things and says that ideas are things. it is good to note that berkeley did not deny the existence of phenomenal world. sequel to the problem of epistemological certainty, bertrand russell in his work entitled problems of philosophy exposed the difficulties involved in the attempt to arrive at certain knowledge. he acknowledges that the senses give us knowledge even though the knowledge derived from them is doubtful. according to him, there is hardly any knowledge that cannot be subjected to doubt. in fact, he questions the possibility of certain knowledge as he says, “is there any knowledge in the world which is so certain that no reasonable man could doubt?”18 there are lots of factors that play up in our attempt to know. our senses if not well guarded could mislead us to take illusions for reality. little wonder it has been observed that, “the senses are rather unreliable witnesses to the truth.”19 as a result of the deceptive nature of our senses, russell says that “we assume as certain many things which, on closer scrutiny, are found to be so full of apparent contradictions that only a great amount of thought enables us to know what it is that we may believe.”20 often times, we see a straw inside a bottle of beer and to our senses, it appears bent. similarly, when we look at a volkswagen from the top of a threestory building, it appears long but in reality, these are not true. in a résumé, the sense – datum prevents us from knowing with certainty what the objects are. whenever we want to know, this sense datum intervenes and getting known instead. this at the long run makes our knowledge of the objects vague and unclear thus posing a big problem to certain and indubitable knowledge which is the main goal of all epistemological inquiry. st. augustine’s theory of knowledge 17 george. berkeley, principles of human knowledge, p.11 18 bertrand. russell, problems of philosophy, london: oxford university press, 1912, p.1 19 egbeke. aja, elements of theory of knowledge, enugu magnet business enterprises, 2004, p.147 20 bertrand. russell, problems of philosophy, p.1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 296 saint augustine (354 – 430 ad) is one of the greatest thinkers of this era. in his contra academicos, augustine stood against the position of the academic skeptics who believe that nothing can be known for certain and as such advocated for withdrawal of assent. on the contrary, augustine holds that the human mind can attain certain knowledge. he made this clearer when he said that “man can attain certitude in regard to philosophic truths.”21 his main purpose in his contra academicos was to rid human mind of the arguments of academicians. this aim, he stated clearly as he writes: i purposed by the most cogent reasoning i could muster to rid my mind of the arguments of the academics. for they cause many to despair of finding truth and prevent the wise man from assenting to anything or granting anything at all as clear and manifest, since to them everything appears obscure and uncertain.22 for augustine, human mind can attain knowledge and he saw knowledge not as an end in itself but as a tunnel through which the soul searches for the absolute truth. epistemology for him serves a practical religious purpose. it helps us live a happy life only when it brings us to the author of truth (god). to attain these objectives, augustine became concerned with the quest for certainty. overcoming skepticism for a time, augustine took the skeptics seriously, especially with regard to the skeptics’ stand that “no truth can be comprehended by human beings.” but after his conversion, his problem was no longer whether people can attain certainty but rather ‘how they can attain it’. augustine therefore sought to answer the skeptics, and he did this first of all by showing that human reason does indeed have certainty about various things. specifically, human reason is absolutely certain of the principle of contradiction. we know that a thing cannot both be and not be at the same time. using this principle, we can be certain, for example, that there is either one world or many worlds, and if there are many, their number is either finite or infinite. what we know here is simply that both alternatives cannot be true. this is not yet any substantive knowledge, but it meant for augustine that we are not hopelessly lost in uncertainty. not only do we know that both alternatives cannot be true simultaneously, we know also that this is always, 21 st. augustine, against the academics, trans mary patricia garney, (milwaukee: margret uni. press, 1957), p.5 22st. augustine, against the academics, p. 97 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 297 eternally, the case. in addition, he said that even the skeptics would have to admit that the act of doubting is itself a form of certainty – the certainty that i exist. for if i doubt, i must exist. whatever else i can have doubts about, i cannot doubt that i doubt. furthermore, augustine refutes the next part of the skeptic claim that the senses cannot give us any knowledge. for him, the senses present us with the data which reason interprets and make conclusions. with these, augustine laid the foundation for his epistemology. augustine’s theory of knowledge is likened to platonic rationalism although there are slight differences. the senses for augustine are created by god and have the specific functions in the attainment of knowledge but they cannot give us eternal knowledge. they serve only as gateways through which the intellect or soul operates. hence, the eternal and highest truths are seen in the intellect. to the question about the nature of knowledge found in the intellect, augustine applies plato’s theory of forms. for him, the idea of beauty can be judged using the nonsensible form of beauty in our mind. notwithstanding the application of the platonic tradition by augustine, he was aware of the biblical claim that the soul is made in the image of god in whom we find the ultimate truth. process of knowledge augustine may have found plato’s theory on reminiscence very palpable to uphold but its theological implications do not correspond to the teachings of the church. therefore, he answers the question about how the mind comes to posses the truth with his theory of divine illumination (divine aid). previously, plato had believed that the mind retains some knowledge after reincarnation but augustine opined rather that we discover eternal truth through the illumination of the mind by the divine illumination. augustine never detailed the process of this illumination, albeit: he says that divine illumination is to the mind what the sun is to the eyes. this process is not religion bound because even the pagans experience illumination. although, augustine never detailed the process of this illumination but for him, illumination comes from god just as light is shed by the sun. in short, divine illumination is not a process by which the content of ideas is infused into our minds; it is, rather, the illumination of our judgment whereby we are able to discern that certain ideas contain necessary and eternal truths. god, the source of this light, is perfect and eternal, and the human intellect operates under the influence of god’s eternal ideas. this does not mean that our human mind can igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 298 know god. but it does mean that divine illumination allows us to overcome the limitations of knowledge caused by the mutability of physical objects and the finitude of our minds. with this theory, then, augustine solved to his satisfaction the problem of how the human intellect is able to go beyond sense objects and make judgments about necessary and eternal truths. synthesis between reason and faith augustine is intimately connected with a long-standing discussion throughout the middle age regarding the connection between faith and reason. the central issue is determining whether important philosophical and religious beliefs are grounded in the authority of faith or reason, or some combination of the two. take, for example, the origin of the cosmos, a subject about which philosophers and theologians alike have offered different views since antiquity. perhaps the world naturally emerged from a swirling vortex of primordial stuff; perhaps it resulted from the accidental collision of atoms; perhaps it was created by a divine being or beings. in attempting to sort through the possibilities, do we rely on faith or reason as our guide? the faith option involves an attitude of trust that is grounded in divine revelation; the reason option, by contrast, involves belief that is grounded methodical demonstration. when addressing the faith-reason issue, the early christian theologian tertullian came down decisively on the side of faith, which we see in two famous statements from him. first, he rhetorically asks, “what does athens have to do with jerusalem?” – his point being that reason (athens) has nothing to do with faith (jerusalem). second, when facing contradictions regarding the christian concept of reincarnation, tertullian says, “i believe because it is absurd” – his point being that faith is so distinct from reason that faith is essentially irrational. religious faith, he contends, is both contrary to and superior to reason. augustine’s position on the relation between faith and reason is considerably more moderate but still gives priority to faith. for augustine, faith illuminates reason and without faith there could be no understanding. inspired by the old testament prophet isaiah, who maintained, “unless you believe, you will not understand,” augustine’s view is encapsulated in the expression “faith seeking understanding” (fides quaerens intellecum). for augustine, true philosophy was inconceivable without a joining of faith and reason in this way. he solidified this statement in these statements: “since divine truth and scripture clearly teach us that god, the creator of all things, is wisdom, a true philosopher will be a lover of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 299 god. that does not mean that all who answer to the name are really in love with genuine wisdom, for it is one thing to be and another to be called a philosopher.”23 to understand the concrete condition of human existence, we must first consider ourselves from the point of view of the christian faith, and this in turn requires that the whole world be considered from the vantage point of faith. reason according to augustine is a friend to faith or better put, philosophy is the handmaid of theology (philosophia ancillia theologia). as spectacular as this statement may be, augustine still believes that reason cannot function properly without the aid of faith. as he puts it: “faith seeks, understanding finds; whence the prophet says, unless ye believe, ye shall not understand.” interpreting augustine’s illumination theory the approaches to interpreting augustine’s illumination theory that late medieval and modern thinkers have taken can be classified into two main categories; as an extrinsic force, including ontologism and innatism, and the three closely related interpretations: franciscanism, idealism, and formalism etc. ontologism the seventeenth-century cartesian philosopher nicholas malebranche is the most famous proponent of the ontologist interpretation of illumination, although earlier renaissance figures such as marsilio ficino also espoused this theory, as did nineteenth and twentieth-century scholars like vicenzo gioberti, g. ubaghs, and johannes hessen.24 malebranche operated on the dualist assumption that the body and the mind do not interact. on the basis of this assumption, he contended that the only way to know the world is to see it ‘in god’. for malebranche, in other words, the divine light immediately imparts the content of knowledge, whether sensible or intellectual, by allowing the intellect to see things as they subsist in the mind of god. divine illumination thus performs the intellect’s cognitive work on its behalf and gives it certitude with respect to its ideas, which are divinely given. the most obvious problem with the ontologist interpretation is that it seems to provide premature recourse to the thoughts or even the vision of god. it also 23 st. augustine, the city of god. trans. gerald g. walsh, et al, new york: image books, 1958, p.50 24 ronald. nash, the light of the mind: st. augustine’s theory of know, lexington: uni. pres, kentucky, 1969, p.102 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 300 appears to bypass the empirical sources of human knowledge and natural cognitive processes, and thus undermines the faculties of sensation and imagination, precluding an account of the way knowledge is acquired through abstractive or discursive reasoning. because all the mind has is fully and directly afforded by god, the ideas the mind entertains and its certitude about them do not really seem to be based on a person’s own experiences and efforts to understand reality.25 on the ontologist interpretation, the mind’s role in its own act of knowing is virtually eliminated. innatism the interpretation of augustinian illumination most commonly assumed by contemporary scholars is an innatist one, such as the one john rist espouses.26 rist believes that augustine formulated his illumination theory for two main reasons. the first reason was to rebut the claims of the global academic sceptics who were influential in augustine’s day.27 on rist’s account, augustine accepted the platonic distinction between sensible and intelligible realities. in order to annihilate the threat of scepticism that accompanies the belief that perceptual experience cannot afford true and certain knowledge, rist holds that augustine had to prove that the mind has access to eternal and unchanging intelligible truths, which is what he does when he develops his doctrine of divine illumination in the early dialogue de magistro. the second, related reason for formulating an illumination account, which becomes clear in de magistro, is to affirm the possibility of teaching and learning. owing to the transience of sense knowledge and the total depravity of the fallen mind, according to rist, augustine concludes that human beings have no recourse to truth.28 if they are to teach and learn anything, consequently, they must already innately know what they teach or learn. moreover, they must know truth in a direct or immediate sense, as plato supposedly taught, if knowledge is to be absolutely certain.29 although augustine rejected in de magistro the platonic notion that acquiring knowledge simply entails recollecting ideas perceived before birth, rist contends that he continued to affirm that the mind is equipped with the innate knowledge of certain immaterial principles (rationes) or impressed ideas not 25 ronald. nash, the light of the mind, p.104 26 john. rist, augustine: ancient thought baptized (cambridge: cambridge university press, 1994) 27 john. rist, augustine: ancient thought baptized, p.42 28 john. rist, augustine: ancient thought baptized, p.29 29 john. rist, augustine: ancient thought baptized, p.74 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 301 unlike plato’s forms, which ultimately subsist in the mind of god. although the ideas “are no longer retained memories of a previous life, they are in some sense constitutive of the human soul.”30 rist admits that it is difficult to determine just how many of these innate ideas augustine counts as residing in the mind. still, he insists that they are, for augustine, the rules of judgment that cannot be judged and that enable the intellect to make judgments as instantiated reasons are compared with intelligible ones.31 according to rist, the a priori rules are not only given through divine illumination, but illumination is also required for the use of the rules in teaching and learning.32 in both cases, it is christ who illumines. he initially impresses the divine ideas on the human intellect, and he mysteriously, interiorly, enables the intellect to teach and learn by means of the rules, and thus illumines in an ongoing sense.33 the light that makes things knowable to the mind is not the mind itself, consequently, but god, or his forms, as it was for plato. although the rules are accessible to all, it is only those who put faith in christ and open themselves up to his influence by shunning the distractions that come through the senses that become aware that it is his ideas that are impressed in the soul and constitute the human power of knowing. this awareness is what makes the knowing agent certain about the things outside the self, the self itself, and god.34 by positing the role of innate rules of judgment received through illumination, the use of which is regulated by christ the illuminator, augustine saves knowledge from scepticism and affirms the possibility of teaching and learning in de magistro. incidentally, virtually all innatist interpreters of augustine focus their hermeneutic efforts on this dialogue and turn to other texts primarily to supplement the inquiry into de magistro. augustine avoids scepticism in this work by affirming that human minds are wholly dependent upon the extrinsic help of christ in their own acts of knowing. while this interpretation of de magistro, according to which ideas of things are latent in the human mind and summoned up by christ, is the most seemingly obvious interpretation of the text read at face value, and is therefore widely though variously affirmed, it is not without problems. many of the problems to which the ontologist interpretation is subject apply to the innatist one as well: the innatist account seems to bypass normal 30 john. rist, augustine: ancient thought baptized, p.31 31 john. rist, augustine: ancient thought baptized, p. 50, 76 32 john. rist, augustine: ancient thought baptized, p. 32, 77 33 john. rist, augustine: ancient thought baptized, p. 37, 78 34 john. rist, augustine: ancient thought baptized, p. 66 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 302 cognitive processes. the supernatural appears to overtake the natural. as ronald nash has argued, “any account of augustine’s…doctrine of illumination must deal satisfactorily with three paradoxes in his thought,”35 namely, that augustine describes the intellect as both active and passive; that he speaks of the forms the mind knows as in the mind and outside the mind, or in the mind of god; and thirdly, that he describes the human mind as the light that does not make knowledge possible. franciscanism, idealism, & formalism the classic franciscan interpretation of illumination formulated by bonaventure and his colleagues, which holds that illumination is the source of apriori or ‘transcendental’ concepts, which are impressed on the ‘active intellect’. on this account, the reasons are not the objects of knowledge as in the two foregoing interpretations. rather, they supervise the intellect’s efforts to organize empirical data and form ideas about reality. they ensure that the ideas formed directly correspond to the ideas in the mind of god and therefore certify them. some early thirteenth-century franciscans like william of auvergne, roger bacon, and roger marston affirmed with the arab scholar avicenna that the active intellect is actually god himself: that it is the divine rather than the human mind that oversees human knowing. the idealist interpretation of illumination bruce bubacz has advanced it by striking resemblance to the franciscan interpretation.36 for bubacz, illumination is the source of a priori concepts, which he calls ‘principal ideas’. one gains access to these ideas when one attends to the ‘inner man’, where the ideas are stored. the fact that the principal ideas are innate does not undermine the empirical sources of human knowledge, bubacz insists. on what he calls his ‘cartographic model’, the principal ideas only provide a blueprint or map for comprehending the ‘terrain’ of created reality and for classifying the objects encountered there. in sum, the principal ideas act as rules of judgment. formalism is the interpretation of augustinian illumination espoused by etienne gilson. according to gilson, augustine did not give a fully developed or systematic account of knowledge. even so, he apparently believed the mind is naturally competent to produce its own ideas. the divine light is the natural light 35 ronald. nash, the light of the mind, p.104 36 b. bubacz, saint augustine’s theory of knowledge: a contemporary analysis (new york: edwin mellin press, 1981) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 303 of the human intellect. for this reason, it cannot be said that god “takes the place of the intellect when it thinks the truth.”37 illumination, in short, leaves the integrity of the human intellect intact. although gilson denies that divine ideas are impressed upon the mind to produce the content of cognition itself, he does affirm that the innate ideas act as the rules by which the mind validates its own ideas. illumination, in other words, plays a regulative or formal role in cognition, confirming that human judgments are absolutely true and certain. although illumination and the a priori concepts it affords do not threaten to impose the content of cognition when interpreted in any of the three aforementioned ways, it does seem to interfere in some sense with the process of cognition, especially when god himself is defined as the active intellect. where the divine light guarantees the truth and certitude of the mind’s ideas on behalf of the mind, it seemingly reduces the intellect to a state of passivity in its own cognitive activity.38 this means the truth and certitude of the mind’s knowledge is somewhat artificial, and the artificial nature of knowledge may lead to scepticism as regards the possibility of attaining true and certain knowledge. evaluation and conclusion it is a fact that all men agree that man is a knowing being. this seems to be a very hard fact to deny in today’s world that centralizes the importance of knowledge. nevertheless, in the present time, with the mediation of specialized processes of knowledge, it has become clear that human being takes certain necessary processes to come to a total grasp of the object of knowledge, and that his knowledge in most cases is far from being perfect. therefore, “when it comes to asking how man knows, what he does know, and what he can know, philosophers offered different answers.”39 everyday life shows how concerned each of us is to discover for ourselves, beyond mere opinions, how things really are. within visible creation, man is the only creature who not only is capable of knowing but who knows that he knows, and is therefore interested in the real truth of what he perceives. people cannot be genuinely indifferent to the question of whether what they know is true or not. if 37 gilson. etienne, the christian of st. augustine, trans. l.e.m. lynch (london: victor gollancz, 1961) p. 79 38 ronald. nash, the light of the mind, p. 104 39 a. mann and f. kreyche, (ed). reflections on man: reading in philosophical psychology from classical philosophy and existentialism. new york: harcourt, brace & world, inc., 1966, p. 13 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 304 they discover that it is false, they reject it; but if they can establish its truth, they feel themselves rewarded. everything about man is mutable and changing. for this reason, necessary truth cannot be contained in the knowledge gained from the flux of experience. thus, human mind cannot attain the immutable, unchangeable, and necessary truth which underlines reality. therefore, this immutable and necessary truth can only come from god through the medium of divine illumination. hence, anybody in search of the intelligible and unchangeable truth must be rightly positioned to have his mind divinely illuminated. in other words, certainty, reality, and necessary truth can only come through divine illumination. since the mind is mutable. it is certainly liable to errors. it is not therefore the case that the mind cannot attain some level of certainty, but such is not a necessary, an immutable and unchangeable one. then, it cannot form a solid and strong base for epistemic edifice. this is the reason for augustine’s argument for the need of an immutable, unchangeable and necessary entity which can serve as the strong foundation for the intelligible truth. since god necessarily exists as an unchangeable and immutable entity then such foundation must be sought in him. and since the mind cannot attain this intelligible truth itself, then it needs some divine assistance. in spite of flaws in augustine’s theory of knowledge (divine illumination), his tremendous relevance and contribution towards the comprehension of knowledge is worthy of appraisal. in his work, he presents a project that is thought-provoking and research prompting. augustine’s work serves as a critique against skeptics who doubted the possibility of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 77 pragmatic features of rhetoric devices in selected sermons of paul enenche peter ochefu okpeh, phd department of english and literary studies, federal university lokoja peter.okpeh@fulokoja.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.31258.06083 & jeremiah a. david department of english and literary studies, federal university lokoja davidjerryamoto@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.31258.06083 abstract this study investigates the pragmatic import of rhetorical devices in the sermon of paul enenche, the senior pastor of the dunamis international gospel centre.. two recorded cds of his sermons were transcribed for the purpose of identifying the rhetorical devices contained therein. the transcribed sermons were subjected to analysis using p. h. grice’s (1975) cooperative principle to determine the rhetorical devices whose usage flouted any of the cooperative maxims. the pragmatic functions of the rhetorical devices derived were also analysed and discussed. the findings of the study revealed that the nigerian pentecostal clergy rely heavily on rhetorical devices, as linguistic resources, to make their sermons impactful, memorable and persuasive. it was also discovered that these preachers use these rhetorical devices to heighten their audience’s emotion as well as ensure their participation in their sermonic discourse. keywords: language, rhetoric, pentecostalism, pragmatics, cooperative principles background of the study since time immemorial, language has remained an inseparable component of the practice of religion. besides serving as the medium through which religious beliefs and experiences are communicated, language remains one of the most potent social variables that define the adherents of a given religion as a distinct social group (okpeh, 2016). for example, both in terms of its discourse value and lexical properties, the language of african traditional religions and that of christianity are not the same. in the same vein, even within christianity, differences of contextual relevance in language use abound (okpeh, 2017). it is therefore impossible to acquire a religion and claim to be its adherent without an in-depth understanding of the language associated with such a religion. this mailto:peter.okpeh@fulokoja.edu.ng mailto:davidjerryamoto@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 78 is because the doctrines, beliefs, practices of a religion are encapsulated in its linguistic practices. the current study focuses on the pragmatic use of rhetorical devices in the discourse of nigerian pentecostal christianity with particular emphasis on the sermons of paul enenche, the founder of the dunamis international gospel cnetre, one of the fastest growing pentecostal denominations in nigeria. since it was planted in nigeria in 1970 (okpeh, 2016), nigerian pentecostal christianity itself has sustained an increasing rate of expansion. this remarkable growth of pentecostalism in nigerian has not been unconnected with its focus on material prosperity, “deliverances”, the holy spirit, the “ new birth” experiences, etc which are communicatively embodied in highly emotive and persuasive language. steve allen (1986:72) argues that “most protestant preachers (pentecostal clergymen inclusive) speak in an old-fashioned, emotional style, commanding the listener's attention and drive home their messages forcefully. they tend to shout and sound hysterical.” the foregoing demonstrates the centrality of rhetorical devices in the discourse of nigerian pentecostalism in which the clerics always attempt to sway their congregations’ mind through the effective deployment of rhetorical elements. the problematic of the study hinges on the preponderance of these elements in the discourse in question and the need to deconstruct their pragmatic import, in order to understand how language functions within this domain. two sermons of paul enenche are transcribed and subjected to analysis using grice’s theory of cooperative principle. the choice of enenche is informed by his towering status among the younger generation of nigerian pentecostal clerics. thus, an understanding of the pragmatic deployment of rhetorical devices in his sermons is expected to provide insight on the principles that regulate the choice of linguistic elements by nigerian pentecostal clerics in their effort to persuade their congregation on the subject-matter of their sermons. a review of previous studies okpeh (2012), in his work titled the discourse features of prophecy studies the dialogic properties of prophecy inherent in its seeming monologic nature. the study also examines prophetic utterances as verbal acts performed only by delegation, the pastor performs the act on god's behalf. it also investigates the linguistic and extra-linguistic devices employed by the prophet to ensure the participation of his congregation in the course of prophecy, within a church setting. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 79 acheoah and hamzah's (2015) style in christian and islamic sermons: a linguistic analysis examines the communicative features of christian and islamic sermons with a view to establish areas of convergence and divergence. it is a stylistic analysis of language use in religious discourse i.e. the study of style which is defined as the way language is used in a given context by a given for a given purpose. it reveals the different stylistic devices used to convey messages in religious discourse such as a sermon. they also established the fact that often, speakers' choices are informed by audience, message, idiosyncrasies and other discourse constraints. the study also identifies some features of christian and islamic sermons which are generally delivered on a persuasive mode. ibileye and okpeh (2014) in their work, the structure of pentecostal christian pulpit discourse, demonstrate that in pentecostal christian pulpit discourse, commissive and directive are more preponderant than other acts. the study also outlines some turn taking mechanisms or strategies like incomplete statements, pauses, direct instruction from the pastor and deliberate misquotation, usually employed by the pastor or his delegate to ensure the participation of the congregation in the discourse. the study also reveals the rigid structure of the pentecostal christian pulpit discourse which makes it distinct from other discourse. in the same light, okpeh (2016) examine the role of metaphor and ideology in the structure and context of nigerian pentecostal christian discourse. enefola (2017) in his work, a pragmatic study of rhetorical devices in selected sermons of bishop david oyedepo, examines the role of context in the use of language and how it shapes the speaker’s choice of words. the study analyses the rhetorical devices in the sermons of bishop david oyedepo. the study reveals that beyond persuasion, rhetorical devices are employed by the preacher to perform some pragmatic functions namely speech acts and implicature. the study also proves that the predominant speech act in the sermons examined is representatives. pragmatics early works on pragmatics is often attributed to morris (1938) and carnap (1958) which attempt to draw a distinction between semantics, syntactics and pragmatics as areas of semiotics. pragmatics has been defined by levinson (1983:24) as quoted by udofot (2015:136) as a branch of study concerned with the “ability of language users to pair sentences with the context in which they would be appropriate”. pragmatics is concerned with the use of language in social context and the way in which people produce or comprehend meaning igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 80 through language. it studies the use of language in human communication as determined by the conditions of society. people engage in communicative activity whenever they use language; whether or not they observe a particular syntactic rule is not too important. people talk with the intention to communicate something to somebody; this is the foundation of all linguistic behaviour (mey, 1993). vershueren (1991) views pragmatics as the study of language use, or, to employ a somewhat more complicated phrasing, the study of linguistic phenomena from the point of view of their usage, properties and process. yule (1996:1) defined it as the study of meaning as communicated by a speaker or writer and interpreted by the listener or reader as the case may be. this definition is in line with that of watson and hill (1993:146) which defines pragmatics as the study of language from the perspective of the user, especially the choices, the constraints he meets with in employing the use of the language and the effects the use has on the communication situation. these definitions are concerned with what is communicated by the user of a language and how it is interpreted by the listeners. rhetoric rhetoric refers to the study and art of persuasive speaking and writing. initially, the concept of rhetoric is associated with politics but it has now been used in relation to other discourse genres. dairo and onakeko (2008) viewed rhetorics as an aspect of pragmatics that studies the principles of effective language use in public speaking. the best known definition of rhetorics is that of aristotle who considers it a counterpart of both logic and politics and calls it the “faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion”.. according to richard and schmidt (2010:449), rhetoric is the study of how effective writing achieves its goals. rhetorics is a style of writing or speaking that is intended to influence people. it is a purposeful and strategic manipulation of symbols. in other words, rhetoric is a persuasive or effective use of language in communication. in rhetoric, a speaker strives to persuade or manipulate particular audiences in specific situation. he or she can use a few words to get maximum positive response from his audience. each word or phrase is carefully chosen to perform a function of its own. according to aristotle, there are certain factors of rhetoric which he classified as proofs of persuasion that enhance the effectiveness of a speech. these factors are ethos which refers to the character and credibility of a speaker and how this can influence an audience to consider him or her to be believable. aristotle further outlines three qualities that contribute to the credibility of a character. these are perceived intelligence, virtuous character, and goodwill. in other words, ethos thus refers to the speaker’s personality which is able to either igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 81 command the attention of the audience or otherwise. pathos is the second among the three factors of rhetoric outlined by aristotle. pathos refers to the use of emotional appeals to alter the audience’s judgement through metaphor, amplification or presenting the topics in a way that evokes strong emotions in the audience. logos, the third in the list, is the use of logical ideas to appeal to the audience. it is under the third and last cannon that rhetorical devices are classified. rhetorical devices are figures of speech used by a writer or speaker to persuade his audience. context yule (2000:128) as cited by song (2010) defines context as the general environment in which a word is used. widdowson (2000:126) views context as those aspects of the circumstance of actual language use which are taken as relevant to meaning. he further pointed out that, “context is a schematic construct...the achievement of pragmatic meaning is a matter of matching up the linguistic elements of the code with the schematic element of the context”. language is the vehicle of ideas, thought and perspective of our world. human beings as social beings perpetually interact with his environment. . when and where we are interacting determines what actually we mean e.g. “late” have two major interpretations which depend on the time and context of usage. context may refer to any aspect of an occasion in which a speech act takes place, including the social setting and the status of both the speaker and the person who is addressed. it is what surrounds any part of a discourse and that help to determine its meaning. according to claire kramsch (1993), our choice of words is constrained by the context in which we use the language. our personal thoughts are shaped by those of others. m.a.k halliday also maintains that meaning should be analysed not within the linguistic system but also taking into account the social system in which it occurs. in other words, context serves as the basis for encoding, decoding and analysing language use in a given discourse. the notion of background knowledge is central to the understanding of context (osisanwo, 2003). brown and yule (1983:238) describes background knowledge as “stored information”. for instance, during a sermonic discourse, the clergy usually makes reference to certain verses of the bible without any prior introduction assuming that the audience has knowledge of it. this is a crucial determinant in the interpretation of utterance or text in a particular discourse like the religious discourse where the participants are being guided by their holy books which contain their beliefs. sometimes, speakers appear to use vague and obscure statements but it is not to those who have a shared knowledge with the speaker. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 82 methodology data for the study were sourced from two randomly selected sermons of paul enenche. the titles of the sermons are created for a purpose and the harvest of his presence. the choice of the two sermons was based on their titles and their time of delivery. created for a purpose was preached on the 1st of january, 2005, the first day of a new year. this is usually the time when people make new resolutions, recount on their failures in the past year and set goals to be achieved in the new year. sermons during such a time are generally targeted at getting the congregation to forget their past failures and move on to the new year with hope and courage. the second sermon the harvest of his presence provides the background for the preacher to convince his audience of living a sin-free life which is a core to the message of the christian religion. the selected sermons, which are audio recorded, were repeatedly listened to and the utterances carefully transcribed and critically studied to determine the rhetorical devices used by the preacher in the sermons. there are about fifteen (12) rhetorical devices used in the sermons all of which make the sermon rhetoric, persuasive and memorable. the rhetorical devices were further classified into two: rhetorical devices of foregrounding and rhetorical devices of emotion arousing. the derived rhetorical devices were analysed using grice’s(1975) cooperative principles. according to mey (2001), the term “cooperative principles” suggests that in every communication setting, there seems to be cooperation or what we might call agreement between the speaker and the listener. grice argued that speakers intend to be cooperative when they talk and one way to be cooperative is for a speaker to give as much information as is expected. the way in which people try to make conversation work is to obey these principles which are outlined as maxim of quality, quantity, manner and relation. a. maxim of quantity: make your contribution as informative as required and do not make your contribution more informative than required. b. maxim of quality: do not say what you believe to be false and do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence. c. maxim of relation: make your contribution relevant d. maxim of manner: avoid obscurity, avoid ambiguity, be brief (avoid unnecessary prolixity) and be orderly. the above maxims of the cooperative principle are deployed in the analysis and interpretation of the data of this study to determine the pragmatic import of the rhetorical devices contained therein. in doing this, attention was given to how igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 83 these maxims were deliberately flouted by the preacher in his use of the rhetorical devices, with the intention of making his sermons persuasive to his congregation. analysis of data and discussion analysis of data s/n utterance rhetorical device maxim flouted pragmatic function 1 look at the book of genesis chapter fifteen and in verse one, genesis chapter fifteen in verse one. after these things, the word of the lord came unto abram in a vision saying, fear not abram, i am thy shield and thy exceeding great rewards. i am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward. repetition manner emphasis 2 numbers chapter eighteen, we read verse twenty. number eighteen, twenty. it said {please open your bible} and the lord said unto aaron thou shall not have any inheritance in the land i.e in the land of israel, neither shall thou have any part among them, i am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of israel. i am your part. i am your inheritance among the children of israel. repetition manner emphasis 3 you read through the bible, you realized that god gives people different things…he gave solomon, what did he give solomon? he gave solomon wisdom. he gave samson, what did he give samson? power and might question and answer strategy manner integrating audience’s participation igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 84 to bring down gates and giants. he gave esther, what did he give queen esther? favour, he gave esther favour in the sight of the king, ahaserus. he gave people various things.. 4 the question i want to ask you is what is it that makes a man to sleep in the night when he is to be executed tomorrow… and he slept until the angel has to tap him to wake up? it is called the peace of god that passes understanding. question and answer strategy quality integrating audience’s participation 5 the presence of god is the secret of prospect, prospect and prospect means favour and opportunity repetition manner emphasis 6 a woman of god by the name kathryn kuhlman, she spent eighteen hours worshipping, praying and fellowshipping with god… what happen? a woman who carries god just passed and people couldn’t stand as she is passing. story manner justification of the subject under discussion 7 so when you carry god and you step into a place, that place becomes fertilized with the supernatural. do you understand what i am talking about? so the person who carries the presence of god is a mobile wonder. wonder in mobility. is a working sign, is a working, is a sign and a wonder working. do you understand what i am talking about? alliteration manner drawing the audience’s attention igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 85 8 one day, i came out of my office saturated, infiltrated, penetrated, perpetrated (audience scream) embodied with his presence. i walked out of the office and there was a young man in the church auditorium. the other church, the smaller building, the one we pulled down before this one. he was mad. they chained his hands with about three padlocks; about three to four men surrounded him with his mother. i was passing through the church and the mother looked at me with tears in her eyes, she said this is my only son, this is my only son and he is mad now, he is mad now. i was coming from my office saturated, no one heard me, i looked at the people i say loose him. i am sure if they are bold enough, they will have told me come and loose him yourself. loose him. they loosed the first padlock, loosed the second padlock, loosed the third padlock, unwire the chain. the young man adjusted his short like this. his hands was bleeding from the chain, i say sorry, he thanks me. i say go on your knees. he says yes sir. say after me, lord jesus, lord jesus, i surrender my life to you, i surrender my life to you, i refuse to be mad, i refuse to be mad. thank you lord, thank you lord. i am free; i am free, in jesus name. stand up. woman, carry your son (screaming). they testimony manner validating the subject under discussion igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 86 said is that all? i said that is all. 9 lift up your right hand say, i receive your presence lord (audience responded), in my life (audience responded), i need your presence (audience responded), i receive your presence (audience responded), in my life (audience responded), in jesus name. repetitive dialogue manner/qu antity integrating the audience’s participation and drawing their attention into the sermon. 10 are you hearing what i am saying here today? a friend that took the person to the abortionist is a sinner. the man who impregnated the girl and organise the abortion is a sinner. the person that manufactures it is in sin (audience scream). do you understand what i am talking about? the girl said she did not commit sin but she is dressing about like a jezebel, naked dressing, seductive appearance. somebody looks at her and feels like following her but he lacks the opportunity. so, he gets another and commits sin with that person on her account. did you see the connection? he is committing sin with another person on the account of another person. in case you say i don’t do but you put stumbling block for people. that shall not be your portion (audience responded amen). he told the children of israel, he said you didn’t enter the rhetorical question manner drawing the audience’s attention igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 87 kingdom and you block the road for others coming. 11 can somebody say amen (audience responded amen). lift up your right hand, say separation (audience responded), separation is the condition for my possession of the presence of the almighty (audience responded). can somebody say amen (audience responded). repetitive dialogue manner committing the audience’s attention to the sermon 12 …it doesn’t matter how long that situation of bareness or hopelessness or sickness has lasted. that devil is a liar. you are coming out of it. you will be celebrated (audience responded amen) … motivational talk quality integrating the audience’s participation discussion of findings the above analysis reveals twelve (12) rhetorical devices in the transcribed sermon, in the usage of which the cleric variously flouts the maxim of quantity, maxim of quality and maxim of manner, and relation. the analysis further reveals that of all the maxims flouted, the maxim of manner has the highest frequency as the cleric was not brief in some of his citations, especially in the use of such rhetorical devises as stories, repetition, testimony and allusion. to systematise the discussion of findings emerging from the analysis, the analysed rhetorical devices have been classified into two broad categories on the basis of their discourse functions. one of the categories are rhetorical devices of foregrounding, which comprise the devices that help to make sermons memorable and persuasive to the audience, with the goal of making them to take a particular course of action, as desired by the cleric. the second category are the rhetorical devices of arousing emotion, which consist of devices that help to persuade the congregation through motivation. rhetorical devices of foregrounding these devices are carefully chosen by the cleric to leave a positive and lasting impression on the minds of members of the congregation. in the analysed data, the rhetorical devices under this category are repetition, metaphor, repetitive dialogue, question and answer strategy and antithesis. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 88 these devices are very commonly deployed by most modern pentecostal clerics in their sermons, especially of the nigerian extraction. in the analysed sermon, the speaker’s use of these devices is not only deliberate but also creative, and this is for the purpose of making his sermons persuasive, impactful and memorable. these devices as used by the cleric in the analysed text are discussed below: repetition although repetitions are generally used for the purpose of emphasis, pentecostal clerics use it for this purpose and also for the purpose of making their sermons last in the memories of their congregation. in the text under consideration, the cleric preponderantly deploys this along with other rhetorical devices such as allusion and anaphora. below is an excerpt from the text to illustrate this rhetorical device: look at the book of genesis chapter fifteen and in verse one, genesis chapter fifteen in verse one. after these things, the word of the lord came unto abram in a vision saying, fear not abram, i am thy shield and thy exceeding great rewards. i am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward (no. 1) the presence of god is the secret of prospect, prospect and prospect means favour and opportunity( no. 5) numbers chapter eighteen, we read verse twenty. number eighteen, twenty. it said {please open your bible} and the lord said unto aaron thou shall not have any inheritance in the land i.e in the land of israel, neither shall thou have any part among them, i am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of israel. i am your part. i am your inheritance among the children of israel (no. 2). in the use of the above repetition, the preacher flouts the maxim of quantity., the propositional requirements of which is that a speaker should be as informative as he can possibly be, avoiding unnecessary prolixity. however, in the above excerpt, there appears to be a deliberate attempt by the preacher to be repetitive in order to not only emphasise the foregrounded words, but to make the words memorable in the perception of his congregation. this is especially so as the words are bible references. the taken for granted understanding is that both the preacher and the congregation believe in the centrality of the bible in the theology of the christian religion, hence the need for the preacher to constantly repeat the reference in the sermon. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 89 (repetitive) dialogue this is one of the most effectively deployed rhetorical devices in the text. in using it, the preacher invites the congregation to repeatedly say a particular utterance or statement after him. below is an excerpt from the text illustrating the use of this rhetorical device: lift up your right hand say, i receive your presence lord (audience responded), in my life (audience responded), i need your presence (audience responded), i receive your presence (audience responded), in my life (audience responded), in jesus name (utterance no. 9) can somebody say amen (audience responded amen). lift up your right hand, say separation (audience responded), separation is the condition for my possession of the presence of the almighty (audience responded). can somebody say amen (audience responded) no. 11 as shown in the table of analysis. in using this rhetorical device, the preacher again flouts the maxim of quantity again, which requires conversational participants to avoid unnecessary details, and be as informative as possible. its usage in this context however has the pragmatic function of motivating. the use of the rhetoric of repetitive dialogue is hinged on the psychology of positive confession which is a common among especial pentecostal preachers. the understanding is that whatever is confessed with the mouth becomes automatically the possession of the believer. thus, in a typical nigerian pentecostal setting, the congregation are constantly being asked to verbalize their reception of desired blessings and rejection of unpleasant experiences in the conviction that whatever they confess will automatically become their experience. question and answer strategy as its name suggests, in this rhetorical device the cleric asks a question to which he also supplies an answer in the same stretch of utterance. the use of this device is a deliberate strategy of explicating the subject matter of the sermon. depending on how it is used, this device has the potential to arouse the emotion of the congregation and get their attention focused on the sermon. some excerpts from the text that demonstrate the relevance of this rhetorical device are: a woman of god by the name kathryn kuhlman, she spent eighteen hours worshipping… what happened? a woman who carries god just passed and people couldn’t stand as she is passing. (no. 6) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 90 you read through the bible…what did he give solomon? he gave solomon wisdom. he gave samson, what did he give samson? power and might to bring down gates and giants. he gave esther, what did he give queen esther? favour, he gave esther favour in the sight of the king, ahaserus. he gave people various things. (no. 3) the question i want to ask you is what is it that makes a man to sleep in the night when he is to be executed tomorrow… and he slept until the angel has to tap him to wake up? it is called the peace of god that passes understanding. (no. 4) the use of this device flouts the maxim of manner largely and that of quantity partly. in the flouting the manner maxim, the preacher avoids brevity and orderliness in the utterances in that he assumes the posture of the narrator, the questioner and the “ answerer”, all at the same the time. in the usual order of such an exchange, the questioner should not be the one providing the answer to the question he himself has asked. in this current context, however, the questions and the answers are both lumped into one stretch of utterance with the rhetorical intention of arresting the attention of the congregation and consequently enhancing the subjecting of the sermon. rhetorical devices of arousing emotion the rhetorical devices of arousing emotion used by the cleric in the transcribed sermons include possibility talk, analogy, stories, alliteration, testimonies, and rhetorical question. these are devices that are specially chosen to stir members of the congregation to action by means of emotional appeal. there are a number of decisions members of the congregation need to take in the course of a sermon, but they may remain unwilling or indecisive until their emotions are stirred up. motivational talk this is one of the most used rhetorical devices by nigerian pentecostal clergy. in the analysed sermon, the device has been used by the cleric to motivate and inspire hope in the members of the congregation who because of their problems might be suffering from depression and despondency. see an excerpt from the text below: …it doesn’t matter how long that situation of bareness or hopelessness or sickness has lasted. that devil is a lier.you are coming out of it. you will be celebrated (audience responded amen)… (utterance no. 12) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 91 this device flouts the maxim of quality which states that one should not say that for which he lacks adequate evidence or that which he believe to be false. empirically, the cleric lacks evidence to make such a statement. however, within the context of pentecostal christianity where the above statement are interpreted as “prophetic declarations”, the congregation are motivated by such an utterance to believe that however long their problems have lingered, there is hope of solution as long as they do not lose hope. this rhetorical in the christian discourse, it is believed that a preacher cannot lie since he is a representative of god. in the transcribed sermons, the preacher did not deliberately flout this maxim. however, in the use of the rhetorical devices like possibility talk, the speaker has stated that for which he lacks adequate evidence. although the preacher said this based on the assurance of god’s power, how sure is he since there are factors like god-factor and the man’s will factor that may actually not make it so? testimony with regards to the use of this rhetorical devices enefola (2017) notes that, “testimonies can evoke emotions of laughter, anxiety, sobriety, encouragement, inspiration and so on, but the rhetorician chooses the most appropriate to achieve his aim of persuasion”. although this rhetorical device is essentially informative, the pragmatic impact is very significant both at the point of the utterance and after the utterance. see the excerpt below: one day, i came out of my office saturated, infiltrated, penetrated, perpetrated (audience scream) embodied with his presence. i walked out of the office and there was a young man in the church auditorium. he was mad. they chained his hands with about three padlocks; about three to four men surrounded him with his mother. i was passing through the church and the mother looked at me with tears in her eyes, she said this is my only son, this is my only son and he is mad now, he is mad now. i was coming from my office saturated, no one heard me, i looked at the people i say loose him. i am sure if they are bold enough, they will have told me come and loose him yourself. loose him. they loosed the first padlock, loosed the second padlock, loosed the third padlock, unwire the chain. the young man adjusted his short like this. his hands was bleeding from the chain, i say sorry, he thanked me. i say go on your knees. he says yes sir. say after me, lord jesus, lord jesus, i surrender my life to you, i surrender my life to you, i refuse to be mad, i refuse to be mad. thank you, lord, thank you lord. i am free; i am free, in jesus name. stand up. woman, carry your son (congregation screaming). they said is that all? i said that is all. this is a commonly used rhetorical device among nigerian pentecostal clerics, and it can be used either at the beginning of the sermon, the middle, or the end. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 92 in the utterance under analysis, it was used in the middle of the sermon. the maxim flouted in the utterance is the quantity maxim whose propositional requirement has it that the speaker should be only as informative as it is required. however, the cleric flouts this maxim by giving this lengthy testimony in order to stir up faith in his congregation and make the subjectmatter of his sermon persuasive to them. the perlocutionary effect of the rhetorical device on the congregation on the congregation is evident in their screaming at the end of the testimony. alliteration/assonance alliteration is the repetitive occurrence of consonant sounds at the beginning of two or more words immediately succeeding each other while assonance is the re-occurrence of the vowel sounds. this is common among contemporary pentecostal preachers as a means of achieving persuasion. it is an emotion arousing rhetorical device also deployed by the cleric in the analysed sermon. see an excerpt from the text below: do you understand what i am talking about? so the person who carries the presence of god is a mobile wonder. wonder in mobility. is a working sign, is a working, is a sign and a wonder working. do you understand what i am talking about? (no. 7) the device flouts the maxim of manner which requires conversationalists to avoid ambiguity, or obscurity. in the present utterance, the use of the words in alliteration/assonance flouts the manner maxim in that the words in themselves are ambiguous, unless when contextualized within the broader text of the sermon. the potency of this rhetorical device hinges on its poetic aesthetics through the means of which the subject-matter of the sermon is not only made persuasive to the congregation, but also memorable to them. this is the reason for its preponderant use by most nigerian pentecostal clerics. conclusion this study has examined the pragmatic effect of rhetorical devices in the sermonic discourse of paul enenche, one of the leading nigerian pentecostal clerics. the findings of the study reveal that the nigerian pentecostal clergy rely heavily on rhetorical devices, as linguistic resources, to make their sermons impactful, memorable and persuasive. it was also discovered that these preachers use these rhetorical devices to heighten their audience’s emotion as well as ensure their participation in their sermonic discourse. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 93 rhetorical devices are not only preponderant in the analysed text , but deployed by nigerian pentecostal clerics, but cohis study has shown the relationship between language, rhetoric and christian religious discourse, especially the sermon. preachers, as public speakers, deployed language and the linguistic resources available to them to make their sermons rhetoric. it also shows how preachers deliberately employ rhetorical devices to arouse their audiences’ emotion, consciousness (attention) and also ensure their participation in the sermonic discourse. these strategies help to make their sermons persuasive and memorable. references adedun, e. & mekiliuwa, o. (2010), cooperative principles in a nigerian christian sermon. in the journal of the faculty of religious studies, mcgill university, volume 38 akmaijian, a., demer, farmer, a. and harnish, r. (2004). linguistics: an introduction to language and communication. new delhi: prenticehall of india brown, g. & yule g. (1983). discourse analysis. cambridge: cambridge university press. brubaka, r. (2013), language, religion and the politics of difference. published in nation and nationalism (1-20) crystal, d. (1966). language and religion – in l. sheppard (ed.), twentieth century catholicism. new york: hawthorn books dairo, a. and onakeko, t. (2008). understanding discourse analysis and pragmatics. new york: peace concept daramola, a. (2006). direction in creativity: a discourse analysis of church choruses in nigeria. published in unad studies in language and literature vol. 2.1, 39-60 enefola, s. (2017). a pragmatic study of rhetorical devices in selected sermons of bishop david oyedepo (m. a dissertation, department of english and grammar, kaduna state university) enenche, p. (2017). seed of destiny (daily devotional: june 2017). abuja: destiny publications finegan, e. (2002). language: its structure and use (6th ed.). california: michael rosenberg fromklin, v., et al. (2011). an introduction to language (9th ed.). canada: michael rosenberg grundy, p. (2008). doing pragmatics (3rd ed.). london: hodder arnold education igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no.10. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 94 halliday, m.a.k. (1985). introduction to functional grammar. london: edward arnold harris, r. a handbook of rhetorical devices. retrieved on 19th december, 2016. virtual salt hunt, s. (2000). the new black pentecostal churches in britain. a paper presented at censnur 14th international conference, rega latuia, august 29-31 ibileye, g. and okpeh, p. (2014). the structure of pentecostal christian pulpit discourse. ona journal of english language and literature. vol.2.ayingba: kogi state university. johnstone, b. (2008) discourse analysis (2nd ed.). uk: blackwell publishing leech, g. (1983). principles of pragmatics. london: longman. leech, g & short, h. (1981). style in fiction: a linguistic introduction to english fictional prose. london: longman. levinson, s. (1983). pragmatics. cambridge: cambridge university press. mey, j. l. (2001). pragmatics: an introduction (2nd ed.). uk: blackwell publishing ogbu, k. (2008). african pentecostalism: an introduction. oxford: oxford university press. okpeh, p. (2012). the discourse features of prophecy. m.a. english dissertation, ahmadu bello university, zaria. okpeh, p. (2016). metaphor and ideology in nigerian pentecostal christian discourse. ph.d. thesis, nassarawa state university, keffi. osinsanwo, w. (2003). introduction to discourse analysis and pragmatics. lagos: femulous-fetop publishers scripture union (nig.). (2016). daily guide (daily bible reading guide for the 2016:184-185). ibadan: scripture union (nig.) press and books ltd. steve, a. (1986). how to make a speech. benin city: gospel press and literature int. taiwo, r. (2008). discursive practices in nigerian pentecostal christian songs. published in carlifornia linguistics notes. vol. xxxiii, no. 2 taiwo, r. (2005). forms and functions of interogation in charismatic christian pulpit discourse. nebula 2.4. dec/jan. 2005 udofot, i. m. (1992). concept and context in utterance interpretation. journal of humanities 2, 19-25 udofot, i. m. (1998). english semantics. nigeria: scholar’s press (nig.) ltd. verschueren, j. (1999). understanding pragmatics. london: hodder arnold yule, g. (1996). pragmatics. oxford: oxford university press. yule, g. (1996). the study of language. 2nd ed. cambridge: cup. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 300 religion and human security in africa nganwuchu, geoffrey chiazo ph.d department of religion and cultural studies university of nigeria nsukka geoffrey.nganwuchu@unn.edu.ng;08033103468 doi: 10.13140/ rg.2.2.23433.67684 & anizoba, emmanuel ph.d department of religion and cultural studies university of nigeria nsukka emmanuel.anizoba@unn.edu.ng; 08036060396 doi: 10.13140/ rg.2.2.23433.67684 & molokwu, geoffrey chidebem ph.d institute of theology paul university awka geohope4all@gmail.com; 08033272903 doi: 10.13140/ rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract security is sacrosanct in the world. decades had passed and the certainty of insecurity has become a global african phenomena despite millions of dollars spent on security issues in africa. the global governments have spent much to ensure that life is not brutish and short in africa to no avail. it has been discovered that the main debilitating issue in african security is corruption. african leaders are paying lip service to security as they squander monies borrowed for security purposes with their cronies and the result is heaping quantum debts for incoming administrations. the researcher employing maslow’s theory of corruption discovers that the only remedy to africas mounting insecurity is elimination of corruption in her polity. if this call is ignored africa will remain a continent that is not safe and livable. keywords: africa, security, continent, maslow debt. introduction security in africa is as old as religion. religion is argued to be illusory by many pundits and security definitely is not illusory. it is not just a concept but phenomena that has endured for ages. it involves all actions and inactions appropriated through arms and negotiations to ensure that life is not threatened mailto:geoffrey.nganwuchu@unn.edu.ng;08033103468 mailto:emmanuel.anizoba@unn.edu.ng mailto:geohope4all@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 301 and property lost to intruders. armed warfare often occurs when there is inconclusive agreement on the moves to obtain peace. when armed conflict arises amongst states, the need to obtain peace starts arising and nations or states involved start to negotiate moves that broker peace. kegley and blanton (2010) aver that in international relations, conflict regularly occur when actors interact and disputes over incompatible interests arise. conflict like politics is activities aimed at getting another actor to do something. conflict many be seen as inevitable and occurs whenever two parties perceive differences between themselves and seek to resolve the differences to their own satisfaction. it is that idea and resolution of differences that brings to bear the issues of security. the term security is seen as the act of protection of a person, building, organization or country against threats such as crime or attacks by foreign countries. inscribing united nations view on security, junkel (2001) says that in polity terms, human security is an integrated sustainable, comprehensive security from fear, conflict, ignorance, poverty, social and cultural deprivation, and hunger, resting upon positive and negative freedoms. security therefore has come under different views but the underlying factor has remained that human security encapsulates those agencies and bodies charged with protecting human beings, countries, establishments and property from insurrection, attacks, plundering and extermination. this task has its certain vulnerabilities and weaknesses because it is an act though divine but handled by human beings. as human agency, security issues have bothered the global forum that the united nations has one of its strongest arms as the security council. one of the functions of the arm is the prevention of genocide. according to the u. n. charter, prevention requires importuning responsibility and promoting collaboration between the concerned states and the international community. the duty to prevent genocide and mass atrocities lies first and foremost with the state, but the international community has a role that cannot be blocked by the invocation of sovereignty. sovereignty no longer exclusively blocks states from foreign interference; it is a charge of responsibility where states are accountable for the welfare of their people. this principle is enshrined in article i of the genocide convention and embodied in the principle of “sovereignty as responsibility”, and in the concept of the responsibility to protect”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 302 as a divine act, security speaks to mankind as god assures that he is the most dependable global security architect. divine action in global security is seen in david song in psalm 91 where mankind is reminded that god secures those who trust in him. many cases in the bible underscores divine security for instance in exodus 15, the passage through the sea of reeds protects god taking charge of the jews and securing them through the middle of the sea and where the pillar of fire and cloud acted as divine nearness. the egyptians who where following them were drowned in the sea, while the fleeing jews got away safely in the midst of the raging storm. throughout all ages, religion and security have been on the front burner of theological and social debates. the issue of religion being a major chunk holder in security and global defense has not been resolved. this could be seen in myriads of destructions occasioned by religious based bodies in several parts of african continent but most notably the almost institutionalized macaberic massacre of isis, boko haram in south and north africa. in nigeria, the herdsmen (miyethi allah cattle breeders) and boko haram insurgency have rendered some states immotile and inevitable. this is despite governments claims of victory over the insurgents and most confusedly the national forgiveness of “repentant” boko haram insurgents and incorporating them into national life. religion (it seems) has not actually provided solution to issues of insecurity, insurgency and mass murder in africa. the onus of this paper therefore is to draw the nexus between religion and security in africa and establish that both are indomitable ingredients of the contemporary surviving humanity. theories of security by immanuel kant and durkheims theory of religion will be used as bases of discussion. theoretical perspectives kant propounded the theory of “freedom as the basis of the state”. in this theory, he states that “there is only one innate right”, “freedom (independence from being constrained by another choice), in so far as it can coexist with the freedom of every other in accordance with a universal law”. kant rejects any other basis for the state, in particular arguing that the welfare of the citizens cannot be basis for state power. he argues that a state cannot legitimately impose any particular conception of happiness upon its citizen. to do so would be for the ruler to treat citizens as children unable to understand what is truly useful or harmful to themselves. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 303 this claim must be understood in the light of kants more general claim that moral law cannot be based upon happiness or any other given empirical good. in the groundwork, kant contrasts an ethics of autonomy, in which the will (willie, or practical reason itself) is the basis of its own law, from the ethics of heteronomy in which something independent of the will, such as happiness, is the basis of moral law. kant argues that happiness (the agreeableness of life when things go in accordance with ones wishes and desires), although universally bought by human beings, is not specific enough to entail any particular universal desires in human being. further even there any universal desires among human beings, those desires would as empirical be merely contingent and thus universally of being the basis of any pure moral law. no particular conception of happiness is too vague to serve as the basis of a law. hence “a universal principle of right” kant offers is thus “any action is right if it can coexist with everyones freedom in accordance with a universal law, or if on its maxim the freedom of choice of each can coexist with everyone freedom in accordance with universal law. durkheim (1912) on the other hand propounded the elementary form of religion theory. he reasons that religion is an independent system of beliefs and practices regarding things which are sacred, that is to say, apart forbidden, beliefs and practices which unite all those who follow them in a single moral community called a church” (p.21). pryer (2012) says that according to durkheim, religion is a division of the word into two kinds of phenomena namely the sacred and the profane. the sacred refers to things human set apart; including religious beliefs, rites, deities or anything socially defined as requiring special religious treatment. profane is just the opposite of the sacred, which is not sacred is called profane. on the one hand, the sphere of the sacred is the area that pertains to the numerous, the transcendental, the extra-ordinary. pryer maintains that in the other hand, the sphere of the profane refers to the realm of everyday utilitarian activities. when a number of sacred things maintain relations of co-ordination and sub-ordination with one another so as to form a system of the same kind, this body of corresponding beliefs and rites constitutes a religion. objects and behaviours deemed sacred were considered part of the spiritual or religious realm. they were part of rites, objects of reverence or simply igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 304 behaviours deemed special by religious beliefs. those things deemed profane were everything in the world that did not have a religious meaning but while these two categories are rigidly defined and set apart, they interact with one another and depend on each other for survival. there is an intriguing part of the conviction between the profane, the sacred and the society. that is the fact that society creates religion by defining certain phenomena as sacred and others as profane. those aspects of social reality that are defined as sacred that is that are set apart and deemed forbidden form the essence of religion. the rest are defined as profanethe everyday, the common place, the utilitarian, the mundane aspect of life. the sacred brings out attitude of reverence, respect ,mystery, alive and honour. the respect accorded to certain phenomena transforms them from the profound to the sacred. the differentiation between sacred and profane is necessary but not sufficient conditions for the development of religion. durkheims theory in all things dismissed religion as a phenomena that will surely recede and wane and which will give rise to developed sociological thinking. to durkheims, religious dwindling would give rise to scientific discoveries and which will shake the world and encourage positive sociological avenues to life. this feat has not being achieved. this assertion was heightened by ingleheart and norris (2014). according to them, the great nineteenth century social thinkers argued that the rise of modern industrial society entailed the decline of religion. modernization has indeed involved the rise of rational bureaucratically authority with that of the professional and technocratic elites. but in recent decades, a resurgence of religiosity and religious fundamentalism seems to have reversed the global trend toward secularization. norris and ingleheart explained that the experience of people living in weak and vulnerable societies heightens the importance of religious values, whereas the experience of people in rich and secured societies lessens it. indeed, they find that in most developed countries, church attendance and the authority of religious figures have continued to decline (although the u.s, is a bit of laggered because social inequality and the massive immigration of people with traditional world-views). in contrast, poor countries are not secularizing and they contain a rising share of the world‟s population. religion and security intertwine in africa. ellis and herr (2010) concur that: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 305 religion is of great importance in africa in that most people engage in some form of religious practice from time to time and many profess some formal religious organizations, traditional, muslim, christian or otherwise. many africans voluntarily associate themselves with religious networks, which they use for a variety of purposes-social, economic and even politicalthat go beyond the strictly religious aspect…religious ideas typically govern relationships of people with a perceived spirit world (p.9). sociologically speaking, religion is a set of beliefs, symbols and practices (for example rituals), which is based on the ideas of the sacred and which unites believers into a socio religious community. scotland and marshall (1994) say that the sacred is contrasted with the profane because it involves feelings of awe. sociologists have defined in a god or gods, because it makes social comparison possible: for example some versions of buddhism do not involve a belief in a god. religion is not just a social fact. it is strongly issue of security. the name of god portrays a security architecture. the yoruba of nigeria has several names for god. elemii is one of the names they give. it means owner of life. according to awolalu (1979), the name as applied to the supreme being suggests that all living beings owe their breath of life to him. in other words, without the supreme being no creature can live. when the owner of life takes away the breath of a living soul, that soul dies. if man needs security of his life, he must trust in god who provides that security. without god, it is impossible for man to live. turaki quoting styne (2020) opines that: life‟s essential quest is to secure power and use it. not to have power or to access to it produces great anxiety in the face of spirit caprice and the regards of life. a life without power is not worth living… power offers man control of his uncertain world. the search for and acquisition of power supercedes any commitment to ethics or morality. whatever is empowering is right. life and security thus have something in common. life subsists because there is an agent that ensures its worth and there is a system that sustains it. that system is security. when security is not functional in any state, or system, that organ will surely collapse because it is left at its own. in a macrocosm, the state is created to ensure that life is not snuffed out. in other words, security is the sole purpose of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 306 creation of state. actually, state is voiceless if life is not secured. the act of revenue generation is not feasible if security of life is not guaranteed. here, engels (1942) view is apt. viewing the state politically, he maintains that: the state is therefore, by no means a power force on society from without; as little is it, the reality of the ethical ideas, the image and reality of reason that hegel maintaining rather, it is a product of society at certain state of development. it is admission that this society become entangled in an ensoulble contradiction with itself, that is has split into irreconcilable antagonism, which it is powerless to dispel. but in order that these antagonism, these classes with conflicting economic interest might not consume themselves and society in fruitless struggles, it became necessary to have power seemingly standing above society that would alleviate the conflict and keep it within bound of „order‟ and the power, arisen out of society but placing itself above it, is the state (p.153). it is true that the state creates security and through constitutionalism empowers it to operate; the state all roundly depends on security to subsist. the apparatus that protects the state from crumbling is the anchor on which life revolves. the military, police, navy and other uniformed apparatus are the wings on which state fly and the feet on which the state lands. they are the imagery figure of each state internationally. so, without security, it is solemnly difficult for state to withstand external and internal aggression. with uncorrupt security apparatus, the state stands on its feet to face the world and forge a spawning economic environment. so it is a common place for any state to boast of s strong, viable and indivisible egalitarianism based on a strong security operative. thus developed states like the unites states of america, canada, russia, china and so forth can come out audibly before the global community and boast of impregnability against external disturbances and international confrontation. the reason is because their apparatus of security is not just dependable, they are sophisticated by all worlds standards and they can even form allies against other non-secured and vulnerable states who live in fear. hence, the regulation of security and its apparatus in developing countries have suffered intractable losses many decades ago. the reason is that many african states lost out in purposeful and human orients governance. rather corruption has been ruling african governance and this have colored greatly the process of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 307 administration of human lives. the incidences of myopic leadership and insensitivity coupled with capricious ethnocentrism have reduced the process of human values in administration into religious cognition. instead of religion being a base at which strong security administration of state will subsist, governments have introduced it as a facet of division and instrument of oppression amongst other members and citizens of the same state. one of the countries affected by religion-security politicking is nigeria. one issue about situating nigeria intractable problem on issues of security and religion has defied appropriation and classification. usman and badmus in albert and olarinde (2010) posit that: the study by the institute for peace and conflict resolution identified that many of the causes of (conflict) are essentially similar and can be explained in terms of ethnic, succession/dethronement of religious. however, over the course of time, their original causes have been lost and the conflicts manifested themselves around a single issue that had become a focus of antagonistic and intractable attitudes. for example, the ife-modakeke conflict began as territorial dispute in 1835, but now has been situated in ethnic gone from one about eh environment. the pendant for attacking nigerians from other parts of the country, particularly igbo in northern cities like kaduna and kano, over religion that has little or no bearing to those being attacked defy logic. the crescendo with which plateau state often regarded as the melting pot of nigeria groups and religious is engulfed in crises suggests an undercurrent to this conflict hotspot (p.141). the worry over this matter of security and religion has become so heavy that an academic enquiry has to be undertaken to uncover the mystery and solution. this worry was expressed by soludo in chiegboka and utoh ezeajugh (2012). he insists on a question of who will bail the cat. according to him, it is the current players in the political terrain, and perhaps even the beneficiaries of the current order who would be expected to change it. a constitution of the federal republic of nigeria already exists, and this needs to b fundamentally amended. under current power relations, a coalition of elected governors is the most dominant political force in the country. soludo avers that “to amend the constitution, you require not only the national assembly (atleast 24 out of the 36 states)…..” (p.31). as observed by basedau and kehnert (2018), “the rise in religious discrimination in sub-saharan africa has coincided with a rise in religious armed conflicts”. (p6). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 308 with the salvo recurrent on religion and security, it is apparent that researchers works reveals certain concurrent link with maladministration and copious ethnocentrism. the work will now focus on those vital ingredients that contribute to leakages in security and religion and how they can be overcome. causes of insecurity in africa before vital issues insecurity and religion in africa are discussed there are vents to insecurity. why are there so much occurrences and re-occurrences of insecurity in africa and particularly nigeria? such issues like: poverty, religious/intolerance, lack of good governance, migration, international policies on wars and armaments, insatiable lust for power and fear of ethnic domination, will be discussed. poverty when people do not found food to eat, they become vulnerable and could become a toll for all facets of violence especially against authorities. a common saying that “a hungry man is an angry man” could be understood in a clearer term. the incidence of hunger is captured by the f.a.o report actions through the agency of africa regional overview of food security and nutrition. it was a downward trend and upward curve of food and nutrition fracas in africa. according to this ugly report: the latest data shows that the deterioration has slowed, but there remain 256 million hungry people in africa today. the upward trend in undernourishment over 2014 to 2018 period in africa is confirmed by the rise in the prevalence of severe or moderate food insecurity, a complementary indicator of food insecurity introduced by fao in 2017. this measure also shows that in addition to 277 million people in africa who are severely food insure, i.e they do not have regular access to nutritious and sufficient food, even if they were not necessarily suffering from hunger (p.1). this report revealed a dastardly decline on food security in africa which is one of the worst scenarios of africans poverty and governance. african countries record over 87% of citizens who live below poverty level (below one dollar per day). these are people who are farming the fields and harvesting from the scorched lands and can hardly find enough food to sustain them. further igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 309 analysis replays a grim reality for the continent in the area of food value chain. the report claims and rightly so that: food insecurity has been rising in africa in recent years and the continent is not on tract to eliminate hunger by 2030. the 2071, 2015 spatial inequalities, is essential to strengthening household resilience, laying the part for inclusive growth and reducing food insecurity and tackling the multiple forms of malnutrition (p.4). this report makes far reaching suggestions on methods and models of tackling food insecurity in africa. this suggestions is a ploy to governments in power in africa of the continent must sail through in her bid to conquer food insecurity and thereby possibly reduce the incidence of impending mass action on government establishments which lie insecure as far as africans‟ hungry masses are concerned. the model and methods is: addressing acute and chronic malnutrition also requires both nutrition specific and nutrition sensitive approaches that are multi sectoral in nature. policies and interventions must focus on promoting nutrition sensitive food systems that can promote and sustain healthy and diverse diets. policy makers should put particular emphasis on maternal and child malnutrition and health in the first 1000 days, both as a moral imperative but also as a high return investment (p.5). there is no doubt that this report underscores a highly rigid political game of insensitivity over the plights of african population by her rulers. high levels of hunger and despondency are highly noticed amongst the vast population of citizens who live in the sahel regions of africa where food and water are almost unreachable luxuries and where people drink their own urines and that of famished animals as water. the result of high incidence of food insecurity is high death and mortality rate and rising expectancy of mass action against politicians from affected countries. uchendu and abolarin (2015) attributes this high level of food insecurity to corruption and ineptitude by the political authorities in the continent. religious intolerance it is not news that religious intolerance has proved a strong indication of insecurity in africa. form nigeria to senegal, from burkina faso to libya and kampala, africa has had her toll of killings and blood lettings as a result of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 310 religious intolerance. though highly political and sociological in out-lay, religious colouration has been the regular picture attached to this malaise. haldeem (2013) refers to osaghae and suberu (2005) that: nigeria is synonimous with deep divisions which cause major political issues to be vigorously and violently contested along the lines of intricate ethnic religious and regional divisions. issues that raise the most dust are those regarded essential for the existence and the validity of state. opposing and contending assemblages have a tendency to assume an exclusionary winner take all approach. these issues include the control of state power, allocation of resources and citizenship. as a result, states with such divisions are disposed to be delicate and unstable because almost by definition, they have very little in common with regard to convergence and harmony which are necessary to reduce the centrifugal forces that rip them apart (p.1) it is a common place that religious intolerance has contributed its own quota to the displacement of the populace from their original settlements into new territories thereby forcing migration on the inhabitants. for instance, the influx of the almajiris and the almajirai from the north of nigeria into the south south and south east of nigeria was traced to internal conflict based on misunderstandings in that region. the almajiri school system according to awofeso, ritchie and degeling (2003) served as an instrument of radicalization for three important reasons. first, it involves children been relocated or separated from their family and friends to the guardianship of mallams in towns. second, it is restricted almost exclusively to boys. third, the curriculum of the schools is concerned primarily with teaching the sixty chapters of the koran by rite memorization. fourth, each school serves 25 to 500, from the ages of 6 to 25. these schools are largely autonomous from government oversight” (p8). being that the system does not support any lucrative or any useful knowledge; the common characteristics of the almajiri became domestication of radicalism in the young boys. being taught the basic tenets of islam and little knowledge or none at all of other religions and being deprived of basic life support systems, they resort to violence. their targets have always being members not of their religion. the level of physical destruction of these young domestic radicals is beyond description. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 311 the lack of understanding of the tenets of other religions in nigeria has also forced up loathing of those attached religious to official kleptocracy. moving up to outright religious stigmatization, many juicy positions even through justified constitutional rights were denied. most countries in africa and most especially in nigeria have made official rejection of members of other religions a hallmark”. people lose their jobs or are threatened either to forcefully proselyte or are denied their rightful constitutional positions. those who are sacked in this manner constitute national security risks to the country. lack of good governance lack of good governance has been a bane in most african countries. when governance lacks human face and the political administrators go all out to achieve personal and family oriented satisfaction and utility on the alter of public good, that administration is judged as having failed. many countries in africa lack people oriented policies and programmes. in most countries like nigeria, ghana, guinea, morocco, somalia etc, the constitution or programmes of government may not actually be the issues, the issues become the political personal handling of policies and programmes of government. for instance in nigeria,, the president buhari immediately after his second term election flew to germany in a conference and declared that his concern was not the 17% regions that did not vote him but the 98% that voted him to power. this singular executive assertion had posited him as an executive chairman who was already biased ethnocentrically against a part of his country. most executives in africa seen presidential opportunities through the eyes and perspective of and ethnocentric and machiavelian policy of “the winner takes it all”. with such political mindset, some african countries like nigeria has suffered under the hands of suffocating political gladiators with intense myopic political tenets and values. the direct effect of the actions are untold sufferings of both people favoured and those who are unfortunate to be in minority of political executive interest. okechukwu & duru in chiegboka, utoh-ezeagugh & ibekwe (2012) advocated that: the world bank (international bank for reconstruction and development) founded after the second world war had grown so wide and influential that it has directly or indirectly affected the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 312 political colour of many countries. as international, financial, it has decided to attach good governance as a major prerequisite for a country to obtain financial assistance from her. as agwu observed, it has identified three distinct indicators of good governance as (a) the form of political regime (b) process by which authority is exercised (c) capacity of government to discharge its responsibilities (p.134) true to its accredited statement, the people of south-south and south east of nigeria have had their “stories” that touch the heart” to tell as they grapple with inept and capricious handling of their regions under the present government. another effect is the “radicalization‟ of pressure groups which its youths have continually posed dire assaults to government. such groups as indigenous people of biafra (ipob), mobilization for attainment of sovereign state of biafra (massob), niger delta boys, amotekun in the south west, herdsmen and farmers clashes, banditry, insurgence of boko haram and other internal facts have arisen. the country‟s borrowing formula has arisen to about 68% of the total revenue thereby debts are the only instruments used in financing national budgets. these policies will only ensure national insecurity and eventual loss of lives and property if care is not taken. international policies on wars and armaments wars across the world and production of armaments had affected african security system in a large scale. as the international policies has not actually encouraged using third world countries as dumping grounds of war equipments and arsenals, many dictators had been encouraged by the countries producing these armaments to stage uprising through enactment of draconian policies that will negatively affect their citizens. the motive was for those countries to sell their weapons of mass destruction to the gullible countries. skons (2014) agree that: many african countries depend to a significant extent on the economic development and security related activities of external actors. the life saving impact of externally supported example. however, external engagement presents challenges to african security efforts. in order for african countries to best benefit from external activities, they need locally strategy for incorporating igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 313 external support civil society now has an opportunity to play a major role in shaping these policies (p.1). because african countries are prone to internal wrangling and secessionists tendencies (as result of bad governance), international actors are always invited to play the roles of peace negotiators, peace watch and mediators etc. over the past decade and half, international efforts on peace and security initiatives were borrowed from international financiers thus forcing up africa continental borrowings to about 46%. skon maintain that: visible external security activities on the soft side, direct interventions by external military and security forces in conflict or past-conflict situations (either bilaterally or multi laterally) in the form of peace operations). another visible form of external activity is the transfer of weapons, either legal or illicit; to african states and armed groups. in addition, external actors train military and security personnel; conduct joint exercises; and provide support for the reform of the security sectors (p.4). nigeria as a major peace keeping country has over the decade sent forces to liberia on peace mission in ecomog operations (economic community of west african states monitoring group) which was formed and started operation in 1993 to foster peace amongst warring groups in that country. one of the victims of that peace keeping was former president samuel doe. in nigeria (1967-1970) was a period of interest when all peace negotiation had failed and most prominent was the aburi accord signed between nigeria and biafra at ghana in 1967. some of such peacekeeping operations are still going on in congo-brazziville, sudan, mali, etc. after those peace keeping operations, the arms race and arm deal lead to arms surrender by the conquered forces. the tragic affects of those surrender is the internal use unsurrendered arms for internal use by criminals and bandits who are not favoured by the government that and initially adopted as reperant soldiers. one of the side effects of nigeria civil war was the criminal activities of soldiers who had fought in those wars and had not surrendered their armament. fear of ethnic domination igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 314 one of the major under-balance of african countries and their politicians has always being fear of ethnic group toppling another ethnic group in pursuit of top executive positions. for instance, before the independence of south africa in 1984, the african national congress ( a.n.c) led by nelson mandela had battled with the inkatha freedom party (i.f.p) led by mongosuthu buthelezi. in nigeria, before the political independence in 1960 and 1963 republicanism, the fear of hausa/fulani oligarchy and igbo ethnic group tussles had been the mainstay of political parties and associations. the effect of this fear led the formation of political parties that are more of ethnic associations with both parochial and myopic political manifestoes. in fact, the only political party in nigeria which had allayed this ethnic domination fear was the national party of nigeria (n.p.n) that produced both mallam shehu shagari as the president and dr. alex ekwueme as the vice president. the bottom pot of national unrests in african countries had bred from sectional and ethnic interests in national affairs. irobi (2005) discovers ethnicity (ethnic groups) “as a community of people who share cultural and linguistic characteristics including history, tradition, myth and origin”. (p.3). because an ethnic group feels like they are shortchanged in the share of the “national cake‟ they compete for external and internal recognitions and participation have been identified as one of the major causes of conflict in africa. terrorists believe that competition for scarce resources is a common factor in almost all ethnic conflicts in africa. according to him; in multi-ethnic societies like nigeria and south africa, ethnic communities violently compete for property, rights, jobs, education, language and health care facilities,…” in the case of south africa, gehard mare confirms that ethnicity and ethnic conflict appear to be a response to uneven development in south africa, which caused ethnic groups (xhosa, zulus, and even afrikaans) to mobilize to compete for resources along ethnic lines. it follows that multi-ethnic countries are likely to experience distributional conflicts (p.6). external conventions on security and religion in africa right from 1888 when there was the “scramble for africa”, the continent has been a volatile area seared by different religious beliefs, observations and values. this is coupled with also volatile political views of tribal leaders who wedged igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 315 untold powers over the regions they ruled either through the kings, obas, obis and other designated office holders. many of these countries which later became colonies to those western nations that grabbed them have to face a new political and religious realities following either from their countries of their colonial masters or from the counties that has dominant religious (or even denominational muzzles). for instance nigeria became a colony of great britain who also was the parent body of anglicanism. painting a dominating feature of anglicanism in free town and nigeria, okeke (2006). in his words: the most important outcome of patriotism was the preservation of tribal languages. each tribe endeavored to hand overt its language and culture to a succeeding generation. this language continuity eventually led to s. koelle‟s polyglotta africanaa collection of vocabularies phrases, varies geographical and cultural information concerning over zoo african groups. against such syncretism, j.f.schon complained and preached. part of this religious continuum still persist in the creole awujoa ceremony which origins ought to be traced to the cultural background of the liberated africans .it is a ceremony of peace and blessing in which the generations are telescoped and their influenced solicited (p.12-13). the religious influences of these colonial masters are in so /many degrees positively influential on the scrambled people. for a race just recovering from intractable atlantic slave trade and its vagaries the need for “fresh air” was rife. change in values orientation and new political ideas were to wash away the wounds of oriental servitude those races and countries had suffered in the hands of the white supremacies who had rough handled them in more than one century years of slave dealing. by the late 1930‟s, the first and second wars had come and gone and the cold war of intellectualism and political advocacy. the formation league of nations in 1919 and united nations organization in 1949 put up new political viewpoints which provided new guidelines on emerging religious and security situations in the globe. one of those arms was the security councils. kegley and blanton (2012) advocated that : the founders of the u.n(united nations) expected the security council to become the organization primary body, because it was designed to maintain peace and its permanents members were the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 316 victorious great powers that had been allied during the use of force. the general assembly can only make recommendations (p.145). in this guise, gutterres (2014) in conjunction with the security council made some recommendations that will help stem the tide of insecurity and violence in africa. some of these recommendations are grouped under “silencing the guns by 2020”. they are: strengthening the legal regime also means bringing more precision to it. the international legal definitions of a mercenary is very narrow and therefore poses a challenge to effective investigations and prosecutions we need to increase bilateral, regional and international cooperation. cooperation on border management will be crucial in stemming the largely unhindered flow of weapons and foreign armed actors throughout central africa. such steps could include mixed border commission, joint border security monitoring mechanisms and regular intelligence sharing between national defence forces. cooperation will also be essential for building the capacity of national institutions responsible for justice, security and human rights to carry out these vital functions and to implement the relevant legal instruments. a state must be able to exercise a monopoly on the use of force within its territory with armed forces capable of protecting people while upholding the rule of law. there was need to also decipher that some of the provisions while limit international deals on arms and transfers they also empower internal usage of ammunition amongst african leaders and separatist/irredental groups. on referring to the weakness harsch (2010) reports that in south africa: yet in addition to those nations still affected by armed conflict, others remain politically fragile… they have weak institutions, vulnerable economics and growing number of jobless youths. they face a new lost of new challenges ranging from transnational crime to climate change. if left unaddressed, such problems may lead to resumption of old conflicts or the outbreak of new ones. to avoid a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 317 resurgence of war, the secretary general argues a new report. “african countries and their outside partners need to provide the minimum conditions for human sustenance and forge a security policy that has people, developmental and social issues at its core”(pi). panacea to security and religious issues in africa. many countries in african have been facing untold religious and political hardships due largely to both religious intolerance and insensitivity coupled with political radicalization of executive office holders. one of the compounding problems of african leaders o is paid government is using religious ethnic sentiments to whip-up political unrests. the gullibility of africa citizens who are whipped with hunger and lost values give rise to this menace and greatly discourage political gladiators to use religious sentiments to acquire personal political gains and clanish ascendency. it is important to note that most uprisings in africa are just direct assault by those in power to flush out religio-political elements in service to entrench mono-based religious loyalists in positions of power. this has continued to encourage politico, nepotic administrative systems in african countries. in nigeria for instance, this method has encouraged fulani led oligarchic monopoly of political positions in the country and the feeling that have powers to instill themselves nepotically has been on the increase in the past four decades in the country. the removal of president goodluck jonathan in 2015 elections did not come as a surprise. this is most evident in adeniyi (2015) who vividly recounted how a sitting president lost out in an election nigeria. that is first of its kind in africa in many countries. one ugly impact of religion-ethnic myopism is the country‟s debt burden. nigeria with her soaring oil profile since 1956 would have been on line of credit nations, but that was not be. between 1979-2000 nigeria has continually been a debtor nation and her debt profile has risen significantly astronomic in the past three decades. okonjo-iweala and soludo (2003) paint ugly and scary picture of this debt enigma like this: after decades of dictatorship and misrule, nigeria, africans most populous country and potentially its largest economy, has emerged as a nascent democracy, and is leadership is determined to start anew. however, the average nigerian is poorer today than n 1972, despite the country‟s nearly us and 300 billion earnings from all exports between 1973 and 2000. poverty is deep and pervasive with igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 318 about 70% of the population in absolute poverty infrastructure decay is significant, corruption is endemic and accountability is grossly weakened (pi). observing a colossal waste of general enterprise and political malfunctioning, it becomes evident that neglect of this gross political waste will not just spell economic doom for africa. nigeria will suffer both political and religious peril. one evidence is the conflict between farmers and herdsmen in nigeria states and the hardest hit area is katsina in the north central of nigeria. that is also the home state of the country‟s president. the fear of travelling between abuja (the capital city of nigeria) and the next sister state of kaduna, one faces the most daring risk. religio-political assault on both religious and political institutions in the north of nigeria has become scary faces for instance a roman catholic ordinand was abducted and murdered in cold blood after a ransome of over twenty million naira (nm20) had been paid. one of the governors had only boasted that foreign observers who try to report cases of extra-judicial murders will be carried on “body bags” went viral on both social and government media. this is a daring assault on international intelligence. with all these on, there must be a respite and panacea to the impending security and religious breaches in africa countries. one wonders what would be the panaceas to this obvious security and political anomalies in africa. here, few suggestions are put forward. balanced religious freedom for the citizenry one issue with africa leadership is the inordinate ambition for one particular religion to bottle-hole others especially when such group finds itself in the vantage populous. the result is attempt to eliminate employees of other religions or at least to ostracize them to ignominy. in order to do or achieve this task, official government communications pass through informal and unruly home avenues and deposited in unofficial gazette files. in some cases, experienced hands in offices are transferred to areas where they are not relevant and inexperienced and untrained hands are replaced on the after of religious or denominational caprices. so, the issue of religious freedom is a “must” agenda for africa and nigeria state on true application of that policy will not just move africa and indeed nigeria forward, it will entrench a free society where everyone is free to practice this igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 319 religion without fear. notuce, danji and oladeje (2009) observed as they analyzed the religio-political landscape in nigeria. the obasanjo administration presideded over a constitution, which, despite the considerable experience of nigeria with constitutionwriting the country has had nine constitutions/ since the first [clifford constitution in 1927], was somewhat ambiguous with regard to the role of religion in the state. this section 10 of the 1999 constitution of nigeria….. announces that the government of the federation of the state shall not adopt any religion as state religion. however, section 38(i) holds that every person shall be entitled to the freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including freedom to change his (sic) religion or belief and freedom (either alone or in community with others, and in public or private) to manifest and propagate its religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice and observance (p. 16). the implication of this section of the constitution is secularization of religion in nigeria. however, it impoverishes sections of their ability to practice their religion as it also empowered the majority to push others to the wall religiously. because of what that law implies imo (2008) opuses that despite heated about sharia at the time of its introduction, the boundaries in the struggles by religious groups and organizations over public space and recognition are filled. restructuring of political system in nigeria. the idea of restructuring lays credence to delimitation and devolution or powers of state to all aspects of development. it is the idea of seeing areas of need and assigning workable tools to facilitate reforms. the objective of restructuring is to steer mechanism properly and to give focus and locus to attempt at collective identity and distributive politics. according to amuwo, suberu, agbaje and herault (ed) (1998): to thinker with political structures is perharps suggestive whilst democratic practice may not yet have firm roots, the democratic idea has same form of expression. the importance of the latter idea in a federal system can hardly be over emphasized, particularly where there are not only actually existing feudalist movements but also nationalities being driven to agitate for separatist identities. two, political restructuring is intended to lay institutional foundation for a more just and equitable sharing of the political space igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 320 by multinational grout‟s cohabiting in a federal polity. the strategic objective seems to be the solidifying – or perhaps merely engendering – of a sauce of a national community. within this context, political restructuring is an indication that some spirit of political bargaining, however circumscribing does not exist notwithstanding whether or not the decision to restructure the polity by the ruling class or clique was voluntary or otherwise (b6) restructuring implementation and execution will eliminate in high measure the democratic fascism and the policy of cabalism that has bedecked nigeria in the fast ten decades or more. with collective bargaining amongst the religious that make up nigeria, security apparatus will face reshuffle as well as other key agencies in nigeria. the result will be total elimination of insecurity and the rootization of safety and trust in governance and administration in the country. institution workable peace and conflict platform for national peace initiative. it is imperative that without peace no system works. many nerves have been strained both nationally and state wise. when men are at each others, throat campaigning for one position or the other, it is evident that such system is heading for the rock. nigeria has fought a civil war from 1967 – 1970 and the impact of the war is yet to subside. it is true that the regime-change had declared “no victor, no vanquished”, but the underlining factor is that the nation still sees the south-east part of nigeria as a conquered territory and so servitude affect that region. there was need for national reconciliation process in nigeria that will assuage the hunger for peace which citizens from the minority and conquered regions have been clamoring for. preventive actions will also be taken to combat future occurrences of bad blood and hatred amongst citizens of africa and more especially in nigeria. the effect of this is confidence building, national reconciliation and trust in governance. gaya-best (2006) offers that preventive action comprises many activities. according to him: preventive action therefore comprises a host of other activities ranging from confidence – building, national reconciliation and fact finding missions to preventive diplomacy, including medication, negotiation and facilitation. it also includes peace initiatives, like the deployment of observers, verification or monitoring missions, the deeping of democratic values and institutions, the strengthening of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 321 accountability and monitoring institutions, the improvement of electoral processes and financial assistance (p. 199). without sustainable peace and trust in the government and governance in africa, it is impossible to obtain a humane and administration. citizens must have reasons to revere their political and religious leaders and thus sustainable development will be ensured in africa nay nigeria. instituting the exemplary lives of religious stages there is no gainsaying the fact that the founders of religious bodies have their lives and teachings buried in love and peace on the earth. both jesus christ (the founder of christianity) and prophet muhammad (the founder of islam) lived and practiced peace and taught same. most of their disciple lived like them and moved on teaching baptizing and encouraging their followers to do the same. even moses the founder of judaism taught the ways of yahweh (though yahweh was a man of war) also instructed moses to teach peace amongst the jews. but in his teaching to christian listeners insisted on obeying the law and being subject to administrators both of his time and now as antecedent to peace. bowen (1975) in discussing the word “be subject to” says that: this word does not simply mean “obey”, though it may include the idea of obedience. paul here used neither of the two greek words which normally conveyed the idea of obey. the word he used means “submit to”, and it conveyed the idea take up your proper rank beneath…(p.176). when there is peace in the polity, ineptitude and kleptocracy will be a thing of the past in africa. those in authority will copy the foot prints of these religious leaders by making peace through, negotiation and round-table conference. those in authority will copy hook-line and sinker the uncorrupt and non-violence stance of founders of the religions. the effect of corruption has continually being evidence in any polity. ampitan and ige (2018) underscores the endemic// nature of corruption in these words: corruption in high places has no doubt brought the country /to her kneels. those who have had the opportunity of occupying the positions of authority somewhat abuse the position in collaboration with their cohorts. they connive with their cronies to defraud the country (p.8). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 322 both jesus christ and mohammed lived lives of peace, sacrifices ascstism and love as they taught about god who will one day judge the world. if the african leaders will understand that death seals the destiny of man and that includes position, wealth and name, the footprints of religious founders will be their focal point. conclusion having at length discussed the issue of religion and violence in africa, it has become clear that religion has served as a building block for peace. the issue in question is that african leaders have turned backwards and utilized it negatively. integrating ethnicism, cabalism and myopism, the instrument of violence has served as a boost to achieve personal political ambition. religion was supposed to usher-in peace and unity, egalitarianism and understanding amongst people of divine and the same faith. rather than doing that, religion rather serve as an umbrella for misunderstanding clannish sentiments and parochial desires. religious leaders instead of copying the worthy lives of founders of religious became puppets and toys in the hands of political leaders to unleash untold terrors on the populace. faith in christ or muhammed instead of unveiling the realities of heaven and vileness of the earthly riches rather becomes its boost. politicians offer them juicy positions and undue political recognitions and convert them almost to card carrying members of choice political parties. the result is that prophecies meant to correct political anomalies turned to praise instruments for corrupt politicians. teachings for universal love have become love for “members of my faith”. this has led to clannish feelings amongst faiths and insatiable lust for bloodletting. the work concludes by saying that religion must be a vehicle of love in africa and must not be counter-used for spreading of violence and misunderstanding. african leaders both religious and political must learn to speak the truth at all times and remove endocentric ideas in pursuit of personal goals. this will set africa on the pedestal of progress and sustained industrialization. references albert, i.o & olarinde, o.n (2010). trends and tensions in managing conflicts. abuja: society. allis,s &haer, g.t (2010). religion and development in africa. openaccess.leideuuniversity.nl retrieved 21st june, 2020. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 323 ampitan, j.p.a, ige, a.i (2018). ineptitude of nigerian leaders: major causes of underdevelopment. in, religious journal of the nigerian association for the study of religions, vol. 8:2. ilorin: decency. anuwo, k; subaru, r; agbaje, a & herault, g. (1998). federalism and political restructuring in nigeria. ibadan: spectrum. awofeso n. ritchie, j & degeling p. (2003). the almajiri system and insurgency in the northern nigeria: a reconstruction of the existing narratives for policy direction. researchgate.net retrieved 21st june, 2020. basedau, m & kehnert, j. (2018). religious discrimination and religious armed conflict in sub-saharan africa: an obvious relationship? journal of religion, state and society, vol. 47.1. www.tandfonline.com retrieved 18th june, 2020. bowen, r. (1975). a guide to romans. london: spck. chiegboka, a. b. c; utoh – ezeajugh, t. c & ibekwe, e. u (ed). the humanities and good governance. nimo rex. engels, f. (1942). the origin of the family, private property and the state. moscow: progress. food and agriculture organization report (2017). containing the damage of economic slowdowns and downturns to food insecurity in africa www.fao.org retrieved 18th june, 2020. gaya-best, s: (2006). introduction to peace and conflict studies in west africa. ibadan: spectrum. ginkel, s. (2001). global peace and security. www.wordtrend.com retrieved 18th may 2020. gutterres, a. (2020). united nations charter on security in africa. www.un.org retrieved 21st june, 2020. haldun, i & opeyemi a.o (1999). ethnic and religious crisis in nigeria : a specific analysis upon identities (1999-2013). www.accordorg.za retrieved 16th june, 2020. harsh, e. (2010). securing lasting peace in africa. www.un.org/africanrenewal.com retrieved 18th june, 2020. imo, c. (2008). evangelicals, muslims and democracy with particular reference to the declaration of starch in northern nigeria in ranger, terrence (ed) evangelical christianity and democracy in the global south. oxford: oxford. irobi, e. g. (2005). ethnic conflict management in africa: a comparative case study of nigeria and south africa www.beyondpracticalbility.org retrieved 22nd june, 2020. http://www.tandfonline.com/ http://www.fao.org/ http://www.wordtrend.com/ http://www.un.org/ http://www.accordorg.za/ http://www.un.org/africanrenewal.com http://www.beyondpracticalbility.org/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 324 kanu, a. i; omojola, i. o.; bazza, m. b. (2019). boko haram and forced migration: a focus on the northeast and lake chad basin. published in nnadiebube journal of education in africa. vol. 4. no. 2. pp. 1-13. kanu, ikechukwu a. & ndubisi j. o. ejikemeuwa (2018) (eds.). religion, morality and peace-building in africa: ambiguities and the imperfect human condition. lambert academic publishing: germany. kanu, i. a. & ushe m. u. (2018). the religious politics of boko haram and fulani herdsmen menace: a resurgence of islamic fundamentalism. in kanu, i. a. & ndubisi j. o. e (eds.). religion, morality and peace-building in africa: ambiguities and the imperfect human condition (pp. 109-183). lambert academic publishing: germany. kegley, c. w (jr) & blanton, s. l. (2010). world politics trends and transformations. australia : wordsworth. ingleheart, n, p. (2014). sacred and secular: religion and politics// worldwide. www.foreignaffairs.com retrieved 18th june, 2020. noite, c; danjibo, n & oladeji, a. (2009). religion, politics and governance in nigeria. resarchgate.net retrieved 28th june, 2020. okechukwu e & duru, e. (2012). civil interest civil unrest and good governance in nigeria in utoh ezeagugh, i. c. chiegboka, a.b.c., ibekwe, e.u (ed). the humanities and good governance. nimo: rex. okeke, d.c (2006). people of the book (vol. 1). enugu: rabboni. okonjo-iweala, n; soludo, c & mausur, m. (2003). the debt trap in nigeria : towards a sustainable debt strategy. africa: trenton. prya /r. (1912). the darkheims sociology of religion and its function. http//www.yourarticlelibrary.com retrieved 18th june, 2020. scott, j and marshal, g. (1994). oxford dictionary of sociology. oxford university. skonas, e. (2014). the challenge of external engagement in african security. www.sipri.org retrieved 22nd june, 2020. standard encyclopedia of philosophy (2012). freedom as the basis of state. styre, r.e. (2020). security and power in africa www.styreacademy.org retrieved 21st june, 2020. uchendu, n.f & abolarin, th.o (2015). corrupt practices negatively influenced food security and live expectancy in developing countries. pan-african medical journal, vol. 20.110. www.ncbi.nim.nih.gov retrieved 18th june, 2020. http://www.foreignaffairs.com/ http://www.sipri.org/ http://www.styreacademy.org/ http://www.ncbi.nim.nih.gov/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 173 electronic voting and the electoral process: a study of the 2019 presidential elections in nigeria ngozi jacinta oluoha department of political science tansian university, umunya anambra state ojeccyng@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.10379.82727 abstract the electoral process provides the electorate with the institutional framework for choosing leaders through a competitive free, fair, credible and acceptable election. crucially, elections are the only acceptable institutionalized process enabling the recognised members of an independent society to choose their representatives. relying on secondary data on some elections in nigeria, the study established that nigeria have had electoral flops, inconclusive elections emanating from electoral tensions, election infractions and irregularities. the study adopts public technology of procurement and innovation theory and used the descriptive method to unravel the relevance of e-voting in nigerian electoral process. the study discovered that the manual voting has done more harm than good to nigerians and advocates the use of e-voting system for the sole aim of having an accessible, transparent, free, and fair election with immediate feedback. the study found out that the 2019 nigerian presidential election have been flawed by exploitation of the electoral process in form of the president’s rejection to sign the electoral act (amendment) bill 2018, failure or non usage of the smart card reader machines, and logistic problems emanating from manual voting. the study therefore, recommends that the president should sign the amended electoral bill into law, that inec and its ad-hoc staff should use the card reader which nigeria has plunged a whopping sum of n27.5billion to procure and which has been successful in developed nations. finally, the study advocates for the use of e-voting in the nigerian electoral process to reduce the problem of logistics during election. keywords: electronic voting, electoral process, elections, voting introduction electoral process is the stage that the electorates (the voters or those to vote) and candidates (those being voted for) pass through in an election. in a democracy, those whose responsibility is to exercise political authorities in a society perform igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 174 it with the explicit consent and genuine mandate expressed at periodic intervals by the electorate through an open, free and fair electoral process (ojie, 2006). unfortunately, nigeria’s elections have so far thwarted the foundation upon which democracy is built due to mal-elections. nigeria is in the category where election management is less successful. the rules guiding elections are ambiguous, ever changing or easily manoeuvred; the electoral regulations and rules is institutionally less effective; the political bigwigs are the gladiators in their conduct; hence the electorates are often powerless as they live in the mercy of the political stalwarts and political outcomes. the political moguls, who have special interest, impose unpopular candidates and employ every form of political gimmick to influence the election in their favours against the general will of the people. international crisis group (2018), states that nigeria’s last two elections, (2011, 2015) have all been violent. more than 800 people lost their lives in the 2011 polls as post-election protests morphed into mob attacks on minorities in many northern states like, plateau, nasarawa, kaduna, zamfara, adamawa, borno, and yobe. the 2011 election sparked riots in northern nigeria. up to 1,000 people could have died in post-election violence. even the more peaceful 2015 polls, more than 100 people passed on. (john, ayoade, adeoye, and akinsanya, 2012). the independent national electoral commission (inec), as a nonpartisan nigerian government agency is charged with the conduct and supervision of elections. in the late 1990s, the agency began modernizing its information technology infrastructure by migrating from an outdated legacy voting system heavily dependent on inaccurate paper records and polling cards to the newer electronic systems. at the heart of this technology is the electronic voter register (evr), which, by capturing the names of all eligible voters, eliminates duplication and thereby minimizes discrepancies in the electoral process. as such, evr is viewed as a means of ensuring free and fair elections in nigeria (piccolino, 2015). the smart card reader (scr) machine was introduced in the 2015 election. the device was part of the registration and authentication of duly registered voters; those who had permanent voter cards (pvcs) and who ultimately participated on election day. the card reader was promoted by inec as an anti-electoral fraud device and was introduced to enhance the integrity of the voting process and dissuade multiple voting, as only duly accredited and verified pvc holders can vote. the card readers are also configured to work for specific polling units. this means that pvcs could not be used in multiple polling units. despite the independent national electoral commission (inec) repeatedly assuring that the smart card reader will not pose a challenge at the 2019 presidential elections. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 175 reports from parts of the country designated that the malfunctioning of the scr machine caused delays and frustration for voters, thereby encouraging voting droopiness among nigerian electorates. according to aljazeera, (2015), on 8 february 2015, the independent national electoral commission (inec) announced the postponement of the 2015 elections. the presidential and national assembly elections that were first scheduled to be held on 14th february 2015, was to hold on 28th march while the governorship and state assembly’s election was scheduled for 11th april, mainly due to the poor distribution of permanent voter cards, and also the security concerns related to the boko haram insurgency in certain north eastern states (aljazeera, 2015). aljazeera reiterated that, due to the assets and resources that would go into this offensive, the military would be unable to provide security and logistics support for elections. the postponement was called on the grounds of the inec failing to deliver permanent voters' cards to millions (around 34%) of voters reportedly only around 45.1mn of 68.8mn registered voters had received pvc's. as the pvc is a determinant to ‘who casts the vote’, it is then an actuality that millions of registered voters were denied the exercise of their franchise (aljazeera, 2015). however, the government closed its land and sea borders from the midnight of 25th march 2015 until the end of the polling date. the presidential election of 28th march was extended to 29th of march due to delays and technical problems with the biometric card readers. former president goodluck jonathan called it a "huge national embarrassment" when card reader technical problems caused a delay. tukur, (2019) reported how the card readers also had technical hitches in many states in 2015. of particular note was the failure of some card readers to recognise former president goodluck jonathan’s card, which was quite embarrassing for him. the former president himself failed to be accredited by the card reader, which was shown live on national television (tukur, 2019). this is one of the reasons why this study advocates the use of electronic voting which does not rivet the hassles of a card reader. according to idowu (2015), nigeria spent the sum of n122.9bn to conduct the 2011 general elections. in 2015, though inec proposed n93 billion, nigeria spent a total of n108.8 billion to conduct the 2015 general elections, which produced president muhammadu buhari and others. from guardian news, (2019), n254bn was budgeted for the conduct of 2019 elections. there is the lack of election financing regulations which leaves the door open for patronage networks to fund campaigns using public funds. the 2011, 2015, and 2019 elections have been flecked by acts of violence and vote-rigging which influenced the results. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 176 electronic voting is one of the greatest inventions in the political electioneering process of a nation and also a defining feature of democratic/progressive government; but this is evidently not seen in nigeria despite, the independence of the election management body (inec) and the huge sum of money budgeted for elections, for instance, that of 2019 was n189.2bn and whopping sum of n27.9billion plunged into the data capturing and card reader machines. however, it is still evident that many electoral flops and disadvantages emanate from the use of manual counting. in fact, hand counting increases the number of votes counted and brings up more sentiments in the election system. it is obvious also that those who handle the ballots treat them inconsistently. the unavailability of e-voting system also denies nigerians especially those in diaspora the opportunity to elect their leaders. more disturbing is that security issues have been found in manual voting and this many times jeopardizes the lives of electoral personnel and keep many far from carrying out their civic duties in a far and tensed locality, while an ordinary remote e-voting via the internet can simply enable the voter vote at the comfort of the home or without going to the polling stations. in manual voting, there are inconclusive elections emanating from logistic problems, electoral tensions, election infractions and irregularities. in fact elections have been flawed by unprecedented abuse of the electoral process in form of the president’s fourth rejection to sign the electoral (amendment) bill, 2018 which commenced under the 2015 electoral act (umoru, 2018), non-issuance of the pvc by inec to their owners, inadequate provision and late arrival of voting materials at polling centres, failure or non usage of the smart card reader machines, non citizen and under-age voting, pre and post election violence. very long queues are found at the polling stations, one can stay in the polling station for hours without casting the vote. in many cases voters go hungry and because of this, violence emerges, for it is said that, ‘a hungry man is an angry man’, and many times, this violence might lead to the destruction of persons and properties. there is ballot box snatching, election rigging, time wasting in the counting of votes, collation and announcement of election results, connivance between the ruling party elites and inec to manipulate and even declare false election results. the most current of these problems is vote-trading or vote-buying. it is evident that unless this e-voting system is implemented, the irregularities and electoral tensions may continue to grow in nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 177 conceptual clarification electoral process is the stages that the electorates and candidates pass through in an election. it includes voter’s registration, registration of political parties, screening of candidates, legal provisions establishing the electoral bodies, delineation of wards/constituencies, recruitment and training of ad-hoc staff, procurement of electoral material, logistic, provision of polling agents, monitoring of agents, accreditation of voters, actual voting, counting of votes and providing avenues for settlement of disputed results (oddih,2007). the study states that the provision or availability of security personnel should be independently included in the electoral process. many of all these electoral processes marshalled out are malprovided like procurement of electoral materials. the commonest feature of nigerian electoral process is irregularities, fraud and lack of credibility. according to adeshina and asinugo (2007), voting is a method of a group to make a collective decision or express an opinion. democracies elect holders of high office by voting. voting often takes place at a polling station. residents of a place represented by an elected official are called "constituents", and those constituents who cast a ballot for their chosen candidate are called "voters". the study states that ‘voting’ is the act of exercising one’s franchise. election is embedded in the electoral process. according to american heritage® dictionary, fifth edition, election is the act or process of electing someone to fill an office or position. the study states that it is in election that we select our leaders, our representatives for different positions. inokoba and kumokor, (2011) posited, “essentially, election is the formal procedure recognized by law as well as decision taken by the electorate to decide those who occupy public offices and also the policy direction of a polity.” this study states that the lawful selection of our leaders is supposed to be free, fare and credible. evoting system allows voters to make their selections using an electronic input device. this system processes data with computer software and records voting data and ballot images in memory components. and after the election, it provides a tabulation of the voting data stored in a removable memory component and as printed copy. above all, the system provides a means of transmitting individual ballots or vote totals to a central location for considering and reporting results from precincts at the central location. electronic voting can also include punched cards, optical scan voting systems and specialized voting kiosks including self-contained direct-recording electronic voting systems. according to d. zissis, e-voting also involves the transmission of ballots and votes via telephones, private computer networks, or the internet. zissis further identifies two main types of e-voting, which include; e-voting physically supervised by the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 178 representatives of government or independent electoral authorities, e.g. electronic voting machines located at polling stations. the study states that inec in nigeria has not started using e-voting system though they use card reader machines for pvc identification. there is e-voting termed ‘remote e-voting’. here, voting is performed within the voter’s sole influence. by this is meant that the voter does the voting without the supervision of any representative of governmental authorities and gives the advantage of voting from one’s personal computer, mobile phone, television via internet. according to (zissis, d. and lekkas, d., 2011), this is also known as i-voting, according to bellis m. (2000) in ‘the history of voting machines’, observes that electronic voting systems for electorates have been in use since the 1960s with punched card systems. the study accepts that evoting has been in use in developed countries far back. another scholar, saltman r. (1972), notes that the first widespread use of these systems was in the u.s.a., where seven countries switched to this method for the 1964 presidential election. the study states that the use of e-voting machines started in the western states, america to be precise. nowadays, all states of the us use electronic voting because it provides less cost, improve accessibility for voters with disabilities, it gives faster results, greater accuracy and low risk of mechanical and human error. the recent times has witnessed the electronic voting systems in america, united kingdom, belgium, brazil, estonia, switzerland, even namibia, as well as france and the positive results are exceedingly great. the greatest impulse of this study is that nigeria should go the full hug with e-voting so that the electorate can exercise their franchise online, with phones without any one interfering or even buying their vote and everyone will see the transparency in it. statistics has shown that majority of eligible voters are youths and our youths are phone or internet engrossed. like, if you take ‘big brother africa’ as an instance, majority of the youths are into it, and even the ‘bet nija’. electronic voting as this study sees it is simply voting online. it is a seamless and stress free voting. theoretical explanation this study adopts the public technology procurement and innovation theory articulated by charles edquist and leif hommen, (1998). public technology procurement is a means of stimulating and supporting technological innovation. it occurs when a public agency advocates for a system that does not yet exist, requiring technological innovation for the order to be met. in line with this study, it occurs when a public agency like inec, advocates for electronic voting system igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 179 that does not yet exist in nigeria, requiring technological innovation for the order to be met. the practice of public technology procurement was developed substantially in the 20th century. best & forrant, 1996 considered the public technology procurement of the us department of defence as the basis of american industrial policy. it was prevalent where the public sector plays a significant role for substantial growths in international best practices. inec, nass and this study advocates for electronic voting as a new system in the nigerian electoral process because of its many advantages. public technology procurement is an instrument of innovation policy. according to edquist (1998), innovation policy includes all public activities which influence innovation. this study appeals for innovation policy as in the case of mr. president to sign the electoral act (amendment) bill, 2018 which incorporates e-voting into law. the study focuses on public technology procurement as a means of building or enhancing capacities for innovation, thereby creating trust on inec election result in an electioneering process. e-voting and the electoral process: a study of the 2019 presidential elections in nigeria a lot of importance could be ascribed to electronic voting system. electronic voting systems can detect votes that paper-based machines would have missed (kasuba, 2010). this system removes the need for much paper work, thus reducing cost significantly. it also combats the wastage of papers. advocates of electronic voting systems hold the view that such systems provide accessibility for persons with disabilities. this is possible because electronic voting systems can use headphones, sip and puff, foot pedals, joy sticks and other adaptive technology to provide the necessary accessibility. for them, electronic voting is not like punched card and optical scan machines that are not fully accessible for the blind or virtually impaired (pfaw, 2004). again, arguing from the point of view cryptography, the systems (e-voting) are transparent for it allows voters and election observers to verify that votes have been recorded, tailed and declared correctly, in a manner independent from the hardware and software running the election. it detects such possible problems as under-voting and over-voting, which may result in a spoiled ballot. e-voting being remote does not encourage vote-trading or vote-buying. these voting systems can provide immediate feedback to the voter. this immediate feedback can be helpful in successfully determining voter intent. kasuba (2010). this study has revealed the need for e-voting system in nigeria which is obvious in the existence of electronics like, card reader system, electronic igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 180 thumb print, and electronic data storage as introduced in nigeria. the failure of these systems is evident in form of the outcome of the elections being jaundiced, not being free, fair, credible and acceptable. on march 2017, the senate passed another amendment to the electoral act no. 6 2010 (amendment) bill 2017 into law which was seen as a step towards reforms designed to guarantee free, fair and credible elections. the act empowered inec to adopt electronic voting in subsequent elections in nigeria. almost two years after, the country is yet to fully adopt the electronic voting system despite its many advantages. the study states that the merits of e-voting cannot be over emphasised, especially it’s trust-building but the repulsion of president buhari to this electoral bill poses a problem (umoru, 2018). according to umoru (2018), president muhammadu buhari, on friday, 7th december 2018 for the fourth time, rejected assent to the electoral bill which was passed to him to sign into law by both the senate and the house of representatives. the first time the electoral act (amendment) bill, 2018 was sent to mr. president was on 3rd march 2018 and president buhari withheld assent to the bill with reasons that the proposed law would usurp the constitutional powers of inec to decide on election matters, including fixing dates and election order. the bill was resent the second time in less than 6 months, on august 3rd 2018. on august 30th, 2018 the president again withheld assent to the bill and returned it to the legislature. mr. president is declining assent to the electoral amendment bill due to some drafting issues that remain unaddressed following the prior revisions to the bill. on november 8th 2018, national assembly sent the bill to mr. buhari for the third time at presidential villa but mr. president declined presidential assent to the bill. the third time the national assembly passed the bill for the president’s signature; they had conspicuously and suspiciously removed the use of the card readers during elections. the president sent it back and insisted that it be included. finally, on december 7th 2018, for the fourth time president muhammadu buhari declines assent to the electoral act amended bill 2018. mr. president wrote to the lower and upper chamber, in the letter dated 6th december, 2018 and addressed to both, the senate president, dr. bukola saraki and speaker, house of representatives, honourable yakubu dogara. the study states that the president actually refused signing the electoral act into law for his political gain. it is undemocratic for the president not to assent to the signing of the electoral act amendment bill, 2018 when it is most needed for nigeria to join in the international electoral best practices. according to yakubu, (2018), the independent national electoral commission (inec) will use card readers during the 2019 general elections but ruled out the electronic transmission of results. yakubu, who spoke igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 181 during the public hearing on the menace of vote buying and improving the country’s electoral processes, said the commission had finished all preparations towards the use of the card reader. this study sees the notion of ‘the commission had finished all preparations’ as they are set for flaws. the 2019 presidential elections in nigeria is the country’s sixth election since 1999, when it shifted to democratic rule after a long period of military rule. before the 2019 polls, there were security threats; many lives were lost through the arming of rival political supporters, the insurgency of the boko haram sects and clashes between farmers and herdsmen in nigeria. a range of factors conspire to heighten bloodshed nationwide in the just concluded 2019 presidential election. these include the “win or die” attitude of many politicians, acrimony between the two major parties as they engaged into what appeared as a closely fought contest, widespread popular distrust of security agencies, opposition parties’ misgivings about the electoral commission’s neutrality, and the prevalence of conflict among parties and violence in some parts of the country even after the presidential polls. many have lost their lives, turmoil, could take more lives and jeopardise the country’s stability. there were numerous issues of failure of the smart card reader (adebowale, adedigba, 2019). according to adebowale and adedigba (2019), in some of the states, inec officials and ad-hoc staff had issues with the usage of the card readers across the country. the kogi state governor, yahaya bello, expressed dissatisfaction with inec over the malfunctioning of the card reader at agasa polling unit 11 where the governor and his wife were registered to vote. also, the presidential candidate of the young people’s party (ypp), kingsley moghalu, decried the non-performance of card readers in his ward at nnewi north ward 2 in anambra. mr moghalu told journalists on channels television shortly after voting by 11.55 a.m that faulty card readers delayed voting in the area. he stated, “i came out by 8 a.m to vote but the card readers were not functioning, so i went back to my house and came out by almost noon to vote.” at pu 006a in ovoko (umuolo ward) igbo eze south local government area of enugu state, the assistant apo ii complained that the card reader could not identify some voters whose names are on the register (adebowale, adedigba, 2019). inec spent almost n200 billion in the procurement and reconfiguration of the smart card reader machines. on the 19th day of february 2019, the independent national electoral commission inec said it has achieved 98 percent reconfiguration of its smart card readers, expressing readiness for the rescheduled igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 182 general elections (yakubu, 2019). all this logistics is for inec to gain grounds for the manipulation of the 2019 presidential election results, the study states. they did not ensure credible election but rigged election. even the much awaited reconfigured smart card reader did not give credence in the election. it was ignored in some polling units, mal-functioned in some and was not brought to some polling units at all to enable multiple voting and other mal-practices. the inec chairman, prof. mahmood yakubu disclosed this tuesday in abuja while briefing stakeholders on the level of preparedness of the commission as he said, last saturday, the commission, after extensive review of our preparedness for the 2019 general elections, decided that it was necessary to reschedule the elections by one week. as i explained to stakeholders, we were constrained to shift the polls due to severe challenges and lapses we experienced with arrival and distribution of sensitive materials, as well as the fires that gutted some of our offices in quick succession, destroying several election materials (yakubu, 2019) this study states that even after the shifting of the polls, the lapses and more severe and dangerous challenges still persisted as sensitive materials and people’s lives were lost. there was stories political juggernauts connivance with tugs to set inec offices ablaze to destroy or do away with some sensitive materials. even after the announcement of results there is still news of loss of sensitive materials used in the 2019 presidential elections. according to adepetun, gbonegun, and olatunji, (2019), the gubernatorial candidate of people’s democratic party (pdp) in lagos, jimi agbaje, doubted the credibility of the ongoing presidential and national assembly elections due to card reader’s failures which his wife and he experienced during accreditation to voting. agbaje, who arrived with his wife at their polling unit, ward a, unit 004 apapa at 11:10 am could not exercise their voting rights through the card reader machine after several attempts. they were thereafter accredited through the manual processes. speaking with journalists, agbaje, (2019) said, the card reader didn’t work for me and my wife and some other people. as far as i am concerned that card reader is not working and that opens rooms to all kind of insinuation and mischief. for me, where you still have a situation where you have to by-pass the card reader, it means we have not yet gotten it right. the process is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 183 therefore opened to all kind of manipulations. if a card reader doesn’t work, it means somebody could collude with some officials and with wrong pvc. such a person would by-pass the system and games can be played. (agbaje, 2019). conclusion and recommendations if the nigerian electoral process is improved through e-voting, people will understand the purpose of governance as geared towards helping the economy grow, improving the life of the people, transforming the society at large, and especially, projecting the image of nigeria in the committee of nations/the international arena. according to galadima (2018), muhammadu buhari's refusal to sign the bill has given fuel to accusations that he and the apc are planning to rig the 2019 general elections in their favour. while speaking on channels television's sunday politics, galadima reinforced the accusation and said buhari is not interested in strengthening nigeria's electoral laws, he is only interested in protecting himself and his party because he is afraid he won't get enough votes to win re-election at the polls. he said, "what the president said was just selfprotectionism. he's just protecting himself from being flogged at the polls. he's running away from free, fair, transparent and credible election. galadima, (2018) stated that, there are two issues they're afraid of; one, the transmission of the result directly from the polling booth to the collection centre. two, the use of the card reader for accreditation because once accreditation is completed, all those that are accredited will be transmitted and the world will know, even before voting, that such number of people are being accredited and the result of the voting cannot be more than the number of people accredited. therefore, there'll be no mago mago or dabaru along the way. this is what the president and his party is afraid of. the attorney-general of the federation is the chief legal adviser to the president. if he accepts anything, it should be dutybound on mr president to honour and respect the views of his attorney-general (galadima, 2018). the study states that the ruling party has prepared tricky tactics in the 2019 presidential elections, just to make the election result be in their favour. the following recommendations are put forward to government and civil society and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 184 the ruling elites from the various observations made above. the president should sign the amended electoral act into law, so that inec will go the full hug with evoting. inec and the national assembly has approved that the electoral act (amendment) bill, 2018 which means that its ratification and implementation will enhance nigeria electoral process and assure transparency in elections in line with the world best practices. the government should look into the reason why the card reader machine failed and rectify it. they should set up a special electoral malpractice court in order to punish electoral law offenders. proves have been marshaled above of countries that have been successfully using electronic machines in their electoral process. nigerian government should practice true democracy because if they take the interest of the masses at heart, there will be less or no manipulations in their service to the nation. e-voting should be used in the nigerian electoral process to reduce the problem of logistics during election. electronic voting ensures efficiency and trust in the electoral process and if evoting is properly implemented, it has the capacity to increase the security of the ballot and integrity of our elections and speed up the casting and counting of votes in nigeria. the results of the elections will be determined by our votes. references abdullahi, a. (2013) independent national electoral commission (inec) and the conduct of 2011 elections in nigeria: a paradigm shift, in international journal of politics and good governance vol. 4 no 41 quarter 1 2013 issn: 0976-1195. adebayo, p. f. and omotola, s. j. (2007) “public perceptions of the 2007 nigerian elections”. in journal of african elections (johannesburg). (6 october, 2007) 2, s. 201216. africa report. no. 123, march 28, 2007 adepetun a, gbonegun v. and olatunji k. (2019), “agbaje doubts credibility of elections over card reader failure,” the guardian, 23 february 2019 adeshina t. and asinugo j. (2007), “voting and elections” arcnews online, summer 2007, www.geo-imaging.com agbakoba and mahmoud (2019) “is nigeria ripe for e-voting?” the nation law, march 19, 2019 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 185 agbedo, c.u. (2008) declaratory illocutionary acts as language of democracy in nigeria: a pragmatic exploration. in nsukka journal of humanities no. 17, 2008 (114-123). ahmed, s. et al, (2015). “issues and challenges of transition to e-voting technology in nigeria”, public policy administration research vol. 5, no 4 http://www.ceeol.com/aspx/getdocument.aspx?logid=5&id=73488cf8239a482 ca2161860 %09bf0a400 aljazeera. (2015) “citing security concerns, nigeria closes border ahead of election”, 25 march 2015. retrieved 30 march 2015. aljazeera. (2015) “nigeria delays elections over boko haram threat”, independent. 7 february 2015. retrieved 7 february 2015. baiyewn, l. (2012), inec: between electoral officers’ franchise and credibility, punch retrieved 19 january, 2016 from http//www.punching.com/politics/inec.betweenelectoral-officersfranchise-andcredibility/ bellis, m. (2000), “the history of voting machines” retrieved march 18, 2019 from http//www. inventors.about.com david n, manu y and musa a, (2014) elections, electoral process and challenges of democratization in nigeria’s fourth republic, research on humanities and social sciences, vol 4, no. 17. 2014. edquist, c. and hommen, l. (1998) iv. series. springer science+business media new york originally published by kluwer academic publishers, new york in 2000 elise, a (2004), blind voters rip e-machines. san jose mercury news: retrieved 11 june, 2016 from http//www.kimalex.blogspot.com/…/blindvoters-rip.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 186 ellen, t. (2005). myth breakers; facts about electronic election, retrieved 21 march, 2016, from http//www.votersunite.org/mb2.pdf. erubani, m. (2012). the guardian imperative of electronic voting in 2015 elections. sunday magazine, retrieved march 18 fischer, e.a. (2003). election reform and electronic voting systems (dres): analysis of security issues, (2003). retrieved march 18 from http//www.epic.org/…/voting/crs.com garuba, d. (2007) “election and the feature of democracy in nigeria in jega a. and okechukwu, i. (eds) transition without change: election and political instability in nigeria. nigeria political science association. iboh, a. (2016.) assistant director and head of software and training, ict department inec headquarter, abuja, may, 5, 2016. idea, (2001) democracy in nigeria: continuing dialogue (jar nation — building — capacity series 10 stockholm, international institute for democracy and electoral assistance. idris h, olaniyi m, jimoh a, krishi m. a. and oloyede c. (2018.) “inec adopts card readers, rules out electronic results transmission.” december 11, 2018. inokoba, p.k. and kumokor (2011) electoral crisis and democratic consolidation in nigeria. journal of social science 27 (2): 139-148 john a. ayoade, and adeoye a. akinsanya, eds. (2012) nigeria's critical election, 2011(lexington books;) jonathan n. (2018) “for the 4th time president muhammadu buhari declines assent to electoral act bill.” pulse december 12, 2018. kasuba, m. (2010) “its official let the recounts begin”, national journals. retrieved 19 january, 2016 from http//www.m.startribune.com/…let-recountbegin/….com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 187 kwaja, m.a. (2008) inec and the management of elections: lessons from nigeria. africa governance monitoring & advocacy project (afrimap). manu y.a (2013) challenges of democratic consolidation in nigeria’s fourth republic: a critical analysis. an unpublished m. sc thesis nigerian defense academy kaduna. mosca, g. (1939) the ruling class (elements! di scienza politico), translated by hannah d kahn, london, mcgraw-hull book company. noah, yusuf (2006) “the democratisation process and industrial relations practice” in hassan, saliu., ebele, amali., joseph, fayeye and emmanuele oriola (eds). democracy and development in nigeria volume 3 social issues and extended relations. lagos: concepts publications limited nwosu, h. n. (1991) conduct of free and fair elections in nigeria. nwosu, h.n. and ofoegbu r. (1986) introduction to politics 4th dimension obinna, p.i (2012) consolidation of democracy in nigeria: problems and prospects. in science journal of sociology and anthropolgy. retrieved from http://www.sjpub.org/sjsa/html on 15th february, 2014 oche, o. (2004)” democracy: conceptual and theoretical issues” in saliu, h. a. (eds) nigeria under democratic rule 1999-2003 vol. one. university press plc ibadan. oddih, m. (2007) electoral fraud and democratic process: lessons from the 2003 elections in nigeria (eds) nigeria under democratic rule 1999-2003 vol. one. university press plc ibadan. ogbaudu, f. (2011). 2011 general election review: experience sharing, lessons learnt and the way forward – the nigeria police perspective. paper presented at the review of elections security during the 2011 general elections in nigeria justice sector reform monograph series. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 188 okoosi-simbine, a.t. (2004) “the impact of more parties on the democratic project” in (eds) saliu, h.a. nigeria under democratic rule 1999-2003 volume one. university press plc ibadan. olaoye, e.o.(2004) “vote-buying and election rigging in nigerian politics”, in femi omotoso (ed.) readings in political behaviour, ibadan: john homof printers ltd. omotola, j. s. (2008) “explaining electoral violence in africa’s new democracies”. paper presented at the 27th annual conference of the nigerian political science association. benue state university. nigeria. 1619 november. pfaw (2004). “protecting the integrity and accessibility of voting in 2004 and beyond”. people for the american way.retrieved 19 january, 2016 from http//www.votingmachines.procon.org. research on humanities and social sciences www.iiste.org issn (paper)22245766 issn (online)2225-0484 (online) vol.4, no.17, 2014 101 under democratic rule 1999-2003 volume one. university press plc ibadan. redmond, w.a. (2009). “electronic voting” microsoft encarta.retrieved 19 january, 2016 from http//www.encarta.com rouse, m. (2011). “what is e-voting (electronic voting)? retrieved 19 january, 2016, http://www.whatistechtarget.com/…./e-voting saliu, h. a. (2004)” dimensions of democracy in africa and the march to fourth republic in nigeria” in saliu, h. a. (eds) nigeria under democratic rule 1999-2003 vol. one. university press plc ibadan. saltman, r. (1972), “effective use of computing technology in vote-tallying” in nist. retrieved, march, 21, 2016, from http//www. csrc.nist.gov/.../nbs_sp_500-300.pdf. sani tukur (2019). “again buhari sends electoral bill back to national assembly.” premium times march 13, 2019, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 189 smyth, j. c. (2003). “voting machine controversy”. retrieved 21 march, 2016, http//www.commondream.com suberu, r. (2007) “nigeria’s muddled elections” article in journal of democracy 18(4):95-110, october 2007 from www.researchgate.net/publication/23674288 http//www.nwanolue b. o. g. the cable, senate approves electronic voting for 2019 polls, march 30, 2017, 18:48, (front page), rewritten 2019, https://www.thecable.ng/senate-amendselectoral-act-approves-electronic-voting-2019-elections tukur, s. (2019) “scr technical hitches”. from premium times wed, march 13, 2019. umoru h. (2018) “nass sends electoral act bill to buhari for assent.” from vanguard november 16, 2018. vvsg, (2005). “voluntary voting system guidelines”u.s. election assistance commission. retrieved 22, march, 2016, from http//www.eac.gov/…/voluntary_voting_system.org zissis, d. and lekkas, d. (2011). “securing e-government and e-voting with an open cloud computing architecture” in government information quarterly vol. 28 no, 2, pp, 239251, retrieved 22, march, 2016, from http//www.citeseerx.ist.psu.edu igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 53 an appraisal of the bishopric of samuel onyuku elenwo in the diocese of niger delta north, 1996-1999 ben o. onu department of religious and cultural studies, faculty of humanities. university of port harcourt. vendrbenonu@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.14770.12482 abstract the diocese of niger delta north was inaugurated may 16, 1996 as the 53rd diocese in church of nigeria (anglican communion). the right reverend samuel onyuku elenwo was translated from the residual niger delta diocese to serve as the foundation bishop of the diocese. a bishop in the church of god as a shepherd and leader, is called to proclaim the gospel, guard the faith, unity and discipline of the church; administer the sacraments; and ordain priests and deacons. applying historical and participant observation methods, the paper ex-rayed the activities of bishop elenwo in the light of these cardinal areas of his calling. it also examined the response of the faithful to his episcopal ministry before his voluntary retirement on december 31, 1999. the study revealed that samuel elenwo as fourth bishop of niger delta diocese, first bishop from ikwerre of the niger delta, and foundation bishop of dndn, presided over four synods. he canonically administered the diocese and ordained over one hundred persons into the deaconate and priesthood ministry of the church. these acts positioned the diocese for unprecedented growth experienced in the succeeding years. key words: anglican communion, bishop, diocese, ordination, and synod. introduction the church reached the niger delta through rev. hope masterton waddel who started work at calabar on april 10, 1846. however, it was the arrival of bishop samuel ajayi crowther at bonny on april 29, 1865, that marked the commencement of active missionary work in the region. the mission area was declared niger delta pastorate on april 29, 1892, and was constituted into a diocese on january 1, 1952. samuel elenwo was elected the fourth bishop of the diocese of niger delta after ebenezar dimieari (1952-1961), bara-hart (1962-1970), and yibo fubara (1971-1980). the diocese of niger delta north was created on may 16, 1996 after the dioceses of calabar (december 20, 1990) and uyo (november 27, 1992). the emergence of sam elenwo as foundation bishop of dndn was greeted with mix-feelings. the thrust of this paper to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 54 appraise the leadership activities of samuel elenwo in the diocese of niger delta north in the light of his calling. bishop in greek epískopos or episcopus is a generic word meaning "superintendency, over-sight, searching" in matters pertaining to the church, the state, and the army. it means “an overseer, elder, or pastor charged with the responsibility of spiritual leadership in a local church in new testament times” (nelson's illustrated bible dictionary, 1986). while examining a bishop-elect, the primate declares; a bishop in god’s church is called to be one with the apostles, to proclaim christ’s resurrection and interpret the gospel, and testify to christ’s sovereignty as lord of lords and king of kings. you are called to guard the faith, unity, and discipline of the church, to celebrate and to provide for the administration of the sacraments of the new covenant, to ordain priests, and deacons, and to join in consecrating bishops, and to be in all things a faithful pastor and wholesome example to the entire flock of christ (bcp, 2007, p. 291). these comprised the centrality of the demands in the calling of a person into the exalted ecclesiastical office of a bishop. this paper provided answer to the question of who is samuel onyuku elenwo; how did he empower the faithful as pioneer bishop of ndnd, and position the diocese for growth; and what was the response of the faithful to his bishopric? diocese of niger delta north the ecclesiastical entity known as niger delta north is a diocese in church of nigeria (anglican communion) created out of niger delta diocese (ndd) and inaugurated on may 16, 1996 being ascension day at the cathedral church of saint paul diobu, port harcourt, rivers state, nigeria. it is the 53rd diocese in church of nigeria (anglican communion) and with focus on missions and evangelism. the primate of church of nigeria most rev. joseph abiodun adetiloye presided at the inauguration service. it featured enthronement of the foundation bishop, right reverend samuel onyuku elenwo, translated from residual niger delta (onu, 2014). at inauguration the diocese comprised of the cathedral church of saint paul, diobu; archdeaconries of port harcourt, ahoada, ikwerre, etche, ogoni, evo, ikwerre south, and eleme. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 55 ministerial formation of samuel onyuku elenwo samuel onyuku elenwo was born december 7, 1933 by chief edward onyuku and mrs omekele elenwo of okporowo in ogbakiri clan of emuoha local government area of rivers state. he was nurtured by his grandmother, mrs nwereoma onyuku elenwo after the death of his mother at his tender age. his educational journey started at central (primary) school okporowoogbakiri, to kalahari national college buguma and new bethel college onitsha where he obtained general certificate of education ordinary and advanced level papers. he began civil service as a teacher and travelled to lagos where he served as a clerk with the then electricity corporation of nigeria (now power holding corporation of nigeria). he was fondly called “s. o. esq” due to his desire to be a lawyer. his call to the ministry was noticed and encouraged by rev. canon h. major hunter (seamen chaplain) and bishop vinning among others at lagos. he went to immanuel college of theology, ibadan for his pastoral formation where he obtained a diploma in theology. in 1957 he was ordained into the holy order by bishop a.w. howells of lagos. he proceeded to the university of nigeria, nsukka in 1973 for his bachelor's degree in religion. in 1974, he was appointed a commissioner in the rivers state teaching service commission by the first military governor of rivers state, commander alfred p. diette-spiff. in the same year, he was installed honorary canon of the cathedral church of saint stephen, bonny by bishop yibo a. fubara. he became a radio pastor in 1979 with the rivers state broadcasting corporation in charge of religious programmes. on the retirement of succeeding bishop y. a. fubara, he was consecrated bishop on sunday march 1, 1981 by his grace most rev timothy olufosoye, first archbishop of the province of nigeria (anglican communion) at the cathedral church of saint james oke-bola, ibadan, and enthroned the fourth bishop of niger delta diocese on sunday march 8, 1981 at the cathedral church of saint stephen, bonny. a special thanksgiving service was held in his home church, st. paul's okporowo ogbakiri on april 5, 1981 in appreciation of the mercies of god. the church in the niger delta diocese made considerable growth, and evangelism and was on the offensive during his episcopacy (obuoforibo, 1997:11). he was married to mrs chinyere elenwo, an amiable, humble, very unassuming and dynamic wife and mother. she encouraged her husband to bring in young, zealous and god fearing people into the ministry both in the diocese of niger delta and niger delta north. he voluntarily retired december 31, 1999 and on june 17, 2008 he joined the church triumphant at the age of seventy-five. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 56 the translation of sam elenwo as bishop of niger delta north diocese during his episcopacy in niger delta diocese, the faithful of ikwerre, ogoni, etche, ekpeye, ogba, and eleme ethnic nationalities requested to be constituted into a diocese. this was greeted with resistance that gave rise to misinterpretations between the “riverine” and “upland” members of the diocese. it was a pitiable situation for elenwo as both parties “accused him of taking sides” (obuoforibo, 1997, p.7). the strong desire and determination of the people, and their passion for the expansion of the work of god, drove them across many temporary obstacles. eventually, the authorities of church of nigeria (anglican communion) in a provincial standing committee meeting held in september 1995 at kano, approved the creation of diocese of niger delta north (omodu, 1997, p. 24). the archbishop, metropolitan and primate of all nigeria, his grace most rev joseph abiodum adetiloye on friday april 21, 1996 announced the election of samuel o. elenwo as bishop of the new diocese. he posted a “notice of election for the niger delta north diocese” dated april 13, 1996, at the west door of st. paul’s church diobu, port harcourt. whatever may have been the factors behind the decision, it was accepted as god's plan for the expansion of his church. the scripture says, “and we know that all things work together for good to those who love god, to those who are the called according to his purpose” (rom 8:28). consequently, on may 16, 1996 being ascension day the dndn was inaugurated at the cathedral church of saint paul diobu, port harcourt as the 53rd diocese in church of nigeria (anglican communion). the right rev. samuel onyuku elenwo was canonically translated and enthroned as the pioneer bishop to nurture the young diocese which he midwifed. the epoch making service was led by the primate and assisted by over thirty bishops. thus, samuel o. elenwo started a new phase of episcopal ministry. the canon ix of the constitution & canons of church of nigeria (2020) states that; “every bishop appointed to the charge of a diocese shall reside within his diocese unless, upon the ground of ill-health or other important consideration for him to so do and of such exceptional circumstance as the primate shall decide”. until his translation and enthronement, bishop elenwo remained in his niger delta diocesan bishop’s court situate at harley street, port harcourt. when he was translated a new bishop was not immediately elected for the residual diocese. it meant that there was no pressure on him to relocate to a new residence. on his enthronement, the bishop wilfully moved into the bishop’s court located within the cathedral premises and remained there until his retirement. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 57 some ungodly armed men attacked him, carted away some valuables as well as shot him on december 20, 1996. the attack made the diocese to upgrade the standard of the complex. the diocesan financial officers were immediately directed to “take action on the completion of the fencing of the bishop’s court and the provision of iron gate or gates and proper tight security measure provided for the bishop’s court” (synod report, 1997:103). the incident challenged officers of the diocese to be more proactive in church development. the ungodly attack kept his health unstable. in 1998, he travelled to london for proper medical attention ahead of the lambeth conference. the travel was to last more than 2 months, and he appointed ven. edmund c. ogwo as vicar-general in line with canon ix (3) that; no diocesan bishop shall absent himself from his diocese for more than eight weeks without appointing under his hand and seal a vicar general with authority to administer the spiritualties of the diocese, and to maintain discipline according to the constitution of the church of nigeria (2020). synod meetings it is expected that “every fully organised diocese shall have a diocesan synod consisting of the diocesan bishop, a house of clergy and a house of laity” (church of nigeria constitution & canons, 2002:4). prior to the inauguration of the diocese, the residual had decided to have 1996 synod to be hosted by ahoada archdeaconry. preparations were already on going before the inauguration of the new diocese. though there was an unconstitutional desire for the two dioceses to have a joint synod but it was rejected. in recognition of the preparations of ahoada archdeaconry, the spirit of love and unity in the diocese, it was decided that the maiden synod be hosted outside the cathedral. thus, the maiden synod which took place within three months of inauguration was hosted at saint paul’s church ahoada. the first session of the first synod and three others presided by bishop sam elenwo were held thus: july 27-30, 1996 (saturday-tuesday, 4days); second session of first synod, may 3-7, 1997 (saturday-wednesday, 5days); third session of first synod, may 23 26, 1998 (saturday-tuesday, 4 days); and first session of second synod, may 15-18, 1999 (saturday-tuesday, 4days). in exception of the maiden synod, others were held in the week of “ascension day”. the sermon of the synod sunday services was ven. g.o.c. okere (diocese of owerri), rev. canon dr sunday a. fefegha, rev. canon samuel bayoodukoya and most rev. dr benjamin c. nwankiti (archbishop of province ii igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 58 and bishop of owerri diocese). the daily mediations were delivered by ven. emmanuel s.o. amadi, rev. canon isaac o. tejevbo, very rev. fyneface n. akah, and ven. isaac e. orama. the synod motions were moved and seconded by the following: 1996-sir dr fortunatus c. obinna (general manager rivers state utility board) and dr mrs ipalibo banigo (director-general ministry of health); 1997-sir prof augustine i. ahiauzu (vice chancellor rivers state university of science and technology) and prof dafini d. datubo-brown (consultant surgeon university of port harcourt teaching hospital); 1998ven. dr sunday c. nwachukwu (st. nicholas aluuuniport) and engr. pedro joram egbe (weltek ltd); and in 1999-sir (dr) ben n. birabi (senator) and dr g.a. ikechi nwogu (st andrew's rumuola). the bishop charge/presidential address, characterised his plans for the year addressed six major issues bordering on the biography of quest speakers; history of host church; events within the diocese; major developments at the provincial and national church levels; matters of concern to the church, state and nation; and exposition of the synod theme. his theological reflection based on each theme centred on gratitude to god, effectiveness in ministry, unity of purpose and faithfulness in all things. the maiden synod was “ebenezer; for he said, 'hitherto the lord has helped us” (i sam 7:12, rsv). the attainment of diocesan status after many years of struggle was made possible by divine assistance. god gives victory to a people and it should be celebrated in fellowship. therefore, deliberate efforts must be made to build up unity in the diocese as a people of god. in 1997 on “role and relevance of the church in the 21st century”, he said, “god has chosen to love the world through the church”. for the church to remain relevant, her witness to the world must have social implications for rural transformation, and quality education for both leaders and the led. 1998 was “called to be one” (john 17:11) he emphasised that, “our oneness should consist in our having the same mind, will, and purpose... efforts must be made to heal the existing divisions and to bring the different sections of the christian church into close fellowship and union, in order to present one united front for evangelism and in fulfilment of our lord's prayer and desire for the unity of his followers” (synod report, 1998, p.5). “called to be faithful in a plural world: the power of faith” (1 john 5:4) for 1999, stressed that, “our faith in god should be progressive. as god's people, faithfulness entails loving our neighbours and carrying out our obligations to the diocese. according to norman doe (2003, p.113) “in diocesan government the bishop acts as president of the diocesan assembly and as chairman of diocesan executive bodies”. bishop sam elenwo, in addition to the four synods chaired igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 59 26 meetings of diocesan board (regular and emergency)-17, diocesan board of finance-6, and diocesan location and appointment board-3. the diocesan board is the standing committee of the synod and acts in the intervals between sessions of synod on its behalf. it is to be held “at least once in every three months”. the location and appointment, “shall meet at least once a year”, while finance board “shall meet at least once in every quarter of the year” (constitution & canons dndn, 2012). these administrative assemblies helped the diocesan to offer guidance and leadership to the clergy and lay. they helped to build confidence of faithful in the leadership. the structures for growth and development of the diocese received definition and members became ready to demonstrate their commitment in actualization of decisions as there was communality in decision making process, a key to easy implementation of policies. opportunity was given for all to participate effectively in the governance of the diocese. generally, it increased consolidated faithfulness and peaceful relationship among diocesan faithful. the views expressed, issues shared, and decisions reached at the various assemblies provided the policy and framework for faithfulness, peaceful relationship, growth, development and expansion of the diocese. the conversations in the course of the administrative assemblies gave rise to the following decisions that has a shaped the development of the diocese. authority and relationship between clergymen were streamlined. it was ruled that a disciplinary action would be taken against any “clergy in whose favour any obnoxious protest is made by parishioners” where he had served after a new disposition. the clashes of interests that had existed between some archdeacons and their headquarters church vicars were resolved through the ruling that “archdeacons would be vicars of their headquarter churches” (synod report, 1999:59). they are to take precedence over any other clergy in the headquarter church as well as superintend over all churches in their archdeaconry. on the other hand, archdeacons are to be relocated on the discretion of the diocesan like other class of clergy. the payment of utility, children education and investment allowances were introduced to enhance welfare of church workers. in recognition of the vital role played by clergy wives in the mobilization of woman, it was ruled that a monthly allowance be paid to the bishop's wife and all clergy and church teachers’ wives by all churches in the diocese (synod report, 1999:57). the diocese expressed their concern for the welfare of members and community people by regulating against extravagancy in burial. it was resolved that “the remains of a deceased member of this diocese must be buried within 14 days igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 60 from the date of death”. again, service of songs was introduced in place of 'wake keeping' in honour of a deceased member (synod report, 1998, p.58). a decision to enhance church planting and spread of the gospel to grass root level was taken on november 12, 1997. some city mega churches were mandated to sponsor new congregations in missionary areas. they were st. paul's cathedral, st. matthew's nkpogwu. st. andrew's rumuobiokani, st. john's rumueme, st. andrew's rumuola, st. michael's rumuomasi, and all saints rumuokwurusi (synod report 1998:8). this resulted in the planting and strengthening of the following churches among others: immanuel church gra in port harcourt; bethel church rumuibekwe (now diocese of evo); st. james church oro-akwor rumueme (headquarters of port harcourt east, dndn); and all saints international airport omagwa (now diocese of ikwerre). there was a ruling which directed all “districts and parishes to set aside certain amount in their annual budgets as training fund”. this was to enhance the empowerment of clergy and lay workers for effective mission and evangelism. in the drive for growth, the diocesan understood that “people are more receptive when they are approached by authentic christians from within their own social network” (hunter, 1979, p.126). this played out in giving impetus to congregational church growth. efforts were made to grow the status of the cathedral church of saint paul, diobu as the principal church of the diocese and centre of excellence. the bishop started by appointing a canon residentiary to assist in the administration of the cathedral. in may 1997, the very rev. fyneface n. akah was appointed provost and on july 6, 1997 he was installed accordingly. an annual cathedral lecture series was started june 17, 1999 when rt. rev. ugochukwu u. ezuoke, bishop of umuahia diocese delivered an insightful and inspirational lecture entitled “pentecostalism: how does it fit into contemporary anglican liturgical tradition”. the event also marked the 18th consecration anniversary of the bishop. some churches and group of churches were constituted and approved as parishes and archdeaconries. in doing this, respect was given to ethnicity and location as part of the socio-cultural network. between june 1996 and december 3, 1999 ten archdeaconries (as illustrated below) were created after proper inspection of the viability of the areas. three were through episcopal fait for the purpose of missionary expansion. over 25 station churches were granted parish status and 5 ecclesiastical entities had their nomenclatures changed to reflect their growth experiences. s/n archdeaconry approval date effective date igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 61 1. omoku june 12, 1996 jan. 1, 1997 2. port harcourt north no. 13, 1996 -do 3. upata nov. 12, 1997 jan. 4. ikwerre north nov. 12, 1997 jan 1, 1998 5. gokana -do-do 6. tai -do-do 7. port harcourt central dec. 17, 1998 (fiat) jan 1, 2000 8. omuma june 30, 1999 jan 1, 2000 9. akpor oct. 1, 19999 (fiat) -do 10. port harcourt west dec. 3, 1999 (fiat) -do table i: creation of new archdeaconries empowerment to empower means “to give someone more confidence and/or strength to do something”. it is to authorize, delegate authority to or give “legal right to do something”. it has to do with the process of encouraging people to take charge of their lives. norman doe (2003:113) affirmed that “the function of appointing and licensing ordained and lay persons for ministry in the diocese is vested in the bishop”. bishop sam elenwo pursued the task of qualifying and authorizing faithful to fulfil their ministry. as the “friend and guide of his clergy and people” he had eight interactive sessions at his cathedral between june 11 and july 17, 1996 with all clergy, diocesan officials, clergy wives, catechists, church teachers, clerks, lay readers, representatives of the mothers' union & women's guild, anglican youth fellowship, men's christian association, sunday school council, choir and mission and evangelism council from all the archdeaconries. an orientation retreat was organized for diocesan officials at the cathedral on october 23, 1996. this was followed with a workshop for members of the various district and parish church councils on november 20, 1996 and march 19, 1997 respectively. he used his visits to individuals, parishes and districts to foster the true spiritual unity of the diocese. in his character of entering into “personal relation with every member of the flock”, he was always cheerful, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 62 accommodating, very generous, hospitable and humble to a fault, not easily provoked and forgives easily. his fatherly words of encouragement, nye gbekei meaning “clean person” and izi-nkpa nu obodo meaning “you are important in the community” drew many closer to him as well as gave them great confidence to do ministry. he had pleasure in visiting residents at the cathedral premises, encouraging and pronouncing god’s blessings upon them. he ministered the rite of confirmation to all those that desired to grow in faith and licensed many lay readers whom he regarded as “blue pastors” making them to put on blue preaching scarf. in commitment to the development of lay ministry and equipping of all for service, he empowered enterprising men and women through knighthood and merit award. on saturday august 7, 1999 fifteen men offered themselves to bring to bear like saint christopher their life in the home, profession and social environment all the implications of christ's faith, and to willingly render individual services freely and constantly for the extension of the church. the investiture of these into the sacred order of the knights of saint christopher (ksc) was at the cathedral church of saint paul diobu. the service also featured presentation of merit award to 52 persons selected from across the diocese. many young men were empowered to enter the ordained ministry and a good number of serving clergy were given delegated authorities to function for the growth and expansion of the diocese. he made 105 deacons, ordained 102 priests, installed 31 honorary canons of the cathedral of saint paul diobu and collated 15 archdeacons between may 1996 and december 1999 as shown below. the 15 archdeacons were venerable innocent w. wopara; (april 4, 1997); george n. waka; amos a. okirie; and silas h. oguzor. on july 27, 1997 included dr thompson n. okujagu. december 2 0 , 1 9 9 8 ; isaac o. tejevbo; lazarus o. babia; sunday benaldogbara; isaac e. orama; dr sunday a. fefegha; simon a. chikwe; nhabinuchi p.f. orluogwo; dr wellington o. wotogbe-weneka; nyeche okpobiri; and samuel bayo-odukoya. s/n office date number total average per year 1. deacon aug 11, 1996 dec. 15, 1996 july 6, 1997 dec 24, 1997 nov 29, 1998 july 18, 1999 19 11 22 34 11 8 105 27 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 63 2. priesthood aug 11, 1996 dec. 15, 1996 july 6, 1997 dec 24, 1997 nov 29, 1998 july 18, 1999 9 18 19 12 21 23 102 26 3. canon april 6, 1997 dec 20, 1998 oct 23, 1999 16 2 13 31 8 4. archdeacon april 6, 1997 july 6, 1997 dec 20, 1998 oct 23, 1999 4 1 4 6 15 4 table ii: empowerment of clergy among the clergy he empowered either as deacon, priest, canon or archdeacon in dndn, 9 have been elected consecrated and enthroned bishops. they are: clement n. ekpeye (deacon/priest/canon)-ahoada; solomon s. gberegbara (deacon/priest/canon)-ogoni; isaac e. orama (deacon/priest/canon/ archdeacon)-uyo; sosthenes i. eze (deacon/priest)e n u g u north; okechukwu p. nwala (deacon)-etche; archbishop blessing c. enyindah (deacon/priest)-ikwerre; chidi c. oparaojiaku (deacon/priest/canon)ohaji/egbema; emmanuel o.oko-jaja (deacon/ priest)-niger delta west diocese; and innocent u. ordu (deacon/priest/canon)-evo. it will be recalled that eight other clergymen he empowered during his episcopacy in niger delta diocese had been elected, consecrated and enthroned diocesan bishops , three of them presented became archbishops. they include: 1. archbishop are ignatius c.o. kattey (deacon/priest/canon/archdeacon), 2. archbishop emmanuel nglass (deacon/priest/canon/archdeacon), and 3. archbishop w.g. ekprikpo (deacon/priest/canon/archdeacon). 4. bishop adolphus amabebe (deacon/priest/canon/archdeacon); 5. bishop gabriel h. pepple (deacon/priest/canon); 6. bishop tubo abere (deacon/priest); 7. bishop anga f. nyanabo (deacon/priest); and 8. bishop ralph c. ebirien (deacon/priest/canon). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 64 in woman empowerment, two clergy wives appointed as women worker under mrs chinyere elenwo later became presidents of diocesan woman ministry following the election of their husbands as bishops. they are mrs beatrice kattey wife of archbishop kattey and mrs chinyere ordu wife of bishop ordu. his dreams and it shall come to pass afterward, that i will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions (joel 2:28, rsv). webster's (2006, p.385) defined dream as “a visionary idea, anticipation”. it was the desire of bishop sam elenwo for the diocese to be firmly established. the peace, stability, progress and endowment of adequate human and material resources in the churches remains enough ingredients for growth and expansion of the diocese, in realization of this, he proposed for the creation of three additional dioceses out of the dndn. they were “ogoni/etche/eleme, ahoada, and ikwerre” (synod report 1999, .50). in 2004, his dream came through and by 2010; dndn had given birth to five new dioceses of ahoada (2004), ogoni (2005), etche (2009), ikwerre (2009), and evo (2010). he considered the work of the great commission work to be executed through four major areas for effectiveness, consolidation and avoidance of ambiguity. the diocesan missionary board were to coordinate mission and evangelism activities with emphasis on mobilization, training, empowerment of clergy and laity, prayers, revivals, research and regular outreaches using electronic and print media. the directorate of rural evangelism was to ensure the spread of the gospel to the rural communities. church planting unit to focus on the multiplication of anglican worship centres within the city and beyond. the great anglican revival team to handle the business of 'training potential evangelists and missionaries” (synod report, 1999, p.4). the sustainability of the church will depend on capital investments among others. thus, a committee was appointed to execute physical developmental projects of the diocese. it was proposed that a diocesan conference centre with different facilities would be developed within the diocese. another investment dream was the establishment of bishop elenwo missionary hospital with a diocesan medical board appointed for its realization. these projects were to help in reducing the financial burden of running the diocese on the faithful. there was also plan for the diocese to enter into a joint business venture with css bookshop ltd. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 65 in his passion for the welfare and security of church workers, a diocesan educational pensions scheme (deps) was to be established. the scheme was to assist those that work in all educational institutions of and in the diocese with the aim to motivate the academic and non-academic staff as they carry out their indirect evangelistic work. a staff welfare committee was constituted in 1997 with the vision of working out conditions of service that will be favourable and make for a happy future for serving and retiring workers. the school of ordination was to be reorganized to include training of young dynamic clergymen in evangelism. for the purpose of maintaining qualitative clerical personnel, qualified and equipped brethren for missions and evangelism admitted into the holy order. preferment of clergy is a “call for more effective service”. he maintained that it was not as a debt owed to the clergy but a prerogative of a bishop based on the worth, dedication, faithfulness, loyalty, doctrine, straightforwardness, initiative, and reliability among others of the clergy (synod report,1997, p.74). conclusion the legacy of samuel o. elenwo in the development of dndn received examination under some cardinal issues in the church life. it was discovered that he humbled himself and appreciated the initial provisions of the faithful by immediately moving into his bishopscourt. he maintained the government of the diocese by presiding over periodic administrative board meetings and annual synods. his policies and empowerment programmes lifted the standard of the diocese and quality of both clergy and lay faithful for ministry within and outside the diocese. it was discovered that he applied himself to the principles of the constitution and canons of the church in his foundational work. his dreams expressed his belief that the diocese will experience greater tremendous growth under the episcopacy of his successors in office. he believed that “the glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the lord of hosts: and in this place will i give peace, saith the lord of hosts” (haggai 2:9). the growth that he desired was to flourish in a peaceful relationship among all as it is demanded of christians to, “follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the lord” (hebrews 12:14). the ministry of bishop samuel o. elenwo featured “4 fs”, which are: fourth bishop of niger delta diocese; first bishop of the ikwerre nativity of the niger delta; foundation bishop of dndn, and he presided over four synod sessions in the dndn. god honoured him by making one of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 66 those he ecclesiastically empowered as a lay reader, deacon, priest, canon and archdeacon to succeed him as bishop of dndn. references diocese of niger delta north. (2012). constitution and regulations. diocese of niger delta north. diocese of niger delta north (1997, july 6 ). trinity ordination service. diocese of niger delta north (1997, dec. 24). advent ordination service. diocese of niger delta north (1999, july 18). order of service for the trinity ordination. diocese of niger delta north (1999, aug 7). investiture of knights into the sacred order of the knights of saint christopher. diocese of niger delta north (1999, oct. 23). order of service for the installation of canons & collation of archdeacons. diocese of niger delta north (1996). synod report diocese of niger delta north. (1997). synod report diocese of niger delta north. (1998). synod report diocese of niger delta north. (1999). synod report diocese of niger delta north. (2000). synod report doe, norman (2003). canon law in the anglican communion: a worldwide perspective. oxford: oxford university press. ezuoke, u. u. (1997). pentecostalism: how does it fit into contemporary anglican liturgical tradition. mcgavan, d. a. (1970). understanding church growth.3rd ed. benin city: hosanna christian bookshop & publishing house. nelson's illustrated bible dictionary (1986). thomas nelson publishers niger delta diocese. (1995). synod report obuoforibo, a. b. (1997). the history of great bishops. port harcourt: css press. omodu, g. h. (1997). the birth of a new diocese: the dndn. np onu, b. o. (2014). synod resolution & implementation in the anglican diocese of niger delta north. port harcourt: university of port harcourt press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 67 the church of nigeria (anglican communion). (2002). constitution and canons. webster's (2004). the new international webster's comprehensive dictionary of the english language. typhoon: florida. wotogbe-weneka, w. o. (2000). “the episcopacy of rt. rev. s. o. elenwo, jp, 1996-1999. in amadi, k. o. (ed). history of the first ten years of the diocese of niger delta north (1996-2006). port harcourt: samag. wotogbe-weneka, w. o. (2006). the bishopric of samuel o. elenwo (1981-1999). port harcourt: link advertising ltd, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 57 the nigerian youth and suicide: a reflection kingsley nonso ogbu, smmm sons of mary mother of mercy generalate afaraukwu, umuahia abia state kingsleynonsoogbu@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.16636.28806 abstract in recent times, one could understand that so many issues have posed a lot of problems to our country, ranging from bad government, technological advancement, economic recession, poverty and even depression which has invariably influenced the youths and have even disoriented or misinformed them on the approach to life and living. the youth who are at the prime of their lives tend to take up actions which may seem favourable but is detrimental to them. as a result, the youth take up different approaches towards the “normalization” of this already shattered existence and as such some have resorted to taking away their existence. the dignity of human life is no longer taken seriously, since it is now being sacrificed on the altar of suicide. this happens as a result of depression, break-ups e.t.c. this work is therefore poised to look into the issues of the nigerian youth and suicide, its remote causes, its implications and ways out. introduction in a country of disorder and unemployment whereby almost five thousand youths graduate every year without knowing their fate or what will become of them in the society as regards their means of livelihood, people begin to look anywhere and anyhow for a means of survival. and when they do not meet up with their end, depression sets in as a result of not actualising their dreams. depression might lead to the thought of ending one's life, which is not the best option. depression itself can set in due to lack of employment, identity crisis, low self esteem, and hopelessness. even though our country nigeria is blessed with many mineral resources, she is still far from solving the challenges of her people due to unequal division of these resources among the people, some of whom are without formal education and yet are trying to make ends meet. mailto:kingsleynonsoogbu@yahoo.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 58 explication of terms suicide suicide is gotten from a latin word suicidium (sui-self, ocidere-to kill) this means self-destruction or taking of one's life. so this is direct killing of oneself intentionally. this act is performed voluntarily but with many catalytic factors around it. suicide was used by sir thomas browne in his book "religio and medici" in 1643 and was included in english dictionary in the mid18th century. the term is from modern latin suicidium " suicide " sui "of oneself" and cidium "a killing. combining the words, it means killing oneself". it is a deliberate act of intentionally killing oneself due to disorder, depression, mental illness, physical abuse, losses of one's love, sexual abuse, isolation, lack of societal and spiritual support, exposure to harmful objects such as knife and gun, poison, poverty, unemployment, depression etc. 1 youth youth is the part of life time following childhood. it is the period of existence preceding maturity or age; the whole early part of life, from childhood, or, sometimes, from infancy, to adulthood. youth in nigeria includes citizens who are at the age of 18-29 or 18-35 as case may be. it is not tied to a specific age range, yet it is between childhood and adulthood. this is the age of vibrancy and exuberance. some people at this age have graduated from schooling and are ready to work while others are in school or trying to make ends meet elsewhere outside the formal educational circle. ra animasahun and vo animasahun in the work psychosocial predicators of suicide mission among nigerian youths (african journal for the psychological study of social issues 2016) said that suicide is a serious health problem as it is currently the third leading cause of death for teenagers between the ages of 15 and 24 years2. studies in the world health organization (who) have shown that 1 cf. bioethics: history and contemporary issues ; cosmas maduakolam ekwutosi p. 91 2 animasahun , s.a. and animasahun v.o. (2016). “psychological predictors of suicide mission among nigerian youths”. in balogun, s.k, et al (ed.). ajol vol. 19 no. 1 www.ajol.info/index.php/ajpssi/artic, accessed 6 th december 2019, 5:20am http://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajpssi/artic igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 59 in every 20 seconds, someone loses his/her life to suicide. if in nigeria it is estimated that about 20 to 30 per cent of the citizens suffer from mental problem, it implies that nigeria has about 60 million persons with mental illnesses. suicide therefore is a serious challenge to the nigerian society currently. even among priests and religious, suicide is not left out. a few days ago (as at february 14th 2020) the news of sr. sandra filled the air. the recent suicide news in mangalore and kerala are also fresh in our minds. this reality leaves one to wonder aloud. but then it points to the fact the other suicide victims are not from the deepest part of hell. they have not committed a separate crime so unforgiveable that the heavens would punish them with suicide as their special punishment. it only points to the commonness of humanity, a fact that given the same circumstance, most humans will act and react in the same way safe for the interference of divine grace. the empathetic import of the above situation is a clarion call to all and sundry, to address the issue of suicide properly and seek a way forward for a lasting solution to it. life is one hard and unfair game a times and it demands a lot of patience to hang on. this capacity for inner strength and endurance is generated by a collective awareness of the need for its possession. yet it is sad to note that many individuals who know, including the religious men and women do not talk openly about suicide perhaps due to one reason or the other. suicide yes is taken to be a taboo especially in igbo land and up till the recent past, victims of suicide were not accorded the the due respect of funeral ceremonies given to the honour of the diseased members of igbo society. it was abinitio taken for granted that the penalties attached to suicide even after death should be enough to deter from considering such act, let alone committing it. nevertheless, it is a fact that suicide cases are increasing by day. there is thus an urgent need to review it and find out the various loopholes to cover. major risk factors of suicide as stated by one of the principles of philosophy, cause precedes effect. the issues of suicide among the youth is a serious problem which has been triggered by so many abnormalities cum risk factors ranging from depression, mental disorders, emotional disorder, personality disorder, anxiety disorder, poverty, bad peer comparisons, wrong ideologies, poor orientation, social media etc. in nigeria, high risk of suicide is more at the age of 18-35. this is generally the age of graduation and a time when people search for greener pastures, looking igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 60 for survival of life. it is also the age of reasoning when people evaluate themselves and find some of their strengths as well as weak points in personal development. this age bracket being the peak and prime of life, has high expectation generally and high activity series in the life of the individual too. however, when these high expectations are not met and the prospects of meeting them are far below average, stress sets into the individual‟s life. though the efficient causes of suicide may directly be the abuse of substances like poison, other precipitators include poor management of life stresses such as financial problems, relationship problems like break up and bullying, chronic pain, chronic illness, disaster, hopelessness, low self-esteem, sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, unemployment, mental disorder etc. these really affect the nigerian youth drastically and call for urgent attention. firstly, depression which is a psycho-pathology causes one to become downcast. it makes one to focus not on one's strengths but on weakness and not to be optimistic but pessimistic. this causes the individual to focus on his/her failures and to be hopeless. it is a sickness which always causes one the feeling of inadequacy. according to studies over 90% of suicidal persons underwent some form of depression before their death. this pathology is so high on the youth of today, since the trend of time proclaims the gospel of prosperity against endurance of challenges that we experience in our everyday life. as a result many youth who find themselves in an unfavourable condition tend to count themselves as failures. they loose hope of any positive change in their lives which most times spurs some to commit suicide.3 secondly, we could talk about peer pressure and undue comparison. this particular cause arises either from the parents or the youth themselves. every human being is a person uniquely endowed with different time lines, talents and with different temperaments. many a time due to some minor setbacks in one‟s life, the youth might be left behind in some aspects of his/her existence. consequently at this condition, some parents begin to scold their children and even tag them useless. if such persons are weak willed, they would take such attributes to be true and such could make them fill guilty. this could cause one to commit suicide just to save them from such humiliation. on the other hand, 3 cf. bioethics: history and contemporary issues; cosmas maduakolam ekwutosi p. 94 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 61 the youth tend to compare themselves with others. when it seems they are not coping well like others, they begin to fill frustrated and dejected. when such happens, there is the tendency of one committing suicide as a remedy for such unsuccessful life. in all these, the youth has to be encouraged even more and be corrected with love. thirdly, we could talk about emotional disorder. this is a very sensitive cause especially at the prime of a youth‟s life. many a time youths are so emotional even at the slightest provocation. this is because at this time the youth is at the peak of his/her sensual and sexual life. he/she most times confuses fantasy for reality, infatuation for love, and is more attracted to the opposite sex. thus selfcontrol is a watchword that should be emphasized in this regard. furthermore, the problem of wrong ideology/orientations is another factor that gives great concern in the life of the nigerian youth. so many people today are dying because they are ignorant. some of the youth are been fed with wrong ideologies and information which carry them all through life. cultures differ but many a time we want to emulate them in all ramifications. this makes youths especially the girls develop the wrong empathetic processes toward life. as such they find it difficult to cope with the difficult part of life and become heart broken when any relationship is cut off. some take it as the end of the world because they were wrongly oriented on the issues about living, friendship or relationship. be that as it may, the social media has a great portion of blame concerning the impartation of the wrong ideology/orientation on the youth. this current generation is less traditional and then is prone to use of digital devices or means (such as phones and television). because of this technology, face-to-face or reallife communication is less and the youth live more in the virtual world where social media has gained a lot of prominence. social media is defined by investopedia4 as a computer-based technology that facilitates the sharing of ideas, thoughts, and information through the building of virtual networks and communities. by design, social media is internet-based and gives users quick electronic communication of content. the social media influence describes an individual‟s ability to affect other people‟s thinking in a 4 maya e. dollarhide. (2019). “what is social media”. in www.investopedia.com, accessed 17 th feb. 2020, 12:54 am http://www.investopedia.com/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 62 social online community. people being addicted to social media have greatly led to many mental health problems. mental health basically includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. it affects how we think, feel and act. it also helps to determine how we handle stress, relate to others and make choices. social media has been discovered to have adverse effects on the youth, ranging from depression to general addiction. the negative influences of social media thus include 1. depression: a common mental disorder characterized by persistent sadness and loss of interest in activities one normally enjoy. the use of technology can worsen depression by seeing people portray things that may not even be real like posting pictures of leisure time e.t.c 2. cyber bullying: bullying was something only done face-to-face. however now someone can be bullied online anonymously by people they know or don‟t even know. while social media made making friends easier, it also made it easier for them to be victimized. and the online attackers often leave deep mental scars and even drive people to suicide in some cases especially when there is no intervention. 3. fomo (fear of missing out): this is one of the most common negative influences of social media. it is basically a form of anxiety that one gets when scared of missing out on a positive experience or emotions that someone else is getting. 4. unrealistic expectations: social media helps to form unrealistic expectations of life and friendships. it presents an unreal life and makes the youth use such as a yardstick for measuring his/her life achievements. 5. time management: most of the youths have social media accounts. unfortunately, many youths have developed the habit of checking their accounts multiple times during the day, even when class is on or perhaps when work is in progress. time spent on personal social media accounts, turns out most often to be time that is not well spent on meaningful engagements. however, it usually takes that individual another quality time to refocus on the task at hand, after the distraction has ensued. 6. general addiction: social media is often described as being more addictive than cigarettes and alcohol, with worst in addiction being facebook, instagram and snapchat e.t.c social media presents a kind of fantastic world that has a different life style than the one obtainable in the real world. at the long run, the difficulty in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 63 marrying the two worlds drive the youth into depression, excessive use of alcohol, inability to deal with life situation/crisis such as financial problem, relationship break-up, chronic pain and illness among others. these most often constitute the major causes of suicide and breed conflict, violence, physical/sexual abuse, family disruptions (divorce / separation), fraud/ scam, idleness, lack of employment, unrealistic expectations by the youth, and unhealthy competition among youth, loneliness and discrimination as their fruits. arguments against suicide having seen the menace of suicide especially among the nigerian youth of today, it behooves on our society to campaign frantically against it especially as it concerns the youth. in the year 2019 alone, there were many cases suicide among youths especially of tertiary school age. many of these happened on the campuses of different tertiary institutions. this ugly trend raises the eyebrow of curiosity in any well-meaning individual. one may be tempted to ask if suicide has suddenly become an act of heroism. but the opposite is surely the case. suicide is an act of cowardice. life is a free gift of god to humanity and the most valuable one. it becomes unimaginable that the human being who possesses this life decides by his/her own authority to take it away. great men like thomas aquinas and immanuel kant have contributed against this evil act.5 according to thomas aquinas, suicide is sinful for several reasons like, it leaves no time for repentance, hurts the community, and because life is a free gift from god, which only god himself has the right to terminate or take. for michael cholbi (2011, p. 31-34) a further complication is that current psychological evidence suggests that suicide is often an ambivalent act in which individuals who wish to die must nevertheless overcome the ordinary human fear of death. 6 he further argues that given this ambivalence, it may be difficult to determine precisely whether an act that poses an apparently lethal threat to the agent who performs it was in fact an act in 5 bioethics: history and contemporary issues; cosmas maduakolam ekwutosi p. 95 6 cf. michael cholbi “suicide”. stanford encyclopedia of philosophy, 1-10 of 2571 documents found. in robert gooding-williams (2017) stanford encyclopedia of philosophy, columbia university http://plato.edu>entries, 14 th feb. 2020, 9:20 pm igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 64 which death was intended. when a person dies in such circumstances, it may prove difficult whether to classify the death as resulting from suicide (i.e intentional self-killing) or as accidental death.7 kant immanuel in his own view states that suicide is evil because it violates his definition of what is good; which means that which is based on maxim or rule that can be universalized. he tags suicide immoral because choosing to commit suicide entails considering oneself as a means to an end whereas people should be treated as end itself and not a means to an end.8 for kant, “suicide is in no circumstance permissible”. the man who commits suicide “sinks lower than the beasts”. we “shrink from him in horror”. nothing more terrible can be imagined”. “we look upon the suicide as carrion.”9 therefore, life should be respected and so it is unethical to commit suicide to satisfy oneself. little wonder albert camus (1913-1960) in his philosophy posited that suicide is not the best option. the only courageous and morally valid response to suicide is to continue living. moreover, life is sacred, only given by god and he alone has the right to take it. the way forward in a sincere attempt to answer the clarion call for a way forward regarding suicide, the society ought to take certain things more seriously even among priests and religious. these include the need for deep interpersonal dialogue. superiors need to be more supportive to their subordinates. family has to be paid more attention to. formation of individuals has to be consolidated. people need a more dynamic and comforting circle of friends. life needs to be punctuated by regular gatherings, outings, picnics, celebrations, seminars and community meetings to address ignorance and manage boredom. the level of table conversation in this generation ought to be raised. vulnerable individuals, religious or priests need to be identified and assigned appropriate ministries. 7 michael cholbi (2007). “characterizing suicide”. stanford encyclopedia of philosophy, 1-10 of 2571 documents found. in robert gooding-williams (2017) stanford encyclopedia of philosophy, columbia university http://plato.edu>entries, 14 th feb. 2020, 9:20 pm 8 cf. kant immanuel. “philosophy of suicide”. wikipedia https://en.m.wikipedia.org>wiki, 14 th feb 2020, 9:25pm 9 paul edwards (1797). “metaphysics of morals”. philosophy now: a magazine of ideas. philosophynow.org/issues/61/kant_on_suicide accessed on 17 th feb 2020, 2:21am igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 65 inasmuch as occasional solitude is advised, dialogue should be fostered between individuals in a community, especially the lonely and the young. many a time many individuals of this generation replace interpersonal dialogue with “cellular devotion” whereby the individual pays so much attention to his/her cell phone and takes no cognizance of the person next to him. while chatting on social media, such person becomes near to those who are far from him and far from those who are near to him. this is a misnomer. also, the superiors in communities should not only be swift to discover and “control” members who are not in order. rather they should be able to detect struggling ones and their sincere effort to fall in line. thus they ought to follow closely but gently, those who seem to stray and establish a communion with them. if such communion proves abortive, they should alert the higher authorities not as complaint but in an effort to find a way to assist such person(s). again, family is an important back up for every individual. for luke ijezie (ed.) et al, “family is an abiding reality in the life of every human person. it is the basic unit of society and it is within it that human life begins and is properly nurtured.10. every individual has a family where he/she is born and bred. this family is not to be discarded in the name of belonging to any new family be it religious or otherwise. inasmuch as the water of baptism is thicker than blood, god has a purpose for making the blood line of any individual, religious or priest pass through his/her biological family. the biological family knows the individual “by factory setting” (from natural origin), except for those who did not have the opportunity of growing in their family. such person(s) nevertheless grew up in a home. health and adequate relationship with the respective families should be maintained. when the going gets tough, family is a place of solace. even jesus christ our lord himself knew this very well when from time to time in his ministry, he went home back to nazareth where he was raised [cf. lk 4:14-30] and even though he said that his family were those who heard the word of god and obeyed it [cf lk 8: 21], he did not fail to make proper arrangement for the care and welfare of his mother when he was about to die on the cross [cf. jn 19:26]. good and healthy relationship with family adds a lot to personal stamina and integrity of an individual, priest or religious. more so, the orientation people have in the training and formation they receive, matters a lot in the individual‟s capability to manage the crises that lead to 10 cf. luke ijezie (2015) “introduction”. in luke ijezie, et al (ed.) 30 th proceedings of the conference of catholic theological association of nigeria (cathan journal). lagos: clear impact services, 2015 p. ix] igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 66 suicide. according to daniel goleman, “training strategies also need to take into account the ways one set of capabilities supports another. people rarely need to improve one competence; emotional capabilities are interwoven, not independent”11. for goleman, there are some elements of emotional intelligence that are basic as to constitute “meta-capabilities”, which are essential for most other competencies (especially resilience). the basics include self-awareness, selfregulation, motivation, empathy and social skills. the primary capabilities are essential for supporting the emotional competencies that flow from them. thus human training or formation of individuals ought to offer a greater utilization of holistic practical intelligence. this entails so much of emotional and social intelligence. people of our generation should be reminded of the benefits in the use of altruistic instinct in paying attention to the other.12 above all as the saying goes, a tree does not make a forest and no one is an island. human being by nature is a social being and so it is a fundamental human right to associate freely with a trusted circle of friends. this equally enhances a stable base of social and emotional back up for an individual. evaluation and conclusion having treated so far the issue of the youth and suicide in africa and with particular reference to nigeria, the remedy still remain the fact that proper training and orientation should be made available to our youth since they are leaders of tomorrow. this approach should begin from home, the church and the society at large. the scripture says "my people die because of lack of knowledge" (cf. hosea 4:6) let the youth be well-guided and well informed. also, every person in nigeria ought to be a source of encouragement to the other. today, many people are in many difficulties. in the past few days in nigeria (as at 19th may 2019), there have been many suicide news. young people take their own lives as if suicide is an act of heroism. one cannot but wonder if there is a new cult of suiciders who brainwash people into thinking so. but the bottom line is that people need encouragement to live in this country. the government can encourage us by loosening up a bit. we can encourage one another too. it is the need of encouragement that paul and barnabas served in the 11 cf. working with emotional intelligence, u.s.a: bantam books publishers new york, 1998 p. 309 12 cf. daniel goleman, social intelligence: the new science of human relationship, u.s.a: bantam dell new york, 2006 p. 51 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 67 scriptural periscope of acts 14:21-27, when things were too hard for the early christian communities. many people are sources of discouragement rather than encouragement by their being jealous of the other's progress, always finding fault, scheming troubles to stop other people's progress like the jews did to paul and barnabas in acts 13:44-52. people induce people to clamp down on others just because of unhealthy competition. but we can be sources of encouragement to others by not being indifferent (avoiding "i don't care" attitude). this is because problem somewhere is a problem everywhere. thus everyone ought to join hands in finding the solution or being part of the solution. helping others grow, breeds synergy (igwebuike) which is stronger than one man's energy. in forming synergy, individuals cohere with others and by complementarity achieve what would have been too difficult to attain in their individuality. by this one has more propensity of not being jealous of other people's progress so that they will get theirs. thus it is only encouraging others that humanity will be able to enter into the new heaven and new earth that st john prophesied about in rev. 21:1-5 where the dwelling of god shall be with men. none of the above can be achieved without love, the new commandment christ gave us in the gospel pericope of jn 13:3133;34 the bottom line therefore is to let love lead❤. in this people shall always make effort to encourage someone at every particular point in time. this attitude will surely help a lot in the discovery of many cursory sings that warn against suicide and as such help curtail its incidents. some of the signs that warn against suicide are either outward or inward. they include actions or behaviours a person may display which shows signs or warning that the person maybe contemplating suicide. such a person may unconsciously display the suicidal attempts such as writing about death, threats/comments of killing selves, withdrawal from friends, isolation, talking, thinking about death, reckless and aggressive behaviour, taking too much alcohol, excess drug use, seeking revenge, being moody etc. granted, the ways of committing suicide varies between countries depending on the availability of effective means. ours for instance includes hanging, pesticides, poisoning, drowning, drug overdose, starvation, suicide attack, accidents and so on. yet all these could be prevented through igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 68  meditation on word of god  be outgoing  creating enabling environment  counseling  contentment  take life as it is.  be less expectant  do not live for appreciation, otherwise depreciation will set in.  awareness creation  realization through insight  change of view  redefinition of life and meaning  practicality over ideality as gabriel okonkwo, cssp rightly reflected, sometimes certain events in one‟s life generate a lot of questions. often answers to some of these questions are more dangerous than the questions themselves. but these questions are actually ones that someone may not avoid asking. it may be necessary to give response to these questions even when those responses appear not to be convincing. life itself is a big question that nobody may be able to provide appropriate answer to. at one point or the other, certain events prompt certain questions to be asked about life. some of these questions have a common root namely: is it necessary to continue living? this is a dangerous question that comes up when one faces exasperating life challenges. little wonder martin heidegger (1953)13 in his reflection on the nothingness of being said that this most fundamental question of being is asked in times of excitement, sadness and boredom. there is a danger that the ability of one to value life itself depends on the answer one provides to or for this question. providing a wrong negative answer may likely be the reason some people commit suicide and quit life completely. providing the correct (positive) answer may likely be the reason some people decide to continue with life, living to face challenges of life irrespective of how bitter such experiences are. they refuse to limit their challenges and accept to challenge their limits all the days of their lives. 13 ralph manheim (trans. ) (1984). “martin hedegger: introduction to metaphysics”. first published in germany, 1953. later published in england: yale university press 1984 [cf. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/introduction_to_metaphysics_(heidegger_book)] igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 69 the ability of one to decide to live depends on the ability of one to develop positive attitudes towards life and the challenges that go with it. the inability of one to decide to be convinced of the need to continue living is as a result of one not understanding the meaning of life itself. life is a process of problem-solving. the group of people that fail to understand life this way, think about life as something that should be free of  challenges  pains  disappointments  sorrows  difficulties  agonies  sickness  quarrels (fiction or finesse)  misunderstanding (agree to disagree: hegelian dialectics)  deaths etc therefore whenever any of the above comes up, such people want to escape. but wherever they turn to, these challenges stare them in the face. they want to completely be free but it is not possible and therefore they look for a possible means of escaping completely from life itself. this is why most people commit suicide. meanwhile, those who go for suicide fail to understand that suicide does not solve the problem. every problem one faces is a problem that needs solution for life to be more meaningful. taking one‟s life only means postponing the time within which the problem is to be solved. problems are meant to be solved and not to be run away from. suicide is an escapist technique and never a heroic virtue. escapist ideology is a cowardly ideology because the victim has simply run away from solving a problem that will make life meaningful for him/her or for others. life is too precious to be thrown away in the name of running away from problem(s). being fair enough to suicide victims (not to the extent of justifying suicide), one may say that those with suicide tendencies need care and love for them to see reasons why they should continue living. they need our  smiles  encouragement igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 70  concern  appreciation  admiration  presence  hearing out etc and the approval that they belong and are needed. so everyone should love life and see problems as ingredients of life. one should believe that he/ she needs to live and that every problem one solves, adds meaning to one‟s life and that of others. finally from the ongoing so far, the caveat emptor to the issue of the nigerian youth and suicide still is perseverance. the youth ought to learn insights on perseverance through the athenian ordeal of st. paul who met with "failure" and setback in his course of evangelization but yet was not deterred from moving on to corinth (cf. acts 17: 1618:1) perseverance is the art and virtue of being faithful in life even when we are not successful. it is the act of waiting patiently yet committedly for the insights of the holy spirit, that abounds by the daily unfolding of realities around us. so even when the harvest is scanty keep sowing for the plenty for it is yours to sow the seeds and god's to confirm and increase your deeds. even as we are in the dark as to the fate of our dear country, despite the supposed new dispensation in government, let us preserver in hope for the best while arming ourselves with an open mind. every failure/setback is a breeding ground for success/breakthrough if only one can persevere references animasahun , s.a. and animasahun v.o. (2016). “psychological predictors of suicide mission among nigerian youths”. in balogun, s.k, et al (ed.). ajol vol. 19 no. 1 www.ajol.info/index.php/ajpssi/artic, accessed 6th december 2019, 5:20am cosmas m. ekwutosi, bioethics: history and contemporary issues daniel goleman, social intelligence: the new science of human relationship, u.s.a: bantam dell new york, 2006 p. 51. http://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajpssi/artic igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 71 daniel goleman, working with emotional intelligence, u.s.a: bantam books publishers new york, 1998. edward j. gratsch, aquinas summa: an introduction and interpretation. india: theological publications bangalore 2008 kant immanuel. “philosophy of suicide”. wikipedia https://en.m.wikipedia.org>wiki, 14th feb 2020, 9:25pm luke ijezie et al, (ed.) (2015) 30th proceedings of the conference of catholic theological association of nigeria (cathan journal), 2015 maya e. dollarhide. (2019). “what is social media”. in www.investopedia.com, accessed 17th feb. 2020, 12:54 am michael cholbi (2007). “characterizing suicide”. stanford encyclopedia of philosophy, 1-10 of 2571 documents found. in robert gooding-williams (2017) stanford encyclopedia of philosophy, columbia university http://plato.edu>entries, 14th feb. 2020, 9:20 pm michael cholbi “suicide”. stanford encyclopedia of philosophy, 1-10 of 2571 documents found. in robert gooding-williams (2017) stanford encyclopedia of philosophy, columbia university http://plato.edu>entries, 14th feb. 2020, 9:20 pm paul edwards (1797). “metaphysics of morals”. in philosophy now: a magazine of ideas. philosophynow.org/issues/61/kant_on_suicide accessed on 17th feb 2020, 2:21am ralph manheim (trans. ) (1984). “martin hedegger: introduction to metaphysics”. first published in germany, 1953. later published in england: yale university press 1984 [cf. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/introduction_to_metaphysics_(heidegger_book )] http://www.investopedia.com/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 86 psychoanalytical reproach on migration experiences in chika unigwe’s novels frank aondoakaa kyungun department of educational foundations and general studies, federal university of agriculture, makurdi kyungunfrank@gmail.com & raphael terhemba tayol department of english, benue state university, makurdi tayolter@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.19482.59846 abstract the phenomenon of migration is not new in africa. the migration of african citizens to different climes has been influenced by the dynamics of social, economic, political and ecological conditions and processes. these experiences as re-presented in the oeuvres of chika unigwe – on black sister’s street and better never than late present indicators that reflect the complex realities of the causes of migration and responses of migrants to the effects of migration in transnational boundaries. this paper evaluates migration experiences to identify what type of hybrid and connected spaces these migration experiences are producing, what segregated and integrated social worlds they are fostering, and how they are reconfiguring the african continent an around transnational borders. the paper identifies ambivalent psychological conflicts in ideologies such as gender relations, varying gradations of exploitations, dissonance arising from transcultural conflicts and the long for home in exile as experiences of migrants in the novels. the reproach perspective in the analysis of the characters in the texts point to the conclusion that migration rather plagues africa and remains a significant phenomenon perpetrated against africanism by africans who should advocate fixing the african depreciating polity through psychological re-definition rather than migrating. keywords: migration, cognitive dissonance, transnational boundaries, transcultural conflicts, transcontinental environments. introduction african countries have witnessed a large scale migration from the continent to other countries in recent decades. this implies that for a long period of time now, mailto:kyungunfrank@gmail.com mailto:tayolter@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 87 africans have been caught up in the migration phenomenon as a result of changes in social, ecological, economic and political factors. this is also supported by the fact that humans are psychologically dynamic in nature and have continued to remain amenable to change in voluntarily and involuntarily ways. the basic cause of these actions remains the need to source for comfortable means and measures of survival in the struggles for the provision of food, shelter, clothing, and social security. because the contemporary world that man inhabits consists of constant changes and movements leading to the blend of transcultural borderlines, sten moslund asserts that the world is experiencing “a massive international and transnational defeat of gravity, an immense uprooting of origin and belonging, an immense displacement of borders, with all the clashes, meetings, […] reshaping the cultural landscapes of the world’s countries and cities” (2).meaning that the mobility of human beings from clime to clime is to ensure that their survival is achieved as they are willing to give up their uncomfortable locations for spaces which they perceive to be contented thereby partaking in the processes of cultural and identity erosion. this activity of human dispersal to various parts of the world affects greatly the psychology, culture, philosophy, identities and personalities of people who migrate to these spaces. the emigrants continue to experience psychological and traumatic feelings as they are mostly not copiously accepted in or by the countries in which they migrate to. this affects in no small measure the originality of their personal psychologies. in nigeria for instance, migration of especially young people into other climes is basically because they believe that their host countries are “realms of possibility, fantasy, with fulfilment where identities and fortunes might be transformed” (ugwanyi, 251). the effects of these citizenship transversal of transnational boundaries causes a vigorous decimation of their personal psychologies as well as indigenous identities by rendering their cultural characteristics vulnerable to extinctive possibilities. this implies that indigenous languages and traditional practices are heavily influenced in this bid for survival, leaving the migrant in a stateless and dislocated form as a result of their psychological trauma. the conditional motivating indices for migration have been identified by many critics as responses rather than influences. this means that people migrate to other spaces as a result of responses to certain social, economic, and even political conditions. international organisation for migration’s world migration igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 88 report 2020 affirms this fact when it says that “the scale and pace of international migration is notoriously difficult to predict with precision because it is closely connected to acute events (such as severe instability, economic crisis or conflict) as well as long-term trends (such as demographic change, economic development, communications technology advances and transportation access)” (2). in as much as these activities are being influenced by human’s responses to social issues, they heavily effect on the cultural composure of this fleeing africans thereby altering certain context of spatial co-existence. cultures are being influenced in an erosive manner while the experiences breed certain eurafrican spaces that seem to leave gaps in the social worlds that these experiences create. in africa, the scenario is ably captured by the declaration of the international organisation for migration above and has also been represented in literary spheres by african authors like bessie head, buchi emecheta, doris lessing, alex la guma, and dennis brutus and most recently chimamanda adichie as well as chika unigwe. but as ben de bruyn suggests, “one of the ways in which climate change manifests itself in contemporary culture, and contemporary culture shapes our understanding of climate change, is through real and imagined stories of human relocation” (1), it is pertinent to accept these stories as presented in the novels of these authors because they ultimately denote the real experiences of migrants whose stories are drawn from the societies where these authors derive these experiences. in omolola ladele and adesunmbo omotayo’s “migration and identities in chika unigwe’s novels”, chika unigwe “engages constructively with the social conditions … her race in the diaspora. unigwe is also interested in the conditions occasioned by physical, social and psychological relocation from the continent of africa to other spaces” (53-4). by this statements, omolola and omotayo are not only interested in the causes of the actions of migrants as represented by unigwe but also the complicating demographics of their art in relation to such rising issues as marginality, liminality, hybridity, identity, inter and cross-cultures, home and motherland and the intersections of these as they are re-echoed in diverse perspectives in the works of these writer (53). what appears to be skived is the current diversification of the ideas in the discourse of migration studies relating to how these rising issues are reconfiguring the spaces and social worlds of existence between africans and their destination realms. chielozona eze also criticises the standards in the un declaration on human rights saying that the ideals of human rights and perhaps humanitarianism seem to be “…abstract igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 89 because they are general guidelines; they make sense only when they are applied to individuals in specific instances of intersubjective relationships”(91). it becomes impeccable to acknowledge in chielozona’s perspective that migrants’ and migration experiences seem to be part of the specific exceptions insinuated in her postulation. according to boehmer e, migrants tend to have “a double consciousness … the individual … experiences a dynamic tension, everyday between living ‘here’ and remembering ‘there’ i.e. between memories of place of origin and entanglements with places of residence and between metaphorical physical home” (2). this level of dissipative dual consciousness causes dislocation and personality disorientation. sarah de mul describes these experiences by the characters in unigwe’s on black sisters’ street saying that they “suggests the descent into disorientation and denial of worth” (20) that migrants face in destination countries. in the face of the consequentiality of globalisation which narrows the world into a global village, why does a migrant develop a psychological feeling of cultural outlining when s/he migrates to another part of the same village? consequently, there exist a misnomer and default in the process of integration of cultural diversities between migrants and destination of host communities. the international migration policy formulation bodies like the iom have paid little effort toward enhancing the assimilation of such pressing cultural erosion; instead, they have given intense attention on migration figures as they rise and fall. this shortcoming is arising as a consequence from the definition of their policy documents which seeks to define what the term ‘migrant’ really is or should be. these perceptions do not recognize in the description, evaluation and consideration what ‘migrants’ physically undergo to actualise their purposes of performing the action of ‘migrating’. according to the world migration report of 2020, while the new york declaration acknowledges the similarity between ‘migrant’ and ‘refugee’ but has been met with a stalemate since the global compact for migration distinguishes these two groups as “distinct groups governed by separate legal frameworks” (298). these distinctions only acknowledges the application of the legal frameworks for protection or rejection of a similar category of humans seeking for better economic, social and political opportunities without critically examining the term(s) ‘migrate’ or ‘migration’ and re-considering the intent of migrants as it relates to survival cohesion even in transcultural terms. andrea pettrachi in a european university institute working paper affirms the fact that policy makers of migration in europe pay less attention to the context of migrants’ transcultural positions stating that cognitive factors and strategic considerations are less igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 90 relevant in the immigration policy domain and that [policy] elites necessarily politicise migration under the pressure of increasing flows … most of the existing [policies] focuses on how ideas in the migration policy field are contested, but not on how understandings of flows and of public reactions are produced in the first place and acted upon. (1) this implies that, decisions on issues of migration are majorly concluded without recourse to social and economic underpinnings that cause them, but are adopted giving prejudicial consideration to the effect of migration on ‘underlying social systems’. consequently, michelle leighton affirms that migrant workers, regardless of status, often experience multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, based on gender, religion, race, nationality, and other identities. gender discrimination is an underlying cause of gender-segregated labour markets and gender inequalities in terms of jobs opportunities and access to decent work, particularly for migrant workers (e.g. migrant women mainly working as care workers and domestic workers, migrant men working in high-skilled occupations or in construction). (4) the consequentiality of these inequalities sends a growing concern toward reproach perspectives that can aim at addressing this perceived phobia toward migrants and migration largely. thus, this paper seeks to explore chika unigwe’s on black sisters’ street and better never than late so as to evaluate unigwe’s demonstration of migration experiences to decipher plausible causes of migration in order to identify what type of hybrid and connected spaces are these migration experiences producing, what segregated and or integrated social worlds are they fostering, and how they are reconfiguring the african continent culturally. conceptual/theoretical framing migration is both a voluntary and an involuntary activity by which immigrants forge and sustain multi-stranded social relations that link together their societies of origin and settlement. whether voluntary or involuntary, migration is caused by certain factors. according to francis cherunilam migration is caused by push and pull factors such as economic factors – (labour opportunities as a result of industrial and commercial plenitude), demographic factors (population revolutions), socio-cultural and psychological factors (psycho-social pressures), igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 91 political and institutional factors (un-inclusive government policies), and miscellaneous factors (40). the international organisation on migration’s (iom) world migration report 2020 also says the causes of migration are linked to “acute events (such as severe instability, economic crisis or conflict) (2). these factors are indicative of the african situation and are a pointer to the fact that africans feel discontented with their social environment and therefore have to resort to the pressure of dissonance to migrate to societies with favourable opportunities. this discontent as a result of dissonance leads us to the theoretical underpinning for this paper – leon festinger’s cognitive dissonance theory. leon festinger developed the cognitive dissonance theory in 1957. the fundamental characteristic that the theory proposes is that actions can influence subsequent beliefs and attitudes. the main idea of the theory is based three fundamental assumptions which states that humans are sensitive to inconsistencies between actions and beliefs: there is recognition at some level in our psyche when we are acting in a way that is inconsistent with our beliefs, attitudes and opinion. for instance, if a citizen believes that it’s wrong to be anguishing in total lack, and s/he finds he/r self-languishing in poverty, s/he notices this and is affected by this inconsistency. secondly, the recognition of this inconsistency causes dissonance and motivates an individual to resolve to dissonance, and thirdly, the individual resolves the dissonance by changing his or her belief, changing his/her actions or changing the perception of action. thus, in this case of migration, the causes of migration become the inconsistences; recognising them causes a change in action – migration. evaluating migration experiences in on black sisters’ street and better never than late on black sisters’ street discreetly reveals the experiences of four migrant women who enter europe seeking to find better social and economic opportunities in belgium. they end up becoming prostitutes. although, their initial private drives differ to survive abroad differ, they are united by their obligation to dele, a trafficker who is based in lagos, nigeria. he sends them to antwerp where they are retained under the forceful care of a madam, whom they work under as sex workers. chisom who now becomes sisi upon arrival in belgium and who happens to be the most educated of the group, has left behind a family who expects that her stay abroad will uplift the family from lack. efe who sacrifices her personality for her son l.i. who she begets out of wedlock, lives back home with her younger sister. ama who is being sexually violated by a man she feels is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 92 her father also leave for better opportunity with the ‘help’ of dele. joyce, was born alek in southern sudan, she is the youngest of them. a survivor of wartime atrocities, including rape, is sent to europe by his lover, polycarp through dele, where she is deceived and made to believe she will be working as a nanny. all the women are all plunged into shattered dreams where they lose everything including their personalities with sisi first losing her life in the instance of her efforts towards ending her life as a prostitute. better never than late showcases the journeys of prosperous and agu who are migrants from nigerian seeking better lives in belgium. the stories in the collection are centered on their explorations and scuffles for integration in the migration process to their destination country – belgium. as earlier mentioned, migration is fundamentally a voluntary and an involuntary activity which is majorly caused by the drive to search for better options of social and economic betterment. thus, in unigwe’s re-presentation of the plight of the migrant, they are in search of favourable social and economic opportunities which seem to be absent in their home countries. the women are desirous of leaving their home countries because home does not to support favourable opportunities such that “nobody wanted to stay back unless they had pots of money to survive the country” (14). sisi leaves nigeria to belgium and suddenly feels “…lucky to be [there], living my dream. if i’d stayed back in lagos, god knows where i’d have ended up”(9) because “…the place has no future” (9) why? dashed dreams by social forces like nepotism, corruption, and favoritism. the quest for better opportunities has been the derive f most migrants around the globe. thus, by migrating, the drifters expect to meet auspicious opportunities that can encourage the achievement their selfhood. the international organisation for migration’s (iom) world migration report 2020 says that the causes of migration are linked to “acute events (such as severe instability, economic crisis or conflict) (2). in this instance, the fictional illustration that unigwe gives readers from the experiences of joyce is enough to be acknowledged as the reason and cause of her migration. the severity of the situation prompting her migration decision cannot be worse than what she experiences in the hands of the soldiers. they kill her parents in her presence and brutally rape her, leaving her critically torn. her experience in the refugee camp does not say anything different from what the soldiers do to her on the day of the murder of her parents, she migrates from the camp as a refugee to europe. agu and prosperous in better never than late are forced to the europe voyage by the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 93 bigotry in northern nigeria. by this example, the distinction between ‘migrant’ and ‘refugee’ does not surmount, they both assume the position of asylum seeking in the process of the search for selfhood. there are also other personal intuitive motivations that push migrants. ordinarily, people are innately willing to travel to ‘oyibo land’ to fulfil personal desires: “who did not want to go abroad? people were born with the ambition, and people died trying to fulfill that ambition”(14) regardless of the risks or consequences involved. but with the kind of absolute reality and condition that chisom, efe and ama face from nigeria, what option is left if the opportunity presents itself? for ama, going away is an escape from private gendered harassment that has gradually demeaned her selfhood. for others, the desire to migrate is for the purpose of being able to make “…enough money, acquire enough material possessions, to be seen as successful” (better never…87-8). but there are separate worlds emerging from both migrants and host communities or destinations countries that are emerging. majorly, there is no connection between the two worlds in the instance that there are cultural diversities between them. these cultural diversities have not been respected to foster connected spaces integrative existence. this can be summed up into the supposition that the social worlds created by these migration tendencies are quite segregated and can be viewed as racialised in cultural perspectives as they create an ambivalent inclination on the psyche of migrants. this inclination can be viewed to be demeaning. for instance, identity dislocation continues to foster statelessness and displacement on the psyche of these migrants who have the notion that their destination countries have ideal spaces that can accommodate their culturally differences, yet, these experiences are mere fantasies. chisom leaves nigeria, arrives belgium to become ‘sisi’ – a designation occasioned by the circumstances she finds herself in, with no semantic underpinning. she feels that she would shed “her skin like a snake and emerge completely new. it would all be worth it”(14), but she is murdered by the same process that gave her the intuition that everything was formidable, she dies and cannot get cultural rites of burial as her african originality does. unfortunately, the process does not accommodate her personality with her cultural rites but bestows on her the sensibilities of a mongrel. this is in addition to the continuous deprivation of cultural tenets such as access to dietetics. for instance, efe feels disillusioned from her experiences on the kind of food she is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 94 served on the plane and expresses this thus: “white people might be good at a lot of things, but their culinary skills left a lot to be desired: no pepper. no salt. no oil. how can they call this food? it’s like eating sandpaper”(14). when she arrives belgium, she assumes the realisation that, “dem no dey like make we dey bring palm oil, but you no go get good palm oil from there. she dey miss nigerian food. very soon you go begin miss am, too”(14). there are no definite explanations to this absolute denial of cultural rights. in germany, prosperous and agu “could not hope to get the kind of jobs they were after, working in bank or teaching, if they spoke neither dutch nor french”(83-4). consequently, leila hadj abdou asserts that migration authorities are not “only doing poor research by adopting analytically flawed concepts … but they become accomplices in a neo-colonial system of oppression” (1) if they are not encompassing in their adoption of measures relating to the handling of migrants in the face of migration of contemporary social complications that the world currently already faces. it is also pertinent to observe that there are worlds apart created migrants and destination communities which continue to promote exploitative opportunities which leave migrants deprived in their dream lands. this is evidently illustrated in unigwe’s depiction in the instance when and where efe tells joyce that “oyibo policemen are greedy. they have big eye, they ask for free girls …a thousand euros. ah!” (12)”. this experience can typically be explained as a case of gender based exploitation – (gbe) where the women have no other choice to pay as cost for their survival. in better never than late, agu asserts that “germany is very hard for black men. harder than belgium”(5). this implies that the integration of migrants by authorities in this terrain seem a lot difficult. this can be affirmed in the context of the inadequacies of racially-corrected policies to the context of migration and migrants. this leads to the context of neglect of cultural diversities within the phenomena of migration. there exists a general neglect for the cultural diversities that migrants arrive destination countries with. this is occasioned by the shortfall in or the absence of protection of migrants for further integration into their destination countries. protection of migrants should typically include their human life and rights in relation to their access to opportunities that can aid their personal development, but efforts towards all these has been slow and inconsistent (john bingham 1). unigwe’s depiction of this is visible in the treatment of death of sisi, a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 95 circumstance that would not be handled likely if she had died in her home country, nigeria. sisi has just died – a human being and all the girls can do is wonder: “what can we do? who will you send the body to? and even if you knew her people, can you afford to pay for her body to be sent back to nigeria?” (12). in better never than late, when gunter’s grandfather dies, the whole thing had seemed odd to [oge]. nobody cried, at least not loudly, in church. it did not matter that the man was almost ninety; in nigeria, there would have been loud wails for him. here, tears were contained by handkerchiefs dabbing at eyes. at the coffee table, a practice that in itself bemused her, oge had been shocked to see gunter’s mother and her siblings, whose father they had just buried, smiling, going from table to table asking their guests if they had enough to eat, to drink, as if the guests were the ones needing consolation and not they. (6) there is little recognition for what people hold dear to their lives. cultures are relegated to the backdrops as a result of the quest for survival such that identities become overridden by the cultures of destination country. this is another form of cultural oppression has its connection with postcolonial thoughts where otherness thrives. invaluably, in cognitive psychology, this negligence to cultural diversities is also capable of arousing dissonance. this is a clear indication that the integration of these cultural diversities in the face of the growing possibilities of migration and migrant population is grim and should remain a point of call for all hands to be on deck to curb this menace. the low attention to this threat in the growing migration subject will emanate into possible cases of criminality involving deception, tricks, and ambivalent identities (apart from the disillusionment that migrants face) in order to meet with the demands of survival. sisi creates a deceptive technique of legitimatising her identity to suit the standards for acceptance and integration into belgium, her destination country. in order to achieve survival, she needs to create an untrue identity of herself, tell lies under some form of pretence such that their identities become defaced. this is what sisi has to do when she goes to the ministry of foreign affairs for registration. she is instructed to “[t]ell them that you are from liberia …tell them that your father was a local mandingo chief, and soldiers loyal to charles taylor came at night to your house and killed your family …. look sad. cry. wail. tear your hair out. white people enjoy sob stories”(19) flouting the realities of being originally nigerian. in better never than late, agu and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 96 prosperous are compelled to fib in order to create an acceptable identity, “their passports say they are from liberia and it occurs to her that, should she die, the authorities would probably contact the liberian embassy” (113) indicating that her personality has been mutilated in this process of the quest for survival. joyce is born alek in her prime and has to become someone else in order to regain a ‘whole’ which can qualify her for survival. her name is changed by polycarp and dele. this adds up to the ingenuities that the absence of migrant protection is consistently creating. according to the international labour organisation’s estimates on migration workers, “in many countries migrant workers represent a significant share of the workforce and make important contributions to societies and economies, with generally higher labour force participation rates compared to national workers” (1). this is only a representation visibly depicted in situations where migrants are recognised, accepted integrated into the socioeconomies of their destination countries, protected, and given opportunities to exist. john birgham establishes that migrants spend and or invest 80% of what they earn in destination countries. the financial times reports that in the united kingdom, 1 out of 7 jobs and businesses are launched or created by a migrant. with these contributions surmounting, there is every need to create a launch pad that critically protects the rights and personalities of migrants to avoid further disasters. the reproach call in this paper is to authorities to acknowledge that individualities are ambivalently losing cultural identities in the face of migration hazards. for instance, in better never than late, after their long stay in germany, the characters still exercise the feeling and have the conviction that “…food tastes so much better in nigeria! in nigeria, people might not have much but they are always willing to help! nigerians are so much happier than these oyibo people! our people are resilient! resourceful! brilliant! the best ever!... nigeria is a rich country! we export oil! (20). further, on the language barrier that denies them job opportunities, agu and prosperous nurse dissonance as they assert that “we shouldn’t have given in so easily. we should never have left. we would have been better off in nigeria” (11). the creation of this kind of authorial voice points to the fact that there is a cultural spatial difference between migrants and destination countries which rather discourages xenophilous notions thereby enhancing incoherent identities of the self. conclusion igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 97 to the african continent, migration of the young and old has remained a major concern that should be reconsidered critically. apart from the loss and eroding cultural originalities and identities, the psychosocial effect these experiences of exclusion from global competitiveness in all spheres remain threatening as they are causing economic undergrowth to both africa and destination countries and should poke the mind diversely in realms of introspection. this is because the problem of social integration remains a major concern that can breach the gap between migrants, migration and destination countries. and like leila hadj asserts, major destination continents like those in europe, asia, and america have to look beyond the nation state to truly unsettle common sense ideas about immigrant integration, and to understand the various underlying ends of immigrant integration projects. it is the understanding of these underlying purposes that, in turn, will enable us to make critical judgments about immigrant integration, providing one possible alternative path to the current complicity… (2) this call is a bid to enable the consideration of the consequences and vulnerabilities that migrants’ social insecurity has and is currently still causing. more attention need to be given, majorly in terms of research to understand the complexities of migrants and migration as a topical issue to ensure low risks are involved in the processes transnational transfers of citizenship to ensure smooth, efficient and safe migration of both culturality and individuality of the migrants. issues such as gender and cultural exploitations need to be in the fore since cultures around the world are under pressure of extinction as a result of migration processes. these literary representations should also serve as a caveat to chiefly the young african population whose social responsibility has changed regarding their african nationality recently. should we all relocate as sojourners and empty our own continent? answers to this query should also provide responses to the fact that, if we are not africans, what are we? works cited abdou, leila hadj. “immigrant integration: the governance of ethno-cultural differences”. comparative migration studies. 7:15 (2019), 1-8 bingham, john. “addressing gaps in migrant protection” global forum on migration and development. (2020) 1-5. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 98 boehmer, e. colonial and post colonial literatures: migrant metaphors. new york: oxford university press, 1995. de bruyn, ben. “the great displacement: reading migration fiction at the end of the world”. humanities. 9:2 (2020), 1-16. de mul, sarah. “becoming black in belgium: the social construction of blackness in chika unigwe’s authorial self-representation and on black sisters’ street”. the journal of commonwealth literature 2014, vol. 49(1) 11–27. eze, chielozona. feminism with a big “f”: ethics and the rebirth of african feminism in chika unigwe’s on black sisters’ street” research in african literature. vol. 45, no. 4 (2014). 89-103. festinger, leon. a theory of cognitive dissonance. il: row and peterson, 1957 festinger, leon and carlsmith j m. “cognitive consequences of forced compliance”. journal of abnormal and social psychology. 58, (1959) 203-210 fanon, frantz. the wretched of the earth. london: penguin books, 1976. international organisation for migration. world migration report 2020. geneva, switzerland. 2020 international labour organisation. global estimates on international migrant workers, results and methodology, 1. ladele, omolola and adesunmbo omotayo. “migration and identities in chika unigwe’s novels”. studies in literature and language. vol. 14, no. 3, (2017), pp. 52-57 leighton, michelle. “the governance of labour migration in the context of changing employment landscapes”. global forum on migration and development. (2020) 1-7. maxwell, ugwanyi dele. “migration, disillusionment and diasperic experiences in segun afolabi’s goodbye lucile and a life elsewhere”. international journal of english and literature. (2014), vol 5(9): 250-256. pettrachin, andrea. decision-making processes and the (non) politicisation οf migration in sicily. migration policy centre. european university institute, italy, 2019. tötösy, de zepentnek steve, i-chun wang, and hsiao-yu sun. perspectives on identity, migration, and displacement. kaohsiung: okprint, 2010. unigwe, chika. better never than late. -. on black sisters’ street. london: vintage, 2009. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 66 an appraisal of some cultural practices against women in the southeast of nigeria bartholomew nnaemedo department of religious studies/philosophy abia state university, uturu nnaemedobartholomew@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.12241.35684 abstract culture is a people's way of life. it is the totality of their consistent life patterns, measured over some time, and which defines them as particular people. culture embodies the essential features that characterize a group of people. as well, it plays a significant role in society. at the same time, not every aspect of a people's culture is beneficial. some cultural practices challenge the corporate existence of the members of society. some of such cultural practices either marginalize one group against the others or retard the wheel of societal progress in general. however, this paper focuses on one of such cultural practices, particularly those that contravene the rights of women in southeast of nigeria, namely: marriage between two women, marriage on behalf of a deceased, female circumcision, unhealthy widowhood practices, et cetera. with analytic and metaphysical approaches, this paper undertakes a legal and philosophical appraisal of these harmful cultural practices. resultantly, it maintains that every good cultural practice should promote the fundamental human rights of all the members of a given society, consider each member as an end in himself/herself, and subsequently enhance the psycho-social and moral equilibrium of the beneficiaries. besides, this paper recommends the use of the repugnancy test as a criterion for ascertaining the validity of any cultural practice. further, it recommends the use of responsible media reportage of these harmful cultural practices through priming, framing, agenda-setting, and cultural cultivation. keywords: culture, practices, women, marriage, human right introduction culture is a term that simply means people's way of life. bronstein (1998, p.388) conceived it as a critical aspect of a people's lived experience, which subsists as of one their marks of identity. ipso facto, culture describes a people's consistent way of life measured against specific periods. the consistency in this context does not indicate stagnancy. instead, it is one with inherent dynamism. hence, culture is both stable and dynamic. the principle of stability makes for the possibility of identification of a given culture with a specific group of people. besides, the principle of dynamism accounts for the possibility of growth in the mailto:nnaemedobartholomew@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 67 culture. thus, as people grow, their culture grows accordingly. some of their cultural components translate into customary law. mqeke (2003, p.3) conceived this sort of law as judicial precedents and decisions of past chiefs collected over a period. for nwaechefu (2017, p.70), they are rules, practices and norms which regulate a group of people and which they consider as binding. bennett (2000 & 2004, p.1) considered them as unwritten laws and also as obligatory to the community concerned. nonetheless, an in-depth analysis of some cultural practices in the southeastern part of nigeria today shows some barbaric observances directed against women. unfortunately, such cultural practices often present themselves as customary laws of the said communities. for a thorough insight into these anti-women cultural phenomena, it is good to discuss them individually. cultural practices against women in southeast of nigeria 1. marriage between two women (woman-woman marriage) marriage between two women occurs where a woman marries another woman so that she can beget children for her. one can also call it woman-woman marriage, and the woman is referred to as "husband-woman." there are many reasons why a woman may decide to play the role of a "husband-woman" in this context. first, it could be on the ground of barrenness. second, it could be as a result of the death of all her children when she has passed the age of childbirth. as a remedial measure, "husband-woman" marries another woman so that the woman can bear children for her. the "husband-woman" also chooses the man that would play the male reproductive role. she may leave it at the discretion of the wife, though not without some frictions at times. although one can still find traces of this sort of marriage in some parts of southeast nigeria, it is no longer a widespread practice in these areas. however, it is significant to indicate that woman-woman marriage is different from lesbian marriage. in lesbian marriage, both women exist as husband and wife. sexual intercourse is between them. no male comes from outside to perform any male reproductive role. besides, the reason for lesbian marriage is quite different from that of woman-woman marriage. 2. marriage on behalf of a deceased marriage to a dead person is a system of traditional marriage where one marries a wife on behalf of a dead man so that one can raise children in the name of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 68 deceased. for this species of traditional marriage to take place, the deceased must be somebody who has reached the age of marriage but unfortunately died without marrying a wife. it mostly obtains in the case of the sudden death of an only son of a family. the parents/relations marry a wife on his behalf so that she can bear children in his name; following the igbo concept of ahamefule (let my name not be lost). that implies that the underlying reason for this sort of traditional marriage is for extension of the deceased's posterity. it is interesting to note that marriage to a dead person follows almost the same logic as that contracted between two women. as well, this kind of marriage was prominent in the southeastern part of nigeria in the past. presently, it is no longer standard practice. despite, one can find traces of it in a few areas of this geopolitical zone of nigeria. 3. early and coerced marriages early and coerced marriages are another unhealthy cultural/customary practice directed against women in the southeast of nigeria. in the olden days, around the nneato area of umunneochi local government area of abia state, marriages were contracted between a boy and a girl at a very tender age. at that time, once a girl is born, the parents betroth her to a boy through the parents of the boy who drop a coin inside a bucket of water. of course, the members of the immediate families of the boy and the girl also participate in the ceremony to give it a public character. with this ceremony, the members of the two families regard the boy and the girl as a prospective husband and wife. subsequently, they will not allow any other person to marry the girl unless the boy grew up and decides otherwise. today, this practice has completely changed. however, early marriage is still prevalent in some parts of the southeast. there are instances where parents force their children to marry at an age below eighteen years, perhaps, on the premise that they have no money to train them in school or the likes or that they may have an unwanted pregnancy. 4. female circumcision female circumcision, otherwise known as genital mutilation, entails the removal of the sensitive part of a female's external genitalia by surgical means without any medical justification. an interagency statement on eliminating female genital mutilation defines it as ―…all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons‖ [p.1]. in the southeast, there are many reasons people often offer as a justification for female circumcision. first, some hold that it is a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 69 way of controlling a female child's libido. here, the aim is to ensure that a woman maintains her virginity before marriage and chastity after marriage. second, some are of the view that it shows a girl's cultural identity and her transition into the adult stage. third, some engage in it to protect the health of women and their young female children. however, a cultural practice such as this constitutes a health hazard to girls. besides, it has many psychological implications. an interagency statement on eliminating female genital mutilation described it as the practice that "…reflects deep-rooted inequality between the sexes, and constitutes an extreme form of discrimination against women" (p.1). further, the agency considered it a " …violation of the rights to health, security and physical integrity of the person, the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and the right to life when the procedure results in death" [p.1]. it is significant to indicate here that female circumcision is no longer prevalent in the southeast of nigeria. 5. polygamy and arbitrary divorce polygamy is a practice where a man is free to marry as many wives as he wants. in the olden days, people considered engagement in polygamy as a symbol of wealth and prestige. it was a way a man showed his material affluence. besides, men went into polygamy in search of male issues. if his first wife bore only female issues, a man can marry another woman to see if he can get a male child through her. in a polygamous family, the husband superintends over the activities of the family. the wives regard him as lord. none of them enjoys equal status with him. he can divorce any of them at a slight provocation. ihechu et al. (2017) noted that in the event of such dissolution of marriage, women are usually at a loss as they are neither given any financial compensation nor allowed to have custody of their children (p.61). such cultural practice leaves wives at the mercy of their husbands. 6. custom that requires a wife to return presents given to her in the event of a failed marriage as the name indicates, the above custom requires a woman to return whatever gifts she received from the former husband in the event of the dissolution of such union. usually, before a marriage takes place, the fiancé buys gifts for the fiancée. these gifts are usually gestures of love and care and, indeed, expressions of the fiancé's sincerity toward the marriage. nevertheless, in the event the marriage crashes along the way, the ex-husband expects the ex-wife to return all that he bought for her. the returning of these gifts together with dowries are the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 70 conditions for the dissolution of the marriage. this customary condition does not consider whatever the ex-wife sacrificed in the failed relationship. 7. unhealthy widowhood practices there are many inhuman treatments people subject wives of deceased husbands. for instance, in some places, people isolate them from the rest of the community members until the expiration of their mourning period (ịgba èkpè). within this period, the widows are not allowed to attend public ceremonies such as markets and other common gatherings of the community. even men consider it a sign of bad omen if a widow happens to be the first to greet them in the morning. besides, if a widow is accused of being responsible for the death of her husband, they usually force her to drink the water used in washing the body of the dead husband to prove her innocence. if she refused to do so, they might ostracize her. 8. custom enthroning preference of a male child to a female child another cultural practice against women in southeast is the preference of a male child to a female child. such cultural practice regards male children as more important than their female counterparts. it accords them more respect even more than their older female-folk. a prominent instance of this is in the sharing of kola nut. here one neither shows women kola nut nor allows them to break it when men are among the group. it is the prerogative of the male-folk to break the kola. if no older man is around to perform the ceremony, any reasonable male child among them performs the ceremony. the preference for males even reflects in the names given to male children. ihechu et al. (2017) noted some of such names, namely: ogbonna, nwokeabịa, nwokedị, amaechina, nwokedịuko (p.62). other names include obinnaya, enyịnnaya, nwokebuihe, onochie, to name but a few. 9. inheriting wife of a deceased brother/relative forcefully when a man dies, his younger brother/relative can inherit his widow even against the widow's volition (reychler and jacobs 2004). subsequently, one expects the woman to accord the brother/relative every marital right due to a husband. whereby she refused, she is either forced out of her late husband's home, or they may decide to make the house uncomfortable for her. a corresponding practice is an act of disinheriting the wife of a deceased who has no male child. if a man dies, leaving no male child, custom allows his brothers/relatives to disinherit her. she is not a beneficiary to her husband's property. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 71 a related anti-women cultural practice in the southeast is the culture that empowers the brothers-in-law/relatives of the late husband to dispose of the property of their dead brother even when his widow is still alive. the basis for such cultural practice is the logic that the property of a deceased brother belongs to his brothers. hence, they can dispose of them at will, even without reference to the wife. such cultural practice leaves both the widow and her children with little or nothing to cope with. at times, such cultural practice forces the widow and her children to return to her paternal home. 10. depriving a woman the right to give evidence on land issues there is also a custom that deprives women of the right to give evidence on land issues. this custom regards women as visitors (mbiambia) to their husband's family if she is a wife to the family. however, in the event the woman is a child of the family, she is taken as a member of another family presumably her future husband's family. the custom is further sustained and promoted on the ground that given the status of a woman as already indicated, they are said to be ignorant of land boundaries. consequently, they are presumed unqualified to give evidence in matters concerning land boundaries. what this means is that any evidence a woman gives following the above custom is taken as ultra vires, null and void, and of no effect. 11. custom denying women the right of inheritance to their father's property in some parts of the southeast of nigeria, women do not partake in sharing their fathers' property. instead, only the male issues have a share in the property. the reason for this lies in the patriarchal system practiced in the geopolitical zone. in this system, one expects every woman to marry and subsequently leave her father's house and join her husband. following this movement is a change of the woman's name. she no longer answers her maiden name instead, the name of her husband. thus, if she inherits any land from her father's house, that amounts to transferring of the family's inheritance to another man and, ipso facto, to another family. so, to forestall such from taking place, the custom disallows women from inheriting their fathers' property. critical evaluation the cultural practices discussed above benefit some members of society. that is why the beneficiaries would do everything humanly possible to protect and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 72 promote them. most often, they cite the life span of cultural practices as a justification for their credibility (arụ gbaa afọ ọghọọ óménàlà). despite their untiring efforts at validating these cultural practices, a critical look at them reveals their obnoxiousness. these comprise infringement of women's fundamental human rights, depersonalization and functionalization of women, and engendering of psycho-social/moral wreck. 1. infringement of women's fundamental human rights the cultural practices outlined above have serious negative implications for the fundamental human rights of women in nigeria. the fundamental human rights of women are the primary rights they have as human beings. these rights are not products or the creation of any institution. instead, they accrue to all human beings by nature. they are sacred possession of all humans. nobody should deprive another person of it arbitrarily. they are not only fundamental, but they are also equally universal. they cut across cultures and superintend over all cultures. so, they are one of the litmus tests for all cultures. the validity and sanctity of any culture depend on its coherence with these fundamental principles. the first international document on the fundamental human rights is the united nations charter of 1945. it is obvious that in this charter, the members of the united nations determined, among other things, "to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small…" [p.2]. another document that came after the united nations charter of 1945 was the universal declaration of human rights of 1948 (udhr). it was the first document that articulated in clear and distinct terms the inalienable and equal rights and freedoms which accrue to every human being (articles 1-5, 7-8, 10, 13, 16-17, 20 and 27). many nations and organisations later adopted this united nations declaration on the fundamental human right in drafting their constitutions. besides, their constitutions contain expressed provision for the rights of women and others. some of these constitutions are: i. international covenant on civil and political rights (iccpr, 1966, article 26); ii. international covenant on economic, social, and cultural rights (icescr, 1966, article 12:2a); it explicitly deals with an issue about the health of women. other human rights instruments explicit on issues concerning the health of women embody: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 73 the convention on the rights of the child (article 24: 1d, 1f); the beijing platform for action (articles 89 and 106); the united nations declaration on violence against women (article 3f); iii. convention for the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination (cerd, 1965); iv. convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women (cedaw, articles 1-17, 21, and 23). it is essential to indicate that of all human rights instruments, cedaw is unique. first, because its underlying stress is on promoting and protecting women's human rights. second, because it operates from the premise that patriarchy is a global phenomenon (gender, women, and the tobacco epidemic: women's rights and international agreements, p.232). v. african charter on human and peoples' rights held in banjul (achpr, 1986, article 18 section 3); vi. protocol to the african charter on the rights of women in africa 2003. it deals with the rights of women and their equality with men as well as freedom from all species of discrimination based on sex. vii. european convention for the protection of human rights and fundamental freedom (echr, 1950 article 14); viii. american convention on human rights (achr, 1969, article 24); ix. the constitution of the federal republic of nigeria (1999); the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria identified the right to life, dignity of the human person, freedom of expression and the press, peaceful assembly, and association, freedom of movement, freedom from discrimination, right to acquire and own immovable property anywhere in nigeria, and mandatory acquisition of property, respectively [article 17, 33-43]. x. judicial precedents stare decisis; all the sources outlined above emphasized the non-discrimination and equality of all human beings. nonetheless, stare decisis shows particular cases where these principles of non-discrimination and equality were applied. for instance: i. the judgments in the following cases: meribe versus egwu (1979), helen odigie versus iyere aika (1985), and ojukwu versus agupusi (2014, p.26), stand as judicial precedents against marriage between two women. simply put, they ruled against marriages contracted between two women. likewise, the judgment on the case between mojekwu and ejikeme (2000) subsists as a precedent against the practice of leaving a woman in her father's house in the name of bearing igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 74 children for the father as practised in nrachi custom. these practices are repugnant based on section 14(3) of the evidence act (repugnancy. https://www.educationalresourceproviders). ii. at the same time, the verdict on the case between okonkwo and okagbue (1994, part 368, p.301) remains a precedent against marriage done on behalf of a deceased person. the per ogundare (justice of supreme court jsc) considered such marriage as encouraging promiscuity and so cannot align with public policy and good conscience. the judge insisted that it is in the interest of the children to know their true father and not to live in the myth that they were fathered by a man who died even before they were conceived (https://www.educationalresourceproviders). iii. likewise, the case between uko and iro (2001) concerning a portion of land located at ikpokwo in imo state stands as stare decisis against the custom denying a woman the right to give evidence concerning a land issue. iv. the same applies in the case between nzekwu and others versus nzekwu and others (1989), and lawal osula versus lawal osula (1993, part.274, p.158). they subsist as judicial precedents against the disposition of the property of a deceased by his brother while the widow is still alive. v. besides, the case between asika and atuanya (2008, part 1117, p.286) and that between ukeje and ukeje (2014) are stare decisis against the custom denying women the right to inherit their father‘s property. vi. as well, the case between solomon and gbobo (1974) is a precedent against the customary law that permits a husband to divorce his wife whenever he wishes while the wife cannot do the same except with the husband's consent. vii. also, the case between anekwe and another versus nweke (2014) is a judicial precedent against disowning a wife of a deceased on the ground that she had no male child for her husband before his death. viii. finally, the case between okoriko and otobo (1961) is a court ruling, which is an antithesis of the custom requiring the return of presents given to a wife at the point of termination of a marriage. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 75 therefore, when one places the cultural practices already discussed, vis-à-vis the fundamental rights of women, it is evident that the practices are nothing but blatant violations of the essential rights of women. for instance, woman-woman marriage threatens the right of the wife to choose the man to perform the reproductive role. the husband-woman often influences her choice. resultantly, this repeatedly brews an uneasy calm between husband-woman and her wife. such may graduate into open conflict in which case what was thought to assuage the humiliation of the husband-wife now turns out to be her nightmare and ruin. at the same time, custom denying a woman the right to give evidence on land issues interferes with her right to a fair hearing. likewise, custom denying them the right to inherit their father‘s property infringes on their property right. similarly, a custom that allows a husband to divorce his wife at will and which at the same time denies the wife the right to do so except with the consent of the husband is obnoxious. such is a threat to the human dignity of women. the same applies to unhealthy widowhood practices, early marriages, female genital mutilation, and preference of a male child to a female child. 2. depersonalization and functionalization of women one of the essential qualities of the cultural practices discussed above is that they depersonalize women. each of them reduces women to a "thing," a simple property of a man which he can dispose of at will. the practices do not see women as fully-fledged human beings that are subject to respect. instead, they reduce them to an object, rather than persons. for instance, to mourn for one's husband is not something negative. it is consistent with the universal human feelings for the deceased members of one's family. expressing this mournful attitude in particular symbolic manner is also not wrong. it reveals the depth of the mourner's concern for the dead. nevertheless, when people use mourning as an instrument of oppression, it loses its positive connotations. besides, the cultural practices functionalize women. they regard them as a means to an end and not as ends in themselves. consequently, their stay in a family is dependent on their practical value. once they are considered as of little or no value, they can be shown the way out using a divorce. however, women, just like men, are human beings. like men, they deserve every respect due to human beings. thus, kant (1785) argued that"…man and generally any rational being exists as an end in himself, not merely as a means to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 76 be arbitrarily used by this or that will, but in all his actions, whether they concern himself or other rational beings, must always be regarded at the same time as an end‖ (4:428, p.185). so, no one should depersonalize or use them as mere tools. such amounts to an abuse of their dignity as individuals of inviolable rights. again what makes a human being is not, per se, the practical value he/she has here and now. one can be very productive in specific areas and at a particular time. however, at other times his/her level of productivity may either improve or depreciate. that does not alter or destroy his/her personhood. such a one remains a subject of respect just like every other human being. what makes an individual a human being is more than the physical appearance of the person in question. today, through the instrumentality of scientific engineering, it is possible to create robots that can perform almost all that human beings can do. nevertheless, that does not make them human beings. although they can, in some cases, outperform human beings in terms of efficiency, yet they are not "naturally capable of self perfective immanent activity." (donceel, 1967, p.42). they lack self-consciousness (oladele balogun, 1994/95, p.26), cannot originate new ideas, and a new hypothesis for testing (omoregbe 2006, p.52). so, they lack the ability to self-animation and self-repair in their activity. unlike a machine, the human being has unbounded potentialities. that is why mondin (1991) described man as an "impossible possibility" [p.20]. as well, mondin called man "…a possible possibility inasmuch as he is able to be realized in the arc of historical existence" [p.20]. the human being is a tissue of possibility as he/she is an embodiment of "a-yet" and "not-yet." now and always, humans carry with them mapped and unmapped regions of their beings. there is always an aspect of them that are part of the collective knowledge about them. there is equally an aspect that, though they are real, is also enshrouded in mystery. the igbo term that captures this aptly is madu dị ogbu (human being is inexhaustible). no one can exhaust the depth of any human being. that is so thanks to the inexhaustible nature of god. as every reality in a way replicates some of the qualities of its maker or creator, so do human beings share in some of the attributes of god. hence, as god is amama amacha amacha (a being not wholly comprehensible), likewise, is a human being. therefore, to depersonalize and functionalize any human being is not in tandem with the fundamental nature in which all share man and woman alike. all are human beings. there may be a variation in the role each plays, yet all possess the same fundamental human attributes. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 77 3. engendering of psycho-social/moral wreck woman-woman marriage often leaves the people involved in it with moral, social, psychological, and medical crises. such is the case given the fact that even though such marriage is permitted in some cultures in the southeast, yet many in these cultures consider it is morally degrading. what captures this aptly is the igbo maxim: okereke nwanyị dị ntị njọ (it is not palatable to the ear to hear of a man answering a woman's name as his surname). such immediately unveils the kind of aversion some people have for such marriage in the southeast, the fact that it is permissible, customarily speaking, notwithstanding. any woman who finds herself in this kind of marriage, given the denigration above, is certain to experience moral, social, and psychological disequilibrium. again, the above system of marriage exposes women to infections as they are prone to sexual relationships with multiple male sexual partners. in that case, it is a threat to their fundamental right to life and human dignity. equally, on the side of children, as the choice of who plays male reproductive role depends on the choice of either the husband-woman or the wife, in many cases, the children are of different fathers. such can give rise to war within a family, resulting in a lack of peace and mutual coexistence. the children born out of such a process often lack paternal care as no man can boldly take such responsibility in the said family as a result of the social stigma that goes with such behaviour. consequently, a marriage contracted between two women leaves the children with social and psychological stigma, with their attendant inferiority complex. it also raises moral questions about the children as some consider them as products of promiscuous parents. such is the case because no responsible man would leave his family to go and begin to concentrate on another person's family, playing a fatherly role to the detriment of his own family. ascriptions such as agafu, uhuogiri (wayward), onye na agba na ama (harlot) are mostly used of such men to show the moral degradation of such practice. so, children got through that process are often considered as potential flirts, and so, not marriage-worthy given their background as couched in the maxim agwọ anaghị ahapụ imu ihe dị ogologo. (a snake must beget something long). likewise, such marriage leads to breakages in the family of the men who play the male reproductive role. often it brings ridicule to his wife and children. his children are also viewed from the same prism as those of the husband-woman, especially in terms of moral probity and marriage-worthiness. marriage to a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 78 deceased person and polygamy portend the same negative implications as the case of that contracted between two women. recommendations the study makes the following recommendation: a. it is significant to ascertain the validity of cultural practices with the repugnancy test. with this test, the courts are in a position to disallow any customary law that is repugnant to natural justice, equity, and good conscience. b. besides, it is crucial to use media to ensure a positive paradigm shift in the audience perception of these cultural practices via: i. priming that is, publishing the cultural practices so much as to achieve a paradigm shift in the criterion the audience use in assessing them. ii. framing that is, publishing some of the contents of the cultural practices in such a way that their meanings are more evident than others. iii. agenda-setting that is, publishing the cultural practices to influence what people think about them. c. as well, the media should report issues of cultural threat against women using such other means like drama, soap-opera, short plays, to name but a few. d. it is essential to organize more philosophical debates to accentuate the obnoxiousness of these cultural practices further. conclusion culture is an essential ingredient of every society. there is no society without culture. it is one of the marks of identity of each society. it holds sway in every aspect of people's lives. likewise, in southeast nigeria, there is no gainsaying that culture is very vital for the mutual coexistence of the citizens. however, it is also indubitable that there are issues relating to a culture that is inimical to women and so needs purification. often, some people use these harmful cultural practices to depersonalize, and, ipso facto, marginalize women. as a remedial measure, emphasis on the fundamental human right is sure to place women in proper perspectives vis-à-vis men. references african (banjul) charter on human and peoples' rights (adopted 27 june 1981, oau doc. cab/leg/67/3 rev. 5, 21 i.l.m. 58 (1982), entered into force 21 october 1986). retrieved from igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 79 http://www.achpr.org/files/instruments/achpr/banjul_charter. retrieved on 2019-05-11. anekwe, o & anor versus nweke, m. (2014). law pavilion electronic law report (lpelr) 22697 (sc), asika v atuanya (2008) 17 nigeria weekly law report (nwlr) attoh n. r (2015/2016), repugnancy test of customary law. available at: retrieved from https://www.educationalresourceproviders.com/. balogun, o. (1994/95.). "can machine be equated with men?" nigerian journal of philosophy, vol. 14. nos. 192. bennett t.w (2004), customary law in south africa. lansdowne: juta. bronstein v (1998), "reconceptualizing the customary law debate in south africa," south african journal of human rights, 14(3):388-410. charter of the united nations and statute of the international court of justice, san francisco, (19450. retrieved from https://treaties.un.org/doc/publication/ctc/uncharter.pdf. donceel, (1967). philosophical anthropology, kansas: sheed and ward. dworkin r. m. (1977). "is law a system of rules?" in dworkin r. m (ed), the philosophy of law, oxford university press. egbue, n.g. (2005). culture issues women's human rights among the igbos of southern nigeria: appraisal of their implications to women development. international journal of forum for african women educationalist in nigeria, 1(3): 56-68. eliminating female genital mutilation: an interagency statement by unaids, undp, uneca, unesco, unfpa, unhchr, unhcr, unicef, unifem, who (2008). retrieved from https://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/csw52/statements_miss ions/ gender, women, and the tobacco epidemic: 12.women's rights and international agreements. helen odigie v. iyere aika. (1985). national conference of black lawyers (nbcl) 51. igwe, o. w. & ogolo, m. d. (2017). repugnancy test and customary criminal law in nigeria: a time for re-assessing content and relevance. donnish journal of law and conflict resolution, 3(3), 035-039. retrieved from http://www.donnishjournals.org/djlcr. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 80 ihechu, i. p., okugo, c. u. & onwukwe, c. d. (2015). social media, instant messengers and the nigerian student: implications for productive tertiary learning. review of communication and media studies. 1(2):10-18. ihechu p. et al. (2017). "media coverage and framing of cultural practices that target nigerian women." covenant journal of communication (cjoc) vol. 4 no. 2, dec, 201. retrieved from https://journals.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/index.php/cjoc/. international covenant on economic, social and cultural rights. new york, ny, united nations, 1966. kant, immanuel (1785). "fundamental principles of the metaphysics of morals, trans. by thomas k. abbott, in wood, allen, w.,( ed), basic writings of kant, new york: modern library, 2001. lawal osula v lawal osula (1993). 3 nigeria weekly law report part.274, p.158. mcquail, d. (2010). mcquail's communication theory (6th ed). london: sage. meribe v egwu (1979) 3 supreme court 23. mojekwu v ejikeme (2000) 5 nigeria weekly law report 402 mondin, battista. (1991). philosophical anthropology, rome: urbaniana univ. press. mqeke, r. b. (2003). customary law and the new millennium, alice: lovedale press. nigeria. supreme court, journal of family law. 1991; 29(2):402-3. nwaechefu, h. (2017). "the subjection of customary laws to repugnancy tests by nigerian courts; the need to broaden the horizon," international journal of law, 3(6), 70-74. retrieved from http://m.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/. nzekwu, u. v others v nzekwu and others. (1989). 2 nigeria weekly law report (part 104) 373. odimegwu, c. o. (2001). couple formation and domestic violence among the tiv of benue state, nigeria. paper presented at the international colloquium on gender, population and development in africa organised by uaps, ined, ensea, iford, abidjan: 1621 july ofie-aboagye, r.o. (1994). domestic violence in ghana: an initial step. colum j gender law, 4(1): 1-25. ojukwu v agupusi. (2014). 21 weekly report of nigeria (wrn). okonkwo v okagbue. (1994). 9 nigeria weekly law report okoriko v otobo. (1961). western nigeria law report (wnlr) platform for action, the united nations fourth world conference on women, 1995. new york, ny, united nations. retrieved from igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 81 http://www.un.org/ womenwatch/daw/beijing/platform/poverty.htm. omoregbe, joseph. (2006). philosophy of mind, an introduction to philosophical psychology, lagos: joja press limited. repugnancy-test-of-validity-of-customary-law.pdf. retrieved from https://www.educationalresourceproviders.com/wp-content. reychler, l & jacobs, m. (2004). limits to violence, leuven: centre for peace research and strategic studies. rivera-izabal, l.m. (1995). women's legal knowledge: a case study of mexican urban dwellers. gender development, 3(2), 43-48. solomon v gbobo .(1974). 2 rgnul student law review (rslr) 30 taiwo, e. a. (2009). repugnancy clause and its impact on customary law: comparing the south african and nigerian positionssome lessons for nigeria. journal of juridical studies, 34(1). ukeje, l. c v ukeje, g. a (2014), law pavilion electronic law report (lpelr) 22724 (supreme court). uko v iro. (2001). 17 weekly report of nigeria (wrn) 172 united nations convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women. new york, ny, united nations, 1979. retrieved from https://www.ohchr.org/documents/professionalinterest/cedaw. united nations declaration on the elimination of violence against women. new york, ny, united nations, 1993. united nations convention on the rights of the child. new york, ny, united nations, 1995. universal declaration of human rights. new york, ny, united nations, 1948. retrieved from https://www.ohchr.org/en/udhr/documents/udhr_translati ons/eng. igwebuike ideology and martin buber’s i-thou theory: towards a model for authentic existence igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 179 igwebuike ideology and martin buber’s ithou theory: towards a model for authentic existence ejikemeuwa j. o. ndubisi, phd department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, nigeria ejikon4u@yahoo.com executive summary our contemporary society is such that emphasizes individualism. there is less emphasis on interpersonal relationship. many people tend to live and behave as though they do not need the other. today, there is high rate of frustration, hopelessness, suicide actions and rejections among the young and the old. in this regard, this paper burdens itself with a phenomenological inquiry into the existential problem of human interaction. it states that both igwebuike ideology and the i – thou theory are geared towards an authentic human existence. this study argues that the human person can only authenticate his/her existence as a social being when he/she collaborates with the other in a relationship that is hinged on openness, reciprocity, trust, sincerity, truth, mutuality, respect for the other, justice, among others. it, therefore, submits that the overemphasis on the ‘i’ cannot bring about an authentic human existence and, as such, our contemporary society needs to understand and appreciate this model for an authentic human existence as derived from the igwebuike ideology and buber’s i – thou theory. keywords: igwebuike ideology, kanu, i-thou, buber, human relation ejikemeuwa j. o. ndubisi, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 180 introduction experience has shown that the issue of interpersonal relationship has been the concern of many philosophers and thinkers. philosophers, such as aristotle, aquinas, kierkegaard, gabriel marcel, heidegger, levinas, nietzsche, ozumba, nyerere, among others, have written volumes on human relationship. one thing that is clear in the submissions of most philosophers and thinkers mentioned above is that the human person is a being that cannot but interact with others; the human person is a relational being. emphasizing the importance of human relationship, aristotle (1953) argued that it is not possible for a human person to live without friends (p. 258). this explains the existential fact that the human person is a social being. existentialists affirm that the human person is a being-with-others. the nature of the human person is that of relationship with the other. one cannot actually see one’s face without the aid of a mirror; and as such, it can be said that one cannot actually know oneself or discover oneself fully without the other. in the view of kaitholil (2001), a human being is said to be more human when he interacts with others (p. 13). the implication here is that without interaction, a particular human person becomes less human. in our contemporary society, experience has shown that there is much emphasis on individualism. some people tend to believe that they are comfortable without relating with others. this, among others, has constituted a serious threat to the essential aspect of the human person as a being-with-others. today, suicide is on the increase; family relation is being crushed; frustration and hopelessness have become the order of the day. the pertinent question now is: how can a human person live a meaningful life without interacting or relating with others? in an attempt to address this and other related questions, this study is set to phenomenologically analyze the igwebuike ideology from igbo-african perspective, especially as championed by professor kanu, and also buber’s theory of i-thou relationship. the paper begins with a basic understanding of the igwebuike ideology and a igwebuike ideology and martin buber’s i-thou theory: towards a model for authentic existence igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 181 brief exposition of buber’s i–thou theory. it further presents the igwebuike ideolog and the i–thou theory as a model for an authentic human existence in our contemporary society, and thereafter ends with a conclusion. the understanding of the igwebuike ideology the power of effectively pulling forces together to achieve a common goal cannot be undermined or overemphasized. there is always stronger and unquenchable strength in unity. the igbo adage has it that a single broom can easily be broken, but when they are united as a bundle of broom, it then becomes very difficult, if not impossible, to break. this understanding is the brain behind the igbo-african ideology of igwebuike. the notion of igwebuike hinges on the existential fact that ‘united we stand, but divided we fall’. ndubisi (2019) opines that igwebuike is an all-embracing ideology and as such, it “captures the philosophical, religious, political, economic and social life of the african people” (p.142). as a concept, igwebuike is derived from three igbo words: igwe bu ike. this igbo expression can be understood as ‘strength in number’, strength in many’ or ‘power in multitude’. in this regard, one can say that igwebuike has to do with synergy in human relationship. it is important to note at this point that the contemporary understanding and usage of igwebuike in african discourse was popularized by professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, a renowned contemporary african scholar. kanu (2016a) explains that “when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force. at this level, no task is beyond their collaborative capacity” (p.3). the point here is that igwebuike, as an ideology, underscores the existential reality that a part can never be bigger than a whole. it hinges on the need for a cordial interrelationship and interaction among human beings. kanu (2016a) further explains: as an ideology, igwebuike rests on the african principles of solidarity and complementarity. it argues that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity and to live outside that ejikemeuwa j. o. ndubisi, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 182 parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is ‘to be with the other’ in a community of beings. this is based on the african philosophy of harmony and complementarity, which is the underlying principle and unity of african traditional religious and philosophical experience (p. 3). the above citation amplifies the understanding of igwebuike as an ideology. one thing to note here is that igwebuike is an ideology of togetherness; it is an ideology that tends to unite the views and ingenuity of people to achieve a common goal. igwebuike is a philosophy of complementarity and solidarity. experience has shown that every human person needs the other in order to survive or to make meaning in life. kanu, as cited in ogbaki (2019), avers that igwebuike has to do with sharing. he relates: igwebuike as a complementary philosophy understands life as a shared reality. and it is only within the context of complementarity that life makes meaning. life is a life of sharedness. one in which another is part thereof. a relationship, though of separate and separated entities or individuals but with a joining of the same whole. it is a relationship in which case the two or more coming together make each a complete whole; it is a diversity of being one with the other … if the other is my part or a piece of me, it means that i need him for me to be complete, for me to be what i really am. the other completes rather than diminishes me. his language and culture make my own stand out and at the same time, they enrich and complement my own (kanu as cited in ogbaki, 2019, p. 170). the above reflection pictures the existential and complementary nature of igwebuike. the ideology presupposes that no one is actually complete without the other. in a musical parlance, it is said that a particular music is melodious when all the musical instruments and voices are harmonized together. without the harmonization of the instruments and voices, it will be very difficult to perceive the melody igwebuike ideology and martin buber’s i-thou theory: towards a model for authentic existence igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 183 of the particular music. one thing we must note is that “kanu’s perception of igwebuike is such that is all-embracing: it is a philosophy of inclusiveness” (ndubisi, 2019, p 143). in this regard, kanu affirms that igwebuike, as an ideology, is the igbo-african search for meaning in all spheres of life (kanu 2016b, p.5; kanu 2017, p. 9). the igbo-african, in particular, and the human person, in general, can only find meaning in life through the proper understanding and application of the igwebuike ideology. for sure, no man is an island. the igwebuike ideology, as understood and championed by kanu, sees complementarity as the fundamental requirement for human existence. for one “to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation” (kanu 2016a, p.3). it, therefore, follows that the authentic human existence can be understood and achieved in the other. aliba (2019) corroborates: “in igwebuike, co-relating with each other is an essential part of survival because it aids mutual understanding and co-existence. this gives the idea that whatever happens to an individual person affects the community” (p. 163). onebunne (2019) relates the igwebuike ideology to belongingness. he argues that igwebuike ideology is expressed in the philosophy of belongingness. every human person belongs to each other; every human person depends on the other in order to survive. he strongly argues that it is the “experience of life that gave recourse to the idea of complementarity as a measure to survive the challenges posed by other vicissitudes of life. inter-dependence, inter-relationship, collectivism and mutual coexistence form the basis for igbo life pattern as expressed in igwebuike and belongingness: the metaphysics of effective communal relationship” (p. 71). one thing that is clear is that the igwebuike ideology is at the heart of igbo-african understanding of reality; it explains how the igboafrican relates to reality within and around him. it can be seen as the totality of african pphilosophy, religion and socio-political experiences. ejikemeuwa j. o. ndubisi, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 184 following the nature of this study and also having given the basic understanding of the igwebuike ideology, the next subtopic shall focus on martin buber’s theory of i-thou relationship. i – thou theory in martin buber: a brief exposé it was in 1923 that martin buber wrote his famous essay, ich und du (i and thou). it is in this work that he expressed his doctrine of i– thou relation as the mode of human existence. buber explained that there are two modes of encountering the world, namely, i–thou and i–it. he used these two modes to explain interpersonal relationship in the world. one can relate to things in the world as either persons (thou) or as objects (it) (buber, 1958; buber, 1968; buber, 1970). the understanding of the i–thou relationship, according to buber as cited in okonkwo (2014), is that of “a relationship of mutuality, openness, recognition, directness, reciprocity and above all presence. it is a relationship in which the whole being of an individual is engaged in an unassuming relationship with the other” (p.21). one important thing to note about buber’s notion of i–thou is that it is essentially a relationship of mutuality. it is such a relationship where mutual relationship among human beings is enthroned. in this type of relationship, the particular human person only discovers himself/herself f not in relation to himself/herself, but in relation to others. this, for buber, is possible when individualism is removed and mutuality is emphasized. more so, buber maintained that the i–thou relation is possible in an atmosphere of openness. both the ‘i’ and the ‘thou’ must be open to each other. the fact is that the other can only exist for me, and i exist for the other when there is openness. this type of openness is devoid of deception. buber remarked that the i–thou relation is devoid of any prejudice or pre-conceived ideas. any form of prejudice, according to buber, constitutes a barrier to i–thou relation (buber, 1958, p. 11). another important element in i–thou relation, as conceived by buber, is reciprocity. this understanding entails a mutual response of individuals to the actions of the other. there is no intention igwebuike ideology and martin buber’s i-thou theory: towards a model for authentic existence igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 185 whatsoever of individual in i–thou relationship to gain from the other. as soon as a person sets goals or objectives to be achieved prior to the relationship, there can be no mutuality because one’s intention in the relationship would be to realize an objective which is very often at the expense of the other. in this regard, i–thou is seen as mutual relationship and not a parasitic or exploitative type of relationship (buber, 1970, p.115). it is important to note that buber’s strong position is that no one can be fully human without experiencing the other, the world around him/her and also god. it follows that these tripartite expressions constitute, for buber, the essential elements for one to be fully human and to experience an authentic existence. furthermore, another important thing to note in buber’s position is that the doctrine of i– thou is not only related to other human beings alone; it also relates to things (iit) and the eternal thou (god). this means that the particular human person can find meaning in life as he/she relates with other human beings, the environment and god. buber argues that i–it relationship is very essential as it helps the human person to develop and accumulate knowledge. he explains: “the primary relation of man to the world of it is comprised in experiencing, which continually reconstitutes the world, and using, which leads the world to its manifold aim, the sustaining, relieving and equipping of human life” (buber, 1958, p. 38). as the individual relates with the thou and the it, there remains the third party, which buber called the eternal thou (god). it is the relationship with the eternal thou that helps to authenticate one’s existence. in sum, buber’s relational mode for authentic existence is manifested in a triad relation: i–thou, i–it and i–eternal thou. this is a kind of existential relationship that is required for a harmonious interpersonal relationship (koyeli and roy, 2002, p. 192). igwebuike ideology and buber’s i–thou theory: a model for authentic existence so far, we have been able to discuss the igwebuike ideology as propounded by kanu and also presented a highlight of buber’s i–thou ejikemeuwa j. o. ndubisi, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 186 theory. one thing that is clear is that both the igwebuike ideology and the i–thou theory are geared towards an authentic human existence. the human person can only authenticate his/her existence as a social being when he/she collaborates with the other. the overemphasis on the ‘i’ cannot bring about an authentic existence. the human person, in the light of this study, is required to move beyond the ‘i’ in order to have meaningful relationship with the other. it is in a relationship with the other that life can be said to be meaningful to an individual person. this explains the reason this present study argues that both the igwebuike ideology and buber’s i–thou theory can be seen as a model for an authentic human existence, especially in our contemporary society that is carried away by individualism and scientism. it is an existential truism that no human person or anything at all can be said to be absolutely useless. and so, a particular individual can gain from another individual when they engage in a relationship. as a model for an authentic human existence, it means that the igwebuike ideology and the i–thou theory emphasize the essential character of complementarity. in a society such as nigeria, it should be noted that all of us need the other in order to experience an authentic human existence as nigerians. there is something in an igbo person that the hausa person needs; there is also something in the yoruba person that the tiv person or the fulani person needs. this is an existential fact! no person, tribe or nation can exist in isolation; there is always the need for complementarity. one important thing to note is that the emphasis on igwebuike and/or buber’s i–thou theory does not in any way negate individual differences, choices and interests. it means that individuals in a relationship have to work together to achieve a common goal. without working to achieve a common goal, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to achieve anything or derive meaning in life. uzukwu (2019) discusses the importance of the igwebuike ideology, thus: “the social, economic, political, religious, physical and gender differences of the members [of a particular society] are important for the varieties igwebuike ideology and martin buber’s i-thou theory: towards a model for authentic existence igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 187 of contributions and as well as the proportionate strength of the group” (p. 145). the implication of uzukwu’s position is that the strength of economic growth, peaceful coexistence, political stability, etc., that is observed in a particular society is highly dependent on the level of synergy or collaboration experienced in that particular society. conclusion the igwebuike ideology and buber’s i–thou theory constitute, in the view of this study, a model for an authentic existence. no one can claim to live for oneself alone. there is no way an individual’s history can be written without reference to the ‘thou’. authentic existence implies living in solidarity, collaboration, synergy and complementarity with other human beings. there is always the essential need to foster a common ground for human relationship. as aliba (2019) avers: “human association remains an inalienable aspect of our human nature. the human person as a being, is not independent, but rather needs the other to foster his own existence” (p.163). the fact is that human relationship is inevitable and very essential for an authentic human existence. this relationship, to achieve its goal, in the light of the igwebuike ideology and buber’s i–thou theory, should be hinged on openness, reciprocity, trust, sincerity, truth, mutuality, respect for the other, justice, among others. it should be devoid of deceit, bias, inferiority or superiority complex, objectifying the other, using the other simply as a means to an end and not as an end in itself, etc. our contemporary society needs to understand and appreciate this model for authentic human existence as derived from the igwebuike ideology and buber’s i–thou theory. references aliba, s. i. (2019). “a comparative study of igwebuike philosophy and ujamaa: towards a common brotherhood”. journal of african studies and sustainable development, vol. 2, no. 4. pp. 156165. ejikemeuwa j. o. ndubisi, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 188 aristotle (1953). the nichomachean ethics. j. a. k. thomson, trans. london: george allen and unwin. buber, m. (1958). i – thou. g. r. smith, trans. new york: charles scribers buber, m. (1968). between man and man. london: collins buber, m. (1970). a believing humanism: my testament. new york: simon and schuster kaitholil, g. (2010). communion in community: a renewal programme for religious, 6 th ed. mumbai: st. pauls kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and the question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 3, no. 1. pp. 9 – 18. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2, no. 1. pp. 1-6. kanu, i. a. (2016b). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 1 – 9 kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at igwebuike ideology and martin buber’s i-thou theory: towards a model for authentic existence igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 189 the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. koyeli, c. and roy, a. (2002). interpersonal relationship and human dignity. indian philosophical quarterly, 29. pp. 2 – 13. ndubisi, e. j. o. (2019). “igwebuike philosophy in i. a. kanu visà-vis the validity of truth-claim in african epistemology”. journal of african studies and sustainable development, vol. 2, no. 3. pp. 141147. ogbaki, p. e. (2019). nigeria and the debate of leadership and good governance: perspectives from igwebuike philosophy”. in e. j. o. ndubisi, a. a. ichaba and j. nnoruga (eds.). igwebuike philosophy: an african ejikemeuwa j. o. ndubisi, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 190 philosophy of integrative humanism: a book of readings in honour of professor kanu, ikechukwu anthony. bloomington, usa: author house. pp. 154 – 208. okonkwo, i. e. (2014). “i -thou relationship in martin buber’s existentialism: a critical analysis”. (unpublished project, department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya). onebunne, j. i. (2019). “igwebuike: an african metaphysics of communal strength” in j. i. onebunne, p. t. haaga and e. j. o. ndubisi (eds.). igwebuike ontology: an african philosophy of humanity towards the other: papers in honour of professor kanu, ikechukwu anthony, osa. bloomington, usa: author house. pp. 63 – 81. uzukwu, g. n. (2019). “igwebuike as an african expression of the pauline theology of collaboration in mission”. journal of african studies and sustainable development, vol. 2, no. 4. pp. 141155. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 107 igwebuike philosophy and the dread of diversity: resolving the conflict of the sameness – difference bias. uwaezuoke, charles chinazaekpere department of philosophy st. thomas aquinas‘ major seminary, makurdi, benue state charlieuwa@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.28703.51361 abstract a cursory glance at the different epochs in the history of mankind will reveal the idea that human history has always been saturated with an obvious dread for diversity. one would normally think that we often stick together with others like us, and exclude others whose difference provokes antipathy towards them. however, if you look at some of the fiercest and bloodiest rivalries in history, what is sticking is not how different the opposing groups are, but how similar. sure, they often hold different beliefs, but they live as neighbours, share ancestry, and hold similar customs. indeed, what many fail to acknowledge is that, consciously, we exclude others who are different, but unconsciously, we hate sameness, and avoid it by creating delusional differences. over the years, nigeria as a multi-ethnic and culturally diverse society, has witnessed several conflicts arising from this same ethnic and cultural diversity. ideally, one would expect that since nigeria is a society where the ideals of federalism and constitutionalism are still in transition, it should override all ethnic, tribal or religious clashes. but it seems rather, that these factors have become dominant in weakening and dividing our country. how did we get to this point? i will argue that our diversity is failing because we have entrenched among us, the various dominating ideas of sameness. i will insist that antipathy is more rooted in sameness than in difference, and i will also employ the idea of a more complementary approach that brings together the ideas of sameness and difference, and integrates them into a unified diversity. keywords: sameness, difference, diversity, conflict, ethnicity, complementarity. introduction anyone who has come across lois lowry‘s book, the giver (1993), will appreciate the dept at which she showed how the government, in the bid to achieve total control over everyone and everything, eliminated every bit of difference and enforced a particular lifestyle on everyone. they made the people believe that the idea of ‗climate control‘ was the best possible means to achieve mailto:charlieuwa@yahoo.com https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.28703.51361?_sg%5b0%5d=mrxx0w1c49be1vvaby9sn1visj8exrdfdkdhxkedoo6bhkgz_vsgm7zxtpsm1bbd9vacl03zftbv5sxb8mj0cpzzea.olygo13oqi-taoioogrxxp6paj18kpkjm5do-foocpgd9pr73wlghn7ywnzeww5tyzq54r6cady4ozqm5syfmg igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 108 this and so they made away with snow, weather, hills, trucks, buses, etc. because the reality of it made life difficult. meanwhile, the interesting thing about this fictional experience is how it translates to nigeria‘s pluralistic societal challenges. unfortunately, ours have been an overrated struggle with managing diversity, especially when you consider the many ethnic and religious conflicts that are weakening the integrity of our nation. at least 62 identity-based conflicts have taken place within the last decade, with 22 incidents recorded in 2004 alone. in some northern states, we see the realities of the ‗indigene-settler‘ disputes with replicated cases in some parts of plateau, kano, bauchi, and adamawa states; as reported through various judicial commissions of inquiry set up between 1994 and 2014 (emelonye 2017). not to mention the heinous scourge of terrorism in the north generally (especially the north-earthen states) and the recent killings by the fulani herd‘s men militia. while, i may likely use nigeria as my point of reference in discussing the menaces of ethnic clashes, it is important to note that this is not exclusively ‗nigerian‘ but a human struggle with its identity. from the global context, we see many cases of entrenched tribal hostility between neighbours: in the western highlands of papua new guinea; between the nuer and dinka in the sudan; between hutus and tutsis in rwanda; in the holocaust, which aimed to expunge all european jews, including those who were german (figlio 2000). there is also that which exist between the english and the scots; the serbs and the croats; the sunnis and the shiites. all of these cases, when properly examined, are often measures to replicate the idea of sameness; the idea of dominance, to be in total control. however, while it is important to understand why these cases of sameness exit within our society, my primary concern is to show how the various manifestations of sameness is quite responsible for our present crisis, and the possible ways it can be corrected. the sameness-difference bias the concepts of sameness and difference have been with man from time immemorial, and it has often been used to identify two kinds of reality: the quality of being alike and that quality that distinguishes or separates a being from another. in a broader sense, the idea of sameness could refer to having total control over everything in order to make it the ‗same. according to uwaezuoke charles (2017), it could also be described as any reality that promotes itself at the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 109 expense of other realities. like the promotion of one‘s language, tribe, polices, religion, culture, etc. over and above the rest. however, what is fascinating about the sameness-difference bias is that its reality has been with us since the ancient greeks. according to hope a. olson (2006), before plato and aristotle, parmenides proposed the notion that any given thing either is or is not. it exists or does not exist. aristotle, then, applied the notion of being or not being as something being or not being part of a category. so something either belongs to category x because it is in some way the same as other things in category x, or it does not belong because it is different. thus, sameness becomes the privileged factor in this pair since x defines sameness, while difference is defined negatively as not-x (115). if you understand the analysis, you would understand why we often prefer to stick together with those like us, and exclude others whose differences provoke resentment. thereby, associating the idea of difference with a negative connotation, and consciously holding to the notion that the idea of being different is bad, threatening and unhealthy for harmonious coexistence. and so instead of being accepted, the idea of difference is often dreaded; that is, whatever is not like us is against us (uwaezuoke 2017). sameness as response already, it is an established reality that our nation has been plagued with a lot of crisis over religious and cultural diversity, but the civil war was a unique experience. the civil war broke out as a result of poor and selfish leadership, and the implication was that for the first time in our national history, the reality of sameness was created. in responding to this, uwaezuoke (2017) argues that: this reality of sameness was seen in the tussle for dominance among our regional leaders and in the biafran secession (which, according to him, was not much of a choice). however, the biafran secession is quite significant to the idea of sameness as response, because it was essentially a response to guard against the ill-actions of a compromised leadership. and this is why i make relation to the civil war because the realities that led to the war are foundational to our current crisis. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 110 therefore, this is basically what we learn from the civil war and other related cases of insurgency and uprising that sameness is often conceived out of a response or reaction to the inability of leadership to manage diversity or differences, with the intent for self-preservation. even though, they are some whose intents are for exploitative purposes. fundamentally, however, we need to commit to equity if we are really serious about managing diversity. for it is only in the absence of this, can the idea of sameness become the most appealing option. let us not take this for granted, or we might be forced to believe that, ―to be with our kind is safer; and since we cannot dwell peacefully together, then we better seek separate paths‖ (uwaezuoke 2017). sameness as dominance apart from the idea of sameness as response, the idea of sameness could also be manifested as a means for dominance. in his 1930 essay, civilization and its discontents, sigmund freud commented on this reality, noting that it is frequently ―communities with adjoining territories, and related to each other in other ways as well, who engaged in constant feuds and in ridiculing each other.‖ elsewhere, he notes that the phenomenon is not limited to ethnic or religious peoples either: ―every time two families become connected by marriage, each of them thinks itself superior to or of better birth than the other. of two neighouring towns, each is the other‘s most jealous rival; every little canton looks down upon the others with contempt.‖ so what accounts for the peculiar hostility between groups of people that are in many ways quite alike? according to brett and kate mckay (2015), freud chalked it up to the innate human proclivity for aggression and the desire for distinct identity. to see one‘s neighours reflect and mirror oneself too much threatens a person‘s unique sense of self, and superiority. it is consequent on this idea, that freud called this phenomenon ―the narcissism of minor differences.‖ back home, when our leaders engage in power tussles in order to be in total control, the reality of sameness as dominance is expressed, and this has been very much responsible for the various agitations for secessionism, tribalism, denominationalism, racism, etc. like the government in lois lowry‘s novel, we often choose sameness because we believe that if everything is the same for everyone; same church, same religion, same tribe and same livelihood, that evil will be eliminated and a perfect world will be achieved. and then, when we cannot get people to be of the same religion or the same tribe with us, we quietly do away with such people. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 111 reinterpreting diversity through igwebuike philosophy of complementarity the truth about sameness, however, is that it is an idea that is quite tricky. this is because the more we pursue sameness; the more we discover how different we are. quite recently, i got engaged in a discussion with a friend. and while we spoke, my friend made a very striking comment. he said that even in the midst of the so called tribalism or ethnicity, nigeria is even more divided now than before. according to him, we are divided even to ‗clannish‘ and ‗township‘ levels where it is possible within a particular tribe to find people who still want to identify with their states, local government areas, towns, villages and even families in order to dominate and segregate those who are not of their origin. thus, this is an indication that even when we seek to enforce the idea of sameness at the level of tribalism, we may not truly have the perfect world we had envisioned. and so, what is the way out of this menace? according to innocent i. asouzu (2011), this challenge subsists in the fact that ―the tendency to see the world in a polarised, exclusivist, non-conciliatory mode is something deeply entrenched in our being and consciousness‖ (28). fundamentally, human beings tend to secure their interests first, to which they then tend to negate the interests of others, due to the instinct for selfpreservation, which is inherent in us as human beings. thus, this explains the ‗ambivalent‘ or ‗tension-laden‘ nature of man, and as to why he would prefer the maxim, ‗the nearer the better and the safer‘ (asouzu 2011). kanu (2016), in his complementary philosophy of igwebuike as the modality of being in african philosophy, opines that igwebuike is the path towards resolving the problem of sameness. igwebuike is an igbo word, which is a combination of three words. thus, it can be understood as a word and as a sentence: as a word, it is written thus igwebuike, and as a sentence, it could be written thus igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. let us try to understand the three words involved: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power. thus put together, it means number is strength or number is power (kanu 2017a,b&c). igwebuike philosophy rests on the african principles of solidarity and complementarity. as an ideology, it understands the world immanent realities to be related to one another in the most natural, mutual, harmonious and compatible ways possible (kanu 2015a&b). it provides an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 112 relations. it also argues that ‗to be‘ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation (kanu 2016). thus, just like the nigeria situation, sameness will thrive when we negate the ‗igwebuike‘ idea of solidarity and complementarity, and instead, pursue interests that are selfishly motivated. conclusion in conclusion, the idea of sameness is like a coin with two sides, which will also lead us on the path to extinction. since the more we pursue sameness, the more likely we are to eliminate every bit of difference, and by extension, the whole of humanity. but this whole attractiveness towards sameness can be properly managed and brought under control. hence, the solution to resolving the sameness-difference problem will be by living with our differences; complementing and completing each another. references asouzu, i. i. (2011). ibuanyidanda and the philosophy of essence. calabar: university of calabar press. brett, m., kate m. (2015). the narcissism of minor differencees. a man‘s life devotional. https:/www.artofmaliness.com/article/the-narcissism-ofminor-differences retrieved on june 14th, 2019. emelonye, u. (2017). managing ethnic diversity, not religion is nigeria‟s problem. vanguard media limited. kanu, a. i. (2017a). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 7.[165-183]. kanu, a. i. (2017b). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 1.[9-18]. kanu, a. i. (2017c). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2.[155-160]. kanu, i. a. (2016). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation.. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no. 1 http://www.artofmaliness.com/article/the-narcissism-of-minor-differences http://www.artofmaliness.com/article/the-narcissism-of-minor-differences igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 113 kanu, a. i. (2017a). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 6. [16-50]. kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. augustinian publications. kanu i. a. (2015b). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017c). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. lowry, l. (1993). the giver. boston: houghton mifflin company. olson, h. a. (2006). sameness and difference: a cultural foundation of classification. sigmund, f., (1930). civilization and its discontents. s. e., 21. uwaezuoke c. (2017). sameness, difference and the struggle with managing diversity: a nigerian perspective. makurdi: st. thomas aquinas‘ seminary. igwebuike_6_9_5.cdr 66 the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse hilary ugwu, msw university of oklahoma school of social work norman, usa, hiugwu@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.36016.38405 abstract why are some bible-believers and judeo-christian and islamic scholars so reluctant about investigating extra-biblical facts that contradict existing biblical and theological constructs? the answer is simple! it has to do with the problem of theological dogmatism. webster dictionary denes dogma as “a system of doctrine proclaimed true by a religious sect,” or “principle, belief or idea especially one considered to be absolute truth.” webster equally denes dogmatism as “the expression of an opinion or belief as if it were a fact…” or “a viewpoint or system of ideas based on insufciently examined premises.” dogmatism of any kind inhibits sound scholarly research. there are dogmatist physicists who refuse to abandon some of the outdated theories of einsteinian-type classical physics, even in the face of the triumphant new discoveries in quantum physics. such physicists prefer traditionalism over facts. thus, they have difculties conceptualizing that solidity and individuation of matter within the realm of perceptible physical world is an illusion. this is because the atomic and the subatomic quantum realm operates with the law of pure potentiality or possibility. it is consciousness that brings density into materialization. this fact has been proven by the new research in “double-slit experiment.” in the same way, the dogmatic pharmacological scientist is closed-minded and will not investigate the universal harmonic frequency in order to consider that homeostatic natural foods and herbs are way superior to their big-money-driven allopathic synthetic pills. these pills are not in tune with the human biorhythm and biovibratory frequency. the problem with dogmatism of any kind is that they make laws, ordinances, sanctions, rules, and condemn oppositions. dogmatists often hold the key to certications, and if you don’t agree with them, your certication is frozen. their arrogance and attitude is much like: ‘if you are not with us, you are a heretic and dangerous.’ i am certainly one of those who consider theological dogmatism as inhumane, ungodly and absurd. dogmatism of any kind is counter-research as well as contra-scientic. dogmatists are nothing but ideological bullies as well as intellectual harassers. this is how dogmatism works: first it displays its version of ‘the truth,’ like a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 67 pre-manufactured industrial consumer goods. it calls this version absolute. then, it forces the masses into uncritical consumption of that brand or version. any real or perceived opposition is aggressively and apologetically rejected. ideological dogmatism is a servant-slave to the status-quo. with theological dogmatism, there is no room for a dialectical scrutiny of the structural components of the belief system in question. theological dogmatists are closed-minded religious luddites, with rigid authoritarian worldview. they are ecclesio-theological buffers against critical intellectual and historical searchlights. a dogmatist is insecure and will attack every attempt to throw new light on some old information systems. dogmatism is like a self-preserving narcissistic poltergeist afraid to come out to the sunlight. religious dogmatists, especially, utilize guilt, shame, condemnation, excommunication, ‘sending-to-hell,’ character assassination, intimidation, thuggery as well as doctrinal nazism to create a colonial monopoly of the thought processes of the masses. in theological dogmatism, a point of view is manufactured and imposed as irreducibly infallible wherewith one must swallow or be vilied as a rebel. a typical fanatical dogmatist mindset runs thus: “the bible is the absolute word of god, end of argument, take it or leave it” or “the church says it and you must follow with no questions.” this explains why so many people are not just incapable of looking beyond what is fed to them as ‘truth,’ but are actually afraid to do so. there are those who can decipher the fallacy of biblical chronology but choose to persist in the error of their fallacy. this might be due to delity to statutory ecclesiasticism, cooperate orthodoxy, ritualism, institutional didacticism and mass kerygmatic pentecostal showmanship. to speak the truth often means compromising a position. this work is meant to push the envelope and invoke a critical examination of the established narrative, particularly relative to the mysterious identity and/ or events surrounding the person of moses. keywords: african, biblical, old testament, moses, igwebuike, philosophy, kanu ikechukwu anthony introduction religious and non-religious folks alike study the bible for moral codes of conduct, spiritual guidance, part-time explorative curiosity, scholarly investigation, etc. whichever the case may be, the bible continues to be both a source of simplistic pious inspiration as well as a source of erce controversial pedagogical debate. my intension is to awaken some critical insights and stretch the mind to a new and higher dimension of reasoning and conceptualization. i do not believe for a moment that the bible is a book of absolute historical facts. the bible is more of a compilation of astro-theology, zodiac myths, moral codes, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 68 tribal religious rituals, etc. historical facts in the bible are very minute and highly corrupted when one considers the book in its entirety. both the old and the new testaments are full of manufactured falsehoods, psydo-epigraphical deceptions, intentionally omitted facts, inaccurate dates and so on. in the new testament, for example, ecclesio-patristic regimes created so much intentional forgeries. the brutal repression of the socalled heretics was a form of clampdown of all other facts which the church feared. origen adamantius, also known as origen of alexandria or simply origen, is one of the brightest scholars in the history of christian theology. but, he fell out of favour with the church and he was vilied and refused to be according the title of ‘sainthood,’ despite his undisputed acetic discipline and moral beacon. he was defamed by the claims that he got himself castrated in his quest for purity of the body. this story is probably an ecclesiastical fabrication. what was origen’s error? part of his vilication was very obvious. he spoke the truth. i am currently looking into the reason why so many christian scholars and theologians coming out of africa (alaxandra in egypt) as well as cartage were termed heretics. it has to do with the fact of them being in possession of the original stories from where the new testament derived. the imperial, expansionist, euro-roman church condemned many bright out-of-africa scholars as heretics. the ecclesiastical regime wanted a monopoly of the religious narratives which was achieved not by the free will and superior intellectual debate but by force and brutality. so many large libraries were destroyed by ecclesiastical regimes, especially those of north africa church scholars. many scholars believe that the church would never have defeated gnostic movements, if it was not through military force, because they possessed superior knowledge. reading the account of the gnostic movement from the point of view of the church, one encounters so much propaganda and falsehood. some of the propaganda are funny and absurd. origen linked jesus and the story of his death and resurrection with the preexisting religious sect like that of the dionysian cult. the cult of dionysus preexisted in greece thousands of years before christianity. dionysus’ birth had an annunciation from a divine being, his mother was called the virgin, he was born through immaculate conception, he taught in the temple at the age of twelve, he had twelve disciples, he was crucied on a tree, and he resurrected and is celebrated in paschal mystery with bread and wine. dionysus enjoins his followers to drink his blood and eat his esh to have life— exactly the same doctrinal translations present in the new testament. we must bear in mind that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 69 even the greek dionysus was a copycat of the african/egyptian cult of horus/heru. according to the historian, diodorus, the africans/egyptians mocked the greeks as infantile because when they copied their astro-theology, they made it real history. the egyptian god, set, shetan (satan), for example became the greek god, typhon. if the ancient egyptian priests and philosophers were to come back in our own time, they will mock as absurd so many things that the christians believe today . this is because they would know that the beliefs are mirrors of their ancient astro-theological mythos. the twelve houses of israel were nothing other than the twelve houses of zodiac astrological constellations. it is difcult to prove the actual existence of the twelve tribes of israel. hebrew history scholars are trying to convince us that following the military campaign of the assyrian kings, tiglath-pileser iii (745–727 b.c.e.), shalmaneser v (727–722 b.c.e.) and sargon ii (722–705 b.c.e.), the israelis were permanently deported and from this deportation came the story of the lost tribes. where is the archeological evidence? in the new testament, we see so many sh symbolisms: mathew 4:18-19; mathew14:17-21; mathew 7:9-10; matthew12:40; luke 24:42; john 21-13, and there are many more. the new testament’s allusion to sh connotes zodiac astrology. we were told that jesus fed the people with “two shes.” anyone who investigates astrological houses will know that pieces is the 12th sign. it is symbolized by two sh. two thousand years ago, the sun was in the constellation of pieces. it was called the age of pieces or the age of fish which became esoterically coded in the new testament. we were told that before the feast of passover (this is not actual history), the israelites were asked to slaughter lambs. if egyptians actually lost every rst male child in the last plague, how come they did not record it? how come there were no further records of it by world renounced historians. there is a fragmented piece of archeological document known discovered in egypt called the papyrus ipuwer or the admonitions of ipuwer. many biblical scholars are stating that this is an evidence that the egyptians recorded the famous “hebrew plague.” but in that papyrus, ipuwer who might have been a priest, an ofcial scribe or just a private scribe wrote expressing certain tragedy that took place in the land akin to war tragedy or years of national difculties. it is irresponsible to conclude that this is a sign that the hebrew sadistic blood thirsty tribal deity, yahweh, was the cause. the slaughtering of lambs as hebrew passover even was an astrological symbolism as well. lamb is the symbol of the zodiac sign of aries. it was a ritual igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 70 performed in commemoration of the sun leaving the constellation of aries—that is, passing over to a new zodiac house—that of pieces. it is to mark the ending of an old age and the beginning of a new zodiac era. we also see that jesus was described feeding the people with sh. this description is purely esoteric because at that time, the sun was in pieces constellation. it takes the sun about 25,000 years to complete its procession through the twelve zodiac houses. when the sun moves into a new zodiac constellation house, it affects earth’smagnetosphere. there have been geomagnetic changes recorded in history due to solar procession through the different consolations. new solar frequencies will trigger the human genetic mutations and dna updates and people will evolve. there is no doubt that the sun is the major source of genetic evolution of man. if there is a solar are or solar storm, plasma, solar waves and photons are discharged throughout the space. the earth’s ozonosphere will lter radioactive solar materials but will also permit certain passages throughout planet through different electromagnetic frequencies. it is because we are dumb that we condemn the ancient when they venerate the sun. the sun is an active intelligence and it is what activates the code of dna without this biosphere. the age of pieces is gone. this age was characterized by blind belief systems and rigid religious rituals. with the sun moving into the current aquarius constellation, we will notice changes in the structure of the human society. blind religious belief will decline drastically. people will want to know and not just believe. science, inner reection, self-awareness, liberation from religious dogmas is going to override simplistic will, override religious mass mindcontrols. institutionalism and traditionalism will decline. in the gospel of st. luke 22:10, the pseudo-epigraphical writer(s) made us believe that jesus said the following: (he said to them) “behold, when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. follow him into the house that he enters.” this statement is purely a coded esoteric symbolism, alluding to the sun’s procession through the zodiac houses. remember, from the age (house) of aries, the sun moved to the age (house) of pieces. then the next solar age is the age of aquarius. so jesus was referring to the “aquarius mam.” the word aquarius means “water carrier.” if one researches the symbol of aquarius, it is depicted in all ancient astrological pictographic murals as a man carrying a water pitcher and pouring the water content down. the symbol of the pouring is the “the new spirit’ or dna update or activation. jesus told them to follow this man into his “house.” each zodiac constellation is called by all ancient scripts as “a house.” jesus was esoterically telling them that the great age of pieces in which igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 71 they were in (symbolized by two sh) will soon end after in about 2000 years. he then pointed them to follow the next age, the age of aquarius symbolized in ancient paintings as a man carrying a water jar. in the grand scheme of things, we are currently in the age of aquarius. any astronomical scientist will tell you that the sun is now entering the constellation of aquarius and will remain there for the next 2000 years plus before it moves to the next which is the constellation of sagittarius. this is why the church does not want people to study astrology and they vilify it as occultic or evil to frighten the people. this is because a sound knowledge of astrology will expose so many information hidden from the ordinary people. the term “holy bible” tells it all. it is greek words for “helios byblos” which literarily means “sun book” or the book of the sun. consequently, the book if full of zodiac symbolism, sun worships and the whole compendium of ancient esoteric astrological events. many bible scholars have never known that there were so many other messianic gures that predate the christian doctrinal theology. jesus’ story of annunciation, virgin birth, teaching in the temple at the age of twelve, performing miracle, betrayal, crucixion on a cross and resurrection had the exact repeated pattern of these other historical personages as chronicled in these other sacred texts. who copied from whom? and why are they hiding it from the people and scaring people from nding out? christianity is very new and recent compared to others. there is a lot of historicizing of astro-mythology in the new testament, including the story of jesus. my interest in this work is to awaken a critical discussion on a topic which many apologetic bible scholars shy away from. many bible teachers assume the story of the bible are facts and thus, need no investigation. and, when some actually investigate, they keep to the status quo by subliminally evading the consequences of their research entirely. my sole purpose here is to investigate the african identify of the character identied in the bible as moses. i could not have done this without preparing readers to have at the back of their minds, that a lot of things written in the bible were not facts. there is higher probability that moses, if indeed he existed, was of african bloodline. thus, before accusing me of having an afro-centric view of the bible, take time to investigate thoroughly any evidence that i will be raising herein. knowledge of the great ancient african nile river civilization as one of the major civilizations that shaped humanity’s theological conceptions is important. majority of people who read the bible do igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 72 not have access to extra-biblical material facts or sources to compare with the stories they are reading and believing. thus, a lot of people, including prominent bible teachers, are prone to digesting the bible with acute historiographical, historiological and metaphysical blunders. when religious gaffe translates into metaphysical dogmas, the result could be profound mass delusion. orthodox theological establishment could serve as a fertile ground for mass folie-a-deux as well as anti-fact religious movement. there is need for an authentic epistemocognitive praxeology in the examination of the historical claims of all religious documents. hellenism and the name egypt when reading the bible, one comes across names like egypt and egyptians. another name which is used in the old testament to refer to egypt is mizraim (genesis 10:13). however, the fact remains that the people and the place being referenced to as egypt or the egyptians were africans. these africans did not identify themselves with such names as egypt of egyptians. so, what did the so called egyptians call themselves? before delving into this question, let’s look at what led to foreigners’ re-naming of africa land as egypt. there were historical factors that led to the decline and eventual collapse of the great nile river civilization of egypt (africa). the name ‘egypt’ came as a result of greek invasion. before the greeks invaded, there were the assyrians, the persians, the hyksos, etc. each of these invasions vulturized the black land and its civilization. alexander the great, son of philip of macedon, arrive in africa with his army in 332 b.c. by this period, the land had already been weakened militarily, culturally and economically. the egyptian global inuence had waned. the great african pharaohhood had been compromised. this led to the hellenic foreigners forcing themselves into the pharaohic thrown of the africans beginning in 334 b.c. the rst hellenic coronation introduced a new era called the ptolemy dynasty. greek invaders even started changing the name of the african god and imposing their own version. for instance, they created the cult of oserapis. the image of oserapis would later become the iconic picture of jesus christ painted and kept in homes all over the world—continued imperialism of the mind of the indoeuropean and anglo-american psychological warfare. the ptolomy kings conned the word ‘oserapis’ from eclectically combining two names of egyptian deities, osiris and apis (also known as hapi). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 73 with the greek take over came the re-naming of africans, their lands and their culture. the african city of men-nefer was misnamed by the greek as memphis. this city was where the temple of the god, ptah, resided. ptah was the same creator-god that would later emerge in the hebrew creation myth as the creatordeity of the garden of eden myth. this is a replica of memphite theological construct. the temple of ptah, situated in memphis, was called by the african people of the time “hikuptah,” which could translate as ‘house of the soul of ptah.’ eventually, the greeks started calling the entire city of memphis, aigyptos, which is a mispronounced, hellenized and misunderstood word for hikuptah. it is from aigyptos that we have the name egypt. from calling the city of memphis aigyptos, they proceeded further to apply the name to the entire land. similarly, the greek used to call africans αἰθίοψ, aithiop (ethiop) which meant “burnt face” or black face, a name that now becomes identied specically with ethiopia. due to the re-naming of place and erasing of ancient identities, it is difcult to contextualize history in its purity. we read books and watch movies. we see how anglo-america’s powerful cinematographic mind-controller—the hollywood has produced multiple movies and books in which egyptians and their people are depicted with caucasian or arabic features. i still have to reiterate this fact to many of my nonafrican friends that egypt is in africa. many africans who read the bible are unaware of the level of mind-control they are dealing with. one will be surprised to nd out that majority of bible readers do not know that mount sinai, which was signicant in the story of moses and the exodus, is in africa as well. the name ‘sinai’ has an etymological derivative from the sumerian word sin. sin is a moon deity (natan, 2006). this deity was very popular throughout the mesopotamian region in ancient times. sin is the father of the sun god, shamash. innana is the mother of shamash. inanna took different names in different cultures, such as anat, ishtar, venus, asherah, and astarte, isis and, in the modern time, the virgin mary. all named goddesses are referred to as “the queen of heaven.” the cult of goddesses was a universal occurrence. these goddesses have luna crescent as symbols. many pictures virgin mary have her standing with her feet resting on a crescent moon; the same ancient coded esoteric imagery of the ancient mother goddess. often they are seen carrying a baby or nursing a baby who is the “sun god” or “son of god.” this is why virgin mary is often drawn standing on a crescent moon. so mount sinai is obviously associated with the concept of the mountain of the moon god. sin, with his female companion innana, engendered as son, the sun god shamash. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 74 what did the egyptians call themselves? but what did the africans who established one of the greatest civilizations around the nile river call themselves? they identied themselves with the word kmt or kemet, which means ‘black land,’ indicating the colour of the people who lived there. whether you call it kemet, chem or chemi, they are the same and mean black. the word chemistry is etymologically derived from the ancient african name, chem or kemet. the arabic word kimiya, probably with a greek derivation, means black. it is from this arabic word that the word alchemy comes . alchemy initially was an advanced african ‘magical’ formula of transforming base matter into pure gold. the term ‘black magic’ is used today in a derogatory way. but the term originally stood for the ancient african (chem) knowledge of advanced science. it literarily means ‘african science.”. the indoasiatic/indo-aryans called it ‘black magic’ because it was the science of the ancient (black, kmt, chem) africans. black magic, in its original meaning, did not mean evil, as we have been brainwashed to believe. it used to refer to certain knowledge of quantum physics and how to manipulate etheric energy forms to create solutions within the visible spectrum of light. for instance, black magic is not different from the science of manipulating radio waves in the electromagnetic spectrum in order to receive telephone, television and radio signals. black magic/black science is the ancient african knowledge and application of the law of physics and the quantum realm. it was the ignorance of the indo-asiatic and indoeuro-aryanists that termed it “black magic.” they called it magic because they did not understand it. today, many africans use the term “black magic,” not understanding that it is a self-mockery. it is equivalent to calling the use of radio wave frequency to make telephone calls “white magic.” moses as an african was very versed in the egyptian alchemical black magic—advanced knowledge of the invisible realms and how they interact with the visible light spectrum. these are advanced knowledge. where did the egyptians originate from? the current people in north africa who are called egyptians are not the descendants of the original historical egyptians. these were recent invaders who spread to africa from arabia. the original inhabitants of the land of the pharaohs were blacks. for some racist europeans who claim that egyptian civilization is not an african civilization, the great scholar, dr. ben-jochannan (1989), disagrees. according to him, the egyptians themselves attested to the fact igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 75 of whom they are and where they came from. he cited an excavated papyrus containing funerary rites belonging to an ancient egyptian (african) called hunefer. in this priced archeological document, the egyptians made it clear that “we came from the beginning of the nile where god hapi dwells, at the foothill of the mountain of the moon.” this referenced mountain of the moon is not the same as mount sinai described above. rather this is in reference to a mountain range in east africa, kenya and uganda and the democratic republic of congo. mount kilimanjaro is in kenya. mount ruwenzori is between uganda and the democratic republic of congo. my curiosity was alerted when the egyptians identify the god, hapi, with the mountain of the moon in africa. hapi is one of the oldest gods on the planet. so, the egyptians were also attesting to their prehistory as being authentically african. hapi/api is the god of the annual ooding. we know for certain that the nile river in egypt has its origin in east africa. the ugandan word for the ruwenzori is “rain maker.” i am just curiously making a connection between the ugandan word describing the mountain of the moon “ruwenzori” with “rain’ and the egyptians identity the god who dwell in the same region with annual ooding (rain). to any racist who is in denial, hunefer’s papyrus is a strong piece of historical evidence of the african origin of egyptian civilization. the egyptologist, robert bauval and his colleague thomas brophy, published their work under the title of: black genesis: the prehistoric origins of ancient egypt in which they made it clear that egyptian civilization, with their highly advanced technological prowess, was an authentic black african civilization. the name moses: etymological exposition the egyptian word ‘ms’ or “msi” (mose) passed from its greek linguistic hellenization to its present construct, moses. the hebrew word , transliterates as mosheh (moses). hebrew language has the word, which is different from for those who have at least some elementary understanding of hebrew. if you have basic knowledge of hebrew, you will notice diacritical differences in both words. the word, transliterates as mashah. mashah literarily implies “to draw.” therefore, a correlation between mashah and mosheh was somehow falsely established (thanks to the nameless egyptian princess). this correlation was crafted to justify moses’ non-african or rather assumed hebraic bloodline. greenberg (2008) is among the researchers who reject this engineered cut-and-join explanation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 76 sigmund freud (1939) of psychoanalytic theory, himself a jew, rejected the hasty correlation of mashah and mosheh as well. freud exposed a biblical fallacy hiding in plain sight. he stated that it is very “nonsensical” to believe that an egyptian princess had good knowledge of hebrew linguistic and cultural etymologies as shown in her naming of baby moses. biblical narrator states thus: “she (pharaoh’s daughter) named him moses, saying i drew him out of the water” exodus 2:8). this is a huge red ag. if the story is true, the egyptian princess must have been a hebrew scholar or linguist. she must have lived in hebraic culture to know their language and naming rituals. this is very unlikely. if the hebrews were salves in egypt (it is not very certain), one must also believe that a princess will not copy the inferior culture of the slaves. it is the other way round; the slaves will learn the superior culture of their enslavers and masters. this is much like assuming that president trump’s daughter, ivanka, found an abandoned yoruba (nigerian tribe) baby from a poor immigrant labourer oating in the mississippi river in the southern part of usa and gave him an authentic yoruba name, eniolorunopa and then proceeded further to provide a solid cultural etymology to the name as meaning “the one whose life god will spare.” the rst mistake is clean. it is very unlikely that ivanka would understand a single word in yoruba language. as a highly placed princess of his father, living in super afuence, interacting with the world’s most powerful people, it is highly unlikely that she spends time socializing with poor common workers, let alone learning their language and understanding specic linguistic and cultural meanings. then, compare this to the claim attributed to the egyptian princess and do the math. the drama of naming of moses by pharaoh’s daughter was a façade, a historical fabrication, and a lie. the process of converting moses from his african root into a hebrew was gradual. as described above, we saw that the greeks invaded and controlled the entire levant region, foisting their colonial culture over the people. hellenistic elites translated the original hebrew-stolen african name mose (mosheh) to mosis; then from greek mosis to our popularly adopted anglicized (english) translation, moses. in ancient egypt, the word “ms” means “is born.” the hebraic corruption of this name is obvious for any scholars who can look deep enough. hebraic plagiarized version is a mockery to egyptian child-naming culture. egyptians would not just name a child “ms” or moses. for instance, in igbo (nigerian tribe) language, chukwubuike (god is strength) could be corrupted igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 77 as “buike,” which translates as “is strength.” igbos do not just name a child “buike.” a non-igbo who decides to plagiarize the name “buike” and impose such a name on his/her child has committed an epistemological error for those who understand igbo cultural and linguistic root. the above analogy provides a picture of the hebrew corruption of the egyptian word “ms” (mose). there is usually a prex to the name mose. egyptians give their children names, such as: amenmose (amen-moses), which means the god amen is born; tutmose (tut/thot-moses), the god tut or thot is born; ramses (ra/re moses), the god ra (sun god) is born; ptahmose (ptah-moses), the god ptah is born; ahmose (ah/aa/iah-moses), the moon (god) is born, etc. in his book, history of egypt, breasted (1905), the famous egyptologist, re-echoed similar hebraic plagiarism of egyptian baby-naming style. he translated the word “mose” to mean “a child” is born. breasted indicated that amen-mose could also stand for “amen-a-child” (is born). that is, the god, amen (as a child) has been born. to understand this psychology of child naming, i would like to invoke the new testament in the gospel of st. mathew (1:23). the hebrew has the following equivalent english alphabetical transcription: -yi/, מ -ma/ -nu/ לא-el) pronounced y’manu-el or emanuel, el standing for god as in (el’ohim. the hebrew word, as translated in the new testament following isaiah’s prophesy, means “god is with us.” so, when the egyptians name a child amen-mose(s), for instance, they are alluding to divine incarnation through the birth of a child. it means god has manifested in the named newborn child. it is worth noting here that it is the same egyptian god “amen” deity that christians and muslims invoke at the end of prayer when they say “amen,” indicating that all religions came out of the mystery systems, particularly from egypt. church fathers have plagiarized an enormous number of documents from ancient egyptian astro-theologies and deities. the church destroyed, through years of persecution and death, any documents that would expose origin of their signicant theological personalities and doctrinal constructions. coming back to our central topic, sigmund freud contends that the bearer of egyptian name, in this case moses, is egyptian. although, to be intellectually fair, bearing of any name from any culture does not necessarily make one part of that culture, as it might just imply cultural adoption, appropriation, or assimilation. however, there are other factors which provide concrete evidence of moses being an egyptian and not hebrew. the problem is that some read the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 78 bible as though it is some scientic historical facts, thus, locking their minds out of any authentic extra-biblical accounts of history. another possible evidence of moses being a true egyptian and not hebrew could be deciphered in exodus (4:10): moses said to the lord, “pardon your servant, lord. i have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. i am slow of speech and tongue.” interpretations of this verse often allude to him as being a stammerer, as in verbal impediment. but this could mean that moses was explaining that he was not familiar with hebraic language, culture, and the entire social psychology of the population he planned to lead out of egypt. he could not speak the language. he did not understand them. they were not in the same social, educational, or statutory psychology. moses belonged to the egyptian elite. it could mean that as a highly placed scholar, highly learned it would be hard to speak to the understanding of mostly illiterate agrarian community and convey a revolutionary philosophy (in this case, monotheism, which i will come to shortly) to them. he needed an intermediary. someone who was part of and used to the lower class since aaron provided a way out. for instance, imagine a harvard super-elite scholar, who works with the world’s superpower president and government all his life, born into wealth, never been close to, nor understands rural village life or the psychology of poor people. imagine such a person coming back to an impoverished people in rural village, trying to get them to abandon their way of life and to follow him and study quantum physics. that was how it was for moses, if we follow the trend of the story. the appropriation of moses’ african identity in the book of exodus chapter 2, pharaoh’s daughter provided an account of moses’ identity. when subjected to exegetical contextualization, this account is false. many bible scholars never questioned why chroniclers of this biblical birth event omitted the specic name of the egyptian princess who supposedly rescued abandoned baby moses from the nile river. this pharaoic princess (who has no name) went on and testied regarding moses’s identity thus: “this is one of the hebrew babies” (vs 6). the psychology of this statement has a hideous igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 79 intent. those who can read in between the line can detect the lies. bible writers were carefully emphatic and specically descriptive in linking the messianic type moses with hebraic root. within this emphasis is a covert implant of fabricated falsehood. the reason was that they were trying to claim the child, so that through him they could manufacture a historical narrative that justies an existence of a people belonging to a deity who supposedly orders the making of that historical narrative. prehistoric israel is non-existent. extra-biblical, genetic, archaeological and paleontological evidences do not support the existence of prehistoric israel. the great african scholar, cheikh anta diop (see, civilization or barbarism), explains that there is a “paleontological vacuum” to the notion of garden of eden origin of humanity. he further states that the levant region was once populated by negroids. there was a time when the entire planet was populated by negroid humanity, according to diop. there was no mongoloid and no caucasoid. if this, and the science of mitochondrial dna, is true, it is an assault on human intelligence to credit the creation of man by a group of extra-terrestrial space-invading elohim beings in the garden of eden somewhere in the middle east. diop conrms with biological science that all other shades of racial colours results from the synthesis of vitamin d through the sun’s ultraviolent frequency. paleontologists have been able to establish that the oldest anatomically modern human such as australopithecus afarensis came from africa, that is, assuming that darwin’s evolutionary theory is true. the british paleontologist, professor louis leaky (1903 – 1972), attested to an african origin of modern humanity. a critical mind would have been asking by now, if humanity existed in africa millions of years before the garden of eden creation, why have theologians continued to promote garden of eden fairy tale. because the negroid has always existed on the planet before any other race, the goal of many history creators of the past has always been to fabricate a narrative that supports historical emergence of certain people on this planet. in so doing, where facts are lacking, religious myths ll in the gap. let us return to pharaoh’s daughter’s false testimony that moses was a hebrew child. the false testimony was put into the mouth of this nameless egyptian princess by the religious elites and scholars of the bible. we see a similar birth story preexisting in akkadia, samaria. the story of sargon of akkad had exact birth circumstances with moses and it is questionable if chroniclers of moses birth did not plagiarize sagon’s messianic symbolism, including his mysterious igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 80 birth and miraculous survival by being rescued from the rivers by a maiden. narrator(s) of moses’ birth reported that pharaoh’s daughter named the child, moses, saying, “i drew him out of the water.” thus, they succeeded in making pharaoh’s daughter to provide a pseudo etymology of the name moses. the decipherment of egyptian hieroglyph has provided an understanding of the historical morphology of the name, moses. in any case, it is non-hebraic and has never been. it is rather african, egyptian. there is a deceptive reason as to why bible writers used the general term, pharaoh, when discussing egyptian kings. pharaoh is not a name of a person; it is rather a position, an ofce, much like the ofce of the president. if bible chroniclers had mentioned specic names of individual pharaohs and periods of their reigns, it would have been easy to unearth the complicated inaccuracies of biblical reports when fact-checked against extra-biblical authentic historical records. the fact that they did not shows a hideous intention. for instance, any honest historian would be lled with rage, reading the enter four hundred years of african slavery in america, without specic mention of specic president during specic time. if between 1648 and 1863, a group of scholars were chronicling african slavery in america, and instead of identifying specic names of individuals occupying the ofce of the president, they resorted to using the world “the president,” how would that history be. by using the name pharaoh, this is what scholars who wrote the bible did—cover their tracks. granted, they mentioned one or two specic names of pharaoh but that is about it. therefore, it is difcult to double-check reports of biblical events such as the plagues, with actual factual written histories by the egyptians themselves. it appears bible writers knew their tricks ahead of time and that they were trying to hide the nonexistence of the ancient history which they had invented. why did moses and his followers leave egypt? it was not any deity commanding moses to get out of egypt. a civil war broke out due to religio-ideological factions. moses was following a new revolutionary teaching--the monotheism. this teaching was invented and promoted by the pharaoh akhenaten. pharaoh akhenaton (circa 1353 b.c to 1336 b.c) reigned during egypt’s 18th golden dynasty. he was the pharaoh amenophis iv, but took up the name akhenaton after his spiritual awakening that led him to invent monotheism. akhenaton stood out prominent in history. many people, based on the hebrew bible, attribute universal monotheism to the hebrew deity javhe igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 81 (yahweh). this demonstrates lack of knowledge of the egyptian history. moses, having been under pharaoh akhenaton, was only an ambassador to pharaoh’s universal religious doctrine. sigmund freud established an inseparable dependence of the jewish concept of monotheism on that of the monotheistic emergence out of egyptian history. when akhenaten died, moses was promoting his monotheistic teaching. it was a radical shift in the human concept of self and the divine—a shift towards the leftbrain hemisphere, involving cognitive abstraction. prior to akhenaton, gods were represented all over egypt and, in fact, all over the world in anthropomorphic imageries, concrete symbols, visual pictographs, statues, zoomorphism, etc. this approach uses the famine right-brain hemisphere of conceptualizing reality. akhenaton destroyed statues of the gods causing so much controversy. he was the rst human in history to invent monotheism, not moses. moses was just his advanced imitate servant. monotheism, for the people of that era, was a mathematical abstract concept. it was unnatural to them, unheard of. akhenaton’s new religion condemns representing god in visual images, only abstract universal concept. we can see, historically, that once monotheism got hold of humanity, the art of writing became alphabetical and no longer pictographic. akhenaton’s destroying of the statues of the gods did not go well with the priests and local political establishments. he was hated and they wanted him dead and gone. one could rationally understand why moses was hesitant in proceeding with his akhenaton-driven monotheistic mission. after the death of akhenaton, it was almost suicidal for him to continue to promote monotheism in a society that hated the pharaoh and all he stood for. egypt was polytheistic, and the powerful establishment wanted it remain so. for moses to continue to promote and practices belief in a single universal god, he had to leave the land with all his akhenaton followers. akhenaton died in his seventeenth year of reign as pharaoh. for his role in disturbing and offsetting the established political, religious and social status quo, he was disliked in egypt. after his death, egyptian elites sought to erase his memory from history. the city he founded, amarna, was destroyed and abandoned. his monuments and status were destroyed. his image was defaced on public buildings. thus, his reputation suffered within the egyptian society. sigmund freud’s research work placed moses as living in the time of akhenaton. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 82 the religion of monotheism which moses gave to a group of people he led out of egypt is akhenaton’s religion of aten. akhenaton redirected the motion of history and thinking by initiating an act that was considered treasonable. what he did was unheard of in the annals of egyptian history and the world of the ancient time. the old testament’s psalm 104 was originally akhenaton’s composition known as hymn to aten, the one god he promoted. expulsion of moses and his rebellious group from africa (egypt) there are scanty extra-biblical accounts of exodus. the only evidence for exodus is the book of exodus. biblical historians and archeologists are still wondering how come there is no archeological evidence of the israelites’ wandering in the desert for forty years through the mountains and deserted places. there is no artifacts, no focalized human bones nothing. the event did not take forty years as alluded. this paucity of materials makes it somewhat easy to gesticulate that exodus’ of the hebrews out of egypt was nothing but dramatic mythic creation. however, the few extra-biblical egyptian records show series of events which indicate possible mass exodus. freud placed exodus out of egypt around 13th century b.c. he explained the sequence of anarchic events chronicled by egyptians themselves which might indicate civil unrest and mass movement. egyptian pharaonic chroniclers did not appear to identify any pharaohs ruling egypt at this period. this might be due to the fact that egypt was under what we consider today as military decrees. it was the time of the strong egyptian military tactician, haremhab /horemheb. haremhab’s military strength ended the civil unrests. the great scholar, greenburg (2008), dated exodus out of egypt to be 1315 b.c., following the death of haremhab. greenburg concluded that moses would have been born in 1395 b.c. and may have been about eighty years old during exodus. exodus were rebellious sects sent out due to a new religious concept. the jewish historian, josef ben matityahu popularly known by his roman adopted names flavius josephus, commenting on the work of another historian called manetho, stated that moses might have been known by the name osarseph. monetho, according to josephus, reported that moses organized a mass rebellion of the oppressed leprosy-ridden population against the egyptian authority. this account indicated that osarseph caused trouble for some years until he was driven out of egypt into canaan--the same land the israelites were igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 83 said to have settled in after leaving egypt. as indicated above, many egyptologists conclude that the exodus occurred in the period following the death of the revolutionary pharaoh akhenaton. sigmund fraud (1939) conrmed this in his brilliant work on monotheism thus: “all conditions, internal and external, favoring the exodus coincide only in the period immediately after the death of the heretic kind.” a form of civil war erupted in egypt. the status quo, now emboldened by akhenaton’s death, would no longer put up with monotheism. moses was having a serious hard time promoting akhenaton’s monotheistic religion. as an ardent believer in akhenaton’s “one god” view of the world, he no longer had a place within the highly polytheistic social, cultural and political system. thus, this was the beginning of exodus. many scholars conclude that the people who were expelled from egypt were native egyptian rebels in which moses was the leader—not hebrews. egyptology vs biblical history with the advent of egyptology, we are beginning to have extra-biblical information relative to some events chronicled in the bible. as i have pointed out above, the egyptian myth provides insightful back-story into the stories chronicled in both the old and the new testaments. one can state, with strong conviction, that the egyptian astro-theological myth, in addition to so many other astro-mythologies, is what informed the entire bible. to claim to understand the bible, without a sound understanding of pre-existing astrotheologies, is tantamount to claiming to be a car engineer without being able to account for the specic inner components of a car engine. astrological twelve houses of the zodiac were converted, by hebraic religious scholars, as the symbolic number 12 which continued to reappear throughout the bible. if biblical stories are factual historical events, then we can conclude that the major players, evidently, learned whatever they knew and wrote from africa i.e. egypt. abraham was from the land of ur in chaldea (genesis 11:28). chaldea is the modern-day iraq. my critical mind never ceases to ponder on the absurdity as to how come a full-blooded babylonian man (abraham) became the rst hebrew speaking guy. if chronology of the bible is a fact, we were informed that abraham migrated to the land of mizraim, i.e. africa, specically egypt. he married an african woman and followed the ancient egyptian custom of circumcision. later, biblical myth-makers would claim this ancient african custom of circumcision as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 84 hebraic. but african (egyptian) records discredit such ridiculous claims. we also see that the hebrew scribes created a story in which joseph ended up in egypt (genesis, 37:28). thus, this was how they carefully got the character of moses carefully interwoven into the history of egypt and later made him a hebrew messianic gure (exodus 2). the new testament is not complete without egyptian association. the pseudoepigraphic writers of the new testament created a typology between the old joseph, who was sold into slavery, and the new joseph, who became the surrogate father of jesus. this typology creates an obvious covert psychological game called typology. the two josephs had a persecutory type connection. the rst joseph was persecuted and sold by his brothers to egypt. the second joseph ed from palestine, out of persecution, with baby jesus. this is an advanced psychological operation. anyone who read both stories would make subconscious association and, thus, deep subconscious validation of the latter story, without even being consciously aware of it. again, they have to like a history to egypt because egypt was the light of the work. jesus was also in egypt. thus, egypt was cardinal in the historical mythologies found in both the new testament and the old testament. what did all these people learn from egypt when they were there? we know that a latter-day myth took the story of heru, the egyptian god, and made it theirs. heru was the son of god; there was annunciation and immaculate conception. he was born on december 25, taught in the temple at the age of twelve, had twelve disciples, engaged in public ministry in his 30s, worked miracle, was betrayed, and killed and rose again. new testament writers are quite aware of this preexisting story and it surely informed their thought process. sumerology is another area of studies that has provided much information as to the origin of some of the prominent biblical stories. for instance, the creation of man in genesis, the deluge and the covenant were all lifted by hebraic scholars from the original sumerian stories. the rst massive contact of hebrews with advanced babylonian philosophies, myths and cosmologies came during the exile of 597 b.c. – 538 b.c. it is naïve, blindness and uncritical adherence to religious traditions that made the materialist, karl marx, voice out his dialectical mockery of religious beliefs as being synonymous with “opium” addiction. mental health professional will tell you that opiates are neuro-depressant. opiate absorption causes adverse biosynaptic impact on the neurotransmitters in such a way that individuals exhibit an altered state of consciousness. opiate has chemical substances that literally igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 85 put coherency and cognition to sleep. it creates a sense of false euphoria. karl marx, though blatantly anti-religion, presented his historical “opium of the masses” mockery with communist propaganda. his agenda being to replace transcendental beliefs and worship of god(s) with belief in and worship of the almighty state god, the communist state. nevertheless, one must not deny the fact that fundamentalism in religion could tranquilize the mind into a state of excitatory delirium to the extent that any facts outside the scriptural canon becomes instantaneously trashed into the mental delete bin. this sort of cognitive ejection of truth and extra-biblical facts, by religious fundamentalists and their fanatical factions, has led materialists, like richard dawkins, to write a book titled “the god delusion.” how oold is the bible? the bible is not as old as many would want to believe. some consider genesis creation history a factual history. this is such a monumental cognitive error. there is no evidence of the existence of israel/the hebrews in terms of nationhood prior to the 13th b.c. the concept “the land of israel” is a modern creation through a forceful but systematically induced evolution of religionational identify by certain rabbinical and euro-christian planners. the historical process that went into the formation of the concept “the land of israel” is clearly elucidated by shlomo sand, in his eye-opening book, the invention of the land of israel: from holy land to homeland. there is no extra-biblical evidence anywhere, no archaeology, no paleontology, nothing pointing to ancient (prehistoric) israel. there is no existing record of any scriptural texts earlier than the 4th century b.c. we have account of written histories at this period from other nations and cultures, but israel/hebrew nation cannot be found. none of these advanced nations with elaborate written culture mentioned hebrew nation in their ofcial or unofcial chronologies. some argue the pre-existence of oral history which later was translated into written document (pentateuch). let us assume that was the case. this would mean that oral history was transmitted for over a thousand years accurately before being written down in scripts. how possible is this? even if oral history existed, they were legends, myths, fabricated hero deications and religiophilosophical speculations. the pre-existing pentateuchal scripts were not fully developed until late 6th century b.c. bible writers collected divergent narratives which they used to fashion a comprehensive history. this mishmash of divergent igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 86 scripts created a big chronological, epistemological, metaphysical and historical discrepancies. this led scholars to study and isolate the multiple sources of biblical composition. one needs to understand that there was a team of religious intellectuals who came together and compiled divergent accounts and myths into a centralized form, the pentateuch. scholars noticed that pentateuch utilized different names to refer to god, implicating different eras, styles, mindsets, textual contents, compositions, and timelines. during the 19th century a.d., scholars exposed these sources and identied them by letters, such as: the j source which referred to god as yahweh; the e source which used the name elohim, the third is the p source named due to its ritualistic priestly nature and, nally the d source (deuteronomist) which is limited to the book of deuteronomy. the j scripts creators appeared to have composed theirs between 922 b.c. to 722 b.c.; e source between 848b.c. to 722 b.c.; p between 722b.c. to 600b.c. and d is sometime around 622 b.c. following king cyrus of persia’s conquest of babylon in 539 bce, he (cyrus) granted freedom to the jews to return to the land from where they were taken and to rebuild the temple which was previously destroyed by king nebuchadnezzar. many years later, the jews again fell under colonial hellenism. the greeks conquered the entire levant region, including egypt. at this time, they foisted certain brand of kingship over their subjects, called the ptolemy dynasty, as i have described somewhere above. it was the ptolemy ii philadelphia (282—246 b.c.) who forced hebrew sacred scripture to be translated into greek. the greek translated version of the hebrew bible is known as the septuagint. septuagint means “the seventy’. this name came about because the named greek king selected a group of seventy hebrew religious scholars, believed to be members of the essene (group of ascetic, esoteric religious practitioners and intellectuals), and forced them to translate their sacred scriptures from hebrew to greek. reason was that as a colonizing force, greek was a universal language to the colonizers, much as english is today. so, greek rulers wanted to liberalize the knowledge contained in the hebrew scripture and make it available for studies for everyone. anyone who understands the religious history of the hebrews and their reverence for their deity yahweh/elohim will understand that this request to translate their scripture in into greek was an abomination. the original document from where igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 87 the greek translation was derived was not preserved. scholars believe that the group of seventy hebrews who provided the translation gave a deceptive/false interpretation account in greek. they did not want to provide accurate knowledge of their sacred text and the god to greek heathens with their ungodly hellenistic imperialism. in the year 382 a.d., st. jerome was assigned by pope damasus to translate from the greek septuagint into latin for the catholic church. the romanized imperial church fathers were known for creating a form of rational syncretism between jesus’ teaching and greek intellectual/rational philosophical worldview. jerome’s translation is known as the catholic vulgate. in the late 13th century, john wycliffe, an english scholar, attempted to translate the catholic vulgate version into the english language. this attempted latin to english translation was later improved by a man known as william tyndale, another english scholar, during the 15th century a.d. william tyndale’s version was where king james bible version derived from. king james of england summoned over forty of his scholars and asked them to translate the bible in his name because he fell out of favour with the authoritarian catholic church at the time over some dogmatic altercations regarding polygamous lifestyle. king james version of the bible was supervised under the all-seeing eyes of some secret society. we know this because francis bacon (1561 – 1626) edited the bible. francis bacon was a high initiate in the rosicrucian secrete society. that explained why king james version of the bible is one of the most corrupt and inaccurate translations—misguided translation. it is specically sympathetic to europe and the church of england, just like the entire new testament, especially the epistles, was a roman psychological operation. many things written there are very sympathetic to the imperial colonizing roman government—like slaves obey your master; if a man slaps you on one cheek, turn the other one; if someone asks you to carry his luggage for a mile, go two miles; and your pay tax. any jewish scholar will tell you that the new testament was a tool of the imperial rome for mind-control and to neutralize the possibility of the jewish messianic uprising and revolution. the romans had hard times dealing with the maccabean revolt and they had to nd away to destroy the strict jewish religion. that is why many writers of the new testament will never be known. they were not meant to be known. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 88 so, there continued to be some questions as to if initial greek septuagint bible translation was even accurate to begin with. and there were many scholars lamenting the monumental corruption in biblical translations down through history. we know this by the publication of cardinal ximenes in 1515 a.d titled the polyglot of paris (paris polyglot). he compared all the historical versions and reported all the biblical translations to be in error. antonio fabre d’olivet (1767 1825) also published a work titled hebraic tongue restored. he, like cardinal ximanes, concluded, through his extensive work, that all the versions were mistranslated based on poor knowledge of hebraic tongue and culture. the point we are arriving at is that the bible is not as old as millions of people presume, coupled with the acts of historical misunderstandings, mistranslations, and blatant inaccuracies. when biblical history is compared to the entire history of the earth, one could metaphorically state that the bible was written like few minutes ago. the earth is millions of years old. similarly, when biblical history is compared to the history of human civilization, one wonders how such a book can lay claim to knowledge of the beginning of the world and time. the jewish masoretic account vs the christian accounts of creation the jewish masoretic chronological account of creation is the most original of all the other biblical versions, like the sumerian and the septuagint versions. masoretic derives from the word mesorah, which indicates tradition. so masoretic text deals with ofcial rabbinic jewish scholars who were the didactic writers of text in question. according to the masoretic account, the creation of the world is dated to 3761 b.c. the religious revolutionist/revivalist and an ex-augustinian monk, martin luther critically examined the genesis chronology and dated the creation of the world to 3960 b.c. during the 17th century, archbishop james usher also did a chronological study of creation and he came up with the conclusion that the world was created in 4004 b.c. these scholars were all rock stars in their time, due to the fact that majority of the people did not challenge their religious indoctrination, but accepted myth as facts. if the bible is true, adam died in the year 2831 b.c. at that time in history, africa (egypt) had already had thousands of years of established dynasties. this means one thing: people have existed and created advanced civilization before adam, rst human on earth, was even created. and, we are not even talking about the egyptian pre-dynastic period which dates even farther thousands of years back to pre-history. the egyptian sacred book, called the book of the coming igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 89 forth by day and by night was written 3400 years before the hebrew old testament and 4200 older than the new testament (ben-jachannan, 1995). something does not add up and we do not have to accept concocted history simply because the bible said so. such is for the illogical, uncritical and infantile minds. the fact of the matter is that the old testament is only a few thousand years old. how can a book that is not more than seven thousand years old teach humanity about the history of the planet that is millions of years old? age of the earth in perspective: the geologic timetable the universe is about 16 million years in formation. our solar system is about 10 million years old. paleontologists generally agree that the planet earth, as part of the solar system, came into existence some 4.6 billion years ago. evidence from the fossil indicates that single-celled organism was on this planet some 3.5 million years ago, which were the only form of life on earth. about 630 millions of years ago, multi-cellular organisms were present on earth. the following is a rough draft of geologic timetable, according modern science: era period years (in millions) prominent animals cenozoic holocene .02 mammoths and mastodons, sabertoothed tigers present on earth pleistocene 2 emergency of australopithecus hominid –homo habilis pliocene 5 emergence of up-right walking primates miocene 25 first ape in line of humans such as dryopithecus igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 90 (ramapithecus) oligocene 38 first appearance of ape-like creature on the planet eocene 55 hoofed mammals present on the planet paleocene 65 appearance of rodent-like multituberculates mesozoic cretaceous 144 dinosaurs and lizards jurassic 213 emergency of gigantic sauropods, like the diplodocus triassic 248 age of reptiles populating the planet permian 286 creatures like nback pelycosaurs paleozoic carboniferous 360 amphibians populate the planet devonian 408 emergency of terrestrial arthropods, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 91 including wingless insects silurian 438 sea creatures were prevalent at this period ordovician 505 diverse marine invertebrates cambrian 590 emergence of trilobites – aquatic arthropods the ten commandments is copied from the egyptian 42 laws of ma’at in ancient egypt, there was a universal ethical code that was meant to govern all human intentions and behaviours. this code is called the 42 laws of ma’at, the negative confession, or the declaration of innocence. ma’at is the universal principle of righteousness, equity, balance, harmony which ought to govern all humans. ma’at is anthropomorphized as a goddess with a feather planted on her hair. we see this symbolism copied all over the world today, with people putting feathers on their hats. ma’at feather represented purity of heart, sincere intention, truth, justice, honesty, righteousness, etc. so next time you see someone with a feather on their hat or cap, you know it is an ancient symbol of godliness from the african universal mother goddess, ma’at. the egyptians believe the dead will appear before a panel of 42 judges, each representing one of the moral principles. everyone will be judged according to if his/her life was in harmony with certain universal laws. for the egyptians, living according to these set of principles means living in harmony not just with the society, but with the entire universe. disharmony with these laws implies chaos and disharmony with all of existence. if anyone wants to have a good live on earth, the egyptians believe he/she must follow these universal codes. moses, having had an elevated position within the egyptian elite, was familiar with these universal ethical codes. many scholars now report that moses copied his decalogue (the ten commandment) from the 42 laws found in egyptian mystery system. below is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 92 the egyptian negative confession or 42 laws of ma’at. i implore readers to pay keen attention to the following egyptian universal moral code: african/egyptian 42 law of (the goddess) ma’at: 1. i have not committed iniquity/sin. 2. i have committed robbery with violence. 3. i have not stolen. 4. i have committed murder. 5. i have not defrauded offerings. 6. i have not diminished obligations. 7. i have not plundered the thing that belong to god 8. i have not spoken falsely. 9. i have not snatched away food. 10. i have not caused pain. 11. i have not committed fornication. 12. i have not caused shedding of tears. 13. i have not dealt (with neighbors) deceitfully. 14. i have not transgressed. 15. i have not acted treacherously. 16. i have not laid wasted the ploughed land. 17. i have not eavesdropped. 18. i have not borne false witness against anyone 19. i have not been wrathful for no reason. 20. i have not deled the wife of any man. 21. i have not deled the wife of any man. 22. i have not polluted myself. 23. i have not caused terror. 24. i have not transgressed. 25. i have not consumed with rage. 26. i have not turned my ears against truth and righteousness. 27. i have not caused sorrow. 28. i have not acted with insolence. 29. i have not stirred up strife. 30. i have not judged hastily. 31. i have not committed acts of eavesdropping 32. i have not exaggerated my words. 33. i have not done neither harm nor ill. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 93 34. i have never cussed the king. 35. i have polluted the water. 36. i have not been disdainful in my words. 37. i have not cursed the god (s). 38. i have not stolen. 39. i have not swindled the god (s) of their offerings. 40. i have not plundered the offerings of the blessed dead. 41. i have not stolen food from a child. 42. i have not slaughtered with evil intent the cattle of the god(s). moses’s ten commandments switched from negative confession to positive admonition. instead of “i have not,” moses used “thou shall not.” reader can easily sh out the moral codes of the ten commandments from the above egyptian negative confession or the 42 laws of ma’at. the moral code of the bible can be authoritatively said to come from ancient africa egypt. the biblical ten commandments as copied from the 42 laws of ma’at in egypt 1. thou shalt have no other gods before me. in the original egyptian version, we see respect for god in lines numbers, 37, 39 and 42. many christian and non-christian theologians believe this rst biblical code is the origin of monotheism. but as i have discussed above, moses’ idea of monotheism came from his association with pharaoh akhenaten, who was the rst to make a law abolishing polytheism and uphold the worship of only one god. moses’ association with this radical pharaoh has been established by egyptologist and historians. 2. thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image. the second biblical law is also of egyptian origin. refer to earlier discussion on akhenaton’s abolishment of every engagement and physical representation of the gods in any form. monotheism was not moses invention. he was only continuing akhenaton’s religious revolution. 3. thou shalt not take the name of the lord thy god in vain. refer to the egyptian version above in lines, 7, 37. this moral code deals with, not deling, abusing or profaning the name of god. 4. remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 94 this code could be deciphered from the original egyptian version in lines 37, 39 and 42. 5. honor thy father and thy mother. this code could be decoded from lines 7 and 34 in the above original egyptian version. honoring one’s parents and elders is intrinsically encoded in the african culture; that it is not even a debate. 6. thou shalt not kill. compare this code with the original egyptian version in lines 4, 12, 27 and 33. 7. thou shalt not commit adultery. refer to similarity in the original egyptian lines 20, 21 and 11. 8. thou shalt not steal. compare with the original egyptian version in lines 2, 3, 5, 38 and 41. 9. thou shalt not bear false witness. compare with the original egyptian version in lines 8, 15, 17, 18, 30, 31,32 and 36. 10. thou shalt not covet. compare this with the original egyptian version in lines 11, 21 and 22. conclusion so much has been stolen from africa— philosophical, religious political and cultural ideologies. it becomes difcult to tell africans that certain things which they assume belong to other races are actually theirs. for instance, the head dress which judges all over the world wear is from africa. it is a symbol of the god, anubis or ampu. many african scholars have shallow indoctrinated information and have not lived up to the expectation of the term “research scholarship.” african scholars are helplessly stuck in pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial histories/societies when it comes to research. they promote redundant researches of transatlantic slave history, poverty and wars. there is no deep exploration of true history and deep scientic knowledge. africa should not overly dwell on the european-induced stereotyped information, such repeated igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 95 slave-inferiority narrative. there have been few outstanding scholars who have done exceptionally brilliant works in the eld of pre-historical and historical research relative to africa. black african diasporas, especially in the western hemisphere, have championed the re-investigation of african prehistory and history, and have continued to ght to place africa in her proper perspective in history. african history and knowable have been stolen, colonized and rebaptized by other races. for instance, the entire idea of the immaculate conception, virgin birth, a virgin /mother carrying a son-god, the concept of the mother of god, the suffering and death of an incarnate god, the ideas of an incarnate god who was tempted, suffered, crucied and rose, the twelve disciple, the twelve (zodiac)houses of israel etc., were present in africa hundreds of years before indo-asiatic civilizations stole such concepts and re-articulated them in their own sacred scriptures and ne-tuned them to their specic cultural psychologies. ancient historians, such as herodotus, erastosthenes, diodorus and plutarch, established the superior antiquity of ancient africa over all others. the assyrians, the persians, the hyksos, the greeks, the turks, the romans, the british, the french and, recently, the arabs were some of the invaders of egypt/north africa. with all these invasions came stealing of african religion, sciences, art forms which are repackaged and given back to africans as a ‘gift of civilization.” no doubt, one continues to see ‘educated africans’ continue to post pictures of a white man in their homes, believing they are jesus and god. this is a hypnotically induced mind-control and a form of mental illness. with all these in mind, one would not be distraught to learn that if moses was an actual historical character, he was an african, and not a hebrew. bibliography cheikh anta diop, civilization or barbarism: an authentic anthropology, lawrence hill books, illinois, 1991 gary greenberg, the moses mystery, pereset press book, ny, 2008 gerald massey, the egyptian book of the dead and the ancient mysteries of amenta , cosimo inc., new york, 2008. james h. breasted, a history of egypt: from the earliest time to the persian conquest, the new era printing co., pa, usa, 1905 john g. jakson, christianity before christ, american atheist press, nj, usa, 2002. john j. jackson, pagan origins of the christian myth, american atheist press, nj, 2010 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 96 josef ben-jochannan, a chronology of the bible: challenges to the standard version , black classic press, md 1973 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. 2016 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. 2016 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. 2016 kanu, i. a. african traditional folktales as an integrated classroom. subsaharan african journal of contemporary education research. vol.3 no. 6. pp. 107-118. 2016 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientic community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. 2017 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 97 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. 2017 kanu, i. a. african philosophy, globalization and the priority of ‘otherness’. journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 40-57. 2018 kanu, i. a. african traditional philosophy of education: essays in igwebuike philosophy. germany: lambert publications. 2018 kanu, i. a. igbo-african gods and goddesses. nnadiebube journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 118-146. 2018 kanu, i. a. igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. 2018 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. 2018 kanu, i. a. new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. 2018 richard a. scott john r. ward exodus reality: unearthing the real history of moses, identifying the pharaohs and examining the exodus from egypt, the career press, usa, 2014. richard marlow, moses in ancient egypt and the hidden story of the bible, richard darlow, 2006. robert bouval and timothy brophy: black genesis: the prehistoric origins of ancient egypt, bear & company, vermont, usa, 2011. shlomo sand, the invention of the land of israel: from holy land to home land, verso, ny, 2014. sigmund freud, moses and monotheism, vintage books, ny 1939 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya yoel, natan, moon-o-theism: religion of a war and moon god prophet vol. i of ii , 2006 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 129 the menace of homosexuality in zanga, surulere local government area of lagos state, nigeria afunugo kenechi nnaemeka, phd department of religion and cultural studies faculty of social sciences; university of nigeria nsukka phone number: 08037514378 kenechi.afunugo@unn.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/ rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract the concept of homosexuality is a serious issue that poses great danger and distortion on the moral rectitude of the youth and individuals in the nigerian society. this work aims at positing the menace of homosexuality in zanga which is located at surulere local government area of lagos state in nigeria. both the qualitative and quantitative methodological format were espoused in this work; thus enhancing the effective employment of the primary as well as the secondary means of data collection. this study adopted the descriptive survey research design. a sample of 200 respondents between the ages of 16 and 65 years was selected in a population of 469 from two registered thrift groups in zanga community using simple random sampling technique. the instrument for data collection for the study was a self-constructed structured interview items and questionnaire titled “implications of homosexuality in zanga community questionnaire” (iohizcq). the gathered data were systematically analyzed via phenomenological and culture centered approach. in testing the hypotheses, the independent t-test was used. if the calculated value of t (tcal) is less than or equal to the critical value of t (tcrit), the hypothesis is accepted but if the calculated value of t (tcal) is greater than the critical value of t (tcrit), the hypothesis is rejected. the natural-law theory posited by st. thomas aquinas and the stand of the church of nigeria (anglican communion ) in lieu with the christians biblical standard on homosexuality was adopted in this work to posit that homosexuality is immoral, unnatural and will lead humanity to extinction since scientific process of procreation may not be sustained, appeal to everyone, appreciated by everyone and acceptable by human kind in general. the findings however, revealed that irrespective of the scientific hypothesis on the basis for homosexuality; it is neither natural nor genetic. homosexuality equally enforces infidelity in marriages, is highly immoral, it is against the basic culture of africans, it is a distortion to human sexuality and it fuels the embers of chaos in zanga community as homosexual adherents are treated with disdain; while they (homosexual adherents) form a defensive league in order to guard themselves, while projecting their sexual preference. practical ways of combating mailto:kenechi.afunugo@unn.edu.ng igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 130 homosexuality with special reference to its resultant menace in zanga community and the human race was then exposed in this work. keywords: homosexuality, menace, morality, human sexuality, sexual preference, natural, genetic. introduction the reality of homosexuality and the existence of homosexual adherents is an indubitable reality in the contemporary society. abinitio, some historians like kayode (1984), and nwala (1985), used to think that homosexuality is not a problem to mankind hence issues relating to it were more often than not treated with levity. however, according to perper (2019); as of 2019, 28 countries in the world reognise same-sex marriage. novak (2019), posited that south africa and cape verde are the african countries that had legalized homosexuality; while botswana is amongst the african countries presently reviewing gay rights. in lieu of the afore-mentioned, it is obvious that homosexuality is not just a problem to mankind but is evident in africa as against the observations of asuni, schoenberg and swift (1994), who indicated that because of the way issues of sexuality are clearly directed by customs, and the strong social taboos against sexual deviations in most african traditional communities of which nigeria is one; homosexuality rarely exists in africa and nigeria in particular. this opinion may still be heightened in the recent times by the fact that in 2014, the then nigerian president goodluck jonathan signed a bill that criminalised same-sex relationship, defying western pressure over gay rights and provoking the united states criticism. as reported by associated press in abuja (2014), the bill contains penalties of up to 14 years in prison and bans gay marriage, same-sex “amorous relationships” and membership of gay rights groups. it is however pertinent to note that a 2017 survey by no1 polls compared attitudes towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (lgbt) people in nigeria against a 2015 poll: it found a 7 percent increase in acceptance of lgbt people, and a 9 percent rise to 39 percent of those surveyed who think that lgbt people should be allowed equal access to public services such as health care, education and housing. thus according to olumide makanjuola (cited by nwaubani, 2017) irrespective of the fact that the changes might look small, but the need to acknowledge the progress on the rate of the acceptance of lgbt in nigeria is imperative. thus homosexuality is becoming a social problem in nigeria as the lgbt acceptance slowly grows in the country. recent discoveries from various igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 131 quarters in nigeria had proved that homosexual acts is growing in the country. a.o omeka (personal communication, october 24, 2018), showed that homosexuality is practiced in the nigerian secondary schools and tertiary institutions. again, n.n. nnaedozie (personal communication, october 25, 2018), equally revealed that homosexual practices is equally in existence in most secondary schools. she lamented that as a secondary school teacher in anambra state, some fellow female teachers had approached her for such acts of which she outrightly condemned. c.i. achike (personal communication, june 18, 2019), pointed out that at abagana in anambra state of nigeria for instance, homosexual practices is so open that they move in cliques. j.n. ezike (personal communication, october 27, 2018), intimated that in the northern parts of nigeria, some alhaji‟s pay some youth that complies on frequent basis to relate in homosexual lifestyle with them. it is against this backdrop that this work attempts to understudy the problems of homosexuality in zanga, surulere local government area of lagos state in nigeria. homosexuality had subtly crept into that society and had caused so much havoc that is affecting families and is at the verge of tearing marriages and the society at large apart. as visibly externalised in the present milieu irrespective of the fact that in the bid to solving the problem of homosexuality, more problems are being created as some at the fore front of the affairs are being unnecessarily lenient. the bible is now quoted out of context and equally misinterpreted as homosexual activists attempt to project their views: thus leading to the emergence of two opposing views which are the revisionists and the antirevisionists views. this work still maintains its course towards positing that homosexuality is against god‟s design and desire, is not natural, negates all that humanity, africa and dominant nigerian culture stands for. it will equally posit the menace of homosexuality in zanga, surelere local government area of lagos state in nigeria: followed up with the corollary suggestions on how to outwit those problems, challenges and dangers in the said community fostered by homosexuality. this work employed both the qualitative and quantitative methodological format. both the primary and secondary means of data collection were espoused in this work. st. thomas aquinas theory of natural law (cited by omoregbe, 1997), and the stand of the church of nigeria (anglican communion) in lieu with christian biblical standard on human sexuality and homosexuality in particular where adopted in this work to realize its objective. the gathered data in the process of actualising the intent of this igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 132 work were systematically analyzed via phenomenological and culture centered approach. meaning of homosexuality homosexuality is a romantic and sexual attraction or behavior between same sex members or gender. it can be underscored as a sexual orientation only in the sense that it is actually a learned behavior; for no one is born a homosexual. god did not create persons of the same sex only: god actually created man and woman to live together as husband and wife as recorded in genesis chapters one and two respectively. hence nmah (2012), declared that homosexuality is a sexual activity attracted to people of the same sex; it is according to him, a learned behavior and not a genetic problem. according to buckley (1960), "homosexuality is a psychosexual attraction towards members of the same sex. it is a sexual bias or propensity which constitutes the major sexual drive of the individual" (p.7). the danger of defining homosexuality as a state or condition as he maintained is that it may be immediately presumed that there is parity between it and heterosexuality and that homosexuals are born with this homosexual drive. the homosexual then may use it as an argument to legitimize his way of making love and presume that because he is different he has a right to a new moral code. more so, if he holds that the sexual urge must find expression, then he will claim that he has no control over, or responsibility for, his homosexual practices. thus buckley declared that the distinction between the homosexual condition and homosexual acts is of supreme importance. peschke (2004), who equally had a cleaner and of course the best view of this two broad distinctions declared that it is not all persons with a homosexual constitution that also engages in active homosexual practices. he defined homosexuality as "a persistent, predominant erotic attraction to persons of the same sex, which is often (though not necessarily) allied with sexual activity. the latter often consists in mutual masturbation, particularly in the case of women” ( p.480). he therefore made the distinction between homosexuality as a psychic constitution on the one side and a more or less occasional homosexual activity on the other. according to him, many boys, in puberty and on into the early years of adolescence, engage in at least occasional sex plays of a homosexual nature. this has to do with no more than an extension of masturbatory techniques. peschke indicated that absence of heterosexual outlets igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 133 (example, among soldiers, in prison camps and so on) can be the reason for temporary homosexual activities also among adults. such activities as mentioned above according to peschke (2004) are not yet signs of constitutional homosexuality (although he indicated that they do not exclude it). in true homosexuality (from peschke's study) the normal heterosexual attraction is substituted by an abnormal attraction towards persons of the same sex. in many cases the heterosexual attraction is simply missing. in the works of bailey, vasey, diamond, breedlove, villain and epprecht (2016) and levay (2017), respectively, homosexuality is theorized as being caused by a complex interplay of genetic, hormonal and environmental influences; for scientists do not know what determines an individual‟s sexual orientation, neither do they view it as choice. however, homosexuality can still be viewed as choice depending on ones direct influential subjects. scientific hypothesis on homosexuality will still be postulated in this work. nevertheless, it should be understood clearly that anyone that engages in sexual acts with persons of the same sex whether on occasional or continuous level commits the sin of homosexuality, however, such a person that engages in it only to get an instant proxy sexual satisfaction may not be regarded as a 'homosexual'. the problem then is that, as so far gathered from this study, homosexuality actually starts gradually hence total abstinence from any form of sexual or deep sensuous emotional feelings for persons of the same sex should be encouraged and projected always. theoretical framework the natural-law theory st: thomas aquinas theory of the natural law (cited by omoregbe, 1997) stated with special reference to the problem of homosexuality that the law of nature is equivalent to the biological laws of reproduction. thus it argues then that these laws express the purpose of the creator regarding the use of sexuality. consequently, any deliberate action which goes counter to these laws (biological laws of reproduction) is a violation of the natural law and is therefore intrinsically evil. that is to say that all forms of sexual activities which exclude the possibility of procreation, and also sexual activities outside conjugal union are violations of the natural law and are therefore morally wrong, bearing in mind that the most fundamental principle of the natural law is that which enjoins one to do igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 134 good and avoid evil. homosexuals therefore cannot procreate and the practice of homosexuality will lead the human race to extinction. reich (1995) recorded that the argument from natural law has faced two major challenges. the first is a challenge to the idea that procreative purpose is disclosed in the design of the sexual organ. skeptics point out that most organs of the body have multiple purposes. a mouth is used for the purpose of speaking, eating, and tasting. which of these is its proper function? the design of the sexual organs includes a large concentration of nerve endings that provide pleasurable sensations. why is the production of pleasure not a proper function of the sexual organs? little wonder not everyone is created to be a homosexual. a second challenge concerns the implication that interpersonal purposes of sexuality are not proper purposes. why should the purpose of expressing affection, nurturance, or love of one person for another be excluded as proper purposes? hanigan (cited by reich, 1995) maintained that the proper purpose for sexual organs covers both interpersonal love as well as procreation. homosexuals are excluded because the sexual relationships cannot include physical complementarity (that is, the structural and systematic receptivity of the female vagina for the male sexual organ) and biological complementarity (that is, the mutual contribution of male and female to the procreation of new life). that persons of the same sex do express love for each other in a sexual act and do have committed relationships is not given moral significance because these are not relationships of physical and biological complementarity. physical and biological differences are given moral significance because they have been interpreted in a theological framework of complementarity as god ordained it to be. the only option left for homosexuals is to change and repent from the act for no one is created to be a homosexual. the church of nigeria (anglican communion) sand on homosexuality in the communiqué released which was documented in the global anglican future conference (gafcon) (cited by ishokare,2012), which was held in jerusalem from 22nd-29th june 2008, declaration number 8 stipulated: we acknowledge god's creation of humankind as male and female and the unchangeable standard of christian marriage between one man and one woman as the proper place for sexual intimacy and the basis of the family. we repent of our failures to maintain this standard and call for a renewed igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 135 commitment to lifelong fidelity in marriage and abstinence for those who are not married, (p.84). the church of nigeria anglican communion is part and member of the gafcon. from the above statement it is explicit from inference that this meeting abhorred homosexuality and its marriage union. akinola (cited by diara, 2005), declared “we reject, as lambeth did, samesex union, ordination of homosexuals and other related issues” (p.146). as it is in the anglican church presently, every ordinand about to be ordained as deacon most openly confess to non-involvement in any form of homosexual activity. this oath is equally taken in all ordination services, and services of collation and installations; enthronement and presentation services respectively. the scientific hypothesis of the basis for homosexuality brain studies: since sexual attraction begins in the brain as swaab and fliers (1985), declared, researchers first examined the question of sexual orientation by comparing the anatomy of brains from males and females. these studies showed that male and female brains showed sexual dimorphism in the preoptic area of the hypothalamus, where males demonstrated a greater than two-fold difference in cell number and size compared to females. a second study as allen, hines, shryne, and gorski (1989), pointed out found that two of four interstitial nuclei of the anterior hypothalamus (inah) were at least twice as large in males as females. since the inah was involved in sexual dimorphism, it was hypothesized by levay (cited by allen, hines, shryne and gorski) that there might be differences in this region in heterosexual versus homosexual men. postmortem examination of the brains of aids patients versus control male subjects (presumed to be heterosexual) showed that the presumably heterosexual men exhibited inah3 that were twice the size of both females and presumably homosexual men who had died of aids. the study has been criticized for its uncertainty of sexual orientation of the subjects, and potential complications caused by the aids virus (which does infect the human brain), and also by lowered testosterone levels found in aids patients. a subsequent study by byne, et al (2001), examined the question of inah3 size on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, and hiv status. the study found large differences in inah3 volume on the basis of sex (with the male inah3 being larger than the female inah3). however, the volume of inah3 was decreased in male heterosexual men who had contracted aids (0.108mm3 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 136 compared with 0.123mm3 in male controls). there was no statistically significant difference between inah3 sizes of male heterosexuals versus male homosexuals who had contracted aids (0.108mm3 and 0.096mm3, respectively). the study also found that there were no differences in the number of neurons in the inah3 based upon sexual orientation, although researchers found significant differences between males and females, as in other studies. thus, it is obvious from this study, that levay's study (cited by allen, hines, shryne and gorski, 1989) was fatally flawed due to the aids complication, and that there were no differences in the inah3 based upon sexual orientation. furthermore, the role of the hypothalamus in sexual orientation was further studied by swaab, gooren, and hofinan (1992); while other researchers hypothesized that differentiation of the hypothalamus occurred before birth: swaab and his teams study showed that the sexually dimorphic nucleus (sdn) of more than 100 subjects decreased in volume and cell number in the females only 2-4 years postnatal. this finding complicated the findings of the brain studies, since not only chemical and hormonal factors, but also social factors, might have influenced this process. in all, a look at all the major brain studies portrays complications in the various findings. for instance, one study by allen and gorski (1992) examined the anterior commissure of the brain, finding that females and homosexual males exhibited a larger size than heterosexual males whereas, later studies as maintained by bishop and wahlsten (1997), using larger sample sizes found no such differences. thus all these complications implies that some findings may be fabricated. again, these complications give rise to the burning question, whether homosexual practice changes the brain or whether the brain results in homosexual practice. hormonal influences: sexual differentiation occurs within the womb as a result of hormonal influences, hence it has been hypothesized that homosexuality may result from a differential hormone balance in the wombs of those who eventually exhibit a homosexual orientation. since hormonal levels within the womb are not available proxies. four hormonal influences have been used to examine the question of how hormonal influences might impact sexual orientation. these proxies include differences in skeletal size and shape including the ratio of the long bones of the arms and legs relative to arm span or stature and the hand bones of adults (the ratio of the length of the various phalanges). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 137 for instance, manning, scutt, wilson and jones (1998) recorded that studies have shown that ratios of digit length are predictors of several hormones, including testosterone, luteinizing hormone and estrogen. in women for example, the index finger (2d, second digit) is almost the same length as the fourth digit (4d). however, in men, the index finger is usually shorter than the fourth. greater 2d:4d ratio in females is established in two-year olds. it has been hypothesized that the sex difference in the 2d:4d ratio reflects the prenatal influence of androgen on males. williams, et al (2000) showed that the 2d:4d ratio of homosexual men was not significantly different from that of heterosexual men for either hand. however, homosexual women displayed significantly smaller 2d:4d ratios compared with heterosexual women. it has been hypothesized that women exposed to more androgens in the womb tend to express a homosexual orientation. however, since these hormone levels were never measured, one is left with the proxy of finger lengths as a substitute. studies have found that the more older brothers a boy has, the more likely he is to develop a homosexual orientation. this study as mcconaghy, pavlovic, stevens, manicavasagar, buhrich and vollmerconna (2006), stated, also found that homosexual men had a greater than expected proportion of brothers among their older siblings (229 brothers: 100 females). males who had two or more older brothers were found to have lower 2d:4d ratios, suggesting that they had experienced increased androgens in the womb. another study as martin and nguyen (2004) recorded examined the length of long bones in the arms, legs and hands. both homosexual males and heterosexual females had less long bone growth in the arms, legs and hands, than heterosexual males or homosexual females. accordingly, the researchers hypothesized that male homosexuals had less androgen exposure during development than male heterosexuals, while female homosexuals had less androgen steroid exposure during development than their heterosexual counterparts. in all, studies as these runs on and on and the last mentioned actually contradicted directly the presumed results of the williams, et al (2000) study above, which showed that males with multiple older brothers (who tended to be homosexual) experienced increased androgen exposure. it should then be noted that why increased androgens would predispose both males and females to be homosexual was not explained in the study as cited by martin and nguyen (2004). again, all of the studies reporting possible hormonal influence on homosexuality suffer from the lack of contradictory studies report increased versus decreased androgens as a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 138 basis for homosexuality do not provoke confidence that the proxies are really true. obviously, a study that documented real hormone levels, as opposed to proxies, would probably provide more definitive data. twin studies: the observation that familial factors influence the prevalence of homosexuality led to the initiation of number of twin studies, which are a proxy for the presence of possible genetic factors. a study by kender, thornton, oilman and kessler (2000) examined 1,588 twins selected by a random survey of 50,000 households in the united states. the study found 3% of the population consisted of nonheterosexuals (homosexuals and bisexuals) and a genetic concordance rate of 32%, somewhat lower than that found in the australian. the study lost statistical significance when twins were broken down into male and female pairs, because of the low rate (3%) of non-heterosexuals in the general united state. population. an australian research group as santtila, sandnabba, harlaar, varjonen, alanko and pahlen (2008) and verweij et al (2008) reported on a twist on homosexual twin studies. they examined the question of whether homophobia was the result of nature or nurture. surprisingly, familial, environmental and genetic factors seemed to play a role as to whether or not a person was homophobia. even more surprisingly a separate research group in u.s. confirmed these results (also adding that attitudes towards abortion were also partly genetic). as such, homophobes can claim that they were born that way. besides, it was equally reported by verweij et al and santtila, sandnabba, harlaar, varjonen, alanko and pahlen respectively that the 'potential for homosexual response' not just overt homosexual behavior, as having a genetic component. twin studies as posited; suffer from the problem of trying to distinguish between environmental and genetic factors, since twins tend to live within the same family unit. a study examining the effect of birth order in homosexual preference as recorded by verweij et al (2008) concluded that lack of relationship between the strength of the effect and degree of homosexual feelings in the men and women suggesting the influence of birth order on homosexual feelings was not due to a biological, but a social process in the subjects studied. thus, although the twin studies suggest a possible genetic component for homosexual orientation, the results are certainly not definitive. genetic studies: an examination of family pedigrees revealed that gay men had more homosexual male relatives through maternal than through igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 139 paternal lineages, suggesting a linkage to the x chromosome. dean (cited by deem, 2013) found such an association at region x928. at this region, gay brothers share 50% of their alleles. another analysis of 40 pairs of gay brothers reported 82% of their alleles shared in the x928 region which was much greater than the 50% allele sharing that would be expected by chance. however, a follow-up study using 32 pairs of gay brothers reported 67% allele sharing which was much closer to 50% expected by chance. attempts by rice et al (cited by deem, 2013) to repeat the hamer study resulted in only 46% allele sharing, insignificantly different from chance, contradicting the hamer results. critical assessment of the scientific hypothesis of the basis for homosexuality in all, one discovers that all these researches results are always contradictory and fluctuating instead of being complementing and progressive. it is as if researchers are merely trying to base homosexuality as being natural by all means necessary; but then, their results speaks in diversity and not in uniformity. little wonder kinney (2016), dismissed them as abnormal enquiries to substantiate an abnormal behaviour. findings from the examination of the above outlined scientific literature on proof for inborn base of homosexuality posit that it is not quite as clear as the news bears it. the early studies that reported differences in the brains of homosexuals were complicated by hiv infection and were not substantiated by larger, better controlled studies. numerous studies reported that possible hormonal differences affected homosexual orientation. however, these studies were often directly contradictory, and never actually measured any hormone levels, but just used proxies for hormonal influences, without direct evidence that the proxies were actually indicative of true hormone levels or imbalances. twin studies showed that there genetic influences for homophobia and even position to abortion. early childhood abuse has been associated with homosexuality, but, at most, only explains about 10% of those who individuals, but can change over time suggests that sexual orientation is actually sexual preference. attempts to find a „gay gene‟ have never identified any gene or gene product that is actually associated with homosexual orientation, most results have largely failed to pinpoint specific genes as a factor in sexual orientation as have clearly been seen from the studies as sampled. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 140 homosexuality in nigeria in nigeria macauley (2007), declared that although tolerance remained at an angle to cultural expectations, and homosexuality is not one that is accepted in africa especially nigeria; yet a good number of nigerians are practicing homosexuality. he saw himself as the voice for those who suffered similar predicament as he is a homosexual and lost his wife through divorce before 26 years because of his confession as a homosexual. he indicated that he had come across many nigerians with homosexual tendencies and had equally practiced such with such ones. to him, because homosexuals in nigeria are keeping a low profile does not make the act alien to nigeria hence one of his statements ran thus, "...there is a certain continuous attempt to deny or refuse to acknowledge that gays and lesbians make up a significant part of the nigerians population" (p.2). the validity of his report can actually be seen from the number of homosexuals that respond to his articles via the internet websites. according to macauley (2007), "homosexuality is considered a foreign or alien act. homosexuality is what happens to other people's children or activities associated with occultism" (p.4). he equally declared that "homosexuality, as far as nigeria is concerned, is an abuse of traditional values" (p.4). he therefore enjoined for tolerance as he kept maintaining that a good number of nigerians are deeply into the act, thus he said "it has been acknowledged that more and more same-sex loving nigerians both at home and abroad suffer immense prejudice, due to the cultural belief and lack of education about sexuality and tolerance towards people with a different sexuality" (p.5). in an attempt to posit the contemporary, nigerian‟s stance on homosexuality; onuche (2013), uses the sacredness and the traditional nigerian perception on marriage to capture it vividly. hence, he pointed out that marriage is viewed as a communal affair in nigeria. he maintained that marriage is held very sacred and in very high esteem; and possesses ontological and high moral value. citing gbadegesin, he intimated that moral thought, marriage and procreation belong together in nigeria. thus, the major intrinsic essence of marriage is to procreate. marriage then is regarded as a moral responsibility through which the individual contributes the seeds of life towards man‟s struggle against the loss of original immortality. biologically, according to onuche, both spouse in marriage are reproduced in their offsprings thereby facilitating the chain of humanity. borrowing a leaf from mbiti, onuche intimated that in some communities in nigeria, it is believed that the living dead are igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 141 reincarnated in part, so that aspects of their dispositions and physical attribute/qualities are re-born in their descendants. a person who has no descendants in effect, as onuche puts it “quenches the fire of life and becomes forever dead since his live of physical continuation is blocked”. (p.92). onuche then concludes that from the afore-stated background about marriage, contemporary nigerian contends with the contentious issues of homosexuality and same sex marriage. irrespective of the assertion of green-simms (2016), that the strict laws introduced in nigeria have actually forced many nigerians back into the closet; (while some flee outside the country to seek asylum, like edafe okporo who sought asylum to the united states based on his sexual orientation and was granted political asylum in 2017 as recorded by tayo (2018)); and have devastating effects on human rights and public health organizations: it has however according to him “… encouraged many writers and activists to boldly speak out. they have not silenced the literary community that has insistd on emphasizing the humanity and diversity of queer people and queer desire” (p.159). according to him, “there is no longer a sustained outburst of silence, but rather a sustained outburst” (p.159). the truth however still remains that nigeria still perceives homosexuality as a criminal offence. this is equally backed by the constitution of the federal republic of nigeria. in the nigerian traditional societies, homosexuality is still perceived as a taboo and an abomination. nigeria does not allow or recognize lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (lgbt) rights. lgbtq nigerians mostly flee to other nations with advanced constitution inorder to seek for protection as tayo (2018), indicated. it is worthy of stipulating that presently, the twelve northern states in nigeria that have adopted sharia law places the maximum punishment for homosexuality as death by stoning. whereas, in southern nigeria and under the secular criminal laws of northern nigeria as recorded by freedom house (2019), the maximum punishment for homosexuality is 14 year‟s imprisonment. the same-sex marriage prohibition act in the nigerian‟s constitution criminalises all forms of same-sex unions and same-sex marriage throughout the country. zanga and homosexuality: the statement of the problem zanga is a densely populated fast growing community with a population of 300,000 – 500,000 as recorded by orekie (2019). the indigenes of zanga are settlers like hausas, yorubas, ibo, tivs, idomas; and virtually all the tribe in nigeria are visibly represented in zanga community. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 142 zanga is located in surulere local government area of lagos state. the community according to e.n. ayesuwa (personal communication, august 13, 2019), is a neighbouring town to ikate community. zanga is a business oriented town. there are more than six banks that are actively in operation in zanga. this is because most of the populace are traders, motor and motorcycle transporters, artisans and so on. the community has two health centers and few government owned primary and secondary schools respectively. the choice of this research location stems from the heterogeneous nature of zanga and the fact that the researcher‟s cousin resides there: moreso, are the complaints in lieu of homosexuality in zanga was peculiar. homosexuality has eaten deep into the fabrics of this community owing to the fact that a good number of the youth are into drugs. inorder to be acquiring more money to keep up with their drug intake, they take to homosexuality as some wealthy hausa and fulani men entice these youth with money inorder to sleep with them. they in turn use this money in acquiring of hard drugs for the simple satisfaction of their urge as k.r. olumiyade (personal communication, august 13, 2019), intimated. according to c.e. orekie (personal communication, august 13, 2019), the young ones in this community equally learnt this act from the elderly ones. it is not as if they love homosexuality as an act, but are driven into it by quest for material gains. at some point, they get so used to it that marriage becomes a kind of ceremonial fulfillment of all righteousness inorder to procreate. the desire for intimacy for ones opposite sex is no longer there. at times they take drugs especially the males to boost their libido inorder to be able to mate with their wives. the resultant effects are that the wives out of sexual starvation and loneliness goes into harlotry, while some launch into corollary lesbianism. this more often than not leads to family beak up and chaos in the community as o.k. iraseh (personal communication, august 13, 2019), disclosed. there are other reasons for the indulgence in and the persistence of homosexuality in zanga community; this will still be stipulated in this work. this state of affairs confirms what had been discovered in this work; thus irrespective of the strict laws against homosexuality in nigeria, homosexual practices are still operated in the closet and this equally breeds several dangers that are equally being managed in secret. a causal visitor or a stranger in zanga community will never notice that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 143 homosexuality is rife in that community and is evoking great dangers. this of course demands urgent attention and address. hypotheses drawn the following null hypotheses were raised and were tested at 0.05 level of significance (1) homosexuality is not natural and is not caused by quest for material gains. (2) homosexuality does not ensue voluntarily and change is not difficult to attain. (3) homosexuality is not a learned act and is basically profitable. (4) homosexuality does not lead to family break up. (5) homosexuality is not a sin against god. (6) homosexuality is not against the basic nigerian culture and a distortion to human sexuality. research questions (1) do you think that homosexuality is gainful to the society? (2) does homosexuality bring stability in marriage? (3) does the prevailing culture in nigeria accommodate homosexuality? (4) is homosexuality a natural sexual stance? (5) do you think that god encourages homosexuality? (6) does desire for material gains breed homosexuality? (7) do you think it is easy to stop a homosexual from such acts? (8) is homosexuality a learned act? (9) do you think that sensitization can aid in combating homosexuality in zanga? (10) should we encourage homosexuality in our society? materials and method this study adopted the descriptive survey research design. the study was carried out in zanga community which is located at surulere local government area of lagos state in nigeria. a sample of 200 respondents between the ages of 16 and 65 years was selected in a population of 469 from two registered thrift groups in zanga community using simple random sampling technique. the instrument for data collection for the study was a self-constructed structured interview items and questionnaire titled “implications of homosexuality in zanga community questionnaire” (iohizcq). the instrument was subdivided into two major sections a and b based on the research questions. iohizcq was designed and patterned after likert-5-point rating scale of strongly agree igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 144 (sa), agree (a), undecided (ud), disagree (d) and strongly disagree (sd) with corresponding numerical values of 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 respectively while the second section contained the short structured questions for the interviews. the interviews lasted about an hour on average daily for a period of one week. participants both male and female came from diverse backgrounds, ethnicity amongst others. interviews were conducted in town halls and open spaces without interruptions and interferences. the questionnaire was face validated by two experts in measurement and evaluation from nnamdi azikiwe university, awka for relevancy, appropriateness and corrections were made before administration. for the determination of the reliability of the instrument, copies of the item questions were administered on 13 male and 7 female adults from the same zanga community who were not part of the sample. the cronbach alpha was used to ascertain the reliability using test-retest method which gave 0.83. this result implies that the instrument was reliable. the administration of the instrument was done by the researcher with the help of two persons who were trained as research assistants. a total of 200 copies of the items were administered while 200 was successfully retrieved and used for the analysis. in analyzing the research questions, descriptive statistic of mean with standard deviation were used. in answering the research questions, any item less than 3.00 was rejected while a mean score that is equal to or greater than 3.00 were accepted. in testing the hypotheses, the independent t-test was used. if the calculated value of t (tcal) is less than or equal to the critical value of t (tcrit), the hypothesis is accepted but if the calculated value of t (tcal) is greater than the critical value of t (tcrit), the hypothesis is rejected. results and discussion the data obtained were analyzed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions. a mean value of 3.00 and above indicated respondents‟ agreement with an item respondents‟ disagreement with an item while a mean value of 2.99 and below indicated disagreement. table 1: mean scores of respondents on item questions 1-5 on the implications of homosexuality in zanga community s/ n variables ̅ sd remarks 1 do you know that homosexuality is not gainful to the society? 4.32 0.77 accepted 2 are you aware that homosexuality does not bring stability in marriage? 3.73 1.06 accepted igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 145 3 do you know that the prevailing culture in nigeria does not accommodate homosexuality? 3.86 1.07 accepted 4 do you know that homosexuality is not a natural sexual stance? 3.42 0.77 accepted 5 are you aware that god does not encourage homosexuality? 3.95 0.73 accepted source: researchers’ field survey; 2019 sd (standard deviation) ̅ (mean) result in table 1 showed that the participants reacted positively to items 1-5 with mean scores well above 3.00, indicating their awareness of various negative implications of homosexuality in the zanga community in surulere, nigerian. they had mean scores of 4.32, 3.73, 3.86, and 3.42 and 3.92 respectively. therefore, it showed that the participants agree with the items indicating that homosexuality has no gain in the society, brings instability in marriage and god also does not support its practice, among other implications. table 2: mean scores of respondents on items questions 6-10 on the causes and solutions of homosexuality in zanga community s/n variables ̅ sd remarks 6 does desire for material gains breed homosexuality? 3.29 0.91 accepted 7 is homosexuality a learned act? 3.60 0.77 accepted 8 do you think it is difficult to stop a homosexual from such acts? 4.01 0.91 accepted 9 do you think that sensitization is an aid in combating homosexuality in zanga? 3.59 0.98 accepted 10 should we discourage homosexuality in our society? 3.84 0.88 accepted source: researchers’ field survey; 2019 sd (standard deviation) ̅ (mean) table 2 shows homosexuality is caused by the desire for material gains, it‟s a learned, voluntary act which an individual can indulge in, but usually difficult to stop. the items as shown on the table had high mean scores of 3.29, 3.60, 4.01, 3.59 and 3.84 respectively which are higher than the average scale of 3.00. this implies that the participants agreed with all the items. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 146 statistical test of hypotheses ho1: homosexuality is not caused by quest for material gains in zanga community. table 3: t-test analysis on the effect of material gains on homosexuality group n x sd df tcal tcrit remar k agree 162 3.69 0.88 198 2.03 1.960 rejecte d disagr ee 38 3.96 0.79 source: researchers’ result; 2019 accept ho if tcal ≤ tcrit, else reject since the calculated value of t (tcal) is greater than the critical value of t (tcrit), the null hypothesis that which says that homosexuality is not caused by quest for material gains is rejected while the alternate hypothesis is accepted. hence, quest for material gains lead to homosexuality. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 147 ho2: homosexuality does not ensue voluntarily and change is easy to attain. table 4: t-test analysis on whether it is easy for a homosexual person to stop the act group n x sd df tcal tcrit remar k agree 164 4.03 0.88 198 2.72 1.927 rejecte d disagr ee 36 3.67 0.76 source: researchers’ result; 2019 accept ho if tcal ≤ tcrit, else reject since the calculated value of t (t-cal) is greater than the critical value of t (tcrit), the null hypothesis which says that homosexuality ensues voluntarily but change is easy to attain was rejected while the alternate is accepted. however, it is easy to learn the act of homosexuality voluntarily but for an individual to stop the act is usually very difficult. ho3: homosexuality is not a learned act and is basically profitable. table 5: t-test analysis on homosexuality as a learned act group n x sd df tcal tcrit remar k agree 162 4.69 0.86 198 2.03 1.958 rejecte d disagr ee 38 3.96 0.71 source: researchers’ result; 2019 accept ho if tcal ≤ tcrit, else reject since the calculated value of t (tcal) is less than the critical value of t (tcrit), the null hypothesis which says that homosexuality is not a learned act and is basically profitable is rejected while the alternate hypothesis is accepted. in conclusion, homosexuality is a learned act but unprofitable to both the homosexual and the society at large. ho4: homosexuality does not lead to family break up. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 148 table 6: t-test analysis on whether homosexuality could cause family break up group n x sd df tcal tcrit remar k agree 170 4.03 0.88 198 2.52 1.960 rejecte d disagr ee 30 3.67 0.76 source: researchers’ result; 2019 accept ho if tcal ≤ tcrit, else reject since the calculated value of t (t-cal) is greater than the critical value of t (tcrit), the null hypothesis which says that homosexuality does not lead to family break up is rejected while the alternate is accepted. in otherwords, the act of homosexuality is dangerous and could lead to family break up. ho5: homosexuality is not a sin against god. table 3: t-test analysis on the whether homosexuality is a sin before god group n x sd df tcal tcrit remark agree 172 3.69 0.92 198 2.06 1.963 rejecte d disagr ee 28 1.96 0.56 source: researchers’ result; 2019 accept ho if tcal ≤ tcrit, else reject since the calculated value of t (tcal) is greater than the critical value of t (tcrit), the null hypothesis that which says that homosexuality is not a sin before god is rejected while the alternate hypothesis is accepted. hence, homosexuality is a sin before god and does not have any moral support from the society. ho6: homosexuality is not against the basic nigerian culture and a distortion to human sexuality. table 4: t-test analysis on whether the practice of homosexuality is against basic nigerian culture and a distortion to human sexuality group n x sd df tcal tcrit remar k agree 160 4.00 0.81 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 149 198 2.72 1.927 rejecte d disagr ee 40 3.70 0.72 source: researchers’ result; 2019 accept ho if tcal ≤ tcrit, else reject since the calculated value of t (t-cal) is greater than the critical value of t (tcrit), the null hypothesis which says that homosexuality is not against the basic nigerian culture and a distortion to human sexuality is rejected while the alternate hypothesis is accepted. however, it is evident here that homosexuality is against the basic nigerian culture and a distortion to human sexuality. the menace of homosexuality in zanga community the menace of homosexuality in zanga are as follows: (1) it has created factions in the community. some are openly in support of it while some are purely against it. this is equally causing chaos and unrest in the community. (2) it breeds sexual promiscuity amongst the male and female partners in marriage respectively; especially when one partner perceives indifference attitude from the othr partner and feels deprived of sexual intimacy. (3) it has made the community susceptible to various forms of socioeconomic and domestic vices. robbery, lack of respect for constituted authority, drug addiction and the likes are rife in the community all as a result of homosexuality. (4) it has led to a good number of marriage breakdown in the community because the intrinsic essence of marriage with special reference to god‟s design, desire and the african cultural heritage of which nigeria is paramount is more often than not violated by the dastardly act of homosexuality. the truth still remains that homosexual unions cannot be sustained in nigeria because it negates all that human sexuality, and the traditional nigerian societal cultures promotes. (5) it breeds hatred, disdain and antagonism in zanga. this on the other hand may lead to destruction of lives and properties as persons with homosexual tendencies are often treated with disdain in nigeria. (6) homosexuality may lead to the extinction of human race. the contemporary acceptance of homosexuality in all the corners of the world may be dangerous to the survival of the human race. irrespective of the alternative preference for dominant artificial insemination of especially the female spouses in same sex marriage; it should be noted that this may fail eventually. nothing artificial lasts igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 150 forever. besides time will bring about the joint resolution of persons procreated via artificial insemination. the burning anger of not being procreated via the natural, supposed biological process according to gods design and desire may stem up. the persistence and causes of homosexuality in zanga community according to the research carried out by afunugo (2014), homosexuality as a phenomenon therefore persists against outcries here and there over its practice as a result of the strong spiritual under tone that it bears. homosexuality is highly diabolic and it is one of the baits of the antichrist. it is clearly a sexual perversion geared towards destroying the creative act of god. it begins voluntarily and ends involuntarily wherein one will be incapable of stopping it. again, homosexuals believe that they are building a world of their own of which many are oblivious of. they believe that soon they will rule the world and that nothing can stop them hence synonymous with the boastings of the anti-christ as attested in isaiah 14:13-14: i will ascend into heaven, i will exalt my throne above the stars of god; i will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; i will ascend above the heights of the clouds, i will be like the most high. same like statement was made by steam (cited by hettlinger, 1967) "someday we'll outnumber you (heterosexuals), and you will be the abnormal ones, and we'll be the normal ones" (p. 102). thus homosexuals are building a formidable front and soon their wiles will explode on ignorant personalities. this is equally evidenced from the fact that they are even in the internet/websites and have homosexual's organizations worldwide. furthermore, the demon agent fostering homosexuality is very stubborn. r.n. gbazuagu (personal communication, december 18, 2019) and g.a. uzomechina (personal communication, december 15, 2019) both being homosexual adherents revealed shockingly that the totem of the demon agent overseeing the practice of homosexuality is a 'bull'. a bull is the male of any animal in the cow family. first, notice its masculinity – buttressing superiority and lordship. secondly, note that bulls are known for their extraordinary strength as they charge for attack. they have to draw back a little to gain momentum before charging for battle; their drawing back is equally to survey the terrain carefully, to have a full master plan of the whole platform in order to reckon vintage points, weak igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 151 points, and areas of concentrations. homosexuality operates in the same vein; it creeps in gradually and works insidiously and ends up making a victim an addict. this is why homosexuality is still in persistence irrespective of all odds because it has with this ominous ability permeated into all the spheres of human endeavors both in the secular and spiritual circles. precisely in zanga, the following factors equally fosters homosexuality and its persistence: poverty: individual go into it for it poses an easy and cheap mode of making money. loneliness: the female folks in marriage feel sexually starved and out of fear of being tagged unfaithful, they take to the offer of some wealthy female lesbians. transference of spirit: as gathered from j. ezike (personal communication, august 29, 2019) and from the record of greenwald (1988), most people became homosexuals as a result of the first incident of being raped or forced into it. homosexuals are strongly and sometimes irresistibly drawn to each other by the spirits working in them. hence paul indicated in 1st corinthians 6:15-17 that two people becomes one flesh through sexual intercourse, what makes this feasible is the spirit in man. inadequate parental relationships: maternal or paternal deprivation can lead to homosexuality. beiber (1962) maintained that research indicated that the family most likely to produce a homosexual comprises a very intimate, possessive and dominating mother or father and as well a detached, hostile father or mother. thus, the family break up that abounds in zanga can easily foster this. temperament: people with melancholy temperaments are prone to homosexuality. they are always afraid of the crowd, exposure; easily provoked, afraid of heartbreaks, disappointments and scared of losing someone so dear to their hearts. these factors can lead one to indulge in same-sex sexual exploits believing that it is more convenient in all ramifications. this is typified ass visibly externalize in zanga. early interest in sex: many homosexuals displayed an interest in sex at an incredibly early age. some homosexuals had confided that they first igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 152 masturbated or had homosexual experiences at five years of age or even earlier. tripp (1975) maintained that there is always a sexual preconsciousness in homosexual males in their early ages. most home videos display obscene sexual scenes of which when children that are not of age after viewing such will begin to practice it on themselves as they have no means of meeting opposite sex members for exact practice. this is exemplified in zanga with high rate of immorality and lack of home training. solution to the menace of homosexuality in zanga community (1) individuals in zanga should be encouraged to work hard and understand that they can make it when they are industrious. homosexuality should not be an option to anybody nor an escape route to seek peace, tranquility and sexual satisfaction. (2) public enlightenment: the populace of zanga community should be properly informed with the dangers of homosexuality. it should be taught openly in seminar and workshops. experts on human sexuality in line with god‟s standard original design and desire should be employed as resource persons in such seminars. (3) religious education: issus on human sexuality and good moral values should be included in the mission and state owned secondary, primary and post primary schools within zanga and environs curriculum in order to avoid such vices as homosexuality. school teachers should be properly and carefully observed to see that they are not homosexuals before employment: and to equally see to it that none of them exalts homosexual life styles in the classroom. cases abounds of youngsters lured into homosexuality by their teachers both in zanga and other localities in nigeria. (4) pastoral care and counselling: religious leaders should enforce their religious adherents and their members to always do what they can to win lost homosexuals to jesus christ in zanga, other localities and in the national level. they should befriend them, and help them out of the homosexual life style: if not, they will be lost for good and this will not be to the best interest of the society at large. homosexuals should be treated with love and absolute care. they should not be treated with levity, disdain, hate nor be segregated. they should properly be counseled as have seen from this work on the persistence of homosexuality; that it has formidable spiritual undertone. (5) therapeutic approach: the greatest battle is the battle of the mind as treat (1992) and uzuegbunam (2003), pointed out. regards to this, habits like homosexuality has its strongest hold in the mind. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 153 as the mind is the seat of consciousness, therapeutic measures should equally be employed to help homosexuals learn on how to tactically fight obscene homosexual thoughts and overcome them. psychiatric doctors and experts should be employed to help those addicted to homosexuality in zanga to fight the personal struggles and urges they have and experience during the change process. (6) rehabilitation: no one is born a homosexual irrespective of what homosexual activists' project into the media. rehabilitation is the process of getting one to have a normal life as it ought to be after a period of living an abnormal life style which may manifest in a given bad habit as in the case study of homosexuality. this work specifically suggests christian rehabilitation centers (and other religious groups centers as such) wherein homosexuals mind set will be renewed by the word of god. the truth to be revealed to them in these centers should not just be personal ideas, thoughts or hypes of self-help messages but rather principles from the word of god in the bible, and various holy writs. experienced veterans in therapy should be employed who are well grounded on godly principles and basis for human sexuality to lead in these centers. the emphasis should not just be on positive attitudes and thoughts but on providing the right principles for change based strictly on god‟s stand. it should be born in mind that if one has a map of the wrong city, no matter how good ones attitude, how positive ones confession, or how excited such a ones spirit, such person will stay lost, and not get to the desired destination (7) dialogue: dialogue has to do with a discussion between people in which opinions and personal experiences are exchanged. a lot can be achieved through dialogue in solving the menace of homosexuality in the zanga community. homosexuals should be allowed to pour out their minds through dialogue, and great attention given to their opinions. this then will be followed by advice given to them based on the experiences they have shared during the dialogue. njoku (2009), maintained that people with different opinions can never have proper knowledge of themselves without effective and unbiased dialogue. dialogue according to him is "a process of self-donation" (p.242). since major causes of conflict is gap in communication or sharing of meaning, the dangers of homosexuality in zanga can be tackled extensively through dialogue. homosexuals‟ beliefs should neither be tolerated nor encouraged through this mode; rather should be corrected with the word of god as stipulated in the bible and other holy writs. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 154 (8) close monitoring: homosexuality is a learned act that a victim has to fight for a long period of time if a lasting change is desired. bearing this in mind, a victim of homosexuality should be thoroughly followed up even after being certified healed. close monitoring of an individual who is assumed to have changed is extremely important because more often than not, they go back to the act when free-lanced. generally, parents and guardians should check and monitor their children against unfriendly friends who are likely to initiate their children or wards into the act of homosexuality. (9) liberation theology: liberation theology seeks to approach biblical study from the perspective of the oppressed. early exegetical efforts concentrated on the old testament, especially the exodus narrative as boff (1986), declared. the biblical account served basically not as a canon but as a model, a paradigm of that concern for the plight of the poor. johnson and gundry (1986), maintained that gustavo gutierrez was at the fore-front of liberation theology which is geared at commitment to the poor, the oppressed the 'non-person'. as liberation theology argues that theology must start with 'the view from below', with the sufferings of the excluded and oppressed; this work strongly suggests that the word of god should be used as a veritable instrument to liberate homosexuals who are oppressed in their mind/soul, body and spirit through the psychological effects of homosexuality. the act of homosexuality makes homosexuals to feel alienated, while some of the sincere ones repulses themselves at the act. they need to be made to understand that the word of god can liberate them from the bondage of homosexuality. through liberation theology, they will learn that they can change and make their lives whatever they want it to be. they will no longer feel hopeless and helpless but realize that the change process will not be instantaneous experience, but it would be a miraculous one just like the israelites exodus experience. through this, their life will be reshaped, rebuilt and renewed; and they will as well start looking forward to living a rewarding life through having the right form of sexual orientation. this tool will go a long way in tackling homosexuality in zanga. (10) prayer: it is worthy of noting that the afore-mentioned suggestions will not make the counselor of homosexuals a fool if the victim of homosexuality decides not to change nor does it make the counselee a winner because he insists on holding on to homosexuality. that someone upholds strongly to evil acts without remorse can never make igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 155 it right. this then brings up the place of prayer in solving the problem of homosexuality in zanga and this can never be overemphasized. as it is, when all other methods are employed and it eventually becomes positive, it is only with prayers that the victims of homosexuality can be delivered. no matter what was achieved through counseling, when deliverance sessions are not carried out after proper and in-depth counseling, the spirit of homosexuality which is the spirit of the anti-christ as have been discovered in this work will come back to haunt and re-possess such a victim as the score is not yet settled. religious leaders should lead homosexual victims who had undergone various levels of counseling through series of deliverance prayers, to make it a complete task. furthermore, prayers should always be made for morally sound personalities to win elective positions in the government of the state and nation; from the local level up to the national level to help in resisting the making of policies that favours homosexuality. conclusion more often than not issues regarding to homosexuality are taken for granted in the nigerian society; but it is actually a very big problem considering the spiritual dimension of the act of homosexuality. for the fact that homosexuality practices and gay marriage are being practiced and done secretly in many parts of nigeria should not make it to be silenced. the protest and demonstration led by rashidi williams (as cited by ishokare, 2012) sponsored by queer alliance of nigeria against the proposed bill to outlaw same-sex marriage should serve as an eye opener and it equally lent credence to the fact that the practice may be spreading fast unknown to the general public. williams (cited by ishokare) said during the protest that “this bill is not necessary; we see no reason why people should be criminalized” (p.31). he went further as ishokare quoted “we should not create more laws to make us suffer” (p.32). one should bear in mind that homosexuality is an eternally fatal sin against god. its dangers equally include incurring of the wrath of god, increase in the number of broken homes, increase in the rate of adultery, and may lead to the extinction of human race as homosexual unions cannot procreate. in lieu of the afore-mentioned, homosexuality is a violation of the natural law as stipulated by st: thomas aquinas (cited by omoregbe, 1997) which upholds in general that good must be done and evil avoided and that anything that does not follow good at the long run is evil and against the law igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 156 of nature. this law once employed declares that homosexuality is chiefly evil since its aim is simply to satisfy a craving which is actually not natural, is learned and does not benefit mankind. homosexuality is curable. it is however hard for a homosexual to reverse to heterosexual especially when such a one had not gotten the desire to change. one striking testimony of lahaye (1980) is encouraging: what would you think if i told you that i know a man who was homosexual for thirty-seven years and is now happily straight? or a thirty-five year old woman who claimed to have "same-sex impulse for as far back as i can remember", but has been straight for five years? today she ministers to many lesbians in her area and is planning to marry a former homosexual, who has been helping men step out of the unhappy gay life into a blessed new experience, (p.97). from the above testimony, it is clear that homosexual practitioners can change, hence anyone can overcome homosexuality. furthermore, for homosexuals desiring to stop the act, the following instructions are advisable for them to strictly bear in mind and equally apply: 1. it is not easy to come out of homosexuality. 2. the desire to change must come from within. such a one needs to accept and face homosexuality as a sin and confess it, (1john 1:9). 3. even if you have been rejected and condemned socially by the society at large, always accept and love yourself for who you are. jesus christ taught that we are to love our neighbour as ourselves. obviously then, a wholesome self-acceptance is necessary in life. by loving and accepting yourself, you will now have the zeal to strive to liberate yourself from homosexuality; you will be filled with new hope continuously. however, it should never become narcissistic or obsessive to the point where we love ourselves more than god (matthew 22:37-39). 4. learn to control your thoughts and bring into captivity other obscene thoughts to the obedience of christ (2cor. 10:5). never be conformed to the debased standard of homosexuality but be transformed by the renewing of your mind with the word of god (romans 12:2). 5. no one can do it alone. it takes external help to successfully forsake homosexuality. depend solely on god for an ultimate future; and find a prayer partner to always help you in agreement prayers against homosexuality. 6. avoid homosexual hangouts and become active in church's weekly igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 157 bible study classes. 7. become a voluntary help for those intending to come out since you have been delivered. recommendation the stand of the church of nigeria (anglican communion) in lieu with christians biblical standard as posited by the former primates, the most revd p.j. akinola and the most revd nicholas okoh, respectively should be upheld by zanga community and the populace at large in shunning the dastardly act of homosexuality. human kind should not forget that homosexuality is not natural hence, the principles outlined in the theory of natural law should never be undermined. parents should start exposing their children to sex related issues. they should be the first to introduce topics on human sexuality to their children before they end up in the hands of perverts who may deceive them into homosexuality and immoral related acts. parents in zanga community should always strive to bridge the gap between them and their children so that their children will be free to share their secrets with them; this should be followed because most pathological homosexuals were introduced into it at a very tender age. the government of nations should learn to think on the long term effect before legalizing issues like homosexuality. issues that bother on human sexuality should be left at the hands of the morally sound religions leaders to handle and decide. references afunugo, k.n. (2014). the challenges and solution to homosexuality in the church of nigeria (anglican communion). unpublished master‟s degree thesis of the department of religion and human relations; nnamdi azikiwe university awka, anambra state. allen, l.s. & gorski, r.a. (1992). sexual orientation and the size of the anterior commissure in the human brain. retrieved on 25th april, 2013 from http://www.godandscience.org/evolution/geneticsofhomosexualit y.html. allen, l.s., hines, m., shryne, j.e. & gorski, r.a. (1989). two sexual dimorphic cell groups in the human brain. retrieved on 25th april, 2013 from http://www.godandscience.or/evolution/geneticsofhomosexuality.html. associated press in abuja. (2014, january 13). nigeria‟s president signs law imposing up to 14 years‟ jail for gay relationships. the http://www.godandscience.org/evolution/geneticsofhomosexuality.html http://www.godandscience.org/evolution/geneticsofhomosexuality.html http://www.godand-science.or/evolution/geneticsofhomosexuality.html http://www.godand-science.or/evolution/geneticsofhomosexuality.html igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 158 guardian. retrieved on 9th december, 2019 from http://ww.theguardian.com. asuni, t., schoenberg,f. & swift, c. (1994). mental health and disease in africa. lagos: spectrum. bailey, j.m, vasey, p.l., diamond l.m, breedlove, s.m., vilian, e. 8 epprecht. m. (2016). sexual orientation, controversy, and science. psychological science in the public interest, 17, 21 45-101. barnhouse, t.r. (1977). homosexuality: a symbolic confusion. new york: seabury. beiber, i. (1962). homosexuality: a psychoanalytic study of male homosexuals. york: basic books. bishop, k.m., & wahlsten, d. (1997). sex differences in human corpus callosum: myth or reality? retrieved on 25th april, 2013 from http://www.godandscience.org/evolution/ geneticsofhomosexuality.html. boff, l.c. (1986). liberation theology: from confrontation to dialogue. new york: me brown. buckley, m.j. (1960). morality and the homosexual. london: sands. byne w., tobet, s., mattiace, l.a., lasco, m.s., kemether, e., edgar, m.a., morgello, s., buchsbaum, m.s. & jones, l.b. (2001). the interstitial nuclei of the human anterior hypothalamus: an investigation of variation with sex, sexual orientation, and hiv status. retrieved on 25th april, 2013 from http://www.godandscience.org/evolution/geneticsofhomosexualit y.html. deem, r. (2013). genetics and homosexuality: are people born gay? the biological basis for sexual orientation. retrieved on 7th december, 2013 from http://www.godandscience.org./evolution/geneticsofhomosexuality.html. diara, b.c.d. (2005). anglican spirituality: the practice of balanced christianity. enugu: computer-edge. freedom house. (2019, june 5). nigerian same sex marriage bank violates lgbt rights. freedom house. retrieved on 7th december, 2019 from http://www.freedhouse.org. green-simms, l. (2016). the emergent queer: homosexuality and nigerian fiction in the 21st century. research in african literatures, 47, 2,139-161. greenwald, g. (1988). seductions exposed: the spiritual dynamics of relationships. california: eagle's nest. http://ww.theguardian.com/ http://www.godandscience.org/evolution/geneticsofhomosexuality.html http://www.godandscience.org/evolution/geneticsofhomosexuality.html http://www.godand-science.org./evolution/geneticsofhomosexuality.html http://www.godand-science.org./evolution/geneticsofhomosexuality.html http://www.freedhouse.org/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 159 grenz, s. (1998). sexual ethics: a biblical perspective. cumbria: paternoster. hettlinger, r.f. (1967). living with sex: the students dilemma. london: paternoster. ishokare, o.j. (2012). homosexuality & same-sex marriage: evil, danger and the response of church of nigeria anglican communion. warri: deobeth coy. johnson, a.f. & gundry, s.n. (1986). theology of liberation. michigan: grand rapids. kayode, j.o. (1984). understanding african traditional religion. ile-ife: university of ife. kinney, r.l. (2016). homosexuality and scientific evidence: on suspect anecdotes, antiquated data, and broad generalization. linacre quarterly 82, 4, 364-390. lahaye, t. (1980). what everyone should know about homosexuality. illinois: tyndale house. levay, s.i. (2017). gay straight, and the reason why: the science of sexual orientation. oxford: oxford university press. manning, j.t., scutt, d., wilson, j. & jones, l.d. (1998). the ratio of 2nd to 4th digit length: a predictor of sperm numbers and concentrations of testosterone, luteinizing hormone and oestrogen. retrieved on 25th april, 2013 from http://www.godandscience.org/evolution/geneticsofhomosexualit y.html. martin, j.t. & nguyen, d.h. (2004). anthropometric analysis of homosexuals and heterosexuals: implications for early hormone exposure. retrieved on 25th april, 2013 from http://www.godandscience.org/evolution/geneticsofhomosexuality. html. mcconaghy, n., pavlovic, h.d., stevens, c., manicavasagar, v., buhrich, n. & vollmerconna, u. (2006). fraternal birth order and ratio of heterosexual/homosexual feelings in -women, and men. retrieved on 25th april, 2013 from http://www.godandscience.org/evolution/geneticsofhomosexualit y.html. njoku, o.c. (2009). development, conflict and peace in nigeria. in m. ikejiana-clark (ed.). peace studies and conflict resolution in nigeria: a reader (pp. 211-247). ibadan: spectrum. http://www.godandscience.org/evolution/geneticsofhomosexuality.html http://www.godandscience.org/evolution/geneticsofhomosexuality.html http://www.godandscience.org/evolution/geneticsofhomosexuality.html http://www.godandscience.org/evolution/geneticsofhomosexuality.html http://www.godandscience.org/evolution/geneticsofhomosexuality.html http://www.godandscience.org/evolution/geneticsofhomosexuality.html igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 160 novak, a. (2019, march 18). botswana joins list of african countries reviewing gay rights. the conversation. retrieved on 8th december, 2019 from http://ww.theconversation.com. nwala, u.t. (1985). igbo philosophy. lagos: lantern. nwaubani, a.t. (2017, october 19). lgbt acceptance slowly grows in nigeria, despite anti-gay laws. reuters. retrieved on 7th december, 2019 from http:://www.reuters.com. omoregbe, j. (1997). an introduction to philosophical jurisprudence. lagos: joja. onuche, j. (2013). same sex marriage in nigeria: a philosophical analysis. international journal of humanities and social science, 3,12,91-98. orekie, c.e. (2019). the role of christian religion in control of drug abuse: a case study of zanga, surulere local government area of lagos state. unpublished research work, department of religion and cultural studies, faculty of social sciences; university of nigeria nsukka, enugu state. perper, r. (2019, june 12). the 28 countries around the world where samesex marriage is legal. business inside. retrieved on 9th december, 2019 from http://www.pulse.ng. peschke, k.h. (2004). christian ethics: moral theology in the light of vatican//. bangalore: theological publications. reich, w.t. (1995). the ethics of sex and genetics. new york: prentice hall. santtila, p., sandnabba, n.k., harlaar, n., varjonen, m., alanko, k. & von der pahlen, b. (2008). potential for homosexual response is prevalent and genetic. retrieved on 25th april, 2013 from http://wvvw.godandscience.org/evolution/geneticsofhomosexuality .htrnl. swaab, d.f. & fliers, e. (1985). a sexually dimorphic nucleus in the human brain. maryland: gorgen. swaab, d.f., gooren, l.j.g. & hofinan, m.a. (1992). gender and sexual orientation in relation to hypothalamic structures. maryland: gorgen. tayo, a.o. (2018, november 19). from near death to detention in usa, this is the story of a brave nigerian lgbt q+activist. pulse. retrieved on 7th december, 2019 from http://www.pulse.ng. treat, c. (1992). renewing the mind: the key to transformation. washington: tim hodgson kirkland. tripp, c.a. (1975). the homosexual matrix. new york: new american library. http://ww.theconversation.com/ http://www.pulse.ng/ http://wvvw.godandscience.org/evolution/geneticsofhomosexuality.htrnl http://wvvw.godandscience.org/evolution/geneticsofhomosexuality.htrnl http://www.pulse.ng/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 161 uzuegbunam, e. (2003). prayer manual for end time prophetic warfare. enugu: rabboni. vertefeuille, j.n. (1988). sexual chaos: the personal and social consequences of the sexual revolution. illinois: crossway. verweij, k.j.h, shekar, s.n., zietsch, b.p., eaves, l.j., bailey, j.m., boomsma, d.i. & martin n.g. (2008). genetic and environmental influences on individual differences in attitudes toward homosexuality: an australian twin study. retrieved 25th april, 2013 from http://www.godand science.org/evolution/geneticofhomosexuality .html. williams, t.j., pepitone, e.m., christensen, s.e., cooke, b.m., hyberman, a.d., breedlove, n.j., breedlove, t.j., jordan, c.l. & breedlove, s.m. (2000). finger-length ratios and sexual orientation: nature, 404, 6777, 455-456. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 49 socio-economic effects of street begging among children in suleja, niger state nigeria. alabi stella olubusla phd department of sociology and anthropology baze university, abuja doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.36469.60642 abstract the study was carried out to examine street begging among children in suleja metropolis and the research objectives for this study are to identify the rate of street begging among children in suleja metropolis,and also to examine the factors responsible for street begging among children in suleja metropolis,and equally to identify the effect of street begging among children in suleja metropolis, and finally to explore the various strategies of managing street begging among children in suejametropolis. several literatures that is related to this study were also reviewed. 133 respondents ( children) within the sulejas were given questionnaire to fill with the assistance of interpreters to gather data based on the research objectives. one of the conclusions of the study is that indicated poverty, low-self-esteem, religious misunderstanding, and illiteracy are major reasons for street begging among children in suleja metropolis and the country at large. keywords: street begging, poverty, children, socio-economic effects. introduction street begging is one of the most severe social problems that have, over time, attracted global attention the street beggar is an individual such as children, elderly, disabled people, and families who usually solicit for money or assistance in public spaces such as shopping areas, banks, public offices, churches, mosques, and busy streets, among others. although this problem has generated issues both in developed and developing countries of the world, it is more prevalent and least attended-to in the developing countries. the presence of beggars in the streets of urban areas of developing countries is recognized to be a severe problem that requires an urgent redress; their lifestyles and the display of overtly aggressive behavior make them subjects of suspicion and hostility by the public, and law enforcement agencies in particular (namwata, mgabo, and dimoso, 2011). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 50 in nigeria, the culture of begging is fast becoming a social influence too strong to be ignored as the number of alms-dependent persons in the country has been increasing progressively since the 1980s (aderinto, akinwale, atere, and oyenuga, 2007). though street begging, by definition in constitutional law and criminal code, is a deviation from what nigeria and the majority of her citizens defined as right (adewuyi, 2000), the severity and widespread nature of this phenomenon are daily exemplified by different categories of persons engaging in it (fawole, ogunkan, and omuruan, 2011; jelili, 2009). indeed, the problem has reached an acute stage to the extent that it has continued to draw the attention of the government, the media, religious leaders, the general public and other stakeholders in the society. street begging has gone beyond seeing pitiable wretched, poverty-ridden and physically handicapped street persons soliciting alms to survive, as able-bodied men and women, who have refused to work for a living, are also involved in it by using different strategies to solicit alms from members of the public (fawole, ogunkan, and omuruan, 2011). begging has become a social institution, a commercial enterprise, and occupation for otherwise healthy citizens in society (igbinovia, 1991). while some people take to begging as a permanent business, others see it as a temporary measure of escaping the contingent poverty conditions. some other individuals engage in begging as a way of diverting the attention of the nearby people from all forms of the evil they may wish to perpetrate (adedibu and jelili, 2012). in recent years, the attention of sociologists, psychologists, and social researchers has been on the menace of street begging, that has become part and parcel of the cultural landscape. according to tipple (2013), the number of homeless people worldwide in 2012 is estimated in to be between 100 million to 1billion. the population of beggars who seem to pass most of their time on the streets and public areas in many states of the world has existed from time immemorial. in many urban areas due to poverty, failure in housing systems and insurgency, street beggars are found in public places such as recreational areas, worship centers, commercial centers worst still on campus begging for arms. in nigeria, the north-west geopolitical zone has the highest percentage of street beggars compare to other geopolitical zones, most of which depend on the street begging to survive (ojo, 2017). street beggars including children, the aged, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 51 women, and men, disabled are conspicuously found in streets and public areas begging for alms. they are mostly between 5-45 years whom regularly move in groups of 5-10 with plates or bowls in their hands having un-kept hair, blistered lips, dirty fingers, bare and broken feet, tattered clothes engaging members of the public with enchanting songs and saluting alms singing in exchange for money food and items. while the disabled with kids leading the way soliciting for money, food, or anything from passersby. the cankerworm of begging has become a socio-economic and physical problem for most cities in nigeria both in the southern and northern region of the country. this circumstance has made the beggars take advantage of the urban area in the society, which they are now permanents resident (illegal or legal) in the locations. studies have shown that even when these beggars are provided for and are taken away from the street via rehabilitation or legal enforcement one tends to encounter them on the street still again (esan, 2009) the menace of street begging among children in some area is associated with the growth of the cities, high-level of drought and famine occurring in their domain, which makes them, locates to find green pastures. other factors include poverty and socio-economic problems of the family the children grew in and from (ojo and benson, 2017). begging is an act done by requesting from person one encounters money, food, shelter to satisfy him/herself. mudasir (2010) depicts that begging is a social problem that bring about development of inferiority complex in the children begging and also dent their family image. brown (2010) depicts that begging is anti-social to almost all the nations of the world, most notably the emerging and developing nations of the country. however, this study focuses on the street begging among children in suleja metropolis. statement of the problem one social problem that has been an age-long issue and severe concern to wellmeaning nigerians is street begging. the problem of begging is widespread in nigeria and seen as a global problem. brown (2010) said begging is an antisocial behaviour observed in almost all nations of the world, especially in developing nations. it involves asking for what the beggar does not have or favor. street begging anywhere is a national disease that eats into the fabrics of the social, economic, religious, political, and educational structures. in other words, it is an indictment on the quality of government in many societies (usoro, 2007). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 52 in nigeria, the history of street begging is uncertain, but it is known that street begging had been in existence even before the country gained her independence. according to the amman (2009), “mabaratas” who are professional beggars contributed immensely to the widespread of begging in nigeria. “mabaratas” are those that live by asking people for money. begging has been prevalent since the existence of human civilization and has many different variables and causes within different cultural contexts. begging has happened in most societies around the world, although its prevalence and exact form varied. begging had noticed in greece about 8th to sixth countries ago among the early middle ages and the byzantine era (johnny, 2008). according to alan (2010), the phenomenon of street children has been documented as far back as 1848. in nigeria, the government also recently made efforts to tackle the problem of begging, by building rehabilitation centers to cater to beggars (okoli, 2009). however, these governmental efforts to curb the menace of begging have not been practical and rarely dissuade the beggars. moreover, the constitutionality of bans on begging has not been fully established by law cases (petro, and kombe, 2010). in nigeria, some government authorities, including fct, made various efforts to tackle the problem by sending beggars back to their homes but without setting forth strategies to make street beggars attain necessities of life. as a result, many municipal authorities have been striving to control the influx of street beggars in the cities without success. a quick examination of these efforts indicates that most of them focused more on the symptoms rather than on prevention or eradication of the deeper structural causes of the problem (olujimi, and olamiju, 2011). despite the menace of begging to the environment and socio-economic development of nigerian urban centers, it is unfortunate that not much research works have been directed towards the rehabilitation of street beggars. this signals the need for more to be done to contain the situation comprehensively and sustainably. the severe problem of begging is a common attribute in almost all urban area in nigeria, even though it is significantly at an increasing rate in some other part of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 53 the country (namwata et al., 2010). the phenomenon of street begging is a problem due to the following factors which include poverty, religion, physical disability, culture, national disaster, civil war, bad habits, family heritage and psychiatric disabilities (amman, 2006; ogunkan&fawole, 2009; namwata et al., 2011). the problems above necessitate a need to carry out a study on the street begging among children in suleja metropolis. the objective of the study this study intends to study the effect of street begging among children in gwagwalada metropolis. the specific objective of the study includes the following: i. to identify the rate of street begging among children in suleja metropolis. ii. to examine the factors responsible for street begging among children in suleja metropolis iii. to identify the effect of street begging among children in suleja metropolis iv. to explore the various strategies of managing street begging among children in suleja metropolis theoretical framework vicious circle theory the theory of vicious cycle of poverty (ragnar nurske 1950), seeks to explain the persistence of poverty in society and indicates that poverty as a subculture, passes from one generation to another and becomes institutionalized amongst the poor. it is one of the characteristics which prepare the ground for the phenomenon of street begging. it emphasized the people’s ability to manage risk rather than their attitude to risk as a way of breaking the vicious circle of poverty. other attributes of poverty which make escape difficult are poor health, lack of skills, lack of self-confidence or support mechanism, remoteness from market, lack of physical asset or borrowing power, malnutrition, tendency towards indolence, lack of cognitive psyche, feeling of incapability, dependence on others, feeling of unworthiness or combination of the above (ahmadi, 2003, ogunkan and fawole, 2009). as a result, the poor were trapped in the situation with little chance of escaping such that in a vicious process, poverty was maintained among the poor across the generations. the vicious cycle of poverty helps to explain the existence of begging across the generations (jelili, 2009). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 54 begging develops in societies where there is not the appropriate job for the people with a particular profession or skill, and society cannot effectively solve the problems of the poor. however, there are mentalities and values dominating the society which consider the poor’s low level of life as the result of their capability. in such conditions, begging is both a means for adaptation to the environment to survive and a reaction which the weak individual reveals against his/ her feeling of unworthiness in order to resist hopelessness. hopelessness results from knowing the reality that achieving success in terms of the values and goals of the larger society is impossible for them (jelili 2009). functionalist theory structural functionalism or simply functionalism (talcott parsons et al. 1979), sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability. this approach looks at society through a macro-level orientation, which is a broad focus on the social structures that shape society as a whole, and believes that society has evolved like organisms. this approach looks at both social structure and social functions. functionalism addresses society as a whole in terms of the function of its constituent elements; namely norms, customs, traditions, and institutions. a common analogy, popularized by herbert spencer, presents these parts of society as "organs" that work toward the proper functioning of the "body" as a whole. in the most basic terms, it merely emphasizes "the effort to impute, as rigorously as possible, to each feature, custom, or practice, its effect on the functioning of a supposedly stable, cohesive system." for talcottparsons, "structural-functionalism" came to describe a particular stage in the methodological development of social science, rather than a specific school of thought. the structural functionalism approach is a macrosociological analysis, with a broad focus on social structures that shape society as a whole. (ritzer, 2011). the sociologist talcott parson popularised insight into functionalism, with emphasis on the nature of specific social structures such as roles, social systems, actions as a process in times and expenditure of effort or energy, personality, and interrelatedness of actions and structure (ritzer, 2011). these roles are reinforced by cultural and situational expectations from children when viewed from the child labor phenomenon. children engaged in child labor are performing some section of duty assigned to them by either the socio-cultural, economic, or political structures of their societies. viewed from structuralism, therefore, the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/complex_systems https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/social_structure https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/norms_%28sociology%29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/convention_%28norm%29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/traditions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/institutions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/herbert_spencer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/talcott_parsons https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/social_science https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/macrosociology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/macrosociology igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 55 notion of the socio-economic, political, and regulative ideals of the phenomenon could be explained in perceived “dysfunctional.” criticism of the functionalist theory in the 1960s, functionalism was criticized for being unable to account for social change, or for structural contradictions and conflict (and thus was often called "consensus theory"). also, it ignores inequalities, including race, gender, class, which cause tension and conflict. the refutation of the second criticism of functionalism that it is static and has no concept of change has already been articulated above, concluding that while parsons' theory allows for change, it is an orderly process of change (parsons, 1961), a moving equilibrium. therefore, referring to parsons' theory of society as static is inaccurate. it does indeed emphasize equilibrium and the maintenance or quick return to social order, but this is a product of the time in which parsons was writing (post-world war ii, and the start of the cold war). society was in upheaval and fear abounded. at the time, the social order was crucial, and this is reflected in parsons' tendency to promote equilibrium and social order rather than social change. another criticism directed at functionalism is that it contains no sense of agency, that individuals are seen as puppets, acting as their role requires. holm wood states that the most sophisticated forms of functionalism are based on "a highly developed concept of action," and as was explained above, parsons took as his starting point the individual and their actions. his theory did not, however, articulate how these actors exercise their agency in opposition to the socialization and inculcation of accepted norms. as has been shown above, merton addressed this limitation through his concept of deviance, and so it can be seen that functionalism allows for the agency. it cannot, however, explain why individuals choose to accept or reject the accepted norms, why and in what circumstances they choose to exercise their agency, and this does remain a considerable limitation of the theory. further criticisms have been leveled at functionalism by proponents of other social theories, particularly conflict theorists, marxists, feminists, and postmodernists. conflict theorists criticized functionalism's concept of systems as giving far too much weight to integration and consensus and neglecting independence and conflict. lockwood, in line with conflict theory, suggested that parsons' theory missed the concept of system contradiction. he did not account for those parts of the system that might have tendencies to mal-integration. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/consensus_theory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/agency_(philosophy) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/marxists https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/feminists https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/postmodernists igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 56 according to lockwood, it was these tendencies that come to the surface as opposition and conflict among actors. however, parsons thought that the issues of conflict and cooperation were very much intertwined and sought to account for both in his model. in this, however, he was limited by his analysis of an ‘ideal type' of society, which was characterized by consensus. merton, through his critique of functional unity, introduced into functionalism a precise analysis of tension and conflict. merton's functionalist explanations of social phenomena continued to rest on the idea that society is primarily co-operative rather than conflicted, which differentiates merton from conflict theorists. this work will be linked to the theories of vicious circle and functionalism theories. the reasons for linking this work to the above-stated theories are as follows: the vicious cycle theory seeks to explain the perpetuation of poverty in communities and indicates that poverty as a subculture, passes from one generation to another and becomes institutionalized amongst the poor. while the functionalist is of importance to this study because of its emphasis on the parts and structure of the society. each part of the structure has a role to play for the survival of the whole system because of its interconnectedness. the failure of each part to perform the assigned role will lead to the dysfunction of the whole structure. the failure of the structures to perform gave birth to the social ill of street begging. an overview of street begging in nigeria nigeria is the largest black african country with, according to a recent census, a population of about 150 million people. it is said that every fourth african is a nigerian. there are several ethnic groups, but the three major tribes comprise the majority of the people: the igbo in the east, the yoruba in the west and the hausa/fulani in the north. nigeria plays a leading role in determining the future of africa both at the global and regional levels, apparently because of her size and resource endowments. even in the face of these strengths, and with a reasonably acceptable census figure, there are no known statistics of street beggars in the country; however, according to the 2006 census, about 47% of the population is under 15 years old while about 3.5% is aged 65 years or over. according to crc definition (a person under 18 years), children represent over 50% of the population. the phenomenon of street begging in nigeria results mainly from family breakdown, which is in turn linked to polygamy. in an igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 57 increasingly democratic society, the less privilege learns to survive on their own and in the process they are exploited through child labor and trafficking. many take to the streets for refuge (ebigbo, 2003). four main kinds of street beggars are found in nigeria: those who live and work on the street, (beggars on the street) and those who work on the streets full or part-time but who return to their homes each night (beggars in the street). beggars of the streets this group of beggars lived and sleep on the streets and have loose family contacts. beggars in this group usually spend some nights or days on the streets and very occasionally goes back home. beggars of street families’ people in the fourth group of beggars were born and raised on the streets. most of them have parents who are beggars. these beggars and their parents engage in begging activities, and they are branded as beggars. a few are found in the southern cities although in a different form, usually as guides to physically challenged adults. in the east, a child aged 8 -9 years is found on the streets early, as fewer premiums are placed on education in comparison with trading activities (ebigbo, p.o. 2003). furthermore, there is a new phenomenon of street beggars, which can better be described as ‘road beggars.’ these children and young adults under the guise of filling potholes on significant roads engage in begging. apart from facing severe safety risks to themselves and other road users, they are part of organized long way robberies as they provide unsuspecting intelligence and sometimes plant sharp objects on the road to puncture and deflate vehicle tires and trap vehicles for easy plunder by the central armed robbers. they sometimes involve in petty stealing of such items as cell phones from passengers using the clear windscreens of trapped vehicles in a traffic jam as a result of bad roads (aced, 2007). there is another variant of the phenomenon known as street wandering boys and girls roaming the streets doing nothing serious. while it is hard to come by accurate national statistics on street beggars in nigeria, available figures are often contested, and many are estimates or projected figures from other sources as opposed to figures derived from specific studies. a study conducted by a leading human rights expert in the country shows that homeless people were rare in the mid-eighties, there were an “estimated” 8000 of them by the early 1990s. by 1999, the less privilege was reported in over a hundred street locations in lagos. this claim of 8000 was highly criticized as highly grossly underigwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 58 representative of the actual number on the streets of lagos state. this is against the backdrop of the international labor organization’s (ilo) estimate that the less privileged in nigeria constitutes over 6% of the world population figure of between 425 to 477 million. a significant percentage of the less privilege are mostly street beggars who are found in a rapidly urbanizing world (basu and tzannatos, 2003). given these statistics, street beggars in nigeria under any guise are in millions and are on the increase causes of street begging national planning commission (npc) in 2004 noted that street beggars manifest in joblessness, over-indebtedness, economic dependence, inability to provide basic needs for self and family, lack of access to land and credit facility, inability to save own assets, among others, wolf (2005) reported that people who beg do so in order to meet subsistence needs while quidix (2010) from his survey, revealed that 88% of his respondents indicated adequate nutritional needs, needs for accommodation 53%, alcohol dependency 41%, healthcare 29%. one can deduce from this study that poverty is the main factor associated with street begging. the poverty in nigeria according to elembah (2011) increased from 27% in 1980 to 66% in 1996, 1999 increased to 70%, by 2011 it was estimated that more than 85% of nigerians live in poverty elombah (2011) also said that, research carried out by an ngo called naped showed figures on the incidence of poverty in the six geopolitical zones in the country, which include from north-west 74% of the people are poor, and they live on less than one dollar a day; in the north-east the poverty rate is 78%; north-central the poverty figure is 70%. by contrast in the south-west, the poverty rate is 28%, the south-south 30% while the south-east of nigeria has a poverty rate of 23%. it could be vividly seen from the above that, the northern part of the country has the most significant percentage of poverty rate; this has become a source of concern and worry in nigeria. middle-aged and older people are seen reclining tiredly on mats spread in streets corner and are begging with no discrimination to gender. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 59 factors promoting street begging scholars have identified several factors as responsible for the problem of street begging in society. lynch (2005) recognizes begging as a complex and multifaceted problem that is most often caused by multiple and interrelated individual and structural deprivations. he opines that there are clear causal and consequential correlates between begging, homelessness, poverty, mental illness, drug dependency, and inadequate access to housing, income, and health support services. the national council for the welfare of the destitute (2001) identifies six reasons why people engage in begging in nigeria to include: loss of parental/guardian support, parental/guardian neglect, poverty, disability, socio-cultural misconceptions and lack of parental education. igbinovia (1991) also summarizes factors promoting street begging in nigeria as: traditional and cultural factors, customs and religion, poverty and destitution, laziness and indolence, unemployment and the need to make a living or money, deformity and disability, desertion and lack of spouse or family care, inadequate and lack of rehabilitation and vocational centers, old age, an influx of illegal/destitute aliens. adewuyi (2000) attributes some of the factors promoting the phenomenon of street begging in northern nigeria to include the traditional system of education, family problems, and the structure of traditional administration as interplayed by arabic civilization, westernization and colonialism. in an earlier study, aliyu (1972) states that beggars in nigeria are unfortunate victims of the rapidly changing society whose plight is stemming from significant disorientation in both social and cultural values. to demewozu (2005), poverty is the most frequent precipitant of the problem of begging in society. beneath poverty lies the widespread scarcity of resources needed to lead a proper life and also, a socio-economic system that is becoming more concentrated with the evils of urbanization owing to migration and displacement of people, who have nowhere else to go but to the streets. aderinto, akinwale, atere and oyenuga (2007) asserted that the worsening economic condition in nigeria has thrown up several socially disapproved survival mechanisms and deviant behaviors; one of which is street begging now engaged in by different categories of people, such as the area boys, the disabled and other vulnerable groups. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 60 this increase in poverty is traceable to the failure of structural adjustment programs, as well as the current worsening socio-economic conditions in the country (okunmadewa, 2001). according to the world bank’s (2000) estimates, over 45% of the nigerian population live below the poverty level with about two-thirds (2/3) of this group being extremely poor. although the studies conducted by the federal office of statistics in nigeria between 1980 and 1996 indicated that the problem of poverty was more pronounced among rural than urban dwellers. recent trends in the country, however, suggest that urban poverty is increasingly becoming a problem (fawole, ogunkan,&omoruan, 2011). osagbemi and adepetu (1999) indict modernization and western influence as factors promoting street begging in nigeria. they observed that modernization is increasingly leading to the disappearance of the extended family support system, which in the past characterized most african societies. consequently, the aged, the disabled, and even the disadvantaged youths are now the leading beggars of our time. this increasing urban living was accompanied by a marked increase in various forms of deviant behaviors, which include street begging. mijinyawa (2001) perceives begging as a derogatory habit brought about by the unrestricted movement of the almajiri children, especially in the north, which is now associated with touting. phelan, bruce, moore, &estueve (1997) and osiki (1999) have also attributed the problem of street begging to conditions that have sociological connotations like poverty, undereducation, underprivileged, and homelessness. anderson (1961) identifies six significant conditions contributing to the problem of begging to include: unemployment and seasonal work, misfit of industry whether due to physical handicaps, mental deficiency, occupational diseases or lack of vocational training, defects of personality, family conflicts, misconduct and crime, racial or national discrimination in employment opportunities, and desire for new experiences. moorthy(1959), as cited in reddy (2013), identifies over-population, unprofitable methods of cultivation, debt, famine, floods, family breakdown, chronic diseases, unwillingness to work, as the predominant causes of begging. he opines that besides the problem being more urban, the act of begging has roots in the prevailing socio-economic conditions. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 61 adedibu and jelili (2011) view urban land use activities as significantly influencing the spatial distribution of beggars in nigerian cities as a result of the pleasant land uses for commercial, transport, and public uses. a less organized commercial or public area where informal activities are predominant tends to attract more beggars than an organized one. hence, in nigeria, begging activities is more concentrated in commercial, public, and high-density land use environments, which are features of the central areas and junctions of significant transport corridors. in a study conducted in australia, cooke and horn (2001) discover the reasons given by their respondents for engaging in begging behaviors to be related to their life histories and pressures their past disadvantage and trauma had placed upon them. such pressures often lead to substance abuse, which, in turn, promote a chaotic lifestyle. beggars covered in this particular study saw begging as a means of supplementing their income to feed their drug and alcohol habits, pay for temporary accommodation, as well as, meet their basic needs for food and drink. effects of street begging on national security street begging is an environmental problem that affects the population of nigerians especially the less privilege that requires urgent solution through welfare programs, governments and ngos to provide and cater for the less privileged, their families and needy homes. national security has been defined as the “aggregate of the security interest of all individuals, communities, ethnic groups, political entities, and institutions which inhabit the territory of abuja nigeria. street beggars in nigeria have caused many challenges against national security. the cost of maintenance is prohibitive, which instead would have gone a long way to be useful in infrastructural development in some parts of the country today, one of the most significant menaces abuja is facing, and in nigeria at large is terrorism. abuja is confronted with intimidation from boko haram, which accounted for more than 450 killings and destruction of national resources in abuja and nigeria at large (aljazeera 1). these have bridged national security, peace, safety of lives and properties are not guaranteed. most countries in africa are grappling with the menace of street beggars; nigeria which has so far escaped macro level conflicts may not entirely survive the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 62 menace of street beggars who constitute a population of rearmed robbers, thugs, and area boys and violent cultists . the increase of ethnos religious conflicts, bokoharam with the appearance of street gangs from street beggars and other manifestations of small violence is one of the most visible effects. street beggars, street urchins, almajirism, boko haram, child traders/laborers that invade nigeria cities if not adequately addressed, will continue to remain a problem on national security,( fawole 2012). street begging has fatal consequences. street begging is an indictment on the quality of governance in many societies. apart from the strain that is begging places on beggars, other factors impact negatively on their health and personality. these include exploitation, sexual abuse, contact of hiv/aids, and other sexually transmitted diseases. some female beggars end up with unplanned pregnancies. more so, due to poverty, many beggars in the street are at the risk of being kidnapped and forced into prostitution. usoro et al. (2007) opined that many street beggars’ risk being run over by careless drivers, and many are victims of police torture and brutality. also, street beggars could be willingly fooling in the hand of disgruntled individuals to ferment troubles in society. many are found with dangerous weapons, many are lured into kidnapping business, and some are quickly recruited as armed robbers and other social miscreants (nigeria news update, 2009). children’s involvement in street begging hagan and mccarthy (1997) submitted that globally, about 100 million children and adolescents live on the streets and engage in begging. in his description of the incidence of child begging in nigeria, igbinovia (1991) observes that child beggars are a growing phenomenon in nigerian cities and towns. he avers that unlike some of their adult counterparts, child beggars often do not show any visible signs of physical and mental disabilities. they start begging at a relatively early age, usually between the ages of two and twelve years. this category of a beggar, according to igbinovia, is mostly from poor homes, may have unwed mothers, may be orphans or escapees from motherless homes. generally, they do not have any fixed homes; as a result, they sleep in public buildings, mosques, churches, cinema halls, abandoned buildings, and other institutions. igbinovia (1991) articulates that many of the foreign child beggars in nigeria, especially those from chad and the niger republic, can speak the three main languages in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 63 nigeria; often, the language they employ usually depends on their perception of their would-be “donor-victims.” the immigrant child beggars, igbinovia observed, are more aggressive when soliciting alms than their nigerian counterparts. in their desperation, they often embarrass their potential “victims” by pulling at their clothes, thereby importuning them. ihejirika (2013) also observes that migrant beggars in nigeria use their children to solicit alms to keep body and soul together. most of their children usually look dirty and unhealthy in their tattered dress and oily clothes. adebola (2006) similarly contends that these street children are incredibly vulnerable to physical and emotional trauma with the adolescent girls among them most susceptible to sexual exploitation and exposure to a wide variety of highly infectious diseases. aderinto (1996) believes that the inability of parents to pay their children’s school fees and children’s consistent failure to adjust to the school system force some students to drop out of schools and gradually metamorphose into area boys, thereby engaging in street begging and other deviant acts. odukoya (2009) traces the incidence of child begging in nigeria to a very old cultural and religious practice in most parts of the country, in which children were often sent out by their parents, guardians, or caregivers to beg for alms and in some cases, where children acted as aides to adult beggars, who were blind or who pretended to be blind. child begging, according to imam (1998), is much more widespread in the northern parts of the country where the koranic system of education known as almajiranci or almajiraiis is widely practiced. some abuses, according to imam (1998), have, however, crept into this formerly lofty and notable religious, educational system. the teachers encourage their pupils or wards to beg for sustenance in the course of which they imbibe some terrible habits. the involvement of children in begging has been severely criticized even in the communities where the practice is rife (imam, 1998). in 2001, the federal office of statistics in nigeria also observed that the phenomenon of child begging is rapidly becoming prominent in some southern cities like lagos and ibadan. in some beggar enclaves in lagos mainland, hundreds of child beggars were observed to be living and sleeping in open igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 64 spaces with their families, where they eke out an existence from begging by playing an active role in wheedling sympathy money from passers-by. the federal office of statistics (2001) further identifies the three categories of child beggars in the major urban centers in nigeria to include those who lead blind parents or relatives, those who are encouraged to beg in order to support religious education, and those who act as fronts for parents, especially mothers who are usually hidden from public view but supervise them from a close distance. odukoya (2009) notes that in some parts of nigeria, women hired children from parents as begging baits from unsuspecting members of the public. among the yoruba of south-west nigeria, “ibeji” (twins) begging was a religious-based practice as part of traditional religion obligation. in the northern cities of sokoto,suleja, kano, kaduna, zaria, yola,andfuntuwa, child begging was not just pervasive, but institutionalized (odukoya, 2009). according to delap (2009), forced child begging exists in the broader context of child begging, which was highly regarded as an indictment that society fails to protect and nurture its children. it involves forcing boys and girls to beg through violence, the threat of violence, or other forms of physical or psychological coercion. this extreme form of abuse or exploitation and the current lack of action by the government to tackle it sensitively and effectively are particularly pathetic because the children involved are visible to everyone in the streets of cities around the world. other research suggests that children are trafficked into begging in asia, europe, africa, and latin america (us departments of state, 2008; ilo, 2006). the attitude of the public towards street begging massey d.( 2002 ) submitted that though there may be a less social stigma associated with begging in developing countries than in the west, people who beg are not usually accepted as equal citizens. ramanathan (2008) claims that begging is viewed as an undesirable behavior and beggars are, most times, perceived as threatening in many parts of the world. fabregas (1971) explains that begging in a south-eastern mexican city is characterized as deviant behavior, an action of last resort because it implies an identity lacking self-regard and selfrespect, relegating an individual to a degraded social position. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 65 socio-economic consequences of street begging in his submission on the harmful effects of street begging in nigeria, igbinovia (1991) laments that beggars constitute a social menace and parasite to the country, because they roam the streets, harass citizens, disrupt the free flow of traffic on the highways, and engage in various forms of crimes. ndubuisi (1986) similarly posits that many of the beggars in nigeria are carriers of terrible and contagious diseases and also pose serious health consequences to the citizenry. the beggars, according to him, do not only constitute a scourge to the nigerian society, but also form the dregs of the nigerian society. salami and olugbayo’s (2013) study, among the international migrant beggars in ibadan, southwestern nigeria, has also confirmed that these beggars are potential agents of disease transmission from their home countries to the host country. adedibu (1989) claims that the potential threat of begging to the nigerian society is evident in its negative implications on social, environmental and economic survival of the country because it constitutes an economic threat to the society as beggars are not economically productive. they merely contributes nothing to the national economy, and consequently, the economy was further retarded as a result of the considerable proportion of beggars‟ population depending on the already overstretched workforce. reddy (2013) has similarly claimed that begging has become the mainstay for a quite large section of the population in india. he further avers that the more significant the chunk of the population involved in begging, the more substantial the burden on the working population and the lesser the usage of human resources for constructive human development. in the same vein, jelili (2009) reveals that the negative impacts of begging on social and physical environments are evident in the tendency of beggars to delay and obstruct the free flow of human and vehicular traffic and their high propensity to generate dirty materials, either as waste or as parts of their belonging. also, the criminal activities of fake beggars, who are mostly criminals in disguise, constitute the social implications of begging in nigerian cities. indeed, bambale (2008) observes that almajirai (child beggars) played negative roles during religious and ethnic conflicts in the northern parts of nigeria. he further noted that this category of beggars usually transforms from mere street beggars to street gangs known as “yandabas” in kano state. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 66 ogunkan (2009) has also further noted that some beggars use insults, profanity, or veiled threats as a means of soliciting alms in aggressive panhandling. meanwhile, osa-edoh and ayano (2012) contended that it is a common practice in nigeria for beggars to use posters or envelopes with pictures of terminally ill people to solicit money meant for their personal use. they also lament the deceptive activities of some self-acclaimed healers of people with a mental health condition, who are fond of using them to beg for money from the unsuspecting members of the public. on their part, fawole, ogunkan and omuruan (2010) state that street begging is social deviance in nigeria because it negates the norms, expectations, and values of the society. in yoruba culture, for example, only hard work is highly valued; hence, begging in its absolute sense is not accessible, and beggars are usually looked down upon by others as belonging to a group of wretched persons in the society. in his contribution on the negative implications of street begging in nigeria, olaniyi (2009) articulates that young children and teenagers were co-opted into street begging by old professional beggars who lured them with fabulous stories of the money-spinning advantages of the act. he further observes that in order to prick the conscience of alms-givers, some beggars routinely hire babies from nannies and day-care centers, and after that, disguise them as beggars on the street. in lagos, for instance, with a token of n500, some owners of daycare centers rent out children for at least four hours to women who disguise them as beggars in the streets. indeed, con-men and child traffickers have transformed street begging in nigeria into a lucrative export commodity (olaniyi, 2009). methodology this study employs a descriptive survey design. this design seems to be the most appropriate to execute the effect of street begging among children in suleja metropolis. the study will make use of the primary source of data collection.since this research is an empirical one, the data for this exercise was obtained from information gathered mainly from interviews and questionnaires.the sample space for this study comprises of (200) children within the age bracket of 6-17 years old. the children begging within suleja metropolis will be used for the study as the respondent. due to the language igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 67 barrier, the study will make use of an enumerator that will be able to communicate well and draw out the needful response from the children. the sample unit will be about 133 using simple percentage. the questionnaires will be designed and understandably to enhance the collection of the data needed. the questionnaire will be used to draw out unprocessed primary data, which are the objective position of the respondentsthe questionnaire will have two sections: a and b. section a will consist of the demographic data of the children which includes age, religion, and section b will be assessing the main reasons for street begging among children in suleja metropolis. data collected were presented using a simple percentage and frequency tables. responses given in the questionnaire were presented in the tabulation form. the data generated through the questionnaires were analyzed through the use of tables and percentages to enhance straightforward representation, classification, and interpretation of collected data. one hundred fifty respondents were used as the samples for this research. data presentation the below tables consists of the data collected from the respondents in response to the administered questions the questionnaire by the researcher which was presented to children within suleja township, and the number of the questionnaire given out were 133 but not all were returned, it was only onehundred and twenty-four (124) that retrieved by to the researcher. table 1: age of respondents age no of respondents percentage below 10 yrs 19 15.3% 10-12yrs 33 26.6% 13-15yrs 32 25.8% 16-18yrs 40 32.3% total 124 100% source: field survey, 2019 table 1 the table above shows that out of one hundred and twenty-four (124) respondents, 15.3% of them are between 6-9years, while 10-12 years of age make igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 68 26.6% with 33 children. furthermore, 13-16 years are 32 children with 25.8%. also, 40 of the respondents are 17 years old, with 32.3%, which is the highest. this indicates that the street beggars among the selected ages are mostly teenagers. table 2: religion source: field survey, 2019 table 2, the above table, indicates the religious respondents among the children that street beg within the metropolis, are 100% muslims with 124. this indicates that all the street beggars among children in suleja metropolis are muslims. table 3 :parent marital status source: field survey, 2019 table 3, the table above shows the parent marital status of the children. single parent is 28 with 12.9%. while 70 of the children parents are married with 76.6%, also 25 of the respondent’s parent were divorced, that indicates that 76.6% of the parent beggars among children are married. religion no of respondents percentage christianity …… muslim 124 100% others total 124 100% parent martial status no of respondents percentage single 28 12.9% married 70 76.6% divorced 25 10.5% total 124 100% igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 69 table 4: what is the nature of the disability source: field survey, 2019 table 4 the above table shows the nature of disability among the children, 100 children with 80% are healthy with no disability, while 14 children with 9% are blind, and only four respondents with 3.9% are deaf dumb. also, six children have other related disability with 7%. what this implies, therefore, is that most of the destitute children on the street are healthy with no disability. table 5: do you have relatives nature of disability no of respondents percentage blind 14 9% deaf &dumb 4 3.9% others 6 7% none of the above 100 80% total 124 100% do you have any relatives? frequency percentage yes 91 72% no 29 28% total 124 100% are you staying with your family? igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 70 source: field survey 2019 table 5; the table above revealed that out of 124 respondents, 91 or 72% agree that they have relative or family, but only 29 or 28% revealed that they do not have relatives. such indicates that most of them have family only a few of them are without family or relatives. on the other hand, 26 children with 20% admitted that they lived with their relatives, while 98 or 80% disclosed that they do not stay with their family. that shows that only 20% of them stays with their family, whereas 80% of street children do not. table 6: did your relatives approved your begging? source: field survey, 2019 table 6; above table shows that about 106 children or 94% of them indicated that their families are in support of their begging on the street, while 18 or 6% said yes 26 20% no 98 80% total 124 100% do they approve your begging? frequency percentage yes 106 94% no 18 6% total 124 100% igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 71 that their families did not approve the exercise. that shows that most of the street beggars among children have their families support on begging. table 7: will you say your family are rich source: field survey, 2019 table 7; the table above revealed the family status of the respondents, with 80 or 65% of street children respond that their families are destitute, while 44 or 35% agree that their families are not very poor but needy. that shows that most of the street beggars among children are form, destitute relatives. table 8: why do you choose to beg? source: field survey, 2019 table 9; the table viewed the reasons that respondents frequently beg on the street. out of 124 respondents, 60 or 60% of destitute indicated that they turned to beg due to low-income family background. however, 46% or 45 of the respondents say they are into begging because of the religious belief, but 19 or 19.4% of the respondents argued that they were on the street because of other personal reasons respectively. thus, it indicated that most of the reason why people beg is because of poverty and religious belief. table 9: are you aware of the existence rehabilitation center in suleja family status frequency percentage very rich …….. ……… rich -------------- very poor 80 65% poor 44 35% total 124 100% reason for begging frequency percentage poor family background 60 60% religious belief 45 46% others 19 19.4% total 124 100% igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 72 source: field survey, 2019 table 10; the table reveals that 32 or 20% of the respondent admitted that they have heard about the existence of a rehabilitation centre in suleja. however, 92 or 80% of the respondent denied ever knowing the existence of rehabilitation centre in suleja. table 10: what is people's reaction towards you source: field survey, 2019 table 11; the above table is concerned with the reaction of the general public towards destitute beggars in suleja metropolis. the table revealed that out of 124 respondents 40 or 30% indicated that the general public always sympathizes with them, but 50 or 48.4% said that people attitude towards them always encourages them to continue begging because they give them alms. however, 30 or 20% of the respondent indicate that the attitude of the public to them is discouraging and sometimes heartbreaking. similarly, 4 or 2% of the general public are showing other attitudes to them. discussion the result generated indicated that poverty, illiteracy, religious misunderstanding, and low-self-esteem are some of the reasons for street begging in suleja metropolis. table eleven, depicted high level of poverty as one of the reasons for street begging among children in suleja metropolis, that study agree with the findings of ojo& titilayo (2017) and usman (2015), that 60% of the rehabilitation centre frequency percentage yes 32 20% no 92 80% total 124 100% people reactions frequency percentage sympathetic 40 30% encouraging 50 48.4% discouraging 30 20% others 4 2% total 124 100% igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 73 respondent subscribed to the factor as one major cause of street begging in major cities in nigeria. the study of salishu (2015) disagrees with the finding of the study that street begging is also caused by religious belief and doctrine, which the present study showed to be a factor that contributes to street begging. the study of ojo & titilayo (2017), agree with the findings that rehabilitation is one of the solutions to street begging in metropolis of suleja and nigeria. recommendations the following are recommendation demand for the study; 1. the religious association should inform the parent and the guardian to educate their teenagers on the danger inherent in the act of street begging. these will aid to curb the problems of begging in the city. 2. the government should continuously organize seminars to all involved in the act of begging within the city and outside the city of sokoto, to holistically reduce the menace in the entire state. 3. the government should build a rehabilitation center in all the local government in the state so, as to inform the parent and teenagers that could understand the dangers of getting involved in street begging. 4. the government should enact a policy to sanction street begging, and efforts should be put in place to ensure that such a policy has been implemented to the letter. refferences adedibu, a. (2009). “begging and poverty in third world cities: a case study of ilorin, nigeria.”ilorin journal of business and social sciences (ijbss), 1:2540. adedibu, a.a.,andjelili, m.o. 2012. characteristics and types of beggars in nigerian cities: implications for public policy. centrepoint humanities edition 14.1:144-167. aderinto d., akinwale r., atere s., and oyenuga o., (2007). street-level informal economic activities: estimating the yield of begging in brussels, urban studies 48 (1), 23-40. adewuyi, s.a.,2000. socio-cultural determinants of street begging in northern nigeria: the case of sokoto. ph.d. thesis. dept. of sociology. the university of ibadan. adler. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 74 basu, k. &tzannatos, z. (2003) “the global child labour problem: what do we know and what can we do? the world bank economic reviewing vol. 17, no. 2. cooke, m, and horn, m., 2001. a question of begging: a study of the extent and nature of beggary in the city of melbourne. hanover welfare services, melbourne. delap, e.2009. begging for change. research findings and recommendations on forced child begging in albania/greece, india, and senegal. antislavery international. demewozu, w.2005. begging as a means of livelihood: conferring with the poor at the orthodox religious ceremonial days in addis ababa. african study monograph 29:185-191. ebigbo, p. o. (2003) “street children: the core of child abuse and neglect in nigeria,” children, youth and environment 13(1), spring retrieved from http://cye.colorudo.edu esan, s.g. (2009). etiological perception of alms-begging behaviors among people with special needs in oyo state: counseling towards a solution. 23, (1), 44 53. fawole, a.o., ogunkan, d., and omoruan, a. 2011. the menace of begging in nigerian cities: a sociological analysis. international journal of sociology and anthropology 3.1:9-14. fabrega, h. (1971). “begging in a southern mexico city,” human organisation, 30(3), 350-402. hagan, j., and mccarthy, b.,1997. mean streets: youth crime and homelessness. cambridge: cambridge university press. holy bible, (2013) new living translation ibadan, nigeria. igbinovia, p.e.,1991. begging in nigeria. international journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology 21.35. jelili, m. o. (2006). “environmental and socioeconomic dimensions of begging in ilorin and ogbomoso”. unpublished m.tech dissertation, department of urban and regional planning, ladoke akintola university of technology, ogbomoso, nigeria. jelili, m.o. 2009. spatial and socio-cultural dimensions of begging in nigerian cities. ph.d. thesis, dept. of urban and regional planning. ladoke akintola university, ogbomoso. http://cye.colorudo.edu/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 75 kennedy c, fitzpatrick s (2001). “begging, rough sleeping and social exclusion: implication for social policy” j. urban. environ., 38(11): 2001 -2016 lynch, p., 2005. understanding and responding to begging (australia). melbourne university law review. massey, d.,2002. a brief history of human society: the origin and role of emotion in social life. american sociological review 67:1-29. mijinyawa, a.,2001. what to do with almajirai? new nigerian newspaper, apr. 16:14. namwata, b.m.l., m.r. mgabo& p. dimoso 2010. dynamics of street beggars and begging life in urban areas of central zone tanzania: the case of dodoma and singidamunicipalities. draft report submitted to research on poverty alleviation (repoa), dar es salaam, tanzania. ojo r., and benson o., (2017). thirty percent of children in northern nigeria are street beggarshttp://channelkoos.com/indx.php/news. okoli, c. (2009). “the menace of organized street begging in lagos, nigeria” newsletter 10, disability awareness in action (september). osagbemi, m.o and adepetu, a.a.1999. street begging in jos metropolis: causes and policy implications. journal of environmental sciences 3.1:5569. quidz, b. (2010). poverty and hunger: a race against the clock. the international french news magazine: label, 57, 45-46. ranganathan, u.,2008. ostensible poverty, beggary, and the law. economic& political weekly 43.44:33-44. ritzer, g. (2011) sociological theory, new york: mcgraw hill international edition, united states of america. reddy, s.c., 2013. begging and its mosaic dimensions: some preliminary observation in kadapa district of andhra pradesh. afro asian journal of social sciences 4.1:1-31. tipple a. g and suzanne (2013) the nature and extent of homelessness in developing countries. global urban research unit school of architecture, planning and landscape newcastle university england. r7905 project report. wolf, h. (2005) assisting homeless people: the need to improve their access to accommodation and support services. part 18(1), pp 25-26. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 305 remedy to child abuse-nigerian context obidiegwu, emmanuel uzochukwu department of religion and human relations, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka emmanuelobidegwu34@gmail.com; 08038374754 abstract one of the biggest human right abuses rocking the well-being and posterity of our society is child abuse. this practice which is any act or series of act either by parents, care-givers, or strangers often results in harm on the victim. painfully, since children are in most cases vulnerable and incapable of defending themselves, they become easy targets of victimization. in nigeria, this social ill unarguably has been on geometric rise with no seemingly remedy at sight. as research has shown, this problem is operational through physical forms which include, beating, lacerations, sexual violations like rape, pornography, female genital mutilation, child labour, street begging, child trafficking, child marriage, forced prostitution, neglect, emotional trauma, kidnapping, and so on. child abuse over the years has confined most of its victims within the prison of fear, loss of self worth, hatred, bitterness, violence, sexual promiscuity, and different cognitive complications. some others later resort to lifestyles of antagonism, gangsterism, and hostility, thus turning themselves into social miscreants. succinctly put, child abuse dwarfs its victim’s potentials and nibble off their opportunities, potencies and efficiencies. the thrust of this research is to take a look on issues related to child abuse among nnewi christians of anambra state. this it did by examining the concepts and various issues relating to child abuse which exists in nnewi. exploration on why this problem seemed to have been perpetuated was also made. the apparent lacuna vis-à-vis the roles of the government, parents and guardians in stemming this social insanity and aberration was ex-rayed. this study adopts primary and secondary methods in data collection which were socially analyzed. the study concludes that child abuse in nnewi can only be resolved through a synergic efforts of the government, parents and guardians, religious bodies, and other relevant agencies. mailto:emmanuelobidegwu34@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 306 introduction over the years, child abuse which is the physical and non-physical maltreatment of a child or children has remained a virus that is viciously attacking the existential concerns and dignity of this category of human persons to the very marrow. in nigeria, this unfortunate development is apparently increasing with alarming crescendo. practices like abortion, child labour, child trafficking, sexual abuse and exploitations, early/forced marriage, beatings, lacerations, neglect, and so on, are clear indices of a society whose conscience is distorted and warped by prejudice and utter disdain for the rights of this category of people. sadly, the inability of the victims of these inhuman treatments to defend themselves apparently as a result of age and lack of enough moral and physical stamina, appear to be a soft spot of continuous attack and ill treatment by the assailants. in 2016 at otolo nnewi, anambra state, the case of a woman who placed hot iron on the buttocks of her ten year old maid for failing to do her house chores went viral in the entire town. in addition was a 14 year old girl of one mission school in nnewi town who refused to go on a mid-term break as a result of nursing the fear that her own biological father who hitherto disvirgined her, would continue from where he stopped. this was in 2017 when the researcher was serving in that school as the chaplain. meanwhile, as research has revealed, the moral level of any institution is measured against the standard of respect for human life and dignity it promotes. this was the position taken by centesimuss (1991) when he asserts that human persons are willed by god and are imprinted with god’s image. he went further to argue that human dignity came from god because we are made in god's image and likeness (gen. 1: 26-27). human life is sacred because the human person is the most central and clearest reflection of god among us. humans have transcendent worth and value that came from god. the dignity is based on any human quality, legal mandate, individual merit, or accomplishment. human dignity is inalienable, intrinsic and essential part of his person. human beings are qualitatively different from any other living being in the world because they are capable of knowing and loving god, unlike other creatures. keane (2008) succinctly puts this view thus: "belief in the dignity of the human person is the foundation of morality" (p.80). without doubt, the dignity of the human person in a community is the criterion against which all aspects of sociological life must be measured. all human beings are therefore ends to be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 307 served by the institutions that make up the society, not means to be exploited for personal goals. human person right from conception must be respected with a reverence that is religious, being aware that we are created in the image of god (gen 1: 26-27). the encyclical letter of pope john paul 11 leads credence to this when it states: man is called to a fullness of life which far exceeds the dimension of his earthly existence, because it consists in sharing the very life of god. the loftiness of this supernatural vocation reveals the greatness and the inestimable value of human life even in its temporal phase. (p. 4). from both divine revelation and natural law, we know that there is something special about human life. may (1999) throws more light on this when he said: human life is surpassingly good because the life which god gives man is quite different from the life of all other creatures in as much as man, although formed from the dust of the earth is a manifestation of god in the world, a sign of his presence, a trace of his glory. (p. 22). protection of human life and dignity is thus a natural instinct of all people and also stands at the core of the catholic social teaching. besides gen 1:26-27 which is an essential biblical source of advocacy for respect for human life, st. thomas aquinas (1225-1274) in drawing on the genesis account, further refined the understanding of the human person created in god's image by interpreting genesis to teach that the human person is an intelligent being endowed with free will and self-movement. the human person has a soul which endows him or her with the ability to know and love god freely, thereby having a privileged place in the order of creation. the era of enlightenment placed another emphasis on reason and the rational nature of the human person. according to mark (1996), "new and revolutionary ideals abound, particularly surrounding rights and freedom." (p. 36). sociologically, the implications of child abuse also calls for concern. research shows that child abuse inhibits the appropriate development of certain regions of the child’s brain. a child that is passing through harsh experiences or abuse may lack cognitive development and emotional control. this is made manifest by having igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 308 children who are paranoids, depressed, emotionally and physically traumatized and anti-social. it is against this backdrop that this article intends to bring to the limelight issues relating to child abuse which apparently is a slap on the face of human dignity, with the intention of proffering solutions to such degrading and dehumanizing practice. remedy to child abuse: in view of the devastating nature of child abuse, it becomes necessary to advocate the following as solutions aimed at eradicating this social malady. poverty alleviation: poverty alleviation is suggested as one of the ways to address child abuse in nigeria. going by functional theory in order to proffer solution to any social problem, one must get at the root cause of the problem. poverty is a menace with a parallel effect on children, thus the imperative of its being eradicated. this could be achieved, according to ogwumike (2001), by the federal government making efforts to facilitate poverty reduction in urban and rural areas by providing basic input to enhance people’s livelihood and income. tackling the challenges of poverty is discussed as poverty alleviation or reduction. this indicates the economic crises which nigeria had in the last years made a futile search for solution from one economic policy to another. policies which have continued to impoverish rather than empower the lots of the people economically had been put in place. besides the current presidential system of governance which not only promotes mal-administration, corruption, and ineptitude, it equally grossly undermines the nation, economically. from the foregoing, it is evident that nigeria is operating a vicious cycle of economic system that needs new approach if it must break out from her present economic deadlock. for instance, programs such as national economic and empowerment development strategy (needs), structural adjustment programmes (sap), back to the land (bl) were all programmes meant to boost the economy of the nation. to ogwumike (2001), the poverty alleviation programmes or measures implemented so far have focused more on growth, basic and rural development approaches examined under the pre-structural adjustment programme (sap) era, and the democratic era. public awareness: public awareness is suggested as a way to eradicate child abuse in nigeria. public awareness is similar or close to public enlightenment. agricultural imputes, credit facilities, training programmes to develop skills, and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 309 adequate wage and salary are suggested ways of creating awareness on poverty alleviation in nigeria. there is a compelling need for public enlightenment programmes aimed at correcting the misconceptions related to child abuse. government, private and non-governmental organizations should campaign against harmful cultural practices that are perpetrated against children, particularly female genital mutilation and child marriage. the suggested public enlightenment can be done through workshops, seminars, and training programmes. the media can advocate for a particular policy that will benefit children and encourage a change of attitude among members of the community through advertisements, dramas, special programmes and documentations. shannon, allison and winsler (2006) opine that information about the child rights act and its salient provisions should also be made available to the public domain. dialogue: dialogue deals with a discussion between two or more people in which opinions and personal experiences are exchanged. a lot can be achieved through dialogue in solving the problem of child abuse in nigeria. dialogue allows people to pour out their mind and great attention given to their opinions. njoku (2009) maintained that people with different opinions can never have proper knowledge of themselves without effective and unbiased dialogue. according to him, “it is a process of self-donation.” (p. 242). since one of the major causes of conflict is gap in communication or sharing of meaning, that gap should be closed by crosspollination of ideas vis-à-vis issues related to child abuse in nigeria. child abuse should not be tolerated nor encouraged through this mode, rather should be corrected with the word of god as inspired, or by sound moral reasoning. the purpose of dialogue, types and impediments to dialogue should not be ignored. tripartite dialogue: tripartite dialogue is suggested and this is based on the fact that mutual intolerance does not serve any useful purpose in our country. participants in the tripartite dialogue should avoid confusion, selfish defence, and reckless propaganda that can give room for the perpetuation of this monster called child abuse. tripartite dialogue will give an in-depth knowledge of this subject matter. it will hopefully liberate the people from the closed or cloistered system they believe in and cleave to by accident of birth and faith, and elevate them to spiritual freedom, offering them a broad vision of what a fulfilled life is all about. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 310 tripartite dialogue is suggested as a positive way to break the tide of child abuse with leaders of different faiths in nigeria viz: christianity, islam, and traditional religion, leading to making commitment that will repudiate arrogance, aggression, segregation, stigmatization, neglect, trauma and other negative attitudes, which obscure the word of god. people of a particular faith should be bold to interact with people of other faiths about how child abuse affects them. it is noted that the spirit of this tripartite dialogue will touch people so deeply that they will begin to appreciate the indignities of child abuse in nigeria. under the atmosphere of mutual love, the participants in this dialogue will tend to listen, take bold decisions, and dispel misunderstandings, which had made mutual and peaceful co-existence, social integration, and interaction difficult or impossible. this will essentially build our nation as a new community of love and tolerance where meaningful and sustainable development under mutual trust in abolishing child abuse will be achieved. this will restore the dignity of children, help them tap enough resources and establish the necessary conditions for collaboration towards fixed practical objective, despite doctrinal differences. religious mobilization: the role of christians in eradicating child abuse should be based on religious mobilization. the christian church should demonstrate in practical terms the old premise that to whom much is given, much is expected. it should be active in religious mobilization. the church is expected to appeal to and change the insensitive attitude and behavior of nigerian christians. religious mobilization based on the christian doctrine is recommended because religion, according to nag (1967) “is the most pervading force.” (p. 80). according to mala (1985), it is “a mass of institution with very large followers especially during sunday worship and festive days.” (p. 60). religious mobilization has immense influence on man’s relationship with the supernatural. incompatible religious beliefs nourish socio-economic stagnation. other mobilization agencies such as the family, educational and legal institutions, labour unions, social and philanthropic clubs should wear christian toga in their functions, and exercise meaningful moral duties in their work ethics. according to dzurgba (1991), “these organs are religious bodies” (p. 67). the social and christian groups in nigeria that needed to be mobilized cut across religions. similarly, religious adherents control the vast human and material resources in our immediate environs. cutting across class, occupation, and education, they have their primary and intimate loyalty more to religious groups than they do to government. religious mobilization could be done through mental orientation, reordering of moral behavior, and redress, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 311 dismantling of the structures through which nigerian society has profited through the exploitation of children. religious education: religious re-education entails a clear cut policy such as effective use of consistent public religious enlightenment programme. rationality should reflect in christian beliefs, practices and social life. contemporary religious re-education should be tailored towards eradicating teachings which promote child abuse in the society. religious re-education seems the best approach to the eradication of child abuse because education and knowledge will lead to the realization of the truth, which will emancipate people from the slavery of ignorance. against this backdrop, this article suggests that re-education remains an element of religious mobilization. the christian church is implored to take the lead especially because it has large followership, ecclesiastical activities and authority. christians occupy the seat of government and control the social structures and institutions of many communities in our land. they possess charismatic leaders and followers who influence people through their words and lifestyles. religious re-education entails drawing programmes aimed at making the moral contents more positive in re-engineering the mindset of people with respect to proper care of children. it is to address such bottlenecks as distrust, disharmony and biased feelings associated with child abuse, that christians should see as the expectations placed on them, and probably part of the reasons they occupy prominent positions in many nigerian communities. parents are implored to join hands to put an end to evil indoctrination of their children and wards. religious leaders should appreciate and reiterate the need for the immediacy of parent’s involvement in eradicating this. the intensity of emotions parents generate and the demand they make upon loyalties can be exploited. religious leaders and parents are therefore expected to inspire a new spirit of compassionate and altruistic love for mankind. hence, religious reeducation will enlighten those who selfishly maintain indignities to which children are subjected. it hopes to make them care and have a positive plan for a genuine translation of religious message, irrespective of denomination, birth, status, education and world view, and to jointly use all human and spiritual resources in putting an end to child abuse. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 312 good governance: good governance is considered as a veritable remedy to child abuse in nigeria. corruption has been discovered to be a virus that attacks the very layers of sound moral conviction and judgment. this is why when the motive of leaders in the country is to loot or misappropriate public funds, the citizens suffer, as their needs will not be met, and this includes children who may, as a result, be lured into different degrading treatments just to eke out their existence. in view of this social anomaly, the government is left with no other option than to ensure that basic necessities such as water, education, food, security, health-care facilities, and sanitation are provided. ibe nwabueze (personal communication, 2-9-19) said that government should also improve monitoring and evaluation, communal participation, proper planning, budgeting, implementation, and accountability. good governance policies should also be extended to rural communities through local governments in which they can provide basic amenities like schools, clean water and health facilities. role of parents: the role of parents is imperative in putting an end to child abuse and neglect in nigeria. it is the responsibility of parents to care, nurture and train children to become responsible members of the society. similarly, it is strongly believed that in a child’s life, parent’s role is important in determining whether or not a child will be abused. parents are expected to find time to be with their children in order to provide attention, direction and supervision. the training and educating of children should not be left solely with teachers or rely solely on the formal education system. parents must ensure that their children get the best from life and not become a menace to the society. children should be taught by parents about the dangers involved in talking to strangers, and the importance of being careful even with those they are familiar with. as an alternative to selling items on the street, children could display wares for sale in their home, and people who are old enough to take care of themselves could be the ones to sell. parents should also reasonably discipline their children with methods that are appropriate for the child. parents according to chukwu ike (personal communication, 29-8-19) should observe that money is not everything in life. the practices of husbands and wives going all out to pursue money in the name of business has a retributive effects on the children as future leaders of the family or home. there is time for everything. children need to have a sound foundation based on the fear of god, discipline and hard work. parents can enforce these moral values which will impact positively on their children. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 313 close monitoring: moral decadence is a learned act that a victim has to fight for a long period of time if a lasting change is desired. bearing this in mind, a victim of moral decay should be thoroughly followed up even after being certified sane. close monitoring of a clergy, for instance, over that child who is assumed to have changed is extremely important because more often than not, they go back to the act when free-lanced. there are many cases of some children who were simply sent on expulsion from school as punishment for involving themselves in dirty dealings after their first error. the resultant effect is that they come back becoming closet immorals (immorals that operate secretly) owing to the fact that little or no effort was made to counsel them during the period they were on suspension. thus, whether the victims of immoral acts are counseled or not, they should always be monitored closely in order to forestall future re-occurrence. generally, parents and guardians should check and monitor their children against friends who are likely to initiate their children or wards into immoral activities. implementation of laws another way forward in tackling child abuse is implementation of laws. barrister samuel okeke (personal communication, 4/3/2020) states that many laws and policies were put into place with the purpose of protecting children from abuse. however, the laws have not been effective for many reasons including poor enforcement mechanism, lack of rehabilitation of sexual offenders, negative attitudes of parent and inefficient judicial processes. onwuso, ebere (personal communication, 15-08-2019) contends that adequate measures should be provided to enforce laws through appropriate mechanisms. in order to achieve the implementation of laws, the law enforcement officers should be encouraged in this onerous task. since law enforcement officers such as the nigerian police, road safety corps, nigerian immigration services among others, have the greatest role to play, there is a compelling need to increase their remuneration and provide them with incentive to work. alozie ezeji (personal communication, 2-9-19) says training on child issues should be implemented to enable a better and improved response to child abuse situation that are reported or encountered. laws, policies, child rights acts, framework prohibitions, and national plan of actions should be made known and easily accessible to the people. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 314 it should be noted also that sanctions for violations of child protection laws articulated above should be sufficiently severe to serve as a deterrent. pastoral care and counseling: church ministers should treat victims of child abuse with love and absolute care. they are not to be excommunicated nor treated with levity, disdain and hate. they should properly be counseled as mortals who are in need of help. murphy (2003) intimated that many immorals refuse to participate in corrupt movements associated with moral decay in their environments after counselings. he pointed out that some of them were no more interested in parading down the street half-naked and engaging in shameful sexual actions in public, hence they are people who merit love, compassion, and gentle handling. collins (1988) affirms that when deviants get rejected by the church to which they belong, they go to any length to destroy the image of such a church. thus, continuous counseling should be employed in the optimistic sense on any known decadent without losing hope. there is a firm belief that child abuse will be reduced when pastoral care and counseling is followed by a high-powered deliverance team which will consolidate the positive outcome of dialogue. the deliverance team should be made of powerful and charismatic christian leaders who are deeply rooted in the word of faith. in order to drive child abuse fear from the people, the team should approach them with all spiritual resources at their disposal. pastoral counseling is recommended because it will enable the pastors, evangelists and other men of god to relate more meaningfully with the victims of child abuse and neglect among the populace, offer positive help that will lift them from the pit of despair to the pinnacle of hope. it will help in liberating, empowering and nurturing wholeness in the lives of child abuse victims. conclusion as research has shown, child abuse, like a deadly virus, has been viciously attacking the moral, economic, and social layers of the society to the very marrow. as statistics have shown, majority of the social miscreants and deviants were victims of different types of child abuse. these are clear indices of the ravaging effects of this monster. there is therefore an expediency of synergy of operation by the ngo’s saddled with the task of defending the rights of children, parents, care-givers, and religious bodies in fighting this menace, and thus restore hope and self worth to the victims, and sanity to the society. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 315 references centessimus annus (1991). encyclical of pope john paul 11 collins, a. f. (1998). the science of child upbringing. cambridge: mckay dzurgba , a. (1991). christianity and human mobilization: an instrument for social justice. journal of religious studies, vols 1&2, june and december, pp.94, 65. ibadan: orita keane, j. s. (2008). the dignity of human person. london: hams mala, s. a. (1985). principles of dialogue: text and notations on inter-relations, mimeographed paper. department of religious studies, university of ibadan, p. 60. mark, t. h. (1996). human rights and freedom. wales: rerde may, l.o. (1991). the sanctity of human life. poland: faks murphy, g. l. (2003). overcoming childhood trauma. canada: gordon nag, d. (1967). role of social forces in modernizing indian economy. quarterly journal of indian studies in social sciences, i, 2 & 3, 86. njoku, u. m. (2009). religious dialogue. orlu: zeks ogwumike, f. o. (2001). an appraisal of poverty reduction strategies in nigeria.39cbn economic & financial review, 1, 15. shannon, t., alison, k., & winsler, a. (2006). child neglect: developmental consequences, intervention and policy implications. 35 child and youth care forum,6,43,27. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 1 the ofo in igbo forest of arts, crafts and symbols: implications for peace-building ikechukwu anthony kanu department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university umunya, anambra state ikee_mario@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/ rg.2.2.23433.67684 & emmanuel uchenna kanu department of industrial design modibbo adama university of technology yola adamawa state emmauchekanu@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/ rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract the igbo, like other african people produce a wide variety of art including traditional figures, masks, artifacts and textiles, works in metals such as bronze, etc. evidences of this dates back to early 9th century with the bronze artifacts found at igbo ukwu. of particular interest among the retinue of igbo arts and symbols in this paper is the ofo. in many ramifications, the ofo is one of the central or unifying concepts of traditional igbo thought, especially that aspect concerning the igbo conception of truth and dispensing of justice. it is central because it is universal to the igbo-speaking peoples as a symbol of truth, justice, authority and retribution. the ofo is most times in the form of a stick, given to a leader, within a family, village, state, etc. it depicts the complete trust and confidence of the entire family, group or town placed at the disposal of an individual, usually a respected man who enjoys a commanding influence. the person who carries the ofo, holds not just a social responsibility but a sacred one with many precepts to observe. this work studied the different dimensions of the ofo in igbo ontology, with the particular objective of identifying its role in peacebuilding. it discovered that the ofo, as a symbol of truth, justice, authority and retribution, occupies a central place in the building of peace in the igbo traditional communities. for the purpose of this study, the phenomenological method of inquiry was adopted. keywords: ofo, igbo, arts, symbols, worldview, peace-building, conflict resolution introduction in the area of peace-building, a new concept that is beginning to attract the attention of scholars, especially from the african extraction is that of ‘alternative dispute resolution’, also abbreviated as ‘adr’. it has been employed by various scholars to describe a wide variety of dispute mailto:ikee_mario@yahoo.com mailto:emmauchekanu@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 2 resolution mechanisms that are short of, or alternative to, full-scale court processes. the term can refer to everything within facilitated settlement negotiations in which the disputants are encouraged to negotiate directly with each other. in the contention of best (2006), it is an application of non-conventional peaceful methods of settling disputes and resolving conflicts situations using the least expensive methods and ways that satisfy the parties as well as ways that preserve relationships after a settlement might have been reached. it is referred to as an alternative because of its alternative place in relation to the official conventional litigation and the courts with preference for non-violence. its processes include negotiation, conciliation, mediation, and arbitration. agarwal (2001) adds that its main features include proceedings that take place in private, thus ensuring confidentiality. it may be less adversarial, less formal and a more flexible process, independent, objective and impartial. in this method, the third party makes the parties of the legal dispute to reach an agreement about the dispute by bringing them together and communicating with each other. the ofo is hereby proposed as an indigenous alternative method for dispute resolution with a unique procedure. this indigenous approach is fundamental because of the advantages of indigenous alternative methods for conflict resolution. osi (2008) aver that indigenous dispute resolution processes are intuitive, time tested and pre-colonial forms and systems of dealing with community problems by coming up with a consensual, communal solution. igbo indigenous methods of dispute resolution according to berhe (2012), places emphasis on the community and parties to the dispute and uses local actors and traditional community based judicial and legal decision making mechanisms to resolve disputes within or between communities. this paper is, therefore, a contribution to the ongoing discourse on alternative models for conflict resolution. ofo as a cosmic force in igbo ontology and a fundamental figure in igbo arts and symbolism has been employed over the years in conflict resolution. it is, therefore, going to be studied to emphasize its influence, among the igbo society and its efficacy in peace building for contemporary adaptation. the ofo in igbo religion and culture the ofo is a staff of authority (turner 1968 and ortner 1973) held by those who have been entrusted with the power to govern or lead a people; no matter how small the number may be, it can range from the family to the entire community. it is made from a piece of wood known as the osisi ofo igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 3 (the ofo tree, which is usually about four to six inches long) also known with the botanical name: detarium senegalese (nzekwu 1961; arinze 1970 and metuh 1991). the ofo is a mystical tree, however, consecrated after it has been cut for the purpose providence has destined it to be used for. there are times when it is made with a bundle of ofo sticks rather than just a stick, or made from an iron, brass or bronze. this piece of wood is most times clothed with blood from sacrifices offered from animals and the feathers of a bird or birds. the constant rubbing of blood on the ofo makes most of them to be black in color (nwala 1985). among the igbo, there are several treasures handed down from one generation to another, however, one of the greatest treasures handed down from one okpara or head of the family to another is the ofo. in the nuclear family which is the bedrock of social and political organization of the igbo society, the father as the leader of the household takes possession of the family ofo, a symbol of his authority, justice, law and uprightness (kanu 2015). at the extended family called umunna, the head of this political unit is the oldest male member of the extended family also known as the di-okpara is the custodian of the ofo of the extended family. in the maximal family, also referred to as idumu in igbo, the oldest male among them holds the ofo. at the village-group assembly, the oldest member of the council of elders referred to as the diokpa is the custodian of the ofo (kanu 2013a,b&c). whoever holds the ofo is endowed with powers, rights and privileges from the ancestors and deitiesit’s holders are accorded respect as it distinguishes them from others who do not hold any; and whatever the holder binds or loses using the ofo is considered bound or loosed in the world of the ancestors. it is therefore a connecting cosmic power between the seen and unseen and the living and dead. the concepts of deities and ancestor spirits are very important because the ofo is a symbolic representation of these spiritual beings (kanu 2014a&b). it is not only used within the family or political leaders in traditional igbo societies. even spiritual leaders like dibia (medicine man) also have an ofo. it is employed by the dibia and the heads of families who lead in rituals either at the family or community levels. as spiritual heads and custodians of morality, the ofo is a symbol of the foundation of their legal, political, religious and social authority not only to decide on issues but also to enforce judgments. such rituals, according to hoston (1956), boston (1959) and edeh (1985) are considered valid only when the ofo is used. within some igbo-african communities, the ofo also serves as an official stamp that validates the existence of cults, social groups and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 4 individuals that are associated with it. as an official stamp, it signifies that the community or the cult or group of any kind that is identified with the particular ofo is acting as one. this agreement is not only between those who are alive but also between the living and the dead as the ofo also points to the authority of the ancestors who have handed over the ofo to the next generation. whenever it is used by the custodian during judgment, blessing or agreement, it is a reminder to him that he is not alone but in agreement with the living and the dead. it is, therefore, a symbol of unity, coherence and conformity and also a reminder to those who are present that the issue at table is a serious one which has to be respected. selected images of the ofo the images below are a collection of different images of the ofo made from different materials. the different shapes of the images also carry different meanings that have relevance to the particular life and religiocultural history of the particular people using it. thus, every ofo is not just a religio-cultural instrument with cosmic powers, it also reflects the story of people who use it. plate 1: ofo made from metal the above is an ofo made from metal which represents, not just a religiocultural element but also the skill of the craftsman in ironwork. the material with which the ofo is made may be due to what was available or affordable at the time of the production of the ofo. the use of an iron instead of wood has nothing to do with the efficacy of the ofo. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 5 plate 2: wooden ofo above is an image an ofo made from wood. the metal at the base is the handle for carrying the ofo. the darker designs on the ofo are a display of the artistic wizardry of the craftsman in wood carving. plate 3: wooden ofo above is an ofo made from an ofo tree. the bigger part is ofo is darker as a result of the rubbing of the blood of sacrifices on it. usually when agreements are reached, sacrifices are offered and the blood rubbed on the ofo. if the sacrifice is offered to the ancestors or a deity, then the deity is part of the sealing of the agreement in question. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 6 plate 4: wooden ofo above is an ofo made from an ofo wood. the use of a human face does not in any way diminish its spiritual powers, it is rather the african way of expressing the divine in an anthropomorphic manner. the base at the bottom of the ofo is for standing the ofo before those who would be using it. plate 5: wooden ofo igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 7 above is an ofo made from wood cut from an ofo tree. the base at the bottom of the ofo is for standing the ofo before those who would be using it. plate 6: ofo with smears of blood the above plate is an ofo with smears of blood from animal sacrifices. usually an ofo that has been in existence for several years would carry on it the drops of blood of the several sacrifices that were performed during the settlement of disputes over the years. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 8 plate 7: ofo made from bronze above is an ofo made of bronze. the human face with open eyes reminds those who are present when it is employed that the ancestors are witnesses or have seen all that have been agreed upon. the ofo and conflict resolution in a capitalist value system, might is considered as right, following the machiavellian ethics. this places power where there is might rather than placing power where there is right. thus, the powerful exerts his or her power without considering the right of the weak. however, within the african ontology, right is might and right is justice. this is the central and basic principle of the cult of the ofo. the ofo defends the right of the weak against the injustice; however, the weak must have innocence (ogu) on his or her side. it is within this context that the igbo always speak of ofo na ogu. it is this place that the ofo occupies that makes it very fundamental in conflict resolution, especially when it involves the weak and the powerful (nwala 1985). very important in the dispensation of justice and peace is the custodian of the ofo who must conduct himself with honour and uprightness. why is justice, honesty, transparency, uprightness and impartiality expected from the holder of the ofo? it is because he also puts his life at risk by failing to live up to any of these, as the ancestor spirits and deities are also witnesses to the judgment that he passes and may visit him with death, infirmity or curse. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 9 when the ofo is used for the resolution of conflicts, the parties involved take the resolution seriously because it is not only about the two parties coming into an agreement. it is an agreement that the deities and ancestors have witnessed to. failure to comply with what has been agreed to be just can lead to death. another consequence is ostracism as failure to comply is considered a revolt against the community, the ancestor spirits and the ala deity and thus the need to break fraternal relations with such a person. once the ofo is struck on the ground, the ritual or agreement is sealed. usually, when it is struck on the ground the action is accompanied with curses on anyone who contravenes what has been agreed upon (kanu 2017). this striking of the ofo on the ground with an accompanying curse or curses is responded to by those present with the word i-see! which is an equivalent of amen(meaning, may it be so). the ofo, therefore, among the igbo is a judicial instrument employed for settling disputes and ensuring peace and harmony among the members of a family, clan or village. whenever it is presented at a judicial proceeding it ensures that everyone tells the truth and is honest in the presentation of his or her case lest the person be killed or cursed by the ancestor spirits and deities who are witnesses to the judicial proceedings. more interestingly, when the case becomes difficult to judge because of the parties involved, for instance, in laying claim to the same property or position, they are asked to come and swear before the ofo to show that their positions are true. a very important element at this point is the kola nut, which is broken and kept before the ofo so that the disputants would come and pick from it to eat. usually at this point, the party who is lying backs out of the case; however, if they insist on swearing before the ofo or taking an oath before the ofo, they run the risk of instant death or ancestral curses visiting their homes. to eat such a kola nut when one is in the wrong is to bring curses and condemnation upon oneself. for instance, if two brothers are laying claim over the same land, may be claiming that it was given to each of them by their late father, a priest or the head of the family is called to administer the ofo. during the administration of the ofo, the priest or oldest person in the family would lay curses on whomever is making the wrong claim over the property. the curses would include death, incurable sicknesses, family generational failures, etc. if after the administration of the ofo and the wrong claimant dies, it is believed that evil has befallen him or her as a result of the attempt to take away another person’s property. however, if at the end of the administration of the ofo nothing happens, those involved may decide to appeal to a more powerful deity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 10 conclusion the igbo, like other african people produce a wide variety of art including traditional figures, masks, artifacts and textiles, works in metals such as bronze, etc. evidences of this dates back to early 9th century with the bronze artifacts found at igbo ukwu. of particular interest among the retinue of igbo arts and symbols is the ofo. the ofo in igbo traditional societies did not only occupy a fundamental place in the religio-political life of the people, it was a very strong cosmic force in the sense that it represents the unseen ancestors of the igbo society. also, in many ramifications, the ofo is one of the central or unifying concepts of traditional igbo thought, especially that aspect concerning the igbo conception of truth and dispensing of justice. it is central because it is universal to the igbo-speaking peoples as a symbol of truth, justice, authority and retribution. it depicts the complete trust and confidence of the entire family, group or town placed at the disposal of an individual referred to as aka ji ofo (the hand holding the ofo). he is usually a respected man who enjoys a commanding influence. the person who carries the ofo, holds not just a social responsibility but a sacred one with many precepts to observe. this work has thus studied the different dimensions of the ofo in igbo ontology, and has identified its role in peace-building. the ofo, as a symbol of truth, justice, authority and retribution, occupies a central place in the building of peace in the igbo traditional communities. it is presented in this piece for the possibility of adaptation for the contemporary igbo society. references agarwal h. (2001) conflict resolution, resolving conflict rationally and effectively. wageningen university and research. www.mspguide.org arinze f. a. (1970). sacrifice in igbo religion. oxford: oxford university press. berhe, g. (2012) an assessment of indigenous conflict resolution mechanism of mezard in rural alamanta worde, tigray national regional state, ethiopia. retrieved on 28th may 2020 from www.m.grinn.com/document best, g. (2006). the methods of conflict resolution and transformation. in best .g. (ed). introduction to peace and conflict in west africa. abuja, spectrum. boston j. (1959). shrine sin udi division. nigeria. 61. 159 edeh, e. m. p. (1985). towards an igbo metaphysics. chicago: loyola university press. http://www.mspguide.org/ http://www.m.grinn.com/document igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 11 horton w. g. r. (1956). god, man and land in a northern igbo village group. africa. 26. 23 kanu, i. a. (2013). on the sources of african philosophy. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 337-356. kanu, i. a. (2013). the dimensions of african cosmology. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 533-555. kanu, i. a. (2013). the quest for the nature of being in african philosophy. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 391-407. kanu, i. a. (2014). african traditional religion in a globalizing world. international journal of humanities, social sciences and education. volume. 1. issue. 8. pp. 4-12. kanu, i. a. (2014). symbols in african philosophy and the issue of nation building. international journal of scientific research. volume. 3. issue. 9. pp. 35-37. kanu, i. a. (2015). african traditional democracy with particular reference to the yoruba and igbo political systems. international journal of philosophy and public affairs. vol. 2. no. 3. pp. 147-160. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. and ndubisi e. j. o. (2020). (eds.). justice and the rule of law in africa. nigeria: association for the promotion of african studies. isbn: 978-978-979-502-4. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.18218.98243 kanu, i. a. and ndubisi e. j. o. (2019). (eds.). african indigenous knowledge systems: problems and perspectives. nigeria: association for the promotion of african studies. isbn: 978-978-979-501-7. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29124.17280 metuh, e. i. (1991). african religions in western conceptual schemes: the problem of interpretations. jos: imico press. nekwu, o. (1961). wand of noble wood. london: hutchinson. nwala, t. u. (1985). igbo philosophy: the philosophy of the igbo speaking people of nigeria. triatlantic books: new york ortner, s. b. (1973). on key symbols. american anthropologist. volume. 75. number. 5. 1338-1346. osi (2008). understanding indigenous dispute resolution processes and western alternative dispute resolutions. cardozo journal of conflict resolution. 10, p. 163. turner, v. w. (1968). the forest of symbols: aspects of ndembe rituals. ithca: cornell university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 12 uchendu, v. c. (1965). the igbo of south east nigeria. new york: holt rinehart and winston. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 263 vaabong (cultic confederacy) among the mumuye: an expose of re-building morality in contemporary nigeria hosea nakina martins department of christian religious studies, taraba state university, jalingo email: hoseanakinamartins81@ mail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29332.65925 abstract nigeria is a pluralistic society. it is located in west africa with over 240million population. prior to the coming of western culture to nigeria, morality was a watch word which is been reiterated for daily maintenance of moral living in the society. no one exists outside of the community. in this excerpt, vaabong cultic confederacy would be used to rebuild the fallen moral standard of the nigeria society is which indeed decaying ‘mumuye’ is both a language spoken and a name use by the same ethnic group who reside in adamawa and taraba states all in north eastern nigeria. there is no society that can exist without some fixed norms and traditions being put in place to ensure high moral compliance by members. prior to the coming of western culture to african society, the sacred institution of moral cult of morality like vaabong were highly put place for the maintenance of morality in the society. morality in the african past was highly cherished and promoted by various moral watch dogs, in order to ensure loving and peaceful coexistence among members in the community, whose hope, fears, aspirations and thoughts are made realized in their cultural and socioreligious worldview as expressed in community spirit. the study seeks to exhume vaabong as an architect for the enforcement and rebuilding of fallen standard of morality in contemporary nigeria society. the paper adopted a phenomenological approach to explore vaabong as a cult of morality among the mumuye, which could be used also in rebuilding the decaying standard of morality in nigeria today. data were collected reliably from the field and from relevant books, long essays, dissertation, journal and oral interviews from custodians of vaabong cult. the paper discovered that, morality in contemporary nigeria society has been weakened due to the rising influence of secular culture with its tentacle like education, westernization which brought violent destructions on the code of morality and considers vaabong cult practices as barbaric, violent, ancestor worship and retrogressive. also, violent nature and penalty of the cult of morality is been abused igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 264 by custodians of morality in terrorizing innocent people instead of judiciously using it to rebuild decaying moral standards in the society today. in the furtherance and maintenance of vaabaong cult in rebuilding morality in contemporary nigeria society, the paper recommends the need for custodians of vaabong cult to allowed it to be invigorated with positive vitality from outside so as to serve of cult of morality rebuilding high fallen moral standard in the society today. vaabaong cult be borrowed by other similar culture for the furtherance and rebuilding of morality. positive aspects of vaabong (cult) should be used to compliment other means of maintaining morality in contemporary nigeria society. custodians should not use the cult of morality to witchhunt victims, instead, they should invigorate the cult to become relevant in promoting a true humanistic and moral society, where morality needs to be rebuild because it is at the verge of collapsing. keywords: vaabong, morality, mumuye, culture, nigeria introduction nigeria is a country located in west africa. it is a populous country with diverse multi-ethnic groups existing. hence, it can simply be referred to as a pluralistic society. morality in the nigerian society is indeed under a siege because of the western way of life that is busy dwindling the efficacy of moral observances. hence, a borrowed leaf from the traditional mumuye society, where morality is highly emphasized for the peace and progress of such a society would be used as sample for moral reconstruction of nigeria’ decaying morals. however, the moral standards that keep the african society going in the past is lamentable today because they are eroding at speedy rate. in this paper, mumuye is a name and at the same a language spoken by the same ethnic group who resides in adamawa and taraba states, north eastern nigeria and in the cameroon republic. history has it that mumuye migrated from egypt and met some jukun along the benue valley, where they further left there and went and settled at kang in bali local government of taraba state in nigeria. dong et al opines that, “the stay of mumuye at kang and that of yorro were during the stone age and iron age (14). on who the mumuye are, neyt puts “mumuye are people living in northeastern nigeria, rough farmers living in equally rough region of hardto reach hills, which can’t be considered one of the most fruitful and spectacular of all the african continent” (78).capro research office has it also that “the mumuye prefer to be called yorro, which is their ancestral home of origin” (303). according to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 265 temple, the native name being fungong or zagung” [that is the only sub clannish languages known by him, but there are many existing which he is aware of them] (92). according to dong et al “the mumuye prefer to be called with their local tittles or use pronouns as :shon yaa, shon dong, shong sagbee( a person from jankwani will be addressed as shon or jaa jankwani meaning person or son of jankwani (4). how the name mumye came about is not traceable. though, nyazing asserts that “it was given to the people by fulani invaders of the eighteen century when they failed to conquer the people due to the hilly nature of their terrain” (14). mumuye are agrian in nature, they practice african traditional religion, christianity and islam. the chamba, nyandang and jukun kona are the closest neighbours to the mumuye. there are many mysteries surrounding the coming of name mumuye which has today become its identity. it is interesting to know that mumuye like other nigerians live in hamlets of clans which further gave rise to communities and later to a society. hence, emphasis on observance of morality in nigeria can be achieved by using the mumuye institution of vaabong cult. vaabong is an architect of moral control used among the mumuye. it is in this similar regard that, in africa, a people cannot be viewed to exist outside the realm or context of the community’ life (nyameh 54). the nigeria society like any african is morally articulated, and disciplined is ensured in all strata because, no man lives in isolation of the other. life in the society is enjoyed when people obey stipulated moral order, they suffer penalty and shame when they break norms and traditions that keep the society checked. nobody is an island; every human society strongly recognizes the interdependence of men as a natural force that pulls people together (anyacho103). on the rightful place of morality among africans, maduabuchi and pilla reiterated similarly that: from african traditions, many moral norms are derived. the community therefore has unparallel influence on the individuals. hence man is compelled to act not only as nature dictates, but as his fellow men suggest [using constituted means] (93). morality is founded on humanism, the doctrine that considers human and actions to be good or bad. vaabong cult among the mumuye like other cultures is an expose of rebuilding the fallen standard of morality in contemporary nigeria society because of the continual fallen standard of morality, which define the state or true sense of a morally stable society that morality is at the verge of a collapse. the values that speaks volumes of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 266 morality to the african in the past is under siege. however, today menace like adultery, rape, drug trafficking, murder, fornication, incest, stealing, lying, prostitution, drunkenness, kidnaping, ethnic conflicts, corruption are moral aberrations which are been venerated as virtues in the nigeria society instead of been condemned. hence, these vices tarnished the moral worth of the nigeria society today. amidst all these eye soaring immorality, vaabong cult should be used to serve the purpose of rebuilding the fallen standard of morality in contemporary nigeria. hence, sense of community life is inspired by appealing to people’ sense of moral observance of instituted laws and morals for the good of the community by employing the cult of morality (callaghan350). shishima and apenda similarly enthused that: in african religion morality is part and parcel of life. there was no distinction between religion and morality. in both case, it was seen that morality and religion, a unit or as a result the whole pattern of their life is developed in the loving care of all intervening god (61). in traditional mumuye society like any other african society, morality is checkmate using vaabong, a principal mentor, who ensures morality is checkmate in order for the society to remain a survival base for moral observance and excellence. it is in similar vein that magesa also observed that “all aberrations and abnormalities in sexual life , whether consciously willed or not are seen as impinging negatively on life and are consequently morally reprehensive”( 136). sad to note today, with the coming of western culture, certain positive aspects of african culture are eroding, and these caused setbacks for standard of morality to be maintained in the society. love and obedience to moral observances defined what morality is in traditional nigerian society past. furthermore, disobedience and negligence of the place of vaadosung in re-building a sound community is lamentable today. the cult is an expose of rebuilding morality in contemporary nigeria society, where its relevance is dwindling due to increase in immorality which needs to be rebuild for the better. morality is what gives a true conception of personhood to be upheld religiously in the african ethics, and persons ought to conform to them because they give insight into the moral ideas of smooth running of the society (54). it is the truce of this paper to use vaabong cult as an expose and architect in rebuilding the fallen standard of morality in nigeria, where moralaity is been neglected and vices exalted. furthermore, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 267 western civilization has succeeded in displacing the older, but no new order seems to be in place (92). abominable acts are now nothing but peccadilloes (maduabuchi and pilla 92). observance of morality in the traditional past among the africans was a thing of pride and should be safeguarded today from been eroded. for us to be led in the right direction in the promotion and observance of morality, vabong cult should be used as an expose in a rebuilding fallen standard of morality, which is decaying due to lack of observance and stiff penalty among nigeria cultures. this paper serves as an antidote challenge for the reawakening and rebuilding of traditional moral values, where man realizes himself in the society. conceptual clarification of terms vaa there are many views with regard to the concept of vaa. however, these views differ slightly due to lack of proper word to describe the cult. hence, some types of vaa include like: vaa kula, vaa jaka, dongvorr, vaadosung, vaa lansi, vaa zopi, vaabong, vaa shenti and mashikakenya amongst others. according to nyazing” vaa is a cult not a system of worship which is guided by strict secrecy” (25). in a similar view, bonzena puts that “vaa is not godhead but a cult used for the furtherance of the course of human societies, because they are things of the ancestors” (27). while according to neyt “vaa is an ancestral cultic identity that ensures relationship with the forces of the universe” (38). martins brilliantly defines vaa as a sacred created religious symbol usually empowered with a lot of rituals to serve as link between visible and invisible worlds of men and that of the spirits. the vaa could be represented by any empowered sacred object, man-made or natural to effect moral control in the society with backups from custodians (90). etymology of vaabong ‘vaa and bong’ (cultic confederacy) ‘vaa’ is a noun meaning the cult itself while ‘bong’ is an adjective which describe the size of the cult as big. literally, vaabong came to mean the biggest cult among other existing cults. vaabong is the biggest and most violent cult whose name signify its position of efficacy among the mumuye, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 268 and it is being referred by many them as the biggest and most violent cult among others. vaabong is one of the commonest cultic confederacy practices existing among the mumuye of taraba and adamawa states, north eastern nigeria, west africa. in this work, vaabong is a cult found to exist among the mumuye of north eastern nigeria, and is the most violent of other vaa. nyazing gives a vivid description of the cult as: one represented by a horned mask smeared or rub with red earth that looks like red paint, the nose, eyes, and chin being indicated with white marks. along ropes are also tied to the [sacred cult] mask so that a person may put it on (26). also, matins describes the cult as “an agent for instilling total discipline on recalcitrant women, men and children. in fact, it is a cult of moral discipline that ensures morality is highly observed in the society” (93). in view of dauda, “the cult is a judge of wrong doers, who ensures total check of moral activities of people” (46). meek in this same vein, succinctly defines the cult “as symbol represented by a horned mask on the head, smeared with red earth, the nose and eyes and chin being indicated by white mask” (46). from all these definitions and description, vaabong cult, is an indigenous cult belonging to the mumuye, which is use in ensuring the maintenance of morality in the society. morality morality is the moral principle between right and wrong human actions or behaviours. hence, fairchild also defines it as “the essence of the moral code (qv), and conformity thereto. specifically, morality as regards the members of a particular society can be defined only in terms of the moral code of that society” (199). according to hornby also “morality is the principle concerning right and wrong or good and bad behaviour” (960). maduabuchi and pilla captures morality as “a notion or is seen as fundamental principle concerning right and wrong, good or bad behaviours. it can mean the life style of a people as it translates such principles into practice” (92). origin of vaabong (cultic confederacy) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 269 the authentic origin of vaaabong cult among the mumuye is not traceable with accuracy due to un available and reliable oral and written sources made on mumuye migration history from egypt to kang and finally to yorro. hence, the exact origin of vaabong cannot be ascertained adequately even till date. however, all available sources made claims of the origin where mumuye once claimed to have settled. bonzena also asserts that “the origin of vaabong cult could be traced to the elders of the community, who met and discussed that a society could not be strong if moral agents are not constituted like in initiating the young ones into indigenous cult (vaa) (12-13). though, there are versions of debate on the exact origin of vaabong cult as shall be explored in this work. furthermore, “egypt is being applauded to be the original place where the vaabong cult originated and practiced among the mumuye said” senlong (2019). while according to yudabong “kang is the original place of origin of the cult, use for the furtherance of morality”. but due to outbreak in small box and communal clash over scarcity of land, majority of mumuye migrated from kang to yorro with the vaabong cult to maintain stable observance of morality among them” (2020). nyazing opines that “in their political history, the mumuye never formed a uniformed administration. rather, each village and clan was independent of the others” (17). in line view of the above assertion, sadome also opines that: it was in yorro that vaa bong cult originated after leaving egypt for kang and finally to yorro. mumuye were in a mass before migrating to other places in search of fertile land for farming purposes. they took with them sample of the cult which can today be found in almost diverse mumuye communities (2019). vaaburu claimed also that” it was in yorro bang that the mumuye took sampled of the cult and migrated to their new searched settlement to ensure stable maintenance of morality” (2020). mazanko also subscribed to the claim that “the cult originated from yorro the ancestral home of the mumuye after mayo kang” (2020). in an interview with avonapu, this is what he says on the origin of vaabong cult: the exact origin of vaabong cult could be traced back to when mumuye migrated from egypt and came and settled along the benue valley, where they met the jukun before they finally came to kang, an igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 270 ancestral [second home] between garbachede and bali local government in taraba state (2020). bisikwaiti and masho recapitulate also thus: mumuye settled at kang but did not instate the cult per say to ensure the maintenance of morality. because of constant conflict on insufficient land mass for their agricultural activities, some handful number of them migrated to yorro where the cult was instituted (2020). one of my informants from yorro bang buttresses the origin of vaabong in the bellow excerpt: vaabong cult is traceable to yorro bang, which is today being referred to as ‘old yorro’ the ancestral home of the mumuye. it was here that other clans left with a version of the cult to other places of residence to practice it. kpanti giriri (chief rainmaker) resides here till date. no one dare challenges the custodians of mumye history because they were handed the deposit of mumuye history on leaving kang to yorro bang (ishaku, 2020). in another version of the origin of vaabong, vahme asserts also that: vaabong cult originated from mayo kang, where mumuye secondly settled on leaving egypt before moving to yorro bang. before the occupation of yorro bang, mayo kang was the first to be settled. any claim of origin of vaabong should be directed to mayo kang and not yorro (2019). in all the versions of the origin of vaabong, it is indeed worth saying that vaabong did not fall from heaven but was created within a people to serve intended purposes as shall be seen featured in this paper. the exact place of origin of the cult is not traceable with accuracy and certitude but all we could say is that the cult originated from divergent sources. basic features of vaabong cult vaabong cult possessed basic hallmarks in its existence and practice among the mumuye in various sub clans. hence some of them are adumbrated below: i. vaabong cult is humanly created to further the course of human relationship with the ancestors. the cult is constituted with herbal rituals igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 271 to make it efficacious, and it is kept in the jaa vaa/ kuna (shrine) secluded away from the community. ii. the cult is being controlled by human agents mostly elders and initiated members for the maintenance of morality in the society. there are also followers who ensure the basic existence and practice of the cult is handled for effective uses. iii. vaabong cult possessed the composition of both spiritual and material elements like jeemang (herbal plant) and rituals initiated to link the ancestral spirit with human order. it is being represented by horned masks, smeared with red earth, and nose and eyes painted white. according to santi “there is divine and human inter-relation which gave the cult the true position of relating with the sacred and profane” (2019). iv. the cult is associated with holding an official whip made from the twisted skin of animals’ skin known as gbaa/ kpatang to whip initiates and recalcitrant children during initiation or settlement of cases. hence, the cult comes out during nyongko (initiation) festival, which is highly observed for its impacts and continuity among the people. v. each hamlet as observed hickey “has its own type of the cult, and that local wine saa mostly featured among its food items at the shrine” (17). despite the existence of sub mumuye clans, it is very interesting to note that, saa and yopo/wopo (local wine and meat) featured among other delicacies during the cult public function. vi. vaabong cult possessed the features of seasonal appearance after seven years unless on an impromptu occasion of the death of its members or maters of moral distress (bitenja, 2020). events of great significance also featured vaabong cult in attendance. vii. according to sadome (2019) “those who are not part of the cult do not associate in any of its activities. the cult is the most violent of all the other cults because it does not tolerate nonsense actions, and seeing it by non initiates or women result in death or misfortunes” said tanko (2020). vaabong (cultic confederacy) and moral efficacy in the nigeria society vaabong cultic confederacy is as old as the mumuye who owns and practice it .it is an ancestral cult instituted for the furtherance and maintenance of morality in both past and present society, which when highly preserved, it will help in salvaging the fallen standard of morality in the nigerian society. despite the emergence of this cult, western culture has not succeeded in retarding its practice and efficacy among the variant mumuye sub clans. the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 272 cult becomes efficacious as all stipulated laid down norms are expected to be respected and kept. hence, the cult is a judge of morality not minding one’ social standing in the society. respect is accorded the cult to effectively serve as agent of ancestral morality, which keeps the society checked till day (bonzena 46). the cult still receives great admiration in the preservation of norms and values, where its impacts are felt by all those within its confines, and they are required to comply with its stipulated moral standing order if not, they receive the penalty of paying fines like goats and pots of local beer(saa). hence, for any punishments to be averted fines must be paid. this cult still ensure true taste of endurance to be showcased by initiates, which imply courage and tenacity as progressive pre-requisites into entering consciousness and identity of the society with ancestors and the forces of the universe ( neyt 38) for the protection of their families, communities and the society at large. social control is high enforced by this cult among the mumuye, and solidarity is built around the sense of moral check which preserves the peace and progress of the society from being destabilized but maintained. the efficacy of vaabong is seen in the present situation of the people, where socioreligious affiliation in controlling moral indiscipline is still ensured and maintained without fear or favour (dong et al 85). since the cult is the highest and the most violent among others, it ensures that youths are properly inculcated with the basic rubrics of keeping to the standard of morality of the society. solidarity is highly ensured when a deceased membered is been taken to the grave, the cult also mourns and accompany the corpse of an important dignitary so as to spur in others the need to live life of worthy of emulation. furthermore, solidarity is maintained today despite the coming of western culture and its negative impacts on the society. there is relationship built on the basis of expression of community spirit as instilled by vaabong cult which can help to redeem nigeria’ moral standards that is virtually eroding (54). . in line with the above excerpts, naganti buttresses also that: the efficacy of the cult is still x-rayed in the manner it regulates and keeps the society checked or by regulating social stratification of all members as far as they are living under a constituted customary agents of morality (2018). punishments are still regulating moral excess of people in nigeria society despite modern punitive measure been put in place. vaabong cult still exercise igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 273 great moral control of members despite numerous challenges the cult is facing, it still has impacts on the entire society. despite declining impacts of the vaabong cult practice, its impacts still prevailed in mumuye society till day due to preservation by conservatives, who shield it from being eroded by western influence. impediments to the efficacy of vaabong (cultic confederacy) in contemporary nigeria society vaabong (cultic confederacy) is associated with a number of challenges in contemporary time, which this paper will examine below: i. the existence of vaabong is an ancestral cult which still exist in contemporary time among diverse mumuye and similar cultures in nigeria. vaabong possessed a diluted composition of what christianity and islam may be referred to it as idol worship, demonic and ancestral worship of cult no-existent founder for moral control. hence, the two religions; christianity and islam are in total condemnation of most of the practices of traditional religions as mere fetish or juju practices or ancestral worship of spirits. ii. vaabong (cultic confederacy) is associated with violent characteristics like other similar nigerian cults. hence, those who come in contact with it often lambast it because it leached its violent impacts on the society, which scared intending people from coming to invest in such society. death penalty is associated with the cult, hence, the cult is regarded as dangerous and violent, which scares the serenity of communal peaceful coexistence in nigeria society. the scares of whip made on the young initiates often disfigure their skin texture and beauty, thereby leaving a disgusting sign for generations to mock those whose bodies bear those scares. thus, the initiation of the young is a key moment in the rhythm of the individual life, which is also the corporate group of which an individual is part (mbiti 121). lamenting on the disgusted scars made on the body of an initiate, dong et al quoted one mr. stanley a missionary to have enquired from a lad when they saw scars of the whip made on his skin thus: “do the scars and cuts pain you? the lad replied, shrugging his shoulders “no”. but wait when i am grown up and you will see how i will lay it on the younger ones” (86). iv however, cruel impacts are impediments to the advancement and success of the cult. western culture sees nothing good in this cult when it comes to grooming young men to be self-reliant and imbibed the virtue of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 274 enduring hardship now and in the future. these foreigners see nothing good in these rites of training in the young using native cultic confederacy as vaadosung, which also inflicts pains. v abuse of human sanctity and compromise by custodians gives these foreigners the guts to consider the cult as primitive and waste of time and resources. thence, the respect given to this cult is eroding due to condemnation from western cultures especially from christianity who regard anything about this mumuye cult as not important but syncretic, unprogressive and demands to be condemned. the cult is facing challenges of moral principle and existence now and in the future. hence, the gravity of punishment noticed to be issued by this cult to offenders is lamentable and considered very cruel. there is also selective punishment on women and non-initiates who are not supposed to see the cult nor trespass on its way, who are often visited with heavy fines ranging from misfortunes, death or payment of fines ranging from brewed big pots of saa/sis (local wine) and some vivaa (animals). thence, gravity of punishment is not on equal or humanistic weighing scale due to discrimination on the female folk and children. vi there is lack of adequate documentation on most nigeria cult like the vaadosung, which will serve as spring board for moral reference in the future. hence, there is concealment of the basic hallmarks of most african cults as in the case with vaadosung from outsiders or researchers, which lacks infusion of vitality to withstand contemporary challenges of existence. furthermore, due to secrecy involved in the practice, much of the areas that need to be upgraded or improved with positive impacts have not been done because they are not exposed to being improved. recommendations amidst the challenges bedeviling the existence and practice of vabong cult in re-building morality in contemporary mumuye society, the followings are recommendations made by this paper: vaabong cult should be used to foster the course of humanism in nigeria and not to promote the culture of dehumanization where the culture of morality gives way to compromise of injustices and infringement on the rights of people in the society. the cult should be preserved and respected as the living tradition of the ancestors in stabilizing the high observance of morality in a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 275 decaying society like nigeria. it should also be used to compliment and in rebuilding the fallen standard of morality in the society. moral custodians should not be vindictive in using the cult to witch hunt their fellow humans, who go contrary to the norms and traditions of the land instead, custodians should temper justice with mercy on those breakers of norms and values of the society. african moral cult should also be allowed access in order to means of improved for greater efficacy in rebuilding morality in our distorted society today. those who violates any standard of morality as outlined by custom and norms of the society should be dealt with decisively so as to serve as deterrent for others for the restoration of morality which is decaying in the nigeria society. hence, they should not be spared against disrupting the moral code that kept of the society stable from its inception. foreigners should be guard against necessary intrusions into facets of the indigenous people’ moral observance, especially the vaabong cult. also, they should accord respect to mumuye world views in order to understand the working principles of morality among the people. moral custodians should be open to any intending researchers, who want to carry out research on the area of cult and morality in nigeria society. hence, researchers should be objective in their approach to indigenous beliefs and practices so as to present a holistic view of the place of vaabong cult in ensuring high observance of morality in a morally decaying society. conclusion vaabong cult existed right form the time of mumuye ancestors, which is used in fostering the course of building standard of morality in mumuye society. hence, such cult exists in similarities among other moral cults in nigeria. thus, most moral cults are inherited from ancestors long ago. it is not doubt the cult is the highest and most revered cult among others used in controlling the standard of morality in the past and present time and should be borrowed in revitalizing morality in the nigeria society. the role of vaabong cult in rebuilding morality in contemporary nigeria society cannot be overemphasized because the worldview of the people defined what they belief and practice (zaado, 2020). community solidarity is highly maintained by this cult because it serves as link between the departed ancestors and the living members of the society and should be upheld to prevail in the society. it is interesting to note that, basic aspects of african culture have been affected negatively due to contact with secular culture. however, no igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 276 exhaustive claim could be made that everything about vabong cult is intact and will continue in serving the intended purpose of reinstating morality in a pluralistic society. vaabong cult has its good aspects in rebuilding morality in contemporary nigeria society, despite its challenges as been violent and been misused sometime by custodians to leach terror on people, the practice would be helped with vitality to improve in rebuilding the standard of morality in contemporary nigeria by variant culture. even though the practice is not completely perfect, it needs to be filtered and incorporated in to other similar nigeria so as to get rid of some negative omens from it, and promote the positive ones for effective rebuilding of the fallen standard of morality in nigeria society. vaabong cult needs to be complimented or invigorated with current principles of humanistic morality in similar nigerian moral native cults as to remain relevance in rebuilding the fallen standard of morality in contemporary time. thus, for vaabong cult to survived and make humanistic impacts in rebuilding the fallen standard of morality in the nigerian society, it needs to be conserved and improved for its intended purpose to be achieved. works cited anyacho, ernest o. essential themes in the study of religion. ibadan: niger links, 2005. bonzena, justine d. “baptism and initiation among the mumuye of nigeria” bachelor of sacred theology long essay submitted to st. augustine’s major seminary jos, affiliate of pontifical urbanian university, rome,1992. callaghan, denis o. “theology 6: law and morality” the furrow trust june, 1971. capro research office. the cross and the gods. jos: capro media service publications, 1992. dauda, pius nyarere. historical and spiritual sites in dong. kano: olus creationz, 2014. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 277 dong, peter marubitoba et al. the mumuye contemporary history and culture 2nd edition. jos: nigeria bible translation trust, 2001. dong, peter marubitoba and rudanyuba alphonsus isa. (ed). excavating the mumuye cultural heritage on family building and ethics. jos: nigeria bible translation trust, 2004. fairchild, henry pratt(ed). dictionary of sociology. totowa new jersey: little field, adams and co. ltd., 1966. hornby, a.s. oxford advanced learner’s dictionary, 8th edition. oxford: oxford university press, 2010. hickey, raymond qtd. timothy cotter in gazette of 30th 1941 in jalingo diocese at ten 1995-2005.jos: fab anieh, nigeria ltd., 2005. mbiti, john samuel. african religion and philosophy. london: heinemann, 1974. magesa, laurenti. african religion: the moral traditions of abundant life. nairobi: pauline’s publications africa, 1997. martins, hosea nakina “a phenomenological investigation of the mumuye traditional religion in taraba state of nigeria. being a master’ dissertation submitted to postgraduate school, benue state university, makurdi, 2012. meek, c.k. tribal studies in northern nigeria, vol. 1. london: keegan paul, trench trubner and co., 1931. maduabuchi, romanus and pilla, joseph. “african morality: reconstructing our distorted society” in napssec journal of african philosophy, vol.1, 2001. nyameh, kotasori. a brief look at the mumuye communities in lau local government area. jos: pandane ventures, 2006. neyt, francoise. mumuye. paris: galerie flak, 2001. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 278 nyazing, peter hassan. “ mumuye burial systems as expressions of the african community spirit” (b.th.) long essay submitted to st. augustine’s major seminary jos an affiliate of the university of jos, 1998. shishima, d.s. african religion: a bird’s eye view. makurdi: obeta continental press, 2010. shishima, d.s. and appenda, a.z. moral philosophy and discipline: the nigerian experience. makurdi: selfers, 2004. rigali, n.j. “the uniqueness and the distinctiveness of christian morality and ethics. in curran (ed). moral theology: challenges for the future. new york: paulist press, 1990. temple, tribes, provinces emirates and states of northern provinces of nigeria. c.l. temple (ed).2nd edition. london: frank cass and co ltd, 1965. list of informants s/ n name a ge sex occupation place date 1 avonapu, amos 74 male farmer/ priest dong ‘c’ 5/5/2020 2 bitonupa, bulus 36 male pastor mabang 2/4/2019 3 bisikwaiti, raymond 75 male medicine man mayo kam 7/4/2020 4 bahago, shonrubang 54 male cult member dangan gang 13/6/2020 5 edward, raph 52 male cult member wagasa 5/5/2020 6 ishaku, makoro 54 male farmer nyaakopo 26/2/2019 7 koodi, burumong 80 male chief priest yusa ‘b’ 5/5/2020 8 mabelang, mading 50 male rain cult member monkin 13/6/2020 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 279 9 mazanko, marwa 65 male herbalist jereng 3/6/2019 10 masho, kefas 80 male farmer jimlari 5/5/2020 11 naganti, umaru 80 male chief priest binyeri 5/5/2020 12 nashong, vahme 42 male student zing 10/6/2020 13 reeti, nyadali 89 male cultic priest dong ‘c’ 23/6/2020 14 santi ,laze 53 male farmer sibre 25/2/2020 15 sadome, inuwa 33 male student yakoko 6/6/2019 16 tanko, benvo 41 male tractor driver lamma 5/5/2020 17 vahme, emmanuel 68 male mat weaver mayo kang 4/4/2020 18 vahya, nico 48 male mechanic jalingo 16/6/2020 19 yudabong, kanke 71 male farmer mararab an kunini 13/7/2019 20 zala, tippi 59 male rtd police tola 12/6/2018 21 zaado, kori 79 male farmer mayo belwa 3/2/2020 22 zaado, pius 68 male priest bisompo rung 21/6/2020 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 126 a review of ikechukwu anthony kanu‟s “igwebuike as an igbo – african hermeneutic of globalization” amos ameh ichaba, ph.d department of philosophy, kogi state university, anyigba kogi state doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.28703.51361 globalization has become an inevitable reality in recent times as experience increasingly shows that the world will be better in all ramifications if the unity in her diversity is highlighted above intemperate self-dependence of nations and persons. this means that barriers that hold peoples and nations apart are broken or lowered to the barest minimum in other to foster more access between them. as inevitable as this trend has become however, many scholars project their dissatisfaction with globalization by amplifying the negative sides of globalization to the point of warning against it. it is against this negative hermeneutics of globalization that kanu, in the paper under review, attempted a reinterpretation of globalization within the context of his philosophy of igwebuike from an igbo – african perspective. the paper is basically divided into four parts: introduction, negative hermeneutics of globalization, igwebuike: reinterpreting globalization and the conclusion. the introductory part of the paper identified the wonder about the universe and the project of the ionian philosophers of ancient times to ascertain the basic unity in the midst of plurality as the historico-philosophical foundation of globalization. this is because these ionian philosophers rendered their conviction in the existence of a fundamental core of reality commonly shared by all across the globe (p. 1). consequently, globalization as a concept, kanu argues, presents our common humanity and the common yearnings and hope that this common humanity brings. consolidating this premise, the definition of globalization by fafowora (1998) was cited, according to which ―globalization is a process that deals with the increasing breaking down of barriers and increasing integration of economic, political, social and cultural relations across international boundaries‖. to further clarify the concept of globalization, ohanuabunwa‘s definition (as cited in kanu, 2013) was adopted in which ―globalization is an evolution which is systematically reconstructing integrative https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.28703.51361?_sg%5b0%5d=mrxx0w1c49be1vvaby9sn1visj8exrdfdkdhxkedoo6bhkgz_vsgm7zxtpsm1bbd9vacl03zftbv5sxb8mj0cpzzea.olygo13oqi-taoioogrxxp6paj18kpkjm5do-foocpgd9pr73wlghn7ywnzeww5tyzq54r6cady4ozqm5syfmg igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 127 phases among nations by breaking down barriers in the areas of culture, commerce, communication and other fields of endeavour‖ (p. 2). after a succinct clarification of the concept of globalization, kanu dedicated the second part of the paper to an evaluation of some negative analyses of globalization which he attributed to misconceptions by scholars of the meaning of globalization over the years. such negative analyses of globalization by scholars according to kanu, include that of oguejiofor (2010) who considers globalization as a force in scuffle with traditional paradigms with eroding influence on traditional values; ajjala (2010) who in line with oguejiofor, considers globalization as recolonization in which the negative out –weighs the positive; joy (2010) who argued that globalization has brought about the deoriginization of the igbo language as new words have emerged from the encounter between igbo words and english concepts; dominic (2010) according to whom globalization packages look like bait for a fish or the greek gifts. other misconceptions of globalization cited by kanu include the conception of globalization as the rampage of capitalism and an imperial policy which by its nature cannot exist without parasitic expansion (mcewan, 1990; toyo cited in kanu, 2013; akinde, gidado, and olaopa, 2002). ―they argue that its immutable and primary focus is to exploit african resources, disintegrate its economies and incorporate it into the international capitalist economy‖. another misconception of globalization as cited by kanu is by madunaga (1999) who thinks that globalization was created by the prevailing social forces in the world to serve their specific interests (p. 2-3). considering these negative conceptions of globalization, kanu wondered if globalization is actually limited to these negativities especially for africans, and if there is an alternative hermeneutic that can give more objective meaning to globalization from the african point of view. this is the background to the development of igwebuike by kanu as an alternative hermeneutic of globalization. what then is igwebuike? in the third part of this paper which centres on a reinterpretation of globalization within the framework of igwebuike, kanu begins by rendering an etymological analysis of the word igwebuike in order to conceptualize the philosophy it portrays. according to him, igwebuike is an igbo word which is a combination of three words. thus, it can be understood both as a word and as a sentence. as a word, it is written as igwebuike and as a sentence, it is written as igwe bu ike with the components words being relatively independent in terms of space. in an explanation of the three words involved in the sentence form of the word, kanu igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 128 explained: igwe is a noun which means number or population. bu is a verb which means is. ike is a noun which means strength or power. put together, it means ‗number is strength‘ or ‗number is power, meaning, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force (p. 3-4). this, according to kanu, provides an ontological perspective that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. igwebuike as an ideology, kanu argues, is founded on the african principles of solidarity and complementarity. the argument is that ‗to be‘ is to live in solidarity and complementarity. in other words, ‗to be‘ is ‗to be with others‘ in a community of beings and to live outside this framework, is to suffer alienation (p. 4). igwebuike as a modality of being for kanu in this paper, construes globalization as the realization of the fullness of being in which case, globalization becomes a journey towards the realization of the full potentials of being. this he corroborated with various understandings and interpretations of globalization ranging from the concept of the ‗omega point‘ in tielhard de chardin, ‗return of the absolute spirit‘ in hegel, the ‗dialectical contradictions in interrelatedness and interactiveness‘ in karl marx, to asouzu‘s understanding of globalization as ‗a necessary consequence of the character of our being as relative subjects seeking full actualization (p. 4). globalization as a modality of being would mean, for kanu, that it cannot be shunned. this, for him explains why the more some african scholars mourn the ‗negativity‘ of globalization, the more they are globalized. ―thus, globalization offers all stakeholders a luxury of opportunities to access the mammoth richness of differences in order to better themselves, their communities and the world‖ (p. 4). globalization, kanu argues, is therefore not new to africa but rather, ―a global expression of that african nature of being present to the other more deeply and directly‖. consequently, ―globalization becomes the realization of a fundamental dimension of the african philosophical heritage‖ (p. 4). in the concluding part of the paper, kanu asserted that ―igwebuike interprets globalization as a process in which all the world is involved, generated by all, in all and for all‖ (p. 5). he therefore dismissed the negative conception of globalization as a product manufactured in europe and transported to africa as well as the attempt by some african scholars to alienate the being of the african whose being is defined largely by belonging. for kanu, the ‗african igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 129 predicament‘ cannot and should not be blamed on globalization. he concluded the paper in the following words: the employment of igwebuike in the interpretation of the nature and logic of globalization has turned an acclaimed enemy into a friend, and the terrifying journey into the anticipation of a welcome reunion. until african scholars begin to see globalization as a process, she would continue to remain un – strategically positioned, in fact, as a spectator, instead of a player in the incurably globalizing world (p. 6). kanu‘s ―igwebuike as an igbo – african hermeneutic of globalization‖ is original, well researched with solidity of logical connections and flow within which the philosophy of igwebuike holds a lot of promise for the understanding of, and participation in the inevitable process of globalization. from this review however, a few observations have been raise concerning this paper. first and foremost, notwithstanding the prospects of globalization, its process can definitely be manipulated to produces winners and losers. igwebuike as a modality of being therefore, only underscores the inevitability, necessity and prospects of globalization not necessarily a preclusion of possible manipulation of the process by some powerful stake holders for some ‗unglobal‘ motive. the paper seems not to give allowance for the possibility of distortion of the process of globalization even in the midst of its prospects. in a similar manner, the critics of globalization should not be out rightly written off in their claims rather while acknowledging the fact that globalization may have its negative sides, it should be highlighted that the prospects of globalization especially as explained within the framework of igwebuike far outweigh the negatives, thereby making it worthwhile. it is now down to the stake holders to address the problems arising from the process. the originality, simplicity and relevance of the philosophy of igwebuike is definitely commendable and globalization reinterpreted in this light, portrays it in a more acceptable manner as against the projection of africa as being hopelessly at the receiving end of globalization. in other words, using an indigenous igbo – african ideology to explain globalization, is capable of getting africans to identify with globalization in order to avail of the prospects it holds. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 130 bibliography kanu, i.a. (2015) a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. job: augustinian publications. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike and and logic (nka) of african philosophy‖. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.3 no1 january 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 35-44. 2016. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june 2016. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, on the sources of igwebuike philosophy: towards a socio-cultural foundation. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 9. no. 1. pp. 1-23. 2018 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 162 john locke on family and property vis-à-vis the security of the widows in igbo mary winifred gloria eche, dmmm, phd saint thomas aquinas seminary, makurdi benue state winieoge@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/ rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract the “two treatises of government” (1690), has been recognized as locke’s major political analysis. in the second treatise, he discussed rights at different levels, with family rights as one of such. within the family rights, locke discussed conjugal rights and property rights, among others. for locke, the end of familial society is to raise children to a state of reason so that they could be competent in the management of their own property. children have a right to the property since to be a person entitles one to own property. the father’s property does not belong to him alone; rather it belongs to the whole family. since marriage is a contract, the property rights of both partners, both corporeal and spiritual, could not be arbitrarily infringed. in locke, “property” is individual, with free alienation and bequest having priority. this is one of the areas that have received little attention in our society, as regards the women folk. the insecurity surrounding women (widows) after the death of their husbands is alarming in different parts of igbo, even when they are legitimately married. this paper therefore used the method of textual analysis and evaluation for a better application of locke’s principles in order to improve the situation of widows in nigeria. keywords: security, widows, igbo, john locke, property introduction security may be defined as being safe or a state of being free from danger, such as war, attack, robbery, etc. it may also mean measures to be taken to be protected from harm. one of the important areas that should not be overlooked when dealing with security issues is the violations of the rights of women and girls in the society. women‟s security is strongly linked to the integrity of their rights as humans. “women‟s rights to education, to health, to land and productive assets, and rights of participation, decision-making and leadership in the village or community matters are strongly linked to women‟s security”.1 others are 1 unwomen, (2015). “protecting the rights of and girls in humanitarian settings”. https://wps.unwomen.org/protecting/ mailto:winieoge@yahoo.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 163 issues concerning domestic violence and the well-being of family units. when there is no peace between husband and wife or within the family, there is no security in such families. this is why cases of husbands battering their wives have occurred severally or the other way. when a woman that lost her husband is stripped of all that she acquired with her husband, for example, land, car and other properties, it means that she will suffer from financial insecurity, which makes her vulnerable. this paper examined specifically, the insecurity surrounding a woman (widow) after the death of her husband in igbo culture. the plight of widowhood is not peculiar to a particular culture in nigeria, but it is prevalent in most cultures like the igbo culture. it is good to know too that, the terrible experiences of widows in different parts of igbo land is not applicable to every family or rather, not every woman whose husband dies goes through those horrific experiences. for some families, such wickedness of discriminating and dehumanizing the widow is not practiced nor does she feel insecure because of the death of her husband, rather the diseased brothers and sisters do everything possible to protect her and her children. but these are exceptional cases. greater number of widows are made to go through tortures in the name of culture and greediness. another fact is that the woman can also die and live the man a widower. experience has shown that the challenges and difficulties which accompany the death of a husband are greater than those which accompany the death of a wife. this is why it is still important that we should not be tired of creating awareness of this kind of evil practices being carried out on human beings, who have their rights to be respected just like every other person in the society. it becomes a serious concern that these practices are going on in our present-day society despite the overwhelming presence of different religions among the igbos, especially christianity. some traditional customs, such as wife inheritance and widowhood rites have continued to exist, significantly associated with violence against which women are not well-protected. for example, a woman was harassed by her brother-in-law who asked for the documents of the house before her husband‟s body even left for the funeral home and who also insisted, she had to leave the house. another woman‟s husband was critically ill in a hospital, when her sister-in-law demanded a huge amount of money from their bank account. when the wife refused, her in-law swore she would regret it.three days later, her husband died, his family descended on her, took her husband‟s cars away and emptied the house and she was left alone with an empty house igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 164 to start life afresh together with her five children (girls). one of the statements the family members made was that she gave birth to no child for their brother because girls are not children and have no right of inheritance of their father‟s property. the children could not understand why they were treated as such. there are many of such stories in our society. ordinarily, part of what gives a widow security after her husband‟s death is their property, and the love and care from the rest of the family members. when she is denied these, she becomes vulnerable to abuse and sickness. this paper looked at locke‟s theory of family and property and used it as a paradigm for enhancing the wellbeing of widows in igbo culture. locke’s concept of family locke sees the family as a private entity, a non-political form of association. in this way, he discredited arguments for a patriarchal kingship. 2 he also countered the “reigning patriarchist‟s position enunciated most forcefully by sir robert filmer, who supported the absolute power of the monarch on patriarchal grounds, which identified political power and familial power. according to the patriarchal world view, all social relations could be explained in terms of a model of the household in which the father was the absolute master.”3 the family is described by locke as a conjugal society. conjugal society is made by a voluntary compact between man and woman; and tho‟ it consists chiefly in such a communion and right in one another‟s bodies, as is necessary to its chief end, procreation; yet it draws with it mutual support, and assistance and a communion of interest too as necessary not only to unite their care and affection but also necessary for their common offspring, who have a right to be nourished, and maintained by them until they are able to provide for themselves.4 conjugal rights according to locke, conjugal society “is made by a voluntary compact 2 jacqueline l. pfeffer, “the family in john locke's political thought” polity, vol. 33, no. 4 the university of chicago press (summer, 2001), p.597. 3 kristin a. kelly, “private family, private individual: john locke's distinction between paternal and political power” in social theory and practice 1 july2002, vol.28 (3), p 363. 4 john locke, two treatises of government, ed. by peter laslett cambridge: cambridge university press, 1960, §78 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 165 between man and woman.”5 this implies that the right of husband and wife is “founded on contract.”6 this contract must be consistent with the ends of conjugal society, “else it cannot count as a marriage contract.”7 locke maintains that marriage is a moral not merely a legal relationship “and one whose terms are thus not to be thought of as constrained by any particular legal (or other) rules or conventions”.8 he further maintained that “husband and wife may promise to love, honor, cherish and obey one another, or they may bind themselves by different and more specific agreements. the contract must be consistent with the ends of conjugal society, or else, it cannot count as marriage contract”.9 conjugal society is a voluntary exchange involving mutual affection and need. “the proof of this characterization can be found in the fact that the ends of conjugal society (procreation and the rearing of children) can be accomplished without either party retaining the right to determine life and death.”10 “for locke, the end of conjugal society is procreation and the care of common offspring11, “yet it draws with it mutual support, and assistance, and a communion of interest too, as necessary not only to unite their care and affection, but also necessary to their common offspring who have a right to be nourished and maintained by them, till they are able to provide for themselves.”12 because of this the bond of husband and wife must be a lasting one, which means that even after procreation they must be together, since they have the responsibility of taking care of their children until they reach the age of maturity. this responsibility says john locke comes from the “law of nature” because “they had begotten, not as their own workmanship, but the workmanship of their own maker, the almighty, to whom they were to be accountable for them”.13 governance of the family despite the fact that the conjugal society is based on a contract, locke argued that even the man or husband has no absolute power over the 5john locke, two treatises of government, §78. 6a. john simmons, the lockean theory of rights (new jersey: princeton university press, 1992), 170 7john simmons, 170. 8 john locke, two treatises of government, §83 9 john locke, two treatises of government, §83 10kristin a. kelly, “private family, private individual: john locke's distinction between paternal and political”; “power”, in social theory and practice, 28, (2002), p. 361. 11john simmons, the lockean theory of rights, 170 -171 12john locke, two treatises of government, §78. 13 john locke, two treatises of government, §56. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 166 woman or wife, but he does have a certain priority: “though they have but one common concern, yet having different understandings will unavoidably sometimes have different wills too; it therefore being necessary, that the last determination, that is, the rule, should be placed somewhere, it naturally falls to the man‟s share, as the abler and the stronger.”14 in that case, the woman owes the man subjection. but this right which the man has “can be only a conjugal power, not political, (it is ) the power that every husband hath to order the things of private concernment in his family as proprietor of the goods and land there, and to have his will take place before that of his wife in all things of their common concernment.” 15 this situation which locke described here arises when there is a disagreement between husband and wife, with the man having the right to the final decision. the family and property in locke locke's doctrine of property is almost the central part of his political work. property in the second treatise was summarized by locke as “lives, liberties and estates”16. it refers more narrowly to material goods.17 furthermore, locke says that every man has a "property" in his own person and in his own labor, that is the work of his hand. “hence the term property admits of many interpretations in locke's second treatise. “the basic meaning of property for locke, which gives substance to all the others, is that of proprium, a latin word meaning one‟s own, from which the english word property is derived. hence under the notion of property as being what is one‟s own, locke includes all the natural rights of man”18. the end of familial society as locke stressed is to raise children to a state of reason so that they could be competent in the management of their own property.19 children have a right to property,20 since to be a person 14john locke, two treatises of government, §82. 15john locke, first treatise of government, §48. 16 john locke, two treatises of government, §123 17 mary winifred g. eche, an ethical evaluation of john locke’s theory of rights. makurdi, nigeria, aboki publishers, 2019, p.67. 18 bracken, joseph andrew, "a theory of property according to john locke" (1960). master's theses. 1547. https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_theses/1547 19 according to jacqueline, john locke expresses that to attain this end, nature gives parents authority over their children (2t? 173). this power is "not so much as the shadow" of the power of the civil magistrate, because the "power of the father doth not reach at all to the property of the child," since power over a child's property is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 167 entitles one to own property. children are also their own property, that is, in their individuality they are something that no one else can take as simply his own, and they have the right to develop their natural talents, god‟s different gifts. in locke, “property is individual, with free alienation and bequest having priority.”21 for him, children have the natural right to inherit their father‟s possessions and fathers also “have power to bestow their estates on those who please them most.”22 this means that fathers have their rights to dispose of their property as it pleases them. locke in his defense of free alienation and the priority of inheritance, gave two main reasons. first, provided that the property that may be freely alienated is conceived as joint property, held by all the family members together, paternal alienation or bequest will have no priority . . . second, even if property is individual, free alienation is compatible with having committed or partially alienated one‟s property to those with whom one enters into a special relationship such as those relationship created by marriage or procreation.23 in view of this argument, the father‟s property does not belong to him alone; rather it belongs to the whole family. but if the father has no right to dispose of his property as he pleases, it would appear that locke, perhaps unknowing, undermined the very foundation of individual rights. a father is said not to be only the proprietor of what he has for himself, his children also have rights to a part of his property. in the first treatise, locke clearly states that “men are not proprietors of what they have merely for themselves, their children have a title to part of it, and have their kind of right joined with their parents, in the possession which comes to be wholly theirs, when death having put an end to their parents unnecessary to the attainment of the end of the society of parents and children (2t??65, 170). indeed, a parent's power over his child's property is not only unnecessary to raising children to be competent managers of property, but would be a prohibitive obstacle to the attainment of this end, because a child who does not have the disposal of his property at his command cannot be taught how to manage it. children, locke argued, acquire competence in an activity only by practice and experience that settles in them habits (stce??64-6); they cannot simply be given rules about the management of property, but must practice its management. the familial society of parents and children is closely related…. 20jacqueline l. pfeffer, “the family in john locke's political thought, 598. 21john simmons, the lockean theory of rights, 204. 22john locke, two treatises of government, §72. 23john simmons, 205. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 168 use of it, hath taken them for their possessions and this we call inheritance.”24 locke further argued that children should learn to acquire and use their property not only for their own benefit, but also to dispose of their property for the benefit of others. he urged parents to foster a liberal, giving disposition in children, so that they can "part with what they have easily and freely to their friends.25 what did locke say concerning the woman‟s right? has the woman any right of inheritance in the property right of john locke? in different parts of nigeria, for example, even when the customary law has allowed the female to be part of the inheritance of her father‟s property, it is not being practiced. what is the position of locke on this? for locke then, the same restrictions and freedoms applied to the marriage contract as applied to any other covenant. most importantly, the property rights of both partners, both corporeal and spiritual, could not be arbitrarily infringed. consequently, just as a people could not grant the state absolute power over their property, a wife could not grant her husband the right to absolute authority over her life even if she so wished. to do so would alienate a property she has not the power to give away. nor may a man confiscate for his own use the goods a woman brings to the marriage merely because the couple have chosen to marry. this was her property and hence part of her being and as such could not be expropriated against her will. for locke the marriage relationship created no theoretical difficulties with these forms of property. there was, however, a theoretical problem with property which a husband and wife, by common endeavour, might accumulate during the period of the marriage. as this wealth was the product of their common labours the husband could have no right to arbitrarily utilise it as he wished. for as to the wife's share, whether her own labour or compact gave her a title to it, it is plain her husband could not forfeit what was hers.26 this means therefore, since both of them labored together, if the husband dies, the wife becomes responsible for the property owned by both of them. hence, no husband‟s relation has the right to interfere in the 24john locke, first treatises of government, §88. 25 jacqueline l. pfeffer, “the family in john locke's political thought, 604 26 nyland, chris, john locke and the social position of women, department of economics, university of wollongong, working paper 90-6, 1990, 32. http://ro.uow.edu.au/commwkpapers/321 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 169 ownership of the property belonging to the man and his wife, after the man‟s death. this is because, there was a contract between both. and since she applied her labour to it, she has a natural right of inheritance over the property. the widow’s plight despite the changing times, women are still found victims of injustice as a result of the enforcement of old traditions in different parts of igbo land. for example, the oppressive customs and traditions pertaining to widows are sustained by those who benefit from them, especially in the villages where many women are ignorant of their rights. one of the peculiar experiences that widows go through is that of the male dominance at the level of inheritance, outside other horrible rituals that are being performed. i witnessed a serious quarrel between a widow and her brother in-law, from a village not too far from mine, over the management of what the widow‟s husband left behind. the widow was a young lady in her early thirties. she had a boutique. unfortunately, her husband died suddenly in a ghastly motor accident. after the burial of the man, his younger brother came to the woman claiming all the assets belonging to his brother. he claimed that being the eldest male in the family, after her mourning period, he would inherit her as the custom demanded since she was still young and take over all the properties belonging to his brother. this meant that she had no right over any of them. it is presumed that the rituals and deprivations that most of these widows go through occur mostly within marriages under customary law. as in the case of customary law, all meaningful property is owned and controlled by the husband. women are often, if not always, reduced to the status of property-less dependents who have to submit to the will of their husbands in order to survive. the customary law on matrimonial property perceives a married woman as an unpaid servant of her husband.27 27 austin o. ezejiofor, (2011). “patriarchy, marriage and the rights of widows in nigeria” unizik journal of arts and humanities vol. 12, no. 1. pg. 146. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ujah.v12il.9 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 170 it is pertinent to note that this situation is not peculiar to marriages under customary law. rather, it is a problem of an erroneous mentality and a tradition wherein a woman is seen as an acquired property. this mentality also exists among some christian couples, thereby leading to the maltreatment of widows after their husbands‟ death. ideally, after the death of her husband, a widow deserves sympathy and care. this will enable her to overcome the psychological trauma of losing her beloved one. however, most often that is not the case. rather, “she is stigmatized as the killer of her husband, oppressed, suppressed, afflicted, neglected, accused, openly insulted and consequently made to succumb to widowhood rites on account of customs and traditions.”28 in fact, she is eventually made more miserable and is stripped of her self-esteem and all the property she had acquired with her husband. these amount to infringements on her human rights. a woman is a human being in exactly the same way that a man is, so maintaining the practice of denying inheritance to widows, after the death of their spouses and even worse, letting widows be inherited as property, is inhuman and counter to treaties to which nigeria is a signatory. for example, the united nations charter and universal declaration of human rights (udhr). moreover, it is contrary to the nigerian constitution, which stipulates in chapter iv§34 that (1) every individual is entitled to respect for the dignity of his person, and accordingly (a) no person shall be subject to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment, etc. while in §43 it states, subject to the provisions of this constitution, every citizen of nigeria shall have the right to acquire and own immovable property anywhere in nigeria. it did not say any man but any person and this includes women. since the unfair treatment meted to widows violates their fundamental human rights, this work encourages us, those who know the law and are educated to fight for justice, defend the helpless, moreso to fight against the maltreatment of widows, because it is still very much alive in our society today. most of those who go through these have no one to speak for them. many are uneducated and because they are ignorant of their rights, they are more vulnerable than the educated widows. 28 george, tayo, (2017). “widowhood and property inheritance among the awori of ogun state, nigeria”. http://www.researchgate.net.publication.322103084_widow igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 171 application of locke’s principles to the state of widows in igbo culture locke in the “first treatise” §61, recognized the equality of the father and the mother and affirmed that whatever was given to them was given to them in common. in the second treatise of government §52, he emphasized that the father not only has absolute rights over his own offspring but shares equally parental power and the duty to care for them with the mother. for example, as quoted above, locke said that, men are not proprietors of what they have merely for themselves, their children have a title to part of it, and have their kind of right joined with their parents, in the possession which comes to be wholly theirs, when death having put an end to their parents use of it, hath taken them for their possessions and this we call inheritance. this clearly portrayed, that he made no distinction between both parents. he also argued in support of individual property rights as natural rights. furthermore, he maintained that the fruits of one's labor are one's own because one worked for them. as established in the work above, locke is of the opinion that the property rights of both partners (that is husband and wife) both corporeal and spiritual, could not be arbitrarily infringed. consequently, just as a people could not grant the state absolute power over their property, a wife could not grant her husband the right to absolute authority over her life even if she so wished. to do so would alienate a property she has not the power to give away. neither can a man confiscate for his own use the goods a woman brought to the marriage merely because the couple have chosen to marry. this was her property and hence part of her being and as such could not be expropriated against her will. as regards the wealth acquired by the family, locke has this to say: “this wealth was the product of their common labours, the husband could have no right to arbitrarily utilise it as he wished. for as to the wife's share, whether her own labour or compact gave her a title to it, it is plain her husband could not forfeit what was hers”.29 the lessons we can learn from locke are as follows: first, the woman owns herself and therefore, cannot whatsoever be someone‟s property because she accepted to marry. in that case, she is not a property to any man. so, for those who argue that a widow is their 29 nyland, chris, john locke and the social position of women, department of economics, university of wollongong, working paper 90-6, 1990, 32. http://ro.uow.edu.au/commwkpapers/321 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 172 inheritance as their tradition demands, it is wrong and such tradition and persons infringe on the widow‟s right of existence. and statements such as „immediately after wedding, you have become my property‟ are abusive and the woman has every right to reject such. this therefore implies that after the death of her husband, the widow has the right to decide if she will re-marry or not. second, since marriage is a contract between two persons, in this case, between husband and wife, no one has the right to interfere in what the wife owns in common with her husband. sometimes, some of these properties are acquired by the woman either before or within the marriage. and sometimes both acquired them. what it means is that, it is not always the case that the man is the sole acquisition of family property. but the agreement to enter a contract joins all these together. since they labored together without a third party, it will be unjust for a third party to come in to claim the family‟s property after the man‟s death while the wife and children are alive. third, the children according to locke have the right of inheritance. locke mentioned in his work, two main primary rights of the children. the first is the right to be nourished and maintained by their parents; the second is about the child‟s right of inheritance to parental property. therefore, no relation of their father has the right to confiscate their father‟s property after his death. locke clearly indicated that no one should interfere with the man‟s property because, the children have a natural right over their father‟s property. conclusion the inhuman treatment meted out to widows has continued in different parts in igbo cultures. efforts should be made to change this situation. leaders in various spheres of society – traditional, religious and political should be proactive in enlightening their followers and making the necessary changes that would improve the lot of widows in the nigerian society. moreover, the government should make legislations that stipulate the rights of widows and protect them from such negative treatment. this would safeguard the security of widows and of their children, especially the younger ones. bibliography bracken, joseph andrew, "a theory of property according to john locke" (1960). master's theses. 1547. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 173 https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_theses/1547 chris, nyland, (1990). “john locke and the social position of women”. department of economics, university of wollongong, working paper 90-6, 1990, 32. http://ro.uow.edu.au/commwkpapers/321 eche, mary winifred g. an ethical evaluation of john locke’s theory of rights. makurdi, nigeria, aboki publishers, 2019. ezejiofor, austin o. (2011). “patriarchy, marriage and the rights of widows in nigeria” unizik journal of arts and humanities vol. 12, no. 1. jacqueline l. pfeffer, (2001). “the family in john locke's political thought” polity, vol. 33, no. 4. the university of chicago press. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). the role of language in the socio-political philosophy of john locke. international journal of humanities and social science. vol. 2. no. 14, july, pp.126-131. kanu, ikechukwu, a. (2013). from religious/traditional epistemology to lockean naturalized epistemology. amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 1-16. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2014). locke‟s agnosticism of substance and orthordox christian faith. amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 12. no. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2014). anglican church men, descartes and john locke on innate ideas: religion and philosophy in dialogue. amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 12. no. 1. pp. 200215. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2015). gender and good governance in john locke: religious and political perspectives. amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 13. no. 1. pp. 88-97. kristin a. kelly, (2002). “private family, private individual: john locke's distinction between paternal and political power” in social theory and practice, vol.28 (3). locke, john, two treatises of government, ed. by peter laslett cambridge: cambridge university press, 1960 simmons, a. john the lockean theory of rights (new jersey: princeton university press, 1992), 170 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 174 tayo, george, (2017). “widowhood and property inheritance among the awori of ogun state, nigeria”. http://www.researchgate.net.publication.322103084_widow unwomen, (2015). “protecting the rights of and girls in humanitarian settings”. https://wps.unwomen.org/protecting/ https://wps.unwomen.org/protecting/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 24 the adventure of a black girl in search for god emmanuel e. egar, phd department of english and literary studies veritas university, abuja egaremmanuel79@gmail.com & edame74@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.36469.60642 abstract george bernard shaw wanted to challenge the vanities of human wishes, particularly the christians who claim that they serve one true living god according to the prescriptions of the bible. shaw in his wisdom, decided to use a black slim, naked, african virgin (a catachresis of a white european girl) to search for god amongst all christian creeds. the choice of the black girl was because she would not have been contaminated by all ancestral theologies and dogmas of christianity. the search was fruitless because the black girl discovered that the prophets of the old testament served different gods. but then, she discovered a biting inditement of christianity in: the dirty water theology. this theology implied that christianity unlike igbo cosmology in achebe’s arrow of god, could not discard a god who was not sensitive to the wishes of the people. having done with christianity, the girl turned on the practices of islam: their hostilities against images like carving god or painting him. islam’s biggest scourge is their treatment of women: why one man could have multiple women, while the woman was restricted to only one man! the black girl discovered that since the search for god among all christian creeds was fruitless, that maybe, the best life was to settle down, get married, plant a garden, weed it and harvest the yields. this would save her from boredom, vice and poverty. the simple life was the best. keywords: dirty water theology, igbo cosmology, christian, black girl introduction george bernard shaw studied the history of christianity through the old testament prophets from noah, micah to job. his mission was to find out the true meaning of the universe through the gods of the old testament. his search instrument was a black, slim, naked african girl. the choice of a black girl was very suitable because she would not have been contaminated with the polluted dogmas of christianity from school or her parents. the obvious anomalies in micah’s god should prevent us from still mailto:egaremmanuel79@gmail.com mailto:edame74@yahoo.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 25 worshipping him. but rather than telling this story in a tedious drama, shaw decided to tell it in prose: the story of black girl in search for god. shaw used a slim, naked african girl (a strange catachresis of a white girl) was his search instrument. this girl sojourned through all the great theologies of the christian world in search for the true god. her search was fruitless. this futility led her to choose the life style of descarte’s candide: the best of two possible worlds. she decided like candide to settle down to choose the simple life: and she got married, planted a garden, weed it and raised three kids. the simple life was the best. shaw made me a believer in reason rather than faith. a believer that man should not marry reason to faith. this would be disastrous because man would be recycling a redundancy of the infinite futility. the dirty water theology this was my personal coinage from chinua achebe’s novel: arrow of god. the ibos, (a tribe in south east nigeria) in their theology discarded a god who was not sensitive to the needs of his people: the burden of the chief priest ezeulu. but christianity muddled this up. the christians accept all the gods, from noah, micah even to job, with all their anomalies thereby mimicking the biblical adding of new wine to the old: hence i coined the term: “dirty water theology”. “ibo cosmology” this is ibo religious system as shown by chinua achebe n his essay: chi in igbo cosmology. (essays and responses). p159-169. george bernard shaw: the black girl in search for god: a thematic analysis of christians and islam. the title of the text is rather unique and even peculiar because it instigates a curiosity and a craving that ends only in speculations and thoughts. in a sense, the search ends before it even begins. the second course for curiosity is shaw’s choice of the search instrument: the black, naked, slim, african girl. a virgin! the third course for curiosity is, where is she going to find god? a being that according to edmond jabes in his text, the little book of unsuspected subversions, god erased his face after he created man. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 26 shaw in his wisdom decided that a white, clean virgin would not be a suitable instrument for various reasons. first, a white girl must have inherited all the contaminated christian theology and dogmas from her parents, grandparents, peer group and even christian education. a white girl could not escape the nuances of the stench. so, a very suitable candidate for a mouth piece should be a black, naked, african virgin. in this flow therefore, the blackness, the nakedness, and the africanness melt in smoothly, particularly if one is in a hurry to plant a theology and dogma on a pure tabula rasa! this is because the blackness of the girl fused with almost supernatural intelligence would be both revolting and intriguing to white europeans who do not seem to belief that the african has any basic intelligence. and the virgin nakedness would provoke a mixed feeling of joy and revulsion for the sacred and the profane closely related to adam and eve. and even the african paganism, a strange catachresis of christianity because of its intoxication with native fetishism and monstrous rituals should be an ideal choice! but hidden in this labyrinth of speculations is a silent irony. the irony is in the question whether rightly or wrongly, europe had any right to impart a religion on africa. a religion that they do not even seem to belief themselves? because how can one claim to teach a truth and then turn around to disbelief the same truth! physician, heal yourself first? these are serious metaphysical questions. and it is to answer them that shaw sent a black, naked african virgin on the adventure to unveil. having dealt with the nagging issue of the selection of a model, a mouthpiece or protagonist for the trip, we must now turn to confront what shaw calls the gods of the old testament and even jesus christ! these gods shaw claims have various anomalies and even limitations. and they line up a beautiful roll call like: i. the god of noah ii. the god of job iii. the god of micah iv. and jesus christ. the god of noah, shaw claims was mischievous, brutal and uncaring. did he need to drawn all living things except those that belonged to noah, and turn around when the universe has been privileged, to demand from noah, his largest and fattest animals, just so that he could enjoy the smell from roast beef? could this god not have created the smell of roast beef instead of subjecting noah to it? igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 27 and since these were noah’s fattest rams, did this god not think of the food he was depriving noah’s family? as we struggle to understand the strange behavior of noah’s god, we run smack into the god of job. the major problem with job’s god was that he was a poor debater. he could not face job on the problematic of his creation. what is the problem with the ontological argument about the goodness of god? why did god create so much pain and suffering in a world created by an omnipotent and omniscient god? is there a possibility of error? of a mistake after creation! job’s god avoided answering these questions, instead unleashed senseless sneers, bullying and intimidations. his condescending reply showed job that his god thinks less of man than a leaf from the tree. the question is job’s mind was: if he thinks of man just as a piece of trash, then why did he really bother to create man? countee cullen, a black american poet, had struggled with these problems about the ontological argument in his poem: yet do i marvel: yet do i marvel i doubt not god is good, well-meaning, kind, and did stop to quibble could tell why the little buried mole continues blind, why flesh that mirrors him must someday die, make plain the reason tortured tantalus is baited by the fickle fruit, declare inscrutable his ways are and immune to catechism by a mind too strewn with petty cares to in that poem, cullen interrogates all the frustrations, doubts, hopes, and even desires often associated with the goodness of god. cullen questions why a god, who is omnipotent and omniscient would create a world with so much pain and suffering. suffering that does not spare even the tinny insects like the mole. suffering that even man, a replica of god should die! but to understand the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 28 striking poignancy of his inditement is to reflect on the efficacy of the role of poetry as a vital medium of instruction. poetry is medium of instruction for the diviners, the priest and the prophets. when the diviner unleashes his poetry, it is immediately accepted and consumed by a paid audience. when the catholic priest prays in latin poetry to an audience that is ignorant of latin language, his messages are accepted in a latin chorus with fear and trembling by his audience. and when the prophet speaks, he speaks his poetry to a crowd, waiting with fear, trepidation and trembling at the ominous content of his message. but when a black man speaks his poetry to an often racist and hostile crowd, who would listen to him? a poet and black? and god who is omniscient and omnipotent should know the biting ramifications of a black man in a whiteman’s country! and so, knowing all these, why should god be so insensitive to make him a poet and ask him to sing to a hostile audience? now we return to the gods of the old testament. all the gods of the old testament had one fault or another. for instance, noah’s god was greedy, reckless and loved the smell of beef. job’s was a snob and a poor debater. micah’s god was different because his behavior comes close to that of jesus in the new testament. micah’s god does not care for burnt sacrifices of animals or human. he demands simply that we do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with him. this god comes very close to jesus of the new testament, if we can recall his teaching in the beatitudes. and what was his basic creed? his basic creed was that god is within every person. the simple implication is that there will be too many gods in the universe. a major reason why he was stoned by the jews. he also taught that you love your neighbor as yourself. and that we are all one in the family of god. a universalism which would be revolting to the jews who regarded themselves as god’s chosen people! but after considering all the gods of the old testament with their diverse limitations, shaw unleashes a biting indictment on christianity: the dirty water theology! before discussing this strange theology, we must go back to chinua achebe’s, arrow of god to see how the igbo’s treated recalcitrant gods in their cosmology. in igbo cosmology, they discarded any god that was not sensitive to the wishes of people. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 29 and this is where the dirty water theology comes in. while the igbos are able to discard a recalcitrant god and pick up a god who would be sensitive to the wishes of the people, the christians were not that smart. christians accepted the good and bad gods, (dirty water and clean) and so muddled up the whole theology and dogmas of christianity. but unless man invented god as edmond jabes claims in his: the little book of unsuspected subversions, the reverse would not work! edmond jabes and his: the little book of unsuspected subversion: god created man in his image, which he erased by erasing himself. man not having known the face of god, a fortiori never know his own. he knows only the pain of loss. he knows that what passes for his face, after all was only the longing for an absent face. could it be that god’s image is that of an infinite erasure? in that case man’s image would also be, and their resemblance that of an absent image to an absence of images; a resemblance finally of nothing to nothing. trying in spite of everything to have a face means that the creature, in his stubborn will to exist, had to invent it (p. 52) in that piece, jabes gives us the anatomy of his doubts about the existence of god. he starts carefully by dislodging the christian’s claim that god made man according to his image. but the problem here is that god erased his face after he made man. this means that man does not know god’s image. so, how does he know that he is the duplicate of an absent face? man is left now only with the pain of loss. the logical conclusion would be that god’s face would be that of an infinite erasure. in that case, man’s image will be that of a resemblance of nothing to nothing. trying everything to have a face without success means that man had to invent god and his face. god according to jabes is a curious invention by man. it is quite curious according to shaw, how islam is able to evade this trap of: dirty water theology. they did it by simply deciding to be the “serpent and the eagle”. and to weed and water the garden. the two animals chosen as their symbols are both dangerous in respective ways. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 30 the eagle attacks and kills smaller birds. but the serpent is indifferent to who it kills – big man or small man. so when small powerless men in society infringe their laws according to shaw, they are killed. infidels and unbelievers are useless so they are killed. by doing these killings, they are using the eagle to clean the garden. the believers cannot co-exist with useless people which would be a resemblance of “dirty water theology”. but if the eagle gets rid of useless little birds, what role does the snake serve. simple! since the snake kills indiscriminately, it becomes a universal declaration that no-one is above the law. the simple implication is that the rich or poor are under the same laws and will receive the same penalties should they break it. the garden must be watered and cleaned. the conclusion then is that islam through ingenious ways is able to escape the: dirty water theology. but islam, having escaped the problem of: the dirty water theology, was tackled at another front: the treatment of women. the marriage of one man to multiple women. their rationale is that god ordained that man should take care of woman. but why, does a fair and just god not give women the same privileges to marry many men? here the arab persona in the novel admits that though he cannot question god, but he believes that god may have been unfair to women when it comes to marriage ordinance. to conclude this essay, we had to wade into the history of western european thought, to find out who had dealt with such universal, moral and intellectual problems (10). two names come to mind: voltaire in candide and dr. samuel johnson in rasellas and the vanity of human wishes. and george bernard shaw in: the adventure of the black girl in search for god. voltaire’s candide started life with a concern that there was too much pain and suffering in the world. he then started to reflect very seriously that there must be somewhere in the world without pain and suffering: “the best of two possible worlds”. but this was a vain hope because even the best had its own faults. as candide’s philosopher explained that the best always has perils: for instance, the kings of the world, specimens of the best. yet they murdered each other to the last. candide believed that there is always a hidden good in all human actions. but the best life is to plant a garden and water it, clean and harvest the yields. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 31 the implications of a garden is that it saves you from boredom, vice and poverty. the simple life is the best! shaw wanted to confront all the anomalies of monotheistic religions particularly their deviation from the spirit of the bible, so he sent his mouthpiece, a black, african virgin in search for god among these religions. the search was fruitless because all creeds had several gods with their various limitations. so in desperation from a fruitless journey, the black girl decided to trap a red haired irish rustic for a husband. they got married, planted a garden and had three kids. the implication of settling down with a garden is interesting because the garden prevented them from boredom, vice and poverty! and like candide, the simple life is the best. but the attempt to settle the nagging vanities of human wishes did not stop with voltaire or bernard shaw. it extends to the genius, the man of letters himself, dr. samuel johnson, with his rich intellectual mind. johnson was concerned about the futilities of human choices and the blunders that come out of these choices. so he wrote two texts to dramatize his feelings. these text are rasellas and the vanity of human wishes, a poem. in the vanity of human wishes, he “dramatizes the futility of pursuing wealth and fame and ends with a stoic acceptance of human limitations as well as with the christian advice that only if one cultivates charity, patience and faith, can one “make the happiness one does not find on earth”.(p. xx.) in rasellas which is a philosophical tale he ridicules, the major characters’ blunders in making choices of life. and further shows the vanity of human wishes. in both texts, johnson demonstrates his pragmatic theory of literature. that good literature should instruct as well as delight. george bernard shaws metaphysical journey of the black girl in search for god is a calculated ridicule of the vanity in the human wishes to understand the mind of god so as to serve him well. these wishes fail as we can see in st john’s gospel: john 1-3). john failed because he thought he understood god enough to put him in a box, study him, understand him, and so define him. but he forgot that god almighty is too large, too elaborate for the small, simple human brain to understand. and if we cannot understand him, how can we define him. john’s failure came from two narrative flaws! first was beginning his narrative with: in the beginning. second was that he could not see the problem with the basic chemistry of his dialectics: the word was with god and the word was god. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 32 the black girl – confronts monotheistic religions, and found their limitations. the search seemed to have left one area: the middle. the nonbelievers, the atheists, agnostics, naturalists, fundamentalists. these were the major failures of the socratic dialectic: dividing knowledge into two fractions: good and bad. this curious division leaves out the middle, the gray area. the problem here is that it is in this middle that most intellectuals, skeptics and fiery brains of a generation may belief. shaw cramped all this divisions in w. european thought into a freudian truism that western civilization has its own discontent. that western civilization is almost at its end. and that the next wave of civilization will be a black civilization. the search ends with no absolute answers. but with only questions! why and what? how? conclusion shaw’s claim in this text was that christianity would not lead a rational man to god. that the whiteman had no right to inflict a god and his universe on the africans, since the whiteman did not even believe in this god himself. because how could you teach a truth without believing in the truth yourself. this seems to be the paradoxical dilemma of the white christians and their theology. but the primary conclusion was that shaw was measuring the vicissitudes, anomalies and even limitations of christianity through the sharp eyes of the cartesian; corgito ergo sun, the rationalist insight of leibnietz: nihil est sine ratione and the sarcastic aphorisms of milan kundera to the jewish knesset in 1958: “man thinks, god laughs.” he was mocking the christians’ presumption to know god almighty enough so as to prescribe rules and even modalities of service. these are the same mistakes that john made in his gospel: in the beginning was the word. the word was with god. and the word was god. (john 1:1-3) there are two major problems in john’s narrative. the first was to begin his narrative with: “in the beginning”, because a beginning is impossible. because there will always be something before beginning. the second problem was trying to flaunt the laws of simple chemistry with: the word was with god. and the word was god. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 33 the problem is that in the laws of simple chemistry, if you combine two different elements in a chemical reaction, you will produce a compound that is completely different from the elements that formed it. but in john’s equation, when he combined god and the word, a neutral compound was not formed! god remained god. only god is! the concern with john was that he may have underestimated the magnitude and enormity of the subject of his definition. so his definition collapsed. shaw therefore was mocking the white christians for not learning a lesson from st. john’s error! works cited achebe, chinua. arrow of god. ny: double day/company, 1969. cullen, countee. yet do i marvel. in the anthology of african american literature. nu: www.norton, 1997. guthrie w. k. c. the sophists. cambridge: cambridge university press, 1971. jabe’s edmond. the little book of unsuspected subversions. stanford: stanford university press.1966. johnson, samuel. rasellas and the vanity of human wishes. in milestones of thought. nu: frederick ungar publiching co, 1979 shaw, b. george. the adventures of the black girl in search for god. nu: capricon books, g. p. punam’s sons, 1959. http://www.norton/ microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 6.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 170 a review of igwebuike and being in igbo ontology by prof. anthony ikechukwu kanu, o.s.a jude i. onebunne, phd department of philosophy faculty of arts nnamdi azikiwe university, awka ji.onebunne@unizik.edu.ng the paper published in january 2019 in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities is a work of great reminiscence. though a journal paper, it delved into a much needed contemporary issue with regard to the prospect in african philosophy that has come to stay. the question of being as what is or that which exists is very central and fundamental in igbo ontology and it’s very proper to the area of metaphysics. igbo ontology is simply igbo being. ontology, therefore, studies the structure, meaning and principle of whatever is in so far as it exists. metaphysics, however, studies and investigates the network as well as the nexus of interrelatedness of realities as such in their deepest ontological sense. from the verb to be, a kind of activity the nomenclature being presents itself as something knowable. if man knows being at all, he knows being as such. accordingly, the author gave a succinct appreciation of igwebuike as the modality of being in igbo ontology. igwebuike is an igbo word, which is a combination of three words. thus, it can be understood as a word and as a sentence: as a word, it is written thus, igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. for kanu, igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a large number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is a noun, which means strength or power. put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force. at this level, no task is beyond this collective capability. to this point there is an ontological perspective that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. kanu specifically identifies igwebuike as a being-with. igwebuike means “there is strength in unity”, it believes in the harnessing of the group or community effort. there is no isolation of being from the other, it is a form of being-with, a form of belongingness, a form of sharedness otherwise there is alienation. equally, the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 171 igbo people normally talk of power as something that belongs to the multitude (“igwe-bu-ike”). in fact, the very concept of the multitude is in itself understood as a source of power and authority. kanu strongly articulates in this paper under review that igwebuike rests on the african principles of solidarity and complementarity. it argues that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is ‘to be with the other’, in a community of beings, that is, igbo being. it is a kind of communalism, which is an african philosophy of community underlying the principle and unity of african thought and culture. kanu, to properly situate his igwebuike and being in igbo-african ontology, delved into and through many philosophical works of great african philosphicohistorical figures like placide tempels’ bantu philosophy, alexis kagame’s ntu, emmanuel edeh’s attempt at igbo metaphysics, the chi of okere, t., abanuka, b., and njoku, f.o., and panteleon iroegbu’s belongingness. kanu’s review of these philosophico-historical heavyweights’ thoughts showed that their positions and postulations have introduced more problems to the proper appreciation of being in igbo-african philosophy. kanu, however, opined that the appropriate concept of being in igbo-african metaphysics is idi. in a very particular and strict sense, the western appreciation of being as what is has over the time, in line with igbo worldview and development in african philosophical tradition and african philosophical enterprise undergone the needed and expected nomenclaturaltranslational appreciation in line with igbo-african awareness and understanding of reality as such. igwebuike is an african metaphysics of communalist existence. it is an ideology. it is the modality of igbo being. it is very central and at the heart of african philosophy as a movement and as a discipline. igwebuike shows the existential interaction and interrelatedness in igbo-african community. being as whatever is, is in one way or the other, that reality that simply belongs. being, therefore, belongs and this is what one understands as the modality of being. and this form of modality is belongingness. kanu, an astute thinker and prolific-philosophical writer through his categorization of being summarily showed igwebuike as an ideology is the manner, the way, the style or the modality of being, that is, being in relation to the other. aesthetically, kanu definitively appreciates igwebuike as the uzo (modality) of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 172 idi (being). igwebuike as the modality of being is at the heart of african philosophical enterprise. bibliography kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and and logic (nka) of african philosophy”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2015a). a hermeutic approach to the study of african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015b). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no. 1.[ 97-101]. kanu, i. a. (2016b). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no.1. [1-7]. a cursory glance at the historical evolution of thought reveals that right from the ancient world, thinkers have been concerned about the nature of the operative conditions of reality. when thales of miletus pointed to water as the fundamental unity underlying the diversity of reality, it was born out of the search for reality's operative condition. when anaximander referred to a neutral element that is infinite, eternal and indeterminate, he did not only express the fundamental nature of reality, but the search for the unity of the plurality of things. according to anaximenes of miletus, air is the underlying principle of all reality (omoregbe, 1997 and kanu 2014). the search for the operative conditions of reality has been part of africa's intellectual, documented and systematic tradition. in his work, la philosophie bantou, placide tempels arrives at a fundamental and underlying factor in bantu philosophy, which he calls force. tempels (1945) writes: “…the bantu speak, act, live as if, for them, beings were forces. force is not for them an adventitious, accidental reality. force is even more than a necessary attribute of being; force is the nature of being, force is being, being is force” (p. 431). alexis kagame, in his work philosophie bantou-rwandaise de l'etre, develops tempel's philosophy of force further. he argues that ntu is the category of being or the generic meaning of something. this he classified into four: umuntu (human beings); ikintu (non-human beings); ahantu (place and time); ukuntu (aristotelian category of quantity) (kanu 2012a). ntu, thus, becomes the unifying notion among all these, and the element of interaction between all these forces. edeh (1983) in his towards an igbo metaphysics observes that idi is the igbo verb to be, and can be used as an adjective and suffixed to anything to show that it exists (kanu 2012b). iroegbu (1995) in his metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy avers that to be is to belong. thus, being is belongingness. he defines belongingness as 'the synthesis of the reality and experience of belongingness' (p. 374). while okere (1983) and abanuka (2003) have proposed chi as an alternative concept for being in igbo ontology, asouzu (2011) and njoku (2018) have introduced the concept of ibuanyidanda as an intellectual framework to hang the being of society. the present lecture on igwebuike: the operative condition of african philosophy, religion and culturetowards a thermodynamic transformative ontology is the 2. introduction 17 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya researcher's contribution to the ongoing discourse on the operative conditions of reality. igwebuike, in the researcher's perspective, is the moving spirit and the pivot upon which african philosophy, religion and culture revolve, thus, the key to the understanding of african traditional religion, culture and philosophy. it is thermodynamic because of the interdependence and complementarity of the elements of the african universe, which characterizes the african way of thinking, feeling, talking and responding to various human conditions. igwebuike which is an igbo proverb and proper name forms the 'tool box', the trajectory system and the practical art for the development of this inaugural lecture. what is the basis for the shift from ibu anyi danda to igwebuike since both deal with the complementarity of reality? at the centre of the concept ibu anyi danda is the limited being called danda (the ant), and even though the meaning of the concept has gone beyond the literal understanding, the abstract meaning generated through the binoculars of reason cannot escape the limitations of the creature danda. we cannot entirely speak of the human person in relation to danda, since the former is rational and the later irrational. no matter how great danda is in carrying out its activity towards sharing the burden of life, it cannot be entirely related to the human person. there is, therefore, the need for a concept that goes beyond the particularities and particularities of reality right from the conceptual level, wide a concept, however, potent enough to accommodate the different beings within the economy of the hierarchy of being, and this concept is igwebuike. to accomplish the demands of this presentation, the lecture would be divided into four parts. the first part would focus on the philosophical dimension of igwebuike, the second would reflect on the socio-political dimension of igwebuike. while the third part would deal with the economic dimension, the fourth would entertain issues around the religious dimension of igwebuike. the choice of these dimensions is to express the broadness of igwebuike as a thought current. figure 1: lecture outline igwebuike economic dimension religious dimension socio-political dimension philosophical dimension 18 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. igwebuike_6_8_4.cdr 53 igwebuike and language: in search of an ontological toolbox for igbo-african philosophy ikechukwu anthony kanu department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university umunya, anambra state ikee_mario@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.36016.38405 abstract human beings are by nature enshrined in an inescapable world-hood web called language. as a symbolic construction and human agenda setting in semantic space, language ensures the application of social meaning, control, culture and social knowledge. as a result of the place that language occupies in the integration, interpretation and internalization of convention for the state of affairs of sociality, it is not surprising that it has always been an attractive area and a fascinating topic for philosophers. the history of philosophical thinking about language is almost impossible to separate from the history of logic and indeed the entire history of philosophy. this piece argued that human beings do not live in the world without the agency of language which becomes the medium of expression within particular societies. it is based on this understanding (that the real world of a people is based on their language habits) that this paper employed igwebuike as an ontological toolbox that forms the trajectory system of the igbo-african world. within the context of igbo-african philosophy of language, this piece argued for the necessity of the use of the word “igwebuike” as it captures and communicates the igbo-african world. igwebuike is the form (and symbolic) of the igboafrican mental being, and thus, the gateway to igbo-african philosophy. beyond the literal understanding of igwebuike (igwenumber; bu-is; ike-strength) as ‘there is strength in number’, it captures the igbo philosophy of relationality, complementarity and interconnectedness of reality. the objective of this work is to discover the centrality of language within philosophy and thus give correct bearing to philosophy. for the purpose of this piece, the igwebuike holistic approach will be employed. keywords: igwebuike, language, philosophy, igbo-african, ontological, toolbox introduction the concept of igwebuike as a toolbox of igbo-african philosophy is better understood from the background of wittgenstein’s concept of language as a toolbox which contains hammer, plier, saw, screw-driver, ruler, glue pot, nails, screws, etc. from this metaphor, language, therefore, offers functions through igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 54 words that are as diverse as the objects in the toolbox (1961, p. 18). these functions would include that of communication, identication and instrument of thought. as practical as these objects are, so practical must a language be in its structuring of reality within its original home. it is through language that people are able to practically explore their world and reality. thus, according to seer (1974): language and the world are two sides of one and the same reality. the world i know is known inseparable from the language i use. one cannot split the two and discuss them in isolation without some literal misrepresentation. such segregation necessitates some metaphysical device, such as local space, to be intelligible, yet its metaphorical character must be preserved and recognized to avoid even in this context misleading conclusions. an investigation of the aspects of language is at the same time an investigation of the formal aspects of the world. to give the essence of propositions is to give the essence of all description, therefore, the essence of the world (p 188). arguing along this line, okonkwo (2002) avers that the language of a people is a reection of the world of the people: the worldhood of man is therefore his language. the language as a ‘given’ in a worldhood can be called legitimately ‘onto-lingustic’. onto-linguistic denes language as the state of affairs that demarcates and structures the world of man (dasien) and his being-in-the-world. the world around me is the world made possible through my language. it is my language that concretely arranges, organizes, shapes and delineates my experience and knowledge of my environment, situation and history (p. 180). thus, one can argue that human beings do not live in the world without the agency of language, which becomes the medium of expression within the society in question. this implies that one cannot adjust to the realities within a particular people or place without the use of language as an instrument of communication, understanding and reection. it is from this perspective that igwebuike is employed as a toolbox that forms the trajectory system of the igbo-african world. within the context of igbo-african philosophy of language, this piece argues for the necessity of the use of the word igwebuike as it captures and communicates the igbo-african world. igwebuike is the form (and it is symbolic) of the igbo-african mental being and the gateway to igbo-african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 55 beyond the literal understanding of igwebuike (igwenumber; bu-is; ike-strength) as “there is strength in number”, it captures the igbo philosophy of relationality, complementarity and interconnectedness of reality (kanu 2014; 2015; 2016; 2017; 2018; 2019). it concatenates igbo forms, symbolism, signs, media, meaning, anthropologies, universal cosmic truths, functions, semantic powers, physics, phenomena, faculties, and igbo environ-mentalities, and symbolizes the propositional powers of igbo knowledge, perception, identity, phenomenalism, physics, metaphysics, logic, history of analytic character, speculative mindset and positive provisions for denitions of facts. philosophical perspectives of language the human person, not minding place and time, is enshrined in an inescapable world-hood web called language. as a symbolic construction and human agenda setting in semantic space, it ensures the application of social meaning, control, culture and social knowledge. as a result of the place that language occupies in the integration, interpretation and internalization of convention for the state of affairs of sociality, it is not surprising that it has always been an attractive area and a fascinating topic for philosophers. the history of philosophical thinking about language is almost impossible to separate from the history of logic and indeed the entire history of philosophy. thus, all major philosophers and schools of philosophy have had some doctrine about the relationship between mind and language, and language and the world. the earliest interaction between philosophy and language dates back to the ancient greek philosophical era. heraclitus, understanding logos within its semantic and symbolic function, had thought that the word was not merely an anthropological phenomenon but captures what he regarded as a universal cosmic truth. in him, ancient early greek thought moved from the study of nature to philosophy of language. plato’s life-long battle against the sophists is a typical example of the concerns of the ancients with the phenomenon of language. plato attacked the sophists because of their competent but dubious ability to twist language to their own advantage for the sake of making money. he was infuriated by what he saw as the danger and threat that sophistry posed to genuine communication and life in the society (pierer, 1992). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 56 the sophists, before plato, had dealt with linguistic and grammatical problems in a systematic way. unlike plato, they were not interested in the problem of language for theoretical purposes. they had a more urgent task to accomplish: to teach how to speak for the sake of political success and to win law suits. language was the greatest instrument for political struggle in the athens of the 5th century. language became an instrument for denite, concrete and practical purposes. the sophists believed that one had to manipulate language to his or her own advantage, if such a person were to attain their objective. to enhance this purpose, the sophists began a new branch of knowledge called rhetoric (cassirer, 1976). as a result of their prociency in rhetoric, they were able to make the weaker argument the stronger and to sweet-talk something bad into something good and turn black into white (honderich, 1976). in the plato’s dialogue, cratylus, he considered another dimension of language: the question of whether the names of things were determined by convention or by nature. in this case, his analysis of language addressed the problem of nomenclature. he criticized conventionalism because it led to the bizarre consequence that anything could be conventionally denominated by any name. hence, it cannot account for the correct or incorrect application of a name. he claimed that there was a natural correctness to names. to do this, he pointed out that compound words and phrases have a range of correctness. he also argued that primitive names had a natural correctness, because each phoneme represented basic ideas or sentiments. while plato concerned himself with meaning, aristotle, in his philosophy of language, steps up his concern to issues of logic and categories. he separated all things into categories of species and genius, and believes that the meaning of a predicate was established through an abstraction of the similarities between various individual things (kanu, 2010 & 2012). the stoics, in their philosophy of language, made important contributions to the analysis of grammar, distinguishing ve parts of speech: nouns, verbs, appellatives (names or epithets), conjunctions and articles. they also developed a sophisticated doctrine of the lektón associated with each sign of a language, but distinct from both the sign itself and the thing to which it refers. this lektón was the meaning (or sense) of every term. the lektón of a sentence is what we would now call its propositions. only propositions were considered "truth bearers" or igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 57 "truth-vehicles" (i.e. they could be called true or false), while sentences were simply their vehicles of expression (kanu 2014). medieval philosophers were greatly interested in the subtleties of language and its usage. this interest was provoked by the necessity of translating greek texts into latin. furthermore, the scholastics of the high medieval period, such as occam and john duns scotus, considered logic as the science of language (scientia sermocinalis). more so, the employment of greek words in the explanation of the christian faith remains a major contribution of the patristic and medieval philosophers and theologians. in line with the thoughts of the linguists of the renaissance and baroque periods, such as johannes goropius becanus, athanasius kircher and john wilkins, locke (cited in kanu 2012), in the 17th century, argued that only an adequate or correctly formed language could be a vehicle for communication. he believed that the desire to know reality was the foundation of communication. even though there is the possibility of lying, locke argued that lies do not constitute communication, since to lie is to deny reality. to lie is the perpetration of inequality in society, since it denies the other his/her share and portion of reality. to deceive a person is an implicit assumption that he/she she is not worthy to know the truth. this explains why locke, like plato, condemned sophistry: nor has this mischief stopped in logical niceties, or curious empty speculations; it hath invaded the great concernment of human life and society; obscured and perplexed the material truths of law and divinity; brought confusion, disorder and uncertainty into the affairs of mankind; and if not destroyed, yet in great measure rendered useless, those two great rules, religion and justice. (p. 486). in the early 19th century, the danish philosopher, soren kierkegaard, insisted that language ought to play a larger role in western philosophy. he argued that philosophy had not sufciently focused on the role language plays in cognition, and that future philosophy ought to proceed with a conscious focus on language. hence, language began to play a central role in western philosophy in the late 19th century. the philosophy of language then became so pervasive that for a time, in analytic philosophy circles, philosophy as a whole was understood to be a matter of philosophy of language (kanu 2014). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 58 during the 20th century, ayer (1942) averred that our being as human beings was about the inversion of language for the all-encompassing agenda-setting of humanity. as such, humanity has no other choice than the total experimental engagement for the understanding of the workings of language. wittgenstein (1961), thus, argues that the function of philosophy is not to construct theories but to clarify thought. therefore, philosophy is an activity of elucidating propositions in order to make them clear, and this can only be done within the boundaries of human knowledge and the use of language. keller (1979) and rorty (1992) speak of modern trends within philosophical inquiry as a method that denotes philosophy as the passage from the philosophy of nature to the philosophy of language. they argue in favour of this linguistic turn on the basis that there is no singular possibility of human sciences outside the data base of human language. bell (1978) avers that “it is quite an illusion to imagine that one adjusts to reality essentially without the use of language and language is an incidental means of solving specic problems of communication or reection” (p. 130). humbolt (1985) further underscores language as the totality of the human spirit which in itself is the central human activity that gives character and structure to human culture and individuality. language as the trajectory system of african philosophy this piece does not argue that african philosophy cannot be done in other languages; rather, it maintains that to engage in african philosophy more profoundly, the african language is indispensable. mbiti (1970) speaks of language as a very important element in understanding african philosophy: there is great potential in african scholars studying african traditional religion and philosophy, with the aid of scientic tools and methodology and with the advantages of being part of the peoples of africa, having almost unlimited access to information and speaking the languages which are the key to serious research and understanding of traditional religions and philosophy (p. 14). edeh (1985) further writes that: “our brief consideration of the igbo language leads us into the culture of the people since it is obvious that a language cannot be divorced from the culture which it expresses” (p. 56). while talking about destiny, gyekye (1987) brings out the link between language and philosophy as expressed by thinkers: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 59 the rst relates to the link that a number of thinkers nd between language and thought, or more precisely in the present context, between language and metaphysics. they claim that there is some kind of reality antecedent to language that language is developed to express or depict. language or linguistic structure, they hold, reects a deep lying structure of reality or being. (p. 105). it is within this context that adeshina (2006) observes that every language system embodies a particular ontology and a system of knowledge about reality. language, from this perspective, becomes loaded with worldviews and metaphysics, and, more importantly, a person’s language determines, at least in part, the way to perceive and conceive the world. thus, when you lose the language of a people, you also lose a great chunk of their philosophy. it is not surprising that tempels (1959), edeh (1985), gyekye (1987) and iroegbu (1995) thought it signicant to begin from the analysis of language in their philosophical searches. wittgenstein (1961), in his tractatus, argues that the structure of language is conditioned by the structure of reality, for language makes us see reality in a structure corresponding to the structure of language. he writes, “what every picture of whatever form must have in common with reality in order to be able to represent it at all… is the logical form, that is, the form of reality” (p. 18). he strongly believes that the structure of the world is pictured by language, which can now be considered a model of reality. wittgenstein (1974) further writes, “these facts (of which the world is made of) are pictured by language so that by means of language we make to ourselves pictures of facts” (p. 1). in this picture and the pictured, there must be something identical in order that one can be a picture of the other at all. language is like a mirror of facts, and if it does not correspond to it, it is false. what wittgenstein is saying is that just as you cannot use human language to talk about divine realities, you also cannot use european languages to talk about african realities, because there are so many things that the european language cannot picture in the african world, and even when it pictures it, it does that inadequately, for the simple reason that there are no such realities in the european world. ki-zerbo (1981) has argued that language is the treasury house of a people’s philosophy: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 60 language is like a bank or museum in which, over the centuries, each ethnic group has deposited all it has built up and accumulated in the way of mental and material tools, memories and resources of the imagination. by means of an in-depth and wide-ranging study of the language (both infra and supra linguistic). (p. 94). the emphasis on language as an indispensable element for doing profound african philosophy is very evident in the philosophical position of ethnophilosophers who view african philosophy as the philosophical thought of africans as could be gotten from their various world views, myths, proverbs, etc. in this sense, it is the philosophy indigenous to africans, untainted by foreign ideas. it places little or no emphasis on scienticity, logic, criticism and argumentation, and makes more emphases on local relevance or context. in studying ethno-philosophy, we discover the deep relationship between language and philosophy. in his work, african religions and philosophy, mbiti (1970) begins with an analysis of the african concept of time from the kikamba and gikuyu languages, in which he analyses three verbs that speak of the future, covering only a period of six months and not beyond two years at most. alexis kagame, in his work, philosophie bantou-rwandaise de l’etre, reveals that from the language of the rwandans who were called kinyarwanda they developed their thought through a linguistic ethno-philosophy. njoku (2010) discovered that ntu is the category of being or the generic meaning of something. this he classied into four: umuntu (human beings), ikintu (non-human beings), ahantu (place and time), and ukuntu (aristotelian category of quantity). ntu is the unifying notion among all these, even though god does not belong to it. iroegbu (1995) develops an african concept of being as belongingness from the igbo principle of egbe bere ugo bere (let the kite perch, let the eagle perch), which he believes re-enacts the contents and signicance of belongingness. these developments in african philosophy are a pointer to the relevance of african language in doing african philosophy. it is also within the umbrella of this understanding that the igwebuike is adopted as a very signicant concept in the understanding and communication of igbo-african philosophy. the tripartite dimensional reasons for igwebuike as a language-based philosophy igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 61 okosisi (2012) posits that each language of the world stands out as a conguration and mechanization of the people’s book of history and of philosophy, containing and concatenating their implications of real ‘worldhood’ of facts and metaphysics. thus, he avers, “the people who use that language are registered and known by the realities of that same language” (p. 9). it is in this regard that igwebuike stands out as a conguration and mechanization of the igbo-african book of history, and captures the igbo-african real world of facts and metaphysics. it is within this context too that it is referred to as the gateway to igbo-african philosophy or ‘worldhood.’ to understand better how igwebuike serves as a gateway to the igbo ‘worldhood’ of facts and metaphysics, it would be worthwhile to employ the tripartite dimensional functions of language in okonkwo (1994), which include: the function of communication, the function of interpretation of the real world (thought function) and the function of ontology (metaphysics or identity), and explain how igwebuike functions in these capacities. a. igwebuike as an instrument of igbo-african thought: igwebuike is an instrument of thought which natures and showcases the igbo-african human ideas that may be instances and stances of science in a fact of thought communica�on language igwebuike social iden�ty igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 62 ‘worldhood’, and this is possible because of the central place of igwebuike in the igbo-african worldview. within this context, igwebuike becomes an expression of the igbo-african world because it captures and expresses igbo forms, symbolism, signs, media, meaning, anthropologies, universal cosmic truths, functions, semantic powers, physics, phenomena, faculties, and igbo environ-mentalities, perception, identity, phenomenalism, metaphysics, logic, history of analytic character, speculative mindset and positive provisions for denitions of facts. it is a media for conveying basic facts about our relationship with one another, the environment and supersensible world. b. igwebuike as an instrument of igbo-african social communication: communication speaks of the state of affairs within which human persons share commonly and mutually intelligible and knowledgeable competences. igwebuike, with all it embodies, is an instrument of social communication. this is possible because it is the moving spirit, and therefore captures the entirety, of the african means of communication which involves stories, proverbs, dancing, music, costumes, arts, religious ceremonies, rites and rituals, music, etc., which might be used for the transmission of cultural and religious heritages, skills and knowledge. c. igwebuike as an instrument of igbo-african social identity: igwebuike captures the social identity of the igbo-african. as a concept, it gives the igbo-african the identity of being in an integral framework of relationality. igwebuike is, therefore, not just a word but symbolizes the identity of the igbo-african. it is based on the worldview of the people which is a background to igbo behaviour and metaphysics. it explains the igbo attitude, blueprints, traits, skills, etc., that have registered on their identity, institution, organization, management, etc. the analysis of igwebuike from the stand point of the functions of language, and the discovery of the fullment of these functions by igwebuike, becomes a basis for the insistence on the importance of language in african philosophy and the emphasis on igwebuike as the gateway to igbo-african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 63 conclusion this study on igwebuike as the ontological toolbox of igbo-african philosophy, which is a reection within the parameters of african philosophy of language, has been undertaken on the basis that the igbo language and igbo world are merged into the same reality. any attempt to separate the two points to the impending danger of misrepresentation and misinterpretation. igwebuike is understood within this context as the gateway to igbo-african philosophy. thus, an investigation of the structure of igwebuike, which is an igbo language, is at the same time an investigation of the formal structures and aspects of the igbo world. it is within this context that wittgenstein stated that “the limit of my language is the limit of my world”. references adeshina, a. (2006). the language question in african philosophy. in olusegun, o. (ed.). core issues in african philosophy (pp. 41-58). ibadan: hope. ayer, a. j. (1942). language, truth and logic. new york: dover publications. bell, r. (1978). sociolinguistics: goals, approaches and problems. london: b. t. batsford ltd cassirer, e. (1976). an essay on man: an introduction to a philosophy of human culture. new haven: yale university press. edeh, e. (1985). towards ab igbo metaphysics. chicago: loyola university press. gyekye, k. (1987). an essay on african philosophical thought: the akan conceptual scheme. cambridge: cambridge university press. honderich, t. (1976). the oxford companion to philosophy. england: penguin books. iroegbu, p. (1995). metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: international universities press. kanu, i. a. (2010). towards an african cultural renaissance. professor andah journal of cultural studies. 3. 59-70. kanu, i. a. (2012). the colonial legacy: the hidden history of africa’s present crisis. an international journal of arts and humanities 1. 1. 123-131. kanu, i. a. (2014). igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholicpentecostal relations. jos studies. 22. pp.87-98. kanu, i. a. (2015). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 64 kanu, i. a. (2016). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientic community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientic and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2012). the role of language in the socio-political philosophy of john locke. international journal of humanities and social science. vol. 2. no. 14 pp.126-131. kanu, i. a. (2014). african philosophy and the problem of language. asian academic research journal of social science and humanities. vol. 1. no. 21. pp. 248-258. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientic and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 65 kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cociopolitical system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kanu, i. a. (2019). on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159-176. kanu, i. a. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. keller, a. (1979). sprachphiloosphie. muenchen: verlg karl alber. ki-zerbo, j. (1981). general history of africa, methodology and african prehistory. berkley: university of california. mbiti, j. (1970). african religions and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational. njoku, f. o. c. (2002). essays in african philosophy, thought and theology. owerri: claretian institute of philosophy. njoku, f. o. c. (2010). a search for unifying conceptsdestiny and change, freedom and determinism in african philosophy. in benjamin ike ekwelu (ed.). philosophical reections on african issues. enugu: delta. okonkwo, j. i. (1994). nationalism and nationism: the sociolinguistic crossroad of the nigerian national language policy. aap. 40. 115-130. okonkwo, j. i. (2002). worldview and life form crisis of the nigerian philosophy of culture: an appraisal. journal of nigerian languages and culture. 4. 171-182. okosisi, j. i. (2012). okwu danahu onu: the basic principle of igbo philosophy of language. inaugural lecture series. no. 6. imo state university, owerri, nigeria. pierper, f. (1992). abuse of language, abuse of power. san francisco: ignatius press. rorty, r. (1992). the linguistic turn: essays in philosophical method. chicago: chicago university press. seer, m. (1974). language and the world: a methodological synthesis within the writing of martin heidegger and ludwig wittgenstein. new york. tempels, p. (1959). bantu philosophy. paris: presence africaine. wittgenstein, l. (1961). tractatus logico-philosophicus. london: reute ledge and kegan. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 154 a look at karl popper’s concept of democracy oliver tersoo agundu, ph.d department of philosophy benue state university, makurdi otagundu@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.36109.97768 & titus terver ukange department of philosohy benue state university, makurdi ukangett@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.36109.97768 abstract as the most popular system of government, democracy has over the years received considerable interrogations and studies which have resulted into diverse perspectives and conceptualisations. this paper examines the conception of democracy as enunciated by karl popper. it evaluates the driving force behind popper’s vigorous defense of liberal democratic tradition over and above other systems of government. the paper established the fact that the open society that is characterised by public criticism of established order represents significantly popper’s notion of democracy. therefore, in pursuance of a society driven by open criticism, popper took a swipe on plato’s thought pattern and down played his emphasis on personality in leadership as totalitarian while elevating the imperativeness of situating governance on sound institutional framework that will ensure checks and balances for productive leadership. in popper’s thoughts, the prospects of leadership degeneration is a given in human society and this raises the concern for instituting enduring checks and balances on the political process to guard against tendencies towards impunity. popper thinks that in the face of an eventual leadership degeneration, the democratic instrument of periodic election can be activated to occasion a seamless change of leadership without recourse to revolutionary upheavals, violence or bloodshed. this work engages expository, historical and critical-evaluative methods of philosophical analysis of data in view of unraveling the crux of popper’s notion of democracy and to historically locate the underpinning factors that informed popper’s idea of democracy. the paper equally deploys the critical approach to interrogates popper’s conception of democracy for better appreciation of his perspective towards the enrichment of philosophical discourse on democracy as a system of government. keywords: karl popper, democracy, philosophy, politics mailto:otagundu@gmail.com https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.36109.97768?_sg%5b0%5d=nnomtxdh21aedi_xepodbdtdyfkgcgjz92h6gxugydugdzovqitdq0pcheewm3c91ikjsktkwkibfqv-ovb61lja3g.nrnjh2azuf6mbn5gagyqih9aoyytuztqiwqfs8f-f2zwgv4ct-fhi_pt3lkrrrodug9jauewq4koh3fqi4ymaq mailto:ukangett@gmail.com https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.36109.97768?_sg%5b0%5d=nnomtxdh21aedi_xepodbdtdyfkgcgjz92h6gxugydugdzovqitdq0pcheewm3c91ikjsktkwkibfqv-ovb61lja3g.nrnjh2azuf6mbn5gagyqih9aoyytuztqiwqfs8f-f2zwgv4ct-fhi_pt3lkrrrodug9jauewq4koh3fqi4ymaq igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 155 introduction democracy has obviously won a historic victory over alternative forms of governance the world over. this is because, in our contemporary world almost every regime or person professes to been a democratic regime or a democrat. as such, political regimes of all types throughout the world now claim to be democracies. this is mostly because as held would argue “democracy now bestows an aura of legitimacy on modern political life: laws, rules and policies appears justified when they are democratic”1. hence, democracy has doggedly remained one of the leading systems of government the world over. this is sequel to the singular fact that, it remains a system of government that is directly responsive to the political dynamics, needs and aspirations of the people; practically allowing for inclusive popular participation of all, as well as ensuring equality, equity, fairness and the protection of the rights, liberties, freedom and properties of the people in any given political space. equally worthy of mention is the fact that, democracy as a system of government inherently contains within its operational framework the mechanism to be self-corrective through its most celebrated instrument of periodic elections. while it is indisputable in contemporary times that democracy has gained global acceptance in the face of alternative systems of government, its domestication in nigeria and most countries of the third world has fallen short of the basic expectations of how this globally acceptable system of government should be practiced. it is therefore shameful to publicly observe that the political actors that seemingly drive the democratic process in most of the third world countries and emerging democracies have either failed in administering their states in tandem with the fundamental ideals of the democratic system of government or are completely inept and incapacitated in appreciating the workings of the democratic regime. hence, all the glorious expectations associated with the democratic system of government have completely eluded these states. thus, other than build dependable and enduring political institutions, it is observed with dismay that the democratisation process in most of the third world countries and particularly in nigeria is systematically fashioned towards building strong political individuals, personalities and even families; in what appears more aristocratic than democratic in nature. hence, in most emerging 1 held, d. (ed) prospects for democracy: north, south, east, west. cambridge: policy press. 1993. p. 14 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 156 democracies, the situation is appalling, shameful and regrettable as democratic institutions and structures are trampled upon in the pursuit of parochial, individualistic and clannish sentiments. it is instructive to note that, even when there are democratic institutions in place, as is the situation with nigeria, the over-riding interest of political heavy weights (super men) who themselves are creations of the fraud system, subdue these institutions of state and to a large extent are seen to impose their individual will and preferences on the society against public will, interest, expectations and good. through the ages, philosophers have variously conceptualized the practice of democracy. while some clearly undermines democracy in preference to other systems of societal administration and governance, others have consciously elevated democracy and its ideals as the best form of government in the administration of human society for the attainment of the common good and flourishing of the human person. popper‟s desire to have a functional and purpose driven leadership led to his vigorous defense for liberal democracy. in conceptualizing his thought on democracy, he took a swipe on plato‟s philosopher king notion of leadership that is factored on an individual believed to be sanctimonious and possessing the credentials and training befitting of a leader. however, the platonic conception of and defense of the philosopher king both triggers and leave some questions unanswered. these include; would leadership fulfill the goal of attaining the flourishing of the human society when left solely on the shoulders of a single individual (philosopher king) believed to possessing the credentials and capacity to ensure the attainment of the common good? if so, what are the assurances that this seemingly sanctimonious leader would not fail? if he does fail since he is human and fallible by nature, what happens? what process is in place to replace a failed leader? shouldn‟t it be wise to envisage from the beginning the possibility of ending up with a bad government? and as such, having a clear reflection as to how to manage political leadership that eventually degenerates? it is in response to and an attempt to proffer answers to the above questions that karl raimund popper, one of the outstanding philosophers of the 20th century on his part, advanced arguments that elevated the democratic regime as the best system of government that provides institutional checks that ensures public accountability and probity in the political administration of state affairs. as a political system therefore, democracy anticipates the possibility of leadership igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 157 degeneration as such puts in place a political template for leadership replacement. it is instructive to note that, popper did not accept democracy simply because the voice of the people represented the voice of god (vox populi vox dei) but fundamentally because democracy through its established principles allows the people the latitude to get rid of bad leaders before they cause much damage. it is rather fascinating to read with delight the professorial sagacity with which karl raimund popper in his celebrated work the open society and its enemies down played the platonic emphasis on personality in leadership as totalitarian and elevated the consciousness of situating governance on sound institutional frame work that ensures checks and balances for greater accountability in political stewardship. as a vigorous defender of liberal democracy, popper singularly advocated for a structural democratic system designed in such a way that it possesses the inherent capacity to prevent proven bad leaders from externalising their dubious tendencies in leadership and replacing them quickly and seamlessly through the electoral process devoid of rancor and bloodshed. it is against this backdrop and the need to articulate and realize a truly democratic culture and political atmosphere that this study seeks to engage as well as interrogate the popperian conception of democracy with the intent of bringing to the fore its implications for the strengthening of democratic practice in modern states. democracy: a conceptual analysis since its invention from the ancient greco-roman world democracy has earlier noted above have been variously conceived and it has been practiced differently though always anchored on its original and globally recognized operational principles. according to agundu, “democracy is globally recognised as the best form of government owing chiefly to its inherent dividends and basic operational principles that are capable of guaranteeing the basic goods of human flourishing”2. it is also on record however, that most of the elements of modern democracy which have their origin from the socio-political activities of the ancient greek city state of athens have endured to this day. hence, etymologically, the term democracy is derived from two words of greek origin “demos” which means “people” and “kratein” which means “rule of or by”. 2 agundu o. t . social and political philosophy in the age of globalisation. abuja: donafrique publishers. 2019.p.285 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 158 therefore democracy or demokratia from its greek antecedence literally means “rule by the people”3. the central political institutions in athens at the inception of the democratic practice during the 5th century b.c were the assembly, the council of 500 and the peoples court. the assembly was the highest democratic institution of the state and by simple majority vote, the assembly could decide on virtually all societal issues without any legal restrictions. most remarkable and worthy of mention was the fact that “the leaders of the athenian assembly were not elected but chosen by lot, as the athenians believed that any citizen was capable of holding public office”4. it is important to note that, the athenian democracy was a direct democracy. this is because all adult male gathered together and collectively participated in the decision making process of the society. that is, they met together regularly to formulate, adjudicates and implement the decisions of the state. hence, there was often a direct participation of all adult male in the decision making process of the state where all enjoyed equal rights, liberties and opportunities. the longest serving democratic leader in the history of athenian democracy is pericles. however, after his death, the athenian democracy was twice briefly interrupted by oligarchic revolutions towards the end of the peloponnesian war. it is instructive at this juncture to make reference to pericles‟ conceptualization of democracy in its true and original form. according to him; our constitution is called democracy because power is in the hands not of a minority but of the whole people. when it is a question of settling private disputes, everyone is equal before the law; when it is a question of public responsibility, what counts is not membership of a particular class, but the actual ability, which a man possesses. no one, so long as he has in him to be of service to the state, is kept in political obscurity because of poverty… we are free and tolerant in our private lives; but in public affairs we keep to the law. this is because it commands our deep respect.5 3 enemuo f.c “democracy, human rights and the rule of law”. element of politics. anifowose r. and enemuo f (ed). lagos: malthouse press ltd. 1999. p.141 4 cincotta h. us department of state: office of international programe. “what is democracy” web. retrieved 1st aug. 2017.p. 7 5 ome e.m “philosophy, democracy and african development: the relevance of nyerere‟s political philosophy” in philosophy, democracy and conflicts. ike odimegwu (ed). awka: fab educational books. 2007.p.142 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 159 based on the above, democracy is considered a system of government where governance is of the people, for the people and by the people; to paraphrase abraham lincoln‟s description as captured in his gettysburg address of 1863. democracy embodies certain uncompromising principles such as equality of men, individual rights, consensus or majority rule, separation of power, the rule of law, system of periodic election and judicial autonomy6. on his part appadorai defines democracy as: a system of government under which the people exercise the governing power either directly or through representatives periodically elected by themselves to govern. this means that, a state may in political science be termed a democracy if it provides institutions for the expression and, in the last analysis, the supremacy of the popular will on basic questions of social direction and policy7. the above definition thus opens us to the idea of possible types of democracy that is; the direct and indirect democracy. in light of the above, leeds posits that, “the direct democracy occurs where it is possible for all citizens to meet together in one place to govern the state as it was in the ancient small greek city states, while the indirect or representative democracy occurs when the population and the area to be govern has grown, hence the citizens choose representatives 8who would govern on their behalf and according to the wishes of the majority9. it is instructive to note that, democracy in the ancient greek city states meant a direct and active participation of all adult male citizens in the political affairs of the polis (city states). worthy of note is the fact that the city states had the unique advantage of a small number since women, children, slaves and resident aliens were completely exempted from the active political activities of the greek polis. thus, in ancient greece, all free born adult male met at designated venues and periods to collectively legislate, adjudicate and collectively execute the political decisions of the polis. in advancing the above position, held clearly explained the participatory workings of one of the earliest democracies in athens as he posits: 6 ome e.m “philosophy, democracy and african development: the relevance of nyerere‟s political philosophy” in philosophy, democracy and conflicts. ike odimegwu (ed.p.142 7 appadorai a. the substance of politics. oxford: oxford university press, 1975.p.137 9 leeds, c.a. political studies 2nd edition. london: macdonald and evans limited. 1975.p. 89 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 160 the athenian city state, ruled as it was by citizen governors, did not differentiate between state and society. in ancient athens, citizens were at one and the same time subjects of political authority and the creators of public rules and regulations. the people (demos) engaged in legislative and judicial functions, for the athenian concept of citizens entailed their taking a share in these functions, participating directly in the affairs of the state. the athenian democracy required a general commitment to the principle of civic virtue: dedication to the republican city state and the subordination of private life to public affairs and the common good10 . the above represent the political reality of the ancient greek city states (especially athens) with significantly very little population hence direct participation in the administration of their cities was possible. the reality of the modern era with relatively large unrestrictive population where women are also actively incorporated and participate in political affairs, democratic activities are indirectly carried out through representatives duly elected by the majority of the people. this is the reality of the modern and contemporary era that has informed an elaborate comprehension of the democratic system of government. held‟s appreciation of democracy is apt in this regard as he views liberal democracy in its contemporary form as a cluster of rules and institutions permitting the broader participation of the majority of citizens in the selection of representatives who alone can make political decisions for the wellbeing and generality of the people”. in more specific terms, held explains thus; this cluster includes elected government; free and fair elections in which every citizen‟s vote has an equal weight; a suffrage which embraces all citizens irrespective of distinctions of race, religion, class, sex and so on; freedom of conscience, information and expression on all public matters broadly defined; the right of all adult to oppose their government and stand for office; and associational autonomy – the right to form independent associations including social movements, interest groups and political parties11. in further defense of the democratic regime, eboh argues; 10 held, d. (ed) prospects for democracy:. p.16 11 held, d. (ed) prospects for democracy:. pp20-21 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 161 democracy calls for imaginative leadership. a leadership characterized by infallible power of vision; and a none autocratic political system characterized by the absence of personal power and a system that hinges on the principle that no one can proclaim himself ruler or hold power irrevocable in his own name. the government by consent, where the government has popular support, its policies and actions meets with popular acceptance or reflects the nations feelings and sentiments…supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them or their lawfully elected agents; a government that caters for the taste of, or serves the interest of the masses and is characterized by the principles of political and social equality for all12. democracy is therefore an all-inclusive system of government that safeguards the fundamental rights of the people, ensuring greater participation in the administration of the society by permitting equal opportunities to both economic and political power, and ensuring an institutionalized change of leadership (government) through the democratic instrument of periodic elections. democracy forbids any form of absolutism with regards to political power. its beauty lies in the fact that no one person can boast of monopolising the powers of the government; as political powers in a democratic regime is politically decentralised and administratively shared among three arms of government which constitutionally possess the powers to act as checks through over sight on the powers of each other. karl popper and his conceptualisation of democracy karl raimund popper is an austrian born british philosopher, academic and social commentator. he is generally regarded as one of the most outstanding philosophers of the 20th century. he had a distinguished intellectual life that ran between 1902 and 1994. notwithstanding the glaring fact that karl popper is best known for his contributions to the philosophy of science and epistemology, he is however also a social and political thinker of great standing having made enduring contributions in the area of social and political philosophy. this is because his reflections and political works have continued to stimulate enormous influence, shaping politics and philosophical debates even in the 21st century of intellectual discourse. 12 eboh, s.o. human right and democratisation in africa. enugu: snaap press limited. 2003.p.66 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 162 in social political discourse, popper is reckoned for his vigorous defense of liberal democracy and the principle of social criticism that he believed makes a flourishing open society possible. his political philosophy embraces ideas from all major democratic political ideologies; socialism, social democracy, libertarianism, conservatism and attempt to reconcile them. popper‟s celebrated works include the following: the logic of scientific discovery 1934; the poverty of historicism 1936; the open society and its enemies vol. 1 & 2, 1945; conjectures and refutation: the growth of scientific knowledge 1963; objective knowledge: an evolutionary approach 1972; unended quest: an intellectual autobiography 1976. popper died of complications of cancer, pneumonia and kidney failure in kenley at the age of 92 on the 17th of september 1994. he was cremated and buried close to his wife at lainzer cemetery in vienna. one of popper‟s most striking contributions to contemporary political thought is found in his conception of democracy and what he defines as “open society”. the idea of the open society operates in popper‟s thought as both a reflection of a minimalist ideal to be sought after and as a celebration of the achievement of modern rationality and liberal democracy. much of its appeal lies in its apparent capacity to limit the impact of our inevitable errors and to contain potentially harmful social and political tendencies. in light of the above, popper advanced an empirical, pragmatic and operational defense of what he termed “an open society”. in his celebrated work the open society and its enemies popper contrasted between both societies; closed and open. a close society in popper‟s thought is marked by the presence of considerable oppression and an excessive reliance on traditions and customs. these societies according to o‟hear‟s submission are; often tribal societies dominated by tradition, irrational prejudice, xenophobia and rule by hereditary groups of oligarchies. or they may be more modern types of dictatorship, run by rulers who claim superior (or even infallible) insights into history and society, and who claim on the basis of this knowledge to be able to produce a good (or better) life for everyone”13. therefore, a closed society is a rigid one where established systems and structures are often blindly obeyed without questioning and everyone simply has to submit to the superior authority without reservation and resistance. in 13 o‟hear a. “the open society revisited”. karl popper: critical appraisals. philip catton and graham macdonald (eds) london: routledge taylor & francis group. 2004.p.189 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 163 light of the above, there appears to be significant dictatorial possibilities in closed societies occasioned significantly by fear and the presence of organized systems and structures which are clearly above reproach. these were very much in popper‟s mind when he attacked closed societies in the 1940s. the open society on the other hand and by contrast is a society in which everything; policies, institutions, traditions and rulers are open to criticism from everyone in the society. in this sense, anyone may offer useful criticism in an open society especially those directly affected by a given policy. suffice to mention that, in an open society therefore, policies and institutions are modified by continual monitoring of their effects, and in the light of their ability to solve the problems they are supposed to solve. importantly, rulers in an open society do not attempt to impose blueprints for the good life on the society. instead they seek to rectify obvious problems and abuses through „piecemeal social engineering‟, and the continual monitoring of effects. the spirit of the open society is the one that listens to the other fellow‟s point of view; where differences are resolved and decisions are reached through the process of rational discussions and the spirit of compromise and cooperation. instructively, the open society is popper‟s conception of democracy, as democracy aims to promote criticism and diversity of thoughts without succumbing either to violence or irreconcilable social division. as a system of government, democracy produces the sort of atmosphere most conducive for discussion and consultation that are characteristically associated with open societies. worthy of mention is the fact that, popper‟s theory of democracy grew out of his fervent criticism of other approaches to governance and leadership. alas, in his celebrated work the open society and its enemies, he took a swipe on plato and his „philosopher king‟ postulation as the genuine solution to the leadership question in the society. thus, advancing his thoughts, popper fundamentally opposed the conception that the guiding principle of state politics should be determined by answers given to the question “who should rule”; but instead, according to popper we should ask “how can we so organise political institutions that bad or incompetent rulers can be prevented from doing too much damage?”14; which is followed closely by another fundamental question “how can we get of bad rulers without violence and bloodshed?” for popper, these are fundamentally questions that hinges on institutional design; that is the 14 popper k.r. the open society and its enemies vol. 1. the spell of plato. london: routledge & paul ltd. 1966.p.121 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 164 consciousness to build an enduring structure that would act as check and continually guard against leadership degeneration in any given political space. in light of the above, popper argues that democracy should be founded upon the theory of „checks and balances‟. this is owing to the fact that failure is an attribute of man; as such even the best and most sanctimonious leaders can fail (since they are humans and share in the fallibility of the human nature). so, this theory relies on institutional means for curbing the unruly powers of leaders. the major check in this regard is provided by periodic elections that enable the people to oust their government without using violent means. this shows the difference between a democratic government and its opposite, tyranny; a government where the ruled cannot get rid of their leaders except by way of a successful revolution that is rarely peaceful and mostly characterized by sustained and wide spread violence, bloodshed and deaths. for popper therefore, the beauty and value of democracy does not reside in the essentialist notion that the people are sovereign as a result they rule because power resides with them. he disagrees with this stance and argues that the people do not rule anywhere, it is always the governments that rules; as such there is a need to find a way to institutionally control leaders and get them to be responsive to the wishes and aspirations of the people. popper thus, defends democracy principally on pragmatic and empirical grounds, not on the essentialist view that democracy by definition is rule by the majority of the people. in popper‟s thought, democracy should be flexible and operationalised in such a fashion that her institutions act swiftly with the intent of preventing leaders from degenerating into and constituting public disasters in public offices. for him therefore, democracies must seek institutional control of the rulers by balancing their power against other powers. in this light, popper explicitly rejected the popular saying vox populi vox dei (the voice of the people is the voice of god) as a classical myth when he argued in his work conjectures and refutations that “we are democrats not because the majority is always right, but because democratic traditions are the least evil ones of which we know”15. least evil in the sense that it is a political system not driven by the thought and machination of any single individual (ruler), but a product of collective participation grounded by the oversight function of institutionalised checks that 15 popper k.r. the open society and its enemies vol. 1. the spell of plato. london: routledge & paul ltd. 1966.p351 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 165 has the capacity of forestalling the execution of public policies that are detrimental to public good, expectation and flourishing. thus, popper‟s notion of a democratic society is one that represents his idea of an open society where traditions, policies, institutions, and rulers are open to constant criticisms. here, leaders do not attempt to impose themselves and their policies on the society and her people. democratic governance is not about the supremacy of a particular person (ruler), his choices and desires. rather an aggregation of the wishes and desires of the whole in the formulation of societal policies for the greater good and the flourishing of all. hence, government is institutionalised and acts as check via criticisms and critical scrutiny of the process of decision making and governance in the society. this is therefore evident in the operations of the democratic structures now evident in most countries across the globe. conclusion in this paper we have looked basically at karl popper‟s notion of democracy as a system of government. in doing so we highlighted the centrality of political leadership in the society and the desire to advance the sort of leadership that will be directly responsive to the basic goods of human flourishing in any given society especially in the contemporary times. we have also noted that in as much as there exist an obvious nexus between leadership, individual flourishing and societal advancement; it is regrettable to observe that in most countries of the world and especially the „third world‟ democratic leadership especially is not sufficiently insulated from the immediate dangers of unproductive and misguided leaders. this reality has resulted in the situation where the wishes and expectations of the people are mostly treated with levity and reckless abandon. the consequence is that the supposed basic goods imperative for human flourishing that should necessarily come with insightful and productive leadership remains a mirage. unfortunately, despites obvious incapacities often demonstrated by these leadership in delivering on the demands of their positions getting rid of them in most cases becomes a herculean task basically as a result of weaker institutions and sit-tight mentality of many leaders. as such the imperative of ensuring deep rooted democratic structures that guarantees checks and balances makes karl popper‟s perspective on democracy relevant in this context. this is because for karl popper, this sort of leadership would only be gotten in a democratic government that derives legitimacy from the mandate freely given by the people igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 166 and through democratic instruments the people retains the power to moderate extreme tendencies and the power to withdraw their mandate. the democratic government according to popper will offer the people of any political space two fundamental rights; the right to open criticism on a one hand and control of their government through leadership engagement and dismissal via periodic elections on the other hand. the implication of the above is that, the people will continue to have a say in the government that concerns them and in the event of leadership degeneration, the people will oust and change such a government quickly and seamlessly without recourse to rancor, violence and bloodshed. this is chiefly hinged on the consciousness of the fact that the basic goods that will ensure delivery of democratic dividends needed for human flourishing can only come about when leaders are made to be accountable and responsible to the people. therefore, for popper, the possibility of ending up with a bad and unproductive leadership presupposes the need to have an institutionalised design that will continually act as check and balances on leadership performance in the public sphere. when leaders are found wanting in the discharge of their duties, the people reserve the right to seamlessly rejuvenate the political sphere by sacking failed leaders and replacing same with people whom they believe possess the capacity to deliver on their wishes and expectations. this process continues unabated until the people get the leaders they desire. this flexible process of leadership selection and dismissal inherent in the democratic tradition tends to over time build the consciousness of politicians (leaders) to always endeavour to live up to the mandate of their positions by pursuing agendas, policies, programs and projects that are people oriented and that will ensure the attainment of the basic goods of human flourishing in the society. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 249 a philosophical reflection on the game of politics and human insecurity in africa ogbu, esther department of philosophy alex ekwueme federal university ndufu-alike ebonyi state somaga17 @gmail.com doi: 10.13140/ rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract human insecurity remains a global problem and the subject matter of politics represents a significant and interesting arena among people all over the world. it has remained a part and parcel of human societies and human relations since time immemorial. we have politics everywhere we have human beings but politics has deteriorated into an instrument of war and death hence it is the greatest challenge to human insecurity in nigeria. the implication is that people are grappling with nation bleeding as a result of the criminalization of politics. the criminalization of politics stems from the activities of political parties and politicians and the evidence of this criminalization include high spate of political assassinations, arson, maiming and killing of innocent citizens through different forms of political violence. the paper argues that, the problem of human insecurity would be solved if we come to understand politics as a holy game and not a dirty game. in order to achieve this, critical analysis and expository methods will be adopted as research methodology in the work. keywords: politics, human insecurity, security, nigeria. introduction human insecurity is a global problem and the nigerian society is today characterized with insecurity as lives and properties are no longer safe or secured as there is destruction of lives and properties. in the words of adeleke a., “ordinary citizens as well as the nation‟s economic resources are at the receiving end of this wanton destruction”. this is manifested in the series of arm robbery, bombing, communal clashes, herdsmen menace, kidnapping etc. for most people today, a feeling of insecurity arises from worries about daily life than from the dread of a cataclysmic world event. insecurity is usually associated with bad politics which has taken various shapes and face in africa, specifically across the six regions and thirty states of nigeria and has led to the loss of lives, jobs, properties and confidence in the state and security forces. politics produce various social, economic and political realities (war, religious turbulence, evil, social igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 250 inequality, underdevelopment, insecurity) etc. some politicians resort to violence because they lost elections. others resort to kidnapping and assassination. the end product of these acts is catastrophic. they include destruction of economic activities, insecurity and disruption of social settings. the people engaged in those activities or the criminals are being sponsored by politicians. the ubiquitous patronage by our politicians is a root cause of nigeria‟s political and economic crisis and has lost it‟s monopoly on violence. the political undertone or the activities of politicians has resulted in a country with vast crude oil reserve and other natural resources condemning it‟s people to a life of hunger, poverty, misery, hopelessness and insecurity. a critical look at the nigerian contemporary society shows that since the beginning of the forth republic, citizens has been afraid of their lives due to the numerous insurgencies in nigeria.nigeria has been battling with transnational crimes which pose serious threat to national security , ranging from drug trafficking, money laundering, illegal arms trafficking, smuggling of all kinds, theft , advanced fee fraud(419), kidnapping and many more. thus, nigeria has become a polity which poses a constant source of insecurity for the populace. this can be seen in the porosity and vulnerability of her (nigerian) security agencies to extremist fundamental groups, such as the boko haram, causing mayhem and havoc to both innocent lives and properties. instances of human insecurity abounds in nigeria, example the kidnapping of the chibok girls in borno state, the murder of ismal sirajo, the then area commander in charge of bama (acp). another case of challenge of insecurity situation is the jos crisis of 2016. this came about when alhaji kabir mohammed employed some youths to help him reconstruct his house and other groups came and stoned them. this crisis led to the killing of over 200 people mostly women and children in three villages near shendu district of jos south local government area of plateau state by suspected fulani herdsmen on reprisal attack. many blamed the fulani herdsmen killings on president buhari, saying that he feels less concerned about it and he is not running the country according to the dictates of the democratic principles in the nigerian constitution of 1999 which states that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of the government. notably, wilful attacks on innocent citizens and public infrastructures in nigeria, whether undertaken by known radical islamist groups or politically hatched unknown faceless groups are fast becoming headline news on igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 251 local and international media with damaging consequences on her national image. as regards this, olabanji and ese (2014) argued that the chronological reflection of security challenges in nigeria can be traced to the early years of military rules when large quantities of arms were imported into the country for the use of the military, during and after the nigerian civil war, some of which got into the hands of civilians. soon after the civil war, these arms were used by civilians and ex –military men for mischievous purposes such as armed robbery, hence, armed robbery, kidnapping, boko haram , terrorism and hired assassins are major security challenges facing nigeria. in the south-south kidnapping, militancy, armed robberies have taken over while in the south east, kidnapping, communal clashes and agitation for secession are on the increase. in the south western part of the country, it is mainly kidnapping, cult rivalry, arm robbery. in the north, it is the crisis of herdsmen, boko haram, terrorism etc. indeed, the observed trend in nigeria indicated a deviation from the norm as politics and politicians have acquired definite characters over the years, such as criminalisation of politics, a pathological orientation and a penchant not to abide by the rules, all of which from all intent and purpose are antithetical to the goals and aspirations of a democratic society. politicians and political leaders put weapons in the hands of the masses, especially young jobless men, to use and unleash mayhem on their fellow citizens and political opponents. hence, the alarming level of insecurity in nigeria fuelled the crime rate and terrorist attacks in different parts of the country leaving unpalatable consequences for the nation‟s economy and its growth. however, despite the efforts by government to tackle the problem of insecurity in nigeria, the problems still persists. the government (federal and state) have set up and inaugurate various security outfits, peace corps, joint task force as well as engaged in series of dialogues with agitators but with little or no significant success in aggregate terms. politics the term politics originated from the greek word polis which refers to a political community or city. the greek concept of politics refers to a process by which human beings debate matters concerning the polis (the political community) and take actions in an attempt to realize the public interest or the common good. ordinarily, politics is about the management and allocation of resources for the benefit of the greatest number of people in any given society. it has also become part and parcel igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 252 of life and it has been adopted as a vehicle for development and integration. but today the word politics means so many things to different people. for chikendu (2002) it has acquired various connotations and denotations. to the ordinary man in the street “politics is a byword for crafty behaviour, bargaining, angling, scheming and manoeuvring for advantage”. according to david easton (1971) , politics is the authoritative allocation of values for society. harold lasswell (1930) on the other hand conceptualise politics „‟ as who gets what, when and how‟‟. robert dahl (1976) viewed politics as any persistent pattern of human relationship that involves to a significant extent, control, influence, power and authority. for okoli and okoli (1990), “to most nigerians, the word politics or political holds no charm, no special appeal. if anything, it connotes deceit, graft, double talk and all that is evil. it is a term devoid of honour and respectability. in short, politics is regarded as a dirty game to most people in nigeria. however, to some others, it is a good and interesting game”. politics is all about attempt by man to dominate or overshadow his fellow men in order to achieve some predetermined objectives. hence, the unifying factor in all these perceptions is the fact that they all stress out the role of power and authority in decision making and human relationship in every political system. insecurity human insecurity as a concept was first propounded by the united nations development programme (undp) in her human development report 1994. the undp developed the concept of human security to encompass not just the achievement of minimal levels of material needs but also the absence of severe threats to them of an economic or political kind. the concept of insecurity connotes different meanings such as absence of safety, danger, hazard, uncertainty, lack of protection and lack of safety. according to free dictionary.com (2012) insecurity is a state of being subject to danger or injury, a condition of being susceptible to harm or injury, the state of being exposed to risk or anxiety. according to galtung, human insecurity is caused by violence, which can be direct or indirect. here violence is „‟….. harm done to human beings as a process , working slowly as the way misery in general and hunger in particular erode and finally kill human beings. human insecurity according to sen (1999) is concerned with reducing and when possible removing the insecurity that plague human life. according to beland (2005) insecurity is a state of fear or anxiety due to absence or lack of protection. achumba et igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 253 al (2013) defines insecurity from two perspectives, firstly, insecurity is the state of being open or subject to danger or threat of danger, where danger is the condition of being susceptible to harm or injury. secondly, insecurity is the state of being exposed to risk or anxiety, where anxiety is a vague unpleasant emotion that is experienced in anticipation of some misfortune. insecurity implies a breach of peace and security, whether historical, religious, ethno regional, civil, social, economic and political that contributes to recurring conflicts and leads to wanton destruction of lives and property. it could be anything that portends fear, uncertainty, and which constitutes danger to the ability of an individual, group or state to ensure adequate protection of lives and property. on the other hand, security means freedom from danger to life and property, freedom from threats to a state‟s capacity to protect and develop itself, absence of certain tendencies which could undermine the internal cohesion and co-operate existence of a state. in the understanding of nwagboso (2012), security is seen as the act of being safe from harm or danger, the defence, protection or preservation of values and the absence of threats to acquired values. security is about survival and condition of human existence. security also exists when people live together in a certain environment without disturbance or violence. by way of grammatical construction , insecurity could conversely be seen as the antithesis of security and has attracted such common descriptions as want of safety, danger, hazard, uncertainty,, want of confidence, state of doubt, inadequately guarded or protected, instability, trouble, lack of protection and being unsafe and others. these definitions of insecurity underscore a major point that those affected by insecurity are not only uncertain or unaware of what would happen but they are also vulnerable to the threats and dangers when they occur. when insecurities overlap, they can grow exponentially spilling to all aspects of people„s lives ,destroying entire communities and crossing national borders. causes of insecurity the causes/source of insecurity in the country are numerous and cannot be blamed on one part of the system alone. they vary from the government to the security agents down to the people in the society. the causes of insecurity as identified by umaru, pate and haruna (2015) and olusegun (2016) includes: ethno religious conflicts, politically based violence, systematic and political corruption, economic-based violence, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 254 inequalities, unemployment, poverty, organised violent groups, weak security system, porous borders and terrorism. also, uhie and ewetan (2014) opines that one of the major causes of insecurity in the country is the failure of successive administration to address challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequitable distribution of wealth among ethnic nationalities. sometimes the causes of human insecurity are directly incited by the globalisation of western values. hence, the pressures unleashed by global forces in the form of liberalisation, privatisation, debt and globalisation undermine africa‟s development in general and insecurity in particular. robinson m.(2015), in her analysis of human insecurity ,notes that the twin concept of disempowerment and marginalisation are at the heart of the problem. she contends that the underlying causes of practically all human insecurity are absence of the capacity to influence changes at a personal or community level, exclusion from voting or participating in local or national decision making and economic or social marginalisation. edem (2000) also made a supporting statement when he opined that a constant source of insecurity in nigeria amidst the incessant bombings and terrorist acts of boko haram is influenced by military, economic, political, and social factors. other factors include: (a) leadership style: the current leadership of president mohammed buhari has displayed a kind of leadership that is politically violence prone. political leadership when abused can lead to violence and insecurity. the winner take it all pattern of leadership in nigeria is already a source of worry. as a result, lives and properties have been lost due to misunderstanding between politicians who struggle to control each other. party conventions have turned into theatre of war where heavy and light weapons are already in use because of political ambitions. (b) porous borders: the issue of porous borders has been a serious form of insecurity in the country. the security operatives who are deployed to areas for the sole purpose of maintenance of law and order are bereft of the goings on around their assigned areas thereby exerting porosity on security details, as such timely interventions and interception of criminality is highly elusive thus giving the criminals field day in their activities. in nigeria, there are a lot of illegal immigrants (boko haram) in the country who are involved in criminal activities. some are of the view that members of the boko haram sect are non nigerians, they are immigrants from neighbouring border countries like niger etc igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 255 (c) youth unemployment: insecurity arises with unemployment and poverty because unemployment leads to loss of income which affects the people‟s ability to pay their bills and provide basic necessities for their households and other relatives. it is because of the insecurity posed by unemployment that advanced countries make social security payments to the unemployed to keep them off the streets until they get jobs. (d) poor condition of service: internally cumulated factors usually experienced by the security agents, like lack of resources, poor government support, poor condition of service, lack of appropriate and adequate training and ill-equipped workforce makes them to succumb to the whims and caprices of the politicians who act as their godfathers. politics and human insecurity in nigeria the political structure and governance in nigeria have been distorted since political independence in 1960, first by colonialists, second by the ethnicised political class and thirdly by military politicians. the political institution has been characterised by political violence, corruption, human right abuses and other forms of social and political misdemeanour which are clear attestation of immorality and injustice in our political culture. the implication is that politics which was supposed to be a vehicle for ascent to power, has caused far more destruction than perhaps any other institution in africa. the usual experience in nigeria is called „‟garrison politics „‟ in which force, intimidation and manipulation of results are used to impose unpopular individuals on the people. edem (2010) captured it well when he said that the nigerian state is a confluence of nationalities made up of unreasonable people (politicians) associating involuntarily in the pursuit of uncommon interests. nigeria‟s failure presents us with one of the most ignoble manifestations of this dance of death called politics whose corrosive effect is shattering our communities. furthermore, the flawed elections, nontransparent party primaries, corruption , intimidation, impunity, violence, assassinations , disenfranchisement and helplessness of the electorate were all possible because the rentier nigerian state had been hijacked or captured by an unrepentant political class and state elite bent on satisfying their interests and not that of the people. political crises in nigeria has assumed a volatile dimension leading in some cases to clashes between the rival political groups, killing and maiming, destruction of properties and assassinations in the name of politics as a do or die orientation. the political class see politics as access to power and their involvement in politics as an investment which must yield some material benefits; hence, it is nothing but pathology for realisation of individual self interest. the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 256 political centre has been captured by entrepreneurs of the state corporate interests and the accountancy firms and political gangsterism has become the predominant practice in such a framework. today in nigeria, money politics, vote buying, godfatherism and share the cake formular has become regular household phrases and slogans portraying moral decadence of politicians. the nigerian politics and the conduct of elections in more recent times in nigeria has been characterized by impunity, violence, thuggery, rigging, witch-hunting and this increased the rate of political assassination in nigeria. hence, adamu and rasheed (2016), noted that the 2011 postelection violence in the northern part of the country which rendered many nigerians homeless and properties worth millions of naira destroyed, points to the many cases of insecurity challenges caused by electoral violence. the quest for power has blind folded politicians that they have adopted the machiavellian principle of the end justifies the means. unfortunately, the nigerian state is where political power is seen as a means to primitive accumulation, in which the ruling class see political power as a means of economic breakthrough, and also the best avenue to amass wealth for generations unborn, not minding the prevailing conditions of the people they are governing. the absence of justice and morality in nigerian politics is the reason for the absence of good governance and the presence of bad governance. mao zedong declared that politics is war without bloodshed but unfortunately he did not live long enough to see that in nigeria, politics is real war with bloodshed and destruction. in fact, all the left handed tendencies in the nigerian society have political undertone. that is to say that politics is the greatest threat to human insecurity. solution to overcome the issue of human insecurity: (a) there is a need to re-orientate and re-socialise the people especially public office holders. (b) there should be a total revamp of all the paraphernalia of the nigerian security sectors and there should be border community mechanism to strengthen border and interstate collaboration among security intelligence agencies. (c) emphasis should be placed more on monitoring illegal migration, small arms and light weapons interdiction and greater exchange of information. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 257 (d) job creation and skill acquisition will reduce insecurity, it is therefore recommended that policies that will ensure the immediate creation of jobs, acquisition of specialized skills , infrastructure and industrial growth be put in place so as to complement the short term security measures. (e) the national orientation agency should partner with civil society organisations and the media to mount enlargement and value reorientation programmes to help dilute extremist orientations and entrench the culture of peaceful coexistence in our politicians. (f) there is need for regional intelligence gathering and community dialogue so as to develop appropriate strategy relevant to each community and region in order to tackle conflicts and security challenges effectively. conclusion it will be novel and beautiful for modern military equipment suitable for counter terrorism to be provided for the brave and gallant nigerian security officers to save the country from further embarrassment. again, there is an urgent need to reform the political framework. this will reduce the level of insecurity imposed by politics and also the basic structure of our state will benefit positively. works cited achumba, i. c., igbomereho, o.s, akpor-rabaro, m.o.m. (2013) security challenges in nigeria and the implications for business activities and sustainable development, journal of economics and sustainable development, 4(20) 79-99. adejoh, s. political culture and the politics of injustice and immorality in nigeria‟s fourth republic an assesment in lapai international journal of politics (lijopol) vol.3 no. 1 and 11 2015 nigeria: lapai –the rock press and publishing co. issn 1594-3586. adamu, a and rasheed h.z (2016). effects on insecurity on the internally displaced (idps) in northern nigeria: prognosis and global journal of humanities and social sciences 16(1) http://socialscienceresearch.org/index.php/gjhss/article/view/ 1697. adeleke, adegbami (2013), “insecurity: a threat to human existence and economic development in nigeria”. public policy and administration research, 3. 6, pp 8-13 chikendu p. (2002), introduction to political science. enugu: academic publishing company. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 258 easton, d.(1971) the political system :an inquiry into the state of political science, 2nd edition. new york, alfred knopf. efemini, a.(2019):philosophy, politics, development and culture:essays on social transformation , port harcourt: gitelle press ltd. galtung, j.(1985).‟‟twenty-five years of peace research: ten challenges and some responses‟‟ journal of peace research 22 (2) 1 141-158. kanu, i. a. (2017). the culture of political corruption and the emergence of terrorism in nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli and rico sneller (eds.). the root causes of terrorism: a religious studies perspective (pp. 280-291). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2016). the culture of political corruption and the emergence of terrorism in nigeria. sub-saharan journal of african sustainable development. 3. 7. pp. 127-149. nwagboso c. i. “security challenges and economy of the nigerian state (2007-2011)”, american international journal of contemporary research, vol.2 no.6 (2012), pp244-258 okoli, f.c, okoli e. f (1990), foundations of government and politics, onitsha: african feb publishers olabanji, o.b. ese, u. (2014) insecurity and socio-economic development in nigeria. journal of sustainable development issn 2201-4268 vol, 51 no 1. onifade , c. imhonopi, d., and urim, u m.(2013). addressing the insecurity challenge in nigeria: the imperative of moral values and virtues ethics. global journal of humanities and social sciences, 13 (21):52-64. robinson, m. (2005). renewing the commitment to the rule of law and human rights in the united states‟‟ global governance11 (1): 1-8. umaru, pate and haruna (2015). the impact of insecurity and poverty on sustainable economic development in nigeria international journal of humanities social sciences and education (ijasse) , 2(2):32-48. urhie e. and ewetan , o.o (2014) insecurity and socio economic development in nigeria, journal of sustainable development studies 5 (11). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 276 habermas’ communicative rationality as indispensable in solving the problem of global terrorism justin-anthony ekene anene nnamdi azikiwe university, awka justinanene@yahoo.com; 07031835919 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract this research examines communicative rationality as indispensable for solving the problem of global terrorism. the menace of terrorism has become a global problem and so habermas’ theory of communicative rationality will play a very vital role in this research. this is because the deadly destructions of lives, properties and the world social caused and being caused by terrorist activities has led to the call for a critical examination of terrorism. this research is propelled by the following problems: what is the relation between terrorism and communication, if any? how can communicative rationality help in our quest to solve the problem of global terrorism? this research discovers and argues that terrorism is a form of communication. it is a means of communicating to a third party about perceived grievances, injustices and ills in the society. in other words, it is a failed form of communication as it does not aim at reaching mutual understanding. as a solution, we argued for habermas’ communicative rationality as an indispensable tool in mitigating global terrorism. in order to achieve our set objectives, we employed the method of hermeneutics. hermeneutics, because of the need to interpret habermas’ theory of communicative rationality in the light of global terrorism. this research therefore concludes that the world would be a better place if communicative rationality and dialogical encounter are applied in all their ramifications as against violence of any kind in order to ensure continuous peace and order in man’s search for a better society. keywords: communicative rationality, terrorism, globalization, violence introduction the rising alarming rate of global terrorism has become a subject of concern in the global village and one of the major impediments to global peace and security. this concern is mainly because of the enablement provided terrorists by the weapons of mass destruction and the instruments of globalization. now, more than ever, terrorists are more connected, organized, interconnected and have easier access to finance and weapons. the phenomenon of global terrorism came to its height in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 277 the september 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the world trade center in new york, usa. since then, terrorism has gone global with increasing attacks and sophistication leading to more victims and casualties. global terrorism, some scholars have rightly opined, is a form of communication by the terrorists about their grievances and a medium of expressing their disdain for some policies of the state or the world at large. the justification or otherwise of such reasons is outside the scope of this study. the singular question that this research aims to answer is: how can communicative rationality of habermas help in mitigating the menace of global terrorism? consequent upon this, this research focuses on exposing and interpreting the concept of communicative rationality with a view of using it as a tool in solving global terrorism. habermas’ communicative rationality jurgen habermas is a prominent german writer and philosopher who is known for his theory of communicative action or rationality. this theory was a reaction to the social problems of his time. habermas’ starting point is his view that man has the ability to communicate, and this attribute is a universal core. the idea of communicative action turns our attention binding energies of language, to the familiar background consensus, the reciprocal extension of trust and the more or less naive readiness for understanding on which we count in our everyday praxis.1 communication is carried through language and the aim of communication is mutual understanding and cooperation. according to habermas, “we are to be instructed by the voice of reason, in order by comparison of our life with lives of others”.2 for him, the concept of communicative action is the interaction of at least two subjects capable of speech and action who establish interpersonal relation.3 he believes that the communication between the two partners is like a set of rational discussion stretching between practice and science.4 against this backdrop, we can judge and determine the rationality of a speaking and acting subject by how he/she acts as a participant in argumentation. the standard is: anyone participating in argument shows his rationality or lack of it by the manner in which he handles and responds to the offering of reason-s for or against claims. if he is “open to argument,” he will either acknowledge the force of those reasons or seek to reply to them, either way he will deal with them in a “rational” manner. if he is “deaf to argument,” by contrast, he may either ignore contrary reasons or reply to them with dogmatic assertions, and either way he fails to deal with the issues “rationally.”5 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 278 it therefore follows that during argumentation, a participant who is willing to expose himself to criticism and open to rational expressions is the person that behaves well rationally. he exhibits the features of a good communication. furthermore, the theory of communicative action is a pragmatics of social interaction and social order. communicative action aims at mutual understanding through language. mutual understanding is possible because of man’s capacity for reasons. habermas' theory of communicative action aims at problem-solving and the rational reconstruction of meaning in an objective world. communicative action brings about social order. it is the cultural anthropology of the everyday practice in the system-life-world contexts. social interaction guarantees the conceptual framework of mechanical solidarity. solidarity requires social cohesion and common conscience. according to joan ferrante, mechanical solidarity consists of social order and cohesion based on a common conscience or uniform thinking and behavior.6 solidarity refers to the cultural ties that bind people together in society. according to joan ferrante, social interaction is everyday events in which at least two people communicate and respond through language and symbolic gestures to affect one another's behaviour and thinking.7 one very fundamental issue of social order is that it brings about social order and transformative dialogue. social order has become a contemporary issue of global interdependence. another aspect of habermas’ theory is that it encompasses the idea of deliberative democracy. communicative action therefore depends on the use of language oriented to mutual understanding.8 it is good to note that the concept of the deliberative democracy has to do with the political public sphere. deliberative democracy connotes the idea of public discussion. according to iain mackenzie, the plight of contemporary liberal democracies has been and continues to be a source of concern for democratic theorists in political philosophy.9 the habermasian perspective reflects the fact that in communicative action, beyond the function of achieving understanding, language plays the role of coordinating the goal directed activities of different subjects, as well as the role of a medium in the socialization of these very subjects.10 deliberative democracy reflects on human rights, the right of political participation, the right of communication and it is a model of democratic setting that tends to overcome all failings of the purely representative model. according to iain mackenzie, habermas describes conversation where everyone involved is concerned to reach an understanding with one another as communicative action.11 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 279 one important distinction that must be made for a proper understanding of the instant theory under study is the difference between strategic and communicative action. strategic action is a division of instrumental action. instrumental action essentially is action intended to achieve a definite pragmatic goal. it is utility in nature. hence it follows the means-end line of rationality. that is, the thinking that takes into cognizance the most efficient and effective means to achieve a given goal. instrumental action most often involves only an individual, that is, a rational being. slightly differently, strategic action is that division of instrumental action where the defined goal(s) concern other people and their expressions. in contrast, communicative action, according to habermas, “intends to achieve mutual understanding. thus, in contrast to strategic action narrowly, or even instrumental action more generally, communicative action does not follow the means-end rationality. instead, it encompasses an epistemic rationality of rhetoric and persuasion that follows what habermas calls a universal pragmatics.”12 in a nutshell, habermas communicative action seeks to build a society based on common understanding, consensus and cooperation rather than strategic action in pursuit of personal goals. this is possible given human capacity for rationality and communication. hence, communicative action “is action based upon this deliberative process, where two or more individuals interact and coordinate their action based upon agreed interpretations of the situation.”13 for habermas, “reason can be defended only by way of critique of reason”.14 furthermore, according to habermas, the theory of communicative action has three interrelated concerns. 1. to develop a concept of rationality that is no longer tied to and limited by, the subjectivistic and individualistic premises of modern philosophy and social theory.15 2. to construct a two-level concept of society that integrates the life world and system paradigms. 3. finally, to sketch out against this background a critical theory of modernity which analyzes and accounts for its pathologies in a way that suggests a redirection rather than an abandonment of the project of enlightenment? hermeneutically, habermas’ response to the decline of the paradigm of consciousness is an explicit shift to the paradigm of language not language as a syntactic or semantic system, but to language in use or speech.16 thus, he develops the categorical framework and normative foundations of his theory in the form of a general theory of communicative action. for him, if we assume that the human species maintains itself through the socially coordinated activity of its members and that this coordination is established through communication and in certain spheres of life, through communication aimed at reaching agreement. then, the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 280 reproduction of the species also requires satisfying the condition of rationality inherent in communicative action. he went to argue that our ability to communicate has a universal core-basic structure and fundamental rules that all subjects master in leaning to speak a language. for him, communicative competence is not just a matter of being able to produce grammatical sentences. this is because in speaking, we relate to the world about us, to other subjects, to our own intentions, feelings, and desires. for him, in each of these dimensions, we are claims, even if usually only implicitly, concerning the validity of what we are saying, or presupposing claims for instance regarding the truth of what we say in relation to the objective world or claims concerning rightness, appropriateness, or legitimacy of our speech acts in relation to the shared values and norms of our social life world or claims to sincerity or authenticity in regard to the manifest expressions of our intentions and feelings. it is in fact to the experience of achieving mutual understanding in communication that is free from coercion that habermas looks in developing his idea of rationality. the key to his notion of reaching understanding (verstandigung) is the possibility of using reasons of grounds to gain intersubjective recognition for criticizable validity claims. thus, for him, communicative action requires an interpretation that is rational in approach.17 for habermas, an assertion can be called rational only if the speaker satisfies the conditions necessary to achieve the illocutionary goal of reaching an understanding about something in the world with at least one other participant in communication. this means that rational expressions have the character of meaningful actions intelligible in their context, through which the actor relates to something in the objective world. hence, it can be deduced according to him that only responsible persons can be rational. well-grounded assertions and efficient actions, for habermas, are certainly a sign of rationality, we do characterize as rational speaking and acting subjects who as far as it lies within their power avoid errors in regard to facts and means and relations. in context of communicative action, we call someone rational not only if he or she is able to put forward an assertion and when criticized, to justify his action by explicating the given situation in the light of legitimate expectations.18 we even call someone rational if he makes known a desire or an intention, expresses a feeling or a mood, shares a secret, confesses a deed, etc, and is then able to assure critics in regard to the revealed experience by drawing practical consequences from it and behaving consistently thereafter. the rationality inherent in this practice is seen in the fact that a communicatively achieved agreement must be based in the end on reasons. also, the rationality of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 281 those who participate in this communicative practice is determined by whether, if necessary, they could, under suitable circumstances provide reasons for their expressions. thus, the rationality proper to the communicative practice of argumentation as a court of appeal that makes it possible to continue communicative action with other means when disagreements can no longer be repaid with everyday routines and yet are not to be settled by the direct or strategic use of force. he stated clearly that for the above reason that he believed that the concept of communicative rationality, which refers to an unclarified systematic interconnection of universal claims, can be adequately explicated only in terms of a theory of argumentation. thus, for him, we call a person rational who in the cognitive-instrumental sphere expresses reasonable opinions and acts efficiently; but this rationality remains accidental if it is not coupled with the ability to learn from mistakes, from the refutation of hypotheses and from the failure of interventions. for habermas, we call persons rational when they can justify their actions with reference to existing normative contexts. this means that anyone who systematically deceives himself about himself behaves irrationally but one who is capable of letting himself be enlightened about his irrationality possesses not only the rationality of a subject who is competent to judge facts and who acts in a purposive-rational way who is morally judicious and practically reliable and who evaluates with sensitivity and is aesthetically open minded; he also possesses the power to behave reflectively in relation to his subjectivity and to see through the irrational limitation to which his cognitive moral practical and aesthetic practical expressions are subject. therefore, we call a person rational if he is ready to come to an understanding and reacts to disturbances by reflecting on linguistic rules. supporting the habermasian’s view, peter winch asserts that languages are linguistically articulated worldviews and correspondingly structured forms of life. thus, communicative actors can achieve an understanding only by way of taking yes/no positions on criticizable validity claims. all of us according to habermas make use of speech without which we would hardly be human. more than anything else, the concept of communicative action according to habermas refers to the interaction of at least two subjects capable of speech and action who establish interpersonal relations whether by verbal or by extra verbal means.19 the concept of communicative action according to habermas presupposes language as the medium for a kind of reaching understanding, in the course of which igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 282 participants, through relating to a world, reciprocally raise validity claims that can be accepted or contested. hence, communicative action always requires an interpretation that is rational in approach. communicative action equally has to do with processes of reaching understanding aimed at an agreement that meets the conditions of rationally motivated assent to the content of an utterance. communicatively achieved agreement, for habermas, has a rational basis, it cannot be imposed by either party, whether instrumentally through intervention in the situation directly or strategically through influencing the decisions of the opponents. going further, habermas says that agreement can indeed be objectively obtained by force, but what comes to pass manifestly through outside influence or the use of violence cannot count subjectively as agreement.20 agreement for him rests on common convictions. thus, for him, the speech act of one person succeeds only if the other accepts the offer contained in it by taking (however implicitly) a yes or no position on validity claim that is in principle criticizable. reaching understanding according to habermas is the inherent telos of human speech. on the other hand, he says that we are regarding the communicative acts with the help of which speakers and hearers come to an understanding about something as mechanism for coordinating actions. finally, while discussing about communicative rationality; he defines philosophy to be the conscious effort to knit all our knowledge and insight into a linguistic structure in which all things are called by their right names. therefore, communicative rationality according to habermas refers primarily to the use of knowledge in language and action, rather than to a property of knowledge. while in sociology, communicative action is cooperative action undertaken by individuals based upon mutual deliberation and argumentation. the concept of global terrorism terrorism is difficult to conceptualize as there is no known generally acceptable definition of the word. this is because of the emotive nature of the word and the often-quoted maxim that “one man’s terrorism is another man’s freedom fighter.” that said, etymologically, terrorism comes from the french word terrorisme. it initially emerged as a descriptor for the actions of french revolutionaries against their domestic enemies from 1793-1794. terrorisme in turn comes from the latin terrere meaning to frighten. as a concept, terrorism has remained a controversial igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 283 word for scholars and governments to define. it is a concept that has varying meanings and perspectives. there are over 150 definitions of terrorism in literature. but, the often and most quoted definitions are the ones given by carsten bockstette. in his words: “terrorism is defined as political violence in an asymmetrical conflict that is designed to induce terror and psychic fear (sometimes indiscriminate) through the violent victimization and destruction of noncombatant targets (sometimes iconic symbols). such acts are meant to send a message from an illicit clandestine organization.”hoffman in his writing observes the following features of terrorism: terrorism is ineluctably political in aims and motives; violent, or, equally important, threatens violence; designated to have farreaching psychological repercussions beyond the immediate victim or target; conducted by an organization with an identifiable chain of command or conspiratorial cell structure (whose members wear no uniform or identifying insignia); and perpetrated by a sub national group or non-state entry.21 the above definitions have revealed some features that are peculiar to terrorism. in every occurrence of terrorism, there must be some terrifying act(s). it is the fear that some unacceptable consequence(s) will take place except the person or government the terrorist is trying to compel acts as demanded. furthermore, terrorism is a concept that is politically, ideologically and religiously charged and an act that influences an audience beyond the immediate victim(s). according to euro forum study guide, terrorist activities are: intentional acts, which may seriously damage a country or an international organization, intimidating a population, compelling a government or an international organization to perform or abstain from performing any act, seriously destabilizing or destroying the fundamental political, constitutional, economic or social structures of a country or an international organization.22 in a nutshell, we adopt that global terrorism is “the calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear; intended to coerce or to intimidate government or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious or ideological.”23 global terrorism is terrorism carried out in the global arena, or put differently, terrorism that has become internationalized. understanding terrorism as a form of communication igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 284 to understand the place of communicative action in solving the problem of terrorism, it is important we first understand terrorism as a form of communication. terrorism by its nature is a means of achieving other ends or goals. for example, the islamist terrorist groups like boko haram, isis etc. aim to establish an islamic caliphate in their areas of operation. some other groups aim at showing their grievances and displeasures about a policy, a government through terrorist acts. so basically, terrorist acts are intentionally communicative. this common element in terrorism is what mohsen calls “the rhetorical use of violence.”24 for mohsen, terrorist acts are methods of communicating and persuading. in his words, “terrorism could be defined as the process of delivering a message through the use of symbolic acts, in the form of violence, to create a change on the part of the receiver’s political behavior.”25 also crelinsten argues that “when we say that violence is the language of the inarticulate, what we mean is that violence is a form of communication used by those who cannot express what they feel in words or written tracts and publications, so they “act it out” in violent ways. so, violence by the state or non-state actor can be conceived as a form of communication that coexists with other forms of communication, sometimes used in concert with them and sometimes used in their stead.”26 according to hannah arendt, some form of violence may sometimes be justifiable but may not be legitimate. writing on the instrumental nature of terrorism, martha crenshaw argues that “there is an emerging consensus that suicide attacks are instrumental in a strategic form from the perspective of a sponsoring organization…they serve the political interest of identifiable actors, most of whom are non-state opposing well-armed states. this method is mechanically simple and tactically efficient,”27 another aspect of the communicative nature of terrorism is the relationship between terrorism and the media. the media is an important tool in terrorist network. hence, some scholars have rightly opined that the media is the oxygen of terrorists. by publishing and giving publicity to terrorist acts, the media becomes instrumental to achieving the terrorists’ goals and objectives. recall that one aim of terrorism is to create huge fear among a target audience and they can’t achieve that without media coverage and publicity. thus, this relationship with the media creates another form of communication. communicative rationality as a tool in solving global terrorism igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 285 having argued and acknowledged that terrorism is a form of communication, it seems that it fails the habermasian text of communicative action or rationality. specifically, by drawing on habermas’ distinction between strategic and communicative action, we find that communicative action, even when it is directed towards achieving a strategic aim, still depends on mutual understanding. hence, habermas’ model of communication is imperatively needed in order to close up the gap that terrorism creates. simply put, the application of communicative action would help to mitigate terrorism. imbedded in habermas’ theory is the “discourse principle”. this principle essentially states that “a rule of action or choice is justified, and thus valid, only if all those affected by the rule or choice could accept it in a reasonable discourse.”28 this principle sums up habermas’ argumentation theory for the justification of technical-pragmatic claims about the choice of effective means for achieving a given goal. examining terrorism through the lens of this principle, it is clear that terrorism cannot be justified because there is no way all who are affected by it could accept it in a reasonable discourse. granted that terrorists have reasons for carrying out their activities, we posit that no matter the argument in support of such violent acts, it is a known fact that violence cannot permanently solve political or social problems. instead, it worsens the already bad situation by leading to loss of lives and properties thereby making a bad situation worse. hence, lawrence c. hamilton and james d. hamilton affirm that, “terrorism is usually unsuccessful in bringing about the social changes sought by the terrorists, and it has a good chance of making those changes far more difficult to attain and so many case studies abound in our world about terrorists’ attacks that have been counterproductive. thus, the best option is through nonviolent methods of conflict resolution.” this is what habermas’ communicative values attempts to accomplish. so, without such consciousness of shared responsibility and mutual understanding, the terrorists will never manage to see in democratic procedures the means for joint problem-solving. terrorist groups are often isolated groups working against the interests of the majority of the state; this is in conflict with the spirit of dialogue, tolerance, sharing and associated living. hence, habermas pushes for a form of deliberative democracy, in as much as it brings to the open the free political deliberation on conflicting interests. through deliberations, conflicts are discussed and resolved. this deliberative method of problem solving will go a long way in solving the problem of terrorism in the world. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 286 implied in habermas theory is the notion of dialogue and consensus, which is based on human dignity and respect for the other. this is the opposite of the activities of terrorist groups. the use of unlawful violence, which has led to the death of thousands of persons, is against the concept and spirit of dialogue. in fact, it shows the lack of respect for human dignity. terrorism is a manifestation of the unwillingness of terrorists to follow the path of dialogue: this unwillingness to dialogue is against humanistic tendencies. thus, to solve the problem of global terrorism, dialogue must be employed as a means of resolving conflicts. there must be a genuine respect for other members of the society and genuine interest in deliberative discourse in respective of our differences in terms of religion, tribe and race. in line with this, richard rorty suggests that democracy consists of “the ability to see more and more traditional differences tribe, religion, race, customs, and the like as unimportant, and the ability to think of people widely different from ourselves as included in the range of us.”29 this respect for others is a communitarian virtue that springs from mutual interest as opposed to self-centeredness that is characteristic of terrorist organizations. by a way of recapitulation, communicative action within the context of terrorism should be seen as a means and not an end in itself. it is a means to some more ultimate end; that the achievement of a more humane and peaceful society that all human beings irrespective of culture, race or colour can live as one. this last important is very imperative because of the religiously charged nature of terrorism. conclusion in sum, global terrorism has become an increasing source of worry to the international community. this is in part due to the devastating nature of terrorists’ activities which are strongly propelled by the tools of globalization. beyond the killings and bombings which are signature features of terrorism, we discovered that terrorism is a form of communication; it is a means of letting a government, state or organization know about a perceived grievance (s), injustice or bad policy. however, we argued that none of the above-mentioned reasons are good enough to justify the killings and maiming of human beings. essentially that was the reason hannah arendt advocated that violence sometimes may be justifiable but it never will be legitimate.30 be that as it may appear, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 287 terrorism therefore is a failure of communication. it is our recommendation that to mitigate global terrorism, there is the need to incorporate habermas’ theory of communicative rationality into our value system. simply put, the values of communication, consensus, dialogue, tolerance and value for human life and dignity are to be enthroned in our society. achieving mutual understanding in communication is very paramount. let us remember according to jurgen habermas that communicative action is cooperative action undertaken by individuals based upon mutual deliberation and argumentation. so, this research paper concludes that the world will be a better place if habermas’ communicative rationality and dialogical encounter are applied in its ramifications against violence of any kind in order to combat global terrorism which has eaten deep into the fabric of peace and stability of the world. references 1 habermas jurgen; berlin republic writings on germany, trans, stephen rendall, with introduction by peter uwe hohendahl, (lincoln : universities of nebraska. 1997) p. 71. 2 ibid, p. 9. 3 habermas jurgen, the theory of communicative action, reason and rationalization of society, vol 1, trans, thomas mccarthy, (boston: beacon press, 1984a) p. 86. 4 ibid p. 71 5 ibid. p. 18 6 ferrante joan, sociology: a global perspective (usa: wadsworth and thomson learning, 2003), p. 145. 7 ibid, p. 142 8 habermas jurgen, between facts and norm, contribution to the discourse t heory of law and democracy, (trans. w. rehg cambridge, ma.: mit press, 1996) p. 18 9 mackenzie lain, politics key concepts in philosophy. (london: continuum international publishing group, 2006), p. 112. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 288 10 habermas jurgen, the theory of communicative action, reason and rationalization of society. op cit. p.87. 11. mackenzie lain, op cit, p. 115. 12. ashley pattwell, et al, “terrorism as failed political communication,” (international journal of communication 2015), p. 3 13. jurgen habermas, theory of communicative action, trans. thomas mccarthy (boston: beacon press, 1984), p. 86 14. ibid. p. vi 15. ibid.p. vii 16. ibid. p. ix 17. ibid. p. xiv. 18. ibid. p. 15. 19. ibid. p. 86 20. ibid. p. 282. 21 b. hoffman, inside terrorism, (new york: columbia publications, 1998), p. 43 22. euro forum study guide. 2002. p. 30 23. k. ogunboyede, “terrorism and democratic governance in nigeria,” (international journal of innovation and scientific research, vol. 10 2014). p. 36 24. r. mohsen, (1987). the communicative, persuasive, and agitational aspects of revolutionary “terrorism” (unpublished doctoral dissertation). bowling green state university, bowling green, ky. p. 56 25. ibid. p. 57 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 289 26. r. crelinsten, “analysing terrorism and counter-terrorism: a communication model” terrorism and political violence, 14(2002), p. 77 27. martha crenshaw. “explaining suicide terrorism: a review essay”, (security studies, 16 2007), p.141. 28. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/habermashabdisthemorpollaw 13/2/2022 29. martha crenshaw. “explaining suicide terrorism:a review essay”, security studies, vol.16 no.1, january 2007, p.141. 30. hannah arendt, human condition, (chicago: chicago university press.1958) p.52. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 43 igbo culture, new trends and future hope igbokwe benedict nkemdirim (ph.d) directorate of general studies federal university of technology owerri. uwa91969@gmail.com and akueshi nkeoma ngozichukwu (ph.d) department of primary education alvan ikoku federal college of education owerri nkemmetu@gmail.com abstract culture is characteristically dynamic, hence, there is new trends in virtually all aspects of igbo cultural life. some of the new trends in the culture are progressive, while some are retrogressive. this paper x-rays some aspects of igbo cultural life, the way they were, as well as how modernity has affected their practices both negatively and positively. this paper will immensely benefit scholars of african cultural studies. the writers adopted the functional culture theory to support the research efforts in the areas of culture concept, aspects of some igbo cultural practices in their original forms, some aspects of igbo culture that have been affected by the new trends, and the effects of these modernity. the paper used survey research method, and with a critical analytical discourse, discovers and concludes that some new trends in african culture impacted on the society positively while some have negative impact. the paper recommends caution while deviating from the usual ways of doing things that pertain to the culture of the people. also those aspects of african culture that are negative and repugnant should be done away with. keywords: culture, new trends, dynamism, modernity, progressive. introduction life is dynamic, so also culture, which changes from one system of doing things to the other. the igbo of the south eastern nigeria have their ways and methods of doing things that are peculiar to them. in the olden days the traditional igbo society was inclined to doing their building construction with mud (for the body of the house) and thatch (for the roof of the house). presently, the trend has changed into the era of cement, blocks, stones, chippings, aluminum roofing sheets, tiles, p.o.p ceilings, screeding as well as the introduction of many imported building materials and building designs. mailto:uwa91969@gmail.com mailto:nkemmetu@gmai.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 44 this emerging trends also affect other spheres of igbo cultural life, economically, socially, educationally and religion. colonialism, development and interaction, exposure to foreign cultures have so much influenced the igbo culture, in such a manner that in some aspects of the new trends, there seem to be a weak connection between the usual way of doing things and the modern way of life. that is to say that in as much as the new trend brings a whole lot of innovation and facelift with it, there are still areas where it is found wanting in addressing the needs of the people, areas where the old ways of doing things are preferable to the new trends. it therefore calls for a synergy and balance of ideas between the old ways of life and the current trends in order to maximize their benefit. culture culture may be described as the generality of peoples’ way of life, which includes the way they deal with their environment, arts and different life situations. culture also includes what people eat, their dressing, language, all the things they are generally known for and the way they do their things. culture also influences the way a society reasons as well as their output, that is to say that culture identifies a society. okorji and ezebuilo, (2014), as cited in ezebuilo, (2020: 87) states “culture addresses the ways in which people understand their relationship to the social world, how that relationship is constructed across time and space, and how the people understand the possibilities for the future”. society goes a long way in influencing the culture of a people, because culture exists out of one’s interaction with one’s society (environment) showing that culture is not gotten biologically, rather learnt from the society where one finds one’s self. hudson, (1980: 78), explains culture as “the knowledge, which one acquires socially by virtue of the person being a member of a specific society”.by way of classification, culture can be classified into two, tangible and intangible culture. tangible culture is a product of concrete objects and what a group of people have materially, like house, vehicles and other properties, while the intangible culture is made up of beliefs, behavioural patterns and ideas of a people. (umeodinke, 2020: 58). abakare, (2009: 3) defines culture as “the complex totality of man acquisitions of knowledge, morals, beliefs, arts, customs, technology, etc, which are stored and transmitted from generation to generation”. culture can only be mentioned in connection with a people in a society and since it is beyond personal characteristics, it outlives an individual or a set of people. the only circumstance where a people’s culture may disappear completely is in a case of total annihilation or wipe out as a result of natural disaster s or chemical weapon. abakare, (2009: 3). culture functions in the formation of both the individual and the society. it differentiates one social group from the other. it makes society to exist as well as provide all the necessary things it will take to make the society work. (igbokwe, 2013: 274). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 45 all cultures are dynamic and constantly changing as individuals navigate and negotiate the beliefs, values, ideas, ideals, norms and meaning systems that make up the cultural environment in which they live.( newprairiepress.org>). cultural dynamism therefore implies the ability to do away with negative cultural practices, while positive aspects are guarded jealously. this is also a way of fostering universally acceptable cultural norms and practices ending much of the cultural based conflicts. www.newtimes.co.rw>section>read. in a general sense, cultural dynamism encompasses the numerous aspects of culture that continue to change and evolve based on major external forces in human life. functionalist theory of culture functionalism considers culture as an interrelated whole not a collection of isolated traits. like a human being has various organs that are interconnected and necessary for the body to function correctly, so society is a system of interconnected parts that make the whole function. functionalism, in social science is a theory based on the premise that all aspects of a society – institutions, roles, norms, etc, serve a purpose and that all are indispensable for the long term survival of the society. www.britannica.com>topic>functionalism. structural functionalist acknowledges that there are many parts of culture that work together as a system to fulfill society’s needs and to promote stability. new trends in igbo culture new trends usually begin with urbanization, which according to ofoegbu, (1982: 198) “is a process of change involving an increase in the proportion of total population concentrated in towns and cities relative to the population in the rural area”. this new trend informs about change in patterns of behavior and values which are derived from coming together at one location by huge number of people with difference. this value and behavioural changes are followed by full commitment and involvement of the new urban city residents in the new urban way of life. this new way of life restricts an individual from the usual old way of life, for instance a committed family man who was known for spending quality time with his family, extended family and other kits and kin now spends more time at his place of work and other businesses, so much that the little time he can scratch out will be for his immediate family. new trend involves changes in ways of behavior that has to do with reformation of the urban resident, in the areas of his style of life and that of his family, value placement and pursued interests. ofoegbu, (1982: 199) from the above inferences, new trends means new ways or current ways, styles, materials and systems of doing things that could bring a change, improvement, upgrade and new era from the old ways and manners of doing the same thing. new trends, new ways or introduction of current styles of doing things is usually good and brings a new igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 46 lease of life, but not without its negative implications, especially in the areas of perceptions, misconception, abuse and wrong application. this paper will now look into some aspects of igbo cultural life, the way they were and how much the new trends have affected them positively and also negatively, (where applicable). some igbo cultural practices and new trend: traditional education traditional education is the foremost, basic and most effective form of education. in igbo traditional society, every mentor is either learning or teaching, parents served as role models who monitor the daily activities of their children. according to okeke, (1982: 16), prior to the coming of europeans, ndi igbo educated themselves and their children. at that time, traditional education was fully capable of supplying the necessary ingredients to maintain the levels of social, economic, technical and cultural attainments of the society. traditional education starts from birth and unconsciously goes on to shape the power of a person, his habits formation, training of his ideas as well as stimulating his emotions. okeke, (1984) as cited in apakama, (2019:16) says that this methods of education “... were efficient in those days and were fitting for life”. the main principles of african traditional education formed the foundation of igbo traditional education. this form of education was able to prepare the child to be able to confront the future, as well as learn their values, norms and even the taboos and belief systems.( apakama,2019:16). moral/family education moral training, mostly as it affects the family gives much attention to the dos and don’ts in the family cultural life. there are kinds of utterances that cannot be tolerated from the child. swearing falsely, stealing, fighting and other misdemeanor were strongly frowned at. attending to household chores like sweeping, washing of plates and clothes, personal hygiene, like washing of face and chewing stick before tasting food were part of the family norms. in this family education a child learnt how to respect elders and superiors whose names were prefixed with ndaa, deede or dee, according to one’s dialect speech community. a child willingly surrenders his chair for an elder to sit on. most remarkably was that in the traditional igbo society, girls and boys can play during the moonlight games though they may be naked or half naked, yet none of them will express any sexual feelings because they knew if they do there is no way one of them at least, will not report them to their parents and part of their punishment will igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 47 require parading them before the people and because of this no child will like to experience such stigma which goes with mockery and names calling. traditional education offered the children the opportunity for character molding. in a traditional igbo society, a child who has penchant for stealing from the pot was usually disgraced. it was very rare for a child to consciously pass flatulence to the notice of the elders to avert the heavy knock that could fall on his head. in the words of ukay (1966: 34), “... they are trained to show implicit obedience to parents and superiors, and to be transparently honest, and never tell lies”. in igbo cultural life good character was held with the highest premium, hence the say “ezi aha ka ego” (good character surpasses wealth). mental/intellectual education mental education in traditional igbo society was a way of making a child to reason and ponder deeply. the ability to weigh and access an incident in relation to one’s experience in order to form a concept. the igbo have always championed mental development on their children, and this they achieved through these exercises, in okereke, (1982: 19) the proverbs, the riddles, the ideation of ‘chi’ and ‘anyanwu la ezeelu’, the ability to distinguish between a killing herb and a healing one – all these constitute a veritable store house of intellectual exercise” “... proverbs and riddles are used to hide a saying from the ordinary turn of mind. they help in selecting and analyzing issues and problems of the moment. traditional education exposed the igbo to this training. the igbo value proverbs so much that the ability to understand proverbs qualifies one as intelligent and reasonable. that’s why okonkwo (1997: 99), says, igbo proverbs reveals a lot about the igbo themselves. the igbo proverb is the experience and wisdom of several ages gathered and summed up in one expression; while some natives quote the bible, or the works or maxims of acknowledged authorities or wise men; or from a carefully worked out code of law, the igbo quote proverbs (the time honoured wisdom of their folk) to support and give authority and authenticity to an idea or a disputed fact. the most benefitted by the wealth of igbo proverbs are those children that always stay with the elders. they also enjoy folk tales, which is another avenue of impacting wisdom on children in igbo traditional society. the folktales abound in igbo culture. they are veritable means of teaching morals, create amusement and laughter, uncover the foolishness of the people as well as applaud the commendable behaviours of the people. some folktales are basically for entertainment, using musical effect and others talk about the myths and the igbo belief in natural phenomena. (okonkwo, 1976: 110). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 48 vocational education in igbo culture in a traditional igbo society job related training or “handiwork” was well regarded. people were preoccupied with farming, where they engaged in cash crops production, rearing animals, fishing and the processing of their bye-products. parents practically taught their children how to farm, both in the gardens and in the farm. they were informed about the sacred market days when nobody is expected to be in the farm. they also got abreast with the shifting cultivation or crop rotation farming methods, trying to, identify the farming year when a particular farmland was ripe for cultivation. they were enlightened on how to use waste products from the domestic animals to form manure, which were deposited into the farms to help nourish the crops for an increased yield and output harvest. talking about agriculture as a dominant sector in traditional igbo society, korie, (2007: 126), while citing olaudah eqivano, (1788, posits, “agriculture is our chief employment, and everyone, even the children and women are engaged in it. thus we are all habituated to labor from our earliest years”. agriculture/farming usually is the foremost vocation acquired by children in igbo society. in the area of crafts and trades, the traditional igbo society engaged their children in apprenticeship which served as their system of education and training. what they learnt include wine-tapping and palm fruit cutting, weaving, dying, hunting, making of mats, building, carving, dress making, carpentry, painting, food selling, decorating, traditional medicine and very many others. some families are known for certain trade and skills. such families inherited such skills from their forebears, and they guard it jealously. these families are always referred to whenever their services are required. some of those special skills include – rain making, orthopedics, psychiatrics, midwifery, and other branches of traditional medicine. anyanwu, (2021: personal communication). the igbo dress orientation far from the old belief that the igbo and the people of southeastern nigeria either “were moving about nude or were putting on scanty loin cloth in the olden days” archaeological findings have proved that the tradition of cloth making or textile industry has been in existence before the white man rule. ofoegbu, (1975: 211), says, “ ... the occupational pursuit of the igbo before their contact with europeans emphasized the profession of weaving and dress making. some parts of igbo land grew cotton. strips of cotton tread were spun and woven into cloth on handloom. the spinning of cotton and the weaving of spin cotton into cloth were specialties of women. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 49 the igbo further produced akwaete george which formed their common dressing as they produced different design of it. igbo architecture and construction the igbo made use of the building/construction materials available in their localities. mostly used were mud, which they dug from the ground, thatch which they produced from the palm leaf the bamboo, the bamboo twine rope, and in some cases plank. igbokwe and omire (2020: 13) buttress, “the traditional igbo society predominantly made use of thatch and mud in constructing their houses. in order to get the quality texture of the mud needed for the construction, a deep excavation is made and is mixed with clay, sand and silt in order to serve as a building material. the clay makes it to be strong and cohesive, while the sand helps to resist water damages”. housing constructions in those days were mainly of simple plans and designs like one room, two rooms, three or four mostly in straight form. this paper has been able to give a hint on how some aspect of igbo cultural life served the people of that era, before the introduction of new trends and changes in those manners of doing things. the following part of this work will look into the introduction of new trends in these various aspects of igbo culture, and how they have affected the people either positively or negatively or both. new trends in some aspects of igbo culture new trends in igbo culture basically means culture change which is bound to happen to the people’s way of life after a long time, based on what is encountered in the society. according to spacey, (2018), “culture change is change that occurs over time to the shared way of life of a group. this emerges with the experiences of a society traditional culture, organization, super culture or sub culture”. spacey further explains that changes could take place under the following areas – invention, economy, globalization, war and disaster, ideas, aesthetics, rights and freedoms, law, design, infrastructure, health, education, environment, art, music, literature, media and leadership. the above enumeration covers virtually all facets of human living that form the culture of the people. what this work has been able to do is to look at some aspects of igbo way of life as a representation of the generality of their culture. new trends in education culture education in igbo culture has almost shifted from its traditional grassroots to the western system, which takes off from the day-care to kindergarten and from there upwards. features of new trends in education include, the introduction of qualified and trained teachers, organized school system, unified curriculum, school buildings and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 50 infrastructure, instructional materials, electronic system of teaching, information and technological advancement in teaching and learning, to mention but a few. while appreciating the emergence of new trends in the educational culture of the people, which introduced new lease of life and improved teaching and learning, this paper is not without a reservation, considering how the new trends in education has drowned the traditional education and orientation that starts from the family. in this era, children are left at the mercy of their day-care attendants and kindergarten teachers thereby losing the parental nurture and directions. quality times is no longer spent with the family, no time for moonlight games, folktales, riddles and jokes, from where the children receive orientation about morals and other values of life. children of this age now spend quality time watching television, movies, video games and their phone mobile applications. in view of the fact that the educational institutions graduate their students who are satisfactorily found worthy both in character and learning, how far has the new trend in education helped a child to achieve this worthiness in character? new trends in agriculture in igbo culture agriculture which was practiced in small scale, served the purpose of providing food for the family, and a little more for exchange. they practiced shifting cultivation as they have the knowledge of certain types of crops that are suitable for certain areas. during harvest, they take the much that can serve their family till the next seasons and also reserve/preserve some crops for next year’s planting. agriculture today with its new trends has shifted from subsistent farming to mechanized farming and from family production to commercial and industrial production. there is introduction of improved seedlings, fertilizers and some crops/plants are now genetically modified. presently, farming of a particular crop can take very large acres of land as against the old method, where some crops are planted on a piece of farmland. there is great improvement and benefits from the new trend in agriculture, especially now that a people can produce for exports. this new trend in agriculture also has its demerits, especially in the areas of application of chemicals, fertilizers, and some improved seedlings that are genetically modified. the application of chemicals/fertilizers on a land over a time is bound to weaken and render the land infertile. also, consuming some agro-products with chemicals/fertilizers could be injurious to health and life threatening. new trend in training and apprenticeship training and apprenticeship were major ways of establishing people in igbo culture. anozie, (2003), as cited in igbokwe, (2018: 146) explains, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 51 mgbe gboo, ndi choro inweta akaoru na-agakwuru onye na-aru oru ahu o choro imu n’ebe dikariri ya nso were muo ya. onye choro imu oru ugbo na-ejekwuru otu onye nwoke maara maka oru ugbo nke oma ya na onye ahu ebiri dika afo ise ... o buru onye choro imu otu e si akpu uzu, o gaachota onye na-akpu uzu no ya nso muo oru uzu n’aka ya. in the olden days, those who intend to acquire any skill usually approach a person who knows that skill that is nearest to them, in order to acquire it ... one who intends to acquire skills in farming usually meets a seasoned farmer and live with him for about five years ... one who wants to acquire skills in blacksmithing, will look for a blacksmith that is nearest to him, in order to learn the work. from the above insight it is obvious that in the olden days in igbo culture, for one to acquire any skill in any handiwork or trading one has to go and live with an expert in that field. recently, the new trend in training and apprenticeship has shifted from going to live with the mentor to online trainings, workshops, visual/audio recordings, motivational speeches, networking and publications. these new approach to skill acquisition and training is good, time saving, far reaching and affordable, but also has its negative impacts. the new trends could breed mediocrity, charlatans and half baked proprietors in different entrepreneurial organizations due to improper and rushed training of personnel. new trends in healthcare culture in igbo traditional society issues concerning healthcare were handled by herbalists and native doctors. some of them specialized in different kinds of ailments and health challenges. any case of ill-health was referred to them, and they used mostly roots and herbs to cure those ailments. in some cases, the diviner (dibia afa) was first consulted to decipher the cause and source of the ailment. after divination, the diviner and the sick person will be in a better position to know if the case at hand could be referred to the herbalist (dibia mgborogwu na mkpakwukwo) or the native doctor (dibia ogwu), as the case may be. in the case of spirit possession, the native doctor will perform the right sacrifices to set the sick person free. in traditional igbo society, the dibia afa (diviner) served as the laboratory scientist, who conducts tests to discover the health problem, through his divination. ezeuko, (1986: 13) explains, dika omenala igbo siri di, ha kwenyere n’ihe gbasara igba afa dika uzo ha nwere ike isi choputa ihe na-eme ha ma o bu odachi diiri ha. ndi oru igba afa diiri bu ndi a na-akpo dibia afa. ndi dibia afa bu ndi maara akpramagwa ndi mmadu n’udi di iche iche mere ha ji enwe ike ikowaputa onodu mmadu n’ihe di iche iche. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 52 according to igbo culture, they believe in divination as a way of finding out what was wrong with them or their problems. divination is the work of diviners who know people’s characteristics in different ways, so much that they were able to explain peoples’ situation at all times. presently, the new trend in the health sector has brought a tremendous change and improvement in the sector. orthodox medicine, qualified doctors and health personnel, medical equipment and health infrastructure, laboratories and better policies by the government are products of the new trend. the new trend in healthcare is very good, but they have their inadequacies too. most medications and treatments have their side effects in a human body. most orthodox health practitioners don’t see the efficacy in traditional medicine. new trends in igbo dress culture the traditional igbo society who were mostly dressed with wrapper, and at a later stage jumper and trouser, with cap for men and wrapper with blouse and head tie for women, have at the present age changed tremendously in their mode of dressing. apart from the few, that still put on traditional attire, most igbo both young and old men or women have towed the part of western way of dressing. regrettably, the new trend in dressing has so much influenced the traditional society in such a manner that some of them appear odd in the midst of their kinsmen. western culture considers the prevalent weather in making choice of their outfit, but over here in igbo society, some people choose to dress arbitrarily, thus forming bad influence on the younger generation. new trends in igbo food culture the traditional igbo society, were known for their traditional cuisines. their food was natural and fresh because most of what they ate were brought from their farms. most of their foods were also considered as good medicines that not only nourish their body, but also cure or prevent them from suffering certain ailments. precisely, the food culture of the igbo traditional society is acclaimed the best because even at this present age, the modern dieticians also recommend those foods for their clients. the new trend in igbo culture introduced processed food and the use of preservatives and foreign spice that have received warning from experts as being capable of causing health problems. hope for the future this paper has been able to x-ray some aspects of igbo cultural practices and the new trends in the culture, with their merits and demerits. all in all a giant stride has been made virtually in all facets of igbo culture. remarkable improvements have been made igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 53 but more can be done to make a better future. the future is very bright with the level of development and improvement in the peoples’ way of life. igbokwe, (2018: 143) buttresses, “ka o di ugbu a, ndi igbo a gbasapula aka burukwa oka ibe n’ihe gbasara azumahia. ha na-atu mgbere udi ngwa ahia di iche iche, nke mere ha na mba uwa di iche iche na-azukorita ahia. site n’ihe ndi a na-eri eri, ruo n’ihe ndi a na-eyi n’ahu, sitekwa n’ebe ahu gaa n’ogwu na akorongwa di iche iche eji agwo oria, ma ugboala ma igwe tapia hadum. kedu nke a ga-ako hara ibe ya”. presently, the igbo have diversified and become the champion in trading. they deal on different kinds of products and that led to their trading ties with other parts of the world. from food stuffs to wears/clothing, from clothing to medicals and their equipments, both vehicles and computers. they are too numerous to mention. the citation above extends to other aspects of igbo cultural life, which have received innovative trends. in education, health, economy, entrepreneur, industry and more, the igbo are already on the same page with the innovative trends and are willing to go higher and do better in their different endeavours. the required efforts come in the form of recommendations as follows:  any innovation and new trend in any aspect of people’s way of life has to take a lift from the traditional way of doing things.  innovation in the area of healthcare has to consider and incorporate the traditional healthcare and medicines.  the innovative trend made in education will bring greater desired change if the content of traditional education could be incorporated and followed in the curriculum in order to pass on the norms and values of the people.  innovative trend on food should focus more on how to produce local food in greater sufficiency as well as preserve them adequately. they should discourage flooding the society with processed food and junks that are unhealthy for humans.  cultural orientation and acculturation programmes should be encouraged in order to integrate people’s cultures for future development. references igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 54 abakare, c. (2009) definition of culture in aghamelu, f. and asomugha, c. (eds) readings in african thought and culture. enugu: strong tower. apakama, l.m, (2010) traditional igbo education: a tool in the achievement of millenium development goals, in the icacd journal, volume 1 n0 1, december, 2010. ezebuilo, c.n. (2020) communication theory of culture in mbah, b.m. (ed) theories of culture and translation. enugu: university of nigeria press. hudson, r.a. (1900) sociolinguistics. cambridge university press. igbokwe, (2013) igbo culture and social change in okpulo journal of arts and cultural heritages no. 1, july, 2013. igbokwe, b.n and omeire , e, (2020) the role of traditional beliefs system in environment management: a case of igbo society, in european academic research, vol viii, issue 6, september, 2020. igbokwe, b.n. (2018) usoro ala oru ndi igbo: ihe achoro maka ntuteghari onodu aku na uba iji kwusi ariri na-eri ndi igbo ni achara jonalu nkwalite asusu igbo. nchikota nke mbu. page 137. johnson, b. (2018) cultural dynamism in the works of chinua achebe, toni morrison and paule morshall in journal of african american studies britain: central connecticut state university. korieh, c.j. (2007) the political economy of igbo agriculture in the international journal of african studies vol. 6.2. ofoegbu (1975) igbo national dress and accutturation in ogbalu, f. and emenajo e (eds) igbo language and culture. vol. 1. ibadan university press. ofoegbu (1982) the igbo and urban cultures in ogbalu, f.c. and emenajo, e.n. (eds) igbo language and culture volume two. ibadan university press. okereke, a.n. (1982) traditional education in igboland in ogbalu, f.c. and emenajo, f.n. (eds) igbo language and culture volume two. ibadan university press. okonkwo, m.n. (1976), a complete course in igbo grammar lagos: macmillan publisher. uka, n. (1966) growing up in nigerian culture publication no. 6, ibadan: institute of education university of ibadan. umeodinke, (2020) the social theory of culture in mbah, b.m. (ed) theories of culture and translation. enugu: university of nigeria press. www.britanica.com>topics>functionalism www.newtimes.co.rw>section>read. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 228 a computer-mediated discourse analysis on undergraduates’ facebook and whatsapp akujobi, o. s. & eze, b. i. department of english language and literature, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, nigeria os.akujobi@unizik.edu.ng; +2348034910531 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract the study aims at investigating the socio-linguistic reasons for the undergraduates’ use of e-discourse features, presenting salient features of e-discourse and exploring the ways ediscourse writing skills deviate from formal english writing and communication skills. structured questionnaires were administered to the study participants drawn from the faculties of arts, law and social sciences of nnamdi azikiwe university awka, nigeria. in addition, 85 facebook comments and 210 whatsapp messages were collected from the departmental facebook group page and class whatsapp group chats of the students. the study was analyzed using descriptive statistics of mean and percentages. limited space on computer or cell phone screen, showing creativity in the use of the language, socializing and interacting among the participants were found to be the socio-linguistic reasons for the undergraduates’ use of e-discourse features on facebook and whatsapp. diminishing concerns for punctuation, improper capitalization and beginning a sentence with a lowercase were shown to be the reasons for the deviation of e-discourse writing skills on facebook and whatsapp from formal english writing and communication skills. therefore, students should adhere strictly to grammatical conventions and mechanics of formal writing to avoid forming hybridized constructions in their academic work. the study recommends that teachers of english as a second language in institutions of higher learning should include the disparities between e-discourse and formal english in their course outlines. keywords: computer-mediated, discourse, facebook, whatsapp introduction language has been an integral part of communication and human beings being compulsive communicators continue to find new ways of communication to bridge the distance between individuals. internet technology has greatly influenced human igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 229 life especially in the area of communication. following the wave of technology, there is an overwhelming access to different forms of media with an increase in interconnectedness of peoples and races around the entire world and transmitting information. the use of the internet and computer technology has a significant impact on language change and usage. it has seen the appearance of a new language variety known as electronic discourse or e-discourse. e-discourse is a variety of language that leads to significant variations in the written structure of language. it creates a kind of semi-speech that is between speaking and writing and it has its own features and graphology. increasing numbers of people are communicating with each other through various technologies such as short messaging service (sms), internet-based instant messaging, synchronous chat, asynchronous discussion forums, e-mail, twitter, skype, facebook and whatsapp. many of these communications are interactive, much like a conversation but conducted at a distance (often both in time and space) and in written form. facebook and whatsapp, as speech communities, have their own identifying styles, codes and shibboleths extending from single sentence greetings to informative and directive texts such as reports, newsletters and announcements. they are becoming increasingly ubiquitous among undergraduates, who in order to speed up a communicative exchange or achieve their communicative intents have developed fast and cheaper ways for expressing words, phrases, and emotions as well as, textual and graphical pragmatic devices. also, they resort to facebook and whatsapp which appear to have fewer network problems. moreover, every discourse is affected by the medium of communication, as johnstone (180) puts it, “no matter the medium of communication, it affects discourse, and each set of technological constraints means a different set of possibilities, preferences and restrictions”. mobile phones are currently a stretching tool world-wide among families and friends mainly to reinforce existing networks of contacts. with their innovative force, they have brought an important culture of communication for many communicators, especially youths. this variety of language developed for online communication represents the creation of a new media language, distinct from, but complementary to conventional written english. it has new linguistic structures which benefit students in terms of encouraging creativity in written expressions and increasing literacy and affect their proficiency in the written and spoken forms of the target language (the english language). though facebook and whatsapp communications and other internet chats are not traditional forms of interaction, they are so prevalent and persistent that they deserve igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 230 attention from linguistic, psychological, pedagogical, and socio-linguistic perspectives. this paper hence, shows that technologically mediated communication (facebook and whatsapp) has fostered the development of new hybridized textual ways of writing and communication in computer-mediated communication (cmc). it explores the socio-linguistic reasons for the undergraduates’ use of e-discourse on facebook and whatsapp and presents a comprehensive picture of salient features of e-discourse. it also examines the writing skills on facebook and whatsapp which are deviations from formal english writing skills. this will help to prove if ediscourse is really a threat or menace to learning english as a second language as some linguists assume. it is a common notion that the students’ e-discourses are sometimes incomprehensible, and extremely shortened and coded with some negative effects on formal writing skills and communications. facebook and whatsapp have become communication portals for social networking among interaction media, which have rapidly transformed the way people communicate. due to the heightened informality of language use on facebook and whatsapp, there is a growing fear of its deterioration. it is considered a corruption of the english language and degradation in students’ formal writing skills and communications, although, it is socio-linguistically significant. this is because users of facebook and whatsapp may lack adequate knowledge of the distinction between electronic discourse and formal english. they misuse electronic discourse and sometimes use it interchangeably with formal english. this leads to the formation of hybridized constructions and misinterpretation of messages in electronic communication, which show a lack of proficiency in the english language. the study is therefore, concerned with finding out socio-linguistic reasons that necessitate the undergraduates’ use of e-discourse on facebook and whatsapp and a computer-mediated discourse analysis of the features found in the discourse of facebook and whatsapp. this encourages creativity and dynamism among the users of electronic discourse, especially, on facebook and whatsapp. furthermore, in as much as the rules of english, as taught in a classroom or by the native speakers prescribe correct words and grammar for every situation, it also examines the areas where e-discourse writing skills deviate from formal writing skills and communications. this helps to enhance or facilitate effective teaching and learning of english as a second language. an analysis of salient features of computer-mediated discourse communication via electronic media facilitates the rise of a new variety of language, that is, e-discourse and creates new forms and functions of language. e-discourse is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 231 considered an innovative variety of discourse with its own salient discourse features. abusa’aleek (137-138) outlines the following features of e-discourse: shortenings, clippings, contractions, unconventional spellings, word-letter replacements, worddigit replacements, word combinations (accent stylizations), initialisms, and emoticons. shortenings shortenings are words with missing end letters. days and months are commonly shortened, for example, sun/sunday, tues\tuesday, fri\friday, feb/february and so on. others include bro\ brother, sis\sister, lang\language, aft \ after and so on. according to dąbrowska (10), the use of s for ‘is’ may, in fact, be just a misprint, but it may also be used as a shortening, although based only on partial homophony (paronomasia). the word sis, on the other hand, is, in fact, more of a term of endearment as a form of address, rather than just a shortening, similar to other forms which are often subjected to the strategy of clipping, examples. bro, ma, pa and so on. this strategy is surely the simplest and least risky of all. clippings in linguistics, clipping is the word formation process which consists of the reduction of a word to one of its parts. it is also known as truncation or shortening. according to lyddy et al. (155), clippings can be sub-categorised as g-clippings and other clippings. the former are words for which the final “g” has been omitted in a word ending with‘ing’, for examples goin\going, talkin \talking, comin\coming, smilin\smiling, drivin\driving, meetin\meeting, nothin\nothing, mornin \morning, evenin\evening, askin\asking, feelin\feeling, writn\writing, happnin\happening, unsuspectin\unsuspecting and so on. the latter represents other final letter omissions, typically final consonants, for example, wil /will, i’l \i will, til\till, and silent vowels, for example, hav\ have, wher\where, sumwher\somewhere and so on. initial clipping or aphaeresis initial (or fore) clipping retains the final part of the prototype. examples are: bot (robot), chute (parachute), roach (cockroach), coon (raccoon), gator (alligator), phone (telephone), pike (turnpike), varsity (university), net (internet). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 232 final clipping or apocope final (or back) clipping is the most common type, in which the beginning of the prototype is retained. the unclipped original word may be either a simple or a composite word. examples are: ad (advertisement), cable (cablegram), doc (doctor), exam (examination), fax (facsimile), gas (gasoline), gym (gymnastics, gymnasium), memo (memorandum), mutt (muttonhead), and pop (popular music). medial clipping or syncope this is the combination of the final and initial clippings to result in curtailed words with the middle part of the prototype retained, which is the stressed syllable. words with the middle part of the word left out are equally few. examples are: flu (influenza), frig or fridge (refrigerator), jams or jimmies (pajamas\pyjamas), polly (apollinaires), shrink (headshrinker), tec (detective). phonetic/non-conventional\ non-standard spellings phonetic/non-conventional\non-standard spellings refer to spelling of words from sound. they are “considered one of the most important features of e-discourse, hence the reason behind unconventional spelling either economic, typing errors or lack of familiarity of the accurate spelling” (abusa’aleek 140). unconventional spellings follow legitimate letter-sound correspondences in a language, but they are not the conventional spellings for those particular words. for example, fone\phone, nite\night or knight, luk\look, buks\books, cum\come, sum/ some, thanx/thanks, they\dey, other\oda, odr, been\bin, bn, that\dat, those -dose, dos, doz, this\ dis, ds, these\diz, dz, order\oda, sir\sa, thought\tot, courage\korig, koreg, number\numba, nmba, and the much publicized use of “k” in “skool” or “skul”. this strategy involving the modification of the spelling of words is often used by the users of electronic discourse. however, much of the phonetic spellings correspond with the pronunciations of uneducated nigerian english and generally alters or totally ignores the morphological representation of some particular words (chiluwa 14). word-letter replacements word-letter replacement refers to the process of replacing a word with a single letter. this strategy is one of the most important features of e-discourse used by internet users because the english language contains a large percentage of monosyllabic words. this makes it fairly easy to find words which sound like individual letters of the english alphabet, and at the same time makes it impossible for many other igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 233 languages which use longer words and are additionally inflected (that is, receive various endings), to utilize this strategy. the examples below show that the words which typically get substituted this way are fairly limited in number: u\you, b\be, c\see or sea, d\the, m\am, r\are, y\why, s\is. word-number or digit substitutions (logograms) word–number substitution is one of the salient features of e-discourse in which a number or a digit is used to take the place of a phoneme, syllable, or word of the same sound. it is used frequently in the e-discourse and found much in internet users’ ediscourse. the internet users use digits to substitute a word, syllable or phoneme, which has the identical pronunciation. one of the strategies typically enumerated in publications concerning the use of english in electronic media, and one that no doubt adds a special flavour to electronic language, is that of substituting a whole word with a single numeral. besides the use of the word-letter substitutions discussed above, word-number substitutions are mainly responsible for the fact that electronic communication is treated as a unique form of written language. here are some examples of word-digit replacement: 2\to, two or too, 4\for or four. the examples show us clearly that the number of options here is limited. the most frequently used figures are naturally “2” for the infinitival marker “to”, an old english preposition “to” in “tomorrow” or possibly the adverb “too”; and the numeral “4” for the preposition “for”. one other option which may be found in the electronic language is the figure “8”, typically found in the words: great\gr8, h8\ hate and debate\db8. thus, as imaginative as the strategy is, it is not very widespread. word-number substitution also encompasses phonetic reductions or syllabograms, which is the pronunciation of the individual letters/numbers that are significant, as opposed to the overall appearance of a homophone. some commonly cited examples in both are: cu 18r/see you later, gr8 \ great, 2nite\ tonight, and 2gether. these examples illustrate both types of homophone, where “cu /see you”, for example, denotes a letter homophone and “18r/later” denotes a number homophone. word combinations (accent stylizations) word combination also refers to phonological approximation in which words are pronounced as in an informal speech. crystal refers to word combinations as accent stylizations in which the internet users write the words in accordance with informal igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 234 local language, thewall also uses the term accent stylizations to refer to humorous alternatives, while plester, wood & bell use the term “youth code” to refer to word combination which is words that are spelt in accordance with informal\regional speech, for examples: wanna\want to, gonna\going to, lemme\let me, dunno\do not know, gotta\got to and ello\hello. initialisms initialisms are words or groups of words represented by initial letters. instances of initialisms are tb=text back, gf=girlfriend, poa=plan of action, nntr=no need to reply. in general terms, acronyms and initialisms involve shortening words to their initial letters. acronyms are sometimes considered as formal shortenings such as north atlantic treaty organisation (nato) or world health organisation (who), west african examination council (waec) and so on, while initialisms are more informal, for example, omg\oh my god, bf\boyfriend, imho\in my humble opinion, ttyl\talk to you later, afaik\as far as i know, asap\as soon as possible, idk\i do not know, cmb\call me back, lol\laugh out loud, irl\in real life. however, bieswanger (58) distinguishes between acronyms (letters pronounced as one word, as above) and alphabetisms (pronounced letter by letter), for examples: tv, fbi or bbc. many of such forms are not unique to computer-mediated communication (cmc), and many have been in general use for a considerable time and are now standard. theoretical framework facebook and whatsapp communications, their linguistic features, socio-linguistic significances and effects on formal english are situated within the theories of computer-mediated discourse analysis (cmda) by susan hering and internet linguistics (il) by david crystal. computer-mediated discourse analysis (cmda) is an approach to researching online behaviour as proposed by susan herring. it was adapted from language-focused disciplines such as linguistics, communication, and rhetoric to the analysis of computer-mediated communication (cmc). this framework describes different levels of analysis of online discourse which include structure, meaning, interaction management and social practice. it is the analysis of logs of verbal interaction, characters, words, utterances, messages, exchanges, threads, archives and so on. on the other hand, the theory of internet linguistics (il) was advocated by the english linguist, david crystal in studying new language styles and forms that have igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 235 arisen under the influence of the internet and other new media such as short messaging service (sms), text message, facebook, whatsapp and so on. he argues that since the beginning of human-computer interaction (hci) leading to computermediated communication (cmc) and internet-mediated communication (imc), experts have acknowledged that linguistics has a contributing role in it, in terms of the web interface and usability. studying the emerging language on the internet can help improve the conceptual organization, transaction and web usability. in a broader sense, this theory studies internet linguistics through four main perspectives which are effectively interlinked and affect one another: socio-linguistics, education, stylistics and applied perspectives. however, all the aspects of this theory are not covered in this particular study. objectives of the study the study seeks to ascertain the socio-linguistic reasons for the use of e-discourse features on facebook and whatsapp and identify the salient features of e-discourse on facebook and whatsapp. study design the research is a descriptive research and in view of this, a survey research design was chosen. study sample samples of e-discourses on facebook and whatsapp class group chats of the third-year regular students of faculties of arts, law and social sciences of nnamdi azikiwe university, awka were drawn to form the sample of the population. purposive sampling technique was used in selecting a total of fifty (50) students from the faculties. the third-year regular students were chosen because they were supposed to have adequate exposure to the internet that will enable them to use facebook and whatsapp heavily in relating with one another either for academic or social purposes. regular students were chosen because they were always available during the normal academic sessions. the sample messages collected from their class facebook and whatsapp group chats were analysed and used as the general opinion of the entire population. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 236 instrument of data collection for the purpose of the study, structured questionnaire was used as an instrument of data collection while students’ class facebook and whatsapp group pages formed the major sources of data. the socio-linguistic reasons necessitate the undergraduates’ use of e-discourse features on facebook and whatsapp. data collected were presented and analyzed in table one. table 1: mean rating of the respondents’ responses to the socio-linguistic reasons for the undergraduates’ use of electronic discourse to communicate on facebook and whatsapp. 4 3 2 1 s \ n it e m s t o t a l n o s t r o n g l y a g r e e a g r e e s t r o n g l y d is a g r e e d is a g r e e t o t a l m e a n 𝑋 r e m a r k i limited space on the computer or cell phone screen 50 11 12 10 17 44 36 20 17 117 2.3 not accepted ii showing creativity in the use of the language 13 20 8 9 52 60 16 9 137 2.7 accepted iii socializing and interacting among the participants 26 20 1 3 104 60 2 3 169 3.4 accepted iv sharing of private information 18 20 6 6 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 237 72 60 12 6 150 3.0 accepted v being cheaper in terms of money 21 12 10 7 84 36 20 7 147 2.9 accepted vi being economical in terms of time spent 32 13 3 2 128 39 6 2 175 3.5 accepted vii easy and fast communication 35 12 1 2 140 36 2 2 180 3.6 accepted viii to have fun 29 19 1 1 116 57 2 1 176 3.5 accepted ix expression of emotion 15 24 9 2 60 72 18 2 152 3.0 accepted x minimal use of words 33 15 2 0 132 45 4 0 181 3.6 accepted table one showed that the e-discourse features on facebook and whatsapp under analysis were found to be primarily necessitated by the above question items. all the outlined socio-linguistic reasons except one had the mean scores above the cut-off point with the following scores: 2.3, 2.7, 3.4, 3.0, 2.9, 3.5, 3.6, 3.5, 3.0 and 3.6. this showed that each of the question items, except one was accepted as a socio-linguistic reason for the undergraduates’ use of e-discourse to communicate on facebook and whatsapp. further research on the rejected item revealed that facebook and whatsapp have no character limitations for the users. that is, they have nothing to do with space on the computer or cell phone screen. the salient features of e-discourse on undergraduates’ language use on facebook and whatsapp. facebook = 388 items igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 238 table 2a: s\n discourse features e-discourses standard forms frequency percentage% 1. shortenings chris christian 1 dept department 1 congrats congratulations 3 prof professor 1 bro, bros brother 7 total = 17 4.4 2. clippings a. g-clippings amazin amazing 1 givin giving 1 killin killing 1 supportin supporting 1 knwin knowing 1 b. vowels only problm problem 1 nd and 1 re are 1 gon gone 1 non none 1 c. other consonants and\or vowels bday birthday 1 em them 1 ok okay 1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 239 deptment department 1 tel tell 1 total = 3. contractions dt that 1 wld would 1 nt not 5 plz please 3 knw, knwn know, known 4 4. non-conventional spellings wit with 4 cos, coz because 5 ds, dis this 4 gud good 3 wot, wat what 2 total = 22.9 5. word-letter replacements u you 42 ur you are 2 m am 3 d the 24 y why 1 total = 26.3 6. word-digit replacements igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 240 2 to 19 4 for 8 4rm from 2 2geda together 1 b4 before 1 accent stylizations wanna want to 1 7. lemme let me 1 total = 2 0.5 8. initialisms\ acronyms lolz, lolzzz laugh out louds 3 lol laugh out loud 3 hbd happy birthday 5 aka also known as fb facebook 1 total = 8.5 9. emoticons @ at 3 …….. contemplation 17 ?? emphasis 2 & and 7 !!, !!!, !!!!!!!! exclamation 4 d@ that 1 total = 34 8.7 total% 99.9 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 241 whatsapp = 431 items table 2b: s\n discourse features e-discourses standard forms frequency percentage% 1. shortenings congrats congratulations 2 sis sister 1 bro, bruv brother 7 mic microphone 1 app application 1 total = 4.6 2 clippings a. g-clipping bein being 1 morin morning 1 tryin trying 1 something something 1 b. vowels only re are 4 nd and 8 y you 2 evry every 1 c. other consonants and\orvowel contractions al all 1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 242 ave, ve have 3 becca, becky rebecca 3 bday birthday 1 pple people 1 total = 40 9.3 total = 76 17.6 4. non-conventional spellings tym time 2 cum come 3 mi me 1 wen when 5 gud good 1 total = 86 20.0 5. word-letter replacements ur your 23 m am 2 u,y you 70 d the 17 b be 4 total = 136 31.6 6. word-digit replacements 42 mb forty-two mega bytes 1 2moro tomorrow 1 4rm from 1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 243 4 for 2 sm1 someone 1 total = 13 3.0 7. word combinations (accent stylizations) wanna want to 3 lemme let me 3 total = 6 1.4 8. initialisms\ acronyms hbd happy birthday 4 nau nnnamdi azikiwe university 1 lolz, lolss laugh out louds 2 llnp long life and prosperity 2 wullnp wish you long life and prosperity 2 total = 25 5.8 9. emoticons !!, !!!, !!!!!!!! exclamation 3 ……. contemplation 18 n naira 1 @ at 2 != keep smiling 1 total = 29 6.7 total% = 100 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 244 table 2a and 2b presented the salient features of e-discourse on undergraduates’ facebook and whatsapp respectively, which are different from those of formal writings and communications. of the total of 388 occurrences of e-discourse on their facebook, 17 (4.4%) were shortenings, 27 (7.0%), clippings, 47 (12.1%), contractions, 89 (22.9), non-conventional spellings, 102 (26.3%), word-letter replacements, 37 (9.5%), word-digit replacements, 2 (0.5%), accent stylizations, 33 (8.5%), initialisms\acronyms and 34 (8.7%), emoticons. moreover, of the total of 431 occurrences of e-discourse on their whatsapp, 20 (4.6%) were shortenings, 40 (9.3%), clippings, 76 (17.6%), contractions, 86 (20.0%), non-conventional spellings, 136 (31.6%), word-letter replacements, 13 (3.0%), word-digit replacements, 6 (1.4%), accent stylizations, 25 (5.8%), initialisms and 29 (6.7%), emoticons. contractions, nonconventional spellings, and word-letter replacements were the most frequently occurred features in the two communication modes. as the findings of this study showed, a new variety of the written language evolved in response to the increased use of the electronic means of communication such as facebook and whatsapp. it is understandable that facebook and whatsapp users write messages full of shortenings, clippings, contractions, phonetic spellings, wordletter replacements, word-digit replacements, accent stylizations, initialisms\acronyms and emoticons, applying the properties of both written and spoken language to the less formal language used in facebook and whatsapp. this agreed with shortis’ view that such language conventions have spread because the spelling used is “linguistically coherent, logical, and creative in its orthographic principles and draws upon pre-existing conventions of non-standard spelling” (23). on the other hand, hughes (45) described speech and writing in terms of the production and reception contexts. depending on the degree of our adherence to the conventions of formal writing, the following writing skills found in the e-discourse on facebook and whatsapp may seem negative or positive: diminishing concern for punctuation, improper capitalization, beginning of a sentence with a lowercase, missing subject line and\or verb, wrong compound formation\word separation, missing\wrong verb forms or pluralisation, missing\wrong apostrophe or preposition. what needs to be emphasized here is that the use or overuse of these linguistic short-cuts should be based on the relationship of the sender and the receiver of the message, that is, reception contexts because the conventions of formality often remain necessary. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 245 conclusion social media has radically transformed the nature of modern communication and introduced ways of interaction which are “fundamentally different from those found in other semiotic situations” (crystal 5). this study challenged the assumption that language is deteriorating because of the increased use in electronic communication. contrary to this assumption and regardless of the linguistic and non-linguistic problems observed in the analyzed facebook and whatsapp messages, results suggested that language use is adapted creatively to the particular needs of the electronic age. this justified makenzie’s and wajemans’ assertion in ezenwa-ohaeto (109) that the role of a progressive society was to adapt to (and benefit from) technological change and social change as well. a number of e-discourse features and strategies used by the facebook and whatsapp users such as shortenings, spokenlike spelling, less attention to punctuation and capitalization, as well as syntactical and lexical reductions were well suited to the conditions of electronic communication to reduce space, time and effort. although facebook and whatsapp are very useful communicating tools, it should be borne in mind that just like any other forms of communication, brevity and clarity apply equally to electronic communication. omitting punctuation, capitalization and grammar might not be always a good choice. if a user employs them without adequate consideration of the purpose (formal or informal) of the writing, or just to save a few precious seconds and shows little respect for the reader who is in a higher position, this is a human problem rather than a technology problem. therefore, although the language change due to the advancements in electronic communication technology is inevitable, the negative impact on the written language has to do with the technology users, not the technology itself. in order to achieve communicative competence in both the english language and electronic discourse, users of facebook and whatsapp should not only see electronic language as the easier and quicker means of communication but should realise its negative effects on their academic work. they should imbibe the practice of writing formal letters and essays adhering strictly to grammatical conventions and writing mechanics. they should be conscious of their writings, so as to separate informal and formal writings in order not to use the features of e-discourse in their formal academic work. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 246 works cited abusa’aleek, atef odeh. “internet linguistics: a linguistic analysis of electronic discourse as a new variety of language”. international journal of english linguistics, vol. 5, no. 1, 2015, pp. 135-139. http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ijel.v5n1p135. accessed 27 jan. 2015. chiluwa, innocent. “the nigerianness of sms text messages in english”. journal of the nigerian english studies association, udofot, f.n., ed., vol. 3, no. 1, 2007, pp. 95-109. crystal, david. english as a global language. cambridge university press, 2003. --internet linguistics: a student guide. routledge, 2011. --language and the internet. cambridge university press, 2001. --language and the internet. 2nd ed., cambridge university press, 2006. ---ed. “texting”. elt journal, jill and charles hadfield, eds., 2008, pp. 62. --ed. the cambridge encyclopedia of the english language, cambridge university press, 1987. -- ed. the cambridge encyclopedia of the english language, cambridge university press, 2004. ---“the scope of internet linguistics”. a paper presented at the american association for the advancement of science meeting, 2005. dabrowska, marta ‘language economy in short text messages’ studia linguistica universitatis lagellonicae cracoviencis. 2011, pp.1-21 ezenwa-ohaeto, ngozi. electronic messaging and conventional focus on youths’ conventional communication. lambert academic publishing, 2011. --“fusion of languages in texting: a gr8 opportunity 4 yuts ”. ajells, vol. 3, no.1, 2012, pp. 197-208. herring, susan c. “computer-mediated discourse analysis: an approach to researching online communities”. designing for virtual communities in the service of learning. sasha, a., rob kling barab and james h. gray, eds., cambridge university press, 2004, pp 338-376. --ed. computer-mediated communication: linguistic, social and cross cultural perspectives. john benjamins, 1996. http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/pbns igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 247 ---“ grammar and electronic communication”. encyclopedia of applied linguistics. chapelle, c .ed., wiley-blackwell, 2012. --“teens, gender, and self-presentation in social media social life”. youth, identity and digital media. buckingham, d. ed., mit press, pp. 119-142, 2000. hughes, j.m. functional base-pairing interaction between highly conserved elements of u3 small nucleolar rna and the small ribosomal subunit of rna. strandford university press, 1996. johnstone, barbara. discourse analysis. blackwell publishing, 2002. lyddy et al. “an analysis of language in university students’ text messages”. .journal of computer-mediated communication, vol. 19, 2014, pp. 546–561. shortis, tim. “an analysis of language in university students’ text messages”. journal of computer-mediated communication, vol. 19, no.3, 2007, pp 546-562. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 141 kpanti-giriri (chief rainmaker) in mumuye society: between myth and knowledge in traditional atmospheric management techniques hosea nakina martins department of christian religious studies, taraba state university, hoseanakinamartins81@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29105.45929 abstract the research work on kpanti-giriri (chief rainmaker) in mumuye society between myth and knowledge in traditional atmospheric management techniques” the research proofs that rainmaking is a knowledge and not a myth as many would think so. rainmaking is an indigenous knowledge that has been in practice since the time immemorial, and handed down to succeeding generations for the management of atmospheric conditions of the environment till date. the research adopted descriptive, prescriptive and analytic methods. data were collected from the chief rainmaker and some knowledgeable members of the rainmaking council and consultation of relevant books. the research discovered that rainmaking is a knowledge and not a myth, as been speculated in some quarters, and one most be part of the rain making cult, and must have the general endorsement of the rain making council members before he becomes a chief rainmaker. also, succession to the position of rainmaking can also be inheritable, and one most proved his knowledge of the herb before he is being nominated to act as chief rainmaker by the council. knowledge of the herbs (jeemang/tongkorong) and rainmaking act is concealed in secret and not exposed to non members to know, learn, verify or participate in by injecting new ideas into it. the paper suggests that, rain making knowledge and rites should be laid open for those who want to learn and practice it, and it should be open to academic research and not to be closed. indigenous knowledge of rainmaking should also be extended to cover other areas bedeviled by atmospheric weather challenges like draught and flood. rainmakers should become friends of every body, and not to deal with people simply because they possessed mystical powers. they should open school for the mastery of rain making in order for people from every nook and cranny to benefit. keywords: kpanti giriri, mumuye, myth, knowledge, techniques, traditional introduction in many african societies and the world at large, rain is regarded as a great blessing, and whenever it rains, people rejoice (mbiti 179). as a sacred igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 142 phenomenon, it is associated with kpanti-laa/daa-dapeng (almighty god). among the mumuye, who occupied majority of the six out of sixteen local government areas in taraba and some local governments in adamawa state like mayo belwa, jada, toungo, ganye state, fufore and yola town all in north eastern nigeria. history has it that, mumuye originated from egypt, while some said they came from the east through central african republic and cameroon to kang or kam (capro research office 303). some other sources have it that, they came from kang or kam near bali in taraba state, but the search for more fertile land for agrian activity took them as far as yorro (303). however, the exact time or period of stay at kang was approximately during the stone age while that of yorro was during the iron age (dong et al 1).yorro is being giving great recognition as the ancestral unifying home of the mumuye people because of the significant role it plays in their history (martins13). rainmaking is a strong belief and practice attached to the chief rain maker and his council, who reside in the mountain of yorro-bang in yorro local government and area of taraba state, nigeria. he is in -charge of rainmaking rites as handed to him by his ancestors and subjected to passing the prescribed test and endorsement by rain making council. however, foreigners often described rainmaking as practice of fetishism, diabolical manipulations of magic or mere spiritual exercise of myth and futility. thus, there is one common fabric that runs through the act of rainmaking ,it is an ethno-valued knowledge that lies within its scope, and not subjected to any scientific verification procedures. rainmaking is an ethno-knowledge that is mostly and mystically tied between ancestors and god, and revealed in various methods, learnt or inherited from custodians. hence, such knowledge is between men and their ancestors whose acts are considered and imbedded in mystical tied and observance of rituals as they handed it to succeeding generation (makong,oral interview). thus, kpanti-giriri (chief rainmaker) has no executive power, his principal concern is the rainmaking. he is the last person to pray for rain when there is drought (dong et al 45). it is interesting to know that,there is no myth on rain making among the mumuye. hence, knowledge of rainmaking is divinely revealed or handed to the tribe since the time of their forefathers and learnt through act of mastery of the plants and rites. nature is an explanation of the universe as created by kpanti-laa/daa-dapeng (god almighty) (vahme, oral interview). the misconception that rainmaking among the mumuye is a myth is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 143 not true, but a knowledge tapped, inherited and used in atmospheric management techniques, which still commands great respect today. techniques of rainmaking outlined the various steps and rules to be followed on how rain will be made to solve the problem of plants and animals from dying. thus, manipulations of scientific knowledge are the pride of westerners, while the ethno-knowledge of rainmaking belonged to mumuye. the knowledge of rainmaking is a wealth of mumuye innovations to manage the atmosphere which both plants and animals need in order to survive. rainmaking is entirely god’s own authority and kpanti-giriri has the sole duty to spear head in the rain making rituals, and also make supplications for rain to come or ceased. among the mumuye and similar tribes, rainmakers are regarded as friends of the communities, because they represent them as they pray and conduct rain rituals for rain to fall. the paper shall expound the concept "kpanti giriri, rain making through knowledge for atmospheric management techniques. it shall also discuss succession to the position of kpanti, how kpanti giriri obtain his knowledge of rain making and the rules of rain making. the paper shall also examine some challenges affecting the practice of rain making in contemporary time and a way forward. clarification of terms key words: kpanti giriri, etymology of the roots “kpanti and giriri” the word “kpanti” literarily means chief while “giriri” is the mighty or rowdy sound of thunder usually noticed when the cloud formed or is pregnant to release rain. in an exclusive interview with the chief rainmaker in yorro-bang in yorro local government area, taraba state, nigeria, this is what he x-rayed to me: chief rainmaker is a chief of other rainmakers, who represent him in their various communities, and who report to him matters of great concern for re-address. so, the chief rain maker is the supreme rain maker, whom all other minor rainmakers visit him at scheduled arrangement or on matters of urgency (zubairu, oral interview). chief of giriri, which is literally interpreted to mean chief of rain or maker of rain as preferred to be called today. kpanti-giriri is preferably regarded today as the chief rain maker. romancingly, nyazing asserts thus: “giriri” is perhaps igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 144 is an imitation of sound of thunder (29). his name is associated with the sound of thunder, which later own follows with rainfall. rain: rain is a sacred phenomenon as it is being regarded by mumuye and some other tribes. onah also defines it as: the drops of water that falls from the atmosphere, or more locally expressed from the “sky”. they form and fall as a result of the moisture in the atmosphere condensing and becoming more concrete or physically felt, such that the atmosphere can no longer hold velocity and that is why probably it is at times referred to as the precipitation of liquid drops (10). according to mbiti: rain for many is seen as the most explicit expression of the goodness and providence of god. thus, rain is seen as the eternal and mystical link between the past, present and the future generations (mbiti181). it is known in mumuye as mee-lapa/sok-dapeng which mean rain which falls from heaven or from up. according to makoro also “rain refers to sacred substance that is been ushered from paa l daapeng (up) by kpanti-laa/daa-dapeng (god almighty) to both plants and animal’s sustenance” (oral interview). rainmaking: this is the technique of how rain is made to fall. it involved a lot of rituals and manipulations of the forces of nature to ensure its falling (mading, oral interview). rainmaking refers to the art of attempting to produce rain using scientific and power manipulations which involved prayers, sacrifices to induce increase precipitation, usually to stop off drought or bar it from raining (agbali 1). mbiti asserts also similarly thus: “it is a sacred phenomenon which therefore, not only solicits physical rain, but symbolizes man’s contact with blessings of time and eternity (181). according to zubairu: rainmaking is a religious activity that involves the chief rainmaker and his subjects coming in sacred communion to pray to kpanti-laa (god) and to also solicit for the favours of rainfall for the sustenance of both plants and animals. ritual adherence and sacrifices are integral aspects of rainmaking which is been granted by the supreme deity and in total agreement and support of ancestors (oral interview). dong et al further reiterated similarly that: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 145 the chief priest of yorro is the last person to pray for rain when there is drought. his subordinates visit him if there is any draught. rainmaking is a special rite that are performed by the rainmaker for rain to fall (nyazing 45). rainmaking in mumuye traditional religion is an ethno of rainmaking rituals, which is a prototype of mumuye indigenous knowledge on atmospheric management technique, which is considered as an act of purification in which drought is clearly endowed with moral etiology. hence, rainmaking is seen as an act of religious obedience and solicitation, accompanied by following strict rituals for a down pour. kpanti giriri (chief rainmaker spear head the rituals of rain making). in a succinct manner, “rainmaking is the role of soliciting for rain to come by the chief rain maker, who resides at yorro-bang presiding over the rite among the sub mumuye groups” (mabelang, oral interview). knowledge: the information, understanding and skills that you gain through education, or experience (hornby 658). knowledge can also be seen as the fact of understanding, information acquired through learning or experience (ozumba 16). myths: it originated from the greek word root “legend”. the truth, symbolically, or affectively, presented (runes 219). abanuka asserts that “myth is narrated anonymously; its message is dogmatically formulated and characterized. it is also forcefully expressed that its main is to produce immediate conviction and acceptance” (114). myths were held to be symbolic description of the phenomenon of nature (gaiya 5). rain-making through knowledge for atmospheric management techniques man is a creature composed of two substances (body and soul). he is an inquisitive and unique creator endowed with the rationality to find the root causes of things in the cosmic universe. his curiosity further aided him to go into the act of rain-making, which is a knowledge he utilizes to invoke rain to fall. according to zubairu, a chief rainmaker whom i interviewed in yorro-bang, he enthused thus: empirical apprenticeship and metaphysical manipulation and use of rational prerequisites and better knowledge of the herbs are involved in forming the whole of what is called knowledge of rain-making and it is not igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 146 myth but mastery of the rainmaking herbs (jeemang/tongkorong) (oral interview). rainmaking in mumuye society is normally invoked by the chief rain-maker (kpanti-giriri) using also the active involvement of pure religious rites on the items to be used to induced rain to fall or cause draught. it is an ethnoknowledge based on the body holistic undertaking of atmospheric management, which is an indigenous knowledge that is inherited and tied with ritual observances and mastery of the act. here is an evidence gotten on my field trip to kpanti-giriri at yorro-bang about rainmaking through knowledge. his majesty, the chief rainmaker, who resides in yorro-bang mountain told us of what he did sometimes back on receiving the news of the demised of dabang peter marubitoba dong, a revered elder and custodian of mumuye culture. kpanti giriri sent a representative to the funeral and promised one thing to honour the late legend, and on that day of the burial, he made rain rain fall, which lasted for some time in order to provide a conducive weather for the burial on 2nd november 2014 (zubairu, oral interview). succession to the position of kpanti giriri( chief rainmaker) according to mumuye custom and traditions, succession to the position of kpanti-giriri is usually patrilineal; the formal approval is necessary before a new chief priest could assume office; there must be an approval which is secured only when he passes the other groups of the mumuye and have no part to play in the selection of the chief apart from the yorro-group (dong et al 45). it is important to know that, in the light of the foregoing, none of the group of mumuye could claim lordship over the others(koro, oral interview). in the absence of central administration, the mumuye have the chief priest of yorro as the supreme rainmaker, who is respected by all the groups of the mumuye (makong,oral interview). the choice of the supreme rainmaker is purely religious and depends more on the wishes of the previous incumbent who alone is capable of initiating future successors into the mystic cult (dong et al45). how kpanti giriri (the chief rain maker) obtained his knowledge kpanti-giriri derived his knowledge from oracle, dreams, vision, divination, observance and mastery of the herbal plants and religious cult known as langsi. he also gets his knowledge through revelation and by inducement from council members. also, he acquires his knowledge from accepted apprenticeship and test of the rain making herbs (mading, oral interview). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 147 according to zubairu, “knowledge or act of rain making is learnt and it is not a myth as thought by other tribes” (oral interview). one must be a lineage member of the rainmaking family, and most have the approval and secured only when he passes the severe test to probe his knowledge of the ritual of rainmaking (dong et al 45). any person who is elected to succeed as kpantigiriri, his knowledge of the rain making is revelatory, visionary or made manifest in dreams. these medium confirmed how such a knowledge of rainmaking is obtained. haven acquired this knowledge of rainmaking, the priest to be is probed of the knowledge of the ritual and knowledge of the rainmaking herbs (jeemang/tongkorong) and his position is now approved (makong, oral interview). furthermore, knowledge of rainmaking is gained from the ancestors also, who practiced it long ago and handed the act to succeeding generations to date. rules of rainmaking rainmaking is a knowledge acquired and inherited by forefathers and revealed to any desired or chosen person, who is deemed by traditions to be able to observed and have the gift to respect the laid down rules for such a profession. however, the chief rainmaker must be in constant agreement with the general laid down rules of the act of his forefathers as revealed and handed down to him with the help of custodians (koro, oral interview). kpanti giriri (chief rainmaker) must possessed spiritual as well as religious qualities of the cult or profession. he is expected to desist from immorality, and remain obedient and answerable to the custom and those who invested him with such an authority he occupies and practice. to sum everything up, he is expected to possess and obey all the laid down rules governing his position as enshrined by the custom and tradition of the rain making cult. rites of rainmaking by kpanti-giriri (chief rainmaker) rain generally all over africa is considered as a holy phenomenon, which everybody recognizes as the gift coming from the supreme deity, (kpanti laa/daa-dapeng). mumuye are mostly farmers, they farmed crops like looti/yuu/lori/janti (yam), daaboro/daazeng (bambaranut), bai (cassava), zibra/zaakn(maize), mis/nyongko(millet) /daa(groundnut) and reared vivaa (animals) at the same time. human beings need rain for multi-purposes like: cooking, drinking, industrial and animal uses. kpanti giriri has igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 148 representatives all over mumuye groups, who normally consult him on matters relating to rainfall. he is the chief rain maker, whom they come to pay homage at due time. hence, kpanti giriri’s position and role is that of religious and ethno oriented of invoking rain through rituals and possession and deep knowledge on climate change for atmospheric management techniques. he is reveredly endowed or revealed with the ability of such knowledge to induce rain. it is vital to know that, there is a mystical union and experimental connectivity which manifest itself in formulated cultic revelation in its dimension. furthermore, rainmaking involves the manipulation of supernatural force which connects the visible agents or items with the divine. there is also link between metaphysical and the secular worlds. man, who is the rainmaker, sought the help of the metaphysical forces to manipulate the act of rainmaking. in an interview with the present kpanti-giriri in yorro bang, he says that “there are many rituals accompanying rainmaking which is a charged responsibility on him to exercise for his people. prayer and sacrifices of vivaa (animal are prerequisites involved in rainmaking” (zubairu, oral interview). the chief rainmaker resides at the foot of the mountain for easy consultation with other cultic members of the rainmaking cult and spiritual divinities. the mountain provides him with easy access and moments of non interference and secrecy. god is a spiritual being, while man is a material being, he is a finite being who depends on the infinite for favours to be granted him in the cat of rainmaking. hence, the relationship that exist between a rain maker and the divine can be interpreted and seen in a bond between the powers that lies in heaven which is tapped on earth by man for his environmental use. ancestors are the closest persons to god, and they handed the act of rainmaking to the chief rain maker, which he uses as a religious duty, which he owed them obedience. mumuye world views is religiously rooted to the non physical earth with people, humanity and universe. worldviews are considered denoting an outlook towards the universe (gbenda 13). kpantilaa /daa-dapeng(god) is the cohesive force of mumuye traditional religion and without god, all things would fall to pieces (parrinder 33) and no rain making request and rites would yield great result. chief rainmaker as is popularly and religiously addressed, he is the head of the rainmaking rituals, who prayed to kpanti-laa/daa-dapeng (god) and also solicit the help of ancestors as he prepares to perform the rainmaking rituals for atmospheric management of the environments. he, rainmaker uses mastered igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 149 methods in going after the severity of drought and even much flood. the techniques are scientific and purely religious in nature. kpanti-giriri (chief rainmaker) intercedes with god and ancestors through a ritual to allow rain to fall (nyazing 7). rituals of slaughtering vivaa (animals such as goats or chicken) of desired kinds are highly in manifestations, and the local wine (saa) is also considered as one of the valuable food items needed by the group of rainmaking cult for rituals and as food. hence local wine is considered a revered food, and it functions very religiously during rain rituals because it entertains members after an intensive breaking of fast during rites of rainmaking (mading, oral interview). kpanti-giriri also sacrificed some animals in order to fulfilled one of the constituted and integral parts of the rite of rainmaking. these rituals may involve pouring out libation of saa/sis (local wine) on some sacred items, to invoke rain (makoro, oral interview). also, the chief rainmaker begs, prays to god as the rite is about to begin, because nature is believed to be an explanations that the universe that is created by god for man to reside in it -and to control it too. there is connection between the secular and the profane (finite and infinite) in the inter flow of powers. thus, the priest removes from a big pot (bere/ber) which is the symbol of the cult, a piece of tsasureng (iron) fashion like soko/mah (snake). “the fashioned smithed snake is kept rolled up in curtain of black string. kpanti giriri unwinds the curtain and fasten it to two pegs on opposite walls of the hut. then, taking a blacksmith’s hammer in his right hand and a pair of scissors in his left he says: “what i am about to do, my forefathers did before me. i pray that this drought may cease and that we may have abundant corn to eat (nyazing 29). there are herbal plants known in mumuye as “jeemang ”or “tongkorong”; the priest then chews a piece of the plant and spites it out on the tools, which he lays on the ground awaiting to be efficaciously empowered or revitalized. haven picked the iron snake, he retorts thus: o most high god of our ancestors, you made the universe (kodanga/dok) for your creatures to inhabit. we received the act of rainmaking from yorro in the east from our forefathers as a heritage. we are hereby soliciting through prayers, sacrifices and fulfilment of rituals that you may send rain to revive our dying selves and all that you created. without rain, we perish of hunger. we solicit for rain so that, there will be abundant of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 150 food for your children in the land to eat and acknowledge thee” (zubairu, oral interview). kpanti-giriri after this rites of soliciting to god to grant rain, takes a piece of the creeper/ herb (jeemang/tongkorong) chews it and spit it out on the iron snake (soko/mah (mading, oral interview)). he then hurls the snake against the hammer and the scissors, and it is said that as soon as this is done the first pearl of thunder is heard (dong et al 17). it is interesting to know that the rite that was used to make rain fall does not changed, but repeated to stop or reduces excessive rain. bonzena asserts similarly that “it is believed that the kpanti-giriri alone on earth has the power to stop rain or bring rain on earth” (21). the cult or act of rainmaking among the mumuye is a significant role of kpantigiriri (chief rainmaker), and cannot be over emphasized in its religious connectivity between the sacred and the profanes. rain is life, and everything owed its survival from rain. from the foregoing discourse on mumuye society, the role and act of rainmaking is a socio-religious affair that requires the symbolization of man’s contact with the blessings of time and eternity (mbiti 181). however, the power to make rain is significant, and ritual practices are preserved and exercised in mumuye culture by the chief rainmaker and rain cult members. challenges affecting the practice of rainmaking in contemporary time  the knowledge of rainmaking has mystical undertone. its activities are secretly embedded and cannot be subjected to mere scientific verification because, they cannot be performed in a scientific laboratory nor be explained to a non rainmaker. most of the rites and objects of rituals are not accessible to commoners and non members to scrutinize the veracity and authenticity of the rain making cults.  the role of chief rainmaker is often greeted or applauded when he does the rain rituals. also, he is blamed for excessive rain when it damages crops, animals, houses and even human lives. his position is a risky one. whenever kpanti-giriri is offended, he will stop rain, and offender will be asked to give/ bring a cow (napu / nyak) and some pots of saa/sis (burukutu)local wine as fined before the chief rainmaker releases rain igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 151 immediately (21). this penalty exposes the victim to economic poverty or hardships if the means to settled the rainmaker are not there.  the position of kpanti-giriri is not solicited to be challenged by any mumuye because of the fear of powers he possessed, which he can use it to cause excessive rainfall or drought. nyazing reiterated impressively also that “disrespect or to quarrel with these men are disastrous since they can lead to draughts, floods or fatal thunderstorm” (30). in the face of drought, people often shift blames on the chief rainmaker for not living up to expectations.  rainmaking is an ethno-knowledge, a prototype of african indigenous knowledge system on climate change, which the western world see as impossible but mystical formulation of magic or witchcraft display (vahme, oral interview). thus, they debunked and called it a myth instead of indigenous knowledge for atmospheric management of the environment.  knowledge rain making is not a myth nor it is a profession that everybody learns and become a rain maker. hence, test of the knowledge of rainmaking cult is shrouded in mystery and many people posed questions on the genuineness of whether such role is divinely or religiously motivated, or it can be disputed (verified) in the laboratory.  kpanti giriri has also encountered challenges of many people under him putting pressure on him to solicit and make rain fall or cause drought. complains which varies among diverse population of people contribute in worsening the situation that would warrant them the favour of rainfall. he does not have the gift of bilocation to induce rain in many different habitations of the mumuye except where is under his location.  christianity and islam are now waxing up actively in every mumuye community to derogatorily disagree with kpanti giriri that he cant make rain, but that he can only intercede for it. some non africans often challenge his position that rainmaking is fetish and syncretic, or it is just a mere myth of exalting an impossible act in a practical deluding sense using magical powers (vahme,oral interview).  customary basis of inheriting the cult of rain making often set the act of succession to be hereditary with few exception, any member of the rainmaking rite could be elected as well. hence, because of the embargo been placed on lineage and members of the rainmaking cult alone, one igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 152 cannot assume the paramount position, and those who are interested to join in the school of rainmaking are not allowed by customary council of shong-mee/nee-sok gwola (rain makers) (mading, oral interview).  the terrain where the chief rain maker reside is often treated eith awe, reverence and with utmost care. thus, accessing the chief rainmaker during moments of drought or excessive rainfall, may be difficult, and there is also communication gap due to distance and inaccessibility of mobile communication network.  youths are certainly the basic bond of contention in contemporary time, who see mumuye ethno knowledge of rain making not as religious practice, but a diabolical manipulation of magic and witchcraft. (makoro, oral interview). hence, these youths discredit the position of the chief rainmaker and his associates, who are seen to be mere magic makers than rain makers and whose positions threaten people on grounds of no justification if provoked.  there is inadequate documentation on the mumuye indigenous knowledge of rain making. hence, rainmaking procedures are likely to go into extinction for lack of interest and support from the rain making ritualists, whose knowledge of the act is secretive and not open to those who might learn it for the purpose of atmospheric management of the environment. however, raimaking rituals cannot be subjected to scientific verifications, improvement from outside, because knowledge about the cult is jot laid bared for all and sundry to tapped and even within the frame of scholarly research. way forward  right from the creation of the universe, man has been at the centre of everythingb kpanti-laa/daa-dapeng created. there should be a better understanding of the connectivity between the two worlds; physical and non-physical. there is a link between man and god, and what man asked and is granted him by god. one should try to know that in nature, there are forces, good and bad, and that, man tap and use these forces for good or for evil. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 153  rainmakers exist, and they should try and carry out the methodology of their profession that is often referred to as ‘act of rainmaking’, with vigour and religious commitment for the benefit of all and sundry.  they should also influence good weather conditions by virtue of them residing on the mountain and having the endorsement of the rainmaking council members.  chief rainmaker needs to demonstrate his knowledge by salvaging the crises of drought and excessive rainfall, and not to use it at the detriment of members of his community or on slightest provocation. he should know that, he is a key figure in the religious significance to both humans and plants survival.  belief in rain making amongst the mumuye is real and not a myth as other scholars seems to see it so. in an interview with kpanti-giriri, he told me that “there is no any related speculation among the mumuye that rainmaking is a myth" (zubairu, oral interview).  it should be clearly understood that, rainmaking is not like any other profession or acts that people can just acquire and manipulate to suit their selfish purpose. hence, kpanti-giriri (chief rainmaker) does not work on his own accord without the general working agreement and inducement of the rain making cult members. the system is sacrosanct, and all people must respect the rainmaker(s) because, they can punish as well as reward with rain or drought.  all pieces of information gathered about the chief rainmaker, who reside in yorro-bang in the mountain of yorro is believed to be mumuye indigenous knowledge system preserved and passed down through tapestry and ethno knowledge from ancestral parents to succeeding generations with the help of the shong-mee/ nee sok gwola (rainmaking members). thus, rainmaking is a complex one that requires only those who are rightly guided by inner voice of the divine and with the inducement of the rain members on the need to carry out such an act (makong, oral interview).  rainmaking techniques should not be termed derogatorily as a myth, but should be respected by all and sundry as an ethno knowledge that has existed since the time of mumuye ancestors. it is a knowledge that is practiced in deep religious manner and must be respected because there is a divine to human interplay of forces, which is made manifest and utilized igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 154 for greater sustainability of lives and property in atmospheric management of the cosmic universe.  all hands must be on deck to support and respect the act of rainmaking, for it is part and parcel of mumuye cultural belief and practice, which has the interplay of force, in the two worlds as inherited from forefathers and must be ensured to continue for greater significance (zubairu, oral interview). nature is an explanation that the universe is created by god for man to reside and subdue it. rain making is a knowledge whose is justified in the believe in kpanti-laa/daa-dapeng (god almighty) and other spiritual beings. conclusion the paper from the foregoing discusses rain making through knowledge for atmospheric management techniques, succession to the position of kpanti giriri and how how kpanti giriri obtained his knowledge. going further also, the paper examined rules of rain making, challenges of rain making and a way forward. chief rainmaker resides in yorro bang in the mountain of yorro and has representatives all over mumuye settlements who consult him in moments of needs. he is consulted on matters of great drought and morality as it pertains to the mumuye. he is a representative of mumuye ancestors, whose act of rainmaking is imbedded in the traditions of the tribe ‘shong yorro’ meaning people of yorro (mumuye), being a practice of posterity that received great perseverance from first rainmaking custodians. rainmakers are humans, who recognizes the significant role of the supreme deity (kpanti-laa/daa-dapeng), who is considered as the sacred object of focal worship and the grantor of the rites of rain making for rain to fall or ceased. he is represented in the skies; he is all knowing and all powerful. sacrifices are not offered in his name, but is revered in private devotions, and prayers are made to him in ancestral javaa/kuna (shrine). the religious ground where the rainmaker goes to carry out the act of rainmaking is purified and considered sacred as any other can help to foster the indigenous knowledge of rain making for better atmospheric management. sacred effigies or objects (sal /jalagana) also aid in rainmaking process, because of their efficacious nature, and the power they carry in them selves. hence, these powers serve as links between the physical and spiritual in the flow of powers from the ancestors, who are considered symbols of male domination (nyazing 25). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 155 rain is a holy phenomenon, which can be interceded and rituals made to fall using indigenous knowledge, which is not a myth but a reality of an indigenous act learnt, tested and approved by rainmaking cult members. thus, rainmaking is a knowledge and not a myth in atmospheric management techniques, because it pertains to man and his environment. it is an indigenous and hereditary religious activity, exercised by knowledge for atmospheric management of man’ environment which must continue to be extols and improved to cover wide range of scope of those in need of rain or drought however, despite some of the related challenges facing rain making cult in contemporary time, rain makers must proof their roles in handling related atmospheric weather challenges like of rainfall or excessive rain and draught. hence, rainmaking is not a myth as been insinuated in some quarters, but a knowledge handed by ancestors for succeeding generation to manage their atmospheric weather conditions. works cited ajuma, mary agbali. “rain makers in africa between myths and knowledge in traditional atmospheric management”. a paper presented to the postgraduate school, department of religion and philosophy in partial fulfilment for the course: phl 709 – african philosophy. benue state university, makurdi, 2010. abanuka, b. myth and the african universe. onitsha: spiritan publishers, 1999. bonzena, justice d. “baptism and initiation among the “mumuye people of nigeria”. b.s.t long essay, st. augustine’s major seminary, jos, plateau state, 1992. dong, peter marubitoba et al. yorro mumuye cultural patterns and socialization. lankaviri: makad association, 1992. gbenda, joseph. african religion and christianity in a changing world: a comparative approach. nsukka: chuka educational publishers, 2006. gaiya, a. b. musa. “the inter-play between religion and culture in african traditional religions” in jos studies, vol. 4, no. 1, june, 1994. kanu i. a. (2015b). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2010). towards an african cultural renaissance. professor bassey andah journal of cultural studies. volume 3, pp. 146-155. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 156 kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. ozumba, g. o. a concise introduction to epistemology in nigeria. nigeria: fulladu publishing company, 1996. parrinder, geoffrey e. african traditional religion. london: spck, 1962. runes, dogobert (ed). dictionary of philosophy. totowa new jersey: a helix books, 1983. mbiti, john s. african religions and philosophy. new york: anchor books, 1970. martins,hosea nakina. “a phenomenological investigation of the mumuye traditional religion in taraba state of nigeria” being a master of arts dissertation submitted to the department of religion and philosophy, benue state university, makurdi, benue state,nigeria,2012. nyazing, peter hassan. mumuye burial systems as expressions of the african community spirit”. bachelor degree long essay, st. augustine’s major seminary, jos, 1998. ugwu, christopher okeke. “the demised of the african god/s:fallacy or reality ?” 84th inaugural lecture, university of nsukka, nigeria .delivered on august14th,2014. list of informants s/n name sex age occupation place 1 koro, dabang male 77 farmer/rain cult member monkin 2 nanwe, jaabong male 70 rain cult member yorro-bang 3 makong, john male 69 farmer/herbalist/member rain cult yorro-bang 4 mading, solomon male 67 traditionalist/rain cult memger yorro-bang 5 mabelang, yohanna male 50 student/traditionalist kassa igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 157 6 zubairu, sani male 34 chief rainmaker yorro-bang 7 8 vahme, ganah makoro, nyaye male male 85 88 traditionalist herbalist/farmer appawa igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 149 militias, vigilantes and violence in south east and south south nigeria: implications for stability and democracy nwachukwu sunny nnabuihe and udumaga, c. c. department of political science, alvan ikoku federal college of education owerri, sunnynwachukwunna@yahoo.com, +2348060626448 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.10379.82727 abstract south east and south south nigeria have been associated with kidnapping, theft and violence since the last decade. the rate of insecurity and violence state repression has been enhanced and engendered an ever-tightening cycle of impunity. these geo-political zones have been characterized with rapacious violence, robbery and underground movement. the result showed that kidnappers and militias are members of the various vigilante groups. most youth movement, gangsters, vigilantes among other vices transform into this clandestine activity group. the correlation between the social status of the kidnappers and militias from the response is evident that illiterate stouts predominate the membership of the kidnappers and militia. the findings showed that their modus operandi include impersonation in different forms; they often appear in disguise as military personal, market security operatives, and at time job seekers. the kidnappers result in self-help and selfgoverning, money and status driven culprit who venture into kidnapping. in conclusion, the nature of security network, the growing economic decline and the re-defined values in traditional institutions among others have devoid the values of the people in south east and south south nigeria. keywords: militias, vigilantes, kidnapping, security, south east and south south, nigeria introduction nigeria is in the throes of a chronic security crisis. it is indicated by case of kidnapping, hostage taking, neighbourhood robbery and national frauds. it is also shown by records of rising crime, criminal violence, rising lawlessness in nigeria. alongside rising crime, kidnapping and violence has been the proliferation of small, large, and sophisticated weapons. there are armed groups, militia, roving groups and vigilantes that indulge in clandestine and nefarious activities in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 150 nigeria. these groups are purveyors of violence, atrocities, devastation and generations of crimes, lawlessness and securities. though there have been numerous impulsion of violence in nigeria, but the more frequent incidences and those with more fable fallacies have had the involvement of militias and vigilantes. they have taken their activities to oscars. these groups have numerical strength in the south east and the south south. they are ubiquitous. they operated in families, communities, markets, banks, and churches. the militias and vigilantes were trust reflection of state weaknesses and in some cases state collapse. these groups substitute law enforcement agencies in crime detention and prevention. though never skilled nor trained and often with criminal records, the vigilantes and militias assisted the police to fish out criminals that become a scourge to the citizenry. in most cases, they are empowered by state governments. they range from bakassi, massob, egbesu, mossop, mend, town union security vigilantes, etc. the existence of the vigilantes and militias are manifestations of weak, bad and declining institutional framework of good governance in the south east and south south nigeria. they represent crisis of the state and governance as the militias and vigilantes are in some ways born out of a challenge to past and existing insecurity, robbery, executions, marginalization, inequalities and injustice that were perpetrated either by individual stakeholder or state apparatus. hence, the existence of these groups is triggered by the persisting struggle for space reforms, youth liberation, gender equality and revolutionary change. in some ways they represent a challenge, opposition and counter valuing force to crimes in some or to the state and in some other ways a form of counter hegemonic struggle. and by implication, the militias and vigilantes are also in a way a struggle for self governance and empowerment in the context of weak, incompetent, corrupt and failed state (abdallah, i. 1998). the phenomenon may also be indicative of “bottom” or base pressure and grievances by those that were indiscriminately suppressed and repressed, subjugated and therefore not hitherto ventilated and have now become volatile or explosive. it indicates that the space for participation, deliberations, claims and contestation has been too limiting and stunted, conduced in a state of intrusive and totalizing agenda. with a limited public space, there has been an exit into the informal sphere, characterized with lack of social control, lawlessness, solitary and absence of rule of law. they are therefore an indication of the non igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 151 institutionalization or break down of the framework of rules, norms, ethos, ethics and morality. another school of thought sees militia, vigilantes and neighborhood crimes as a crisis of youth or an indication of huge youth problematic peculiarity. there is a growing pervasiveness of militias and violent culture, a negative youth culture and a general pervasion of youth autism. the vigilantes’ youths are a huge representation of semi literate and unemployed youths, dismissed members of military or police force hence it is huge manifestation of negative youth culture of rebellion, exuberance, excesses, hedonism, unruliness, pervasion, criminal behavior and indiscipline. the operations of these groups which include kidnapping, hostage-taking and neighborhood operations have assumed alarming dimensions in the south east and south south nigeria. these massacres and socalled scourge earth operations as planned by these vigilantes resulted in the complete extermination of many youths within these geographical zones. serious cruelties were committed by these agents in their operations. the counterinsurgency strategy not only led to violation of basic human right but also these shaded crimes were suspected to be committed with intent and misery either for rituals purposes, cannibalism, sanitization of communities or money-driven. in the majority of killings by these agencies like vigilantes, bakassi, massob or the niger delta youth militants, there are evidences of multi acts of savagery which preceded, accompanied or occurred after the cold-blood deaths of the suspected victims. dastardly acts surrounding these killings such as slamming the victims with machetes, throwing them alive into pits where already disposed corpses of suspected victims were undergoing processes; the amputation of limbs (either short or long sleeve); impaling of victims; killing of persons by covering them in petrol and burning them alive; the extraction and lynching of the victims in the sight seeing celebration of the public; the confinement of people who were far tortured in agony for days and other atrocious acts of these agencies prove their awry culture attitude and tendency to subsequently cause havoc. unfortunately, irrespective of their counted evils, the perpetrators were applauded, inspire and tolerated by the public force. the emergent disappearance, kidnapping, and neighbourhood robbery is a systematic practice and organized programs initiated as a secondment by these members after proscribing their institutions. the objective is to generate tension and insecurity perhaps to justify the need to recall these agencies who claimed to have come to sanitize the communities. therefore, kidnapping and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 152 neighbourhood robbery is a strategy to re-examine and re-think the usefulness of vigilantes and youth groups in the south east and south south nigeria and possibly re-instate them. unfortunately, this perpetrator of terrorism who were to provide security and succor to villages and communities graduate from kidnapping of peasants, social leaders, rich traders, members of religious communities and priests to politicians, their aged parents and expatriates that work with multi-national oil companies. if these agencies were not legally constituted, financed, recognized or tolerated at embryo, some nefarious and clandestine activities extended to the public perhaps would have been curbed or nipped in the bud. instead, these common practices aimed at destroying individual dignity were tolerated by the public and sponsored by some state governments in the south east and south south for instance, anambra and abia states where these incidents are highly presently. the people and government of these states were impressed and happy to associate with these unlawful groups. it became a source of employment, pride and honours to the youths. their ladies who are materials and power-driven exchanged pleasantries with these boys. in fact, human right violations were enhanced formally by convert operations by the vigilantes in connivance and corroborations with the police and military. most times, government supplies arms or approved use of arms to vigilante groups and at other times, these groups are assigned with official functions which include escort and bank guards. with these duties, it is obvious that government recognizes these bodies and often invites them for a tete-a-tete. the death squads, height of neighbourhood robbery and kidnapping that are presently in their alarming stages are feedbacks of activities of these groups. these groups as l initially said were private individuals who by omission or commission enjoyed the tolerance and complicity of a state government for instance ‘bakassi’; abia state government sponspored this body between 1996 2003. the same body exchanged pleasantries with the anambra state government between 2000 – 2002. it is also recorded that crimes committed by these groups were consequent upon decisions by the respective state governments where these groups domiciled to proscribe them. there was a well-informed presumption that these groups were state agents. there was also a well-informed presumption that these groups were used by political officials to fight their political opponents. hence, it was given legal teeth or a perceived but neglected action. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 153 the gravity of this conclusion is accentuated by the facts that some of these violations such as arbitrary executions, forces disappearances and kidnapping, hostage-taking were freely and at will carried out without state intervention. it is rather absurd that some state governors in these evils axes ask for amnesty for these youths. the courts were incapable of investigating, trying, judging and punishing even a small number of those responsible for the most serious human right crimes or providing protection for the victims (ainfowose, r. 1982). from the argument posted, it is rather obvious that kidnapping, hostage-taking and neighbourhood robbery is the second dimension of clandestine activities perpetrated by erstwhile groups – vigilantes, militias and youth groups; that is to say with evidence that kidnapping, hostage-taking and neighbourhood armed robbery are secondment, alternately participated by the youth altruists, vigilantes, gangs and cultists who had enjoyed government tolerance. the neighbourhood stealing and kidnapping has become very extensive and large scale since the abrogation of vigilantes and youth movements. there is a strong linkage between the present militia, kidnapping, cultists, and vigilantes and youth movements. the boundaries between them may be fluid as one group could easily merge into the other. the cause of their foundation is either greed or privileges. the sources of their arms acquisition is traced to state apparatus who either engage them in edging their political opponents or assuage with maximum security which after the exercise they become beneficiaries of those weaponry. it is therefore not an ideal surprise, the security crisis and phenomenon of militias and vigilantes have been accentuated since democratization process in the country. rising crime, violence and the phenomenon of militias and vigilantes have associated with transformations into democratic rule. in essence therefore, the phenomenon represents major contradictions in nigeria’s political life. for example, democracy was expected to resolve the state, government and development crisis, owing to its institutional behavior and value disarticulation, it has actually accentuated in some ways conflicts and violence even if it merely by their greater generation and expression (robert, n, f. 2000). comparative research questions the incidence of activities of militias and vigilantes in the south east and south south nigeria and the numerous crises that they have thrown up raises numerous comparative questions. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 154 1. what situations, contexts, structures and processes such as governance system, democratization and transitional patterns, economic conditions and the configuration of power and hegemony undergird the emergence of the vigilantes and militias in the south east and south south nigeria? 2. what are the pattern and trends of the vigilantes and militias in their formation, structures, operations, roles, activities and social based confrontation in nigeria? 3. are there commonalities and divergence in the manifestations, activities, social bases, operations and consequences of the vigilantes and militias? 4. what patterns and trends, commonalities and divergences exist in the relations to and management of the phenomenon by political and civil society, the state, traditional power structures, the popular classes, the security agencies and the business elites? 5. what emerges and can be constructed as the casual factors undergirding crime and violence, the phenomenon of vigilantes and militias and their tendencies, operational modalities roles and relational patterns? 6. what insights, perspectives, lessons, ideas and knowledge can be comparatively derived and drawn for the management, strategizing direction and re-engineering of the phenomenon in nigeria? research objectives the objectives of the research are to; 1. examine the phenomenon of vigilantes and militants grouping in south east and south south nigeria; the reason for their emergence, their social base of support, the nature of their armament, training, organization, leadership, and objectivities. 2. identify how the character, nature and practice of the nigerian states; the configuration of identity power or hegemony, democratization, economic crisis and other factors impinge on or underlie the phenomenon of vigilantes and militias. 3. examine the political, social and security roles of the vigilantes and militias groupings particularly as it related to crime control, identity based claims, threats and contentions. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 155 4. examine the nature of state and state agency responses to the vigilantes and militias and the consequences for democratic credibility security and stability. 5. identify the problems and consequences of vigilantes and militias operations on intergroup relations, national stability, security, internal refugee crisis, development of identity enclaves in urban centers, democratic governance, accountability elections and the national question. 6. prescribe policy recommendation and prospects for the management of the vigilantes and militias and particularly the re-engineering of a demilitarized, non-violent, ordered rule based claims, contentions, operations and roles for vigilantes and militias. hypotheses 1. the nature, character, practices and policies of the post colonial state officials in nigerian underpin the phenomenon of vigilantes and militias 2. vigilantes and militias are manifestation of state and democratic weakness in nigeria. 3. the support base of the vigilantes and militias in nigeria is abroad and cut across the elites and popular classes. 4. current state policies, management and responses to vigilantes and militias activities intensify the phenomenon. research methodology method of investigation: a theoretical framework would be developed after a more comprehensive review of different theoretical perspectives and literature on violence, identify conflicts, vigilantes and militias; how they are spawned, the linkages with the nature and behavior of the state and particularly state weakness and crisis, economic crisis, democracy and how they are or can be managed. the conceptual and theoretical frameworks will feed into the development of the method of investigation (yakubu, s. a. 1999). there approaches would underline our analysis. the institutional approach relates to the analysis of the internal organization, objective, linkage and performance of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 156 the militia groups while the transactional method would enable a focus on the relations between militias groups and civil groups, political society and state institutions. the case study method would enable an in-depth focus and analysis of the phenomenon and their encounters with the state and other groupings. data source and method the data for the research would be sourced from both primary and secondary sources. because of the nature of the research objects (militias groupings) as it pertains to security, there would be less emphasis on direct contacts. therefore, the main source of data would be secondary. the secondary source would be reports, documents, newspapers and magazines. content analysis would be utilized to objectively and systematically sift relevant data from the secondary. the primary source is the questioner with officials of the state, civil groups and political society, opinions leaders, members and those who have had experiences or contacts with the militias. the in-depth interviews would be divided into three categories; (1) members and those with experiences with the militias; (2) officials/leaders of relevant state agencies, civic society and business groups and (3) relevant opinions leaders and leaders of political society. different in-depth interview schedules would be designed for three categories. the case and the entire data search would be directed at the nature and character of the vigilantes’ militia groups, their actions and responses to claims and contentions and the underlying causes of militia formation and the objectives, organization, activities, roles, operations, methods and civil groups and state institution and recent violent conflicts conducted by vigilantes and militias against the state and other ethnic groups would be provided (sambo and bayero, 2002). data analysis would be quantitative and qualitative. the later would pertain to the identification and discrete categorization of the views and key statements to provide arguments, insights, and comparisons. data gathered from the interviews would be ranked and quantitatively analyzed on the basis of insight and indicators which would be developed in the conceptual and theoretical analysis. significances kidnapping and violence in south east and south south are manifestation of weak democracies and development. at the same time, they constitute the greatest threat and undermining factor to democratic consolidation and development igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 157 given the status of legitimacy, institutional effectiveness, the conduct and performance of new leaders and the economic performances of the new democracies (diamond, 1988). furthermore, the phenomenon also great challenge in terms of how they can be managed democratically without dissipating democratic credentials. as a matter of facts, the task of maintaining civil order, public safety and security have become quite huge. kidnapping and insecurity are alienating the citizenry, eroding democratic credentials, credibility and legitimacy, destroying civil order and paralyzing governance (magission, 2001). 1. who are the kidnappers and militias, what are their social bases, how are they recruited, armed, trained and maintained and what are the dynamics of their formation, operations, interventions interactions and confrontations? 2. who or what are the forces behind the formation, funding and organization of the militia groups? 3. how do some civil groups get transformed into kidnapping and militias groups and what activated vigilantes and militia groups to transform into active agents of kidnappers and other warfare? 4. are militia self help, self governing and popular responses to crime? what perverts vigilantes group into agents of crime, lawlessness, violence and insecurity? 5. what roles do the political elites, retired military and paramilitary officers, the traditional power-structures, identify based associations and the popular classes play in the formation, operations, sustenance and activities of militia groups? 6. what is the attitude and reactions of the state, civil and political society, multinational, western national and the ordinary citizens to the militias? 7. how do militias relate to and impact on governance, accountability, democratic institutional, the behavior of state official, electioneering politics, elections, security, intergroup relations, state collapse or state weakness, democratic stability and democratic prospects? sample characterisation s/n sample distribution male female total 1 members of militias and vigilantes 50 50 100 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 158 2 officials/leaders of state agencies 50 50 100 3 opinion leaders of civil society 50 50 100 4 business class 50 50 100 5 civil servant 50 50 100 total 250 250 500 frequency distribution 50% 50% 100% igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 159 s/ n no % 1 who are the kidnappers and militia? a) vigilantes b) innate youths c) discussed officers d) party things 54 21 17 08 54 21 17 08 2 what is their social base? a) graduate b) illiterate/stouts c) business men d) officers 20 46 21 03 20 46 21 03 3 how are they recruited? a) vigilantes b) body guard c) cultism d) individual 42 25 30 03 42 25 30 03 4 what is their modus operandi? a) operate in military uniform b) market security operations c) operate as armed robbers d) job seeker 52 20 22 06 52 20 22 06 5 who and what are the forces behind? a) neighbourhood informant b) police informant c) traders d) statement and title holders in the community 40 20 15 25 40 20 15 25 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 160 6 how do some groups get transformed into militia and kidnapping a) club sponsors b) irate village youths c) god fatherism d) gangsterism 38 32 26 04 38 32 26 04 7 are militia self-help, self-governing and popular to crime? a) yes b) no c) neutral 68 22 10 68 22 10 8 what lured vigilante groups into agents of crime, lawlessness and violence? a) money b) status c) state weakness d) financial insecurity 58 21 20 01 58 21 20 01 9 what roles do political elites, retired military officers, and police officers, traditional rulers play? a) supportive role b) sponsored role c) nonchalant d) neutral 42 30 21 07 42 30 21 07 10 what is the attitude and reaction of the state, multi-national, and citizens? a) very weak b) moderately weak c) inadequate d) active 46 31 12 11 46 31 12 11 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 161 result question 1: present the correlation between the identities of the tentative variables. it is evident from the result table that kidnappers and militias are members of the various vigilante groups. the other three variables are also positively but not significantly related with the identity of the variable. question 2: present the correlation between the social status of the kidnappers and militias from the response it is evident that illiterate stouts predominate the membership of the kidnappers and militia. the other three options are positively but not significantly related to the variable. question 3: exhibit that kidnappers are recruited through vigilantism through other variables are positively but not significantly related. question 4: present and exhibit the role conflict in the modus operandi of the kidnappers. it is evident from the table that their modus operandi include impersonation in different forms; they often appear in disguise as military personal, market security operatives, and at time job seekers. question 5: findings though not above the proportion which is 50% posit that neighbourhood informant intensify the wave crime of keeping and hostage taking in south east/south south nigeria other items are positively but not significantly related to the variable. question 6: from the result table, some groups get transformed into militia and kidnapping through the club sponsors and village youths. however the transformation is less than 40% within the study area. question 7: the militia self-help, self-governing and popular results to crime in the study area. the rate of crime from the self-help and self-governance of the militia is above 68% from the statistics. question 8: money is what lures vigilante groups into agents of crime, lawlessness and violence as indicated in the result table. the result shows that money is their motivational factor for crime in the study area. question 9: the political elites, retired military officers, and police officers, traditional rulers play supportive (42%) and sponsored (30%) role in the militias, vigilantes and violence in south east and south south nigeria as presented on the result. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 162 question 10: the attitude and reaction of the state, multi-national, and citizens towards militias, vigilantes and violence in south east and south south nigeria is very or moderately weak. in the respective analysis, it is evident that youth movement, gangsters, vigilantes among other vices transform into this clandestine activity group. from the questionnaire, the kidnappers are self-help and self-governing, money and status driven culprit who venture into kidnapping and see it as richly endowed with milk and honey. discussion south east and south south nigeria have generally been associated with kidnapping, theft and violence for the past 10 years, the rate of insecurity, violence state repression have been enhanced and engendered an ever tightening cycle of impunity. these geo-political zones have been characterized with rapacious violence, robbery and underground movement. the character, nature, behavior, practices and performances of the citizens are with conflict, insecurity, hostility. this attitude has transformed the culture of the people into negativism, solitary and scavenging. the state weakness has caused the rising wave of resistance from the outlaws, the use of non state apparatuses have equally undefined modus operandi of the suspects. at times one finds it difficult to identify or differentiate a kidnapper and other state security apparatuses. the nature of security network, the growing economic decline and the re-defined values in traditional institutions among others have devoid the values of the people. references abdallah, i. (1998). bush path to direction: the origin and character of the revolutionary united front in sierra leone. journal of modern african studies. ainfowose, r. (1982). violence and polities in nigeria. new york: nok publishers. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 163 robert nyemutu, f. (2000). the state, accumulation and violence. the politics of environmental security in nigeria’s oil producing areas, ibadan: nigeria institute of social and economic research (niser) monograph series 17. yakubu, s. a. (1999). managing ethnic pluralism through the constitution in nigeria. pefs monographs new series, no. 7. university of ibadan. zakariyau, s. sambo and abdullahi, a. bayero (2002). can violent conflicts end in the force of poverty?: some indicative evidence from ilorin and kano. chi: in search for an explanatory principle for the interrelatedness of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 37 chi: in search for an explanatory principle for the interrelatedness of igwebuike philosophy ikechukwu anthony, kanu department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university, umunya anambra state ikee_mario@yahoo.com executive summary this work is a search for the basis of intersubjectivity in the african worldview conceptualized in igwebuike philosophy. this piece found the basis of intersubjectivity of the african reality in chi, which carries a variety of meanings among the igbo-african people. however, the nuance of chi that is employed here is that which understands it as the divinity in every human person or the spark of the divine in created things. it understands chi as the thumb print or mark of chukwu in each and every one of us that places the other in a special place in relation to the self. this piece revealed that although chi is a religious reality, it is conservative of the social institutions of the igbo-african people. if i and the other have the thumb print of the same chukwu, the spark of the supreme being, it then means that we relate in a special way that goes deeper than our individualities. this work, therefore, argued that our rootedness in chukwu through chi is what makes the other a part of me. to treat the other in a way that is undeserving of the divine mark in him or her not only affects the person(s), but the ontological structure to which i also belong and, thus, myself. the importance of chi in this study is that the belief in chi is as universal to the igbo-speaking people as the belief in chukwu, and it ikechukwu anthony, kanu igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 38 is a fundamental and outstanding characteristic of igbo social structure and collective temperament. for the purpose of this study, the igwebuike holistic approach of inquiry was adopted. chi provides a central and satisfying framework for the understanding of the interrelatedness and individuality of the igbo-african reality. keywords: chi, igwebuike, philosophy, intersubjectivity, igbo-african, explanatory principle introduction there are several spiritual and corporal elements in igbo-african world that are central to the igbo-african belief and actions. chi is one of these elements, and occupies a very important place in the understanding of the igbo-speakingafrican people. it remains one of those elements that the igbo employ to explain or picture the world around them. no wonder, chukwukere (1980) avers that: the ideas, assumptions, beliefs and actions relating to the metaphysical conception point to its centrality in igbo worldview and philosophy in general. of particular interest here are the igbo people’s notions and expressions concerning human personality and the very broad theory of causation (p. 1). chi, therefore, is at the heart of the puzzle of human origin, social life and the principles of operations of social institutions that ensure continuity and group or individual identity. the operation of relations within the igbo-african world, within the context of chi, points to the reality that relationship in the igbo world is both with and between the corporal and in-corporal worlds. it is this connection of chi with relationships within the igbo world that makes it a fundamental element in the understanding of the dynamics of inter-subjectivity in igwebuike philosophy, as igwebuike philosophy is a philosophy of interrelatedness, inter-subjectivity, complementarity and solidarity. chi: in search for an explanatory principle for the interrelatedness of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 39 this work argues that chi is the foundation or basis for the interaction or relationships in the igbo-african universe. and its importance in this study is deepened by the fact that the belief in chi is as universal to the igbo-speaking people as the belief in chukwu. this piece will, therefore, study the concept of chi and its understandings in igbo thought. this would be followed by a sociological interpretation of the concept, chi, guided by the focal interest of this paper, which is the search for the fundamental and outstanding base of the igbo social structure and collective temperament. theoretical framework durkheim (1915) posits that: “the first systems of representations with which men have pictured to themselves the world and themselves were of religious origin. there is no religion that is not a cosmology at the same time that it is a speculation upon divine things”(p. 21). in this, durkheim argues for a very strong relationship between religious truths or perspectives and social life of people, that is, for an eminently social character of religion. the germ of durkheim’s theory is that the religious beliefs and practices of people reflect their social structure. this perspective, notwithstanding, evans-pritchard (1956) and goody (1961) have argued further on this theory that not all aspects of religion are tightly bound to social organizations. some aspects can only be loosely linked and, thus, operate as semi-independent variables. it is within this context that chi, which is a religious reality or element, is employed to understand the foundations of the igboafrican social or relational character of reality. in this sense, chi becomes a religious symbol with accumulated meanings or intentions which sometimes contradict one another. and as a symbol, within the context of hermeneutics, it expresses a meaning or meanings, however, with a basic meaning always connected. it is in this regard that etymologically, an understanding of hermeneutics suggests a sacred origin, being derived from the greek word “hermeneia,” which is related to the name of the god, hermes, and the verb, ikechukwu anthony, kanu igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 40 “hermeneuein”, which means: to express/expression; to explain/explanation and to translate/ translation. all the three shades of meaning are rendered in english by to interpret/interpretation, which, in general, means “bring to understanding” (kanu, 2015). thus, oguejiofor (2009) holds that: hermeneutics involves bringing an inner meaning into the open. it entails making explicit what is implicit. it is thus a quest for meaning, one’s own meaning in one’s life, society and milieuin short, in the totality of one’s universe, which could be said to be constituted by one’s cultural symbols. (p. 80). as a theory of interpretation, it goes back to ancient greek philosophy, when plato employed the term to differentiate between religious knowledge, that which has been revealed, and sophia, which is knowledge of truth-value of utterance. during the medieval and renaissance ages, it emerged in relation to the scriptures, precisely, its interpretation. during this period, gadamer (1976), heidegger (1978) and dilthey (1996) observe that saint augustine introduced the universal claim of hermeneutics and argue that interpretation of scripture involves a deeper, existential level of self-understanding. these, notwithstanding, within the context of this study, chi as a religious symbol expresses profound meanings about the spiritual world which helps in the interpretation of realities in the human world. chi in igbo-african worldview there are various dimensions to the use of the concept of chi by the igbo. it is in this regard that green (1947) writes that: “it is difficult to know what the real igbo significance of the word is” (p. 30). achebe (1975), recognizing the subtle analytical possibilities of the concept of chi which is thrown open by the fundamental abstract notions of igbo cosmology and theology, avers that its real meaning might never be revealed, and thus, he raises questions about the concept of chi without proffering answers to them, knowing full well the implications of such a response. chi: in search for an explanatory principle for the interrelatedness of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 41 the exact relationship between the supreme god (chukwu), the sun and chi in igbo cosmology will probably never be (and perhaps was intended not to be) revealed. but if chukwu means literally great chi, one is tempted to borrow the words of christian dogma and speak of chi as being of the same ‘substance’ and ‘proceedings’ from chukwu. or is chi an infinitesimal manifestation of chukwu’s infinite essence given to each of us separately… or does chukwu have a separate existence as ruler over a community of chi…? (p. 11) achebe’s position points to the fact that the concept of chi is as elusive as it is enigmatic. thus, nwodo (2004) avers that the elusiveness and enigma involved is attributable to the fact that the concept is metaphysical in the sense of being a non-material reality. from the foregoing, it is obvious that scholars are yet unable to reach a consensus on what chi actually means for the igbo people and what its relationship with the supreme being exactly is. it is in this regard that this piece would discuss the different understandings of chi in igbo ontology. a. chi as the divine aspect of man some african thinkers have interpreted chi as the divine aspect of man or a spark of chukwu in man. it is a spiritual being or force that every igbo-african is believed to possess within or outside of himself/herself . this explains why it is spoken of in the possessive sense like: chim (my chi), chigi (your chi), chiya (his/her chi), chi anyi (our chi), an igbo interjection for surprise chim o (my god), etc. this also explains why every igbo who gets married, in most instances, establishes their own chi symbol for the simple reason that it is personal. it is within this context that ilogu (1974) avers that chukwu has assigned to each human person at birth a portion of divinity referred to as chi. this implies that each individual has a portion of the great god. it is also within this context that nwodo (2004) argues that chi is a divine person possessed of intellect and will. ikechukwu anthony, kanu igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 42 b. chi as being abanuka (2004) understands chi as being, as opposed to non-being. he argues that as being, it has three different aspects that are nonetheless related. chi is first of all the principle of identity. in this regard, chi performs the metaphysical function of making a particular thing what it is other than other things, that is, one with itself and consistent with itself. second, chi makes each thing unique. thus, ojike (1955) and ekennia (2003) present chi as a unique life force, which each person possesses as a principle of individuation. this implies that no two persons have the same chi and that no person is replaceable. this can be spoken of in terms of the principle of authenticity. third, chi as a principle of subsidiarity, meaning that chi is a generative or causal principle; this is understood in terms of exercising influence over things. c. chi as our other identity this perspective is linked to the understanding of chi as a spark of the divine in man. this position is noticed in achebe (1975) who understands a person's chi as his other identity in spirit-land his spirit being complementing his terrestrial human being; this is based on the perspective that nothing can stand alone, there must be another thing standing beside it. in this case, the chi shadows the physical aspect of our being on earth and in fact remains a more powerful aspect of us as its influence is high. this other part of us in the spiritland is not in opposition with our identity here in the world but complements it. chi as the source of identity could be understood better from the practice of the igbo who plant a special tree in their compound like the ogilisi or oha or make a small clay pot, filled with sand with three sticks cut from a special plant thrust jointly into the sand, and preserved as the personal chi of individuals which cannot be a symbol of the chi of any other person. no wonder, once the person dies, his/her chi is removed. these representations are usually kept in a special place, with an altar built around it for the offering of sacrifice. chi: in search for an explanatory principle for the interrelatedness of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 43 d. chi as guardian angel in things fall apart, achebe (1958) presents the igbo chi as guardian angel. when okonkwo, the protagonist of the novel, shot at ekwefi (one of his wives) and missed, chielo said: “your chi is very much awake my friend”. in another scene, when abame was attacked by the avenging band of white men, obierika described the incident, thus: “everybody was killed, except the old and the sick who were at home and a handful of men and women whose chi were wide awake and brought them out of that market”. as such, a person’s chi could be asleep or awake, expressed in the particular event in a person’s life. when a bad thing happens, its said that the person’s chi is asleep, and when something good happens, it is said that a person’s chi is awake. there were other times that a chi was considered good or bad. when a good thing happens to a person, it is said that he has a good chi and when something bad happens, it is said that the person has a bad chi. e. chi as the determiner of destiny describing chi as a spark of the divine in man, okere (1971) posits that it is through the gift of the chi that the supreme god determines the destiny of each person. once the supreme has determined a person’s destiny through his chi, it cannot be changed. in things fall apart, achebe (1958) describes okonkwo as “a man whose chi said nay despite his own affirmation”. it is in this regard that one can understand okonkwo’s tragic fate as the result of a problematic chi—a thought that occurs to okonkwo at several points in the novel. it was the belief at the time, as achebe narrates in chapter 14, a “man could not rise beyond the destiny of his chi.” however, there is another understanding of chi that conflicts with this definition. in chapter 4, the narrator relates, according to an igbo proverb, that “when a man says yes his chi says yes also.” according to this understanding, individuals can alter their destinies. in this case, okonkwo seems either more or less responsible for his own tragic death. this, notwithstanding, the first definition explains why the igbo would say that: a. no matter how many divinities sit to plot a man's ruin, if his chi does not affirm it, their plans will come to nothing. ikechukwu anthony, kanu igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 44 b. even water gets stuck inbetween the teeth of the person with a bad chi. c. the antelope learns to climb the day the person with a bad chi goes hunting. d. a person whose efforts at improving his fortunes are frustrated by his chi should be absolved from blame. e. a person with a bad chi cut down an iroko tree, but it got suspended on a spear grass. it is in this regard that nwodo (2004) avers that the chi in igbo cosmology enforces throughout an individual's life the spoken bond into which he willingly enters at his creation. for instance, unoka, the father of okonkwo in things fall apart, is said to have a bad chi because evil fortune followed him to his death. ekwefi, okonkwo's second wife, is also said to have a bad chi because she has given birth to many children, but only one has survived. also, okonkwo, exiled from the clan and disappointed that his son has joined forces with the white missionaries, also blames his chi, believing that his chi is not made for great things. okoro (2008) explains this further through the spectrum of igbo application of chi. when the igbo says: chi m, it mean ‘my fate’, ‘my destiny’, ‘my portion’. in another case, chi ojo, mean ‘bad fate’, ‘bad destiny’. in this latter sense, chi becomes destiny itself, rather than just the determiner of destiny. chi as a basis for igwebuike philosophy of interrelatedness igwebuike is a unifying concept of african thought, especially that aspect concerning the human person’s conception of the spiritual and material universe in which he/she lives. it is an explanatory theory or principle that interprets the puzzle of our complex relationship with the non-corporal world and the human social life, that is, major social institutions that ensure social continuity and group identity, and further underpins the epistemological manifestations of the human person’s universe (kanu, 2016a;2017a). taken from its etymology from the igbo words (igwe: number; bu: is; ike: power), literally chi: in search for an explanatory principle for the interrelatedness of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 45 meaning that ‘number is power’, it points to a philosophical nuance of ‘one heart and one mind’, a spirit of complementarity, solidarity and interrelatedness that characterizes the african reality (kanu, 2014;2015;2016b; 2017b). the basic question being attended to in this section of this work is: hat is the basis of this inter-subjectivity, interrelatedness, solidarity or complementarity of reality within the african universe? it is within this context that this piece argues that chi is the basis of this complementarity or inter-subjectivity or interrelatedness of reality in the african universe. igwebuike, as a perspective, holds that, in spite of the contrariety of reality, there is something common to everything. it understands every individual reality as part and completion of the whole, and thus, there is a unity in the midst of diversity (kanu, 2017c; 2018; 2019). although chi provides for the individuation, identity and contrariety of being, it is also the basis for the unity of being. how is this possible? chi, being a ‘thumb print’ of chukwu in all that he has made, provides a reason for the unity of being, and a basis for interaction and collaboration. thus, the strong individualistic strain, which chi provides in the theory of personality, does not contradict the emphasis on the overriding value of unity in diverse human situations. chi, therefore, is not only a basis for identity in igbo ontology; it is also a basis for unity a common gift or platform for communal relations. this is evident in the way that the igbo greet one another within the context of the word, chi: ibo chi, a greeting that reflects a rhetorical, informative and questioning expectancy reports from the individuals that are in this relational (greetings) exchange; isa chi, a greeting that reflects also the same rhetorical, informative and questioning expectancy reports from both individuals engaged in the same relational exchange; ifo chi, a greeting that reflects the same rhetorical, informative and questioning expectancy from the dialoging individuals. the nuance of chi, employed in this work to drive the understanding of the unity of reality, is that which understands it as the divinity in every human person or the spark of the divine in created things. it is ikechukwu anthony, kanu igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 46 this chi, which is a thumb print or mark of chukwu in each and every one of us that places the other in a special place in relation to the self. if i and the other have the thumb print of the same chukwu, the spark of the supreme being, it then means that we relate in a special way that goes deeper than our individualities. our rootedness in chukwu is what makes the other a part of me. to treat the other in a way that is undeserving of the divine mark in him/her not only affects the persons but the ontological structure to which i also belong, and, therefore, myself as well. conclusion this work has studied the concept of chi and its implications for intersubjectivity in the african universe. the concept of chi has been used in various capacities by the igbo; first, in the capacity of the supreme being, and as a guardian angel or a spiritual being or force which every person possess, among other perspectives. its essence lies in the commonest everyday expression of the word, chi; verbally, in possessive singular adjectival form: chim (my chi), chigi (your chi), chiya (his/her chi), chi anyi (our chi), an igbo interjection for surprise chim o (my god) or a common curse among the igbo chi ne’ke kpo gi oku (may god burn you). however, the concept of chi that has helped in determining the basis of inter-subjectivity in the african universe is the understanding of chi as a spark or portion of the supreme being in each and every human person. this creates a ground for relationships or connection between beings, and explains the necessity of solidarity and complementarity in the african universe. worthy of note is that, while the concept of chi helps in explaining the basis of relationships or inter-subjectivity in the african universe, it also serves as a foundation of the igbo-african philosopher’s intellectual effort to make sense of the bewildering diversities of the human personality, experiences and cosmic phenomena, and, thus, an explanation for the dominant individualizing principle in the igbo social order. while chi provides an explanation for the interrelatedness of reality and the individuation of reality at the same time, it can be said to be a theory both of causation and human chi: in search for an explanatory principle for the interrelatedness of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 47 personality in the wider context of the igbo-african cosmology. thus, it serves as a framework within which the igbo-africans can boldly speculate, interpret or understand the world around them. references abanuka, b. (2004). philosophy and the igbo world. enugu: snaap press. achebe, c. (1975). morning yet on creation day: essays. heinemann african writers. adibe, gregory e. (2009). igbo issues: values, chi, akala aka, ikenga, magic, agwu and manipulation of divinities. onitsha: mid-field publishers. chukwukere, i. (1980). chi in traditional igbo religious thought: a key interpretative concept. a paper presented at the workshop on the foundations of igbo civilization. may 2022, institute of african studies, university of nigeria. dilthey, w. (1996). hermeneutics and the study of history. eds. rudolf a. makkreel and frithjof rodi. princeton. new jersey: princeton university press. durkheim, e. (1965). the elementary forms of the religious life. london: george allen and unwin ltd ekennia, j. (2003). bio-medical ethics. owerri: barloz publishers. evans-pritchard, e. e. (1956). theories of primitive religion. oxford: university of oxford press. gadamer, h. (1976). philosophical hermeneutics. trans. david e. linge. berkeley: university of california press. goody, j. (1961). religion and ritual: the definitional problem. the british journal of sociology. vol. 12. no. 2. pp. 142161. green, m. m. (1947). igbo village affairs: chiefly with reference to the village of umbueke agbaja. britain: taylor and francis. heidegger, m. (1978). gesamtausgabe. frankfurt am main: vittorio klostermann ilogu, edmund (1974). christianity and igbo culture. new york: nok publishers. ikechukwu anthony, kanu igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 48 kanu, i. a. (2014). igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholic-pentecostal relations. jos studies. 22. pp.8798. kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015b). igwebuike as an ontological precondition for african ethics. international conference of the society for research and academic excellence. university of nigeria, nsukka. 14 th -16 th september. kanu, i. a. (2015c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25 th -26 th november 2015 university of paris, france. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. chi: in search for an explanatory principle for the interrelatedness of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 49 kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. nwodo, c. s. (2004). philosophical perspectives on chinua achebe. port harcourt: university of port harcourt. oguejiofor, o. j. (2009). negritude as hermeneutics: a reinterpretation of leopold sedar senghor’s philosophy. american catholic philosophical quaterly. 83. 1. 79-94. ojike, m. (1955). my africa. london: blandford press. okere, t. (1971). can there be an african philosophy? phd dissertation, louvain belgium. okoro, e. (2008). chi symbolism in achebe’s things fall apart: a hermeneutical understanding. https://www.ajd.info.2008. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 158 nkerefi and anaevuna relations in pre-colonial nigeria austine uchechukwu igwe department of history and international studies nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, nigeria. & chukwu c. james department of history and international studies nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, nigeria. email: jimco4real@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29105.45929 abstract this work focused on pre-colonial nkerefi socio-political relations with anaevuna in the present day nkanu east local government area of nigeria. it discovered that intergroup relations that existed between nkerefi and anaevuna took various forms which ranged from socio-political and cultural exchanges. the similarities in language, festivals, social and political forms of organisation, among others lay bare the evidence of close-knit interaction that existed between nkerefi and anaevuna; a detailed examination of these factors form, the crux of this research work. the study employed the historical methods which emphasise description, thematic presentation, interpretation and analysis of facts. information for this study was obtained from both primary and secondary sources. the primary sources came from oral interviews, with the persons knowledgeable on the research subject, as well as archival documents obtained from the national archives, enugu (nae). secondary sources like textbooks, journal articles, magazines, newspapers and so on were used. related unpublished material like personal diaries, master’s theses and phd dissertations were also used. the findings show that there were strong inter-group relations between nkerefi and anaevuna mainly on socio-political factors. this research work shows that nkerefi did not exist in isolation and that nkerefi related with some of her neighbour through wars. keywords: nkerefi, anavaena, relations, pre-colonial, nigeria introduction one may risk standing bold to argue that the nigerian pre-colonial society may best be examined through the study of inter-group relations. many eurocentric historians and writers did not bother to attempt the historiography of interigwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 159 group relations of african communities or societies. understanding the varied relationships between communities, kingdoms and ethnic groups, otherwise called inter-group relations is perhaps the oldest approach to the study of nigerian history.35 the importance of inter-group relations in nigerian history may not be overemphasised. this has been aptly documented by such historian as obaro ikime, adiele afigbo and o.d. okpeh, among others. for example, a.e. afigbo notes that, …the theme of inter-group relations in nigerian history is not a new invention of recent nigerian historiography, only the emphasis given to it and the care, sympathy and understanding with which it has been investigated have varied from epoch to epoch.36 afigbo further shows that through varied accounts of origin and migrations most nigerian ethnic group are keenly interested in preserving the perceptions of the inter-group relations between them and their neighbours.37 additionally, j.f.a. ade ajayi and e.j. alagoa futher underscored the importance of the inter-group approach to the study of nigerian history when they held that, it is of course, necessary to begin with the histories of the individual groups, but we need to lay greater stress on inter-group relationships, to compare developments within the various groups, and to relate developments in each group to the emerging nigeriawide pattern.38 in nkanu sub-cultural zone of igbo land, the nkerefi clan is prominent and through accounts of origin, political institutions, trade, festival, and titles, among others, were known to have related over the ages with her neighbours. the intergroup relations between nkerefi and anaevuna provide a window into a better understanding of the history of the nkanu people. the inter-group relations that existed between nkerefi and anaevuna took various forms which ranged from socio-political and cultural exchanges. the 35 u.d. anyanwu, “ikime and the study of intergroup relations in nigeria” in c.b.n. ogbogbo, r.o. olaniyi and o.g. muojama (eds), the dynamics of inter-group relations in nigeria since 1960: essays in honour of obaro ikime @ 70, ibandan : department of history, 2012, p.34. 36 a.e. afigbo, the igbo and their neighbours, ibandan: university press, 1987, p.1. 37 afigbo, the igbo and their neighbours,… p.2. 38 j.f.a. ajayi and e.j. alagoa, “nigeria before 1900: aspects of economic developments and inter-group relations”, in obaro ikime (ed), groundwork of nigeriam history, ibandan: heinemann, 1980, p.224. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 160 similarities in language, festivals, social and political forms of organisation, among others lay bare the evidence of close-knit interaction that existed between nkerefi and anaevuna. therefore, this study will examine the different forms of interaction between nkerefi and anaevuna in pre-colonial period. conceptual clarification the study engages a few words or concepts which may seem quite ambiguous. these concepts require some clarifications. these include inter group relation, clan and neighbour. inter group relations: inter group relations refers to interactions between individuals in different social groups, and to interactions taking place between the groups themselves collectively.39 in 1966, muzafer sherif proposed a nowwidely recognized definition of intergroup relations: whenever individuals belonging to one group interact, collectively or individually, with another group or its members in terms of their group identification, we have an instance of intergroup behaviour40. research on intergroup relations involves the study of many psychological phenomena related to intergroup processes including social identity, prejudice, group dynamics, and conformity among many others. research in this area has been shaped by many notable figures and continues to provide empirical insights into modern social issues such as social inequality and discrimination.41 clan: a clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning that their members can marry one another. clans preceded more centralized forms of community organization and government, and exist in every country. members may identify with a coat of arms or other symbol to show that they are an independent clan. the kinshipbased bonds may also have a symbolic ancestor, whereby the clan shares a “stipulated” common ancestor that is a symbol of the clan’s unity. when this 39 kramer, m. roderick, schaffer, jennifer, “intergroup relations”. wiley encyclopaedia of management. wiley-blackwell. 2014, pp. 1 3. 40 sherif muzafer, “intergroup relations” the blackwell encyclopaedia of management. 1966. accessed on july 10 2021, http://onlinelibrary.wil...onlinelibrary.wiley.com 41 m., kassin, saul, social psychology. fein, steven, markus, hazel rose. (8th ed.). belmont, ca: cengage wadsworth, 2011 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 161 “ancestor” is non-human, it is referred to as a totem, which is frequently an animal42. neighbour: neighbour is a person who lives next to another person or near the person. in the case of communities, it identifies a community that is located next or close to another. in this study, the term is used to identify those communities who the nkerefi share common boundary. some that were peaceful and some which the nkerefi had clash with over time and the circumstances that inform their present peaceful co-existence. theoretical framework although, many theories have been propounded by sociologists, psychologists and historians to explain varying dimensions of intergroup relations, such theories include social identity theory, theory of common needs, theory of natural anarchy and human relations. however, for the purpose of this work, the theory most relevant to the study is the social identity theory to analyse the relationship of nations as a drive for identified interest or interests based on group membership. the theory is all about a person or persons’ sense of who they are as a result of the group or community or nation they belong to. it was first propounded by henri tajfel in 1979 when he observed that the groups to which people belong were very important sources of pride and self-esteem. tajfel said that groups create a sense of social identity: a sense of belonging to the social world.43 the theory emphasizes that we enhance the status of the group to which we belong by discriminating and taking pre-judicial views against an out-group (the group to which we do not belong). saul mcleod, in explaining the social identity theory, said that we divide the world into “them” and “us” based on a process of social grouping or categorization which is known as in-group (us) and out-group (them).44 social identity theory states that the in-group will always discriminate against the members of the out-group in order to enhance their self-image. members of 42 hugh chisholm, ed, “clan” encyclopaedia britannica. 6 (11th ed.). cambridge university press. 1911, pp. 419 – 421. 43 henri tajfel, “an integrative theory of inter-group conflict,” the social psychology of intergroup relations, vol. 33. no. 47, 1979. 44 saul a. meleod, “a social identity theory”, 2008. retrieved from www.simplypsychology.org/social-identity-theory.html, on 28/04/2016. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 162 an in-group will tend to find the negative aspect of an out-group, thereby enhancing their self-image. this is actually the position group members take when they try to maintain the influence and prestige of their nations above other nations in inter-group affairs. henri tajfel proposed that putting people into groups and categories is always based on a normal cognitive process, that is, the tendency of grouping things together. in doing that, there is the possibility of exaggerating in identifying the differences between groups, and similarities of things in the same group. people are often categorized in the same way. the group to which people belong (the in-group) is always seen as different from the group of other people (the out-group) and the members of the same group as being similar than they are actually. it is this social categorization that breeds prejudicial attitudes; that is, “them” and “us” mentality that results to in-group and out-group. for instance, americans and nigerians, europeans and africans (nations and continents), moslems and christians (religion), blacks and whites (race), males and females (gender), poor and rich (social class), etc. mcleod said that tajfel held the opinion that three mental processes of evaluating people as “us” (in-group) or “them” (out-group) are obvious.45 the processes are particularly arranged as social categorisation, objects are catigorised for easy understanding and identification. in the same vein, people are catigorised as black, white, african, students, moslem and christian in order to understand the environment. social catigorisation helps us to work effectively and efficiently. also, we know ourselves better by knowing what categories we belong to. we can state what behaviour is appropriate by knowing the norms of our groups. this is only possible if we know who and who members of our groups are. that means an individual could belong to more than one group. in social identification, people adopt the identity of the group which they belong to, and tend to behave like the members of that group. there is always an emotional attachment to one’s groups; the self-esteem will be bound with one’s membership of his group. the last stage is social comparison which compares one group with other groups. to maintain the self-esteem of a group, the group must favourably compare with other group. this is the actual cause of prejudice because once two groups identify themselves as rivals, they are bound to engage in a competition to maintain the prestige and self-esteem of the group. 45 s. a mcleod igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 163 competition and hostility between groups is also the result of competing identities rather than competing for resources only.46 it is this competition that informs the position of diplomats or actors in the businesses of nations. in europe, for instance, the categorisation, identification and comparison between diverse social statuses of different groups (nations) created a social conflict when each nation desired to establish its influence and prestige above the rest of the nations of the continent, a development that eventually led to the thirty years war from 1618 to 1648. in nigeria, nigeria and biafra war of 1967 to 1970 was the result of the mental configuration of some nigerians as hausa, yoruba and igbo. in pre-colonial igbo land, the notion that eri, founder of the igbo kingdom, was deeply religious while leaders of other kingdoms were war-like, defined the igbo enclave as the most peaceful. and finally, the recognition of the nkerefi clan by other groups in the entire northeastern igbo land as a clan of brave and strong men helped to raise the selfesteem of nkerefi people as a group, resulting in the nkerefi belief that the nkerefians are very industrious. the usefulness of the theory with regards to nkerefi and anaevuna is borne out of the fact that the social identity theory of self-esteem has been the driving force in the relations between the nkerefi people and anaevuna. nevertheless, the social identity theory is not a flawless theory, as in fact, no theory is flawless. a brief history of nkerefi and anaevuna in the historical study of inter-group relations between two communities, it is pertinent to establish an overview of these communities as this would enable a clear understanding of the variables that shaped the nature and patterns of their relation. such variable includes geographical location and physical features, origin, migration and settlement, culture and ethnics, among others. geographical location and physical features it would be unnecessary to discuss the geographical location and physical features of nkerefi and anaevuna differently because both are of close proximity and share common physical features. 46 s. a mcleod igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 164 nekerefi is a clan47 in nkanu east local government area of enugu state in south eastern nigeria. it comprises of four autonomous communities namely: imeoha nkerefi, ohuani amofu nkerefi, ishienu amofu nkerefi, and enuogu nkerefi.48 it lies within latitude 6.8n and 7.65e.49 it also lies wholly within the tropics and stretches far beyond the ovu river in the north, the aesu river in the south and the east and the okobo river in the west. the town is flat open grassland with a thick forest belt in the immediate vicinity of each village. the soil is light, sandy, clay, but all is reasonably fertile, thus the people have a big reputation as yam and rice farmers.50 traditions of origin while the origin of the igbo people remains a subject of divergent views and hypotheses, archaeological discoveries and empirical researches as well as analyses have gone a long way to establish a scientifically valid point as to the possible origin of the people. the most romanticised hypothesis of the igbo origin is that which traces the origin, migration and settlement of the igbo to the middle east. the oriental hypothesis of the igbo origin is basically hinged upon cultural similarities between the igbo and the jews on the one hand and the igbo and the egyptians on the other.51 however, it has been noted by renowned historians, among who is a.e. afigbo, that it would be spurious to lay claim of the igbo origin upon a hypothesis that cannot be empirically verified.52 this draws our attention to the important archaeological discoveries by thurstan shaw at igboukwu and other location. one major significance of the famous archaeological findings was that it shows that the igbo stock had inhabited that present place of abode for many centuries. this may give credence to some of the hypotheses which either claim that the igbo originated from where they are 47 a. u. igwe, 52 years, a lecturer, interviewed in his office at nnamdi azikiwe university, awka on 7th june, 2021. 48 enugu state of nigeria official gazzette, no 2, enugu – 5th september, 2002 vol. 11, p. b. 20 49 emmanuel n. aninwogo and kelvin m. aniemeka , a history of the nkerefi igbo, lagos: first academic publishers 2002 p. 1. 50 nae/2/2onp rof: k.1.4740 and uddiv 4/1/30 and uddiv 4/1/29 an intelligence report on the nara group in the nkanu area of the udi division by s.p.l. beaumoni, esq. (assistant district officer. 51 a.e. afigbo, ropes of sand: studies in igbo history and culture, nsukka: university press limited, 1981, p.13. 52 afigbo, ropes of sand: studies in igbo history… pp. 13-14. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 165 found today or that they migrated from locations not far away from where they are at present. nkerefi the pre-colonial history of nkerefi was essentially that of the migration and fusion of people and rise and full of kindred and villages.53 various people and claims point to the fact that nkerefi people are the descendants of ezeokeuna – a cattle rearer from edemberri.54 according to archival reports, “the people of nkerefi being descendant of ezeokeuna of ezza at one time used to make periodic sacrifice at their ancestor’s shrine at ezza, but however, this custom has ceased for many years”.55 nkerefi traced her origin from ezzakuna (ezeoke-una) the founder of ezza, whose father una okpoto okumeze came from afikpo group of the igbo history.56 these people have been organized into something like vassal state by their possession of a common dialect (language) and culture, but in reality, there is no nkerefi state or race. the word nkerefi refers more to the dialect and occupation than people.57 one particular legend and oral school of thought state that when ‘ezeoke una’ the father of nkerefi saw that his son – ezeoke una junior (ogbonnaa) has matured into manhood, he gave him few cows and some yams to start his own life and maintain his family. he received the paternal gifts and blessings from his father, and moved southwards in search of settlement and livelihood. he had acquired the art of cattle rearing and farming from his parents. as he moved, his cattle (efi) multiplied and he started selling some through trade by barter (exchange of goods for goods), and people were happy with him for his clemency, industry and enterprise. whenever a visitor said that he was going to the home of ezeoke una, people were confused it was going to be the home of ezeoke or his father, they called him ezeoke una – ‘nke-na-ere 53 aninwogo and aniemeka, a history of the nkerefi… p.4. 54 gabriel o. aja, the history of nkerefi (a reflection of nkanu people) 1993, enugu: the agop communications and publishers, p. 5. 55 nigeria: nae/2/2/onp rof. 8.1.4740 and ud div 4/1/30 and ud div 4/1/29 – an intelligence report on the nara group in the nkanu area of the udi division by s.p.l. beaumoni, esq. (assistant district officer. 56 chief donatus aniemeka, (eze ugo na nkerefi), 75 years, igwe cabinet, interviewed at his house in umuokpalla, nkerefi on 30th march, 2021 57 aninwogo and aniemeka, a history of the nkerefi… p.4. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 166 efi’ which means cattle seller or dealer. this was the genesis of the name nkerefi.58 anaevuna: most of the historical materials about ‘anaevuna’ have not been well preserved due partly to inaccurate knowledge of the time and partly to lack of authentic books or records from which material could be gathered. but despite these obvious handicaps, some materials are available for the guidance of budding historians. the people who lived west of amofu, between the present ihukulu village. ekene ogbuke, umunama etiti, achi nworji of umuogbii and even extended to ihuezeofia in enuogu community, formed themselves into a strong, united village, originated from the descendants of amofu (ezuboke), the elder son of nkerefi. they migrated from ‘aegu oma’ obuno the home of their elder brother, and the first settlement of their father. another version of the origin of the anaevuna people opined that the ‘anas’ were not of the same stock with nkerefi people. the available materials do not give any evidence as to the time when the “anas” emerged as some kindred came into existence as early as about ad 1700. they were predominantly negro kindred known as the “ana new aeku n’uba”. they were the members of the large amofu people. the growth of the kindred cannot be separated from its wealth. it was her wealth which attracted a sizeable number of other kindred whose combined contributions made anaevuna kindred to be reckoned with.59 nkerefi and anaevuna relations pre-colonial period there are different aspects of the relations between nkerefi and anaevuna and the cordiality of this relationship has been a subject that elicits various degrees of emotions and interpretations. however, there seems to be consensus among the scholars regarding the trends and nature of the relations. the position sometimes had been that the relations between both communities was cordial at first but later they related through conflict which saw the extinction of the anaevuna. political relations 58aninwogo and aniemeka, a history of the nkerefi… pp.4-5. 59 aninwogo and aniemeka, a history of the nkerefi… p. 33. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 167 there appeared to be a kind of monarchical type of relationship in the villages where the desccedants of anaevuna were married, for such village automatically enjoyed seniority over others. however, a number of forces combined from the second part of about eighteenth century, to bring about the decline, and complete disappearance of the anaevuna people. the following are summary of the causes which may be grouped under two main headings: internal causes these can be classified into three causes, for example, the wealth, kindness and weakness of the anaevuna people. (a) wealth of the village the ancient anaevuna was naturally blessed with abundant human and natural resources. this was because, apart from fertile land which made them the richest food producing village in nkerefi land. it might be added that the anaevuna had financial resources to maintain their kindred. it is said that the people of anaevuna were the first village in nkerefi land to produce the “king of yams” (eze ji) they produced yams in abundance. the ‘anas’ got a lot of fish from ‘aevuna’ river and the lake or pond of anaevuna (ovuu). in fact, they were the richest kindred in the whole nkerefi in ancient times. (b) kindness of anaevuna historically, the ancient village collapsed because of their milk-heartedness. history had the story thus: it was during the hard time of a famine (unwu) in nkerefi land, that a wife of an ‘umuaekuma’ man gave birth to a bouncing baby boy. because of the hardship of the time, not even a little quantity of food to feed the new baby and the mother was available.60 the husband, ónyiba orgbu njoku aekuma, went to his best friend at anaevuna. he narrated to his friend nze ogbuzulu mkpume ujoaga odicha, his plight and bitter experience about his new baby and the starving mother. he told him that hunger was ready and very eager to snatch the life of the duo, if proper measures were not taken instantly. he also complained bitterly over the scarcity of food in his family.61 nze ogbuzulu mkpume, being too generous, opened his barn and gave him some tubers of yams. he also gave him some cowries (ego) and dried meat. 60 chief donatus aniemeka, interviewed. 61 aninwogo and aniemeka, a history of the nkerefi… p. 34. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 168 onyiba orgbu thanked him and went home happily. the man (orgbu) came again two times, and the same generosity was meted to him by the ‘anas’ man. greedly, he went home (umuaekuma) and told his kinsmen and lindred what he had seen at anaevuna. with mouth agape in amazement he said “i have seen where food is in abundance while we are dying in acute per=etual famine in our village”. they conspired that, the people of anaevuna should be invade and their prosperous wealth looted.62 before taking action, they decided to consult the supreme gods ani, achi and chukwu. they made some religious rituals (ike aekpa mmaa) and decided on their plans. but in line with nkerefi tradition, before one goes to ‘mmaa’ he must consult ani nkerefi – the god of the earth which disapproved of their plans. yet they still cling to their former decisions. they then decided to consult chukwu despite the serious warning from ani and achi that they should drop their resolutions and decision. they were still adamant. at the chukwu (mmaa), chukwu told them that before they could succeed in the attack or invasion, the most famous and highly regarded son – oduololoko – would be the first victim. they accepted the spiritual divination.63 (c) weakness of the kindred the people had no firm central government that controlled the administration of the people property. the organisation of the kindred was absolutely poor and weak. the greatness of the village was based on the traditional religious practices and the cults of their ancestors. they had great hopes on their spiritual gods – akpu abada and ani nkerefi which gave them food, good health and luck, bumper harvest and blessings. the government did not make adequate security or defence for the village, this became a terrible mistake when they were taken unawares by their enemies.64 external causes according to historical legends and several of traditions, the warlord of nkerefi, odujoloko who was as tall as (pandaus) “iroko tree” (orji) and as huge as the silk tree (ufu akpu), must have posed magical powers. he was said to have as well possessed warlike spirits and indomitable courage. historical evidence and 62 gabriel o. aja, 59 years, former ssg to the governor of enugu state, at his office, new layout, enugu on 22nd july, 2021 63 aninwogo and aniemeka, a history of the nkerefi… p. 35. 64 aninwogo and aniemeka, a history of the nkerefi… p. 35. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 169 oral interviews state that when he stayed at eke amofu, afor umuogbii, nkwo obodo okolo enuogu or afor imeoha and about war cries (mkpukpo), the whole nkerefi land would hear his voice and immwdiately got ready for wars. the day the anaevuna disappeared from the map of nkerefi came. the war group led by ebube dike onua oduojoloko, besieged the anaevuna people. the first palm frond spear (alo ogugu) thrown by the anas landed at the heart of oguojoloko and pierced in, and he fell down and died. his group came in full force and power and overcame the anaevuna people. they killed them in thousands and looted their yam, domestic animals and other valuable things. they forced the anaevuna people to quit their fatherland. oral traditions state that some anaevuna fled to various parts of the present imo, ebonyi, abia, anambra and enugu state while others trekked to the present delta state across the river niger. they settled there and called it “ukwuani” which means “trekking by foot”. another school of thought states that others went to different parts of the world through slaverly later. the remaining anaevuna, comprised of the old men, women, children and disabled said that since their brothers had been mercilessly butchered by their fellow men, life would be hopeless and worthless for them to stay behind. the men, women, children and the disabled, then lined up in a single file. the men after singing meditative and heart-rending traditional melidies (igbolo inyinya), with their lambskins (akpukpo ebune) jumped into the pond (ovu anaevuna), one after the other. the children and the disabled also did same. the last woman (oshine’efi ada ogene) after her heart-rending meditative and mournful tune (itu aefa), before she jumped into the lake made a historical remark, which has gone down in the history of nkerefi land. even up to the modern time it is believed that their voices and the sounds of their mortars and pestles are heard at sunset during harvest time or festival days. their coconut and okro trees still grow there.65 socio-cultural relations the anaevuna was reputed to be so rich and wealthy, influential and domineering, and out of sheer enviousness and hostility, the umuekuma hamlet allegedly drtove the rich family away and exterminated them. but that was not 65 chief john o. chukwu, 64 years, technician, interviewed at obu-egu umunama-etiti, nkerefi on 23rd march, 2021. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 170 before the family flourished and multiplied and were married out to imoha, enuogu and obuno village of amofu.66 this aspect of oral tradition states that because of the prosperity of anaevuna who held the ofo stick – symbol of authority, respect and royalty, it was transferred to its daughter/son in laws at ezinogu. this explains why in addition to the concession the enuogu has made to imeoha through ezinogu, the anaevuna factor contributed significantly to making ogu (ezinogu) the oldest village in nkerefi. another daughter of anaevuna was said to have been married in obuno village of amofu community and the inheritance of the family’s ofo status, symbol placed obuno to be the oldest and enjoys seniority in amofu community. like stated before, there appeared to be a kind of monarchical type of relationship in the villages where the desccedants of anaevuna were married, for such village automatically enjoyed seniority over others.67 conclusion the subject of inter-group relations, especially in the developing african society, is sometimes difficult to define. this is because commentators of the western school often cast group relations in africa in the mould of wars, crises and murders. to them, therefore, group relations refer to destruction. however, in our examination so far, we have been able to establish how groups, with traces of biological ties, who were formaly living cordialy sunddenly engaged in fighting wars which later lead to the extinction of the anaevuna people. the suitability of the theoretical framework has been justified because, as seen in the course of this research, inter-group relations between nkerefi and anaevuna anchored more or less on drive for identified interest and interdependence. despite the modest contributions of this study, a lot of research still needs to be done on nkerefi and anaevuna relations. for example, detailed research is yet to be done on the spread and establishment of these communities in other parts of the country (nigeria) today. 66 aja, the history of nkerefi… p. 10. 67 aja, the history of nkerefi… p. 11. igwebuike: a conceptual tool for change in the liberation of african women igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 113 igwebuike: a conceptual tool for change in the liberation of african women nnoruga james department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe university, awka nnorugajames@gmail.com executive summary when women in their numbers find themselves socially, economically, politically deprived and progressively thrown further and further away from the centre of life and meaning, it is not a mere accident or effect of an unknown factor. consciously or unconsciously, it shows that there is a big problem unattended to. the subjugation of women in the world remains one thing men do not consider seriously as something worth fighting for. recently, the struggle has started toward the liberation of african women. igwebuike principle is used here to show the way to the liberation of african women. the approach used here is reflective and theological approach. keywords: liberation, igwebuike, kanu ikechukwu anthony, african, women, conceptual tool introduction recently, liberation has been a cause of concern to the whole world, both from the point of men and women. for ages, liberation has been about men in africa or community or village; nothing meaningful has been done or carried out about women liberation. according to umeh ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 114 (2004), the ”book of exodus” is an account of god’s liberation of the people of israel. this means that liberation has been there for ages, about people who are dominated by other people stronger than they are. it is known that israelite liberation happened because of injustice, slavery, social and economic exploitation found among the people of israel by their stronger opposing nation, egypt. this goes on to show that for liberation to take place, there must be underlying crisis or factors that necessitate liberation. it does not happen in a vacuum, for man always yearns to be free, yet always chained by one bad situation or the other. today, in the world of globalization, women suffer in different ways, which can stem from psychological, sociological, cultural, to political crisis or problem meted out to them by their male counterparts or society. arinze-umobi (2010) articulated it as thus: violation of women’s right is a global problem that affects third world countries and some developing countries …. violence against women and girls is one of the most widespread violations of human rights. it can include physical, sexual, psychological and economic abuse, and it can include physical, sexual, psychological and economic abuse, and it cuts across boundaries of age, race, culture, wealth and geography. it takes place in the home, on the streets, in schools, the workplace, in farm fields during conflicts and crises. (p. 715). from the above quotation, one recalls the prevalent rape going on everywhere in most places, or brutal killings of women in war or by terrorists. objectively, liberation cut across all ages, races, continents, human right and status because sufferings or crises are seen or emanate virtually from these aspects and spheres of life or from any part of the world. so far, it is known that crisis or suffering is a monster bedeviling our society or african nations, especially for their backwardness or understanding of life in this contemporary age. igwebuike: a conceptual tool for change in the liberation of african women igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 115 hence, there is need for the liberation of african women from all these shackles of devils reducing their meaningful and joyful life. sequel to this hopeless situation in africa, this write-up views igwebuike principles as a way of liberation for african women. this will ensure a balance and joyful life for african women. though many principles or solutions for the liberation of african women have been given or suggested by many african scholars or theologians, from their own point of view, igwebuike principles will ensure the development and advancement of african women because it is based on african world views primarily, rather than other world views. though references may go beyond african women, but it measures more on african women and igbo perspective. african situation: women predicament african nations, as of today, are still suffering heavily from the burdens of their past invasion, exploitation and partition of african countries by the european countries. under the evils of slave trade, millions of africans, especially women, were taken into slavery and abused violently, and most of them died. slave traders engaged in the exportation of able-bodied women for sexual activities outside africa. this is one of the ways the rights of the african women were subdued, and violence enthroned into their lives. today, slavery is being replaced by human trafficking in major parts of africa, and this involves women and children mostly. it goes on to show that women are less valued in our society today. there may be other causes of women trafficking but the bottom line is that society does not value them as their male counterparts, and government in place does not protect its citizens. it is known that recently, african women are deceived for better jobs in other countries of the world, like italy, germany, malaysia, china, and so on. slavery or women trafficking, which may be caused by unemployment, poverty, greed, ignorance, will be controlled through quality education and self-sustenance, and this involves liberation. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 116 culturally, african women are subjugated in different ways. this hampers them from living the fullness of their lives as normal human beings. according to oborji (2005), there are some cultural hardships that african women are experiencing. these range from aspects of african customs and traditions that oppress women and put them in the state of inferiority complex, when they compare themselves with other women in the world. this, of course, prevents them from participating fully and elegantly in the development of the african society. there are some cultures that restrict african women from coming out at certain times of the day or at festivals. most of the african cultures place more value on the male child in the society. with this, women or girls in the african society or family are valued less than their male counterparts. sometimes, this leads the head of the family to marry another wife, thereby putting the woman or the wife in perpetual agony. here, ezeigbo (1966) is of the opinion that the losing or changing of names upon marriage by african women subdues them all the more, though marriage is seen as one of the hallmarks of a complete woman. ezenwanebe (2010) agrees strongly that being an african woman in the family has a lot of demands like pregnancy, house work, child care, and so on, which is a burden to womanhood and a serious threat to self-realization and freedom. yet, marriage is seen or perceived as the major perspective from which one can better access a woman’s other life aspirations. according to muonwe (2016), a woman is, so to speak, a nobody outside of marriage” (p. 3). from the social point of view, african women are subjugated in different ways. they are being discriminated against in so many ways in favour of their fellow africans or male counterparts in the family circle. muonwe (2016) relates that: in the traditional igbo society, during her menstruation, the wife is not allowed to cook for her husband, especially if he is a titled man (though this practice is no longer wide spread today), because she is believed to be impure…. she is not only forbidden to cook for igwebuike: a conceptual tool for change in the liberation of african women igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 117 her husband during this period, but is also required to avoid coming near him. in certain cases, she lives in a separate house and is forbidden to touch ceremonial objects, else they become defiled. ( pp. 14-15). poverty also has helped to reduce african women to a mere human whose task cannot be more than that of man or just bearing children. unemployment finally gave a deadly blow to our economy, and consequently our women are affected adversely. traditionally, it is believed that there are certain tasks or employments or jobs women will not do. this hampers greatly the actualization of their dreams in life. some african men believe that the task of women begins and ends in the kitchen and “the other room”. through this way, abuses and violence are done to african women, and their rights constantly denied. according to arinze-umeobi (2010): violence affects the lives of millions of women worldwide, in all socio economic and educational classes. it cuts across cultural and religious banners, impeding the right of women to participate fully in a society. violence against women takes a dismaying variety of forms, from domestic abuse and rape to child marriages and female circumcision. (p. 716). some ideologies believe in the reality of inequality. this shows that women, generally, in the family and society are oppressed. marxists claim that gender inequality originated from man’s desire to own property in herding and agricultural economy of pre-industrial society. engels (cited by ezenwanebe, (2010)) points out that certain historical conditions led to women’s subjugation and this started when man’s desire to ensure the paternity of the children, who would become heirs to his properties, led to an increased restriction of the women; a mere instrument for breeding children. zaretsky (1976) agrees with the marxists that it is the capitalists who benefit most from women’s subjugation and oppression. in private life, women dominate, but in public life, it is believed to be the area of men; that is why zaretsky ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 118 agrees with marxists that capitalism benefits more from domestic labour of housewives who reproduce future generation of workers at no cost to the capitalist. male domination or chauvinism has been traced again as the source or the problem of women’s subjugation in most places. this is seen most often in patriarchal societies. this ideology or society favours male issues and sees women as not equal to men. it is known that africans accepted this ideology or cultural system without making any effort to deconstruct the system. the deconstruction of patriarchal ideology is necessary for the growth of african women. this is a social system in which men hold primary power and pre-dominate in roles of political leadership, moral authority, social privilege and control of property. some patriarchal societies are also patrilineal, meaning that property and title are inherited by the male lineage. this patriarchal ideology is attributed to inherent natural differences between men and women. but sociologists tend to see patriarchy as a social product and not as an outcome of innate difference between the sexes, and they focus attention on the way that gender roles in a society affect power differentials between men and women. in fact, most societies are patriarchal in practice. again, feminist theorists see it as a primary cause of women’s oppression and subjugation. so many feminists have called for culture repositioning as a method for deconstructing patriarchy. this culture repositioning relates to culture change and it involves the construction of the cultural concept of a society. layli (cited by ezenwanebe, 2010)) defines feminism as the “critical perspective and social movement that revolves around the eradication of sexism, the dismantling of patriarchy and elimination of violence against women” (p. 6). this is a view that women are oppressed and subdued by many obstacles limiting the actualization of their potentials. it calls for women to challenge and transgress the obstacles to free themselves. most feminist theorists believe that it is an unjust social system that is harmful to both men and women. it involves any social, political or igwebuike: a conceptual tool for change in the liberation of african women igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 119 economic mechanism that evokes male dominance over women. again, some feminists believe that it is man and his society, not capitalists, who benefit most from women oppression, and only a change in the status of women in society can bring an end to their subservient oppression. but firestone (1970) argues that gender inequality and women operation are3 biologically determined, producing what is referred to as sexual class system. the above thought refers to the burden of family lives on women. some scholars objected strongly to the view that it is not the family task or biological make up of women that devalues them but the way african society interprets their world view, and the interpretation that ties them to reproduction and family care. this in a great way hampers african women from the business of governance in africa. in fact, women in politics are sometimes seen as wayward women; it is only recently that the mentality is changing. sequel to this and other factors, women are not seen much elected in political offices in the african political arena. even in the process of appointment into political offices, african women are neglected because of mindset . but women can lead when elected and can manage authority more than men. it is on record that during this corona virus pandemic that most countries of the world ruled by women are low in the number of people affected and number of people that died. but most countries in the world ruled by men recorded more suffering and death during this corona virus pandemic. this means that women govern well and care very much. african women are highly subjugated or oppressed in the world today. there are many accusing fingers pointing at the ugly situation of african women. the solution is yet farfetched; where it is found or suggested, it is hard to be implemented. the worst is that even the women themselves seem to accept and enjoy the situation. igwebuike principle will help to enhance the freedom of african women because it is african worldview-oriented and it is going to be achieved by collective and individual efforts. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 120 igwebuike and its principles having seen the condition of african women, which needs liberation urgently, we proffer and analyze the principles to ameliorate the conditions of african women. for it is known that most african women migrate to other continents of the world for better living and balanced life. recently, the rate of rape against african women reported in the internally displaced peoples’ camp was alarming. sequel to all these, the principles of igwebuike developed by professor kanu ikechukwu anthony need to be analyzed for the liberation of african women. according to kanu (2015), igwebuike is the modality of being, and being in igbo ontology is ‘idi’, that is ‘to be’. igwebuike is an igbo word which is a combination of three words. according to him: it can be understood as a word and as a sentence: as a word, it is written thus igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written thus, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space and [meaning]. (p. 67). he goes further to explain the three words that make up the word, igwebuike. igwe is a noun which means ‘number’ or ‘population’, usually a large number or population; bu is a verb which means ‘is’; ike is a noun, which means ‘strength’ or ‘power.’ when these words are put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’ (kanu, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019). this, in effect, means when a good number, group or society of human beings comes together in solidarity, they are powerful. again, solidarity combines with complementarity because everybody needs each other to make a complete whole. it constitutes a powerful group and an insurmountable force. at this level, kanu asserts that no task is beyond their collective capability. again this analysis provides or proves an african ontology that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. mbiti (1960) also asserts that “man is at the very centre of existence, and african people see everything else in its relation to this central position of man… it is as igwebuike: a conceptual tool for change in the liberation of african women igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 121 if god exists for the sake of man” (p. 92). metuh (1991) affirms that “everything else in african worldview seems to get its bearing and significance from the position, meaning and end of man” (p. 109). the above analysis shows that for man to achieve his aims or objectives in this world, he has to be in relational character with the other people around him. this will ensure a formidable force. the human person, following the african worldview, is understood in his relation with god and his fellow human beings. ideologically, kanu (2015) argues that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is to be with the other in a community of being. onwubiko (1991) expresses this sense of community rightly with lozi proverb which says: “go the way that many people go, if you go alone you will have reason to lament” (p. 13). anchoring on or explaining igwebuike on the basis of african worldview, iroegbu (1994) describes it as being characterized by a common origin, common worldview, common language, common historical experiences and common destiny. determining the role of community to individual or human beings, mbiti (1969) asserts that “i am because we are and since we are, therefore i am” (p. 108). the sense of community here portrays family-hood or brotherhood, which means collaboration in existence. achebe (cited by kanu, 2015), in order to bring out the essential nature of the igbo african communal relationship, asserts that: we do not ask for wealth because he that has wealth and children will also have wealth. we do not pray to have more money but to have more kinsmen. we are better than animals because we have kinsmen. an animal rubs its itching flank against a tree, a man asks his kinsmen to scratch him. (p. 68). the above shows that life is shared in african worldview which makes life meaningful. so, it is in relationship or coming together that ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 122 each completes a whole. thus, every being has a missing part and is at the same time a missing part. ekwulu (cited by kanu, 2015) confirms the above view that “if the other is my part or a piece of me, it means that i need him for me to be complete, for me to be what i really am. the other completes rather than diminishes me” (p. 189). this rightly explains why igbo-african worldview would refer to the other as ‘ibe’, which means a piece of or a part of, as in ‘ibe ji’ (a piece of yam), or ‘ibe ede’ (a piece of cocoyam). kanu (2015) asserts that the igbo-african refers to the other person as ‘ibe’ which means ‘my piece’, or ‘mmadu ibe m’ (my fellow human being). this is a concept also employed in relation to relationships and reciprocity: love one another (hunu ibe unu n’anya), help one another (nyere nu ibe unu aka), respect one another (sopuru nu ibe unu). from the above, we see that igwebuike portrays the african sense of commonality, solidarity, brotherhood, familyhood and complementality as the root of african world view, thought and ontological quality of real the african which is needed to liberate african people from the state of subjugation seen in all aspects of their lives (kanu, 2016 & 2018). igwebuike and its powers towards liberation we have seen the ugly situation of african women which needs liberation to have a full life. we noticed again that the feminist writers, more than any set of people, increasingly and strongly call attention to an end to the oppression of women which has been there since human history. sequel to the above, tutu (1979) posits that liberation is the objective task of contemporary african scholars. african theologians have sought this liberation in the light of the gospel message. igwebuike principles, on its own, combine gospel message and african world view in seeking a way of liberation for african women. the liberation of african women entails eliminating all forces that hinder african women from living fully as human beings. the above assertion on the principles of igwebuike are the same with murray’s igwebuike: a conceptual tool for change in the liberation of african women igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 123 (1979) principles of liberation which assert that the term liberation has three distinct levels of meaning: (a) socio-political liberation, (b) a historical process of humanization and self-realization, and (c) liberation from sin and admission to communion with god. the igwebuike principle is rooted in the african world view, and this can be linked to the inculturation used by theologians today (kanu, 2017). it involves removal of bad traditional cultures. oborji (2005) relates that these are those cultural hardships that african women experience; that is, those aspects of african customs and traditions which oppress women, put them in the state of inferiority complex and subjugation with the men folk, and deny them the right to participate fully as equal partners in the development of africa. this entails that africans can, on their own, stop all customs and traditions which they see that is oppressing their womenfolk. it coincides with the saying that man is meant for sabbath and not sabbath for man. this implies also replacing those customs and traditions with good ones that will make african women to be proud of themselves. one of the principles of igwebuike includes complementarities and shared experiences. it is true that men and women differ in some significant ways, but it equally shows that they are not different as day and night or light and darkness (kanu, 2017 & 2019). hence, udebunu (2010) asserts that: from the stand point of nature, men and women are much closer to each other than either anything else and an exclusive gender identity is a suppression of these natural similarities. men and women have the human “species characteristics” of capacity for language, intellect and imagination, upright stance, thumb opposition and manipulation, tool-making and toolusing and extended childhood and parenting that mark ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 124 us off from other species and are constituents of the evolutionary jump to human society. these characteristics are shared between the sexes and there is no good reason to doubt that the shift from biological evolution to history should also be shared accomplishment. (p. 158). this shows that human beings generally are almost the same in everything. since men and women share the same capacity, ability and skill, there is no reason to suppress the other on the basis of gender. igwebuike is endowed with the principle of complementarity (kanu, 2014). we know that no tree can make a forest. so, instead of amplifying the differences in men and women by virtue of their biological or body difference which leads to subjugation and exclusion of women from the vital activities in the african society, africans should decide or develop how best to harmonize or complement the great qualities or skills found in men and women’s biological nature to achieve great living and advancement in the society. however, udebunu (2010) rejects the efforts of those who, in an attempt to achieve the above complementarity and advocated for both sexes, that is encouraging women to become more like men, dropping their womanly qualities, as if they succeed only to the extent they achieve masculine status or vice versa. hence, igwebuike, as a principle, is projecting a means whereby both male and female come together in a new synthesis or synergy and achieve a difficult task in a holistic manner. using igwebuike as a conceptual tool for change, the issue of mental attitude towards certain areas of life has to be changed or reconstructed to accommodate womens’ life in the society. for example, in terms of political life, family life is seen by certain feminists as the tyranny of family or criticized as barrier to political equality and a source of psychological, economic and political oppression. here, the principle of relation in igwebuike comes in because family must be part of the political life. udebunu (2010) hints igwebuike: a conceptual tool for change in the liberation of african women igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 125 also that gone is the time when political institution exists exclusively of its own, independent of the family life. bottomore (1964), on the above stand, says that “the institutions which exist in the differing spheres of society are not merely co-existent but are connected with each other by relations of coincidence or contradiction and mutually affect each other” (pp. 121-122). this implies that there is a significant relationship that exists between the structure or formation of nuclear family and the structure of the wide political society of which it is a part and parcel . eckstein (cited by udebunu, 2010) supports the above when he points out that the stability of any political order is dependent upon the congruence between governmental authority structures and other such structures in the society, including those of work places, pressure groups, schools and, most significantly, the family. with this, the above family life, through the principles of igwebuike, can never be a barrier to political life, but indeed can bring fullness of life for african women. the principle of solidarity in igwebuike again brings in the effort of women themselves to recognize the power in them and to rise up against oppression meted out to them by the menfolk. the coming together of women to have one voice and strength etymologically depicts igwebuike (strength in number). this has been done in most countries of africa where women liberate themselves from the oppression they found themselves in. muonwe (2016) expresses the efforts of igbo women through their organized women revolts as thus: because of the weakened position igbo women found themselves in, as a result of colonial policies and administrative strategies, the staged quite a good number of demonstrations, “wars”, protests and riots. they did these to press home their demand for a better treatment and to register their displeasure with what they saw as injustice, deprivation of their basic rights, and bastardization of igbo culture. (p. 97). ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 126 some of these revolts by igbo women include: (a) 1916 onitsha women market demonstrations. (b) 1925 women movement. (c) oil mill demonstration 1940-1950. there are revolts, especially those bordering on rape in the recent times, by which young women in nigeria and other african countries protest openly against rape and other oppressive actions. finally, the situation of african women needs liberation. the principles of igwebuike, as a tool for change, when properly applied within africa, will definitely help in liberating the african women. conclusion the write-up has shown the possibility of liberating african women using the liberating principles of igwebuike. it does not involve dismantling of any institution, but transforming our world view which involves change of attitude, empowerment, and proper education of african women. this will ensure that every woman can say no to subjugation and exploitation or oppression of any kind. mbefo (2009) supports and enumerates strategies for winning the battle or the struggle for african women liberation from male hegemony and subjugation. firstly, he proposes that we must look into the contemporary situation of women in the wider world in order to insert african women into broader global picture. african women must see themselves as modern women of twenty-first century. secondly, in order not to be alienated from african roots and, therefore, to highlight their identity as african women, women must look deeper into their african history to effect a genuine update of african values. all these affirm the principles of igwebuike discussed above. however, this involves strong will and effort, for liberation struggle entails much. igwebuike: a conceptual tool for change in the liberation of african women igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 127 references achebe, c, (1958). things fall apart. london. heinemann. arinze-umeobi, s. o. (2010). women and globalization in the nigerian filmindustry: an appraisal of selected nigerian films. in a. b. c. chiegboka, t. u. utuh, ezeajuh and g. i. udechukwu (eds.). the humanities and globalization in the third millennius (pp. 715-720). nimo: rex charles and patrick. bottomore, t. b. (1964). elites and society. england: harmondsworth. ezeigbo, a. t. (1996). gender issues in nigeria: a feminist perspective. lagos: vista. ezenwannebe, o. c. (2010). issues in women’s liberation struggles in contemporary nigeria: a study of ezeigbo’s hands that crush stone. journal of international women’s studies. 16,3, 262-276. firestone, s. (1992). the dialects of sex. london: paladin. iroegbu, p. (1995). metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: international university press. kanu i. a. (2015b). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu i. a. (2017). igwebuikeconomics: towards an inclusive economy for economic development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 6. 113-140. kanu i. a. (2017). sources of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. 9. 1. pp. 1-23. kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. kanu, a. i. (2017c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 7. pp. 165-183. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 128 kanu, a. i. (2017d). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 6. pp. 16-50. kanu, a. i. (2017f). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. pp. 153-160. kanu, i. a. (2010). towards an african cultural renaissance. professor bassey andah journal of cultural studies. volume 3, pp. 146-155. kanu, i. a. (2012). a metaphysical epistemological study of african medical practitioners. in o. e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (2012). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 227-240). nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2012). being qua belongingness: the provenance and implications of pantaleon’s redefinition of being. uche: journal of the department of philosophy, university of nigeria, nsukka. vol. 17. pp. 57-58. kanu, i. a. (2012). from ‘onye’ to ‘ife’ hypothesis: the contribution of edeh to the development of the concept of being. lwati: a journal of contemporary research. 9, 4. 218-223. kanu, i. a. (2012). inculturation and christianity in africa. international journal of humanities and social science. vol. 2. no. 17. pp. 236-244. kanu, i. a. (2012). the functionality of being in pantaleon's operative metaphysics vis-a-vis the niger delta conflict. african research review: an international multidisciplinary journal. vol.6. no.1. pp. 212-222. kanu. i. a. (2012). towards an igbo christology, in ezenweke, e.o and kanu, a.i. (eds) issues in african traditional religion and philosophy, jos: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2012). the problem of being in metaphysics. african research review: an international multi-disciplinary journal. vol.6. no.2. april. pp. 113-122. igwebuike: a conceptual tool for change in the liberation of african women igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 129 kanu, i. a. (2012). the problem of personal identity in metaphysics. international journal of arts and humanities. vol.1. no.2. pp.1-13. kanu, i. a. (2012a). the concept of life and person in african anthropology. in e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (eds.). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 61-71). nigeria: augustinian. kanu, i. a. (2012b). towards an igbo christology. in e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (eds.). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 75-98). nigeria: augustinian. kanu, i. a. (2013). african identity and the emergence of globalization. american international journal of contemporary research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 34-42. kanu, i. a. (2013). globalisation, globalism and african philosophy. c. umezinwa (ed.). african philosophy: a pragmatic approach to african probems (pp. 151-165). germany: lambert. kanu, i. a. (2013). on the sources of african philosophy. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 337-356. kanu, i. a. (2013). the dimensions of african cosmology. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 533-555. kanu, i. a. (2014). a historiography of african philosophy. global journal for research analysis. volume. 3. issue. 8. pp. 188190. mbefo, l. n. (2005). african women and the challenges of modernity. bigard theological studies. 29, 2. 51-63. mbiti, j. s. (1969). african religions and philosophy. london: heinemann. metuh, i. e. (1991). african religions in western conceptual schemes. jos: imico. muonwe, m. (2016). new dawn for african women; igbo perspective. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 130 bloomington: xlibris. murray, p. (1979). black theology and feminist theory: a comparative view. in g. s. wilmore & j. h. cone (eds.). black theology: a documentary history. 1966-1979 (pp. 398-417). new york: orbis book. onwubiko, o. a. (1991). the christian mission and culture in africa. african thought, religion and culture. enugu: snapp press. tutu, d. m. (1979). black theology/ african theologysoul mates or antagonists? in g.s. wilmore & j. h. cone (eds.). black theology: a documentary history, 1966-1979 (pp. 483491). new york: orbis book. udebunu, c. (2010). from nuclear to global family: plato’s feminism and the politics of identity. in a. b. c. chiegboka, t. c. utoh-ezeajuh & g. i. udechukwu (eds.) in the humanities and globalisation in the third millennium (pp. 152-163). nimo: rex charles & patrick. umeh, e. c. (2004). option for the poor. an african liberation theology. enugu: snaap press. zaretsky, e. (1976). capitalism: the family and personal life. london: pluto press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 72 the role of rehab in the conquest story of joshua as a manifestation of igwebuike theology: a narrative analysis of joshua 2 malachy udochukwu theophilus, osa santa maria university school of theology san francisco, usa theophilusmalachy@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.28703.51361 abstract in this work, the author has argued that josh 2 does not interrupt the plot of the conquest story, rather it progresses it. the narrator, by letting us see the psychological condition of the inhabitants of jericho through the lens of a canaanite prostitute, prepared the ground for the conquest. this shows that joshua chapter 2 fits into the larger narrative context. after a close reading of the episode, we discovered that despite being depicted as an "other" and a woman of loose virtue, the focus of the episode swings onto rahab and evaluates her positively as a woman of wisdom and faith, and god's tool of ironic deliverance. thereby showing that despite her "otherness," she still has a place in god's global plan of salvation; a role that further foreshadows her as the future ancestress of jesus in the new testament. the role of rahab, as established in this paper, further reminds us of a theological twist which yehezkel kaufman calls "dual causality" a theological principle that emphasizes the human course of events in a story that is guided by the word of god. the aim of this piece is to investigate the narrator's interest and the theological import of josh 2, with particular attention to the role of rahab in the plot of the conquest story. this will help us see how the role of rehab in the conquest story exemplifies a true manifestation of igwebuike theology. my approach will be synchronic; that is, taking the book of joshua as a complete whole, i will try to argue for the place of josh 2 in general and rahab in particular to the literary unit called "the conquest story." i will also highlight how her role, from a literary point of view, becomes a prolepsis to an event which is to come. keywords: igwebuike, theology, rahab, joshua, conquest, narrative, synchronic introduction reading the conquest story of joshua, and particularly paying attention to the role of rahab in the capture of jericho, the question that immediately comes to mind is whether rahab is a saviour, a traitor, or a victim. if one cast a critical eye mailto:theophilusmalachy@gmail.com https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.28703.51361?_sg%5b0%5d=mrxx0w1c49be1vvaby9sn1visj8exrdfdkdhxkedoo6bhkgz_vsgm7zxtpsm1bbd9vacl03zftbv5sxb8mj0cpzzea.olygo13oqi-taoioogrxxp6paj18kpkjm5do-foocpgd9pr73wlghn7ywnzeww5tyzq54r6cady4ozqm5syfmg igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 73 on the story, rahab will definitely be labeled "a traitor" who orchestrated the genocide of her people. however, though the story as it is told appears to have been shaped for israelite listeners with israel's interests encoded; in the final analysis, it bespeaks an igwebuike theology. igwebuike is an igbo compound word, derived from a combination of three words: igwe bu ike, which literarily translates as "multitude/population (igwe), is (bu), stength/power (ike). simply put, it means "there is strength in number." this is an existential reality that stresses, in the words of anthony ikechukwu kanu, the proponent of igwebuike philosophy and theology, that "when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful and can constitute an insurmountable force."16as a theological reality, it emphasizes that any human being, irrespective of tribe, religion nationality, and even moral standings, can be an instrument in the hand of the divine for the global picture of salvation. it de-emphasizes those things that separate us. with the above understanding in mind, the narrative of joshua 2 recounts a spy mission. joshua sends two israelites to reconnoitre the "promised land" ahead of the israelite entry into it via jericho. while the story begins expectedly, the plot quickly twists, as rahab, a canaanite prostitute, aids and abets the spies in their escape from the jericho authorities. i agree with hawk who opined that "the story of rahab and the israelite spies is arguably the most richly textured text in the book of joshua."17 it combines elements of irony, humour and inter-textuality 16 kanu, i. a. "igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization," in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no. 1 (march 2016), 3; kanu, i. a. (2016) ―igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology.‖ journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3;kanu, i. a. (2016). ―igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles.‖ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 2; kanu, i. a. (2017). ―igwebuike and the logic of african philosophy.‖ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1; kanu, i. a. (2017). ―igwebuike and the question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge.‖ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1; kanu, i. a. (2017). ―igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education.‖ nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6; kanu, i. a. (2017). ―igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2; kanu, i. a. (2017). ―igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment‖. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4; kanu, i. a. (2017). ―igwebuike as an igbo-african wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering.‖ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. 17 daniel l hawk, joshua berit olam (collegeville, mn : the liturgical press, 2000): 35. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 74 to highlight the literary role of rahab in the conquest story of joshua. this, however, is not to veil the interpretative difficulty inherent in josh 2. the first challenge the reader encounters as he engages the text is the prominent place given to a prostitute in the story. yair zakovitch expresses this scandal better: "why should the book of wars of the lord...begin precisely at the house of a harlot? why does the jericho prostitute get such a prominent place... on the very opening pages of the books of the former prophets?"18. my aim in this paper is not necessarily to answer the aforementioned questions, rather, i intend to investigate the narrator's interest and the theological import of josh 2, with particular attention to the role of rahab in the plot of the conquest story. this will help us see how the role of rehab in the conquest story exemplifies a true manifestation of igwebuike theology. my approach will be synchronic; that is, taking the book of joshua as a complete whole, i will try to argue for the place of josh 2 in general and rahab in particular to the literary unit called "the conquest story." i will also highlight how her role, from a literary point of view, becomes a prolepsis to an event which is to come. the literary context of josh 2 scholars from historical critical stand point holds that the narrative of the mission of the spies and of rahab‘s intervention sits oddly with the story of the settlement of the land as a divinely directed conquest; "it sticks out", says boling, "like a sore thumb."19 and bernard robinson would ask: "what room is there in the supernatural tale told in chapters 1 and 6 of joshua for the covert human action of chapter 2?" as such, he opines that "it has been plausibly suggested that josh 2 derives from a tradition about the fall of jericho which attributed it to a betrayal from within by rahab, rather than to the miraculous intervention narrated in chapter 6. just as an inhabitant of bethel shows spies the way into that city (judg 1:22-26), so in this tradition rahab will have used her scarlet cord to guide the israelites into jericho, perhaps by marking a weak point in the wall. 18 yair zakovitch, "humor and theology or the successful failure of israelite intelligence: a literary-folkloric approach to joshua 2", in susan niditch (ed.), text and tradition: the hebrew bible and folklore (atlanta: scholars press 1990), 76. 19 robert g. boling, joshua. anchor bible 6 ( new york: doubleday, 1984): 150. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 75 so in his opinion, the rahab stories as they stand are unlikely, therefore, to be historical. 20 first and foremost, the episode in chapter two does not contradict the story of the settlement in the land as a divinely directed conquest. contrary to what boling and other scholars of historical-critical stock may think, in josh 2 the narrator, through an act of showing and using the lens of rahab, enables us to see the story as a divinely directed conquest. this is evident in the words of rahab to the spies in 2:9, "we know that the lord has given you the land ..." furthermore, it is important to note that the book of joshua is not a history in the modern sense of the word, but a history in the narrative sense;21 or as von rad would put it, a kerygmatic or confessional history.22 in his words: the old testament writings confine themselves to representing yahweh's relationship to israel and the world in one aspect only, namely as a continuing divine activity in history. this implies that in principle israel's faith is grounded in a theology of history... when we speak of divine acts in history, we are of course thinking of those which the faith of israel regarded as such that is, the call of the forefathers, the deliverance from egypt, the bestowal of the land of canaan, etc. and not of the results of modern critical historical scholarship, to which israel's faith was unrelated.23 thus, narrative history shows the perspectives and the theological ideologies of the author. it lays out the ground for israel's claim to the land of canaan over and against rival claimants. according to hawk, the book of joshua argues that: the land of canaan became the land of israel because the god of israel gave the land to his people in fulfilment of promises to israel's ancestors. the same god fought for israel, defeated all opposing forces, and subdued the peoples of the land.24 20 bernard p. robinson, “rahab of canaan and israel,” scandinavian journal of the old testament no. 23 (2009): 259-60. 21 note that a narrative reading does not inquire into joshua's accuracy as a historical source 22 cf. von rad, old testament theology: the theology of israel's historical traditions (edinburgh, london: scm press 1975): 108. 23 von rad, old testament theology, 106. 24 daniel l hawk, "the truth about the conquest: joshua as history, narrative, and scripture," interpretation: a journal of bible and theology 66 no. 2 (2012): 134. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 76 as the book of joshua opens, joshua and the new generation of israelites are repoised to take the promised land. in chapter 1, the narrator is somewhat ambivalent regarding both joshua and israel. he emphatically identifies successful obedience as the goal, but leaves open that failure is a genuine possibility. chapter 2 is actually joshua's first opportunity to prove himself. the episode in chapter 2 is presented as a narrative master class. aaron sherwood observed, and rightly so, that several factors, or better still, features identify josh 2 as an independent episode of scenic narration. it opens and closes with descriptive narration, covering much narrative time with comparatively little discourse".25 these sections are marked out by the heavy use of wayyiqtol26 forms in 2:2-4 and 2:21-24. in v. 1, the narrator sets the scene for the episode, and vv. 21b-24 function as a coda27. however, despite its narrative beauty, some scholars argue that chapter 1 would have fitted smoothly with chapter 3 which sets the plot in forward motion, in obedience to the instruction of yhwh to joshua in chapter 1. as such, they believe that chapter 2 interrupts the flow of the conquest story, and consequently, represents secondary insertion into the book of joshua. according to creach jerome: joshua 2 seems to have been inserted between two stories that once went together. indeed, joshua 3:2 uses the temporal reference ―after three days‖ to show continuity with joshua 1, which mentions the same time interval (see 1:11). it has been noted further that the spy mission in chapter 2 would have taken longer than the three days that passes between joshua‘s installation and the jordan crossing (and josh. 2:22 says the spies stayed three days in the hills after leaving rahab). even if these references to ―three days‖ are meant figuratively, the rahab story still appears to interrupt the logical connection between chapters 1 and 3.28 25 aaron sherwood, "a leader's misleading and a prostitute's profession: a re-examination of joshua 2," journal for the study of the old testament 31 no. 1 (2006): 46. 26 in grammatical hebrew syntax, a wayyiqtol form is used in clauses depicting sequential events. it is a verbal form that usually appears in chain and communicates coordinated information, normally sequent to one another. 27 the coda signals that the narrative has come to an end; it completes the narrative discourse. see adele berlin poetics and interpretation of biblical narrative (winona lake, in: eisenbrauns, 1994): 107. 28 creach f.d. jerome, joshua, interpretation (louisville, ky. : westminster john knox press, 2003): 31. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 77 without downplaying the importance of diachronic approach to biblical text, i think there is a coherence between chapter 2 and the conquest story in general. the account‘s location at the head of the conquest story hints at its, not only literary, but also theological significance. because of features like suspense, sexual innuendo, and an underdog who triumphs, which a modern audience expects in a great story, josh 2 can and should be appreciated for its literary artistry. this chapter is also in conformity with the theology of the book of joshua, namely it is yhwh who gave the land of canaan to his people israel. as such, i would think that the episode as narrated in joshua 2 is clearly intended to serve the development of the plot within this carefully structured story, and more particularly within the subdivision that is thematically focused on yhwh's entrance into canaan. joshua 2 is the link between yhwh's commissioning the entrance in chapter 1 and the actual entrance recounted in chapters 3 and 4. it is crucial to remember that in chapter 1, yhwh instructs his servant joshua to cross the jordan not to plunder or merely to pass through but to take permanent possession of a land long occupied by strongly entrenched squatter peoples. according to john h. stek: the central question raised for joshua and israel by the commission they received in chapter 1 is not can it be done? neither was that the question when moses, upon yhwh's instructions, sent the twelve spies into canaan (num. 13). both there and here, the question is the same: what are the conditions and circumstances we will confront when we cross over into the promised land? in other words, what is the situation and the terrain?29 in my opinion, i think this is the question chapter 2 tries to answer within the narrative framework of the conquest story of joshua. it helps us see, through the eyes of rahab, the psychological conditions of the inhabitants of jericho. but before we see how this played out, let's pause a while to examine the designation of rahab in this episode. 29 john h. stek, "rahab of canaan and israel: the meaning of joshua 2," catholic theological journal 37 (2002): 30-31. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 78 rahab: a prostitute or an innkeeper? rahab is the only full character30 in the episode. she appears, explicitly or implicitly, in all the scenes and is given the majority of the dialogue. some scholars, beginning with josephus, have tried to soften rahab's designation as a 'prostitute', arguing that she is merely an innkeeper, and that her house is an inn (rather than exclusively a brothel). however, i think there is nothing in the text that suggests such softened interpretation. the text categorically tells us the two spies came to that city and "entered the house of a harlot" ויבאו בית־א֥שה זונה (cf. josh 2,1), whose name was rahab and stayed there temporarily. from the evidence we have in the text, it is obvious rahab lived in a house on the city wall, perhaps near the main gate. she was also a recognized member of her family group (2:12-13,18). she is depicted as one who has knowledge of affairs beyond the city and national borders. a parallel may be found in the inn-keeper of old babylonian times. the inn (bit säbi(ti)) was kept by a man or woman who was required to notify the palace of any stranger, especially one engaged in hostile activity, who might come to it (see laws of hammurabi, § 109). this comparison with the babylonian säbitu would raise the question of semantics. can we find the precise meaning of the hebrew root znh ? josephus has rahab not as a 'harlot' (zona) but as one who 'kept an inn' (καταγωγιον)31 and in this is followed by the targum and midrash. while this could be attributed to the nature of his apologia or be considered 'a distinction without a difference,' it is striking that zona can be defined as having friendly dealings with alien persons or institutions. given the semantic affinity of the root znh with the arabic zina, a verb used especially in the quran to describe illicit sex, i think zona most likely translates as "harlot" and not an "inn-keeper" as josephus claims. zina according to the qur'an is sexual intercourse outside marriage between consenting adults, whether they are married or not. zina is one of the forbidden deeds, one of the most serious major sins (kabaa'ir) after shirk and killing. (cf. surah, al-furqan 25:68-70). the qur'an says, "and come not near to unlawful sexual intercourse (zina). verily, it is a faahishah [anything that transgresses its limits-a great sin] and an evil way [that leads one to hell unless allah forgives him]" (surah, alisra', 17: 32). therefore, given that the narrator, as a literary artist, works within a historically determined social milieu, it is most likely that his understanding of 30 see adele berlin, 23. here full characters are defined as 'complex, manifesting a multitude of traits, and appearing as "real people"'. see also jean-louis ska, our fathers have told us: introduction to the analysis of hebrew narratives (rome: editrice pontificio istituto biblico 1990): 83. 31 josephus, ant. 6.2. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 79 the word zona is harlot, and thus a necessary supposition for rahab is 'the harlot'. as such, she functions as a marginal figure in the society, tolerated but despised. furthermore, sherwood observed that: since prostitution is a deuteronomic metaphor for idolatrous apostasy, rahab's profession strengthens her identity as a canaanite and underscores the canaanite's threatening practice of whoring after idols.32 thus the narrator sets up the reader, ironically, to expect nothing positive from rahab. but like every other irony, it is a call for surprises. thus, having established that rahab is not an inn-keeper, but a harlot, i will now do a close reading of josh 2 so as to establish the literary role of rahab in the conquest story. a close reading of joshua 2:1-24 in josh. 2:1 the setting changes to shittim. the interest shifts from crossing the jordan (cf. 1:11) to spying out jericho (2:1). god commanded joshua to "rise, cross the jordan"; instead, in josh. 2.1, joshua sends spies with the instructions: 'go' (lükû) and 'see the land' (rü´û ´et-hä´äºrec). it is therefore surprising to read of the spies response to this direct but simple order. instead of 'going and seeing', "they go and enter the house of a prostitute" (2:1). these actions, according to sherwood, "are the first indication something is amiss: the first instance of the command/fulfilment pattern in the book of joshua, here as the book opens, is prima facie an instance of command/failed fulfilment".33 i, however, wouldn't see it as a command/failed fulfilment pattern. rather, it could be a literary ploy on the part of the narrator to heighten the tension in the mind of the reader, who wonders if this would be a failed mission, thereby creating a sense of uneasiness. moreso, to "cross the jordan," they needed to know the terrain they were about to cross into; this explains the sending of the spies. through the use of negative language and imagery, the narrator cultivates a motif that we might label a 'calamity motif'. this motif is inherent in the expression: wayyëºlkû wayyäbö´û bêt´iššâ zônâ ("and they came and entered into the house of a woman, a prostitute"). the hebrew verb bö´, translated as "entered" can also refer to a man "coming to" a woman for the purpose of sexual intercourse (see gen 6:4; 16:2; 30:3; deut 32 sherwood, "a leader's misleading" 48. 33 sherwood, "a leader's misleading" 49. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 80 22:13; 1 sam 12:24 etc.). this connotation is made more plausible in this context with the apposition "... a prostitute" in the expression: "... and entered into the house of a woman, a prostitute". but this is not actually the information the reader expects from the narrator. we anticipate the narrator telling us of the spies clever manoeuvres to stay "undercover," of the sly deceptions they pulled off, of their courageous penetration of the king of jericho's inner counsels, of their sharp observations of jericho's defences any or all of those kinds of things that undercover spies do to gather military intelligence and escape detection so as to get back to those who sent them.34 he tells us none of these. as soon as our narrator has the spies in place in jericho, he shifts his focus to rahab, whose initiatives, it turns out, determine the whole outcome of this initial confrontation of the forces of israel and the forces of canaan. let's note the emphatic manner by which the narrator introduces rahab. the mt designates her with three names: a woman, a prostitute, and her name, "rahab". commenting on this, hawk says "as a woman of canaan and a prostitute, rahab personifies the temptation to apostatize."35 prostitution is a metaphor often used in the bible to describe israel's violation of her covenant with yhwh (see ex 34:14-16; deut 31:16-18; jer 3:1-10; hos 3:3). as such, the name "rahab," coupled with the epithet "prostitute", in the sublime opinion of hawk, reminds the reader that the goodness of the land itself may seduce israel from covenantal obedience to yhwh. prostitution (signifying) apostasy) thus serves as a motif which links the departure of the spies from shittim, where the israelites 'began to prostitute themselves' with the women of moab (see num 25:1), to their arrival at jericho, where they enter the house of a prostitute.36 in as much as i agree with hawk's interpretation, i also think the emphatic way in which rahab is introduced as a "prostitute" is meant to echo her sinful and insignificant status and highlight yhwh as the "man behind the scene," who uses the weak and the insignificant unto his glory, thus, making it evident that it is he, yhwh, who gives israel the land. it is not by their power or military might. 34 stek, "rahab of canaan and israel," 39. 35 hawk, joshua 41. 36 hawk, joshua 41. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 81 complication of the plot: the spies in danger (2,2-7) 2the king of jericho was told, "look, some of the israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land." 3 so the king of jericho sent this message to rahab: "bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land." 4 but the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. she said, "yes, the men came to me, but i did not know where they had come from. 5 at dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, they left. i don't know which way they went. go after them quickly. you may catch up with them." 6 (but she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof.) 7 so the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the jordan, and as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut (niv) the hinneh (look) clause in v. 2, which introduces the report of the coming of the spies, is very suggestive, particularly, in respect of the time the spies arrived jericho: hallaºylâ (at night). if read along the grains of the wisdom of the sages in proverbs 7:9-10: " in the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night: and, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of a harlot, and subtle of heart." this means the spies entered the city at night, probably knowing quite well that it is the time when prostitutes traverse the street, and perhaps met rahab on the street and followed her to her house. this actually complicates the story. the fact that rahab is a harlot is a dominant element in the story. as the spies enter her house, we were told at the end of v. 1, they "laid there" ( 37.(ויׁשכב אתה ) "instead of the similar, but the more sexual "lay with her ,(ויׁשכבו־ׁשמה but a second incidence will intensify the sexual connotations. the king arrives at rahab's house and instructs her "bring out the men who came to you, who came to your house" (v 3) the duplication in the king's words ("came to you" and "came to your house") is meant to convey two possibilities that play on the term "to come to" (לבוא אל), which connotes sexual activity. the first possibility is that the spies arrived at rahab‘s house for a sexual encounter ("came to you")and the second is that they came to her house simply to lodge there. rahab, in her response to the king, implied the first: "true, the men came to me" alluding that sexual intercourse has taken place between her and the spies. the apparent sexual intentions of the spies constitute, on the one hand, a good alibi for rahab‘s claim that she did not know where they came from, but on the other, it complicates the spy mission. 37 see gen 34:2; 35:22; lev 19:20; 2 sam 13:14 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 82 the story complicates even the more when the narrator discloses that they have been unable to escape detection: "the king of jericho was told, "some israelites have come here tonight to search out the land" (2:2). but how does the informant know that the strangers who followed the prostitute to her house are israelites? how does he know their mission? the reason for the spies' quick discovery is a blank and not a gap.38 just as joshua sent the spies (v. 1), the king of jericho sends soldiers to capture them: "bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land" (2:3). with this the scene rapidly shift to rahab's house. again, the narrator selects the hebrew word bö´ that can function as common hebrew sexual euphemisms. this leaves us with the impression that these two israelites enter the land and immediately engage in forbidden activity with the very people who are to be destroyed.39 in verse 4, the narrator shifts abruptly to the spies. in v 3 the reader's tension is heightened in respect to the spies' safety, for he does not know yet whether rahab will surrender them to the king. though it is expected that she hands them over to her king since the mission of the spies poses a danger to her country, but surprisingly, she dashed our expectations by committing treasonable offence (2:4-7), choosing her passing lovers to the detriment of her own nation. after v. 5, there is suspense over whether the soldiers will leave, and over whether the hiding of the spies was rushed and inadequate. the parenthetical comment of v. 6 is even chronologically displaced (from v. 4a) to foster suspense until v. 7a. before the reader learns whether the treasonable smartness of rahab was effective, the narrator suspends the action to tell us where the men were hidden: "in the stalks of flax which she had laid in order on the roof" (2:6). after disclosing the spies hiding place, the narrator returns to the protagonist of this episode, rahab, and to the king's men. without any response, the men left in vain attempt to capture the men who came to spy their land. commenting on this twist of fate, sherwood says that the narrator, "by placing rahab in the role of a deus ex machina, the danger motif, instead of being followed 38 "blank," consists of the omission of information that is completely uninteresting to the narrator and unimportant to the development of the plot. "gaps" are relevant to the narration. through a "gap" the narrator creates effect of surprise, expectation and suspense. gaps are generally filled with "analepses" (the telling of events after the moment in which they chronologically took place (e.g. gen 20:4,11,18). see jean louis ska, 8-9. 39 daniel l. hawk, every promise fulfilled: contesting plots in joshua (louisville, ky: westminster/john knox press, 1991): 62. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 83 through logically, is unexpectedly transformed into a deliverance motif."40 so with this deliverance, the plot begins to head, gradually, towards resolution. an irony: echoes of scripture in the prostitute's speech (2:8-14) 8 before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof 9 and said to them, "i know that the lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you.10 we have heard how the lord dried up the water of the red sea for you when you came out of egypt, and what you did to sihon and og, the two kings of the amorites east of the jordan, whom you completely destroyed. 11 when we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the lord your god is god in heaven above and on the earth below. 12 "now then, please swear to me by the lord that you will show kindness to my family, because i have shown kindness to you. give me a sure sign 13 that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them--and that you will save us from death." 14 "our lives for your lives!" the men assured her. "if you don't tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the lord gives us the land." (niv) one thing that is obvious thus far is the energetic activity of rahab which the narrator contrasts with the passivity of the spies. the narrator tells us in v. 8 that "she went up to them on the roof". rahab still controls the situation, the spies will do little more than react. she addresses the spies in the same way she addressed the king's men, with a declaration of "knowing" followed by strong imperatives.41 having just told the king's men what she does not know ("... yes, the men came to me, but i did not know where they were from" [2:4]), she now confesses to the israelites what she does know: "i know that yhwh has given you the land, and that great fear of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before you" (2:9). in a manner similar to the ways in which the identity of rahab‘s visitors shifts in unexpected ways throughout her story, rahab‘s own identity as canaanite prostitute is recast as a quintessential deuteronomistic preacher in her speech to the israelites spies (2:9-13), a complex of phrases and references found in various 40 sherwood, "a leader's misleading," 53. 41 hawk, joshua 44. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 84 texts in the hebrew bible.42 even from the beginning of her speech, rahab quotes almost verbatim from miriam‘s song in ex 15: "the dread of you has fallen on us‖ (josh 2:9; cf. ex 15:16) and "all the inhabitants...melt in fear‖ (josh 2:9; cf. ex 15:15). as noted above, rahab‘s words call upon the deuteronomistc version of the account of the defeats of sihon and og, whom israel "utterly destroyed" (josh 2:10; deut 3:6). this reference to sihon and og, which shares language with josh 5:1 ("the kings of the amorites beyond the jordan" and "our hearts melted, and there was no courage left"), introduces a precedent for the possibility that israel‘s conquest need not mean the total eradication of the native population.43 next, rahab makes a confession worthy of the deuteronomistic prologue to deuteronomy (4:39) and king solomon in 1 kings 8:23, when she proclaims yhwh to be "god in heaven above and on earth below.‖ furthermore, rahab‘s solicitation of hesed for hesed ("deal kindly," 2:13) recalls a similar promise made to a resident of luz by spies from the house of joseph ("and we will do hesed with you,‖ judg 1:24) when he showed them how to gain entry into the city. these parallels informed bernard's position, as stated earlier, that an earlier form of the rahab/spies tradition " existed, which attributed the conquest of jericho to a betrayal from within by rahab, rather than to the miraculous intervention narrated in chapter 6."44 but, be that as it may, one thing that is evident in the text without alluding to any earlier form of rahab/spies tradition, is that the spies accomplished their objective to gain entry into the city with the assistance of a native accomplice. even though the spies faltered by engaging in a forbidden activity with a canaanite prostitute, thereby acting outside the script, god rode on their mistakes and failings and brought his purpose for the mission to fruition. this confirms the theology of the conquest: it 42 mark e. biddle and melissa a. jackson, "rahab and her visitors: reciprocal deliverance," word and world 37 no. 3 (2017): 231. 43 biddle and jackson, "rahab and her visitors," 231-32. 44 bernard p. robinson, “rahab of canaan and israel,” 259. also see avraham l. dafna, "did the wall of jericho collapse or did the city surrender?" jewish bible quaterly 38 no. 1 (2010): 36-40. avraham argued that the conquest of jericho was not miraculous; it was simply a psychological strategy. he juxtaposed the story of the spies in josh 2 with the spies in numbers 13. in the former, the text is clear that joshua sent spies to jericho to get a feeling for the psychological condition of the people in the city: and joshua . . . sent out two men as spies secretly, saying to them, ‘go and see the land and jericho . . . (2:1). they didn't have real contact with the people of the land. when the spies returned to joshua to relate their mission, they say, for the lord has delivered the entire land into our hands . . . and all the inhabitants of the land melt away before us’ (v. 24). this information prompted joshua to plan the special tactic that is described in chapter 6. this tactic served to heighten the tension among the inhabitants of jericho. this is brought to its climax when the trumpet blasted. the people trembled and the wall collapsed. this must not be understood literally, according to dafna, it simply means "the men defending the wall (of the city) gave up they surrendered." igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 85 is yhwh that granted israel victory over the canaanites, and it is he who gave them the land. so, having told them what she knew about them as the people of yhwh which, supposedly, is the reason why she save them from the king's men, she demanded, in exchange for her act of kindness towards them, her safety and that of her family members. the spies agree to the pact: "our lives for yours!" (2:14). 2:15-21: a renegotiation? 15 so she let them down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wall. 16 she said to them, "go to the hills so the pursuers will not find you. hide yourselves there three days until they return, and then go on your way." 17 now the men had said to her, "this oath you made us swear will not be binding on us 18 unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers and all your family into your house. 19 if any of them go outside your house into the street, their blood will be on their own heads; we will not be responsible. as for those who are in the house with you, their blood will be on our head if a hand is laid on them. 20 but if you tell what we are doing, we will be released from the oath you made us swear." 21 "agreed," she replied. "let it be as you say." so she sent them away, and they departed. and she tied the scarlet cord in the window.(niv) after the agreement has been secured, rahab lowered the spies down through the window and let them escape. at this point, the narrator breaks in and divulge an important information to the plot of the story, particularly to the episode in chapter 6, when jericho will fall. namely, the location of her house in the city wall. the narrator accentuates this important fact by repeating it, "her house was in the city wall, and in the wall she was living" (2,15). this information moves the plot along. furthermore, the action in vv. 15-16 interrupts negotiation. scholars are at odds as to how vv. 15-21 should be interpreted, and whether the spies are renegotiating the covenant once out of danger. hawk says: once outside the wall the spies regain a sense of confidence and attempt to seize the initiative themselves. having made the pact, the now qualify it with restrictive amendments. yet even here, they do not igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 86 speak in the forceful language of imperatives but in the indicative mood."45 however, despite this implicit protest from the spies, rahab remains in control since v. 4, where she sent away the soldiers sent to her house, and she later sends (v. 21) the spies away when she is finished with them. twice the spies implore rahab to conceal the incident of their presence (2:14,20), and she agrees, taking them by their own words, and rhetorically implying that because of their obligation she controls their situation.46 therefore, giving the spies' passivity, vv 17-20 is not a renegotiation but, "a 'cover-our-backside' clause: rahab must demonstrate her israelite allegiance to make clear that they are not covenanting with a canaanite under the ban. this small disclaimer is hardly a reversal of power."47 the spies are yet to return to israel, and the vast majority of narrative time is yet to pass, but through the ironic deliverance motif the narrator assures that the episode will end well. still, lest the reader forget how poorly it might have gone, vv. 15-2la contain a number of negative echoes. in v. 16, the spies will "go" into hiding to avoid their pursuers. and rahab must 'bind' the cord (vv 18-19). some scholars also argue that the scarlet cord she ties may be akin to 'hanging out the red light' in modern times.48 but overall the danger has passed and the situation has been redeemed: rahab's conspiratorial cord can also mean 'hope', so that she hangs out the hope of her deliverance to approaching israelites. so the "crimson cord" could constitute a double pun: "hope" which the pact has given rahab, while the crimson colour beckons the two spies, reminding them, and indeed the israelites, that the household of rahab is exempted from the herem. mission accomplished: 2:22-24 22 when they left, they went into the hills and stayed there three days, until the pursuers had searched all along the road and returned without finding them. 23 then the two men started back. they went down out of the hills, forded the river and came to joshua son of nun and told him everything that 45 hawk, joshua 47. 46 sherwood, "a leader's misleading," 56. 47 sherwood, "a leader's misleading," 56-57. 48 see phyllis a. bird, "the harlot as heroine: narrative art and social presupposition in three old testament texts', semeia 46 (1989):130. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 87 had happened to them. 24 they said to joshua, "the lord has surely given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us." (niv) the scene in vv 22-24 can be termed as the resolution. the spies have returned safely home, the mission is accomplished. the return to descriptive narration within this scenic episode is marked by the saturation of wayyiqtol forms. the narrator fulfils the ironic deliverance motif, in that the spies follow rahab's instructions to a fault and are indeed delivered safely home. they relate their discoveries (v. 23), namely, what god has already told joshua in chapter 1. in words that would easily stir the heart, they said to joshua: "truly the lord has given all the land into our hands; moreover all the inhabitants of the land melt in fear before us." the reader recognizes these words as the words of rahab. however, they gave the report full of confidence that it sounds like a prophetic oracle. but, as butler would say, "it has not come from the mouth of an israelite prophet. it has come from experiences with a canaanite prostitute. the prostitute had to give israel evidence for her basic conviction."49 israel had, in the final analysis, to confess her own lack of faith, and has learned in the process of history to believe yhwh. part of the knowledge came from most unlikely sources: "a prophetic prostitute gave israel courage to carry out the divine command and conquer the land."50 the literary role of rahab in the conquest story of joshua unlike some scholars who cast rahab in negative light and allude that josh 2 interrupts the plot of the story of the conquest, and as such, suggesting that the story would still be meaningfully complete without the episode in chapter 2; i think, from what we have seen thus far, the story of rahab enhances the plot. she is a character linked strictly to the episode of josh 2. she was introduced into the plot of the story after yhwh had commissioned joshua to take the land of canaan, and she left the scene after divulging to the spies, information regarding the psychological state of the inhabitants of the land in respect to the impending invasion of the land by the israelites. this information provided joshua and the israelites, not only the courage to carry out the divine command, but also the psychological strategy to employ in taking over the land. thus, this makes rahab an agent character with a functional role at the service of the plot. 49 trent c. butler, joshua wbc 7 (dallas : word, incorporated, 2002): 34. 50 butler, joshua 34. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 88 this is probably what informed avraham dafna's conclusion that the wall of jericho did not fall miraculously, rather, the people guarding the wall surrendered owing to the psychological strategy the israelite used, a strategy informed by the information gathered from rahab.51 i would not like to dwell on the argument whether the wall fell miraculously or otherwise since it does not fall within the scope of this paper. however, it suffices to say that this highlight the role of rahab in the conquest story. also note how they arrived the city at night (josh. 2:2) and left soon thereafter (v. 15) without coming into contact with anyone other than rahab. from the conversation between rahab and the men (vv. 9-11), during which only rahab speaks while the men silently listen to her, it appears almost evident that the men were sent to discover the psychological state of the people of jericho. note the final words of her speech: "as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no courage left in any of us because of you" (josh 2:11). this is further confirmed in the report of the spies to joshua, evident in the last verse of chapter 2, regarding their mission: "truly yhwh has given all the land into our hands; moreover all the inhabitants of the land melt in fear before us" (josh 2:24). there was no any other military information given by the spies save this, suggesting, probably, that this was the main reason of their mission. usually, there is no place for faith and wisdom in the stereotype of the harlot, but here, in keeping with rahab's unexpected and complex characterization and the irony of the episode, "the harlot as heroine involves a conflict of expectations".52 it is because of her faith and wisdom that this canaanite prostitute recognizes yhwh as the divine warrior, moving her to covenant with israel and yhwh. thus, yhwh qua divine warrior delivers not just the spies through rahab, but also rahab herself.53 we must not ignore the identity of this central character. obviously, she was a woman, a fact that has not been lost in feminist readers of the bible. popularly, of course, she has long been known as "rahab the prostitute." her questionable "profession" no doubt did have something to do with why the spies sought out 51 avraham l. dafna, "did the wall of jericho collapse or did the city surrender?" jewish bible quarterly 38 no. 1 (2010): 37. 52 bird, "the harlot as heroine," 131. 53 sherwood, "a leader's misleading," 55-56. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 89 her house.54 but aside this, it also tells us something about 'the man behind the scene' in the conquest story, namely, yhwh of israel. he, using a woman, and more appalling, a 'prostitute" to give israel access to the land of canaan tells us that god is the brain behind the victory; it is he who fights the battle for israel. this conforms with his modus operandi, at least in the bible: "he uses the weak to shame the strong." this role of yhwh in the conquest story is further confirmed by rahab's profession of faith which frames the episode of josh 2. she knows that yhwh, the god of israel is the only true god and that the future of canaan, and of the world of which canaan is a part, is in his hands. no power in heaven or on earth can successfully resist the advance of yhwh's kingdom. at the centre, the hinge of her speech, rahab explains both her personal confession and the disabling fear of the canaanites: "we have heard " what have they heard? "how yhwh dried up the water of the reed sea before" the israelites when they "departed from egypt." they have heard how yhwh there showed himself to be master of the cosmic waters and hence to be the ruler over the world order, able to do whatever he wishes in the realm of creation. they have heard that yhwh is the lord of human history, who is able to accomplish whatever he wishes in human affairs.55 in this, the textual rahab has virtually become the model; for the reader has watched her reading the situation as an israelite, entering their ideological world and seeing the future lying in the power of the israelite's yhwh. so, reading the story from rahab's point of view, the reader discovers that the battle has already been fought and won by yhwh, israel only need to claim the victory. simply put, another literary role of rahab is to let the reader see the role of yhwh in the conquest story. in fact, this is akin to judith mckinlay view that the "conquest narratives may very well be the quite deliberate ideological discourses which put the stamp of distinctive israelite identity upon those who would differentiate themselves from others."56 if this is the case, no wonder rahab sounds like an israelite, for she is an israelite construct and constructed as a pawn of the text which makes her into the all-important other, and so a significant part of the justification for the dispossession of her people's land. she thus has a very necessary place in the 54 stek, "rahab of canaan and israel," 39. 55 stek, "rahab of canaan and israel," 40-41. 56 judith e. mckinlay, "rahab: a hero/ine?," biblical interpretation 7 no 1 (jan 1999): 54. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 90 "semiotic economy" of israel. this, for mckinlay, is the making of rahab the heroine. and for her, "rahab was not other at all, but one of the us, and therefore created other in order to provide the us with an identity."57 be that as it may, i think her role explains her inclusion among the us. this will be clearer when we look at the fuller sense of the story of rahab as highlighted in different new testament texts. rahab: a case of literary prolepsis and a manifestation of igwebuike theology rahab, apart from her role in the narrative context of the story of the conquest of joshua, also has a place in what i call the canonical narrative of the bible. her role in the conquest story, providentially becomes a kind of prolepsis, a foreshadowing of the role she will play as the ancestress of the new "yühôšùª`," son of david, the christ. so the story of rahab links the later acts of god with the earlier into one history of redemption in which the later carries the earlier forward toward its culmination. from this canonical narrative perspective, i am inclined to suggest that god, as the principal author of the bible who uses the instrumentality of the inspired human authors, shows us that there is a continuity between the ministry of joshua son of nun and that of joshua son of david called "the christ." in consonance with this, stek observes that: "what was fundamentally at stake in the ministry of yhwh's servant joshua son of nun is also what continues to be at stake in the ministry of yhwh's servant joshua ii son of mary. such is the canonically shown continuity of the history of redemption that later events disclose the fact that the earlier were fraught with foreshadows of the culminating events to come. for this reason, the earlier elucidates the later and the later illumines the earlier—thus disclosing the full meaning of the earlier within the advancing missio dei."58 this continuity of, and progression in, the outworking of the salvation purposes of god, as canonically proclaimed, provide the matrix within which the three meaning-freighted references to rahab in the new testament scriptures find their warrant as ancestress to the messiah (matt. 1:5), as a hero of faith who received the spies in peace (heb. 11:31), and as one "considered righteous for 57 mckinlay, "rahab: a hero/ine?," 54. 58 stek, "rahab of canaan and israel," 36. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 91 what she did" she is hailed as a great example of the necessary combination of works with faith because she welcomed the spies and sent them out by another road as an act of faith (james 2:25-26). this is even more interesting when we realize that rehab, at least from israel's perspective, is an "other." she does not belong to the community of israel, and as such, not a candidate for divine use. however, the role of rehab in this paper has shown that, even though she is an "other," she still has a place in the divine arithmetic called, "salvation history." this study challenges every separatist theology that tires to exclude people based on religion, tribe, ethnicity, nationality or moral ideology. it tells us from biblical perspective that "to belong" does not necessarily mean conformity to a particular standard or people. it simply means "to be" ___ to be available for the divine as part of the global family. for in this family, as paul of tarsus would say, "there is neither jew nor greek, there is neither slave nor free person, no male or female (no gender discrimination); for we are all one ..." (cf. gal. 3:28). thus, igwebuike, from a theological perspective, turns an acclaimed enemy (like rahab) into a friend and breaks every wall of division. conclusion in this study i have tried to argue that josh 2 does not interrupt the plot of the conquest story, rather it progresses it. the narrator, by letting us see the psychological condition of the inhabitants of jericho through the lens of a canaanite prostitute, prepared the ground for the conquest. this shows that joshua chapter 2 fits into the larger narrative context. after a close reading of the episode, we discovered that despite being depicted as an "other" and a woman of loose virtue, the focus of the episode swings onto rahab and evaluates her positively as a woman of wisdom and faith, and god's tool of ironic deliverance. thereby showing that despite her "otherness," she still has a place in god's global plan of salvation; a role that further foreshadows her as the future ancestress of jesus in the new testament. the role of rahab, as established in this paper, further reminds us of a theological twist which yehezkel kaufman calls "dual causality" a theological principle that emphasizes the human course of events in a story that is guided by igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 92 the word of god.59 in the episode we just studied, god initiated the conquest in joshua chapter 1 when he commissioned joshua to lead the israelites in the conquest to possess the promised land. after the commission, in chapter 2 god took the back-seat while human initiatives, as evident in the role of rahab and the faltering of the spies, took the centre stage. but despite this, the place of god as the supervising and magisterial being with events occurring as a result of his will was well preserved in the story. nothing escapes the god of the bible! bibliography aaron sherwood, "a leader's misleading and a prostitute's profession: a reexamination of joshua 2," journal for the study of the old testament 31 no. 1 (2006): 43-61. adele berlin poetics and interpretation of biblical narrative (winona lake, in: eisenbrauns, 1994). avraham l. dafna, "did the wall of jericho collapse or did the city surrender?" jewish bible quaterly 38 no. 1 (2010): 36-40. bernard p. robinson, ―rahab of canaan and israel,‖ scandinavian journal of the old testament no. 23 (2009): 257-273. creach f.d. jerome, joshua, interpretation (louisville, ky. : westminster john knox press, 2003). daniel l hawk, "the truth about the conquest: joshua as history, narrative, and scripture," interpretation: a journal of bible and theology 66 no. 2 (2012): 129-140. daniel l hawk, joshua berit olam (collegeville, mn : the liturgical press, 2000). daniel l. hawk, every promise fulfilled: contesting plots in joshua (louisville, ky: westminster/john knox press, 1991). jean-louis ska, our fathers have told us: introduction to the analysis of hebrew narratives (rome: editrice pontificio istituto biblico 1990). 59 yehezkel kaufman, the biblical account on the conquest of canaan, (jerusalem: the hebrew university magnes press, 1985): 98. also see yairah amit, "the dual causality principle and its effects on biblical literature," vetus testamentum 37 no. 4 (1987): 385 400. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 93 john h. stek, "rahab of canaan and israel: the meaning of joshua 2," catholic theological journal 37 (2002): 28-48. judith e. mckinlay, "rahab: a hero/ine?," biblical interpretation 7 no 1 (jan 1999): 44-57. kanu, i. a. (2016). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no. 1 (march, 2016):1-6. kanu, a. i. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. 153-160. kanu, i. a. (2014). igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholicpentecostal relations. jos studies. 22. 87-98. kanu, i. a. (2016) ―igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology.‖ journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. kanu, i. a. (2016). ―igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles.‖ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). ―igwebuike and the logic of african philosophy.‖ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. kanu, i. a. (2017). ―igwebuike and the question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge.‖ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. kanu, i. a. (2017). ―igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education.‖ nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. kanu, i. a. (2017). ―igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment‖. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. kanu, i. a. (2017). ―igwebuike as an igbo-african wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering.‖ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. mark e. biddle and melissa a. jackson, "rahab and her visitors: reciprocal deliverance," word and world 37 no. 3 (2017): 226-233. phyllis a. bird, "the harlot as heroine: narrative art and social presupposition in three old testament texts', semeia 46 (1989):119-139. robert g. boling, joshua. anchor bible 6 ( new york: doubleday, 1984). trent c. butler, joshua wbc 7 (dallas : word, incorporated, 2002). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 94 von rad, old testament theology: the theology of israel's historical traditions (edinburgh, london: scm press 1975). yair zakovitch, "humor and theology or the successful failure of israelite intelligence: a literary-folkloric approach to joshua 2", in susan niditch (ed.), text and tradition: the hebrew bible and folklore (atlanta: scholars press 1990). yairah amit, "the dual causality principle and its effects on biblical literature," vetus testamentum 37 no. 4 (1987): 385 400. yehezkel kaufman, the biblical account on the conquest of canaan, (jerusalem: the hebrew university magnes press, 1985). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 1 communication and culture in igwebuike and shikrot philosophies: a critical evaluation justine john dyikuk department of mass communication, faculty of arts, university of jos, nigeria justinejohndyikuk@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.28703.51361 abstract in africa, the relationship between communication and culture does not only disclose the way of life of a people but their overall worldviews. the interplay between the two reveals personal and communal perspectives of communication. with this motivation in mind, the researcher undertook a qualitative investigation on the igbos of south-eastern nigeria and ngas of north-central nigeria. the investigation titled, “communication and culture in igwebuike and shikrot philosophies: a critical evaluation” discovered that complementarity, harmony and communality are indispensable components of communication and culture in igbo, igwebuike worldview. it also found that communalism, cultural pride, transmission of values and upholding the traditional institution are crucial modes of ngas-communication. the study recommended guarantying communalism, ensuring harmony and upholding cultural pride as solution. it concluded that there is a rich resource on communication and culture in both igbo igwebuike and ngas shikrot philosophies which catalyses further research and documentation. keywords: communication, culture, igwebuike, ngas, shikrot. introduction communication and culture are essential components of everyday life in africa. they not only disclose the way of life of a people but speak to the heart of their overall worldviews and philosophies. as two sides of a coin, from the personal and communal points of view, communication and culture are intertwined. while communication transmits culture, culture communicates the way of life of a people. from the cradle to the grave, the african lives in such a manner that he or she becomes a living memory of the philosophical systems that guide his or her personal and corporate existence. these worldviews often relate to moral, spiritual, cultural, social and educational dimensions of life thus exuding what a people stand for. mailto:justinejohndyikuk@gmail.com https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.28703.51361?_sg%5b0%5d=mrxx0w1c49be1vvaby9sn1visj8exrdfdkdhxkedoo6bhkgz_vsgm7zxtpsm1bbd9vacl03zftbv5sxb8mj0cpzzea.olygo13oqi-taoioogrxxp6paj18kpkjm5do-foocpgd9pr73wlghn7ywnzeww5tyzq54r6cady4ozqm5syfmg igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 2 despite the lofty place that communication and culture in igwebuike and shikrot philosophies in igbo and ngas traditions, there is lack of indepth knowledge and appreciation of what they stand for. besides, lack of sufficient research, documentation and studies on how communication and culture are transmitted in igwebuike and shikrot philosophies lives much to be desired. what is more, secularism and the craze for everything western has left the younger generation in the woods as far as embracing the rich traditions of their ancestors is concerned. another huge challenge is that those who should communicate culture in their domains are often not initiated in the western values of education which is supposed to make them read and write. conversely, the young who are expected to be vast in reading and writing know little or nothing about their culture. this lives a lacuna concerning transmitting culture in both igbo and ngas traditions. it is this challenge that stands in the way of appreciating the values of yesteryears. it is in an attempt to revamp these values that this chapter juxtaposes igwebuike and shikrot philosophies in igbo and ngas traditions towards situating the place of communication and culture in these societies. this is significant because although igwebuike and shikrot are philosophies of two different tribes, they nonetheless reveal the essential communitarian character and values of each of these cultures. it is hoped that the reader would find rich resource on communication and culture in igbo igwebuike and ngas shikrot philosophies at the end of this critical evaluation. deconstruction of concepts communication in this study, communication is viewed as the whole gamut of intra-personal, inter-personal, group, trado-rural, international and mass interaction which takes place amongst diverse people in society. it encompasses the interface of human interaction with the use of media to gather, process and discriminate information to wide audiences. being the heart of human interaction, communication entails the encoding of a message from a sender to a receiver who in turn decodes and makes meaning out of the message that is sent through a channel. the whole communication progress cannot be complete without feedback. this is why participatory communication is cyclical in nature – sender, channel, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 3 receiver and back to sender. in african perspective, from a person‘s birth to his death, every aspect of life is about communication. africans communicate with themselves, their nieghbours, the deities, ancestors and god. this creates a scenario in which there is no time one does not communicate in one‘s lifetime – this is because, from the understanding of non-verbal communication, the act of not communicating is itself communication. this is where the igbo igwebuike and ngas shikrot philosophies transit communication and culture as essential values which catapults these worldviews towards the appreciation and admiration of all. culture previous studies have identified culture as the way of life of a people. without prejudice to this view, culture encapsulates the philosophies, principles, values and maxims of a given society and the way the people live in order to fulfill their aims and aspirations. in this context, we would understand culture as the brand or trademark of a people which makes them unique and distant from others yet truly human because they share humanity and certain values with others. related to tradition, culture is a vehicle for the preservation and transmission of mores, customs, beliefs and practices of a people to unborn generations. culture could be written and unwritten. in africa, culture was orally transmitted that is why there is a dearth of data and documentation about many practices amongst its people. this is why communication and culture are vital tools for the preservation and transmission of thought-patterns and worldviews. culture in this study seeks to identify the place of igbo igwebuike and ngas shikrot philosophies as they promote good value-systems in the society. igwebuike philosophy for the igbos of south-eastern nigeria, igwebuike is at the heart of african philosophy. igwebuike means ―number is strength‖ or ―number is power,‖ that is, the idea that when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful as to constitute an insurmountable force to an extent that there is no task that is beyond their collective resolve (kanu, 2016 a & b & 2017,pp.69-70). it is considered as the core or underlying principle of african philosophy. being a manner of being in african ontology, igwebuike philosophy simply translates as complementarity, harmony, and communality. from its ontological basis, igwebuike philosophy is a worldview which igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 4 acknowledges individual differences yet persuades all to work towards a corporate existence where ―we‖ becomes lauder than ―i.‖ the understanding is that life and living makes meaning because the community means a lot to the individual. however, it does not suppress him or her. in this case, the peculiar gifts and talents of an individual does not constitute a threat to the society but rather unites all and gives hope that the future is full of meaning. here, while the ontology of the person is founded on the particularity of the individual, it is the community that gives meaning to his or her own existence based on such an identity (kanu, 2018a). ―this expresses the indisputable and inevitable presence of, not just the family, but the community to which the individual belongs. the igbo worldview is community oriented‖ (kanu, 2018,p.14b). what is clear is that igwebuike philosophy is the lungs or vital organ of igbo tradition and culture. since it is a philosophy which engenders communication and culture through complementarity, harmony, and communality, igwebuike philosophy becomes a sine qua non among igbo people. it is a driver for the transmitting values, mores, traditions and customs of the igbo people. that is not all, it is a mechanism for ensuring complementarity, harmony and communality amongst people of igbo descent. what this means is that igwebuike philosophy brings about unity and the desired synergy for discussion within and outside the shores of south-eastern nigeria. shikrot philosophy for the ngas people of north-central nigeria, shikrot literally translates as ―talk of love.‖ shikrot philosophy encompasses the religious, political and sociocultural life of the ngas people of plateau state. it is a cultural-ideology which encapsulates the philosophy of the people by way of raising the stakes it terms of ethics and behavioural patterns. shikrot philosophy is a call to love unconditionally as it does not set barrier between the nkarang and nlap (gowok, 2019). the nkarang are the real, bona fide ngas sons and daughters while the nlap are those who are not ngas by tribe (dyikuk, 2008). although other tribes may be susceptible to other values, the nkarang which further reveals the shikrot philosophy demands that ngas sons and daughters are knitted in love and demonstrate values such as truthfulness, straightforwardness, honesty, heroism, accountability and ingenuity. what is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 5 more, as dona fide citizens of ngas land, the nkarang are expected to exude values that bring about the development of not only their tribe but the society at large. the truthfulness of the ngas man made the hausa man to refer to him as ―aska daya, magana daya‖ (dajur, 2019) as demonstrated in the long facial marks, one on each side of the each, of the typical ngas person. because of the truthful nature of the ngas man, other tribes kept their property in their custody. the strong brotherly love in the community was such that if an ngas man sees his brother fighting with a stranger, he will join the fight and support his brother. however, when the fight is over, he would call his brother aside and demand that he tells him the truth as to why he was fighting. if he discovers that his brother was on the wrong side, he would caution him not to be troublesome as that might end his life (dajur, 2019). if you do anything to destabilize one ngas man, you have destabilized every other person. the ngas encourage heroism and abhor laziness. you cannot get a wife to marry if you are lazy because that might make you a thief. the culture hates stealing from within the family or kindred although in olden days people were hailed if they stole from outside. the idea was that you do not hurt a brother or sister. this is why in the spirit of shikrot, you are expected to be your brother‘s keeper. this had a communitarian dimension. by the same token, people were encouraged to give their land on leash to others in the community who needed it for farming purposes. in the spirit of charity and solidarity, if you were given a portion of land to farm on, you were expected to share some of the farm-produce with the person who gave you the land (dajur, 2019). it is this worldview that shaped patterns of behaviour in the society. while vices are frowned at, virtue is praised and rewarded. built on love, communalism and a high sense of fellow-feeling, shikrot philosophy reveals the various forms of communication in the society. it also showcases the revered culture of the people such as their mores, customs and traditions. because the community emphasizes a communitarian way of life, it frowned at those who had rebellious tendencies. in fact, rebellious persons were penalized. in the same vein, people were expected to be faithful to their spouses. if someone commits adultery, he was given a separate entrance into the compound as punishment. that meant that if others were going out, he would not go with them. this was to serve as a deterrent to others. because the ngas people were connected, they frowned at jealousy. anyone who showed excessive jealously was sent packing (dajur, 2019). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 6 for the ngas, manhood training was based on circumcision (vwang). ―the rite of separation usually last for about 30 to 60 days, and many mysteries of worship, the ancestors and the spirits will be revealed to them. this is the period to test and know who is who among the young men‖ (ngas cultural festival pusdung, 2019). the brave ones were referred to as real men gomis. if anyone one died, the saying ―won se kora‖ meant that the ancestors had eaten him. women were not part of this ceremony (ngas cultural festival pusdung, 2019 & dajur, 2019). the youths who are initiated into the ―ngas cult‖ were taught how to keep secrets, show love, offer sacrifice for the good of the society and respect their elders. they were also taught how to be braze, endure and above all protect the society. after the ceremony, they gallant youths were incorporated into the community with a festival to show that they are no longer boys but men who have been tried and trusted. at the celebration, the ngolong (chief) comes to the village square to welcome them after which their family members which include father, mother, grand and great grandparents as well as uncles and everybody related to them offer the young warriors gifts such as: pas (spear), banne (traditional attire), skin of wild animals amongst others (ngas cultural festival pusdung, 2019). for ngas men, this was the pristine way of the communication of culture and tradition encapsulated in shikrot philosophy. literature review and discussion an overview of igbo origin igboland covers most of southeast nigeria and is home to the igbo people. the area is divided by the niger river into two unequal sections namely, the easternregion and the mid-western region. the river provides cultural unity and communication among settlers of different origins within the area. igboland is surrounded on all sides by bini, warri, ijaw, ogoni, igala, tiv, yako and ibibio tribes (slattery, 2010). although the exact origin of the igbo people has been a subject of controversy, fragmentary oral traditions has it that the igbo people were immigrant communities who came from the north and west as early as the ninth century to form communities on the border of the area of owerri, orlu and okigwe. however, from the fourteenth to the fifteenth centuries, other people also entered the igbo territory and they continued to exhibit characteristics which are similar to those of the igbo. these traits are, the institution of kingship, maintaining a hierarchical title system and observing the amosu (witchcraft) https://web.facebook.com/ngas-cultural-festival-pusdung-1588390771484431/?__xts__%5b0%5d=68.ardjuplldqv7j7jdjsgfy36l-pqod-4oyeirauf4lxp1rfdtixxwrncgvsjbi9ecl2uhsjl5j8xllr27tu4nd2ges8ysoqn0rwc7j6qwi2be6xlg4cjv3yhbq2fhmfr_asx_imuzn-p18khqzhjlyu7tjvlqgsixzijx2nbo3ahstluxtzfd9-x9kflsfxyqvhabpkc-hpsstuhaqosvv2ozxhnh5w2rlxohny4fcqajwt3gszdu_mrigngych5kjf38xda1gdikxdxnz_idov0q1seau-r-fr_6gx4auftqvlu85xi2gjd5idikuv-xhlmit0wpwlm9un2xc_ztwbna&__xts__%5b1%5d=68.arccxenflmszz33vul2xdc3cp-qqcp8uunea828uifxxo7yq1abi84ayj2awdqgehipznrca9w_pdmbagvjsio6cdnb9dgmsu-xmgb24r1kdtxicitueujevhcqdqpmnvnwhs0baj6flhjjpis44to7xi8_ku_10qrbrgds2eun2jeyj-pvc1aoqram3t6gr95uzgjolsbmvuhsiedd8ue15zaihe2g82li92jfwcn-uk8brswtziqsieqlxrbjs99gzyr8xcxnohncei3yho4yeyazagoctpk37fjbgga8kpsivs0cca-kzhb3ku7yr2eolhpabjp6qqb5xclgfga_w&__tn__=kc-r&eid=arbblzzaskyu_4ia9zj8pw07ghtnzmkladn3gxpdytywtafro7e9rfdelftatys-sfunsi5abglgpzyi&hc_ref=artkslnokp-ywogibijdvcuxrvciyefnvmw2j0v5nzvmtpjm0mbhvltbdora-emduvk&fref=nf https://web.facebook.com/ngas-cultural-festival-pusdung-1588390771484431/?__xts__%5b0%5d=68.ardjuplldqv7j7jdjsgfy36l-pqod-4oyeirauf4lxp1rfdtixxwrncgvsjbi9ecl2uhsjl5j8xllr27tu4nd2ges8ysoqn0rwc7j6qwi2be6xlg4cjv3yhbq2fhmfr_asx_imuzn-p18khqzhjlyu7tjvlqgsixzijx2nbo3ahstluxtzfd9-x9kflsfxyqvhabpkc-hpsstuhaqosvv2ozxhnh5w2rlxohny4fcqajwt3gszdu_mrigngych5kjf38xda1gdikxdxnz_idov0q1seau-r-fr_6gx4auftqvlu85xi2gjd5idikuv-xhlmit0wpwlm9un2xc_ztwbna&__xts__%5b1%5d=68.arccxenflmszz33vul2xdc3cp-qqcp8uunea828uifxxo7yq1abi84ayj2awdqgehipznrca9w_pdmbagvjsio6cdnb9dgmsu-xmgb24r1kdtxicitueujevhcqdqpmnvnwhs0baj6flhjjpis44to7xi8_ku_10qrbrgds2eun2jeyj-pvc1aoqram3t6gr95uzgjolsbmvuhsiedd8ue15zaihe2g82li92jfwcn-uk8brswtziqsieqlxrbjs99gzyr8xcxnohncei3yho4yeyazagoctpk37fjbgga8kpsivs0cca-kzhb3ku7yr2eolhpabjp6qqb5xclgfga_w&__tn__=kc-r&eid=arbblzzaskyu_4ia9zj8pw07ghtnzmkladn3gxpdytywtafro7e9rfdelftatys-sfunsi5abglgpzyi&hc_ref=artkslnokp-ywogibijdvcuxrvciyefnvmw2j0v5nzvmtpjm0mbhvltbdora-emduvk&fref=nf https://web.facebook.com/ngas-cultural-festival-pusdung-1588390771484431/?__xts__%5b0%5d=68.ardjuplldqv7j7jdjsgfy36l-pqod-4oyeirauf4lxp1rfdtixxwrncgvsjbi9ecl2uhsjl5j8xllr27tu4nd2ges8ysoqn0rwc7j6qwi2be6xlg4cjv3yhbq2fhmfr_asx_imuzn-p18khqzhjlyu7tjvlqgsixzijx2nbo3ahstluxtzfd9-x9kflsfxyqvhabpkc-hpsstuhaqosvv2ozxhnh5w2rlxohny4fcqajwt3gszdu_mrigngych5kjf38xda1gdikxdxnz_idov0q1seau-r-fr_6gx4auftqvlu85xi2gjd5idikuv-xhlmit0wpwlm9un2xc_ztwbna&__xts__%5b1%5d=68.arccxenflmszz33vul2xdc3cp-qqcp8uunea828uifxxo7yq1abi84ayj2awdqgehipznrca9w_pdmbagvjsio6cdnb9dgmsu-xmgb24r1kdtxicitueujevhcqdqpmnvnwhs0baj6flhjjpis44to7xi8_ku_10qrbrgds2eun2jeyj-pvc1aoqram3t6gr95uzgjolsbmvuhsiedd8ue15zaihe2g82li92jfwcn-uk8brswtziqsieqlxrbjs99gzyr8xcxnohncei3yho4yeyazagoctpk37fjbgga8kpsivs0cca-kzhb3ku7yr2eolhpabjp6qqb5xclgfga_w&__tn__=kc-r&eid=arbblzzaskyu_4ia9zj8pw07ghtnzmkladn3gxpdytywtafro7e9rfdelftatys-sfunsi5abglgpzyi&hc_ref=artkslnokp-ywogibijdvcuxrvciyefnvmw2j0v5nzvmtpjm0mbhvltbdora-emduvk&fref=nf igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 7 tradition. the igbos regard these people as ―less cultured‖ neighbours (slattery, 2010). there is another version of the igbo people which is related to israel. according to this account, eri, the father of all igbos who came from israel was the fifth son of gad, the seventh son of jacob (cf. genesis 46:15-18 and numbers 26:16:18). the igbos claim that many centuries ago, he migrated from egypt with his companions before the exodus of the israelites. we are told that they travelled by water and finally reached the confluence of ezu and omambala, in anambra. from there they moved towards river agbanabo in present-day aguleri. it was there that eri got a revelation that agbanabo would be their final settlement. it was from there that they moved hinterland to present-day aguleri although the place was not so-named at the time. history has it that it was at aguleri that eri, the father of the igbos lived and died (jannah, 2014). as one of the biggest and most inflectional ethnic groups in south-eastern and south-central nigeria, igbos have a well-developed culture and urbanized structure which consists of cities like onitsha, owerri, nnewi, okigwe, aba and orlu. the people of this tribe who were mainly traders, farmers (emeagwali & sefa dei, 2014) and craftsmen had five groups of people: the northern igbo, western igbo, igbo of north-eastern nigeria, igbo of south-eastern nigeria and igbo of eastern-nigeria. this differentiation made it difficult to arrive at a single origin of the igbo people. notwithstanding this account, according to another version, the igbo people originated from ancient orlu or awka towns (agu, 2018). pertaining their language, igboid languages are said have originated from volta– niger family. today, the igbo language has an estimated number of 24 million speakers and 20 dialects. while the first book printed in igbo language was published in 1777, the standard literary language was approved in 1972. importantly too, the nw orthography was officially recognized as igbo language orthography in the 1960s. it must be noted that igbo language is tonal in nature with high and low tones (agu, 2018). historical overview of the ngas people historians have different approaches yet similar facts about how the ngas people came to occupy their present day abode in north-central nigeria. indicators point to the fact that they migrated from the kanem bornu empire. as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 8 cognates of other pre-kanuri tribes like ngizim, ngasar, bedde, the ngas were said to have left bornu from c 1100-1350 ad and settled in kanem, in an area called yam from where they migrated to present day pankshin and kanke local government areas (foulkes cited in dyikuk, 2008; gofwen, 2007 & nnamani, 2011). other versions of their migration have it that they are the same stock with the jukuns of present day taraba state. that is not all, historians suggest that they travelled together with the jukuns but when the ngas reached yam, they stayed there and the jukuns proceeded southwards (foulkes cited in dyikuk, 2008). there are other indications that the ngas came from the sudani kash in yemen, who were cognates of nubia in north africa. be that as it may, anthropologists and historians seem to favour the fact that the ngas have something in common with the kanuri, especially their tribal marks. perhaps it is reason why the kanuris regard the ngas as their grandparents. it is suggested that this was what led the kanuri to go in search of their relations (the ngas) and found themselves in present day lafia, nassarawa state (dyikuk, 2008). it is believed that some of the early settlers in ngas land arrived their present location through gyangyan in present day kanam local government area of plateau state or through gambar in tafawa balewa local government area of bauchi state. notwithstanding the route they took, it is further noted that while those who arrived first moved to the hills, the late arrivals settled on the plains. it is also argued that they all arrived at the same time and went up the hill but later, others came down during the 19th century bauchi invasion. presently, the hill-ngas occupy pankshin lga while the plain-ngas are in kanke lga. while there are various dialects in yil ngas (ngas land), the most common language of communicating and transmitting culture is the ngas language (gofwen, 2007). ―the plain ngas settled in the areas of amper, kabwir, dawaki, ampang east and gyangyang, about 600 to 800 metres above the sea level while the hill ngas occupies the mountains of pankshin, wokkos, garam and many other places ranging from 800 to 1400 metres above the sea level‖ (manasseh, 2016). however, everywhere they go, ngas people carry their culture because it is part and parcel of them (dyikuk, 2008). they ngas people were basically famers, pastoralists and petty traders. https://www.facebook.com/nnamaniedwin?eid=ardnttzkwzcgyju5fin9ag8gbujl1flacyyywom967v7d6wfty4j99ylh8-ec-wpilzvnh2eucwhxv_i igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 9 igwebuike: investigating communication and culture in igbo worldview complementarity: it should be recalled that the nationalistic movements of the 20th century were grounded on complementary political ideologies. this saw senghor and nyerere canvassing for ujamaa and familyhood at the centre of the socio-political structure. perhaps that is why ―the unitary conception of reality pervades igbo world view in a very remarkable way‖ (oguejiofor, 2010, p. 21). this complementarity is also seen in scholarship and literature. scholars like kanu (2018a) have argued that the works of contemporary african philosophers reveals that web which holds their perspectives together that is, the philosophy of complementarity. that is why experts hold that: ―all creatures are found in relationship according to the law of hierarchy‖ (tempels, 1959. p. 29). harmony: in african philosophical thought, harmony is the desired peace and tranquility that is enjoyed by the community because of its firm belief in common interests and principles which helps them in communicating to themselves, the deities and god. this understanding also touches on philosophical principles. perhaps it is reason why is has been argued that although the perspectives of african philosophers continue to differ and change, they are, however, united by the idea of harmony (kanu, 2018a). ―igwebuike being a complementary philosophy that echoes the spirit of harmony and community…‖ (kanu, 2018, p.4a) reveals this. as such, igwebuike philosophy works towards the harmony of communication and culture in igbo tradition. communality: the point was made earlier that igwebuike philosophy simply translates as complementarity. in igbo culture, communality is drawn from the extended family and kindred systems. the high sense of communal life which helps people to extend a hand of friendship and help to their kinsmen speaks volume. to demonstrate its importance in society, this virtue is expressed in proverbs and songs. african proverbs reveal elements of complementarity and community as found in igwebuike philosophy. for instance, the proverb gidi gidi bu ugwu eze which translates as ―unity is strength‖ buttresses the place of communality in igbo philosophical thought (kanu, 2018a). this highlights the importance mbiti places on proverbs when he said: ―it is in proverbs that we find the remains of the oldest forms of african religious and philosophical wisdom‖ (1970, p. 86). philosophy: the heartbeat of knowledge is philosophy. the philosophy of a people expresses their ontology and metaphysics. igwebuike worldview is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 10 enshrined in african philosophy. as the underlining principle of african philosophy which is based on the african worldview, igwebuike philosophy relates to elements of african culture such as proverbs, folktales, myths, rites, songs, ceremonies, festivals, symbols to mention just a few. while these elements of culture are not necessarily african philosophy, they nonetheless serve as springboards upon which african philosophy emerge (kanu, 2018a). shikrot: examining ngas tradition in the light of communication and culture here, we shall x-ray shikrot philosophy as it showcases communication and culture in ngas tradition. to this, we shall highlight sense of communalism, cultural pride, communication and transmission of values and upholding the traditional institution: sense of communalism: at the heart of the ngas tradition is a strong sense of communalism. despite the incursion of modern values on the ngas culture, the people still live the extended family system especially in the suburbs. they live for one another, caring for one another and carrying each other‘s burden. this is demonstrated in eating and farming together. for instance, you could find two friends drinking from the same calabash. in olden days, people live in families or kindred so as to assist one another in time of need. this is to demonstrate shikrot as an expression of the ngas worldview. the high sense of communalism in ngas heritage reveals the culture of the people and the way they communicate to each other, their environment and divine realities. cultural pride: the verbal and non-verbal expressions of the ngas reveal their cultural pride. cultural pride here is the sum total of everything ngas – from facial expression to ornamentation and dressing, to mannerisms, music and dance as well as other rich artifacts of the people. for instance, it is expected that children are taught the ngas language from childhood. importantly too, pride of place is given to festivals such as pusdung – the annual ngas festival of arts and culture (pusdung '89 programme, 1989). this festival brings together ngas sons and daughters at home and those from the diaspora to appreciate their mores, customs and traditions. in fact, for every ngas person, the pusdung annual festival is the finest expression of cultural pride and an opportunity to communicate the culture of his or her ancestors to the world. communication and transmission of values: the survival of any tribe, language and culture lies in data gathering, analysis and interpretation. this cannot come igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 11 about without the communication and transmission of her values. this is why in ngas tradition like other cultures in africa, elders are repertoires of knowledge who communicate or transmit those values to their children. in line with traditional african education, parents teach their kids how to eat, greet, dress and treat others with respect. the ngas transmit values through proverbial and poetic languages (nnamani, 2011). in the spirit of shikrot, the young are taught the principles of interpersonal and group communication. this way, they are able to decipher how to talk in private and in public and also acquire the decorum that goes with these types of communication. importantly too, the horn was used to communicate messages in the community. the sound determined the message being communicated; even when such a message was to be transmitted to the next village, the messenger would blow the horn at the border of say village b; the messenger of village b would go to the border of village c and do same (dajur, 2019). this was mostly used during war, death or naming ceremony. upholding the traditional institution: respect for elders and the traditional institution is enshrined in the dna of africans. by default, africans grow to respect those in authority. the same applies to the ngas people. in line with shikrot philosophy, the ngas people have a central father figure who is the ngolong ngas – the paramount ruler of the ngas people in both pankshin and kanke local government areas of plateau state. there are 13 districts in ngas land with 8 in pankshin and 5 in kanke lgas. in pankshin, there are: pankshin, fier, kadung, langkang, chip, tal, dokpai and wokkos while in kanke, we have kanke, kabwir, ampang, garam and amper. the heads of all these districts are loyal to the ngolong ngas because he is not only a royal father but a first class chief. he is the rallying point of the ngas nation. while the ngas people respect their various district heads, they hold the ngolong ngas in high esteem as the custodian of their language, customs, traditions and cultural heritage as a people. in practice, no other ngas son or daughter shares this respect with him because of the sanctity of authority he occupies. in any case, he is the person responsible for the retention and communication of ngas culture. ―in olden days, a king can be deposed if he steals or commits adultery and murder. however, because of the influence of western culture, a lot of factors prevent the community from deposing the ngolong ngas or district heads‖ (dajur, 2019). https://www.facebook.com/nnamaniedwin?eid=ardnttzkwzcgyju5fin9ag8gbujl1flacyyywom967v7d6wfty4j99ylh8-ec-wpilzvnh2eucwhxv_i igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 12 a juxtaposition of igwebuike and shikrot towards finding a nexus between communication and culture since we are dealing with two different cultures in this study, at this juncture, it is important to juxtapose igwebuike and shikrot philosophies towards finding a nexus between communication and culture. we shall achieve this by highlighting guarantying communalism, communication and transmission of values as well as ensuring harmony and upholding cultural pride: guarantying communalism: while the igwebuike philosophy of the igbos emphasize on communality, the shikrot philosophy of the ngas insists on communalism. this means that both philosophies are two sides of the same coin. what is of importance here is the fact that igwebuike and shikrot philosophies express similar elements of communication and culture. therefore, by way of recommendation, it is crucial for students and scholars of african philosophy, communication and culture to galvanize support for research which guarantees communalism as the finest articulation of these worldviews. communication and transmission of values: under igwebuike philosophy, we saw that culture is communicated through proverbs and songs. in shikrot philosophy, it was noted that values of the ngas people are transmitted to the young through their parents, the elderly and traditional institutions. the two worldviews are similar because in igbo tradition, those who transmit these proverbs are experts and the elderly. this shows some resonance in the two cultures. going forward, since both the igwebuike and shikrot philosophies place emphasis on communication and transmission of values, it is incumbent on the custodians of these customs and traditions to ensure that they are passed to upcoming generations. ensuring harmony: in igwebuike philosophy, harmony ensures that people communicate with one another, the deities and god. it also involves philosophical principles because although igbo philosophers speak from various perspectives, their views are often related. meanwhile, in shikrot philosophy, the essential point about harmony is that it is the paramount chief, the ngolong ngas who is the rallying point; the source of harmony in terms of socio-cultural life of the people. since the two cultures touch on african oncology as it relates to communication and culture, it is vital for all stakeholders in the two tribes to ensure the harmony of thought and transmission of same to successive generations. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 13 upholding cultural pride: just as the cultural pride of the igbo people is enshrined in the igwebuike philosophy, that of the ngas is embedded in shikrot philosophy. for the igbos, igwebuike philosophy is built around complementarity, harmony and communality. these elements occupy a special place in the people and evoke cultural pride. in like manner, the shikrot philosophy of the ngas is seen in the high sense of communalism among the people, verbal and non-verbal cues, good facial expressions, music and dance as well as other rich artifacts of ngas heritage. as mentioned earlier, pusdung the ngas annual cultural festival of arts and culture which brings ngas sons and daughters together also helps in showcasing the way the ngas communicate and express their culture. upholding cultural pride by all, in whichever side of the divide, remains crucial to promoting communication and culture. conclusion by way of limitation of the study, it is crucial to note that this study is not exhaustive about the subject under review. this is why the author calls for more qualitative and quantitative research on how igwebuike and shikrot philosophies promote communication and culture. an essential take-away from this study is that most african languages and tribes have similar customs and traditions. however, two challenges that stand in their fullest expressions are lack of documentation and showcasing their culture to the world. it was established that there is a clear relationship between african philosophy and communication and culture. while discussing african philosophy, we also acknowledged that various elements of african ontology and metaphysics communicate culture. with this in mind, it is safe to conclude that discussions about african philosophy cannot be complete without a careful consideration of the roles of communication and culture. in conclusion, after evaluating igwebuike and shikrot philosophies, we found few points of departure but interesting overlapping connections which are capable of exciting scholars of igbo and ngas extraction towards greater theoretical scrutiny. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 14 references agu, z. (2018). origin of igbo tribe in nigeria a year ago. www.legit.ng/1151109origin-igbo-tribe-nigeria.html. accessed 5/24/19. dajur, c. (2019). oral interview on shikrot philosophy in ngas tradition. (5/27/2019). dyikuk, j.j. (2008). ngas values of social communication as vital tools for effective homiletics: a case study of bwarak. thesis – st. augustine‘s major seminary, jos. an affiliate institute of the university of jos, nigeria. emeagwali, g & sefa dei, g.j. (2014). african indigenous knowledge and the disciplines. springer: new york, united states of america. gofwen, r. (2007). the history and socio-political organisation of the ngas: an anecdotal compendium of anthropological notes st. stephen bookhouse: ikeja, lagos state, nigeria. gowok, g. (2019). oral interview on the difference between nkarang and nlap in ngas culture. (5/23/2019). jannah, i. (2014). history: how igbos came to nigeria and settled in the southeast. www.obindigbo.com.ng/2014/11/history-igbos-came-nigeriasettled-south-east/.accessed 5/24/19. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and and logic (nka) of african philosophy‖. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. http://www.legit.ng/1151109-origin-igbo-tribe-nigeria.html.%20accessed%205/24/19 http://www.legit.ng/1151109-origin-igbo-tribe-nigeria.html.%20accessed%205/24/19 https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-us:official&channel=fflb&q=salmon+tower+building&stick=h4siaaaaaaaaaopge-lsz9u3ymoxkdnougkzlcumcstntywyyq30k_nzclktszlz8_tzi9it8zkrekgcyqum1msuwtleopluomkfnpxkspaivthgxjzc_dyfkpzy1cifp9lmnjtmvhqaz50gmgyaaaa&sa=x&ved=2ahukewj1unzhql_iahwkrbuihcswdl0qmxmoatayegqidrah http://www.obindigbo.com.ng/2014/11/history-igbos-came-nigeria-settled-south-east/ http://www.obindigbo.com.ng/2014/11/history-igbos-came-nigeria-settled-south-east/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 15 kanu, i. a. (2015a). a hermeutic approach to the study of african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015b). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no. 1.[ 97-101]. kanu, i. a. (2016b). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no.1. [1-7]. kanu i. a. (2018a). sources of igwebuike philosophy. towards a socio-cultural foundation. international journal of religion and human relations vol. 9 no 1 june. kanu, i. a. (2018b). igwebuike and being in igbo ontology: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 4 no 5. [12-21]. manasseh, r.s. (2016). the ‗ngas‘ people of plateau state nigeria: the rites of passage of the ngas people of plateau state nigeria. www.newafrikan77.wordpress.com/2016/12/15/national-day-of-actionjanuary-20th-2017-be-ungovernable/. accessed 5/29/2019. mbiti, j. s. (1970). african religions and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational publishers. ngas cultural festival pusdung. (2019). circumcision in ngas tradition. www.web.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2285510651772436&i d=1588390771484431&__xts__[0]=68. accessed 5/29/2019. nnamani, a.e. (2011). theories of the tradition of origin of the ngas. www.facebook.com/notes/plateau-the-beautiful/theories-of-thetradition-of-origin-of-the-ngas/137675049642573/. accessed 5/29/2019. http://www.newafrikan77.wordpress.com/2016/12/15/national-day-of-action-january-20th-2017-be-ungovernable/ http://www.newafrikan77.wordpress.com/2016/12/15/national-day-of-action-january-20th-2017-be-ungovernable/ https://web.facebook.com/ngas-cultural-festival-pusdung-1588390771484431/?__xts__%5b0%5d=68.ardjuplldqv7j7jdjsgfy36l-pqod-4oyeirauf4lxp1rfdtixxwrncgvsjbi9ecl2uhsjl5j8xllr27tu4nd2ges8ysoqn0rwc7j6qwi2be6xlg4cjv3yhbq2fhmfr_asx_imuzn-p18khqzhjlyu7tjvlqgsixzijx2nbo3ahstluxtzfd9-x9kflsfxyqvhabpkc-hpsstuhaqosvv2ozxhnh5w2rlxohny4fcqajwt3gszdu_mrigngych5kjf38xda1gdikxdxnz_idov0q1seau-r-fr_6gx4auftqvlu85xi2gjd5idikuv-xhlmit0wpwlm9un2xc_ztwbna&__xts__%5b1%5d=68.arccxenflmszz33vul2xdc3cp-qqcp8uunea828uifxxo7yq1abi84ayj2awdqgehipznrca9w_pdmbagvjsio6cdnb9dgmsu-xmgb24r1kdtxicitueujevhcqdqpmnvnwhs0baj6flhjjpis44to7xi8_ku_10qrbrgds2eun2jeyj-pvc1aoqram3t6gr95uzgjolsbmvuhsiedd8ue15zaihe2g82li92jfwcn-uk8brswtziqsieqlxrbjs99gzyr8xcxnohncei3yho4yeyazagoctpk37fjbgga8kpsivs0cca-kzhb3ku7yr2eolhpabjp6qqb5xclgfga_w&__tn__=kc-r&eid=arbblzzaskyu_4ia9zj8pw07ghtnzmkladn3gxpdytywtafro7e9rfdelftatys-sfunsi5abglgpzyi&hc_ref=artkslnokp-ywogibijdvcuxrvciyefnvmw2j0v5nzvmtpjm0mbhvltbdora-emduvk&fref=nf http://www.web.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2285510651772436&id=1588390771484431&__xts__%5b0%5d=68 http://www.web.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2285510651772436&id=1588390771484431&__xts__%5b0%5d=68 https://www.facebook.com/nnamaniedwin?eid=ardnttzkwzcgyju5fin9ag8gbujl1flacyyywom967v7d6wfty4j99ylh8-ec-wpilzvnh2eucwhxv_i http://www.facebook.com/notes/plateau-the-beautiful/theories-of-the-tradition-of-origin-of-the-ngas/137675049642573/ http://www.facebook.com/notes/plateau-the-beautiful/theories-of-the-tradition-of-origin-of-the-ngas/137675049642573/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 16 oguejiofor, j. o. (2010). globalization and the resilience of traditional paradigms: the case of the igbo of nigeria. the humanities and globalization in the third millennium. awka: fab anieh. pusdung '89 programme. (1989).ngas annual festival of arts and culture. pusdung '89 committee: pankshin, nigeria. www.worldcat.org/title/ngasannual-festival-of-arts-and-culture-pusdung-89programme/oclc/38844104. accessed 5/29/2019. slattery, k. (2010). the igbo people: origins and history. www.faculty.ucr.edu/~legneref/igbo/igbo1.htm. accessed 5/24/19. tempels, p. (1959). bantu philosophy. paris: presence africaine. http://www.worldcat.org/title/ngas-annual-festival-of-arts-and-culture-pusdung-89-programme/oclc/38844104.%20accessed%205/29/2019 http://www.worldcat.org/title/ngas-annual-festival-of-arts-and-culture-pusdung-89-programme/oclc/38844104.%20accessed%205/29/2019 http://www.worldcat.org/title/ngas-annual-festival-of-arts-and-culture-pusdung-89-programme/oclc/38844104.%20accessed%205/29/2019 http://www.faculty.ucr.edu/~legneref/igbo/igbo1.htm.%20accessed%205/24/19 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 190 igbo business and investment pattern in the post nigeriabiafra war era: the nnewi example, 1967-2017 nwachukwu j. obiakor, phd department of history and international studies, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. e-mail: nj.obiakor@unizik.edu.ng; doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.10379.82727 & chichebem solomon lawrence department of history and international studies, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. e-mail: cs.lawrence@unizik.edu.ng & daniel nzereogu, department of history and international studies, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. e-mail: dc.nzereogu@unizik.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.10379.82727 abstract in 1967, nigeria’s volatile politics snow-balled into a civil war that shook the country to its foundations. the post-war era has also witnessed some minor crises that have connections with the politics of the civil war. the nigerian civil war has enjoyed wide discussions among the academics. not many however, if there are any, have directly considered the relationship between the politics of the war and igbo business history. one of the biggest lessons of the war is that there is a strong nexus between nigerian politics and igbo business investment pattern. using the case of the nnewi business men, this paper argues that the civil war and subsequent political developments created an unfriendly environment for igbo businesses in non-igbo lands of nigeria which led to capital flights. many of the nnewi entrepreneurs had to relocate their businesses from the north and west to nnewi, despite its lack of good supportive infrastructure. investment pattern which was more outward-oriented began to have an inward orientation. post-civil war political developments have also sought to consolidate the new isolationist investment pattern which has consequences for the nigerian economy as a whole. the paper therefore stresses the need for the federal and state governments to create friendly political environment to attract profitable investments and to avoid unnecessary capital flights. primary and secondary sources of information are used. primary source of information igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 191 used is oral interviews, while the secondary sources include books and internet materials relevant to the subject matter. keywords: nigerian, politics, igbo business history, nnewi, business men introduction there is an age-long connection between politics and business.43 politics has a way of affecting businesses either negatively or positively. business men need and seek the goodwill of those in power because that will give them an edge in the business world. business men also shape the trend of politics through financial powers needed by politicians or go into politics themselves. a balanced relationship between government and business is required for the general well being of the economy and the nation.44 government is not supposed to play politics with businesses, but create a conducive environment for them to operate. constructive politics contributes to the development of the economy while destructive politics or negative politicsbusiness relations, which scares business investors, inhibits it. political games should be carefully played in a way that will not hamper businesses. business is sensitive to politics. in 1967, nigeria’s volatile politics snow-balled into a civil war that shook the country to its foundations. the change in the nature of nigerian politics since after the war has also occasioned a shift in igbo business investment pattern. an unfriendly environment for igbo businesses in non-igbo lands of nigeria has led to capital flights from those lands. investment pattern which was more outward-oriented began to have an inward orientation, with some outward orientations too. post-civil war political developments have also sought to consolidate the new isolationist investment pattern of the igbo business men. this paper shows some of the events and developments that started causing a shift in the investment pattern of igbo business men using the nnewi business men as case study. it argues that the gradual forcing of the igbo business men into isolationism may not turn out well for the nation’s economy even if it is beneficial to the igbo in the long-run. apart from the properties that are destroyed and looted during political crisis, and the wrong signal it sends to foreign business investors, it breeds disunity which will hinder the effective development of the economy of 43 c.p. bhambhri, “linkages between politics and business” published by the economic times, https//m.economictimes.com/opinion/et-commentary/linkages-between-politics-andbusiness/articleshow/5566878.cms, february 13, 2010 44 ibid. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 192 nigeria as a whole. the authors make case for the creation of a business friendly political environment all over the country as was obtainable before 1966 northern crises and the civil war that followed. the rest of the paper is divided into five sections. the first section examines the political environment and the igbo business investment pattern before 1967. in the second section, attention is focused on the civil war and the change it brought in nnewi businessmen’s investment pattern. the third section highlights the post-civil war crises and how they came to consolidate on the inward-looking investment pattern, while the fourth section examines the implication of the isolationist shift in investment pattern to the nigerian economy. the fifth section is the conclusion. the political environment and the igbo business investment pattern before 1967 before the colonial era, business transactions were carried out across the various ethnic groups and regions in nigeria. the various trade routes dotting the landscapes of all the regions in nigeria testify to the existence of these inter-ethnic business transactions and co-operations. these trade routes provided the links for these business transactions and economic co-operations. one of the factors that made this possible was the existence of enabling political environment. the igbo people, being people that have knack for business was one of the major ethnic groups that took advantage of this trade equanimity. they established businesses across the country. in the transport business for example, the most prominent igbo capitalists that emerged between the 1920s and 1960s were j.c. ulasi, l.p. ojukwu, albert igbokwe, d.d. onyemelukwe, a. e. ilodibe, f.a. obi, d.c. ubajaka, f.n. okonkwo, d.c. emefo and l.c. amazu, among others.45 these had their branches in many important towns and urban centres in nigeria such as onitsha, aba, port harcourt, nnewi, enugu and nsukka in the east, lagos and ibadan in the west, asaba and benin in the mid-western region and jos, makurdi, kano and kaduna in the north.46 this free movement of business capitals and capitalists across the regions contributed to the 45 d.i. ajaegbo, “road transport entrepreneurs and road transportation revolution in igboland, 1920-1999: a case study of the nnewi igbo of nigeria” in international multidisciplinary journal, ethiopia vol. 7 (4), serial no. 31, september, 2013:162-173 46 ibid., 165 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 193 emergence and greatness of big trading or commercial cities like kano, lagos and so on.47 this cross-regional business linkage continued during the colonial period, although the article of trade encouraged was agricultural products. one factor that even intensified the establishment of businesses across regions was the development of transport infrastructure during the colonial era which made inter-regional movements much easier. the political environment was also business friendly across the regions irrespective of the ethnic extraction of the merchants. even after independence up to 1966, before the crisis in northern nigeria and the civil war that followed, the political environment in the country was such that encouraged everyone especially the igbo to move around freely in pursuit of their business and economic enterprise in the different parts of the nigeria without fear of molestation and attack. onumonu and anutanwa have argued that the political and economic environment of the immediate post-independent era was business friendly for business men from all regions of the country. this argument was impliedly made when they noted that the political independence of nigeria in 1960 came with much hope, promises and ultimately economic prosperity which gave a good number of people confidence to invest across the nation of nigeria, without an iota of fear.48 it has also been noted that the independence of 1960 further promoted integration and cooperation in nigeria.49 thus the igbo who are said to have knack for trade and commerce found opportunity of exploring various economic activities all over nigeria. for instance, in kano state, the place known as sabon gari became so to say an igbo area where the igbo people felt comfortable and did their business without fear or molestation. also in kaduna south, a place called television garage was like an igbo town. and this was the situation all over nigeria. they took advantage of the opportunity and established their business empire all over nigeria. 47 j.f.a. ajayi & e.j. alagoa “nigeria before 1800: aspects of economic developments and inter-group relations” in o. ikemi (ed) ground work of nigerian history, ibadan: heinemann, 1980, p.228-229. 48 u.p. onumonu and p.o. anutanwa, “rethinking the impact of nigerian civil war: commerce in the postcivil war nnewi and its challenges, 1970-2000” in mgbakoigba, journal of african studies. vol.6 no.2. 155-167, february 2017 49 b. ige, people, politics and politicians of nigeria. ibadan: heinemann educational books, 1995 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 194 scolars have also pointed out that enugu road of kaduna state was then like an extension of south eastern nigeria due to the concentration of the igbo in the area.50 they further noted that in lagos, the father of general chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu, sir louis philippe odumegwu-ojukwu (a native of nnewi) was rated as one of the richest business men in the west african sub region. his chains of commercial activities were profound in nigeria. he took commerce to a new level as at that time by delving into transportation and other services before the nigerian civil war. he even became second in command in lagos chamber of commerce. thus the political environment in nigeria at that period was quite conducive for nigerians and especially the igbo to advance and pursue business interest in any part of the country and feel safe and comfortable. this therefore made a lot of the igbo people to spread throughout the northern and southwestern nigeria seeking for new opportunities for investments and business expansion. this situation changed with political crisis that erupted in the country from july 1966 with the second coup d’etat by some military officers from the north. after the coup, northerners turned on the easterners most especially the igbo civilians living in the north and unleashed waves of brutal massacres that colin legum of the observer (uk) was the first to describe as a pogrom.51 this made lots easterners in the north and other parts of the country to flee back home. according to achebe, it was said at the time that the number of displaced nigerian citizens fleeing from other parts of the country back to eastern nigeria was close to a million. this situation was what laid the background to the bloody civil war that followed after, where millions of igbo people lost their lives. their means of livelihood and various investments and business interest scattered all around the country including the igbo areas were totally lost. hence after the civil war which lasted between 1967-1970, the igbo people had to start afresh to rebuild their lives, investments and business interest, but this time they paid more attention on developing their business establishments more at home, within the igbo areas. since most of their business efforts outside the igbo areas had become irrecoverable. the civil war and the change in nnewi businessmen’s investment pattern down the road of history, nnewi people and their neighbours have been great travelers to different places in nigeria and the world. and wherever they found 50 onumonu and p.o. anutanwa, “rethinking the impact”, 156 51 c. achebe, there was a country, a personal history of biafra. london: penguin group, 2012 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 195 themselves they are always industrious, making meaningful economic contributions. but at the end of the nigerian-biafran war they learnt a lesson from the losses they incurred, which is that investing at home is better than investing outside. hence, barring any formal agreement, a good number of nnewi people made up their minds to remain in nnewi, to invest and establish their businesses. thus, nnewi business men after the civil war preferred to establish their investment very close to their home towns. the sentiment and passion for home investment began to find its root in nnewi as at that periodthe immediate post war era. according to bley & harding, it is mainly on the account of this that large and medium-scale industrial concerns are to be found in various parts of igboland, especially in nnewi.52 they further noted that, this development with respect to commerce could be seen as the legacy of the nigerian civil war which had some build-ups in forms of crises that took place in 1966. without doubt, some of the best known success stories in the field of post-war-owned enterprises come from nnewi. accordingly it has been argued that nnewi had a “head start in the period of reconstruction, especially because of its role as a major market during the war, and because of the international connections of its traders.53 in the oil-boom period of the mid-1970s, local business men in nnewi diversified into new fields of enterprise which by the late 1980s had resulted in a “silent industrialization of nnewi”. hence nnewi’s success was not by coincident.54 it was a product of initiative, rugged determination, courage, perseverance, hard work and discipline as seen in their resilience. so with their compulsion to come home occasioned by the civil war, it became clear that the market in nnewi needed to be enlarged so as to accommodate more traders. thus the traditional ruler in nnewi at that period saw to it that the nkwo market in nnewi was moved to where it is currently situated to make room for more traders. this therefore encouraged the trade in vehicle parts. nnewi people had an earlier trade link with japan in the late 1950s for the importation of motor parts. this changed in the 1980s; taiwan took over with their low-priced products as exchange 52 h. bley, and l. harding, (eds). a social history of the nigerian civil war: perspective from below. jemezie associates, 1997 53 t. forrest, the advance of african capital: the growth of nigerian private enterprise. edinburgh: edinburgh university press for the international african institute, 1994 54 onumonu and anutanwa, “rethinking the impact”, 156 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 196 rate movement dislocated businesses.55 taiwan also took over from india and hong kong companies who withdrew from india and hong kong because of deterioration of trade and credit conditions. the taiwan flexible trading practice was more acceptable and taiwan also became a source of technology acquisition and training. china and other countries have almost taken over. this early trade link with the foreign community contributed to the gradual migration from trade to motorcycle assembly and to manufacturing. the above stated facts were corroborated by a scholar when he stated that the nnewi industrialists moved tools and gadgets made in europe to places like taiwan, japan, and china so they could be reproduced and brought back to the country.56 this made igboland to be seen during 1970/80’s as a place for imitation industries and this made cities such as nnewi and aba to become popular. nzewi highlighted that one of the earliest attempts at establishing an industry in nnewi was by sir sam anazodo in partnership with foreign investors. there was a plan by chief j. edokwe (jimex) to establish in onitsha an aluminum factory, but due to the nigerian-biafran war the plan did not go through, though he later established a pit-furnace in nnewi. he was thus seen as nnewi’s first industrialist. in 1983 cento international came on board producing the plastic components of vehicles. this therefore indicated the arrival novel manufacturing companies in nnewi. according to nnewi chamber of commerce, industry, mines and agriculture, it is true that during the early stages of nigeria’s short-lived economic reform programme that lasted from 1986 to 1992, manufacturing enterprises responded positively to improved incentives and better availability of inputs.57 when general ibrahim babangida was in power rules and laws that had far reaching effect on the businesses of the igbo were promulgated. the government in 1986 introduced the structural adjustment program. the provisions of this program gave an opportunity for igbo business men to prosper. the non-interventionist programs of the government of babangida made igbo traders to venture into various trades and businesses. what is 55 c. g. nzewi, industrialization and the nnewi experience. nnewi: enovic trust link ltd., 2015 56 i.d. ikerionwu, the place of ndi-igbo in nigeria’s social and economic development. journal of education research and behavioral sciences, vol. 2(12), 2013, 239-249 57 nnewi chamber of commerce, industry, mines and agriculture, in compendium of commercial and industrial activities in nnewi. nnewi: enovic trust link ltd., 2015 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 197 particularly interesting, however is that not only does the start of the industrial boom in nnewi predate this reform episode, but production was sustained well into the 1990s when the manufacturing sector in nigeria was crippled by foreign exchanges shortages, rapidly deteriorating infrastructure, and depressed domestic demand. again, it has to be noted that the civil war has also had the effect of stimulating a rapid growth of trade and local industry within the town of nnewi which have been referred to as the ‘japan of africa.’ there has been a tendency to link igbo industrial dynamism to the economic incentives created by structural adjustment, but a number of scholars have shown that the conditions for local industrial development were laid over a decade earlier in the context of the civil war.58 the war precipitated a sudden shift toward the repatriation of capital to igbo areas for investment at home.59 the rapid injection of private capital from the diaspora, backed by a ‘selfhelp’ ethos of reconstruction, led to a boom in local industrialization within the igbo states. this industrialization in igbo areas such as nnewi owed little to government policies in any direct sense.60 it is the product of strong community ties, the loss of properties outside igboland, and the need for security in the aftermath of the northern massacres and the civil war. even the igbo business men in the diaspora, operating in cotonou and lomé who had escaped the worst effects of the war, sent money home for investment in houses, trade and manufacturing.61 in nnewi, the experience of the war gave rise to a collective decision that nnewi businessmen should locate some of their activities at home, partly in response to the thousands of refugees from the north, and partly to take advantage of economic changes that arose during the war.62 eastern nigeria is the home of the igbo. there are well-recognized characteristics of igbo culture, most notablyindividualism, competitiveness and adaptability to change which fuel entrepreneurialism and capitalism in the region. igbo people invest heavily in education and training, and have rules of inheritance that encourage specific institutional factors which have played a central role in facilitating industrial development in nnewi. other industries in nnewi today include the 58 k. meagher, “the informalization of belonging: igbo informal enterprise and national cohesion from below.” in africa development, vol. xxxiv, no. 1, 2009, 31–46 59 forrest, the advance of african capital 60 ibid. 61 meagher, “the informalization of belonging” 62 forrest, the advance of african capital igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 198 innoson vehicle manufacturing plant founded by chief innocent chukwuma and recently in december, 2014 the company unveiled its new set of ivm vehicles. there is the ngobros and company nigeria limited founded by mr. humphrey ngonadi that produces baby-mate diapers, a marked departure from the auto and motor parts known to nnewi. there are also the kotec group, founded by chief chika emenike that produces tummy tummy noodles and louis carter industries limited that produces all kinds of plastic products and agro foods. it is instructive to mention here that louis carter started building its facility early in 1985, completed in 1991 but commenced production in 1998. nnewi as time went on became a prominent city for trade and manufacturing enterprises and a leading city in the trade of vehicle parts.63 nnewi town is indeed a wonder in manufacturing. small and medium-sized industries have been built in the city and are manufacturing not for markets in nigeria alone but, albeit still to a limited extent, for markets abroad especially west africa. thus this decision to return home and establish their businesses has thus paid a great deal as the market in nnewi now booms in trade not just of vehicle and motorcycle parts but other goods and commodities too. and as time went on they moved on from trading to manufacturing. it thus paid off now as the old nnewi local government, made up of nnewi north and south and ekwusigo local government areas, is filled up with various manufacturing factories with the prospect of completing those under construction and attracting new one. today, nnewi domiciles the foremost homemade car manufacturing plant in nigeria – innoson vehicle manufacturing company. post-civil war crises and the resultant consolidation of the inward-looking investment pattern although immediately after the civil war, many nnewi business men refused to go back to the north and west, some still went back after some time to continue their businesses there when it appeared that the wounds of the civil war seemed to be gradually healing. most of those that went back did so around the 1980s and early 1990s when it appeared that there would not be such occurrences of civil unrest again like that of 1966 and the civil war.64 movement back to different parts of the country 63 e.a. orizu, e. a. nnewi in historical perspective. enugu: el’ demak publishers, 2000 64 onumonu and anutanwa, “rethinking the impact”, 156 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 199 actually started in the late 1970s, but became more pronounced in the 1980s and 90s. the return to lagos was more pronounced in the early 1980s.65 lagos as the capital city and the country’s business epicenter, was seen as a place that had promise for substantial commercial success. business men from nnewi believed that they stood the chance of making more profit in lagos, some of which they could invest in nnewi. but they found that the peace that lured them back was only a shortlived one. nigerian politics after the war was such a negative one that discouraged igbo business men and consolidated the change in their investment pattern.66 at the end of the war, the federal government, in a move to punish the igbo, paid a flat rate of £20 to every igbo person who lodged his/her biafran currencies with the banks.67 this was regardless of the amount of money one deposited. the political environment never remained the same again both in lagos and in the north. in lagos state, government policies and body language towards igbo business reflected unfriendliness. even some lagos indigenes, known as omo ota or more popularly as “area boys,” began exploiting the nnewi and other igbo business men. even land and property owners decided to make it hard for igbo business men to rent their properties for business. this they did by demanding for as much as five years rent in advance.68 the body language of government officials showed that they were behind the area boys, and did not intervene to make property renting easy for business. they neither condemned nor punish the boys. rather, nnewi traders were made to understand that they were strangers and must comply by paying a certain amount of money to those “area boys” when this ugly situation persisted, some nnewi traders in lagos began to head back home and reestablish their businesses there. although, many nnewi business men remained in lagos like many other igbo business men up till now, their experiences have shown that they were extremely determined to stay. when asked if they are being disturbed in any way in the process 65 ibid., 160 66 o. adeyeri “nigeria federalism and the challenges of nation-building: issues, problems and prospects” in b. sofela, v.o. edo etal (eds), nigeria at 50: politics, society and development: ibadan: john archers (publishers) ltd., 20-29. 67 d.i. ajaegbo, “road transport entrepreneurs and road transportation revolution in igboland, 1920-1999: a case study of the nnewi igbo of nigeria” in international multidisciplinary journal, ethiopia vol. 7 (4), serial no. 31, september, 2013:162-173 68 interview with mr oke-elias ozumba, (62) auto parts business man, lagos, 1st of february 2021 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 200 of carrying out their businesses, one of them answered in the affirmative. he said i was even because of the various disturbances that the igbo business men united to build big igbo-dominated markets where they would have free hands and get free from shylock western landlords.69 government has not only shown aparthy towards helping the igbo business men, but have sometimes acted against them. even younger ones doing street hawking businesses have not been spared. the year 2017 marked a milestone in the war against street hawking in lagos. in that year, laws discouraging hawking were harmonized as part of the environmental management and protection law, 2017 by the government of mr akinwunmi ambode. this led to unprecedented mass arrest, prosecution and mass incarceration of street hawkers. although it was not only igbo people that were the targets, they formed the majority of the hawkers. in the north, the politics was even more volatile than ever. what scared igbo business men from the north was not direct anti-igbo business politics, but the smouldering fires of the anti-igbo sentiment generated by the civil war. several political and religious crises greeted the north especially in the 1990s in the form of riots. although these riots spread through the north, they were more pronounced in kano and kaduna.70 in the year 2000, the introduction and adoption of the sharia as a legal system in kaduna sparked off unprecedented riots that rendered the north unsafe for igbo business. according to the anglican communion news service (acns) based in london, “much of the infrastructure of the city of kaduna has been destroyed; churches, mosques, homes and businesses have been burnt. 800,000 people have been made homeless, and hundreds have been killed.”71 although the riots ended up most times as religious riots, they were politically motivated.72 in the event of such riots, the investments of igbo business men were targeted for destruction and looting by the northern rioters. apart from the loss of huge igbo business investments, lots of igbo and other southerners’ lives, many of which were business men, were lost.73 igbo business was therefore threatened from more than one angle. it was threatened from the angle of the loss of business brains, 69 interview with oke-elias ozumba, 70tribune newspaper on 28th june, 2016., 18. 71 onumonu an anutanwa, “rethinking the impact,” 163 72 ibid., 162 73 m.h. kukah, religion, politics and power, ibadan: spectrum books limited, 1993, pp. 214242. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 201 scaring of southern customers and from the angle of direct stifling of business investments. igbo people’s properties and business ventures were looted. it was in response to this unfriendly business environment that many igbo traders, including a lot of nnewi business men headed back home to nnewi to re-establish their businesses there. the increasing inward orientation of nnewi business men’s investment pattern during the post-civil war era was occasioned by the prevailing unfriendly political environments in the north and west. the noticeable trend is that political game in these two areas influenced igbo business investment pattern. the irony is that while the political environment in the north and west grew unfriendly, a conducive environment was created in the east that made the igbo business men want to stay there for business. the losses suffered by great igbo business men with the outbreak of the nigerian civil war, was still fresh on their memory. especially instructive was the huge losses suffered by chief philippe odumegwu. with the outbreak of the war, mr philippe lost the wealth he had accumulated all over nigeria, especially in the west, through successful business ingenuity. having their businesses established at home became a preferred option. even those that went back to the west and north did so without neglecting the fact that they were going there to make money that would be used for investment at home. home investment became a reigning ideology. bound by the common sentiment and painful experience the civil war had put them through, the nnewi people united after the civil war and decided to reconstruct nnewi and have their businesses located in their own home. they resolved to help one another. social clubs sprang up and even gave financial assistance to members. this bond created a business friendly environment in nnewi during the post-war era, and gave rise to the massive concentration of businesses in there.74 implications of igbo business isolationism for nigeria’s economy although no empirical study has been carried out to ascertain in quantitative form, the amount of losses that the west and especially the north has suffered by the withdrawal of many igbo business men at different points in time due to violence, yet the losses are real. a study in this direction will definitely help to enrich the igbo business history literature. the gradation of nnewi-igbo business investment pattern to isolationism no doubt has turned out to be an advantage to the nnewi people. however, the cause of the isolation has negative implications for the 74 onumonu and anutanwa, “rethinking the impact,” 160 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 202 nigerian economy. the act of using politically unfriendly environment to scare igbo businesses away has a lot of disadvantages for the nigerian economy as a whole. some of these disadvantages are discussed below. no economy thrives in the absence of peace. with the way the politics of nigeria has scared nnewi business men to their shells, an ember of bitterness is left smouldering within them. wholesome economic development results when the various people that make up a country are united and none is feeling unwanted in any part of the country. it is in spirit of oneness that the economy will thrive, drawing from the contributions of all members. it should not be forgotten that nnewi played a central role in the biafran war, and wisdom demands that to douse the flame of disintegration, the nnewi people should be integrated into one nigeria. one way to do this is to give them a conducive environment to carry out their businesses in every part of the country. the perpetuation of this unfriendly attitude to igbo business may be construed to be a political game to reduce the economic power of the east, which in itself is inimical to the nigerian economy. the igbo people are known to be successful business men and dominate most of the big markets in the northern and western parts of the country. if they are all scared away to withdraw their investments from these places, it may lead to the collapse of many businesses. many foreign investors who are watching and observing the trend, will also plan their exit as no sane investor will invest in a politically uncertain and volatile environment. the harm already done to the economy by the scaring away of some nnewi business men may not be so obvious now because of their number, but greater harms are on the way if the trend is not curbed and many more are forced to withdraw, including foreign investors. the violence that normally precedes the withdrawal of igbo businesses to the east usually leads to loss of properties and business investments. thus the capital that would have been used to make meaningful contribution to the economy is unnecessarily wasted. these wastes, also kills the moral of capitalists, and portend the danger of stifling entrepreneurial spirit which usually helps to keep the economy vibrant. with the loss of these businesses, a lot of people, including youths also lose their jobs. the problem of unemployment which is usually aggravated by the destruction of business centres and withdrawal of igbo businesses, portend the danger of crimes. if the government in the affected states in the west and north had maintained a reassuring peaceful environment for igbo business men, these losses would have been nipped in the bud or reduced to the barest minimum. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 203 another disadvantage is the overconcentration of jobs in one place for few people. nnewi businesses created a lot of job opportunities. rather than provide these employments to those that really needed them in the long established commercial centers in the west and in the north, these job opportunities were concentrated in nnewi and thus was available for few people in the east, where most people love to have their own businesses. one of the greatest challenges that confronted nnewi industrialists was poor electricity infrastructure.75 many nnewi investors could have also ventured into more productive ventures that required bulk electricity, but due to the poor electricity infrastructure in nnewi, they could not.76 although the electricity situation in the country was generally poor, yet it was bound to be better in longestablished cities like lagos, kaduna and kano. the nation would have therefore enjoyed the business opportunities that the poor electricity infrastructure of nnewi could not support. nigerian politics has also made the government to look away from the development of nnewi and its market and providing needed infrastructure there that will make business easier. by so doing, the government is ignoring the fact that nnewi is also a part of the country and that the boosting of its economy will definitely rub off on nigeria’s economy as a whole. conclusion before and during the colonial era, the nature of nigerian politics encouraged business investments across regions of the country. the igbo business capitalists made use of the opportunity and invested not only in the southeast, but also in far away north and west. since after the civil war crises however, the dynamics of nigerian politics have been to a large extent unfriendly to igbo businesses. this has increased the inward orientation of igbo business investments. the nnewi business men have tried to concentrate their businesses in nnewi as a safeguard against unnecessary losses of investments in far-away lands. although this shift in business investment pattern is advantageous to the nnewi people, it has negative implications for the nigerian economy as a whole. the atmosphere of distrust and disunity that drove the nnewi business men to increasingly withdraw to their shells is unhealthy for the nigerian economy in a number of ways. apart from creating friendly environments for igbo business all 75 ibid., 163 76 ibid. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 204 over the country, the government should also come up with sincere plans and programmes that will further boost the economy and ingenuity of the entrepreneurs of nnewi. this can only, however, be possible when primordial sentiment is dispensed with. if this is done, the nnewi economy will extensively influence the overall economic strength of nigeria in particular and west africa in general. also, the unity that will result will help to catalyze economic development. article 27 igwebuike 6. no5.cdr igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.6 no.7, 2020 www.igwebuikejournals.com a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 120 religion, population growth and violence in contemporary nigerian nation clara m. austin iwuoha, phd department of religious studies faculty of humanities imo state university, owerri ausiwuoha@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract with a population of about 190 million, nigeria is africa's most populous nation by double and fertility levels remain higher than most other sub-saharan african nations. throughout the last decades, the fertility gap between christians and muslims has widened with significant political implications for her nascent democracy. since nigeria's return to democratic rule in 1999, thousands of people have died in the wake of identitybased vicious, murderous and destructive violence mostly fought along ethno-religious lines. in 2009, a radical islamist sect from north-eastern nigeria, boko haram, started a campaign of terror that has so far intensified the schismatic and apprehensive religious atmosphere in the country. this had been preceded by the vicious maitatsine sect of the 1980s. the formal institutionalization of sharia law in the north in 1999 have also not helped matters. while the boko haram crisis cannot be said to be strictly religious, this paper will locate the group within the context of the mobilization and politicization of religion in nigeria, which along with the heavy-handedness of nigeria's conflict management processes, informs religious militancy and sectarian violence in the country. the paper argues that a process of transition from a killing society to a non-killing society is needed to provide an alternative perspective to the existing pedagogy of religion, violence and population growth for which northern nigeria is notorious. keywords: religious violence, politicization, boko haram, population growth introduction religious violence in nigeria is vividly linked with the proliferation of uncompromising muslim and christian activism, a relationship that has led to a burgeoning culture of religious intolerance particularly in northern nigeria. prior to the advent of islam and christianity in nigeria, african traditional religion, was the religion of africans and during this time when africans worshipped god the indigenous way religious violence was rare. the introduction of islam and christianity in nigeria marked the beginning of religious violence as both religions struggled for supremacy. the concept of national security encompasses both military and non-military security such as economic security, energy security, food security etc. security threats can come in any form. the present security threat in nigeria is the boko haram terrorist attacks on the government and the country at large. equally, religious violence is a threat to the well-being of the adherents of the religions in nigeria. several political problems assume religious dimensions; manipulated by politics, poverty, illiteracy and ignorance in nigeria. violence predicated on religious affiliation and religious policies has indeed caused physical and psychological damage to several people, thereby legitimizing religious schism among nigerians who simply have different religious affiliations. it is therefore paramount that we look at factors responsible for religious violence in nigeria since the inception of democracy in 1999 and to find out how religion can bring about peaceful co-existence. the 1980s witnessed an upsurge in violence resulting from the death of mohammed marwa, the leader of a sectarian group known as "maitatsine". at about the same time, the former self-styled military president of nigeria, general ibrahim babangida, enrolled nigeria in the organization of the islamic conference, oic. this move aggravated religious tensions in the country, particularly among the christian communities. since the return of democracy to nigeria in 1999, sharia has been instituted as a main body of civil and criminal law in nine (9) muslim-majority and in some parts of three (3) muslimplurality states. the then zamfara state governor, ahmad rufai sani yerima is known to have started the push for the institution of sharia at the state level of government. in the 1980s, serious outbreaks of conflicts between christians and muslims occurred in kafanchan in southern kaduna state in a border area between the two religions, propagated by extreme leaders who were able to rally a young, educated group of individuals who feared that the nation would not be able to protect their religious groups. the leaders were able to polarize their followers through speeches and public demonstrations. the activities of some of these sects led to the loss of lives and properties as they moved about destroying government facilities which they saw as legacies or replica of western cultures in their various communities. these religious campaigns have seen an increase in sophisticated gun battles between the members of these sects and security forces with loss of precious lives witnessed on both sides. although direct conflicts between christians and muslims were rare from the outset, tensions did flare between the two groups as each group galvanized and radicalized. there were clashes in october 1982 when muslim zealots in kano were able to enforce their power in order to keep the anglican house church from expanding its size and power base. they viewed it as a threat to the nearby mosque, even though the anglican house church had been there forty years prior to the building of the mosque. similar thing almost happened at the university of ibadan when the muslim worshippers demanded that a cross which had been there years before the mosque be pulled down because they faced it when praying. christians stood their ground to protect the cross and tensions escalated. to ensure peace, a wall was raised between the cross and the mosque. elsewhere, there were two student groups who came into contestation in nigeria the fellowship of christian students and the muslim students society. on one occasion there was an evangelical campaign organized by the fcs that questioned why one sect should dominate the campus of the kafanchan college of education. this quarrel escalated to the point where the muslim students organized protests around the city which culminated in the burning of a mosque at the college. the christian majority at the college retaliated. twelve people died, several mosques were burnt and a climate of fear and apprehension was created. the retaliation was pre-planned. 121clara m. austin iwuoha, phd exploitation of the media as a means of propagating the ideas of the conflict, have also contributed in radicalizing each force even more. media was biased on each side so while places like the federal radio corporation discussed the idea of defending islam during this brief moment of terror, it did not report the deaths and damage caused by muslims, thereby galvanizing the muslim population. similarly, the christian papers did not report the damage and deaths caused by christians but rather focused on the islamic terror. other individuals leading these religious movements used the media to spread messages which gradually became more toxic and intolerant of other religions, and because of these religious divisions radical islam continues to be a problem in nigeria today. religious conflict between muslims and christians has erupted several times since 2000 for various reasons, often causing riots with several thousands of victims on both sides. since 2009, the islamist movement boko haram has fought an armed rebellion against the nigerian military, sacking villages and towns and taking thousands of lives in battles and massacres against christians, students and others deemed enemies of islam. the chibok girls saga and the abduction of leah sharibu are still very fresh in the mind. the thrust of this investigation is propelled by the ferocious and colossal eruptions of religious conflict occasioned by extreme display of religious fanaticism and intolerance and how it has impacted on the peace and progress of the populace. religious violence among scholars, there is no acceptable definition of violence. violence is viewed from diverse perspectives. riches (1986:8) cited in afolabi (2016) defines violence from an anthropological point of view as ''an act of physical hurt deemed legitimate by the performer and illegitimate by (some) witnesses''. riches' definition according to afolabi (2016) is compatible with ''basic properties'' of violence, which have cross-cultural validity, i.e. that the performance of violence requires relatively little by way of specialized equipment or knowledge, that the practice of violence is highly visible to the senses and that, therefore, violence as such is unlikely to be mistaken. afolabi (2016) maintains that discrepancies in basic understanding amongst those implicated in the performance of a violent act are likely to be minimal. nevertheless, violence is inherently liable to be contested on the question of legitimacy. hann (2008) asserts that riches' incorporation of the concepts of legitimacy and illegitimacy in the definition of violence raises problems because it is unclear how the discrepancy in basic understanding amongst those implicated in the performance of a violent act can be 'likely to be minimal' when an act of violence by definition is deemed legitimate by the performer and illegitimate by (some) witnesses. in an attempt to introduce a more systematic, comprehensive analysis of violence, several propositions have been made for a more extended notion of violence which is defined in a more inclusive way. two examples of inclusive definitions of violence presented by barak (2003) and henry (2000) will suffice. barak (2003) has made an attempt to be conceptually inclusive, that is, to take into account the full range of harms associated with a variety of interpersonal, institutional, and structural relationships and behaviours and to not exclude any form and expression of violence, whether they refer to individual acts, institutional arrangements or structural conditions as well as whether or not they are prohibited by law. to this end, he adopts a definition of violence as ''any action or structural arrangement that results in physical or non-physical harm to one or more persons'' (iadicola and shupe, 1998: 26; quoted in barak, 2003: 26). 122 religion, population growth and violence in contemporary nigerian nation in a similar vein, henry (2000:3-5,116) suggests that a more inclusive, integrated definition of violence is necessary, which replaces the term 'force' with 'power' and takes a more comprehensive view of harm. violence is thus defined as ''the use of power to harm another, whatever form it takes''. in this case, harm is not only physical pain and suffering. it can also occur along many dimensions beyond the physical to include psychological or emotional, material or economic, social or identity, moral or ethical, and so on. within each dimension, the harm can be of two kinds: 'harms of reduction' and 'harms of repression' (henry and milovanovic, 1996:103). harms of reduction remove something from a person's existing status as a human being. for instance, physical harms of reduction produce bodily pain or loss (of blood, organs, limbs, physical functioning). material harms of reduction threaten or downgrade some of the person's economic status (property, wealth, money). psychological harms of reduction have destructive effects on the human mind and weaken a person's emotional or mental functioning (such as in posttraumatic stress syndrome). social and symbolic harms of reduction lower a person's social status (by violating their human rights, sexuality or social identity). moral or ethical harms of reduction corrupt standards of concern for the well-being of others (as in hate, pressure to cheat, and the like). in contrast, harms of repression reveal how the exercise of power acts to systematically limit another person's capability of achieving higher levels of accomplishment along any of these dimensions. violence, then, is the exercise of power over others by some individual, agency, or social process that denies those subjects of their humanity either by reducing them from what they are or by limiting them from becoming what they might be. after looking at the concept of violence from the perspective of inclusive and restrictive definitions, hann (2008:29-33) came to the conclusion that depending on the contexts of discovery and justification, valid arguments are feasible for either inclusive or restrictive definitions of violence. any definition of violence, however, should be considered as a temporary outcome of theoretical debate – an outcome which may or may not prove to be useful in future research. exploring diversity of definitions is useful in understanding violence from a religious perspective. from these definitions, it can safely be deduced that “religious violence is a term that describes a phenomenon where religion is either the subject or object of violent behaviour. religious violence is, precisely, violence that is motivated by or in reaction to religious precepts, texts, or doctrines”. it involves all forms of violence against religious institutions, persons, objects, or when the violence is motivated to some degree by some religious aspect of the target or precepts of the attacker. this phenomenon does not only refer to violent acts committed by religious groups, but it also includes acts committed by secular group against groups. thus, it is pluralistic in its incidence. religious violence in nigeria has caused not only physical pain but also psychological, emotional, material, economic and social loss. it has also caused harms of reduction and repression. many people have been dehumanized, lost their wealth and sources of livelihood to intermittent religious conflicts in several parts of the northern states. religious violence has weakened their emotional or mental proper functioning. the exercise of power and domination by hausa-fualni indigenes in the north on the settlers limit the latter from achieving their utmost potential. the violent and murderous activities of the maitatsine sects in nigeria between 1980 and 1985, and the present boko haram violence are few examples of sad situations religion has caused humanity. the events of abuja in 2000 and jos in 2001 were riots between christians and muslims in jos, nigeria about the appointment of a muslim politician, alhaji muktar 123clara m. austin iwuoha, phd mohammed, as local coordinator of the federal programme to fight poverty. another such riot killed over 100 people in october 2001 in kano state. in 2002, the nigerian journalist isioma daniel wrote an article that led to the demonstrations and violence that caused the deaths of over 200 in kaduna, as well as a fatwa placed on her life. the 2002 miss world contest was moved from abuja to london as a result. the rest of the 2000s witnessed continuous inter-religious violence in jos and kaduna. the reaction to the mohammed cartoons brought about a series of violent protests in nigeria. clashes between rioters and police claimed several lives, with estimates ranging from sixteen to more than a hundred. this led to reprisal attacks in the south of the country, particularly in onitsha. more than a hundred lost their lives. a woman was killed in kano for her early morning ministrations which the muslim youths considered as disturbance. recently, fulani herdsmen have been known to commit all manners of unrestricted violence in almost all parts of the country with reckless abandon. overview of religious violence in nigeria 1. 01-jul-99: sagamu, ogun state crisis between yoruba traditional worshipers and hausa groups as a result of the killing of a hausa woman by the oro masqueraders for violating traditional rites. 2. 20-dec-99: ilorin, kwara state muslim fundamentalists attacked and destroyed over 14 churches, properties worth several millions of naira destroyed. 3. 28-feb00: aba, abia state religious crisis that led to the killing of over 450 persons. 4. february 21-22, 00: kaduna, kaduna state crisis over the introduction of sharia, an estimated 3000 people died. 5. 12-oct-01: kano, kano state religious crises, in protest to u.s. invasion of afghanistan over osama bin laden. over 150 persons were killed. 6. september, 7-17, 07: jos, plateau state religious crisis between muslims and christians. mosques, churches and several properties were damaged. 7. 16-nov-02: kaduna, kaduna state attack of christians by the muslims over article written by lsioma daniel on miss world, over 250 people were killed and several churches destroyed. 8. 14-feb-04: numan, adamawa state religious crisis between christians and muslims over location of the central mosque close to bachama paramount ruler's palace. over 17 persons killed. 9. 18-feb-06: maiduguri, borno state religious crisis between christians and muslims over danish cartoon on prophet mohammed in jyllands-posten newspaper. over 50 persons killed and 30 churches destroyed over 200 shops, 50 houses and 100 vehicles vandalized. 10. 22-mar-07: gombe, gombe state religious crisis over the killing of a christian teacher for allegedly desecrating the qur'an while attempting to stop a student from cheating in an examination hall. 11. 28-nov-08: jos, plateau state religious crisis between muslims and christians over the controversial results of local election. over 700 people killed. 124 religion, population growth and violence in contemporary nigerian nation 12. july 26-30, 09: bauch, borno, kano and yobe states religious crisis unleashed by boko haram sect on christians. over 700 people killed 3,500 persons internally displaced, 1,264 children orphaned, and over 392 woman widowed, and several properties destroyed. 13. 07-mar-10: jos, plateau state attacks by fulani moslems on christiansdominated villages of dogo-nahawa, shen and fan. 13 persons killed. 14. 11-jul-10: jos south, plateau state attack on a christian village by fulani herdsman. 3 houses and 6 vehicles were torched. 15. january 5-6-12: gombe, gombe state gunmen stormed a deeper life church, shooting indiscriminately at worshippers. the boko haram islamist sect claimed responsibility for the shooting. 16. january 5-6-12: mubi, adamawa state suspected boko haram militants stormed a gathering of igbo christians and shot sporadically, killing over 12 and injuring others. 17. may-2016: padongari, niger state religious crisis that left 4 persons dead. 18. 08-jun-16: kakuri, kaduna state a christian man was stabbed for not joining ramadan fast. 19. 14-mar-18: abuja protest by muslim groups rocks national assembly on the public hearing over amasa firdus, law school hijab controversy. source: adapted from sampson, 2018; sahara reporter, 2018; apuwabi, 2018. factors responsible for religious violence religious violence has become a defining personality of nigeria and her politics since independence. kukah (1993:9) argues that both islam and christianity are straddled across the nigerian polity, each no longer knocking and pleading to be admitted, but seeking to take over the architectural design and construction of the nigerian polity. thus, religion has been politicized and politics has been religionized thereby making it difficult to draw a line of demarcation between the two entities. religion that has bound us together in two strands has caused much damage than good in northern nigeria. under the guise of religion, many religious fundamentalists and violent religious fanatics have frequently plunged the country into unnecessary wanton destruction of innocent lives and properties (iwe 4). in nigeria some islamic fundamentalists and fanatics have in the guise of religion, knowingly or reluctantly, repudiated the spirit of islam as a religion of peace and social justice, by their irrational and reckless destruction of the lives and properties of their fellow citizens and their defiance of constituted military and civil authorities. the intermittent outburst of violent destruction of lives and properties by ill-advised moslem youths who sometimes surface from their mosque or after a secret deadly resolution to impose catastrophe and havoc on their fellow citizens for flimsy and unjustified reasons is also another instance. these fanatics and fundamentalists, misguided by a wrong understanding and interpretation of the true spirit of islamic jihad have often sought to provoke war and violence for selfish interests (james 143). several factors responsible for religious violence in nigeria have been identified in literature (omotosho, 2003; gofwen, 2004; iwara, 2006; salawu, 2010; sampson, 2012; alao, 2019). whereas most of these causes conflate, emphasis in literature has been on the underlying socio-economic, political and governance factors that gestate not only 125clara m. austin iwuoha, phd religious conflicts, but violent conflicts in nigeria generally. however this paper is focused on the immediate and visible factors that generate religious violence and how it impact on the population. some of these factors include: personalization of religion in non-western countries, people find it convenient to identify themselves through religion in terms of dressing, name or conversation. with the introduction of modernity, there was an increased amount of religious consciousness and personalization. in nigeria, especially in the north, identity is based on primordial factors such as ethnicity, nation, race, language and religion. these primordial factors separate an individual from another. religion, which is one of the most important primordial factors have led to personalization among the same citizens of different ethnicity, nation and language in nigeria. in the northern part of nigeria, there are two distinct religions that are personalized, islam and christianity. the majority of the citizens are muslims while the minorities are mostly christians. this has generated discrimination by the majority against the minority. that is why gurr (1993) argues that discrimination against an ethnic minority provides the basis for the minority to form an opposition to protest and terminate the perceived discrimination. fox (2000) concurs with gurr by stating that religious factors are capable of giving rise to discrimination and grievances, which can give rise to ethnic and religious conflicts. in a nutshell, religion personalization can lead to religious discrimination and ultimately degenerate to extremism, fundamentalism and terrorism. when religion is personalized, adherents tend to see their religion as superior to another which forms a strong mark in their mind to fight and die for their religious beliefs and use religion to justify the use of violence. this is the true picture of religious violence in nigeria. extremism and intolerance extremism is as good as fanaticism. extremism on both sides is another important reason behind religious crisis in nigeria. in most cases this extremism results from poor knowledge and understanding of the teachings of the religion being defended by the groups from the two sides. religious intolerance means hostility towards other religions, as well as the inability of religious adherents to harmonize the theoretical and the practical aspect of religion. intolerant devotion to one's opinions and prejudices especially the expression of intolerance and animosity toward persons of differing beliefs leads to violence. religious conversion religious adherents of both islam and christianity in nigeria believe that their religion is not only superior but possess salvation for one's soul and the enjoyment of life after death. this is done by preaching religious conversion. jenkins (2002) argues that the mechanism of religious conversion has the capacity to promote rivalry and shift the demographic balance between adherents of different religions within a state. thus, religious conversion can bring about demographic shift and cause religious violence. although, boko haram may not be able to account for religious conversion as a factor for religious violence because their activities have shifted from persecuting christians to muslims that they believe are not true believers of islam. however, religious conversion is a significant threat to muslims in the north who are dominant citizens in the area. 126 religion, population growth and violence in contemporary nigerian nation depletion of cultural values this is ramified in the fact that man no longer attaches the expected value to the sanctity of life. the african virtue of being our brother's keeper has been eroded. isolated settlement and heterogeneous state olomojobi (2013) asserts that islamic faith is largely practiced in the northern region of nigeria in sixteen states: adamawa, bauchi, borno, gombe, kano, kaduna, katsina, kebbi, kogi, kwara, jigawa, nassarawa, niger, sokoto, yobe and zamfara. three states, benue, plateau and taraba have a muslim minority while kano, kastina and sokoto are historically centers of islamic education and missionary activities. he notes that commercial activities and the existence of profitable opportunities in agriculture and trade, including the railway system and the establishment of federal institutions across the north led to the increased influx of other ethnic groups from other parts of nigeria to the north. instead of the indigenes of the north to allow other ethnic groups to settle wherever they found space, they are stationed to a particular territory called sabon gari quarters (strangers' quarters) across the north. this is so because the practice of islam which is based on sharia law divides men into two groups: those belonging to the umma and those outside the community. this brings us to the issue of heterogeneous states. wimmer, 2003; fox, 2000 and gurr, 1993 argue that the initial stages of establishing a democratic order in a heterogeneous state are likely to produce ethnic and religious conflicts. nigeria, which is a heterogeneous state have witness more religious and ethnic crises since 1999. thus, separate settlement and heterogeneous states give room for contention between the indigenous muslim and the immigrants especially those that belong to non-islamic faith. religious hegemony both islam and christianity adherents fight for dominance of their religious faith. however, islamic religion does not only unite ethnic groups but also dominate the northern part of nigeria. along this line, lincoln (2003) argues that religious conflict arises when the 'religion of the status quo' is used as a source of domination over 'religions of resistance'. this, in the long run, can result in religious conflict between the dominant majority and the dominated religious minorities. hence, while islam is the 'religion of the status quo', christianity is the 'religion of resistance'. unemployment/illiteracy youth unemployment and illiteracy are no doubt major problems in nigeria, threatening its national security, considering the inability of the government to adequately engage the teeming youth population to be productive. according to the national bureau of statistics (nbs), statistics show that unemployment rate in nigeria increased to 23.9 % during the first half of the year 2011. in addition to the already daunting statistics of over 43 million unemployed youth, an additional 1.8 million people joined the long queue. this was attributed to fresh entrants to the job market and worker layoffs across all sectors of the economy in the year (afolabi, 2013:2). also, of the 100 million nigerians living in abject poverty, those who can afford essentials of food, shelter and clothing — the majority reside in the northern states. the north-west has the highest poverty rate with 70% of its people living below $1 per day. the north-east follows with 69% and the north-central with 59.5%. the three southern zones have no cause to rejoice either as poverty level there ranges between 49.8% and 58.7%. this shows the level of frustration of unemployed youth 127clara m. austin iwuoha, phd who have constituted a threat to the national security of the state because invariably, an idle hand is the devil's workshop. hence, the alarming rate of youth unemployment impact on the level of insecurity in the country whereby youths are recruited into terrorism, kidnapping, armed robbery, theft and also as instruments for religious violence. poverty poverty is a worst and unpalatable situation which can make man to think of getting rich by any means possible without thinking of the consequences. some of our religious and political leaders are deliberately creating situations of poverty among their adherents and followers and they capitalize on the opportunity offered by this ugly situation to employ these hungry youths in unleashing terror and threat to life. the almajiri system is a case in point. negative roles of some religious leaders obioha (2008) submitted that, the occurrence of these conflicts cannot be divorced from the activities of some religious leaders, both of christian religion and islam. according to him, some of them present their religion as the best, while others are no religion, or worse still, false religions. some preach inciting sermons that encourages their followers to violence. cases abound in kano and kaduna where muslims would commence rioting from the mosque after listening friday sermons from their imams. it is such that people approach fridays with trepidations. suspicion among the various adherents involved it can be rightly said according to alabi and lateju, (2014) that, just as christians are suspicious of muslims, so also muslims mistrust christians. for clarification, adeniyi, for example, blames christianity for the violent religious climate in nigeria. he explained that islam and african religion co-existed peacefully until christianity came in ten centuries later, with its evangelistic determination to wipe out islam and african religions. religion and population growth in nigeria literature confirms that nigeria is the most populous nation in sub-saharan africa. but according to adekoya (2017) and evidenced in afolabo (2016) this rapid population growth is not an economic advantage rather it has become a looming disaster that politicians have either been powerless to stop or lacks the political will to control. a few years ago, when the “africa rising” mantra was in full force, the continent's population growth was touted as an asset, a comparative advantage over the rest of the world. while western populaces, particularly in europe, were aging and was predicted to shrink in the coming decades, africa's fast-growing and youthful population was expected to provide the dynamism and consumer base needed to power its economy and transform the continent into a global growth engine. for adekoya (2017), one country that to personified this narrative was nigeria, subsaharan africa's most populous nation, which boasted between 7 and 8 percent gdp growth for much of the 2000s. unfortunately, now that the global commodity slump especially in the oil sector has plunged nigeria into its worst economic crisis in two decades, and pushed youth unemployment through the roof, it is evident that far from a dividend, the country's demographics is now a disaster waiting to happen. and the time bomb is ticking faster than we feared. for example, hausa youths are being stowed to the 128 religion, population growth and violence in contemporary nigerian nation south as willing tools for violence. back in 2017, nigeria's national bureau of statistics revealed that the country's population was estimated to have surpassed 193 million, significantly exceeding the earlier u.n. projection of 187 million in 2016. meaning that, the u.n.'s much-publicized forecast that nigeria will overtake the united states as the world's third-most populous nation by 2050 will likely happen much sooner than projected. (nigeria's fertility rate is 5.13 children per woman, compared with 1.87 per woman in the united states). part of the optimism surrounding nigeria's population growth stemmed from the country's abundant natural resource wealth, which was expected to power investments in infrastructure, industry and education, among others. but with markets as volatile as they are, it is clear that oil and gas revenue which accounts for 95 percent of export earnings and 70 percent of government revenue is no longer enough to keep a country the size of nigeria afloat. indeed, since oil prices started to drop in mid-2014 to its current lowest, nigeria's currency has depreciated more than 170 percent against the dollar while the country's gdp has contracted accordingly in dollar terms. the 2017 national budget was the largest ever when measured in local currency, but at the then current market exchange rate though not the official one, which has been largely fictitious it amounts to a meager $15 billion. the government of kansas, population 2.9 million, has a bigger budget than nigeria. in per capita terms, the situation is even bleaker. the government had just $77 to spend on each citizen in 2017. a nation with a population fast approaching 200 million earmarked just $290 million for education (including capital spending), less than a third of what harvard university spent on research and development alone meaning that many of the country's newest citizens were likely to join the 62 million nigerians who are currently illiterate and most of them from the north. in other words, a large percentage of nigeria's rapidly expanding population will have few or none of the skills needed to secure decent-paying jobs, build sustainable businesses, or otherwise contribute to a globalized 21st-century economy. many are likely to join the already 30-million-strong army of unemployed youths aged 15 to 34. according to the national bureau of statistics, more than 45 percent of the country's 69 million youths are either unemployed or underemployed — and this is a conservative estimate. with such grim employment statistics, it's little wonder that violent crime, including kidnappings and armed robberies, is on the rise while ethnic tensions, never far from the surface in nigeria, are growing. so what can be done to defuse this ticking time bomb? various nigerian governments have attempted to promote family planning, but these programmes have had limited impact due to their modest scope and inability to change deeply embedded cultural and religious sensibilities that encourage large families and unbridled procreation through polygamy and multiple marriages especially in the north. pushing birth control is not easy in a society where children are widely regarded as “blessings from god.” human interference in such heavenly matters is considered arrogant and presumptuous especially by the catholics. economic calculations also drive the desire for many children, especially in rural societies. in a society lacking a social safety net, parents rely on their children to provide for them in old age. the more future caregivers you have, the brighter your retirement prospects. there is also a pervasive cultural belief, perhaps reinforced by the “africa rising” narrative, that nigeria draws strength from its numbers. a large and growing population is one of the two main pillars supporting nigeria's vaunted status as the ordained “giant of africa” (the other pillar is the country's significant natural resource wealth, the value of 129clara m. austin iwuoha, phd which most of the population overestimates). it is partly for this reason that family planning campaigns, perceived as driven by foreigners and especially white people, are often viewed as a conspiracy to weaken nigeria and africa in general. given these entrenched realities, it makes sense to turn to the only people capable of changing minds on issues as sensitive as family planning: religious leaders. most nigerians are fiercely attached to their religious leaders, be it the imams and mallams in the predominantly muslim north or the charismatic pastors of the mostly christian south. in a society where the corrupt political class has been thoroughly discredited, religious leaders are the authority figures. if enough of them could be persuaded that the country is heading for disaster if population growth is not curbed, they might be willing to support a broadbased family planning campaign. traditional rulers could also be engaged in such an exercise, since they also retain significant authority at the grassroots level. this type of cooperation between religious and political leaders has succeeded in promoting family planning in other deeply conservative societies post-revolutionary iran, for instance and the basis for it is already in place. nigeria's politicians and religious leaders have long enjoyed a symbiotic relationship: politicians rely on religious leaders to bolster their legitimacy and in return provide generous funding to build mosques and churches. this quid pro quo is especially pronounced in the northern muslim parts of the country where sharia, or islamic law, is practiced, religious authority is especially strong, and birth rates tend to be higher than among southern christians. the latest population figures must serve as a clarion call for the nigerian government and its international partners to come up with policies, programmes, and campaigns aimed at slowing down the birth rate while also providing better opportunities for those already born. the country's demographic explosion should stop being presented as an opportunity or an asset; it is a disaster waiting to happen for a nation with nigeria's limited resources. effects of religious crisis in nigeria critically speaking one does not need to be soothsayer, fortune-teller or a prophet to appreciate the fact that religious crisis has colossal negative effects on the socio-moral and economic growth of the society. religious and ethnic crisis affects the foreign direct investment (fdi) flow into nigeria. fdi has positive relationship with economic growth as the more fdi flows into the country the more jobs are created, the higher the per capita income and the higher the standard of living. this is buttressed by onwumah (2014) who posited that in economic terms, religious and ethnic crisis damages resources and facilities which took time to acquire. no foreign investor will like to invest funds in a country that is divided by communal, religious and ethnic crises (ayinla, 2003). the basic aim of foreign investment is to make profit which is not possible in an environment of crises. the resources invested already will definitely go down the drains. mechanism for peace in religious violence paden (2005) argues that the first step in conflict resolution and mediation is to analyze the nature and dynamics of the grassroots conflicts, then to assess the human resources available for the conflict mitigation, including the capacity of traditional civic cultures to adapt to new conflict challenges. this is an important mechanism of bringing peace in religious violence due to the fact that conflict is fueled with resources which can be used to bring sustainable peace and development in the society. however, it is important to note that strategies used in curtailing conflict differ from one culture to the other. moreover, resources should be distributed evenly across the country. nigeria is too rich to be among 130 religion, population growth and violence in contemporary nigerian nation the poorest countries in the world. the wealth of the country is more concentrated in few individuals and this lead to abject poverty of large percentage of nigerian citizen where the gap between the rich and poor is wide. one of the root causes of religious violence is the poverty level in the country, most especially in the north. the poor in the north are the unemployed youth, miscreants, the talakawa and the almajirai. olomojobi (2013) argues that in northern nigeria, the root of religious clashes could be traced to class struggles and resources control. in social terms, the lack of economic independence for the young generation leads to denial of economic welfare such as housing and the lack of access to justice. this leads to the lack of education, producing disadvantaged adults, which leads to the tendency to commit crimes. in addition, the government should reduce the level of illiteracy by providing education to the teeming youth, most especially in the north where there is high rate of illiteracy. also, they should imbibe the culture of accountability, good governance and bring the dividends of democracy to the grassroots by improving their quality of lives through economic empowerment. more importantly, they should be alert to early warning signals of conflict so as to prevent it early enough before it escalates. moreover, religion can bring about peace where religious violence thrives by stressing the importance of religious tolerance and peaceful co-existence. though this might not go down well with some muslims who view such tolerance as sacrilegious, but this can be done by various religious leaders in teaching their followers that both islam and christianity accommodates plurality of religious faiths. the government should take the responsibility to orientate the populace while the press should use their resources to curtail conflict by promoting inter-faith programmes and revealing areas of inter-faith harmony. conclusion although religion has been portrayed as a source of worry to humanity due largely to the vicious, violent and murderous activities of some religious zealots and fanatics; misconceptions and selfish interests of religious leaders which negates the spirit of religion, it can safely be deduced that religion as institution, play enormous role in the lives of a people. we can therefore conclude that, there is a need to understand the etymology of peace which is derived from the latin word pax; meaning agreement or contract. for peace to reign there is a need for agreement or contract between and among diverse religions, ethnic groups, languages, race and political parties etc. it is the people that would determine when and how they want peace in a given society. in a nutshell, if the spirit of true patriotism is instilled in the heart of every nigerian citizen through transparent and exemplary leadership in political and religious practices, the rate of religious violence would be significantly reduced to a minimal level. it is important to conclude by affirming what olomojobi (2013) said in suggesting that the basis of the ongoing religious crises in contemporary nigeria is deeply rooted in the country's ontological and historical inheritance as a state. also, it is due to perceived grievance in respect of ignorance, economic stagnation, youth unemployment and disempowerment in the northern part of nigeria. references abeysekara, a. (2002). colors of the robe: religion, identity and difference. colombia, south carolina: university of south carolina press. adah, a. (2013). "will relocation of tafawa balewa lg headquarters guarantee peace?" hallmark. archived from the original on 2014-06-21. retrieved 2014-06-21. adamu, j. and igboeroteonwu, a. (2014). "nigerian sharia architect defends law". bbc. retrieved, 7 june, 2014. 131clara m. austin iwuoha, phd https://foreignpolicy.com/comments_view/?view_post_comments=https%3a%2f%2fforeignpolicy.com%2f2017%2f01%2f10%2fonly-religion-can-defuse-nigerias-demographic-time-bomb%2f adekoya, r. (2017). only religion can defuse nigeria's demographic time bomb https://foreignpolicy.com/2017/01/10/only-religion-can-defuse-nigerias-demographic-timebomb/ retrieved 18/05/2020 afeno, o. s. (2012). the boko haram uprising and insecurity in nigeria: intelligence failure or bad governance? afolabi o. o. (2016). religious violence and national security in nigeria, 1999 – 2011 international affairs and global strategy www.iiste.org issn 2224-574x (paper) issn 2224-8951 (online) vol.42, 2016 afolabi, o. o. (2013). “the rate of youth unemployment and its effects on national security”, cultural and religious studies. vol. 1, no1. 2. astill, j. and bowcott, o. (2002). "fatwa is issued on nigerian journalist". guardian unlimited. retrieved, 2007-07-21. awolalu, j. o. (1976). “what is african traditional religion?” studies in comparative religion, vol.10, no. 2. (spring), 1. barak, g. (2003). violence and nonviolence. pathways to understanding, thousand oaks: sage, 26. clinton, h. (2009). “nigeria: lack of good governance”, the nation, 14 august, 1. dickson, d. (2008). political islam in sub-saharan africa: the need for a new research and diplomatic agenda. [online] available: http://www.usip.org/pubs/specialreports/sr140.pdf (november 30, 2008). dzugba, a. (1991). “res 214: an introduction to sociology of religion. second edition”, the centre for external studies, university of ibadan, 93. eills, s and haar, g. t. (1998), “religion and politics in sub-saharan africa”. the journal of modern african studies 26 (2), 188. fox, j. (2000). “religion as an overlooked element in international relations”, international studies review 3(3), 53-73. fox, j. (2000). “religious causes of ethnic discrimination”. international studies quarterly, sept, 423450. fox, j. (2000). “the effects of religious discrimination of ethnic protest and rebellion”. journal of conflict resolution 20 (2), 16-43. funk and wagnalls. (1993). standard desk dictionary. u.s.a r.p donnelley & sons company. gofwen, r. i. (2004), religious conflicts in northern nigeria and nation building: the throes of two decades 1980–2000, kaduna, human rights monitor. gurr, t. r. (1993). minority at risk: a global viewpoint of ethnopolitical conflicts. washington, dc: united states institute of peace press. hann, w. d. (2008). violence as an essentially contested concept in: s. bodygendrot and p. s p i e r e n b u r g ( e d s . ) v i o l e n c e i n e u r o p e . s p r i n g e r . [ o n l i n e ] a v a i l a b l e : www.springer.com/cda/content/.../cda.../978038 7745077-c2.pdf? (july 28, 2015). harnischfeger, j. (2008). democratization and islamic law: the sharia conflict in nigeria campus verlag. henry, s. (2000). what is school violence? an integrated definition. annals of the american academy of political and social science, 16–30, 567. henry, s. and d. milovanovic (1996). constitutive criminology. beyond postmodernism. london: sage, 103. holman, m. (1986). "nigeria, politics; religious differences intensify", financial times hornby, a. s. (1995). oxford advanced learner's dictionary: students edition london: oxford university press. http://hrmars.com/hrmars_papers/the_effects_of_religious_crisis_on_economic_development_in_ nigeria.pdf iadicola, p. and a. shupe (1998). violence, inequality, and human freedom. new york: general hall. ibrahim, j. (1989). "politics of religion in nigeria: the parameters of the 1987 crisis in kadana state'. review of african political economy, 45, 65-82. pp. 65–68, https://www.jstor.org/stable/4006011, accessed on 01/11/2011 iwara, u.e. (2006). “religious violence in nigeria: causes and consequences”, sophia: an african journal of philosophy, 8 (2), 153–157. jenkins, p. (2002). the next christendom: the coming of global christianity. oxford: oxford university press. 132 religion, population growth and violence in contemporary nigerian nation https://foreignpolicy.com/author/remi-adekoya/ https://www.researchgate.net/profile/afolabi_oluwaseun2 juergensmeyer, m. (2001). terror in the mind of god: the global rise of religious violence. berkeley: university of california press, 105. juergensmeyer, m. (ed.). (2005). religion in global civil society. oxford, new york: oxford university press, 26. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2016). christian-muslim relations in nigeria as a religio-political locus theologicus for misericordia vultus. harvard journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 117128. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, a. i; omojola, i. o.; bazza, m. b. (2019). boko haram and forced migration: a focus on the northeast and lake chad basin. published in nnadiebube journal of education in africa. vol. 4. no. 2. pp. 1-13. kanu, ikechukwu a. & ndubisi j. o. ejikemeuwa (2018) (eds.). religion, morality and peace-building in africa: ambiguities and the imperfect human condition. lambert academic publishing: germany. kanu, i. a. & ushe m. u. (2018). the religious politics of boko haram and fulani herdsmen menace: a resurgence of islamic fundamentalism. in kanu, i. a. & ndubisi j. o. e (eds.). religion, morality and peace-building in africa: ambiguities and the imperfect human condition (pp. 109-183). lambert academic publishing: germany. kukah, m. (2003). human rights in nigeria. hopes and hindrances. aachen: missio. [online] available: http://www. missio-aachen. de/images/mr%20nigeria%20englisch_tcm14-12285.pdf. 31. kukah, m. h. (1993). religion, politics and power in northern nigeria, ibadan: spectrum, 9. lincoln, b. (2003). holy terrors: thinking about religion after september 11. chicago, iii: university of chicago press. longman dictionary of contemporary english. (1995). 3rd edition. maier, k. (2000). the house has fallen: nigeria in crisis. london: penguin books, 154. national bureau of statistics. (2010), national survey, 2010. abuja: nigeria. minchakpu, o. (2001). "religious riots in nigeria leave hundreds dead". christianity today. retrieved 2008-11-30. olomojobi, y. (2013). islam and conflict in northern nigeria. lagos: malthouse press limited. omotosho, a. o. (2003). religious violence in nigeria – the causes and solutions: an islamic perspective. swedish missiological theme, 16. paden, j.n. (2005). muslim civic cultures and conflict resolution: the challenge of democratic federalism in nigeria. washington d.c: brookings institution press, 29. riches, d. (ed.) (1986). the anthropology of violence. oxford: basil blackwell, 8. salawu, b. (2010). “ethno-religious conflicts in nigeria: causal analysis and proposals for new management strategies”. european journal of social sciences, 13 (3), 345–353. sampson, i. t. (2012). religious violence in nigeria: causal diagnoses and strategic recommendations to the state and religious communities. the "miss world riots": continued impunity for killings in kaduna. human rights watch, vol. 15, no. 13 (a), 23 july 2003. ukiwo, u. (2003). “politics, ethnic-religious conflicts and democratic consolidation in nigeria”, journal of modern african studies 41(1), 124. "understanding boko haram – a theology of chaos: by chris ngwodo". nigeriaplus.com. 2010-10-06. archived from the original on 13 march 2012. retrieved 13 march 2012. violence in nigeria: the crisis of religious politics and secular ideologies, by toyin falola, pg 212. wimmer, a. (2003). “democracy and ethno-religious conflict in iraq”. survival 45(4), the international institute for strategic studies, 111-134. 133clara m. austin iwuoha, phd page 1 page 2 page 3 page 4 page 5 page 6 page 7 page 8 page 9 page 10 page 11 page 12 page 13 page 14 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 133 creating a process not a mandate: one philosopher’s reflection on biafra’s quest for self-determination* joseph nnaemeka agbo, ph.d senior lecturer, department of philosophy and religion, ebonyi state university, abakiliki, nigeria. jeocoagbo@gmail.com, +2348035798085 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.16636.28806 abstract the word “biafra” appears to be contesting for global popularity with the word “democracy”. the ubiquitous nature of ndigbo, a major race among the biafrans, has ensured that the biafran question attract global interest. this paper argues that biafra‟s quest for self-determination, if it must have any meaning and significance at all, should not be carried out as a mandate given to a group or groups or some individuals to “go and realize”. the paper posits that biafra‟s self-determination must involve political, legal, and diplomatic processes undertaken within the larger national and international security order. seeking to intellectualize the biafran struggle; and employing historical, phenomenological and critical methods, the paper argues that the emergence of a new “subject of international law” (or nation state) from an existing one, is neither a teaparty for neophytes, nor is it a “wish” that becomes “reality” via sitting at home, marching on the streets or sitting in a beer pallor with a plate of pepper soup. the paper concludes by positing that the political self determination of any people can no longer be a unilateral one; but one that must involve multilateral, pluralistic and international dimensions as well as involvements. keywords: biafra, self-determination, intellectual, political, legal, diplomatic. preamble: naked and not ashamed as a people, we have endured as only giants endure, we have fought as heroes fight, we have dared as only gods dare. we are disillusioned by the world‟s insensitivity towards the plight of our people. yet because our cause is just, we believe we have not lost the war only that the battle fields have changed. we are convinced that biafra will survive. biafra was born out of the blood of the innocents slaughtered in nigeria during the pogroms of 1966. biafra will ever live, not as a dream, but as a crystallization of the cherished hopes of a people who see, in the establishment of this territory, the last hope for peace and security. biafra cannot be destroyed by mere forces of mailto:%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20jeocoagbo@gmail.com,%20+2348035798085 mailto:%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20jeocoagbo@gmail.com,%20+2348035798085 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 134 arms. -chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu, jan 16, 1970 (quoted in emekesiri, biafra or nigeria presidency, 1) the biafrans have known suffering and death and as a responsible witness to that holocaust and as a christian man of honor, i add my voice to those calling for an internationally recognized referendum on the future of biafra.–hon. robert k dornan, member usa house of representatives, 1977-1997(quoted in international business times), 22 march, 2016. god is glorified. honour is done me. i am elated. these three short sentences capture the state of my heart on this great event, the first of its kind as we approach the 20th year of the second stanza of biafra‟s quest for freedom. once upon a genesis, there was a biafran named a daa m (adam) who did something wrong, who disobeyed the instruction of his creator. that disobedience brought upon him a shameful nakedness. so, he made leaves as clothing to cover himself. little did he know that the leaves, having been detached from their source (the tree), would soon dry up and fall off his waist. that was in the garden of eden. today, we have come to another garden in rojenny, where orimiri ide (ide river) is standing in the place of gihon and euphrates in eden. i urge us to get rid of these leaves around our waists because they are already dry and are falling off. let us remove the leaves ourselves, with critical and reconstructive eyes, and then let us stand naked and unashamed before ourselves. let us box and pummel one another with facts and superior logic. one of the greatest physicist of all times, the american jew, albert einstein once told us that insanity is not hard to recognize: just keep doing the same thing with the expectation of a different result and then you would be considered insane! we have come here to talk to ourselves in a no-holds-bared manner, so as to foster a new direction, a new zeal and a new garment after we have cleaned ourselves of the dirt and decay of the past 20 years. for god to cloth our progenitor, adam with an enduring garment he had to sacrifice an animal, and cover him with its skin. to make progress, we need to sacrifice ourselves-our positions, resources, ego, intellectual endowments, platforms, groups, etc so we can cover the nakedness of biafra. for indeed, it is in the covering of biafra‟s nakedness, in not bringing her to shame and ridicule, that we then get clothed as well. socrates, the greek philosopher once said, “an unexamined life is not worth living”. similarly, an unexamined action is not igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 135 worth taking! for according to french philosopher, francois marie aroued, popularly known as voltaire (1694-1778),” those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities”. (quoted in oxford dictionary of philosophy,” voltaire”, 396). my goal therefore is not to keep us perpetually naked; rather it is to ensure that we are dressed with the right clothes: the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, the shield of faith, the boot of peace and the sword of the spirit. why do we need to naked and dress properly? because the quest for biafra‟s freedom is not a tea party, it is a long and tedious journey, involving zigzags, diversions, turns, tunnels, obstacles, checkpoints, blockades, ditches, valleys, mountains, break-downs, break-ups, break-through, victories and sometimes defeats. to borrow the phrase of german thinker, g.w.f. hegel, in his phenomenology of mind, it is a “journey of despair” (102). however, what we need to do is to ensure that we are on the right track, that we are facing the right road, and then, we shall be winning battle after battle in one long and terrible „war‟. introduction the 2018 biafra‟s day celebration was as unique as it was historic. it is true that biafrans occupy a territory that is not sovereign-to the extent that it is not a subject of international law and geopolitical entity. yet, despite the loss of its sovereignty, biafra neither lost her territory nor her identity. this is the truth we need to communicate to biafrans, nigerians and the global community. after all, according british journalist, richard west, “biafra is more than a human tragedy. its defeat, i believe, would mark the end of african independence. biafra was the first place i had been to in africa, where the africans themselves were truly in charge” (quoted in ezeani, in biafra africa died, xv) why would some people be recognized as arewa, afenifere, oduduwa, etc, even in official documents. yet, the word “biafra” is an anathema in nigeria? why should a territory recognized in the portuguese map of africa produced in 1492, about 500 years before the birth of nigeria, be so ignored in nigeria? why should nigeria‟s national assembly in 1990, remove by an act, the “bight of biafra” that has been in the map for centuries, changing it to “bight of bonny”? can a river be removed by building a bridge across it? who is afraid of the word “biafra”? besides, who are the bonny people? are they not biafrans? according to b. o.n. eluwa in his massive book, ado-na-idu: history of igbo origin, bonny kingdom was founded by ndigbo in the late-14th and early-15th centuries, which was why he said that “if bonny were not igbo the names of her kings would not igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 136 have been igbo”(45). what achebe referred to as “a flood of deadly hate” (p.45, the trouble with nigeria) has led ndigbo haters to blindly crash into objects lying harmlessly out of harm‟s way. biafrans must understand the audious task of convincing, cajoling, or compelling nigeria and nigerian officials to recognize their biafran identity. for what they lost in 1970 was their sovereignty, not their cultural identity. this paper hopes to convince everyone(especially, those belonging to the various pro-biafra groups), to start seeing biafra as a process requiring concerted efforts by the vast majority and not a mandate given to some people, with a larger than life capacity, to go and realize; come will, come woe! thus, if this paper makes this modest contribution, it would have satisfied one of its major objectives. biafrans need to set up structures and institutions that would be driven by men and women that have five qualities: character, competence, capacity, commitment and charisma. the task of this paper is to point us towards the indispensability of the political, the legal and the diplomatic in the process of self-determination. with a discussion of these platforms, the essay hopes to deflate this fear, this terrorism that has been created by the government of nigeria on the vast majority of biafrans who now think that the word “biafra” is a synonym for “devil”. yet there is a right to self-determination, to independence or even to secession. to „secede‟ is just to withdraw from a federation or an alliance, and it does not have to be violent, if the right processes are followed, and if the people are massively involved. it was with admirable prophetic insight that chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu declared that “the battlefields have changed”. he said „fields‟ and not „field‟, which means that we should adopt multi-dimensional approaches, each approach geared towards realizing the same goal: the selfdetermination of biafrans. in other to achieve this purpose this essay will largely draw from a recent writing by joseph agbo, a critical reflection on the efforts made so far to bring biafrans to the point where they can determine their own destiny. the document is titled, “splidimm: strategic platforms for the revitalization of the quest for selfdetermination by the biafran people of nigeria”. splidimm, of course, is an acronym for s-spiritual, p-political, l-legal, i-intellectual, d-diplomatic, iintelligence, m-media and m-monetary platforms. we would, therefore, draw from splidimm the political, legal and diplomatic suggestions that we would discuss here. the thesis of this essay is that unless biafrans activate the political, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 137 legal and diplomatic platforms of their struggle, the international community would neither take them serious nor would they be able to extricate themselves from nigeria‟s stranglehold, even if they fight another war! they must find a way to navigate through a country that invites boko-haram for discussion after killing thousands of their “fellow countrymen and women” yet would maul biafrans on the streets for daring to protest peacefully; a country that would invite terrorizing and murderous fulani herdsmen for dialogue, but would arrest farmers for daring to complain! it is no longer wisdom to allow this senseless slaughter of biafrans in the name of agitations for biafra to continue. agitation without engaging participation is frustration and noise making. however, before we discuss the political, legal and diplomatic aspects, we need to understand the importance of the intellectual commitment that is the fillip that propels this paper. nothing is as critical as taking action on the basis of competence and installed capacity, on the ground of previous and deduced knowledge. in his essay, “ikenga run amok: towards a diagnosis and healing of the ndigbo crises”, social crusader and well-known scholar, chinweizu, while addressing the challenge faced by igbo-biafrans notes the inevitability of the intellectuals in their survival. according to him: ndigbo has taken to compare themselves to the jews, but it is an entirely superficial and misleading comparison. ndigbo may be comparable to the jews of the diaspora in the way they suffered in the lands which they sojourned. but ndigbo have not been at all like the jews when it comes to the ways the jews managed to survive their adversities. the jews have always given pride of place to the intelligentsia in organizing their affairs…..in any struggle in life, whether baseball, boxing or especially politics and business, you have to out-think your opponent if you want to win….life‟s struggles are ninety percent mental….those jews who are in business or politics know that it is their duty to institutionally support their organized intelligential. from the beginning they did so by supporting their priesthood. they have continued to do so by supporting their best minds that do the collective thinking for the jewish people. they have a system for identifying the brightest minds among their young, growing them and enabling them to do the necessary collective thinking for their people (48). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 138 do we need to say anything more before we launch into what we have to say about the intellectual cup that we need to drink from? 1. on the concept of self-determination the compound word “self-determination” may be meaningful if considered semantically, but it has a deep political significance in our century. understood individually as “the free choice of one‟s own acts without external compulsion” (onyesoh, 119), self-determination has come to mean more than just the ability or capacity of individual person to decide or refrain from deciding on a course of action. for in the context of the political conditions of today‟s world, the “self” that needs to “determine” herself is a nation or a people. and it is in that context that “self-determination” figures in this paper. in a recent massive, over 500-page book, with the tale-tale title, to the rescue, chukwuemeka i. onyesoh explains the kernel of the book in the sub-title: the right to self-determination, the pathway to a genuine federation of peoples without shared values. this sub-title tells the story of the “rescue‟ that self-determination” has become, especially in africa where states were coupled together without the consent of the peoples that have long existed within such territories. one discovery made in the process of this research is that the concept of “selfdetermination” has acquired several meanings and applications ever since the end of world war 1 when it was used to foster peace among the world powers. according to onyesoh “u.s. president woodrow wilson, on 8th january, 1918, listed self-determination as an important objective for the post-war world. this resulted in the fragmentation of the old austro-hungarian and ottoman empires and russia‟s former baltic territories into a number of new states” (119-120). what may be designated as the locus classicus of a presidential declaration on self-declaration was later stated by woodrow wilson himself, in an address to the u.s. congress on 11th february, 1918. according to him “national aspirations must be respected. people may now be nominated and governed by their own consent. self-determination is not a mere phrase. it is an imperative principle of actions, which states men would henceforth ignore at their own peril” (quoted in, onyesoh, 121) self-determination can be relative or absolute. a people can choose to govern themselves, decide their economic and cultural destinies within a recognized nation-state (after ceding some authorities to that nation-state). this is relative igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 139 self-determination. or they can take the absolute option of becoming a subject of international law and a geopolitical entity – as an independent country. most countries in the world are in the second option. scotland is an example of relative self-determination. she is in charge of almost all parts of her affairs, even though it is still part of britain. it seems that when the united nations charter gave vent to the phenomenon of self-determination in 1945, it appeared to be for the purpose of decolonization. in articles 1 (2) and 55 (1) of the united nations charter of 1945, the basis for selfdetermination is clearly and cogently stated and affirmed, a huge step above the mere “recognition” given to it by the league of nations of 1919. selfdetermination seemed to apply to the capacity of the berlin-created nation-states in africa to seek freedom from there erstwhile colonial masters; but anything outside it appeared inapplicable. in an essay that is highly politically prognosticative, charles nixon argued that the biafran case provided a test case for the un conception self-determination and would have implications for the of the world. in his, “self-determination: the nigerian/biafran case” written in 1972 (just 2 years after the collapse of the biafran quest for self-determination), nixon wrote that the conflict in nigeria as a whole, raised a series of critical problems for the concept of self-determination and its use as a principle governing the feelings of people caught in the process of political change. there are three problems highlighted by this particular case: the problem of the new context in which claims to self-determination will arise, the problem of the multilateral character of the claims involved, and the problem of the international character of the responsibilities generated by such claims (492-3). if one puts the above view into proper perspective, it means that selfdetermination, even in the perception of the un, would certainly have a different meaning and application for the african than say, the european. that was why millions of sudanese were allowed to die before the 2011 un-backed referendum created south-sudan. the breakup of the former soviet union into 15 countries in 1989, the splitting of czechoslovakia, the dismembering of yugoslavia, the emergence of kosovo from serbia, etc are all self-determinations claims in europe that have successfully brought into existence several new subjects of international law. africa‟s colonial experience has been its waterloo in the claim to be self-determined. and that was certainly what determined the way the pendulum swung between 1967 and 1970 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 140 during biafra‟s attempt to enforce her own self-determination, driven by the desire to survive. the implication of the above is that self-determination sought in a higgledypiggledy manner would not even be given a hearing by the international community. this explains why this essay seeks the creation of due process that would involve legal, political and diplomatic approaches. for there are political, economic, religious, cultural and even psychological global interests surrounding the biafran case and this factor must always come to the fore each biafra‟s selfdetermination is discussed. we would say on this in our concluding remarks. 2. the primacy of the intellectual “study to show yourself approved, a workman that needs not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth”. -second timothy 2:15. we have chosen to begin this reflection on the intellectual platform of our struggle by quoting this injunction, this advice, this counsel from the bible given by apostle paul to timothy, the pastor of the church in ephesus. ephesus was the location of the goddess, diana, one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. paul knew that pastor timothy had spiritual and physical battles to fight in that city and he told him to get ready to “study”. we have decided to emphasize the words “study”, “ashamed”, and “rightly” in that biblical verse because they are very critical to understanding the place of the intellect in any struggle. paul knew that the “word of truth” (god‟s word) needs to be properly “divided”; that is, explained, analyze, and understood. but it cannot just be done anyhow; it needs to be “rightly” divided! if that is not done, what follows would be “shame.” he who does not give himself to study would be ashamed when the chips are down, when confronted with facts which he or she should ordinarily know, but which he/she has refused to discover. man is a tripartite being. he is a spirit, he has a soul and dwells in a body. man‟s body is a house with 5 rooms-tastes, touch, smelling, seeing and hearing. the spirit is made up of 4 faculties-conscience, communion, intuition and understanding. the soul, on the other hand, is made up of 3 parts-will, mind (intellect) and emotion. the soul, by the application of the mind or intellect, processes data from both the spirit and the body for the benefit of man. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 141 once man‟s intellectual capacity and capability is under-mined, man becomes a dumping ground for all manner of beliefs. and at that point, he is open to all manner of manipulating and seductive possibilities. remember voltaire‟s statement which we quoted earlier about the relationship between absurd beliefs and atrocious actions. the truth is that if you fail to acquire the right knowledge, if you chose to stand logic on its head, you are to be pitied rather than blamed. no wonder, the bible again states in hosea 4 verse 6 that “my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” a wise god had to send moses to pharaoh‟s palace to study the mystery schools of egypt for 40 years. he then sent him to the backside of the wilderness to learn endurance and diligence before he sent him back to egypt to confront the powers. when it was time to turn the whole of asia and europe upside down and inside out, god knew that simon peter, the fisherman, would not be the proper man. he sought and took saul of tarsus, professor of jewish law and a man of letters. knowledge, the factual and right type of knowledge, is an important weapon in any struggle, especially in the struggle for freedom. what brought the biafran struggle to its zenith is the volume of facts intellectually-dug out from the past and placed at the disposal of biafrans. thus, unearthening the past brought an avalanche of books and documentaries on the biafrans, ndigbo in particular and the genesis of nigeria. the late reggae music legend, robert nesta marley, once sang: “if you know your history, then you‟d know where you‟re coming from; then, you wouldn‟t have to ask me; who the hell do you think i am?”.at the end of the nigeria-biafra war, majority of the books that were published up to the 1980s came mainly from those who participated in the struggle or were direct observers. thus, there appeared works such as: why we struck, by wole ademoyaga, my command by olusegun obasanjo, nigeria‟s five majors and the fall of biafra by ben gbulie, requiem biafra by joe achuzia, the nigerian revolution and the biafran war, alexander madiebo, the making of an african legend: the biafran story, by frederick foresyth, and many others, especially the ones that have to do with igbo history and culture. however, in the past 20 years (especially within the past 10 years), more dedicated and specific researches have been conducted by intellectuals whose interest in digging out the truth is very obvious. modern science, as we all know, came into being by the qualities of men and women who possessed two outstanding qualities: one, boldness in formulating hypotheses and two, patience in observation. these later group of researchers on biafra and igbo history are igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 142 very bold and patient in providing us with political prognostication, scientific predictions even spiritual prophesies, and of course, historical insights. works in this category include b.o.n. eluwa‟s ado-na-idu: history of igbo origin, karl maier‟s, this house has fallen: nigeria in crises, catherine acholonu-olumba‟s they lived before adam: pre-history of the igbos; the never-been ruled, luke aneke‟s the untold story of the nigeria-biafra war, emefiene ezeani‟s in biafra africa died, emeka emekesri‟s biafra or nigerian presidency: what ibos want, chudi ofodile‟s the politics of biafra and the future of nigeria, emma okocha, blood on the niger: the first black-on-black genocide, the reappearance of authur agwuncha nwankwo‟s classic, the nationality question in nigeria: the class foundation of conflicts, chinweizu‟s caliphate colonialism: the taproot of the trouble with nigeria and achebe‟s there was a country: a personal history of biafra. of course, the boldest and perhaps, most-comprehensive attempt at grounding and sustaining this intellectual platform is t. uzodinma nwala, et al edited, twovolume work, igbo nation: history and challenges of rebirth and development. this book contains 62 well-researched essays on almost all aspects of ndigbo-past, present and future, and contributed by intellectuals at home and abroad. a product of alaigbo development foundation (adf), the work is the result of the “international colloquium on the igbo question in nigeria: before, during and after biafra” held in enugu between 11th and 14th march, 2014. recently, we also have prince chukwuemeka onyeso‟s to the rescue: the right to selfdetermination, the pathway to a genuine federation of peoples without shared values. with adf in place and strongly organized, there is no need to search for those who would drive the intellectual platform. all that is needed is to incorporate them in the programme since the drivers of adf are men and women who are also involved with our biafra‟s quest for self-determination. knowledge brings courage. the right information destroys deformation and brings reformation. more scholarly research needs to be conducted into our scientific, sociological, anthropological, artistic, archeological, linguistic and historical past. governments, institutions and private individuals need to invest resources into sponsoring researches. for example, according to emefiena ezeani, in his in biafra africa died: the diplomatic plot, “the place known as biafra was, in the 1960s, the fastest growing economy in the world…its economy then was based on cash crops, principally palm oil and other ancillary products from palm tree which is today boosting the malaysian economy”(199).apart from research needs, the other great importance of the intellectual endowment is that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 143 it provides the weapon to distinguish between what is feasible and what is plausible. certain things that are plausible in the biafran struggle may not be feasible. the struggle should go beyond sentiments and emotional display of foolhardy actions and mere adventurism. activist must weigh what they say and do, place them within proper historical perspectives and then ask themselves how they fit into current circumstances, situations and conditions. from “is it good to say or do it?” they must ask “can it be done?” “is it doable?” the first question is the plausibility question, the second and third questions revolve around feasibility. the failure and refusal of majority of the biafra activist to submit the struggle to intellectual assessment and superior logic have led them to utterances and actions that have put them to shame and exposed their objectives to ridicule by those who feel that they should have known better. one or two examples would suffice. in 2014, benjamin onwuka, leader of biafran zionist movement (bzm) told us he wanted to go and jump enugu state government house (not going through the gate) to go and hoist biafran flag! “we asked him if you go and hoist biafra‟s flag in the government house, will that bring biafrans?” again, we asked “even if you must hoist the flag, do you have to jump the wall to do that?” these two intellectually-thought out questions were neither answered nor heeded. onwuka and his bzm did it, one of them was shot dead (a biafran lost for nothing!!) and he was arrested and remained in detention till 2017. when he was released, he went and declared himself “president of biafra”. is this not “an irrelevant search for relevance?” what did all these add to our struggle? do we still remember how ralph uwazuriike, then of massob (now of biafran independent movement-bim) told biafrans in 2006 that we should not participate in the census because they are not nigerians? thirteen years after, biafrans use allocated population figures to get allocations from abuja. who is at loss? biafrans!!! how can they say or do things for emotional satisfaction? who will tell these people that though they are indigenes of biafra, they are still citizens of nigeria? they are not stateless! in 2017 as anambra people were getting ready for the gubernatorial election in the state november 18, nnamdi kanu, and his ipob london limited colleagues said “no election” in the state. when reasonable people, in application of intellectual reasonableness, asked them whether they have the capacity to stop the election, they changed to the lesser evil called “boycott”. this spent more than 6 hours, in different radio stations and on different days, educating the ipobians and the general public on the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 144 invalidity of the boycott logic and the impossibility (and even inconsequentiality) of stopping the election .my interest in challenging that plan was fired by two things: one, they linked the boycott or stoppage to the biafran struggle; and two, they went on to make the most-intellectually lazy statement ever made – that they can only participate in election if the nigerian government “gives” them a date for the conduct of referendum in biafraland!!! when you subject the plans and the statements made to critical scrutiny, it is hollow and falls flat on the faces of those who make them. in the first place, stopping or boycotting the anambra election would not have added anything to the biafran struggle. for one, the election was to elect a governor for the state. the house of assembly was not standing for election. if the election did not hold, the speaker of anambra state house of assembly would have been sworn in as acting-governor (if the situation in the state was peaceful). or abuja would have declared a state of emergency in the state and an administrator would have been posted to take over the state (if the situation was violent). head or tail, they lose, they would have told the world that they love anarchy instead of order. thank god that anambra people heeded the call to choose order and vote and rejected kanu‟s call for anarchy! granted that elections in nigeria are not conducted under the best of conditions and processes, but we would not throw the baby away with the bath water! many well-meaning people who support the biafran course, had asked kanu‟s ipob to go to the polls, test their popularity and take over the state politically so that they would implement people-oriented programmes. but it appears kanu and his colleagues do not yet understand what the issues are and the enormity of the task before the people. nothing can be achieved at the sociopolitical realm without political power. everyone involved in the biafran struggle must first make clear their motives. how can someone claim to be “doing” biafran struggle? the quest for biafra is not a paid job for people who are jobless. how can someone who has no visible means of livelihood take up the quest for biafra freedom as a job? who does he or she expect to provide for him the means of daily sustenance? the number of educated people amongst our people must be encouraged to acquire the right type of knowledge of the biafran situation and then communicate it to others. there are more educated people who have refused, for very many reasons, to know what the biafran quest is all about. some of them are afraid of the word “biafran” (yet they are biafrans), others are suffering from ignorance. the 4 lepers at the gate of samaria (2 kings 7) had to critically examine 3 options (going back into the city, remaining at the gate or moving forward to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 145 the assyrian camp) before they chose the last one. if hungry, abandoned lepers can think, if they can put their intellect to such liberating use, then the biafrans can do even much better. 5. the political platform after the spiritual platform, no other platform is as critical as the political platform. if the godly is the way to biafra‟s struggle, then politics is the vehicle with which she can drive through that way. and there is no better way to begin the concern for the political than to quote the words of german philosopher, bertolt brecht. according to him: the worst illiterate is the political illiterate. he hears nothing, sees nothing, takes no part in political life. he does not seem to know that the cost of living, the price of beans, of flour or house rent, or any other material condition for good living, depend on political decisions. he even prides himself on his political ignorance, sticks out his chest and says he hates politics. he does not know that imbecile that from the political non-performance comes the prostitute, the abandoned children, all the hostilities we have in the world, robbers and more particularly, corruption in our country. when one reads such expressions, one does not need so much sermonizing to realize that politics is where social lives are circumscribed. that “politics is a dirty game” is a mantra that has been swallowed to the detriment of those who uttered them. in their pretentious religiosity and hypocritical holiness, we abandoned the dimension that determines (in harold lasswell‟s words) “who gets what, when, how”. that is what the political dimension is. the result of this apathy, this political surrender, is the painful and unfortunate loss or annexation of the political space of biafraland to merchants who masquerade as leaders and who are agents of the forces that have sworn that biafrans would remain in mysterious misery and perpetual servitude. the unfortunate aspect of this insult on the sensibility of the biafran people and assault on their territory is that these subversive forces have employed petrodollars exploited and exported from biafraland to buy the conscience of their traditional, political and (painfully) religious leaders. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 146 regrettably, biafra-conscious persons and (especially) groups, who should know better, have equally swallowed hook-line-and-sinker the irrational and ignorant position that “we are not nigerians, we are biafrans; therefore, we should not participate in anything being done in nigeria.” consequently, we were told not to be counted during the census exercise in 2006. we were told not to vote in elections, the recent being the anambra state gubernatorial election of november 18, 2017. all these occurred as a result of zeal without knowledge, passion without reason and mission without vision. one thing that has been missing, over the years; in the struggle for self-determination by the biafrans is the political engagement of biafra-minded politicians. that “we are biafrans and not nigerians” is the ignorant, senseless and useless mantra annoyingly repeated over time by neophytes who do not understand the working of the international system. no one is territorially stateless. if i am an igbo-biafran indigene, i am still a citizen of nigeria. if i should have any reason to go outside nigeria, i must possess the green passport for me to pass to another country; else my entry would be branded “illegal”. any and everything else outside the “political” is an invitation to anarchy. and the world is not prepared to listen to anyone who gives the impression that he or she is not governable. it is in response to this inevitable need to apply the political option that the movement of biafrans in nigeria (mobin) emerged. led by the visionary, intelligent and versatile london based, emeka emekesiri, mobin equally has a strong-willed biafran irredentist, eberechukwu anigbogu (ada biafra) as its director-general. the main goal of mobin is to use the political platform to push for the right to self-determination of biafrans, either within a restructured, truly federal nigeria or as an independent country. realizing the fact that selfdetermination is a right given to all indigenous peoples of the world, especially the september 13, 2007 united nation‟s universal declaration of the rights of indigenous peoples (un-drip), mobin believes strongly that until biafrans take over the political space in biafraland, the journey to freedom would not even have begun. mobin‟s experience during the gubernatorial election in anambra state in 2017 showed that the biafran ideology of justice, equity and truth (jet) can be embraced by the mass majority of biafra‟s population. the current political class in biafra land has not represented the people well. this class has created empires and built monuments. it has classically exhibited what a.r.m kirk-green said in his book, the amalgamation of nigeria, that “the three basic principles responsible igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 147 for the successful working of the nigerian system are ignorance, fear and military terrorism” (p.272). by their republican and egalitarian nature, biafrans are the easiest and simplest people in the world to govern. all they want are men and women who would tell them the truth, whose integrity and valour are enough qualifications to represent them. mobin‟s mandate is not a quick-fix one. it may be slow but as long as it is sure, steady and enduring, it would pay in the long run. mobin‟s experience in anambra state tells us that our people can fly the biafran ideology if committed and passionate biafrans, cured of the nigerian malady, could be presented. biafrans are tired of politicians who steal them dry and play agency roles for powers outside biafra‟s territory. biafran‟s must work hard, strategize and plan to take over the houses of assembly in biafra land. self-determination by peaceful, legal, diplomatic and due process is not a hundred kilometers dash, it is a relay race. it would require moving from stage to stage. and the activation of the mobin platform is a step in the right direction. one of the biggest challenges facing mobin is to get the various houses of assembly in biafra land to pass the customary law bill that is being prepared so that biafran‟s can have right to govern themselves in line with their own customs and traditions. sections 282287 as well as section 315 of nigeria‟s 1999 constitution clearly recognize the place of sharia and customary laws in our statutes. the 12 core northern states have activated the sharia legal system and funding it with acts of appropriation by their states houses of assembly. for example, during the 2017 nigeria professional football league (npfl), rangers international football club of enugu went to play against gombe united football club in gombe. the rangers team was attacked after the match by fans of gombe united. some players and match officials were injured; the rangers‟ team bus was destroyed. but it is shocking to learn that the few fans that were arrested for that mayhem were referred to the sharia commission! biafran-conscious politicians need to be sensitized to understand the vision and strategy for self-determination. these politicians can be in any party, as long as they grasp the fundamental basis of the mobin policy. and because mobin is a political movement as well as a freedom platform, efforts should be made to synergize with other movements, with similar goal, in other ethnic nationalities in nigeria, so that there would be joint confrontation of the common enemythe castrating nigerian state as presently constituted. convincing and converting, bringing the mass of biafra‟s buffs who shout “biafra must be restored” or “anyi anaa” (we are going) at beer palours, pepper soup joints, buses, newspaper stands, village squares, etc. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 148 (without knowing what is to be done or without even thinking of the enormity of the task involved) is, perhaps, the immediate task of mobin and other probiafra groups. for indeed, the political goal of mobin would become simpler if all these masses of people would understand and key into it with open, political utilitarian eyes! any igbo or biafran who, as we used to put it, sucked his mother‟s breast, should be worried by what chudi ofodile, in his book, “the politics of biafra and the future of nigeria” has rightly captured as “the gradual but persistent shift towards insularity” that ndigbo face in nigeria today. barr. ofodile, a former member of nigeria‟s house of representatives, believes that both history and ideology are critical in resolving the quagmire that nigeria finds herself. he is among the few active politicians who believes that no one can fly the biafran identity or ideology in politics and still want to be a thoroughgoing federalist. the more biafrans leave our commonwealth in the hands of merchants, dealers (not leaders) who use the people as pawns in political chess boards, the more their freedom lingers. the biafran territory cannot be left for them to manipulate at will. they must strategize, sensitize and mobilize to wrestle political space from these mercenaries and, consequently, rescue the people from their hypnotizing stranglehold! any other effort outside this would be shadowboxing with phantoms. freeing biafra or obtaining self-determination for the biafrans is not a tea-party. it is not going to be by a hundred-mile dash, wherein we are expected to snatch it from nigeria and then bolt away in 8.98 seconds like husain bolt. it is a relay race that involves speed and patience, planning and process, as well as knowledge and strategy. if war can give independence, biafra should have been free between 1967 and 1970; south-sudan should have been free in the over-20-year war with sudan before the january 2011 referendum that led to her independence on july 9, 2011. war is not an option, as history has shown. the biafran quest can neither be understood nor expressed without the political option. the intellectual unveiling of the history and story of biafra becomes necessary and significant, meaningful and axiomatic when the political steps in to fashion out practical tasks from that history. all the libration movements for biafra‟s independence beginning from massob in 1999 to ipob in the present day have played the historical role of keeping the spirit of biafra alive and sensitizing the local, national and international community. however, that phase igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 149 must now end. the activities of these groups must now be channeled towards the political, the legal, the diplomatic, with mass action being 30% of our activities and should be employed when absolutely necessary and relatively safe. with the castrating principles of the territorial integrity of sovereign states as well as that of non-interference in the domestic affairs of individual countries, biafrans must strategize and anchor the biafran struggle on taking political control of biafra‟s space. there is need to compel nigerians to freely choose who leads them. biafra‟s freedom must, henceforth, become the basis for choosing those who would govern the territory. for example, the scottish national party (snp) has always been pro-scottish independence. but it could not do anything about it until it won election and controlled the government. with that control, it organized the referendum for scottish independence on september 18, 2014. although it failed (55.3% voted against independence while 44.7% voted in favor), it brings to the fore the importance of the political in charting the course of the people. 84.6% of registered scots came out to vote during the referendum, making it the highest turn out of voters to participate in a referendum in the united kingdom. this brings us to the vexed question of the restructuring of nigeria, which gained currency in the past two decades or thereabout, but which has reached a crescendo and deafening level in the past two or three years. the blind, the lame, the deaf, the moron, even the idiot knows that nigeria, as presently packaged is not paying any ethnic nationality in nigeria. it is just that in the condition of decay, the biafrans are worst hit. the nigerian state has been hijacked by few individuals who have been dictating the political, cultural and economic direction of the country. the consensus of opinion is that if nigeria continues this way, implosion is inevitable. the powers that have kept this country this way have been trying all strategies to maintain the status quo. a 2018 publication of elder statesman, author, publisher and social theorist, arthur agwuncha nwankwo is given the tale-tale title, nigeria and her path to doom. the book portrays the mood of a people in a country that has become a castrating glass cage. let us address the issues surrounding the question of igbo nationality, the socalled south-east geopolitical zone and the biafran question. igbo unity is necessary and critical. but geographical unity is not as important as historical, cultural, economic and mental unity. the concept of south-east, as bad as it is, should not constitute a waterloo for ndigbo. it is plausible if ndigbo can igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 150 geographically unite to igwe-ocha (which is today called port-harcourt). 51 years after gowon‟s state creation, we are still, with good reasons, feeling the nostalgia of our igbo brothers and sisters in the now so-called south-south. the thesis of this paper is that it is more feasible to restructure nigeria along the 6 geopolitical zones than along the nationality lines, not with the hundreds of nations within the nigerian state. ndigbo in the south-south are and would always remain ndigbo. it is understandable that because of the lure to survive, they denied their igboness. but that was over 50 years ago. how long will this condition be bemoaned? how long are we going to wait to join them or they join us before we take care of the south-east? should we believe that our brothers in the south-south would deny us use of port-harcourt, opobo or bonny ports, when they have become functional again? besides, the best chance of getting these ports working again is to restructure nigeria along the 6 geo-political zones. regional, economic, cultural and (even) political co-operations would be established thereafter. the jews in america, europe, asia, etc have continued to maintain economic, social, cultural links with the state of israel. for over 2000 years, the jews in europe faced persecution but they never denied their identity. the patriarch, joseph was so jewish that he gave instructions that his bones must be moved out of egypt when god visits them! the south-east does not necessarily need to join their brothers in the south-south, politically and geographically, in order to survive the challenges of the region. bringing this to the biafran discourse, what it means is that if no one else, if no people else, if no region else wants biafra, ndigbo in the south-east can successfully bear and politically activate the name. scotland, south-sudan, catalonia, and others are able to talk about referendum and self-determination that comes after it because they have parliaments that could pass the relevant laws for the conduct of such. restructuring nigeria into 6 federating units would be a major step towards biafra‟s freedom and that is why it is being opposed by the people that chinweizu, in his book caliphate colonialism: the taproot of the trouble with nigeria, have called “caliphate colonialists” majority of biafrans have developed understandable but self-destroying apathy to public service, especially politics. this apathy has been buoyed by the attitude of political office holders in biafra land since 1999. unfortunately, the more we keep away, the more the current political class feels a sense of de javu. we must take this political space back as biafrans in biafraland. we must retire these igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 151 politicians in igbo land, in biafraland, who would give boko haram support and solidarity, if they were to take over aso-rock in abuja. let us take the example of anambra state which has registered voters of about 2 million people. yet, during every election, only less than 500,000 people come out and vote. it appears that the remaining 1.5 million people are biafran-minded people who have bought the falsehood that they are no longer nigerians or who have, on their own chosen not to vote as a result of frustration from previous elections. the current task of all informed pro-biafrans is to get these 1.5 million people out of their houses on election day. but this can only be achieved on one condition: that all biafrans are presented to them core biafrans whose character, competence, and commitment to the biafran vision is unwavering and unquestionable! biafra‟s business men and women should understand the place of the political in shaping the character of the economy. what industrialists like ibeto, innoson, and uba have suffered in the hands of forces against their interests and the interest of biafrans is a wake-up call that they need to use their resources to mobilize the people to vote in those whose political policies would not only secure, but expand biafra‟s economic interests. the synergy among the aka-jiochichi (the political leader), the aka-ji-aku (business mogul) and the isi-ji-aku (the intellectual) must be expanded and maintained. we must have a de facto government that would drive the biafran quest for freedom under customary law. while we seek core biafrans that would go to the various houses of assembly in the states in biafraland, we must mobilize and organize our people using the customary law that has been in existence before the advent of colonialism. institutions and structures that can engage nigeria and the international community are critical in this regard. these institutions are the only antidote and torpedo to the fear of biafra that has been injected into our people in the past few years. perhaps, one of the most legitimate moves made in our current demand for selfdetermination is the formation of the customary government of the indigenous people of biafra (cg-ipob). in the coming on board of cg-ipob, two canons were fired at once: first, that the people of biafra have always existed under customary laws and that even the 1999 constitution of nigeria, though grossly inadequate, recognizes that in section 282 of its provisions; secondly, that biafrans are not anarchists, but law-abiding people who operate the finest igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 152 democracies in our world. these governments are not impossible to establish when we realize the capacity of our people to build structures for survival. our people need to catch the vision of cg-ipob so that they could help participate in it. before the customary government bill is passed by the various state assemblies in biafraland (just like the sharia bill passed in the 12 core-northern states), our people need to know that cg-ipob would be the best legal and legitimate institution that would bring the international community into the biafran struggle, if there is delay in restructuring nigeria. the world is designed to discuss with governments, whether de jure or de factor! for now, cg-ipob is the de facto government of biafraland. and those who fly the referendum kite should know that a political party (that is not in control of government), a pressure group or any other organization for that matter cannot organize a referendum. no international organization (uno, au, ecowas, etc.) no other government, including the government of nigeria, has a right to compel biafrans to hold a referendum! referendum is a legal process that can only be organized by a properly constituted government within biafraland or anywhere else. only when biafrans are ready can the world be part of it to ensure it meets international best practices! when these facts are laid bare and properly understood, we then see that biafrans are playing with government institutions (in this struggle) at their own peril. the best thing that can happen to biafra‟s struggle is for all the pro-biafran groups, organizations and individuals to become part of the customary government. that way, we can pull energy towards one legal, legitimate and fruitful direction. the men and women in these organizations would then put their personnel, experience, resources and skills in an internationally-known and legally-recognized, productive direction. 6. the legal platform in the process of the legitimate struggle for a peaceful route to self-determination for biafrans, it was the legal platform that was first activated, to the surprise of many doubting thomases. legal justice may not be spiritual (divine) or social justice, but there is no doubt that the first sign or symptom of a non-democratic state is the absence or disregard of the rule of law. what makes a state, place or country democratic is not good roads, pipe-borne water, electricity and other paraphernalia of urbanization. any despot, any hitler, stalin or mussolini can igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 153 build these things. two things make a state a democracy: rule of law and free speech! under the platform of a registered human rights group, bilie human rights initiative (bhri), the elders of biafra land (known as supreme council of elders sce) took the nigerian state to the federal high court, owerri. the case no. is fhc/ow/cs/192/2013: indigenous people of biafra (ipob) vs nigeria. and although nigeria‟s attorney general and minister of justice has been appearing in that case, the powers that be, have played all manner of legal gimmicks to frustrate the case. the difference between thomas hobbes (british philosopher) “state of nature” and what became known as “civil society” is the regulation of the latter by laws. life, reality, nature, even the spiritual realm, are all governed by laws, conventions, rules, treaties, decrees, agreements statutes, and resolutions. why do some of us imagine that the legal process (especially at the home front) is an exercise in futility? the insistence by some biafran buffs that only their conceived strategy is workable and should be followed is an attempt to be myopic and unnecessarily intolerant. of course, the nigerian judicial system would not offer freedom to biafrans. but there is a process to be followed before going to the international court of justice (icj). whenever it is said that biafra‟s freedom is a “process”, not a “mandate”, many mistakes it as a surrender position. biafra, when realized, would be a subject of international law. things must be done properly and in order. these riotous activities of some pro-biafran groups would not help the biafran course. it makes mockery of biafrans before the global audience and those at home. k.o. mrabure in his recent essay, “the right to self-determination under international law: the current biafran struggle”, discusses the issues surrounding municipal and international laws as it concerns to the biafran struggle. there is certainly a need to create research team that would be digging out facts that would support the legal process. also, liaising with internationally-known attorneys and advocates interested in the cause of biafra‟s freedom would also be required. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 154 biafrans need visionary, knowledgeable and courageous politicians who would understand the values of law and legality in addressing the biafran question. for example, which political leader in biafraland is aware of the provisions of article 20, cap 10, laws of the federation of nigeria, 1990? it states: all peoples shall have the right to existence. they shall have the unquestionable and inalienable right to selfdetermination. they shall freely determine their political status and shall pursue their economic and social developments according to the policy they have freely chosen. article 21 of the same law clearly provides that: all peoples shall freely dispose of their wealth and natural resources. this right shall be exercised in the exclusive interest of the people. in no cause shall a people be deprived of it. unfortunately for the peoples of nigeria, those who thought that nigeria began in 1979 (following the constituent assembly of 1978), inserted a provision which appears in the current 1999 constitution (as amended in 2011). section 162(1) states: the federation shall maintain a special account to be called “the federation account” into which shall be paid all revenues collected by the government of the federation…. the battle for resource control would not rage today if our so called “grand norm”, “the constitution of the federal republic of nigeria, 1999”, has not been packaged to take sovereignty from the people and in the process their resources. according to thomas jefferson said: “the two enemies of the people are criminals and the government. we need to tie the second with the chains of the constitution so that the second does not become a legalized version of the first”. with a constitution that makes the government act like criminals, such as you have in nigeria, what else can the people do? this situation has remained the same because, according to emeka emekesiri, in his book, biafra or nigerian presidency: what the ibos want, most of the leaders of the people do not represent the people as they are not elected by the people but imposed on them by outsiders through rigging of election…the governors, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 155 senators…are imposed on them by their political opponents (287) 7. the diplomatic platform diplomacy involves the application of the depth of discernment, the capacity for engagement, a shrewd and respectable personality with an upwardly mobile knowledge of the international system in order to protect and promote, not just national interest, but national wellbeing as well. in a world that has become borderless, one can comfortably say that the failure of diplomacy in statecraft is the failure of that state. this is important when one remembers the view of former united states secretary of states, henry kissinger that in international politics “there are no permanent friends, no permanent foes, only permanent interests”. kissinger had written in his book, my white house years, that when richard nixon (then president-elect) asked him what, in his view, should be “the goal of his diplomacy”, his answer was: the over-ridding programme was to free our foreign policy from its historical frustrations between euphoria and panic, from the illusion that decisions depended largely on the idiosyncrasies of decision makers. policy had to be rooted to some basic principles of national interest that should be maintained as presidents change… one of my attractions for nixon, i understood later, was that my appointment would demonstrate his ability to co-opt a harvard intellectual (xi). what emerges from kissinger‟s view above for biafrans, is the need to raise a crack diplomatic team, united in purpose and respectable in personality, to push biafra‟s case before the international community. when one examines this need, one sees the urgency and inevitability of taking over political space and dictating what happens therein in line with the over-all interest of the quest for biafra‟s freedom. the often-flouted ignorant mantra, “we don‟t need the un”, “we don‟t need britain”, which some pro-biafran people utter is a tragedy. they are not aware of kissinger‟s true and valid position that “frequently, uncertainties, compromises and incoherence are the essences of policy-making” (31). biafrans must raise a diplomatic team with great bargaining skills, tremendous goodwill and dialectical flexibility. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 156 this diplomatic team should one that understands that the struggle for biafra is not that of individual personalities but that of irreconcilable interests and hostilities within nigeria and (especially) in the larger world, exacerbated by economic and religious undertones. there is need to convince at least two of the veto-powers to support our quest. the biafrans would not be able to win this support if they are not united, organized and tactful. all the persons playing one role or the other, for or against the quest for biafra‟s self-determination, must not be seen in their individuality. they are simply agents of interests articulated in policy statements. thus, president buhari is simply expressing and attempting desperately to preserve the sarduana battle script of october 11, 1960, that conceives nigeria as an islamic “estate”. there is need to confront and disentangle that policy. according to sir ahmadu bello, 11 days after nigeria‟s independence: the new nation called nigeria should be an estate of our great grand father, uthman dan fodio. we must ruthlessly prevent any change of power. we use the minority in the north as willing tools and the south as a conquered territory. we must never allow them to rule over us. we must never allow them to have control over their future. with this type of perception of the nigerian state by the hausa-fulani, biafrans should realize that the quest for freedom involves employing all they have in their arsenal. much of the fruitful diplomatic moves involve secrecy and discreet discussions, which would not require media attention. some high level bilateral and even multi-lateral discussions would become playing to the gallery if made public. trying to impress biafrans with information when preliminary diplomatic moves are made could be absolutely unnecessary. this approach is critical, especially in an attempt to secure the support of any or some of the veto-powers. the secret and discrete struggle is necessary because of the policy of the non-interference which the nation-states of the world adopt. for what others see as the “quest for freedom”, others may see as the “desire to destabilize” a given country. unfortunately for small nations, especially in africa, asia and latin america, bigger countries and the international bodies like the un, au or eu wait till there is a breakdown of law and order, beyond the capacity of the state in question, before they would intervene. in the light of the above, and realizing that biafrans do not have to fight another war, biafra‟s diplomatic maneuvers igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 157 must be top notch! they must, in all that they do in this quest for selfdetermination, show the world that they are governable, that they are not a people given to anarchy. biafra‟s diplomatic moves should equally target multinational corporations (mnc) or the so-called trans-national corporations (tnc), since much of the crises in the international system is economic. they must give a soft-landing for countries with economics interests in nigeria, a landing that would assure them that instead of adversely affecting their economic interests, a free biafra would even enhance it. a major disturbing matter noticeable noticed in the biafran struggle is the apathy, ignorance and almost conspiratorial silence displayed by many biafrans that are occupying sensitive positions abroad, especially in britain and the united states. is it true that there are 4 igbo people in the british parliament? what about some biafrans that are mayors of cities in the united states? an igbo-biafran has just won election into the italian parliament early in 2018. what about biafran-born sportsmen and women dazzling the world with their skills? why are they not behaving like gerald pique of barcelona football club, who proudly displayed his vote on october 1, 2017 when the catalans had their referendum? are they afraid of their biafran identity? what about millions of other technocrats, bureaucrats, academics, and business moguls of biafran extraction scattered all over the world? are they buoyed down by apathy, ignorance or fear? they need to be reminded of the immortal worlds of frantz fanon, the apostle of the african revolution. he once said, “every generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfill it or betray it … every onlooker is either a coward or a traitor” (6). those biafrans who watch idly as their people are mauled down on the streets, without uttering a word are cowards who, in julius caesar‟s legendary words, have “died many times before their death”. on the other hand, if one were to pulse a little and play advocacy role for some of those who display apathy, have they ever asked themselves: “which seriousminded people would get involved in a struggle which, though legitimate, has been hijacked by neophytes? how can serious people get involved with the biafran struggle under conditions where integrity and normal truth-telling are scarce social commodities? are they not justified in staying away in the face of opportunism, adventurism, foolhardiness, vagabondry and brigandage displayed by some of the pro-biafrans, all in the name of fighting for the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 158 restoration of biafra? does the need for a legitimate, peaceful, legal and diplomatic process in this struggle not stick out before them like a sore throat?” biafra is not a mandate given to anyone to go and realize. biafra is not a means of livelihood for the jobless. biafra is not a sloganized ideology which someone has to shout-out to achieve emotional succor. biafra is a people, a place, an identity, the “crystallization of the cherished hope of a people.” barr. emeka emekesri already has a team that is engaged in this diplomatic foray. that team should be enlarged and its objectives expanded and thoroughly worked-out. career diplomats should be part of the diplomatic team, both in advisory and active capacities. those who act as though biafra, when it comes, would be a pariah state should realize that there are conventional ways of state existence as well as of interaction among states. according to emekesri: the case of the ibos is a perfect example of a people who have satisfied all the requirements of becoming a sovereign nation. they have been in the struggle for independence for many decades and have sacrificed their lives. the youths of ibo land have formed various libration movements agitating for the emancipation of their region from nigeria. much blood and tears have been shed. in fact, there is no ibo family that has not lost someone in this struggle from the 1966 massacre to the present day. up till this day, the blood of ibos are still being shed to keep nigeria one. ibos have been persecuted and oppressed beyond description. their brothers from the south-south region have denied them and allied with the hausa/fulani and the yoruba… they are oppressed and denied political power. (289-290) on september 9, 1968, french president, charles de gaulle said: why should the ibos, who are generally christians, who live in the south in a certain way, who have their own language, why should they depend on another ethnic fraction of the federation? since that is what one ends up with, one‟s own element imposes its own authority on the others. even before the present drama in biafra, one could wonder how nigeria would be able to live in view of all the crises the federation was experiencing. and now that they are failing, enormous drama has occurred. now that biafra has proclaimed its independence and to subdue it, the federation has resorted to war, blockage, extermination and famine. how can it be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 159 imagined that the people of the federation, ibos included, can resume lives together. france in this affair has done what is possible to help biafra. she has not performed the act which to her would be decisive, of recognizing the biafran republic…. where france is concerned, the decision, which has not been taken, is not ruled out for the future… (quoted in p.294, emekesiri) even those who oppose biafra‟s independence know that the biafrans have a good case. the degrees of incompatibility, the frequency of bloodshed, the level of injustice and marginalization have continued to widen. our diplomatic forays must target getting at least two of the veto powers, together with the state of israel to support us. political, economic, religious and humane sentiments must be employed, depending on who we are dealing with. civil rights crusader rev. benjamin franklin once said “justice would not be served until those who are unaffected by injustice are as outraged as those who are”. those who are not directly feeling the heat that the biafrans are facing must act as though they are the ones involved. times have changed and would continue to change. some of the international conventions, statutes and resolutions available today were not there in 1967. the united nations resolution 61/295 of september 13, 2007 issued a declaration of the rights of indigenous peoples (un-drip). if we get our acts together, mobilize our people and speak with one voice, the world would have no choice but to support the biafran course. we must employ diplomacy as well in engaging the government of nigeria. consultations, convictions and co-operations must precede confrontation. and even when confrontation becomes inevitable, it must not be violent. if you doubt it, ask the sudanese. after several decades of war, it was jaw-jaw; it was a roundtable discourse that brought about the referendum that eventually led to the independence of south-sudan on july 9, 2011. using internal diplomatic strategies, approaches, arguments and methods, we must work hard to prove to the majority of the population of other ethnic nationalities in nigeria that they would be better if they self-determined their destinies. we must show the viability of each region so that they would understand that the character of the nigerian union has acted more as a hindrance to unleashing their potentials. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 160 again, realizing the castrating and hegemonic hold exercised by the leaders of the nigerian state, external diplomacy should involve getting the international community to put diverse pressures on these leaders to permit the will of the people to prevail, especially through referendum. we need to convince other ethnic nationalities that self determination is the best antidote to the looming implosion that is threatening nigeria‟s fragile union. similarly, we need diplomacy to convince the international community that investments are safer in a free, self-determining atmosphere than one held together by force. it is the lack of support from the spanish government that has kept catalonia where it is today, even after she held a successful referendum on october 1, 2017, the second in three years, having held an earlier one on november 9, 2014. if nigeria cannot accept a biafran people‟s referendum on her own, we must strive to get the international community to compel them to accept it as a matter of necessity to ensure peace within the african region. 8. conclusion one does not intend to conclude anything here, especially bearing in mind that nothing can be concluded. we just need to close what we have opened so that you can open the closure wherever you consider plausible and feasible, necessary and significant. all we have done in this presentation is to stir us to the fact that we have enormous work to do; tremendous tasks to surmount and achievable goals to pursue if we unite, articulate our strategies and follow legitimate processes. this paper pointed to the indispensability and even inevitability of the legal, political and diplomatic structures in the quest for biafra‟s freedom. if we get biafra-minded political leaders to take over biafraland, the process of realizing biafra would become easier and faster. we need to stop taking foolhardy and adventurous actions that do not add anything to the quest for biafra‟s freedom. critical minded analyst, statesmen, diplomat, and even politicians across the globe know that the biafran case is more serious than some neophytes in biafra imagine it to be. charles nixon captured it clearly when he wrote: the nigerian/biafran conflict is the first case in which the claim to self-determination was brought to the fore-front of world attention after a process of decolonization has presumably been completed. it thus, lay outside the presumptions of earlier un declarations and actions which applied the concept of self-determination to the process of decolonization…that once independence was attained, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 161 the principle of self-determination was fulfilled, and the concept had no further applicability to subsequent political changes in former colonial areas. certainly, it was not to apply in cases of secession. the biafran claim challenged this view and it gained substantial recognition for its position including verbal support from france for the application of the principle in this case (493). again, we cannot use the fact that we are an egalitarian society and then permit all kinds of riotous and socially-destructive behaviors in the name of biafra‟s struggle. respect for elders is a value and virtue that our society extols. the opinion and strength of the young as well as the counsel of the elderly must be synergized to move the struggle forward. according to onyesoh: street demonstration alone cannot achieve selfdetermination…neither is any violence necessary to accomplish selfdetermination in the 21st century. organization, international litigation, diplomacy and publicity must harness the awareness which street demonstrations generates, to arrive at that goal. tyrants have no ears and they do not listen they only issue orders and are in love with listening to their own voices only (118). the implication of what nixon and onyesoh have said above is that selfdetermination is not a joke; it is not something you do (as the igbo would say) while carrying snuff in your palms. it is a serious business. self determination is no longer “a simple moral concept which an abused people can invoke unilaterally to impose its own solutions on others, regardless of the consequences such solution may have for others” (nixon, 496). too many interests are involved in self-determination locally, nationally and internationally. finally, we need to note clearly that biafra is a spirit. those who fight for her must apply righteousness and integrity before any expression of boldness would be necessary and significant. “bi-afra” as „obi afra” (“afra” meaning the “godman”) is the source of the name “africa”. we must be sincere and do what is right; that is what “righteousness means”. a person with wrong motives, insincere actions and lying lips cannot fight for biafra. those who wrote biafra‟s anthem were right with the last line of the 4th stanza stating clearly that we hope “to make this clime a land of righteousness”. biafra is a spirit, but not a blind spirit. she would pay anyone and their generation for the role played in this process. if you are not sincere, if you lack igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 162 integrity in this struggle, the time to change is now. for indeed, time is running, out. and i would like to end with the immortal words of george washington who said that “worry is the interest paid by those who borrow trouble.” may we not borrow trouble in this process of self-determination for biafrans and may those who have borrowed the trouble of denying biafra self-determination continue to worry endlessly. works cited achebe, chinua the trouble with nigeria london: heinemann, 1983 achebe, chinua there was a country: a personal history of biafra new york: allen lore, 2013. acholonuolumba catherine they lived before adam: prehistory of the igbos, the neverbeen ruled, abuja karac publications, 2009. achuzie, joe, requiem biafra enugu: fourth dimension, 1986. adegboyega, ademola, why we struck, ibadan, evans publishers, 1981. agbo, joseph n. "the aladinma project", expanded perspective on the igbo angle of the lower niger congress (lnc) in igbophobia. agbo, joseph n. "biafra; the philosophy of the historical ignorance of a critical generation," in t.u, nwala nath aniekwu, chinyere ohiri-aniche (eds.), igbo nation: history and challenges of rebirth and development (ibadan; kraft books ltd., 2015) pp.347-379. agbo, joseph n. igbophobia: a cursory analysis of the historical, economic and political condition of ndigbo in nigeria; enugu: tadi prints, 2018. agbo, joseph n. “splidimm: strategic platforms for the revitalization of the quest for self-determination by the biafran people in nigeria”, unpublished. aneke, luke, the untold story of the nigeriabiafra war new york; triumph publishing, 2007. brecht bertold, www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/iliteracy igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 163 blackburn, simon (ed.) oxford dictionary of philosophy (oxford: oxford university press, 1996) chinweizu, “ikenga run amok: towards the diagnosis and healing of the ndigbo crises”, in nwala, t.u etl (eds.) igbo nation: history and challenges of rebirth and development. ibadan: kraft books ltd., 2015 chinweizu, caliphate colonialism: the taproot of the trouble with nigeria. (lagos: clear coast communications, 2015). constitution of the federal republic of nigeria, 1999 dornan, robert k., “nigeria: former us congressman and biafra relief flights pilot robert dornan backs referendum, in international business times, 22 march, 2016. eluwa, b.o.n. adonaidu: history of igbo origin owerri: de-bonelsons global company ltd., 2008. emekesri, emeka adolph, biafra or nigerian presidency: what the igbos want london: christ the rock community, 2012. ezeani, emefiena: in biafra africa died: the diplomatic plot london; veritas lumen publishers, 2014. fanon, frantz. the wretched of the earth. trans. by richard philcox new york: grove press, 1963 franklin, benjamin, www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/benjamin/justice gbulie, ben, nigeria‟s five majors onitsha; africana educational publishers, 1981. hobbes, thomas, leviathan, london: penguin classics, kirk-green, a.r.m. the amalgamation of nigeria: a documentary record london: frank cass and co. ltd., 1968. kissinger, henry my white house years washington: littlebrand, 1979 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 164 lasswell, harold, politics: who gets what, when, how? glencoe: the free press, 1951. maier, karl, this house has fallen: nigeria in crisis london penguin books, 2001, ofodile, chudi, the politics of biafra and the future of nigeria, ibadan: safari books, 2016 okocha, emma, blood on the niger: the first black-on-black genocide, lagos: gomslam books, 2012. onyesoh, chukwuemeka, to the rescue: the right to self-determination, the pathway to a genuine federation of peoples without shared values enugu: bbk 2017. mrabure, k.o. “the right to self-determination under international law: the current biafran struggle”, in journal of international law and jurisprudence, vol. 6, no 6 (2016), 66-74. nwankwo, arthur agwuncha, the nationality question in nigeria: the class foundation of conflicts, enugu: fourth dimension publishers, 1989. nixon, charles r. “self-determination: the nigeria/biafra case, in world politics, vol. 24, no 4 (july, 1072), 473-497. nwankwo, arthur agwuncha, nigeria and her path to doom enugu: four dimension publishers, 2018. united nation‟s universal declaration of the rights of indigenous peoples (undrip) washington, george “george washington quotes.” brainyquote.com. brainymedia inc, 2019. 6 november, 2019. https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/george_washington_132907. https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/george_washington_132907 igwebuike attributes in the medieval french system: a review of charlemagne’s leadership in “la chanson de roland” igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 21 igwebuike attributes in the medieval french system: a review of charlemagne’s leadership in “la chanson de roland” jude i. onebunne, phd department of philosophy nnamdi azikiwe university, awka juno.anyi@gmail.com & sylvia chinazom ezeaka department of modern european languages nnamdi azikiwe university, awka cs.ezeaka@unizik.edu.ng executive summary the fact that the society is filled with human beings, and not only a single being, justifies the supreme being’s intentions for all beings to relate with each other and work together to achieve a common goal. as such, the logical understanding of the igbo adage “a nyukoo amiri onu, o gbaa ufufu” simply depicts the igwebuike philosophy which propagates the limited nature of the individual person and uplifts the unity of the collective human person in achieving far greater positive results. as early as the middle ages, france has recorded a great success in unity, and regretted every form of betrayal and division; hence, the title “la belle france “ was not a misconception of aesthetics and glamour, rather, the beauty in unity, togetherness and solidarity. la chanson de roland clearly conveys charlemagne’s victorious achievements in the medieval period, which was not by mere fortress, rather jude i. onebunne, phd & sylvia chinazom ezeaka igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 22 by unity and solidarity. unfortunately, the regrettable destruction that befell his reign was as a result of disunity in the form of betrayal, treachery and division. this paper will significantly unveil the importance of solidarity, the need to be unified as a nation to fight insecurity and maintain national peace. political analysis of the role of unity in charlemagne’s ruling class and solidarity skills utilized to overcome problems will be deployed, while the integration of the principles of igwebuike philosophy for national security and peace are strongly recommended. keywords: igwebuike, kanu ikechukwu anthony, national unity, igbo-african, peace, solidarity, charlemagne introduction a quick glance at the history of the attainment of freedom and independence of many african countries reveals a couple of outstanding leaders, freedom fighters, true heroes of their time, and patriots who once championed solidarity movements and conquered as well as set the moral and political tones for their societies. such leaders as julius nyerere of tanzania, nnamdi azikiwe of nigeria, kwame nkrumah of ghana, nelson mandela of south africa, etc., have proved that unity and solidarity is a working strategy for africa. history reminds us that the success of any organization religious or secular, state or nation is highly dependent on the quality of its leadership. leadership, void of dictatorship and one which upholds unity, complementarity, friendship and solidarity, records substantial success and progress. in this regard and in the spirit of integration and togetherness, igwebuike philosophy propagates principles of good leadership. igwebuike philosophy developed over time by professor kanu ikechukwu anthony is one that is described with an igbo word, but igwebuike attributes in the medieval french system: a review of charlemagne’s leadership in “la chanson de roland” igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 23 with a universal relevance and appeal. nonetheless, it is not limited to the igbo or african society, rather a universal ideology that believes in the incarnation and confirmation of the universal relevance of its principles. igwebuike, which literally translates to unity is strength, reflects in different igbo proverbial representations to support its ideology; this philosophy can be well addressed with some collection of igbo proverbs (kanu, 2014). these proverbs are not mere collections of words; rather, they are words of communal wisdom that speaks the echoes of ancestral truth which society should do well to hearken to. “a nyukoo amiri onu, o gbaa ufufu” defines the power of unity and working together in peace and harmony to achieve common positive results. in this regard, the society is made to understand that working as a group in harmony is far better than individual actions. solidarity in the face of conflict is an insurmountable force which is most likely to conquer. the igbo tradition in its totality has always upheld solidarity because of the great success it has known so far in cultural wars and inter-boundary conflicts, hence the agreement of the adage “gidi gidi bu ugwu eze” (kanu, 2015a&b). humans are often taught to develop the spirit of oneness, or group solidarity and brotherhood. igbo culture cannot define complementarily without tracing it to the adage: “egbe beru ugo beru,” and this is a principle on which the igwebuike philosophy is rooted. this igbo adage (whose cultural emblem is the eagle and the hawk perching on the same tree branch) is the igbo version of the concept of ubuntu, which is common among many other african groups (kanu, 2016a&b). this concept implies that there is room enough for all. your existence and well-being does not threaten the igbo existence and its well-being because the igbo tradition believes that there is room for all. the igbo world and religious views demand that the stranger and alien be treated with utmost care, respect and courtesy. in this spirit of oneness, the structure and idea of this proverb has been altered, thereby replacing the wordings to reflect love and concern for others. this renders it thus: “let the kite perch, let the eagle perch as well, anyone that does not want the other to perch, let its wing not be broken; rather, it should show its mate where to perch” (kanu, 2017a&b). all should try to live in peace. those who do not jude i. onebunne, phd & sylvia chinazom ezeaka igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 24 want peace with others, or insist on causing disharmony have only themselves to be blamed; thus, peaceful coexistence is encouraged and taught. igwebuike also depicts the extension of hand of brotherhood and friendship as a principle of unity which promotes love amongst neighbours, hence the understanding that no man is an island and no man can exist alone because the african tradition does not overlook human intervention. “okwa mmadu k’eji aka,” therefore, establishes a very strong link between igwebuike philosophy and the structure of the african universe. it is a universe of particularities that, however, exist in a thermodynamic systemwhere every creature as an independent but interacting entity, negotiates another’s existential highway for mutual survival (kanu, 2019). a closer look at the literal meaning of igwebuike as strength/power in numbers, kanu insists that it rests on the philosophy of solidarity and complementarity; thus, to live outside the parameters of these principles is simply to suffer alienation. igwebuike understands every individual reality as part and completion of the whole, and presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations (kanu, 2019 & 2018). mbiti classically proverbializes this relationship between beings thus: “i am because we are and since we are, therefore i am” (mbiti, 1970). the igbo cosmology, on its part, having long accepted the potency of unity in resolving issues mutually, depicts its puissance in the proverbs “otu osisi anaghi emebe ohia,” which literally means: a tree does not make a forest. this portrays the importance of numbers; the existence of many trees to create a forest. asouzu airs his views on the importance of many to successfully achieve a common positive and efficient goal: it is also a view that maintains that by the coming together of the individual or parts, a viable and sustainable whole will emerge, and by this, the parts igwebuike attributes in the medieval french system: a review of charlemagne’s leadership in “la chanson de roland” igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 25 will get to the brim purpose of their existence (asouzu, 2004). prior to this, no particular tree is more important than the other in this concept. no matter how small, tiny or less leaves a particular tree bears, its role in the creation of a forest cannot be overlooked; its existence in the circle is very important. in the human existence, the tree depicts human beings, and none can exist alone; we all need each other to survive. in one way or the other, everything man does needs one form of human interaction or intervention. the earlier proverb entails a relative adage: “otu aziza anaghi aza ezi,” which entails that a stick of broom cannot sweep; therefore, sticks of broom put together make up a lever for sweeping. man cannot ignore the existence and importance of another because forces properly together constitute a power to be reckoned with. looking at the second adage in its totality solves a bigger problem when applied in unity. sweeping a small square space with a single stick of broom will take ages and still not achieve a good result, whereas using many sticks of broom jointly tied together does not just make the work a lot easier; it will save time and make the environment very clean. the rich entrepreneurs in the society today did not become rich because they wanted to, nor do the poor make a choice of poverty over riches. alas, the wealthy didn’t even achieve the status quo on their own accord, hence the importance of the existence of the poor masses in the society today. this supports kanu’s presentation of igwebuike thus: it is a fact of life that no human person can claim to know everything; and so the need of the other to complement one’s knowledge. (kanu, 2016) a man with an idea only visualizes how to materialize his ideas using the tools produced and manufactured by other humans and expose them for consumption in the market occupied by other humans, rich or poor. both depend on the materialized idea of other humans and in turn make him wealthy everything runs concurrently. should an intelligent man jude i. onebunne, phd & sylvia chinazom ezeaka igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 26 exist alone in the society, the scene is completely static because he degenerates with his useless ideas in his head. an idea or dream belongs to one man who adopts the tools produced by another to visualize his own ideas, and he finally solicits for other humans to consume his items to help him complete his dream. a human existing alone cannot assume the responsibilities of other humans to affect his success or survival; all humans have their specific role in the lives and success of other humans, consciously or unconsciously. this sense of unity, friendship, complementarity and solidarity among the community is evident in the philosophy of tempels: ‘beings forces’ of the universe are not a multiple of independent forces placed in juxtaposition from being to being (tempels, 1959). therefore, humans are dependent on others for existence. mbiti also airs his view on the coexistence of humans thus: the world of forces is held like a spider’s web of which no single thread can be caused to vibrate without shaking the whole network. (mbiti, 1970) no man is an island and his existence can never circle around him alone. even if an idea comes from one man, he needs other forms of human intervention to actualize that idea and bring it into form. the effect of one relatively manifests in other beings because of coexistence and unavoidable connection between one and other, hence the saying “otu aka ruta mmanu, ozuo ora.” this adage summons us to look out for one other to ensure nothing goes wrong at one end; whatever goes wrong affects those at the other end. a company owned by an entrepreneur needs the hard work of many to grow, because the survival of many depends on the company’s progress. should by disorderliness, carefree attitude and selfishness the company suffers liquidity, although owned by an individual, it will automatically force many into the labour market. therefore, unity should be a perennial goal because it is an important value for any society, and for the entire global community. in order for this to become a reality, it is necessary to establish a consensus about fundamental values, and work to extend igwebuike attributes in the medieval french system: a review of charlemagne’s leadership in “la chanson de roland” igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 27 the principles of peace, equity and well-being, to establish a basic principle of mutual recognition and reciprocity. unity and division in the middle ages french society a quick run through the political history of france during the middle ages shows clearly the positive impact of unity, and negative default of division and disunity in the leadership and national security of the french society. during the later years of charlemagne's rule, the vikings made advances along the northern and western perimeters of his kingdom, but they lost severally because charlemagne had always based his leadership on solidarity and complementarity. the french text titled la chanson de roland depicts charlemagne’s leadership era, and one could see different levels of success it attained in unity and solidarity, and the destruction meted out to a divided sect, evidently visualizing the igwebuike principle of solidarity “gidi gidi bu ugwu eze.” charlemagne was well-known all over france for his might and immeasurable power in the battlefield, and cities and countries were terrified at the mention of his name and at war because he had a great army that fought in unity and looked out for one another. they fought with love for their troop and with immense enthusiasm for the glory of their country. charlemagne had already conquered all the cities around, except saragosse which was ruled by marsille, and it was clear that the city was charlemagne’s next land to conquer. the opponents, already terrified of charlemagne’s might, honourably sought for reconciliation and surrendered under emperor charlemagne’s rule, rather than facing scandalous death and momentary slavery as they were no measure to the his power. the emperor had always had a strategy of protecting his warriors by means of ambush, whereby they stampeded at different points and ambushed the enemy in case they tried to overpower the armies in the battle field. this complementary approach gained him huge success in the battle field, upholding france as the most powerful country in the entire region. jude i. onebunne, phd & sylvia chinazom ezeaka igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 28 charlemagne already tired of fighting, and overwhelmed by the huge success he had attained as the emperor, accepted marsille’s peace offer and sent a messenger, ganelon, who happened to be roland’s stepfather, to seal the treaty between the two cities. ganelon, who was already enraged with jealousy for roland the chief guard, saw him as enemy and planned revenge by exposing their secret of success to the saracens. he alienated with the saracens and formed a new form of friendship with them, thereby informing them of how they could ambush the rear guard of charlemagne's army, which would surely be led by roland as the franks picked their way back to spain through the mountain valleys. he helped the saracens plan this evil attack just to eliminate roland, thereby exposing his country to harm and danger. ganelon, in this regard, possesses an object of division in an existing unified circled by exposing a guarded secret that has helped them achieve success, not minding the fact that the same single act might unleash terror and disaster upon the entire country. he only aimed at achieving his selfish goals of killing a singular being that his existence was entangled to his own and that of his country. this form of alienation has helped the saracen attain a pact to their long-awaited confusion as to the reason for charlemagne’s great success. although the friendship was to a disadvantage to the frankish army, it would lead to their success, portraying the importance of friendship and hospitality to strangers. ganelon helped the saracens achieve the igwebuike principle of “mmadu k’eji aka” to plan their movement against the franks. exactly as the traitor ganelon predicted, roland gallantly volunteered as usual to lead the rear guard with the clear intention of standing guard to protect his people against sudden ambush, while olivier and turpin, his friends and most trusted ally in the army, accompanied him in the rear. unfortunately, according to plan, and well-prepared in great numbers, the warriors of saragosse ambushed them at ronceavaux; roland and his men were overwhelmed by their sheer number. in unity, they still fought, not knowing that their solidarity circle had been tampered with by an insider, alas, the enemy had taken advantage igwebuike attributes in the medieval french system: a review of charlemagne’s leadership in “la chanson de roland” igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 29 of the power in number tactics they had always been deployed against them, and fought back gainfully. hence, unity cannot be defined without solidarity, because the existence of a ravager in the circle sabotages all efforts to succeed, thereby annihilating the unity and peace amongst them. at this point, the unity of roland’s army has been sabotaged because they were unprepared and scattered on their way back home. they never expected a huge fight from the same country that had already paid allegiance and tendered loyalty to the emperor’s leadership. ironically, the opponents deployed the igwebuike principle of “a nyukoo amiri onu, o gbaa ufufu” to encircle them and confuse them before they could make a decision to restore their sanity. oliver and turpin, having seen how badly outnumbered they were, asked roland to blow on his oliphant (trumpet) made out of an elephant tusk, and seek help from the emperor. this had always been their alibi in time of uncertainty and unexpected confrontation. unfortunately, roland proudly declined to the suggestion, believing that they needed no help and could fight any number the saraceneans came up with. although they fought magnificently, and with great enthusiasm and spirit of patriotism to protect their great country “la belle france”, there was no way they could have held off the great number of the saracenean army, and the battle began to turn clearly against them. it then dawned on roland that it was now too late to ask for help from charlemagne. he blew his oliphant anyway, so that at least, the emperor should become aware of evil that had befallen his great warriors and seek to avenge them. roland blew so hard that his temples burst and afterwards he died a glorious martyr's death for his beautiful country; his friends also died in the battle field. unity and solidarity had always been the key to success for charlemagne’s army. roland’s pride cost his life and that of his dear friends. it was clear that the frankish army was always victorious by virtue of solidarity. roland was unaware that the saracenean army had gained knowledge of their secret and applied the idea of fighting in numbers, instead of sending few to the death field and saving some for a later challenge. roland always trusted their might and the efficient unity that existed jude i. onebunne, phd & sylvia chinazom ezeaka igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 30 among them, unaware that the circle had already leaked and endangered their lives. ganelon, on the other part, exposed the entire country to great danger, just to achieve his selfish aim, thereby wasting the blood of the innocent, hence, the igwebuike proverbial warning against disunity “otu aka ruta mmanu, o zuo ora”. charlemagne and his army angrily fought back the saracens, killed them in numbers, took over their properties and chased them into the river ebro where they all drowned. this literary work of the french middle ages was not fictional; rather, it brought to light the importance of unity and its reckoned success as well as described the challenges and disadvantages of disunity to national progress. the real france society after charlemagne’s reign continued to experience change in the system across decades, pending the unified relationship integrated in the existing leadership during each period. after charlemagne's death in 814, unfortunately, his successor charles le bald was incapable of maintaining political unity as his predecessor, and the empire began to crumble under his reign. the vikings, who had earlier made advances along the northern and western perimeters of the kingdom under charlemagne’s reign but lost severally, escalated their advances, this time their dreaded longboats sailed up the river loire, seine and other inland waterways. they took advantage of the disunity in france during charles reign and achieved great success. they wreaked havoc and spread terror, murdering people and burning down churches; eventually, they sacked paris. the history of medieval france transcended into a new era with the election of hugh capet (940–996), but his political unimportance weighed against the powerful barons who elected him. hugh lost the spanish principalities again due to his inability to give in to solidarity and complementarity, thereby restricting his greatest achievement to just being a ruling king. in order to secure his succession, seeing the extent of failure his leadership suffered, hugh allowed his son, robert the pious, to be crowned king before his demise. robert ii, as king, sought solace in unity and met holy roman emperor henry ii in 1023 on the borderline. they agreed to end all claims over each other's realm, igwebuike attributes in the medieval french system: a review of charlemagne’s leadership in “la chanson de roland” igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 31 setting a new stage of capetian and ottonian relationships. although a king weak in power, robert ii's efforts were considerable, and that was as a result of mutual understanding and having faith in brotherhood and unity. unity gave his era an advantage over the leadership of his predecessors. he construed with the fact that he was weak and cannot prosper on his own and sought solace in his ruling quarters and achieved success, even greater than the mighty kings he succeeded. the reign of robert ii was quite important because it involved the peace and truce of god. his surviving charters implied that he relied heavily on the church to rule france. robert ii crowned his son, hugh magnus, as king of the franks at age 10 to secure the succession, but hugh magnus rebelled against his father and died fighting him in 1025. his second son, henry i, was crowned as co-ruler with his father (1027 – 1060), and reigned after his father’s death in 1031, but was one of the weakest kings of franks because he trusted himself alone and never believed in human intervention. he handed over to king philip i who reigned from 1060 to 1108 and handed the mantle down to louis vi. it was from louis vi onward that royal authority became more accepted. the king, who was more a soldier and warrior than a scholar, launched regular attacks on his vassals due to his greedy and ambitious nature. hhe raised so much fortune from his vassals, and his bad nature made fun of the royal image and earned him an unpopular king. from 1127, having recorded fame without honour and respect, he sorted the advice of a skilled religious statesman, abbot suger, whose political advice was extremely valuable. louis vi successfully defeated both militarily and politically, but his insatiable greedy nature never eluded his person, and he went against his statesman advice and had landed possessions confiscated and military campaigns mounted against those questioning his leadership. autocracy and dictatorship was mounted on the people and this drastic policy clearly imposed some royal authority on paris and its surrounding areas. when louis vi died in 1137, much progress had been forcefully and illegally achieved towards strengthening capetian authority, but king louis vii, upon his jude i. onebunne, phd & sylvia chinazom ezeaka igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 32 succession as king after louis vi, heeded religiously to abbot suger's advice and enjoyed greater moral authority over france than his predecessors. powerful vassals willingly paid homage to the french king, unlike his predecessor, who forcefully took over the vassals and imposed heavy rules on the people. the succession of kingship in the medieval france has evidently shown the extent of success which true leadership by virtue of unity, complementarity, brotherhood, love for others, solidarity and oneness has achieved in the course of time. apparently, situation worsens at a point where selfishness and selfcenteredness, lack of trust and disunity became the order of the day. unity restores sanity, stability, and orderliness in a country, and these virtues promisingly help the nation achieve economic, political, social and financial greatness. igwebuike as a response to national instability life rests on the mutual need for human beings to come together and form a community of similitude; igwebuike works best when we respect one another’s needs and life circumstances, as respect for one’s needs breeds love and reduces the tendency of injustice and wickedness in the society. igwebuike, in the spirit of unity, does not work when we attempt to coerce shame or inflict guilt upon one another, no matter how subtle. no doubt, human relation is a difficult task because we are all different people from very different spheres of life. nonetheless, we are not necessarily immediate allies, nor are we one another’s greatest enemy, therefore, the similarity amongst us should prevail to ascertain attainment of unity amongst all. we believe we have different ideologies and values, but we still share important norms, especially the common belief in basic human rights and the need to live communally in respect and dignity. we believe we must protect this planet, our air, water, earth and food, or we will all die; therefore, unity must be prioritized to achieve these goals. the current situation of the existing covid-19 pandemic has exposed the fact that affluence is not a guarantee to good life. the rich have always believed they are independent and untouchable in the society because they have attained igwebuike attributes in the medieval french system: a review of charlemagne’s leadership in “la chanson de roland” igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 33 a prominent financial status which is capable of shielding them from imminent danger. currently, the entire world is on corona virus rampage, and in some countries like nigeria, it seems the rich are the most affected and the wealth acquired through dehumanization and poor leadership has been unable to protect them from the dangers of the disease. all along, had the leadership of the country in the spirit of igwebuike principle of love, oneness and friendship considered the good health of its citizens and the poor masses, it would have provided the country with befitting hospitals and good health care centers; rather, they depended confidently on their financial ability to sustain the health of their family members by moving to countries with efficient health system while neglecting the citizens. today, their financial status can neither help the rich nor the poor, everybody is paying the price of greed and disunity existing in the country; health security has failed completely in the system. the purpose of solidarity is to build our movement, and to embody our mutual care and concern for justice. chandran defines solidarity thus: solidarity can be simply a way of lifestyle, to support one or more and stick by him in good and bad, as well as his success and failures. (chadran, 2014) the definition above could mean a lot more than just its literal sense, because people are necessarily dependent on each other in different ways. when solidarity requires one to follow a group‘s social and moral rules, they usually have non-instrumental reasons to obey these rules as ways of standing in solidarity and unity with others. solidarity often grounds reasons to follow somewhat defective rules, and improve their social moral rules in order to pull them in line with the group‘s ideals, which in turn has lots of limitations to refine oneself and grow. solidarity can be referred to as a value par excellence, being characterized by mutual collaboration between individuals which makes it possible to overcome the most terrible disasters, such as wars, jude i. onebunne, phd & sylvia chinazom ezeaka igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 34 plagues, bad leadership, destructive trend, etc. this applies as well to helping relatives, friends and acquaintances who find themselves in difficult situations, so that they can overcome obstacles and move forward. the belief that the leadership of the country is engrossed in corruption is a common understanding, including the belief that the global corporate and political institutions are serving only the interests of the rich and continue endlessly to sap the poor of their scourging sweat and effort. but at a point, one wants to break out and achieve success. the oppressed are tired of been abused, voices wish to be heard. there is a mutual agreement that it’s time for a fundamental and radical change. there is only one way to speak out; it is for voices to come together and echo in a thunderous manner that will disrupt the serenity of the entire land. the only way voices can be heard loud and clear is through solidarity. solidarity is the voice of oneness, togetherness and the only way diversity becomes strength of the weak. we build movements and protect one another’s lives and rights, the interest being mutual and equal existence of mutual love, human and group interest at heart, and integrity to strongly hold on to one another to avoid the outbreak of sabotage. in essence, unadulterated solidarity implies great success, critically applying the form of social behavior for the purpose of creating cohesion and social ties that unite the members of a partnership with each other. there is need for the integration of human relation in performance and practices that are complementary to each other. however, the concept of complementarity suffers from a lack of operational clarity and has been essentially approached from a statistical standpoint that has limited the understanding of the overall system. complementarity posits that human social coordination is the product of structured psychological inclination linked to corresponding cultural paradigms. a hungry person needs more than bread to survive, because today’s bread might not be his problems. he might have the day’s bread but is bothered about his hopeless tomorrow; he needs inner peace, and this is the only remedy to his psychological derangement. the rich are not free of this trauma of lack of financial abundance, implying peace; igwebuike attributes in the medieval french system: a review of charlemagne’s leadership in “la chanson de roland” igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 35 whereas, undue acquisition of so much fund, management and spending are bigger problems on their own. peace remains the answer to existing problems in the society, and this can be achieved through oneness, complementarity with oneself and other humans. every human has the innate and congenital need to experience peace and an environment that is void of conflicts. trees and animals need no peace because nature has blessed them with a peaceful existence. it is unnecessary to hold animal pets in higher regard than fellow humans, because they only agree and respect man’s wishes in an animalistic manner which their nature has subjected to. they are created as animals and tend to behave as such, but humans possess understanding and individual differences; therefore, tolerance in adversity is a virtue to be emulated and deployed in general relation with fellow humans to achieve peace of mind. humans need peace for an enduring coexistence. the peace that extends to other humans emanates naturally from one’s self and inner satisfaction; man can only remain at peace with other men when he has achieved inner peace with himself. ralph waldo emerson once said: the reason why the world lacks unity, and lies broken and in heaps, is because man is in disunity with himself”. he clearly establishes the need for individual restoration of inner peace to be able to relate properly with other humans in unity and brotherhood. as difficult as humility and tolerance towards diverse human negative attitude are, peace of mind accelerates discipline and grants a better chance of understanding, and ensures logical approach to human behaviour and individual differences. unfortunately, the society today bedrocks on other people’s faults, and carelessly analyzes these faults to exhibit their intolerance. humans neglect their own weaknesses, and look at other people’s weaknesses. resolving conflicts, as the principle of the igwebuike philosophy does, is not limited to the igbo-african culture, and ensuring peace is a world phenomenon that is peculiar to all humans all over the world. conflict resolution and world peace, as we all know is very important in our lives and is essential to our overall well-being. however, it has regrettably eluded us over the years, not jude i. onebunne, phd & sylvia chinazom ezeaka igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 36 just emphasizing on a particular nation but the entire globe. it has been hindered by different disastrous factors like war, conflicts, diseases, and disagreements throughout human epoch, which have left our entire world and humans in a dilapidating and deplorable state, be it in their emotional, psychological, physical and financial strata. this research has studied the reality of disunity which characterizes being, the positive dynamics the society could benefit in appreciation of igwebuike as an option for social relationship and leadership goals. within this context, it looks into the echoes of the medieval french government in the leadership system of france and called for the need for change in nigerian and generally african political qualities. it describes humans being as beings that should in all aspect deploy other human relations for better survival. it sees the leadership of a nation in the values of the society as a communal responsibility, which everyone is held responsible for its success and failure as well. this work, therefore, suggests as a solution to saving nigeria from instability (and extends to africa) from already existing or further emergent political upheaval: there must be a conscious policy of leadership that integrates the local context of the igbo-african cultural belief of igwebuike principles into its leadership visions. igwebuike potency for achieving national unity should not be overlooked as its principles can help to either prevent or attack problems emanating from bad leadership qualities. conclusion igwebuike philosophy is a true manifestation of the african spirit, i am because we are with great emphasis on its translation, unity is strength. an ideology that defines the true essence of human relationship with others, such that mutual relationship, it is a great force which rightly combines and exhibits forces to be reckoned with. kanu upholds igwebuike as the kind of bond or strength in collaboration and community spirit, and an indication of the necessity of synergy to amplify the value of african communal spirit towards igwebuike attributes in the medieval french system: a review of charlemagne’s leadership in “la chanson de roland” igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 37 achieving success or anything meaningful in life. the principles of igwebuike, exhibited in this paper as unity, complementarity, friendship and solidarity, are the basis on which this philosophy is well-defined, thus giving them an igbo-african cultural representation, not limiting the philosophy to the igbo culture alone, rather giving it cultural amplification and elaboration as preachers of world unity. elaborating on igwebuike as a philosophy conspicuous in the french society and already perceptible as early as in the middle ages, its success in leadership and other spheres of national progress cannot be overlooked; therefore, it is a commendable approach and serves as a solution to existing problems in our nation today. these principles allow us to overcome the adversities that present themselves throughout life. a person or nation which acts on these principles does not hesitate to collaborate with and support all those who are in disadvantaged situations, in contrast to people who are indifferent to the needs of others and are more self-centered. therefore, in team spirit, we must encourage an attitude of igwebuike in individuals, since unity can be seen as the basis of many other human values. in a special way, it helps one to develop valuable friendships in family and social settings, and helps nations to attain growth and progress. references asouzu, i. i. (2004). the methods and principles of complementary reflection in and beyond african philosophy. calabar: university of calabar press. barrette, j., carrière, j. (2003). organizational performance and complementarity in human resources management practice. journals des relations industrielles / journal of industrial relations, vol. 58, no. 3. cadot-colin, a. (2010, réécrit) la chanson de roland. isbn : 2218944782. editions hatier, paris. jude i. onebunne, phd & sylvia chinazom ezeaka igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 38 chandran, r. (2014). solidarity – the need for survival and existence. global education magazine. http://www.globaleducationmagazine.com/solidarity-survivalexistence/ henderson, c. r. (1905). social solidarity in france. american journal of sociology, vol. 11, no. 2. usa, university of chicago press kanu, i. a. (2015). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for national unity. a paper presented at the 2015 faculty of arts international conference, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state. kanu, i. a. (2016). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2, no. 1. kanu i. a. (2018). sources of igwebuike philosophy: towards a socio-cultural foundation. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 9, no 1. kanu, i.a. (2019). on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. journal of religion and human relations. volume 11, no. 1. kanu i. a. (2015b). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu i. a. (2017). igwebuikeconomics: towards an inclusive economy for economic development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 6. 113-140. kanu i. a. (2017). sources of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. 9. 1. pp. 1-23. kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. kanu, a. i. (2017c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 7. pp. 165-183. igwebuike attributes in the medieval french system: a review of charlemagne’s leadership in “la chanson de roland” igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 39 kanu, a. i. (2017d). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 6. pp. 16-50. kanu, a. i. (2017f). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. pp. 153-160. kanu, i. a. (2014). igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholic-pentecostal relations. jos studies. 22. pp.87-98. kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015b). igwebuike as an ontological precondition for african ethics. international conference of the society for research and academic excellence. university of nigeria, nsukka. 14 th -16 th september. kanu, i. a. (2015c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25 th -26 th november 2015 university of paris, france. kanu, i. a. (ed.) (2016a). complementary ontology: provocative essays on innocent asouzu’s african philosophy of integration for progressive transformation. germany: lambert academic publishing. kanu, i. a. (ed.) (2016b). ibuanyidanda: a complementary systematic inquiry. reflections on innocent asouzu’s african philosophy. germany: lambert academic publishing. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. jude i. onebunne, phd & sylvia chinazom ezeaka igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 40 kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. mbiti, j. (1970). african religions and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational. tempels, p. (1959). bantu philosophy. paris: presence africaine. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 71 moral formation and entertainment industries: implications on nigerian youths chinyere christian emedo, phd department of philosophy, faculty of arts, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state email: cc.emedo@unizik.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract it is apparent that the entertainment industry has among its attributes, the undeniable ability to influence greatly among the people of the society. that is to say that many tend to be guided by things they read, listen to, or watch every day. however, because the entertainment industry is widely followed by the youths mostly, it is worthy to note that certain things associated with the entertainment industry should be morally guided. this is because of its huge ability to influence the general public. therefore, it is the burden of this paper to highlight the imperatives of the moral formation which involve growth in knowing, being and doing, which together, lead to moral relationships and moral living. with that being said, the apparent moral formation among the influencers of the entertainment industries will be of great benefits not only to the youths, but it will also go a long way to enhance a morally sound society. this study employs philosophical method of analysis. keywords: morality, moral formation, entertainment industry, youths introduction the burden of this work centers on the implications of entertainment industry on the moral formation of the life of nigerian youths. youths according to african youth charter count on people between the ages of 15-35 years. nigeria new youth policy counts youth age as from 18-29 years. the main interest of this research is on how entertainment activities like movies and music shows, as well as the piece of information which we observe and gather from media devices affect the nigerian youths. having gone through with this, we will look at the diverse interpretations of the key words in this discourse. conceptual analysis of the key words that constitute the theme of this research igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 72 here, we will analytically interpret the core terms which constitute the topic of this research paper viz; morality, moral formation, entertainment industry, and nigerian youths. morality morality which has its etymological root from the latin word,"moralis", according to fagothy (2002),"literally refers to the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are proper and improper." this can be perceived from its two senses; the descriptive sense which refers to the personal or cultural values and codes of conduct. this means that the descriptive sense of morality does not connote objective claims of right or wrong, rather it only refers to that which is considered right or wrong. secondly, the normative sense which refers to whatever (if anything) is actually right or wrong, which may be independent of the values held by any particular people or cultures. therefore, normatively says obi (2019), "morality refers to a code of conduct that given specified conditions, would be put forward by all rational persons." the normative morality is the sense of morality which this research paper is referring to. moral formation moral formation literally refers to the growth in knowledge, being and doing, this has in its end the spontaneous ability to lead to moral relationships and moral living, it can be said to be those necessary attributes that should be contained in the entertainment industries in nigeria because of the powerful influence the entertainment industries possess in influencing and shaping the youths. thus, for there to be a good moral formation, it is pertinent we say that the good approach to moral education will give a person the right knowledge and they will perform the right actions according to their understanding. however, van der ven (1995) is of the opinion that, “this practice of moral education has failed because its focus remains shallow and one-directional. transmission-biased moral education is often accompanied by an attempt to tie specific consequences to certain actions. it is taught that obedience to the prescribed moral code will be followed by a reward, and disobedience by punishment. if a person can keep these realities in mind, they will be more than likely continue to make the right decision." igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 73 entertainment industry furthermore, the entertainment industry which is a group of sub-industries devoted to the goal of entertaining the general public, has among its attributes the undeniable ability to influence the public especially the youths. this literally means that when its content is good, then it will imbibe positivity, on the other hand, when its content is a bad one, then it will spread negativity, which will not only be a bad influence, but will also hamper the proper growth in the moral formation of the people especially the youths. according to stephen vaughen (1990 ): few new technologies have affected communication and society more profoundly than motion pictures. as far more classic medium than the stage, movies made ideas previously restricted to comparatively small groups of readers and urban theatregoers accessible to virtually everyone by projecting than on film screens everywhere. from the largest cities to the smallest village." by speaking to mass audiences directly, movies all too easily bypassed traditional agencies of socialization like, the church, the school, the family. for many they came to symbolize the important changes taking place in the structure of power and influence in the early twentieth century, thus, united states, and those who feared that their own influences were diminishing viewed them as threat. corroborating the above view with the topic at hand, it will highlight to the readers that in recent time, according to lawson (2013), “entertainment industries have long surpassed the traditional ways of socialization, that is the church, family and the schools. therefore, when the content which the entertainment industry is giving out to the society is not morally guided, our society will stand the risk of degenerating to an amoral society, which in turn will hamper a good moral formation of nigerian youths." therefore, using the phenomenological mechanism of research in philosophy, this paper aims to establish the supreme role of morality in guiding the nigerian entertainment activities. this can be achieved by the ways the entertainment industries will control positively, the three levels of moral self which are: (i) the moral knowledge, (ii) the moral emotions and (iii)the moral socialization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 74 the complexities of the moral person a vital concept in this study is the “moral self” and how it leads to moral formation of individuals. this idea of the moral self as lapsley (1996:22b) defines is, "the aspects of each person’s moral faculty, which together shape each individual’s moral decision. it is reflected in the characteristics of responsibility and integrity; a person will experience the need to act in light of their moral responsibility and be motivated to do so by the maintenance of their personal integrity." from the above reasons, a broader focus on the moral self has been required and this research study places focus on moral knowledge, moral emotion and moral socialisation. firstly, moral knowledge says (estep, 2019), “refers to the mental reasoning surrounding matters of justice, rights and fairness, which is reflected in a person’s moral judgement”. secondly, as lazarus (1991:7) made it known that, "moral emotions are experienced more intuitively, unlike moral knowledge where the moral content can be more easily discerned. emotions instantly reflects a person’s desires and needs. informing them when an action will be harmful or advance their personal values”. lastly says (turiel, 2006:7), “moral socialization refers to the immediate historical effect of a person’s social relationships and other social influences. in a moral situation, people will almost instantaneously, experience the force of all the three factors namely; knowledge, emotion and socialization and thus, determine their moral goals for any given moral dilemma”. in quest to explore the implications of psychological research and the roles of those aspects in moral formation scholars like (turiel, 2006; van der ven, 1998, o’connell, 1998; osmer, 2005) “all shares some uniformity in views, citing that the relationships that potentially exist between cognition, emotion and socialisation continually require exploration within theological education”. therefore, the complexities of moral person focus on how “emerging adults” in life stage of late adolescent age to mid-twenties, are impacted by several cultural factors as marked by several different attributes and drives. according to (arnett, 2004:14), “this focuses on self-accompanies, the development of skills for daily living, identity and talent explorations, and thus, helps emerging adults to lay a foundation upon which to build their adults lives”. this unique emphasis during this stage of life has a massive effect on cognitive, emotional and social aspects of the emerging adults as they relate to moral formation. the youths desire autonomy; they want to have the senses when they are making their own decisions, without blindly following in the footsteps of their parents. this transition should include the evaluation of their personal beliefs and ideologies as they decide upon the best way to live. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 75 the positive effects of entertainment industry on the public the entertainment industry, in all of its various forms has had a tremendous impact on how we should think, perform and desire to be. apparently, it has over the few decades ago, superseded the dominant means of socialization. the family, the church and schools. thus, it is a reality that the public are made to believe that the movies, t.v shows etc which they watch are all real happenings. even though some entertainment industries can teach teen’s moral values and lessons, yet, some can adversely influence them. hollywood for example, "makes teens reckless to extent that they think that as it happens in movies, so it can happen in reality thus teens want to do what the big actors do. the hollywood industry is one of the most powerful and influential enterprises in the world, its visual voice is heard around the globe (lowson, 2013)”. the entertainment industries (hollywood & nollywood) have become increasingly influential so that society now looks towards them to develop their standards, teach values, and provide morals. people has begun to “copycat” what they see celebrities do on televisions. society takes personally the actions of what their idols do. in as much as there are plenty of good morally right entertainments out there, people will follow what they hear almost precisely to the word. certainly, we have mimicked people in hollywood by copying dance moves like michael jackson's dress styles, don johnson in "miami vice" or, action movies like "spiderman". however negative images are now being portrayed as cool and that’s why so much of our younger folks are not only imitating these entertainers and how influential they are, but the truth is that for many years, nollywood and other entertainment platforms has forced negative images on the society at large. these entertainers mostly don’t take in account that younger people will follow their actions. therefore, regardless of how the conscious people raise alarm about the bad contents of our entertainment industries; the truth still remains that these entertainers would not listen to these calls because the vices they show off to the world are what they make living from. the only way to go about this is to cling to the government agency in charge of nigeria broadcasting corporations (nbc) to use the authority within their jurisdiction to control certain contents that go to general public. again, it is pertinent that the society should depend less on what they watch and focus more on reality. if the world are influenced less by the entertainers whose contents enhance moral decadence, then we would not only be guided on our own personal values and beliefs, but also attain the value of selfworth and accomplishment. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 76 the negative effects of the entertainment industry on the public just like other major innovation such as the automobile, electricity, chemicals and the airplane, the entertainment industries emerged in most countries of the world and has rapidly taken over every other source of pleasure because of its engaging and entertaining nature. from the early stages of the last century onwards, each year billions of cinema tickets and musical concerts were sold and consumers especially the youths who did not regularly show interest in any form of the entertainments, became a minority. for example, in the united states, film was the tenth most profitable industry, and in 1930s france, was the fastest growing industry attended and widely followed by everyone. meanwhile, in britain the number of cinema tickets sold rose to almost one billion pounds a year. mores o, with the present innovations taking place in nigeria’s entertainment industries, it has seen over the past few years, numerous interests shown to it by nigerians. little will you wonder the reason why the ex-president of nigeria, goodluck jonathan identified entertainment industry as a unifying factor for the nation and also an industry that will not only employ great numbers of nigerians, but also can yield up to billions of naira to nigeria. however, despite the economic significance, despite its rapid emergence and growth, despite its importance as an early case of industrialisation of services, little emphasis has been made about its pronounced effect on the everyday life of consumers. therefore, because of its undeniable influencing ability, those negativities which the entertainment industries have among their contents will also grossly affect the general public. thus, questions like; is entertainment industry destroying or benefiting modern society? becomes an interrogation that everyone has to answer. there is no doubt that entertainment is the main source of amusement for many today. it is used in almost every common man’s daily life, from watching television to listening to the news. however, entertainment has unfortunately become deeply saturated in people’s lives, to the point where it is no longer healthy and beneficial. the utilization of entertainment has become an addiction, thus giving it the capability to annihilate society. from the adult industry to television shows, one conclusion is inescapable, entertainment is indeed a dangerous tool. with the emergence of the adult-entertainment in the late twentieth century it has expanded recently due to improved technology, and people can now access the contents of the adult movies from their various locations, without having to gather at a cinema. therefore, due to its accessible nature, even the younger ones can watch the contents of adult movies without caring about the discretions attached to them. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 77 with this, it becomes an easy tool leading to moral decadence in the society. therefore, with the rise of internet and its accessible nature, pornographic postures have over the years overtaken the follower-ship among the masses. more so, the negative effects associated with the adult entertainment industries, are not just about how internet and technology has enhanced its accessibility, but it has also hugely affected the adult’s marital life relationship. men and women alike watch these films and arrive to the conception that what is portrayed on the screen is how a relationship should be. recent report in the new york times had it that 80% of men and 50% of women feel that their sex life is lacking due to pornography and 40% of the people within the same poll have broken up their spouse or partner due to “lack of love life. clearly, adult entertainment gives both genders a false conception of how a relationship and sex life should be. certain unrealistic expectations towards sexual life emerged as a result of the rapid growth and massive fellowships of adults’ movies. this gives rise to infidelity, divorce and use of certain illicit drugs to enhance sexual performance. in tandem with the foregoing, the negative effects of the entertainment industry can also be traced to our poor state of movie industry (nollywood). the emergence of the nollywood industry in the late eighties and early nineties, saw a promising movie industry which as of that time, has the potentials to be among the leading movie industries in the world. those early stages of the nigerian movie industry, nollywood has great numbers of master piece movies which reflects to the happenings around us. movies back then was educating and inspiring, expository and suggests solution. contemporary happenings back then were brilliantly scripted and acted with deep messages to the general public. however, fast forward to twenty years later, the once promising industry has turned out to be an industry where mediocrities and vices are being exalted. nowadays, it is a norm that nollywood promotes drugs, nudity, robbery, fraud and so many other social vices. a good movie industry is the one that influences positively on the society, but the reverse is the case here, our movie industries now allow movies that contains no message to be produced, movies with no moral contents are now aired on our channels, thus, the exaltation of hard drugs, smoking of marijuana, abuse of alcohol etc. the negative effect of the entertainment industry can also be traced down to the music industries. it is evident that music industries are also widely followed as the movie industry. therefore, it is pertinent to note that music industry also influences as much as the movies. apparently, just like the deteriorated state of our movie industries, the contents of the music we listen to have also faded so igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 78 much that people have over the years embraced songs with bad and morally destructive lyrics as favourites. plato (. ) defined music as," a food for the soul" because he believes that music relates directly to the soul. good music he stretches will feed the soul positively, while the bad ones become destructive." days of fela kuti, who despite the mental challenges, used his songs for activism, and to inspire, has gone. days of edris abdukareem singing against the poor state of nation and raising awareness about the irregularities among lecturers and students’ relationships in tertiary institutions are gone. the large number of the nigerian youths just wants to dance and vibe to any catchy sounds without thinking about the contents of the songs. though there are some good artists out there making good music, but the undeniable fact is that the bad ones promoting vices like, nudity, sexual harassments, drug abuse, thuggery and violence are the ones that are widely followed. nigeria has brilliant contemporary artists like, asa, tu face idibia, jude. m.i. abaga, brymo olawale etc., much attention and accolades are being given to artists with bad influence to the society like, olamide, naira marley, tekno etc. this will go a long way to tell you how bad the continuous neglects of the contents of our entertainment industry have affected our youths. more so, certain programs that is meant for entertainment sake like cartoon and some movies can as well possess bad contents which will also turn out to subliminally affect the lives of the viewers especially, children. it is evident that most cartoon shows, irrespective of its comic surface, still possess in them some violence which will make some kids to believe in using violence to solve certain problem surrounding them. the large numbers of movies without viewers discretion tags, are allowed to be accessible to everyone including teens. teenagers suspend every activity they have to carry out just to watch movies that contain numerous scenes of violence and sex. therefore, among the negativities that comes with entertainment industries, is the constant violence that comes with certain movies and cartoon. benefits of a morally sound entertainment industry on nigeria youths we live in a culture where the things perpetuated through entertainment can make it seem as though moral standards are outdated. and, as degeneration and progressions become harder to distinguish, we are constantly bombarded with images and messages that even the most “just do it” person would find troubling. therefore, it is high time that these entertainers are conceived as the biggest carriers of influence, whether or not we are aware of it and whether or not we igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 79 intend to be. the sound and messages they release through art forms, directly create good impact on listeners in powerful ways. this is especially true of the youths and adolescents of our society, who are still extremely malleable to the world around them. having said this, it becomes pertinent to portray the benefits of a sound moral entertainment on our nigerian youths. first of all, a morally sound entertainment will be of positive moral impact. merriam-webster ( ) defines morality as “beliefs about what is right behaviour and what is wrong behaviour”. a guide google search on the impact of music on morals will yield many results on the negative impact it has on society especially in the realm of rap and hip-hop music. though it is true that morals and behaviour, especially in teens are not completely steered by the lyrics they listen to and the movies they watch, because there are so many factors to building a moral compass. however, music & movies can definitely play significant roles in determining what seems to be right or wrong. because of this, artists need to become careful about the messages that they are putting out with their songs and our movies. but to take a step further, what if the contents of entertainment, carries positive messages? what if they become anthems or references that declare hope and joy, triumphs over weakness, courage and love? the positive impact of entertainments on nigerian youths will be that which has the influence to empower the hearts and minds of the next generation and that is something to truly take hold of. secondly, the impact of a morally sound entertainment will further be seen in the way it positively influences our emotions. many music and movies have been of bad emotional influence to the society. the use of drugs to fight depression, the constant scenes where suicide is used as a means of running away from hardships, so many scenes where by the powerful and wealthy people are respected irrespective of how they amassed their riches and fame. this scene has its subliminal effects on the minds of the youths, and thereby affecting their emotions. a morally sound entertainment platform is where goddesses are preached, and punishments are meted out for every vice is hugely emphasised on, for example, where some messages about how suicide is not the way to go and where the use of drugs during hard times is highly condemned; such entertainment industry with morality as its foundation will impact in the minds of the youths positively and shape the way they understand the world around them. thirdly, the benefits of conscious and morally sound entertainment industry can be seen on the way it is culturally impacting. the popular trends in our music and other entertainment platforms simply reflect the culture of our day and it is evident that the degeneration has massively caught up on our rich cultures and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 80 values. in a traditional african society, every art has a deep significance and reflects on something meaningful. more so the importance of art and how it represents the cultural heritage of the people can also be seen in the europe of the middle ages, as an example-where music might remain largely the same for hundreds of years. it is so because it reflects on the real identity of the people. however, with the way our society is prone to continual arbitrary change, certain contents have the massive moral decadence affecting our entertainments, thus, the cultural impacts which arts have over the four decades ago, degenerated to adopt of mediocrity as trend. therefore, the morally sound influence will be able to put out entertaining contents that will reflect on something meaningful and culturally impacting on the lives of the followers. with that said, we need to be very aware of our modem day culture and also not do away with the rich culture that reflects our identity, but more importantly, we need to be intentional, about the cultures we want to create and cultivate with our entertainments as it will be a big determinant towards the moral formation of the general public, especially the youths. conclusion the entertainment industry has the power to morally, emotionally and culturally influence our society. thus, the more intentional we become with the sounds, messages and moods we create and release through our arts, the more powerful we will become in making deep positive impacts. the entertainment industry and its influencers, has the mandate and authority to change the world around us, therefore when the contents are positive, it will be something worth dedicating a life to and adopting as a paradigm of social change. references arnett, jefferey j.,"emerging adulthood: the winding road from the late teens through the twenties". new york: oxford university press, 2004. estep, j.r.,"moral development and christain formation, in christian formation: integrating theology and human devlopment'. nashville: k.y, b & h ltd, 2007. kanu, i. a. (2018). theological models of youth in christus vivit. nnadiebube journal of religion, culture and society. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 1-11. a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 81 publication of the department of religion and society, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. kanu, i. a. (2019). (ed.). nigerian youths in the face of migration, drug abuse and fundamentalism. plateau state: fab anieh nigerian limited. lapsley, d.k.,"moral psychology". bolder colorado: west view press, 1895. lazarus, r.s.,"emotions and adaptation". london:oxforduniversitypress, 1999. lowson, kathleen., “hollywood power in the 21st century”. taking the controversy to a level of action. (2003). stephen, vaughen.,“morality and entertainment. the origin of the motion picture production code”. (the journal of american history, vol 77, 1990). turiel, eviot., “thedevelopment of morality: thought, emotions and social international process in moral development” (the hand book of child psychology, 2006. wan der,ven.,"practical theology: an empirical approach". belgium: peeters publications, 1998. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 6.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 163 a review of ikechukwu anthony kanu’s “igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy” amos ameh ichaba, ph.d department of philosophy kogi state university kogi state, anyigba after conquering the question of whether there is an african philosophy, emphasis of african philosophers shifted to what constitutes african philosophy. sequel to this development, african philosophy began to be categorized into trends and schools by some african scholars. in furtherance of this development, kanu categorized the trends or schools of african philosophy into the universalist trend, particularist trend, eclectic trend, national ideological trend, sage philosophy, literary school and hermeneutic trend, each of which he highlighted in the paper under review with the aim of establishing igwebuike as an eclectic ontoligco – existential trend in african philosophy. in the introductory part of the paper, kanu, referring to his earlier work “the trends in african philosophy” published in the filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, religion and culture, explained that “the universalist or professional school of african philosophy argues that philosophy is the same everywhere and uses the same methodology, and thus, african philosophy should be critical and not a descriptive record of african beliefs” (p. 108). bodunrin was identified in this paper as a strong member of this school. uduigwomen’s criticism of this school was acknowledged by kanu on the grounds that until philosophical problems are contextualised to have local and concrete relevance, they will remain plain and in the abstract. the consequence of this universalist school is therefore, that philosophy remains an abstract discipline without concrete historical experience (p. 109). the particularist school or ethno-philosophy according to kanu in this paper, was championed by scholars like tempels (1969), mbiti (1969) and senghor (1964; 1973) who argue that properly speaking, african philosophy is constituted igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 164 by the different african world-views as they would define african philosophy as the philosophical thought of africans as could be derived from their various worldviews, myths, proverbs etc. it is therefore, the philosophy indigenous to africans, unadulterated by foreign ideas (p.109). for kanu, this particularist school was criticized by hountondji (1995) and segun (1995) on the basis of its definition of african philosophy in exclusively traditional and particular terms (p. 109). the third school highlighted by kanu is the national ideological school which considers african philosophy basically in terms of the discourses of african political thinkers like azikiwe, nyerere, awolowo etc, which was a theoretical offshoot of the african anti-colonial struggle. the sage school was also identified and explained by kanu as being developed by the kenyan philosopher, henry odera oruka (1944-1995) who interviewed sages from traditional groups and identified philosophical sages in different cultures who were more of the fountains of cultural wisdom. according to kanu, oruka (1991) categorized these sages into ‘folk sages’ who embodied community wisdom and ‘philosophical sages’ who maintained critical perspectives to towards that wisdom, thereby demonstrating the existence of philosophy in traditional africa as against the views of hountondji and others in the west that africa has no philosophy (p.109). in addition to the above schools, the last set of schools/trends in african philosophy identified and explained by kanu are the literary/artistic school and the hermeneutic school. for him, while the literary trend emphasizes the philosophical contributions of african thinkers through their artistic or literary works, the hermeneutic school considers the primary task of african philosophy as interpretation (p.109). after identifying and highlighting the various schools/trends in african philosophy, kanu in this paper, raised a fundamental observation that a glance at these various schools in african philosophy reveals a tension between particularity and universality which still remains unsettled, arguing that there is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 165 a thesis and an antithesis in these schools necessitating the need for a synthesis (p.109). kanu argues in this paper that igwebuike considered as a school in african philosophy will introduce the synthesis between the thesis and anti-thesis of paticularist and universalist schools of african philosophy for a more balanced doing and development of african philosophy (p. 109-110). the next part of the paper is a demonstration of the complementary nature of the african reality as a basis for an eclectic school. here, kanu argued that the fundamental principle which describes the core of the african spirit is harmony and that although reality exists as individuals, they converge at the point of reasonableness (p. 110). in consolidation of this point, kanu cites asouzu’s complementary philosophy of ibuanyidanda which presents african reality as an all embracing whole, in which all units form together a dynamic play of forces, which are in harmony with each other, by completing and supporting the other (p. 110). this understanding of reality for kanu, is the ontological foundation and justification for an eclectic school of african philosophy that would help the particularist and universalist schools harness their positive strengths into a complementary matrix for the development of african philosophy. in what follows, kanu reveals how igwebuike is an eclectic ontologico-existential trend in african philosophy. this he begins by an etymological explanation of the concept of igwebuike. according to him, igwebuike is an igbo word which is a combination of three words. thus, it can be understood both as a word and as a sentence. as a word, it is written as igwebuike and as a sentence, it is written as igwe bu ike with the components words being relatively independent in terms of space. in an explanation of the three words involved in the sentence form of the word, kanu explained: igwe is a noun which means number or population. bu is a verb which means is. ike is a noun which means strength or power. put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power, meaning, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force (p. 110). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 166 this, according to kanu, provides an ontological perspective that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. igwebuike as an ideology, kanu argues, is founded on the african principles of solidarity and complementarity. the argument is that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity. in other words, ‘to be’ is ‘to be with others’ in a community of beings and to live outside this framework, is to suffer alienation (p. 111). this, for him, is based on the african philosophy of community, which is the underlying principle and unity of african traditional religious and philosophical experience (p. 111). from the foregoing, igwebuike, kanu argues, is ontological in character as it emphasizes the universal character of philosophy and existential in character as it respects the regional character of african philosophy, that is, its africanness, with africa being the setting for the philosophical activity (p. 111). as igwebuike means “there is strength in unity”, it believes that the coupling of the positive strengths of the universalist and particularist schools would foster the development of african philosophy. to further clarify this point, kanu writes: the igwebuike school of african philosophy would define african philosophy as the combination of the universalist and particularist approaches to african philosophy. this would involve sifting the philosophical thoughts of africans as could be gotten from their various worldviews, myths, proverbs, etc and reflecting on them by an african genius, that is, the african philosophers. at the point of romance between the professional and unprofessional, authentic african philosophy is realized. although the different schools are already doing african philosophy, they will do better if they join heads together (p. 111). concerning the possible positive outcome of the igwebuike school, kanu citing uduigwomen (1995) argues that “the universalist approach will provide the necessary analytic and conceptual framework for the particularist school and since this framework cannot flourish in a vacuum, the particularist approach will supply the raw materials or data needed for the universalist approach thereby delivering the universalist approach from mere logic-chopping and abstractness. in this case, there will be fruitful exchange of categories and concepts” (p. 111). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 167 consequent on this argument, kanu argues that the igwebuike school of african philosophy can be referred to as an eclectic school or moderate trend which he considers a balanced and safe path to thread in doing african philosophy. in the concluding part of the paper, kanu mounts a solid defence of some of the criticisms levelled against the eclectic school by some scholars. he singled out the criticism of mangena (2014) who argued that the move towards an eclectic school of african philosophy is “a disservice to our very own philosophy called ethnophilosophy”, interpreting the move as running away from my burning house only to seek refuge next door. in response to this criticism, kanu raises the following pertinent questions: is it reasonable to remain in a burning house and die in it simply because the house is yours? is it not safer to take refuge in a safe place? if a human being clings onto something simply because it is his own and not because it is reasonable, does it not degenerate into emotionalism? at this level, is it still philosophy? african philosophy is not static and must not be eternally anchored on folklores, proverbs and myths (p.112). in summary, kanu argues that “no school of african philosophy is complete and growth begins when we begin to seek completeness and the different schools of african philosophy complete the other” (p.112). this paper, in my assessment is logically tight piece with hardly any room for serious contention and criticism. after a careful reading however, the gap i find is with the concept of igwebuike itself. from the etymological rendering of igwebuike to its philosophical interpretation as “number is strength”, there seems not to be anything to explicitly show whether it is positive number, negative number or just any kind of number that translates into strength. for instance, when armed robbers gather in their number to complement one another in their robbery operations, such operations become more formidable than an operation carried out by one or a few armed robbers. in a similar manner, when scholars in their number engage in their scholarly activities in complementarity, they are likely to produce greater quality in their enterprise than just a single or fewer igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 168 scholars doing their own thing. in each of the above cases, number translates into strength. but while negative number in the earlier case translates to negative strength, positive number in the latter case translates into positive strength. based on this, i think that the concept and philosophy of igwebuike should be redefined to clearly indicate what kind of number that translate into what kind of strength. it is only then that igwebuike as a school of african philosophy can truly be consider to be eclectic. the above gap however, does not negate the fact that the particularist and universalist schools of african philosophy are not in a form of tension which requires an eclectic mediation which igwebuike as a school of african philosophy is capable of providing. re-echoing the author’s position, i also dare to assert that this eclectic ontologico-existential school embodied by igwebuike is the safer route to doing and developing african philosophy. bibliography kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and and logic (nka) of african philosophy”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2015a). a hermeutic approach to the study of african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015b). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 169 kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no. 1.[ 97-101]. kanu, i. a. (2016b). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no.1. [1-7]. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 171 the need for clergy involvement in environmental awareness and education alokwu, c. obiora, phd nnamdi azikiwe university, awka-nigeria co.alokwu@unizik.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29105.45929 abstract this paper is an investigative attempt to understand the level of environmental awareness by the clergy in the three anglican dioceses in anambra statenigeria, and their involvement in educating their members on environmental issues. the main primary data source was a self-administered questionnaire that was completed during the regular diocesan clergy workshops. findings from the study reveal quite a satisfactory level of environmental awareness by the clergy. however, their level of involvement in helping to provide environmental education to their members is to a very large extent, not encouraging. the paper, therefore recommends the use of oikotheology as a theological framework which would take environmental awareness beyond mere personal ‘theoretical’ knowledge since knowledge without practical commitment could be as useless or even as dangerous as ignorance itself. it is expected that oikotheology could inspire practical commitment to bridge the gap between knowledge and practical commitment as identified in the research work. keywords: clergy, environmental awareness, education, anglican diocese, anambra introduction kellerman (1980) defines education as the process of teaching and training of the child. it is the imparting or acquisition of skills\s for a particular trade or profession in which applicable methods are used. in the views of fafunwa (1983), education is all positive efforts, conscious and direct incidental and indirect, made by a given society to accomplish certain objectives that are considered desirable in terms of the individual’s needs as well as the needs of the society where the programme is based. ebong (1996) defines, education as a powerful instrument for the development of man and the society. from these definitions, education is a systematic procedure for the transfer and transformation of culture, through formal or informal training of people in a society. it deals with igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 172 the mental, physical, psychological and social development of the citizens in a given society. the goal of education is manpower development, aimed at national growth and development. hornby (2010) on his part, defines education as the process of receiving or giving systematic instruction, especially at a school or university. he further describes it as a process of teaching, training and learning, especially in school or college, to improve knowledge and develop skills. hence, we have primary/elementary education, secondary education, further/higher/post-secondary education, e.t.c as examples of education. however, educational as used in this discourse, is an adjective of education. furthermore, labo-popoola, bello and atanda (2009) all view education as permanent change in behavior as a result of learning and consists of all efforts (conscious or incidental) made by a society to accomplish set objectives, which are considered to be desirable in terms of the individual as well as the societal needs (p.252). what this means is that the ability of education to achieve the objective of mankind development depends entirely on the government policies and the political will on the part of the government to translate the policies into meaningful actions. however, labo-popoola et.al (2009) notes that starting with the colonial period, nigeria, having been colonized by britain adopted the british form of education, which consist of primary, secondary, sixth form as well as higher education had been in the northern protectorate before the amalgamation in 1914, so the christian missionaries that came into the country through the western region were restricted from spreading both christianity and western education to the northern region. it was patricia mische who made an instructive statement that is very pertinent for churches engagement in environmental issues. mische was of the opinion that there is need for religion, especially christianity to interface with other disciplines working together to seek solution to the environmental challenges of the time. her opinion was the result of her observation that science and technology alone cannot resolve ecological threats of our time neither can governments or the laws they promulgate achieve this. she suggests that sustaining the integrity of creation requires not only the external laws governments enact to deal with belligerent behaviour, but also inner governance, laws internalised in our hearts and minds and the will to live by them. in order igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 173 to achieve this, she instructs that church praxis has special relevance for the development of inner governance and a culture of ecological responsibility. this is because according to her, religions carry the archetypes, the symbols, meanings, values and moral codes around which people coalesce and define themselves, their sense of the sacred, and their relationship with each other and the natural world.68 the above introductory statement serves to remind us of the need for the church to partner with other stakeholders and agencies involved in environmental concerns. if the church would do justice to this all important role, she definitely must involve the clergy to catechize the faithful. if the clergy must exercise this pedagogical function, then, she must possess a certain level of knowledge in environmental issues in order to be able to teach as well as conscientize the faithful, for it said that one does not give what he /she does not have. the objective of this paper is to investigate and analyze the level of environmental knowledge and awareness among the clergy of the three anglican dioceses of niger, awka, and nnewi and to see how the clergy, using their environmental knowledge, could assist in creating environmental awareness and education in the local communities where they serve. the work is the result of field research undertaken in the three dioceses. it presents the comments, the analysis and summary of the responses of the clergy who participated in the three diocesan workshops where questionnaire were administered. methodological approach the main primary data source was a self-administered questionnaire that was introduced and completed during the regular diocesan clergy workshops. it was administered to the clergy in three anglican dioceses in anambra state -nigeria. the three dioceses are: diocese on the niger which was created in 1920, diocese of awka which was created in 1987 and diocese of nnewi, created in 1990. presently there are nine anglican dioceses in the state. we have two major reasons for choosing the three dioceses as our study areas. firstly, the three dioceses are located in each of the three senatorial zones in the state. this ensures equal representation of opinions of the anglican clergy in the state 69 . 68 conradie, ernst. 2008. the church and climate change. p.64 69.senatorial zones are political structures (blocks) in a state which a senatorial representative to the national assembly essentially supervises according to the political arrangement in the nigerian nation. a senatorial zone is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 174 the second reason is based on the fact that they are the oldest anglican dioceses in the state, and thus have attained some level of structural, institutional and policy development. the questionnaire was administered to more than 150 clergy respondents from the three dioceses who participated in the clergy workshop. the total number of clergy in each diocese includes both serving and retired clergy. we are not able to distinguish from the total number those clergy who are already retired. after the administration of the questionnaire, a total of 91 respondents from the three dioceses eventually returned their completed questionnaire. we made use of a questionnaire with fifty (50) closed-answer model, and the answers were captured and analysed through the statistical programme for social sciences (spss). we provided some background information to the research before the questionnaires were completed by the clergy. we also entertained some questions that were raised in relation to the questionnaire. conducting this research afforded me an interesting opportunity to interact with clergy from the three dioceses in a unique way that i had not experienced in my previous research engagements. there was some degree of enthusiasm and willingness on the part of the clergy to participate in the research even though no financial incentive was promised. i also observed that some clergy did not return their questionnaire, and this could account for the small number of respondents recorded especially in the diocese on the niger and diocese of nnewi. in my effort to understand why some of the respondents did not return their questionnaire, a couple of them confessed to me on personal level that they admired the concepts of the “paper” (ie the questionnaire) and simply wanted to keep the “paper” so as to implement the ideas in their respective parishes. another important factor that could account for the small number of clergy that completed questionnaire in the workshop is the possibility that some retired clergy may not have attended the workshop. the combination of representative constituencies. representative constituencies are made up of the various local governments in the state. in anambra state, the three senatorial zones are, anambra north, south and central. this information was provided by thomas ekwealor, a nigerian political science student at the university of south africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 175 summary presentation of research findings (general observations) we could observe that there are a couple of questions which we thought would have been answered in the negative by the respondents, but this was contrary to our expectation. two possibilities could be advanced here as the reason for this. (1) perhaps, some of the clergy were simply trying to protect the image of their diocese so that their diocese would not be seen as lagging behind in terms of environment and development issues. this therefore made them to compromise objectivity to diocesan patronage. (2) it could also be possible that some of these questions are a bit technical, i.e. specialised words/terms which are not translated in a layman’s language might have been used without explanation. this suggestion however, appears a bit flimsy because none of the respondents indicated having any difficulty in understanding the questions. but, apart from a few of the questions i thought were not answered honestly, the rest were as objective as they could be. it was interesting to note that many of the respondents exhibited an appreciable and fair knowledge, understanding and awareness of the environmental issues even more than i had imagined. this is reflected on the responses provided. however, there are many instances where the ignorance of the majority of the respondents on particular environmental issues becomes apparent. for example, we could easily observe that there are environmental issues which the respondents seem not to be familiar with in terms of how such issues contribute to the wider environmental challenges. for example, since many parishes do not have compost centres to deal with waste generation, the issue of pollution in the state in general is not going to stop if individuals and institutions who make up the state do not take pollution problems seriously. we noted that soil excavationa wide spread practice which many poor people adopt as a survival strategy could exacerbate the erosion problem which is already getting out of control in the state. another critical area where the poor people impact negatively on the environment is the deforestation in the state because most people are using fire wood. from the research findings and observations based on the responses of the clergy, it was discovered that a vast majority of the clergy exhibited a high level of environmental awareness as shown in the analysis. on a different note, however, it was discovered that action is hugely lacking both on the part of the parishes and the dioceses in implementing environmental policies or rather in translating this supposedly environmental knowledge into practical use. as we have indicated above, there is a problem that emerges from this scenario of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 176 knowledge without practical action-a theoretical knowledge that only exists in the minds of individuals. the real, useful and transformative knowledge is the one capable of being translated and used in practical ways to bring about a desired change.70 it is very disappointing that most of the respondents who claimed to have environmental knowledge have nothing to show for it in terms of their being able to bring about a change in their immediate vicinity. this brings out the question that if no environmental awareness campaign or seminar is being organised in local parishes, then how are the changes going to come about. this is not in accordance with the principle of the agenda 21-thinking globally and acting locally.71 knowledge is effective when it is able to bring about a desired change but if on the other hand knowledge does not bring a change, then it only becomes what david goldblat calls “knowing by thinking or reasoning and not knowing by doing”.72 what we need in the church is knowledge that transcends reasoning for the church to be able to make pragmatic impact in the current search for solution to the environmental problems. to elucidate on the above point, we have compartmentalized the questions each with a heading. we will now provide an analysis of the research findings based on these headings. the following sets of questions deal with diocesan and parish concerns on environmental issues does your parish make annual budgetary provision to cover environment related issues? comments: forty-seven respondents (51.6 %) said that their respective parishes do not make an annual budgetary provision to cover environment and poverty related issues on the one hand. on the other hand, thirty respondents 32.8 % indicated that their parishes do make annual budgetary provision to cover environment and poverty issues. however, fourteen respondents (15 %) did not answer the question. 70 goldblatt, david. 2004.(ed) knowledge and the social sciences: theory, method, practice. second edition. london and new york: routledge in association with open university. p.2 71 see sitarz, d. 1994 (ed) agenda 21: the earth summit strategy to save our planet. boulder co: earth press. agenda 21 is a broad action plan adopted at the 1992 rio summit to promote environmentally sound and sustainable development in all of countries of the world. agenda 21 is not legally binding; it is a flexible guide towards the achievement of a sustainable world. 72 goldblatt, david. 2004.(ed) knowledge and the social sciences: p.2 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 177 does your diocese through its publications discuss environment and poverty issues to create awareness? comments: responding to the above question, fifty-six respondents (61.5 %) affirmed that their dioceses do discuss environment and poverty issues in their respective publications in order to create awareness. on the same question, twenty-seven respondents (29.6 %) revealed that their dioceses do not discuss environment and poverty issues in their publication. eight respondents refused to answer the question. does your diocese have an environmental group/ organisation? comments: in response to the above question, 58 respondents (63.7 %) answered in the affirmative that their respective dioceses have got an environmental organisation or group while 29 respondents (31.8 %) indicated that their respective dioceses do not have an environmental group or organization. it is only 4 respondents (4. 3 %) that did not answer the question. does your parish have an environmental organisation/group? comments: the majority of the respondents indicated that their respective parishes do not have an environmental organisation or group. this is shown in the percentage of respondents who said no to the question (53.8 %). those who indicated that their parishes do have environmental organisation or group represent 36.2 % of the respondents. those categorized as missing value, ie who choose not to answer the question constitute 9.9 % of the respondents. does your parish have environmental management plan? comments: a vast majority of the respondents (57 %) indicated that their parishes do not have an environmental management plan while 34 % showed that their parishes have environmental management plan. 8.8 % of the entire respondents did not answer the question. has your parish ever conducted an environmental impact assessment on any of its ongoing projects? comments: in response to the above question, 53.8 % of the respondents admitted that their parish had never conducted an environmental impact assessment on any of their projects. in contrast to this group of respondents above, is another group of 35.2 % who indicated that their parish had conducted an environmental impact assessment on their projects. 11 % of the respondents did not answer the question. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 178 has your parish ever conducted an environmental audit exercise? comments: on the question of whether the parishes had ever conducted an environmental audit exercise, 62 % gave an indication that their parishes had never carried out an environmental audit exercise while 22 % gave the indication that they had conducted audit exercise. the percentage of those who did not answer the question stands at 19.8. does your parish have an environmental officer? comments: responding to the above question, 66 % of the respondents indicated that their parishes do not have an environmental officer while 27 % of the respondents indicated that their parishes do have an environmental officer. 6.6 % of the respondents did not answer the question. what is the commonest form of energy source that people in your parish use for cooking? comments: the commonest form of energy source people in most parishes use for cooking is identified as fire wood-(74 %). 13.1 % indicated that people in their parish use fossil fuel for cooking. those who indicated that people in their parish use electricity for cooking purposes accounted for only 3.2 % of the respondents. furthermore, 1 % of the respondents indicated that people in their parish use solar energy for cooking. those respondents who indicated that they did not know the answer to the question as well as those who omitted the question represent 3.3 % each. we make an interesting observation here. it is worthy of note that even niger diocese which is considered as an ‘urban’ diocese has a higher percentage (59.1 %) of respondents indicating that their parishioners use fire wood for cooking. of course, this is not surprising because one of the emerging features of urbanization in nigeria is the tendency to acquire or exhibit both the urban as well as rural characters. some of the rural features are becoming visible even in cities in nigeria. this incidence of high percentage of fire wood users in onitsha lends credence to our observation. which of these energy sources do you think has a lowest impact on the environment? comments: the response from this question shows that 37.3 % of the respondents indicated that the energy source with the lowest impact on the environment is solar energy. on the other hand, 22 % of the respondents igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 179 indicated that the use of fire wood has the lowest impact on the environment. 20.9 % indicated that the use of electricity has the lowest impact on the environment. the percentage of the respondents who are not sure about the question represents 9.9 % while those respondents who did not answer the question stand at 6.6 %. does your parish have a waste management plan? comments: responding to the question of whether parishes have a waste management plan, 30.7 percent of the respondents indicated that their parishes do not have a waste management plan while 37.4 percent answered that their parishes do have waste management plan. however, 9.9 percent did not answer the question. how does your parish deal with waste? comments: on the question of how the parishes deal with waste, 60.4 % of the respondents indicated that they burn the waste. those who do not have any definite form of dealing with the waste they generate, (13.1%) usually dump it indiscriminately. there are also those parishes that use land fill as an alternative waste management system. this represents 15 % of the respondents. however, there are also 2.2 % of the respondents who indicated they do nothing about waste while 3.3 % indicated they recycle their waste. those who did not answer the question are 7.7 %. does your parish have a compost centre? comments: responding to the question of whether the parishes have a compost centre, 44 % of the respondents said no, while 31.8 % said yes. 8.8 % of the respondents did not answer the question. does your parish engage in any tree planting programme/ campaign? comments: with regards to the above question, 34 % of the respondents said yes to the question while 44 % said no. 7.6 % did not answer the question. has your parish ever organised an environmental campaign in your community? comments: on the question of whether the parishes had ever organised an environmental campaign in their respective communities, 78 % of the respondents indicated that they had never organised any while 12 % of the respondents indicated that they had organised. 9.9 % that did not answer the question. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 180 has your parish ever organised an environmental workshop/ seminar? comments the majority of the respondents, (72.5 %) admitted that their parish had never organised an environmental workshop or seminar while 16 % of the respondents indicated that their parish had organised an environmental workshop or seminar. 11 % of the respondents did not answer the question. is environmental education part of your church owned school's curriculum comments: 39 % indicated that environmental education is not part of their church owned school’s curriculum while 24 % of the respondents said that environmental education is part of their church owned school curriculum. it could be observed that 14 % of the respondents did not answer the question. analysis on the diocesan and parish concern on environment and poverty issues having presented the above data (questions 1-27) which form a separate component dealing with the diocesan and parish concerns on the environment and poverty issues, we now make an analysis of the component. it is worthy of note that the dioceses have made a significant effort in trying to understand the need for the church to be involved in environment and development issues. this view is represented by the majority of the respondents who indicated that the church should be actively involved in environment and development issues and should not therefore leave environment and development concerns in the hands of governments and ngos alone. the dioceses have also taken environment and development issues very seriously. this is reflected in the way in which environment and development issues are being discussed in diocesan publications as a way of creating environmental awareness and education (see question 5) and the way parishioners express their interest in environmental issues (see question 19) as well as the enthusiasm with which they engage in regular environmental sanitation (see question 20), including their engagement in poverty alleviation programmes (see question 16).the establishment of environmental officers at the diocesan levels shows the degree of seriousness the dioceses attached to the issue of environment and development (see question 6). the respondents’ level of knowledge about the energy sources that has the lowest impact on the environments is greatly appreciated. (see question 15) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 181 on the other hand, it seems there is no “corresponding practical commitment” to “theoretical knowledge” expressed at both the diocesan and the parish levels in terms of environment and development issues. the following examples justify our argument. in question 4, the majority of the respondents, (forty-seven respondents-51.6 %) reveal that there is no annual budgetary provision to cover environment and poverty expenses in their parishes. if provision is not made to cater for environment and poverty projects, how then could one justify the claim that the dioceses are interested in environment and poverty issues? this question is very critical because meagre financial resources were not given as a reason for this budgetary omission. this is because in question 8 which is about whether the parishes have the necessary capacity (which includes financial resources) to implement diocesan policies on environment and development issues, only 17 respondents to that question showed financial constraints as the hindrance to implementing diocesan policy on the environment. from this insight therefore, not having a budget to run environment and poverty expenses could be seen as not making environment and poverty concerns a priority. it is equally dissatisfying that most of the respondents indicated that their parishes still burn waste (see question 22) in spite of the current global awareness and effort being made about the need for people to imbibe the culture of reducing, re using and recycling waste. if the majority of the parishes do not have compost centres (see question 23), it simply indicates that the issue of waste management is a huge problem here. moreover, if the majority of the parishes do not engage in environmental awareness and education and tree planting campaigns (see questions 24, 25 26 and 27), then it simply shows that the issue of “collective will and commitment” to engage in environment and development issues is a big problem here. knowledge of global anglican communion involvement in environmental issues (28-32) the anglican church is very much involved in environment and poverty issues in anambra state comments: 22 % of the respondents strongly agreed that the anglican church has been very much involved in environment and development issues in anambra state while 49 % of the respondents simply agreed to the statement. the percentage of respondents who disagreed to the above statement stands at 4.4 % while those who strongly disagreed stands at 3.3 %. another large number igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 182 of respondents representing 26.4 % indicated that they did not know the answer to the question while 5.5 % of the respondents are categorized as missing value because they did not answer the question. the early missionaries, particularly the church missionary society (cms), were more committed to poverty alleviation than the church of nigeria of today comments: responding to the above statement that the early missionaries particularly the church missionary society (cms) were more committed to poverty alleviation than the present church of nigeria, 26.4 % of the respondents strongly agreed to this statement while 37.4 % of the respondents simply agreed to it. another sizable group representing 23.1 % of the respondents disagreed to the above statement while 3.3 % of the respondents strongly disagreed to it. there is still another smaller group representing 7.7 % of the respondents who indicated that they did not know the answer to the question. those who choose not to answer the question represent only 2.2 % of the respondents. the anglican catechism contains some basic environmental teachings comments: in response to the above statement that the anglican catechism contains some basic environmental teachings, a good number of the respondents representing 44 % of the entire population agreed to the above statement while 6.6 % strongly agreed to it. however, another group constituting 19.7 % of the respondents disagreed to the statement while 7.7 % with similar view strongly disagreed to it. there is also another group who indicated that they do not know whether the statement is true or not. this group represents 15.3 % of the respondents. those who choose not to answer the question stand at 6.6 %. individual clergy understanding of environmental issues (questions 33-39) does your parish sing hymns/songs that celebrate the wonder of creation or express our calling to care for the earth? comments: it is clear from the answer to this question that a vast majority of the respondents indicated that their parishes celebrate the wonder of creation and express their calling to care for the earth through songs and hymns. this is reflected on the number of respondents who answered positively to the question 72.5 %. however, a small group of respondents representing 11 % of the entire population answered negatively to the question. those categorized as missing value representing 5.5 % choose not to answer the question. the church should be involved in environmental issues igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 183 comments: the majority of the respondents strongly agreed that the church should be involved in environmental issues. this is represented by 63.7 % of the respondents while 31.9 % of the respondents simply agreed. it is only a negligible 1 % of the respondents who strongly disagreed while 3.3 % choose not to respond to the statement. if your answer is positive to question 34, why do we have to take care of the environment coments: the majority of the respondents who agreed that the church should be involved in environmental issues said so because according to them, god commanded us to take care of the earth. this group of the respondents constitutes 28.8 %. those who said that the church should be involved in environmental issues because the environment sustains us in terms of its resources constitute 25.3 %. the percentage of the respondents who said that because our health depends on the ecosystems health, the church should therefore be involved in environmental issues stand at 16.5 %, while those who believed that the church should be involved in environmental issues because the earth has both intrinsic value and inherent worth, constitutes 15.3 % of the entire respondents. it is only a smaller group of respondents represented by 2.2 % of the respondents that thought that we should care for the earth in order to preserve its pristine and scenic nature. those who choose not to answer the question categorized as missing value represent 12 % of the respondents. the environment is not as important as human lives comments: those who disagreed that the environment is not as important as human lives accounted for 38.3% of the respondents while 41.7 % of the respondents strongly disagreed to this assertion. there are however those who strongly agreed that the environment is not as important as human lives as well as those who simply agreed to the assertion. they accounted for the 7.7 % and 6.6 % of the respondents respectively. those who showed that they did not know the answer to the above statement stand at 1 %. the percentage of the respondents who choose not to respond to the statement categorized as missing value stands at 4.4 %. global warming is not a serious threat to environment and development comments: it is observed from the response to the above statement that those who disagreed to it accounted for the 36.2 % of the respondents while those who strongly disagreed to it stand at 40.7 %. on the other hand, those who strongly agreed that global warming is not a serious threat to environment and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 184 development accounted for 8.8 % of the respondents while those with the same view who simply agreed to it is only 2.2 %. there is another group who indicated that they did not know the answer to the statement while those who choose not to respond to the statement is accounts for 5.5 %. in your opinion, how should we prioritize issues relating to environment, development and people comments: in gaining an understanding of the respondents’ opinion on how we should prioritize issues concerning environment, development and people, a vast majority of the respondents (64.8 %) indicated that environment and people should be considered on equal terms. those who expressed the opinion that people should come first before development accounted for 18.7 % while those with the opinion that environment should come first stand at 6.6 %. those who indicated that they are not sure about the question stand at 4.4 % while those who chose not to respond to the statement accounted for 5.5 % of the respondents. the activities of the poor impact negatively on the environment comments: in response to the above statement, 40.7 % of the respondents agreed to it while 13.2 % strongly agreed to it. however, 14.2 % of the respondents disagreed to it while 5.5 % strongly disagreed to it. the percentage of those who indicated that they did not know the answer to the statement is 5.5 % while those who choose not to respond to the statement classified as missing value is 11 %. analysis on individual clergy understanding of environmental issues. (questions 33-39) there is a high level of individual understanding of environmental issues from the research findings. the responses to questions (34-39) attest to this fact: almost all the respondents believed that the church should be involved in environment and development issues. the majority of them alluded to both prevailing anthropocentric attitudes and a weak ecological theology as the premise for this involvement. while the respondents acknowledged that the environment is as important as human beings; it is good also for us to note that a vast majority of them understand that global warming poses a serious threat to both humans and development. in this regard, the majority of the respondents recognized the need to consider the environment and human beings on equal terms while pursuing development. this, at least, implies that they are aware of the implication of development projects that are focussed on human beings igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 185 without regard to the environment. they also acknowledged that the activities of the poor impact negatively on the environment. chapters three and four discussed exhaustively on the impact of the poor on the environment. indigenous and theological knowledge on environmental issues (questions 40-50) have you ever read any theological book on environment? comments: those who responded positively to having read any theological book on the environment is 44 % while those who indicated that they had not read any theological book on the environment is 47.2 %. however, those who choose not to answer the question are 8.8 %. other members of the ecosystems family should be favourably considered in terms of development comments: an overwhelming majority agreed that other members of the ecosystems family should be favourably considered in terms of development. those who strongly agreed to this stand at 28.6 % while those who simply agreed to the above question is 59 %. only an insignificant percentage of 3.3 indicated that they do not know the answer while 8.8 % choose not to answer the question. the igbo/african culture has some valuable contribution to make in safeguarding the environment comments: a vast majority of the respondents believed that the igbo/ african culture has some valuable contribution to make in safeguarding the environment. in this regard, 41.7 % strongly agreed to this while 52.7 % simply agreed to this fact. only 5.5 % of the respondents did not answer the question. the synthesis of indigenous ecological ethics and biblical resources would best contribute to environmental protection in the nigerian context comments: it is clear from the response that a vast majority of the respondents believed that the synthesis of indigenous ecological ethics and biblical resources would best contribute to environmental protection in the nigerian context. the percentage of those who strongly agreed to this is 24.2 % while the percentage of those who simply agreed is 62.6 %. an insignificant 1 % of the respondents maintained otherwise while 5.5 % claimed that they did not know the answer to the question. those classified as missing value who choose not to answer the question accounted for 6.6 % of the respondents. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 186 the cultural practice of road maintenance and erosion control headed by age grades is a valuable resource for environmental protection and management comments: with regards to this question, a vast majority of the respondents are of the opinion that the cultural practice of road maintenance and erosion control headed by age grades is a valuable resource for environmental protection and management. this is reflected in the number of respondents who strongly agreed and those who simply agreed to this 45 % and 46.1 % respectively. an insignificant percentage of 2.2 indicated this disagreement to the opinion while another 2.2 % showed that they do not know the answer. those categorized as missing value who choose not to answer the question constitute 4.4 % of the respondents the practice of bush burning for either hunting or farming purposes contributes to environmental degradation comments: the response to the above statement reveals that a vast majority of the respondents are of the opinion that the practice of bush burning for either hunting or farming purposes contributes to environmental degradation. those who strongly agreed to this statement represent 57.1 % of the respondents while those who simply agreed represent 42.8 %. there is however a smaller group of the respondents with different views who disagreed to the statement with only 3.3 % while 2.2 % of the respondents indicated they did not know the answer to the question. those categorized as missing value who choose not to respond to the statement is 4.4 %. soil excavation, though a potential cause of soil erosion and environmental degradation, could be justified as a means of economic survival comments: it is interesting to note what looks like a more balanced proportion in the opinion of the respondents regarding the statement that soil excavation, though a potential cause of soil erosion and environmental degradation, could be justified as a means of economic survival. those who strongly agreed to this statement constitute 11 % of the respondents while those who simply agreed to it represent 39.5 %. those who disagreed to the statement represent 22 % while those who strongly disagreed to it represent 15.3%. however, those who indicated that they did not know the answer to the question represent 8.8 %. those categorized as missing value represents 3.3 %. the use of chemicals and fertilizer could enhance agricultural productivity, however it should be discouraged because it degrades the environment and kills the soil igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 187 comments: the response indicates that a vast majority of the respondents are of the opinion that the use of chemicals and fertilizer could enhance agricultural productivity, however it should be discouraged because it degrades the environment and kills the soil. in this regard those who strongly agreed to this statement constitute 22 % while those with the same opinion who simply agreed to it represent 49.5 % of the entire population. those with opposing view who disagreed represent 15.3 % while those who strongly disagreed represent 4.4 %. those who indicated that they did not know the answer represent only 1 %. those classified as missing value who choose not to respond to the question represent 7.7 analysis on the indigenous and theological knowledge on environmental issues (questions 40-50) the majority of the respondents indicate that their personal understanding of genesis 1: 28 is that of god’s absolute ownership and that humans are mere stewards of god’s creation (see question 43). almost all agreed that indigenous cultural practices and indigenous ecological ethics have tremendous contribution to make in safe guarding the environment. (see questions 44-49). many also acknowledged that the use of chemicals and fertilizers could enhance agricultural productivity but could also contribute to soil infertility and environmental degradation (see question 50) we note that niger diocese has the highest percentage of clergy who had never read any theological book on the environment. this portends danger for the dioceses if a greater percentage of its clergy are not interested in theological books and resources which provide useful information on the rational for the church’s engagement on the environment and poverty issues. this observation becomes critical when we are reminded that clergy understanding of theological arguments for the church’s involvement in development in general and environmental issues in particular is essential to creating awareness and mobilizing the people of god in that direction. we also note that there is a difference which exists among the three dioceses in their view on the constitution of god’s family. for example, 4 of the 22 respondents in the diocese on the niger believed that none should be excluded from god’s family. 22 of the 45 respondents believed that none should be excluded from god’s family while none of the 22 respondents in the diocese of nnewi believe that all should be included in god’s family. this has a very serious implication for the concept of oikotheology. oikotheology is about including all the diverse components of nature in god’s one family. if all these respondents do not regard other diverse igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 188 components in nature as members of god’s one family, then the anthropocentric attitude which oikotheology speaks against will persist. almost all the respondents agreed that culture has integral role to play in environmental conservation. this is very interesting to our study. chapter seven will be dealing with the role of indigenous ecological knowledge in environment and poverty initiatives. furthermore, almost all the respondents agreed that soil excavation though a potential cause for soil erosion could be justified as a survival strategy which the poor usually rely on. in chapter two and three, we note that poverty is a driver for environmental degradation. we clarified this assertion by outlining some of the survival strategies which the poor adopt in the face of adverse economic situation. in anambra state, the practice of soil excavation which is the digging up of top soil (especially sandy soil used in building and other construction activities) for commercial purposes, is hugely contributing to soil erosion, a phenomenon which is currently devastating the entire state. conclusion in this paper we have analysed the research field work and made some general observations. the implication of these findings and observations introduces the exigency of a theological framework which would take environmental awareness beyond mere personal ‘theoretical’ knowledge since knowledge without practical commitment could be as useless or even as dangerous as ignorance itself. in our search for an ecotheological model which could inspire practical commitment, we recommend the use of the concept of oikotheology as a theological model for environmental protection from the perspectives of the church. it is expected that the resources of oikotheology would bridge the gap between knowledge and practical commitment identified in the research work. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 212 the creation and fall of angels in augustine’s interpretation of genesis 1 ovie, valentine aghoghophia faculty of specialized theology studies cardinal stefan wyszynski university, warsaw, poland email: ovie.valstyle@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract the origin of all beings, their efficient and final causse have been the baffling question spanning through all ages and this includes the origin of angels. one of those who proffered a solution to this question was the manicheans, but augustine disproved of the manicheans’ cosmogony of two coeternal principles being the efficient and final causes of created beings including the angels. this workl analyses augustine’s works on the creation of angels and the fall of the evil angels in the light of his interpretation of genesis 1. keywords: angels, creation, god, augustine, manicheans, heaven, light, goodness, darkness introduction one of the most important discussions in early church took place between orthodox view and the gnostics, these discussions lasted even up to the fifth century a.d. and augustine was also confronted with the gnostics teachings which were contrary to orthodox doctrine. one of those opposing teachings is on creation and the manicheans’ cosmogony was at this time one of the most popular heterodox view. the manichaean’s creation account is established upon metaphysical dualism. this dualistic view of nature is properly expressed in the following terms: “[...] a conception of two principles [...] whose founding activity or causality is characterized by a [...] disparity of value between the two principles themselves, as well as ... between the respective realms which come into existence through them” (bianchi 1985). manichaeism stated that primordial principles of light and darkness were in existence before the creation of this tangible world or universe. mani's cosmogony exhibits what might be regarded as a "radical dualism." this is the absolute eternal opposition of two coeternal principles (1985). these two principles though they are ontologically eternal, they are completely distinct in their natures (asmussen 1965). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 213 the liber scholiorum characterizes manichaean dualism in two main principles: the good principle and the evil principle, which existed before the creation of heaven, earth, and everything else in reality, include the angels (jackson 1932). the fihrist sees these two principles as responsible for the very origin of the world and everything in it (dodge 1970). theodore and an-nadim argued that these two principles necessitated the conditions that provided grounds for the subsequent emergence of two realms; the celestial realm and the terrestrial realm. for annadim intends these principles be interpreted strictly as causal forces, and not anything in temporary sense. both principles good and evil are the origin and ultimate sources of heaven and earth. augustine in his spiritual and intellectual journey read the text of genesis (confessions iii, v, 9) and the genesis’ account of creation led to his refutation of the manicheans’ claim that there are two coeternal principles responsible for the creation of the world: the good principle created the good things and the evil principle created the evil things, and they also claim that the literal and the allegorical meanings of genesis make no sense (hill 2002). the reasons mentioned above are what motivated st augustine to extensively study and write on genesis and by extension on the creation of the angels because they too are part of god’s creation. the manicheans had taught that the good angels were created by the good principle and the evil angels were created by the evil principle. to show better the complexity and perfection of the work of god, the creation of angels must be included. augustine in the literal meaning of genesis argued that angels do not have a different way of being created or sets of rules or blessedness or sin different from those of humans (wiebe 2015). he also argued that the angels are not coeternal but are created beings, and all angels, good and bad were created by god from nothing (ex nihilo) (torchia 1999). augustine refuted the manicheans cosmogony by teaching the creation account of genesis, but in this article, we will limit our focus to the creation of angels and not the entirety of creation. in his refutation of the manichean’s the bishop of hippo argues that, there is no other eternal being beside the trinity, only the persons of the trinity exist in totally timeless fashion. god is the only creator and he has made all things good, even bad angels (de civitate dei, xi, 26). there is no other coeternal being responsible for the creation of evil or the creation of the fallen angels. lucifer and the other fallen angels became evil of their own will and not that they were intrinsically created evil by another coeternal evil being (ibid.). all the angels are unequivocally of the status of creatures and they relate to god as their creator and to humans as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 214 their fellow creatures of god. the angels are our neighbours and fellow citizens of heaven. the creation of heaven and earth by god in the beginning (genesis 1:1) augustine, in trying to interpret the creation story in the light of genesis, began with the phrase in the beginning in genesis 1:1 which means that there was no other beginning before this beginning described in genesis 1:1. it also follows that there was nothing god had created prior to this beginning and there is nothing that had a beginning before this beginning. therefore genesis 1:1 marks the beginning of all beginnings. this statement leads augustine to the conclusion that god the father, and the son and the holy spirit are without beginning and god created heaven and earth not in time, but simultaneously with time. the beginning genesis 1:1 means time and augustine holds time as a product of god’s creation whose function is to measure the changes in other products of god’s creation (including the angels). before this beginning there were no beings that existed besides the members of the holy trinity. this means that there were no angels; no material creatures, no existence of matter at all, no space, no place and, as already stated above, there was no time prior to the beginning mentioned in genesis 1:1 (ibid. 6). for augustine god created everything in heaven (including the angels) and on earth ex nihilo and this creative act of god extends even to change and motion, therefore change and motion are themselves products of god’s creation. this beginning marks the beginning of motion itself because before this beginning there was absolutely no movement of anything bodily or spiritual outside of god since nothing beside god existed and god is himself eternal and without motion (de genesi ad litteram v, 5). as we can see, augustine in his discussion on the creation of angels used the opportunity to offer a contrary argument to the opinion that the angels are either eternal beings like god or were created not in the beginning of the beginning (the beginning of time) in genesis 1:1, but before the beginning of the beginning (the beginning of time). augustine understood the beginning in two ways: firstly, the beginning meant the divine wisdom, the divine word of god, he is the beginning, as jesus tells us in gospel of john (8:25), when he had responded to the question who are you? (i am) the beginning, in other words in the context of this discussion the beginning means the author of creation (ibid i, 5). augustine then viewed the beginning this way primarily because as he said, "it gives me the liveliest satisfaction to find the trinity celebrated in the very beginning of the book of genesis" (de civitate dei, xi, 32). secondly, for augustine the beginning was igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 215 understood as time itself. the angels are not without a beginning and they were not created outside of time or prior to the beginning in genesis 1:1 but they were created simultaneously with time (ibid. 26). in the city of god, the words heaven and earth of genesis 1:1 meant for augustine though indecisively, the entirety of creation, spiritual and material. creation as a whole is divided into two giant parts the spiritual and the material and the use of the words heaven and earth signifies the sum of all created things whether in heaven or on earth. augustine is arguing that everything was created in genesis 1:1, everything in heaven and everything on earth and the following mystical days listed in subsequent verses in genesis 1 are a detailed enumeration of the various parts of what god had created in the genesis 1:1 (ibid. 33). augustine is stating that the angels were created in genesis 1:1 under the name heaven. heaven and its entirety were created in genesis 1:1 and since the angels are in heaven, they were created in genesis 1:1. when augustine speaks of angels, he is not separating the good angels from the bad ones. though there are good and bad angels, he created all angels good and as at the time in genesis 1:1, all the angels were good. there is no coeternal being responsible for the creation of evil or the creation of the fallen angels. lucifer and the other fallen angels became evil of their own volition and not that they were intrinsically created evil by another coeternal evil being (ibid. 3). the creation of angels was not in successive series of events; that is god did not create the angels one after the other like he created adam before creating eve but he created all the angels in one moment, not in time but in the beginning that is simultaneously with time. augustine said “therefore, it is not true that he wills one thing [an angel] at one moment and another thing [angel] at another moment, but once for all, and all at once, and always, does he will all things [angels] he wills (confession xii, xv , 18). time is a measure of change or motion, a relation among changing things. all creatures are changing or moving towards the fullness of perfection which is god. the angels are in some measure moving from potency to actuality as we shall see later when we discuss the knowledge of the angels in relation to the mystical days enumerated in genesis 1 (de genesi ad litteram, vi, 6). who does not see that time would not have existed had not some creature been made, which by some motion would bring about change, and that since the various parts of this motion and change cannot exist together (simul), when one passes away and another succeeds it in shorter or longer intervals of duration, time would be the result. (de civitate dei, xi, 6)? igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 216 the creation of the angels happened in one instance. there is no duration of how long it took god to create the angels, it was not in time and needed no temporary duration of time but the creation was simultaneous with time (de genesi ad litteram, v, 3). in the letter of genesis augustine explained further that the words heaven and earth in genesis 1:1 mean the whole of creation (ibid.). the word heaven in this instance does not denote the physical or material heaven of outer space, rather the immaterial heaven of the angelic spirits, who are situated above the bodily heavens, by situated it does not mean by a higher physical location in space but by sublimity of nature or the gloriousness of their nature (ibid. i, 17). the word heaven in this verse he understands to mean the angels fully formed in their nature, and the word earth he understands as "the invisible, unstructured, and abysmally dark incompleteness of the bodily mass from which things existing in time were to come" (ibid. i, 8). there is no explicit mention of angels in the genesis creation account and augustine admits this fact, but he understands that this is implicitly under the name heaven in verse one of genesis 1 and light in verse three of genesis 1. even though angels were not explicitly mentioned but they are implied, he does not entertain the idea that their creation was completely omitted. to support his argument that angels were created by god, he referred to other parts of the scriptures with concrete mention of the creation of the angels (dan 3:58; ps 148:24; job 38:7). in the city of god, augustine asserts that, "if the angels are included in the works of god during these six days, they are that light which was called day" (de civitate dei, xi, 9). and in the letter of genesis augustine proposed in a lengthy fashion to this theory of his that, prior to the first day, the angels were created in their natural being under the name of heaven in gen 1:1 and the light of the six days stands for the degrees of the supernatural illumination of the angels in the grace of the beatific vision (de genesi ad litteram, i, 17; vii, 5.4). the creation of light (genesis 1:3) as we have seen above augustine tried to show that creation of angels is included in the description of the six days of creation. he attempted several times to find a plausible explanation of the chronological details of the six days in the creation story in genesis 1 while he was working on his intellectual interpretation of the literal meaning of these six days. this attempt was prompted by a question why god who is almighty needed six days to effect creation. it seems logical that since igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 217 god is all powerful, he does not need any period of time to produce any effect even such as great as creation of heaven and earth. therefore, for augustine, the only possible answer is to conclude that god created heaven and earth simultaneously and instantaneously. in his effort to give a sound explanation to the use of the word day by the author of genesis, he first puzzled over the creation of light on the first day of creation in genesis 1:3 and the creation of light again: the sun, the moon, and the stars on the fourth day of creation. could this be an unnecessary repetition? the light on the first day must in some way be different from the light on the fourth day. he wondered if the light on day one was the unformed light and the light on day four was formed light. how would such an unformed light-source be, and how could unformed light be encircling a formless, unsolidified earth for two days (day two and day three) and was able to cast the shadow of night (ibid. v, 5)? not finding an answer good enough to this question, led him to consider the possibility that the light created on the first day was an immaterial light, which should be understood as the angels. the mornings of the days (day 1-6) which are bright represent the knowledge of the angels about themselves and other created things as they are in the mind of god through beatific revelation. the preceding evenings which are dark are the knowledge of the angels about themselves as they are and the knowledge of other created things as they are in themselves. the angels’ minds were enlightened and formed by their creator from the supernaturally unformed state of their natural knowledge, so that the natural knowledge of their own nature is referred to as evening of the first day, and the elevation of that knowledge to the vision and praise of the light which is god himself is referred to as morning of the first day (ibid. iv, 21). the first three days were without sun; the sun, the moon and the stars were created on the fourth day. it is clear that light was made by the word of god, and god separated the light from the darkness, and called the light day, and the darkness he called night. if at this point of creating light and separating it from darkness the sun and the moon and the stars have not been created, what kind of light was described by the author of genesis? by what periodic movement were evening and morning measured? the answers to these questions are beyond the reach of our senses; how can we understand them, and yet we must unhesitatingly believe them? augustine proffered some solutions to the questions raised above. firstly, he said that the light must be some material light which is proceeding from the upper parts of the world, far beyond the reach of our sight. but what kind of light would that be and what would be the purpose of such light, this answer is not igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 218 good enough and unsatisfactory. secondly, he said it must be from this light the sun was enkindled again this answer also falls short. finally, he said this light is used by the author of genesis to mean the holy city of god, the city of light, this light means the city of the angel, this light means the angels and all the blessed spirits, this is the city which the apostle says, '(that) jerusalem which is above is our eternal mother in heaven' (galatians 4:26); and in another place, 'for ye are all the children of the light and the children of the day' (1 thessalonians 5:5) (de civitate dei, xi, 7). augustine commented the god’s command: be light made, saying "but if the light which first was ordered to be made and was made is also to be understood as holding the pre-eminent place in creation, this must be intellectual life [the angels], which have turn to the creator in order to be enlightened, would fluctuate formlessly” (de genesi ad litteram, i, 9). he continued by saying that this spiritual light which are the angels and blessed spirits were created by god and should not by their spiritual nature to be understood as the "true light who is coeternal with the father [the eternal wisdom of god]," but as the "wisdom that was created before all [other things were created]." this command be light made is the passage of eternal wisdom from god into the sanctified souls of rational creatures (the angels), provided also that it was the creation of spirits that is spoken of under the name of heaven where it is written (gen 1:1), in the beginning god created heaven and earth, and that it was not the physical heaven (ibid i, 17). in the city of god, augustine states that the creation of the angels though not categorically mentioned in the creation account, cannot be conceived to have been completely omitted in the account but is hinted under the name of heaven in verse one "and under the name of light" in verse 3 (de civitate dei, xi, 9). again, in the letter of genesis he asserts that the creation of the angels is intended with the use of the word heaven in verse 1 and the enlightenment of the angels by divine grace is hinted under the name of light in verse 3. augustine came to this conclusion after overcoming the struggle of finding a plausible and logical explanation to the creation of light twice in the creation account and then putting the six days of creation into a reasonable historical succession (hill 2002). in the letter of genesis, augustine understood the light mentioned in genesis 1:3 as implying the divine enlightenment of the angelic hosts by the beatific vision. he said: "and messengers in greek are called 'angels', by which generic title is named that whole city on high which we think was created on the first day” (de genesi ad litteram, v, 19). a logical conclusion that can be arrived at would be that augustine saw the creation and the elevation of the angels through the divine enlightenment in the narrative igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 219 of genesis 1, occurring in this manner: the divine illumination of the good angels in the beatific vision is subtly hinted under the name light in verse three, and the creation of the angels is most likely highlighted under the name of heaven in verse one. he went further to explain even if heaven is not convincing enough, angels are tacitly intended under the name of light in verse three, which expressly narrates their elevation by grace. but it must be added that he never excluded the possibility that material light is what is literally intended under the creation of light in verse three. the goodness of the light (genesis 1:4) augustine also discussed the goodness that is in the nature of the angels. he attempted to demonstrate that we can find the trace of the hand of all three persons of the blessed trinity in the work of creation. augustine hesitantly identified goodness as pointing to the holy spirit in the creation account. the holy spirit is the holiness and goodness of the blessed trinity; he is the substantial holiness of the blessed trinity, of same and equal substance with the father and the son. creation as a whole reveal to us the entire community of the blessed trinity, not only visible creatures but also invisible creatures as in the enlightenment, the blessedness of the holy city which is above among the angels. god has created, illumined, and blessed this city of the angels and blessed spirits. "in god's eternity is its life; in god's truth its light; in god's goodness its joy" (de civitate dei, xi, 24). the light that god saw and said that it was good is the good angels (bad angels not included) who have received the supernatural illumination through the holy spirit in their beatific vision. the angels with the reception of the supernatural illumination have been made perfect intellectual creatures by their knowledge and love for god in his three persons. the goodness of the species of all other creatures should be understood as reflecting the goodness of the holy trinity in their own measure in accordance with their nature. this is how the three divine persons are thus represented in the description of creation: the word of god is god the son and the begetter of the word is god the father, so when it says god said god is the father and the said is the son. the holy spirit is the goodness seen in the light (angels) in whom god is pleased (de genesi ad litteram, i, 6). the goodness of the thing is "the approval of the work in its design, which is the wisdom of god" (de civitate dei, xi, 21). god made the world good (gen 1:31). "in this creation, had no one sinned, the world would have been filled and beautified with natures good without exception." (ibid. xi, 23). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 220 the division of light from darkness (genesis 1:4) in the city of god, augustine maintains that, understanding the creation of light in verse 3 of genesis 1 as the creation of the angels should be followed by the understanding that they are partakers in the true light which is eternal. this true and eternal light is the wisdom and only-begotten son of god. the angels are participating in the unchanging eternal light and the true day which is the word of god. the word of god is "the true light which enlightened every man that cometh into this world" (jn. 1:9). the angels can be called day and light, although they are day and light; they are not day and light in themselves, but in god. the evil angels became evil by turning to themselves and away from the true light of the wisdom of god, "they are no longer light in the lord, but darkness themselves, having been deprived of participation in [the] eternal light." (ibid. xi, 9). peter, in 2 peter 2:4 declared that ‘certain angels sinned and were thrust down to the lowest parts of this world; they are called 'darkness.’ wherefore, though light and darkness are to be taken in their literal meaning in these passages of genesis, [...] yet, for our part, we understand these two societies of angels, [...] the one dwelling in the heaven of heavens, the other cast thence and raging through the lower regions of the air. [...] for, though it is the material works of god that are spoken of, they have certainly a resemblance to the spiritual (ibid. 33). in the city of god, augustine explained that the devil and all the bad angels’ fall took place on day two of the creation narrative: to me it does not seem incongruous with the working of god, if we understand that the angels were created when that first light was made, and that a separation was made between the holy and the unclean angels, when, as it is said “god divided the light from the darkness; and god called the light day and the darkness he called night (ibid. 19). for augustine, the division of light from darkness paints a descriptive picture of the fall of the bad angels because god never said the darkness was good. by darkness, augustine suggests that the author of genesis is telling us that god passed divine judgment on the bad angels and yet he was not the cause of their fall (ibid. 20). this view of augustine helps to answer a question most likely to arise from his treatment of day as the angels, having in mind that time, as we know it, was not created until day four. so, what could night probably mean? the naming of light as day and darkness as night indicates a distinction which god was making between good and bad angels rather than the creation of time as we igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 221 know it (ibid. 19-20). augustine also highlighted the omission of night in the movement of one morning to another morning in the course of the six days of creation. the movements of angelic knowledge which is day starts from morning and endings in evening and morning begins again the following day with no mention of night (de civitate dei, xi, 7 and de genesi ad litteram, iv, 42). night for augustine implies infatuation of the bad angels with themselves, because “night never falls when the creator is not forsaken through love of the creature” (de civitate dei, xi, 7). it is impossible for bad angels to experience morning in their minds because morning is only experienced when the angels turn to god but since the bad angels are proud, their pride will not allow them to stop referring to their own being and return back to god, they are destined to remain in eternal darkness. the naming of the light as day and the darkness as night (genesis 1:5) as we already seen, the word day, in genesis 1:5 for augustine, means foremost the mystical formation of the angelic intelligence in the light of the beatific vision which happened at the beginning of time. the good angels are the light that was called day and whose unity the scripture signalized by calling them day, not the first day, but one day. these angels are illumined by the eternal light that gave them their being. they have become light and day themselves; this is brought about by their participation of the unchangeable light and day which is the word of god (ibid. 9). the angels are before the existence not outside of time (angelic time) but outside of time as we know it; physical time. augustine puts forward another time that is different from the physical time and he calls it angelic time. this angelic time pertains to the time (measure of changes) the angels enjoyed only their natural knowledge and then when they had their beatific vision of the light and were elevated to the state of supernatural knowledge and blessedness (ibid. 13). the blessed angels contemplate the eternity of the word of god, and in their beatific contemplation, they saw first what god was, in physical time going to create. the knowledge of god's reasons for creating the world was impressed on the minds of the angels before physical time which is a creature itself and other creatures of the physical world were made. augustine see this recurring phrase and god said let there be made as a scriptural reference to the eternal word of god, while the phrase, and so it was made, refers to the supernatural intelligence imprinted on the minds of the angels by the eternal intelligence when they had the beatific vision of the light. lastly, the recurring phrase: god made, refers to the products of creation themselves made in their particular kinds (de genesi ad litteram, ii, 8). the knowledge the angels possess of created things as they are in themselves by igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 222 the grace of the light of the beatific vision experienced by the angels is what genesis 1 calls evening, and the knowledge the angels acquired in the evening of created things leading them to praise god for his design of them is what is called morning (ibid. iii, 25). evening, in the creation story is seen by augustine to mean in relation to all created things, not the measure of changes in created things or in relation to time, but the finiteness of a created thing’s nature way of acting (ibid. ii, 14), while morning is the passing from one product of creation to another product of creation (ibid i, 17). in the beatific vision, the angels do not experience evening and morning in a successive manner, rather they experienced it simultaneously. the angels’ knowledge of morning comes after their knowledge of evening, this is so because they knew themselves or created things first which represents evening before raising their gaze from things as they are in themselves to things as they are in glorious mind of their creator which represents morning (ibid. iv, 30). in the successive progression of days in the creation account, evening, in another meaning refers to matter of things that are in some way without their forms, while morning in another meaning refer to the forms of things impressed upon them (hill 2002). again, for augustine, every created nature is a finite being with its particular limitations, and evening could also mean the expression of the limitation of that created nature, while morning is the beginning of a successive created nature and could also be interpreted as the elevation of the limited nature of the angels beyond its natural limits by the supernatural grace of the beatific vision of the light (de genesi ad litteram, iv, 1). for augustine, the major interpretation of evening and morning is that the blessed angels see as themselves and all creatures as they are in themselves representing evening and morning is the angels seeing themselves and all other creatures as they are in the light of god's plan. analogically, just as the knowledge of justice as immutable reality is superior to the knowledge of justice only in a just man, so also is the knowledge of the angels of themselves and of other creatures as they are, is a twilight knowledge in comparison to the daylight knowledge they gain of themselves and other creatures as they are in the mind of god. it is as if morning dawned in the minds of the angels who contemplate creation in god (de civitate dei, xi, 29). augustine proposed that creation happened in this manner: god made all things simultaneously in their proper order (the angelic community and the visible world) and not over passing of time. god created by causal connection, so that all of creation made simultaneously might also be led to reach their perfection in a sixfold presentation known as days. and so, the unformed and formable matter, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 223 the invisible and the visible, from which whatever was to be created would come, was the first thing created, not in the temporal order, but in the causal order (de genesi ad litteram, v, 5). the account of creation was laid out in segmented form in genesis for comprehension of those whose minds are less prepared (hill 2002). “for the second day, the third, and the rest are not other days; but the same one day is repeated to complete the number six or seven, so that there should be knowledge both of god's works and of his rest” (de civitate dei, xi, 9). augustine says that the creation account is sectioned into six days in accordance with the inner nature of numbers (de genesi ad litteram, iv, 1). six is the first perfect and complete number, because it is the number which is made up of the parts which exactly divide it added together (1+2+3). it is in this number of days god completed his work. some may be unimpressed by this kind of interpretation, but we must not despise the science of numbers, which in many passages of holy scripture is found to be of eminent service to the careful interpreter (de civitate dei, xi, 30). the first evening of the first day, the angels only contemplated all about their own created nature, and the succeeding morning they turned their gaze to god in praise and love of him. the second evening of the second day was about their contemplation of the nature of the firmament, and the following morning was about the angels praising and loving god, prompted by the knowledge resulting from their contemplation of the firmament. the third evening of the third day was about their knowledge of all that is contained on the earth, the sea and all the things under the earth. this is also the subsequent order of the fourth, fifth and sixth days (ibid. 7). the seventh day noted that god rested after creation. this does not mean that god was exhausted from the work of creation and needed rest, god does not get tired, and he is even incapable of getting tired. the number seven also means a perfect number with a different meaning from six. it means those who rest in him and whom he makes to rest (ibid. 8). it was not god himself who rested but god rested the angels who rest (abide) in him. by rest it means the blessed angels who did not turn to (rest in) themselves but turned to (rest in) god, and having received the grace of the beatific vision, god gave them a place with him. the seventh day has no evening, simply because there was no creature for its object for the angels to contemplate (ibid. 31). and because god blessed the seventh day and sanctified it (genesis 2:3), "scripture commends and the church knows that the number seven is in some way dedicated to the holy spirit” (de genesi ad litteram, v, 5). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 224 the fall of angels augustine believed that the fallen angels’ story is also contained in the genesis account of creation just as this account tells the story of the angelic creation. augustine in the city of god highlighted the second day of creation to have been the day the fall of the evil angels occurred: to me it does not seem incongruous with the working of god, if we understand that the angels were created when that first light was made, and that a separation was made between the holy and the unclean angels, when, as it is said ‘god divided the light from the darkness; and god called the light day and the darkness he called night’ (de civ. dei, xi, 19). the suggestion that the fall of the angels happened on the second day raises certain burning questions like: what, in day two, indicates the fall of the angels? if all angels were created good, does that mean there was a time frame between their creation and their fall? did the angels know the consequences of their action before their fall? to answer these questions, let us look at what augustine argues. for the first question the division of light from darkness paints a descriptive picture of the fall of the bad angels because as we have seen above god never said the darkness was good. by darkness, augustine suggests that the author of genesis is telling us that god passed divine judgment on the bad angels and yet he was not the cause of their fall (ibid. 20). for the second question, god created all things good including the evil angels, so they becoming evil – that change in them – indicate time. since time is the measure of change, therefore, there may have been a time frame between their creation and their fall; this time is what augustine refers to as angelic time (de genesi ad litteram, xi, 18). further still, augustine began by quoting john 8:44 that calls the devil “[…] he was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. when he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (ibid. 26-27). referring to this passage, augustine concludes that the evil angels fell from the beginning of their life (wiebe 2015). from the beginning does not mean that god created them evil from the beginning but that from the beginning of the knowledge of themselves, they turned to themselves instead of to god who is light and the source of light. turning to themselves, made them to turn away from the light and they became darkness and evil of their own free will (de genesi ad litteram, xi, 30). augustine, still referring to john 8:44 said the evil angels were never in the truth from the beginning (ibid.). it cannot be said that they sinned out of jealousy for humans (jean 1987) pride precede jealousy, and the evil angels were already evil before the temptation in the garden of eden. to answer the third question, if all the angels igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 225 were aware beforehand, the implications of their choice of actions, it is difficult to say what course of action the ones that became evil angels would have taken, even the good angels were unsure of their actions too. it cannot also be argued that they had known about it beforehand because that would imply, they already had the grace of the beatific vision which as augustine has said was given only to the good angels. so, the evil angels never had the blessedness of the beatific vision which gives the kind of knowledge the good angels had after god’s judgment of the angels (de genesi ad litteram, xi, 25). the reason for the fall could not be explained by saying that the evil angels were inferior to the good ones (ibid. 25 and 33). lucifer was a great angel with other angels below him. all the angels were in their natural state that time (de civitate dei, xii, 9). the fall can be explained as they sinned because they were in their natural state prone to fall and not in the state of blessedness which the good angels were given after the grace of the beatific vision (de genesi ad litteran, xi, 25). the evil angels never had blessedness. it is improper to thing that they did not received blessedness and lost it but rather because of the sin of pride they never had blessedness (quam non utique acceptam fastidiuit, sed nolendo accipere deseruit et amisit). they also did not know beforehand the consequence of their fall because wisdom is the fruit of piety (ibid xi, 30). augustine traced a timeline for the fall of the evil angels. after the creation of the angels on the first day, the angels knew themselves, and this knowledge of themselves is what is called evening. the angels’ knowledge of themselves led them to praise and love god, this act of referring of the knowledge of themselves to love god is called morning. on the first day of creation, all the angels turned to themselves and had knowledge of who they are. all the angels who, out of gratitude and joy, praised god for their being received the beatific vision of the light. the angels who took pride in who they are and refused to refer the knowledge of themselves in praise and love of god became evil angels and god judged them and separated them (the darkness) from the good angels (the light). the evil angels were created good like all the good angels, but it was pride in their being (goodness) and failing to accept that they are participating in the ultimate good or that their being has been gifted them by god, that resulted in the corruption of the good they had when they were created. the very first act all the fallen angels did with their will was to separate themselves from god through their act of pride (ibid. xii, 2). but the corruption of the good in the evil angels resulted from the turning of their backs on god and this act, points out vividly how grievous it is to turn one’s back on god (ibid. xii, 1 and confession xiii, 8, 9). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 226 augustine suggests that ps. 73:28 “it is good to draw near to god” is true “not only of men, but primarily and principally of angels” (de civ. dei, xii, 9). conclusion augustine is not dogmatic in his interpretation, but he maintains that his interpretation of light, day, heaven and darkness in the genesis 1 account, is geared towards paving a proper understanding of the creation account of the angels and not to merely present the creation account of the angels in figurative or allegorical terms. in the letter of genesis, augustine did not entirely disregard the figurative and allegorical understanding of the text. he thinks that his discussion about the spiritual light, the creation of day as the angels, angelic creation story in general, angels knowing themselves and the reference of the knowledge of themselves to the praise of the unchangeable truth, is meant to be understood, not in the fullness of the words light and day but figuratively, and allegorically. for where the light is brighter and more certain, there also it is more truly day. christ is not called the light in the same way that he is called the chief cornerstone (ephesians 2:19-22), since the former is in the proper sense, while the latter is in a figurative sense. so also, christ is the light and the day in the proper sense and the angels are light and day in a figurative sense. in concluding his argument, he said if anyone is finding another meaning to the numbering of the days in the creation account, not figuratively in prophecy, but properly in the actual creation of things, let him seek and with the help of god let him find one. “for i do not maintain this interpretation in such a way that i contend that another more preferable one cannot be found, in the way that i maintain that sacred scripture did not want to suggest to us that god rested, as it were, after feeling tired or worn out” (de genesi ad litteram, v, 9). references augustine. (1960). the city of god. translated by marcus d. new york: modern library, 2000. augustine. (1,960). the confessions. translated by john k. ryan. new york: doubleday. augustine. (2002). genesis commentary against the manichees. translated by e hill. new york: new city press, 2002. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 227 augustine. (2002). literal meaning of genesis. translated by e hill. new york: new city press, 2002. augustine. (2002). unfinished literal commentary on genesis. translated by e hill. new york: new city press, 2002. asmussen, j. p. (1965) xuāstvānīft: studies in manichaeism. copenhagen prostant apud munksgaard. bianchi, u. (1985). the contribution of the cologne mani codex to the religiohistorical study of manichaeism. papers in honour of professor mary boyce (acta iranica 24), deuxieme serie, vol. 10. pp. 247-259. dodge, b. (1970) the fihrist of al-nadim. a tenth-century survey of muslim culture. new york and london: columbia university press. jackson, a. v. w. (1932) researches in manichaeism with special reference to the turfan fragments. volume 13. new york: columbia university press. wiebe, d. g. (2015) demons in the theology of augustine. diss. mcmaster university. microsoft word igwebuike journals vol. 5. no. 7.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 58 igwebuike: the concept of beauty in igbo-african philosophy peace i. osaghae department of philosophy, veritas university, abuja dsirepeace@yahoo.com, +2348026450787 abstract generally, the concept of beauty has become a recurrent decimal globally and this has over time paved way for beauty pageantry-a competition held to determine the most beautiful, both of male and female categories. the idea of beauty or the beautiful connotes a pleasing personal appearance or an attractive impressive personal quality. accordingly, the idea of the beautiful has become a paradigm that is employed to determine what is fashionable and the pace of fashion as well. however, the concept of beauty is appreciated differently from culture to culture, thereby leading to a variance in fashion globally. this piece focuses on igwebuike, which is an igbo-african philosophy of complementarity and the substratum of african traditional values, philosophy and religion; to explain how the concept of beauty is perceived in igbo-african philosophy. for the purpose of this study, the indigenous holistic method of inquiry is adopted. keywords: igwebuike, philosophy, complementarity, igbo, african, beauty or beautiful, introduction the question of beauty is crucial to several people despite racial, cultural and gender boundaries. in fact, much of humanity is continually in search of beauty and the beautiful. christians and muslims alike emphasize on preparing for transition into a place called ‘heaven’ or ‘paradise’, which they describe as most beautiful. paradise as it were is described as a place that has streets paved with pure gold garnished with most sparkling metals and precious stones. the buddhists and the hindus, also spend much time preparing for a beautiful place.54 heaven and paradise are described as a place of happiness and peace, induced by the beauty which surrounds or envelops the place. in contemporary history humanity has spent lots of money in building opulent enclaves in pursuit of happiness that it induces. beauty or the beautiful is an essential and luxurious commodity. thus, this is an indication that the subject of beauty is one of the most important aspects of human reality. however, despite the universal pursuit of the beautiful, the concept of beauty is not universal, rather it is conceived 54 lewis, j. the religions of the world. (new york: cadillac publishing co. inc. 1958), 2630. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 59 differently and it is embedded in the cultural milieu of various communities55. this sets the approach for this work, as an inquiry into the conceptions of beauty; particularly in african philosophy and igbo cultural thought will be discussed. this paper therefore, investigates beauty or the beautiful as it is conceptualized in african philosophy. to proceed with this discus, it is expedient that the main concepts employed are clarified accordingly for better understanding. conceptual clarification igwebuike is the heart of african thought, and in fact, the modality of being in african philosophy. it is taken from the igbo language, which is a composite word made up of three dimensions. therefore, it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. the three words involved: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power. thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force.56 its english equivalent is ‘complementarity’. at this level, no task is beyond their collective capability. it is a concept that was employed by african traditional philosophers of the complementary school of thought to discuss the nature of the observed african reality.57 igbo: the igbo people are located in southeastern nigeria and found, mainly, in abia, anambra, enugu, ebonyi, imo, and parts of bayelsa, delta and river states of nigeria. the igbo land shares boundary on the north with the igala, idoma and ogoja peoples, on the east with the ibibio, on the south with the ijaw of the delta region, and on the west with the edo-speaking peoples of edo state of nigeria. igbo group is one of the three major ethnic groups in the country. the river niger divided the igbo land into two unequal parts: the eastern igbo, which is the larger part, on the eastern bank of the river niger and western igbo, 55 ibid. 26-30. 56 kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. 4 kanu, a. i. (2016b). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 1-7. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 60 the smaller portion, on the western bank of the niger. the two sections, nevertheless, share many cultural affinities. today, the word ‘igbo’ is used in three senses, as uchendu has rightly noted, namely, the igbo territory, the native speakers of the language, and finally a language group.58 the igbo language belongs to the ‘kwa’ language group of the niger-congo language family.59 igbo land is not a homogeneous entity but characterized by different sub-cultures with significant differences among them. while forde and jones distinguished five cultural sub-groups of the igbo culture area, onwuejegwu identified six.60 for instance, forde and jones (1950) division is as follows: (1) northern or onitsha igbo which includes towns like awka, udi, enugu, enugu ukwu, nsukka, aro ndizeogu, onitsha, agukwu nri, igboukwu, nanka, and ihiala. (2) southern or owerri igbo, which includes towns like aba, umuahia, owerri, ahoada, okigwe, and orlu; (3) western igbo, which is the part of igboland in delta state and includes towns like asaba, agbor, kwalle, ilah, and aboh; (4) eastern or cross river igbo, which includes towns like abam, ohafia, afikpo, arochukwu, and abriba. (5) north-eastern igbo, which includes towns like ezza, uburu, okposi, and abakkaliki. the differences noticeable among the igbos are as a result of various influences ranging from historical contacts with their neighbors to migration. the cross river igbo (eastern igbo), for instance, are assumed to have adopted their specialized age set system and double descent system from their ibibio neighbors61. however, drawing attention to the great fact of differences is not to deny that there are overwhelming similarities uniting all the sub-groups. such similarities are in the institutions and language. for instance, the basic cultural uniformity shared by the igbo includes one igbo language, kolanut and white 58 uchendu v.c. the igbo of southeastern nigeria. (london: holt rinehalt and winston. 1965), 13-15. 59 forde d. & jones g.i. the ibo and ibibio speaking peoples of southeastern nigeria (london: international african institute, 1950). 44-46. 60 onwuejegwu m.a. an igbo civilization: nri kingdom & hegemony. (london: ethiope publishing corporation, 1981), 8-11. 8 chinyere u. self-identity and chieftaincy titles among the igbo’s of southeastern nigeria. lumina: holy name university. vol. 20, no.2. 1-23. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 61 chalk customs, the vigor in igbo music and dance movements, highly developed arts of wall decoration and delicate body paintings, pottery designs, and ‘mmuo’ (masquerade) institution. socio-political institutions like the age grade system, and ‘umunna’ (patrilineage) groupings, are also common to all igbo culture areas. again, the honorary chieftaincy conferment is also a common practice among the igbo people. african: an african can be construed as a native of africa, one who can be biologically traced to africa. africa is one of the continents in the world; and it is the second largest continent both in area and population, having an area of 11,699 square miles, more than three times the size of usa. in 1990, africa had a population of 642 million representing 12% of the world’s population. africa is made up of over fifty nations with an estimated one thousand different languages spoken and as many distinct ethnic group. africa is perhaps the most linguistically and ethnically diverse of the entire world’s continent. africa is endowed with immense natural and human resources, as well as great cultural, ecological and economic diversity. in terms of natural resources, africa is the world’s richest continent. it has 50% of world’s gold, most of the world’s diamonds and chromium, 90% of the cobalt, 40% of world’s potential hydroelectric power, 65% of the manganese, millions of acres of untilled farmland and other natural resources such as crude oil and gas.62 accordingly, the land mark bordered by the mediterranean sea, atlantic ocean, indian ocean and the red sea is known as africa. beauty or beautiful: the concept of beauty or the beautiful denotes something that possesses a pleasing and impressive quality. it is combinations of appealing qualities that makes something attractive and striking to look at, listen to, smell, taste or touch. it is against this back drop that the concept of beauty in african philosophy shall be discussed. on the notion of beauty in africa igbo perspective the philosophy of beauty or philosophy of the beautiful is a developing discourse in african philosophy; however, this does not imply that there was no african conception of beauty. rather, african philosophers are now beginning to earnestly have more than a passing and non-technical interest in the reality of the beautiful. in the context of african cultures, the concept of beauty or beautiful is 62 kwame, y. 2011. “the impact of globalization on african culture”. retrieved online at www.africanresource.com on july 3, 2019. 4-16. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 62 indeed unique.63 in africa beauty is generally associated with women and every woman feels inadequate if she is not beautiful, regardless of all her other achievements. in a sociological field study conducted by arden haselmann in senegal, some of the male participants associated beauty with women. african conceptualizations of beauty are in feminine terms;64 and perhaps every usage of the word “beauty” or “beautiful” is usually constructed to celebrate womanhood or feminine spirit. beauty connotes celebration of worth, value, quality, essence, and desirability. hence, the concept of beauty in africa is quite broad, and varies from one cultural community to another. however, as vimbai matiza rightly observes, the concept of beauty in africa tends to indicate external and internal qualities of a person or object. moreover, the concept of beautiful in africa bears some moral underpinning beyond teleos. for instance, in the language of shona in zimbabwe; the word “kunaka” (beauty) denotes good manners and physical endowment. among the igbo’s of nigeria the word “ợ chakomaka” is used metaphorically to refer to a woman who is only endowed or physically attractive, but lack good manners. a woman described as such is usually avoided, despised and not desired or valued despite her sparkling physical beauty.65 although, from a sociological field study conducted in senegal, abstractions from the responses of the participants affirm that “inner and outer beauties are not mutually exclusive”.66 furthermore, a woman who has good manners (agwa oma) but is not physically endowed or attractive is not often desired by the le crème of the society; and despite her good behaviours, if she attends a function she is given a relegated place away from public glare. as a result, a woman who is bestowed with inner beauty (ezi agwa) but not endowed with outer beauty (mma ahu) would usually pad up her body with oils and accessories in order to appear to have a complete beauty. such act is described as “ihe ndi eji edozi akpukpo ahu”, meaning beauty enhancement or make-over. by applying make-up or cosmetics on her body, she becomes attractive and it is believed that she will earn upward review of her value in terms of beauty judgment. thus, among the igbos in africa, beauty is defined as unison (or harmony) of physical attractiveness (ợ mara mma) and good 63 haselmann, a. “all women talk” – a study of beauty and female identity in senegalese culture. (dakar: wheaton college peace and conflict studies africa. 2014), 12. 64 matiza, v. m. african social concept of beauty: its relevancy to literary criticism. asian journal of social science & humanities. vol. 2 no. 2, 61-70. (2013), 28 65 greer, g. the whole woman. (london: transworld publishers. 1999), 42 66 haselmann, a. “all women talk” – a study of beauty and female identity in senegalese culture. (dakar: wheaton college peace and conflict studies africa. 2014), 65 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 63 manners (agwa oma) – this is to the extent that it applies to people. also, note that in the african contexts there are two ways about it, there is the internal beauty which is usually seen through someone’s deeds and the external beauty that is seen by physical eyes67. a person can therefore be said to lack in beauty if they lack one of the halves that constitute the beautiful. more so, functionality is another quality that characterizes beauty in african context. the concept of “beauty” is not for the sake of being beautiful; instead it has a social or communal inclination, rather than being individualistic. also, from african perspective, the ‘concept of beauty’ has to have a purpose which it fulfills. beauty must serve to communicate values, norms, morals, and purpose; in other words beauty must edify the community. in investigating the concept of beauty among the sudanese, it was observed that beauty is found in “good behavior, skills, knowledge, and dress” as well as in “physical features”. there cannot be beauty for its own sake; beauty must be intended to serve the society or the cultural ambiance it stems from. this means that any kind of beauty that a person or thing intends to achieve as beauty; void of the sensitivities of others in the community is ‘un-african’. thus, beauty in an african context implies working together. in other words, beauty must reflect the communalistic nature of african societies. the general idea about beauty in africa is that “a person or a thing is considered good, and thus, beautiful, if directed toward achieving or enhancing harmony and order in reality of which the community, people, and things are a part”.68 the beauty of a person or thing should be participatory and depict interconnectivity rather than individualistic; and it should be meaningful only in the context of the acceptable standards of the community. usually, if a person’s action is seen as “fostering or leading to disharmony in the community and in nature or reality at large, then it is considered as bad or ugly”. the ubuntu dictum for example states that “i am because we are”; this can be construed as a person’s beauty communicates universality. to this extent, the concept of beauty in africa is objective in that it communicates a communal standard such that i am beautiful because my community members affirm my beauty as such, but outside my community the affirmed beauty may be disavowed. what is considered beautiful is meaningful only to the people in that context. but then it is also subjective in that the standard of beauty is different from community to community. 67 ibid, 67. 68 ibid, 61-78. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 64 the idea of relational theory of beauty relational concept of beauty is an afrocentric theoretical perspective that objects derives their beauty from other objects proximate to it. other objects are the source of beauty in another object. as the saying goes “a tree does not make a forest beautiful”69; without other objects an individual object cannot be said to be beautiful in a meaningful sense. for example, without the moon and stars sparkling objects at night cannot be that sparkling. plants and animals are radiant because there is the sun and other objects that also contribute to its radiance, etc. in fact, it is only in comparing oneself to the other that one come to appreciate personal beauty in terms of its gradient and meaning. the other individual mirrors the beauty of the person either negatively or positively. an object is considered beautiful to the extent that it co-relates and inter-relates with other objects within the cultural axiom it belongs. without the other, a person or object cannot affirm its beauty.70 the general concept for afrocentric relational theory is “i am because we are”. this means that persons, objects, phenomena and concepts do not exist alone, individuated and isolated; rather they exist in relation with other persons, objects, phenomena and concepts. in fact, an igbo proverb which states that; “ife kwulu, ife akwudebeya”, meaning if one stands, another thing stands by it, clearly captures this view. one of the african philosophical theories that best explains this ontological experience is called ibuanyidanda: a theory of being developed by innocent asouzu, based essentially on igbo metaphysics. the most essential proposition of ibuanyidanda (which is also reflected by other african ontological theories) is that being exist as a cohort or cluster. this is captured in the statement: “to be is to be in mutual complementary relationship (ka so mu adina) and its negation is to be alone (ka so mu di)”.71 deriving from this, asouzu renders a normative account of his theory thus: things do not only exist as cohort or cluster, but they equally exist to complement each other – hence, they are fragments of the whole. the most important concept in ibuanyidanda literature is “missing links”. asouzu posits that “anything that exists serves as missing links of reality”; that no existent can uphold its being solely on its own but “can do this only with reference to the whole and in complementary harmony with other missing 69 asouzu, i. i. ibuanyidanda and philosophy of essence. (calabar: university of calabar press. 2011), 23. 70 ibid, 52. 71 asouzu, i. i. ibuanyidanda: new complementary ontology beyond world-immanentism, ethnocentric reduction and impositions. (zurich: lit verlag gmbh & co. kg wien. 2007), 50-63. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 65 links”.72 this means that an object serves to announce other possible objects in the horizon. it is for this reason; asouzu argues that “there is need to consider the diverse units that are involved in any given context, not only with regard to their historical conditions”. this is important, given that being always manifests itself in relation with other beings. the lesson in the ibuanyidanda approach to the study of phenomenon is that no existent can be individuated without taking into account the correlative objects it relates to. that is, an object is never individuated rather it is interconnected with other objects in the horizon. to fully understand an object, therefore grasp its essence, it requires that an individual study it in relation with the correlative objects to which it interconnects and complements or appear together.73 on the basis of this, for one to grasp the aesthetical essence of objects he/she has to analyze it not in isolation to other objects or as isolated individuated object, but as “object-with-objects”, in relations with other objects it complements or that coexist with it in the overall framework of the horizon that projects it.74 it is in judging beauty this way that one can grasp the truth or comprehensive meaning about beauty. in the african philosophy, objects are seen as an interdependent whole in order to manifest their aesthetics values; and it is only in this manner that the aesthetic value of a person or an object can be realized. the life forms and art objects, taken individually, do not manifest their aesthetical value as it should. experience of beauty has to do with wholeness and interdependence; and recognizing one’s place in the connective web of other existents. in africa, the term “beauty” is used in a communal/communitarian sense. beauty involves feeling of a complexity of relations and complementarity, rather than a feeling of opposites and isolation. beautiful implies self-realization in communal sense, that is, the tendency to want to flourish and realize oneself in harmony with other existents. in sum, relational theory of beauty holds that beauty is a category that belongs to the definition or basic constitution of the relations between two or more persons/objects considered as complementary whole, so that without the relation, persons and objects lose their individual sense of beauty. art beauty and personal beauty: an over view through time, studies have shown that the ontological progression of person’s beauty is different from the kind of beauty that subsists in objects; the beauty-in 72 ibid, 51. 73 asouzu, i. i. 2011. op.cit. 23. 74 ikuenobe, p. good and beautiful: a moral-aesthetic view of personhood in african communal traditions. essays in philosophy, (assessed 20 th june 2019), 32. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 66 person progresses directly proportional to a person’s age in a positive direction until middle age, and progresses inversely proportional to a person’s age as he/she gets older, i.e. a person gets more beautiful as he/she grows older from birth. however, beauty-in-person declines or deteriorates when the individual gets to the peak of the prime of his/her age; and declines further as he/she gets older. the peak of the prime of a persons’ age is the middle age which ranges from 50 to 55 years in male and 45 to 50 years in female. once a person passes the middle age, beauty-in-person starts to diminish. meanwhile, beauty-in object progresses directly proportional to an object’s age in a negative direction. that is to say, that an art object gets uglier as it gets older in age; except perhaps when care attention is continually given upon such object.75 an art object attains the peak of beauty at the point of complete creation. but then the beauty-in-object starts to decline from that point it is fully crafted, all things being equal, until the beauty wears itself out in the object. it is noteworthy that beauty-in person and beauty-in-art can be amended in upward direction.76 however, beauty-in-art cannot be amended to attain the prime stage which it was when the moment it was definitely created; and beauty-in-person, once it passes its prime, cannot be amended to be like the state it was before its prime. from the fore-going it can be deduced that beauty is neither eternal nor immutable whether in person or in object. that is to say, beauty is time bound or dependent. the beautiful is always subject to depreciation.77 since beauty is a form of art, it means beauty can be perfected by external agency independent of the object of beauty; or by immediate agency in the case of beauty-in-person. evaluation and conclusion this study examines the concept of beauty or the beautiful in african philosophy. it indicated that the concept of beauty in an african context is communal and functional, unlike individualistic conception of beauty in western philosophy. hence, the communal conception of beauty means that whatever is judged as beautiful must not be socially disharmonious, but it must also enhance community balance. the functional conception of beauty implies that beauty, in an african context must serve to lead to some purpose. in africa, beauty is linked with the development of moral awareness; there is no beauty for beauty’s 75 ibid, 6-126 76 sartwell, c. (2012). beauty. stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. (accessed: june. 20 th , 2019). hptt://www.plato.stanford.edu/edu/entries/beauty/, 234. 77 muhammad, b. b. the sudanese concept of beauty, spirit possession, and power. folklore forum. (1993), 88. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 67 sake, it must serve some good. finally, the beautiful is a two-fold reality: the inner beauty and exterior beauty. inner beauty refers to good conduct; exterior beauty refers to physical attractiveness. a person or thing is judged beautiful if and only if it reflects both aspects; for the absence of one nullifies the other. this means that beauty in an african context is complementary in the sense that good conduct must complement physical attractiveness and vice versa in order to render an aesthetical appearance complete, because both aspects are relevant to valid aesthetic judgment. references asouzu, i. i. ibuanyidanda: new complementary ontology beyond worldimmanentism, ethnocentric reduction and impositions. (zurich: lit verlag gmbh & co. kg wien. 2007). --------------. ibuanyidanda and philosophy of essence. (calabar: university of calabar press. 2011). chinyere, u. self-identity and chieftaincy titles among the igbo’s of southeastern nigeria. lumina: holy name university. vol. 20, no.2. 1-23. forde d. & jones g.i. the ibo and ibibio speaking peoples of southeastern nigeria (london: international african institute, 1950). 44-46. greer, g. the whole woman. (london: transworld publishers. 1999) haselmann, a. “all women talk” – a study of beauty and female identity in senegalese culture. (dakar: wheaton college peace and conflict studies africa. 2014). ikuenobe, p. good and beautiful: a moral-aesthetic view of personhood in african communal traditions. essays in philosophy, 17(1), 125-163. (2016). kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. kanu, i. a. (2016b). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 1-7. kanu, i. a. (2015). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. job: augustinian publications. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 68 kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and and logic (nka) of african philosophy”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.3 no1 january kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2016). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 35-44. kanu, i. a. (2016). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june. kanu, i. a. (2018). on the sources of igwebuike philosophy: towards a sociocultural foundation. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 9. no. 1. pp. 1-23. kwame, y. 2011. “the impact of globalization on african culture”. retrieved online at www.africanresource.com on july 3, 2019. 4-16. lewis, j. the religions of the world. (new york: cadillac publishing co., inc. 1958). matiza, v. m. african social concept of beauty: its relevancy to literary criticism. asian journal of social science & humanities, 2(2), 61-70. (2013). muhammad, b. b. the sudanese concept of beauty, spirit possession, and power. folklore forum, 26(1/2), 43-67. (1993). onwuejegwu m.a. an igbo civilization: nri kingdom & hegemony. (london: ethiope publishing corporation, 1981), 8-11. sartwell, c. (2012). beauty. stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. sept. 4, 2012. hptt://www.plato.stanford.edu/edu/entries/beauty/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 69 uchendu v.c. the igbo of southeastern nigeria. (london: holt rinehalt and winston. 1965), 13-15. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 148 a comparative analysis of burial rites in christianity and islam adekoya, j. s., phd department of religious studies, university of ibadan adekoyajulius@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract death is the end of human existence and it comes with a sober reflection. however, the distortion attached to how burial rites are done in contemporary times comes with its attendant implications especially among christians and muslims and this calls for urgent attention. it is evident that the contemporary funeral rites are alien to both christianity and islam culminating in deviation from the acceptable norms. this piece therefore unveils the acceptable procedures for burial rites in christianity and islam and unravels the reason for the new trend in contemporary time. it is established that if this new trend is not addressed, it will impel serious misconception of this practice in christianity and islam, thereby distorting established norms. the paper recommends how burial rites are conducted in tandem with biblical and qur’anic standard. keywords: levaya, al-janazah, burial rites in christianity, burial rites in islam introduction: death and trends in burial rites burial rite is the last respect accorded to a dead person both culturally and religiously. after the death of a person, the next thing, universally, is to lay the body to rest to avoid decomposition of the body which can become hazardous to the health of people in the society. the idea of putting the corpse in a mortuary is to preserve the body temporarily from decomposing. the universality and continuity of death as a phenomenon that is common to mankind has been revealed by the works of scholars such as a. o. imasogie, e. b. idowu, p. badham, e. i. metuh, j. o. awolalu, m. y. nafoda, j. s. mbiti, r. j. lifton, j. f. danielli, s. o. abogunrin and s. n. adiele. death is inevitable to everyone on earth; both male and female, young and old, rich and poor. it is observed that death is not the end of man; rather, it is a transition to another life in the spirit world. furthermore, death does not thwart man’s life or personality, it is a change in man’s condition. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 149 africans believe that it is the physical or mortal body of a person that is considered to be lost in this world. this is because the spirit of man departs the body and moves to the abode of the ancestors, where it continues its existence. some scholars like j.o. lucas, p. mckenzie e. d. adelowo, w. r. bascon, s. k olaleye, g. smith and o. a. oyeshile have averred that death is unavoidable for everyone whether one likes it or not. it is viewed as a journey from this earth to a better place of abode. responses to death and the rituals and beliefs surrounding it tend to vary widely across the world. in all societies, however, the issue of death brings into focus certain fundamental cultural values. the various rituals and ceremonies that are performed are primarily concerned with the explanation, validation and integration of people’s view of the world. the response of christians to death and their views on burial rites differ from that of muslims and that of the traditional yoruba society. people’s disposition to life and death varies and that is why it is held that: africans universally believe that life is sacred and that every person had a right to proper treatment, care in life and death. the vast majority of africans believed in treating the ill, the injured, the dying and the dead with care. however, different african communities ethnic, regional, and religious, to mention a few traditionally dealt with matters of illness, death, bereavement, and mourning in different ways. the way the yoruba people of nigeria mourned, grieved and remembered their dead is not always the same as that of the gikuyu of kenya. however, the most important thing that demands immediate attention of the bereaved family is to ensure that the dead body is laid to rest properly, while all other ceremonies are secondary. on the contrary, some other people tend to pay more attention to the burial ceremony and so, they take more time to prepare properly for a flamboyant burial ceremony as they make efforts to get money and all necessary items that they would need for funeral funfair. biblical view on burial (levaya) rites the idea of burial custom seems to be abstract in the primitive era of the existence of man. this is because, from the time of adam and eve, till the days of abraham, the scripture is silent as to how the early ancestors dispose their dead. the first explicit reference to burial is in conjunction with the death of sarah (genesis 23:34). the concept of death is viewed by christians from the purview of the holy igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 150 bible. christians view death as an act of god, which according to him was ordained to bring the whole of humanity back to himself. god is the author of death because he created man and equally has the capacity to kill man (genesis 3:19; ecclesiastes 12:7; psalm 104:29). no man has power over death and man can only die once with no hope of reincarnation (ecclesiastes 8:8; hebrews 9:27). christians are admonished not to weep or express sadness over the demise of a fellow christian because of the hope and assurance of life hereafter with god more so, christians believe that dying is the end of a person’s physical presence on earth, but that the soul lives on in the afterlife. this is one reason why christians have a strong belief in the afterlife and much of their lives is directed at achieving eternal peace in heaven (1 thessalonians 4:13-18). this is why christian funeral rite is such that is wrapped with hope and joy for the community of believers. the hope of meeting again hereafter and to be together again in heaven. this is the kind of hope that is laced with death for christians. in the jewish custom, an authentic evidence of how burial is conducted is explicitly portrayed by their culture and religion. jodi has substantiated this fact by saying that the gospel accounts accurately reflect the manner in which the jews of ancient jerusalem buried their dead. this fact shows that jewish culture and christianity are interwoven. it must also be noted that jewish burial rites was at par with christianity, perhaps, that may be the reason it was reflected in the gospel account as justified by jodi. fraga asserts that from a deep view of ancient jewish burial practices, the dead were shown respect, and their bodies anointed and buried, as was jesus’ body after the crucifixion, with great care in anticipation of the final resurrection. funerary rite had its unique pattern and nature in which the dead body was laid in the grave in the jewish culture. furthermore, wayne has noted that burial places were located outside of the cities (matthew 8:28; 27:7, 52-53). en route from the home to the tomb, the deceased was generally carried on a bier (luke 7:14), which was probably a wooden slab. some of these burial traditions predated christianity because some of it were imported from the jewish culture, as religion and culture are often almost inseparable. the funerary practices were done and carried on by the early believers, which has become the christian funeral rites and custom. burial (levaya) rites in the early church historically, in the early christian communities, the third, seventh, and thirtieth day were memorial days, in which there is a ceremony for the dead. there was igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 151 also a memorial service on the anniversary of a person’s death and each year thereafter. the date of a saint’s death was considered their “birthday” into eternal life and was thus celebrated annually. a saint’s day of memorial on the liturgical calendar has always been on the day of their death, not their birth as it is with our modern custom. the third day memorial is clearly a reference to the resurrection; however, there is a modern trend in some parts of judaism to reduce the period of shiva to three days. traditional palestinian preference for prompt burial continued throughout the first century. in mark 5:38, funeral preparations for jairus’s daughter began right away, and in john 11, lazarus was buried on the day he died. according to mishnah sanhedrin 6.6, a corpse should be kept un-buried overnight only on rare occasions. this makes it clear that from the very beginning, the early christians buried their dead without any delay or merry making. it noted that as soon as death was certain, the deceased’s eyes will be closed; the corpse will be washed, and then wrapped and bound. thus, male relatives and friends would carry the corpse in a procession toward the place of interment, accompanied by friends, neighbours, and other relatives. such processions are described in the new testament (luke 7:12). some mishnaic texts suggest that processions are occasionally halted in order to “make lamentation” for the dead. members of the immediate family will place the body in the tomb while friends and relatives wait outside. personal properties of the deceased might be placed in the tomb alongside the body. it is evident that archaeologists have found such properties like an inkwell, jewellery, combs and sandals. more so, the ceremony of primary burial seems to sometimes include spoken words in appreciation of the dead and in sympathy for the bereaved. after the primary burial, the procession that went to the grave site will return to the family home where expression of condolences continued. literary sources such as the gospel of john chapter 11, affirms that rituals of death continue for the first seven days, the immediate family remains at home mourning. after seven days, most aspects of ordinary life are resumed. the death of a parent was an exception: children mourned their parents for a full year, until the time of secondary burial. christian view on burial (levaya) rites burial rite in christianity is a procedure by which a dead person is being given the final care and funerary farewell. a christian funeral is a solemn and celebratory igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 152 event meant to unite the important people in the life of the deceased. it is where family and friends can mourn a loved one while celebrating his journey home. christian funeral services are also seen to serve these purposes; to pray for the soul of the deceased as well as to offer comfort and support to the bereaved. the order for funeral rite has been arranged in three sections: the order for a vigil keeping, otherwise called wake-keep for the deceased, the order for a funeral mass otherwise call funeral worship service, and the order for funerals outside mass, funeral worship service held at the grave-side. the christian funeral takes a religious and solemn form. it is a time when all immediate and extended family members come together to accord a dead person a funerary rite and demonstrate their love and care for the person, even at the point of death. the period is employed to celebrate a life well-lived by the deceased and ponder over the mortality of humanity. in moments like this, christians pray for a peaceful rest for the soul of the deceased in the lord. hence, christian funerary rite has a systematic order as postulated by scholars and the procedures are; a. cleaning/bathing the body b. preparing the body for burial c. funeral wake-keep d. funeral worship service e. final burial at the grave f. funeral prayer at the deceased’s home. a deep view at the christian burial rite from the inception of christianity shows that there was no religious ethos that postulates merry making funeral as a rite in procedure. burial (al-janazah) rites in the qur’an death in islam is inevitable according to the holy qur’an, “everyone shall taste death (qur’an 3:185). according to islam, all creatures are destined to die. death means the permanent separation of the soul from the body. the holy qur’an states thus, “allah takes away the souls of men at the time of their death, and of those also that are not yet dead, during their sleep. and then, he withholds those against which he has decreed death, and sends back others till an appointed time. in that, surely, are signs for a people who reflect.” after death comes the preparations to bury the dead person according to islamic injunctions. the concept of burial rite in islam is one that is viewed and performed with much care and sacredness. in the generation after the deaths of muhammad and fatima, muslims tried to resolve igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 153 the problem of handling a corpse and to sanction or transform everyday urban manners and modes of social interactions. this is because prior to this time, there was no record found which dictates how islamic burial (al-janazah) rite were conducted. hence, the death and burial rites accorded prophet muhammad and his daughter fatima set the pace and model for islamic funeral rite. the islamic faith has a unique set of beliefs towards death and dying. this can be seen in their practices and attitudes towards funerals. this uniqueness is outlined in tandem with the custom of the arabs and islamic injunctions. in islam, burial for a dead person typically takes not more than two days, but it is frequently within one day. for that reason, there is also no preliminary viewing, ceremony, or eulogy. embalming is not performed and there is no autopsy unless required by law. these restrictions were occasioned based on the islamic view of death. burial (al-janazah) rites during the time of the early muslims the islamic faith has guidelines regarding funeral services and how long after death a muslim is buried. islamic funeral arrangements begin immediately after the death of a loved one, since according to islamic law, they must be buried as soon as possible. history has shown that the burial (al-janazah) practices in islam was followed by the early muslims beginning with the first caliph, through the middle ages and carried on by the succeeding muslims. muslims believe that the good deeds they do in life will be rewarded with entry into paradise on the day of judgment. on this day, they believe that the dead will rise and will either live in peace in paradise or suffer in hell. although, this is a common belief among muslims, there are many different sects within islam, predominantly the sunnis and the shi'ites, the rituals and beliefs may vary from each other. however, the following are the general laid down procedures for burial rite in islam: a. death struggle b. washing of the body (ghusl) c. shrouding of the dead body (al-kafan) d. funeral prayer (salat al-janazah) e. laying the corps in a grave (al-dafin) f. mourning during funeral (al-hidad) g. meals during funeral. contemporary trends in burial rites among christians and muslims the modern funeral rite is changing from the religiously acceptable procedures. in the past, funerals were conducted generally in church buildings and were igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 154 sacred occasions, characterized by the singing of hymns, prayers, some reflection upon the life of the deceased, and exhortation from the scriptures. but things are changing considerably in some places but not necessarily for the better. from the islamic point of view, recent ton in islamic burial rite also reflects that due to nonislamic influences, muslims have drifted away from the established practice of the prophet (blessings and peace of allah be upon him) and his companions (may allah be pleased with them all). many muslims no longer know or practice the necessary rites, and often mix in with the funeral ritualssome practices that are not islamic based. a keen observation of the new fads in burial rite clearly justifies what is evident and being practiced by contemporary christians and muslims. this shows that there is a drift from the acceptable burial rite in christianity and islam. the justification for this is predicated upon the fact that some lack understanding of the christian and islamic burial rite, while others who have knowledge of it, no longer go by the necessary christian and islamic funeral rite. some others muddle up the practices with alien practices. obviously, among the adherents of christianity and islam, the new tide of burial rite is worthy of reflection. this prevailing tendency has given birth to a number of implications such as economic, logistics, undue stress and abuse of government facilities (roads, official environments, school facilities and premises). it is very sad to see that the current burial rite cannot be clearly distinguished from some other ceremonies which are being done such as weddings, birthdays and naming ceremonies among others. a burial rite ought to be marked solemnly, sorrowfully and with grief. but in most cases, the ton has changed. these are the kind of activities that are seen to have permeated the realm of contemporary christian and muslim funeral practices. this new trend indicates a deviation from the acceptable burial norms. it is pertinent to note that it will be good to return back to the status quo, otherwise, a distortion in religious beliefs is imminent. if distortion in religious beliefs is unabated, then it may be concluded that the beliefs inherent in a religion is not being practice the same way globally. hence, it may portend a multiplication of the same religion with varying beliefs and practices. concluding remarks in view of the fore going, it is hereby recommended that the clerics of christianity and islam should come to the realization of the faulty contemporary turn in burial rite. they must also admit that there is a deviation from the ideal funeral norms. a thorough understanding of christian and muslim funeral should be given to adherents of the two religion. the distorted contemporary trend of funeral be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 155 discouraged. the implications of neglect of the ideal norms should be emphasized while continued promotion of the acceptable christian and muslim funeral rites should be upheld. life is precious and life is worth celebrating, but the sanctity and sacredness of life at death should not be abused because of the infiltration of alien fads in religious funeral rites. references abogunrin, s. o. 1991, “immortality and resurrection in early judaism”, in, orita: ibadan journal of religious studies, xxxvi/1-2, june/december. abu ameenah bilal philips, 2005. funeral rites in islam. publisher: international islamic publishing house; 2nd edition. retrieved from www.amazon.com 12/11/2019. adelowo, e. d. 1987, “death and burial in yoruba, quranic and biblical religion” orita: ibadan journal of religion studies, 29/2 december. adiele, s. n. 1991, “religion and contemporary issues: the church and burial ceremony among the igbo of nigeria”, in african journal of biblical studies. vi. 2, october. badham, p. 1989, “god, the soul and the future life”, in, s.t davis (ed), death and afterlife, london: macmillan. bascon, w. r. 1969, the yoruba of south western nigeria. london: reinhard winston inc. bereavement and mourning africa. retrieved october 11, 2018 from https://encyclopedia.1914-1918online.net/article/bereavement_and_mourning_africa. burial practices of the early christians. retrieved april 30, 2019 from http://eglewis.blogspot.com/2012/03/burial-practices-of-earlychristians.html byron r. mccane, burial practices in first century palestine. retrieved april 30, 2019 from https://www.bibleodyssey.org:443/en/people/related-articles/burialpractices-in-first-century-palestine christian funeral service rituals: overview of christian beliefs and practices. retrieved october 11, 2018 from https://www.funeralwise.com/customs/christian_overview. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 156 danielli, j. f. 1968, “life” in, m.d law and m.v. dixon (eds), chambers encyclopedia. 8. e. b. idowu, 1996. olodumare: god in yoruba belief. ibadan: longmans nigeria limited plc. fraga, b. what every catholic needs to know about funerals. retrieved october 23, 2018 from https://www.osv.com/osvnewsweekly. funeral rites across different cultures. retrieved october 4, 2018 from https://www.egfl.org.uk/sites/default/files/imported/categories/safety/_ docs/crit_incd/09_ thesismaterials/funeralritesacrossdifferentcultures.pdf imasogie, a. o. 1984. “death and dying: a needed focus in health education curriculum in nigeria”, in, physical health education and recreation journal (pher) 1. j.o. awolalu. 2001. yoruba beliefs and sacrificial rites. u.k: longman group ltd. leor halevi. 2007, rite for the dead: funerals and the afterlife in early islam. cairo: the american university in cairo press. lifton, r. j. 1970, “how america lies with death”. newsweek, april 6. lucas, j. o. 1948, the religion of the yorubas. lagos: cms bookshop. magness, j. 2007. the burial of jesus in light of archaeology and the gospels, israel exploration society.1. retrieved october 10, 2018 from jstore. maynard, m. 2017. sequential steps in a christian funeral. retrieved october 11, 2018 from https://classroom.synonym.com/sequential-steps-in-a-christianfuneral-12085147.html. mbiti, j. s. 1970, african religion and philosophy, new york: doubleday co. inc. mckenzie, p. 1976, “the funeral customs of the yoruba”, in interreligious encounter in west africa. metuh, e. i. 1987, comparative studies of african traditional religion, onitsha: inuco publishers. milam, g. b. (2001). the christian’s attitude towards death. jos: sele. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 157 muslim funeral traditions and what to wear to a muslim funeral service. 2019. retrieved may 3, 2019 from. https://www.funeralzone.co.uk/helpresources/arranging-a-funeral/religious-funerals/muslim-funerals muslim funeral traditions. retrieved september 14, 2018 from https://cremationinstitute.com/muslim-funeral-traditions. nafoda, m. y. 1978, erhi: the concept of the human double and the paradox of selfpredestination in the religion of the urhobo, university of ibadan phd thesis. 196199. oyeshile, o. 2002. “towards an african concept of a person: person in yoruba, akan and igbo thoughts” in orita: ibadan journal of religious studies, xxxiv/ 12, june and december. religious funerals guide: christian funerals guide etiquette and traditions. retrieved october 11, 2018 from https://www.burialplanning.com/resources/religiousfunerals-guide/christian-funerals-guide-etiquette-and-traditions. s.k. olaleye, s. k. 2004, “akosojaye”: trends and status in yoruba communities” ilorin journal of religious studies. (jourels). 4.1: 90-91. smith, g. african traditional burial rite. retrieved october 4, 2018 from http/blackethics.com/640/african-traditional-burial-rite. the holy bible. the holy quran. the islamic perspective of life after death. retrieved october 2, 2018 from http://www.reviewofreligions.org/the-islamic-perspective-of-life-afterdeath. the order for funerals. retrieved june 20, 2018 from https://ordinariate.net/documents/resources/pdf. wayne, j. funeral customs past and present. retrieved october 11, 2018 from www.christiancourier.com/funeral customs past and present. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 205 exorcism in african traditional religion and islam: a comparative approach hosea nakina martins department of christian religious studies, taraba state university jalingo hoseanakinamartins81@gmail.com & salisu ishaq jibril, phd department of islamic studies, taraba state university, jalingo salisu.ishaq125@gmail.com & auwal, abdullahi department of islamic studies taraba state university, jalingo abdullahi@tsuniversity.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29105.45929 abstract the universe as created by god has man and other spirits residing in it. spirits are believed to be possessing and tormenting people and they can only be exorcised by the exorcists. the rate at in which exorcists blossom in carrying out their activities clearly posed a big challenge to doubt the genuine of sources of their power. thus, the paper is concerned with unraveling a comparative analysis for a reflective rediscovery of genuine sources of power for exorcism in africa traditional religion and islam. the research made use of comparative, prescriptive and analytic methods. data were collected from the field through selected interviews and consultation of relevant books. the paper discovered that, exorcists exaggerate their roles and exploit their clients in order to acquire quick material and social firm. they also worsen people’s health due to erroneous examination of non possession elements to means spiritual attacks. there is doubt been cast in most exorcists due to concealment of unknown sources of power, which some of them are fake and cannot be authenticated. there is a problem of the possessed and even exorcists from separating those in good health from those possessed due to nature of different religious interpretation which posed danger in the two faiths. the paper recommends authentic exorcism devoid of exorcists sourcing power from occultic organizations. they should be their brother’s keeper by charging less fee on their patients. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 206 there should be collaboration among exorcists exorcising those possessed by evil spirit devoid of religious affiliations. keywords: exorcism, african traditional religion, islam, god introduction of all the forms of human action, the most elementary and fundamental, and the one which at the same emerges as the most complex and rich is with context is life (mondin 25). exorcism is one of the major functions of the exorcists. nothing happens in the cosmic world, isolation or by chance. hence, sicknesses, misfortunes, death among other evils are believed to be caused by evil spirits themselves, which are daily reoccurring cases (ikeobi 1990, 57). exorcists are in-charge of exorcising those who are possessed by evil spirits, and methods of exorcising differ among exorcists in the two religions; african traditional religion and islam. madness, mental obsession, sickness, strange exhibition of some deviant signs or behaviours is attributed to the attacks by evil spirits which exorcists cannot skip from acknowledging them. hence, unraveling the relevance of comparative analysis of exorcism in the two religions, it is worth doing with the view of exhuming a genuine collaboration in the fight against evil spirits, which is been instigated by yearning factors and turned to a lucratic business today. evil spirits are considered enemies of life. thus, rise in spiritual attacks by evil spirit is an old phenomenon which is been battled by exorcists till date. hence, the rise of quack exorcists in the two religions is indeed worrisome because of quest for material and social firm, which exorcists today venture into the ministry by aggravating people’s health condition with wrong interpretations of physical illness to be spiritual. people are also exploited by exorcists just to make both ends meet, which are lamentable. cases of evil spirits tormenting lives and property of people are undeniable based on experiences where there are signs of mental obsession and strange behaviours being exhibited among those possessed and exorcised. thus, the existence of evil spirits in the experiences of african traditional religion and islam covered and recognizes the universe was created by god with many living agents in it. these evil spirits are indeed responsible for attacking and causing mental illness in people, and they inhabit water, tree, roads and forest or streams. their attacks have been also reported on daily basis to be real by those who experienced and exorcised them. hence, the feelings of possession by evil spirits tend to go beyond feeling of passively being under the control of others and not of being one self (crown et al 168). exorcists in african traditional religion and islam exorcised those possessed by evil spirit using prayer, essence, herbs, holy igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 207 water and counseling. despite different profession of faith, exorcism is held at high esteem in the two religions. thus, man is at the centre of the universe as a prime and rational creature (martins and jellason 129. the paper work shall examine origin of demons or evil spirits, exorcism in africa traditional religion and islam, symptoms of demonic possession, requirements for exorcism in africa traditional religion and islam, and a comparative analysis of exorcism in african traditional religion and islam. the paper shall also discuss obstacles hindering effective exorcism in the two religions and some recommendations proffered. conceptual clarifications i. exorcism this is referring to an act of expelling evil spirits from those they possessed. lehman and myers they posit that “it is the driving away of evil spirit by ritual (412). ansha qtd. manus 6) to have captured thus “the word exorcism is derived from the greek word “exorkizein which means to “adjure” and bind with an oath (2). duncan et al also defined exorcism as the use of spiritual power e.g. through appeal or adjuration to expel the spirit. it is a special case of spiritual healing (q.v.) (167). ii. african traditional religion it is the indigenous religion that is aboriginal and handed to africans by their ancestors. it has also been defined as an africa institutionalized system of symbols, beliefs, values, practices which are focused on questions of ultimate meaning to different african societies (gaiya2). african religion is called ‘african due to certain reasons: first it is called ‘african’ because it is indigenous, aboriginal, and foundational or handed down from generation to generation (adasu15). shishima posits also that “it is a religion that has no founder and it arisen from oral traditional which are founded on by word of mouth from one generation to the other” (3). in another definition, anyacho defines african traditional religion “as a religion that was founded by the forebears of africans” (242). iii. islam etymologically, the root” slm” in arabia means to be in peace; to be an integral whole. thus, from this root comes islam, meaning to surrender to god’ law and thus to be an integral whole (eliade 308). islam is also seen as a religion of clear dogma and simple worship, but with deep vigour of expression, which was igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 208 founded by prophet muhammed the son of abdullah and amina of the country of arabia in the year 610ad(omoregbe53). origin of demons / spirit spirits are part of the occupants of nation. they were created by god (kpanti-laa, aondo, chuckwu or allah) as part of the ontological existing reality in the universe, which men must guard themselves against their perilous attacks. both african traditional religion and islam believed that spirits have been created by god to inhibit nature which is undeniable (magesa 75 – 76). jinn as known in islamic religion were rational beings created by allah (dmitriy 1). in african traditional religion and islam, spirits are believed to be occupying nature. hence, man is dependent on nature, he is at the centre of the world with spirits living their lives (asante 290). thus, african religion and islam vehemently upheld that evil spirits are integrated in their thought as created by the supernatural being (iyorayiah 2). demons originated from nature, no doubt also they inhabit nature too (adamu, oral interview) and some were created by men from natural manipulation of forces of nature (kani, oral interview). it is worth ascertaining also that man is dependent upon mature. but nature is also dependent upon the african. as the center of the world, man gives meaning, order and unity to nature he is at the centre of the world, with spirits living their lives too (asante 290). hence, everything that man thinks about and feels has to be the image of a living force interacting with other living force (anyanwu 90). exorcism in africa traditional religion an african is concerned primarily with living a pleasant, happy, full life and dying at a very old age (ripe age). hence, the aim of every african is to live in harmony with nature. african world views see noting in isolation between the physical and spiritual realities, hence all abnormities especially sickness headache, epilepsies, stomach upset, are caused by forces, evil spirits, witchcraft, angry divinities, machinations of enemies in the form of sorcery (ikeobi 1992, 192). when sickness befalls men, the next remedy to be sought is the medicine man. africa traditional religion and islam are viral religions whose contribution in the area of exorcism remained very significant in people’s lives. thus, exorcists are rare saddled with the task of handling spirit possession on those attacked. they are highly respected because they are the intermediaries between the possessed and the spirits. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 209 spirit possessed are highly believed to possessed people, and are blamed for all forms of illness like madness, epilepsy and blindness (mbiti 81). african world is african cosmology – how the africans understand and relate to the universe both visible and invisible (gaiya 49). thus, most people consider health as the most important quality in their life, any who helps that is held in high esteem (ikeobi 1990, 49). removing believe in the existence of spirits cannot be annihilated because, the african world view is hinged on these spirits who are integrated in their thought as natural or supernatural (iyorayih 2). exorcism also varies among africans, but the most vital thing is that, exorcising is aimed at freeing those attacked by demons (auwal, oral interview). hence, some rites of exorcism are not divulged but concealed, only overt aspect of it lies seen. dauda writes on exorcism among the dong-mumuye of taraba state in the below excerpt: whenever a person is possessed was attack by evil spirits, people will take whole of him to a spot about ten yards away to the kong (tree) an exorcism site. if it is a woman, she will be covered with basket, being carried for some men. a man would be held by some men especially those that are friendly with him. the chief exorcist will invite the oracle to be around, and after some prayers and invocations, exorcism takes the place of shouting and commanding the evil spirit to depart the possessed. it is believed that the spirit will depart from the possessed when sarpeng (whistle) is blown. at the end of the prayers, singing and rituals of incensing, oral herbal administration and that a bathing are prescribed for the sick to use. after some days, the exorcists examined the possessed to ascertained that evil spirits are finally expelled from him or her. when these rites are done, the sick person is now a restored person and is discharged (6). exorcism in islamic religion islam is a religion of clear dogma. jinn are spirits, one of the three categories of rational beings created by allah. jinn are noted for their dexterity, strength and cunning, and cannot be deceived. they live in places favoured by human, in rubbish jumps, in mud and in abandoned houses in islam, jinn are classified as female and female. they are invisible, but possession is often accompanied by visions that came to the sick person. the holy quran plays a very significant role in exorcising jinn especially alkursi ayat (considered the most effective ayat against jinn in the “bakara surah”) 70 times a day. a mullah reads one of the ayats aloud, and if the patient begins to behave in-appropriately, shouting, pushing the mullah away, moaning, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 210 crawling, fighting back or trying to flee are signs which indicate possession. according to pandolfo, the expulsion of jinn and rugya sharia as a whole are portrayed by the mullahs not as magical practices but universal muslim strategies that are supported by biomedicine (299). mullah uses the name of allah to heal, reading the qur’an as the deposit of faith consecrated cumin (incense), olive oil is used to exorcise sheitan (demon). as the mullah calls on the name of allah, the spirits depart the possessed, and administering of cumin, olive oil and holy water (zan-zam) followed in restoring the possession. mullah also advices the possessed to be pure abstained from pollutants, immorality and remained religious all the times (kloos and beekers 5). there are also narrations that prophet muhammed and his followers expelled evil spirit from the bodies of believers using verses of the holy qur’an 2:255,3:18-19 (ansha 7). it was also reported that, a woman went with her seven-year-old son to the holy prophet and told him he was suffering from a kind of epilepsy twice a day. the holy prophet put his hand on him and said, “o enemy of allah, get out!” so, from this, some scholars understood that the boy was possessed by jinn and the holy prophet drove out evil spirit from him by exorcism (qur’an 2: 255, 285 and 286, 3: 18 – 19, 122, 113 and 114). these chapters and verses above are clear instances where the power exorcising featured in the holy qur’an. jinn, as mentioned earlier, are either human being who is not visible. 72:2 of the holy qur’an affirmed that, “say is has been revealed to me that a company of the jinn listened, and they say, truly we have heard a qur’an that is wonderful”. the mullah is the exorcist in islam, whose moral and religious life warrant him the yardstick to carry out exorcism on the possessed using the holy qur’an chapters and verses as earlier indicated above (umar, oral interview). exorcism in islamic religion lies in the power of mullah, who lived a religious life and uses the sacred qur’an to carry out rites of exorcising the possessed. thus, the vital place of the qur’an being used by mullah in exorcising the possessed cannot be over down claimed in islamic religion. hence evil spirits are part of nature, and they inhabit and destroy people. they can be counteracted using recitation of verses from the holy qur’an followed by the use of consecrated holy water, herbs (cummins) and olive oil. symptoms of demonic possession demons possessed people and leave various symptoms like the ones examined below: physical changes: in this scenario, there is convulsion, falling on the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 211 ground, clouding of consciousness, anesthesia to pain and change in voice by shouting and screaming. the possessed also manifest signs of alteration of strange voice of being belligerent (martins 135) which is noticed from their experiences (brockhause 9). i. mental changes people who are possessed speak in strange languages and they are engulfed in psychic and occult manifestation of being possessed by extradexterity and powers (danladi, oral interview). ii. spiritual changes many of those possessed exhibit reactions and fear as the name of god is pronounced during exorcising. hence, the name of the supreme being makes them uncomfortable and so there is reaction when such holy name is mentioned (adamu, oral interview). iii. change of personality: the personality of persons possessed by evil spirits is often noticed especially by his or her character and appearance (ansha 3). in a nut shell, some symptoms of the possessed include height of spirit in the individual which affect him or her thereby losing his or own personality and acts in the context of the ‘personality’ of the spirit possessed in him or her. the possessed person becomes restless, may fail a sleep properly, and if his possession lasts a long period it results in damages to health (mbiti 82). hence, when a person is under control of spirit behaviour may dramatically change (iyorayiah 9). in another instance also, among the tiv of north central nigeria, adzov (spirit) sometimes punishes their victims who often them, and they visit them with application (akiga 266-267). these aforementioned symptoms are dreadful, as they damage or even end the lives of those possessed by demons. requirements for exorcism in african traditional religion and islam there are basic requirements needed in exorcism in african traditional religions and islam, and some of them are examined below: i. examining nature of demonic attacked on the persons in order to ascertain the kind of exorcism or rites to be carried on him or her (yusuf, oral interview). ii. prayer which remains an essential aspect of healing in african traditional religion and islam, where god is prayed to take absolute control in exorcising evil spirits from those they possessed (world among us 9). iii. there is invocation and command of the spirit to depart the possessed after administering essence, drinking and bathing herbs to please leave the victims igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 212 iv. there is also the use of items like yam, drinks, kola nut, fowl to be sacrificed in order to placate the demons to leave the possessed (dakoro, oral interview). v. victims are discharged with instructions to desist from certain things and places after spending some days in the exorcist’s custody (shuabu, oral interview). vi. there is also check up at periodic interval by the exorcist, who keeps ascertaining the level of healing the possessed until satisfied. (napu, oral, interview). a comparative analysis this segment of research intends to make comparative analysis of exorcism in the two religions here: i. africa traditional religion and islam believed that spirits were created by god (kpanti-laa, aondo or allah in islam) as part of nature, which man must guard against their perilous attacks. and prayer is very significant in the healing exercise. ii. both exorcist also exhibit religiosity by abstaining from pollutants, immoral things. fasting is also given special emphasis in order to deal with evil spirits who are believed to be occupants of nature. iii. evil spirits torment people, and they are exorcised in the two religions by nee gbal zala zang gang in dong and pugong sub mumuye dialects) and mullah in islam. iv. ritual sacrifices are part of religious obligation in dispelling evil spirits from their habitations and those they possessed. hence, the exorcist uses prerequisites of authentic exorcism via ritual formula to exorcised those possessed. v. exorcists are sometimes called, some learnt the profession and others inherit it as gift from their fore parents in the two religions. hence, exorcists also charged for services rendered while others relied on the donors’ charity. vi. the use of herbs, incense, holy water, oil and other items are of paramount help in carrying out exorcism in the two religions among those possessed by evil spirits. obstacles to effective exorcism in africa traditional religion and islam exorcism in africa traditional religion and islam is facing related challenges which are going to be examined: i. the rise of fake exorcists today is really affecting the trust, confidence and efficacy of exorcism ministry in the two religions, where many exorcists are not igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 213 licensed by the government, but operate in free and illegal manner constituting dangers to the psychological and physical wellbeing of the people. ii. patients are exploited by un scrupulous and mundane exorcists in the two religions with the view of acquiring fast wealth and maintaining famousity and firm in contemporary time (shimawua 149). iii. there is problem of those possessed and exorcists find it very difficult to separate well from evil due to distortion of genuine intention and quest to liberate the possessed. hence, there is possibility of mysterious death as the case may be because the possessed and the exorcists cannot know the remote cause of some illness complicated (chuckwuma 23&39). iv. there is also loss of control over personal issue because the possessed is often confronted with a lot of complex realities ranging from emotional and physical disabilities, stress, trauma, high blood pressure and diabetic conditions, which are sometimes confused and termed demonic possession without proper consultation of medical experts to ascertained the remote cause of such abnormal behaviours in patients. many exorcists also exaggerate their interpretation of the possessed conditions, which later worsened their health conditions. v. faith of people in most exorcists today is chattered because of irregularities, suspicion and criticisms been levied by the people and exorcists against their fellow exorcists on sources and genuineness of their healing powers. recommendations amidst some of the challenges affecting effective exorcism in african traditional religion and islam, the paper makes the following recommendations: i. exorcists in the two religions should genuinely ascertained demonic possession from mere physiological abnormalities from patients brought to them. ii. there should he collaborative effort in exorcising those possessed by evil spirit from two religions and, this will go along way in bridging the gap in the search for genuine exorcists who can battled demonic catastrophes (joseph, oral interview). iii. exorcist should charge less fees on those they exorcised evil spirit with the view of restoring the possessed; bearing in mind they are humans and need to be treated with sympathy. iv. the belief in the existence of evil spirit is real in the two religions, and should not be debated or debunked. rather, better and appropriate measures should be sought in explaining the interactions between man and other spiritual realities in the universe (ikeobi 1990,44). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 214 v. exorcists in the two religions need to be prayerful, undergo fasting in order to have spirit filed capacity to deal with evil spirits. hence, people should also learn to be prayerful and seek for genuine exorcism from experts (martins 139). vi. government should find way of sifting quack exorcists from fake one with the view of safeguarding the standard of exorcism from been ridiculed. conclusion the existence and attacks by spirits in the cosmic universe is real and undeniable. those who are charged with the task of expelling these evil spirits are the exorcists (shon ganang /zang ganang / nee gbal zala or mullah). we cannot doubt nor run away from the realities of spiritual agents existing in the universe, and cogent factors pushed the rise of people creeping into exorcism ministry in the two religions, for means of survival. hence, caution must be taken by people in not to fall victims of mental and physiological damages due to quack exorcism. people must guard against contacting fake exorcists when there are demonic attacks, and exorcists should exhibit high sense of spiritual and fraternal concern, devoid of obtaining fake powers from occultism sources. they should also learn to practice genuine exorcism in the spirit and fear of god and service to humanity. exorcists with genuine roles in the two religions should be encouraged to collaborate in order to free people possessed by evil spirits, and not turn the profession as a mere money making venture rather than service to humanity in the restoration of health. evil spirits are part and parcel of nature, and there is need to safeguard oneself from their dreadful attacks. works cited anyacho, ernest. essential themes in the study of religion. obudu: niger link printing and publishing, 1994. asante, emmanuel. “ecology: untapped resource of pan-vitalism in africa” in afer vol. 27. no. 5 oct, 1985. ansha, terbugh christian “exorcism in african traditional religion, christianity and islamic religions: a comparative analysis” being a paper presented in partial fulfilment for religion 705 – healing in african traditional religion and christianity. a postgraduate course in the department of religion and philosophy, benue state university, markudi, 2010. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 215 adasu, moses o. understanding african traditional religion part one. england: dorset publishing company, 1985. alqur’an “bakara surah” akiga, benjamin. akila’s story the tiv tribe as seen by its members. trans. by papert east, 1939. anyanwu, k.c. “the african worldview and theory of knowledge” in e. a ruch and k.c anyanwu, african philosophical trends in contemporary africa. rome: catholic book agency: officium libri catholic, 1981. brockhaus, hannah. “exorcist: temptation – not passion – is the most significant demonic activity” vol. 18. no. 1, june 2019. chuckwuma, e.c. “traditional medicine and the future of plant studies in nigeria” journal of medicinal plants studies, vol. 3 no. 4. 2015. crown, s. et el “exorcism: a symposium” in. jr soc med, vol. 72, 1979. dauda, pius n. historical and spiritual sites in dong. kano: olus kreationz, 2013. eliade, mircea. “islam” in encyclopedia of religion, vol. 7. london: macmillan publishing company, 1987. ekwunife, anthony n.o. consecration in igbo traditional religion. enugu: snap press ltd, 1990. gaiya, musa a.b. “the inter – play between religion and culture in african traditional religion” in jos studies, vol. 4. no. 1, june, 1994. gbenda, joseph s. african religion and christianity in a changing world a comparative approach. chuka educational publishers, 2006. ikeobi, gaddy. “healing in nigerian priestly ministry” in shalom proclaim peace, vol. viii no. 1, 1990. ---. healing and exorcism: the nigerian experience. c.u. manus et al (eds). enugu: snaap press ltd, 1992. ---. “the priest and healing ministry” in shalom proclaim peace, vol.v. no.1,1987. iyorayiah, godwin. “spirit possession among the adzov in tiv religion” being a paper presented in partial fulfillment for rel705: healing in african traditional religion and christianity” a postgraduate course in the department of religion and philosophy, benue state university, makurdi,2010. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 216 kanu i. a. (2015b). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications ---------------(2010). towards an african cultural renaissance. professor bassey andah journal of cultural studies. volume 3, pp. 146-155. --------------(2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kloos, d. and beekers, d. introduction: the productive potential of moral feature in lived islam and christianity. in beekers d and kloos d (ds). straying from the straight paths. how senses of failure invigorate lived religion. new york: berghahn, 2018. lehmann, arthur and myers, james e. magic, witchcraft, and religion an anthropological study of the study of super natural fifth edition. usa: mc graw hiill higher educational, 2001. martins, hosea nakina and jellason, yinala anthony “demonology and exorcism in african traditional religion: a call for authentic practice among the mumuye of taraba statee, nigeria” in essays in the humanities and arts: a gedenkscript in honuor of very revd. fr. dr. fidelis elojo egbunu (eds) by felix ehimere enegho et al. jos press nig. ltd, 2020. mondin, battista. philosophical anthropology. bangalore, india: theological publications in india, 1985. mbiti, john samuel. african religions and philosophy. heinemann educational books, 1971. magesa, laurenti. african religion the moral traditions of abundant life. kenya: paulines publications africa, 1997. owan, kris j.n. “biblicotheologico basis for the church’s teaching on demonology: substratum for deliverance ministery in nigeria” in jos studies, vol.3 no.1 june,1993. omoregbe, joseph. comparative religion: christianity and other world religions in dialogue. nigeria: joja educational research and publishing ltd., 1999. shishima, daniel sarwuan. african religion a bird eyeview. makurdi: obeta continental press ltd., 2014. shimawua, dominic. “contemporary healing in christianity: a biblical perspective” in nacaths journal of african theology, vol 19 march,2009. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 217 pandolfo, s. knot of the soul. madness, psychoanalysis. islam chicago: university of chicago press, 2018. rozario, santi “allah is the scientist of the scientists: modern medicine and religious healing among british bangladeshis” in culture and religion, vol. 10. no. 2, 2009. list of informants s/n name age occupation place date 1 adamu, kefas 38 exorcist mayo-balawa 28/1/2022 2 auwal, umar 39 civil servant jalingo 26/1/2022 3 kani, ronald 65 exorcist iware 21/1/2022 4 dakoro, idi 83 herbalist jereng 2/12/2022 5 danladi, mary 46 patient shavon 3/2/2022 6 joseph, patience 33 patient mika 2/10/2022 7 napu, avonapu 92 exorcist dong ‘a’ 22/1/2022 8 shu’abu, mairo 68 diviner iware 2/2/2022 9 umar, aisha 18 patient jimlari 2/3/2022 10 kawu, sakinatu 21 hawker zing 21/1/2022 11 yusuf, dankong 80 herbalist pupule 2/3/2022 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 125 african ideologies and the innovative trend: towards prioritizing african history and culture in the digital age maureen nwando onyejegbu, phd institute of african studies university of nigeria, nsukka nwando.onyejegbu@unn.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29332.65925 abstract this paper examines african ideologues and the innovative trend embodied in the new digital technologies. it prioritized african history and culture as a necessary balance for the digital age. in as much as there are many advantages of the innovative technological devices in african societies today, there are also multiple challenges associated with them that meddle on african history and culture which has the capability of devaluing them if not checked. the current technological trend and innovations have almost everyone and every nation entangled in it either for the best or for the worst. african youths and children are most vulnerable to the negative side of this. this paper examines african ideology and the new trend of the technological/digital age. it highlights history and culture as the major factors that must be prioritized in present times for the sake of africa's balanced future. the paper relies on archival and written sources. the findings here will help researchers in cultural studies, historians, and those in african studies. keywords: african ideologies, innovative trend, prioritize, history, culture introduction the word innovation has different meanings. it encompasses the creation of so many things. this paper focuses its discourse on digital technological innovations and advancement. digital technology is trending recently and has reached almost every part of the world. the world is digitally expanding and the continent is moving along with it as it continues to engage in all necessary technological and digital outlets. nowadays, all nations and individuals need digital technology for the effective running of businesses and individual achievements in vast ways. mastering the technicalities enclosed in digital technology is paramount to avoid being cheated out along the way. maximizing igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 126 and implementing the strength and power of digital technology in this era is crucial and seeking the right discourse will balance africa’s future history and culture. in the view of asante (2015:1), history is always about ancestors, their lives, their families, their failures, their successes, their behaviours, their cultural institutions, their deeds, political, economic, and social. jerven (2015) also believes that history matters for economic development. africa is the pride of the black race and the resource hub of the world. it is the cradle of civilization with centuries and sequential historical occurrences, rich cultural ethnic groups, and physical displays, rich flora, and fauna, the continent had been and remains the center of attraction for tourists and foreigners. thus, prioritizing and preserving her history and culture in the face of digital advancement is vital towards safeguarding the future of africa. in the words of isichie (1997:13), the dominant impulse in the 1960s was to prove that black africa had a history at all, a history as worthy of study as any other. africa, just like the rest of the world’s continents needs to thrive and engage in developmental activities otherwise it shall remain behind. history, culture, and the embedded ideologies of a given people have made popular nations of the world stand out. collins and steams (2020:17) said that it is almost impossible for people not to look at history, and this means there is every reason to learn how to study it well. similarly, falola (2008:3) observed that culture opens the window to understand social classes and elite behaviour, to socialize its members, and to reproduce established practices and values. nkoh (2006:1) also note that at the heart of one strand of the debate surrounding africa's development /underdevelopment is african culture. , engagements in african history discourse by african scholars is a priority for the future of the continent sake even as the digital age continues to boom. there is no doubt that africa’s digital technological ability and smartness is still far low than those in developed countries like europe and america, yet the limited level present in the system is already influencing the lives of individuals and nations positively and negatively depending on the approach. there is no denying the fact that the innovative digital/technology trend has its fair share of disadvantages that is equivalent to its successes. what is more, the digital maturity and discipline expected to be applied by some adults, youths, and children are regrettably lacking, hence the negative reports on fraudulent activities using digital devices by some youths in this digital era. social networking, for instance, engages the youths as well. bishop (2014:119) affirm igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 127 that the social networking service, facebook, was at a time one of the most popular websites of its kind. african ideology and philosophy have been the foundation for the continent’s solid existence for centuries; hence, prioritizing its history and culture at this period is crucial towards her future. the concept of african ideology the term ideology has many forms of approaches for discussion such as political ideology. here, the ideology being discussed is the african ideology. african ideology is observed in the mode of conduct, philosophy, and worldview of the people. speeches, proverbs, rituals, and ceremonies are all part of the sociocultural ideology. african thoughts and ideology are different from the rest of the world because of how the system is formed. african traditional ways have helped in the smooth operation of the society in the past. before now, the people’s lifestyle was far more undiluted and more conserved than what is being experienced presently. africa ideology and worldview are firmly observed and expressed more by the elders who understood it well than the youths in this digital age. the presence of digital technology and various electronic devices tends to interfere with african cultural values. historians are increasingly concerned to challenge and complicate that logic by exploring processes of continuity and change that transcend the pre-colonial and colonial eras and extend in turn to the time of renewed sovereignty from the 1960s (parker and reid 2013). naturally, africa as mentioned earlier is a traditional society and the land of the black race. an invaluable african belief is a belief that elders have wisdom and old age is golden and honorable. respect is therefore paramount while words are spoken with caution and heavy negative news are broken down with the use of proverbs and idiomatic expressions. the thought that one can be hurt by spiritual forces when one errs or hurts fellow human beings is one of the ideologies that knit the society together. again, religion is ritually observed and surrounded by some defined ideology. the philosophy that life comes after death and that the well-lived people will later become cherished ancestors sanitizes society. according to committee on how people learn ii (2014:3), an individual’s brain develops and shaped by the set of experiences and influences unique to her a process that occurs through the pruning of synapses and other neurological developments that take place through adolescence. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 128 innovative trend and digital technology the word innovation is expansive in meaning. it talks about value and value creation in society. it is a word that explains the development of new ideas and knowledge and in this context the digital technological development. innovation in science and technology is trending presently in africa and other world countries. technology has impacted so much the production of goods and services. anderson (1994:4) noticed that the enabling technology which has brought about the current information explosion includes microelectronics, computation, signal processing, and communications…in its most basic form a computer is essentially a machine that receives, stores, manipulates, and communicates information. strader (2011:1) also observed that digital computer systems use databases, algorithms, to store and deliver digital information on a vast array of applications. he further stated that networks, most notably the internet, interconnect these computer systems across the world enabling the exchange of data and information. africa is not yet fully technologically advanced per se but it is tagging along with other world countries very fast. fortunately, too, it has notable men and women who have invented or are involved in various technological and digital productions and services all over the world. technology is what is currently driving the world. there was a period when the manufacturing of airplanes and cars was celebrated as the highest technological innovation in our world. today, technology has expanded and improved. daily, new ideas continue to be introduced. technological breakthroughs have a massive effect on nations and individuals’ output. it has been seen touching the political, economic, and socio-cultural lives of the world citizens and nations. digital technology improves lives, productivity, and communication. people use it or consult it for their economic activities, education, political activities and to transmit general knowledge and expand information. nevertheless, operating or mastering digital devices requires some introductory knowledge and education. some tech giants such as google, microsoft, amazon, and the likes have so far helped scholars, historians, and the general populace to acquire information and knowledge on one puzzling item or the other while the present social platform techs like facebook, whatsapp, youtube and so on have helped the people to advertise, sell and buy products and services and, also socialize far better than before. similarly, many people learn new skills and handicrafts such as cooking, making beads etcetera. in all these, using these apps, digital devices, and other igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 129 technological machines requires efficient skill, maturity, and competent handling for effective results and productivity. african history: past and present africa is the second-largest continent in the world and the continent multiple ethnic groups and cultures. the continent has have accommodated, apart from the indigenes, other categories of foreigners in the course of her history. african history has been painstakingly building up sequentially from one period to another period and from century to century. africa has a history even before the coming of the european colonialists. the debate that africa has no history by some european writers is therefore untrue. history is unique and it is the foundation of any successful nation or continent. prioritizing history is important. according to collins and steams, the study of history does more than satisfy our curiosity. without a profound understanding of the past, societies, organizations, and individuals will make needless mistakes and fail to take full advantage of emerging opportunities (collins and steams 2020:17). major historical events that occurred in africa include the era of the early men, the presence or journey of different explorers into africa, the period of the colonial rule, the scramble for africa, scramble for africa, the period of the slave trade, and the trans atlantic slave trade, and the abolition of the slave trade, various initiation of independence parties, treaties, meetings and struggles, the actual independent of various african nations starting with ghana in 1957, nigeria in 1960, cameroon 1960, togo 1960 and so on and the actual postcolonial period, and many events and activities which include neo-migration issues, new chinese interest in africa, wars and conflicts, refugees issues, constant intertribal conflicts due to border wrong division of borders by the colonial masters and other events. there is also an account of the activities of the arab and european merchants in africa. it is pertinent that african history must therefore be valued by all. all national and state archival materials must be well preserved. access to them whenever students, historians, and scholars consult them for research must be permitted. knowledge of african history past and present is a basic tool at this period of rapid digital transformation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 130 right from time immemorial, the continent has been endowed with rich mineral and human resources. the evidence of this is seen in the number of foreigners that trooped into the continent in the past and in the present times for one business venture or the other. the continent is blessed with human and mineral resources. africa has ancient kingdoms, worthy warriors, organized societies, queens and kings of repute, successful trade merchants, and rich agricultural products. priceless african artifacts were carted away by the europeans from benin and nok in the past but some of them are being returned to africa in the present days. discussions are presently going on to return nigeria stolen artifacts by europeans during their presence in africa. african cultures, ideology, rituals, traditions, artifacts, totems, and ceremonies are all part of african great history. according to newell and okome (2014: xvi), a wide spectrum of evaluations attaches to each of these terms: traditional is afflicted with ideas of cultural heritage and the preservation of moral values; modern is affiliated with ideas about progress, education, enlightenment, and superior status, but also with corruption, loss of authenticity, and degradation. the leadership situation in some african nations such as nigeria is not worthwhile and many influence african history and state of affairs of the continent of africa. most of these nations do not have good governance and while the decision-makers are engaged in looting and fraudulent practices that destabilize the african economic and political success. chitonge (2015) observed that it was common knowledge that sub-saharan africa's economies had been declining since the 1970s. proper management and the use of technology can reduce corruption and improve governance in africa. so far, there are some well-meaning elders, stakeholders, youths, diasporas scholars, and citizens who have continued to speak and write about africa and the events that shape africa. meetings on how to improve nations in africa are ongoing at different quarters. it is also the desire of astute african scholars to write and discuss constantly how to improve african history, identity, and place in this digitalized age. it is worthy to note that so far there are many africans who are contributing their best in leaving lasting legacies towards africa’s growth. africa has a set of smart surgeons and medical experts, technologists, engineers, etc. also, many have through their creativity and skills promoted african culture and history. in the literary world, novelists and writers such as chinua achebe, wole soyinka, ayi kwei amah, and others novels used their textbooks, novels, and plays to capture the history and culture of africa like things fall apart must be carried out by capable africans. historical plays like ovonranmen nogbasi that captured benin history and forceful carting of benin objects remains invaluable. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 131 moreso, african movies and cinemas like is being done by nollywood is fast capturing african history and events in the movie and visual form. african music and musicology industry embellished with african native languages and traditions as seen in flavour’s ada ada tract for instance promotes african culture. musicians like miriam makeba, onyeka onwenu, yvonne chaka chaka, brenda fassie, sunny ade, amongst others, have trended in the world as musicians of repute while carrying african history and culture along with them. the presence of technological digital devices such as computers and flashes amongst others now help the preservation and documentation of african records and history. african culture and the digital trend culture is essential in every society. it is the way people live. african culture is unique and versatile because the continent has multiple ethnic groups who speak different languages and have different styles of portraying their community or regional cultures. in sum, african culture is seen in their arts, rituals, and ceremonies. falola observed that, the african elites, irrespective of their location and sources of ideas, regard culture as the number one tool in creating a difference between africans and non-africans, consolidating national and ethnic identities, addressing most of the issues associated with european encounter, evaluating the impact of foreign religions and cultures, and seeking enduring answers to contemporary problems of economy and politics (falola 2008:3) handicrafts such as pot making and iron smelting and the designs they are given illustrate african also culture and traditions. masquerades and mask designs vary from one african region to another but exist for social control and entertainment in the society. also, across africa is museums and cultural homes where african cultures are tangibly exhibited. similarly, food, music, and dance steps showcase the beauty of african culture. traditional wisdom and knowledge are valued more than western knowledge because it has the needed ingredients to sustain the people in life. thus, african culture is seen in their artifacts, the stories they tell, their dressing, food, language, expression of proverbs, mode of behaviour, and conduct. the people value old age and give reasonable respect to elders. also, sacred objects and natural phenomena are igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 132 feared and respected. hard work is encouraged and innovations and skills are part of the african system. in recent times, digital technology is trending are available in many shapes. digital devices or electronics such as computers, phones, televisions, etc. are easily available and within reach of everyone. the presence of information communication technology and apps is has made interaction easy. engaging in the use of these devices without adequate discipline amongst the youths destabilizes african culture. in recent times the youths are cherishing foreign music and dance styles to traditional cultural ways. handsets and computers have been abuse by children, youths and young adults as many of them play immoral videos and music with these devices. youths have easily engaged in cyber because of the availability of computers. fraud and fraudulent practices are against african cultural values. lies are easily told with mobile phones while laziness has been encouraged amongst the youths who play endless online or downloaded games. whatsapp platforms and youtube have been wrongly indulged in by some young people and today some of them have engaged in immoral acts. these are against african cultural ethics and values. africa’s future and the presence of digital devices africa’s future is important and needs to be safeguarded. new innovations and developments that aspire to interfere or dilute the basics must be evaluated and readjusted. though a traditional society, africa is also modern in many ways. thus, it is right that it moves with the trend and emulates other world-developed nations in technological growth. while engaging in digital technology, its future and values and heritage must be preserved for her future identity. traditional moral and ethical values which have made the continent unique among other world nations must be practiced now despite the presence of digital technology and modernization. there is a need for the african political structure to be reassessed. the economy of africa needs to be readjusted as well. not every mineral resource must be exported. industries and processing factors using digital technology to perfect the system must be adopted. safeguarding the african future requires creating employment for youths to stop them from migrating to european countries in larger numbers to earn a better living. already there is a high rate of brain drain. massive exodus affects african ideology, values, and integrity. technology can be used to create jobs for african youths. there should be african history and cultural apps and not only game apps for the benefit of the young people. presently, science and technology rule igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 133 the world, and any given country that fails to safeguard and project its history and culture will slip away with modern technology. already, laziness is being created by digital devices such as phones amongst youths and these attitudes can affect nations if not curtailed. the strength and energy of african youths is important for the future of africa. neo and illegal migration in recent times is encouraged by africa’s internal and external economic and political crisis. thus, imbibing and creating the right platforms for them at this time will enable africa’s future growth. african democratic governments must therefore be concerned about the welfare of african youths. wasserman (2011) notes that the very concepts of democracy and development cannot be taken for did not grant, nor can the relationship between them be seen as without contradictions and tensions. therefore, civilization seen in technological advancement must marry african core values and not disintegrate them. prioritizing african history and culture in the era of digital technology within the past two decades, there has been a super advancement in digital technology and innovations around the world. almost everything has become digitalized. individuals, organizations, companies, and governments need the efficiency and enablement that are embedded in this technology to grow faster and achieve more. african nations and their governments are not silent on these. they have welcomed this advanced technology as well to enable them to grow. but then, there is no gainsaying the fact that this digital technology may have a monumental effect on african traditional ideology, history, and culture if not checked. asante, (1997:9) observed that these developments have presented extraordinary challenges to africa. already, many youths are becoming passive as they spend quality time on phones and computers. nowadays, children are learning vulgar languages and slang through phones and computers. quest for fast cash through illegal means is against african culture. african history and culture need to be prioritized as most valuable at his time more than ever before. the advantages of observing and knowing the benefits of these two histories must be made known to all african youths. digital technology can be used efficiently in preserving african history and culture rather than misleading the younger generations. similarly, digital technology can be used positively in learning and educating. to prioritize african history and culture, more discourse is needed while african leaders, decision-makers, historian scholars, custodians of culture, traditional rulers, and elders must emphasize this so that all can hear and do the right thing. starting early to indulge in the value of history and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 134 culture in pupils and students is vital. oral traditions, folklores, family gettogether, recitation of the activities of african heroes to the children are important factors towards preserving african history and culture in this age of digital technological presence and growth. africa's traditional way of life and fundamental core values must be encouraged by traditional rulers and cherished by all citizens. african history, culture, rituals, ceremonies must not be blacklisted as archaic by africans or any foreigners. ethnographic museums and archival homes, as well as libraries, need to be erected in every urban center, rural villages and access must be free for the children and youths. the act of reading needs to be revived amongst the youths as the presence of phones and computers are fast taking away the reading culture amongst african youths. african ideology, philosophy, and worldview must be recited and often. proverbs and idiomatic expressions have helped create an orderly african society that was full of local wisdom. reviving them, therefore, is crucial for the continuation of history and culture in africa. in essence, indulgence in positive parts of digital technology is vital while at the same time african history and cultural values must be kept in the realm of affairs and minds of every african. the use of technology must not be allowed to interfere with the history and culture of africa because these two factors have been the foundation that sustained the continent from century to century. already, mentan (2010:xi) believes that the ideological strength of african rulers is wavering as their common sense is challenged more and more consistently. recommendations and way forward for african history and culture although the level of digital technology in africa is still limited and not as sophisticated as the ones seen in the western world, its influence is already making an impact on the people and the nations. for instance, digital devices such as phones and laptops are commonly available and can be operated by the young and old. the entrainment and distractions therein are already affecting some children, youths, and marriages (relationships). thus, to retain african history and culture as well as preserve her world view and ideology the following must be observed.: teaching history of africa and culture in primary, secondary, and tertiary schools across african nations must be prioritized. reviving folklores, storytelling, and moonlight stories and games is also vital. education is important for sustainable development and must be made compulsory for every african child. children, adults, maids or housekeepers, must all have access to formal and informal education. africans whether in the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 135 diaspora or within africa must engage in building african history and traditional knowledge exchange. yearly traditional festivals, rituals, and ceremonies that promote history and culture must be allowed to continue. governments must emphasize the promotion and preservation of national monuments and artifacts across nations and states. they promote history, culture, and unity. thus, museums and cultural homes must be revived and funded adequately. african ideology must be activated and the traditional belief system revived. the use of proverbs and idiomatic expressions is important. local industries must be revived in all african communities. each african community is blessed with one or more traditional skills or handicrafts and multiple resources. innovations and inventions being produced by african youths should be sponsored and recognized. roschenthaler and schulz (2016) affirm that what is remarkable is that young men and women can 'become someone in society, achieve status, and accumulate wealth through the making of pastoral careers in a general context where the possibilities for social climbing are constrained. there should be adequate investment in science and technology across africa to enable african nations and citizens to compete favourably with the rest of the world in development. security of life and property is important for sustainable development and for the people to have a sane environment to engage in the display of their cultural activities. archival homes and libraries must be adequately preserved and access is given to the people to consult the materials therein. conclusion this paper has discussed the importance of prioritizing african history and culture at this time when fast innovative trends are going on around the world. it examined the problems and interference of digital technology in the african environment especially amongst the youths that are detrimental to african history and culture. the paper agreed that the african continent has the right to engage in digital advancement to survive and meet world standards. technological advancement is trending all over the world presently and almost everything has become computerized and digitalized. nations are becoming diversified and more progressive using digital technology, and other forms of technological outlets that permit the expansion of resources. the paper pointed out that while accepting and indulging in technological advancement, african history and culture remain a top priority for africans and the continent itself. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 136 these two therefore must be preserved, respected, and cherished. the paper also suggested that certain factors must be activated again in africa such as storytelling and passing on of oral traditions to the younger generations, teaching history and culture in schools, retrieving all african artifacts in british museums, and preserving them adequately. the paper recommended the importance of giving african scholars and students access to archival materials during their research. proper digital computerization and documentation of african history and culture are also advised. references anderson, a.j. (1994). foundations of computer technology, chapman and hall asante, m.k. (2015). the history of africa: the quest for eternal harmony, routlegde asante, s.k.b. (1997). regionalism and africa’s development, macmillan press bishop, j. (2014), transforming politics and policy in the digital age, igi global chitonge , h., (2015). economic growth and development in africa understanding trends and prospects, routledge collins m, & steams p.n. (2020), why study history, london publishing partnership committee on how people learn ii: the science and practice of learning (2014). how people learn it: learners, contexts and cultures, committee on how people learn ii falola, t, (2008), the power of african cultures, university rochester press isichie, e. (1997), a history of african societies to 1870, cambridge university press jerven, m. (2015). measuring african development, routledge. mentan , t. (2010), the new world order ideology and africa, langaa rpcig, newell s., & okome . o, (2014. popular culture in africa: the episteme of the everyday, routledge nkoh, .a... j. (2006), tradition, culture and the development in african historical lessons for modern, ashgate publishing limited parker, j. & reid, r. (2013). the oxford handbook of modern history, oxford university press, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 137 strader, t. j. (2011). digital product management, technology and practice: interdisciplinary perspective, business science perspective roschenthaler & schulz d., (2016). cultural entrepreneurship in africa, routledge wasserman, h. (2011). popular media, democracy, and development in africa, routledge igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 131 a review of kanu, ikechukwu anthony‟s “igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy” philip adah idachaba, ph.d department of philosophy kogi state university, anyigba idachaba.p@ksu,edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.28703.51361 the paper is a modest effort at articulating an african logic which is the basis or source for the now fully developed discipline of african philosophy. its basic presupposition is that asking if there is an african logic is an illogical question; for if there were no african logic, we cannot be talking about african philosophy. philosophy is intimately connected to logic and in fact, it is logic that makes philosophy. for this reason, when there is an african philosophy, an african logic must follow. at a second level, philosophy is obviously a culture bound engagement and since logic is part of philosophy, logic also has to be culture bound. therefore, there has to be an african logic which gives meaning to and determines what african philosophy is. what then is this african logic? before considering what african logic is, the paper first looks at what logic is. taking together the position of different scholars, the submission of the paper is that ―the art of sound, correct and critical reasoning is the domain of logic‖ (11). logic is concerned with producing truth, coherence, consistency and orderliness in arguments and reasoning. given the concerns of logic, it can perhaps be seen as the most important branch of philosophy. following from this, the paper is of the opinion that african logic focuses on ―the structure of african thought.‖ this is because, ―every culture and people have its own peculiar way of thinking or reasoning, and it is the african pattern of reasoning that has brought about logic‖ (12). by this token, african logic is a variant of logic and there are others. this assumes the diversity of logic and this assumption is premised on the fact that logic is intimately related to language and as languages are different and culture bound, so too logic has to express this diversity. languages in communicating express the reasonability and rationality of communication and self-expression. it is also through this linguistic medium that logic is also established. african logic speaks to the centre or locus of logicality from an african purview. here, african logic is the basis upon which something makes sense for the african. the author of the paper uses some igbo proverbs to further make his point. one of such is, mailto:idachaba.p@ksu,edu.ng https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.28703.51361?_sg%5b0%5d=mrxx0w1c49be1vvaby9sn1visj8exrdfdkdhxkedoo6bhkgz_vsgm7zxtpsm1bbd9vacl03zftbv5sxb8mj0cpzzea.olygo13oqi-taoioogrxxp6paj18kpkjm5do-foocpgd9pr73wlghn7ywnzeww5tyzq54r6cady4ozqm5syfmg igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 132 ‗whenever the palm tree tilts, it is because of what the earth has told it.‘ thus, within the african frame, the earth can talk to the palm tree and it is logical so say the palm tree listens. such conclusions are not reached from only single occurrence, but from several instances and this becomes the basis for logical connection. haven generally set the frame for african logic, the paper gets down to specifics with regard to the core elements of african logic. the paper considers igwebuike as that which universalises and particularises logic within the african context. at the universal level, logic is one, it is that which appeals to every reasonable mind. syllogistic arguments, for example, belong to this universal level. logic becomes particular within the context of application. here, cultural experience becomes a fundamental fact in determining what is logical. this the point where igwebuike connects with african logic. it is what determines logicality in the african context. igwebuike represents complementarity. it is an igbo word or phrase which can be translated as ‗number is strength‘. that is, human beings are insurmountable when they come together in solidarity and complementarity. being is presented here as that which possesses a relational character. igwebuike framework seeks the conglomeration, unification, and summation of fragmented thoughts. this complementary relationality of igwebuike can be linked to the relational harmony which plato describes in the soul and the state in the republic. igwebuike insists that humans all work together in order to attain the total joy of completion. the paper also contends that igwebuike ontologically grounds african logic. this is the case because igwebuike is dialectical. that is, it involves some sort of contradictory process between opposing sides. just as it is the case in plato‘s dialogues and hegel‘s logic, dialectics or confrontations is a key mode of african logic courtesy of the igwebuike frame. from a proverbial point of view, the igbos say that, ‗god who creates mud, made available something to wash off mud.‘ this goes to show that, though both mud and water are opposing forces, they are both sides of the same coin. this represents a kind of ―inner curve of reciprocity‖ (16). this is what helps african epistemology to avoid the dualism of subjectivism or objectivism. this is how igwbuike grounds african logic. as mentioned earlier, this paper is bold and commendable effort. but there are grey areas that require attention. in the first place, the understanding of logic which ties it to language is quite an insufficient understanding of logic. by this, it is meant that the understanding of logic which grounds the discourse of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 133 igwebuike and african logic is restrictive. although, the paper defines logic in quite a comprehensive sense when it says that, the art of sound, correct and critical reasoning is the domain of logic and that it is concerned with producing truth, coherence, consistency and orderliness in arguments and reasoning. at the point when it begin to make its arguments for an african logic, it then reduces the understanding of logic to its relationship with language and culture. this understanding of logic is quite insufficient because, granted that communicative interaction has to be logical for it to be successful, such linguistic interaction captures only part of the core of logic. the etymology of logic is the greek word logos which means speech, word or thought, but the development of the discipline has expanded way beyond just rationality of speech or thought. other vital elements have been incorporated into its core. consequently, given the insufficient understanding of logic, the essay seems to have a generally insufficient tone. the paper seems to have restricted logic to the realm of informal logic, not minding that there is formal logic, symbolic logic, mathematical logic and a host of others which encompasses what logic generally is in philosophy. it seems to ignore the fact that logic at its inception was formal. it is only recently that informal logic evolved to study and assess the logical elements of natural languages. at another level, the particularisation of logic to linguistic frames, naturally relativizes the aspirations of such logic. since logicality is that which makes sense within a particular cultural context, mutual validation can only happen thereof. when you say there is logic in the adage that ‗whenever a palm tree tilts somewhere, it is because the earth has told it to‘, this logic only makes sense to someone who shares in the frame within which this kind of thought is established. the adage above suggests that the earth can talk and the tree has the capacity to listen. that is, inanimate objects can communicate in human-like manner. this kind of thought patter may be comprehensible to an igalaman who believes that grasses, tress and even walls have ears. but to somebody who does not belong to such a frame, how does such a position make sense? communication and interaction breaks down when there is a contact between people who do not share the same basic frame. the fulani, in his logical frame, believes land is given by god and he can take land anywhere. the other average nigerian believes he has an ancestral home and it is not right for anybody to take it. two mutually incommensurable frame are confronting; two logics are clashing. the point here is that each is relative to those who hold them. this relativizing tendency of particularising logic is an issue igwbuike logic has to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 134 address. if not properly addressed, an ultimate result in this regard is the position that truth is more than one. also, it needs to be underscored that in as much as logic is a tool for selfexpression, it is fundamentally a tool for assessment. this is clear enough from the understanding of logic as the study which helps to demarcate good from bad reasoning. from this understanding, logic basically incorporates the prescriptive disposition of philosophy. here, the aim of logic is to identify thought processes or patterns that are flawed from those which are not. as was noted earlier, the paper under review belongs to informal logic, in the realm of informal logic, the study of fallacy is central. these fallacies guide thought to be able to sort out good from bad reasoning. this is why logic is basically about frames and structures. its focus is on the impartial assessment of arguments and positions in order to determine that which has a greater measure of reasonability. it is only a dispassionate logic that can help to resolve issues when mutually incommensurable frames are clashing. it sets out to do its work by establishing which position is most reasonable. this is because reason has no cultural bounds. every rational person can appreciate the dictates of reasonability. in fact, that we can appreciate complementarity is because it adheres to dictates of reasonability. logic should stand as tool for assessment. this is the reason this review suggests igwebuike should be considered more as an orientation and an approach to philosophy rather than a logic. bibliography kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and and logic (nka) of african philosophy‖. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 135 kanu, i. a. (2015a). a hermeutic approach to the study of african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015b). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no. 1.[ 97-101]. kanu, i. a. (2016b). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no.1. [1-7]. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 2.doc igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 88 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) educational implicatons of social media: influence of popular music on nigerian youths ojukwu, ebele v., ph.d. department of music, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, nigeria email: ev.ojukwu@unizik.edu.ng; 08037244058 abstract the social media, as progressive as it has contributed to the development of man, has brought with it certain problems to humanity and the youths in particular. most youths believe that their sentimental attachment to social media is the fact that it provides an escape from daily stress. music, being arguably the most direct and personal medium of leisure and enjoyment, has proven itself to be a diversion from the tedium of work, this paper is focused on the implications popular music derived through the social media on the learning attitudes of nigerian youths. the paper adopts survey and library search as its methodology and it is anchored on moralist theory since every human society is built on the principles of morality. it concludes by recommending governmental censoring of lyrical content of musical compositions which go into the internet while urging music composers to produce musical compositions that applaud the social values and norms of nigerian society. keywords: learning, popular music, social media and nigerian youths. introduction the youths and the music industry in nigeria have embraced a genre of music known as popular music which is a general term used to refer to music of the city that are popularly enjoyed by large number of people such as hip-pop, jazz, reggae, r&b. rock and roll, etc unlike folk music type prevalent during the time of our fore fathers. consequently, the seeming high consumption of this genre amongst the nigerian youths has caused the different social media in the country to air more of this genre of music than any other music genres. the effects of music on human mind is overwhelming and over powering that most times one cannot help but succumb to its spell as it plays on the mind and remolds it either positively or negatively. abiodun (2017) notes that music can make or mar an individual since music in all its ramifications at all levels apart from the entertainment it offers, performs a function and is concern with the development of a complete being. majority of the youths of nowadays seem to have created for themselves a haven of conviviality which to a large extent is retrogressive in positivity as can be seen in their daily behavior. information sharing, chats and other mobile uploads igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 89 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) keep youths busy on the social media. to a large extent, these media are not censored neither are the kinds of information distributed through such media controlled. owing to this lack of control, the social media has been abused and has become the easiest avenue for the propagation of anti-social trends and attitudes. through such social media as facebook, whatsapp, instrgram, baddoo, 2go, youtube, etc, heavy crimes have been committed over time and are still being committed on daily basis. the world has gone agog with cases of cybercrime, fraud, sexual abuse, misplacement of priorities, etc, which are caused by uncensored access to the internet. it is a veritable fact that what youths watch, indulge in, experience, share and discuss influence their world views and goes a long way in determining their actions, associations and the way they respond to the stimulus of who they are and their value systems. nudity, violence and antisocial behaviors which are transmitted through social media have reached record high. from the foregoing, it has become crystal clear that social media in all their forms bring with them, positive as well as negative effects. in as much as communication is made easier and the whole wide world is reduced to a global village through the fast and efficient means of information sharing, it has become incandescently obvious that negative proclivities are also being propagated and transmitted through the social media. the uncontrolled and uncensored freedom of access to different kinds of content on the internet, unbridled discussions and unchecked associations which go on through the various means of social media has led to various kinds of ills and depravities which aim at the very fabric and heart of societal, national and international life; hence, necessitating this study. music as a universal language is a veritable means of communication of values and a means of transmission of values. few would doubt the overall effect music has on people. in plato’s republic, socrates said that musical training is a more potent instrument than any other, because rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul, on which they mightily fasten. music affects our moods, our attitudes, our emotions and our behavior. we wake to it, dance to it, and sometimes cry to it. adolescents are so deeply affected by music that for them any day that passes without being seriously involved with music in one way or the other is a day wasted (storr, 1992). in support of the above assertion, abati (2009) opines “the average adolescents watches and listens to music and music videos approximately two to three hours every day; this is more than time they spend in reading their books” (70). the seeming high consumption of popular music genre amongst the youths has caused the electronic media in nigeria to air more of this genre of music that it can be easily accessed through igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 90 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) all kinds of electronic media, online streaming, and new technologies, enabling the youths to view it in diverse settings and situations. there is a gross modification of certain values among nigerian youths on the life styles they exhibit in the society which deviates from the communal values and accepted norms which appears to be as a result of consumption of this genre of music which may likely have direct consequences on the academic pursuit of these youths. it is against this background that this study seeks to examine the implications of listening and viewing popular music videos through the social media on nigerian youths’ learning attitude. the outcome of this study will be beneficial in one way or the other to various groups of people such as the youths, parents, government, lecturers, contemporary pop musicians, musicologists and the society at large because they will gain more experience on how to manage youth behavior and devise formidable means of improving the academic lots of nigerian youths. the question guiding this study is: • to what extent does contemporary pop music viewed through the social media encroach on the learning attitude of nigerian youths? conceptual framework social media media is an instrument for communication, such as newspaper, radio, television; etc social media is a social instrument for communication. it includes all websites, applications, blogs and gadgets which enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking. some trendiest social networks people are using both on the web and mobile phones include: face book, twitter, you tube, linked in, instagram, pintrest, tumblr, vine, skipe, yahoo messenger, snapchart, 2go, whatsapp, black berry messenger etc. they are forms of electronic communications (web sites for social networking and micro blogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, videos and other contents. popular music popular music is a generic term for present day music of all ages, designed for entertainment and commercial purposes that seemingly appeals to everyone. the term “popular music” is often used interchangeably with “pop music” or as a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 91 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) short form for popular. research has it that popular music originated in the mid 50s in britain as a description for rock and roll and the new youth music style. idolor (2002) notes that pop music started in america with the “tin pan alley ere” around 1880 and as a genre of music encompassing several styles, that is readily comprehensible to a large proportion of the population; that its appreciations requires little knowledge of musical theory or technique. it differs significantly from classical and folk music and from jazz. he further implies that popular pieces are usually of modest length, have a prominent melodic line, often vocal and a simple restricted harmonic language. among different types of music available, none seems to have such a big influence on a person’s life as popular music. pancare (2013) confirms that “the influence of today’s pop music on youths might concern many parents” [http://www.livestrong.com] it takes a major share of people’s sensibility through rhythm, melody, and song text styles and even the money it spins in the society. pop music is eclectic. it is eye catching, elegant, and well admired by large number of people. it often borrows elements from other styles. pop music is centered on the happenings of the society such as; love, gossip, politics, economic status, etc. popular music deals with familiar themes and issues of the moment. it is understood and accepted by a lot of people not as a final solution to their problems but as a topical reflection of their sentiment and current world view, pop music has the mass appeal and consumption because it is designed to please in the easiest manner. it features simple catchy tunes that are easy to remember, it is ephemeral and transitory in nature (okafor, 2005:327). popular music is more subject to change than any other genre of music. smith in okafor posits that it is not ceremonially or socially bound to tribal institutions. innovations and alteration in pop music is generally not prohibited by tradition. thus, it can been changed by outside influences, individuals within the society, and integration with other societies. popular music is dance-oriented and draws its core clientele from urban dwellers and finds its expression mostly in pubs and night clubs. all the above characteristics are what make popular music more acceptable to the youths than any other genre of music. youth youth is the time of life between childhood and maturity. encyclopedia britannica library defines youth as, ‘the time of life when one is young; especially the period between childhood and maturity; the early period of existence, growth, or development the period of life in which one passes from childhood to maturity’. it is a period of rapid changes and increased independence in adolescence which is marked with several physical changes by igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 92 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) which their bodies eventually become adult bodies that are capable of reproducing (ojukwu, 2014). research has shown that youths constitute three quarter of nigerian population ranging from the age bracket of 18 – 35 years in other words; they constitute a significant and growing percentage of nigeria. [ https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/youth ]. what this implies is that any citizen of federal republic of nigeria that falls within the above years is classified as nigerian youth. nigerian government characterizes youth as ambitious, enthusiastic, energetic and promising. they are considered vulnerable in society because of the rapid pace of change they experience at this time in their lives. they are the future wealth of a country since they possess the energy and power not only to destroy burning spheres of fire or erupting volcanoes, but also the embodiment of love and affection. they are most vulnerable as far as the values of the nation are concern. theoretical framework the process of learning new things is not always the same. learning can happen in a wide variety of ways. to explain how learning and when learning occurs, a number of different psychological theories have been proposed. in this paper, social learning theory propounded by albert bandura will be examined since it is related to this study problem. albert bandura (1989) in his learning through observation theory demonstrated that human beings naturally engage in observational learning which is described as the process of learning through watching others, retaining the information and later replicating behaviors that were observed. bandura demonstrated that young children could imitate the violent and aggressive behavior of adult models. he notes that it can occur when someone observes the actions and consequences of other people’s behavior. observational learning can be referred to as shaping, modeling and vicarious reinforcement. learning can take place at any point in life but it intends to be most common during childhood as young people emulate authority figures and peers during their developmental stages. this also affects their socialization process as they tend to behave and respond to others by observing how their parents, role models and other relatives interact with each other. observational learning theory is critical to this study because people tend to imitate actions they view from the social media and they are likely to imitate both positive and negative behaviours associated with contemporary pop music videos they watch on social media such as drug abuse, excessive smoking, alcoholism, skimpy dressing, vulgarism, etc. this has huge implications on modern day youths learning in school since they commit much of their time igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 93 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) watching and listening to popular music through the social media and other avenues. learning is a complex process that involves multiple factors and tremendous amount of learning happens through this process of watching and imitating others. psychologists not only study how learning occurs but also, how social, emotional, cultural and biological variables influence the learning process. the implication of this theory is that youths are likely to imitate what they watch in social media be it positive or negative and this will inversely affect their learning process. jean piaget’s theory of moral reasoning which was developed by lawrence kohlberg states that morality starts from the early childhood years. he posits that morality is affected by several factors and can be developed either positively or negatively, depending on how an individual accomplishes the tasks before him during each stage of moral development across his lifespan. human society is built on the principles of morality. the judgment on whether an action is morally right or wrong is based on several factors. children tend to say that an action is morally right or wrong because of the serious need of the doer. the implication of this moralist theory on the youth is that children at the early stage s of their life could be engrossed on viewing negative popular music videos on the social media, their morals as regards to what is right or wrong are at a potential risk. when this happens, their attitude to learn in school may be affected. this is where ‘ethics’ comes in. ethics has no univocal definition. lillie (1985) defines ethics as ‘the systematic study of the fundamental principles of the moral law; or as the normative science of human conduct’ (p. 2). omoregbe (2008) defines it as ‘the branch of philosophy that deals with morality of human actions’ (p. 3). from the above, it is easily deducible that ethics deals with morality and that morality represents what is acceptable in the society. in this light, it has become incandescently clear why virtually every profession has its own ethics with which it receives acceptance from the society. going against such ethics is tantamount to courting rejection from the society. the social media and its usage are no exception from the all-seeing eyes of ethics and morality. in as much as the social media has helped man tremendously and has brought the globe to the comfort of man’s room, it has brought with it certain menaces which are unethical in the society particularly among the youths. some of these negative effects include: cybercrime, pornography, nudity, in the name of dressing, violence, excess alcoholic intake, hooliganism, use of foul languages, waste of useful time on useless ventures, etc. these anti-social legacies are surely igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 94 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) against the ethics of establishment of social media. nigerian youths ought to be trained to be rational in thinking and behavior because a free and rational being is a moral being since he is bound by the natural law to pursue what is good and avoid what is evil. on this omoregbe (2008) states: man is by virtue of his freedom and rationality a moral being. this means that man (in as much as he is free and rational) is subject to the moral law and is morally responsible for his actions; he is to be blamed, punished or applauded for his actions as appropriate (p. 13). pop music and social media on nigerian youths presently, youths rely on social media and can spend several hours in a day on one type of social network or the other in isolation. the critical thing here is that most of them seem to lack a sense of right and wrong, good and bad. the present day youth appears to be reckless lotsalways wanting to experiment new things and taste new things. this could have been the reason why nigeria national education goals include among other things ‘the inculcation of the right type of values and attitudes for the survival of the individual and the nigerian society’ (frn, 2004:8); nevertheless okafor and okafor (2009) note that, there has been a huge gap between principle and practice, vision and achievement in this regard’ (p. 34). • lyrics and images of pop music videos lyrics of music are important part of music because they contain messages and feelings that the singer wants to convey to the listeners. in an attempt to be new and exciting, music video producers constantly look for new content and try to incorporate them into their music videos. this includes videos which tend to amplify and spread current trends which could be good or bad to the listeners. these trends could be derived from current happenings such as dance styles, political ideas, clothing designs, new words, hair styles, etc. most nigerian youths get easily influenced by these trends and spread them within nigeria and beyond. idolor (2002) highlights that in the past, pop music texts or messages were conservative, without much sex innuendoes, aggressive love and sentimental matters, and so were essentially based on morality and other corrective matters. he further notes that the texts then often mirror the society in respect to politics, social protests, morality, satires, national solidarity, patriotism, economic situation, praise and worship of god. in the recent times, popular musicians have by and large succeeded in incorporating various igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 95 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) materials capable of creating positive or negative impacts on youths depending on the contents of the music. it should be noted that often, most youths do not listen or view these music with negative influence from the gadgets at home such as televisions and dvd due to fear of parents or other adults at home; instead, they turn to any available social media peculiar to them such as phones, laptops, etc. exposure to modern pop music through the social media is a significant factor in the life of nigerian youths because negative issues such as sex, drug abuse, violence, etc can lead to undesirable behaviors on the youths. idolor (2002) buttressed this assertion and notes that the society has not been spared by the consequences of this misplacement, if not abuse of such delicate and sensitive aspects of social life. since pop music is essentially commercial, pop musicians picks on any popular and gullible textual theme or topic that would promote the commercial orientation of their art. pop musicians sing what they think is of commercial benefits, no matter how obscene it may be. youths need a firm grip or hold. and this is possible only by imbibing moral or value educationwhich is very much lacking in our present scenario (http://www.slideshare.net). the nucleus of this study therefore, is geared towards re-enacting the consciousness of morality among the nigerian youths through music since through these moral sound musical performances the norms and values of the people are portrayed and reinstituted. this way, it is believed that the youths’ restless and overzealous nature can be put into good use since they always look out on where to invest their energy and while doing that they also imbibe the people’s value system. though, one may argue that immoral musical compositions abound and are also perpetuated through other means other than social media; but the menace of social media on the nigerian youths is so wide spread, so incursive that even (immoral) musical compositions in the social media contributes to the deteriorating conditions which nigerian youths imbibe from the social media. it is the hope of this writer that when the availability of morally-sound compositions overwhelms immoral compositions, and through the enactment of laws on censorship, nigerian youths will be shielded more from the menaces of social media. methodology the study which is survey in nature was carried out in nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. it targeted all the youths in anambra state since nnamdi azikiwe university is a federal university in awka, anambra state housing igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 96 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) youths from different ethnic groups, language and creed. the sample of the population stood at one hundred (100) youths drawn through accidental sampling. this involves picking any student at the rufai garba square of nnamdi azikiwe university where students from every department irrespective of ethnic group, creed or language cluster for one business or the other. a twelve (12) item questionnaire was designed and used for the collection of data. copies of questionnaire were issued to the respondents who were allowed to fill them undisturbed and they were collected immediately afterwards. the study questionnaire was designed with a four-point likert’s scale and the responses were analyzed using simple percentage. presentation and analysis of data the male and female respondents that formed part of the random selected sample were given equal opportunity. the study showed that the larger percentage of the subjects that responded to the questionnaire were between the ages 17 and 30 years. table 1: respondents’ responses on the extent contemporary pop music viewed through the social media encroach on the learning attitude of nigerian youths. s/n description of questionnaire items % sa % a % d % sd total % 1. there is a huge connection between contemporary pop music videos and youths’ addiction to social media. 52 28 17 3 100 2. most youths spent several hours on social media watching and listening to pop music videos rather than their studies 24 56 12 8 100 3. strong sexual desires as a result of gullible scenes from pop music on social media may lead the youths into sexual irresponsibility that may affect their studies negatively. 38 42 15 5 100 4. creativity derived from pop music facilitates students’ learning. 30 50 15 5 100 5. drug addictions associated with pop 60 35 5 0 100 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 97 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) music videos may lead to violence during teaching and learning process. 6. nude dressing copied from watching pop music videos distracts both students and teachers during teaching and learning process. 70 30 0 0 100 7. constant exposures to pop music through social media have helped nigerian youths to conquer phobia for public speaking thereby enhancing learning. 20 50 20 10 100 8. team work derived from viewing pop music on social media has encouraged the youths to learn from each other’s skills in school. 35 48 12 5 100 9. communicative skills necessary for teaching and learning are developed in youths through viewing of pop music on social media. 65 32 2 0 100 10. pop music lyrics encourage vulgarism and the use of abusive words by nigerian youths. 58 42 0 0 100 11. incessant use of earphones during teaching and learning can alter the study habits of most nigerian youths. 35 40 20 5 100 12. increase in the seemingly lack of respect for elders by nigerian youths is a direct consequence of pop music viewed over the social media. 10 20 50 20 100 result of the findings in item one of the table above, 52 percent of the respondent strongly agree that there is a huge connection between contemporary pop music videos and youths’ addiction to social media, 28 percent agree to that, 17 percent disagree while only 3 percent strongly disagree. the item number two which says that most youths spent several hours on social media watching and listening to pop music videos rather than their studies has 24 percent strongly agreeing to that, 56 percent agree, 12 percent disagree and 8 percent strongly disagree. on the item number three that says that strong sexual desires as a result of gullible scenes igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 98 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) from pop music on social media may lead youths into sexual irresponsibility that may affect their studies negatively, 38 percent strongly agree, 42 percent agree, 15 percent disagree while only 5 percent strongly disagree. in the number four item which reads that creativity derived from pop music facilitates students’ learning, 30 percent of the respondents strongly agree, 50 percent only agree, 15 percent disagree and 5 percent strongly disagree to that. drug addictions associated with pop music videos may lead to violence during teaching and learning process is the item number five; 60 percent strongly agree to that, 35 percent agree, 5 percent disagree while no respondent strongly disagree. nude dressing copied from watching pop music videos distracts both students and teachers during teaching and learning process which is the sixth item, has 70 percent of the respondent strongly agreeing to that, 30 percent agree only and no respondent neither disagree nor strongly disagree. in item number seven, 20 percent of the respondents strongly agree that constant exposures to pop music through social media have helped nigerian youths to conquer phobia for public speaking thereby enhancing learning, 50 percent agree to that, 20 percent disagree while only 10 percent strongly disagree. number eight item which says that team work derived from viewing pop music on social media has encouraged the youths to learn from each other’s skills in school has the responses as follows: 35 percent strongly agree, 48 percent agree, 12 percent disagree and 5 percent strongly disagree. in item number nine, 65 percent strongly agree, 32 percent agree, 2 percent disagree while no respondent strongly disagree that communicative skills necessary for teaching and learning are developed in youths through viewing of pop music on social media. pop music lyrics encourage vulgarism and the use of abusive words by nigerian youths which is the item number ten has the following responses: 58 percent strongly agree, 42 percent agree, no percentage for disagree and strongly disagree. in item number eleven, 35 percent of the respondents strongly agree, 40 percent agree, 20 percent disagree while 5 percent strongly disagree that incessant use of earphones during teaching and learning can alter the study habits of most nigerian youths. increase in the seemingly lack of respect for elders by nigerian youths is a direct consequence of pop music viewed over the social media which is number twelve item has the following responses:10 percent of the respondents strongly agree to that, 20 percent agree, 50 percent disagree while 20 percent strongly disagree. discussion of the findings this study has so far embarked on a voyage of discovery which has yielded eyeopening results. the social media as the findings have shown greatly influences nigerian youths more than any other external force in the contemporary times. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 99 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) its grip on nigerian youths is so strong that outbursts of crimes have emanated from them. viewing contemporary pop music through the social media clearly has both positive and negative proclivities and effects which accrue from it; and from findings made, a teeming majority of the respondents subscribe to the fact that the negative effects greatly overwhelm the positive. the overall aim of this study was to find out the extent the contemporary pop music through various media sources has influenced the life style of nigerian youths and how these influences derived from this genre of music encroached on the learning attitude of the youths. the analysis shown above indicated that out of the twelve items questionnaire, only 4 items (item numbers 4, 7, 8 and 9) have large percentage of positive influences while 8 items (item numbers 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 11 and 12) bear large percentage of negative influences. this is where the problem starts demanding a quick attention, to curb its spread and loosen its strangle-hold on nigerian youths. positive influences generally speaking, music industry is an agent of transformation and a major profit base for nigeria. emeka (2004) early in time opines, “since music is an integral component of a people’s culture, and each society provides its method of transformation, music is really available as that means of transformation” (4). the ability of music as a vehicle for social reengineering, transformation and money making has never been in doubt. okafor and okafor (2009) clearly state that the music industry is “an aggregation of several activities and organizations working towards specific ends but united in the common objective of distributing music for profit” (19). ojukwu, esimone and onyiuke (2015) collaborate that it involves the totality of several groups that work together towards a common objective of making money through music distribution. nigerian youths through active participation in pop music have been profitably engaged in different aspects of this genre of music as singers, producers, song writers, instrumentalists, dancers, directors, etc. some of these musicians get paid when they streamed their music via online platforms. it involves a lot of creativity and exposure; the potentials and possibilities available and various platforms are limitless and can easily be transferred to other spheres of life. this explains why over two-third of the respondents are strongly positive concerning creativity derivable from pop music. this study also discovered that constant exposure to pop music through social media have enabled nigerian youths to overcome phobia for public speaking, build network of friends, develop spirit of theme work, tolerance with one another which can help them work peacefully with their colleagues in school. pancare succinctly points out that “certain pop igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 100 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) music can positively influence teens, triggering happiness and excitement, instilling confidence or even helping them complete tasks such as household shores or home work” [http://www.livestrong.com]. negative influences the choices we make in life affect our life styles since they play important role in shaping our behaviors and ideological perceptions. this study pointed out that nigerian youths spend several hours on the internet and other social media and from the respondents’ opinion, large majority of the youths listen /view all manner of contemporary music over the media. this, as can be derived from the opinion of the respondents is seriously affecting their academic performances. present day youths can easily access this type of music genre with ease through the internet, mobile phone, you-tube, online streaming and other new technologies. since nigerian youths of these days can access this genre of music via all these available social media, it becomes difficult to identify the kind of music genre the present day youths listen to. sam (2006) asserts “the mind and its relation to the brain is one of the greatest and oldest thoughts man has discovered as a problem put to himself” (22). the study also revealed that there is a huge connection between contemporary pop music videos and youth desire for illicit sex. pancare (2013) poignantly declares that “pop songs contain references to sex, drugs, alcohol or violence. many songs also glorify rebellion against authority, the degradation of women or self destructive behaviors” [http://www.livestrong.com]. the youths having been exposed to all sorts of pop music videos over the media such that emphasized horrible sex images, tend to imitate what they have seen in real life situation. idolor (2002) avers, “influence of love and sex on pop music in recent times is overwhelming” (33). collin et al (2004) collaborate the assertion and write, “teens who watch large quantities of television containing sexual content were two times as likely to begin having sex within the next year as teens who did not view such programme” (114). other noticeable negative influence of contemporary pop music viewed over the social network on the life of nigerian youths is drug addiction, use of foul language and lack of respect for elders. some contemporary pop music videos contain a lot of images where pop stars and artists smoke extensively and abuse drugs, some use very offensive language and vulgar words which are degrading and harmful. increase in lack of respect for elders by the nigerian youths is also one of the negative consequences of contemporary pop music genre on the youth. the virtue of respect for elders seemed to have disappeared in nigerian igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 101 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) youths and rudeness, disobedience and noncompliance has become the order of the day. if the children view media depicting wrong behavior as good, they will learn it in effect and resort to wrong behavior in real life. it was also discovered through the study that due to constant viewing of contemporary pop music videos, youths try to imitate some of these pop music stars who often put on earphones as role models. it is now common scene to see students in the classroom putting on ear phones while the lecture is going on. some female students come to class almost nude thinking it is fashionable and trendy. some youths happily dress in skimpy cloths without any iota of shame. females bare their boobs while males sag their pants shamelessly all in the name of modernity. ukamaka in kagarko (2012) laments that “dressing codes are nowadays often treated with disdain” (142). ojukwu and esimone (2014) rightly point out that “behavioral patterns among nigerian youths today indicate that the level of morality is at an all-time low” (162). various vices are prevalent in various communities. according to an internet source: shame and shamelessness are rewarded with encomiums and emphasized recognition; half nakedness is now synonymous with fame and acceptance; skimpy dresses are now tickets to classy events; songs that have intimate talks in them sell faster than the meaningful ones; when one’s trousers are around their waist, then one is perceived as a learner; big girls are now identified by the level of exposure of their private parts (www.nairaland.com). implications of the study to classroom situation positive implications more participation in contemporary music in the actual sense seems to have aided the youths in active teaching and learning since pop music involve a lot of communication. it is observable that more youths especially in the tertiary institutions now express and communicate their thoughts and feelings more effectively in the classroom situation unlike before. it also provides opportunity for youths to develop teamwork and collaborative efforts in school which foster problem solving skills, reasoning skills and brain storming during teaching and learning. youths who participate in pop music seem to be more cooperative with teachers and peers and exhibit more confidence in teaching and learning situation. youths who view contemporary pop music are more likely to overcome phobia of public speaking and equally develop creative skills, express igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 102 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) ideas, think outside the walls of the classroom, challenge problems with innovative solutions and most importantly learn faster and more effectively. negative implications in as much as the fact that viewing contemporary music videos through social media has some positive implications to learning as can be seen above, there are more of negative implications. the negative repercussions of indecent dressing in schools and even elsewhere range from rape, prostitutions to transmission of sexual transmitted diseases. it destroys the attention of both the students and the lecturers and leads to lack of concentration during teaching and learning process. drug abuse, partying and clubbing are often associated with contemporary pop music stars and most of them are seen openly smoking profusely in their music videos. research has shown that any trauma or changes in the brain wiring is capable of changing how the brain functions and that drug use is one way of changing the brain wiring since it is capable of altering the activity of the nerve cells. tremendous amount of learning happens through the process of watching and imitating others as stated in bandura’s observational theory on which this study hinges. young people are likely to imitate any of their role models either positively or negatively. youths who indulge in drug abuse stand the risks of having brain damage, mental problem or even full blown madness which may likely result in losing the quality of education envisaged by such youth. frequent partying and clubbing may deprive the youths sound sleep causing them to sleep during lectures or dodging lectures entirely. it is also observed that persistent use of earphone which enables the youths to be listening to music while studying or while lecture is ongoing creates a huge distraction on the part of the user, the lecturer and the entire class. it could prevent the user from hearing adequately during the teaching and learning process and the student might even develop ear infections that may lead to loss of hearing. conclusion and recommendation this study focused on the educational implications of contemporary popular music which are mostly assessed over various social media within nigeria. the social media is no doubt a strong force as the findings have shown but it has taken over the time and disposition of nigerian youths to the extent that time that should have been used for productive ventures have been stolen. though the result of the findings showed that contemporary popular music exact some positive influence on nigerian youths but the negative influence outweighs the positive. the study went further to discuss how these positive and negative influences affect the learning attitude of nigerian youths and made it clear that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 103 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) continued exposure of nigerian youths to the type of pop music videos they view through the social networks, if not checked may greatly endanger the health and academic wholesomeness of nigerian youths. pop music is so widely circulated through the social media in contemporary nigeria and the contents are not properly censored. it is implicit that the increase in the rate of fraudulent deals, immoral and amoral innuendoes and urges which are fuelled by uncensored exposure of the youths to pornographic contents on the web, indecency in dressing and especially poor performance in academics and professional ventures due to lack of interest and effort since time which should have been utilized for those ventures are given to the social media, and many other negative behaviours are bound to hold sway on the nigerian youths. music provided it remains morally sound, is a potent means of salvaging the morality of nigerian youths. based on the findings of this study, the following are recommended: • the federal government of nigeria should establish a national music censorship board (nmcb) or regulatory agencies that will scrutinize the lyrical contents of contemporary pop music and videos that go into the internet and other social media and those found to suggest erogenous innuendoes should be expunged before they are released to the general public. • musicians and composers alike should see themselves as agents of change and social reformers and endavour to produce musical compositions that applaud the social values and norms of nigerian society and those that frown at anti-social behaviors. • music teachers and parents should teach the nigerian child to appreciate good and morally sound musical compositions. references abati, r. (2009, june 21). a nation’s identity crises. the guardian. p. 70 abiodun, f. (2017). music preference and the issues of social challenges among nigerian youth: implications for moral development. accelerando: belgrade journal of music and dance, 2 (6) 135-147. bandura, a. (1989). social foundations of thought and actions: a social cognitive theory. englewood cliffs. nj: prentice-hall. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 104 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) collins, r., elliot, m.,berry, s., kanouse, d., kunkel, d. & hunter, s. (2004). watching sex on television predicts adolescent initiation of sexual behavior. pediatrics, 114 280-289. emeka, l. n. (2004). traditional education in nigeria. in r. c. okafor& l. n. emeka (eds.). nigerian peoples and culture (pp. 217-239). enugu: new generation books. federal republic of nigeria (2004). national policy on education. lagos: nerdc press. hakarko, g. (2012). religion and moral degeneration in nigeria: implications for national development. 5th national proceedings of arts and social sciences, fcee, enugu state, 147-152. idolor, e. (ed.). (2002). music to the contemporary african. music in africa facts and illusions (pp.1-11) ibadan: stirling-horden. lillie, w. a. (1995). an introduction to ethics. paris: l’ education press. nairaland forum: what can we say about moral decadence in nigeria ( 2014). available @ http://www.nairaland.com). assessed:16/5/14 ojukwu, e. v. & esimone, c. c. (2014). inculcating morals in adolescents through the igbo folk music. the 2014 wei international academic conference proceedings new orleans, usa, 162-171. ojukwu, e. v. onyiuke, y. s. & esimone, c. c. (2015). intellectual property rights enforcement in nigeria: a prop for music industry.us-china education review b, 5 (6) 373-381. okafor, r. c. (2005). music in nigerian society. enugu: new generation books. okafor, r. c. & okafor, c. u. (2009). music and national development in nigeria. enugu: new generation books. omoregbe, j, i. (2008). ethics: a systematic study. (3rd ed.). lagos: joja pancare, r. (2013). the influence of pop music on teens in the united states. available @ [http://www.livestrong.com] assessed: 18 november, 2017. sam, k. i. c. (2006). the influence of background music on children’s learning. awka journal of research in music and the arts (ajrma), 3, 20-28 storr, a. (1992). music and mind: the free press. london: macmillan. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 105 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) top 5 deep learning and ai stories available @ [http://www.slideshare.net]. assessed: 18 november, 2017. wikipedia the free encyclopaedia. youth. available @ [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/youth] assessed: 18 november, 2017. ‘igwebuike’ as a conceptualization of igbo-african worldview igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 1 ‘igwebuike’ as a conceptualization of igbo-african worldview ikechukwu anthony kanu department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university umunya, anambra state ikee_mario@yahoo.com executive summary the relationships in the african universe point to the fact of the dynamics of a personal and universal world, and the reality that the human person is a composition of lived embodiment with the world while at the same time experiencing his/her own body. this interaction between the personal world of the human person and the universal world is possible because, just as the heart of the human person is in the body, so is the body of the human person in the world. as a being in the world, the human person nourishes the world through creativity, while the world nourishes and sustains the human person. this interaction between the personal and universal worlds is a very important element in the understanding of the dynamics in the african worldview. it is in this regard that the african worldview can be described as an inter-subjective and complementary universe. it is a universe that remains in being by maintaining a balance in the relationships between complementary realities. this complementary and relational nature of the universe affects the way the african understands and interprets reality around him/her . this notwithstanding, with the recent studies in the area of igwebuike philosophy and theology, the present researcher makes a co-relation between igwebuike and the african worldview. this work discovered that igwebuike is a conceptualization of the african worldview. it, therefore, understands igwebuike as the african ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 2 worldview, and the african worldview as igwebuike. for the purpose of this research, the igwebuike complementary approach would be employed. keywords: igwebuike, complementarity, intersubjectivity, worldview, universe, african introduction the concept, ‘worldview’ (weltanschauung), was popularized by german philosophers. heidegger considers worldview within the context of distinguishing weltanschauung from philosophy, to be a fixed interpretation of the universe of beings, as opposed to philosophy as the study of being. he further suggests that fundamental ontology could demonstrate the condition of possibility for something like worldview (heidegger, 1975). in this sense, he distinguishes philosophy from worldview, while making it clear that philosophy as wisdom of the world and life is a provider of worldview. in this, he was quite unlike hegel, dilthey, nietzsche, and jaspers, who more or less equated philosophy with worldview. the concept, worldview, had a very specific meaning for freud. he defines it as “an intellectual construction which solves all the problems of our existence uniformly on the basis of one overriding hypothesis, which, accordingly, leaves no question unanswered and in which everything that interests us finds its fixed place” (1933, p. 158). this definition was to aid his distinction between rational or scientific worldview from religious or philosophical worldview. he argues that the age of modernity marks the emergence of the rational or scientific worldview and the bowing out of religious or philosophical worldview. while the religious and philosophical worldviews place realities beyond the reach of human understanding, the rational or scientific worldview sees reality as ultimately transparent to the power of human cognition. ‘igwebuike’ as a conceptualization of igbo-african worldview igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 3 dilthey analyses worldview within the context of hermeneutics. dilthey (1954) understands worldview as hermeneutical constructs, conveying the meaning of the world, thus, the interpretation of worldviews helps us to get at the meaning of reality, just as the interpretation of language helps to understand a text. according to rickman (1988), dilthey presents worldviews as: a special case of methodological verstehen (interpretative examination of phenomena) in the human sciences, involving description, abstraction, analysis, typification, comparison, and generalization. it [a worldview] attempts to reproduce or re-evoke at the conceptual level the original content of what is “there for us” in lived experience (p. 327). schleiermacher understands worldview as an element that makes our knowledge of god complete. for emmanuel kant, worldview is a world-intuition ‘mundus sensibilis’, which determines contemplation, apprehension and interpretation of being in the world of man. in the contention of schelling, worldview is the summation-scheme for the understanding of the real world (okonkwo, 2002a&b). while these perspectives of worldview from german philosophers introduce us to the discourse on worldview, this paper focuses on the african worldview, that is, how the african interprets the universe around him and how he relates the individual elements of his world to each other. with the recent studies in the area of igwebuike philosophy and theology, the present researcher makes a co-relation between igwebuike and the african worldview. as a result of the content of igwebuike and the place it occupies in african ontology in relation to the concept of african worldview, it would be argued in this piece that igwebuike is a conceptualization of the african worldview. igwebuike is, therefore, understood as the african worldview, and the african worldview as igwebuike. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 4 what is african worldview? african worldview refers to the african theory of the universe, which includes the manner of conceiving the world and the place of humanity in this world in relation to other realities. the african worldview forms a ‘life system’ that the african holds on to consciously or unconsciously which serves as an interpretative framework for the interpretation and conception of reality. writing on the philosophy of the igbo-speaking people, nwala (1985) defines worldview as: the complex of beliefs, habits, laws, customs and traditions of a people. it includes the overall picture they have about reality, the universe, life and existence; their attitude to life and things in general; what they do and think of; what life is; what things are worth striving to attain; what man’s place is in the scheme of things; whether or not man has an immortal soul; whether or not life has a meaning and purpose, etc… worldview is enmeshed in the practical life of the people; in particular in the economic, political, social, artistic and religious life (p. 26). worldview is, therefore, at the centre of our thoughts and expressions through actions and the institutions of society, like education, politics, fender, sense of family, religion, arts, social interactions, health care, etc. figure 1: walsh and middleton (cited in kara 2011) ‘igwebuike’ as a conceptualization of igbo-african worldview igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 5 just like any other worldview, the african worldview has the following characteristics: it is mutually exclusive, which also gives it its unique identity; it is assumption-based; it has a strong sense of assurance and provides africans with techniques to manipulate their world. it is like the lens (glasses, sunglasses) through which the african looks at the world around him. in this sense, the african worldview colours everything that the african sees. although we have one universe, one world, one existence, but how the african understands it, interacts with it, and lives it depends on his lens, that is, his worldview. the african worldview, therefore, affects everything the african sees, notices, etc., and, therefore, affects the way he/she relates to it. it is the worldview that guides, directs, orients the african; it takes him to where he is, where he is going to and shapes how he intends to get there. it is the same worldview that shapes the african personality and culture and serves as a filter and framework. it sifts and sorts, accepts and rejects, and gives context to the life of the african; it interprets, explains and imparts meaning to realities, such as god, universe, the self, etc. the african worldview gives answers to the following questions: what is the origin of the universe? what is the ultimate and prime reality? what sustains the universe? what is the basic nature of the environmental universe? what is the place of the human person in the world? what is death and what happens after death? is there any need for morality? etc. the answers it gives to these questions shapes the life of the african. in providing answers to these questions, the african worldview provides an intellectual construct that provides unified solutions or answers to these fundamental questions in a way that blends the multiplicity of beings, values and duties. this intellectual construct may be expressed in african mythical narratives, songs, proverbs, parables, drama, prayers, etc. it is essentially the underlying thought link that holds together the african value system, philosophy of life, social conduct, morality, folklores, myths, rites, rituals, norms, rules, ideas, cognitive mappings and theologies. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 6 the religious and relational character of african worldview there are different types of worldviews: there is the religious worldview that is based on the belief in a universal spirit: god, deity or divine entity. this divine entity has established a moral order which is known to human beings, and human beings have a moral duty to obey it as it has future consequences in relation to life after death. the religious worldview has a comprehensive perception of the world, putting into consideration the seen and unseen realities. contrary to the religious worldview, there are non-religious worldviews. these include the mythological worldview, especially when it uses myths, folklore or legends believed to be supernatural and true for the interpretation of nature, universe, events and humanity. the distinction between religious and mythological worldviews, not withstanding, a mythological worldview can also be a religious worldview. non-religious worldviews also include the philosophical worldview, which uses logical reasoning, mathematics and speculation to interpret and provide answers to fundamental questions about reality. the third is the scientific worldview, which uses the premises and findings of science in explaining the meaning of life, morality, creation, etc. although it is more exact and authentic, it does not provide meaning to existence as it is limited to the material realm. ‘igwebuike’ as a conceptualization of igbo-african worldview igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 7 figure 2: carmel m. (https://slideplayer.com/user/15613762) these classifications notwithstanding, the basic question looming at the horizon is: what is the nature of the african worldview? there is copious font of literature available on the african worldview. one needs to glance at the works of eminent scholars like wambutda (1986), ejizu (1986), achebe (1958), onuoha (1987), metuh (1987), quarcoopome (1987), arinze (1970), madu (2004) and kanu (2012). very significant to their analysis is an underlying principle that speaks of the african worldview as basically religious, which gives a sense of purpose and direction to the lives of people and enables them to act purposefully and exercise a measure of control over their environment. thus, okonkwo (2002b) argues that it is difficult, if not impossible, to separate the african person as ‘homo religiosus’ from his ‘mundus sensibilis’. one cannot talk about the african worldview without making reference to the place of the god, deities, ancestors, etc., in it, and the place of the human person in relation to the other elements of the ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 8 african universe. the presence of and relationship between the human person and god, the deities, the ancestors, etc., and the strong influence that these divinities have in the day-to-day life experience of the african introduce a wide sense of the sacred and mystery in the african universe. it is such that it is difficult to separate other dimensions of the life of the african from his personal inclinations to the divine. mbiti (1970) puts this succinctly: wherever the african is, there is his religion. he carries it to the fields where he is sowing seeds or harvesting new crop, he takes it with him to a beer parlour or to attend a funeral ceremony; and if he is educated, he takes religion with him to the examination room at school or in the university; if he is a politician, he takes it to the house of parliament. (p. 2). in the contention of njoku (2004), this is such that: the african man had many taboos to observe, and many daily rituals to perform, either to appease the community or the divinities. if he was not an indirect or unconscious slave of the dominant conscious, he held perpetual allegiance to one divinity or another. if he was ‘free’ with men, he was not free with nature or his environment. suppose community and environment allow him to live his life with fewer burdens, he would still have to pay the debts owed by his past ancestors. (p. 57). what makes the african worldview religious is not just because of the presence of god, the deities and ancestors, etc., but the relationship that is operative between the human person and these divine realities. more so, this religious dimension has great influence on the african worldview, as it shapes the worldview of individual persons or people. this perspective has great implications for the latin origin of religion as religare, which means ‘to bind together’. it is around this process and degree of binding or relationship between the african and the divine elements of his universe that religion takes its place. in this relation within the context of the religious universe, the igwebuike character of the african universe begins to emerge. through this ‘igwebuike’ as a conceptualization of igbo-african worldview igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 9 relationship, the divine does for man what he cannot do for himself and man does for the divine what they cannot do for themselves. it is a relationship of not only of survival but a display of the beauty of being with the other. it is this ideology of being in relation to the other that igwebuike captures. igwebuike character of the african worldview igwe bu ike is an igbo proverb and also a typical igbo name. igbo proverbs and names are among the major traditional vessels in which african philosophy, religion and culture have continued to be preserved. mbiti (1970) writes that: “it is in proverbs that we find the remains of the oldest forms of african religious and philosophical wisdom” (p.89). they contain the wisdom and experience of the african people, usually of several ages gathered and summed up in one expression. proverbs spring from the people and represent the voice of the people and express the interpretation of their beliefs, principles of life and conduct. it expresses the moral attitudes of a given culture, and reflects the hopes, achievements and failings of a people (kanu, 2018). this is to say that beyond the linguistic expression lies a deeper meaning, that is, the spirit of the letter. beyond the literal sense, igwebuike is understood as providing an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations (kanu, 2016c). igwebuike is a combination of three igbo words. it can be understood as a word or a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. literally, igwe is a noun which means ‘number’ or ‘multitude,’ usually a large number or population. the number or population in perspective are entities with ontological identities and significances, which are, however, part of an existential order in which every entity is in relation to the other. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is a noun, which means strength or power (kanu, 2016a&b). igwe, bu and ike put together, means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’ (kanu, 2017f). however, beyond the literal sense of igwebuike, it means otu obi (one heart and one soul) – cor unum et anima una. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 10 the need for otu obi or solidarity in the african universe is anchored on the fact that the universe in which the african lives is a world of probabilities. an igbo proverb says: “if a thing remains one, then nothing remains”. this is because the power or strength generated by a person is not strong enough to withstand the existential gamble of life, as the chances of being overcome are on the high side, thus the need for an existential backing. there is also an african proverb that says: “while going to the toilet in the morning ensure that you carry two sticks”. the sticks were used for cleaning oneself after using the convenience. but because there is always the high probability of the stick falling into the pit, it is always advisable to take a second stick, just in case. with two sticks one has a greater assurance of cleaning oneself up after using the toilet; the higher the number, the greater the preparedness towards minimizing the casualty of life. the second stick is also necessary in case of a second coming or remainder of the output. in a metaphoric sense, it is used within the igbo linguistic setting to refer to relational engagement in the world, accomplished in solidarity and complementarity, and the powerful and insurmountable force therein (kanu, 2017g). the closest words to it in english are complementarity, solidarity and harmony. the main principles of the african worldview that makes it igwebuike and igwebuike the african worldview include: the interconnectedness of reality; the spiritual nature of the human person that creates a basis for connection to other spiritual beings in the african universe; the collective or inclusive nature of the family structure; the ones of mind, body and spirit; and the value of interpersonal relations. the structure of the african universe the african universe has physical and spiritual dimensions (unah, 2009). at the spirit realm, god is the chief being, and sits at the apex of power. in the physical world, human beings dominate, occupying the central position (onunwa, 1994). the human beings form a “microcosm” on which converge the innumerable forces and influences from the beings that inhabit the other arms of the universe. ‘igwebuike’ as a conceptualization of igbo-african worldview igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 11 figure 1: kanu (2013 & 2015) the diagram above, with three circles, represents the spiritual worlds of god (chukwu) and the spirits and the physical world of human beings that overlap and, thus, interact. thus, ekwealor (1990) stresses that “it is important to note that although the igbo universe is divided into these three broad structures, there is the possibility of certain elements to move from one structure to another to commune with other elements” (p. 30). in the african universe, there is really no distinction between the physical and spiritual worlds, between the visible and invisible, the sacred and profane. there is a corporate existence of reality in the african universe and this corporate existence is not brought to an end by the death of the human person but extends into the hereafter. it is in this regard that the african speaks of his death as a return to the world of the ancestors. in this interaction, human beings commune with god, the angels, the ancestors, and vice versa. the african world is, therefore, an interactive universe. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 12 taking the foregoing into consideration, it can be concluded that the african universe has basic characteristic features which include: unified view of reality: the profane and the sacred cannot be separated, as they interact through divination, sacrifices, libations, etc; and a strong sense of community: there is an intricate web of relationship between the living, the dead and the yet to be born. the human person in the african interactive universe african religion and thought is anthropocentric. man is at the centre of the universe. mbiti (1970), therefore, asserts that “man is at the very centre of existence and african people see everything else in its relation to this central position of man… it is as if god exists for the sake of man” (p. 92). corroborating mbiti’s position, metuh (1991), avers that “everything else in african worldview seems to get its bearing and significance from the position, meaning and end of man” (p. 109). the idea of god, divinities, ancestors, rituals, sacrifices etc., are only useful to the extent that they serve the needs of the human person. however, the human person is a being that has its origin and finality in the supreme being. this implies that the human person in the african universe is best understood in his relationship with god his creator, with whom, from the igbo perspective, he is ontologically linked through his chi, the spark or emanation of god in each person. he comes into the world as a force amidst forces and interacting with forces. good status, good health and prosperity are signs of the wellbeing of a person’s life-force, and man struggles to preserve it through an appropriate relationship with the spiritual forces around him. this relationship is maintained through a community of channels: a. libation libation is prayer usually said in the morning time. however, libation can also be offered during ceremonies, meetings and gatherings using oji (kola nut) and mmanya-oku (hot drink), the food and drink of the gods. it is through libation that the african tries to normalize or balance the relationship between the three worlds. this libation is made to god through the ‘igwebuike’ as a conceptualization of igbo-african worldview igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 13 agency of the ancestors and other deities. the igbo believe that it is through gifts that they can gain god’s favour. there is an aphorism that says, enyepu dibia ego, obuo mkpologwu n’ajoofia (when a medicine man is well paid, he seeks the vital roots even in the evil forest). b. divination divination involves a process of inquiry. people who wish to know why certain things happen, how to solve certain problems, and so on, go to diviners. this is usually done through the agency of a particular deity. the igbo would say onye amaghi ebe mmiri bidoro maba ya, anaghi ama ebe okwusiri (he who does not know where rain started beating him cannot know where it stopped). c. religious festivals, rituals and ceremonies religious festivals and rituals such as new yam festivals, harvest seasons, hunting seasons and planting season festivals are activities that demonstrate and express belief and faith in god and the spirit world. during these ceremonies, what god or the spirits have done for human beings are commemorated; rituals are done and powers obtained from the spirit world. describing the function of rituals, steyne (1992) writes that “rituals sustain and generate the myth underlying the belief system, while it also binds people together socially” (p. 95). for instance, the igbo’s celebration of the new yam festival is connected to the month of ahiajioku. it is a time when they give thanks to chukwu and his deans and the ancestors for granting them a bountiful harvest for the year. igbo traditional marriage ceremonies also provide an opportunity for communion with the ancestors, as the igbo invoke their blessings upon the newly married couples. d. professional communicators with the spirit world in the african world, as egbeke (2001) observes, when the african speaks of an accident or the unexpected event, he does ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 14 not speak in terms of chance, but in terms of an event whose cause is not yet known. because of the need to trace the causes of these events and conditions, counteract them and appease or punish those behind them, the african employs the help of sacred specialists like the priests, rain makers, medicine men, etc., as professional communicators with the spirit world to go into the spirit world and find out what is wrong. these four channels are not the only channels through which the human person relates with the other elements in his universe; we can also speak of dreams, visions, etc. conclusion the relationships in the african universe point to the fact of the dynamics of a personal and universal world, and the reality that the human person is a composition of lived embodiment with the world, while at the same time experiencing his/her own body. this interaction between the personal world of the human person and the universal world is possible because, just as the heart of the human person is in the body, so is the body of the human person in the world. being in the world, the human person nourishes the world through creativity, while the world nourishes and sustains his being in diverse ways. every interaction between the human person and the world begins from the personal trading scheme of ‘my world,’ which creates consciousness and understanding of both the personal and universal worlds. it also triggers the consciousness of abstraction that affects a relational understanding of consciousness and a universal world ‘our world’. the concept of ‘my world’ which leads to ‘our world’ through sense abstraction expresses what okonkwo (2020) calls the “personal and objective living communicative fieldwork of a world” (p. 71) that is made present to ‘me’ and to ‘us’ and also the familiar place of life experiment. at the level of logic, it seems more appropriate to speak of the discovery of ‘my world’ before the discovery of ‘our world’. but in reality, once you are conscious of ‘igwebuike’ as a conceptualization of igbo-african worldview igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 15 ‘my world,’ it implies that you are already in ‘our world,’ as you can only discover ‘your world’ in relation to ‘our world’. this relationship made possible as a result of the presence of both personal and universal worlds within the african context is conceptualized by igwebuike. it captures the inter-subjectivity of the african universe in terms of complementarity. thus, igwebuike becomes like a ‘control box’ that determines thinking, action or doing and values. it exerts a strong influence in shaping the life of individuals and the community as a whole, thereby, unifying the african thought and life. it is within this context that igwebuike is understood as the african worldview, and the african worldview as igwebuike. references achebe, c. (1958). the things fall apart. england: heinemann. arinze, f. (1970). sacrifice in igbo religion ibadan: ibadan university press. dilthey, wilhelm. the essence of philosophy. trans. stephen a. emery and william t. emery. chapel hill: the university of north carolina press, 1954. egbeke, a. (2001). metaphysics: an introduction. enugu: donze. ejizu, c. i. o. (1986). igbo ritual symbols. enugu: fourth dimension. ekwealor, c. c. (1990). the igbo world-view: a general survey. e. oguegbu (ed.). the humanities and all of us (pp.29-33). onisha: watehword. freud, sigmund (1933). new introductory lectures on psychoanalysis. se, 22: 1-182. heidegger, m. (1975). the basic problems of phenomenology. indiana ijiomah, c. (2005). african philosophy’s contribution to the dialogue on reality issues. sankofa: journal of the humanities. 3. 1. 81 – 90. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 16 kanu, i. a. (2012 a). the secularity of sacredness of the priestly office in african traditional societies. journal of integrative humanism. 2. 1. 219-225. kanu, i. a. (2012 b). a metaphysical epistemological study of african medical practitioners. in o. e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (2012). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (227-240). jos: fab anieh. kanu, i. a. (2013). the dimensions of african cosmology. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 533-555. kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2. no.1 june, pp.23-40. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2014). being and the categories of being in igbo philosophy. african journal of humanities. volume 1. issue 1. pp. 144-159. ‘igwebuike’ as a conceptualization of igbo-african worldview igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 17 kanu, i. a. (2014a). igbo proverbs as depositum of igbo-african philosophy. international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 4. no. 1. pp. 164-168. kanu, i. a. (2014a). suicide in igbo-african ontology. developing countries studies. vol. 4. no. 5. usa. pp. 27-38. kanu, i. a. (2014b). suffering in igbo-african ontology. research on humanities and social sciences. vol. 4. no. 5. pp. 8-13. kanu, i. a. (2014b). the place of igbo myths in igbo-african philosophy. american journal of contemporary research. vol. 4. no. 2. pp. 98-102. kanu, i. a. (2015). african traditional democracy with particular reference to the yoruba and igbo political systems. international journal of philosophy and public affairs. vol. 2. no. 3. pp. 147-160. kanu, i. a. (2015). personal identity and punishment in john locke (a dissertation for the award of master of arts degree in philosophymetaphysics), university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu state. kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (ed.) (2016a). complementary ontology: provocative essays on innocent asouzu’s african philosophy of integration for progressive transformation. germany: lambert academic publishing. kanu, i. a. (ed.) (2016b). ibuanyidanda: a complementary systematic inquiry. reflections on innocent asouzu’s african philosophy. germany: lambert academic publishing. kanu, i. a. (2016). igbo-african christology: a cultural christological construct in post-missionary africa. germany: lambert publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). african traditional folk songs as dialogue between education and entertainment. cambridge ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 18 international journal of contemporary education research. 6. 6. pp. 53-64. kara m. k. (2011). an exploration of worldview and conceptions of nature of science among science teachers at a private christian high school. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/an-exploration-ofworldview-and-conceptions-of-of-akits/7a839bed677eaa2f282bf8dca6feb2afba18f0e0. madu, j. e. (1997). fundamentals of religious studies. calabar: franecloh. madu, j. e. (2004). symbolism in african cosmology: the igbo perspective. nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state. lecture note. mbiti, j. s. (1970). african religions and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational publishers. metuh, e. i. (1987). comparative studies of african traditional religion. onitsha: imico. metuh, i. e. (1991). african religions in western conceptual schemes. jos: imico njoku, f.o.c. (2004). development and african philosophy: a theoretical reconstruction of african socio-political economy. new england: universe. nwala, t. u. (1985). igbo philosophy: the philosophy of the igbo speaking peoples of nigeria. ikeja-lags: lantern books. okonkwo j. i. (2020). uwa m: the igbo phenomenology of existential perception. okpulo journal of arts and cultural heritage. vol. 2. no. 3. 71-82. okonkwo, i. j. (2002a). world-view and life-forms crisis of a nigerian philosophy of culture. an appraisal. journal of nigerian languages and culture. vol. 4. 171-182. okonkwo, i. j. (2002b). religious language and igbo-folks media: the crisis situation of modern trends of evangelization. in okonkwo, i. j. et al (eds.). elements of igbo traditional religious practice (pp. 8-27). imo: ministry of information and culture. ‘igwebuike’ as a conceptualization of igbo-african worldview igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 19 onunwa, u. (1994). the individual and community in african traditional religion and society. the mankind quarterly. 34. 3. 249 – 260. onuoha, e. (1987). four contrasting world-views. enugu: express. parinder, g. d. (1961). west african religion. london: epworth. quarcoopome, t. n. (1987). west african traditional religion. ibadan: african universities press. rickman, h. p. (1988). dilthey today: a critical appraisal of the contemporary relevance of his work. new york: greenwood press. steyne, d. m. (1992). in step with the god of the nations: a biblical theology of missions. houston: touch. unah, j. (2009). ontologico – epistemological background to authentic african socio-economic and political institutions. a f. uduigwomen (ed.). from footmarks to landmarks on african philosophy (264 – 278). lagos: o. o. p. wambutda, d. n. (1986). the interplay between cosmology and theology: a. matrix for african theologizing. in a. oduyoye (ed.). the state of christian theology in nigeria, 1980-81, (38-49). ibadan: day star. igwebuike philosophy and leadership styles igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 219 igwebuike philosophy and leadership styles omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd department of business administration and management villanova polytechnic, imesi ile, osun state omojolassma@yahoo.co.uk executive summary this paper discusses igwebuike philosophy and leadership styles. it is an attempt to see how this philosophy can be applied to leadership styles or how a connection can be drawn between the two terms. igwebuike philosophy, according the author, means “‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power;’ that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful and can constitute an insurmountable force.” leadership has been defined by various authors in various ways. however, it has been agreed by many scholars that leadership involves people, unequal distribution of power, ability to influence, and values. authoritarian, democratic and laissez-faire leadership styles were discussed as a concise presentation of all leadership styles. phenomenological method of research was used for the purpose of this study. it was discovered that democratic or participative leadership style correlates with what the author of igwebuike philosophy has in mind. the discussion also disclosed that both terms have number of people, involvement, goals and values in common. it was then recommended that igwebuike philosophy should be a guide to leaders as they endeavour to know what to do and how to do it for the realization of organizational goals. omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 220 keywords: igwebuike philosophy, leadership styles, kanu ikechukwu anthony, authoritarian, democratic, laissez-faire, goals and involvement introduction leadership is an act of giving directives to people in an organization for the accomplishment of organizational goals. it takes into cognizance some skills to guide individuals, lead a group and facilitate a team work through influences. a leader is one who constantly makes positive statements of ethics. leadership has been defined by various scholars in various ways. some, in an attempt to arrive at a good definition, describe leaders and their functions, while some pay attention to traits or qualities. for example, maxwell (2001) claims that “a good leader is a guy who can step on your toes without messing up your shine”(p.72), and akindutire (2004) opines that a leader is a person who can help a group to achieve goals with as little fraction as possible, have a sense of unity and provide an opportunity for self-realization. “leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal” (northhouse 2007, p. 122). in the view of lunnernburg and ornstern (2008), “leadership is not about who is smarter or tougher but about qualities we all have or can develop” (p. 84). considering the input of (zeichik 2012), “leadership is inspiring others to pursue your vision within the parameters you set, to the extent that it becomes a shared vision and a shared success.” (p. 3) miguel (2017), while quoting maxwell, says “a leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way;" (p. 64), and jack welch offered, "before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. when you become a leader, success is all about growing others." (p. 64) recently, ward (2020) stresses that, “a simple definition is that leadership is the art of motivating a group of people to act toward achieving a common goal. this can mean directing workers and igwebuike philosophy and leadership styles igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 221 colleagues with a strategy to meet the company's needs.” (p. 9) she further says that a leader is the inspiration for and director of the action. it is the person in the group that possesses the combination of personality and leadership skills to make others want to follow their directions. in all these definitions, it can be deduced that leadership deals with people, motivation, influence, organizational goals and values. also, nearly all these authors are of the opinion that leaders are made not born. to jago (1992), “good leaders are made not born” (p. 7). if you have the desire and willpower, you can become an effective leader. good leaders develop through a never-ending process of self-study, education, training and experience. it is surprising to the researcher that the even the definition given by lunnernburg and ornstern that pays attention to “qualities we all have or can develop” (p. 84) ended with leaders are made not born. the researcher is of the opinion that “have” in this definition is referring to inborn traits, while “can develop” is about learning. some of the arguments of these authors can be summarized as follows: stoner, freeman and gilbert (2002) say that what is to be leant are motivation, a clear idea of what you need to improve and consistent practice, because to them, leadership works through emotions, and the most important quality of a leader is supervisory ability. akindutire (2004), who also shares the same view, arrives at the conclusion that the major attribute of a leader is communication skills. jago (1982) later makes a distinction between the terms a born leader and a made leader in this claim. “leaders carry out this process (desire and willpower) by applying their knowledge and skills. this is called process leadership. however, we know that we have traits that can influence our actions. this is called “trait leadership,” in that it was once common to believe that leaders were born rather than made.” (p. 8) ward (2020) is not taking a stand; instead, he agrees with the fact that leaders are born and that leaders can be made through constant practice. “while there are people who seem to be naturally endowed with more leadership abilities than others, anyone omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 222 can learn to become a leader by improving particular skills.” (p. 18). in line with this, luenendonk (2016) associates certain traits to democratic leadership style especially. “there are certain traits that make being a democratic leader easier. if you possess the below four traits and you enhance these qualities, you can begin your journey towards democratic leadership.” (p. 6) the four characteristics are intelligence, honesty, creativity and fairness. the researcher stands with the views of jago, luenendonk and ward, because in some cases, issues that might have caused a lot of problem can just be addressed by a leader without noise. if traits are not recognized, why do we prefer a particular person for a specific office? or why do people appointed unopposed? traits are inborn and traits of a particular trade or profession can be developed for effectiveness. psychologists talk about enneagram-personality in sum total of the general characteristics which distinguish one individual from another. this is an attempt to showcase individual traits and what they can be used for. in the work of anifaloba (1997), type three has been identified as the administrator and type eight, the boss. both administrator and boss are terms that are common to leadership. therefore, people of particular traits have been identified to be more effective in these areas. through acquisition of knowledge and experiences, though, leaders can emerge and be successful. while leadership is learned, their (leaders) knowledge can be subjective to traits and qualities, such as background, values and character. both knowledge and skills are relevant to leaders’ achievements and exceptionality. leadership styles leadership style is a way and manner with which a superior gives directives and supervision for the execution of plans, through motivation, for the attainment of organizational goals. in general, twelve types of leadership styles can be identified for organizational improvement as follows: igwebuike philosophy and leadership styles igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 223 1. autocraticleadership style is centered on the boss. in this leadership, the leader holds all authority and responsibility without consulting their subjects. 2. democratic leadership style: subordinates are involved in making decisions; headship is centered on subordinate’s contributions. 3. strategic leadership style which is geared towards a wider audience at all levels for creation of better performance. 4. transformational leadership motivates others to do more than originally intended and often even more than they thought possible. they set more challenging expectations and typically achieve higher performance. 5. team leadership: working with the heart and minds of all workers is the focus. it also recognizes that team work may not always contain trusting cooperative relationship. 6. cross-cultural leadership normally exists where various cultures are included. this leadership has also industrialized as a way to recognize front runners who work in the contemporary globalized market. 7. facilitative leadership that is too dependent on measurement and outcome,not a skill, although it takes much skill to master. 8. laissez-faire leadership style gives authority to employees or subordinates to work as they choose with minimal or no interferences. 9. transactional leadership maintains or continues the status quo. it is the leadership that comprises an exchange process, whereby followers get immediate, tangible reward for carrying out the leader’s orders. 10. coaching leadership encompasses teaching and supervising followers. a coaching leader is highly operational in a setting where result or performance required improvement. 11. charismatic leadership manifests a leader’s revolutionary power. charisma does not mean sheer behavioural change. 12. visionary leadership is about leaders who recognize that the methods, steps and processes of leadership are all obtained with and through people. omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 224 all these leadership styles have been summarized by stonner et al (2012) as authoritarian, consultative and participative, in which consultative and participative styles have been used interchangeably by many authors. similarly, lunnernburg and ornstern (2008) and akindutire (2004) present the summary of all the leadership styles as autocratic, democratic and laissez-faire. for the purpose of this work, authoritarian /autocratic, democratic/ consultative/ participative and laissez-faire leadership styles will be discussed to arrive at how they can be linked with igwebuike philosophy. authoritarian or autocratic leadership style authoritarian leadership style involves formulation of policies by the leader. he is also responsible for stating implementation format. he controls and directs all activities without any meaningful input from his subjects. leaders using this type of style will quickly punish any subordinate that is not working at their pace, because their attention is always on task and output, and not on employees’ welfare. authoritarian leaders are often referred to as “autocratic,” and they are termed powerful because they always accompany their commands with threats or intimidations. this type of leadership style has a lot of negative effects both on employee and the organizational growth. employee will lack creativity and sense of responsibility, especially when the leader is not available, which will eventually tell on the organization. it is becoming an obsolete style of leadership, but can be used in some cases as janse (2018) opines, “in teams where consensus is not easily reached because of a high diversity of team members or a group that is only briefly going to be working together, the authoritarian leader sees quickly what needs to be done and who is best suited for this” (p. 9). democratic or participative leadership style democratic or participative leadership style has been presented by authors as also consultative. this is defined by gastil (2018) as igwebuike philosophy and leadership styles igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 225 “distributing responsibility among the membership, empowering group members, and aiding the group’s decision-making process." (p. 8) the democratic style of leadership encompasses the notion that everyone, by virtue of their human status, should play a part in the group's decisions. however, the democratic style of leadership still requires guidance and control by a specific leader. leaders may even ask subordinates to vote before a decision is accepted. therefore, majority carries the vote. gastil further says that the democratic or participative leadership style places significant responsibility on leaders and their staff. this is true for all organizations, from private enterprises and government agencies to educational institutions and nonprofit entities. democratic leaders build their employee and expect staff who report to them to have detailed experience and to display self-assurance. leaders of this type must possess the following qualities: honesty and integrity, confidence, inspire others, commitment and passion, good communicator, decision making, capabilities, accountability, delegation and empowerment, creativity or innovation, empathy, resilience, emotional intelligence, humility, transparency, vision and ppurpose (hassan, 2020). kanu (2017) presents these qualities as: listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, foresight, stewardship and commitment to growth of people. this type of leadership style is relevant in all cases as it makes both the leader and subordinates to have the same focus. it is a leadership style that has benefits in creating a sense of value and job fulfilment for employees, because their opinions and efforts are relevant in the decision-making process of the organization. this is in line with the opinion of kanu (2017), who says that, “in every circumstance, the good of those led is placed over the self-interest of the leader. this is the leadership that promotes the valuing and development of people, the building of community, and the promotion shared power” (p. 8). this will also encourage staff to stay with the organization for a long time to see that organizational goals are realized. consultative leadership style is task-oriented, and focuses on the end result almost omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 226 as much the leader seeks the opinion and viewpoints of his subordinates, before taking final decisions. it is a tactful way of asking for the opinion of subjects by the leader. this definition is not far from what democratic and consultative leadership styles stand for. laissez-faire leadership style laissez-faire leadership style is also referred to as free rein leadership style. leaders in this regard allow followers to have complete freedom to make decisions concerning the completion of their work. it permits followers a self-rule, while at the same time offering guidance and support when requested. the laissez-faire leader provides followers with all materials necessary to accomplish their goals, but does not directly participate in decision making, unless the followers request his assistance. in the description of universal teachers, laissez-faire leadership style is “no leadership at all” (p. 4), because the leader uses his/her power very little, if at all, giving subordinates a high degree of independence in their operations. such leaders depend largely on subordinates to set their own goals and the means of achieving them, and they see their role as one of aiding the operations of followers by furnishing them with information and acting primarily as a contact with the group’s external environment. however, leaders are encouraged to learn all leadership styles and apply them to situations in their organizations. whichever style a leader adopts, his/her intellectual capacity helps to conceptualize solutions and to acquire knowledge to do the job. stoner et al (2002) feel that a manager’s style must address situation, while paying attention to organizational size, specific work, time and environmental factors. (p. 471). it is to be noted, therefore, that the most popular and prevalent of all leadership styles is the democratic style. it has more advantages than disadvantages. it is very easy to practice, makes problem solving easy, working together increases the knowledge of members and encourages team spirit that brings about subordinates igwebuike philosophy and leadership styles igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 227 believing their leaders. in any organization, what subordinates consider the greatness attribute of a leader is credibility or trustworthiness. they want to say from time to time that, ‘my boss has won my trust!’ igwebuike philosophy according to kanu (2019) ‘igwebuike’ is an igbo word that is characterized by three simple words. on his terms, the three words involved: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power. thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force. (p. 1). kanu (2017) further explains this in this assertion. it (igwebuike philosophy) “is anchored on the african worldview, which is characterized by a common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny. life is a life of sharedness.” (p. 17). in the researcher’s assessment of this philosophy, it pays attention to togetherness, collegiality, closeness and sharing. in its merit, it focuses on people, and that no member of the same group can exist or function well without support from others. it also gives encouragements to people to stay and work together in unity for progress (kanu, 2016). igwebuike philosophy and leadership styles in an attempt to draw a line between the igwebuike philosophy and leadership styles, the summary of leadership styles presented in this work will be compared. among the three styles discussed as a omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 228 compressed form of all leadership styles authoritarian, democratic and laissez-faire, the democratic or participative leadership style fits in properly to what the author of igwebuike philosophy has in mind. the democratic leadership style involves people, as leadership generally stresses on staff strength in organizations. igwebuike philosophy also involves large numbers of people. the philosophy is about sharing “common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny. life is a life of sharedness” (p. 17), while democratic or participative leadership style emphasizes people or personnel working together irrespective of colour, origin or race. one is qualified to participate in decision making by virtue of only being a human person. it boils down to a democratic leader having mutual respect for his subordinates and allowing a free flow of ideas. on this, kanu (2017) asserts that “igwebuike posits that the level of the leader’s impact is dependent on the level of connection he is able to have with his people” (p. 7). another common factor of these terms is focusing on a common goal or goals. any group of people that have agreed to relate together in that regard must work towards a collective target. while the igwebuike philosophy put emphasis on ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’; that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful and can constitute an insurmountable force; it is about what they can achieve together (kanu, 2015 & 2018). any organization without a focus or output will not last, and it is this output or productivity that a democratic leader stands to gain in any organization, be it for-profit or non-profit organization. leaders alone cannot improve quality; employees must be encouraged to take ownership of their work. the best way to achieve this is to make them part and parcel of the organization through participation in decision making. if this not done, they become negative about the organization and sell it to outsiders. this negative thought might quickly put down whatever business it may be and vice versa. igwebuike philosophy and leadership styles igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 229 recommendations based on the discussions above, it is recommended that leaders should carry their subordinates along in decision making, as the democratic leadership style involves people and the igwebuike philosophy advocates for large numbers of people in leadership. a democratic leader should keep in mind that working together for the attainment of organizational goals, in the spirit of delegation of duty, will reduce stress and improve productivity. it is also recommended that formation and in-service training for staff should be paramount in the mind of a democratic leader to enable them to be committed to duty. leaders should keep in mind that regular formation is a better and lasting form of motivation for staff, since igwebuike philosophy is about life of ‘sharedness.’ this recommendation can be concluded by saying that the igwebuike philosophy can give any leader a clue to what is expected to be done from time to time, which means, a leader must know what he should be, know and do for the attainment of organizational goals, since according to kanu (2017), “the success of any organization, religious or secular, state or nation is highly dependent on the quality of leadership. where there is no good leadership, there can’t be unity, peace and progress” (p. 3). conclusion this paper has discussed how the igwebuike philosophy is relevant to leadership styles. among the three leadership styles discussed as a condensed form of other styles authoritarian, democratic and laissez-faire only the democratic style matches what igwebuike philosophy advocates in the life of ‘sharedness.’ leadership definitions capture the essentials of being able and prepared to inspire others, which is based on ideas from the leader and the subordinates. ability to communicate these ideas properly to subordinates and properly implement them is the responsibility of the leader. omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 230 although the performances of a leader will be influenced by his values, background, knowledge and experiences, good leaders, however, will continue to work and study to improve their leadership skills, not rely on already gained knowledge. the two terms, igwebuike philosophy and leadership styles, have, to a very great extent, large number of people, goals or productivity and involvement in common. in conclusion, irabor (2019) reviewed kanu’s essay on inclusive leadership and igwebuike philosophy. he came up with the fact that this philosophy could still “inform the grooming of a leader that will explore the principles of solidarity and complementarity within the whole” (p. 2). references akindutire i. o. (2004). administration of higher education. lagos. sunray press. anifaloba p.j (1997). removing the plank with enneagram knowing yourself and understanding others better. nigeria. claverianum press. gastil, j. (2018) "a definition and illustration of democratic leadership". new york: mcgraw-hill. hasan s. top 15 leadership qualities that make good leaders (2020). retrieved (28/4/2020) from https://blog.taskque.com/characteristics-good-leaders. kanu, i.a (2017). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development in african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, kanu, i.a (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. a paper presented at the second african philosophy world conference held at the university of calabar, cross rivers state, department of philosophy, conversational school of philosophy, from october 12th to 14th 2017. igwebuike philosophy and leadership styles igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 231 kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory socio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kanu, i. a. (2019). on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159-176. kanu, i. a. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. 2016 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. 2016 omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 232 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. 2016 kanu, i. a. african traditional folktales as an integrated classroom. sub-saharan african journal of contemporary education research. vol.3 no. 6. pp. 107-118. 2016 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christianmuslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. 2017 igwebuike philosophy and leadership styles igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 233 kanu, i. a. african traditional philosophy of education: essays in igwebuike philosophy. germany: lambert publications. 2018 kanu, i. a. new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. 2018 irabor, benson peter. (2019) a review of kanu ikechukwu anthony’s “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. pp 168 jago, a.g. (1982). leadership: perspectives in theory and research. management science, 28(3), 315-336. janse, b. (2018). authoritarian leadership. retrieved [22/4/2020] from toolshero: https://www.toolshero.com/leadership/authoritarianleadership/ luenendonk, m. (2016). democratic leadership guide: definition, qualities, pros & cons, examples. retrieved (28/4/2020) from https://www.cleverism.com/democratic-leadershipguide/ lunnernburg f.c and ornstern a.c (2008). educational administration: concept and practices. usa. wadsworth : cengage learning. maxwell j.c. (2001). the power of leadership. nigeria: joint heir publications ltd. miguel m. m. integrity and leadership defined in the journal of government financial management. volume: 66. issue: 4 publication date: winter 2017. page number: 52. www.questia.com northhouse, g (2007). leadership theory and practice. (3 rd ed.). thousand oaks, ca: sage publications. omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 234 stoner j.a.f, freeman r.e and gilbert d.r (2002). management sixth ed. new delhi: asoke k. ghosh. universal teachers publication. (2017). leadership styles: consultative leadership, free rein leadership. http://www.universalteacherpublications.com/mba/freeproject/p1/page5.htm ward s. (2020). the definition of leadership. retrieved (28/4/2020) from https://www.thebalancesmb.com/leadership-definition-2948275 igwbuike philosophy: a vehicle for peace and conflict resolution among the igbos of south east nigeria igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 131 igwbuike philosophy: a vehicle for peace and conflict resolution among the igbos of south east nigeria onyeakazi jude chukwuma, phd philosophy unit, directorate of general studies federal university of technology owerri. jude.onyeakazi@futo.edu.ng; judefuto@gmail.com executive summary the concept of socialism and communalism has been an age-long problem in the history of philosophy. philosophers, over the years, have tried to mediate in this age-long problem through their various theories: nyerere’s theory of ‘ujamaa’ (togetherness as oneness), the collective consciousness of emile durkhiem, the ibuanyindanda ideology of innocent asouzu and kwame nkrumah’s philosophical consciencism, just to mention but a few. in all these socio-political ideologies, none has been properly exhausted to meet the desired result in the reduction and prevention of conflicts and man’s cruelties against man, in terms of communal clashes, assorted forms of oppression, suppression, domination and discriminations. it is against this background that this research work titled ‘igwebuike philosophy: a vehicle for peace and conflict resolution among the igbos of south east nigeria’ was chosen as a template to contribute to the prevention and reduction of violence and terrorism in the nigerian state. it is a philosophical inquiry that attempts to interrogate the dynamics of our social environment, using igwebuike (strength in unity) ideology, which was developed by kanu ikechukwu anthony, depicting the marcelian theory of intersubjectivity. onyeakazi jude chukwuma, phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 132 despite the fact that our own country is plagued with insecurity, communal violence, and anxiety from various terrorist attacks, this paper is optimistic that the scourge can be reduced to a reasonable limit via “igwebuike” which is a call and an awakening to mutual complementary relationships. furthermore, it aims at unraveling how this consciousness can be used as an essential tool for lasting peace and reconciliation, with the sole aim of restoring the meaning of life in our meaninglessness situation. lastly, it recommends certain strategies for peace and conflict resolution among the various ethnic groups in nigeria. the method of this paper is essentially analytical, expository and evaluative. keywords: igbos, igwebuike, kanu ikechukwu anthony, conflict resolution. introduction: metaphysical dimension of igwebuike philosophy the fundamental principle which describes the core african spirit is harmony; although reality exists as individuals, they converge at the point of reasonableness. 1 igwebuike, as an ideology developed by professor kanu ikechukwu anthony, rests on the african principle of solidarity and complementarity. 2 it provides an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a rational character of mutual relation. to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. “to be” is “to be” with the other in a community of beings. 3 this is also captured in the philosophical assertion of panteleon iroegbu that “to be is to belong 1 kanu, ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy, 84. 2 kanu, ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy, 84. 3 kanu, ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy, 84-85. igwbuike philosophy: a vehicle for peace and conflict resolution among the igbos of south east nigeria igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 133 and to belong is to be” 4 and in mbiti’s “i am because we are and because we are, therefore, i am. kanu, quoting asouzu, opines: “complementarity is a philosophy that seeks to consider things in the significance of their singularity and not in the exclusiveness of their otherness in view of the joy that gives completion of all missing link of reality.” 5 socio-anthropological analysis of igwebuike philosophy man is a socio-cultural being that always shares a relational affinity with other members of his community. human beings and societies exist only in relation. 6 the intercultural philosophy of igwebuike captures the socio-anthropological nature of man, especially the igbo people. the igbo people of southern nigeria exhibit their social characteristics in their interactions with their fellow human beings, both within their ethnic nationality and outside of it. 7 igwebuike is anchored on igbo-african worldview which is characterized by a common origin, common worldview, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour, habit, common historical experience and a common destiny. 8 thus, igwebuike celebrates in deep cultural and philosophical modality our common humanity, interconnectedness and our common responsibility towards ones another. this is in line with the famous proverbial assertion of mbiti, “i am because we are and since we are, therefore, i am”. 9 4 panteleon, iroegbu. metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy, 374. 5 kanu, ikechukwu anthony. “igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy”,in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 3, no. 1, january 2007, 14. 6 kanu, ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy, 74. 7 christian, o. ele. conflict resolution strategies in igbo religion: the oath taking and covenant making perspective, 35. 8 panteleon, iroegbu. metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy, 108. 9 john, mbiti. african religions and philosophy, nairobi: east african edu. publishers, 1970, 108. onyeakazi jude chukwuma, phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 134 in the igbo-african view, it is the community which defines the person as person. 10 individualism is alien to igbo experience of reality; hence, “reality as a communal world takes precedence over the reality of individual life histories”. 11 as a summary of this idea, nwoko opines: an african traditional society is a society where the individual is always considered a free, integrated member of his community, a communion person. it is a society where individualism is considered a taboo, where each member takes the interest of the community as his own. his pride is community is power. the more united he is to the community, the more he sees the community as a mere extension of the family. 12 the need to live together in community is seen as part of igbo-african existential status. the individual has meaning only in the context of the community. 13 the igbo-african society has been based on an extended family system, which in turn expanded to kinship groups which further extended to clan system and this is the theoretical basis of african communalism. 14 therefore, the igbo community denotes first and foremost ontological quality of human relation. it is 10 ifeanyi, a. menkiti. “person and community in african traditional thought,” in african philosophy: an introduction , 3 rd ed., (ed.) richard a. wright. lanham: university press of america, 1984, 172. 11 ifeanyi, a. menkiti. person and community in african traditional thought, 171. 12 nwoko, m. i. the rationality of african socialism, rome: 1985,71-72. 13 ikegbu, ephraim. “african communalism”, in a colloquium on african philosophy, vol. 1, g.o. ozumba (ed.). calabar: prospper ventures, 2003, 32. 14 uduigwomen, a. f. “african communalism: individual freedom versus communal demands,” in sophism and african journal of philosophy, vol. 4, no. 1. calabar: pyramid publications, 2002, 27. igwbuike philosophy: a vehicle for peace and conflict resolution among the igbos of south east nigeria igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 135 ontological in so far as all the members of the community are believed to descend from a common ancestor. 15 causes of conflicts among the igbos there are many causes of conflict within the igbo societal setting; this can result either from land or boundary disputes, bad leadership, etc. meanwhile, a major pivotal factor of conflicts in the south east zone of nigeria is still the ownership of land 16 and kingship tussles. this is because land is a serious issue among the igbos, since it touches both the material and the spiritual essence of igbo ontology. thus, land is something worth fighting and dying for. 17 meanwhile, other sources of conflict in igbo land, apart from land disputes, are chieftaincy titles tussles, political differences and search for dominance and hegemony, and matrimonial fallouts. on the other hand, social deviance, which contravenes norms of the society, such as incest, stealing of yam or cattle, murder of fellow kinsman, adultery, insubordination to elders, are also causes of social disputes among the igbos. these social deviances range from the minor deviant acts that require sanctions for their controls to heinous offences, nso-ala. 18 15 nzomiwu, j. p. c. the moral concept of justice among the igbos, rome: ac. alfonsiana, 1977, 38. 16 charles, c. mezie-okoye. “tiv and igbo conflict management mechanism: a comparative study”, in international research journal of social science, vol. 5 (7), 2016, 25. 17 oguntolalaguda, d. “the role of traditional rulers and religious leaders in conflict management in nigeria”, in the practice of religion in nigeria, ilorin: decency press, 25. 18 nwankwo, ignatius uche. “traditional multiple level conflict resolution and the appeal system of the igbo group of southeast nigeria and the challenges of social change”, 36. onyeakazi jude chukwuma, phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 136 igwebuike and conflict resolution: a philosophy of social inclusion the igbos organized their society to integrate the needs of the individuals, family, village, town and clan. individuals benefit socially and psychologically from the support and protection of the community. individual survival and safety is protected within the walls of the community. every member of the community is responsible for the other. 19 the success of an individual increases the overall well-being of the entire community. the community which adopts communalism as a standard of operation delves into rights and freedom in order to protect the individual from harm and undue molestation. 20 central to the idea of community is unity which is linked to peace and progress in the society. 21 harmonious and friendly relationships facilitate progress and overall well-being in the human community. 22 harmony within the community is a moral obligation ordained by god for the protection and promotion of life. 23 igwebuike 19 kanu, ikechukwu anthony. “igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering”, in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 3, no.2, march 2017, 72. kanu i. a. (2015b). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu i. a. (2017). igwebuikeconomics: towards an inclusive economy for economic development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 6. 113-140. kanu i. a. (2017). sources of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. 9. 1. pp. 1-23. kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97101. kanu, a. i. (2017c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 7. pp. 165-183. kanu, a. i. (2017d). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 6. pp. 16-50. 20 ikegbu, ephraim. african communalism, 32. 21 anthony, kwakporo nwogu. the christian eucharist and oriko: a study in conflict resolution, 14. 22 anthony, kwakporo nwogu. the christian eucharist and oriko, 38. 23 anthony, kwakporo nwogu. the christian eucharist and oriko, 40. igwbuike philosophy: a vehicle for peace and conflict resolution among the igbos of south east nigeria igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 137 philosophy avers that development be holistic, and emphasizes the centrality of the human person in such a development. it calls for a collaborative approach in the search for better means of livelihood; this means that everyone must play a complementary role. igwebuike is anchored on the thinking that the community has a moral responsibility in the face of human suffering. everyone must do something to alleviate the suffering of the other. 24 the community spirit is very strong among the igbos. almost from the first, the individual is aware of his dependence on his kin group and his community. he also realizes the necessity of making his own contribution to the group to which he owes so much. 25 as a principle of sustainable development, igwebuike philosophy invites everyone to accept “community involvement”. as committed members of the society, it implies a mutual involvement of individuals and society in the destiny of each other; a common social destiny. therefore, it makes every member of the society responsible for the welfare of one another. 26 the community will definitely become better if everyone plays his/her own part very well. to this, asouzu asserts: the african (igbo) worldview, therefore is ruled by the spirit of complementarity which seeks the conglomeration, the unification, the summation of fragmented thoughts, opinions and other individualized fragmented thoughts and ideas. it believes essentially that the whole is greater than the corresponding parts, a viable and sustainable whole will emerge and by this, 24 kanu, ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem, 72. 25 uchendu, v. c. the igbo of southeast nigeria, london: r and wiston, 1965, 34. 26 edmund, aku. solidarity, subsidiarity and common good: fundamental principles for community and social cohesion, usa: xlibris corporation, 2011, 15. onyeakazi jude chukwuma, phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 138 the part will get to the brim purpose of their existence. 27 igwebuike philosophy: a vehicle for conflict resolution the igbo race took adequate measures to handle confrontations of social powers in their possibilities and actualities by evolving strategies that would prevent them, and at conflictual situations, resolve them. 28 conflict resolution in the igbo society is rooted in 27 kanu, ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy, 14. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kanu, i. a. (2019). on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159-176. kanu, i. a. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. 28 christian, o. ele. conflict resolution strategies in igbo religion: the oath taking and covenant making perspectives, 35. igwbuike philosophy: a vehicle for peace and conflict resolution among the igbos of south east nigeria igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 139 their social structures and religion. 29 this is wellexpressed by christian ele as thus: “in igbo land, conflict resolution strategies are embedded in their socio-cultural structures such as the family, kindred, village or clan and the entire town or community. in igbo society, the family heads (ndi okpara), umunna (the entire family of patriarchical roots), the council of elders (ndi ichie), the eldest in the kindred (onyishi), traditional ruler (igwe or eze), the women groups (umuada, umu nwunye di), youth groups (the age grade system, the ogbo oha), the maternal family (ndi ikwu nne), the grand child by a sister (nwa di ana, oke nwa nwunye), are all agents of peace and stakeholders in conflict resolution.” 30 whenever there is an issue within the family or clan, it is often settled in the presence of everyone in an acclaimed open court through mediation and negotiations. the very aim of conflict resolution within the igbo traditional setting is the reconstruction of social bridges and a reenactment of a supposed broken social order with a huge prospect of peaceful co-existence. it is not about justifying one and condemning the other, it works towards a compromise for the reconciliation of the both parties and the restoration of balance or the harmony of reality. 31 this very idea is simply an enactment of what igwebuike (complementary and solidarity) philosophy stands for. it is, thus, a method of conflict resolution built upon the culture of the people. 29 christian, o. ele. conflict resolution strategies in igbo religion, 35. 30 christian, o. ele. conflict resolution strategies in igbo religion, 38. 31 kanu, ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace, 37. onyeakazi jude chukwuma, phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 140 traditional means of conflict resolution before the advent of white men, igbos have already put into place mechanisms for adjudicating matters and for controlling the suppression of the weaker person by the stronger. 32 the basic unit for ensuring peace and preventing conflict was the family. however, there are many conflict resolution structures in traditional igbo society. these are in forms of institutions, social groups and extra-mundane (metaphysical) beliefs or orientations that resolve matters between disputants, and prevent or counteract individual tendencies to deviance. they negotiate, mediate and arbitrate in dispute situations. they use tools like fines, banishment, food commensality, ostracism, oath-taking, to punish or resocialize persons whose behaviours violate role expectations, to preserve the society from disruption. the igwebuike ideology and the communalistic nature of the igbo people necessitate that there are established groups for socio-cultural and socio-economic affairs. there are numerous religious and social groups for conflict resolution in igbo land. these conflict resolution structures, according to nwankwo, include “nuclear family structure, extended family assembly, age grades (otu ogbo), women association (umuada), village assembly, festivals, ozo title holders 33 ”. we shall explain only but a few of these structures. nuclear family structure the family is the foremost socialization and social control agent to which the individual is exposed. it controls the quality and quantity of new members of the society by educating the child on the rules, norms, mores and folkways that govern the society. in the society under study, the functions of socialization, social control and conflict resolution were executed by the nuclear as well as extended families. 32 charles, c. mezie-okoye. “tiv and igbo conflict management mechanism: a comparative study”, 27. 33 nwankwo, ignatius uche. “traditional multiple level conflict resolution and the appeal system of the igbo group of southeast nigeria and the challenges of social change”, 38-42. igwbuike philosophy: a vehicle for peace and conflict resolution among the igbos of south east nigeria igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 141 nuclear family attends to disputes within the nuclear family setting between siblings, and spouses. it is usually presided over by the father and the elders of such families. 34 extended family assembly (izu umunna) the extended family is a grouping into one functional unit of three or more generations of people linked by marriage, descent or adoption. they share a putative father and cannot inter-marry. in the igbo society, the training was achieved by educating the child in the code of manners, conventions, customs, morals and laws of his society. at times, stories of heroes, or of tragedies that befell disputants or defaulters, are used to illustrate the essence of good behaviour. the family restrains the child by meting out punishment as need arises. the kindred or members of the extended families form what is known as umunna assembly in igbo tradition. they are represented by the opara/okpala – the most elderly male person. by virtue of his age and position, the opara acts as spokesman in conflict-related matters. 35 he performs socio-juridical functions and distributive justice is adjudicated by him. any case which cannot be resolved by the opara is brought to the general assembly of the umunna. every adult male has the right to contribute to the general deliberations at the assembly. the elders reserve the right to take the final decision after private consultations among themselves (igba izu). the disputants or deviant members are customarily expected to comply with whatever punishment is prescribed, or face stiffer measures. in the igbo society, a person who falls out of line with his extended family is likened to a bastard. for this reason, individuals carefully avoid violating the 34 nwankwo, ignatius uche. “traditional multiple level conflict resolution and the appeal system of the igbo group of southeast nigeria and the challenges of social change”, 38. 35 anthony, kwakporo nwogu. the christian eucharist and oriko: a study in conflict resolution, umuahia: lumen press, 2018, 18. onyeakazi jude chukwuma, phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 142 norms, thus, controlling their social behaviour and effectively resolving most conflicts. 36 women association (umuada) the umuada is an association of women married outside their natal home. at birth, every female in the community is an ada and qualifies as a member of the umuada association. but she plays no practical role in the association until adult age, especially after she is married. in traditional igbo society, the umuada association was a formidable conflict resolution structure and agent for the control of social behaviour of their members and of the larger public. their influence was felt both in their lineage of procreation and in their husband’s lineage. 37 since pre-colonial era, igbo women have imbibed the concept of igwebuike in their diverse means of resolving conflicts and promoting peace. umuada and nwunye di are the foremost women group and organization in igbo land built on the truism of igwebuike philosophy. these are organizations of daughters or wives of the clan who meet on several occasions to foster peaceful coexistence within the extended family, town or community. the umuada refers to the natal organization of daughters of the clan who are married either within or outside the community, while the nwunye di (co-wives) refers to the organization of women married within a family, kindred, clan or community in their maternal homes. umuada exercises remarkable powers in their natal homes due to their status as daughters of the soil. the fundamental background of this very group is that their strength lies in their union and complemenatarity. no single person makes up the “umu ada”. the prefix “umu” already signifies plurality, and umuada work with communal strength. in performing the above social control functions, the umuada often adopt mechanisms like fine, demonstrations, gossip, praise and blame or 36 nwankwo, ignatius uche. “traditional multiple level conflict resolution and the appeal system of the igbo group of southeast nigeria and the challenges of social change”, 39. 37 nwankwo, ignatius uche. “traditional multiple level conflict resolution”, 40. igwbuike philosophy: a vehicle for peace and conflict resolution among the igbos of south east nigeria igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 143 expulsion of members as ways of expressing disapproval and to secure their demands. in sum, the uumuada association was crucial in conflict resolution and social control in traditional igbo society. they enjoy profound respect, even in contemporary times, and their verdict in all matters is taken seriously. appeals may, however, be taken to council of elders, and ozo title-holders group. 38 evaluation and conclusion it must be noted that despite the fact that igwebuike philosophy has an igbo semantic and cultural undertone, it is of universal relevance. it is not a philosophy specifically viable for the igbo people alone, despite its uniqueness to the igbo people. despite its intrinsic worth, there are also certain areas of consideration which must be critically evaluated so as to make the best use of igwebuike philosophy. these shortcomings highlight the potential misconceptions, misappropriation or misapplications of igwebuike philosophy. it is often assumed by critics of igwebuike philosophy that communality kills the autonomy of an individual. this assumption may not necessarily be true, but if care is not taken, freedom and rights of individuals might be submerged and possibly suppressed in the strong tides of the community. more so, igwebuike philosophy runs the risk of collectivism. most times, in collectivism, the individual disappears. 39 it is similar to a democratic worldview which considers the opinion of the greater majority, since all the members of the community must not necessarily agree. in cases of misjudgment, compromise, bias, prejudice and conspiracy, popular opinion might not correspond to right judgments and decisions. the rich and influential people might also impose their thoughts on others. 38 nwankwo, ignatius uche. “traditional multiple level conflict resolution”, 41. 39 ozioma, j. nwachukwu. communalism in african traditional worldview, lagos: change pub, 2017, 71. onyeakazi jude chukwuma, phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 144 the igwebuike ideology is also established on the commonalities of interest and socio-political or socio-cultural background. its emphasis on numerical strength might actually breed an undue hegemony as those with higher numerical strength can intimidate others and issue undue treatments to the less numerically privileged few based on this ideology. the igwebuike philosophy, when wrongly conceived, will breed a problem of paucity of integration. there is also a tendency to consider those outside one’s circle as enemies, strangers, and treated as second class citizens. this is because humans can be consigned into believing that reality is genuine only within their individual circles. there will, hence, be a tendency to trust only those who are closer to us, like kinsmen and family members. evaluation and recommendations in the face of ever-increasing complexities, the igbo people have continued to employ igbo categories in search for a solution to their many problems. this work, thus, employs the holistic, inclusive and complementary category of igwebuike as a model for both conflict resolution and sustainable development. peace and progress are the hallmarks of every developing society, and they are both realities derived from mutual relational affinities between individuals. hence, they are products of unity; unity is synonymous with peace and progress. in the igbo worldview, peace is not merely an abstract construct; it is a reality which links with the life lived in the human community. 40 this idea is best captured in the complementary philosophy of igwebuike which stresses that solidarity and supplementary relationship built upon common background are very vital for social cohesion and advancement. it does not abrogate the importance of individual autonomy, but stresses an interdependent relationship whereby everyone assumes a social responsibility for the welfare of one another in the society. hence, the intercultural philosophy of igwebuike calls for a global action in conflict resolution and a socio-anthropological communal involvement in a bid to create 40 anthony, kwakporo nwogu. the christian eucharist and oriko, 40. igwbuike philosophy: a vehicle for peace and conflict resolution among the igbos of south east nigeria igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 145 an enabling environment for development. the igbos should concentrate on the fact that “together in peculiarities, the igbos can make a formidable whole.” hence, as a sort of recommendation, igbos should appreciate more the philosophical heritage of their founding patrimony, since the conventional western courts are now dominated by injustice and nepotism. the high cost of litigation in these courts is quite alarming, while the traditional means of conflict resolution does not charge fees for services rendered. therefore, in issues of dispute resolution, the adoption of the igwebuike philosophy should be taken with utmost priority. conclusion conflict resolution and sustainable development imply the ability of a society to improve the relational affinity and socio-economic standards of its citizens through various measures. from the igwebuike perspective, the adopted approach must be complementary and balanced 41 – built upon the principle of solidarity. this work, 41 kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christianmuslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the onyeakazi jude chukwuma, phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 146 thus, concludes by affirming that despite the alarming rate of conflicts and violence in our society today, a change of approach and employment of dialogue through igwebuike consciousness will help to reduce tension in the society. it will help in building mutual understanding and respect in the society and, by so doing, enhancing sustainable development among the igbo people of nigeria. this research aims to re-awaken the spirit of participation in the life of others in the igbo community, a call to a mutual service for common good. problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igboafrican modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 233 general synod and leadership factor in the church of nigeria, anglican communion: a historical review onyeka j. egwuonwu, phd department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe university, awka mayoronyi@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29332.65925 abstract in the anglican communion, the synod has emerged and consequently recognized as one of the most useful instruments for the governance of the church and even evangelism in some instances. the synod, which is generally defined as a council of a church convened to discuss topics like administration, doctrine and application, is being increasingly employed to debate on issues that affect the modern church. in many parts of the world, the synod is being influenced by socio-democratic forces, which are usually expressed by the laypeople. nevertheless, the general synod of anglican communion has in recent years play some crucial roles in shaping the church constitutions, especially regarding the area of theological opinions of various church leaders. in nigeria, the general synod of the anglican communion has featured multiple presentations regarding a national church constitution. today, the general synod of the church is usually conducted from the theological perspective, which justifies the use of current political and social ideas in redefining the church structures. in the quest to involve the entire church community, the parliamentary model is increasingly used in various synods. although whether such a model is ideal and reliable has always been debatable, the fact remains that its use demonstrates the potential of synod's platform for governance. in other words, in addition to providing some useful information and advice, the synod could possibly be used as an instrument of leadership in the anglican communion. however, in the most cases, the anglican church of nigerian has found it extremely difficult to implement and enforce the outcomes or decisions of its general synod at the diocesan levels of the church. this challenge is largely attributable to the highly autonomous nature of each of the church’s dioceses. consequently, due to its high autonomy, each of the dioceses tends to be highly reluctant in putting into practice the decisions reached at the general synod. thus, this academic research will strive to explore the potential of the synod as an instrument of leadership in the anglican communion. it will also look at the various challenges of employing synod as a tool of leadership in anglican communion igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 234 keywords: general synod, leadership, church, anglican communion, christianity introduction leadership is one of the fundamental elements of every organization, society or body. its very existence is almost as old as mankind. leadership can be described as an inherent feature of human society. this is because, in every human setting, there is always the need to have a leader, who will be responsible for maintaining orderliness. this requirement is even needed in the family, which is the smallest societal unit in existence. any organization or society without a leader will ultimately be lawless and out of control. thus, the significance of leadership in any religious or political society cannot be overstressed. leadership generally manifests in various forms and degrees. but in all leadership styles, the leaders usually exercise legitimate power with the subordinate’s mandate to follow such figures. this is because; the position of the leader demands such. in his study, eche (2018) observes that even though leaders of various societies and organizations usually possess formal authorities, they nevertheless tend to depend majorly on their informal authority. according to the author, this informal authority is what they typically use to influence their subordinates. due to their naturally exalted position, leaders are usually trusted by the subordinates, who in most cases find their judgment to be fully acceptable (uka, 2008). the subordinates also respect leaders for their expertise and integrity. these imply that subordinates follow their leaders not because of their position, but due to their specific roles in the organization. this is clearly manifested in the case of mahatma ghandi, who wielded great influence and authority over all indians, despite the fact that he held no official position. the anglican church of nigeria, which is a well-structured christian organization, has leaders that wield great authority within the church. they are largely responsible for maintaining orderliness and coherency within the church. as christian leaders, it is very imperative to note that the anglican bishops and priests did not thrust such responsibility upon themselves. this postulation is confirmed in heb 5:4 which states that, “no one chooses for himself the honour of being a high priest. it is only by god’s call that a man is made a high priest-just as aaron was”. thus, christian leaders are human instrument used by god, which means that the subordinates are indirectly accountable to god almighty through their leaders. what this simply means is all subordinates are obliged to respect and obey their leaders. however, many times, the subordinates in the church failed to fulfil this obligation absolutely. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 235 for instance, according to the constitution of the african church of nigeria, the general synod is the church’s constituted legislative body. but in most cases, the anglican church of nigerian found it extremely difficult to implement and enforce the outcomes or decisions of its general synod at the diocesan levels of the church. this challenge is largely attributable to the highly autonomous nature of each of the church’s dioceses. consequently, due to its high autonomy, each of the dioceses tends to be highly reluctant in putting into practice the decisions reached at the general synod. this problem is the major motivation of current study. thus, this academic study will strive to explore and reiterate the potential of the general synod as an instrument of leadership within the anglican communion. the concept of christian authority and leadership generally, the term authority is the main element that enables a leader to lead a group of individuals. in its simplest term, authority simply refers to the ability to issue orders to people. eche (2018) further described it as an individual’s ability to influence other people due to their position or knowledge. in others words, such position and knowledge naturally elicit respect from the people, who are members of the organization. at times, the power to influence other people could also be exercised by a group of people. these definitions indicated that authority is primarily responsible for determining leadership. furthermore, giddens (1997) argues that what really make an individual a leader is the level of authority such person controls or exercise. it is also important to note that authority is manly derived from the subordinates. hence, authority will not exist when there is no acceptance of subordinates. this is the major difference between power and authority. unlike the former, authority is never forceful but rather earned. the level of authority one commands is primarily determined by the position occupy by such an individual. the bible also recognized authority as being the heart of leadership. for instance, in mark 10: 42-45, our lord jesus christ stated that; you know that those who are regarded as rulers of the gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. not so with you. instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. for even the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 236 this implies that the biblical teaching on legitimate leadership implies that the leaders’ authority should mainly manifest in their ability to direct other people. this is because, authority originates from almighty god and delegated to human leaders for the good of all people. there have also been various scholarly definitions of the term leadership from different perspectives and background. for instance, yukr (1987) defined leadership as a process through an individual “exerts influence over other people and inspires, motivates and directs their activities to help achieve group or congregational goals” (p.27). rue and byars (1997) described leadership as “the ability to influence people to willingly follow one’s decision” (p.28). on the other hand, cole (1998) defined leadership as “a dynamic process in a group whereby one individual influences the other groups’ task in a given situation” (p.9). one general feature of all these definitions is that they affirmed authority as an integral feature of leadership. these different definitions also indicated that leadership exist in different forms. in fact, its exact form is principally determined by the nature of the society. for instance, in the local church, the clergy are the leaders. but in the universities, that position is occupied by the lecturers. consequently, teachers, judges, business executives, social workers, politicians, labour union officials all possess leadership responsibilities in their respective areas of disciplines. from the discussion so far, one can easily deduce that leadership is the act that enables one that stand out within a particular organization. such individuals show other people the way to follow. this implies that it is practically impossible to have a leader without followership. the two are always complementary to each other. thus, an individual or group of individuals can only be call a leader if they have people that look up to them for guidance and direction. this explains why it is always essential and even mandatory for every leader to lead well. that is the only way to maintain order within the organization and for the benefit of all people. the leaders’ disposition is also among the major determinants of the followers’ response and attitude. this explains why it is important for very leader to demonstrate great leadership qualities and potentials. according to the biblical injunction, the church consists of individuals from different wakes of life, who come together for the sole purpose of worshipping the true god. this definition is also affirmed by okwueze (2003), who defined the church, as “an organized body of followers of jesus christ, the people of god as such” (p.32). in their study, uche and obi (2011) described church as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 237 “the sanctified body of believers, purchased with the precious blood of the lamb, and called out for the purpose of worshipping god” (p.102). these definitions portrayed the church as a gathering of people. however, the unique feature of such gathering is that it is inspired and triggered by god himself. but nevertheless, like every other assembly, gathering and community, leadership remains an integral element of the church. the leader is responsible for maintain orderliness and coherency. in the anglican church of nigeria, the leadership role is not just restricted to the primate, but also to the general synod, which according to the constitution is the legislative arm of the church. the anglican church of nigeria in nigeria, the anglican church, which is also known as church of nigeria, is an inherent part of the worldwide anglican communion. according to wotogbeweneka (1997), the name anglican originated from the latin name ‘ecclesia anglicana’, which simply means the “church of england”. this meaning indicates the english roots of the anglican church. the term anglican refers to any individual that upholds the teachings of the church of england and also recognizes the church’s authority. the anglican church is catholic in the sense that it exists throughout the world and has a universal acceptability. this is also affirmed by boettner (1962), who stated that: “the anglican church is catholic because it is found throughout the world and teaches universally and completely all the doctrines which ought to come to man’s knowledge concerning things visible and invincible, heavenly and earthly” (p.2). the universality of the church of england explains why the word anglican church refers to any church that maintains communion with the church of england (fape: 2010). thus, right from the very beginning the church of nigeria has always recognized itself as part of the worldwide anglican communion. before 1979, the anglican church in nigeria existed as part of the province of west africa. according to nwankiti (1996), the province of west africa comprised of several hundreds of ethnic groups with distinct cultures and languages. eche (2018) further pointed out that this province covered the areas of anglophone west africa and consisted of two major types of churchmanships namely “the high anglican and the evangelical anglican” (p.69). the high anglicans originated from the society for propagating the gospel (spg), which was the dominant force in the evangelizations of the then gold coast (known today as ghana), while the evangelical anglican traced their origin to the church mission society (cms), which was responsible for the evangelization of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 238 nigeria. nwankiti (1996) identified this difference as one of the major factors that militate against the in-depth discussion of the numerous matters that affect the various dioceses. on 24th february 1979, the then sixteen nigerian dioceses separated from the province of west africa and formed an entirely new province with rt. rev. timothy o. olufosoye as its first archbishop. it was this historical moment that all the churches founded by the church missionary society (cms) in nigeria as well as the niger missions founded by late bishop ajayi crowther fused together to form the anglican church of nigeria. today, the church of nigeria which started with just sixteen dioceses has grown to sixty-four dioceses grouped into fourteen ecclesiastical provinces. the church now has sixty-eight bishops, including fourteen archbishops. this implies that it is among the largest christian organization that exists within nigeria. authority and leadership in the anglican church in nigeria as already pointed out, leadership and authority manifest in various forms. however, one basic feature common among all forms and types of leadership is that the leader is always a model who every other person looks up to. in most cases, they possess the ability and charisma that usually differentiate leadership from authority. such ability is what enables the leader to direct activities through inspiration and motivation. coincidentally, these are among the major roles, which anglican clergy in overseeing the daily operations of the church. according to fape (2010), the anglican church is “episcopally led and synodically governed” (p.65). this statement is a clear expression of the nature of leadership within the church. it simply means that the diocesan synod is largely responsible for providing the authority wield by the bishop. in his article, wotogbe-weneka (2014) identified the diocese as the central unit of government in the anglican church. in other words, the diocese is the highest governing body within the church. wotogbe-weneka (2014) admitted that there are other higher bodies in the church, but these are mere consultative bodies. typical examples include the anglican consultative council (acc) and the general synod. at the diocesan level, the bishop is in control of the region’s administration. he usually exercises his authority through the diocesan synod with the diocesan board as the executive arm responsible for all decisions of the synods. this organizational structure gives the diocesan synod a great igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 239 autonomy and the ability to exercise authority and power at the expense of the general synod. eche (2018) observes that the anglican church principally consists of three houses of existence namely: the house of bishops, the house of clergy and the house of laity. the bishop is responsible for governing the church unit, which in this case is the diocese. however, he is usually assisted by the synod, which consists of the clergy and laity. as already pointed out, the synod is the highest decision making body at the diocesan level and is usually under the directive of the bishop. it is important to note that the concept of leadership and authority in the anglican church should never be differentiated from the mission and ministry of the church itself. the conceptual meaning of leadership and authority in this case is significantly different from that of the world. in mathew 20: 25-26, jesus christ states that: ““you know that the rulers of the gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. not so with you. instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant” this biblical verse clearly shows that our lord jesus christ himself recognized the significance difference between scriptural concept of leadership and authority, and the world’s perception of that same concept. similarly, omeire (2000) posits that the church’s concept of leadership is in sharp contrast from that of the world. he attributed such difference to the fact that the church is meant to prioritize winning of souls for the kingdom of god. according to him, “the pattern of christian authority and leadership are simply christ like leadership which involves to serve and to lead by example” (p.161). but this does not mean that a church leader would not be a person of authority. like every other leader, the bishops of the anglican church must be in a position to issue commands to their subordinates. such privilege and position means that his words should be recognized as a policy statement that would be binding to subordinates (clergy) as well as the laity. omeire (2000) observes that this position is the main reason why the anglican bishop is usually referred to as “diocese personified” (p. 161). nwachukwu (2018) observes that; “power resides on the leader, and that power implies action, doing something; while authority connotes position or office that ignites the power” (p.11). this description adequately fit the position of the anglican bishop in the church as the power of authority unarguably resides with the holder. according to nwachukwu (2018), outside the office of leadership, the person would not be able to exercise that ability to “command, lead, order or direct them” (p.11). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 240 the discussion so far revealed that in anglican church, the bishop is the leader of the diocese. all authority under his jurisdiction usually resides with him. consequently, the bishop is usually expected to be endowed with special attributes and good leadership qualities that commend him to those he leads. in other words, christian leadership ought to be characterized by altruistic humble services as the bishops and priests are servant leaders that will inevitably give account of their stewardship to god almighty. this also implies that despite the highly autonomous nature of the various dioceses, each of the dioceses suppose to oblige with the decisions of the general synod, which unarguably is the highest legislative body at the national level. unfortunately, as already pointed out severally, the dioceses tend to be highly reluctant in putting into practice the decisions reached at the general synod. the constitutional and functional role of the general synod in anglican church of nigeria according to the anglican constitution, the general synod was the legislative body of the church of nigeria. the constitution also stipulated clearly that any directive, resolution or enactment established at the general synod should be binding to all members, officers, dioceses and provinces of the anglican church of nigeria. this constitutional stipulation established the general synod as the highest decision making body in the church of nigeria. structurally, the general synod consists of three components namely: the house of bishops, the house of clergy and the house of laity. normal sessions of the general synod were usually held once in three years. however, the primate, metropolitan and archbishops are primarily responsible for determining circumstances under which the synod is to be held. furthermore, before convening the synod, the primate, metropolitan and archbishops must obtain request from at least one-third of the house membership. the constitution also stipulated that the primate of the anglican church of nigeria should always preside over the general synod as its president. however, if there is any vacancy in the office of the primate or absence of the primate, the synod should be headed by the dean of the church of nigeria or in his absence the provincial archbishop senior by presentation as archbishop, and if none be present, the bishop senior by consecration, shall preside. the potential role of the general synod as the ultimate tool of leadership in the church of nigeria is also reflected in its constitutional functions, jurisdictions and powers. for instance, as the legislative arm of the anglican church, the general synod is primarily igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 241 responsible for determining the various matters or issues that affect the church all over the country. it is the only institution that is tasked with such huge responsibility. thus, the structural and organizational arrangement of the general synod as well as its constitutional roles and functions in the church clearly reflects the supremacy of the general synod in decision making within the anglican communion. apart from the fact that the constitution established the general synod as the legislative arm of the church of nigeria, the sessions always involves the most senior members and leaders of the church. this clearly indicates the potential of the general synod, as the ultimate tool of leadership within the anglican communion. it also implies that the various autonomous dioceses that made up the church are under obligation to always observe the directive, resolution or enactment reached at the general synod. consequently, any dioceses that failed to fulfill this important obligation is unarguably working against the ultimate objective of the church of nigeria, which is to evangelize the nation and win souls for salvation. an act of insubordination contradicts the vision statement of the church, which according to okoh (n.d) states that: “the church of nigeria shall be bible based, spiritually dynamic, united, disciplined, self-supporting, committed to pragmatic evangelism, social welfare and a church that epitomizes the genuine love of christ” (p.5). it is an undisputable fact that any form of insubordination is a clear manifestation of disunity. thus, any autonomous diocese that refused to head to the directive, resolution or enactment of the general synod is unarguably contributing to the disunity of the church, which was already pointed out, clearly contradicts the vision statement of the anglican church. the general synod as an instrument of leadership in the anglican communion according to ugwu and okwor (2013), the authentic concept of christian leadership is based on the biblical oriental shepherd figure, which recognizes leadership as service to the people. the shepherd figure is a well-known concept in the ancient israeli tradition. according to this tradition, the shepherd is responsible for rearing and taking care of the sheep not for its meat, but for its sacrifice, prestige and wealth. lamido (2007) observes that such tradition enables ancient israelis to “develop intimate and committed relationship with their flock” (p. 22). the familiarity and meaningfulness of the concept of a caring igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 242 shepherd prompt scholars to extend it to human relationships. for instance, still (1994) described shepherd as having the same meaning as a pastor that tend to his flock. in this case, the process of tending to the flock includes feeding, serving, guarding, ruling and leading the people of god. similarly, stott (1992) defined shepherd as someone that “exercises pastoral functions to the people on behalf of god (p.273).” the above definitions clearly indicated that the term pastor and shepherd could be used interchangeably. this is because, the two terms refer to individuals that are entrusted with the responsibility of leading the people of god, who in the old testament are the israelis. consequently, the two terms could also be used in reference to religious and even political leaders appointed by god almighty to carter for his flocks and instruct them to abide by the law. this postulation is also confirmed by ugwu and okwor (2013), who observed that: the people needed constant instruction and care from human shepherds; the priests and the prophets led them in worship, taught and counselled them on religious and moral questions, while the judges and the kings protected them from enemy nations and administered justice in the land (p.51). the above citation revealed that one of the primary objectives of the church leadership is to provide guidelines, instructions and counselling for members. in the new testament, the term leadership is conceptualized from two greek words namely: presbuteros and episcopos. these two concepts clearly manifested in saint paul’s letter. for instance, in 1 tim 3:1, 12, saint paul talked about the office of the deacon and bishops. in heb. 13: 7, he wrote; “remember your leaders, who spoke the word of god to you. consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.” these biblical quotations indicate the need for church members to honour and obey the church leadership. they also illustrate the distinctive episcopal and presbyterial nature of the church. the discussion so far revealed that it is mandatory and obligatory for every church member to always obey the church leadership. as already pointed out, the general synod represents the highest decision making body in church of nigeria. as the most senior leadership structure within the church, the general synod could potentially have assumed the responsibility of protecting, guiding and developing intimate relationship with all the dioceses that made up the anglican church in nigeria. the general synod could achieve this important objective through the formulation of directives and resolutions that will help ensure a successful realization of the church’s vision statement. this is because; igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 243 the general synod is at the best position to deliberate on serious issues like administration, doctrine, culture as well as events that are capable of influencing the church’s external and internal structures. in other words, as stipulated by cox (2008), it is capable of making decisions at the highest hierarchal level of church. thus, the decisions of the general synod of the anglican communion have the same power of law as that of the legislative arm of any national government. as a reputable leadership tool, the decisions reached at the general synod are usually relayed to the members through nationwide communiqué (usikaro, 2009). this helps to ensure coherency and unity of the church, which incidentally is one of the positive consequences of good leadership. it also confirms the inability of each of the diocese to operate effectively without guiding documents from the national level. the holy bible in john 17:23 admonish christians to always live in unity. accomplishing this important objective would not have been possible without a successful institutionalization of a reputable and reliable leadership structure. this is exactly where the general synod of the anglican church comes in, as it is also crucial for the unity of the church in nigeria. the absence of the general synod could have dire consequences for the anglican church. in their article, alokan et al. (2011) observed that many contemporary churches in nigeria are characterized by tussle for leadership, politics, oppression, divisions, and disloyalty. one notable factor responsible for such acts of disunity is leadership issue. in some churches, the absence of a formidable national leadership structure has led to the emergence of ministries within the same church, which is a clear indication of disunity. alokan et al. (2011) pointed out such dissident ministries usually “run parallel administrations without obtaining the proper permission from the church authority and that the system involves church politics, because leaders who engage in such act must be highly connected to the church authority” (p.367). unfortunately, such incidents have huge negative implication for the administration and centralization of the affected churches. but in the anglican church, the institutionalization of the general synod has enabled the church to avoid such acts of disunity. this affirmed the potential of the general synod as reputable and reliable leadership instrument for the anglican communion. conclusion this academic study investigated the potential of the general synod as an instrument of leadership within the anglican communion. the research was igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 244 motivated by the inability of the national leadership of the anglican church of nigerian to implement and enforce the outcomes or decisions of its general synod at the diocesan levels of the church. this challenge is largely attributable to the highly independent nature of each of the church’s dioceses, which make them reluctant to put into practice the decisions reached at the general synod. in course of this study, it was revealed that the biblical teaching on legitimate leadership implies that the leaders’ authority should mainly manifest in their ability to direct other people as authority originates from almighty god and delegated to human leaders for the good of all people. the constitution of the anglican church of nigeria defined the general synod as the legislative body of the church of nigeria. the constitution also stipulated clearly that any directive, resolution or enactment established at the general synod should be binding to all members, officers, dioceses and provinces of the anglican church of nigeria. this constitutional stipulation established the general synod as the highest decision making body in the church of nigeria. thus, the role of the general synod as the ultimate tool of leadership in the church of nigeria is clearly enshrined on its constitutional functions, jurisdictions and powers. even the structural and organizational arrangement of the general synod reflects its supremacy in decision making within the anglican communion as it normally consists of the most senior members and leaders of the church. the implication of this is that the various autonomous dioceses that made up the church are under obligation to always observe the directive, resolution or enactment reached at the general synod. consequently, any dioceses that failed to fulfil this important obligation is unarguably working against the ultimate objective of the church of nigeria, which is to evangelize the nation and win souls for salvation. references ajiboye, b.a., alawiye, m.k. & adenekan, f.n. (2019) availability and use of records for decision making in the church of nigeria (anglican), library philosophy and practice (e-journal). 2317.rtrived 20th october 2019 from https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/2317 alokan, o.a.p., alabi, d.o., & babalola, s.f.(2011), critical analyses of church politics and crises within the indigenous christianity in nigeria, american *journal of social and management sciences, 2(4), 360-370 boettner, l. (1962) roman catholic, new york: presbyterian and reformed cole, g. a. (1998) management: theory and practice, london: row igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 245 cox, n.s.b. (2008). the legal position of the anglican church and its decisionmaking structures. ssrn electronic journal; doi:10.2139/ssrn.1140465. retrieved 20th october 2019 from:https://www.researchgate.net/profile/noel_cox/publications?sorti ng=newestandpage=2 eche, a.d. (2018). authority and leadership in the church of nigeria, anglican communion in a world of change, journal of african studies and sustainable development, 1(3), 64-73 fape, m. o. (2010) knowing the fundamentals of anglicanism, sagamu: joash giddens, a. (1997) sociology, london: polity lamido, a. b. (2007) becoming a pastor of the church. zaria: tamaza publishing. nwachukwu, d. n. (2008) “leadership development in the local church” in d. n. nwachukwu (ed) leadership skills and competences: capacity building workshop manual, calabar: robert instutute word nwankiti, b. c. (1996) the growth and development of the church of nigeria, owerri: ihem davis okoh (n.d) the new ‘vision for the church of nigeria, retrieved 20th october from ’http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download;jsessionid=e956d952935 15206263dee6bb586ea4b?doi=10.1.1.394.9513&rep=rep1&type=pdf okwueze, m. i. (2003) ethics, religion and society: biblical, traditional and contemporary perspectives, nsukka; price omeire, n, e. (2000) “motivating and mobilizing the laity for leadership in the church” in a. o. nkwoka, n. e. omeire & c. o. imo (eds) the church’s mandate and 21st century mission, enugu: rabboni rue, l. w. & byars l. l. (1997) management skills application (8th edition), boston: mc-crew hill still, w. (1996), the work of the pastor. edinburgh: paternoster publishing. stott, j. r. (1992), the contemporary christian. leicester: inter varsity press. uche o. o. c. & obi, g. a. (2011) “spirituality in eternal sacred order of cherubim and seraphim church” in p. e. nmah& o. o. c. uche (eds),standing again on the mount, onitsha: gucks igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 246 ugwu, i.c. & okwor, c.o. (2013), biblical good shepherd imagery and church leadership in nigeria, international journal of theology & reformed tradition, 5(1), 48-60 uka, e. m. (2008) “ministers communication skills in management” in d. n. nwachukwu (ed), leadership skills and competences: capacity building workshop manual, calabar: robert institute word usikaro, t. (2009). basic principles and practices of anglicans. warri: holy trinity printing press. wotogbe-weneka, w. o. (2014) anglicanism, owerri: springfield yukr, p. (1989) leadership, new york: harper collins microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 6.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 156 a review of kanu, ikechukwu anthony’s igwebuikeconomics: towards an inclusive economy for african economic development” philip adah idachaba, ph.d department of philosophy kogi state university, anyigba idachaba.p@ksu,edu.ng the paper is a succinct discourse on how economic prosperity can be achieved for poor countries, nay african countries. it insists that building vibrant economic institutions is the way to go in order to achieve this. the reason for this insistence is based on the arguments of doran acemoglu and james robinson in their work why nations fail. the paper finds the analysis of the economic situation of nagoles as contained in acemoglu and robinson’s work very instructive. the basic submission of the authors of why nations fail is that nagoles arizona is well off than nagoles sorona because nagoles arizona is in the united states of america and feeds off its vibrant economic institutions in a positive way. the vibrant economic institutions of mexico lacks and this is undoing of nagoles sorona which is within the borders of mexico. the paper further justifies the prioritization of economics in the work by stating that “economic need is man’s fundamental need and it is this fundamental need that structures and explains social life” (kanu, 2017: 114). the paper makes further makes recourse to the christian scripture to explain that, “…after the creation of man, the next thing god did was to provide the economic need of the human person by planting the garden of eden, providing water to keep it alive and asking man to till it and eat from its fruit” (kanu, 2017: 114) the obvious implication is that man has to eat in order to fulfil god’s plan for him in reality. following this, the work problematises the poverty of nations, insisting that nations that are the poorest in the world always have something in common; weak economic institutions and that the rich countries are directly opposite in this regard. a ranking of the world’s poorest nations show that on four (4) out of the twenty five (25) poorest countries are not african countries. this is indeed a cause for concern, most especially for scholars of the stock. to determine the causes for poverty amongst nations, the paper makes allusions to geographical hypothesis, that geographical disadvantage is what causes poverty of countries. there is also the cultural hypothesis that holds that bankruptcy of positive igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 157 cultural potentials is what leads to poverty. the ignorance hypothesis is of the view that when leadership lacks vision, poverty ensues. amidst all these, the position of the paper is that, poverty is “simply the result of poor economic mentality that has been generated by poor economic institutions, the result of unreliable political structures” (kanu, 2017: 120). how do we then deal with this situation? igwebuikeconomics is the tool the paper adopts to remedy this situation. this it does because of the wholisitic economic vision of this framework. igwebuikeconomics is a compound word formed from igwebuike (an igbo word or phrase) and economics. igwebuike, when broken into its component gives igwe bu ike which can be translated as ‘number is power’. that is, solidarity and complementarity gives power or the ability to be insurmountable. economics, for its part, is the study of production, distribution and consumption of goods and services, as well as how the wealth produced thereof can be allocated for the good of human society. taking both terms together, igwebuikeconomics is all about bringing element of complementarity and solidarity into the analysis of production, distribution and consumption of goods and services for the good of society. this kind of economics is only interested in the human person and considers production, distribution and consumption to be to the good of the human person and nothing less. it is an economic system that respects nature and abhors any form of its abuse or exploitation. igwebuikeconomics insists on inclusivity in economics and the creation of economic institutions that masses have confidence in. its underlying principle is complementarity. by this principle, economic institutions can only succeed by “creating strong relationships with one another in such a way that the other complements what is lacking in the other” (kanu, 2017: 121). by this token, the producer should be connected with the distributor and the consumer. this then creates a complete economic whole that coheres in itself. from a more practical point of view, nigeria is made up three regions, the hausa-north, yoruba-west and igbo-east. each of these regions have their economic uniqueness. the hausa-north is largely agrarian and produces virtually all the food consumed in nigeria. the yoruba-west, particularly lagos is a commercial and industrial hub. it is a burgeoning city and is capable of sustaining itself based on taxes without depending on funding from the central government. the igbo-east is a region populated by industrious people. they can also farm, but more importantly, they are business people. the have industries all over the country and they live in virtually every part of nigeria igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 158 doing business. igwebuikeconomics holds that for nigeria to prosper, all these regions must be interdependent and also be into a fruitful reciprocal relationship. the author of the paper captures this situation thus, “if the west produces kolanut in large quantity and there is no northerner to chew it or the easterner to celebrate it, the economic value of the kolanut will depreciate. if the igbo produces palm oil, cars, shoes and clothes and there are no ready markets for these products in the northern and southern parts of the country, the economy of the east would be affected. if the the north produces rice, maize, millet, vegetables etc. and there are no eastern or wester markets for them to be sold and consumed, that would seriously affect economy of the north” (kanu, 2017: 130). this indeed is a classical application of the igwebuike maxim to economics. that is, ‘i am because you are; i am because we are.’ thus, the markets of the east and west makes the farmer of the north and millet and maize from the north feeds the east and the west. this kind of economics has its indicators and the author of the paper takes time to articulate these as: equitability, participatory, growing, sustainable and stable. thus, where igwebuikeconomics is operative, all or combinations of these indicators have to be present. the author also takes extra care to emphasise that the presence of these indicators does not only mean inclusive economic institutions, but also inclusive economic growth. this kind of growth ultimately manifests in: growth in employment and productivity; development in human capabilities and social safety; reduction of poverty; and opportunity for people to contribute to economic growth and benefit from the process, increase in gross domestic product, sustainable growth that would create and expand economic opportunities and a broader access to them (kanu, 2017: 135). the author closes the discourse by the submission that if africa establishes inclusive institutions, prosperity will be hers. but “the greatest threat to africa’s economy is her exclusive economic system; the experience of xenophobia, ethnic crises, religious crises in different parts of africa affects the aperture of economic prosperity as they limit movement of goods and people, and also incentive to take risks” (kanu, 2017: 137). complementarity is what can help deal with this. the paper is a bold thought experiment in humanistic economics. it is so in that it uncouples economics from its abstract web and framework of neutrality and places it in the direct context of the human struggle for survival. its arguments are elegant and lucid, and the arguments also bring to the fore a vital aspect of economics which is often taken fore-granted because of the undue quest for scientific self-vindication of economics. the posture of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 159 igwebuikeconomics portrays economics as a fundamentally human science and by the igwebuike methodology, insists that it should be treated as such. the work definitely say no to the consistent abstract theorisation typical of economics and the continued thingnification of human beings within this context. it is a manifesto about how economics can be given a more human face in the current world of cold exploitation and abject poverty. beyond humanising economics, this framework is a blueprint for the economic emancipation of poor countries. it points out ways through which economic systems can positively collaborate with other economic systems for the benefit of humanity. it has useful principles that can serve as guide for global economics. global economics as it stands today creates a world of winners and losers as well as a winner takes it all situation. in the current scenario, world economic powers go about bullying poorer economies and keeping them in perpetual state of exploitation. the insistence of igwebuikeconomics that nothing is useless in the economic space holds forward the idea that poor countries are the responsibility of the rich countries and that rich countries have the duty of pulling the poor ones out of the woods. the idea is that rich countries are not rich until they are able to pull poor countries up in a complementary relationship. they have to make the poor grow in a manner that is inclusive. also, poor countries should seek out ways to complement the efforts of the rich so that inclusivity can be comprehensively achieved. although this framework has a powerful persuasive aura, a few negative spots can still be notes. the first has to do with the morphological formation of the word igebuikeconomics. the word igwebuikeconomics is a compound word. that is, it is a word formed from the combination of two different words. morphologically, the compounding of the word requires slight refinement. ‘igwebuikenomics’ would still carry the same sense and theoretic weight as ‘igwebuikeconomics’. igwebuikeconomics sounds like forcing two words together; igwebuikenomics sounds like forming one word out of two. probably, semantics was prioritised in the current compounding of the word, yet meaning would not be lost by the slight variation suggested. from a technical point of view, the kind of compounding used here is referred to as endocentric compounding. this form of compound word consists of a head, that is, the categorical part that contains the basic meaning of the whole compound and the modifier, which restricts their meaning. in this case, the head is economics and the modifier is igwebuike. in addition to being an endocentric compound, it is a hybrid word. that is, it is a word that is form from two languages; the igbo igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 160 language and the english language. the key point to note in all these is that the word should not only be seen to be one, but should also be heard to be one. as the compound stands, it can only be seen (read) to be one. it can only be heard to be with the slight modification suggested. at a deeper level, the marxist root of this framework is not explicitly acknowledged. the biblical allusion to man’s material need and the position of acemoglu and robinson are not sufficient enough to warrant not mentioning marx as the one who insists that the material conditions of life is the most vital component of society. though marx is an advocate of a revolution, he predicates the need for a revolution on the bastardisation of the material conditions of life by a capitalist economic mode. marx structures the society into the base and superstructure. the bases refers to all relations of production that people engage in, in order to survive. the superstructure refers to every other aspect of society not directly related to economic production. the relationship between these spheres are spiral for marx, but the base is dominant. that is, virtually everything that happens at the superstructure level is influenced by the base (marx, 1956). this means that the economic condition of individuals/societies determines every other thing within the society. this can then be read as a useful precursor to the prioritisation of economics concerns as this review wishes to show. the inclusion of marx would have formed quite a rich theoretical resources for the paper under review. much more fundamentally, igwebuikeconomics framework takes fore-granted the polemics of agency/institution in the discourse on development (source). while it is true that geography, culture and ignorance are not sufficient reasons for the prevalence of underdevelopment in some climes, it is equally true that no matter how vibrant institutions are or can be, perverted agents can undermine them. agents here refer to operators or formators of institutions. institutions cannot make themselves and they do not fall from space. this means that institutions are fashioned by and they are operated by people. this is the reasons why institutions are at the heart of the social world; that is, the world created by humans and distinct from the natural world which is an ontological given. technically, the natural world is the world of brute facts and the social world is the world of observer-dependent or institutional facts. in terms of ontological priority, brute facts come before institutional facts. that is, brute facts are the basis for institutional facts (john searle). these institutional facts are observerdependent in that observers/human beings make them and determine what they are. the nigeria police force, for example, is an institution. when good mean, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 161 that is, properly formed agents run it, the system will work. even when the crafting of the system is poorly done. but when the institution is run by improperly formed agents, no matter how well the institution is formed, such agents will undermine it. this is a vital point which igwebuikeconomics does not clearly address; the role of agents in the making of institutions. at the closing section of the paper, reference is made to certain salient issues that undermine the actualisation of inclusive and complementary economics in poor nations. in africa particularly, xenophobia, ethnic crises, religious crises are mentioned as some of the threats to inclusive economics. it is the opinion of the reviewer that the greatest threat with regard to africa in this regard is ethnic exclusion or ‘tribal fixation’ (idachaba and onogu, 2017). the hausa man does not trust the igbo man and the yoruba man and vice versa. the average african man is unconsciously fixated on his tribe to the exclusion of others, most especially when the chips are down. today, the fulani man decimates a whole community because his cow was killed, the government and its various institutions are complacent in dealing with the situation. a close look at the government, one sees that those in positions of influence are of the same stock as the fulani perpetrators. in this case, the problem is not institutional, it is agential. this goes to show that when agents are not in tandem with the ideals of the institution, the institution cannot just work. the point is, igwebuikeconomics is indeed a vibrant frame, but the theory needs to address how agents can be properly constructed to help actualise the benefits of this economic system. bibliography kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and and logic (nka) of african philosophy”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 162 kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuikeconomics: towards an inclusive economy for economic development. sapientia: journal of philosophy. vol. 9. pp. 90108. microsoft word igwebuike journals vol. 5. no. 7.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 168 a review of kanu ikechukwu anthony’s “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership irabor, benson peter (phd student) university of lagos department of philosophy benpet1@yahoo.com the primary contention of kanu’s disquisition, as the title suggests, is the urgency to provide a framework for inclusive leadership. this is coming from the backlog of the inefficient and nearly counterproductive leadership ideologies that has rocked nigeria in particular and africa in general. the onus is therefore to employ an indigenous framework to ratify the seeming gap initiated by poor leadership through an igbo-african perspective. in this guise, he proposes ‘igwebuike’ as a viable basis for inclusive leadership. for kanu (2017: 171) ‘igwebuike’ is an igbo word that is characterized by three simple words. on his terms, the three words involved: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power. thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force (kanu, 2017: 171). kanu (2017) seems certain the present spate of leadership failures in not unconnected to the replete questions and challenges facing nigeria, for instance. the tussles for resource control, neglect of some regions for the sake of the other and the grievances that has derived as a result. he explains that these issues have been rocking nigeria for a long while but are tied to the leadership problem which has yet to be properly addressed. hence, ‘igwebuike’ steps into the gap to inform the grooming of a leader that will explore the principles of solidarity and complementarity within the whole. he forays into the traditional igbo society to disclose how this can be revived in contemporary times for unity and development in africa. he explains social formation in traditional igbo society from the nuclear family to the whole community as an instance of solidarity and complementarity wherein effective lessons for leadership and followership may be inferred for contemporary use. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 169 in spite kanu’s brilliant and worthwhile analysis, one finds that he, like any other philosopher is concerned with the urgency to solving some of the challenges that are faced by his country. similarly, the clamour for the return to indigenous ideas as more befitting for africa’s condition vis-à-vis western political frameworks seems to have also been validated by kanu (2017). it is in this sense that kanu’s ideas may be said to have come at the right time. in spite of these strength and interesting side to kanu’s works, the essay has some technical fall outs and assumptions that are beyond corroboration from reality. one of the technical fall outs of the paper is that it is replete with autoplagiarism. there are several claims in the essay that should derive from independent research aside kanu’s but one finds kanu quoting himself to justify the assertion, as though none else has given a thought to return to igbo notion of leadership and ontological wholeness. consider the pages (167-8) where discoursing the scramble for africa in his essay but kanu was quoting his earlier works (kanu, 2010; 2012). obviosuly, kanu is a philosopher not a historian. one would have expected him to employ the ideas of some historians to make his case stronger. clearly, this is argumentum ad verecundiam. secondly, kanu’s essay is short of instances and proper justification why ‘igwebuike’ is desirable and should be embraced. the picture he has provided concerning the igbo social formation is true for nearly all of traditional africa, so one wonders what is so unique about his proposal. in addition, what kinds of achievements did the concept of ‘igwebuike’ nurture and attain in traditional times? what monumental achievements by the igbo may be pointed as a consequent of the use of the leadership ideals embedded in ‘igwebuike’? did the traditional igbo use this term to affirm the essence of their inclusive leadership or is the term nothing but kanu’s neologism? aside the foregoing thought provoking posers, the qualities of inclusive leadership provided by kanu are not new to the ears (see page 172-3. nearly all existing leadership ideals emphasise this reality. one would have expected kanu to juxtapose his ‘igwebuike’ with the yoruba notion of ‘omoluwabi’ for instance to draw parallels or departures rather than recommending this for nigeria and africa without taking cognizance of the indigenous leadership ideas that ‘igwebuike’ is likely to confront. the fourth problem with kanu (2017) is found closely knitted with his analysis of the ‘dimensions of the human brain’ (kanu, 2017: 174-5). throughout the section igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 170 (the anthropological foundation inclusive leadership) that discourses this, kanu did not make mention of any neurologist, psychologist, psychiatrist whose research conforms to kanu’s (2017) analysis. how did kanu (2017) arrive at this analysis? this is pertinent once we recall again that kanu is a philosopher but seems to engage in affairs that are closely related to fields beyond philosophy. has kanu dissected any human brain to affirm his analysis? did he conduct any field research to deduce how the brain operates? kanu (2017) is silent over the method that he uses to garner his discourse on the human brain but this is the greatest pitfall of his essay. despite the shortcomings pointed above, the intellectual prowess of kanu deserves an accolade in the igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy provides a socio-political platform for leadership of inclusivity as against nepotism. thus, the kpim igwebuike as an inclusive form of leadership as the political system in africa; particularly in nigeria will restore genuine nigeria socio-political life. references kanu, i.a. 2017. “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3(7): 165-83 kanu, i.a. 2016. “igwebuike and the unity of african philosophy.” in i.a. kanu (ed). igwebuikepedia: internet encylopedia of african philosophy. makurdi: the augustinian institute of philosophy. kanu, i. a. 2012. “the colonial legacy: the hidden history of africa’s present crisis.” international journal of arts and humanities (afrrev ijah) 1(1):123-131 kanu, i. a. 2010. “towards an african cultural renaissance”. professor bassey andah journal of cultural studies. 3: 146-155. kanu, a. i. (2017b). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 1.[9-18]. kanu, a. i. (2017c). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2.[155-160]. kanu, i. a. (2016). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation.. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 70 anthropo-ontology of sacrifice in traditional african religion, its relevance and challenges: an anthropological perspective paul-kolade tubi, phd federal university lokoja kogi state, nigeria paulkoladetubi@gmail.com doi:10.13140/rg.2.2.21005.15840 abstract this is an anthropo-ontological study of traditional sacrifice and its challenges. the research is ethnographic using the okun, a sub-yoruba group as a case study. this methodology is adjudged as best for the study of traditional societies which have come under the onslaughts of foreign influence. it uses qualitative research in which participant-as-observer, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions were used in data gathering. the paper adopts ethnography as research orientation because it is capable of examining the underlining phenomena of culture and structures of traditional religions. the study reveals the anthropological and ontological relevance of sacrifice in traditional religion of the okun. it also examines the dynamism, resilience and vulnerability of traditional religion. the report is presented in narrative and descriptive ethnographic format. the paper opines that it is apropos that anthropological enquiry be made into traditional religions before they are completely eroded or obliterated. keyword: anthropology, ethnography, ontology, sacrifice, traditional religion introduction this anthropo-ontological study uses anthropological paradigms to examine the existence and practice of sacrifice within african traditional religions and its relevance and multiple challenges by using the okun-yoruba, nigeria as a case study. sacrifice is a pious act which is intended to connect humans with the deity/deities. sacrifice is an integral part of all religions. tubi (2015) defines human beings as homo religiosus (religious man). religion indeed pervades all aspects of life of mankind especially in traditional societies in which sacrifice plays important part. yet its precise definition has eluded scholars. religion is an almost undefinable concept. indeed, there is no general definition of religion. this made ibenwa (2014:49) to asset that “religion is elusive in nature and this makes it difficult to have a universally accepted definition”. durkheim (1995) and weber (1993, 2019) treat religion as a social reality which performs social mailto:paulkoladetubi@gmail.com https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.21005.15840?_sg%5b0%5d=6_ylcsnh_8r3yjcpn_t640cqgldtezp5cexkmgumuw1rg5zmc6uw0e8wekfeqna3bpncjtukbihc18ovmx1pwq19vq.ihxj5yl2yzdrnn8e21kxp5grh-bynu2j_-pwh42adtwoin_o42bv4n2y-cxfrjjtnzbhm4yriikou-xr8ezmvq igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 71 functions within a community/society. tubi (2015) defines religion as “a most sublime activity in which the deity is inseparably linked with man/woman in a covenanted relationship”. thus religion is the most sublime human activity which is an aggregation of human endeavours that links humanity with the other thou/ultimate being. religion has received critical reviews from scholars such as marx (1967) who argues that it is an opiate given to the common folks to aid their suppression by the powerful. detailed study of traditional religion of africans have been undertaken by scholars like awolalu (1979), arinze (2008), ekwunife (1992), idowu (1973), mbiti (1982, 1999), parinder (1974), and tubi (2015), amongst others. sacrifice has been observed by arinze (208) as intimately linked to every act of worship in african and as integral part of african worship. focus of study and methodology the study focuses on the okun speaking people of northeast yorubaland. okun is a collective term for a subgroup of the yoruba language spoken in parts of ekiti, ondo, kwara and kogi states of nigeria. they are divided into six linguistic clusters namely, bunu, kiri, owe, oworo, ijumu and yagba based on tonal differences. earlier study by tubi (2015) asserts that they retain a higher degree of their pristine culture than most of their yoruba kins and kiths, where neither islam, christianity nor modernization has been able wipe off their culture. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 72 source: original to researcher ontology is here construed as the nature of reality, being and essence. this focus on ontology is in relation to sacrifice within traditional african milieu. its ontological examination is concerned in simplest form with sacrifice as a reality in african society. anthropology is taken in this study as the science of humanity. this focus is on culture of the okun speaking people. malinowski (2014) has rendered ethnography compulsory for any meaningful study of traditional societies. ethnography is a major anthropological methodology, which scholars adjudged as suited for an in-depth study of culture (tubi 2015). ethnography directs observation of culture in its natural setting. thus, ethnographic understanding of the religious practices and tenets of the okun-yoruba people has helped to bring out the underlining structures of their beliefs. this methodology because it is holistic, and integrative, it brings out in clear perspectives the orientation, meaning and focus of their traditional religious practices like sacrifices. by using ethnography, the different types of sacrifices, the methodology of sacrifices and the reasons for sacrifices come out with clarity. map of nigeria showing okun-yoruba speaking area location of okun people in north-east yoruba land igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 73 the study relies on focus group discussion and in-depth interviews as sources of data. a period of insertion was undertaken by the researcher in which he lived within the okun-yoruba community in line with participant-as-observer methodology. this enabled him to obtain first-hand information on the subject matter. the researcher is a culture-bearer who understands the language of the people and their general culture. he uses this advantage as a professional anthropologist. understanding sacrifice in okun traditional religion sacrifice is the soul of african worship. africans in traditional setting cannot worship without offering sacrifices. traditional sacrifice in traditional african religions is a pious act of worship. traditional sacrifice involves rites of integrated cultural practices that link humans with the deities. they are highly coordinated rites that demand faithfulness in formulae, gesture and matter. any deviation or omission of any part may render a particular sacrifice ineffectual, an offence or outright abomination. ethnographic studies by tubi (2015) among the okun, indicates that traditional sacrifices touch political, social, economic and religious activities like rites of passage from birth to death, seeking for fortunes, contest for political offices, protection from evil, healing etc. importantly traditional african sacrifices involve participation of persons, objects of sacrifice, place of sacrifice etc. the fundamental meaning of sacrifice in traditional religion is that of effecting an efficacious relationship between human beings and the deities. this understanding is based not on metaphysics but on anthropology. here sacrifice is interpreted as an anthropological reality with deep ontological meaning. sacrificial rites within traditional religion have varieties of forms and intentions. this research establishes that sacrifices are keystones of traditional religion. they provide the steps to reach the deities. using the okun-yoruba as a case study, traditional religion conceives of all spiritual beings in their hierarchical order beginning with olodumare (supreme being) who is considered as the highest, the greatest and grandest, the deities and ancestors in descending order. okun’s traditional religions respond to the deities according to their hierarchy and influence, duties and values, authority and legitimacy, (tubi 2015). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 74 findings: anthropology and ontology of sacrifice among the okun traditional african societies have come under the onslaughts of debilitating foreign influences in forms of westernization, sinoization (chinese influence) and globalization. african traditional religions have also had to cope with the invasions of islam and christianity and the recent influx of eastern religions like hare khrisna, guru maharaji and schools of mysteries like eckanka and grail message. yet traditional sacrifices by africans remain unabated despite these foreign influences. this study’s findings are concisely explained by illustrating the anthropological and ontological data of sacrifice. the basic ontology of traditional sacrifice and its relevance can be accessed under four sub-themes as variously enunciated by scholars like arinze (2008), awolalu (1979), and mbiti (1982). (a) requirements for sacrifices, (b) purposes of sacrifices, (c) types of sacrifices, (d) materials for sacrifices. (a) requirements for sacrifices: in okun traditional religious set up, there are four basic requirements for sacrifices: (i) things offered (victims) must be clean and not defective. (ii) priests are needed to offer sacrifices. (iii) sacrifices must follow prescribed rites. (iv) sacrifices must be offered at prescribed spots. these four basic requirements are considered necessary and non-negotiable among traditional people because of the reverence they have for the deities. (b) purposes of sacrifices: data gathered from researches indicate that traditional religionists offer sacrifices for several purposes. scholars like awolalu (1979), and arinze (2008) opine that africans offer sacrifices for several purposes. arinze (2008) identifies four purposes of offering sacrifices among the igbo of eastern-nigeria. tubi (2015) identifies six purposes of sacrifices among the okun-yoruba. (i) expiation: people offer sacrifices to expiate or atone for sins committed either collectively or individually. the origin and anthropological relevance of expiatory sacrifices derive from african belief that objects of worship can adequately substitute for their evil deeds. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 75 (ii) votive offering: africans also offer sacrifices to fulfill vows made to the deities. in dire situations, an individual can express a vow, wish or desire to the deities which becomes binding and must be fulfilled after the request has been granted. (iii) petition: people also offer sacrifices to beg, implore and seek favour from the deities. it is believed that god left the running of the affairs of the world to the deities, thus, people may petition a deity for fecundity, healing, prosperity, and other sundry purposes. (iv) thanksgiving: all africans play premium on thanksgiving. a yoruba axioms say eni ti a se lore ti ko dupe, o da bi eni ti olosa ko leru lo (the one who refuses to be thankful after receiving a favour is worse than a thief) and eni ba dupe ore ana a ri omiran gba (the one who is thankful will always receive more). therefore, people give profuse thanksgiving to the deities and even to the chief priests who are intermediaries between humans and the deities. thanksgiving can come in various forms. it can be done with material things, verbally, songs, dances, drama, and so on. (v) purification: traditionalists also offer sacrifices for the purposes of carrying out purificatory rites. these are done when an abomination is committed or a taboo is committed or breaking a prohibition imposed by social customs such as suicide, incest, murder and desecration of sacred persons or places. (vi) warding off evil: another reason for offering sacrifices among the people is that they believe that one can offer sacrifice to ward off evil in all forms and manners. to achieve this, sacrifices are offered to ward off evil spirits, sicknesses, famine, danger, mishaps, epidemics, premature death, barrenness, and so on. (c) types of sacrifices: in traditional africa, the people place emphasis on typology of sacrifices. this research identifies six typologies. (i) thanksgiving sacrifice: people are want to offer sacrifices in thanksgiving for favours received. thanksgiving sacrifices have cosmological relevance because they link humans with the ancestors and the deities who are believed to have granted them their requests. it is considered the height of ingratitude not to acknowledge the blessings/favours from the deities. (ii) communion sacrifice: there are certain sacrifices that are offered to establish communion in the community. this type of sacrifice is meant to be a joyful celebration for all members of the community. sacrifices of this nature are also igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 76 meant to achieve reconciliation in the community. as part of the celebration, people share a common meal and enact a renewal of their living together. this involves carnival-like festivity or an ordinary feast. (iii) votive sacrifice: another type of sacrifice is the votive sacrifice which is made in fulfillment of a vow which an individual entered into with the deities and ancestors. the people believe that vows must be fulfilled, thus, votive sacrifices become a necessity for those concerned. (iv) propitiatory/expiatory sacrifice: the cosmological reality of traditional africa is dotted with frictions, aberrations and sins. to achieve reconciliation between man and his community, on one hand, and between man and the ancestors, on the other hand, it becomes imperative to offer propitiatory or expiatory sacrifices. (v) preventive sacrifice: data from researches also indicate that people offer preventive sacrifices. preventive sacrifices can be described as those that are offered by individuals or communities to ward off evil. the people believe that the supreme being created a good world but evil spirits, evil people and irascible deities can cause mishaps and endanger people’s lives. to curb this, preventive sacrifices are offered. (vi) substitutionary sacrifice: traditionalists believe that animals can be substituted for human beings. in cases where a person faces imminent death, diviners can be approached to offer animals, e.g, goats in place of the person. sacrifices of this nature are not performed in clear view of people; they are usually done in secret. substitutionary sacrifices are also believed to be capable of prolonging life, averting danger, ameliorating punishments and diverting repercussions. (d) materials for sacrifices: the people offer varieties of materials/objects for sacrifices. materials for sacrifices are based on two premiums: (1) the material or object offered must be clean, (2) the material offered will depend on the taste of the deities and it must be as prescribed by the deities. generally, there are four types of materials used for sacrifices in traditional africa, namely, food such as yams, kolanuts, beans, pounded yam and soup; drinks such as palm wine (emu), sorghum beer (burukutu), spirits (ogogoro); animals such as goats (edegbe/ewure), dog (aja), chicken (adiye); and objects such as cloth (aso), coins (owo), cowries (owo eyo), among others. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 77 ritual meals meals and drinks play anthropo-ontological roles in african traditional religions. using the okun as a case study, the following data emerged. edegbe (goats), aja (dogs), ere were (small type beans), isu/usu (yams), obi (kolanut), epo pupa (palm oil), emu (palm wine) and orogbo (bitter kola) are the most prized for ritual purposes. isu/usu (yam) is the king of food, the main traditional meal to be eaten with relish. it is celebrated and it is used for marriages, chieftaincy rites and funeral rites. yam is inseparably linked to ogun and the earth-spirit. obi (kolanut) equally plays significant socio-cultural roles among the okun. there are three principal types of kolanuts found among the okun. obi afin (white kola), is highly prized for ritualistic purposes. next is the obi alawe merin (four lobes kolanuts), which are used both for eating and ifa divination. obi abata (two lobes kola), which are useful for their ability to prevent thirst and to keep one alert due to its nicotine content. also, kolanuts have social relevance because they are used to entertain guests. those to whom kolanuts are given are told that they are warmly welcomed. to receive a guest in one’s house without offering him kolanut is deemed to be contrary to good hospitality. epo pupa (palm oil) is a condiment for man and a chief meal of the deities. libation is performed with pouring of palm oil at shrines. emu (palm wine) is another ritual drink. earth receives palm oil and palm wine regularly from devotees and no one drinks them without giving little to the earth. orogbo (bitter kola) is relished for its medicinal purposes. also it is held to be very portent; when chewed, it gives efficacy to the chanting of incantations as well as pronouncement of blessings and curses. ere were (small beans) is the favourite meal of the deities. eran aja (dog meat) is the favourite of ogun, the deity of iron. impact of foreign influence on okun traditional sacrifice okun’s contacts with foreign influences have brought many practical changes in their religions. the contact with islam came with changes. the impact of the nupe-fulani jihadists from 1840-1897 was highly destructive. the jihadist under the pretense of spreading islam declared war of slavery on the people, which resulted in massive depopulation, despoliation and near total annihilation of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 78 okun and their traditional religious system. the jihad did not succeed in converting the people, who rather loathed the religion that brought so much hardship on them. conversion to islam however, was achieved due to missionary activities of itinerant islamic preachers later on. today, islam has a sufficient number of followers among the people. muslims also have impacted positively with their health institutions, care-giving centres and educational institutions (primary, secondary) in okun-yorubaland. due to the influence and activities of local and foreign missionaries, christianity now constitutes the largest religion among the people of okunland. christianity has made tremendous impacts on the people especially through their numerous schools and medical services. the impacts of westernization, christianity and islam on traditional religion of the okun have resulted in serious weakening of the indigenous religion, and they are imposing their codes of ethics on the populace such that many see participation in traditional religion as fetish and superstitious. invariably, this has led to social isolation of some youths and adherents of christianity and islam from their lineages and communities. another observed impact of modern religions and modernization on the populace is the relegation of traditional passage rites. a key informant among the okun expresses her fears saying that, traditional religion is dying off as their children are all going to church. she complained that they are all old and now no one wants his/her son to be initiated into oro again and no one wants to initiate her/his daughter into traditional cult of women. traditionalists all want their children to go to schools and churches own the schools (tubi 2015) modernization has also brought changes to traditional religion in relation to the works of priests. the priests, apart from their sacral role in the community, they are also adept as health care givers. due to modernization, there are technological changes in the accoutrement of traditional religious practices such that body creams manufactured by modern industries have become ingredients for traditional herbs, modern bottles have replaced traditional gourds, plastic containers have replaced earthen wares. yet, data from the research indicate that traditional religious practices appear to be fading away. priests are less numerous, public traditional rites for the gods are not as frequent as before. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 79 in addition, the impact of modernization on the religious system can be identified in the imposed environmental crisis on okunland. this is noticeable with the gradual disappearance of sacred forests and grooves once held sacrosanct for the deities. ethnographic data obtained by the researcher among the okun-yoruba show that traditional grooves of malign spirits were given to the early missionaries by the kings to build their places of worship. it was envisaged that such malign spirits will annihilate the missionaries. however, such places of worship have now become centres of huge socio-religious activities in the communities. in addition, modernization has severely affected the environment as sacred forests and grooves have been encroached upon by activities of modern lumber contractors, constructions of roads, and houses. another observation made from the study is that the anthropo-ontological roles of the deities in bestowing prosperity, health, fecundity and protection are being ignored. coupled with this, the denial of the role of the ancestors in the community has affected collective responsibility and solidarity of the lineages. anthropologically, okunland can be said to be going through a transitional phase in which it is difficult to classify many people as either traditionalists, muslims or christians. acephalousness seems to be a common trend that unites many of the people because many christians and muslims are also active participants in traditional religion. however, christianity and islam are not the sole causes of the erosion of traditional lores, mores and ethos. another cause is the modern economic system which stresses individualism rather than communalism. the colonial educational system has also impacted on the entire traditional system, which suppressed the traditional method of impacting knowledge to the impressionable minds. conclusion from the data presented above, the people believe that sacrifices are an integral part of their religious system in which libation and offering go on simultaneously. sacrifices, according to the chief priest of ogidi, help them to receive supernatural assistance, restoration, maintenance and sustenance from ancestors and deities. the oba of mopa states that sacrifices play important roles on their political, economic and social systems in the community. their religion igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 80 impinges on all aspects of their life ways and forms the interconnectivity of all their cultural systems. the okun highlights the dilemma of a traditional african community which is coping with the influence of modernization and foreign influence. overwhelmed with such intrusive cultures like westernization, sinoization, globalization and foreign religions, yet the people celebrate their unique identity by maintaining some elements of traditional practices, one of the iconic being traditional sacrifices. the study has helped to reveal the underlining structures of traditional religious practices of the people, thus it has proved highly valuable in this research, but it could not reveal all the internal workings of a complex religious system like the okun. the study could not reveal the power of non-linguistic symbolism of the okun traditional religion, and it could not furnish data on the rich variety, flexibility and subtlety of traditional sacrifice of the okun. furthermore, adherents of traditional religions did not reveal all the details of their practices, because, the researcher was considered a non-initiate into oro, (traditional mystery). sacrifices continues to play important roles in the lives of the okun people. evidence of votive offerings at road junctions, sacrifices at river sides, slaughtered chickens beside baobab trees, and deliberate placing of cowries with white cloths are indications that traditional sacrifice continues among the people. the okun enjoys religious freedom in which a person might be an adherent of one religion, yet he/she has no inhibition in visiting a cleric of another religion for help when confronted with the vagaries of life. the paper concludes that traditional african has survived despite the continuous opposition of foreign influence. it has maintained a reasonable resilience despite its vulnerability. the people of okunland typify a resilient culture in which traditional sacrifices continue among the people irrespective of religious affiliation, educational background, political position, economic status and social standard. this paper opines that the practice of offering sacrifice at traditional shrines might persist for a longer time among okun-yoruba because of the perceived relevance of sacrifices to their existential reality. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 81 references arinze, f. a. (2008). sacrifice in igbo traditional religion. onitsha: st. stephen’s press. awolalu, j. o. (1979). yoruba beliefs and sacrificial rites. london: longman durkheim, e. (1995). the elementary forms of religious life. new free press. ekwunife, a. (1992). politics and religious intolerance: the nigerian experience. nigeria: spiritan press. ibenwa, c. n. (2014). “religion and social change in contemporary africa”. in social sciences in peace and conflict studies, vol 1. edited by p-j, ezeh. enugu: san press ltd idowu, b. (1973). african traditional religion: a definition. london: scm press. marx, k. (1967). critique of hegel’s philosophy of the state. mega: easton and guddat press. malinoswki, b. (2014). argonauts of the western pacific. francis ltd. mbiti, j. c (1982). african religions and philosphy. london: heinemann. mbiti, j. c. (1999). introduction to african religion. heinemann educational books. parrinder, e. g. (1974). african traditional religion. london: sheldon press tubi, p-k, (2015). “ethnography of traditional religion and politics of the okun-yoruba of south-western nigeria”. phd thesis submitted to the university of nigeria nsukka. weber, m. (1993). the sociology of religion. boston: beacon press. democracy is from two greek words: demos, which means ‘people’ and kratein, which means to ‘rule’. put together, it means the power of the people. thus, lincoln (cited by kanu 2019) describes democracy as “the government of the people, by the people and for the people under the rule of law” (p. 316). gyekye (1997) and busia (1975) observe that the concept “the people” points to the power of the people to choose who to rule them in accordance with the general good of the society, and that they set up, by themselves, the constitutional rules, principles and procedures of governance. carter (1978), adds that democracy as a system that is altered by time and experience, always changing, infinite in its variety, sometimes it is turbulent, however, still valuable. as a political structure, democracy emphasizes the sharing of power among people of various categories. sabine (1973) avers that democracy must involve mutual concession and compromise as a way of arriving at decisions. chidili (2012) notices that three salient points from the definitions of democracy: that democratic government is not monotypic but diverse in nature; even in its diversity, it is changing; it is strictly based on the rule of law. this openness to change provides for democracy to be an adaptable system of governance that can exist anywhere in the world, including africa. i. africanity of democracy when african traditional political systems are discussed, they are often described as monarchical or aristocratic. this is a perspective that is evident in arogbofa (2007), who argues that the traditional political systems in africa had no place for democracy. european and african political thinkers see democracy as a system of government that began in greece and was imported from europe to africa. contrary to this opinion, the researcher argues that democracy is a cherished african value, which existed in precolonial africa. thus, africa cannot be understood as a passive recipient of democracy. before the advent of the west to africa, african nationals already practiced igwebuikecracy, an indigenous democratic government designed by the people for the people. in igwebuikecracy, the community determines the praxis of the socio-political life of the people while putting into consideration existential particularities and peculiarities. herein, followership is as important as leadership since leadership is not a one man show. 10. igwebuikecracy 46 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. members are fully involved in decision making and implementation of such decisions on issues that affect them. igwebuikecracy takes into account african values and identity, thus, building on the african peculiar experiencehistory, circumstances, and situations. ii. the igbo igwebuikecratic structure communal living among the igbo led to the emergence of economic, social and political institutions. from this emerged leaders, and as social groups developed, effective administrative systems emerged as well to regulate social relations. this was founded on egalitarian and democratic structures. the political organization was constituted by different levels of autonomous democratic governments which exercised political, social and economic control over the lives of the people. a. the nuclear family: it was the bedrock of social and political organization, referred to as ezi na uno. it consisted of a man, his wives, his married and unmarried sons, unmarried daughters and the servants or slaves, if any. the father was the leader of the household and was in possession of the family ofo, which is the symbol of authority, justice, law and uprightness (kanu 2015). the father was responsible for directing the affairs of the family, however, it was done in consultation with his senior sons and wives. figure 5: nuclear family 47 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya b. the patrilineage or extended family: it is called umunna. it is composed of a number of families that have a common eponymous father. uchendu (1965) defines the ununna as “a territorial kin-based unit which subdivides into compounds (ezi obi)” (p. 40). the head of this political unit is the oldest male member of the extended family also known as the di-okpara and has the ofo of the extended family in his possession. according to olisa (2002) and nwosu (2002), the di-okpara presides over meetings, sacrifices, issues of inheritance, settlement of disputes among members of the extended family, marriage, allocation of lands and the representation of the family with other extended families. in decision making, the di-okpara worked in consultation with the other heads of the extended family who constituted the extended family assembly. decisions were arrived at through dialogue, consensus (nkwekolita), compromise, cooperation and consultation (igba izu). figure 6: extended family 48 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. c. the maximal lineage: it is also referred to as idumu in igbo, which means quarter. it is made up of a number of extended families who are linked by a common putative ancestor. this major lineage is headed by the oldest male among them. he holds the ofo of the major lineage and presides at functions concerning the major lineage and was considered as a sacred person with taboos and rituals accompanying the violation of his authority. in his exercise of authority over the major lineage, he worked in consultation with a large assembly comprising of senior household men, titled men, priests, men of honour, intelligence and wealth, etc. figure 7: maximal lineage 49 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya c. the village-group assembly: it was the biggest socio-political group referred to as ogbe (village). ajaegbo (2014) observes that it was composed of a number of major lineages who are descended from a common ancestor or different putative ancestors. onwuejeogwu (1972) refers to the ogbe as federation of autonomous settlements, and by nzimiro (1972) as wards. the assembly was the highest authority with its members being senior males of households, professional hunters, priests, honourable and wealthy men, warriors, titled men, medicine men, etc. the leader of this assembly varied from one village to another, in some, it was headed by the council of elders: a group of wise, knowledgeable, courageous and transparent men. maquet (1972) refers to their authority as “a collegial authority exercised by the chiefs of the various lineages living in the village” (p. 57). the owerri igbo call it oha, and its members ndi oha. in some, the oldest member of the council of elders referred to as the diokpa, and in this case, he becomes the custodian of the ofo. the supreme head of the assembly took decisions in consultation with the constituent members of the village assembly. consultation, consensus and compromise were necessary elements in resolving issues and decision making. the village square (ama nzuko ora), usually a common place, was the arena of assembly plate 3: the village-group assembly 50 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. impact of modern conflict management manchanism on igwebuike philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 235 impact of modern conflict management manchanism on igwebuike philosophy francis n. c. iwuh mdibbo adama university of technology yola, adamawa state nduemerem16@yahoo.com executive summary the presence of the colonizers has created a new form of conflict in africa. there was an established, recognized and effective system of resolving conflict prior to the advent of the colonial masters. the presence of modern conflict management has posed a great challenge to the existing traditional method. the work adopted a descriptive method to study the impact of modern conflict resolution on igwebuike philosophy. the study is necessitated by the experimentation of the novel model of conflict resolution in the same environment and space, where the traditional conflict resolution once blossomed. this research work will attract the attention of policy makers, traditional rulers and political leaders in deciding the best method to resolve conflict. it has also exposed the deficiency and corruption inherent in modern conflict resolution. thus, in the healing process, modern methods only rub and never massage the broken bones of conflict in igwebuike philosophy of peace and conflict resolution. keywords: igwebuike, philosophy, conflict, management, kanu ikechukwu anthony, resolution, modern introduction africa, just like other societies, was developing at her own pace with well-established mechanisms of managing conflicts before the francis n. c. iwuh igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 236 colonial masters came and sewed their own western adjudication system that are alien to africans. with the advent of colonialism, african values, norms and beliefs, which provided the normative and undergirding framework for conflict management, were severely weakened, undermined and disregarded. however, the resilience of african justice systems across african states illustrates that they still manage to occupy a central place in the world of dispute resolution in africa. while in europe, for instance, the police are a means of crime detection, several african societies relied on oath taking, divination and blood covenant in pre-colonial times. traditional african methods of resolving conflict were geared towards restoring peace, and not necessarily in punishing the offenders. emphasis was not on punishment but on reconciliation and restoration of social harmony among the disputants in conflict. thus, western justice systems thrived on commissions of inquiries, constitution and court system of lawyers and judges. africans used council of elders, king’s court, people’s assemblies, etc., for dispute management and justice dispensation. a very important reason for being aware of our tradition is so that we may draw lessons from them for the solutions to current problems. it is obvious that the western approaches to conflict resolution have failed here in nigeria in bringing back peace, and people even believe that the ongoing conflicts in the country are due to these western systems of adjudication (charles, 2016 p. 4). traditional conflict resolution mechanisms may not have outlived their usefulness, especially when compared to modern reality, for pre-colonial igbo society was embedded in the tradition and culture of the people. there have been numerous conflicts in the history of igbo people of eastern nigeria. these conflicts can be due to many factors, such as; ethnic rivalry, religious violence, dispute over ownership of land, boundary issues, as well as political elections. through the barometer of igwebuike philosophy, this paper tends to study the impact of modern conflict management mechanism, using some of the basic features of igwebuike philosophy of peace and conflict resolution to impact of modern conflict management manchanism on igwebuike philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 237 draw the conclusion that modern conflict management in igbo land has actually been a resounding failure. “modern” conceptualized in peace studies, the term modern is used to differentiate with what is traditional. while the traditional refers to the indigenous or rural community which upholds and demonstrates the customs and norms of african society, modern refers to other societies outside africa, and especially the european societies. we must understand here that the nature and functions of customs and norms in modern society quite differed from those of the african traditional societies. the modern world is also a world of competing interests, ideas, values, views, ideologies, religions and cultures – a world full of conflicting interests on all levels, between individuals and groups of people within their societies, between all sectors of societies, as well as between economies, nations, states, and so forth. different conflict methods are used to manage and increase cooperation, promote reconciliation and strengthen relationships in the modern world. modern here refers to the western world as opposed to the african continent. modern can also be applied to those things that exist in the present age, especially in contrast to those of a former age or an age long past. hence, modern, in this case, can mean the conflict management method used presently as opposed to the traditional methods that have been in existence since time immemorial in africa. the use of modern model of conflict management is relatively new in the african society. however, before the introduction of a new method by alien cultures, the traditional methods of settling disputes varied from one society to the other. these methods were essentially based on each society’s way of life. the introduction had a lot of imposition and condemnation of the original pattern of conflict resolution. worthy of note here is that the experimentation of the novel model of conflict resolution was in the same environment and space, where the traditional conflict resolution once blossomed. the environment and space were the same, but the principles and practitioners of the conflict resolution were quite different. even the result was proportionately different. it francis n. c. iwuh igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 238 is, however, important to emphasize the point that the environment of conflict situation largely depends on the applicability of what method is in vogue. environmental setting, therefore, is very necessary a determining factor in the desirability and adaptation of a specific method to use in the resolution of a particular conflict. conflict defined etymologically, conflict is a word that is derived from the latin word, “confligere”, which means to “strike together”. conflict means to strike, to fight, to struggle or battle, to clash, confrontation, a controversy or quarrel, active opposition, strife or incompatibility, to meet in opposition or hostility, to contend, to go contrary or to be at variance. nwolise (2003) agrees with these, as he describes conflict as a clash, confrontation, battle or struggle. from the definitions above, conflict is all about disagreement on issues or things. it is disagreement in opinions between people or groups, due to differences in personal attitudes, beliefs, values or needs. for charles (2016), “conflict can be defined as the manifestation of a hostile attitude in the face of conflicting interests between individuals, groups or states. the conflicting interests can be over resources, identity, power, status or values” (p.1). it is generally seen as a struggle between two or more people over the same scarce resources at the same time. ezenwoko and osagie (2014) assert that, conflicts are generally accepted to be an inevitable phenomenon in the lives of men (p. 136). it cannot be completely separated from the inter-relationships that exist among individuals and communities. it is often argued that because human beings are by nature competitive and aggressive, there will always be conflicts amongst them. conflict is, therefore, a natural occurrence among human beings. peace scholars generally agree that there must be more than one party to have a conflict and that the time factor is important. one cannot avoid conflict in families, at work or even when walking on the road. to this effect, zartman (1997) posits that, “conflict is an inevitable aspect of human interaction, unavoidable concomitant of choices and decisions.” peace scholars can go on defining conflict, but the truth is impact of modern conflict management manchanism on igwebuike philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 239 as faleti (2014) observed, “conflict is a fluid and definitely elastic concept which can be twisted into different shapes and has become an issue over which scholars find themselves in sharp disagreement with their colleagues” (p.36). this is true, owing to the fact that as he (faleti 2014) observed, conflict can be constructive or destructive. constructively, conflict can be used to explore different solutions to a problem and stimulate creativity, while, destructively, conflict can hinder progress, and cause hatred and division in the society (p.36). it has been demonstrated that continuous interaction among the individuals and communities cannot always be peaceful. causes of conflict 1. competition for inadequate resources competition is the major source of conflict, because it drives people into struggling for limited resources, and people put in all their energy to get what they need. the conflict that occurs as a result of inadequate resources may assume a destructive dimension when what is available is not judiciously distributed. those that are relatively deprived would always struggle to improve their lot. it is a situation of survival of the fittest. 2. contradicting value systems another factor which may bring about conflict is contradicting value systems, such as the religious belief, ideological positions and general world view of the interacting parties. values are beliefs or principles which are important to people. conflict arises when one person’s value system contradict another person’s value system. value system conflict is the most difficult conflict to resolve, because people will always hold on tenaciously to their position, believing that their opinion is better than that of others. 3. group and individuals needs needs here range from psychological, political, economic to social needs of man. these are things that are fundamentally of utmost importance to people; they must be satisfied as soon as francis n. c. iwuh igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 240 the purchasing power is available. these needs could be love, belonging, association, power etc. therefore, needs have the potential of generating conflict, when perceived and expressed differently by people or group. 4. manipulation of information manipulation of information can cause conflict in any community, relationship or workplace. when the flow of information is distorted or the content changed, conflict is bound to arise. distortion of information comes in the process of passing information, from the sender to the receiver. as information move from one channel to the other, distortion sets in. distortion could either occur in packaging or in understanding of the message. 5. perception lastly, perception has been discovered to cause conflict. perception refers to how we see, understand or interpret the situations of things around us. what we see is sometimes different from what it really is, or from the way others see, understand or interpret them. you do not judge a book by its cover. conflict management conflict managements are broad terms for methods and mechanisms used to avoid, minimize and manage conflicts between different parties (niklas and mikael, 2005). wallensteen (2002) differentiates between conflict management and conflict resolution, saying that, conflict management typically focuses on the armed aspects of conflict: bringing the fighting to an end, limiting the spread of the conflict and, containing it;conflict resolution is more ambitious, as it expects the parties to face jointly their incompatibility and find a way to live with it or dissolve it. a number of scholars, especially from non-western societies, have argued that conflict management is a successful tool for resolving conflicts over a longer time period, and that it creates the foundation for effective conflict resolution. this is impact of modern conflict management manchanism on igwebuike philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 241 contrasted with a more western argument that the importance of conflict management lies in its ability to solve short-term conflicts. both of these views are entirely accurate, and compatible, and there might just be a cultural difference in our focus (niklas et al, 2005). both of these views can, and should, be incorporated in a theoretical framework for conflict management and resolution, since they entail no inherent contradiction. they are in fact often applied in different stages of a conflict and address fundamentally different issues. nevertheless, a number of western scholars claim that the difference is one of long-term versus short-term perspectives and that it is a question of either resolving the underlying problem or managing the current problem. therefore, management measures are applied in later phases when a conflict is manifest, but before violence has occurred. conflict resolution could, on the other hand, be applied in the de-escalation phase after a violent conflict has occurred. nevertheless, resolution can be applied in all phases as soon as the conflict is manifest. thus, traditional peace scholars use conflict resolution for african method and conflict management for modern method, because in the traditional method, conflicts are often rooted out. practitioners try to dig out the root cause of every conflict, while such cannot be said of the modern method. modern practitioners manage conflict; they try to reduce the effect of conflict to the barest minimum. the practice of modern conflict management in igwebuike philosophy prior to the advent of modern culture, igbo people had a well laid down, though undocumented, traditional process of conflict resolution. charles (2016) asserts that “each people, race, or identity group in the world had (and have) their own ways of doing things especially as it concerns social control and conflict resolution, (p.7). the big questions have always been, why the imposition of an alien method of managing conflict on african society? what is wrong with the traditional method? peace scholars have debated and argued over francis n. c. iwuh igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 242 the most appropriate mechanisms for managing conflicts in africa. some scholars believe that the application of western methods in resolving conflicts in local communities may have some limited usefulness. others, however, believe that the use of traditional mechanisms of conflict resolution would be most appropriate in addressing issues that are emanating from a socio-economic and political setting that is not completely modern. yet, others think that a successful tackling of the conflict challenges that abound in igbo-land would require a new and novel thinking that would accommodate both mechanisms by according preference to one or the other where it is most suitable (charles, 2016 p.4). chris (2014) disagrees with charles, saying, “to a great extent, the igbo people do not believe in the modern conflict management process, they believe in using the past history to settle conflict. they believe that to settle dispute amicably no side suffers any adverse effect, they go home happy.” interestingly, the pre-colonial igbo society was a decentralized society and decisions were taken at family, clan and age grade levels. council of elders, usually made up of the most elderly and senior members of the community, exists to decide individual and community disputes. dispute resolution is seen closely as a system of justice, to which the community, rather than individual leaders, is at the centre (shedrack, 2014, p.98). therefore, the council of elders is the highest judicial institution in igbo land. sadly enough, today, the council of elders who were once seen as custodians of wisdom and people of impeccable character are gradually being overshadowed in the administration of justice in the land to an alien system. charles (2016) strongly believes that african value systems and conflict transformation systems are a viable means of resolving african conflicts today. the use of modern methods of conflict management, more often than not, has been a resounding failure in igbo society. now, using the igwebuike philosophy of peace and conflict resolution as a standard of igbo conflict resolution, let us discuss the impact of modern conflict management. according to kanu, “igwebuike is an igbo word; one of the major dialects in africa. it is a principle that is impact of modern conflict management manchanism on igwebuike philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 243 at the heart of african thought, and in fact, the modality of being in african ontology” (2017, p. 6). he went on to say that it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. the three words involved: ‘igwe’ is a noun which means ‘number’ or ‘population,’ usually a huge number or population. ‘bu’ is a verb, which means ‘is.’ ‘ike’ is another verb, which means ‘strength’ or ‘power’ (kanu, 2016). thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power;’ that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force. its english equivalents are ‘complementarity’, ‘solidarity’ and ‘harmony’. the preferred concept, however, is ‘complementarity’ (kanu, 2017, p. 6). at first contact with igwebuike, one can comfortably say that modern conflict management mechanism has failed. igwebuike as a concept thrives on complementarity, “to be with others”. the modern method breeds more conflict than resolution; this is true because man is a social being created to be with others. on this point, kanu (2017), the founding father of igwebuike african philosophy, avers that, as an indigenous african philosophy, igwebuike gives an understanding of the human person as a being who is in relation with the other in the world. it establishes that there exists a common link between human persons and that it is through this relationship that every other human person realizes himself or herself. it is the foundation of openness, availability, affirmation of the other, freedom from threat based on the ability or good in others (p. 6). the western world, with its individualistic ideology, does not encourage community living, this “to be with others”. thus, the force on africans to accept their method of conflict resolution creates more complex conflict, of identity, culture, tradition and personality. again, modern method uses force to enforce judgment. they often use the francis n. c. iwuh igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 244 police, and in some cases army, to enforce whatever judgment that has been reached in the law court. funny enough, conflict always arises when modern method tries to enforce judgment. this is totally absent in traditional method. compliance to decision reached is a collective responsibility in traditional conflict resolution. this is supported by the first basic features of igwebuike philosophy of peace and conflict resolution, which states that, “conflict is not viewed as a problem between the disputants but as a problem of the entire community. conflict, therefore, attracts the attention of the community.” going further, kanu (2017) elaborates on the fifth basic feature of igwebuike philosophy of peace and conflict resolution, saying, “there is a high degree of public participation. there are no secret trails in african traditional legal system. since the problem between the disputants is seen as a community problem, in restoring harmony, there must be a general satisfaction among the public regarding the procedure and outcome of the case (p. 9).” to this end, conflict between/among members of the community is viewed as a community conflict. the seventh and eighth basic features of igwebuike philosophy of peace and conflict resolution holds that, “decisions are reached through agreement rather than force….the enforcement of a decision is reached through social pressure rather than the police or military” (kanu, 2017, p.9). so, acceptance of the judgment is seen there and then through demonstrative action of reconciliation. reconciliation is at the heart of igbo conflict resolution. the institutions that resolve conflict in igbo traditional society speak with truth and integrity to the conscience of the parties in conflict; a soft word, no doubt turns away anger, and in african traditional societies, words have power. moreover, the words of elders are anchored on wisdom. this was captured beautifully well in the third basic feature of igwebuike philosophy of peace and conflict resolution by kanu (2017, p.9) in these words: “the emphasis is on reconciliation and restoring social harmony. it purpose is, therefore, aimed at rebuilding broken relationships and restoring the community.” it must be made clear here, that every effort to manage conflicts through administrative and bureaucratic machinery in igbo land, impact of modern conflict management manchanism on igwebuike philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 245 coupled with theories and methods crafted in euro-american institutions, has failed to yield practical results in many conflict situations. to this, kariuki (2015) opines that, modernity has had its fare share of negative impacts on african justice systems. in pre-colonial period, elders were the rich and wealthiest people as they had land and livestock. their wealth and respect enabled them to be independent during dispute resolution processes. however, in modern societies, younger people have accumulated wealth and in most cases, older people rely on the younger people. this has enabled dispute resolution by elders to be affected by bribery, corruption and favoritism… apart from corruption and bribery, modernity and westernization have broken down the close social ties and social capital between families and kinsmen (pp.12-13).” the presence of modern conflict management has posed a great challenge to the existing traditional method. being a method that is corrupt and manipulative, people guilty,, especially those who are easily run to them for settlement, knowing that they can get their way to “a favourable judgment.” hence, nwolise (2004) posits that african traditional societies are known to hold secrets of peacemaking and peace building locked in their culture formed from customs and norms, before the coming of the colonial masters disrupted them. the processes of conflict resolution, such as mediation, counseling, conciliation, informal tribunals, arbitration of several types and criminal and civil justice system may not achieve the desired result. over the centuries, african societies have built a wealth of experience as well as specific mechanisms and institutions to prevent conflicts, peacefully resolve conflicts once they arise and work through reconciliation processes. even with modernization, these traditional institutions still hold sway, keeping the heart of the society in harmony. inasmuch as modern adjudication system is being practiced, traditional methods of resolving conflicts are still alive in our communities. francis n. c. iwuh igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 246 conclusion modern conflict management might have helped in the process of conflict resolution, but it has not resolved conflicts. it may be a means but not an end to conflict resolution in african society. so, forcing this method on africans has never worked and will not still work. africans should be allowed to continue with the traditional method which has always been in existence, tested and trusted to resolve conflict in our society. since it has come to stay, modern conflict management mechanism should assist traditional conflict resolution in resolving conflicts, and not the other way round. through the igwebuike barometer, we have discovered that modern method caused more conflict than resolving it, since it does not foster community living, “the being with the other.” the end product is not to make peace but to create enemies, as the judgment pronounced in modern conflict method breeds hatred, disunity and rivalry. civilization brought a cultural conflict between the african and the modern cultures. the modern culture was viewed as superior and dominant, thus subjugating african cultures. cultural imperialism was extended to the world of dispute resolution. therefore, modernized system of justice is retributive in nature by emphasizing a winnerloser paradigm in dispute resolution that does not resolve the underlying causes of the conflict. the adoption of the modernized justice system in igbo land has made many traditional societies to revert to their own traditional dispute resolution by elders. the traditional method of resolving conflict is the best form of conflict management for the african people, since it digs deep into the root causes of the conflict to ensuring that peace is given a chance to reign once more through reconciliation. references charles, m.o. (2016). tiv and igbo conflict management machanism: a comparative study, port harcourt, centre for conflict and gender studies (ccgs), 5(7), 22-29. impact of modern conflict management manchanism on igwebuike philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 247 chris, d. (2014). african traditional procedures of settling dispute: a case study between the people of ihiagwa. owerri, donasco the casino united. ezenwoko, f.a. and osagie i. j. (2014).conflict and conflict resolution in pre-colonial igbo society of nigeria. benin city, university of benin. faleti, a.s. (2014). “theories of social conflict” in shedrack g.b. (ed.), introduction to peace and conflict studies in west africa. ibadan, spectrum books limited. kanu i. a. (2015b). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, a. i. (2016). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1.pp. 1-7. kanu, a.i. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution, a paper presented at the 2017 igbo studies association international conference held at great wood hotel, owerri, imo state, pp.1-10. kanu i. a. (2017). igwebuikeconomics: towards an inclusive economy for economic development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 6. 113-140. kanu i. a. (2017). sources of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. 9. 1. pp. 1-23. kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. kanu, a. i. (2017c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 7. pp. 165-183. francis n. c. iwuh igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 248 kanu, a. i. (2017d). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 6. pp. 16-50. kanu, a. i. (2017f). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. pp. 153-160. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. impact of modern conflict management manchanism on igwebuike philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 249 kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. karuiki, f. (2015). conflict resolution by elders in africa: successes, challenges and opportunities. kenya, karuiki muigua & co. niklas, l.p. s. and mikael, s. w. (2005). central asia-caucasus institute & silk road studies program. nwolise o.b.c. (2003). war-making, peace-making and conflict resolution in africa, a guide to peace education and peace promotion strategies in africa, 2.h.b. harunah, o.b.c nwolise, and d. oluyemi-kusa. eds. lagos, african refugee foundation (aref). nwolise o.b.c. (2004). traditional approaches to conflict resolution among the igbo people of nigeria: reinforcing the need for africa to rediscover its roots. amani. shedrack, g.b. (2014). “the methods of conflict resolution and transformation.” in shedrack g.b. (ed.), introduction to peace and conflict studies in west africa. ibadan, spectrum books limited. wallensteen, p. (2002). understanding conflict resolution: war, peace and the global system. london, thousand oaks, ca; & new delhi: sage publications. zartman, i.w. (1997). governance as conflict management: politics and violence in west africa. washington d.c., brookings institution press. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 4.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 153 appraising the problem of foundationalism in cartesian epistemology linus clifford chinda department of educational foundation, adamawa state college of education hongadamawa state chindalinus2000@gmail.com abstract a critical look at the history of philosophy reveals that philosophers are not in agreement regarding the criterion and method of acquiring knowledge. while the rationalists elevates and argues for the primacy of reason in that regard, the empiricists on the other divide argues for the infallibility of sense experience. as opposed to the rationalist and the empiricist is the position of the skeptics who questioned and doubted the possibility of knowledge. this position stands at the background of the thoughts of rene descartes and agitated his philosophising about knowledge. in his attempt to purge philosophy of all uncertainties, descartes sought to ground philosophy on a foundation that is indubitable as that of mathematics. this led to his postulation of epistemological foundationalism. this paper seeks to appraise rene descartes’ foundationalism and brings to the fore, its implications for knowledge acquisition. the work employed the qualitative research design where data were sourced from books, journals and periodicals. in line with the above, the expository method was employed to establish descartes’ thoughts on foundationalism, while the evaluative method was adopted to ascertain the strengths and weaknesses of descartes’ thoughts before bringing to the fore, its implications for knowledge acquisition. the paper found out that as plausible as descartes’ foundationalism may seem, it is not without flaws. the study therefore concludes that any attempt to purge philosophy of its uncertainties as attempted by descartes is tantamount to the reduction of philosophy to some other science. this is because; the uncertainties inherent in philosophy are what make for the beauty, substance as well as the continuity of the enterprise of philosophy. key words: cogito ergo sum, epistemology, cartesian, foundationalism. introduction the problem of certainty of knowledge is a major concern in the philosophical enquiry. the very act of wonder, which is believed, stimulated the lonian philosophers, led philosophy through many ages to its present position. however, as a result of the fact that many philosophers in the ancient times igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 154 found it hard to reconcile this major problem of knowledge between the knowing subject (man) and the objects, they turned sceptics. scepticism, which questioned the very possibility of true knowledge, no doubt agitated many philosophers. this agitation pushed philosophers into the desire to acquire certain knowledge. this search led to the development of some traditional theories of knowledge, which equally aimed at resolving the problem of certainty and thus give the knowing subject a place in the universe. one of such theories is the cartesian foundationalism. rene descartes (1596-1650) wrote his meditation with the aim of finding out what he knew for sure; this certain truth would be the foundation of knowledge. rene descartes believes that the senses are deceptive and therefore accept reason as the very source of certainty. descartes fields a rationalist foundation for truth which builds on the cogito ergo sum and being faced with the same problem of certain only of that, which can never be false or doubtful, he set out to achieve this certainty by postulating his famous method and guidelines, the methodic doubt and the clear and distinct perception of ideas in the light of reason. these helped him attain his foundation, the cogito ergo sum (i think therefore i am). it is also on this frame work that descartes was later to build and put forward his arguments for the existence of god. this paper seeks to appraise the problem of foundationalism in cartesian epistemology. hence, in what follows, the concepts of epistemology and foundationalism will be briefly clarified, the place of the cogito in cartesian epistemology will also be accounted for as part of the build-up to the major crux of the paper which is an appraisal of descartes’ foundationalism before the conclusion which will be a summation of all that might have been articulated in the paper. making sense of epistemology and foundationalism epistemology according to scientific revolution encyclopaedia, the word epistemology is derived from the ancient greek words, “episteme” meaning “knowledge” and the suffix, “logos” meaning “discourse”. j. g fernier coined the word on the model of “ontology” to designate that branch of philosophy which aims to discover the meaning of knowledge. epistemology studies the nature of knowledge justification and rationality of belief. according to jurgen habermas in his book “knowledge and human interest” was coined only in the nineteenth century, but the subject that it retrospectively denotes, is the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 155 subject of modern philosophy in general (3). according to david truncellito, epistemology concern themselves with a number of tasks, which we might sort into two categories, first, we must determine the nature of knowledge, that is, what does it mean to say that someone knows, or fails to know something? this is a matter of understanding what knowledge is and how to distinguish between cases in which someone does not know something. secondly, we must determine the extent of human knowledge that is , how much do we or can we know, how can we use our reason, our senses, is it possible that we do not know nearly as much as we think we do? (1). providing answer to these questions has become the work of epistemology. foundationalism according to the scientific revolution: an encyclopaedia, foundationalism concerns philosophical theories of knowledge resting upon justified belief, or some secure foundation of certainty such as a conclusion inferred from a basis of sound premises (139). foundationalism therefore is an aspect of epistemology, the philosophy concerning how we think, patterns of thoughts and how we arrive at knowledge. foundationalism is an answer to “regress” when trying to justify an argument. all arguments are based on other arguments and are justified by those arguments. then, those arguments have to be justified and so on. foundationalism says that there is a basis set of beliefs that do not need to be justified, because they are obviously true. they are axiomatic, like the “self evident” truths. in foundationalism, then, knowledge is split into basic and non-basic beliefs. the basic beliefs are the building blocks upon which non-basic reliefs are structured. lemos in his book an introduction to the theory of knowledge noted that classical foundationalism asserts that basic beliefs must be infallible in order to be truly foundational, modes foundationalism says that a perception can be a justified basic belief unless proven otherwise by obvious contrary evidence (55). one of the best examples of foundationalism is in the work of french thinker rene descartes, who was the first to explore it. he proposed the question in his work the “meditation” that “if i were being deceived by an evil demon, and all my perceptions of the world around me were false, how will i know?”. he concord that for him to be deceived he has to exist, therefore he concludes with his famous cogito ergo sum (i think therefore i am) (61). in saying this, descartes was making a rationalism statement and asserting foundationalism in the same vein too. africa he its beliefs system headed down by his ancestors as the foundation of his knowledge and moral principles which he holds as truth. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 156 cogito ergo sum in the cartesian epistemology descartes’ cogito ergo sum was a direct response to the sceptics; having become a sceptic to prove the sceptics wrong that in fact, there was something that could be known for certain undoubtedly. as a foundation to his argument, descartes observed in his meditation that; it is now some years since i detected how many were the false belief that i had from my earliest youth admitted as true, and how doubtful was everything i had since constructed on this basis; and from that time i was convinced that i must once for all seriously, undertake to rid myself of all the opinions which i had formerly accepted, and commence to build a new from the foundation, if i wanted to establish any firm and permanent structure in the science (66). as a result, he set out to put everything to test using the instrument called the methodic doubt. to which in his discourse on method, he summarized his argument thus: i had long before remarked that, in relation to practices, it is sometimes necessary to adopt, as if above doubt, opinions which we discern to be highly uncertain, as has been already said; but as i then desired to give my attention solely to the search after truth, i thought that a procedure exactly the opposite was called for, and that i ought to reject as absolutely false all opinions in regard to which i could suppose the least found doubt, in order to ascertain whether after that there remained ought in my belief that was wholly indubitable. accordingly, seeing that our senses that they deceives us, i was willing to suppose that there existed nothing really such as they presented to us; and because some men err in reasoning, and fall into paralogisms, even on the simplest matters of geometry, i, convinced that i was as open to error as any other, rejected as false all the reasoning i had hitherto taken for demonstrations; and finally, when i considered that the very same thoughts which we experience when awake may also be experienced when we are asleep, while there is at that time not one of them true, i supposed that all the objects that had ever entered into my mind when awake, had in them no more truth than the illusions of my dreams (62). he further stated that: but immediately upon this i observed that, whilst i thus wished to think that all false, this was absolutely necessary that i, who igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 157 thus thought, should be somewhat; and as i observed that this truth. i think, hence i am, was so certain and of such evidence that no ground of doubt, however extravagant, could be alleged by the skeptics capable of shaking it, i concluded that i might, without scruple, accept it as the first principle of philosophy of which i was in search (62-63) in summary, he began his methodic doubt; doubting every principle or opinion as well as everything upon which he had built his life on. but in his doubt, he discovered that he is “a thinking (conscious) thing, that is a being who doubts, affirms, denies, knows a few objects, and ignorant of many” which in latin goes as, ergo sum res cogitants, multa igoraus, volens, nolens, imaginans etiam et sentiens (veitch 115) and because he is a res cogitan, he must certainly exists; a truth which could not be doubted without selfcontradiction. although the idea expressed in cogito ergo sum is widely attributed to descartes, he was not the first to mention it. aristotle in his nicomachean ethic, pointed out that in human activities, there is a faculty that is conscious of their exercise; so that whenever we perceive, we are conscious of their exercise; and whenever we think, we are conscious that we think; and to be conscious that we perceive or think is to be conscious that we exist. augustine of hippo in his book de civitate dei writes “si ... fallor, sum” (i am mistaken i am) (book x1, 26) in the enchiridion, augustine attempt to refute scepticism by stating that “...one cannot err who is not alive. that we live is therefore, not only true but it is altogether certain as well” (chapter 7, section 20). as many more others who are consistent with descartes argument, and could be regarded as support for this. appraising the cartesian foundationalism there is “no philosophy that is so watertight as not to leave some loopholes” (okoro 51), and this returns true for the cartesian foundationalism. the aim of foundationalism is unrealistic, and in fact, impossible. as long as man remains man, he can never have any guarantee of absolute certainty in knowledge. for as the popular saying goes “to err is human”. man can never have any guarantee against error, in his acquisition of knowledge nor can there be any system of knowledge that that would be immune to error, criticism or scepticism (omoregbe 55). hamlyn seems to be thinking in the above line when he opined that: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 158 not only is it impossible to have such a system, what cannot be achieved is the discovery of the principle that will put scepticism out of question for all times. sceptical criticism is always possible and indeed desirable. but the search for foundations of knowledge has as its aim the provisions of immunity from such criticism. the attempt to find such foundations is thus not only hopeless, it is also undesirable (quoted in omoregbe 55). in the same vein, omoregbe, after a careful evaluation of descartes’ foundationalism, intimated that “descartes’ foundationalism lays emphasis on intuition (intuitive perception) as the foundation of knowledge and the guarantee for certainty (55) and posed the following questions and summation in reaction to same: how can objective certainty in knowledge be founded on subjective intuition? what is the guarantee that whatever is subjectively perceived clearly and distinctly must be true? what makes “clear and distinct perception” immune from error as descartes seems to imply…thus foundationalism, as an attempt to discover principles or systems of knowledge that would guarantee certainty and immunity from error or criticisms, is a futile endeavour, because neither criticism nor error can be eliminated from human knowledge, so long as man remains human, for to err is human” (55-56). bonjour arguably presents one of the most concise forms of an antifoundationalist argument. bonjour’s comments neatly draw together some of the issues: (1) ‘there are basic, empirical beliefs which are justified and their justification does not depend on any further empirical beliefs. (2) for a belief to be justified there needs to be a reason why it is likely to be true. (3) for a belief to be justified for a particular person, requires that this person be in cognitive possession o f such a reason. (4) the only way to be in cognitive possession o f such a reason is to believe with justification the premises from which it follows that the belief is likely to be true. (5) the premises o f such a justifying argument for an empirical belief cannot be entirely a priori; at least one o f the premises must be empirical. therefore the justification of a supposed empirical belief must depend on the justification o f at least one other empirical belief, contradicting (1); it follows therefore that that there can be no basic empirical beliefs.’(32). bonjour’s position is that justification ultimately depends on additional empirical beliefs which need to be justified themselves. if bonjour’s assessment of descartes’ foundationalism is correct and returns true, then foundationalism generally igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 159 and that of descartes specifically, does not successfully deal with the infinite regress problem, as basic beliefs turn out not to be self-justified after all. again, descartes’ argument according to hatfield is not unproblematic. if the external world is known to exist due to a stimuli-response mechanism of the body, then how is this account any different from the common empiricist views that descartes claims to oppose? is it not precisely distrust in senseperception that is supposed to function as the motivation for doubt? descartes does not seem to be able to answer this question without relying on god. he claims that god guarantees the reliability of clear and distinct perception, as well as the validity of knowledge received through sense-perception, even though the latter is weaker and sometimes confused (49). however, despite god’s justification of the reliability of knowledge received through the senses, descartes does not relinquish his thesis that knowledge of the external world is always secondary to knowledge concerning the mind. due to his standpoint of platonic realism regarding the ontology of mathematics, the world in itself is regarded simply as an extensional and divisible substance whose real properties can be understood only through the pure intellect. however, descartes never quite manages to explain neither the epistemological, nor the ontological interconnectedness of the two substances, the res cogitans and the res extensa. this is because descartes is blind to the problem of the complex relationship between language and the world. using mathematics as the paradigm for a perfect conceptual language, descartes holds that linguistic concepts (idea) are “innate”, that is, the possibility for a correct understanding of the world by means of language is god-given, in a similar way as the valid understanding of mathematical concepts is given by god (212-213). it is significant to notice that although descartes attempts to accomplish the construction of an all-encompassing system of philosophy, he carefully advises his audience that his method is not suitable for practical means. contributing to discourse on the critique of descartes’ foundational philosophy, a. j. ayer in his novel work language, logic and truth intimated of the barrenness of descartes’ procedure. according to ayer: it is commonly said that descartes attempted to derive all human knowledge from premises whose truth was intuitively certain: but this interpretation puts an undue stress on the element of psychology in his system. i think he realized well enough that a mere appeal to intuition was insufficient for his purpose, since men are not all equally credulous, and that what he was really igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 160 trying to do was base all our knowledge on propositions which it would be self contradictory to deny. he thought he has found such a proposition in “cogito” which must not here be understood in its ordinary sense of “i think”, but rather as meaning “there is nothing thought” (46). ayer was not to agree with descartes on this point and in reference to the above, ayer intimated that: he (descartes) was wrong because “non cogito” would be self contradictory only if it negated itself: and this no significant proposition can do. but even if it were true that such a proposition as “there is a thought now” was logically certain, it still would not serve descartes purpose. for if “cogito” is taken in this sense, his initial principle, “cogito ergo sum”, is false. “i exist” does not follow from “there is a thought now” (47). rene descartes sought to establish philosophy on the foundation that will transcend the skeptic and criticism. if that were to be possible or put differently, if descartes has succeeded and have place philosophy on the same footing with mathematics, the implication would have been that philosophy would have ceased to be philosophy and will attain the status of something else. bertrand russell seems to be thinking in this line when he intimated that: if you ask a mathematician, a mineralogist, a historian, or any other man of learning, what definite body of truths has been ascertained by his science, his answer will last as long as you are willing to listen. but if you put the same question to a philosopher, he will, if he is candid, have to confess that his study has not achieved positive results such as have been achieved by other sciences. it is true that this is partly accounted for by the fact that, as soon as definite knowledge concerning any subject becomes possible, this subject ceases to be called philosophy, and becomes a separate science (68). deducible from the above is that what descartes tried to achieve with his foundational thinking will provide definite answers to issues in philosophical reflections and reasoned in the line of the thought of russell, those issues or subject ceases to be philosophy. russell further asserted that: the whole study of the heavens, which now belongs to astronomy, was once included in philosophy; newton's great work was called 'the mathematical principles of natural igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 161 philosophy'. similarly, the study of the human mind, which was a part of philosophy, has now been separated from philosophy and has become the science of psychology. thus, to a great extent, the uncertainty of philosophy is more apparent than real: those questions which are already capable of definite answers are placed in the sciences, while those only to which, at present, no definite answer can be given, remain to form the residue which is called philosophy” (69). philosophy, no matter how uncertain and susceptible to the criticism of the skeptics, “it is part of the business of philosophy to continue the consideration of such (epistemological) questions, to make us aware of their importance, to examine all the approaches to them, and to keep alive that speculative interest in the universe which is apt to be killed by confining ourselves to definitely ascertainable knowledge” (69). the value of philosophy according to russell is, in fact, to be sought largely in its very uncertainty and hence “the man who has no tincture of philosophy goes through life imprisoned in the prejudices derived from common sense, from the habitual beliefs of his age or his nation, and from convictions which have grown up in his mind without the co-operation or consent of his deliberate reason. to such a man the world tends to become definite, finite, obvious; common objects rouse no questions, and unfamiliar possibilities are contemptuously rejected” (69). philosophy, though unable to tell us with certainty what is the true answer to the doubts which it raises, is able to suggest many possibilities which enlarge our thoughts and free them from the tyranny of custom. thus, while diminishing our feeling of certainty as to what things are, it greatly increases our knowledge as to what they may be; it removes the somewhat arrogant dogmatism of those who have never travelled into the region of liberating doubt, and it keeps alive our sense of wonder by showing familiar things in an unfamiliar aspect (70). deducible from the above is the fact that the uncertainties of philosophy and the openness of then discipline to the critiques and criticisms of the skeptics is consistent with the nature of philosophy and can be said to be what makes for the beauty of the enterprise of philosophy. in his book the “gray science” friedrich nietzsche addresses descartes epistemological assertion of the cogito. he criticized the phrase in that it presupposes that there is an “i”, that does such activity as “thinking” and that the “i” knows what “thinking” is. he suggested a more appropriate phrase igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 162 would be “it thinks”. in other words, the “i” in “i think” could be similar to the “it” in “it is raining”. (61) while it remains true that descartes epistemological position and the cartesian foundationalism is consistent with the maxim of philosophy which is taking nothing for granted and that the philosophic temper with which he put forward his thought are commendable, it remains more true to purge philosophy of all uncertainty and elevate the discipline from the realm of criticism and skepticism will do philosophy no good and hence stripe it of its very nature as bertrand russell will argue for. it is on the above basis that it is here argued that, in view of the fact of the impossibility of purging human knowledge of either criticism nor error that this study makes bold to state that the aim of the foundationalists and foundationalism as an epistemic doctrine is both an exercise in futility as well as an activity that is at par with the very nature of philosophical reflections. conclusion in the preceding discourse, this paper has attempted an appraisal of the cartesian foundationalism. what is crystal clear is that, the vehemence and forthrightness with which descartes sought to erect philosophy on a firm foundation notwithstanding, the theory is not as much as water tight to withstand the sledge hammer of critics. while the theory, through descartes refusal to accept the status quo is merited for being in consonance with the maxim of philosophy which is taking nothing for granted, the theory is flawed on the basis of the fact that the uncertainties and doubts as found in the enterprise of philosophy are what constitute the beauty of philosophy. in fact, had descartes succeeded through his foundationalism to erect a new foundation that is indubitable like mathematic for philosophy, the enterprise of philosophy, properly construed would have ceased to be what it is. it is in that line that this study make bold to conclude that such scholars as descartes and his disciples as well as other foundational thinkers should allow the enterprise of philosophy to exit in its pure state with its doubts. this is because, any attempt to provide direct real time and indubitable solutions to philosophical problems and issues is tantamount to removing those issues from the realm of philosophy. works cited aja e. elements of theory of knowledge (revised ed.). enugu: magnet business enterprise. 2004. print ayer. a.j. language. truth and logic. london: gollanceth 2nd ed 1946. print igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 163 bonjour, laurence, the structure of empirical knowledge, harvard university p ress, 1985. print. borns w.e. the scientific revolution: an encyclopedia. carlifornia: abc-clio. 2001. print copleston, f. a history of western philosophy: descartes to leibniz. london: continuum international publishing group. 1958. print david truncellito “epistemology” in james fierser (edited) internet encyclopaedia of philosophy. web. retrieved from https://www.iep.utm.edu/epistemo.. 23/02/2018. descartes r. mediation on first philosophy. trans. john veitch new york: dorble day. 1960. print jurgen, h. knowledge and human interest. boston: beacon press. 1968. print lemos, noah mercelino. an introduction to the theory of knowledge. cambridge university press, sk. 2013. print nietzsche. f. the gray science. trans ad comment walter karfmann. new york: vitaye. 1989. print okoro, chiedozie “rationalism and empiricism as theories of cognition” in okoro, chiedozie (ed.) essays in epistemology and philosophy of history: a exercise on the critique of cognition. nigeria: soladem printers limited, 2008. print. omoregbe, j. epistemology a theory of knowledge: a systematic and historical study. lagos: joja educational research and publishers, 1999. print. russell, b.the problem of philosophy. oxford: oxford university press, 1967. print. veitch j. the method, mediations and selections from the principles of rene descartes (7th ed) edinburgh william. blackwood ed sons. 1780. print microsoft word igwebuike journals vol. 4. no. 5..docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 44 an appraisal of biblical ethics and child training in nigeria pius terwase ajiki. ph.d department of religion and cultural studies benue state university, makurdi email: piusttajiki@hotmail.com & vitalis terhemba anaana department of religion and cultural studies benue state university, makurdi anaanavt@yahoo.com & ikernum nyamibo department of religious studies college of education, katsin-ala abstract this paper examined the perspective of biblical ethics on child training in nigeria. the issue of negligence of child training according to the teachings of the bible has caused a lot of ills in our society today, making children grow up to become corrupt and immoral in all ways of life. these children often get involved in activities that are neither acceptable to the christian way of life nor approved by the society. thus, this work employed both the primary and secondary sources of data collection. the study which is expository, descriptive and analytic in nature attempts to proffer a lasting solution to this problem by re-enacting and instructing parents and relations on how to discipline their children as taught in the bible. these solutions are given from biblical teachings and from personal contributions of parents. the paper shows that the bible instructs parents not to abandon their children, but to discipline them in the fear of the lord even if it involves spanking them from time to time. therefore, it is important that parents and guidance should adopt this form of child training so as to teach their children and free them from the bondage of immorality and irreligiousity. this study is a mirror to parents, relations and to the entire society as it exposed parents to right and proper way of child training as they will also benefit from the blessings that will come their way as a reward for proper child training, discipline and good out bringing. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 45 introduction many individuals including biblical figures like eli and solomon have been unable to give their children a proper training and they received many consequences. most of these children grow up to become loose and immoral; they don’t pay attention to elderly and wise advice and are never found among good companies or group. this results to the formation and association with gangs and the participations in indiscipline and immoral acts. it is true that most parents abandon their responsibilities to their children; they do not properly train them as they are supposed to and these children grow up to become problems not just for the parents but for the society at large. when this responsibility to train children is ignored or abandoned, the society is filled with criminals causing a lot of problems for everyone. this study under take to helps and draws the attentions of parents, who abandon child training, to pick up their rods and discipline the child properly. this study will also help teach parents the importance of using the bible as a guide for proper child training. biblical ethics ethics is derived from the greek word ethos which means wisdom, conduct, culture or way of life. the words ethics and ethical are often used as synonymous for words like morals and morality especially in contexts referring to the standards of right conduct regarding an individual or group. this synonym has a clear etymological basis and justification because it is the greek word ethos that is rendered in latin as mores from which the english word ‘morals’ is also derived; both ethos and mores have the essential meaning of customs, habits, rules and so on (anyam 3). the ethics of morality of a person or group, however, consists not merely in what they habitually or customarily do but also to what they think is fitting, right, good, or obligatory (kerker and anyam 2). ethics has no univocal definition. it can be and has been defined in various ways. william lillie in his book an introduction to ethics has defined ethics as a systematic study of fundamental principles of the moral law or as the normative science of human conduct (qtd in omoregbe 4). the term "ethics" and "morality" are used interchangeably. thomas hobbes defines ethics (morality) as the science of virtue or vice. according to sartori, ethics is the study of human conducts which are voluntary and performed under the normal conditions of man's capacities which include inward capacities such as intentions, motives and desires, outward activities which include speech, movement, sitting, writings, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 46 selling and buying (9). ethic can be defined as the branch of philosophy which deals with the morality of human actions; or as the branch of philosophy which studies the norms of human behaviour. biblical ethics is that form of ethics that is derived from the teachings found in the bible regarding morality and human behaviour. it is mostly called christian ethics by scholars and individuals because the bible is the holy book of the christian religion. it can be defined as a branch of christian theology that defines concepts of right (virtuous) and wrong (sinful) behaviour from a christian perspective (eckman 17). from this definition, we understand biblical ethics to be a branch of the christian religious studies that is concerned with defining and outlining the right and wrong behaviors with strict reference and guide from biblical teachings and instructions. christians acknowledge is not only a duty to announce the gospel, profess the faith, and worship god but also to live their entire lives according to god's will as it is revealed in the bible. being god's people means following god's laws which means walking in the way of good and rejecting evil. according to encyclopedia britannica, biblical ethics can be defined as christian theological discipline that is concerned with identifying and elucidating the principles that determine the quality of human behavior in the light of christian revelation (1125). this revelation can only be found in the bible; the book that is considered by christians to contain these determining principles. childhood and training childhood is considered by many people to be the most important period in a child’s life because it is the period the individual begins the learning and development in life. that is why it is necessary for the good of the child’s moral responsiveness and growth to be taught and instructed by the parents as soon as the child begins to understand what is being said to him or her. this is the stage where training of the child begins and as the bible instructs, it is time for the parent to decide whether or not if the child should be morally upright or to be morally irresponsible and rotten. it is the period when parents shall not spare the rod if necessary so they don’t spoil the child. the term childhood is non-specific and can imply a varying range of years in human development. developmentally and biologically, it refers to the period between infancy and adulthood (boas 23). in common terms, childhood is considered to start from birth. in the legal systems of many countries, there is an age of majority when childhood officially ends and a person legally becomes an igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 47 adult. the age ranges anywhere from 15 to 21. biologically there are three stages in the development of a child. we shall discuss them briefly. the three stages include; 1. early childhood 2. middle childhood 3. adolescence early childhood: this is considered as the stage when the child begins to speak or taking steps independently. it begins with infancy and follows with childhood. early childhood spans the human life from birth to age eight. at this stage, children are learning through observing, experimenting and communicating with others. adults supervise and support the development process of the child, which then will lead to the child's autonomy. also during this stage, a strong emotional bond is created between the child and the care providers (boas 25). the children also start to begin kindergarten at this age to start their social lives. this is the stage where disciplinary actions on the behaviors of the child begin. the child is instructed on simple dos and don’ts and is corrected when he or she goes wrong either by spanking them with a little stick or by scolding them and expressing dissatisfaction and disappointment over their behaviors. these responses to child behavior help communicate a message to the child regarding the feeling of the parent on each and every matter. middle childhood: middle childhood begins at around age seven or eight, approximating primary school age and ends around puberty, which typically marks the beginning of adolescence. in this period, children are attending school, thus developing socially and mentally. they are at a stage where they make new friends and gain new skills, which will enable them to become more independent and enhance their individuality. once parents are sure they were giving the child the morally upright child training at the early childhood state and the child was taking it they don’t need to worry about the child’s moral judgment and decisions at this stage all they need to do is continue instructing the child concerning, mostly, the influences of bad and good friends and the good of keeping only good friends. adolescence: adolescence is usually determined by the onset of puberty. however, puberty may also begin in preadolescents. the onset of adolescence brings various physical, psychological and behavioral changes in the child. the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 48 end of adolescence and the beginning of adulthood varies by country and by function, and even within a single nation-state or culture there may be different ages at which an individual is considered to be (chronologically and the legally) mature enough to be entrusted by society with certain tasks (boas 27). during this stage the child also needs to be oriented on human sexuality and its consequences. this is one of the issue parents have difficulty teaching the children but it is regarded as one of the most important things parents should often discuss with their children. sex is not a bad thing in itself and the bible says god created it for the consummation of marriage and for procreation therefore parents need to teach their children the right biblical teachings regarding human sexuality. an appraisal of biblical ethics and child training we take illustrations from the stories of eli and his children and david and his own children. they were not the best of parents and the consequences of their failure to train their children in the fear of the lord were felt by almost the whole of israel. however, it must be understood that, the training of the child that we are talking about is not just spiritual training but moral training as well. the bible is critical about training the child morally and spiritually to ensure the growth of the child in both ways. it is the duty of the parents to instruct their children on what the bible say regarding common immoral acts among children. acts like lying, theft and disobedience to parents. these are the few things that are first observed in children when they begin to grow up and are lacking a proper training (matthew 107). the starting point for the discipline or training of children is the fear of the lord or the faith and obedience of the parents. in the book deuteronomy 6:1-9 says, “now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the lord your god has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess. hear, o israel: the lord our god, the lord is one! you shall love the lord your god with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. and these words which i command you today shall be in your heart. you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” the biblical approach to child training starts with the parents. the parents are commanded by god to observe the law (deuteronomy. 6:1), fear the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 49 lord, keep all of god’s statutes and be careful to observe them. parents are to love god with all their hearts, soul and strength and must learn god’s law and place it in their hearts. the parents are to love god with their whole being and they are to express that love by learning and obeying god’s precepts. they in turn, are to pass their total devotion to god to their covenant children. what this means is that, biblical child training starts with covenant faithfulness on the part of the parents. the covenant promises that apply to the children of believers are not unconditional. if parents want blessings from god for their children, grandchildren and beyond, they must love god and keep his commandments. the psalmist concurs that, “but the mercy of the lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him and his righteousness to children’s children, to such as keep his covenant, and to those who remember his commandments to do them” (psalm. 103:1718). these passages do not mean that god saves people based on their keeping the law or human merit. they simply point out that true faith in jesus christ results in good works. in other words, justification leads to sanctification. the reason that covenant continuity is associated with faithfulness on the part of the parents in scripture is the simple fact that parents who habitually disregard god’s law do not exhibit the outward signs or fruit of regeneration in their own lives. such parents pass their unfaithfulness down to their children by their example and defective doctrine. god blesses the children of faithful parents because he promises to do so; and faithful parents are the normal means by which children are taught sound moral reasoning and decision making and the true bible doctrines. the parents introduce their children to the doctrines of god, christ, the law, gospel and so on. faithful parents exhibit the truth of the gospel every day before the eyes of their children. there are a number of important truths that should be noted in relation to the fact that biblical child training starts with the parents and their relationship with god. first, christian parents need to recognize that they are under the direct authority of god and his infallible, all-sufficient word. parental authority is not arbitrary, dictatorial or autonomous. it is rooted in divine revelation. therefore, it is ministerial, loving and limited. paul says; “children, obey your parents in the lord, for this is right” (eph. 6:1). parents do not have authority to command your children to do anything contrary to god’s word. consequently, they also must not use child training blueprints and guidelines derived from an unbelieving, apostate or pagan worldview (rushdoony 93). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 50 parents should never turn to modem psychology, psychiatry or heretical gimmicks for ethical advice or tips on child training. to do so reveals a lack of faith in the sufficiency of scripture. dependence on these so-called scientific, secular vocations is akin to israelites seeking counsel from the priests of baal. it is a dangerous and destructive form of syncretism. parents are to derive their standards solely from the bible. furthermore, children need stem discipline in order to drive the innate ethical foolishness out of their hearts. proverbs 22:15 says, “foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of correction will drive it far from him.” “foolishness is the mighty tendency to evil-imbibing wrong principles, forming bad habits, entering into an ungodly course. it means the very root and essence of sin in a fallen nature-the folly of turning away from a god of love. it includes all the sins of which a child is capable-lying, deceit, willfulness, perverseness, want of submission to authority-a fearful tendency toward evil and revulsion against good. it is not a sheet of pure white paper; not the innocent, or even the easily controlled creature, easily guided by proper means, that we are looking at; but a little heart full of sin, containing all the seeds of future evil, multiplying to a fruitful harvest” (adams 158). parents in the context of love must use the divinely-appointed means to rid their children of this ethical poison. some of the passages we have considered regarding the biblical ethics on child training have been primarily negative. that is, they warn parents of the consequences of a neglect of their duties. there are also passages that speak to the necessity of biblical discipline from a positive perspective. one of such such passage is proverbs 29:15, “the rod and rebuke give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.” wisdom in the book of proverbs is loaded with meaning and should not be confused with a mere moralistic theism. it involves not only learning god's precepts but a loving reverential relationship to god himself. wisdom is founded in the fear of the lord. “the fear of the lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. my son, hear the instruction of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother; for they will be a graceful ornament on your head, and chains about your neck” (prov. 1:7-9). the controlling principle of life, which crowns a man and enriches his days with wisdom, is the fear of the lord, and this fear is inseparable from the law, instruction, or direction of god. the goal of biblical training of children is not just to impart ethical guidelines or family values. also, discipline is not applied merely so that parents will have a well ordered, peaceful household. children need wisdom (ethical and doctrinal igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 51 knowledge, christian character, biblical discernment, sanctified shrewdness and discretion) that is inseparably connected with and flows from a saving relationship to jesus christ. matthew henry writes, “in order to the attainment of all useful knowledge this is most necessary, that we fear god; we are not qualified to profit by the instructions that are given us unless our minds be possessed with a holy reverence of god, and every thought within us be brought into obedience to him.” (12) nurturing the child for proper eating habits the act of child training begins from the moment the child can respond or react to the people around him or her. it is important that the mother starts training and teaching the child proper eating habits at infancy. when the child is suckling and decides to bite on the nipple of the mother whether out of anger or frustration it is the time for the mother to teach the child that what the child has done is not correct but if proper disciplinary or correcting act is not implored or applied the child may not understand that he is at fault, therefore the mother can spank the child gently but enough to pass the information to the child that it is wrong and painful to bite the mother’s nipple while feeding. there is also the training regarding the washing of hands and other dirty body parts before eating food whether the child is eating alone or with the family. it is considered a morally upright character, among every culture in the, for a child to properly wash their hands before participating in any form of eating because cleanliness is one of the proper eating habits among human beings. when the child is taught all these proper eating habits and grows up he will understand and appreciate the parents and will be comfortable eating anywhere and everywhere he goes because he will possess the proper and acceptable eating habits. teaching the child hygienic attitudes poor hygienic practices are causes of major diseases among children in nigeria today and these diseases are also causes of numerous deaths. hygiene is a set of practices that helps to maintain health and wellness and prevent the spread of diseases. hygiene is an important part of the human being and to ensure the child’s safety it is relevant for the parents to teach the child proper hygienic attitudes. there are a lot of things that the bible teaches about hygiene and cleanliness. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 52 in romans chapter 12: 1 says; “i appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of god, to preserve your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to god, which is your spiritual worship.” the biblical perspective regarding holiness and cleanliness of the body and the soul is very important, the bible advices christians to preserve their bodies in a way that they will be holy and acceptable to god. the bible instructs us to keep our bodies clean of sin and the dirt of this world because it is the temple of the lord and the lord does not like unholy and unclean body. even in our societies we consider cleanliness and neatness as a virtue worth practicing and teaching our children. environments that are not hygienic cause a lot of sicknesses and death while clean environments promote healthy living and comfort. children are to be taught some major hygienic and health attitudes that will serve them in their entire lives. teaching children common hygienic attitudes like wash your hands after using the toilet is common among our primary schools and among homes. this teaching ensures the removal of germs and other disease causing bacterial when the child is taught to wash his hands properly with soap and water after using the toilet or bathroom. the child is also instructed to wash their hands before and after eating. because children often play on the ground and may touch some unhealthy and unclean things it is important to teach them not to transfer the dirt they pick from the ground to the food they are to eat and after eating the food they should wash away the particles of the food they have eaten from their hands. furthermore, other common hygienic attitudes to teach the child include the brushing of their teeth at least once a day to ensure healthy gums, teeth and breathe. but if the parents can be able to observe their children very well they should instruct the children to brush their mouths at least twice a day, this promotes a more healthy mouth. there is also the teaching of washing of clothes with detergent or soap and antiseptic, this will keep the clothes healthy and comfortable. then there is the taking of their bath at least twice a day to wash away the dirt and dead cells that are glued to their bodies by sweat. children should be instructed to bath in the morning, afternoon and evening to keep them clean and make them comfortable (matthew 109). the parent should also begin teach their children, when they have come of age. the attitude of cleaning the environment by sweeping the compound and weeding grasses that may be growing around are very vital n the process of child training. according to mrs. tsegba, teaching the children to weed the compound and sweep it is one of the most significant ways she has been using to teach her igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 53 children personal hygiene and cleanliness. whenever they wake up in the morning, they make sure they sweep the compound and then brush their teeth, take their baths and eat breakfast. “i have made sure that my four children learn to follow this procedure everyday and it has become a part of them such that they do this before going to school” (oral interview). when parents are able to teach their children the hygienic culture and those children are encouraged to practice it every day it ends up becoming part of them and they will live with it to old age. however, what the bible instructs a loving parent to do is to pick up the rod and strike their children, they should discipline them and teach them until they learn what it right and true such that when they grow they will never abandon it. teaching children hygienic behavior including instructing them on health related issues like alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking and other habits that are harmful to health or promote a healthy living. teaching the child the lessons of membership associations human infants are equipped at birth with reflexes that orient them toward people. they are responsive to faces, turn their head toward voices, and mimic certain facial gestures on cue. it seems that human beings are inherently social animals. all over the world, people experience joy when they form new social attachments and react with loneliness and despair when these bonds are broken as when separated from a loved one by distance, divorce, or death (william 271). this study shows that people who have a network of family and friends are happier and healthier and live longer than those who are more isolated. we need one another and that is why social situations can have such a profound effect on our thoughts, feelings, and behavior. from the above statement we understand that to ensure the children leam proper membership association which will not be to refrain them from associating with others but to encourage and teach them to associate with the right friends and be members of the right groups or associations. children who lack proper home discipline are the ones running around the streets today and involving themselves in criminal groups and occultic associations, they were not properly taught the consequences of associating with bad groups and some of them end up getting severely injured or even killed. there have been numerous cases of young men who have been brutally murdered by opposition gangs or cult groups because they were involved in a prior violent behaviour towards the opposing gang or group. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 54 training children regarding which group to associate with will serve them throughout their lives. some children who do not receive proper training from their parents regarding membership associations end up seeking help from peers who may sometimes lead them to get involved in things that would harm them. parents, therefore, need to take the long view of social problems and to map out a plan to solve them quite as carefully and thoughtfully as they would any other problem the child may encounter in the process of growing. children often begin to play alone at a young age but they start making friends when they begin developing and growing up because they realize it is more fun playing with other kids, the number of kids they play with will begin to increase as the children grow older. so by the time the child becomes an adolescent he is able to join and enjoy group experiences. however, if the parents were able to discipline the child properly and teach him lessons of membership of association then, the child will know exactly where to belong. training the child’s mind for moral reasoning it is just not important to teach the child moral truths but it is also very important to give him the tools to reason and process moral situations. this tool to reason will help him or her to decide what moral action to take when he is faced with a problem or is in a situation where there are many options to be taken. training the child’s mind for moral reasoning will enable the child understand that it is important to consider other peoples’ feelings in a situation before one should take a decision (dzurgba, a. principles of ethics 76). therefore, if the child sees oranges on a tree, from his morally trained mind, the child will know that plucking the oranges without permission is wrong and, even with permission, plucking all of them will not be correct because the owner planted the orange tree for himself as well. moral reasoning will help the child go beyond his immediate wants and consider other people’s opinions, beliefs and feelings, then take it further and apply this reasoning or thought universally. there is a responsibility to present children who will live in the unknown environment of the future with the tools which allow them to consider dilemmas and which promote rational, creative and moral thinking. by the term moral reasoning we mean using cognitive skills: 1. to endeavour to examine all facets of a dilemma 2. to evaluate this understanding of the situation against known experiences 3. to imagine, and deliberate upon possible avenues of action igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 55 4. to consider personal and societal effects and affects of actions, and then 5. to select the most appropriate behavior from within this considered range of choices (rushdoony 96). therefore when the child is thought to know all the above and to be able to make or take decisions with the interest of others in mind, he or she may have received the training that is to help shape his moral reasoning. molding the child’s moral character raising s moral child means, teaching your child to live by the golden rule “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”, the child has to learn how to emphasize, to be able to think through an action before doing it and to judge how the consequences of his action will affect himself and others. therein lies the basis of a morally upright character. the parents are the child’s first and most important moral teacher and it is important for the parents not just to instruct the child but to live as an example since children often do what they observe more than what they are taught. parents should connect to their children and sensitively teach them the rules of morality, this will help the child develop an inner code of behavior that will become deep rooted and as a result it will make the child develop moral feelings of or healthy sense of guilt, feeling appropriately wrong when they act wrong. thus to a child with an inner code of behavior a lie is a breach of trust. when he slips, his well being is disturbed, so he strives to persevere and restore this sense of moral balance. discussing and teaching the child virtues of moral behavior is like arming the child against the battles of life in the area of correct moral judgment. therefore when the child drifts into the life of moral uncertainty he will not fall victim to the morally decayed choices that will be available rather he will seek the right decisions to be made at the right time. because the child has a moral reference system to use as a standard he will not adopt the values of others neither will he shift his values according to what is most convenient for solving problems of the moment (dzurgba, a. principles of ethics 79). the society is concerned with what the child will become when he grows up and the parents are going to receive either the blame or praise for whatever their child grows up to be in the society. this is why it is important for parents to teach their children to pick interest in and concern for other people, in this way they will develop a sense of human igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 56 conscience and will express remorse whenever they have behaved wrongly towards any member of the society. furthermore, molding the child’s moral behavior include teaching the child manners that will help him develop variously those moral such as , civic, good, mannered, behaved, non bullying, healthy, critical, successful, traditional, compliant and socially acceptable being. other characters that the child develops under this teaching are moral reasoning, cognitive development, life skills education, violence prevention, critical thinking, ethical thinking and conflict resolution. developing the child’s sense of responsibility and accountability teaching your child to be responsible and accountable is something every parent must do to ensure a productive and effective child. responsibility can be understood as a duty, an obligation or a liability for which someone is held accountable. now we can see that responsibility leads to accountability and for a child to be responsible he must develop a sense of accountability as well. on the other hand accountability can be defined as the acknowledgment and assumption of responsibility for actions, products, decisions and policies. words synonymous to accountability are answerability, blameworthiness and liability. when the child develops a sense of responsibility and accountability he is capable of taking actions with the understanding that he will bear the consequences of those actions and he will also be answerable to authority when it is requested of him to explain and clarify himself. children who are taught by parents and who develop a sense of responsibility and accountability often make more effective and productive decisions, decisions whose consequences, they know, will be placed on their shoulders and because of this they make choices that will portray their image in a good manner, ethically, developing a sense of accountability and responsibility aims at improving the internal standard of an individual and the community at large (matthew 112 ). the bible also instructs us to be accountable for our actions because it is what we must go through as human beings, the bible teaches that whatever we do here on earth we are going to be held accountable for it on the day of judgment before god. this is reflected in 2 corinthians 5:10 “for we must all appear before the judgment seat of christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” according to dzurgba, “everyone to whom much is given, of him will much be required, and of him whom men commit much they will demand more” (luke 12:48). this is a principle of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 57 accountability. accountability increases with the rise of responsibilities. accountability encourages hard work, initiative, efficiency and productivity (37). therefore, a child who is taught to be accountable will also learn to be responsible since the two concepts follow each other. these are characters that qualify individuals for political positions and other seats that are considered important in the society. training a child for efficient, effective and productive work the child has the potential to grow up and become a very good productive and effective person but it is left to the parent to make sure the child becomes that person. disciplining a child is something that a parent is supposed to do in all ramifications; the parent is to teach the child how to conduct himself morally, how to interact with other people in the society and how to be productive and effective etc. the parent should begin teaching the child the importance of efficient, effective and productive work and how much importance the society places in an honest and effective work. therefore when the child grows up he will attach value to efficient, effective and productive work. however, the bible is against laziness and persons who do not work, the bible instructs that everybody is supposed to work if he is to eat. paul says this sin 2 thessalonians 3:10-14 “for even when we were with you. this we commanded you, that if anyone would not work, neither should he eat. when god sent out adam and eve from the garden of eden he told them that they shall eat by their sweat, god was in a way encouraging hard work and saying that he who wants to eat must sweat (work) for his own food. therefore, parents should be able to instruct their children in the way the bible say we should teach our children so that they will be wise and enter the kingdom of god (genesis 3:19). morally, the society holds effective, efficient and productive work as a virtue and it applauds and encourages any member of the society that possesses these qualities but to those who refuse to learn and imbibe them the society scorns and sometime rejects. training the child in the fear of the lord teaching the child the fear of the lord is an instruction that every christian parent must follow to ensure the proper training of the child. children are also called by god to come and learn the fear of the lord. "come, you children, hearken unto me i will teach you the fear of the lord." (psalm 34:11.). the bible igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 58 further encourages its teaching in deuteronomy chapter 11:19-21, “and ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. and thou, shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates: that your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the lord sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth” before teaching a child the fear of the lord, the parent should teach the child the scripture so that the child will appreciate what is taught therein. the scripture clearly teaches that training a child to know and fear god is the basis for pleasing him and living victoriously in his grace. the scripture is filled with passages that show that the fear of the lord is a positive thing. in the book of genesis, joseph wins his brothers trust when he declares that he is a god fearing man (48:18). on the other hand pharaoh of egypt brought disaster upon himself and his people because he had no fear of god in him (exodus 9:29-31). there is also an example of moses choosing leaders who would assist him, these leaders were chosen because they had the fear of god and would not take bribe. therefore parents should be able to teach their children these illustrations that stress the importance and consequences of the fear of the lord. it is not to scare them for god does not take interest in scaring his own children rather he wants them to come to him, to know him and live with him forever. fearing god is good because it saves us from caving into our own sinful nature. that is why even in our world today when we hear a man is god fearing we often trust that person more and more. in the catholic church the fear of the lord is considered as one among the seven gifts of the holy spirit and according to the catholic encyclopedia, this fear can be explained as the gift that fills us with sovereign respect for god and makes us dread above all things to offend him (3). according to c. s. lewis the fear of the lord is not the fear that one feels for a wild animal like the lion or the tiger or foe even a ghost rather the fear of the lord is one filled with awe in which you “feel wonder and a certain shrinking” or “a sense of inadequacy to cope with such a visitant of a prostration before it”. it is a fear that comes forth out of love for the lord (56). this fear of the lord is felt because one understands the fearful expectations of judgment (hebrews 10:27). still this is not a fear that leads one to despair, rather it must be coupled with trust and most importantly love. conclusion and recommendations igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 59 we have been able to comprehensively discuss the meanings of biblical ethics and child training and we have also touched various areas which parents can train a child to make sure the child becomes a useful individual in the society. the bible has instructed us to take the act of training our children very importantly and not to slack or ignore anything when teaching them. this work has also stressed the moral obligation of parental training and its effect on the society and the child as well. we understand that there is no doubt that the children who have grown up to be thugs and cultists may have received a certain level of parental training and instruction however, from our discussions above the bible teaches us that training the children verbally alone is not enough we should also live an exemplary life so they can copy and we should never hesitate to use the rod anytime we feel it is necessary because it is part of parental training. child training is a career and parents who wants to properly train their child or children must follow the teachings of the bible regarding how to train a child. the bible contains the teachings of every aspect of the human life including the teachings of raising and instructing children on how to grow, what to do and what not to do. this is why when children grows up and becomes immoral and corrupt, the society blames the parents because they had the opportunity to raise up a good child but they choose not to (dzurgba, a. principles of ethics 103). poor parenting leads to a lot of ills and many problems that exist in the society today are associated to poor parenting, for instance if parents properly train their children in the fear of the lord, the children will understand that to fear god means to love him so much that we don’t sin against him. parents therefore have the greatest role to play in the development of a child's life and world-view. the family is man's first state, church, and school. it is the institution that provides the basic structure of his existence and most governs his activities. the heads of families are obligated to use their god-given authority to instill in their children a love of god and a thorough training in religion and morality. they are to raise up a godly seed. most parents believe that the task of disciplining and training their children is not one that is theirs alone but this is a wrong conception. whatever the child is going to learn the foundation to that knowledge must be thought by the parents so the child will be able to discern from positive and negative influences and choose the one that is been taught the parents to be the best. the church and the society also have a hand in child training but the parents should make the choice of giving their child the proper training first, thus when igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 60 the child is instructed by other members of the society, it will not be a difficult thing for the child to accept. the starting point of christian child training is parents, who love the lord with all their heart, soul and strength; who are faithful to god and keep his commandments. if christian parents want to be good at biblical child training then they need to recognize that they are under the direct authority of god and his infallible and sufficient word. the sole standard for biblical child training, as stated earlier is scripture. fathers especially need to lead the whole family in godliness. the father must be spiritually mature and must have a solid knowledge of ethics, scripture and theology. the bible also gives many reasons why children need to be diligently disciplined by their parents; biblical ethics discipline is necessary because of the fall of adam. all children are born depraved, corrupt, with a bias toward evil, with rebellious hearts and sinful natures. children need to be disciplined in order to save them from hell. a lack of biblical discipline has negative eternal consequences. discipline and instruction are the ordinary means used by the holy spirit to cause conviction, conversion and devotion to god in covenant children. the bible says that parents who do not discipline their children hate them. biblical discipline is a true expression of biblical love. works cited adams, j. e. competent to counsel. phillipsburg, new jersey: bridges, 1970. anyam d. t. issues in moral philosophy. second edition. makurdi: obeta continental press, 2016. anyam, d. t. issues in moral philosophy (1st ed). makurdi: obeta continental press, 2011. boas, g. the cult of childhood. london: warburg, 1966. dzurgba, a. nigerian politics and ethical behavior. ibadan: john achers publishers, 2003 dzurgba, a. principles of ethics. ibadan: agape publications, 2000. eckman, j. p. biblical ethics: choosing right in a world gone wrong. illinois: crossway books, 2004. encyclopaedia britannica, ethics. student and home edition. chicago: encyclopaedia britannica, 2010. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 61 hornby, a. s. oxford advanced learners dictionary of contemporary english. new york: oxford university press, 2001. kerker, j. and anyam, d. t. morality and discipline. makurdi: obetal continental press, 2004. lewis, c. s. the problem of pain. london: centenary press, 1940. matthew, henry. commentary on the whole bible. mclean, va: macdonald, 2003. nelson, t. the holy bible: new king james version. tennessee: thomas nelson publishers, 1982. nwala, t. u. a modern introduction to philosophy and logic. nsukka: niger books and publishing co. limited, 1997. omoregbe, j. i. ethics: a systematic and historical study. london: global educational services, 2008. rushdoony, r. j. the institutes of biblical law. new york: university of columbia press, 1992. sartori, g. democratic theories. new york: pracger publishers, 1965. the holy bible (revised standard version). united states of america: published by thomas nelson, 1966. william, e. l. situation ethics: the new morality. victoria: bible truth, 1972. zomado, j. l. inventing the child: culture, ideology, and the story of childhood. new york: garland, 2001. covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 221 covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse hilary ugwu, msw university of oklahoma school of social work norman, usa, hiugwu@yahoo.com executive summary in the art of war, sun tzu (544 b.c – 496 b.c), the ancient chinese military tactician, outlined combat subterfuges to dismantle the enemy. his strategies not only involve physical combat. it also includes using swift psychological dexterities to paralyze the opposition. military generals around the world have studied sun tsu, mastered his tactics and made exponential improvements. thus, the portrait of modern warfare is that of a theater of apocalyptic death. think of the horrors of mass-killer viral attacks, thermonuclear pulverization, sonic soundfrequency weapons, lethal gaseous nerve agents, the manipulation of electromagnetic spectra for destructive purposes, etc. the threat of nuclear annihilation hunted humanity during the time of the cold war. the cold war indeed ushered in an era of rapid anti-human scientific and technological intensification. two super heavyweight economic ideologies, viz the anglo-american capitalism, and soviet communism, were masturbating and exhibiting their erectile military narcissism. it was a time of looming fear— unbridled arms race, socio-economic sabotage and psychopathic war-mongering. it was also be beginning of race to conquer the space, hence the installation of spacebased complex planetary reconnaissance spy satellite systems. the cold war era spiked-up mass brainwashing hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 222 and unmitigated propagandas. we were told that the battle line was drawn between ‘demon-’ driven marxistleninist authoritarian eastern communism and ‘angelic’ anglo-american exploitative imperial capitalism. however, these two world powers pushed the rest of mankind into taking sides. the cold war gave mischief makers insatiable dracula-kind of bloody appetite for developing and stockpiling mass destroyer-weapons, including bioweapons (bw) which herein is my main focus. keywords: igwebuike, kanu ikechukwu anthony, military operations, bioengineering, weaponization, viruses introduction: ancient myths abound which portray man as acting wickedly against his own kind. the latinized aphorism, ‘homo homini lupus’—man is wolf to man, captures tersely mankind’s deep-rooted belief that man is a predator as well, just like the wild wolf. the statement reveals man’s psycho-traumatic paranoid fear relative to him being preyed on by his own kind. the human experiences of trauma and victimization find their ways into the linguistic lexicons. man would not have created words such as homicide, infanticide, genocide, holocaust, pogrom, etc., if he had not traumatically experienced them. these words elicit dark creepy feelings. they also re-trigger repressed collective anxieties. humanity’s primal psycho-trauma exists in all of our collective minds. the swiss analytical psychologist, carl jung, calls this realm of collective minds, the “objective psych.” this is the realm of our congenital unconscious mind. the darkest and deepest part of our collective fears has manifested throughout history in storytelling and mythologies. in ancient kemet (what greek erroneously called egypt), there was a mythology that tells of the drama of the death of one man in the hand of another by a deliberate act of killing. this is the myth of seth and covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 223 osiris. seth/set (original name, setesh) premeditatedly killed his brother, osiris (original name, asar) in the vilest and sadistic manner. the myth paints a picture of gory precision medical assassination. seth dismembered osiris’ body into fourteen pieces and scattered the remains all over the river nile. the name, seth, has continued to migrate into the human conscious history. seth invokes certain nomenclatural diabolism: shaitan, in arabic, and satan, in christian theology, both of which derive from the kemetian seth/set. whether you call him seth, set, sheth, setesh, sutekh, setan, satan, shaitan, i am referring to the same primordial character in african mythology. the drama of seth/set is deeply encoded within the human collective psychology. modern anglo-linguistic formation identifies seth with darkness, since the word sun-seth (sunset). seth is the prince of darkness, and his coming foreshadows night/darkness and evil in the ancient african mind. this primordial human trickster (seth) became the god of evil as well as the god of the barren wilderness. he causes death and chaos. seth was referred to as the apep or apophis, that is, the great dragon/monster/serpent/beast (remler, 2010). jesus was in the seth’s (satan’s) wilderness and was tempted by him. while this article is not a recapitulation of ancient african theological construct, i must not fail to point out that the atrocious deed of this prehistoric man (seth) has become the objective embodiment of evil as a monstrous entity within the collective human psyche. my point is that man is capable of inverted evolution (devolution) into sethianlikeness (satan-like) through his deliberate act of wickedness against his own kind and nature. similarly, the myth of cain and abel, specific to the hebrew scripture, continues to warn us about the murderous instinct encoded in the human freewill. the hebraic myth introduces mankind to the dramatic prelude of man’s premeditated killing of his own kind. this biblical story is the primeval blueprint to murder consciousness. cain’s method was simplistic, anachronistic and crude. when the deity, elohim, asked him the whereabouts of his brother, he gave a hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 224 classical response “am i my brother’s keeper?” this cainite response would set the future stage for humanity’s careless, irresponsible and unaccountable predisposition toward their own bio-kinds. the point is that those we trust to protect us have continued to exhibit cainite psychopathic nature, narcissism and antisocial proclivities. the above prehistoric sethian/cainite murder mythos serve as reminders that man, in fact, does exterminate his bio-kind for diabolical intentions. it is not completely irrational to make apriori assumptions that man’s darker nature easily succumbs to the lures of cruel, nefarious and murderous instructs embedded in his free choice. today, modern man has perfected his inherited sethian/cainite killing skills, using advanced scientific and technological methods. modern man is obsessed with anti-human sciences and seems to reach a state of orgasmic euphoria when he is able to unleash death and destruction on the planet. man can now, through molecular engineering, create and spread deadly bio-synthetic terminator pathogens that can wipe out any crowded cities. viruses: the invisible demon the english natural philosopher, robert hooke (1635—1703), changed the world after he discovered that organisms have cells. this finding was possible through the use of light microscope. antonie leeuwenhoek (1632—1723) made another significant discovery, the bacteria. following similar trend, a russia scientist, dmitry ivanovky (1864—1920), was able to discover a much smaller micro agent, the virus. these discoveries opened some doors into the microscopic universe of microorganism. ivanosky found that viruses are filterable micro agents. his experiments indicated that viruses were able to pass through poreclain chemberland filter which bacteria could not pass through. thus, scientists, for the first time, learned that there are micro agents that are much smaller than bacteria. the word “virus” derives from latin and implies poison. viruses and bacteria are completely different. viruses have no cellular structure as covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 225 bacteria. another distinguishing feature of viruses is their extremely small size. a bacterium is a giant in comparison to a virus (zimmer, 2011). scientists, in their taxonomic classifications, exclude viruses from living organisms. in other words, viruses are non-living biological agents. so, if viruses are non-living organisms, what are they? they are infectious virions which are capable of entering a cell and initiating a replication cycle (payne, 2017). a virus carries a single nucleic acid encased within its protein coats. they parasitize off of all other forms of life on earth. they have replication cycle which means that they have the capacity to change their genome rapidly. this is why viral mutations are very common. they have fluidity of adaptation on new hosts. the mysterious artificial-like nature of virus makes it difficult to fight. bacteriological attack is more manageable than virus attack. some viruses can mutate so quickly it is nearly impossible to create an effective single medical solution to eliminate their mutation variants. bacteriophages is a scientific terminology which points to the fact that viruses can infect and destroy bacteria (this sounds like top gangster.). due to their small sizes, they are described as “filterable diseases.” they can pass through filters that bacteria cannot filter through. viruses lack ribosomes and must steal ribosomes from its host for translation of their mrna. scientists report that viruses are known for their geometric sophistication which are not observed in natural microbial organisms (tennant et all, 2018). they sort of behave like invisible demons. biological weapon (bw): a historical morphogenesis bioweapon (bw) skeptics who are uncomfortable with the idea that man uses viral attacks on his own kind often recite litanies of epidemics throughout history as a ‘proof’ that intentional viral attack is made-belief. their argument is that if man, in the context of historical ecosystems, has always experienced death by germs, it is, therefore, ‘unreasonable’ to think that germs are intentionally created and deployed to attack humans. the most cited example is the bubonic black plague that ravaged europe in the middle ages (i will provide a new viewpoint on this as you read on.). no reasonable person denies hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 226 the fact that disease-causing agents have always existed in man’s natural environment. the real question which skeptics of bw miss is this: has man used germ as a bw? the answer is yes. let’s outline the historical progression of bw from four fundamental point of views, viz: (a) pre-microbiology era (pre-germ discovery era), (b) the era of applied microbiology, (c) the era of aerobiology and industrial microbiology and, (d) the era of molecular biology and biotechnology. i will provide a brief theoretical description of these for eras of bw expansion histories. pre-germ era: the use of germs as bw has always been practised by man throughout ancient time, even before the discovery of microbial agents via microscope. soldiers are familiar with diseases due to high level of exposures to unsanitary battlefields conditions. thus, military tacticians of ancient time learned to harness pathogenic agents for bio-attacks on their enemies. valerius maximus, a roman author— more than two thousand years ago provided a historical testimony that diseases were used for purposes of war (guilemin, 2005). in ancient times, the army deployed carcasses of diseased animals or corpses of highly infected people to contaminate water supplies in populated areas to cause mass death on the side of the enemies. they sent infected and highly contagious people to enemy cities and towns as a way of spreading the diseases. ancient greece army used extremely poisonous extracts from plants to contaminate water sources on the enemy side. the eye-opening written account of gabriele de’ mussi, concerning the battle siege of caffa in 1346, indicates that the black death in middle age europe was a distinctive case of bw. mussi reported that the black death (which killed an estimate of 50 million people) was as a result of soldiers’ flinging rotten diseased corpses into the besieged walled city of caffa to cause infection and contamination. he indicated that contaminated fleeing italians brought the plague to europe. evidence indicates that rats helped to spread this plagues, but according to mussi, the initial cause was traced to military bw. covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 227 advent of microbiology: the next shift in man’s bw capacity was brought in by the science of microbiology. man is able to, through advancement in science, identify in a test tube specific microbial agents as the cause of illnesses. man learned to isolate, modify and deploy pathogenic agents. thus, military strategists saw a ripe opportunity for weaponization of viruses. this was the beginning of the scientific development of bw which changed the concept of warfare forever. on a positive side, man’s capacity to understand, prevent and fight germs improved exponentially with the science of microbiology. microbiology leads to the knowledge that simple preventive measures like sanitization was able to prevent diseases. progress in industrial aerobiology and microbiology: aerobiology deals with the study of the spread and effect of biological agents for public health purposes. following world war ii, industrial societies entered a new era of industrial microbiology. this era ushered in industrial-scale pharmaceutical production and customization of microbial organisms for various purposes. breweries, baking industries, allopathic pharmaceutical companies, etc., utilized bacteria massively for product manufacturing. some bacteria are beneficial and necessary for the survival of the human organism. with this era also came a problem, the mass production of death-causing viruses for bw purposes. the era of molecular biology and biotechnology: in the early 1950s, francis crick and james watson discovered the double helix structure of dna. a new scientific revolution was born (koblentz, 2009). thus began the new era of genetic engineering. this propelled microbiologists into a new form of bw heights. the ability to manipulate gene code made bioweaponeers demigods. viral strands cannot only be studied from their genetic composition, but the humane genetic strands are also carefully studied. with this mixture, it became easy to create virus that can target specific people based on genetic history. gene editing has positives but lots of negatives as well. hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 228 the military weaponization viruses “in this age of technological inhumanity scientific atrocity atomic mis-philosophy nuclear mis-energy it's a world that forces lifelong insecurity” bob marley—survival (song) the lyrics above is from bob marley’s surviral album. marley offers a prophetic glimpse into the inordinate and gloomy empirical materialism of modern civilization. he paints a portrait of the age of draconian scientism, epistemological imperialism as well as scientific atheism. it is the era of dictatorship that passes for science. the consequence of man’s exaggerated fanatical faith in material science is leading man into an apocalyptic horror. this is the age where man has to face the demon of invisible micro-bug created in laboratory. some of the world’s most powerful governments and their elite military intelligences, in collaboration with some civilian ‘mad scientist’, have engaged in secret bw research and development. certain research institutes have been exposed as having engaged in bioweaponry, for instance, the pasteur institute in france, porton down research center in england, ivanofsky institute of virology in russia, fort detrick military research institute in the united states, the tokyo institute, japan etc. these institutions are linked to underground anti-human-anti-god-anti-nature bw research activities (horowitz, 1998). countries such as isreal, lybia, egypt, china, iran, north korea, pakistan, taiwan, syria, to name but a few, are reported to have engaged in the use of bioweapon (koblenz, 2009). the notion of bw involved microorganism used intentionally to cause illnesses and death. what makes microbial bw agents lethal is their capacity to mutate, reproduce and spread. a bio agent released within a given environment could linger for years, just waiting for activation inside a host. chemical weapon is easily detected and felt. but bw could take days and months before victims become symptomatic. covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 229 bws are relatively cheaper to make compared to other forms of mass weapons (cole, 1990). this could explain its appeal to mischief makers. according to expert advice to the united nations, large-scale attack against a civilian population costs $2000 per square kilometer, using conventional weapon, $800 with nuclear weapons, $600 with nerve–gas weapons, and only $1 with bw. to think that the military could ignore such low-cost budget in international arms’ race would be to play the ostrich. in 1980, the u.s. annual budget, involving bw development, is $1 billion. there is no question that viruses are being made in test tubes. experts indicate that certain viruses can be cultured in test tubes “by mixing purified genomes and protein.” the said genomes may have been synthesized (payne, 2017). the modern rise in bw research and development came from warmongering mindset of industrialized nations. as way back as 1920s, france was working on the use of microbial agents as weapons. japan may have started working on bw in the early 1930s. the united kingdom, soviet russia as well the united states have engaged in bw research and development as means of winning wars and dominating their enemies. the military proponents of bw development believe that mass death of civilians will bring a battleresistance nation on her knees (guillemin, 1999). there are sufficient historical reasons to conclude that some deadly man-made bio agents which at one time or another have ravaged human society might have come from clandestine military laboratory bases and may have been either released accidentally or by deliberate intent. looking back at the mid-19 th century, one could notice that the threats of global catastrophe and the end of life on earth by thermonuclear pulverization was widespread in newspaper headlines, books, televisions and radio talk shows. even then, the media paid less attention to the possibilities of human-induced virological outbreak of similar apocalyptic proportion. i would assume that the reason threats from bw mass death are given less attention is because viruses are microbes and are imperceptible to the naked eyes, unless with special equipment. so if people didn’t see it, they think it posed less threat. hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 230 viral attacks usually sneak into a population and cause mass death undetected. so they are not as dramatic as thermonuclear destructive explosions. the period between 1945 and 1991 has been classified by military historians as the cold war era. world war ii was crucial in understanding man’s weaponization of microbes. molecular sciences, like microbiology and other nano-based sciences, provide man with the tool for detailed study of structures, systems and behaviours of microscopic organisms. man’s scientific ability to understand the structures of deoxyribonucleic acid as well as ribonucleic acid offers him the endless mastery of post-transcriptional modification, that is, the ability to control gene’s expression. the ability to splice genes means that man has acquired the science of the gods. he too can create or destroy at his whims and caprices. those who weaponize microbial agents for dark evil agendas will not hesitate to use such knowledge to instigate mass pandemic, bioterrorism, disorientation of population, pavlovian-style mass behaviour modifications/social control, economic collapse, political control, social systems collapse and mass death. there are people who believe in and want to implement malthusianism and nazi-style eugenics. soviet russia and microbial warfare during the cold war, russia’s ostrov vozrozhdeniya (translated as rebirth/renaissance island) was used as one of the bw research, development and test locations. multiple reliable sources, including declassified documents, implicate elite soviet military intelligence for the existence of so many weaponized strands of killer viruses. some prominent russian bw facilities were, at least according to official report, dissolved in the early 1990s, following the collapse of communist russia. however, it would be unwise to trust official reports and believe that russia’s bw capacity has been disarmed. bws were developed and used during world war ii. in 1942, as both the russian and the german fronts were preparing for the battle of stalingrad, a virus outbreak occurred. this virus was named covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 231 tularemia, and it was a bw. it was uncertain if this came from the german side from the russian side. what is clear, however, was that russia had a well-established bw capacity. russia’s biopreparat agency was dedicated to research and development of unnatural pathogens as bw. the agency was created through a clandestine decree and has top military officials who were themselves dedicated scientists. the reason most of bw activities around the world are strictly under military secrecy is because bacteriological warfare is prohibited by the geneva protocols of 1925. this deceptive prohibition is nothing but a toothless dog. virological weapon continues to be developed by the world’s most sophisticated militaries and nothing happens. these deadly germs are deployed for all kinds of agenda. other soviet military facility used for bw development include, the center for military technical problems of antibacteriological defense, sverdlovsk; scientific research institute of microbiology, kirov; the center of virology,zagorsk; leninggrad’s scientific research institute of military medicine, to name a few. russia’s biopreparat agency was overseen by russia’s fifteenth directorate. this covert agency came under different army chiefs at different times, including, general yury tikhonovick, as well as general vsenolod ogarkov. russia boasted possession of ss-18 killer missile capable of conveying active bio agents to target destinations. the communist red army strategists were obsessed with this mission of ‘conquering the world’ through epidemiological attacks and mass death if need be. russia’s viral capacity was enormous. cities were marked around the world for viral attacks. many will not want to imagine that genetically modified infectious microorganism have been used on the masses around the world in the past and have continued to be used in the present time for nefarious reasons. there are enough information to make intelligent assertion that as far back as 1920s, soviet communist russia has enlisted the best and brightest of their scientists in the development of killer viruses to be used as bw. russian military strategists were using lowhilary ugwu, msw igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 232 flying airplanes loaded with deadly microbes, spraying them around (alibek, 1999). imperial japan and weaponization of virus japan has been involved in the development and use of bw for antihuman purposes. during world war ii, japan invaded the chinese region of manchuria. what made this invasion additionally horrific was that the japanese military deployed death-causing bio agents on the population of the region. japanese history of atrocities in china was immense. their war atrocities continue to define the chinese bitter enmity against japan today. chinese school teach their children the horrific japanese terror in their land during world war ii. these children are growing up to detest japan as evil. the imperial japanese military facility responsible for the dark mission in china was known as water purification unit 731. unit 731 was under the command of lieutenant general shiro ishii. this facility was in full operation for a very long time. japan was working with viral strands, such as anthrax, plague, cholera, dysentery and many other deadly agents. the japanese military was dropping canisters infested with deadly bio agents, like plagues. we have to understand that before they deployed such agents, they must have engendered it to be even deadlier when in contact with human organism. when the soviet red army invaded the regions occupied by japan in china, they gained access to documents and materials implicating japan for bw atrocities. when the soviet communist leader, stalin, was briefed as to japan’s use of bw in china, he ordered that russia increase its germ weaponization exponentially. japan was also implicated for flying low-airplane in the town of chuhsien in chekiang province, south of shanghai in china. they were spreading clouds of deadly viruses on the population. sometimes in 1941, japanese airplane flew over the city of changteh in hunan province in china and sprayed what is now understood to be bubonic plagues on the population. there were reports of people having their lymph nodes swollen and they died from the contamination. covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 233 japan was determined to weaponize every germ they could obtain. japanese army medical collage, tokyo was running covert bw research in the later 1930s. the u.s. officials were concerned that the japanese intelligence unit was sending secret agents to obtain yellow fever strand from rockefeller institute of medical research in new york (croddy et al, 2002). in the 1990s, a renegade cult-like subversive group in japan known as aum shinrikyo was in possession of bw which they were planning to use on the masses. this group was responsible for chemical attack on vulnerable innocent people inside a mass transport train in 1995. possession of bw means, capacity as well as the intention to use especially in the hands of local or international terrorists groups should concern everyone. the united states’ bioweapon programs in 1969, the u.s. president, richard nixon, made a speech in which he vaguely promised the world that the united states was abandoning its bw program. the u.s. demonstrated her commitment to nixon’s promise by reportedly destroying some of their bw stockpiles. however, people did not believe nixon and the whole official narrative. many around the world thought he was making false declaration and surreptitiously moving the offensive bw program even deeper underground. the russian military bioweaponeer, alibek (1999), expressed russia’s attitude regarding nixon’s statement. he stated that the russian government did not believe nixon in any shape or form. russia believed that u.s. was being deceptive. evidence of the united states history of bw activities can be discerned from the u.s senate subcommittee on health and human scientific research of the committee on human recourses hearing in 1977. it proved that the united states was not just researching and developing bioweapons but was carrying out germ testing on civilian population. the hearing also revealed that disease-causing microorganisms have been tested on densely populated civilian locations between 1949 and 1969. the named senate hearing also linked mysterious outbreak of illnesses on civilian population in those hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 234 areas of test. it has been reported that the united states army was spraying serratia marcescens on the population in san fransisco during the 1950s for tests. the united states’ project jefferson and project clear during the 1990s were alleged to be involved in that which violated international bw convention. whistleblower and independent researcher confirm that fort dietrick located in the state of florida is one of the facilities that have engaged in secret bw activities. aids was said to have developed in this highly secretive military facility (henderson, 2019). henderson further reported that aids was developed as a means to depopulate the world of undesirable masses. the u.s. army medical research institute on infectious diseases was alleged have history of bw programs that contravened international bw convention. vigo facility, indiana, pine bluff arsenal, arkansas, dugway proving ground, utah, all in the united states, have been identified as having engaged in germ activities for bw at one time or the other. the u.s has a biological defense research program. this program exists for a reason—preparedness for possible mass viral attacks. mass attack by the enemy might not necessary be in time of war. foreign enemy might use mass viral attacks to destabilize a population, slow down economy and create damaging stress on nation’s resources. the regan administration in 1986 had a budget of 1 billion dollars for biological and chemical weapons research and development. regan presidency was during the cold war era. so it was easy for the u.s. government to earmark such a huge sum of money for viral and chemical bioweapon research by constantly feeding taxpayers official and media propaganda about russia. aids virus as a bw according to a whistleblower, cooper (1991), who served as a united states naval intelligence officer, aids is a biological weapon. cooper was shot and killed in an altercation with a law enforcement officer. many believe he was assassinated because he exposed too covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 235 much of the dark secrets of the u.s government as an insider military intelligence officer. there are no cases of aids virus prior to 1975. research has linked the world health organization to an agent of infecting african population with aids. in 1977, the who started smallpox vaccination program in africa. copper linked the smallpox vaccination project of 1977 by who to the origin of aids in africa. he stated that africans were first injected with aids virus during this time. it has been estimated that 100 million africans were injected with aids virus camouflaged as smallpox vaccine in 1977. according to cooper, some population in the united states (gays) was also intentionally targeted and injected with the virus one year later in 1978 through government deceptive hepatitis b. vaccine program. the hepatitis b. vaccination in new york and with the gay population were how aids virus was introduced in the united states. this “vaccination’ program by national center for disease control was meant to remove the undesirable from the planet, in this case, ‘useless africans and homosexuals.’ cooper reechoed a few times that “whatever caused aids was in the vaccine” (cooper, p168, 1998). this might explain why some distrust all vaccine agenda and programs, especially the so-called free mass vaccinations coming from the who. this organization is diabolical when one looks underneath the presumed global humanistic public face. the global malthusian eugenicist usually uses this organization for evil intents. currently, president trump is proposing that the united states will not fund this organization further. trump has gained deep insight into the who. there are several other renowned scientists who reported that aids epidemic was man-made. dr. horowitz (1998) reported that aids virus was cultured as a bw and intentionally released on the masses. he also re-affirmed cooper’s report that among the initial victims of aids virus during the late 1970s were black africans and homosexuals. certain population controllers see both the black masses and homosexuals as undesirables who ought to be reduced or eliminated. and yes, aids reduced african population drastically. hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 236 there are too much convergence of propositions to ignore all these glaring pink elephants in the room. eugenic genocidal maniacs are bent on depopulating the world based on malthusian devilish principles and other fanatical ecological reasons. certain elitist agenda, such as “green revolution,” mask fanatical eugenics principles which include geo-engendering via genetic modification of every biological taxonomy on this planet. when government and world leaders talk about ‘depopulation policy’ as the dangerous zionist and malthusian eugenicist, henry kissinger—the former u.s secretary of states was fond of doing, all critical thinkers must understand the concept in its true nature, i.e., eugenic mass depopulation. molecular biologists as well as virologists who have studied the behaviour of aids virus believe that there is a strong behavioural similarity between aids and bovine lymphotrophic virus (blv). the ‘official’ reports around the world, including deceiver scientists from the who, claim that aids came from african green monkeys. however, independent scientists have long debunked this bogus claim and have continued to report that aids virus was laboratory-cultured. dr. robert strecker, a u.s. distinguished, practitioner of internal medicine and gastroenterologist, pathologist and pharmacologist, was another whistleblower who reported that aids was an artificial and unnaturally engineered pathogen. he concluded through his medical research that aids was intentionally released on the population for nefarious reasons. in 1969, the united states defense department provided funding in the sum of $10 million for researchers to create a deadly strand of virus. the strand of virus was meant to target mostly black african population. dr. strecker expressed that there was research going on in t-cell-destroyer virus in the early days. according to him, the success of this research led to the creation of a virus which destroys completely the immune system of a human organism. dr.strecker indicated that this was possible by the crossing of the viral strand such as bovine leukemia virus and visna viruses. he reported that bovine predominantly attack cows. visna is known to attack sheep. he stated that these two strands were then cultured in the herpes to get what undeniably turned out to be aids. bovine covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 237 leukemia virus does not naturally attack the human organism. that is why it has to be carefully cultured in a test tube before being released to infect people. in other words, it was weaponized. dr. strecker then debunked the claim that aids came from simian monkey. he alleged that it was the international agency for research on cancer that was responsible for introducing aids to african population. iarc is an extension of world health organization and it came into existence in 1965. dr. leonard horowitz was another person who reported that cancer causing aids-like viruses found in livestock was engineered to infect humans. in his book, emerging viruses: aids and ebolanature, accident or intentional, he discussed some procedures scientists used to manufacture aids from combining strands of naturally occurring viruses in livestock. red alert: viral attacks and bw suspicions anthrax: anthrax is a single-celled bacterium originally known as bacillus anthracis. this strain is found in livestock such as sheep and cattle. it forms spores which grow in lymph and blood. anthrax has been called the 20 th century bw. many people have forgotten that in october 2001, in the wake of the attack on the world trade center in the united states, there was mass panic about anthrax used on american population as bw. it was reported that this virus was deployed through contaminated envelopes sent out to people, prominent media personalities. following this attack on the population, president george w. bush established the national biodefense analysis and countermeasures center which is overseen by the department of homeland security. according to ex-soviet bioweaponeer, ken alibek (alibek et al, 1999), a hundred kilograms of anthrax spores would, (intentionally released) in optimal atmospheric condition kill up to three million people in any of the densely populated metropolitan areas of the united states.” he reported that a single ss-18 (laced with viral weapon) could wipe out the population of a city as large as new york. anthrax as a bio-agent is considered an effective bioweaponary by hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 238 world military elites. the deadly outbreak of anthrax in the city of sverdlovsk, russia, in april and may 1978, was due to a release from massive stockpile of anthrax by the military (cole, 1990). anthrax virulent strain is difficult to obtain. if this is the case, it would take an extreme scientific knowledge to understand how to work with it and use it on the population. scientists report that anthrax attack mimic cold flue. victims exhibit slight nasal congestion, joint pain, lethargy, lingering cough and more. due to the mild nature of initial symptomatology, it is often not taken serious. thus, the virus would continue to metastasize in the lymph, node thereby ravaging the body’s general immune system. the toxicity generated by the virus then overwhelms the internal human biomechanics completely with invasive acidic fluids and block the body’s oxygenation mechanism. anthrax virus induces difficulties in bronchial systems, breathing issues persists. the blockage of oxygenation system leads to victim’s bluish/pale unnatural pigmentation, death is imminent. smallpox: russian scientists worked on modification of smallpox to serve as biological agent for weapon. by 1947, russia had already established a large capacity smallpox bw production facility. the world health organization, during the 1970s, claimed that smallpox disease has been eradicated globally. for communist russia, this declaration created a new opportunity. now, since the world no longer paid attention to fighting smallpox, it was a moment to genetically modify the strand for weaponization. it is estimated that the russian stockpile of smallpox viral strands was about twenty tons as way back as the 70s. smallpox is known to be highly contagious. motility rate could be as high as 90 percent. one of the wicked ways they were spreading this virus was grinding it into power and dusting it over letters for bw delivery (alibek, 1999). ebola: ebola river in zaire, modern-day democratic republic of congo, continues to be associated with the name of a deadly virus. it has been claimed that ebola (disease) originated in this region of africa. ebola is a hemorrhagic fever-causing agent. some believe that ebola is an offshoot of marburg. marburg virus surfaced in germany covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 239 so many years back. this begs the question, did scientists isolate marburg in the laboratory and genetically modified it as the strand known as ebola which was to be found in zaire in years to come? why congo? well, congo is one of the world’s most heavily blessed natural resources country on the planet. this country has been ravaged by internationally sponsored conflicts. congo conflict is prolonged for the resource theft by international resource thieves. even in the midst of conflict, local impoverished guerilla factions arms-funded by international cooperate criminals continue to supply resources to these foreign corporate overlords who fly helicopters and small airplanes into the congo jungles to steal. the outbreak of ebola in congo is very suspicious for one reason. both ebola virus and marburg virus (found in germany way back), when observed under electron microscope, share similar behavioural characteristics. they multiply by shooting out some monofilaments. according to alibek (1999), ebola and marburg belong to the same family of viral agents named filoviruses. filoviruses attack host cell by enveloping them with net-like strands. the appearance of ebola in africa is very suspicious. could it be the military and international elite controllers tested ebola on africans? could it be a way to continue to keep this resource-blessed people down forever? this needs to be investigated further. bioterrorism and media mass traumatization dr. horowitz (2001) describes an aspect of bioterrorism as when the elite controllers frighten the masses into accepting every official recommendation which might include vaccine experimental trials, using people as test-tube guinea pig, etc. he further cites a case example where people have been sprayed with malathion and anvil as a “precautionary measures” against anthrax. he states that malathion and anvil, in themselves, are bad agents for humans. they are immune system suppressant, carcinogenic (cancer causing agent) and lethal for human organism to absorb. it was probably a test but people were deceived that they needed to take the vaccine for protection hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 240 against anthrax. the masses are usually vulnerable and suggestible to the whims and caprices of the powers that be (ptb). poisoning the masses using chemical and biological means for political, economic, military and medical reasons is not new. in ancient rome, chemical agents (lead) were added into the public water systems. lead is scientifically established to be a deadly neuro-suppressant and could lead to serious cognitive degeneration. if public water systems are contaminated with lead, it could lead to mass mental passivity, alzheimer’s disease, memory loss and so many other neurodegenerative problems. were ancient roman elite trying to create a passive population so dumbed down through water-system ‘vaccination’ and who were unable to think for themselves and put up any resistance to the oppressive systems? in fact, many scholars believe that this was the case. many think that the fall of rome, among many other factors, is attributed to weakened neuronal systems as a result of mass lead poisoning. the elite were also affected. we see some of the most psychopathic roman emperors emerging— pedophiles, incest, sadistic murders, including of family member, and any evil you can name. a neuro-psychological assessment of some of these romans shows a serious mental health issues. could it be lead poisoning causing these cognitive degenerative behaviours? medical tests of archeological artifacts prove clue that romans had mass lead poisoning. in modern society, it is a known fact that public water systems are treated with fluoride. fluoride is a neuro-cognitive depressant as well. toothpastes are also fluorinated. the argument of demented scientists is that fluorinated water helps with healthier teeth. but one should examine this argument, since there is clear evidence of cognitive degeneration through contamination with fluoride. that is, it could be a way of creating a mass of people with sedated neuronal and nervous systems. it is not completely irrational to think that mass public water is vaccinated with fluoride for cognitive mass repression. so, one does not even need to get a vaccine, since city water is already vaccinated secretly. scholars are also linking gmo with their high level of pesticide, herbicide to future bio-genetic degeneration of humanity. this is a new form of homo-reengineering. covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 241 many people seem excited with eating seedless fruits and not having to do the “hard work” of spitting out seeds. but seedless seeds bioengineered mutant variant. they are called genetically modified organism (gmo) and are unnatural because the original divine genetic blueprint has been altered. genetically modified food and meat appear to be a subliminal bw system to alter the original humans through gradual scientific molecular mutations? this is what the company called monsanto does, modifying all living organism on the planet away from their divine origin. monsanto now has patents on virtually all agricultural seeds on this earth and few people understood this. bill gates has millions of dollar worth of financial investment stake in monsanto. bill gates is also part of the ownership of alliance for a green revolution in africa (agra). the term “green revolution” is a malthusian fanatical eugenic global movement. the agenda have been pushed to africa since the 80s and beyond. gates is promoting terminator gmo seeds in africa, seeds you can only plant once and when you have harvest them you can’t plant them again because they were engineered to be sterile and impotent. you can harvest good yield, yes, but they are infertile to grow for your next planting season. so what do you do? you have to go back to these agro-based malthusian corporatocrats to buy more seed every year. famers around the world will be subjected to such global control. and world food supply will be in the hands of few wicked overloads. these elite-owned agro-bio-tech companies already have obtained patents on many seeds. so in the future it would be illegal for you to own their patented seed. the global agro beast called monsanto and other emerging agro-biopharmaceutical companies are in the game of geo-engendering and tera-formation of all biosphere as we know it. this agenda of subliminal human genetic mutation is designed on a long term to change the original genetic code of man through food and other bio-synthetic toxicities. the powers that be (ptb) can terrorize the population not just with actual bw but with virus-scare. media manipulation through highly effective visual cinematographic mind control could induce mass hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 242 panic. the public’s visual and auditory apparatuses are constantly under media assault with hyped up apocalyptic-type viral invasion and induced food shortage. they heighten death statistics, parade few cases seriously night and day on the media. this is how you get the population to do whatever you prescribe. it is called hegelian dialectics, action-reaction-solution. various intelligences in the developed world are involved in media mind programming. the american cia, the russian kgb, the israeli mossad, the british m16, etc., all have agents in popular media outlets. cia’s operation mockingbird is known for media psyop (psychological operation) program for mass mind control. the pretty face anderson cooper, while at school, interned for cia’s operation mockingbird. many popular media casters are implanted there for mass behavioural social engineering. many people do not do research. for these groups of people, nothing is true until it is reported in popular international media outlets, like cnn, al jazeera, etc. this sort of people stand to be manipulated, irrespective of their educational background. it does not matter if they have three phds. game of death: how the global power systems use mass death to achieve goals oppressive systems social, political, economic, religious, familial, etc., are like a self-sustaining parasitic organism in a closed system. for an oppressive system to evade its eventual cause of entropic decay, it must seek to expand its deceptions in order to continue to feed off on the people it oppresses. in so doing, the small privileged elite, in closed-system circuit, will continue their act of vampirism. evil systems have perpetuated itself in power using every biochemical-military-neuro-linguistic-religoius-mind-controlling tools to keep itself in position of power and control. the roman emperor nero (a.d. 37-68) would not have cared about setting rome on fire for political agenda. he would not have cared about killing hundreds of his own people to stay in power if he needed to. similarly, emperor gaius caesar of rome ruled from 37 a.d to 41 a.d. he is popularly known as emperor caligula. he used his debauchery, diabolism and perverted politicalcrafts to perpetuate himself in power. it would be covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 243 irrational to think that if he had access to modern bw, he would hesitate to use it. in our modern global politico-military and economic game of chess, the world elite have used any means possible, no matter how evil, to assert their dominance, not minding the consequence such as mass death. for example, the global financial elite have financed and used murderous instincts of the islamic extremists for their geo-political control. one would be shocked to learn that both the isis terrorist organization as well as the jabat al-nusra have been funded and utilized by certain western power elite for geo-political control (henderson, 2019). russia’s center for reconciliation in syria and their intelligence gathered information implicating the anglo-western powers for secretly funding jabat al-nusra terrorists in syria. henderson (2019) reveals that clandestine western elite provided jabat al-nusra with chemical weapons in syria’s village of serakab. this group provoked the chemical attacks which is now blamed on syria’s bashar al-assad. the goal was to remove syria al-assad from power. once the masses hear (through cia-controlled media agents) that al-assad used chemical weapon, everyone will turn against him and it becomes easy for ptb to get rid of him. what is reported on the news is not what is going on underground. and few people understood this global power games. in 2018, the only few countries whose central banks were not under the control of angloamerican financial banking elite were syria, iran, cuba and north korea. every central bank in the world is under the absolute control of anglo-american western power system. and anyone who wants to change this dynamic will be ready to die. any country that wants to change it will be ready to be destroyed in few months. this is how things are and how things work. a critical look indicates that these named countries(syria, cuba, iran, north korea) are not in the good books of the western ptb that are ready and willing to use their military puppets’ knowledge of biological, chemical and conventional means to create new global paradigm shift and to subjugate all countries on the planet under their financial and military control. hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 244 gaddafi of libya tried to create a different financial arrangement independent of the clandestine anglo-american central bank control. they got rid of him immediately. in the process of killing gaddafi, many people died and the country was destroyed. do you think the covert global system of ptb care about humans dying? so, those who argue against the possibility of ptb using viruses to achieve certain agenda, locally, nationally and globally, need to reconsider their knowledge of the human power games. perhaps, it is time for them to turn off too much watching of television which is another name for mind control. black market and viruses military and civilian scientists go around the world secretly obtaining bacteria that are natural occurring in certain geographical areas. they then return to their clandestine laboratories and try to genetically engender them to specifically attack humans. the strand known as machupio which causes bolivian hemorrhage fever was smuggled by russian agents from the united states for specific customization as weapon during the cold war. russia also may have obtained more strands of marburg from germany. marburg virus is in the ebola family. inhaling as little as three microscopic particles of marburg constitutes a terminal biohazard that leads to death (alibek, 1999). a u.s. congressional inquiry during the 80s found that batches of deadly bw agents were mysteriously missing from laboratories. one would make an intelligent guess; these batches probably were exchanged in black markets. they might have ended up in the hands of big corporate pharmacological establishments, other governments, or nefarious secret societies and elite researchers, including terrorists. the congressional inquiring body cited huge loopholes and safety concerns. recently, the u.s. department of justice arrested dr. charles lieber. dr. lieber is the chair of the chemistry and chemical biology department at harvard university. he was charged for lying to the u.s. government about details of his involvement with china. he was covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 245 made a “strategic scientist” at wuhan university of technology (wut), china. all businesses and institutions in china are rigidly under the chinese communist state. companies can be taken over at any time by the state at will if it serves states specific agenda. wut (definitely under communist direction) was paying dr. lieber large sums of money for his nanoscience research. china is involved in global scientific and economic espionage. no doubt, they were utilizing dr. lieber to gain certain information of nanoscience, perhaps for bio engineering. the u.s government wanted to know all details. also, two chinese researchers, yanqing ye, 29 and zaosong zheng, 30, were also charged separately. zaosong was accused of attempting to smuggle 21 vials of bio agents from the u.s to china. the bottom line is that china has so many highly disciplined communist agents around the world who are highly committed to their communist bw development agenda. they are everywhere in the world stealing bacteria for modification and weaponization. international underground germs market is a fact. the dark connection of some research institutes and pharmaceutical companies the u.s. national cancer institute (nci), university of texas, university of chicago, university of virginia, the university of california, the university of new york, yale university, to name but a few, have history of receiving funding from the government for the wily research project of bw. research institutions are supposed to be independent and not controlled by the government. the government will always control, dictate and direct any research institution that is so eager to go for the money. the saying goes, he who pays the piper dictates the tune. thus, institutions of learning and research centers so eager to get cash and be in the good books of the government usually become puppets of nefarious politicians and government secret agenda. some of these agenda are dark and anti-human. one character whose name appears to be linked to the above-named governmentbacked clandestine university bw researches is dr. robert c. gallo. dr. gallo’s research at one time was funded by the national institute hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 246 of cancer. while some of this research fundings appear innocent from a quick glance, usually government intelligence units use these individuals for evil agenda. why gallo is important in this article is because he has been linked by many independent sources to the creation of aids virus as a bw. gallo is linked with the u.s. top military medical research facility at fort detrick, in florida. this is the facility where aids was said to have originated from. horowitz (1998) indicates that gallo’s research publication “detailed the steps involved in creating human-immune-system-destroying viruses….” dr. horowitz then concludes that gallo spent decades of research creating and perfecting “aids-like” viruses. the company, litton research laboratories, which is a subsidiary of litton industries inc., u.s.a, has a dark history with bw development, according to horowitz. this company is a top american military contractor and has received millions of dollars from the government to engage in bw projects. dr. gallo, again, has an established history with this devious company which ought to be charged with genocidal actions against africa via viruses. the former, u.s. secretary of states, henry kissinger, as well as the u.s. department of health, education and welfare’s frank carlucci and joseph califono, have also been implicated as culprits to introducing immune system destroyer in africa as a form of bw. one of the political reasons for the introduction of aids in africa was to subdue the alleged radical “communist” tendencies of the african nationalists who “threaten” global democracy of the west. we should not forget that cia was central in destroying kwame nkrumah’s vision for africa. africa spent many decades and resources in the fight against aids epidemics which led to the total destruction and collapse of the spirit of pan african nationalism that was in emergence in the 1960s and 1970s. (umpenhour, 2005). the image of africa around the world became associated with disease and poverty. thus, a continent ravaged by disease does not have the strength to push the agenda of pan africanism and the spirit of national rebirth. this is a classic cia long-term operation and it was effective. the spirit of african covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 247 nationalism and liberation fizzled away. and colonization went underground. this time around, bw was one of the many tools. the international union against cancer (iuac), under the who, in the 60s and 70s, became so obsessed with africa in their research focus. this organization claimed to promote campaign against cancer. however, researching about this organization may prove that its name is an inversion of truth. this company has been reported as being the actual conduit through which aids was brought to africa. there seems to be a symbiotic relationship between certain big money pharmaceutical companies and some of the dark military bw programs. to understand the established power system in control, one must understand that the top secretive elite see themselves as family. they protect themselves in a network of financial, social, political and military brotherhood. in the united states, the rockefellers own one third of the entire pharmaceutical industries which continue to push for mass vaccinations bringing billions of dollars to this economic empire (henderson, 2019). the same people, through political lobbying, have been able to demonize homeostatic natural herbs. in some places, if you sell herbs, you go to jail. pharmaceutical companies tell people that herbs are bad but allopathic synthetic chemicals are good. this is a typical inversion of reality by sheer use of legal force, and one of the ways people are being controlled. the bio-pharmaceutical company known as merck, sharp & dohme (popularly known as merck) has suspicious bw history of research and development as well. the company’s current website describes their vision statement thus: “to make a difference in the lives of people globally through our innovative medicines, vaccines, and animal health products. we are committed to being the premier, research-intensive biopharmaceutical company and are dedicated to providing leading innovations and solutions for today and the future.” hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 248 a uk journalist, miles johnston, in an interview, has linked bill gates’ funded pirbright institute, based in u.k, to current covid-19 outbreak. mr. gates also has a foundation which he uses to promote mass vaccinations, especially for developing societies like africa and india. gates’ vaccines program is accused of spreading sterilization for population control. the u.s government has official program for population control. two outstanding evidence that cannot be ignored. the u.s. house bill 5090 authorized the funding for project mknaomi. there is no doubt that mk-naomi is a malthusian depopulation project aimed at eliminating the undesirable poor people around the world. the u.s. also created the office of population affairs. a deeper research into the activities of this office implicates global depopulation agenda. there is an elite political group in the u.s. which met in 1961 and created the famous report from iron mountain. this report espoused ways to eliminate certain population, especially using wars another case of darwinian-fittest philosophy which was even implemented by nazi germany. bill gates is known for financing the wuhan institute of virology which is also linked with the covid-19 outbreak. gates’ seemingly global altruism might be covering up some darker malthusian eugenic program. malthusian population control fanatics like paul ehrlich, in his book, the population bomb, outlines global template for depopulation of the world. new viruses will continue to emerge. in the past, the u.s. as well as soviet russian militaries tested viruses using low-flying airplanes for spraying. when viral outbreaks occur, government will likely start pushing and forcing vaccines on the masses. governments have engaged in extreme draconian non-pharmaceutical biodefense measures such as martial-law-type response to these viral outbreaks. that is, restriction of freedoms, creation and enforcement of selfisolation, restriction of human contacts, travel bans, etc. forced vaccination has always taken place around the world. a careful examination of molecular compositions of some of these vaccines by independent scientists reveals bigger concerns. a character named dr. maurice hilleman has a history of research with merck, sharp & covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 249 dohme (cited above). he is credited for developing about 40 vaccines for this reticent company. he once confessed that vaccines injected to people were contaminated with cancer viruses as well as leukemia viruses (icke, 2013). we are all aware of how the rate of cancer is exploding exponentially around the world. there has also been connections made between vaccine and autism in children. however, mainstream scientists and academics, who are usually lackeys to mainstream power system, usually deny such reports. research has also shown that some vaccines contain noxious agents such as mercury (deadly for humans), aluminum, octoxinol 9 (sperm-killing agent), aborted fetal materials, insect and dog genes, betapropiolactone (corrosive chemical found in disinfectant), phenol (carbonic acid which could trigger dermatitis condition), triton x-100 (detergent) ethylene glycol (antifreeze), etc., (icke, 2005). big biotech companies are interested in big money. the masses become the experimental guinea pig and the sheep to fleece. bacteriological warfare prohibitions geneva protocols of 1925. the protocol prohibits the use of bws. the u.s. and soviet russia were signatories. but the u.s. did not ratify the geneva protocol until years later in 1975. i would make a rational assumption here. the u.s. congress utilized delay tactics in ratifying this prohibition. there is substantial evidence that the u.s was developing and stockpiling bw until the 70s, in view of the cold war. by the time congress completed ratification, they had amassed as much bw as they needed. geneva protocol on a face value prohibits the use of bacteriological agents in warfare. however, the weakness and hypocrisy of this prohibition is clean; it did not prohibit possession. what a façade! biological weapon’s convention of 1972. this convention prohibits the development, production and stockpiling of bw, except for prophylactic and military defense purposes. by 1996, close to 140 countries were signatories. one could already notice the hypocrisy and deception of this convention. obviously, it is all talk-and-no-do. it hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 250 was meant to pacify the masses who were starting to be worried about the apocalyptic nature of biochemical weapons. in fact, the convention clearly gave the military and as well as the pharmacological companies absolute freehand. where there is profit, there is greed; where there is greed, evil is possible. corporate conglomerates might decide to develop strands of viruses to experiment, in the name of research, on the people, since the biological weapon’s convention did not expressly forbid it. the military could claim defense purposes as well and continue to develop deadly viruses capable of depopulating any given society drastically. the moral ambivalence of bioweapon (bw) skeptics the great moral conundrum in germ research involves the “dual-usedilemmas.” the ethical ambivalence is between biodefense and bioattack. biodefense is the same as biosecurity. biosecurity implies engaging in germ sciences as a means of protecting the population against disease outbreaks. bio-defense also argues that it is ethical, especially for governments, to engage in germs research programs as “acts to defend a state’s population against future biological attack” (enemark, 2017). proponents of this stand indicate that a clear scientific understanding of pathogenic organisms provides enormous protective benefits. that is, it saves lives. critics, on the other hand, point out inherent risks and weaknesses of this argument. they contend that there is the possibility of using such knowledge for evil intention, such as the creation, proliferation and use of bw against a population, especially on an international scale. both arguments are valid. however, my focus in this article is the fact that bw have been proliferated and used around the world at different times and continues to be used against vulnerable populations. laboratory insiders in biosecurity programs have been reported as breaching all ethical codes, smuggling and marketing deadly strands in the black markets. there are those who think that bw concerns or alarms are a product of “conspiracy theory.” for instance, a high ranking u.s. army medical corps, major leon a. fox, during the early 1930s, published covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 251 an article in the army surgeon journal in which he set out to debunk the possibility of bw use. his stand was that bw concerns came from conspiratorial “scare-heads” and “pseudo-scientists” who were seeking ephemeral mass media attentions. he unequivocally stated that deploying, successfully, death-causing bio agents was a practical impossibility. his argument was that noxious bacteriological organism could not linger on open surface for long due to exposure to heat and other harsh factors. thus, they could not be successful as a mass weapon. obviously, this argument defies common sense. it undermines the ability of genetic engineering in virological sciences to modify strands and make them mutable for evolutionary adaptations. one wonders if this sort of official denial was a covert psychological operation for mass distraction. despite official lies, it soon became crystal clear that bws were not only possible as a means of mass attack but were, actually, being used especially during world war ii. the cold war efforts no doubt created lots of antihuman scientists in the industrialized high-tech “first world” societies. these military-controlled scientists have been implicated in the nefarious research and development in virological sciences. the purpose of the development is for mass death, population control as well as behaviour modifications. this is not hard to conclude for those who do research bw. some people do not want to imagine or accept that viruses can be cultured in laboratories to be used as bw. this sort of lackadaisical attitude vindicates the famous existentialist observation of albert camus that man is a creature who spends his whole life trying to convince himself that his existence is not full of absurdities. as farfetched as this idea of bw research and deployment may sound, there are some evidences to substantiate such claims. during the 19th century, there were indications of underground proliferation of bw research laboratories and projects aiming assiduously to develop strands of viruses that could destroy the human immune system and terminate the entire human organism. governments funded some of these evil researches. while these clandestine bw research activities were being carried out, there were whistleblowers who continued, like hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 252 foresighted prophets, to sound warning alarms to humanity about accidental and intentional releases of these lethal viruses on the masses. when such alarms were raised, “official” medical reports from government representatives continued, as they still do, to hide these atrocities with their skillful scientific sophistry aimed at neutralizing and subverting all clues to malevolent scientific programs. mainstream elite medical authorities, as well as so called academia, often serve as lackeys to the powers that be (ptd). in cases of viral onslaught on the masses, these officials usually invent shambolic cock-and-bull ‘scientific’ explanations as to the origin of some deadly viruses that have ravaged humanity at different times. for instance, african monkeys have been accused of so many responsibilities for viruses. this is laughable, especially knowing that the despicable world health organization and their mind-controlled scientists often peddle these lies that are even found in textbooks. if man is capable of evil at all, it would be naïve and irresponsible to exempt him from the capacity to develop and deploy bioweapon (bw). man’s scientific advancement in biotechnology offers him a rapid paradigmatic thrust into a new era of bw possibilities. guillemin (1999) lamented thus: “should the deliberate infliction of disease and other hostile application of biotechnology come into widespread use, the nature of war and the future course of civilization itself could be disastrously altered.” guillemin was speaking hypothetically. although he was making a valid point, he appeared to be ignoring the real world in his probability statement. the fact is that military elite are, in fact, engaged in clandestine operations of research, development and testing of bw on the people. declassified documents provide some evidence that between 1949 and 1970, virological warfare program was in constant progress by the u.s. government. not only that these germ weaponization was going on, they were being tested on the people. leonard (1988) explained that the u.s. military has a history of testing new bw on the u.s. population. my point is this: if they can test it on their own citizen, what makes one believe they cannot test it on other populations around the world with weak government and defense systems? covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 253 leonard further cited some evidence of the u.s. navy spraying the people with microbial agents as “testing.” this kind of dark bioexperimentation is not new as far as the united states government is concerned. the u.s. has a long dark history of medical experimentation on vulnerable population. there was the tuskegee syphilis experiment where the united states government researchers carried out atrocious nazi-style controlled experimentation on black people from 1932 until about 1972. government’s public health services intentionally left these “negros” untreated for syphilis, while deceptively providing them with placebo medical cares. at that time, ordinary penicillin could have cured those blacks inflicted with syphilis. but the government wanted to study the behaviour of syphilis on infected people and in this case vulnerable and poor black sharecroppers. it is also a well-documented history that between 1837 and 1838, the imperial european expansionists and colonialists in the americas were intentionally giving the native people they met in the land blankets laced with chickenpox as a form of bw to exterminate the people. today, we live in a time of bio-nano-genetic sciences. these highly advanced sciences have made possible the engineering of molecular/atomic destructive machines, both biological and synthetic. sometime ago, i read michael crichto’s book prey. even though written in a sci-fi style, he depicted a vision of the future that is already possible, the futuristic technology which many whistleblower reports military elite already possess, that is, man-made nano particles (nano dusts) that are self-aware and self-preserving. these sentient molecular agents got released from secret military laboratory and ended up posing the greatest death threat man has ever known. the point is that molecular engineering is now possible and viral agents are being engineered every day in underground laboratories around the world. unfortunately, part of these futuristic sciences deals with development of invisible bio-synthetic soldiers that could attack and kill people. hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 254 in their book, the soviet biological weapons program: a history, milton leitenberg and his colleagues observe that the reason the concept of bw awakens such dismissive cynicism in those who seek to “debunk” the fact is because “… the idea that someone can and is willing to apply science and medicine in order to manipulate and grow microorganism for the purpose of deliberately brining about illness and death contravenes so much of our societies ethnics that is beyond the pale of civilized behavior” (leitenberg et al, 2012). echoing the same line of thinking, leonard (1988) wrote that one of the reasons bw is seen as abhorrent is because they infringe on the essential moral values among civilized people and “contradicts human sensibility.” this might be why those who deny the possibility of bw deployment and use tend to dangle between ethical ambivalences. one the one hand, they count on the good nature of man, and on the other hand, they understood man’s possibility to initiate endless plethora of evil on his own kind. in a perfect world, man is supposed to be good and do the right thing of fighting bad germs and saving lives, and not use germs to cause death. unfortunately, this is an imperfect world and man is in a “fallen state.” cognitively, the relationship between ‘ought to’ and what actually obtains is like the metaphysical relationship between appearance and reality. those who take reality as given and feed on what they are being told by the government and their official media outlets will fall into abysmal epistemological error. the threat of biological warfare is to be taken serious. i would conjecture, at least, that any coherent mind would do so. this planetary biosphere is in danger if we ignore the truth about man’s virological weapons capacities. the degenerate instincts of man to deploy such cannot be undermined. critics who deny the possibility of modern man weaponzing viruses for mass death often cite plethora of epidemics throughout history. deniers seem to reassure themselves of their stance through constant re-echoing of the noisy notion that disease has always been here with us and had always plagued mankind. however, the difference between our time and primitive times is molecular atomic sciences and genetic engineering. these covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 255 sciences have enabled man to understand the invisible universe around of germs and viruses. do we actually believe that if ‘mad scientists’ could build nuclear weapons that could end life on earth that they cannot develop and use viral strands to kill? this is a monologue that calls for reflection. conclusion my intention in this article has been to point out that anti-human scientific proclivities abound and man has, in fact, intentionally engineered viruses in laboratory as bw. the military industrial complexes around the world have been implicated multiple times in bw research and development projects. whistleblowers who sound alarms on these covert scientific atrocities often face hard times in the hands of the almighty draconian government officials as well as from mainstream established intellectuals. mass media psychological operations are often a good tool used to centralize information by the powers that be (ptb). once information system is centralized and forced into the psyche of the general population, independent researchers and counter-voices are seen and categorized as crazy conspiracy theorists. the nefarious projects of viral engineering have only one goal creation of mass death-agents. mad scientists splice, mutate, modify and strengthen various harmful bio-synthetic microbial strands found in nature to be used as invisible super soldiers, bws. any reasonable person ought to ask, ‘how come people, corporations and governments owe patents to viruses?’ doesn’t this imply that people created or modified these pathogenic plagues; hence, they can lay claim to ownership? i have no doubt that there are people whose sole intentions are to subjugate all categories of taxonomy under their control as a means of power and wealth. the history of military techno-scientific offensive/defensive research and development power is incomplete without a reflection on viral bw. corporate pharmaco-epidemiological profit drives have also been implicated for many strands of viruses that attack humans. nazi-style anti-human research and development is in progress in our world today and we must not sleep to that fact! if we do, our entire hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 256 planetary biosphere will be subjugated under taxonomic apocalypse as well as consent viral terrorizations. there are ‘mad scientist’, surrogated by powerful military elite and governments who are immoral. there are large pharmaco-conglomerates backed by big money as well as arcane political force who would not hesitate to use bw on the population to achieve their agenda. scientific and military machiavellianism is a reality. machiavelli’s prince is a conscienceless immoral entity. the mad scientist like machavelli’s prince has perfected a system of scientific authoritarianism. the mad scientist idolizes himself as “homo deus,” the god man. this nomenclatural title is an inversion of his true nature. his anti-human-anti-nature consciousness best fits with the title ‘homo diablos,’ the human devil. the ‘mad scientist’ has corrupted true science. he coerces humanity to bow to his religion of scientism. he is an empirical fanatic. for him, empiricism is the only conduit wherein reality is studied, understood and improved. his acclaimed empirical objectivity hides a narrow materialistic relativism. he presents his scientism as a base for a new universal paradigm. since his scientism is seen through the relativistic lens of empirical materialism, he is an atheist. his appetite for terror, death and destruction is insatiable. references christine enemark , biosecurity dilemmas: dreaded diseases, ethical responses, and the health of nations, georgetown university press, washington dc, 2017. cole, leonard, clouds of secrecy: the army’s germ warfare tests over populated areas, rawman & littlefield publishes inc., 1988. david icke, the perception deception, david icke book ltd, isle of wight, uk, 2005. dean henderson, nephilim crown, 5g apocalypse, usa, 2019. covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 257 ed regis, the biology of doom: america’s secret germ warfare project, henry holt & company, llc, 1999. eric croddy, clarisa perez-armendariz, john hart, chemical and biological warfare: a comprehensive survey for the concerned citizen, springe science and business media, llc, ny, 2002. gregory koblentz: living weapons: biological warfare and international security, cornell university, ny, usa, 2009. jeanne guillemin, anthrax: the investigation of a deadly outbreak, university of california press ltd, 1999. jeanne guillemin: biological weapons: from the invention of state-sponsored programs to contemporary bioterrorism, colombia university press, 2005. kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. 2016 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. 2017 kanu, i. a. igbo-african gods and goddesses. nnadiebube journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 118-146. 2018 kanu, i. a. igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 5983. 2018 kanu, i. a. igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. 2017 hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 258 kanu, i. a. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. 2017 kanu, i. a. african philosophy, globalization and the priority of ‘otherness’. journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 40-57. 2018 kanu, i. a. african traditional folktales as an integrated classroom. sub-saharan african journal of contemporary education research. vol.3 no. 6. pp. 107-118. 2016 kanu, i. a. african traditional philosophy of education: essays in igwebuike philosophy. germany: lambert publications. 2018 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. 2018 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. 2016 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. 2016 covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 259 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christianmuslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. 2017 ken alibek with stephen handelman, biohazard: the chilling true story of the largest covert biological weapon in the world—told from inside by the man who ran it, random house, ny,2002 milton taylor, viruses and man: a history of interactions, springer international publishing, switzerland, 2014 paula tennant, gustavo fermn, jerome foster, viruses: molecular biology. host interactions and application of biotechnology, elsevier inc., 2018. remler pat, egyptian mythology a to z, chelsea house publishing, new york, 2010. stephanie dalley, myths from mesopotamia: creation, the flood, gilgamesh, and others, new york: oxford university press, 1989. susan payne, viruses: from understanding to investigation, elsevier inc., london, uk, 2017. william cooper, behold a pale white, light house publishing, flagstaff, ar, 1991 microsoft word igwebuike journals vol. 4. no. 5..docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 22 theological education and investment in a recessed nigerian economy ndubuwa, ohaeri nnaemeka nnamdi azikiwe university, awka ohaerinnaemeka@gmail.com & uye, effiong effiong university of port harcourt, rivers state uyeichiem@gmail.com abstract this paper examined the place of theological education and investment in a recessed nigerian economy. theological education in nigeria had been without government subventions and grants. therefore, investment mentality could be viewed as a tool of enhancing the financial base of the theological education in a changing nigerian economy. mismanagement of economy in nigeria had been a great problem resulting to backwardness in the global economic rating which had relegated nigeria to the background of other nations in spite of the numerous natural and human resources. nonavailability of funds had hampered the smooth and effective running of theological institutions thereby creating a lacuna for moral turpitude to hibernate. however, hermeneutical method was used in this paper to discover the biblical view on investment and the necessity of adequate funds in promoting theological education. the paper discovered that theology with paucity of fund poses a threat to the well-being of the church, educators and trainees of the theological education. this paper therefore suggested that transparency and prudent financial management would promote theological education; while investment in terms of entrepreneurial skills should be inculcated in the life of theological educators. courses in investment and entrepreneurship should be included in the curriculum of theological education to enlighten the students and to serve as a guide against instability of funds in the dynamic economy of nigeria. keywords: theology, education, investment and economy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 23 introduction this work aims at addressing theological education in a changing economy in regards to investment. theological education is that aspect of education introduced by the church with the aim of ministerial training. the main aim of theological education is to help ministers engage in a process of personal search for values, meaning and purpose in life, which helps a great deal in the development of a nation1. christianity in nigeria is equally making remarkable strides, not only in numerical growth but in deepening theological maturity of many outstanding leaders. though man is born naturally with potentials that make him a moral being, yet his conscience needs to be formed and shaped properly in order to make him fully responsible. he needs direction in life that will help him grow responsibly and in turn contribute positively to the wellbeing of the home, school, church and the society at large. in spite of many churches and great leaders in nigeria, the paper argues that there are reasons to believe nigerian economy is being looted by those who have access to it. the traditionalists and other may have excuse for looting our economy. but christians do not have excuse for looting the economy of our nation. if a nigerian christian engages him/herself in this, it means there is a fundamental problem as their actions run contrary to the biblical revelation of god’s economic justice2. conceptual definitions/clarifications a. theology – this is properly defined as speaking about god, from two greek words theos (god) and logos (word is reasoned discourse). of course, it is not only christians who can practice theology. hindus, muslims and indeed adherents of any faith which teaches that there is god, may also seek to express in logical terms what they believe, on the basis of their own traditions, scriptures and experiences. theology as “speaking about god” can be understood in different ways. some more conservative theologians have claimed that, theology also means the apprehension of god based on his selfrevelation3. 1 uye, effiong. the impact of theological education on national development, journal of theology, religious and cultural studies. vol 1. no. 1. (2013):1-10. 2 uye, effiong. biblical studies and economy in nigeria: an appraisal of gen. 41:46-49 ,africa journal of biblical research. vol. 2. no. 2. (2015): 193-198. 3 uye, effiong. theological education and national development, 2013.1. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 24 b. education – this is derived from the latin words educatio or educare, meaning to rear or bring up. in its general, it is a form of learning in which the knowledge, skills, and habit of a group are transferred from one generation to the next through teaching, training or research. education frequently takes place under the guidance of others, but may also be autodidactic4. education is also a social process designed to induct the rising generation into membership of the society5. c. investment – this is a placement of capital expectation of deriving income or profit from its use or appreciation. it also refers to a thing that is worth buying because it will be useful or helpful; the act of giving time or effort to a particular task in order to make it successful6. in general sense it connotes business ideology. d. economy – to speak of “economy” in the context of subsistence communities without a currency system, is to invite misunderstanding on the side of present day readers7. harkness (1952) refers to economy as a derivative of a greek and oikos meaning management (manager of household). it deals with material foundations of life-money, property and wealth. it embraces human problems of work and vacation which brings the problem of power versus insecurity in a competitive society. limiting the meaning of economy to the management of household to an extent would be true in the case of ancient israel, where the household had indeed been the backbone of the economic system. but to limit the israelite economy to that of household would be reductionistic. the best option perhaps is to follow haviland (cited in uye 2015:194)8 in defining an “economic system” as any system by which “goods are produced, distributed and consumed”. in other words economy is the organization of money and resources within a nation or community especially in terms of the production and distribution of goods and services9. it may be added that it is a system in which these are organized in a specific way and careful management of money or other resources, avoiding waste and cutting down on spending or sparing use of something. an overview of nigerian economy 4 uye, effiong. theological education and national development, 2013.2. 5 uye, effiong. theological education and national development, 2013.3. 6 hornby, a.s. oxford advanced learner’s dictionary, university press, 2000. 7 harkness, georgia. christian ethics, abingdon press, 1952. 8 uye, effiong. biblical studies and economy. journal of biblical research, vol. 2 no. 1&2 (2015): 194 9 uye, effiong. biblical studies and economy. (2015): 194 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 25 the major objective of various developmental policies in nigeria since 1960 has been the quest to achieve increased annual growth rate and higher per capita income which will better the lives of nigerians and nigeria in particular. agriculture has traditionally been the mainstay of the nigerian economy. however, the agricultural growth and development in nigeria have been constrained by various socio-economic and structural factors; prominent among them was the discovery of large quantity of crude oil in the late 1960s and relatively the oil boom of the 1970s. subsequently, the competitiveness of the agricultural sector was eroded by other factors, such as inadequate pricing policies, rural-urban migration, usage of traditional farming tools and implements, and most especially corrupt and government insincerity to the development of agriculture10. between 1970 and 1999, the nigerian industry generates about 231 billion in rent or $1900 in per capital terms. yet from 1970 to 1999, nigeria’s real income per capital fell from $264 to $250 a year11. these negative impacts of the economy were also due to negative economic growth, poor provision of basic public service; weak governance, corruption, widespread poverty, unemployment and insecurity. in response to the negative impacts of the nigeria’s economy on nigerians, the federal government embarked on medium and long terms economic reforms agenda strategy: (needs), vision 20:20:20, banking reforms and equally economic blue print were designed to reinvigorate the economy and put it on the path of sustainable growth, development and poverty reduction. the reforms are also focused in diversifying the economy away from oil (mono economy) to a diversifying (multi-economy) where more attention is focused on infrastructural development especially in the area of transportation, explicit sectoral strategies for agriculture, industries/small scale enterprise, tourism, solid mineral and information and communication technology12. the etymology of theology education theology being the systematic and rational study of concepts of god and their influence and of the nature of religious truths can be traced to the bible times especially the old testament. a critical look into the book, ii kings brings about the formation of the sons of prophets who as at that time were playing the roles of prophets and priests. in ii kings 2:13, these sons of prophets were those who 10 uye, effiong. biblical studies and economy (2015): 194 11 uye, effiong. biblical studies and economy. (2015): 194 12 uye, effiong. biblical studies and economy. (2015): 194 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 26 intimated elisha of elijah’s departure. by this time, there was no particular place of their settlement until ii kings 6:1-2 where they now decided to put up a befitting place for their sojourn and studies. this was an ideal development of the nation’s man power. now the sons of prophets said to elijah, “see the place where we dwell under your charge is too small for us. let us go to the jordan and each of us get there a log, and let us make a place for us to dwell,” and he answered, “go”. (ii kings 6:1-2 revised standard version). in scholastic latin sources, the word came to denote the rational study of doctrines of the christian religions or (more precisely) the academic discipline which investigated the coherence and implications of the language and claims of the bible and of the theological tradition, the latter often as represented by peter lombard’s sentences, a book extract from the church fathers13. in the renaissance, especially with florentin platonist apologists of dante’s poetics, the distinction between “poetic theology” (theologia poetica) and “revealed” or biblical theology serves as a stepping stone for a revival of philosophy as independent authority14. it is in this last sense, theology as an academic discipline involving rational study of christian teaching that the term passed into english in the fourteenth century, though it would also be used in the narrower sense as found in boethius and the greek patristic authors, to mean rational study of the essential nature of god . . . a discourse now sometimes called theology proper15. from the seventeenth century onwards, it become possible to use the term “theology” to refer to the study of religious ideas and teachings that are not specifically christians (e.g. in the phrase “natural theology”), which denotes theology based on reasoning from natural facts independent of specifically christian revelation or that are specific to another religion. it is important to note that theology according to its etymology is the science concerning god16. 13 saint gregory of nazianus. an intellectual biography. crestwood: vladmir’s seminary press, 2001. 14 latina, theologia poetica: 1091 15 boethius, on the holy trinity. http://www.pvspade.com>doc> boethius detrin. pdf retrieved 2012-11-11. 16 evans, gillian. old arts and new theology: the beginnings of theology as an academic discipline. oxford: clarendon press, 1980. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 27 theological education and filial piety filial piety is a religious system that recognizes the progressive attitude to work. it is a religious sense to duty based on selfless service and self-discipline. it is not based on eye service which characterizes the national workforce; rather, it is a service to god that does not require human supervision. the workforce under this religious principle is distinct by their dutifulness. devoutness and other qualities are associated with being pious. they cannot betray their families, communities, religious obligation or vows and government/the church. they are practical in appreciating god, for promotion neither comes from the north nor the south, but from above. the greatest reward comes from god. they render service to him without expecting any form of gratification, bribe, power and inducement. corruption is believed to bring heavy curse to man and should therefore be rejected. filial piety as an ethical teaching prompts filial devotion and sound work17. uche encourages devotion to duty, honesty, dedication and accountability. this was made possible by bringing religious tradition, mythology and religious ethical teaching to bear on the need to act and move in accordance with religious principle which promote the national welfare, happiness, god-like life. filial piety like other basic teachings like protestant ethic, calling of god, moral justification of worldly activity, pietism, methodism and calvinism promote religious adherents to be committed and hardworking in their chosen career. in this way, commitment to a chosen sphere of life entails his duty with zeal, determination and single mindedness. filial piety is a divine command which explains that success in the chosen calling remains a mark of the divine grace from him18. teaching the basic protestant ethic, john wesley in his address to fellow christians says: “for religion must necessarily produce riches. we must exhort all christians to gain what they can and save all they can, that is in effort to grow rich”19. 17 uche oliver. filial piety: a religious synergy for national development in a globalized economy. the humanities and globalization in the 3 rd millenium. faculty of arts, nau awka, annual conference, (2010): 292-298. 18 uye, effiong. biblical studies and economy. (2015): 195-196. 19 harambolos, mead, head. sociology: themes and perspectives. london: harper and collins, 1988. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 28 the above statement is relevant in the context of industry and frugality. industry as an ethical religious view point means hard work. in the same view, frugality refers to carefulness. it is observed in this paper, that filial piety is a sociological index for measuring hard work and promoting adherents of religions who are dedicated, efficient, diligent, transparent, and productive with the fear of god fearing. economic ethics of the bible and theological education economic life or order is by no means so clear in its meaning or as easy to desire as in the family. while it is obviously not the same as man’s spiritual life or moral ideals or intellectual achievement or aesthetic appreciation, it spills over into the whole essence including these elements. it has to do with the material foundation of life that is to say; with money, property and “wealth”. yet, it is also concerned with human problems of work and vacation. it matters enormously not only what goods are produced, distributed and consumed but how this is done. economic life in a competitive society raises problems of power versus insecurity – an insecurity that is psychological as well as economic20. economic life means everything connected with acquisition, possession and use of material goods. jesus had very little to say about specific social institutions of any kind. his concern was chiefly with individuals in their person – to – person, face to face relationship. therefore, in his recorded works, there is less to be found about the structures of economic life than about family. there is, for example, nothing comparable to matt. 19:5-6 to undergird a particular economic life as this passage does to monogamous marriage. throughout the letter of paul in other parts of the new testament, there are scattered economic references, such as obligation to work in self-support and not becoming a burden to others (ii thessalonians 3:6-12), and the injunction to slaves obeying their masters with due docility (col. 3:22, 6:5, titus 2:9). yet there is no clear focus on any social system as good or evil, a fact which is made possible for slavery to go unchallenged by christians for many centuries. in the prophets, there is a much direct reference to evils of economic exploitation with 20 harkness, georgia. christian ethics. usa: abingdon press, 1952. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 29 repeating ringing renunciation of it. it is to amos, hosea, isaiah and micah, that we are most apt to turn to biblical foundation of social and economic justice21. there are a number of reasons why the new testament is relatively so silent at this point. first, there is the fact, that, the christian message centers so largely on faith and love, and that justice in social relations tends to be overshadowed in the gospel of redemption; there is no overlooking of divine justice. but in all the call to love one’s neighbour and even one’s enemy, to pray for one’s persecutor and to accept injury with non-resistance, to give freely and beyond necessity to those in need, the emphasis lies on uncalculating love and not on the correction of unjust systems or the punishment of evil doers. note, this was carried by jesus into the early church with the further emphasis in accepting christ and finding new life in him as all important. there was at least in part, the keener social conscience of the prophets as contrasted with the early christians. no christian writer of the new testament, so far as our record reveals, ever faced the responsibility of applying high moral principle to preserving the institutions of society, administering governments, handling international relationships, prosecuting social reforms, or even mitigating in public measures the inequities of an economic system22. their life as an “odd sect” with the simplest of economic pursuits within occupied territory did not give occasion for such responsibility. the prophets as the challengers and advisers to kings in a state struggling for political perennial problems of social justice and conflict were more forceful than the relatively detached early christians23. theological education and investment in a recessed economy theological education assumes a major commission of enlightening and training people for leadership and services in the church and society. according to s. a. hardy, the primary task of theological education is to shape the lives of those who are followers of jesus so that they can be used by god as leaders and influencers for the good of his kingdom.24 theological educators are expected to be academically sound, spiritually mature, and professionally competent with 21 harkness, georgia. christian ethics. usa: abingdon press, 1952. 22 harkness, georgia. christian ethics. usa: abingdon press, 1952. 23 uye, effiong. biblical studies and economy. (2015): 196-197. 24 s. a. hardy, excellence in theological education. (sri lanka: lanka bible college and seminary, 2007). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 30 ministerial experience to be able to equip leaders who transmit same in the church and society by raising godly and responsible citizens in social, cultural, economic, educational and political spheres for national unity and development. why investment? to this question, a variety of answers may be given, and this may be put in psychological or in normative christian terms. the simplest answer is that one work or invests because he has to. economic pressures overcome the natural impulse to idleness. this fact is not universal, for there are those who through immaturity, illness, old age, indigence, intended wealth, or for some other reasons live by the product of the labour of others25. investment habits are not easy to acquire, for children naturally do not prefer to work, and this tendency if uncorrected carries over into adult life. but an investment habits, once formed, is tenacious, and always simply because they always have and lack the will power to stop. furthermore, theological educators should incorporate the importance of investment and entrepreneurship in the curriculum of theological education in nigeria. this will create more awareness and opportunity to enlighten the society on god’s mandate on investment for the improvement of national economy. individuals should be trained theologically to disseminate and practice entrepreneurship for maximizing the economy in order to ensure productivity and national development. investment as a vocation: one’s investment must be viewed as a divine calling, and this has to be done as far as possible in the spirit of service. in the bible, it is taken for granted that work is ordained by god. to be sure, in genesis 3:17-18, work is presented as a cause of adam’s sin, yet in genesis 2:15, the command to till and keep the garden precedes sin. the explicit word of paul, “if anyone will not work, let him not eat” (ii thessalonians 3:10). that is to say, if anyone will not invest in a time like this, let him die of hunger. so long as an investment is an honest, serviceable one in which one is doing the best he can, he should endeavour to practice it . . . “within the presence of god26”. possible investments in the theological institutes theological institutes must be selective in investment, knowing that in all of her investments; it must be within the presence of god. below are few investments opportunities for the theological educators. 25 harkness, georgia. christian ethics. usa: abingdon press, 1952. 26 harkness, georgia. christian ethics. usa: abingdon press, 1952. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 31 a. tailoring: since the beneficiaries of the theological education especially the mean line churches have a particular uniform or dress code, it is pertinent for theological institutes or seminaries to venture into tailoring business. a combination of this with textile products will boast the financial base of such institutes, since; their students will be the first to patronize them. money raise from the sales of clothing materials and the sewing of clothes will be of an advantage to the running and sustenance of the institutes. b. fish farming: considering the quantity of fish consumed in the school environment, theological education must focus on fish farming. a situation where a school has a reliable fish pond reduces the amount spent in buying fish in the market as this money would be recycled in the school coffers. c. housing: operators of theological education should endeavour to build houses for commercial purposes. if this can be done, the rent collected can be used for the smooth and effective running of the school without negative financial challenges. d. transportation business: theological institutes can also engage in the purchase of cars, mini-buses and buses for commercial purposes. for paucity of funds, they can begin with motorcycles and tri-cycles. acquisition of wheel barrows and trucks in larger number can also boat the finance of the school when returns are been made. e. water production: theological institutes can also venture into water production both sachet and bottled for commercial purposes. for functionability of such business, the schools need to link up with hoteliers and bigger shops in towns for effective delivery. a consistent and conscientious manning of this leads to financial sustainability. f. farming: the theological schools should endeavour to go into commercial faming. arable lands can be bought and cultivated for business purposes. palm oil processing can also be undertaken as a means of enlivening the finances of the institutes. g. computer business centre/cybercafé: the schools should run these services for her financial stability, since term papers, assignments and project works are always typewritten. this must be in a manner to discourage the students from typing outside. for instance, if typing is done n50.00 outside, the school can reduce her own to n40.00 as this will encourage the students to patronize the school business and thereby helping to increase the financial base of the school in the changing economy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 32 h. decoration and catering services: for self-reliant and dependence, theological institutes should take up such services. if these services are well taken and delivered, even our churches and members will patronize us and thereby advertising the services to the outsiders. conclusion theological education which develops people’s spiritual lives through inculcating of moral values such as honesty, obedience, truthfulness and respect for humanity must be handled cautiously. a lot has been said in the past to stem the ride of ignorance, rightly to cultural background and fanaticism. the persistence of the above intolerant disposition calls for an improved theological education which entails a systematic and expository use of the word of god to appeal to the conscience of man in a changing economy. theological education gives rise to mobilization based on public enlightenment and dialogue. the cumulative force on theological education will stem the ugly tide of what27 okolo (1994) describes as squander-mania mentality which acts as a cog on the will of progress.28 omoregbe and 29 anyacho are not left out that filial piety helped japan in its industrialization effort through proper value orientation. filial piety emphasizes first, confidence, uniformity, commitment among operators of economy. it diffuses doubts and fears of marginalization, exploitation and alienation especially among poor or developing nations. like other human structures of our time, one wonders how a theological education and investment could thrive with religious synergy exemplified in filial piety. for theological institutes to invest and be successful, they must gain honestly, invest carefully, spend realistically and share joyfully30. the ethical principle of filial piety must be adhered to in strict terms. bibliography anyacho, e.o. essential themes in the study of religion. obudu: niger link printing & publishing, 2005. 27 okolo, c.b. squandermania mentality: reflections on nigerian culture. nsukka: university trust publisher, (1994). 28 omeregbe, joseph. comparative religion: christianity and other world religions in dialogue. jaja educational research and publishers limited, 1999. 29 anyacho, e.o. essential themes in the study of religion. obudu: niger link printing & publishing, 2005. 30 collins, gary. christian counselling. a comprehensive guide (3 rd ed.). nashville: thomas nelson publishers, 2007. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 33 boethius, on the holy trinity. http://www.pvspade.com>doc> boethius detrin. pdf retrieved 2012-11-11. collins, gary. christian counselling (3rd edition). a comprehensive guide. nashville: thomas nelson publishers, 2007. evans, gillian. old arts and new theology: the beginnings of theology as an academic discipline. oxford: clarendon press, 1980. harambolos, mead, head. sociology: themes and perspectives. london: harper and collins, 1988. harkness, georgia. christian ethics. usa: abingdon press, 1952. hardy, s. a. excellence in theological education. sri lanka: lanka bible college and seminary, 2007. ikenga, eboh, nzekwe & onyeakwe. the impact of globalization on nigerian economy: issues, challenges and benefits in chiegboka, a. b. c., utohezeajugh, udechukwu, g. i. (eds). the humanities and globalization in the 3rd millenium. faculty of arts, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. annual conference 2010: pp. 48-53. mairi, r. (ed) chambers 21st century, diction. new delhi: allied chambers (india) limited second edition, 1998. okolo, c.b. squandermania mentality: reflections on nigerian culture. nsukka: university trust publisher, (1994). omeregbe, joseph. comparative religion: christianity and other world religions in dialogue; christianity, judaism, islam, african traditional religion, hinduism, budhism, jainism, confucianism, jaosim, shintoism. lagos: jaja educational research and publishers limited, 1999. parrat, john. a guide to doing theology. great britain. spck, 1996. saint gregory of nazianus. an intellectual biography. crestwood: vladmir’s seminary press, 2001. the place of moral education in a secular state. http://www.bowenuniversityedu.org.2012/12/6. uche oliver. filial piety: a religious synergy for national development in a globalized economy in chiegboka, a. b. c., utoh-ezeajugh; udechukwu, g., (eds), the humanities and globalization in the 3rd millenium. faculty of arts, nau awka, annual conference, 2010:pp 292-298. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 34 uye effiong. the impact of theological education on national development in onyemara, e; ekebuisi c., anozie, k; sibani, c. & nwoku, c. (eds), journal of theology, religious and cultural studies. vol 1. no. 1. (2013):1-10. uye effiong. biblical studies and economy in nigeria: an appraisal of gen. 41:46-49 in chinwoku, e. n. (ed), africa journal of biblical research. vol. 2. no. 2. (2015): 193-198. weber, marx. the theory of social and economic organization new york: free press, 1964. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 21 the catholic church and strategies towards poverty alleviation asogwa, emmanuel chukwujindu department of philosophy, religion and cultural studies alex ekwueme federal university ndufu – alike ikwo, ebonyi state jindusemman@gmail.com doi:10.13140/rg.2.2.21005.15840 abstract poverty is one of the pervasive and complex problems facing humanity especially in the third world countries. in the history of nigeria, for instance, starting from colonial period, nigeria has been a country beset with the problem of poverty. they are known as poor farmers, traders, artisans, technicians and who feed from hand to mouth and still they are blessed with intelligent people and rich natural resources like oil. why is it that government has not done enough in the area of poverty alleviation? however, poverty and attempts to alleviate it is an issue that has continued to linger and generate interest of the government, non-governmental organizations and patriotic individuals. the catholic church inspite of its central mandate being spiritual evangelism has continued to participate in the fight against poverty to accomplish jesus mission to minister to both the poor and the rich. the catholic church has got to address the affairs of the people as it is the last hope of the people especially in the moment of distress and pain. the catholic church due to their closeness to its poor members remains one of the back bones of poverty alleviation to the rural dwellers. the paper through phenomenological method critically examined the roles of the catholic church in poverty alleviation through youth empowerment, community banking, establishment of schools and hospitals etc. keywords: poverty, unemployment, alleviation, catholic, nsukka introduction poverty is a global threat to humanity especially nigeria. the citizens of nigeria are globally graded as poor nation on the ground that the gross domestic product (gdp) is abysmally low thus the economy cannot comfortably cater for the teaming population, despite numerous natural and human resources. nigeria is being challenged by hunger. poverty is hunger and starvation; it is the deprivations which encompass a shortfall and inadequacies in basic human needs. olaitan, (2000) sees poverty as the scarcity of human basic needs or man‟s inability to acquire basic needs for existence. poverty is a social phenomenon that mailto:jindusemman@gmail.com https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.21005.15840?_sg%5b0%5d=6_ylcsnh_8r3yjcpn_t640cqgldtezp5cexkmgumuw1rg5zmc6uw0e8wekfeqna3bpncjtukbihc18ovmx1pwq19vq.ihxj5yl2yzdrnn8e21kxp5grh-bynu2j_-pwh42adtwoin_o42bv4n2y-cxfrjjtnzbhm4yriikou-xr8ezmvq igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 22 embodies many attributes that manifest in various forms in different societies, ages, communities and individuals. according to okafor, (2004) poverty is an abject state of being in which an individual is incapable of utilizing resources around him to improve himself economically, socially, politically or otherwise. poverty as a public policy concern, whether global, national or community level, is now widely considered to be a multidimensional problem. poverty is not having anything at all. ebirim (2010) states that poverty entails the absence of the basic requirements for survival, and to an extent the comfort of man. poverty is hunger and starvation. it is squalor and it is the non-availability of basic medicine. the poor are those who do not enjoy the minimum standard of living consistent with human dignity, those families whose total earnings and insufficient to meet minimum necessities for the maintenance of mere physical efficiency. poverty may be the scarcity of human basic needs or the inability of an individual or society to acquire human basic needs for existence. in this context, poverty could affect individual or group or community or nation. individual misfortunes or inability to obtain the basic necessities of life like essential clothing; three meals a day that are nutritious; a habitable house and a means of transportation either by land, sea or air. in nigeria, the prevalent situation of mass poverty reflects on corruption, poor implementation of government policies, poor management of our resources and performance of people, which involves her level of productivity. the task of poverty alleviation must therefore begin with identifying and mobilizing our resources to improve our productivity. the rate at which people are getting poorer these days is alarming. to this effect, this paper has surveyed various efforts catholic church has made towards alleviation of poverty. causes of poverty poverty cannot be attributed to one cause; rather it must be seen as the product of a broad range of factors. lack of functional education is one of the causes of poverty. skilled and oriented training is useful and effective as an instrument of cognitive and psychomotor learning (njoku, 2005). in nigeria, the only assessment for one to be educated depends only on paper certificate. without certificate, you are not educated. the skilled and oriented training help in productivity and reduces unemployment in the country whereby unskilled only igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 23 depend on government to provide for them meaningful job opportunity before they are employed. in nigeria today, jobs are hard to get as the population of unemployed youths are too many for the government to control. secondly, the structure of the family mostly in nigeria and africa in general is another great cause of poverty. a growing proportion of the poor can be seen among simple parent headed households. there are two elements here, which causes poverty either alone or in combination. the first is where the breadwinner‟s wage is very small, perhaps too small to support the smallest family. the second occurs when the members on dependents in the household stretch the income beyond its capacity. it is their opinion that elements combine in the case of a large family trying to live on a very meager income. the influence of family structure on income is further compounded by gender and race inequality. another major causes of poverty in nigeria is corruption. the level of corruption in nigeria has become phenomenon in the nation‟s economy and political system (vanguard, 2018). the manner in which the nigeria politicians have looted this country is alarming. they have looted this country dry to the extent that nigeria is now in economic recession. it has affected every sector of life to the extent that average nigerian cannot boast of two square meals per day. ugwu (2003) notes that the dependent nature of our economic and political system are one of the causes of poverty in the country. for our economic and political systems being dependent on foreign domination, dictation and control, is one of the problems that bedevil our country. food crisis had become a recurring decimal as hunger ravages our land, unemployment grows by geometrical progression while employment is hard to come by. prostitution is on the increase, robbery, corruption and indiscipline are the order of the day. why all these even in a democracy? the economy foundation or stability of any nation rests on her ability to feed the population; not with the american rice or british wheat but with the food produced and processed locally. this is because, as long as food crisis continues to live with us, political instability will be its associate. ogidigan (1985) observed that political institutions are superstructures resting on real economic foundations. our problem is also compounded by the fact that we have also developed certain appetites, which cannot be satisfied, with our locally produced items. our economy is depended because our political system is often igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 24 a proto-type of western society and the economy rests mainly on oil sales and our crude oil is manned by expatriates. another major cause of poverty in nigeria is corruption. the manner in which the politicians have looted this country is alarming and it has affected every facet of the society. both politicians and public servants loot with impunity. nigeria is a place where political leaders have access to national treasury convert public funds to private use; it is a place where the congress works to undermine anticorruption campaign; and it is a society with corrupt judiciary. consequently, political corruption is pandemic in nigeria, with bureaucratic and electoral corruption, bribery and fraud, embezzlement and extortion with favoritism and nepotism widespread on the political scene. (okunoye, 2013), sees poverty amidst plenty. what a paradox? this accounts for various security challenges confronting nigeria poverty alleviation programmes in nigeria due to federal government concern on the high increase of poverty among nigerian citizens, there was need for poverty eradication. this led to the establishment of many poverty eradication and alleviation programmes in the country. all past and present government in nigeria made efforts to establish one programme or more but the more they establish them, the citizens get more impoverished. because of the scope of this study, few programmes are to be mentioned. the first is: operation feed the nation (ofn) which sought to increase local food production and thereby reduce imports. citizens were encouraged to cultivate any empty plot of land, urban dwellers being encouraged to garden undeveloped building plots. another one worthy to be mentioned is department of food, road and rural infrastructure (dffri). the aim is to improve the condition of the people in the hinterland and reduce rural areas migration. national directorate of employment (nde) is to fight the problem of mass unemployment. people‟s bank (pbn) was established to make credit available to less privileged nigerians. the establishment of better life programme (blp) was aimed at improving the life of rural women. national poverty eradication programme (napep), seven-point agenda, youth entrepreneurship strategy (yes), sure-ps, n-power etc. all these programmes were aimed to improve the general well-being of nigeria and make the country become one of the biggest economy in the world. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 25 the problems of poverty reduction programme in nigeria there are many contributing factors militating against poverty reduction in nigeria. they can be summarized as follows: poor implementation: most of the times, the government may have good intention when establishing these programmes but because of poor implementation, it yielded very little fruit. corruption is another challenge to poverty reduction; most of the times, corrupt politicians will hijack it for themselves, relatives and their political supporters. due to this, it lacks continuity. each subsequent government came with a different idea or no idea at all (hussaini, 2014). the programme became more „regime specific‟ because there was hardly any continuity with those initiated by governments. the in-coming government will see it as not his business look into what happened or even to probe the activities of the programme. the response of the church to poverty alleviation in nigeria apart from the catholic church, one can dare to say that other christian denominations are focusing more interest in heaven than cartering for one another. they have ignored the role the early christian church played by living a communal live which in no small measure helped the progress and the unity of the church. the catholic church has helped in many ways in the alleviation of poverty in nsukka diocese. like in the area of freewill donations, the church has made many donations to the less-privilege and also to the sick people who are discharged in the hospital but find it difficult to pay their bills. the rich in the church sometimes donate generously towards the welfare of the poor in their midst. another one is self-employment or empowerment project which people come together to learn how to bake, make detergent, cream etc. they establish a skill acquisition school which specialize people in catering, home management, sewing, carpentry, music, arts and other allied services in which people with special talents are discovered and enhanced (obodoechina, 2013). as in many other cultures, the violation of rights of women seems to belong to the order of events. the catholic church protects the dignity of women. in connection to that, certain structures were put in place. for instance, the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 26 establishment of the women promotion department of the diocesan justice, development and peace caritas/commission for the welfare of women and the girl-child was unavoidable. the dedication of the catholic hostel for female students of the university of nigeria, nsukka was also an initiatives geared toward enhancing, the status and dignity of women at the level of the university. this diocesan response in favour of the female students of the university of nigeria became necessary in the context of the acute accommodation problems of the university that failed to address the vulnerability of women folk in relation to the men. the catholic church in its social teachings states clearly that poverty is a threat to humanity. the rich should carry along with the poor because that is the purpose of god‟s creation. it was on 6 january 1967 that pope vi created the pontifical commission, „justice and peace. the purpose of its existence was to complete the development of humanity. it was later changed by pope john ii to justice, development and peace commission (jdpc) which was established in every diocese. achunike, (2004) outlined their work as to develop people, peace, justice and human rights. the catholic church in nsukka also defends the inheritance right of widows. in theory, the rights of all citizens under the nigerian constitutions to inherit the properties and bequeaths of their parents or friends and the likes. but in reality, we also know of the awful denial of these rights to widows at the death of their husbands. more especially, when the widow had no son or the children are in tender age. when the diocese receives information concerning such a denial, the diocese through the human rights department of the justice and peace commission will swing into action. this group has done much in the fight for the widows. the existence and operations of the diocesan widows association in the parishes has mitigated by their great group dynamics. prayer is a very important weapon to fight against poverty. the catholic in nsukka pray for the poor, distressed and progress in the society. all these prayers are channeled against poverty among the people and their appeal to god to intervene in this evil that has eaten deep into the members of the society. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 27 strategies of the catholic church towards poverty alleviation the role of catholic church in development is a key component that informs this study. studies of religion abound, but few have addressed the consistent attention that religious groups have paid to the development process. religion (also used synonymously with faith or spirituality and consequently the groups propelled by religion do have considered influence on development work. various development scholars have observed that religion does have an intrinsic value and contributes directly to various dimensions of human well-being (sen, 1999). the church has always regarded a concern for the poor as its basic duty on earth. according to the universal call of christianity, all churches have a twofold task of salvation of souls on the (faith and action). in the roman catholic church tradition, the mandate to reform structures is fulfilled specifically through educational, health, or economic development etc. the catholic church in nsukka diocese is engaged in activities geared toward alleviation of unemployment and improving the lives of the unemployed in the diocese. this section will examine the main ones. (i) church as an employer the church is herself a high employer. many people are employed in the numerous projects run by the church through the diocese. many people were employed as; watchmen, teachers, accountants, office messengers, divers, etc. this shows that the church has created a lot of job opportunities to the people who probably, would have been unemployed. (ii) establishment of kenechukwu micro-finance bank by the nsukka diocese since the 1970s, and especially since the new wave of microfinance in the 1990s, microfinance has been seen as an important development policy and a poverty reduction tool (okezie et al. 2003). microfinance is an effect development tool for promoting pro-poor growth and poverty reduction. kenechukwu micro-finance bank of nsukka diocese provide fund in form of credit and micro-loans to empower the people to engage in productive economic activities which can help boost their income level and thus alleviate poverty. it has the potential to effectively address material poverty, the physical deprivation of goods and services and the income to attain them by granting financial services to households who are not served by the formal banking sector. it enable igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 28 poor and low income household to take advantage of economic opportunities, build assets, and reduce their vulnerability to external shocks that adversely affect their living standards(okezie etal 2003). (iii) missionaries introduced modern education into africa and despite their limited resources built some impressive educational institutions. these institutions produced teachers, artisans, and other man power for the mission and junior workers for the colonial government. in many african country practically all the political leaders who led africa from colonial rule to independence and the administrator were products of mission schools and colleges (kinoit, 1996) p51. the school apostolate and catholic evangelization mission were two sides of the same coin. the two were inseparable ventures (omeka, 2010) p1. in pursuance of the educational needs of the diocese, every parish in the diocese was made to establish either a nursery, primary or secondary schools or all within its area of jurisdiction. some of the secondary schools built in the diocese are: st. theresa‟s college (stc) nsukka, queen of the rosary college (qrc) nsukka, st. catherine comprehensive secondary nsukka, st. patrick‟s secondary school obollo eke, st. patrick‟s college obollo-afor, st. francis secondary school, ovoko, holy trinity college, iheaka, st. charles college, opi, st. anthony‟s skill centre, ugbaike, st. thomas aquinas college, ibagwa-aka, entrepreneur centre, uhunowerre, etc. all these schools were established by the roman catholic diocese of nsukka to help in eradicating or combating poverty through the employment of teachers and non-tutorial staff. (iv) the catholic church has remained faithful to her commitment of mandate to carry out the mission to “heal the sick”. the church has been determined in the service to the sick and suffering in an integral part of her mission and not only has she encouraged, among christians the blossoming of various work of mercy, but she also has established many religious institutions within her specific aim of fostering, organizing, improving and increasing help to sick missionaries who has constantly combined the preaching of the gospel with the help and care of the sick (john paul ii, 1985) p1. the catholic church in nsukka established the following hospitals: bishop shanahan nsukka, our lady health of the sick at adani and the cottage ultraigwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 29 modern hospital at enugu-ezike – st. mary‟s hospital, bishop shanahan annex. these hospitals help bringing health to the doorstep of people. it has also reduced poverty through the employment and also paying their salaries. (v) establishment of the diocesan scholarship scheme the diocese has put in place a scholarship scheme that assists the poor but intelligent students from across the deaneries. they are selected after a competitive public examination and interviews, successful candidates are chosen and sent to the diocesan secondary schools. at the completion of their secondary education, further opportunities are granted to such candidate with proven ability for higher education. (vi) finally, in the area of agriculture, the agricultural department of the diocesan commission links the rural farmers with the various state provisions for new agricultural developments. access to new bred crops and fruits, equipments and services including agricultural loan are given to the farmer in a subsidized rate for food autonomy of the people. way forward enhancing access to formal finance especially credit has a high likelihood of reducing poverty in rural areas like nsukka. the catholic church of nsukka diocese has not done enough as many of the congregations are living in abject poverty. the church should go back to the drawing board and re-visit the early christian church and also the missionaries whose main work is to convert souls to christ and carter for the church members. these days, the revise is the case as almost all rv. fr. drive costly cars, live in polish houses while those who contributed to all these trick along the road live in dilapidated houses. the contemporary church like the ancient israel should address spiritual as well as material needs by cultivating a new mindset similar to the notion of the mission church in the colonial era in which the bible and the plough were understood as mutual re-enforcing. 1. the remuneration given to workers ought also to be looked into. it is a well known fact that they pay less than their counterparts in other private school and students also pay higher school fees, patients pay higher in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 30 their bills. the church has done much in the area of poverty alleviation but not enough. many of the rev. frs. and leaders engage in white elephant projects and exorbitant lifestyle, at the negligence and often at the expense of the poor who lacks three square meals per day. they should correct such erring leaders and make for equitable distribution of the wealth of the earth. 2. dada, (2000) p107 is of the opinion that the church which ought to serve as communal rallying point for its members, is not living up to expectation. church in africa should move from individualism to institutionalism, a place where the weak, the poor and the dispossessed find succor as demonstrated by the early church. the church therefore, should make frantic efforts to alleviate the suffering of the poor masses if her impact and relevance will continue to be felt. the church should collaborate with the government to raise the quality of life in nigeria and thereby fulfill the law of christ. recommendations 1. the catholic church should create more jobs and empowerment in order to address the level of poverty in nsukka. 2. they should emulate the ancient israel who gives their members interest free loan by the government and other financial institutions in other to empower the poor. 3. the government should adopt punitive measures and show commitments and willingness to punish those who sabotage its efforts. 4. the church should develop a theology that could influence policy makers and those in control of finance to have regard for the poor and needy and above all see them as image of god. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 31 references achunike, h.c. (2004). “developing the nigerian nation through justice development and peace commission of the catholic church in m.i. okwueze (ed), religion and societal development, international publications, lagos. blackwood and lynch, (1994). “the measurement of inequality. journal of economic, theory vol.2 dada, k.o (2000). effort and poverty alleviation in traditional yoruba society: lessons for contemporary african church” castila vol. 3 no.1 ebirim, u. (2010). “a critical appraisal of rural poverty in nigeria”. international journal of research in arts and social sciences vol. 2. hussaini, m. (2014). poverty alleviation programme in nigeria: issues and challenges. international journal of development research vol. 4 no. 3. john paul ii, encyclical evangelism vitae march 25, 1995. kinoti, g. (1996). hope for africa and what the christian can do. enugu: international bible society njoku, c.n. (2005). christian religious perspective on poverty alleviation: issues or facts. nsukka journal of religious studies vol. 2 no.1 nkechi g. onah, lawrence n. okwuoa, favour c. uroko – the church and poverty alleviation in nigeria obodoechina, u. (2013). nsukka diocese, the journey so far: taking responsibility for the future. praise house publishers 23 ogidi street ogui, enugu. ogidigan, s. (1985). “the food problem” in time international magazine. okafor, a.a (2004). “poverty and human development in nigeria”. challenges of the millennium development goals. great a.p express publisher ltd nsukka. okezie, a.i; bankoli b; ebomuche n.c (2013). the impact of nigeria microfinance banks on poverty reduction: imo state experience. mediterranean journal of social sciences. mcser publishing, rome-italy. vol. 4 no. 16. okumoye, j.o. (2013). effective poverty alleviation programme as panacea for security challenges in nigeria: the ancient israelite and the contemporary church experience. okwugbala, u.z. (2018) “corruption in nigeria: review, causes, effects and solutions” in vanguard newspaper. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 32 olaitan, s.o (etal) (2000). poverty and poverty alleviation initiatives. nigerian educational research association, nsukka. omenka, n.i. (2010). church-state relationship in education: the catholic experience in eastern nigeria, 1990 – 1975 (paper delivered at the catholic centenary lectures in enugu on 11 may, 2010. sen. a. (1999). development as freedom. new york: anchor books. ugwu, j.c (2003). “a philosophical reflection on the current poverty alleviation programme in nigeria” eha-amufu school of education, federal college of education, eha-amufu, enugu state. uno (1995) “report of the world summit social development” new york: united nations organisations. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 156 reincarnation in igbo cosmology: a new look valentine chukwujekwu mbachi, ph.d department of religion and human relations, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka-nigeria. email: valmbachi@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.19482.59846 abstract many igbo scholars have looked at reincarnation in various perspectives, ranging from philosophical, psychological down to theological. in this work, the concept of reincarnation is considered from the standpoint of igbo anthropological view of man and from the analysis of minimalistic reincarnation hypothesis. in trying to grapple with the issue of reincarnation, many scholars have sacrificed the igbo understanding of human personality without which for the igbo, man ceases to be complete self in the real sense of the word. the method has been analytical. books, internet sources and journals were used in study. the result shows that the igbo concept of reincarnation or ịlọ-ụwa in the igbo philosophy and cosmology can have a scientific explanation based on human nature itself given that the proofs of fact itself are themselves proofs of genetic inheritance. the researcher recommends that a much more appropriate term should be given to this phenomenon. the writer therefore redefined the term ịlọ-ụwa or reincarnation. keywords: reincarnation, igbo and cosmology introduction the belief in reincarnation is extensively debated in a wide-range of literature. scholars from different age and time have approached this phenomenon from different perspectives. many religions like hinduism and buddhism have built the belief into their own religious faith. today, we can speak of different views of reincarnation. at present we may speak, for instance, of eastern view, western view and african view of reincarnation. each one of the views appears to have its characteristic features although all the views may have their common features. the igbo concept of reincarnation is not only quite different from the eastern and western types of reincarnation, but also from other african views. undoubtedly, the subject of reincarnation has become topical. at present it has assumed different forms and can no longer be treated as ancient belief of “pagan people”. mbachi (2019) concisely stated that “the igbo idea is unique and mailto:valmbachi@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 157 original from the point of view of its theology and also from the point of view of its anthropology. igbo cosmology like every other people, the igbo appear to have their own unique worldview. according to metuh (1985) the igbo know only one world inhabited by both visible and invisible beings. for anozia (1968), “the igbo world whether visible or invisible was a ‘real’ world in every sense of the word” (p. 2). it is in this understanding that uzukwu (cited in obilor, 1994) regarded the igbo world as a world: “where time and space, objects and persons are made sacred… where from cradle to grave life is moving towards fullness through dynamic interaction between the human community and its spiritual originators” (p. 117). this sacralized worldview also extends to commerce. each igbo day is a market day and is dedicated to a spirit: eke, orie, afọ and nkwọ. this is repeated in the same order. the igbo believe in three-step structured hierarchical order of the hereafter: the land of chukwu (god), the land of the non-human spirits like ana or ala and that of the human spirits with special reference to the ancestors. obilor (1994) pointed out that there are three relations which maintain equilibrium in igbo thought: cosmic, social, and religious. the three relations are viewed both from the spirit world and the world of humans. both chukwu and the gods expect a harmonious co-existence among the three. man is said to be responsible for any disharmony or disequilibrium. any disorder arising from any of the three relations is attributed to human negligence or transgressions. thus, natural disaster, epidemics, famine, certain deaths, and all that are considered unnatural are attributed to human ‘sin’ and ‘wrong doings’. these are ultimately traced to the violation of taboos, nsọ (abomination), arụ (evil) like the sin of sorcery, homicide, suicide, incest, false oath, theft, etc. in this worldview, any evil in the world is caused by man. the igbo thoughts and ideas are usually experimental, concrete, practical and inductive rather than abstract and deductive. for instance, the igbo relate to god through his self-manifestations, and approach the destiny of man through the value and reward of good life. this approach extends to their idea of reincarnation and retribution. reincarnation is therefore not only the effort to unite the visible and invisible spheres of existence but also to give value and reward to good life. for the igbo, justice in its most perfect form exists in god. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 158 for them, justice takes its bearing from god and not from man. nzomiwu (1999) noted that in the igbo thought, “all other beings are just according to the degree of their propinquity to god” (p.77). god is understood as the source of all justice. god has some names which indicate what the igbo believe about him. for example, he is chukwu (chi-ukwu, the great god), chineke (chi-n’eke, the god that creates), oseburuwa (lord who upholds the world). amamikpe nke ndị ikpe (the judge of the judges) and nwoke oghorogho anya (one with very wide eyes), thereby implying that he can see all things. from the point of view of origin and final destiny, mmadụ (man) for igbo belongs to chukwu. god at the moment of conception creates the spirit of the would-be person. metuh (1985) concisely put it this way: “the spirit that will be born goes before chukwu to receive his ‘chi’ (spirit destiny) and his ‘eke’ (reincarnating ancestor), and then the okike (creative emanation of chukwu) lets him out into the world” (p. 40). the two elements which come together to make up what can be called the identity of man must here immediately be underlined. the ‘chi’ not only determines one’s destiny, it brings it to the proper end, and thus the igbo would say, ebe onye dara ka chi ya kwaturu ya (where a person falls, there his chi pushed him down). the ‘eke’ on the other hand refers to the person’s shape, character or some qualities. according to obilor (1994), when these qualities are derived from an identical ancestor, or any good dead person as the case may be, the igbo say that the child is the ‘reincarnation of that ancestor or the person’ (p. 121). some people promise while still alive that they would come back after their death and show signs or identification. in this case, there is no doubt and people at the birth of a child can identify him immediately. when there is doubt, then it is the work of the dịbịa afa (diviner) to identify the reincarnated person. the igbo believe that humans survive after death. death is a passage into the community of the ‘living dead’, a separation and not an annihilation, a bridge to another existence, a reality which is awaited with ‘anxiety’, ịna ụnọ (returning home), ịla ala mmụọ (returning to the land of the spirits) especially ala nna nna anyị ha (the land of our ancestors). the igbo believe that the dead are living sideby-side with them. one can say that for the igbo, the dead are regarded as people who have completed their work. the wicked and the just do not share the same realm after death in igboman’s thought. while the just join the ancestors or “community of the saints” the wicked are believed to pass on to oblivion or stay igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 159 at the region referred to by isidienu (2015) “as agbata ụwa na-agbata mmụọ” (p.111) (the boundary between the living and the dead). there is no general consensus about the abode of the wicked in igboland. mourning for the dead is religiously observed in igboland. the period of mourning depends on certain factors. if the deceased is a titled person, the period is usually longer. what used to be a common practice in igboland is one year mourning period. death affects whatever the deceased owned and renders it unclean. therefore, purificatory sacrifices are performed. the igbo have the practices of shaving the head or wearing mourning dress for a period of one year as a sign of respect for the dead. the notion of the hereafter appears to be very vast and complicated but the belief in reincarnation depends on that of the hereafter and not the other way round. for obilor (1994), all decisions about who will return, the shape, the form and qualities are taken in the hereafter by the community of the ancestors in strict accord with chukwu who finally sends the person to the earth through birth. the most important sphere of the hereafter appears to be the ‘ancestral community’the community of the dead. the ancestors who are in their permanent rest are conceived to be with chukwu (god) and can help the living because they are closer to the source of salvation. this does not refer to a condition of being with god as parents do with their children. it rather refers to the community of the ancestors which is god’s community. god in relation to creature is considered as completely other. the dead are believed to return to chukwu only to take their rightful place among the ancestors commensurate with the way they conducted their life here on earth. the help which comes from chukwu is often believed to reach man through the intermediaries. the ancestors are believed to be the major intermediaries. for the igboman, reincarnation is seen as a witness to the power of chukwu who not only saves life and provides for life but also can bless a family by sending back to them a good and noble life lived before. they admit new members and give them their rightful place. this admittance is believed to base on spotless life, ripe old age, founding lineages, proper burial as the case may be. these conditions are not within the reach of the poor, the invalid and those who die young. the living do their best to win the favour of the ancestors and to be in line with the moral discipline of the clan. the living are igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 160 expected to live a good and holy life to enable them get a reward of good rest among the ancestors. reincarnation in igbo worldview for the igbo reincarnation is a phenomenon in which an identifiable personality in the igbo spiritual world is believed in a mysterious but real way to transmit his personality traits on a newborn personality without destroying that personality or substituting himself or herself for that new personality. in doing so, the said reincarnate person still retains his complete personal identity in igbo spiritual world of the dead. by virtue of the power he commands as a spirit he is able to impress his former traits on the new born child in a human way. the ritual for identifying the reincarnated dead person is called in many areas in igboland as “igba agụ” (divining for the reincarnate person). only the traditional igbo diviners (dịbịa afa) can authoritatively pronounce the name of the reincarnated person through igba afa. ekwealor (2013) described igba afa as a means of finding out the hidden things which are elusive to an ordinary man. it is the means of finding out the thoughts of the deities and the ancestors. for ogbuagu, udemmadu and anedo (2012) ịgba afa means gaining access to secret things that man on his own cannot find out. according to ubesie (2003), ịgba afa is a means of finding any secret that exists between the living and the dead or between two or more living persons. however, umeodinka (2015) understood igba afa to be the means through which the igbo people bring out the hidden things from the realm of darkness into the limelight of knowledge. igbo people anchor on experience on their insistence on reincarnation. of course, experience they say is the best teacher. they base reincarnation on what is visible or sensible or perceptible or the like. no one can tell a man that what he sees with his own eyes does not exist. throughout the igboland, people abound who are said to be the reincarnation of one deceased person or another. there are signs, marks and often existing ‘lectures’ why the living person should be the one who had died. of course, these would be backed up with the confirmatory affirmation of the dibia afa (diviner). when a child is born, during ịgụ aha (naming ceremony) the okpala (the family head) or the father of the child or both will consult the diviner to discover the ancestor who has been reincarnated, and especially to discover his name and his nsọ (prohibitions). the child must take the name of the reincarnated ancestor, but when no reincarnation has been confirmed, the patriarchal grandfather or the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 161 eldest man present has the prerogative of giving the child a name. the divination rite which precedes the naming ceremony is to establish his identity. the naming ceremony is to affect his incorporation into the society. the igbo understanding of man in igbo anthropology, man (mmadụ) is neither a dichotomy of body and soul nor a trichotomy of body, soul and spirit. mmadụ is a unity of personality. the spiritual anatomy of man for the igbo is ahụ, (body), mkpụrụobi (seed of the heart) and mụọ (spirit). according to obilor (1994), the spirits on the other hand are made up of the spirit ancestors and the spirit deities which are invisible; the malignant spirits or attacking spirits which are visible only to the dibia (diviner) and in the form of mba mụọ (the attack by the evil spirit); and the spirit messenger (mmụọ). although the igboman is very much at home with pneumatology, yet the concept of holy spirit is strange to him. the doctrine of the holy spirit falls outside their belief system because they have nothing to do with three in one god. be it as it may, the igboman shares the concept of man with the hebrews. abogunrin (1991) pointed out that in the old testament man is not considered as an immortal soul temporarily inhabiting a mortal body, but rather as a body-soul unity. of course, the hebrews could only conceive of man in his totality, as the vital union of body and soul. according to ancient jewish belief, man is a product of two factors, namely nepeš (breath or soul which is the principle of life) and basher (body or flesh which is the complex organ that nepeš animates). man may therefore be described as the animated body, but this falls short of a true description of man, since in this regard he is not different from the animal creation (gen. 2: 19). genesis 2: 7 says: “then the lord god formed man out of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living being”. clark (1967) contended that man’s distinctiveness is based on the fact that to him alone is imparted the breath of life by the direct activity of god. although the use of nepeš in genesis 2: 7 denotes a complete being, according to the general understanding of the old testament, neither basher nor nepeš can make a complete man. the separation of both of them means that man ceases to be, in any real sense of personality. man is a unity of personality, and the dissolution of either the soul or the body means the true end of life. nepeš is closely connected with blood, and the loss of any of them is the tangible mark of a passing away of life. therefore, nepeš is spoken of as being breathed out (gen. 2: 7; 35: 18; 1 kg. 17: 22). the whole of man’s intense emotions igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 162 and desires are attributed to his nepeš. that is, the term is used inevitably for living self, or as a substitute for a personal pronoun. similarly, transition is made from a dead body or carcass (num. 5: 2; 6: 6, 11; hag. 2. 13). man also has a rūaḥ (spirit) denoting the invasive power of god. from the time of the exile, there was a tendency to replace nepeš with rūaḥ as the centre of aspiration and desires. the absence of rūaḥ is the loss of life and vitality, and ultimately death (1kg. 10: 5; ps. 104: 29). the return of rūaḥ means revival (gen. 45: 27). while nepeš refers to the life concretely manifested, rūaḥ means the hidden strength of a living person. so, for the hebrews as well as for the igbo, there is no distinction between the soul and the body. what lives in the underworld is not just the soul but the whole man. hence the dead are not called nepeš nor rūaḥ, but rephaim. at death, a shadowy image of man is detached from him. as long as the body exists or at least the bones remain, the essential person still exists like a shade under the condition of extreme weakness (job 26: 5-6; isa. 14: 910; ez. 32: 1732). the soul continues to feel the care and honour bestowed on the body. minimalistic reincarnation hypothesis this hypothesis is the brain child of robert almeder, professor emeritus of philosophy at georgia state university. it states that: there is something essential to some human personalities ... which we cannot plausibly construe solely in terms of either brain states, or properties of brain states ... and, further, after biological death this nonreducible essential trait sometimes persists for some time, in some way, in some place, and for some reason or other, existing independently of the person's former brain and body. moreover, after some time, some of these irreducible essential traits of human personality, for some reason or other, and by some mechanism or other, come to reside in other human bodies either some time during the gestation period, at birth, or shortly after birth (p. 211). from the above quotation one can deduce the following: i. some human personalities are essential and non-destructive and they survive after death; igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 163 ii. the survived human personalities exist independently of the former bodies; iii. by no known mechanism those non-destructive human personalities came to reside in other human bodies during gestation period, at birth or shortly after birth. from the above analysis, it is revealing to note that the proponents of igbo concept of reincarnation draw inspiration heavily from this hypothesis concerning their belief in reincarnation. “by some mechanism or other...” which robert almeder could not identify was identified by these proponents as “reincarnation”. perhaps, their logic runs like this: i. personality traitsthese they personified; ii. sourcethey traced the starting place to ancestors; iii. mode of transmissionthey described the process as reincarnation; iv. time of transmission-gestation period, birth or shortly after birth. there is a need to establish a common ground. this common ground is that there are some personality traits that persist along a family line. it is doubtful whether the process of this persistence can rightly be called “reincarnation”. it has often been said that life begets life. non-destructive human personalities on their own cannot attach themselves to growing foetus in the womb. even if they do, they cannot be equated to complete self and thus, cannot fit into igbo idea of human personality. this is because the igboman believes that maduka biara uwa (maduka returned or reincarnated) and not some personality traits of maduka living in a symbiotic association with its victim. a critical look at the igbo scholars’ view on reincarnation being part of the african world, the igbo share many things in common with other african societies including that of their belief in reincarnation. ekwunife (1999) observed that where the igbo differ from other societies is in the interpretation of the phenomenon of reincarnation. he argued that the english word ‘reincarnation’ with its meaning in english environment does not and cannot fit into the igbo experience of the phenomenon. rather their experience is better translated in their native language as “inọ ụwa or inyọ ụwa” (p. 20). ekwunife (1999) attempted a descriptive definition of ịlọ ụwa or reincarnation when he said, “it is the process by which certain categories of the deceased in african spiritual world of the dead are believed to be mysteriously, but in a real way, capable of incarnating their personality traits on a newborn physical body igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 164 of a child, without either destroying the new unique personality of the child or substituting for it” (p. 22). he saw igbo belief in reincarnation as a process in which an identifiable personality in igbo spiritual world is said to, in a mysterious but real way, incorporate his personality traits on a unique born personality without destroying that personality or substituting himself / herself for that new personality. for him, by so doing, the said reincarnated person, ‘onye nọrọ ụwa’ still retains his complete personal identity in igbo spiritual world of the dead. however, by virtue of an enhanced power of spirits, he / she was able to impress his former traits on the newborn child in a human way. ekwunife (1999) suggested that the spiritual influence of the identified deceased is better described in english as “mystical influence” (p. 21). he explained that it should be considered as such given that it neither diminishes the status of the dead in the igbo spiritual world nor destroys the status of a newborn child who should possess complete freedom and possibilities of achieving fulfilment. hence the ritual for identifying the reincarnated dead person is referred to in igbo subculture areas as “ịgba agụ nwa” (divining for child’s companion). he argued that only the traditional ritual specialists the traditional igbo diviners (dịbịa afa) can authoritatively pronounce the name of the reincarnated person. it is doubtful whether the concept of reincarnation as presented by ekwunife above is the true representation of igbo concept of reincarnation. in the spiritual anatomy of man in igbo cosmology, mmadụ (man) is neither a dichotomy of body and soul nor a trichotomy of body, soul and spirit. mmadụ (man) is a unity of personality. the igboman, for instance, believes that okeke nọrọ ụwa (okeke reincarnated) and not an aspect or part of okeke or his “mystical influence”. the author therefore disagrees with ekwunife in that he cannot reconcile ekwunife’s “mystical influence” with the igbo concept of human personality. besides, the igbo often speak of “ndị mmadụ” (humans) and “ndị mmụọ” (spirits). hence “spirits” and “humans” are both persons, where “ndị” also stands for persons. ekwunife’s “mystical influence” is therefore considered by the author as nothing other than a distortion of igbo idea of man and personal identity. onyewuenyi (1989) views reincarnation as “perpetuation of ancestors through reproduction” (p. 39). he further described reincarnation as ‘life-giving will’ or ‘vital influence’ or ‘secretion of vital force’ (p. 39). he saw the ancestors as dynamic force who can influence and effect many births in his clan without emptying his personality. he compared the vital force of an ancestor to the sun, which is not diminished by the number and extent of its rays. onewuenyi (1989) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 165 noted that “just as the sun is the causal agent of heat, so is an ancestor a causal agent of his descendants who are below him in the ontological hierarchy” (p. 40). onyewuenyi admitted that the biological conception of the child results from the concurrent act of god and parents. then the influence of the ancestor which is referred to as reincarnation comes later. for him, it is the human being, who already possesses life in the womb of his mother (by divine influence), who finds himself under the vital, the ontological influence of a predestined ancestor or of a spirit. it is also doubtful whether onyewuenyi’s view is the true representation of igbo concept of reincarnation. onyewuenyi’s ‘vital force’, or ‘life-giving will’ or ‘secretion of vital power’ falls short of igbo concept of human personality and personal identity. the author notes that onyewuenyi confused ‘being’ (a living creature) with ‘force’ (a physical action) which belongs to different planes of life. the writer agrees with onyewuenyi that the sun is present in its rays and heats and brightens through its ray; yet he disagrees with onyewuenyi in that the rays of the sun singly or together are not the sun. the author insists on the fact that an aspect of man cannot be a holistic view of man; to do so is nothing other than an alteration of reality. the author therefore notes that onyewuenyi’s ideas cannot be a better representation of igbo understanding of reincarnation. ezenweke (2012,) considers reincarnation as “the theory that when the soul separates from the body at death, it informs another body for another span of life” (p. 195). for ezenwoke, the soul (mkpụrụ obi) leaves the body at death and waits for judgment. it is received into the blessed company of his forbearers only if it scales through the test of life. it is his activities on earth that will score him to merit or demerit the blissful existence. she also noted that one may come back in non human form like various types of animal or any other living thing. the author notes that ezenweke’s view cannot be a better representation of igbo belief in reincarnation since she ranked her view with the asiatic cylic notion of reincarnation. besides, igboman does not refer to mmadụ (man) as mkpụrụ obi) (soul). instead, mkpụrụ obi (soul) is what man has. it is a component of man; not the sum total make-up of man. for the igbo, okeke nọrọ ụwa (okeke reincarnated) and not mkpụrụ obi okeke nọrọ ụwa (the soul of okeke reincarnated). moreso, the igboman does not believe that his ancestor would be reborn as an animal or be reincarnated into an inanimate object. such thinking is foreign to the igboman concept of afterlife. consequently, the view of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 166 reincarnation as presented by ezenweke leaves much to be considered as the true representation of igbo concept of reincarnation. like ekwunife, obilor believed that igbo concept of reincarnation can better be translated in igbo as ịlọ-ụwa. obilor (1994) defined reincarnation as “the belief that the qualified deceased or living persons can return to the earth through birth in their grandchildren, great grandchildren or the children of their relatives within the extended family circle as a sign of love and fellowship”(pp. 137138). obilor (1994) attempted a comparison of ịlọ-ụwa and reincarnation in order to bring out their differences thus: reincarnation proposes a dualism of body and soul and matter. igbo anthropology on the other hand abhors any form of dualism; reincarnation proposes that all the dead can be reincarnated, but in ịlọụwa only the qualified person can be ‘reincarnated’; reincarnation proposes that there is an original body and a new body while in the igbo ịlọ ụwa, both the original body and the new body are considered side by side (pp.140-141). if the above descriptive definition of igbo ịlọ ụwa succeeds in the possibility of excluding the african experiences of born to die group, classical western or asiatic definitions and the transmigration of the soul of the deceased into nonhuman animate objects, it is still fraught with problems. the igbo do say for instance, okeke bịara ụwa or lọlọ-ụwa (okeke reincarnated) not aspect of okeke. if it were so, it then becomes illogical to refer to an aspect of one’s person to one’s entire personhood for an aspect of okeke cannot be okeke himself. for obilor, the most distinctive proofs of ịlọ-ụwa (reincarnation) are based on visible or sensible resemblance: the reappearance of marks on the body. the ‘relacking’ of a lacking part of the body, the facial and physical resemblance, the vocal and oratorical resemblance, behavioural resemblance, intellectual and humorous resemblance. if this view is the true representation of igbo notion of reincarnation, the question now is, how is this “uniqueness” to be proven? and why are only some features carried on to the next incarnation to the exclusion of others? certainly, demonic must be considered as a possible source. if a person with a birth mark dies or if a person who sustains an injury in any part of his body dies, he is believed to have left the old body. when an infant bears marks which are similar to those of the dead, it is claimed to be a case of reincarnation. how could the corpse bear the “karmic energy” or “vital force” to be transmitted igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 167 to its next incarnation? besides, science teaches that individual life begins at conception. in 1981, the us senate held extensive hearings on the “human life bill”. national and international scientific authorities testified on the origin of human life. the official senate report read as follows (as cited in geisler & amano, 1986): physicians, biologists, and other scientists agree that conception (they defined fertilization and conception to be the same) marks the beginning of the life of a human beinga being that is alive and is a member of the human species. there is overwhelming agreement on this point in countless medical, biological, and scientific writings (p. 160). in brief, the available scientific evidence pointed to individual human life beginning at conception. there is no scientific evidence for the reincarnationist belief that life begins before conception. of course, some igbo traditionalists believe that life begins at conception but that the reincarnating ancestor emits its “self” to the baby during conception. however, this theory lacks scientific support. scientific evidence indicated that an individual’s life, soul and body begin at conception. moreover, two elements identified as defining the identity of man in igbo worldview are chi and eke. whereas chi not only determines one’s destiny, it brings it to the proper end; eke on the other hand refers to the person’s shape, character, or some qualities. obilor (1994) emphatically stated: “when these qualities are derived from an identified ancestor, or any good dead person as a case may be, the igbo say that the child is the reincarnation of that ancestor or the person” (p. 121). he went on to say that these qualities are often “personified; when this happens, it refers to an ancestor or a spirit” (p. 122). if the view represented by obilor is right, it then means that what the igbo people believe as ịlọ-ụwa, and by extension reincarnation, is nothing other than hereditary traits personified. besides, in igbo cosmology, not everybody can reincarnate even if he met the standard for reincarnation. sutton (cited by ramlingam, 2005) “proposed that chromosomes are the carriers of mendel’s factors (genes); this is called the chromosome theory of heredity” (p. 546). the chromosomes contain deoxyribonucleic acid or dna, the molecule that contains hereditary information in a code form. this information includes all genetic instructions for controlling the production of chemicals for normal cell functioning; the production of a new cell or the whole organism itself; and the development of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 168 genetically acquired traits. thus, this theory may account for all the apparent similarities and differences that are observed between the parents and their progenies. mbiti (1969) clearly admitted that the pros and con about reincarnation is “partly an attempt to explain what is, otherwise, a purely biological phenomenon, which applies not only to human beings but also to animals (p. 164). it is revealing that various authors examined above point to the resurgence of character traits in the descendants of an ancestor in their attempts to exlplain the phenomenon of ịlọ-ụwa. for arinze, it seems only a part of the ancestor spirit is believed born again in the new child. obilor sees the concept of ịlọ-ụwa as nothing but an interpretation of, an attempt to grasp, hereditary traits transferred by genes while onyewuenyi enjoins that what one sees in the new born is only a portion of the "vital force" or "vital power" or "vital influence" of the living-dead. an ancestor who is now 'pure dynamic force' can influence and effect many births without emptying his personality. his ‘vital force' is such that it can be emitted into the "returned" baby without losing or diminishing his cherished place in the spirit world, just as the number and extent of the rays of the sun do not diminish it. thus, instead of seeing a new born as a complete 'return' of a departed personality, it is differently seen as a 'vital influence', a 'personal ray' or a 'living-perpetuation of the living-dead. ilọ-ụwa as thus delineated presupposes something tangible or noticeable of a person, which can stand for that person and re-enact his previous life in the new existent person. here, an identifiable personality in the igbo spiritual world is said to, in a mysterious but real manner, incorporate his personality traits on a new unique personality without destroying or substituting for that new personality and without diminishing his complete personal identity in the spirit world. the special impact of the identified deceased on the new born which onyewuenyi calls 'vital influence’ is identified by ekwunife as a ‘mystical influence’ since it neither diminishes the status of the dead nor destroys the freedom and possibilities of the new born to achieve fulfilment in life. having critically weighed the thoughts of the above writers, it is therefore the contention of the author that the term ịlọ-ụwa in the igbo philosophy and cosmology can have a scientific explanation based on human nature itself given that the proofs of fact itself are themselves proofs of genetic inheritance. considered scientifically, a much more appropriate term should be given to it. the writer therefore proposes oyiyi (resemblance or in the likeness of) instead of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 169 the term ịlọ-ụwa. in the scientific analysis, it then means that what is obtainable in igboland as the phenomena of reincarnation is oyiyi. oyiyi (resemblance or in the likeness of) if so approved, will take care of apparent differences and similarities observable in ịlọ-ụwa such as a single ancestor returning in many individuals; somebody reincarnating in a newborn baby while still alive and so on. however, it is reasonable and logical for an individual to “resemble” or be “in the likeness of” many persons including the young, old and even the dead. on the issue of reappearance of the marks on the body, the author opines that familiar spirit is involved. reappearance of the marks on the body is only witnessed among the people that believe in reincarnation. if it were not so, why is it that that phenomenon does not occur among the people that do not believe in reincarnation? so, in a mysterious way, familiar spirit plays upon its victim during conception to produce the said mark. the author sees the reappearance of marks on the body as a manipulative action of the familiar spirit upon its victim during conception rather than as a proof of reincarnation or, rather still as a paranormal experience. the author categorically states that this manipulative action of the familiar spirits can only be witnessed among the people that believe in it. in other words, it is a manipulative action of familiar spirits facilitated by the belief system of the people. the writer contends that the proofs of the fact of reincarnation are themselves the proofs of the fact of genetic inheritance. the findings of genetics (scientific study of heredity and variation in living organism) showed that certain traits are persistent along family lines. ilọ-ụwa or reincarnation as noted above occurs mostly within family circles and the proofs themselves are qualities and characteristics which are inheritable from parents and ancestors. igbo ancestors knew this and gave the igbo traditions some norms governing marriage contracts and other relations. for instance, the igbo say, agbụrụ ndị ara (the family of mad people) or agbụrụ ndị ọnwụ ike (the family of bad deaths) and other examples referring to serious hereditary traits. the author contends that given that these genetic problems are known and accepted by the igbo as negative implication of heredity even before the dawning of medical science, what prevents the igbo people from accepting ịlọ-ụwa as the positive implication of the same heredity? nothing prevents a child from inheriting the qualities or physical marks and signs of his or her ancestors and great grandfathers and mothers. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 170 again, considered differently, if it is argued that it is not the aspect of an ancestor but his personhood that is reincarnated in a child, it will not only present the problem of dualism which the igbo stand against but it will also cast a question mark on their ancestor worship or veneration for it does not make sense to adore and worship an ancestor who is believed to have reincarnated and at the same time dwells among the ancestral cult. the writer doubts if this is a better representation of igbo beliefs in ilo-uwa and at the same time wants to challenge the signs of those influences as phenomenon subject to modern law of heredity. the author wants to show that no matter how this phenomenon is explained away as ekwunife (1999) tried to do as a “vital influence or the life-share or living perpetuation of the ancestor” (p. 56), it cannot fit into the igbo perception of reincarnation. this is because the igboman believes that maduka biara uwa (maduka returned or reincarnated) and not an aspect of maduka or a “vital force of maduka. conclusion the writer can doubt any other thing but not anyone’s experience. this is because one’s experience is personal to one. no-one shares the experience with that person in question. although the writer can claim not to doubt one’s experience however, he can question the interpretation one gives to one’s experience. this is applicable to igbo concept of reincarnation. that one believes in something does not necessarily mean that it exits. it is a belief. and, a belief is based on inconclusive evidence. it could as well mean that it does not exist. the author wants to believe that the interpretation that the authors reviewed above gave to reincarnation does not exist. of course, the author is talking from his own experience and learning. it is a matter of interpretation. what exists is that the dead and the living can share certain observable features and characteristics. if this is what some scholars call reincarnation, then it is a matter of nomenclature. the experience is there and undeniable. reincarnation therefore means the phenomenon whereby grandchildren, or great grandchildren resemble their parents or great grandparents by acquisition of inheritable characteristics passed down to them through the family line. references abogunrin, s. o. (1991). the first letter of paul to the corinthians. ibadan: daystar. almeder, r. (1997). a critical of arguments offered against reincarnation. journal of scientific exploration,11,14, 499-526. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 171 anozia, i. p. (1968). the religious import of igbo names: rome. unpublished thesis: urban university. clark, e. a. (1967). the origenist controversy. princeton: princeton university press. echekwube, a. o. (1987). the question of reincarnation in african religion: a re-appraisal. orita. journal of religious studies, 1026. ekwealor, c. c. (2013). agumagu ederere igbo n’ozuzuoke. nsukka: paschal. ekwunife, a. n. o. (1999). ino uwa (reincarnation). enugu : snapp. ezenweke, e. o. (2012). issues and properties of reincarnation. issues in african traditional religion and philosophy.193-204. jos: augustinian. hornby, a. s. (2010). oxford advanced learners dictionary. oxford: oxford university. geisler, h. l. & amano j. u. (1986). the reincarnation sensation. wheaton, illinois: tyndale house. isidienu, i. c. (2015). echiche ndi igbo gbasara chukwu, ndichie na onwu. in omumu agumagu na omenala igbo, 108-112. kirkpatrick, e. m. (ed) (1983). chambers 20th century dictionary. edinburgh: chambers mbachi, v.c (2019). exegetical study of matt. 25: 31-46 in contradistinction to igbo cosmological notion of reincarnation. unpublished ph.d thesis. unizik, awka. mbiti, j. s. (1969). african religions and philosophy. london: heinemann. metuh, e. i. (1985). african religions, in western conceptual schemes: the problem of interpretation. ibadan (pi): claverian. nzomiwu, j. p. c. (1999). the concept of justice among the traditional igbo: an ethical inquiry. awka. fides publishers. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 172 obilor, j. i. (1994). the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead and the igbo belief in the reincarnation. frankfurt: peter lang. ogbuagu, j. o., udemmadu, t. n., & anedo, a. o. (2012). ntoala omumu agumagu na omenala igbo. enugu : john jacobs. onyewuenyi, c. o. (1989). african belief in reincarnation: a philosophic reappraisal. enugu: snaap. parrinder, e. g. (1971). dictionary of non-christian religions. philadelphia: westminster. ramalingam, s. t. (2005). modern biology. onitsha: african first. ubesie, t. (2004). odinala ndi igbo. ibadan : university press. umeodinka, a. (2015). igba afa n’ala igbo. omumu agamagu na omenala igbo, 7076. igwebuike_6_8_7.cdr 115 igwebuike, individual freedom and responsibility in african ethics jude i. onebunne, phd department of philosophy nnamdi azikiwe university, awka juno.anyi@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.36016.38405 & mirian n. alike, phd department of philosophy nnamdi azikiwe university, awka mirianngozialike@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.36016.38405 abstract the concept of igwebuike as a philosophy of inclusive action in unity still respects the individual person in the african world view. igwebuike is possible when the individuals congregate, dened by a common interest as a goal. the individuals, therefore, make up the igwe (populace, unison, people) that exercises or has the enormous ike (strength). hence, igwe is ike. by and large, the morality or the ethical demand of the individual is not lost amidst the population or in the igwe, with regard to the exercise of ike; rather, the individual is responsible for every action within the igwe, and the igwe, via individual actions, has a cooperate responsibility to bear and as such there is an individual responsibility in igwebuike as regards african ethics. the act of belonging within the african community entails a duty within the limits of the communal ethics. applying the method of critical analysis, this paper explores and nds out that the communalistic relationship between igwebuike and the individual person is within the bounds of african ethics. keywords: igwebuike, individual person, kanu ikechukwu anthony, freedom, responsibility, african ethics introduction this work proposes igwebuike as the key in understanding african philosophy and, by implication, african ethics as its main branch. igwebuike is a relational concept that denes a communal action in the african world view. man, the individual human person, is always, to a great extent, the product of his igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 116 environment, that is, the community known for communion and other forms of human interactions. the community must be understood as being one and the same with the society, environment or group of people, though with differential nuances. however, maritain (1951:2) maintains that “a community is more of a work of nature and more nearly related to the biological; a society is more of a work of reason, and more nearly related to the intellectual and spiritual properties of a man”. in both senses, however, community is synonymously interchanged with the state. the human person interplays out his life within the community as an individual within a group. in this sense, it is applicable to say that, no individual, no community; that is, if there is no individual person, there is no group formation as a result of the aggregate of individual persons. this is the hallmark of igwebuike. igwebuike, as an african relational concept, is the modality of being in african metaphysics. it is an igbo concept, which is a combination of three words. therefore, as kanu (2017:23) explains, it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some form of spatial independence. according to kanu, igwebuike is anchored on the african world view. kanu (2017:23), the apostle of igwebuike, denes it as “the expressive modality of being in igbo ontology”. for him, igwebuike, which, according to asouzu (2007:11) is literally strength in togetherness, is the locus of meeting of beings in igbo communalist metaphysics, with special reference to existentialism and leadership. onebunne (2020), in a paper titled belongingness as igwebuike and african philosophy: a critical relationship (unpublished), sees a crucial but necessary relationship between igwebuike and belongingness. in developing the fundamental character of being as belongingness, however, iroegbu (1996:45) initially denes belongingness as a denitive principle in african communalism. he used belongingness as a principle of membership applied to a given community. this membership is not a mere identication, but a kind of belonging that is security-assured. in this understanding, belongingness implies the basic commonness that makes a community a community, and in our context, it is what makes a given african community as such. this feeling of belonging is a basic need and a unique term in the dynamics of living and existence. hence, iroegbu (1995:19) asserts that “belongingness makes sure that all belong and none is marginalized, both contributively (duties and responsibilities) and distributively (sharing of communal cake)”. this is the locus of igwebuike at play. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 117 one does not necessarily belong. one is ever conscious of where one is putting up or belonging. continuing, one can therefore appreciate belongingness as igwebuike; hence, they are being characterized by a common origin, common worldview, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny. the communalindividuality of the african life is expressed in the igbo-african proverb: ngwere ghara ukwu osisi, aka akparaya (if a lizard stays off from the foot of a tree, it would be caught); otu osisi anaghi emebe ohia (a tree does not make a forest); gidigidi bu ugwueze (the dignity of a king is the number of his supportive followers); mmetuko ahu bu utondu (the beauty of life is in mixing up with others). mbiti (1970:108) has classically proverbialized the community by determining role of the individual when he wrote, i am because we are and since we are, therefore i am. this would mean that the condence of being is because others are in being. the existence of others assures me of their solidarity and complementarity without which i cannot be. achebe (1958:133) brings the essential nature of the igboafrican communal relationship to a higher and more fundamental focus when he wrote: a man who calls his kinsmen to a feast does not do so to save them from starving. they all have food in their own homes. when we gather together in the moonlight village ground it is not because of the moon. everyman can see it in his own compound. we come together because it is good for kinsmen to do so. the community in question is ever guided by principles which, of course, are the hallmark of personal actions of the individual persons. hence, the individual person in igwebuike has a dened responsibility within a dened group that opts for it. such is the thrust of african ethics, guiding the operations of igwebuike in a communal state. the full understanding of this kind of relationship is properly expressed in the meaning of community and or a state, as already referred to above as communal state. maritain (1951:2), however, maintains that “both community and society are ethico-social and truly human, not mere biological realities”. as a consequence, therefore, if they are truly human and more real africans, they need a moral principle and should be under moral obligation as well as have a practice of african value system as the cardinal points of african ethics. these cardinal practices are regarded as african way of life, at least, in pristine and still in modern african societies and groups. such cardinal acts are more of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 118 communalistic in nature. this understanding underlines the key characteristics of a human communal state, namely: mutual participation, social relationship, fellowship and equal sharing of certain fundamental rights, origin (root), good or orientation in the community. it entails sharing a dened locality and communality, which are often expressed in the concept of a nation as people from the same root, natus. many will refer to this form of communal nature as mere communalism as such. according to ekennia (1998: 348), the idea of communalism expressed in a communal state ‘’refers to social relationship, fellowship, socialites, organized society. it invokes obligingness”. in our popular parlance and understanding, it invokes belongingness. belongingness has been identied as an ontological abstract term that species that a human person is because he belongs within the communal state. a human person, as the primary subject of african ethics, displays and denes himself more in belongingness. belongingness, in this understanding, is the propulsive move of a human person to perfect himself so as to operate within an environment, a kind of communal state. onebunne (2019a:2) expatiates on this idea of belongingness, thus: belongingness is a fundamental quality in understanding being. no being can be understood in terms of its completeness but in its relation to other beings, dening itself through other beings. every being is dened by a relation, that is, a being is in relation to something, or with an attribute of engaging in something. and this fact of beingness, which is a form of relation, is a form of belonging to, belonging with, and belonging in. relation, therefore, becomes a kind of state by which being realizes itself among others and others within it. belongingness, to this extent, concretizes one in existence in relation to others within the spatial temporality like the communal state. the communal state in question is understood as a nexus of inter-relational relationship for human actions and interactions, that is, existence in the broadest perception. igwebuike, nevertheless, becomes a practical expression of communal interaction and responsibility in this communal state, since it is the basis for a communal life that demands a just ordered and well-organized society as african ethics demands and opines. concept of igwebuike igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 119 sacred scripture was apt to acknowledge that man, a living thing, is a creature of god with body and soul, made in the image and likeness of god (cf. gen. 126ff). man was created by the immediate hand of god, and is generically different from all other creatures. his complex nature is composed of two elements, two distinct substances, viz: body and soul. the scriptures, nevertheless, appreciate man based on the hebrew word 'adam, used as the proper name of the rst man. hence, the rst man was called adam because he was formed from the red earth (cf. gen.1-8). the name is derived from a word meaning to be red. it is also the generic name of the human race. its equivalents are the latin homo and the greek anthropos. the hebrew 'ish’ denotes also man in opposition to woman, h’isha. equally, human evolution has it that human beings have common ancestorship with the apes, the chimpanzees, as characterized by a number of morphological, developmental, physiological constituents and behavioural changes unto the moment of homo erectus, irrespective of the discovery of the much-lauded missing link of man’s ancestry. it was charles darwin’s 1958 publication on the origin of species which, according to bowden (1991: x), “provided evidence to show how the very diverse animals now existing had evolved from earlier primitive life over a long period of time”. this is the beginning of the great controversial theory of human evolution, which is the evolutionary process that led to the emergence of anatomically modern humans, beginning with the evolutionary history of primates—in particular, genus homo—and leading to the emergence of homo sapiens as a distinct species of the hominid family, the great apes. amidst these theories of human evolution, pierre teihard de chardin’s hominization, in line with the becoming of man, along with the crossing the threshold of reection, culminating in his omega point, is against the mere physical science that man is not uniquely man but ape-man. according to lewis (1969:3), “scientists generally accept the fact that human beings evolved from ape-like ancestors”. scientic human evolution based on evidence from comparative anatomy, paleontology and embryology and as a result of mutation, adaptation and natural selection acknowledges man as human person, that is homo sapiens, homo faber, homo loquens, and a homo cogitans. all these denitional concepts differentially dene the human person as a rational animal than an animal with instinctual nature. in the words of mondin (1985:243), “historically the word person marks the line of demarcation between pagan and christian culture…until the advent of christianity, there did not exist, either in greek or in latin, a word to express the concept of a person, because in pagan culture such a concept did not exist, these igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 120 igwebuike is the action of human beings as an entity. it is the modality of human beings. in our context, and as a concept, igwebuike is the african mode of human beings’ style of belonging in african communalistic metaphysics and sociopolitical philosophy. therefore, it is the actus humanus of a being to belong within a communal setting. it is the mode of any and every reality as such in african philosophy. kanu (2017:1) was clear in placing igwebuike at the hub of african philosophical enterprise on which many african institutions and societal interactions are built. it is, therefore, the background to meaningful communal interaction and signicant existence. hence, there are values of igwebuike, for kanu, a. they are in its complementary character, solidarity form, unitary nature and concordance style. igwebuike is an igbo word, which is a combination of three words. therefore, it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. the three words involved: igwe is a noun, which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power. thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’. it was employed by igbo traditional philosophers as a theory based on an illustrative statement to teach that when human beings come together in solidarity and complementary relationship, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force to express their world of relationship, harmony, continuality and balance. at this level, no task is beyond their collective capability. this provides an ontological horizon that presents human beings as that which possess relational character of mutual interest. as an ideology, igwebuike argues that to be is to live in solidarity and harmony, and to live outside the parameters of complementary solidarity is to suffer alienation. to be is to be with the other, in a community of human beings. this is based on the african sense of community, which is the underlying principle and unity of african philosophy. igwebuike philosophy is, therefore, sourced from the proper and professional but critical interpretation of the african world view and praxis, with regard to their thoughts and culture mostly embedded in the african orature. this, to a large extent, has to do with the african myths, folklore, symbols, proverb and songs. person the concept of person, with its root in latin as persona and in greek as prosopon meaning mask or disguising, explains concretely the human being, often the man. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 121 cultures did not recognize the absolute value of the individual as such, and made their absolute value depend essentially on class rank, wealth and race.” mondin (1985: 256) continuing, gave an authoritative denition of a person, thus, “the person can be dened as a subsistent gifted with self-consciousness, communication and self transcendence.” isaka seme was one of the rst westerneducated africans to challenge the european colonialism and malevolent explorations then sweeping across the continental africa. in 1906, however, he addressed the royal african society in london. below is the excerpt from his speech titled regeneration of africa: man, the crowning achievement of nature, dees analysis. he is a mystery through all ages and for all time. the races of mankind are composed of free and unique individuals. an attempt to compare them on the basis of equality can never be nally satisfactory. each is self. the speech was an epoch-making event that woke up the europeans to the fact that africans are human beings as a result of their human personhood. their personality gives them the title of a human person with dened rights and responsibility. he reminded them that the years of slavery, yokes of dehumanization of africans as mere object and plundering of africa are over. africa, therefore, must be regenerated as they have degenerated it. the starting of course is the recognition that the races of mankind are composed of free and unique individuals as african persons as such. african person african persons are people who are native to africa, descendants of natives of africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of africa. this person in question enjoys the quality of a human person and, added to that, the singular privilege of being culture-bound. africanity, therefore, becomes another dening character and peculiar value amidst other continents and comity of nations in the new world order. an african person is a human person with african weltanschauung as a basic background. continental africa has lot of possibilities, in spite of the rare privilege of africa being the cradle of ancient civilization and mother of civilization of all civilizations. as oguejiofor (2001:24) puts it : “the african continent was also host to ancient civilizations such as egypt, kush, napata and meroe, nubia and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 122 dynamic and exceedingly unique, in line with the shakespearean (hamlet, act ii, scene ii) descriptive exaltation of man, thus: what a piece of work is man! how noble in reason! how innite in faculty! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals! the african person, therefore, is fundamentally culture-bound and communally understood and appreciated. this is the background knowledge of a person through the sense of extended family system and super hunger for human interaction. the african person of the 21st century unfortunately must once again be liberated from the shackles of structural imperialism, racial discrimination and white supremacy. back then in 1906, isaka seme daringly spoke boldly fearless, thus: by this term regeneration i wish to be understood to mean the entrance into a new life, embracing the diverse phases of a higher, complex existence. the basic factor which assures their regeneration resides in the awakened race consciousness. this gives them a clear perception of their elemental needs and of their underdeveloped powers. it therefore must lead them to the attainment of that higher and advanced standard of life. concluding, isaka seme was vehement in addressing the issue of reviving africa from all forms of mis-educated and misguided ideas imported into africa. he was blunt against the carting away of what they branded blackishly evil and despicably demonized. a civilization they wickedly denounced, yet they cherished to covertly import and appropriate them. seme, however, concluded thus: the regeneration of africa means that a new and unique civilization is soon to be added to the world. the african is not a proletarian in the world of science and art: he has precious creations of his own—of ivory; of copper and of gold; of ne, plaited willow-ware; and weapons of superior workmanship. civilization resembles an organic being in its development—it is born, it perishes, and it can propagate itself. more particularly, it resembles a plant; it takes root in the teeming earth, and when the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 123 axum. when these had had their days, the continent kept pace with the rest of the world”. the contemporary and renewed continuation of the scramble for africa, after the much-lauded independence and end to open slavery, leaves every good-thinking man with a lot of questions, with regard to africa’s coming of age to be (amidst the inherent racism and resurgence of white supremacy). the beauty of africa, as plo mulumba would alert, makes africa still attractive to the west and the rest of the world. this attractiveness is very much seen and exceptionally dependent both on the human and natural resources within the african continent. explaining further, plo mulumba said: when i look at africa and see how attractive she is, one word comes to mind globalization. when they talk about globalization, they talk about it as if it were new. africans were once globalized as a commodity in the slave market, we were sold everywhere in the world, that was globalization. then we were globalized again through colonization. then, again, through neo-colonization. now we are being globalised again in the context of opening our markets: it was julius nyerere who in many of his enlightened moments said, "we should open our markets in the name of globalization and they say that the rules are the same." "i laugh," he said. then he went on to say, "it's like a boxing match, the rules are the same but you don't put a heavyweight boxer with a lightweight boxer in the same ring and say the rules are the same, it's murder. the african person, therefore, is appreciated more from the context that human beings are the centre of all reality, based on the fact that human life, from the ethical point of view, is of primary value. mondin (1985:25) puts it thus: “of all the forms of human action, the most elementary and fundamental one, and the one which at the same time emerges as the most complex and rich with content, is life.” human life, not animal life, nor plant life, therefore, places the human person as the locus of creation and created things. this is why human life is a primary value. it is the value of all values, and without it, no other value is valuable. human life, therefore, vivies the human person and as a consequence the african person. as iroegbu (1994:136) rightly puts it, “there is in african anthropology an anthropocentricism that is nonetheless a humanism and an integralism.” an african person, therefore, has a holistic personality that is very igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 124 seeds fall in other soils, new varieties sprout up. the most essential departure of this new civilization is that it shall be thoroughly spiritual and humanistic-indeed, a regeneration moral and eternal. freedom and responsibility rousseau’s renowned phrase, in his social contract, is that man is born free, but he is everywhere in chains. with this form of chained freedom, he asserts his exalted idea of the contemporary nature of humanity. this chained freedom, nevertheless, suppresses the basic expression of freedom that is our birthright and is absolute against every natural instinct that is mere animalistic, and for this reason, man enters into civil society with every duty and responsibility. it is, therefore, freedom in responsibility. it is freedom that is accounted for and such is a responsible freedom. it has to do with the ability to respond as need be in the cause of exercising free actions. you are free to the extent you can account for it. this is responsibility. it is freedom in responsibility. freedom to this extent is duty-bound. in this is basic understanding that man is free but everywhere in chains, according to j. p. sartre. man is free as long as his freedom respects others’ free acts. man is free within boundaries. this is a limited freedom. this is the fundamental idea behind freedom to and freedom from. the concept of freedom is from the latin word, libertas, and the greek word, eleutheria, both of which indicate a condition of independence, a kind of autonomy, a form of self-determination. freedom is the liberty, license or ability to do something. it is a rational concept reecting an inalienable human right to realize one's human will in form of freedom to and freedom from. freedom, according to online webster’s dictionary, is the quality or state of being free: such as (a) : the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action, (b) : liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another : independence, (c) : the quality or state of being exempt or released usually from something onerous. the word, freedom, therefore, stands for something greater than just the right to act in whichever way one wishes to act. it also stands for securing to everyone an equal opportunity to life, emancipation, and the pursuit of happiness. freedom is a term which is synonymous with liberty. it has been a point of deliberation among various epochs of philosophy in both ethical and political circles. a man igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 125 is said to be free to the extent that he can choose his goals or the course of his conduct, without being compelled to act as he would not himself choose to act. it is the absence of the imposition of one’s will by any other authority or power. karl jasper is reputed for his philosophy of freedom which he considers not free but gained. according to jasper (1959: 32), “freedom is not absolute; it is always bound at the same time. i do not have it, i gain it.” the exercise of freedom in real practice, at the long, necessitates a kind of limit to what an individual does in a community. the whole idea is about the place of african ethics in a community. african ethics ethics, western ethics to be precise, deals with the moral value of human actions and decency of human behaviour against all forms of animality. the human actions and behaviour, by this understanding, must be accounted for as long as one confronts confusing but decisive moments in living out his daily experience on what is right or bad and what ought to be done or not. from this ethical appreciation, one moves unto traditional african ethics. traditional ethics has to do with norms, precepts, doctrines, principles and moral codes, which regulate the conduct and actions of individuals in african societies. kanu (2015:166) conrms that “traditional african societies had had their traditional ethics”. traditional, however, informs african ethics as it tries to maintain and ensure social order and stability in conventional african societies. african ethics is a realistic and pragmatic philosophy that involves and engages the african person with regard to limits of freedom and, as a result, his responsibility in a communal engagement. african ethics is a main branch of african philosophy. it is a practical philosophy which, according to maritain (2005:177), “is for the good man”. iroegbu (1994: 136), denes african ethics, thus: this is a horizontal aspect of metaphysics and the consequence of epistemology. ethics in african philosophy has been argued to be independent of religion. to this we say yes and no. while god does not directly determine all moral norms, the fear of god makes the realization of those norms effective. ethics, as a branch of practical philosophy, deals directly with human actions in relation to others. however, philosophers today usually divide ethical theories into three general subject areas: meta-ethics, normative ethics and applied ethics. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 126 stanford online dictionary, however, gave a general descriptive denition of ethics thus: the ethics of a society is embedded in the ideas and beliefs about what is right or wrong, what is a good or bad character; it is also embedded in the conceptions of satisfactory social relations and attitudes held by the members of the society; it is embedded, furthermore, in the forms or patterns of behavior that are considered by the members of the society to bring about social harmony and cooperative living, justice, and fairness. the ideas and beliefs about moral conduct are articulated, analyzed, and interpreted by the moral thinkers of the society. here, we see the difference between morality (that is value) and religious innuendoes (nuances of belief), as regards the fear of god. it is all about the question of the dening differential nuances between moral instruction and religious education. onebunne and alike (2017) reiterate that “religion and morality are not synonymous. religion and morality are concepts whose conceptual relationships are expressed between religious views and informed conduct of morals…morality does not necessarily depend upon religion”. however, african ethics is all about value, rather than religious belief. over the years, stanford online dictionary offers that “african societies, as organized and functioning human communities, have undoubtedly evolved ethical systems— ethical values, principles, rules—intended to guide social and moral behaviour”. hence, there are outstanding african values which are the thrust of african ethics; they include: respect for the sacredness of human life, extended family system, large family system, industry, hard work, respect for senior members of the society, religion, value for private property, language, to mention but a few. african ethics, therefore, has to do with the conduct and action of the human person within a specied community. maritain (2005:173) maintains that, “ethics is as practical to any true science in the strict sense can be, for it teaches not only the most general rules of remote applications but also the particular rules applicable to the particular action to be performed.” it has the good of man in every explicit term by dening what is right and determining what is wrong. in spite of the progress already made in science and technology amidst transvaluation of values and disparagement of the fundamentals of african culture and the threat of monoculture via globalization, an african man is still igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 127 very conscious of his root and identity as an african. an african man by nature is morally conscious of his attitude, especially within the community. hence, he lives on the pretext of what community identity offers, approves or disapproves. the communal life often determines the african man with the spirit of extended family system already in practice. african ethics is african morality. it is the african value. it has to do with african value system, with regard to the norms and morality of the african human person’s right or bad conduct within the community of persons. it is the modus operandi as well as the modus vivendum of an african man as an african. african ethics is operational within the african world view which is holistic and encompassing. hence, african ethics starts with the individual in the community and extends beyond that. kanu (2015:170), explains it, thus, “the community in africa survives on the contributions of individual endowments. ” according to bujo (2003:20), african ethics is “realized primarily by means of a relational network that is equally anthropocentric, cosmic and theocentric”. from this, one discovers that african ethics is a kind of relationship with man at the centre in relation to uwa as a generic term that englobes all that is. uwa, however, is the locus of operation for human living and necessary interaction. however, against other philosophers who have delved into philosophical excursus, iroegbu was very rigorous in adopting from okere the uses of the concept of uwa, which is an igbo word meaning world. for iroegbu, uwa is the totality and fullness of being in its self expression. it is the theatre of activity for being as belongingness. to this view, asouzu (2007:204) appreciates thus, that. “this ethnocentric avour notwithstanding, what i nd very positive in iroegbu’s use of the concept uwa, is that this concept gives us some feelings concerning the comprehensiveness, totality and wholeness of reality itself; an understanding of reality quite in consonance with the teaching of traditional philosophers of the complementary system of thought”. through different mutual dynamics of relationship, the term, uwa, remains a universalising concept, respecting the boundaries of african ethics in any community living and interaction. bujo (2003:20) further reiterates that “the main goal of african ethics is fundamentally life itself. the community must guarantee the promotion and protection of life by specifying or ordaining ethics and morality.” igwebuike expressing african ethics of living igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 128 igwebuike is a lived out principle of participation. the concept of igwebuike expresses concretely the african ethics of living. something, of course, is holding and binding them so as to form and be referred to as igwebuike. there is an underlying fact or rightly put , a guiding principle of operation. igwebuike is a practical expression of communal attitude with underlying guidance, based on the value system of the people, and in our context, african value system. igwebuike specically spells out the communal strength that is exerted in moments of communal need in order to execute or achieve a feat. such communal enterprise, nevertheless, is within specied principles as african ethics. it is the individuals that actually make up the population that is identied and empowered as such as igwebuike. these individual persons are very conscious of their individuality and responsibility towards the other and the community in general as a result of their free will to associate and relate as such. bujo (:114) explains that “it must be recalled that african ethics does not dene the person as self-realization or as ontological act; rather, it describes the person as a process of coming into existence in the reciprocal relatedness of individual and community….” there is a collective responsibility that is rightly translated as igwebuike in this context. personal responsibility succinctly denes a response-able person. that is, an individual who is capable of giving a response, albeit in every situation that demands so. such idea of responsibility denes a permissible person, with regard to age and the expected accountability. this has to do with the idea that a human being is ever the architect of his ideas, with a status within the bounds of moral obligation. this is the border line of an african person as an individual in the igwebuike crusade. hence, the attended personal responsibility attunes one into the level of individual commitment which all congregating individuals are willing to make or sacrice in setting clear goals needed for full responsibility in their achievement of the igwebuike mandate. bujo (2003:112) afrms accordingly that “the position of the individual and the community in ethical behaviour is very important”. there must be a morally bottom line of action. the individual responsibility in question is as a result of the aggregates of acceptable single individual behaviour that is of course bordered on choice. however, bujo (2003:115) explains further that: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 129 the individual becomes a person only through active participation in the life of the community. it is not membership in a community as such that constitutes the identity: only common action makes the human person a human person and keeps him from becoming an unfettered ego. the community becomes a veritable ground for the true meaning and expression of the individual participation in and for the community based on igwebuike. this is solidarity in the form of concrete expression of igwebuike. therefore, every form of interaction of the individual in the community is based on the needed solidarity. bujo (2003:117) continues to buttress that “life in a community demands alertness and the maintenance of one’s own individuality”. igwebuike, therefore, respects and recognizes the individual amidst other persons. though igwebuike thrives on the strength of the igwe (number, population), yet it appreciates the minor individual, as well, the concrete contributions of each in strengthening the other are recognized. a good understanding of the individual persons’ response-ability, as well as the responsible freedom in a community, while expressing their appreciable solidarity in their best interest too, is what igwebuike is all about. part of the african value system is a well-dened relationship that is well spelt out on mutual interest and common good of all. igwebuike is for the common good. igwebuike is a unication of communal talents and possibilities harnessed for the general interest. bye and large, such interest and communal expression must be under some guiding principles. this is what african ethics is all about. conclusion life is of primary value. according to iroegbu (2000:179), “life is the highest, foundation and end-point of all values”. the life in question, especially human life, is the locus of operation for the concepts like igwebuike and african ethics in the exercise of freedom and practice of responsibility. however, iroegbu (2000:182) buttresses this enduring fact, thus “every life has meaning. the highest meaning of life is to live for somebody, for something, for others, for society…making others alive”. igwebuike is possible as a result of the individual persons acting as a group within the bounds of peculiar moral guidance for the good of all in a communal setting. african ethics, however, is that value parameter that vivies igwebuike as the modality of human beings in the african community. contemporary african philosophers have tried to give sustained igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 130 reective attention to the implementation of african ethics as it contributes to the understanding of the african human person. through the african human person and african language of morality expressed as such in the practise of igwebuike, african ethics is given a prominent place through the individual’s responsible freedom and responsibility. in the exercise of the communal effort, informed most probably by the spirit of igwebuike, african ethics becomes the yardstick for the involved individuals. references achebe, c. things fall apart. england: heinemann. 1958 asouzu, i.i (2007) ibuanyidanda: new complementary ontology. zurich: lit, verlag gmbh & co; wien boweden, m. science vs evolution. kent: sovereign publications. 1991. bujo, b. foundation of an african ethic: beyond the universal claims of western morality.nairobi: paulines publications africa. 2003. ekennia, j. african communalism and political rationality: a critique in african philosophy and public affairs. enugu: delta publications, 1998. iroegbu, p. enwisdomization & african philosophy. owerri: international universities press ltd, 1994 iroegbu, p., metaphysics: kpim of philosophy (owerri: international university press), 1995. iroegbu, p. kpim of politics: communalism, owerri: international university press. 1996 iroegbu, p. kpim of personality: treatise on the human person. owerri: eustel pubs. 2000 jaspers, k.. philosophy vol. 2 trans. new york: chicago press. 1959. kanu, a. african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. awka: fab-anieh ltd. 2015. kanu, i. a. igwebuike and being in igbo ontology in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 4 no 5. [12-21]. 2017 kanu, i. a “sources of igwebuike philosophy: towards a socio-cultural foundation” traditional african personality, identity and philosophy: challenges and ways forward. 5thinternational annual conference of the association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars, 28th30th june 2017, school of postgraduate studies conference hall, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka anambra state, nigeria. kanu, i. a. (2014). igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholicpentecostal relations. jos studies. 22. pp.87-98. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 131 kanu, i. a. (2015b). igwebuike as an ontological precondition for african ethics. international conference of the society for research and academic excellence. university of nigeria, nsukka. 14th -16th september. kanu, i. a. (2015c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 6166. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.2340. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.1221. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientic community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girlchild education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 132 kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. lewis, j. anthropology made simple. great britain: richard clay (the chancer press) ltd. 1969. maritain, j. man and the state. chicago: university of chicago press, 1951 maritain, j., an introduction to philosophy, london: continuum, 2005 mbiti, j. s. african religion and philosophy. london: heinemann. 1969. mondin, b. a history of medieval philosophy. india: theological pub.1991 onebunne, j.i., being as belongingness: expanding the hermeneutics of african metaphysics of to be, awka: fab anieh nig ltd,. 2019a onebunne, j. & alike, m. religious and or moral education: in search for a critically dening difference in ejikemeuwa j.o. & ejikeme, p.o. (eds). society and human development: essays in honour of j.b. akam. ng: bobpecco pub. 2017. p. 335-353. online webster’s dictionary, https://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/freedom. retrieved 04/07/2020 shakespeare, w. hamlet, act ii, scene ii stanford online dictionary, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/african-ethics/. retrieved 10/07/2020 seme, i. https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/1906-isaka-semeregeneration-africa/. retrieved on 04/07/2020 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 2 a comparative appraisal of the understandings of epidemics in camus’ the plague and pandemics in african traditional epistemologies (ate) mark omorovie ikeke, phd department of religious studies and philosophy delta state university, abraka, nigeria ikeke7@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.14770.12482 abstract epidemic refers to a wide occurrence of an infectious disease in a community within a particular time; while a pandemic is a more extensive spread of an infectious disease on a worldwide scale. a person or society that believes that disease comes from god or an evil power is of the same position whether it is a pandemic or an epidemic. this study is concerned with how africans have conceived and interpreted pandemics or epidemics. the thoughts of albert camus, a french-algerian philosopher on an epidemic that he wrote about in his novel, the plague; and the understanding of epidemics or pandemics in african traditional epistemologies will be interrogated. that it is traditional does not mean it is no longer held. some persons’ understandings are still influenced by traditional epistemologies. camus through the views of dr rieux expresses non-belief in god, for if he were to exist, he would be the one who should take care of the sick during the epidemic. the human response to evil should be that of revolt in taking action to solve human suffering instead of waiting for god. there are various perceptions on epidemics or plagues in african epistemology. in some cultures, it is believed that god is good and anything evil or suffering such as sicknesses comes from evil spirits. in others, epidemics emanate from human sinfulness or punishment for human faults. pandemics can happen to one as a result of one’s destiny. the paper through analytic and hermeneutic methods finds that while the viewpoint of camus is thoroughly atheistic and secular; that of african epistemologies are theistic. the paper concludes that whether theistic or atheistic, there is solid reason for human beings to rebel against pandemics and work hard to eliminate them. keywords: african traditional epistemologists, camus, epidemic, plague introduction human societies from ancient times have been troubled by epidemics, pandemics, plagues and other infectious diseases. epidemics that have afflicted the world includes: the 3000 bce prehistoric epidemic, 430 bce plague of athens, the 165-180 ace antonine plague, the 250 ad plague of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 3 cyprian, the 541-542 ad plague of justinian, the black death of 1346-1353 ad, the 1545-1548 cocoliztli epidemic, the 16th century american plagues, the 1665/1666 great plague of london, the russian plague of 1770-1772, the great plague of marseille of 1720-1723, the philadelphia yellow fever epidemic of 1793, the american polio epidemic of 1916, the spanish flu of 1918-1920, the asian flu of 1957-1958, 2014-2016 west african ebola epidemic, and the zika virus epidemic. for pandemics they include, the 1889/1890 flu pandemic, the aids pandemic of 1981 till present day, h1n1 swine flu pandemic of 20092010 (jarus, 2020). currently the entire world is experiencing the pandemic of coronavirus. pandemics/epidemics have had grave effects on society. millions of people have lost their lives to epidemics and pandemics and these epidemics and pandemics have also brought about social chaos and problems. as at the time of writing the coronavirus pandemic has caused africa some loss of lives, a decline in african economies, and resulted in many other untold damages. it is imperative to point out the delimitation of the paper. the concern of this paper will not be to examine the origin, causes, and consequences of epidemics/pandemics. this work will focus on making a comparative appraisal of the understanding of epidemics in camus’ thought and pandemics in african traditional epistemologies. it is focused on the traditional african understanding and not understandings or philosophies on pandemics in general. in respect of camus, the focus will be with his understanding of epidemics as presented in his novel, the plague. it is through critical analysis and hermeneutics that the work examines these twin issues. through critical analysis the issues will be broken-open for deeper understanding. hermeneutics will be used to interpret and bring out the meaning of epidemics and pandemics in camus’ the plague and african traditional epistemologies respectively. in presenting the understanding of epidemics in camus’s the plague, the attention will not be to narrate the entire story or examination of literary styles and other issues raised in the field of literature. the focus here will be how people in the novel perceived, understood and responded to the epidemic that happened in the novel. regarding the understanding in african traditional epistemologies, though african cultures are not monolithic there is a general consensus and cosmic worldview of framework within which all african cultures view reality. for instance, though african cultures may have various names for god they all believe in the existence of a supreme being, the existence of a spirit world and have a cosmos that is created for welfare of human person. in this sense it is possible to speak of african traditional epistemologies or epistemology. there igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 4 are several cultural understandings but overall they share in many commonalities. terminologies the concepts grounding this work that requires explication are epidemics, pandemics, and african traditional epistemologies. the magnitude and scale of occurrence differentiates an epidemic from a pandemic. “an epidemic is an occurrence of disease that is temporarily of high prevalence and that is confined to one region or one part of the world, such as a single country,” while “a pandemic can be defined as an outbreak of infectious disease that occurs over a wide geographical area and that is of high prevalence, generally affecting a significant proportion of the world’s population, usually over the course of several months” (encyclopedia britannica, 2020). african traditional epistemologies refer to traditional epistemologies from continental africa and also african derived epistemologies in the diaspora grounded in the african traditional worldviews. k. c. anyanwu writes that african epistemology refers to conceptualizations, apprehensions, and interpretations of reality by africans in the light of their cultural experience (udefi, 2014). the term traditional is used here in the sense of indigenous or endogenous, coming from africa. traditional does not mean it is stagnant, ancient and irrelevant or obsolete. traditional implies the worldview that preceded the advent of colonizing forces in the continent. though precolonial, this worldview survived colonialism and permeates african culture even in contemporary times. this worldview is still the way that many africans look at reality and happenings in the world. it is important to understand the meaning of epistemology. the word, “epistemology” comes from two greek terms, episteme (knowledge) and logos (study, discourse, theory). epistemology is a philosophical discipline that systematically studies the origin, nature, scope, sources, definitions, structures and theories of knowledge, the question of truth, etc (ezeani, 2009, p. 1; kehinde, 2012). epistemology is concerned with the question of the certainty of knowledge what can we know? how can we know? are we sure of what we know? (kehinde, 2012). when knowledge is spoken of it means knowledge about all of reality or whatever human beings claim to perceive or know. it is inclusive of knowledge in the sciences, social sciences and humanities. african traditional epistemologies refer to african ways of knowing, interpretation of reality and understanding of the world. african epistemologies can be gathered from african proverbs, myths, folktales, arts and aesthetics, etc. the concept of epidemics in camus’s the plague igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 5 albert camus was an algerian-french philosopher who lived from 1913 to 1960. he was born into a poor family and grew-up in a poor environment. he studied philosophy at the university of algiers. he was equally a journalist, novelist and essayist. in 1957, he received the nobel prize for literature. he is an existentialist though he refused that title. he is termed an existentialist because the theme of existentialism runs through his works. for him, life is meaningless and absurd (camus, 1955). yet, in the meaninglessness of life, human beings have to courageously confront and commit to the fact of their existence. the absurdity of life makes camus to deny the existence of a good and all-powerful god. he was thoroughly concerned about the human condition as he gave attention to the algerian political problems, condemned communist tyranny in his 1951 book, the rebel; and critiqued fascism (mautner, 2000). among the works for which he is notable are: the stranger, the myth of sisyphus, caligula, the plague, the rebel, and the first man (posthumously gathered) and published in 1942, 1942, 1944, 1947, 1951, and 1994 respectively. he founded and edited an underground paper called, combat. he was active in the french resistance in paris. he was a friend of the french philosopher, jean-paul sartre though he latter broke away from him for his endorsement of communism. he spent the 1950s actively in theatre activities. he died in an automobile accident. in his novel, the plague (la peste in french), there is a presentation of an epidemic and how human beings are to respond to it. the aim here is not to narrate the entire story scene by scene. the paper will highlight and portray the characters and present the understanding of epidemic in the novel. the novel presents varied and different understandings, attitudes and responses to the epidemic. the novel describes how an epidemic happened in the french algerian town of oran in the 1940s. it is believed that it is the plague that occurred in oran in 1849 that killed many persons that is captured in this novel though camus situates it in the 1940s. before camus published his novel many other plagues had occurred in oran. it is important to note how the plague comes about. it has a natural origin and explanation to it. there are many characters in this novel such as the major characters of dr bernard rieux, jean tarrou, raymond rambert, joseph grand, cottard, father pane loius, and minor characters such as the narrator, the prefect, dr castel, m othon, philippe othon, mme rieux, dr richard, m michel, raoul, gonzales, the asthma patient, loius, and garcia. each of these characters responds to the plague in different ways. the novel presents a medical doctor, dr rieux who works extremely hard at the time of an epidemic to treat the sick people. he is the first major character igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 6 in the story and turns out to be the narrator at the end of the novel. he never introduces himself in the beginning saying that it is for neutrality and to allow the characters speak and act for themselves. he gives his time and full commitment to treating the sick people during the epidemic. to the question of whether he believes in god, dr rieux’ position is that if god exists he should have prevented the epidemic and even have treated the sick persons. it will not be his duty to do that for a good and loving god. dr rieux opines, “i shall refuse until i die to love this creation in which children are tortured” (camus, 1961, p. 240). it is better not to look to the sky to this god who is sitting in silence in the midst of human plagues, epidemics, and suffering. god does not exist, for dr rieux and so it is the duty of human beings to care for the sick and confront human problems. human beings should not be fatalistic and sit down looking at human problems of pandemics, injustice, hardships, oppression, pain, etc. there is no room for passivity. human beings must confront and deal with their problems. the human duty is to revolt against problems, “revolt gives life its value. spread out over the whole length of a life, it restores its majesty to that life” (camus, 1995). combating epidemics and the social problems of meaninglessness requires: “moral integrity and an ideal of human solidarity” (mautner, 2000, p. 85). for camus, “even the most hopeless circumstances” should be resisted (appiah & gates, 1996, p. 113). he treats the first victim of the epidemic. he sees the epidemic not as divine or from god for a so-called loving and powerful god who allows innocent children and humanity to suffer when he can do something but keeps silent does not exists. the narrator says of dr rieux: ...that if he believed in an all-powerful god he would cease curing the sick and leave that to him. but no one in the world believed in a god of that sort; no, not even paneloux, who believed that he believed in such a god. and this was proved by the fact that no one ever threw himself on providence completely. anyhow, in this respect rieux believed himself to be on the right road, in fighting against creation as he found it. (camus, 1948, p. 62) though he encourages and warns the authorities of the town to take action, at first they seem not to understand the seriousness of the situation. he courageously and doggedly works long hours to confront the epidemic by treating people. for him, it is his duty as a doctor to stop human suffering and pain though death stares everyone in the face. he bravely fights on without giving up the struggle against the plague. for dr rieux, life is absurd and meaningless though despair and suicide are not options. human beings are to continuously revolt against the absurdities and nihilism of life. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 7 another character in the story is the jesuit priest, fr paneloux. unlike dr rieux he is a strong believer in god. he strongly emphasizes the doctrines of the christian faith and condemns the immorality among the people of oran. his reaction to the epidemic is that it is god-sent to those who have failed to repent and amend their ways. during the week of prayer organized in the city of oran he states categorically, “"calamity has come on you, my brethren, and, my brethren, you deserved it” (camus, 1948, p. 46). he argued further in his sermon at the cathedral, “"the first time this scourge appears in history, it was wielded to strike down the enemies of god. pharaoh set himself up against the divine will, and the plague beat him to his knees. thus from the dawn of recorded history the scourge of god has humbled the proud of heart and laid low those who hardened themselves against him. ponder this well, my friends, and fall on your knees" (camus, 1948, p. 46). he teaches the god of the holy bible who offers comfort to those in pain. he joins in fighting the plague as a volunteer. when an innocent child dies of the plague he sees this as rationally indefensible but he claims it is a test of faith. he himself eventually falls ill and maybe because of the shaking of his faith he does not call the doctor and he dies. dr rieux records his death as “doubtful case” as the symptoms are not those of the victims of the epidemics. a word need to be said about the other characters. tarrou, a non-believer in god is caught-up in oran where he had arrived before the plague. he suggests the idea and teams up with others to fight the epidemic as it is a duty for everyone. he struggles with commitment to fight the epidemic but eventually dies. rambert who has left his girlfriend in paris visits as a journalist to examine the circumstances of life of the arab section of the town. the epidemic meets him in the city and he made various attempts to be smuggled out of the city but all the attempts failed. he eventually accepts his fate and joins in combating the epidemic as he feels everyone should be obligated to fight the epidemic for the common good of all. one other personality in the novel is the city clerk, a neighbour to cottard and he is the one who calls dr rieux when cottard attempted suicide. he joins in confronting the epidemic as he documents the numbers of death. he also becomes ill of the epidemic but recovered. cottard is presented in the novel as somebody who is enclosed on himself even though he will later try to make friends during the epidemic. he takes advantage of the plague in selling banned items like liquor and cigarettes. he becomes mentally imbalanced as the epidemic declines and because of his disturbances is taken in by the police. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 8 the narrator presents himself as a witness to the events in the story and a chronicler of the events. there is the prefect of the city who fails to see the enormity of the epidemic at first but later on tightens regulations and closes the town to control the plague. dr castel, a friend of dr rieux sees the disease as a bubonic plague and develops a serum to cure the epidemic. like dr rieux he is dogged and courageous. m othon, the magistrate in oran catches the plague and dies. he also loses his child to the plague. his time of isolation with his child makes him more compassionate. dr rieux’s mother, mme rieux who lives with the doctor while the doctor’s wife is in a sanatorium calmly reflects over life, feeling no fear in the midst of the epidemic. dr richard is the chairman of the medical association in oran who responds reluctantly to the epidemic calling it a “special type of fever.” in the novel, the concierge of the building in which dr rieux lives becomes the first victim of the epidemic. raoul, gonzales, loius and garcia and marcel are engaged in various ways in the attempt to smuggle rambert out of the city. the asthma patient who is often visited by dr rieux plays the role of a commentator on the happenings in the town. towards the ending of the story, dr rieux’s wife dies. rambert is reunited with his wife. grand begins working on his novel. the town’s gates will be opened as the epidemic ends. dr riuex the narrator states at the end, “to simply say we learn in the midst of plagues; there are more things to admire in men than despise.” despite the various attitudes and responses to the plague, there is the predominant portrayal that the author camus through the character of dr riuex and those who join him to fight the plague intends to present how a plague should be understood. the plague is not god-sent as god does not exist. if he does exist it is unimaginable that such a loving and powerful god will be silent in the midst of human sufferings and pandemics. it will be his duty to stop the plague and all human sufferings. life is absurd and meaningless. in the myth of sisyphus, another novel by camus, human suffering and pain through pandemics and other diseases make no sense. the understanding of pandemics in african traditional epistemologies it is difficult to understand, african traditional epistemologies on pandemics without grasping what the african worldview is all about. the word, “worldview” is used here to refer to a people’s unified explanations of events and realities in the world. africans believe in the existence of a supreme being called by different names in different african cultures. it is generally believed that this supreme being created the universe or cosmos. it is also understood that he placed human beings at the center of the cosmos and created reality igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 9 exists for the good and welfare of human beings. the african universe is anthropocentric. the universe is made-up of multitudes of beings and spirits. these spirits and beings in the universe are inter-related, interlinked, and inter-penetrate one another. so what affects one can affect the other as the universe shares in organismic harmonious unity. understand that: “in the african category or hierarchy of beings supreme being, spirits, human beings, animals, objects-one mode of existence presupposes all the others, and a balance has to be maintained to avoid a drift from one mode to another. there is peace and harmony in the community when the balance is maintained....” (agbakwuo, 2013, p. 23). the african universe is theistic. in this universe, there is cosmic order, harmony, unity, and inter-dependence. expressed in another way, “african view of reality emphasizes the structural kinship between man and nature, man and man, and man and the spirit world. to africans the whole multiplicities of things which comprise the universe are mystically one and therefore constitute only one thing, one reality....” (dime, 1995, p. 28). this does not imply that africans don’t distinguish or differentiate between things. there are distinctions but there is organic unity. human beings are not the supreme being or ancestors but share in the life of the spirit world. it is important to also have an african understanding of health, healing and disease. among the urhobo people of nigeria like most other african peoples a person’s health is composed of amicable synergy between the person’s physical body, spiritual elements and psychosocial realities and the person living in harmony with the universe; if not sickness and diseases will occur. for indigenous africans such as the igbo people, “healing entails the harnessing and controlling of pervasive powers in the universe to remedy sickness and misfortune” (igboamalu, 2016, 184). f mwaura states that among africans health is not just a biological matter but includes mental, physical, social, spiritual and environmental wellbeing; and illness implies a disruption in the above (1994). three types of diseases and their causes can be indentified among the urhobo people-natural or non-supernatural diseases, social or preternatural, and supernatural diseases. natural diseases such as headache, catarrh, ringworms, etc are caused by bodily chemical disequilibrium and are cured through herbal therapy; social diseases emanate from attack from witches, sorcerers, and evil persons and are often remedied through cultic sacrifices and other rituals; supernatural diseases result from breakdown of relationship between humans and the ancestors and can be remedied through cultic practices (ubrurhe, 2001, pp.40-42). complex or extraordinary diseases are attributed to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 10 supernatural causation of spirits or supernatural agents (ubrurhe,2001, p. 43). a pandemic such as coronavirus will be traced to the supernatural as it is a complex disease defying all attempts to cure it. pandemics do not happen by chance but are a result of external forces and are a manifestation of physical or spiritual discord in the universe (dime, 1995). it is generally understood in africa that: “...good health and wealth are an index of a harmonious relationship between the individual and his ancestors, etc, the balance of the whole self and one’s environment. it is therefore considered futile to treat a patient with herbs without first appeasing the divinities, spirits, or ancestors” (dime, 1995, p. 30-31). as dime notes even when a sickness or disease such as malaria is natural arising from mosquito bite the question a traditional african will ask is; why me? the spiritual angle to diseases is often taken into perspective. all forms of suffering such as sickness, epidemics, natural disasters are attributed to the influence of the supernatural powers (good or evil spirits) showing anger at human wrongdoings (ezeanya, 1994, p. 19; gbenda, 1997, p. 105; mbiti, 1967, p. 171). in trying to decipher the african traditional epistemological understanding of pandemics, it is also important to keep in view the african notion of destiny. destiny (fiyebobra) refer to the “pre-natal chosen life courses or choices” made before you were conceived (dime, 1995, p. 31). whatever is happening in your life is your destiny. if you are struck by a pandemic it is a result of what has been predestined. among the yoruba, “...the end for which a person is made is inextricably bound up with his destiny. they believe that man’s doing on earth have been predestined by olodumare” (idowu, 196, p.: 173). the belief in destiny runs through most african cultures (dime, 1995). in the traditional african worldview pandemics are essentially from the supernatural. though perceived to be essentially supernatural, pandemics are to be eliminated. human beings are not to accept their pandemic situation as it is or give up in their treatments. in the african worldview all things, plants, animals, objects carry vital force or power. trees, plants, animals all carry spiritual powers in them. through incantations and prayers, the spiritual powers in nature can be invoked to make herbs and medicine more potent. human beings are to seek cure to pandemics/epidemics while invoking the power of the supreme being. even when a sickness or disease is as a result of one’s destiny, the person is not to fatalistically accept it and do nothing. “...the african diviner cum medicine-man can both diagnose it with his highly dramatic and magical revocatory rituals accompanied by the power of the words (incantations).... even though the future is already shaped, africans believe it is pliable” (dime, 1995, p. 37). to put an end to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 11 pandemics/epidemics, appropriate purification rites and cleansing rituals, sacrifices of propitiation and reconciliation are carried out in order to remove the guilt or other causative agents, to clear the way for a brighter future” (gbenda, 105). to be kept also in mind is what dime calls uvi-aye-abiyen (curses you incurred from a previous life) (1995). most african cultures believe in reincarnation. whatever wrongs you commit in this life will be repaired in the next life on earth. some sicknesses and diseases are reparation for the wrongs of the previous life. to be struck by a pandemic in this life may be reparation that the person is making to remedy his/her previous wrongs. there is also the belief that somebody can suffer from a pandemic disease as a result of the sins or evils committed by his/her forefathers or foremothers. according to c. c. a. mbaegbu, evil and human suffering can also be as a result of moral evils committed by human beings (this is the cosmological optimistic perspective that sees god as good), or as a result of a person’s destiny, or arise from both a person’s destiny, some spirits or human action (the eclectic position) (kanu, 2015). kanu sees these positions as inadequate and proposes that suffering is part of the mystery of the universe created by a mysterious god and through suffering people can come to a deeper comprehension of the mystery (2015). a comparative appraisal while there are various individual viewpoints and responses to the epidemic in the plague, the predominant viewpoint towards which the novel tilts, is that of existential atheistic humanism. through the main character of dr rieux the view is affirmed that god does not exist. if he does exist, he will be the one caring for the victims of the plague. because he is loving and all powerful he should even prevent plague and suffering to his creatures. but because he does not exist, it is the responsibility of human beings to care for the victims of the plague. on the other hand, the african traditional epistemological viewpoint is that of theistic humanism. it affirms the existence of god. for various reasons as outlined above plagues and pandemics do exist in the world created by him. there is a divergence on the origin of pandemics/epidemics in the novel and african traditional epistemologies. while in the novel they are naturally occurring, in africa there is the strong belief that they emerge from the supernatural realm. this paper agrees with the position that avers that pandemics/epidemics are naturally occurring and are driven by globalization factors such as rapid mass migration and expanding populations, urbanization, climate change, deforestations, changing patterns of interactions between human beings, animals and nature, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 12 etc that foster the coming into being of microbes from animals and forest to humans (gostin, 2018). it is important to relate that the understanding of epidemics affects the response of people to it. if people believe that pandemics/epidemics have a divine origin they are likely not going to adhere to medical rules and laws as they tend to trust in prayers and divine intervention. the current ebola outbreak in west africa clearly demonstrates that scientifically proven methods of combating the transmission of infectious diseases, if not culturally and religiously acceptable to a community, are likely to be resisted and rendered less effective. there is, thus, a need to investigate and align preventative measures with cultural norms and values of affected communities. where there are incompatibilities between religious and cultural practices and prescribed scientific preventive measures, there is a need to widely consult and collaborate with traditional and religious leaders. we propose that, for effectiveness of community-based preventive programs, traditional leaders should be engaged and assigned important roles in monitoring and implementation of preventive measures against the spread of ebola. (manguvo & matuvadze, 2015, p. 5) in both the novel and african traditional epistemologies, human beings are not to remain docile and silent in the midst of human pain and suffering. in the novel the plague is tackled and confronted. in the novel, even the priest who perceive plagues as coming from god or permitted by him because of the failure of people to repent; joins the volunteer team in working to ameliorate suffering. in africa when a pandemic strikes people do not accept their fate like that. even when it is believed that the pandemic is sent by god or some spirits or reparation for a previous wrongdoing in a previous life or as a curse; people seek out the medicineman/woman or the traditional healer; consults with the priests/priestess and offer sacrifices or perform other rituals to avert the pandemic. the two worldviews are in conflicts with one another as to the source of the pandemics and plagues. scientifically, a pandemic like covid-19 and all other pandemics are caused by a virus. scientific interventions and disruption in some aspects of nature may have led to it. the crucial point to be taken from the responses in both the novel and africa is that pandemics are threats to human wellbeing, society and the cosmic order. pandemics or plagues are to be confronted, fought, and eradicated. pandemics are not to be tolerated. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 13 you equally find the themes of solidarity, commitment and community in both the novel and ate. in the novel, even those who initially where interested only in their private affairs, felt unconcerned by the plague, wanted to escape or remain aloof; eventually re-orientate their mindsets and come to join in fighting the plague. they move from the zone of their private interests to that of the public good. from individualism they move to that of radical community awareness. they make sacrifices of their time, talents, and resources to help the people of oran recover from the plague. you can find these themes of solidarity and community also in the traditional african understanding of response to pandemics/epidemics. traditional african epistemologies prioritised the community efforts and support. there was the philosophy and spirit of communalism. whatever happens to one happens to one. when afflictions strike you see people coming to the help of one another. in the novel in terms of seeking out a cure to the plague, the doctor through whom camus presents his viewpoint of atheism sees the solution not in prayer to god, or gods or divinities but in medical science. the colleague of dr rieux creates a serum to cure victims of the plague though the serum proves ineffective in most cases. they put their hope and trust in medicine not in offering religious sacrifices and performing rituals. in african traditional culture they seek solution to pandemics by offering sacrifices and performing rituals. though in many cases they do consult traditional doctors and healers and accept herbal treatments in combating pandemics. in both the novel and african traditional culture there are doctors who could be relied upon for a cure. in that of the novel they produce serum and rely on medical expertise to cure the plague. in african traditional culture, traditional doctors, medicinemen/women/healers do create mixtures from herbs to help those afflicted. even when people offer sacrifices and perform rituals, they don’t discountenance herbalism in african traditional practice. but it should be noted here that traditional forms of health and healing systems should be thoroughly probed and critically integrated into modern scientific medicine to ensure that things are properly done. modern scientific medicine should also take into consideration the positive dimensions of african traditional medicine. if this is not done the danger always remains that some persons who are afflicted during epidemics consult some traditional healers who lack a full understanding of the etiology of illness and diseases and this have made some traditional healers to claim unfounded cures and put people lives at risk (manguvo & matuvadze, 2015 ). the prevailing attitude that runs through the novel is that of nihilism and absurdism. life is meaningless. pain and suffering are part of it and all make igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 14 life meaningless. death cannot be overcome. in african traditional epistemology, though there is pain and suffering, epidemics and pandemics, and death is inevitable; yet life is not seen as meaningless. conclusion the paper examined the two different understandings of epidemics/pandemics as presented in camus’ novel the plague and in traditional african epistemologies. the paper noted that an epidemic is the occurrence of an infectious disease among a local population in an area, community or country. while on the other hand, a pandemic is an epidemic that has spread from a locality to many regions or areas in the world. a number of epidemics or pandemics from ancient times were mentioned. in relation to the perception of epidemics in the novel, it was indicated that through the major character dr rieux, camus presented the understanding that epidemics are not from god or supernatural. he affirmed that god does not exist. the plague or epidemic has a natural explanation as it came from dead rats that were gathered together and this became a catalyst to spread a plague. though human life is meaningless and life is an absurdity, men and women must struggle and fight pandemics, plagues and epidemics. perhaps, it can be deduced from camus that the meaning is in the revolt. the paper revealed from african traditional epistemologies that pandemics and epidemics even when they have a natural explanation were mainly seen as supernatural. they were either coming from god as punishment, reparation for a previous life, or arising from a curse, etc. life still has purpose and meaning despite pandemics and plagues. the paper showed that in both the novel and in african traditional epistemologies, plagues, epidemics, and pandemics are not to be accepted and lived with but they are to be fought and combated. there is pain and suffering in the world. this pain and suffering can come in the form of epidemics and pandemics. there will always be different understanding of pain and suffering in the world dependent on people’s cultures, religious philosophies, cosmic worldviews, and even backgrounds. no matter people’s understanding of pandemics/epidemics the fact remains that scientifically and from existential pragmatic paradigm, pandemics/epidemics exist in this world. they do have natural explanations even if some persons look beyond the natural. pandemics and plagues are to be combated and fought with all that is available to the human persons through the wisdom of genuine orthodox medicine and also traditional medicine. the paper concludes that it behoves human beings with all their ingenuities to combat pandemics/epidemics. nothing should be left unturned in the human quest igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 15 to conquer pandemics and make this world a more harmonious place for human beings to live. references appiah, k. a., & gates, h.l. (1996). the dictionary of global culture. new york: vintage books. agbakwuo, j. o. (2013). the african: his religion and cosmology. umuahia: lumen press. encyclopedia britannica. (2020). what's the difference between an epidemic and a pandemic. https://www.britannica.com/video/215272/top-questions-answersepidemic-versus-pandemica camus, a. (1948). the plague, trans from the french by stuart gilbert. online camus, a. (1955). the myth of sisyphus. middlesex: penguin books. camus, a. (1961). the plague, middlesex: penguin modern classics. dime, c.a. (1995). african traditional medicine. ekpoma: edo state university publishing house. ezeani, o. e. (2009). epistemology: an introduction. abakaliki: wilyrose & appleseed publishing. gbenda, j. s. (2006). african religion and christianity in a changing world: a comparative approach. nsukka: chuka educational publishers. gostin, l. o., & cathoir, k. e. (2018). lurching from complacency to panic in the fight against dangerous microbes: a blueprint for a common secure future. emory law review, 67: 337-396. jarus, o. (2020). 20 of the worst epidemics and pandemics in history. https://www.livescience.com/worst-epidemics-and-pandemics-inhistory.html idowu, b. e. (1962). oludumare: god in yoruba belief. london: longman. igboamalu, p.t. (2016). okike: intercultural review of religion, society and traditional values. enugu: timex. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 16 kanu, i.a. (2015). african philosophy: an ontological-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. jos: augustinian publications. kehinde, o. (2012). epistemology as a branch of philosophy. in f.m. ndubuisi (ed.), philosophy, logic and philosophy of science (pp. 43-53). lagos: university of lagos press. manguvo, a., & mafuvadze, b. (2015). the impact of traditional and religious practices on the spread of ebola in west africa: time for a strategic shift. pan african medical journal, 22(supp 1) (9) mautner, t. (ed.). the penguin dictionary of philosophy. london: penguin books. mbiti, j. s. (1967). african religions and philosophies. new york: anchor books. mwaura, p. (1994). healing as a pastoral concern. in pastoral care in african christianity: challenging essays in pastoral theology. nairobi. ubrurhe, j, o. (2001). urhobo traditional medicine. ibadan; spectrum books. udefi, a. (2014). the rationale for an african epistemology: a critical examination of the igbo views on knowledge, belief, and justification. canadian social science, 10 (3): 108-117. doi: 10.3968/4445 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 179 socio-political roots of conflicts in africa: the role of the church in a pluralistic society longkat daniel dajwan gindiri theological seminary longkatdan@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29332.65925 abstract conflict is a major issue in any given human society and often it is inevitable but violence is avoidable. in africa, conflict is very often the result of the interaction of political, economic and social instability frequently stemming from bad governance, dictatorial governance or dictatorship, failed economic policies, fundamental human rights abuses and inappropriate development programs stemming also from exacerbated ethnic and religious differences in society. the paper therefore examines the importance of land ownership in a pluralistic society like africa. the researcher adopted observational and qualitative with the use of theories such as relational theory, primordialism religious theory, instrumentalism religious and political theory; fundamentalism religious theory, structural conflict theory, human needs theory, grieve and grievances theory and (protracted) social conflict theories as methods in eliciting relevant data required to do justice to this research. the fundamental issues discovered in conflict are the religious beliefs and practices, land ownership and resource competition, political patronage and competition, the nature and character of the african nation politics, ethnicity, boundary disputes, poverty, marginalization/discrimination, unemployment and underdevelopment. this paper shows that the church and her leaders have the potential to manage and resolve conflicts in africa through their religious resources or values and frameworks involving love, forgiveness, contentment, justice, peace, respect and tolerance. the paper concluded with some possible avenues of achieving this which is through dialogue, interfaith dialogue, religious peace-building, seminars and workshops, as media of evangelizing and restoring hope in the country with their gospel of peace. keywords: conflict, socio-political, church, pluralistic society, resolution/management introduction igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 180 federal state all over the world vary in many ways, such as; in the nature, character and significance of the underlying political, economic, cultural and social diversities. indeed, conflict has received various definitions and interpretations, to the researcher it simply means, ‘as a friction arising from the desire that i want something and you also want the same, but we both cannot have it all’. according to lamle, (2015: 3) view conflict as “opposition among social entities directed against one another”. the term “conflict” is derives from the latin confligere, which denotes “to strike together” (3). fernandez in ekpenyong (2011) viewed as difference in perspectives: what one sees, think, feel, and believe may be different from what another sees, think, feel and believe (118). this means that conflict is part of all human interactions, and it can have positive influence and sometimes negative influence depending how the parties in conflict want it to be. again, dfid report of 1997 as quoted by bassey (2007) has noted that: violent conflict generates social, political division, reserves economic progress, impedes sustainable development and frequently results in human rights violations. large population movement triggered conflicts threaten the security and livelihood of whole region (xvi). best (2011) said conflict originated from the latin word confligere, meaning ‘to clash or engage in a fight’. it connotes a confrontation between one or more parties aspiring towards incompatible or competitive means or ends (23). the nigerian example of federalism like other developing african countries are confronted with a lot of complex challenges which on many occasions have shook the nation to its foundation. some of these challenges are the issues of politics, economic and social instability frequently stemming from bad governance, dictatorial governance, failed economic policies, fundamental human rights abuse and inappropriate development programs stemming also from exacerbated ethnic and religious differences in society. these problems have posed a lot of difficulty in the continent and government at all levels seems to be helpless and hopeless in the resolution of crisis and conflict arising from them. most nigerians who had lived peacefully together for years now suddenly take arms against themselves on issues bothering politics. several communities that were previously living peacefully suddenly took arms against one another as a result of claim of ownership of the land and politics. the paper therefore examines the importance of land ownership in a multi-ethnic and pluralistic society like africa and the importance attached to the socio-political status of citizens in the continent. the paper concludes that for africa and the church to make progress and to be a developed continent, it must find a way of tackling the problems associated with socio-political conflicts. it also explained the root igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 181 causes of conflicts, examined the ideological platforms and the role of sociopolitical conflicts by giving historical evolution of et ethnic, social, economic, politics and identities in africa and to understand the african positions of the different constitutions on land and other root causes of conflict and relationship between claims to land, ethnic ideology, social and politics and how they either cause or escalate conflicts. the paper indeed shows that the church and her leaders have the potential to manage and resolve conflicts in africa through their religious resources or values and frameworks involving love, forgiveness, contentment, justice, peace, respect and tolerance (dajwan 2021: 1-3). theoretical perspectives here the researcher asks whether religion, social and politics are roots causes of conflicts and what role the church can play in the management of conflicts in africa. the seven broad categories have been singled out to guide our understanding and how religious identity is engaged in challenging governance; these are; relational theory, structural conflict theory, human needs theory, grieve and grievances theory and (protracted) social conflict theory. relational theory relational theories attempt to provide explanations for violent conflicts between groups by exploring sociological, political, economic, and historical relationships that has existed between groups. culture, values and interests all have a way of influencing the relationships between migrant’s – settlersindigenes more especially at the sociological level where differences between cultural value is a challenge for groups identity formation processes which in turn, creates the tendency to view others as intruders who should be prevented from encroaching upon established cultural boundaries (best 35-37). the socio-political and inter-religious conflict nexus relationship according to jonathan (2000), religious belief systems are essential aspects of the identities of those who follow them. accordingly, any attack, real or perceived, on one's religious framework is not an attack on the religion; it is also an attack on a vital element of one's identity. given this, it is not surprising that this can cause a defensive reaction that is often violent. wentz describes this phenomenon metaphorically as defending the ‘walls of religion’. lewis makes igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 182 this argument with respect to islam and christianity noting that these religions’ claims to exclusive truths are a major source of conflict (jonathan, 2000:7-8). again, gurr in jonathan said one way to understand the ethnic conflict process is described as basic model posits that discrimination or even differences in status between groups, causes deprived minority groups to form grievances. gurr specifically deals with grievances over social, political, autonomy, and economic issues. these grievances cause the minority to mobilize for conflict. these mobilized groups finally engage in conflict. this is the core of gurr's model. he also accounts for the influence of the group’s cohesion, size, and geographic concentration, regime factors like democracy, democratisation, state power, and economic development, international contagion and diffusion, international support for both the state and the minority group, and repression. although gurr does not deal with religion directly, by analogy religious discrimination should lead to religious grievances which, in turn, should lead to mobilisation followed by conflict (jonathan, 2000:9). economic perspective on the causes of civil war and based on empirical patterns globally over the period 1965-98. during this period, the risk of civil war has been systematically related to a few economic conditions, such as dependence upon primary commodity exports and low national income. conversely, and astonishingly, objective measures of social grievance, such as inequality, a lack of democracy as in political, and ethnic and religious divisions, have had little systematic effect on risk (collier, 2006:1). identities have historically been significant in the african political process (nigerian in focus), under colonial rule as well as in the post-colonial dispensation. under colonialism, administrative exigencies warranted “the invention of traditions”, and the nurturing and exacerbation of an “us” versus “them” syndrome: muslim versus christian; northerner versus southerner; hausa-fulani versus yoruba versus igbo, and so on. religious, regional and ethnic differences were given prominence in conceiving and implementing social, educational and economic development policies and projects under the indirect system of colonial administration favoured by the british. thus, the differential impact of colonialism set the context of the regional educational, economic and political imbalances which later became significant in the mobilization or manipulation of identity consciousness in order to effectively divide and rule, as well as in the politics of decolonisation and in the arena of competitive politics in the post-colonial era (jega, 2000:15-16). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 183 human needs theory (hnt)-maslow, burton, rosenberg and max-neef dinshak affirms that human needs theorists argue that conflicts and violent conflicts are caused by unmet human needs. violence occurs when certain individuals or groups do not see any other way to meet their need, or when they need understanding, respect and consideration for their needs. in order to live and attain well-being, humans need certain essentials called human needs or basic human needs. human needs theorists argue that conflicts and violent conflicts are caused by unmet human needs. that violence occurs when certain individuals or groups do not see any other way to meet their need, or when they need understanding, respect and consideration for their needs (dinshak 2018:912). greed and grievancescollier and hoeffler greed vs. grievance is an argument that seeks to understand the motivations of combatants in civil warfare. greed modelthat combatants perform a cost benefit analysis and take up arms when fighting will better their situationsthat the grievance-based explanations of civil war are wrong, and that combatants in civil wars fight for economic benefits such as loot: that economic agendas appear to be central to understanding why civil wars get going. conflicts are far more likely to be caused by economic opportunities than by grievance modelthat combatants are motivated by religious, ethnic, identity, and social class grievances: ethnic or religious hatred, political repression, political exclusion, economic inequality and social discrimination (dinshak 2018:15). (protracted) social conflict theoryazar protracted social conflict is “the prolonged and often violent struggle by communal groups for such basic needs as security, recognition and acceptance, fair access to political institutions an economic participation”. azar identified the major impetuses in the creation of contemporary violent conflict to be: communal content (identity issues), deprivation of human needs (e.g. security, development, and political access), and failure of structural governance to provide for those needs, and international connections and dependency (dinshak 2018:17). socio-political and religious conflicts igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 184 in religious conflicts, it is clear which aims are achieved. gopin (1997) however regards political, ethnic and economic aims as primary. in his view, religious conflicts form a specific form of conflict between groups which differ ideologically along religious lines within a pluralistic setting with each striving for socio-political relevance. in a seminar vein, takaya in (dajwan et al 2018:109) and batson, schoenrade and pych (1985) emphasize the behavioral and political character of religion. to them, “religions are parochial and emotional socializers. they specialize in building one-faith exclusive brotherhood communities. religion, at some point, is politics and is the most potent and long lasting political association. moreover, religious creeds excite and extract the deepest possible sociopolitical and psycho-emotional and physical loyalties from their adherents when in political competition with people of other faiths” richardson as in (dajwan, et al 2018:109). one significant element driving conflicts of this type is the attitude of superiority that religious persuasions often adopt in their dealings or assessment of others that is mainly related to the sense of stenotype, prejudice and discrimination shared by members towards people from other faiths (allport, 1954; franzoi, 2000). this attitude tends to exclude others, seeing them as out-groups and classifies them as ignorant and doomed which invariably, creates an atmosphere of conflict and hostility. this atmosphere of hostility tends to intensify where opposing religious and political persuasions see their numerical strengths as social and political advantage. in such a situation, the leaders think that new socio-political and religions perspectives as threats to the hegemonies enjoyed (brown, 1985; richardson, 1985). furthermore, where the social, political, religious or economic factors are unfavorable, messianic rhetoric can exacerbate the tensions by way of playing on the psyche and mind-set of adherents. nwaomah as observed by dajwan et al (2018) that conversation campaigns, as in nigeria, “by opposing religions(s) and fanaticism arising from indoctrination of the adherents, mostly due to parochial education, which can also reinforce religious conflicts special are the unique effects of religious doctrines on the perception of the adversaries, the formation of the motivational psychological values as well as religious values towards the religion, and the central role of feelings and emotions for group identification (2018:110). socio-political and religious conflict and its manifestations in nigeria igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 185 before delving into the discussion of socio-political and religious conflicts in nigeria, it will be useful to devote some space to introduce the country’s religious communities that form the conflict parties. nigeria has two major religions (christianity and islam) that are always in constant conflict and a third oneafrican traditional religion (atr) which has a current population estimate of about 178.5 million wpr 2016, as in (dajwan et al, 2018:110), muslim are estimated to be 50%, christians 40% and practitioners of african traditional religions are put at 10% human rights watch (hrw, 2005) as observed by (dajwan et al, 2018:110). this estimation excludes practitioners of alternative religious ideologies from the eastern world. this population estimate of the different religious groups as imagined by the human rights watch (2005) has been heavily disputed by the christians and followers of african traditional religions, who argue that the long time domination of the nation’s polity by military dictators, who are mostly muslims from the northern part of the country (1960-1966; 1975-1976, 1979-1999), placed them into the best position to manipulate the figures in favor of muslims. a second argument against the above mentioned figures which appears to be true is the erroneous generalization of all northerners including all people from the middle-belt states as muslims (dajwan et al, 2018:110). the introduction of “borrowed religions” christianity and islam is said to breed conflicts in the nation both socio-political and religious wise. the socio-political causes of conflict in nigeria (summary) a) land issue in the nigerian state, indigeneity is associated with land ownership. this is not only limited to nigeria; land ownership is an issue all over africa. as such, anything that affects the land affects the people and must be resisted by all means. eme awa supports this view when he asserted that indigeneity is strong in nigeria because people are seeing the land as a primary form of property or inheritance in the traditional society and is seen as a form of wealth (awa, 1985). this account for the deeprooted animosity between the indigenes (land owners) and the settlers (tin miners and traders) in plateau state. the desire of the settlers to have access to the land at the expense of the indigenes is the major problem in the state. the crises in plateau are first and foremost a struggle over land as majority of plateau state indigenes are christians who are tied to land as peasant farmers or workers in the civil service while the settlers, mainly muslim minorities are hausa dry-season farmers and cattle rearers; while the igbo, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 186 urhobo and yoruba, are dominating the business life of the state (danfulani 4). the crisis remains intractable and the dominant christian (indigene) population in plateau state is insisting that until the proble is given a constitutional solution, the hospitality of the people of the state should not be abused by settlers particularly the hausas who make outrageous and bogus claims for rights and privileges which does not exist anywhere else in the federation according (4). b) political patronage/competition one of the major factors that triggered the indigene/settler crisis in plateau state is political exclusion. the return to civil rule in 1999 saw the indigenous people using their population to advantage by voting massively for plateau indigenes while settlers are finding it very difficult to occupy position of authority as a result of their minority status. this is contrary to what was obtained under military rule. during this period, the hausa/fulani dominated the strategic positions in various military governments and they always use this to their advantage in putting hausa settlers in plateau state into positions against the wish of the indigenous people. therefore, the opening up of political space under civilian rule has been accompanied by intense ethnic competition at all levels in the state. the indigenous elite have consolidated their power and control of the state, excluding the settlers particularly on the basis of religion and ethnicity (higizi, 2011). the creation of jos north local government in 1991 by babangida administration was the major issue that sown the seed of discord between the indigenous people and hausa/fulani settlers. the new local government was created to cover the area inhabited by the hausa-fulani settlers. it can be said that it was created solely for the hausa-fulani settlers. the indigenous population saw this as an affront and a deliberate plot by northern-muslim dominating military regime to legitimize and legalize the indigenous status of the hausa-fulani settlers. in the real sense of it, it seems, this was what was in the mind of the military top brass since such thing was not replicated in other areas. for example, in kano state, there is an area known as sabon gari solely inhabited by the settlers’such as yoruba’s igbo’s etc but instead of creating a separate local government, the military government divided the area into different local governments. in such local governments, settlers are in minorities and cannot be seeking to occupy any major political position. if the creation of separate local government for the settlers in plateau state is good why it hasn’t igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 187 been replicated in other states particularly the northern-muslim states? national orientation agency (noa 21). c) the nature and character of the nigerian state politics to situate the phenomenon properly, it is necessary to point out that the current central paradigm of nigerian politics allows the state to have dominating and unchallenged sole distributive clearing power for economic and political spoils and as such, fadakinte, (282) assert that the enormous resources at the disposal of the state accruing from the sale of petroleum resources has led to the intense completion for power leading to the widespread use of money and armed thugs. the state as the avenue for the control of decision making apparatus of political spoils and economic patronage raise the competition to the level of vicious struggle fadakinte (283). according to a special report by the national orientation agency, (noa 1-15) some of the socio-economic characteristics of the zone which when manipulated negatively prepare the ground for the conflicts and results into the situation at hand presently in the zone include these but not necessarily limited to the following: 1. over 50% of the ethnic groups in nigeria are found in the zone. 2. apart from rich mineral resources, the zone is endowed with massive land and grazing activities (this explains the massive influx of people from other areas particularly cattle rearing fulani’s from the north to the zone). 3. in terms of development, the zone is one of the least developed in spite of the location of the federal capital (close) to it. 4. the zone has a very large pool of ex-servicemen and it is important to note that majority of these ex-servicemen were disengaged from service at very young ages and have not really been gainfully employed since their retirement (noa 1-15). it is therefore worrisome that despite the fact that the people of this zone are known to be hospitable, accommodating and peaceful, how come they suddenly changed and began to engage in frequent violent inhuman clashes? d) the problem of nigerian constitution no doubt, the crisis in plateau state has opened a renewed debate on the use of the terms “settler” and “indigene”. in the nation’s 1979 constitution, the phrase belongs or belonged to a community indigenous of nigeria was used in the definition of citizenship section 23, sub section (1) (a) while the phrase “federal character” also entered nigerian constitution in 1979 to denote a principle of minority group inclusion in the federal government and its affairs (ostien 2-4). section 147 (3ii) of the 1999 constitution also states that “…the president shall igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 188 appoint at least one minister from each state, who shall be an indigene of such a state” (frn 1999). subsequently, conflicts persist in plateau state and chief obasanjo olusegun in a seminar which the african leadership forum (alf) organized on conflict prevention and management in his opening speech that: the concept of settler or non-native syndrome has of recent hardened into a theory of ethnic exclusiveness and molded and propagated to foist a pejorative meaning to advance economic and political control among competing elite groups for interest during democratic regimes. in plateau state, among the key flash points (area) where the indigene/settler confrontation have raised and are raising dusts intermittently in jos are between the indigenous afizere, anaguta and berom against the settler hausa-fulani, while it is the indigenous wase-kadarko tribe against indigenous taroh and jukun. in shendam, bakin chiyawa, saya areas are also witnessing armed rivalry between the indigenous and settler tribes. accordingly, it applies to and endows a person with full political and civil rights within the context of the modern state. in the history of political community, the question concerning who are settlers and who are indigenes exhibits the fact that the whole argument is within a realm of citizenship. thus, it remains a fertile ground for exclusion and permanent contestation (op.cit 2-4). the most significant cause of political and communal violence in nigeria is the entrenched divisions throughout the country between people considered indigenous to an area and those regarded as mere settlers. christian churches and conflict management ekpenyong (2011) maintains that the proper role of the church or religion (christianity) has been:  to provide a higher purpose and meaning to human life, one that transcends limited self-interest;  to counter-balance the disruptive tendencies of politics and economics with shared values able to hold society together;  to provide a moral structure in which human beings act (social ethics);  to stand up for and protect the “little ones”, those who are marginalized and oppressed within the usual power schemes (125). writing on the impact of christianity on any society kukah according to ekpenyong (2011) observes and agrees as follows; that: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 189 the new trends especially among christians on seeking to use religion for social and political change may offer a new perspective to the definition of the trends in political competition in nigeria that is assuming that both muslims and christians can let their religious belief motivate and direct their political behavious (125). again, ekpenyong stresses the fact that those who believe that religion should play this political role need to think out more clearly and gauge the claims of charlatans from the gospel, emphasizing more on the potentials of human goodness, justice, love and service. to him “the poverty of the nigerian state makes it impossible to keep all forms of sentiments away from the political process” (126). tracing the origin of conflict from the disobedient attitude of adam and eve as we see in genesis account of creation, adam olekun (2006) opines that, conflict comes into the society due to misunderstanding, communicating gap, injustice, and power imbalance, clash of interest or values, and intolerance. he further stresses that christians should engage in peace making rather than the government strategy of peace keeping in their communities through dialogue, love, and reconciliation and states, “a just community must be built on honesty, truth, and social justice” (22). from the above wisdom and scholarly discussions, one can comfortably conclude and submit that christians are called and meant to be peacemakers. in this light oyeshola (2005) postulates that: working for and promoting peace is an instrinsic content of christianity. … therefore, we may not run away in the face of conflict, war or civil strife or friction. we must confront them according to our capacity and responsibility. more importantly is the fact that we must work and create the enabling environment for peace (35). it is in this capacity that the church has been called to be a good tool for managing conflict today in africa and the world at large. acknowledging the above assertion hays (1996) writes thus: “when the church as a community is faithful to that calling, it prefigures the peaceable kingdom of god in a world wracked with violence” (343). though, various peaceful negotiations have failed to achieve the desired peace or conflict resolution in nigeria, christianity on the other hand has served as a great instrument of mediation and peaceful resolution of many conflicts in many parts of the countrynigeria and the world at large. this fact therefore, means that christianity does not compromise her mediatory and peace-building functions as an ideology because christ is the prince of peace. this also means that for peace to reign in nigeria, christians churches have to marshal out their instrument of peace which is the gospel of christ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 190 andand also a life of holiness and righteousness and pursue peace with all men (hebrew 12:14). the christian churches play this role of conflict management and resolution through: dialogue etymologically, dialogue means a speech across, between, through two or more people. dialogue comes from the greek dialogos. dia is a preposition that means “through,” “between,” “across,” “by,” and “of.” dia does not mean two, as in two separate entities; rather, dia suggests a “passing through” as in diagnosis “thoroughly” or “completely.” logos comes from legein, “to speak” crapanzano cited by emilia and chukwuemeka (354-355). logos means “the word,” or more specifically, the “meaning of the word,” created by “passing through,” as in the use of language as a symbolic tool and conversation as a medium. as onians points out, logos may also mean thought as well as a speech–thought that is conceived individually or collectively, and/or expressed materially. consequently, dialogue is a sharing through language as a cultural symbolic tool and conversation as a medium for sharing. accordingly, dialogue refers to the mutual exchange of experience, ideas and opinions between two or more parties; i.e., a conversation. dialogue is two-way or multi-way communication. it presumes the opportunity to reply on several occasions in order to enhance a line of reasoning. the concept of dialogue contains a dimension of simultaneity and direct contact, either physical or via technical aids. in order to achieve genuine civic participation, there must be some form of dialogue between citizens and those in positions of power. in a dialogue, everyone taking part must be given the chance to study the other parties’ suggestions and opinions, contemplate them and respond (31-34). according to turner cited in (355) dialogue is a culturally and historically specific way of social discourse accomplished through the use of language and verbal transactions. it suggests community, mutuality, and authenticity–an egalitarian relationship. so understood, dialogue provides a meeting ground, communitas, and manifests itself in a variety of spontaneous and ritual modes of discourse in which nature and structure meet. listed below are some of the phrases used by people who have engaged in dialogue in many different schools, corporations, government, non-profit organizations, communities, families: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 191  a level playing field with respect for all  a chance to get all our cards up on the table and play with a full deck  space and pace that allows for all to hear and be heard, recognition and strengthening of relationships  an exploration of our individual and group assumptions to reveal our thinking and generate new possibilities  building shared understanding of differing points of view  ability to hold the tensions of complexity and paradox and see systemic patterns dajwan (5-6) defined the concept of dialogue as the conversation between two or more persons of different faiths and beliefs systems, ethnic groups, cultural backgrounds, norms, philosophy and people of different understandings. he went further that the purpose of dialogue is “seeking mutual understanding and harmony”. again, that it is essentially a process of shared thinking, in the course of which a valuable form of relationship may emerge. he concluded that dialogue to encompass a broader range of activities in which people of different cultures, religions, social, political or professional groups come together and interact. dialogue is not just something that takes place on an official or academic level only – it is part of daily life during which different cultural and religious groups interact with each other directly, and where tensions between them are the most tangible. therefore, dialogue can be seen as the mode of interaction which made any human life, in any society, worth living example is the africa value of communality (6). forgiveness christian churches under different umbrellas such as pentecostal fellowship of nigeria (pfn) and christian association of nigeria (can) should inculcate in their members the spirit to forgive and forget. they should also create effective awareness among their members that, this is not a time to sit down to recount the past, or to retaliate, neither is it a period for regretting or appraising any good done, but a period for forgiveness, reconciliation, constructive dialogue and a period for reconstruction, settlement and re-union. it is on this purpose that, “the nigerian church has recently gathered in ibadan, its first national pastoral congress with the theme, “the church: family of god on mission” during the congress, the nigerian church among other things discussed on “what role christians have to play in restoring peace to a troubled land (nigeria), in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 192 promoting mutual forgiveness for past hurts, in fostering mutual understanding and acceptance (ekpenyong 2011:129). christians have the imperative of forgiveness; the practice of which pope john paul ii says is “the only guarantee for lasting peace”. he observed in the encyclical dives in misericordia that a world without forgiveness is a world of endless violence (ehusani 2009:2). he again further stressed that, with the christian virtue of forgiveness, past hurts and wounds, and bitterness and resentment over such hurts and wounds could be adequately healed, and wholesome human relationships can once again begin a fresh. he said that to buttress his deep thought of forgiveness (ehusani 2009:2). therefore, we can emphatically say that forgiveness is a balm that heals past wounds and our walk relationship thereby giving birth to a fresh wholesome human positive relationship and peace again. promotion of social justice christian leaders and churches should as a matter of necessity inculcate in their members and the public at large the need for social justice. on the relevance of social justice socrates writes that justice is a moral physician and cures human beings of their excesses and makes them better people. social justice advocates equal jurisdiction and judicial order in any given constituted group or society. it serves both the least as well as the greatest, the poor as well the richest, obviously speaking, social justice if given precedence, it audits injustice, oppression, suppression, denominationalism, sectionalism, apartheid, victimization, nepotism, tribalism, racism and even domination (ekpenyong 2011:129). therefore, christianity as a religion is to help inject the spirit of social justice, forgiveness, order, understanding, tolerance, discipline, reconciliation, peace and decorum into the lives of nigerians. consolidating this noble truth ikwun (2002) opines that religion (christianity) is that which promotes and encourages social justice and fair play, mutual trust and respect. indeed, without religion (christianity), morality and discipline suffer blatant decadence in the citizens and in the society at large (71). ikwun again stresses that, religion (christianity) is the primary and basic institution and source of morality and spirituality. religion is said to be ‘a belief in someone else experience while spirituality is you having your own experience’. in the absence of religion (christianity, man’s inhumanity to man reigns and anarchy becomes institutionalized (71). christian igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 193 leaders and churches should teach their members and the public at large the necessity of social justice which cures people of their excesses and makes them better human beings. evangelism and prayer convocation the christian churches under different umbrella such as pentecostal fellowship of nigeria (pfn) and christian association of nigeria (can) should mobilize and inject in their members the spirit of mass evangelism and prayer convocation in various parts of the countrynigeria especially in those dispute areas of the country. these bodies and their affiliates should as a matter of urgency move into the villages and communities in nigeria for effective evangelism (ekpenyong 2018:130). prayers bring down the power of god to solve human crises, checkmate the power of satan and evil vices such as corruption, discrimination, dishonesty, conflict, violence, and prosper the work of god. through her ministry (church) of prayer for the nation, the church also addresses societal ills (1tim. 2:14). consolidating this fact, pike corroborated when he declared that: the united nations is not the final court of appeal in the affairs of nations. the hurch could dominate politics from her prayer room if this priority were observed (198). indeed, these were the strategies used by the four hebrews while in babylon, referring to daniel, meshack, shedrack and abednego in the daniel especially from chapter one to chapter four. in the same vein tennyson (1965) affirmed that: more things are wrought by prayer than this world can dream of. wherefore, let thy voice rise like a fountain for me night and day (348), according to engelkemier (1993), “prayer can change conflict situation” (128). there is nothing that prayer can’t do! eschatology this is one of the greatest instruments the nigerian church can use in resolving conflict. the church enlightens humans with an adequate and satisfying eschatology, through an acceptable explanation of the mystery of death and life after death. christianity in discharging this eschatological function of religion, offers their adherents the prospects of a personal god who will, after death, judge every human being for reward of punishment according to each person’s stewardship here on earth (iwe 2003 “the inseparable social trinity: religion, morality and law” ii). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 194 further, the judgment will be based on motives and deeds of everyone, believer and/or unbeliever. st. paul declares as follows: “so each of us shall account of himself to god” (rom. 14:12). serving as the prophet and conscience of society the christian churches under different umbrellas such as pentecostal fellowship of nigeria (pfn) and christian association of nigeria (can) should serve as the prophet and conscience of the society. christianity plays this revolutionary role by calling on both humans and society as they go astray along the path and precipice of self-destruction, crisis, corruption, dishonesty, anarchy, and other social vices and injustice. christianity armed with its transcendental reference points and standing as the acknowledged custodian of ideals and values formations which constitutes eminently the necessary and salutary critique for any given prevailing situation in human society (iwe 2003:9). according to convey (1990), the character ethic is principle-centred paradigm, which is on the fundamental idea that there are principles that govern human effectiveness. these are natural laws in human dimension that are just real, just as unchanging and arguably “there” as laws such as gravity in the physical dimension (32). he further reaffirmed that, these principles are not values per-se, but they are guidelines for human conduct that are proven to have enduring values. they are self-evident and therefore, are unarguable, like the ten commandments. workshop the christian churches under different umbrellas such as pentecostal fellowship of nigeria (pfn) and christian association of nigeria (can) should organize workshops in the different parts of the country, for the different groups in crisis. the christian churches can use a workshop or seminar in solving a conflict. according to longman dictionary of contemporary english, workshop is a meeting at which people try to improve their skills by discussing their experiences and doing practical activities (1653). therefore, in conflict resolution, the two or more parties, individuals in the conflict, discuss their experiences of the conflict and devise practical ways of tackling the conflict. it is at workshop that decisions and resolutions are made, and agreement reached on practical ways of providing viable solutions. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 195 advocacy visits christian leaders of pfn and can should organize quarterly advocacy visit to the governors and the president intimating them on the need for development, promotion of social justice, forgiveness and peace in nigeria. they should also intimate the leadership of nigeria on the need to learn to feel the pulse of the nation, to hear the cry of the people, and to react with almost sense of responsibility to the desires and aspirations of the constituent units of the country for that kind of unity and peace that iss based on mutual forgiveness for past hurts and wounds, and a mutual commitment to righting the wrongs of the past, and building our society on justice and fairness (ekpenyong 2011:132-133). they further create in the mind of the leadership of nigeria, an understanding that, dialogue is the answer to all conflicts and it brings peace and not deployment of military troops which breeds killings, bitterness, hatred, anger and genocide. indeed, christian that is the church is responsible for peace making while military are often responsible in peace keeping by the use of arms. finally, the church should be bold enough to speak against the suppression, oppression, discrimination, ethnicism and injustice in the country and to call on the youths and warlord of different ethnic groups to sheath their swords and down their weapons for peace to reign. they should also call on the faith-based organizations and the government to address as a matter of urgency, the issues of unemployment and underdevelopment (133). conclusion this writer from the available facts is of the view that any realistic attempts to deal constructively with the conflicts in nigeria must address the roots of conflict such as ethnic differences, poverty, high unemployment, revenue distribution, electoral malpractices, corruption and political godfatherism. it is also the possible of this work that the churches and her leaders should draw the attention of their members to the fact that everything in this world is temporary and man will give account to god about his/her stewardship here on earth on the day of judgment. again, the church leader should speak out strongly against the vices and ills of their society. besides, the church leaders must do all within their power to inculcate in their members in their members and general public the virtues of peace, honesty, love justice, forgiveness, tolerance, public integrity and must also see that men/women of proven igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 196 integrity, honesty and transparent character are placed in in public officers (ekpenyong 2011:134). references adam, olekun, taiy. “the principle of conflict resolution and peace making in christianity” m. t. yahaya (ed.) issues in the practice of religion in nigeria. illorin: decency 2006. bassey, celestine o. “introduction: the nexus of conflict and development crisis in africa”, in celestine bassey and oshita (eds.) conflict resolution identity crisis and development in africa. lagos: malhouse, 2007. bhikkhu, wikipedia the free encyclopedia online. 1940 retrieved from: htt://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/bhikkhu 27/4/2021 by 10:36am of 5/10/2009. charles, joseph okokon. human development, child welfare and addiction social work perspective. lagos: serenity printing and publishing company, 2005. dzurgba, akpenpuun. prevention and management of conflict. ibadan: loud, 2006. ehuani, george. church as instrument of reconciliation and peace. http://www.church/asinstrument/ofreconciliation/peace.html of 27/4/2021 10:43am. ekeke, emeka c. “peace-building in the niger delta region of nigeria: the role of christianity” in african pentecostal journal of theology, psychology and social work. 1 (2) calabar: department of religious university of calabar, june, 2008. ekpenyong, o. ekpenyong. the social and political roots of conflict in nigeria: the role of the church. american journal of social science & humanities vol. 1 (2) pp117-136, 2011. print. ekwunife, anthony n. o. politics and religious intolerance: the nigerian experience. enugu spiritan publications, 1992. fernandez, kathrym. conflict resolution retrieved from: htt://www.atheath.com/consumer/disoders/conflictress.html 27/04/2021 by 11:12 am of 5/10/2009. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 197 himes, j. s. conflict and conflict management. athens: university of georgia, 1980. ikwun, rigobert o. nigeria at a religious cross roads: the way forward. lagos: serenity ventures, 2002. iwe, n.s.s. the inseparable social trinity: religion, morality and law. calabar: seasprint, 2003. kemditri, protus o. “dialogue in the gospels: its relevance for good governance in nigeria” in bigard theological studies. vol. 1. jan-june 1986. print. kukah, matthew h. religion, politics and power in northern nigeria. ibadan: spectrum, 1993. longman dictionary of contemporary english otite, onigu. “on conflicts, their management, resolution and transformation” in onigu otite and isaac o. albert (eds.) community in conflict in nigeria: management, resolution and transformation. ibadan: spectrum, 1999. oyeshola, dokum o. p. conflict and context of conflict resolution. ille-ife: obafemi awolowo up\p, 2005. sandole, d.j.d. “paradigm, theories and metaphors in conflict and conflict resolution: coherence or confusion” in d.j.d. sandole and h. vander merwe (eds.) conflict resolution theory and practice, integration and application. manchester: manchester up, 1993. sproul, r.c. the reformation study bible: english standard version. orlando, florida 2015. tennyson, alfred lord. “morte d’ in the encyclopedia of religious quotation. ed & comp. by frank s. mead. westwood: revel, 1965. the holy bible, new international version. colorado: international bible society, 1984 microsoft word igwebuike jounals vol. 5. no. 1.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 28 the irony of leadership, observance of civic values and application of reciprocity in nigeria ikerionwu, ben chinedu; mbbs, mph clinical and public health physician executive/general medical practitioner solace hospital, suleja, niger state, nigeria solacecenter@yahoo.com & ndubuwa, ohaeri nnaemeka phd lecturer, methodist theological institute, sagamu sagamu, ogun state, nigeria ohaerinnaemeka@gmail.com abstract it is notable from several events in the country that key issues in nigeria’s democracy and in her governance structure are far from been determined. bad leadership yields nothing good in the society, ranging from poor and discriminatory selection of those who man our various government ministries, departments and agencies (mdas), where squared pegs (leaders) are placed in round holes to the formation of unprogressive, irritant clique, popularly called cabals which make them not to perform according to the yearnings of the governed. governance is misapplied through the practice of the constitution and laws negatively; paying no regard to good policies as enshrined in chapter 2, section 17, subsection 3, and section 18 of the 1999 nigerian constitution (as amended). this paper adopted historical and hermeneutical approaches to highlight the failures of leadership and lack of observance of civic values in nigeria as noted in the polity. a theory of reciprocity was also applied with a notable example from a text in the bible to explain the irony in the leadership and observance of civic values in nigeria. the paper recommends that good governance; provision of social amenities, adequate security, equitable allocation of amenities and gender/age equity in democratic politicking would result to multifarious development and signify positive observance of civic values in nigeria. keywords: civic values, hermeneutic, irony, leadership, reciprocity introduction the irony of leadership in nigeria represents one of the opposite ways our leaders operate what is presented in the preamble of the 1999 nigerian constitution (as amended): “we the people of the federal republic of nigeria, having firmly and solemnly resolved to live in unity and harmony as one indivisible and indissoluble sovereign nation under god… and to provide for a constitution for the purpose of promoting the good government and welfare of all persons in our country, on the principles of freedom, equality and justice, and for the purpose of consolidating the unity of our people…"this constitutional affirmation has been operated wrongly to the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 29 extent that questions are severally asked whether the people actually took part in writing the said constitution. the leaders do not believe that they are to practise within the sovereignty, equality and control of the "we the people," which gave them the opportunities to be where they are. the constitution is not operated by them as "we the people" but, as either, "i" or "me and my people/clique." justice, equity and fairness are casualties of the constitution, of which the products are tribal sentiments, nepotism (lack of merit in affairs of governance/favouritism), religious fanaticism, egocentrism, bulk-passing between arms of government or between past and current governments and incitements of violence through undignified speeches, popularly called hate speeches, along with protection of the violence and blood tasty breeders. without the people's involvement in the practise of the constitution assumed to have been written by them, the document is without authority. therefore, operating it in spite of the people, and without their interest in mind, portrays bad leadership. in areas of civic responsibility and practice, the leaders do not have anything interesting to teach or transfer to the younger folks, other than prepping them for thuggery and hooliganism; cultism, irrational thoughts, examination malpractice, culminating to institutionalize raping and kidnapping instincts. leadership in nigeria is incapable of inculcating civic values in the people, especially among the youths. leadership is service and good leadership should be service for the good of all nigerians as enshrined in the constitution. sadly, bad leadership has given birth to nurturing youths who have no regard for the unity of all segments of the country leading to exhibition of self-centeredness, inferiority and superiority complexes, pride and arrogance among other vices that are the very antithesis of unity. bad leadership has manifested in poor and discriminatory selection of those who man government ministries, departments and agencies (mdas). such square pegs (leaders) in round holes lead to formation of the unprogressive, irritant clique, popularly called cabals who bend rules at their whims and caprices, and are aversed to the practice of equity to justify citizens’ trust in the government. this negates the provisions of chapter 2, section 17, subsection 3 and section 18 of the 1999 nigerian constitution (as amended). human beings take, seriously, issues of life and death, as well as heaven and hell. failure to pay attention to the issue of leadership with commitment and passion to serve, results to neglect of infrastructural development, care of the environment and food security, poor socio-economic growth and extreme hunger in the land. since nigeria’s independence, there has been unending cry against the consequences of corruption, which has been the bane of good leadership and governance in the country. corrupt persons are wont to amass riches for themselves and they are not interested in creating wealth for the common good. all they have tried to do through the years is paying lip service to fighting corruption due to lack igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 30 of political will and determination to, frontally, counter the scourge. what obtains largely appears to be tribalized fight against corruption. some people are more respected than the others, with stubborn respect to impartial justice; deviating strongly from the way of god's principles of justice and purposeful judgment that “he that does wrong must receive for the wrong which he has done: no respect of persons while passing judgment.” (job 34:19; col. 3:25 niv) it is worthy to note that when leaders make reckless decisions, the citizens suffer. but, when the people feel victorious over their socio-economic endeavours or challenges, even the leaders rejoice; and this is what good leadership entails making the people to make ends meet without duress under peaceful, conducive and secured environment when all needed infrastructure is in place. in nigeria, too much of blame games in leadership goes on; no one tries to repay, in kind, what another person has provided or embarked on previously for the people. that is why we have abandoned projects, national assets and infrastructure littered all over the states in nigeria. leadership: what it entails out of many definitions of leadership, the definition and explanation by margaret rouse caught the authors’ interest: "leadership is the ability of an individual or a group of individuals to influence and guide followers or other members of an organization. it involves making sound and sometimes difficult decisions, creating and articulating a clear vision, establishing achievable goals and providing followers with the knowledge and tools necessary to achieve those goals." ogbeidi (2012) captured leadership this way: "it denotes the ability to lead, direct and organize a group." mrs farida waziri, aig (retd) succinctly explains who is a leader: "a leader is one who fosters change, but not merely to hold formal leadership positions."it then goes to say that the performance of a leader affects the led positively or negatively. the result of following the principles of good leadership based on god's goodness can be expressed in the following statement: "blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the lord; they keep his statutes, seek him with all their heart, they do nothing wrong; they walk in his ways." (psalm 119: 1-3, niv) there can be no better ways of stating the feelings of the people when they gain rewards and favour from the performances of willing, conscientious and diligent leaders, hence, this congratulatory statement of god almighty. however, this is not about religiosity, but about keeping the precepts and principles of god through justice by those who earn the seat of leadership and have power over the governed. a leader in the political circle should be and act like a prudent business leader that organizes and manages his enterprise with considerable initiative and an innovator of ideas, bearing the risks involved to achieve positive outcome: sound development and gains. the leader harnesses and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 31 suitably combines resources (human and natural) to achieve this. good leaders prioritize and improve the mental wellbeing of their citizens, invest in them, mostly the youth and women, so that life can be made easy for them through their endeavours: menially or professionally, for economic empowerment and subsequent growth. a leader must have suitable qualifications in terms of capacity and willingness to make the desired development come to effect. for many years of democratic practice in nigeria, the people are still searching for a leader with character, whom they will confess that the country prospered under their leadership. why so? because there was equality and every one prospered according to their capability; and there was peace everywhere in the polity. or, so they would say, there was a period when bad leaders ruled the country but one leader was exceptional. misapplication of leadership and reciprocity in nigeria: lesson from 1kings 12:12-16 leadership challenges in nigeria could be addressed with the aid of similar biblical episodes and social psychological theories such as that portrayed in 1kings 12:12-16; and theory of reciprocity for lessons to correct contemporary leadership styles. reciprocity connotes the fact that people reward kind actions and discipline unkind actions. theory of reciprocity, therefore, states that people do evaluation on the kindness of an action, both the intention and consequences of such action. reciprocity is a social norm of responding to a positive action which depicts that people are cooperative to a friendly action than self-interest model, where hostile actions can attract ruthless and revolting response from the masses. it is not a surprise to experience bad leadership and non-observance of civic values in nigeria with little or no impact on the national development in the recent times when reciprocity theory is considered. fukuyama (1996) observes that there must be coexistence of democratic and capitalist institutions within certain premodern cultural habits that will ensure their proper functioning; else, productivity or adequate results will be hampered. the episode in 1kings 12:12-16 teaches that the ten tribes of israel deserted king rehoboam and crowned jeroboam king due to the hardened heart of rehoboam to lessen the financial and physical burden on the northern tribes of israel levied by king solomon their father. rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders to alleviate the national hardship; rather he vociferated harshly during his manifesto in accordance with his inhumane peers. rehoboam threatened the people that his little finger was thicker than his father’s waist, which implied that his smallest measures would be hasher than his father’s largest measures; that his father, king solomon punished the israelites with whips but his own would be scorpions (1kings 12:10-11).having heard the dehumanizing threat from the would-be king rehoboam, the israelites, especially, the northerners, refused to anoint him king. instead they exclaimed “what share do we have in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 32 david, what part in jesse’s son? to your tents, o israel! look after your own house, o david!” (1kings 12:16 niv) so, israel departed to their various tents and did as it seemed right to them. they eventually chose jeroboam as king who, eventually, led them into idolatrous practices that incurred the wrath of god that consequently led them to exile. swaggart (2013) laments that the foolish decisions or bad leadership style of rehoboam and the impatience of israel to abandon the covenantal civic value ignited the division and crisis between israel and judah for about 250 years. these reciprocal actions in israel’s national politics caused both the national entity and the people much harm. nigerians, both the political aspirants and the masses should draw lessons from this incidence and be wise in their franchise. however, hale and thorson (2007) opine that the rigidity and brutality of rehoboam, consequent upon reciprocity, was divinely masterminded in order that the prophecy of prophet ahijah might be fulfilled concerning the separation of judah from israel (1kings 11:29-39). nigerians should beware of autocratic leadership that allows marginalization, insecurity to the so-called minority and inequality in gender and distribution of power and revenue. indifference to genocide and encouragement of religious fanaticism in the garb of politics and jettisoning of civic values as a result of bad leadership can usher in anarchy, agitations for secession and divisions may leave the nation porous and susceptible to foreign invaders. the people should take all these into consideration when casting their votes during polls in order to form good governments that will pay heed to good governance and observance of civic values. wherein are the duties of political parties? "the labour of the fool demoralizes everyone around him because he doesn't have a map to the city." jewish saying one cannot talk about bad leadership in a political (democratic) set-up as in nigeria without highlighting the role of the political parties as the main supplier of leaders and players of politics. under a democratic multi-party system, leaders work in tandem with the political parties which produce them to implement their programme(s). failure of the party to have an articulated clear vision, achievable goals with members exposed to the knowledge and tools necessary to achieve the goals which the leader will spearhead, will make the leader to derail from the path of good governance. also, a political party must have structures that groom political gladiators on leadership, management and supervisory roles. this can be implemented during retreat sessions which we get to hear of when people are elected; and continued when people are given ministerial positions; not just spending money to quarter them and feed them after which bad leadership process continues. when there is disequilibrium between the ways the party thinks and the way the leader (for instance the president) thinks, implementation of policies igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 33 through manifesto suffers. the first casualty becomes economic management, leading to discordant welfare policies for the people. poverty and scrambling for wealth become veritable grounds for insecurity. the people then complain of not benefitting from the system and the murmurings of bad leadership and governance become loud. the party in power through the assemblies national, states and local governments should do well to monitor what and how the leaders who carry out implementations of her policies do their work. carrying out situational leadership wrongly where appointments and placements of appointees into mdas and boards of parastatal agencies under the watchful eyes of the party is not palatable. appointees should be placed in right positions or situations. parties should constantly push leaders they produce to act and lead to satisfy the interest of the masses who are the designers or embodiments of democracy. therefore, any party in power cannot, possibly, be exonerated from bad governance of the country which the leader (e.g. president) is accused of and being taunted as a bad leader since the party does not properly supervise the making of strategic and visionary decisions and convincing the people to follow those decisions faithfully through awareness creation. political and electoral process or voter education of the masses on issues relating to registration for voting, significance of voter register before and during elections, voter cards and their significance, conduct during election, principle of "one man one vote," and guidance of votes and ballot boxes etc, should be an important programme of the parties. but this is glaringly lacking in nigeria, hence the high percentage of disenfranchisement of the electorate and misapplication of voting potency that permeate the land during voting periods. many of the people believe that the benefit of coming to vote is when the parties dish out handouts in the form of inducement to earn their votes; but not to enthrone good leadership and good governance. observance of civic values acquiring characters necessary for purposeful citizenship and statesmanship for composite development of nigeria is supposed to be a virtue that should be transferred from leaders to the young (or ordinary) citizens. by that, if any person is born into nigeria, they would be regarded as being, already, into a system primed for development: a country that is free of rudiments of corruption. there is joy in a nation where citizens follow and obey standard civic values formulated and observed by their leaders ahead of them. the youth will cleanse their negative inborn ways by taking heed therein, according to the conduct of their leaders who take delight in following the letters of the statutes of the nation. it is difficult to be good and patriotic citizens when the conditions for civic values are mismanaged or adulterated by those who are meant to set the pace for ideal acculturation. for example, traffic rules and regulations are evidently flouted by those in power on daily igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 34 basis. leaders' offspring live in affluence, clothed in purple and fine linen, enjoy themselves and feed sumptuously every day, even glaringly wastefully, to the detriment of the "commoners." what will the followers or the governed learn from such habits? of course, they will learn how to propagate social maladies. that shows how bad and inappropriate leadership is in nigeria. it is pertinent for leaders stationed in every aspects of human endeavor, particularly, areas relating to the teachings of civic values, including religion to aim to "produce sound, knowledgeable and morally developed followers who understand the golden rule and apply it in their daily living …" (nzomiwu, 2014) for the benefit of the nation. failure of leaders to perform their duties and fulfill their obligations to nationhood impinges on the protection of the rights of the citizens, thereby breeding chaos in the society. this makes civic values non-observable by all and sundry. indirectly, bad leadership sows the seeds of moral decadence in the polity. it is said that the young goat learns the eating of grasses from the adult goat. so is the pattern of moral acculturation in the society learn from me, and do as i have done. but the leaders, so far, have not set the right statutory example by action to follow. in fact, there is no better way to encapsulate the lessons and truthfulness of our civic values and call for obedient observance of them than the words of the second stanza of the nigerian national anthem where leaders are prayed for by the people to observe good governance: o god of creation, direct our noble cause guide our leaders right help our youth the truth to know in love and honesty to grow and living just and true great lofty heights attain to build a nation where peace and justice shall reign there is no iota of doubt that when the leaders (who are actually statesmen in every sense of it) observe and practise the tenets of this stanza, the generality of the citizens, mainly the youth, have no choice other than to agree and obey as stated in the nigeria's pledge: i pledge to nigeria my country to be faithful, loyal and honest to serve nigeria with all my strength to defend her unity and uphold her honour and glory so help me god. with this in mind, there should be no more lip service to nigeria's concerns, but pledge of allegiance to selfless governance and followership. let our igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 35 religious beliefs work to bear on our conscience, attitude and conduct in uniting the people towards development and growth of the country to which sectionists and tribalists lay claim for the sake of satisfying their desires. project abandonment there is need to improve on what was on ground which were inherited from predecessors, rather than rejecting or abandoning them. at most, let there be reassessment or revaluation of such inherited policies or projects to cause sustainability to come into good effect. when these assets are neglected or ignored, development, production and services in areas of healthcare (mostly primary healthcare), power/electricity, education, accessible roads, agriculture which facilitate human growth, are hugely affected negatively. revival or sustenance of those assets will give impetus to socio-economic enhancement in the life of the people, industrial infrastructural growth and job for the teeming unemployed skilled and unskilled persons in the land. it will lead to vibrant export undertakings and foreign exchange revenue generation. where there are good leaders in place to sustain good governance, these glaring developmental inadequacies such as bad policies or lack of policy continuity, lack of political will, political hatred and marginalization of some regions, corruption (which has always been the main culprit), impunity and poor distribution of manpower to situational areas, hostage taking of leaders who mean well by cabals will not occur; because with creative prudence, finance could be made available for the development of these projects appropriately. there is no doubt that the wealth to execute projects is in the hands of men not exposed to benefit the people. the areas where failure of leadership is glaring include: poor roads across the country hinder transportation of humans, herds, goods and services; and as well increase the cost of production in the land and services to hinter lands. some roads in the country are not cared for because of conflicts between the federal and state governments as to whose responsibility it is to repair the roads. these conflicts do not aid development and growth. sanitation: indiscriminate dumping of refuse on roads and in the streets without calculated adequate disposal mechanism in place, even when taxes are collected for their clearance does not enhance growth; instead, environmental pollution which affects human health is in vogue. inadequate water supply is rife. some states collect arbitrary fixed water tariff monthly but without supplying water to homes, companies and establishments which deal on production of goods and rendering of services to the people. this affects the private sector operations adversely and raises cost of production and services. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 36 erosion: tackling erosion sites in the areas where they exit in the country has been a herculean task for leaders, even when moneys have been claimed for them. erosion sites still dot some areas in the country. so is the problem of desertification unattended to with every form of seriousness. desertification and loss of grazing herbs requires the problem-solving skills of leaders to rectify the losses, the applicable security challenges and improve on their economic advantages. the abandoned ajaokuta steel plant in kogi state could have, by now, helped nigeria to the peak of industrialization. nigerian coal corporation, enugu; oji river power station; nkalagu cement company; oji river dam; mambila hydro power generating centre; the commercial hub of the country, aba has constantly been neglected by every government, and yet unemployment abound in the country. some other areas that require attention for development and revenue generation are the lake chad which if allowed totally to dry up will be an economic disaster for the country and other associated countries in africa. solid mineral development sector deserves good leadership intervention for the economic growth of all the states and regions of the country where such is sourced. educational infrastructure showcases dilapidated buildings and foul environment across the country. dilapidated educational infrastructure affects both quality of education received and health of the people. in fact, there is still confusion on which tier of government that should take care of school development which can, however, be resolved by constitutional review through unbundling some areas in the exclusive lists. what to do the ways to solve the inept and corrupt leadership as currently contrived in nigeria, could be by good intentioned constitutional review to bring it to the point of connoting "we the people" in practice. the leadership of the nation should allow what the people agree and say to be the springboard of our statutes. others are political and institutional reforms; positive change in attitude and behaviour of those who occupy leadership positions, or the youth and women (using their numerical population, capacity and expected proficiency) to rise-up and peacefully and electorally claim leadership, which will be attuned to the people's sovereignty as stated in chapter 2, section 15, subsection 5 of the constitution. nigeria has vibrant and efficient youth population male or female in all areas of industry and production, which can operate well if the arena (political environment) is made conducive and participatory. there should not be any room for the use of trickery, twisting and cajoling tactics to woo the masses into voting and electing unworthy "leaders" before and during general elections. this is because, as valentine achum put it: "they sing sonorous and sensuous songs of reforms, only to end up with 'cacophonous choruses' of deforms." during political campaigns igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 37 scary campaign messages either graphically or by speech to portray uncertainty targeted at the would-be opponents should be checkmated. this type of crude acts could act as a voter suppression meant for the opponents' voters to stop them from voting. it goes to say that bad leadership emanates from those who by pretext were initially elected as good leaders as portrayed to the people during campaigns: good leaders elected in pretense turn around to propagate bad leadership because, they choose to do things wrongly and unconstitutionally. the patriotism in them and their conscience, therefore, become blinded. let the veil hindering total political participation rent from top to bottom so that every democratic enthusiast male or female can enter the political scene with hope of success with no limitation by political "mammon."the youth should regard themselves as a people within a particular growth chain when creativity and innovation should represent their thinking and operation for the sake of development. youths with creative and innovative minds will not allow themselves to be manipulated by corrupt minds into thuggery, violence and causing any security breach. if your mentality tells you that you are a youth, think that way. a youth should have a fiery zeal and a tendency to reject intolerance and exclusiveness. the zeal and the intolerance should be evidence of your desire to rebuff bad leadership and bad governance in all ramifications; and make sure that you are not excluded in political processes aimed at good governance; not just a set of people that should be given chance to operate on a silver platter. your desire to have the highest positions must be based on your capacities and values. by these attitudes, you will continue to propagate the message of love into the age of statesmanship. he who aspires to lead must have a problem-solving and risk-taking mentality. it is not about let me go and grab what "my people" should merit. nigeria, at this stage of her life, needs no tribalized leadership. the youth should be graciously urged (not by arm-twisting) to work consciously and diligently to preserve nigeria's unity through which we utilize the spirit of diversified resources for development and growth. the process of achieving good leadership should start from the time of nominating and voting for those who presented themselves to contest for leadership positions. the purpose is to usher in good democratic proponents for better "political" governance, transformation and national growth, which are devoid of all intent to corrupt. there is no gainsaying the fact that bad leadership which has taken root in all fabrics of public and private sectors in nigeria, or as nwoye (2018) connotes it, "the people have taken corruption in nigeria as article of fate," impedes all forms of development and human character. good leadership that encourages participatory followership and recognition of justice, equity, accountability, transparency and fairness as the springboard of governance breeds socio-economic, cultural, religious and political privileges and gains; because when a righteous politician governs, the citizens will be happy and benefit from governance. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 38 conclusion if we looked at the ways the ideals and ideas of the constitution are operated, there are obvious flaws and changes in the operations of those elements. justice, equity and fairness in handling the tenets of human resources in terms of postings or placements, and allocation of finances to government agencies in the country are the most affected. at least, there have been constant cries in appointments, poor budgetary allocation and how the laws of the land are applied for different people unequally. management of the economy and security has not had any reasonable good taste of comments and opinions as well. the nigerian women and youths should be encouraged to participate in democracy through the process of non-costly flawless electoral process: age, gender, wealth and myopic reasoning should not be allowed to be worrisome barriers. these have been the bane of participatory 'electoral' politics in nigeria. the youth are to be regarded as the engine growth in the country, while the women are the pillars and catalyst for growth. as they are called upon to show interest in politics, electoral process and political elective positions should be non-discriminatory, conducive and affordable to accommodate their participation. god enjoins leaders not to have two different weights or measures in their bags or houses for judgment. they must have accurate and honest weights and measures when needed in proclaiming justice in the land. so that all categories of people: orphans, widows/widowers, physically and mentally well, and physically and mentally challenged should be treated equally in the eye of justice and in reeling out national support. good leaders, no doubt, receive the prayers of both men and women in the society and blessings of god. it is high time the people, notably, the women and youths exercised their sovereignty over bad leadership and make democracy to work, going by its definition: "by, of and for the people."there is no iota of doubt that good leadership and political governance based on justice, fairness, equality and equity are the ingredients that will keep all diversified ethnic groups and regions coherent as one nigeria; and propel the country to a sustainable growth and development in an atmosphere of tranquility. leaders in any position in the country must not continually portray themselves as "forces of negativity;" even as we pray to god that in his mercy, to soften the heart of unyielding leaders so that they do not continually lead the citizens of nigeria into perennial hardship. references achebe, c. (1983).the trouble with nigeria.lagos: heinemann. achum v. the trouble with political leadership in nigeria.sun newspaper online; august 9, 2016.http://sunnewsonline.com/the-trouble-withpolitical-leadership-in-nigeria/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 39 diwe e. bad leadership, nigeria’s greatest problem. https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/10/bad-leadership-nigeriasgreatest-problem-diwe/ eniayejuni a, evcan, ns. nigeria: corruption arising from badleadership.european scientific journal may 2015 edition vol.11, no.13 issn: 1857 – 7881 (print) e issn 18577431. https://eujournal.org/index.php/esj/article/view/5636/5462. fukuyama, f. (1996).trust: the social virtues and creation of prosperity. london: free press. hale, thomas & stephen thorson (2007). the applied old testament commentary. india: david cook. igini, m. snc: nigeria’s problem is constitutional and human. https://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/03/snc-nigerias-problem-isconstitutional-and-human-mike-igini-rec/ margaret rouse. definition of leadership.http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/leadership nwoye mi. the challenge of ndigbo in the nigerian context: a paper presentationat the 2015 summit of ohanaezendigbo niger state, and the inauguration of her women's wing. nwoye, m.i. (2018). that evil called poverty! entrepreneurial escape to a comfort zone: inaugural lecture serie 10; ibrahim badamasibabangida university, lapai. nzomiwu, j. (2014). satan's weakness exposed: regaining divine freedom for living a power packed life. isbn 978-978-52930-0-5. ogbeidi m. m. (2012). political leadership and corruption in nigeria since 1960: a socio-economic analysis. journal of nigeria studies; volume 1, number 2. oloyede o (2015). monitoring participation of women in politics in nigeria.nigerian national bureau of statistics (nbs, abuja, nigeria). swaggart, j. (2013). the expositor’s study bible. belarus: baton rouge. the 1999 nigerian constitution (as amended). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 40 undp (1997).governance for sustainable human development: a undp policy document.http://www.worldcat.org/title/governance-for-sustainablehuman-development-a-undp-policy-document/oclc/39294507 usman z. sharing and exchanging ideas on governance and development.https://zainabusman.wordpress.com/tag/bad-leadership/ waziri f aig (retd). leadership and the challenges of good governance in nigeria: a paper delivered at the professor ambrose alli annual lecture/awards on the 14th october, 2009. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no 3.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 17 the english language coalescence and multilingualism in nigeria odochi s. akujobi, phd department of english language and literature, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, nigeria. phone: +234 8034910531, +234 8172860044 email: os.akujobi@unizik.edu.ng abstract the language scenario in nigeria is complex, intricate and dense, leading to an extreme degree of multilingualism due to an array of aboriginal, exogenous and pidgin languages. nigeria is one of africa’s centers for language variety, which has metamorphosed into linguistic diversity. the need to break the language barrier in nigeria to make for a free flow of mutual intelligible communication led to the introduction of the english language in nigeria by the colonialists. the aboriginal languages lack the power to unite members of the varied ethnic groups in the country. the english language in nigeria has proven to meet the requirements of an official exogenous language to bond the varied ethnic groups in the heterogenous state together for lucid communication, which is fundamental to the economic, social and political unity of the nation. the role of any language in a multi-ethnic community is dependent on certain factors bothering on social relevance. the concept of multilingualism in nigeria, levels of multilingualism, issues in multilingualism and the unifying role of the english language in nigeria, are critically examined in this paper. the paper presents the english language as a linguistic conjoiner in nigeria and contends that this function is instrumental to the minimized inter-ethnic clashes. keywords: english language, coalescence, multilingualism, nigeria introduction nigeria is a multilingual nation with over 450-500 aboriginal languages with igbo, yoruba and hausa constituting the major languages, with over 97 million speakers (ethnologue). however, none of these has been adopted as a national language due to the apprehension of linguistic dominance and the associated ethnic rivalry. in the midst of such linguistic diversity, educational, political, economic and international activities must be actualized for the overall development of the nation. for these and many more reasons, the english language, through the instrumentality of colonialism, has inadvertently, become the official language of communication in nigeria, providing a common igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 18 linguistic basis for socio-economic advancement. the essence of language is for communication and social relationships. according to sapir (1921), language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of a system of voluntarily produced symbols. adedimeji (2018) therefore, postulated thus: no man can survive fully without language, as such, no nation can fully progress and develop without a common linguistic basis. isayev, cited in yusuf (2012) further submits that “language is a nation’s most important asset, there is no such thing as a nation without a common linguistic basis”. although the endorsement of the english language in nigeria is considered purely neocolonialistic, it has, in no small measure eliminated the language barrier between the various ethnic groups in nigeria, leading to multilingualism. multilingualism is a language situation whereby multiple languages exist side by side. it can be individual dependent, when an individual is competent in more than two languages or societal when many languages are used simultaneously in a society. multilingualism is a broad term. it appeals to scholars from many areas and disciplines. the term 'multilingualism' is derived from two latin words namely “multi” that means many and “lingua” that means language. thus, multilingualism is referred to as the ability of a speaker to express himself or herself in several languages with equal and native like proficiency (okal, 2014). multilingualism is also known as plurilingualism. as timayi and mohammed (2015) asserted, multilingualism is a situation nigerians had to contend with latently and constantly in their national lives. this is because it is a societal phenomenon that deals with language existing in a society. it is a sociolinguistic phenomenon that arises as a result of language contact. it is a situation in which two (i.e. bilingualism, specifically) or more languages operate within the same context and it is characterized by factors such as political annexation, marital relation, economic transaction, cultural association, educational acquisition and religious affiliation. multilingualism is a sociolinguistics phenomenon. sociolinguistics is thus, the study of language in relation to the society. it explores how language interacts with a society. the different uses and functions languages are put to. according to wardhaugh (1986), sociolinguistics is the linguistic domain that investigates the relationship between language and society with the goal of having a better understanding of the structure of language and how languages function in communication. in clear terms, “it is the study of language in relation to society” (hudson 2001). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 19 as a society uses several languages, that society becomes multicultural and multilingual. in any multilingual situation, there is tendency that one language would dominate the others, hence, becoming the most preferred while others struggle for survival. hence, the dominant language or group imposes its language on others. multilingualism is a dominant trait in africa. colonialism in africa brought about contacts with german, italian, french, portuguese and english language among africans. language contact is one major factor that brings about multilingualism. as inferred by adedimeji, language contact arises from the interaction between speakers of different languages, the result of which makes people to be bilinguals or multilinguals. language contact does not just exist; it is occasioned by reasons. five major reasons engendering language contact are political annexation or domination, cultural/religious affiliation, commercial transaction, marital relation and educational acquisition . the inception of english in nigeria can be traced to the arrival of the british in the shores of nigeria for trade, missionary activities and later colonialism, after the portuguese, who were merchants were displaced. multilingualism also evolves as a result of exposure to foreign cultures and religion. as people also leave their base, to pursue education in another country, they move with their language and culture. the english language was first introduced and taught to nigerians for fostering of the gospel but later used as a language of colonialism. after colonialism, english, though some still view as neocolonialism in disguise, has strived, performing a variety of functions in nigeria. one of such roles is its coalescing role; unifying the ethnic differences that make up nigeria. as already established, nigeria is a multilingual nation with a vast land mass. ajulo (2008) estimates that nigeria is a west african nation with a population of about 140 million people. it covers an area of 923,766 square kilometers, with over 200 different ethnic groups. presently, the country is politically composed of 36 states and abuja, the federal capital territory. it is estimated that over 400 languages are spoken in nigeria (crozier and blench (1992) while kari 2002 reveals the linguistic situation of nigeria by stating that of the four phyla (nigercongo, nilo-saharan, afro-asiatic, khoisan) to which african languages are grouped, three phyla are represented in the nigerian linguistic terrain. these language phyla are niger-congo, nilo-saharan, and afro-asiatic. ogunyemi (2009) states that there is a lot of controversy on the actual number of indigenous languages in nigeria. greenberg 1971 stamps it at 248, bamgbose (1976) also igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 20 evaluated it at 400 while hoffman (1975) too puts it between 400 and 513 living languages. oyetayo (2006) identifies 510 living languages and nine extinct languages. presumably, the total number of aboriginal languages in nigeria according to him, for both living and extinct languages is 519. to yusuf (2012), nigeria is a multilingual country where an estimated 505 languages are spoken, of which igbo, yoruba and hausa are the major languages with about 18 million speakers each. the british first introduced english in nigeria with the establishment of trading contacts on the west african coast in the sixteenth century. this resulted in a form of nigerian pidgin, which probably is the predecessor of present-day nigeria english pidgin, which is mainly used for inter-ethnic communication. english began to be formally studied in nigeria from the middle of the nineteenth century on. it now has a geographical spread throughout the country as it is used in predominantly formal contexts such as government, education, literature, business, commerce, media, international communication and as a lingua franca in social interaction among the educated elite. it is treated as “the official language of the country” although there is no government statute or decree specifying this. nigeria came into being after the forceful amalgamation of the northern and southern protectorates in 1941 by the colonialists. as a result, people of different ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic groups were clubbed together. the concept of multilingualism the term 'multilingualism', also known as plurilingualism is derived from two latin words namely “multi” that means many and “lingua” that means language. thus, multilingualism is referred to as the ability of a speaker to express himself or herself in several languages with equal and native-like proficiency (okal, 2014). as timayi and mohammed (2015) asserted, multilingualism is a situation nigerians had to contend with latently and constantly in their national lives. this is because it is a societal phenomenon that deals with language existing in a society, and also a sociolinguistic phenomenon that arises as a result of language contact. it is a situation in which two (i.e. bilingualism, specifically) or more languages operate within the same context and it is characterized by factors such as political annexation, marital relation, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 21 economic transaction, cultural association, educational acquisition and religious affiliation. as okal (2014) puts it, multilingualism refers to speaking more than one language competently and could be individual or societal. these languages are regulated and assigned different functions as either native, foreign, national, international language or a lingua franca. according to okal, the linguistic consequences of multilingualism include: a. the creation and growth of lingua franca that normally develops because of the need for cross group communication. b. multilingualism practice creates the development of mixed languages mainly due to intense language contact. as a result, speakers therefore tend to involve a mixture of languages during verbal communication. this contact may also result into the creation of slangs. c. multilingualism practice generally develops cross linguistic communication strategies like code switching and code mixing. when people switch from one language used at homes to the other outside the home environment then code switching occurs. d. multilingualism creates an aspect of diglossia whereby one language tends to dominate the others. the dominated languages are generally referred to as subordinates. a glimpse of the diglossia situation in africa indicates that english, french and portuguese are characterized as the high languages (h) and the indigenous ones as low languages (l). e. multilingualism practice tends to create the development and general acquisition of cross-cultural communication skills. in this regard, people tend to learn different skills of the languages in place, especially speaking, reading and even writing. these cross-cultural communication skills enable one to gain both the communicative and discourse competencies. f. besides the linguistic consequences, there is also a political consequence that relies on the economic and political order of the society. this, in the long run creates the majority and minority languages. some of the majority languages become more powerful than others. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 22 multilingualism in nigeria there have been various discourses on multilingualism in nigeria, with different scholars postulating different perspectives of the subject. however, there seems to be a consensus that bilinguals and multilinguals perform better academically, are multicultural and are able to reason from different world views. okal (2014) corroborates this opinion and asserts that, people knowing more languages have been found to enhance intellectual flexibility and creativity. according to akindele and adegbite (2005), while introducing a peculiar dimension to the debate, emphasizes that the main issue about the language situation in nigeria is the numerosity of languages (about 400) in nigeria. despite the pitfalls of multilingualism, it could impact positively on the nation if the diverse linguistic groups are pooled together and utilized for development. while nigeria could be a country of uncoordinated multilingualism, it could be a nation of coordinated bilingualism, whereby all indigenous languages stand on the one hand, and the english language stands on the other. olagbaju (2014) aptly describes nigeria as a linguistically fragmented and heterogeneous nation, and qualifies nigeria as a good example of a multilingual nation with its accompanying problems of language choice, planning and implementation. kari (2002) analyzed the linguistic situation in nigeria and opined that of the four phyla (niger-congo, nilo-saharan, afro-asiatic, khoisanafrican) to which african languages are grouped, three phyla are represented in the nigerian linguistic terrain. these language phyla are niger-congo, nilosaharan, and afro-asiatic. olagbaju (2014) also affirms that nigeria is a perfect example of a multilingual nation with the resultant effect of the majority of her citizens having access to a minimum of two languages. the functional differentiation of languages tends to give rise to other ways of classifying languages as mother tongue (first language of a speaker), vernacular (language spoken in a particular area or specific group of people but not generally an official), national, official and the global or international languages. therefore, olagbaju (2014) further argues that there are individuals who are bilingual or multilingual either in the indigenous languages (hausa, yoruba and igbo) or indigenous languages and the english language (igbo, yoruba and english). according to adekunle (1976) and olagoke (1982), the different indigenous nigerian languages can be classified into four depending on their roles: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 23 group a consists of the major nigerian languages which are spoken by at least six million people and used fairly widely outside their region of origin by nigerians whose mother tongues are different. the languages in this group are igbo, hausa and yoruba. group b is made up of languages not much used outside their areas of origin, but which enjoy official recognition and are used at the national level. examples of such languages are fulani, kanuri, tiv and edo. the number of the native speakers of each of these languages range from one to three million. group c are minor or regional languages which are important only at the state level such as idoma, urhobo and nupe. group d are minor languages which are not officially recognized even at the state level, yet they are very important at the local government and district levels for the purpose of administration. they argue that eighty percent of nigerian languages belong to this group, examples of these languages include ogoni, gwari, igede and angas. they further postulate that these categorizations have formed the reference point for all arguments about the choice of a national language in nigeria. whether consciously or unconsciously, nigeria has built a linguistic repertoire to sustain social, political, economic, educational, industrial and technological development in a multilingual nation. english has seen nigeria through 33 years of political independence in which we had three civilian and five military governments, a civil war and tremendous development in the educational, economic and social life of the nation. nigeria is a multi-lingual nation of varied ethnic groups. this reason paved a way for english language to become the nation’s lingua franca and a factor for its unification (akujobi and chukwu cited in timayi and mohammed, 2015). in nigeria, languages are assigned different roles and adekunle (1976) further classified these languages based on their functions. language categories cultural identity inter ethnic communication science and technology education, literature and art official transaction and mass media national identity international communication english — * * * * * * * * * * — * * * indigenous languages * * * * * — * * * * — * pidgin english — * * * — * * — * f rench — — — * * — * * igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 24 arabic — * — * * — * *** = very high-frequencly use ** = high-frequencly use * = not so-frequently use the coalescing role of the english language in nigeria according to cholakova (2015), nowadays, english is the most spoken language in the world, not only as a first or as a second language, but also as a foreign language used to communicate with others. hence, english has a special status and role that is globally accepted and as such, it has a positive and a negative impact. the english language is also the language of international relation and without it, nigerians will be disconnected from the global community, with the majority as english speakers. to this end, cholakova (2015) asserts that as an international language, english has a great impact on the political and economic growth of many nations, and there is enormous demand and need for english knowledge and proficiency. nowadays, all business meetings and conferences use english as a means of communication and the positive effect of english as an international language can be noticed not only in the economic and political growth, but also in the development of the tourism of the country. for instance, english language fluency and proficiency of the citizens attract more visitors because they can achieve functional communication. cholakova (2015) further suggests that, as an international language, the english language contributes to effective communication with foreigners, international singers, athletes, actors and actresses. certain negative effects have been attributed to the english language: a. its threat to minority languages: it may lead to language death. the global dominance of english in number of domains: internet, advertisements, commercials, music and film, etc. leads to excessive use of english and appearance of anglicisms, which again threatens minority languages (cholakova, 2015). b. discrimination against non-english speakers: people who could speak english feel that they are better off than people who could not. this is due to the recognition and opportunities mastering english offers, to the disadvantage of other languages. c. the exaltation of english leads to loss of a people's culture and identity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 25 hoffman cited in cholakova (2015) reveals that language extinction causes loss of culture as well. if there are no speakers of a particular language, then traditional songs, poetry, and other verbal art forms are only a piece of the cultural values that will be lost. d. it may lead to monolingualism: philipson as cited in cholakova (2015) talks about the influence of using only english. he laments, “the forces of globalization and americanization may be moving language policy in the direction of monolingualism’’. when english is encouraged, people become nonchalant to learn other languages. rohmah as cited in cholakova (2015) reveals that the use of english in future will be parallel to the use of local languages and if local languages are not maintained by their speakers, this would confirm the global influence of english in creating an english only nation. e. the influence of english as a global lingua franca can actually create linguistic gap between people who are native and non-native english speakers. in particular, the lack of english language proficiency and fluency may lead to ignorance of non english creative works and important researches. linguistic diversity gives people an opportunity to organize and share diverse experiences, knowledge, skills, and perspectives in a creative way (cholakova , 2015). despite opinions which consider the english language as a remnant of colonialization, many scholars insist that the role of the english language in national integration and development cannot be set aside. these scholars infer that without the english language, national cohesion and ethnic compatibility would not have been achieved. hence, adedimeji, as cited in timayi and mohammed (2015) assert that: ‘’of all the heritage left behind in nigeria by the british at the end of colonial administration, probably, none is more important than the english language. it is now the language of government, business and commerce, education, the mass media, literature, and much internal as well as external communications.’’ furthermore, ezema, as cited in timayi and mohammed (2015) confirms the indispensable role of the english language in national development in these words: ‘’it is in order to diffuse inter-ethnic linguistic tension and for the fact that no single indigenous nigerian language is spoken and understood throughout nigeria than english; the language inherited from the colonial masters, that is english has been adopted as the official language of the country. the role of english in national life of an average igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 26 nigerian is inestimable. in order to participate effectively in the social, political and economic aspects of national life, a nigerian must attain some level of competence in the language. for him/her to follow intelligently in what goes on in national life, he/she has to read newspapers, listen to the radio, and also listen to and watch television programmes which are largely conducted in english language.’’ mantz, as cited in cholakova (2015) argues for using english as european lingua franca. some of the advantages include: “it simplifies trade, it makes scientific reports and achievements more easily and quickly recognized, and it has advantages in political discussions… it is an easy means of communication, and the propagating and spread of english thus seems to be mankind’s general task.’’ english continues to serve as the language of law, government, education, media even after independence in 1960. no indigenous language in nigeria is capable of the function english language assumed ever since. timayi and mohammed (2015) describe this state of the country, 'the entire nation fell into a dilemma of not having an official language. this was because no linguistic group had a right to impose itself on any other and every linguistic group whether major or minor feels sovereign and important. apart from these, other points of disagreement exists. capturing this situation, igboanusi and ohia (2001) conducted a study involving one thousand respondents (which include doctors, lawyers, teachers, politicians, civil servants and students) in four minority language zones in the country. it was observed that 74.3% of respondents dislike speakers of hausa, igbo and yoruba and 49.6% of them feel that the speakers of the three major nigerian languages do not think well of the minority language groups. most of the respondents (65.7%) showed preference for english as nigeria’s lingua franca. 19.3% of the respondents desired that their local languages become nigeria’s future lingua franca, while 5.3%, 3.6% and 6.1% of them want either yoruba, igbo or hausa, in the respective order, to emerge as nigeria’s future lingua franca. nida and wonderly, as cited in yusuf (2012) assert that “in nigeria, there is simply no politically neutral language. infact, the division into three major regions reflects the three poles: hausa, igbo, yoruba. the political survival of nigeria as a country would even be more seriously threatened, that is, if any of these three languages were promoted by the government as being the one national language this is rather sad and unfortunate to note that such latent tension which does not make for national progress exists. this kind of situation creates suspicion, distrust, hatred and chaos in a nation that should be one.’’ yusuf (2012) confirms that, given the problem often associated with ethnic diversity, it is not surprising that adopting an indigenous nigerian language as lingua franca becomes a major igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 27 preoccupation among nigerian linguists, language planners and the government in the 1970s and 80s. since linguistic homogeneity (often) entails nationalism (which accounts for why people would first give up their lives before their languages), an indigenous national language was seen as one way of ensuring the continued oneness, or national integration, of the many ethnic groupings that make up the country. this is because each local language is intimately related to or equates an ethnic group, thus the use of a local language reinforces attachment to ethnicity thereby going against the current of national sentiment. however, adoption of a national language in any multilingual society like nigeria, is a herculean task. several proposals were considered for nigeria. many opted for the adoption of one of the three major languages (hausa, igbo and yoruba) as the national language since the three languages have the highest number of native speakers. ‘one factor is the criteria for this selection. myers-scotton, as cited in yusuf (2012), noted, one of the reasons for official language dilemma in africa is that there is usually no single group with both enough numerical and political dominance over the others to make its language the natural choice.’’ if the english language is removed from nigeria’s vocabulary, the language situation of the tower of babel will be replicated. however, since only one language must be the official language (the language of administration and education at some level), the language of relevance for unifying the nation, english was adopted as the privileged language without which the unity of nigeria as a nation is most improbable, if not out-rightly impossible (yusuf, 2012). the amalgamation of the southern and northern protectorates was premised on the english language being a common intelligible language of communication. if there was no language to bind the different segments of the country together, the amalgamation would not have been realized. danladi, as cited in timayi and mohammed (2015) reports that the ‘artificial’ combination of the three regions (northern, eastern and western) in 1914 gave the major languages in nigeria, according to the british colonial point of view, as hausa in the northern region, yoruba in the western region and igbo in the eastern region. this craved an edge for english language as the only unifying solution to the newly merged country. yusuf (2012) identifies the following as the integrating and coalescing role of the english language in nigeria: a. english can be said to be the language of integration in nigeria. amidst the compounding complexity of nigeria, especially in relation to the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 28 language question, the only language that indexes the spirit of togetherness is english. more often than not, activities conducted in indigenous languages are reprobated as being ethnic or tribal, except in cultural celebrations or entertainment displays. this explains why even during the first republic and even the colonial era, when english had not attained its present level of ascendancy in national and international affairs, political parties were formed in english. however, the parties might have regional bases; the fact that they were named in english entailed their collective import. the northern people’s congress (npc), the action group (ag), the ncnc (national council of nigeria citizens, after the excision of southern cameroon), national elements progressive union (nepu) e.t.c were formed to integrate all nigerians and give them a sense of belonging. this trend has necessarily survived until today with all the national political parties formed and sloganeered in english. b. the integrating role of english also extends to virtually all strata of nigerian life. in sports, the function of english as its language gives room for integration, as it remains the only area where the syndrome of ethnicity/tribalism has not permeated. most nigerians do not care whether the national team is made up of members of the same family, not to talk of an ethnic group, as long as they can deliver the goods or goals. the use of english facilitates the absence of ethnic sentiments in this regard. c. english is also acceptable to all – even to those who clamour against its irresistible dominance. the language is not fraught with suspicions in any formal or literate context. it is the only language that does not generate suspicions of having a skeleton in one’s cupboard or a ‘hidden agenda’ in inter-ethnic relationships or transactions. d. english also serves as the language of nationalism, concerned with political integration and efficiency. the language brings all the supposed ‘nations’ of nigeria to function as one. mention is often made of each ethnic group being a nation on its own with the hausa nation, the igbo nation, the yoruba nation, the edo nation, jukunland, tivland, urhoboland, ogoniland, ebiraland etc. as examples. however, the cohesion of all under the subsuming nigerian nation is possible through english. in other words, without english, the ubiquitous violent ethnic groups like oodua people’s congress (opc) egbesu boys, the arewa people’s congress (apc), ijaw youth solidarity (iys), bakassi boys, and other militant groups would have found more justification for desiring to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 29 secede from the nigerian federation. ironically, it is also the language of nationalism. this is because the love for the country as a whole has to be manifested through the language intelligible to all and sundry, lest the ‘ethnic agenda’ be implicated. this reason accounts for why nationalists like herbert macaulay, obafemi awolowo, ahmadu bello, nnamdi azikiwe had to use english language as a weapon of nationalist struggle. a nationalist bases his patriotic views in english. if english is not used to express the same ideas for which he is known as nationalist, he becomes an ethnic jingoist or a tribal apologist. it is the language of authenticity in nigeria today. e. as a language of wider communication (lwc), english is used for phatic communion, ceremonial purpose, and instrument for keeping records, information dissemination, self-experiment and embodiment of thought among the various linguistic groups of nigeria. english provide the common linguistic basis that constitutes a requisite for the existence of any nation. therefore, with english as the common tongue to all the ethnic groups, the collective sentiment of belonging together despite the individual or ethnic differences is forged. related to the roles discussed is the fact that nigerianism or collective identity is stamped on national institutions through the medium of english. f. the army, the navy, the air force and the police that all safeguard the territorial integrity of, and peaceful existence in nigeria are controlled with english (unadulterated or adulterated – pidgin). the national youth service corps (n.y.s.c) is aimed at bringing together nigerian youths with a view to reinforcing the sentiment of oneness. the constitution of nigeria is written in english to create a level ground for all nigerians to play, though the meta-language for the teaching of the three languages and their legislative terms was being developed (at a time in the past) in the three major languages. g. writing in english by nigerian literary artists has also created a distinctive nigerian literature marked by its own characteristics imbued with features of inter-cultural communication and cooperation. english is also the language of international relations and diplomacy – the language that mirrors nigeria to the world. h. in fact, there are obvious national symbols such as national flag, the national anthem, the national day/independence day, the national associations as well as several national monuments of which are designed in english and all of which ‘assert’ that english is the foundation of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 30 magnificent structure called nigeria. i. according to cholakova (2015), when people who share different mother tongues and backgrounds meet, they need to communicate and use a particular language in order to understand each other. therefore, the need for global communication and mutual understanding, led to increasing the number of english speakers and promoting english as the most widely spoken language. surely, if english is removed, the whole nation may automatically crumble and nigeria may cease to exist because english serves as a mediating language. according to obausi, as cited in yusuf (2012), a common language is a mark of identification and a necessary powerful tool for unity for national consciousness – nationalism. in the words of akindele and adegbite (2005), “english should serve an expected coordinating role as a means of interethnic and international communication….’’ yusuf (2012) therefore submits that ‘’english is our new historical symbol of federalism and nationalism and so, let us incontestably use it for the nigeria nation. so, let us domesticate it and get integrated.’’ conclusion the unity of a multilingual nation like nigeria can only be guaranteed by a common and mutually intelligible language, which will engender cohesion and national integration, as well as, relegate and repress the perception of linguistic hegemony and subjugation in all forms and shades. the english language has continued to play this role effectively, providing the much-needed communication tool for national growth and development. nevertheless, the local languages must be developed to the point where a functional and hybrid native language can suitably replace the english language as a national language. effective discussions must persist, fruitful consultations must be initiated and appropriate political will must be engaged to achieve this laudable goal in the near future. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 31 references adedimeji, m. a. (2010) "language question and the constitutional challenges of development in a multilingual country." journal of research in national development, vol. 8, no. 2. adedimeji, m. a. (2004)"the unifying role of english in multilingual nation: the case of nigeria." journal of research in national development, 2004. retrieved october1,2018from http;//unilorin.edu.ng/publications/adedimeji/unifying role. adekunle, m.a. (1976). national language policy and planning: the nigerian situation. wajml i. ajulo, a (2008) language in society. akure: stebak books and publishers. akindele and adegbite.(2005) the sociology and politics of english in nigeria. o. a. u press. baldwin, james.(1991). “if black english isn’t a language, then tell me, what is?” in selzer, jack (ed.) conversations: readings for writing. new york: macmillan publishing company. pp. 112 – 115. bamgbose a (1976) the changing role of mother tongue in education. mothger tongue education: the west african experience. (ed) a bamgbose. london: holder and stoughton publishers. cholakova, mariche.(2015) "the influence of the english language in a multilingual and monolingual environment — a comparative approach". international journal of english language teaching, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 3578. crozier d.h. and blench r.m. (1992) an index of nigerian languages. 2nd edition. dallas: summer institute of linguistics, inc. eberhard, david m., gary f. simons & charles d. fennig(eds). (2019). ethnologue: languages of the world. 22nd edition. dallas, texas: sil international. greenberg t. (1971) attitude of children from deprived environment toward achievement related concepts. journal of educational research. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 32 hoffman c (1975) the languages of nigeria by language families. ibadan: ibadan university press. hudson, r. a. (2001) sociolinguistics. cambridge university press. kari e.e. (2002) multilingualism in nigeria: the example of rivers state. a paper presented at the seminar on multilingual situation and related cultures in asia and africa. institute for the study of languages and cultures in asia and africa. tokyo university of foreign studies, tokyo 25 march, 2002. igboanusi, h., and ohia i. (2001). 'language conflict in nigeria: the perspective oflinguistic minorities.' in igboanusi, h. (ed). language attitude and conflict in west africa. enicrownfit publishers, pp. 124–142. josep, soler -carbonel. (2014) 'multilingualism, key concepts in intercultural dialogue', no. 17. kari e.e. (2002) multilingualism in nigeria: the example of rivers state. a paper presented at the seminar on multilingual situation and related cultures in asia and africa. institute for the study of languages and cultures in asia and africa. tokyo university of foreign studies, tokyo 25 march, 2002. okal, benard o. (2014)'benefits of multilingualism in education.' universal journal of educational research, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 223-229. ogunyemi k (2009) nigerian languages, ethnicity and formal educational practices. an unpublished paper presented as part of course work for tee 813. olagbaju, o. (2014)multilingual education in nigeria: policy, practice, challenges and solutions. journal of education and practice. vol 5, no 6. olagoke, d. (1982). choosing a national language for nigeria. jolan 1:197-206. oyetayo a 2006 nigeria: hope for the future: languages of nigeria. ibadan: freedom press. sapir, e. (1921) the meaning of language, theory and practice. u.s.a centre for applied linguistics, 1921. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 33 timayi, c. and mohammed, a. (2015) 'english language: a point of convergence and tool for building a corruption-free nigeria.' international journal of language, literature and culture, vol. 2, no. 5, pp. 8690. wardhaugh, r. (1986) an introduction to sociolinguistics. blackwell. yusuf, hanna onyi. (2012) 'language as a tool for national integration: the case of english in nigeria.' international journal for cross-disciplinary subjects in education (ijcdse), vol. 2, issue 1. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 1 feminist language as a sociolinguistic variable for enacting change: a study of adichie, judd, obama and perez’s speeches ohanedozi, lilian c. & umera-okeke, nneka, phd department of english studies university of port harcourt port harcourt rivers state, nigeria nneka.umeraokeke@uniport.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.16636.28806 abstract this work is a qualitative study of the variation of language employed by feminists using chimamanda ngozi adichie, ashley judd, michelle obama and caroline criado perez‟s speeches. in language, a lot of studies have been done in sociolinguistics on the language used by women and men but only little has been done on the language of feminists. the aim of this study therefore is to show that feminist language is a shift which varies from the stereotypical characteristics previous studies have identified as the language of women. this study identified the salient features of language used by these feminists in their speeches as well as the effects of these features. purposive sampling procedure was used in the selection of the feminists whose speeches were analyzed. the population of study is six transcripts of speeches drawn from four notable women adjudged to be feminists. the theoretical foundation is anchored on the social constructionist theory which states that realities are constructed through language and that gender is a social construction. the findings of this study revealed seven features of language in the speeches of feminists. they are: rhetorical question, mundane expressions, inclusive pronouns, direct speech, parallelism, content adjectives and collocations. these linguistic features are characteristics of feminist language and are therefore different from what previous researchers have identified as features of women‟s speech. it is therefore recommended that men and women who aspire to be feminists should use more of this variation which the researchers termed “femtalk” in other to enforce change. it is also hoped that “femtalk” will be yet another addition to the growing studies on gender and language studies. introduction language is a combination of words or a tool used by human beings for communication and exchanges. it is made of sounds or graphic symbols which users or speakers have accepted to use as units of communication. this means mailto:nneka.umeraokeke@uniport.edu.ng igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 2 that language does not exist in abstraction. it is used for communication. human beings use language for communication and other forms of interactions including transactions and exchanges. language in turn becomes a symbol of identity for human beings. human beings give relevance to language. okoh (2003, p.254) opined that in “language, we discover a form of social behaviour, closely bound up with, and serving to express, a people‟s entire cultural accoutrements”. it becomes obvious that language reflects the traditions, norms, beliefs and values of a people. akmajian, demers, farmer and harnish (2008) observed the role of language in relation to its operation in the society. in a society language is unique to individuals that make up the society. language is a mirror of mind on a deep significant sense. it is a product of human intelligence, created anew in each individual by operations that lie far beyond the reach of will or consciousness (akmajian, demers, harnish& fisher 2008, p.9) language is used by people in the society and the society in turn influences the outcome of language.robin (1985) opined that “language is a symbol system based on pure or arbitrary convention infinitely extendable and modifiable according to changing needs and the conditions of the speakers” (cited in syal & jindal 2010, p. 10). we can deduce from these definitions that language is dynamic and not static. it evolves; it changes to meet the needs of members of the society. it is in vein that the study of sociolinguistics becomes not just valid but indispensable. sociolinguistics is the study of how language relates with the society, how language is used in the society and how language is influenced by speakers in the society. it is an examination of language and its behaviour in the society. it is concerned with the role of language as a social and cultural phenomenon (nwala, 2015). gender as a social construct is made manifest through language and thus in turn affect the way men and women speak in the society. the roles expected of a man or a woman is depicted through language (coates, 2013). umera-okeke (2015, p558) argued that: the division into masculine and feminine social roles has given rise recently to a constructionist and dynamic view of gender. under this new conception, gender is not a fixed category but may vary depending on the speech situation and the type of interaction that takes places. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 3 this means that gender roles are not biological construct but are social constructs which have become acceptable over the years. gender roles are social behaviours constructed by patriarchal values. abbas (2003) opined that gender is not a fixed category; it is subject to change and is negotiated according to the event, activity and context, thus, males and females negotiate a continuum of feminity and masculinity (gender roles), which is conditioned by its linguistics marking and the role they have in a particular activity or situation. however, these roles are not static, they are subject to change. gender roles which are made manifest through language are constructed by societies. this is why the english language today is regarded as a “sexist” language because of the way it fosters dominance of women by men. a good example is the use of the generic term “he” to refer to both men and women thus presenting women as mere appendages to men (sunderland, 2006). sexism is an inherent belief that people of a particular gender (usually male) are superior to the other gender (female). the reaction against this long-standing belief of the superiority of men over women is what gave rise to feminism. feminism is a reaction against patriarchy (a system of government or society in which men are more favoured or preferred) and its various forms of manifestation including language. feminism is a political movement that advocates for the socio-political equality in the treatment of men and women (mills, 2008). this important movement of change can be achieved through language. activities and gender roles are manifested through language; it can equally be deconstructed through language. language is thus a powerful weapon used to bring about change or to establish a notion in the society. mills(2008) said that language is “a tool which is drawn on strategically by both sexists and feminists‟ campaigners, and as a site of struggle over word-meaning, which is also often a struggle over who has the right to be in certain environments, speak in certain ways, hold certain jobs” (p. 2) this work therefore examined feminist language as a sociolinguistic variable for enacting change using the selected speeches of some feminists. the effects of salient features identified as characteristics of feminists‟ language is equally foregrounded. the focus on the feminists picked for this study is not really based on any strand of feminism since no strand be it radical, liberal, cultural or social feminism is completely independent of the other and also since they all have common core values which are the fight for the socio-political equality of women and men and the liberation of women from repressive patriarchal postulations. furthermore, the speeches of these feminists cut across the different strands of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 4 feminism, hence the need to focus on the values and ideals of feminism as a political and social movement irrespective of the strand. the theoretical foundation on which this work bears on is the social constructionist theory which sees language as an instrument for the construction of reality. theoretical framework 1. the social constructionist theory the social constructionist theory is one of the approaches to the study of language and gender. social constructionist theory originated from berger and luckman‟s publication on the social construction of reality (1966) and since then it has continued to evolve to include areas of interests such as language and gender. the social constructionist approach to gender and language was further developed by mary crawford in talking difference (1995). within this theory, language and gender are viewed not from biological point of view but as a social construction. from a social constructionist perspective, language and discourse are those systems of meaning that produce rather than reflect gender as an important and salient social category (weatherall, 2002). the major concern of the constructionist is that language and gender are social constructions which are produced and reproduced through discourse. naturally, our thoughts are aligned with our language. in any society, individuals in that society learn language in a social context which in turn influences their patterns of thought. 2. feminism feminism is a movement that advocates for a destruction of structures and political or social ideologies that sustain and reinforce the subjugation and oppression of women in the society. feminism is a movement that advocates for the socio-political equality of the sexes; it seeks to redress the discrimination of women in work places and politics. mc bride and mazur (2008, p. 235) opined that “feminist movements involve specific challenges to patriarchy and the subordination of women.” mc bride and mazur (2008) further identified three key objectives of feminist struggle: 1. the goal of changing the position of women in politics and society at large 2. a challenge to change women‟s dominance by men through gender equity 3. a challenge to change the structures of gender-based hierarchies. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 5 feminist language activism is aimed at destroying linguistic sexism which is manifested when language features represent or depict the inferiority of one sex against the other. atkinson (1993, p. 403) defined linguistic sexism as a “wide range of verbal practices including not only how women are labeled and referred to, but also how language strategies in mixed sex interaction may serve to silence or depreciate women as interactants. previous study on difference in men and women’s speech from the instances of previous studies, we noticed that women‟s language is depicted as inferior as opposed to men‟s speech. talbot (2003, p. 475) identified male and female conservational styles thus: women men sympathy problem solving rapport report listening lecturing private public connection status supportive oppositional intimacy independency talbot further noted that these styles are equally stereotypical and that individuals differ in their language use. wardaugh (2006, p.322) still on the difference in men and women speech noted, women are also said not to employ the profanities and obscenities men use, or, if they do, use them in different circumstances or are judged for using them… women are also sometimes required to be silent in situations in which man may speak. jespersen (1992) opined that women have smaller vocabularies, show extensive use of certain adjectives and adverbs more than the men and that they equally tend to break off without finishing their sentences and the reason is because women start talking without having thought out what they are going to say and they equally use fewer complex sentences (sunderland 2006). women have been reduced to thoughtless chattering beings whose language use reflects their igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 6 subordinate status to the point that a man can be mocked for speaking like a woman. rochefort (1665) wrote: the men have a great many expressions peculiar to them, which the women understand but never pronounce themselves. on the other hand, the women have words and phrases which the men never use, or they would be laughed to scorn. thus, it happens that in their conversations it often seems as if the women had another language than the men (cited in sunderland 2006, p.6) also, lakoff (1973 p. 47) said that features of women‟s language were evident in levels of the english language. at the lexical level women use: a. precise colour descriptors, e.g., mauve, beige, lavender b. more empty adjectives, e.g., divine, lovely c. weaker expletives, e.g., dear me, oh fudge at the syntactic level women use more: a. tag questions: jane is here, isn‟t she? b. hedges (signaling uncertainty), e.g., sort of, you know c. indirect request forms, e.g., will you please close the door? again, studies carried out by holmes and stubbe (2003) showed the following difference in women and men‟s speech: feminine masculine indirect direct conciliatory confrontational facilitative competitive collaborate autonomous minor contribution (in public) dominates (public talking time) supportive feedback aggressive interruptions person/ process oriented task/ outcome oriented affective oriented referentially oriented feminist activists have argued that these features of women's speech are culturally imposed; therefore, a change in the position of a woman would result in language change while others have classified some of the features of women's speech as stereotypes since women are different and should therefore have igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 7 different voices. kippers (1987) opined that any view that women's speech is trivial, gossip-laden, corrupt, illogical, idle, euphemistic, or deficient is highly suspect” (wardaugh 2006, p.317). features of feminist language feminist language differ from women‟s speech in their use of the following features: a) the use of rhetorical questions b) the use of mundane expressions c) the use of direct speech d) the use of parallelism e) the use of inclusive pronoun f) the use of content adjectives g) the use of collocations these are exemplified in the speeches under study and presented in the tables below table 1: rhetorical questions in feminist speeches name of speakers extracts of rhetorical questions from the speeches adichie today women in general are more likely to do the house work than men, the cooking and cleaning. but why is that? is it because women are born with a cooking gene? or because, over the years they have been socialized to see cooking as their role?... i remember that the majority of the famous cooks in the world, whom we give the fancy title of “chefs” to are men. b) is domestic work really neutral? or do women do majority of it? judd why are pads and tampons still taxed when viagra and rogaine are not? is your erection really more than protecting the sacred messy part of my womanhood? is the bloodstain on my jeans more embarrassing than the thinning of your hair?... scarlett johnson, why were the female actors paid less than half of what the male actors earned last year? obama … if all of this is painful to us as grown women, what do you think, this is doing to our children? what message igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 8 are our little girls hearing about who they should look like? how they should act? what lessons are they learning about their dreams and aspirations? perez feminism cares that when women are murdered, as we are on a weekly basis, that we barely get a mention in the news, because well, how can a weekly occurrence be news? b) why is this (voilence against women)happening? table 2: mundane expressions in feminist speeches name of speakers extracts of mundane expressions from the speeches adichie we teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings in the way that boys are... recently a young woman was gang raped in a university in nigeria judd and our pussies ain‟t for grabbing... our pussies are for our pleasure... is your erection really more than protecting the sacred messy part of my womanhood? is the bloodstain on my jeans more embarrassing than the thinning of your hair? obama this was a powerful individual speaking freely and openly about sexually predatory behaviour, and actually bragging about kissing and groping women perez and she goes on because she knows that her vagina is not shameful. b) ...these men who were saying they were going to shove poles up my vagina, shove their dicks down my throat...are misogynistic dick heads...who are scared. we dont want to give these assholes the satifaction of shutting us up, putting us back in our place, sending us back to the kitchen and having us make them a sandwich. table 3: direct speech in feminist speeches name of speakers extracts of direct speech from the speeches adichie i was not worried at all. in fact, it had not occurred to me to be worried because a man who would be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 9 intimidated by me is exactly the kind of man i would have no interest in. b) i simply watched the world. i knew that the world did not give to women the same dignity it gave to men. i was aware of how much the socialization of women was focused on men. judd my name is ashley judd and i am a feminist. and i want to say hello to independent avenue in the back, all the way down to 17th street, and i bring you words from nina donovan…. obama so, i‟m going to get a little serious here because i think we can all agree that this has been a rough week in an already rough election. this week has been particularly interesting for me personally because it has been a week of profound contrast. perez i always say that violence against women is the front line of feminism. it‟s the fallout from all the other injustices women face around the world. b) so, yes i am a feminist „hi„ and today i‟m going to talk to you about my activism and about gender inequality in general. i‟m going to talk to you about bank notes which is a campaign that i started and ran between april and july this year. table 4:parallelism in feminist speeches name of speakers extracts of parallelism from the speeches adichie a) and so, girls grow up to women who cannot say they have desire. they grow up to be women who silence themselves. they grow up to be women who cannot say what they truly think. and they grow upand this is the worst thing we do to girls they grow up to be women who have turned pretense into an art form. b) i‟m angry that women in south korea are protesting about hidden cameras that invade their privacy. i‟m angry about domestic violence all over the world, in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 10 italy there is a woman killed every week by an intimate partner. i‟m angry that in africa women cannot inherit property because they are women. i‟m angry that in latin america women are dying because government decides that they cannot do anything over pregnancies that they no longer want. judd i am not nasty like the combo of trump and pence being served up to me in my voting booths. i‟m nasty like the battles my grandmothers fought to get me into that voting booth. i‟m nasty like the fight for wage equality. scarlett johnson, why were the female actors paid less than half of what the male actors earned last year? see, even when we do go into higher paying jobs our wages are still cut with blades sharpened by testosterone… obama …we need someone who is a unifying force in this country. we need someone who will heal the wounds that divides us, someone who truly cares about us and our children, someone with strength and compassion to lead this country forward. and let me tell you, i‟m here today because i believe with all of my heart that hillary clinton will be that president. perez feminism is when wendy davis stands on her feet for ten hours and talks to a house dominated by men who don‟t care to hear her words, to prevent law markers in the united states from invading women‟s uteruses with their bills. feminism is when hania moheed speaks up about being sexually assaulted by a mob in tahir square, despite cultural norms that tell her, she, rather than her rapists, should be ashamed. b) i know about the injustice women face and i just felt this is bullshit and i‟m not taking it and i‟m going to say no, and i‟m not only going to say no, i‟m going to start a debate about why these kind of things matter. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 11 table 5: inclusive pronouns in feminist speeches name of speakers extracts of inclusive pronouns from the speeches adichie we police girls, we praise girls for virginity, but we don‟t praise boys for virginity… we teach girls shame. “close your legs”, “cover yourself”, we make them feel as though by being born female they‟re already guilty of something. and so, girls grow up to be women who cannot see they have desire. they grow up to be women who cannot say what they truly think and they grow up and this is the worst thing we do to girls. they grow up to be women who have turned pretense into an art form. b) we should change laws that diminish women but changing the mindset is even more important. we should enact policy that supports women but changing cultural attitudes is even more important. judd so,we are not here to be debunked. we are here to be respected; we are here to be nasty obama we as women have all the power we need to determine the outcome of this election. we have knowledge, we have a voice. we have a vote. and on november the 8th, we as women, we as americans, we as decent human beings can come together and declare that enough is enough… perez patriarchy is the spaces we live in. it‟s the way we learn, it‟s the way we work, it‟s the way we live. patriarchy is as much a part of us as the air we breathe. it‟s everywhere and it‟s everything right down to the way we speak. b) we are not really being represented... we need to not just treat the symptoms we also need to treat the cause and the cause of the injustices women face in the twenty first century is we are still chronically undervalued, our stories are not deemed important enough to make the national media or even local media... we are beaten and sexually violated. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 12 table 6. content adjectives in feminist speeches name of speakers extracts of content adjectives from the speeches adichie i used to look up to my grandmother who was a brilliant, brilliant woman, and wonder how she would have been if she had the same opportunity as men when she was growing up. judd yeah, i‟m a nasty womana loud, vulgar, proud woman. obama she is an outstanding mother. she has raised a phenomenal young woman. she‟s a devoted daughter who cared for her mother until her final days” … and if any of us had raised a daughter like hillary clinton, we would be so proud. perez a few weeks ago i stood outside the home office with some of the bravest women. b) there are a lot of great women to choose from. table 7: collocations in feminist speeches name of speakers extracts of collocations from the speeches adichie “grave injustice”,“horrible inhumanity”, “fairer world”,“savage beings”, “happier women”, “terrible choice” “great disservice”, “fragile ego”, “sexual violence, bloodless logic, pregnancy penalty, slut shame, sexual harassment” judd “sexual assault, wage equality“ obama “unthinkable obstacles”, “vicious language”, “hateful languages” “lewd conversations”, “sad election” , “sinking feeling” “disturbing footnote” “vulgar words” perez “sexual violence, epidermic proportions, daily indignities, physical violence, domestic violence, sexual humiliation, drastic proportions“ b) “sexual assault, domestic incidents, abusive igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 13 partners, male dominated parliament, male dominated media, domestic violence, epidermic proportions“ fem-talk, a variable for enacting change one of the goals of feminism is to crack the shell covering and restricting the behaviours of women in patriarchal societies and this includes their language use.feminists linguistic practice deconstructs traditional gender roles for women through the use of the several features of language identified, one of them being the use of mundane expressions.mundane expressions which are everyday earthly or vulgar language were purposefully used. judd and perez were more vocal in their use of these expressions, meanwhile traditionally, women are expected to use a reserved form of language. women shrink from using words that have sexual underpinnings. it is considered distateful for a woman to use sexual forms of language; they rather use euphemisms for such expressions. femtalk on the other hand deconstructs these expectations. feminists do not shy away from using words such as “pussy, vagina, sexy, desire, erection“ as observed from the extracts above. feminists have come to agree that there is nothing wrong or shameful about women using such words. rhetorical questions were used to challenge patriarchal manifestations of gender roles. traditionally, women were conditioned to not speak in public places or even ask questions. apostle paul in the bible admonished women to keep quiet in the church and if at all they had any question, they should ask their husbands at home. feminists through the use of rhetorical questions try to raise the consciousness of women to question the premise behind gender expectations. these useful questions have opened the eyes of many to the fact that it is not programmed in the dna of women to behave in certain ways. like adichie asked “today women in general are more likely to do the house work than men... but why is that?“ such questions are geared towards the deconstruction of gender because the knowledge and skills of chores are learned; they don„t come pre-installed in any woman‟s dna. feminists use content adjectives in description of women. traditionally, women have been portrayed as people who just gossip and talk flippantly without meaningful contribution. the occupation reserved for them is child rearing and other docile positions. hence, adjectives used in reference to women are empty adjectives such as “nice, divine“ etc. femtalk however, deconstructs this long standing belief by employing content adjectives in description of women. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 14 adjectives such as “strong, brave, brilliant“ as we saw in the extracts portray women in active roles. the use of inclusive pronouns were deployed to create “in group“ status. traditionally, women have been described as weak. they are called the “weaker vessel“. hence, men charged themselves with the task of making decisions for women. with femtalk however, feminist employ the inclusive pronoun “we“ to identify women as a strong group of people who belong to a social class and who have influence. the inclusive pronoun “we“ suggests that women are an organised group who have a goal and who have the power to achieve such goals. hence, the deconstruction of the traditional view of women as weak. adichie said “we teach girls shame, close your leg... as though by being born females they were already guilty of something“ thereby letting women know that it‟s in their power to change the way females are raised. feminists employ parallelism as a persuassive form of language. traditionally, women„s speech were seen as monotonous, garrulous, and nothing but a chatter. femtalk however deconstructs that idealogy by employing a poetic form of language which is parallelism. using repetitive patterns of sentences for the sake of emphasis and as a persuassive device did more to enforce the urgency of what they are advocating for. again, the use of direct speech. women are known to use alot of hedges and indirect forms of expressions. this amounts to their invisibility in language use. the reason for this is because women were previously not allowed to have an opinion. femtalk however deconstructs this gender biased role. feminists employ the first person pronoun “i“ in any talk in which they are engaged in other to make themselves present and visible and to commit themselves to their views and opinions. also, by using collocations,feminists proved that women can equally be norm developers. women were previously norm enforcers, they simply use the language as prescribed by men who were the linguists and grammarians at the time. femtalk, however, has proved that some women have moved from being norm enforcers to norm developers. here, women use language in ways that capture their unique experiences and to expose the injustice of gender bias. collocations such as “marital rape, savage beings,horrible inhumanity, vicious language, daily indignities, slut shame, gender bias, etc“ are coined to describe and shed light on some of the abuses women go through. things that were usually ignored and not talked about. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 15 these linguistic features play important roles in the propagation of feminist ideologies. in the society today, the use of vulgar and banal words are no longer considered the exclusive repertoire of men‟s language. women today can freely report „rape„ and „groping„ incidents without being ashamed or silenced. women can use expressions such as “pussy, dick head, ass hole, sexy, hot, desire, vigina“ without shrouding them or using euphemisms and more importantly is that they can use these expressions without being ashamed. conclusion this paper has established feminist langauage to be a sociolinguistics variable for enacting change in the society. feminist language is a positive shift from women„s language because while the stereotypical characteristics of women speechhas done more to descriminate against them and keep them in subordinate positions, femtalk is a liberating form of language that creates a symmetrical relationship between men and women. this work has shown that language and gender are social constructs. gender roles and expectations are social constructs, hence it is not programmed in the dna of women to use inadequate forms of language as this study has shown. therefore through femtalk women have the opportunity to use language in compelling forms to share their experiences and advocate for changes in the society just as feminist have done. references abbas, t. (2003). the impact of religio-cultural norms and values on the education of young south asian women. british journal of sociology. vol 24, pp. 411428. akmajian, a., demers, r.a., farmer, a.,& harnish, r.m. (2008). linguistics: an introduction to language and communication (7th ed.) new delhi: prentice hall of india. atkinson, k. (1993). language and gender. in jackson, s. (ed) women‟s studies: a reader. hertfordshire: harvester wheatshef. berger and luckman‟s publication on the social construction of reality (1966 crawford, m. (1995). talking difference: on gender and language. london: sage. holmes, j., & stubbe, m. (2003). feminine workplaces: stereotype and reality. in holmes, j., & meyerhoff, m (eds), the handbook of language and gender. oxford: blackwell. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 16 judd, a. (21 jan 2017). women‟s march. retrieved from https://www.cosmopolitan.com>... lakoff, r. (1975). language and woman‟s place. new york: harper & row. mc bride, d., & mazur, a. (2008). state feminism. in goertz, g. & mazur, a. (eds) politics, gender and concepts: theory and methodology. cambridge: cambridge university press. mills, s. (2008). language and sexism. new york: cambridge university press. nwala, a.m. (2015). introduction to linguistics: a first course. port harcourt: obisco nigeria enterprises. obama, m. (2016, october 13) retrieved from: www.npr.org 2016/10/13, transcript… obama, b. (2016). modern feminism (video file). retrieved from https://www.independent. co.uk.>... 18 jan 2017. okoh, n. (2003). effective business communication in english. port harcourt: lamison. perez, c. (8 march 2014). “this is feminism”. (transcript). retrieved from https:// week woman.wordpress.com>… sunderland, j. (2006). language and gender: an advanced resource book. london: routledge. syal, p., & jindal, d.v. (2010). an introduction to linguistics: language, grammar and semantics. new delhi: prentice hall of india. umera-okeke, n. (2012). linguistic sexism: an overview of the english language in everyday discourse. in affrev la ligens. vol 1(1), march 2012, 1-17. umera-okeke, n. (2016). language and gender. in kamalu, i. &tamunobelema, i. (eds.). issues in the study of language and literature: theory and practice. ibadan: kraft. wardaugh, r. (2006). an introduction to sociolinguistics (5th ed). uk:blackwell. yule, g. (1996). pragmatics. oxford: oxford university press. http://www.npr.org/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 93 religious crisis and management in nigeria christian maduabuchi umeanwe, phd department of religion and human relations, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state, nigeria. cm.umeanwe@unizik.edu.ng; drchrismadu777@gmail.com 0803 294 3999 doi: 10.13140/ rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract religious crisis has been a major challenge in nigeria, every aspect of nigeria namely; politics, economy, education, governance, ethnic groups, federal appointments and security departments has undeniably experienced the harm of religious crisis. conflict expresses itself in various ways and diverse degrees and over every range of human contact. this religious crisis is dominant among christianity and islamic religions-the two major foreign religions in nigeria. the crisis has taken different shapes virtually from the inceptions of the two religions. the damages are enormous ranging from loss of lives, severed relationships to damage of properties worth billions of naira etc. it has showcased itself in fanaticism, intolerance, derogatory statements, political dissatisfaction and superiority complex. nigeria has been faced with lingering religious conflicts devoid of lasting religious conflicts resolutions, especially between christianity and islamic religions. the findings of this paper totally disagreed with those who said that one of the causes of religious conflicts between muslims and christians is lack of the consciousness of the concept of african brotherhood and love, rather the major cause of conflicts between christians and muslims in nigeria is fulani-islamization and expansionism agenda in nigeria. that without mincing words is the undertone play of all the religious conflicts in nigeria. the purpose of this study therefore, is to investigate the causes of religious conflicts in nigeria as a country and to use the principle of conflict management techniques to call for a peaceful coexistence between christians and muslims in nigeria. data collection method for this research is mostly secondary data collection method. the research concludes with submission that proper application of thomaskilmann conflicts management techniques portrayed the following concepts; collaborating, forgiveness, accommodating, dialogue, avoiding and justice as instruments of conflict resolution; and could be applicable to nigeria situation. keywords: religious crisis, management, nigeria. mailto:cm.umeanwe@unizik.edu.ng igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 94 introduction religious violence in nigeria refers to christian-muslim strife in modern nigeria, which can be traced back to 1953. today, religious violence in nigeria is dominated by the boko haram insurgency, which aims to impose sharia on the entire nation. nigeria was amalgamated in 1914, only about a decade after the defeat of the sokoto caliphate and other islamic states by the british which were to constitute much of northern nigeria. the aftermath of the first world war saw germany lose its colonies, one of which was cameroon, to french, belgian and british mandates. cameroon was divided in french and british parts, the latter of which was further subdivided into southern and northern parts. following a plebiscite in 1961, the southern cameroons elected to rejoin french cameroon, while the northern cameroons opted to join nigeria, a move which added to nigeria's already large northern muslim population. the territory comprised much of what is now north-eastern nigeria, and a large part of the areas affected by the present and past insurgencies. following the return of democratic government in 1999, the muslim-dominated northern nigerian states have introduced sharia law, including punishments against blasphemy and apostasy. several incidents have occurred whereby people have been killed for or in response to perceived insults to islam. religious conflict in nigeria goes as far back as 1953, and in the case of the town of tafawa balewa, to 1948. the religious crisis is one of the main recurring problems in nigeria, and it is often followed or preceded a hidden agenda of the islamic sects in nigeria. there are two primary religions in nigeria which are islam and christianity; they compete with each other for centuries, causing intolerance and social-political crises not only in nigeria. ngene (2019) said: it is evident that religion is a type of means that is called to unite people worldwide. however, rather often this matter is got involved in conflicts, being the most influential weapon in the hands of some leaders. thus, as you see, the religious crisis is a disagreement between two groups of different religions that struggle against coherent existence without themselves. (p .1). the disagreement between christianity and islam in nigeria for a long standing period of time is not as a result of miniaturised geographical territory in which both religions are sharing. in the clashes between the two major religions there is a hidden agenda that islamic adherents are https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/christianity_in_nigeria https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/islam_in_nigeria https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/nigeria https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/religious_violence https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/boko_haram_insurgency https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sokoto_caliphate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/northern_nigeria https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/northern_nigeria https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/first_world_war https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/cameroon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/french_cameroon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/british_cameroon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/southern_cameroons https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/northern_cameroons https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/plebiscite https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/southern_cameroons https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/northern_cameroons https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/blasphemy_law_in_nigeria https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/kano_riot_of_1953 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/kano_riot_of_1953 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/tafawa_balewa,_nigeria igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 95 commissioned to achieve in nigeria. it is obvious. it is underground, islamic agenda is trying to make the whole country a muslim country. if christians have become targets at all, it is because islam and those in power want to make sure the whole country becomes a muslim country, and they are using boko haram and the fulani herdsmen as veritable to achieve that objective. when boko haram first began to gain global attention in the early 2000s, they were more politically minded, and received political support from certain parties in order to advance into the founders‘ agenda. it was only a political strategy they wanted to use at the time, using boko haram for their personal, religious and political achievements, adding that it benefitted them at the time, but soon things got out of hand and they were unable to control the situation. when former nigerian president goodluck jonathan, who held office from 2010-2015, was still in charge, he made a genuine effort to get things under control, but the system is so corrupt that the system did not allow him to achieve much. he was too polite to be in that political position. this politeness would have been something positive for nigeria, if the system had allowed him to use his polite nature to build the nigeria he envisioned. the christian religion is, on another plane, a resistance to the arabmuslim expansionism and islamization agenda in nigeria which has menaced and ravaged the african continent for twelve centuries now. as early as the first quarter of the seventh century, the arabs, a people from the near-east, evolved islam not just as a religion but as a cover for their insatiable territorial ambitions. by the tenth century they had overrun and occupied, among other places, egypt and north africa. if they had stopped there, nigerians would not today be faced with the wicked and unholy collusion we are fighting against. on the contrary, they cast their hungry and envious eyes across the tribes and regions that repudiate their religion; and opted to use force to advance the course of their religion through jihad. conceptual clarification concept clarification is centrally important to theory development. while often understood as a formula-driven task, concept clarification is really a process that engages critical thinking. clarification creates multiple meanings through: (1) formulating purposes, (2) choosing, examining, and integrating data sources, and (3) representing a final igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 96 conceptualization that can also be examined for adequacy. within each of these processes, critical thinking is engaged as: (1) assumptions are identified and challenged, (2) the importance of context in creating meaning is revealed, (3) alternative interpretations are imagined and explored, and (4) reflective scepticism is cultivated. the central challenge in concept clarification is to understand how words create things. the kind of explanatory approach given to the keywords of the title of the paper informed the writers mind of the choice of the topic. religion the term religion does not mean the same things among the religions in the globe. sani (2007) said the following about religion: religion, unlike other disciplines like music, geography, history, mathematics, chemistry and a host of others, has no universally acceptable and satisfactory definition. religion is looked at from different perspectives based on the angle which one understands it. it originates from the latin words: relegere (to unite or link) and religio (relationship, bond). (p.12). it therefore means a link or a relationship between man and a being that exists which is greater than man. man and religion are inseparable in all human cultures. however, according to webster's dictionary of english language, religion refers to man's expression of his acknowledgement of the divine or a system of belief and practices relating to the sacred and uniting its adherents in communities. this shows that religion focuses on what is ultimate or absolute and taught of worship. juergensmeyer (1972) therefore opined that, relationships between the transcendent and men demands total submission and an absolute obedience. (p.23). according to adeniyi (1993), religion also, is the consciousness of one's dependence on transcendent being and the tendency to worship him. it is a body of truths, laws and rites by which man is subordinated to the transcendent being. (pp.12-18). similarly, religion is a system of symbols which act to establish powerful, pervasive and long-lasting moods and motivations in men by formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 97 religious crisis the terms religious crisis can be used synonymously with religious violence, religious intolerance, religious conflict etc. having discussed religion, a crisis is a difficult or dangerous time in which a solution is needed and quickly. for example, the crisis caused by a natural disaster might inspire one and one‘s friends to make a donation. the noun crisis comes from the latinized form of the greek word krisis, meaning "turning point in a disease. khaled and tevhide (2018) defined crisis as, ―the perception of an unpredictable event that threatens important expectancies of stakeholders and can seriously impact an organization's performance and generate negative outcomes‖. (p.5). according to obodoechina (2008), religious crisis can be defined as a great difficulty or danger which arises as a result of different beliefs in the existence of god or gods. (p.2). a religious crisis is a crisis primarily caused or justified by differences in religion or religions. religious crisis briefly is described as the threat or actual implementation of acts which have potential capacity to inflict physical, emotional or psychological injury on a person or a group of persons for religious ends. the perpetrators of religious crisis often represent or act in the name of a particular religious cause. wellman & tokuno (2004) defined religious crisis as, ―a term that covers phenomena where religion is either the subject or object of violent behaviour.‖ (p.291.). religious crisis is, specifically, crisis that is motivated by or in reaction to religious precepts, texts, or doctrines. this includes crisis against religious institutions, people, objects, or when the crisis is motivated to some degree by some religious aspect of the target or precept of the attacker. religious crisis does not refer exclusively to acts committed by religious groups, but also includes acts committed by secular groups against religious groups. a crisis is any event that is going (or is expected) to lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, organization, community, or whole society. crisis can bring huge amount of disruption and harm. further definitions on religious crisis religious crisis is a term that has been variously defined by scholars. these definitions are diverse and they all convey the single meaning of disagreement between the two or more religious groups. hormby (2006) defines religious crisis as a situation in which religious adherents are involved in a serious disagreement or argument with one igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 98 another. this is a situation in which there is opposition in ideas, opinions, feelings and wishes. otite and olawale (1999) sees religious crisis as struggle over values and claims to scare resources, status and power in which the aims of the opponents are to naturalize, inure or eliminate their rivals. this definition very much suits, or reflects the conflict / crisis between muslims and christians in nigeria. a situation where muslims are using national resources against christians, because a muslim adherent is in power. gyuse (2006) further points out that when two or more persons, groups, communities or nations seek to take possession or dominate a particular object of value at the exclusion of others, conflict/crisis ensues. nnoli (2003) asserts that the concept of religious crisis contradicts the peace process arising from perceptions, behaviours, phenomena and tendencies. miall (1992) also points that the emergence of religious crisis can be a situation where a clear contradiction exist or perceived to exist between the participants who view the outcome of such crisis as extremely important. it would seem that miall stating that suspicion fuels the religious crisis. gotan (2004) cited a traditional definition of religious crisis as the conceive interactions in which two or more religious adherents engage in mutually opposing action and use coercive behaviour to destroy, injure, thwart or otherwise control their opponents. aliyu (2004) sees religious crisis as a process of social interaction involving a struggle over claim its resources, power and status, beliefs and other preference and desire. according to oyeshola (2006) religious crisis is the disagreement, dispute or controversy in ideas or viewpoints held by two or more individuals, communities or religious groups. a religious crisis becomes violent if physical or emotional force is used to hurt or kill people. gotan (2014) inferred that conflict is found everywhere in human interaction and it can occur in the family of the home, place of work, between different ethnic as well as religious groups as it is in the case of muslims and christians in nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 99 ayandele (2006) also postulates that religious crisis is a universal phenomenon and it becomes problematic, open, confrontation and violent if appropriate measures are not taken to curtail it. of all the definitions above, one thing is common and that is, crisis is disagreement that arises from different belief that is inevitable in organizations and groups in a society. this assertion is explicitly seen in the definition of obodoechina (2016). this has rightly informed us that the major cause of crisis between christianity and islam in nigeria is rooted in their beliefs. it means by that definition what causes religious crisis is more religious than social, more religious than political, and more religious than economical and more religious than cultural. in the furtherance of this paper under the causes of religious crisis this will receive deeper attention or extensive explanation. crisis management crisis management is the practice of being able to identify and handle conflicts sensibly, fairly, and efficiently. it is the practice of recognizing and dealing with disputes in a rational, balanced and effective way. crisis management refers to techniques and ideas designed to reduce the negative effects of conflict and enhance the positive outcomes for all parties involved. crisis management is the process of identifying and addressing differences that, if left unresolved, could affect objectives. crisis management is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of conflict. crisis management is the process by which an organization deals with a disruptive and unexpected event that threatens to harm the organization or its stakeholders. crisis management is the process by which an organization deals with a disruptive and unexpected event that threatens to harm the organization or its stakeholders. the study of crisis management originated with large-scale industrial and environmental disasters. it is considered to be the most important process in public relations. nigeria nigeria officially referred to as the federal republic of nigeria is a federal state in west africa. it borders cameroon and chad to the east, benin to the west and niger to the north. it also has a coast in the south that lies on the gulf of guinea in the atlantic ocean. nigeria is made up of 36 cities and the federal capital territory, where abuja, the capital city is situated. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/conflict_(process) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/public_relations http://www.studycountry.com/guide/bj-intro.htm igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 100 nigeria has a lot of historic empires and cultures compared to other countries in africa. the pre-history of nigeria can be traced back to as early as 11,000 bc when a number of ancient african communities inhabited the area that now makes nigeria. the greatest and the wellknown empire that ruled the region before the british arrived was the benin empire whose ruler was known as oba of benin. other tribes such as the nri kingdom also settled in the country, especially in the eastern side. the songhai empire also settled in some of the country‘s territory. by the 11th century, islam had arrived in the area called nigeria now via the hausa states. in 1851, the british forces seized lagos, which was later annexed officially in 1861. in 1901, nigeria was made a british protectorate and was colonized until 1960, when the country gained independence from british colonialism. the root cause of religious crisis in nigeria many things have been said concerning what could be the causes of religious crisis in nigeria. the causes of religious crisis in nigeria according to suleiman (2016) pinpointed the following to be the causes; the theological factor, religious intolerance, religious fanaticism, unbridled action of the press, aggressive or militant preaching/evangelism, poverty, wrong religious orientation, literacy level of religious adherents, selfishness on the part of religious personalities, and external influence in religion. i agree with every person that has the preceded opinions as what could be the causes of religious crisis in nigeria, but the truth is far beyond the preceded listed points and that is what many authors and federal government of nigeria have not given decisive attention. discussing the cause of religious crisis devoid of extending attention to arab (fulani) muslim islamization and expansionism agenda is a great omission (kanu 2016 & 2017). pre-inhabitants of hausa territory before jihad hausa states, group of neighbouring african states, occasionally interconnected from the mid-14th century by loose alliances. their territory lay above the confluence of the niger and benue rivers (in present-day northern nigeria), between the songhai empire in the west and that of the kanem-bornu, or bornu, in the northeastern nigeria, eastern niger. the seven true hausa states, or hausa bakwai (biram, daura, gobir, kano, katsina, rano, and zaria originally known as zazzau). they pre-existed emergence of fulanis and islam in that geogragraphical area. nmah and amanambu (2017) opined that: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/confluence https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-nigeria https://www.britannica.com/place/songhai-empire https://www.britannica.com/topic/hausa-bakwai https://www.britannica.com/place/daura-nigeria https://www.britannica.com/place/kano-historical-kingdom-nigeria https://www.britannica.com/place/katsina-historical-kingdom-and-emirate-nigeria https://www.britannica.com/place/zaria-historical-kingdom-and-province-nigeria igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 101 hausa land before the coming of islam was largely a pagan oriented society. there were about fourteen independent kingdoms of hausa states before the arrival of islam. hausa state was that of religious syncretism, worship of lifeless objects as well as misadministration and misuse of powers. therefore, the state of hausa land before the arrival of islam was purely an environment governed by traditional religion and culture. (p.51). the indigenous people of hausa were conquered early 19th century by fulani, in whose jihad, or ―holy war,‖ many hausa peasants had voluntarily combined, they were organized into emirates. at the beginning of the 20th century, the british took over the administration of the former emirates, to which they attached bornu to form the northern provinces (subsequently the northern region) of the protectorate of nigeria. the hausas specialized in blacksmithing, fishing, hunting, agriculture, and salt-mining. by around the 1500s, the northern city of kano had become the most powerful, and was a major trading centre in ivory, gold, slave trade, salt, cloth, leather, and grains. due to their lack of military expertise and a central governing body, they were regarded as loose alliances by the neighboring towns which made them prone to external domination. all the states remained independent until they were conquered by a prominent islamic scholar, usman dan fodio, in a holy jihad (war) between 1804 and 1815, which created the sokoto caliphate. it was later abolished when the british defeated the caliphate in 1903 and named the area northern nigeria. arab (fulani) muslim islamization and expansionism agenda attention must be drawn to this concept of arab (fulani) muslim islamization and expansionism agenda. to the muslims this goal of islamization and expansionism must be achieved with jihad. in the early 19th century, islamic scholar usman dan fodio launched a jihad, which is called the fulani war, against the hausa kingdoms of northern nigeria. he was victorious, and established the fulani empire with its capital at sokoto. brief stint on the life and teachings of usman dan fodio. according to nmah and amanambu (2017): usman dan fodio, of fulani origin was born in 1754 in marata, gobir, to the toronkawa tribe. shortly after his birth, his parents and the rest of the family relocated to degel. it was at degel that usman dan fodio grew up. he received most of his education from his parents and relatives because in timbukutu tradition https://www.britannica.com/place/fulani-empire http://www.blackpast.org/gah/dan-fodio-usman-1754-1817 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/usman_dan_fodio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/jihad https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/fulani_war https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/hausa_kingdoms https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/fulani_empire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sokoto igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 102 parents and relatives were the first teachers for any child. again, usman dan fodio's descent has been traced to one mura jakolo, who had migrated to gobir from futa-toro around the 15th century. his ancestors were also believed to have settled originally in konni before they eventually migrated to degel. (p.51). the fulani war of 1804–1808, also known as the fulani jihad or jihad of usman dan fodio, was a military conflict in present-day nigeria and cameroon. the war began when usman dan fodio, a prominent islamic scholar and teacher, was exiled from gobir by the king yunfa, one of his former students. usman dan fodio assembled a fulani army to lead in jihad against the hausa kingdoms of the north of nigeria. the forces of usman dan fodio slowly took over more and more of the hausa kingdoms, capturing gobir in 1808 and executing yunfa. the war resulted in the creation of the sokoto caliphate, headed by usman dan fodio, which became one of the largest states in africa in the 19th century. his success inspired similar jihads in western africa. at the time of muhammad's death, islam was primarily a local phenomenon. it was little noticed outside arabia but within 100 years after muhammad's death, it was the glue that held together an empire that stretched from the atlantic ocean and the pyrenees in the west, and himalayas in east, and was one of the greatest unifying forces in the history of mankind. while christianity was spread around the world by missionaries, islam was mainly spread by conquering armies. this was the case not because of something particularly vicious or warlike about the arabs or muslims but rather because the areas the arabs invaded were either weak or sparsely populated. method of expansion between christianity and islam nineteenth-century christian missions exploded across the globe with the general expectation that the gospel would penetrate the whole world, and that the evangelism of the world would conceivably be completed within a century or so. that sense of optimism is not so prevalent today, probably in part because of the decline of christianity in parts of the world that were at one time the fountainhead of christian faith. a review of the past century reveals that regions in which christianity had at one time taken root have not always remained christian for long (think some parts of europe). in contrast, islam‘s progress has tended to be more stable, rarely giving up territory once it has been claimed. christianity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/nigeria https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/cameroon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/usman_dan_fodio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/gobir https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/yunfa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/usman_dan_fodio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/fula_people https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/jihad https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/hausa_people https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/hausa_kingdoms https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sokoto_caliphate igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 103 also has the concept of winning the entire world to christ as indicated in the great commission statement. and jesus came and said to them, "all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit, teaching them to observe all that i have commanded you; and lo, i am with you always, to the close of the age." matt 28:18-20 (rsv). teach all nations, the word rendered teach, here, is not the one that is usually so translated in the new testament. this word properly means disciple, or make disciples of, all nations. this was to be done, however, by teaching them, and by administering the word of god. all nations mean the whole world. the gracious commission was the foundation of the authority to go to the gentiles. the jews had expected that the offers of life, under the messiah, would be confined to their own nation. jesus broke down the wall of partition, and commissioned his disciples to go everywhere, and bring the world to the knowledge of himself. these two international religions –christianity and islam have the mission of evangelizing the world before the end of the age, but with two different approaches. method of christianity for evangelizing is preaching the word. -the young timothy was advised by paul to, preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, and exhort, be unfailing in patience and in teaching. 2 timothy 2:4. another passage of the scripture that informs the method with which christians evangelize the world is colossians 1:28 which says; him we proclaim, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man mature in christ. christians have never been encouraged by the scripture both in part and whole to use force as a means of conversion of the world around them. when one is presented with the message of christ and he rejects or did not see any need to accept the message he is not seen as enemy that must die, but in the case of islam death is the next at the refusal to adhere to islam. one of the most frequently quoted quranic verses is chapter 9 verse 5, which is as follow, ―when the sacred months are over slay the idolaters wherever you find them. arrest them, besiege them, and lie in ambush everywhere for them. if they repent and take to prayer and render the alms levy, allow them to go their way. god is forgiving and merciful.” this verse is known as "the verse of the sword." muslim terrorists cite it to justify their violent jihad. correspondingly, critics of islam claim that it commands muslims to act with offensive aggression towards the non-muslims of that period, and contributes to islam‘s final theological doctrine of aggression towards all igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 104 non-muslims of all times. in the preceding verse to sura 9:5, that is sura 9:4 a statement like, ‘proclaim a woeful punishment to the unbelievers ’is written. therefore, the method of islamic expansion genders religious crisis, this needs to be addressed to achieve peace in the environment that harbours islamic religion and other religions. as long as, they use force to convert people there will always be crisis. people should be allowed to exercise their will power in other decide without compulsion a religion to belong. impact of arab expansion the impact of arab expansionism is always on the negative, it puts its conquered on the reverse and attacking style of living. it has never been a healthy experience to any people or society they conquered. the following as listed below are the abridged impact of arab expansionism. i. the so-called arab invasions in the 7th century were among the least destructive in history. the islamic conquest was not only speedy but permanent. nearly all of the conquered territories remain muslim today. ii. wherever the muslims went they also carried with them arab culture. the cultures of the assimilated territories, which included places occupied by christians, jews and zoroastrians, were influenced by the religion and culture of the arab invaders. iii. the arabic language and arabic culture was spread with islam. but even so a concept of ethnic nationalism, with a common language, never really developed, nor did the notion of territorial nations defined by formal borders. what existed were mainly muslim-ruled cities and their hinterlands. iv. the conquered people were subjugated politically but over time their culture, customs, administrative practices, arts and world view transformed their conquerors. v. in the early years it was common for non-arabs to convert to islam and at the same time become an arab by forming a relationship with an arab tribe. later on converting to islam and become an arab became a separate process. a look at jihad this segment is briefly looking at the violent method of the spread of islamic religion in nigeria. the literal meaning of jihad is struggle or effort, and it means much more than holy war. in the early 19th century, https://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/war/religious/holywar.shtml igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 105 islamic scholar usman dan fodio launched a jihad, which is called the fulani war, against the hausa kingdoms of northern nigeria. he was victorious, and established the fulani empire with its capital at sokoto. muslims use the word jihad to describe three different kinds of struggle as listed below: i. a believer's internal struggle to live out the muslim faith as well as possible ii. the struggle to build a good muslim society iii. holy war, the struggle to defend islam with force if necessary. merriam‘s webster‘s dictionary opines that jihad is, a holy war waged on behalf of islam as a religious duty. nevertheless, muslims today attempt to alleviate this fear of islam by saying that non muslims do not really understand the islamic concept of jihad. they will assert that jihad is really the personal and individual struggle to overcome those things in one's life that allah would have eliminated from their life. this assertion is true, but it is not the exclusive use of the term jihad. in the qur'an, jihad is used to describe the personal struggle to purify one's own nature. surah 29:68-69, (al-ankabut) introduces the idea that the muslim will encounter many who are practitioners of error, and it is their duty to be alert to error and not succumb to it. surah 29:68 and who does more wrong than he who invents a lie against god or rejects the truth when it reaches him? is there not a home in hell for those who reject faith? surah 29:69 and those who strive (jihad) in our (cause), we will certainly guide them to our paths: for verily god is with those who do right. while the term "jihad" or "struggle" is used in this sense, it is not so used very often. jihad is also used to describe an intellectual struggle with unbelievers. in surah 25:51-52 (al-furqan) muslims are instructed to "struggle" against unbelievers with the qur'an. this places the struggle in the realm of an intellectual struggle. surah 25:51 had it been our will, we could have sent a warner to every center of population, surah 25:52 therefore listen not to the unbelievers, but strive (jihad) against them with the utmost strenuousness, with the (qur'an). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/usman_dan_fodio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/jihad https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/fulani_war https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/hausa_kingdoms https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/fulani_empire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sokoto https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/islamethics/war.shtml igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 106 the most common use of jihad in the qur'an is to indicate literal warfare. but before we analyze this aspect of jihad, it is important to understand what muslims believe about evangelism by christians. evangelistic activity by christians is considered aggression against muslims and islam. this is demonstrated by ahmed deedat in his book, crucifixion or crucifiction. this concept is what drives muslims to attack and kill christians at any slight misunderstanding. according to deedat (1984) "in the battle for the hearts and minds of mankind, "crucifiction" is the only card the christian holds. free him from his infatuation and you will have freed the muslim world from missionary aggression and harassment." (p.9). any attempt to turn a muslim away from islam is considered aggression against them, and thus justifies a militant and physical response. islam wants to employ all the forces and means that can be employed for bringing about a universal, all-embracing revolution. it will spare no efforts for the achievement of this supreme objective. this far-reaching struggle that continuously exhausts all forces and this employment of all possible means are called jihad. the problem of misinterpretation it is important to discuss this in short details. this is affecting both christians and muslims with others in other religions that are not christianity and islam. there are some fanatics that misinterpret the message of the holy books of their religion. there are religious fanatics in every religion that act beyond description. whenever there is misinterpretation or exaggeration of anything especially when it has to do with the contents or the message of the religions‘ sacred books, it always results crisis and offensive actions. in both christianity and islam together with other religions, there are religious fanatics that have acted contrarily to the contextual messages of their sacred books which have resulted into crisis in the society of their host. there is need to encourage sound exegesis of both the bible and quran to the adherents, this if achieved will reduce the religious societal crisis attributed to adherents of both religions as a result of wrong interpretation of the message of their holy books. types of conflict – four classifications according to sheriff (2014), experience in human society has shown that there are degrees of variation in conflicts. conflicts are in types. psychology as a discipline has espoused on intra-personal conflict. sociology identifies inter-personal as well as intra-group or intra-unit http://www.typesofconflict.org/types-of-conflict/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 107 conflict, as well as inter-group conflict. political science and history have identified inter-ethnic or intra-state conflict as well as international conflict. nicholson (1992) said, conflict is an existing state of disagreement or hostility between two or more people. there are types of conflict which are easily identifiable in our contemporary times. which include; i. inter-personal crisis ii. intra-personal crisis iii. inter-group crisis iv. intra-group crisis i. interpersonal crisis refers to a conflict between two individuals. this occurs typically due to how people are different from one another. we have varied personalities which usually results to incompatible choices and opinions. ii. intrapersonal crisis occurs within an individual. the experience takes place in the person‘s mind. hence, it is a type of conflict that is psychological involving the individual‘s thoughts, values, principles and emotions. iii. intragroup crisis is a type of conflict that happens among individuals within a team. the incompatibilities and misunderstandings among these individuals lead to an intragroup conflict. iv. intergroup crisis takes place when a misunderstanding arises among different organizations. it may be religious as in the case of nigeria, it as well may be in secular organizations. the major of the above crisis that tear nigeria apart is inter-religious crisis. the main forms of inter-religious conflicts in nigeria are between muslims and christians. according to canci and odukoya (2016) the conflicts are sometimes so intense that they have turned into wars in different parts of the country, and they range from the kano revolt (1980), bulunktu bisarre (1982), kastina crises (1999), samfara conflict, kaduna revolt, bauchi crises and sokoto (1999). more recent examples are the jos crises and the current conflict by boko haram against christians and moderate muslims. (p.7). these are only a few examples of inter-religious conflicts in nigeria, since not a year passes without three to four incidences of inter-religious conflicts. since the return of civilian rule in 1999 following a protracted period of military rule, nigeria has continued to experience recurring ethno-religious conflicts. although some of these struggles are lowintensity contestations and rancorous wars of words, others have igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 108 degenerated into bloody sectarian fights. thousands of nigerians have been left dead, wounded and homeless over the years due to constant religious strife putting people of different religions against each other. inter-religious conflicts are brought about by a number of factors. major among the causes religious crisis nigeria is arab-muslim expansion agenda, muslims‘ quest to gain control over all the territory in nigeria and to extinguish every other antithetical religions to islam in nigeria. another cause of religious conflict in nigeria is the clashing interests of those in authority. the ruling class has applied a number of processes to express their dissatisfaction with exclusion from important decisionmaking processes of the country. the methods employed include religious violence and military coups d‘état. falola (1998) said: a majority of the religious conflicts in northern nigeria are reported to be due to the large number of rich southerners who reside there. many northern elites are hurt by the business inventiveness of the southerners and employ religious calls to incite people to destroy property belonging to nonnatives. the results are wars fought under the pretence of being religious. there are countries in africa that have survived inter-religious crisis through strategic and honest implementation of certain crisis management methods. mali increasing violence across central and northern mali gained the attention of the international community in 2017. lake chad basin dubbed the most forgotten crisis of 2016, the lake chad basin in west africa showed very little improvement in 2017. sudan and south sudan, in sudan the conflict has remained relatively stable; we have not seen a significant escalation in violence in those countries that are ravaged by religious conflicts. in nigeria religious conflicts can be brought to a stop with the joint efforts of government and religious leaders. how can the religious crisis be solved in nigeria? current religious crisis in nigeria is possible to overcome. however, it requires the unity of the government, administrative organs, religious leaders, adherents and inhabitants of a country. above that, it also requires honest application of some notable conflict management techniques. some of these techniques had been proven to be workable both in social and religious bodies, but it requires that there must be honesty from both religious bodies that crisis had long existed in their midst. what had made crisis to linger in nigeria is because there has been lack of honesty among the government, religious leaders and adherents, and lack of true commitment to the solving of religious crisis. another http://www.unocha.org/rowca/lake-chad-crisis http://www.unocha.org/rowca/lake-chad-crisis igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 109 reason religious crisis had lingered in nigeria is because some of our political leaders and religious leaders had benefited from it, whereas some have seen it as a means of enriching their purse, while some have also used it as a veritable instrument of oppression and suppression of other antithetical religions. missionaries get into conflict with each other. husband and wife can have crisis. pastors and lay people get into conflict. volunteers in ministry organizations find themselves in conflict. human relations managers in businesses often find themselves managing situations of interpersonal or intergroup conflicts. how can we manage disagreements in ways that build personal and collegial relationships rather than harming them? such disagreements or conflicts can occur between individuals or between groups of people. thomas-kilmann theory of conflict management because no two individuals or groups, whether secular or religious groups have exactly the same beliefs, expectations and desires, conflict is a natural part of our interactions with others. the thomas kilmann theory of conflict management if properly applied will serve as a means of managing religious crisis in nigeria. considering the fact that we as individuals have different points of view, there will always be instances when misunderstandings will occur among us as well as in religious beliefs. with the arising of these intractable conflicts comes the need for conflict management. even in seemingly ordinary situations, conflict may be rooted by other non-apparent reasons. understanding the other sides of the issue would allow those involved to come up with an ideal resolution to the problem. in dealing with conflict, there are conflict management styles to be followed. the thomas-kilmann conflict mode instrument, which is an assessment used globally in conflict handling, specifies five strategies used to address conflict. the thomas-kilmann conflict mode instrument (tki) assesses an individual‘s behaviour in conflict situations, that is, situations in which the concerns of two people appear to be incompatible. in conflict situations, we can describe a person‘s behaviour along two basic dimensions: (1) assertiveness, the extent to which the individual attempts to satisfy his or her own concerns, and (2) cooperativeness, the extent to which the individual attempts to satisfy the other person‘s concerns. these two dimensions of behaviour can be used to define five methods of http://www.typesofconflict.org/what-is-conflict/ http://www.typesofconflict.org/conflict-resolution/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 110 dealing with conflict. these five conflict-handling modes are shown below: i. competing: win/lose ii. accommodating: lose/win iii. avoiding: no winners/no losers iv. collaborating: win/win v. compromising: win some/lose some i. competing is assertive and uncooperative—an individual pursues his own concerns at the other person‘s expense. this is a power-oriented mode in which you use whatever power seems appropriate to win your own position, your ability to argue, your rank, or economic sanctions. competing means ―standing up for your rights,‖ defending a position which you believe is correct, or simply trying to win. ii. accommodating is unassertive and cooperative, the complete opposite of competing. when accommodating, the individual neglects his own concerns to satisfy the concerns of the other person; there is an element of self-sacrifice in this mode. accommodating might take the form of selfless generosity or charity, obeying another person‘s order when you would prefer not to, or yielding to another‘s point of view which will either lead to lose or win. iii. avoiding is unassertive and uncooperative; the person neither pursues his own concerns nor those of the other individual. thus he does not deal with the conflict. avoiding might take the form of diplomatically sidestepping an issue, postponing an issue until a better time or simply withdrawing from a threatening situation. iv. collaborating is both assertive and cooperative, the complete opposite of avoiding. collaborating involves an attempt to work with others to find some solution that fully satisfies their concerns. it means digging into an issue to pinpoint the underlying needs and wants of the two individuals. collaborating between two persons might take the form of exploring a disagreement to learn from each other‘s insights or trying to find a creative solution to an interpersonal problem. v. compromising is moderate in both assertiveness and cooperativeness. the objective is to find some expedient, mutually acceptable solution that partially satisfies both parties. it falls intermediate between competing and accommodating. compromising gives up more than competing but less than accommodating. likewise, it addresses an issue more directly than avoiding, but does not explore it in as much depth as collaborating. in some situations, compromising might mean http://home.snu.edu/~hculbert/conflict.htm#compet http://home.snu.edu/~hculbert/conflict.htm#accomo http://home.snu.edu/~hculbert/conflict.htm#avoid http://home.snu.edu/~hculbert/conflict.htm#collab http://home.snu.edu/~hculbert/conflict.htm#compro igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 111 splitting the difference between the two positions, exchanging concessions, or seeking a quick middle-ground solution. each of us is capable of using all the five conflict-handling modes. none of us can be characterized as having a single style of dealing with conflict. but certain people use some modes better than others and, therefore, tend to rely on those modes more heavily than others, whether because of temperament or practice. the thomas kilmann theory is designed to measure people‘s use of conflict-handling modes across a wide variety of group and organizational settings. religious dialogue the five techniques of conflict management proffered by thomas kilmann cannot work or be achieved in isolation. for them to work among conflicting religions there must be a platform for interreligious dialogue. what is interreligious dialogue? interreligious dialogue is a challenging process by which adherents of differing religious traditions encounter each other in order to break down the walls of division that stand at the centre of most wars. the objective of interreligious dialogue is peace. inter-religious dialogue, also referred to as interfaith dialogue, is about people of different faiths coming to a mutual understanding and respect that allows them to live and cooperate with each other in spite of their differences. the term refers to cooperative and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions, (i.e. "faiths") at both the individual and institutional level. each party remains true to their own beliefs while respecting the right of the other to practise their faith freely. nmah (2012) has made the following suggestions on how religious violence can be solved in nigeria: nigerians should imbibe the culture of religious tolerance, trust and dialogue in inter-ethnic relations. federal government/nigerians should promote patriotism among themselves. mutual understanding should replace strife between muslims and christians in nigeria to make nigeria a great nation in the 21st century. (pp.125, 127). interfaith dialogue is not just words or talk. it includes human interaction and relationships. it can take place between individuals and communities and on many levels. for example, between neighbours, in schools and in our places of work -it can take place in both formal and informal settings. in ireland, muslims and christians live on the same streets; use the same shops, buses and schools. normal life means that we come into daily igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 112 contact with each other. dialogue therefore, is not just something that takes place on an official or academic level only –it is part of daily life during which different cultural and religious groups interact with each other directly, and where tensions between them are the most tangible. conclusion religious individuals and faith-based organizations, as carriers of religious ideas, can play important roles, not only as a source of conflict but also as a tool for conflict resolution and peace-building, providing early warnings of conflict, good offices once conflict has erupted, and contributing to advocacy, mediation and reconciliation. we can‘t ignore the fact that religion, next to family, is the second oldest institution. it governs the social as well as personal behaviour of man by providing guidelines, laws and principles relating to his interaction with his fellow man. i believe that this was one of the strongest forces which used to maintain peace in the society. one of the main aims of religion is to promote ‗justice‘. since justice is one of the main pillars of peace, the elements of peace and religion are same. peace can be achieved only when there is law and order, and a state of harmony and mental tranquility prevails. from the beginning of the world, religion has existed to help individuals, groups and communities to achieve justice and peace. if we look at history, we will find many examples where religion compels individuals, groups and communities to follow the path of peace and to avoid conflict. johnston also identifies the attributes that religious leaders and institutions can offer in promoting peace and reconciliation as follow: i. credibility as a trusted institution. ii. a respected set of values. iii. moral warrants for opposing injustice on the part of governments. iv. unique leverage for promoting reconciliation among conflicting parties, including an ability to rehumanize situations that have become dehumanized over the course of protracted conflict. v. a capability to mobilize community, nation, and international support for a peace process. vi. an ability to follow through locally in the wake of a political settlement. vii. a sense of calling that often inspires perseverance in the face of major, otherwise debilitating, and obstacles. in addition, both major religions which are christianity and islam in nigeria should curtail the activities of religious fanatics among them igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 113 which stem from the misinterpretation of their holy books. religious fanaticism is uncritical zeal or with an obsessive enthusiasm related to one's own, or one's group's, devotion to a religion, a form of human fanaticism which could otherwise be expressed in one's other involvements and participation, including employment, role, and partisan affinities. references adeniyi, m.o. 1993. religion and politics: an eye-bird's view of development in nigeria. in akanmidu, r.a. et. al. (eds.): religion and politics in nigeria. ilorin: nigerian association for the study of religion (nasr). ayandele, e.a. (1996), external influence on african society: africans in their 19th and 20th centuries (edited by jose, c and godfrey e), ibadan: university press. c ancı, h. and odukoya, o.a. (2016). ethnic and religious crises in nigeria. a specific analysis upon identities (1999-2013). retrieved on 18 february 2020 from https://www.accord.org.za/ajcrissues/ethnic-religious-crises-nigeria/ deedat, a. (1984). crucifixion or crucifiction. islamic propagation centre international: madressa durban. egqu, s. g. (2001). ethnics and religious intolerance in nigeria. jos: st. stephen inc. elise, h. (2019). slain nigerian clerics are victims of a ‗hidden agenda. retrieved 29 january 2020 from https://cruxnow.com/church-inafrica/2019/09/slain-nigerian-clerics-are-victims-of-a-hiddenagenda-priest-says/ falola, toyin 1998. violence in nigeria: the crisis of religious politics and secular ideologies. new york, university of rochester press. retrieved on 18th february 2020 from:https://books.google.com.ng/books?id=_o7wna3imksc&p rintsec=frontcover&hl=tr#v=onepage&q=inventiveness&f=false gotan, c. (2004), ―the concept of peace and justice: the nigerian experience‖. in yaya, l. (ed). jos studies. jos: fab anieh (nigeria) limited. gyuse, t. and ajene, o. (2006), conflicts in the benue vally. mahurdi: selfers books. juergensmeyer, m. 2001. terror in the mind of god: the global rise of religious violence. updated edition. jackson: university of california press miall, h. (1992).the peacemakers: peaceful settlement of dispute london: macmillian publishers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/religion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/fanaticism https://www.accord.org.za/people/haldun-canci/ https://cruxnow.com/church-in-africa/2019/09/slain-nigerian-clerics-are-victims-of-a-hidden-agenda-priest-says/ https://cruxnow.com/church-in-africa/2019/09/slain-nigerian-clerics-are-victims-of-a-hidden-agenda-priest-says/ https://cruxnow.com/church-in-africa/2019/09/slain-nigerian-clerics-are-victims-of-a-hidden-agenda-priest-says/ https://books.google.com.ng/books?id=_o7wna3imksc&printsec=frontcover&hl=tr#v=onepage&q=inventiveness&f=false https://books.google.com.ng/books?id=_o7wna3imksc&printsec=frontcover&hl=tr#v=onepage&q=inventiveness&f=false igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 114 hornby, a. s. (2006), oxford advanced learner‘s dictionary (7th ed) oxford university press. jihad. merriam-webster.com dictionary, merriam-webster, https://www.merriam webster.com /dictionary/jihad. accessed 30 january. 2020. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christianmuslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2016). christian-muslim relations in nigeria as a religiopolitical locus theologicus for misericordia vultus. harvard journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 117-128. kanu, i. a. & b. a. c. obiefuna (2017). a discourse on globalization and conflict in african values. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 69-75. kanu, i. a. (2016). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 35-44. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. khaled, z. and tevhide s.g. (2018). crisis management: a historical and conceptual approach for a better understanding of today‘s crises, crisis management theory and practice, katarina holla, michal titko and jozef ristvej, intechopen. retrieved 29 january 2020 from: https://www.intechopen.com/books/crisis-managementtheory-and-practice/crisis-management-a-historical-andconceptual-approach-for-a-better-understanding-of-today-s-crises nenge, k. (2019). religious crisis in nigeria: causes and solutions. retireved 29 january 2020 from https://www.legit.ng/1216182religious-crisis-nigeria-solutions.html nicholson, m. (1992). rationality and the analysis of international conflict. cambridge university press. nmah, p. (2012). religious fanaticism, a threat to national security: the case of boko haram sect. ujah: unizik journal of arts and humanities vol 13, no 1 (2012). pp.125, 127. nmah, p. e. and amanambu, u. e. (2017). a critical analysis of the effects of the 1804 usman dan fodio's jihad on inter-group relations in the contemporary nigerian state. the journal of religion and human relations vol.9 no1 june, 2017. https://www.merriam/ https://www.intechopen.com/books/crisis-management-theory-and-practice/crisis-management-a-historical-and-conceptual-approach-for-a-better-understanding-of-today-s-crises https://www.intechopen.com/books/crisis-management-theory-and-practice/crisis-management-a-historical-and-conceptual-approach-for-a-better-understanding-of-today-s-crises https://www.intechopen.com/books/crisis-management-theory-and-practice/crisis-management-a-historical-and-conceptual-approach-for-a-better-understanding-of-today-s-crises https://www.legit.ng/1216182-religious-crisis-nigeria-solutions.html https://www.legit.ng/1216182-religious-crisis-nigeria-solutions.html igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 2488-9210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 115 nnoli, o. (2003), (ed) communal conflict and population displacement in nigeria: a research report. enugu: snaap. obateru, o. i. (1994). planning the city to urban violence in albert, i.o. (e.d) urban management and urban violence in africa vol. 1 ibadan: ifra. obodoechina, b. e. (2008). the lukewarm attitude of government encourage constant religious crisis. retireved 29 january 2020 from http://www.unn.edu.ng/publications/files/the lukewarm attitude of government encourages constant religious crisiscarefully evaluate this assertion.pdf otite, o. and olawale, i.a, (eds) (1999), communal conflicts in nigeria: management, resolution and transformation. ibadan: spectrum books ltd. sani, s. (2007). the killing fields: religion, violence in northern nigeria. ibadan: spectrum book ltd. wellman, j. & k. tokuno 2004. is religious violence inevitable? journal for the scientific study of religion 43: 291-296. http://www.unn.edu.ng/publications/files/the%20lukewarm%20attitude%252 http://www.unn.edu.ng/publications/files/the%20lukewarm%20attitude%252 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 158 “for the lord disciplines him whom he loves…” (hebrews 12:6): in quest of moral formation in christian families of contemporary era. ihetu, chukwukere justice department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe university, awka jc.ihetu@unizik.edu.ng; 08035596026 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract in recent times, there appears to be a high rate of moral decadence amongst youths in our societies ranging from sexual abuse, drug addiction, rape, street and school cultism, lack of respect for elders to mention but a few, which can hardly be disassociated from what goes on in the family. this is because, the family still remains the smallest unit of socialization in any given society. it is where life begins for any given person or individual. again, the saying remains valid that states that “charity begins at home”. thus, whatever the family produces, the society receives and experiences its manifestations. however, it would not be an overstatement to opine that modern day families have gone cold in inculcating good morals and disciplines in their children (youths). it is no longer surprising to see students especially of secondary school level, who fight their teachers for scolding or flogging them. some have even been bold to declare openly, that at home, their parents do not scold or flog them. this is quite appalling and undoubtedly, a new development in our christian homes because, before this era, it was not so. family moral formation and discipline have always been held in high esteem and is in fact the first gift any child receives from his or her parents/guardians. this paper, with the tools of exegesis and consultation of other previous written research works attempts what could be termed a ‘wake-up call’ to modern day christian families on the need for moral discipline and formation in our youths if we must have a society void of moral decadence considering the fact that love revolves around the formation of good morality as seen in the exegetical text. keywords: discipline, quest, moral formation, love and family. introduction moral discipline remains an indelible and an inevitable ingredient in the life of any person who must be relevant as well as significant to both him/herself and the society. it is an ingredient which can only be found in the character of a human person. its absence however, can only give room for attitudes which are antagonistic to the positive development of the human person and the society at large. in other words, life without moral discipline can only become chaotic. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 159 hence, it is not surprising today to see people especially the youth who are radically unstable in terms of behavior as a result of acts they keep engaging in due to lack of discipline and the right character and moral formation. gotan (2018) is of the opinion that such people are left in a one-dimensional universe where the only thing they are attracted to is whatever works or goes. in his words: “such young people who are unable to find any meaning in life….turn to alcohol, drugs, the erotic, the exotic and should pose a huge challenge to those responsible to help them discover something of value in their lives” (p.17). this therefore points to the fact that the disciplining and training of the human person is of great importance in every human society. thus, since the family remains the basic and the smallest unit of the society, character formation and moral discipline being of paramount necessity, must have to start from there. however, it would be a very difficult task for anyone to attempt the separation of the concept of love from that of discipline. this is because discipline, be it either self or external can only originate when there is love for oneself or for one another. obviously, many young people today, who grew up in homes where love/care is lacking, always tend to be low and poor in terms of good morality. hence, if a parent loves his/her child, he or she must not joke with moral discipline to such child. likewise, any child or person who loves him/herself should not see the act of moral discipline as an act of wickedness. this paper is still firmly holding on to the view that one can only be disciplined by one who loves him or her just as god, as would be interpreted from the exegetical greek text, disciplines those he loves and accepts (hebrews 12:6 o]n ga.r avgapa/| ku,rioj paideu,ei( mastigoi/ de. pa,nta ui`o.n o]n parade,cetai). even among africans, an igbo adage has it that “onye ahuru n’anya ka a na-abara mba” (only the person who is loved is being chastised). the researcher would also use aristotle’s virtue theory of morality to make the work more coherent. to further enhance the coherency and comprehensiveness of the work, some of the key terms in the work would be clarified as follows. clarification of key terms it is of great necessity and quite pertinent to clarify some of the key words in this paper, in order to give room for massive coherency. some of these terms include: discipline, quest, moral formation, love and family. concept of discipline igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 160 the concept of moral discipline is not only necessary but also very vital for the proper development of any civilized society. the term ‘discipline’ according to hornby (2010), is the practice or art of training people to obey rules and order and punishing them if they do not obey. as a noun, it could be understood as the controlled behaviour or situations that results from the training. further, he explains it as a method of training one’s mind or body or of controlling one’s behavior. in its function as a verb, discipline can as well mean to punish somebody for something he/she has done. it can also mean the training of someone especially a child, to obey particular rules and control the way he/she behaves. then, on the part of self, discipline deals with controlling the way one behaves and the ability to make oneself do things one believes to be good and morally sound. however, from the above explanations, the one that focuses on child upbringing appears to be the most suitable for this paper since the effort here is geared towards searching out the most efficient way of ensuring sound behaviour and moral formation in present day christian families. notion of ‘quest’ the concept of quest simply has to do with an effort made to find or discover something. hornby (2010) presents it as a long search for something of high importance or quality. often times, the term is used when the object of search happens to be a very difficult one or thing to find. obviously, with the kind of immoral attitude the young people are exhibiting these days, one cannot help but agree to the fact that efficient and effective moral formation is gradually going into extinction. there is actually the need for a stronger quest for it (moral formation) in order to search it out and have it properly implemented. this is what this paper sets out to achieve. moral formation oekumene (2019) projects moral formation as a nurturing process in which a certain sense of identity, a certain pattern of motivation, evolve. he is however, of the opinion that this type of formation can only be the gradual work of culture and upbringing which emanates through discipline or can as well be self-conscious and intentional. he equally notes that it is the duty of any family or community of which one is a member, to form such person in the sense of orienting the person to the world in a certain way, encouraging certain kinds of behavior and discouraging others. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 161 it is therefore very needful to note that the concept of moral formation as explained above cannot take place in the absence of discipline which can only come with care, concern and love for someone or oneself. this is why the modern-day christian families must stand up to the task of forming the character/morality of the young adults as a sign of love for them and care for the progress of the society at large. however, using the christian principles to achieve this is never out of question as they remain efficient to a large extent if properly applied by both parents and guardians. this is the more reason why this paper goes on to present hebrew 12:6 in the quest for sound moral formation for christian families of modern era. the concept of family which would be clarified later remains one of the primary agents of moral formation in the society. the notion of love love as a concept entails a strong and genuine desire, affection or feeling one has for somebody or something. for hornby (2010), it is “a strong feeling of affection for something or somebody, especially a member of your family or a friend” (p.884). however, just like various concepts in the scholarly world, the concept ‘love’ has multiple definitions. in other words, scholars have defined it from different perspective. for fehr and russell (1991), love can be studied as a relationship, as an attitude, as an experience, and so on. he views love as an emotion. hence, rubin (cited in fehr and russel, 1991) defines love as “an attitude held by one person toward another, involving a predisposition to think, feel, and behave in certain ways toward that person” (p.427). nevertheless, a closer look at the above definitions would certainly give one the impression of ‘care’ and great concern if the notion of ‘love’ must be fully comprehended. this is because, for one to be predisposed to think, feel and treat another in a special way, a deliberate effort is actually required. thus, the definition from rubin goes a long way in fitting the notion of love as implied in this work. some other scholars like skolnick (cited in fehr and russell, 1991) also projects the term ‘love’ as “a constructed experience built with feelings, ideas and cultural symbols” (p.427). here, skolnick is still pointing at feelings and the cultural symbols which of course are inclusive of the culture of discipline held in high esteem by christians. the family igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 162 according to nmah (2004), the family is generally regarded as a major social institution and a locus of much of a person’s social activities. he therefore defines it as a social unit created by blood, marriage, or adoption, and can be described as nuclear (parents and children) or extended (encompassing other relatives). what is implied here is that the family is where life begins for any human person, be it with parents, foster-parents or guardians. this therefore supports the ideology that moral formation must start from the family. obiefuna and kanu (2018) are equally of the opinion that the family is the primary setting for the education of the child on human values. it is from the family that one learns the wise use of freedom. this is because, certain characters that are formed in childhood become deeply rooted and remain with the human person through a life time. thus, in the words of obiefuna and kanu (2018); “the family is the primary setting for socialization, since it where we first learn to relate to others, to listen and share, to be patient and show respect, to help one another and live as one” (p.276). from the above assertion, one can easily deduce the fact that the family remains the first school of human values and moral formation. hence, for these human values and moral formation to become a reality in the human person, love which propels the smooth running of the family in line with sound discipline must have to be present. this would be more elaborated with the interpretation of the exegetical text of this paper which is the major focus here. theoretical framework attempt is made here to present a suitable and workable theory for this research work. this would go a long way in giving the work more coherence. the focus however, would be on moral formation theory. moral theories according to mcmillan (1998) are different from other theories. he points out some of the moral formation theories which include utilitarianism, kantianism, virtue theory and the four principles approach and casuistry. however, for the purpose of this study, the virtue theory would be used and thus would be explained. this is because, to a great extent, sound morality is parts and parcel of good moral virtue. virtue theory of morality igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 163 virtue theory, as propounded by aristotle states that the right thing to do in a given situation is what a good or virtuous person would do. intuitively, this is an appealing idea: most, perhaps as noted by mcmillan (1998), all of us want to be good people, so doing what a good person would do does seem to capture what we aim for when faced with a moral decision. aristotle in this theory claims that what is distinct about human beings is our ability to reason and to live in accordance with reason. therefore, good human beings live and act in accordance with reason and can be described as existing in what he termed ‘a state of eudaimonia’. he further argued that the right action would be performed in a particular situation by a virtuous person. applying the above theory to this work, one can assert that showing love and inculcating discipline which could result to good moral formation in a person can only come from one who is virtuous and as well morally sound. however, it is quite an irony today that there are parents who are morally bankrupt but expect their children and wards to be morally formed and sound. a virtuous act is likely to come from a virtuous person since one cannot give what he/she do not have. god for instance is a loving and just god. this is why it is in his interest to have those he loves well nurtured. hence the character of god as seen in hebrew 12:6 is being interpreted here in an attempt to have loving and morally sound parent who would in turn produce loving and morally sound children and persons. the quest of moral formation as was indicated earlier, during the clarification of concepts, whenever the word ‘quest’ is used in search of an issue, it simply implies that the issue is a very important as well as qualitative one. again, since it is a quest, it also means that such issue in question has been lacking over a time. sound morality today especially among the youth is becoming a force to reckon with even in christian homes. according to ijezie (2018), the programme of forming the young morally is a very delicate one in every human society. he thus opines that different cultures adopt different methods of educating their young ones. in his words: “the whole project can be summed up as the imparting of knowledge and understanding to the young. there is a very thin line between the youth and the fool and, most of the time, foolishness is the lot of the youth, as foolishness is simply the lack of knowledge and understanding” (p.63). from the above view, it could be understood that one that lacks good moral formation is equivalent to a fool and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 164 since no family or society would want to be dominated by fools, the quest of or for sound moral formation becomes inevitable. however, since the future of every generation hangs on the caliber of young people it produces, ijezie (2018) is quite optimistic that solutions to training them rightly lie on the pages of the christian scriptural text; the bible. he therefore presents proverbs 1:2-7 which points out that knowing wisdom and discipline, for understanding word of insight as well as the fear of god, serves as the beginning of sound morality. this paper as has been stated earlier is pointing to hebrews 12:6 as one of the measures which must be taken by parents and guardians as well as teachers in christians homes and schools to ensure that sound morality is formed and inculcated into the young in line with the principles of divine love. this is because like the text suggests, god due to his love for his own, applies discipline and correction, not just for his own good but for the good of man. establishment of the textual form and orientation here, effort is made to view the text, hebrew 12:6 with an exegetical lens, pointing out its textual problems if any. this would be followed by the delimitation/orientation of the text. a. textual criticism of hebrews 12:6 nestle – aland presents the text as: hebrews 12:6 6 o]n ga.r avgapa/| ku,rioj paideu,ei( mastigoi/ de. pa,nta ui`o.n o]n parade,cetaiå a careful comparison of the text with other variants reveals few textual difficulties. this few would be pointed out as follows. here, the relative pronoun o]n is presented as [ontivna by papyrus 66 (ŋ66) 1241 pc. the conjunction coordinator ga.r was completely omitted; rather dio.ti was used in its place. the verb mastigoi becomes substituted with mastigo.nei. looking at the text as it is, it would not be wrong to suspect an obvious correction of the text by the omission of ga.r . however, since the text as presented above with its myriads of witnesses proves to be the lectio difficilior (more difficult reading), it is considered closer to the original and correct manuscript. b. orientation of the text for a proper exegesis of hebrews 12:6, one requires the understanding of the logic of the text. with this, the logic and sense would be followed provided igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 165 that one is able to set out the text as a unit of its own. thus the delimitation of the text is the major aim of this section. the background to the text takes one back to paul’s exhortations/admonitions to the hebrew christians as seen in hebrews 12. fowler (2006) opines that the contextual paragraph in hebrews 12:1-13 serves as an introductory to the concluding practical section of the whole epistle to the hebrews. he therefore states that hebrews 12 could be tagged “the inevitable discipline of god” (p.373). he further sub-divides it as “the inevitable discipline that is part of the process of developing endurance” (hebrews 12:4-11). specifically, observing hebrews 12:6, fowler (2006) avers that paul continues to cite from proverbs 3:12 from the greek septuagint translation (lxx): “for those whom the lord loves he disciplines, and he scourges every son whom he receives”. hence the exegetical text here is just a periscope of paul’s exhortations to the hebrew christians of his time. the verse is carefully selected since it portrays love as what propels discipline and chastisement from god and from an earthly father. the verse therefore serves as the delimitation of this exegetical analysis. c. presentation of a working translation the working translation of the exegetical text is proposed thus: “for whom the lord loves, he disciplines, and he scourges every son whom he receives”. the exegesis of the text the above text as presented is simply put, paul’s exhortation to the hebrew christians. henry (2008) notes that the best of god’s children need chastisement since they like every other human being have faults and weaknesses which need to be corrected. in his words: “though god may let others alone in their sins, he will correct sin in his own children; they are of his family, and shall not escape his rebukes when they want them” (p.1929). this text remains a strong tool for ensuring sound moral formation for the young in christian homes and schools as it helps both the parents and the children to understand that disciplining and scourging are features of genuine loving parents, guardians and teachers. however, a careful semantic analysis of the text will lead into a more fruitful and coherent interpretation of the text. a. semantic/linguistic analysis this text is very rich in style and sound. an interpretation of the text makes an understanding of words used a necessity. the verbs, both main and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 166 subordinate clauses are highlighted differently and then commented upon very briefly. 6 o]n ga.r avgapa/| ku,rioj paideu,ei( mastigoi/ de. pa,nta ui`o.n o]n parade,cetaiå main verbal clause: o]n ga.r avgapa/| ku,rioj paideu,ei( parsing/comment: o]n – accusative, masculine singular of the relative pronoun; ovj. as used in the text, it means ‘whom’. ga.r – this is a conjunction coordinating article meaning ‘for’ or ‘concerning’. avgapa/| 3rd person singular, present indicative mood, active voice of the verb ‘agapaw’. it simply denotes ‘love’, referring to the love of god. ku,rioj – nominative, masculine singular of the common noun; ku,rioj which means ‘lord’ or ‘the lord’ as the text suggests. paideu,ei – 3rd person singular, present indicative mood, active voice of the verb; paideu,w which translates as ‘to teach’, ‘to chastise’, or ‘to discipline’. however, as seen in the context of the text, it is taken as ‘to discipline or correct. barnes (1834) avers that it was a general principle that god disciplines those whom he loves as this is regarded as evidence that we are under his paternal care, and that he has not forsaken us. barnes carefully points out that it does not mean that god sends chastisement which is not deserved; or that he sends it ‘for the mere purpose of inflicting pain’. for him, this discipline means to restrain and govern a child; to correct him when he errs, as this shows that there is a parental solicitude for the child, and that he/she is not an outcast. this is also necessary since there is in the life of every child of god something that deserves correction. main verbal clause: mastigoi/ de. pa,nta ui`o.n o]n parade,cetaiå parsing/comment: mastigoi/ 3rd person singular, present indicative mood, active voice of the verb; mastigo.w which means ‘to scourge’. however, some english translations read it as ‘to chastise or chasten’. thus, this scourging is done in order to correct in love and not to kill, inflict pains or wounds. fowler (2006) opines that “god’s love always seeks the highest good of the other. in order to do so, it must often be expressed as “tough love”; love that cares enough to confront” (p.386). he further notes that the ‘scourge’ often refers to the corporeal discipline of spanking, whipping, or flogging. in his words: “as the root word of mastigoi/ is massw, meaning ‘to squeeze’; a more general interpretation might be that in the midst of his discipline, god often ‘puts the squeeze on’ or ‘puts the pressure on’ those who are his spiritual children” (p.386). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 167 this should be the right attitude of earthly parents, guardians and teachers towards the young ones under their care. hence, scourging should not be seen as an attack on the self-esteem of the child because a high self-esteem without sound morality is nothing but foolishness. de. – this is a conjunction coordinating article which translates as ‘but’ or ‘and’. as used in the text, it means ‘and’. pa,nta – accusative, masculine singular of the indefinite adjective; paj which could be rendered in english as ‘all’, ‘every’ or ‘all things’. as presented in the text, it denotes ‘every’. ui`o.n – accusative, masculine singular of the common noun; ui`o.j meaning ‘son’. parade,cetai – 3rd person singular, present indicative mood, middle voice of the verb parade,comai which means ‘to receive’ or ‘to accept’. vincent (1886) is of the view that this reception or acceptance offers or admits one to filial privileges; god acknowledges the person as his own. one then becomes a legitimate son. in other words, one who rejects god’s discipline and scourge rejects god’s acceptance and therefore becomes an illegitimate child. this is also applicable to our modern day christian homes. hebrews 12:6: a hermeneutical application according to marshall (cited by ekpunobi,1999), hermeneutics is “the attempt to understand anything that somebody else has said or written” (p.7). for richardson (1969), “it is the science and art of interpretation” (p.154). it is the study of those principles that should guide our work of interpretation. in the view of harvey (1964), hermeneutics literally means to make clear or to interpret. it is the inquiry concerned with “presuppositions and rules of the interpretation of human expression, usually a written text” (p.117). hermeneutics in its simplest form is a concept which equips a scholar with the appropriate tools for the interpretation of the scriptures. thus, while exegesis is the study of the texts’ meaning, hermeneutics encompasses both what the text meant and what it means. this is the aim of this section. missler (2008) in his interpretation of hebrews 12:6 opines that the author quotes proverbs 3:11-12 to prove two (2) things: i. god disciplines those whom he loves. ii. discipline is a sign of true sonship. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 168 he further outlines the reasons for this discipline as: i. to make christians see the need to glorify, honour and respect god. ii. to help christians understand that sins have consequences. iii. to prevent christians from falling into sin. iv. to keep them from pride. v. to teach them obedience and moral discipline. applying the above to the modern-day christian families will undoubtedly render an effective solution to the quest for sound moral formation in the young people. it will go a long way in correcting the wrong ideologies of most homes that scourging children as a form correction is archaic and should be dropped. hence all the reasons outlined above show that disciplining one’s children is an act shrouded in love as it is done mostly for the good of the person being disciplined. fowler (2006) asserts that god’s love is not sentimental, indulgent permissiveness that allows us to do as we selfishly desire. this should also apply to the type of love parents, guardians and teachers show to the growing ones. he further avers that: neither is god’s love a heavy-handed coercive force that castigates until we capitulate. god disciplines in love so that his children may become disciples who will listen under him in dependence of the obedience of faith…god’s love takes the risk that the individual might blame him for the problems and pressures, doubt his love, reject him altogether, and rebel in sinful selforientation. that is the risk god takes in disciplining those he loves. (p.386). the view above could possibly be the reason while most parents today are growing cold when it comes to strict disciplining in moral formation. the truth remains that most young people would never find it funny when scourged for wrong doings. some would definitely rebel as seen in some homes and schools. but then, like the author here states, it is a risk parents, guardians and teachers must take in order to bring out the best character and morality from them. however, like the author also points out, this should not be done harshly or coercively. wisdom should be applied even in this type of correction. conclusion and recommendations having come thus far, this paper has attempted to prove the relevancy of chastening and scourging the young in today’s christian homes in order to achieve and inculcate sound morality in them. looking at the high rate of moral decadence igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 169 witnessed amongst the youth today, it would not be an overstatement to deduce that modern day parents, guardians and teachers are failing when it comes to moral discipline. it appears that the western way is the trending thing; where flogging, spanking or even scolding children is seen as damage to self-esteem. this should not be so. obiefuna and kanu (2018) clearly note that in the formation of the young, it is quite essential that they are helped to realize that misbehavior has consequences. thus, when they make mistakes, they must be corrected, and when necessary they should be asked to ask for forgiveness and make up for whatever damage they may have caused. hence, sound moral discipline remains inevitable if we must have a society void of arrogant and immorally behaved youth. recommendations it is still the strong view of this paper that chastisement and scourging should not be sidelined as viable tools for moral formation in young people. however, just as obiefuna and kanu (2018) assert: while correcting, they are not to be treated as enemies or as people on whom to pour out one’s frustration. when they do well, however, they must be acknowledged and appreciated. when they are lovingly corrected, they feel that they are cared for and that their potential is recognized. discipline must not lead to discouragement, but a stimulus to further progress. (p.333). to support the above view, this paper still recommends that: 1. living in the age of globalization, parents, guardians and teachers should not allow western civilization to deprive them of the african cultural and even the christian scriptural mode of character formation. 2. they should also take cognizance of the fact that moral formation is a gradual process. hence, in disciplining and correcting the young ones, they should not expect an automatic positive response; it proceeds gradually. 3. children on their own part should not see strict parents, guardians and teachers as arch-enemies. rather they should see them as role models and mentors who are after their own good. 4. parents, guardians and teachers should follow god’s standard in their disciplining of the young and not neglect them because of rebellious acts. this is because even as adults, when we rebel, god still pardons us. thus it should be correction and discipline shrouded in genuine love. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 170 if these are carefully implemented, sound morality would certainly be achieved in the youth in virtually every christian family even in this modern era. references barnes, a. (1834). notes on the bible. retrieved on february 24, 2020. from https://biblehub.com/commentaries/hebrews/12-6.htm. ekpunobi, e.c. (1999). welcome to theology. awka: goshen. fehr, b. & russell, j.a. (1991). the concept of love viewed from a prototype perspective. journal of personality and social psychology, 60, 1, 425-438. fowler, j.a. (2006). a commentary on the epistle to the hebrews: jesus–better than everything. california: c.i.y. gotan, c.t. (2018). challenges of globalization: an agenda for theological formation of youths in nigeria. in l.e. ijezie, s. audu & a.i. acha (eds.). youth formation & globalization in the nigerian context (pp. 16-37). port harcourt: cathan publication. harvey, v.a.a. (1964). a handbook of theological terms. london: samuel bagster and sons. henry, m. (2008). matthew henry’s commentary on the whole bible. massachusetts: hendrickson. hornby, a. s. (2010). oxford advanced learner’s dictionary of current english. oxford: oxford university. ijezie, l.e. (2018). knowledge and understanding to the young: the project of proverbs 1:2-7. in l.e. ijezie, s. audu & a.i. acha (eds.). youth formation & globalization in the nigerian context (pp. 63-74). port harcourt: cathan publication. mcmillan, j. (1998). moral theory. a conference paper presented at the school of medicine, flinders university adelaide, australia. missler, c. (2008). the book of hebrews. new york: koinonia house. nmah, p.e. (2004). basic & applied christian ethics: an african perspective. onitsha: gucks systems int’l. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 171 obiefuna, b.a.c. & kanu, i.a. (2018). an evaluation of amoris laetitia on the education of the young in an age of globalization. in l.e. ijezie, s. audu & a.i. acha (eds.). youth formation & globalization in the nigerian context (pp. 322-335). port harcourt: cathan publication. oekumene, s. (2019). moral formation in the context of the eucharistic liturgy. retrieved on february 6, 2020. from http://www.oikoumene.net/eng.global/eng.ecclesiology93/eng.ecclesiol ogy93c/eng.ecclesio.18.1/index.html richardson, a. (1969). hermeneutics in a dictionary of christian theology. london: scm. vincent, m.r. (1886). vincent’s word studies. retrieved on february 24, 2020. from https://biblehub.com/commentaries/hebrews/12-6.htm. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 6.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 173 a review of igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity by prof. anthony ikechukwu kanu, o.s.a jude i. onebunne, phd department of philosophy faculty of arts nnamdi azikiwe university, awka ji.onebunne@unizik.edu.ng this piece published in 2017 is a work of great significance. in it kanu, the writer sacralised the concept of igwebuike. he identifies igwebuike philosophy as the igbo-african ethic of reciprocity, entirely expressed in the golden rule summarizing the good news of jesus christ thus: do unto others as you would wish them do unto you (cf. mtt. 712). globalisation and modern technology are creating a kind of monoculture affecting the standard of human living and interaction as well as on our value orientation with clear consequence on evangelization. according to benezet bujo in his magnus opus, foundations of african ethic: beyond the universal claims of western morality, if the good news of jesus is to make its home among every people, it cannot identify itself with one specific culture, not even a global or monoculture. the concept of igwebuike underscores a sense of community and unity as a complimentary african philosophy and african philosophy of solidarity especially when one tries to identify with the other. the concept of the otherness evokes a kind of moral-demand that is ethic, a form of value-relationship within a group. igwebuike identifies a group of people that are out for their common good as such. the author expressed this idea fully when he explicates igwebuike thus: igwebuike is the modality of being. it is an igbo word, which is a combination of three words. thus, it can be understood as a word and as a sentence: as a word, it is written thus, igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. kanu made us to understand the three words involved: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a large number or population. bu is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 174 a verb, which means is. ike is a noun, which means strength or power. put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful and can constitute an insurmountable force. at this level, no task is beyond their collective capability. this provides an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. to this point there must be a rule of interactive relation. according to our paper under consideration, it must be based on the fragments of igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. kanu, however, defined the ethic of reciprocity as an ethical principle that is beyond mere religious and or cultural boundaries. it transcends the limitations of all religious innuendoes and cultural bondage. ethic of reciprocity properly expressed in igwebuike will account for the reparation to african continent over the time as against many centuries of plundering of africa with many cases of stolen legacies making africans aliens to themselves, branding their cultures fetish and pettishly idolatrous. the result of all these is that africans are pagans or derogatively monkeys incapable of thoughts that liberate like the ethic of reciprocity. this is the beginning of racism. the author, in this paper of a masterpiece-like took an academic glance across african trado-cultural values and other world religions to discover that ethic of reciprocity is at the heart of african philosophical thought and culture expressed in many african proverbs, idioms, folktales and life style. in this ethic of reciprocity igwebuike is complimented by other philosophical concepts like onyeaghananwanneya, ibuanyidanda, african-brotherhood, ubuntu, belongingness, negritude, africanism, consciencism, et cetera, making living and life just a mere shared reality. thus in igwebuike, like in the above numerated philosophical concepts, the ethic of reciprocity is not just a moral guide or mere act of faith but a moral obligation and duty, a kind of orthopraxis one must have towards the other. this attitude towards the otherself in the community of persons makes igwebuike philosophy to be at the heart of igboafrican ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 175 prof. kanu remains an avant-garde of great scholarship when he located igwebuike philosophical ideology as the modality of being in african philosophy. this nevertheless places igwebuike as a philosophical concept on the foundation of african ethics which is exclusively anthropocentric. juxtapose it to say that the golden rule which is expressed clearly in the ethic of reciprocity is humanity-bound knowing full well that the idea of a community is the beginning of african ethics for the possibility of the ethic of reciprocity in africa. bibliography kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and and logic (nka) of african philosophy”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2015a). a hermeutic approach to the study of african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015b). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no. 1.[ 97-101]. kanu, i. a. (2016b). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no.1. [1-7]. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no.4.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 71 religion and socio-political institutions in etche, rivers state, in time perspective godwin aturuchi eche phd department of religious and cultural studies ignatius ajuru university of education rumuolumeni, port harcourt rivers state, south-south, nigeria godwineche1@gmail.com abstract any society without rules guiding the conduct of its members stands the risk of becoming a hobbessian society, with everyone acting and behaving as it pleases him or her. for rules to be obeyed in any given society there are often mercenaries put in place to check and balance the conduct and day to day activities of that society. five administrative structures were identified and highlighted in this work, using the qualitative and descriptive methods of data collection and analysis. in arriving at our conclusion, the sociological approach was adopted and our finding reveals that religion played an important role in the selection and endorsement of those vested with socio-political authority in etche and this has existed for a very long time and has remained highly revered among the people until this present time. this has helped in the maintenance of law and order in the society with the established structures playing the roles assigned each of them for the good of society. in all these, the role of religion cannot be wished away. in the final analysis, this work recommended that since these structures have brought about social integration and orderliness in etche ethnic nationality, it should be borrowed by other ethnic groups in rivers state especially in these days of restiveness in our society. introduction this work sets out to discuss the religio-political and social institutions in etche in time perspective. within the scope of this work, the geographical entity on the political map of rivers state of nigeria known as etche which comprises of two local government areas of etche and omuma will be discussed. etche is made up of six traditional clans which to some extent are autonomous with their political structures. these include: okehi, igbo agwuru asa, ulakwo/umuselem, mba, ozuzu, and omuma. upon creation of omuma local government area out of etche in 1996, omuma clan was subsequently divided into three for administrative convenience. these are eberi/obiohia, umuogba/umuajiloke, and ofeh/ohim/oyoro clans. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 72 “etcheland is bounded in the east by abia and imo states, in the west and south by ikwerre and obio/akpor local government areas, and in the north-east by oyigbo local government area” (achebe: 2011). as part of rivers state, etche is regarded as a component part of the oil rich niger delta region of south-south of nigeria, with oil locations littered in many communities in etche. as in many parts of the niger delta, before the advent or coming of christianity, the people of etche were religious, practicing their religion and worshipping their deities who they believe worked for their good at all times and made manifest in every aspect of their life. this religiosity dictated their political and social life and has continued to do so in time perspective. this could be why amaele (2000) posits that: religion qua religion needs no apologetics to establish the fact of its existence and that it has been a concomitant of almost every sphere of human activity from time immemorial is not debatable. it did not come as a result of western interference but could be said to be the way of life for the people. god is believed to be everywhere at every time, yet his abode is up in the sky. this is why when one is accused falsely of an offence or act, he or she raises up his or her hands to the sky saying, ‘you who dwell in the sky, see my hands, they are clean, prove my innocence’. god (chineke) among the etche people is conceived as being to majestic to be approached directly hence he is worshipped through a medium. the supreme being, chineke (the god that creates) is recognized as the source of everything that exists here on earth. this recognition make the people to give their children names that portray his almightiness and goodness such as chibuzor, chinwendu, chiamaka, chidinma, chinaemezu, chukwudi, chikanka, iheanyichukwu etc (p. 21-23) in etche the administrative (political) and social setup could be likened to the ladder with five (5) rungs with each performing specific roles in ensuring that there is order throughout the ethnic group. the crux of this paper is the social and political institutions in etche, and how it has metamorphosed to its present state. pre-colonial period the people of etche had always lived together in peace and harmony ever, before the period proceeding the pre-colonial and nigerian civil war era. they igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 73 carried out social and political activities, settling disputes amicably among themselves. as nwodim (2011) noted, “every society is organized to accommodate the activities and efforts of such activities of the people living in it” (p. 25). this agrees with adebayo (1981) who said that: every society consists of different groups of people woven together in a complicated process to achieve the goals and objectives of such society and when two or more people are involved in activities, there is the need to organize their actions and activities towards achieving the common goal (p. 1) it is imperative to point out that prior to the colonization of etcheland the people organized themselves in a simple and harmonious manner. they had laws that regulated their lives and day to day activities. according to nzimiro (1996) in pre-colonial period, leaders emerged within the system prevalent in those societies. most outstanding were the kings and nobles of these african kingdoms. they possessed charismatic influence based on meta-physical axioms anchored on around the the myth of their divinity. these rulers found in many of these pre-colonial empires exercised judicial, legislative and executive powers. they controlled the wealth of their feudalities through taxes, levies and forced labour that to sustain these empires (p. 1). traditional etche administration can be best described and or referred to as gerontocracy or republicanism. it was based on ruler ship by the council of elders from drawn from village locally referred to as ‘ofor’ holders or ‘ndiche’. the ofor or ndiche title is bestowed on the eldest member of each family in the village. this group of elders from various recognized families in the village or community forms the council of elders. it is the council of elders that form the jury in the village. when any matter arises in the community, it is brought before the council of elders who would adjudicate over the issue. the council of elders meeting is presided over by the most senior and oldest member of the council. the meetings were usually held at the residence of the eldest person in the council or in the village square, or community hall built for that purpose. in communities with very strong presence of deities, worshipped and reverenced by the people, the council of elders is presided over by the eze agbara (chief priest) of the community deity. it is imperative to note that system of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 74 administration in the kingdom was not uniform as there existed different forms of maintenance of law and order in the various communities. when the need arises to enforce laws, the able bodied youths in the community were used to achieve the purpose. however there exists the account of ancient traditional rulers in etche kingdom before the coming of the white men in the 1800’s. according to the constitution of etche supreme council of traditional rulers and chiefs cited in nwodim (2010), ‘odo’ and ‘igbokulube’ were some great grand sons of the founders of etche land, who were the first settlers about the 14th century in the areas now inhabited by the igbodo people, while the rest of the founding fathers dispersed to other clans now inhabited by igbo agwuru asa people, mba, ndashi, ozuzu, okehi, omuma, abara, akpoku, obite, ulakwo/umuselem. akwa, obibi, odagwa among others (p. 3) nwodim (2011) further went on to say that during this period, there existed his highness nwogu ogodo, the ochie of etche land. he was said to be one of the paramount rulers who brought the first ‘nwadishi’ (whiteman) into etche in the late 1880’s. there is also the account about chief nwarishi anele of ozuzu who was one of the reigned longer than any past and present traditional ruler, as he lived over a century. he was said to have his life lost his life during the british invasion of etche land in about 1898 (p. 31) the same is also said to be true of chief ashiri, whose ancestors were said to have founded ndashi town. he later became the first mbichiri of mba clan and first onye ishi ala of ndashi. his uncle chief odo grew in prominence to become the first ochie of etche. report has it that chief odo was captured alive during the british invasion of the niger delta hinterland in 1895 and exiled to the french equatorial island (panya). same fate was also suffered by chief aka-ogu of umuoye. he controlled part of mba clan where his supremacy was unchallenged. he attempted to halt the british invasion party into his territory but was overwhelmed by the same in the 1890’s (nwodim: 2011). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 75 chief nwagwu onyeche 1, was the first mbichiri of igbo agwuru asa clan. he was said to be the earliest etche traditional ruler that established and controlled commerce with the british colonial authorities. chief nwachi 1 of obibi also reigned supreme in obibi of okehi clan. he was one of the prominent chiefs of the odo dynasty, and he reigned up to the 1940’s. other chiefs that were prominent in etche land during the pre-colonial period were chief isiguzo ubia oduehie, mbichiri of mba (1860 – 1940), who had a standing army under the command of prince agu eligwe; chief obinna nworgu, mbichiri of ulakwo/umuselem clan who ruled over the large territory stretching from okehi, akwukabi, obibi to igboh. he was one of the chiefs of etche who had contact with the british at the oguochie river in afara in the late 1880’s; chief okere nwaogba 1 of okehi (1970 – 1973) was one of the wealthiest traditional rulers in etche kingdom during this time. chief sampson amadi jp, mbichiri of ozuzu clan was a prominent etche chief who regularly attended the eastern nigeria house of assembly on observer status. he died in 1996 at a very old age. chief nwagwushi of ndashi was a judge at the umuaturu native authority court. he contributed immensely to the development of etche customary laws and ensured orderly government presence in the land. he reigned from 1928 – 1950. however the most prominent etche chief of the pre-colonial / pre-war era was chief jonas elemuwa nwuke, a native of okomoko. he was a successful politician highly respected in etche land and beyond. he became clan head of igboh agwuru asa clan and from there contested the traditional headship of etche with chief achonwa, which he won. the eastern region thereafter accorded him recognition as second class ruler and clan chief of etche, representing ikwerre/etche county council as minister and member of the eastern region house of chiefs in the first republic. by this, he became and remained the rallying point of etche people until his death in 1970 (nwodim: 2011) post-civil war period the end of the nigerian civil war in 1970 saw the emergence of the modern system of traditional administration seen in etche in contemporary times. this underscores the importance of traditional administration in any african traditional society. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 76 on 16th september 1970, the rivers state chieftaincy inquiry committee was inaugurated, with professor e. j. alagoa as chairman and an etche son dr. eze o. a. nwala as secretary. memoranda were called for by this committee from rivers state people. the etche people were not left out in submitting memoranda. the etche people under the leadership of eze the clan head of etche) submitted a memorandum to the committee giving the history and overview of the chieftaincy institution in etche, as well as the structure. the structure showed that the traditional head of the people of etche is the onye ishi ala, ochie of etcheland. ever since then, the ochie of etcheland stool has been recognized as a 1st class traditional stool and the administrative structure totally reviewed. the etche administrative structure could be likened to a ladder with five rungs. in this paper, we shall discuss each beginning from the lowest which is the family level of administration. a family is defined in the new webster dictionary (1993) as “a group of persons closely related, a group consisting of individuals descending from a common ancestry; a household” (p. 145). among each of these groups of people closely related who share a common ancestry, the eldest male referred to and addressed as okwara nna (extended family head) is usually at the helm of affairs in all things concerning the family. he is charged with the responsibility of maintaining law and order, directing affairs and representing the family in the village or community level. no decision affecting the family can be taken without his knowledge and eventual approval. he is seen and regarded as the human representative of the ancestors and as such highly respected and revered by all members of the extended family. it is his responsibility to summon members of his family at the beginning of the year (which marks the commencement of the farming season) to ensure that the farmland is evenly allotted to qualified members of the family. he sits to adjudicate over matters of misunderstanding among members of his extended family. whenever any member of the family wants to undertake any venture such as getting married, building a house, travelling to a distant place etc, the approval and blessing of the family head is sort. he represents his family at the village and community level and is referred to as the oji-ofor of his family who makes sacrifices to the ancestors at the ndichie (the family shrine) on behalf of his family. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 77 the second rung of the administrative setup in etcheland is the village level. the village council is made up of the okwara nna who are also the oji-ofor of their respective families. the head of this council is the onye ishi nkpo who in most cases is the eldest person from the ruling family or his representative (when indisposed). as head of the council of elders, he directs the spiritual affairs of the village, and in conjunction with the youth leader, also directs the socio-political affairs of the village. he leads other members of the council of elders and holds the mpiokpo (a great animal horn), and the ofor-na-ogu as a symbol of authority to dispense justice, peace and other in the village or community. he also is the land priest of the village, who makes sacrifices and pours libation to the divinities and ancestors on behalf of the village. he could summon the villagers at will, when issue affecting the entire village arises. the onye-ishinkpo (head of all his colleagues) represents the village in the town council. in recent times, they have assumed the title of ‘village chief’. the third rung in the administrative ladder is the town level. at the helm of affairs at this level is the ochimba (town council). in his council are the ndeishi-nkpo who are referred to in etche as nde mgbaragida (assistant / cabinet members). the ochimba derives his power from the villages and in most cases he is usually the chief representing the first settlers of the town. however, in recent times the appointment of ochimba seems to be politicized with either the onye ishi agwuru appointing his loyalist, or the chiefs electing from among themselves who they desire to lead them. amaele (2000) writing on the political organization in etche, said: in the ancient etche, villages having common ancestral deity called ‘ala’ are grouped as one town. each town has onye-ishi-ala (town head). in etche custom, onye-ishi-ala is the chief priest of the ‘ala’ deity. and the mode of incumbency to the stool is hereditary (p. 45) this is still the practice in etcheland in the contemporary times. christianity is yet to influence this aspect of etche socio-political institution. the ochimba stool in some communities in etche is separated from the onye-ishi-ala stool. a good example is in akwukabi etche, where the people of umuode village are nde nwe ishi ala akwukabi where part of their traditional right is to present the eldest igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 78 man in their umunna as the onye-ishi-ala who is the chief priest of the town. he is not the mbichiri. the mbichiri is usually selected from among the chiefs. the onye-ishi-ala presides during community traditional functions such as ‘new yam festivals’, ‘wrestling festivals’, ‘marriage rite’, ‘birth rite’, ‘puberty rite’ and ‘initiation into adulthood’; and in the administration of oaths when the need arises. it is expected that the ochimba consults with the onye-ishi-ala on matters of utmost traditional importance which concerns the people. failure to do so could attract severe consequences upon the land. the ochimba however represents his town in the clan and governmental levels. the fourth rung in the ladder of political organizational setup in etche is that of the clan level. a clan as referred to in etche is a group of towns and people who speak same dialect and share certain religious and social norms, institutions and traditions. every clan in etche land is made up of not less than five towns which could be regarded as autonomous communities with their respective ‘ochimba’s’ who are members of the ‘mbichiri’ or ‘onye ishi agwuru’ in council (clan head). the mbichiri is the clan head who is elected by the chiefs and elders of the various communities that make up the clan from among the ochimba’s. the mbichiri or onye ishi agwuru stool is a rivers state government recognized 2nd class or 3rd class traditional ruler as the case may be. he is therefore expected to be a man of integrity, well educated and highly exposed to be able to represent his clan, not only in the onye ishi ala etche, ochie of etche in council, but also in the rivers state council of traditional rulers where he sits as a council member. he is the rallying point for every indigene of the clan, and with the assistance of the ochimba’s, he administers the clan, making sure that peace and order is maintained. issues affecting the clan are always brought before him and his decision on any matter in the clan is always final. our findings things are reveal that things are changing in recent times with the powers of the onye ishi agwuru being threatened. a stubborn power hungry ochimba who may have what it takes in terms of money and connections may decide not to be loyal to the authority of his boss the onye ishi agwuru and make the reign of the onye ishi agwuru miserable or could even dethrone him at extreme instances. political authority in etche igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 79 derives from the villages and towns that make up the clan, and so the authority and respect that the onye ishi agwuru enjoys is by the grace of the people. the fifth and last socio-political administrative setup in etche is the onye ishi ala, ochie of etcheland. the chieftaincy institution in the entire etche consists of the etche divisional council of traditional ruler and chiefs, as well as the etche supreme council of traditional rulers, with the onye ishi etche, ochie of etcheland as president/chairman. all government recognized traditional rulers such as nde ishi agwuru (clan heads), all special titled chiefs such as ogbuga, egwurugwu, onwa, igolo, umara as well as other personal chieftaincy titles recognized by the ochie of etche land constitute membership of the onye ishi etche/ochie of etche in council. the traditional stool of ochie of etche is a government recognized 1st class stool in rivers state the etche supreme council of traditional rulers and chiefs is the highest appellant authority for any grade of etche people. some of their function includes: appointment of members into the traditional courts of arbitration, approval of all traditional ceremonies, utters or substitutes etche customs while ensuring its uniformity where necessary among other. the onye ishi etche, ochie of etche kingdom is the traditional head of all etche people all over the world. he is crowned at igbodo, under the ‘oba tree’ at ‘eketa igbodo’. he in turn is expected to crown other chiefs on the same ancestral place at igbodo. the ochie of etche is addressed as his royal majesty, ochie (eze), the onye ishi etche, ochie of etcheland. this stool is not hereditary. for anyone to ascend the ochie throne, he would have been either an onye ishi agwuru, or a senior titled chief. he must be democratically elected by members of the etche divisional council of chiefs and elders, and as well endorsed by the etche supreme council of traditional rulers and chiefs. at the demise of the ochie, the most senior member of the council automatically assumes the responsibility of the regent who acts as the ochie, until a new ochie emerges. conclusion the religio-political and social life of any group of people form major aspects or part of the cultural life of such people. the etche people as a culturally active ethnic nation have a well structured political system from the times of old which has remained sacrosanct to them till date. this has brought about control and orderliness experienced in most communities of etche. the five structures which this work prefers to refer to as the ‘five rungs of administrative structure’ have been responsible for this orderliness. it would therefore be suggested that the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 80 nigerian nation should adopt this administrative pattern for the sustainability of its social and political stability. the administrative structure through which the political and social institutions in etche have been sustained has its foundation laid on the family which forms the nucleus of the society hence very effective since no ethnic group can exist without the family. this work therefore brings to the fore the fact that etche ethnic nationality has such wonderful and well organized administrative and social structure that is worthy of emulation by other ethnic groups in nigeria and beyond. references achebe, c. (1958) things fall apart. london: heinemann publishers achebe, p. e. (2011) “history and origin of the people of etche ethnic nationality” in o. nwodim (ed), studies in etche: a journal of contemporary studies in etche. (p. 1-21) port harcourt: girraffe konsult. adebayo, a. (1981), principles and practices of public administration in nigeria. ibadan: spectrum. amaele, p. e. (2000), the socio-political history of etche. port harcourt: osai. nwodim, o. (2011), “pre-colonial traditional administration in etche kingdom”. in o. nwodim (ed) studies in etche: a journal of contemporary studies in etche. (p. 24-36), port harcourt: girraffe kunsult. nwodim, o. (2011), “post-colonial administration in etche kingdom”. in o. nwodim (ed), studies in etche: a journal of contemporary studies in etche. (p. 38-51), port harcourt: girraffe kunsult. nwogu, i. (2004), history of etche. owerri: springfield nzimiro, i. (2005), the rise and fall of african leaders. oguta: zim pan-african the constitution of etche divisional council of traditional rulers and chiefs the new lexicon webster dictionary of the english language. (deluxe encyclopedia edition) (1989), usa: lexicon publications. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 5.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 55 redefining modernity: perspectives from transmodernity and igwebuike philosophy philip adah idachaba, phd department of philosophy, kogi state university, anyigba. idachaba.p@ksu.edu.ng abstract the historical period that is termed modern and its intellectual and cultural products have engaged the attention of scholars from both theoretical and practical points of view. particularly, with the rise of theoretical and scholarly discussions on development, the idea of modernity/modernization has become pungent. the position in this regard has been that to develop is to modernize. modernization as presented in this developmental framework refers to the way the west (specifically europe and america) have moved from being rural agrarian communities to urban industrial cities. consequently, development entails modernization and to modernize requires following the steps of the west. within this framework and even from a general historical context, the modern is exclusively defined from the euro-american point of view. numerous reactions have trailed this understanding of modernity and these reactions have demanded a modification or a redefinition of this understanding. this paper is aimed at exploring this redefinition from the standpoint of transmodernity and igwebuike philosophy. specifically, the paper argues that: (i) the current understanding of modernity is exclusively euro-american; (ii) following transmodern trajectory, there are valid, genuine and significant noneuropean contributions to the making of modernity; (iii) using the igwebuike framework, modernity should be seen as complementary rather than exclusive as modern african is already exemplifying. the conclusion is that any understanding of modernity that ignores the observations in the foregoing risks not only being provincial, but exclusive. the philosophical method of analysis which entails exposition and critique is what the essay adopts. key words: complementarity, euro-american, igwebuike, modernity, transmodernity introduction numerous reasons abound for the engagement of the cultural and intellectual movement called modernity. various disciplines have been involved in this engagement for numerous reasons and from diverse points of view. modern is the root word for modernity. modern can mean all of post-medieval european history, in the context of dividing history into three large epochs: antiquity, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 56 medieval, and modern. likewise, it is often used to describe the euro-american culture that arises out of the enlightenment and continues in some way into the present. the term "modern" is also applied to the period beginning somewhere between 1870 and 1910, through the present, and even more specifically to the 1910-1960 period. the cultural, intellectual and socio-political aura that emanates from this time is his is what modernity is all about. distinctive features have also been attached to this period of history. bauman, though a severe critique of modernity who calls it a holocaust,36 admits that, the modern age defined itself as, above all, the kingdom of reason and rationality. these two along with all the implications that follow from them constitute the defining features of modernity. intellectual concern with this movement could be from the perspective of showing the inherent deficiencies of modernity.37 others are concerned with it to show the power and potency of it.38 yet another perspective looks at modernity from the point of view how it can integrate with other noneuropean efforts at progress in order to build a comprehensive developmental ideal for humanity. this is the background from which this essay focuses its attention on modernity. it seeks to look at modernity from the prism of tranmodernity and igwebuike philosophy with the view to developing a rubout concept of development for humanity and fro africa in particular. to accomplish this task, the paper first begins by looking at the euro-american vision of modernity, then it considers the transmodern interjection in the form of planetarity. last attention is focused on the complementarity orientation of igwebuike philosophy and how this drives african modernity. the final point is that, the self-conception of modernity cannot ignore these vital contributions to its essence if it is to retain its posture as a human ideal rather than a provincial or regional alternative. modernity and the euro-american vision modernity as defined above, has its euro-american understanding. that is, an understanding of it that places it within a trajectory of the social, political and economic power of europe and america. this understanding of modernity is deeply eurocentric. this is the understanding of modernity operating in the 36 see, zygmunt bauman, modernity and the holocaust. ithaca, n.y.: cornell university press 1989. 37 see also, zygmunt bauman, modernity and the holocaust. ithaca, n.y.: cornell university press 1989. also, jane bennett, “modernity and its critics,” in the oxford handbook of political science. edited by robert e. goodin. sep 2013. on line at 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199604456.013.0006 38 all of the discourse about modernisation with regard to development all belong to this level of the discourse. the point here is to show that you have developed only when you have been able to modernise. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 57 works of charles taylor39 and jürgen habermas40 operate. in dussel’s opinion, this concept of modernity understands modernity as a distinctively european phenomenon and every other culture had to adopt the european culture in order to be reckoned with as modern. this concept of modernity is not just eurocentric but it is also provincial and regional. it is an ‘emancipation, a kantian ausgang, or ‘way out,’ from immaturity by means of reason, understood as a critical process that affords humanity the possibility of new development’.41 in identifying the specific historical moment of this modernity, dussel observes that it took place in the eighteenth century and the temporal and spatial dimensions were described by hegel and commented on by jurgen habermas as well. for habermas the key moments of this concept of modernity are reformation, the enlightenment and the french revolution. he even goes as far as later suggesting that the english parliament should be added as one of the key moments too. the sequence will therefore be from italy to germany to england and to france. for dussel this perspective is eurocentric because “it indicates intra-european phenomena as the starting point of modernity and explains its later development without making recourse to anything outside of europe. in a nutshell, this is the provincial, regional view that ranges from max weber (i have in mind here his analysis on “rationalization” and the “disenchantment of worldviews”) to habermas. for many, galileo (condemned in 1616), francis bacon (novum organum,1620), or descartes (discourse on method, 1636) could be considered the forebears of the process of modernity in the seventeenth century.”42 this concept of modernity is that which habermas thinks has not been completed and need to be completed for true emancipation to be arrived at.43 reason here is ‘emancipating reason’. this emancipating reason also has its irrational, violent and annihilating part. the exercise of this irrationality of emancipating reason is what constitutes the 39 see, charles taylor, “two theories of modernity.” the hastings center report , vol. 25, no. 2 (mar. apr., 1995), pp. 24-33; see also the collection of essays titled: charles taylor’s vision of modernity: reconstructions and interpretations. edited by christopher garbowski, jan hudzik and jan kłos. cambrige: cambridge scholars publishing, 2009. 40 see, jürgen habermas, the philosophical discourse of modernity: twelve lectures. translated by frederick lawrence. cambridge, massachusetts: the mit press, 1990. 41 see, immanuel kant, what is enlightenment. (princeton: princeton university press) 28-41. online at https://www.google.de/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=6&ved=2ahukewj5jc3fv8djahwkvruihd99 ahiqfjafegqibhac&url=http%3a%2f%2fassets.press.princeton.edu%2fchapters%2fs6787.pdf&usg=aovvaw3duesdsei2icpbl0aajnn 42 enrique dussel, “europe, modernity, eurocentrism,” nepantla: views from south 1.3, (2000), 469-70. 43 jürgen habermas, the philosophical discourse of modernity: twelve lectures, xix. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 58 ‘myth of modernity’. the point here is that with europe’s contact with other cultures of the world and the advantage it had over them, it began to exercise its reason in some irrational forms. in dussel’s words ‘modernity implicitly contains a strong rational core that can be read as a ‘way out’ for humanity from a state of regional and provincial immaturity. on the other hand, this same modernity carries out an irrational process that remains concealed even to itself. that is to say, given its secondary and mythical negative content, modernity can be read as the justification of an irrational praxis of violence’. the last sentence notes the two moments of the eurocentric concept of modernity. that is modernity has: a) a mythical negative content which b) justifies an irrational praxis of violence. dussel itemizes some of the constituent element of these moments of modernity as follows: � the modern civilization casts itself as a superior, developed civilization (something tantamount to unconsciously upholding a eurocentric position). � the aforementioned superiority makes the improvement of the most barbaric, primitive, coarse people a moral obligation (from ginés de sepúlveda until kant or hegel). � the model of this educational process is that implemented by europe itself (in fact, it is a unilineal, european development that will eventually—and unconsciously—result in the “developmentalist fallacy”). � insofar as barbaric people oppose the civilizing mission, modern praxis must exercise violence only as a last resort, in order to destroy the obstacles impeding modernization (from the ‘colonial just war’ to the gulf war). � as the civilizing mission produces a wide array of victims, its corollary violence is understood as an inevitable action, one with a quasi-ritual character of sacrifice; the civilizing hero manages to make his victims part of a saving sacrifice (i have in mind here the colonized indigenous people, the african slaves, women, and the ecological destruction of nature). � for modern consciousness, the barbarians are tainted by ‘blame’ stemming from their opposition to the civilizing process, which allows modernity to present itself not only as innocent but also as absolving the blame of its own victims. � finally, given the ‘civilizing’ character of modernity, the sufferings and sacrifices—the costs—inherent in the ‘modernization’ of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 59 ‘backward,’ immature people, of the races fitted to slavery, of the weaker female sex, are understood as inevitable.44 given these elements, it becomes clear the level of complicity the eurocentric concept of modernity has in the levels of exploitation the world is suffering today. for this reason, modern reason does not need fulfillment, but transcendence. planetary modernity: the transmdern interjection the transmodern interjection with regard to the euro-american version of modernity comes basically from the works of walter d. mignolo and enrique dussel. this interjection comes more in the form of a redefinition of the euroamerican vision of modernity. it is within the context of understanding local histories as planetary phenomena that mignolo makes the case that “‘modernity,’ in other words, is not the natural unfolding of world history, but the regional narrative of the eurocentric worldview.”45 within this planetary context dussel also undertakes a redefinition of the eurocentric conception of modernity giving it a planetary undertone. dussel begin his case even from the name ‘europe’, for him there is a semantic slippage in the adoption of the name europe. in his opinion, the mythological europa was the daughter of a phoenician king and thus was semitic. this europe that comes from the orient bears little resemblance to the ‘definitive’ europe (the modern europe); one should not mistake greece with the future europe. this future europe was situated north of macedonia and north of magna graecia in italy. the future europe was the home of everything that was considered barbaric (thus, in later times, europe eventually usurped a name that did not belong to it). the classical greeks were well aware that both asia (the area that would later become a province in the roman empire and which corresponded to contemporary turkey) and africa (egypt) were home to the most developed cultures. asia and africa were not considered barbaric, although 44 enrique dussel, “europe, modernity, eurocentrism,” 472-3. 45 walter d. mignolo, local histories/global designs: coloniality, subaltern knowledges, and border thinking, 13. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 60 neither were they considered wholly human. what became modern europe lay beyond greece’s horizon and therefore could not in any way coincide with the originary greece. modern europe, situated to the north and west of greece, was simply considered the uncivilized, the nonpolitical, the nonhuman. by stating this i am trying to emphasize that the unilineal diachrony greece-rome-europe is an ideological construct that can be traced back to late-eighteenthcentury german romanticism. therefore, the single line of development greece-rome-europe is a conceptual by-product of the eurocentric ‘aryan model’.46 from the above one thing is clear, the ideological base for the linking of modern europe to greece and rome. this in dussel’s opinion is not a comprehensive narrative of the story of modernity europe. this is because between rome and modern europe, there are some significant interventions from other cultures which contributed in the making of modern europe. fig. 4.1 46 enrique dussel, “europe, modernity, eurocentrism,” nepantla: views from south 1.3, (2000), 465. peoples of the north egypt phoenicia, semitic tribes classical greek and hellenic word western roman world eastern byzantine world western german-latin world (from the twelfth century) italian renaissance (fourteenth – fifteenth century) arab world (also jewish) from the tenth century spain, portugal igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 61 dussel even goes as far as diagrammatically representing this incomprehensiveness and showing the points where significant cultural interventions are made from outside modern europe. fig 4.1 shows this very well. essentially, the figure attempts a comprehensive diagrammatic representation of the historical sequence from the greeks to modern european world. with this schema, dussel shows that there is no direct greek influence on western latin europe (it is mediated by both arrows a and b). that is, the mediation was done by the arabic and jewish world from the tenth century onwards. there is also no direct link between either sequence c of modern europe and greece or the byzantine world (arrow d), but there is a direct link with the western christian latin-roman world. what these show is that, in the making of modern europe, the arabs and jews were fundamental non-european interventions that the sequence greek-rome-modern europe has not properly represented. in fact in dussel’s words “muslim ‘universality’ reached from the atlantic to the pacific. thus, latin europe was a secondary peripheral culture and up to this point had never been the ‘center’ of history.”47 within this context then, ‘the crusades can be seen as the first attempt of latin europe to impose itself on the eastern mediterranean’. dussel also takes issue with the equation that western=hellenistic + roman + christian. this equation resulted from the fact that during the italian renaissance there was a coming together of independent cultures. here, the latin world joined the eastern greek world and they subsequently confronted the turkish world. in turn, the turks forgot the hellenistic-byzantine origin of the muslim world and thus allowed to emerge this equation. this equation dussel considers the eurocentric ideology of german romanticism. this perspective is erroneous for two reasons first, there was not yet a world history in an empirical sense. there were only isolated, local histories of communities that extended over large geographical areas: the romans, the persians, the hindu kingdoms, the siamese, the chinese, or the mesoamerican and inca worlds in america. second, their geopolitical locations did not allow them to be a center (the red sea or 47 enrique dussel, “europe, modernity, eurocentrism,” 466. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 62 antioch, the final destination of commerce with the east, was not the center but the westernmost border of the euro-afro-asian market).48 in summary dussel concludes that latin europe of the fifteenth century was nothing more than a peripheral, secondary geographical location situated in the westernmost boundary of the then euro-afro-asian world, besieged by the muslim world. in transcending this eurocentric modern reason, dussel develops another concept of modernity. this concept takes into view a consideration of a world perspective on modernity. the point here is that modernity is at the center of world history and this centrality is achieved from various perspectives: state, military, economic, philosophical. this centrality was very important for dussel in that it was europe’s distinct contribution to the making of modernity. this is because “all the great neolithic cultures were ‘centers’ of civilizing subsystems with their own peripheries, but without any historically significant connection with other ecumenes. only modern european culture, from 1492 onwards, was at the center of a world system, of a universal history that confronts (with diverse types of subsumption and exteriority) as all other cultures of the earth: cultures that will be militarily dominated as its periphery.”49 as indicated above, the specific historical point for the articulation of this concept of modernity is 1492. by implications, before 1492 there was no world history in the empirical sense of the word. empires or cultural systems simply coexisted. what existed before this time was just a series of interregional relations. on this, dussel writes, ‘for me, the centrality of latin europe in world history stands as the fundamental determination of modernity’. this centralization of latin europe began to take place right from the fifteenth century when the spaniards and portuguese began their exploration of the atlantic and to take over the various parts of the new world. contesting against hegel and habermas submissions about the start of modernity, dussel maintains that “the seventeenth century (as exemplified in the works of descartes and bacon) must then be seen as the result of one-and-a-half centuries of modernity. it is a consequence rather than a starting point.”50 with the centralization of latin europe here, other culture were denoted as being in 48 enrique dussel, “europe, modernity, eurocentrism,” 468. 49 enrique dussel, the underside of modernity: apel, ricoeur, rorty, taylor, and the philosophy of liberation, translated and edited by eduardo mendieta (new jersey: humanities press, 1996), 132. 50 enrique dussel, the underside of modernity: apel, ricoeur, rorty, taylor, and the philosophy of liberation, 470. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 63 the periphery while europe is in the centre. this concept of modernity takes into cognizance the fact that modernity was more of a planetary phenomenon than a european one. an obvious implication of this perception that modernity is planetary is that, “a great part of the achievements of modernity were not exclusively european but grows from a continuous dialectic of impact and counter-impact, effect and counter-effect, between modern europe and its periphery even in that which we could call the constitution of modern subjectivity.”51 at a more specific level, dussel notes that latin america is the first ever periphery of modern european ant it gave “europe the first comparative advantage that explains, in part (but it is a part of the explanation that is never considered in the interpretations of modernity), the triumph over the muslim world, vanquished at lepanto in 1571 (25 years after the discovery and the beginning of the exploitation of the zacatecas silver mines in mexico and the potosi silver mines in bolivia), and over china, which ‘closes’ upon itself until the 20th century.”52 it is important to note this because europe was at the periphery of the then afro-asiatic-mediterranean interregional relations and this civilization that was before latin europe was very fundamental to making of modernity as a whole. dussel even goes into history to note that china was a nation of power at the time of the rise of latin europe and could have explored and taken over the new world. in his words, …the reason china could not be hegemonic in the ‘new system’ that emerged in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the reason it did not discover america, was not because it was inferior to the europe of the time (either from an economic, a cultural, a technical, or even a scientific point of view), but because the ‘center’ of the ‘interregional system’ was west of china, in hindustan and the islamic world. america was beyond its horizon—if the chinese did arrive in alaska or california, they did not find anything of commercial interest.53 51 enrique dussel, the underside of modernity: apel, ricoeur, rorty, taylor, and the philosophy of liberation, 132-3. 52 enrique dussel, the underside of modernity: apel, ricoeur, rorty, taylor, and the philosophy of liberation, 134. 53 enrique dussel, world-system and “‘trans’-modernity,” nepantla: views from south 3.2 (2002), 224. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 64 he further corroborates the truth of the power of china at the time with the ideas from the works of adam smith and max weber. an extensive quote here will show dussel’s impression about smith on the power of china at the time. dussel writes that, in the wealth of nations (1976 [1776]), adam smith often comments on china’s greatness, its economic importance, and its low salaries: ‘china has been long one of the richest, that is, one of the most fertile, best cultivated, most industrious, and most populous countries in the world. . . . the accounts of all travelers, inconsistent in many other respects, agree in the low wages of labour, and in the difficulty which a labourer finds in bringing up a family in china.’ notice how smith uses the terms industrious and wage, just as he does in referring to england or scotland, which makes it seem unlikely that such manufacturing ‘industriousness’ and such a ‘salary’ would not produce for the factory owners a ‘surplus’ in the strict sense: ‘the course of human prosperity, indeed, seems scarce ever to have been of so long continuance as to enable any great country to acquire capital sufficient for all those three purposes; unless, perhaps, we give credit to the wonderful accounts of the wealth and cultivation of china’. ‘china is a much richer country than any part of europe, and the difference between the price of subsistence in china and in europe is very great. rice in china is much cheaper than wheat is any-where in europe’. the life of the elite is much more developed in china than in europe (this is the ‘luxury’ that werner sombart (1965 [1913]) requires for capitalism): ‘the retinue of a grandee in china or indostan accordingly is, by all accounts, much more numerous and splendid than that of the richest subjects in europe’. nevertheless, the enormous masses of china’s workers are poorer: ‘but the real price of labour, the real quantity of the necessaries of life which is given to the labourer, it has already been observed, is lower both in china and indostan, the two great markets of india, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 65 than it is through the greater part of europe’. for adam smith the discovery of spanish america permitted europe to buy from both markets (the two richest in the world-system and the most varied in the world prior to the industrial revolution): ‘the silver of the new continent seems in this manner to be one of the principal commodities by which the commerce between the two extremities [sic] of the old one is carried on, and it is by means of it, in a great measure, that those distant parts of the world are connected with one another’.54 from all of these, one sees the advantage that china had economically over europe and the fact that it was only after europe had access to latin america that she now had the economic power to buy from the chinese and indostan markets. were it not for the discovery of spanish america, europe was still a periphery. besides the fact that the centre of the world for china was not in the new world, the internal crisis in china also gave europe the opportunity to take over and become the economic centre of the word.55 in a similar vein weber holds strongly that if europe had not been the most prepared region to carry out the industrial revolution, it would have been china or india. weber devotes a great deal of time in his works on ethics, religion and morality to showing ‘why china and india did not give rise to capitalist society. his voluminous research produced the same answer time and again: china and hindustan could not be capitalist because of their corporate property regime, because they had a bureaucracy that impeded competition, and so on’. on the other hand, while ‘studying the ethics of the prophets of israel, weber found that, as far back as this, the long road was being built that would lead to capitalist modernity; the last stage of this road would be the reform promoted by 54 enrique dussel, world-system and “‘trans’-modernity,” 225. 55 enrique dussel, world-system and “‘trans’-modernity,” 226. for dussel following weber, it would seem that until the eighteenth century, china was the greatest producer of commodities, and that the china sea was an unequalled mercantile site within the world-system (because of the articulation of the old world with the new world since 1492). the chinese crises of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries resulted, partly, in china’s inability to realize the modernity as europe did. in this opinion, the ming dynasty (1368–1644), which founded the highly developed chinese empire (which included capitalist regions), went into a relative crisis with the arrival of the manchurian dynasty (1644–1796). in europe, this was a time when the rococo “chinese style” (chinoiserie) became fashionable (porcelain utensils, lacquered paintings on wood, baldachins in the gardens to have tea, decorated chinese pavilions, silk for wide-sleeved garments, etc.). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 66 calvinist ethics (the conditions for the realization of the capitalist system). calvinist individualism, wealth considered as a divine blessing, competition, private property, and the discipline of an austere subjectivity made the birth of capitalism possible, conditions not found in chinese corporatism or in the magical quasi-feudalism of hindustani brahmanic culture’. following from this, christianity and the protestant ethic were fundamental to the making of the latin europe and its capitalist identity. the point to be made is that, other superior cultures existed before latin europe, but did not force itself on latin europe and in actual fact had a role to play in the making of modernity and its history of which latin europe is at the center, as such it is not fair for latin europe to begin to claim exclusively that modernity is purely its product and to begin to force itself on others. at another level, the anti-modern discourses which other non-european cultures have produced against modernity and its excesses have gone unnoticed just because they are not european. in dussel’s opinion, the debate between sepulveda and de las casas is classic example of a non-european anti-discourse on modernity that has not been properly taken note of. specifically in evaluating habermas’ the philosophical discourses of modernity dussel observes that habermas’ concept of modernity is not just eurocentric, but it also contains strong elements of the developmentalist fallacy. this is because in first place, habermas situates in time the beginning of this ‘counterdiscourse’: there at the beginning stands kant (we would therefore be only two hundred years old!). yet, in historical reality, from a non-eurocentric point of view of modernity (that is to say, worldly), this counter-discourse is already five centuries old: it began on the hispaniola island when anton de montesinos attacked the injustices that were being carried out against the indians, and from there it reached the classrooms of salamanca (since it is there that the critique of 1514 is continued with the theoretical and practical labor of bartolome de las casas, and it is there also where this counter-discourse will be expressed in the university lectures of francisco de vitoria concerning de indiis). as is always the case with central-european philosophers, and especially igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 67 germans, the 16th and 17th centuries do not count, and latin america much less.56 here then, there is a systematic denial of the contributions of the spaniards and the spanish americans (colonial world) to the development of a counterdiscourse on modernity, which in actual fact is not true. but this eurocentric mentality has to be pushed along on the grounds that since modernity is purely a eurocentric horizon, ‘…the counter-discourse is also an exclusively european product. in this manner, the periphery itself, in order to criticize europe, will have to europeanize itself, because it would have to use a european counterdiscourse in order to show europe its own contradictions, without being able, once again, to contribute anything new and having to negate itself’. there is by this an attempt to even make similar the point of radical counter-discourse. but, if … this counter-discourse is already the dialectical product (affirmation of alterity as principle of negation of the negation: analectical movement) of a critical dialogue with alterity, it cannot be said that it is exclusively and intrinsically european, and least of all that europe is europe the only one that can ‘retrieve from its own traditions’ the continuation of such counter-discourses. on the contrary, it is likely that it is only outside europe where this counter-discourse may develop more critically, and not as continuation of a strange or exclusively european discourse, but as continuation of a critical labor that the periphery has already stamped in the counter-discourse produced in europe and on its own peripheral discourse (in fact and almost integrally, when it is non-eurocentric it is already counter-discourse).57 this is the point here, a true critical discourse on modernity has already been started outside the eurocentric counter-discourse and these should be allowed to thrive for europe alone does not have the right to do philosophy. in fact, european philosophy is not the exclusive product of europe. instead it is the product of the humanity located in europe, and with the contribution of the 56 enrique dussel, the underside of modernity: apel, ricoeur, rorty, taylor, and the philosophy of liberation, 135. 57 enrique dussel, the underside of modernity: apel, ricoeur, rorty, taylor, and the philosophy of liberation, 136-7. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 68 peripheral cultures that were in an essential co-constitutive dialogue. here then, there are productive possibilities within both modernity and periphery and “the fulfillment of modernity has nothing to do with the shift from the potentialities of modernity to the actuality of european modernity. indeed, the fulfillment of modernity would be a transcendental shift where modernity and its denied alterity, its victims, would mutually fulfill each other in a creative process.”58 the process of achieving this transcendence is what dussel calls transmodernity. complementary modernity: igwebuike and the african vision at yet another level, the reactions to modernity or the anti-modern discourse can be articulated from an african point of view. igwebuike as an oragnising frame in african philosophy is on trajectory from which modernity can be conceived and contextualized from the african spectrum. igwebuike is an igbo word or phrase. as a phrase, igwebuike, when broken into its component gives igwe bu ike which can be translated as ‘number is power’. that is, solidarity and complementarity gives power or the ability to be insurmountable.59 anothny ikechukwu kanu in conceptualizing this framework avers that, it is so central to african thought. it is so central to the point that, igwebuike is that which universalises and particularises logic within the african context. at the universal level, logic is one, it is that which appeals to every reasonable mind. syllogistic arguments, for example, belong to this universal level. logic becomes particular within the context of application. here, cultural experience becomes a fundamental fact in determining what is logical. this the point where igwebuike connects with african logic. it is what determines logicality in the african context. igwebuike represents complementarity. it is an igbo word or phrase which can be translated as ‘number is strength’. that is, human beings are insurmountable when they come together in solidarity and complementarity. being is presented here as that which possesses a relational character. igwebuike framework seeks the conglomeration, unification, and summation of fragmented thoughts. this complementary relationality of igwebuike can be linked to the relational harmony which plato describes in the soul and the state in the republic. igwebuike insists that humans all work together in order to attain the total joy of completion.60 58 enrique dussel, “europe, modernity, eurocentrism,” 474. 59 anthony ikechukwu kanu, “igwebuikeconomics: towards an inclusive economy for african economic development.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 3, no. 6, 2017. 121. 60 anthony ikechukwu kanu, “igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 3, no. 1, 2017. 16. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 69 this frame of complementarity and solidarity is what constructs the african vision of modernity. scholarly discussions have been very prolific on how african can integrate modernity. right from the point of the most recent contact (particularly in slave trade and colonialism) between africa and europe, the question of the best way for africa to envision modernity and to integrate into it has been germane. the struggle with integration and conceptualization of modernity has been within the context of the tradition – modernity divide in africa. the question has always been, to what extent can modernity be integrated over tradition in africa? this is so because, what african had and practiced before the coming of slave dealer and colonial masters is what is called tradition. what the slave dealers and colonial masters came with is modernity (civilisation). the attitude towards modernity in this frame oscillates between the extreme positions of either to totally accept what the white man offered or to totally reject what he offered. to these approaches there was a third which was a midway. this position holds that, “modernization is not unlinear, with modern features gradually replacing traditional ones. the opinion is that traditional features might, in fact, be revitalized and strengthened by modernization.”61 it can also be said that, traditional elements could also give more vigour modern convictions, within this form of understanding. this sounds like a complementary view of modernity or modernization should be. at deeper levels, african scholars like chiekh anta diop have even gone as far back as ancient times to insist that african civilization is the basis for the rationality which modern europe has arrogated and is posing to propagate to africa in the guise of the civilizing mission. he asserts, europe has evolved under the aegis of africa; it became rational by following the example and teachings of africa, the mother of civilizations and the originator of modernity, which emerged along the banks of the nile during the time of the egyptian pharaohs.62 by reintroducing africa as a participant in the development of rationality and modernity, cheikh anta diop reconfirms africa as producer and consumer of modernity.63 in contrast, socé diop, in his novel karim (1935), relates 61 see, j. p. schraeder, african politics and society: a mosiac in transformation. second edition. belmont, ca.: wordsworth. 62 see, also, cheikh anto diop, the african origin of civilization: myth or reality. translated by mercer cook. new york: l. hills, 1974. 63 mamadou diouf "modernity: africa." new dictionary of the history of ideas. encyclopedia.com. 15 jul. 2019 <https://www.encyclopedia.com>. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 70 with gusto the metamorphoses of the main character, karim, who assumes multiple identities, including an accountant trained at a french school, a senegalese muslim from saint-louis (the oldest french colonial settlement in africa) educated in the traditions of islam and the values of the wolof aristocracy, a dancer and charmer cognizant of urban opportunities and colonial chances. for each identity, diop gives karim a corresponding clothing style, dance steps, a manner of being and acting that are superimposed with close attention to french, african, and islamic teachings and practices on issues of aesthetics and rhythm, dress, love, and sex. karim represents the celebration of a hybrid form of being;64 a kind of being whose emergence is formed from different combinations, be they colonial and traditional. the approach taken by socé diop is shared by "the translators of colonial modernity" analyzed by simon gikandi. gikandi describes superbly the dilemma of constructing an indigenous culture that embraces the colonial political economy both internally and externally, and examines the production of colonial modernity through a never-ending negotiation between the desire to maintain the integrity and autonomy of colonized societies and the willingness to face up to the european presence and its political economy.65 this never ending negation is the approach which insists that colonial and traditional elements complement one another in the construction of african modernity and the new african self. this complementary disposition is what puts the igwebuike maxim at work here. even at the earliest point interaction between the african reality and colonial incursion, h. i. e. dhlomo in his great essay of 1939 titled "why study tribal dramatic forms" gave the justification for such a complementary interaction between modernity and tradition in the following words, our time …is a time when an old indigenous culture clashes with a newer civilization, when tradition faces powerful exotic influences. it is a time when men suddenly become conscious of the wealth of their threatened old culture, the glories of their forefathers, the richness of their tradition, the beauty of their art and song … it is a time when men realise they can 64 mamadou diouf "modernity: africa." new dictionary of the history of ideas. . encyclopedia.com. 15 jul. 2019 <https://www.encyclopedia.com>. 65 simon gikandi, maps of englishness: writing identity in the culture of colonialism. (new york: columbia university press, 1996). 23–41. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 71 preserve and glorify the past not by reverting back to it, but by immortalising it in art. it is a time when men embrace the old and seize upon the new; when they combine the native and alien, the traditional and the foreign, into something new and beautiful. it is a time when men become more of themselves by becoming transformed, when they retreat to advance, when they probe into their own life by looking outward at the wider world, when they sound the mute depths by gazing at the rising stars."66 (transvaal native educational quarterly, march 1939). this complementation is what the arts and the humanities have been able to beautifully achieve which we now call african literature, african drama, african philosophy, african history etc. this is the dictum of igwebuike at work; making the modern african from a complementary combination of elements from modernity and tradition. it is working in solidarity of both modernity and tradition. conclusion the crux of the paper has been to show that very vital interventions have been made on what it means to be modern in both theory and practice. transmodern philosophy from it planetary point of view has shown that modernity is uniquely euro-american as the conventional discourse on modernity has always tried to show. igwebuike philosophy has also tried to establish that africa, coming from a background of solidarity and complementarity, is forging a modernity that is a hybrid. a kind of modernity that takes the best from tradition and from modernity itself in order to form a balance that is original and integral to african development. all of these interjections on the understanding of modernity shows that, if modernity is to remain a genuine human ideal as its proponents claim, then it cannot afford to ignore these positive contributions to its essence. if the euro-american vision continues to pose as the ideal without recourse to these developments, then it is inherently imperialist and cannot be a model for humanity. references 66 h. i. e. dhlomo, “why study tribal dramatic forms” (1939), in literary theory and criticism of h. i. e. dhlomo, (eds.) nick visser and tim couzens, a special issue of english in africa, vol. 4 no. 2, september 1977. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 72 charles taylor, “two theories of modernity.” the hastings center report , vol. 25, no. 2 (mar. apr., 1995), pp. 24-33 cheikh anto diop, the african origin of civilization: myth or reality. translated by mercer cook. new york: l. hills, 1974. enrique dussel, “europe, modernity, eurocentrism,” nepantla: views from south 1.3, (2000), 469-70. enrique dussel, “europe, modernity, eurocentrism,” nepantla: views from south 1.3, (2000), 465. enrique dussel, the underside of modernity: apel, ricoeur, rorty, taylor, and the philosophy of liberation, translated and edited by eduardo mendieta (new jersey: humanities press, 1996), 132. h. i. e. dhlomo, “why study tribal dramatic forms” (1939), in literary theory and criticism of h. i. e. dhlomo, (eds.) nick visser and tim couzens, a special issue of english in africa, vol. 4 no. 2, september 1977. immanuel kant, what is enlightenment. (princeton: princeton university press) 28-41. j. p. schraeder, african politics and society: a mosiac in transformation. second edition. belmont, ca.: wordsworth. jane bennett, “modernity and its critics,” in the oxford handbook of political science. edited by robert e. goodin. sep 2013. on line at 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199604456.013.0006 jürgen habermas, the philosophical discourse of modernity: twelve lectures. translated by frederick lawrence. cambridge, massachusetts: the mit press, 1990. jürgen habermas, the philosophical discourse of modernity: twelve lectures, xix. kanu i. a. (2015). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. augustinian publications. kanu i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march, 153-160. kanu, a.i. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, 3, 2, 126-131. kanu, i. a. (2015). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2016). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, 2. 1. 97-101. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 73 kanu, i. a. (2016). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1.pp. 1-7. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017). “igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 3, no. 1, 2017. 16. kanu, i. a. (2017). “igwebuikeconomics: towards an inclusive economy for african economic development.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 3, no. 6, 2017. 121. mamadou diouf "modernity: africa." new dictionary of the history of ideas. encyclopedia.com. 15 jul. 2019 <https://www.encyclopedia.com>. simon gikandi, maps of englishness: writing identity in the culture of colonialism. (new york: columbia university press, 1996). 23–41. walter d. mignolo, local histories/global designs: coloniality, subaltern knowledges, and border thinking, 13. zygmunt bauman, modernity and the holocaust. ithaca, n.y.: cornell university press 1989. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no.4.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 131 “ifedinoba”: historical contributions of palm wine industry to the economy of oba people in idemmili area of igboland since 1900 mbalisi, chinedu n. ph.d department of history and international relations paul university, awka chinedumbalisi@gmail.com; 08035079592 & vincent-anene, prince okwy department of history and international relations paul university, awka abstract humans in their struggle for survival has over time developed diverse forms of economic activities and institutions. hence, man has developed diverse industries around the world in time and space. one of such industries is the palm wine industry among the people of oba in idemmili area of igboland. from the ancient times, the people of oba have engaged in several economic activities that has provided the people with sources of livelihood. neighbouring communities and people from far flung igboland have come to know trade and cement relationships through contact provided by palm wine business. it has been the nexus for social, political, economic and cultural relations between oba, their contiguous neighbours and other parts of igboland. in fact, the palm wine industry has survived in oba and has remained a source of employment to several people within and outside oba. this study examines the impact of palm wine industry to the economic development of oba. the paper postulates that the palm wine industry has been beneficial to several oba indigenes and non-indigenes. apart from those who ply their trade in palm wine industry, it serves as a veritable source of employment to such category of people as the wood carvers, motorcyclists, tricycle (keke) riders, and blacksmiths among many others. the study is of the view that the oba people probably would not have been as popular as they are in igboland today but for the palm wine industry. the approached to the study is interdisciplinary and presentation is thematic. resources came largely from primary sources in the form of oral interviews and a few secondary sources where available, were consulted. the historical narrative and analytical methods were used. the conclusion is laced with helpful recommendations. keywords: ifedinoba, palm wine, economic development, industry. introduction igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 132 man in all ages and in all times have been a hard worker. he works to eat and eats to survive. while it is a biblical fact that man must not live by bread alone, unarguably, it is also a fact of life that man cannot live without food. hence, economic activities provide satisfaction to man’s quest for survival. arising from the above, every society has evolved one or several economic activities in order to survive. this includes the oba people who alongside farming and fishing engage in palm wine tapping as a major source of economic activity. the palm wine industry in oba has been a major source of income among the oba people. it is produced in mgbo1 and then brought out to the ose where it is sold. the palm wine industry is believed by the oba people to be as old as oba itself. this stems from the belief by the people that their father, okpoko2 gave it to them as a source of survival. the rich natural resources gotten from the mgbo are pointers to this claim. these resources include several games, vegetables, fertile land, fish, and other things needed to sustenance life. one of the most very important resources the oba man has gotten from the mgbo is the palm wine. the abundance of palm wine in oba cannot be overemphasized. the abundance of palm wine in oba has made people to refer to oba as the biblical galilee, where the biblical jesus christ turned water into wine3. mr. godwin supports this view further, “the mgbo is surrounded by water that is from the water that jesus christ turned part into wine, as a result of this, and one may hear among the elderly men in oba such statements like “oba galilee or oba obodo jesus”4. hence, the high premium placed on oba palm wine provides the vent for the valuable income it brings to oba indigenes and to none indigenes alike. from the foregoing, the present study considers the economic impact of the palm wine industry in oba since 1900. conceptual clarifications/theoretical framework some basic concepts are here defined for ease of understanding and convenience of readers. one such concept is “ifedinoba”, this is an igbo expression which simply means there are invaluable economic and natural resources in oba which 1mgbo is the marshy part of oba town around the beach (ose), where farming and a lot of economic activities is done. it is in mgbo that the palm wine trees are standing. the palm wine tappers tap in the mgbo and bring it out to the ose for sale. 2 the oba man has traced his origin to a bird called okpoko. 3 godwin madueke, a 76 years old palm wine tapper. oral tradition gathered in oba on 5/6/2017. 4 ibid. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 133 the palm wine is one of the major natural resources. the term economy connects directly to economics. economic activity remains a basic activity of human on earth as they struggle for survival. hence, ake avers that “economic need is man’s most fundamental need”5. he further argues that humans must eat before they can do anything else6. to ake, economic activities are as important as economic needs, hence, he gave primacy to work as the most important economic factor. generally, economy deals with production and distribution of goods and services. it deals with how people go about to satisfy their basic needs in life. palm wine tapping among the people of oba is one major traditional means to satisfy their economic needs among numerous other concerns. palm wine, is another concept that needs clarification. it is a white alcoholic beverage produced from the palm tree. the oba people produce this beverage in large quantities. there are several kinds of palm wine. for the purpose of this study, palm wine -nkwu-enu and raffia wine manyangwo will be examined. there are some differences in both, however for the purpose of our analysis here both of them shall be referred to as one. both serve the same purpose in traditional oba society and economic sector and the major difference being that they are from two different trees; raffia and palm trees respectively. in oba, the bulk of the palm wine is found in the mgbo. the mgbo is a vast territory or expanse of land which provides most of the economic needs of the oba people. there, the palm wine tappers tap for free. economic development is a concept used daily by people of different classes and pedigree. for our purpose here, we would adopt the meaning that sees economic development as an overall process, which is dependent upon man’s effort to deal with his natural environment. it is a many-sided process in human society viewed from the individual level according to walter rodney to mean “increased skill and capacity, greater freedom, creativity, self reliance, responsibility and material well being.6” viewed from the social group level, it raises the standard of living of the masses of the people and to provide all human beings with opportunity to develop their potentials. these needs transcend material needs such as adequate livelihood, safe water, employment, provision of adequate medical service, shelter, affordable transportation, among others. it also includes such issues as security, traditional and cultural identity, access to power, self 5 c. ake, ‘methods and theoretical foundations’, in c. ake (ed.) a political economy of africa, longman group limited, nig. 1988, 1. 6 ibid. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 134 reliance which guarantees a sense of purpose in life. the above explanations seemingly are identified in oba society as shown in this expose. the oba people in historical perspective just like many other igbo groups, the origin of the oba people has remained contentious. unarguably, the oba people has been in their present location for a very long time, this accounts for the reason why they could not say how they came to their present location. hence, they have traced their decent from okpoko, a legendary bird. it is widely held in oba that the mythical bird, okpoko, is the father of oba. the man, oba, then begot nine children which founded the nine villages in oba. this is why the kingship institution in oba till date is known as the eze-okpoko institution. the okpoko legend to the present writers could be subjected to further historical hermeneutics. viewed from a different perspective, it would appear that the mythical bird had protected the man, oba from danger, probably at primitive times when this part of the world was sparingly populated. it may be safe to suggest that the bird had drawn the attention of an approaching wild animal away from the man and his people. as a result of that, oba and his descendants decided to adopt or ascribe to the mystical okpoko bird a protector figure or seen a saviour or a god. according to v. a. o. obi, there are other towns and communities in anambra state which bear similar names with oba and some of the villages in it7. such town as oba ofe mmilli in awka north has some similarity with the oba idemmilli people. could they be of the same origin? this will be a topic to unearth in another study. there are other towns in anambra state that have similar village names as found in oba. an example is uruagu in nnewi. it is suspected that due to some similarities in culture and tradition, uruagu and abidi in nnewi and umuoji respectively all migrated from oba. in uke, there is also a village known as oba. the present writer is also of the view that the oba people may have been the same with other oba around anambra state, but due to one reason or the other, have migrated to their present location several centuries ago. it would appear that over the years, they had lost their history of migration and have decided to 7 v.a.o. obi, ‘origin of oba’ in v.a.o. obi (ed.) the groundwork of oba history, 2010, 6-15. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 135 settle for the legendary bird as their ancestors, one of the dangers of oral tradition. as stated earlier, oba is composed of nine villages. these nine villages are the nine sons of oba the “son” of okpoko, their progenitor. the people of oba are spread across these villages which include urueze, umuogali, isu, okuzu, abime, ogbenwe, ogwugwu, aboji and ezele. the villages are arranged in order is seniority. within these villages, it is further divided into kindred otherwise known as umunna. oba is made up of a total of 100 kindred as at september 19998. the people of oba are generally dark skinned like other peoples found in the west african region. the people speak oba dialect of igbo which is not difficult for any other igbo person to understand. the oba man is said to be generally generous and does not attach much importance to consumables like food9, according to v.c.i. anene. he is hardworking and so ambitious, he however has the tendency to emulate or copy good things around him, especially when it is from a fellow oba man10. the oba man however, is known for his honesty and integrity; he is mindful of acts capable of dragging his name to the mud11. the main occupation of oba people in the earliest time is farming. they produced staple crops such as cocoyam and yam, vegetables and also engaged in hunting activities12. these natural resources, palm wine, games among many others are found in abundance in the mgbo13. however, with the advent of christianity, the oba people embraced white collar job and western education. nonetheless, the mgbo still provides the people with employment and income for solving different financial challenges including paying of school fees.14 8 this is from the constitution and bye-laws of the oba patriotic union and constitution of the igwe and eze okpoko of oba 1999. the oba patriotic union, otherwise known as the opu which is the town’s general assembly of the entire adult male in oba. the major decisions in oba are taken by the opu. it meets twice a year, but can summon an emergency meeting. the opu is headed by the president general elected every two years. 9 v.c.i. anene, oba town: achievements and failures, 1981, 44. 10 ibid 11 ibid, 47-8 12 v.a.o. obi, 2010. 13 the mgbor is a fertile marshy area surrounded by water. the oba people engage in diverse forms of economic activities there. they believe that it is their father, okpoko that gave them the place for survival. 14 v.c.i. anene, 1981. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 136 in terms of religious life, the people like every other group in igboland are religious. they worshiped the udo, idemili and ani15. the first two deities are in ezele village, which is the last child of oba. the last deity is found at nkwo. oba people have several religious and cultural ceremonies celebrated in the honour of their gods and goddess, the most important is iwa ji and ufala mmuo16. after the advent of christianity, nonetheless, some faction of the oba people still maintained the traditional religion of their forefathers. as a consequence, most of these institutions and festivals are still extant in oba. the shrines of the three main deities, still stands in oba at present with modern houses covered with aluminum roofing sheets. geographically, oba is a town located in idemili south local government area of anambra state, nigeria. oba occupies a land space of about forty kilometers17. it is bounded on the east by the idemili river and ojoto obofia town, on the west by ekulo rivulet and the mgbo swamps and river niger. oba could have been a compact island but for the narrow strip of land between oba and ojoto obofia. oba lies five kilometers on the road running from onitsha to owerri. a clay landscape forms a boundary between oba and ichi on the south -eastern part. oba is said to have been naturally protected from boarder disputes. oba consists of dry lands, highlands and riverine areas. the riverine areas are swampy and marshy with several rivulets inter-crossing one another before emptying themselves into the river niger. the swamps favour the growth of forest trees and raffia palms, which provide the oba people with palm wine and floras and faunas. the rivulets contain great varieties of aquatic animals including fresh water fish. the cultivable areas within the swamp are very fertile and good for agricultural production. the dry and highland areas of the town also contain good arable lands. the tree crops in this area include the palm trees, coconut trees, oil bean plants, mangoes, kola nut trees, breadfruit trees and 15 these were the three main deities in oba, udo is the god of peace, idemili is the river gods and the owner of eke-idemili, the sacred python. finally, the ani is the earth goddess and the goddess of fertility. 16 iwa ji is the celebration of ani, in the name of new yam festival. here, the goddess of fertility is glorified and praised for the abundance of harvest. it is done after farming season. the ufala mmuo is the celebration of all the gods and goddess in oba. here all the masquerades are in display. it is usually done in the third month of the year in the nkwo market square. 17 v.a.o. obi, 2010 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 137 various types of woodlands. the highlands of ogbenwe, provides for hunting of wild animals and games. the palm wine industry in oba since 1900 as stated earlier, the oba people are reputed for the production and sale of palm wine. there are two types of wine in oba which are listed as palm wine. they are the palm wine commonly known as nkwu-enu or nkwu-igbo and raffia wine known as ngwo or nmachu. while the palm wine is found on the dry lands and the highlands, the raffia wine is found mainly in the mgbo. the palm wine in oba has gone down in history to be known as ifedin’oba. the people of oba have engaged in palm wine production even before the dawn of the colonial rule. at the wake of the colonial rule, which is around 1900, the people intensified on palm wine production. this was because people trained themselves in western education with the money realized from the sales of palm wine which v.c.i. anene captioned ije-german18. palm wine tapping has been an exclusive occupation for men. anene further observed that at the end of nigeriabiafra war, women joined in the business as a result of the financial difficulty of the post war years in igboland. in oba, the production of palm wine is done by only the oba people until about the 1980s, when foreigners began to join in the palm wine production in oba. however, they were restricted to the production of nkwu -igbo. the foreigners are not allowed access into the mgbo. the mgbo and the palm wine industry in oba the main part of production of this wine is the mgbo, that is, the marshy area around the ose beach. in the mgbo, several raffia palm trees are seen standing in the middle of the water, it is there the tedious and painstaking work of wine production is done. here wine is produced in large quantities. the tappers move into the mgbo in a paddle canoe to tap the wine, and bring same to dry land using their canoe. it is at this point that people come to buy for retailing. business men around oba come to the ose to purchase the palm wine. oba has three palm wine production sites namely, ose umu-afa, ose abosi, ose abosi isi odu. it is important to mention at this juncture that not all villages in oba has access to the mgbo, it is only aboji and umuogali that accesses the mgbo. others depend on 18 this according to v.c.i. anene is the tedious job of palm wine selling. people purchased palm wine from the tappers and carried it head on to onitsha where day sell them off and returned in the evening. money realized from the sale can be used to pay school fees 1981, 37. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 138 products from the main land19. by extension, it means only the aboji and the umuogali people produced palm wine in the mgbo. nonetheless, people from other villages tap palm wine in the main lands. also, foreigners who engaged in palm wine tapping also tap palm located in the main lands of the town. the popularity of oba presumably owes much to this booming palm wine industry. people from the neigbouring villages who most times find it difficult to sale their own wine because their wine appears not to be as good as the oba palm wine. thus they often times label their drink after oba as “oba wine” so as to make quick sales20. none indigenes and palm wine industry in oba starting from the last three decades none oba indigenes became integral part of the palm wine industry in oba. these were people from nsukka, abakiliki, and afikpo etc. these people tapped palm wine in oba and made a lot of money from the job. there are about 76 members of none oba indigenes in the palm wine industry in oba21. the non indigenes in the industry do not have access to the mgbo. they only tap wine from the palm trees in the dry lands. according to those who were interviewed, they pay a particular amount of money to the owners of the palm tree which they tap wine from. the reason is that they do not have their own palm trees to tap wine from. aside from those who tap directly, there are some none indigenes who are not into the production of the palm wine but are retailers. these people are both women and men who have bars for the sale of palm wine and accoutrements taken with palm wine. hence, every evening, people from within and around oba are seen in these relaxation joints treating themselves to some fresh palm wine and pepper soup. some other none indigenes partake in the distribution of palm wine as transporters. other people also travel from neighbouring towns to oba in order to buy the oba wine for sale at different towns as barkeepers and restaurants. interconnectedness with other sectors of the economy 19 v.c.i. anene, 1981 20 v.a.o. obi, 2010, 30. 21 echendu emeka said this to the researcher during his field work. he is a 47yrs old palm wine tapper of non oba extraction. he is from enugu state. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 139 the palm wine industry in oba, in order to flourish very well, employed the assistance of other sectors of the economy. for instance, the palm wine tapper cannot produce the canoe which he uses for transportation on the waters of the ose, hence, he employs the canoe builder. additionally, they also employ the services of the transporters who carry them from the exterior to the interior part of oba from ose. this is because the ose is very far from the afor uzo-oba22 market where it is sold. people also go to the ose to buy the fresh one at a cheaper rate. to this end, taxi drivers, motorcyclist (okada) riders, tricycle (keke) drivers are involved in the palm wine industry business. furthermore, the blacksmith are also involved in the industry because they produce the knife and machetes use for tapping of the palm wine. in ancient times, they employed the services of potters who made the containers and jars for the palm wine. in recent times, they buy plastic containers from the market for the same purpose. from the fore going, one could state that the palm wine industry in oba is a multi-sector enterprise that transcends igboland. economic impact of the palm wine industry in oba since 1900 the economic impact of the palm wine industry in oba would not be overemphasized. it has unarguably contributed to both economic growth and development in oba. firstly, it is apt to note that the economy of oba rests principally on various products from the mgbo chief among them is the palm wine. the palm wine business has proven to be lucrative enough. most people who engage in any sort of palm wine business have been so comfortable in life that he or she hardly borrow money. for instance, a wine tapper, victoria ukwueze in an interview informed thus “… i have never borrowed money from anyone since i started this business. ngwo gives money very well; it provides me with all i need to settle financial challenges.”23 22 afor uzo oba is the name of the market in oba where the palm wine is being sold. it is the largest market in oba and functions every day. there are others which are eke in ezele, oye in ezele and nkwo. 23 victoria ukwueze is a 51 years old woman who sales palm wine in her joint in oba. she has been in the business for 19years. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 140 additionally, ejike chukwueloka avers that, “ngwo is a daily business, no one who sales ngwo ever lacks money. i have never borrowed money”24. it is generally held among the people who were interviewed by the present researchers that palm wine has great economic impact in their lives; they have remained economically viable and have been able to meet up with other needs, especially man’s basic need of shelter, feeding and clothing. hence, augustine anene ejikeme states, palm wine helps us very well. most people who tap palm wine are very comfortable. they do not borrow money from anybody. when it is their turn to host village meetings or any other meeting, they do it very well, they pay their dues early enough even before some civil servants.25 today, many oba indigenes are highly educated and amongst the ranks and file of oba indigenes, there are several professors in their different fields, lawyers, doctors, architects, clergy men and bishops. most of these men have been sent to school through the money realized from the palm wine business by their parents. during the fieldwork by the researchers, we came across several palm wine tappers or sellers who affirmed that their children’s school fees were paid through cash realized from palm wine. hence, v.c.i. anene writes, “as early as when payment of school fees were introduced, several scholars (of oba extraction) trained themselves in elementary schools with profits made from tombo palm wine…”26 additionally, augustine anene ejikeme a contemporary palm wine tapper added his view about palm wine tapping and education. he remembers thus, i trained all my children with it (palm wine), not just in primary and secondary school. i trained them up to the university level. my children are so proud of me because i trained them to the highest level…27. 24 ejike chukwueleoka, he is a 29 year old oba indigene. he took over his father’s palm wine business and runs his father’s shop. he made the statement to the present writer during an oral interview in oba. 25 augustine anene ejikeme has this to say in an oral interview with the present writer at oba on the 6/06/2017. the interview was held in afor oba market where they were selling the palm wine. 26 v.c.i. anene, 1981. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 141 many of these oba sons and daughters who were trained through the money realized from the palm wine industry are presently the economic pillars of oba town. they are doing well in the diaspora and they return to contribute to develop oba. palm wine industry has also brought in several developments in oba. it helped many oba people to build zinc houses in the modern time. in his words, godwin madueke says, “i have been able to build houses in my place through money realized from palm wine. i have also bought cars through sales made from palm wine”27 it is noteworthy here that there are some none oba indigenes who engage in palm wine business and they live in oba. most of them came into oba because of the palm wine business and of a truth, they have been doing well in the industry. to confirm this, cyprian edeh, a fifty-one year old obagu man from enugu state has this to say: i have tapped palm wine for fifteen years. palm wine has been so useful to us. i have built a bungalow and a duplex in my place through the money realized from palm wine sales.28 the interest of the present writers is not on how much these non indigenes have been able to develop their own place, just as cyprian edeh has averred, but on how these non indigenes has contributed to the economic well being of the oba people. in the first place, it is apt to recall that these non indigenes do not have their personal houses in oba, hence, in order to stay in oba and do their businesses, they rent houses built by oba indigenes. these non oba indigenes pay house rents to oba people thereby increasing the income of their oba host. secondly, they do not have their own land and by extension palm trees, consequently, they rent palm trees to the indigenes to tap and pay the hosts monthly. thirdly, when they carry their products to the markets to sale, since they are not indigenes, the oba people require specific amount of tax from them in the market. these taxes are used in the opu developmental projects within the town. the money realized from such taxes also helps to pay opu workers who are mainly oba indigenes. fourthly, the non oba indigenes who keep palm wine relaxation bar joints also rent shops were they do their business which 27 godwin mmadueke is both a palm wine tapper and a palm wine bar keeper. he has been in the business for thirty seven years and has been doing fine. 28 cyprian edeh is a palm wine tapper that lives in ezele village oba. he is known as one of the best non indigene in the business. he said this to the researcher in his house. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 142 serves as income to the indigenous owners of the shops. finally, the non indigenes also visit the afor oba market to buy goods for their house keeping. from the foregoing, it is obvious that the activities of non indigenous people have been so useful to the economic growth and development of oba. further on the economic impacts of palm wine industry in oba, it is worthy of note that palm wine has also drawn the wealth of people from other communities to oba. for instance, people from neigbouring communities come to oba to buy palm wine. ugochukwu udeze from nnewi is into the palm wine business, according to him, his father has been doing the business. his father started the business in the early seventies after the war, when his father became weak, he took over the business. he asserts thus, “my father has been coming to oba to buy the wine he sales in nnewi until he became weak to continue. since he became weak due to old age, i took over the enterprise”29. the palm wine industry has in one way or the other affected positively the economic life of most people in oba. this is because of the interconnectedness with other businesses. for instance, those who keep the palm wine bar also sell pepper soup produced with cow and goat meat of bush meat. the pepper soup and the palm wine are also better enjoyed with agidia delicacy made from maize floor. hence, the local women who produce the agidi are able to have quick turnovers in their business. further, the palm wine industry, as stated earlier engages the services of other people like the transporters, wood workers and blacksmith. they are paid for their services which continue to keep food on their table and enable them send their children to school. despite all the mouthwatering and juicy economic impacts, there are some negative economic impacts. the taste of the palm wine is so sweet that one may hardly overcome the temptation of drinking as much bottle as whatever he could afford. hence, people drink so much alcohol and get drunk. this has landed several people in the hospital and money for projects is channeled to pay hospital bills for the treatment of the patient who sustained great injuries as a result of drunkenness. challenges of the palm wine industry in oba there are some challenges which the ancient industry is faced with in oba. chief among which is the fact that the youths appear not to be interested in palm wine 29 ugochukwu udeze, told the researcher in an oral interview in ose abosi on the 06/06/2017. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 143 tapping and also the old generation who are into the business get weaker. the tedious work of palm wine tapping requires the younger people who are strong enough to climb the trees, paddle the canoe among other activities in the industry. pitiably, the youths prefer to go to the cities in pursuit of white collar jobs thereby abandoning the lucrative business of palm wine tapping. most of them prefer to travel to unknown countries for greener pastures. the economic preference and focus of the youths threaten the survival of the palm wine industry. another big challenge is the risk associated with palm wine tapping. climbing the palm and raffia trees is very dangerous. many people have died as a result of that. hence, tobenna nwokolo has this to say: i will not doubt the fact that palm wine tapping is very lucrative; my father was able to build a zinc house early in life due to palm wine tapping. but i and my children will never do that. today where is our father? he died tapping palm wine, he fell from the palm tree and that was the end of his life30. from the words of tobenna, it is obvious that the risk associated with palm wine tapping has scared several people away from palm wine tapping. they are mostly guided by the saying, “when you keep life aside to pursue wealth, your enemy will enjoy your wealth”.31 in the raining season, climbing the palm tree is risky after the rains as the tree trunks become slippery and the risk of one falling off is high. in the raining season also, the palm wine bar keepers are faced with low sales as a result of the rain32. as a result, some of the sellers are unable to sale all they bought for the day. this challenge, to the writers is not a major challenge since it appears to be a seasonal issue. other challenges include the fact of nature which controls the palm wine and decides the quantity at a giving time. 30 tobenna nwokolo whose father died in 2003 tapping palm wine said this to the researcher in an oral interview on 05/06/2017 31 igbo adage that talks about the importance of life even in economic pursuit, if one pursue wealth at the expense of his life, he may not live to enjoy such wealth. 32 victoria ukwueze, a young woman from nsukka in enugu state, she keeps palm wine bar in aboji oba. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 144 summary and conclusion this paper, although centered on the economic impact of palm wine industry in oba, undertook a brief historical excursion of oba. this was to aid the understanding of oba people and also to understand the issues surrounding the production of palm wine in oba. in the course of analysis, the work inquired into the origin of oba people. the writers were able to interpret the myth surrounding the origin of oba people in their own perspective. the interpretation of the present writers is by no means almighty. the work studied the people and the geography of oba and how it has affected her economy most with the mgbo as one of the most important blessing which god has bestowed on the oba people. the study further uncovers the relevance of the palm wine industry to the popularity of oba. it discovered how this industry has blossomed from the earliest time and how other communities tend to associate their wine with that of oba people. the study went further to buttress the importance of the mgbo to the palm wine industry in oba; this is because most of the activities concerning palm wine tapping in oba revolve around the mgbo. in studying the mgbo, the work discovered that not only non indigenes are denied access into the mgbo, but only two villages of aboji and umuogali are allowed to use the mgbo in oba. foreigners are an important aspect in the palm wine industry in oba. it unearthed how the non indigenes got the palm tree they tapped. it further revealed that the industry depends on other sector of the economy to thrive. economically, the study reveals the myriads of contribution which the palm wine industry has made to the economy of oba. the economic impact of this industry cannot be overemphasized as it is an invaluable part in the general development of oba society. finally, the teething challenges and risks of the palm wine industry notwithstanding, the industry continues to thrive and remains in existence. having studied the economic importance of the palm wine industry, the work suggests that the people of oba should do everything necessary to promote this industry beyond their community. youths should be encouraged to understand the importance of this industry and how much wealth lies therein. the community should strive to mechanise the processing of palm wine used to produce spirits, ethanol and other chemicals used in the laboratory. the study has reconstructed economic life of oba which appears to have been forgotten by igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 145 scholars of oba history in relation to its importance. it forms the basis for future analysis on other economic life of oba people. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 2.doc igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 183 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) drug abuse and criminal behaviour in nigeria tertiary institution okoye uche patrick, phd department of social sciences, national institute of construction technology, uromi, edo state ucheokoye035@gmail.com & nwaka – nwandu okwukwe department of social sciences national institute of construction technology, uromi, edo state okwukwenwandun@gmail.com abstract this study examines drug abuse and criminal behavior among undergraduate students of ambrose alli university ekpoma, edo state. factors such as peer group influence, curiosity and desire tension, for relaxation etc. are found to be some of the factors that influences student to use and abuse drugs. the quantitative method of survey research design and random sampling techniques were used to select 376 study participants. data obtained were analyzed and presented on frequency tables. findings from the study reveals among others that; the types and effect of this unhealthy practice on the students as well as the implication of their action, highlighted the need for the government, parents, teachers, counselor and other members of the society to actively get involved in the fight against drug abuse, not only by condemning it but also by living an exemplary life style. substances such as codeine, cigarettes, alcohol, india hemp and other drugs that are dangerous to the health of the student should not be sold in and around schools, that is the school environment should be a drug free zone because the resultant effects of drug abuse includes cultism, robbery, prostitution, poor academic performance and thuggery in the society. the study among others recommends that; the management of ambrose alli university should formulate policies to prevent drug abuse and should also hold seminars for parents and families to alert them early to the symptoms of drug abuse in their children. pamphlets and badges should be distributed to all faculties and departments on the impact of drug abuse and at the primary prevention level; there is need for proper education of parent on adolescent behaviour. the adolescent themselves should also be educated early enough about the dangers of addiction and parents on their own side should try to watch their children very closely. by so doing, they can easily detect early warning changes in their character. introduction drug abuse is the use of an illicit drug such as heroin, or a licit substance, such as barbiturates, outside of medical supervision (borgatta and borgatta, 1992: 516). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 184 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) the substance is taken to modify or maintain a mood and may be potentially harmful to the person or society. thousands of years ago, people were using natural substances such as plants and herbs for purposes as diverse as pain relief, healing or to create feelings of wellbeing, energy or relaxation. many of these substances are now considered to be illegal drugs (efere, 2005:1). the history of opium (heroin) use goes back thousands of years. as long ago as 5000 bc, the sumerians were using opium and it even had its own ideogram, hul gil, meaning “joy plant”. by the early 1990s, heroin was available worldwide. the drug lords of colombia and burma had begun to behave more like independent entrepreneurs and considered possible marketing opportunities for their drugs. they also started to take bold initiatives to expand the markets for their drugs. importantly, they were able to both produce and export vast amounts of heroin, due to their immense wealth and power and they could make use of established criminal organizations such as the mafia, who were able to act as brokers for these transactions (efere, 2005:5). cannabis (marijuana) comes from the plant ‘hemp’ and is another drug which has been used for thousands of years. the records show that it was probably used around 10, 000 years ago in central asia (where the hemp plant comes from). a sweet smelling plant, it was widely used for food, especially the seeds. in addition, hemp could be used to make textiles, so it was a valuable all-round plant (efere, 2005:6). today cannabis is the most widely used recreational and (usually) illegal drug in the world. cocaine is derived from the coca plant, which is native to the high mountain ranges of south america. the stimulating effect of the drug increases breathing and this enabled labourers to work harder, with increased stamina in the thin air at high altitude. it also reduced feelings of hunger, fatigue and promoted a sense of well-being. it was even used as local anesthetics. in america, the pure food and drug act became law in 1906 and it then became illegal to buy either in stores or by mail order, products containing cocaine (including morphine and heroin) unless they were clearly labeled. drug abuse is currently a universal problem; it is no longer isolated within cultural groups and geographical regions, but has permeated various national and continental boundaries. the problem is so worrisome that efforts to curb its spread and possibly eradicate it have assumed a diplomatic dimension, resulting in multilateral and bilateral treaties (zamani, 1993: 115). drug abuse occurs at all economic levels of society, from the wealthy to the impoverished, and among igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 185 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) young people as well as adults. any drug may be abused, including tobacco, alcohol, medications and substances that give off intoxicating fumes. drug abuse is often called “substance abuse” or “substance use disorders” (the world bookencyclopedia, 2004: 361). drug abuse is a global health and social problem with conditions and problems that vary locally. the use of psychoactive substances among adolescents and young adults has become a subject of public concern worldwide partly because of its potential to contribute to unintentional and intentional injury. drug abuse has a universal phenomenon that extends across socio-economic, cultural, religious and ethnic boundaries and despite the efforts of various nigerian tiers of government and the national drug law enforcement agency (ndlea) to stem its tide in the country. there has been a consistent rapid rise in the number of cases especially among young adults. this growth has resulted in an increase in the number of cases of cultism, violent disorders as well as mental disorders among nigerian youths (oshikoya, 2006). among the youths, three major reasons tend to account for the propagation of substance use and abuse. these can be summarized as peer influence, youth culture which emphasizes autonomy, and enthusiasm for unconventional behavior (witters, peter and glen, 1992: 86). the tertiary institution environment, typified by the convergence of a large number of students who have attained universal adult suffrage, makes these factors mutually reinforcing. drug abuse patterns include all aspect of drug usage by the youths ranging from how much, how often and what sort of drugs, where who, with, what circumstances and so on. the analysis of contemporary social problem has consistently proved more and more controversial because of the variables involved in their analysis, with the incidence of drug abuse, being of utmost concern to the abuser himself, his family, the government and the entire society in which he lives. this situation seems to have caused a lot of embarrassment to the government including most especially the damage done to the image of nigeria abroad. it is obvious that custom officials in the united states of america and indeed the entire nations of europe subject the people of nigeria traveling to these countries to a more rigorous and embarrassing checks. this type of degrading and humiliating examination of nigerians according to them is because they want to crack down on smugglers of which nigerians are the chief suspects due to the hard drug trafficking posture exhibited by some greedy nigerians. fundamentally, this igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 186 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) study has the main objectives of giving the meaning of drug and drug abuse; exposing the causes, consequences and effects of the phenomenon of drug abuse; determining the category of people who abuse drugs and possible suggesting a solution or way forward to drug abuse. statement of the problem careful observation in the society today show that nigerians have a drug for every purpose and many with no genuine purpose at all (ahiante, 2003; undcp nigeria projects, 2003). most deplorable however, is the rate of increase in the use and abuse of tobacco, alcohol and other dangerous drugs that can only distort, damage and destroy their users. while people of all ages tend to be involved in drug use and abuse, the increase of this phenomenon among young people, between ages ten and twenty-nine in contemporary nigeria is regrettably serious and alarming (suleiman, 2003). these are the years of personality growth and development. the problem of drug use and abuse among students and non student is universal (ngoka, 2003). drug abuse has become one of the most dominant forms of deviant behaviour in contemporary nigerian society (adelakun, 1996: 60). concerns about this social menace have been expressed by various people at different fora. various reasons ranging from religious, legal and theoretical, have been advanced for the problem of illegal use of drugs, especially by the youth of our society. moreover, individuals, social institutions, and social processes have also been singled out for several or collective blame and condemnation. drug abuse in nigeria in the contemporary time has become one issue that cast a gloomy shadow to the entire nigerian society especially among university undergraduates. the height of drug trafficking in nigeria was witnessed in 1985 under the military regime. during this period, it was mostly the university undergraduates that were caught and the first to be executed for drugs offences under the “special tribunal (miscellaneous offences) degree no. 20 of 1984. however, the abuse of drugs is not only limited to the university undergraduates as alien phenomenon is to distort its significance. nevertheless, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 187 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) the usage of drug either by university undergraduates or other members of the larger society in all its ramifications appears to be a social problem. this problem is widely spread and it affect all and sundry. in other words, this wide spread use and abuse entice people from all walks of life and beyond the human destruction caused by drug dependence is the damage to traditional values and lifestyles. studies have also shown that drug abuse wrecks individual, shatter families and weakens entire society with its burden of economic loses, health cost and increased lawlessness and crime. also, drugs seem to undermine the ability of university undergraduates to learn. drug also appears to contradict our values of physical wellbeing. people experiment with drugs because they seem to hold the promise of fulfillment. but the fulfillment is generally elusive, greater and greater quantities are consumed and ultimately the person suffers both physical and psychological deterioration. the drug abuser also experience problems of interaction and this interactional problem are encountered both inside his immediate family and stress invariably is created in the family situation of drug abuse (hoffman, 1990). to add to this, drug abuse may entail a lot of social problems ranging from lateness to lectures, family neglect, deviance behaviours, involvement in crime etc (earl 2000). in terms of economic cost, it includes the more money required to deal with the undesirable effects of the drug abuse, the less money for services and programmes that enhances the quality of life (earl 2000). the situation in nigeria’s tertiary institutions, including the ambrose alli university is particularly worrisome, as extensive studies have associated anti social activities in these institutions with the after effect of substance abuse (ogunremi and rotimi, 1989: 25; okorie, 2006: 2; okwu, 2006: 193; oshikoya and alli, 2006: 135; odejide, 2005: 87; egbochukwu, 2009: 20). drug abuse is a major health and social problem in these tertiary institutions, including ambrose alli university. a lot of undergraduates are involved in the phenomenon of drug abuse; and it affects them adversely. those who are not into drug abuse already are being influenced by their peers in ambrose alli university, ekpoma and other tertiary institutions in nigeria. something that is very urgent needs to be done in order to put the situation to a halt one of the factors militating against the eradication of drug abuse among university undergraduates is that our security agencies, such as the police force, national drug law enforcement agencies among others have not done enough igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 188 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) to check this scourge. another factor militating against the eradication of drug abuse among nigerian university undergraduates is the problem of corruption among the men and officials of these fore mentioned agencies. to this end and judging from the problems outlined earlier, this research aims at ascertaining the perception and heath risk of drug abuse among university undergraduates in nigeria using ambrose alli university edo state as a study area. result and discusion of findings variable category frequency percentages (%) marital status single married divorced others 283 87 76.5 23.5 age 15-20 21-25 26-30 31-35 36-40 41 above 64 183 66 32 17 8 17.3 49.5 17.8 8.7 4.6 2.2 sex male female 225 145 60.8 39.2 level of study 100l 200l 300l 400l 500l 79 131 49 84 27 21.4 35.4 13.2 22.7 7.3 faculty arts/humanities agricultural sciences education management sciences medical college natural sciences social sciences law 56 36 50 67 3 52 93 13 15.1 9.7 13.5 18.1 0.8 14.1 25.1 3.5 religion christianity islam 187 179 50.5 47.6 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 189 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) traditionalist others 4 1.2 resident hostel off campus 152 218 41.1 58.9 total 370 100 source: field survey, 2018 distribution of respondents by marital status majority of the respondents were single having 76.5 percent of the total number of respondents, 23.5 percent of the respondents were married. distribution of respondents by age in terms of age, 17.3 percent of the respondents were within the age range of 1520, 49.5 percent of the respondents were within the age range of 21-25, 17.8 percent of the respondents were within the age range of 26-30, 8.7 percent of the respondents were within the age range of 31-35, 4.6 percent of the respondents were within the age range of 36-40, 2.2 percent were within the age range of 40 above. distribution of respondents by sex from table 1, it is apparent that 60.8 percent of the respondents were male, 39.2 percent of the respondents were female. majority of the respondents were male. distribution of respondents by level of study 21.4 percent of the respondents were in 100 levels, 35.4 percent of the respondents were in 200 levels, 13.2 percent of the respondents were in 300 level, 22.7 percent of the respondents were in 400 level, 7.3 percent of the respondents were in 500 level. majority of the respondents were in 200 levels. distribution of respondents by faculty igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 190 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 15.1 percent of the respondents were from the faculty of art and humanities, 9.7 percent of the respondents were from the faculty of agricultural sciences, 13.5 percent of the respondents were from the faculty of education, 18.1 percent of the respondents were from the faculty of management sciences, 0.8 percent of the respondents were from medical college, 14.1 percent of the respondents were from the faculty of natural sciences.25.1 percent of the respondents were from the faculty of social sciences and 3.5 percent of the respondents were from the faculty of law. majority of the respondents were from social sciences.percent of the respondents resided in the hostel, 58.9 of the respondents resided off campus. majority of the respondents resided off campus. table 2: drugs mostly abused by university students variables frequency percentages stimulants 20 5.4 alcohol 121 32.7 hemp 28 7.6 analgesics 64 17.3 sedatives 11 3.0 cocaine 16 4.3 marijuana 110 29.7 total 370 100 source: field survey, 2018 from table 2, 5.4 percent of the respondents affirmed that stimulants is a form of drug abuse mostly abused by university students, 32.7 percent of the respondents affirmed that alcohol is a form of drug abuse mostly abused by university students, 7.6 percent of the respondents affirmed that hemp is a form of drug abuse mostly abused by university students, 17.3 percent of the respondents affirmed that analgesics is a form of drug abuse mostly abused by university students, 3 percent of the respondents affirmed that stimulants is a form of drug abuse mostly abused by university students, 4.3 percent of the respondents affirmed that cocaine is a form of drug abuse mostly abused by university students, 29.7 percent of the respondents affirmed that marijuana is a form of drug abuse mostly abused by university students. majority affirmed that alcohol is a form of drug abuse mostly abused by university students. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 191 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) table 3: respondents responses on drugs mostly abused by students variables frequency percentages tramadol 49 13.2 codeine 30 8.1 marijuana 105 28.4 alcohol 133 36.0 cigarettes 53 14.3 total 370 100 source: field survey, 2018 from table 3, 13.2 percent of the respondents affirmed that tramadol drug is mostly abused by students, 8.1 percent of the respondents affirmed that codeine drug is mostly abused by students, 28.4 percent of the respondents affirmed that marijuana is mostly abused by students, 36 percent of the respondents affirmed that alcohol is mostly abused by students, 14.3 percent of the respondents affirmed that cigarettes is mostly abused by students, table 4 respondents responses on reasons why youths abuse drugs variables frequency percentages to get high 102 27.6 to fit into the group 41 11.1 peer group influence 139 37.6 personality factors 4 1.1 availability of the drugs 57 16.0 depression 18 4.9 family 7 1.9 total 370 100 source: field survey, 2018 from table 4, 27.6 percent of the respondents affirmed that youths abuse drugs to get high, 11.1 percent of the respondents affirmed that youths abuse drugs to fit into group, 37.6 percent of the respondents affirmed that youths abuse drugs due to peer influence, 1.1 percent of the respondents affirmed that youths abuse drugs because of personality factors, 16 percent of the respondents affirmed that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 192 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) youths abuse drugs due to the availability of the drugs, 4.9 percent of the respondents affirmed that youths abuse drugs due to depression and 1.9 percent of the respondents affirmed that youths abuse drugs due to their family background. majority affirmed that that youth’s abuse drugs due to peer influence. table 5: respondents responses on factors militating university undergraduate to engage in drug abuse variables frequency percentages academic problems 84 22.7 for leisure 71 19.2 to gain power 55 14.9 to perform well 39 10.5 all of the above 121 32.7 total 370 100 source: field survey, 2018 from table 5, 22.7 percent of the respondents affirmed that academic problems is a factor militating university undergraduate to engage in drug abuse, 19.2 percent of the respondents affirmed that university undergraduate engage in drug abuse for leisure, 14.9 percent of the respondents affirmed that university undergraduate engage in drug abuse to gain power, 10.5 percent of the respondents affirmed that university undergraduate engage in drug abuse to perform well, 32.7 percent of the respondents affirmed that university undergraduate engage in drug abuse due to academic problems, leisure, to gain power, to perform well. table 6: respondents responses on if drug abuse is associated with undergraduates only variables frequency percentage (%) yes 33 8.9 no 321 86.8 don’t know 16 4.3 total 370 100 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 193 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) source: field survey, 2018 from table 6, 8.9 percent of the respondents agreed that drug abuse is associated with undergraduates only, 86.8 percent of the respondents disagreed that drug abuse is associated with undergraduates only, 4.3 percent of the respondents don’t know whether or not drug abuse is associated with undergraduates only. majority of the respondents disagreed that drug abuse is associated with undergraduates only. table 7: frequency distribution showing respondents responses on when students takes drugs more variables frequency percentage (%) midst of friends 258 69.7 alone 69 18.6 don’t know 43 11.7 total 370 100 source: field survey, 2018 from table 7, 69.7 percent of the respondents affirmed that students takes drugs more when they are in the midst of friends, 18.6 percent of the respondents affirmed that students takes drug more when they are alone and 11.7 percent of the respondents affirmed that they don’t know when students takes drugs the more. table 8: frequency distribution showing respondents responses on if they think associating with people who takes drugs can influence others variables frequency percentage (%) yes 194 52.4 no 170 45.9 don’t know 6 1.6 total 370 100 source: field survey, 2018 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 194 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) table 4.8 indicates that 52.4 percent of the respondents agreed that associating with people who takes drugs can influence others, 45.9 percent of the respondents disagreed that associating with people who takes drugs can influence others while, 1.6 percent don’t know if associating with people who takes drugs can influence others. majority of the respondents agreed that associating with people who takes drugs can influence others. table 9: frequency distribution showing respondents responses on the effect of drug abuse among undergraduates variables frequency percentage (%) beneficial 15 4.1 damaging 354 95.7 don’t know 31 8.4 total 370 100 source: field survey, 2018 from table 9, 4.1 percent affirmed that the effect of drug abuse among undergraduates is beneficial, 95.7 percent affirmed that the effect of drug abuse among undergraduates is damaging while, 8.4 percent affirmed that they don’t know the effect of drug abuse among undergraduates. table 10: frequency distribution showing respondents responses on if drug addicts has knowledge about the possible health implications variables frequency percentage (%) yes 345 93.2 no 18 4.9 don’t know 7 1.9 total 370 100 source: field survey, 2018 from table 10, 93.2 percent of the respondents agreed that drug addicts had knowledge about the possible health implication, 4.9 percent of the respondents disagreed that drug addicts had knowledge about the possible health implication igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 195 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) while 1.9 of the respondents don’t know if drug addicts had knowledge about the possible health implication. table 11: frequency distribution showing respondents responses on the behavioral changes they notice in people who use drug variables frequency percentages become aggressive 163 44.1 become abusive 84 22.7 use of bad languages 35 9.5 miss school 34 9.2 get into fights 54 14.6 total 370 100 source: field survey, 2018 from table 11, 44.1 percent of the respondents affirmed that people who use drugs behaves aggressive, 22.7 percent of the respondents affirmed that people who use drugs become abusive, 9.5 percent of the respondents affirmed that people who use drugs uses bad language, 9.2 percent of the respondents affirmed that people who use drugs do miss school, 14.6 percent of the respondents affirmed that people who use drugs get into fights. majority affirmed that people who use drugs behave aggressive. table 12: frequency distribution showing respondents responses on the general consequences of youth involvement in drug abuse variables frequency percentages mental disorder 33 8.9 maladjusted to school situation 29 7.8 school drop out 44 11.9 indiscriminate sex 84 22.7 loss of control 109 29.5 criminal tendency 52 14.1 all of the above 19 5.1 total 370 100 source: field survey, 2018 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 196 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) from table 12, 8.9 percent of the respondents affirmed that youths involved in drug abuse are likely to have mental disorder, 7.8 percent of the respondents affirmed that youths involved in drug abuse are likely to be maladjusted to school situation, 11.9 percent of the respondents affirmed that youths involved in drug abuse are likely to drop out of school, 22.7 percent of the respondents affirmed that youths involved in drug abuse are likely to have indiscriminate sex, 29.5 percent of the respondents affirmed that youths involved in drug abuse are likely to lose control. 5.1 percent of the respondents affirmed that youths involved in drug abuse are likely to have criminal have criminal tendency while, 5.1 percent of the respondents affirmed that youths involved in drug abuse are likely to face all the consequences. figure 1: influence of drug abuse on criminal behaviour source: field survey, 2018 figure 1 presents the how drug abuse influences criminal behavior among undergraduate students in kogi state university anyigba. 95% of the respondents unanimously agree that drug abuse influences organized crime among undergraduate students, 97% claimed in influences armed robbery, 92% indicates that drug abuse leads to prostitution and high risk of sexual behavior among female students, 95% says it leads to hostility, 96% attest that drug abuse influences examination malpractice and 92% strongly agrees that among the drug abuse impact on students were personality disorders. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 197 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) table 13: respondents responses on the possible health implication of drug abusers variables frequency percentages liver cirrhosis 41 11.1 mental imbalance 89 24.1 anemia 17 4.6 kidney damage and stomach bleeding 27 7.3 hypertension 10 2.7 pancreatic 23 6.2 all of the above 163 44.1 total 370 100 source: field survey, 2018 from table 13, 11.1 percent of the respondents affirmed that liver cirrhosis is a possible health implication of drug abusers, 24.1 percent of the respondents affirmed that mental imbalance is a possible health implication of drug abusers, 4.6 percent of the respondents affirmed that anemia is a possible health implication of drug abusers, 7.3 percent of the respondents affirmed that kidney damage and stomach bleeding is a possible health implication of drug abusers, 2.7 percent of the respondents affirmed that hypertension is a possible health implication of drug abusers, 6.2 percent of the respondents affirmed that pancreatic is a possible health implication of drug abusers, 44.1 percent of the respondents affirmed that liver cirrhosis, mental imbalance, anemia, kidney damage and stomach bleeding, hypertension, pancreatic are possible health implication of drug abusers. table 14: frequency distribution showing respondents responses on if drug habit of undergraduate students is associated with drug habits of their parents variables frequency percentage (%) yes 79 21.4 no 212 57.3 don’t know 79 21.4 total 370 100 source: field survey, 2018 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 198 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) from table 14, 21.4 percent of the respondents agreed that drug habit of undergraduate students is associated with drug habits of their parents, 57.3 percent of the respondents disagreed that drug habit of undergraduate students is associated with drug habits of their parents while, 21.4 percent of the respondents don’t know whether or not drug habit of undergraduate students is associated with drug habits of their parents. majority of the respondents disagreed that drug habit of undergraduate students is associated with drug habits of their parents. table 15: respondents responses on if drug abuse should be a major concern of government variables frequency percentage (%) yes 361 97.6 no 9 2.4 total 370 100 source: field survey, 2018 from table 15, 97.6 percent of the respondents agreed that drug abuse should be a major concern of government, 2.4 percent of the respondents agreed that drug abuse should be a major concern of government. majority of the respondents agreed that drug abuse should be a major concern of government. table 16: respondents responses on the ways drug abuse can be reduced among university undergraduates in nigeria variables frequency percentages counseling 102 27.6 imprisonment of offenders 89 24.1 expulsion 31 8.4 all of the above 148 40.0 total 370 100 source: field survey, 2018 from table 16, 27.6 percent of the respondents affirmed that counseling drug abusers can help reduce drug abuse among university undergraduates in nigeria, 24.1 percent of the respondents affirmed that imprisoning drug abusers can help reduce drug abuse among university undergraduates in nigeria, 8.4 of the respondents affirmed that expulsion of students who are drug abusers can help reduce drug abuse among university undergraduates in nigeria while, 40 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 199 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) percent of the respondents affirmed that all the factors can help reduce drug abuse among university undergraduates in nigeria universities. table 17: respondents responses on how the federal government can help reduce drug abuse among youths variables frequency percentages establishment of family education on drugs 28 7.6 establishment of counseling centers for drug control 50 13.5 designing curricula on drug eradication 33 8.9 campaign against drug abuse 24 3.8 establishment of drug awareness units 19 5.1 all of the above 226 61.1 total 370 100 source: field survey, 2018 from table 17, 7.6 percent of the respondents affirmed that establishment of family education on drugs can help reduce drug abuse among youths, 13.5 percent of the respondents affirmed that establishment of counseling centers for drug control can help reduce drug abuse among youths, 8.9 percent of the respondents affirmed that designing curricula on drug eradication can help reduce drug abuse among youths, 3.8 percent of the respondents affirmed that campaign against drug abuse can help reduce drug abuse among youths, 5.1 percent of the respondents affirmed that establishment of drug awareness units can help reduce drug abuse among youths while, 61.1 percent of the respondents affirmed that establishment of family education, establishment of counseling centers for drug control, designing curricula on drug eradication, campaign against drug abuse, establishment of drug awareness units can help reduce drug abuse among youths. discussion of findings from the research findings, it was discovered that majority of the respondents were single, this can be adduce to the fact that the research work was carried out among students. also, majority of the respondents stayed off campus. each of the research questions will be discussed in line with the findings in this segment. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 200 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) drugs commonly abused by undergraduate students in nigeria the abuse of drugs is common and a trending issue among undergraduates in nigeria. drugs such as; tramadol, codeine, marijuana, alcohol, cigarettes, sedatives, cocaine and analgesics was identified as been commonly abused by under graduates in nigeria universities. reasons why drug are been abused by university undergraduates in nigeria the abuse can be related to several factors which was made known by the research findings. some undergraduate’s student abuse drugs just to themselves high and intoxicated while some abuse drugs just to fit into certain groups. for example, those who are members of cult had to take drugs to show case the group they belong to. also, some undergraduates abuse drugs due to the influence from their peer groups, they abuse group drug because of the kind of friends they associate with. personality factor, such as having low self esteem, was identified as a factor that triggers the use of drugs among undergraduate students. other factors such as availability of drugs, depression due to academic performance or lack of resources and basic needs, family background are factors identified that can influence the use of drugs among undergraduates. implication of drug abuse among undergraduate student the general implications of drug abuse that can be deduced from the research findings was that drug abuse has negative effects which can damage a student physically, psychologically and even spiritually. the abusers exhibit behaviours such as been aggressive, abusive, use of bad languages and continuous absent from school and easily get into fight. it was discovered that drug abusers are likely to have mental disorder, indiscriminate sex, loss of control, criminal tendency; they get maladjusted to school situations which may influences them to drop out of school. when university students are into drugs, they further seek membership of secret societies which are rampant on university campuses in nigeria. researchers have shown that many cult members are into drugs (atere, 2003; raufu, 2003; okirika, 2000; oniyama & oniyama, 2000; okpetu & dittimiya, 2000). armed robbery and organized crimes: drug abuse gives students a false sense of security and self-confidence. as a result, these adolescents take to different types of crime including kidnapping, rape and armed robbery. prostitution and high risk sexual behaviour: when female university students are dependent on drugs; they may also take to prostitution as a means of making igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 201 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) easy money to live above their economic means. male students who are on drugs are also known to be gigolos or engage in gay relationships with older wealthy men while the female may have multiple sexual partners with whom they engage in lesbianism and unprotected sex. according to samuel et al (1985), such students usually desire the most expensive and fashionable clothing, perfumes and cars but do not have the means to secure them. prostitution and other high risk sexual behavior therefore, provide the avenue for cheap money. hostility: drug abusers often experience emotional instability. consequently, they may become hostile to family, friends, colleagues, lecturers constituted authority and every one about them. personality disorders: a personality disorder is a deviant behaviour (makinde, 2004). thus, personality disorders that are common among drug abusers are paranoid (secretive, stubborn, rigid); schizoid (socially withdrawn, poor social skills); narcissistic (self-centred, lacks empathy); histrionic (flirts about, attention seeking); borderline (unable to maintain intimacy, unstable moods); and selfdefeating (depressed, lonely, resists social contact, feels hopeless). examination misconduct: university students who are into drugs experience different levels of personality disorders as highlighted above. as a result their involvement in cult and other related activities, truancy and absenteeism, poor study skills and poor memory, many of them resort to cheating during examination (awa, 1983; ogunyemi, 2003a; olatoye & afuwape, 2003; ogunyemi, 2003b). measures aimed at eradicating drug abuse problem among university undergraduates in nigeria majority of the respondent affirmed that drug abuse should be a major concern of the government and drug abuse can be reduced by counseling abusers, imprisonment of offenders and expulsion from school. also, many of the respondents affirmed that there should be establishment of family education on drugs, establishment of counseling centers for drug control, there should be curricula designed against drug abuse and the establishment of drug awareness units. health implications of drug abuse health implications associated with drug abuse were identified in the research findings. health conditions such as liver cirrhosis, mental imbalance, anemia, kidney damage and stomach bleeding, hypertension, pancreatic among others. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 202 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) the general implications of drug abuse that can be deduced from the research findings is that drug abuse has negative effects which can damage a student physically, psychologically and even spiritually. the abusers exhibit behaviours such as been aggressive, abusive, use of bad language and continuous absent from school and easily getting into a fight. it was discovered that drug abusers are likely to have mental disorder, indiscriminate sex, loss of control, criminal tendency; they get maladjusted to school situations which may influences them to drop out of school. and the health implications associated with drug abuse were identified in the research findings. health conditions such as liver cirrhosis, mental imbalance, anemia, kidney damage and stomach bleeding, hypertension, pancreatic among others. conclusion in conclusion of this research work, the researcher wish to say that having completed the research on the perception and health risk of drug abuse among undergraduate students of kogi state university anyigba. in line with the finding of the study and the discussion, the researcher makes the following conclusions. drug abuse is a social problem basically associated with young people. these young people involve themselves in taking hard drugs and excessive taking of some drugs which may alter the body system or may cause damage to their health. drug abuse is very common among undergraduates, they take drugs, to get high or to make them feel big or for them to just feel belonged or fit into the environment, while some take these drugs through the influence of friends or other people around them. drug is mostly abused by male undergraduates than female. recommendations the problem of drug abuse among nigeria university undergraduates as the study has revealed is one thing that does nobody or any nation any good. that being the case, the question that arises often are, what then can be done to this problem of drug abuse among our youths. perhaps, the following recommendations posited here can help policy makers and administrators in this very fight against use and abuse of drugs among undergraduates. 1. greater availability of good educational activities, material and leadership opportunities for youths are necessary to keep the youths happily busy. this would help a lot towards solving the drug abuse problem. government should set up rehabilitation centres to aid victims of drug abuse. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 203 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 2. further to this, there is also the need for the agency in combating the social disintegration by way of public awareness and education. community organizations and health and social agencies must identify high-risk groups and educate the public about the dangers of drug use, emphasizing vital importance of drug free life. 3. a social environment should be created which would discourage drug abuse, within the schools and universities educating undergraduates on the dangers of drug abuse and the value of life. the schools and universities should formulate policies to prevent drug abuse and should also hold seminars for parents and families to alert them early to the symptoms of drug abuse in their children. 4. pamphlets and badges should be distributed to schools, colleges and universities. also entertainment and sport celebrities should also deglamorize drug abuse. in addition to this, parents also should strive to be showing examples to their children and they should also be wary of the company their kids keep. 5. furthermore, legislation should be enacted to penalize haulage companies especially transporters who do not implement and enforce procedure to prevent misuse of their facilities by drug traffickers. also, as a measure to combat drug abuse and trafficking, the penalty for drug peddling should be made commensurate with the peddlers profits because profits made by drug pushers far exceed the risk, and that is why many people are going into the business. references abdullahi, z. (2009) “drug abuse among youth’s strategies for school counseling”, the nigerian society of educational psychologist, jos: nigeria 131 – 136. adesina, s. (1975) the use of indian hemp and drugs among secondary school student in lagos, lagos state: university press. adolescent health information project (ahip) (2001) drug abuse, unpublished pamphlet, kano: ahip centre. awake (2001) “drug abuse there is a solution”, benin city watchtower bible and tract society. 82 (13) 3 – 11. bales, r.f. (1946) cultural differences in the rate of alcoholism quarterly, journal of studies on alcohol. new york: oxford university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 204 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) blalock, m.h. (1979) social statistics: international student edition london: mcgraw hill hogakysha ltd. blum, b. and moore, a. (1973) controlling drugs: an international handbook for psychoactive drug classification. new york: oxford university press. cameroon, n.a. and margaret, a. (1970), behaviour pathology. boston: houghton and mufflin. earl, r. and weinberg, s.m. (1977), the study of social problem. new york: oxforduniversity press. ekpo, a.u. (1981) “marijuana is very harmful”, nigerian gong, pp. 9 – 11. enakpoya, e. (2009) “prevalence of drug abuse among nigerian adolescents: implications for counseling” the counsellor 26 (2). fantino, e. and reynolds, g.s. (19750 introduction to comparative psychology. san francisco: w.h. freeman and company. gibbins, j. (1976) research advances in alcohol and drug problems. new york: john wiley and sons. haladu, a.a. (2003) outreach strategies for curbing drug abuse among out-ofschool youth in nigeria: a challenge for community based organization (cbos) in a. garba (ed) youth and drug abuse in nigeria. strategies for counseling management and control. hoffmann, f.g. (1969) a handbook on drug and alcohol abuse: the biomedical aspect. new york: harper and row publishers. kinch, j.w. (ed.) (1974) social problems in the world today. london: addison weekly publishing company. laver, r.h. (1978) social problems and the quality of life.lowa: c. brown publishing company. mba, a.i. (2008) “crime and drug abuse among nigerian youths: a critical examination in world health organization (who)”, expert committee on drug dependence, 28th report (unpublished). nafdac (2004) a handbook on prevention of drugs and substance abuse in nigeria national drug law enforcement agency (1989): stages and effects of drug abuse. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 205 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) ndlea (1997) drug date collection and research, lagos: drug demand and reduction unit national drug law enforcement agency. ogunremi, o.o. &rotimi, d.o. (1979) the nigerian teenage and the use of drug, african journal of psychiatry, 5, (1 & 2), 21 – 27. oluremi, d.f. (2012) drug abuse among nigerian adolescents strategies for counseling, journal of international social research, 5 (20), 342 – 347. oshikoya&alli, (2006) perception of drug abuse amongst nigerian undergraduates.published by world journal of medical science. weinberg, carl (1971) education and social problems. new york: the free press. weisman, t. (1974) drug abuse and drug counseling: a case approach. new york: jazon armson. world book encyclopedia (2004) vol. 6, chicago: world book. the role of umunna in conflict resolution as an expression of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 285 the role of umunna in conflict resolution as an expression of igwebuike philosophy francis n. c. iwuh modibbo adama university of technology yola, adamawa state nduemerem16@yahoo.com executive summary knowledge of the traditional ways of resolving conflict is highly needed at a time and period when people are losing and abandoning their history and tradition. we approached this article from the expository point of view, to study the role traditional institution (umunna) has played in restoring warring members of the society. the presence of modern conflict management has posed a great challenge to the existing traditional method. in this study, the term ”umunna” was descriptively explained through the way in which they resolve conflicts in igbo land, which has become an expression of igwebuike philosophy of peace and conflict resolution. the elders, acting as arbiter, resolves conflict in umunna kindred. in this regard, they act as peacemakers and have kept the community running smoothly. the conclusion of this paper is that umunna instituion has contributed a lot to the resolution of conflict in igbo land and their role in conflict resolution has been very interesting and effective. the knowledge acquired through this study will help appreciate and empower the umunna traditional conflict resolution mechanism in igbo land. keywords: igwebuike philosophy, kanu ikechukwu anthony, conflict resolution, umunna, tradition francis n. c. iwuh igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 286 introduction disputes are an integral part of human nature which dates back to the origin of man. this is so because human beings live in families, hamlets, villages and in large communities. as they interact amongst themselves, disputes are likely to occur. since we are created differently and can hardly share the same view, there is bound to be divergent opinions as when friends or members of a family disagree, or as what countries or states hold tenaciously, views that are diametrically opposed. in traditional african society, conflicts are common phenomena among communities, families and individuals. africa as a continent has diversity of cultural and religious practices. this diversity affects the approaches to dispute and conflict management in the traditional setting. apparently, the approach tends to differ from the western dispute management in several respects. even then, in africa itself, the approach may also differ from one culture to another. igbo traditional african society has a wellorganized and systematic conflict resolution strategy. it is a healing process in which all stakeholders contribute positive energy. these stakeholders range from family heads, the council of elders, or chiefs, religious leaders, leaders of age-grades, umuada and to umunna. igbo people initially had neither chiefs nor kings who would manage their conflict, and would not wait for conflict to start before they control it; they rather had institutions for managing the suppression of weaker persons from the stronger. one of those institutions that resolve conflict in traditional igbo society to date is the “umunna.” this paper discusses “umunna” as an institution that resolves conflict in traditional igbo society, drawing inspiration from igwebuike african philosophy of peace and conflict resolution. igwebuike is an indigenous igbo philosophy, rooted within indigenous epistemologies, cultures and traditions based on the relationships and experiences of interrelationships and interconnections of the igbo people. the study tends to commend and appreciate “umunna” for their great contribution in resolving conflict in traditional igbo society. the role of umunna in conflict resolution as an expression of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 287 conflict and causes of conflict in igbo land conflict is part and parcel of every human society. whenever two or more people are gathered in one interaction or another, conflict is bound to surface. conflict is described in terms of what might have caused it, such as scarce resources, disagreement and competition. conflicts will always occur due to ideological, political, social and economic differences which usually resulted in rivalry and competition. conflict resolution aims at restoring social harmony, mending breached social ties, performance of rituals and offering apologies or compensation to ensure that the status quo before the dispute is restored. the pre-colonial igbo society cannot be said to differ, as individuals and communities engaged in one form of interaction or the other a situation which at times led to conflicts (ezenwoko and osagie, 2014, p. 135). igbo peace scholars are unanimous on the causes of conflicts in igbo land, which include issues arising from marriage, inheritance, chieftaincy tussle, land, territorial boundaries, among others. matudi (2016) captures the sources of rift or conflict in african setting in different levels. in the family level; conflict ensues through interpersonal relations, marital issues and property ownership. in economic level; conflict can take shape through land encroachment, territorial dislocation, terms of trade and failure to pay tribute. in the political level; conflict can arise through tussle for leadership, especially where rules guiding selection of traditional rulers are disobeyed. conflict can also be manifested in non-compliance to religious obligationsviolation or objection of shrine order and finally, nonallegiance to constituted authority such as elders and traditional rulers (p. 4). charles (2016) agrees with this when he said, “conflict in igbo land has always been either disputes over ownership of land, chieftaincy tussle, political authority and fears of domination and marginalization” (p.9). thus, inter-tribal conflict over boundary and trade, marital conflict, conflict over inheritance and chieftaincy title tussle all exist in igbo land. francis n. c. iwuh igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 288 the major cause of conflicts in igbo traditional society has always been the struggle and ownership of land. land is seen as valuable sources not only for food cultivation but also for exploitation of aquatic and other products. land has much to do in human affairs, and whatever human beings do on the land affects the land positively or negatively, whether it is to grow food and cash crops, extract mineral resources or abode for its inhabitants. land speculation is, therefore, an important source of communal conflicts today. according to charles (2016), “this is because of the spirituality surrounding land in the igbo culture as expressed in the prominence of the deity, ‘ana’ and the importance of the yam crop” (p.6). land dispute is a serious issue among the igbos, since it touches both the material and spiritual essence of igbo ontology. the reason why land disputes are more complex in igbo land is that all lands are usually owned; whether it is cultivated or not, it belongs to somebody or a community. hence, claims and counter-claims over land ownership have become the order of the day in igbo society till date. geographically, there is scarcity of land among the igbos of southeastern part of nigeria. subsistence farming still accounts for a major part of their occupation. so dispute on the limited available land is rampant. in addition, most of the bitter territorial disputes have erupted among communities that have had strong ties that bounded them together for centuries. charles gave example of a famous land boundary conflict between aguleri and umuleri. these two communities belong to the same ethnic stock, are neighbours, have the same ancestral origin (eri), are in the same local government area (anambra east), and the same state (anambra ). they have been living together, farming and intermarrying long before the coming of the white man. the major cause of the conflicts that have lasted for more than thirty (30) years is a piece of land called, ‘otuocha.’ the two communities have been in court since 1920 and yet no lasting peace has been achieved until 2000 after the 1999 war that claimed many lives (2016, p. 6). land conflict is one of the deadly conflicts in igbo society. this is the reason why nwolise (2004) posits that, “it was pressure on land resulting from a combination of expropriation, the role of umunna in conflict resolution as an expression of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 289 monetization of land by the colonial masters, rising population density, degradation and resurgence of pre-colonial communal competition has raised land into primal “casus belli” in rural.” thus, land is something that is worth fighting and dying for. there is too much pressure on the little cultivable land and this also causes conflicts among the people, especially during the farming seasons. land is a non-renewable resource and, with concentration of population growth, will lead to conflict. another major source of conflict in family setting in igbo land is sharing the inheritance or the properties of the dead among the living children and other family members. this source of conflict can be either among the living children of the deceased person or the brothers of the deceased with the wife/children. in igbo society, the property of a man, on his death, was inherited by his sons, while that of a woman is inherited by her daughters (ezenwoko et el, 2014, p. 151). this is where the conflict between brothers of the deceased and the wife arises, especially when the man dies without a child or the children are still young. since a woman cannot inherit the property of a man, then the brothers come for it. on the other hand, in the pre-colonial period, the method by which family property was shared among the members of a monogamous family differed from the way family property was shared in a polygamous family. on the death of the head of a family, his eldest son exclusively inherited his personal “ofo” (symbol of authority) and other objects of worship. the eldest son also exclusively inherited his late father’s obi (the house where he lived and died), distinct plot of land known as “ala isi obi” or “ani isiobi” – a plot of land specifically meant for the head of the family (nwogugu, 1974), furniture and dresses. the other properties, such as farm land, farming implements, economic trees, livestock, etc., were shared among his male children (chubb, 1961). the eldest son was accountable to his other brothers. if he desired to sell or lease any of the plots of land, he had to inform his brothers who were also stakeholders. however, family inheritance generated a lot of conflicts in igbo society because some eldest sons, after inheriting their father’s property, especially landed property francis n. c. iwuh igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 290 converted some to themselves by planting economic trees, like palm trees, on them. attempt by the other brothers to reclaim such property from their eldest brother usually leads to conflict. conflict resolution conflict resolution is the process by which two or more parties in conflict reach a peaceful resolution to a dispute. it is the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of conflict. it can also be thought to encompass the use of nonviolent resistance measures by conflicted parties in an attempt to promote effective resolution. shedrack (2014) sees conflict resolution as a sense of finality, where the parties to a conflict are mutually satisfied with the outcome of a settlement and the conflict is resolved in a true sense (p. 94). on the question, if conflict can truly be resolved? shedrack avers that “some conflicts, especially those over resources, are permanently resolvable.” conflict can be said to be resolved when the basic needs of the parties in conflict have been met and their fears defused. conflict resolution can either aim at resolving or terminating conflicts in an open and predictable process in accordance with legal principles or focus on efforts to increase cooperation among the parties to a conflict and deepen their relationship by addressing the conditions that led to the dispute, fostering positive attitudes and allaying distrust through reconciliation initiatives, and building or strengthening the institutions and processes through which the parties interact. the overall objective of conflict resolution in african society was to uphold and promote peaceful co-existence among and between community members. it is in the light of this that the following guiding principles had informed the african approaches to conflict resolution. 1) impartiality: in traditional conflict resolution, no case was treated as an isolated entity. the elders tried to be as neutral and unbiased as possible, siding or supporting no party. 2) transparency: all issues emanating from conflicting situations were placed at the public domain for all to see and hear. the role of umunna in conflict resolution as an expression of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 291 3) fairness, justice and equality: traditional conflict resolution distributes equitable justice to all and sundry, irrespective of the status. 4) award: traditional african conflict resolution dreaded the issue of “winner takes it all.” conflict resolutions were aimed at stabilizing the bond of relationship in the society. this was done through celebration of reconciliation. umunna umunna is an igbo word from the eastern part of nigeria. it is a compound word. “umu” means children or sons and “nna” means father. when brought together it could mean “children of the father” or “sons of the father”. umunna is translated ‘kindred’ or ‘kinsmen’, to mean the extended family of one’s ancestral village. it is a form of patrilineage maintained by the igbos, which is a male line of descent from a founding ancestor with groups of compounds containing closely related families headed by the eldest male member. so, umunna simply means, sons of the same father. the umunna kindred are often named after the founding ancestor. umụnna, the cornerstone of igbo structure, defines the arrangement of every individual in a family structure and describes their social position in the community. umunna, the weekly assembly of only male members of the clan/kindred, is another traditional method of resolving conflict. the umunna is made up of elders and male members of families bonded by some ancestral ties. these elders have overtime stood as peace builders that built strong and virile communities that have witnessed a prolonged peaceful co-existence (ebisi, 2016). the terms, ‘village group council’ and ‘village assembly,’ are used interchangeably to refer to the igbo central authority, while umunna village-group and ndiamala refer to the more locally derived authority headed by the okparas, elders and ozo title holders at the village level. as family groups which share a common ancestry, umunna kindred is the next political structure above the family. the kindred assembly is presided over by the eldest okpara. the kindred union is similar to the family meeting, except that it ordinarily deals with issues that affect francis n. c. iwuh igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 292 the kindred. the village union handles issues and problems that concern the entire village. individuals can, nevertheless, take their complaints to the village union, especially if they are not satisfied with the decisions taken at the kindred union, or if the dispute is between people from different kindreds within the village. therefore, umunna is another form of arbitration. arbitration has been one of the significant methods of resolving conflict in traditional igbo society. it has produced great level of trust, confidence and mutual understanding in traditional igbo society. the arbiters or arbitrators, who are mostly elected leaders of the clan in conjunction with the elders, have lived up to their expectation of being impartial and interpreted the customs and norms creditably suitable to issues of conflict handled in the arbitral proceedings. in igbo land, there is a court, if the parties have tried negotiation and mediation and it did not work, they move to the court, which might be the town hall where umunna meet weekly, king’s palace, village square, or in the shrine (as a last resort). supporting this statement, charles (2016, p.7) said “africa used council of elders, king’s court, people’s assemblies” in resolution of conflict. the judges in town hall, village square or market place are the elders and traditional rulers, who in judging, use the norms and belief of the land. the eldest man in the kindred is the holder of the kindred ofo and acts as the chairman of the umunna assembly. umunna village assembly is in charge of resolving conflicts between individuals from different families in the same clan and village. the umunna assembly resolves conflicts, such as; land boundary and inheritance conflicts. simple cases of fighting and stealing are treated by the umunna, either on their “awurawu”, that is, weekly gathering of all the male members of the community or, if it involves a female during the moonlight, as the community gathers at the village square. as it was, the family constituted the lowest court in the traditional african system, whereas the king and his council formed the highest court of appeal. they constitute what might be called ‘third party intervention’ in conflict management. in traditional thought, philosophy and religion, the third party is expected to be neutral and possess the capability to diffuse the role of umunna in conflict resolution as an expression of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 293 tension, listen to all sides, restore peace and put social mechanisms in place for conflict management. their task is to re-establish the energy flow within individuals, families and communities so as to re-build social harmony. according to matudi (2016), “traditional african conflict resolution is embedded in the cultural heritage or values of the society.” they seek to promote serial harmony or togetherness illustrated by the proverb which says that, “when people gather in the village square moonlight, it is not because they cannot see the moon in their individual houses” (achebe, 1959). conflict resolution in the african society by the umunna was a drama where there were neither actors nor spectators. the process of conflict resolution was triangular, involving the parties in conflict, witnesses and the audience. conflict resolution by the umunna involves the celebration of settlement of disputes. there was no loser or winner in the conflict resolution in igbo traditional society. concerted efforts were geared toward establishing and sustaining ontological balance between the society and the supernatural world. umunna within the context of igwebuike philosophy and conflict resolution kanu, the founder of igwebuike philosophy, gave a succinct description of igwebuike in this way: “igwebuike is an igbo word; one of the major dialects in africa. it is a principle that is at the heart of african thought, and in fact, the modality of being in african ontology” (2017, p. 6). he went on to say that it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. the three words involved are: ‘igwe’ is a noun which means ‘number’ or ‘population,’ usually a huge number or population. ‘bu’ is a verb, which means ‘is.’ ‘ike’ is another verb, which means ‘strength’ or ‘power’ (kanu, 2016). thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power;’ that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and francis n. c. iwuh igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 294 complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force. its english equivalents are ‘complementarity’, ‘solidarity’ and ‘harmony’. the preferred concept, however, is ‘complementarity’ (kanu, 2017, 2018 & 2019). however, applied to african traditional conflict resolution, kanu writes that: igwebuike, an igbo-african philosophy is, therefore, employed as a system of conflict resolution which would help africans to incorporate african traditional categories in the resolution of conflicts, promotion of peace, justice, freedom, human dignity, sustainable development and better quality of life. igwebuike as an indigenous wholistic igbo philosophy is generated to emphasize that indigenous peoples have worldviews and means of relating to the world. this worldview is rooted within indigenous epistemologies, cultures and traditions with the understanding that we are all relatedeach aspect relates with the whole: the dynamics of realty are based on the relationships and experiences of interrelationships and interconnections (2017, p.2). conflict resolution in igwebuike philosophy is viewed like a person with headache which sends the person to bed. the headache is on the head but it has affected the whole body. so, unless the head stops aching, the whole body will continue to be in discomfort. applying this to umunna, the head is the one in conflict, while the rest of the body symbolizes the kindred. the kindred will never have rest when there is conflict amongst its members. it (igwebuike) celebrates in a deep cultural and philosophical modality our relatedness, our interconnectedness, our common humanity, our common responsibility towards one another and for one another (kanu, 2015a&b). igwebuike is an innate human quality. for, deep in the recesses of the heart of everyone are found the qualities of and hunger for complementarity, solidarity, compassion, reciprocity, dignity and harmony (kanu, 2017. p.7). this, in reality, is what umunna stands the role of umunna in conflict resolution as an expression of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 295 for. it gives everyone, both young and old, the sense of belonging. kanu opines that; igwebuike as an indigenous method of peace and conflict resolution has a community-based approach. it is an outcome of the wisdom of traditional african conflict management practices drawn from the values of host communities, and founded on the custom and tradition of the african people which has been developed over a long period of timeit is entirely based on culture and emphasizes the fundamental part which culture plays in the lives and actions of people. it is more of a healing process in which individuals contribute positive energy with the sole aim of re-establishing the energy flow within individuals, families and communities for the purpose of rebuilding social harmony (p. 8). in relation to conflict, igwebuike philosophy does not understand conflict merely as a fracas between two persons, or two groups, it rather understands conflict as a fracas touching on the harmony of reality. thus, it is not just about justifying the one and condemning the other, it works towards a compromise for the reconciliation of both parties and the restoration of balance or the harmony of reality. it is relatively informal and, thus, less intimidating, as those involved are at ease, and are in a familiar environment. this is the case with the umunna in igbo land, which settles conflict during the weekly gathering, which is on a particular market day, at an open family hall or “awurawu” of the kindred, as it is called in some parts of igbo community. on this market day, all palm-wine tapped in the kindred belongs to the kindred. a person designated by the kindred goes round to all those tapping wine to collect the wine. at the time for the meeting, all the male members of the kindred gather at the kindred hall and the meeting begins with the breaking of the kolanut by the eldest in the kindred. after the kolanut is broken and shared, issues of the day are discussed. during this time, anyone who has conflict presents the issue with four (4) pieces of kolanuts. after francis n. c. iwuh igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 296 he has finished presenting his case, the eldest in the kindred, who also serves as the leader, invites the second party in the conflict to give his own side of the story. this is followed by cross-examination, witness and consultation. at the end, the conflict is resolved by the most elderly member of the kindred, using words of wisdom. shedrack (2014), avers that, “the words of our elders are words of wisdom. the wise man (or woman) hears and gets wiser” (p. 99). they sometimes receive input from other members of the community present, but the verdict comes from the elders. the aim of the verdict is to reconcile the parties in conflict, promote community solidarity, and not to blame either party. the conflict can be said to have been resolved when the parties in conflict display any of the signs of reconciliation; shaking of hands, hugging, sitting together, etc. when all the issues of the day have been presented and treated, the palmwine that has been collected earlier are brought out for celebration of the conflict resolution, not without the eldest pouring some on the ground to appease and appreciate the gods/ancestors for their intervention in the conflict. it is a process of socialization for every male member of the community, a learning process for the younger generations. this is why younger male members do more of listening and observing of the elders than participate in contributing. this is because, in the words of shedrack, “indeed younger people are typically not to be heard” (2014, p. 100). it is important to note that it is not all kinds of conflict the umunna resolves in igbo land, some serious conflicts are reserved for elders and elders-in-council or for the chief priest. this is so because, since the umunna is the gathering of all male members of the community, some conflicts are too big for the minds and ears of younger members of the community. however, umunna conflict resolution is informal, cost-effective and expeditious. the parties often sit together and resolve their dispute within a sitting or two. this way, the poor and indigent clients are carried along in a system that is just and less expensive. the elders acting as arbiter resolve conflict in the kindred, knowing all the ramifications of personal relationships within their small community, the role of umunna in conflict resolution as an expression of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 297 for most of these important factors are not brought out in the case, but are presumed to be known to all hearers. in this regard, they act as peacemakers and keep the community running smoothly. the umunna has contributed a lot to the resolution of conflicts in igbo land and their role in conflict resolution has been very interesting and effective. judging by the guiding principles of conflict resolution in pre-colonial africa, elders in the umunna are impartial; they display neutrality and unbiased attitude in resolving conflicts. the process has always been transparent, since all issues are placed at the public domain for all to see and judge. there is fairness, justice and equality in judgment. conclusion the process of conflict resolution by the umunna involves getting the parties and their families together, and getting to the root of the conflict to ensure the underlying causes of conflict are resolved and the parties reconciled. the igbo world has many other indigenous mediatory bodies for conflict management and resolution. the family is the first in the process of conflict resolution in cases concerning the family. if the crisis is between neigbours, the families involved are required to come for a dialogue. where the family or families are unable to resolve their problem, the umunna institution comes in to help. umunna is called upon where families cannot resolve their problem. the weekly gathering of umunna was not only to settle or resolve conflict; when there is no conflict, the umunna gather to strengthen the bond of family ties. they do a lot of conflict prevention and also take proactive measures to ensure that conflicts do not arise amongst members. the major aim of the umunna is to keep the brotherhood in unity. in igbo land, drinking palm wine together is the sign of unity and friendship. it is also a sign of communion, bonding them together. thus, the overall objective of conflict resolution in igwebuike philosophy is to uphold and promote peaceful co-existence among and between members of the kindred. it has produced a great level of trust, confidence and mutual understanding in traditional igbo francis n. c. iwuh igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 298 society, and reconciliation has apparently been the end product of the umunna conflict resolution mechanism. references achebe, c. (1959), things fall apart, greenwich: fawcett. charles, m.o. (2016). tiv and igbo conflict management machanism: a comparative study, portharcourt, centre for conflict and gender studies (ccgs), 5(7), 22-29. chubb l.t. (1961). ibo land tenure, 2 nd edition. ibadan, o.u.p. ebisi, n. (2016). the challenge of peace and conflict resolution a clue from igbo cultural group of nigeria. journal of arts humanities and social sciences.1 (14) ezenwoko, f.a. and osagie i. j. (2014). conflict and conflict resolution in pre-colonial igbo society of nigeria. benin city, university of benin. kanu i. a. (2015b). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, a. i. (2016). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1.pp. 1-7. kanu, a.i. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution, a paper presented at the 2017 igbo studies association international conference held at great wood hotel, owerri, imo state, pp.1-10. kanu i. a. (2017). igwebuikeconomics: towards an inclusive economy for economic development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 6. 113-140. kanu i. a. (2017). sources of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. 9. 1. pp. 1-23. the role of umunna in conflict resolution as an expression of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 299 kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. kanu, a. i. (2017c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 7. pp. 165-183. kanu, a. i. (2017d). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 6. pp. 16-50. kanu, a. i. (2017f). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. pp. 153-160. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in francis n. c. iwuh igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 300 mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. nwogugu e.i. (1974). family law in nigeria, ibadan, heinemann. nwolise o.b.c. (2004). traditional approaches to conflict resolution among the igbo people of nigeria: reinforcing the need for africa to rediscover its roots. amani. matudi, g.i (2016). unpublished lecture note on african approaches to conflict resolution, yola, mautech. shedrack, g.b. (2014). “the methods of conflict resolution and transformation.” in shedrack g.b. (ed.), introduction to peace and conflict studies in west africa. ibadan, spectrum books limited. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 5.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 189 a review of igwebuike and the question of superiority of the scientific community of knowledge by prof. anthony ikechukwu kanu, o.s.a jude i. onebunne, phd department of philosophy faculty of arts nnamdi azikiwe university, awka ji.onebunne@unizik.edu.ng this paper was published in 2017. it tends to place igwebuike within the ambience of proper identity. to know is very natural and in congruence with the natural identity of man since man by nature desires to know. to know is congenital to man as homo cogitans. hence, to the ancient greek aphorism know thyself, socrates, an athenian moral philosopher was popular in his use of the delphic maxim man know thyself. by implication, it seems very much true that man’s sojourn on earth is within the bounds of knowledge. this knowledge, which is either empirical or rational (ideological), and according to francis bacon is power has universal application. man’s quest for knowledge has been as old as humanity. in the chequered history of man, there is this old desire to know and then become which go hand in hand. at the dawn of creation in this quest for the superior knowledge, the quest to know and become will continue placing humanity with divinity and it has brought us to where we are now as mortal-finite beings. the episode at the building of the tower of babel remains a pointer. looking at the history of knowledge and powers of knowledge, kanu discovers a kind of silent but healthy rivalry which is very necessary for scientific progress and functional scholarship. each epoch of human development shows this manifestation of the universal application of knowledge over time. this, of course, can lead to or become an avenue for healthy competition. kanu tried looking at different fields of human inquiry which placed knowledge at par or even superior to every human endeavour. in a continuous attempt at discovering and conquering the world, man has used and applied knowledge as the greatest instrument at his disposal trying to know the basic constituent, which is the urstoff of things that exists. he, however, showed through all the epochs of philosophical traditions that there are fragments of knowledge, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 190 presenting varying perspectives about reality, scattered across the history of philosophy. nevertheless, kanu admits that knowledge with its end product as truth is one. in the scientific community of knowing, each discipline seeks this truth, as knowledge, in their specialty through one discipline, department and faculty. as kanu rightly puts it: in knowledge, there are diverse units that make up an entity within the frame work of the whole. however, going through different pedestals and highest form of general human understanding, knowledge (divided as arts or science) is categorized as such as philosophy, theology and science over the centuries. kanu in this paper shows different but distinguishing factors and popular nuances of meaning with regard to the place of philosophy (as ancilla thelogiae), theology (as mater scientia) and science (as empirically verifiable) within the community of knowledge. in the face of all these, igwebuike philosophy as modality of being as well as communalistic philosophy of solidarity and complementarity within african philosophy makes great contribution by providing ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. from this igwebuike philosophical perspective, knowledge which we know has universal application is too broad to be captured by just a person’s theory, within an epoch or by mere schools of thought. however, that complementary aspect of knowledge that seeks wisdom and deals with every reality as expressed in igwebuike philosophy as well as in african philosophy is the same contextualized philosophy as part of the world philosophical heritage and thereof the consummate foundation for the superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. bibliography kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 191 kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and and logic (nka) of african philosophy”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2015a). a hermeutic approach to the study of african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015b). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no. 1.[ 97-101]. kanu, i. a. (2016b). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no.1. [1-7]. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 1 sound, structural patterns and iconography in the traditional music of gb du olú of p , lagos, nigeria albert oikelome phd department of creative arts, university of lagos akoka lagos nigeria phone 08023086240; email: aoikelome@unilag.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.36109.97768 & ‘báy ògúnyẹmí ph.d. department of music mountain top university màgbòrò, ògùn state. phone: 08171353575; email: aoogunyemi@mtu.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.36109.97768 abstract traditional music is central to the lives of the yorùbá people. this genre of music is constantly being challenged by emerging trends in musical arts in the yorùbá states of the south western nigeria. it has continued to writhe under the stress of urbanization and globalization. the challenge of upholding this waning musical tradition falls on the surviving socio-political institutions. this paper therefore, examines the gb du traditional music of the of p people of lagos state. the article examines the sound, the structural patterns and other extraneous content of this particular traditional drums as performed in p land. exploring ethnomusicological approach, the study relies on archival and ethnographic sources for its methodology. the article employs as research instruments, focus group discussion, key informant interview, non-participants’ observation methods to elicit data. this article aims at bringing into focus critical perspectives of traditional music of the yorùbá people. primary data for the article were collected from the palace of olú of p , a prominent and ancient yorùbá town in lagos state, south west nigeria. this article concludes that efforts need to be made by concerned authorities to promote yoruba traditional music and preserve it from going into extinction. keywords: urbanization, globalization, ethnomusicology, archival, ethnographic mailto:aoikelome@unilag.edu.ng https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.36109.97768?_sg%5b0%5d=nnomtxdh21aedi_xepodbdtdyfkgcgjz92h6gxugydugdzovqitdq0pcheewm3c91ikjsktkwkibfqv-ovb61lja3g.nrnjh2azuf6mbn5gagyqih9aoyytuztqiwqfs8f-f2zwgv4ct-fhi_pt3lkrrrodug9jauewq4koh3fqi4ymaq mailto:aoogunyemi@mtu.edu.ng https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.36109.97768?_sg%5b0%5d=nnomtxdh21aedi_xepodbdtdyfkgcgjz92h6gxugydugdzovqitdq0pcheewm3c91ikjsktkwkibfqv-ovb61lja3g.nrnjh2azuf6mbn5gagyqih9aoyytuztqiwqfs8f-f2zwgv4ct-fhi_pt3lkrrrodug9jauewq4koh3fqi4ymaq igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 2 introduction the yoruba is one of the most culturally diverse ethnic group in africa. the ethnic group are found in the south western part of nigeria, with a great infusion of music in their cultural life. it plays significant roles in the organization of yorùbá society, the yoruba cosmology and philosophical life. lagos is a part of the larger yorùbá land. it is a conglomerate of various settlements, which are predominant traditional yorùbá cities with a rich and diverse yorùbá cultural setting. there are dances, music, plastic arts spread across the 20 local governments of the state. badagry is reputed for cultural displays like zangbeto, sato and jogu dance. lagos island is also reputed for korogún dance, adámú òrisà, igunnuko (customs of the tapa people that migrated to lagos led by oshòdì tápà); sàngó (brought to lagos by y settlers) and so many others. over the years, urbanization has influenced status of lagos with an influx of migrants both from within and outside the country. apart from being the commercial nerve center of the nation, lagos has a wide range of cosmopolitan interests. it parades diverse and hybrid cultures which endear people to her and it has since grown over the years to accommodate other cultural interests within and outside nigeria. one intriguing part of lagos is its ability to preserve the cultural heritage through several institutions of the land. one of such institutions is the palaces. the major focus of this article is the music of music of gb du olú of p in lagos state, nigeria. p is the principal town in p division of lagos state. the people of p belong to the ijebu sub-yorùbá tribe in lagos state. the town was founded by l jà samagbara, ògúnmúdé and rámópéwo who came to settle there from ìj bú òdeend1. the initial settlers in p were farmers, hunters, fisher men who made use of the creek and the ocean for their source of livelihood. the people of p are culturally knitted with other ìj bú towns and by extension yorùbá nations. the study therefore examines the rich musical heritage of epe with specific reference to gbdeu music in the palace of the olu of epe. it investigates the musical instruments and their functions in the music ensembles in the palace. furthermore, it examines the performance settings and structural composition of the music. it also attempts a musicological analysis of selected music components. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 3 gbèdu music ensemble in pẹ land the gb du is a prominent royal drum in yorùbá land. it is a set of single headed drum that is considered sacred. in epe land, the gb du olú is the royal drum of the king of èpé. the drum is exclusive to the king and cannot be found in any other home in the land. the term gb du is used interchangeably for the components of the ensemble as well as music played on these drums. according to high chief yésírù dàda, the agbòn of p land, and the chief custodian of cultures of p land, who served as a resource person to the research, gb du olú of p was one of the royal emblematic items brought to p by the founders of the town. the founders of the town brought it from ìj bú òde. chief agb n further stressed that the the ensemble is over 200 years and has served many kings of p land. gb du is the personal drums of olú of p and it resides permanently in the palace. no one plays the drum without the knowledge and permission of the king. officially, the ensemble comes out of the palace only once in a year and it is for the yearly celebration of the king. however, with the permission of the king, it can be commissioned for other occasion of importance. gb du is the only instrument that is involved in the installation and burial of the olú of p . it is the instruments that announces the death and subsequent rites preceding the burial of the king. the sound of gbedu also heralds the coronation of the ba elect and his exit from solitary confinement in a place called ìpèbí. gb du olú of p ensemble is constituted by the initiates of the òsùgbó cult. the òsùgbó are a class of the ògbóni cult. the drummers of gb du olú p are known as adáàgbáyè. gb du olú p is a musical ensemble with extraterrestrial powers and cryptic functions. the practices in this ensemble, are therefore not free to women and non-initiates. women are allowed to touch gb du or even beat the drum, but they are not excluded from dancing to the beats. gb du olú p is also believed to have therapeutic powers. the drums are constantly venerated and oblations offered before performance. items required for offertory of gb du olú of èpé are, fun (white chalk), osù, (camwood), obì àbàtà (cola-nuts) dry gin. it is also forbidden for gb du olú p to be displayed on the bare floor. the trunk of drums is made of òmò tree while the surface is covered with the membrane of ekìrì. (duiker). gb du olú p consists of four drum namely; ìyá ìlù, perente, àt lé ìyá ìlù, omele. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 4 ìyá ìlù the iya ilu is the mother drum with the lowest pitch. the depth of the pitch is usually deep enough to serve as the tone foundation for all other instruments in the ensemble. it is played by the lead drummer who is the adáàgbáyè. ìyà ìlù gb du (the mother drum) is the principal drum in this ensemble. it is the improviser and the anchor of all drums and other forms of musical play in this ensemble. there are two types of strokes in ìyá ìlù, the single stroke involves the use of one stick at a time while the double strokes entail the use of the two sticks at a time and in most cases to dampen the resonation of the sound. apart from strikes on the membrane surface of the drums, another means of tone generation is by striking the drums sideways plate 1: iya ilu perente this is the lead drum of the rhythm section in the ensemble of gb du olú p . it combines the functions of the other two lead instrument. the drum is also involved in the dialogue process with the iyailu. it is smaller in shape and has a tone lower than the ìyà ìlù. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 5 plate 2: perente drum àtẹ lé and omele these are basically rhythm keepers in the ensemble. the two have the same size and smaller than perente. although, they are different in tones, their functions are interchangeable. they play complementary roles with perente drum. plate 3: àtẹ lé omele performance setting gb du performance is usually performed at the premises of olú of p . the performers sit a role in the court of olú p . perente, the lead rhythm instruments is seated at the right hand of the lead drummer who plays the ìyá ìlù. the other two rhythm drummers, omele and àt lé seat at the left side of the lead drummer. there is no reason adduced for this. however, a closer observation of performers on set showed that the sitting arrangement might have been designed to aid communication, particularly between the lead drummer and the perente drummer. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 6 plate 4: title: performance setting of gb du olú p . source: researcher scales, tuning and tonal organization song are not prominent in the ensemble of gb du olú p . the ensemble leader explained that gb du ba is predominantly a dance ensemble. however, over the time some songs have crept into the performance, particularly in those performances that are sacred oriented. he said it will be inappropriate to describe the ensemble as a song oriented one. he explained further that, the few songs were introduced to the ensemble by women fold who form the spectators at gb du performances. tuning system: this is done in descending order. the highest pitched instrument, omele is tuned first, followed by the àt lé in that order. after the tone of the omele is determined, all others are tuned approximately a fourth lower. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 7 tone |differentiation: : figure 1: tone differentiation of gb du olú p n.b this differentiation in tones was achieved through aural perception. one of such songs was sampled in the course of this study. song in gb du olú p ensemble is characterized by short phrases and in responsorial form. figure 2: arólúgbayé gbayì ó gb y scale: pentatonic scale (dorian mode) the entire song employs four note. the 5th, 6th, 3rd and the 2nd missing out the tonic in a pentatonic scale. the two rest points igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 8 in the song a median in measures 3 and 5 and a supertonic in measures 6 and 13 till the end shows it ends on the second note of the scale. these two rest notes also indicate the cadences in the song. a rearrangement of the notes in the order of scale show as follows figure 3: (a) notes in order of appearance (b) notes in scale (i) form of song: short repetitive melody (ii) melodic range: it is an octave. lowest note is d 2 octaves below middle c. while the highest is the d below middle c figure 4 the melody is free flowing and parallel. the biggest leap in the melody is a 5th. this leap formed a sequence at every approach to cadence in the melody. these occur in bars 5, 8, 12, 15, 17, 18, 19, 21, (see table above) form of song text song translation arólúgbayé gbayì ó gb ye arolugbaye is elevated and honour èrò yà, èrò yà o ye people should come and see wáà wóo èrò yà come and see people should come igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 9 èrò yà w áà wóo o èrò yà o ye people should come and see (iii) analysis of rhythm three rhythm patterns were sampled for this study. the three rhythm patterns have similar features fig 5: rhythm notation of patterns rhythm in gb du olú p ensemble is characterized by short repetitive patterns, ostinato and polyrhythm. syncopation there is primary rhythm and secondary rhythm. in virtually all the cases in performances sampled, the primary rhythm are implicit and cannot be identified with a particular drum. performances sampled in àgbá ensemble made use of both the simple triple and sample duple meter. other elements of the rhythm are syncopation, improvisation and in few instances hemiola. the rhythms are mainly implicit. in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 10 one of the pattern that was used in omi ayé, the hemiola appears in the combinations of ìyáàlù and perente. pattern ii fig 6: the second pattern sampled in this ensemble the rhythm pattern as shown above shows various elements of african rhythmic patterns such as: basic rhythm pattern syncopation: interlocking rhythm; igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 11 pattern iii fig 7: rhythm pattern in gbẹ du olú pẹ this is called ijó ba, and in most cases it is danced by the ba alone. it is used as a prelude to his performance. it is after this performance that he invites people to join him on the dance floor. the tempo of this rhythm is usually slow and the basic rhythm is the ‘’kon ko ko lo’’ rhythmic pattern which is played on double stroke by perente ìyáìlù plays the syncopation in this pattern. it is this syncopated rhythm that dictates the dance pace and style to the king. the king dances in conformity with the rhythm coming from the ìyáìlù. 1. iconography the totality of appearance and fixtures embodied in gbedu olú of p connote profound and arcane meaning in the music. these are further enhanced by the anthropomorphic nature of the drums. the yorùbá’s perception of gb du is that the drum is totemic. therefore, every items associated with the drums have far reaching meaning. they are imaginative not mundane and go beyond aesthetics. it is generally believed that the spirit of àyàngalú, the yorùbá god of drums and drumming, superintends both the spiritual and the terrestrial in every performance involving drums. therefore, the drums must be constantly igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 12 propitiated in other not to evoke the wrath of the god of drums on both the people and the king who is the custodian of the tradition. for instance, the five straight lines marks (three in white and two in red) on the surface of each of the drums that make up gb du olú of p ensemble are not for aesthetics. they are esoteric lines with psychical functions. as explained by the agbon of p , chief yesiru dada, who served as an informant to the study, the spirit of àyángalú is ever present at every performance of gb du. it watches and controls every performance of the ensemble. therefore, the marks are mandatory for the appeasement of the spirit. “they are not ordinary and cannot be subjected to any methodical explanation. failure to put the marks will hurt the spirit of the god of drum and the consequences are severe. in the event of such occurrence, the membrane covering the surface of the drum will tear. this a physical manifestation of discontentment in the spiritual realm. a torn gb du, under any circumstance, is a bad omen. plate 5: gbedu drums in display gb du is seen as the binding spirit for the community. it symbolizes the reign of the king. therefore a torn gb du is considered a prophetic utterance that must be attended with dispatch. chief dàda explained. in the words of another informant, ay òkédòkun, it takes an oracular consultation to determine the offertory in demand if a gbedu is torn. as he puts it, priest are sometimes invited to determine the nature of the offering requested by àyàngalú for evil not to befall the king and his kingdom. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 13 conclusion. there is no doubt, yoruba musical culture has evolved over a period of time. however, this evolution, which in many cases are as a result of urbanization and globalization has given birth to an array of genre at the expense of the traditional genre of music. today, the traditional genre, particularly in urban centers, groans under extraneous influences. this study has shown that regardless of the tremendous influence of these external factors, circumstances have made traditional music continue to exist in yorùbá land. the study elaborated these circumstances as those occasioned by the extra-musical functions of this particular genre which has made them indispensable. understanding the whole gamut of traditional music in yorùbá land demands a holistic and panoramic view. the content of the yoruba traditional music is further crystalized in the context of performance. therefore, the entire body of yorùbá traditional musical culture is better understood from the periscopic and not parochial view. it is hereby recommended that a more attention should be given to the study, sustenance and promotion of this genre of music. end note 1. oral interview through sources from the custodians of history in the palace of olu of epe references adélékè, a. (2009). yorùbá oral musical compositions: challenges for development and globalisation: abibisem: journal of african culture and civilization. 2, web: http://journal.ucc.edu.gh/index.php/jacc/article/view/63/56 ìjà lá, s. (2017) music and dance in culture and performance in tóyìn f. and a. akìntúndé culture and customs of the yorùbá pp.407-419. tóyìn fál lá and akìntúndé akíny mí, press austin, pan-african university. idolor, e. (nd) strategizing globalization for the enhancement of african music identity okùnadé, a. (2010). comparative study of court music in ègbá land, ab òkúta, ogun state nigeria. unpublished ph.d thesis. university of ìbàdàn, y state nigeria. ògúny mí, b. (2013), analysis of musical forms in yoruba court music. a study of ìgá ìdúnùngánrán of lagos; ma dissertation, university of lagos, lagos nigeria http://journal.ucc.edu.gh/index.php/jacc/article/view/63/56 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 14 oyèníyì, b. (2017). history and historiography, in f. tóyìn & a. akíntúndé (eds) culture and customs of the yorùbá pp.579-594 tóyìn fál lá and akíntúndé akíny mí, austin pan-african university press y kínì-ajénifújà. a. (2014). performance practice of bata ensemble of the àwórì people in lagos state, nigeria, mediterranean journal of social sciences, 620-626, mcser publishing, rome-italy. vidal, o. (2012). essays on yoruba musicology: theory and practice. ed. fémi adédèjì. ife: obáfémi awólówò university ilé ifè, nigeria. microsoft word igwebuike journals vol. 4. no. 5..docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 112 civil disobedience and the survival of democracy in nigeria: lessons from rehoboam’s leadership favour c. uroko department of religion and cultural studies, university of nigeria, nsukka favour.uroko@unn.edu.ng abstract the paper studies the moral significance of civil disobedience to leadership arrogance in nigeria’s democratic setting. it was discovered that nigerian leaders treat the citizens as non-relevant immediately after assuming political office. they promulgate policies which are anti-people. there is high level of social injustice, leadership hubris, and corruption in nigeria. this has led to nigeria winning the prize for the country with the poorest number of citizens in the world beginning from 2018. anybody that tries to question the arrogance of the leader is severely dealt with. unfortunately, due to fear, the citizens have resorted to solace and things have degenerated to a very bad state in nigeria. this is similar to the situation of the israelites in i kings 12. rehoboam took over his father as the leader of a united israel. during the period of his inauguration, jeroboam led a group of israelites to rehoboam to seek for social justice, fairness, egalitarianism and development. rehoboam underestimated their civil powers. the people of israel took it upon themselves not to be loyal to his leadership. the kingdom of israel divided into two. it is on this light, that this article studies the situation of leadership hubris in nigeria with its concomitant effects on the nigerian society. it also lays emphasis on the significance of civil disobedience to the development of nigeria democracy. a narratological analysis and the descriptive phenomenological method were used as the methodologies in this study. keywords: civil, disobedience, rehoboam, democracy, shechem assembly, solomon, israel, judah introduction the expression “civil disobedience” is accredited to henry david thoreau in 1848. he was born on july 12, 1817, and died on 6 may 1862. he was an american poet, author, historian and a tax resister. the american government at this point in history were collecting state poll tax which in the short run was to enable them to carry out their war in mexico and also to enforce the fugitive slave law. thoreau was not comfortable with this development. he insisted that paying the tax was a way of participating in injustice. but, thoreau made it clear igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 113 that he was ready to pay any other tax that would lead to the betterment of the society. according to steve (2015, n.p), “thoreau asserts that because governments are typically more harmful than helpful, they, therefore, cannot be justified. democracy is no cure for this, as majorities simply by virtue of being majorities do not also gain the virtues of wisdom and justice.” steve further explains that thoreau exhorts human not to just wait passively for a chance to vote for justice, insisting that what is needed is for people to be just. this is not to say that people have an obligation to devote your life to fighting for justice, and equity but people do have an obligation not to commit injustice and not to give injustice their practical support. he exhorts people not to just wait passively for an opportunity to vote for justice, because voting for justice is as ineffective as wishing for justice; what you need to do is to actually be just. this is not to say that you have an obligation to devote your life to fighting for justice, but you do have an obligation not to commit injustice and not to give injustice your practical support. thoreau was kept in jail. thoreau states: “under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison” (lawrence, 2007). his actions helped to force a reassessment of society's moral parameters of the united states. thoreau sees civil disobedience as a way of ensuring the rights of the citizens to the government. the argument of thoreau against the government influence mohandas gandhi, martin luther king, jr., and president john f. kennedy, among others. elizabeth (1849) summarises thus: “is a democracy, such as we know it, the last improvement possible in government? is it not possible to take a step further towards recognizing and organizing the rights of man? there will never be a really free and enlightened state until the state comes to recognize the individual as a higher and independent power, from which all its own power and authority are derived, and treats him accordingly.” civil disobedience as a concept needs to be defined in the context of this paper. according to gandhi (1921, n.p), it is the “civil breach of unmoral statutory enactments”. civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws of the state, and/or demands, orders, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. civil disobedience is sometimes defined as having to be nonviolent to be called civil disobedience. civil disobedience is sometimes, therefore, equated with nonviolent resistance (piero, 2007). like other modern states, nigeria prefers the democratic system of governance. this is because the rights and duties of the cities are assured in the constitution. these rights were imputed into the constitution so that the government don’t exercise its powers to the detriment of the citizen. hence, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 114 dewey (1937, 134) sees democracy as the necessity for the participation of every mature human being in the formation of the values that regulate the living of men together: which is necessary from the standpoint of both the general social welfare and the full development of human beings as individuals. the general social welfare of the people is the paramount concern of any well-meaning government. however, when this concern is been relegated to the background, the citizens, under due process can seek a way of telling the government that their rights have been trampled upon. civil disobedience and violence are two ways that citizens could employ in the fight for their welfare. however, violence is a non-democratic method of passing grievance because it leads to the destruction of lives and properties. civil disobedience is a public, non-violent conscientious yet political act contrary to law usually done with the aim of bringing about a change in the laws or political act (jean & arato 1994, 771). disobedience in itself is the refusal to obey laws, however, when this refusal is organized, with the aim of correcting certain abnormalities, it could be seen as civil disobedience. they accept arrest and punishment, a submission which signifies acceptance of the prevailing system and acknowledges a moral obligation to obey the law (lyons 1998, 31). nigeria citizens are hapless considering the state of the nation. those in leadership positions have made of mockery of democracy. nigeria has leaders who are very arbitrary in their rulership. they treat citizens like the downtrodden. according to segun (2014), nigeria leaders are using the instrument of state to intimidate and harass innocent citizens. the citizen’s rights are trampled upon. the promises which they make doing their campaign are not carried out when they ascend leadership power. there is a lack of justice, liberty and equality. there is high nepotism, hubris, and narcissism. there is no free speech and near-absolute totalitarianism. weyler (2014) on his own part says that if we lived in a society that was governed by logic and common decency, then these actions might not be necessary, but we do not live in such a society. we live in a society governed by money and power, hoarded by a tiny elite – the 1% – to the detriment of most people and all of nature. this lack of respect for rule of law by those in the leadership cadre has led to abject poverty on the citizenry, lack of infrastructural development and moral collapse in all sectors of the society. the citizens are helpless due to the lack of knowledge on their role in governance and governmental control. ogbimi (2018) cries out that wise people would not wait for the individual that qualifies as mr great leader before putting-up the serious efforts needed for building a great nation. he further insisted the lamentation over poor leadership will continue for centuries if the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 115 citizens fail to take appropriate steps. it is also to be brought to public notice that, the few individuals who have voiced out their dissatisfaction with autocratic government, or corrupt government have been witch-hunted by the government in power, notwithstanding the democratic system practised in nigeria. it was on this note that asira (2006, 117) concludes that “a situation where nobody expresses his views cannot be described as democratic.” it is in this light that this paper examines the relevance of civil disobedience to the survival of democracy in nigeria, seeking clarification and insight from rehoboam leadership model. rehoboam is an old figure. he took over from his father as the ruler of israel. the people of israel were dissatisfied with the father’s method of leadership, and they met him at shechem and appealed to him to stop the bad policies of his father. hershey and linda (2004) write that rehoboam sought counsel from two different sets of advisors. the elders advised him (i kings 12:7) to take a gentle approach with the people and thereby ensure their eternal loyalty. the advice of the elders affirmed that a leader is a servant of his followers and his role is to serve them. this advice would be consistent with many management theories of today. hershey and linda (2004) furthermore revealthat rehoboam's young friends advised him to take a tough line with the people and say to them (i kings 12:14): "my father made your yoke heavy, and i shall add to your yoke! my father chastised you with sticks; i shall chastise you with scorpions!" rehoboam followed the advice of his young friends and responded harshly to the people. he challenged the people for questioning his authority. the aftermath is the fall of israel. one of his officers was killed by the angry israelites. rehoboam for fear of attack on him flees to jerusalem (cohn, 1985, 30). forced labour under solomon the “occasional items of information provided regarding solomon’s administrative arrangements suggest an increase in bureaucracy over david’s arrangements” (miller & hayes, 1986, 204). solomon placed twelve nissabim (officers) over all israel who were to ensure better administration. during the period of david’s reign, there was an official in charge of forced labour (cf. ii samuel 20:24). however, solomon employed a different approach. solomon reign was characterised by the employment of forced labour gangs, who were saddled with the responsibility of placing the burdens of the kingdom on the subjects. in i kings 5:13-16, king solomon raised a levy out of all israel igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 116 and it numbered over 30,000 men. hence, solomon did not only give physical burden on the people of israel but also the financial burden. it got to a point where one of the force-labour gang, jeroboam, who was placed in charge of the forced labour of the house of joseph, revolted against the king and fled to egypt. his life was sought after by king solomon for questioning his authority. in the next section, it will be argued that these injustices against the citizens perpetrated by solomon had both a long time and short time effect. as a limelight, after the death of solomon, the jerusalem controlled government split into two, viz: the northern kingdom (israel, ephraim) and the southern kingdom (judah). miller and hayes (1986, 220) lament that the separation left the two kingdoms weak. hostilities between them over the next half-century drained their strength even further. there were four decades of hostilities between the two kingdoms that is from 924 bce to 885 bce. the shechem assembly the zeqenim, the elders of israel (evans 1966, 273) met rehoboam at shechem. rehoboam was to take over from his father, solomon as the leader of israel. before the coronation took place the assembly requested certain reforms in the policy followed by rehoboam's father, solomon. the shechem assembly was led by jeroboam (waldman 1970, 215). they pleaded with rehoboam to lift the undemocratic policies that his father –solomon—has laid on them. this policy according to malamat (1965, 52) is that: solomon, during his latter(sic) years, adopted an increasingly oppressive policy. true, he introduced foreign trade and increased the national income to a very great extent. but his wisdom seemed to have failed him in his last days when his hand grew heavy upon the people. after all, 1400 chariots, 12,000 horsemen, and considerable infantry were a burdensome yoke in those days. he built his foreign policy around international marriages, not necessarily through the love of foreign women as much as from a desire to keep the peace. but all this engendered hatred toward the regime and full-scale opposition. thus, in i kings 12: 3then they sent and called him, and jeroboam and all the assembly of israel came and spoke to rehoboam, saying, 4 “your father made our yoke hard; now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.” 5 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 117 jeroboam approaches rehoboam twice (2 chr 10:3; 10:12). however, rehoboam totally dwelt on increasing the burdens that his father—solomon—lay on the people. he told them: 14 and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, “my father made your yoke heavy, but i will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but i will discipline you with scorpions.” there were two political groups which rehoboam consulted –the elders and the young men. however, rehoboam’s decision to follow the younger men’s counsel was orchestrated in order to fulfil god’s word (10:15) (itzhak 2017, 9). this is because the ahijah's prophesied jeroboam's rise to power. it says that jeroboam first got his idea of becoming king from ahijah's prophecy. but that prophecy itself told him that he would have no chance of wresting the kingdom from solomon, but that he would wrest it from rehoboam (gooding 1967, 184). however, jamieson, fausset and brown (1871) contend that rehoboam's tendency to depart from the true religion was due to his mother's influence. his mother was naamah, an ammonitess, and one of the foreign wives whom his father solomon had married. instead of rehoboam thinking of how to reconcile with the northern tribes, but adjusting some of his undemocratic policies, he resorted to war with northern israel. rehoboam went to war against the new kingdom of israel with a force of 180,000 soldiers. for the next 17 years of rehoboam rulership, he was at war with his brethren. the narrative reports that israel and judah were in a state of war throughout his 17-year reign (2 chron. 12:15). furthermore, when the people were languishing in forced labour, poverty and pains, without lack of food or shelter, rehoboam was comfortably managing 18 wives and 60 concubines. they bore him 28 sons and 60 daughters (2 chronicles 12:18-21), just in the ways of his father, solomon. a treatise on civil disobedience several scholars—russell (1971, 245-256)—have given their justification for civil disobedience. according to russell, civil disobedience aimed at altering the government’s policy. these alterations are measures which are aimed at using the legal means to fight against laws that impede the rights of human being. rachel’s (1962, 249) explains that “civil disobedience does not involve acting with disloyal, seditious, traitorous, or rebellious intent, but with intent to insist, even non-violently, the legal consequences of the act.” civil disobedience is not pride, neither is it rebellion to cause mayhem, it is instead a non-violent way of should contempt for wrong governmental policies. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 118 civil disobedience is a peaceable revolution against societal inconsistencies. this is in a bid to frustrate the government to make a u-turn in its policies and arrangements. hugo (1962, 251) lucidly explains that: “anyone commits an act of civil disobedience if and only if he acts illegally, publicly, non-violently and conscientiously with the intent to frustrate (one of) the laws policies or decision of his government.” weyler (2014, n.p) narrates that ...history shows us that civil disobedience is often necessary when the relatively weak face the relatively strong. when power is out of balance, as in most cases of social justice advocacy, civil disobedience may be one of the few tactics left for citizens. and thus, the weak have confronted the strong throughout history: the quakers, gandhi, the chipko movement, the suffragettes, labour movements, martin luther king, rosa parks, mairead corrigan maguire, nelson mandela, aung san suu kyi, greenpeace, and countless others. peaceful confrontation, not just words, creates social change. the features of civil disobedience include: a. if the law is wrong, due to the fact that it is more heinous to obey than to disobey. b. the act is justified if the consequences are positive, that is, the innocent will not suffer much, or there will not be a general break down of law and order. c. the act of civil disobedience must not be a route to gain fame or revenge against a government. the motive must be pure. d. the intention of the protester should be made known to the government before embarking on civil obedience. browlee (2013, n.p) explains that the protester seeks not only to convey her disavowal and condemnation of a certain law or policy but also to draw public attention to this particular issue and thereby to instigate a change in law or policy. e. the protester must be prepared to sacrifice time, energy, prestige and even his life. f. the act must be moral and directed towards changing certain anomalies. civil disobedience encourages both active followership and aggressive followership. according to ikechukwu (2017, 476), in active followership, the followers participate actively in society affair. they are highly conscious and take interest in what the leaders do. he further noted that, in aggressive leadership, the followers are sometimes confrontational. they attack the leaders when they feel that their actions are unfair to the people. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 119 the problem of leadership in nigeria nigeria is a country blessed with so many mineral, agricultural and human resources. this makes nigeria the country that is the envy of other nations, especially in west africa. with a population of 173 million people (bbc news 2013), nigeria possesses three regions, with 36 states and a federal capital territory, abuja. a survey of political leadership in nigeria, since independence in 1960, reveals the high-level corruption and leadership failure (olupohunda, 2012). adedoyin and terri (2016, 93) write that “the prevalence of corrupt leaders in nigeria has a tremendous(sic) adverse effect on the quality of life, living standard, and national psyche.” leaders in nigeria are no longer servant leaders. leaders tend to be totalitarian and authoritarian. nigeria is said to practice democracy, this “assumption is problematic when drawn into the experience of african countries where often scholars decry and explain poor living conditions of citizens with the lack of quality democracy and good governance” (allen 2009, 160). some of the reasons that have helped in the authoritarian lifestyle of regimes in nigeria are the way that power has been much vested on the president. many economic and political powers the president uses to achieve his selfish aims and objectives. agbaga (2006) narrates that “this centralization of power, security, and financial resources in the presidency constitutes a major obstacle to the realization of nigerian democracy. the authoritarian rule by an institutionalized oligarchy constitutes the main structural obstacle to deepening democratic rule in nigeria.” ebegbulem (2012, 222) explains that this gross violation of the rights of the citizenry is seen in the accumulation of wealth at “the expense of national development without devotion to the cause of the people . . . has criminally mismanaged the country’s affairs and resources. nigeria’s political leaders, during electioneering campaigns, make fantastic promises in order to win elections, but as soon as they secure the people’s mandate, the people are shortchanged of the dividends of democracy.” corruption is another problem of nigeria’s leadership. the rich few continue to rule at the expense of the many poor. the citizens are left to wallow in poverty and wants. the resources which are supposedly meant for them are diverted into private pockets. this is an action that calls for civil protest. lending more support, omar et al (2001,42) lament that corruption exacerbates poverty and disproportionately affects those of lower income because it pulls resources from the national treasuries, placing the money into the bank accounts of a few igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 120 individuals who are powerful in the political arena. these politically powerful individuals control the state resources anyhow that they want it, without any considerations to the ordinary citizens. the citizens are left to wallow in starvation, poverty and hunger. according to kwanashie (2007, 16) “the proportion of the poor in nigeria had doubled over the previous two decades, during which time the country received over usd300 billion in oil and gas revenue; if internal policies were adequate and the resources effectively utilised, the situation would have been far better than what obtained at the end of the military era in 1999.” authoritarian and corrupt leadership is not relevant to development in a society and it is a poor leadership model which has been identified in nigeria as a major hindrance to sustainable development (gberevbie, et al, 2017). tribalism is also another critical problem affecting leadership in nigeria. the “formulation and implementation of parochial ethnic and religious policies by the political leadership both at the national and state levels to the detriment of the overall developmental goals” (gberevbie, et al, 2017,4) have sustained nigeria’s leadership challenges. according to chukwuma (2012, 42-43), the bane of leadership in nigeria, even africa, is the preponderance on the self: one’s ethnic interest, one’s political affiliation, one’s religious set, one’s family and such selfish syndromes. a true servant does not discriminate against such sentiments, because his leadership is idea and vision driven and not self43 centred. just as an actor does not choose his audience, even so a leader should not select or discriminate between those who voted him and those who did not. it is due to these factors above sketched, that the citizens have accepted their fate of neglect and low self-esteem. the citizens who have tried in one way or the other to voice out against this anomaly have been dealt with by the government in power. impacts of bad leadership on nigeria’s development due to the bad leadership that has been going on in nigeria, for a long time now, the consequences are enumerated below. 1. poverty: the necessities of life include food, housing and clothing. when a person is deprived of these, it leads to poverty. poverty consists of a core of basic necessities as well as a list of other necessities that change over time and place (george, 1988, 208). poverty is not restricted to one igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 121 dimension, e.g. income, but it manifests itself in all domains of life, such as housing, education, health (deleeck et al. 1992, 3). nigeria became the poverty capital of the world in the year 2018. at the end of may 2018, nigeria had about 87 million people in extreme poverty, compared with india’s 73 million and also extreme poverty in nigeria is growing by six people every minute, while poverty in india continues to fall (vanguard news paper, 2018). so many persons in nigeria are displaced. they have no home to stay. their displacement was necessitated by either natural disasters or conflict among rival groups mainly with a religious undertone. this high level of poverty is caused by the recycling of bad leaders in nigeria’s polity. it is poverty that has led to the high level of prostitution and kidnapping in nigeria. people are poised to survive by whatever means they can find. 2. unemployment: in nigeria today, so many people have no work to do. this includes both the skilled and unskilled, and educated and the uneducated. unemployment results when those willing to work are unable to find work to do. when there are available chances to employ, advertisement is not made in the media, to avail everyone the opportunity of marketing themselves. instead what is obtainable are nepotism, tribalism, and high-level secrecy in employment processes. according to the national bureau of statistics says the country’s unemployment rate rose from 14.2% to 18.8% in 2017(vanguard newspaper, 2017). 3. low literacy rate: this refers to the rate of people who are not attending a formal school. this is caused by their inability to pay for their fees. unfortunately, some of these economically disadvantaged people are intelligent. these people, if given the opportunity to enter school would have contributed immensely to the development of nigeria. government neglect and corruption have increased the number of dropouts from formal schooling. the northern part of nigeria bears a high percentage of illiterate individuals in nigeria. according to the nbs, the states where the majority of people can neither read nor write are those in the northeast, northwest, and north-central. the data shows that yobe state has only 7.23 per cent literacy level, the lowest in the country (ajibola, 2017). unesco’s national programme advisor on education, dr mohammed alkali laments that 65 million nigerians remain illiterates (muhtar, 2015). 4. maternal/ infant morbidity and mortality: due to lack of provision of essential health care facilities in health centres, some women have lost their lives as well as the lives of their unborn and born infants. there are igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 122 cases of no doctors in hospitals when a woman in labour develops complications. there are reports of ‘pay before service’ procedure in hospitals, without considerations given to the life of the mother and her unborn child. according to tobi (2018) dr. duduyemi adeola the programme officer with the nigerian urban reproductive health initiative 2 (nurhi 2) reveals that the 2013 nigeria demographic and health survey (ndhs) maternal mortality ratio in nigeria is 576 deaths per 100,000 live births and this figure is just an estimate as not every death is documented. she further states that annually, for every hundred thousand live births in nigeria, 576 women die due to neglect. these incidents are higher in the north with as high as over thousand mortalities per 100, 000 live births. some of the causes of these deaths include bleeding, unsafe abortion, and obstructed labour. according to the world health organisation and the united nations children emergency fund (2015), nigeria has approximately 58,000 maternal deaths, accounting for 19% globally. put differently, at least 800 women die in every 100,000 live births. northeast has the highest maternal mortality rate, compared to other regions, with 1,549 deaths per 100,000 live births. rehoboam’s leadership and nigeria’s leadership challenges in israel rehoboam inherits an oppressive government policy from his predecessor. this is akin to the nigerian situation in which each successive government tends to increase the burden on the people. furthermore, rehoboam was not intellectually and politically ready to man the position bestow on him. this made him consult with peers who were ever ready to dish out wrong policy and blueprints in governance. in nigeria, some leaders got to the position when they are not intellectually and physically capable. this results in a lack of economic blueprints for viable society progress. ochulor (2011, 267) laments that: as a result of their intellectual incapacity, lack a good understanding of the purpose of government, they –the chief executives see their positions in government as opportunities to make money for themselves and favour their friends and relations. when offices are given to people either for money or by the favour of he who bestows them, it would not be surprising if the beneficiaries lack the knowledge needed for the positions they occupy and so, like their benefactors, prove inefficient. the failure of youths to live up to expectation is equally seen here. the shortsightedness of youths who are supposedly seen as leaders of tomorrow is very worrisome. rehoboam consulted with the youths and got into the wrongs path igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 123 for the rest of his rulership. this is similar to the nigeria situation, where the youths who are supposed to stand up against bad policies and corrupt acts have joined in the menace. leaders used them at will in the destruction of lives and property. they are being intellectually and politically short-changed. according to salami (2013, 24-25), “it is very common to find government officials flaunting their ill-gotten wealth thereby making them the envy of the youths. the youths want to make quick and easy money and generally want to live in the fast lane. increasingly, youths are being disoriented by the get-rich-quick syndrome of politics and engendered corruption in the last two decades. many of them are beginning to share the view that hard work does not pay in nigeria.” the way forward this silence in the face of bad leadership is a way of approving the survival of bad policies and governance. in achebe’s book, “a man of the people”, the people who were suffering under a bad government where envisaging when their children are going to eat their own share thus: “let them eat . . . after all when the white man used to do all the eating, did we commit suicide? of course not… it may be your turn to eat tomorrow. your son may bring home your share” (1966, 161). this is the situation in nigeria. it is no longer the leaders that have failed; the citizens have failed to the extreme. when the citizens fail to speak up in the face of arbitrary leadership, the situation of nigeria will continue. there is a need for the revitalisation of pressure groups. this is because it is through these public platforms, that the citizens can effectively halt governmental mismanagements. this pressure groups could coerce it followers to boycott their duties to the government, to legitimately press home their demands. it was on this note that weyler (2014, n.p) recalls that the activist, who wishes to change society, must find a means to enter the large-scale public discourse where truth can gain traction. the people must tell their story, and the dynamics of the narrative requires drama, characters, encounters, and visible commitment. thus, we witness gandhi making salt at the seashore, rosa parks refusing to move from her seat on the bus, the quakers sailing boats into nuclear test zones, or greenpeace sailing boats into whaling fleets or arctic oil grounds. unions should also rise up to the occasion by boycotting schools and offices where public services are provided. this will partially hall effective governmental bureaucracies, hence, the government is forced to retrace their corrupt and non-peopled oriented policies. when the government fails to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 124 improve the wellbeing of her citizenry, civil disobedience should be used to society dissatisfaction with the scheme of things. odutola and ademola (1987, 212) reiterate that there should be a “collective attempts to bring about a change in certain social institutions or to create a completely new social order.” there should be non-violent protests by the citizenry which the media covers. members of the third realm of power should be invited to cover the protests and proceedings. this would indict and force the government to heed to the demands of the citizens. the procedure of refusing to pay taxes could also be used to fight against a failed government. when the government has lesser money at its disposal they would know that all along they were only in a temporary custody of tax-payers money. conclusion the sorry state of things in nigeria is based on the negligence of rights and duties by the citizens. having known that the problem of nigeria underdevelopment is leadership, the civizens have that moral obligation to make sure that leaders live up to expectation. for instance, gandhi in india, and mandela in south africa used civil disobedience to partially collapse governments with the aim of fighting against wrong policies. weyler (2014) corroborates that civil disobedience is very important due to the fact that the powerful tend to leverage their power into more power for themselves and never relinquishes power willingly. so the people, the relatively powerless, must find a way to engage the powerful in a sphere that employs its modest strengths: public displays of moral integrity. the more that citizens continue to endure injustice, lack of social welfare and hubris of nigerian leaders, the more the bad leaders continue to carry out their inhumane rulership. civil disobedience is a form of participatory democracy. it guards against a violation of the moral principles underlying the constitution of nigeria. the people of israel led by jeroboam used civil disobedience and they were able to achieve their set aims and objectives. reference achebe, chinua. a man of the people. london: heinemann, 1966. agbaga, a. democracy and governance assessment of nigeria. http://pdf.usaid .gov/pdf_ docs/pnadi079.pdf (accessed march 11, 2018). ajibola amzat, “nigeria’s unemployment rate rises from 14.2% to 18.8%.” december 23, 2017. https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/12/nigeriasunemployment-rate-rises-14-2-18-8/ (accessed october 25, 2018). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 125 ajibola amzat, “despite decades of funding, literacy level in the northern states remains low.”https://guardian.ng/news/despite-decades-of-fundingliteracy-level-in-the-northern-states-remains-low/ (accessed 24, 2018). allen, fidelis. "from “authoritarian rule” to “democracy” in nigeria: citizens’ welfare a myth or reality." journal of alternative perspectives in the social sciences 1, no. 2 (2009): 152-192. asira, asira. “the relevance of civil disobedience to the survival of democracy in nigeria.” african journal of religion, culture and society, 1 no.1,(2006) bbc news. “nigeria profi le—facts. bbc”, (2013). http://www. bbc.com/news/world-africa-13949547 (accessed october 22, 2018). brownlee, kimberley. civil disobedience. https://plato.stan ford.edu /archives /fall2017/entries/civil-disobedience/ (accessed february 14, 2018). chukwuma anyanwu , “theatre and film as catalyst to leadership change in nigeria .” nigerian theatre journal a journal of the society of nigeria theatre artists (sonta) 17, no. 2 (2012). cohn, r. l., “literary technique in the jeroboam narrative.” zeitschrift für die alttestamen tliche wissenschaft, 97, no.1 (1985).doi:10.1515/zatw.1985.97.1.23. deleeck, h., van den bosch, k., and de lathouwer, l. poverty and the adequacy of social security in the ec, aldershot: avebury (1992). dewey, john. "democracy and educational administration." planning and changing 22 (1937): 134-40. ebegbulem, joseph. "corruption and leadership crisis in africa: nigeria in focus." international journal of business and social science 3, no. 11 (2012). elizabeth p. peabody. resistance to civil government, https://www.panarchy .org/thoreau /disobedience.1848.html (accessed on october 22,2018) evans, geoffrey. "rehoboam's advisers at shechem, and political institutions in israel and sumer." journal of near eastern studies 25, no. 4 (1966): 273-279. francis e. ogbimi. a nigeria and problem of poor leadership,july 9, 2018 ,https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2018/07/09/nigeria-andproblem-of-poor-leadership/ (accessed october 30, 2018). friedman, h.h. and friedman, l., biblical leadership: insights for today's managers . ejbo -electronic journal of business ethics and organization studies. 2004. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 126 gandhi, nonviolent resistance, gandhi's comment in young india for march 23rd, 1921 pp. 3-4 and 14. gberevbie, d., joshua, s., excellence-oluye, n., & oyeyemi, a. accountability for sustainable development and the challenges of leadership in nigeria, 1999-2015. sage open, 7(4), (2017), doi:10.1177/2158244017742951. george, v. , wealth, poverty and starvation, hemel hempstead: wheatsheaf, 1988. gooding, david. "the septuagint's rival versions of jeroboam's rise to power." vetus testamentum 17, no. 2 (1967): 173-189. hassan, a. r., & lituchy, t. r., “leadership in nigeria”, lead: leadership effectiveness in africa and the african diaspora, 89–106. doi:10.1057/978-1137-59121-0_7 hugo, a.b. in: tillman frank (ed). introductory philosophy. new york: harper and row, 1962. itzhak, amar. "the characterization of rehoboam and jeroboam as a reflection of the chronicler’s view of the schism." journal of hebrew scriptures 17 (2017). jamieson, robert, andrew robert fausset, and david brown. a commentary, critical and explanatory, on the old and new testaments, 2. scranton: scranton & company, 1871. jean , cohen, andrew arato. civil society and political theory. cambridge ma : mit press, 1994. kwanashie, m. , internal and external pressures for reforms. in h. saliu, e. amali, & r. olawepo (eds.), nigeria’s reform programme: issues and challenges (pp. 15-34). 2007. ibadan, nigeria: vantage lawrence rosenwald. “the theory, practice, and influence of thoreau's civil disobedienc e.” http://web.archive.org/ web/20070916155105/h ttp://www. wellesley. edu/peace/rosenwald/thoreau.html (accessed on october 29, 2018). lyons, david. "moral judgment, historical reality, and civil disobedience." philosophy & public affairs 27, no. 1 (1998): 31-49. malamat, abraham. "organs of statecraft in the israelite monarchy." the biblical archaeologist 28, no. 2 (1965): 34-65. miller, james and john hayes. a history of ancient israel and judah. westminster: john knox press, 1986. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 127 moraro, piero. "violent civil disobedience and willingness to accept punishment," essays in philosophy, 8: no 2 (2007) muhtar bakare, “65 million nigerians are illiterates – unesco,” https://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/12/65-million-nigerians-areilliterates-unesco/ (accessed october 26, 2018). ochulor, chinenye leo. "failure of leadership in nigeria." sophia: an african journal of philosophy 12, no. 2 (2010): 1-7 odutola, t.o. and ademola, a. sociology: an introductory african text. ibadan: macmillan, 1987. olupohunda, b. who is the most successful nigerian leader? the punch. (2012, november 29). omar, azfar, young lee, and anand swamy. "the causes and consequences of corruption." the annals of the american academy of political and social science 573, no. 1 (2001): 42-56. rachels, j. in: tillman frank (ed). introductory philosophy. new york: harper and row, 1962. russell, bertrand. on civil disobedience. national youth campaign for nuclear disarmament, 1961. salami, c. g. e. "youth unemployment in nigeria: a time for creative intervention." international journal of business and marketing management 1, no. 2 (2013): 18-26. segun, adebowale, the many reasons nigeria’s leadership has failed, by bisi akande, https://theeagleonline.com.ng/the-many-reasons-nigerias-leadership-hasfailed-by-bisi-akande/ (2016). steve agyei. “wealth is the ability to fully experience life,henry david” https://me dium. com/ @steveagyeibeyondlifestyle/wealth-is-the-abilityto-fully-experience-life-ae6f3ee5c62b (accessed on october 28,2018). tobi awodipe, “nigeria’s maternal mortality ratio is alarming”, the guardian, february 24, 2018. waldman, nahum. "a note on canticles 4: 9." journal of biblical literature 89, no. 2 (1970): 215-217. weyler, r. “civil disobedience: why direct action is necessary.” https://www.greenpeace.org/archiveinternational/en/news/blogs/makingwaves/civil-disobedience-whydirect-action-is-necessary/blog/48294/ (accessed march 20, 2018). world health organization, “nigeria fights high maternal mortality through improved quality of care,” microsoft word igwebuike jounals vol. 5. no. 1.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 92 the paradox of the concepts of life and death in african traditional religion mercy uwaezuoke chukwuedo, phd trinity theological college, umuahia mercychukwuedo@gmail.com & anenechukwu chidinyerem ede, phd nnamdi azikiwe university, awka revedeanen@gmail.com abstract life and death are inseparable. there can be no death if there is no life. people’ minds have been faced with the uncertainty surrounding life and death. this paper examines the concepts of life and death from the viewpoint of african traditional religion. it aims at assuaging people of the fear of death and reforming them. this work adopts an analytical approach in examining the paradox of life and death in african traditional religion. this paper discovered that life and death are inevitable phenomena in human existence. african traditional religion posits that god is the giver of life and he has the power to take it at will. death is caused either through physical causes or mystical causes. therefore, people should make good use of their life on earth since death is the price everyone must pay. keywords: life, death, paradox, african traditional religion. introduction the uncertainty surrounding life and death pose a problem in the minds of people. stuart (1987) defines life as “the condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms, being manifested by growth through metabolism, reproduction, and the power of adaptation to environment through changes originating internally” (p.487). death, on the other hand, is defined by erickson (1985) as the cessation of life in our physical body. baaren (1987) takes a theological look at the concept of life and death. life and death, he says, are exclusive states of being. he admits that there is a life that comes after death, which is distinct from life on earth. according to asuquo (2011), the african concept of life and death is closely linked to and influenced by his traditional religion. this paper aims to assuage people of the fear of the unknown and the mysteries surrounding life and death. there can be no death if there is no life. every religion regards life as sacred and the ‘taking of life’ as an atrocity. when we consider that more than fifty thousand people pass away every day, we know that the subject of death and what happens to the soul are important. life is valued in african traditional religion. chukwuedo (2015) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 93 opines that life should not be desecrated. nobody has the right to take his own life or the life of another person. among the ibos, it is believed that life should be lived to its fullness as one prays to see his children's children. the concept of life and death in african traditional religion in describing life, shorter (1997) says that “life is like a hill that one must climb with a load on one's head” (p.122). the arms do not matter much here but it is the feet that count, and they will be examined for bruises by “chineke” the creator, who is a searching judge. this is to say that one has to live his life in a morally justified way so as to be accountable to the creator. the philosophy behind the african's concern about life and death is that all the visible world around us and the invisible world beyond, the divine and the human, the past and the present, the living and the dead all form a harmonious entity says ilogu (1988) in adegbola (109). he went on to say that death is one of the dissonances of life disturbing entity, but because the dead themselves belong to this harmonious entity, all that is necessary is to ensure that the balance of life's harmony is not upset when one member of the group is transformed through death to another level of existence, namely the souls of the dead who constitute the unseen part of the community. in most part of igbo land, death is a solemn event fraught with danger for both the deceased and the living; hence imasogie (1985) suggests that precaution must be taken to ensure that everything is done properly. in african traditional religion, burial rites and ceremonies therefore are means by which this transition is effected to ensure that the dead receives secure place in the spirit world which will help the established order of life to go uninterrupted. life is a gift from the creator. in general, africans see themselves living a present reality, very much committed to life in the world, but this does not prevent them from expressing their hope of salvation, nor yet their consciousness of undergoing a trial in life itself, even a trial that reaches the climax at the moment of death (shorter, 1997). njoku (2002) holds the same view regarding the concept of life in african traditional religion. he reveals that god is the originator of life, the creator of man, the universe and the sustainer of creation. life is lived and enjoyed communally. “it involves a relationship and communion between man, god, ancestors, divinities, other men and the land. this relationship must be based on certain rules and regulations for it to succeed” (p. 169). in the same vein, opoku (1978) opines that the ancestors play an important role in the communal life. they are not cut off from the living, for they may still reveal themselves in dreams or appear to their living relatives to guide or correct them. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 94 mbiti (1989) highlights another obvious aspect of life, which is the concept of human life in relation to time. this concept sees life as a rhythm or cycle which includes birth, puberty, initiation, marriage, procreation, old age, death, entry into the community of the departed and finally entry into the company of the spirits. this implies that god created man with the potentialities of passing through these stages of life. every human being, rich or poor must go through them, although they vary according to cultures and time. the origin of death in many myths spreading all over africa, death has always been traced to a particular fault or mistake made. mbiti (1975) x-rayed some of such myths surrounding death and its origin. one of such myths is that god gave the first man one or more of the three gifts of immortality, resurrection and the ability to become young again. but all these three were lost and death came into the world. there are different explanations as to how the loss took place and how death came about. god wanted man to live forever or better still rise again if they died. this message was given to one of the animals to take to men. this animal is often believed to have been the chameleon. but the chameleon lingered on the way and delayed the message. meanwhile god sent another animal usually said to have been a bird, lizard or hare with another message that people would die. the latter message reached mankind before that of immortality or resurrection, and since then death has remained in the world. it is said that god sent at the same time a dog with message of immortality and a toad with a message of death. on the way the dog stopped to eat, so the toad got to men first and delivered its message. the dog after eating to its satisfaction arrived too late. other version has it that god used to hunt death if it appeared. he told men to remain indoors and not to give shelter to death if they saw it running away. a woman however, went to work in her field, and while she was there death came and asked for protection. she allowed it to hide under her clothes, or in another version, to get into her mouth. god came with his hunting dogs chasing after it, and when in his great wisdom he found that the woman had hidden it, he told her and the people to keep death thereafter. abrahamsson (1951) writes about the myth that tells of family quarrel that led to irrevocable end of life. it happened that once upon a time, a child died, and the mother implored the supreme 'god' to bring her son to life; her request was granted, but the father of the boy, for reasons that were not known, killed igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 95 the boy himself. there and then, the supreme god decreed that: “for the future, whenever a person dies, he must remain dead.” these and many more myths emphasize that death came almost by mistake, and since then it has remained among men. the blame is laid upon man (especially women), animals and in some cases spirits or monsters. even though all these myths do not speak about how death might one day be overcame or removed from the world. thus death spoilt the original paradise of men, according to african beliefs. causes of death in human life in african traditional religion, death is always traced to a reason. even though people believe that death came into the world at a very early date in the history of mankind, they believe also that every time a person dies, this death is 'caused': there are several ways in which it is caused. mbiti (1989, p.111) gives four ways in which death comes to man according to the african belief such as: a. death by sorcery it is believed that sorcery, witchcraft and evil magic cause death. therefore, when someone has died, people often try to find out who used sorcery, witchcraft or magic against the dead person. someone is often blamed for it, and in some cases the suspect may be beaten to death, fined or thrown out of the community. b. death caused by spirits spirits are sometimes blamed for the death of someone. these might be spirits of people who have had a grudge against the person, or whose bodies were not properly buried, or who have been neglected by their relatives for some reason or another. deaths caused by spirits are rare, since in most cases people always find or suspect someone in the village to be the cause. c. death by a curse it is natural for old people to die but this belief is, however, rare, only in a few societies is such belief entertained. god is always left out of the picture when it comes to the cause of death, even though people believe that if he did not allow it, the person would not die. the cause of death could be physical or mystical. the physical causes of death include sickness, disease, old age, accident, lightning, earthquake, flood, drowning, animal attack and many more others. the mystical causes include curse, witchcraft, magic and so on. it is not enough to find out only the physical causes. people take much trouble to establish the mystical causes as well and this is done through consulting diviners and medicine men or by suspicion and guess work. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 96 conclusion and recommendations every religion holds life at a high esteem. christianity as well as adherents of african traditional religion see life as a gift from god and that only he has the right and power to take it. god atimes uses death to bring his purpose to accomplishment. african traditional religion upholds the view that death is the inevitable fate of all living beings. no man created by god is above death because death has no respect for anybody. the notion that death came as a result of man's disobedience is not absent in african traditional religion. most myths told in different parts of africa show that death was not god's original plan for man if not for his shortcoming. conclusively, african traditional religion holds the view that god is the giver of life and death is not elimination but an extension. death can only terminate the physical existence, but it cannot stop life from continuing in another realm. death is always traced to physical causes or mystical causes. it is believed that death entered into the world as a result of man’s shortcoming, wicked animals and perhaps, divine conflict. this paper therefore recommends that: a. death is inevitable; therefore, people should make good use of their time on earth no matter how short life is. b. death is not complete destruction of the individual. life goes on beyond the grave. c. in addition, having realized our limitations and helplessness as mortal beings, we should stop behaving as if the world is our permanent abode. we should try to make peace with all men, strive to make positive contributions to humanity so that by the time we are no more here, those we left behind can remember us for good. references abrahamsson, h. (1951). the origin of the studies in mythology. uppasala: appelberg boktrycheri aktiebolag. asuquo, o.o. (2011). a rationalization of an african concept of life, death, and the hereafter. american journal of social and management sciences. pp. 172-175. baaren, v. (1987). “death” in the encyclopedia of religion. new york: macmillan publishing house. pp. 251-269. chukwuedo, m. (2015). life after death in christianity and african traditional religion: a ruse or a reality. umuahia: gospel link publishers. erickson, m.j. (1985). christian theology. grand rapids, michigan: baker book house. ilogu, e. (1988). “igbo burial customs” in traditional religion in west africa, ed. adegbola, e. a. ibadan: sefer books ltd. pp. 108-111. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 97 imasogie, o. (1985). african traditional religion. ibadan : university press limited. mbiti, j. (1975). introduction to african religion. ibadan: heinemann educational books ltd. mbiti, j.s. (1989). african religions and philosophy. london: heinemann. njoku, f.o.c. (2002). essays in african philosophy, thought and theology. owerri: clacom. opoku, k. a. (1978). west african traditional religion. lagos: f. e. p. shorter, a. (1997). african christian theology. maryknoll, new york: orbis books. stuart, b.f. (1987). the random house dictionary of english language. new york: random house inc. igwebuike_6_7_4.cdr 30 igwebuike philosophy, strategic religious action and the theory of change mike boni bazza, phd veritas university abuja (the catholic university of nigeria) department of history and international relations danbazza68@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29305.49761 abstract this paper examines the root causes of the problems of religious tensions, violent conicts and killings, using the north central region of nigeria as a case study. consequently, the paper develops a strategic religious action to tackle the menace. the research uses the tools of an indigenous african philosophy called igwebuike, which is a substratum of african traditional values, philosophy and religion. it embodies an integral principle of african philosophical experience which enhances the unity of all africans. igwebuike philosophy is an accepted tactics of soft power, i.e. the ability to attract and co-opt people, expose problems about human rights on freedom of religion or belief (forb), and then proffer a strategic religious action. the submission quickly addresses all the contentious issues that facilitate agitations from different sections and players in the region under focus, and submits that traditional african values, in relation to the igwebuike philosophy, strategic religious action and the theory of change (collectively speaking), are sine qua non for prosecuting the problems in question. to achieve the goal of this study, historical and phenomenological methods of enquiry are deployed in the collection and analysis of data, while the ‘indigenous holistic theory’ and the ‘theory of change’ were adopted for the interpretation and understanding of the problems at hand. furthermore, it concludes by stating the ultimate aim of the study, which is basically to examine the root causes of the aforementioned problems in the middle belt of nigeria, namely: religious tensions, violent conicts and killings and proffer a strategic religious action within the context and framework of the theory of change (toc). keywords: igwebuike, philosophy, kanu ikechukwu anthony, human rights, freedom of religion, african traditional values, theory of change introduction professor ikechukwu anthony kanu developed the concept of ‘igwebuike’ to describe the unity of the african philosophical experience, which profoundly relates to a perspective-driven ideology and epitomizes the manner of being in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 31 african ontology. this, according to him, includes african cherished traditional values such as complementarity, harmony, communality, etc. thus, igwebuike, being the inner or underlying principle of african philosophy, has successfully been used as a holistic response to the problem of evil, and sometimes it has been applied to dene the logic of african philosophy, inclusive leadership and even the issue of national development. for the purpose of this discourse, igwebuike philosophy is adopted as a solution to the problems about human rights on freedom of religion or belief (forb) which, on the long run, encompasses a strategic religious action. strategic religious action promotes and builds on its extensive experience and best practices, which specically focus on women and youth as contained in article 18 of the universal declaration of human rights on freedom of religion or belief (forb).1 while admitting that forb is a fundamental human right enshrined in international treaties and constitutional provisions in most countries, the actual practice of forb encounters many challenges, particularly in the sphere of religious tensions, violent conicts and killings.2 our ultimate aim in this paper is to examine the root causes of the aforementioned problems in the north central region, i.e., the middle belt of nigeria and proffer a strategic religious action within the context and framework of the theory of change (toc).3 the presentation in presenting the igwebuike philosophy as an accepted tactics of soft power about human rights on freedom of religion or belief (forb), we will like to explore the kanu school of thought as a remedy for almost every human problem. doing so will enable us to appreciate immensely the apt and scholarly interpretation of igwebuike from this perspective. according to this school of thought, igwebuike is from an igbo composite word and metaphor: igwebuike, a combination of three words. therefore, it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space.4 the three words involved are explained thus: igwe is a noun, which means ‘number’ or ‘population’, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means ‘is’. ike is another verb, which means ‘strength’ or ‘power.’ thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’; that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force or strength, and at this level, no task is beyond their collective capability.5 igwebuike is, therefore, a philosophy of harmonization and complementation. it understands the world immanent igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 32 realities to be related to one another in the most natural, mutual, harmonious and compatible ways possible.6 tackling the root causes of religious tensions, violent conicts and killings by applying the pprinciple of igwebuike philosophy the root causes of the above-listed problems in the north central region (middle belt) of nigeria can be understood by using a ‘causal factor’ approach. using this approach, the root causes of the problems can be classied into factors which include: economic, political and socio-cultural factors. economically, the root causes of the identied problems in the north central region of nigeria include the scramble for economic opportunities and resources. the economic opportunities in the north central region are scarce. these opportunities include employment and trade. as a result of the scarcity, the ethno-religious backgrounds are resorted to, in order to get access to these opportunities, on the one hand. on the other hand, the inability of some people to have access to these opportunities is interpreted along ethno-religious lines. with this situation, a “we versus them” construct is created among the people of various backgrounds in the region, thereby deepening the differences among the people and raising conictive tendencies, which eventually manifest in the problems within the region.7 the dominant and most important economic resource in the region is land. acquiring portions of land in the region is tantamount to wealth acquisition, as the land can be used for farming or grazing livestock. accordingly, farmersherders dimension of the identied problems in the region is basically as a result of clashes over land. politically, the identied problems in the north central region of nigeria are as a result of the weak government institutions, lack of political will by the government agencies and political leaders, the quest for territorial expansion by migrating stock of people into the region, the struggle for the control and domination of the region among the diverse ethnic groups found therein,8 et cetera. government institutions which are supposed to control human behaviours in the society and ensure social order have not been performing their duties. the police, courts, military, have even been accused of partiality, partisanship, and even connivance as perpetrators of the problems within the region. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 33 weakness of the institutions has eventually ossied into a lack of political will by the institutions and political leaders to nding lasting solutions to the problems. hence, the problems have become a daily reoccurrence in the region.9 as a matter of fact, many political leaders have been associated with all the identied conicts in the states within the region, but of course, because “this is nigeria,” nothing has been done to bring them to book. constitutional weakness has also been one of the root causes of the identied problems in the region. the nigerian constitution makes provisions for citizenship and indigenity. constitutional provisions, by virtue of their ambiguity over the terms “indigene” and “residency” for accessing citizenship rights, have not been satisfactorily claried. it appears that the indigene principle promoted in section 147 (3)10 is not in line with the citizenship provisions of section 15 (3) (b),11 which stipulate that “for the purpose of promoting national integration, it shall be the role of the state to secure full residence rights for every citizen in all parts of the federation.”12 this provision becomes difcult in being implemented in various states of the region. consequently, indigenes of the states in the region and other citizens of nigeria residing within the region are constantly struggling for citizen rights and privileges, where the indigenes believe the rights and privileges are reserved for them within their domains.13this sets a fertile ground for the endless myriad of problems in the region. there has been a wave of north-south migration from the northernmost part of the country into the north central region. this migration is basically a movement of the hausa/fulani ethnic nationalities. these immigrants into the region not only seek means of livelihood, but seek to assert themselves (in the context of one nigeria) on the indigenes of the region. hence, there has been a perception of extra-territoriality which must be confronted by irredentism, leading to reoccurring bloodshed and damage of property in the region. socio-culturally, the north central region is made up of diverse ethnic groups which have not been able to harness their diversity for progress. rather, these groups found themselves in constant competition, which is problematic for the society. equally, the social conditions within the region provide a fertile ground for the preponderance of problems. these conditions include: high level of poverty, high population density, religious antagonisms, inadequate social and infrastructural facilities, high level of illiteracy and unemployment, et cetera. the failure of government and religious and traditional institutions to properly igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 34 manage these social conditions of the region has become a recipe for the identied problems to persist. igwebuike philosophy, strategic religious action and the theory of change after dening igwebuike as a philosophy of harmonization and complementation that understands the world immanent realities to be related to one another in the most natural, mutual, harmonious and compatible ways possible,14 we will now focus our attention on the strategic religious action that is incumbent towards contextualizing the theory of change. we begin our discourse by asking: what is the theory of change? the theory of change as the name suggests, is a hypothesis of how we think change occurs. so essentially, it is a comprehensive description and illustration of how and why a desired change is expected to happen in a particular context.15 therefore, in the context of this study, the theory of change can be said to be a paradigm which promotes social change in the society, albeit positive. the theory explains the linkages in an initiative by explaining the processes of change. this link shows why an outcome, step or action is a prerequisite for another.16 in other words, the theory suggests why a particular action is necessary for a particular result to be achieved. using the theory of change, the strategic religious action i will humbly suggest is inter-religious dialogue, using the tool of igwebuike. inter-religious dialogue is necessary for social order and human and societal development. the role religion plays in the society cannot be overemphasized. religion has become the way of life for many people. religion appeals to their consciences and determines who they relate with, how they interact with their environment and what awaits them in the world and beyond. the connection people have with their religion is as strong as glue, that anything which seeks to undermine their belief or relationship with their religion, whether perceived or real, is considered an affront that must be confronted immediately. hence, religion has become a tool for conict, progress and propaganda.17 with the place religion has taken in the society, a strategy of inter-religious dialogue is sine qua non for nding solutions to the problems bedeviling the human society. without regard to extremists’ perspectives on some religions, all religions seek a good society (put in other word, life) for their respective followers. when inter-religious dialogue is adopted, a better understanding of various religions and the complementary roles they play in the development of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 35 the society and enhancement of human existence will be put in place. this is necessary for the prevention of religious extremism, violence and intolerance, which have often resulted in religious tensions, violent conicts and killings.18 through inter-religious dialogue, religious leaders will be given additional roles to their primary role of evangelism. they will be able to play mediatory roles in issues of human society and not just that of the religious realm. with that, religious institutions and leaders will play complementary roles to the efforts of government, civil society organizations and traditional institutions as they seek to develop the society and enhance peaceful co-existence. evidence-based outcome essentially, inter-religious dialogue will enable inter-religious relationship. this will bring the various people in the society into a common front for peaceful coexistence. inter-religious dialogue has played vital roles in conict resolution and sustaining peace, even in the north central region of nigeria. this was the case in the yelwa-shendam religious conict of the early 2000s in plateau state.19 in the june, 2018 violent ethno-religious conict in riyom, barkin ladi and jos south local government areas,20 where some victims of armed attack were saved by an imam, due to the relationship that had existed between him and the people of the community. conclusion in the context of this study, we have employed the use of the word, igwebuike, as a philosophy of harmonization and complementation, because when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful and can constitute an insurmountable force or strength, and at this level, no task (even the complexity of inter-religious dialogue) is beyond their collective capability. although inter-religious dialogue has empirically played cogent roles in addressing human problems, it has not been given a proper place to ourish as it has not been formerly adopted as a strategic action. the government of the united states, through its embassies, has been making efforts to encourage the adoption of inter-religious dialogue, with the commemoration of world religions day. when inter-religious dialogue is adopted as a strategic action, many problems bedeviling the society can be solved and future ones prevented. once again, my humble submission in this study is that traditional african values, in relation to igwebuike philosophy, strategic religious action and the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 36 theory of change (collectively speaking) are sine qua non for prosecuting the problems in question. in addition, it is important to note that inter-religious dialogue is very necessary for social order, human and societal development, and igwebuike philosophy is the right tool to achieve this onerous task. endnotes 1. article 18 of the universal declaration of human rights on freedom of religion or belief (forb) specically focuses on women and youth. 2. ibid 3. in the context of this study, the theory of change can be said to be a paradigm which promotes social change in the society, albeit positive. the theory further explains the processes of change. 4. kanu, i. a., igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france, 2015a. 5. kanu, i. a., igwebuike as an ontological precondition for african ethics. international conference of the society for research and academic excellence. university of nigeria, nsukka. 14th -16th september, 2015b. 6. ibid. 7. bazza, m. b., a special submission made to: the joint initiative for strategic religious action (jisra) as a member of the nigeria input team on 24th july, 2020. 8. ibid. 9. ibid. 10. the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria (as amended), section 147 (2). 11. the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria (as amended), section 15 (3b). 12. ibid. 13. this is the author’s interpretation of section 15 (3b) of the 1999 constitution as amended. 14. kanu, i. a., igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france, 2015a. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 37 15. the joint initiative for strategic religious action (jisra) theory of change (both narrative and visual), 2020. 16. bazza, m. b., a special submission made to: the joint initiative for strategic religious action (jisra) as a member of the nigeria input team on 24th july, 2020. 17. ibid. 18. ibid. 19. a research interview on the berom-fulani ethnic conicts, 20012018, with h. salleh, kurra falls, gashish, plateau state. salleh expressed how imam abubakar saved christians by hiding them in his house when muslim gun men stormed the communities in gashish district on 23rd june 2018. the report was captured by many media outlets and the imam was given an award and subsequently honoured by the united states of america embassy here in nigeria in the year 2019. 20. emmanuel innocent, “imam ashafa and pastor james wuye: bringing peace to warring nigerian communities”. premium times, april 9th 2020, retrieved july 24th, 2020. https.//crcc.usc.edu/imamashafa-and-pastor-james-wuye-bringing-peace-to-warring-nigeriancommunities/ bibliography akanni, a.a. (2014), ‘history of terrorism, youth psychology and unemployment in nigeria’ in journal of pan african studies, vol.7, no. 3. article 18 of the universal declaration of human rights on freedom of religion or belief (forb) augustine, saint. ‘just-war theory’, available at http://www.mtholyoke.edu/-jasingle/justwar.html bandura, a. (1973), aggression: a social learning analysis. england cliffs, nj: press. bazza, m. b., a special submission made to: the joint initiative for strategic religious action (jisra) as a member of the nigeria input team on 24th july, 2020. centre for defense information,(2003), a brief history of terrorism. available at http://www.cdi.org/friendlyversion/printversion.cmf?documentid=1 502. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 38 chalianda, g. & blin, a. (2007), (eds.) the history of terrorism. (schneider, e., pulver, k. & browner, j. trans.), berkeley, university of california press. dollard, j., doob, l., mowver, o., & sears, r. (1939), frustration–aggression. new haven, c.t. university press. ebun-amun, c. (2010), ‘bombing as nigeria’s new sub-culture?’ the nigerian tribune, may 11. emmanuel innocent, “imam ashafa and pastor james wuye: bringing peace to warring nigerian communities”. premium times, april 9th 2020, retrieved july 24th, 2020. https.//crcc.usc.edu/imamashafa-and-pastor-james-wuye-bringing-peace-to-warringnigerian-communities/ fiala, a. (2002), ’terrorism and the philosophy of history: liberalism, realism and supreme emergency exemption’ in essays in philosophy, a biannual journal, vol.3, special issue. frey, r.g. & morris, c.h. (1991), violence, terrorism and justice. cambridge university press, new york. hegel, g.w.f. (1967), the phenomenology of the mind. (j.b. baillie, trans.), new york: harper & row publishers. ikime, o. (1985). in search of nigerians: changing patterns of intergroup relations in an evolving nation-state. presidential inaugural lecture, 30th congress of the h.s.n., university of nigeria nsukka. kamal, m. (2008) ‘the meaning of terrorism: a philosophical inqury’ in national centre of excellence for islamic studies nceis research papers, vol.1, no.1 university of melbourne. kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. 2016 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. 2016 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. 2016 kanu, i. a. african traditional folktales as an integrated classroom. subsaharan african journal of contemporary education research. vol.3 no. 6. pp. 107-118. 2016 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. 2017 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 39 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientic community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. 2017 kanu, i. a. african philosophy, globalization and the priority of ‘otherness’. journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 40-57. 2018 kanu, i. a. african traditional philosophy of education: essays in igwebuike philosophy. germany: lambert publications. 2018 kanu, i. a. igbo-african gods and goddesses. nnadiebube journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 118-146. 2018 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 40 kanu, i. a. igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. 2018 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. 2018 kanu, i. a. new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. 2018 micewski, e.r. (2006), ‘terror and terrorism: a history of ideas and philosophical-ethical reections’ in cultic studies review, vol.5,no.2. primoratz, i. (2004), terrorism: philosophical issues. palgrave macmillan, new york. roberts, a. (2008), the ‘war on terror’ in historical perspective. in t.g. mahnken & j.a. maiolo (eds.), strategic studies: a reader. new york: routledge. rootberg, r. (2002), the new nature of nation-state failure. the washington quarterly 25 (3) rootberg, r. (2003), state failure and state weakness in a time of terror. washington dc. brooklyn institution press. the joint initiative for strategic religious action (jisra) theory of change (both narrative and visual), 2020 zoro, s. (2011). the north: development and discontent. the african report 35:10-11. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 95 igwebuike philosophy and the aversion of ethnic and religious cleansing in nigeria chukwunonso egbedike, osa seton hall university faculty of arts south orange, new jersey chinosoaustin@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.28703.51361 abstract misguided statements from those in authority and citizens of the nigerian state have promoted the idea of the possibility of ethnic and religious cleaning in nigeria. the result has been ethnic and religious violence on various fronts of the nation. this piece raises questions as to the way forward. it, therefore, employs igwebuike philosophy as an instrument for the restoration of solidarity, unity and dialogue between the adherents of christianity and islam. igwebuike is an igbo-african philosophy of intersubjectivity and complementarity. it has the capacity of generating a relational balance between the adherents of the christian and islamic religions. during the course of the research, the igwebuike indeginous method of inquiry would be employedpropelled by the perspective that there is a relationship between islam and christianity, and this common ground would be patronized for the advanacement of peace and unity. a basic principle of igwebuike philosophy is dialogue. this work asserts that there is simply no alternative to dialogue between the adherents of both religions even though the nigerian muslims may seem not to be sincere in their practice of dialogue. more than ever today, we need conversion of heart, perspective and diverse voices. this change of heart must be based on a philosophy that increases our knowledge of one another and thus dispel the darkness of prejudice and anger. keywords: igwebuike, philosophy, ethnic cleansing, nigeria, christians, muslims introduction today, religion is seriously under attack from within and from without. this calls for internal cleansing of religion whereby the religious leaders should see it as an obligation to call to order, their followers who preach and promote violence. nigeria the most populated country in africa has experienced violence and other versions of crisis in recent times due to multitude of diverse, sometimes competing ethno-religious groups. mailto:chinosoaustin@yahoo.com https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.28703.51361?_sg%5b0%5d=mrxx0w1c49be1vvaby9sn1visj8exrdfdkdhxkedoo6bhkgz_vsgm7zxtpsm1bbd9vacl03zftbv5sxb8mj0cpzzea.olygo13oqi-taoioogrxxp6paj18kpkjm5do-foocpgd9pr73wlghn7ywnzeww5tyzq54r6cady4ozqm5syfmg igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 96 this paper shall take a cursory look into the presence of ethnic and religious cleansing in nigeria, and shall conclude with the possibility of christians and muslims getting along. it would employ igwebuike, an igbo-african philosophy of intersubjectivity and complementarity to look into the possibility of generating a relational balance between the adherents of the christian and islamic religions. during the course of the research, the igwebuike indeginous method of inquiry would be employedpropelled by the perspective that there is a relationship between islam and christianity, and this common ground would be patronized for the advanacement of peace and unity. the basic result anticipated is dialogue between the adherents of both religions; dialogue in an atmosphere that is nondiscriminatory, non-dominant and non-derogatory; a dialogue that is sincerely driven. meaning of ethnic cleansing the phrase ―ethnic cleansing‖ came into wide usage in the 1990‘s, to describe the treatment suffered by particular ethnic groups during conflicts that erupted after the disintegration of the former yugoslavia. thus, in 1993 a un high commission described the term in the context of yugoslavia as ―rendering an area ethnically homogenous by using force or intimidation to remove persons of given groups from the area.‖60 the term ―ethnic cleansing‖ refers to the removal, through violence and intimation, of an ethnic group defined from a given territory. the process of ethnic cleansing may be achieved through several mechanisms. deportation most commonly refers to action by state authorities to force an individual to leave country, but deportation may also describe the internal exile of an individual or a group.61 the country called nigeria modern nigeria emerged through the merging of two british colonial territories in 1914. the amalgamation was an act of colonial convenience. it occurred mainly because british colonizers desired a contiguous colonial territory 60 benjamin lieberman, terrible fate: ethnic cleansing in the making of modern europe (maryland: rowman & littlefield, 2013), p. xiii-xiv. 61 philip ther and ana siljak ed., a century of forced migration: the origins and consequences of ‗ethnic cleansing‘ in redrawing nations: ethnic cleansing in east-central europe, 1944-1948 (maryland: lanham, 2001), p. 13. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 97 stretching from the arid sahel to the atlantic coast, and because northern nigeria, one of the merging units, was not paying its way while southern nigeria, the other british colony, generated revenue in excess of its administrative expenses. it made practical administrative sense to have one coherent british colony rather than two. it also made sense to merge a revenuechallenged colonial territory with a prosperous colonial neighbor, so the latter can subsidize the former. the amalgamation made little sense to the colonial masters and has often being invoked by nigerians as the foundation of the rancorous relationship between the two regions of nigeria. northern nigeria, now broken into several states and three geopolitical blocs, is largely muslim. it was the center of a pre-colonial islamic empire called the sokoto caliphate, and its muslim populations, especially those whose ancestors had been part of the caliphate, generally look to the middle east and the wider muslim world for solidarity and sociopolitical example. the south, an ethnically diverse region containing many states and three geopolitical units, is largely christian. the major sociopolitical influences there are western and traditional african.62 these differences have been a source of political disagreements and suspicions between the two regions and religions since colonial times. to add to this cauldron, each of the two regions, also, contains ethnic and religious minorities who harbor grievances against ethnic and religious majorities they see as hegemonic oppressors. these grievances are sometimes expressed through bitter political complaints, through sectarian crises stoked by political elites and incendiary media rhetoric, and through violent insurgencies. between 1947 and 1959 nigerian nationalist leaders from different regional, ethnic, and religious communities came together in a series of conferences and parliaments to negotiate the transition to self-rule and to map out a common future. during these interactions and in the first few years after independence in 1960, the jarring effects of arbitrary colonial unification manifested as seemingly irreconcilable differences of aspirations, priorities, and visions.63 so deep were these religious and ethnic antagonisms that one northern nigerian muslim 62 http://www.pri.org/stories/2014-03-10/roots-nigerias-religious-and-ethnic-conflict 63 cornelius omonkhua, dialogue in context: a nigerian exoerience (kaduna: virtua insignia, 2014), p. 127-8. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 98 nationalist leader declared nigeria ―the mistake of 1914‖ while a prominent southern nigerian christian nationalist figure called nigeria ―a mere geographic expression.‖ in nigeria‘s national politics, christian anxieties about muslim domination of the national political space and the accompanying fear that politically dominant muslims would use their privileged perch to islamize national institutions is currently on the move and the imposition of the islamic sharia law on nonmuslims date back to colonial times. muslims, especially those from northern nigeria, for their part, have sought to fend off what they regard as unbridled westernization and have sporadically sought refuge in parochial religious reforms.64 on the other hand, it is good to recognized that the mismanagement of national resources and misrule by multi-ethnic and multi-religious coalitions of successive rulers since independence have impoverished and denied opportunities to the majority of nigerians. the desperate advancement of religious solutions to socioeconomic and political problems has deepened social fissures and spawned extremist and violent insurgencies such as the ongoing boko haram islamist terrorist campaign, which has killed and maimed christians and muslims alike. the adoption of the sharia criminal legal system by a slew of northern nigerian muslim-majority states between 2000 and 2002 was the highpoint of this new politicization of religion. once sharia was introduced, it only added to the fear of christians that they would be persecuted and their freedoms, guaranteed in the nigerian constitution, curtailed. 65 subsequently, religion became a major topic of national political debates, with each religious community pushing increasingly adversarial agendas. in this charged environment where religion functions as the primary idiom of political identity, conflicts over resources have often taken on a religious coloration, with muslims pitted against christians. christians have been drawn into these religious conflicts with their members in northern nigerian cities frequently targeted by muslim mobs. muslims, also, have been targeted in revenge killings 64 moses ochonu, colonialism: hausa imperial agents and middle belt consciousness in nigeria (lagos: macmillan publication, 2014), p.156. 65 ibid., p. 178-9. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 99 in southern nigeria.66 here, the possibility of getting along has been damaged and thwarted by religious bigotry. i think, unhealthy colonization caused this primordial conditions and identities that have generated tensions and conflicts between christians and muslims, but it made them worse. since colonization established the basis for using identity politics as a means of accessing political and economic resources, religious differences have exacerbated political crises and have been implicated in major national conflicts such as the nigerian civil war (1967-70), in which the biafra separatist movement initiated by the predominantly southern christian igbos was crushed by the then federal government which used pogroms, blockades, and starvation to exact victory. religious animosities only grew from that tragic episode of nigerian history. since independence, corrupt and incompetent leadership have added another wrinkle, preventing the equitable distribution of resources and opportunities and making the politics of religion and ethnicity exclusively more appealing. the use of religious and ethnic appeals as tools of political mobilization will diminish if there is an equal climate of justice, equitable resource distribution, and opportunities for all. ethnic-religious cleansing in nigeria the testimonies of victims provide additional clues to the causes of ethnic cleansing. they have described crimes by secret police and death squads, but many have also reported something even more disturbing: arson, assaults, and murders carried out by their own neighbors. many muslims decided that they truly wished to drive out their neighbors. many incidents of neighbors attacking neighbors have been seen as evidence of massive popular support for religious cleansing since the opponents are christians.67 it is good to avoid being too dogmatic in identifying the reasons why people have attacked their neighbors. a nigerian christian woman who was severely injured and lost her husband and two sons in the crisis in 2015 says: ―i still find it hard to understand that one of the boys who played on my son‘s soccer team 66 http://www.pri.org/stories/2014-03-10/roots-nigerias-religious-and-ethnic-conflict 67 benjamin lieberman, op.cit., p. xii. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 100 died with a knife in his hand, fighting…for islam that would mean the extermination of many of his high school friends. ethnic cleansing has often occurred under weak states. it is even more obvious that ethnic cleansing typically has included looting, because of the high rate of poverty in the state. also, some persons saw ethnic cleansing as something good in itself. individuals, accustomed to hearing stories of atrocities and historic betrayal, came to see neighbors from different ethnic and religious groups not as people with a shared past in work, school, and community life but as members of an inherently evil enemy nation who deserved punishment and removal. nigeria a complex state with the introduction of sharia law into her constitution made it explicit that there are possible ethnic-religious cleansing. once sharia was introduced, it only added to the fear of christians that they would be persecuted and their freedoms curtailed. the adoption of the sharia criminal legal system was the starting point of religious cleansing. in northern nigeria, clashes between muslim groups—mainly ethnic hausa and fulani—and christian communities have become a weekly affair, with devastating consequences in which thousands of people are killed, property destroyed, and hundreds of thousands displaced.68 christians, who make up close to half of the population in the country, have been targeted by major terror groups, such as boko haram and the muslim fulani herdsmen. christians in the north of the county are especially in danger of being killed as boko haram has been seeking to take down the nigerian government and force christians to flee the north and the country. possible reasons for ethnic-religious cleansing in nigeria nigeria has never been at ease with itself: social unrest has been one of the trademarks of the country. resource distribution and power allocation among regions and ethnic groups have consistently created havocs that cannot be forgotten. the biafra war (july 1967 – january 1970), caused by an ethnic and political conflict, left the african continent with a vivid memory of how delicate are the boundaries created by the colonial powers, where the north are mainly occupied by muslims and the south by the christians. the country was also under successive alleged and actual military coups till 1999.69 corruption, lack of 68 moses ochonu, op.cit., 188. 69 https://www.worldwatchmonitor.org/news/3570472/3904431/3924576 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 101 good governance and absence of the rule of law have been the underlying causes of the problems nigeria has been facing. the current situation in the country, however, is graver than the previous problems. the advent of boko haram and its subsequent degenerating into the fulani herdsmen have created cause to reflect and ponder on a complex nigeria. the conflict that involves boko haram, and other radical islamic groups, has a religious dimension, which makes it more complicated to deal with. the leaders of boko haram have repeatedly reiterated that they want to establish a caliphate of their own in order to establish the sharia law and court, to islamize the north and in general nigeria. the master plan of boko haram and muslims are to remove christians from the region. this can be shown by the fact that attackers are being settled in those areas where they removed christians. these crimes are, at least, ethnic-religious cleansing. the quest for power and natural resources are another possible reasons for ethnic-religious cleansing in nigeria. the government is doing everything possible to remove christians from power and islamize every sector of the government. the nigeria muslims believed they were born to rule and live in the corridor of power. thus, islamist domination through traditional institutions, political control and the promotion of islam by the furthering of the dan fodio (an early 19th cent. islamic teacher) jihad is a hinder dream. igwebuike philosophy and the quest for a relational balance the word igwebuike is an igbo word. it is a composite word made up of three dimensions. therefore, it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. the three words involved: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power. thus, put together, it means ‗number is strength‘ or ‗number is power‘, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force70. 70kanu, a. i. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. 153-160; kanu, i. a. (2017). ―igwebuike and the logic of african philosophy.‖ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1; kanu, i. a. (2017). ―igwebuike and the question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge.‖ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 102 igwebuike is a principle that is at the heart of african thought, and in fact, the modality of being in african ontology. as an ideology, igwebuike rests on the principles of solidarity and complementarity. thus, to be, is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. to be, is to be with the other, in a community of beings. this is based on the african sense of community, which is the underlying principle in african philosophy and religion, and as such, the unity of african philosophy. in this case, to be with the other becomes the modality of being in african ontology. this is anchored on the african cosmology which iroegbu describes as being characterized by a common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny71. in the contention of kanu, igwebuike is an ordered relationship, even though the idea of igwe (large number of people or group) may give the mpression of a mob or disordered relationship. igwebuike is a relationship guided by the igbo-african principle: egbe bere ugo bere (let the kite perch, let the eagle perch). iroegbu writing on being as belongingness avers that: ―isiokwu bu ebub egbe bere ugo bere). nihi na o weghi onye e kere kan nani ya biri n‟uwa) the central thing is live and let live. for none is created to live alone in this world‖72. the idea of egbe (kite) and ugo (eagle) speaks of a variety of positions, personality, creed, culture, etc., and in fact, differences in life, which is found in the world, and yet must coexist together. when the egbe settles in the uwa (the world) and imagines that the ugo has no right of existence and then begins to castigate ugo and to push it out of being, at that point, the egbe alienates the being of the ugo. when egbe castigates and condemns the ugo, it thinks that it is making progress; it is rather alienating itself because the being of the ugo has an existential and fundamental igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1; kanu, i. a. (2017). ―igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education.‖ nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. 71 kanu, i. a. (2014). igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholic-pentecostal relations. jos studies. 22. 87-98; kanu, i. a. (2016) ―igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology.‖ journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. 72 iroegbu iroegbu, p. (1994). metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: international universities press. p.378 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 103 contribution to make to the being of the egbe. it is such that when egbe kills the ugo, the egbe also kills itself. to be in the world, kanu avers that the egbe and the ugo must dialogue. the world is such that differences would always exist and to try to destroy the other as a result of difference is to waste one‘s time; to end the variation of reality is to end reality itself for reality is by its nature variegated. egbe beru ugo beru (let the kite perch, let the eagle perch). this implies they live face to face with each other, and, therefore, must have a relationship. they have the options of either relating and being happy or being in perpetual discord which alienates their being in the uwa. when the egbe and ugo harness their energies towards a common project, need and desire, they can constitute an insurmountable force in pursuing their collective vision. only then can they overcome their collective difficulties. in the same way, only when muslims and christians come together in existential solidarity, which is a correlative and complementary solidarity, a ‗we‘ relationship, can they fulfill their divine mandates. both religions have something to learn from each other, and to avoid or alienate the other is to deny oneself of knowledge and growth, and, thus, expanding the capacity of ignorance. when both religions slight each other, look down on each other, segregate each other and reject the contribution of each other, they are committing the ontological evil of alienation. the realization of who we are in relation to the other is the beginning of dialogue. we, muslims and christians are beings in relation to the other. both religious groups need to make a more sincere effort to establish ongoing dialogues. the result would be an understanding of each other through detailed knowledge of how each other‘s community interprets its sacred texts and traditions. igwebuike promotes the search for common denominators for the strengthening of unity and solidarity. thus, the discovery of common religious beliefs (god as one and creator, day of judgment, resurrection of the dead, mary, value moral life and worship god through prayer, almsgiving and fasting etc) can serve as soft ground for getting along through prayers and mutual support for each other, thereby combating religious prejudice and biases that have struck deep into the society. also, overcoming the widespread misunderstanding of islam as a religion of violence and terrorism, christian leaders must educate and correct this misunderstanding to aid proper religious relationship between peoples particularly in areas such as moral values and basic human dignity. in 1998, saint igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 104 pope john paul ii reminded muslim leaders in nigeria that ―both christianity and islam stress the dignity of every human person as having been created by god for a special purpose. this leads us to uphold the value of human life at all its stages, and to give support to family as the essential unit of society.‖73 thus, christians and muslims can get along if there is a profound respect for one another‘s religious beliefs and respect for human dignity as a creature of the merciful creator. recalling their common spiritual father, abraham (ibrahim), christians and muslims can overcome their religious diversity and witness to the one god (allah) who calls all people to build a community founded on love. the vatican document: ―nostra aetate: declaration on the relation of the church to non-christian religions,‖ encourage love, unity and peace among people of diverse religion. the document encourage this getting along between christian and muslims: ―the church, therefore, exhorts her sons, that through dialogue and collaboration with followers of other religions, carried out with prudence and love and in witness to the christian faith and life, they recognize, preserve and promote the good things, spiritual and moral, as well as the socio-cultural values found among these people. the church regards with esteem also the moslems…‖74 hence, getting along between christians and muslims in a complex nigeria will entails an equal climate of justice, equitable resource distribution, and opportunities for all. evaluation and conclusion from the above discourse, with the current disheartening speech of the buhari‘s led government which points strongly to an islamic agenda of dominance and islamization, i wish to assert my opinion without reservation that it is obvious that there is ethnic and religious cleansing currently going on in nigeria and the possibility of getting along in a complex ethno-religious society like nigeria would be futuristic in that the mediate situation calls for a review and reevaluation of the process of dialogue that have taken place in the past. also, in addressing the possibility of getting along, muslims and christians should always recall that religions have been co-opted into motivating acts of violence 73 pope john paul ii, address at meeting with muslim leaders (march 22, 1998), no.2, www. vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/travels/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_22031998_nigeriamuslim_en.html. 74 austin flannery, o.p., ed., vatican council ii: the counciliar and post-conciliar document (new delhi: rekha printers pvt. ltd), p.654. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 105 through decades. thus, today, the voice of hope for getting along in nigeria should acknowledge that there is simply no alternative to dialogue among religions even though the nigerian muslims may seem not to be sincere in their practice of dialogue. however, since muslims and christians will always live together in nigeria for now, it is good to recall and uphold the words of pope benedict xvi when he addressed muslim representatives in cologne in 2005: ―interreligious and intercultural dialogue…is in fact a vital necessity, on which in large measure our future depends.‖75 more than ever today, we need conversion of heart, perspective and diverse voices. this change of heart must be based on a philosophy that increases our knowledge of one another and thus dispel the darkness of prejudice and anger. bibliography austin flannery, o.p., ed., vatican council ii: the counciliar and post-conciliar document (new delhi: rekha printers pvt. ltd), p.654. benjamin lieberman, terrible fate: ethnic cleansing in the making of modern europe (maryland: rowman & littlefield, 2013), p. xiii-xiv. cornelius omonkhua, dialogue in context: a nigerian exoerience (kaduna: virtua insignia, 2014), p. 127-8. iroegbu, p. (1994). metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: international universities press. kanu, a. i. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. 153-160. kanu, i. a. (2014). igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholicpentecostal relations. jos studies. 22. 87-98. kanu, i. a. (2016) ―igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology.‖ journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. kanu, i. a. (2016). ―igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles.‖ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 2. 75 pope benedict xvi, address at meeting with representatives of some muslims communities (twentieth world youth day, august 20, 2005), www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2005/august/documents/hf_benxvi_spe_20050820_meeting_muslims_en.html. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5. no. 8. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2019. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 106 kanu, i. a. (2017). ―igwebuike and the logic of african philosophy.‖ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. kanu, i. a. (2017). ―igwebuike and the question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge.‖ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. kanu, i. a. (2017). ―igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education.‖ nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. kanu, i. a. (2017). ―igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment‖. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. kanu, i. a. (2017). ―igwebuike as an igbo-african wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering.‖ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. moses ochonu, colonialism: hausa imperial agents and middle belt consciousness in nigeria (lagos: macmillan publication, 2014), p.156. philip ther and ana siljak ed., a century of forced migration: the origins and consequences of ‗ethnic cleansing‘ in redrawing nations: ethnic cleansing in east-central europe, 1944-1948 (maryland: lanham, 2001), p. 13. pope benedict xvi, address at meeting with representatives of some muslims communities (twentieth world youth day, august 20, 2005), www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2005/august/documents/hf_be n-xvi_spe_20050820_meeting_muslims_en.html. pope john paul ii, address at meeting with muslim leaders (march 22, 1998), no.2, www. vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/travels/documents/hf_jpii_spe_22031998_nigeria-muslim_en.html. microsoft word igwebuike journals vol. 5. no. 7.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 116 kanu anthony’s igwebuike philosophy and conflict resolution in obeama-nguru valentine emeka alalama department of philosophy saint augustine major seminary, jos plateau state valentinealalama@yahoo.com abstract over the years, our world has witnessed several uproar and unrest. these ugly situations have left our contemporary society in complete bizarre. in some other quarters, it has been observed that the elite have paved a stable and conflict free environment for themselves thereby relegating the proletariats to the background and so the “have not” become preys to the numerous attacks that emerge from several conflicts in africa and specifically nigeria, ranging from the fulani herd’s men attack to the unending boko-haram insurgence. the tribal conflict of the rwanda’s tutsi and hutu is also an explicit illustration of the numerous conflicts witnessed in africa. the motivation for this extensive research work is borne out of a critical reflection on the unending conflicts and wars being witnessed in africa and specifically nigeria. another notable motivation is the importance of the need for peace and building a conflict free society. this work, therefore, studies the problem of conflict in relation to the need for resolution. it attends to questions such as: is lasting peace attainable in africa/ the igbo community? and how can the igbo-african philosophy, igwebuike be creative and instrumental in initiating peace and resolving conflicts among africans? the specific objectives of this thesis are to suggest positive possible ways of establishing a lasting peace among africans especially the igbos; to explore the igbo-african philosophy: igwebuike as an essential tool in bringing about a lasting peace and to postulate theoretically and practically how a violent free society can be stabilized. this work has implored both expository and analytical research methodology; it has also explored both primary and secondary data. notable discoveries in this work are that sharing of family inheritance among brothers and misunderstood religious notions is a major cause of conflicts. introduction the best evidence against the claim that peace studies is defined by any particular ideology lies in the existence of an ongoing vigorous debate within the field about how to define “peace,” the concept central to peace studies as a field of research and education. it is to this that larry and schellenberg defines peace in terms of relationships thus, peaceful relationships, he says are those in which igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 117 individuals or groups are enabled to achieve together goals which they could have reached separately (22). from the foregoing, the researcher could assert that larry and schellenberg’s definition of peace is somewhat different from what we often see in newspapers or popular language, he does not mean merely the absence of conflict or other forms of violence, rather he posits collectivity (instead of individuality) as an essential tool for peace. more still, most people are proud to be human beings. we are proud of what we have attained, and many received awards and titles for what they have accomplished. i have received many myself, but i have not even hung them up. when a person is dying, we check their pulse and see if they are still breathing. then we say, reached will be taken away. right now we all have that title, but we don’t recognize it. it’s just like seeing someone we know after many years and thinking, “seeing a person, humans asks themselves “i have seen this person somewhere before. who is he? i do not recognize him.” does humanity not also look at themselves and wonder, “i have seen you somewhere. it feels like i know you, but i do not recognize you”? (prem rwat). speaking about peace recently and someone asked what would be said to the poor people in this world. do not poor people need peace? is peace only for the wealthy? people think that a hungry person only needs bread. haven been hungry before, this is not to say that one does not need bread, but such a person also needs peace, because this world does not exist only to fill the stomach (prem web). who needs to experience peace and an environment that is free from conflicts? peace is not needed by trees. peace is not needed by cats. peace is not needed by dogs. peace is needed by human beings because we can experience peace. we need it for an enduring co-existence. peace needs to be experienced in our hearts. whether there’s pace in the world or not, peace is definitely possible in our hearts (prem web). today we don’t look at our faults; we look at everyone else’s faults. we don’t look at our weakness; we look at other people’s weaknesses. resolving conflicts and consciously ensuring peace is not a philosophy that is peculiar to africa alone but among all peoples all over the world. peace is something that has to be experienced. unless a person experiences it, everything is empty and incomplete. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 118 resolving conflicts and maintaining peace, as we all know, is very important in our lives and it is essential to our overall well-being. however, this is something that has, regrettably, eluded us for years in the world. it has been hindered by war, conflicts, and disagreements throughout human epoch, which has left our world and the many people in it in a dilapidating, deplorable emotional, psychological and physical state. this should not be the case. even in the places where guns are silent, there is still some form of conflict going on in many homes, rural communities, and urban areas across africa which is obviously going to have negative effects on the future society and spark more conflicts in the world. illustratively speaking, when there are conflicts between siblings in a home; if not checked, they might continue this conflict on a much greater scale, and it might result to death. also, conflicts that can prevent peace from being possible are conflicts between different ethnic groups, different religions, different states, and different parties of the same state, different races amongst others which are quite frequent in today’s society. if this continues, then any chance of peace will be lost. this calls for the need for a new generation that would value and treasure peace above all else so that this world will be a better place. furthermore, any kind of violence, even in its lowest form can be a huge hindrance to peace, and that is why we must stamp it out in order to preserve the unity of humanity and protect the lives of millions of innocent people. if we do not root it out, then we will be seeing full scale wars a lot more often and more lives will be lost. it was mahatma gandhi who posited that “an eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind” (mahatma gandhi web). also in an attempt to exhibit the relationship between human beings and peace, saint mother teresa averred that, “peace begins with a smile” (mother teresa web). in any case, conflict is senseless and accomplishes nothing for us but rather, it creates more problems. as a matter of fact, it is a big factor contributing to revenge, which is one of the biggest hindrances to peace. however, it does not have to be this way a there is still hope for us to become peaceful. in this life, humanity can light the lamp of peace. the heart can be decorated with the lamp of peace every day. humans can call to that peace, that joy, so that it comes to you. all those corners where there is darkness can be filled with joy. joy does not look at anyone’s age, whether they are young or old. no matter what their condition, it is possible for every human being to feel joy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 119 if you need to make an effort, then the effort should be to light the lamp of joy. this is the most beautiful thing that is possible in this life (prem web). furthermore, a holistic examination of africa would show that africans have for a very long time struggled towards building a conflict free environment; however, this struggle has encountered several tussle or dispute. in like manner, generations after generations have continued to work out a way of maintaining a lasting peace. it is apparent that our world has suffered violence from various fronts: cultural, political, and religious wars. it is in this light that the need for peace has become urgent and indispensable. the outcome of wars is evident: lose of lives and properties, emotional trauma, frustration and depression. this work, therefore, studies the problem of conflict in relation to the need for resolution. it attends to questions such as: 1. is lasting peace attainable in africa/ the igbo community? 2. how can the igbo community build an atmosphere that is free of conflict? 3. how can the igbo-african philosophy; igwebuike be creative and instrumental in initiating peace and resolving conflicts among africans? 4. is war the only way out? these questions and more are at the heart of this research. having being informed of the glaring dangers of conflicts, it is now appropriate to highlight the productive importance of resolving conflicts of all (may be) kinds and sustaining peace in all ramifications of life. in our world today, the preservation of life has continually remained the primary pursuit of individuals, societies, groups, and nations. it was virginia woolf who averred that “you cannot find peace by avoiding life.” sources of igwebuike philosophy according to the proponent of igwebike philosophy, igwebuike philosophy is based on the igbo-african worldview of complementarity, that is, the manner of being in african ontology. it is a worldview in which individuating differences must work towards a corporate existence where the “i” does not stand as the “i” but as a ‘we’, where life and living makes meaning. in a scenario of this kind, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 120 difference does not divide neither does it constitute a threat, but rather unites and gives hope that future existence would have meaning. in a cosmogony of this kind, while the ontology of the person is founded on the particularity of the individual, implying that it is the metaphysics of the particular that founds identity, it is the community that gives meaning to such an existence and grounds such an identity (kanu sources of igwebuike 2). the researcher can therefore deduce critically that igwebuike philosophy is one that is composed by the solidarity of the people. the basic question looming at the horizon of this heading is: “what are the sources of igwebuike philosophy?” for kanu, it focuses on the raw materials from which igwebuike philosophy is gotten (p. 3). a cursory glance at the african sociocultural background reveals that the sources of igwebuike philosophy include: 1. the works of professional african philosophers 2. african proverbs 3. african folk tales 4. african mythology 5. african symbols 6. african names and 7. african songs. a. diagramatical description of the sources of igebuike philosophy as given by kanu igwebuike philosophy african names african proverbs african folktales african songs african symbols african mythology professional african philosophers igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 121 while these are part of our african culture they do not qualify to be referred to as african philosophy simply because they belong to a world that was taken for granted, a world of dogmatism and conservatism. they have rarely received the light of reason and thus, their inner meanings or philosophical underpinnings are yet to be interpreted or grasped (4). the researcher observes here that igwbuike (african) philosophy has so far being looked with a narrow mindedness and prejudice and they are not philosophies but they qualify as spring boards from which philosophy can emerge. b. analysis of the sources of igwebuike philosophy 1. professional philosophers a glance at the works of contemporary african philosophers reveals that the web that holds their perspectives together is the philosophy of complementarity. although perspectives continue to change and differ, they continue to be united by the idea of harmony. this dates back to tempels who argues that: “‘beings forces’ of the universe are not a multiple of independent forces placed in juxtaposition from being to being. all creatures are found in relationship according to the law of hierarchy” (29). this sense of complementarity echoes during the nationalistic movements of the 20th century, complementarity was grounded in political ideologies: while senghor places the family at the centre of the social structure, nyerere bases his political thought on ujamaa, familyhood. while awolowo makes a choice of socialism over capitalism, nkrumah gave pan-africanism the publicity it deserved. as established, it is glaring that the meaning of an individual’s life is found in and through his relationship with others. it then follows that each african philosophers work relies on his or her african counterpart. 2. african proverbs proverbs occupy a very important place in africa’s economy of communication. they have been described variously, by the igbo as vegetables for eating speech; the palm oil with which words are eaten; it is so important that the zulu of south africa would say that without proverbs, language would be but a skeleton without flesh, a body without a soul. the yoruba of western nigeria would say that proverbs are horses for chasing missing words (7). thus, mbiti as cited by kanu avers that “it is in proverbs that we find the remains of the oldest forms of african religious and philosophical wisdom (86).” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 122 african proverbs in the light in of scholars have proven to be an unquestionable source of igwebike philosophy in that it carries within it; the wisdom and experience of the african people, usually of several ages gathered and summed up in one expression. they spring from the people and represent the voice of the people and express the interpretation of their belief, principles of life and conduct. a. some african proverbs 1. aka nri kwo aka ekpe, aka ekpe akwo aka nri: if the right hand washes the left hand, the left hand would wash the right hand 2. a nyuko mamiri onu ogba ofufu: if people urinate in the same spot it foams 3. ngwere gharu ukwu osisi aka akparu ya: when a lizard goes far from the tree, it would be caught 4. ugo beru egbe eberu: let the kite peck and let the eagle peck these igbo proverbs express the igbo philosophy of complementary and the part which the other plays in the life of the other for the realization of the self. thus, from them, one gets the echo of igwebuike philosophy (8). 3. african folktales africans are parable and story telling people, (zani) and their stories according to rattray mirror more or less accurately the african ideal life, conduct and morals. apart from the african system of education which is tied to roles such as farming, hunting, firewood gathering etc., the african got much more instruction through tales (brosnan). this was in the main moral instruction given at night after the evening meal, on the way to farms or the stream, in the village square or at moonlight nights. african folktales as seen in the view of authors are essential sources of the igboafrican thought. 4. african mythology esposito, easching and lewis, explain that the word “myth” comes from the greek “mythos”, which means “story”. myths are symbolic stories about the origins and destiny of human beings and their world. they relate human beings to whatever powers they believe ultimately govern their destiny, and explains to them what those powers expect of them. according to marshall “the word ‘myth’ is used to refer to stories that are fictional, and hence, it has come to have a pejorative sense” (449). gyekye describes them as “vehicles for abstract igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 123 thought” (14), and further advises that “to get at the full philosophical import of myths, however, requires detailed examination” (15). african mythology is essential to this unit in that they are composite materials for the formation of igwebuike philosophy. 5. african symbols the use of symbols in africa is a very common phenomenon. it has become more useful due to the african’s strong believe in metaphysical realities. thus, symbols help the african to represent the unseen realities that are all around him or her. fairchild defines a symbol as: that which stands for something else particularly a relatively concrete explicit representation of a more generalized, diffuse, intangible object or group of objects. a very large part of social processes is caused on by use of symbols such as words, money, certificates and pictures. a true symbol excites reactions similar to, though perhaps not quite as intense as those created by the original object (314). scholars affirmation to the relevant place of symbols exhibits their resourceful position to the makeup of igwebuike philosophy. 6. african names according to kanu, names among the african people is not just an identification tag for differentiating ‘a’ from ‘b’ but carries with it meanings that are rich and profound. there are times when such names are monumental, in the sense that they tell a history of an event that has occurred. for instance, the igbo name onwudinjo which means “death is bad” is usually given to a child to tell the story of, may be, the death of the mother at the birth of the child or the death of an important relation at the time of the birth of the child. there are times when such names are prophetic, like ogadinma, which means, “it would be good”, could be given to a child to speak of the anticipation of a bright future. this notwithstanding, the basic concern here is to see how african names are a source of igwebuike philosophy (p. 4) the concern here is to see how african names echo the philosophy of complementarity. three categories of names have been highlighted by the proponent of igwebuike philosophy these would be studied from the igbo perspective: the names given to human beings, titles given to people, which qualify as names, and the names given to god; a. names for human beings igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 124 the list below encompasses names given to human beings at birth. these three names are only a few among others. no names meanings 1 obinwanne the heart of a brother 2 ekwutosinammadibegi don't condemn your neigbour 3 ifunaya love table 1 b. titles given to human beings these names are titles given to people who have achieved some heights in the society. it is given in commemoration or to express what the title holder is capable of. these three titles are only a few among others. no names meanings 1 uba zuo oke let wealth go round 2 onwa na etiri ora man of the people, a philanthropist 3 ochiri ozuo a helper, especially the less privileged table 2 c. african names for god these are the names that the igbo give to god based on what he has done for him or her or on the basis of what is expected from god. these three names are only a few among others, no names meanings 1 onwa na etiri ora the moon that shines for all 2 okosisi na eche ndu the mighty tree that gives protection 3 echeta obi esike the giver of confidence table 3 the names listed in the three tables are names that relate the individual to the other or others, signifying what an individual accomplishes or can accomplish in the life of the other. these names indicate that life is a relationship (7). 7. african songs africans and especially the igbos are people of songs. they sing in their farms during work, in their shrines during worship, at home while cooking, in the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 125 evening during storytelling, at war fronts to give themselves courage, on their way while on a journey, etc., thus, quarcoopome avers that among africans: singing generates the avenue for expressing certain sentiments or truths, and in the context of rituals they demonstrate the faith of the worshipper from the heartfaith in god, belief in and about divinities, assurance and hope about the present and with reference to the hereafter (37). from the foregoing the researcher is prompted to ask how are these songs a source of igwebuike philosophy? for a response, the author has also made it explicit that african songs point to the relatedness of reality. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in nigeria nigeria is a religiously diverse society, with islam and christianity being the most widely professed religions. in the 1980's serious outbreaks of violence began to be manifested in the relationships between christians and muslims. the clashes in kaduna and kano states are notable. since then, the relationship between the two religions in nigeria has been defined by violence, attacks, counterattacks and bloodshed (sources of igwebuike 9). pope benedict xvi questioned islam's position on peace; this also led to the loss of lives and properties in nigeria. these, according to jimoh, continue to affect the relationship between christians and muslims. from the insight of scholars, christian-muslim relations in nigeria have been predominantly on the negative. igwebiuike as an igbo-african philosophy for peace and conflict resolution a cursory glance at the african continent reveals that she has been and continues to be the scene of multiple conflicts at local, national and regional levels. these conflicts have led to the breakdown of african countries. human lives have been lost, infrastructure destroyed, education and health services have suffered, and the environment damaged. over the years, the international community has been involved in supporting african countries in the resolution of conflicts, however, only very little have (kanu, peace and conflict 8). from the author’s perspective and as related to this research, it is apparent that african worldviews and indigenous categories could contribute to the resolution of conflicts in africa. a. conflict, its ontological cause and the need for resolution igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 126 conflict is from the latin word confligere, which means to strike together. it is the product of differences in the interpretation of reality, data, issues, values, interests, relationships and unsatisfied human needs (bisong 2006). it is always the result of differences in a family, community, village, a tribe, religion occasioned by incompatible desires and aims (nader 1986). at the heart of it are self-assertiveness and the absence of empathy; and its key words are hostility, disagreement, incompatibility, competition and misunderstanding. the result is collision, disagreement, struggle, clash, opposition, etc. as seen in the work of authors, egocentrism is a fundamental cause of discord that relegates peace to the background and it occurs when someone has an overblown opinion of himself. b. the gap in non-indigenous methods of conflict resolution the seventh chapter of the united nations charter, articles 39-50 makes a provision for the united nations to maintain peace and security in any part of the world. further provisions have been made in chapter seven, article 52-52 for regional arrangements as in the case of african union to mobilize troops for peace keeping. unfortunately, jiya (2-13) observes that a cursory glance at the historical evolution of conflict resolution in different parts of africa by the united nations peace keeping forces and the regional bodies’ interventions reveals that both bodies have recorded more abysmal failures than successes as is in the cases of somalia, rwanda, angola, centra african republic. in nigeria, the settlement of the cases between ife/modakeke, aguleri/umuleri and the tiv/fulani crisis are important cases in point. although the cases are judged in the court and closed, the conflict still continues to raise its heads with gruesome implications in various ways, indicating that it has not been settled after all. from the philosophers view foreign or non-traditional methods of conflict resolution has brought more unpleasant situations instead of curbing the already existing ones. c. igwebuike philosophy of peace and conflict resolution igwebuike as an indigenous method of peace and conflict resolution has a community-based approach. it is an outcome of the wisdom of traditional african conflict management practices drawn from the values of host communities, and founded on the custom and tradition of the african people igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 127 which has been developed over a long period of timeit is entirely based on culture and emphasizes the fundamental part which culture plays in the lives and actions of people. it is more of a healing process in which individuals contribute positive energy with the sole aim of re-establishing the energy flow within individuals, families and communities for the purpose of rebuilding social harmony. thus, by finding a balance between the self and other, the destructive and the creative, the good and the bad, etc (peace and conflict 8). igwebuike, an igbo-african philosophy is, therefore, employed as a system of conflict resolution which would help africans to incorporate african traditional categories in the resolution of conflicts, promotion of peace, justice, freedom, human dignity, sustainable development and better quality of life. d. what is peace? kanu further observes that igwebuike understands peace within the context of good health, well-being, order and freshness. from this understanding, poverty, insecurity, unemployment, waywardness, communal clashes, religious crisis, and other mysterious and human-made misfortunes are considered to be the opposite or negation of peace. in relation to conflict, igwebuike philosophy does not understand conflict merely as a fracas between two persons, or two groups, it rather understands conflict as a fracas touching on the harmony of reality (peace and conflict 10). the issue of peace and conflict resolution is within the parameters of human relationship. and the way people relate with one another is to a great extent determined by their worldview. e. some basic features of igwebuike philosophy of peace and conflict resolution 1. conflict is not viewed as a problem between the disputants but as a problem of the entire community. this, therefore, attracts the attention of the community. 2. the emphasis is on reconciliation and restoring social harmony. it purpose is, therefore, aimed at rebuilding broken relationships and restoring the community. 3. igwebuike works towards a situation that acknowledges a mutually beneficial condition rather just condemning one and exalting the other. this is because the emphasis is on co-operation with one another for the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 128 common good as opposed to competition that could lead to grave instability within the community. 4. traditional arbitrators are appointed from within the community on the basis of status and lineage. they are never strange faces sitting on judgment seatstheir personal knowledge of the disputants, the case and the community places them in a position of advantage. 5. there is a high degree of public participation. there are no secret trails in african traditional legal system. since the problem between the disputants is seen as a community problem, in restoring harmony, there must be a general satisfaction among the public regarding the procedure and outcome of the case. conflicts have always been with the human society right from the very beginning of the existence of differences in identities, competing definitions of what is right, fair and just. this section of this work has, may be, studied the issue of peace and conflict resolution from an african perspective relying on igwebuike as an african method of reconciliation. it argues that the persisting issues of conflicts in africa are a consequence of the relegation of the african traditional model of conflict resolution to the background (peace and conflict 10). it acknowledges that the african approach to conflict resolution is aimed at removing the root causes of the conflict, to reconcile the conflict parties and to ensure peace in society. while the means to peace and conflict resolution are taught in schools, the traditional african emphasis on peace and the resolution of conflict is taught right from the home. through proverbs, stories, etc., the african is taught the need for peace and the consequences of discord and its resounding effect on the entire universe (11). from the foregoing, it is has been made factual that african traditional methods of conflict resolution are aimed at ensuring the full integration of the parties involved into the society. the objective is to move away from accusation and counter-accusation method to settle hurt feelings and to reach a compromise that would help improve future relationships. thus, when a child is born into a peaceful family, he or she stands the chance of being an ambassador of peace. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 129 igwebuike: an igbo-african philosophy a reflection on igwebuike philosophy would exhibit that the concept did not just appear out of the thin air, but it is a product of a meticulous and critical study of the african and africa itself. it is in this light that the scrupulous researcher would dissect (the first class brain) the profound thinker behind the igwebuike philosophy. it was ejikemeuwa ndubisi who described kanu as “one who is true to being and has manifested in true nature in the pastoral field and especially in the academic world” (ejikemeuwa web). being a professor at 35, there is no better way to describe him than the rising sun. when the sun rises, it shines. but one thing to note is that the sun rises early in the morning and gradually begins to radiate its light. early life and education rev. fr. ikechukwu kanu is an augustinian friar. he was born on the 20th of november 1981, and he hails from arondizuogu in ideato north local government area of imo state. kanu is the sixth child of a family of six and was born in jimeta –yola, adamawa state, nigeria. he speaks english, igbo and hausa. he received his first formal education at command children nursery and primary school, jimeta-yola, adamawa state from 1984-1986. between 19871992, he was at the demonstration primary school, jimeta-yola, adamawa state for his primary school education. vocation to the roman catholic priesthood having proved himself a genius and burning with the zeal to offer himself entirely to god, ikechukwu decided to enroll for his secondary school education at st. peter’s minor seminary jimeta-yola, adamawa state from 1995-1999. in 2001, he joined the order of st. augustine and began his philosophical studies at st. thomas aquinas major seminary makurdi (an affiliate of urban university, rome). at the end of his studies in 2004, ikechukwu came out with first class honours. between 2004-2005, he underwent augustinian novitiate experience where he spent one uninterrupted year of spiritual formation and development after which he was found worthy of theological studies and so he was sent to st. augustine’s major seminary, jos (an affiliate of the university of jos, plateau state). as a confirmation of his natural and unique intelligence, ikechukwu completed his theological studies in 2009 with another first class honours. he was ordained a roman catholic priest by late bishop christopher abba on 4th july 2009. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 130 among other academic qualifications that he has already attained, he is currently a professor of religion in the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, nigeria and he doubles as the rector of the augustinian institute, makurdi, benue state, nigeria (kanu 1-2). the shining sun being a man focus and excellence, has been endowed with several meritorious awards for his hard work, resilience and especially for his persistency in distinguishing african philosophy and continuously proving the fact that, since africans belong to the unitary chain of humanity then she must necessarily reflect on her daily experiences, activities, observances, proverbs and myths, etc; thus, igwebuike (african) philosophy is therefore a product of this reflections (kanu 4). in his bid to contribute immensely to the pool of knowledge, kanu has written omnivorously, making impact in various spheres of life through his works, especially in the areas of african philosophy and african traditional religion (atr) studies in which he has made an indelible impression through his ground breaking igwebuike philosophy and other written works, prominent among which include: african philosophy:an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues and a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. kanu so far, has written 20 books, published 116 articles in national and international peer reviewed journals, 120 papers presented at different conferences. this is no doubt an indication that kanu is truly a genius and his contributions in creating awareness and imparting positive knowledge cannot be over emphasized. kanu is also the founder and editor-in-chief of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, and igwebuikepedia: an internet encyclopedia of african philosophy. as already established, it is discernable that the exponent of igwebuike philosophy is one who has education at heart and desires earnestly to enlighten his contemporaries and even generations yet unborn the value and unique place of african philosophy especially of the igbo parlance, which is a major concern of this research work. more so, to say that africa does not have a philosophy means it does not have a reasoning process, and it is to relegate her from the collective humanity (geoffery parrinder 2). the etymology and meaning of igwebuike igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 131 in the view of kanu, igwebuike in igbo-african philosophy is the modality of being. it is an igbo word, which is a combination of three words. it can be understood as a word and as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it could be written thus igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. let us try to understand the three words involved: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power. put together, it means number is strength or number is power (kanu 96). from the fore going, it is factual that igwebike is borne out of a unitary composition since it propagates strength in togetherness or population. more so, kanu avers that it rests on the philosophy of solidarity and complementarity; thus, to be is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. igwebuike is based on the african cosmology. it is in consonance to this that iroegbu opines that it is characterized by a common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny. igwebuike is the underlining principle of african philosophy and religion. it is the unity of the african philosophical experience. it is in fact, the fundamental category of african philosophy and religion. it is the substratum of african traditional values, philosophy and religion. mbiti has classically proverbialized the community, determining the role of the individual when he write; “i am because we are and since we are, therefore i am” (108). as averred above by authors, it is attainable that igwebuike philosophy is one that strongly invites the african people to a life of a wholistic unism as it goes as far as expressing a sense of belonging to the african and when the reverse is the case it presents the african to be alienated from the rest of humanity. also, when human beings come together in solidarity and complimentarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force or strength, and at this level, no task is beyond their collective capability. igwebuike: the unity of african philosophical experience for kanu, a glance at the historical evolution of philosophy generally, reveals that philosophy is an enterprise that searches for the unity of reality. although philosophers sometimes take different paths in this search, it does not in any way igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 132 change the fact of what is sought. some of their efforts or perspectives have been challenged and criticized. however, in criticizing them, their effort is not undermined and their greatness is not forgotten. the various contributions of philosophers, in their wisdom or ‘seeming absence of it’, contributed to the building of this ladder towards the empire of the unity of reality (1). as previewed, it has been the desire of philosophers to establish a sole reality of unity (a reality which posits only one kind of unity) in the philosophical parlance. and this reality is one which is of a pertinent concern to this work because it (unity) can be an essential tool for bringing about peace and resolve conflicts of all kinds. more so, the journey towards this unity is one that expresses itself in thesis, antithesis and synthesis, which generate another thesis. for if there is no thesis, who can talk of an antithesis, for only when an antithesis exists can we look forward to synthesis and then a new thesis (kanu 2). the thesis denotes the initial idea for bringing about unity of the african philosophical experience (this is the overall pursuit of all philosophical discuss which is a unitary objectivity) as related to this work the thesis is the foremost agitation for a peaceable and conflict free society, while the antithesis represents the wrong attitudes (using violent means to curb violence) that has been employed to establish peace. igwebuike is understood as the unity of african philosophical experience in that it calls on the joint effort of the collective humanity. in the light of kanu, the development of african philosophy from its rudimentary stages, when african thinkers dinned with logic and became intoxicated with the wine formal reasoning and the abstract beauty of its laws, to the present time, reveals that there were ideas that that remained constant in the midst of the changes in thought and in the plurality of ideas (3). from the antecedent, the researcher can deduce that the search for the underlining principle of reality began with the ionian fathers of philosophy. they were interested in knowing that which remained constant in the midst of change, that is, that which continued or persisted through change. they were interested in that which remained a basic unity in the midst of plurality. igwebuike is thus, an indispensable intellectual expression that brings about the long yeaned unity (peace) of the african philosophical experience. igwebuike as an ordered relationship igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 133 it was kanu who posited that igwebuike is not a philosophy of the ‘mob’, as igwe which means large number of people may suggest. it is an ordered relationship. it is a relationship guided by the igboafrican principle: egbe bere ugo bere (let the kite perch, let the eagle perch). (4) it is to this that iroegbu writes: “isiokwu bu ebubu (egbe bere ugo bere). nihi na o weghi onye e kere kan nani ya biri n’uwa (the central thing is live and let live. for none is created to live alone in this world)” ( 378). as seen in the assertions of kanu and iroegbu and as related to this research, the idea of egbe (kite) and ugo (eagle) speaks of a variety of positions, personality, creed, culture, etc, and in fact, differences in life, which is found in the world, and yet must coexist together. when egbe settles in the uwa (the world) and imagines that the ugo has no right of existence and then begins to castigate ugo and to push it out of being, at this point, the egbe alienates the being of the ugo. when egbe castigates and condemns the ugo, it thinks that it is making progress; it is rather alienating itself because the being of the ugo has an existential and fundamental contribution to the being of the egbe. with the sense of humanity, it is proper to assert here that when one ‘kills’ the other such a person kills him or herself because our being is bonded relationally in the being of others. the relational orderliness that is spoken of here is one that can sustain peace in our contemporary society. igwebuike and the essence of shared humanity igwebuike places communalism at the core of african ethics, making african ethics a morality that is understood in relation to the other. as an ethical ideology that encourages communal living, igwebuike expresses the capacity to be compassionate in relation to the other. it encompasses reciprocity, dignity, harmony and humanity in the interests of building and maintaining community. unlike western ethics that promotes individualism and sometimes prize selfish interest above altruistic behaviours, kanu observes that: igwebuike goes beyond the self, to feel the pain of the other as though it were my pain, the redemption of the other as though it were my redemption. it speaks more of our interconnectedness and interrelatedness and the responsibility we have towards each other. it presents my humanity as being inextricably bound in your humanity. the consequence therefore becomes that i am diminished when others are humiliated and oppressed. (kanu “igwebuike and african ethics” web). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 134 igwebuike also “emphasizes the strong connection between moral rules and the type of communal kinship relationships that exist among african societies.” (kanu “igwebuike and african ethics” web). hence a person’s action, whether good or bad, has implications and effects either positive or negative on the other members of the community. thus it is the duty and responsibility of the community in rooting out evil, resolving conflicts and also helping each member to live morally good lives. therefore as an ethics of a shared humanity and also as an african ethical theory, igwebuike reflects a community based morality in which a person is said to be ethical only in relation to others or to the community. igwebuike and the essence of being human the philosophy of igwebuike is based on the values of humanness, caring, respect for others, compassion, mutual helpfulness, collective responsibility, reciprocal obligations, interdependence etc. (kanu, “igwebuike and african ethics” web). it recognizes three attributes of being human: human dignity, human equality and universal brotherhood/sisterhood. 1. human dignity for igwebuike philosophy, human dignity is one of the immutable attribute of being human. igwebuike contends that the human person has a relationship with the divine, which makes man a theomorphic being, and hence human life is understood as coming from god. this relationship between human beings and god is what accords them their dignity. igwebuike been an igbo-african philosophy adopts the igbo concept of human life, which argues that human life is from god. thus, in igbo culture “when a child is born it is taken to be a gift from god. the life of a child is not attributed to biological fact of conception because every child has existed in an antecedent world of a divine master.” (kanu “igwebuike and african ethics” web). therefore human dignity, which must be respected by all, is due to the relationship between god and humans. it is obligatory to respect the dignity of the human person. kanu avers that “the dignity of the human person, who must be treated by the other with respect and the moral responsibility expected from igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 135 him or her, is fundamentally bound to his or her divine relationship.” (“igwebuike and african ethics” web). 2. human equality kanu opines that “the african idea of human equality is directly linked to her concept of god as the father of all.” (“igwebuike and african ethics” web). god in african ontology is conceived to be just and fair, impartial and treats everyone equally. this idea of equality does not water down the reality of hierarchy, rather equality in this sense does not imply “placing everyone on the same level but giving everyone his due place: thus, children must respect their parents because of the precedency that age and experience gives to them.” (kanu “igwebuike and african ethics” web). 3. universal brotherhood/sisterhood: igwebuike’s concept of universal brotherhood/sisterhood is hinged on the fact of our common existence as human beings, which by virtue of it, we shear common interest. kanu observes that “the idea of universal brotherhood and sisterhood is based on the african worldview which understands human persons as having a common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour, habits, feelings, hopes, desires, values, common historical experience and a common destiny.” (“igwebuike and african ethics” web). thus, igwebuike philosophy argues that as brothers and sisters, “it is meant that the other is part of me. if the other is part of me, he or she is treated with respect and love, for to treat the other otherwise is to diminish myself.” (kanu “igwebuike and african ethics” web). therefore, igwebuike proposes virtues like hospitality, generosity, empathy, sympathy, compassion etc. this can help us live out this universal call of brotherhood and sisterhood. the uniqueness of igwebuike’s philosophy haven dissected various facets of igwebuike’s philosophy, it is discernable that igwbuike’s philosophy is distinctively unique in itself and this uniqueness is exemplified relationally and in togetherness because it is in such regard that the african strength is consist in as igwebuike proposes. however, there are fundamental features that categorically stipulate this uniqueness that is spoken of and they include; complementarity and solidarity. 1. an x-ray of complementarity and solidarity igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 136 it was kanu who posited that complementarity and solidarity are fundamental basis from which igwebuike’s philosophy sprouts out. it relies strictly on them and exhibits its (igwbuike) uniqueness through them (complementarity and solidarity). it is to this that kanu previewed complementarity and solidarity as being relational in that the successful attainment of the other’s goal is equivalently the attainment of such an individual’s own goal. it is to this end that mbiti emphasized the essence of collectivity when he asserts; “i am because we are and since we are, therefore i am” ( 108). considered individually, complementarity is seen as a relationship or situation in which two or different things improve or emphasize each other’s qualities. solidarity on the other hand is the unity or agreement of feeling or action, especially among individuals with a common interest (google web dictionary). both complementarity and solidarity are so powerful to the extent that they can constitute an insurmountable force or strength, at this level, no task is beyond their collective capability. this necessitates an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. when igwebuike is previewed as an ideology it apparently rests on its uniqueness still, which is explicitly exemplified in the african principles of solidarity and complementarity. and this argues that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation or disgruntlement. since our uniqueness is viable in the other, it then follows that ‘to be’ is ‘to be with the other’, in a community of other beings. conflict resolution among the obeama-nguru according to okenze peter nzem a traditional title holder and an influential philanthropist in the afore mentioned community in response to an interview, he did say that obeama nguru is a community located in aboh mbaise local government area of imo state. it is a rural village with a population of about 5,000 people, the populace of obeama nguru are predominantly igbos. the people are mainly christians with handful traditional worshipers. the major occupations of the people are farming, petty trading, some engage in technical works, block-moulding amongst others (56). aboh mbaise is a local government area of imo state, nigeria, it’s headquarter is in the town of aboh. it has an area of 184km² and a population of 195,652 at igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 137 the 2006 census (wikipedia web). the following are the list of some towns and villages in aboh maise local government area: 1. nguru nweke a. aboh b. amohuru c. okwu 2. okwuato a. akabor b. egbelu c. ezuhu the place of peace remains indispensable in every community where people live and the need to continually resolve conflicts of varied kinds cannot be over emphasized. more so, the connotation of peace among the mbaise people is largely similar to the collective understanding and appreciation of peace and conflict resolution amongst the collective human society. the imo state chapter (on 18 june 2014) of the partners for peace network was recognized by the state government’s peace and conflict resolution coalition of peace advocates. the coalition is made up of a wide group of mediators and peace advocates working to promote sustainable peace in imo (partners for peace in niger delta web). additionally, it has been observed in recent times that the partners for peace in imo state have begun various participatory conflict assessments which will directly inform their further plans for conflict mitigation. during theses workshops, participants across imo state analyze the existing quantitative data on patterns and trends in order to decide on a priority for their intervention to restore peace in the local government area of aboh baise, imo state (p. 4 niger delta web). according to a statement released by, this day news paper on 5th july 2016, the imo state governor, owelle rochas okorocha has gracefully commended the director general, institute for peace and conflict resolution (ipcr), professor oshita o. oshita for his burning desire towards promoting peace in imo state and nigeria as a whole. in particular, he said under his watch, meetings with fulani herdsmen and various ethnic groups were consistently organized towards the prevention of violent conflicts in the state (this day live web). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 138 the governor gave the commendation at the opening ceremony of a 3-day workshop on conflict prevention, tolerance and alternative dispute resolution (adr) for traditional rulers and civil society organizations (csos) in southeastern nigeria. the workshop was organized by ipcr, supported by the united nations development programme in owerri. according to the governor, the workshop was apt as he urged ipcr and her partners not to relent in the promotion of peace in imo state. he noted that the state, with the support of ipcr, inaugurated about 300 peace corps advocates working in various parts of the state, noting that the institute has carried out several activities that encouraged laying of structures for peacebuilding, promotion and conflict resolution across the state (this day live web). causes of conflicts in obeama-nguru okenze peter nzem in responding to a questionnaire is known to have outlined some notable causes of conflict in obeama nguru and they include the following: 1. inheritance of family properties (lands, houses and economic tress) among brothers and members of the extended families are major causes of conflicts. 2. differences in understanding and interpreting religious teachings and doctrines; (catholic versus pentecostal churches). this brings suspicion and distrust among brothers. 3. poverty; most often viral and bacterial diseases are attributed to spiritual poisoning, destiny control and spiritual attack. people have no more money for medi-care. 4. power tussle between titled men and the people over the enforcement of traditional norms and values. resistance comes mainly from the youth (56). strategies for conflict resolution in oneama-nguru in responding to a questionnaire, mr. peter nzem (a secondary school principal in the community under review), highlighted some essential strategies for conflict resolution in obeama nguru. some of these include; 1. holding periodic family meetings to discuss conflict and adopt remedial measures. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 139 2. regular kindred meetings are convoked (awuruawu), which holds every 8 days, where kindred problems and troubles are resolved. 3. calling a periodic village assembly (aladinma) where problems and issues which could not be treated at the kindred meetings are settled. 4. there is intervention by titled men (to resolve conflicts) who perform administrative and judicial role. 5. the traditional ruler has a peace and conflict committee that assist in settling civil cases in the community. 6. the clergy (priests and pastors) sometimes intervene. cases here are usually resolved through oath taking. 7. criminal conflicts are handled by the police and the courts (56). effects of peace and conflicts resolution haven established the essence of peace and the need to create a community that is free of conflict, it is expected that the pursued peace and conflict resolution would bring about some effects which would help to improve the standard of living of the people of aboh mbaise and would give them a better sense of belonging. thus a peaceful and conflict free environment enables people to express and assert the essence of their being in a community. the under listed effects of peace and conflict resolution highlighted beneath are recommendations received from some members of the community under survey. these effects include; 1. conflict resolution ensures peace in the community. 2. development in the community is necessitated. 3. peace and conflict resolution maintains security. 4. it aids the promotion of community feelings and helps the people to live without fear. 5. peace and conflict resolution necessitates freedom of religious worship. 6. it aids the promotion of community norms and values. igwebuike philosophy and conflict resolution among the obeama-nguru haven dissected the various causes of conflict and limitations that deter peace in obeama-ngrur, it is now intelligible enough to proffer a suitable guard that would adequately and wholistically address the issue on the front burner. it is in the light of this that the igbo african philosophy (igwebuike) would serve as a responsive tool to bring about the reality that the researcher dreams of. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 140 igewbuike philosophy being one that propagates strength in number, that is, it proclaims that there is greater strength, power in being together, because when a particular thing is done with the effort of many, the result or output is bound to be huge and would be beneficial to a larger number of people in the community. by this, igwebuike philosophy rejects individualism and sectionalism; rather it suggests that which could be essential for the collective humanity. furthermore, igwebuike is no doubt a responsive tool for ensuring peace and conflict resolution in obeama-nguru, in that, when the collective human effort is put together, one would arrive at a point of understanding and respecting the other person’s temperament, likes and dislikes, beliefs, traditions and every other thing the other holds to be very great. this would in no doubt bring about a peaceful co-existence of all people in the community. the igbo african philosophy (igwebuike) through its proclamation of oneness can also be instrumental in bringing about peace and conflict resolution on the basis that it could be employed to bring about an improved understanding of peace to discourage ethno-religious crisis especially in the case of the fulani herd’s men attacks and inter-tribal clashes as observed in some parts of aboh mbaise local government area of imo state. proverbs, myths and words of african sages can be an instrument for instigating peace, in that they call the collective humanity to reverence and seek earnestly to observe the golden rule (do to the other only what one wants done unto him/her) which would to a very great extent ensure harmony among the obeama nguru people. greed has continually been discoursed by many schools of thought to be the fundamental cause of violence/misunderstanding among humans; it then signals that with igwebuike philosophy, through its emphasis on universal brotherhood/sisterhood one would be well informed that living itself is hinged on the fact of our common existence as human beings, which by virtue of it, we shear common interest. in occasions of communal/religious uproar, igwebuike philosophy can be a ready tool for implementing peace and conflict resolution through its theme of human dignity where the sacredness and value of human life is explicit. human dignity is one of the immutable attribute of being human and the human person has a relationship with the divine, which makes man a theomorphic being, and hence human life is understood as coming from the creator, therefore it should be revered and safeguarded. this relationship between human beings and the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 141 creator is what accords them their dignity. hence, when human life is safe guarded, violence is eradicated and peace is fostered. more so, kanu avers that the responsive tool in question (igwebuike) rests on the philosophy of solidarity and complementarity; thus, to be is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. igwebuike is based on the african cosmology (28). it is in consonance to this that iroegbu (1994) opines that it is characterized by a common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny. igwebuike is the underlining principle of african philosophy and religion. it is the unity of the african philosophical experience (14). thus, peace is greatly and easily achieved by the appreciation of the importance of the other, because by doing so we tend to respect and value each other’s beliefs and practices and this mitigates conflicts of any kind. conclusion and recommmendations after carrying out a robust and insightful fact finding intellectual tour, the writer of this expansive work can accurately establish that several truths have become real and explicit which form the core of the findings of this research work. at the end of a research work on “igwebuike as an african philosophy for peace and conflict resolution among the populace of obeama nguru” the writer has successfully come up with some findings that are worthy to be mentioned. since this research work is restricted to a particular geographical area, these findings are excerpts from the region under survey. it is now evident that no community/nation can progress in the absence of peace. the numerous outcome of conflict in the community under survey have not been of any benefit to the people of the community rather it’s results have caused more harm than good; it has out-rightly turned siblings against parents, caused misunderstanding amongst brothers (especially in the case of sharing their inheritance), caused disputes between titled men and the youths (especially) as regards the continual upholding and enforcement of the traditions of the land. one other notable discovery that has been observed is the difference in respecting, understanding and interpreting religious teachings and doctrines of a religion that is differs from the one an individual profess. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 142 it is to this end that igwebuike philosophy is exploited as a responsive tool to bring about the hoped peace. igwebuike vehemently propounds “complementarity and solidarity” as a unifying force that would help in uniting kinsmen, families, siblings and the whole community of obeama nguru. igwebuike philosophy invites the populace of obeama nguru to; live for each other, complement each other by putting the needs and desires of the other before one’s own and through solidarity it (igwebuike philosophy) bids all to put away their differences and unite together to build up a strong force in order to achieve a huge common good. it is in consensus to this that kanu observes that there is strength/power in number. mbiti on his part asserts thus; “i am because you are and because you are therefore i am” (108). it embraces the idea that humans cannot exist in isolation. we depend on connection, community and caring. we cannot be (or achieve peace and resolve our conflicts) without each other (thrive global web). this philosophy requires a conscious shift in how we think about ourselves and others, especially at a time when our nation is more divided than ever. having carried out an intellectual research on an all important topic issue namely; the need for a sustainable peace building, it is now unquestionably apparent that the act of peace building and working towards resolving conflicts of whatsoever kind goes beyond security –focused strategies that build on the lessons of liberal peace, focusing on sustainable peacebuilding at all levels of society (richmond web). also noteworthy is the fact that the pursuit of a lasting peace and a resovled conflict demands the effort of all and not just the duty of a selected few or government. the african philosophy of ikechukwu kanu namely: igwebuike, being a reflection and exhibition of the african experience, norm, belief, tradition and lifestyle of the people it has been utilized greatly (by the researcher) as tool to bring about the hoped tranquility and this was done through a detailed analysis of the essence of peace of the african and especially the people of obeama-nguru. thus, peace and a conflict resolved society is attainable through unity and respect because it is in these that one’s personality is highly felt. recommendations with the understanding of how the people of the obeama nguru community have suffered violence of varied kinds with the unfavourable outcomes of these attacks, it is only wise to admit that the only way out of conflict is to embrace peace in all spheres of life. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 143 it is to this end that the writer being passionate about the sacredness of peace/harmony and societal wellness of the populace of obeama-nguru in aboh mbaise local government area of imo state, he would not put a final stop to this work unless he has proffered some recommendations which can go a very long way to create lasting peace, some of which include: a. community enlightenment b. holding periodic interactive sessions with the youths c. the need to live a complementary life style. a. community enlightenment in an epoch where the harmonious living of a society have been jeopardized under the species of conflict and violent attacks, it is only needful to carry out a general community enlightenment programmes which should be targeted at properly informing the populace of obeama nguru on the need to put away every vices that can hamper their peaceful coexistence. since education is the fundamental unit/bedrock upon which all societal values springs out from, this enlightenment process should be narrowed down to various facets of the people’s life. the family which is the basic unit of the society should be the cradle upon which this enlightenment kicks off; schools (both college and high school) are expected to also incorporate more subjects/courses that would base stronger emphasis on the need for the students to avoid every activity that would instigate violence. the religious leaders of the community should speak to the moral conscience of the people with references to their religious books (bible or qur’an). it has also been observed that uproars often arise among brothers in a family as a result of may be one of them feeling being cheated in the sharing of their father’s inheritance, misunderstandings such as this usually grow to cause serious conflict among family members and this can lead to the death of a member(s) of a family. it then behooves on the community leader to create polices that would foster a lasting peace among such a family by justly sharing the inheritance of the concerned persons among them. b. holding periodic interactive sessions with the youths it is no longer news that the youths are the honourable leaders of tomorrow and their understanding and approach to life today would greatly determine their comportment and exhibition of attitude tomorrow as leaders when they eventually become one. in a discourse of this nature, emphasis are made on the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 144 sole necessity to adequately and positively inform the minds of the youths of obeama nguru in that they can be employed as a huge disastrous weapon of mass destruction (when badly influenced) in the hand, they can also be shining lights to restore the/a community to its lost glory. since repetition (for the right reasons) strengthens the memory, it then follows that periodic interactive sessions should be organized to continually remind the teaming youths about their unique role in community building and their contributions towards peace building. more so, the youths who are not lucratively employed should be assisted (to get busy) so that they would not make themselves viable for violent activities. c. complementary lifestyle complementarity is one unique quality which boldly strengthens a people in that it would instigate the obeama nguru community to live their lives conscious of the plights of the other. each person should be the others keeper and should work towards serving and making the other better than oneself. complementarity and solidarity often goes pari passu, in that solidarity would imprint the feeling of unity on the minds of people and make them thrive towards the attainment of single goal of maintain peace and resolving conflicts of all kinds. thus, to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. works cited aboh, mbaise. “patterns for peace in niger delta” p4pnigerdelta.org/location/imo?pages=2 date accessed 14/08/1017. achebe, chinua. things fall apart. heinemann publishers, 1958. adam, curle. “the scope and dilemmas of peace studies.” in larry, fisk and john, schellenberg editors. patterns of conflict paths to peace. broadview press, 2000. attahiru, jega. “tackling ethno-religious conflicts in nigeria.” a journal of social scientist volume 5 number 2 (page 35-38) september issn 1119-8346, 2002. awolowo, obafemi. the people’s republic. oxford university press, 1968. awolowo, obafemi. the problems of africa: the need for ideological appraisal. macmillan press, 1979. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 145 barga, timothy. “research method.” unpublished lecture notes st. augustine’s major seminary jos page 10. 2017. bisong, kekong. “application of restorative justice in the management of niger delta environmental conflict.” the oracle: international journal of culture, religion and society. 2. 2. 2006. brosnan, dung. the gospel to the birom. doctoral thesis. pontifical university rome, march, 1976. conrad, brunk. “why study peace?” in larry, fisk and john, schellenberg editors. patterns of conflict paths to peace. broadview press, 2000. christian, berkley. “dogmatism.” chrome.com/dogmatism accessed 23/10/2017. chikelue, ofuebe. “proffered agendas for peace.” in chikelue, ofuebe editor. dynamics of social studies. new generation books, 2001. ejikememuwa, ndubisi. the rising sun. a bio-data of professor kanu ikechukwu o.s.a. plus.google.com/1164405853706439670 date accessed 26/10/2017. esposito, jennifer, easching, donald, and lewis, t. world religion today. oxford university press, 2006. fairchild, harris. dictionary of sociology and other related sciences. little field adams, 1965. geoffrey, parrinder. west african religion: a study of the beliefs and practices of akan, ewe, yoruba, igbo, and kindred peoples. epworth press, 1949. gyekye, kwame. an essay in african philosophical thought: the akan conceptual scheme. temple university press, 1995. ibrahim, jimoh. “the transformation of ethno-religional identities in nigeria.” a journal of social scientist, volume 5 number 2 (pages4161) september issn 1119-8346, 2002. ikwumelu, samuel. “co-operation and conflict.” in chikelue, ofuebe editor. dynamics of social studies. new generation books, 2001. iroegbu, panthaleon. metaphysics; the kpim of philosophy. international universities press, 1994. jimoh, ibrahim. on the need to dissociate religion and violence. in chris. obanure (editor). religion, violence and conflict resolution in nigeria. aboki publishers, 2008. jiya, garba. “traditional styles of conflict management in nigeria; acceptability and accessibility.” in j. h. p. golwa (editors). perspectives on traditional african and chinese methods of conflict resolution. institute of peace and conflict resolution. 2013. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 146 johan, galtung. “violence peace and peace research.” in larry, fisk and john, schellenberg editors. patterns of conflict paths to peace. broadview press, 2000. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy, jos. augustinian publication, 2015. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. augustinian publications, 2015. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, “igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity”. berkeley journal of humanities and social sciences. pp. 115-124. 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, on the sources of igwebuike philosophy: towards a socio-cultural foundation. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 9. no. 1. pp. 1-23. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 35-44. 2016. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, “igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike and the interpretation of african philosophy. igwebuikepedia internet encylopedia of african phiolosophy. kanu anthony and jerome okonkwo (eds). web. accessed 30 jan., 2017. www.igwebuikepedia.info. kanu, ikechukwu, anthony, “igbo proverbs as depositum of igbo-african philosophy”. international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 4. no. 1. pp. 164-168. 2014. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. nnamdi azikiwe journal of philosophy vol. 10. no. 2. pp. 61-66. 2018. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education. a paper presented at the 10th international conference on law, education and humanities. 25 -26 november 2015 university of paris, france. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 2, june, 2016. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as the intricate web of african philosophy. igwebuikepedia internet encylopedia of african phiolosophy. kanu anthony and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 147 jerome okonkwo (eds). web. accessed 30 jan., 2017. www.igwebuikepedia.info. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike philosophy and african ethics. igwebuikepedia internet encylopedia of african phiolosophy. kanu anthony and jerome okonkwo (eds). web. accessed 30 jan., 2017. www.igwebuikepedia.info. larry, fisk, and john shellenberg. editors. “patterns of conflict paths to peace.” broadview press, 2000. luc, reychler. “sustainable peacebuiling.” in luc, reychler and thania, paffenholz editors. peace building. lynne reinner publishers, 2001. matthew black et al. editors. peake’s commentary on the bible. thomas nelsom, 1967. mahtma, ghandi. “quotes.” chrome.com/famousquotesofmahatmaghandhi accessed 13/10/2017. mbiti, john. “african religions and philosophy.” east african educational publishers, 1970. mother, teresa. “quotes.” chrome.com/famousquotesofsaintmotherteresa accessed 13/10/2017. michael, lund. “tools for peacebuilding.” in luc, reychler and thania, paffenholz editors. peace building. lynne reinner publishers, 2001. nader ralph. “conflict: anthropological aspects.” in sills david editor. international encyclopedia of social science. 3. 4. the free press, 1986. nkrumah, kwame. africa must unite. oanaf press, 1963. nyerere, julius. ujamaa: essays on socialism oxford university press, 1968. nzem, peter. interview through questionnaire received 01/012018. obasi, isaac. “nation building in nigeria; issues and problems.” in chikelue, ofuebe editor. dynamics of social studies. new generation books, 2001. prem, rawat. personal peace; peace is possible. words of peace global, june 2014,theypi.net/articles.php?tittle=peace-ispossible&id= accessed 14/08/1017. quarcoopome, nii. west african traditional religion. african universities press, 1987. rattray, robert. akan-ashanti folktales. oxford university press, 1930. senghor, leopold. “what is negritude?” g. c. m. mutiso and s. w. rohio. editors. readings in african political thought. heinemann, 1975. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 148 seyi, john. “restructuring nigeria” this day newspaper, 05/07/2016, 20th edition, 115-117. tempels, placide. bantu philosophy. presence africaine, 1959. tyogema, victor. igwebuike philosophy and the essence of shared humanity. unpublished project work, st. augustine’s major seminary. wikipedia, mbaise. aboh mbaise wikipedia, eme.en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/aboh_mbaise date accessed 20/10/2009. wikipedia, hermeneutics. wikipedia, wikipedia.org/ hermeneutics. date accessed 23/10/2017. wikipedia, conservatism. wikipedia, wikipedia.org/conservatism date accessed 23/10/2017. zani, joe. african parables in 20 africans write on communications in africa. gaba press, 1972. zipcodes, mbaise. villages in aboh mbaise. nigeriazipcodes.com/610/list-oftownsand-villages-in-abohmbaise date accessed 13/10/2017. igwebuike theology of udi: reconciling god’s unchanging revelation with man’s changing culture themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 39 igwebuike theology of udi: reconciling god’s unchanging revelation with man’s changing culture ikechukwu anthony kanu department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university umunya, anambra state ikee_mario@yahoo.com abstract the questions that have been looming at the thoughts of many african theologians for years have been: how can the christian faith be made to be at home in africa, in such a way that it harmonizes with african beliefs and practices, thus becoming the religion of the african people? what is the relationship between african traditional religion and culture with the christian faith? does being a christian mean that i should distance myself from my traditional religious and cultural heritages? it is from this background that igwebuike theology emerges as an african theology, posting that effort towards evangelization must begin from the understanding of the african worldview and the incorporation of such in the processes of the communication and learning of the christian faith. this work presented the theology of african typology (udi, meaning type, kind or nature) within the context of igwebuike theology, with a view to creating a balance in the midst of the conflicts between christianity and african religion and culture by connecting the events of the new testament to events and persons in african traditional religion and culture. this connection is such that the events, persons, realities, etc., in african traditional religion and culture find meaning and fulfillment in the new testament scriptures. the ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 40 igwebuike theology of udi has created an aperture for further dialogue of culture with faith. it provided a deeper meaning and wider capacity for the application of the concept, ‘typology’. it has contributed to the continuous search for better ways of making the christian faith feel at home in africa, and also making it possible for the redemption of the african culture through its interaction with faith. for the purpose of this study, the igwebuike theoretical framework, which emphasizes beginning from and valuing what is known, and using what is already known as a stepping stone to get to the unknown, was adopted. keywords: igwebuike, theology, udi, faith, revelation, culture, missionaries introduction the missionary enterprise in africa, aimed at converting ‘pagans’ and establishing the church, was not without a methodology. first, they employed the methodology of imposition of the christian message; the second was the translation of the christian message which was mostly in english to the local languages of the african people, and third, the adaptation of the christian message into the african religious culture. through imposition, doctrines, religious customs, morals and ways of acting and praying taken from foreign cultures were forced on the african people. while this might seem like a clear option left to the missionaries, they disregarded and belittled the culture of the african people in the process; the consequence is that the faith has no root and thus, the message remains strange to those who host it. the idea of imposition was based on a wrong conception of christianity as a finished product rather than a faith that reaches its full potential through dialogue with the local cultures of host communities. igwebuike theology of udi: reconciling god’s unchanging revelation with man’s changing culture themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 41 this might have worked with the early missionaries; however, with africans being part of evangelization, disenchantment began to emerge as regards the missionaries’ spiteful attitude to african culture and tradition (bujo, 1992) and her highhanded approach to the african reality (dickson, 1984). it was from this background that the need for an african theology emerged; a theology that would put into consideration the african reality in its approaches. the concept of igwebuike theology flows from this background, however, putting into cognizance and giving a special place to the rich african heritage. it is, therefore, from the principles of igwebuike that the idea of an african typology would be generated and discussed for the purpose of creating a balance in the midst of the conflicts between christianity and african religion and culture. the african theology of udi (type or image), an igbo-african concept of typology, would be employed to connect the events of the new testament to events and persons in african traditional religion and culture. these connections would be made in a way such that the events, persons, realities, etc., in african traditional religion and culture would find meaning and fulfillment in the new testament scriptures. understanding igwebuike theology the questions looming at the thoughts of many african theologians for years have been: how can the christian faith be made to be at home in africa, in such a way that it harmonizes with african beliefs and practices? what is the relationship between african traditional religion and culture with the christian faith? does being a christian mean that i cannot be part of the traditional activities of my people? why must i change my name to a foreign name before i can become a christian? it is from this background that igwebuike theology emerges as an african theology that strongly believes that effort towards evangelization must begin from the understanding of the african worldview and the incorporation of such in the processes of the communication and learning of the christian faith. for theology to be at home in africa, igwebuike theology argues that it must be contextual rather than hang on an ivory tower; and by being contextual, the looming questions begin to get their answers. ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 42 figure 1source: missionmusings (2017) the basis for contextualization is the change that is possible within the permanence of the christian faith. god’s revelation and the cultural context of the respondent are two different realities, however, forming the bridge for communication. while god’s revelation is unchanging, comprising the christ, holy bible, tradition, the culture of the human is dynamic and more varied. the faith would be irrelevant unless it is understood and valued by the recipients in their respective cultures. what theology does is to create a forum for dialogue of faith and culture in such a way that it is understood and appreciated by peoples of all cultures. thus, igwebuike theology as a contextualized enterprise creates a bridge between god’s unchanging revelation and the human person’s changing culture. igwebuike theology of udi: reconciling god’s unchanging revelation with man’s changing culture themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 43 the concept igwebuike began first as a methodology and philosophy. gradually, its philosophical element began to have implications for theological discourse, especially with the increasing need to do theology that arises from the philosophy of the african people. such a theology would always have an inescapable element of philosophy, speaking to people in their own native context, because it is expressed in categories of thought that arises out of the philosophy of the african people. however, the expression, igwebuike, is an igbo word which means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’ (kanu, 2017f). however, beyond the literal sense of igwebuike, it means otu obi (one heart and one soul) – cor unum et anima una. in a metaphoric sense, it is used within the igbo linguistic setting to refer to relational engagement in the world, accomplished in solidarity and complementarity, and the powerful and insurmountable force therein (kanu, 2017g). the closest words to it in english are complementarity, solidarity and harmony. in this way, igwebuike conceptualizes or captures the nature of the african universe. what igwebuike does is that it captures the nature of the african universe and uses it as a framework for discussions within theology. the value that it brings to the table of theological discussions is its emphasis on the african worldview as an indispensable element in any successful african theological discussion, that such a discussion might be relevant to the african. thus, igwebuike theology would mean the quest to arrive at a unique understanding of faith in christ in such a way that it captures the african worldview and his/her life circumstances. only thus will evangelization respond to the inadequacies of the missionary enterprise, give birth to a new african personality and be in accord with the legitimate aspiration of the african people. igwebuike theology does not in any way imply a change in the church’s theology it is the same theology, a systematic and scientific discourse on god, presented in such a way that it fits into the african religious, social, anthropological and philosophical realities, mentality and needs. the focus on christ, the scripture and tradition is not altered in any way. they remain the inevitable revelatory agents. ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 44 this notwithstanding, igwebuike theology is based on the following fundamental lines: a. it understands theology as contextual, that is, a theology of life and culture that is accountable to the context in which the african people live. b. it understands reality as complementary and interconnected. c. it understands african traditional religion and culture as a preparation for the gospel message. d. it understands theology as an enterprise that provides answers to the human person’s innermost and deepest longings, that is, the search for happiness (god). e. its sources include the bible, african philosophy, religion and culture, african anthropology, and african experiences. theoretical framework this research is based on the igwebuike theory of beginning from and valuing what is known as a first step, and then using what is already known as a stepping stone to get to the unknown. it uses the known as a stepping stone to get to the unknown reality. this approach is based on the very nature of learning itself. the first step of learning is observation (kanu, 2019). what children observe become “known” to them, and it is by comparing what they already know with some other thing unknown to them that they learn new realities. in relation to evangelization, you begin from the culture of the people, which is the known and from there you take the people to what they do not know. to disregard the culture of a people and then begin to tell them about what they do not know would not only affect their disposition but would create a missing link. what missing links does is that it distorts the complementary whole of reality. in this context, the african culture serves as a missing link in the process of evangelization, and giving it its rightful place helps evangelization to have ‘a head and a tail’ (nwe isi na odu). there is the need for mutual service in complementarity between the african culture and the christian faith. thus, asouzu (2007) avers that: “… any mode in which being finds expression has an intrinsic moment of dynamic igwebuike theology of udi: reconciling god’s unchanging revelation with man’s changing culture themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 45 mutual service in complementarity” (p. 266). outside the circumference of the understanding of culture as a missing link in evangelization, evangelization ends in chaos and conflicts. this understanding of culture as a missing link within the framework of evangelization is anchored on the cultural realism that holds that no culture is inherently superior or inferior to the other. the thought of inferiority of superiority kills regard for the other, which is an indispensable part of the whole. the reason for the position that no culture is superior or inferior to the other is because cultures are distinct, and there is no common standard for the judging of culture. the standard for the evaluation of one culture might not be the standard for the evaluation of the other culture. most missionaries were ethnocentric, in the sense that they judged african culture, believing that its standards and values were inferior to the western or christian culture. towards an african typology (udi) an interesting aspect of biblical studies is the area of typology. bullinger (1968) defines typology as “a figure or ensample of something future and more or less prophetic, called the ‘antitype’” (p. 768). muenscher (cited by terry, 1890) understands typology as a study of “the preordained representative relation which certain persons, events, and institutions of the old testament bear to corresponding persons, events, and institutions in the new” (terry, 1890, 246). in the contention of broomall (1960): “a type is a shadow cast on the pages of old testament history by a truth whose full embodiment or antitype is found in the new testament revelation” (p. 533). as a theological concept and method of investigation, there are several words in the new testament scripture that form its scriptural basis. paul uses the greek word tupos in romans 5:14 (which means a ‘type of’ in english), to speak of adam as a type of christ. a second word is skia in colossians 2:17 (which means ‘shadow’); paul employs it to speak of the mosaic system as a shadow of things to come. related to these is hupodeigma in hebrews 9:23 (which means ‘copy’). ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 46 parabole in hebrews 9:9 (which means ‘parable’) has also been used to speak of the tabernacle of the old testament as a figure for the present time. another word that points to typology is antitupon in hebrews 9:24 (which means ‘figure’, ‘likeness’ or ‘pattern’). they were employed to denote the fulfillment of a prophetic picture or a correspondence between things, persons, events, etc., in the old testament and the new testament. moorehead (1930) brings out the distinctive features of typology thus: what are the distinctive features of a type? a type, to be such in reality, must possess three well-defined qualities. (1) it must be a true picture of the person or the thing it represents or prefigures. a type is a draft or sketch of some well-defined feature of redemption, and therefore it must in some distinct way resemble its antitype, e.g. aaron as high priest is a rough figure of christ the great high priest, and the day of atonement in israel (leviticus 16) must be a true picture of the atoning work of christ. (2) the type must be of divine appointment. in its institution it is designed to bear a likeness to the antitype. both type and antitype are preordained as constituent parts of the scheme of redemption. as centuries sometimes lie between the type and its accomplishment in the antitype, of course infinite wisdom alone can ordain the one to be the picture of the other. only god can make types. (3) a type always prefigures something future (pp. 3029-3030). examples of type in the scripture include: the passover, with its spotless lamb (exodus 12:5) which was slain “between the two evenings” (12:6), i.e., between three and 3:00 p.m., without any bones being broken (12:46). it was a type of the death of jesus (cf. 1 corinthians 5:7), who was without spot or blemish (1 peter 1:19), who died at about 3:00 p.m. (matthew 27:46), and who had none of his bones broken (john 19:33ff). the feast of the first-fruits (leviticus 23:10), i.e., pentecost, was a celebration in which the initial produce of the harvest was offered to god as a token of the full crop to follow. this ritual typified: (1) the early influx of the jews into the church of christ (romans 11:16); and, (2) the resurrection of the lord jesus as igwebuike theology of udi: reconciling god’s unchanging revelation with man’s changing culture themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 47 god’s pledge of the general resurrection to ultimately come (1 corinthians 15:20, 23).the feast of the tabernacles was instituted to commemorate israel’s sojourn in the wilderness (leviticus 23:43). but it was also designed to remind us that we are but sojourners on this earth (1 peter 2:11), and that someday we will lay aside this earthly tabernacle (2 corinthians 5:1; 2 peter 1:13, 14) for a more permanent abiding place (cf. hebrews 11:9-13). on the annual jewish day of atonement, amidst numerous other rituals, the high priest presented two goats before the door of the tabernacle. after the casting of lots upon these animals, one was sacrificed as a “sin-offering” and the other was “set alive before jehovah” (leviticus 16:9, 10). the blood of the slain goat was taken into the most holy place where it was sprinkled upon the mercy seat. this, of course, was typical of the sacrificial death of christ (hebrews 9:11, 12). the high priest then took the living goat, laid hands upon him and confessed over him all the iniquities of the people. subsequently, by an appointed servant, the animal was led away into the wilderness (leviticus 16:21, 22). the two goats were, so to speak, two sides of the same coin. both constituted the solitary offering of christ. the one signified his death and the atoning effect of his blood, the other his resurrection (cf. romans 4:25) and the complete removal of our sins (cf. isaiah 53:4, 6; john 1:29) (wayne 2019). the flood of noah’s day (genesis 6-8) typified the sudden destruction of the world yet to come at the end (matthew 24:37-39). the miraculous water from the rock in the wilderness (exodus 17:6) was a preview of the life-sustaining water provided by our lord (john 4:14; 1 corinthians 10:4). the manna from heaven in the wilderness (exodus 16:14-16) was a type of that spiritual bread who came down from heaven to nourish humanity (john 6:32). the deliverance of noah’s family from a corrupted world, by means of “water,” prefigured our salvation, through baptism, from the power of darkness into the kingdom of christ (cf. 1 peter 3:20-21; colossians 1:13). the brazen serpent, lifted up in the wilderness, through which the people found physical healing (numbers 21:8), was a type of the lifted-up ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 48 christ (john 3:14; 12:32), through whom spiritual healing comes (isaiah 53:5) (wayne 2019). adam is a type of christ in that, as the former introduced sin into the world, even so, through the latter, a system of righteousness was made available for mankind (romans 5:19). melchizedek, who was both king of salem and a priest of god—at the same time (genesis 14:1820)—was a type of christ. jesus, at his ascension, began to reign on david’s throne and to simultaneously function as our high priest (cf. psalm 110:4; zechariah 6:12, 13; hebrews 5:5-10; 6:20; 7:1-17). this point, incidentally, is disastrous for millennialism. if christ is not yet king (as premillennialism asserts), then he is not yet a priest, and we are yet in our sins! moses, in his noble role of prophet, leader, and mediator for jehovah’s people, was typical of the lord jesus who functions in a similar, though in a more exalted, capacity (cf. deuteronomy 18:15; acts 3:22; 1 corinthians 10:2; galatians 3:27; 3:19; 1 timothy 2:5) (wayne 2019). from the foregoing, it becomes easier to now understand typology from an african context. it is a little bit different from the biblical concept of it, since it relates the old testament events, persons, things, places, etc., to new testament events, persons, things, places, etc. typology in its igbo-african context would be expressed as udi, which means ‘kind’ (a kind of something), ‘type’ (a type of soemthing) or ‘nature’ (the nature of something). from this root, african typology may be defined as the preordained representative relation, which certain persons, events, and institutions of the african religious and cultural heritage bear to corresponding persons, events, and institutions in the new testament scriptures. in relation to african traditional culture and religion, the base for relationship changes from the old testament scripture to the religiocultural experiences, categories, events or persons in traditional african culture and religion, which may find their fulfillment in the new testament scripture. this is anchored on the fact that african traditional religion and culture is understood as a gift from god, given igwebuike theology of udi: reconciling god’s unchanging revelation with man’s changing culture themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 49 in preparation for evangelization. it holds that the events, persons and things in traditional african religion were not so much about the time of their expression, but had the capacity for fulfillment in the future with the fullness of revelation in christ jesus. these patterns often have their greatest manifestations in the life of christ or in the eschaton, but there may be one or more other fulfillments elsewhere in human history, especially in the immediate historical context. an example of an african theology of udi is the kola nut as udi holy communion in the new testament scripture. table 1: the kola nut as udi holy communion no holy communion the kola nut 1. the holy communion is made of bread, which was a common meal among the jewish people. the kola nut among the igbo is a common meal. 2. the bread is held with reverence. when the kola nut is treated with great reverence. 3. it is the product of the human effort at cultivating the earth. it is the product of the human effort at cultivating the earth. 4. the holy communion is life (john 6:25-59 and john 25:56). the kola nut is a symbol of life. 5. the holy communion is a sign of unity. the kola nut symbolizes mutual respect and community. 6. jesus chose from among his followers who would continue to offer this sacrifice. the kola nut is only blessed by men in igbo traditional society. 8. after consecration, the priest breaks the bread and hands it over to worshippers. after the kola nut has been consecrated, it is broken and shared to those present. 9. the priest calls on the saints and asks for their intercession. during the consecration of the kola nut, the ancestors are invoked. ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 50 10. during the consecration of bread, wine is also offered. during the consecration of the kola nut, liquor is also offered. 11. at the end of the eucharistic celebration, the people are blessed. the people present at the consecration of the kola nut are blessed as well. 12. the holy communion is a sacrament, which speaks of an earthly sign with inward grace. the kola nut acknowledges the archetypal patterns of the gods and ancestors in illo tempore. 13 the priests preside at the mass. the most elderly person present presides at the consecration of the kola nut. in the greek society, it is presbyteros, meaning elder. 14 only those who are not in the state of sin are allowed to partake of the eucharistic meal. those who have evil in their heart do not share in the kola nut. 15 the eucharist is the centre and summit of the church’s life and prayer. the kola nut is the centre and life of igbo traditional celebrations. conclusion scripture scholars generally agree that the book of genesis was written during the exile to counter the babylonian myths of the origin of the human person. it is in this regard that gallagher (1997) observes that the narrative of genesis was an early example of dialogue between faith and culture, “as against the babylonian stories of wars and chaos, genesis shows god freely and serenely creating as a gift to humanity, and indeed portraying god as an artist rejoicing in the sheer goodness of the finished work” (p. 105). he further maintains that these texts are much more than the stories of origin. they are rooted in god’s continuing relationship with us in our responsibility for one another and human history. igwebuike theology of udi: reconciling god’s unchanging revelation with man’s changing culture themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 51 when god tells us to multiply and rule the earth, he gives us the mandate of continuing his work of creation, and this provides a biblical basis for us to see culture as a human response to god’s continuing creative gift, since culture is a product of human ingenuity and creativity. and if all that god has made is good, human culture is also good. this does not rule out the proclivity of culture to become sour and lose its beauty; in that case, culture would need redemption. for john paul ii (1995), this is where christianity has the capacity to transform human cultures, where necessary, so that they follow the logic proper to the mystery of redemption. what igwebuike theology of udi does is that it creates an aperture for further dialogue of culture with faith. it provides a deeper meaning and wider capacity for the application of the concept of ‘typology’. the purpose of this development is to contribute to the continuous search for better ways of making the christian faith feel at home in africa, and also making it possible for the redemption of the african culture through its interaction or relationship with faith. references asouzu, i. (2007). ibuanyidanda. new complementary ontology. beyond world-immanentism, ethnocentric reduction and impositions. germany: lit. benezet bujo (1992). african theology in the social context. orbis books: maryknoll. bullinger, e. w. (1968). figures of speech used in the bible. grand rapids, mi: baker. dickson kwesi (1984). theology in africa. orbis books: maryknoll. gallagher, m. (1997). clashing symbols: an introduction to faith and culture. new york: pualist. john paul ii (1995). ecclesia in africa. bangalore: paulines. ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 52 kanu, i. a. (2012). inculturation and the quest for an igbo christology. masters thesis, department of religion and human relations, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2019). a hermeneutics of the igbo-african kola-nut as a “type” of holy communion. nnadiebube journal of philosophy vol. 3. no. 2. pp. 27-40. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i.a. (2012). inculturation and christianity in africa. international journal of humanities and social science. vol. 2. no. 17, september, pp. 236-244. kanu, i. a. (2014a). igbo proverbs as depositum of igbo-african philosophy. international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 4. no. 1. pp. 164-168. kanu, i. a. (2014a). suicide in igbo-african ontology. developing countries studies. vol. 4. no. 5. usa. pp. 27-38. igwebuike theology of udi: reconciling god’s unchanging revelation with man’s changing culture themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 53 kanu, i. a. (2014b). suffering in igbo-african ontology. research on humanities and social sciences. vol. 4. no. 5. pp. 8-13. kanu, i. a. (2014b). the place of igbo myths in igbo-african philosophy. american journal of contemporary research. vol. 4. no. 2. pp. 98-102. kanu, i. a. (2015). african traditional democracy with particular reference to the yoruba and igbo political systems. international journal of philosophy and public affairs. vol. 2. no. 3. pp. 147-160. kanu, i. a. (2015). personal identity and punishment in john locke (a dissertation for the award of master of arts degree in philosophymetaphysics), university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu state. kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (ed.) (2016a). complementary ontology: provocative essays on innocent asouzu’s african philosophy of integration for progressive transformation. germany: lambert academic publishing. kanu, i. a. (ed.) (2016b). ibuanyidanda: a complementary systematic inquiry. reflections on innocent asouzu’s african philosophy. germany: lambert academic publishing. kanu, i. a. (2016). igbo-african christology: a cultural christological construct in post-missionary africa. germany: lambert publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). african traditional folk songs as dialogue between education and entertainment. cambridge international journal of contemporary education research. 6. 6. pp. 53-64. mbefo, l. n. (1989). towards a mature african christianity. enugu: spiritan publications. ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 54 missionmusings (2017). theology as a contextual activity. retrieved from https://munsonmissions.org/2017/03/06/theology-as-acontextual-activity. terry, m. s. (1890). biblical hermeneutics. new york, ny: eaton & mains. wayne, j (2019). "a study of biblical types." christiancourier.com. access date: june 22, 2019. https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/126-study-ofbiblical-types-a william g. moorehead (1930). the typology of scripture. the international standard bible encyclopedia, ed. james orr (chicago: howard-severance co., 1930), vol. 5, pp. 30293030. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no.4.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 106 old wine in new bottles: rediscovering tranculturalism in african poetry chike okoye, phd dept of english language and literature, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka email: okpilimbem@gmail.com abstract the new postmodernist wave of transculturalism described as the hybrid out-growth of two preexisting cultures distinct in form and process from both multi and inter culturality in that it supposes a peaceful and lasting mien, has taken over as the most topical cultural and literary focus of study. it succeeds postcolonial studies and literature in contemporary and popular canonizations. incidentally, despite its touted position as a new field by contemporary scholars, this study attempts to prove that transculturalism has been present in texts from africa, especially poems. by studying a few selected verses of african poetry, this paper shows that literary transculturalism is a common feature in texts decades old and is not as avantgarde as we are made to believe. keywords: poetry, africa, transculturalism, postcolonialism, literature introduction literary movements and eras accompany mankind in almost every age and dispensation. human and societal institutions, political dispensations, natural occurrences and upheavals are some of the major factors that change and shape the tenor and inclination of societies and epochs of human existence. literature as expression faithfully chronicles and reflects these changes and peculiarities of humanity; indexing for posterity’s retrospective contemplation and study. in this present era of modernity and post modernity, contextual elements necessitating prevailing discourses that arise from globalization, financial crises, hyper capitalism, space travel, the hyper information age of internet broadbands, ethnocentric warfare, global terrorism, xenophobic movements, renewed religious fundamentalism, emphases on multiplicity and heterogeneity, transculturalism and so on, all in the wake of mass migrancy and neo nomadism have brought into practice new creative literacy expressions that have shifted focus from postcolonial and diasporic studies to transnational and transcultural literatures. simply put, no matter the pace and texture of humanity’s changes, literature has doggedly played and in still playing the role of escort and elucidator. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 107 transculturalism, the current cultural and literacy wave has been succinctly described by fernando ortiz as quoted by yolanda onghena as: the product of a meeting between an existing culture or subculture and a migrant, recently arrived (culture), which transforms the two and creates in the process a neoculture, which is also subject to transcultivation […] (182) ortiz’s definition is easy to comprehend and could be seen as a mix of peoples and their ways of living which subsequently coagulate in an identifiable cultural matrix and hybrid. modernist mobility, including physical and virtual (necessitated by mass migracy and fluid internet connectivity dynamism) has greatly influenced and eased intercultural interaction and diasporic migrations. arianna dagnino is of the view that the writers of this era (transcultural writers) who are mostly active participants in their dynamic transition have more source material at their disposal. they thrive in the freedom they find themselves in and make use of the opportunities inherent which have materialized through cultural deterritorializations and reterritorialization because cultures have become more fluid and intermingled as a result of complex and dynamic permeations. their use of english language has eased their access to the wider world of angloamerican dominion and powered by the impetus and historical trajectory of postcolonial peculiarities and agon, their variegated experiences greatly enhance their literary influence. expectedly, there writers differ in their expression and sensibilities especially from counterparts who have none of their special historically influenced ontologies. importantly, however, dagnino quickly notes that “… acquiring a transcultural orientation does not mean… (they) disown or ignore the culture (they) … are born into and the effects of that particular culture in …(their) cultural make-up and sense of identity” no matter how hybridized they and their works have appeared (132-134). transculturalism, transcultural literature, and its study is a new wave; appearing novel and avant-garde as scholars such as dagnino and her ilk would want us to believe. but a closer look at the trajectory of literary history will prove this perception wrong. transcultural writers and texts are not new to literature. at the base literary level, one simply has to consider historical intertextuality where one can easily espy the presence of “texts” belonging to an older age appearing in new tents on the one hand, and at the other colonial/postcolonial cultural instances where colonial’s literature often feature evidence of an outgrowth from a confluence of cultures. these broad examples are instances of transculturalism igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 108 in literature having been in existence well before this new “wave” of literary and cultural interest. clearer comprehension and discourse that will follow as this paper’s position will capture decade’s old and pre-existing transculturalism in literature (poetry) especially for nigeria and africa as a good case of “old wine in new bottles”. rediscovering transculturalism in nigeria poetry: relevant literature and empirical evidence poetry is the most expressive and meaning laden genre suitable for this study especially as regards africa, given the outstanding statuses poets have attained in africa’s literary history. practitioners of modern poetry in africa have been critiqued albeit positively as blending traditional forms (orality, orature) in their contemporary versifications. according to isidore okpewho in the heritage of african poetry, notable early african poets such as leopold senghor advocated anxiously “that african culture (with its spiritual qualities) should join hands with european culture to save human civilization from total collapse” (17). this view is further buttressed as he exemplifies nigerian pol ndu’s instance in “afa”: …which echoes…tradition of divination poetry (among the igbo) is a good model for those modern african poets who want to combine the best of the african oral tradition with the techniques of modern european poetry in their attempt to deal with the complex issues of today. (22) okpewho also highlights the conscious efforts of african poets to maintain indigenous flavour in their works. the impact of abuse in ewe tradition employed by kofi awoonor in “to stanislaus the renegade” is felt, and the conscious application of actual african words is seen in the zairean poet antoine roger-bolamba’s “portrait” as he says “i have my gri-gri/gri-gri/gri-gri”. even atukwei okai, awoonor’s ghanaian count by man’s application of “hei”, an indigenous exclamation in his “elevanyo concert” is of the same significance traditional as oral influence as wole soyinka’s free use of yoruba curses in “malediction” (23). other conscious and structural applications of african traditional elements according to okpewho includes the realm of music. even with the difficulty of reflecting the effects of african music in their poems, they nevertheless attempt to come close. malagasy’s flavein ranaivo employs the hain-teny folk call and response pattern in his “choice”. this also appears in j.p. clark’s “streamside exchange” which echoes the uhrobo song tradition. strong rhythm, a feature of african traditional songs also appear in senghor’s “relentlessly she drives me” and “prayer to masks”; while christopher okigbo igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 109 explicity composes some of his poems for ‘slit drums’ and ‘flutes’. in furtherance, okpewho states: other poets have gone further to imitate the sounds of some of these instruments in the poems, nnamdi azikiwe does so in an early (1928) nationalist poem titled drum language, which begins: ‘godogba, godogba, godogbam gba!’ the tomtom drums the secret news… (24) reiterating this stance of african poets combining elements of the traditional and indigenous with english language and its appurtenances, k.e. senanu and t. vincent in their introduction to a selection of african poetry talk about these experimentations highlighting the foreign influences of ezra pound and t.s. eliot in okigbo’s verses as comparable to “the elaborate verse line that senghor had borrowed from people like claudel (that) enabled him to incorporate into his poetry, the rhythms of the music of the (indigenous) khalam (11). senam & vincent also re0echo the ewe tradition evident in awoonor and observe okot p’bitek acoli and luo influences who they said “started by collecting folktales and songs in the vernacular”. it is their opinion that; “perhaps the outstanding characteristic of …modern africa poetry is… the search for techniques from native tradition as a means of extending and authenticating their sensitivity” (12). more critics are supportive of this view. babtunde omobowale’s chapters, “anglophone west african poetry” in ademola dasylva and oluwatoyin jegede’s “studies in poetry “starts with abiola irele’s quote culled from “the development of contemporary african literature”: writing by africans in the european languages dates back to the very beginning of active contact between languages and the civilization which lay behind them have come to assume such a significance on this continent as to have created a new literary culture alongside the oral tradition within which literary expression has been largely confined in africa from the immemorial. (iii) (emphasis mine) the trajectory we have been traversing in thin paper hinges on the creation of that ‘new literary culture’, borne out of the clash and intermingling of indigenous and foreign cultures. the dynamism and resourcefulness in the search and practice of creativity on the part of african poets expressing their responses to socio-political vagaries by bending the english language to suit their needs, has as omobowale magisterially concludes, made anglophone west african poetry assume its present hybrid form; “a combination of traditional as well as western poetic cultures” (122). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 110 discussing the nigerian scenario, oluwatoyin jegede’s “new poetics in contemporary nigerian poetry” believes that what can be referred to as contemporary, current or present nigerian poetry is actually a hybrid; a mixture of poetic forms combining indigenous and foreign elements and techniques. the tag “modern” is mainly to highlight its written form in differentiation from the also existing oral poetry in nigeria. modern nigerian poets who naturally have developed western techniques inevitably bend backwards often in oracy in their evolution of the hybrid and unique form of verification they practice. in so doing, they effectively “bridge the gap between oracy and literacy through a combination of western and indigenous techniques in strange but existing manner” (134). ezenwa-ohaeto’s contemporary nigerian poetry and the poetics of orality provides the exemplifications of oodia odia ofeimun, chimalum nwankwo and ada ugah as the younger poets of the eighties and showcases the orality and hybridized nature of their verses. the prologue of ofeimun’s the poet lied, ‘i have come down/to tell my story/by the same fireside/around which/my people are gathered…’ for ezenwa-ohaeto, “recalls the tradition of fireside tales in a traditional environment” (57). chimalum nwankwo’s expressions are couched in fresh application that speak of the influences of oral tradition and orality; more evident in his poetic structure and elements and in his words such as ‘rain’, ‘goats’, ‘paths’, ‘children’, in “salutation”; i have seen accolades pouring like rain/ and have heard goats shrieking for shelter /but so many paths lead to the aerial zone/ for when seven colours greet the great eye /so vast the hues so terrible the light /children will see the path to the aerial zone (p.3) more felt is ada ugah’s idoma oral heritage in his “invocation”. it places the poet persona in the idoma poetcantor and raconteur tradition sure of his craft. “who but the balladeer/knows why rivers meander?/ who but the initiate/knows the secret path of the gods?” (ezenwa-ohaeto, 66) perhaps two most obvious examples of a merger of traditional and western elements bringing forth a hybrid of verses abeit further back in history remain the celebrated poems of p. bitek and okgibo. a cursory glance at their verses will prove the point of this essay. first is his adoption of address as a rhetorical device taken straight from the uganda acoli tradition. the characters of ‘husband’, ‘my clansmen’ and ‘brother’ which appear on pages 34, 35 and 37 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 111 respectively, which lawino the persona addresses herself in a typical indigenous device traditional oral poetry. again, the use of phrases as refrain to emphasize important ideas is also a borrowing from orakwe, for example on page 44 we encounter this; you kiss her on the cheek/ as white people do,/ you kiss her open-sore lips/ as white people do/ you suck the slimy saliva/ from each other’s mouth/ as white people do. furthermore, according to g.a. heron in his introduction to p’bitek’s song of lawino and song of ocol, “the most important influence acoli songs have had on song of lawino is in the imaginery okot uses” (7). this enhances afrikanness for african readers and produces freshness for every other reader. the traditional images are rife throughout the poem especially on pages 60, 66-67, 76-78, 98, 101, 115, and 120. there, one finds grinding stones oywelo, lucoro and kituba as flimsy firewood; odure as abusive nickname for small boys who hang around cooking pots or fire, elephant dung as simile; herdsmen and cattle; nanga and orak as music and dance; buffalo as comparison; okwik birds and lajanawara grass; spears and so on. again, heron maintains that p’bitek’s poem contains so much of orature that “… even its method of composition is similar to that of traditional songs” (5) and that“... lawino’s own words echo the words of a traditional song” (7). to buttress this, heron refers to the lines “beg forgiveness from them/ and ask them to give you/ a new spear/ a new spear with a sharp and /hard point/a spear that will crack the rock” (119). christopher okgibo’s leanings and borrowings from traditional elements have a peculiar function in his poetry that of possible interculturality between the colonizer’s and colonials culture and lifestyle. this is probably and possibly exemplified by the poet’s own deliberate fusion of elements of both cultures in his verses perhaps to indicate that very possibility. his famous “the passage” illustrates this: before you, mother idoto naked i stand before your watery presence, prodigal leaning on an oilbean, lost in your legend. under your power wait i on barefoot watchman for the watchword at heavensgate. out of the depths my cry give ear and hearken. the fusion of traditional elements (mother idoto, a river shrine and the naked mode of supplication) and western (the christian mode of prayer at the end, and the idea of watchman waiting for the watchword from aeschylus’ agamemnon) is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 112 a perfect hybrid of cultures. for okey umeh in his poetry and social reality: the nigeria experience: this (okigbo’s) faithful maintenance of the solid traditional base while still remaining open to any good that might come from the west is the essence of okigbo’s home coming. it is the essence of his call for a return to the traditions. (67) romanus egudu in his “defence of culture in the poetry of christopher okigbo “points out this marriage yet again of catholic and indigenous religious symbols in “lustra” (iii) fingers of penitence/bring to a palm grove/vegetable offering/with five/=== of chalk;” emphasizing the traditionality of “vegetable offering” and “five fingers of chalk” as native items of sacrifice. again, in “lustra” (i), we encounter “here is a new laid egg/ here a while hen in midterm” as items required in traditional igbo rites of purification (20). in discussing “lustra” further, d.s. izevbaye notices okigbo’s inclination towards the renunciation of christianity as a sole option: although the offering are all traditional ones, they possess the attributes of moistener and whiteness which have been associated with the goddess. also like the goddess, the attitude is ‘native’. it will be noticed that in the line, “whitewashed in the moondew’ a common christian moral attitude has been purged from the word “whitewash”, which is now reinvested with a non-western, traditional ritual meaning. (10) as we have seen so far, most modern african poetry contain in varying degrees and in different applications, content and structural evidences of dependences and borrowing from the traditional indigenous and oral institutions of orature. through the technique and concept of historical content and textual analysis, we have borne witness to these glaring features that have transformed african poetry to hybrid forms making them convincigly transcultural. conclusion: old wine in new bottles what this paper has presented is a well trodden path in the study of modern africa poetry. it does not in any manner claim a new discovery both in the poetic practice of modern african versifiers. it is almost a tepid re-discovering. however, its novelty and relevance lies in the fact that it serves as an effective rebuttal; a conscious reconditioning and repositioning of minds and a referral of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 113 sorts to the fact that the supposedly critical wave of transculturalism (especially in literature) is not as novel as it is currently touted; especially to african scholars and thinkers. transculturalism has been in existence on the african literary canvas decades before this postmodern space we are in presently. this is evident in the critical and historical content of common knowledge using african poetry as examples in this paper. therefore, the “old wine of transcultural hybrids in african literature and poetry is merely being re-clothed and repackaged in the new garb and bottle as new wine-twenty-first century post-modern “transcultural literature and studies”. to all intents and purposes, the previous forms, contents and essences remain basically the same. works cited dagnino, arianna. “global mobility, transcultural literature, and multiple modes of modernity”. transcultural studies eds. monica junega and joachim kurtz. heidelberg: heidelberg university publishing, 2013. 130160. egudu, romanus. “defence of culture in the poetry of christopher okigbo”. africa literature today 6: poetry in africa. ed. eldred durosimi jones. london: heinemann, 1973. 14-25. ezenwa-ohaeto. contemporary nigerian poetry and the poetics of orality. bayreuth: bayreuth african studies breitinger, 1998. izevbaye, d.s. “okigbo’s portrait of the artist as a sunbird: a reading of heavensgate. “africa literature today 6: poetry in africa. ed. eldred durosimi jones. londn: heinemann, 1973. 1-13. jegede, oluwatoyin. “new poetics in contemporary nigeria poetry”. studies in poetry. eds. ademola dasylva and oluwatosin jegede. ibadan: stirlinghorden, 2005. 133-151. nwankwo, chimalum. toward the aerial zone. lagos: africa spear points, 1988. okpewho, isidore. the heritage of african poetry. essex: longman. 1985. omobowale, batunde. “anglophone west africa poetry”. studies in poetry. eds. ademola darylva and oluwatoyin jegede. ibadan: ==== horden, 2015. 111-123. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 114 onghena, yolanda. “transculturalism and relation ideality”. quarerns de la mediterrania 10. eds./emed/ i caria editorial, barcelona: /emed, 2014. 181-184. p’bitck, okot. song of lawino and song of ocol. ibadan: heinemann, 1984. senanu, k.e. and t. vincent. eds. a selection of african peotry. essex: longman, 1988. umeh, okey. poetry and social reality: the nigerian experience. onitsha: benamax, 1991. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 127 language and thought: a two coin of one face in being and function ebeh, john igbogo ph.d department of philosophy kogi state university anyigba kogi state ebeh4u@gmail.com doi:10.13140/rg.2.2.21005.15840 & aleke matthew department of philosophy kogi state university ayigba kogi state toogood4god@gmail.com doi:10.13140/rg.2.2.21005.15840 abstract this research focuses on finding out whether language and thought are one and the same mental activity or are they two different entities that does not need each other in their being and functions. adopting expository and critical analysis methodologies into the interdisciplinary experimental approaches on their relationships, the research submits that language and thought are both genetic and ontologically different from each other but at the same time inseparable from each other in the sense that both needs each other for its being and functions. keywords: language, thought, being, function introduction to find the relationship that exist between language and thought in their being and function is that of finding out the role language plays in thought and vice versa. the question begging for answers are: does language and thought exist interdependent or are they two independent mental faculties that run parallel? while some schools of thoughts are of the view that language and thought are independent of on one another, others are of the view that both of them can only function interdependently. the realist school of thought for instance, held that “a true proposition says that which is and the name (words) is part of the true mailto:toogood4god@gmail.com https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.21005.15840?_sg%5b0%5d=6_ylcsnh_8r3yjcpn_t640cqgldtezp5cexkmgumuw1rg5zmc6uw0e8wekfeqna3bpncjtukbihc18ovmx1pwq19vq.ihxj5yl2yzdrnn8e21kxp5grh-bynu2j_-pwh42adtwoin_o42bv4n2y-cxfrjjtnzbhm4yriikou-xr8ezmvq mailto:toogood4god@gmail.com https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.21005.15840?_sg%5b0%5d=6_ylcsnh_8r3yjcpn_t640cqgldtezp5cexkmgumuw1rg5zmc6uw0e8wekfeqna3bpncjtukbihc18ovmx1pwq19vq.ihxj5yl2yzdrnn8e21kxp5grh-bynu2j_-pwh42adtwoin_o42bv4n2y-cxfrjjtnzbhm4yriikou-xr8ezmvq igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 128 proposition if it names an object correctly according to nature”1, while the protagorian relativism and conventionalism school of thoughts is of the view that “words are nothing but the idea in the mind of the speaker-words indicates the things as well as the ideas”2. this problem has received so much attention of scholars from different fields of life. while the non-scientific scholars investigate the problem speculatively, scientists think it is better to face it experimentally. our concern in this paper is to critically analyze the approaches in both speculative and experimental perspectives to ascertain whether language and thought are one and the same mental activity or two different entities that exist independent of one another. the geneticists’ approach genetics is the science that study “how living things pass on characteristics (or traits) and its variations in the cell make-up from one generation to the other”3. genetically, thought and language have different roots. that is to say that language and thought have different origins within an individual. in their ontological development, language and thought have different roots. the two develop along different lines and independent of each other. in the speech development of a child according to harley, we can with certainty establish a prelinguistic stage, a stage where language is “pre-intellectual” and thought “non-verbal”4. up to a certain point in time, the two follow different lines, interdependent of each other. we find “no specific interdependence between the genetic roots of thought and language”5. at a certain point “these lines meet (language and thought) whereupon thought becomes verbal and speech rational. although thought and language have different genetic origins, the two function interdependently in a normal rational being”6. the close correspondence between thought and speech is unique characteristics of human being. it is not only thought that language influences but the whole of human consciousness. in cognitive exercise, “words play central part not only in development of thought 1 plato, cratylus, 384-385. 2 g. w. leibniz, new essay on human understanding, ed. p. remnant and j. bennett (cambridge: cambridge university press, 1996), 285. 3m. ananya, what is genetics? available (online): https://www.news-medical.net > accessed march 19, 2018, 4 w. g. hardy, language, thought, and experience: a tapestry of the dimensions of meaning. (baltimore: university park press, 1978), 339. 5 l. s. vygotsky, language and thought, 119. 6 ibid. https://www.news-medical.net/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 129 but in the historical growth of consciousness”7. complementing the geneticist view on the indispensability of language and thought vygotsky states: … it is in word meaning that thought and speech unite into verbal thought. in meaning, then, the answer to our question about the relationship between thought and speech can be found. a word without meaning is an empty sound, no longer part of human speech…. word meaning is both thought and speech8 thought and language having different and independent genetic roots are not connected by a primary bound. a connection originates changes and grows in the course of the evolution of thinking and speech. he (vygotsky) maintains that “it would be wrong . . . to regard thought and speech as two unrelated process. the absence of a primary bound does not mean that a connection between them can be formed only in a mechanical way”9. the clear point the geneticists established in their experiment is that in a normal healthy person, language and thought are ontologically and functionally inseparable. a healthy person thinks in concepts. word (language) serves important function in the formation of concepts. “a concept emerges only when the abstracted traits are synthesized anew and the resulting abstract synthesis becomes the main instrument of thought. the decisive role in this process . . . is played by the word, (language) deliberately used to direct all parts process of concept formation”10. both language and thought form an internal interdependence which strikes us when we try to examine the meaning of word or attach some meaning to our thought. a thoughtless word has no meaning, just as a wordless thought is but a confused fluid. “the interdependency of language and thought is a living process: thought is born through words. a word devoid of thought is a dead thing and thought unembodied in words remains a shadow”11. a thought without language is an empty mental wandering. 7 ibid, 153. 8 ibid, 154. 9 l. s. vygotsky. language and thought, 119 120 10 ibid, 152 11 w. g. hardy, language, thought, and experience: a tapestry of the dimensions of meaning. ,267 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 130 the phenomenologists’ approach phenomenology is a method of enquiry which is based on the premise “that reality consists of objects as they are perceived or understood in the human consciousness and not anything independent of human consciousness”12. the phenomonogists investigations on the relationship between language and thought championed by the experiment of benjamin lee whorf and edward sapir were of the view that “the structure of human languages influences the manner in which he reflects reality and behaves in respect to it”13. the structure of our language, according to this principle “affects the way we remember things and our world views”.14 the „habitual thought‟ of a speaker of language is constrained by his linguistic structure. thus, his view of time, space or casual process would differ significantly from those of the speaker of other languages. according to edward sapir and benjamin lee whorf: it is quite an illusion to imagine that one adjusts to reality essentially without the use of language and that language is merely an incidental means of solving specific problems of communication or reflection. the fact of the matter is that the “real world” is to a large extent unconsciously built up on the language habit of the group . . . . we see and hear and otherwise experience very largely as we do because the language habits of our community predispose certain choices of interpretation.15 whorf and sapir who travelled across different cultures analyzing the influence of culture in thought pattern revealed that the differences in languages structure affect deeply our thinking. as language structure affects the structure of thought, in the same way it affects the speaker‟s way of viewing reality … his weltanschauung (world view). nature and languages are believed to be inwardly akin and that is why every culture be it considered as civilized or primitive, there is some belief that language effect some change in reality. for example, there is a 12 m. heidegger, time and being, tr. by j. glenn gray.(new haven: yale university press, 1956), 101 -102. 13 j. carroll (ed), language, thought and reality, selected writings of benjamin lee whorf. (cambridge, massachusetts: the mit press, 1956), 23 14 this has much in common with the structuralism of levi-statuss according to which the language and cultural structure of a person determines to a great extent his thinking and his world views. cf. levi-stauss, les structures elementaires de la parente, 1949; anthropologie structural, rev. ed. 1961: and la pensee sauvage. 1962. 15 e. sapir quoted in b. i. ewelu, language and thought: a problematique in african philosophy.,129 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 131 belief in every culture that to know the name of a person or an object is to possess some powers over him and over it. this belief plays behind the practice in every culture of calling certain things by veiled names, especially things that are believed to be sacred (o bi n’ igwe instead of chukwu, nwanyi afo nri instead of nwanyi di ime) or very profane or horrible (ekperima in place of onye ohii) among the igbos. the psychologists’ approach psychology is the study of human mind and its functions especially those affecting behaviour in a given context. it encompasses the study of “human thought, behaviour, development, personality, emotion, motivation and more”16. the experimental study of the swiss psychologist jean piaget on the mental development of a child from birth to adulthood is a very good example of the role of language in thought and vice versa. piaget undertakes to study the mental development of a person from birth up to adulthood. in his study, piaget distinguished four mental developmental periods of a person from infancy to adulthood, pointing out the role of language in each period. the first period is the sensory motor period which lasts normally from birth to two years. in this period the infant begins to separate self from others. the child explores the physical properties of objects in environment and acquires the “object permanence”, that is the ability to know that the object exists even when they are no longer in view. this view was also supported by another psychologist vygotsky. according to vygotsky: the attainment of object permanence is very important in the mental development of a child. without it the child is, as it were, incapable of language because the child has to attain the object permanence in order to be able to acquire concept of objects and names. thus the attainment of object permanence marks the beginning of language development in the child17. the second period is the pre-operational period: two to seven years. at this period language develops rapidly. this is the period referred to by some psychologists as “critical period” in the sense that it is the period in which 16 j. piaget, the psychology of intelligence.(london: routledge and kegan paul, 1950), 272. 17l. s., vygotsky, expatiating piaget‟s experimental approach to the question of question of the relationship between language and thought and how both developed in a child as the child‟s cognitive powers develop in his work titled thought and language, 15 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 132 linguistic events must happen to the child for normal cognitive development. language is believed to be acquired most efficiently during this period. the child‟s language in this period is generally egocentric in the sense that the child cares not so much of any interlocutor. “cognition in this period is still limited and the child is not yet capable of “conversation” and “reversibility”, for example, the child believes that the amount of water in a glass changes when it is poured into a container of different shape”18. thus language is a oneway traffic just as cognition in this period. the third period is the concrete-operational period that spans from seven to elven years. this period is marked with much improvement in the cognitive performances. in this stage the child is capable of conservation and reversibility. the “acquisition of conservation and reversibility marks the beginning of logical thinking and representations”19. the fourth and final period according to piaget‟s classification is the formal operational period which runs from eleven years through adulthood. in this stage cognition becomes fully flexible and abstract. a person can “form hypothesis and evaluate them mentally, sometimes in the absence of concrete object”20. from the foregoing, we can see that piaget includes both language and thought in the term “cognition”. thus when he talks of cognitive development, he meant thought and language. it is in this sense that he points out the nature of child‟s thinking in each of the four stages and the type of language the child is capable of commanding in each stage. the cognitive scientists’ approach according to moses l. s., endruliss, j., grabmayer, et al., cognitive science is the branch of science that deals with “language and reasoning, with the structure of the mind, and with all forms of human intellectual activities”21. our major concern here is to examine the role of language in working of computer and other “intelligent” machines such as: siri, tesla, cogito, netflix pandora nest (goggle), boxever, flying drones, echo etc. and then to see whether we can, by way of analogy, draw some conclusion about the role of language in thought, 18 l. s. vygotsky, language and thought, p. 134 19 ibid. 20 a.b. crider et al, psychology: (new jersey: scott, foresman and company, 1983), 327-338 . 21 l. s. moss, j. endruliss, c. grabmayer, d. hendricks, and j. w. klop, automatic sequence and zip specifications. in n. dershowitz (ed) proceedings of the (2012)27th annual acm/ieee symposium on logic in computer science. (los alamitos, ca: ieee), 335 – 344. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 133 vice versa in the working of human mind. in order to do this, a striking question that will serve as a takeoff point is: is it possible for computer or any intelligent machine performs its “intelligent” function without having any language programed into it. computer is designed as an imitation of human intelligence and is meant for complex calculations. computer is said to do its intellectual work at three levels; the implementation level which is concerned with computer‟s hardware, the representation level which is concerned with the storage of data and output of results and the computation level which is concerned with the time and memory required to perform a given calculations. reacting to the computer imitation of the human intelligence ewelu writes: in comparison to human intelligence, the first level of computer intellectual work which is the level of implementation work is like the natural potentials (faculties) which man is endowed with for accomplishing some intellectual work. the second level which is the representation level is like human the means of representations – perception, thought, mental models, language, etc., and the third level the computation is the level of thought geared towards finding a solution to a given problem22. in artificial intelligence (ai), as in human cognition, language plays some major role in the second and third levels. the computation is accomplished by certain form of representations, what johnson-laird calls “models”23. intelligent machines are believed to carry out their function by means of language. hence, “there exists today what is called “computational linguistics or machine linguistics which studies the language of computers”24. the relationship between these representations or models and the intelligent functions of intelligent machine is that computer is “a general symbol processing device, capable of performing any well-defined information”25. it is a symbol 22 b. i. ewelu., language and thought: a problematic in african philosophy, 160. 23 j. laird. mental models: towards a cognitive science of language. (cambridge: cambridge university press, 1983),199. 24 h. putman, mind, language and reality. (cambridge: cambridge university press, 1975), 382 25 e. a. feigenbaum & j. feldman (ed) computer and thought. (new york mcgraw-hill book company, 1963), 1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 134 processing device. can computer accomplish this task without some form of language? computer can only do this job through the language that has been programmed into it, the machine language. it is by means of this that it manipulates and transforms information which it receive in the first place in form of language, be it coded or natural. in its “input” function, the intelligent machine transforms symbolic (or coded) information external to it into a form that is suitable for internal computation. in the internal computation, there are the symbols (languages) which the machine manipulates in order to accomplish a required task. finally, there is need to have the result of calculation. thus, the machine has to communicate to external world the result of its internal computation. it has to carry out certain “output” function. the machine, as it were, has to “express” to other result of the internal computation. it has to transform the internal symbols back to external form. this is generally done in two ways: either through the computer printer (writing), or through the taped message (voice) installed in the computer. in all these three forms of computer function, language (symbol) is involved. symbol is “not only needed for the output function, but it is equally needed for the input and internal computation functions”26. the same is the case as regard the “memory” functions where the machine stores the “symbols before, during and after processing”27. it is the task of the artificial intelligencers to design the language that is adequate for the type of problem that a given machine is meant to serve. from the above investigation, one can see that even though computer and other intelligent machines are designed as an imitation of human intelligent, the role of language in performing such task is quite indispensable, just as it is among humans. it is also clear that language does not just come into play when the machine is in need of putting out the result of its internal computation. it is by means of language that machine computes. the pathologists’ approach pathology is the science of the causes and effects of diseases, especially the branch of medicine that deals with labouratory examination of samples of body tissue for diagnostic or forensic purposes. it is “primarily concerned with the cause, origin and nature of disease that involves examination of tissue, organs, 26 ibid. 27 ibid, 2 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 135 bodily fluids and autopsies in order to study and diagnose diseases”28. many pathologists have carried out experiments with the deaf and dumb and aphasia patients in order to find out whether they are capable of thinking in spite of the defect in their language faculty. they want to find out “what element of thought remains when a person has lost the language ability or when this faculty is gravely hampered”29. the basic problem here, however, is that of establishing whether the deaf, aphasia or dumbs are completely deprived of language in their cognitive activities. the aphasia and cognitive activities the term “aphasia” literally means without speech. in the strict sense it means “without speech production”30. among psychologists and pediatricians, however, it is used to refer to “severe” impairment of previously established language function”31. any defect in language ability due to accident is commonly referred to as aphasia, and it is in this sense that the term is generally used. some specialist in language disorder distinguish between “congenital aphasia” (lack of language faculty from birth) and “development aphasia”, (the impairment of previously established language function). in the context of this research, we shall be using the term “aphasia” in its common sense, that is, as the impairment of language ability. the study of aphasia is said to date back to 460 bc when hippocrates observed that damage in the brain can result in disturbances of language capacities. the studies, later was championed by some scholars like paul broca, carl wernike. in their studies, the symptoms associated with broca‟s experiment popularly known as broca‟s aphasia involves articulatory or expressive aspects of language – a reduction of speech output, distorted articulation (called speech apraxia), slow, effortful, and dysprosodic speech. the symptom associated with wernike‟s experiment on aphasia patients is primarily sensory or receptive in nature. patients of wernike‟s aphasia experience a profound failure to understand written and oral language. according to zurif, 28 r. sally, what is pathology? available (online): https://www.news-medical,.net > accessed december 13, 2017. 29 s. auroux, la philosophie du language. (paris: puf, 1996), 205 30 t. a. harley. the psychology of language: from data to theory.(erlbaum uk: taylor & francis, 1995), 266. 31 h. g. furth, thinking without language, (new york: free press, 1966),54. https://www.news-medical,.net/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 136 “while broca‟s aphasia affects motor function, wernike‟s impairs auditory sensory function”32. simply put, broca‟s aphasia goes with difficulty in speaking, while wernike‟s aphasia goes with difficulty in understanding speech. other forms of aphasia, in addition to the broca and wernike aphasia according to rosenberg are: “conduction aphasia which is inability to repeat orally presented materials. anomic aphasia is a general difficulty in word-finding and in naming objects and pictures of object”33. in this type of aphasia “neither the comprehension nor the expression, nor even the repetition of oral material is affected”34. transcortical motor aphasia is a speech disorder in which the patient‟s major difficulty appears to be in the initiation of speech, but once initiated, verbalizations are well articulated. in this type of aphasia, there is very little spontaneous speech output. transcordical sensory aphasia is a situation in which comprehension is impaired in a patient. alexia: acquired reading disturbance. agraphia (or dysgraphia), is the inability to write words, although the patient can perfectly speak, read and draw pictures. global aphasia refers to the condition in which virtually all language functions are seriously impaired. even in this type of aphasia, “the patients are said to be able to recognize differences between their native language and foreign languages and to have some sense of when a response is required”35. from the above descriptions, no forms of aphasia patients are incapable of cognitive activities and in no forms of aphasia as presented above is language reported to be totally absent. according to caramazza and berndt study, “damage to the left hemisphere does not result in unitary language deficit or in 32 e. b. zurif, language and brain in osherson, d. n. & lasnik, h. language: an invitation to cognitive science. volume 1 cambridge, massachusetts, (london: a bradford book: the mit press), 184 33for different kinds of aphasias, consult: s. rosenberg (ed.), handbook of applied psycholinguistics, (new jersey: lawrence erlbaum associates publishers, 1982), 477 – 88. see also ben ike ewelu, language and thought; a problematique in african philosophy, 178 – 179. 34 t. a. harley. the psychology of language: from data to theory, p. 272 – 3. 35 s. caramazza & b. berndt., in rosenberg (ed.), handbook of applied psycholinguistics, 488. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 137 complete disruption of language function”36. since it is a scientific fact that no patient of aphasia is totally deprived of language faculty, then cognitive activities in aphasia patients cannot be forwarded as instances of thought without language. basing on aphasia, therefore, one cannot conclusively deny the role of language in thinking. cognition in the deaf cognitive activities observed in the deaf are another argument some people put forward to challenge the possibility of thought without language. according to furth: there are three kinds of deaf people: (a) those who right from birth have never had any auditory contact with the world. that is to say people who have never in their life heard any language spoken: “the profoundly deaf (b) those who lost their power of hearing after establishment of language faculty and, (c) those who are hard-of-hearing, who have some level of functional reception of auditory communication”37. on whether the deaf are capable of cognitive activities or not, furth carried out series of different experiments in order to find out whether the deaf are they really inferior to the normal person in different intellectual task. here are some of the experiments and their results. (a) test on sameness, symmetry and opposition: the test shows that hearing children seem to have performed poorer than deaf in the test for sameness and symmetry. but hearing children performed by far better than deaf children in opposition test. of the 180 children in each camp, 173 hearing children were able to notice opposition while 139 deaf children were successful with the opposition test. (b) test on the discovery of similarities: with picture sorting, words sorting, picture verbalization and word verbalization. verbalization tests, obviously, are only for the normal children. result: at the age of 8, the hearing children performed better than the deaf in the discovery of similarities. but at 16 the two groups performed roughly equally well, the 36 ibid, 478. 37 for different experimental tests and their result: h. g. furth, thinking without language: psychological implication of deafness. (new york: the free press. a division of macmillan publishers, 1966),7. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 138 deaf being slightly better. this shows that the deaf children are slower in developing the sense of similarity. once they reach the mental age for it they are as good as the normal persons. (c) test on conceptual discovery and control: this is on the logical ability. result: roughly the same, with the hearing performing slightly better. (d) visual memory span: here olosson and furth tested for what they called memory span for digits (msd) and memory span for forms (msf). result: in msd the hearing performed by far better than the deaf. in msf, however, the two groups performed roughly equal, with the hearing still slightly better. (e) gestalt laws in visual perception: the experiment tests the candidates‟ ability to complete the whole. result: the deaf performed better than the hearing38. in all these tests, there is none in which the deaf are totally incapable of cognitive activities. in most cases they perform as well as the hearing. the pertinent question however, is: to what extent are the deaf free from language. furth‟s in his work narrated what happened in the late 16th century, of how “the profoundly deaf son of the spanish nobleman was able to learn to read, write and even speak under the tutelage of the benedictine monk pedro ponce de leon”39. this for furth is a clear indication that the deaf are not incapable of language. furth himself even wrote on the language of the deaf which he includes manual symbols, finger spelling and language of the signs. according to furth “deaf people have language, but it is nonverbal”40. he is even more explicit in another passage where he attributes the power of learning single words like 38 for different experiments in order to find out whether the deaf are they really inferior to the normal person in different intellectual task, see h. g. furth & j. youniss,” formal oprations and language: a comparison of deaf and hearing adolescent”. in morehead and morehead (eds.), normal and deficient child language, (baltimore: london, university park press, 1976), 387-410. here the author want to prove that the deaf are capable of cognitive activities and that they are not deprived of language as some people think. this is because many deaf people are known to be very good in sign languages and can even to a great extent understand natural languages by reading the movement of the lips of the interlocutor. to think that the deaf are deprived of language is to reduce language to the verbal level alone of which is against our working definition that held language to be all means of getting myself and my interlocutor informed. (emphasis mine) 39 h. g. furth, thinking without language: psychological implication of deafness, 8. 40 ibid, 10 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 139 the names of colours to deaf children around the age of six. on “learning these words the deaf children are able to behave as the hearing”41. on the practical basis, every deaf person who follows the normal training learns to understand sign language and reads and understand normal written language, and writes as well. owing to this, therefore, we can say that even though the deaf are deprived of some elements of language like comprehension of oral speech, oral articulation and expression. there is still the possibility of cognitive activities of the deaf carried out through signs, gestures, writing etc. conclusion the analysis of the different approaches on the influence of language on thought and thought on language points to the fact that language and thought are not one and same but two different entities inseparable from one another in their function and being. the result of the experiments shows that language is a means of getting oneself informed and of informing others about ideas in the mind. it is by means of language that one is able to abstract, from the particular objects in the external world, the universal concepts which the mind thinks. this does not mean that thinking begins only after the perception and the formation of concept. neither does it mean that the role of language ends after formation of concept. man is able to form concepts because he thinks and he is able to think over the concept formed because he is endowed with language. language is „language‟ because it is sound, mark, or sign accompanied by thinking. without this accompaniment, it becomes nothing more than a mere sound, mark or sign. it is in language that thought is formed. language gives meaning to thought. 41 ibid. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 140 bibliography auroux, s. la philosophie du language. paris: puf, 1996. ananya, m. what is genetics? available (online): https://www.news-medical.net > accessed march 19, 2018. caramazza, s. & berndt. b. in rosenberg (ed.), handbook of applied psycholinguistics, carroll, j. (ed), language, thought and reality, selected writings of benjamin lee whorf. cambridge, massachusetts: the mit press, 1956. crider, a. b. psychology: new jersey: scott, foresman and company, 1983. ewelu, b. i. language and thought: a problematic in african philosophy, enugu: delta publications, 2010. feigenbaum, e. a. & feldman j. (ed) computer and thought. new york mcgrawhill book company, 1963. furth, h. g. & youniss, j. “formal operations and language: a comparison of deaf and hearing adolescent”. in morehead and morehead (eds.), normal and deficient child language baltimore: london, university park press, 1976. furth, h. g. thinking without language: psychological implication of deafness. new york: the free press. a division of macmillan publishers, 1966. hardy, w. g. language, thought, and experience: a tapestry of the dimensions of meaning. baltimore: university park press, 1978. harley, t. a. the psychology of language: from data to theory. erlbaum uk: taylor & francis, 1995. heidegger, m. time and being, tr. by j. glenn gray. new haven: yale university press, 1956. laird, j. mental models: towards a cognitive science of language. cambridge: cambridge university press, 1983. leibniz, g. w. new essay on human understanding, ed. p. remnant and j. bennett cambridge: cambridge university press, 1996. moss, l. s, endruliss, j, grabmayer, c, hendricks, d, and klop, j. w. automatic sequence and zip specifications. in n. dershowitz (ed) proceedings of the (2012)27th annual acm/ieee symposium on logic in computer science. los alamitos, ca: ieee, 335 – 344. piaget, j. the psychology of intelligence. london: routledge and kegan paul, 1950. https://www.news-medical.net/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 141 putman, h. mind, language and reality. cambridge: cambridge university press, 1975. sally, r. what is pathology? available (online): https://www.news-medical,.net > accessed december 13, 2017. zurif, e. b. language and brain in osherson, d. n. & lasnik, h. language: an invitation to cognitive science. volume 1 cambridge, massachusetts, london: a bradford book: the mit press, 1984. https://www.news-medical,.net/ microsoft word igwebuike journals vol. 5. no. 7.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 171 a review of kanu ikechukwu anthony’s “igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education” mary amanda nwagbo, ihm, ph.d. school of education brandman university (chapman university) irvine california, usa amandanwagbo@yahoo.com while education for development has been a growing trend in many african societies spurred by the united nations convention on the rights of the child and other national and international policies on education, the education of the girl-child has lagged behind in relation to the opposite gender. in some sections of the african society, noticeable improvements have been recorded within the past two decades while some are still negligent of the education of the girl-child. for example, the female adult literacy rate from the early 2000’s to the middle of the decade spiraled to nearly 80 percent. yet this growth was not evenly distributed across the various ethnic regions of the african society. northern nigerian women, for example, still had a ratio of 47 percent of women educated or in education as opposed to 67 percent of men. even where women find educational opportunities, gender stereotyping often limit the potential areas of study they could pursue. poverty, early marriage, and emphasis on the domestic role of women have been suggested as factors militating against the education of the girl-child. in addition, kanu observes that: at the heart of this is the traditional role society has assigned to the woman: producing and raising babies, cultivation of crops and playing a docile role in the society. however, with the evolution of modern stratification in society, the concept of the role of the woman has been broadened. education is one of the basic instruments to empower a woman for the realization of her full potentials. however, this is impeded by a retinue of factors hence a huge number of women still are uneducated. (p. 15). this paper posits the african philosophy of igwebuike as a panacea for correcting the imbalance and gender-stereotyping prevalent in the education of the african igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 172 girl-child. raised into a philosophy of education, igwebuike, which is based on the idea of solidarity and complementarity views education as a tool for the development of the entire society and the human persons inhabiting it, among whom are members of the female gender. in order to enhance a healthier society and socio-economic mobility, the paper argues that it is essential for women who form a large percentage of the population and are often directly engaged with the education of the younger members of the society to become themselves educated. kanu asserts that: protection from hiv/aids and the enhancement of environmental awareness is linked to education. and more so, through education the chances of women earing higher income becomes more possible, and through this, they are able to raise their household out of poverty. being a caring group of humans, educated women are more able to extend care to their children through education and provision of healthcare, and thus child mortality is reduced to a significant level. children of educated mothers are twice as likely to survive past the age of five. (p. 17). he writes further that: women with some formal education are more likely to seek medical care, ensure their children are immunized, be better informed about their children's nutritional requirements, and adopt improved sanitation practices. as a result, their infants and children have higher survival rates and tend to be healthier and better nourished. (p. 17). by so doing, they are made real participators in the life of their community and have less proclivities to be coopted for nefarious activities, such as prostitution and suicide-bombing. kanu also links girl-child education to economic development: the education of the girl-child has consequences on the economy of the country or state, as it can lead to greater economic growth. infact, the gross domestic product, better known as gdp, soars when both girls and boys are being offered equal educational opportunities. being educated, women are able to make their peculiar contributions towards the growth of the economy. (p. 18). whereas kanu advances igwebuike as a complementary approach and basis for the girl-child education, the paper could further develop this thesis and clarify how the approach plans to reduce the disparity in the education of girls and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 173 boys. kanu presented various consequences of girl-child illiteracy. one is left to ponder whether igwebuike could indeed resolve the enumerated negative impact of lack of education and the prevailing situation of the african girl-child? while i believe that the proposed philosophy of education—igwebuike, would help to bridge the gap created by the imbalance, it is important to look at other factors militating against the african girl-child education. indeed, igwebuike was presented as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education, which calls for and is open to other approaches to the same issue of girl-child education. bibliography kanu, i. a. (2017). “igwebuike and the logic of african philosophy.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. kanu, i. a. (2017). “igwebuike and the question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. kanu, i. a. (2017). “igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education.” nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. kanu, i. a. (2017). “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment”. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. kanu, i. a. (2017). “igwebuike as an igbo-african wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). “igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education”. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2015). “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education”. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 6.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 71 igwebuike philosophy as a response to the boko haram menace mike boni bazza, phd veritas university abuja (the catholic university of nigeria) department of history and internal relations danbazza68@gmail.com +234 8039194567; +234 8088190866 abstract boko haram (a terrorist group) is absolutely a menace that requires an urgent response because they are out to destroy the present structure of the nigerian state. from all available evidence, their sole intention is to fanatically islamize the entire country and project an islamic ideology of a radical nature. their ambition is closely tied to that of the isis in syria and iraq. fundamentally, nigeria is a secular state without any official state religion. so in order to contain this group, and allow the nigerian government save her corporate existence and maintain her secular nature, this paper encourages and in fact, adopts an indigenous african philosophy called igwebuike. igwebuike; a substratum of african traditional values, philosophy and religion is an underlying and integral principle of african philosophical experience which enhances the unity of all africans. igwebuike is an accepted tactics of soft power (i.e. the ability to attract and coopt, rather than military coercion) to crush this dangerous sect to submission and quickly address all the contentious issues that facilitate agitations from different sections of the country such as illiteracy, unemployment, armed banditry, kidnappings, environmental pollution and general poverty. to achieve the goal of this study, historical and phenomenological methods of enquiry were employed in the collection and analysis of data, while the indigenous wholistic theory was adopted for the interpretation and understanding of the problem at hand. this work submits that boko haram sect is ethically blameworthy for declaring war against the nigerian state as it has no right whatsoever to do so, especially, when in prosecuting the war, the sect has violated all the universally laid down regulations for a just war and those of human rights. keywords: igwebuike, philosophy, boko haram, just war, human rights, traditional values introduction anthony kanu ikechukwu, a superlative academic and a nigerian augustinian professor of african philosophy developed the concept of ‘igwebuike’ to describe the unity of the african philosophical experience, which profoundly relates to a perspective driven ideology which epitomizes the manner of being in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 72 african ontology. this according to him includes african cherished traditional values such as complementarity, harmony, communality, etc. thus, igwebuike being the inner or underlying principle of african philosophy has successfully been used as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and sometimes it has been applied to define the logic of african philosophy, inclusive leadership and even the issue of national development. for the purpose of this discourse, igwebuike philosophy is adopted as a response to the boko haram menace. a cursory look at many scholarly works written to address the phenomenon of the boko haram insurgency in nigerian indicates that the country’s security system is failing (bazza: 2013, ozoigbo: 2015, okereke: 2016). this crisis manifests in different forms ranging from boko haram insurgency, kidnapping, herders-farmers conflict, armed banditry, violent cult activities, etc. (ohaja: 2016) the extent and magnitude of these security challenges vary from region to region, and together constitute a disturbing trend in nigeria’s development process (nwolise: 2017). this study focuses on the need to adopt the igwebuike philosophy as a response to the boko haram menace by first and foremost examining the history of boko haram insurgency, its emergence and metamorphosis to a terrorist group, its ideology, objectives and ethics. it will also interrogate their strategy, recruiting and funding. the study will also articulate the nexus between terror ties and policy prescriptions. although this paper is conceived around the theme of security studies in which a number of literature exist, this research is unique for its focus on studying insecurity along the methodology proposed by igwebuike philosophy to articulate a unique response to the boko haram menace. its significance lies in using this case to simulate other cases of insecurity in nigeria and bring the sect to accept the universally laid down regulations for a just war and those of human rights and fill the gap that exist in related literature. the historical trajectory of terrorism and boko haram a) terrorism historically speaking, when we considering the notion of ‘state of nature’ in the hobbesian account of the origin of society, where ‘man was wolf to man’; one can say that terrorism is as old as mankind itself. many of the wars fought in the ancient period could pass as terrorist acts as there were no regulations then regarding wars. the first recorded act of terrorism was in the middle east, in the first century palestine by the zealot sect. history has it that during that time, the jews revolted against the census carried out throughout the empire by the roman authorities. the romans clamped down on them into submission. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 73 this led the zealots to launch an organized resistance against the foreign authorities through violent means, (chalianda & blin: 2007). some scholars like hegel saw the enlightenment that followed the french revolution of 1789 as the spring board of terrorism (hegel, trans, 1967). the french leader then, maximilien robespierre saw terror as a virtue that must be pursued with vigour. for him, it is nothing but justice that emanates from virtue which is a general principle of democracy that must be applied because of the urgent need of france (a brief history of terrorism: 2003). (kamal: 2008), traced the origin of terrorism to the concept of ‘recognition’ in hegel’s ‘phenomenology of the spirit’. the seeming war between the self and the other is not really war unto destruction of the other but that of subjugation. the subjugation of the other is what makes the self to be well established as a being with right (ozoigbo: 2015). so in this direction, the self may be called a terrorist to a lesser degree considering the features of terrorism as a concept. however, it should be noted that terrorism in the society did not logically follow the triadic movement of hegel’s system where the result of the conflict will be a higher and consequently result in bringing about better society as synthesis of the initial conflicting duo, where annihilation is aimed at, and synthesis is not realizable (ozoigbo: 2015). b) boko haram this is an islamist religious sect has since 2009, stepped up its violent activities against the government and people of the north east of nigeria and her neighbours. they believe that the government of nigeria is entrenched in massive corruption, abusive security and widening regional economic disparity between the disgruntled south and the impoverished north of the country: (bazza: 2013). they argue that, the government of nigeria should do more to address the issues facing the disaffected and impoverished muslim north. commentators on boko haram generally agree that in 1995, the group was said to be operating under the name shabaab, muslim youth organization with mallam lawal as their leader. while lawal left to continue his education, mohammad yusuf took over leadership of the group. yusuf’s leadership allegedly opened the group to political influence and popularity (bazza: 2013). the group has adopted its official name to be “people committed to the prophet’s teaching and jihad” which is the english translation from arabic “jama’at ahl assunnah li-d-da’awatiwa-a-jihad”: (bazza: 2013). literally, the name of the sect ‘boko haram’ means: "western education is forbidden". this is due to the strong opposition to anything western, as it is believed by the sect to have corrupting influence on muslims: (oladimeji, olusegun & oluwafisayo: 2009). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 74 book haram’s emergence and metamorphosis to a terrorist group as earlier stated, boko haram is among the most vicious terrorists groups operating in the sub-saharan africa, home to some of the worst islamist extremists in the world such as the al-shabaab in somalia and east african region as a whole (ozoigbo: 2015). boko haram emergence in 2002 resulted from a clash between the moderate islamic teachings of the prominent sheikh jafaar adam at the mahammadu ndimi mosque in maiduguri, bornu state in the northeastern part of nigeria, and the more militant interpretation of the qu’ran by his disciple mohammed yusuf. according to mamodu, yusuf believed in the creation of a new order in which the wretched should inherit the earth, and for his extreme views, was expelled in 2002 from ndimi mosque committee (ozoigbo: 2015). this expulsion gave yusuf the opportunity to build his own mosque there in maiduguri and started recruiting young boys of both primary and secondary school age to form the bedrock of his militant vision of islam (bazza: 2013). these new recruits were taught to discard their earlier notion of western education because it is a sin and thus came about the name ‘boko haram’. ozoigbo opined that, this may the immediate cause for the emergence of this group but remotely it went back to the new structuring of the society in that region where the rich are living in affluence and the poor in misery (ozoigbo: 2015). the likes of yusuf attributed this kind of dichotomy of life to influence from western education and culture. therefore, poverty on the part of the majority of the populace and corruption among the few privileged rich also were at the root of the emergence of this terror group (ozoigbo: 2015). although poverty and corruption were also rampant in other parts of the country, however, but this point cannot be ruled out totally. boko haram launched military operation against the nigerian government in 2009 and its leader yusuf whose aim was to establish an islamic state of nigeria was killed that year. the leadership of the group is now in the hands of abubakar shekau, who surfaces intermittently in videotapes messages. in a video released in 2012 after an attack in kano that killed 200 people, shekau said, “i enjoy killing anyone that allah commands me to kill, the way i enjoy killing chickens and rams” (ozoigbo: 2015). boko haram’s ideology, objectives and ethics igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 75 boko haram was founded as an indigenous group, turning itself into jihadist group in 2009. it proposes that interaction with the western world is forbidden, and also supports opposition to the muslim establishments and the government of nigeria. the members of the group do not interact with the local muslim population and have carried out assassinations in the past of anyone who criticizes it including renowned muslim clerics (bazza: 2013). in a 2009 bbc interview, mohammed yusuf, leader of the group stated his belief that the concept of a spherical earth is contrary to islam teaching and should be rejected along with darwinian theory of evolution and the concept of rain originating from water evaporated by the sun. (bazza: 2013). before his death, yusuf reiterated the group’s objectives of changing the current educational system and rejecting democracy. yusuf criticized northern muslims for participating in what he saw as an illegitimate, non-islamic state and preached a doctrine of withdrawal. in lieu of this, the sect even forbids the wearing of shirts and trousers and so on. but from the way they have carried out their activities so far, it seems obvious that christianity is clearly one of the things or religions the boko haram insurgents are vehemently opposed to. meanwhile, it was this sort of outburst from yusuf that made mainstream islamic preachers such as the late shiekh jaafar, ustaz abubakar kyari and a host of others to start sounding alarm (bazza: 2013). according to qaqar, another one of boko haram’s objective is total islamization of nigeria and the application of sharia law throughout the country, and this has to be achieved through clandestine activities like kidnappings, bombings and suicide attacks at both government and religious institutions that parade a huge number of people at a time. since its military operation in 2009, about 17,000 people have been killed especially in the north-eastern nigeria. and once, seized a large area in the northeast where it declared a caliphate (qaqar: 2012). apart from the above reason for emergence of this terror group, two schools of thought that adduced other factors that breed violence in the society have been referenced, namely, ‘frustrationaggression and relative deprivation school led by psychologist dollard and his group (1939), and ‘state failure’ school championed by rotberg (2003). the ‘frustration-aggression’ and relative deprivation theory believes that frustration both at the individual and group levels naturally transforms into aggression against the perceived source of the frustration which was facilitated by deprivation. (akanni: 2014) in analyzing this theory said that social movements are in place when frustration leads to group aggressive behavior directed at the source of the frustration both directly and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 76 indirectly. the immediate cause of such aggression rooted in frustration is when people do not have enough to live on and yet see and live with some that have more than enough. frustration as a result of factors like poverty, unemployment, insecurity, elite corruption naturally turns the masses against the source of their frustration (adibe: 2012). the anti-clericalism that occurred in france during the revolution was a case in hand, where the masses turned against the rich that impoverished them and also the members of the clergy that associated with the rich. one who is really frustrated and is aggressive can go to any length in venting out his or her anger. the second school is that of the ‘failed state’ approach. fundamentally, the essence of the state is for the welfare of the citizens which include the provision of security, education, healthcare, basic infrastructures, employment opportunities and a legal framework for law and order (rotberg: 2002). the state as the custodian of the citizens’ ‘general will’ sees to it that the goods of the state are fairly distributed. these could include opportunities, infrastructures and appointments. no section of the state may see itself as being marginalized whatsoever. when a given state is unable to fulfill these statutory responsibilities to a marginal level, it loses legitimacy to be seen as a state with the expected patriotism. the loss of legitimacy by state provides the citizens the leverage to antagonize it and makes them vulnerable to any ideology that seems to proffer solution to their problems. one basic feature of a failed state is non-availability of central government where every group is a government of its own. a typical failed state in africa today is somalia and i am afraid that nigeria is on that road too! ethically speaking, it is the legitimate right of any individual or group to express without hindrance their grievances and disapprovals in a lawful way. lawful protests are very legitimate but what is not lawful is violent expression of grievances. before the emergence of boko haram in 2002, there have been in existence some organized groups protesting one thing or the other against the nigerian government. these included the odua people’s congress (opc) in the south west, movement for the emancipation of the niger delta (mend) in the south-south and the movement for the actualization of the sovereign state of biafra (massob) in the south-east. the odua people’s congress was agitating for a greater control of the economy of the yorubaland; the movement for the emancipation of the niger delta, for the environmental degradation of their ecosystem as a result of oil exploration and neglect of their region by the federal igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 77 government in terms of infrastructural development; and the movement for the actualization of the sovereign state of biafra, for self-determination as a result of utter marginalization by the successive governments in nigeria from 1967 till date. some of the reasons offered for their emergence and operation such as the ‘frustration-aggression’ motif; ‘failed state’ theory; elite corruption and insensitivity to the plight of the masses approach, are all correct but these are not found only in the northeast of nigeria. in terms of infrastructural development, the most underdeveloped section of the country is south south and not the north eastthe birth place and major area of operation of boko haram. the boko haram sect turned this order upside down by making secondary rights absolute and this ethically speaking is unacceptable. boko haram’s strategy, recruiting and funding in my earlier work (bazza: 2013), i reported that boko haram had taken a strategy to simulate convoys of high-profile nigerians to access target buildings that are secured with fortifications. boko haram has also reportedly attacked christian worship centres to “trigger reprisals in all parts of the country”, distracting authorities so they can unleash attacks elsewhere. it was gathered that the group uses the internet to propagate its activities and enhance its radicalization and circulation of extremist ideologies. boko haram is reportedly planning to greatly increase its membership and following in many states of the federation. in fact, talk-naija reported that boko haram has been involved in a recruitment drive, and they are allegedly targeting muslims between 17 and 30, and have also been recruiting freed prisoners through prison breaks. the group is also known to assign non-kanuri on suicide missions (bazza: 2013). officials of the sect arrested in 2012 revealed that “while the organization initially relied on donations from members, its links with al-qaeda in the islamic maghreb, aqim, opened it to more funding from groups in saudi arabia and the united kingdom”. they went on to say that other sources of funding included the al muntada trust fund and the islamic world society. in the past, nigerian officials have been criticized for being unable to trace much of the funding that boko haram has received. a spokesman of boko haram abu qaqa claimed that a former governor of one of the northwest states and another serving governor in one of the northeast states had paid them monthly (bazza: 2013). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 78 the nexus between terror ties and policy prescriptions experts say the prison breaks, use of propaganda and the bombing of police headquarters in 2011 indicated an increasing level of sophistication and organization, which could point to outside help. in 2011 for example, u.s. officials claimed the group has ties to al-qaeda in the islamic maghreb (aqim), which operates in northwest africa, and somalia’s al-shabaab, another militant islamist group. security officials in nigeria and indeed, internationally, are concerned that the group has splintered into one that is focused on local grievances and another that is seeking contact with outside terror groups (wsj). in fact, according to general carter ham, hear of u.s. military operations in africa, “what is most worrisome is the stated intent by boko haram and al-qaeda in the islamic maghreb to coordinate and synchronize their efforts”, noting that such a relationship would be the most dangerous thing to happen to africa and to the u.s. interests in the region (bazza: 2013). as a policy prescription, the nigerian government started to look for solutions similar to its quelling of unrest in the niger delta, including negotiations and amnesty. mend leaders were “bought off” by the government and accepted a cease fire in 2010. some analysts argue that some kind of federal intervention may be needed, especially in education and healthcare, and greater pressure may need to be exerted on northern elites to develop the region. britain and israel have already offered anti-terror assistance, and the u.s. military recently discussed sharing intelligence and potentially training nigerian security forces (leadership). human rights and diplomatic officials note that nigeria’s heavy-handed military approach (nyt) is compounding their security problem. mr. smith urged the nigerian senate and house of representatives to replicate what the united states government did after the 9/11 attack which claimed thousands of lives (bazza: 2013). nigeria’s response to the boko haram menance the nigerian government treatment of this terror group at inception was complacent. the government never thought the group a threat to her corporate existence as a nation and therefore did not take them seriously. secondly, since the group was operating in the northeast alone it was taken as minor religious disturbance that the muslim north is known for. between 2002 and 2009, the sect igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 79 engaged the nigerian police force and the villagers in the northeast especially borno and yobe states in a low profile attacks. the nigerian government only came out boldly to recognize the seriousness of this sect’s activities after the violent attacks on the innocent citizens in 2009. the government response was setting up of a judicial enquiry to look into the crisis and advise the government. as with so many similar judicial enquiries in the past, the reports never came to limelight and not to talk of implementing them. this non serious and committed response from the nigerian government became a booster for the sect to intensify their atrocities against the citizens especially those in the northeast of the country. it was stated that so many security reports about the sect were submitted to the appropriate authorities and nothing was done in terms of truly eradicating the sect. even the borno state command of the nigeria immigration service, after the death of mohammed yusuf in 2009, identified, arrested and deported the leader and co-coordinator of the group abubakar shekau to niger republic (where he grew up and got radicalized) but through one of the porous borders of the country came back to nigeria and continued his terrorist activities (tell: august, 10, 2009). again, report had it that government was complacent for the reason that some of the sponsors of this terror group were highly connected in the government. these financial sponsors that were involved for their selfish motives included known northern religious leaders and politicians (sani: 2011). it was even speculated that the killing of yusuf was to prevent him from naming his sponsors who may be top government officials. the nigerian government only confronted this sect with military might after the group’s abduction of the chibok girls that attracted international outbursts. between 2009 that the terror group officially launched its first violent attack and in 2014 that the government responded militarily, the sect had gained so much ground in terms of seized territories, highly sophisticated weapons far superior to those of the nigerian military, more funding from some selfish and ambitious northern politicians and groups in saudi arabia and united kingdom, tactical assistance from other terror groups like al-qaeda and isis. during the dying days of the presidency of goodluck jonathan, the nigerian government in coalition with the governments of chad, niger and cameroun made tremendous progress in defeating the insurgents by regaining lost igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 80 territories, releasing so many captured victims including, women and girls by the sect, killing so many of them and many surrendering to the coalition force. to effect total crushing of the insurgency, president muhammadu buhari, on assumption of office, reorganized the military hierarchy with the mandate to defeat the terrorists in three months period (september to november 2015), however, it’s now 2019 and boko haram seems to be waxing stronger by the day. presenting ‘igwebuike philosophy’ as a response to the boko haram menace in the course of our investigation to address the subject matter of this research paper, namely, articulating a response to the boko haram menace in the light of igwebuike philosophy, we have come to appreciate immensely the apt and scholarly interpretation of igwebuike from the kanu school of thought as a remedy to almost every human problem. according to this school, igwebuike is from an igbo composite word and metaphor: igwebuike, a combination of three words. therefore, it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. the three words involved: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power. thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force or strength, and at this level, no task is beyond their collective capability (kanu 2016 a & b). igwebuike is, therefore, a philosophy of harmonization, and complementation. it understands the world immanent realities to be related to one another in the most natural, mutual, harmonious and compatible ways possible (kanu 2015 a & b). conclusion in the context of this study, igwebuike as a complementary thought posits that no individual approach to the problem of boko haram adequately satisfies the devastating impact and havoc it has caused the nigerian nation and her people. it calls for a complementary approach or an eclectic method of responding to the problem at hand. and to respond to the problem and menace of boko haram, there is the need for a wholistic approach, no one single approach is comprehensive enough. that boko haram is threatening the corporate existence of nigeria is a fact that cannot be overemphasized. in view of this existential threat nigeria and the international communities should do everything within igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 81 their power to save nigeria from this existential embarrassment! and this should be done very quickly too. boko haram is not only a nigerian issue but due to its international connection and support it has now assumed a global issue that has to be tackled globally. therefore, it is at this juncture that igwebuike as a philosophy of harmonization, and complementation comes in handy because when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful and can constitute an insurmountable force or strength, and at this level, no task (even the menace of boko haram) is beyond their collective capability. references adegbulu, f. (2013), ‘boko haram: the emergence of a terrorist sect in nigeria’, in african identities, vol.11, no. 3. routledge. adibe, j. (2012a), boko haram: one sect, conflicting narratives. african rennaisance. http://dailytrust.com.ng/index.php?option=com. adibe, j. (2012b), boko haram: symptom of crisis in our nation building project. http://dailytrust.com.ng/index.php?option=com. akanni, a.a. (2014), ‘history of terrorism, youth psychology and unemployment in nigeria’ in journal of pan african studies, vol.7, no. 3. augustine, saint. ‘just-war theory’, available at http://www.mtholyoke.edu/jasingle/justwar.html bazza, m.b. (2013), boko haram terrorism: my personal story as a victim in the context of christ’s own suffering. lagos: atrik ventures limited. bandura, a. (1973), aggression: a social learning analysis. england cliffs, nj: press. centre for defense information,(2003), a brief history of terrorism. available at http://www.cdi.org/friendlyversion/printversion.cmf?documentid=1502 . chalianda, g. & blin, a. (2007), (eds.) the history of terrorism. (schneider, e., pulver, k. & browner, j. trans.), berkeley, university of california press. dollard, j., doob, l., mowver, o., & sears, r. (1939), frustration –aggression. new haven, c.t. university press. ebun-amun, c. (2010), ‘bombing as nigeria’s new sub-culture?’ the nigerian tribune, may 11. fiala, a. (2002), ’terrorism and the philosophy of history: liberalism, realism and supreme emergency exemption’ in essays in philosophy, a biannual journal, vol.3, special issue. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 82 frey, r.g. & morris, c.h. (1991), violence, terrorism and justice. cambridge university press, new york. hegel, g.w.f. (1967), the phenomenology of the mind. (j.b. baillie, trans.), new york: harper & row publishers. ikime, o. (1985). in search of nigerians: changing patterns of intergroup relations in an evolving nation-state. presidential inaugural lecture, 30th congress of the h.s.n., university of nigeria nsukka. kanu, i. a. (2016) “igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology.” journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. kanu, i. a. (2017). “igwebuike as an igbo-african wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). “igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). “igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education.” nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. kanu, i. a. (2017). “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment”. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. kanu, i. a. (2017). “igwebuike and the logic of african philosophy.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. kanu, i. a. (2017). “igwebuike and the question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. kanu, i. a. (2016). “igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 2. kanu, i. a. (2015a). igwebuike as the consumate foundation of african bioethical principles. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france. kanu, i. a. (2015b). igwebuike as an ontological precondition for african ethics. international conference of the society for research and academic excellence. university of nigeria, nsukka. 14th -16th september. kamal, m. (2008) ‘the meaning of terrorism: a philosophical inqury’ in national centre of excellence for islamic studies nceis research papers, vol.1, no.1 university of melbourne. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 83 micewski, e.r. (2006), ‘terror and terrorism: a history of ideas and philosophical-ethical reflections’ in cultic studies review, vol.5,no.2. primoratz, i. (2004), terrorism: philosophical issues. palgrave macmillan, new york. roberts, a. (2008), the ‘war on terror’ in historical perspective. in t.g. mahnken & j.a. maiolo (eds.), strategic studies: a reader. new york: routledge. oladimeji, a. d., olusegun, a. c., & oluwafisayo a. (2012). boko haram insurgency in nigeria: challenges and lessons, singaporean journal of business, economics and management studies, vol. i. no.12. ozoigbo, b. i. (2015). philosophy and terrorism: in the light of boko haram insurgency in nigeria. directorate of general studies, federal university of technology owerri, nigeria rootberg, r. (2002), the new nature of nation-state failure. the washington quarterly 25 (3) rootberg, r. (2003), state failure and state weakness in a time of terror. washington dc. brooklyn institution press. taylor, l.l. (2014). ’boko haram terrorism: reaching across international boundaries to aid nigeria in the humanitarian crisis’ in ilsa journal of international and comparative law, vol.21:1. zoro, s. (2011). the north: development and discontent. the african report 35:10-11. mbiti (1970) understands african ontology as a religious ontology, which is heavily anthropocentric. in this ontology are god, the spirits, animals and plants and objects; however, at the centre is the human person. if this ontology would be understood, he argues that there is the need to penetrate its unity. mbiti, therefore, avers that the african concept of time is the key to understanding the african religious ontology. the concept of time may help to explain beliefs, attitudes, practices and general way of life of african peoples not only in the traditional set up but also in the modern situation, whether of political, economic, educational or church life. (p. 16). his idea of african time is built around his research on the kikamba and gikuyu languages, in which he analyzed three verbs that speak of the past and the future, covering only a period of six months and not beyond two years at most. he defines the african time as “a composition of events which have occurred, those that are taking place now and those which are immediately to occur” (p. 17). this would mean that africans set their minds on things that have passed rather than on the future. he describes the african time as concrete, epochal and not mathematical. he thinks that when africans are sitting down idle, they are not wasting time but waiting for time or producing time. mbiti's african time, in the perspective of gbadegesin (1991), is only a communal world-view report which was never evaluated. gyekye (1975), kagame (1976) and izu (2010) see mbiti's african time as insulting and false, as it does not represent the general concept of time among africans. gyekye argues that contrary to mbiti's african time, the akan people of ghana have a future time. from the foregoing, it is obvious that mbiti's african time is not a consistent principle in african religious and cultural thoughts, and as such cannot be regarded as the unity or the key to understanding african traditional religion. koech (1977) speaks of african myths as the key to understanding african traditional religion and metaphysics. he writes that: myth expresses the history, the culture and the inner experience of the african himself. the myth portrays the wishes and the fears of the african man as he gropes to understand the unknown by dissecting and remolding it to fit his frame of reference. in the myth, the african's metaphysics are created and his beliefs constructed. (p. 118). koech, thus concludes that: the myth is the essence of the african himself in history. the modern african, if he is to find his real identity and to grasp the remnant of his culture, must look for it in 5. “igwebuike”: the key to understanding african traditional religion 28 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. myth... the african myth tarried to preserve the last drop of african-ness. it is the encyclopedia engraved in the chambers of the african mind to be passed from generation to generation. (p. 139). although myths articulate and preserve the outcome of investigations on the origin of the world, the national god, the origin of humanity, its place in creation, deity, the temple, the cult, etc., it cannot be regarded as the key to understanding african religion or metaphysics, for the simple reason that mythology is not an underlying principle in african traditional religion. myths vary from one religious culture to another, and the religious meanings that mythological elements present in one culture might not be the same in another. thus, rather than speak of unity, myths introduce the subject of polarity in african traditional religion. how then can we arrive at the key to understanding african traditional religion? the key to the understanding atr should be based on the african cosmos. cosmology, etymologically, is from two greek words: cosmos and logos, meaning 'universe' and 'science' respectively. put together, it is the 'science of the universe'. scholars like wambutda (1986), ejizu (1986), achebe (1986), metuh (1987), quarcoopome (1987), arinze (1970), madu (2004) and kanu (2015a) hold that african cosmology is simply the way africans perceive, conceive and contemplate their universe; the lens through which they see reality, which affects their value systems and attitudinal orientations. cosmology is, therefore, the search for the meaning of life, and an unconscious but natural tendency to arrive at a unifying base that constitutes a frame of meaning often viewed as terminus ad quo (origin), and as terminus ad quem (end) (kanu 2012). african cosmology is essentially the underlying thought link that holds together the african value system, philosophy of life, social conduct, morality, folklores, myths, rites, rituals, norms, rules, ideas, cognitive mappings and theologies (kanu 2015b). igwebuike as a concept captures the is-ness of the african cosmos; a universe of complementarity and sharedness. igwebuike is, therefore, african cosmology and african cosmology is igwebuike. it is igwebuike because in spite of its departmentalization into the worlds of the spirits and human beings (edeh 1983, abanuka 2004 & ijiomah 2005, kanu 2017a), it is not a bifurcated world. the spiritual and physical dimensions overlap and harmoniously interact. in this interaction, human beings commune with god, the ancestors, etc., and vice versa. while the ancestors do for human beings what they cannot do for themselves, human beings do for the ancestors what they cannot achieve by themselves. this interactive capacity of the african universe has instilled a strong sense of community in every dimension of the african life, such that to be without belonging is to be annihilated (kanu 2017b). this has not only defined the social and political dimensions of the african life, but the spiritual or religious dimension as well. it is within this context that igwebuike is employed as the key to understanding african traditional religion. to understand the meaning that igwebuike conveys as a thought current, is to understand the dynamics of african traditional religion. 29 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya igwebuike_6_7_8.cdr 78 the impact of igwebuike ideology on peace building in african okafor, emmanuel ikenna (ph.d) department of christian religious studies, peaceland college of education, enugu doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29305.49761 & ude, chizoba chilotaram department of social studies education, institute of ecumenical education, thinkers corner, enugu doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29305.49761 & okolo, rosemary ngozi (ph.d) department of religion and cultural studies, university of nigeria, nsukka doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29305.49761 & amaechi-ani, nneka nkiru. department of social studies education, institute of ecumenical education, thinkers corner, enugu agbudugbu@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29305.49761 abstract african continent had perceived group soldering as the greatest strategies to tackle difcult and tedious challenges that torment human society. it is an ideology that rose from the natural and spontaneous communalistic spirit in the people's collective relationships. igwebuike is an igbo language which literally means large number is strength. it is a concept that has been developed by prof. kanu ikechukwu anthony within the context of the underlying principle of african philosophy, religion and culture. the basic ideology there is that united majority is aviable machinery in solving group or members' problems. this paper therefore aims at re-focusing on how igwebuike as an ideology can be adopted in africa to provide lasting peace in africa and among african states and people. the research observes that serious concern is not given to the igwebuike ideology on the area of peace build. attention was very much on application of the ideology for economic gains, group opposition attacks and for political gains. the research recommends that earnest concern should be given to this ideology throughout igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 79 africa with the use of age –grade system, communal worship system, women folk, kinship system, to mention but a few. the research adopted historical and sociological approaches. data were sourced from both primary and secondary means. data were analyzed with phenomenological method of data analysis.0 keywords: igwebuike ideology, kanu ikechukwu anthony, peace–building and african people introduction the impact of igwebuike ideology overwhelmly occupies the african perception of peace-building. for the sake of peace-building in africa, late dr. nnamdi azikiwe had made serious effort to unite african nations; the evidence can be derived from his establishment of a newspaper industry with the name, west african pilot, and the establishment of a nancial institution known as african continental bank. before his death, he was popularly known as the zik of african. zik’s initiative motivated the name given to one of the old generation’s banks as united bank for african-uba. at the face of confusions that triggered nigerian civil war some nigerians including dr nnamdi azikiwe still advised for one nigeria. today, against the creation of another country out from nigeria, some still advocate for one nigeria with good political restructuring. the country’s academic system teaches unity in diversity in the area of social studies. in the researcher’s council area, during a serious political tussle, a prominent politician in the local government area in the person of rt. hon. dr. festus uzor stated thus: “no ezeagu man is more ezeagu than the other. you are… because we are… you cannot be… if we are …” he is stressing here that the ofce occupied by one politician in ezeagu local government area is made possible because majority of ezeagu politicians supported the person therefore when the same majority stand behind someone, he or she alone should not counter. igwebuike captures and communicates the igbo-african world. igwebuike is the form and symbolic of the igbo-african mental being and the gateway to igboafrican philosophy. beyond the literal understanding of igwebuike (igwe number; bu-is; ike-strength) as “there is strength in number”, it captures the igbo philosophy of relationality, complementarity and interconnectedness of reality (kanu 2014; 2015; 2016; 2017; 2018; 2019). it concatenates igbo forms, symbolism, signs, media, meaning, anthropologies, universal cosmic truths, functions, semantic powers, physics, phenomena, faculties, and igbo environ-mentalities, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 80 and symbolizes the propositional powers of igbo knowledge, perception, identity, phenomenalism, physics, metaphysics, logic, history of analytic character, speculative mindset and positive provisions for denitions of facts (kanu 2020). in a nutshell the views and actions stated above, rally round the idea in the igbo word igwebuike. larger group alliance is always strength and powerful. an igbo adage states thus: ofu onye siere oha, oha e richee ya, ma na oha siere ofu onye, o ma richee ya. this means that if an individual prepares meal of any quantity for a large united group, the group will consume it all, but when the group prepares any quantity of food for the individual, he cannot nish it. in view of the above, it could be ascertained that this igwebuike ideology has serious impact on the african people’s security and peace-building in virtually all the ramications of their lives, be it political, economic, social, education, religion, health and so on. mrs ajayi marian (personal communication, 7 april 2020) states that most african comm.unities from history believed in team work. they did group farming, group hunting etc. what mrs ajayi says is true, because today, for example, in the hunting games, when a group march to the bush, with their individual guns, dogs etc, they threaten the bush, making every animal there uncomfortable. after the game, many animals are caught. this is just a sample of how united majority can subdue any obstacle that arises. when united group spirit is well developed, there is no doubt, the group can move mountains in return, such unity sustains peace among them and fosters security. igwebuike ideology is not relatively far from african communalism but the only demarcation is that communalism can exist between independent individual communalist relationships, but igwebuike sees the group mission as supreme to individual interest: most african states were able to gain political, economic and even religious independence because of their formidable united majority (igwebuike) spirit. the igbo/ibibio women that confronted the ruling muscles of the colonialists in the so called aba women riot, was made possible on the basis of igwebuike ideology which had impacted lasting peace among the local women and families in the zone. among the ndings of the research is that with effective actualization of the idea of group soldering so many problems can be tackled to their barest minimum. that notwithstanding, the same igwebuike ideology can be used for negative intention or goals, for example, the mob actions, team armed robbery et cetera. the paper intends to re-echo how igwebuike as an ideology would be implemented in africa, its communities and nations, to provide lasting peace in africa, its nations, and peoples. the research also discovers that much igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 81 more serious concern is not given to the igwebuike ideology on the area of peace building. the ideology is mostly applied for selsh economic gains, group opposition attack and counter attacks, political gains, selsh social solidity, etc. it is recommended in this research that more serious concern should be attached to igwebuike ideology throughout africa with the use of traditional machineries such as age-grade system, communal worship system, the masquerading society, the title institutions, family institution, and other modern machineries like the youth clubs and associations, neighborhood watch teams, elders forum, town union, christian and muslim associations, government and non-governmental organization et cetera. the methodologies used in this research are both historical and sociological approaches. data used were generated from primary and secondary stocks. the method of data analysis was phenomenological analytical method. igwebuike ideology is synonymous with the broom bunch as an adage or concept. individual sticks that make up the broom bunch can easily be broken, but to break the broom bunch is denitely difcult. the broom exhibits its strength in its bunch than when it is separated from the bunch. the broom sticks in a bunch are peaceful, that is why they have agreed to be tied together as one entity. this is the basis on which igwebuike as an ideology champions all ramications of human welfare in typical african society. clarication of concepts the concepts or terms that fundamentally call for explanations are: igwebuike ideology, peace-building, and african (people). igwebuike as a word nds its origin in igbo ecolingual base. igwebuike links itself with terms like communalism, cooperative movement and even united majority. though slight differences might exist between these three terms but the variation seems to be insignicant. akukwe (1996) opines that cooperative comes from the latin word co-operate, i.e. to work together. according to akukwe, the idea of men working together is as old as man himself because of his social nature. because of his inherent limitations, man needs the co-operation of his fellow human beings to develop his physical, intellectual and spiritual potentialities (akukwe, 1996). according to summers (2001), communal is perceived as that shared by a group, especially a group of people who live together, or that which involves people from many different races, religions, or language groups. this adjective communal, forms the basis of the term communalism. majority on the other hand, links itself with number. most of the people or things in a particular group (summers, 2001). the igwe in the word connotes majority/large in number, the ‘bu’ means is in english language. it is just a verb that shows the attribute of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 82 sufx to the prex ‘lke’ which means strength/power in english language. while communalism emphasizes on sharing things in common, cooperative/cooperation focuses on the unity to achieve specic goal(s). when these three basic strands of thought are merged together, the concept of igwebuike becomes comprehensible. peace-building has peace as the head word. peace in the lay man view might imply or mean happiness. but peace connotes, no war, agreement, no noise, calmness, etc (summers, 2001). peace-building, simply means the art of structuring, sustaining a condition of calmness, noiselessness, agreement in positive mindedness, no war, no conict, no violence etc. african people as we all know, are one of the peoples that make up one of the continents of the world, dominated with the people with dark or black identication. mr. onwuka francis (personal communication, 13 march 2020) points out that what aboriginals of igbo nation commonly call or presume africans to be is the people with black hair-ndi isi oji. summers (2001) adds that the word “african interprets someone from africa. mr. gabriel patrick (personal communication 6 april, 2020) points that africa as an area is in most cases presented as a sunny zone. what patrick stresses could be truly acceptable because africa has the highest geographical coverage where the sun radiates the ultra violet rays heavily. dr. obiora aniebo, a geographer/geo-physicist (personal communication, 8 may, 2020) opines that the ultra-violet rays discharge greater heat within africa as a geographical region more than other regions across the globe. therefore we conceptually agree that africa is sunny, more so, it is the indigenous region of the people who are more or less black or dark in complexion, with black hair color. impact of igwebuike ideology in peace-building in discussing igwebuike as an idea, it is pertinent to stress here that peacebuilding in any given society, runs the holistic gamut of the people’s livelihood ranging from economic, social, political, religious, and health welfare. it is on this background that this research would examine the import of igwebuike ideology in peace-building among african states. it is also envisaged that this examination will arouse the interest of african people to understand that the idea of igwebuike has recommendable relevance in sustaining peace among african states, countries or nations. be that as it may, human livelihood is similar to the local stove phenomena where when there is absence of or exclusion of one of the three stands of the stove it incapacitates the rmness of the local stove. in regard to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 83 this, we can testify that when an aspect of people`s welfare is in shambles, no matter how less important it may appear, it affects the peaceful sustainability, growth and progress of the people. therefore this paper cut across peacebuilding in every affair of african people for actualizing central hallmark for general peace building in africa. at this point, let us turn to examine them one after the other. import of igwebuike ideology on economic peace at the family level, economic peace helps to curb so many risks that could introduce violence of various forms, poverty etc. ezeador and ezeani (2019:60) buttress that: … one of the traditional means of socialization of children is through trading. however, the introduction of young girls into street trading increased vulnerabilities of the girls to sexual harassment. sexual abuse of young girl in nigeria is linked with child labour … poverty and inaccessible to funds for parents to take care of their wards has contributed to child sexual abuse. on this realm, igwebuike ideology becomes very pivotal. instead of families engaging their children especially the girls in child labour because of poverty and inaccessibility to funds for parents to take care of their children to degenerate families expected standard, the concept of igwebuike comes into place to salvage such ugly situation. families became can collectively agree to engage on a particular source of income where both parents and wards should be involved in a risk free manner for the economic growth of the entire family. their collective input can be on farm work and other mini businesses where parents and older siblings will have monitoring eye to one another. in this team work, everyone covers a particular vacuum in the business to enable the agreed enterprise to ourish. a group soldering of this nature tackles poverty and reduces other risks or dangers that could develop due to economic under development, and incapacitations. okafor and amechi –ani (2019:309) maintain that: aziza as a concept in africa runs a whole garmut of the world–view of oneness, togetherness, communalism, patriotism, and synergy. the physical structure of the aziza is that it is made up of individual palm frond sticks. these sticks can stand individually, but each individual stick cannot function on its own. nevertheless, when they are tied together, they serve the purpose for which they are made or more. this had been the principle that had held african fore –bears together, and had aided their igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 84 ability to achieve the much they could achieve before the advent of western and arabian culture. what okafor and amaechi-ani points out her echoes the replica of what the igbo meant by igwebuike. the aziza symbol which they used as a principle is a masterpiece to understanding of the ideology igwebuike. when people are consistently binded together for economic reasons and every member of the united economics front is economically comfortable peace is automatically built among the members. in a situation of this kind, one would not be wrong to say that such group has built economic peace. on a similar vein, okafor (2019:90-91) elaborates thus: economic factor appears to be the most common factor responsible for migration. man always tries as much as possible to make ends meet. human ends invariably differ from one person to another. in some cases, means of economic survival can be conceived in a given society with very limited areas of human endeavour, hence, people with higher ends struggles to source out other areas of economic engagements in order to actualize other life dreams. when these areas of endeavour are not found within the immediate environment, people begin to think of other places or settings where they can nd the opportunities for wealth acquisition. in so doing, people migrate beyond their immediate environment. this migration peculiar with people that source for economic interest has been classied as both permanent and temporary (anigbo, 1992). no matter the class or condition for migration, for that of economic reason, migrants see group migration as a formidable mechanism for great economic achievement. the commonest team migration observable with the south-eastern part of nigeria is the ebonyi state (hired labourers) farmers migrants. they move in groups of two, three, four and ve team partnership. whatever farm work each team charges, they complete it in no distant time. as they do it, they attract more jobs for themselves, meanwhile they make enough money each annual farming season. different ethnic groups, communities, villages, nations, and state indigenes who nd themselves in foreign soils synergized and formed associations that principally assist their members in pursuing social and economic gains. for the fact that these group soldiering expeditions sustain the peoples’ economic lives, they are bound to build peace both in diaspora and at home to enable them keep acquiring more wealth and create a conducive atmosphere to enjoy the wealth. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 85 having seen that their coming together enhances opportunities of sustaining available economic tempo among them, they ought to keep the ag ying. with nancial strength groups can sponsor community development project thereby extending economic development in various communities, local government areas, states and so on. with sustainable economic development denitely there are greater chances of building a durable peace in the continentafrica. economic impact of igwebuike ideology has not be exhausted. let us x-ray the ideology in the involvement of women in traditional igbo economy in the area of salt production and pollution of laid down traditional religious taboos. on this circumstance. njoko (2008:17) maintains that: the salt lakes had their deities and were hedged around with many taboos. for example, menstruating women and one who had fornicated without atoning for it could not fetch water from the lake. contravention of any of the taboos incurred the dreadful wrath of the deities. the women producers formed themselves into a guild. all these devices were aimed at achieving a set of purposes to restrict entry into the industry, exclude men from participation and protect the lakes from misuse and delement. salt seems to have been the mainstay of uburu and okposi economy. it was marked throughout igboland and even beyond a critical look at the management of the salt industry by the uburu and okposi people demonstrates an exact presentation of igwebuike ideology in an economic scene. the producers of the salt from the lake were predominantly women. they were challenged with a problem of tradition order promulgated by deities. but they were able to sustain the industry by forming a guild to deprive others, including men, the chance of entering the lake in order to protect the lake and allow their salt business to progress. this guild without any doubt had handled future war at the lake, foster calmness, order, noiselessness among other things because of the cooperation, oneness, togetherness and synergy that they were able to maintain. by doing this, they succeeded in building peace in their channel of economic sustainability. the earnings from the industry contribute immensely to the family up keep. as far as their families are well taken care of economically, with the spirit of togetherness and cooperation, peace will prevail. this peace motivated character would be extended to the larger or wider society, making the society peaceful. apart from industrial woman group and other sorts of groups already discussed as integrals in the igwebuike ideology, it will not be an igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 86 over-statement to identify the same ideology in age grade system, kinship system, umuada, umunyedi etc as it affects the economic well being of the members and the society at large. the age set association, the kinship members, umuada, nwunyedi folks cetera have been active in economic assistance to members and their different communities. the age grade contributes immensely to the economy of the traditional african society. they can donate money to assist members and non-members. in some cases they sponsor skill acquisition programs, administer cooperative bodies etc. the kinship, umuada, and nwunyedi institutions do related functions of the age grades. mr. festus ozor egwu (personal communication, 20 april, 2020) narrated some experiences where a member of their kinship was attacked by a conagration which destroyed his large rice farm in anambra east area, he stated that their kinship on the hearing the incidence started with compulsory material contribution to their affected kinsman. as the kinsmen were donating money and material things, the next farming season, according the informant, the umuada folk mobilized themselves to assist the victim with two local week days free labour in which the victim was mandated not to offer food to the umuada. considering the economic supports given to humanity with the believe in the igwebuike ideology, everyone would embrace peace. the ideology would bring peace since it is used to make whoever that is in agony to be liberated or alleviated. import of igwebuike ideology on political peace politically, the ideology helps to sustain peace. orji and olali in okafor (2020) stress that traditional institutions are symbols of indigenous people’s rights, privileges, laws, customs and traditions which include but not limited to parameter rules and their councils. the traditional institution in nigeria context is inclusive of chiefs-incouncil, elders in council, title holders who may be appointed based on their contributions to growth and development of their communities (okafor, 2020:251. the act of producing these traditional leaders is often time an arduous task. anigbo (1987: 176) uses references to ibagwa-aka to emphasize on this difculty thus: the chieftaincy dispute in ibagwa aka centers on an issue as to which of two individuals should be the acknowledged representative of one town and be recognized as such both internally and externally such an individual is known by various names, viz: a “chief,” “natural ruler” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 87 “traditional ruler,” “traditional head of autonomous igbo village community”. in the struggle for such political leadership, taking the igbo traditional political system as a masterpiece, it had been the igwebuike ideology that settles it and still encourages peace-building. majority side will always carry the vote. when an aspirant sees that majority of his people do not want him or her in certain leadership position in the village, community, etc he/she is left with no option than to accept defeat, without raising any dust. igwebuike ideology responds to democratic representation for the people. ijeoma (1988) opines that; democracy therefore as an institutional arrangement and a method of making decisions endeavours to ensure that the society thereby arrives at an orderly, stable and legitimate government which would guarantee the presentation of rights and freedom with which men are endowed to. it is therefore my contention that any methods through which men are able to institute an orderly, stable legitimate government to the satisfaction and happiness of the greatest number in democracy. with this ideology, the political terrain historically and traditional was peaceful, orderly and stable. it had aided peace building among african states. complete adherence to igwebuike ideology on political matters will encourage peacebuilding because it restores political peace and stability relevance of igwebuike ideology in maintaining social peace on the aspect of social group soldiering, ikeyi (2004:210) explains thus: although all of us probably would be able to identify and describe the various small groups we belong to, we might nd it difcult to follow the same process with the large groups that affect us. as patrons or employees of large organization and governments, we function as part of large groups at all time. thus, sociologists must study large groups as well as small groups in order to understand the workings of society. in fact, all groups must not be at equal sizes to acquire the igwebuike ideology. groups differ probably as a result of circumstances, objective, natural scope and so on. when we listen to our social media, we hear about several groups showcasing their relevance in one way or the other. the actions of different groups tend to inform us that a united group is strength. today the academic staff union of universities is embarking on an industrial action since march. the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 88 individual in this body cannot achieve any goal if left to pursue his welfare independently. but as far as the individuals in that platform have organized themselves in pursuance of everybody’s interest, a lot of their welfare would be looked into. other groups that make corrections on the affairs of the state also help to ensure decorum in numerous situations. when these groups follow legal measures to exist, they will diplomatically achieve some of their interests, meanwhile encouraging peace-building in the society. traditionally, certain united groups are known as agents of peace-building in the society. they include the masquerading society, the kinship, the umuada and nwunyedi folks, the age grade teams, the village associations or union etc. occasions where a member of the society defaults the norms of the community considering the gender or sex of the offender, and the degree of the offence, one or more of these s are mobilized to visit and punish the offender. in some cases evil doers are ostracized or excommunicated. in the olden days when western education was introduced in the hinterland, the village unions or associations formed tax force teams to generate money that was used to nance school programs in the rural areas. the most intelligent pupils were sponsored in continuing their secondary school studies. some village unions sent their intelligent sons to the university within nigeria or even overseas. all these are in the spirit of the ideology of igwebuike. more so, this spirit of livelihood among the aboriginals encourages peace-building. mr. boniface ejike (personal communication 14 november 2020) avers that in the year 1981, a member of his age grade, by name emmanuel ozo happened to beat his aunty and was stupidly disturbing the entire village. on a masquerading festival, the kinsmen, masquerade cult and his age set visited him in his father’s house and was terribly dealt with. he continued that after beating the young emmanuel with so many strokes of cane, he was coerced to nish 20 liters of water before he can be allowed to go for the day. according to mr. boniface, from that day henceforth, mr. emma really amended his ways. the mr. emma in question according to him is presently among those who advocate for peace in their community. igwebuike ideology plays a vital role in the security of lives and properties. today, towns and villages form their government through which they inaugurate vigilante or neighbourhood watch groups authorized by the national government in form of community policing to secure lives and properties. all these collective efforts are known as igwebuike, and offers social peace among dwellers of several communities. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 89 relevance of igwebuike ideology in building religious peace traditionally, religion has been the lament that sustains life of community norms, customs, values and taboos. it is the deities that execute and monitor crimes. though individuals have their personal objects that represent numerous gods for them but spiritual regard becomes so efcacious when a large group of people install shrines and the spirits that they will honour in worship. these deities, shrines, gods install by the people remain the intermediary between the people and the almighty god. the groups unanimously promulgate righteous, unrighteous and forbidden actions the god of the land now do the policing role on the laid down rules agreed by the group. this group religious tenets are the yardsticks for maintenance of law and order in the traditional society. it is this background that when people remember the spiritual implications of committing certain abominations, they will rethink, thereby making the adherent to experience religious peace. religions in return attracts peace to other spheres of life. religious peace makes better transcendent connection which more people are committed to it. the holy bible states that when two or three are gathered, i am in their midst. the more people gather together as a religious community, the more they see themselves as brothers and sisters living peacefully. problems come in when critics and misconceptions emanate from two or more religions or denominations. on this note ecumenism now forms a basis to harmonize the igwebuike ideology that will foster religious peace among the hostile groups. at anytime an african man feels he is having some distant relationship with god it gives him so much worry, in order to assure close contact with the supernatural they pledge, vow and sacrice. most of these pledges and vows are made by individuals in the midst of the a worshipping community. to this end okafor (2019:74) asserts that the african man engages in religious pledges and vows to enable him be psychologically and spiritually balanced. god is the sole arbiter and controller of man and his activities here on earth. based on this, he continuously makes pledges and vows because of the problem that assails his feelings. as far as these pledges and vows are made amidst the group, the group led by the ofciating priests must acknowledge the fulllment of those pledges and vows made. it is culturally believed that they are undergoing covenants of peace reminding every member of the group that curses befall whoever makes troubles among them. in order to lay more emphases on the religious collective igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 90 commitment among africans, nwokike (2005:8) uses the awha people’s belief in the worship of the earth goddess thus: this is ani awha, representing the earth which gives yam and every food crop: the earth on which plants grow: the earth on which animal grow: and the mother earth which eats up a dead animal or tree. in awha, when libations are poured even in simple prayer ani awha is called upon together with the ancestors to come and take control of each situation to bring peace, prosperity and good health. even though africans felt they have secured religious peace still supplicate for general peace-building and prosperity of the entire community as a group. in most cases, collective religious activities of a group are often time used to build peace among nations, families, communities etc. importance of igwebuike ideology in restoring health peace unhealthy conditions absolutely hinder peace of mind of the affected persons and relations. health itself is a condition of being sick or not being sick. the health of an individual inuences to a large extent, the life of the person. to the traditional igbo, the summumbonum or highest value is life (ndu). this is made manifest in their names e.g. ndubisi-life is of supreme importance, nduka – life is greater, ndukaku – life is greater than wealth, nduamaka – life is good (madu,2004:23). onunwa in madu (2004) points that health is for more social that biological. it does not entirely mean an absence of physical ailments. that there is a clear unitary concept of psychosomatic interrelations is an apparent reciprocity between the mind and matters. health and life intermingle. we cannot virtually say that one is sick, there are undesirable conditions that can make one unhealthy in absence of sickness. take for example when very young lady loses her husband at the very early stage of the marriage. condition of this nature gives both the deceased age grade, umuada, nwunyedi and the kinship members serious concerns. even the widow’s maiden home members are also worried. these groups rally around the widow for assistance with the intention to think out ways to secure her life and longitivity of her stay in the deceased husband’s home. similar concern is applicable to a widower. then when someone is sick the african people reaction will easily reect message on how sacred life is being regarded. the traditional societies that make up nigeria using igbo ethnic group as a specimen, had deep respect for the sacredness of life and dignity of human person. african traditional societies had igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 91 a lot of cultural values such as philosophical thoughts and proverbs, community life, hospitality, sense of human relations and industry, respect for authority and elders, sense of the sacred and of religion that were deep, sense of time and the respect for the sacredness of life (ele, 2019). in african, a patient is assisted by a lot of groups of which some of them he is a member. for the treatment, ideas ow from every corner. some people have reconciled their differences because of illness. the african man, especially the igbo believe that enmity does not extend to illness or death. it is the idea of igwebuike that arouses the motivation to care for the sick or aficted because it is a reciprocal relationship. if it is discovered that an individual is reluctant over other people`s life and health consequently he will be left alone when he faces the same problem. in that regard group attention to health relatively becomes compulsory thereby establishes the desire for peace building in the society. recommendations: the study recommends that: 1. the traditional agents of peace building e.g. the masquerading cult, agegrade system, umuada and nwunyedi folks, etc. should be encouraged as far as they conform with the civil rules. 2. members of the civil society should always try to align with group cooperative movement with the positive intention to improve the living standard of the populace. 3. individuals with nancial prowess should form groups for still acquisition who will be training successive groups on different skill especially in rural and semi-urban settings. this will help to improve interpersonal relationships among the citizenry. 4. religious sentiment should not be allowed to counter the insisting igwebuike system of living in african states. religion should be kept far from the people’s togetherness. 5. government, non-governmental organizations, agencies etc can assist the society by embarking on sensitization programmes to improve more on the igwebuike ideology as a veritable source of peace building in african society. conclusion igwebuike is a wonderful ideology which the society does not assimilate as valuable formation that is capable of building peace in the society. african forebears had used it to maintain peace to a reasonable degree, through the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 92 masquerade society, age-grade, umunna – kinsmen/kindred, umuada, ndi nwumjed, the youth organizations, the family etc. it was an ideology used in the decades back for the maintenance and construction of roads, markets, public squares, installation of pipe-borne water, electrication of communities, building of schools, sign boards, reconciliation of warning individuals, families and communities. in some cases the ideology might not ght for peace to exist. it is noteworthy that there are so many areas of the people’s lives that it is adopted in which it enhances and promotes peace building. generally speaking, as far as the ideology is able to promote economic peace, political peace, and social peace, religious peace and otherwise, it has automatically portrayed in earnest, central peace for all and sundry. references akukwe, f.n (1996). community development cooperatives and democracy. a guide for social workers. onitsha: veritas printing & publishing co. ltd amgbo o.a.c (1987), commensality and human relationship among the igbo. enugu: chuka printing company limited. anigbo, o.a.c (1992). igbo elite and western europe: onitsha: africana-fep publishers limited. ele, c.o (2019), “the sacredness of human life in contemporary nigeria: violation and solutions” in e.j.o ndubisi (ed) oracle of wisdom journal of philosophy and public affairs, vol 3, no 1 pp 23-36. ezeador c.n and ezeani, k.d. (2019). “engaging women in peace keeping: an alternative way to curbing sexual violence in women” in j.o. ndubisi (ed) oracle of wisdom journal of philosophy and public affairs vol. 3 (1) pp 57-64, ijeoma, b.i. (1988). afrocracy: basis for national stability: partless democracy. benin: idodo umeh publishers limited. ikeyi, j.o. (2004). sociology: an introductory text. enugu: zik chuks nigeria. kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. kanu, a. i. (2017c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 7. pp. 165-183. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 93 kanu, a. i. (2017d). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 6. pp. 16-50. kanu, a. i. (2017f). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. pp. 153-160. kanu, i. a. (2012). the problem of being in metaphysics. african research review: an international multi-disciplinary journal. vol.6. no.2. april. pp. 113-122. kanu, i. a. (2012). the problem of personal identity in metaphysics. international journal of arts and humanities. vol.1. no.2. pp.1-13. kanu, i. a. (2012a). the concept of life and person in african anthropology. in e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (eds.). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 61-71). nigeria: augustinian. kanu, i. a. (2012b). towards an igbo christology. in e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (eds.). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 75-98). nigeria: augustinian. kanu, i. a. (2013). african identity and the emergence of globalization. american international journal of contemporary research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 34-42. kanu, i. a. (2013). african identity and the emergence of globalization. american international journal of contemporary research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 34-42. kanu, i. a. (2013). globalisation, globalism and african philosophy. c. umezinwa (ed.). african philosophy: a pragmatic approach to african probems (pp. 151-165). germany: lambert. kanu, i. a. (2013). on the sources of african philosophy. filosoa theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 337356. kanu, i. a. (2013). the dimensions of african cosmology. filosoa theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 533555. kanu, i. a. (2014). a historiography of african philosophy. global journal for research analysis. volume. 3. issue. 8. pp. 188-190. kanu, i. a. (2014). being and the categories of being in igbo philosophy. african journal of humanities. volume 1. issue 1. pp. 144-159. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 94 kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christianmuslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientic community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151161. madu, j.e. (2004). honesty to african cultural heritage. onitsha: coskan associates. njoku, o.n (2008). “women in traditional economy” (ed) e.j, otagburuagu and a.e agbo, new brides more hopes: igbo women in socioeconomic change. pp 104-135, enugu: global publishers nigeria limited. nwokike, j.c (2005). pottery and cultural life of awka people plus art history 1&2. enugu: de adroit innovation okafor, e. i and amaechi-ani (2019). “aziza as a concept and principle. a basis for a formidable african society” (ed) e. nwabueze. new frontiers in contemporary african studies. pp 309-318 enugu: abic publishers limited. okafor, e.i (2019). “migration as a pattern of life: implications on the religiontraditional identity of africans” (ed) i.a. kanu. journal of african studies igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 95 and sustainable development. vol. 2 no. 7, pp 87-100. yola: altograde nigeria limited. okafor, e.i (2019). “pledges and vows to deities in african traditional religion: implications to the practitioners and the society: an igbo example” in e. nwabueze (e.d) lkoro journal of contemporary african studies vol 13 no. 2 pp 70-84, nsukka: institute of african studies. okafor, e.i (2020) “inuence of criminal and violent minded interests on nigeria traditional institutions: the question of morality in a populous religious society”. (ed) f.o. orabueze. ogbazuluobodo university of nigeria journal of multidisciplinary studies vol. 1 no. 02 pp 247-256, enugu: timex summers, d. (2001). longman dictionary of contemporary english, england: parson education ltd igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no.4.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 131 “ifedinoba”: historical contributions of palm wine industry to the economy of oba people in idemmili area of igboland since 1900 mbalisi, chinedu n. ph.d department of history and international relations paul university, awka chinedumbalisi@gmail.com; 08035079592 & vincent-anene, prince okwy department of history and international relations paul university, awka abstract humans in their struggle for survival has over time developed diverse forms of economic activities and institutions. hence, man has developed diverse industries around the world in time and space. one of such industries is the palm wine industry among the people of oba in idemmili area of igboland. from the ancient times, the people of oba have engaged in several economic activities that has provided the people with sources of livelihood. neighbouring communities and people from far flung igboland have come to know trade and cement relationships through contact provided by palm wine business. it has been the nexus for social, political, economic and cultural relations between oba, their contiguous neighbours and other parts of igboland. in fact, the palm wine industry has survived in oba and has remained a source of employment to several people within and outside oba. this study examines the impact of palm wine industry to the economic development of oba. the paper postulates that the palm wine industry has been beneficial to several oba indigenes and non-indigenes. apart from those who ply their trade in palm wine industry, it serves as a veritable source of employment to such category of people as the wood carvers, motorcyclists, tricycle (keke) riders, and blacksmiths among many others. the study is of the view that the oba people probably would not have been as popular as they are in igboland today but for the palm wine industry. the approached to the study is interdisciplinary and presentation is thematic. resources came largely from primary sources in the form of oral interviews and a few secondary sources where available, were consulted. the historical narrative and analytical methods were used. the conclusion is laced with helpful recommendations. keywords: ifedinoba, palm wine, economic development, industry. introduction igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 132 man in all ages and in all times have been a hard worker. he works to eat and eats to survive. while it is a biblical fact that man must not live by bread alone, unarguably, it is also a fact of life that man cannot live without food. hence, economic activities provide satisfaction to man’s quest for survival. arising from the above, every society has evolved one or several economic activities in order to survive. this includes the oba people who alongside farming and fishing engage in palm wine tapping as a major source of economic activity. the palm wine industry in oba has been a major source of income among the oba people. it is produced in mgbo1 and then brought out to the ose where it is sold. the palm wine industry is believed by the oba people to be as old as oba itself. this stems from the belief by the people that their father, okpoko2 gave it to them as a source of survival. the rich natural resources gotten from the mgbo are pointers to this claim. these resources include several games, vegetables, fertile land, fish, and other things needed to sustenance life. one of the most very important resources the oba man has gotten from the mgbo is the palm wine. the abundance of palm wine in oba cannot be overemphasized. the abundance of palm wine in oba has made people to refer to oba as the biblical galilee, where the biblical jesus christ turned water into wine3. mr. godwin supports this view further, “the mgbo is surrounded by water that is from the water that jesus christ turned part into wine, as a result of this, and one may hear among the elderly men in oba such statements like “oba galilee or oba obodo jesus”4. hence, the high premium placed on oba palm wine provides the vent for the valuable income it brings to oba indigenes and to none indigenes alike. from the foregoing, the present study considers the economic impact of the palm wine industry in oba since 1900. conceptual clarifications/theoretical framework some basic concepts are here defined for ease of understanding and convenience of readers. one such concept is “ifedinoba”, this is an igbo expression which simply means there are invaluable economic and natural resources in oba which 1mgbo is the marshy part of oba town around the beach (ose), where farming and a lot of economic activities is done. it is in mgbo that the palm wine trees are standing. the palm wine tappers tap in the mgbo and bring it out to the ose for sale. 2 the oba man has traced his origin to a bird called okpoko. 3 godwin madueke, a 76 years old palm wine tapper. oral tradition gathered in oba on 5/6/2017. 4 ibid. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 133 the palm wine is one of the major natural resources. the term economy connects directly to economics. economic activity remains a basic activity of human on earth as they struggle for survival. hence, ake avers that “economic need is man’s most fundamental need”5. he further argues that humans must eat before they can do anything else6. to ake, economic activities are as important as economic needs, hence, he gave primacy to work as the most important economic factor. generally, economy deals with production and distribution of goods and services. it deals with how people go about to satisfy their basic needs in life. palm wine tapping among the people of oba is one major traditional means to satisfy their economic needs among numerous other concerns. palm wine, is another concept that needs clarification. it is a white alcoholic beverage produced from the palm tree. the oba people produce this beverage in large quantities. there are several kinds of palm wine. for the purpose of this study, palm wine -nkwu-enu and raffia wine manyangwo will be examined. there are some differences in both, however for the purpose of our analysis here both of them shall be referred to as one. both serve the same purpose in traditional oba society and economic sector and the major difference being that they are from two different trees; raffia and palm trees respectively. in oba, the bulk of the palm wine is found in the mgbo. the mgbo is a vast territory or expanse of land which provides most of the economic needs of the oba people. there, the palm wine tappers tap for free. economic development is a concept used daily by people of different classes and pedigree. for our purpose here, we would adopt the meaning that sees economic development as an overall process, which is dependent upon man’s effort to deal with his natural environment. it is a many-sided process in human society viewed from the individual level according to walter rodney to mean “increased skill and capacity, greater freedom, creativity, self reliance, responsibility and material well being.6” viewed from the social group level, it raises the standard of living of the masses of the people and to provide all human beings with opportunity to develop their potentials. these needs transcend material needs such as adequate livelihood, safe water, employment, provision of adequate medical service, shelter, affordable transportation, among others. it also includes such issues as security, traditional and cultural identity, access to power, self 5 c. ake, ‘methods and theoretical foundations’, in c. ake (ed.) a political economy of africa, longman group limited, nig. 1988, 1. 6 ibid. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 134 reliance which guarantees a sense of purpose in life. the above explanations seemingly are identified in oba society as shown in this expose. the oba people in historical perspective just like many other igbo groups, the origin of the oba people has remained contentious. unarguably, the oba people has been in their present location for a very long time, this accounts for the reason why they could not say how they came to their present location. hence, they have traced their decent from okpoko, a legendary bird. it is widely held in oba that the mythical bird, okpoko, is the father of oba. the man, oba, then begot nine children which founded the nine villages in oba. this is why the kingship institution in oba till date is known as the eze-okpoko institution. the okpoko legend to the present writers could be subjected to further historical hermeneutics. viewed from a different perspective, it would appear that the mythical bird had protected the man, oba from danger, probably at primitive times when this part of the world was sparingly populated. it may be safe to suggest that the bird had drawn the attention of an approaching wild animal away from the man and his people. as a result of that, oba and his descendants decided to adopt or ascribe to the mystical okpoko bird a protector figure or seen a saviour or a god. according to v. a. o. obi, there are other towns and communities in anambra state which bear similar names with oba and some of the villages in it7. such town as oba ofe mmilli in awka north has some similarity with the oba idemmilli people. could they be of the same origin? this will be a topic to unearth in another study. there are other towns in anambra state that have similar village names as found in oba. an example is uruagu in nnewi. it is suspected that due to some similarities in culture and tradition, uruagu and abidi in nnewi and umuoji respectively all migrated from oba. in uke, there is also a village known as oba. the present writer is also of the view that the oba people may have been the same with other oba around anambra state, but due to one reason or the other, have migrated to their present location several centuries ago. it would appear that over the years, they had lost their history of migration and have decided to 7 v.a.o. obi, ‘origin of oba’ in v.a.o. obi (ed.) the groundwork of oba history, 2010, 6-15. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 135 settle for the legendary bird as their ancestors, one of the dangers of oral tradition. as stated earlier, oba is composed of nine villages. these nine villages are the nine sons of oba the “son” of okpoko, their progenitor. the people of oba are spread across these villages which include urueze, umuogali, isu, okuzu, abime, ogbenwe, ogwugwu, aboji and ezele. the villages are arranged in order is seniority. within these villages, it is further divided into kindred otherwise known as umunna. oba is made up of a total of 100 kindred as at september 19998. the people of oba are generally dark skinned like other peoples found in the west african region. the people speak oba dialect of igbo which is not difficult for any other igbo person to understand. the oba man is said to be generally generous and does not attach much importance to consumables like food9, according to v.c.i. anene. he is hardworking and so ambitious, he however has the tendency to emulate or copy good things around him, especially when it is from a fellow oba man10. the oba man however, is known for his honesty and integrity; he is mindful of acts capable of dragging his name to the mud11. the main occupation of oba people in the earliest time is farming. they produced staple crops such as cocoyam and yam, vegetables and also engaged in hunting activities12. these natural resources, palm wine, games among many others are found in abundance in the mgbo13. however, with the advent of christianity, the oba people embraced white collar job and western education. nonetheless, the mgbo still provides the people with employment and income for solving different financial challenges including paying of school fees.14 8 this is from the constitution and bye-laws of the oba patriotic union and constitution of the igwe and eze okpoko of oba 1999. the oba patriotic union, otherwise known as the opu which is the town’s general assembly of the entire adult male in oba. the major decisions in oba are taken by the opu. it meets twice a year, but can summon an emergency meeting. the opu is headed by the president general elected every two years. 9 v.c.i. anene, oba town: achievements and failures, 1981, 44. 10 ibid 11 ibid, 47-8 12 v.a.o. obi, 2010. 13 the mgbor is a fertile marshy area surrounded by water. the oba people engage in diverse forms of economic activities there. they believe that it is their father, okpoko that gave them the place for survival. 14 v.c.i. anene, 1981. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 136 in terms of religious life, the people like every other group in igboland are religious. they worshiped the udo, idemili and ani15. the first two deities are in ezele village, which is the last child of oba. the last deity is found at nkwo. oba people have several religious and cultural ceremonies celebrated in the honour of their gods and goddess, the most important is iwa ji and ufala mmuo16. after the advent of christianity, nonetheless, some faction of the oba people still maintained the traditional religion of their forefathers. as a consequence, most of these institutions and festivals are still extant in oba. the shrines of the three main deities, still stands in oba at present with modern houses covered with aluminum roofing sheets. geographically, oba is a town located in idemili south local government area of anambra state, nigeria. oba occupies a land space of about forty kilometers17. it is bounded on the east by the idemili river and ojoto obofia town, on the west by ekulo rivulet and the mgbo swamps and river niger. oba could have been a compact island but for the narrow strip of land between oba and ojoto obofia. oba lies five kilometers on the road running from onitsha to owerri. a clay landscape forms a boundary between oba and ichi on the south -eastern part. oba is said to have been naturally protected from boarder disputes. oba consists of dry lands, highlands and riverine areas. the riverine areas are swampy and marshy with several rivulets inter-crossing one another before emptying themselves into the river niger. the swamps favour the growth of forest trees and raffia palms, which provide the oba people with palm wine and floras and faunas. the rivulets contain great varieties of aquatic animals including fresh water fish. the cultivable areas within the swamp are very fertile and good for agricultural production. the dry and highland areas of the town also contain good arable lands. the tree crops in this area include the palm trees, coconut trees, oil bean plants, mangoes, kola nut trees, breadfruit trees and 15 these were the three main deities in oba, udo is the god of peace, idemili is the river gods and the owner of eke-idemili, the sacred python. finally, the ani is the earth goddess and the goddess of fertility. 16 iwa ji is the celebration of ani, in the name of new yam festival. here, the goddess of fertility is glorified and praised for the abundance of harvest. it is done after farming season. the ufala mmuo is the celebration of all the gods and goddess in oba. here all the masquerades are in display. it is usually done in the third month of the year in the nkwo market square. 17 v.a.o. obi, 2010 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 137 various types of woodlands. the highlands of ogbenwe, provides for hunting of wild animals and games. the palm wine industry in oba since 1900 as stated earlier, the oba people are reputed for the production and sale of palm wine. there are two types of wine in oba which are listed as palm wine. they are the palm wine commonly known as nkwu-enu or nkwu-igbo and raffia wine known as ngwo or nmachu. while the palm wine is found on the dry lands and the highlands, the raffia wine is found mainly in the mgbo. the palm wine in oba has gone down in history to be known as ifedin’oba. the people of oba have engaged in palm wine production even before the dawn of the colonial rule. at the wake of the colonial rule, which is around 1900, the people intensified on palm wine production. this was because people trained themselves in western education with the money realized from the sales of palm wine which v.c.i. anene captioned ije-german18. palm wine tapping has been an exclusive occupation for men. anene further observed that at the end of nigeriabiafra war, women joined in the business as a result of the financial difficulty of the post war years in igboland. in oba, the production of palm wine is done by only the oba people until about the 1980s, when foreigners began to join in the palm wine production in oba. however, they were restricted to the production of nkwu -igbo. the foreigners are not allowed access into the mgbo. the mgbo and the palm wine industry in oba the main part of production of this wine is the mgbo, that is, the marshy area around the ose beach. in the mgbo, several raffia palm trees are seen standing in the middle of the water, it is there the tedious and painstaking work of wine production is done. here wine is produced in large quantities. the tappers move into the mgbo in a paddle canoe to tap the wine, and bring same to dry land using their canoe. it is at this point that people come to buy for retailing. business men around oba come to the ose to purchase the palm wine. oba has three palm wine production sites namely, ose umu-afa, ose abosi, ose abosi isi odu. it is important to mention at this juncture that not all villages in oba has access to the mgbo, it is only aboji and umuogali that accesses the mgbo. others depend on 18 this according to v.c.i. anene is the tedious job of palm wine selling. people purchased palm wine from the tappers and carried it head on to onitsha where day sell them off and returned in the evening. money realized from the sale can be used to pay school fees 1981, 37. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 138 products from the main land19. by extension, it means only the aboji and the umuogali people produced palm wine in the mgbo. nonetheless, people from other villages tap palm wine in the main lands. also, foreigners who engaged in palm wine tapping also tap palm located in the main lands of the town. the popularity of oba presumably owes much to this booming palm wine industry. people from the neigbouring villages who most times find it difficult to sale their own wine because their wine appears not to be as good as the oba palm wine. thus they often times label their drink after oba as “oba wine” so as to make quick sales20. none indigenes and palm wine industry in oba starting from the last three decades none oba indigenes became integral part of the palm wine industry in oba. these were people from nsukka, abakiliki, and afikpo etc. these people tapped palm wine in oba and made a lot of money from the job. there are about 76 members of none oba indigenes in the palm wine industry in oba21. the non indigenes in the industry do not have access to the mgbo. they only tap wine from the palm trees in the dry lands. according to those who were interviewed, they pay a particular amount of money to the owners of the palm tree which they tap wine from. the reason is that they do not have their own palm trees to tap wine from. aside from those who tap directly, there are some none indigenes who are not into the production of the palm wine but are retailers. these people are both women and men who have bars for the sale of palm wine and accoutrements taken with palm wine. hence, every evening, people from within and around oba are seen in these relaxation joints treating themselves to some fresh palm wine and pepper soup. some other none indigenes partake in the distribution of palm wine as transporters. other people also travel from neighbouring towns to oba in order to buy the oba wine for sale at different towns as barkeepers and restaurants. interconnectedness with other sectors of the economy 19 v.c.i. anene, 1981 20 v.a.o. obi, 2010, 30. 21 echendu emeka said this to the researcher during his field work. he is a 47yrs old palm wine tapper of non oba extraction. he is from enugu state. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 139 the palm wine industry in oba, in order to flourish very well, employed the assistance of other sectors of the economy. for instance, the palm wine tapper cannot produce the canoe which he uses for transportation on the waters of the ose, hence, he employs the canoe builder. additionally, they also employ the services of the transporters who carry them from the exterior to the interior part of oba from ose. this is because the ose is very far from the afor uzo-oba22 market where it is sold. people also go to the ose to buy the fresh one at a cheaper rate. to this end, taxi drivers, motorcyclist (okada) riders, tricycle (keke) drivers are involved in the palm wine industry business. furthermore, the blacksmith are also involved in the industry because they produce the knife and machetes use for tapping of the palm wine. in ancient times, they employed the services of potters who made the containers and jars for the palm wine. in recent times, they buy plastic containers from the market for the same purpose. from the fore going, one could state that the palm wine industry in oba is a multi-sector enterprise that transcends igboland. economic impact of the palm wine industry in oba since 1900 the economic impact of the palm wine industry in oba would not be overemphasized. it has unarguably contributed to both economic growth and development in oba. firstly, it is apt to note that the economy of oba rests principally on various products from the mgbo chief among them is the palm wine. the palm wine business has proven to be lucrative enough. most people who engage in any sort of palm wine business have been so comfortable in life that he or she hardly borrow money. for instance, a wine tapper, victoria ukwueze in an interview informed thus “… i have never borrowed money from anyone since i started this business. ngwo gives money very well; it provides me with all i need to settle financial challenges.”23 22 afor uzo oba is the name of the market in oba where the palm wine is being sold. it is the largest market in oba and functions every day. there are others which are eke in ezele, oye in ezele and nkwo. 23 victoria ukwueze is a 51 years old woman who sales palm wine in her joint in oba. she has been in the business for 19years. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 140 additionally, ejike chukwueloka avers that, “ngwo is a daily business, no one who sales ngwo ever lacks money. i have never borrowed money”24. it is generally held among the people who were interviewed by the present researchers that palm wine has great economic impact in their lives; they have remained economically viable and have been able to meet up with other needs, especially man’s basic need of shelter, feeding and clothing. hence, augustine anene ejikeme states, palm wine helps us very well. most people who tap palm wine are very comfortable. they do not borrow money from anybody. when it is their turn to host village meetings or any other meeting, they do it very well, they pay their dues early enough even before some civil servants.25 today, many oba indigenes are highly educated and amongst the ranks and file of oba indigenes, there are several professors in their different fields, lawyers, doctors, architects, clergy men and bishops. most of these men have been sent to school through the money realized from the palm wine business by their parents. during the fieldwork by the researchers, we came across several palm wine tappers or sellers who affirmed that their children’s school fees were paid through cash realized from palm wine. hence, v.c.i. anene writes, “as early as when payment of school fees were introduced, several scholars (of oba extraction) trained themselves in elementary schools with profits made from tombo palm wine…”26 additionally, augustine anene ejikeme a contemporary palm wine tapper added his view about palm wine tapping and education. he remembers thus, i trained all my children with it (palm wine), not just in primary and secondary school. i trained them up to the university level. my children are so proud of me because i trained them to the highest level…27. 24 ejike chukwueleoka, he is a 29 year old oba indigene. he took over his father’s palm wine business and runs his father’s shop. he made the statement to the present writer during an oral interview in oba. 25 augustine anene ejikeme has this to say in an oral interview with the present writer at oba on the 6/06/2017. the interview was held in afor oba market where they were selling the palm wine. 26 v.c.i. anene, 1981. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 141 many of these oba sons and daughters who were trained through the money realized from the palm wine industry are presently the economic pillars of oba town. they are doing well in the diaspora and they return to contribute to develop oba. palm wine industry has also brought in several developments in oba. it helped many oba people to build zinc houses in the modern time. in his words, godwin madueke says, “i have been able to build houses in my place through money realized from palm wine. i have also bought cars through sales made from palm wine”27 it is noteworthy here that there are some none oba indigenes who engage in palm wine business and they live in oba. most of them came into oba because of the palm wine business and of a truth, they have been doing well in the industry. to confirm this, cyprian edeh, a fifty-one year old obagu man from enugu state has this to say: i have tapped palm wine for fifteen years. palm wine has been so useful to us. i have built a bungalow and a duplex in my place through the money realized from palm wine sales.28 the interest of the present writers is not on how much these non indigenes have been able to develop their own place, just as cyprian edeh has averred, but on how these non indigenes has contributed to the economic well being of the oba people. in the first place, it is apt to recall that these non indigenes do not have their personal houses in oba, hence, in order to stay in oba and do their businesses, they rent houses built by oba indigenes. these non oba indigenes pay house rents to oba people thereby increasing the income of their oba host. secondly, they do not have their own land and by extension palm trees, consequently, they rent palm trees to the indigenes to tap and pay the hosts monthly. thirdly, when they carry their products to the markets to sale, since they are not indigenes, the oba people require specific amount of tax from them in the market. these taxes are used in the opu developmental projects within the town. the money realized from such taxes also helps to pay opu workers who are mainly oba indigenes. fourthly, the non oba indigenes who keep palm wine relaxation bar joints also rent shops were they do their business which 27 godwin mmadueke is both a palm wine tapper and a palm wine bar keeper. he has been in the business for thirty seven years and has been doing fine. 28 cyprian edeh is a palm wine tapper that lives in ezele village oba. he is known as one of the best non indigene in the business. he said this to the researcher in his house. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 142 serves as income to the indigenous owners of the shops. finally, the non indigenes also visit the afor oba market to buy goods for their house keeping. from the foregoing, it is obvious that the activities of non indigenous people have been so useful to the economic growth and development of oba. further on the economic impacts of palm wine industry in oba, it is worthy of note that palm wine has also drawn the wealth of people from other communities to oba. for instance, people from neigbouring communities come to oba to buy palm wine. ugochukwu udeze from nnewi is into the palm wine business, according to him, his father has been doing the business. his father started the business in the early seventies after the war, when his father became weak, he took over the business. he asserts thus, “my father has been coming to oba to buy the wine he sales in nnewi until he became weak to continue. since he became weak due to old age, i took over the enterprise”29. the palm wine industry has in one way or the other affected positively the economic life of most people in oba. this is because of the interconnectedness with other businesses. for instance, those who keep the palm wine bar also sell pepper soup produced with cow and goat meat of bush meat. the pepper soup and the palm wine are also better enjoyed with agidia delicacy made from maize floor. hence, the local women who produce the agidi are able to have quick turnovers in their business. further, the palm wine industry, as stated earlier engages the services of other people like the transporters, wood workers and blacksmith. they are paid for their services which continue to keep food on their table and enable them send their children to school. despite all the mouthwatering and juicy economic impacts, there are some negative economic impacts. the taste of the palm wine is so sweet that one may hardly overcome the temptation of drinking as much bottle as whatever he could afford. hence, people drink so much alcohol and get drunk. this has landed several people in the hospital and money for projects is channeled to pay hospital bills for the treatment of the patient who sustained great injuries as a result of drunkenness. challenges of the palm wine industry in oba there are some challenges which the ancient industry is faced with in oba. chief among which is the fact that the youths appear not to be interested in palm wine 29 ugochukwu udeze, told the researcher in an oral interview in ose abosi on the 06/06/2017. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 143 tapping and also the old generation who are into the business get weaker. the tedious work of palm wine tapping requires the younger people who are strong enough to climb the trees, paddle the canoe among other activities in the industry. pitiably, the youths prefer to go to the cities in pursuit of white collar jobs thereby abandoning the lucrative business of palm wine tapping. most of them prefer to travel to unknown countries for greener pastures. the economic preference and focus of the youths threaten the survival of the palm wine industry. another big challenge is the risk associated with palm wine tapping. climbing the palm and raffia trees is very dangerous. many people have died as a result of that. hence, tobenna nwokolo has this to say: i will not doubt the fact that palm wine tapping is very lucrative; my father was able to build a zinc house early in life due to palm wine tapping. but i and my children will never do that. today where is our father? he died tapping palm wine, he fell from the palm tree and that was the end of his life30. from the words of tobenna, it is obvious that the risk associated with palm wine tapping has scared several people away from palm wine tapping. they are mostly guided by the saying, “when you keep life aside to pursue wealth, your enemy will enjoy your wealth”.31 in the raining season, climbing the palm tree is risky after the rains as the tree trunks become slippery and the risk of one falling off is high. in the raining season also, the palm wine bar keepers are faced with low sales as a result of the rain32. as a result, some of the sellers are unable to sale all they bought for the day. this challenge, to the writers is not a major challenge since it appears to be a seasonal issue. other challenges include the fact of nature which controls the palm wine and decides the quantity at a giving time. 30 tobenna nwokolo whose father died in 2003 tapping palm wine said this to the researcher in an oral interview on 05/06/2017 31 igbo adage that talks about the importance of life even in economic pursuit, if one pursue wealth at the expense of his life, he may not live to enjoy such wealth. 32 victoria ukwueze, a young woman from nsukka in enugu state, she keeps palm wine bar in aboji oba. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 144 summary and conclusion this paper, although centered on the economic impact of palm wine industry in oba, undertook a brief historical excursion of oba. this was to aid the understanding of oba people and also to understand the issues surrounding the production of palm wine in oba. in the course of analysis, the work inquired into the origin of oba people. the writers were able to interpret the myth surrounding the origin of oba people in their own perspective. the interpretation of the present writers is by no means almighty. the work studied the people and the geography of oba and how it has affected her economy most with the mgbo as one of the most important blessing which god has bestowed on the oba people. the study further uncovers the relevance of the palm wine industry to the popularity of oba. it discovered how this industry has blossomed from the earliest time and how other communities tend to associate their wine with that of oba people. the study went further to buttress the importance of the mgbo to the palm wine industry in oba; this is because most of the activities concerning palm wine tapping in oba revolve around the mgbo. in studying the mgbo, the work discovered that not only non indigenes are denied access into the mgbo, but only two villages of aboji and umuogali are allowed to use the mgbo in oba. foreigners are an important aspect in the palm wine industry in oba. it unearthed how the non indigenes got the palm tree they tapped. it further revealed that the industry depends on other sector of the economy to thrive. economically, the study reveals the myriads of contribution which the palm wine industry has made to the economy of oba. the economic impact of this industry cannot be overemphasized as it is an invaluable part in the general development of oba society. finally, the teething challenges and risks of the palm wine industry notwithstanding, the industry continues to thrive and remains in existence. having studied the economic importance of the palm wine industry, the work suggests that the people of oba should do everything necessary to promote this industry beyond their community. youths should be encouraged to understand the importance of this industry and how much wealth lies therein. the community should strive to mechanise the processing of palm wine used to produce spirits, ethanol and other chemicals used in the laboratory. the study has reconstructed economic life of oba which appears to have been forgotten by igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 145 scholars of oba history in relation to its importance. it forms the basis for future analysis on other economic life of oba people. igwebuike_6_7_5.cdr 41 igwebuike philosophy and leadership styles omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd department of business administration and management villanova polytechnic, imesi ile, osun state omojolassma@yahoo.co.uk doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29305.49761 abstract this paper discusses igwebuike philosophy and leadership styles. it is an attempt to see how this philosophy can be applied to leadership styles or how a connection can be drawn between the two terms. igwebuike philosophy, according the author, means “‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power;’ that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful and can constitute an insurmountable force.” leadership has been dened by various authors in various ways. however, it has been agreed by many scholars that leadership involves people, unequal distribution of power, ability to inuence, and values. authoritarian, democratic and laissez-faire leadership styles were discussed as a concise presentation of all leadership styles. phenomenological method of research was used for the purpose of this study. it was discovered that democratic or participative leadership style correlates with what the author of igwebuike philosophy has in mind. the discussion also disclosed that both terms have number of people, involvement, goals and values in common. it was then recommended that igwebuike philosophy should be a guide to leaders as they endeavour to know what to do and how to do it for the realization of organizational goals. keywords: igwebuike philosophy, leadership styles, kanu ikechukwu anthony, authoritarian, democratic, laissez-faire, goals and involvement introduction leadership is an act of giving directives to people in an organization for the accomplishment of organizational goals. it takes into cognizance some skills to guide individuals, lead a group and facilitate a team work through inuences. a leader is one who constantly makes positive statements of ethics. leadership has been dened by various scholars in various ways. some, in an attempt to arrive at a good denition, describe leaders and their functions, while some pay attention to traits or qualities. for example, maxwell (2001) claims that “a good leader is a guy who can step on your toes without messing up your shine”(p.72), and akindutire (2004) opines that a leader is a person who can help a group to achieve goals with as little fraction as possible, have a sense of unity and provide igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 42 an opportunity for self-realization. “leadership is a process whereby an individual inuences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal” (northhouse 2007, p. 122). in the view of lunnernburg and ornstern (2008), “leadership is not about who is smarter or tougher but about qualities we all have or can develop” (p. 84). considering the input of (zeichik 2012), “leadership is inspiring others to pursue your vision within the parameters you set, to the extent that it becomes a shared vision and a shared success.” (p. 3) miguel (2017), while quoting maxwell, says “a leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way;" (p. 64), and jack welch offered, "before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. when you become a leader, success is all about growing others." (p. 64) recently, ward (2020) stresses that, “a simple denition is that leadership is the art of motivating a group of people to act toward achieving a common goal. this can mean directing workers and colleagues with a strategy to meet the company's needs.” (p. 9) she further says that a leader is the inspiration for and director of the action. it is the person in the group that possesses the combination of personality and leadership skills to make others want to follow their directions. in all these denitions, it can be deduced that leadership deals with people, motivation, inuence, organizational goals and values. also, nearly all these authors are of the opinion that leaders are made not born. to jago (1992), “good leaders are made not born” (p. 7). if you have the desire and willpower, you can become an effective leader. good leaders develop through a never-ending process of self-study, education, training and experience. it is surprising to the researcher that the even the denition given by lunnernburg and ornstern that pays attention to “qualities we all have or can develop” (p. 84) ended with leaders are made not born. the researcher is of the opinion that “have” in this denition is referring to inborn traits, while “can develop” is about learning. some of the arguments of these authors can be summarized as follows: stoner, freeman and gilbert (2002) say that what is to be leant are motivation, a clear idea of what you need to improve and consistent practice, because to them, leadership works through emotions, and the most important quality of a leader is supervisory ability. akindutire (2004), who also shares the same view, arrives at the conclusion that the major attribute of a leader is communication skills. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 43 jago (1982) later makes a distinction between the terms a born leader and a made leader in this claim. “leaders carry out this process (desire and willpower) by applying their knowledge and skills. this is called process leadership. however, we know that we have traits that can inuence our actions. this is called “trait leadership,” in that it was once common to believe that leaders were born rather than made.” (p. 8) ward (2020) is not taking a stand; instead, he agrees with the fact that leaders are born and that leaders can be made through constant practice. “while there are people who seem to be naturally endowed with more leadership abilities than others, anyone can learn to become a leader by improving particular skills.” (p. 18). in line with this, luenendonk (2016) associates certain traits to democratic leadership style especially. “there are certain traits that make being a democratic leader easier. if you possess the below four traits and you enhance these qualities, you can begin your journey towards democratic leadership.” (p. 6) the four characteristics are intelligence, honesty, creativity and fairness. the researcher stands with the views of jago, luenendonk and ward, because in some cases, issues that might have caused a lot of problem can just be addressed by a leader without noise. if traits are not recognized, why do we prefer a particular person for a specic ofce? or why do people appointed unopposed? traits are inborn and traits of a particular trade or profession can be developed for effectiveness. psychologists talk about enneagram-personality in sum total of the general characteristics which distinguish one individual from another. this is an attempt to showcase individual traits and what they can be used for. in the work of anifaloba (1997), type three has been identied as the administrator and type eight, the boss. both administrator and boss are terms that are common to leadership. therefore, people of particular traits have been identied to be more effective in these areas. through acquisition of knowledge and experiences, though, leaders can emerge and be successful. while leadership is learned, their (leaders) knowledge can be subjective to traits and qualities, such as background, values and character. both knowledge and skills are relevant to leaders’ achievements and exceptionality. leadership styles leadership style is a way and manner with which a superior gives directives and supervision for the execution of plans, through motivation, for the attainment of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 44 organizational goals. in general, twelve types of leadership styles can be identied for organizational improvement as follows: 1. autocraticleadership style is centered on the boss. in this leadership, the leader holds all authority and responsibility without consulting their subjects. 2. democratic leadership style: subordinates are involved in making decisions; headship is centered on subordinate’s contributions. 3. strategic leadership style which is geared towards a wider audience at all levels for creation of better performance. 4. transformational leadership motivates others to do more than originally intended and often even more than they thought possible. they set more challenging expectations and typically achieve higher performance. 5. team leadership: working with the heart and minds of all workers is the focus. it also recognizes that team work may not always contain trusting cooperative relationship. 6. cross-cultural leadership normally exists where various cultures are included. this leadership has also industrialized as a way to recognize front runners who work in the contemporary globalized market. 7. facilitative leadership that is too dependent on measurement and outcome,not a skill, although it takes much skill to master. 8. laissez-faire leadership style gives authority to employees or subordinates to work as they choose with minimal or no interferences. 9. transactional leadership maintains or continues the status quo. it is the leadership that comprises an exchange process, whereby followers get immediate, tangible reward for carrying out the leader’s orders. 10. coaching leadership encompasses teaching and supervising followers. a coaching leader is highly operational in a setting where result or performance required improvement. 11. charismatic leadership manifests a leader’s revolutionary power. charisma does not mean sheer behavioural change. 12. visionary leadership is about leaders who recognize that the methods, steps and processes of leadership are all obtained with and through people. all these leadership styles have been summarized by stonner et al (2012) as authoritarian, consultative and participative, in which consultative and participative styles have been used interchangeably by many authors. similarly, lunnernburg and ornstern (2008) and akindutire (2004) present the summary of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 45 all the leadership styles as autocratic, democratic and laissez-faire. for the purpose of this work, authoritarian /autocratic, democratic/ consultative/ participative and laissez-faire leadership styles will be discussed to arrive at how they can be linked with igwebuike philosophy. authoritarian or autocratic leadership style authoritarian leadership style involves formulation of policies by the leader. he is also responsible for stating implementation format. he controls and directs all activities without any meaningful input from his subjects. leaders using this type of style will quickly punish any subordinate that is not working at their pace, because their attention is always on task and output, and not on employees’ welfare. authoritarian leaders are often referred to as “autocratic,” and they are termed powerful because they always accompany their commands with threats or intimidations. this type of leadership style has a lot of negative effects both on employee and the organizational growth. employee will lack creativity and sense of responsibility, especially when the leader is not available, which will eventually tell on the organization. it is becoming an obsolete style of leadership, but can be used in some cases as janse (2018) opines, “in teams where consensus is not easily reached because of a high diversity of team members or a group that is only briefly going to be working together, the authoritarian leader sees quickly what needs to be done and who is best suited for this” (p. 9). democratic or participative leadership style democratic or participative leadership style has been presented by authors as also consultative. this is dened by gastil (2018) as “distributing responsibility among the membership, empowering group members, and aiding the group’s decision-making process." (p. 8) the democratic style of leadership encompasses the notion that everyone, by virtue of their human status, should play a part in the group's decisions. however, the democratic style of leadership still requires guidance and control by a specic leader. leaders may even ask subordinates to vote before a decision is accepted. therefore, majority carries the vote. gastil further says that the democratic or participative leadership style places signicant responsibility on leaders and their staff. this is true for all organizations, from private enterprises and government agencies to educational institutions and nonprot entities. democratic leaders build their employee and expect staff who report to them to have detailed experience and to display selfigwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 46 assurance. leaders of this type must possess the following qualities: honesty and integrity, condence, inspire others, commitment and passion, good communicator, decision making, capabilities, accountability, delegation and empowerment, creativity or innovation, empathy, resilience, emotional intelligence, humility, transparency, vision and ppurpose (hassan, 2020). kanu (2017) presents these qualities as: listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, foresight, stewardship and commitment to growth of people. this type of leadership style is relevant in all cases as it makes both the leader and subordinates to have the same focus. it is a leadership style that has benets in creating a sense of value and job fullment for employees, because their opinions and efforts are relevant in the decision-making process of the organization. this is in line with the opinion of kanu (2017), who says that, “in every circumstance, the good of those led is placed over the self-interest of the leader. this is the leadership that promotes the valuing and development of people, the building of community, and the promotion shared power” (p. 8). this will also encourage staff to stay with the organization for a long time to see that organizational goals are realized. consultative leadership style is taskoriented, and focuses on the end result almost as much the leader seeks the opinion and viewpoints of his subordinates, before taking nal decisions. it is a tactful way of asking for the opinion of subjects by the leader. this denition is not far from what democratic and consultative leadership styles stand for. laissez-faire leadership style laissez-faire leadership style is also referred to as free rein leadership style. leaders in this regard allow followers to have complete freedom to make decisions concerning the completion of their work. it permits followers a selfrule, while at the same time offering guidance and support when requested. the laissez-faire leader provides followers with all materials necessary to accomplish their goals, but does not directly participate in decision making, unless the followers request his assistance. in the description of universal teachers, laissez-faire leadership style is “no leadership at all” (p. 4), because the leader uses his/her power very little, if at all, giving subordinates a high degree of independence in their operations. such leaders depend largely on subordinates to set their own goals and the means of achieving them, and they see their role as one of aiding the operations of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 48 igwebuike philosophy and leadership styles in an attempt to draw a line between the igwebuike philosophy and leadership styles, the summary of leadership styles presented in this work will be compared. among the three styles discussed as a compressed form of all leadership styles authoritarian, democratic and laissez-faire, the democratic or participative leadership style ts in properly to what the author of igwebuike philosophy has in mind. the democratic leadership style involves people, as leadership generally stresses on staff strength in organizations. igwebuike philosophy also involves large numbers of people. the philosophy is about sharing “common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny. life is a life of sharedness” (p. 17), while democratic or participative leadership style emphasizes people or personnel working together irrespective of colour, origin or race. one is qualied to participate in decision making by virtue of only being a human person. it boils down to a democratic leader having mutual respect for his subordinates and allowing a free ow of ideas. on this, kanu (2017) asserts that “igwebuike posits that the level of the leader’s impact is dependent on the level of connection he is able to have with his people” (p. 7). another common factor of these terms is focusing on a common goal or goals. any group of people that have agreed to relate together in that regard must work towards a collective target. while the igwebuike philosophy put emphasis on ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’; that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful and can constitute an insurmountable force; it is about what they can achieve together (kanu, 2015 & 2018). any organization without a focus or output will not last, and it is this output or productivity that a democratic leader stands to gain in any organization, be it for-prot or non-prot organization. leaders alone cannot improve quality; employees must be encouraged to take ownership of their work. the best way to achieve this is to make them part and parcel of the organization through participation in decision making. if this not done, they become negative about the organization and sell it to outsiders. this negative thought might quickly put down whatever business it may be and vice versa. recommendations based on the discussions above, it is recommended that leaders should carry their subordinates along in decision making, as the democratic leadership style igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 47 followers by furnishing them with information and acting primarily as a contact with the group’s external environment. however, leaders are encouraged to learn all leadership styles and apply them to situations in their organizations. whichever style a leader adopts, his/her intellectual capacity helps to conceptualize solutions and to acquire knowledge to do the job. stoner et al (2002) feel that a manager’s style must address situation, while paying attention to organizational size, specic work, time and environmental factors. (p. 471). it is to be noted, therefore, that the most popular and prevalent of all leadership styles is the democratic style. it has more advantages than disadvantages. it is very easy to practice, makes problem solving easy, working together increases the knowledge of members and encourages team spirit that brings about subordinates believing their leaders. in any organization, what subordinates consider the greatness attribute of a leader is credibility or trustworthiness. they want to say from time to time that, ‘my boss has won my trust!’ igwebuike philosophy according to kanu (2019) ‘igwebuike’ is an igbo word that is characterized by three simple words. on his terms, the three words involved: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power. thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force. (p. 1). kanu (2017) further explains this in this assertion. it (igwebuike philosophy) “is anchored on the african worldview, which is characterized by a common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny. life is a life of sharedness.” (p. 17). in the researcher’s assessment of this philosophy, it pays attention to togetherness, collegiality, closeness and sharing. in its merit, it focuses on people, and that no member of the same group can exist or function well without support from others. it also gives encouragements to people to stay and work together in unity for progress (kanu, 2016). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 49 involves people and the igwebuike philosophy advocates for large numbers of people in leadership. a democratic leader should keep in mind that working together for the attainment of organizational goals, in the spirit of delegation of duty, will reduce stress and improve productivity. it is also recommended that formation and in-service training for staff should be paramount in the mind of a democratic leader to enable them to be committed to duty. leaders should keep in mind that regular formation is a better and lasting form of motivation for staff, since igwebuike philosophy is about life of ‘sharedness.’ this recommendation can be concluded by saying that the igwebuike philosophy can give any leader a clue to what is expected to be done from time to time, which means, a leader must know what he should be, know and do for the attainment of organizational goals, since according to kanu (2017), “the success of any organization, religious or secular, state or nation is highly dependent on the quality of leadership. where there is no good leadership, there can’t be unity, peace and progress” (p. 3). conclusion this paper has discussed how the igwebuike philosophy is relevant to leadership styles. among the three leadership styles discussed as a condensed form of other styles authoritarian, democratic and laissez-faire only the democratic style matches what igwebuike philosophy advocates in the life of ‘sharedness.’ leadership denitions capture the essentials of being able and prepared to inspire others, which is based on ideas from the leader and the subordinates. ability to communicate these ideas properly to subordinates and properly implement them is the responsibility of the leader. although the performances of a leader will be inuenced by his values, background, knowledge and experiences, good leaders, however, will continue to work and study to improve their leadership skills, not rely on already gained knowledge. the two terms, igwebuike philosophy and leadership styles, have, to a very great extent, large number of people, goals or productivity and involvement in common. in conclusion, irabor (2019) reviewed kanu’s essay on inclusive leadership and igwebuike philosophy. he came up with the fact that this philosophy could still “inform the grooming of a leader that will explore the principles of solidarity and complementarity within the whole” (p. 2). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 50 references akindutire i. o. (2004). administration of higher education. lagos. sunray press. anifaloba p.j (1997). removing the plank with enneagramknowing yourself and understanding others better. nigeria. claverianum press. gastil, j. (2018) "a denition and illustration of democratic leadership". new york: mcgraw-hill. hasan s. top 15 leadership qualities that make good leaders (2020). retrieved (28/4/2020) from https://blog.taskque.com/characteristicsgood-leaders. kanu, i.a (2017). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development in african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, kanu, i.a (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. a paper presented at the second african philosophy world conference held at the university of calabar, cross rivers state, department of philosophy, conversational school of philosophy, from october 12th to 14th 2017. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientic and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory sociopolitical system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 51 kanu, i. a. (2019). on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159-176. kanu, i. a. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. 2016 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. 2016 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. 2016 kanu, i. a. african traditional folktales as an integrated classroom. subsaharan african journal of contemporary education research. vol.3 no. 6. pp. 107-118. 2016 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. 2017 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 52 kanu, i. a. igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. 2017 kanu, i. a. african traditional philosophy of education: essays in igwebuike philosophy. germany: lambert publications. 2018 kanu, i. a. new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. 2018 irabor, benson peter. (2019) a review of kanu ikechukwu anthony’s “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. pp 168 jago, a.g. (1982). leadership: perspectives in theory and research. management science, 28(3), 315-336. janse, b. (2018). authoritarian leadership. retrieved [22/4/2020] from toolshero: https://www.toolshero.com/leadership/authoritarianleadership/ luenendonk, m. (2016). democratic leadership guide: denition, qualities, pros & cons, examples. retrieved (28/4/2020) from https://www.cleverism.com/democratic-leadership-guide/ lunnernburg f.c and ornstern a.c (2008). educational administration: concept and practices. usa. wadsworth : cengage learning. maxwell j.c. (2001). the power of leadership. nigeria: joint heir publications ltd. miguel m. m. integrity and leadership dened in the journal of government financial management. volume: 66. issue: 4 publication date: winter 2017. page number: 52. www.questia.com northhouse, g (2007). leadership theory and practice. (3rd ed.). thousand oaks, ca: sage publications. stoner j.a.f, freeman r.e and gilbert d.r (2002). management sixth ed. new delhi: asoke k. ghosh. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 53 universal teachers publication. (2017). leadership styles: consultative leadership, free rein leadership. http://www.universalteacherpublications.com/mba/freeproject/p1/page5.htm ward s. (2020). the denition of leadership. retrieved (28/4/2020) from https://www.thebalancesmb.com/leadership-denition-2948275 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no 3.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 1 human capital selection process as correlates of academic staff productivity in nigeria universities omojola i. o. phd department of business administration and management villanova polytechnic, imesi ile osun state omojolassma@yahoo.co.uk; +2348057946853 abstract the study examined human capital selection process as correlates of academic staff productivity in nigeria universities. it looked at how human capital selection process is related to productivity of academic staff in southwest nigeria universities. the descriptive survey design was used for this study. the population of this study consisted of 154 deans, 849 heads of department and 11,828 academic staff in southwest nigeria universities. the sample was one thousand eight hundred (1,800) respondents, comprising 20 deans, 70 heads of department and 1,710 academic staff. multistage sampling procedure which involves simple random sampling, stratified random sampling and proportional stratified random sampling technique were used to select them. two self-designed instruments were used, questionnaire on human capital selection (qhcs) for academic staff and productivity of academic staff questionnaire (pasq) for deans and heads of departments. to establish the reliability of the instruments, the test-retest method was used. they were found to be 0.74 and 0.71 for qhrm and pasq respectively. the data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics such as percentage; mean and standard deviation and pearson’s product moment correlation. the hypothesis was tested at 0. 05 level of significance. the study revealed that human capital selection process is significantly related to productivity of academic staff. based on the findings of this study, it was recommended that the managers should pay attention to the quality of the personnel to be hired into university system so that they will be able to do effective research and be more productive. the managers should also endearvour to select the best candidate during recruitment and have orientation for the staff so that they will adapt easily into the system. managers should also encourage the selected candidates and guide them well during the probation period so that they will be productive. it was recommended that managers should evaluate the ability of the academic staff regularly and give them feedback after evaluation. human resource igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 2 managers should also motivate the academic staff through regular payment of salary and promotion. key words: human capital, academic staff and productivity. introduction the influence of human capital selection process on the productivity of employee in any organization cannot be over emphasized. human capital selection, also known as recruitment is the process of attracting qualified people to apply for the job openings in the organization. it is the first step in the process of filling a vacancy in an organization. one of the factors that may be responsible for low productivity of the academic staff could be human capital selection. in the past, personnel were brought to nigeria universities from outside the county during the time of the missionaries. also, those who have first class at the first degree level were retained to do proper academic work in the universities. these candidates worked in the universities and rose to the level of professors. then, those in academia were simply the best. brewster and mayrhofer (2012) assert that recruitment and selection processes are crucial as they ensure that the right staff joins the organization thereby helping the institution to meet its short-and long term objectives. recruitment and selection are totally different from one another. recruitment is a way of gathering qualified candidates as much as possible for a vacant position, while selection means choosing the best candidate out of the majority. in the universities, human resource managers such as deans and heads of department may not pay attention to steps in human resource recruitment, which is the key to productivity. the quality of the human resource will reflect in the school productivity. recruitment is a process of bringing in new members to a system. it is expected that such a personnel has the required certificates and perform excellently well in the written and oral interviews. proper orientation or integration is required from the human resource managers to enable the newly employed members fit in to the system with ease. in the universities today, it appears that staff are employed out of sympathy or because of one connection or the other. this type of personnel may not be able to do serious teaching, research and community services for lack of competency. this may make productivity to be low. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 3 mathis and jackson (2008) are of the opinion that performance of organizations could be adversely affected if human capital selection practices are poorly executed. the absence of good human capital selection practices could lead to dysfunctional or negative organizational outcomes. based on practical insights, selecting wrong people for the organization can produce long-term negative effects like high training costs, loss of goodwill or reputation, increased labour turnover and loss of profitability and productivity. lawrence and robert (1989) are of the opinion that recruitment process involves identifying and attracting candidates for current and future jobs: it is a process of developing and maintaining adequate sources for filling human resource needs. sheikh (2003) agrees with lawrence and robert. to him, recruitment and selection are the two ways of hiring people for the organization as per need. it involves seeking out evaluating, obtaining acceptance from the prospective employee and places him to fill a vacant position in the organization. the extent of recruitment also depends on the wages and salary structure, benefits on the priviledges the job carries and the existing kind of environment prevailing in the organization, technological and labour management relations. recruitment involves all prospective applicants for job positions in the organization. chidi (2014) investigates the effect of selection practices on performance of unionised organizations in the food, beverage and tobacco industry in lagos state. the study revealed that, selection practices exhibited positive and significant relationship with all measures of performance. the study of abraham (1998) discloses that work experience has no effect on job performance in an organization. this implies that in recruiting personnel, work experience may not necessarily be a criterion. willie (2010) opines that a good recruitment programme is one that is properly planned and well operated. poor recruitment efforts could lead to the selection of poor applicants that can affect productivity. the research by akhigbe (2013), investigated the relative influence of human resource planning on the effectiveness and efficiency of organization shows that, there is a shortage of intellectual human resource professionals in nigerian organizations. those who currently assumed the function of human resource managers know little or nothing about the function they currently occupied. however, the research of ofori and aryeetey (2011) reveals that human resources managers and officers still do not consider recruitment and selection as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 4 important tasks within the human resource department. perhaps this is the reason why institutions complain that it is difficult to find a suitable candidate for job openings. willie (2010) proposes a proper manpower planning as the first step to be taken before any recruitment and selection can take place. if this is carefully attended to, it has a lot of advantages. to him, manpower planning is a two-phased process because manpower planning not only analyzes the current human resources but also makes manpower forecasts and thereby draws employment programs. manpower planning is advantageous to firm in following manner: shortages and surpluses can be identified so that quick action can be taken wherever required. the study of lavigna (1992) reveales that it is better to base employee screening/selection decisions on specific job-related knowledge like skills and abilities, instead of relying primarily on background characteristic "signals." however, arvey (2006), exhibites that major field of specialization is highly related to employees’ performance. according to aswathappa, (2009) human resource practitioners do not follow their institution’s recruitment and selection processes in the appropriate manner. hence, institutions experience high labour turnover, high staff absenteeism, job reworks, high training expenses, labour unrest and low productivity. the study conducted by lavigna (1996) on innovation in recruiting and hiring: attracting the best and brightest to wisconsin state government aimed at using computer based text to select the best candidates. he finds out that even in this era of public sector reorganization and downsizing, hiring the best and the brightest candidate is critical. he concluded that, when hiring is limited, it is more important than ever to ensure that when government does recruit, it attracts and hires talented people to improve productivity. nevertheless, kanyemba, gervase and iwu (2015) are of the opinion that recruitment and selection processes impact productivity; hence management must adopt best practice for these crucial human resource functions. the study of ariss and timmins (2009) on employee education and job performance found that educational level is positively related to job performance. purpose of the study igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 5 the purpose of this study was to examine how human capital selection process correlates with productivity of academic staff in nigeria universities. this means that the study examined how human capital selection process and productivity of academic staff in nigeria universities are related. the study made recommendation reserch hypotheses the following hypotheses were generated for the purpose of the study: 1. there is no significant relationship between human selection process and productivity of academic staff. methodology the study made use of descriptive research of survey design. the population of this study consisted of 154 deans, 849 heads of department and 11,828 academic staff in southwest nigeria universities. the sample of this study was (1,800) respondents, comprising 20 deans, 70 heads of department and 1,710 academic staff. multistage sampling procedure which involves simple random sampling, stratified random sampling and proportional stratified random sampling techniques were used to select the states, universities and individuals that were used for the study. two sets of self-designed instruments were used for this study. the first instrument was questionnaire on human resource management (qhrm). the second instrument was productivity of academic staff questionnaire (pasq). these were used to collect relevant data from the subjects. the instruments were validated based on the judgments of experts in educational management and tests and measurement s in ekiti state university. reliability coefficients of 0.74 and 0. 71 were obtained for qhrm and pasq respectively using test re-test method. two hypotheses were postulated. the data were analyzed using frequency counts, percentage, mean, standard deviation and pearson moment correlation coefficient. the hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. results hypothesis 1: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 6 1. there is no significant relationship between human selection process and productivity of academic staff. in testing the hypothesis, scores relating to recruitment were computed using items 1-7 of qhrm while productivity of academic staff scores were computed using items 1-27 of pasq. the scores (human selection process and productivity of academic staff) were subjected to statistical analysis using pearson product moment correlation at 0.05 level of significance. the result is presented in table 1. table 1: pearsons product correlation of human capital selection process and productivity of academic staff variable n mean sd r-cal r-table human capital selection process 1495 21.30 3.945 0.589* 0.195 productivity of academic staff 1495 113.00 9.061 *p<0.05 table 1 revealed that the relationship between human resource recruitment and productivity of academic staff is statistically significant at 0.05 level. (r= 0.589; p<0.05). thus the null hypothesis is rejected. this implies that there is significant relationship between human resource recruitment and productivity of academic staff. therefore, there was a positive relationship. discussion the finding of this study showed that there was significant relationship between human capital selection process and productivity of academic staff. the finding showed that there was significant relationship between productivity of academic staff and human capital selection process. this by implication means that the nature of staff recruited must determine their productivity. what could be responsible for this finding may be the fact that personnel recruitment is a foundation of all other human resource activities in the universities. the finding is in agreement with the views of chidi (2014) and that of arvey (2006) that selection practices exhibited positive and significant relationship with all igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 7 measures of performance. also, that of lavigna (1996) and ariss and timmins (2009) that educational level is positively related to job performance. however, the finding is in disparity with the study of abraham (1998) that arrived at the fact that in recruiting personnel, work experience may not necessarily be a criterion for productivity. conclusion based on the findings of this study, it can be concluded that human capital selection process is an important factors in lecturers productivity in nigerian universities. recommendations in view of the fact that human resource recruitment is significantly related to academic staff productivity, the managers should pay attention to the quality of the personnel to be hired into university system so that they will be able to do effective research and be more productive. the managers should also endearvour to select the best candidate during recruitment and have orientation for the staff so that they will adapt easily into the system. managers should also encourage the selected candidates and guide them well during the probation period so that they will be productive. references abraham, k.g. (1998). experience, performance, and earnings. quarterly journal of economics, 65 (17): 703-736. akhigbe, o.j. (2013). human resource planning: a key factor in ensuring the effectiveness and efficiency of organization. journal of emerging trends in economics and management sciences, 4 (4): 64-99. arvey, r.d. (2006). general ability in employment: a discussion. journal of vocational behavior, 29 (3): 415-420. aswathappa, k, (2009). human resources management: text and cases, tata mcgraw-hill, new delhi. brewster, c. & mayrhofer, w, (2012). handbook of research on comparative human resources management. northampton, m.a. edward elgar publishing. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 8 chidi, o.c. (2014). human capital selection practices and performance of unionized organisations in the food, beverage and tobacco industry in lagos state, nigeria. 22(1): 614-636. kanyemba m., gervase c., & iwu, c. (2015. impact of recruitment and selection on organizational productivity: evidence from staff of a university in south africa. http://www.researchgate.net/publication/272349720 lavigna, r .j. (1992). predicting job performance from background characteristics more evidence from the public sector. journal of public personnel management. 21(3): 54-76. lavigna r.j. (1996). innovation in recruiting and hiring: attracting the best and brightest to wisconsin state government. journal of public personnel management. 25 (4): 67-81. lawrence, a.k, robert g. m & fredrick e.s. (1989). human resource management. charles e. merrill company. usa. mathis, r.l., & jackson, j.h. (2008). human resource management (12th ed.). usa: south-western cengage learning. ofori, d. & aryeetey, m. (2011). recruitment and selection practices in small and medium enterprises: perspectives from ghana. international journal of business administration. (2) 3: 45-60. sheikh, a.m (2003). human resource development and management. ram nagar, new delhi-110 005. willie r. (2010): http://wikieducator.org/user:satarupa/temp/basicconceptof personnel_ a narrative analysis of jonah/sailors ironies in jonah 1:1-16: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 143 a narrative analysis of jonah/sailors ironies in jonah 1:1-16: an igwebuike perspective malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd santa clara university california, united states of america theophilusmalachy@gmail.com abstract this article reviews the journey of jonah, paying attention to his failings. this helps to highlight, not just the virtuousness of the pagan characters in the first chapter of the book of jonah, but also shows an igwebuike theological perspective, a theology that shows the power in unity. the outcome of such theology is life, its opposite being death. the narrative is radical because it joggles so many preconceived ideas of the biblical israel who believe that god is only interested in israel, the elect people of god. but this assumption has not only proved to be misguided, but also completely wrong. the god of the israelite prophet jonah is also the god of the pagan sailors. the sailors' unity of purpose in the face of a neardeath situation stands them out in the narrative in contrast to jonah, the prophet. their theological understanding gained them life, while jonah opted for death. this tells us, from a theological view point, that the special relationship between yhwh and israel does not preclude other nations and people from the mercy of god and from being used by god towards the salvation of others, for god's sovereignty is a world-wide sovereignty. keywords: igwebuike perspective, narrative analysis, jonah, sailors, ironies malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 144 introduction the book of jonah, even though short, is theologically a very rich story about a prophet, the prophet's relation to his god, and god’s relation to all his creation. the narrative is radical because it joggles so many preconceived ideas of the biblical israel about how god operates in our world: is it not the case that he is only interested in israel, the elect people of god? this assumption has not only shown to be misguided, but also flat out wrong. one thing that stands out in the book is its interest in non-israelites, which is my focus in this paper. prophets in israel are known, not just as the mouthpiece of yhwh, but also as those who stand in the gap on behalf of the nation. they rally the nation together for a particular salvific purpose. however, that was not the case with jonah, son of amittai. jonah went counter-current to the basic principles of prophetism, and as such, betrays the principle of igwebuike 1 theology, meaning, "there is 1 for the explaination of the root meaning of igwebuike, see malachy theophilus, "the role of rehab in the conquest story of joshua as a manifestation of igwebuike theology: a narrative analysis of joshua 2," in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5, no. 8 (2019), 72. kanu, ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy, 14. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2019). a narrative analysis of jonah/sailors ironies in jonah 1:1-16: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 145 igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kanu, i. a. (2019). on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159-176. kanu, i. a. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igboafrican modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 146 strength in solidarity." he preferred to stand alone and aloof from every other person, including god. his sentiments and body language preach nationalism instead of globalization or the unity of the human family. however, the sailors, even though minor characters and "pagans," confirm the strength in solidarity. therefore, my aim in this paper is to look at the sailors in the story of jonah and demonstrate how their virtuousness overshadows the action of the prophet jonah. in other words, i will be looking at the book of jonah from the perspective of the supporting casts, with the aim of establishing that the key to unlocking the theology of jonah chapter one lies in the actions of the sailors, even though they are supporting casts or minor characters. to demonstrate this, i intend to use the arts of biblical narrative to show that the book of jonah is one of the biblical narrations in which the supporting casts assume an important role that aids the development of the plot of the story. the narrator masterfully, through the power of words, enrobes these characters with a virtuous garment that that makes them stand out in sharp contrast to the primary character. the literary vehicle through which the narrator conveys the virtuousness of these characters and highlights their importance in the plot is called irony. by this, the narrator, on the one hand, attributes to the them certain qualities that one would have expected of a believer in yhwh; while on the other hand, he presents the prophet jonah in a manner that appears to contradict the expected conformations of a prophet. in the light of the above, i will sometimes refer to these supporting casts (the sailors) as pagans. this is not intended to be derogatory, but is used with the aim to bring out the ironies between them and jonah, african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. a narrative analysis of jonah/sailors ironies in jonah 1:1-16: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 147 the prophet of yhwh. after all, israel in the bible sees the worship of any divinity outside yhwh, the god of israel, as paganism or idolatry (cf. exod 20:2; deut 5:6; 18:9-14). thus said, i intend to follow jonah in his journey in this narrative unit (jonah 1:1-16), paying attention to his failings so as to see how they help to highlight the heroism and the uprightness of the sailors. the story goes from surprise to surprise, following complications, resolutions and revelations. i intend to go into this great journey of conversion as a reader and the narrator will be my guide as i pay close attention to the finesse of his narrative art. jonah 1:1-3 immediately throws us into the heart of the story: the call of jonah and his flight. so let's begin our journey with jonah as i retell the story from the point of view of the art of biblical narrative. expositio the call and the flight of jonah (1:1-3) from the point of view of the hebrew verbal form, ְַֽ֙יִהי ,begins the story ַו rather abruptly. no historical superscription or any other introduction preceded this first episode. the hebrew word, ְַֽ֙יִהי normally translates as ,ַו "and it happened" or "it came to pass." among the twelve minor prophets, jonah is the only book to open with the word ְַֽ֙יִהי a term that often begins , ַו narratives. such a beginning suggests continuation; it implies that the background of the story is already known to the reader. even though the book of ezekiel (1:1) begins the same way, it's a first person narrative. it differs from jonah (1:1) which is a third person narrative. thus, jonah is a narrative whose own beginning is elusive and whose ending remains unwritten. "and it came to pass" signals a tale told in medias res (in the middle of things). therefore, it is possible to conclude that jonah is in the first place a narrative that begins prior to jonah 1:1, making the brief description of jonah in 2kings 14:25 the starting point. this could mean that our malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 148 arrator assumes his audience has a previous knowledge of the prophet from 2 kings 14. 2 the announcement of the intervention of yhwh (jonah 1:1) the story begins with a minimal description of the two interlocutors: yhwh and jonah, "the son of amittai." yhwh, the first protagonist to appear, addressed jonah with the formulation of the prophetic oracle well known in the bible. the clause קום לך אל־ (lit., "get up and go to […]") appears for example, in 1 kings 17:9: "arise and go to zarephath […]" (as an imperative to elijah); also in jeremiah 13:6, "get up and go to the euphrates […]." with this formula, let's suppose, without being explicitly told, that the recipient of the word is a prophet. jonah, as the second protagonist, is introduced by his full name, "jonah, son of amittai." "jonah" in hebrew means "dove," a bird used to describe the folly and inconstancy of israel (cf. hos 7:11-12). 3 our dove also goes counter-current to those of is 60:8-9, where doves are used as a metaphor for the ship that came to jerusalem from tarshish. י ַמן his father’s name is based on the verb ֲאִמַתָ֖ which in the hiphil ,א means "to believe" and in niphal could either mean "faithful or be certain." however, י truth or) ֱאֶמת is closer in form to the noun ֲאִמַתָ֖ faithfulness), which is derived from the verb, ַמן .א 4 based on this lexicographical dimension of the name jonah, some authors observed that the yod at the end of י may be regarded as a hypocoristicon ֲאִמַתָ֖ (shortened form of י ּה or יהוה), allowing amittai to mean something 2 cf. reed. r. lessing, jonah, concordia commentary (st. louis: concordia publishing house, 2007), 64. 3 cf. m. a. sweeney, "jonah" in cotter, d.w., ed., the twelve prophets, berit olam (collegeville: liturgical press, 2016), 304. 4 lessing, 65. a narrative analysis of jonah/sailors ironies in jonah 1:1-16: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 149 like "yhwh is true/faithful. 5 so, our jonah is the son of one whose name means the faithfulness of yhwh. but do his actions and inactions demonstrate this? in jonah, we will see that the one who was surnamed "the faithfulness of yhwh" is being unfaithful to the call and mission entrusted to him by yhwh. the mission of jonah (v.2) the word of yhwh involves three main verbs in imperative: "arise; go and call or proclaim." the imperative קּום ("arise") represents the emergence of yhwh who puts the story in motion, inviting jonah to act. such an order will reoccur two times in the story, always addressed to jonah, but not always from the mouth of yhwh (cf. 1:6 and 3:2). the imperative "go" (ֵלְך) translates a dynamic mission that jonah must follow. finally, the expression יה ֶלֶ֑ א ע ָ֣ ְקר "call or proclaim against it" could imply a dimension of disapproval and reproach common in the prophetic ministry (cf. 1 kings 1:2; jer 25:29). 6 it could also imply a call to repentance. however, the reader, like jonah, already knows the recipient of the message: "nineveh, that great city." but how would jonah respond to these divine imperatives? inciting moment: the flight of jonah (v.3) the first description of jonah's reaction corresponds perfectly to the order of the lord: קום "arise" (cf. v. 2). 7 however, the second verb of 5 cf. sweeney, 304. also see j. m. sasson, jonah, anchor bible 24b, new york: doubleday 1990), 69. also see douglas stuart, hosea-jonah. wbc (dallas : word, incorporated, 2002), 447 6 cf. d. scaiola, abdia, giona, michea: introduzione, traduzione e commento, nvbta (milano: san paolo, 2012), 55. 7 we do not have any word from jonah in response to the command of the lord; no ִני ֵּֽ .here i am» typical of the response of the servants of god (cf. gen» ,ִהנ 37:13; 22:1; 27:18), rather we see an action on his part, an action in the wrong direction. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 150 his response leaves the reader puzzled: ַח the qal .("to flee") ִלְבר ָ֣ infinitive construct of ברח, "to flee" with the preposition ְל, 8 informs us about the purpose of his rising, which indicates an act of rebellion and flight. up until this verse, the reader is expected to follow the plot of the conversion of nineveh, which was the starting point of the book. however, with the disjunctive waw, the narrator introduces the inciting moment to the plot. 9 at this point, the reader would expect a sentence like: "and jonah arose and went to nineveh," as this is the normal response to divine instructions, but that is not the case here. a question surges immediately in the mind of the reader: "but why did jonah not go to nineveh in accordance to the divine injunction?" 10 the narrator, not telling us anything in this regard, creates a narrative gap which puts the reader in suspense and arouses his curiosity. 11 other prophets, like moses, gideon, or jeremiah, who attempted to resist a divine command, expressed their opposition in words (ex 3:11; jdg 6:11-19; jer 1:6) so that it is possible for the lord to persuade them to bow to his yoke. 12 here, on the other hand, the escape from and opposition to the divine command are silent, and 8 in jonah, every human action described by an infinitive construct verb form fails to accomplish the intention of its human subject while every divine action described by the infinitive construct verb form comes to fruition with the sole exception of ַלֲעׂשֹות (the evil he promised to do to them) in 3:10. cf. lessing, jonah, 69. 9 the inciting moment is the moment in which the conflict or the problem appears for the first time and arouses the interest of the reader. cf. ska, 25. 10 cf. j. l. ska, "giona sei tu! la creazione del lettore nel libro di giona," an unpblished paper presented at a confrence in the theological institute of triveneto, italy (2013): 5-22. 11 cf. meir sternberg, the poetics of biblical narrative: ideological literature and the drama of reading, indiana: indiana university press, 1985), 259. 12 u. simon, jonah: the traditional hebrew text with the new jps translations, philadelphia: jps, 1999. 3. a narrative analysis of jonah/sailors ironies in jonah 1:1-16: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 151 look very determined. jonah goes indeed to a very specific place, described with two designations: 1) the name of the city: "tarshish;" and 2) its position with regard to god: "away from the presence of the lord." after this brief introduction, which moves the excitement from "where?" to "how?," we now have the description, action after action, of jonah's flight. we read: he went down to joppa and found a ship going to tarshish and paid the price, and went down into it, to go with them to tarshish from the presence of yhwh (v. 3cd). four verbs punctuate the flight: ירד (twice) "to go down," מצא "to find" נתן "to give" and בוא "to enter." jonah, who had "risen" (v. 3a), now starts a double descent, which will continue all through this narrative unit, describing the principal aspect of his attitude ___ first, to joppa, the port city of israel, and second, for which the "down" use of the verb is most unusual, in a ship. a concatenation of verbs, in wayyiqtol, mostly demonstrates a certain speed in the actions of jonah. the hebrew text is very interesting here because it constructs a play of words between the situation that provokes the decision of god to send his prophet, namely, "the evil that rises up to him;" and the reaction of jonah who rises, but "to go down." this verb "to go down" is a key word, particularly in the first part of this story. it does not only connote "physical or geographical movement, but most of all, the refusal of the prophet with regards to the mission entrusted to him by god." 13 thus, it connotes rebelliousness on the part of jonah. another thing to note in this flight of jonah is its irony couched in a chiastic structure: a: jonah arose to flee to tarshish away from the presence of yhwh. 13 scaiola, 56. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 152 b: he went on to joppa and found a ship and paid its price and boarded it. a: to go with them to tarshish away from the presence of yhwh. 14 the irony of jonah's flight is made evident in the structure above: the presence of yhwh surrounded jonah, even in his flight to tarshish. who can escape the presence of god? no wonder the psalmist says in ps. 139:7-10 (njb): where shall i go to escape your spirit? where shall i flee from your presence? if i scale the heavens you are there, if i lie flat in sheol, there you are. if i speed away on the wings of the dawn, if i dwell beyond the ocean, even there your hand will be guiding me, your right hand holding me fast. but it appears jonah did not know this aspect of god; he is still determined to flee. the story did not end with this ironic but inciting moment; rather, it is only the beginning of its further complications. complicatio the storm at the sea (1:4-16) in this scene, the complication of verse 4 is resolved in verses 15 and 16. the scene is structured in a concentric manner. the first half of the scene (1:4-10a) is progressively enriched by the second half (1:10b-16). the fear, tension, vain efforts and prayers all find resolution in the second half of the scene, thanks to the self-revelation of jonah in v. 9. this self-revelation marks the epicentre of the scene and propels the story to its final resolution. this movement from complication to resolution is obviously not automatic. it goes through certain exigencies (like surprises, vain efforts, fears, prayers and revelations) that highlight the activity of the sailors and the passivity of jonah before reaching its final resolution. 14 as noted by p. trible, rhetorical criticism: context, method, and the book of jonah (minneapolis: fortress press, 1994), 129. a narrative analysis of jonah/sailors ironies in jonah 1:1-16: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 153 complication i: god throws a storm that inspires fear (v. 4-5a) in this second scene, the narrator introduces us to another group of personages, outside the main protagonists of the story (yhwh and jonah), namely: ים ִחִ֗ the sailors." however, it is remarkable that" ַהַמל the sailors in jonah, unlike the ח in ezekiel 27:9, are completely ַמל devoid of any ethnic or national identity (except for the fact that they are non-israelite), while their religious identity receives comparatively ample description. 15 nonetheless, they are non-israelites and supposedly pagans, from israel's perspective. the narrator tells us succinctly that yhwh caused the wind, which caused the storm, which caused the ship to be in danger of sinking. these complicate the story and arouse the curiosity of the reader. the reader, at this point, does not know what would become of jonah and the divine message to nineveh, owing to the tension caused by the storm. this complication of the story (cf. waw disjunctive indicating a break in the momentum of jonah) 16 opens the second stage of the chapter. here, we have a situation of reader-elevating position; that is, a situation where the reader knows more than the characters in the story. 17 the characters do not know the cause of the storm, but thanks to the omniscient narrator, we know that it was god who threw "a great wind on the sea." meanwhile, the sailors' response was: ים ִחִ֗ ּו ַהַמל יְראָ֣ ַוִי "and the sailors were afraid." out of fear, "they cried out, each to his god." 15 cf. aaron j. brody, each man cried out to his god: the specialized religion of canaanite and phoenician (atlanta: brill, 1998) 82-3. 16 1:4a is a construction of the type of waw-x-qatal, which is different from wayyiqtol, it indicates an interruption of the principal line of the narration. 17 cf. j. l. ska, our father have told us, (roma: biblical press, 2000), 54-5. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 154 the efforts of the sailors (v. 5bc) their first action is religious in nature. the sailors have realized that a god can be hidden behind this mysterious storm, because among the ancients, every cosmic calamity is attributed to a divine intervention. 18 as such, they became afraid and cried (זעק) each to his own god. the insight of bruna costacurta on the relationship between "fear" and "cry" is very pertinent here. the cry of the sailors is not just a mere instinctive cry as a result of fear. rather, it is "a cry for help which man, threatened and gripped by fear, addresses both to men and to god. in this case, fear does not paralyse the faculty, but rather expresses itself in a search to find an escape." 19 thus, in their cry, the sailors made recourse, "each to his own god," in the bid to save themselves and to salvage the ship. here, we see the unity of purpose among these sailors. they all prayed, each to his own god, for the common purpose of salvaging the situation. their action resonates with the words of anthony i. kanu, that "when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful and can constitute an insurmountable force." 20 the second action is mechanical: throwing (with the return of the טול verb) the vessels in the sea to lighten the ship. since the prayer does not seem to work, the sailors throw their goods overboard, without knowing yet that jonah is the only load that puts the ship in distress. and indeed jonah, at this time, continues his descent. he cuts off himself from the group and continues with his descent into the world of aloneness. he forgets the popular maxim attributed to the ancient greek storyteller, aesop, that says: "united we stand, but divided we fall." 18 cf. antonio nepi, dal fondale alla ribalta: i personaggi secondari nella bibbia ebraica (bologna: epinia della parola, 2015), 86. 19 bruna costacurta, la vita minacciata: il tema della paura nella bibbia ebraica, anbib 119, roma: pontificio istituto biblico, 1988), 236-7. 20 anthony i. kanu, "igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization," in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no. 1 (march 2016), 3. a narrative analysis of jonah/sailors ironies in jonah 1:1-16: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 155 the religious identity of the sailors may not be yahwistic; however, they had faith in their god(s); and they called upon them in their time of danger. jonah, on the other hand, a prophet of yhwh, is deep asleep. in the words of hayyim angel, "how ironic it is that jonah contrasts himself with the sailors: he is righteous and aware of god's plan; they are idolatrous and ignorant of god's ways. comparatively, the reader sees that the sailors acted admirably, praying and acting to save themselves," 21 and to save jonah as well. so while the sailors move from inner emotion to outward cry to vigorous action, jonah, below the deck, moves from action to inaction and finally to total withdrawal. as the sailors increase, jonah decreases. the verbs "to become afraid" (א ֵ֖ ק or זעק) "and "to call out (ָיר are (ָצַעַ֥ used together only in jonah 1:5 and exodus 14:10, which have an almost identical expression: "they became very afraid, and they call out" (ו ד ַוִיְצֲעקַ֥ יְראוּ֙ ְמא ֹ֔ .(ַוִיֵּֽ 22 thus, looking at it from the point of view of exodus 14:10, it shows that even the non-israelite sailors did what an average israelite should do in times of trouble, namely: "call upon the divine." however, the storm still rages. since their prayer does not amount to a solution, they rightly conclude that the answer must lie in someone else: jonah, of course! but he who is guilty lies indifferently fast asleep. surprise i: jonah eclipsed (v.5d) "jonah, meanwhile, had gone down into the hold of the ship and had lain down, and was fast asleep." the order of the words in hebrew expresses a contrast to that which has just been told. 23 while the sailors are doing everything to survive, 21 angel hayyim, "the book of jonah: a call to personal responsibility," tradition 30 (1995), 60. 22 cf. lessing, 121. 23 cf. simon, 9. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 156 jonah runs away even further from his responsibility and is eclipsed in his sleep, as if it were nothing. nonchalance is emphasized here by the contrast between the three verbs that describe the action of the sailors: "fear, scream and throw," and the three used to describe the action of jonah: "go down, lie down, and fall deep asleep." hence, jonah is inactive, contrary to the active sailors. according to simon, "his ability to sleep at such a time is the first manifestation of his preferred inclination of death to life." 24 scaiola observes that "the verb רדם used here is derived from the substantive ה which could imply either a ַתְרֵדמ profound sleep (cf. 1 sam 26,12; is 29,10) or a state of trance (cf. gen 2,21; 15,12, dan 8,18)." 25 jonah sleeps profoundly, but his sleep is not a trance, but an escape from yhwh and from his prophetic responsibility. to describe the place where jonah had gone down, the narrator makes use of an unusual term: ה usually used to describe ,ְיֵרכ the most extreme and profound part of a place. 26 this jonah's new descent, therefore, emphasizes his estrangement from god and from the stage, to the depths of the ship, in a total detachment from life and the story around him. at this stage, the reader wonders what the fate of the sailors would be, owing to the fact of their ignorance of the person responsible for the danger that had befallen them. turning point: jonah is found and summoned to help (v. 6) "the captain (of the sailors) came and said to him, "what are you doing sound asleep? arise, call on your god! perhaps the god will spare us a thought so that we do not perish" this new complication of the story finds a turning point with the intervention of the captain of the ship. after a rhetorical question that 24 cf. simon, 9. 25 scaiola, 59. 26 of a region (judg. 19:1,18; 2kgs 19:23; is 37:24), of a cave (1sam 24:4), of a house (am 6:10), of a well (is 14:15; ezek 32:23), or of the land (jer. 6:22; 25:32; 31:8; 50:41). a narrative analysis of jonah/sailors ironies in jonah 1:1-16: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 157 implies a rebuke, 27 the captain repeats without knowing the divine imperative: א ֶאל ָ֣ ,upon awakening .("!arise, call on your god") ֚קּום ְקר jonah meets with the word from which he is fleeing. he who refuses to rebuke nineveh is reproached with irony, and most of all, by a nonisraelite who re-proposes the word of yhwh, the god of israel: "arise and call." this officer is the first human character to make a direct speech. he orders jonah to "arise" and "call" to god, whose own command, "arise … call" jonah had already spurned. he is thus called by a new authority to his intercessory mission to save the lives of men. he is called to align himself with the attitude of the sailors, who cried out "each to his own god" (v. 5). perhaps his god will do something to the ship. if yhwh, the god of israel, found in a pagan, the captain, a worthy instrument for his word, it obviously bespeaks of the place of these supporting characters in this narrative unit. it tells us something about the god of the bible. it tells us that despite one's "otherness," in relation to israel, he/she can still be an instrument in the hands of the creator. 28 the captain assumed the role of a prophet, a responsibility which the israelite jonah abnegated. in other words, god used a pagan as his mouthpiece to speak to his prophet jonah, to remind him of his prophetic responsibility. anyone familiar with the prophetic books of the bible knows that the fundamental vocation of the prophet is the "word," or more specifically, ה .(the word of yhwh) ְדַבר־ְיהָוֹ֔ thus, the prophet is one who speaks. 29 however, ironically here, we have a prophet who refuses to speak. god, using a pagan as his 27 cf. simon, 9. 28 cf. theophilus, 72-92. 29 cf. pietro bovati, cosi parla il signore: studio sul profetismo biblico, bib, (bologna: edb, 2008), 53-5. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 158 "mouthpiece," is not peculiar to the book of jonah, it is found elsewhere in the old testament. for example, in jeremiah 40,1-5, god used a pagan captain, nebuzaradan to talk to his prophet jeremiah. but here in jonah, it tells us that we are before a narrative in which the supporting characters assume an important role in accordance with the theology of the book. all this makes jonah look like a "prodigal prophet." the captain is more aware of the power of prayer than the fleeing prophet! the heathen captain seeks divine deliverance, while jonah seeks oblivion. prophets are often expected to intercede in a time of crisis (cf. moses at israel’s golden calf apostasy in exodus 32, 11-14 and amos in the locust and fire disasters in amos 7, 1-6). but jonah remained adamant. his silence is deafening! he is a prophet who does not speak! 30 these repetitions of key words are common features throughout the book, and they convey some important ideas. קום and א in both 1:2 and 1:6 reiterate the ְקָרָ֣ huge gulf between the active praying sailors and the sleeping disobedient prophet of yhwh, who refuses to arise and call to nineveh. also, the repetition indicates that jonah has not escaped the presence of god. 31 the revelation of the guilty by casting of lots (v.7) "the sailors said to one another, "come, let us cast lots, so that we may know on whose account this calamity has come upon us". so they cast lots, and the lot fell on jonah." if in v. 6 we are at the bottom of the ship, where the captain spoke to jonah, who, uninterested in what happens and wanting to stay away from all worries, retires most probably to sleep. in v. 7, the narrator, in a dramatic way, makes evident an action that most likely took place where all the sailors were present, that is, far away from the bottom and on the deck of the ship. so, it is remarkable how the narrator 30 cf. lessing, 122. 31 ibid., 122. a narrative analysis of jonah/sailors ironies in jonah 1:1-16: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 159 moves the reader from one place to another, without the reader realizing it at a first glance. another highlight is the curiosity that the narrator evokes from the reader by omitting the reaction of jonah to the imperatives א ָ֣ .v) ֚קּום ְקר 6) of the captain: what did jonah do in response to the imperatives? did he pray? or did he again ignore the command to "arise and call..."? verse 7 does not tell us what happens, but it makes us imagine what happens: jonah's probable silence brings the sailors into focus as they propose the casting of lots to determine who among them is responsible for the evil. it is as if we are in front of theatrical action: the sailors cast lots and they talk among themselves. not knowing the cause of the tempest, the sailors must have believed that once the culprit was found, the final destruction could be prevented. the phrase that the reader hears, "come, let us cast lots, so that we may know on whose account this calamity has come upon us," also has the effect of creating a little suspense and curiosity: will the lot fall on jonah? the sailors' lot casting: typical of israelite's divination the casting of lots is widely attested to in the ancient world 32 as well as in the hebrew bible. the precise lots in question vary, both within ancient israel and outside it. 33 however, giving the prevalent nature of "lot casting tradition" in the ancient near east, it wouldn't be surprising that the sailors adopted this option in such dire circumstances. 34 but a closer look at this, in the context of jonah, 32 some overviews of this may be found in c. v. dam, the urim and thummim. a means of revelation in ancient israel (indiana: eisenbrauns 1997), esp. 40-44, 203-210, 215-217. 33 cf. b. a. strawn, "jonah's sailors and their lot casting: a rhetorical critical observation," bib 91 (2010): 66-76. 34 cf. brody, 83-84. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 160 "suggests that the sailors’ activity is rather unusual and, literarily speaking, delightful." 35 b. a. strawn rightly observed that in the majority of instances where lots or lot casting are mentioned in the hebrew bible, the language used is not of foreigners, but of israelites. apart from jonah 1:7, "only five other passages speak of foreigners employing the practice: esth 3:7; 9:24; joel 4:3; obad 11; and nah 3:10. all other instances concern intraisraelite use of lots for a rather wide variety of purposes, the majority of which are connected to yhwh (see, e.g., josh 18:8,10; 1 sam 10:20-24; 14:41; prov 16:33), the cult (e.g., lev 16:8-10; neh 10:35), or the land of israel itself” (num 36:2; josh 14:1-2; 15:1). 36 even among those five additional passages (besides jonah) that mention foreigners casting lots, at least four reflect an intra-israelite perspective mentioning israel or yhwh in some fashion (cf. esth 3,7; 9,24; joel 4,3; obad 11). 37 the same might be said of the lot casting in the book of jonah. even though it involves foreigners, the situation that prompted the casting of lots was caused by yhwh, and rightly, the lot fell on yhwh's prophet. on this note, limburg states that "jonah's sailors 'make some theological assumptions in connection with the lot casting. one such assumption is that the storm is divine punishment; another is that god communicates through the casting of lots." 38 similarly, trible holds 35 strawn, 68. 36 ibid., 70. 37 in esth 3:7 and 9:24 the casting of the lot determines the day of the pogrom against the jews in persia. however, as the story proceeds, through an amazing reversal, this date turns out to be a day of great victory for the jews, celebrated in posterity as purim (see esth 9:26-32). in joel 4:3 and obad 11, enemies or foreigners cast lots for yahweh’s people or for jerusalem, respectively. 38 james limburg, jonah: a commentary, (louisville: john knox press, 1993, 51. a narrative analysis of jonah/sailors ironies in jonah 1:1-16: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 161 that "theologically, the use of lots to disclose the truth elevates chance to the level of divine will." 39 so one may say that jonah's sailors, though not unusual in employing divination, but "the fact that they are specifically said to cast lots (לֹות+ נפל ֹור an oft-attested israelite ;(ג practice, using israelite terminology (cf. esth 3:7; 9:24) suggests an israelite perspective on the scene." 40 thus, our sailors are not just painted in israelite garb, but more importantly, are depicted as familiar with israelite ritual. in this, we see the sailors as supporting casts, aiding the development of the plot. their action of casting lots leads to the discovery of the culprit and subsequently moves the story forward. in all this, of course, as is customary in scripture, the story is led by god, who brings into play the human freedom so as to bring man to victory over fear and the recognition of the holy one as the god of life. so, if jonah sought the sea that god himself created, to escape from the face of yhwh, it is god again who guides the story by making the lot to fall on jonah. here, we see a significant relation between human liberty and sovereign dominion of the god of history. questions to determine the nature of the crime (v. 8) "then they said to him, "tell us why this calamity has come upon us. what is your occupation? where do you come from? what is your country? and of what people are you?" the sailors do not automatically lash out against the guilty prophet, since they have identified the culprit. instead, they simply ask him: "tell us why this calamity has come upon us." this is followed by further questions. sweeney notes that this kind of question is conventional and generally made to know the identity of a person. 41 39 phyllis trible, studies in the book of jonah, un published dissertation (columbia university, new york), 1963. 298. 40 strawn, 71-2. 41 cf. sweeney, 313. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 162 here, we have a true and proper interrogation. in ancient israel, there are different steps and processes of establishing justice. even though the lot fell on jonah, the sailors didn't stop at that. they went a step further. they implored the interrogative step. this step functions to ascertain facts and responsibility (cf. gen 3:13; 4:10; judg 18:18). 42 thus, this shows that the sailors are very attentive to establishing the truth. they don't want to give anything to chance. they want to be sure beyond all reasonable doubt about what they are doing. the first question is the most crucial. its answer is not obvious. the crew quite naturally wonders if somehow they might have done some wrong deserving of this calamity. have they offended jonah? are they helping him do something wrong? is it guilt by association? or is jonah alone to blame? are they transporting someone who has committed a great crime? they are still genuinely wondering why the lot fell on jonah and what it means for them. the crew is also desperate to know exactly who jonah is, because they only know that he is somehow the focus of the problem. until they know his identity, they can't expect to know, for example, which god he has offended, and how. thus, the sailors asked him further questions. his occupation, once they know it, will tell them much, if he is a priest, or a prophet, or an executioner, or an idol-maker, or has any one of many other religiously sensitive occupations. the final three questions all concern jonah’s origin. the answer to these would also have religious significance, since one’s national god was usually the most important divinity in one’s life at this point in history. during jonah’s time, people’s personal destinies were inextricably linked with their national destinies, and national gods functioned increasingly as personal gods, at least in palestine. 43 42 cf. pietro bovati, ristabilire la giustizia. procedure, vocabolario, orientamenti,anbib 110 (roma: pontificio istituto biblico, 1986), 64-5. 43 cf. douglas stuart, hosea-jonah, wbc 31, (dallas: world inc., 1987), 460. a narrative analysis of jonah/sailors ironies in jonah 1:1-16: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 163 revelation: jonah's self-identification and the reaction of the sailors (v. 9) "i am a hebrew, he replied. "i fear yhwh, the god of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land". then the men were even more afraid" these questions make us get into the heart of the story of the first chapter of the book of jonah. at last, jonah finally speaks: "i am a hebrew ... i fear yhwh ..." james ackerman says that this answer, taken out of context, is presented as a confession of faith. 44 the problem is that until now jonah has not shown any faith in the god of israel. so, in what sense does he fear god? antonio nepi observes here that jonah's profession of faith in yhwh, the god of heaven, of earth and of the seas "is an example of dramatic irony, because it clashes with the claim of escaping a god who transcends the ethnic boundaries of israel and controls the wind and waves." 45 in other words, if he really "fears" this omnipresent god, why does he try to escape from him? the term י hebrew," on the other hand, is often used when" ִעְבִרָ֣ contrasting israelites with non-israelites. in this vein, jonah's usage of ivri in 1:9 is expected, since he was contrasting himself with pagans. jonah's perceived dissimilarity to the sailors is the main emphasis of jonah 1. we are before a revelation, an important stage in the development of the plot that directs the story towards a resolution. in fact, the sailors’ realization of who their interlocutor is and what he would say to them about his escape from yhwh will lead them to take a dramatic decision. this awareness takes away from the sailors 44 cf. james s. ackerman, jonah, in r. alter, f. kermode, ed., the literary guide to the bible, cambridge: harvard university press, 1987), 234-238. 45 nepi, 87. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 164 the initial curiosity they had about jonah, particularly, about his identity. however, this contrast with the sailors was most important to jonah; therefore, the narrator placed only these words in his direct quotation. this response caused a reaction from the sailors. in all this, however, one notes that jonah avoided the question about his occupation. he didn't say he was a prophet. this omission seems very significant. scaiola opines that this is so "because maybe, given the situation, he finds it difficult to say he is a prophet." 46 but, i would rather think that this omission highlights his continuous desire to flee from his prophetic responsibility. our narrator tells us, "and the men feared a great fear" (1:10a). this א י ֵרָ֖ here links the preceding section to subsequent efforts by the sailors to avert disaster. according to lessing, "the narrator uses ָ֖אי ֵר in different ways to indicate that the events in chapter 1 transform the sailors from sheer terror (1:5) to an awe at the awareness of being in yhwh's presence and finally to trust, belief, and worship of this great god ." 47 in other words, jonah's confession brings the sailors from fear (in verse 5) to awe (in verse 10) of the god of the heavens, who created the sea and the dry land. the sailors react in a way more indicative of faith than does the israelite jonah. he is reacting in a manner one would expect from an unbeliever. the sailors are unable to imagine anyone treating his deity in such a fashion. they, unlike jonah, have fear and respect for the divine. they display greater reverence and understanding than the israelite jonah. flashbacks: the question about the crime (v. 10) "they said to him, "what is this that you have done?" for the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the yhwh, because he had told them so." this interrogation of jonah by the sailors to jonah refers us back to the past of the prophet. this tells us that we are faced with an 46 scaiola, 61. 47 lessing, 101. a narrative analysis of jonah/sailors ironies in jonah 1:1-16: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 165 analepsis, or a flashback, which, in turn, echoes god's question to eve: "what have you done?" (gen 3:13). the narrator withheld the information on how the sailors realised that jonah was running away from yhwh, only to let us into that knowledge now, by telling us that "the men knew because jonah had told them." the question of the sailors is not merely intended to know what they ask, because they already knew through the express confession of jonah, but it seems that they want to rebuke him for what he had done. it may sound like: "how could you do this to your god?" thus, this question is not just a mere desire to seek for information. rather, having established the truth, "because jonah had told them so," the men, through this question, express their perplexity in the fact that a man, who "fears yhwh, the god of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land," could attempt to flee from this same yhwh. so, it appears that with this question that expressed their perplexity, they wanted to bring jonah into the perspective of the gravity of what he had done. jonah is called to help (v.11) "then they said to him, 'what shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?' for the sea was growing more and more tempestuous." there is something very interesting here. the sailors had established the truth: "jonah is the culprit, and yhwh, the god of jonah knows about the storm." and more still, the situation at the sea wasn't encouraging either, "for the sea was growing all the more tempestuous." but despite all this, and as upright men, the sailors do not take the law into their hands. instead, they cordially ask jonah: "what shall we do to you[...]?" i think douglas stuart captures the situation even better. in his words: the sailors are not yahwists, and certainly not prophets. jonah is both the guilty party and the expert here. so jonah is the only one who can tell them what yhwh would require to turn aside his wrath. they ask him what to do. there must be some punishment of jonah which they can instigate that will stop the malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 166 storm. the sea was churning ever higher, so the lightening of the ship by throwing cargo overboard had only bought time; it had not really gotten them out of danger. 48 the sailors want to save their lives. there are no elements suggestive of hostility towards the prophet; indeed, it will soon become evident in their attempt to save his life. revelation: jonah reveals what to do to end the storm (1,12) "he said to them, 'pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you; for i know it is because of me that this great storm has come upon you.'" here, the prophet is well aware of why the storm is raging: it is his disobedience to the will of yhwh that has caused all this. thus, to avert the danger, he asks to be thrown into the sea. the sailors have done everything to avoid ending up in the sea with their ship and jonah, but jonah, on the contrary, asks to be thrown into the sea. here, ska observes that "water, from biblical point of view, is synonymous with the place of death." 49 this contrast is alarming. jonah, the י ,ִעְבִרָ֣ who in v. 9 made what almost looked like a confession of faith: "i fear the lord, the god who of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land," now wants to end up in the sea, the world of death. 50 jonah obviously does not want to obey anyone except his own whims. he, who bears the name of the dove, refuses to go to nineveh, does not pray to his 48 stuart, 462. 49 ska, "giona sei tu!" 12. throughout the bible bodies of water are often a barrier to blessings. god had to split the red sea to set the israelites free from slavery (exodus 14:21-22). god had to stop the flow of the jordan during flood stages so his people could enter the promise land (joshua 3:15-16). in other parts of the bible, bodies of water are symbols for evil, death, and chaos: but the wicked are like the tossing sea; for it cannot be quiet, and its waters toss up mire and dirt.” (isaiah 57:20) “you divided the sea by your might; you broke the heads of the sea monsters on the waters. you crushed the heads of leviathan.” (psalm 74:13-14) 50 cf. ibid, 5-22. a narrative analysis of jonah/sailors ironies in jonah 1:1-16: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 167 god as the captain had asked of him, and now wants to end up in the world of the dead. while the sailors continue to make efforts to bring the prophet to focus about his mistake so he can choose life together with them instead of death, jonah, on the other hand, prefers aloneness and death, instead of unity and life. but the sailors want none of that. they choose life instead; hence, they try to save him at all costs. it is interesting to imagine the passivity of jonah when he asked to be thrown into the sea. he could jump into the water by his own freewill, and assume alone all the responsibility. instead, choosing once again passivity and running away from responsibility, he questions the freedom of the sailors themselves, and involves them in a risky and compromising operation. the efforts of the sailors (v. 13) "nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring the ship back to land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more stormy against them." the qal of the verb חתר (here third common plural imperfect with waw consecutive) could be translated as "to dig, burrow, hollow out." lessing believes חתר was used metaphorically, as for example, in amos 9:2, where yhwh speaks of people who burrow into sheol, seeking to escape his wrath. so here it could mean the sailors dug into the water with their oars, which means they rowed harder. 51 also, it is important to note that the verb, "to row," exists in hebrew, and it is not חתר. in most cases, hebrew uses the root verb שוט to represent the act of rowing, or moving to-and-fro (cf. num 11:8; 2 sam 24,2; ezek on the hand, is used in hebrew to represent the act of ,חתר .(27:6,29 digging, tunneling or burrowing through (cf. job 24:16; ezek 12:5,7). therefore, leaning on the insightful view of christopher meredith, i would rather concur that, by using חתר and not שוט, "the author seems most concerned not with the motion of rowing ____ the action of 51 cf. lessing, 112-3. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 168 digging into the water, but with the severity of the storm and the ship's progress through it. the sailors have to tunnel through waves as the tempest swells around them." 52 in other words, this presents us with a picture where a terrestrial word is used to describe a marine action. this crucial strain between land and sea is what the narrator tries to underline here. "the sailors insist on being back on land, the land lubing jonah insists on being given over to the water." 53 evidently, these sailors did their utmost best to save, not only their own lives, but also the life of the hebrew. if jonah seemed inclined to die, they do not want any death. in a climate of even more growing tension, due to the force of an unleashed sea, these pagans were going against the will of the prophet and against the stormy sea. this desire to save the unfortunate man who had disobeyed yhwh depicts obviously the virtuousness of these sailors. now, given that all their efforts had proven abortive, will they succumb to the request of the runaway prophet of yhwh and hurl him into the sea? the narrator is a teacher who raises this question in the reader: curiosity and suspense pervade these lines. worthy of note is the fact that all this underlines the place of the sailors in this story. even though jonah requested that he should be picked up and hurled into the sea (1:12), they still did everything to save their lives and that of the prophet from israel. they feared killing a man, even when he requested it, and even when doing so would eventually save their lives. the ethical standard of these gentiles is far higher than that of jonah. they have been thrown into a life-threatening storm through no fault of theirs. they have lost their cargo, yet they still seek to save the life of the man who is responsible for all the chaos. the authentic prayers of the sailors (v. 14) "then they cried out to the yhwh, 'please, yhwh, we pray, do not let us perish on account of this man's life. do not make us 52 christopher meredith, "the conodrum of htr in jonah 1:13," vt 64 (2014), 151. 53 ibid, 152. a narrative analysis of jonah/sailors ironies in jonah 1:1-16: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 169 guilty of innocent blood; for you, o yhwh, have done as it pleased you.'" the journey of faith, therefore, seems to be well under way. in fact, we are not in front of people shouting at their own god (1:5), but in front of people calling yhwh, ַוִיְקְראּו ֶאל־ְיהו ה ("they cried out to yhwh"). this is contextually similar to the expression that the bible usually puts on the lips of the children of israel -ֵאל ֶאל־ י־ִיְשר ּו ְבֵנ ַוִיְזֲעקָ֣ ה ְיהו __ "and the sons of israel cried to yhwh [...]" (cf. ex 14:10; jdg 3:15; 4:3). i would like to pay particular attention to this part of the exemplary action of the sailors because, to me, it forms the climax of their progressive journey of faith and demonstrates their uprightness. now the sailors were in a no-win situation. if they throw him overboard, they may bring yhwh’s wrath upon themselves; and if jonah stays on board, they may perish. so, what should they do? they narrator tells us: ְהַוִיְקְר֙אּו ֶאל־י הו ָ֜ "they called to yhwh." the only recourse is to plead for acquittal from yhwh. so, unlike jonah, the sailors did not flee from yhwh (1:3) nor remain silent like jonah who never said a single word to yhwh throughout chapter one. rather, they prayed to god. their prayer was a true supplication to god. in 1:5 "they called out each to his god." but here in verse 14 they invoked the name of yhwh. they have come to believe that israel’s god is the god over the universe, whose power is felt even in the stormy sea. according to lessing, their prayer is in the pattern of the most common hebrew prose prayers: 1. invocation ("o yhwh") 2. petition ("do not let us perish on the account of the life of this man, do not place against us innocent blood") 3. motivation for the petition ("for you are yhwh; just as you please, you do") 54 54 lessing, 135. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 170 in this prayer, as represented above, one sees that it is not only the narrator that says "they invoked yhwh," but the sailors themselves called god "yhwh." this shows a yhwhistic faith. now, let's take a closer look at this prayer pattern used by the sailors. first of all, one notices that apart from their acknowledgement of the sovereignty of yhwh, they also acknowledge that murder is a capital crime for which they could perish if yhwh holds them responsible. in fact, theodore laetsch writes: "these gentiles had the fifth commandment (ex 20:13; dt 5:17) written in their hearts… and revolted from slaying a man." 55 the sailors’ second request: "do not place against us innocent blood" echoes yhwh’s instruction through moses to the people of israel for the expiation of untraced murder in dt 21:8-9. in other words, if jonah has misled them, they are not to be held responsible. hence, they want to be sure that they are doing the will of yhwh, which jonah the prophet never bothered about. 56 finally, they articulated the last part of their prayer in a way one would expect of jonah or any ardent believer of yhwh: "for you are yhwh; just as you please, you do" ( ָ֣ י־ַאת ִכ ית ִש ְצת ע ַפָ֖ ר ח ה ַכֲאֶשָ֥ הְיהו ָ֔ ). this expression, writes jack m. sasson, "looks very much as if it could be used at any time that a hebrew wanted to compare god’s limitless freedom of action to the pagan god's more restricted movement." 57 all this confirms what laetsch says, with regard to the word of the lord being written in the hearts of these pagans. they, in conformity with words of the scripture, confess that "yhwh does as he pleases" (is 46:10; ps115: 3; 135: 6), while jonah, in chapter four, expresses his frustration because yhwh does exactly as he pleases. what an irony! 55 theodore laetsch, the minor prophets. (st. louis: concordia, 1956), 227. 56 cf. lessing, 136. 57 sasson, 136. a narrative analysis of jonah/sailors ironies in jonah 1:1-16: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 171 resolution: jonah is hurled into the sea, the tempest ceased, and the sailors offered sacrifices and made vows (vv. 15-16) "so they picked jonah up and hurled him into the sea; and the sea ceased from its raging. then the men feared yhwh even more, and they offered a sacrifice to the yhwh and made vows." after their prayers, they threw jonah overboard; and the tempest ceased. this confirms that it is indeed yhwh, the god of jonah (1:9), and now, the god of the sailors (1:14), who controls the seas and the waves. so, surely they are safe, the sailors and all in the ship. now, the narrator, playing on the verb א tells us again: “then the ,י ֵרָ֖ men feared a great fear (literarily) of the lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the lord and made vows” (1:16). this brings the spiritual ascent of the sailors to its climax. they moved from sheer fear of danger (1:5) to fear of the presence of yhwh in the storm (1:10) and finally to fear as a reverence to yhwh (1:14,16). the response of these sailors is striking in its simplicity and overpowering in its implications. if jonah, in his "confession of faith," professed a reverence (couched in fear and disobedience) to the god of heaven, these sailor,s on the other hand, worshiped yhwh in an unalloyed manner. they demonstrated commitment to yhwh by offering sacrifice and making vows to him. this is almost certainly a description of whole-hearted conversion to yhwh. "sacrifice" and "vows" mentioned in the same verse confirm this interpretation, since the hebrew bible elsewhere associates these actions with a permanent commitment to yhwh (cf. ps 50:14; is 19:21). it will not be an overstatement to conclude that, in the first and second scenes of the book of jonah, god’s true heroes are the sailors, and not the prophet. conclusion from the foregoing, it is evident that the sailors, even though supporting casts, took the centre stage in jonah 1. jonah, the primary character of the story, in the light of this first chapter, can rightly be malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 172 described as a round character. "round characters" have more depth and their personality often contains conflicting, even contradicting tendencies." 58 the complexity of jonah's character is made evident when compared with those of the sailors. but the sailors, on the other hand, even though secondary characters, acted as main protagonists of the second scene. the sailors progressively move from "each crying to his own god" (1:5a), to lot casting: a typical israelite divination practice, with the aim of establishing the truth. 59 from there, they progressed to an eloquent prayer to yhwh (1:14), which culminates in vow-making and sacrifice to yhwh (1:16). these actions of the sailors evolve the plot. after the general fear caused by the storm, they implored their gods (1:5b); and then, in a progressive manner, turned to yhwh in faith who then averted the danger. but one thing that stands out in this story is the unity of purpose with which the sailors approached their near-death situation. their action, in most part of the story, shows an implicit understanding of igwebuike theology, a theology that shows the power in unity. the outcome of such theology is life, while its opposite outcome is death. this is evident in this story. the sailors were saved because of the unity of purpose in their orientation towards the divine. but jonah, in his quest to stand alone and faraway from god, ended up in the waters, which, symbolically, represents death. 60 the narrative concludes with the offering of sacrifices and vows made by the sailors to yhwh, not in sheer fear, but in outright devotion to yhwh as a culmination of their journey of faith. thus, it is evident that "the sailors are personages linked strictly to the scene of the tempest. they entered the scene after yhwh had unleashed the tempest on the sea, and went out of the scene when the tempest 58 ska, our father have told us, 84. 59 cf. strawn, 66-76. 60 cf. gen 7:4; ex 14:21-22; josh 3:15-16. a narrative analysis of jonah/sailors ironies in jonah 1:1-16: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 173 ceased." 61 this makes them agent characters, not in the sense of flat characters who are not important in themselves, but in the sense of their functional role at the service of the plot. this tells us, from theological view point, that the special relationship between yhwh and israel does not preclude other nations and people from the mercy of god and from being used by god towards the salvation of others, for god's sovereignty is a world-wide sovereignty. it is undisputable that israel, in the bible, is a "vineyard which god himself has planted" (cf. ps 80:7-15). but this does not exclude other nations as part of the universal family of god's children. this further shows that it is not the possession of the truth that counts, but how ready we are to live in the light of the truth we possess. jonah, the "son of god's faithfulness," possessed the word (cf. jonah 1:1-2), but he wasn't faithful to the word he possessed. the sailors, on the other hand, were supposedly ignorant of the word, but their actions throughout the story were indicative of the fact that the word of god was actually written in their hearts. they, rather than the prophet, are the heroes of uprightness in this story. bibliography ackerman, j. s. "jonah." in r. alter, f. kermode, ed., the literary guide to the bible, cambridge: harvard university press, 1987 bovati, p. cosi parla il signore: studio sul profetismo biblico. bib. bologna: edb, 2008. bovati, p. ristabilire la giustizia. procedure, vocabolario, orientamenti. anbib 110. roma: pontificio istituto biblico, 1986. brody, j. a. each man cried out to his god: the specialized religion of canaanite and phoenician. atlanta: brill, 1998. 61 a. niccacci – m. pazzini – r. tadiello, il libro di giona (milano: analecta, 2013), 117. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 174 costacurta, b. la vita minacciata: il tema della paura nella bibbia ebraica. anbib 119. roma: pontificio istituto biblico, 1988. dam, c. v. the urim and thummim. a means of revelation in ancient israel. indiana: eisenbrauns, 1997. hayyim, a. "the book of jonah: a call to personal responsibility." tradition 30 (1995): 56-67. kanu, i. a. "igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization," in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no. 1 (march, 2016):1-6. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 5983. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. a narrative analysis of jonah/sailors ironies in jonah 1:1-16: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 175 kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kanu, i. a. (2019). on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159-176. kanu, i. a. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 176 the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. laetsch, t. the minor prophets. st. louis: concordia, 1956. lessing, r. reed. jonah. concordia commentary, st. louis: concordia publishing house 2007. limburg, j. jonah: a commentary. louisville: john knox press, 1993. a narrative analysis of jonah/sailors ironies in jonah 1:1-16: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 177 meredith, c. "the conodrum of htr in jonah 1:13." vetus testamentum 64 (2014): 147-15 nepi, a. dal fondale alla ribalta: i personaggi secondari nella bibbia ebraica. bologna: epinia della parola, 2015. niccacci, a. – pazzini, m. – tadiello, r. il libro di giona, milano: analecta: 2013. sasson, j. m. jonah. anchor bible 24b. new york: doubleday, 1990. scaiola, d. abdia, giona, michea: introduzione, traduzione e commento. nvbta. milano: san paolo, 2012. simon, u. jonah: the traditional hebrew text with the new jps translations. philadelphia: jps, 1999. ska, j.-l. "giona sei tu! la creazione del lettore nel libro di giona." an unpublished paper presented at a conference in the theological institute of triveneto, italy (2013): 5-22. ska, j.-l. our father have told us, roma: biblical press, 2000. sternberg, m. the poetics of biblical narrative: ideological literature and the drama of reading. indiana: indiana university press, 1985. strawn, b. a., "jonah's sailors and their lot casting: a rhetorical critical observation." biblica 91 (2010): 66-76. stuart, d., hosea-jonah, wbc 31, dallas: word, incorporated, 1987. sweeney, m. a. "jonah" in cotter, d.w., ed., the twelve prophets. berit olam, collegeville: liturgical press, 2016. theophilus, m. "the role of rehab in the conquest story of joshua as a manifestation of igwebuike theology: a narrative analysis of joshua 2," in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5, no. 8 (2019): 7292. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 178 trible, p. "studies in the book of jonah." an unpublished dissertation. columbia university, new york, 1963. trible, p. rhetorical criticism: context, method, and the book of jonah. minneapolis: fortress press, 1994. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 6.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 51 action understanding is not entirely neutral it is existential, it is igwebuike dozie iwuh, osa augustinian institute of philosophy, makurdi benue state registered501@gmail.com abstract action understanding is defined as: “the capacity to achieve the internal description of an action and to use it to organize appropriate future behavior”.1 since the advent of the mirror neuron explanation to action understanding, there has been a lot of uproar as to whether this can be finally named to be the solution of the age long misunderstanding of the phenomenon known as the decoding of the others’ action or whether this as other before it, is merely a fluke. the mirror neuron system (mns) proposed in the 80s’ by rizzolati et al, is called upon in the explanation of a range of activities arising from the other, namely intention, action, imitation. that is to say that with the aid of mirror neurons (mns), we can be able to decode the others’ actions and intention, and even engage in mimicry, if it be the case. more to this, we can also engage in empathy, which is totally human and interact intersubjectively. this according to the mn proposers can be explained via mns. furthermore, what this says is that a full understanding of the other, is wired in the brain of the human person, that is to say that it is neural. according to the mns explanation of action understanding is: when an observed action evokes a neural activity which is normally evoked when the observed action is executed, the meaning of the action is understood because of the similarity between the two neural activities.2 action understanding could be mediated by the mns. but what truly defines our ability to understand the action of the other, and in the same wise, understand the other? if we define action understanding as the ability to decode and decipher the action of the other, even without being told, can we say that it is because we have a wired-tograsp neural mechanism that determines this? or are these mechanism a mere reflection of the existential-ness, the igwebuike-ness, of the action understanding reality? the igwebuike thesis pays attention to the existential-ness of persons, thereby situating the understanding of the human action, not on neural mechanism, but on the ibikọ ọnụ ọnụ element of the igbo-verse. igwebuike says that action understanding is tied to the existential structures of togetherness that colorfully defines the igbo worldview, and that 1 g. rizzolatti, l. fogassi, & v. gallese, neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the understanding and imitation of action, nature reviews neuroscience, 2, 2001, 661-670. 2 g. rizzolatti, l. fadiga, l. fogassi, & v. gallese, premotors cortex and the recognition of motor actions, cognitive brain research, 3, 1996, 131-141. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 52 of the entirety of the human race. this paper would seek to explain how vital igwebuike is to action understanding, determining it, even though it is scientifically situated in the neural mechanism of the brain. here the igbo existentialism enjoys a rapport with science. it starts off by giving a full understanding of the mns thesis. it will then move on to explain why this thesis is seemingly flawed based on the evidence that counteract the scientific findings that have been proposed by the mns proponents. then we will eventually end up with one conclusion, namely that action understanding is better mediated by the fact of living together, that is to say that a shared existence is what makes understanding of the action of the other better articulated. keywords: action understanding, mirror neurons, igwebuike, the human person. mirror neurons: a clarification mirror neurons, which have been discovered by single cell recordings in the parieto-frontal areas of the macaque’s brain, are neurons that discharge in the monkey’s brain both when a specific action is observed and when the same action is performed3 by the monkey himself. in healthy humans, a direct measuring of neural activity is not possible for ethical reasons as the scalp has to be opened for single cell recordings. still, there is broad evidence from indirect studies that a similar parieto-frontal mirror mechanism also exists in humans.4 from the above we could say thus that the key characteristics of mirror neurons are that their activity is modulated both by action execution and action observation, and that this activity shows a degree of action specificity. this distinguishes mirror neurons from other ‘motor’ or ‘sensory’ neurons whose discharge is associated with either execution or observation, but not both. it also distinguishes mirror neuron responses from other types of response to vision of objects or other non-action stimuli. as the activity of mirror neurons cannot yet be unambiguously detected using neuroimaging techniques.5 mirror neurons were first described in the rostral division of the ventral premotor cortex (area f5) of the macaque brain, and have subsequently been reported in the inferior parietal lobule, including the lateral and ventral 3 v. gallese, mirror neurons and embodied simulation and the neural basis of social identification, in psychoanalytic dialogues, vol 19, 2009, 519–536. 4 a. steinhorst-j. funke, mirror neuron activity is not proof for action understanding, in frontiers in human neuroscience, vol 8, article 333, may 2014, 1-4. 5 j.m. kilner-r.n. lemon, what we currently know about mirror neurons, in current biology 23 vol 23, nos 23, december 2, 2013, r1057–r1062. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 53 intraparietal areas, and in the dorsal premotor and primary motor cortex. but despite the large array of areas in which mirror neurons have been reported, the majority of mirror neuron research has studied the activity of mirror neurons in area f5.6 the discovery of mirror neurons generated much excitement about their possible role in mechanisms of movement and action perception (understanding). when we observe someone performing an action, such as waving their hand hello, how do we instantaneously understand that their intention is to greet us? according to the ‘simulation theory’, we covertly and unconsciously simulate ourselves performing the movement, access our own associated intentions and goals for that particular movement, and assign them to the person we are observing. mirror neurons have been proposed as the physiological mechanism that enables a critical step in this process: precise visual to motor mapping.7 according to the theory, whenever you observe someone performing a movement, particular movement-selective mirror neurons embedded in your motor system are activated, enabling you to simulate yourself performing that movement, and access your own associated intentions and goals (probably through activity of other brain areas, including the limbic system).8 mirror neurons’ activity reveals the existence of a mechanism through which perceived events as different as sounds, or images, are nevertheless coded as similar to the extent that they represent the assorted sensory aspects of the motor act’s goal. it has been proposed that mirror neurons by mapping observed, implied, or heard goal-directed motor acts on their motor neural substrate in the observer’s motor system allow a direct form of action understanding, through a mechanism of embodied simulation.9 several studies using different experimental methodologies and techniques have demonstrated also in the human brain the existence of a mechanism directly mapping action perception and execution, defined as the mirror neuron. such studies reveal that during action observation there is a strong activation of premotor and posterior parietal areas, the likely human homologue of the monkey areas in which mirror neurons were originally described. the mirroring mechanism for actions in humans is somatotopically organized; the same regions 6 ibid. 7 i. dinstein, human cortex. reflections of mirror neurons, in current biology, vol 18, no 20, 2008, r956r959. 8 ibid. 9 v. gallese, mirror neurons and embodied simulation and the neural basis of social identification, in psychoanalytic dialogues, vol 19, 2009, 519–536. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 54 within premotor and posterior parietal cortices normally active when we execute mouth-, hand-, and foot-related acts are also activated when we observe the same motor acts executed by others.10 watching someone grasping a cup of coffee, biting an apple, or kicking a football activates the same neurons of our brain that would fire if we were doing the same. the mns in humans is directly involved in imitation of simple movements,11 imitation learning of complex skills,12 in the perception of communicative actions,13 and in the detection of action intentions.14 furthermore, the premotor cortex containing the mns is involved in processing action-related words and sentences, suggesting that mirror neurons together with other parts of the sensory-motor system could play a relevant role in language semantics.15 an important functional aspect of mirror neurons is the relation between their visual and motor properties which mediates imitation and action understanding. virtually all mirror neurons show congruence between the visual actions they respond to and the motor responses they code. according to the type of congruence they exhibit, mirror neurons have been subdivided into “strictly congruent” and “broadly congruent” neurons.16 mirror neurons in which the effective observed and effective executed actions correspond in terms of goal (e.g., grasping) and means for reaching the goal (e.g. precision grip) have been classed as “strictly congruent.” they represent about one third of f5 mirror neurons. mirror neurons that, in order to be triggered, do not require the observation of exactly the same action that they code motorically have been classed as “broadly congruent.” they represent about two thirds of f5 mirror neurons.17 10 ibid. 11 m. iacoboni, r.p. woods, m. brass, h. bekkering, j.c. mazziotta, & g. rizzolatti (1999), cortical mechanisms of human imitation, in science, 286, 1999, 2526–2528. 12 g. buccino, f. lui, n. canessa, i. patteri, g. lagravinese, f. benuzzi, et al., neural circuits involved in the recognition of actions performed by nonconspecifics. an fmri study in journal of cognitive neuroscience, 16, 2004a, 114–126. 13 g. buccino, s. vogt, a. ritzl, g.r. fink, k. zilles, h.j. freund, et al., neural circuits underlying imitation learning of hand actions. an event-related fmri study, in neuron, 42, 2004, 323–334. 14 m. iacoboni, i. molnar-szakacs, v. gallese, g. buccino, j. mazziotta, and g. rizzolatti, grasping the intentions of others with one’s owns mirror neuron system in plos biology, 3, 2005, 529–535. 15 v. gallese, mirror neurons and embodied simulation and the neural basis of social identification, in psychoanalytic dialogues, vol 19, 2009, 519–536. 16 v. gallese, l. fadiga, l. fogassi, g. rizzolatti, action recognition in the premotor cortex, in brain 119, 1996, 593–609. 17 g. rizzolatti-l. craighero, the mirror neuron system, in annu. rev. neurosci., vol 27, 2004, 169–92. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 55 how does mns permit action understanding? action mirroring, action understanding, action decoding, all converge at one point, namely that the intended action is not only perceived by on-lookers, it is also “intentionally” deciphered. action understanding is that cognitive ability to compute and decode or decipher another person’s actions, be it mobile or stationary, verbal or non-verbal, by connecting the information received via perception with the an already seated knowledge of one’s experience that has been coloured by one’s worldview and sociocultural milieu. according to rizzolatti and craighero, two main hypotheses have been advanced on what might be the functional role of mirror neurons. the first is that mirror-neuron activity mediates imitation; the second is that mirror neurons are at the basis of action understanding.18 this fact of action understanding though is not limited to the functioning of the mirror neurons. for, “even though”, in the words of rizzolatti and craighero, we are fully convinced (for evidence see next section) that the mirror neuron mechanism is a mechanism of great evolutionary importance through which primates understand actions done by their conspecifics, we cannot claim that this is the only mechanism through which actions done by others may be understood.19 action understanding in humans, paves the way for intention understanding, this is because the human cognitive capabilities and his brain is more advanced and very much complex in its dealings and undertakings. according to gallese, we (humans) not only understand what others are doing but also why, that is, we can attribute intentions to others. indeed, the mainstream view on action and intention understanding holds that humans when understanding others start from the observation of an intentionally opaque behavior, biological motion, which has to be interpreted and explained in mental terms. this explanatory process is referred to as “mind reading,” that is, the attribution to others of internal mental states, mapped in the mind of the observer as internal representations in 18 ibid. 19 ibid. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 56 propositional format. these representations supposedly play a causal role in determining the observed behavior to be understood.20 but how do mirror neurons mediate understanding of actions done by others? the proposed mechanism is rather simple. each time an individual sees an action done by another individual, neurons that represent that action are activated in the observer’s premotor cortex. this automatically induced, motor representation of the observed action corresponds to that which is spontaneously generated during active action and whose outcome is known to the acting individual. thus, the mirror system transforms visual information into knowledge.21 in other words what is being said is that subject who observes the action of the object (subject) automatically sets himself in the place of the object (subject), and is able to decipher what action is to follow next from the action itinerary that is being witnessed. the subject recognizes the action pathway that the object (subject) threads and so is able to know the outcome of such an action. arising from neurophysiological evidence, experiments demonstrate that when individuals observe an action done by another individual their motor cortex becomes active, in the absence of any overt motor activity. a first evidence in this sense was already provided in the 1950s by gastaut and his coworkers. they observed that the desynchronization of an eeg rhythm recorded from central derivations (the so-called mu rhythm) occurs not only during active movements of studied subjects22, but also when the subjects observed actions done by others. this observation was confirmed by cochin et al. and by altschuler et al. around 1999 and 2000, using eeg recordings, and by hari et al. in 1998 using magnetoencephalographic(meg)technique. this last study showed that the desynchronization during action observation includes rhythms originating from the cortex inside the central sulcus.23 more direct evidence that the motor system in humans has mirror properties was provided by transcranial magnetic stimulation (tms) studies.24 and this approach has been used to study the 20 v. gallese, mirror neurons and embodied simulation and the neural basis of social identification, in psychoanalytic dialogues, vol 19, 2009, 519–536. 21 g. rizzolatti-l. craighero, the mirror neuron system, in annu. rev. neurosci., vol 27, 2004, 169–92. 22 g. cohen-seat, h. gastaut, j. faure, g. heuyer, etudes experimentales de l’activite nerveuse pendant la projection cinematographique dans rev. int. filmologie 5, 1954, 7–64. 23 r. hari-r. salmelin, human cortical oscillations. a neuromagnetic view through the skull in trends neurosci. 20, 1997, 44–49. 24 g. rizzolatti-l. craighero, the mirror neuron system, in annu. rev. neurosci., vol 27, 2004, 169–92. tms is a noninvasive technique for electrical stimulation of the nervous system. when tms is applied to the motor cortex, at appropriate stimulation intensity, motor-evoked potentials (meps) can be recorded from igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 57 mirror neuron system. the importance of tms studies indicate that a mirrorneuron system (a motor resonance system) exists in humans and that it possesses important properties not observed in monkeys. first, intransitive meaningless movements produce mirror neuron system activation in humans, whereas they do not activate mirror neurons in monkeys25. second, the temporal characteristics of cortical excitability, during action observation, suggest that human mirrorneuron systems code also for the movements forming an action and not only for action as monkey mirror-neuron systems do.26 is there more to action understanding than the mirror neurons? for rizzolatti et al the mirror neuron system may not be the only mechanism that can support action understanding. they also note that these [mirror neuron] findings do not exclude the possibility that other areas are involved in the description of biological movement and the understanding of action. according to g. hickok, action understanding is not limited to the mn itinerary. this is because action understanding in humans is a complex series of events that calls to bear the physiological, psychological, emotional state of the human person and not just the neural. thus for hickok, the goal of action understanding is more in the consequences of the action, than in the neural encoding and decoding of the action. he references the fact made upon the macaque monkey in which it is scientifically believed that the mns in such animals mediate action understanding.27 he notes, let’s consider the task employed by umilta et al., grasping food with pliers. what is the goal of such an action? as these authors suggest, there are both proximal and distal goals. umilta et al. suggest that the distal goal is to grasp the food (it is probably more accurate to describe this as an intermediate goal with the ultimate goal being something closer to eating the food, but let’s gloss over this), while the proximal goal is to contralateral extremity muscles. the amplitude of these potentials is modulated by the behavioral context. the modulation of meps’ amplitude can be used to assess the central effects of various experimental conditions. 25 recall that the mns were first found in macaque monkeys, and then such studies were used to explain the fact of man’s ability to imitate, understand action, intentions and empathize, although detailed scientific research as was done in the brain of the monkey has not yet been done with that of the human brain. 26 g. rizzolatti-l. craighero, the mirror neuron system, in annu. rev. neurosci., vol 27, 2004, 169–92. 27 it was in reference to how much was discovered in the macaque’s neural repertoire that researchers directed their findings to the human circle, with the intention of knowing if the age long debate of our ability to imitate, to understand actions and intentions are internal and neutrally physical, than just psychological existentialism or theoretical speculations. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 58 grasp the pliers. the point of the umilta et al. study is to show that the distal goal at least is not a specific motor program, but rather a more abstract state. so what is it? how does the monkey know when he has achieved the intended goal? the answer is that the goal is encoded neurally as a sensory state: the visually determined positioning of the pliers around the food object and the somatosensory perceived change in resistance of the pliers. if the monkey were blindfolded and prevented from receiving somatosensory feedback, no matter how many movements he executed, accurately or not, the monkey would have no way to know whether the goal was achieved. the motor system alone is literally and figuratively blind and in this sense is incapable of understanding. the goals of an action are not in the actions themselves as umilta et al. have shown, they are in the consequences of the actions and these consequences are, for the range of actions we are considering here, sensory.28 this goes to imply that to understand an action, we must understand the sensory goal(s) of the action. action understanding is a function of perceptual, not motor systems.29 there is reason to believe that the findings done by rizzolatti et al, are not so factual, firstly as regards the monkey they used for research, and then the human homologue relating to the research made on the macaque. what has been attributed to be the functioning of the mns are in fact sensorimotor properties. from the foregoing quoted, if the senses (visual especially) are impaired then the firing of such neurons that have been classed as mns, would also be impaired. 28 g. hickok, do mirror neurons subserve action understanding, in neurosci lett. 12 no. 540, april 2003, 56–58. the experiment was performed by umilta and his collegues, as noted in umilta ma, escola l, intskirveli i, grammont f, rochat m, caruana f, jezzini a, gallese v, rizzolatti g, when pliers become fingers in the monkey motor system, in proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america, 105, 2008, 2209–2213. monkeys again were used for this experiment, this was to indicate the fact that even for monkeys, action understanding is not that direct as we would have believed it to be via the thesis of mns. in his article, the eight problem for the mirror neuron theory, hickok notes in his first objection to the mirror neuron thesis that there is no evidence in monkeys that mirror neurons support action understanding. here he comes strongly against three experiments held in the support of the action understanding function of the mns. in the second experiment opposed, he raises an argument based on meaning, and seeks to find out if the monkeys that understand the action also understand the meaning of the action, for this is essentially the end to all action understanding. all that is noted is that the monkey is able to, via the senses, link up a series of activities that it has mastered over the course of time. hickok moves further to claim that the ability to action understand in the macaque was not really tested. (g. hickok, the eight problem for the mirror neuron theory, in j cogn neurosci., 21(7), july 2009, 1229–1243.) 29 g. hickok, do mirror neurons subserve action understanding, in neurosci lett. 12 no. 540, april 2003, 56–58. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 59 thus can it not be said that they [mirror neurons] reflect action understanding rather than contribute to it?30 can it not be said that a sensorimotor theory better explains the response properties of mirror neurons, does so more straightforwardly, without suffering the empirical roadblocks of the action understanding theory?31 even if we subscribe to the point that mirror neuron activity is a proof for the monkey's action understanding, it would not be justified to make statements about human action understanding, this is because the definition of action understanding already hides the historical and cultural dimensions of human understanding, but it does not imply that the macaque’s action understanding and human action understanding are equal. for such equalization has not be proven and is not provable. can the macaque be asked about their understanding via an experimental test? thus, the relation between results, interpretation, and conclusion, i mean that of the macaque and the human person, is methodologically incorrect. nonetheless, our concern here is the mns in reference to the human person. in line with the mn thesis with regard to the human person, when we perceive an action, our mirror neurons, which are both sensory and motor units, become active as if we acted ourselves. the proponents of the mirror neuron system theory assumed that this mechanism supports action understanding. in this theory, action understanding means that sensory and motor aspects, goal, and intention of some action performed by another individual and perceived by the observing individual can be recognized and understood by this observer through the mirror neuron system, and the respective neuronal activity can be reproduced by this system in a similar situation. so, as observers, we are “in the mental shoes” of the executor. we understand his/her goals and intentions because we internally simulate this action via our mirror neurons.32 the system whereby we understand the goals and intentions of others’ actions is quite simple and parsimonious. we do it because our mirror areas code goals and intentions of the actions that we perform and perceive in others. the mirror neuron theory proponents use the term “action understanding” to emphasize that not only the sensory and motor aspects of an action, but also its goal and intention can be recognized by an observer through the mirror neuron system. 30 g. csibra, action mirroring and action understanding. an alternative account, in haggard, p.; rosetti, y.; kawato, m., editors, sensorimotor foundations of higher cognition. attention and performance xii, oxford university press, oxford, 2007, 453-459. 31 g. hickok-m. hauser, misunderstanding mirror neurons, in current biology vol 20 no 14, r593-r594. 32 v. gallese, the “shared manifold” hypothesis. from mirror neurons to empathy, j. conscious. stud., 8, nos. 5/7, 2001, 33-50. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 60 the observer understands the “why?” of the action. the critics of the mirror neuron theory of action understanding support inference theories. they represent the traditional standpoint on the nature of this process. according to these theories, action understanding is more complex and meticulous. it requires costly stimulus processing and occurs outside the mirror neuron system.33 the criticism here is based on the apparent internal logical inconsistency of the mirror neuron theory of action understanding. its proponents postulate that the mirror neurons code the goals of others’ actions because they are activated if the observed action is goal-directed or is a pantomime of a goal-directed action. however, the mirror neurons are activated only when the observed action is goal-directed (object-directed action or a communicative gesture, which certainly has a goal too) or is a pantomime of a goal-directed action. how do they “know” that the definite action is goal-directed or is a pantomime of the goal-directed action? in what stage of their activation do they detect a goal of the movement or its absence? according to kosonogov, the mirror neuron system can be activated only after the goal of the observed action is recognized by some other brain structures.34 what this means is that the brain must “decode” that the movements that it perceives forms a complex action, and that this action is goal oriented. proponents of the mn theory note that only if the action is goaldirected or is a pantomime of the goal-directed action, can the mirror neurons be activated, but if the action is not goal-directed, they are not activated. the question that can be posed here is that can the mirror neurons detect (or recognize, or attribute) the goals of others’ actions? and who detects the actions of others? is it the mns or the human person? we say that an executor has goals and intentions when we know or can imagine the potential consequences of his/her action. when we see new actions with new objects, it is hard to attribute goals and intentions because we do not know the consequences of each specific movement. a philosophical question arises as to whether or not we are capable of knowing that others’ actions have goals. we only attribute some goals to others’ actions because we believe that our actions have goals.35 from what has been said thus, we can offer a different definition to 33 v. kosonogov, why the mirror neurons cannot support action understanding in neurophysiology, vol. 44, no. 6, 2012, 499-502. 34 ibid. 35 ibid. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 61 action understanding as the ability to attribute prerequisites (reasons) and consequences (goals) of actions we perceive in others. in line with this, we can add that understanding an action, extends beyond the perceptual, or the sensory; it involves a recognition that is part and parcel of the observer, for a novel action, in the eyes of the observer, might be difficult to decode. an understanding of the igwebuike thesis igwebuike is anchored on the african worldview, which, according to iroegbu is characterized by a common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny. it is a complementary philosophy which understands life as a shared reality.36 life is a life of sharedness; one in which another is part thereof. it is a relationship, though of separate and separated entities or individuals but with a joining of the same whole.37 it is a relationship in which case the two or more coming together makes each of them a complete whole; it is a diversity of being one with each other. igwebuike is the heart of african thought, and in fact, the modality of being in african philosophy. it is taken from the igbo language, which is a composite word made up of three dimensions. therefore, it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. the three words involved: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power. thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force.38 its english equivalent is ‘complementarity’. at this level, no task is beyond their collective capability. it is a concept that was employed by african traditional philosophers of the complementary school of thought to discuss the nature of the observed african reality.39 the igbo african existential world is marked by communal living, isolating all forms of individual alienation amongst human persons. igwebuike rests on the african principles of solidarity and 36 a.i. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity, in igwebuike. an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017, 153-160. 37 a.i. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education, a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france. 38 a.i. kanu, igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy in igwebuike. an african journal of arts and humanities, 2. 1. 2016, 97-101. 39 a.i. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 2016, 1-7. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 62 complementarity. it argues that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is ‘to be with the other’, in a community of beings. this is based on the african philosophy of community, which is the underlying principle and unity of african traditional religious and philosophical experience.40 the igwebuike philosophy is ontological but more importantly, it is existential. kanu posits, ontologically, it (igwebuike) emphasizes the universal character of philosophy, existentially, it respects the regional character of african philosophy, that is, its africanness, with africa being the locale for the philosophical investigation. it strongly believes that universality and particularity are congenial in the sense that they need each other to remain germane and perennial, to remain contextually intelligible and of standard universally.41 reflecting on the african idea of life as a shared reality, and in which complementarity is observed, kanu notes that it presupposes a tailor made-cloth, measured, cut and sewn to fit into the curves, contours, shape and size, peculiarities and particularities of a being.42 thus, every being has a missing part and is at the same time, a missing part. ekwulu, opines that if the other is my part or a piece of me, it means that i need him for me to be complete, for me to be what i really am. the other completes rather than diminishes me. his language and culture make my own stand out and at the same time, they enrich and complement my own. in the presence of his language and culture, the riches and poverty of my language and culture become clear and i see that his own and my own when put together form a richer whole when compared to any of them in isolation.43 the implication of this is the rich complementarity that the igwebuike philosophy brings to bear to the broader spectrum of philosophy. it indicates 40 a. i. kanu, igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy, in igwebuike. an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016, 108-113. 41 ibid. 42 a.i. kanu, igwebuike as the unity of the african philosophical experience in international conference of the society for research and academic excellence. university of nigeria, nsukka. 14th -16 th september 2015. 43 b.i. ekwulu, igbo concept of ibe (the other) as a philosophical solution to the ethnic conflicts in african countries in b. i. ekwulu (ed.), philosophical reflections on african issues, enugu publications, delta, 2010, 183-192. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 63 how much of the other is in the i, or better put, how much of you is contained in me, and me in you. ekwulu further notes that the self is not only completed in relating with the other, but that it attains self-realization in the other: i realize myself in the other because it is in the ‘thou-ness’ of the thou that my ‘is-ness’ is realized. i am ‘i’ because you are ‘you’. without thou there is no i. we are ‘we’ because they are ‘they’, and without ‘they’, there is no ‘we’.44 it is within this being-laden context, which is life as sharedness, that all questions of meaning can be handled adequately and fully within the context of mutual complementarity of all possible relations.45 according to kanu, from the foregoing this explains why the igbo would refer to the ‘other’ as ibe, which means ‘a piece of’ or ‘a part of’, as in ibe anu (a piece of meat) or ibe ede (a piece of cocoyam). the igbo would, therefore, refer to the ‘other person’ as ibe m which means ‘my piece’ or mmadu ibe m (my fellow human being). this is the concept also employed in reference to relationships and reciprocity: love one another (hunu ibe unu n’anya), help one another (nyere nu ibe unu aka), respect one another (sopuru nu ibe unu), etc. since the ‘other’ refers to my own piece, it would, therefore, mean that to love the other is to love oneself, to help the other is to help oneself and to respect the other is to respect oneself.46 put the other way round, to hate the other is to hate oneself, to refuse help to the other is to refuse help to oneself and to disrespect the other is to disrespect oneself. how igwebuike mediates action understading the strength of the igwebuike thesis regarding action understanding can be better construed from the worldview of which it belongs to, that is the igbo african worldview. this worldview is separated from that of the western world, as kanu succinctly puts it thus, there is an obvious diversity between the western conceptualization scheme and the african conception of reality. onyeocha avers that “whereas western philosophy is characterized by the problem of the knowledge of universals involving abstractions on the one hand…, 44 ibid. 45 i.i. asouzu, ibuanyidanda. new complementary ontology. beyond world immanentism, ethnocentric reduction and impositions, lit verlag publications, munster, 2007, 252-253. 46 a.i. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity, in igwebuike. an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017, 153-160. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 64 africans exercise their thinking on the correctness of existence, the problem of living and life itself”. the western pattern of thought is exclusivistic, depersonalized, objectivised and more concerned with analysis; the african scheme of conceptualization is inclusivistic, integrative, non-reductionistic, concrete, personalized and subjectivised in all its manifestations, expressing the interconnectedness of realitya world of relationship, harmony, continuality and complementarity.47 onyeocha (2006) argues that “the african conceives of reality in terms of a universe of forces that are linked together, and are in constant interplay with one another”,48 for what is pertinent to this worldview is not that the branch grows out of the tree, it is that the branch remains connected to the tree sharing one life force. it knows the tree as much as the tree knows it. the igwebuike philosophy is about complementarity, harmony, completion, continuality that arises from one and flows to the other; a flow that is one and the same time reciprocal, that is to say that as it flows from one to the other, it also flows from the other back. there is thus no stop, no beginning, rather there is continuation. igwebuike as a complementary philosophy understands life as a shared reality. and it is only within the context of complementarity that life makes meaning.49 life is a life of sharedness; one in which another is part thereof. a relationship, though of separate and separated entities or individuals but with a joining of the same whole.50 according to this philosophy, the attainment of meaning is based on the links that extends and exists between one and the other, between you and i. recalling what kosonogov says, we say that an executor has goals and intentions when we know or can imagine the potential consequences of his/her action. when we see new 47 a.i. kanu, igwebuike, personal identity and alterity in igwebuikepedia internet encyclopedia of african philosophy, a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies, issn: 25049038 url: http://igwebuikepedia.info/alterity.asp 48 i.m. onyeocha, africa’s idea about the nature of reality in maryland studies. 3. 5., 2006, 89-105. 49 a.i. kanu, igwebuike, personal identity and alterity in igwebuikepedia internet encyclopedia of african philosophy, a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies, issn: 25049038 url: http://igwebuikepedia.info/alterity.asp 50 a.i. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 65 actions with new objects, it is hard to attribute goals and intentions because we do not know the consequences of each specific move.51 the meanings that human being carry pertaining to an action done by the other is based on what they already know about the action series. that is to say that a foreknowledge of the seriality of the action, makes one understand it, based on something as minimal as the initiation of the process. for we all know that when an individual grasps a cup of tea, very often he/she drinks it; this is a simple association. likewise, we expect that thunder always (or frequently) follows lightning.52 how? we might say that we have learned this overtime, yet according to the igbo-african worldview, we are linked to these events that is why we are fully aware of their happenings. what is being said here is that the human person knows of its existence to be tied to a whole, not submerged and usurped by the whole, but tied to a whole, a greater reality that defines its particular and peculiar existential bearings. i am thus conscious of the other, because the other is a part of me, and i am a part of him. in my own existential circle, you have a functional presence and a part to play, and i have this in your own existential circle and we are both bound up together in a greater circle of reality of worlds, the eluigwe-the sky; the ala mmuothe spirit world; the ala mmadu – the land of the living.53 there is an interconnectedness, one that is not just theoretically noted, but one which is practically felt. we had earlier defined action understanding as “the ability to attribute prerequisites (reasons) and consequences (goals) of actions we perceive in others”. and what is being opined here is that whether we endorse the fact of a neural explanation, there yet must be an existential rapport between observer and observed for the former to be able to decipher the actions and intentions of the latter. that is to say that the observer and the observed are not really separated from each other but complement each other. there can be no observer without the observed, and the observed also cannot be without an observer to testify to what is being observed. yet the intricate knowledge of what lies behind the action, i mean the intention behind the action is also able to be understood based on the existential link that exists between the spectator and the actor. the 51 v. kosonogov, why the mirror neurons cannot support action understanding in neurophysiology, vol. 44, no. 6, 2012, 499-502 52 ibid. 53 c.a. okoye, ‘onwe’. an inquiry into the igbo concept of the self in ogirisi. a new journal of african studies vol. 8, 2011, 51-66 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 66 igwebuike philosophical thesis is all about this. the fact that the action of another is able to trigger neural operations in me to the effect that i am able to see myself in the place or position of the person acting, thus making me draw forth conclusions as regards his action, only draws closer to the igwebuike thesis of the you in the i and the i in the you; the philosophical thesis of complementarity. ekwulu notes this well as he says that the term ibe brings out the reciprocity tension between the self and the other. the self is always implicated in the other. the self’s reference to the other always points back to the self. i am, as it were, in the other and the other is in me. he is my piece as i am his piece. that which is different from me is ‘my piece’ or ‘my other’. that which is different from us is part of us.54 in the igbo worldview, the other is referred to as ibe, which means ‘a piece of’ or ‘a part of’, as in ibe anu (a piece of meat) or ibe ede (a piece of cocoyam). the igbo would, therefore, refer to the ‘other person’ as ibe m which means ‘my piece’ or mmadu ibe m (my fellow human being).55 this notion is very well employed when referring to relationships and shows forth the mark of reciprocity. the “igboverse boasts of phrases like love one another (hunu ibe unu n’anya), help one another (nyere nu ibe unu aka), respect one another (sopuru nu ibe unu), etc56 which depicts how much of the ibe, is contained in the “onwe m”.57 according to kanu, since the ‘other’ refers to my own piece, it would, therefore, mean that to love the other is to love oneself, to help the other is to help oneself and to respect the other is to respect oneself. put the other way round, to hate the other is to hate oneself, to refuse help to the other is to refuse help to oneself and to disrespect the other is to disrespect oneself.58 we could further add that the knowledge of oneself is the knowledge of the other, and understanding oneself is a stepping stone into understanding the other. 54 b.i. ekwulu, igbo concept of ibe (the other) as a philosophical solution to the ethnic conflicts in african countries, in b. i. ekwulu (ed.) philosophical reflections on african issues, delta publishers, enugu, 2010, pp. 183-192. 55 a.i. kanu osa, african philosophy, globalization and the priority of otherness, in igwebuike. an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017, 92-109. 56 ibid. 57 this refers to myself, and can be well construed as referring to the self. 58 a.i. kanu osa, african philosophy, globalization and the priority of otherness. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 67 the discovery of mirror neurons and of other mirroring mechanisms in the human brain shows that the very same neural substrates are activated when these expressive acts are both executed and perceived. thus, we have a neurally instantiated we-centric space.59 that is to say that our complementarity and communality is neurally orchestrated. mirror neurons seem to bridge the gap between one agent and another; to represent ‘my action’ and ‘your action’ in the same way. therefore, it has been suggested that mirror neurons are the key to explaining many aspects of social cognition, including the ability to understand the actions of others, to ‘read minds’, to imitate and to communicate using gestures and speech.60 via the input of the findings made by the mn research, we are beginning to find out more and more that we are not so different after all. the igwebuike thesis, does not have the mathematical rigour of western science nor the biologico-scientific precision that the mn thesis, but it is deeply entrenched in the existential structure of the human person. it is the analysis of the human person’s existential structure that has given birth to theories seeking to understand how the human person is conscious of the other. according to the igwebuike philosophy, aka nri kwo aka ekpe, aka ekpe akwo aka nri, that is to say that the right hand, which is conscious of itself, also acknowledges the left hand, not just in terms of its function, but most importantly in terms of its being-there, as much as the right hand is also a being-there makes emphatic the point that there lies an existential interconnection between the human self and the other (who is also a human self). this existential interconnection has its neural underpinnings as made known by the mn research. i am conscious of the other, because the other is part of me, is what igwebuike depicts; i understand the action of the other, because there are certain neurons in my brain that mirror his activity, once the activity’s process is initiated, is what the mn thesis depicts. conclusion what we have said so far, here, does not negate the findings done by the mn research. we indeed are aware of the fact that the research is still on-going to make clear the postulations made by the mn proponents. what is being said here is that action understanding has more to do with the complementarity that exists between the human person and the other. and this is well enshrined in the igwebuike philosophy. how would we thus define action understanding? 59 v. gallese, mirror neurons, embodied simulation and the neural basis of social identification, in psychoanalytic dialogues vol 19, 2009, 519-536. 60 c. heyes, where do mirror neurons come from, in neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews 34, 2010, 575–583. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 68 action understanding is cognizing an activity, on the part of a subject towards another subject (the object of observation) whose awareness arises from the complementarity that exists between both subjects, a complementarity that is both internal and externally situated. that is to say that this complementarity can be explained neutrally (internally), and existentially (igwebuike, externally). action understanding is thus, not entirely neural, but it is existential. references asouzu i.i, ibuanyidanda. new complementary ontology. beyond world immanentism, ethnocentric reduction and impositions, lit verlag publications, munster, 2007, 252-253. buccino g, et al., neural circuits involved in the recognition of actions performed by nonconspecifics. an fmri study in journal of cognitive neuroscience, 16, 2004a, 114–126. buccino g, et al., neural circuits underlying imitation learning of hand actions. an event-related fmri study, in neuron, 42, 2004, 323–334. cohen-seat g, et al, etudes experimentales de l’activite nerveuse pendant la projection cinematographique dans rev. int. filmologie 5, 1954, 7–64. csibra g, action mirroring and action understanding. an alternative account, in haggard, p.; rosetti, y.; kawato, m., editors, sensorimotor foundations of higher cognition. attention and performance xii, oxford university press, oxford, 2007, 453-459. dinstein i, human cortex. reflections of mirror neurons, in current biology, vol 18, no 20, 2008, r956-r959. ekwulu b.i, igbo concept of ibe (the other) as a philosophical solution to the ethnic conflicts in african countries in b. i. ekwulu (ed.), philosophical reflections on african issues, enugu publications, delta, 2010, 183-192. gallese v, mirror neurons and embodied simulation and the neural basis of social identification, in psychoanalytic dialogues, vol 19, 2009, 519–536. gallese v, mirror neurons, embodied simulation and the neural basis of social identification, in psychoanalytic dialogues vol 19, 2009, 519-536. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 69 gallese v, et al, action recognition in the premotor cortex, in brain 119, 1996, 593– 609. gallese v, the “shared manifold” hypothesis. from mirror neurons to empathy, j. conscious. stud., 8, nos. 5/7, 2001, 33-50. hari r-salmelin r, human cortical oscillations. a neuromagnetic view through the skull in trends neurosci. 20, 1997, 44–49. heyes c, where do mirror neurons come from, in neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews 34, 2010, 575–583. hickok g, do mirror neurons subserve action understanding, in neurosci lett. 12 no. 540, april 2003, 56–58. hickok g, the eight problem for the mirror neuron theory, in j cogn neurosci., 21(7), july 2009, 1229–1243.) hickok g, do mirror neurons subserve action understanding, in neurosci lett. 12 no. 540, april 2003, 56–58. hickok g-hauser m, misunderstanding mirror neurons, in current biology vol 20 no 14, r593-r594. iacoboni m, et al (1999), cortical mechanisms of human imitation, in science, 286, 1999, 2526–2528. iacoboni m, et al, grasping the intentions of others with one’s owns mirror neuron system in plos biology, 3, 2005, 529–535. kanu, i. a. african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. augustinian publications, 2015. kanu i. a. a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. augustinian publications, 2015. kanu i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017, 153-160. kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, 2. 1. 2016, 97-101. kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 2016, 1-7. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 70 kanu, i. a. african philosophy, globalization and the priority of otherness. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017, 92-109. kanu, i. a. igwebuikeconomics: towards an inclusive economy for economic development. sapientia: journal of philosophy. vol. 9. pp. 90-108. 2017. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. kanu, i. a. igwebuike and the question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 131-138. 2018. kosonogov v, why the mirror neurons cannot support action understanding in neurophysiology, vol. 44, no. 6, 2012, 499-502. kilner j.m-lemon r.n, what we currently know about mirror neurons, in current biology 23 vol 23, nos 23, december 2, 2013, r1057–r1062. onyeocha i.m, africa’s idea about the nature of reality in maryland studies. 3. 5., 2006, 89-105. okoye c.a, ‘onwe’. an inquiry into the igbo concept of the self in ogirisi. a new journal of african studies vol. 8, 2011, 51-66 rizzolatti g, et al, neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the understanding and imitation of action, nature reviews neuroscience, 2, 2001, 661-670. rizzolatti, et al, premotors cortex and the recognition of motor actions, cognitive brain research, 3, 1996, 131-141. rizzolatti g-craighero l, the mirror neuron system, in annu. rev. neurosci., vol 27, 2004, 169–92. steinhorst a-funke j, mirror neuron activity is not proof for action understanding, in frontiers in human neuroscience, vol 8, article 333, may 2014, 1-4. igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 233 igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria maduekwe pius chukwuebuka augustinian institute makurdi, benue state payopapaz2711@yahoo.com abstract the relationship that does exist between politics and religion is intimate. more so, the relationship is complex because of the intricacies inherent in the politicization of religion. with emphasis on nigeria today, there are two dominant religious groups in nigeria, islam and christianity. islam and christianity are not recognized here to the trivialization of the position of traditional religion. the integration of politics and religion in nigerian political history is believed to be one major problem behind the current religious violence and political instability troubling the country. this research is aimed at looking into the chaos that has been caused by religion in nigeria’s socio-political system and has employed the igwebuike philosophy with the view of addressing the issues of conflict between the two major religions in nigeria. igwebuike principle of solidarity and complementarity will be adopted for this purpose. for the purpose of this thesis, the hermeneutic and phenomenological methods of inquiry will be employed. this thesis, therefore, exposes the misplacement of values by the nigerian people as they tend to place religion and politics as a single entity, rather than practicing them independently. nonetheless, religion and politics are complimentary and can be practiced without steps. maduekwe pius chukwuebuka themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 234 introduction the human person, from researches, is said to be a being that needs the presence of the other to foster its own existence; thus, it is not a totally independent being, despite his religion, social or political class. virtually in all societies of the world, religion has become a key index that carpenters the socio-economic, cultural and political structures, either for good or for bad. nigeria, just like any other multi-cultural society, has a number of religious movements and practices, such as: islam, christianity and indigenous religion. before the arrival of the colonial masters into nigeria, our ancestors were staunch adherents of the african traditional religion (atr). the atr was a system of belief and worship that was totally devoid of acrimony, hate and conflicts. for administrative convenience, fredrick lugard brought forth the thought merging northern and southern protectorates. in 1914, an entity called nigeria emerged, bringing about 250 ethnic groups together into one political and administrative entity. today, ironically, the merger became a bane of peace, progress and stability of the nigerian nation. although nigeria has witnessed some pockets of religious conflicts over the years, it assumed an alarming proportion when nigeria assumed democratic ideals in 1999. as a multi-ethnic and religious entity, christians and muslims (the two major religions in nigeria) in nigeria have over the years tried to outwit each other in terms of belief, adherence, structure and growth vis-à-vis the nigerian nation. consequently, a dimension of fanaticism was introduced into the religious practice. unfortunately, the so-called religions have become a source of strife, anarchy and bloodletting in nigeria in recent times. today, there is a sharp deviation from the core values of religion, occasioned by the alarming nature of religious crisis in nigeria, leading to destruction of lives and property. rather than entrench peace, unity and stability, religion has somewhat threatened the whole essence of nigeria’s nationhood. igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 235 very often, the woes of nigeria are blamed on the events of “slave trade”, “colonialism” and “missionary methods” that were not contextual. today, it is very clear that the very enemies of nigeria are nigerians. the rate at which nigerians destroy one another morally, intellectually, socially, politically and physically in the present world cannot be compared to the accusation we heap on the western world. the various crises in nigeria today need fellow nigerians to be the light of the world and salt of the earth. this calls for a sense of complementarity and inter-personal dialogue, in which the human person can be a reconciled reconciler. in other words, the human person needs a renewal of heart and change of attitude. it must be remembered that as nigerians “the sky is wide enough for everyone to fly”. this will assists us to develop our gifts and actualize our latent potentials to be the light of the world and salt of the earth. thus, the researcher places igwebuike ontology, an igbo-african philosophy of humanity towards the other or integrative humanism viz-a-viz the issues of religio-political crises as a possible attempt to promote complementarity and enhance a more peaceful co-existence. statement of the problem in the nigerian society, three types of religion are prominent: christianity, islam and african traditional religion. the first two are imported religions; and the last is home grown. both christianity and islam are universal while african traditional religion is particular to africa. impliedly, african traditional religion has no body of teaching which is regarded as valid forever (at all times) as it has no universal mission, so proselytization does not exist; hence, african traditional religion cannot be a divisive force. so, traditional religion does not cause havoc in our society; the problem is in the relationships of islamic and christian religions. the problems are at various levels: conceptualization, worldview, beliefs and perceptions, among others. at the level of conceptualization and articulation, both religions, islam and christianity, differ; their philosophies are poles apart as their founders maduekwe pius chukwuebuka themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 236 are both in the largeness of heart cum intelligence and articulation of concepts. christianity is not a parallel concept to islam, nor is christianization a parallel concept to islamization. each is in a world of its own. while christianization concerns itself with conversion of willing persons, islamization concerns itself with conversion of persons both in the spheres of religion and politics with the use of force. at this level, it is clear that islamic religion is not concerned with human acts as such, for these are acts performed with the aid of knowledge, freedom, voluntariness and intention. our problems also are ranging from cosmological exclusivism, lack of leadership, ignorance to corruption, and so on. man is both a political and religious animal; hence, a total separation of religion from politics is not advocated for, but the politicization of religion should be guarded against in order to avoid emotional outbursts, which have escalated problems by the ensued violence and destruction which claimed lives and property. irrational latitude to either religion in politics or vice versa remains an issue of concern in the nigerian state. this study has its importance lying on the very fact that the contemporary nigerian society is in no doubt faced with so much religious differences which produce hatred and intolerance. over the years, religious crises have been a reoccurring decimal and every effort to promote unity, peace and progress in a multi-ethnic and religious society like nigeria has defied all known solutions. this research is aimed at providing a philosophical platform for peaceful co-existence, rational fraternal cooperation and complementarity between nigerian muslims and christians for a better and more standard political system with a practice of true federalism and democracy and in all to have a greater nigeria. the researcher has employed practical, descriptive, expository, historical, dialectic and philosophical approaches in this study. the study has also made use of more secondary sources and a bit of primary sources, as well as the hermeneutic and phenomenological methods. igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 237 the etymology and meaning of igwebuike etymologically, the igbo ontological maxim, igwebuike, is a compound word which is rooted in three igbo words: igwe, bu and ike. these words can also be used in a sentence form, by putting them together, although as independent words, thus making up a complete sentence. igwe which means “number or population” is a noun. bu which means “is” is a verb. ike which means “strength or power” is also a noun. put together, igwebuike comes to mean literally: “number is strength or number is power.” as an igbo-african philosophy, it rests on two primary principles: solidarity and complementarity. it argues that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is ‘to be with the other’, in a community of beings (kanu “african traditional religion”, 67). igwebuike as an ideology has a long history. it was first employed by the igbo traditional philosophers as “a theory based on an illustrative statement to teach that when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force, and more so, to express their world of relationship, harmony, continuality and complementarity. at this level, no task is beyond collective capability” (kanu, “igwebuike and the unity of the african philosophical experience” web). as earlier stipulated, igwebuike factually emanates from a unitary composition, since it emphasizes strength in togetherness or population; just as in the ujaama of julius nyerere, it upholds communal living and fraternal cooperation. furthermore, kanu postulates that it rests on the philosophy of solidarity and complementarity; thus, to be is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. igwebuike is based on the african cosmology. iroegbu, thus, affirms this as he opines that it is characterized by a common origin, common worldview, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny (8). igwebuike is the maduekwe pius chukwuebuka themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 238 underlining principle of african philosophy and religion. it is the unity of the african philosophical experience. it is, in fact, the fundamental category of african philosophy and religion. it is the substratum of african traditional values, philosophy and religion. mbiti has classically proverbialized the community, determining the role of the individual when he write; ‘i am because we are and since we are, therefore i am’ (108). as averred by kanu, it is attainable that igwebuike philosophy is one that strongly invites the african people to a life of a holistic unism as it goes as far as expressing a sense of belonging to the african, and when the reverse is the case, it presents the african to be alienated from the rest of humanity. also, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force or strength, and at this level, no task is beyond their collective capability. igwebuike, therefore, understands the human person as possessing a relational character, and also as one who is inter-subjective and must necessarily relate with the other in order to make a meaningful existence. kanu ikechukwu anthony: the proponent of igwebuike philosophy kanu ikechukwu anthony, the proponent of the igwebuike philosophy, is an augustinian friar and is currently the rector of villanova polytechnic, imesi ile, osun state, nigeria. he was born 20 th november, 1981 at nkwerre. he is of igbo extraction from arondizuogu, ideato north local government area, imo state nigeria. though having his origin from the eastern part of nigeria, kanu had both his nursery/primary and secondary school education in the north in jimeta-yola, adamawa state, from the following schools: command children nursery and primary school, demonstration primary school, army day secondary school and st. peter’s minor seminary, from 1984-1986, 1987-1992, 1993-1994 and 1995-1999 respectively. after his secondary school education, kanu, in responding to his call to the religious life, joined the order of st. augustine, where his vocation was nurtured. thus, kanu proceeded to igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 239 st. thomas aquinas and st. augustine’s major seminaries from 2001-2004 and 2005-2009, where he obtained bachelor of arts degree in philosophy and bachelor of arts degree in religious studies respectively. after the completion of his formation to the priesthood and religious life, in 2009 he was ordained a catholic priest. kanu, after his ordination, proceeded to further his studies. he obtained master’s degrees in philosophy (metaphysics); religion and human relations from university of nsukka, enugu state and nnamdi azikiwe university awka, anambra state from 2010-2015 and 20102012 respectively. in 2012, he continued in the same nnamdi azikiwe university for his doctorate degree programme in religion and human relations, which he obtained in 2015. kanu is a man of great responsibilities and engagements. apart from his religious and pastoral commitments, he served as the dean of students at the international bio-research institute, ugwogo nike, enugu state and lectures in three other institutions, which include: st. augustine’s major seminary, jos; augustinian institute of philosophy, makurdi and veritas university abuja. he is also a member of various academic societies, like: igbo studies association (i.s.a) usa, nigerian philosophical association (npa), international society for african philosophy studies (isaps), association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars (aatreps), just to mention but a few. he is also a member of decision making boards like governing board, international bio-research institute (ibi), ugwogo nike, enugu state; apurimac onlus (ngo), josplateau sstate; board of trustees, association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars (aatreps), and a host of others (tumba,69-71 ). in his bid to contribute immensely to the pool of knowledge, kanu has written omnivorously, making impact in various spheres of life through his works, especially in the areas of african philosophy and african traditional religion (atr) studies in which he has made an indelible impression through his ground-breaking igwebuike maduekwe pius chukwuebuka themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 240 philosophy and other written works, prominent among which include: african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues and a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. kanu, so far, has written 20 books, published 116 articles in national and international peer-reviewed journals, 120 papers presented at different conferences. this is no doubt an indication that kanu is truly a genius and his contributions in creating awareness and imparting positive knowledge cannot be overemphasized. kanu is also the founder and editor-in-chief of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, and igwebuikepedia: an internet encyclopedia of african philosophy (tyogema, 34). kanu, being the proponent of igwebuike philosophy, has made great impact in philosophy through its instrumentality. through igwebuike, kanu has proposed a new way of looking at reality, using the lens of solidarity and complementarity. his works on igwebuike, among many, include, igwebuike and african ethics, igwebuike and the unity of african philosophy, igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principle, igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education, igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization, igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory socio-political system of governance, igwebuike as the expressive modality of being in igbo ontology. pertinent issues that cloud our contemporary world have been addressed by kanu using igwebuike. also, through igwebuike, kanu has made vital contributions in the areas of metaphysics, ethics, epistemology and political philosophy; thus, elevating it to the status of an academic discipline and worthy of being employed for research in various areas of inquiry for positive impacts on the society (tyogema, 34). the sources of igwebuike philosophy the igbo african philosophy, igwebuike, which has its tentacles on the manner of being with the worldview of complementarity, massages the ego of individuals and posits to them a model of living igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 241 in a society with a common goal of togetherness; that is, the “i thou” relationship is the kpim of igwebuike philosophy. igwebuike philosophy is based on the igbo-african worldview of complementarity, that is, the manner of being in african ontology. it is a worldview in which individuating differences must work towards a corporate existence, where the "i" does not stand as the "i" but as a "we," where life and living makes meaning. in a scenario of this kind, difference does not divide nor does it constitute a threat, but unites and gives hope that future existence would have meaning. in a cosmogony of this kind, while the ontology of the person is founded on the particular that founds identity, it is the community that gives meaning to such an existence and grounds such an identity. what are the sources of igwebuike philosophy? it focuses on the raw materials from which igwebuike philosophy is gotten. a cursory glance at the african socio-cultural background reveals that the sources of igwebuike philosophy include the works of professional african philosophers, african proverbs, african folktales, african symbols, african names and african songs (kanu, sources of igwebuike philosophy, 2). africans, like other people in the world, are shaped by their culture and they contribute in the shaping and transmission of this culture. the african, therefore, is a homo culturalis. by african culture, it is meant those things which go to the refining and developing of the african's diverse mental and psychological endowments. also, names among the african people are not just an identification tag for differentiating "a" from "b," but carry with them meanings that are rich and profound. there are times when such names are monumental, in the sense that they tell a history of an event that has occurred. for instance, the igbo name onwudinjo, which means "death is bad," is usually given to a child to tell the story of maybe the death of the mother at the birth of the child or the death of an important relation at the time of the birth of the child. there are times when such names that are prophetic, like ogadimma, which means "it maduekwe pius chukwuebuka themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 242 will be good" could be given to a child to speak of the anticipation of a bright future (kanu, 4). african proverbs occupy a very important place in africa's economy of communication. they have been described variously by the igbo as vegetable for eating speech; the palm oil with which words are eaten. they are so important that the zulu of south africa would say that without proverbs, language would be but a skeleton without flesh, a body without a soul. they carry within them the wisdom and experience of the african people, usually of several ages gathered and summed up in one expression; example, aka nri kwo aka ekpe, aka ekpe akwo aka nri: if the right hand washes the left hand, the left hand would wash the right hand, and others. a glance at the work of contemporary african philosophers reveals that the web that holds their perspective together is the philosophy of complementarity. although perspectives continue to change and differ, they continue to be united by the idea of harmony (kanu, 7). the principles of igwebuike philosophy principally, every school of thought has its source, role and principles that set aright and flaunt the uniqueness of that particular thought. the origin is undeniably the end of a reaction to a given circumstance that is either real or conceptual. thus, it responds to the often posited questions such as; “what is the origin of igwebuike philosophy?” how did it begin as a pattern of thought in african ontology? is it a philosophy that is exclusive to the igbo or africa? and in responding to these questions, kanu, in his work on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy, avers that: igwebuike is an igbo word igwe (number), bu (is), ike (strength), literally meaning that there is strength in unity however, philosophically pointing to the complementary nature of reality. it confronts discontinuity and the compartmentalization of reality. igwebuike is not a philosophy that is limited to the igbo world, it is a universal philosophy igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 243 that is the incarnation and confirmation of the universal relevance of solidarity and complementarity. although, a philosophy captured in an igbo word, it has a universal taste and obvious in universal experience. igwebuike emphasis on the complementary nature of reality was at the heart of the discovery of the ionian philosophers who observed that there was permanence in the midst of change, and also that there was unity in the midst of the plurality of reality. in their wonder, they concluded that there must be a primary element that would explain the unity in diversity and permanence in change. in this, they acknowledged the complementarity of the diverse departments of reality (kanu, 159). the principles of igwebuike philosophy refers to the values or frameworks that shapes igwebuike philosophy. these principles are the values or frameworks on which the philosophy stands. while these principles guide igwebuike philosophy, they also justify the philosophy. these principles include: the principle of identity, the principle of contrariety, the principle of hierarchy and the principle of unity (kanu, 165) the principle of identity this principle, as posited by kanu, is the first principle of igwebuike philosophy and it holds that every being is determined in itself, one with itself and divided from others. it further expresses the uniqueness and individuality of every being, just as qualities of matter, referred to in traditional metaphysics as accidents, such as size, colour, shape, distinguish one being from the other. in other words, the particularity and peculiarity of a being puts an end to the error of generalization and chaos. the principle of hierarchy this principle expresses the levels or degrees of forces in each reality. in the hierarchy of forces, those with a greater force come first, with god at the apex as the source of all force. in igbo-african ontology, maduekwe pius chukwuebuka themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 244 reality can be subsumed under the following categories, according to the hierarchy of their force: spirit. spirit as a force has categories of forces. it includes god, the divinities and spirits. god is at the apex of the muo category as the source of all force. tempels, quoted in the journal of religion and human relations states, “above all force is god, it is he who has force, power, in himself. he gives existence, power of survival and of increase, to other forces” (177), and on this hierarchy goes to the next level occupied by the human person who plays a role so vital on this ladder as man is distinct and possesses will and intelligence as he shares in the all-encompassing nature of god the supreme being; thus, the human being is the center of the universe as he supersedes the next on the ladder which are things. things are referred to as happening, an event, an occurrence. it can also be affixed to any adjective to mean specific things”. for instance, ife obuna (anything), ife ebube (thing of wonder), ife ojoo (bad thing), ife oma (good thing). ife as a force cannot act for itself, and thus can only become active when a greater force like god, divinities, spirits and man act on them. they have no will of their own and thus depend on the will of a greater force. the next in the hierarchy is space (ebe). space talks about place. it is the relation of distance between any two bodies or points. it responds to the question of where. the next is time. time responds to questions such as: when did you see emeka? when did you pick-up nnamdi? when was the sacrifice offered? the last on the hierarchy is modality, manner or style. modality of being does emphasize on the manner of being (kanu, being and the categories of being…). thus, in relation to igwebuike, the degree of forces determines the level or degree of complementarity or connectedness between beings (kanu, 179). the principle of contrariety here, the principle speaks of otherness of realties. otherness points to the state of being different, shifting emphasis from descartes’ philosophical concerns with the other which was struck in abstraction to a concrete other that is located in social and cultural institutions. the question of the otherness of reality has continued to emerge in the igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 245 various epochs of the history of philosophy, fascinating philosophy and giving rise to questions such as: what does it mean to be other than the self? how do i and must i relate to the other? (ibid, 176-177). the word contrariety is from the word contrary. aristotle defines contrariety thus: “for contrariety is a kind of difference, and difference is a kind of otherness”. aristotle writes that: the term contrary is applied to those attributes differing in genius, which cannot belong at the same time to the same subject, to the most different of the things in the same genius, to the most different of the attributes in the same recipient subject, to the most different of things that fall under the same faculty, to the things whose difference is greatest either absolutely or in genius or in species. the other things that are called contrary are so called, some because they possess of the above kind, some because they are receptive of such, some because they are productive of or susceptible to such, or are producing or suffering them, or are losses or acquisitions, or possessions of privations of such ( ibid 763) the principle of unity that which is common to all, that is, in spite of the varieties and dynamism of realities, is what igwebuike identifies as being part of the completion of the whole, and there exists amidst all things which is unity, the unifying principle. igwebuike strongly holds that the whole is greater than the corresponding parts. it is also a view that maintains that by the coming together of the individuals or parts, a viable and sustainable whole will emerge, and by this, the parts will get to the brim purpose of their existence. this sense of unity, harmony, community, complementarity and solidarity among the community of beings finds expression in the philosophy of tempels. ‘beings forces’ of the universe are not a multiple of independent forces placed in juxtaposition from being to being. all creatures are found in relationship, according to the law of maduekwe pius chukwuebuka themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 246 hierarchy. nothing moves in this universe of forces without influencing other forces by its movement. the world of forces is held like a spider’s web of which no single thread can be caused to vibrate without shaking the whole network (kanu, 176). in response to the fundamental questions that have arisen as a result of the wider reading of igwebuike philosophy, this work has been written to address the issue of the origin of igwebuike philosophy. igwebuike and complementarity igwebuike igwebuike is an indigenous philosophy of the modality of being for the realization of being. simply puts, mode of being is relational in nature. it is from the word, igwebuike, which is a combination of three words. thus, it can be understood as a word or sentence: as a word, it is written thus, igwebuike, and a sentence, it is in this form: igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. igwe is a noun which means ‘number’ or ‘population.’ bu is a verb, which means ‘is.’ ike is another verb, which means ‘strength’ or ‘power.’ put together ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’. also, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force or strength, and at this level, no task is beyond their collective capability (kanu, 30). complementarity complementarity is the characteristic of being or state of being. as a dimension of igwebuike philosophy, it can be seen in the light of disposition for, the positive will to, and the practice of living and working together, crowned by performed mutual assistance: spontaneous or organized, among the members of a group who are brought together either naturally or professionally (jude et al, 300). the african practice of solidarity is witnessed on both the economic, social and religious spheres. the traditional nigerian was his brother's keeper, especially at the communal level. in fact, he was and still is often in solidarity to a fault. in the employment and social distribution igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 247 spheres, he first considers his clansperson or tribesman before a foreigner, irrespective of qualification or fitness for the job (jude et al, 301). a brother's misfortune was a common misfortune. a living example is the practice by which once there is a free accident in which a person's house is burnt, immediately and spontaneously, the whole community gathers to work and rebuild the damaged house fully. this is not only spontaneous; it is also gratis. could there be a better expression of african concern, care and comforting for a fellow human being? (ibid). a brother's success was equally a common success, celebrated as such. "we have made it in you” is echoed. the foundation of solidarity was on the natural and common ties of origin, blood, culture, language, conviviality and worldview that characterize each community (ibid). "complementarism is a philosophy that seeks to consider things in the significance of their singularity and not in the exclusiveness of their otherness in view of the joy that gives completion to all missing links of reality" (asouzu, 39). igwebuike philosophy argues that existence is not only meaningful, but also possible only in a community and thus, to live outside of complementarity and solidarity is to live outside; it is to suffer alienation (kanayo et al, 243). igwebuike anthropology as averred by kanu in his work on “igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology,” the concept of the human person cultivated by various indigenous african peoples is a core value in each individual socio-cultural context, and more so, a determinant of thought and relationships within the socio-cultural milieu. this is based on the fact the human person is at the centre of the african universe. mbiti quoted by kanu, therefore, asserts that “man is at the very centre of existence and african people see everything else in its relation to this central position of man. it is as if god exists for the sake of man” (igwebuike as an integrative and progressive anthropology, 2). corroborating mbiti, metuh avers that maduekwe pius chukwuebuka themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 248 “everything else in african worldview seems to get its bearing and significance from the position, meaning and end of man” (qtd in kanu, igwebuike as an integrative and progressive anthropology, 2). the ideas of god, divinities, ancestors, rituals, sacrifices, etc., are only useful to the extent that they serve the needs of the human person. contrary to the mechanistic concept of the human person, the human person in the african worldview has a purpose and mission to fulfill; he comes into the world as a force amidst forces and interacting with forces. good status, good health and prosperity are signs of the wellbeing of a person’s life-force, and man struggles to preserve it through an appropriate relationship with the spiritual forces around him. the goal of every human person is to achieve his destiny imprinted on his palm by his creator. he is not just an individual person, but one born into a community whose survival and purpose are linked with others. thus, the human person is first a member of a clan, a kindred or a community (kanu, 2). nonetheless, there have been researches carried out with respect to the african personality and these have been done tilting towards the reflections on symbols and patterned behaviours associated with one level of personality or the other, like the chi, which in igbo is the symbol of a person’s guiding spirit; the ofo, the symbol of a man’s individuation; the ikenga and odu enyi, symbols of a person’s personal achievement. although the exposure of african traditional values to western culture and influence has brought about a lot of alterations in african perspectives, this piece studies the concept of personhood in traditional african ontology with the purpose of establishing the nexus between ancient african traditional society and the present conceptual package. in studying the traditional african concept of personhood, it would be engaged from the dimensions of african personhood as a coherent pluralism and its dialectically progressive character (ibid, 3). igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 249 igwebuike and the ethic of reciprocity the term ‘reciprocity’ can mean a situation or relationship in which two people or a group agree to do something similar for each other, to allow each other have the same right (mariam–webster dictionary). thus, the ethic of reciprocity is and can be likened to the ‘golden rule’, which states; do to others what you want done to you. hence, this ethic of reciprocity is across religio-cultural ethical principle that is found in virtually every religious and cultural background (kanu, 1). it is derived from human feelings and behaviour; it is also relatively simple to articulate and understand, and yet addresses an enormous range of human behaviour. thus, the ethic of reciprocity stands alone as a legion in its own right and in the form of a general rule. the point of connection between igwebuike and the ethic of reciprocity is very easily noticeable. while the ethic of reciprocity teaches that you do unto others as you would want done unto you, and the philosophy of igwebuike provides a philosophical foundation for such a perspective in relation to a fellow human person, more fundamentally, the other is perceived as a part of the self. if the other is a part of the self, one with this understanding would treat the other as one would like to be treated. the philosophy of igwebuike is not just a philosophical foundation for the ethic of reciprocity, but it is the ethic of reciprocity. it presents the ethic of reciprocity not just as a moral principle, but as a duty that one owes to himself or herself everyone owes himself or herself of treating the other in a way that one would like to be treated (kanu, 15) the ethic of reciprocity as stated by kanu, generally, is imperfect, just as there is hardly a perfect moral law. it has been criticized because it makes the assumption that everyone has the same tastes and opinions and wants to be treated the same way in every situation, and seems to be an injunction to impose one’s own way on the other. however, the ethic of reciprocity is a general moral principle, not a hard and fast rule to be applied to every facet of life. treating other people as we maduekwe pius chukwuebuka themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 250 would wish to be treated ourselves does not mean making the assumption that others feel exactly as we do about everything. the treatment we all want is the recognition that we are individuals, each with our own opinions and feelings and for these opinions and feelings to be accorded respect and consideration. this work is not concerned with the shortcomings of the ethic of reciprocity, but has argued that at the heart of igwebuike, as an ethic of reciprocity, is not the idea of treating everyone uniformly; it is rather recognition that everyone, independent of human differences, deserves to be treated with respect and love (kanu, 7). the point of connection between igwebuike and the ethic of reciprocity is very easily noticeable. while the ethic of reciprocity teaches that you do unto others as you would want done unto you, and the philosophy of igwebuike provides a philosophical foundation for such a perspective; in relation to a fellow human person, more fundamentally, the other is perceived as a part of the self. if the other is a part of the self, one with this understanding would treat the other as one would like to be treated. the philosophy of igwebuike is not just a philosophical foundation for the ethic of reciprocity, but it is the ethic of reciprocity. it presents the ethic of reciprocity not just as a moral principle, but as a duty that one owes to himself or herself everyone owes himself or herself of treating the other in a way that one would like to be treated (kanu 15). religion and politics in nigeria vis-a-vis igwebuike ontology religion: an overview religion etymologically is as old as man itself, but has variously been conceived in the variants of those who attempt a definition of the concept. religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldview that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, the moral values. many a time, the word religion has been interchangeably used as faith or belief system. however, the growth of religion has assumed various forms in different environments or cultures. in some climes, emphasis is placed igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 251 on belief system as it concerns the religion, while in other environments emphasis is largely placed on religious practice (clifford, 26). religion, from the beginning, has played a very important role in shaping the socio-political thoughts of many nations. in fact, most nations of the world were patterned and influenced by the sacred nature of government. religion supported and regulated the loyalty that existed between the state and the people. the idea of divine right of kings, which derived its origin from the theocratic concept of governance, vested absolute power and authority in the king or monarch who was seen as a direct representative of god. the monarch was superior and answerable only to god. ancient history is replete with examples of this idea. for example, in christianity, the pope was seen for centuries as the vicar of christ on earth, and by virtue of his divine right had the ultimate authority over the church, and indirectly over the state (akpanikan, 65). thus, religion represents a strong social force in the politics of the state, given its capacity for effective political mobilization. thus, fox and sander give six major reasons why this is so. they are; 1. the restriction of religious activities is often difficult for state regimes; 2. religious organizations often enjoy good patronage in the media; 3. religious organizations have the capability to easily unite differential social groupings in the society; 4. religious organizations have the ‘ready-made’ platform for political meetings; 5. religious organizations are often strong in weak states; 6. religious organizations have strong international links and enjoy global solidarity (567-568). there are also variants of theories that explain the origin of religion. this brings to the fore the statement of greg m. epstein, a humanist chaplain at harvard university, who believes that all the world’s major religions were founded on the principle that divine beings or maduekwe pius chukwuebuka themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 252 forces can promise a level of justice in a supernatural realm that cannot be perceived in this natural one (epstein, 109). thus, many of the world’s great religions appear to have begun as revitalization movements of some sort, as the vision of a charismatic prophet forces the imaginations of people seeking a more comprehensive answer to their problems than they feel is provided by everyday beliefs. charismatic individuals have emerged at many times and places in the world. it seems that the key to long-term success and many movements come and go with little long-term effect;has relatively little to do with the prophets, who appear with surprising regularity, but more to do with the development of a group of supporters who are able to institutionalize the movement (monaghan, 126). nigeria is apparently divided between islam and christianity, between the north and south respectively. it is glaringly evident that there is a widespread belief, albeit suppressed for political reasons, in traditional religious practices; thus, statistics from world religious survey indicates that 50.4% of nigeria’s population are muslims; 50.8%, christians (15% protestants; 13.7%, catholics; and 19.6%, other christians), and followers of other religious faiths were 1.4%, bbc news (2007). in the core northern nigeria, they are largely muslim faithful. in the middle belt, there are good number of both muslims and christians. in the yoruba land (western nigeria), there is even distribution of the population between the christian and muslim faiths. however, the south-east is predominantly christians, with great beliefs in the christianreligious practices, anglicanism, methodists, catholicism, and very few have trado-beliefs. but the region of niger delta is mainly christian-dominated (nkechi, 18). a good proportion of muslims in nigeria are sunni, but a fair share of shia and sufi also exist, alongside a minority of ahmadiya. conversely, christians in this clime are split evenly between protestantism and roman catholicism. the major churches in nigeria are; igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 253 1. anglican church 2. redeemed christian church of god 3. nigerian baptist convention 4. assemblies of god church 5. the synagogues church of all nations 6. the catholic church the yoruba people are largely anglicans, while the igbos are predominantly catholics. however, there are many adherents of irunmole spirituality which believes that everyone has divine destiny of becoming orisha (‘ori’, spiritual head); ‘sha’ is chosen: to be with olodumare (‘oni odu’, the god source of all energy; ‘ma re’ enlightens). aside the major islamic and christian faiths in nigeria, other minority spiritual and religions groupings in nigeria are; 1. hinduism 2. judaism 3. the bahai faith 4. chrislam (syncretic merging of christianity and islam. also, this country has gradually become the hub for the grail movement and the hare krishnas (nkechi, 19). religion and politics in nigeria religion is a set of beliefs concerning the causes, nature and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs (dictionary.com). on the other hand, politics is the art or science of government that is concerned with guiding or influencing policy(mariam webster). maduekwe pius chukwuebuka themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 254 as a multi-ethnic, multi-religious country, nigeria’s broad religious geography reflects the historical exposure of its northern communities to islam through the trans-saharan trade and the success of christian missionary enterprise in many of its southern parts. however, while historical alliances and shared ethnicity are closely associated with the adoption of these two world religions, religious and ethno-regional identity are cross-cutting, often reinforcing each other. thus, while islam had been entrenched in the pre-colonial hausa cities for centuries, many other northern groups converted to islam in the wake of the nineteenth century islamic jihad under uthman dan fodio (1754-1817), during which the greater part of northern and central nigeria was incorporated into a new caliphate, albeit with the exception of the existing, and much older, islamic kingdom of borno, which remains the most important rival to sokoto’s claims to represent all of northern nigeria. other muslim groups with a tradition independent of the uthmanian caliphate include the yoruba of south-western nigeria, where people initially converted to islam as a result of links to malian trading communities, and nigeria’s middle belt, where large-scale conversion to islam has continued throughout the postcolonial period (insa et al, 10). nigerian christianity dates back to the abolition of the trans-atlantic slave trade in the early nineteenth century, which was followed by the emergence of a literate african elite, consisting of liberated and returned slaves as well as local converts, in coastal cities such as lagos. because christianity is much younger than islam in the local context, it is not associated with pre-colonial relations of power. and because its growth in nigeria was accompanied by the spread of mission education, nigeria’s professional elite was, for a long time, dominated by christians. like islam, nigerian christianity is heterogeneous. roman catholicism has long been the religion of the igbo-speaking south-east, although nigerian-founded pentecostal churches have made strong inroads into this area over the twenty years prior to this study. in other parts of the country’s south, protestant denominations –including pentecostal groups – are dominant in the christian community, but the yoruba-speaking south-west isj almost igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 255 equally divided between christianity and islam. moreover, there are important christian groups in the north, which include both hausa converts and smaller local groups determined to assert their difference from the hausa-speaking majority or from relations of power associated with the caliphate. moreover, just as there are muslim migrants from northern nigeria in many southern cities, there are christian communities of migrants, or descendants of migrants, from the south in almost all northern nigerian cities (insa et al, 10). apart from christianity and islam, nigerians also belong to a range of other religious groups. the largest of these comprises followers of traditional religious practice, here referred to as african traditional religion (atr), with the proviso that local belief systems and practices differ widely, and that their subsumption in one term mainly reflects the fact that these practices do not (yet) hold the status of world religions. however, many african traditional religious groups share the conviction that the worldly and the sacred are closely interwoven, and that all human relations, including those involving the state and its representatives, reflect both secular and spiritual forces. it is believed that insight into these forces can be gained through divination and revelation, and that they can be influenced through sacrifice, prayer and incantation. because traditional practices have influenced christians and muslims and vice versa, debates about their validity form an important and ongoing part of interand intrareligious struggles in nigeria (amherd and nolte, 27). beyond the engagement with local traditions, christianity and islam have expressed a high degree of political competitiveness with each other, at least since the 1970s. nigeria’s colonial and postcolonial rulers have managed the differences associated with different religious constituencies, especially islam and christianity, in various ways. for most of the colonial period, almost all parts of northern nigeria, the areas belonging to the uthmanian caliphate and the kingdom of borno, were under indirect rule, that is, administered through the structures of the caliphate, albeit under british guidance. while secular concerns guided important aspects of the local administration, it was thus maduekwe pius chukwuebuka themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 256 officially presided over by traditional authorities sanctioned by tradition and islam, and islam also constituted the basis for local government. sharia courts, which had existed before colonial rule, were integrated into the colonial state, and most people turned to sharia law for the mediation and resolution of personal conflicts. only in the run-up to independence in 1960 were criminal laws codified into secular law. the colonial state’s reliance on the structures of the caliphate in turn affected religious and educational politics in northern nigeria. in many parts of the north, missionary activity was forbidden, preventing the emergence of an educated elite prepared to challenge either the emirs or local muslim traditions. as a result, when the colonial presence was dismantled, the established urban (trading) elite and the local aristocracy emerged as the tenants of northern nigerian politics. while islam was deeply entrenched in the traditional sphere of the nigerian state, christianity was, especially in the south, mainly associated with modernization. as most missions provided schooling, and later even college training, christianity was closely associated with the spread of education. the rapid growth of literacy contributed to the emergence of a mostly urban intermediary class of educated men and women who worked as catechists, clerks and teachers. this group soon took up and transformed the local elite’s struggles for self-assertion. directly confronted with racial division in the colonial administration, banking practices and even the mission churches, literate southern nigerians eventually formed the core of nigeria’s anti-colonial movement. criticizing both the colonial state and the traditional rulers through which the state had ruled, members of this educated elite considered themselves rather than the representatives of older elite and especially the aristocracy, the natural heirs and rulers of the colonial state after independence (insa et al, 11). religion, for roseline, is a complex phenomenon; thus, the social functions it performs are quite diverse. some religious functions are manifest immediately observable, and some are latent – not immediately discernible. it should be recognized that if an activity helps the integrative performance of an organization, then we call it igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 257 functional. roles like support for tolerance, peaceful cooperation and love are promoted through ministerial and lay practice (4). schaefer & lamn identify some democratic utilities of religion which include the integration of human societies composed of individuals and social groups with diverse interests and aspirations. in their view, religious bond transcends these personal and divisive forces. another important function identified by the two authors is the ability of religion to legitimize the existing social order (273-275). with reference to the first function of restraining and containing government conduct, religious associations in nigeria have repeatedly and stridently denounced bad governmental policies or actions that infringe on the interests of the religious community in particular, and/or the welfare of the citizenry in general. thus, religious associations have joined independence groups in civil society in criticizing the dubious and circuitous nature of the military’s democratization project and government's management of the religious disturbances that have convulsed several northern states. on the stimulation of political participation and civic identification, nigeria’s religious organizations have played an important role in encouraging and mobilizing their members towards active participation in and identification with public affairs and politics. this is done by stimulating a sense of civic identification and participation in their members by urging such members to ‘pray and fast’ for peace, stability, justice and progress of the nation (ayorinde, 17). thirdly, religion promotes democratic values and norms. this is done through the promotion and propagation of such democratic norms and values as tolerance, moderation, willingness to compromise, and respect for truth, justice and freedom. religious leaders in nigeria have at different times demonstrated this commitment to democracy by urging nigerians not to waver in their support for democratic institutions (tukur, 29). more so, religion provides avenues for interest representation. religious organizations articulate, aggregate and represent distinctive societal interests. the christian representation and mobilization against nigeria’s membership of the maduekwe pius chukwuebuka themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 258 country in the oic represented only one of the many instances of interest representation by the christian community since 1986. religion equally generates cross-cutting interest. the existence of cross-cutting interests implies that competing affiliations could operate to secure social peace and democratic stability, and prevent destructive or protracted social conflict, by inducing individuals and groups to divide their emotions in a single explosive line of affiliation. finally, religious organizations, like many other ordered shares of associational activity or social intercourse, provide an appropriate environment of the development of leadership skills. this is done by displaying an impressive capacity to manage people and resources in their respective organizations by speaking out courageously and consistently against the excesses solutions to nation’s problems. through this, religious leaders have gained some reputation and legitimacy as effective national leaders of thorough and potential statement. it would, however, be misleading to conclude that religious organizations have been uniformly or consistently supportive of democratic processes and values in nigeria. on the contrary, they have periodically exhibited disturbing anti-democratic proclivities that have found expression in religious violence and intolerance, in the corruption and manipulation of religious leaders. from the foregoing, some religious activities can be described as dysfunctional because their consequences frustrate the stated goals of the groups. in general, religion is functional or dysfunctional, depending on the extent to which it contributes to the achievement of societal goals (roseline, 56). christians and muslim intolerance; causes in religious conflicts, it is not clear which aims are to be achieved. gofwen regards political aims as primary; in his view, religious conflicts form a specific form of conflict between groups which differ ideologically along religious lines within a pluralistic setting, with each striving for political relevance. in a similar vein, takaya (1992) emphasizes the political import of religions: igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 259 i. religions are parochial and emotional socializers. they specialize in building one-faith exclusive brotherhood communities; ii. religion, at some point, is politics and is the most potent and long lasting political association. moreover, religious creeds excite and extract the deepest possible emotional and physical loyalties from their adherents when in political competition with people of other faiths (10). one significant element driving conflicts of this type is the attitude of superiority that religious persuasions as a sociological fact often adopt in their dealings or assessment of others. this attitude tends to exclude others, classifies them as ignorant and doomed and, invariably, creates an atmosphere of hostility. this atmosphere of hostility tends to intensify where opposing religious persuasions see their numerical strengths as political advantage. in such a situation, the leaders think that new religions are threats to the hegemonies enjoyed. further, where the political, social or economic factors are unfavorable, messianic rhetoric can exacerbate the tensions. thus, nwaomah observes conversion campaigns, as in nigeria, "by opposing religion(s) and fanaticism arising from indoctrination of the adherents, mostly due to parochial education, can also reinforce religious hostilities and thus create a conflict". in other words, what makes religious conflicts special are the unique effects of religious doctrines on the perception of the adversaries, the formation of values, and the central role of feelings and emotions for group identification (101). fundamentally, the following factors heighten religious crises in nigeria. 1. ethnic antipathy: inter-religious ill-feeling is often intensified by ethnic hostility in a situation where the adherents of christianity and islam are also members of two mutually hostile ethnic groups. there seems to be a general agreement that the kafanchan religious riot was aggravated by the ill-feelings harbored by the original natives of kafanchan against the local hausa-fulani “settlers”. maduekwe pius chukwuebuka themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 260 2. role of the press: mischievous and irresponsible reportage and comments from certain sections of the press on religious issues actually heighten or promote religious riots or crisis. this prompted to state that press reports on the kafanchan riots were highly exaggerated. many a time, the statements made by religious leaders on religious issues are quoted out of context. these kinds of press reports and comments inflame passions and promote religious ill-feelings and intolerance. 3. attitude of religious leaders: most leaders assume the position of god, and will speak on behalf of the co-religionists. the negative attitude of some religious leaders is most unfortunate, since it is only through them that tolerance and peaceful coexistence between muslims and christians can be promoted. 4. key ideological differences: the religious crisis in nigeria today has roots in our historical past, with regard to our ethnic heterogeneity, and is further compounded by the irresponsible role of certain sections of the press. be that as it may, other fundamental ideological differences also promoted religious crisis in nigeria. (a) not only does christianity reject mohammed as a prophet, it believes, very strongly, that the way of christ is the only way to salvation. other ways, including the way of the islam, are “shifting sands”. this belief is firm in every christian that everyone without christ is a stranger from ”the covenants of promise, having no hope and without god in the world” (ephesians 2:12). (b) islam, while recognizing jesus as one of the prophets of allah, regards itself as the perfecting of all religions. it admits that christianity, judaism and islam are revealed religions, but to a muslim, islam is the final and most perfect of all religions. jesus himself is interpreted to have said that there would be another messenger after him. “i have many things to say unto you, but cannot bear them now. how be it when he, the spirit of truth comes he will guide you in all truth” (john 16:12). the quran revealed that prophet mohammed is the spirit of truth about whom jesus had foretold igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 261 (quran 61:6). the two positions actually conflict their faiths and beliefs, hence the grave differences between the religions. (c) the quran rejects the concept of trinity when it says: “o people of the book, exceed not the limit in your religion, and say not of god anything but the truth. verily, the messiah, jesus, son of mary, was only a messenger and his word which he sent down to mary and say not, “they are three…” (quran 4: 171172). (d) another issue of discord between islam and christianity and which caused controversy even at the time of mohammed is that of the crucifixion of jesus as atonement for the sins of mankind. the quran says that jesus was neither killed nor crucified (quran 26:45-48). besides the four fundamental differences between the two religions, another source of intolerance is that both religions are proselytizing – seeking new converts from the adherents of each other. the two religions are, therefore, in a continuous competition for adherents (momoh, 9-10). both religions have been at loggerhead with each other for about three centuries in the medieval period in what is known as crusades. there was a bloody military contact between islam and christianity in the medieval period, when both met in nigeria in the 19th century, and were unable to tolerate one another. and here, the attitude of the adherents of different faiths to the opposite faith stems from political, tribal and nationalistic rather than religious motivations. it behooves us then to look beyond the religious confines whenever there is religious conflict, be it inter or intra (momoh, 12). the effects of religious and political crisis in nigeria nigeria, today, was the creation of the british colonialists through the amalgamation of the northern and southern protectorates in 1914. prior to this, nigeria was a heterogeneous and pluralistic society with many autonomous states within the nation, existing independently, hence the multi-cultural and multi-religious nature of the country. the polarization of religion as an instrumentality for administrative maduekwe pius chukwuebuka themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 262 convenience in nigeria began with the colonial administrations. regrettably, the seed planted 103years (1914-2017) ago has gradually grown into a monster that is becoming impossible to subdue. the historical root of this tragic development is traceable to constitutional regionalism and the divide-and-rule policy of the colonial administration. the policy, rather than unite the heterogeneous nation like nigeria, promoted political and religious ideologies that encouraged ethnicity and regional biases. political parties, political participation, appointments, employments and culprits of coups d’état were viewed and handled with ethnic, religious or political biases. nigeria, as multi-cultural and multi-religious country, has two major religions: christianity and islam, each competing and claiming superiority and dominance over the other in number and in might. this claim of superiority, as well as dominance, has served as the foundation for religious intolerance and several socio-political crises that have bedeviled nigeria since independence in 1960. religion is not supposed to be a harbinger of violence, but paradoxically, the character of religious beliefs is in most cases puzzling and fascinating to scholars in humanities. the record of human history has shown that most noble acts of love, self-sacrificing and pious services to humanity are often associated with religion; yet, it is also evident that religion has generated more violence and killed more people than any other institutional force in human history. in the words of lefebure; many of the violent conflicts in the world today involve religious animosities. indeed, the history of the encounters among the world’s religions is filled with distrust and hatred, violence and vengeance. the deepest tragedy of the history of religions is that the very movements that should bring human beings closer to each other and to their ultimate source and goal have time and time again become forces of division. in one conflict after another around the world, religious convictions and interpretations of revelation have been used and abused as justifications for violence and war (7-8). igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 263 olukunle, writing on “social uses and abuses of religion in developing countries” opines that just as alfred nobel invented dynamite to help miners in blasting hard rocks to ease their job, even though dynamites have been misused and abused, so is religion. according to him, religion was meant to create a unique link between god and humanity, and amnog human beings. it was to remind man of the existence of the infinite to help in regulating the relationship between men and in promoting peace. however, religion has been used and abused to promote wars, violence and hatred among humans. the argument here is that men can use good things for negative ends, if they desire. religion is no exception. in this case, one can say that religion which is essentially good and serves a good and positive purpose has been abused by men, hence the constant conflicts, violence and war among religious groups. an inventory of the religious violence and insecurity in nigeria for the past three or four decades leaves a lot to be desired. one wonders what the founders of these religions would say to their adherents if they were to return today and see the mayhem done in their names. why would one use “god” to kill or maim another? why would religion be linked with violence and terrorism? could it be ignorance on the part of their adherents or lack of hermeneutical understanding of the holy books? in an attempt to answer some of these questions, some scholars have alluded to ignorance, prejudice and stereotyping as major factors behind most of the religious violence we experience today in nigeria. it is on this note that okon calls for sensitivity in dealing with religious issues when he said: in analyzing religious practices, we must be sensitive to ideals that inspire profound conviction in believers, yet at the same time take a balance view of them. we must confront ideas that seek eternal, while recognizing that religious groups also promote quite mundane goals such as acquiring money or followers. we need to recognize the diversity of religious beliefs and modes of conduct, but also probe into the nature of religion as a general phenomenon (2). maduekwe pius chukwuebuka themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 264 religion, from the beginning, has played a very important role in shaping the socio-political thoughts of many nations. in fact, most nations of the world were patterned and influenced by the sacred nature of government. religion supported and regulated the loyalty that existed between the state and the people. the idea of divine right of kings, which derived its origin from the theocratic concept of governance, vested absolute power and authority in the king or monarch who was seen as a direct representative of god. the monarch was superior and answerable only to god. ancient history is replete with examples of this idea. for example, in christianity, the pope was seen for centuries as the vicar of christ on earth, and by virtue of his divine right had the ultimate authority over the church, and indirectly over the state. islam, on the other hand, believed in the concept of divine right of caliphs (direct descendants and successors of prophet muhammad) as the supreme leaders of the muslim community. under muhammad, the muslim state was theocratic, with shari ‘a as the religious and moral principles of islam, and the law of the land. the caliphs were seen as secular and religious leaders. they were not empowered to promulgate dogma, because it was believed that the revelation of the faith had been completed by muhammad (dallai, encarta). however, as representatives of allah and direct successors of muhammad, caliphs were to enforce shari ‘a as the religious and moral principles of the land. their powers were not limited to secular issues only but divine, since they were representing allah. it was on this note that muhammad advocated that the muslim community should choose a successor or a caliph by consensus to lead the theocratic process of leadership to exemplify the earthly kingdom under divine rule. it is also on this note that islamic states seek to apply in every detail the islamic laws in any society they find themselves in order to create an islamic culture, as evident throughout the middle east. africans were not left behind in this concept of divine right. in a typical african society, the rulers were also seen as gods or agents of the gods. traditionally, they were believed to have possessed both divine and secular powers to do and undo as the gods igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 265 please. they were traditional priests, custodians and supreme judges in all traditional matters. in african cosmology, there is no clear distinction between the material and the spiritual things. religion embraces the totality of human endeavours. the social, economic, political and spiritual lives of the people are all embodied in one holistic life. man, though mortal, can only have meaning in its social order through divine legislation. it is religion that translates our sociocultural or socio-political order into reality (iosr journal of humanities and social science, 66). according to okon, religion sacralizes the socio-political values to give it a divine sanction or meaning (33). it is these religious beliefs that bind the people together, regulate their lifestyle, and give meaning to their values, whether social or political. again, it is this mental picture of african worldview that enables africans to understand, express, communicate and govern themselves. today, even though democracy has replaced the idea of divine right, religion still plays a major role in the socio-political affairs of most nations of the world. in nigeria, for example, the introduction of democracy as a form of government did not go well with the northern muslims because of its attachment to western civilization. the influence of western education was speedily penetrating the fabric of some islamic values and system that did not go well with some islamic clerics. to counter this, some islamic sects began to emerge with the aim of reforming their state along the islamic laws, promoting islamic education. their objective was to prevent western secularization through education. in the article titled “what accounts for the rise of islam,” kofi johnson states that a case study of nigeria and senegal (iosr journal for humanities and social science, 6667), between the 70s and 80s, many muslims became frustrated as a result of pressures coming from the secularized world. many sought to reject the waves of western cultural imperialism and return to their islamic roots. the situation became exacerbated due to constant confrontations between the west and the arab world over the issues of palestine and arab nationalism. these crises reached their crescendo with the iranian revolution in 1979 (1). maduekwe pius chukwuebuka themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 266 the resultant effects of religious conflicts in nigeria are enormous. they pervade all the sectors of the economy. generally, conflicts breed insecurity, discrimination, mutual distrust and slow economic and educational development. this is the case in nigeria where in addition to the gratuitous killings and maiming of thousands of persons, properties worth billions of naira have been destroyed. certainly, these huge losses have deprived the nation of needed manpower and services for the growth of its wobbling economy. religious conflicts in nigeria have also left their effect on investment options in the crises-ridden areas. the political instability, arising from the insecurity and uncertainty that pervades the region, does not inspire the confidence of foreign investors and thereby deprives the nation of the economic gains. in some instances, the enterprising southerners who had established thriving businesses in the troubled areas in the north have relocated to other and safer places. further, religious conflicts in nigeria have left in their trail a broken society: communities that hitherto co-existed peacefully now treat each other with mistrust and latent or open aggression. consequently, settlement patterns begin to follow the boundaries of religion in these areas so that adherents can be swiftly mobilized in the event of future riots. the disrupted social harmony is sometimes felt in places far from the crisis scene and thus accounts for the reprisal riots in other parts of nigeria (nwaomah, 101-102). igwebuike ontology vis-a-vis the issues of religio-political crisis in nigeria igwebuike philosophy as an ideology encourages solidarity, mutual complementarity, peaceful coexistence, unity, progress and the pursuit of common good. likewise, it discourages and stands against vices and activities like war or crisis, killing, mutual distrust, unhealthy competition and rivalry. it points to the fact that there is no human being or group of humans that are self-subsistent or independent. rather, every human necessarily needs the other’s complement. igwebuike philosophy argues that when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful and can igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 267 constitute an insurmountable force, and more so, to express their world of relationship, harmony, continuality and complementarity. at this level, no task is beyond collective capability (kanu “igwebuike and the unity…” web). thus, while christians regard religion as a personal faith and view the church’s involvement in or use of political activism as a serious aberration, muslims reject any attempt to relegate religion to private sphere, viewing it as a violation of islam principle. for muslims, islam is a complete way of life, and there can be no separation between private and public, spiritual and temporal, religion and politics. for this reason, they make every effort, whether through peace or violence, to lay claim of the public space from which christians tend to retreat. hence, the slow non-partisanship of christians in socio-political activism compared to their muslim counterparts. amid the multiplicity of religious practices in nigeria, there is a possibility of having a nation peacefully coexisting, so long as there is a mutual understanding among religions, and also drawing the line that demarcates religion from politics; that is, certain qualities and goals ought to be the basis of the political system, and not introducing the idea of religion. the appointing or electing of a president, governor, minister or whatsoever political post as the case may be should be done with no attention to religious belief or practice of the candidate, so long as the candidate in question is to come into power and face squarely his political ambition and not lording his/her belief on the nation. and on this note the igwebuike ontology can be adopted in the politics of the nation, a philosophical thought that is devoid of religious or cultural sentiment, but rather upholds complementarity and peaceful coexistence. be a candidate from the eastern, northern, southern or western part of nigeria, it does not matter, but that the candidate proposes a vision to be actualized for the common good of the nation. national political development is about the ability of a nation to improve the lives of its citizens through various measures of improvement, with no emphasis on the religious background of the maduekwe pius chukwuebuka themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 268 citizens. from the igwebuike perspective, this ability to improve the lives of citizens must be comprehensive, all-round and balanced. it includes all aspects of the life of an individual and the nation. it is, therefore, holistic in approach, as it aims at full-growth and expansion of our industries, agriculture, education, social, religious and cultural institutions. furthermore, captured in the journal of moral education in africa, volume 2, kanu states, in his work on igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria, that; religion is a unique phenomenon in the nigerian society. although it is one of the few factors that has succeeded in bringing together a good number of nigerians under one umbrella, irrespective of ethnic considerations, christianity and islam in nigeria have been associated with conflicts and violence which has dealt a terrible blow on the nation’s unity and brought untold hardships on the people. religion has been politicized, manipulated and militarized by unscrupulous people to fan the embers of rivalry, antagonism and ethnic discrimination. one lesson that is evident in the incessant quarrel between christians and muslims in nigeria is that both religions have come to stay. although both religions have misunderstood themselves by dwelling more on their differences, there is the need for dialogue, which does not deny the significant differences between the two religions. so much energy has been dissipated on violence instead of using it for solving the problems of human suffering and other socioeconomic and political challenges that face us in the eye. after several years of interventions, igwebuike is proposed in this work as an indigenous philosophy to help the adherents of both religions to focus on the things that unite them, that is, the importance of dialogue to our common existence. igwebuike is a model that is built on the traditional categories of the nigerian-african. it refocuses attention on the fact that muslims and christians in nigeria have so many things in common as believers and as human beings: the adherents of igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 269 both religions live in the same world, in the same nigeria beset by the same socio-economic and political problems. to fight one another is to engage in a futile enterprise and more so, worsen their conditions. both religions constitute parts of the intricate web of reality and relationships in the ontological order. their differences are for complementarity and not conflict (40). igwebuike, undoubtedly, has its anchor firmly holding the principle of solidarity and complementarity; thus, to be in existence is to live in utmost solidarity and complementarity, as it does paint the ideal picture of man living in relation and in loving harmony with his neighbour. in other words, living outside this circumference of solidarity and mutual love and complementarity is to suffer alienation, as ‘to be’ is to be in communion with the other in a community of being. that one is a christian and the other a muslim or traditionalist should not be the basis of existence, rather, the unity in their diversity of brotherhood is to be fostered as it ought to, with no prejudice, segregation, marginalization and sentiment. recommendations having been exposed to the issues of religio-political crisis in nigeria and the menace the nation is facing, it is thoughtful to give away negative energies by doing away with political and religious sentiments, biases and extremism, and as such embrace the ideals of politics and religion to foster complementarity, as posited in igwebuike ontology; and to this, the writer recommends that for a more peaceful nigeria, the following should be employed: i. freedom to practice any religion, so long as it does not infringe on the fundamental human right of another; ii. there should be a line that delineates politics and religion, that is, non-politicization of religion. iii. candidates for political positions should promote peace and harmony. maduekwe pius chukwuebuka themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 270 iv. religious or ethnic background should not be a basis for politics. v. every candidate should be known for competence and delivery. vi. a sense of self-governance, peace and unity should be inculcated in every citizen from an early stage. vii. political appointments should be devoid of ethnicity or religion but on accountability and qualification. viii. exercising of political franchise should be free and fair. summary and conclusion this research work has looked into the menace of religion and politics in nigeria and the woes facing the nigeria political system. in nigeria, the improper placement and practice of religion have indeed infringed the ideal of politics, thereby disorganizing the nation’s politics and also to a large extent has become an avenue for hate, mistrust and marginalization amongst the nigerian people. this also has led to insecurity, loss of life and property, crashing of the national economy and ethnic and religious clashes. the issues of religiopolitical crisis has sent scores to their graves, displaced several people from their political and social position, subjecting many to inhuman conditions. several reasons are said to have been the cause of the crisis in nigeria, amongst this causes include: political and power tussle, tribalism, religious extremism and ethnic factor, amidst other causes. nonetheless, the idea is to lay a pedestal that would hold and promote national peace and brotherhood. thus, igwebuike philosophy, as an ideology, promotes solidarity and mutual complementarity and is placed side by side with the issues of religio-political crisis. it beckons on the nigerian people to embrace national unity to foster a healthy political system and religious harmony. igwebuike philosophy evidently puts to all that no nation can progress in the absence of peace. it is impossible that a nation experiences growth, progress and development amid prejudice and bias; that is, in igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 271 uniting, every hand must be on deck, each contributing his quota in commitment and love, and gradually the progress would play out. living for one another beckons on everyone to embrace the i-thou relation, upholding that which unifies each person, rather than that that which differs amongst us. a nation that lacks religion is bound to lack conscience, compassion and progress. thus, there is need to support unreservedly the free practice of religion in nigeria, be it christianity, islam or african traditional religion. no religion in nigeria should be ranked superior or subordinate to the other, and none should be state-sanctioned or enforced. notwithstanding, we must be willing to do away with the fuss caused by religion and politics and making religion a tool of our national partisan politics because of the intricacies involved, but uphold humanity amidst complementarity and solidarity. works cited gabriel tumba. the philosopher and society: a portrait of professor kanu ikechukwu anthony, o.s.a. amamihe journal of applied philosophy vol. 14 no. 1, 2016. iroegbu pantaleon. metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: international universities press, 1995. kanu i. a. a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. jos: augustinian publications, 2015. kanu i. a. “igwebuike and african ethics.”igwebuikepedia internet encyclopedia of african philosophy.(eds.) kanu anthony and jerome okonkwo. augustinian institute. igwebuikepedia.web. accessed jan., 2020. kanu i. a. “igwebuike and the unity of african philosophy.”igwebuikepedia internet encyclopedia of african philosophy.(eds.)kanu anthony and jerome maduekwe pius chukwuebuka themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 272 okonkwo. augustinian institute. igwebuikepedia.web. accessed 16 jan., 2020. kanu i. a. “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria.”igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no.2. 24488-9210, june 2016. kanu i. a. “igwebuike, personal identity and alterity.”igwebuikepediainternet encyclopedia of african philosophy. kanu anthony and jerome okonkwo (editors). augustinian institute.igwebuikepedia.web. accessed 17th jan., 2020. kanu i. a. “igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholic-pentecostal relations.”jos studies vol.22. 9782023-36-1, 2014. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 273 kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. kanu i. a. “igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity.” an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. lawhead f. william. the voyage of discovery: a historical introduction to philosophy. usa: wadsworth/thomson learning. 2002. luther m. king jr. strength to love. benin city: religious broadcasting, 2013. mbiti j.s. african religions and philosophy. london: heinemann, 1969. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 167 ‘reason as a slave of passion’ in david hume’s moral theory: a genuine foundation of morality or an aberration in our contemporary society? aso, williams olorunfemi, phd seminary of all saints uhiele-ekpoma, edo state email: asoawoc@yahoo.com; tel. 08131533931 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.36109.97768 abstract a foundation of moral principles in tandem with ontological basis of human nature for human beings to live a good life and in harmony with others has been the concern of moral philosophers from pre-socratic days until now. it is indisputable that a universal and irrefutable moral principles for this purpose have being difficult to establish in human society. it is evident that many moral theories have been propounded, criticized, deconstructed and reconstructed by moral philosophers at different intervals in the history of humanity but none has offer incontrovertible moral theory. however, hume‟s moral theory was prominent in the europe of eighteenth century as an alternative to the rationalist moral philosophy of platonic tradition that dominated previous centuries. this paper locates hume‟s moral foundation in human passions motivated by sympathy for others irrespective of their relations and affiliations as the basis of moral preference, judgment and action of human beings. the research reveals why hume attributes insignificant role to reason in moral commendation and condemnation. nevertheless, a thorough appraisal of his moral theory shows that the moral aberrations attributable to his moral foundation makes his theory unrealistic and fertile ground for all kinds of moral discrepancies in human society. keywords: reason, slave of passion, david hume morality, theory introduction this paper examines the moral theory that david hume put together mainly in his two principal texts: a treatise of human nature and an enquiry concerning the principles of morals. the principal aim of hume after his rejection of pre-socratic moral philosophy is to found a different moral philosophy that will stand out for recognition in the world of his time. it is obvious that he employed scientific cum psychological arguments to establish the foundation of his moral theory. he persistently maintained that human passions and reason provide the basis on which the phenomenological complexities of human behaviours are scientifically igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 168 demonstrated for approval and disapproval. 1 it is necessary to evaluate the analysis and demonstrations of his arguments for natural inclinations to be the foundation of morality and why reason has no role in morality except a slave or instrument of passions. the objective of this paper is to accentuate the complementary relationship between reason and passions in morality that is appropriate for human beings notwithstanding the inherent intricacies that are involved in human behaviour. the most intriguing question then is whether a morality founded on human passions alone can ever attain the level of objectivity and universality that is required for a practicable ethical theory in human society. in the evaluation, the paper shows some achievements and inconsistencies of hume‘s moral theory and over indulgence of passions that make his moral foundation deficient for human society. at the end, the conclusion of this article is centred on the fact that human nature is composed of reason and passions and none is less important or subservient to the other in moral approval and disapproval of moral agents in human society. david hume’s notion of human nature and its relationship to morality the opposition of hume to the platonic understanding of human nature is fundamentally rooted in the fact that reason takes prominent over passion in all the processes culminating in moral commendation and condemnation. in platonic moral tradition, the passions of man are demonised and considered distractive in all the processes that will terminate in moral decision. in his understanding of human nature, hume tried to explain the basic characteristics that are common to every man of different generations, backgrounds and dispositions. it is evident in hume‘s anthropology that his idea of human nature is centred on passions and related human character traits like sympathy, affection and solidarity. besides, it is observable that his study of human nature and moral action are closely comparable to the views of thomas hobbes, benedict spinoza, francis hutchenson and adam smith. as rachel cohon clearly asserts, hume‘s predecessors have varied aims in analysing the passions: dualists such as descartes seek to explain mind-body interaction, materialists such as hobbes seek a mechanistic account, and philosophers of different 1aso, williams olorunfemi, david hume‟s moral theory: a justification for its ethical reconstruction, lagos: fropiel international limited, 2018, p. 74. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 169 persuasions pursue other goals such as founding their ethical theories or recommending a strategy to attain human happiness.2 in the perspective of the above, anthropological and sociological theories have clearly demonstrated beyond any reasonable doubt that there are some actions and dispositions of human beings that are practically observable in every culture and generation that ever lived. as a matter of fact, sociologists like emile durkheim and philosophical anthropologists like g.e.m. anscombe and alasdair macintyre have given us diverse interpretations of human nature and their relationship to moral approval and disapproval in human society.3 the relationship of hume‘s understanding of human nature and its relationship to morality is essentially based on the fact that the common universal principles of human nature supposed to be the foundation stones for a conceivable moral theory in human society. the crux of his concept of human nature is centred on the fact that human nature is not structured, determined, fixed and imposed by god on human beings. he strongly believed that passions and natural inclinations of man take a prominent role in the procedure that motivate his moral and immoral actions. hence, hume skilfully articulated his foundation of morality around the human passions and traits like sympathy, benevolence, virtues and free will as evident below. hume’s identified passions and relationship to his moral theory a close look at the history of moral philosophy shows clearly that there is a diversity of understandings and interpretations of human passions. it is palpable in aristotelian tradition that passions are essentially the origins of pleasure and displeasure in the psychology of human action. as a result of this, happiness and not anguish is valued as the final goal and desire of every man.4 the stoics equally affirmed that obedience to the principles inherent in human nature with the motivation of passions are influential in attainment of human happiness or anguish. hume appreciated the position of the stoics on the relationship between the principles inherent in human nature and the influence of passions in action that may end up either in pleasure or displeasure. as he briskly asserted, ―what we commonly understand by passion is a violent and sensible emotion of mind, 2r. cohon in a companion to hume, edited by e. s. radcliffe, oxford: oxford university press, 2008, p. 180. 4joseph omoregbe, ethics: a systematic and historical study, lagos: joja educational research and publishers ltd., 1993, p. 164. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 170 when any good or evil is presented, or any object, which, by original formation of our faculties, is fitted to excite an appetite.‖5 he identified three categories of passions in human nature: direct, indirect and calm passions and their diverse influence in the motivation that is necessary for moral judgment of human beings as evident in his second book on a treatise of human nature. it is pertinent to examine each category of passion that hume identified and evaluate its nature and relevance to moral foundation that is he affirmed appropriate for human society. hume and influence of direct passions in the foundation of morality in his understanding of human nature, hume defined direct passions as feelings that spontaneously sourced from natural inclinations or impulses of man as evident in every cultural group of the world. these natural impulses of man are the impetus that motive the desire for the realization of what is morally good or bad, right or wrong, true or false, commendable or condemnable in human society without any difficulty. in the words of hume, “the impressions, which arise from good and evil most naturally, and with the least preparation are the direct passions of desire and aversion, grief and joy, hope and fear, along with volition. the mind by an original instinct tends to unite itself with the good, and to avoid evil, tho‘ they conceiv‘d merely in idea, and consider‘d as to exist in any future period of time‖.6 in his interpretation of hume‘s understanding of direct passions, t. magri says, ―direct passions have two principal features. they occur in the mind as episodes of feeling, rather than of thought. and they occur with a certain causal character that hume loosely characterises in terms of firmness and solidity, force and influence, intensity and weight‖.7 judging from this quotation, it means that the influence of direct passions on human beings is primarily substantial to regulate the direction of their moral cravings or rebuffs. moreover, hume ascertained that anytime human beings have regular experience of good or evil in their relationship with one another, they often have passionate desire for the objects of good and aversion for the objects of evil. this is largely because the quality of the objects of good is pleasurable and attractive to them while the objects of evil is nasty and repulsive. it is clear that direct passions take a primary role in the motivation of processes that facilitate moral judgment of every man. as magri pithily puts it, ―direct passions motivate in 5david hume, a treatise of human nature, book 2, part 3, section 8, paragraph 13. 6david hume, a treatise of human nature, book 2, part 3, section 9, paragraph 2. 7t. magri in a companion to hume, edited by e. s. radcliffe, oxford: oxford university press, 2008, p. 186. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 171 that they cause [moral] agent to act‖.8 in his analysis and evaluation of the nittygritty of the complexity involved, he enunciates that, ―calmness of direct passions, grasp of and preference for the greatest good, and practical control or strength of mind, are thus neatly tied together. in this context of hume‘s understanding of calmness of passions, ―what we call practical reason is nothing but the result of systematic and causal differences and interrelations among direct passions‖.9 the main focus of hume in his elaboration on the meaning, nature and relationship of direct passions to moral judgement is to substantiate that direct passions are the sources of the human feelings that characterise violent emotions or passions. it is violent passions that automatically generate response for proximity, familiarity, affiliation, benevolence, threat to security and other associated issues10. hence, hume doggedly claimed that all these factors are often build up in human psychology to generate a drive for sympathy and moral judgment and not any cognitive ability of man. hume and the relevance of indirect passions in moral foundation the concern of hume on the meaning, nature and relationship of indirect passions runs through a significant part of his book two of a treatise of human nature. in this book, he defined indirect passions as the effects of the influence of previously noted direct passions in the motivation that facilitate the action of a moral agent in human society. the four indirect passions identified by hume are: pride, humility, love and hatred.11 in jacqueline taylor‘s analysis and evaluation of hume‘s identified indirect passions, she maintains that, ―indirect passions of pride, humility, love and hatred, along with the principle of sympathy...play a central role in producing the moral sentiments.‖12 hume discovered that indirect passions are not significant enough to motivate any human action on their own without a prevailing object of direct passions to heighten the necessary action or else they will become useless. in his unequivocal example of how direct passions become a foundation on which indirect passions thrive, hume explained that, a suit of fine cloaths produces pleasure from their beauty; and this pleasure produces the direct passions, or the impressions of volition and 8t. magri, p. 186. 9ibid, p.198. 10ibid., 11jacqueline taylor, in a companion to hume, edited by e. radcliffe, oxford: oxford university press, 2008, p. 276. 12ibid. p.276. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 172 desire. again, when these cloaths are consider‘d as belonging to our self, the double relation conveys to us the sentiment of pride, which is an indirect passion; and the pleasure, which attends that passion, returns back to the direct affections, and gives new force to our desire or volition, joy or hope.13 this illustration of hume clearly demonstrates the significant role of indirect passions as power booster to the motivation that direct passions already generated to influence the moral action of a man. the details of the processes contained in the interrelationship between direct and indirect passions and their influence on moral judgment are beyond external forces. in other words, the nut and bolt of such mechanism are located in the inner psychological principles of human action rather than rational justification. as magri corroborates the opinion of hume in this context, ―indirect passions influence the mind from the inside, as sentiments felt in response to objects under certain descriptions.‖14 this position of hume becomes the foundation of his notable claim that ―reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions, and can never pretend to any other office than to serve and obey them.‖15 therefore, any effort to hold a contrary opinion to this view of hume will unambiguously lead to a foundation of morality that is inconsistent with the human nature he earlier identified and justified in his treatise of human nature. hume and the importance of calm passions in the foundation of morality in his psychology of human action and as evident in his treatise of human nature, hume defined calm passions as those natural emotional feelings that motivate a moral agent to act in contrary to the motivation coming from direct passions. he claimed that it is not reason that enhances a moral agent to act contrary to the motivation of a direct violent passion but rather the elusive influence of gentleness, a corollary of calm passion. there is no clear interface between the two because the fluidity of procedure and interrelationship involved are primarily internal and imperceptible. in this context, there are times that two opposing passions, joy and sorrow, subtly reconciled with themselves to jointly produce another state of mind that may be based on calmness or indifference in human action. as hume highlighted, ―when a man is afflicted for [by] the loss of 13david hume, a treatise of human nature, book 2, part 3, section 9, paragraph 4. 14t. magri in a companion to hume, edited by radcliffe, oxford: oxford university press, 2008, p. 186. 15 david hume, a treatise of human nature, book 2, part 3, section 3 paragraph 4, also in htt://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/humes guillotine, quoted on the 16th of february, 2012. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 173 a law-suit, and joyful for the birth of a son, the mind [is] running from the agreeable to the calamitous object, with whatever celebrity it may perform this motion, can scarcely temper the one affection with the other, and remain betwixt them in a state of indifference‖.16 the point hume tried to justify is that the common phenomenon of invisible readjustment among passions and its effects on human action is the source of the error of the moral philosophers of platonic tradition to think that reason is the motivating factor of moral judgment. in actual fact, hume wanted us to know that reason is incapable of supressing the natural impulse that often emanate from a particular passion that motivates human action. as he rightly claimed, ―since reason alone can never produce any action, or to give rise to volition, i infer, that the same faculty is as incapable of preventing volition, or of disputing the preference with any passion or emotion.‖17 judging from this perspective, it is only a contrary passion that can oppose an impulse generated from a particular type of passion and any attempt to attribute such capacity to reason will imply it is ―so in an improper sense.‖18 it is unacceptable for hume for anybody to think that reason is at work whenever human beings change their choice of action for another one. hence, hume strongly established the fact that passions are the motivating and determining factors for moral judgment of man while the reason only makes the object of the good or bad intelligible and attractive or repulsive but incapable of going beyond the level of intelligibility. the relationship of passions to human will in hume’s moral theory human will is generally defined as the capacity of man to make a rational deliberative choice of action after the evaluation of the details and consequences of the action without any internal and external constraint. in the context of this paper, hume defined human will as internal motivation that man consciously needs to have before he can freely perform an action without any hindrance. as hume appropriately stated, human free will is ―the internal impression we feel and are conscious of, when we knowingly give rise to any new motion of our body, or a new perception of our mind.‖19 in actual fact, hume enthusiastically argued that the volition for moral action is always comes from the sympathetic feelings and motivation that is fundamentally sourced from passions and not reason in any way. this is logically implied in the moral theory of hume that 16a treatise of human nature, book 2, part 3, section 9, paragraph 14. 17ibid. book 2, part 3, section 9, paragraph 12. 18ibid. 19ibid, book 2, part 3, section 1, paragraph 2. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 174 moral choice of action lacks fundamental cognitive background. as a result of this conceivable conclusion, jurgen habermas and peter geach emphatically claimed that hume is non-cognitive moral philosopher. the conviction of these two philosophers is largely based on the fact that hume scientifically asserted that the energia of natural response to moral responsibility is obtainable from the passions often demonstrated in courteous and sympathetic feeling and not from any cognitive capacity or reason. there is need to examine further to see if there is any role that hume assign to reason in his foundation of moral responsibility for human society. the place of reason and moral obligation in the moral theory of hume we remember that one of hume‘s objections to both pre-socratic and platonic anthropology and moral philosophy is the claim that human nature is divinely structured, determined, fixed and universalized without any regards to human sentiments and factors responsible for their choice of action. the rational moral philosophers like socrates, plato, aristotle, aquinas and w. leibniz claimed that human beings are rationally endowed to recognise their moral obligations and other regulatory principles that are inherent in the natural law. the concern of hume is not basically on the source of human deliberative choice of action but the justification for how and why human beings act the way they behave in the society. the emphasis of hume on how and why human beings behave the way they do in the society is primarily based on the fact that moral sensitivity is systematically and practically interrelated to sentiments rather than rationality. francis hutcheson‘s elaboration on the fact that moral sense plays the role of intuitive recognition of good and evil just as human organs of sight and hearing are responsible for the recognition of diverse colours and sounds as the basis of hume‘s moral sentimentalism. as evident in his treatise of human nature, our decisions concerning moral rectitude and depravity are evidently perceptions...morality, therefore, is more properly felt than judg‘d of; tho‘ this feeling or sentiment is commonly so soft and gentle, that we are apt to confound it with an idea, according to our common custom of taking all things for the same, which have any near resemblance to each other.20 judging from this quotation, it is clear that moral sense is the source of the human capacity to spontaneously determine, justify and govern human 20david hume, a treatise of human nature, book 3, part 1, section 2, paragraph 1. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 175 sympathetic concerns to motivate the passions for the choice of a particular moral preference and judgement. as a result of this, moral philosophers like thomas reid ardently classified hume‘s moral theory as morality of sentiments because of its absolute bond with natural inclinations and not reason like the moral philosophers before him. nevertheless, there is need for us to know that hume never claim that human beings supposed to act contrary to reason as moral philosophers recommended against passions. his point of divergent is located in his claim that the source of the moral principles by which human beings are to make moral judgment are traceable to the inner disposition and their subjective concerns because reason alone is incapable of motivating them to do so. as james baillie gathers from hume, ―the role of reason is to establish facts [teleological facts that make a particular action desirable], whether through a priori demonstrative inferences involving relations of ideas, or by acquiring beliefs through causal inferences grounded in observation.‖21 one can deduce from this quotation that the role of reason in the context of the moral theory of hume is limited to the recognition of why and how an action is good or bad but actually deprive of ability to motivate moral agents to successfully fulfill their desirable moral obligation. as hume categorically emphasised, since morals, therefore, have an influence on the actions and affections, it follows, that they cannot be deriv‘d from reason; and that because reason alone, as we have already prov‘d, can never have any such influence. morals excite passions, and produce or prevent actions. reason of itself is utterly impotent in this particular. the rules of morality, therefore, are not conclusions of our reason.22 a closer look at the above quotation clearly show that the moral obligations and judgment of human beings are defined, determined, justified, promoted, preserved and traceable to their passions or sentiments and not reason. it is indisputable to claim that reason has the ability to make moral ideas, facts, values and consequences intelligible for human beings but it cannot motivate them to act accordingly. there are other moral terms in the moral sentimentality of hume that he identified as human habitual traits like: natural and artificial 21james baillie in a companion to hume, edited by radcliffe, (oxford: oxford university press, 2008), p. 80. 22david hume, a treatise of human nature, book 3, part 1, section 1, paragraph 6. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 176 virtues, benevolence and sympathy. he employed each of them to heighten the necessary motivation that passions need to influence the choice of moral preference and judgment of human beings in the society. evaluation there is no gain saying that the hume developed his moral theory at the time the impulse of enlightenment was running high in the world. this period was characterised with a thoughtful revolution against established scientific, philosophical, religious, economic, cultural and political authorities that reigned supreme over others in the society. the era before hume was notable for moral foundation that are already structured, determined and justified by god for rational recognition of human beings and obedient in the society. the wave of revolt during the period of enlightenment allowed hume to propose a different moral theory that is quite contrary to the one that was absolutely associated with the inclination of that time. the foundation of the moral theory hume defined, determined, analysed, justified and promoted as alternative to the pre-socratic and platonic moral foundation was admired by many his contemporaries because of its opposition against the moral absolutism of time. however, a thorough evaluation of the foundation of his moral theory clearly shows that there are artificialities, inconsistencies and contradictions that make his moral theory mindboggling and prone to criticism in human society. the influence of the moral foundation of hume in human society the moral theory of david hume actually became a cynosure of the eyes of many of his contemporary scholars in philosophy, theology, anthropology, sociocultural studies and politics as a result of the followings: (i) hume was generally recognised and applauded for his courage to develop a moral theory that relegated the place of god and reason to absurdity for human passions to take the rightful place of authority on the processes involved in moral judgment as the rationalist moral philosophers like thomas aquinas, francis hutcheson and thomas reid. (ii) this is an outstanding achievement for a society where human freedom on issues about their lives have been enthusiastically denied and absolute obedience to political and religious authorities held sacrosanct. (iii) it is observable that hume was the pioneer philosopher that employed scientific method and experimental explanation of the how and why passions served as the foundation of deliberative choice of moral approval and disapproval in human society. (iv) the foundation of hume‘s moral theory that is sourced from igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 177 passions and sympathetic concerns for others becomes the motivation for the humanist and feminist philosophy of annette baier, joan tonto and sara ruddick. all these positive landmarks in the moral theory of hume are quite impressive but some parts of his moral philosophy generated some questions, conflicts and inconsistencies that required answers and clarifications. for instance, (i) does human nature clearly shows that man is just a physical entity or a machine that react to stimulus without any contribution from reason? (ii) can one say categorically that reason is totally separate from passions? (iii) if human nature is composed of rational and emotional elements, is it possible for the two coalesce to have influence on man‘s moral responsibility? (iv) where is the place of sympathetic concerns between the passions and reason? inconsistencies and artificiality in the morality of hume for our contemporary society it is generally observed that the moral foundation of hume is fundamentally rest on superfluous emphasis of the influence of human passions and relegation of reason to a subservient role. this implies that hume has gone to the other extreme of the position of rationalist moral philosophers. hence, there should be a meeting point where the extremism of hume and rationalist moral philosophers can be resolved. the foundation for this resolution is established on the systematic and empirical anthropological understanding that human beings are the only creatures endowed with a unique personality in which passions and reason are naturally coalesced. the natural elements of man phenomenologically interwoven as one and jointly exercise influence in the moral moral decision of human beings. any attempt to make one a subservient of the other will lead one to a ludicrous assertion on the fundamental basis and processes that end in moral judgement of human beings. this is essentially because human beings are neither spiritual beings that are unlimited in body and passions nor regular animals that devoid of rationality. as evident in the submission of joseph omoregbe, man is a harmonious blend of reason and the passions. he is neither pure reason without instincts nor pure instincts without reason. nor do reason and instincts (passions) occupy separate compartments in man‘s being; on the contrary, they are inseparably blended together and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 178 interpenetrate each other. as a result of this fact, man‘s instincts are rational instincts, i.e, instincts permeated with rationality.23 an inference from the above quotation clearly confirms an indisputable fact that passions and rationality are fundamentally integrated in man to the point that none can facilitate his moral judgment without a complementary influence of the other one. in this context, we need to know that appreciation of moral values like, patriotism, love, justice, integrity, solidarity and condemnation of immoral habits like robbery, murder and hatred are not ordinary emotional inclinations. in actual fact, they are emotional feelings that rationality has defined, determined, verified and justified to be sensible in human society. 24 in other words, ―it is because man is a blend of reason and passions that he is capable of weeping, neither a god nor a beast is capable of weeping; the former is incapable because it is a disembodied being without passions while the latter is incapable because it lacks reason.‖ 25 this implies that the gap the moral platonists purported between reason [spiritual element of man] and passions [bodily aspect of man] of human nature is imaginary and erroneous perception that is capable of leading to a morality that is intolerable to human nature. without mincing words, the passions apparent in animals are governed essentially by ordinary passionate inclinations for pleasure or displeasure while human beings are guided by rational passions for honourable characters or ignoble habitual behaviours. therefore, any moral foundation that is established on nonintegrated functions of reason and passions would effortlessly make unbalanced and moral incongruities thrive in human society. in conclusion, the moral theory of david hume is fundamentally disposed to moral irregularities because of its artificiality and subjection of the role of reason to a subservient of passions in moral disposition, approval and disapproval in human society. since a logical and rational conclusion confirms the fact that human nature is not essentially emotional or rational alone but passions fundamentally integrated with rationality, a thorough review of hume‘s moral theory is therefore required to reduce its inherent incosistencies, contradictions and artificiality to a level concievable in human society. 23j. omoregbe, ethics: a systematic and historical study, p. 103. 24ibid. p. 103. 25ibid, p. 104. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 3.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 1 aspects of morpheme analsis in obolo language emmanuel owaji-ikekeiyem alfred department of english studies university of port harcourt email: nuelsonline@yahoo.com & nwala, michael alozie ph.d department of english studies university of port harcourt email: mikeson100@yahoo.com abstract the paper investigates aspects of morphemes and their usages in the obolo languagean igboid lect. the data were got through the native speaker’s competence and were analyzes using the descriptive survey design. the paper shows that the lect is a morphologically rich one which is also verb centred apart from pockets of nominal prefixation. the paper notes that given the different morphological processes of the language, the morpheme acquisition order or processes of the language differ practically with those of the english language. key words: acquisition, linguistics, morpheme, tense and affix. introduction the notion of morpheme and its acquisition across languages has attracted much attention from linguists for decades. this followed a revival of interest in morphology for its own sake in which morpheme is seen to be at the core and the belief that morpheme contains the clues to understanding the language acquisition process. around the 1960s, there was a shift in theoretical position from the behaviourist perspective to the innatist perspective in explaining language acquisition process. along with the innatist perspective came the idea of independent grammars assumption in first language acquisition. the independent grammars assumption emphasizes that children be treated holistically; their language is not just deficient fragments of the adult grammar but is a grammar in its own right (cook, 1993). in other words, children acquiring their first language are speakers of their own personal languages rather than defective speakers of the adult languages. children acquiring their l1, were once thought of as speakers of unknown and undocumented languages, so to enable proper igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 2 description of the child’s languages researchers needed detailed written grammars of them. brown (1973) was unique however, in presenting an organisational framework for the grammars which yielded new insights into the stages of language acquisition or language development (goldschneider & dekeyser, 2005) known as morpheme acquisition order, which did not only shed important light on the order in which speakers acquire morphemes but also showed the significant roles they play in language acquisition generally. this paper therefore concerns itself with the analysis of some morphemes in obolo language and explains their roles in the acquisition of the language. this study proceeds on the basis of the following key assumptions, that morpheme as the basic notion of morphology, theoretically speaking is uncontroversial. bloomfield's theoretical construct has remained basically the same over the years, and nida's 1949 definition of morphology as 'the study of morphemes and their arrangements in forming words' is widely accepted in linguistics (mkanganwi, 2002). other key assumptions are the classification of morphemes into roots and affixes, the positional classification of affixes, in relation to root morphemes, into prefixes and suffixes and the fact that morphemes are either free or bound. based on the above assumptions, the following observations about obolo can safely be made. obolo has roots and affixes, prefixes but no suffixes; free morphemes and bound morphemes. many of the obolo morphemes are bound, in the sense that they must occur with at least another morpheme. all free morphemes in obolo are roots. overview of obolo language obolo is a nigerian language. it is spoken as a native language by the andoni people residing in andoni local government area (anolga) of rivers state and perhaps by those in eastern obolo and ibeno local government areas of akwa ibom state. linguistically, obolo is classified as a lower cross rivers language under the nigercongo phylum (williamson, 1988; lewis, 2009). the name obolo is both a linguistic and ethnic term (ejituwu, 1991) and it stands for the name of the people and the name of their language. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 3 typologically, obolo is similar to english in word order: subject-verb-object (svo). the word order encodes the grammatical relations or functions and pragmatic information. as a rule, the subject (subj) is the noun phrase (np), which occurs before the verb phrase (vp), while the object (obj) which can be direct or indirect object is the np that follows the verb (v) immediately. there is subject-verb agreement for every combination of person and number in the language, and because the burden of identifying the subject can be handled by the agreement morpheme attached to the verb, it is not necessary for every sentence to have an explicit subject. that is to say, obolo is a language that permits pro-drop. examples below show, first, the appearance of an explicit subject; second, the equivalent sentence where the subject is elided ex.1a. èbót mé nû 3pl vfut come they will come 1b. mé nù vfut come will come morphologically, obolo is an agglutinative language, in which verbs are formed with the stem having strings of different morphemes to express meanings, inflecting for tense, aspect, number and negation. a typological feature of obolo is that it abounds in affixes which carry heavy morphological load. the affixes with constant form and meaning agglutinate with each other in a fixed order and are attached to nominal and verbal stems to perform various syntactic and semantic functions. more than one morpheme can agglutinate to a verb stem, such that a complex meaning can be described with a verb word consisting of many smaller meaningful parts. verb forms in obolo are realized by the morphological operations of affixation to a verb stem or base. in obolo, affixes are sets of prefixes which occur before the verb stem and are inflectional. prefixes are the units that are referred to as morphemes in obolo and they encode tense, aspect, mood, focus, number, location, possession and negation. the morpheme in obolo can be categories into two classes, affixes and the roots. the relationship between the two is that affixes are subsidiary to roots, whereas roots are the centres of constructions such as words. in obolo, the root morphemes carry the semantic content of the word hence they are the lexical morphemes. affixes in obolo, except in the second person singular imperative and a form of the continuous present, subject person markers are always igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 4 prefixed to the verb. it may not be linguistically adequate to discuss the morphology of any language especially when describing the verbal category without reference to morpheme. suffice therefore to review the literature on morpheme before the detailed analysis of obolo morpheme. morpheme the term morpheme had been in existence far back as 1880 as russian morfema, later german morphem (anderson, 2015, p. 2). it was introduced by jan baudouin de courtenay, who defined it as “that part of a word which is endowed with psychological autonomy and is for the very same reason not further divisible. consequently, it subsumes such concepts as the root (radix), all possible affixes, (suffixes, prefixes), endings which are exponents of syntactic relationships, and the like’’ (baudouin de courtenay, 1895, p. 153 cited in anderson, 2015). in modern linguistics, the reference point for discussions on the concept of morpheme is bloomfield’s (1933) classic book. this is partly because bloomfield’s notion of the morpheme provided a basis for later theorizing and study of morpheme (anderson, 2015, p. 3). linguists used the term morpheme to name the smallest unit of meaning in a language. morpheme is the most important component of the word structure, the smallest, indivisible units of language that conveys a meaning or that has a role in grammatical structure (cook, 1993; o’ grady, 2005; ngulube, 2015; nwala, 2015). the relevance of the study of morpheme in linguistics cannot be overemphasized because new words are continuously formed. for instance, in nigeria, a new word ‘dasukigate’ has been coined by the news media after the famous watergate scandal that happened in the 1970s in the united states of america (usa). english thus, gains a new morpheme, (–gate), meaning ‘‘scandal involving high profile persons or government figures.’’ in addition to serving as resources for the creation of vocabulary, morphemes supply grammatical tags to words, helping to identify on the basis of form the parts of speech, of words in sentences (klammer, schultz & volpe, 2010, p. 39). in the literature, it is held that every word of english contains at least one morpheme. a word like boy contains only one unit of meaning; others contain two or more like boyish and boyishness. morpheme may be represented by a single sound; for example, the morpheme a, meaning ‘without’ as in asocial and apolitical or by a single syllable, such as girl and ish in girl + ish, and two or more syllables, as in pepper (two syllables), elephant (three syllables), impressionist (four syllables). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 5 morphemes can be classified as free or bound. a free morpheme is that which root is independent and can stand alone as a single word, like man, woman and house; known also as lexical morphemes. in contrast, a bound morpheme is that which cannot stand on its own, it depends on some other word-building elements to make meaning (katamba & stonham 2006; ngulube 2015 and nwala 2015), as in the plural morpheme –s and the past tense morpheme –ed in words such as, girls and cats, walked and worked respectively. a morpheme may be lexical or functional. lexical morphemes have consistent meanings and consist of nouns, adjectives, adverbs, pronoun and verbs. they have referent in the real world even for abstract concepts. for instance, goat is a lexical morpheme as it has a meaning of its own and does not require a particle to convey meaning or a referent. and because new lexical morphemes can be added to these classes both in english and some other languages, they are also described as open class words (celik, 2007, p. 94). in other words, membership of this class is based on the ability of the word itself to inflect or by its ability to substitute for another word that inflects conversely, functional morphemes are noted to contain mainly functional words such as articles (a, an, the), prepositions (on, with), conjunctions (but, because) and quantifiers (few, many). this class of morphemes is referred to as closed class because they are incapable of changing form through inflection or derivation. the meaning of functional morphemes can be understood when they occur with other words in a sentence. methodology the study employed the primary source of data collection and a descriptive survey method of analysis. the data was got from the researchers who are native speakers of the language. the researchers resorted to their primary and native competences to supply the data, which were analyzed using the descriptive survey design. the design is a type that describes the features of data as they are. nwankwo (2011) explains the survey design as the type in which the researcher collects data usually from a large sample drawn from a given population and describes them as they are at that particular time. the researchers used this method to only analzed the research data without any form of influence or massage. obolo morphemes igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 6 when compared to english, obolo has a more complex morpheme system. english has eight inflectional morphemes, all of them suffixes: four are verb based (progressive-ing, past tense –ed, present tense/third person singular-s, past participle -en/ed)] two are nouns (plural –s and possessive-‘s) and two are adjectives/adverbs (comparative-er and superlative-est). there are more than fifteen morphemes in obolo, all prefixes. unlike english, about 40% of obolo morphemes end in vowels, and almost all stem morphemes begin with a consonant, a vowel or with a syllabic nasal prefixed to the stem (faraclas, 1982, p.70). the morphemes in obolo can be categories into two classes, affixes and the roots. the relationship between the two is that affixes are subsidiary to roots, whereas roots are the morphological centre of words. in obolo, the root morphemes carry the semantic content of the word hence they are the lexical morphemes. morphemes, according to nwala (2015) are generally described based on their lexical or grammatical functions; obolo morphemes are viewed also from this perspective, hence accounted for in the environment they appear. as earlier stated, morphemes indicate grammatical relationships, such as agreement between person and number, status of tense, negation and aspect in the language. seven categories of morpheme markers can be attached to obolo verbs, these are subject, tense, aspect, focus, mood, negation number and object (auxiliary). in obolo, all verbs must be prefixed with a subject morpheme, which must agree in person and number with the subject. the subject morpheme markers by class are i. n: [i] 1st person singular subject marker. it is a syllabic nasal which is articulated and written sometimes as the consonants /n/ or /m/ as in ex. 2a & b. ex 2. n-ryé garri 1sg-eat garri i ate garri b. m-bén ébolì 1sg-carry plate i carried (the) plate igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 7 ii. o: [you] 2nd person singular subject. when this morpheme is used alone with the independent subject (pronoun) òwù (you singular), it implies a yes or no question. ex 3. ó-fôô ùwò? 2sgleave house have you left for home? b.òwù fôô ùwò 2sg – leave house you, (leave) go home iii. i: [he, she or it] 3rd person singular. it is the subject or object talked about in ex. 4. ex 4. î-fùk íkpá 3sg –read book he/ she read (the) book iv. e: [we, you, they/them], the subject morpheme marker for all plural persons the independent subject pronouns, èjì-‘we’, ènyì-‘you’, èbót-‘they’ usually precede –e to indicate to the listener whether one is speaking in the first, second or third person. when it is used without a preceding subject-object pronoun, an impersonal (passive) meaning is conveyed: ex 5. mîdù èjì pcp-ask ipl we were asked in obolo, the marking of the subject morpheme on the finite verb is obligatory, else an ungrammatical construction would occur. the tense morpheme markers in obolo and how they occur in sentences are outlined below. v. mi this is the past tense morpheme marker used for 1st, 2nd and 3rd person plural. the morpheme mireplaces efor all plural forms as in ex. 6 ex.6 èji mî-gé ikpá 1pl pst-write book we wrote the book igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 8 vi. i. this is the past tense marker for the 3rd person singular pronoun. it is used when the verb is an agentive plural or second person imperative plural or when it occurs in phrases that precede other verb phrases in the same construction. it can replace the morpheme eas seen in ex. 7. ex 7. ì-gé íkpá 1sg-pst imp write (the/ a) book s/he wrote a/the book b. èbí í-fúk íkpá people pst-read book people who read the book vii. me. this is the continuative present tense marker used for plural persons. it can as well replace the morpheme eto agree with persons and number. it also often precedes the progressive morpheme kí as seen in ex. 8. ex 8. èjì mê-kí fùk ìkpà 1pl pres prog-read book we are reading (the/a) book viii. ma, mo, me, ba are future tense markers. following aaron (1994), the future tense in obolo, particularly the simple future, is marked by a kind of ‘portmanteau’ morpheme, mv. khullar (2015) describes portmanteau morpheme as the same form of a morpheme that performs more than one grammatical function in a language. the morpheme is said to encode both the subject prefix and the future tense (enene, 1998). the simple future morpheme for 1st person singular is mâ and it is distinct from the 2nd and 3rd person singular marker which is mô, and it marks both categories of person. for the plural categories of person, the future morpheme mê applies to all. again it is important we observe that the vowels in the future morpheme alternate for person and number. the plural makers are neutral for persons, as such are preceded by an independent 1st, 2nd and 3rd person plural (nurse, 2010). further, enene (1998) explains that the tone on the morpheme influences any verb following it, hence becomes low throughout irrespective of the tone pattern or the syllables. the following constructions explain further. ex 9a. èmi mâfuk 1sg fut read igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 9 i will read b òwò mô rié 2sg fut eat you will eat c. ènyi mê si 2pl cplfut go you (pl) will go the simple negative future is marked by the portmanteau morpheme kpv. it has kpa for 1st person singular, kpo for 2nd and 3rd person singular and kpe for all persons plural. the plural negative kpe, always occurs verb-initially, preceded by an independent pronoun, not subject marker; while the other negative markers occur after the subject marker (nurse, 2010). ex 10a. èmi mkpâ nù 1sg neg come i will not come b ì kpô nù 3sg neg come s/he will not come c. èbòtkpé nù 3pl neg come they will not come comrie (1976, p. 2) cited in enene (1998) states that the so called future tense of many languages has modal as well as tense value. in the analysis of obolo tense, enene (1998) observes that tense in obolo may combine with mood in certain instance, like the definite future morpheme bareferred to as the ‘‘strong future’’ which indicates the certainty of an event happening and when, as well as marks the verb for intention. the ex 17 clearly shows this. ex11. nbâ sí ùwò-ikpá mé ikaraá 1sgdfut go school in afternoon i will go to school in the afternoon conclusion thus far, we have analyzed some of the morphemes used in different forms of constructions in obolo language. obolo like igboid lects is a morphologically igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 10 verb centred language; hence the verb serves as the host of all the morphemes, except in few cases where the noun is involved. in this paper, we identified and showed such morphemes as the syllabic nasal [n] used as subject morpheme; the morpheme [o] used for personal plural subject and yes/no questions. we also identified the morpheme[i] which is for third person singular pronoun; the [e] morpheme used for subject marker for all plural persons; the [mi] morpheme used as past tense for the first, second and third persons. in the same vein, we identified the [i] morpheme used as past tense marker for the first person; the [m ] used as continuative present marker for plural persons; the ma, mo, me and ba morphemes used for different types of future reference. the paper also identified instance of portmanteau morpheme [kpv with is variants of [kpa], [kpo] and [kpe] used to indicate first persons, seconds and third persons for all cases respectively even though all instances of morphemic affixations obtainable in the lect are not identified and discussed here, for example, the definite future tense morpheme [mv] used to indicate the immediate future, the morpheme [ga] used to mark present tense, the morpheme [ki] used for progressive simultaneous tense, the morpheme [gak] used for adjective morpheme, the morpheme [ka] used for negation marker, the morpheme [kpe] used for negation marker for all plurals, among others. we have clearly shown that morphemes in obolo perform numerous discourse and grammatical functions. apart from the numerous functions they perform, the paper has also showed that the two types of morphemes, affix and the root morpheme are very necessary for sentence formation in this lect. the affix (prefix) is so important that all verbs must be prefixed with a subject morpheme, which must agree in person and number with the subject unlike the english language where the verb does not in all circumstance take a prefix. the paper in summary has shown that the obolo lect is rich in morphology, which means that the acquisition order or processes of the obolo morphemes must differ practically with those of the english language. references aaron, u. e. (1994). tense and aspect in obolo grammar and discourse. university of california: ph.d dissertation (unpublished) anderson, s. r. (2015). "the morpheme: its nature and use". the oxford handbook of inflection. cambridge university press. bloomfield, l. (1933). language. london: allen and unwin ltd igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 11 brown, r. (1973). a first language: the early years. cambridge ma: harvard university press. celik, s. (2007). "opening the door: an examination of mother tongue use in foreign language classrooms". h. u. journal of education 34: pp.7585. cook, v. (1993). linguistics and second language acquisition. new york: st. martin’s press. dekeyser, r. (2005). "what makes learning second language grammar difficult? a review of issues". language learning, 55(1), pp.37-53). ejititwu, n. c. (1991). a history of obolo (andoni) in niger delta. oson: manson publishing company. enene, e. n. (1998). comparative inflectional morphology of the obolo dialects. university of port harcourt: m.a. dissertation. faraclas, n. (1982). elision and other morpheme boundary phenomena in the western dialects of obolo. journal of west african languages xii, 2. goldschneider, j. m., & dekeyser, r. m. (2001). explaining the ‘‘natural order of l2 morpheme acquisition” in english: a meta-analysis of multiple determinants. language learning. 51, pp.1-50. katamba, f. & stonhma, j. (2006). morphology (2nd ed.) new york: palgrave macmillan. khullar, p. (2015). portmanteau morpheme. in language linguistics. retrieved from languagelinguistics.com/2015/01/11/portmanteaumorpheme-linguistics/ on 11/07/2018. klammer, t. p., schultz, m.r. & volpe, a.d. ( 2010). analysing english grammar. london: longman. lewis, m. p. (2009). ethnologue: languages of the world (16th ed.). dallas: sil international. retrieved from :www.ethnologue.com/ on 12/07/2018 mkanganwi, k.g. (2002). ‘shona (derivational) morphology: an observation in search of a theory’. retrieved from: www.digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/africanjournals/ on 09/07/2018 ngulube, i. e. (2015). cross linguistic influence on the english usage of rivers state university of science and technology freshman. international journal of multidisciplinary research and information (ijmri). vol.1(l): pp.3644. nurse, d. (2010). obolo: lower cross, delta cross, cross river. journal of african languages and linguistics pp. 20-33, scopil igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 12 nwala, m. a. (2015). introduction to linguistics: a first course(rev.) port harcourt: obisco nig. enterprises nwankwo, o. c. (2013). a practical guide to research writing for students’ enterprise (5th edition). port harcourt: university of pot harcourt press o’ grady, w. (2005). how children language. cambridge: cambridge university press. williamson, kay. (1988)."linguistic evidence for the prehistory of the niger delta". in: the prehistory of the niger delta. ed. by e.j. alagoa and others. hamburg: helmut buske verlag. questions that have emerged from the various papers written on igwebuike is: what is the origin of igwebuike? how did it begin as a pattern of thought in african ontology? is it a thought or philosophy that is exclusive to the igbo or africa? my response has always been that although igwebuike is an igbo word (kanu 2019), it is not a philosophy that is limited to the igbo world; rather, it is a local expression of a universal experience of the relevance of solidarity and complementarity (kanu 2017j). i. wonder, the origin of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike began with wonder as african traditional thinkers began to reflect on the nature of their immediate universe. this wonder shaped their thoughts, thus, establishing a connection between philosophy and the cosmos. aristotle (1941) writes that “it is through wonder that men now begin and originally began to philosophize” (p. 10). this wonder was the first step, which was followed by questions as a second step, and then the third, being proffering answers to these questions. they raised questions about the nature of reality: its beauties and the negative vicissitudes the human person must face in life. realities such as the nature of life, its brevity, human suffering, successes, failures, sorrows, joys, death, the after-life, the nature of the human person, disease, decay, etc. they asked if there is a particular way in which a person ought to behave and a way he ought not to behave. they wondered at the origin and age of the universe, was it created or is it eternal? if it was created, who created the universe? they wondered at the order in the universe, why the rainy season is succeeded by the dry season, the day, the night, the seasons, the birds of the air, the fish that make their way through the waters, the animals in the fields; they wondered at how they are sustained. they wondered at the system of the universe which is a conflict of opposites: good and evil, life and death, light and darkness, hot and cold, wet and dry, love and hate, fortune and misfortune, male and female, etc. these wanderings by african traditional thinkers led to the discovery that the universe persists because of a healthy inter-subjective relation. this discovery was conceptualized as: igwe bu ike. 4. origin and principles of “igwebuike” 25 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya ii. the principles of igwebuike the principles of igwebuike refer to the framework that shapes igwebuike. these principles are the values on which igwebuike stands. while these principles guide igwebuike, they also justify igwebuike. in each of these principles, the chi of whatever is plays a very significant role. chi is used within the context of the imprint of the part of chukwu (the supreme being) on all that he has made. these principles include: a. the principle of identity the principle of identity is the first principle of igwebuike. it states that every being is determined in itself, is one with itself and is consistent in itself. thus, every being is one with itself and divided from others. if reality does not have an identity, then everything would be everything, giving birth to one thing since nothing can be differentiated from the other. in this case, there would be no subject and object relationship (kanu 2012). this would create a causal traffic in the order of being and knowledge. the principle of identity is very important in igwebuike because, before we can talk about inter-subjectivity, interconnectedness, complementarity, the other must have an identity of its own (kanu 2013). this identity is determined by the chi of the being (anatara chireceived from chi), which individuates it in relation to the other. this is important as chi is individual to every person, no wonder, it is called 'personal god' or 'personal guardian spirit'. it is also within this context that we understand why the symbol of a person's chi is destroyed as soon as the person is dead. b. the principle of hierarchy every reality in the universe has a force; however, not all realities have the same force. the variety of the degree of forces is at the base of the categorization of being. in the hierarchy of forces, those with a greater force come first, with god at the apex as the source of all force. it is the chi of a being that determines the force and, therefore, its place in the hierarchy of beings. it is also the hierarchy that determines the relationships. c. the principle of contrariety contrariety is from the word contrary. aristotle defines contrariety as: “a kind of difference, and difference is a kind of otherness” (p.681-926). he writes further: the term contrary is applied to those attributes differing in genius, which cannot belong at the same time to the same subject, to the most different of the things in the same genius, to the most different of the attributes in the same recipient subject, to the most different of things that fall under the same faculty, to the things whose difference is greatest either absolutely or in genius or in species (p. 763). 26 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. within the context of igwebuike, contrariety is part of the natural universe. for instance, in the same universe, we find both good and evil, life and death, light and darkness, hot and cold, wet and dry, love and hate, unity and diversity, short and long, substance and accidents, act and potency, fortune and misfortune, male and female. these are contraries to each other, and are indispensable realities of the universe (kanu 2018). it is the chi of a being that individuates it and thus makes it contrary to the other. d. the principle of unity in spite of the contrariety of reality, there is something common to everything. igwebuike understands every individual reality as part of and the completion of the whole, and thus, there is a unity in the midst of diversity (kanu 2019). although chi provides for the individuation, identity and contrariety of being, it is also the basis for the unity of being. chi being a 'thumb print' of chukwu in all that he has made, provides for the unity of being, and, a basis for interaction and collaboration. from the foregoing, the strong individualistic strain which chi provides in the theory of personality, does not contradict the emphasis on the overriding value of unity in diverse human situations. thus, chi is not only a basis for identity in igbo ontology, it is also a basis for unitya common gift or platform for communal relations. 27 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 63 the (christian) god of the ancestors: a platform for religious dialogue gabriel tochukwu okafor faculty of philosophy pontificia università antonianum, rome, italy okaforgabriel@gmail.com; uniant5780@antonianum.eu doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29332.65925 abstract biblical authors, in both the old and new testament, give various indications of god. the most outstanding is the reference to god as 'the god of the ancestors'. he is the god of abraham, isaac, jacob, moses, david and of course, of the other ancients. the genealogy of jesus christ lines them all out. that is a common feature of african societies. the ancestors form part of the hierarchy of being and never die; they live on in the spiritual realm. we can make this same assertion of the christian faith; biblical ancestors also, live. the paper argues, therefore, that there are more common grounds for a relationship if we must understand the religious worldview of others. banking on these better set the path straight by pulling off all forms of syncretism now prevalent in african religious practices. such a move would set the platform for dialogue, appreciation and respect. true religion thrives better on these. keywords: ancestor, dialogue, god, religious worldview, syncretism. introduction ancestors occupy a special place in the african cult. from this, it is understandable when african christians relate this to the cult of the saints in christian religion. such forms of reading are common in the old testament where god is spoken of as the “god of our fathers” (deuteronomy 26:7). does this then imply there is an ancestral cult in ancient israel? different forms of tussle seem eminent between world religions. such are most probably hinged on the quest for relevance and validity: which religion is better. in this specific context, christianity has often looked down on african (traditional) religion(s)1 until recently. notwithstanding efforts to appreciate contributions from atr, some christians still abhor it. on the other side, some christians have borrowed some atr practices and “christianized” them, in a form of syncretism. 1 this shall henceforth be referred to as atr or african religion(s). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 64 this ushers in a reality that shows how discourses on the need for dialogue among religions are prevalent. such dialogues are geared towards promoting some sort of mutual respect among them. a fruitful dialogue seeks common grounds for the religions involved in particular. the fact that we share the same humanity says a lot about us. if religion is man’s response to some supreme being, then man has to first exist to be in such a relationship. since there have been generations of humans in the same similar relationship, successive generations relive the faith of their ancestors. given that this work aims at spurring on the discourse between christianity and african religion(s), the place of ancestors cannot be neglected by different religions. their experiences give strength to our daily resolve to keep our faith. this means that labelling african religions as ancestral worship is false. should it be true, then the same could be said of christianity because the christian god is also the god of the ancestors. that this too is evident is not an illusion. so, given that there is a special place for ancestors in atr and there is a reference to “god of our ancestors” in the old testament, can reverence for the ancestors be a starting point for dialogue between atr and christianity/judaism? furthermore, this indicates too that the notion of the ancestors stands the test of time within and outside religious beliefs. it transcends what we consider as our religious differences. therefore, this paper argues that ancestors could stand as our platform for religious discourse. they radiate one thing that could unite religions and could promote genuine growth; specifically, between christianity and atr. it springs from a non-mythical perspective of religious experience. ancestors form part of every culture and religion. our humanity is better understood from this rich heritage. how this is possible unlocks the strength of reciprocity therein. a good grasp of this would better deal with the issues of religious syncretism. what does this mean? what syncretism entails to syncretise is to mix things. they are usually of things not of the same category. a politician, for example, could be said to syncretise when he merges the ideologies of two different political parties. this would mean making efforts to infuse both in words and practices. it is a common phenomenon in human life. people who have been influenced by other people tend to merge what they have learned from them with what they have already. it is a light way of syncretising. a more profound way deals with distinctive phenomena forced into one such that living both becomes a contradiction. in tandem, the penguin dictionary of philosophy defines syncretism as “the tendency, especially in religion, to combine igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 65 elements from different belief-systems.” this seems to show that it is more of a religious phenomenon. mokotso gives another example of syncretism with the mixing of two different liquids. an instance of water and oil readily comes to mind if we take the extreme view of it. or, that water and wine, whereby a new liquid that is neither water nor wine evolves.2 either way, there appears to be a loss and a gain. the former comes up because the ideals of the initial states of the things combined are no longer there. on the other hand, there is something somewhat different from what has been combined. the extent of the blend, therefore, makes the difference. it takes the distinctiveness away, thereby leaving out something else while still laying claim to both. in the religious sense, that makes it an abuse: denigrating the one while exalting the other or just playing to the gallery. it loses itself to the imitation of ideologies different from what it intends initially. this is most probably what kasomo intends when he notes these divergent imitations of ideologies by some christians in africa. he opines: 2 r. i. mokotso, syncretism of basotho traditional religion and christianity: gateway to the syncretistic teaching of basotho traditional religion and christianity in lesotho schools, in african journal of history and culture, 7 (2015) 7, 158. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 66 it is amazing that many christians are unknowingly using magical paraphernalia and occult objects such as amulets, fetish and talisman to protect themselves. in these objects, something occult such as hair, magic, water or blood is incorporated into the object. these objects include crucifixes, pendants, ear-rings, wedding or engagement rings, hagstones, etc. similarly, christians are unknowingly using demonic marks in their daily lives. demons use these marks as the most effective and quickest way of identifying their adherents... by using them does not mean that one is evil. the danger is that using such marks easily unites one with the demons, and this causes one to easily succumb to demonic wishes. some christians accept and use such things as bible, crucifix, cross, icons, and pendants as protective objects from demonic attack. they use them in just the same manner amulets and fetishes are used. that is keeping them under their pillows, burying them at entrance of gates, putting them in foundation of their houses, wearing them on certain parts of their bodies, carrying them in their cars or handbags, etc. suffice, it to say that although this may appear godly, it may be contradiction of christian values. some people are using such ideas to spread occultism among christians.3 such is the bane of syncretism. this does not make the term simplistic. it is a complex one and covers a whole lot of concepts depending on one’s point of view. the term has its origin from the greek sunkrētizein which literarily means 'merge against a third party'. it covers the sense of uniting two divergent groups against a third. the word derives from sun meaning 'together' and krēs referring to 'cretan'. this roots it in the ancient cretan communities and captures the sense of 'uniting together' against a common enemy. the ism of the word is traced to the greek sunkrētismos, also rendered in the latin syncretismus which covers the idea of standing together against a third party or a common enemy. what makes cultures, religions, political parties, social groups and the likes different from each other are their ideologies. what each of them holds sets it apart from others. it makes it a school of thought, belief, system, practice, way of life and a standard for its recognition anywhere in the world around. people who live by it do so without any form of contradiction. syncretism is that contradiction that breeds a loss of identity of the cultural, religious, political or social group in question. it jam-packs so many things together and makes it difficult for one to note a difference in practice. dwyer affirms this: 3 d. kasomo, an assessment of religious syncretism. a case study in africa, in international journal of applied sociology, 2 (2012) 3, 13. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 67 because of the hegemonic character of slavery, christianity was the ideal tool for collective identification and formal organization amongst the slaves, and represents a deliberate strategy for resistance rather than a passive acquisition. thus the slaves took on the framework of the christian church as a vehicle for their identity production in order to shield their culture and blossoming collective action from the caustic forces of hegemony.4 care must be taken, however, not to give the term a carefree definition that does not pay attention to its different perspectives. this paper takes into cognizance the fact that there are different forms of syncretism ranging from political, cultural, social, philosophical, religious, and the likes. being that this discourse is on god, it will be limited to religious syncretism. this too is wide and greatly undefined, given that it covers a whole range of issues. it is a major theological issue and for long has had linkages with other theological terms deemed more fitting. comparative religious studies put it side by side with other presumably preferred terminologies. while this would not be the preoccupation of this work, such interesting mentions could be made. wijsen compares it with inculturation.5 having made the same comparison between syncretism and enculturation, ezenweke and kanu described catholicism as a synthetic religion. this seems to distance it from syncretism.6 naula traces different forms of syncretism in atr.7 daniel on his part, with many examples, lays bare some instances of religious syncretism with particular reference to kenya.8 kleinhempel, like daniel, does something else with the sangoma practice of south africa.9 while it is true that no one can deny the african his religiosity10, how this is lived within the context of the christian faith or the converse becomes the problem; hence, syncretism. mokotso graciously provides us with other terms of comparative studies with syncretism. he argues that in place of syncretism, “[t]heologians prefer to use the 4 c. dwyer, the construction of the african slave identity: defying hegemony through syncretic religious practices, in denison journal of religion, 16 (2017) art. 7, 50. 5 f. wijsen, popular christianity in east africa: inculturation or syncretism? in exchange, 29 (2000) 1, 37-60. 6 e. o. ezenweke a. i. kanu, perspectives of syncretism and its modern trend: a case of christian and african traditions, in ujah, 13 (2012) 2, 81. 7 m. naula, portrayal of religious syncretism in akiki nyabongo’s novel: africa answers back, in advances in research, 19 (2019) 3, 1-7. 8 k. daniel, an assessment of religious syncretism. a case study in africa, in international journal of applied sociology, 2 (2012) 3, 10-15. 9 u. r kleinhempel, covert syncretism: the reception of south africa’s sangoma practise and spirituality by “double faith” in the contexts of christianity and of esotericism, in open theology, 3 (2017) 1, 642-661. 10 cfr. j. s. mbiti, african religions and philosophy, heinemann, oxford, 1990, 1; introduction to african religion, 2nd ed, waveland press, illinois, 2015, 2. this religious dimension of the african is prominent in the works of african scholars. mbiti’s coinage of the african as being “notoriously religious” is epic for this. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 68 concepts such as inculturation, contextualization, concretization, accommodation, adaptation, indigenization, localization, incarnation, africanisation, hybridity and reformulation to explain the formalization of the integration of african beliefs and practices with christianity.”11 what all these tend to indicate is that when two distinct religions meet, it’s either they remain at parallel or syncretise. the extent to which any of this is done determines the extent of their relationship. could it then be said that religious syncretism cannot exist in an african society that has been religious before the coming of the missionaries? if the starting point of syncretism is contact, is there any world religion that was not in any way influenced by another? if such were possible, man could as well be an island; but unfortunately, no one is. religion is at the heart of humanity’s existence, whether we affirm it or not. beliefs and practices define who we are. our cultural differences make us unique. contacts with other people in their divergent uniqueness create opportunities for assimilation. this too is syncretism. elements of beliefs and practices are shared voluntarily or involuntarily. the difference lay in the extent and method employed to bring about this. this makes clear the distinctions between “critical syncretism” and “uncritical or crude syncretism”.12 the former makes fruitful the mutual relationship between two religions while the latter blindly loses itself in a crude copycat to the religion with the greater influence. this latter is the problem that must be avoided in all its forms. influenced by imbach, naula defines religious syncretism as “a process by which elements of one religion are assimilated into another religion resulting in a change in the fundamental tenets or nature of those religions. syncretism is the fusion of two or more thought systems, and can be applied to philosophy, politics, and religion.”13 this definition by naula notes that syncretism has a mutual effect on the religions in question; in this specific case, christianity and african religion(s). it sums up the assimilation therein. it would not be out of place to say that the other terms much preferred to this slightly could have more advantages. howbeit they do not rule out their relationship with it; at least at the foundational and comprehensive level. given that the essence of this work is to foster a fruitful platform for dialogue in both religions, the cult of the ancestors, evident in both religions, becomes a necessary step for this. while this might not necessarily be a form of syncretism, it affirms the reality of some form of 11 r. i. mokotso, syncretism of basotho traditional religion and christianity, 158. 12 cfr. e. o. ezenweke a. i. kanu, perspectives of syncretism and its modern trend, 74. 13 m. naula, portrayal of religious syncretism in akiki nyabongo’s novel, 2. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 69 presence common to both climes. this, if properly harnessed, could give us a level ground for an open dialogue that would respect what each holds dear to without necessarily losing any aspects of both religions. such could be a goal for a true dialogue: arising from a possible common ground (cult of the ancestors in this case) and treating the same issue from respective divergent viewpoints. it will be in accord with the urgency the second vatican council seems to call our attention to. thus, in our time, when day by day mankind is being drawn closer together, and the ties between different peoples are becoming stronger, the church examines more closely her relationship to non-christian religions. in her task of promoting unity and love among men, indeed among nations, she considers above all in this declaration what men have in common and what draws them to fellowship. one is the community of all peoples, one their origin, for god made the whole human race to live over the face of the earth... one also is their final goal, god. his providence, his manifestations of goodness, his saving design extend to all men, until that time when the elect will be united in the holy city, the city ablaze with the glory of god, where the nations will walk in his light.14 who is an ancestor? every society holds soft spots for the aged. old age has long been a sign of wisdom and experience. it is so, probably because life itself is a lesson. we garner experiences as we journey through them. little wonder the famous saying that "experience is the best teacher." to an aphorism as this, nkemnkia submits, "human experience is the source of everything and culture becomes a response to the questions emerging from this experience. it is a result of that same experience."15 one who possesses more of it by his age earns a special place. it serves to denote the fact that people who lived to their old age(s), alive or dead, have more experiences of life. in the most generic sense, such persons are called ancestors. this sense looks at ancestorship based on age and parenthood. most dictionary meanings would go with this. an instance of the holman illustrated 14 nostra aetate, 1. 15 m. n. nkemnkia, african vitalogy: a step forward in african thinking, paulines publications africa, nairobi, 95. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 70 bible dictionary defines ancestors as “those from whom a person is descended both literally and figuratively.” they are remembered for this. from this, we know that an ancestor is one from whom many others descended. grandparents are on this note, ancestors. the only evident limits to attaining it based on this definition are age and parenthood, hence, descendants. on this ground, synonyms of an ancestor might include fore-father, fore-elder, fore-bear and even parent, etc. this open-ended description qualifies everyone as an ancestor if, and only if, he reaches the age of transition and has descendants. to such a description, allen lends his voice: on the faces of the aged there are wrinkles made by sympathy, others by strong and pure thought, and others are carved by passion: who cannot distinguish them? with those who have lived righteously, age is calm, peaceful and softly mellowed, like the setting sun. i have recently seen a philosopher on his deathbed. he was not old except in years. he died as sweetly and peacefully as he had lived.16 however, societal norms raise the bar. age by this standard is just a number. one who marries at an early age could have descendants without really getting on in age. both seem to crumble. other concerns are louder. the moral norms set one apart. one who models his life on these norms achieves excellence. this means that people’s moral standing in the community speaks volumes. should they be known for doing evil, their remembrance would be as such even after death. they become bad examples for the younger generations. no one in the community would want to be associated with such persons. even their immediate family members would live with this shame for a long time. that seems not to be a criterion for ancestors. this brings the change. culture and religion redefine the perspective of who an ancestor is. on these two, the african moral norms stand secure. the idea of the afterlife plays an important role. those whose lives become exemplary for obvious reasons are named ancestors. a young person who gives his life to save his community is immortalised. this act of immortalization makes him worth remembering even in death. this is probably a good reason mbiti and some african authors retain the coinage ‘living-dead’17 at the expense of the term ancestor. it is more open to all 16 j. allen, as a man thinketh, mockingbird classics pub., england, 25. 17 j. s. mbiti, african religions and philosophy, 82; cfr. e. oezenweke, the living dead in african ontological scene, in issues in african traditional religion and philosophy, edited by ezenweke, o. e. kanu, i. a., augustinian pub nigeria, jos, 2012, 177-191; m. i. nwafor, the living-dead (ancestors) among the igboigwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 71 classes of people who continue to maintain communion with their people posthumously. in what seems to be in support of this idea, itumeleng asserts, the “term ‘living dead’ is thus an all-inclusive one. mbiti uses it to refer to recently dead children, brother, sisters and other family members who were not in any way ancestors.”18 the inclusion of children in this sphere lays emphasis not on age as a criterion but on the moral standing of the individual, which in turn, is the very reason for which one would be remembered. here, there seems to be a bridge that captures the dead whose memory lives on. as such, an ancestor could be one who lived a simple but extraordinary life. reading further into this, itumeleng stresses this ageless brand in mbiti and quickly defends his retention of the use of age in the qualification of an ancestor. for him, mbiti strongly advocates the abolition of the two terms “ancestral spirits” and “ancestor” in order to replace them with “spirits” and the “living dead”. however, since the term “living dead” has no age distinctions, or regard for social status, it cannot be accurately used in this paper. instead the terms “ancestors” and “ancestral spirits” must be retained in reference to the qualification of being guardians of morality in african families, clans and tribes.19 what matters the most for mbiti seems to be their status as spirits. this holds no bounds since everyone who passes on lives as a spirit, irrespective of age. no further differentiations are made than that they once shared corporeal experiences with their earthly communities; though they maintain this relationship now but in another form. the living-dead, according to him, commune in two languages: african people: an interpretation of catholic sainthood, in international journal of sociology and anthropology, 9 (2017) 4, 35-42. 18 m. itumeleng, the living-dead/ancestors as guardians of morality in african traditional religious thought, in glob j arch & anthropol, 10 (2019) 5, 99. 19 m. itumeleng, the living-dead/ancestors as guardians of morality in african traditional religious thought, 99. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 72 they speak the language of men with whom they lived until recently; and they speak the language of the spirits and the god to who they are drawing nearer ontologically. these are the ‘spirits’ with which african peoples are most concerned: it is through the living-dead that the spirit world becomes personal to men. they are still part of their human families, and people have personal memories of them.20 such memories linger through generations. members of their family and community simply live each day seeking their interventions in good times and in bad. this form of keeping in constant touch with the living-dead is an integral part of african society. either we go by this mbiti’s choice of the living-dead or ancestors, as the case may be, the reality of their communion with their people is paramount. the reverence the african people give to their forebears is unquantifiable. while they do this, they never lose sight of the place of god as the supreme being. this is real. it goes beyond any form of myth. bae and van der merwe seem to note this clearly: in most societies where the belief in ancestors is common, a record of people who have lived and died is kept in the memory of the living members of the community. they have moved into the category of ancestors, or the living dead. the concept of ancestral involvement in everyday life is more than a story or a myth. it is lived by millions in many areas in the world.21 one outstanding thing here is the immortalization of the dead. their lives are relived in the day to day events of society. one can hardly think of a society without such memories of the dead. this creates the basis for a continuous relationship between the living and the dead, the physical and the spiritual. by this, it is understandable when people speak of ancestral worship in the widest sense. ezenweke opines that the “phenomenon of ancestral cult seems to be a central phenomenon since it is upheld in virtually every community.”22 this seems an appeal to its wider coverage. the term cult, used either as some prefix or suffix to an ancestor, is not strictly related to worship. it accommodates all that seems approvable by the people. being very popular, one could speak of the cult of ancestors without necessarily thinking of some form of worship in the religion. in this sense, it is taken as something very much familiar to the people 20 j. s. mbiti, african religions and philosophy, 82. 21 c. s. bae p. j. van der merwe, ancestor worship is it biblical? in hts teologiese studies, 64 (2008) 3, 1300. 22 e. o. ezenweke, the living dead in african ontological scene, 176. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 73 and how they remember their peers, the dead. as such, arguments like this seem to appeal to our common humanity. they affirm the fact that there is much that unites us than divide us. for bae and van der merwe, the living dead who hold influence over their living descendants is a succinct and common way of defining ancestors. their identity is further explained as transcendental beings representing the religious, ethical and institutional values of society in their community. their abode and influence range from the physical to the spiritual world.23 this transition from the physical to the spiritual world marks a fundamental point in life. it means that life does not end; it is a continuous process. this is why we have ancestors as people who have gone beyond this terrestrial life. it breaks the limits of age and descendants as criteria for an ancestor, should we go by mbiti’s choice of terms. one who lives well can be an ‘ancestor’ or better put, a living-dead, because he has transcended the physical realm to the spiritual. he has experience beyond the physical. he lives on and communes with his own. the level here attained is one beyond the spatio-temporal. diverse traditions hold this view. how it is attained could probably make the difference between them. the fact that it is endless poses no doubt. while this paper does not give an account of these aspects for the different religious traditions, it gives particular attention to those between christianity and african religion(s). it is pertinent to note that in both, there is a place for the ancestors. what this entails for each is our next concern. ‘god’ of the ancestors at the heart of religious experiences is the sense of the sacred. this is not some idea, notion or concept; it is always a real presence man seeks to understand. it concerns people who are opened to relate to a transcendental being. such relationships are done in a particular place. a place is so named because there are inhabitants who live in it. they make the different experiences: be they religious or secular. this is passed from generation to generation as an intrinsic aspect of the people. if religious, it is so irrespective of the form of religion in question. this makes religious experiences lived experiences. describing this bond among a people, their place of origin and their (religious) experience(s), goetz contends: “[t]his experience is not translated into abstract language but into symbolic language: a language of experience, which makes use of those 23 c. s. bae p. j. van der merwe, ancestor worship, 1300. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 74 same realities that were the site of this experience.”24 this is something intrinsic to different religious cultures. the fathers of the second vatican council note this: from ancient times down to the present, there is found among various peoples a certain perception of that hidden power which hovers over the course of things and over the events of human history; at times some indeed have come to the recognition of a supreme being, or even of a father. this perception and recognition penetrates their lives with a profound religious sense.25 as such, to speak of ‘god’ in any religion is to recount these lived experiences passed on by different generations. given this specific case under discourse, they are passed on by the ancestors to their descendants. what they lived, their people relive in continuity. on this ground, ‘god’, we can say, has always been the god of the ancestors. he has been the god of a people who lived this experience and pass it on to their children who live in constant touch and memory of them. how we understand this depends on our ability to let our reasoning free of biases. these biases have always been our greatest weakness in the quest for the divine and our weakest testimony to those that could be termed, unbelievers or atheists. these too, seem lost in their quest to seek answers to the many endless questions life poses before us. nevertheless, this would seem another topic of discussion. for the moment, it is important to highlight that the transition from the terrestrial life to the life beyond creates a link between these realms of existence. the soul is the reason we maintain this link. in his summa theologiae, st thomas aquinas while describing human beings affirms that they are things with souls.26 the soul is the animating principle and so lives on after death. highlighting this further, davies adds to the understanding of these “things with souls” as “things with bodily functions and sensations, things with the ability to understand and choose.”27 if these souls are opened to god, whose experiences they lived while on earth, nothing else would limit their reign with him. st augustine’s famous quote on the restless state of the human soul better captures this: “the thought of 24 translation mine, the original text reads: “questa esperienza non si traduce in linguaggio astratto ma in linguaggio simbolico: linguaggio d'esperienza, che si serve di quelle stesse realtà che sono state il luogo di questa esperienza” (j. goetz, l’esperienza di dio nei primitivi, morcelliana, rome, 1983, 47). 25 nostra aetate, 2. 26 thomas aquinas, summa theologiae, 1a, 75-76. 27 b. davies, thomas aquinas’s summa theologiae: a guide and commentary, oxford university press, oxford, 126. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 75 you stirs him so deeply that he cannot be content unless he praises you, because you made us for yourself and our hearts find no peace until they rest in you.”28 the loss of our dear ones imprints their memories in our hearts. this memory creates a yearning for them although they are no more with us in the flesh. the yearning opens us to the hope that we shall someday somehow meet them again. such is the role the presence of our ancestors’ guarantees. the idea of god better explains this seemingly unclear puzzle. we have memories of our dear ones who have gone to be with god. this is what sustains our hope in all the forms of restlessness we might find ourselves. this yearning comes with the consolation that the memory we have of them is not in vain. it is alive and active, experientially permeating our being as a people. we do not remember the dead as some past event. we do in a present living reality that paves the path for our future as a people. memory comes alive again and again. as each day comes and goes, their unending presence seems to overwhelm us. our hearts seek the future in the present. this future points to an eternity in god, whose experience they left us with. having noted that ancestors are the living dead, it is just to appraise the fact that they are so-called because there is god. as he is the god of the living, so he is for the dead while remaining the undying one. nothing about this aphorism is contradictory to both religions in question. a careful examination of this from their perspectives will soon show. hence, it is significant to ask: is the christian god the god of the ancestors? what are the bases for this affirmation? if the scriptures form the corpus of god’s self-revelation to humanity, can this too, be found within this revelation? the first question has an affirmative; the second only pre-empts the third and so confirms that god is of the ancestors as he is for the living. what then does the scripture say? biblical status of ancestors the bible is the story of god’s self-revelation to a people. it is replete with many references to ancestors. in another phrase, we could say the fathers which in turn mean the same thing. it is the book of faith; the faith of our fathers. this is one of the most obvious phenomena of life since faith is lived experience and not some 28 saint augustine, confessions, 1.1.1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 76 abstract phenomenon. as such, added to faith, it is a book of the history of god’s initiatives and interventions in human life. the implication is most evident when the concept of revelation is brought to the limelight. what this means is never unconnected with the life of a people. it connects their beginnings, past, present and future as a people. nothing of these events is left to chance. all fall within the plan of god. a brief examination of both the new and old testaments will so show. care must be taken to note that this is not some form of biblical exegesis. that is the speciality of scriptural scholars. a dialogue can be done with simple comparative studies. indications of ancestry are enough to serve as a pedestal for our discourse. what does the bible say? ancestors in the old testament in the book of genesis, we have the story of the very beginning of all things. the first two chapters present the creation story. creation as a whole is by this story, god’s self-communication. psalm 19 is specific on this: “the heavens are telling the glory of god, and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.” god created man in his image and likeness. after the fall, there is a projection for the salvation of man.29 the call of abraham is the most epic of god’s move to intervene in human history. to him, god made the promise of many descendants (genesis 12:1-3). by the first description of an ancestor above, one could paraphrase this to mean that god chose abraham and made a future reference of him as an ancestor, a father of many descendants. by this title is he known, henceforth, in the biblical references to him: as the father of a nation. the same promise goes for isaac and jacob (genesis 26:1-6; 35:10-15). they shared the same heritage and promise. they were to be referred to onward as fathers with many descendants, hence, ancestors. god to moses, reveals himself as the god of the ancestors in the story of the burning bush. this marks the call of moses as a prospective liberator of his people (exodus 3:6). the revelation of the divine name indicates god as the god of the ancestors. he is the god of abraham, isaac and jacob and must be so known for generations to come (exodus 3:13-15). he chose to be so-called. the people had the duty to recognize him in this precise way. here, there is mutual 29 cfr. genesis 1-3. the theological exegesis of this seeming prophecy is not of concern here. worthy of note, however, one could make an argument for creation as another platform for dialogue against the discourses of animism and the likes meted on people who practice african religion(s) by the early missionaries. this would make a good dimension for dialogue, but not just now. much strength for such a venture could be derived from pope francis, praise be to you: on care for our common home, ignatius press, san francisco, 2015. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 77 knowledge both on the part of god and his people. there is a mutual alliance. this paved the path for the covenant, which is an agreement or a pact between god and his people. more so, it is observable that biblical narratives build this story from individuals to a people as god’s possession; from the distinct parent(s) to their descendants. god’s relational nature was then open to a chosen people. he calls them his own (exodus 29:45; leviticus 26:12; jeremiah 32:38) and they, in turn, invoke him as theirs. the choice of israel as god’s people, one could dare to say, marks the choice of every other nation. should there be no reason for this claim, our share of common humanity is more than enough. he is the god of all creation and distinctive creatures proceeded from him. he is the god of all peoples, nations and languages (exodus 15:14-16; isaiah 25:3; jeremiah 10:7; zechariah 8:20-23; malachi 1:11). with the narrative of the people in view, carse avers that the “torah is not the story of the jews; it is what makes judaism a story.”30 this probably gives it a wider view, beyond its initial jewish cultural context. the prayers of queen esther and mordecai are lucid on the notion of god as the god of their forefathers, the god of the ancestors. in their moments of grief, they so invoke him by tracing the history of their salvation. his unending intervention in their lives and history is something very clear to all biblical authors. esther’s prayer, in particular, sums up the entire idea of god as the one who sustains them through their ages past. she reminded god of his faithfulness in the past; his ability in the present; and his glory through their deliverance in the nearest future. it recognizes god’s omnipotence in the face of impending evil. parts of it read: god of abraham and god of isaac and god of jacob, blessed are you... i have heard, lord, from the books of my ancestors that you saved noah from the waters of the flood... i have heard, lord, from the books of my ancestors that you rescue all who are pleasing in your sight, forever... come, lord, appear!31 this shows that god is relational. without experience, would not be possible if there has to be communion. to relate is to be in communion with others. it is not to be in isolation but in communication. god always has an interest in human affairs. this is probably what imago dei affirms graciously; that we are made in the image of god (genesis 1:26-27). we carry his semblance; as a result, he seeks us as a people through many generations. this makes us all the people of god by 30 j. p. carse, finite and infinite games: a vision of life as play and possibility, free press, new york, 1986, 95. 31 cfr. esther 4. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 78 birth. explaining further the term ancestor, the holman illustrated bible dictionary deepens our grounds of the biblical use of ancestor. this would help our understanding of its usage in the new testament. it highlights: some english versions use the term frequently to translate ‘abot in the ot and pater in the nt, both of which are the normal word for “father,” “grandfather,” etc. when these words are plural and the context deals with the past, the term usually refers to male ancestors or forefathers. likewise, genealogies normally list male ancestors. ancestors in the new testament the history of salvation initiated in the old testament continues in the new testament. it comes as a fulfilment of god’s promises to his people. the incarnation event ushers this in. god takes on human nature to save it. he mixes with us that we might participate in his divine life. to do this well, he shows us the way. this becomes the passage through to eternity. in his son, god perfects the promises made through the law and the prophets (the entire old testament). the new testament did not just come from the blues. it is a continuation of the same story of god’s relationship with people. the genealogy of jesus christ confirms this (matthew 1:1-17; luke 3:23-38). it traces jesus’ family tree and roots it in abraham for matthew’s account, and even tends it to adam in luke’s narrative. this is a central issue in all the gospels and the writings of the apostles and early christian communities. god is presented all through as the source and strength of the ancestors, the forefathers. as he was in their time so he is in ours and those of future generations; he never changes. divine providence opens the door to future generations. concrete demonstrations of his relationship with past generations are eminent all through the new testament. it is a call to re-establish ourselves in the same god who was, who is and who is to come (revelation 1:8). zechariah’s praise at the naming of john the baptist upholds this: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 79 blessed be the lord, the god of israel! he has visited his people and redeemed them... he has raised up for us a mighty saviour in the house of david his servant, as he promised... he swore to abraham our father to grant us, that free from fear, and saved from the hands of our foes, we might serve in holiness and justice all the days of our life in his presence... (luke 1:68-79). this canticle maintains the link between the past, present and future of god’s people. such a link is what ancestry seeks to maintain; a relationship between the living and the dead. it forms part of what defines a people and gives them direction. the same sentiment is maintained in mary’s magnificat: “... he protects israel, his servant, remembering his mercy, the mercy promised to our fathers, to abraham and his sons forever” (luke 1:46-55). this shows that the new testament is a fulfilment of this promise made by the same god to the same people. it widens the horizon of the promise to include all people(s) through faith like abraham’s. one, therefore, becomes a descendant of abraham through faith.32 jesus, against the position of the sadducees, refers to god as the god of abraham, isaac, and jacob. the emphasis here is on the fact that he is a god of the living and not of the dead. that is to imply that these patriarchs are not dead but alive (cf. matthew 22:32; mark 12:26-27; luke 20:37-38). while the twist in this statement indicates that the dead are raised back to life, in atr, the dead seem not to have died but to have transited to another world to continue living. either way, their remembrance in our day-to-day events gives us a sense of hope. in this hope, the christian faith advances that god, by being the creator of the universe demonstrates that his promise includes all peoples. jesus’ commission to his disciples to go into the whole world and make disciples of all the nations seems to buttress and imply this too (matthew 28:16-20; mark 16:15-18). besides the numerous mentions of abraham, isaac and jacob as ancestors, david, their descendant and our ancestor, also holds a special place in biblical discourses. all these aims at showing that human history has a link to god. it is his initiative. the people he chose to work with all through this history, according to the judeo-christian faith, are our forebears through faith. they were humans like us in all things. as such, they are our ancestors because virtually all communities hold such a special place for the generations before them. they are the just that lived by their faith.33 their presence and influence on us, depending 32 cfr. romans 4, galatians 3:6-9; hebrews 7 and 11; james 2:21-24. the list of the new testament references to abraham our father in faith is endless. 33 cfr. habakkuk 2:4; romans 1:17; galatians 3:11; hebrews 10:38. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 80 on how we view them, are as real as we are. it is difficult to imagine a human community that would deny the effects of its ancestors. we are today because they were and charted our course. hence, the memory lives on in and through us their descendants. this already pre-empts an african understanding of ancestors. the place of ancestors in african religion(s) ancestors occupy a central place in the african thought system. an african worldview that neglects this is incomprehensible. this is because it forms part of human nature. describing a worldview, ejiaga argues that it "encompasses assumptions about a variety of topics, including human nature, the meaning and nature of life, and the composition of the universe.”34 the african perceives the universe as composed of both the physical and the spiritual realms, in constant communion. this possibly accounts for the conception of ancestors as the living dead. of death, mbiti says, it "stands between the world of human beings and the world of the spirits, between the visible and the invisible.”35 this buttresses the cult of the ancestors as the spiritual and invisible realm, in communion with the physical world. to pass from one, the lower (physical), to the higher (spiritual), one has to die first. as such, “death becomes the necessary door to enter into the company of the ancestors and of god.”36 one obvious point that we can draw from this is the notion of immortality; in particular, of the soul. without this, one cannot conceive of ancestors, be it in african religion(s) or any other religion or culture. the soul, being incorporeal, is a spark of the divine in man, it cannot die. since god cannot die, so is his image immortal. this [the soul], ezenweke comments, “may account for the basis of the immortality of the soul in african religion and other religious cultures.”37 nkemnkia puts this in other words: 34 r. ejiaga, african worldview, in mwalimu, j. s. kenya j. s. (eds), sage encyclopedia of african cultural heritage in north america, 2 (2015), sage publications, california, 155. 35 j. s. mbiti, african religions and philosophy, eaep, nairobi, 147. 36 n. m. nkemnkia, “african vitalogy”: the african mind and spirituality, in anaclecta husserliana, 83 (2004), springer, dordrecht, 275. 37 e. o. ezenweke, the living dead in the african ontological scene, 173. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 81 the basis of african ideas of immortality can be found in the figure of the ancestors. the african is conscious that when one dies, the body remains buried in the ground and it decomposes, but the relationship with the ancestors remains and this is the sign that in human beings exists a spiritual reality which does not die with the body.38 this doctrine of the immortality of the soul is at the heart of african ontology. nkemnkia concurs with this in his affirmation of the fact that the “doctrine of the existence of the soul as an immortal substance is the root of the african vision of the human person.”39 while the human person has both body and soul, however, ezenweke posits, “it is the soul that continues to live in the abode of the living dead or ancestors or wanders about as a wandering ghost when not admitted into the ancestral cult on the basis of the failure of the physical part to live up to the moral expectations while on earth.”40 although it "is believed," nkemnkia proposes, “that while the body is still alive, the soul and the body itself are indivisible. separation occurs only after death. those still living know that their departed ones are now living in an immortal state of being.”41 they commune with them from that state. metuh adds that man “continues to live after death. but the after-life," he continues, "is not viewed from the point of view of the terminal state of human existence but... from the point of view of a continuing relationship between the living and the living dead.”42 it is within this web of relationships with the supra-sensible world that man is understood in the african sense. human life is purposeful for the african. it has a goal. this means that “the human person is a being that has its origin and finality in the supreme being.”43 there is a little difference in the perception of this after-life. the christian understanding of the afterlife is followed by judgment. though africans strife to live well to avoid a non-acceptance into the ancestral cult; they do not, in the strict sense, expect a judgement after death. “ideas about retribution are not very prominent,”44 metuh asserts. this is corroborated by mbiti who maintains that the “majority of african peoples do not expect any form of judgement or reward 38 n. m. nkemnkia, “african vitalogy”: the african mind and spirituality, 275. 39 n. m. nkemnkia, “vitalogy”: the african vision of the human person, in anaclecta husserliana, 89 (2006), springer, dordrecht, 103. 40 e. o. ezenweke, the living dead in the african ontological scene, 174. 41 n. m. nkemnkia, “african vitalogy”: the african mind and spirituality, 275. 42 e. i. metuh, comparative studies of african traditional religions, imico publishers, onitsha, 1987, 147. 43 a. i. kanu, a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy, augustinian pub nigeria, jos, 2015, 118. 44 e. i. metuh, comparative studies of african traditional religions, 147. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 82 in the hereafter.”45 the point to note, however, is that there is this belief in the afterlife. on this rests the hope of both religions. the place of the ancestors further enhances this belief. nevertheless, how this is conceived might differ. that could be a topic for another discussion. at the moment, it is pertinent to seek an understanding of how god is perceived in an african society. god in african society knowledge and belief in ancestors necessarily register something about god. they are believed to be living on in god. african society believes in god as the supreme being, as the creator who sustains the universe. this is at the heart of the african worldview. god is seen as the being who lives beyond the sky. in line with tempels, okoro avers that god is seen as “the strong one, he who possesses force for himself. he is the source of the force of every creature... the one who is stronger than others.”46 all that the earth holds belongs to him. as such, he is referred to as the creator and owner of the universe.47 the religiosity of the african revolves around this. god is beyond the knowledge of man. as a result of this inadequacy, a man reaches god through intermediary beings. this indicates that the african worldview has a hierarchy of beings in the universe; the top-most being is god. ejiaga, from his studies of these aspects of mbiti’s works, gives us a quick identification of the four broad realities that form this worldview. he summarizes: the first is belief in hierarchies and entities of power in which god is seen as the ultimate reality, followed by deities, ancestors, and humans. the second is communalism. it indicates a conception of the universe where the world of the spirits, human beings, and nature are seen as united in vital or organic communion. the characteristics of african communalism include communal self-respect, interdependence, survival of the community, group assurance, co-operation and harmony, affiliation, and shared duties. third is belief in mystical powers. in this african 45 j. s. mbiti, african religions and philosophy, 158. 46 c. m. okoro, appraisal of african concept of being, in philosophy and praxis, 4 (2008), 38. 47 j. c. okeke, god and man in igbo traditional religion, in issues in african traditional religion and philosophy, edited by ezenweke, e. o. kanu. i. a., augustinian publications nigeria, jos, 2012, 41. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 83 worldview, human events such as birth, death, health, harvests, and thunderstorms are seen to be primarily controlled by spiritual forces. the fourth is the concept of time as made up of events defined by relationships rather than something existing in and by itself.48 ranking him the first among all beings makes god the ultimate resort of the universe. without him, nothing is. while he is not within immediate reach, the concerns of his creatures are his. arinze prefers to call him the supreme spirit. this is probably because of his invisible nature. as it is the case with christianity, he is the being no eyes can see and still live; the cause of all things.49 accordingly, arinze writes: god is the supreme spirit, the creator of everything. no one equals him in power. he knows everything. he is altogether a good and merciful god and does harm to no one. he sends rain and especially children, and it is from him that each individual derives his personal ‘chi’. but this supreme spirit has made many inferior spirits who are nearer to man and through whom man normally offers his worship to him.50 the presence of intermediary beings seems to have complicated the understanding we may have of african worship. humans rise to their ancestors who are the immediate close relations they have with the spirit world. this sense of proximity is laudable because the ancestors are their blood. they form members of the same family tree. one who lived exceptionally is venerated for his prowess. his way of life stands out for many through the years. this is why their supplications are sought. they take their people’s petitions up the cadre of the spirit world. they are the spirits, which include good and bad spirits. the divinities in their different ranks up to god line up. this long chain of relationship in the spirits places the supreme being beyond the reach of mortals. with these, one can understand why the other beings that have immediate effects in human affairs are predominantly mentioned in the day to day events of human beings. does that put god away? not at all; it only means that he relates with us through these intermediaries: ancestors inclusive. ancestors: a platform for religious dialogue? 48 r. ejiaga, african worldview, 158; also cfr, c. m. okoro, appraisal of african concept of being, 39. 49 c. m. okoro, appraisal of african concept of being, 39. 50 f. arinze, sacrifice in ibo religion, ibadan university press, ibadan, 10. ‘chi’ could best be described, in simple terms, as one’s guardian angel. it has wide ranging meanings; cfr., j. c. okeke, god and man in igbo traditional religion, 56-7. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 84 so far, the discourse acknowledges that the ancestors are people of diverse ages whose exemplary lives, it is claimed, profit their people. they stand out as perfect human examples that enliven the hope of their communities. their conquest of the vicissitudes of human life gives us strength in our struggles. centrally placed in human history, their undoubting goals give the desired fragrance to the living. people seek them for their intercession, guidance and mediation. recognition of the ancestors is recognition of our heritage in our relationship with the divine. their lived experience, belief, in other words, is the heritage of their people. this means that what they are now, we only live in hope of. as such, it could be said that they welcome their people and admit them into the cult of the living-dead as a potpourri does to the guests in the home. the story of lazarus taken to the bosom of abraham leaves a good example (luke 16:22). it is this never-ending relationship between the living and the living-dead that radiates the presence of god among his people. with this sense of connection between the living and the living-dead common to christianity and atr, one could take the cult of the ancestors as the common base that sets the parting ground for a truthful dialogue. it unites all and sundry while allowing a form of diversity. this makes it a focal point for unity in the quest for god. such unity accommodates diversities and fosters growth. acknowledging it allows for interreligious encounters prior to any form of critical analysis of what implications this could hold for different religions. this is the desired “prudence and love” the fathers of the second vatican council call our attention to. in this light, the church, therefore, exhorts her sons, that through dialogue and collaboration with the followers of other religions, carried out with prudence and love and in witness to the christian faith and life, they recognize, preserve and promote the good things, spiritual and moral, as well as the socio-cultural values found among these men.51 every genuine dialogue seeks common grounds of engagement. the place of ancestors is one definitely. this proposed pedestal changes a lot of things. with this, the christian faith would not need to look at african religions as some worship of the ancestors since it maintains the company of the saints. these are similar affirmations referring to people, who though once lived like us, but now exist differently. what the ancestors are for african religions, the saints are for 51 nostra aetate, 2. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 85 christianity.52 establishing the fact that the christian god is of the ancestors implies that they practically serve similar purposes for both religions in this given context. it is pertinent to note that neither of these two religions approves of the worship of ancestors/saints. they are simply respected for the roles they play in the lives of their people. on this laudable note, the terms ancestors and saints sustain similar meanings: the living-dead who share the transcendental life. they address the fact that anyone who genuinely seeks god will find him. their place in human history is, therefore, an indication of our future in the coming life. relating this to the sainthood in catholic faith, nwafor argues, the essence of the veneration of the saints is found in this related concept: “the communion of the saints.” in the veneration of the saints, the living do not only accord this great respect to them but they also ask their help in prayer. the communion of the saints is not the same as necromancy where the dead are conjured for the purpose of causing harm or of gaining knowledge of secret things. the communion is rather of prayer done to the triumphant members of the church by the pilgrim members for themselves and for the suffering church since the three make up the mystical body of christ.53 the veneration of the saints in christian traditions pays due to both the known and unknown saints. god is the ultimate determiner of who becomes a saint. the names of the ancestors might gradually fade in the minds of their people. however, it does not neglect their exigent role in the lives of their people. be they known or not their significance is beyond any contest. both religions somewhat seek the aid of their ‘eternal pilgrim friends’, particularly in moments of need. in this notable instance, the celebration of ‘all saints' and the commemoration of 'all souls' in catholic traditions portray this. it teaches and highlights the importance of these 'living-dead' for us. from the former, intercessions sought for, rise to god; and for the latter, the prayers offered to god, plead for mercy that they may gain admittance into the company of the saints. once granted, they qualify to intercede for the living. it clearly shows that both the living and the 'living-dead' need each other in different degrees. as a platform for religious dialogue, the belief in the ancestors better unites than divides us. the choice of christianity and african religion(s) is merely relative. ancestors permeate all religious traditions. their very existence is what 52 cfr. m. i. nwafor, the living-dead (ancestors) among the igbo-african people: an interpretation of catholic sainthood, in ijsa, 9 (2017) 4. 53 m. i. nwafor, the living-dead (ancestors) among the igbo-african people, 39. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 86 reinforces these traditions in their people. just as the potpourri emits a nasal fragrance, they, in turn, emit the hopes and aspirations of their people. this transcendence means a lot to every religion. while how this is perceived might differ, the fact that it is there is consoling. what goes for christianity and african religion(s) could go for other world religions in divergent relative senses. the memory of the ancestors continues to give each religion a reason to keep booming. they believed and so lived; we like them, also believe and live too. proselytic religions have been concerned about making believers of people. this act, of making something into another, takes of time and demands patience. it is more complicated with human beings. if done hastily or coarsely or astutely mixed-up with some domineering motives, as it seemed to have been the case, a near mess would result. they need to make the right choices if this making of believers must bear desired fruits. it has not fully worked out well as we have seen. non-proselytic religions have their creeds, written or unwritten, at heart. the best way to get them to listen is dialogue. like a foundation for this, ancestors provide the needed common understanding; hence, the need for dialogue. if making disciples entails the conversion of the heart, the ancestors are the best available starting point. all acts aimed at simply eroding all that people hold dear have proven abortive. they only allowed for uncritical syncretism. the world does not need that now. religious creeds that promote justice, peace and understanding must have the chance to thrive. the world needs those. they bank on our heritage as people who share the same humanity. they promote our common goals as a people. this sense of interconnectedness seems to be the aim of pope francis' fratelli tutti.54 to seek common human grounds is to seek non-mythical stuff. there is nothing pseudo about such a search. the place of the ancestors is not mythical. they are part of the people who have the same mutual sentiments. their memories live on after all. conclusion the essence of this research is to advance the argument for the ancestors as common grounds for religious dialogue. christianity and african religions, taken in context, seek a sincere dialogue. despite their diverse creeds, the place of the ancestors or the saints, in other clearer terms, stands out. like a potpourri 54 cfr pope francis, fratelli tutti: encyclical on fraternity and social friendship, orbis books, new york, 2020, n. 1, 5. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 87 collecting different articles, its purpose is the same. from its place, it shines out for others to see and learn. the hopes of those who look up to them grew by the day. there is nothing mythical about them. their memories enliven the resolve of their forebears. in god, they have found their rest and from his gracious glimpse plead and guide their own here on earth. he is their god as he is ours today. there is, therefore, no room for uncritical syncretism. our ancestors have provided us with a pedestal. god is the god of the ancestors as he is ours today. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 5.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 19 philosophical appreciation of igwebuike methodology jude i. onebunne, phd department of philosophy faculty of arts nnamdi azikiwe university, awka ji.onebunne@unizik.edu.ng, 080340734664 abstract there is no scholarship that can worth the scientific and systematic rigor without methods at the heart of such scholarly enterprise. philosophical enterprise is not possible without method. from ancient history of philosophy, across medieval time through the modern period unto the contemporary era, the method of philosophizing sustains such moments and indeed differentiates their discussions. hence, no method, no philosophy. igwebuike methodology, however, specifies the framework of igwebuike within and without. keywords: igwebuike, method, philosophy, kanu ikechukwu anthony, complementarity introduction philosophy as systematic study is not possible without a method. methodological approach therefore is very fundamental in understanding and doing philosophy. in a very strict sense, no method no philosophy. a part of the problem we have in philosophy is method and that is why without it anything goes. without method in any philosophical enterprise, many things that cannot stand the litmus test of science nor assume the nature of philosophy. hence, there are confusions in the boundaries of philosophy because there is neither one method nor specified methodological instrument used in the approach. method remains the principal tool for philosophizing. this work x-rays method in the light of philosophizing. method, however, retains prominence in the practice and doing of philosophy. to define this concept of method and to determine the type of method that may be proper in philosophy become a problem that is not only as old as philosophy but as contemporary as in our time. the ideas of philosophical method will lead us to the question whether philosophy has any method that is particular and specific to it. the work at hand tries to x-ray these problems in different chapters therein. through different methods used in the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 20 doing of philosophy some have thought that philosophers do not agree and this is the perennial problem of philosophy. as rightly written: has philosophy a method of its own? plato and hegel thought so, they disagreed about its nature but agreed in calling it “dialectics”. for bergson it was intuition, for wittgenstein the uncovering of nonsense, for moritz schlick clarification, and for husserl phenomenological description. hume, on the other hand, thought that the philosopher should imitate the methods of experimental inquiry, while spinoza believed that philosopher should imitate the geometrical (edwards, 1967, p. 218). it is only through the method acceptable in philosophy as a rational study, through a scientific approach, can one do philosophy. this work reiterates this stand showing the definitive demand of method in philosophical engagements, irrespective of different philosophical methods. the method applied in this work is analysis with some hermeneutical bent. however, the diversity of these opinions would strongly suggest that to define philosophy in terms of any particular method is to take sides in a philosophical dispute. historically speaking, philosophers have made us of a great variety of procedures”(edwards, 1967, p.128) this paper is in many parts dealing with introduction, defining moments of method, understanding method as method, method as a definitive demand in philosophy, different methods of philosophy and conclusion. defining moments of method in our studies in philosophy we are faced with the basic and premier problematic concerning its method and methodological approaches in philosophy. method must be given a strictly formal and scholarly attention. if philosophy is to be studied in its intent, content, extents, context and formal objects, there must be method or methods and methodological approaches in attaining meaningful defining principles of philosophy as a search for the ultimate meaning in life. remarkably, therefore, with method, philosophical enterprise excludes illusions, dreams, soothsaying, fiction, myth or legendary, mysticism or exoticism, hearsay igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 21 and academic gossips. without method our philosophical mind and philosophical engagements may not have survived and obeyed the needed basic scientific exigencies of philosophy. lack of method in philosophy do grave harm to philosophy’s scientific reality and veracity. method in philosophy is inevitable and indispensable and thereby guarantees a sure scientific means to the deposits of scientific definitions in philosophy. method is a very fundamental scientific factor and criterion in philosophical enterprise. we employ it in our academic attempt to define and determine the formal boundaries and systematic meaning of philosophy, since philosophy goes for scientific philosophicality in all ramifications. hence, we must know that scientific philosophicality in philosophy includes among others the method involved in the philosophic enterprises. method, therefore, remains a categorical parameter and fundamental imperative for doing and defining philosophy and its principles and limits. by these basic assumptions, annunciations and exigencies in place; philosophy possesses and performs with the correct principles, materials, tools, subjects and objectives. method therefore becomes a definitive demand in philosophy. method being taking as definitive demand in philosophy becomes a defining moment in which one gets to the philosophical issues in questions. the defining of moment of method refers to those issues that demand systematic approach, of which when not applied, leads to contradictions and illogicalities. such moments have to do with the steps or different methodological approaches needed to be involved in realizing one’s set goals in philosophical discourse. understanding method method, by way of definition is an orderly or systematic arrangement (the new international webster’s comprehensive dictionary, 2004). it is simply a procedure with regard to a regular or systematic arrangement, design or way of accomplishing something. it is an ordering arrangement of steps to accomplish an end or a goal. therefore, method is a technique characteristic of a particular discipline. it is an established way of doing anything one is engaged in. method is therefore synonymous with system, routine, mode, manner, fashion and way,(the new international webster’s comprehensive dictionary, 2004).these synonyms with method refer to a plan followed to accomplish a task or attain a goal. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 22 going through the root, method literally comes from greek word methodos (afterroad) designating the way in which the totality is acquired and built-up. we approach an area of knowledge methodologically when we study according to plan, work out its particular areas, organize the various bits of knowledge logically and bring out as many relationships as possible. method in this sense therefore entails a pattern and implies a detailed, logically ordered plan, a form of order, regularity and systematic co-ordinations. however, “method and system makeup the essence of science. system concerns the content of the science while method has to do with the formal aspect” (baker, 1972). however, our reference point is philosophy. and among the many divisions of method, reference should be made here to the distinction, very important for philosophy, between the analytic and synthetic methods. philosophy in its many methods first has need of analysis but through it prepares the way for synthesis. however, the scientific investigation of the problems concerned with the methods is methodology. more so, a great help to the methodical development of science in any field is a distinct and clear terminology. we must note that philosophical method is a method used in the study of philosophy. it is acceptable among philosophers that philosophy is distinguished by the methods philosophers apply and follow in addressing philosophical questions and issues. there is, however, not just one method that philosophers use to answer philosophical questions or solve philosophical problems. these methods are forms of philosophical research that lead to the goal of philosophizing. method is an intrinsic thing in philosophy. when you have a method, you have done it. if you are following a method, you are doing it. if you are not following any method, you have skipped out and already missing the mark. method in this basic understanding leads to the terminus ad quem of the project at hand. and to reach your goal in philosophizing therefore, means to have applied a method. having gone thus far, method is that with which we convey or arrive at what we have set out to say, do or accomplish. appreciation of method in philosophical traditions method or methodology has been a fundamental aspect of philosophy. method is an established modus operandi for proper and expected results. hence, it defines the systematicity and scientificity of any discipline as such. methodology therefore is the philosophy and philosophical concepts to worth the name must igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 23 have a procedure for any philosophical enterprise to worth the name. methodology according to onebunne, (2019, p.1) is a definitive demand in philosophy and in particular in african philosophy. hence onebunne, (2019, p.1) reiterates thus: “philosophy as a systematic study is not possible without a method”. hence he asserts categorically that, no method, no philosophy. igwebuike as a philosophical concept must share some methodological moments to worth the name. in the proper study or researches on igwebuike, there are “system of methods used in a particular area of study (internet). this is simply referred to as igwebuike methodology. igwebuike methodology is a search for the systematicity as well as the scientificity employed by the frontliner philosopher of igwebuike philosophy. philosophical enterprise is only possible through a methodological approach. hence some philosophers identify philosophy with method. method as a definitive demand in philosophy the history of philosophy is enriching as a result of numerous methods and methodological approaches shown in many perennial philosophic engagements. every philosophy or philosopher has a method of philosophizing and reaching its formal objects. philosophy we must know is not a method but through method philosophy fulfils the search for wisdom. however, philosophy as a method is seen elementarily in epistemology and logics, then to the areas of philosophical engagements. philosophy is more than a method. rather philosophy approaches issues through method. methodological approach has been the basis of any philosophical enterprise. “method is unavoidable in philosophy” (osuagwu, 1991, p.91).therefore, method remains an essential and a categorical demand if one must or has to philosophize. it is so crucial that it is an essential condition and demand for philosophy. philosophy qua philosophy cannot be done without a method since it is a science that demands a system and a search for the ultimate in any and everything. the place and significance of method in philosophical enterprise make some extreme adherents to see philosophy of method. nevertheless”, method is unavoidable in philosophy. it is so crucial as to become the criterion and the condition of possibility, validity and solidity” (osuagwu, 1991, p.91). this is why method is being treated here as a definitive demand if one has to really philosophize. without method one cannot practice this art of the definitive prominence of method in philosophy has left us with variant methodological approaches along with the presumed perennial problem of philosophy that philosophers hardly agree on. rather, methods in philosophy have in the long run given philosophy a face lift as a lively igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 24 enterprise. every philosophy searches for the ultimate through a method. in the words of osuagwu, m. philosophy as philosophizing or reasoning, is in the final analysis, characteristically individually by its disciplinary commission an activity. it is also characteristically collective but by its problem, project, conclusions and purpose... in other words, philosophy is in and individual vocation and employments but and which has community ordination and teleology (osuagwu, 2001, p.31). method is involved in these allusions. and these can only be appreciated in philosophy through defined methodological approaches. without method attaining the goals of philosophy may not only be difficult but cloudy. hence, by method, philosophy adopts the scientific norms of systematicity or orderliness, rigor, logicality, critically. these methodologically characters of philosophy are scientifically meant to guarantee a high degree of refinement of spirit that guarantees the qualities of epistemological economy and vigilance regarding the operation and aim of philosophy (osuagwu, 1999, p.90). most philosophers may not have started with any precise method but along the line, they end up using and/or introducing a method for their philosophical enterprises. hence no single known philosopher tried philosopher tried philosophizing without being confronted with the problem and issue of method. method in philosophy is indispensable. it remains a basis approach and major questions for many philosophers. the doing and application of philosophy centre on method. it sets limit and boundaries with regard to other disciplines. method retains a prominent position in philosophical enterprise for scientific appreciation and systematic understanding in philosophy. therefore, when positively seen, method is criteriological condition for the possibility of science; it is a categorical imperative for science discover the truth and meaning of reality. negatively, method is an effective way to detect, correct and avoid error or falsehood igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 25 (osuagwu, 1999, p.90). method, however, means the necessary order to be rigorous imposed on an area of scientific enterprise in order to attain theoretical and practical aims of truth and falsehood, meaning, knowledge and action. to do philosophy properly one has to confront the issue of method. europeans then confronted it with many philosophical engagements and today african philosophy is into it. it is a serious issue in african philosophy. so, to define african philosophy, scientific primacy and determinacy of subject area or matter, of method and purpose is strictly to be accorded to philosophy (osuagwu, 2001, p.29). method differentiates philosophical issues from other disciplines, thereby asserting what philosophy is all about and tends to achieve as an object. philosophy has many divergent view and unifying opinions aligned to one object ultimate (truth) through wisdom (reason). hence, method when properly applied or used in philosophy leads to the truth which philosophy seeks. therefore, it is defective to malign and dismiss philosophy for the diversity or divergence, the difference or the disagreement of the philosophers. such polarity of views is the normal fate of philosophy due to its variety of methods and language. preferred by each philosopher in the pursuit of this enterprise and teleos however, the worry over the perennial problem of philosophy that philosophers don’t agree may stand above such ill-fated and short sighted critical view. philosophic enterprise enjoys some terms of collaboration that are most often initiated by professional individuals. hence, “when properly seen, the opinions of philosophers become collaborating part and parcel of the architectonic attempts by individual members of the philosophic community”(osuagwu, 2001, p.32). therefore, method as a defining principle follows from its systematicity or properly put, its scientificity. moreover, the determining significance and appreciation of method for philosophy as an enterprise is seen when philosophy is only done through different methodological approaches. method is an aspect of the basic meaning and practice of science in general, as of the science of philosophy in particular. because, it’s so crucial and categorical, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 26 method becomes a major principle, fundamental criterion and necessary condition for the possibility and existence and validity of philosophy. method constitutes, for philosophy, a basic problem and project. a methodic or methodological enterprise demands a rigor and investigative nerve in attaining the truth of anything while excluding all forms of academic laziness and inability to research. and as osuagwu puts it: method disciplines the inquiry mind to obey necessary basic rules of orderliness, systematicity, rigor, criticality, clarity and certitude of investigation and knowledge, of expression and action. in this way method guarantees a high degree of refinement of philosophic spirit (osuagwu, 2001, p.32). philosophy may not be an enterprise that is worthwhile and fundamental, systematic and scientific without a method. philosophy must conform to the objective exigencies of the formal methodology of the given discipline. therefore, no matter from where, when and by whom a method is developed, what remains necessary is that the scientific rules and regulations of the method and its discipline be valid, available and respect. and such methods provide philosophers with an option for defining, identifying and clarifying issues in philosophy reliable. methodological issues in philosophy therefore are always of serious concern and demands attention. whichever method one employs in any philosophical enterprise, the basic rules and principles of rationality, systematicity, rigor, interrogation, investigation, novelty, creativity, discovery and meaningfulness must be applied within as part of the methodological approaches philosophy itself can be validly understood epistemologically as a method which the mind must follow in order to arrive at knowledge per excellence. methodology as we might have come to realize complements epistemology which is one of the basic problems of philosophy as a scientific inquiry. different methods of philosophy philosophical methods refer to modus operandi that is exclusively associated either with a class or with an object. method usually consists of a sequence of statements of perform action, within parameters. the purpose of methods is to provide a mechanism for accessing of philosophy shows some of the method. a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 27 good philosophical method guarantees one reaching the primary goal of philosophical engagements. socratic method. it is a philosophical method used by socrates, father of western ethics and moral philosophy. it can be referred to as method of elenchus or socratic debate. it is a dialectic method of inquiry, largely applied to the examination of key moral concepts and first described by plato in the socratic dialogues. it is a form of philosophical inquiry. the practice involves asking a series of questions surrounding a central issue, and answering questions of the others involved. it means engaging someone in a dialogue. plato famously formalized the socratic elenctic style in prose, presenting socrates as the curious questioner of some prominent athenian interlocutor. this method and questioning his fellow citizens about some moral and epistemological issues. this is methodic-socratic questioning. it describes a kind of questioning in which an original question is responded to as though it were an answer. this is turn forces the first questioner to reformulate a new questions, with the result that the student comes either to the desired knowledge by answering the questions or to a deeper awareness of the limits of knowledge dialectics. dialectics, from the greek term dialektike means to converse, to discuss. it is the logic of reasoning, or a logical structure that holds together a continuous line of thought or exposition. the determination of truth is arrived at by assertion of theory (thesis), its denial (antithesis), and the summing of the two to form a new theory (synthesis). it is the practice of arriving at the truth by the exchange of logical arguments and ideas. this process pre-dates to hegel, including freidrich engels and karl max. dialectics with its schematic version of a critical method of arriving at the truth starts with a thesis, developing a contradictory antithesis, and combining and resolving them into a coherent synthesis. put the other way, dialectics is a reasoning structure that holds together a continuous argument. it is an on-going process and a continuous logical expression; a controversy that allows a unification of opposites in a higher form. in some philosophers like plato and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 28 others, it is a method of philosophical inquiry conducted by question and answer. dialectics is the general approach in hegel’s philosophy. it is therefore not merely a logical expression rather it comprises the unfolding of the totality, knowledge, being and history in three moments of thesis, antithesis and synthesis. in his philosophy which is a dialectical construction of all aspects of reality, hegel englobes. whatever is, has been, and can be into the dialectical process. phenomenological method (phenomenology). it is a method of inquiry based on the premise that reality consists of objects and events as they are perceived or understood in human consciousness. it emphasizes immediacy of experience, pure data of consciousness, uncontaminated by metaphysical theories or scientific assumptions a phenomenon is that which appears. and the basic concept is the study of appearances. it is a philosophical movement based on the investigation of phenomenon as originated in 1905 by edmud husserl (and popularized by hegel’s title: the phenomenology of the spirit) who hoped to return philosophy to concrete experience. martin heidegger, husserl’s student developed an amended or modify from of it as existentialism and the modern tradition of hermeneutics. it was reinterpreted in france by marcel, ricoeur, sarte and merlean-ponty. through phenomenology method, one investigates the ground and constitution of meaning by reflective scrutiny of the sense-giving acts. referencing as a method. reference according to webster’s comprehensive dictionary is an incidental allusion or direction of the attention 15. it gives room for dependability. reference is one of the terms of methodological approaches in philosophy,. referencing, in the long run remains a method of reaching for a goal of philosophy, the ultimate truth of things. philosophical enterprise has witnessed many scholars in the history who had done tangible work and made remarkable contributions to philosophy. referencing therefore becomes necessary and the only means of standing on the authority and sincere contributions of such thinkers. referencing in philosophy to an existing effort and authority is a method of philosophy and philosophizing. therefore, all our research work and consultation, quoting and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 29 citing any academic authority and more delving into philosophical deposits is a referential method of striking our point without much fear of contradictions. methodic doubt as a method. it is a philosophical systematic method of process of being skeptical about (or doubting) the truth of one’s belief as so be certain with what is true. it was initiated and popularized by rene descartes (1596 1650). this cartesian doubt can also be known as hyperbolic doubt. it is in his famous saying “cogito ergo sum,” (i think, therefore i am), descartes, however, resolved to systematically doubt that any of his belief was true in order to build, from the ground up, a belief system consisting of only true beliefs. thus, he declared: several years have done now elapsed since i first became aware that i had accepted, even from my youth, many false options for true, and consequently what i afterward based on such principles was highly doubtful. and from that time i was convinced of necessity of undertaking once in my life to rid myself of all options i had adopted, and of commencing a new, the work of building from the foundation… methodic doubt, however, becomes another process of attaining knowledge of things. descartes applied methodic doubt to everything from god, to external word, and even to himself, but ultimately concluded that he could be certain of each . hermeneutics as a method. the term hermeneutics is a latinazed version of the greek hermeneuo (hermentice) meaning to interpret or translate from the messenger of god, hermes. its history stretches back ancient philosophy. many philosophers like plato and aristotle used his word to be contrasted and rendered respectively as sophia and interpretation. other philosopher like augustine, dithery, heidegger, gadamer, ricoeur, aquinas, friedrich, scheiemarcher, and benedict spinoza were all involved in this hermeneutics usage. hermeneutics is a theory and practice of interpretation, originally the interpretation, of texts, especially religious texts. hence, the hermeneutics cycle is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 30 the process by which we return to a text, or to the world, and derive a new interpretation perhaps a new interpretation every time, or new method for every interpreter or scholar as the case may be. hermeneutics in its systematic interpretation is concerned, of course, with getting to the meaningful reality, often through a deconstruction of already preconceive and based ideas; whatever built ups one has already. hence, hermeneutics is about interpretation, which is about meaning which is about whatever is understood (while fundationationalism is about reality, which is about known, which is about what is known”), (ross, 2008). hermeneutics is a project of getting at meaningful interpretation. the term hermeneutics is a science of interpretation or meaning (iroegbu, 1996, p.101). this kind of interpretation or meaning is based on integral interpretation of whatever is on the concrete and abstract comprehension and understanding of reality in its wholeness or totality based on the natural and even aided quest and search for meaningfulness. the hermeneutics project, therefore, is always for ultimate explanations. as iroegbu, p., alludes that, to be consistently rational, one must inquire further into total ultimacy. not to explain a given reality up to its ultimacy or to limit its ultimacy to its one aspect is to fail to explain it in its most important aspect. it is a hermeneutical failure” (iroegbu, 1996, p.101). more so, the innate desire for meaningfulness in man necessitates and promotes this philosophic methodological approach known as hermeneutics. merriamwebster’s collegiate dictionary 11th ed defines hermeneutics as, “the study of the methodological principles of interpretation” or “a method or principle of interpretation” (merriam-websters collegiate dictionary, 2006). however, in line with this definition, man as a meaning seeking being, is seen as animal hermeneuticum. the term hermeneutics covers both the first order and the second order theory of understanding and interpretation of linguistic and non-linguistic expressions. it emerged as a general branch in biblical studies. it has only turned ontological within the works of martin heiddegger’s sein und zeit. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 31 now hermeneutics is not only about symbolic communication. its area is even more fundamental: that of human life and existence as such. it is in this form, as an interrogation into the deepest conditions for symbolic interaction and culture in general, that hermeneutics has provided the critical horizon for many of the most intriguing discussion of contemporary philosophy (stanford encyclopedia of philosophy, 2005). hermeneutics is basically interpretation and analysis of term and languages and concepts so as to discover in them the underlying philosophical score presupposed and expressed or aimed at. hermeneutics is the science of interpretation beyond simple literary meaning. hermeneutics, therefore, in a very strict sense crystallizes, systematizes and articulates principles which are hidden in the issue at stake. it makes clear and brings to consciousness that which has all along been assumed and presumed after intense intellectual activity of systematic interpretation. this interpretation becomes a tool of operation and understanding and analysis of any conceptual question. the analytic method (analysis). analysis is a philosophical method. it literary means breaking-down of a whole into parts. as method it is a cluster of philosophical inquiry. it grew out from a philosophical school of 20th century, practiced in the united state and great britain, whose central methodology is the logical analysis of concepts or study of language in which they are expressed. proponents of this method are bertrand russel, geoge edward moore, rudolf carnap and ludwig wittgenstein. this analytic method, however, gave room to analytic philosophy. philosophical analysis is a general term for techniques typically used by philosophers in the analytic tradition that involve breaking down (i.e. analyzing ) philosophical issues. arguably the most prominent of these techniques is the analysis of concepts known as conceptual analysis(http://en.wikipedia.or/wiki/rights). analysis as a philosophical method has been understood and used in different ways. in the broadest sense, according to stanford encyclopedia of philosophy, it means igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 32 “a process of isolating or working back to what is more fundamental by means of which something, initially taken as given, can be explained or reconstructed.the explanation or reconstruction is often then exhibited in a corresponding process of synthesis. the aim may be to get back to basis, but there may be all sorts of ways of doing this, each of which might be called analysis’’ (http://stanford.edu/entries/analysis). the same understanding is expressed by the oxford dictionary of philosophy which defines analysis as the process of breaking a concept down into more simple parts so that its logical structure is displayed.the above understanding may be called the decompositional conception of analysis. the ancient greek thought, however, had a regressive conception of the term. it used it to refer to the process of working back to first principles by means of which something could be demonstrated. the word ‘’analysis’’ is derived from the greek word analusis, meaning ‘’loosening up or dissolutiom’’. its use was extended to the solving or dissolving of problems. its use in the methodological sense was firstly employed in ancient greek geometry and later, in greek philosophy, with much influence on both plato and aristotle. the influence was especially apparent in socrates’ preoccupation with definitions in which the roots of modern conceptual analysis can be found. in the modern era, especially with the scientific revolution of the seventeenth century, new forms of analysis emerged, the newest through ‘’the development of more sophisticated mathematics techniques, but even these still had their roots in earlier conceptions of analysis. by the end of the early modern period, decompositional analysis had become dominant’’ (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/analysis). historical method of philosophy. historicism or rightly put historical method is always an attempt to go into the past of any issue so as to be well footed in the present. philosophy has a history as old as man, which stretches from the ancient period across the dark age, middle ages, renaissance, and modern time unto the contemporary period. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 33 history has to do with a record narrative of the past event with regard to particular event, period, nation or individual. historical method is a veritable area for studies, for philosophizing. as osuagwu notes: of special note is the fact that recording history involves a high degree of the phenomenological attitude: an epistemological recording or a psychological aestheticartistic representation (description) that lets the historical facts to, as much as possible, manifest themselves in what they were when they first happened.this is a delicate stage in the historian’s task; it demands a very high degree of professionalism of impracticality, objectivity and of scholarly imagination which restrains from the temptation of impose extrapolations, corruption and detraction, or for betrayal by intrusive materials prejudicial to original historical facts (osuagwu, 1999, p.57-58). through historical method, we discovered that the history of philosophy obeys three basic methodological exigencies of the science of history, with the margin of specificity characteristics of the history of philosophy, (osuagwu, 1999, p.5758). moreso, in african philosophy the historical moments of reduction, deconstructions and construction. the interplay of history in philosophy offers one a wide range of opportunity to articulate some basic philosophical principles in history. when we talk of the history of philosophy and philosophy of history we may think of relating philosophy with history. moreover, historical sources are not totally different from philosophical sources. therefore, in considering these historical exigencies needed for historical method, one needs to visit the deposits of history. thus, with regard to doing philosophy, especially african philosophy, historical method is ad rem. as osuagwu puts it, historical text can be classified as oral verbal as written and solid or material. oral documents are found in interviews, narrations, audio, songs, stories, etc. written documents (literature) are contained in papyri, scrolls, books, tablets, inscriptions, annals, correspondences, computers, films. finally, material documents are found in monuments like tablets, papyri, books medals, trophies, art and architectural works, like audio, videos, temples, tombs, pottery, arms, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 34 jewellery, and currencies. in considering these historical sources, auxiliary disciplines come into close coopration: archelogy, epigraph, papyrology, paleontology, numismatics, etc. these history-oriented and history-intensive sciences further aim at the classification and critique and sources at the foundation of history. the premier task of the historian is to collect the most appropriate texts which help our knowledge of past events in a given area. in this, the genius of the researcher-historian is a capital factor. once the discovery of the basic historical texts is accomplished, the technical exigencies of narration and recording, as of explanation, interpretation, preservation, evaluation, dissemination or communication come into play (osuagwu, 1999, p.57). added to the known and acceptable methods of philosophy there is this fundamental methodic approach of doing african philosophy that borders on recovering from the past and asserting the existence which is historicalmethod with four cognate moments of african philosophico-historical deconstruction, african philosophico-historical reduction, african philosophico-historical reconstruction and african philosophico-historical construction. nevertheless, makumba, (2007, p.17), opined that “the essence of african philosophy should be read holistically in the context of its historical development”. we must note that all the formal methods of philosophy of the early western philosophical tradition can be in one way or the other be applied in the cognate moments of historical period. such four methodological moments are possibly applicable in our contemporary era if we can make a meaningful scholarship. these historicomethodological moments are great foundational possibility for african philosophical scholarship. igwebuike philosophy igwebuike philosophy is an african philosophy. igwebuike philosophy as kanu’s conceptual coinage has been a complementary philosophy. igwebuike philosophy is an african metaphysics of communal strength. in the words of kanu, (2018, p.7): “igwebuike is the modality of being in african philosophy. it is from the igbo composite word and metaphor igwebuike, a combination of three words” african philosophy igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 35 african philosophy in the thoughts of makumba, (2007, p.17) is“a necessary feature of the contemporary philosophical discourse and indispensable in the instrument in the formation of culture today”. it is recently appreciated as a movement and as a discipline. it is a movement because it tries to emancipates and reclaim all the known stolen traditional philosophical legacies within and without africa reality.as a discipline, african philosophy is a scientific study of reality in its philosophicality and africanity. gone are the days of questioning the possibility of the existence of african philosophy. african philosophy is now than ever a possibility.ozumba, g. o. reiterates thus the question of african philosophy has in this century assumed an important place in the works of philosophers-both euroamerican and african philosophers. to talk about ethnophilosophy has more than before brought in africa a new awakening as african philosophers have been awakened from their nonchalant slumber which has left the vast spectrum of african system of thought largely in the limbo. today, like wounded lions, an appreciable number of philosophers of african origin have demonstrated a new zest which has been manifested in the outburst for the show of not only patriotism but a display of the intellectual excellence that characterizes the scholarship that obtains in african universities, especially in their faculties of philosophy. in recent times we have witnessed a plethora of articles and books that could rightly be said to fall into the area of african philosophy. is it that africans have only of late realized that the unwritten nature of african world-view is causing the existence of a lacuna in the chain of world philosophy? africans must have realized the need to show as other continents have done that she has her own system of thought and perception about life. in line with this osuagwu, (1999, p.26), alluded to this thus, “african philosophy has been very much denied, rejected and neglected on grounds of its controversial genuine historicity, scientificity and authentic africanity. but with their educational and researches, africans have been enabled to make affirmative or favourable claims a propos”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 36 the criteria are derived from the two principal determining terms african and philosophy. african philosophy is at the same time african and philosophical. in and by these terms, we are searching, on one hand, for the genuine philosophicality, i.e., formal scientific philosophy, of the said african enterprise, and on the other hand, for the authentic scientific africanity of that scientific philosophy. these two basic scientific criteria make african philosophy to bear the characteristic marks of its particularity and universality. by its africanity, african philosophy is a particular regional contextualization, reflection and expression of the universal and by its philosophicality, it is a universalization, a universal vocation, ordination, destination and determination of and in the african particular. conclusion on igwebuike methodology as an african philosophy igwebuike philosophy applies all the known philosophical method as well as the method proper to african philosophy. igwebuike methodology understood as method is the avenue through which we understand our work. it gives room for one to review systemically without fear of error or contradictions what one has done or accepted as a result of systematic or scientific approach. if you are operating outside method, there would definitely be an error, repetitions or contradictions and illogicalities; there may not be limits or boundaries. in this understanding, method serves as a guide, protectors and safety or security of our work. without method there could be no scientific thinking or writing. such will be filled with academic flaws and contradictions showing lack of investigative nerve for researching. references kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and and logic (nka) of african philosophy”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 37 kanu, i. a. (2015a). a hermeutic approach to the study of african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015b). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no. 1.[ 97-101]. kanu, i. a. (2016b). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no.1. [1-7]. kanu i. a. (2018a). sources of igwebuike philosophy. towards a socio-cultural foundation. international journal of religion and human relations vol. 9 no 1 june. kanu, i. a. (2018b). igwebuike and being in igbo ontology: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 4 no 5. [12-21]. kenneth b., (1972). philosophical dictionary, washington: gonzaga university press. edwards p., (1967). the encyclopedia of philosophy, vol. 5 & 6. the idea of philosophical method, ny: macmilliam and free press, p218. http://en.plato. stanford. edu/entries/analysis http//en. wikipedia. or/wiki/rights iroegbu, p., (1996). kpim of metaphysics, owerri: university press. p.101 merriam – websters collegiate dictionary, (11th ed.). 2006 osuagwu, m.i., (1999). a contemporary history of african philosophy, amamihe lectures volume iv enugu: snaap press ltd., p91. osuagwu, m.i., (2001), a contemporary history of african philosophy, p. 90 osuagwu m.i., (1999). african historical reconstruction, amamihe lectures, vol 1, owerri: assumpta press, p.57-58 osuagwu, m.i, (2001). early medieval history of african philosophy, amamihe lectures vol ii, enugu: snaap press ltd, p. 31. osuagwu m.i., (2001). early medieval philosophy, p. 29 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 38 osuagwu m.i., (2001). early medieval philosophy, p.32 rene decartes meditation i, 164 in wikipedia internet. ross, k. l, (2008). foudattionalism and hermeneuties: internet phd thesis the new international webster’s comprehensive dictionary, ecyclopedic edition, usa, (2004): trident press international. the new international webster’s comprehensive dictionary. stanford encyclopedia of philosophy, (2005). mht; internet, wed., nov, 9. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 3.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 56 accountability as an ethical value in nigeria’s public service: insight from the parable of the talents in matthew 25:14-30 chukwuma-offor, amara m. department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe university,awka, nigeria am.chukwuma-offor @unizik .edu.ng abstract public service is a machinery for a nation’s national development. it provides the required human and material resources needed for such development. its efficiency and effectiveness could be determined by its quality sevice delivery geared towards the realization of the common good. on the other hand, its inefficiency is a cog in the wheel of progress and as such retards the nation’s development. observations have shown that nigeria’s public service has experienced lots of challenges which has affected the nation’s development.the observed problems are inextricably linked to poor accountability consciousness. this paper, employs the pericope of the parable of talents in matthew 25:14-30 as a framework which illustrates accountability as an ethical value and as such, an indispensable tool in public service.the work adopts literary critical method and submits that for nigeria to experience formidable and viable public service, accountability as an ethical value should be held at esteem. introduction the idea of develpoment remains the preoccupation of every human society,organization and government especially in democratization.such mindset requires planning hence,planning for development demands special knowledge and skill. every nation’s development pressuposes the existence of a viable public service.put differently,the development of every nation largely depends on the capability of its public service.the imperative nature of public service is realized from the fact that it serves as agent of national development.it provides the required human and material resources for a nation’s national development and stability.its competence,effectiveness and efficiency is measured by its quality service delivery.the essence of true public service is to make substantial impact and contributions towards the actualization of the common good. every regime in government understands the place of public service as an integral part of the socio-economic development of the nation hence,its igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 57 continuous effort to reform the public service.okonkwo(2009) noted that right from the colonial days,nigeria has had a total of twelve administrative reforms in the public service before 1999. government administrators of the 4th republic are not left out in the reform packages.the cardinal objectives of these reforms had been to enhance overall efficiency and effectiveness in the structure,process and functioning of the public service. it is important to note that in all these reforms,there are fundamental ethical principles that have continued to reoccur either as the commission’s objective or as recommendations and they are considered prerequisite for effective and qualitative public service.the 2008 edition of the federal republic of nigeria public service rules butresses the above point by stating that public service system mission is “ aimed at entrenching the issues of transparency,accountability,justice,equity,due process,and the rule of law”. the government’s argument in support of these reforms is that the overbloated nature and uninformed structure of the nigeria public service has continued to brood inefficiencies,poor service delivery and lots of malpractices and consequently poor development. observations have shown that despite the number of reforms had in the nigeria’s public service,it has continued to experience lots of challenges due to distortions of the ethical values. faseke(2006) in concrete terms stated that “despite the series of structural reforms,image laundry,improved packages and others meant to engender integrity and transparency in the civil service, the sector has not improved.the service is marked by greed,poor service delivery,misappropriation of fund,ghost workers,truancy and endemic corruption among others and consequently poor development and social instability. the above observed problems are traceable to poor accountability consciousness.this paper does not by any measure claim that nigeria’s public service has not in any way contributed to the nations national growth .the bottom line is that the fundamental ethical values that engender effective public service are lacking. accountability is an indispensable tool and as such considered paramount to the conduct of government business.it is the submission of this work that nigeria’s public servants should imbibe accountability consciousness as one of the ethical values that would engender quality service delivery and in turn societal development. public servants should take their appropriate role and imbibe proper ethical values more importantly as “ believers in faith” for the actualization of a sustainable nigerian state. clarification of concepts igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 58 a. accountability democratic governance remains the most attractive option that could meet the challenges of development and stability especially in the developing nations.this presupposes the existence of a virile,efficient,effective,ethical and accountable public service system.nigeria is relatively practicing democratic system of government.such system of government requires the masses to elect people who will make decisions for them and on their behalf as their representatives in democratic republic.as representatives of the people entrusted with power to achieve particular ends,elaigwu asserts they must be held accountable for their actions periodically. ula-lisa corroborates the above view by saying that they must not only be accountable but also transparent. in this manner, the people could determine the bearing of the government through the human compass (representatives). in such environment, the opinion of the people takes precedence and if objectively and conscientiously considerd,democratic values and dividends with its attendant development would be guaranteed.to achieve this task,public service as agent of national development and stability must serve as a springboard for the realization and consolidation of democratic dividends.this can only be realized if the culture of accountability is imbibed.according to ajakemo and aroh accountability implies “stewardship,an expectation to give explanation”. as carriers of people’s mandate both political leaders and other public servants are obliged to be responsible and render objective account of their service to the people.in that case,accountability goes beyound the use or misuse of public fund/resources to include openness and readiness to constant analytic scrutinization. asobie in adefila and adeti understands accountability as the obligation owed by anyone occupying a position of trust or responsibility to provide appropriate response to all stakeholder for action carried out and/or performance achieved in the discharge of his duties”. here, accountability is considered an obligation hence it goes as a corollary to the responsibility and authority to perform assigned duties. omobolaji and tunde remark that accountability underscores the superiority of the public will over private interests of those expected to serve and ensures that the public servants behave according to the ethics of their profession. elaigwu reiterates that accountability is the ability of a public functionary to give satisfactory explanation for his or her action.when such explanation is made by the public servants to the public it becomes public accuntability.yahaya in a more elaborate approach, defines accountability as an ethical behaviour which involves responsibility for ones decisions and actions, and willingness and readiness to explain or justify such whenever called upon to do so. in a similar igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 59 manner,ekwunife says “ by accountability we mean that process whereby people in positions of public or private trusts,honestly and willingly render a correct account of their stewardship to appropriate quaters without falsifications”.in view of this, accountability connotes provision of vivid and honest report for the utilization of entrusted resources. the quest for accountability requires public officers to inculcate moral probity,honesty,truthfulness,integrity and social credibility. on the strength of the foregoing,accountability is considered very essential for efficient functioning of every group,organization or society especially in the nigeria’s public service. the essence of accountability in public service among other reasons is to instill moral consciousness,illumine stewardship responsibilites and to checkmate abuses and misuses associated with powerful bureaucratic structures.accountability serves as a control mechanism.in view of this,raga and derek say it guards against abuses and excesses that could be found in public service.it serves as an antidote to fraudulent practices. with the level of decline of morality in the nigeria’s public service sysem,it becomes imperative to redirect the minds of public servants to imbibe accountability as one of the ethical values capable of promoting efficiency,checkmating excesses and ensuring quality service delivery.accountability as an ethical value is an essential ingredient that could gurantee healthy and sustainable development b. public service pope john xxiii observed that human society can neither be well ordered nor prosperous without the presence of legally constituted authorities, to preserve its institution and to do all that is necessary to sponsor actively the interest of all its members. the above assertion by john xxiii underscores the relevance and legitimacy of political authority or power.this power, hammawa in aghamelu says is representational.it is given to someone by the others on their behalf and on trust. those who represent the people in various capacities in government for the realization of the public interest are known as public servants. the dividends of such representation can only be made feasible by a viable,efficient,effective, ethically minded public service. public service therefore, is the institutional machinery of the government charged with the responsibility of making and implementation of policies. the implication is that no meaningful development would be made without this machinery known as the public service. however, the role of public service in policy formulation and implementation in nigeria cannot be overemphasized. given its strategic relevance,many authors igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 60 have given various definitions.okoye, drawing his insight from encyclopedia and wikipedia on the definition of public service says:we can understand that public service,comprises government personnel or employees in various government departments,or agencies in the public sector associated with the service of the community or a service that is performed for the benefits of the public or its institutions. ejiofor in ayodele and bolaji posits that public service in the developing societies is everything and that the most important catalyst of development is an efficient service.okonkwo in this regard identifies public service as an integral part of economic and social development in the developing countries. in scope,public service include:civil services,parastatals and other agencies. althoughajakemo and aroh observed that civil service and public service are often used interchangeably,public service has a wider scope of service than civil service.adamolekun and akpan in okonkwo made a clarification by saying that civil service is a subset of public service.be that as it may,in the context of this work,public service shall be considered as all public functionaries in various government departments associated with the service of the community for the actualization of the common good or service in any capacity where the presence of government is felt for the promotion of public interest (common good).such service could be at federal,state or local governent levels. c. ethical values value as a concept is a universal phenomenon.any human society devoid of values is bound to collapse; little wonder every human society cherishes and extols values.nwabuisi in ugwu clearly stated that values are fundamental to all human societies in human activities and actions all over the world.ikeanyibe presents values as what any society care about as a group that is what motivate people from within.values have potential powers of facilitating and creating an enabling environment for socio-economic development of the society.values help to promote societal integrity while jettison of values its absence erodes the human society of its cohesiveness,integrity and development.values,however,are principles of standard of living which the people consider good. ethics according to omoregbe is concerned with the question of right or wrong in human behaviour. it is a moral principle that governs the human conduct. ethics and morality are intertwined and often times used interchangeably. the bottom line is that both deal with human conduct and in the words of ugwueye both seek to check man’s behaviour in such a way that does not only benefit one igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 61 but prevents one from hurting or injuring others.davis in tunde and omobolaji defines ethics as those morally permissible standards of conduct that each member of a group wants every other to follow. from the foregoing, it is obvious that ethical values address human conduct and as such considered indispensable in every facet of human endeavours. this work adopts gurof succint explanation of ethical values to connote all vital principles and acceptable norms of behaviour that public officials are obliged to strictly adhere to in the process of dealing with citizenry. some of these ethical values include:truth,freedom,respect for life,responsiblity,love,justice,equity,fairness and above all accountability. d. talent it is any natural skill or ability or endowment in an individual that helps him to do something very well. e. parable it is a short story that teaches a moral or spiritual lessons analysis of the text (matt 25:14-30) the pericope under study has a close literery link with the preceding parable(matt 25:1-13).the transitional statement in the opening verse 14(“again,it will be like...”) attests to this.that nothwithstanding,the connecting statement unveils still the thematic unity flavour of the parable.parable of the talents falls under the eschatological discourse(chaps.24-25) which is characteristic of matthew’s gospel.the author calls christians of his era to faithful and humane service .although no man knows the exact time of the end,but in the interim,matthean gospel challenges the people to ethical and responsible dispositions to service.he employed similitudes prevalent in his time to enjoin jewish christians on the need to be prepared in readiness to account for their stewardship. the scenario is that of a rich man who entrusts his wealth to his three servants and embarked on a journey.each of the servants was entrusted with monetary trust according to his ability.it is the expectation of the master that there would be faithful exploration of what was given by each servant since none is asked of the impossible. mitch and sri observed recorded that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 62 it is impossible to calculate what each talent was worth in modern currency. the talent was a measurement of weight, and the value of any given talent depended on whether it was gold, silver or copper. neverthless, all agree that a single talent was a significant amount of wealth to be used in commercial trading. at master’s return,talent as used in the parable under study has more worth or value than the “mina” used in a similar but distinctive parable (lk.19:11-27). here, talents are considered as the largest denomination worth more than the mina that can easily be laid away in a piece of cloth (lk 19:20) while the larger and much more valuable talent had to be buried (matt.25:18,25). at the master’s return, his servants were called for proper accounting.two of the servants manifested the virtues of faithfulness and their diligence earned them 100% profit/gain. interestingly, the third servant neither lost nor squandered what was given to him as the case of the prodigal son (lk. 15:13) but did not make any substantial output. the question that will naturally flow is: was the third servant not accountable like his counterparts? his accountability may not be doubted but the bottom line is that there was no profitable use of his talent. one’s talent is meant for the good of others. in his own case, he failed to make attempt towards rendering service to others. the idea of the realisation of the common good eluded him. consequently, they were praised and rewarded for their faithful service. they were identified as good and faithful servants and were charged with greater responsibilities. the third servant was reprimanded by the master equally and rewarded in terms of blame and punishment. he was identified as a wicked and lazy servant; of a truth, he was defiant and pushes the blame for his laziness to his master. jesus spurs us to appropriate and profitable use of one’s talent for the good of all. proper handling of one’s gift would merit more while ungodly use of one’s gift attracts blame and punishment. on this note filson says “the repatire fault of the lazy servant was deadly; he made no good use of what was entrusted to him; he was not faithful”. the nigeria’s experience of accountability in public service there is no contention that public service is a pivotal organ that could facilitate national growth and development. it contains human network relationship and association, which requires managerial skill for policy formulation and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 63 implementation. public service has the capability of formulating policies that could engender socio-economic and political stability of the civil society. it is within its gamut to deliver the true dividends of democracy to the citizenry. historically, jega (2007) noted that the nigerian public service used to have a cherished history of committed, dedicated and invaluable service. in relative terms, the nigeria public service has arguably the best trained and experienced technocrats and bureaucrats in comparison with any other african country. not until the decade of the 1980’s, when reckless misrule under the military created a spiraling decline and systemic decomposition. paradoxically, some of the basic requirements associated with effective and efficient public service turned gloomy. thus, poor accountability, greed and selfishness poor performance, unethical attitude, poor service delivery and endemic corruption gripped nigeria’s public service. jega’s attribution of the capsiding of the moral values associated with public service to the military era may not be totally disputed, but note should be taken that the situation has exacerbated even in the democratic republic. in view of this, abamba (2005) observed that since may 29, 1999 when obasanjo administration took over the nigerian governance, there have been cases of corrupt practice from the highest to the lowest level. he further noted that at the federal level, there are some heads of states, their families, business cohorts, governors, ministers and national assembly members who have been involved in contract scandals and other crimes against the law; yet nobody has been arrayned before a court of law to answer criminal charges for stealing public resource inspite of abundant evidence against them. even when public official guilty of public criminal offence are identified, their cases silently go down the drain. 2008 public service rules (psr) prohibited misconduct of any sort by p.s as stipulated in psr 030301 and psr 030401 respectively, other misconducts especially bribery and corruption under financial regulation (fr 030434). similarly gundu noted article 23 of the charter for public service in africa enjoins public functionaries to refrain from, “inter alia”, abuse of office and any act(s) inimical to ethics and morally. furthermore, in order to promote ethical standard accountability and transparency in public sector the federal government of nigeria established different anti-corruption agencies. some of these agencies include: war against igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 64 indiscipline with code of conduct bureau (ccb), economic and financial crimes commission (efcc), independent corrupt practices and other related offences commission (icpc); national drug law enforcement agency (ndlea), national agency for food and drug administration and control (nafdac). in nigeria has also had series of reforms in the public service which according to okonkwo had totalled 12 even before the commencement of the 4th republic. surprisingly enough, these agencies in union with other several reform have not totally liberated nigeria from the monster called corruption and its attendant poor development. nigeria as at 2006 still rank high as the 6th most corrupt country (dukor 2005) in the world. one cannot deny totally the efforts of these agencies but the fact remains that its output is negligible when compared with the rate of corrupt practices in nigeria. corruption although is a global phenomenon, it is a dangerous social ills of any human society. osoba in tunde and omobolaji (2009) says corruption is a form of anti-social behaviour by an individual or social group which confers unjust or fraudulent benefits on its perpetrators (and) is inconsistent with the established legal norms and prescribed moral ethos of the land.. it diminishes the capacity of legitimate authorities to provide fully for the material and spiritual well being of all members of society in a just and equitable manner. in fact, corruption undermines credibilty adn deplets socio-economic growth and reputation of the sociey. it goes beyond fund looting to connote every act of betrayal of trust resulting directly or indirectly from the subordination of public goals to those of the individual. it is in this light that abamba 2005 asserts that a person who engages in nepotism has committed an act of corruption by putting his family interest first over those of a larger society. the assertion by anyaoku that corruption has virtually swallowed up our collective values and there is hardly any sector of our national life spared of this affliction was buttressed by osundare report thus: corruption is a fastestgrowing industry in nigeria today it is the real money-spinner, the oil which lubricates the engine of nigeria’s politics and economy, a sine qua non in business deals, a desideratum for advancement in all spheres. nigerians are not only psychologically intimidated, we are also morally weakened and unconcerned of our dignity. butreessing the fact that corruption has gripped nigerians and has taken uppermost position osundare and anyaoku further observed: “time there was when missappropriation of public funds in nigeria used to be described in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 65 millions; now it is reported in billions and trillions; and many of us urge them on and envy their luck”. a practical follow up of the above assertion is n32.8b pension scam in which the court granted efcc leave to seize 108 assets of the alleged pensions under section 28 of the 2004 efcc act. those involved according to ogundele were: a permanent secretary in the office of the head of civil service of the federation, atiku abubakar kigo, a director esai dangabar, ahmed iruwa wada, john yakubu yusufu, mrs. veronica ulonma onyegbula and sam habila zira. the accussed allegedly between jan. 2009 and june 2011 in abuja diverted a sum of n14,518,567,724 being part of police pension cash from an account domiciled at first bank plc. between january and december 2009 in abuja, they also allegedly breached the public trust with n8,920,371,822 police pension fund kept at first bank plc. they were also accused of stealing n656,559,289 in january 2011 while in march 2009 another n462,963,012 was allegedly diverted from the same source while working at the police pension office among others. osundare (2012) further reported that in other lands, public figures go to jail for pinching our equivalent of n50, 000. in nigeria, the higher the amount you steal, the higher you go on the national order of merit. this is made possible because of the immunity to federal or state executive from prosecution. as an adendum john rowland the governor of the state of connectivity not only resigned but was put on trial and eventually sent to a year in jail for receiving gratification of $100,000 that was not even in cash. on the strength of the above recorded, it is very clear that corruption has eaten deep into the fabric of the nigeria society. consequently, we have plunged into the state of dysconsciousness that we have virtually lost our ethical values. implications a close and critical look at nigeria’s public service and other public institutions will unveil numerous challenges due to the jettison of the ethical values.hence, individual and private goals have taken priority over the pursuit of public interest. worrisome enough is the fact that these public functionaries are men and women of different religious affliations.the situation raises question on the place of religion in civil society. it is against this backdrop in line with the year of faith as declared by emeritus pope benedict xvi, that this work proposes a viable solution using the parable of the talents. the solution stems from the convinction that accountability as an igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 66 ethical value is a platform for the realization of a formidable public service and in turn viable human society. however, we can now apply this study in the nigerian situation. fundamental among the implications is that public service is an invitation to faithful service. it entails foresight and investment of efforts by public functionaries for the purpose of actualizing the common good.donahue in hughes (1998) posits that the pursuit of the common interest requires a carefully designed structure of accountability that ensures for citizens the effort of those who act on their behalf. accountability consciousness will spur public servants and others to good and faithful use of their positions for the interest of all. accountability as the heart of democracy and cornerstone of good governance works in tandem with principle of truth, honesty and transparency.these values are upheld by different religious groups especially among the three major religions in nigeria. as affliates of different religions, public functionaries should live out their faith in their respective positions by imbibing these moral values. in this context, there should be no dichotomy between profession of one’s faith and our public life. our religious values, norms and ideals should reflect as we perform in public sectors. every public servant conscious of accontability should embrace work as a vocation. this will help in checkmating bureaucratic bottlenecks, truancy, inefficiency, poor performance, ghost workers, laziness, poor attitude to work, lateness, poor service delivery and other unethical attitude and corrupt practices found in nigeria’s public service and public institutions. parable of the talents emphasizes individual ability.in this context, individual ability connotes expartise and acquisition of skill and creativity. if this notion should be appropriated, it will help to reduce nepotism and ethnicity force and its effects in the nigerian society. on the part of the politicians, this passage frown at the use of fowl means in acquisition of power. the master/servant relationship is also a point to note in the passage. maintaining an atmosphere of cordiality will boost proficiency and realization of public goal. the text under study depicts apparently a gloomy relationship between the master and the servant. often times, the nigeria public servants relationship with the citizenry is nauseating. also, making demands on the public servants without commensurable support as obtains in nigeria will retard igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 67 service delivery. making the subordinate feel at ease in his dependency and providing enabling environment for active service will be beneficial to all. we can also glean from the text of the strategic relevance of proper renumeration. renumeration can be of two kinds: by way of praise and blame. the faithful servants were praised and promoted by their master respectively and the third servant blammed and punished. observations have shown that proper renumeration concept has eluded our nation. in concrete terms waziri (2011) stated: “indeed, with the exception of workers in the banking, oil and gas industries, it is fair to say that the current salary packages of workers in all other sectors of the economy are insufficient and inadequate to sustain their loyalty to the social contract with the nigerian nation”. on the other hand, it challenges nigeria’s legal institutions to conscientious and effective use of their office.in nigeria, the issue of ‘immunty clause’ and ‘sacred cow’ abound thus those evidently found guilty of crime feasile out of the scene without prosecution. the parable of the talents provides a better footing for the nigeri’s public functionaries to embrace accountability as one of the ethical values that will engender faithful service and quality service delivery. conclusion public service remains a catalyst for any nation’s national development. it provides the nation with both human and material resources required to gain growth and development. such a virile and strategic institution of a nation is expected to be ethically minded and accountability conscious so as to accelerate efficient productivity and development. public officers require not only acquisition of skills and knowledge but also a standard of conduct, which in turn demands ethical practices. unethical practices in the public service hinder national growth and development hence the need to foster and promote ethical standards in the nigeria’s public service. this work, on this note, upholds the parable of the talents (as contained in the gospel of matthew 25:14-30) as a framework for the enhancement of accountability as an ethical value in the nigeria’s public service; and if conscientiously applied would help in achieving development and positive image for nigeria’s public service. references ugwu, c. o. t. (2004), “salient igbo moral values as the fulcrum of societal development” in m.i.okwueze(ed.), religion and societal development, lagos: merit international publications,pp 287-296 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 68 mitch and sri (2010), the gospel according to matthew.michigan:baker academic. filson, f. v. (1987), a commentary on the gospel according to st.matthew. u.s.a: hendrickson publishers. aghamelu,f.c.(2009),“politics as public service:the moral perspective”, in aghamelu, f. okeke, s. & asomugha,c.(eds.),politics as public service:the legacy of mr.peter obi,awka:strong tower,pp11-20 okoye, n. (2009). politics as a public service:a keynote address in aghamelu, f. okeke, s. & asomugha, c. (eds.), politics as public service: the legacy of mr. peter obi, awka: strong tower, pp21-25. ajakemo, b. and aroh, e. (2005), public service system in nigeria. enugu: afrika-link. ekpenyong, m. o. (2012), catholic principles for formation of conscience for good citizenship.abuja: imax media publications. ogundele,k.(2012), #32.8b pension fund: “court grants efcc leave to seize 108 assets”. the nation, may 4, p.4. anyaoku, e. (2012) “corruption has destroyed nigeria’s values”.the nation, may,4, p.6. kanu, d. (2012), “revisiting immunity clause debate”.daily independent, may, 12, p.37. osundare,n.(2012),“why we no longer blush:corruption as grand commander of the federal republic of nigeria”.the nation, july 23, p.55. osundare, n. (2012),“corruption, nigeria’s fastest growing industry” the nation july 26, p.53. waziri, f. (2011), “a living wage, corruption and crime rate”. daily independent. march 16, p.ii. gundu, g. (2011), “nigeria’s experience in dealing with public service ethical dilemmas” www.academic journal.org retrieved july 5, 2012. abamba, s. (2005), towards eradicating corruption and unethical conduct in nigeria.lagos:nigerian institute of international affairs. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 69 adefila, j. and adeoti, j. “the essence of accountability in fraud prevention and control; borno state ministry of finance’s perception”.www.unilorin.edu.ng/publication.retrieved march 10, 2013. raga, k. and taylor d.“impact of accountability and ethics on public service delivery: a south african perspective”.www.the public manager.org.retrieved march 13, 2013. hughes, e. o. (1998), public management and administration an introduction. new york: macmillian press ltd. faseke, m. (2006), “corruption and the image of the nigerian civil service; a historical discourse.”journal of constitutional development.lagos: panaf press vol.6, no.1 pp. 101-111. ikeanyibe, o. m. (2010), reforms and public service indegenisation in nigeria (1960-2010). journal of constitutional development.lagos: panaf press vol.10, no.3. guroff, e. (2009), “ promoting ethical values and accountability in the public service”.www.oecd.org/site/sigma/publications documents. retrieved march 10, 2013. brockman, p. “accountability” www.transformational network.com.retrieved march 5, 2013. olowu, d. (2012), “accountability and transparency” in l.adamolekun(ed.) public administration in africa, ibadan: spectrum ltd. pope john xxiii (1963), peace on earth.london: catholic truth society. tunde, a. and omobolaji, o. (2009), ethics and accountability in nigeria’s public service: an historical overview.www.academic journals.org. retrieved july, 14, 2012. bolaji, k. and ayodele b.(2007),public service and democracy in developing societies: the nigerian experience.www.krepublishers.com.retrieved july, 14, 2012. asogwa, m. (2005), “ possible areas and strategies for administrative reform in the nigerian public service”,esut journal of political science .vol.1,no.1 enugu: john jacob’s publishers. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 70 yahaya, k. (2006), strategies of enhancing ethics and accountability in the nigerian public service as viewed by accountants.www.unilorin.edu.ng/publication. retrieved july 15, 2012. jega, a. (2012), development,good governance and development in nigeria.ibadan:spectrum ltd. ula-lisa, e. (2005). transparency and accountability.www.nigeria village square.com.retrieved july 5,2012. okonkwo, j. (2009), public service reforms and national development in nigeria(1990-2007). akanu ibiam journal of politics & administration. enugu: john jacob’s publishers, vol.1, no.1. pp. 11-21. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 2.doc igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 124 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) performance appraisal and motivation as correlates of academic staff productivity in southwest nigeria universities omojola i.o, ph.d department of business administration and management villanova polytechnic imesi ile, osun state abstract the study examined performance appraisal and motivation as correlates of academic staff productivity in the universities of the southwest, nigeria. it looked at how performance appraisal and motivation are related to productivity of academic staff in southwest nigeria universities. the descriptive survey design was used for this study. the population of this study consisted of 154 deans, 849 heads of department and 11,828 academic staff in southwest nigeria universities. the sample was one thousand eight hundred (1,800) respondents, comprising 20 deans, 70 heads of department and 1,710 academic staff. multistage sampling procedure which involves simple random sampling, stratified random sampling and proportional stratified random sampling technique were used to select them. two self-designed instruments were used, questionnaire on human resource management (qhrm) for academic staff and productivity of academic staff questionnaire (pasq) for deans and heads of departments. to establish the reliability of the instruments, the test-retest method was used. they were found to be 0.74 and 0.71 for qhrm and pasq respectively. the data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics such as percentage; mean and standard deviation and pearson’s product moment correlation. the hypothesis were tested at 0. 05 level of significance. the study revealed that performance appraisal and motivation were significantly related to productivity of academic staff. based on the findings of this study, it was recommended that managers should evaluate the ability of the academic staff regularly and give them feedback after evaluation. human resource managers should also motivate the academic staff through regular payment of salary and promotion. key words: performance appraisal, motivation, academic staff and productivity. introduction this work dwells on performance appraisal and motivation as correlates of academic staff productivity in the universities of the southwest, nigeria. it seems the deans and the heads of departments are not assessing the academic staff regularly, using the performance appraisal format. again, they may not be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 125 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) frequently motivated through regular payment and incentives. this lapses may be reducing the productivity of academic staff in the universities of the southwest, nigeria. performance appraisal and motivation are some of the factors that can be militating against the productivity of academic staff in southwest nigeria universities. performance appraisal deals with measuring employee productivity. in a situation where ability of the academic staff is not regularly evaluated or when the performance appraisal is not done objectively or employees’ goals are not well defined or when departmental evaluation is not conducted and academic staff do not receive feedback after evaluation, this may result in low productivity since evaluation brings about improvement. many human resource managers in the universities in nigeria (deans and heads of department) seem not to be motivating their academic staff. in the early stage of university education in nigeria, there were provisions for staff quarters, sports centers to give healthy atmosphere to the academic staff, security was sure and schools were available to take care of the children of academic staff. all these were done to stimulate academic staff to stay regularly within the campus during and after the school hours. the campus in the past was like a village where all the needs of the academic staff were adequately met. they had satisfactory compensation, deserved benefits and regular basic needs. today, remunerations, allowances and promotion and other benefits that can make academic staff to be productive appear not to be encouraging. the academic staff seems to be coping with inconveniences and less qualitative life which may affect their productivity. in the observation of root (1995), performance appraisal has a great influence on the productivity of an organization. to him, in any evaluation of all the condition necessary for the growth and survival of an organization, the role of performance appraisal is a strategic factor. it is believed that both the individual and the organization need to know how well actual performance is contributing to the accomplishment of the job plans, the staffing plan, and ultimately the overall strategic plan of the organization. in addition, the individual employee requires feedback relative to his or her own goals development, as well as that relative to management expectations. employees can be inspired by a comprehensive and honest performance appraisal. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 126 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) however, morris and stanton (2007) state that, performance appraisals are being used to reward staff in areas that were traditionally considered as standard working rights and conditions. in the same vain, bernardine and russel (2013) feel that the information collected from performance management and appraisal system is typically used for compensation, performance improvement or management (e.g personnel decision making), and documentation. performance data are often used for staffing decision (e.g promotion, transfer, discharge, termination and layoff), and this is where the entire personnel appraisal and appraisal system may fall under the close scrutiny of the courts. performance appraisal is also used for training needs analysis, employee development, and research and programme evaluation. for example validation and research for selection. the study conducted by gabris and ihrke (2001) examined the relationship between employee perceptions of performance appraisal and job satisfaction. they find that performance-appraisal highly relates to burnout and he suggested that the best-performing employees should receive not only the highest performance-appraisal scores, but also commensurate rewards. jalbani (2009) in agreement with gabris and ihrke (2001) says that the technical core of evaluation is measurement of how to determine what contribution people have made to the organization. almost every organization uses one form of evaluation, whether it is through individual meeting, a form about present and potential work, or a review of management by objectives results. according to mani (2002), the techniques of performance appraisal are varied, but can generally be condensed into three major categories: trait formats, management by objectives (mbo) formats, and behavioral system formats, such as behavior observation scales (bos). trait formats are intended to evaluate employees based on specific personality traits. mbo formats are intended to evaluate employees on how well they have achieved previously developed work-related goals, while behavioral system formats are intended to evaluate employees based upon specific work-related behaviors that the organization deems important and desirable. the study conducted by morris and stanton (2007) show that the majority of enterprise bargaining agreements in australian universities express a strategic link to performance management, with the result being that individual academic performance is increasingly being linked to organizational goals. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 127 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) performance appraisal has many benefits and yaney (1995) states that it gives direct information for changing present operations and comparative data among individual personnel and work groups. it also offers a basis for future planning. an effective performance review system serves these general purposes. also analyzing the importance of performance appraisal to productivity, mani (2002) states that performance management systems -including performance appraisals or evaluations are critical cohesive for human resource management. appraisal ratings may be criteria in decisions to retain employees during layoffs, to assess the quality of training programs, to measure equitable treatment of different groups of employees, to increase employees' pay, and to promote or terminate employees. appraisals may help poor performers improve performance by giving specific feedback about needs for development and appraisals may help employees who excel continue to excel by giving positive reinforcement. this type of feedback is essential to improve performance of employees at all levels. also, and to assess the accomplishments of the organization overall. however, according to gupta (2009), employee feel that management used appraisal for the following: performance feedback, compensation administration, promotion decision, identification of management development needs, workforce planning, validation of selection procedure. the discrepancy between the slated objectives and the perceptions of employees may be one of the reasons that performance appraisal is negatively viewed and generates anxiety among subordinates. nevertheless, the research of rehman and mohammed (2013) reveal that if a system is based on a good performance appraisal program, it will enhance the productivity of workers and at the same time provides motivations to poorly performing workers to go for improving their work performance to get more and more money. bernardine and russel (2013) then state that a person’s performance depends on some combination of ability or competency, motivation or effort, and of course the opportunity to perform. performance should be measured in terms of outcomes or results produced in the context aligned with organizational objectives. performance appraisal information is often used by supervisors to manage performance of their employees. the research of mani (2002) on performance appraisal systems, productivity and motivation, it intended to know if any relationship occur between the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 128 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) variables. the finding reveals that there is no significant relationship between performance ratings and productivity. another study was carried out by schnake, williams and william (2007), intending to know the link between human resource management practices and important work related outcomes such as employee attitudes and behaviour and firm financial performance. the results show that frequency of use of career management practices was positively related to job satisfaction and organizational commitment, and negatively related to perceived job stress and job insecurity. it can therefore be inferred from the above review that performance appraisal system is now widely recognized as a significant vehicle for improving performance and productivity of both employees and the entire organizations. rebecca (2012) asserts that motivation and productivity are twin concepts in organizational development. motivation works as the means toward attaining productivity as an end. motivation is the best cause to reach productivity as a favorable effect and motivation is the stimulus to trigger productivity as a response. stang (2000) states that employee satisfaction and productivity are goals that administrators should stress in order to accomplish the objectives of an educational facility. however, principals should accept the diversity of human attitudes, feelings and motives and professionalism while working with each teacher to personalize his/her needs. the study of oluwatoba (1997), on attitude and productivity in public organizations: a case study of niser, ibadan. it was expected to measure if workers’ attitude to work can influence productivity. she finds out that motivation will influence the attitude of male and female workers to be productive. this by implication means that staff need much attention to be productive. also, barbra (2014) notes that, there are a vast number of motivational theories that have been put forward to explain the motivational factors that affect or influence the performance and the perception of individuals and what this perception does to the organizational performance. for example, according to the equity theory, the perception that individuals have about their compensation for their work is such that when they are underpaid, the response is more likely to be that the individuals will decrease their efforts accordingly regardless of whether they have high internal (intrinsic) motivation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 129 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) nwadiani (2009) shows that lack of motivation may lead to stress which eventually may translate to ineffective classroom management and deprive school improvement. a study by stang, (2000) reveals that motivational values and effectiveness depends substantially upon wages to the teaching professional in return for educational services rendered. by implication therefore, it is very important for the human resource managers to understand that human beings need the job to survive and must be motivated to work well. human resources play a vital role in every business enterprise. other factors of production are worthless without the human factor. the research of levoy (2012) reveals that a motivated employee is more likely to output more to the benefit of the organization. most of the successful people that are around have been proved to be very efficient time managers. the efficiency of an organization is seen in its productivity. with confidence however, sheikh (2003) says that human resource motivation is the key to organizational effectiveness. the manager in general has to get the work done through others. these ‘others’ are human assets or resources. they are to be motivated at work. the key to human resource motivation is that they should be treated with dignity and respect, and their contributions to the organization in relation to productivity must be recognized. the research conducted by bloom (2013) reveals that structured work environments will facilitate interest in professional growth and productivity of workers. he then suggested that administrator support should be provided in the form of positive informational feedback concerning teachers' classroom practice and professional development goals. similarly, positive co-worker relations should be facilitated by structuring physical layout, planning time, and program policies and processes in ways that promote trust, respect, and collaboration. a research was carried out by ugah (2008) for the purpose of identifying the place of motivation in developing human resources in the library. the study finds out that motivation help to determine performance. it is generally believed that the level of compensation paid to employees must reflect their contributions or their level of productivity within the organization. this course follows from the equity theory which many private sector organizations use to determine wages of workers. specific and measurable goals and objectives are established for employees as against the public sector where no such goals are set. salary igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 130 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) increases are often awarded uniformly for everyone on the same grade based on years on the job. assessing productivity in education sector therefore, the issue of compensation and workers' welfare seem to be the greatest determinants of productivity in countries such as nigeria where the lowest order needs are yet to be adequately satisfied. also, in discussing employee management and productivity the issue of staff personnel management must be geared to attract, retain and motivate the best human assets available. nigerian employees especially in the educational sector are capable of being as productive as their counterparts in other parts of the world if they are properly mobilized towards greater productivity. this study will therefore investigate the performance appraisal and motivation as correlates of academic staff productivity in southwest nigeria universities. purpose of the study the purpose of this study was to examine how performance appraisal and motivation correlates with productivity of academic staff in southwest nigeria universities. this means that the study examined how performance appraisal and motivation relates with academic staff productivity. the study then made recommendations based on the findings. research hypotheses the following hypotheses were generated for the purpose of the study: 1. t here is no significant relationship between performance appraisal and productivity of academic staff. 2. t here is no significant relationship between motivation and productivity of academic staff. methodology the study made use of descriptive research of survey design. the population of this study consisted of 154 deans, 849 heads of department and 11,828 academic staff in southwest nigeria universities. the sample of this study was (1,800) respondents, comprising 20 deans, 70 heads of department and 1,710 academic staff. multistage sampling procedure igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 131 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) which involves simple random sampling, stratified random sampling and proportional stratified random sampling technique were used to select the states, universities and individuals to be used for the study. two sets of self-designed instruments were used for this study. the first instrument was questionnaire on human resource management (qhrm). the second instrument is productivity of academic staff questionnaire (pasq). these were used to collect relevant data from the subjects. the instruments were validated based on the judgments of experts in educational management and tests and measurement s in ekiti state university. reliability coefficients of 0.74 and 0. 71 were obtained for qhrm and pasq respectively using test re-test method. two hypotheses were postulated. the data were analyzed using frequency counts, percentage, mean, standard deviation and pearson moment correlation coefficient. the hypothesis was tested at 0.05 level of significance. results hypothesis 1: there is no significant relationship between performance appraisal and productivity of academic staff. in testing the hypothesis, scores relating to performance appraisal were computed using items 8-15 of qhrm while productivity of academic staff scores were computed using items 1-27 of pasq. the scores (performance appraisal and productivity of academic staff) were subjected to statistical analysis using pearson product moment correlation at 0.05 level of significance. the result is presented in table 1. table 1: pearson product correlation of performance appraisal and productivity of academic staff variable n mean sd r-cal r-table performance appraisal 1495 21.08 5.823 0.426* 0.195 productivity of academic staff 1495 113.00 9.061 *p<0.05 table 1 revealed that the relationship between performance appraisal and productivity of academic staff is statistically significant at 0.05 level. (r= 0.426; igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 132 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) p<0.05). thus the null hypothesis is rejected. this implies that there is significant relationship between performance appraisal and productivity of academic staff. hypothesis 2: there is no significant relationship between human resource motivation and productivity of academic staff. in testing the hypothesis, scores relating to motivation were computed using items 22-28 of qhrm while productivity of academic staff scores were computed using items 1-27 of pasq. the scores (motivation and productivity of academic staff) were subjected to statistical analysis using pearson product moment correlation at 0.05 level of significance. the result is presented in table 5. table 2: pearson product correlation of motivation and productivity of academic staff variable n mean sd r-cal r-table motivation 1495 18.16 5.028 0.532* 0.195 productivity of academic staff 1495 113.00 9.061 *p<0.05 table 2 showed that the relationship between motivation and productivity of academic staff is statistically significant at 0.05 level. (r= 0.532, p<0.05). thus the null hypothesis is rejected. this implies that there is significant relationship between motivation and productivity of academic staff. hence, there was a positive relationship discussion the study revealed that there is a significant relationship between productivity of academic staff and performance appraisal. this by implication means that if academic staff’ ability are regularly assessed and evaluated, their productivity will be enhanced. this finding may be as a result of the influence of performance appraisal on promotion and lay off of academic staff in the universities of the southwest as the case may be. however, the finding supports the research work of gabris and ihrke (2001), morris and stanton (2007) and rehman and mohammed (2013). the research they carried out revealed that performance appraisal is related to productivity. moreover, if a system is based on a good performance appraisal program, it will enhance the productivity of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 133 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) workers and at the same time provides motivations to poorly performing workers to improve. this finding contradicts the outcome of the research carried out by mani (2002) and schnake, williams and william (2007). their works revealed that there is no significant relationship between performance ratings and productivity. also that regular use of performance appraisal is negatively related to perceived job stress and job insecurity. the finding also showed a significant relationship between productivity of academic staff and motivation. this implies that since motivation improves performance, academic staff will be more productive if well motivated through regular payment of salaries/allowances and making the environment conducive for them. what may be accountable for this is that motivation will bring about the encouragement to work better and harder. the finding is related to the study conducted by oluwatoba (1997), flora and robert (1996), nwadiani (2009), stang, (2000), levoy (2012), bloom (2013) and ugah (2008). they all found out that a motivated employee is more likely to output more to the benefit of the organization. the finding however contradicts the study of barbra (2014), which concluded that motivation is inbuilt within oneself and that nobody can motivate another. this means that, no matter what the human resource managers do, it may not have much effect on the academic staff because it has to do with what one is made up of in relation to individual’s behavior. conclusion based on the findings of this study, it can be concluded that performance appraisal and motivation are important factors in the productivity of academic staff in the southwest nigeria universities. recommendations in view of the fact that performance appraisal is significantly related to productivity, the managers should evaluate the ability of the academic staff regularly, promote them as and when due and give them feedback after evaluation. since there is a significant relationship between motivation and productivity of academic staff, human resource managers should motivate the academic staff through regular payment of salary, promotion as and when due, rewarding those performing well among them and by making social amenities available in the school. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 134 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) references barbra, d.b. (2014). the effect of motivation on productivity. just another word press.com weblog. bloom, p. j. (2013). factors influencing overall job satisfaction and organizational commitment in early childhood work environments. journal of research in childhood education, 3(2): 107-122. bernardine h.j. & russel j.e.a. (2013). human resource management: an experiential approach. singapore, new york, 10020. gabris, g. &ihrke d. (2001). does performance appraisal contribute to heightened levels of employee burnout? the results of one study. journal on public personnel management. 30 (2): 123-134. gupta, m. (2009). principles of management phi learning private limited. new delhi10001. levoy b. (2012). quiz: test your knowledge of employee motivation strategies. veterinary economics, 50(2): 18. mani, b. g. (2002). performance appraisal systems, productivity, and motivation: a case study. journal on public personnel management. 20 (4): 36-70. morris, l. & stanton p. (2007). performance management in higher education – development versus control. new zealand journal of employment relations (online).32(2). nwadiani, m. (2009). dystrophies in higher education: the nigerian experience. higher education review. 3 (3): 17. oluwatoba m.e. (1997). workers’ attitude and productivity in public organization: a case study of niser. ibadan. unpublished masters dissertation of the department of guidance and cancelling of university of ibadan. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 135 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) rebecca a.c. (2012). the relationship between motivation and productivity!http://www.brighthub.com/office/home/articles/83187.asp x rehman, r. a. & mohammed, a. (2013). is pay for performance the best incentive for employees? journal of emerging trends in economics and management. 4(6): 3453. root, g.n. (1995). the effect of performance appraisal in improving productivity in an organization. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/effects-performanceappraisalsemployees-17558.html. schnake, m.e, williams r.j &william f. (2007). relationships between frequencies of use of career management practices and employee attitudes, intention to turnover, and job search behavior. journal of organizational culture, communications and conflict. 11(1):14-29 stang, j. (2000). management and motivation: an analysis of productivity in education and the workplace. education journal. 121(1): 67-90. ugah, a.d (2008). motivation and productivity in the library. academic journal article by library philosophy and practice, july 2008. yaney, j.p (1995). the personnel management: reaching organization and human goals. charles e. merrill company. usa. igwebuike is the intricate web of african philosophy. it has remained constant in the midst of the changes in the history of african philosophy, and has continued to persist through changes. its sense of harmony, community, complementarity and solidarity has been expressed right from the philosophy of tempels (1959). he argues that in bantu ontology: 'beings forces' of the universe are not a multiple of independent forces placed in juxtaposition from being to being. all creatures are found in relationship according to the law of hierarchy... nothing moves in this universe of forces without influencing other forces by its movement (p. 29). kagame (1951) and jahn (1958) did establish the harmonious character of reality. they agree with tempels that reality is force. it is not a force independent of other forces. the nationalistic movements of the 20th century in africa were linked by their emphasis on belongingness, familyhood, which was the basis for their socialisms. thus, the social negritude of senghor (1959, 1964 & 1975) places the family at the centre of the social structure. nyerere (1968) bases his principle of ujamaa on familyhood. the choice of socialism over capitalism by awolowo (1969&1979), the welfarism of azkiwe and the promotion of pan-africanism by nkrumah (1963) were based on the distinctive complementary character of african ontology. edeh (1983) in his work on igbo metaphysics continues with the perspective of mbiti: accordingly the igbo way of life emphasizes 'closeness' but not closed-ness'. there is a closeness in living because each person 'belongs to' others and in turn, 'is belonged to' by others. by adopting this life of 'closeness' or 'belongingness', an igbo becomes immersed in the culture's spiritual substance, love; and by love, he acquires a fulfillment as a person beyond mere individuality. (p. 105). gyekye (1987), writing on akan philosophy avers that the individual depends on the community: the individual's life depends on identifying oneself with the group. this identification is the basis of the reciprocal relationship between the individual and the group. it is also the ground of the overriding emphasis on the individual's obligation to the members of the group. (p. 156). iroegbu (1995) describes being in african ontology as belongingness. in response to the questions, 'what makes being, being?' iroegbu argues that it is belongingness, thus being is belongingness. what then is belongingness? he defines it as 'the synthesis of the reality 6. “igwebuike”: the underlying principle of african philosophy 30 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. and experience of belongingness' (p. 374). in the contention of okonkwo (2020), reality is understood within the context of uwandu, the true and valid universum along the possibilities of thinkables, experientials, perceivables and their commonness to all human beings. that is, the worldhood or universal datum that provides the “hood” for the perceivers and experiencing thinkers of this inescapable phenomenon)?' nkemnkia (1999) writes that in african ontology, the self is the other: the meaning of an individual's life is found in and through his relationship with the other or others. in fact it is meaningless to ask oneself “who am i” without having a complete knowledge of the other, from whom, in the final analysis, one expects the answer. (pp. 111-112). wiredu (1995), focusing on the political dimension of the african life, sees complementarity and belongingness as characterizing political decision-making in africa. asouzu (2004, 2007) and njoku (2018) developed the notion of being within the new ontological horizon of ibuanyidanda. thus, asouzu (2007) defines being as “that on account of which anything that exists serves a missing link of reality” (p. 103). being is, therefore, located within the context of mutual complementarity of all possible relations in the sense of an existent reality (kanu 2016a&b). from tempels to asouzu, the igwebuike principle of harmony, community, solidarity and complementarity have never been lacking, therefore, positioning igwebuike as the underlying principle of african philosophy. 31 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 97 the impacts of methodist social work on the socio economic life of uzuakoli inhabitants and beyond nwakamma, moses onyekachi nnamdi azikiwe university, awaka anambra state, nigeria kachimosy@gmail.com doi:10.13140/rg.2.2.21005.15840 abstract historically, there may not have been a movement or church known as methodist church in nigeria had rev john wesley not kicked off a movement that has become a global movement for the restoration of the godliness in the affairs of mankind. born on 17th june, 1703 at epworth, lincolnshire, england as the fifteenth and second surviving son of revd samuel and susanna wesley, he fought all through his life against suppressions, oppression, poor prison condition, poverty, unemployment and social injustice just to ensure the spiritual development of man. the spirit and zeal with which he founded the movement has largely remained the focal point of many individuals after him. arguably, without this continuity, many people and their environments may have been in dire straits. therefore, this is an unbiased investigation into the movement, its continuity and impacts on human existence. keywords: methodist, social work, social, economic, uzuakoli introduction nigeria is no doubt a very religious country. even with the global pandemic of corona virus that has kept many people inside their houses through various governments’ lockdown policy for a long period of time, many nigerians especially those living in the rural areas have not failed to attend their churches and jumat services. even at the federal capital territory, many religious leaders were arrested for holding religious services. most times many people have criticized the religious organizations and their leaders for taking too much from the people and doing little or nothing about their welfare. of course, while the work is not to defend the truth or otherwise about these criticisms, the fact remains that nigerians are better off with religion especially christianity. this is because many of the mainline churches such as catholic, anglican, baptist and methodist churches are not dramatizing and publicizing their social interventions like the nigerian politicians. hence, this work seeks to analyze the mailto:kachimosy@gmail.com https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.21005.15840?_sg%5b0%5d=6_ylcsnh_8r3yjcpn_t640cqgldtezp5cexkmgumuw1rg5zmc6uw0e8wekfeqna3bpncjtukbihc18ovmx1pwq19vq.ihxj5yl2yzdrnn8e21kxp5grh-bynu2j_-pwh42adtwoin_o42bv4n2y-cxfrjjtnzbhm4yriikou-xr8ezmvq igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 98 roles and impacts of the social ventures and works done by the methodist church in uzuakoli in bende l.g.a and beyond. clarification of terms impacts: it is the plural of term “impact” which means having a direct effect on, impinging on or striking forcefully on something or somebody. it also means a forceful response that occurs when one thing hits another or when two objects collide. we will come back to this definition later in the study. social work: according to the webster dictionary (2004), social work is defined as any service or activity designed to promote the welfare of the community or the individual through counseling services, health clinics, recreation halls and playgrounds, or aid for the needy, the aged, the physically handicapped. david (2011) describes social work as a profession concerned with helping individuals, families, groups and communities to enhance their individual and collective well-being. this definition is adopted because it carries more ideas relevant to this work. socio-economics: this is a combination of two term “social and economics” that relates to the social and economic condition of the people. it entails or pertains to how the social and economic lives of a certain people are discussed. inhabitants: this is the plural form of the term “inhabitant” meaning a person or an animal that lives in a particular area. inhabitants imply a set of people living in a particular area and environment. contextually, the impacts of the methodist social work on the socio economic of the inhabitants of uzuakoli and beyond implies the effects, results and values of service or activity which methodist church nigeria established in order to promote the welfare of the community or the individuals living in uzuakoli and beyond. theoretical framework: psychodynamic theory to make the work directly relevant and educating, the researcher adopts the psychodynamic theory. this theory was propounded by sigmund freud between 1856 and 1991. payne (1991) notes that the perspectives in social work called psychodynamic, all have an origin which leads back to sigmund freud igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 99 (1856–1991). freud was an educated physician, worked for many years and worked as a researcher within the area of neurology before he developed a theory about the personality construction, children’s development, mental illness and treatment. payne further observes that psychodynamic theory was made by the work of freud and his follower roazen. this theory states that behaviour comes from movements and interaction from people’s minds because it emphasizes the way in which the mind stimulates behaviour. both mind and behavioral influence are influenced by the person’s social environment. lowenstein (1985) argues that modern psychodynamic theory has moved away from the idea of drives as the basic influence on behavior, and is more concerned with helping individuals, interact with their social world: it has become more social than biological. pearson (1988) maintains that a recent appraisal of the role of psychoanalysis in social work shows that there is a wide range of development in different countries, and various streams of thoughts. this theory as good as it may sound concerning its relevance to this work did not convey all that methodist church social mission stand for. while one agrees that human behaviour comes from interaction between the mind and the relationship with the social environment, the theory does convey what needed to be done to get a victim of social environment out of his dilapidated situation, hence this theory is very relevant to this study. the characteristic features of social work nwakamma (2020) argues that social work aims at helping people develop their skills and their ability to use their own resource and those of the community to resolve problems. social work is a profession concerned with helping individuals, families, groups and communities to enhance their individual and collective well-being. it aims to help people develop their skills and the ability to use their own resources and those of the community to resolve problems. social work is concerned with individual and personal problems but also with broader social issues such as poverty, unemployment, and domestic violence. social work could be viewed as an interrelated system of values, theory and practices. serving clients include counseling, therapy, education, and connecting them to resources. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 100 brief history of methodism in nigeria methodism was established in nigeria with the arrival in 1842 of a wesleyan methodist missionary called thomas birch freeman. there are two brands of methodism that came to nigeria, the wesleyan methodist in the west and primitive methodist in the east. the abolition of slave trade in 1807 in england gave africans who were sold into slavery the opportunity to regain their freedom. babalola (1988) maintains that the colony of sierra leone was founded as a settlement for the freed slaves. the colony therefore became the first area in which the church missionary society used as opportunity to spread her own brand of christianity to other parts of west africa. the church missionary society succeeded in introducing christianity among the african ex-slaves because the settlers were interested in christianity. babalola (1988) further notes that: because the european missionaries died of malaria, africans were trained as clergy and a measure of autonomy was accorded the diocese of sierra leone. thus african needed not to go to london for ordination rather the clergy and laymen had to control the church administration. the task of spreading christianity to the coast and interior of west africa fell on the ex-slaves who returned to their homeland or travelled to parts of west africa. to their new settlements or homes they invited missionaries from sierra leone for the purpose of consolidating missionary activities. (p.56) on this note, some of the ex-slaves later returned to badagry in today’s lagos state among whom was james ferguson. being in the light, he appealed to reverend thomas dove, a methodist minister in freetown for assistance. he wrote a letter dated 2nd march, 1841 to reverend thomas dove requesting that a missionary for the purpose of leading the people to the saving grace in jesus. therefore, james ferguson cited in methodist church nigeria, diocese of onitsha (mcn onitsha diocese 2012), wrote that: i am now in a place of darkness where no light is. i know that i was once under light and now i am in darkness. it is to bring our fellow citizens into the way which is right, and to tell them the goodness of jehovah, what he had done for us… and as i know better than them… into the way which is right… so i humbly beg of you that be good and kind, and take pity on us, and send us one servant of christ to instruct us. sir, the governor of badagry send compliment to you and he is very glad to hear the word of god… please let nothing delay you except sickness. (p.32) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 101 the letter of james ferguson received positive response and as a result, thomas birch freeman was sent to nigeria. buttressing one of such letters fleck (2013) stated: for christ sake come quick, let nothing but sickness prevent you… come and see god convert the heathen. god has come to my house and is at work in my family. do not stop, and salute no man by the way… do, do, for god’s sake, start, start at this moment: do not neglect me with all this burden; it is more than i can bear! (p.44). dove sent the letters to the missionary committee at home as he could do little from sierra leone about the matter. the general secretary, dr. john beecham directed that rev. thomas birch freeman, who by then was the superintendent of the methodist mission at cape coast be given the task of answering these urgent appeals. on saturday, september 24, 1842, freeman landed at badagry from the ship which has brought him from cape coast. he came with two devoted african helpers-william de graft and his wife. they came with some materials for constructing a house and a number of local workmen under freeman’s supervision. freeman and his helpers had a warm welcome at badagry. the initial problem the missionaries encountered was accommodation. this was solved as freeman decided to live in his compact travelling tent temporarily while the de-grafts squeezed themselves into bamboo store of captain parson of gold coast (now ghana), a trader in badagry. methodist church nigeria onitsha diocese (2012) further maintains that the next day was sunday, there was no convenient place to hold service, but a handful of “english” africans gathered around the missionaries and they managed to have a fellowship in freeman’s tent. god made the ministry of freeman to bear fruit as he continued to add to the numbers of believers, to the extent that freeman’s tent did not contain the members. the increase in number of worshippers made the members to build a bamboo cottage. familusi (2012) avers that this became the first church in nigeria (p.132). just as methodism came to the western part of nigeria through badagry by a letter of appeal, likewise methodism entered the eastern part of nigeria through another letter of appeal. according to familusi (2012), in august, 1869 an english ship “the elgiva” anchored in the harbor of santa isabel, the port at fernando igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 102 po. the captain of the ship was williams robinson. he had with him james hands, a carpenter. both of them were devoted primitive methodists attached to the church at boundary street in liverpool, britain. in obedience to the command of the great commission, they witnessed christ to a small group that gathered at mama job’s house. they were converts of the baptist mission, whom the government policy expelled out of fernanda-po in 1858. these baptist converts were greatly impressed by the preaching of williams and his carpenter. when the ship was returning to england the little flock wrote a letter to the primitive methodist missionary society asking that a minister be sent to them. femilusi (2012) citing that letter dated 20th august, 1869 stated thus: sir, the object of addressing you now is to crave your help and sympathy on behalf of the inhabitants of this island. and this place was once occupied by the baptist missionary society, but they were expelled after the arrival of the romish church on the island, in 1858. happy to state that the laws of spain have granted liberty of worshiping god according to the protestant creed to every one of her subjects in all her colonies, and the people here have the same liberty given to them, and may invite a minister of any denomination to come and settle with them. for some reasons, of which i am not aware, the inhabitants do not wish to recall the baptist missionaries amongst them anymore. (p.63) in response to the “macedonian call”, the general missionary committee of the primitive methodist connection sent reverend r.w. burnett and henry rose to fernando po. in 1890, the primitive methodist missionary committee resolved to extend their proselytizing mission beyond santa isabel. in a bid to implement this decision, the reverend r. fairley, the minister-in-charge of the missionary operations in santa isabel, carried explorations to a number of estuaries and creeks located east of the island, in search of a suitable place for the establishment of a mission. archibong town in the land of the efik became the first primitive mission station in nigeria. the reverend j. marcus and mr. and mrs. knox, were sent out from fernando po in december 1893 they found a mission station at archibong town. these two brands of methodism amalgamated in great britain in 1932, giving rise to two separate districts that operated as western and eastern district under the care of the british conference. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 103 this step towards what we now know as methodist church nigeria was taken in 1961. the western district (wesleyan methodism) and eastern district (primitive methodism) jointly wrote to the methodist church britain to grant the church in nigeria full autonomy. the request was granted and methodist church of nigeria merged on 28th september, 1962 and became autonomous with the deed of foundation of conference signed in the old building of methodist church of the trinity, tinubu in lagos. the first principal officers appointed under the 1962 constitution were reverend j.o. soremekun as president of the conference, dr. e.u. eyo moma, as the vice president of the conference and the reverend egemba igwe as secretary of conference. methodist church nigeria adopted episcopal system of church government in 1976 with a constitution signed into law. the new system brought in some changes in the administrative style of the church. the nomenclature of the spiritual head of the church changed from president to patriarch, while district heads ceased to be called chairman but bishops and superintendents were changed to presbyters in charge of circuits. the vice president of conference became lay president and this also applies at the diocesan levels. on the spiritual side, genuine efforts were made to develop indigenous liturgies that would cater for all ethnic groups for the spiritual growth of the members. these efforts contributed towards the indigenous songs which are rich in african idioms, forms, philosophy and theology came into being and young members were encouraged to become ordained ministers in efforts to cope with the growing membership. the church began the ordination of women as deaconesses in 1981 and as priests in 2005, in appreciation of gender sensitivity in the vine yard of god. these administrative changes brought internal crises into the church that lasted till 1990 when the issues were resolved. it is pertinent to note that under the leadership of reverend professor bolaji idowu, some new administrative ideas were introduced into the constitution for methodist church nigeria and the drafting constitution committee members were all westerners and none of the easterners were included in the constitution drafting committee. ekebuisi (2010) notes that all the members of this drafting committee were from the west which included igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 104 honourable olu ayoola, reverend dr. t.t. solaru, reverend dr. e. adegbola, mr. d.a. adeiyi, honourable justice s.o. sogbetun, dr. s. o. fasokun and honourable justice duro adebiyi. he further maintains that a new title for the president of methodist church nigeria as introduced by reverend professor bolaji idowu was the main point of conflict. the head of the methodist church nigeria was changed to “patriarch” and be referred to as “his pre-eminence” instead of the “president.” these administrative changes and the new constitution of the church introduced by reverend professor bolaji idowu led to the crises and division in methodist church nigeria. a faction maintained the 1962 constitution that led the foundation for the autonomy of methodist church nigeria from britain. the other faction followed the administrative changes and the new constitution introduced by reverend professor bolaji idowu. it is worthy to note that these factions were reunited on may 24th, 1990. another constitution came into being with changes on the title of the head of methodist church nigeria. the patriarch was changed to prelate and the style of addressing him change from preeminence to his eminence. although there are some groups within the presidential faction who refused to join in the reconciliation and still hold on to the 1962 constitution. this remaining faction fused with the church on 24th may, 2011 at a well-attended service at umuahia abia state, in the eastern part of nigeria. methodist church nigeria has been at the forefront of spiritual and social transformation, through spreading of scriptural holiness and investing in medical-health services and social economic welfare of the people. history of uzuakoli ogbuaku (2008) argues that history deals with the study of past-past events and developments. it is not only learned from the myriads of books on the discipline of history but also transmitted orally from one person to another and from generation to generation with errors and distortions such as method entails. compression of history therefore is a useful and commendable means of passing on information of more than common interest and a systemic account of the past people, the modes and consequences of their pattern of life, their mistakes and achievements (p.5). uzuakoli is one of the communities found in igbo land. the igbo people as stated by nzomiwu (1999) live in the tropical region of africa. igbo people are mostly found in anambra, abia, imo, enugu, ebonyi state. some others are found in parts of delta and river states. igbo land lies between igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 105 latitude 5o and 7o north and longitude 6o and 8o east of greenwich line. igbo land is bounded on the north by the igala and tiv people, on the east by the ekoi, on the south by the ibibio and on the west by bini and isoko (p.1). amanambu (2019) believes that the study of history of people do not only provide data but serves as a guide for planning, improving on accomplishments and modifying other misjudgments so as to make the world better place for human habitation. uzuakoli is the combination of two names belonging to the ancient figures who founded the community-uzu and akoli. akoli was the father of a man called ozo. akoli was reputed to have descended from ezere in the ancient imenyi kingdom from isuikwuato. kanu (personal communication 12/03/2020) states that akoli left ezere and sojourned at the present day akoli-about ten kilometers away from isuikwuato. he had a son named ozo and ozo in turn had five other brave sons whose names were oma-the father of eluoma, nkwo-the father of amankwo, mba became the founder of amamba and ugwuanyim gave birth to ngwu. as they grew up, they left their father’s environment and built their houses further away from him. they later made use of their father’s house as a meeting point. a meeting point in igbo language is “ozuzu”. ozuzu akoli meaning the meeting point where the descendants of akoli converged. from these five sons the current uzuakoli chiefdom developed. according to oral tradition, it is believed that ozu the founder of the present day uzuakoli was said to have sojourned at akoli before moving on. ogbonna (2018) said that it has a total landscape of 28.8 square kilometers, bounded in the north by lohum, east by ozuitem and south by lodu imenyi. it falls between 7.32 and 8.36 east of the equator. its climate is not different from the rest of the rain forest belt of the eastern nigeria. the community enjoys a warm tropical climate with welldefined wet and dry season. akidi (personal communication 12/03/2020) avers that instead of ozuzu akoli, the railway workers and the europeans shortened and mispronounced it as “uzuakoli”-a name with which it is called till date. uzuakoli is an agrarian society cultivating majorly yam and cocoyam. after the colonial conquest of bende in 1896, uzuakoli was notorious for slave trade with many middle men from awka, aro, bende and other surrounding villages. the eke-oba and eke-ukwu that made up the popular abangwu slave market served as a route through which slaves were transported via ozuitem to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 106 cross river then finally to overseas. it is an ancient chiefdom in bende local government area of abia state. methodist church nigeria in uzuakoli methodist church nigeria has a diocese in uzuakoli which means that she has a bishop-an ecclesiastical tile for senior priests in the church. the diocese was carved out from umuahia diocese and was approved by methodist conference in 1994. on the 12th of february, 1995 the diocese was initially inaugurated as uzuakoli and item diocese with the rt. rev. nelson onyebuchi eke as her pioneer bishop. at its creation and inauguration, the diocese was made up of five circuits namely uzuakoli, item, alayi, ozuitem and nkpa circuits while ugwueke, umuimenyi, okoko, umunnato and akanu were sections. a section is a term within methodist church that indicates a church or group of churches preparing to be inaugurated or upgraded into a circuit. diocese of item was thereafter created out of uzuakoli and was inaugurated in 1997. the then rt. rev. barr. c.n. edeh took over from rt. rev. n.o. eke in 1999 as the bishop of uzuakoli diocese. he handed over to rt. rev. foster ekeleme in 2007, who subsequently handed over to the present bishop rt. rev. o.c. chiemeka in 2013. uzuakoli diocese is made up of nine circuits, thirty-five local churches and six preaching stations. at the present, the circuits are cathedral circuit with very rev. t. okerie solomonas the presbyter, alayi circuit with very rev. barnabas oguamanam as the presbyter, ozuitem circuit with very rev. charles wesley eze as the presbyter, nkpa circuit having very rev. innocent c. ebo as the presbyter, umuimenyi circuit with very rev. e. o. c madu as the presbyter, ugwueke circuit with very rev. chukwuemeka nwoko as the presbyter, bende circuit with very rev. t.a. ogbonnya as the presbyter, umuhu ezechi circuit with very rev. paul ugwuoji as the presbyter and arochukwu circuit with very rev. ukonu johnson okocha as the presbyter. the diocese of uzuakoli has the ministerial strength of forty-three ministers, the bishop, fourteen presbyters, nineteen priests, three deaconesses and five evangelist. outside the mentioned, there are other staffers who are involved in the administration of the diocesan affairs. the diocese of uzuakoli is situated in abia north. it covers such areas as the whole of bende local government area of abia state with the exception of item, nkporo and igbere. it also caught across areas like abiriba, edda, ohafia, amannagwu and amuvi in arochukwu. the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 107 map in fig. 1 shows more of the areas covered by the diocese. the diocese of uzuakoli is generally situated in the rural area and the methodist mission seems to dominate the entire area covered by the diocese with the exception of places such as abiriba, ohafia and arochukwu where assemblies of god and presbyterian churches dominate. similar to her mission, the diocese named after uzuakoli does not mean that its composition is not limited to uzuakoli rather like its social works, it cuts across places like arochukwu local government area. methodist church social works in uzuakoli and beyond the church being a caring community has demonstrated it by affecting the lives of her members and non-members in uzuakoli and beyond. the brain behind this is just the fact that every person in the diocese especially the unquantifiable impact of social worker, dame rosalind colwil. these social work institutions include the methodist motherless babies home, the methodist leprosy center, rosalind colwill methodist hospital, the methodist project renew, the amudo itumbauzo center for mentally ill destitute, methodist royal cross hospital ugwueke, ozuzuoke center for spiritual development, methodist college uzuakoli, st christopher seminary uzuakoli etc. by way of explanations, some of these institutions shall be briefly highlighted. the methodist royal hospitals at ugwueke and colony uzuakoli according to akidi (2011), the dreams for the birth of these hospitals were nursed under the leadership of the pioneer bishop of the diocese, rt rev nelson onyebuchi eke in conjunction with dame rosalin colwill and the wesley guild in the 1990s (p.48). the current archbishop of enugu most rev barr c.n ede completed those projects. today, these hospitals render unquantifiable help and assistance to the people in uzuakoli and beyond. it has also given birth to another reputable hospital named methodist hospital colony uzuakoli so as to ease off the sufferings of crowd of people thronging to ugwueke on daily basis. the leprosy settlement at uzuakoli emmanuel (2013) opines that the uzuakoli leprosy settlement was founded by the methodist missionary society and the local authorities of owerri province in the then imo state. it was opened as a provincial leprosy settlement in august 5, 1932 with dr. j a kinneer brown as its first superintendent. under his leadership, between 1932 and 1936, the settlement grew into an institution catering for over eight hundred (800) patients. he further states that in 1936, dr. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 108 t.f davey who picked up the challenge to come to nigeria when his father in england come back from a conference and narrated to him how dr. brown would be coming back from nigeria without any replacement for the job in nigeria. under the leadership of dr. davey, the name was changed from leper colony to leper settlement because for him the former name was derogatory to the patients. the settlement grew so rapidly under him that out-patients’ clinics were built in several communities in what was known as segregation settlements near the homes of sufferers. the idea was for them to be in close touch with their homes and wives because their people regard them as dead. with this, they would appropriate their homes, wives and properties. dr. davey raised a lot of money for the settlement both from within nigeria and outside the country. he built a primary school in the centre where the children of both the leprosy patients and staff of the centre attended. some trained lepers and cured ones became teachers. they were assisted by wives of expatriate staff who volunteered to teach. emmanuel goes on to state that by april 1, 1945 which was the beginning of the financial year of the then government, the government took over the center. this was after the official visit of the then governor of nigeria in 1944. following that visit, the nigerian government took active interest in missionary activities to eradicate leprosy in nigeria. the settlement became then part of the nigerian medical service and the government assuming responsibility for the medical aspect of the work. dr. davey knowing that ex-patients, especially those with obvious deformities would be handicapped to help themselves and may be rejected by their own people; persuaded the methodist mission to take over the after discharge matters of the ex-patients. hence the creation of the welfare department which still exist till today. with funds he raised through his german friends, dr. davey built a motherless babies home in the same community where the leprosy settlement is situated in 1958. he left nigeria in 1959, however before leaving he raised a church building which was damaged during the nigerian civil war and rebuilt again by rosalind colwill with the money dr. davey raised and sent from england. orji (2013) state that: dr. thomas frank davey died in 1983. in his will, he requested that his body be cremated, that no wreaths be laid on his coffin or grave and that any amount given by people during condolence visits to his family be sent to uzuakoli and used to maintain the church he built there (p.10). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 109 he further says that dr. stanley browne took over from dr. davey. however, it is worthy to note that the life and work of dr. t.f. davey reflected more on the services and passion with which rosalind colwill came into uzuakoli leper settlement in 1981 and what she was able to make out of the center with a decade she sojourned there. the birth of amaudo itumbauzo centre for mentally ill destitute this was another brain child of rosaline in her passion for the challenged persons. the center is located at itumbuzo in bende local government area of abia state. with the amount of sacrificial and dogged work rosalind had done at uzuakoli leprosy center or settlement and motherless babies home. rosalind states that driving along the streets of nigeria and south east in particular after spending almost ten years in uzuakoli with the sights of mentally retarded roaming the streets hopelessly became another big concern for her. their presence made her take her mind back to the social work she did in london and zambia in which she worked with single homeless and the mentally ill. this disturbing cogitation about what to do to ameliorate this problem intensified as the time ticked and subsequent years passed. it worsened, with her passing sleepless nights over their predicament when she observed that the number of these mentally ill increased by the day in the towns and villages she visited. the more the number she saw the worse she felt the scourge that afflicted these helpless citizens and the more she saw the task of devising a way of nursing them through their plight a challenge to be faced and addressed. according to agwu (1999) “what was certain was that she had resolved to work for the mentally ill destitute (p.66). parratt (1997) further argues that: the church has the obligation to fight for a society which will enable every man and woman to live with dignity and well-being, and to work for the eradication of exploitation and for the sharing of wealth…. at a given and decisive point in history men decide to act against those conditions which restrict their freedom as men. … unless we participate actively in the rebellion against those social structures and economic organizations which condemn men to poverty, humiliation, and degradation, then the church will become irrelevant to man and the christian religion will degenerate into a set of superstitions accepted by the fearful. (pp.109-111) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 110 this kind of thought and understanding must have been what was the drive and motivation behind the actions of rosalind, when she ventured into the hinterland of itumbuzo in bende local government area of abia state, did negotiation for a large portion of land in a thick forest and sourced for fund overseas and started building. rosalind was building a home where she would accommodate, care for, treat and live with the mentally ill whom she would soon start picking from the streets. this as it were never deterred her for she had her mind made up for what she was determined to pursue and there was no going back. within a space of five years rosaline had completed the building project, mentally ill destitute were picked by rosaline herself on daily bases from the streets of the entire states of south east. with all her knowledge in social work, passion for the downtrodden and application by implication of transpersonal psychotherapy theory rosalind was able to get several mentally ill destitute off the street. they were rehabilitated and repatriated back to their homes with a trade or skill of their choice. the impact of methodist church social work on uzuakoli inhabitants and beyond methodist college uzuakoli and st christopher seminary uzuakoli have produced timbers and calibers in the nigerian society. through scholarships and other moral driven training, these institutions are revered across the east. today, amaudo itumbauzo methodist home for destitute has grown into a big institute with various arms and departments. the vision is to have a world in which mental illness and children with physical and learning disabilities are accepted, supported and have their human rights upheld by their families, communities and society. the church strives to implement programmes which support, inform and rehabilitate people with mental illness and children with physical and learning disabilities. the center challenges human rights abuses, advocates for equal opportunities and is committed to ensuring that mental health issues make it onto the health agenda and policy makers. at the completion of the rehabilitations, the mentally ill individuals are equipped with both skills and resources to start a life after the rehabilitation. this programme has empowered so many youths both in uzuakoli and beyond. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 111 the medical institutions in uzuakoli have been second to none in the care of the people not minding the financial requirements. for example, the researcher in personal communication with rueben god’s will whose wife put to bed in the hospital courtesy of the expertise and near free of charge service of sir dr. corpus. he like hundreds of others interviewed cannot but appreciate god and the church for services rendered by the church. the uncontrollable crowds at the hospitals would suffice the assertion. apart from the above, these institutions have provided all manner of jobs for the teeming population. many of the youths are working at the various cadre of these institutions. the petty traders, local transporters and food sellers are not left out. the mini markets at these institutions have brought strong economic activities to uzuakoli inhabitants and beyond. entrance of amaudo itumbauzo centre for mentally ill destitute source:amaudo itumbauzo archive date: 17/07/2017 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 112 figure 11:rt. rev. o. c. chiemeka, the bishop diocese of uzuakoli presenting a certificate to a healed and discharged mentally ill destitute. source:amaudo itumbauzo archive. date: 17/07/2017 conclusion the study so far has highlighted the impact of methodist church social works on the inhabitants of uzuakoli and beyond. like amanambu (2020) argues, no church can prove her relevance without changing the lots of the people and society where she finds herself. the social works of methodist church in uzuakoli work through their medical, rehabilitation, empowerment and counseling services, destitute homes, motherless babies, health clinics, recreation halls, aids for the needy, the aged, the physically handicapped has and is impacting on the inhabitants of uzuakoli and beyond. it is not aimed at blowing their trumpets or presenting them as the only religious organization improving the lots of humanity rather it is to encourage them to fire from all cylinders in the service of humanity. any religion without social impact will soon lose its value and essence. any religiosity without human development is nothing but a charade. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 113 references ademuyiwa, u.c. (2007). christianity and the new africa. london: pall mall. agwu, n. (1996). friend of the friendless: rosalind nkechi colwil. umuahia: ihem davis. akidi, s.o. (2011). the path of the eagle: a true story of archbishop nelson eke. ahaba: favouredsam. amanambu, u.e (2020). “the hermeneutics and religious construct in the ilaoso cultural festival of amiyi ahaba isuikwuato”. amamihe journal of applied philosophy. vol 18 no 2 ammeh, s.e. (2007). great speeches that shaped the modern world. benin: self improvement. annamma, g. (2014). missionary method of mother teresa of calcutta. new york: oxford. babalola, e.o. (1988). christianity in west africa: an historical analysis. ibadan: book representation. biedebach, b. (2015). making disciples in current missionary practice in malawi: an empirical-theological study of religious workers. los angeles: willey. brown, m.i. & ball, a. (2015). social work advocacy: professional self-interest and social justice on national association of social works. new york: anric. bucko, l. (2013). challenges of missionary work: communication, liberation and human development. london: johny dax. carlos f. c. (2002). mission: an essential guide. nashville: abingdon press. charles, t. t. & arthur, j.d. (1996). transpersonal psychotherapy. new york: longman. chechak, d. (2015). social work as a value–based profession: value conflicts and implications. david, a. h. (2011). community practice: theories & skills for social workers. new york: oxford university press. de young, k. & glbert, g. (2011). the mission of the church: making sense of social justice, shalom and the great commission. new york: crossway. ekebuisi, c.c. (2010). renewal movement within methodist church nigeria. umuahia: soul winners. emil, b. (1950). the christian doctrine of god. philadelphia: westminster press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 114 emmanuel, o.a.c. (2013). the fascinating story of uzuakoli leper colony. enugu: due longs. familusi, m. m. (2012). methodism in nigeria. lagos: methodist publishing company. fleck, i. (2013). bringing christianity to nigeria: the origin and work of protestant missions.new delhi: scartos. gamble, d. n. (2013). “well-being in a globalized world: does social work know how to make it happen”: journal of social work education. 48, 3, 669 – 689. gitterman, a. (2014). handbook of social work practice with vulnerable and resilient populations. new york: colombia university press. hale, t. (1995). on being a missionary. california: william carey. hopenhayn, h.a (1991). entry, exit and firm dynamics in long run equilibrium. standford: university press. howe, d. (2008). an introduction to social work theory: making sense in practice. burlington: ashgate. lowenstein, s. (1985). freud’s metapsychology revisited: social casework. new york: daughty. maslow, a.h. (1943). a theory of human motivation. michigan: midwest journal press. maxwell, j.c. (2007). maxwell leadership bible. nashville: thomas nelson. mbadiwe, j.t. (1997). the church and the mission: a critical study. ibadan: minaj. meriam webstar new world college dictionary. university press: new york. methodist church nigeria onitsha diocese. (2012). centenary celebration of methodism in nigeria: brief history of methodism in nigeria. onitsha: sunrise. ndukwe, e. (2010). methodist caring ministry. aba. annual report of methodist care ministry to the aba diocesan synod, 2010. noma, a. t. (2014). financial management for church leaders and executives. bukuru. xlibris corporation. nwadialor, k.l. & umeanolue, i.l. (2013). materialistic gospel message in contemporary nigerian churches: journal of religion and human relations. 1, 3, 29-44. nwosu, v.a. (1985). the catholic church in onitsha: people, places and events (1885-1985). onitsha: etukokwu. nzomiwu, j.p.c (1999). the concept of justice among the traditional igbo: an enquiry. awka: fides igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 115 odili, j.u. (2013). “the historical approach to religious study research” in ejizu, c.i ed. fundamentals of research methodology in humanities. porthacourt: uniport ogbukagau, i.k.n.t (2008). traditional igbo beliefs and practices. enugu: snaap. ogbonna, e.d. (2018). methodist college, uzuakoli 1923-2012. nsukka: raada onyekwere, r.n. (2000). heads, hearts and humans. owerri: precision. orji, b.c (2013). what methodist believe. enugu: hartley. parrat, j. (1997). a reader in african christian theology. cambridge: cambridge university press. payne, m. (1991). modern social work theory. a critical introduction. london: macmillan. pearson, b.c (1988). radical social work. london: edward arnold. peeters, j. (2012). sustainable development; a mission for social work. london: star ball. spano, r. & koenig, t. (2007). the cultivation of social workers’ hope in personal life and professional practice: journal of religion & spirituality in social work: social thought. 3, 26, 45-61. thuso, k. (2012). church, where are we heading to? bloomington: author house. valenzuela, a. (2005). living children behind: how “texas-style” accountability fail latino youth. new york: university press. washburn, f.j. (1994). differential diagnosis and treatment in social work. new york: free. list of interviews: s/n o name age occupatio n date of intervie w addres s 1. very revd s. akidi adu lt clergy 09/04/202 0 akoli 2. elder high chief nwadinobi ndukwe adu lt business man 10/04/202 0 amiyi 3. mr kanu ikea adu lt farmer 10/04/202 0 uzuakoli microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 5.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 142 igwebiuke philosphy67 in relation to the culture of encounter amongst all people encouraged by pope francis in his apostolic exhortation evangelii gaudium naanmiap baamlong, osa estudio teologico de valladolid spain fadabaamlong@yahoo.com abstract the dignity of the human person and the common good are the two cornerstones of social life. these are not posible without advancement in the construction of peace, justice and brotherhood. pope francis in evangelii gaudiun proposed four principles necessary for the ahcievement of human dignity and common good. this paper has discussed aspects that seem very important to these principles in relation to igwebuike philosophy. this philosophy is based on the igbo-african worldview of complementarity, that is, the manner of being in african ontology. it is a worldview in which individuating differences must work towards a corporate existence where the ‘i’ does not stand as the ‘i’ but as a ‘we’, where life and living makes meaning. in a scenario of this kind, difference does not divide neither does it constitute a threat, but rather unites and gives hope that future existence would have meaning. in a cosmogony of this kind, while the ontology of the person is founded on the particularity of the individual, implying that it is the metaphysics of the particular that founds identity, it is the community that gives meaning to such an existence and grounds such an identity. this is a culture of encounter; it is a call to dialogue between all peoples. keywords: igwebuike, philosophy, culture, pope francis, evangelii gaudium introduction 67 cf. http://igwebuikepedia.info/intricate.asp. accesed 10/03/2019. igwebuike is based on the nature of the african cosmology. cosmology, etymologically, is from two greek words: cosmos and logos, meaning ‘universe’ and ‘science’ respectively. put together, it is the ‘science of the universe’. scholars like wambutda (1986), ejizu (1986), achebe (1986), onuoha (1987), metuh (1987), quarcoopome (1987), arinze (1970), madu (2004) and kanu (2012). the african cosmology is simply the way africans perceive, conceive and contemplate their universe; the lens through which they see reality, which affects their value systems and attitudinal orientations. it is the african’s search for the meaning of life, and an unconscious but natural tendency to arrive at a unifying base that constitutes a frame of meaning often viewed as terminus a quo (origin) and terminus ad quem (end) of reality. african cosmology is essentially the underlying thought link that holds together the african value system, philosophy of life, social conduct, morality, folklores, myths, rites, rituals, norms, rules, ideas, cognitive mappings and theologies. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 143 in his apostolic exhortation evangelii gaudium68 of november 24, 2013, in chapter 4, titled, the social dimension of evangelisation, pope francis speaks of many themes: the care of the weaker people; the common good; dialogue between faith and reason; ecumenical dialogue and interreligious dialogue. the third part of this chapter titled, the common good and peace in society, nº 217-23769, specifically highlights the issue of common good because, the dignity of the human person and the common good are the two cornerstones of social life, the pope stops by to propose four principles needed to advance in the construction of peace, justice and brotherhood. these four principles are: time is greater than the space70, it emphasizes the importance of process to build a community, knowing that this allows us to work in long term without obsession over immediate results; unity prevails over conflict71, for the pope, in the society conflict cannot be ignored or concealed, but that has to be assumed, without stopping in the conflictive situation but perceiving the sense of unity, a profound reality; realities are more important than ideas72, for francisco, there is a bipolar tension between the idea and reality and points out that it is dangerous to live in the realm of the word, the image of sophism and therefore concludes that the reality is superior to the idea73; the whole is greater than the part74, picking up the tension between globalization and localization, the pope speaks of working in the small, in the near, but with a broader perspective, following the model of the polyhedron which reflects the confluence of all the installments that preserved its originality. this paper will point out aspects that seems very important to these principles in relation to the igwebuike philosophy. this philosophy is based on the igboafrican worldview of complementarity, that is, the manner of being in african ontology. it is a worldview in which individuating differences must work towards a corporate existence where the ‘i’ does not stand as the ‘i’ but as a ‘we’, where life and living makes meaning. in a scenario of this kind, difference does not divide neither does it constitute a threat, but rather unites and gives hope that future existence would have meaning. in a cosmogony of this kind, while the ontology of the person is founded on the particularity of the individual, implying that it is the metaphysics of the particular that founds identity, it is the community that gives meaning to such an existence and grounds such an 68 cf.http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazioneap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html. 69 other citations of the documents with the initials eg and the number. 70 cf. eg 222-225. 71 cf. eg 226-230. 72 cf. eg 231-233. 73 cf. eg 231. 74 cf. eg 234-237. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 144 identity75. the culture of the encounter is a call to a dialogue between all people. pope francis call all to a dialogue and solidarity as human persons, to work for the common good of all76. time is greater than space the first principle says that time is greater than the space77, that is, if we have to do something, the important thing is to work so well because practically and objectively, the results of things done very well are the most important and durable than those made in a hurry. obviously, it is necessary and convenient and it is very logical and fair to always do things very well based on the common good. it is obvious that in life, experience is always the best teacher of all. it is therefore advisable to learn from experience because having experienced things personally, one easily learns of the past and this makes us do better than what was done previously. in the same line to this, is the need to alwaysmake reference to the history of what happened in the past for better results in the present. the pope calls attention to the importance of this memory against the current trend of obtaining quick immediate results that can produce an easy, quick and fleeting revenue, but do not build human fullness, he stress the need to make memory, taking a little bit time to listen to the voice of our ancestors in other not to make the same mistakes of the past. and he adds that without this memory, there is no hope and the soul is lost and diluted, making us unable to undertake projects that involves costs and sacrifices78. an example is the current situation of nigeria in relation to our politics, the current situation of lack of agreement for selfish political interest, must be overcomed if we take time to watch the action of the ancestors in the same situation who, for the common good, had to make a good decision. another aspect is related to communication. technology has today led to heavy lost in physical contact between person. despite the importance of social networks in aspects of increased communication and connection, at the same time it has so many negative aspects. today, it is not enough to be connected: it is necessary that the connection is accompanied by a true encounter, and this is 75 cf.https://www.academia.edu/34910747/sources_of_igwebuike_philosophy_towards_a_sociocultural_foundation, accessed 01/06/2019. 76 cf. eg 217-237. 77 cf. eg 222-225. 78 cf. eg 224. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 145 almost impossible without time, silence and ability to listen. to be be interconnected by these medios technologicals like the internet does not resolve the challenge of communication which continues to be an issue so important in relation to the cultivation of the human relationships. this phenomenon not only caused a breach, but has also caused unemployment because everything is now done by machine and the people are left with nothing to do, no work79. against all these, it is necesary to ask about the sense and the purpose of human existence. everyone is called to do something for the common good of all, having a common sense. we should participate all in improving the culture of encounter. and it requires the participation of all. to participate is to take responsibility and this takes time. this principle of the superiority of the time over space invites to the great question of participation as one of the keys to give consistency and viability to the culture of encounter and dialogue, this culture will be possible if all participate in its development and construction. the current situation does not allow mere observers of unrelated fights. political participation requests attitudes and civic habits of provision to meet, share, and contribute in a multitude of opportunities afforded by social life and this requires time. for this reason, the pope insists on the need for education for all especially children and young people and to awareness, raising and mobilization of the citizenry. on the other hand is the need for transparency in government at all levels, performance of all in accounts assessment, listening to the diversity of opinions, responding to questions, public advertisement of the deliberations and constant communication, training, and the implementation of methods of mass participation, are requirements which increasingly ensure good governance because ultimately the political community is to serve the civil society, from which it derives its power and authorithy80. unity prevails over conflict 79 the pope also speak about this in his encyclical letter laudato si’. there is a growing awareness that scientific and technological progress cannot be equated with the progress of humanity and history, a growing sense that the way to a better future lies elsewhere. this is not to reject the possibilities which technology continues to offer us. but humanity has changed profoundly, and the accumulation of constant novelties exalts a superficiality which pulls us in one direction. it becomes difficult to pause and recover depth in life. cf. http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudatosi.html, accessed 10/06/2019. 80 cf. martinez, j. l., la cultura del encuentro. desafio e interperlacion para europa, santander, sal terrae, 2017, 97-107. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 146 the second principle states: unity prevails over conflict81. logically, conflict is not good and should always be avoided. however, obviously, conflict happens always. but even if conflict is to be assumed, because it is part of life and human relationships, we can not afford to get caught in it. it is necessary to transform it into mutual understanding, looking for what unites us in diversity, harmonizing differences, without falling into breakdown and lack of communication or syncretism82. this idea of harmony goes in line with the idea of pluralism treated well in the second vatican council in the document gaudium et spes83. in mordern day democracy, is very important the issue of diversity and management of pluralism. pluralism which is a condition of possibility of democracy, cannot be any type of pluralism, it can not be an agnostic pluralism. it cannot be a pluralism that has more to do with the confusion and the vacuum with the richness of diversity. or a pluralism of opposing and incompatibles views which is a sign of the disintegration of the lack of consciousness and the inability of synthesis. pluralism should be a pluralism that encourages a culture capable of generating unity in the midst of the diversity of opinions84. because diversity is expression of the richness and fullness, which is so large that it cannot be gathered under a single concept or verbalize in single sentence. pope francis advocates a healthy pluralism, one which genuinely respects differences and values them as such, and this does not entails privatizing religions in an attempt to reduce them to the quiet obscurity of the individual’s conscience or to relegate them to the enclosed precincts of churches, synagogues or mosques. this would represent, in effect, a new form of discrimination and authoritarianism. the respect due to the agnostic or non-believing minority should not be arbitrarily imposed in a way that silences the convictions of the believing majority or ignores the wealth of religious traditions. in the long run, this would feed resentment rather than tolerance and peace. that eventually would foster more resentment than tolerance and peace. it is impossible -in his opinionto imagine a future for society without a vigorous contribution of moral energy in a 81 cf. eg 226-230. 82 cf. martinez, j. l., la cultura del encuentro. desafio e interperlación para europa, santander, sal terrae, 2017, 109-110. 83 cf. gs, 73-75. 84 cf. martinez, j. l., la cultura del encuentro. desafio e interperlación para europa, santander, sal terrae, 2017, 110-111. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 147 democracy that avoids the risk of being closed on the pure logic of the representation of interests constituted85. therefore, this principle of unity over conflictt calls for reconciliation, in the middle of a broken world. reconcile not just with god, but with others and to keep building relationships. where there is conflict or divisions, reunion and reconciliation processes are needed and hopefully the church has a role to play in facilitating this reconciliation86. the question here is whether christians can play a role in this reconciliation, that is as reconcilers of the wounds of society and conflicts of public life. it is it suppose to be the main task of the christian following christ. god was in christ reconciling himself to the world and entrusted to us the word of reconciliation87. reconciliation is, therefore, a mission which the lord entrusted to all. to present and future serious disagreements that occurs we need to carve a public culture to treat them properly. it is important to deepen the experience of disagreement without any break of communion and legitimate disagreements while continuing to search together for the common good. we have that experience in christian communities where we celebrate together the same faith, being of different ideologies and political opinions. it is key that in spite of the arguments and differences it is not broken the bridges of encounter and dialogue but that coexistence is protected as the most valuable asset, above any idea or belief. for this purpose we must make a special effort to understand the motives, intentions and experiences of the other and try to make the best possible interpretation, what separates us will not impede that we grow. we must treat each other with the same passion and compassion with which we want to be treated88. look for others the same opportunities that we want for ourselves. accompany the growth of others as we want to be accompanied without denying the complexity, this sense of integration is in line and will be of great help in keeping with the culture of encounter. realities are more important than ideas 85 cf. eg, 255. 86 cf. martinez, j. l., la cultura del encuentro. desafio e interperlación para europa, santander, sal terrae, 2017, 123-125. 87 cf. 2cor 5,19-21. 88 cf. mat 7,21. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 148 the third principle states that reality is more important than the idea89 (and calls to not sit in the angelic purism or intellectualism that separates us from reality). two tasks come from this principle and intimately connected with the culture of encuentro: dialogue and discernment. and together with them several others related: interdisciplinarity and the indispensable role of the truth in politics90. the task of dialogue means being convinced that the other has something good to say, welcome other points of view, their proposals. dialogue does not mean giving ideas and traditions that claim to be absolute and unique. in dialogue, it is always possible to approach the truth, which is god's gift, and enrich each other, without falling, obviously in relativism. and for dialogue it is necessary to lower the defenses and open the doors91. as for the task of discerning, this requires knowledge of the matter involved, collecting good data, weighing reasons and looking for the truth and humbly, the good result; all to to arrive a a good decition92. is not all about giving a blank cheque to relativism or self-will. for believers, it means to go beyond the surface of things and appearances to lovingly attend to what god expects of one in their circumstances. as a result, it requires a spirit of openness to the complexity and ambiguity of all reality. it does not requests for a simple distintion between pure and impure, good and bad, nor in rigidities, narcissistic indulgence or catastrophic convictions, that end up being a doctrine without life. this is not dicernement. the discernment that is needed here does not call for any separation from the requirements of truth and love. therefore with humble and open intelligence, we are expected to search and find god in all things, in all fields of knowledge, of art, of science, politics. social and economic aspects. is needed study, avoiding self-reference spiritual disease93. as regards the theme of freedom and truth in politics. genuine democracy is not only the result of a formal respect for rules, but is the result of the acceptance, convinced of the values that inspire democratic procedures: the dignity of every human person, respect for the human rights and the assumption of the common good as purpose and regulatory criteria of political life. a democracy without values is converted with ease in a visible or concealed totalitarianism, as 89 cf. eg 231-232. 90 cf. cf. martinez, j. l., la cultura del encuentro. desafio e interperlación para europa, santander, sal terrae, 2017,165-171. 91 cf. ibid. 92 ibid., 184-185. 93 ibid. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 149 evidenced by the history. the bases of these values cannot be provisional or changing perceptions of the majority, but a search of dialogue of the respectful truth with the pluralism and differences. obviously, this issue of dialogue today seem to bother much in the political struggle or in the elaboration of laws. in this aspect of politics we can make reference to the issue of leadership within the context of igwebuike philosophy which is understood as an inclusive enterprise. the leader does not see himself as a separate entity from the people, but as leading from among the people; while the individual is a potent and viable being, as such a force, it is potent and viable in a limited way; however, when there is a conglomeration of forces, the human potency can be extraordinary. leadership is not about power but about service. the leader sees himself as part of a group and not as a person different from the group or better than the people he is serving. he or she understands that there are no leaders without followers, and leadership always involves interpersonal influence or persuasion. in the absence of followership, interpersonal influence and persuasion, the person is only taking a walk and not leading94 the whole is greater than the part the last and the fourth principle says that the whole is greater than the part95, that is, that without vision and commitment to the whole community or group one cannot really be free or happy, one needs to pay attention to the whole group. here lies the reason for the policy that responds to the imperative need to live together to build together the possible common good, a community that resigned interests to share, with justice and peace, their property, their interests, their social lives. this is precisely the idea of the igwebiuke philosophy. it is aworldview in which individuating differences must work towards a corporate existence where the ‘i’ does not stand as the ‘i’ but as a ‘we’, where life and living makes meaning. in a scenario of this kind, difference does not divideneither does it constitute a threat, but rather unites and gives hope that futureexistence would have meaning. in a cosmogony of this kind, while the ontologyof the person is founded on the particularity of the individual, implying that it isthe metaphysics of the particular that founds identity, it is the 94 cf. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership, https://www.academia.edu/34910742/igwebuike_as_an_igboafrican_philosophy_of_inclusive_leadership, accessed 25/06/2019. 95 cf. eg 234-237. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 150 community thatgives meaning to such an existence and grounds such an identity96 what is here, is mainly the issue of the common good, the set of conditions for a coexistence of all freedom is what constitutes the common good, that is responsibility of all, but in a more direct way of those who legitimately exercised political power. they are not to succumb to the temptation of appropriating money or goods that are meant for all, but in the search for relationships, alliances and collaborations that most benefit the community and also to citizenship care resources, facilities or means which relates to all man and all men. the conditions for a dignified life through the guarantee of freedoms and rights, the promotion of the fundamental relations with god, with oneself, with others and the satisfaction of the basic needs of health, energy, water, food, space urban or natural, education, culture and information. this takes the set of institutions that structure the legal, civil, political and cultural and social life. the interest for the common good does not mean a utilitarian principle of the greatest good for the greatest number, but it goes beyond that: it implies the need to remember and have in mind everybody (the centrality and worth of each person), recognize and care for minorities and the assets of the community, as a valuable part of the diversity of the society. and especially in our present world where there are so many inequities with many people deprived of basic human rights. as a result, striving for the common good means solidarity. to worry about the common good and work for it is to the social doctrine of the church demands of justice and charity. we love our neighbor more effectively, the more we work for a common good that respond also to their real needs. every christian is called to this charity, according to their vocation and their possibilities within the society. pope francis spares no praise to the exercise of politics: politics is a high calling, is one of the most precious act of charity, because it seeks the common good. we have to be convinced that charity is not only the beginning of the micro-relaciones, like in friends, family, small group, but also of the macro-relaciones, such as social, economic and political relationships. 96 cf. sources of igwebuike philosophy: towards a socio-cultural foundation, https://www.academia.edu/34910747/sources_of_igwebuike_philosophy_towards_a_sociocultural_foundation, accessed 25/06/2019. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 151 we must clarify that in line with this, vatican ii council in the declaration dignitatis humanae speaks on religious freedom andthe common good within a plot that is for the state to care for and protect; that part of the common good is called public order. if responsibility for the common good of the entire society with the richness and diversity of communities and institutions, is for the whole society, then the responsibility for public order mainly corresponds to the state. within this essential distinction, the appreciation by the public does not mean that everything is publicly owned or that the conditions of the common good shall be cared for and favored only by public administrations. it is at the same time the responsibility of the whole society. then, speaking of the whole and the part, one of the major concerns of the pope is the disease of self-referentiality, and prevailing individualism which is a companion to the growing culture of materialism and consumption considered by francis as the greatest evils of the contemporary world. superficial and egocentric perceptions of reality make it almost impossible to feel compassion for the suffering of others, and prevent people to connect with reality, in a process of dehumanization that can be gradual and silent but is very real. we need exercises that make us experience our qualities but also our limits, our strengths to overcome the selfish spirit, but also our shortcomings. we need a personal experience that we relocate continuously. it is experience and its something we all need, because we are not islands, but parts of the whole97. conclusion against the problems of lack of confidence today, francis gives us a guide to advance and a halt to give the opportunity to feel that it is possible to live in harmony, as human beings in peace. the pope calls us to promote a culture of encounter. this culture is necessary for mankind because according to the pope: is time to stop all hatreds, and renounce revenges, and be open to coexistence based on justice, truth and the creation of a true culture of the fraternal encounter. that we can live in harmony and fraternity. for the holy father, this culture of encounter does not signify to think, live, or react all in the same way, the culture of the encounter is to know that, beyond our differences, we are all part of something big that unites us and transcends us, we are part of god's creation. creating this culture is the responsibility of all, because it is constructed in each encounter everyday in our home, our work, in 97 cf. eg 2 y 63. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 152 our city, if webegin to apply what has been learned will be achieve great progress. in relation to the igwebiukwe philosophy, its obvious that the idea of unity is important and prime to the life of the human being. man by nature is a social being and it entails that he must necesarily live in the society with others. this philosophy that emphasies the need for unity in his society is rightly in line with the christian theology especially in the present day world that seems to be so individualists. we live together yet we can notice, and its obvious, that inspite of the growth in technolgy that makes the world more a global village, it has at the same time many negative effects. its important to have this in mind and work more rather to connect with each other. that is why pope francis calls atention to this culture of encounter between persons. bibliography kanu, ikechukwu anthony, african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. augustinian publications, 2015. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igbo proverbs as depositum of igbo-african philosophy. international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 4. no. 1. pp. 164-168. 2014. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike and and logic (nka) of african philosophy”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.3 no1 january 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. nnamdi azikiwe journal of philosophy vol. 10. no. 2. pp. 61-66. 2018. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 153 kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 35-44. 2016. kanu, ikechukwu anthony. “igwebuike and african ethics.”igwebuikepedia internet encyclopedia of african philosophy.(eds.) kanu anthony and jerome okonkwo. augustinian institute. igwebuikepedia.web.accessed 04 dec., 2016. kanu, ikechukwu anthony. “igwebuike and the unity of african philosophy.”igwebuikepedia internet encyclopedia of african philosophy.(eds.)kanu anthony and jerome okonkwo. augustinian institute.igwebuikepedia.web.accessed 04 dec., 2016. kanu, ikechukwu anthony. “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no.2. 24488-9210 (june 2016). kanu, ikechukwu anthony. “igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholic-pentecostal relations.”jos studies vol.22. 978-2023-36-1 (2014): 8798. martinez, j. l., la cultura del encuentro. desafio e interperlacion para europa, santander, sal terrae, 2017, 97-107. microsoft word igwebuike journals vol. 5. no. 7.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 149 an igwebuike approach to the eradication of toxic wastes and polutants in ogoni land princess omovrigho idialu, ph.d b.a (hons), pgde, m.ed., phd (ibadan) wesley university, ondo ondo state nigeria tel: +2348027706961; +23408053498267 idialuprincess72@gmail.com, idialup@yahoo.com abstract ogoni land, in rivers state, nigeria, is one of the areas mostly affected by modern technology associated with anthropogenic release of green house gases and chemical pollutants leading to environmental degradation with serious health, economic, and social implications to the people of the community. the loss of biodiversity to maintain a balance of the ecosystem by restoring soil nutrients, protecting water resources and stabilizing the climate has led to the extinction of marine life, killing the tourism industry which was a means of economic empowerment for the people. land and water pollution especially through oil spillages have made it impossible for the people to have potable water. fishing and farming is now a mirage and this has compounded the menace of unemployment and youth restiveness in the region, cumulating in low standard of living. this paper, which adopts socio-phenomenological and descriptive methodologies, emphasises the necessity for an igwebuike approach in order to establish a lasting solution to the menace. the igwebuike philosophy is the igbo traditional philosophy which extols the virtue of employing united efforts towards achieving goals. the application of the igwebuike perspective is imperative here because in order to change what is going on in any society or to help that society develop, it is expedient that the mindset of the individuals that make up that society is trained in a way that is geared towards self and societal improvement and development. the igwebuike approach is not foreign to the ogoni people, judging by their socio-political and cultural milieu. a call for its application is only to facilitate a reawakening of this philosophy in the people’s hearts so that their innate altruistic and united way of living (that is gradually eroding as a result of acculturation and adherence to global trends) can be used as an effective tool, positively exploited to solve myriads of problems beleaguering the people; especially in tackling the problem of toxic waste and pollutants in ogoni land. keywords: igwebuike, ogoni, toxic waste, oil spillage, pollutants, ecosystem. introduction igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 150 in the niger-delta, especially ogoni land, in rivers state, nigeria, modern technology has brought several challenges which inhibit the process of growth and development of the people. anthropogenic release of green house gases and chemical pollutants like carbon-monoxide and other combustible elements, disposal of lubricating oils from machines into rivers, crude oil exploration and pipe-line vandalism, all lead to environmental degradation and contribute to global warming. these pollution-intractable problems affect communities and have serious health, economic, and social implications. the focus of this work is to look at the solution to the problem in the light of employing the igwebuike approach, and this calls for a definition of the term. igwebuike, according to kanu (2015), is an igbo philosophical worldview that emphasises the importance of strength in communal living. igwebuike, is actually a three-word sentence that is blended into a single word. the first word, “ igwe,” means “number” or “population”; “bu” means “is”, while “ike” is the word signifying strength or power. “igwebuike” could therefore be translated as, “number is strength” or “number is power.” the igbo traditional philosophy teaches that when humans come together, in solidarity, and thus complementing one another in their united efforts towards achieving any goal, they become so powerful that they can constitute an invincible force, kanu (2014). this clearly brings to mind the biblical story of the tower of babel exemplifying positive strength in achieving goals through the exhibition of unity of purpose (genesis 11: 6). here it was clearly stated that because the people were one, spoke one language and had one mind, it would be easy for them to achieve whatever they wanted to achieve. the igwebuike tradition expresses the notion that the african community is a closely knit society, beginning from the extended family unit, where there is the emphasis of a person being his brother’s keep. from the family unit, it extends to the village, the clan, and the whole of the tribe. the idea is that a person cannot exist on his or her own without supporting or being supported by members of his/her kindred. the consciousness of this interdependence of one with the other makes individuals realise that their unique talents only make meaning as long as they are used for the benefit of others. this igbo philosophy of life is entrenched in their social-cultural lives and reflected in their conduct, morality, folklores, myths, rites, norms, rules, ideas, cognitive mappings and theologies. like the ubuntu ideology (i am because we are) of the zulus, the world of relationship, harmony, continuality and complementality makes seemingly impossible tasks easy to accomplish within their collective capability, kenshin (2016). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 151 the african’s relational character is such that ensures that he/she does not suffer alienation. it is an anthropocentric ontology a complete unity or solidarity which is difficult to break; an intricate web of the african philosophical experience. the individual’s life depends on that person identifying with the group, making it imperative to show obligation to the members of the group; by thinking and acting in ways that promote corporate survival of the group. a person’s sense of responsibility is therefore evaluated in terms of responsiveness and sensitivity to the needs and demands of the individuals that make up the group, kanu (2017). social order of african community as demonstrated in the traditional and socio-cultural structure and government of the ogoni people and by extension africa as a whole, is such that could be positively exploited to solve myriads of problems beleaguering the continent if only the people could lay aside negative foreign views that have infiltrated their minds through formal education and other cosmopolitan influences. with the igwebuike culture, there are indisputable rights and privileges enjoyed from the possessive nuance of belongingness, pointing to the fact that the meaningfulness of an individual’s life is based on his or her relational connectivity with others. kenshin (2016), avers that the way people see reality affects their value system and attitudinal orientations. it is this positive inclination of seeing the oneness of family, tribe and by extension the nation that should be exploited for the transformation and humanisation of society especially in tackling the problem of toxic waste and pollutants in ogoni land. ogoni land geography and socio-political structure it is expedient that mention is made of where the ogonis are situated and to also get a glimpse of their socio-political and cultural settings in order to get a clear understanding of how these could be brought to bear in harnessing the igwebuike philosophy, as a tool for actualising the eradication of toxic wastes and pollutants in ogoni land. the ogoni people of western niger delta region of southern nigeria are a minority ethnic group that became part of the rivers state of nigeria in the 1970s. according to oyinlade and vincent, (2002), the ogonis represent less than .05 percent of nigeria’s population of about 200.96 million people. notwithstanding, it is one of the most densely populated regions in nigeria, with about 1,233 people per square mile. they are bounded by the ibibio in the southeast, the igbo to the north, the ikwerres to the west, and the adoni and ijaw igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 152 to the south. the ogoni nation is bounded on the north and east by the imo river, on the south by the coastal sand plains occupied by the adonis; on the west by the aba-port harcourt highway. the region has coastal sand plains, deltaic and floodplains, mangrove forests, and barrier island habitats. it covers a range of about 404 square miles. the temperature is hot and humid. prior to oil drilling the land was very fertile and was called the bread basket of the region. they engage in farming and fishing. as fishers, they work together in small groups to enlarge their cash and enhance their share in the fish market. the ogoni are organised into six traditional political kingdoms. these are the khana; comprising four kingdoms (babbe, ken khana, nyo khana and tai), the gokana, the eleme. the six kingdoms are further divided into three separate but united sections. there are over 124 villages and towns in ogoni land, each headed by a chief. the ogoni are mostly monogamous but their women are generally prolific in procreation. the family unit plays a vital role in socialising the children to be good tribes people and citizens of nigeria. the ogoni have a hierarchical system headed by the gbenemene or king. under him is the mene bua (high chief) who governs a group of villages or towns. each village and town has a chief called mene buen. the villages have many compounds with each their own compound chiefs, the mene zeu, who reports directly to the mene buen. all chiefs revere the gbenemene, the highest political office holder in the land, and defer authority to him in matters dealing with the development of his kingdom, and the relationship between state government and the kingdom. the hardly challenge their leaders and would rather take instructions from the monarchy that from the officials of the state government. toxic waste and poluutants in ogoni land the business of toxic waste is a gigantic and satanic activity that observers according to onwunmere (2007) call an arm of the devil’s trinity, including hard drugs and illegal arms deal. all over africa, toxic wastes within the nations and those shipped in from developed nations constitute a threat to the health of the people. for instance, in february 14, 2017, vanguard newspaper reported that the “garden city” of port harcourt started experiencing black soot falling from the sky that started in november, 2016, scaring and annoying residents of the oil hub because nothing was done to protect their health. people’s clothes, bodies and floors were “tarred”. traders covered their wares with umbrellas; people wore protective masks, but could not escape accumulating dark phlegm in their lungs and throats and black particles in their nostrils. cars were also covered in dust. hash tag #stopthesoot# was all over the social media. there were igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 153 photographs of hands and feet covered in dust and protest marches were organised. air pollution is an emergency situation in ogoni land and other parts of the niger delta. vanguard july 31 (2011) reports that oil revenue is central to nigeria’s economy, accounting for about 70% of government earnings and 90% foreign exchange. decades of exploration, spills, pollution of farmlands and fish in the maze of creeks across the niger-delta has greatly affected the health and social-economic status of people in the region. about 94% of nigerians are exposed to air pollution implication levels that exceed world health organisation guidelines. burning tyres for scrap copper and illegal refineries were some of the speculated causes of the smog. again, under the guise of recycling waste, the rivers state government fenced and prepped a refuge dumpsite which it later called rivers state semi-sanitary landfill. the toxic waste dump was at obigbo, in oyingbo local government area along port harcourt-aba express way and popularly dubbed “amaechi dustbin” (rotimi amaechi was the governor at the time). the toxic dumpsite was next to peoples’ homes, schools businesses and health centres. with the heavy stench emanating from the site, those who could not move out were forced to endure the man-made environmental disaster. there were no equipment for waste sorting, processing, and onward forwarding for recycling contrary to what the state government had made the people believe. the poor folk who had the unfortunate luck of having the dump as an unwelcome neighbour suffered in silence for fear of retribution. on april 9th 2010 a maersk line vessel, operated by american president line, apl, a wholly owned subsidiary of a singapore based neptune orient lines, arrived at the federal ocean terminal at onne in rivers state and discharged some toxic waste; it got to lagos on the 11th loaded with 70 storage (lead) batteries classified as basel code a1180 and broken televisions. on a tip off it was arrested by members the nigerian ports authority npa and the nigerian customs service – ncs exposing this cruelty of people to their fellow humans. onitsha, in may 2016 was said to have the world’s worst levels of pm10 particles, microscopic particles in the air, measuring between 2.5 and ten thousand of a millimetre or micrometres from smokes, dust, soot, vehicle exhaust and industries. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 154 gas flaring and oil spillage in most parts of the land are common occurrences. till date clean potable water is a luxury in parts of ogoni land. the land has been so polluted that drilled boreholes do not yield water fit for drinking. one of the resultant effects of this is that water for drinking and cooking is imported (packaged in plastic bags) from neighbouring states at exorbitant prices as a result of the high cost of transportation added to the cost of water. the poor and vulnerable who cannot afford the luxury of such imported water are left to make do with what polluted natural water sources have to offer them with obvious negative health implications. moreover, many rural dwellers that rely on fishing and farming have been thrown out of businesses and the youth especially are rendered restive. as far back as 2011, john vidal an environmental editor in guardian news papers noted the following about ogoni land and the niger delta: i. community drinking water contains dangerous concentrations of benzene and other pollutants. ii. the soil contamination is more than five metres deep in many areas. iii. most of the spill sites that oil firms claimed to have cleaned are still highly contaminated. iv. there is evidence of oil firms dumping contaminated soil in unlined pits. v. water is coated with hydrocarbons more than 1,000 times the level allowed by nigerian water standards. vi. there is failure by shell and others to meet minimum nigerian or own standards. farmland is also affected, destabilising the economic life and the health of the people and desecrating the ecosystem. impact of environmental degradation a lot of nigerians, especially from the ogoni nation and the niger delta, according to bob-manuel (2017) suffer health problems that can be linked to the activities of oil extractors. it begins with running down the ecosystem by compromising the environment with all sorts of hazards ranging from extinction of species, air, water and land pollution, leading to respiratory diseases such as breathing difficulties, including pneumonia and asthma. the united nations environment programme (unep) estimates some 600,000 people die in africa every year as a result of air pollution. again, environmentalists have been igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 155 sounding the alarm that the soot contains sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide which cause acid rain when combined with moisture. it is common to see people with burning eyes, and sore throat, and with few and sometimes no health facilities in some places, the trauma the people experience is difficult to express. the loss of biodiversity to maintain a balance of the ecosystem by restoring soil nutrients, protecting water resources and stabilizing the climate has led to the extinction of marine life. all these have not just made the impact of global warming not only excruciating but has also killed the tourism industry which was a means of economic empowerment for the people of the niger delta region. exposure of fish to heavy toxic metal, sediments in rain, and in drinking water, have been implicated in the high incidence of prostate enlargement among the residents of the niger-delta region kadafa (2012). there is also the issue of unemployment for the locals whose major means of livelihood is fishing and farming. land and water pollution have made it impossible for the people to fish and farm. there is also noise pollution as a result of the activities of oil and gas companies. the economic impact of the cost of cleaning up oil spillage and stopping flaring is high and many of the extracting companies are not ready to do the right thing probably because the government is not responsible enough to hold them accountable. lack of accessibility to basic education, underdevelopment and unemployment, have contributed a lot to youth restiveness leading to the formation of militant groups, prostitution, robbery and other vices. thus, we have negative impact of pollution (due to the activities of the oil companies) ranging from destabilisation of the ecosystem, to health hazards, noise pollution, economic crippling through unemployment, and leading to poverty that is intensified by lack of provision of infrastructure. the cumulative result of all this is low standard of living. employing the igwebuike approach as a tool for erading toxic wastes and poluutants in ogoni land a great hue and cry has gone up; that the ruination of the eco-system is a process to which people have to put an urgent stop. nonetheless, no matter how high the decibel and persistence of the public clamour, without the people taking decisive steps to end this menace, it will all be an effort in futility. applying the igwebuike approach should be a sure-fire way to ensure a safe earth for all to dwell in. this is because many voices that have spoken on the topic have proposed solutions with buck-passing implications. there is the pressing need to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 156 sensitise all and sundry of that fight for a clean and sustainable environment is everyone’s duty. it requires a collaborative effort, which is what igwebuike is all about. fortunately, the ogoni nation has a socio-cultural and political structure with an ethnocentric mental image that is anthropocentric and supportive of this necessity for a combined effort. all hands ought to be on deck, from the family unit, to the mene zeu (compound heads), the mene buen (village/town heads), to the mene bua (high chiefs and governor of villages/towns) to the gbenemene or king to ensure that meaningful results are achieved in the eradication of toxic wastes and pollutants. all nations begin with individuals. therefore, viewing this from what the individuals can do, the following areas should be looked into. the first thing to do is that right from the family unit parents should sensitise their children and extended family members and through their exemplary demonstrations of the need for keeping the surroundings clean. the people should heed onwumere (2007)’s cry, reiterating that people put a stop to habits such as, poor waste management, leading to contamination of fresh water sources. individuals and groups should avoid dumping refuse in drainages and natural waste channels, leading to destruction of aquatic life, and harmful to flora and fauna, which are the mainstays of most rural folk. again families should opt for safer cooking methods order than the use of faggots in order to stem the tide deforestation and smoking and smouldering the ecological space. instead, steady efforts should be made (from the mene zeu to the gbenemene) towards reforestation and forestation. toxic smoke from burning of tyres and rubbish including bush burning for agricultural and hunting purposes should be refrained from. the gbenemene and other leaders under him should educate and strategise through persuasive therapy, to educate members of pressure groups that in their bid to get across to the government and the various multi-national companies who help to degrade the environment, they themselves should not end up adding to the destruction in the ecosystem through vandalising oil pipe lines, thus making life more unbearable for the indigenous poor people who get their livelihood from the rivers and land. the government of the nation ought to show that they care and also understand the implications of the attack on the environment. this should reflect by their igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 157 being sensitive to the fact that environmental revitalisation, restoration and accretion are important issues that should attract the installation of think tanks for effective strategic public planning and policy implementation. the government both at the state and federal levels should see to it that technical advancement accelerating decline in the quality of the environment and ability to sustain life, is moderated for a more eco-friendly system. apart from control of industrial wastes, poultry, and other industries that cause air, water and noise pollution should be situated in places far from residential quarters. adequate storm drains should be provided to avoid flooding and erosion that deplete the rich soil deposits and add to the people’s poverty. the west should not wrongfully think that since most developing nations seem to care very little about their environment, they could just use them as dump sites. this is a wrong notion that is borne out of human depravity, leading to the strong over-powering nations oppressing the weak. instead they should bear in mind that destruction of the environment in any part of the world will also with time affect other regions. they should therefore play supportive roles in ensuring that the waste is well managed and the negative effects of toxins are ameliorated. again, state and federal governments that there is civil right enforcement protection. these should not be dead letters written for the mere fun of it, and the rules should be frequently amended to suit modern realities. a legacy of absence of adequate municipal waste evacuation services, leading to the production of toxic smoke from burning of rubbish, should be a thing of the past if people could be well educated about better ways of refuse disposal and governing being able to provide healthy waste disposal services. ash soot and smog could be reduced by giving licence to illegal refineries to function while monitoring them to ensure that they do not indiscriminately burn tyres for scrap copper or use petrol containing high levels of sulphur. the shameful condition of the near non-existent power supply need to be addressed, so that the use of generators that has become inevitable, and adding to the toxic fumes and noise pollution can be a thing of the past. the present and in-coming administrations should not be indifferent to the implementation of policies that safeguard and protect the environment. they should not allow the hope for person gains from the multinational companies blind their eyes and minds to the fact that both the leaders and the led live in this environment and whatever negative practices that are allowed will invariably affect us all. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 158 the church has a role to play especially in the creation of awareness that land is not a commodity belonging to us but that we should see land as a community to which we belong. as bauckham (2010), rightly points out, human life as not a self-contained affair, but takes place in relationship both to the creator and to the rest of the creation. thus, the intricate interdependence of soil, water, flora and fauna, in which humans also belong will help to emphasise that humans have obligation not just to one another but to the land (land here, meaning, the soil, water bodies, air etc). god reminds us in leviticus 25:23-24 that the land belongs to him and that we as tenants must provide for the redemption of the land. the church’s understanding of these issues is imperative because as alokwu (2009) points out, the church has environmental responsibility that it needs to live up to in practical ways. for her voice to be effective, the church should devise strategies to ensure that the mentality of our leaders change so that they can state and implement strict penalties for toxic dumpers and ensure that oil companies operate in ways in which care for the environment and the people are given due priority. gleaning from oviasuyi, p. o. and uwadiae j. (2010) and ajodo-adebanjoko, a. (2017) certain suggestions come to mind. the church could work with communities to take part in the process of discussing their problems and suggesting possible solutions. the church needs to involve people of the grassroots that feel the pinch the most. village councils, family heads, non militants and militants, activists, community leaders, elders, religious leaders, youth leaders should be engaged by the church and the government in collaboration with the multinational companies, in interactive study workshops, designed to suggest possible solutions and strategies for implementation. phenomena such as vector-borne diseases, flooding and landslides, ozone depletion, gully erosions, climate-induced migrations, desertification and all forms of violence to the environment through industrialisation and wars should be a primary concern for christians because god created the world; it belongs to him and he has delivered it to us. thus, we have the responsibility to maintain it and give a good stewardship of it. moreover, our humanity and wellbeing depends on the environment. this according to dreibelbis (2005), makes it imperative that people are alerted of the importance of working for and with god in the process of repairing creation. indeed churches have been eco-justice advocates based on the conviction of the integrity of creation, responsibility to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 159 steward god’s creation and conviction that justice, peace, and environmental protection are linked. as part of the creation of awareness of the impact of environmental degradation, christian communities could observe the celebration of environmental days which are usually at national and internal levels. this will create in the people the need to be agents of change. moreover, seminars and retreats that focus on environmental stewardship could be used to redefine the people’s understanding about the relationship of humans and nature. even liturgical songs that are of environmental concern could help to communicate messages oriented towards environmental protection. through the use of both print and electronic media, the church can preach its position and advocate for environmental care and sustainability. institutions of government and development intervention agencies should fast track process of environmental remediation and ecosystem restoration. transparency and accountability should be taken seriously. health risk communication process can be improved as a means of advancing understanding, practice and policy. legislation, decrees and enactments that are disempowering should be reviewed and where necessary abrogated as they continue to serve as impediments to peace and security. topics like the use of environmentally sound technology, proper method of farming, bush burning control and the use of chemicals as detrimental to the soil fertility, avoidance of the use of harmful chemicals for fishing, proper waste disposal, and recycling of waste material are very essential. the church could establish funds from which scholarships could be awarded to relevant students to pursue courses on environmental management, environmental theology and agriculture. the church could also provide financial support or partner with environmental agencies and departments to ensure environmental sustainability; give voice to the socially excluded through involvement of community based associations, so that representatives from the ordinary people can participate in the process of planning, implementation, monitoring and executing of projects. transnational oil companies should reserve a percentage of job openings for qualified and employable youths in the host communities. the church should prompt the government to ensure that transnational oil companies modernise infrastructure and equipment and replace aging and corroding pipes as a preventive measure against frequent oil spillage and to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 160 ensure implementation of memoranda of understanding that are signed with host communities. in addition, there should be construction of roads and other amenities provided by the multinational companies. pastoral letters that promote eco-justice should be translated into local languages and discussed in small christian communities. people should be informed, and education is key to reorient them. theological schools, seminaries and academics could also teach stewardship of all creation in order to deepen the ethical and theological understanding of the causes of global warming. by this future ministers will become aware of the reality of the ecological crisis and how to respond to it. apart from the church’s contribution in health and education, each christian must consider the implication of an ecological theory for their life and the application of ecological concepts is possible in diverse fields of employment and personal interests. the church could help to demand cessation of the production of all toxin, hazardous waste and radioactive material, protection from nuclear testing, extraction, production and disposal of toxic/hazardous wastes that threaten the fundamental right to clean air, land, water and food. the united nations and african leaders should help africa by enacting strict laws that would prevent these waste merchants from shipping these unwanted wastes into africa. all over africa, pollutants like toxic ash smog, toxic wastes within the nations and those shipped in from developed nations, oil spills, and pipeline vandalism, asphalt processing plants belching out thick smoke from its operations are common features that should be stopped. development priorities should be set by local priorities, to clean up and rebuild our cities and rural areas in balance with nature. all past and current producers should be held strictly accountable to the people for detoxification and the containment at the point of production. collaborators should be dealt with; if there are no collaborators there will be no perpetrators. emergency measures should be taken to clean up drinking wells, and companies working in the niger delta should overhaul the way they operate. conclusion the application of the igwebuike perspective is imperative here because in order change what is going on in any society or to help that society develop, it is expedient that the mindset of the individuals that make up that society is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 161 changed or trained in a way that is geared towards self and societal improvement and development. nothing can be achieved with a mindset that negates whatever desirable ideologies that are put forward for attainment (no matter the capital and materials made available), if the recipients of such ideas are not wired to and as such helpless rebuff them in practical term. the igwebuike approach is not foreign to the african, let alone the ogoni national milieu. however, a reawakening of this philosophy in the hearts and interaction of the people is necessary at this time because most of our african ideologies of oneness, and corporate existence – the kind of communal living that calls for altruism that sometimes necessitates putting the kindred and community’s survival above one’s interest, have been bastardised by global trends that are suggestive of “every man for himself and god for us all,” oguejior, (2010). the ogoni nation, nigerians and africans in general need to heed the clarion call to go back to those values that unite us and had easily helped us to achieve our goals as a nation. one of such values is to see goal achievement as a team work that needs the individual and group’s contribution, realising that if we must achieve anything positive, especially this cry for ecosafety and sustenance, the buck stops at our feet. this is what igwebuike entails. if the afore-stated suggestions are implemented, harmful practices contributing to regional and global climate imbalances, leading to excessive storage of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and contributing to global warming can be checked and we will live in a better and healthier world. references ajodo-adebanjoko, a. (2017). towards ending conflict and insecurity in the niger delta region: a collective non-violent approach. african centre for the constructive resolution of disputes. alokwu c. o. (2009). the anglican church environment and poverty: constructing a nigerian indigenous oikotheology. a ph.d thesis in the school of religion and theology, university of kwazulunatal, pietermaritzburg. anglican conservative mission “the five marks of mission” http://www.anglicancommunion.org/ministry/mission/fivemarks.cfm. may 25, 2011. bauckham, r. (2010). the bible and ecology, london. baylor university press. bob-manuel, i. (2017). four largest threats facing niger delta today. ijaw youth congress at london conference july 3. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 162 dreibelbis, m. (2005). a call to christian environmentalism revisions: a journal of christian perspective, 1 (2). kadafa, a. a. (2012). environment impacts of oil exploration in the niger delta. global journal of science frontier research. environmental and earth sciences. vol. 12 issue 3. version 1.0. kanu, i. a. (2017). sources of igwebuike philosophy: towards a socio-cultural foundation. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 9. no. 1. pp. 1-23. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol. 3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2015). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no. 1.[ 97-101]. kanu, i. a. (2016b). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no.1. [1-7]. kanu, i. a. (2012). the functionality of being in pantaleon's operative metaphysics vis-a-vis the niger delta conflict. african research review: an international multi-disciplinary journal. vol. 6. no.1. january. pp. 212-222. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. 2017. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. 2017. kenshin, u. (2016). ubutu philosophy. www.newworld encyclopedia.org. accessed 18th may, 2019. oguejiofor, j. o. (2010). globalization and the resilience of traditional paradigms: the case of the igbo of nigeria. the humanities and globalization in the third millennium. akwa: fab anieh. onwumere, o. (2007). toxic waste dumping: africa at the mercy of god. inigerian.com. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 163 onwumere, o. (2010). toxic terrorism by americans and europeans –the nigerian voice in https://www.thenigerianvoice.com oviasuyi, p. o. and uwadiae j. (2010). the dilemma of the niger delta region as oil producing states in nigeria. in journal of peace, conflict and development. oyinlade, a. o. and vincent, j. m. (2002) the ogoni of nigeria in endangered peoples of africa and the middle east. eds. hitcock, r. k. and osborn a. j. university of nebraska, lincoln. vanguard july 31, 2011. 1,07900 tonnes of toxic waste, “drums of death.” vanguard news may 23, 2018. “crude oil spillage wreaks havoc in delta communities.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 156 fatoo khan, the colonial commissioner's mistress: an amorous relationship in colonial gambia hassoum ceesay school of arts and science university of the gambia/the gambia national museum, banjul hceesay@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.12241.35684 abstract this paper tackles the little discussed issue of interracial sexual liaisons in colonial gambia. in the case study of fatoo khan, i seek to underscore how an illiterate and rustic middle age woman stole the heart (and head!) of the most powerful british colonial servant in the north bank province of the gambia protectorate. i also seek to understand how this tryst was used by fatoo to contest the colonial power structure, especially the wanton powers of the district chief of upper saloum, located in the central region of the gambia. contestation of power and influence was one of the ramifications of the sex scandal. from my research, i have also discovered that fatoo‟s chutzpah was dictated by culture, tradition and literacy. i seek to trace the strange career of an ordinary woman, fatoo khan (c.1880-1940) who lived in the gambia protectorate at the height of british colonial rule in the 1920s. she used charm, wit and a bit of literacy and culture to wield and peddle influence in the upper echelons of the european dominated colonial state. our character latched onto the complex gambian culture of the extended family to develop and maintain iron cast relationship with british divisional commissioners, and have access to power which no woman had in colonial gambia at this time. preamble this paper is not about the ‗gyrations‘ of urban elite, professional women, or wives of british colonial officials what come out of this study is not only the steamy whiteman-black woman illicit love relations , but also the creative agency of a gambian woman in the early years of the colonial period. as much of the literature on colonial the gambia focuses on issues like the colonial coercive apparatus like the chiefs and divisional commissioners, failed colonial projects, and the advent of anti colonial politics, women, especially those of the protectorate such as fatoo khan, have received very little mention. even where women have been mentioned, it is more on the elite signaras, the mullato women who arose out of the inter-racial marriage and intermingling of european, especially portuguese traders, and gambians as early as the fourteenth century. this article therefore shall fill in this gap of neglect of women mailto:hceesay@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 157 in gambian historical studies, and especially highlight role of women as active agents in the colonial state far from the stereotypical roles of the docile, the victim and the weak. this study will also for the first time introduce the issue of sexuality in gambian history not in the usual frame of the colonial mindset of africans‘ untamed sexual proclivities (as in rape, incest, etc) but within the lens of sexual choice and appropriation. this is not a story of sexual coercion by a powerful white against a weak gambian, but relationship by contract which also melts the strict racial stereotypes of 1920s gambia colony. interracial sex in west africa during the colonial rule: in search of a theoretical framework of recent, historians such as carina ray have discussed at length the issue of interracial sex in colonial west africa before, during and after colonial rule.41 ray‘s recent work is of particular interest to us as it is based on case studies of colonial white male sexual liaison with african women in colonial ghana. as both ghana and the gambia were ruled in almost similar ways by the british in the context of indirect rule system, much of her conclusions are relevant to this article.42 a very close reading of ray presents a credible theoretical framework of such liaisons being accidents of ‗contestations‘, full of ‗ramifications‘ and as being instances of ‗african agency‘. by ‗contestations‘ we mean: ‗a struggle for superiority or victory between rivals‘ by ‗ramifications‘ we mean the outcome of the relationships, and by ‗agency‘ it is meant ‗the capacity, condition, or state of acting or of exerting power‘.43 ray discusses interracial relationships in colonial ghana and also highlights the love links of „african men and european women in britain as an entry point into a much broader history of racial and gender relations‘.44 it is apparent from her approach that ideas or yearnings which formed at the colonial metropolis like london did easily morph and extend into the colonies. from ray‘s perception, the metropolis also exported sexual attitudes and practice to her colonies. 41 ray, carina e. crossing the color line: race, sex, and the contested politics of colonialism in ghana. athens oh: ohio university press, 2015, p.45. 42 brempong, nana arhin ‗chieftaincy, an overview‘, in irene k. odotei and albert k. awedoba eds. chieftaincy in ghana: culture, governance and development, accra: sub-saharan publisher, 2006. 43 https://www.thefreedictionary.com/contestations 44 aderinto, saheed. review of crossing the color line: race, sex, and the contested politics of colonialism in ghana, in ‗africa: the journal of the international african institute volume 88, number 1, february 2018 pp. 193-194. https://www.thefreedictionary.com/contestations https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/310 https://muse.jhu.edu/issue/37874 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 158 it will be argued in this article that fatoo khan‘s amorous conjugal relations with a ranking british colonial official during the 1910s was a expression of not only her power to decide, but a sort of rebellion and a brave act of self determination on her part. unlike ray, this study is not a sweeping scope. fatoo‘s case is studied in isolation although they have been several other cases like her‘s where british colonial servants developed conjugal ties with gambian woman in the colony. there are for example, two well known cases such as that of mr. roberts, the police commissoner in the gambia colony, who apparently had a child with a 17 year old wollof girl in 1940, betrothed to a leading member of the wollof community of bathurst (banjul), and future nationalist politician, pierre s. njie. the girl had returned home from her studies in sierra leone, to work as a nurse at the victoria hospital when she was ‗seduced‘ by roberts.45 another case much earlier was the martha thorpe scandal of 1893 in which the young bathurst wollof girl was seduced and forced to elope with a british ship captain.46 fatoo‘s conjugal relations with the commissioners was therefore not a unique case in colonial gambia, but stands out simply for the fact that it was a web of players who occupied different rungs of the colonial hierarchical ladder, with uneven powers. indeed, by the 1950s, we started seeing the first cases of british women entering into ‗legal‘ relationships with gambian men, mainly students in london. but these could be subjects for further research. pre-colonial interracial sex: the signaras the regions which comprise today‘s republic of the gambia had their first contact with europeans in 1456 when the portuguese navigator alviso cadamosto arrived into the river gambia region with a caravel searching for the mythical gold fields. soon after, more portuguese and other european navigators and traders arrived in the region, and by the late 1400s, over a dozen riverside trading posts had been established to handle the brisk commerce between local africans and europeans.47 most famous of these riverside trading stations were bintang, kaur, fattatenda and buroko, some of which still exists48. the commercial intermingling soon created sexual intermingling also between african women and european traders. indeed, by the mid 1500s, european 45 see ceesay, hassoum. founding father: p.s njie: a moral biography. banjul: fulladu publishers(forthcoming). 46 see grey-johnson, nana. the history of the newspaper in the gambia. banjul: bpmru publishers, 2004, p.8-9. 47 mahoney, florence. stories of senegambia. banjul: banjul publishers, 1974, p. 18. 48 ceesay, hassoum. ‗back to the land‘ chiefs and urban decongestion in colonial bathurst, gambia 19301960‘. journal of mande studies, 2016, p.72-76. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 159 explorers such as richard jobson visited the river gambia regions and were witnessing the presence of a new population of mullatoes which came out from the interracial sexual liaisons. the female offspring of these white-african sexual relationships were called signara who soon became an economic and social force controlling trade in the river gambia area, and in gorée and st louis, senegal, where they lived opulent lifestyles. gamble maintained that the gambian signara population came in two waves: the first were the offspring of the early european traders in the hinterland from around the 16th century, while the second wave were signara women traders who came from gorée and st louis to settle in banjul after its founding in 1816.49 peter mark explains further: ‗at albreda and bintang ‗portuguese‘ women, many of whom were important traders or, like the wife of the spaniard at bintang, the daughters of local rulers, contracted alliances with european men.‘ 50 both trading centres were to remain bastions of signara prosperity through the 19th century. the signaras were charming, enterprising, eclectic and wealthy. catherine vidrovitch-cocquery described them as ‗women with sense and pride.‘51 many of them became powerful traders who owned sailing ships that plied the region‘s major ports. they were also capable agents of acculturation who introduced several aspects of european culture, including dress styles, architecture, food and language. they wore european style long dresses, full skirts and high-heeled shoes like europeans in paris or lisbon; however, underneath these dresses they wore layers of ‗serr‘ (hand woven cloth wrappers), as wollof women do. the signaras were therefore cosmopolitan; they picked the best from the two cultures they could claim as theirs. although many signaras were able to build up considerable fortunes from the capital bequeathed to them by their european companions, many more owed their fortunes to their own entrepreneurship. signaras lived mostly in centres 49 gamble, david. verbal and visual expressions of wolof culture. brisbane: gambian studies no. 22, 1997, p.22; see also, ceesay, hassoum, gambian women: an introductory history. banjul: fulladu publishers, 2007, p.28-30. 50 see mark, peter. portuguese‟s style and luso-african identity, precolonial senegambia in the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries. indiana university press, 2002, p.94. 51 see cocquery-vidrovitch, catherine. african women: a modern history. boulder: ca, westview press, 2000, p.99. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 160 controlled by europeans such as albreda, bintang and juffureh, which were less vulnerable to wars and pillage, and would be able to inherit their husband‘s property, unlike in areas outside european control. the few who lived up river at kataba or doomasansang like liza itla owned huge herds of livestock like cattle and sheep3, but their wealth was imperilled by marauding chieftains and greedy male relatives. in 1685, signara chatty, described by cocqueryvidrovitch as the ‗african widow of a portuguese slave trader‘, became the commercial agent in albreda of the damel of the wollof state of kayor, while signara mari mar was famous for hosting shipwrecked sailors at bintang. the signaras were owners of big tracts of land along the coast from bakau to gunjur, bought from chiefs. by 1866 the whole stretch of land from cape st. mary to present-day fajara was owned by signaras who built beautiful houses rivalling the british governor‘s houses. the signaras were also active players in the politics of the early gambian colony. in the 1870s they joined the rest of the business elite in banjul to campaign successfully against the plans by london to exchange the gambia for gabon with the french. they were women of social, economic and political standing who played a leading role in the evolution of the gambia in the 18th and 19th centuries. were it not for the protectionist policies of the colonialists that favoured british traders, they would have remained a leading force in the economic life of the gambia. however, as the europeans penetrated the interior with the protection of militia, their economic clout began to wane. fatoo khan and the chiefs sawallo, the dramatis personae of this story must have known, met and dealt with signaras as they lived and operated mainly at the wharf towns or riverside trading stations along the river gambia of which upper saloum had many.52 it is clear therefore that there had been a strong history of interracial mixture between gambians and europeans as far back as the 1500s largely as a result of commercial intermingling in the trade centres. besides the many detailed studies on the signaras of senegal and gambia (senegambia), the literature on the history of women in the senegambian space is still in its infancy, so to say. carney53 discusses the role of women as rice producers. she highlights the historical evidence of gambian women being rice 52 gamble, david. districts of the gambia: lower and upper saloum. brisbane: ca, 1999, p.28. 53 carney, judith. black rice massachusetts: harvard uiversity press, 2001, p.23. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 161 growers and therefore, nourishers of the household, and stresses the important role age groups or kafos play in women rice growing capabilities. although kafos are outside the gamut of this study for the simple reason that they are cultural groupings serving traditional roles in society, they offer important glimpses into the workings of women‘s groups. what is still largely missing from the literature is studies on amorous relationships between gambian women and colonial officials, and how these relations which grew out of particular contexts of the influence of such cultural matters as the extended family systems and chieftaincy. women in colonial gambia women did not play any formal role in protectorate administration as there were no women village headmen, chiefs or tribunal members. colonial officials in the protectorate such as commissioners, rarely brought along their wives, making women quite invisible in protectorate administrative affairs. however, informally, wives of chiefs an mistresses of the british officials were influential players in the districts. for example, chiefs‘ wives settled matrimonial disputes, supervised the distribution of food aid and mobilised people to welcome visiting colonial officials. david gamble remembers the wives of powerful colonial chiefs like abu khan, matarr ceesay and mama tamba jammeh as among such powerful women who were responsible for distributing rice fields and plots of land for women vegetable gardening.54 jobson also described how women were sold into slavery or seized into marriages by suitors who could not afford to pay the dowry. he once famously rejected an offer of a group of young slave girls from a dealer, and described the scene of a party of young men kidnapping a young lady for their fellow who wanted her as a wife but could not settle the bride price. he observed that certain notables had as many as eight wives, ‗with room for concubines‘, because there was ‗severe punishment for adultery and fornication: both men and women were sold into slavery.‘ he also noted the hard rut of women pounding rice and other grain to provide meals for the family, and the norm of women eating after the men had already done so. jobson suggests that this explained why many of the women he saw looked thin and ill-fed! the colonialists did little to eradicate practices that are now seen as violations of women‘s rights such as female circumcision, tattooing and wife inheritance. indeed, by denying women a say in the colonial administration, they were made more vulnerable and dependent. denied political control by the colonialists and 54 gamble, david. a review of development schemes in the gambia. brisbane: state university of california, 2007, p.76. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 162 their agents, the chiefs, women largely resorted to commerce to become independent providers. as the gambia protectorate is the setting of this paper, it is relevant that we pause a bit and explain the structure and method of british protectorate administration, especially assessing the roles of the chiefs and the powerful travelling commissioners, who operated within the confines of the indirect rule system. the british indirect rule system in the gambia and chiefs ‗indirect rule involved the use of local chiefs to implement colonial policies‘, wrote the cameroon historian natang ben jua writing about british rule in southern cameroon. unlike the french who completely replaced the local chiefs with french officials, the british administered their colonies through preexisting authorities and structures such as chiefs and their native tribunals.55 historians are generally agreed that lord lugard perfected the system of rule through the chiefs in northern nigeria, in the second decade of the 1900s. however, as explained below, the gambia protectorate created in 1894, was one of the earliest spaces for british experimentation with the policy of indigenizing of the colonial state, through the use of local customary institutions and values to meet their need for cheap, yet effective minimum administration in their colonies. aside chiefs, indirect rule also involved the use of other traditional power loci such as village headmen and elders, in protectorate administration. long before lugard had stated his ideas in the celebrated book, the dual mandate (1914), british authorities in the gambia had divided the territory into small administrative units called districts, usually based on existing cultural and customary boundaries, led by chiefs many of whom were appointed from the quondam ruling families. one reason why indirect rule worked seamlessly well in the gambia was that almost all the pre-colonial entities had identifiable centres of power such as kings, or owed some allegiance to roving religious reformers called marabouts, such as foday kabba who commanded much respect and authority.56 55 jua, ben natang. ‗indirect rule in british cameroon‘, www.lucy.ukc.ac.uk accessed 5/7/2011. 56 foday kabba dumbuya (1830-1900) was the religious leader for much of kiang and foni areas of the gambia from the 1870s up to his death in battle against the british in 1900. in foni where there were no recognised kings, he was highly regarded as leader who converted the jola into islam. http://www.lucy.ukc.ac.uk/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 163 there were two types of chieftaincies in colonial gambia: hereditary and nonhereditary chiefs. the latter comprised of chiefs who did not hail from former ruling families. these were chiefs of districts created only after 1894 such as lower niumi and lower saloum; they were paid fewer stipends and were elected to the chieftaincy through election by village heads. hereditary chiefs were hailed from a line of successive rulers dating to the pre-protectorate eras. sawallo ceesay of upper saloum, mama tamba jammeh of illiasa, and cherno bandeh of upper fulladu were good examples of hereditary chiefs. they were paid handsome stipends, in compliance with treaties of cession of territory that their ancestors had signed with the british in the 1890s. however, the british expected all chiefs to wield strong powers to enable them fully control their districts; in the minds of the people also, chiefs like the kings before them, were supposed to be strong, ruthless and powerful. this dual expectation of absolute power made chiefs to be authoritarian and obsessed with control and discipline. when a vacancy existed in a district with hereditary chief, the travelling commissioner for that province will confer with the elders and village headmen to see a suitable replacement within the ruling family. in cases were no suitable person was found a chief would be selected from outside the ruling family by the commissioner and approved by the governor in bathurst. thus, a chieftaincy could be hereditary now only for it to be non-hereditary the next time. however, when a qualified person later appears from the former ruling family, they could claim back the chieftaincy at the next vacancy. how did a chief‘s seat become vacant? according to the protectorate ordinance 1894, the governor had the powers to appoint chiefs and also to dismiss them. thus, many chiefs lost their seats thanks to a dismissal from the governor in bathurst, acting upon advice from the commissioner of that province. accusations of corruption, embezzlement of tax revenue, witchcraft torture, were common reasons given for the dismissal of chiefs. in many cases, these were merely subterfuge for the commissioners to settle vendettas against chiefs they did not like for one reason or another. often times, dismissed chiefs were further punished by banishment to a far away corner of the protectorate, for many years, before they were allowed to return home. omar ceesay of upper saloum, mansajang sanyang of kantora, karamo dibba of central badibbu were among chiefs who suffered banishment after dismissal. in extreme cases, chiefs who fell out of flavour with the colonial government were exiled to sierra leone, as in the case of musa molloh. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 164 who were the travelling commissioners? power and duties of the commissioners the ordinance created two travelling commissioners for both banks of the gambian territory: north and south bank; in later years, the commissioners were increased to four, then five, now based at mansakonko, basse, georgetown, kerewan and brikama. in the 1940s, a senior commissioner was appointed to coordinate the work of the four divisional commissioners. the commissioners were superintendants of the districts under their purview and all chiefs and village headmen were answerable to the commissioners. the commissioners were men-on-the spot for the governor, and therefore enjoyed almost unlimited powers of action. poor communications with bathurst meant that they took decisions first, before letting the governor or the colonial secretary know about the issue. in many cases, commissioners bypassed the chiefs in matters such as tax collection and judicial matters, which is why some of them wondered if in fact, they were not engaged in ‗direct rule‘; the provision of the ordinance that gave commissioners the powers to run any district where a chief had died or was incapacitated until suitable replacement was found, further gave them ‗direct rule‘ like powers. the typical commissioner had to multitask: he was required to keep daily, monthly diaries of activities; keep the accounts of the province; issue gun licenses; carry out inoculations against diseases, supervise road construction and sanitary awareness, etc. the earliest travelling commissioners were mr. ozanne for north bank and mr. sitwel for the south bank, appointed in 1893. their duty it was to tour the length of the country explaining to the people the meaning of protectorate administration, identifying the right people for appointment as chiefs and village headmen, signing treaties with the few unconquered kings and chiefs such as musa molloh and establishing the boundaries with french senegal. it was a hazardous job; of the first twelve commissioners, three died on duty, two were killed at work and two were declared insane and sent back to england. it was a perilous job indeed! what was not unpleasant however was the descriptions of the glamour of gambian women like fatoo khan made by european explorers who visited the river gambia region. expressions of beauty of gambian women in colonial accounts the earliest accounts written by european explorers who visited the gambia region in the 15th and 16th centuries give vivid descriptions of the role, status and physical beauty of gambian women. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 165 writing in 1455 while exploring the river gambia, the portuguese explorer cadamosto noted the fashion and body adornments current among women at the time: ‗the women are clothed in garments of cotton. their dresses are loose clothes, partly coloured, blew and white, tucked about their middles, and from the waist upwards, bare… they caste another cloth, as they wear below, upon their shoulders, which hangeth loose… and without question, very charming.‘57 to complete their sartorial elegance, cadamosto observed that women also ‗worked designs upon their flesh with the point of a needle, either on their breasts, arms or necks. these appear like those designs of silk are often made on handkerchiefs; they are made with fire and they never disappear.‘58 the portuguese explorer might have been describing scarification rituals like tattooing, which had medicinal, aesthetic and spiritual significance among many ethnic groups in the region. his compatriot, lemos coelho, who sailed along the river gambia in 1669, recorded thus: ‗the black females are the most beautiful on the whole river‘‘; he was referring to the wollof women like fatoo khan, he had come across. it is noteworthy that the concept of beauty and presentation of one‘s self is so important among the wollof that they have no less than five words all expressing beauty, elegance and dignity and as many expressions for self-worth and self-respect.59 demeanor and dress were more than for public presentation but also to establish lineage and role in society, female sexuality was enjoined in dress and jewelry as much as with jiko(character), which was the wollof‘s abstract form of beauty which inhered inside the person. mandinka mythology remembers that mama mansa kebereng jammeh had enough beauty which wooed the jokadu king, sanake demba, into marrying her 57 quoted in gamble, d.p and p e h hair (eds). the discovery of the river gambia by richard jobson (1623), the haklyut society, 2001, p. 118. the following explorers have given written accounts of their journeys to the river gambia in the 1400s and 1500s: alviso cadamosto (1455 and 1456 voyages), usodimare (1455), diego gomez (1455/1456), duarto pacheo pereira (c.1508), valemtim fernandes (c.1508), jao de barros (1552), francisco de andrade (1582), andre alvares de almeida (c.1594), andre donelh (1628), francesco de lemos coelho (1669/1684). d p gamble and p e h hair‘s edition of richard jobson‘s travelogue includes short excerpts from each of these explorers‘ descriptions. 58 quoted in gamble, d.p and p e h hair (eds). the discovery of the river gambia by richard jobson (1623), the haklyut society, 2001, p. 118. 59 gamble cites ‗rafet‘ (beautiful, elegant); ‗yem‘(appropriate, fitting); ‗mat‘(striking personality); ‗jeka‘ (created beauty), ‗jongoma‘ (naturally beautiful woman); see gamble, d. and salmon, l. and njie, a. the wollof. san francisco: the author, 1985, p.45. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 166 and abdicating his throne to live in niumi. but before doing so he had ensured that jokadu became a vassal of niumi. the legend goes that sanake paid a courtesy call to the mama mansa kebereng jammeh and met her having a bath. the courtiers told her that there was a king waiting to see her, she told them to tell him to wait as she had no clothes on. when she finally emerged from the royal bath, she said to her assembled subjects ‗this king is now my man. i have not had a man for long. here he is now‘. sanake abdicated and went to live with the niumi mansa.60 with this brief contextual underpinning of feminine elegance and sexuality we can now narrate the affair. the positive images described above were powerful as they were read in the books and journals in europe. they were positive images.61 yet, at the advent of formal colonial rule, european perception of african, especially african women, was less charitable. now they were being denigrated as immoral and syphilis carrying sluts. accordingly, many immorality laws were designed to reduce white-african women mixture in the colonies like the gambia. this is why the mccallum mistress affair is especially noteworthy and paradoxical. mccallum mistress affair in early 1919, the career of the commissioner for the north bank province, mr j k mccallum, was brought to an inglorious end by a love scandal that rocked the colonial administration. it involved sawalo ceesay, head chief of upper saloum, commissioner mccallum, and three saloum ladies: fatou khan, fatim samba mbowe and fana kumba lowe. the ladies had used their charm to entrap the colonial commissioner in a sex scandal, which necessitated a commission of inquiry led by senior travelling commissioner, mr h l pryce. the recommendations of the inquiry led to the dismal of mccallum, the vindication of chief sawalo, and precipitated a radical shake-up of the protectorate administration by governor cameron.62 the story of fatou khan, mistress of north bank travelling commissioner mccallum illustrates the power and sway of women in the running of the districts during the colonial period. 60 wright, donald. the world and a small place in africa. newyork: w e sharpe, 1994, p. 94. 6161 see musisi, nankayike.‗the politics of perception or the perception of politics? in women in african colonial histories, jean allman, susan geiger(eds)indianapolis: indiana university press, 2002, p.97. 62 see ‗report on upper saloum district‘, 1933, pub 13/13, the gambia national archives, banjul. the report on the state of the district for 1933 by commissioner assheton details the scandal and the subsequent probe, and the undignified exist of mccallum. for more details on the affair see also, ceesay, hassoum. gambian women: an introductory history. banjul: fulladu publishers, 2007, p.94. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 167 sawalo alleged that one of the women, fatou khan, the chief‘s sisters‘ daughter, had made herself into a ‗queen victoria‘ (the long-serving and most powerful british monarch who died in 1901), and she had arrogated to herself the powers of a commissioner. the chief also alleged that fatou khan used her amorous liaison with commissioner mccallum to exact rice and coos levies on farmers in the north bank province, and that mccallum allowed fatou khan to receive money from a trader called sering niahana ceesay of bati hai, in upper saloum, which she refused to pay back. the commission of inquiry set up by the governor to probe the affair sat at kaur from 14 january 1919 to 5 february 1919. mccallum admitted his liaison with the three women, and also agreed that such romantic associations had swayed his impartiality and judgement. fatou khan admitted to the commission that she levied a bushel of coos from each town in upper saloum. sawalo exacted the levy, and handed it over to mccallum, who gave it to fatou to sell it in bathurst, the colonial capital. fatoo was caught up in a painful dilemma of breaking prudish traditional norms of values surrounding celibacy, adultery, and cohabitation with a european, seen in protectorate circles as a stranger and oppressor on the one hand and benefitting from the power of being the willing mistress of the all powerful colonial commissioner. the commission of inquiry epitomised how the british empire could be rattled by the amorous adventures of two cogs (mccallum and fatoo) in its mighty wheel. even the empire could be vulnerable and its seeming hegemony contested from the most unlikely quarters! fatoo‘s escapades made her into a powerful figure of change, with the agency to bring about the first recorded commission of inquiry in colonial gambia. fatoo has become a player in colonial micro-politics. equally, telling is that at the time of her relationship with the commissioner, fatoo was almost past child bearing age and therefore ‗freer of external constraints than in (her) younger age‘ and had ‗greater space and vulnerability‘.63 the ramifications of the scandal were swift. mccallum was suspended and later forced to retire with an annual grant of 227 pounds. the affair was indeed a big blow to the colonial administration that lost a pioneer colonial civil servant, mccallum, who spoke fluent wollof and was instrumental in establishing the protectorate administration in colonial gambia. furthermore, it revealed the open secret of amorous relationships between white colonial officials and african 63 berger, iris. women in twentieth century africa. cambridge: cambridge university press, 2016, p.16. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 168 women. the decision of the governor to retire mccallum was indeed judicious. however, such a rare case of fair play was less a result of colonial policy than fair-mindedness of governor cameron. the scandal showed the ability of women to influence the power and actions of colonial officials. but who was this intrepid chief who dared the might of the colonial establishment by challenging the shenanigans of the travelling commissioner? this questions bring us to the issue of ‗contestation‘ as understood in ray(2015, 8). the chief as explained above felt that the affair was threatening his own rampant hold on power; in other words, fatoo‘s dalliance with the commissioner was a recipe for a power contest. by her growing influence, fatoo had become a pretender to the chiefs‘ throne, so to speak. the colonial records and recent studies of chieftaincy in colonial gambia are replete with the examples of the intolerance of chiefs to any apparent or real contest or opposition to their powers be it from the subjects like fatoo or even from the commissioners. the hereditary chiefs like sawaloo felt and liked to be seen as monarchs without the crowns, simply because they hailed from the demoted royal families. this is why in many instances, when the british felt embarrassed by excesses such as false imprisonment, torture and seizure of wealth by the chiefs, the punishments were exemplary and unforgiving: banishment or imprisonment.64 sawalo ceesay was born around 1840 in njau, 200 km from banjul, and excelled as a wrestler in his early years. later he fought in the jihad armies of maba jahou bah, and when maba died in 1867, sawalo joined the ranks of another islamist, mamud ndari bah. in 1890, he got tired of being a soldier of fortune and returned to njau where he became an alkali. when the british declared the gambia protectorate in 1894, sawalo was their obvious choice as head chief of upper saloum for his known record as a feared warrior. the first task assigned him by commissioner ozanne was to end slave trading in his district; he soon fulfilled the task to the satisfaction of the british. the district report of 1897 was quite complimentary of the improving roads and sanitary conditions in upper saloum, the efficient tax collection and the fact that the district had grown to 40 towns with 1,254 huts! however, the chief was growing senile, which made the british commissioner secretly start grooming his son omar to replace him. when 64 ceesay, hassoum. ‗chiefs and colonial administration in colonial gambia: 1894-1965; in leadership in colonial africa, g jallow(ed), palgrave macmillan, 2014, p.41-42. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 169 sawalo learnt of the plot, he swore to punish his son and the scheming commissioner mccallum. in october 1918, commissioner mccallum submitted to governor cameron a report on the conduct of sawalo in which he accused the chief of high-handed action against the town of bantanto that terrified the villagers so much that they fled to the nearby nianija district. mr mccallum recommended that sawalo, together with his native tribunal members, should be dismissed and exiled and that the district capital, njau, be ―burnt‖ to the ground.65 even the governor in banjul was shocked at the strong-arm tactics recommended by commissioner mccallum against the chief. however, the chief did not leave the vengeful commissioner have his way. chiefs sawallo was prepared to contest the overarching powers of the commissioner. he travelled to nearby ballanghar to meet the ardent nationalist, edward francis small, then a mission teacher in the village, who wrote a strong riposte against mccallum‘s allegations, which he sent to governor cameron. the chief accused mccallum of having illicit sexual affairs with a harem of local saloum women, who had, therefore, become so powerful and influential that they no longer obeyed the chief and his court. colonial gambia of 1918 and 1919, the years when the affair became public, was reeling from the painful effects of the first world war. the war time emergencies had led to occasional food shortages in the rural areas. the war conscription the availability of war time jobs in bathurst, the capital, and had denuded the villages of much needed farm hands. grains such as coos were the mainstay of the food supply chain. requisitioning grain, as fatoo was accused of doing, had become a major crime, so to say. this forced the colonial governor in bathurst to act and decisively and swiftly. culture in the „affair‟ to fully understand this amoral story, we must bear in mind certain issues which scholars interested in cultural history have tended to ignore such as the practice of concubinage, dowry and cultural acceptance of sex across racial lines. 65 see ‗confidential report on head chiefs, 1930‘ cso 3/152 , the gambia national archives, banjul. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 170 to strengthen her influence on mccallum, both the chief sawallo and fatoo khan influenced mccallum into concubinage with two other women, both of whom shared blood relations: fana kumba lowe and fatim mbowe. not only british colonial officials engaged in concubinage, but also it was the norm for kings and chiefs who following islamization were restricted by religion to four wives, but who by the fact they were powerful people always looked for more matrimonial ties with the daughters of allies, or even enemies to political ends. when it suited the colonial officials, concubinage was disparaged and termed ‗sexual slavery‘; punishable under colonial laws. the fate of the king of fulladu musa molloh (1850-1931), who in 1919 was deposed by the british as chief of gambia fulladu and exiled to freetown, comes to mind. the british said his many wives and concubines who numbered in the dozens were being held against their will and they attacked his fort and arrested him bringing the last effective anti-colonial ruler in colonial gambia. an anthropologist who studied the role of women in early gambian politics observed: ‗fatoo protected her uncle chief sawalo sise of upper saloum district from the wrath of colonial officials for many years by making mccallum write positive annual reports on him despite his senility. she fell out with sawalo in 1917, when he refused to collect the grain levies, and was retired‘.66 here fatoo was simply answering to the sense of entitlement common in gambian culture on relatives and even acquaintances. colonial chiefs provided comfort to british officials in the form of rest houses for the overnight stays of the itinerant british officials, and other forms of creature comforts. the chiefs saw this as their natural role of african hospitality towards strangers; even though the british saw it as an entitlement. so much that in the annual confidential reports on chiefs, the travelling commissioners gave high or low marks to chiefs who did or did not afford the british officers ‗well kept rest houses‘. the african extended family also matters in this relationship. fatoo khan was a divorcee, almost menopausal and therefore, had greater sexual freedom. as a widow, he was obliged by custom to live under the chief who was a sort of an uncle, but her middle age gave her the leeway to challenge aspects of family restrictions and therefore was able to co-habit with the commissioner. if the african extended family system is anything to go by, they were properly 66 price, j. h. ―some notes on the influence of women in gambian politics.‖ institute of social and economic research, conference proceedings, 1958, p.15. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 171 sheltered by their powerful uncle, chief sawalo. it was while in the household of the chief that they caught the eye of the lustful british colonial official. recent scholarship has revealed that such sexual liaisons across racial lines, may have been strange but were accepted and even sometimes encouraged by male relatives like sawallo.67 yet, oral traditions from upper saloum collected by this writer says that the relationship between fatoo and mccallum was simply ‗an adulterous tryst‘ not even concubinage as no bride price was paid or offered by the commissioner.68 in local culture, sexual relations become recognized only after the lengthy rituals of offering and settling the bride price in cash or kind by the man. if this has not happened, it is neither a marriage nor concubinage. literacy in the „affair‟ ‗she taught mccallum wolof, and the wolof grammar and dictionary he subsequently wrote were for many years the standard reference for colonial officials‘.69 colonial officials like mccallum, were with the missionaries, the earliest people to experiment with the writing of scripts for local languages like wollof. they did this to be able to communicate in spite of the interpreters, whom they did not always trust. the literacy and intellectual history of west africa is enriched by such narcissistic efforts to learn and vulgarize languages like wollof. fatoo went far ahead of most women in colonial gambia when mccallum taught her to read and to forge his signature. she became a willing recipient of the whiteman‘s wisdom, knowledge and manners, and therefore sealed her new role as an agent of the colonial establishment. fatoo exhibited the ability to appropriate the colonial master‘s skills to contest the chief‘s monopoly of exploitative tactics. in this way also, she became unwitting agent of change, a strident rival to the wanton, and often detested, power of the chief sawallo. much of the credit for mccallum‘s fall from grace goes to mr edward francis small who wrote the petitions against the commissioner on behalf of sawalo. mr small had arrived in ballanghar in 1917 to work at the village church but soon began to champion the rights of the local people. in 1922, he took up the case of chief omar ceesay of njau, son of sawalo, who had been wrongfully dismissed, 67 berger, iris. women in twentieth century africa. cambridge: cambridge university press, 2016, p.20-21.. 68 interview with amie jamma ceesay, (85 years) njau village, upper saloum, may 10 20015. 69 price, j. h. ―some notes on the influence of women in gambian politics.‖ institute of social and economic research, conference proceedings, 1958, p.17. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 172 and succeeded in having the governor reinstate the chief. small‘s story tells us about the early days of the african intellectual class in colonial gambia. he attended the only primary school on colonial gambia from 1897 onwards, and later had to move to sierra leone to pursue high school education which was not available in gambia. among the british west african possessions, gambia was least endowed with educational opportunities such that until 1927 the government did not run any school; western education was left entirely in the hands of the missions. small and the few other intellectuals were from the krio group, descendants of liberated africans re-settled in gambia and sierra leone from 1830 onwards. they were a favoured class of the british who saw them as more pliant and receptive of christianity and west norms than the indigenous wollof, mandingo or fula. small became a journalist and crusader for social justice and a strong critic of colonial rule which is why he took up the case of fatoo khan with intense vigour. he rightly saw it as a new notch in colonial exploitation of the weak african in the high period of colonial rule. his was a good example of the engaged intellectual against colonial excess compared to the compromised intellectuals such as the first gambian lawyer sir john forster (1873-1940). west african intellectual history has to make this very clear distinction between the whistleblower intellectual like small and the acquiescing intellectuals like forster who helped to draft the draconian gambia criminal codes in the 1920s. j. h. price wrote that mccallum delegated more and more of his official responsibilities to fatou, who, although illiterate, was able to run the district through the official interpreters, who would read over official letters to her and take down in english the replies which she dictated. according to price mccallum‘s sole responsibility was ―to sign the letters which she drafted; that responsibility, too, he divested himself of before going on leave by teaching fatou how to forge his signature.‖ consequently, even after he went on leave, fatou was still sending letters to the colonial secretariat in banjul. this should lead us to the role of interpreters as compromised intellectuals in colonial west africa. interpreters were the backbone of the colonial establishment and as they invariably would have had a modicum of western education, they qualify to be seen as among the intellectual elite of colonial period. in fatoo‘s case, we see how she used the interpreters to run the affairs of the biggest region in colonial gambia despite her illiteracy. here the evidence igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 173 shows the duties and work of a compromised intellectual who aided and abetted colonial system no matter the consequences. but who were mostly likely to become interpreters in the chiefs‘ courts in colonial gambia in the first two decades of the 1900s? chiefs educate their children: muhameddan and armitage schools the sons of chiefs were the first cadre of interpreters in colonial gambia. this is because they were the first non krio to enjoy the privilege of western education. while chiefs and ordinary subjects in other parts of west africa resisted colonial rule by refusing their children to attend western schools, gambian chiefs embraced colonial schools with open arms as far back as 1903 when the muhamedan school was opened in bathurst. chiefs like sawallo ceesay, kebba sanneh, jatta selung jatta sent their sons to the school all of whom were to become chiefs in the 1920s and 1930s. in 1927, governor sir cecil armitage opened armitage school in maccarthy island specifically to provide elementary education for the sons of chiefs, who were expected to work in the protectorate administration as chiefs, court clerks and interpreters. many chiefs sent their sons to the school, which always received much attention from successive governors and commissioners.70 in 1945, armitage was upgraded to a secondary school; in 1949, it had a teachers‘ college attached to it and in 1961, it was expanded and completely rebuilt. its school roll of 1947 included the sons of chiefs and other protectorate boys who were to occupy senior positions in government in the years leading to independence in 1965. in a letter to the secretary of state for colonies in 1944, governor sir hillary blood explained the need for upgrading armitage to a secondary school in these worlds: ‗there is an urgent need for protectorate youths with higher education in a number of branches of government service... the inauguration of native treasuries will call for staff with secondary education, and i am repeatedly asked by chiefs to open village schools, which i refuse due to lack of train teachers...i‘. by embracing western education, chiefs were able to help sustain the colonial system by ensuring a good supply of educated protectorate people ready to work in the protectorate administration as court clerks, interpreters, and police officers. armitage school‘s role in gambian 70 see ‗armitage school report.‘ edu 1/157, gambia national archives, banjul; see also ‗armitage school‘. edu 2/2, gambia national archives, banjul. according to information in this file, armitage opened on 12 january 1927 with a roll of 16 boarders and 14 day pupils, with a staff compliment of three. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 174 colonial intellectual history therefore was to churn up educated chiefs who would be better servants. dividends of amorous relations between colonial officials and local women berger (2016: 21) states that such relationships as that between fatoo and the commissioner had ‗advantages for both the women involved and their families‘. the benefits were usually material and also intangible as in status in society. courting the powerful and usually feared white boss was encouraged by chiefs like sawallo for their relatives as the women got material benefits like regular income. fatoo as we have seen got rewards for her living with the commissioner. she also shielded her uncle from many sanctions by the commissioner. she wielded power also. she even learnt the ways of the white as in being able to write. these were the dividends from her relationship with the commissioner. polygamy was the norm even before islamization in the 10th century. the practice of marrying multiple wives symbolized power and wealth. high dowry meant that only well-to-do men could afford to marry many women. in order to cement their hold on to power, rulers courted loyalty by marrying from each clan in their kingdoms. fenda lawrence and fatoo khan: a comparison? as mentioned at the beginning, interracial relationships in the areas along the river gambian are as old as the european presence. the intermingling was not only commercial but also sexual. fenda lawrence‘s story was that of another gambian woman in an interracial relationship. she was born around 1742 to a serahule family that lived in the kingdom of wuli, in the upper limits of the river gambia. fenda was described as ‗a black, free woman of material substance, a considerable slave trader‘, who lived in kaur, in the central reaches of the river gambia.71 she migrated to georgia, usa, in may 1772 in search of a 71 ‗she voluntarily hath come: a gambian woman trader in colonial georgia,‘ by lillian ashcrafteason, in identity in shadow of slavery, paul e lovejoy (ed), continuum, london and new york, 2000, pp.202-218. this is a well-argued essay, which, though thin on evidence on the life of fenda particularly her later years in the us, gives a thorough argument on the subject. my thanks go to judith carney for introducing me to the work. see also lerone bennet jr. before the mayflower: a history of the negro in america (1619-1966), johnson publishing, chicago, 1966, p.41. the certificate of passage issued by the governor of georgia states: ‗(fenda) is a free black woman and heretofore-a considerable trader in the river gambia on the coast of africa (who) hath voluntarily come to be and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 175 better life and more lucrative trade. her father worked at british-owned factories at wulitenda, doomasansang, bansang tenda and later, carrol‘s wharf, in nianija, while her mother worked as a maid for white traders. she therefore grew up in the multi-cultural business environment of the factories along the river, which had mulatto, european and african populations. this shaped her life. furthermore, the numerous successful mulatto women traders who operated up river must have inspired fenda into trading. although she was not of mixed race, she nonetheless belonged to the signara class because of her wealth and marriage to a european trader. in 1760, she married an englishman called james lawrence, who was the employer of her parents at kaur. as her husband was away most of the time up river negotiating trading rights with chiefs, fenda ran the businesses at kaur and nianimaro. she used this chance to build up her network of business contacts in the region. in 1780, her husband died leaving her with three children. she was now to take charge of his vast business concerns along the river, which included three shallops that plied the river ports transporting goods and slaves. however, fenda was unable to remain a successful trader because local chiefs and armed marauders coerced her into surrendering her fortune. she lost her boats to the king of wuli, who sold them off to a french trader based in albreda. also, her own parents forced her to yield much of her business to them. lilian ashcrafteason has suggested that ‗patriarchal, paternalistic and communal tendencies within the kingdom of saloum‘ (where kaur was located) could have interfered with fenda‘s business in kaur as the alkali and local chiefs questioned her dower rights or for other reasons withdrew their support. fenda would have had a problem because under both local law and islamic law, wives could not inherit their husbands‘ property. traditionally, when a foreigner like fenda‘s husband died, the local chiefs had the right to claim their property. whatever might have pushed her out of her homeland to the americas, fenda left kaur with her family aboard a slave ship called new britannia in 1792 and arrived in georgia, an exile determined to succeed. with the help of contacts she knew while in kaur, she soon obtained full residency status, and gained acquaintances with the trade community of savannah, the main city of georgia. remain for sometime in this province.‘ the governor gave orders that she should be allowed to ‗pass unmolested within the state‘ while doing her legitimate business. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 176 she bought and resold slaves and also traded in cotton, such that she began to make profits. before she died, fenda had built a huge trading concern in georgia and other southern states. a difference between fatoo‘s story and that of fenda is that fenda was in a marriage in the african context while fatoo was in an informal relationship. conclusion the mccalum mistress affair truly shook up the colonial administration. it brought to light the well kept secret of amorous relations between local women and british colonial officials. it also underscored the role of culture and the emergent intellectuals in influencing the flow of the colonial administration. the affair ‗reshaped perceptions of interracial relationships across race, class, gender and location‘ in colonial gambia.72 the strange aspect of the affair is that fatoo escaped censure; while her partner lost his job and career. the affair was also outstanding seen in the context of the times it happened: late 1910s when the colonial machinery was at its most ferocious and racist views of africans, especially african women, were quite strong in europe. fatoo‘s sexual escapades with the commissioner did not produce any children if the oral sources fromupper saloum are to be believed, but it has the legacy of falsifying the ‗pseudo-intellectual construction of racial difference, which individuals and groups have used to divide and rule societies, was challenged as africans and europeans contracted sexual relationships on both long-and shortterm bases‘.73 fatoo could therefore be cast in the light of an avant garde multiracialist at the height of the colonial period when the races were divided and women had little room to manoveur in the colonial space. while future research could try to unearth the further ramifications of this affair looking at for example, if it had led to legislations to forbid interracial sexual liaisons, what is clear now is that fatoo was a powerful female agency 72 aderinto, saheed. review of crossing the color line: race, sex, and the contested politics of colonialism in ghana, in ‗africa: the journal of the international african institute volume 88, number 1, february 2018 pp. 193-194 73 op.cit, p.193. https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/310 https://muse.jhu.edu/issue/37874 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 177 works cited carney, j. black rice, harvard university press, new york and mass., 2001. ceesay, hassoum. gambian women: an introductory history, fulladu publishers, 2012. hassoum ceesay, ‗chief and protectorate administration in the gambia:18941965‘ in leadership in colonial africa, baba g. jallow(ed), palgravemacmillan, 2014. castleden, rodney. the concise encyclopaedia of world history, paragon, london, 1994, colvin, lucy. historical dictionary of senegal, scarecrow press, london, 1980. d‘arcy, col. g.a.k. ‗gambia colony and the civil war‘ colburn‘s united service magazine, november-december, 1863. eason-aschraft, lillian. ‗she voluntarily hath come: a gambian woman trader in colonial georgia‘ in paul e. lovejoy (ed) identity in the shadow of slavery, continuum, london and new york, 2000. gamble, david p and hair, p.e.h. the discovery of the river gambia by richard johnson 1623, hackly society, cambridge university press, 1999. gamble, david p. essays on gambian themes, the author, brisbane, ca, 2005. gamble, david p. mandinka traditions, (gambia studies 34), the author, brisbane, ca, 1998. gray, j.m. a history of the gambia, frank cass, london, 1940. mahoney, florence. stories of senegambia, government printer, banjul, 1974. marks, peter. ‗portuguese‘ style and lasso-african identity, indiana university press, bloomington, 2002. price, j h. ‗some notes on the influence of women in gambia politics, institute of social and economic research, conference proceedings, 1958. ‗phillis wheatley‘ (1753-1784)‘ the world book encyclopedia, vol. 20. sonko-godwin, patience. ethnic groups of the gambia, bpmru, banjul, 1986. stock, robert. africa south of the sahara. a geographical interpretation, guildford press, new york, 2004. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 2. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 178 vidroitch-cocquery, catherine catherine. african women. a modern history (translated by beth gillian reps), westview press, oxford, 1996. ‗report on upper saloum district, 1933, pub 13/13, the gambia national archives. the report on the state of the district for 1933 by commissioner assheton details the scandal and the subsequent probe, and the undignified exist of mccallum. price, j. h. ―some notes on the influence of women in gambian politics.‖ institute of social and economic research, conference proceedings, 1958. report on upper saloum district, 1933.‖ pub 13/13, the gambia national archives, banjul, unpublished material. armitage school report‘ edu 1/157, gambia national archives, banjul, unpublished material. armitage school‘, edu 2/2, gambia national archives, banjul, unpublished material. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 142 niger delta drama and niger delta playwrights from 1950 to 1999 and 2000 till date ebinepere ekiye zibokere department of theatre arts niger delta university ebipretti@gmail.com doi:10.13140/rg.2.2.21005.15840 abstract niger delta drama is an issue based drama affecting the people of the niger delta. these issues as environmental degradation and abject poverty that have resulted in continued violence in the region. no writer or drama critic can talk about the niger delta drama without an adequate understanding of the history of the niger delta region and its inhabitants. this paper looks into the history of the niger delta and its people for the aim of gaining better understanding of a niger delta drama and the sources or drivers of conflict in the niger delta. it then lists a number of playwrights from 1950 to 1999 and 2000 till date in order to debunk the arguments about the non-existence of niger delta dramas before contemporary times. the paper concludes by referring to a niger delta drama as an artistic creation that candidly records and exposes the disheartening existential predicament of the niger delta people and the methods the aggrieved youths in the region have adopted in the bid to fight against the oppressive powers that have become their succubus. keywords: niger delta; drama; agitation; playwright introduction drama (also known as a play) refers to a tale narrated in dialogue by performers before an audience. oftentimes, when drama is mentioned, the first picture that comes to mind is a stage set in the theatre where performers act out the different roles in which they have been cast. but, drama goes beyond the theatre and this, perhaps, informs spencer‟s statement that, “imagination shrivels and shrinks if it is not nourished by the negotiations that occur between dimensions of reality” (p3). dramatists or playwrights (for example, wole soyinka, nduka onwugbute, awam amkpa, keziah jones and lindsay barrett) in nigeria take on the role of educators who advocate for and are facilitators of properly structured drama experiences that create room for their audience to see, feel and taste the contexts in which their stories are situated. but even with such role, not much recognition mailto:ebipretti@gmail.com https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.21005.15840?_sg%5b0%5d=6_ylcsnh_8r3yjcpn_t640cqgldtezp5cexkmgumuw1rg5zmc6uw0e8wekfeqna3bpncjtukbihc18ovmx1pwq19vq.ihxj5yl2yzdrnn8e21kxp5grh-bynu2j_-pwh42adtwoin_o42bv4n2y-cxfrjjtnzbhm4yriikou-xr8ezmvq igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 143 has been accorded to the playwrights in the niger delta and the niger delta drama. what then is the niger delta? the niger delta is the delta of the niger delta river sitting directly on the bight of biafra side of the gulf of guinea on the atlantic ocean in nigeria (https://en.m.wikipedia .org/wiki/niger-delta). azaiki mentions that the niger delta spreads out into the gulf of guinea between the bight (bay) of benin and the bight of biafra covers more than 10,000 square miles, and has a shoreline of about 200 miles of its fourteen main tributaries (p52). he adds that the niger delta may be the largest wetland in africa (p39). the niger delta houses over 8 million people in the deltaic region (that‟s, it is a natural creation, not just limited to being an oil producing region) of nigeria. this statement finds support in the 2006 census conducted in nigeria which records the core niger delta states with population as follows: bayelsa state 1,703,358, delta state 4, 098,391 and rivers state 5, 185, 400 (npc, 2006). the niger delta is also rich in crude oil deposit and this region which, over the years, provides the major source of nigeria‟s wealth and sustainability has been misrepresented historically. while some nigerians define the niger delta from a political standpoint (that‟s, based on its natural resource and revenue generated for distribution to various zones/regions), others hold a geographical view (that‟s, definition based solely on latitude, continental position, attitude and local regional topography such as nearly mountains) of the region without any consideration for its historical make up. emphasis is continually placed on oil exploration and the political elites in the scheme of things appear to play down on the extreme deprivation of the region while favoring personal political gains. in order to completely grasp and appreciate the present context, it is pertinent to look into the history of the region in order to understand the root causes of conflict, which forms majority of the themes in niger delta dramas. a brief history of the niger delta the niger delta history dates back to the 11th century when the region‟s first city states, that‟s benin and oyo, were first created. both the benin and oyo kingdoms, as they were referred, quickly broke forth into independent trading giants and they were in charge of the coastal ports along what is known today as the niger delta. subsequently, the benin kingdom expanded, having approximately 100,000 inhabitants and with this urbanization came cultural, artistic and commercial development (with political and religious power residing igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 144 with the „oba‟). outside of benin, the niger delta was a group of regions led by distinct tribes and kings, for instance, ijaw (the majority group in the niger delta), igbos, delta, oron, urhobo and isoko. and before the arrival of the europeans in the late 15th century, these communities carried out trade activities with each other. then the portuguese navigated their way to the niger delta, coming into contact with the locals in 1471. this contact boosted trade exchanges of peppers, slaves and ivory for textiles, coral beads and other valuables from the portuguese. with this social and economic inflow, the niger delta saw the establishment of markets both internal and external that led to the setting up of new cities and states. the niger delta people were very successful in palm oil trade and as the european population grew in the region, demands for the palm oil based products as butter and soaps skyrocketed, thereby boosting the need for this natural oil. the europeans, particularly the british, started to explore and charter the niger delta territory and rivers for potential trade activities. between 1846 and 1925, george goldie founded the united african company with the motive to dominate, profit from and exercise control over the region with little or no regard for the communities in the niger delta. soon, the lower niger river, a key trade route, was in the control of goldie and other european organizations that operated in the area. even though treaties were signed between goldie and the tribal leaders along the niger and benue rivers, against verbal agreement restricting activities to the coastal areas, they still penetrated the mainland. in 1886, the company‟s name was changed to “the national africa company” after it had been granted a royal charter, giving it full authority to administer the niger delta and the country on the banks of the niger and benue rivers. again, the company was renamed “the royal niger company”. this new trade relationship led to some level of agitation amongst the niger delta middle men (who originated from distinct tribes and regions) because commercial competition arose due to the european traders‟ preference of intermediates that presented the best trade opportunity for their own profit. between 1894 and 1895, king william koko of nembe spoke against the royal niger company‟s efforts to exclude the nembe people from the booming palm oil trade. this particular incident is worthy of note as it records the feeling of imposition felt by the people of the niger delta in the 19th century. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 145 with the british colonial rule in nigeria came an expansion in oil exploration activities, particularly with the invention of combustion engines which saw the novel applications of oil and oil based products in the 1890s. in 1914, it was officially stated that any oil and mineral found in the nigerian soil (as one of britain‟s colonies) was legally owned by the crown. between 1903 and 1935, the partnership between shell and the anglo iranian oil company (now bp) named as sell-d‟arcy exploration parties (sdep) led the way for exploration via the geological surveys of the niger delta. these surveys soon paid off as the first oil well in commercial quantity was struck in oloibiri town of bayelsa state in 1956. this was another significant period in the history of the niger delta and nigeria as a country. before long, three regional administrative divides were mapped out along ethnic lines: the hausa fulani of the north, igbos of the east and the yorubas of the west, while the large ethnic minorities of the south like the ijaws were left out from the plans of the majority group. tensions built up in the niger delta people as they were excluded from participating with the major ethnic groups at the center and this did not sit well with them. this marginalization has, for long, been the origin of deprivation of the region both economically, socially and politically. and after independence in 1960, the marginalization of the niger delta region and its people remained unattended. there was still tension over the uneven distribution of wealth gotten from the drillings and extraction of oil from the land of the niger delta peoples. to resist this continued unjust treatment, a radical armed militia known as the niger delta volunteer force (ndvf) led by isaac adaka boro was birthed. like the biafrans, the group attempted to emancipate the region as the niger delta republic but both boro and his militia were soon captured and imprisoned for treason. isaac adaka boro‟s failed struggle paved way for other struggles of similar cause. an example is the ken saro wiwa led movement for the survival of the ogoni people (mosop). he called for a non-violent approach to tackle the extreme poverty and pollution of their land resulting from the exploration activities of shell. again, ken saro wiwa‟s struggle was not successful and his death in 1995 exposed the depth of injustice meted out on the people of the niger delta. the death of general sani abacha in 1996 brought an end to military rule in nigeria. chief olsegun obasanjo became the first democratically elected president in the country. a new form of activism emerged after saro wiwa‟s death. there was a shift from the non-violent approach to the violent. the new igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 146 groups took on arms and fought against the multinational companies and government through pipeline vandalism, kidnapping, oil bunkering and piracy. such was the level of criminality that became characteristic of the niger delta. the year 2004 saw an increase in the level of militancy in the region as armed and gang conflicts became commonplace in port harcourt. this new form of violent approach was spurred by deep rooted grievances based on the injustice of inequality, international and government neglect of the region, extreme poverty from government corruption, unemployment of youths unable to provide for their families and political dissatisfaction. hence, the militants kidnapped the foreign oil workers, destroyed pipelines and this automatically increased the oil price above $100 per barrel. in 2009, the government led the amnesty process and an estimated 26,000 militants agreed to a ceasefire. but, when the deep causes of the injustice ( environmental, social, political, historical and economical) carried out on the niger delta and her people is not adequately dealt with, the supposed peace brought about by the amnesty process (still ongoing till date) will remain fragile. it is ironic that till date, the niger delta people are still viewed as second class citizens in an independent nigeria they had helped the british to create. it is even more disheartening to observe that the oil, which should be a blessing, has turned into a curse as the niger delta people sit on wealth but lack control over their god-given natural resource. it is therefore, the reconciliation of these injustices (noted from history till date), the transition beyond the past evils spurred by the resource curse and the restoration of balance to the inequality experienced by the people in the niger delta that form the basis of the niger delta dramas. what is niger delta drama? niger delta drama is an issue based drama that addresses the issues affecting the people of niger delta. to buttress, niger delta dramas tell stories about the experiences of the deltaic people and their degradation of their environment. for some time now, contemporary dramas have concentrated on the crises that have ravaged the niger delta region of nigeria. a major reason for this is the fact that the niger delta accounts for almost 90% of nigeria‟s wealth. etiowo lends support to this statement stating that, oil from the region is said to have been the bedrock of building and transformation of nigeria‟s former and present capitalslagos and abuja, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 147 respectively. the wealth of the nation, both at individual and collective levels, is traceable to the economic fortunes of oil in the niger delta (p.139). ironically, the people in the niger delta have been the least beneficiaries of the wealth derived from their area. instead, the region and its people are plagued with poverty, neglect (from the oil companies and the nigerian government) and violence; and this has prevented any meaningful development, whether human and infrastructure. abah confirms this when she observes that, since the discovery of an oil well in oloibiri in 1956, the delta has been eyed and explored by various multinational petroleum companies. the oil industry is responsible for over 80% of nigeria‟s wealth. despite such huge earnings, it is said that much of these proceed to only 1% of the population. in addition to the environmental degradation and community displacement caused by the oil companies in the region, the corruption over oil revenues has been the source of various conflicts over the years. (p.2) thus, contemporary niger delta playwrights, both from within and outside the delta, have deemed it necessary to bring the challenges of the region into their artistic works, that‟s niger delta dramas. niger delta dramas, therefore, are those dramas that capture the totality of the niger delta peoples‟ experiences while criticizing the ills that the region is fraught with and open those issues for both international and national discourse. isaac adaka boro and ken saro wiwa, the environmental activist and writer, who inherited his ideologies of emancipating the niger delta people, were the first persons to expose the challenges of the niger delta to the world and their lives were lost to the cause. plays like wives revolt by j.p. clark, hangmen also die by esiaba irobi, hard ground by ahmed yerimah etc. deal with the complex nature of the challenges or issues of crises in the niger delta. like the aforementioned plays, other niger delta dramas showcase the culture of the niger delta people and highlight the thematic engagement and concerns of the writers, whether from 1950 to1999 or from 2000 till date. a list of such dramas from different times is listed below. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 148 niger delta dramas from 1950 to 1999 1. this is our chance (1956) james ene henshaw 2. medicine for love (1964) james ene henshaw 3. the raft (1964) j.p clark 4. ozidi (1996) j.p clark 5. song of a goat (1961) j.p clark 6. the masquerade (1964) j.p clark 7. the bikoroa (1981) j.p clark 8. hangmen also die (1989) esiaba irobi 9. the fortunes of the rivers family j.p clark 10. another family j.p clark 11. ovonromwen nogbaisa (1971) – ola rotimi 12. the trials of oba ononran wen (1988) – ahmed yerima 13. little drop – ahmed yerima 14. dana on his grave (2002) – bardays .f. ayakorna 15. the wives revolt j.p clark 16. the remnant – agoro savior nathan 17. the scent of crude oil – umukoro m.m 18. harvest of ghost (1999) – sama ukala 19. a matter of honour (2010) – barclays ayakoroma 20. nirokodi (1991) – esiaba irobi 21. the other side of the mask (1999) – esiaba irobi 22. the color of rusting gold (1989) esiaba irobi 23. the fronded circle (1999) esiaba irobi 24. king jaja (1996) – belgam henry 25. akassa yomi – (1979) – ola rotimi niger delta dramas from 2000 till date 1. dance of the ghost (2010) – benebai benedict 2. legend of egbesu – benebai benedict 3. disciples of the agadagba – benebai benedict 4. sounds of the rising sun – benebai benedict 5. adakazi, the warrior goddess – benebai benedict 6. errors of our heros – benebai benedict 7. if not ( a play of the gods) – benebai benedict 8. the seventh virgin – benebai benedict igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 149 9. coppers verdict – benebai benedict 10. beyond nightmare – benebai benedict 11. kerena‟s cross – benebai benedict 12. hard ground – ahmed yerima 13. a tower of babel – broderick esabmabeke opuofemi 14. the tender warriors – chika c. onu 15. the gardeners – emaseadu 16. iradi warsam ukala 17. the other side of the mask – esiabi irobi 18. storms of karadu – odire fredrick abel 19. a marriage for dream – tom buruaku 20. silveoutle cash price – tom buruaku 21. inikpiekpe – tom buruaku 22. a matter of honour (2010) – barclays ayakoroma 23. nana olomu (2001) – mathew .m. umeikoro 24. dance on his grave (2002) – barclays ayakoroma 25. all for oil (2000) – j.p clark 26. a scar for life – barclays ayakoroma 27. agadagba warriors – adesi akpos conclusion this paper aimed at understanding the niger delta drama by looking at the history of the niger delta region. from the history of the niger delta, it was revealed that the sources or drivers of conflict in the region go as far back as the 19th century and the neglect from both government and the multinational oil companies birthed a series of activism (from non-violent to extreme violence) at different times. it is the series of activism brought about by the grievances of the niger delta people that writers, particularly the niger delta playwrights, record in their dramas. also, from the listings of niger delta dramas from the 1950s till date, it is worth noting that the experiences of the niger delta people and the development of events in niger delta region have been documented from the historic past. hence, the question about whether the niger delta drama has been in existence or if it is a new construct has been adequately dealt with in this work. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 150 again, the discussions in prior sections reveal that the writers referred to as the niger delta playwrights or dramatists, do not necessarily have to be indigenes from the niger delta. rather, what connects these writers, from within and outside the region, is their ability to accurately put down the collective experiences of the niger delta people and the continued degradation (resulting from exploration and gas flaring activities) of their land in their artistic creations; such that their readers or audience (both national and international) can be enlightened on the plight of those in the said area. thus, like ken saro wiwa and isaac adaka boro, these writers are partners in the call for a better niger delta. finally, this paper concludes by stating that a niger delta drama is that drama that candidly records and exposes the disheartening existential predicaments of the niger delta people and the methods the aggrieved youths in the region have adopted in the bid to fight against the oppressive powers that have become their succubus. such artistic creations, as the plays listed above, satirize the abnormalities observed in the niger delta region, bringing the issues of concerns to the limelight and throwing them open to national and international discourse. references azaiki, s. (2003). inequities in nigerian politics. yenagoa: treasure communications resource limited. abah, b. (2009). when blessing becomes a curse in the niger delta. environmental rights action, n,d, web. 10 february, 2020. clark, j.p. (1991). the wives revolt. ibadan: university press plc. eni group, naoc: social commitment in the niger delta. emenyonu, e. (1991). “introduction” african literature and african historical experiences. ed. chidi ikonne, emelia oko and peter onwuadinjo, studies in african literature. ibadan: heinemann. etiowo, j.m. (2014). “forms of war in nigeria literature”. cscanada: a journal on studies in literature and language. canada. vol. 8, no. 1, p130-139. irobi, e. (1989). hangmen also die. enugu:abic books, a unique african concept publishers. national population census figures (2006) office of statistic. spencer, m. (2003). “what more needs saying about imagination?” journal of yerimah, a. (2006). hard ground. ibadan: kraftgriots. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 58 the rationalist and empiricist epistemological strategies and their implications in ethics hyginus chibuike ezebuilo, phd department of philosophy nnamdi azikiwe university, awka hc.ezebuilo@unizik.edu.ng; 08035448298 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.36109.97768 abstract while the main focus in an ethics course is on right and wrong and the problems and issues that ethics raises, it is impossible to investigate these problems in isolation, without at least some excursions into the other philosophical sub-disciplines. while all the branches of philosophy consider separate questions and issues, there are considerable interconnections, as assumptions in one area will have repercussions in other areas. one question that all ethical theories must address is where ethical knowledge arises, that is, where does the knowledge about general ethical principles (or the knowledge that certain actions are moral or immoral) originate? these and other similar questions raise issues that are no longer unique to ethics, but ones that touch upon more general epistemological questions: about knowledge, its sources, nature and justification. there is little doubt that there are at least superficial similarities between ethics ad epistemology: one might say that ethics is about the appraisal of social behavior and agents, while epistemology is about the appraisal of cognitive acts and agents. this paper studies the basic tenets of empiricism and rationalism, their various epistemic justificatory mechanisms and how they relate ethics. key words: empiricism, rationalism, ethics, knowledge, a priori, a posteriori. introduction the question, where does knowledge originate, might seem rather strange to some. while knowledge acquisitions are essential to human beings, the more usual epistemological questions concern the source of some particular ideas or the truth condition of some statements. so, while it is common to inquire into the source of a statement or an idea, to inquire into the source of all knowledge seems strange. one might question whether an answer is even possible. nevertheless, it is a legitimate (indeed an essential) philosophical question, and though there are real difficulties, answers are possible. rationalism and empiricism represent the traditional philosophical responses to these epistemological questions. as epistemological theories, these philosophical https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.36109.97768?_sg%5b0%5d=nnomtxdh21aedi_xepodbdtdyfkgcgjz92h6gxugydugdzovqitdq0pcheewm3c91ikjsktkwkibfqv-ovb61lja3g.nrnjh2azuf6mbn5gagyqih9aoyytuztqiwqfs8f-f2zwgv4ct-fhi_pt3lkrrrodug9jauewq4koh3fqi4ymaq igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 59 traditions each bring unique insights and assumptions to questions about human knowledge, its nature and origins as well as the question of our belief about moral conduct. usually, actions are taken and policies adopted to realize envisaged goals, and they are undertaken because of belief that they will probably realize the goals. actions and policies may be criticized, then, on one of two grounds: that the goals are ill-chosen or that the belief that the actions or policies will probably achieve the goals is ill-founded.1 it is interesting, and perhaps indicative of the facts to be examined below, that many words of appraisal – such as justification, warranted, reasonable, right – are used (although possibly in slight different senses) to indicate the acceptability of both goals and beliefs. moreover, such appraisals obviously have two features in common. first, the appraisal of a particular goal or belief can be made only in view of some general principles; second, the principles in question are not self-certifying, and their rational justification must be a serious question for a thoughtful person. the appraisal of actions and policies thus raises two questions about both goals and beliefs: what are the proper principles or standards to be used in appraisals, and what is the rational basis for regarding any principle or standard proper? historically, ethics has been the philosophical discipline concerned with these two questions about goals,2 although historically, epistemology has been the discipline concerned with the same questions about beliefs.3 in order to develop the parallel between ethics and epistemology, it is convenient to identify ethical and epistemological statements. ethical statements are those that imply a statement that could be expressed by some sentences containing essentially “is a good thing that,” “is a better thing,” or “is morally obligatory that” – for instance “it is morally wrong not to.” similarly, epistemological statements are those that imply a statement which could be expressed by some sentence containing essentially “it is reasonable for a person to place more confidence in x than in y.4 one‟s epistemic convictions will have impact in one‟s moral beliefs. in order to through light to this assumption, let us first have a clear understanding of 1 jonathan e. adler, belief’s own ethics (cambridge: bradford book mit press, 2002), p. 49. 2 however, “goals” must be taken broadly to include not only the question of ultimate values but also the question of moral obligations and moral rights. 3 again, “beliefs” must be taken broadly to go beyond mere predictions of consequences of the use of certain means to include theories, explanations, and systematical thought. 4 jonathan e. adler, op.cit. p.51. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 60 empiricism and rationalism and the nature of the debate between these two schools of thought. empiricism empiricism is the view that all knowledge originates in experience, that all knowledge are about or applicable to things that can be experienced, or the belief that all rationally acceptable beliefs or propositions are justifiable or knowable only through experience. this definition accords with the derivation of the term „empiricism‟ from the ancient greek word empeiria, meaning experience. empiricism is the knowledge acquired through sense perception, that is, through any of the five senses. empirical knowledge is always knowledge of an individual object rather than knowledge of a class of objects. for example an empirical knowledge of a chair is of a particular chair – this particular chair that i am seeing or touching, etc, or these particular chairs, but not chairs in general. this is because the sense organs can only present us with particular concrete objects.5 the senses bring us into contact with the empirical world through the act of sense perception. but are the things we perceive exactly the way we perceive them; that is, do the qualities we perceive in things exactly exist in these things or are they products of our own minds. for instance, when i perceive a blue object, is the blueness really inherent in that object or in my sense of sight? according to democritus and berkeley,6 the qualities we perceive in things are not really inherent in them; they only appear to have them but in reality these qualities come from our senses. some philosophers (neo-realists) on the other hand have concluded that things are exactly the way they appear to us. they believe that there is contradiction in nature and therefore things have contradictory aspects in them – for instance, something can be both hot and cold at the same time. hence, omoregbe noted that while, for example, 7 democritus and berkeley would say, “the wine tastes sweet to me tastes sour to you; therefore, i do not perceive that it is sweet and you do not perceive that it is sour, and the wine is neither sweet nor sour;” protagoras would say, “the wine that tastes sweet to me tastes sour to you, hence, i perceive that it is sweet and you perceive that it is 5 j. omoregbe, epistemology: a systematic and historical study (ikeja: joja educational research and publishers, 1998), p.24. 6 ibid. p.25. 7 ibid. p.26. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 61 sour, and therefore, no boy can say absolutely either that the wine is sweet or that the wine is sour, and one can say relatively that whereas it is true for me that the wine is sweet, it is true for you that that the wine is sour.” some neo-realists would say, “the wine that tastes sweet to me tastes sour to you, therefore, one must say that there are contradictions in nature; one must say of the wine not only that it is both sweet and not sweet, but also that it is both sour and not sour.” these are extreme positions. it is however a fact, and here we agree with chisholm that the way we perceive things depends to a certain extent on our own psychological and physiological conditions.8 we know for example that if someone is suffering from acute malaria even sweet things taste bitter to such a one, while everything appears yellow to someone suffering from yellow fever. aristotle, however, criticized the extremists‟ positions when he says: the earlier students of nature were mistaken in their view that without sight there was no white or black, without taste no sour. this statement of theirs is partly true partly false. sense and sensible objects are analogous terms, i.e. they may denote either potentialities or actualities. the statement is true of the later, false of the former. this ambiguity they wholly failed to notice.9 aristotle maintains that the qualities we perceive in things are properties actually inherent in them. it is because they have these properties that they appear to us the way they do. hence a number of people viewing a tree under normal conditions, for example, would see it as green because greenness is one of the properties of a tree. it is in virtue of this that it appears to us as green. on the other hand, such terms as white, black, sweet, sour refer to the way in which things are perceived rather than the properties they have. 10 thus, although things do really have these dispositions (or qualities) inherent in them, their appearing to us the way they do also depends on our psychological and physiological conditions. concepts are said to be “a posteriori” if they can be applied only on the basis of experience, and they are called “a priori” if they can be applied independently of 8 roderick h. chisholm, “theory of knowledge” foundations of philosophy series (englewood, cliffs: prentice hall, 1966), p.72. 9 cited by omoregbe in op.cit. from aristotle‟s de anima, book3, p.426. 10 ibid. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 62 experience. beliefs or propositions are said to be a posteriori if they are knowable only on the basis of experience and a priori if they are knowable independently of experience. thus, empiricism is the view that all concepts, or all rationally acceptable beliefs or propositions, are a posteriori rather than a priori. as a theory of justification, therefore, it views belief as depending ultimately and necessarily on experience for their justification. simply put, empiricism is the view that all human knowledge is derived from (empirical) experience. in both everyday attitudes and philosophical theories, the experiences referred to by empiricists are, however, principally those arising from the activities of the sense organs.11 a posteriori knowledge is the knowledge that is gained through empirical experience. knowledge acquired by means of any of the senses is a posteriori. this includes knowledge acquired through seeing objects, hearing sounds, tasting things, feeling something or smelling something. most of our knowledge is of course a posteriori. however, the senses alone cannot furnish us with knowledge. it is reason that interprets our sense experiences and gives them meaning before they can become knowledge. until reason performs this role, they are simply raw data without meaning.12 this was well brought out by omorogbe in line with immanuel kant. 13 for example, the direct object of the sense of sight is simply color. when we look we can only see color. that is all that the sense of sight can furnish us with. it is reason which tells us that what we are seeing is a tree, a table, a blackboard, an animal, etc. again, the direct object of the sense of hearing is sound. the ears do not tell us the sound of what it is or where the sound comes from. for example, we hear the sound of an aeroplane, the sound of a gunshot or that of thunder. it is our reason that tells us, for example, that the sound we are hearing is that of thunder and not that of aeroplane or gunshot. our ears only register the sound without telling us the meaning of the sound. the sample applies to all the other senses. when a blind man touches something the sense of touch does not tell him what he is touching. it is his reason that interprets and tells him what he is touching. sense perception requires the cooperation of reason in order to produce knowledge. 11 c. umezinwa (ed.), essays in philosophy (enugu: afro-obis publications, 2005), p.117. 12 j. omoregbe, op.cit. p.31. 13 ibid. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 63 rationalism rationalism is the view that regards reason as the principal source and test of knowledge. holding that reality itself has an inherently logical structure, the rationalist asserts that a class of truth/knowledge exists that the intellect can grasp directly. according to the rationalists, there are certain rational principles – especially in logic and mathematics and even in ethics and metaphysics – that are so fundamental that to deny them is to fall into contradiction. rationalism has long been the rival of empiricism, the doctrine that all knowledge comes from, and must be tested by, sense experience. as against this doctrine, rationalism holds reason to be a faculty that can lay hold of knowledge beyond the reach of sense perception, both in certainty and generality. 14 in stressing the existence of “natural light,” rationalism has also been the rival of systems claiming esoteric knowledge, whether from mystical experience, revelation, or intuition, and has been opposed to various irrationalisms that tend to stress the biological, the emotional or volitional, the unconscious, or the existential at the expense of the rational.15 rationalism has somewhat different meanings in different fields, depending upon the kind of theory to which it is opposed. in the psychology of perception, rationalism is opposed to transactionalism, a point of view in psychology according to which human perceptual skills are achievements, accomplished through actions performed in response to an active environment.16 on this view, the experimental claim is made that perception is conditioned by probability of judgments formed on the basis of earlier situations. as a correlative to these sweeping claims, the rationalist defends a nativism, which holds that certain perceptual and conceptual capacities are innate – though these native capacities may at times lie dormant until the appropriate conditions for their emergence arise.17 in the comparative study of languages, a similar nativism was developed by the syntactician noam chomsky, who, acknowledging a debt to rene descartes, explicitly accepted the rationalistic doctrine of innate ideas. though the thousands of languages spoken in the world differ greatly in sounds and 14 chris macann, empiricism vs rationalism (boston: martinus nijhoff publications, 1981), pp.23-24. 15 ibid. 16 ibid. 17 ibid. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 64 symbols, they sufficiently resemble each other in syntax to suggest that there is a “schema of universal grammar” determined by innate presettings in the mind itself. these presettings, which have their basis in the brain, set the pattern for all experience, fix the rules for the formation of meaningful sentences, and explain why languages are readily translatable into another.18 it should be added that what rationalists have held about innate ideas is not that some ideas are fullfledge at birth but only that the grasp of certain connections and self-evident principles, when it comes, is due to inborn powers of insight rather than to learning by experience. common to all forms of speculative rationalism is the belief that the world is a rationally ordered whole, the parts of which are linked by logical necessity and the structure of which is therefore intelligible. thus, in metaphysics it is opposed to the view that reality is a disjointed aggregate of incoherent bits and is thus opaque to reason. in particular, it is opposed to the logical atomism of such thinkers as david hume and the early ludwig wittgenstein, who held that facts are so disconnected that any fact might well have been different from what it is without entailing a change in any other fact.19 rationalists are basically of the view that the law of contradiction “a and not-a cannot coexist” holds for the real world, which means that every truth is consistent with every other; they believe that all facts are so bound up with each other that none could be different without all being different.20 in the field of epistemology where its claims are clearest, rationalism holds that at least some human knowledge is gained through a priori (prior to experience), or rational, insight as distinct from sense experience, which too often provides a confused and merely tentative approach. in the debate between empiricism and rationalism, empiricists hold the simpler and more sweeping position, the humean claim that all knowledge of fact stems from perception.21 rationalists, on the other hand, urge that some (though not all), knowledge arise through direct apprehension by the intellect. what the intellectual faculty apprehends is objects that transcend sense experience, namely universals and their relations. a universal is an abstraction, a characteristic that may reappear in various 18 ibid. p.55. 19 ibid. 20 ibid. 21 ibid. p.58. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 65 instances:22 the number three, for example, or the triangularity or humanity that all triangles or all human beings have in common respectively. though these cannot be seen, heard, or felt, rationalists point out that humans can plainly think about them and about their relations. this kind of knowledge, the rationalists argue, is the most important and certain knowledge that the mind can achieve. such a priori knowledge is both necessary (i.e., it cannot be conceived otherwise) and universal (in the sense that it admits of no exceptions). basic cognitive mechanism of empiricism empiricism denies the rationalist distinction between empirical and a priori knowledge. all knowledge, the empiricist argues, arises through, and is reducible to, sense perception. thu, there is no knowledge that arises through reason alone. it is essential to be clear here: it is not the existence of reason that empiricism denies, or that reason has a role in knowledge acquisition, rather it is that reason has some special access to knowledge over and above the knowledge that experience provides. all empiricists acknowledge that human beings possess reason; reason is the instrument that allows us to manipulate and augment the knowledge that experience provides. knowledge, however, has its origins in experience rather than in reason. as macann rightly noted, empiricism begins with the distinction between sense data and ideas.23 sense data represent the basic information that the senses present to the mind through our perceptual experiences, that is, sights, tastes, textures, sounds, and odors. to illustrate, suppose that one sees a blue glass. this sense experience is reducible to the visual act and the sense data (i.e., the information that the visual act contains). in this case the sense data/the information that the visual act contain are that there is a „blueness‟ and a „glassness‟. at this stage there is no conscious recognition that one sees a blue glass, all there is, is the pure sense data that the senses present to the mind through the sense experiences. the mind processes and represents each individual sense datum as an idea, in this case the ideas are: blue and glass. the mind then associates and combines the ideas it creates through sense experience to create the conscious idea: blue glass. 22 ibid. 23 ibid. p.13. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 66 to the empiricist, sense data represent the basic material that the mind uses to construct the ideas that comprise all our knowledge.24 thus, no matter what the idea is, it is possible to trace that idea to some sense experience(s). while the precise details differ, these are the basic cognitive mechanisms that the principal empiricist philosophers (john locke, george berkeley and david hume) all appeal to in order to explain the process through which sense data becomes knowledge. in this way they deny the existence of a priori knowledge. although empiricism denies the existence of a priori knowledge, as knowledge that depends upon no experience, there is still the recognition that some knowledge goes further than experience in the sense that it is not about experience. nevertheless, empiricism argues that such knowledge is still reducible to experience.25 again, this is the crucial notion that it is possible to trace all knowledge, whether or not it is about experience, to some particular experience or experiences. indeed, some of the empiricists argue that whatever knowledge that cannot be so reduced is nothing but nonsense.26 analytic-synthetic distinction rather than preserve what is thought to be an inaccurate distinction, empiricism recasts the distinction between a priori knowledge and a posteriori knowledge into the distinction between analytic knowledge and synthetic knowledge. through this distinction empiricism denies the rationalist claim that a priori knowledge is superior to a posteriori knowledge. indeed, the distinction provides the basis to argue the precise opposite. the statements that the rationalists cite as paradigmatic a priori knowledge include: a triangle has three sides, 3 + 3 = 6, and so on.27 these, empiricists see as analytic statements. an analytic statement is one where the statement analyzes the concept in question. thus, the statement, “a triangle has three sides” does no more than analyze the concept, triangle; and the statement 3 + 3 = 6 does no more than analyze the concept, six. moreover, the empiricist argues, these statements never do more than analyze the concepts in question. in a real sense then these 24 ibid. 25 ibid. p.14. 26 ibid. 27 thomas i. white, discovering philosophy (upper saddler river: prentice-hall, 1996), p.199. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 67 statements provide no additional knowledge, all the knowledge that analytic statements contain is given within the original concept the statement analyzes.28 synthetic statements, in contrast, do provide additional knowledge – knowledge that goes further than the original concept. consider the statement: the temperature outside is 75o. this is a synthetic statement since, while there has to be some temperature outside, there is no reason that it has to be 75o rather than some other temperature. the concepts „temperature‟ and „outside‟ then have no intrinsic connection to 75o (or some specific outside temperature), rather what the temperature depends upon are various other environmental conditions. so the statement such as “the temperature outside is 75o,” provides us with additional (and sometimes valuable) information. all synthetic statements then share the characteristics that, because there is no intrinsic or logical connection between the elements of the statements, these statements provide information about a connection or relation that is unavailable in the original concepts themselves. given that analytic statements reveal no additional insights, while synthetic statements do provide novel ideas and associations, 29 it should come as no surprise that empiricism argues that empirical knowledge is superior to a priori knowledge rather than the reverse (or to be more precise, that synthetic knowledge is superior to analytic knowledge). with the focus on analytic truth, rationalism never quite reaches the real universe in the manner that synthetic statements are able to do, according to this analysis. problems with empiricism there is, however, a philosophical price to be paid. while the empiricist gains additional insights and knowledge, there is a loss in certitude, since the empiricist still must deal with senses that (the rationalist is correct to maintain) are unreliable. the rationalist can be certain that 2 + 2 = 4, the empiricist, however, must accept that empirical knowledge is at best probable, never certain. the problem is that the empiricist has no real response to the claim that it is possible to doubt even the most persuasive sense impressions, since it is possible to doubt them without logical contradiction. 28 ibid. p.208. 29 ibid. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 68 in philosophical terms, the problem is that our sense perceptions undermine their causes. 30 in other words, a given sense perception has more than one explanation. consider, for example, that one sees a white rabbit. what might explain this perception? the obvious answer is that one sees a white rabbit because there is a white rabbit there. it is also possible, however, that one has a rare optical disease and the rabbit is some other color, rather than white. it is also possible that one hallucinates or dreams the rabbit. as white will attest, these are all logical possibilities and the sense experiences in themselves provide no certain means to decide which explanation is correct.31 this suggests another potential problem that empiricism must address, namely how to explain mathematics and logic? remember that empiricism maintains that all knowledge is reducible to experience. thus, the empiricist must explain how it is possible to reduce sometimes arcane mathematical knowledge to common sense experience. this means that, since mathematical knowledge is thought to be certain knowledge, the empiricist must explain how it is possible to derive certain knowledge through a process of sense experience that provides knowledge that is, at best probable. moreover, the empiricist must also explain how it is possible to prove mathematical statements through experience. there have been numerous attempts to demonstrate how it is possible to derive mathematics and logic through experience. 32 though commendable these attempts, all have had serious difficulties and so have met with little or no general acceptance. even if it were possible to reduce mathematics to experience, the questions: whether experiences whose truth is probable can produce certain mathematical knowledge and, how it is possible to prove mathematical statements through experience, pose rather more serious difficulties. perhaps the easiest, though least intuitive, solution is to argue that there is no certitude in mathematics. this is john stuart mill‟s tactics. mill, a radical empiricist, argues that, as with all other empirical statements, mathematical statements express mere possibilities. all that distinguishes them is that mathematical statements have undergone more extensive confirmation than other statements.33 the disadvantage to this tactics is obvious: one must give up 30 ibid. 31 ibid. p.209. 32 see ibid. pp.209-300. 33 j.b. schneewind, “john stuart mill,” encyclopedia of philosophy, 1967, p.503. https://www.2.onu.edu./m-dixon/handouts/rationalism%20and20empiricism.html. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 69 all claims to absolute truth in mathematics. most philosophers (as well as mathematicians) consider this concession to be as difficult as it is undesirable and counterintuitive. in contrast to mill, less radical empiricists (like david hume and john locke) still want to maintain mathematical certitude.34 this too, however, comes at a price. to preserve mathematical truths as absolute truths locke argues that some perceptions, and the ideas that represent these perceptions, can be more certain than others. to be precise, he argues that, when reason operates on experience, the ideas, and the associations between ideas that it produces, result in knowledge that is either intuitive, demonstrative or sensitive. locke maintains that intuitive knowledge and demonstrative knowledge are certain knowledge.35 his arguments here are technical and less than a complete success. to all intents and purposes, however, what locke does in order to guarantee certain knowledge is rather too similar to the rationalist‟s a priori knowledge to please most empiricists. since empiricism argues that there is no knowledge that arises through reason alone, it should be obvious that empiricism also denies that there are innate ideas, that is, ideas that are in the mind prior to experience or that are built into the mind in some manner. a usual argument against innate ideas is that were there such ideas then all rational beings should possess and acknowledge them. since it is obvious that there are neither universal ideas (i.e., ideas that all human beings possess), nor ideas upon which there is universal agreement, then, there are no innate ideas.36 the empiricist considers the pre-experience mind to be a tabular rasa – a clean state, and it is true experience that knowledge comes to be written on this slate. thus, the basic credo of empiricism is that where there is (or can be) no experience there is (and can be) no knowledge. rationalist distinction between empirical and a priori knowledge rationalism distinguishes between empirical knowledge, that is, knowledge that arises through experience, and a priori knowledge, that is, knowledge that is prior to experience and that arises through reason. as knowledge that arises through our experiences, empirical knowledge is about the material universe 34 ibid. 35 ibid. p.501. 36 see john locke‟s essays concerning human understanding, and david hume‟s a treatise on human nature. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 70 (and the various phenomena in that universe). sentences such as enugu is in nigeria; good luck jonathan was nigeria‟s president; john locke was a philosopher; a full bag of black beans weighs 750kg, each expresses statements about certain phenomena in the universe and so represents empirical knowledge. in contrast, a priori knowledge is not about phenomena in the empirical universe or our experiences, though some a priori knowledge is applicable to that universe. the sense in which a priori knowledge is prior to experience is logical rather than temporal.37 in other words, it is possible that one learns some a priori knowledge through experience. nevertheless that knowledge neither requires experience in order to be known, nor is it about experience. perhaps it is easier, then, to consider a priori knowledge as knowledge that arises through reason alone, that is, it depends upon no experience. consider, for instance, logical or mathematical knowledge. the statement, “all triangles have three sides” makes no claim about experience or the empirical universe since there are no triangles in the universe. there are, to be sure, triangular entities, that is, physical entities that have triangular shape, but no triangles themselves.38 similarly, the statement 3 + 3 = 6 makes no claims about the universe as there are no 3 or 6 that one can experience and so possess empirical knowledge about. again, while it is obvious that some mathematical knowledge is applicable to experience, 39 this fails to demonstrate that the mathematical statement 3 + 3 = 6 is an empirical statement. the logical statements x = x, all the entities in the universe are either x or not-x, and no entities in the universe are both x and not-x, are also statements that while applicable to experience are not about experience. there is another difference between empirical and a priori knowledge in addition to their respective sources and content. this difference has to do with their truth conditions. a truth condition specifies under what conditions a given statement can be said to be true or false, that is, it indicates what one needs to do to prove a statement true or false.40 consider the statement: it is 75o outside. under what conditions is this statement true? it should be obvious that the statement is true 37 roderick h. chisholm, “theory of knowledge,” op.cit. 38 ibid. 39 example, 3 + 3 = 6 is applicable when one has 3 apples and someone gives one 3 more apples 40 b. williams, ethics and the limits of philosophy (cambridge: harvard university press, 1985), p.19. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 71 so long as the outside temperature is 75o. to prove this statement true or false, therefore, one appeals to experience and the empirical data is provided. in contrast to this empirical statement, consider again the statement 3 + 3 = 6. under what conditions is this statement true and how is it possible to prove it? here is the principal difference between empirical and a priori knowledge. how does one prove the statement to be true? perhaps the most obvious response is: take three apples and add them to three more apples and then there are six apples. while this demonstration is to the point, does it suffice to prove that 3 + 3 = 6? no, at best this little exercise confirms the statement, but it fails to prove it.41 to prove that 3 + 3 = 6 is true then requires that one appeals to more than experience. to be precise, one must appeal to other mathematical knowledge. at this point someone will perhaps take exception with this analysis and point out that since one learns mathematics through experience, it follows that mathematics must also be empirical knowledge. the point is well taken. however, the real issue here is what the knowledge is about and its truth conditions. even though some a priori knowledge may arise through experience, it should be obvious that most does not. the rationalists‟ point here is that there is more to a priori knowledge than experience can account and as such it provides knowledge that experience is unable to provide.42 for instance, while one might argue that one learns basic mathematical truths (e.g., 1 + 1 = 2, 2 + 2 = 4, etc), through experience, it seems clear that there are other mathematical truths beyond the purview of experience (eg., a2 + b2 = c2). a similar analysis will demonstrate that logical statements such as “all the entities in the universe are either x or not-x” also depend upon no experience to determine their truth. indeed, since the statement is about all the entities in the universe, the experience one needs to prove it as an empirical claim is impossible. it should be obvious, however, that one needs no experience or 41to understand the difference between „prove‟ and „confirm,‟ consider another illustration. it is a quiet hot afternoon and jude decides to rest under the tree besides a river. some moments later a white swan swims down the stream. as jude continues to rest, seven more swans that are also white swim down the stream. jude considers this experience and realizes that all the swans he has ever seen have been white. so, he formulates the statement: all swans are white; and sure enough the next swan he passes is white. did this last experience prove that the statement “all swans are white” is true? no, since jude has not seen all swans, it is possible that there is at least one that is non-white color. jude‟s experience does, however, provide additional confirmation that the statement is true (at least until he discovers there are non-white swans). 42 b. williams, op.cit. p.24. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 72 empirical data to prove the statement, that is, whatever characteristics one chooses as x, it is apparent that all the entities in the universe either have x or do not have x. all the entities in the universe are either purple or not purple, bigger than a pencil or not bigger than a pencil, spherical or not spherical, and so on. as williams observes, one can know that this statement is true even when one has no idea what the characteristics in question are. thus, one knows that all the entities in the universe are either nonsonel or not-nonsonel, even though no one else in the universe knows what nonsonel is (since i made it up!). to rationalists this power to discern and generate universal truths is quite impressive. indeed, the differences between rationalism and empiricism as to (a) what constitutes genuine knowledge, (b) what knowledge is about, and (c) its truth conditions, suggest to the rationalists that there is a real qualitative difference between a priori and a posteriori knowledge. to be precise, most rationalists argue that a priori knowledge is superior to a posteriori knowledge. the one consideration that is seen as the most decisive in this argument is the difference in truth conditions between a priori and a posteriori knowledge. according to most rationalists, there is a fundamental problem with empirical or a posteriori knowledge. empirical knowledge depends upon our senses, senses that, the rationalists wastes no time to demonstrate, are unreliable. to demonstrate this, the rationalists appeals to common sense deceptions and perceptual illusions.43 when one places a straight rod into water the rod appears to bend, at a distance a square tower appears to be round, parallel lines appear to converge in the distance, and so on. thus, it is difficult, perhaps even impossible, to ever know that an empirical statement is true. it seems that it is possible to doubt even the most certain sense perceptions. in contrast, a priori knowledge is certain knowledge. while it might be possible to doubt that the entity in my distant front is a human being (i might have a bizarre optical disease or it may be that a hallucination), it seems impossible to doubt that 2 + 2 = 4. moreover, while a posteriori knowledge represents conditional knowledge (that is, knowledge that might have been otherwise), a prior knowledge is universal and eternal. again, while it is possible to imagine a universe in which politicians are honest or a universe in which an association of christian mothers defeats the supper eagles in a football tournament, it seems 43 ibid. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 73 impossible to imagine a universe in which 2 + 2 = 6 or where triangles have more (or less) than three sides. rationalists disagree on the origin of a priori knowledge as with most philosophical theories there is some disagreement between rationalists on certain issues. one issue that separates rationalists is the answer to the question where a priori knowledge originates. the more radical rationalists (such as plato and rene descartes) argue that a priori knowledge is innate, that is, the knowledge is in some manner latent within the mind or even built into the mind. at best then experience acts to elicit the knowledge, but the knowledge was there prior to the experience. plato argues that all genuine knowledge is innate and education is mere recollection or remembrance,44 while descartes claims that certain critical concepts such as god, material substance, and mental substance are innate. given these three innate ideas and reason, descartes argues that other a priori knowledge is derivable.45 the obvious problem that these radical rationalist strategies face is the need to explain where the mind acquires these ideas from. in plato‟s case, the solution is an immortal soul-mind that lives through countless lives (i.e., reincarnations), whereas descartes argues that god places these ideas in human minds. it is also possible to argue that the mind‟s biological structure contains the ideas. while this sounds rather strange, the linguist noam chomsky argues this precise thesis: “unless one assumes that certain linguistic structures, e.g., deep grammar, are innate, it is impossible to explain the apparent ease with which human beings learn natural languages.”46 immanuel kant argues a less radical rationalist line. kant accepts the rationalist claim that reason alone can provide certain knowledge. nevertheless, he also accepts the empiricist claim that all knowledge begins in experience, that is, without sense experience as the initial data upon which reason can operate, the knowledge acquisition process can never start. knowledge, as kant conceives it then is what the mind produces as it orders and structure otherwise chaotic sense data.47 the rather radical idea here is that it is the mind that imposes the order and structure on the sense data, the implication being that the sense data have no 44 plato, five dialogues, j.l. blau (ed.). indianapolis: hackett, 1981. 45 rene descartes, meditations of first philosophy (indianapolis: hackett, 1993), p.84. 46 chris macann, empiricism vs rationalism, op.cit. p.56. 47 thomas i. white, op.cit. p.296. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 74 intrinsic order or structure. the main organizational principles that the mind imposes on sense data are its spatial and temporal structure. these considerations led kant to a metaphysical distinction; the distinction between noumenal universe and the phenomenal universe. the noumenal universe comprises entities-in-themselves, while the phenomenal universe comprises entities-through-their-appearances.48 this is rather technical, so it is fine to go through it piecemeal. suppose someone presents us with a blue glass sphere. it is through our senses that we perceive this sphere. in this case the principal senses are visual and tactile; indicates that it is blue and spherical and our tactile sense that it is glass and also that it is spherical. philosophers call these qualities: being blue, being glass and being spherical properties or characteristics. all entities have properties: size, shape, color, taste, texture, odor, sound and so on. kant‟s point is that it is through these properties and through them alone, that all the knowledge we have about the entities in the universe arises. all knowledge about things comes through their properties (which kant calls appearances). our common sense intuitions suggest, however, that there must be some substance or matter that has the properties that our senses perceive. in other words, it is obvious that the properties cannot exist without some substance that underlies them and possesses them as properties. while the substance that underlies the properties is unseen, nevertheless reason and commonsense insist that it must exist. descartes suggests that such inferences are rather common occurrences, for example: when one peers out of a window on a cold winter afternoon, one might see a person move across the lawn. but does one see a person? no; all that one sees is a cap, a coat and perhaps trousers and shoes. nevertheless, no one doubts that there is someone under all the apparel. even though one is unable to see the person one still reasons that there must be one there, since clothes seldom stroll across lawns on their own.49 kant agrees that there must be entities that possess the properties our senses perceive, but argues that while logic necessitates their existence, these entities-inthemselves (which comprise the noumenal universe) are unperceivable and so 48 ibid. 49 rene descartes, op.cit. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 75 incomprehensible to the human mind. all that is knowable are the properties (i.e., appearances) that our senses perceive and our mind structures. these appearances are the entities that comprise the phenomenal universe. there are no means then to, as it were, move outside our senses to see things in themselves, to see the real universe rather than the universe that our senses communicate to us through perception. since all our knowledge comes through the senses and reason, these act as filters which order and structure all perceptions and thoughts. things-in-themselves that underlie the perceptions remain forever elusive. while perhaps more plausible, kant‟s rationalism imposes limitations on knowledge that more radical rationalists would refuse to accept. nevertheless, kant‟s approach is rationalist since it is the mind (to be precise, reason), that gives our sense perceptions the structure that changes them into knowledge.50 the main point to keep in mind, however, is that rationalists believe that, even though it might require experience to initiate the knowledge process, there is some knowledge that is irreducible to experience, that is, the knowledge is neither about experience nor is it possible to use experience to demonstrate its truth conditions. implications in ethics our main purpose here is to illustrate that one‟s general philosophical assumptions about the nature and origins of knowledge will have consequences in other philosophical investigations, particularly in ethics; and to illustrate that all theories involve compromises, that is, no matter the initial assumptions, there will be advantages and disadvantages. it is to a philosopher‟s credit then to be able to detect and acknowledge the disadvantages as well as the advantages that his/her positions entails. to make this more explicit let us begin by briefly ex-ray the implications of john locke‟s, kant‟s and john stuart mill‟s epistemologies to their respective ethics. locke‟s natural law ethics reveals the same tensions that run through his approach to knowledge. the claim that some knowledge are certain knowledge, even though all knowledge arises through experience, forces locke to argue that reason is able to combine some ideas in a manner that produces certain knowledge. such knowledge is irresistible; it leaves no room to hesitate or 50 thomas i. white, op.cit. p.279. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 76 doubt.51 thus, locke argues that certain knowledge is possible. perhaps most important to locke‟s ethics is the conviction that it is possible to be certain that god exists. indeed he bases what is moral on what god wills,52 hence, it is also possible to know what it is that god desires human beings to do, that is, the divine law. the divine law as discoverable through reason becomes for locke, the natural law, the command to preserve human being. the natural law, locke argues, underlies and governs all human interaction. thus, through the natural law reason is able to derive all the particular natural rights and moral duties that human beings possess. these are rights and duties that all human beings possess as human beings and which they must use as a guide in their behavior. since all experience is particular, the universal and absolute character is what reason supplies to experience to produce certain knowledge. therefore, it is evident then that locke‟s theory is not without some compromise, for were he to stick to the principle “no experience no knowledge” he would have by no means arrive at his moral convictions. similarly, mill‟s utilitarian ethics incorporates the radical interpretation that mill gives the empiricist principle that all knowledge arises in experience. mill interprets the all to mean all knowledge. thus, he assumes that even mathematical and logical knowledge are empirical knowledge with all the limitations that such knowledge possesses.53 the greatest happiness principle that underlies utilitarian ethics states that those actions are moral which provide the greatest happiness to the greatest number. in this respect, what determines happiness is without a doubt an empirical matter, that is, it is through our experience that we realize what actions cause the pleasures that increase happiness and what actions cause the pain that decreases happiness. the role of reason in this process is to learn through these experiences and to formulate the general moral rules that will, over time, lead to the greatest happiness. it is essential to realize, however, that while these general moral rules are meant to guide behavior, because our experiences change, these rules can and do change over time.54 this theory suggests that moral norms lack both universality and permanence. it could be recalled that there was a time in history when abortion, gay marriage 51 locke, john, essay on the law of nature (oxford: oxford university press, 1950). 52 ibid. 53 j.b. schneewind, op.cit. 54 ibid. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 77 and similar moral issues are unheard of and are regarded as taboo. today they have been incorporated and legalized in the civil laws in many countries of the world. the idea is that ab initio experience provided data which enabled reason to formulate the general moral rules forbidding such acts in the society. but as experience changes, today, it presents reason with different data which then enabled it to formulate new general moral norms permitting the actions. by implication reason serves experience and nothing can be intrinsically evil. common sense teaches us that this line of reasoning is simply absurd. the case of immanuel kant is not quite different. though he accepts the empiricist principle that all knowledge arises in experience, kant is without doubt a rationalist. this rationalism is quite apparent in kant‟s philosophical investigations into ethics. kant believes that the supreme principle that underlies all morals – the categorical imperative – must be absolute and universal. such a principle can never arise in experience, kant argues, since all experience is particular (that is, about particular entities in particular situations at particular times). neither can experience prove this principle. kant insists that experience can at best confirm the categorical imperative. in contrast to the knowledge that arises through experience, the knowledge that arises through is abstract and universal. 55 it is reason alone then that is able to determine and prove the categorical imperative as the supreme moral principle. kant distinguishes here between theoretical reason and practical reason. it is theoretical reason that investigates the empirical universe. the concern of practical reason is the will, that motive force in human beings that underlies all moral behavior. to be precise, it is the role of practical reason to create a good will. to do this, practical reason determines the moral principle that the will must follow, that is, the categorical imperative. the general epistemological intuitions that arise because of the fact that kant accepts the empiricist‟s principle that all knowledge begins in experience are also apparent in kant‟s ethics. since it is impossible to know-things-in-themselves there are certain things and ideas, whose importance to ethics are immeasurable, about which human beings can have no knowledge whatsoever. in particular, it 55 to illustrate the difference consider the statements “there are wombats in the tasmania” and “a2 + b2 = c2.” it is clear that the empirical statement “there are wombats in the tasmania” is about particular entities (wombats) and a particular situation (being in tasmania). the mathematical statement has no such limitations. this statement is abstract in that it mentions no particular entities and universal in that it applies to all appropriates a, b, c. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 78 is impossible to have knowledge as to whether (1) god exists, (2) the soul is immortal and (3) human possesses free will. yet, even without certain knowledge, it is still essential to assume that all these are true, otherwise ethics is impossible. generally, there are three things involved in the act of sensation, namely the object perceived, the sense organ with which it is perceived, and the ego, that is, the subject that interprets what is perceived and gives it a meaning. the senses in themselves cannot give meaning to the objects of sense perception without the ego. hence, kant is right in saying that we need both sense perception as well as reason to produce knowledge. the product of the two faculties is knowledge. sense perception alone without reason giving it a meaning is meaningless. similarly, without the senses presenting our reason with some sense data, it sometimes becomes impossible for reason to do any work not to talk of producing knowledge. in ethics, rationalism holds the position that reason, rather than feelings, customs, or authority, is the ultimate court of appeal in judging good and bad, right and wrong. among major thinkers, of the most notable representative of rational ethics is kant, who held that the way to judge an act is to check its selfconsistency as apprehended by the intellect. take, for instance, a theft. ask if one can consistently will that the principle be made universal. the answer must be “no,” because, if theft were generally approved, people‟s property would not be their own as opposed to anyone else‟s, and theft would then become meaningless; the notion, if universalized, would thus destroy itself, as reason by itself is sufficient to show. indeed, rationalists speak of so many things pertaining to metaphysics which are not objects of sense perception or empirical experience. the empiricists and the logical positivists simply dismiss all such things as mere illusion rather than knowledge, for the simple reason that they are not objects of empirical experience, nor are they empirically verifiable. but is it true that all knowledge derives from empirical experience? is empirical experience the only kind of experience man has? by no means, for there are such things as intuitive experience, metaphysical experience, mystical experience, religious experience, and any of these could be the source of knowledge. there is more to reality than can be experienced empirically. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 79 conclusion the debate between rationalism and empiricism continues, and it is quite possible some issues will be impossible to resolve, at least given our finite human intellect. to the degree that it is possible to determine the correct solutions to these issues, the british philosopher bertrand russell concludes that the score is even. russell argues that while it seems clear that the empiricists are correct that all knowledge must arise through experience, it also seems obvious that there is some knowledge that it is impossible to reduce to experience, that is, reason is able to use experience to produce knowledge that it is nevertheless impossible to prove through experience.56 epistemology and ethics are both concerned with evaluations: ethics with evaluations of conduct, epistemology with evaluations of beliefs and other cognitive acts. of considerable interest to philosophers are the ways in which the two kinds of evaluations relate to one another. one question that all ethical theories must address is where ethical knowledge arises, that is, where does the knowledge about general ethical principles (or the knowledge that certain actions are moral or immoral) originate? this is to say that ethics and epistemology are two inseparable disciplines. our moral convictions are informed by our epistemological convictions. empiricism and rationalism are two main rivals with regards to origin or source and justification of knowledge. an empiricist theory of knowledge holds that all knowledge arises through and is reducible to experience, while a rationalist theory of knowledge holds that some rationally accepted knowledge must have a sufficient reason for its existence – the principle of sufficient reason being a priori. this study attempted to illustrate that one‟s general philosophical assumptions about the nature and origins of knowledge will have consequences in other philosophical investigations, particularly in ethics. it also tried to illustrate that all theories involve compromises, that is, no matter the initial assumptions there will be advantages and disadvantages. it is to a philosopher‟s credit then to be able to detect and acknowledge the disadvantages as well as the advantages that his/her positions entails. any epistemic claim to the detriment of true ethical beliefs will be a disservice to civil society and to the individuals. 56 russell, bertrand, the problems of philosophy (indianapolis: hackett, 1912). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 80 bibliography adler, jonathan e. belief’s own ethics. cambridge: bradford book mit press, 2002. chisholm, roderick h. “theory of knowledge” foundations of philosophy series. englewood, cliffs: prentice hall, 1966. descartes, rene. 1993. meditations of first philosophy. indianapolis: hackett. hume, david. a treatise of human nature. london: penguin, 1969. kant, immanuel. metaphysics of morals. mary gregor (trans.). cambridge and new york: cambridge university press, 1991. locke, john. essay on the law of nature. oxford: oxford university press, 1950. __________. an essay concerning human understanding. oxford university press, 1975. macann, c. empiricism vs rationalism. boston: martinus nijhoff publications, 1981. omoregbe, j. epistemology : a systematic and historical study. ikeja: joja educational research and publishers, 1998. plato. five dialogues. j.l. blau (ed.). indianapolis: hackett, 1981. russell, bertrand. the problems of philosophy. indianapolis: hackett, 1912. schneewind, j.b. “john stuart mill.” the encyclopedia of philosophy, 1967. https://www.2.onu.edu/-mdixon/handouts/rationalism%20and%20empiricism.html umezinwa, c. (ed.), essays in philosophy. enugu: afro-obis publications, 2005. white, thomas i. discovering philosophy. upper saddle river: prentice-hall, 1996. williams, b. ethics and the limits of philosophy. cambridge: harvard university press, 1985. https://www.2.onu.edu/-m-dixon/handouts/rationalism%20and%20empiricism.html https://www.2.onu.edu/-m-dixon/handouts/rationalism%20and%20empiricism.html igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe and the cross-cultural conflicts of the missionary era themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 1 igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe and the cross-cultural conflicts of the missionary era ikechukwu anthony kanu department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university umunya, anambra state ikee_mario@yahoo.com abstract this piece on igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe has attempted at building a bridge between two conflicting inheritances or worldviews of the african christian: the western heritage and the heritage of his/her ancestors. the researcher attempted doing this with maturity and creativity, and without destabilizing the wholeness of the african christian. it defined igwebuike theology contextually, and the igwebuike concept of culture as a preparation for the gospel, basing this on clement of alexandria’s stromata. this created a basis for an igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe. it argued that until this bridge is built, the word of god cannot be effectively communicatedin such a way that the people hearing the word understand who they are and who others are. it observed that communicating the gospel without building a bridge would rather take people away from themselves, thus, creating a problem of identity. it discovered that the major task of the gospel message, which is the transformation of worldviews and conceptual systems, would not be adequately achieved without ikwa ogwe. igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe, therefore, emphasizes identifying with the people and communicating the message through their categories. the purpose of this study is to make a contribution to the ongoing efforts at ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 2 resolving the cross-cultural conflicts of the missionary era. the theoretical framework employed is the igwebuike holistic and complementary understanding of evangelization and culture, which focuses on the bigger picture of reality and believes that all parts of reality are interconnected. keywords: igwebuike, theology, ikwa ogwe, missionary enterprise, culture, conflicts introduction in the 20 th century, with the movements towards political changes leading to independence in many african colonial territories, the quest for theological independence became unavoidable. in the contention of parratt (2001), “it seemed incongruous to african christians that while african nations were becoming independent politically, the church in africa should remain essentially controlled by european missionaries” (p. 2). the late harold macmillan, one time british prime minister (cited in mbefo 1989), remarked about the events of the time thus: we have seen the awakening of national consciousness in people who have for centuries lived in dependence of some other power… in different places it takes different forms, but it is happening everywhere. a wind of change is blowing through this continent, whether we like it or not (p.11). the echoing of the quest for freedom within the walls of the church, as though the struggle for political independence was also a demand for an independent african church, was unavoidable, since the church cannot be spoken of in isolation of the world, for the questions that the church grapples with are the questions raised by and in the world. interestingly, around the same period and within the same context of the search for independence, there was a positive appreciation of igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe and the cross-cultural conflicts of the missionary era themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 3 african traditional beliefs and customs among africans, together with a marked sense of their cultural identity. there was a great impetus from the literary movement in french-speaking africa, popularly known as negritude, which emerged through the study of human sciences, like social or cultural anthropology and sociology, and through the monographs of trained anthropologists and the surveys of scholars such as geoffrey parrinder, among others. the factors that led to a positive appreciation of african traditional beliefs and cultures and the emergence of african theology were not only from within, several external factors also made it possible. such factors include the contribution of some western missionaries who observed a problem with the current method of evangelization and, thus, saw the need for a different approach. these include great african missionaries, like father placid tempels, a belgian priest posted to belgium drc congo where he worked for 29 years, and as a result of his great experience among the congo nation, he developed the bantu philosophy, which was rich and systematic in its presentation. later, missionaries, like bishop sundkler and harold tuner, promoted the study of african christian theology by editing several works done by african theologians (barga, 2012). a second impetus from outside of africa was the second vatican council which has a positive appreciation of local cultures and called for the need for adaptation in all spheres of church life, including theology. the development of igwebuike theology may be considered a third stage in the development of african theology. it is not primarily concerned about the failings of the missionary approach to evangelization, even though it not totality cut off from it. it is not focused on emphasizing the need for an african theology, even though it is a product of that struggle. it rather focuses on attending to the conflicts between the african and western religious cultures in christianity for the purpose of making the christian faith more at home in africa. this study is important as the african church still lives with the consequences of an unresolved religio-cultural conflict ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 4 emerging from the encounter between the missionaries and african culture. to ensure the resolution of the above-established conflict, this piece, therefore, proposes ikwa ogwe (bridge building) as a method in igwebuike theology for the resolving of this conflict so that the gospel brought to africa can become culture, and culture becomes the gospel. the concept ‘igwebuike theology’ igwebuike theology is an attempt to make theology more contextual, and as an african theology, it aims at making the african to understand and enter more deeply into the community where they have been placed by god, and to discern and respond to his presence and action in such a manner that greater witness is born. this is contrary to the model that first kicks off by introducing the african into the world of the evangelizer, that through the world of the evangelizer, the african may discern and respond to god’s presence and actionthis approach leads to conflicts and stunts understanding and appreciation of the faith. igwebuike theology is structured on the incarnate word who became man at a particular place and time. it is contextual and biblical: the bible is made up of various books, written to various people from particular places, and such books are shaped by the particularity and peculiarity of the place, and sometimes requiring the knowledge of the particular place and culture to understand the particular text. this is the spirit that animates igwebuike theology. it takes into cognizance the african worldview and the basic elements of the christian message in african theological discourse. figure 1source: mndende, m. (2013) igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe and the cross-cultural conflicts of the missionary era themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 5 the diagram above from mndende (2013) describes in a pictorial way what evangelization should have done, and if followed, what evangelization in africa should have brought about. evangelization should have taken into cognizance the african culture and religion, which should not only have served as a vehicle for the communication of the christian message, but would have enriched the christian message. if this was taken into consideration in most parts of the missionary engagements with african culture and religion, such an engagement should have given birth to an african christianity. in defining igwebuike theology, it is worthwhile to mention that igwebuike as a concept began as a methodology and philosophy. however, its philosophical elements are beginning to have serious implications for theological discourse, especially with the increasing need to do theology that arises from the philosophy of the african people. such a theology would always have an inescapable element of philosophy, speaking to people in their own native context, because it is expressed in categories of thought that arise out of the philosophy of the african people. thus, the value that the concept igwebuike brings into theology is that it creates a context for theological discussion or reflection, a context that is the african complementary worldview. this notwithstanding, the expression, igwebuike is a combination of three igbo words. it can be understood as a word or a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. literally, igwe is a noun which means ‘number’ or ‘multitude’, usually a large number or population. the number or population in perspective are entities with ontological identities and significances; however, part of an existential order in which every entity is in relation to the other. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is a noun, which means strength or power (kanu, 2016a&b). igwe, bu and ike put together, means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’ (kanu, 2017f). however, beyond the literal sense of igwebuike, it means otu obi (one heart and one soul) – cor unum et anima una. it is used within the igbo linguistic setting to refer to relational engagement in the world, ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 6 accomplished in solidarity and complementarity, and the powerful and insurmountable force therein (kanu, 2017g). the closest words to it in english are complementarity, solidarity and harmony. in this way, igwebuike conceptualizes or captures the nature of the african universe. what igwebuike does is that it captures the nature of the african universe and uses it as a framework for discussions within theology or philosophy. the value that it brings to the table of theological discussions is its emphasis on the african worldview as an indispensable element in any successful african theological discussion. the purpose or relevance of this framework in philosophical or theological discussions is that it makes such a discussion relevant to the african and his/her environment. as such, igwebuike theology would mean the quest to arrive at a unique understanding of faith in christ in such a way that it captures the african worldview and the life circumstances of the african people. only thus will evangelization respond to the inadequacies of the missionary enterprise, give birth to a new african personality, address contextual issues and be in accord with the legitimate aspiration of the african people. the fact of igwebuike theology does not in any way imply a change in the church’s theology it is the same theology, a systematic and scientific discourse on god, presented in such a way that it fits into the african religious, social, anthropological and philosophical realities, mentality and needs. the focus on christ, the scripture and tradition is not altered in any way. they remain the inevitable revelatory agents. this notwithstanding, igwebuike theological approaches include: understanding theology as contextual, that is, a theology of life and culture that is accountable to the context in which the african people live; understanding reality as complementary and interconnected; understanding african traditional religion and culture as a preparation for the gospel message; understanding theology as an enterprise that provides answers to the african person’s innermost and deepest longings, that is, the search for happiness (god). its sources include: the bible, church tradition, african philosophy, religion and culture, african anthropology, and african experiences. igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe and the cross-cultural conflicts of the missionary era themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 7 theoretical framework the theoretical framework employed in this research is the igwebuike holistic and complementary understanding of evangelization and culture. igwebuike as a thought current focuses on the bigger picture of reality and believes that all parts of reality are interconnected. how will this approach affect this study? there are two dimensions to this framework that are relevant to discourses in african theology: 1. igwebuike understands culture as an incomplete enterprise that continues to evolve as long as the human person continues to adapt himself/herself to the environment. when this approach speaks of culture as incomplete, it means that even the christian culture that was brought by the missionaries was not complete and thus needed the african incomplete culture for its completeness. for the grounding of christianity in africa, therefore, the african culture becomes the missing link. while the african culture finds completeness in the christian culture, the christian culture would reach its full potential in the african culture, especially as the african people are involved. the incompleteness of the christian culture here referred to does not speak of the core of the christian faith; it rather refers to the cultural garment in which it was clothed and brought to the african people. 2. within the context of the igwebuike framework which is complementary (kanu 2017), the african culture is understood as not only completing the christian message that has been brought to africa, but makes the christian message richer and more meaningful to the african people than it came. in this sense, the encounter between both cultures has a way of sharpening the different cultural perspectives; that is, if both cultures maintain connection with the resources that are outside of them. in terms of this openness to the other, torrance (1970) writes that: “one becomes human by making use of the energy available from outer sources to become a better integrated personality, to interact at a deeper level with ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 8 the environment, and to achieve greater fulfillment of his potentialities” (p. 10). one loses his/her humanness when he/she is estranged, isolated, rejected, and cut off from other sources of information, inspiration and spiritual strength. this also happens each time a culture denigrates the other rather than allowing the other to enrich her. this framework will provide the need for understanding culture as a preparation for the gospel message and the basis for the igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe, that is, building a bridge between the african culture and the christian message. igwebuike concept of culture as a preparation for the gospel a major problem with the missionary enterprise is the clear gulf that was created between the african religion and culture and the christian message, and the stories created around each that made the possibility of their relationship look like the impossibility of heaven and hell meeting together. rather than understand culture as a disjointed element in relation to the gospel message, igwebuike theology understands it as a preparation for the gospel. the concept of culture as a preparation for the gospel message was analyzed by clement of alexandria at a time and in a culture where philosophy was considered worthless and dangerous for christianity. the african culture was also thought in the same way in relation to christianity. in his work, stromata, clement of alexandria addressed the issue of the relationship between greek philosophy and christianity. this was necessary at a time when christianity had moved into the greek world where neoplatonism was the dominant idea. he argued that pagan philosophy contained seeds of the logos and was given to the greeks by god to prepare them for the coming of christ, just as the law was given to the hebrews for the same purpose (mirus 2015). he writes thus: accordingly, before the advent of the lord, philosophy was necessary to the greeks for righteousness. and now it becomes conducive to piety; being a kind of preparatory training to those who attain to faith through demonstration. "for thy foot," igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe and the cross-cultural conflicts of the missionary era themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 9 it is said, "will not stumble, if thou refer what is good, whether belonging to the greeks or to us, to providence." for god is the cause of all good things; but of some primarily, as of the old and the new testament; and of others by consequence, as philosophy. perchance, too, philosophy was given to the greeks directly and primarily, till the lord should call the greeks. for this was a schoolmaster to bring "the hellenic mind," as the law, the hebrews, "to christ." philosophy, therefore, was a preparation, paving the way for him who is perfected in christ. (strom. 1, 5) his own interpretation of greek philosophy is that it was not only necessary for the greeks as an intellectual enterprise, but very useful in preparing christians to accept the faith, as well as helping them to understand it better and defend it against error. his idea becomes clearer when we understand that the early christian thinkers used neoplatonic concepts to clarify the christian message, thus, using philosophy as a vehicle for conveying the christian message. to give a divine origin to his perspective, clement traced greek philosophy to the prophecy of the old testament. he took his time to show that, through a comparative study, plato learned much from the books of moses. in this, he proved that all wisdom, whether of the jews or the greeks, has a common origin: god. the african culture and religion belong to this category. thus, igwebuike theology of african culture and religion as a preparation for the gospel message points to the fact that african religion and culture, if appreciated, could contribute to the understanding of the christian message to the african, as it would deliver the message within categories that the african would understand. it understands african culture and religion as a gift given to the african people from god. imperfect as it was, it contained great wisdom that kept the african in the path of goodness. this, therefore, creates a basis for the theology of ikwa ogwe (building a bridge) across the chasm created between ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 10 african culture and religion, on the one hand, and the gospel message, on the other hand. igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe ikwa ogwe is taken from the igbo language, and it means to ‘build a bridge’. the igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe is based on the complementary relatedness of the african reality and thought which works by building systems and thoughts as a pre-condition for the attainment of true knowledge and gaining insight into reality. it is within this context that igbo traditional thinkers would say: onye kwa ogwe amara uche ya (when a person builds bridges then you know his/her mind). this means that it is only by establishing connections that you come to understand the reality that is being communicated. understanding reality without recourse to the aspects that make its whole leads to inadequate and dangerous knowledge. the missionary enterprise would have been greater, with less conflict, if such bridges were built across religious cultures. the idea of igwa ogwe brings with it a new reality: the understanding of the search for knowledge as a scientific and systematic, as it involves a system that ensures building knowledge from a solid foundation and then making the connections and strengthening what is known. this cannot be understood better with the modern understanding of building bridges. in igbo traditional societies, bridges were built with bamboo sticks and ropes. this involved standing the bamboo from the ground and connecting different bamboos, taking into cognizance the different angles needed and how the bamboos matched with one another, and then tying them together with rope. it was more of weaving together than just building a bridge. it is this process of making bridges, which follows one step after another (ime ihe na usoro na usoro), that makes igwebuike theology a science. however, according to asouzu (2007): “no matter the way the master-builder builds the bridge, what makes his art useful is its relevance to all users of the bridge and this he does taking cognizance of the multidimensional composition of all bridge users and not in igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe and the cross-cultural conflicts of the missionary era themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 11 consideration of the exclusive rights of some individuals” (p. 125). this has great implications for evangelization among a ‘local’ people and the development of theology. it has to be a theology that is relevant to her users. the missionaries built a theology that was relevant to them while they served as missionaries. however, with the emergence of african theologians, there is the need for the reconstruction of the bridge in such a way that it serves the interest of the african people. the theology of the missionaries lacked the science of weaving together that which is african and that which is christian; and the consequence is that it was not very meaningful to the african people. to refuse to reconstruct the bridge is to await the danger of the collapse of the bridge and everyone would run the risk of being submerged, that is, the collapse of christianity. it is important at this juncture to make reference to the christianity in ethiopia and the christianity in north africa. the major reason why ethiopia remained a christian nation after the attacks of muslim jihadists was because it was a christianity that had taken home in africa: there was a weaving together of basisc elements of the ethiopian religion and culture with the christian faith for the realization of an ethiopian christianity the context of the ethiopian people was put into consideration to the point that it has become their religion and not the white man’s religion. in the case of north africa, which produced some of the finest of the church fathers, christianity collapsed, not just because of the muslim jihadists attacks, but because it was an opportunity for the people to revolt against the romans, a church that taught them in latin rather than in their local language. it was rather a roman church in north africa. this systematic framework of bridge building, beginning first from the foundation of understanding the human person who is involved, makes the mission to have a head and a tale (ihe nwere isi na odu), that is, that which is complete. it is difficult, if not impossible, to administer a message to the people that you do not know. if you do not know a people, how would you then deliver the message through what okonkwo (1998 and 2000) refers to as the press of the people? ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 12 the missionaries built the bridge in such a way that it was so tight that it could not allow for multidimensionality or recognition of the multifarious nature of the bridge users. the consequence is that it has led to chaos in its usage, and in fact this chaos was the basis for the agitation for an african theology and the reconstruction of the missionary approach. this kind of bridge succeeded in blocking communication and stiffening the african church. conclusion africans, as a result of the relationship of centuries that they have had with the west, and the relationship they continue to have with the west through the instrumentality of globalization, have now become a people of two heritages, a kind of a cultural hybrid, the one foreign and the other indigenous. however, our wholeness depends on our ability to handle these inheritances with maturity and creativity. this piece on the igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe is an attempt at building a bridge between the two conflicting inheritances or worldviews. it is regarded as a conflict because of the clash of the two worldviews involved in this historical encounter. such a bridge is possible only when there is a better understanding and appreciation of both religious cultures. to appreciate one and not appreciate the other is the basis of the conflict. igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe and the cross-cultural conflicts of the missionary era themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 13 figure 2: sourceagnati, et al (2013) until this bridge is built, the word of god cannot be effectively communicated in such a way that the people hearing the word understand who they are and who others are. communicating the gospel, without building a bridge, would rather take people away from themselves, thus, creating a problem of identity. the major task of the gospel message, which is the transformation of a people’s worldview and their conceptual system, would not be adequately achieved. ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 14 igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe, therefore, emphasizes identifying with the people and communicating the message through the press of the people or the media of the people, using the language imbued with the people’s ‘mundus sensibilis’ (perceived world) which is indicative of their ‘locus intellectus’ (context for understanding), and putting into consideration the people’s pastoral geography and social physics as the incarnate christ did. the act of building a bridge between both religious cultures is to ensure that the gospel becomes culture and the culture becomes gospel; thus, the gospel message becomes culturally situated, and tongue-dependent. references agnati, f. l. et al (2013). the neurobiology of imagination: possible role of interaction –dominant dynamics and default mode dynamics. frontiers in psychology. vol. 4. art. 296. pp. 1-17. asouzu, i. (2007). ibuanyidanda. new complementary ontology. beyond world-immanentism, ethnocentric reduction and impositions. germany: lit. barga, timothy. a pastoral approach to african christian theology. jos: fab anieh, 2012 clement of alexandria, stromata. fathers of the churchnew advent. translated by william wilson. edited by alexander roberts, james donaldson, and a. cleveland coxe. buffalo, ny: christian literature publishing co., 1885 engineering discoveries (2018). why bamboo is more stronger than steel re-enforcement? retrieved from https://engineeringdiscoveries.com/wpcontent/uploads/2019/11/4d31da0d459a75fc75c62e71fc072 43b.jpg kanu, a. i. (2017c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 7. pp. 165-183. igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe and the cross-cultural conflicts of the missionary era themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 15 kanu, a. i. (2017d). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 6. pp. 16-50. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2019). a hermeneutics of the igbo-african kola-nut as a “type” of holy communion. nnadiebube journal of philosophy vol. 3. no. 2. pp. 27-40. kanu, i. a. (2014a). igbo proverbs as depositum of igbo-african philosophy. international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 4. no. 1. pp. 164-168. kanu, i. a. (2014a). suicide in igbo-african ontology. developing countries studies. vol. 4. no. 5. usa. pp. 27-38. kanu, i. a. (2014b). suffering in igbo-african ontology. research on humanities and social sciences. vol. 4. no. 5. pp. 8-13. kanu, i. a. (2014b). the place of igbo myths in igbo-african philosophy. american journal of contemporary research. vol. 4. no. 2. pp. 98-102. kanu, i. a. (2015). african traditional democracy with particular reference to the yoruba and igbo political systems. ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 16 international journal of philosophy and public affairs. vol. 2. no. 3. pp. 147-160. kanu, i. a. (2015). personal identity and punishment in john locke (a dissertation for the award of master of arts degree in philosophymetaphysics), university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu state. kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (ed.) (2016a). complementary ontology: provocative essays on innocent asouzu’s african philosophy of integration for progressive transformation. germany: lambert academic publishing. kanu, i. a. (ed.) (2016b). ibuanyidanda: a complementary systematic inquiry. reflections on innocent asouzu’s african philosophy. germany: lambert academic publishing. kanu, i. a. (2016). igbo-african christology: a cultural christological construct in post-missionary africa. germany: lambert publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). african traditional folk songs as dialogue between education and entertainment. cambridge international journal of contemporary education research. 6. 6. pp. 53-64. mbefo, l. n. (1989). towards a mature african christianity. enugu: spiritan publications. mirus, thomas v. (2015). church fathers: clement of alexandria, part i. catholiic cultuture.org.https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/ar ticles.cfm?id=655 mndende, m. (2013). law and religion in south africa: an african traditional perspective. ngtt journal. vol. 54. no. 4 okonkwo, j. i. (1998). folks-media and the new era of evangelisation: the igbo perspective, in: communication igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe and the cross-cultural conflicts of the missionary era themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 17 socialis: international zeitschrift fur kommunication in religion, kirche und gesselschaft, salzburg okonkwo, j. i. (1998). oramedia-traditions and the igbo question in nigeria: a philosophy of identity, in gehlaar, s. (ed.), prima philosophia, cuxhaven-dartford okonkwo, j. i. (2000). language and evangelisation: the challenges of the igbo pastor, in okonkwo, j. (ed). pastoral language and evangelisation. enugu, fourth dimension publishers parratt john (2001). a reader in african christian theology. new edition. great britain: spck spanneut, m (2004). clement of alexandria. encyclopedia.com. https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/philosophy-andreligion/roman-catholic-and-orthodox-churches-generalbiographies/clement-alexandria torrance e. p. (1970). what it means to become human. in scoby m and graham g. (eds.). to nurture humanness (pp. 3-13). washington, association for supervision and curriculum development. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 6.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 183 a review of kanu ikechukwu anthony’s ‘igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution’ peter okey ejikeme, ph.d department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university, umunya anambra state okeyejikeme12@gmail.com different nations of the world are continuously bedeviled by conflicts of diverse nature and many international agencies are continuously making effort for restoration of peace in conflict areas. the present paper makes a clarion call for the use of the african indigenous categories to contribute or complement the resolution of conflicts in africa. the author identified the relationship pattern of the people as a determinant of their worldview and noted accordingly that the western worldview is exclusivist and analytic, while the african worldview is inclusive and non-personalized. given the difference in worldview, the author advocates for application of different methods of peace and conflict resolution. it is the author’s firm believe that igwebuike an igbo-african peace and conflict resolution technique will resolve conflicts in africa. the author traced the ontological cause of conflict to egocentrism which bifurcates reality. this, the author opined, is alien to african ontology and the author traced its root in cartesian cogito ergo sum. this expresses itself in the inability of the individual to separate subjective schemas from objective reality. the author further identified the gap in the non-indigenous methods of conflict resolution, especially as it lacks emotion and relationship of the actors and factors. the paper strongly argued that the african way of conflict resolution is anchored on emotion and relationship of the actors and it is deeply rooted in their spirituality. igwebuike, an indigenous african philosophy, is presented in this paper as the capacity for the expression of complementarity, solidarity reciprocity and harmony for the purpose of building and maintaining community. hence, it has igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 184 community-based approach and it is therefore recommended as the better indigenous method for peace and conflict resolution. the author went further to identify the basic features of igwebuike philosophy of peace and conflict resolution. conclusively, the author emphatically opined that the african approach to conflict resolution (as expressed in igwebuike) is aimed at removing the root causes of the conflict, to reconcile the conflict parties and to ensure peace in society. evaluation indeed, one could see clearly in this paper a lucid presentation of african method of peace and conflict resolution. it is totally indigenous to africans and kanu has in this paper scholarly developed a vital aspect of african social political theory in his discussion of igwebuike philosophy. the concrete expression and the modus operandi of igwebuike as a traditional model for peace and conflict resolution as encapsulated in this paper has to a great extent proved that the african judicial system has a lot to offer to the world. the essential characteristic features of igwebuike as enunciated by kanu are indeed wonderful and they are comprehensive enough to inform and educate researchers and/or scholars in african judicial system. accordingly, igwebuike is (in the words of kanu): “an outcome of the wisdom of traditional african conflict management practices drawn from the values of host communities, and founded on the custom and tradition of the african people which has been developed over a long period of time”. the objective of igwebuike as opined by kanu agrees with the concept of peace in st. augustine’s philosophythe harmonization of parts and not the absence of war. igwebuike on the other hand, aims at: … a holistic approach. thus, it is not just about justifying the one and condemning the other, it works towards a compromise for the reconciliation of the both parties and the restoration of balance or the harmony of reality. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 185 finally, i commend kanu for this master piece in peace and conflict resolution from an african perspective. the consistency and the deep reflections on african indigenous judicial system contained herein are quite impressive and commendable. references kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and and logic (nka) of african philosophy”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2015a). a hermeutic approach to the study of african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015b). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no. 1.[ 97-101]. kanu, i. a. (2016b). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no.1. [1-7]. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 164 the relevance of the biblical psalms george odafe, phd department of theology, good shepherd major seminary, kaduna. km 4, kaduna-abuja road, buwaya, kaduna. george.odafe@gmail.com; +2347062937610 abstract the old testament is the collected faith testimony of ancient israel, regarded in judaism and christianity as scripture by which god's word becomes a reality and a resource to the modern synagogue and church (bruce birch et al, 2005:2). it is broken into three blocks: the law, prophets and writings. the psalms, which is the object, of this work is the rst book in the writings called ketuvim. most of the writings were written or collected during and after the exile, i.e. after 550 bce. however, there are materials especially in the psalms and proverbs which date from the monarchy (1000587 bcc). it is certain that virtually the whole collection of the writings was already put together by 150 bce, although evidence for the use of esther is scanty (willaim sanford lasor et al, 1982:19-21). what the books of ketuvim have in common is they are not sacred history such as is noticeable in the torah (the pentateuch) and parts of the prophets (nevi'im), nor are they accounts of divine revelation such as is found in nevi'im. they are religious teachings, and they are intended for worship setting. this write up is focused on the psalms, which daniel f. polish (2000:1) states are intended for religious teachings and also for worship. this article intends to present them as a faith testimony of ancient israel that should be accorded the dignity of the word of god. this is in the hope that it will champion interest in the readers of this article to study them for spiritual, academic and liturgical reasons. keywords: psalter, structure, form, parallelism, values. 1. introduction the psalms of the hebrew bible have fascinated readers for centuries (paul r. raabe, 1990:9). walter brueggemnn says they “…are strange, countercultural and inherently subversive speech” (2005:2). but they are genuine literary products of ancient israel, and they reect in language, ideas and social igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 165 concern, the age of the great prophets and kings of israel (martin s. rozenberg – bernard m zlotowitz, 1966:xiv). they have served as the basis of jewish and christian liturgies and hymns, where they have faithfully been prayed throughout the centuries (paul r. raabe, 1990:9). but the psalms must not be tamed to familiarity. this happens when they are reduced to mere praise songs that smoke screen their contents, and so, it becomes difficult to identify their rich messages. this has been found done in church liturgical celebrations and even among scholars, who though assert that the psalms are deeply disciplined in form, but have tried to interpret and understand the psalms under the auspices and restraints of social conventions. on the contrary, the psalms practice speech in ways that keep pushing boundaries beyond the already known to that which cannot be known until it is uttered. so the psalms are always pushing up against being just tied down to liturgical and academic forms and restraints. that it is best to allow the psalms to be subversive enough to continue to surprise us, in order that they may do their work amongst us (walter brueggemman, 2005:2), that this article was conceived of in the first place. this article simply adds in a simplified way to the existing literatures on the psalms. it will not study any psalm per se. its motivation is to empower its readers with a global picture of the book of the psalms (psalter). it shall start with conceptual clarifications and the rest like the origin of the psalms, their structure, forms (literary genre), contexts and values shall up to the conclusion of the psalms. 2. psalms: definition, style, types and use the term psalms is derived from the greek word psalmoi meaning “songs of praise” accompanied with music. the designation, “the book of psalms” is inspired by the latin phrase liber psalmorum (james limburg, 1992:523). in the hebrew bible, the psalter is denoted as tehillim which means “praise”. but in the hebrew language however, the equivalent lexeme for psalms is mizmor and it occurs in the titles of the 52 (cfr avrohom chaim feuer, 1969:81) (מׅ רְֹוזמ) psalms. the psalms were written in poetic style, characteristic of poems found in other parts of the bible. following hebrew poetry style, the lines of the psalms are broken into two parts, where the second half refers in some way to the rst, and this is called parallelism. also a number of psalms are constructed in acrostic form, which is an adherence to a particular word pattern which regulates the use of particular letters. apart from it, sonnet, hexameter and alliterative poetry are other instances of word patterning. therefore one could igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 166 write an acrostic or, for example, a sonnet, about anything. but one must adhere to the pattern. however, such adherence, does not guarantee that the poem is a good one, but it does guarantee that the poem will be an acrostic or a sonnet (cfr. psa 119). acrostics in the psalms are used for mnemonic purposes, that is, it functions as aid to memory (will soll, 1991, 5). the psalms also use metaphors like “the lord is my shepherd” (psa 23), “fortress” (psa 18:2; 31:2,3; 71:3; 91:2; 114:2), “refuge”, “stronghold” (psa 27:1; 31:2.4; 37:39; 43:2; 53:7) and others. then they use similes like “my heart is like wax” (psa 22:14). in regards to god, they portray him as “hiding-place,” “cover” (psa 27:5; 31:20; 32:7; 61:4; 91:1; 119:114), “dwelling place” (psa 90), “habitation” (psa 91:9) and the “rock of refuge” (psa 71:3). he is further designated as a king who reigns (psa 47:8; 93:1; 96:10; 97:1; 99:1). metaphors and similes are also used to address people. for instance, in talking about the “righteous” (psa 92:12-14), “a blessed family” (psa 128:3; 127:4-5) and also in talking about “the wicked or the enemy”, who are said to “sprout like grass2 (psa 92:7) in contrast to the righteous who are like “the palm or cedar tress” (psa 92:12-13) (james limburg, 1992, 530-531). each psalm is seemingly separate and discrete, and is therefore referred to as a chapter in the psalter. each of them is different in tone, style, mood and subject matter. but they do have thematic linkages among adjacent psalms. so certain themes, images and phrases are repeated in more than one psalm. the psalms say many things, which is what makes the psalter so complex, as well as rewarding (daniel f. polish, 2000:2). there are three types of parallelism in the psalms: synonymous, antithetic and synthetic. synonymous parallelism occurs where the second half of the line repeats in different language the thought of the rst (psa 6,2), antithetic parallelism happens when the second is the opposite of the rst (psa 20;9), and synthetic parallelism is when the second part expands or supplements the rst (psa 19,9) (robert lowth, de sacra poesi hebraeorum). being songs of praise accompanied with music, they have been wonderfully used down through the ages to deal with different life situations. this is simply because they mostly present the different experiences of human beings. experiences felt in moments of pains and/or successes. the nature of presentations has led to different literary types or genres of psalms. one could simply say, speak of any life-situation imaginable, there is a psalm that speaks about or refers to it (cfr david tuesday adamo, 2000:336-349). therefore, they are academically and pastorally relevant. in the psalms, mankind's history with god is described at times in a preponderance of agitations that reect high and low moments, upward and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 167 downwards moments. also between the high and low moments, there are always particular experiences with god. the basic two types of psalms are complaint and praise, and they are addressed to god in language of sorrows and joy. as mankind alternatives between sorrows and joy, the psalms can accompany it in its low moments that may go as low as to the abyss of life, and also in its high moments of joy (claus westermann, 1990:5). the psalms can therefore be characterized as little narratives with meta-narrative that attest that god is the central and decisive character in the plot. little narratives refer to a breakdown of its presentation from for example a sheep to a man on a journey and then a community in exile and that many stars sang at creation and of a man just after adultery. these narratives are quite particular and concrete; they focus on one “critical incident” in the life of a community or a member of the community (walter bruggemann, 2005:11). the psalms are of a variety of types and were intended to serve different circumstances. the vast number of them are clearly hymns of praise to god, because he is the central theme of the psalms (martin s. rozenberg – bernard m zlotowitz, 1966: xv). 3. origin and date tradition has been attributed the psalms to david because he was probably the “sweet singer of israel” (2 sam 23:1), a composer of hymns of lament (2 sam 1:17) and the one that established the singing guilds in the temple (1 chron 6,16). so, there are psalms which bear his name at their superscriptions, but he did not compose all the psalms. this is because there are other psalms which do not begin as david's psalms, but have the titles “song of ascents”, “halleluyah”, “asaph”, “korah” “and others”. it is held that these psalms existed as separate collections which were then compiled into a body and in a general are attributed to david (מ רְֹוזמ ְל ָדׅ וד ׅ). so david is not the actual author of the psalms. in fact, medieval and jewish commentators, as well as modern scholars, have pointed out that the hebrew וד ׅ (”le david, “of david) ,ְל ָד signifies something like “concerning david”. this has resulted some scholars understanding those psalms with le david title as allusions to specific events in david's life. for instance, the superscription of psa 18 has “…on the day yhwh saved him (david) from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of saul”. importantly, such superscriptions were not part of the original psalm and are not historical and, therefore not dependable in dating the psalter (martin s. rozenberg – bernard m zlotowitz, 1966:xii-xiv). no one can definitely tell when the psalms were composed. suggestions are that they were composed from the tenth to the second centuries bce. it will be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 168 unwise not to accept that some of the psalms go back to david in the tenth century, and that there are those composed in the time of the kings, and before and after the 587-586 bce exile to babylon. martin s. rozenber – bernard m zlotowitz (the book of psalms, 199:xii-xiv) remark that there is a consensus that the final compilation of these religious poems as a psalter occurred by 200 bce, and may even go back a century or two earlier. then scholars like peter w. flint (2014:214), shemaryahu talmon (1966:11-12), moshe h. goshen-gottstein (1967:22-33) and patrick w. skehan (1973:195-205) contend that the current form of the psalms in the bible had already been finalized centuries before the common era and the famous qumran finding (11qpsa) is a liturgical collection derived from, and secondary to the hebrew bible. since most of the psalms seem to have a liturgical setting, sigmund mowinckel (1962) therefore argues that they have their origin in the cult. but a vast majority of them arise from different settings, because most of them were individual prayers. this is not to negate that the levites did sing psalms during the temple worship or that those individuals did not sing in the temple (martin s. rozenberg – bernard m zlotowitz, 1966:xv). hence, all psalms are ultimately placed in a communal liturgical context in the canon to constitute israel's liturgical handbook (dave bland and david fleer, 2005:70). 4. the structure of the psalter the old testament has 150 psalms, while the talmud has 147 because it combined some of the psalms together, and the septuagint (the greek bible) has 151 psalms, but asserts that last one is supplementary to the 150th. these variations in the quantity of psalms in the old testament's psalter attest to the fact that the 150 psalms had become standard and was accepted as authentic. although gerald h. wilson (1993:72) has argued that the 150 psalms should be characterized as a book to be read and meditated upon, rather than taking them as a collection of single and individual compositions to be sung, he accepted too that they are structured into five blocks of book i, book ii, book iii, book iv and book v. he further argued that the reality of this decision is confirmed in the first three books (psa 2-89), not only by the doxologies present at the ends of these divisions, but also by the consistent change of both author and genre designations in the psalm-headings at precisely these same points of disjuncture. to take wilson's word into serious consideration would be to establish the literary context for studying and interpreting the psalms. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 169 in this 5-book structure, book i has 41 psalms (1-41), book ii has 30 psalms (4272), book iii has 16 psalms (73-89), book iv has 16 psalms also (90-106) and book v has 43 psalms (107-150). hence, books i and v have the highest number, while books iii and iv have the smallest and equal number of psalms. this division is believed to accord with the 5-part structure of the pentateuch into: genesis, exodus, leviticus, number and deuteronomy. while psa 150 gives a concluding praise for book v and also the psalter, psa 1 and 2 in book i are associated with david in their titles. they as well serve as introduction to book i and the psalter. in book ii, psa 42-49 are denoted as “sons of korah”, who were members of a musical guild (cfr 2 chron 20:19) and psa 84-85 and 87-88 of book iii are attributed as “korah psalms”. after the introduction, there are a series of five lament psalms of individuals (psa 37), and this is predominant in the remainder of book i. book ii is principally of the sound of praise with the kingship of the lord psalms (psa 93; 95-99) and a series of hymns (psa 103-106). this praise continues in book v, from psa 107 to 119 (109 is an exception) and then the entire psalter concludes with five psalms of praise, each framed with “praise the lord” (“hallelujah”). as a result, there is a broad movement from lament to praise in the psalter. duplicate psalms have been noted in these blocks. psa 53 of blook ii is almost identical with psa 14 of block i. the difference between the two psalms being the different names of god used. in psa 14:2,4,7 god is called yahweh, while in psa 53:2,4,6, he is called elohim. duplication is also noticed in psa 40 and 70. while god is called yahweh in psa 40:13, he is called elohim in psa 70:1a.4, but yahweh of psa 40:13b remains as yahweh in psa 70:5b. there is a prevailing notion that psa 42-83 exhibit elements of elohim as against the other parts of the psalter. they are therefore called “elohistic psalter”. but in psa 84-150, the overriding name for god is yahweh. one hundred and sixteen of these 150 psalms have superscription which can be described as titles giving some relevant information. these superscriptions can be a single word like mizmor (ׅמ רְֹוזמ ) (psa 98) to a lengthy comment (psa 18). the 34 psalms that do not have superscriptions are distributed as follows: book i: psa 1; 2; 10; 33, book ii: psa 43; 71, book iv: psa 91; 93; 94; 95; 96; 97; 99; 104; 105; 106 and book v: psa 107; 111-119; 135-137 and 146-150. the titles in the superscriptions are addressed as “to the choirmaster”, some are “songs” (šîr; ירׂׅש ) which occur 30 times, at times with mizmor (psa 30; 48,) or “songs of love” (sir yĕdîdōt) or “song of praise” (tehilla). some superscriptions are entitled as the miktām of david and this occurs 6 times (psa 16; 56-100). there are a host of other titles (james limburg, 1992:526-528). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 170 5. the literary form of the psalms scholars have identified seven forms of psalms. they are laments prayers, hymns or songs or praise, songs of thanksgiving, royal psalms, songs of zion, liturgical psalms and wisdom and torah psalms. due to the limitation of the scope of this work, only a few of these types will be discussed in detail and the others shall be briefly touched. 5.1 lament – prayer psalms. these psalms are called in hebrew tĕphillāh ( ְָת ׅפ הּל ), because they express community or individual laments in prayers. the community laments especially in times of national crisis are expressed in psa 12; 44; 60; 74; 79; 80; 83; 85; 90; 94 (108); 123 (129) and 137. five of these are collocated in book iii (73-89) (james limburg, 1995: 532). a national lament would be occasioned either by threat of war or by such natural disasters as drought, failure of crops and possibly exilism. in psalms of national lament, the people pour out either their protest of innocence or acknowledge their former sins. in doing so, they assert at the same time that god's wrath is justified. at dire moments of this sort, the community profoundly seeks and implores god's compassion and justice. this they do, by begging god to punish their enemy and at the same time expressing their trust that god will keep faith with those loyal to him (martin s. rozenberg – bernard m zlotowitz, 1966, xvii). this informs why laments and prayer go together, because most laments are expressed in prayer mood and/or language. james limburg (1992:532) characterizes the typical elements of community lament in the following structure: a. the address (simply “o god” as in psa 44:1; 80:1-2); b. the complaint in three forms, where the subject of the verb is either “we” (psa 44:22,25), “they” (i.e., the enemy; psa 80:12b-13,16a) or “thou” (i.e., god; psa 44:9-14; 80:4-6a); c. the request for help addressed to god (psa 44:23.26; 80,1a.2b.3.7,1415,17,19); d. the affirmation of trust in god, which may take the form of recalling the lord's previous saving acts (psa 44:1-7; 80:8-11); e. a vow to praise god when the crises have passed (44:8; 80:18) (psalms, book of, 532). john mark hicks (2005:69-71) in his designation of the elements of community laments further states that before the vow to praise god is made, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 171 a. there is the appeal and motivation of the response for deliverance – or redemption. this appeal seeks to move god to act on the ground of god's mercy, faithfulness, and/or love. b. there is cursing – imprecation. this seeks to move god to avenge god's people on the ground of god's justice and righteousness. c. there is protestation of innocence. this is rarely explicit, but the laments often reflect bewilderment and perplexity over the cause of their lamentable circumstances. d. there is expression of confidence and hope that god will deliver and act on their behalf these elements may not be found fully expressed in each of all the lament psalms, but there are specific psalms which basically covers most of these elements. for instance in verses 6-12, psa 79 develops the request for help at length, while psa 74 extends the they-complaint in verses 4-8. the affirmation of trust is developed in psa 74:12-17. this affirmation of trust in god can so dominate a psalm, that the entire psalm can be considered a community psalm of trust (psa 125 [126]). finally, psa 60 adds a divine prophecy to the typical elements in verses 6-8. when the lament is by an individual, it becomes an outpouring of the psalmist's deepest heartfelt feelings. such psalms are unparalleled as expressions of personal religion, where the psalmist conveys the close bond he feels with his god. there is a mood of desperation that pervades the lament, because the author finds himself to be in mental anguish and physical suffering that brings him near the portals of death. at other times, his distress stems from the taunts of his enemies, who challenge his faith or threaten him with violence. despite his suffering, the psalmist feels confident that god will hear his outcry and deliver him (martin s. rozenberg – bernard m zlotowitz, 1966:xvii), and grant his prayers. this happens because the suppliant has been assured by a priest or cult prophet that god has answered his prayers (c. westermann, 1969:68). these moments of individual crisis are found in: book i: in psa 3-7; 9-10; 13; (14); 17; 22; 25; 26; 28; 31; 35; (36); 38 (39); 40:11-17; 41, book ii: in psa 42-43; 51; (52); (53); 54-59; 61; 64; 69; 70; 71, book iii: in psa 77; 86; 88, book iv: in psa 102 and book v: in psa 109; 120; 130; 140-43. the typical elements of individual laments are as almost the same as those of community laments as follows: a. the address (psa 13:1, “o lord”; 22:1, “my god, my god”); igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 172 b. the complaint in three forms, with the subject either as “i” (psa 13,2a; 22:2,6,14-15,17a), “thou” (psa 13:1; 22:1), or “they” (psa 13:2c; 22:7-8,12 13,16,17b-18); c. the request for help (psa 13:3-4; 22:11,19-21); d. the affirmation of trust (psa 13:5; 22:3-5,9-10); e. the vow to praise god when the crisis is past (psa 13:6; 22:22-31). when affirmation of trust dominates, the psalm may be called an individual psalm of trust like in psa 11; 16; 23; 27; 62; 63; 131 (james limburg, 1992:532). not all of this components are found in every individual lament, and they are not necessarily in this order. but “invocation, the lament proper, and the appeal” are the elements found in all communal and individual laments (john mark hicks, 2005:69-71). these lament psalms can be the basis and foreground to the oracles of salvation, because they express double wishes or one aspect of the wish is simultaneously expressed in two directions. this type of wish expressions is normally found at the end of the psalms of lamentation (cfr psa 35,26; 40.15ff (14ff); 56:10 [9]; 58:7-10 [6-9]; 63:10ff [9ff]) (cfr. c. westermann, 1969:73). these oracles of salvation (heilsorakel) are promises by god to save his people in moments of difficulties. the kernel of these oracles of salvation is the assurance of god to them and encouraging them not to be afraid for he will save them against their enemies (cfr. b. s. childs, 2001:318). since most times, lament psalms are voiced in prayer moods, especially because of the simple effort to “ask” something of god (psa 2:8;27;7) and then either to expect an “answer” or to honour and praise god for past “answers” (psa 34,4;118:5; 119:26; 138:3), they presuppose the knowledge of the narrative substructure to prayer found elsewhere in scripture (psa 78:18; 99:6; 105:40; 106:15), like in the conversations between god and various persons: adam, eve, abraham, sarah, moses and later prophets. when the human side of these conversations is detached, we will call it “prayer”. when the divine side is detached, we may call it “prophecy”, which, as a monologue, may answer questions we are too afraid, too foolish, or too ashamed to ask. just as prophecy presumes an attentive audience, so prayer anticipates some divine response in word, deed, or presence. of course prayer may also be the effort to answer a question god has previously asked us. in any case, both the formal style and beauty of the prayers in the psalms confirm the need to learn to pray. this is because prayer in ancient israel was a “duty” as well as a creative act, and that competent lamentation would inevitably include certain psycho-social and sapiential elements. (gerald t. sheppard, 1992:143-145). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 173 j. clinton mccann jr (2005:52) observes that although often overlooked, a regular feature of the prayers in the psalter is the presence of the psalmists' enemies, or as they are called: the wicked, the foes, the blood thirsty, evildoers, workers of evil, pursuers, fools, hypocrites, adversaries, false witnesses, malicious witnesses, rufans, wrongdoers, those who seek my life, the proud, the arrogant, assailants, the insolent, the ruthless and sometimes metaphorically bulls, dogs and lions. books i and ii (psalm 1-72) is generally categorized as a prayer for help (or a lament/complaint – there are forty-six of them). the psalms of these books have references to the enemies, with the possible exceptions of psa 4 (which does however mention people who “love vain words, and seek after lies”), psa 51 (in which the psalmist is his or her own worst enemy, and which does mention “transgressors” and “sinners”), and psa 62 (in which the enemies are implied by way of a description of their activities – “assail a person” and “batter your victim”). hence, the enemies in the psalms are pervasive, if not omnipresent; leading to why the psalmists several times complain that even their apparent friends, companions and neighbours have become their opponents (psa 38:11; 41:9) 5.2 thanksgiving psalms apart from lament – prayer psalms, there are psalms of thanksgiving called in hebrew tôdāh (תֹו ׇדה) meaning “thanksgiving”. they are hymnic psalms which express gratitude to god. they are generally expressed by individuals in private prayers divorced from a formal worship setting (psa 18; 30; 32; 34; 106-7, 136). the psalmist thanks god for his compassion in not abandoning him and for the blessing bestowed on him. god's kindness justifies his faith and in repayment, the psalmist promises to publicize god's power and goodness to all humankind. the blessings received may include healing from illness (psa 30; 32; 116), which may be a physical manifestation of unforgiven sin (psa 32), or deliverance from enemies (psa 18; 92; 118; 138) or simply rescue from trouble (psa 66:14). a very good example of an individual's grateful response to god for a specific act of deliverance would be david's own in psa 18. thanksgiving psalms are: psa 18; 30; 32; (34); 40;1-10; 66:13-20; 92; 116; 118; and 138. while james limburg (1992:532) argues that these psalms assume the presence of the congregation, which is gathered either for worship (psa 30:4-5; 34:5,8-9; 118;14,24,29) or for instruction (psa 32:8-11; 34:11-14) and who hear the story of the deliverance (40:9-10; 66:16-19), martin s. rozenberg – bernard m zlotowitz (1966:xii-xiv) avow that they are generally expressed by individuals in private prayers divorced from a formal worship setting (psa 18;30;32; 34; 106-7, 136). but it still does not remove the possibility for them to be voiced by a community at worship. however, there igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 174 are indications of how these psalms were used in worship. for instance psa 118:19-29 assumes a procession, while psa 66:13-15 and 116:12-19 point to a thank offering accompanying the psalm. in psa 138, the worshipper is in the outer court of the temple (cfr verse 2). at the core of these psalms are stories of the deliverance summarized briey in “o lord my god, i cried to you for help, and thou hast heal me” (psa 30:2; cfr psa 18:3; 34:4,6; 40:1-2; 66:19; 92:4; 116:1-2; 118:5; 138:3). but this is often expanded in various shades and forms (psa 18:4-19,31-45; 30:6-11; 32:3-5; 66:16-19; 92:10-11; 116:3-4,6-9,16; 118:10-18) (james limburg, 1992:532). little wonder, walter brueggemann (2005:16-17) describes them as “narrative psalms”. because the psalmist in prayer usually tells the tale of having moved from trouble to salvation or from plea to praise. at the outset, such a narrative account derives from a specic, individual experience of transformation. for instance, psa 107:4-9 moves in ve elements: a problematic, a cry to yhwh, an immediate divine response of rescue, a concrete expression of thanks and generic doxology. since, the community can also express thanksgiving in the psalms, there exist community thanksgiving psalms. in them, the community or groups within the community thank god for blessings received or for specic acts of deliverance. for instance, psa 67 expresses thanks to god for the blessing of a good harvest (verses 6-7), psa 75 gives thanks to him for his “wondrous deeds” (verse 1), psa 107 tells of stories of deliverance which are the basis for a refrain calling for thanksgiving (verses 4-9, 10-16, 17-22, 23-32), psa 124 again tells a story of deliverance, summarized in the doubled “we have escaped” (verse 7) and psa 136 begins with the triple imperative “o give thanks…” (verses 1-3) and continues by reciting god's mighty acts in creation (verses 49) and in history (verses 10-25) as a basis for the refrain of every verse, “for his steadfast love endures forever” (james limburg, 1992, 532-533). 5.3 praise – royal psalms the other form of psalms being presented in brief detail are called in hebrew language těhillāh ( ְׇת ׅה הּל ) meaning “praise”. these psalms are found in congregational settings and hymns play central roles in these psalms. they begin with calling to praise, summoning the community to praise god (psa 33:13; 66:1-4; 100: 1-3a; 105:1-6: 111:1; 113:1-3; 117:1; 135:1-3; 136:1a; 146-50). following the call to praise (psa 113:1-3; 117:1) are reasons for the praise (psa 113:4-6; 117:2), which may include god's might and majesty (psa 113:4-5) as well as his mercy in caring for individuals or the community (psa 113:6-9) (james limburg, 1992, 532”). erhard s. gerstenberger (2014:34) states that by igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 175 praising god, not only do the individuals or community motive him to take action but also arrogate to him essential power and almightiness for his activity. just as human monarchs gain strength by the acknowledgment and veneration bestowed on him by their subjects (cfr sing to god a new song; psa 33:3; 96:1; 98:1; 144:9; 149:1 or blessed/praised be god; psa 28:6; 31:22; 41:14; 66:20; 68:20,36; 72:18.19; 89:53), so the praise of god is a creative act of generating benecial forces and transferring them to god or offering them as his due tribute. god’s might which is a reason for the praise is developed in those psalms which place particular emphasis on the work of god the creator (psa 8; 19a; 104: 148; cfr 139) or on god's acts in history (psa 78; 105; 106). in them also, a number celebrate his work in both nature and history (psa 33; 65; 66; 114; 135136; 146147). importantly some of these psalms are dominated by the call to praise (psa 146-150), framed with the plural imperative: “praise the lord!” those of them with hymns extolling the kingship of god otherwise called enthronement psalms describe him as king (psa 47; 93; 95-99) and avow his reign (psa 93:1; 96:10; 97:1; 99:1). these royal psalms connected with the life of the king are: psa 2; 18; 20-21; 45; 72; 89; 101; 110; 132 and 144:1-11. some of them are for royal wedding (psa 45), coronation (psa 2), royal thanksgiving and even for answered prayers (psa 18; 21). there are also psalm of prayer for the king, possibly at his coronation (psa 72). these psalms originated during the era of the monarch and functioned in that epoch. after the fall of jerusalem in 587 bc, they took on another significance, projecting into the future a description of an ideal king to come, possibly the lord jesus christ. 5.4 zion, liturgies, wisdom and torah psalms there are psalms which celebrate god's choice of mt. zion in jerusalem as the earthly centre of his presence. they declare the lord's presence in zion (psa 46:7, 11) – the city of god (psa 46:4-5; 48:8; 76:2; 87:1-3), where beautiful mt zion is located (48:1-3). therefore, psalm 122 is right to express the joy of a pilgrimage to the city and prays for the peace of jerusalem. the songs of zion include psa 46, 48, 76, 84, 87 and 122 (533). psalms that are designed for antiphonal dialogue or which associate liturgical action with the words of the psalm are called liturgies. they include psa 15; 24; 50; (68); 81; (82); 95; 115; 132. for instance, psa 15 was possibly functioned as liturgy for entrance into the temple area, with the worshipper asking the question in v. 1 “o lord, who shall sojourn in your tent” and the priest igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 176 responding with the answer in verses 2-5, “he who walks blameless and does what is right…” psa68 refers to “solemn processions” described in verses 2427. wisdom psalms do not have the tone of lament or praise, they offer reflection on the possibilities and the problems of life before god and advice on how best to live in life. in doing so, they are linked with biblical wisdom literature (sirach, wisdom, proverbs, job, ecclesiastes, etc.) (james limburg, 1992:534). these reflections take place as exhortation that passes between a human teacher and human students, with the teacher calling upon the students to receive the wisdom spoken to them through the act of hearing (cfr psa 34:12) (catherine petrany, 2014: 87). wisdom literature are known for short sayings and longer reflective essay or drama. both of these characteristics are found in the psalms (james limburg, 1992:534). no wonder catherine petrany, 2014:88) says; wisdom elements in the psalter can come in the form of entire psalm, but they can also emerge on a smaller scale as brief, potentially didactic reflections in the midst of other, more easily established genres. the psalms in this category are psa 37, 49, 73, 112, 128, 133. psalms 127, 128 and 133 are each made up of short sayings, reflection on such everyday issues as piety and daily work (psa 127:1; 128:1-2), the balance between work and rest (psa 127:2) and the blessings of life together as a family (127:3-5; 128) and as a community of believers (psa 133). the acrostic psa 37 are words of encouragement to a person ostensibly discouraged because of the successes of the wrong doers. this view is also shared by psa 73. the torah psalms focus on the importance of instructions (tôrāh; תֹו ׇרה) in the life of piety. psa 1 commends meditation on the teaching of god as the way to a blessed life, imagined by a tree that is deeply rooted and prospering. psalm 19 talks about the desirability of the lord's instruction depicted as “sweeter than honey”. the acrostic psa 119 is unique in the bible, because after the introduction in verses 1-3, it prays to god for insight into the wonders of the lord's teaching (verse 18), and then recommends meditation and reflection on the lord's work (verse 27), statues (v. 48), promise (verse 148) and instruction (verses 87-105). for such meditation is a joy (verses 97.103) and furnishes direction of the journey of those who believe, denoted as a sojourner on this earth (verses 1,9,35,105) or even as a sheep who has lost his way (verse 176) (james limburgh, 1992:532-534). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 177 6. the contexts of the psalms it is difficult to arrive at an acceptable social contexts from which these psalms originated. this is because the psalter is the product of a long history of redaction and changed. james l mays (1993:14) describes the difficulty in these words; the possibility of deriving a context for interpretation from the book is not raised as a substitute for the dominant approaches in current psalms study. in the standard commentaries and introductions, psalms are taken up individually and identified as an instance of a genre, and/or as agenda for ritual performance, or as artefacts of israel's religious history in the context of the ancient near east. the context for construal is an ideal genre and its proposed history, an inferred festival or ritual occasion, or the ancient near eastern history of religions. he adds further that difficulties arise in giving the psalms interpretive identity and context, because of; the tension between the actuality of so many psalms and the ideal gattung to which they are assigned, the unresolved questions of cultic history, the perplexing problem of identity of the individual, the effect on meaning of moving traditional forms and words into quite different periods of religious history and the extent of redaction in the psalter (james l mays, 1993, 14). so, as the career of israel passes through dramatic changes, the givens of the settings of earlier psalms changed. traditional patters and vocabularies took on modified significance and roles. old psalms were reinterpreted to t new conditions, and new psalms were written in continuity with classic conventions, but expressing the needs and thoughts of later times (james l mays, 1993, 14-15). however, if the oracles of salvation were born from israel's worship and if c. westermann (1969:68) opines that the lament psalms inspires them, and from our study of the forms of the psalms, it can be deduced that they were born from different historical experiences, some painful and sorrowful, and some joyful. this warranted the need to lament and prayer in moments of pain and sorrows and the need to praise when a good is received. the psalms could also have context in the temple. three factors from the presentation of the forms of the psalms demand this. they were used for liturgical celebrations, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 178 as instructions and wisdom dissemination. liturgical celebrations and instructions were known to have held in the temple and synagogues or both. whatever, the case may, the psalms are product of human socioanthropological experiences, which were then poured out in the temple or places of worship in laments, prayers, thanksgiving and praise. this sets the psalms to be of immense social and spiritual values for all times. these importance of the psalms are what shall be undertaken next. 7. the contemporary value of the psalms we earlier highlighted that god is the central concerns of the psalms, because the psalms are generally addressed to him. what do they say therefore about god? james limburg (1992:534-535) outlines them as: his teachings delight, he is our rock, lord and redeemer, there is none greater than him and human beings are like the beasts that perish before him. in nutshell, these titles about god demonstrates his relationship with people and the universe. but they invariably invite people to meditate: on the instruction of god (psa 1-2), his work of creation (psa 19), to theological reflection of god in modern times (psal 77), to take refuge in him (psa 2,2) and to reflect on life's mysteries (psa 37). therefore, the first remarkable value of the psalms is they attract their readers and those who use them for prayers to centralize god in their daily living, in order that he will be the guide and protector of their lives. it is like saying god should come first in life and living. when this happens, then people can easily run to god in whatever circumstances of life like the psalmists: sorrows and pain, praise and joy, exhortation and glorification. these circumstances of life reflect socioanthropological conditions, be them good or bad. this therefore informs why the psalms are replete with real human emotions and vibrancy. their real and vibrant human emotions enable a living and vivid presence of god as the psalmists relate with him in their words. the psalms are about people reaching out to god and/or aspiring to. this is what the psalms should inspire, because they are models of what human relationship with god should be. a careful meditation and/or prayer and even academic work on the psalms reveals a close intimacy that can be developed with god, because in them one learns that god is close at hand (psa 34:19), guards man's going out and coming in (psa 121:8), listens (psa 116:1; 145:18), and is chasid – steadfast and reliable, and cares for his people (psa 111:9), by championing the needy and downtrodden and raising them from the dust (psa 113:7) (daniel f. polish, 2000, 14). since the psalms do not speak of a single voice or of a single subject matter, they serve as hymns, giving poetic expression to religious commitments – as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 179 has been seen above in the presentation of the form of the psalms – praise, petition, and supplication on behalf of a nation or of the individual. they can be used for issues of sin, atonement and forgiveness. some of them give voice to concerns of a particular moment – the present – in the life of a nation or individual. psalms teach ideals and values and also denounce evil behaviour and oppression like the prophets did. this gives them power, because they speak directly and personally to human condition. one of the church fathers, athanasius, bishop of alexandria (cir 293-373 bce) states; the psalms embrace the entire human life, express every emotion of the soul, every impulse of the ear – [psalms speak for you] when the soul yearns for penance and confession, when the spirit is depressed or joyous…when the soul is yearning to express its thanks to god, or its pains… (daniel f. polish, 2000, 6-9.13). these make them fitting for dealing with all manners of life. they can be used for instructions, exhortations, and prayers, and can become the lyrics of hymns and songs of human empower. this is because as was said earlier, there is no situation and experiences of man and his community, that there is no psalm that reasonably deals with the matter and/or explicates it. so, just as they have been useful to yester generations, so they can be in the contemporary. this means they have values of socio-anthropological proportion, perspective and extent. hence, they deal and relate situations that affect our everyday lives. they psalter has a psalm that speaks and addresses immediate and enduring problem. praying them with passion and with attention to the content of each of them would appeal greatly to people's social and even communal life. the catholic church has traditionally prayed it in the breviary. but in most cases, it is the clergy, religious and those in houses of formation who pray it most. there have been efforts by parish priests to introduce their parishioners to the praying of the psalms before mass. this should not be limited to a few a parishes, but should become a common practice. they psalms have a way of speaking to the hearts of those praying them in order to give them comfort, consolation and healing of their situation. if not for anything, it will enable them realize that humanity has dealt with the same problems down the through the ages, because the psalms talk about all of them. since, they are addressed to god, it brings to the minds of the faithful, the awareness that the god who listened and cared for those of yesterday generations, will care for those praying the psalms in our time. like david tuesday adamo observed the psalms when classified according to the nigeria cultural hermeneutic categories, such as: protective, curative or therapeutic and crave for a better life, can make a difference in the lives of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 180 average nigerian. he further argued that nigerians have constantly faced the question of how to use their christian faith and the bible as a concrete and effective substitute for the traditional means denied them by the missionaries, and in the process found solutions in their reading of the psalms for protection against enemies and evil spirits, for healing and sicknesses and bringing successes in work, school and business. this type of afric0-cultural hermeneutic, which make african socio-cultural contexts the subject of interpretation is good. for indeed, a average nigerian is faced with the fact of evils ones and enemies. indeed, witches, sorcerers, wizards, evils spirits and any ill-wishers therefore form part of the major sources of fear and anxiety among them (2000:336-337). but greater care should be taken to prevent reducing the psalms to objects of magic, rather than the promotion, growth and maturation of faith. conclusion there are also other poems in the old testament that are psalmic (lamentations 1; 2; 3; 4; proverbs 31:10-31), nahun 1:2-8, sirach 51:13-30 (will soll, 1991, 11-12), isa 38:10-22, wisdom 9 and tobit 13:2-10a. these were not studied in this article. the concentration thus far was on the psalter. this article has not aimed at resolving problems about the psalms, it simply has given a global picture of the psalter and its psalms with the purpose to educate people on the biblical psalter and introduce them to it. however, ongoing exegetical work should be engaged on studying the psalms, but like alexander ryrie (2004:17) states “…there is no one correct method of interpreting the psalms, and no one correct strand of meaning to be drawn from them”. therefore, different useful methods can be employed. after all, the field of linguistics has so much in abundance for that endeavour. references adamo, d. t., (2000) “the use of psalms in african indigenous churches in nigeria”, in west, o. g. – dube, w. m., the bible in african: transactions, trajectories, and trends, leiden – boston, brill. birch, c. b. – brueggemann w. – fretheim e. t. – petersen l. d., (2005) a theological introduction to the old testament, nashville, abingdon press, 2005. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 181 bland, d. – fleer, d. (eds), (2005) performing the psalms, st. louis: chalice. brueggeman, w., (2005) “the psalms as limit expressions”, in bland, d. – fleer, d. (eds), performing the psalms, st. louis: chalice. brueggeman, w., (2005) “psalms in narrative performance”, in bland, d. – fleer, d. (eds), performing the psalms, st. louis: chalice. childs, b. s., (2001) isaiah, kentucky, john knox press. feuer, a. c., (1996) tehillim, artscroll. flint, p. w., (2014) “the contribution of gerald wilson toward understanding the book of psalm in light of the psalms scrolls”, in declaiseewalkforde, n. l. (ed), the shape and shaping of the book of psalms: the current state of scholarship. goshen-gottsetin, m. h, (1966) “the psalms scroll (11qpsa): a problem of canon and text”, textus 6, 22-33. hicks, j. m., (2005) “preaching community laments”, responding to disillusionment with god and injustice in the world, in bland, d. – fleer, d. (eds),, performing the psalms, st. louis: chalice. lasor, s., w. et al, (1982) old testament survey: the message, form, and background of the old testament, grand rapids, william b. eerdmans publishing company. limburg, j., (1992) “palms, book of” in freedom, n. d. – et al (eds), the anchor bible dictionary vol 5, london – new york, doubleday. lowth, r., (1847) de sacra poesi hebraeorum, oxford 1753, trans g. gregory. mays, j. l., (1993) “the question of context in psalm interpretation” in mccann, c., j. (ed), the shape and shaping of the psalter, shefled, jsot supp series. mccannn jr, c. j., (2005) “grace, greed and gratitude”, in bland, d. – fleer, d. (eds), performing the psalms, st. louis: chalice. gerstenberger, e. s., (2014) “the dynamics of praise in the ancient near east, or poetry and politics”, in declaisee-walkforde, n. l. (ed), the shape and shaping of the book of psalms: the current state of scholarship. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 182 mowinckel, s., (2004) the psalms in israel's worship, grand rapids, william b. eerdmann, trans. by d. r. ap-thomas. petrany, c., “instruction, performance and prayer: the didactic function of psalmic wisdom”, in declaisee-walkford, n. l. (ed), the shape and shaping of the book of psalms: the current state of scholarship polish, d. f., (2000) bringing the psalms to life: how to understand and use the book of the psalms, woodstock, jewish publishing. raabe, p. r., (1990) psalms structures: a study of psalms with refrains, shefeld, jsot press. rozenber, m. s. –zlotowitz, b. m, (1966) the book of psalms: a new translation and commentary, jerusalem, jason aronson inc. ryrie, a., (2004) deliver us from evil: reading the psalms as poetry, london, darton, longon tod. skehan, p. w., “a liturgical complex in 11qpsa”, cbq 35 (1973), 195-205. talmon, s., “pisqah be'emsa' pasuq and 11qpsa,” textus 5 (1966), 1121. sheppard, g. t., “theology and the book of psalms”, interpretations 46 (1992), 143-155. soll, w., psalm 119: matrix, form, and setting, [cbq.ms 23; washington dc 1991. westermann, c., (1990) das buch der psalmen: band 1: psalm 1-21, leipzig, verlag am eschbach. _______________, (1969) isaiah 40-66: a commentary, london, scm press. wilson, g. h., (1993) “shaping the psalter: a consideration of editorial linkage in the book of psalms”, in mccann, c., j. (ed), the shape and shaping of the psalter, shefled, jsot supp series. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 2.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 126 الرمز الصوفي في إطار جديد أشعار الدكتور إبراھيم مقري نموذجا nasir m. ibrahim, ph.d department of arabic, faculty of arts kaduna state university, kaduna angoibrahim@gmail.com abstract resorted syrians to use the symbolic manner in which they see as the only suitable vessel to carry all theheart tastes and spiritual. they went through in cases of behavior to the divine presence; they tried to translate their feelings to the readers.this article language including significant to absorb this mysterious meanings, so they had a broader template and -as says atefjodahrefers obliquely to the semantics indirect and waving and beckoning not authorized, because they signal where the understanding of the meaning that you do not know the words, they are informed of the phrase in the definition vague, because the meaning of his jacket phrase, and the dress sense phrasemeaning are concept of concealed by the phrase, and the concept of the reference is like naked for dress, though dressed refer to it more precise and gentler.the beginningof this kind through the hair mystic appears on the hands of the first layer of woolen slave-rahman ibn abi ammar famous sufism, and urwa ibn uthaina and yahya bin malik and others, since it is on the hands of those famous sufi beingrooting divine love and display it in a way stylistic symbolic characterized the language of human emotions, and after them came sheikh khorasani great abu said ibn abi khair,who died in 440 ah and built features of this art, and was followed by attar in the seventh century ah, the development of this symbolic method to be lifted to jolt perfection and maturity. researcher’s aim is to follow this approach in the arab nigerian hair, focusing on hair, dr. ibrahim maqari of memorization, which added new a symbolic method after mystic perfection and maturity. ملخص المقال ا جلأ الصوفيون إىل استخدام األسلوب الرمزي الذي يرونه الوعاء الوحيد املناسب حلمل مجيعتلوحيات أذواقهم ومواجيدهم الروحية اليت مروا رة اإلهلية,فحاولوا ترمجة مشاعرهم إىل القراء, فضاقت عليهم املادة اللغوية مبا فيهامن الداللة على استيعاب هذه املعاين يف حاالت سلوكهمإىل احلض تشري من طرف خفي إىل دالالت غري مباشرة وتلوح وتومئ وال تصرح، -كما يقول عاطف جودة–الغامضة، فاضطروا إىل قالب أوسع وألفاظهم ها فهم معىن ال تعرفه العبارة، فهي أبلغ من العبارة يف تعريفه املبهم، ألن فيها معىن سرتته العبارة، ألن العبارة لباس املعىن، وذلك ألن اإلشارة في لطف,بدأ فاملعىن املفهوم من العبارة مستور ا، واملفهوم من اإلشارة كاملنكشف العاري عن اللباس وإن كان مكتسيا بلباس اإلشارة ألا أدق وأ ة وحيىي ذا النوع يظهر من خالل الشعر الغزيل الصويف على يد الطبقة األوىل من الصوفية كعبد الرمحن بن أيب عمار الشهري بالقس، وعروة بن أذينه انية، مث بن مالك وغريهم، إذ على يد هؤالء املشاهري من الصوفية مت تأصيالحلب اإلهلي وعرضه بطريقة أسلوبية رمزية متسمة بلغة العواطف اإلنس هـ وشيد معامل هذا الفن، وجاء بعده العطار يف القرن السابع اهلجري 440أتى بعدهم الشيخ اخلراساين الكبري أبو سعيد بن أيب اخلري املتوىف سنة igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 127 يجريي مركزا على بتنمية هذا األسلوب الرمزي إىل أن رفعهلرجة الكمال والنضوج.يستهدف الباحث إىل متابعة هذا األسلوب يف الشعر العريب الن شعر الدكتور إبراهيم مقري الستظهار اجلديد الذي أضافه الشاعريف األسلوب الرمزي الصويف بعد كماله ونضوجه. المقدمة شاعرهُعرف أن الرمز الصويف كان يرتكز على أمرين أساسيني ومها؛ الرمز الغزيل والرمز اخلمري اللذان ما حياول الصويف الشاعر إىل ترمجة م لقالب ومواجيده الروحية فال جيد وعاء مناسبا الذي حيمل مجيع تلوحياته وكناياته إال عن طريق األسلوب الرمزي, مادام أن القالب الرمزي هو ا تخدموه الوحيد الذي إستعانوا به الصوفية يف ترمجان مشاعرهم ووجدام الروحية عند سلوكهم إىل احلضرة اإلهلية,وهو أيضا نفس القالب الذي اس الدكتور إبراهيم -يف نيجرييا هذه األيام –باحملبة اخلالصة واألشواق املضنية,وكان من فرسان هذا امليدان �يف ترميزهم إىل جناب سيدنا رسول اهللا م القالب مقري الذي أصدر مخس دواوين يف املديح النبوي,ومن خالل أبيات هذه الدواوين أدرك الباحث أن الشاعر أتى جبديد حيث استخد بأسلوب الغزل اإلهلي املعروف عند الصوفية فحّول هذا األسلوب إىل الغزل النبوي الذي مل يعرف يف األدب �الرمزي يف مدح سيدنا رسول اهللا ويف يف الغزل الصويف من قبل,وهذا مما دعى الباحث بالرتكيز على هذا اجلانب حىت نشف إبداعية هذا الشاعر النيجريي وتطويره للقالب الرمزي الص النبوي. الشاعر في سطور م) امليالدية 1976هو الدكتور إبراهيم بن أمحد املقري بن سعيد بن خالد بن أمحد بن محزة, ولد الشاعر يف سنة ست وسبعني تسعمائة وألف ( تعليم والعمل الصاحل.، كما ُعرفت هذه األسرة أيًضا بالعلم وال�يف مدينة زاريا، ومن أسرة شريفة بانتساا إىل النيب له مبثابة تتلمذ الدكتور إبراهيم مقري على يد علماء أجالء,ابتداء من والده الشيخ أمحد املقري سعيد وعّمه الدكتور خالد آدم سعيد اللذان كانا م),كما بدأ 1986 -1981عام ( املدرسة األوىل اليت مر ا يف الوهلة األوىل حلياته العلمية, وأكمل مدرسته اإلبتدائية بني مخس سنوات من الصحافة دراسته اإلعدادية يف نيجرييا وأكمل الثانوية يف األزهر الشريف, مث نال شهادة الليسانس يف الصحافة واإلعالم باللغة العربية من قسم م,كما نال شهادة الدكتوراه 2002ام م,وعمل املاجستري يف اللغة العربية جبامعة أمحد بللو زاريا ع1999واإلعالم جبامعة األزهر الشريف عام واآلن هو حماضر بقسم اللغة العربية باجلامعة وإمام املسجد املركزي بأبوجا عاصمة نيجرييا. 1م,2009من جامعة بايرو كنو يف عام والدراسات إغرتف الدكتور إبراهيم من مشارب علمية كثرية خالل مروره باملراحل العلمية بني املدرسة اإلبتدائية والثانوية إال أن اإلشارة إىل عدد كبري من العلماء الذين ساعدوا يف تكوين شخصيته، حىت العليا، كما يعرب الدكتور ناصر بقوله: " والتعليم والتأليف، من مشاهري العلماء -وباألخص املديح النبوي –أصبحت شخصية فّعالة سامهت يف حركة الشعر العريب دراسات اجلامعية والدراسات العليا، وبعض املشايخ يف الزوايا العلمية؛كالشيخ الشريف إبراهيم الذين درسوه يف مرحليت ال صاحل احلسيين احلسين الربناوي، والربوفيسور محدي حسن، والربوفيسور سامي الكومي، والربوفيسور علي علي صبح، د أول أبوبكر، والربوفيسور سركي إبراهيم وغريهم من والربوفيسور إبراهيم خليفة، والربوفيسور مسعود راجي، والربوفيسور حمم 2".العلماء األجالء يف اال األكادميي وااالت العلمية األخرى igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 128 ألف الددكتور إبراهيم مقري مؤلفات عديدة كما نشر املقاالت العلمية الكثرية يف جماالت اللغة العربية اليت تبلغ حوايل ثالثني املؤمترات الدولية والعاملية,وما نشرت يف االت العلمية األكادميية يف اجلامعات النيجريية املختلفة. مقالة,بني ما شارك ا يف ا+سلوب الغزلي في الشعر الصوفي يظهر جليا بأن الصوفية استخدمواقالب األسلوب الرمزي يف أشعارهم حماولني التعبري عن عواطفهم الروحية يف حاالت سلوكهم حلضرة اإلهلية، وعند ما يصل الصويف مقام املشاهدة فريى آيات اهللا سبحانه وتعاىل يف ملكوته وجتليات الصفات يف خملوقاته للوصول إىل ا ىل اهللا ومشاهدته بعني البصرية هذا اجلمال املطلق للذات اإلهلي فيحاول التعبري عن هذه الصورة ال مشاهدة الذات اإلهلي بالذات اإلنساين تعا وا كبريا فيشتاق اإلنسان إىل هذا اجلمال املطلق للذات اإلهلي فيحاول التعبري عن هذا اجلمال املطلق فال جيد املادة اللغوية تستوعب عن ذلك عل أشواقه ومواجيده فيضطر إىل استخدام قوالب األسلوب الرمزية اليت حتمل رسالته الروحية، ولعل هذا هو القالب الوحيد الذي وجده الصويف ليله بأن يرتجم هذه اجلماليات املطلقة عن طريق الكناية والتلويح بلغة العواطف اإلنسانية اليت مسيت بـ"الغزل اإلهلي".يشفي غ وعلى ضوء هذا جاءت قصائد كثرية من شعراء الصوفية قدميا وحديثا الذين وصلوا إىل هذه املرحلة فسميت قصائدهم على هذا هلي"، وناهيك على سبيل املثال ال احلصر أول من تعترب أا تغنت باحلب اإلهلي وهي السيدة العابدة التقية النمط "باحلب اإلهلي" و"الغزل اإل دخلها جنته، رابعة العدوية اليت وصل ا احلب اإلهلي إىل درجة أن تعبده عبادة احملبني األصفياء، ال ملخافة عذابه بالنار وال لرجاء نعمته بأن ي اىل استحق أن يعبد لذاته، ال ملخافة عذابه وعقابه أو لرجاء نعمه ورمحته. وقد روي يف إحدى مناجاا مع را أا قالت: بل هي تعبده ألنه تع إهلي إن كنت أعبدك رهبة من النار فاحرقين بنار جهنم، وإذا كنت أعبدك رغبة يف اجلنة فاحرمنيها، وأما إذا كنت أعبدك من أجل حمبتك فال" . وقد وصل ا عبادا هللا تعاىل أن ارتقت إىل درجة املقام الذي تعبده حبا له وشوقا إليه ومن ذلك قصتها مع 3"من مجالك األزيل حترمين يا إهلي ما عبدته خوفا من ناره وال حبا جلنته، فأكون كاألجري السوء، بل عبدته حبا له سفيان الثوري، وقد سأهلا ما حقيقة إمياا، فأجابته بقوهلا: " .4"وقا إليهوش وقد تطور هذا احلب اإلهلي إىل أن ارتقى درجة الغزل اإلهلي على يد سلطان العاشقني عمر ابن الفارض لدقة الوصف ودقة الشعور وخفة الروح، ومن ذلك ما قال يف قصيدته التائية اليت بعنوان: "نعم بالصبا قليب صبا"، ومطلعها: فيا حّبذا ذاك الشذى حَني َهبتِ نـََعْم بالصبا قليب صبا ألِحّبِيت َسـَرْت فَأسرْت للفؤاِد ُغَديًة أحاديَث جرياِن الُعذيـِب َفَسرتِ إىل قوله: وَلو ْمل يـَُزْرين طيُفها حنَو َمضَجِعي َقَضْيُت وَمل َأسِطْع أَراها مبُقَليت ِبِهه عـن َغْريِ ُرؤيا وُرؤيَةِ َختَيل ُزوٍر كـان َزوُر َخيـاِهلا ِلُمشْ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 129 َىن أََمـت وأمتِ بَفْرِط غرامي ذِْكَر قيـٍس بَوْجِدِه وبـَْهـَجُتها لُبـْ فلـم أََر مثلي عـاِشقاً ذا صبابٍة وال مثَلها معشوَقًة ذاَت ـَجةِ 5هَي الَبْدُر أوصافاً وذايت َمساُؤها َمسَْت يب إليها ِمهيت حَني َمهتِ هذا, وعندما ننتقل إىل ابن عريب ملا جاء بديوانه ترمجان األشواق فسلك فيه طريق الغزل والتشبيب وأغرق فيه حىت ظن بعض الناس أنه كان بشيتغزل بامرأة إنسانية رومية، وبعضهم قالوا إنه يتغزل بطريقة رمزية غزلية، فاشتد اجلدل يف حلب بني الفقهاء وغريهم مما جعل بدار احل وإمسائيل بن سودكني يطلبان الشيخ بن عريب أن يشرح الديوان بنفسه ففعل. ب أما ملاذا سلك طريق الغزل والتشبيب وأغرق فيه، وذكر كرميات جعلهن مدار غزله، بينما يقصد معارف ربانية وأنوار إهلية وغري ذلك؟ فأجا النفوس ذه العبارات، فتتوفر الدواعي على اإلصغاء إليها، وهو لسان كل جعلت العبارة عن ذلك بلسان الغزل والتشبيب لتعشقالشيخ بقوله: " .6"أديب طريف روحاين لطيف فكل اسم أذكره يف هذا اجلزء فقط أكين، وكل ومل يزل ابن عريب يوضح للقارئ منحى الكىن اليت أومئ إليها عن طريق الرمز قائًال: " زء على اإلمياء إىل الواردات اإلهلية والتنزالت الروحانية واملناسبات العلوية جريا على طريقتنا املثلى فإن دار أندا فدارها أعين، ومل أزل يف هذا اجل .7"اآلخرة خري لنا من األوىل هذا هو شأم يف الغزل اإلهلي واخلمر األزىل عن طريق الرمز، مما جعل أسلوم أن صار أسلوبا أدبيا راقيا عاليا,وفيما يبدو أن وقه وفية أرادوا يف استعماالم لألساليب الرمزية يف الغزل اإلهلي وغريه، أن جيعلوا اإلنسان العادي يتعامل مع النص األديب الصويف ويتذالص يشبطريقته املعروفة يف شعر الغزل العريب مستخدمني طريقة الغزل العذري العفيف بأسلوبه وألفاظه وتنسيق أفكاره وخياله حىت يظن أنه يتعا معهم يف عواطف الغزل املعتاد، يف حني أم يف واد وهو يف واد آخر، انفصل بينه وبينهم روابط املقاصد واألهداف، فرتكوه مع ذلك يتذوق مجال األسلوب وصياغة األلفاظ، ويتمتع بتنسيق األفكار واخليال على طريقته املعروفة بالغزل يف الشعر العريب. اھيم مقريالغز�لنبويعندالدكتور إبر أيت وال شك أن الدكتور إبراهيم مقري سلك بأسلوبه الرمزي هذا املنوال, إال أن أشواقه متيل إىل جانب احلضرة احملمدية,وهذا الذي أدي أن ن ي" أو"الغزل بعنوان هذا املقال الذي قد حيّدث قلقا يف نفوس القراء واملستمعني، إذ أن ما ُعلم يف الشعر الصويف هو ما يسمى "باحلب اإلهل يف املديح النبوي، مما أضافه يف هذا امليدان املثمر، -فيما يرى الباحث–اإلهلي"، وحقيقة األمر أن هذا شبيه بذاك والشاعر قد أتى جبديد ائده الغزلية فسلك به على ج من نظموا قصائدهم يف الغزل اإلهلي مستعمًال فيه أسلوبًا رمزيًا صوفًيا، وقد صرح الشاعر بذلك يف إحدى قص igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 130 حيث ذكر أنه كان يرمز يف مدحه عليه الصالة والسالم باسم زينب وليلى ودعد، حىت ال يظن القارئ بذكر هذه األمساء أنه يقصد ا امرأة عربية أو أجنبية، ومن ذلك قوله: أصارحه باملدح طوًرا وتـارة بزينب تـرميزًا وليلـى وبالدعد وليس سواه يف الوجود بال جحد فمن تك دعد واحلبيب حممد وال شك أن هذا األسلوب الرمزي حيمل يف طياته تلوحيات وتعريضات وكنايات غامضة حىت ال يكاد القارئ العادي أن يفرق بينه م الصوفية يف بطريقته –يف مقدمة شرح "ترمجان األشواق" –وبني غريه، فهذا مما دفع الشيخ األكرب حمي الدين عريب إىل أن يصرح للناس فأشار األسلوب الرمزي حىت ال يقع القارئ يف لبس، أو حىت ال حيمل معىن الظاهر لألبيات، بل املقصود ا بواطن املعاين الكامنة يف األبيات، الدكتور عاطف جودة إىل ذلك خالل حديثه عن هذا املوضوع قائال: ا نقرأ شعرًا يتغزل الشاعر فيه مبحبوبته من بين اإلنسان، وذلك "الذي جيعلنا حنسب وحنن نقرأ هذا الشعر الصويف أننا إمن لصعوبة التمييز بينهما، ولكن سرعان ما يتبدد هذا اللبس إذا عرفنا أن الصويف إمنا يصف من خالل العواطف اإلنسانية حبا ها غايته وقصده دفعا لسوء إهليا مأل كيانه، وقد فطن شعراء الصوفية لذلك فقدم بعضهم بني يدي ديوانه مقدمة يشرح في .8الظن" ويتضح جليا أن الشاعر قد سلك ج ابن عريب، لذا نبه يف البيتني السابقني ليعرف القارئ أنه يسري يف نظمه على األسلوب الرمزي بوي، إًذا ميكن أن ننظر إىل حىت ال يقع يف سوء الظن به يف فهم معىن الظاهر لألبيات. خالف ما يقصد ا من املعاين الباطنة يف املديح الن منوذج من غزليات نبوية يف جمال املديح النبوي. نموذج من الغزل النبوي في شعره يقول الشاعر يف إحدى قصائده الغزلية النبوية من ديوان جنوى الفؤاد: ويـا عاذلـي يف حبها وامتـداحها فما لك يف لوم املتيـم يف دعد د القضا فما يل يف هذي احملبـة من بدّ لك اهللا لو أنصفت لـم جتـ وحظ السوى يف القلب أضغاث حامل فما يل يف ليلى وما يل يف هـند وكل بالئي فيكـ أنـك جـاهـل وما ذقت طول العيش من أمل الوجد ده ومراميه ذا التعريض والرتميز فسرعان ما أتى الشاعر بأبيات تلي ما سبق ليبدد هذا اللبس للقارئ والسامع العادي، ليوضح مقاص قائال بصيغة االستفهام: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 131 أتعلم من أهـوى؟ أتعلم مـن سىب فؤادي وأضين؟ عذرك اجلهل لو جيدي هي الدعد أصل اخللق واألمر فاعلمن هي اجلنـدل املعروف من قبل ما عبد هي عني هاء الطمس واجلهل والعمى ونقـطة بـاء حامـل ألـف املـد دعين عن الرتميز بـالغيد والظـبا وهل يصنع التصريح ما الرمز مل يبـدف أخـاطب هنًدا أو سليـمن وكلما أخاطبه رمـزًا عن املصطفى املهـدي من هنا، عندما يسمع القارئ هذين البيتني األخريين يتضح له أن هذا الغزل مل يقصده الشاعر إىل إظهار أشواقه حنو أية امرأة هار امسه انية، إمنا يوجهه إىل حمبوبه عليه الصالة والسالم بلغة العواطف اإلنسانية، مستخدما فيه ألفاظا ألمساء املرأة العربية، كناية عن إظإنس "حممد" عليه الصالة والسالم. لفؤاد" حيث خياطب الشاعر خليليه وللشاعر قصيدة طويلة أيًضا يف الغزل النبوي عن طريق التعريض باملرأة اإلنسانية يف ديوانه "جنوى ا اليت بعدت عنه، ولكن قلبه ما يزال متعلقا ا، -يقصد النيب –أن ميشيا إىل سقط اللوى ليبلغا حتياته العطرة إىل حمبوبته –أي قلبه وعقله – وكل ذلك -حملظوظني يف احلياة الدنيا ويرضى بكل ما حتب وترضى به، ولعله من ذلك جيد منها قبوًال، أو تسمح له بالدنو إليها، فيكون من ا ومن ذلك قوله: -على سبيل التعريض خليلي هل هذا املسري إىل اللوى إىل حضرة احملبوبة األقدسية إذا ردمتا فلتخرباها عن الفىت الـ ـهيوم هنا فيها، وأّد حتييت فـىت قد حتلى عن سواها وإنه حتلى مبا ترضى فهال جتلت إىل قوله: فسـرت على علمـي مبن هي هائما (ألطلب ليلى وهي يف حتلـت) وقد جف جلدي يف العظام اشتياقها ينوء الورى عن محل بعض بلييت كما طـال ليلـي واهليام معـذيب وعهدي بـه كامللتقي لألحـبة أيا ليـل رفقا يب ورفـقا مبطلـعي وزج بـه يف الطالعات السـعيدة ا بـي جملس من جمالس الـ غرام ولو يف الطيف مقدار حملـةفيجمعه أراين وإياهـا خلونـا عن الورى ُأجاذب أطـراف احلديث بـدريت أخاطـب دعـدي وثنائـي مودة وإين بأقصى الغـرب وهـي بطيبة igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 132 أراهـا وشـط البون بيين وبينها يقـربنـي منـها يـج لوعـيت اء الفؤاد وطبـه فقد نالين بعـض األذى من حمبـيتمـىت الوصل يا د ها نالحظ يف هذه األبيات أن الشاعر يتغزل مبحبوبته ليلى ودعد التان ابتعدا عنه منأقصى البالد، ومل يزل ينظم درر ثنائه هلا، ولعله يرا سانية اليت تسمى بليلى حينا أو دعد حينا آخر، وحقيقة يوًما يف امللتقى ولو بلمحة نظرة، ويبدو أن الشاعر قد شغف يف حب هذه املرأة اإلن .�األمر أن الشاعر ال يريد ذا الغزل غزال إنسانية للمرأة العربية، وإمنا يكىن ويلوح باسم النيب نه وبني حمبوبتهمن مشريًا إىل ما كان بي -بطريقة رمزية-ويف األبيات اآلتية نشاهد أن الشاعر قد استمر يف إظهار أشواقه حنو حمبوبته يف عامل الّذِر قبل وجود اخلالئق، فلم يتزحزح عنه شيئا من هذه العالقة الودية وإن بعدت عنه فلغرامه ا وشدة -يف احملبة -امليثاق والعهود ان، ومن ذلك قوله:اشتياقه إليها,يتخيل أنه يراهابأم عينيه أو يرى صورة مجاهلا، فترتسم هذه الصور اجلمالية ظاهرة يف صورة األكو أ أتـركها والعهـد بيـين وبينها قبيل وجود الكون يوم الوثيقة فـإين بيوم الـذر بايعتها على الـ ـغرام، وهل أوصي باحالل بيعة؟ ومل يبق غريها مبـرآة بصري أو مبرآة بصرييت -قل يل -أ أتركها يف كل صورة أراها هي املعىن اليت قـد تسرتت وراء ستور الكون هي الدعد أصل اخللق واألمر فاعلمن هـي اجلندل املرفـوع قبل الربية -بطريقة رمزية-واستمر الشاعر يف األبيات اليت أتت بعد هذه األبيات املذكورة يف عتاب العذال الذين يريدونه أن يفارق حمبوبته لربط العالقة الودية املوجودة بينهما، ومل يزل على هذه احلالة، -بني حق وشرعة-وى ولكنه مل يلق إىل كالمهم باال، بل واصل إىل اتباع سنة اهل يفوح من حوهلا روائح عطور بنفسج تزينت مبالبس فاخرة من -كناية عن رؤية النيب-إذ يوًما جاءت حمبوبته وهي فتاة بلغت يف منتهى اجلمال سندس واستربق ويف يدها أساور من فضة، ومن ذلك قوله: وملـا عقدت العزم يف الزور سالكا إليها طريقا بني خـق وشرعة إلحقاق عطـف النسق بيين وبينهافقد كل حلظي دون إصداء رغبيت إذا بفـتاة كالبنفسـج عـرفهـا أخـّالي ما أدراكما ما هي اليت فإن تسئلوين عـن دقائـق وصفـها خذوه بسيطا يف احلروف الشديدة سندس حضـر كمـا هي استربق حلت أساور فضـة عليها ثياب فطورًا تضاهي الذات يف النور واخلفا وطورًا تباهي يف صفات اخلليقـة كذلك شأن الدعد، والشأن فوق ذا ففي شأا قد حار خاطر منعت igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 133 ذات داللة رمزية حتمل يف طياا معىن ساتًرا يبدو من هذه األبيات املتقدمة أن الشاعر قد استعمل يف صياغة ألفاظه بعض املفردات يًئا الذي هو غري مراد، عن طريق التلويح والرتميز، ومنها قوله: "سالكا" بصيغة الفاعل، ومعناه الظاهر: الذاهب على شيء... أو الذي اختذ ش العريف. وذهب عليه، يقال فالن سلك طريقه إىل البستان، أي اختذ الطريق إىل البستان، هذا مبعناه هو من استقام بالنوافل تقربا إىل اهللا تعاىل، و"السالك" عند ابن عريب: الذي ميشي على املقامات حباله 9أما مبعناه الرمزي "السالك" .10ال بعلمه" اىل، وهذا هو معناه وأما قول الشاعر "طريقا" فمعناه ما تطّرقه األقدام، وأما معناه الرمزي الذي يقصده الصوفية" الطريقة إىل اهللا تع فس عند ابن عريب، لذلك كان من الشمول حبيث تندرج حتته التجربة الصوفية بكماهلا، ابتداء من تنبه القلب من غفلته... مرورًا مبجاهدة الن .11ورياضتها، وصوال إىل النشاط الروحي وتفتح فعاليته 12ض الباطل، ويقال حققت األمر وأحققته، أي كنت على يقني منه.وقول الشاعر أيضا : "بني حق وشرعة" فاحلق مبعناه العريف نقي و"احلق" عند الصوفية يقصد به اهللا تعاىل. وقوله أيضا "شرعة" أي الشرع أو الشريعة، وهي ما أرسل اهللا ا املرسلني خمتلطا بذلك للبشر منهجيا حيويا يف عالقتهم به، وعالقة بضعهم ببعض. إذ بعثه اهللا تعاىل إىل �بفتاة" فمعناه العريف، الشابة أو البكر، وأما معناه الداليل الرمزي كناية عن "النيب" وأما قول الشاعر "إذا الناس واجلن كافة عندما جاوز سن الصبا، يف اخلامس والعشرين من عمره. اليت �ذي يقصده الشاعر، فهو دعوة النيب وقوهلأيضا "عرفها" أي الروائح الطيبة من العطور والبخور وغريها، وأما معناه الرمزي ال انتشرت يف اآلفاق بني مشارق األرض ومغارا، فأصبحت كروائح الطيب املنتشر يف األحناء واألرجاء. الخاتمة ال احلب يتجلى للقاري واملستمعني الكرام أن الباحث يف هذا املقال حاول اكتشاف اجلديد الذي أضافه الشاعر الدكتور إبراهيم مقري يف جم فر إىل النبوي عن طريق األسلوب الرمزي تشويقا للقراء إىل قراءة هذه األبيات آناء الليل وأطراف النهار, ومن ذلك نالحظ أن هذا املقال قد أس النتائج اآلتية: كهم.مدى اهتمام الصوفية باألسلوب الرمزي يف التعبري عما جيول يف خواطرهم ومشاعرهم اليت وجدوها يف حاالت سلو إمكانية استخدام القالب الرمزي عند الصوفية البداع جديد يف األدب الصويف,كما رأينا ذلك عند السيدة العابدة التقية رابعة العدوية وسلطان العاشقني عمر ابن الفارض والشيخ اإلمام األكرب ابن عريب مث الشاعر الدكتور إبراهيم مقري. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 134 زء من الغزل باملرأة املعتاد عند العذريني أو الغزل بالغلمان الذي حدث يف العصر العباسي, إن الغزل النبوي حاشا هللا أن يكون ج .باألسلوب الرمزي�فالغزل النبوي هو احلب اخلالص واألشواق املفعمة إىل جناب حضرة سيدنا رسول اهللا الھوامش م, التزكية للطباعة 2014, الطبعة األوىل سنة ب يف املديح النبويالدكتور إبراهيم مقري وديوانه نبضات قلإبراهيم, ناصر مرتضى(الدكتور). 1 .45نيجرييا. ص –والنشر أبوجا .46الرجع السابق ص2 .156م, ص 2004, الطبعة األوىلالشعر الصويف يف نيجريياكربا, شيخ عثمان(الدكتور) 3 .157املرجع السابق، ص 4 .44هـ املكتبة العصرية, ص 1429–م 2008بعة األوىل سنة ديوان ابن الفارض,حتقيق د. درويش اجلويدي, الط 5 م). ص: و.1962، دار الفكر، الطبعة األوىل، (ذخائر األعالق شرح ترمجان األشواقابن عريب، حمي الدين (الشيخ)، 6 ص: هـ.م). 1962، دار الفكر، الطبعة األوىل، (ذخائر األعالق شرح ترمجان األشواقابن عريب، حمي الدين (الشيخ)، 7 .113م، ص 1983، دراسة فنية وموضوعية، الشعر الصويفعاطف جودة نصر، (الدكتور) 8 .720 719، (بدون تاريخ),صاملعجم الصويفاحلكيم، سعاد (الدكتورة) 9 .134، ص 2، جفصوص احلكمابن عريب، 10 .721 720، (بدون تاريخ)، ص املعجم الصويفاحلكيم، سعاد (الدكتورة) 11 ، مادة "حق".مقاييس اللغة معجم12 igwebuike_6_7_9.cdr 96 implications of hannah arendt’s agonism for modern democracy: a case of nigeria’s electoral processes godwin michael adahada hoger instituut voor filosoe katholieke universiteit leuven, belgium. goddyesmyke@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29305.49761 abstract this essay discusses the implications of hanna arendt’s agonistic spirit for modern democracy in the light of nigeria’s electoral processes. it claims that while modern democratic experience of the twenty-rst century in most nation states is tremendously driven by public spheres, the contest is characterized by agonal spirit. the impacts of the public spares and agonal spirit accomplished transformation of the social and political lives of the citizenry through good leaders. generally conceived, a public sphere is an arena in social life where individuals can assemble to discuss issues and to identify societal problems and through that discussion inuence political action. in modern society, it can be seen as a theatre in which political participation is enacted through the medium of talk and social participation in which public opinion can be formed. while the public sphere in the contemporary nigerian society is heightened, consolidated and complemented by the use of the social media where public opinion could be expressed to a global coverage, the agonal spirit is characterized by fraudulent electoral practices. the paper argues and upholds with benhabib that whereas the public spere is inclusive, and hence democratic, candidacy and contest for public ofces should be agonistic. it maintains that agonism is at odds with the culture of fraudulent electoral practices in nigeria. it recommends measures that will checkmate the problem of electioneering and electoral fraud thereby strengthening the nascent democracy though, not without the political will of the independent electoral commission that must make itself credible to gain the condence of the electorates and the competitors. introduction democracy in most modern nations in the twenty-rst century is tremendously impacted by public spheres. these impacts accomplish transformation of the social and political lives of the citizenry. a public sphere is an arena in social life where individuals can assemble to discuss issues and to identify societal problems and through that discussion inuence political action. it is a discursive space where matters of common interest are discussed and where possible, reach common judgement. in modern societies, it can be seen as a theatre in which igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 97 political participation is enacted through the medium of talk and social participation and possibly, public opinion could be formed. political theorists generally group public spheres into three broad categorizations corresponding to three main currents of western political thought. firstly, the view of public sphere common to the republican virtue or civic virtue tradition, is described as agonistic view. secondly, the conception provided by the liberal tradition, and particularly by those liberals, who beginning with kant made the problem of a just and stable public order, the centre of their political thinking. this goes for the legalistic module of public sphere, and it will be exemplied by bruce ackerman’s conception of public dialogue. thirdly, the module of public sphere is that implicit in jurgen habermas’s work. this module which envisages a democratic socialist restructuring of late-capitalist societies, will be named “discursive public sphere” (benhabib, 1992, p. 73). for jurgen habermas, by “public sphere” “we mean rst of all our domain of our social life in which such a thing as public opinion can be formed. access to the public sphere is open in principle to all citizens. a good portion of the public is constituted in every conversation in which private persons come together to form a public” (habermas, 1992, p. 103). in habermas, citizens act as a public when in their discussion on public issues, they are offered liberty of deliberation. on the strength of this liberty, when the public sphere is large, media is needed to disseminate information to the wider public. habermas also thinks that the public sphere exercises the function of mediation between state and society through the formation of public opinion which serves as its vehicle. therefore, in this understanding, public sphere is a conceptual resource whose existence and activities help to overcome some societal problems through the medium of talk and discursive interaction. the public sphere is conceptually distinct from ofcial economy; rather than being an arena of market relations, it is a space of discursive interactions. in nigeria, the awareness of the public spheres seems to be resent. it is indeed a welcoming development because of its inuence on political spheres. the common forms are the mass media (television and radio) programs complements the public spheres. the social media have assumed unprecedented role in this regard more than the town and village hall meetings, though not without its abuses. the aim of the public sphere is to discuss, inuence and accelerate political decisions and actions in view of credible candidacy, fair elections and good governance. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 98 hannah arendt’s model of public sphere described as “agonistic” operates on the principle of exclusion in which the elites exclusively contest to prove their excellence. however, modern democracy operates on the principle of inclusion. therefore, this paper transposes agonism to nigeria’s electoral process and juxtapose it with the public spheres in modernity. it argues that the arendtian model of agonism provides a model for nigeria’s electoral process because it will, in keeping with the agonal spirit bring out the best among the competitors. for, nigeria’s electoral process particularly, the nomination of candidates under different party platforms for the different ofces as well as the actual elections are often a dupe of excellence. these fraudulent electoral practices militate against good governance in nigeria. thus, agonism and fraud are incompatible. so, benhabib’s discursive public sphere and conception of modernity serve as a complement to arendtian agonism. to defend these claims, this essay begins with a sketch of the analysis of agonism and arendtian agonistic public sphere. it further makes a sketch of modernity and seyla benhabib’s view of modernity. it highlights arendt’s challenges in understanding the modern public sphere, followed by an investigation of nigeria’s electoral process in modernity and concludes that agonism will bring out the best for nigeria’s electoral process and governance. agonism and arendt’s agonistic public sphere there are two versions of agonism: persuasive and polemical agonism (robertsmiller, 2002, p. 595). “in persuasive agonism, one plays down conict and moves through reason to try to persuade one’s audience. however, polemical agonism intends not necessarily to prove one’s case but to make public one’s thought…in persuasive agonism, success is achieved through persuasion; in polemical agonism, success may be marked through the quality of subsequent controversy” (ibid. p. 595). roberts-miller describes arendt as a polemical rhetoric because she puts less emphasis on gaining assent of her audience (ibid. 595). the two versions are strategies of selling oneself and views to the electorates thereby excellence is mirrored in a more popular contestant. the style and the use of polemical agonism involves a strong vocal or written attack. these are means of engaging in a controversial debate or argumentation that does not aim at persuading one’s readers or hearers to merely appreciate one’s position perhaps out of sympathy but to make one’s position explicitly dened by means of critical and counter argumentations as much as possible. in view of its nature and style, polemical agonism often makes use of many igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 101 the strong agonal spirit in the arendtian picture of agonistic public sphere was not an end itself but rather, a means to a certain end which arendt summarizes thus excellence itself, arte as the greeks, virtus as the romans would have called it, has always been assigned to the public realm where one could excel, could distinguish oneself from all others. every activity performed in a public can attain an excellence never matched in privacy; for excellence, by denition, the presence of others is always required, and this presence needs the formality of the public…. (ibid. pp. 48-9). the strong agonal spirit was aimed at deciphering who was the best in moral and political matters. remarkably, this excellence is almost completely ignored in nigeria’s politics. rather prospective candidates and supporters often take to violence and other forms of electoral malpractice in favor of preferred candidates. this duping obfuscates the value of the public that should be a boost to assessing excellence of the contestants in the public space. with the above analysis of arendtian notion of agonistic public sphere, a contrast could be made with the associational public sphere. in contrast to the agonistic public sphere, the “associational” model which benhabib derives from arendt’s origin of totalitarianism, is anchored on the view of common action: “whenever and where ever, in arendt’s word, ‘men act together in concert’ on this model, public space is the space where freedom can appear” (1993, p. 102). the key idea in the associational module of the public sphere is ‘men acting together in concert’. in this outlook, public space has no xed location or time. therefore, in benhabib’s idea, a town hall or a city square where people do not act together in concert is not a public space as arendt conceives. but a private parlor or a dining room becomes a public space when people gather to hear a samizdat or in which dissidents have a meeting with foreigners (benhabib, 1993, p. 78). the important feature which translates a meeting / gathering into a public space according to arendt is when the people in the meeting act together in concert. it is important to note at this juncture that the arendtian understanding of the public sphere relates with the natural gift of speech which people employ in persuasions and hence, translate these into different arenas of public affairs. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 99 deliberators who would speculate and discuss their dened position. however, the major challenge of polemical agonism is prolongation of deliberation and the tendency of the discussion translating into long disputes and unending arguments (ibid. p. 597). as a style, “agonism demands that one simultaneously trusts and doubts one’s own perceptions, relying on one’s judgements and considers the judgments of others, think for oneself and imagines how others think” (ibid. p. 597). the above notion and demand of the agonistic rhetoric sounds well but whether it is practicable seems a difcult question to answer. arendt never fails to trace back polemical agonism to the ancient greeks. she situates polemical agonism within the context of action which is the only dimension of the vita activa that does not admit intermediary of things. the polis, arendt say, is the most loquacious among bodies politics (1958, p. 26). therefore, it is ab initio obvious that long deliberation of matters is involves. one could infer from here, the origin of rhetoric and by extension the two types of the public spheres mentioned above. tracing further, arendt observes that the emphasis shifted from action to speech, and to speech as a means of persuasion rather than the specically human way of answering, talking back and measuring up to whatever happened or was done. to be political, to live in a polis, meant that everything was decided through words and persuasion and not force and violence. in greek selfunderstanding, to force people by violence, to command rather than persuade were pre-political ways to deal with characteristic of life outside the polis (ibid. p. 26). by this statement, one could understand the credibility with which arendt associates the power of rhetoric and how disgusting force, command and violence were regarded in the greek city states. it is very clear here that such offensive manner of life was not only disgusting but was also considered uncivilized ‘pre polis’. agonism is a plausible model for nigeria’s electoral process and democracy. although the classication between polemical and persuasive agonism was not yet made, it is evident here that both polemical and persuasive agonism are of a common origin namely, the greek antiquity. to drive to its conclusion, the origin of agonism to ancient greece, arendt, contrasted the manner of life in the greek polis and in the household. she observes that while in household life was characterized by uncontested despotic igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 100 powers by the head, life in the polis among the peoples featured persuasion (ibid. p. 27). arendt then links the power of persuasion to aristotelian denition of man “as zoon politikon (a living being of the polis) which was not only unrelated and opposed to natural association experienced in household life; it can be fully understood only if one adds the second famous denition of man as zoon logon ekhon (a living being capable of speech)” (ibid. p. 27). arendt explains this second denition of man not from the point of view of man’s highest capacity, but rather in terms of man’s powers of contemplative life. juxtaposing this conception with nigeria’s democracy that is characterized by brutal force and violence, one is left with an understanding of it as uncivilized. however, while agonal spirit makes sense for nigeria’s electoral process, agonistic public sphere does not. a sketch of hanna arendt’s agonistic public sphere arendt’s conception of the public sphere could be understood from two contrasting views namely, “agonistic” and “associational”. characteristically, the agonistic model of public sphere is based on the principle of exclusion. it is a sphere where certain people, the aristocrats or elitists in the sphere of appearance, engage in a competition in order to distinguish and reveal themselves in their individual excellence and greatness, morally and politically to the others. arendt captures this thus, to belong to the few “equal”(homoioi ) meant to be permitted to live among one’s peers; but the public realm itself, the polis was permeated by a ercely agonal spirit, where everybody had constantly to distinguish himself from all others, to show through their unique deeds or achievements that he was the best of all (aien aristeuein).the public realm in order words was reserved for individuality; it was the only place where men could show who they really and inexchangeably were (ibid., p. 41). the arendtian description of the agonistic public sphere above not only reveals its exclusive nature, it also revealed that it was through it that the participants, the elites or the aristocrats assessed certain administrative positions in the state public affairs. it was the practice of exclusion and the strong spirit of competition that characterized this public sphere. while this model could serve the purpose of nigeria’s electoral process, it is undemocratic for political discussions because it does not admit everyone. however, all prospective candidates for elective ofces could test their excellence in this discursive sphere. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 102 acting together in concert according to arendt is possible in a public space because the public space is real. it is in this sense that arendt posits that appearance is reality because people encounter, talk with each other and can engage action. the arendtian understanding of reality is from the socio-political viewpoint in reference to aristotelian denition of man that we earlier met. it is also in the polis that freedom is experienced because life and relations is based on persuasions rather than the uncontested despotic powers of the household head in the private realm (arendt, 1958, p. 27). this insight into the agonistic public sphere leads to the idea of modernity in general and how seyla benhabib in this context conceives of modernity. it will be investigated in order to evaluate its compatibility with the agonistic public sphere. modernity: seyla benhabib’s conception the concept of modernity has been theorized and interpreted in diverse ways with plethora of emphasis since the inception of the modern period. however, for jurgen habermas, modernity, from the latin form “modernus” rst came in use in the late 5th century to make a divide between the roman present and the pagan past. the term “modern again and again expresses the consciousness of an epoch that relates itself to the past of antiquity, in order to view itself as the result of a transition from the old to the new” (1981, p. 3). habermas captures the entire thrust of the concept of modernity. his use of the word ‘consciousness’ is central to most discourse that borders on modernity. as we shall see later, benhabib’s conception of modernity is a theorization based on consciousness whereby she advocates for inclusion principle her own philosophy of modernity which is a sort of liberation to those who had been marginalized or excluded in the past but which the trends and caprices of modernity has dismantled. benhabib’s principle of inclusion is her response to the times which she has deliberated intentionally. furthermore, some writers restrict the modern time to the renaissance period of history that witnessed the culmination of anthropocentricism and enlightenment. some associate modernity and the time of certain historical personalities like charles the great in the 12th century. the ideals of the french enlightenment were the important factors which dissolved the spells of the classical ancient world. the great scientic and technological breakthroughs and the continued progress were signicant factors and landmark development in the cultivation of modernity consciousness. the invention of different kinds of machines that displaced manual labor, the printing machines that boosted educational activities igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 103 etc. contributed tremendously to the enlightenment in which man greatly asserted his ability to solve his problems and so rely on his abilities. the most resent ideas about modernism, however, is the seeming opposing views between the traditional and the present. since the wake of the 19th century, the confronting ideas and ideals seems to be the most distinguishing marks between modernity and the antiquity (habermas, 1981, p. 3). because of this, it appears that the truth of the dynamism of life is most evident in the experience of modernity. there seems to be a war between the modern and the traditional in barely all facets of life, in religion, in economy, in education, in politics, and most evidently in the social dimension of life. in all, man breaths for a relieve in the modern time, a relief of freedom from all discomfort and constraints of a better and pleasurable life. considering it from the aesthetic perspective, modernity refers to the characteristic of things which would replace the outmoded ones. in this sense, modernity would be regarded as classical because it is stylish whereas the aesthetic products have characteristics that will survive people’s preferences and stand the test of time. with the passage of time, this emphasis does not seem to hold any longer, rather, a strong assent on the idea of modernity is the question of assessing how authentic an aesthetic material is, and this assessment is done through its qualities. benhabib’s notion of modernity the central idea of benhabib’s conception of modernity is anchored on the principle of inclusionism. inclusionism simply refers to carrying along everyone. the following passage offers insight to inclusionism what disturbs the contemporary reader is perhaps less the high minded and highly idealized picture of greek political life that arendt draws than her neglect of the following questions: if the agonistic political sphere of the polis was only possible because large groups of human beings –like women, slaves, children, laborers, noncitizens, residents and all non-greeks – were excluded from it while they made possible through their labors to the daily necessities of life that “leisure for politics” that the few enjoyed, then is the critique of the rise of the social, which was accompanied by the emancipation of these group from the “shadowy interior of the household” and by their entry into public life, also a critique of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 104 political universalism as such? that is, the “recovery of the public space” under conditions of modernity necessarily and elitist and antidemocratic project that can be reconciled with the demand for universal political emancipation and the universal extension of citizenship rights that have accompanied modernity since the american and french revolutions (benhabib, 1992, p. 75). a thorough analysis of the above passage reveals benhabib’s theorization on the concept of modernity. the rst impression presented by this passage is the question, whether greece public sphere was only possible at the exclusion of certain persons who actually contributed for the welfare of those who were included in it. the inclusion principle of benhabib agrees with the idea of modernity viewed as a transformation, which requires the re-denition of people’s social position. more so, it encourages a kind of struggle which would eventually yield people’s emancipation from social, economic and especially political constraints. benhabib’s advocacy for inclusion through her principle is an advocacy for freedom in disguise because its implementation is another way of gaining freedom which of course, is the pendulum swinging between modernity and democracy. the ancient greece practice of public sphere was agonal. based on elitist or aristocratic consideration, it was typical of exclusion principle. elites or aristocrats were a few members of the public who were well educated and so were accorded high regard by the people and they had the prerogative of handling the administrative affair of the state. in this way they constituted members of the public sphere while all the other people were excluded from it. it is therefore on account of this exclusion that benhabib expresses her modern consciousness of inclusion which would give equal opportunity to all and the sense of freedom in participating and contributing to common opinion. therefore, under the democratic condition and in a democratic dispensation, elitism and aristocracy are practiced in the exclusive principle which is antimodern and undemocratic. however, this essay defends that while contestants for political ofces in nigeria should characterize the agonal spirit to show that they are the best for the ofce, democratic experience could borrow a leaf from benhabib’s inclusionism. another element of benhabib’s consideration is the demand for the universal political emancipation and the universal extension of citizenship rights (benhabib, 1992, p. 75). the modern struggle for democracy implies liberation igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 105 from the strictures of oppressive and suppressive standards and ways of doing things. the advocacy for universal citizenship is in line with the united nations promulgation of the universal human rights. this right entitles everyone to such citizenship so far as one legally fullls its demands. what is more? the struggle to accomplish this project is a universal call. that is why benhabib criticizes arendt’s negative account of the rise of the social which resulted in the decline of the public spheres in the greek city states. benhabib criticized this idea which is the core of arendt’s political antimodernism and a eulogy to agonistic public space of the greek city states (ibid.). with this criticism, benhabib seeks to change the narrative. from the fore gone, one can understand benhabib’s modern and democratic consciousness from her idea of the principle of inclusion which is in direct opposition to practice of the agonistic public space in the greek polis. agonism and inclusionism present a model for nigeria’s democratic processes: agonism for contestants to political ofces and inclusiveness to the citizenry. benhabib’s inclusion principle implies liberty, freedom and equality which are the core emphasis of modern democracy. for the nigeria situation, inclusiveness implies fair and free electioneering processes. benhabib’s position also agrees with the ideals of enlightenment, which may be summarized as ‘thinking and acting for one’s self’ and in the context of electoral process implies conviction on the part of the electorates that their vote cast counts in electing the leaders. understood in this light and in this perspective, one would agree uncritically that though arendt’s agonistic public sphere is at odds with the modern democratic experience, its agonal spirit serves as a good model for nigeria’s electioneering, for agonism serves to present the best candidates for elections. furthermore, an investigation into nigeria’s electoral procedures is made to justify this claim. nigeria’s electoral processes electoral process refers to the different activities in preparation for voting of candidates into different ofces for governance on party-basis and the declaration of the winners of the election. this process in an offshoot of the electoral system a procedure through which leaders are elected in a democratic country by the citizens. the electoral system determines the qualifying criteria from both the aspirants and the political parties (the nigerian electoral system/electoral system and processes). this responsibility is a prerogative of a specialized committee appointed by the government of the federation. in nigeria, the commission is called independent electoral commission (inec) at igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 106 the national level and the state independent electoral commission (siec) at the state level. the responsibilities and activities of this commission are sensitive, crucial and critical for democratic experience in nigeria and hence its integrity is important. inec and its powers in nigeria is constitutional. inec is established by section 153 (f) of the constitution of the federal republic of nigeria and its powers composition and functions are provided for in the rst part of the third schedule in the constitution therein (dugabari, 2017, p. 4). furthermore, agude, reecting on the nigeria’s election governing commission upholds three functions of inec as 1) controlling and monitoring of political parties, 2) putting the political parties in the direction that engenders national unity and 3) responsible for the conduct of elections (199, 113). similarly, dugabari highlights four functions of inec as follows: 1) to organize, undertake and supervise all elections. 2) to monitor the organization and the operation of the political parties. 3) to arrange and register the electorates. 4) to regulate and monitor political campaigns (2017, p. 5). the two views from agude and dugabari basically concern the political parties, the candidates, the electorates and the electoral conduct. electoral processes are in three divides: firstly, the pre-election, (registration of parties and candidates and other activities); secondly, voting on the election day (accreditation of the electorates and vote casts, coalition and counting of vote cast); and thirdly the post voting processes (announcement of results and alliance with the judiciary on emergent electioneering cases). the electioneering processes are in two blocs. firstly, the activities of the commission and secondly, the parties’ activities which includes the candidates’ candidacy nomination and verication activities. the commission registers the political parties and conducts elections as its greatest task. election is immensely important because when credible, it facilitates democracy. furthermore, in a democratic dispensation, election is a vehicle that fosters order and decorum on how successive government come into power. in a true democracy, it is believed that election expresses the will of the people (nwokeke, 2011, p. 130). this makes sense of the popular but short denition of democracy as government of the people. elsewhere, nwokeke extols election as a process that accomplishes shift of leadership, effects accountability and encourages others to take part in the government. it reveals the power of the electorate (ibid. p. 128). this agrees with the idea that democracy is effective in distributing power and opportunity to the electorates to make the choice of their leaders (schumpeter, 1947). this latest observation applies to electorates who under the political parties exercise the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 107 power of preliminary elections and the general elections of the candidates. the above sketch give an insight into the nature of nigeria’s electoral processes which over the years have been marred by plethora of problems and challenges. the problems or challenges that confront the nigeria’s electoral process allows the possibility of electoral fraud. fraud makes nonsense of the agonal spirit that ought to characterize it to showcase excellence and popularity of the competitors. the frustration concerning this malady was aptly expressed after the 2011 election by dakas et al when they noted the wide spread perception by the electorates that elections are seldomly won in nigeria rather the electoral bodies, national and the state conspire with the judiciary to dubiously declare the winners (2011, p. 339). the lapses, problems and challenges of the electoral processes encourage electoral fraud, waste of resources and pseudo-democratic experience. this is surely a bad omen for a nascent democracy like nigeria’s. the fact that nigeria’s so-called political parties rather than being ideologybased are primarily, unfortunately and miserably based on ethnicity, religions and regions. this deepens and complicates the electoral problems in the nigerian polyethnic society. furthermore, nigeria’s electoral problems somewhat metamorphosized into a fraudulent electoral culture that translates a rape and a dupe of the so-called democracy. the following are identied forms of electoral doping: 1) illegal printing of voter’s cards; 2) illegal possession of ballot boxes; 3) stufng of ballot boxes; 4) falsication of election results; 5) illegal thumb-printing of ballot papers; 6) infant voting; 7) compilation of ctitious names on voters’ lists; 8) illegal compilation of separate voters’ lists; 9) illegal printing of forms used for collection and declaration of election results; 10) deliberate refusal to supply election materials to certain areas; 11) announcing results for places where no elections were held; 12) unauthorized announcement of election results; 13) harassment of candidates, agents and voters; 14) change of list of electoral ofcials; 15) box-switching and ination of gures (ibrahim, 2007). these fraudulent practices not only truncate the agonal spirit of election, but obfuscate excellence, mar true democracy, good leadership, hence, makes nonsense of the purported democracy. for this reason, several suggestions are made to remedy the raped democracy. a few of them shall be highlighted here. firstly, adequate preparation for all elections. this intuition is popularized by the ‘novel tradition’ of election postponement since 2011. the “logistic and operational” reasons that excused igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 108 the postponement of 2019 few hours before its commencement was absolutely unacceptable in view of the huge amount (n196 billion) budgeted and the four years preparation (2019 presidential election: improving the electoral process). this action led to multidimensional waste of the country’s scarce resources. secondly, electronic registration and voting system and the entire process should replace the anachronistic paper balloting system. the electronic voting system will unilaterally solve all the malpractices enumerated above. an early and adequate preparations could take care of anticipated problems especially that of database. this form has many added advantages of efciency as it ensures safety, abates climate challenges. it is environmentally friendly as well as solves mobility problems etc. thirdly, effective candidacy and party registration– validating candidates and parties with strong support will trim down the number of the political parties to the popular ones with their candidates (ibid.). this, however, will support the agonal spirit and showcase excellence in the presented candidates. other considerations are fourthly, enfranchising nigerians in diaspora which also offers them the opportunity to participate in selecting their leaders. another side of this is offering the physically challenged persons the opportunity to participate in the election. finally, prosecuting electoral fraudsters and allied offences will serve as a deterrent to intending similar criminals (ibid.). to facilitate this, special electoral tribunals should be established to avoid unnecessary and deliberate delay of legal actions since it is said that justice delayed amounts to a denial. if the government is committed to true democracy, these measures could be effected in addressing the electoral maladies and so sets a stage for agonistic electioneering process in nigeria. conclusion the arendtian agonism should be a model for the selection of candidates for nigeria’s electioneering process. the exploration of hannah arendt’s agonistic public sphere reveals its difference from other public spheres such as the liberal model dialogue and the discursive model. hannah arendt conceptions of public sphere and candidacy are “agonistic” and characterized by ercely agonal spirit is based on the principle of exclusion; those included are the elites (aristocrats) who engage in the “ght” to prove their excellence while in the associational model emphasizes ‘men acting together in concert’, wherever and whenever. while selection of contestants should be agonistic, participation in the democratic discourse should be inclusive. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 109 benhabib’s conception of modernity is anchored on the principle of inclusion. the implications of benhabib’s principle of inclusion are freedom and equality which is found in modern democracy. this must characterize the public sphere of discussion of political matters. it is this inclusion that is needed in nigeria both in principle and in practice. thus, agonism and inclusionism is signicant to nigeria’s political renaissance as against fraud and violence. the desirability of agonism is necessary to forestall some of the candidate-based fraudulent activities of the electoral processes. the fraudulent practices thrive and bloom because elections and party formation, activities and selection of candidates are hardly based excellence but often, on ethnic, religious or regional divides. these non-agonistic considerations de-robe, dupe and rape our democracy and good leadership. the exclusiveness of agonistic public sphere is certainly undemocratic and antimodern. however, one cannot deny that the agonal spirit with which competitors exhibit their excellence is desirable for nigeria’s electioneering context. this is the crux of the matter and our conclusion. agonal consideration elevates the best competitor over his equal in a fair, free and open processes. fraud that has become a culture in the electoral process is a deceit to democracy and consequently, good leadership process. the continuation of this national deceit is a passive resolve to remain in the current status quodictatorship beautifully adorned by nepotistic alacrity and religious fanaticism instead of building political parties based on well founded and practical ideologies. the electoral commission must prove itself credible and capable of conducting credible, fair and free elections and delivering less controversial and contested results. it can achieve this if it considers the highlighted suggestions and similar others as the measures and a point of departure of resolving the highlighted problems that de-robe our democracy. true experience of democracy begins with and depends on sound electoral processes. this prescribes, scrutinizes and regulates the aspirants to political ofces and consequently, passes them through agonal contestation. agonism is the spirit of the modern democratic contest. a truly modern nigerian democracy must be a departure from the past fraudulent electoral culture to the agonal spirit that showcases excellence among contestants. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 110 references agude, o. (2000). understanding the nigerian constitution of 1999, lagos, m. j. professional publishers limited. 2. workin, r.d. (1990), “bill of right for britain”. arendt, h. (1958). the human condition 2nd edition, introduction by magaret canovan, london: the university of chicago press. benhabib, s. (1993). history of human sciences, feminist theory and hannah arendt concept of the public sphere: sage publication. 6: 97 vol. 6 no. 2 p.102. calhoum, c. ed. (1992). models of public space: hannah arendt, the liberal tradition, and jurgen habermas. cambridge: the mit press. dakas, cj, d., et.al. (2011). the of franchise and the imperative of a credible electoral system in nigeria, in benson idahosa university law journal. vol. 1. no. 1 dubagari, u. (2017). the rule of law and electoral process in nigeria: a critical reection. in global journal of interdisciplinary social sciences. g.j.i.s.s., vol. 6 (6): 1-7 ___________. (1992). habermas and the public sphere. cambridge: the mit press. habermas, j. (1981). modernity versus post modernity, new german critique, no.22. special issue on modernism p. 3. ibrahim, j. (2007). nigeria’s 2007 elections: the tful path to democratic citizenship. nwokeke, p. (2011). the electoral process and democratic consolidation in nigeria. in the journal of politics and law. vol. 4, no.2; pp. 128-138. robertsmiller, p. (2002). fighting without hatred: hannah arendt agonistic rhetoric: in a journal of composition theory vs22 n3 pp.585-601. 595-597. schumpeter, j. (1947). capitalism, socialism, and democracy. new york: harper and brothers. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 111 the nigerian electoral system. available on https: //nigeriascholars.com/tutorials/electoralsystems-andprocesses/the -nigerian-electoral-system/. retrieved on 16th june2020. 2019 presidential election: improving the electoral process in nigeria. available on https://www.wathi.org/opinion-election-nigeria-2019presidential-elections-improvingthe-electoral-process-in-nigeria/ . retrieved on 16th june 2020. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya microsoft word igwebuike jounals vol. 5. no. 1.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 41 introduction of chinese at university of lagos: a study of students’ attitudes towards chinese sunny ifeanyi odinye, ph.d. department of igbo, african & asian studies nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, nigeria email: is.odinye@unizik.edu.ng abstract language attitude is the feelings people have about their own language or the language of others attitudes towards a language may show what people feel about the speakers of that language. expressions of positive or negative feelings towards a language may reflect impressions of difficulty or simplicity, ease or difficulty of learning, degree of importance, elegance, social status, etc. attitude may have an effect on second or foreign language learning. to find out the attitude of students learning chinese at university of lagos, a questionnaire is used as a method of data collection. the mentalist approach to attitude is the theoretical framework adopted in this research. the finding shows that students learning chinese at university of lagos have positive attitude towards chinese language. this is a good omen for the future of chinese language in lagos. keyword: chinese, university, lagos, student. introduction a chinese migrant in united state (us) who has been teaching chinese (mandarin) for nearly 20 years at china institute says that there is an increase in number of us citizens learning chinese. chen said to the china daily usa in an interview, “there was an english fever in china when i left for the us. now we are seeing chinese fever here”. this statement is true because chinese language is the third most popular language in the united states, behind english and spanish. there are many people including prominent people in us who either speak or learn chinese language. facebook cofounder, mark zuckerberg; former president obama’s daughter and the grandchildren of president trump are learning and speaking chinese language. the ‘chinese fever’ is not only in the united states of america. it has reached europe and even africa. liu xiaoming, the chinese ambassador to the united kingdom, said to xinhuanet during the 2017 ‘chinese bridge’ that ‘chinese fever’ has continued to heat up in the british isles. during the chinese language competition (chinese bridge), many students from european countries participated and displayed their ability in speaking chinese language. according to olander et’al (2016), “…in africa, demand for chinese classes is booming”. this is quite true. the ‘chinese fever’ in africa seems too feverish maybe due to the newness of chinese language in africa. unlike america and europe, chinese language is new in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 42 china is the largest trading partner of africa. the growing presence of china in the african continent is quite visible. qi li of china daily in his article, ‘the ‘secrets’ behind the success of china-africa relations’, opines: the chinese “footprints” in the african continent are so visible and welcomed that some people find it utterly unexpected and surprising…in fact, the successful and fruitful relations between china and africa are not just of trade, but rather a combination of many important elements. in other words, chinese presence in africa is not just in trade but also in other areas like education, health, military, and so many others. according to li (2012), there are secrets behind the success of china-africa relations. he summarized the secrets into three points. the first secret is mutual respect, which is the foundation for mutual trust between china and africa. he believes that china and african countries enjoy mutual trust. the second secret is a sincere support and assistance. he says that china has long been standing by the side of the african people, beginning with their struggle for national independence. he equally accepts that china has also enjoyed strong and crucial support from african brothers including the successful restoration of its membership in the united nations. the third secret is win-win cooperation. this, he believes, makes china-africa relation sustainable and strong. li says that it is fair to say that with the joint efforts, huge success has been achieved in the economic cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, both china and african countries have benefited from it. one of the areas african countries have benefitted from china-africa relation is scholarship for african students. china provides thousands of scholarship annually to african students. majority of these scholarships is offered to african students who are learning chinese language up to doctorate degree. in nigeria, there is a growing interest to learn chinese language among the citizens. the demand to learn chinese language and culture is what led to the establishment of confucius institutes all over the world. as of now, there are two confucius institutes and other confucius classrooms in nigeria for teaching and learning chinese language and culture. florcruz (2015) says, “the study of the chinese language has become increasingly popular among young students in lagos, nigeria. as the west african nation continues to foster economic relations with china, students say learning the language makes them more competitive in the job markets…”. the popularity of chinese language in nigeria is not limited to lagos but all over the country especially the southern parts. the first confucius institute in nigeria was established in 2008 at nnamdi azikiwe university (nau). university of lagos (unilag) is the second university in nigeria to establish confucius igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 43 institute in 2009. in 2017 and 2018, unilag and nau graduated first set of degree students in chinese language respectively. in unilag, the degree in chinese studies is housed in the department linguistics, african and asian studies. there are only first year and fourth (final) year students. the second year and third year students study in china at suzhou university. this research was conducted with the first and fourth year degree students in the above mentioned department in 2017/2018 session. language attitude: definition and theoretical framework crystal (1997:215) simply defined language attitude as, “the feelings people have about their own language or the language of others”. in other words, language attitude is one of the feelings people (learners, students) have towards their language or foreign language. edwards (1994:97-98) explained that feelings people language about their language or other people’s language by saying that: the concept of attitude, a cornerstone of traditional social psychology, is not one about which there has been universal agreement. at a general level, however, attitude is a disposition to react favourably or unfavourably to a class of object. this disposition is often taken to comprise three components: feelings (affective), thoughts (cognitive element) and following upon these, predispositions to act in a certain way (behavioural element). mcgroarty (1996:5) supports edwards (1994) thus, “in this reference, attitude has cognitive, affective, and conative components (i.e., it involves beliefs, emotional reactions, and behavioral tendencies related to object of attitude) and consists, in broad terms, of an underlying psychological predisposition to act or evaluate behavior in a certain way (gardner, 1985)”. omdal (1995:85) states that the concept of attitude is widespread both in social psychology and other scientific fields and among lay people. however, there is no general agreement on the definition of attitude, not even in social psychology. within the definition of language attitudes, it is also quite common to include attitudes towards language users, and not only attitudes towards language and language use. in the study of language attitudes, two theoretical approaches: behaviourist and mentalist are distinguished. the behaviourist approach must be studied by observing the responses to certain languages, i.e. their use in actual interaction. the mentalist approach considers attitudes as an internal, mental state, which may give rise to certain forms of behaviour (appel and musysken, 1987:16). fasold (1987: 147-148) opines that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 44 the study of attitudes in general begins with a decision between two competing theories about the nature of attitudes. most languageattitude work is based on a mentalist view of attitude as a state of readiness; an intervening variable between a stimulus affecting a person and that person’s response. a person’s attitude, in this view, prepares her to react to a given stimulus in one way rather than in another. a typical mentalist definition of attitude is given by williams (1974:21), “attitude is considered as an internal state aroused by stimulation of some type and which may mediate the organism’s subsequent response”. this research adopts mentalist view or approach as a theoretical framework. attitudes towards a language may show what people feel about the speakers of that language. expressions of positive or negative feelings towards a language may reflect impressions of difficulty or simplicity, ease or difficulty of learning, degree of importance, elegance, social status, etc. attitude may have an effect on second or foreign language learning. the measurement of language attitude provides information which is useful in language teaching and language planning. since attitudes cannot be studied directly, the assessment of language attitudes requires asking such questions about other aspect of life. the responses reveal attitudes about people and their language. these language attitudes are developed in childhood. brown (2000:180) states that: attitudes, like all aspects of the development of cognition and affect in human beings, develop early in childhood and are the result of parents’ and peers’ attitudes, of contact with people who are ‘different’ in any number of ways, of interesting affective factors in the human experience. this is to say that children learn or copy attitudes from their parents or people around them. also friends and peers can affect one’s development of attitudes. gardner and lambert (1972) studied the effect of attitudes on learning. after studying the interrelationships of a number of different types of attitudes, they defined them as a construct made up of certain attitudes. the most important of these groups is the ‘attitude’ learners have towards the members of the target language culture. baker (1992) cited in luo and limpapath (2016) says that attitude is considered one of the most influential factors that affect second language learners’ acquisition and learning process – efforts, desires, and affection towards learning a target language. the attitudes towards foreign or second language learning can also affect individual learner either positively or negatively. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 45 literature review in this section, we shall review works on existing research works on the attitude of learners of chinese language. yu, (2010) carried out a research on ‘learning chinese abroad: the role of language attitudes and motivation in the adaptation of international students in china’. the objectives of the study are to investigate the interrelationships of a number of affective variables related to studying chinese as a second language (l2); to examine the relationships between affective variables in second language acquisition (sla) and the indices of adaptation; and thirdly, to assess the changes over time in the attitudes and motivation of international students and their sociocultural and academic adaptation during their nine-month chinese studies at a tertiary level. the results show that integrative motivation plays a very important positive role while language anxiety plays a very important negative role in both sociocultural adaptation and academic adaptation. luo and limpapath (2016) explored the attitudes towards chinese language learning of thai senior high school students (grade 10-12), at a private school in bangkok, and examined the effect of gender and learning programs on those attitudes. purposive and convenient sampling method were applied to a total of 493 students who were, then studying in two different learning programs, chinese language major and english and mathematics major with a minor in chinese. two hundreds and twelve subjects were obtained and questionnaires, with a reliability value of 0.83, were administered. a statistically difference found between gender and learning programs in that female students hold more positive attitudes towards chinese language learning than their male counterparts, and that the students in chinese language program hold more positive attitudes towards chinese language learning than those in english and mathematics with a minor in chinese. the study of chinese language teaching and learning in nigeria, a doctorate degree thesis (2013) by sunny ifeanyi odinye, xiamen university, china, is the first detail research that covered chinese language teaching and learning in nigeria. in 2016, the work was published by lap lambert academic publishing, germany. odinye (2013) covers the teaching and learning of chinese language at nnamdi azikiwe university, awka; federal polytechnic, oko (both in anambra state) and university of lagos, yaba; fountain height secondary school, surulere (both in lagos state). he used confucius institutes and confucius classrooms in anambra and lagos states for his research areas. by the time, it was only these four institutions that had offered igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 46 chinese language for at least three years. from his work, it is found that nigerian students have positive attitude towards chinese language and its learning. it is also found that nigerian students are extrinsically motivated in learning chinese language. his work equally evaluated the nigerian students’ proficiency by testing the students and the result was good. finally, odinye (2013) categorized major and minor problems facing teaching and learning chinese language in nigeria. some of the major problems are lack of adequate fund, teaching materials and teachers. some of the minor problems are lack of local chinese teachers, adequate scholarships for nigerian students; short duration of volunteer chinese teachers; few learning centers in nigeria. he has many recommendations for hanban, universities in nigeria, confucius institutes and classrooms in nigeria, and nigerian government. some of the recommendations are an increase in funding, training local chinese teachers, more scholarships for nigeria students and teachers, sending more qualified teacher and an increase in teachers’ duration of study, establishing more confucius institute in nigeria, and making chinese language available for primary and secondary schools in nigeria. odinye (2017) explored the attitude of nigerian learners of chinese using nnamdi azikiwe university students as a case study. the purpose of his research was to find out if the learners of chinese language particularly at nnamdi azikiwe university has positive or negative attitude towards chinese language. in 2013, the same researcher had found out from his research that nigerian learners of chinese language have positive attitudes using four schools in anambra and lagos states as case studies. odinye (2017) also found out that learners of chinese language at nnamdi azikiwe university have positive attitude towards chinese language. the research was carried out using survey method of a structured questionnaire. seventy questionnaires were distributed to the students learning chinese at the confucius institute, nnamdi azikiwe university. at the end of the exercise, sixty one copies of questionnaires were returned but only fifty two copies of the questionnaires were used for data analysis. research methodology there are many types of research. quantitative and qualitative researches are two major types. quantitative research starts with an experimental design in which a hypothesis is followed by the quantification of data and some sort of numerical analysis. qualitative research is quite opposite of quantitative research in that it cannot be set up as experiments, the data cannot be easily quantified, and the analysis is not statistical rather interpretive (mackey and gass, 2005). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 47 this study adopts survey research method. survey research is one of the most popular and important areas of measurement in applied social research. the broad area of survey research encompasses any measurement procedures that involve asking questions of respondents. a survey can be anything from a short paper-and-pencil feedback form to an intensive one-on-one in-depth interview. surveys are divided into two broad areas, questionnaire and interview (trochim, 2006). survey research is a commonly used method of collecting information about a population of interest. shaughnessy, j. et al (2011) say that survey research is often used to access thoughts, opinions, and feelings. a survey consists of a predetermined set of questions that is given to a sample. with a representative sample, one can describe the attitudes of the population from which the sample was drawn. a good sample selection is key as it allows one to generalize the findings from the sample to the population, which is the whole purpose of survey research. according to wikipedia, a survey is a list of questions aimed at extracting specific data from a particular group of people. surveys may be conducted by phoned, mail, via the internet, and sometimes face-to-face on busy street corners or in malls. data collection the choice of method of data collection is dependent on the research question and the theoretical framework within which the research is conducted (mackey and gass, 2005). data collection in second language research is multidimensional. there is no single prescribed elicitation measure, nor is there a ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ elicitation measure. questionnaire survey method is adopted for this research. the questionnaire survey method is preferred because (i) this method is suitable for empirical research; (ii) the data collected through this method is easily quantifiable; (iii) this method gives informants enough time to provide well thought out answer; (iv) this method offers greater anonymity to the informants; and (v) this method requires low cost and saves time. one of the most common methods of data collection in second and foreign language research is the use of questionnaire. brown (2001) defines questionnaire as “any written instruments that present respondents with a series of questions or statement to which they are to react either by writing out their answers or selecting them among existing answers”. questionnaires allow researchers to gather information that learners are able to report about themselves, such as their beliefs and motivations about learning or their reactions to learning and classroom instruction and activities – information that is typically not available from data alone. the popularity of questionnaires is due to the fact that they are easy to construct, extremely versatile, and uniquely capable of gathering a large amount of information quickly in a form that is readily processable (dornyei, 2003). in addition to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 48 different varieties of questionnaires, two types of questionnaire items may be identified: closed and open ended. a closed item questions is one for which the researcher determines the possible answers, whereas opened-ended question allows respondents to answer in any manner they see fit. a closedended question is used in this research. closed-ended questions are usually preferred in survey research because of the ease of counting the frequency of each response. the objective of this research is to find out the attitudes of students learning chinese language at university of lagos, whether they have positive or negative attitudes towards chinese language. the research question is thus: do students learning chinese language at university of lagos have positive or negative attitude towards chinese language? in order to answer this research question, the question was further broken into four: do you like chinese people, do you like chinese language, do you wish to speak fluent chinese, and do you think that chinese is ease to learn. in the construction of the questionnaire, two important considerations were made in order to achieve the objective of the research. the first consideration was the choice and adoption of yes-no response. according to william (1982), a yes-no question is formally known as a polar question or a general question. it is a question whose expected answer is either ‘yes’ or ‘no’. surveys often use dichotomous questions that ask for a yes/no, true/false or agree/disagree response. the use likert response scale was not adopted in this research. the second consideration was the choice of words. the research was careful to construct the items of the questionnaire so that they could be easily understandable and quickly answered by the respondents (students) in order to avoid ambiguity and confusion. the questionnaire was constructed to be responded with 10 minutes. in an effort to convey a friendly and personal stance with respondents, these research questions were turned into statements using first person singular pronoun, thus: i like chinese people, i like chinese language, i wish to speak fluent chinese, and i think chinese is easy to learn. with this method, students are required to answer ‘yes or no’. a questionnaire was administered, collected and analyzed. data presentation this research was conducted in 2018 with the first and fourth (final) year students of department of linguistics, african and asian studies (chinese unit). twenty students were selected from year one and year four students respectively, making the sample population to forty. the respondents (students) are all nigerians who come from different ethnic groups, with yoruba as a majority. the researcher is also a nigeria. he is a senior lecturer at nnamdi azikiwe university, awka and an adjunct senior lecturer at university of lagos at the time of conducting the research. the research is a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 49 pioneer in the study of chinese language in nigeria, having studied in china since 2005 and received a doctorate degree in chinese language from xiamen university, china in 2013. the researcher has been teaching chinese language in nigeria over a decade. the survey was totally anonymous and their participation was voluntary. according to lavrakas (2008), “voluntary participation refers to a human research subject’s exercise of free will in deciding whether to participate in a research activity”. american heritage dictionary defines anonymity as the quality or state of being unknown or unacknowledged. lavrakas (2008) says that the concept of anonymity in survey is complex and open to interpretation by the various organizations that conduct survey. for him, anonymity refers to data collected unknown to anyone associated with the survey. that is, only the respondent knows that he or she participated in the survey and the survey researcher cannot identify the participants. more often, anonymity refers to data collected in surveys in which the respondents are de-identified and possible identifying characteristics are separated from the publicly available data. the survey carried out within the usual class period. before the survey was carried out, the respondents (students) were instructed to read carefully the notes and instructions by hearts while the researcher read them out. the exercise took about 10 minutes. although 40 respondents (students) participated in the exercise, only 36 questionnaires were appropriately answered and subsequently used for the research. out of the 36 respondents (students), 20 are female and 16 are male. below is the result of the survey in a table and chart. table 1: attitude of unilag students towards chinese s/n survey items (statements) yes no 1 i like chinese people 28 8 2 i like chinese language 31 5 3 i wish to speak fluent chinese 35 1 4 i think chinese is easy to learn 11 25 total 105 39 chart 1: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 50 data analysis a look at the table 1 shows different columns: ‘s/n’ – serial number, ‘survey items’ – the breakdown of the research question which are turned into statements, ‘yes’ – the first option of response, and ‘no’ – the second option of response. the respondents (students) were instructed to choose between ‘yes’ and ‘no’. their responses were counted and calculated. the result was put in a chart for easy and clear understanding. now, we will analyze the result based on the four statements in the questionnaire. “i like chinese people” is the first statement on the survey questionnaire instead of “i like chinese language”. the researcher believes that the learner’s attitude towards a foreign language is highly dependent on his attitude towards the owners of the language. from the table, we can see that 28 students like chinese people while 8 students do not like chinese people. we do not really know why these students hate chinese people. this is another area of research. their hatred may be from their personal experiences or beliefs. also, we do not know why 28 students like chinese people. the scope of the research does not cover it. it may be also because of their personal experiences and beliefs. whatever is the reason for their likeness or hatred is not very important in this research. judging from their responses in the table and chart, more students learning chinese at university of lagos like chinese people. this shows that they have positive attitude towards chinese people, invariably chinese language. “i like chinese language” is the second statement on the survey questionnaire. this statement is usually the first statement on language attitude survey 28 31 35 11 8 5 1 25 i like chinese people i like chinese language i wish to speak fluent chinese i think chinese is easy to learn attitude of unilag students towards chinese yes no igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 51 questionnaire. researches carried out have shown that the student’s likeness or love for a language in general determines his performance. there is no motivation to study if a student does not like a language. this theory or belief system also applies to foreign language study. students who like a foreign language perform better than students who do not like a foreign language. this research found out the more students like chinese language. from the table and chart, 31 students like chinese language and 5 students do not like chinese language. their reason for liking or not liking is queried and is not within the scope of this research. comparing the responses with the responses of the first statement “i like chinese people”, we found out that more students like chinese language than chinese people. judging from the students’ responses in the table and chart, we can conclude that majority students learning chinese language like chinese language. in other words, they have positive attitude towards chinese language. “i wish to speak fluent chinese” is the third statement on the survey questionnaire. the first two statements are on ‘likeness’ while this one is on a ‘wish’. it is said that if wishes are horses, even beggars can ride. almost everybody wishes to succeed in any adventure. most students who embark on the journey of learning a foreign language wish to be fluent in the language. this is true with the responses we have at the table and chart. out of 36 students, 35 students wish to speak fluent chinese while only one student does not wish to speak fluent chinese. we do not know his or her reason for not wishing to speak fluent chinese. his or her reason may be because he or she believes that it is impossible to speak fluent chinese. on the other hand, the reason why 35 students wish to speak fluent chinese may be because they believe that the ability to speak fluent chinese will create many job opportunities for them. we are only guessing. we do not really know why the students wish to speak fluent chinese. whatever reason they have, it shows that they have positive attitude towards chinese language. it is said that what you wish is what you have. “i think chinese is easy to learn” is the fourth statement on the survey questionnaire. the first two statements are on ‘likeness’, the third one is on ‘wish’ and this one is on ‘thinking/thought’. it is said that what one thinks is what one believes. it is also said that we are what we think. if these saying are true, then if a student thinks (variably believes) that a foreign language is hard; it turns out to be hard. a look at the table and chart show that majority of students (25) ‘think’ that chinese is hard to learn. only 11 students ‘think’ that chinese is ease to learn. this confirms the earlier research carried out by odinye (2013). this is to say that many nigerian learners of chinese think that chinese is not ease to learn. this may be because of the differences between chinese language and nigerian languages. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 52 findings and conclusion the objective of this research is to find out the attitude of students learning chinese at university of lagos. to carry the research, a research question was raised which says: do students learning chinese language at university of lagos have positive or negative attitude towards chinese language? in order to answer this research question, the question was further broken into four: do you like chinese people, do you like chinese language, do you wish to speak fluent chinese, and do you think that chinese is ease to learn. to find the answer to these questions, a questionnaire was used for data collection. the questionnaire has four statements: i like chinese people, i like chinese language, i wish to speak fluent chinese, and i think chinese is easy to learn. the respondents (students) were instructed to either choose ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer. their responses (answers) were counted and calculated in a table and presented in a chart. the finding is that students learning chinese language at university of lagos have positive attitude towards chinese language based on their responses and this is an indication that there is a bright future for chinese language in lagos and nigeria in general. references appel, r. and muysken, p. (1987). language contact and bilingualism. london: edward arnold. baker, c. (1992). attitude and language. california: multilingual matters, language arts and disciplines. brown, h.d. (2000). principles of language learning and teaching (4th ed.). new york: longman. brown, h.d. (2001). using surveys in language programs. oxford: cambridge university press. china daily usa, ‘chinese fever’ taking hold in us. 2017/07/19. http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/epaper/2017-07/19/content_30168239.htm crystal, d. (1997). a dictionary of linguistics and phonetics, 4th edition. oxford, uk: blackwell. dornyei, z. (2001). questionaires in second language research. new jersey: lawrence erlbaum associates inc. edwards, j. (1994). multilingualism. london: penguin books. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 53 fasold, r. (1987). the sociolinguistics of society. oxford, uk: blackwell. gardner, r.g. and lambert, w.e. (1972). attitudes and motivation in a second language learning. rowlwy massachusetts: newbury house publishers. gardner, r.c. (1985). social psychology and second language learning: the role of attitudes and motivation. london: edward arnold. lavrakas, p.j. (2008). voluntary participation. in encyclopedia of survey research methods (edited). http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/978142963947.n629 li, q. (2012). “the ‘secret’ behind the success of china-africa relations”. china daily. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/201207/20/content_15603361.htm luo, h. and limpapath, p. (2016). attitudes towards chinese language learning: a case of thai senior high school students at a private school in bangkok. bu academic review, vol. 15, no. 2, julydecember 2016. mackey, a., & gass, s. (2005). second language research methodology and design. new jersey: lawrence erlbaum associates inc. mcgroarty, m.(1996). language attitudes, motivation, and standards. in s.l. mckay & n. h. hornberger (eds.), sociolinguistics and language teaching (pp. 3-46). new york: cambridge university press. michelle florcruz (2015). “chinese language in nigeria is increasingly popular as china-africa economic relations deepen”. www.ibtimes.com odinye, i.s. (2013). the study of chinese language teaching and learning in nigeria. a phd thesis submitted to the department of chinese, xiamen university, china. odinye, i.s. (2017). the attitude of nigerian learners of chinese language. interdisciplinary journal of african and asian studies, vol. 1, no. 3, 2017. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 54 olander, e. et’al (2016). “why more africans are learning mandarin”. the chinafrica project. www.chinafile.com/china-africa-project/whymore-africans-are-learning-mandarin omdal, h. (1995). attitudes toward spoken and written norwegian. international journal of the sociology of language, 115, pp. 85-106. shaughnessy, j. et al (2011). research methods in psychology (9th ed.). new york, ny: mcgraw hill. trochim, w.m.k. (2006). the research methods knowledge base. https://socialresearchmethods.net/kb/survey.php xinhuanet, ‘chinese fever’ on rise among european youth. 2017/05/12. http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-05/12/c_136277959.htm yu, b. (2010). learning chinese abroad: the role of language attitudes and motivation in the adaptation of international students in china. journal of multilingual and multicultural development, vol. 31, 2010. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 2.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 154 religion and insecurity in nigeria: a critical discourse agunwa teresina veronica chiebonam department of christian religious studies nwafor orizu college of education, nsugbe & okoye herriet nwando department of christian religious studies nwafor orizu college of education, nsugbe abstract this paper examines religion and insecurity. it however, focuses on nigeria experience. thus, the concepts of the subject matter were viewed such include: religion,, insecurity, causes of insecurity, visa-vis religion and insecurity: nigerian experience. however, nigeria as a multination’s with different ethno-religious groups had been bedeviled with insecurity in an ethnic cum religious dimensions. hence, religion is “relatively-bounded system of beliefs symbols and practice that addresses the nature of existence and in which communion with others and otherness is lived as if it both takes in and spiritually transcends socially-grounded ontology of time, space, embodiment and knowing”. insecurity on the other hand, is the state of being subject to danger of injury. the anxiety that is experienced when one feels vulnerable and insecure. it is a feeling of uncertainty, a lack of confidence or anxiety about yourself. insecurity can also describe the state of being open to danger or threat. the economy that may have you worried about job insecurity. the study noted that the causes insecurity in nigeria include; kidnapping, militancy, unemployment, fear of distrusted government, etc not withstanding some recommendations are made based on the study as a way forward. introduction in modern history, internal strife has burdened africa’s most populous nation, nigeria (abdul, 2012). after independence, nigeria experienced frequent coups and long periods of autocratic military rule from 1996 until 1999 when a democratic civilian government was established. the past fifty years, in particular, have witnessed numerous coups as well as regional, religious, ethnic and secessionist violence. another reason for insecurity is the act of piracy in the niger delta which seems to have characterized much of the current period of democracy. in the past two years, however, new forms of discord, distrust, have emerged in which religious igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 155 extremist, armed militant, and ethnic militia groups threaten to bring about greater insecurity than those that preceded them. the older forms of militia groups have metamorphous into armed groups and have intensified their activities. according to shafiu (2011), recently, there have been high incidences of insecurity that have resulted to deaths and psychological trauma for individuals and families in the country. this requires citizens to be much more security conscious considering the threat by religious extremist to bring about greater insecurity than those proceeded them. other security indices also includes the persistent tension between the north and the south of nigeria, growing unrest in the niger delta re and other parts of the country resulting in rise in violence incidents and kidnappings. ethnic tension, religious differences, unemployment and numerous social and political grievances are all fueling the unrest in nigeria and contributing to flashpoints for violence and creating insecurity in the country. the current security situation in nigeria has forced the religious and political leaders to a ‘rethinking national security’ as ibrahim bashir of the daily sun puts it. this situation demands nigeria security agency in collaboration with the religious leaders to rethink and focus our national security resources on the unique character if security threats in nigeria. (ibrahim, daily sun thursday, march 24, 2011. p.4.). nigerians are daily becoming more and more apprehensive about the security implications to the country before, during and after the elections. according to shafiu (daily sun, friday january 21, 2011 p.19), the general anxiety over the nation’s security is germane and should be a source of concern to the government”. the weakness of the nigeria’s criminal justice system has been exposed greatly. this has posed a challenge and showed in the ineffectiveness and delay in the implementation of the policy. general owoye andrew azazi has given some imperative, one of which is…the need for a more robust legislation on anti-terrorism act must provide the institutional and coordination frame work for the combating and elimination the acts of terrorism in and against the federal republic of nigeria…provide for additional judicial guidelines to the criminal justice system for the effective and speedy prosecution of terrorists and must clearly enable nso to conduct their antiterrorism measures and activities across many of our national ethnic-centric, religious, political and social biases. very important is whether the government will be willing to take the bold steps necessary to clearly articulate, communicate igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 156 and implement whatever policy that is in place. political instability sometimes results from uncontrollable state of insecurity in a nation. this seminar paper will place the current insecurity in nigeria in context by defining and viewing the causes, effects and the rise in violence indices which have characterized the nigerian society in recent times; highlight the challenges; assess its political, religious and cultural implications to the nation. let us begin with understanding the terms which are frequently referred to in this paper. definition of terms the word “religion” according to barbour, (2006), there are many definitions of religion and only few are stated here. the typical dictionary definition of religion refers to a “belief in, or the worship of, a god or gods” or the “service and worship of god or the supernatural”. however, writers and scholars have expanded upon the “belief in god” definitions as insufficient to capture the diversity of religious thought and experience. clifford (2004), define religion as “a relatively-bounded system of beliefs symbols and practices that addresses the nature of existence and in which communion with others and otherness is lived as if it both takes in and spiritually transcends socially grounded ontologies of time, space embodiment and knowing”. this definition is intended, they write, to get away from the modernist dualisms or dichotomous understandings of immanence/transcendence, spirituality/materialism, and sacredness/secularity. clifford (2004), defined religion as “the belief in spiritual beings”. he argued, back in 1871, that narrowing the definition to mean the belief in a supreme deity or judgment after death or idolatry and so on, would exclude many people’s from the category of religious, and thus “has the fault of identifying religion rather with particular developments than with the deeper motives which underlies them”. he also argued that the belief in spiritual beings exists in all known societies. insecurity insecurity is the state of being subject to danger or injury. the anxiety that is experienced when one feels vulnerable and insecure. cole and brett (2010) affirms that above definitions of insecurity as “a state of being not secure, lack of confidence; to enable us understand this term, we now turn to the meaning of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 157 word ‘insecure’ which the advance english dictionary defines as ‘not confident about yourself or your relationships with other people; not safe or protected. this definition further expounds the meaning of the term to include not just the general meaning but it touches the individual person “not being confident about one self”. insecurity is a feeling of uncertainty, a lack of confident of anxiety about yourself. it can also describe the state of being open to danger or threat. the economy may have you worried about job insecurity. or maybe it’s the insecurity of rocky relationship that keeps you up at night. causes of insecurity in nigeria according to beattie, (2004), there is a dramatic increase in violence, terrorism and the like, in nigeria today. lawless sects are raising the tempo of their campaign in various parts of the country. we hear o series of bombings, shootings and killings, kidnappings, armed robbery, arson and so on. these take place from north to south, east to west and almost on daily basis. the phenomenon “insecurity” has been extended to cover other spheres like economic, ob and political insecurity. in this paper, our concentration will treat the topic historically – as it affects the life and property of the citizenry. let us now examine the cause of this problem. 1. kidnapping: this is another visible sign of insecurity in the country. the perpetrators of this crime do not spare anyone in this new wave of crime that seems to supplanted armed robbery and other non contact crimes (mbachu, 2008). since the act began in nigeria, aged, children, male and female have been kidnapped for ransom. this has mane life unbearable to the citizens. people now live in fear of falling victims to these criminals. 2. militancy according to criminal law, militancy is violence, illegal force or the illegal use of unjustified force or the intimidating effects created by threat of this act. this word became pronounced in nigeria when the niger delta took up arms against government exploration and environmental degradation of their area due to oil exploration and exploitation. this does not only exist in the niger delta area. other parts of the country have witnessed militants who commit atrocities worse than the youth of niger delta whose area is given the “brand name” until recently the word ‘insurgence’ was alien to nigeria society. muyiwa (2001), maintains that the activities of the militant islamic sect popularly called “boko haram” have opened this chapter of militancy in nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 158 shootings, bombings, kidnappings, arson, car and suicide bombing in various parts of the country are said to be handiwork of ‘insurgence’. these activities have heightened the spade of insecurity in the nation. 3. fear of distrust on government: what the current trend of violence is imprinting on the psyche of nigerians is that the government security apparatus in incapable of guaranteeing the safety and security o its people. this has therefore; impact on the general human security of h people as the situation promotes fear, limits the people’s ability to develop economically. 4. unemployment the rise in crime wave in nigeria since the mid 1990’s was as a result of unemployment, economic decline, and social inequality, which are abetted by inefficient and corrupt police and customs forces (nwachukwu, 2000). the idle minds became devil’s workshop. these people who are mostly youths and easily recruited into militant groups and trained into rob, kill, kidnap, smuggle, highjack to mention but a few. accurate unemployment rates are difficult to obtain and generally means little in a society where many who work are marginally employed and where begging is a socially accepted occupation. this is a true assessment of the nigerian situation. 5. porous borders: in free flow f migrants from other countries to nigeria through our unguarded borders allows criminals to enter the country without check. 6. proliferation of arms and ammunitions: several arms hauls have been ceased at our air and sea ports, some in very large quantities. this is not good for the country. these arms and ammunition ends up in the hands of criminals who apply same in their nefarious activities in the country thereby making life insecure for the people of their locality (bediako, 2004). 7. illegal armed groups: illegal importation of arms and ammunitions has made possession of arms by individuals and group very easy. we can name groups like niger delta militant, oodua people’s congress, bakassi boys’ massob that possess arms and ammunitions. 8. oil bunkering: nigeria being one of the largest oil producing nations suffers from activities of illegal oil bunkering. this activity is promoted by the spate of insecurity in the country. this is back-up with the criminals who are ready to die in nigeria water ways. this therefore makes the coastal areas of our oil producing states unsafe. 9. labour activists: early in 2012 the nigerian labour congress call for a nationwide strikes as a result of increase in price f fuel by government. they accused the government of insensitivity to the suffering of the people igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 159 as well as ignoring the insecurity challenges in the country. according to fagan (2006), peaceful protests by labour and the other civil society groups have severally been high-jacked by miscreants and inflicted pains on people and made life in our cities insecure. 10. wrong political ambition: the desire for a political office not evil but to nurse negative reasons for that ambition can result to one doing anything to attain it. ben okolo writing from johannesburg, south africa observed that “the current crisis which started in bauchi and has engulfed other states in the north has elements of theocratic ambitions in it”. ogunada (2002), also was of the view that the perpetrators of the violent activities in parts of the country are operating with a hidden agenda. they have intention of enthroning their own type of government which is selfish, criminal and unpatriotic as nigerians. with such ambition they can try the country ungovernable or insecure. 11. electioneering: election period in the country seem to be the moment of serious security challenge. shafiu s. zurmi (daily sun, friday january 21, 2011 p.19) “while the major political characters intensify their efforts at winning the support of the nigerian public, ordinary nigerians are daily becoming more and more apprehensive about the security implications to the country before, during and after elections. the general anxiety over the nation’s security is germane and should be a source of concern to the government” dr. fanon once said “those who make peaceful change impossible make violent change inevitable”. 12. ethnic violence: we have heard in some area like plateau and benue states reprisal attacks by ethnic militia unleashing security in these areas. while security in some parts of the country, like the south-south, southeast and southwest has been compromised, the northern has been always shown a propensity for violent conflicts did not disappoint the security watchers. stating with usual religious/ethnic oriented conflicts to the jos ethnic/religious/political conflicts in 2008 till date, the northern states have shown that security of persons and properties is still far from being realized. 13. desire to actualize ethnic agenda: this has become a phenomenon in nigerian society today. because of certain unsatisfactory or unfavourable situation politically, economically, developmentally and so on they would want to be separated from nigeria. we hear of, movement for the emancipation of the niger delta (mend) in the south, movement for the actualization of the sovereign state of biafra (massob) in the south east, oodua people’s congress (opc) in the west, boko haram in the north, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 160 bakasi boys, fulani herdsmen, and vigilante groups all over the country. each one of these groups has reasons for their agitation (michael ezemonye. vanguard dec, 2011.p.8) religion and insecurity in nigeria following the above background, the question of what is right and wrong (ethics) lacks concrete definitions in the context of nigerians since her dominant religious groups have contrary believe about ethics. for instance, the issue of violence via killing of lives, destruction of properties was totally abhorred in the christian religious but the muslim counterpart indulge in it without feeling remorse. in other words, the christians value lives as precious while other religion consider killing of lives as holy as otherwise. however, the essence of national development as a multidimensional ideology that requires proper coordination of the entire structure. of course, religion and ethics have strong role to play in determining the status of national security of a given nation like nigeria. besides, we cannot forget in a haste to talk about religious fanaticism/extremism as a serious factor behind the cause of insecurity in nigeria today. it is a cankerworm that has eaten deep into the fabric of the nation unity, economic growth and development. religious fanaticism/extremism: religious fanaticism and extremism have been among the major cause of insecurity in nigeria. the previous and recent incidences of attack on churches and christians in northern part of the country by muslim extremist have rendered several states in the north unsafe for life and properties. the damage of these extremists have caused can been seen in the following words. religion has unleashed on mankind…it has left in its wake, a heavy toll of destroyed lives and wanton destruction of property. it has delayed workable political agreements and brutalized societies. religious violence has been responsible for the collapse of one political order or the other throughout history. it has given rise to assassination of various heads of states or government in recent times…leads to irretrievable break up of internal harmony, and leads o foreign intervention. (ogunade, 2002) conclusion the danger of insecurity cannot be over emphasized. when a nation is saddled with the problem of insecurity every other plan are stalled. nigeria a country with a population of over one and fifty million people cannot allow insecurity to derail her political and economic development plans. the country’s young igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 161 democracy is being threatened. recently, we have experienced increased in violence activities in nigeria which has claimed several lives and properties. there is therefore urgent need to tackle it before it makes the country ungovernable. recommendations 1. job creation: as unemployment rises so also is the increase in violence and crime making the country insecure. this has been identified by scholars and leaders alike. also an insecure environment will definitely result in job lose. government should therefore tackle and arrest youth restiveness by investing on job creation. 2. provision of proper legal framework: the editorial in the punch newspaper of wednesday 13th of july 2011 gave the following summary that addresses this fact and stands as a suitable recommendation: security chiefs who met with senators at a closed session on 5th july 2011 claimed that efforts to rein in the sect had often been thwarted by the judiciary through generous granting of bails….(they) were unanimous on the need to have a judiciary integrated into action plans instituted by the security agencies. this will encourage the security operatives in their work and hasten the process of bring to justice the perpetrators of criminal activities in the country. 3. justice dispensation: the punch editorial of july 13th 2011 made a very frantic opinion on the idea of fighting insecurity in nigeria. in the fight against corruption in the public service and against cultism in the tertiary institutions, the anti-craft agencies and university authorities have often been up against a brick wall in the courts. the courts have been repeatedly blamed for frustrating justice delivery through all manners of injunctions, expert orders, and in some cases, outright acquittals. on this problem, i strongly recommend that the government should through the justice ministry check these excesses and discipline any judge found to collaborate with criminals to stall justice dispensation. 4. provision of basic needs of the citizens: the basic goals of any civilized society are the survival of security of life and property. these basic goals are not negotiable, no matter who wins or loss in election. therefore, the ordinary nigerians must be given protection at all cost through appropriate information, education, mobilization, job opportunity, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 162 pressure group formation and legal requirements in our democratic politics. 5. lack of or non-use of intelligence network: the failure of the security cluster in nigeria to make use of its intelligence network to decode the security challenge the militant groups and all such sects poses to the peace and security of the nation leave much to be desired. the country’s early warning system mechanism to preventing such deadly conflicts from erupting should be developed. the intelligence sector and the conflict prevention mechanism of the country failed in many instances to pick up the tell tale signs and this is indicative of failure of the state structure. what the government should do is to develop the conflict prevention mechanism in the county, including the establishment of n early warning system at all levels of government. through the early detection of impending conflicts and its prevention, the government will be providing a safe and enabling environment for the civilian population, and for political and economic development to thrive. 6. need to strengthen the nations’ economic base: a weaken economy increased the publics’ sense of insecurity. it is reported in collier year book 1997 about people’s republic of congo that “visitors reported an in surge of activities of quasi official militia that circulated in the street of the capital city of brazzaville extorting money. to avoid similar situation in nigeria the government must initiate project/programmes that will strengthen the economic bases of the country. 7. precaution in the use of force: the nigerian government has to take precaution in the use of force to tackle the root cause of insecurity because government force seems to galvanize greater retaliation by the ‘criminals’ and the masses end up bearing the brunt – with more violence, deaths and destruction of innocent people, the poor and the rich. 8. provide good governance: according to abdu, the chief imam of the university o abuja, ‘good governance is a panacea for insecurity in nigeria’ (daily sun newspaper of 01/01/2012). if the government will focus on the welfare of the people by providing jobs for our teaming youth, infrastructure like good roads, water, electricity and housing and tackle the problem of falling standard of education and medical care, then insecurity would have been reduced to minimum if not eradicated. 9. need for collaboration: there is the need for collaborative effort in solving the insecurity problem in nigeria. the government definitely cannot tackle the problem alone. the religious leaders and traditional rulers, civil society groups, labour union must team up with government to find igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 163 solution to this monster that is threatening the fabric of the nations’ peaceful co-existence. references abdul, a. (2012). good governance is a panacea for insecurity in nigeria. daily sun newspaper of 1st january, 2012.p12 adcock c.s. (2013). the limit o tolerance: indian secularism and the politics of religious freedom. oxford: oxford university press. adewele rotimi (2005). violence in citadel: the menace of secret cults in nigerian universities. nordic journal of africa studies. 2(3), p.255-30. afrique, e. (2012). nigeria – insecurity: drums of civil strife beat louder in nigeria’. holy violence, editions markurdi: agi-ehi publishers. ajo, d. (2002). nigeria cultism on campus and judiciary due process. daily sun. tuesday june 7, 2002. p.6-7. atayi, (2002). violence and culture in nigeria institution. onitsha: west and solomon. azeez, (2011). proper legal framework as an instrument against insecurity in nigeria. the punch newspaper of wednesday 13th of july 2011. p.5-6. barbour, i. (2006). religion and science: historical and contemporary issues. sanfrancisco; harper. beattie, j. (2004). other cultures: aims, methods and achievements in social anthropology: london: routledge and kegan. bediako, k. (2004). culture’ in new dictionary of theology: sinclair b. ferguson ed. new york: vasity press. belgrade williams, paul; tribe, a. (2000). buddhist thought: a complete introduction to the indian tradition, routledge. u.k: oxford university press clifford g. (2004). what is african traditional religion? studies in comparative religion vol. 10, no. 2. u.k: oxford university press cole d., & brett. g. (2010). law and religion: national, international, and comparative perspectives. princeton: aspen publications. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 164 daniel d. (2007). “exporting the local perspectives on ‘religion’ as a culture categry. america: penguin press. denga, d. (2006). an introduction to foundation of educatin. calabar: advance publishers and printers. ekwe, t.o. (2009). the family and character formation of nigerian youths. the role of counselor, counseling spectrum, imo state: casson printing. elizabeth, m. (2007). “law and religion in the muslim middle east,” american journal of comparative law 3(1), pp. 127-184. ezemonye. m. (2011). fulani herdsmen, and vigilante groups all over the county. vanguard, friday, may 12, 2016. p.8. fagan, p.f. (2006) why religion matters: the impact of religious practice on social stability, heritage foundation backgrounder vol. 2,(10), p.33-35. mbachu, d. (2008). conversation with wole soyinka, the new gong. the punch newspaper of wednesday 13th of july 2011. p.5-6. muyiwa, a. (2001). paths to peace stability and sustained development in nigeria university. the nigeria social scientist 4 (1) 7-12 nwachukwu v.c. (2000) principles and techniques of behavior medication. owerri: international press. ogunade (2002). cultism in nigeria higher institutions. tribune 21st october. p.13-14. shafiu s.z. (2011). the general anxiety over the nation’s security. daily sun, friday january 21, 2011, p.19. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no.4.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 81 ‘have thou nothing to do with that just man’: a philosophic-theological reflection on matthew 27:19 “the role of women in good governance” adidi, dokpesi timothy department of general studies (gst) greenfield university, kaduna state email: timshow03@gmail.com & tella, bako danjuma james (rev. fr.) faculty of arts department of christian religious studies kaduna state university, kaduna email: tellabdjames@gmail.com abstract to undermine the role of women in good governance is to take for granted the fact that women from time immemorial have contributed in so much measure and have participated in politics and good governance not necessarily that they become actively represented in the political terrain as equal to the male folk. in fact, the whole idea of feminist argument most times is a critique of biblical stories that are depicted from a male dominated society and this has made it possible for feminist to react by questioning the status quo from a philosophical approach. unfortunately, this is not the case because in biblical times women have used so much of what they have either positive or negative to influence decisions of great leaders in biblical times and such decisions remain sacrosanct and have salvaged so many decisions that contributed to the governing of the society especially when life is at stake. this paper in a qualitative research philosophically import a theological reflection on matthew 27:19 and argues that women irrespective of their status in the society not necessarily as leaders can influence decisions that can help build society so that feminist thought does not see power and authority only via political elections but also can make significant impact through the influence they have on the male folk to change situations for the purpose of good governance. introduction the tensions, problems and issues that come with enlightenment make society more interesting. there will be no need for continuous education if there are no tensions, problems and issues in the society; and in so doing the art and humanities will have nothing much to offer society. it is as a result of these igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 82 tensions, problems and issues that the art and humanities will continuously put on its thinking cap so as to bring a balance where there are tensions; solutions where there are problems; and clarification where there are issues. feminism is one of those issues that have caused problems and tensions in the family and society and these have come into the political arena where women have decided to seek equal status with men in political participation. feminism has raised lots of issues but this paper will restrict feminist agenda to political participation for now because there is now a popular belief that the current failure in leadership especially in africa is as a result of male dominance in the political scene. hence, the female folk are contentiously demanding equal status of representation with the male folk. this has become very pertinent that even in our local communities, tribal meetings and association, in the church and most likely in the mosque it is very common to hear that stakeholders should be “gender sensitive” in distributing leadership position. this is because women in the past and even in the present have constantly demanded for position that befits their status as human beings so that they too become decision makers in any given opportunity. according to ogabo godwin adinya, the bible and christianity historically have been interpreted as prescribing distinct gender roles, with women often being excluded from church leadership. until the second half of the 20th century, institutionalized christianity was unfavorable to women in pastoral and ecclesiastical offices (2018:75). this has led to the development of a feminist theology found in several religions, including buddhism, christianity, judaism, to reconsider the traditions, practices, scriptures and theologies of those religion from a feminist perspective. according to grenz and olson, feminist theology was developed in three distinct steps. they begin with a critique of the past such that they review the ways women have been oppressed; they seek alternative biblical and extra-biblical traditions that support the ideals feminist are trying to advance, and finally feminists set forth their own unique method of theology, which includes the revisioning of christian categories (1993:227). feminist theologians did not leave out feminist philosophers in this scholarship battle attention to women; as such plato did not deny women leadership role and given his view that some women should be trained to rule (republic, book v). if plato would consider women for leadership then the question is, who denied igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 83 women their roles in decision making? who should restore their roles back to them to make decisions? does the participation of women in political leadership automatically translate into good governance? do women have an antidote to corruption since every human being has tendency to be corrupt? this paper in attempting to philosophically assert the fact that it is an ontological reality that women have always been given the opportunity in making decisions considering the normative sense that men and women are entitled to equal rights and respects; the paper also theologically extrapolates matthew 27:19 as the basis in which scriptures acknowledges the significant roles women have played in the galvanization of good governance not necessarily through political leadership but through consultation, advice, counsel, dialogue etc. and such were put into significant consideration and even became more effective. feminism: not a struggle for power the development of feminism has led to attention being focused on the subordinate position of women in our contemporary societies. yet, there is little agreement about the causes of this inequality or about what actions should be taken to reduce or end it (haralambos, holborn, chapman & moore 2013: 104). this has led to different schools of thought leading to multiplicity of theories been developed every day by feminist irrespective of their field of study. hence, it is really becoming very difficult to define the concept “feminism”. this is largely because feminist have not been able to distinguish what is normative from what is descriptive. feminism describes the position of women without providing any explanation for it but always making reference to history how men have either been bad to women or how men have denied women leadership positions. this makes the definition of feminism very ambiguous because it is largely based on sentiments of the past devoid of rational grounds due to the fallacy of argumentum ad hominem. this kind of argument occurs when it is used to counter another argument; however, it’s based on feelings of prejudice (often irrelevant to the argument) rather than facts, reason and logic. an ad hominem argument is often personal attack on someone’s character or motive, rather than an attempt to address the actual issue at hand. it is in most cases an appeal to emotion in the courtroom and politics. often, the attack is based on a person’s social, political, or religious views. on this account, that women and men ought to have equal rights and respect is the normative claim; and that women are denied equal rights and respect functions here as the descriptive claim. what is the cause of women beng marginalized? should a particular claim be universalized as a justification for the cause of the marginalization of women igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 84 in the development of feminist ideology? what becomes a normative foundation for feminism that will embrace a universal rational ground for the cause of women being marginalized? what about circumstances where women are not marginalized but are made of valuable assets to society? should the marginalization of women be considered based on number or value? given the normative grounds for the equality that exists among men and women already gives a rational ground that the descriptive situation does not explain the cause of the feminist agenda but more or less a reaction to the status quo due to aberrations that can also be faced by both genders. this means that it is morally wrong for a woman or a man to be marginalized since they normatively share the same equal status as human beings. as such, in responding to marie pauline eboh’s opinion that the narratives of gender inequality and some of the sociocultural values and norms disempowered women (2015:1) might not necessarily be true because every human culture promotes the fundamental dignity of the human person. this fundamental dignity is a value and a norm; but where there are discrepancies it becomes an aberration due to selfish interest of human nature. therefore, laws might be made to disempower women but this is not the case of norms and values. values are associated with ethics and norms and they are not based on individual consent, anti-universalizing, naturalistic and humanist tendencies (2015:219); rather values and norms will question the disempowerment of women and cannot be against itself. the disempowerment of women has no basis on values and norms and ethics but rather the disempowerment of women is the aberrations of societal doings and imperfection. it is this basic foundation of norms and value that characterizes the fundamental argument for the equality of male and female. to situate feminism to leadership qualities according to harriet bradley is not a criterion for performance or the ability to make decisions or hold positions of authority, so largely monopolized by men, is not inscribed on male and female bodies (1997:76). therefore, to limit feminism to struggle for political participation does not justify performance but rather performance justifies the feminist agenda in terms of political participation. political participation through leadership comes with competence and merit and not by mere seeking political office. feminism does not struggle for power for its own sake but rather it creates an awareness and disposition on the appropriate use of power for the good of society. in most civilized societies no one has ever denied women the right to political participation or political leadership but considering the descriptive nature of society there is always a place to have or create differences as the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 85 society is not a perfect society. despite the normative dimension to the equal status of man and woman it will not be out of place to also factor the fact that the society was once a victim of slavery as descriptive dimension to what the society projects. our society is naturally a place of imperfections and in constant need of corrections and restructuring and as such slavery in the past was also a projection of the imperfection of society in which both males and females were victims of the descriptive nature of society. hence, gender inequalities are based in gender relations, in the complex webs of relationship that exist at every level of human experience (odey, 2018:237). most feminists according to bisong argue that what they crave for is not equality, but equal opportunities. equal opportunities cannot be given to unequal people (2015:63). this makes feminism to be more or less a reaction than a rational inquiry into the past and present and in so doing maintaining the normative sense of its principle rather than a struggle for political leadership or participation. according to bisong peter, if equality is a fundamental property of every human, then the women would not need to struggle for equality, for they would necessarily be equal by birth (2015:61). to participate in the political affairs does not necessary rest on securing a leadership position but the ability to influence decision making directly or indirectly. there is no doubt women have been intentionally denied participation in the management and affairs of public life but in most cases these denial are not intentional but aim at protecting the woman’s dignity. in most african cultures the dignity of a woman is in her silence not because she does not have the political will but her silence dignifies her. furthermore, odey samuel odey also agrees that this inability for women to participate in politics also constitute the fact that women have in the past lacked the financial strength to participate in the political life as compared to the financial strength of men (2018:243) as this could be another reason why her level of participation was not intentionally denied. the question one may ask is, does the denial against women in political participation be it intentional or unintentional negates the ontological or normative argument that they are of equal status with men? it therefore means that nobody has denied women the right to leadership but the domination of men in the past and present were based on circumstances and opportunities at the disposal of men of which women who possess such opportunities and privileges used same for exceling in leadership position. it therefore would mean that women themselves will be responsible for their emancipation. according to bisong, equality does not lie in existence but in essence and everybody needs to lie on its own essence if he/she wants to be equal with the person he/she igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 86 perceives to be superior to (2015:61); but this can only be done systematically and strategically. it is this strategic and systematic implementation of feminist agenda that will reduce tensions and problems in its realization of the feminist dream. hilary clinton is quoted to have once said in a tweeter handle of the united states embassy, harare that “there cannot be a true democracy unless the voices of women are heard. there cannot be a true democracy unless women are given the opportunity to take responsibility for their own lives” (2019). in as much this is true; what hilary clinton did not explicitly express is how these voices of women should/can be heard. this is why it is imperative to use the biblical model of pilate’s wife as a strategic and systematic influence to save her husband from guilt as he washes his hands off the death of jesus christ. a new approach to leadership: what leadership is not leadership has been given so much attention in a formal academic discourse to the extent now it has an informal discourse in fields of church leadership or pastoral implementation and areas related to principles of management. one common denomination of leadership is service; there will be no better way to understand leadership as service reflected in luke 22:25-26 thus: jesus declared, “the kings of the gentiles lord it over them, and those in authority over them call themselves benefactors. but, you shall not be like them. instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest and the one who leads like the one serve”. this is usually called the servant-leadership style and a model recommended in any genuine democracy. this servant-leadership style operates not just on the level of literally climbing the ladder of leadership position. it also involves leading through proxy or what could be described as “leadership by proxy”. this means one must not necessary serve through the vehicle of leadership position but very possible to influence decisions through established relationships. leadership by proxy engages the powerful influence of women to constantly engage their husbands positively in the affairs of public or political life. women can serve the people and their voices can be heard in a silent manner and become more effective than when leadership position is granted to them. this will help reduce the tension that arises in the struggle for political power or leadership. leadership is not necessarily the struggle for power but when feminists are looking for leadership position, most times it does not necessary translate into effective positive change. feminist should constantly avoid the political battle ground despite their unique sense of resilience and compassionate characteristics. this is because according to odey samuel odey: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 87 excluding men from work on gender relations can provoke male hostility and retaliation. it can intensify gender inequalities and thus leave women with yet more work to do among unsympathetic men and patriarchal power relations. given that women already interact with men on a daily basis in their households and public lives, involving men in the renegotiation of gender relations can make interventions more relevant and workable and make lasting change (2018:245). therefore, women should not necessary focus on political power as if feminism begins and end with political power or dominating the family but their ability to renegotiate through positive influences as an alternative methodology in leadership through proxy. so far, there has been a deplorable effect of feminism on the base of society because its descriptive sense of the situation is shaking the foundations of the normative discourse. extreme of hard feminism can destroy rather than build; but a balance sense of feminization instills sanity for the progress of society. feminism has destroyed marriages and has destroyed the moral foundations of so many societies due to radicalism in approach without the moral foundations that characterizes society. the difficulty lays in the frustration of some women who lack the disposition of psychological maturity and when the discourse of feminism suffices and emotions set in, devoid of rational inquiry. radical feminism have condemned men in leadership position and see men as literally bad and women as the perfect model of leadership. this has led to an inaccurate and unworkable view of men as “the enemy”, which suggests that they cannot be trusted as fathers, leaders, friends, sexual partners and political allies. leadership is not just about taking over positions but to bring about positive change; every human being has the capability and potential to bring about change and not an exclusive right of women or men but the inclusiveness right of everyone irrespective of gender with the gene of growth and sustainable development. feminism and leadership does not necessarily translate into positive influences but the feminization of the process of involving women to use their natural position as women to emotionally persuade the male folks to act rightly and justly. this does not in any way negate or challenge women from taking leadership position; but when given the opportunity and privilege to transform igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 88 society, they ought to challenge the status quo not merely by sitting on the position of leadership but by acting accordingly to transform society for positive change and sustainable development. a contextual analysis and theological reflection on matthew 27:19 it is very important this paper limits itself to the situation that took place in matthew 27:19 so that we don’t begin to dig too far on the nature of biblical language used. at the same time, to the best of what this paper intend, it shall justify its purpose. it is difficult to know the name of pilate’s wife as it is not recorded in scripture but according to john hills exposition of the bible, her name was abrokla who might be a jewess, as the wife of felix was (acts 24:24), and a favorer of jesus, or at least, a religious person, and if only a mere heathen, yet had some notion of justice to be done; and however, pressed by her dream, sent a messenger to her husband, as he was trying this cause: saying “have thou nothing to do with that just man”; meaning jesus whom she either knew to be so, or concluded from her dream that he was one: and her sense is, that her husband would have no hand in his condemnation and death, but rather do all he could to release and save him. there are a lot of twists to this text as narrated by matthew considering the nature and purpose of the death of jesus christ. the question thus follows naturally: was the woman not a stumbling block to the mission of jesus christ? it depends on the point of the argument but our concern here is the influence she had by communicating with him in relation to the subject matter. despite the dream, matthew does not indicate the content of that dream. lanyer (2012) in women’s bible commentary: twentieth anniversary edition envisions the dream as one in which pilate’s wife comes to understand the true nature of events in the garden of eden and the relative culpability of eve and adam. while there is so much interpretation of these texts, for this paper we shall take a simplistic approach as regards the role women play in the new testament. in the old testament and in a similar role with the execution attempt of mordecai who was saved by a jewess known as esther who pleaded with the king xerxes not to kill mordecai and her influence which was strategic and systematic. these were the words from mordecai to esther: “for if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. and who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this” (esther 4:14). women should continuously break the silence despite cultural barriers not necessary when they igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 89 are in leadership position. esther and the wife of pilate broke the cultural barriers in the jewish cultural setting where women were not supposed to come into the courts where the king resides. in the case of pilate’s wife she sent a message and it is more of a strategic and systematic acknowledgement of the role women can play in good governance to save lives or to enhance lives. according to tracey rich (2011) in the role of women, she opined that traditional judaism has been grossly misrepresented and misunderstood. the position of women is not nearly as lowly as many modern people think; in fact, the position of women in halakhah (jewish law) that dates back to the biblical period is in many ways better than the position of women under american civil law as recently as a century ago. many of the important feminist leaders in the 20th century (gloria steinem and betty friedman) are jewish women, and some commentators have suggested that this is no coincidence: the respect accorded to women in jewish tradition was a part of their ethnic culture. according to traditional judaism, women are endowed with a great degree of “binah” (intuition, understanding, intelligence) than men. the rabbis inferred this from the fact that woman was “built” (gen. 2:22) rather than “formed” (gen. 2:7), and the hebrew root of “build” has the same consonants as the word “binah”. it has been said that the matriarchs (sarah, rebecca, rachel and leah) were superior to the patriarchs (abraham, isaac and jacob) in prophecy. there are many learned women of note. the talmud and later rabbinical writings speak of the wisdom of berurya, the wife rabbi meir. in several instances, her opinions on halakhah (jewish law) were accepted over those of her male contemporaries. in the ketubah (marriage contract) of rabbi akiba’s son, the wife is obligated to teach the husband torah. many rabbis over the centuries have been known to consult their wives on matters of jewish laws relating to the woman’s role, such as laws of kashrut and women’s cycles. the wife of a rabbi is referred to as a rebbetzin, practically a title of her own, which should give some idea of her significance in jewish life (tracy, 2011). the positive influence of women in the family women have a very significant role they play in the family and this cannot be underestimated. they have a very powerful influence on their husbands and even on their children; and this powerful influence can be positive and as well be negative. peter bisong bisong in the earth, my mother: lessons from feminism made a very significant attempt to highlight the role of women in the family which invariably translates into impactful values than can be beneficial to the transformation of society. as such, he admonishes to settle the crisis in feminism igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 90 so as arrive at the ideal definition of motherhood so we don’t misplace our personal sentiments to a struggle that would destroy rather than build (2015: 151). this is exactly why feminism has destroyed so many homes and families which is the bedrock of the society which feminist scholars intend to build. marriage is therefore, a great inhibitor of the dreams of equality for feminists (bisong, 2015:59). it will become more appropriate to understand that marriage is a vocation that comes with its own spirituality and not just an ideological framework but also an institution which is natural and divine meant to be a vehicle for the stabilization and growth of society. it is much easier for women to destroy the home in the biblical context thus: “a wise woman builds her home, but a foolish one tears it down with her own hands” (proverbs 14:1). the book of proverbs grounds this passage in view of the fact that women have a strong role to play in reconstructing the society through the family. the absence of women to give good counsels in the family most especially to their husbands has dangerously affected the input men put into political power. in a novel titled macbeth written by william shakespeare it is very much obvious how lady macbeth possesses the power to influence her husband’s decision in a negative manner. she is stronger, more ruthless and more ambitious than macbeth. throughout shakespeare’s tragic play, the theme of ambition is raised constantly, and the character who shows more ambition than any other at the beginning is lady macbeth. macbeth proves to be a man who is greatly influenced by his wife’s ideas and ambition at the start of the play. furthermore, macbeth wants to enjoy what he has earned from his services. he has earned the title of thane of cawdor. he knows that if he proceeds with the murder of duncan could lose men’s good opinions of him. however, when lady macbeth hears this she attacks her husband’s weakest spot; his courage. she tells him he will only be a man if he commits the murder. she states that she herself would kill her own baby in order to attain her goals. she manipulates macbeth overrides all of his objections and repeatedly questions his manhood. macbeth is driven to a point where he feels he has to prove himself, “i am settled and bendup”. when this happens, lady macbeth proves to be an immense source of inspiration on macbeth; she has managed to completely change his mind. it must be remembered he does have freewill. after the “deed” is carried out macbeth is full of remorse. no doubt, if lady macbeth had translated and negative influence to a more positive outlook it would have been more beneficial to her family; but on the contrary she became an unmitigated disaster. she did not act like the wife of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 91 pilate and this is the very situation so many families find themselves; women who are supposed to be instrumental to family values when the men seem not to be thinking straight so as to build their homes as wise women betray that confidence to material acquisition. pilate’s wife boosts her confidence and reinstated her dignity as a woman by playing her role in the family. so many women are suffering today due to the inability to become wise counsels to their husbands and when the chips are down, they end up visiting their husbands in prison and taking food to them. in similar vein, the former president mugabe of zimbabwe had a very bad counsel from the wife grace mugabe who did not do the needful as a result of her own selfish interest and the end became a disgraceful outcome and president mugabe was forced to come down from his seat of power through a coup. nevertheless, like pilate’s wife there are women who have used their position as wives to influence positive decision but these women might not be readily evidential but we have more fallen political leaders who women have useless in the seat of power than for political leaders who have been successful, it is very much obvious that behind every successful man there is indeed a woman. piecemeal social engineers: the basis for the galvanization of society irrespective of the sex and gender, the basic ingredient for the galvanization of society is social engineering. competence, merit and capacity for positive change to bring about sustainable development are the bedrock for growth and change. this comes with ethical values and normative standards and this makes it difficult to separate politics from morality. despite democracy as the standard of governance and the involvement of women as an imperative consideration can amount to unhealthy competition and this is why feminism instead of advocating for social engineering to galvanize society, they focus more on competing with men for political leadership. political leadership is not an automatic ticket for men as well but for men who possess the needed quality and competence for leadership and political power. in the poverty of historicism, and again in the open society and its enemies, karl popper used the phrases “social engineering” and “social technology” when writing about social and political reform. in the former book (the poverty of historicism) he coined the terms “piecemeal social engineering” and “utopian social engineering” to denote two different approaches to reform. in the latter book (the open society and its enemies), popper shortened these terms to “piecemeal engineering” and “utopian engineering”. although, popper did not igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 92 coin the term “social engineering” the terms “piecemeal social engineering” and “utopian social engineering” and the distinction between the two are his. popper argued passionately for the former (piecemeal social engineering) and against the latter (utopian social engineering). in the piecemeal social engineering according to karl popper, flows from the insistence on attempting to locate and eradicate the greatest and most urgent social evils (1961:158). in adopting the “piecemeal social engineering approach” it helps to put in perspective the duty of every nigerian to help salvage the nigerian economy and not the struggle for female participation. every human being irrespective of our gender and role can reduce the social evil by doing even little things. the late professor thomas d. mason will always say in his lectures that “little things are little things but faithfulness to little things makes little things great”. if every woman will be faithful to her roles in the family she can transform the society more effectively than necessarily taking to leadership position. according to columba mgbokwere in karl popper’s piecemeal social engineering or technology: the truth, the fiction, he argues: popper’s piecemeal social engineering promotes peaceful reform and social stability as it rejects holistic social change. it is true that a violent public approach to socio-political issues often leads to unbargained-for mistakes, as was the case with the first nigeria military coup of 15th january, 1966. the french revolution of 1789, however, has shown that violent holistic change is sometimes inevitable in a deviant government. therefore, the truth of the matter is that piecemeal social engineering is more relevant and practical in the contemporary period than the holistic redesign of society with its attendant problems (2017:1) in the above comment of columba mgbokwere the feminist agenda should not be a violent fight or protest and should be devoid of game blame or reacting to the status quo but it is a process of growth and development for galvanizing the society and reducing social problems. it is a reasonable method of improving the lot of man and woman for a better society. conclusion women have so much to play in the social and political life despite the grievances of most feminist ideology. they cannot be neglected as the moral voice of the society in the realization of good governance as achieved by the wife of pilate in matthew 27:19. it is an ontological fact that men and women are of equal dignity but the imperfection of society with its discriminatory tendencies igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 93 cannot be taken unserious because humanity in totality have suffered various discrimination but things have not gone worst since there is still hope for women to use their roles as women to make influence through family life and other strategic positioning they find themselves so as to achieve a more humane society. feminism can only be positive when it is used as a tool to add value to society rather than destroy what society has made for its own good and purpose. work cited 1. bisong b.p (2015) feminists’ quest for women liberation: successes, challenges and the way forward. (eds) peter bisong bisong & oko jerome alexander. calabar: e20media publishers. 2. bisong b.p (2015) the earth, my mother: lessons from feminism. (eds) peter bisong bisong & oko jerome alexander. calabar: e20media publishers. 3. bradley h (1997) fractured identities: changing patterns of inequality. cambridge: polity press. 4. eboh p.m. (2015) from fowl to feminism: snippets of gynist issues in nongendered narrative. (eds) odumegwu i, asiegbu f.m, & izunwa o.m, in discourses in african philosophy. awka: fab anieh publication. 5. essays on the importance of lady macbeths influence on her husband. https://www.bartleby.com/essay/the-importance-of-lady-macbethsinfluence-on-f3c9x4zztl retrieved online 1st june, 2019 6. grenz j.s & olson e.r (1993) 20th century theology: god and the world in a transitional age. illinois, usa: ivp academic publisher. 7. haralambos m. holborn m. chapman s. & moore s. (2013) sociology: themes and perspective. london: harper collins publishers. 8. hills j. https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-expositionof-the-bible/matthew-27-19.html retrieved online 27th april, 2019. 9. kanu, i. a. (2011). “women experience of violence and the resurrection faith”. published in african journal of contextual theology. vol. 3. june. pp.125-138. 10. kanu, i. a. (2012). “the equality of sexes in j. s. mill vis-a-vis the participation of women in the nigerian labour and economy”. international journal of language, literature and gender studies (afrrev laligens). vol. 1. no.1. march 2012. pp. 18-29. 11. kanu, i. a. (2012). “gender and good governance in john locke”. american journal of social issues and humanities. july. vol. 2. no. 4, pp. 252257. 12. kanu, i. a. (2012). “an enquiry concerning the religio-cultural experience of women in nigeria: towards a philosophy of reciprocity”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 94 international journal of language, literature and gender studies (afrrev laligens). vol. 1. no.2. june 2012. pp. 50-60. 13. kanu, i. a. (2012). “the genders in christian anthropology vis-a-vis the experience of violence by women in nigeria”. international journal of language, literature and gender studies (afrrev laligens). vol. 1. no.2. june 2012. pp. 1-14. 14. lanyer a (2012) women’s bible commentary: twentieth anniversary. carol a. newson, sharon h. ringe & jacqueline e. lapsley (eds). westminister: john knox press. 15. obiwulu a. (2015) african philosophy and ethical values. (eds) odumegwu i, asiegbu f.m, & izunwa o.m, in discourses in african philosophy. awka: fab anieh publication. 16. odey s.o. (2018) critical reflections on the plight of womanhood in the 21st century. in essays on feminism in honour of prince nico mbarga (eds) peter bisong bisong & oko jerome alexander. calabar: e20media publishers. 17. ogabo g.a (2018) the christian church and the challenge of feminism in the 21st century. in essays on feminism in honour of prince nico mbarga (eds) peter bisong bisong & oko jerome alexander. calabar: e20media publishers. 18. plato. the republic. trans. desmond lee, harmondsworth, uk: penguin books, 1974. 19. popper k. (1961) the open society and its enemies. vol. 1, princeton, new jersey: princeton university press. 20. the role of women in judaism www.jewfaq.org retrieved online 28th april, 2019. 21. tracey r. (2011) the role of women. http://www.jewfaq.org/m/women.htm retrieved online 1st june, 2019. 22. mgbokwere c (2017) karl popper’s piecemeal social engineering or technology: the truth, the fiction. department of philosophy, university of kent belgium https://warwick.acuk>phpar>contributed retrieved online 1st june, 2019. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 56 sacred objects and ecospirituality in igboland nwanchor otubo edwin, phd nnamdi azikiwe university, awka department of religion and human relations oe.nwanchor@unizik.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29105.45929 abstract the igbo deities are not only associated with nature and natural objects but are also depicted with material objects from nature. the need to depict the gods in material object symbols-sculpted or naturalmay be connected with the sophistication of igbo phenomenological mind (achebe, 2012). achebe argues that the igbo have a natural proclivity to transcribe abstract or spiritual concepts in tangible, visual forms. phenomenology relates basically to the human mental capacity to make visible what is “hidden” in the spirit world; and to “see” or discover the hidden dimension of physical things. the igbo believe that the spiritual world can assume physically just as the physical can shed its materiality. this perhaps is the philosophical basis for symbolizing the gods with material objects. therefore, igbo phenomenological thought pertains to the people’s tendency to make the invisible visible and the historic historical through art and a variety of other symbolic forms. the intangible elements of the igbo world view are perceived through the optics of tangible things, hence the ecospirituality of the igbo belief system. keywords: igbo, sacred objects, ecospirituality, nature, symbols introduction making religious images appears to be a general norm for effective communication with the spirit-world which, in africa, is the main object of religious worship. man lives in a religious universe, so that natural phenomena and objects are intimately associated with god. mans understanding of god is strongly coloured by the universe of which man himself is part. the invisible world is symbolized or manifested by the visible and concrete phenomena and objects of nature. the invisible world presses hard upon the visible one. as the igbo extend their conceptualization beyond persons to the environment the continued application of the principle of duality provides a recognition that they igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 57 are also deities which are the complementary or twin elements of the ontological phenomena of thought, action and nature. the igbo gods or deities are spirit beings, they are conceived of and worshipped in physical ways. man as a physical creature, encounters the gods through the medium of nature and the material objects of nature. the probable, idea that comes to mind regarding the material aspect of igbo religion is that it is the product of the ecosystem, or rather a product of the environment. the ecology of igbo land has left its imprint on the people’s religion. the igbo religion basically revolves around natural elements from the igbo ecosystemsky, sun, thunder, water bodies, land, hill, trees and animals. again, while the gods bear names that are akin to natural elements, the rituals celebrate the seasons and other rhythms of natural life. the impact of ecology on igbo traditional religion the impact of ecology can be seen and felt through the ecological necessity in the vast materiality of religion in igboland. parrinder (1974) observed that in west africa, religion appears material at first sight. belief in many gods and their identification with material objects or elements of nature seems consequent upon the vitality of nature in this rain-forest zone. men fear the forces of nature and try to propitiate them. this is in contrast to the central and southern africa whose peoples, parrinder says, “have not developed belief in nature gods” (p. 43). most west african deities have natural elements or material objects that are associated with them and also serve as their temples or mediums of interaction with devotees. in igboland, ani deity is associated with land; and as the earth mother, she is symbolized with a sculpted woman with a child or children on her. amadioha in umunneoha or kamalu in ngwa area is associated with thunder. river goddesses are associated with particular rivers or streams that are also known by the same name as the goddesses (arinze, 2008). for example, iyi-oku in awhum or imoka in awka are names of goddesses that are associated with certain rivers. forest goddesses are associated with particular sacred forests like offia awoke and nte ophina in ikwo of ebonyi state. the shrines for the river goddesses are located beside the streams or they may have a pot or bowl of water in the vicinity of the shrines. deities associated with hills are often located near particular hills, as in the case of the defunct ugwu-ezeama deity in imezi owa and uto deity of ugwuuto in nsude. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 58 spirits and gods are also associated with trees and animals, and often take their names and significance from the names and significances of those natural elements. in other words, the importance of a particular natural object would highlight the importance the people attach to the deity associated with it. the scarcity of water in the semi-arid zone of ojebe-ogene can explain the importance of iyi-oku both as a stream and a goddess of awhum. similarly, according to ezechi (2018) the importance of land to the farmers may also explain the important place of ani deity in igboland. some other deities may be associated with man or woman lifebirth, death, healing, feeding, protection, etc. for example, akwari is associated to procreation (metuh,1999) while agwu is linked with healing (ejizu,2002) and fiajioku with feedingespecially with yam, the king of igbo agricultural products (afigbo,1981). every natural object has a spirit or god associated with it. the people also find in those natural objects an easy contact point for interacting with the spirits and gods. the african traditional religion holds that the objects which the spirits inhabit are not permanent habitat for the spirits. the spirits are separate and separable from the objects they are habited. the material character of igbo gods the outcome of the above study on the impact of ecology on igbo religion is that the deities are spirit-beings but they are manifest in material things. they are also prone to be represented in man-made images or objects. it is misleading to take these material things or material forces as igbo deities de facto. parrinder (1974) establishes the fact that spirits in african religions are other than the material things or the energy in things. they are supernatural agents that can inhabit or make their abode in material thingshills, rivers, rocks and trees. spirits manifest in material things in order to come into communication with humans. but it is not all spirits that are gods. parrinder suggests that those spirits that become gods are necessarily personified, that is, made tangible. in his words, “some of them are personified as gods in animistic fashion, but they are still potent forces in human life” (p. 23). the distinctive difference between gods and mere spirits in african religion could be based on whether or not the people are wont to personify such a spirit being. for some writers on african religions, the concept of “personification” implies attributing personhood to objects or forces of nature such as the sun, rivers, trees and animals; thereby regarding them as if they were intelligent beings (arinze,2008; hackett,1998; macgaffey,1990; mbiti,2011; metuh,1999). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 59 their perception of spirits as personified natural forces relates to muller’s naturism, in which case natural forces are described as performing actions in manners only proper to humans (see durkheim,1995). but muller himself presents spirits derives in this manner as illusion because, they are assumed the products of the error of misappropriated language. for parrinder, however, to personify a natural element is not merely to attribute personhood to it. it particularly involves translating that imaginary “person” into a tangible entity through material symbolization. parrinder seems to highlight the distinctive character of the gods by pointing out that they are often personified in tangible images. he cited the earth spirit as an example of a widely acclaimed deity among the africans, particularly the igbo. this is unlike the tallensi of northern ghana who do not personify the earth as a goddess, some others do. in particular, he says, “the igbo of nigeria makes images of mother earth with a child in her arms, like an italian madonna” (p. 23). hence, it seems that for him, to personify a spirit is to represent it with images some natural objects, especially man-made images and objects. the images made for deities are veritable shrines for them as they have become their contact-points with votaries or worshippers. parrinder in the words of ezechi (2018) indicates that gods generally have their own temples; and by natural consequence, they normally have attendant priests. the dedication of a specific temple and attendant priest indicates stability of cult and makes organized worship the essential character of a god or deity in igbo religious setting. granted this observation by parrinder, it can be assumed that non deified spirit do not enjoy permanent cult. the validity of this theory can be verified with the ogbanje spirit in igboland. like the deities, ogbanje spirits receive sacrifices from votaries seeking to avert their rage and anger. they may also be pacified or decorated with material images such as dolls and or other man made images. they have no designated temple or place of worship, and no specific priest. therefore, unlike the deities, their worships are sporadic and occasional, arising as need not as a cult. indeed, not all spirits are perceived by africans to be gods; not all are even deserving of worship (ekeke&ekeopara,2010; nwoga,1984a). according to nwoga, “it is not automatic that every spirit is a god” (p. 34). he perceives in igbo thought three forms of realitiesthe physical(matter), the spiritual(spirit) and the conceptual(god). since the gods are mere conceptual entities, he surmises, anything can be a god if the people conceive it as such. thus nwoga stated that “spirits may be gods just as physical material objects may be gods. it igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 60 is by an act of conceptualization and activation that a god is realized. when an object, material or spiritual, is said to be or appreciated to be, or acts as, a god, then it may be a god” (p. 34). it is worthy of note that he sees the gods as products of human “act of conceptualization”. in other words, for him, deity is a mere fabrication of the human mind. whatever a man declares as god is godwhether it is spirit or matter. in that case, the existence of deity would be imaginary, not a reality. ezechi noted that nwoga does not say how this mentally fabricated or conceptual entity is activatedwhether by man’s act of sacrifice or his willpower. at any rate, he gives man the credit of bringing gods into existence. but once conceived, each god or deity would have a physical as well as a spiritual aspectwhat nwoga calls the twin elements of deities. the visible element would be man’s tangible way of identifying the invisible being. for example, the sky god is associated by the human mind with the sky just as idemili would be both a river and the spirit inhabiting it. it can then be deduced that, for nwoga, gods or deities must have a physical manifestation to aid their worship and interaction with devotees. it then follows that the physical manifestation with spiritual presence signifies the realities of human relationship and worship of the spiritbeings. by and large, a deity is a spirit that deserves the peoples worship and it is indeed worshipped. for that reason, also, deities need physical representation or manifestation. the nature of man demands that his interaction with spiritual beings need occur in material form. the image, shrine or temple, the totems and other material ritual forms associated with deities make worship easy as a human phenomenon. as a matter of fact, the non manifestation of a deity would be tantamount to its non existence. and non existing deities cannot be worshipped by the africans or the igbo. the root of igbo rituals and ecospirituality igbo traditional rituals evolve from people’s experiences in their world, from their encounter with environmental perturbations. therefore, they necessarily manifest a profoundly material character. rituals are the physical or material aspect of religion. they translate the intellectual elements of the people’s faith to the cultural level of meaning. what is ritual? ritual can be used to describe behaviours in a wide range of fields. for example, the routine morning offerings of an african elder, early morning public worship igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 61 in igboland might all qualify as ritual. in all these cases, the idea of a pattern or a repetitive behaviour-pattern is highlighted. thus technically, ritual refers to prescribed or established method of doing things. from a religious perspective, turner (1967) defines ritual as “prescribed formal behaviour for occasions not given over to technological routine, having reference to beliefs in mystical beings or powers” (p. 19). he is criticized for limiting the scope of ritual to religion (enekwe,1987; goody,1977). enekwe particularly argues that since ritual basically refers to formalized activity, there is no intrinsic exclusion of “those other rituals that are non-religious, but are concerned with specialized parts of the social/cultural background” (p. 25). kelleher (2003) recalls the social nature of ritual in general, that it is a function of the dynamics of the social process, “the interplay between two different needs, the need for structure or social order and the need to experience the more basic human bonding that is prior to any order” (p. 906). therefore, it may be rewarding for proper understanding of ritual to recognize that it is a multi-disciplinary concept. rappaport (1999) views ritual as a man’s adaptive response to environmental perturbations. every environment presents its inhabitants with natural challenges. it bears peculiar social and natural event that affect human conditions. rappaport suggests that in responding to environmental realities, societies, indeed every living system, naturally develop by repeated performance or experience, an established manner of surviving in their world, a formal way of doing things. in other words, ritual emerges often as a result of people’s effort to cope with their respective environment. it involves moving from improvising ways of surviving to evolving permanent physiological structures. or, as rappaport puts it, ritual entails” short-term reversible changes of state and longer-term irreversible changes in structure” (p. 6). in any case, the repetition of action or manner of response-whether it is mental or physical behaviour-before a given problem would in time become normal for the people, and so stylize as their established and prescribed system of approaching such problem. ritual as an adaptation process may manifest in terms of fixed mind-set, belief system, cultures, philosophy of life, behaviour pattern, observances, taboos, and customs or even settlement patterns noticeable in various societies. for example, in the event of soil degradation, people may decide to enhance yam production by reducing the number of crops planted in the same farm with yam. however, in the long run, this caution may evolve into a sacred observance and custom in which case it is now regarded as offensive to the gods to plant particular crop in a yam farm. it is basically done for the survival of the people in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 62 the face of ecological challenges. most of igbo traditional rituals could be explained in this way land observances, agricultural rituals, sex taboos, and even masquerade rituals. they probably evolved from simple but temporary precautionary practices to complex and permanent behaviour-patterns or ways of life. they are efforts of the people to adapt to the situations of their environment. ritual is the normal way of doing things within a cultural settinga way of worshipping a deity, of breaking kola nut, of praying, of handing a daughter over in marriage. rappaport recognizes, like turner, the idea of “formal act” or “specific form of action” as a significant feature of ritual. but he curiously argues that the formal actions or rituals are not necessarily associated with physical efficacy. in his words, “formal action of ritual is not instrumental in any ordinary sense nor produce a practical result on the external world” (p. 46). the assertion is questionable because among worshippers in igbo traditional religion, ritual is thought to produce desired physical result. for example, the masquerade ritual assures the traditional igbo of material blessings from the godschildren, enough rain, good harvest, protection (aniako ,1978; enekwe,1981,1987; okeke & okechukwu ,1978; okafor ,1995; onyehalu ,1987). thus, contrary to rappaport's view, ritual has material efficacy. among other things, it “reduces anxiety by making people believe that what has been desired has been effected or will be fulfilled” (enekwe, 1987, p. 25). it equally gives the people confidence and the feeling of control over unpredictable phenomena, (tauli-corpuz, 2001). for ray (1976), ritual acts are instrumental in the sense that “they not only say what reality is but they also shape the word to conform with its reality” (p. 17). as a matter of fact, many non african religions view their rituals as producing desired effects ex opera operato, that is, by virtue of their physical performance with requisite conditions. the efficacy of any ritual does not depend on the person who performed it but rather depends on the adherence to the procedural steps demanded by the ritual. ritual as a religious matter is determined by the peculiarity of a particular religion. the ritual in african traditional religion cannot follow the same ritual pattern. it is the differences in ritual processes in different religions that differentiate one religion from the other. rituals hear the language of different religion. the priest of any religion performs the ritual acts according to and with the requirements of the religion. durkheim (1995) in ezechi (2018) also sees the efficacy of religious rituals to be associated with the action as performed. he recalls the need in some traditional societies to observe specific formulas for religious events in order to produce desired effects. with igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 63 particular note on jewish rituals, he observes that during their feast of tabernacles the people stirred the air by shaking willow branches in a certain rhythm to make rain to fall. thus, according to him, it is the people’s belief that “the rite produced the desired result automatically, provided it was correctly performed” (p. 33). then he observes further that it is this, by the way, that explains the primary importance that nearly all cults give to the physical aspect of ceremonies. this religious formalism (…) arises from the fact that, having in and of themselves the source of their efficacy, the formulas to be pronounced and the movements to be executed would lose efficacy if they were not exactly the same as those that had already proved successful (p. 33). in the light of this formalism, durkheim defines ritual (which he interchanges with rite) as “rules of conduct that prescribe how man must conduct himself with sacred things” (p. 38). for the purpose of this work, ritual is understood as a habitual ceremony or activity expressing the people’s worldview and embodying their communal response to existential realities both in the contexts of spiritual and the physical realities. put the other way, ritual is the people’s traditional activity expressed in their physical and spiritual realities as embodied in their worldview. ritual evolution and ecospirituality among the igbo the fact that rituals evolve from ecosystem, and that there is an interaction between people and their environment has been noted by scholars (grimes, 1995; kelleher, 1999). it evolves in the process of man’s effort to survive within a given environment, against ecological perturbations. it becomes quite logical that rituals not only naturally derive from the environment but they are also coloured by that environment. and, they are coloured in accordance with environmental traits. for example, the fact that igbo live in the rain-forest zone of west africa has implications for their vast association with natural elements that form the ecospirituality or the environmental friendly relations with these natural factors land, sun, water, trees or wood, etc. the importance of ecology or the environment in the evolution of igbo culture in general is noted by scholars (afigbo, 1975a; jones, 1961). afigbo points to the ecological or ecospirituality factor, especially ani, the earth, in understanding igbo religion and rituals. the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 64 ani, he says, occupies a prominent place in the people’s religious worship and when provoked, could cause the harvests to fail and men to die prematurely to the igbo two of the worst disasters imaginable. it imposed innumerable laws and taboos to guide conduct between man and man, as between man and itself. the transgression of any of these rules known as omenala was promptly punished (pp. 42-43) the significance of agriculture to traditional igbo economy seems to account for the importance of land. the igbo also have the earth goddess or ani for man’s spiritual and sacrificial purposes. land is used for buildings, constructions and infrastructural developments. sequel to this is the high population density of this rain-forest zone, which induces land scarcity. thus, the sacralization or deification of land in igboland may have resulted as an inevitable backwash (kalu, 2003). in some places, kalu observes, decorative shrines are built for the goddess. in other places, with plentiful expanse of agricultural land, a non-descript mound may serve. but in all she guards customs and morality. she arbitrates disputes because a false oath in her shrine could be dangerous (p. 35). but the avowed scarcity of land is worsenedespecially in northern igbolandby soil erosion and degradation caused, perhaps, by long-time habitation and cultivation of the geographical zone (afigbo, 1981; allison, 1962; hartle, 1967; ijoma, 2002). it has been suggested that the northern part of igbo is the first to be occupied among all parts of modern igboland (afigbo, 1975a, 1981). quoting hartle, ezechi (2018) reiterated that the occupation of this part of igboland is dated as far back as the neolithic age or 3rd century bc (hartle, 1967). the implication of long habitation and cultivation of this area is the replacement of the vegetal cover, which characterized it as a rain forest, with semi-savanna forest or grass land (afigbo, 1975a). a brief look at other sacred objects trees: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 65 trees form a great part of the forces of nature with huge religious significance for the traditional igbo. some of the commonest trees with religious sacred importance to the igbo include; ofo tree, oji or iroko tree, the kola nut tree, akpu tree, ogirisi tree, oha tree, ogbu tree, ngwu tree as well as aja-ezi tree, okwe, and so forth. some trees like palm tree have economic values while some others are herbal (ifesieh, 1989). to be sure every tree or plant is believed to posses some power or force that can affect man positively or negatively. some trees are used in marking or identifying the shrine of some deities. such trees like akpu, aja-ezi, ogirisi and oha are also known to be quick survivors. some trees are associated with particular spirits and are usually found in their shrines or sacred places. some other categories of trees, perhaps due to their sizes or the power they exude are regarded as great treesoke osisiand they are viewed as embodiments of spirits. ofo is another tree with great religious sacredness and significance among the igbo. as a ritual object, ofo symbolizes for the igbo a general concept of justice and propriety (bentor, 1988). bentor also observes that it primarily functions as a proof of innocence. in a society where everything is believed to have indwelling spirit of its own, the great trees tend to acquire personality status like human beings. the activities of the indwelling spirits are viewed as performed by the trees. animals: animals are an important class of nature that features prominently in the sacredness of world religions. in the ancient celtic religion, gods were named after beastslike the goddess epona whose name means horse, whose icon includes a horse. in igboland, different communities and families hold different animals as sacred. the animals may merely be assumed to have some affinity with the clan or to be the manifestation of some local deities. for example, aguowulu, the leopard is related to omabe spirit (aniakor, 1978). sometimes, the animals are treated as property of some deities. in awka, the monkey is sacred to imoka deity and it is never to be killed or eaten by the indigenes. the python, eke, is not to be killed in many igbo communities because it belongs to the deity idemili (achebe, 1982; ifesieh, 1989). arts/carved objects igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 66 spirits as the key objects of artistic representation in the traditional religion, are overly conceived in anthropomorphic terms. it seems that man cannot properly conceive the spirit world without forging a representation of it and as lacroix (1990) points out, ”his representation necessarily takes on a human form” (p.94). ezechi (2018) equips, most of the effigies of igbo deities whether in public or private shrines, have human appearances. divinized elements of nature like the earth, thunder and other spirit forces and ancestral personages are captured by religious artists in human morphology. most traditional igbo sculptures are wood works – varieties of masks, ikenga figures, sacred stools or okposi and so forth. the fact is that most products of igbo traditional art appear crude, ugly, and childish and may not fit into modern or western idea of art. conclusion in addition to the earth, other terrestrial elements of nature or sacred objects that feature prominently in traditional religious symbolism include – trees, hills, water bodies, animals and especially man. nature in general, mbiti (2011) affirms, serves for the manifestation or depiction of god or divinity. most african tribes associate god or the spiritual world with human nature as well as with animals, trees, even stones and water bodies. the african, especially the igbo say that the universe is a religious entity. nature is filled with religious sacred objects of significance man gives life where natural objects and phenomena have no biological life. god therefore is seen in and behind these objects and phenomena; they are his creation, they manifest him, they symbolize his being and presence. references achebe, c. (1975), morning yet on creation day. london: anchor press, double day. achebe, c. (1982). arrow of god. london: heinemann. achunike, h. c. (2004). the influence of pentecostalism on catholic priests and seminarians in nigeria. onitsha: africana first publishers. achunike, h, c. (2002). dreams of heaven: a modern response to christianity in north western igboland (1970 – 1990). onitsha: africana – fep publishers. afigbo, a. (1975). prolegomena to the study of the cultural history of the igbo – speaking peoples of nigeria. in f. c. ogbalu & e. emenanjo (eds.), igbo language and culture (pp. 28 – 34). ibadan: oxford university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 67 afigbo, a. (1981). ropes of sand: studies in igbo history and culture. nsukka: university of nigeria press. allison, p. (1962). historical inferences to be drawn from the effect of human settlement on the vegetation of africa. journal of african history, 3, 241-249 aniako, c. (2002). art in the culture of igboland. in g.e.k. ofomata (ed.), a survey of the igbo nation (pp. 300 – 307), onitsha: africana first publishers. aniako, c. (1979). ancestral legitimation in igbo art. west african religion, 18 (2) 13 – 15 aniako, c. (1984). ikenga art and igbo cosmos. ikoro, 5 (1&2) 68 – 70 arinze, f. (2001). the holy eucharist. huntington, indiana: our sunday visitor inc. arinze, f. (2008). sacrifice in igbo traditional religion. onitsha: brothers of st. stephen. durkheim, e. (1995). the elementary forms of religious life. transl. k. e. fields. new york: the free press. durkheim, e. (2008). the elementary forms of religious life. transl. c. cosman. oxford: oxford university press. ejizu, c. (2002). continuity and discontinuity in igbo traditional religion. in e. i. metuh (ed.), the gods in retreatcontinuity and change in african religion (pp. 111-131). enugu: fourth dimension publishers. ekeke, e. c., & ekeopara, c. a. (2010). god, divinities, and spirits in african traditional religious ontology. american journal of social and management sciences, 1 (2) 209-218. doi: 105251ajsms2010.1.2.209.218 enekwe, o. (1981). myth, ritual and drama in igboland. in y. ogunbiyi (ed), drama and theatre in nigeria: a critical source book (pp. 149-163) lagos: nigeria magazine. enekwe, o. (1987). igbo masks: the oneness of ritual and theatre. lagos: nigeria magazine. ezechi, j. c. (2018). idols or symbols. enugu: enugu diocesan printing press. goody, j. (1977). against ritual: loosely structured thought on a loosely defined topic. in s. moore (ed.), secular ritual (pp. 25-35). amsterdam: van gorcum. graylings, a. (2008). do you have a working definition of the term religion? in m. gordon (ed.), conversation on religion (pp. 1-15). london: continuum. grimes, r. (1995). beginnings in ritual studies. columbia, s.c: university of south carolina press. hackett, r. i. j. (1998). art and religion in africa. london: cassell. hartle, d. (1967). archeology in eastern nigeria. nigeria magazine, 93, 134-143. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 68 ifesieh, m. (1989). religion at the grassroots (studies in igbo religion). enugu: fourth dimension publishing co. ltd. ijoma, j. (2002). igboland: a historical perspective. in g.e.k. ofomata (ed.), a survey of the igbo nation (pp. 39-54). onitsha: africana first publishers. jones, g. (1961). ecology and social structure among the north eastern ibo. africa, 1 (31) 117-134. kalu, o. (2003). the embattled gods: christianization of igboland, 1841-1991. new jessey: african world press inc. kelleher, m. (1999). the liturgical body: symbol and ritual. in b. morrill (ed.), bodies of worship explorations in theory and practice (pp. 51-66). collegeville, minnesota: the liturgical press. lacroix, j. (1990). the meaning and value of atheism today. in w. birmingham (ed.), cross currents: an anthology of the best of cross currents 1950-1990 (pp. 93-108). new york: the crossroad publishing co. macgaffey, w. (1990). the personhood of ritual objects: kongo minkisi. etnofoor, 3(1) 45-61 mbiti, j. s. (2011). african religions and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational publ. metuh, e. (1999) god and man in african religion. enugu: snaap press. nwoga, d. i. (1984a). the supreme god as stranger in igbo religious thought. ahiazu, mbaise: hawk press. okafor, r. (1995). following the spirits to tomorrow. okanga, 1, 38-40. okeke, u., & okechukwu, c. u. v. (1978). igbodo art. in g. e. k. ofomata (ed.), the nsukka environment (pp. 307-314). enugu: fourth dimension publishers onwuejeogwu, m. (2002). early peopling and cultural diversity of igboland. in g. e. k. ofomata (ed.), a survey of the igbo nation (pp. 117-130). onitsha: africana first publishers. onyehalu, m. (1987). government, christianity and maskers: encounters in eastern nigeria. rome: pontifica universita lateranensis. parrinder, e. g. (1961). west african religion. london: epworth. parrinder, e. g. (1974). african traditional religion. london: sheldon press. rappaport, r. a. (1999). ritual and religion in the making of humanity. cambridge: cambridge university press. tauli-corpuz, v. (2001). interface between traditional religion and ecology among the igorots. in j. grim (ed.), indigenous traditions and ecology: the interbeing of cosmology and community (pp. 281-302). cambridge, massachusetts: harvard university press. microsoft word igwebuike journals vol. 5. no. 7.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 70 igwubuike: unifying ancient cosmologies in order to understand light frequencies and evolution of consciousness hilary ugwu university of oklahoma anne and henry school of social work norman oklahoma hiugwu@yahoo.com abstract in this work on igwebuike, i explored the unity of reports by the ancients that in the beginning of creation there was a cosmic sea of energy. i argued that this sea of energy is what modern science now identify with dark mater or dark energy. i equally argued that when the ancients talked about duality especially the fight between evil and good, they implied anisotropic principles in the cosmos. in this context, anisotropic principle is used to indicated that the earth, galaxy and the entire cosmos oscillate between light and dark hemispheres. just as there is day and night on earth, there is day and night on a grand cosmic level. this is that is referred to in sanskrit as mahavantara and pralaya there is period of activity and rest in all reality or organic and inorganic. manichaeism was right to a greater extent when it philosophized that there are two eternally co-existing forces in battle. although this philosophy offends religions sensibility, nevertheless manicheanism was reflecting on the reality of our existence. i have also argued that the separation of the brain into right and left hemispheres correspond to the greater cosmic hemisphere. i discussed that creation had beginning. however, in line with the ancient, beginning does implied ex-nihil. it rather means introducing order in the state of chaos. i indicated that when the brain is aligned with certain cosmic light frequencies (night) it leads to deevolution. when it is aligned to the right hemisphere of the cosmos it reaches a synchronistical alignment with balance. when the earth is attuned to the right brain the sanskrit call it sat yuga, the golden age. i did not claim to have covered all necessary historical changes as a result of the human consciousness downloading waves corresponding today/night cosmic hemispheres. this paper is limited to go into such detail. however, this little discussion provided inquisitive researchers platform to delve further into unpopular research fields not promoted by academic status quo. however, for the purpose of this study, the igwebuike method of research was employed. keywords: igwebuike, cosmologies, philosophy, evolution, consciousness, frequencies introduction: making the argument about the primordial beginning igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 71 dark waters of the beginning. ray, violet, and short, piercing the gloom, foreshadow the fire that is dreamed of… christopher okigbo. modern science, susceptible to materialistic arrogance, is beginning to catch up with what the ancients knew and taught thousands of years prior. the ancients were unanimous in theorizing that in the beginning of the universe there was a sea of shapeshifting quantum flux. quantum physics has confirmed this—when matter is reduced to it subatomic quantum piece, further particle split becomes impossible. this is because at this nano point of subquantum existence, matter no longer possess physical density. rather matter exist in a state of quantum of light, electrons and protons. electron has no physical dimensionality due to it lacks density (goswami, 1993). the question remains, if at this level matter has no density, can we still say matter reduced to sub-quanta exist in space and time? is matter spirit with holographic manifestation? this is a food for thought. the ancient referred to the quantum realm of subatomic and atomic vibration as the ‘primordial waters,” “primordial sea” or “primordial ocean.” the reference to water, sea or ocean as used by the ancients implies boundless subquantum energy field, the field of formless changeability. the ancient believed that it was out of this prime matter that everything was created. what the ancients identified as primordial water is today called dark matter and dark energy in quantum physics. the primordial ocean (dark matter/dark energy) permeates the entire cosmos. the cosmic sea of energy as unified. this is what quantum physics now call quantum entanglement. the physics of quantum entanglement has opened a new vista of understanding not just in the areas of physics but also in the domain of spirituality and consciousness. the ancients are telling us that there was the existence of infinite void of darkness before anything else. this makes perfect sense. it is the attempt to explain the world that led to the emergence of cosmology as a discipline. cosmology seeks to explain the origin and nature of the cosmos. the most contemporary scientific theory traces the beginning of all things to a point of condensed energy known as singularity. this condensed high temperature energy combusted in a nuclear explosion and expanded. this is what is referred to as the big bang. with the big bang, evolutionary process began— atom, cells, organisms, planetary globes, heliospheres and galaxies all existing in the cosmos. humans have always tried to explain how all these came about using religion, mythos as well as science. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 72 scientist conjecture that the universe formed 15 billion years ago, our solar system 10 billion years ago, the earth 4.6 billion years ago, micro prokaryotic single cell organism 3.7 billion years ago, human formation was timed at 5.5 million years ago with homo sapiens sapiens emerging about 200,000 years ago. the formation of the galaxies could be summarized thus—high temperature clouds of massive gas and dust following accretion laws of gravitation and magnetism started to coalesce into densities. it is these massive densities that we call galaxies. galaxies come in different shapes and sizes—elliptical, spiral, irregular etc. (houjun mo et al,2010). each galaxy contains billions of stars and span hundreds and thousands of light years across. distance in space are calculated in light years. light year indicate the distance that light travels in one year. light travels 180,000 miles (300,000 kilometers) per second, 11 million miles (18 million kilometers) in one minute. so, in one years, light would have traveled 5,600 billion miles (9,000 billion kilometers). various religions and spiritual traditions describe creation as an architectural design of incorporeal divine being or beings. in the case of biblical story, the creator uttered a word and things were engendered into existence. the vibration of the voice of god is the bang in the big bang theory (schroeder,1990). in order words, creation and the big bang theories speak the same language using different concepts. this paper is set demonstrate that cosmologies across the world share similar concepts relative to the origin of all things. the ancients were consistent in suggesting that in the beginning there was a primordial void of darkness. darkness is not nothing. darkness is something. we see this description appearing in so many creation myths in ancient hieroglyphics, scriptures and tablets. today it is known that 96 percent of the universe is mysteriously dark. the reader is encouraged to read the entire paper in order to follow argument step-by step. the point we try to make in this paper is that cosmic duality is the reason for disparities in the human civilization. human civilization follows a pattern of brain evolution. brain evolution in turn follows cosmic wavelength frequencies. in this paper, reader will encounter cosmological myths and stories including biblical narratives relative to the origin of all things. i have also described how light frequencies from the core of the cosmos affect not just our neurology but also our genetic data base. it is my conviction, based on research, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 73 that mental and genetic evolutions are triggered by information carried by cosmic gamma rays and other electromagnetic cosmic light frequencies. it is also my intention to point out that in this paper, i shall henceforth refer to ancient egypt in her original name of kmt (kemet/kemit). kemet means, the black land. the word egypt came from the greek misuse of the phrase ‘hut-kaptah’ (house of ka of ptah). ptah is one of the creator gods in kemet cosmology. the greek word, αἴγυ̟τος (aigyptos) translates as egypt. any information presented in this paper does not intend to cover all aspect of specific topics discussed. it is rather a summation of vast compendium of cosmological theories and other scientific information. therefore, the reader is encouraged to do further research in order to develop broader knowledge on any specific idea or concept of interest. kemetic cosmological systems ancient kemetic priests did not believe in ex-nihil (out of nothing) theory of the origin of the universe. matter was conceived as eternal. they hold that in the beginning there was chaos. this implies that matter existed in a formless state. a superior intelligence, a god(s) introduced order into this preexisting primordial chaos. this is how the visible world came to be according to ancient kemet. there are four versions of kemetic creation systems. this include the theban (thebes) system, the heliopolitan system, the metropolitan system and the memphis system (diop, 1981). these customized versions came as a result of specific local test rather than possessing complete autochthonous origin. as stated above, ancient kemetic thinkers proposed that matter has a primordial existence--uncreated, indestructible and in a constate state of chaos. many scholars erroneously attribute to greek philosophers the idea of the eternity of matter. democritus for instance proposed the existence of atom in the void of space. he taught that matter was eternal. aristotle affirmed that matter, motion and time are eternal (macdonald et al, 2009) these theories are but reflections of the kemetian thinking. since kemetian civilization was before that of greece, i would argue, like many other researchers that greek religious, philosophical and metaphysical thinking was a prototype of the kemetian system. the chaotic, unpredictable flux state of matter was referred to as the primordial waters of the beginnings. priest initiates in kemet understood matter as containing inner dialectical principle with teleology towards higher evolution. this inner dialectical principle was referred to in kemet as the nun. it is the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 74 universal fire or the self-conscious. later religious and philosophical writers used words like “logos,” “the nous” “monad” “spirit” “the demiurge” “universal soul” “universal mind” “the word,” “christ” “reason” etc., to paint the picture of the same kemetic nun. nun is the “instinctive movement towards consciousness” (pinch, 2002). it started from the blind chaotic primordial matter to the attainment of consciousness. the word water is not to be reduced to a literal connotation. it should rather serve as a descriptive category. language is limited when it comes to describing complex metaphysical concepts. in lieu of this fact, symbolism, simulacra and ideogramic representations are often used for epistemological purposes. in the kemetic mind, water indicated the notion of flexibility, i.e. the state of flux. thus, using the symbol “primordial water” helps us to abstract the concept of fluidity of primitive, formless and indestructible subquantum energy in the cosmos. according to kemetian cosmology since matter existed in a state of chaos it was viewed as pure potentiality. they understood quite well during their time that matter was energy. thus, they demonstrated advance thinking in physics and quantum physics. today scientists confirm that matter exist in three primordial forms viz liquid, solid and gas. some have added the fourth form of matter which is the ether. energy can be converted from one form to another. however, according to modern scientific postulation, energy can either be created or destroyed (wrigglesworth, 1997). this modern awareness vindicates the kemitic position. the kemetians did not conceive of a time of absolute nothingness preceding creation as in the case of hebrew system. rather, they viewed ex-nihil to mean prime matter being unorganized into third dimensional formation. creation was made possible as a result of superior intelligent organizing this chaotic formless matter into cohesive order. thus, the creator/creatrix did not create but only introduced order into the preexisting initial subquantum field of matter. the material for creation was preexistent. heliopolitan version the deity atum was the main player in the heliopolitan creation myth. atum was described as self-begotten. initially he arose from the state of self-made oneness into duality of material multiplicity (silverman, 1997). atum emerged out of the primordial ocean of waters morphing into a mountain (dry land). the idea of primordial ocean is also reflected in the hebrew scripture (gen.1:2). heliopolitan cosmology proposed that atum masturbated and engendered male igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 75 and female principles (gods); shu and tefnut. these two initial principles represented air and moisture. masturbation should not be reduced to sexual act. in this context, masturbation indicates a positive (masculine) energy issuing forth. since sperm is the outcome of masturbation, it implies that atum‘s vibration caused primordial matter to take form. he impregnated the primordial matters. this is just a fancy way of saying that he introduced order into the chaotic void. egyptians were right brain-based. metaphysical concepts were anthropomorphized with vivid everyday human imageries. masturbation/sperm therefore indicates creation wave. this creation wave depicts male energy. male energy is projectile (penile). female energy is receptive the empty void, the womb, the water, the ocean or darkness. just like the hebrew genesis used the metaphor such as, יְִהי ֱא�ִהים ַוּיֹאֶמר (“and elohim said let there be…” ). the voice of god issuing forth indicate male principle mating with the female principle or the void. the bible is occulted. this masculine feminine union is revealed in the idea of the sprit (positive energy) hovering over the face of the deep (feminine energy or void of primordial waters). according to heliopolitan cosmology, shu and tefnut were endowed with creative powers. so, they in turn engendered male and female principles (deities)—geb and nut. these four basic anthropomorphized deities shu, tefnut, geb and nut also represents the universal four elements known in all cultures around the world. these include air, fire, water and earth. four element are represented by different cultures thus, east, south, west and north; gabriel, michael, raphael and uriel; emanation, creation, formation and action; mental, spiritual, emotional and physical; up, down, right and left; hot, dry, wet, and cold; green, yellow and red; eke, orie, afor and nkwo etc. the last four represents igbo cosmology. these are the four-cardinal point without which the mind cannot understand reality within this third density hologram. biblical writers incorporated this universal mathematics of the four elements in painting a picture of the “four living creatures” (rev. 4:6-8; ezekiel 1:5 and daniel 7:2-3). daniel obviously spoke about the four-winds alluding the fourcardinal point. an expression that also alluded to the anthropomorphized deities shu, tefnut, geb and nut. in these biblical prophesies, the creatures were symbolically identified as man, lion, eagle and ox. for anyone who is familiar with the ancient world and imagery, these prophesies borrowed concepts from both kemetic sphynx as well as the babylonian sphynx. daniel was an elite in babylon. he was versed in the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 76 great babylonian astrology. babylonian sphynx presented a mythical creature infused with four identifiers, lion’s body, human head, ox hoof and eagle wings. in assyria as well as in most cultures of he so called middle east, this creature was popularly known as lamassu (rosen, 2009). one therefore wonders if daniel had a vision or only employ familiar imagery and mixing it with his bone chilling and fear including technique to get attention and communicate the message of the elite of the time. in the new testament we see the four elements counted as well. i use the term occult in its original meaning—hidden (from the simple minded). it is not by accident that there are four synoptic gospels— mathew, mark, luke and john. those who chose the four gospels out of the numerous gospels were quite aware of the information they are trying to communicate to those who understood ancient mystery systems. in many catholic church buildings and arts, one sees the synoptic evangelist matthew, mark, luke and john were clearly occulted with the four cardinal symbols of the universe viz lion, man, ox and eagle. these represents air, fire, water and earth. all mystery systems of the ancient world believe the world was created out of the four elements. these are also depicted in four zodiac astrological signs representing aquarius (man); fire, leo (lion); earth, taurus (ox, bull); and water, scorpio (eagle). the church condemns zodiac astrology however, her structures is set on ancient astrology and astrotheology. to conclude this session, i suggest that readers avoid reducing the egyptians four deities, shu, tefnut, nut and geb to mere superstitious myths or primitive mind. they are rather the four-fundamental principle of creation of matter. the materialist mind of modern man cannot even begin to understand the depth of ancient metaphysical awareness. memphite version in memphite version of kemetic cosmology, the grand architect of the universe is ptah. the doctrine states that ptah was a craftsman. ptah is called ‘he who made totality and caused the gods to evolve’ (wasilewska, 2000). according to gerald massey in his book egyptian wisdom and the hebrew creation, the story of ptah’s creation of the world was converted into creation of heaven and earth in the hebrew genesis. massey wrote that the singular ptah of kemet was later identified with a group of elohim in the hebrew version of the same story. hebrew system painted a picture of elohim separating the waters under the firmament from the water above the firmament. (genesis 1:7). in the original igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 77 kemetic doctrine, ptah separated nut, above and below. after ptah finished his act of creation as a craftsman, he was content for what created. hebrew system reechoed similar satisfaction indicating that elohim looked at his creation and it was good. memphite doctrine has it that ptah uttered a spoken word which summoned atum out of the primordial waters of nun. as mentioned earlier, the primordial water of nun ought to be understood as primal chaos of atom in the void. ptah causing atum to emerge out of the primordial waters is equivalence to him causing dry land to emerge out of the waters. one can clearly see that these systems are all interrelated. to fully comprehend “ptah the risen land” emerging out of primordial dark waters one bear in mind the environment that lead to the formulation of such cosmological thinking (frankfort, 1978). the nile floods annually. so, the people were very familiar with water and flood. thus, giving rise to a cosmogony wherein the people could relate to. ptah created eight deities. these deities are known as the counsel of enead. they are atum, shu, tefnut, nut, geb, oriris, isis, set and nephthys. the reader needs to understand something here. ptah was a craftsman. therefore, his creation existed as an immaterial idea in his mind. thus, he then chose to objectify his conception in the form of materialized creation following his craftmanship. ptah is also a porter who worked on a porter’s wheel. this is the same craftsmanship we see in the book of genesis. elohim took the soil of the earth molded adamah. jeremiah referenced the creator as a porter (jeremiah 18: 1-7). the book of genesis also reflected this idea of counsel of deities in the statement “let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness” (gen. 1:26) and, “come, let’s go down and confuse the people with different language” (gen, 11:7). the world “let us” of course denotes plurality, a collection of deities in a council reaching a crucial decision point. the ancient established their religious concepts on polytheism. even though most ancient systems theorized that there was a supreme god, they nevertheless gave rooms for lesser deities to be venerated as one saw fit. monotheism is unnatural and unhealthy to this planet. doctrinal as well as dogmatic absolutism usually leads to aggressive suppression, intolerance, murder and genocide. theban version igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 78 thebes was the religious and political capital of kemet at the time of the assumed hebrew presence in the land. the chief creator deity in thebes’ cosmological version was amun/amun or amen. this is the same deity (amen) invoked at the end of prayer by so many religious folks. although the church has come up with a deceitful claim that amen means “so let it be.” research has shown that this is mere ecclesiastical fancy linguistic acrobatics. amen has no other historical and etymological origin than the kemetic god, amun. later he acquired the solar suffix re and was known as amun-re/amen-ra. by stretch of critical thinking, one wonders if jesus identified himself with the kemeti deity by identifying with amen (rev.3:14). john the evangelist obviously knew the mystery taught in temples all over the ancient world. the predominant cosmological content of the city of thebes proposed that in the beginning was a primordial water of nun or nu. this primordial water is universal. a powerful creative divine force from amun acted on the primordial water causing a mound (dry land) to emerge. a lotus also arose out of the murky earth. atum then sat on the bloomed but and burst into rays of light which became the sun. amun was also described as having a companion amaunet united and engendered the deities nut and tefnut. shu and tefnut in turn engendered geb and nut. amun-ra then caused shu to separate geb and nut in order to create a space where material existence could be created (starsheen, 2018). one could notice, as stated earlier, that these systems are not completely independent of each other but variations of one doctrinal system. according to thebes system, after creation, amun-ra retrieved to the solar system which is set sailing across the sky for millions of years watching over the created world. it is clean that the ancient engaged in study of physics with anthropomorphic flavors. the idea of matter, motion and time were represented in this cosmological tales. primordial state of inertia (formlessness) was acted upon by a self-conscious amen that brought about creation and individuation. the hermopolitan version kemitic priests in hermopolis identified eight deities associated with creation. these were referred to as the ogdoad (group of eight). the number eight is also the number of cosmic balance or eternity. so, it is not by chance that hermopolitan priest thought of creation as being initiated by the ogdoad. these four deities were divided in four sets. as stated above, each group symbolizes the four basic universal elements, earth, fire, air and water. hermopolitan igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 79 cosmology links the ogdoad with the ocean of the beginning, the formless chaos. these deities engendered a lotus flower. lotus flower is a symbol of creation in kemet. according to this cosmology, out of the lotus flower, ra emerged. to better conceptualized this cosmological thinking in a clear perspective let’s take a step further in explanation. lotus is called water lillie because it usually ducks and thrives on a mucky water. ra, emerging out of a lotus implies the creation of consciousness. consciousness is the light that governs matter without which matter remains in a state of inertia. one must avoid the temptation of interpreting ra as a material element with hydrogen and helium in a combustible fusion. ra instead, was a conscious deity. kemetic people had balanced cosmological and theological system. the world is not a property of psychotic patriarchal deity as seen in hebrew systems for instance. the ogdoad are paired in groups of two symbolizing masculine and feminine principles. these are, nun and naunet (universal flood/primordial ocean and the primordial matter), hau and hauhet (limitless and void), kuk and kauket (darkness and obscurity), amen and amaunet (the hidden/unmanifest). this unmanifested presence is usually represented as the wind. the universal flood represents the particles in the void, the atom. then there is the space, then darkness (dark matter and dark energy) and then the invisible amen/amenet (wind) which represent electromagnetic light spectrum. the ancients understood physics way more than we give them credit for. mesopotamia cosmological system the world mesopotamia is a combination of two greek words; meso which means between and potamus, river. the river being referenced are euphrates and tigris. these are the same rivers that appeared in the book of genesis. it is evident from archaeological discoveries of cuneiform tablet that mesopotamian cosmology had strong influence on the genesis system. identical cosmological tell s have been found in old babylonia (1900-1600 bc), middle babylonia (16001200 bc), late assyria 800bc -600bc), late babylonia (600-500bc). these provides the us with the original blueprint upon which the story of noah, for instance, was identically plagiarized. it was during the babylonian exile (597-539 bc) that the hebrews came face to face with advance babylonian society and started to incorporate their myths and legends in the making of their own sacred texts (dalley, 1989). the babylonian enuma elish contains creation narrative. enuma elish is also called the seven tablet of creation. it opens with a primitive watery chaos (gmirkin, 2006). enuma elish described of a beginning: “before heaven has been made igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 80 and earth formed, only primordial apzu and tiamat existed” (enuma elish) “when the heavens did not exist, and earth beneath had not come into being.” (enuma elish). similar kemetic cosmology the enuma elish primitive chaos prior to creation. there is no creation ex-nihil as proposed by the hebrew system in enuma elish. mesopotamian system divided the primordial ocean into two, fresh water and saltwater. one must probe deeper into this sophisticated cosmological concept to understand what was being depicted. freshwater signifies male principle while saltwater stands for female principle. in other worlds, the concept of male and female was introduced. although these principles were deified as the god apsu and the goddess tiamat. apsu is the underworld god while tiamat is the primordial chaos. tiamat is the personification of the sea (marshall, 1991). one needs to bypass the metaphorical symbolism to grasp the central message of this cosmological system. by introducing these principles, a stage was set for unified chaos to assume individuation or multiplicity. this concept was based on the law of physics. the law of positive/negative or potential/kinetic energies dynamics. the union of apsu and tiamat engender the first ordered motion. prior to their union everything unmanifested. when we discuss mesopotamian cosmology, we focus on akkad, summer and babylon. sumerian civilization arose approximately 6000 year ago. archaeological excavation of the cuneiform tablet now provide insight into an ancient creation system which later influenced the creation system we find in the book of genesis. these cuneiforms were excavated in ancient cities like nineveh, kish, ashur, sultantepe, ashurbanipal and nippur (owen, 1982). the genesis account of the creation of the world, the edenic garden as well as the creation of man are reenactment of the sumerian cosmology. according to this cosmology, in the beginning there was nothing, only boundless saltwater. out of this primordial seawater emerged the heavens and the earth. heaven and earth were then separate through the creative power of a god. mesopotamia worldview lean towards flat earth theory. it holds that beneath the earth is apsu/abzu which is also understood to be primordial fresh water. the english word abyss is a derivative of the word apsu/abzu. mesopotamian societies were interwoven with the activities of male and female deities. in fact, these deities were the rulers of the people. mesopotamian igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 81 cosmology did not just present the gods as ordering the word but also as engaging in constant bickering. the dominant deity is sumerian is an, in akkadian he is anu. the word ‘annual’ has etymological connection with the name of the god anu. anu is a heavenly deity. he is ‘god the father’ the creator. below anu is enlil. researchers have linked enlil with jove, iao, yahwah or the jehovah deity (de vere, 2004). just like the hebrew yahweh, enlil was described as exhibiting similar bipolar temperament of mood swing. enlil was later elevated to the level of supreme god and called “father” as well as ‘lord of the earth.’ enki is another mesopotamian god who mastermind creation in the garden of eridu (garden of eden). he oversaw the rivers, tigris and euphrates. in the mesopotamian region of akkad, enki was known as ea. in greece enki/ea was known as poseidon or the god neptune. the similarity between sumero-akkadian-babylonian and the genesis creation myths betrays hebraic adaptation. for instance, in babylon god finished his work of creation in 6 days. genesis described creation in 6 days. enuma elish put the creation of man day number six. genesis reinstate creation of man on the sixth day as well. the seventh part of enuma elish which is the last was dedicated to praise of the creator god. genesis dedicate the seventh day to venerate the creator. tablet v of enuma elish reported the creation of the sun, the moon and the stars. genesis reports the creation of same celestial bodies on the fourth day. by 4000 b.c. the sumerians had mapped out the positions of the solar system with such precise accuracy. the babylonians were masters of mathematical astronomy (finkle,2014). modern astronomy aided with sophisticated telescope and space probes have been able to describe the space between the orbit of mars and jupitar as the asteroid belt. but ancient sumerians accurately describe this belt in detail. they described it as a leftover debris from the planet tiamat. tiamat was destroyed in what appeared to be the battle of the gods. the planet was hit by another bigger planet known as nibiru which crosses our solar system every 3600 years. (sitchin,1990). it was the planet nibiru that destroyed tiamat leaving the debris known today as the asteroid belt. modern astronomers now confirm that there was a great cataclysm thousands of years ago which shattered a planetary body between mars and jupitar. the sumerians understood that the planet nibiru is the home of the annunaki gods. nibiru was a planet that orbited the triad star system of sirius which is popularly known within astronomical cycle as sirius c. the triad star system of sirius has been identified as sirius a, sirius b and sirius c. sirius a is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 82 anthropomorphized as the god sothis, sirius b is the god satais and sirius c is the god anu. anu is the leader of the annunakis. these beings were reflected in the bible as “anakim,” or the “nephilim.” (genesis 6:4; numbers 13:33). the sumerians explained that these gods gave them knowledge of astrology, civilization, religion etc. it was the annunaki who genetically engineered mankind with their advanced technology by mixing their genetics utilizing invitro fertilization by extracting their own “blood” which they mixed with dirt/dust. genesis also speaks of the gods making man in his image as well as forming man out the dust of the earth and putting him in servitude to “tend the garden and keep it” yet cursing the ground so his labor so he toils more (gen. 3:17). this is a typical behavior of the annunaki slave overloads as depicted in ancient texts. the purpose of creating lulu or human was to serve the gods. service in this context implies slavish subjugation which consist of working the ground and mining gold for the annunaki gods. the book of genesis covertly described this genetic engineering by indicating that the gods extracted rib (genetic grafting/dna extraction) from adam. rib is a symbolic statement here. many researchers have interpreted this as eve being cloned from adam. today mankind now poses this advanced technology of the gods and can create clones and hybrid creatures. this is the technology called genetic engineering. early greek thinkers on primordial chaos ionian philosophers were the first pre-socratic thinkers to explain the origin of the material universe in contract to popular religious mythos. ionia is the current day western coast of anatolia in what is called turkey. thales (620 -546 b.c.), an iranian postulated that everything originated from the primordial ocean of waters. anaximander (620 b.c.) another iranian thinker spoke of chaos in the boundless space which he identified with ‘apeiron.’ the ancients were consistent in their affirmation about what existed prior to third density reality. they were consistent in stating that the prime matter was flux, formless, uncreated and in a pure state of potentiality. pythagoras (530 b.c) proposed that all things are numbers which exist in the boundless space. was pythagoras alluding to atoms or to the geometrical patterns that vibrates themselves into reality? no doubt, pythagoras like other thinkers was quite aware of the existence of primordial ocean of water (chaos). the reason he did not focus on igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 83 this was because he was mainly preoccupied with formulating ascetic practices to liberate the soul from entrapment of matter. that is, pythagoras was only interested in redemption. the brilliant material monist, heraclitus (530 b.c.-470 b.c.) spoke about the union of opposites. this is the same theory proposed by kemetic priests. the union of masculine and feminine principles is necessary to bring about creation. heraclitus talked about universal fire or the universal logo. this is the intelligent that organizes the opposites into a union. fire is a principle of animation. the heraclitan fire should not be reduced to the combustible gaseous elements as we know. heraclitus was referring to immutable universal reason. the bible identified this universal fire as the “voice of god.” it was the vibratory wave of the voice of god which introduced order into the initial formlessness. anaxagoras (500 b.c. – 430 b.c.) replicated the nous theory of the kemetic priest. he stated that nous was the self-conscious and self-organizing principle in the cosmos. the atomist, democritus (420 b.c.-316 b.c.) stated that in the beginning there was infinite number of ‘world stuff’ in the dark void of space. the phrase ‘world stuff’ undoubtedly refers to atoms. he believes the atoms were uncreated. as i have demonstrated in this paper, democritus also validated the other preexisting theories regarding chaos existing in dark space (ocean of waters). the reason the ancient referred to the atom as chaos is due to its vibratory nature. atom is in constant motion. the protons form the nucleus of an atom while electrons orbit the same nucleus in a bubble of cloud known as electron cloud. sometimes the ancient referred to proton and electron as male and female. sometimes they used male deity and female deity. the reason was that they understood that electron carry negative charge (feminine) while proton carry positive charge (masculine). the union of which creation motion. it is also the union of this opposite that creates everything especially in the realm of materiality. so, when the kemetic priests referred to nun and naunet, we must look deeper because they are talking about quantum physics utilizing religious concepts. by the time of the eleatic thinkers, 6th century b.c., preoccupation had shifted to change and permanence in the universe instead of on the origin of matter. elea is modern day italy. the eleatic philosopher parmenides (540 b.c.) has a work tittle peri physeos (on nature). like the kemetian priests he identified logos as the intelligent organizing principle in nature. one should bear in mind that nature igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 84 here stands for the totality of all that is including god. we see in parmenides that kemetic nous which is self-aware became logos, or the universal mind. canaanite system the ancient land of canaan presented a cosmological system that greatly influenced the hebrew system. the land of canaan was in a strategic geographical location absorbing cultures and philosophies coming from egypt and mesopotamia. the impoverished, homeless and wandering hebrews purportedly ordered by a sadistic deity to commit genocide in the land of canaan and forcefully take over their land. the hebrews no doubt adopted some religious ideas from the canaanites. after much plagiarism of major theological and cosmological view, we see hebrew prophets unleashing unmitigated criticism of the canaanite religio-cosmological system. like many ancient societies, canaanite cosmology is theocentric. four deities were the major heavyweight players. they are el, baal, anat and yam. el was the creating force in the universe. el was described as having no beginnings. baal on his own part was the preserver of the created world. baal was synonymous with actions. he was described as young and animated. one attribute is that he is a storm god. being stormy does not only paint the picture of action, it points to the law of motion which defies the primordial inertia. hebrew plagiarized version in presenting a concise hebrew cosmology our focus is limited to creation imageries in the book of genesis. hebrew cosmogony presents a geocentric cosmology. earth was primary focus of the creator deities. unlike the sumerian system that accurately described interstellar space and specific names of other planets in and out of our solar system, hebrew system was limited. our primary focus in this paper is the similarity of cosmological representation before creation was made manifest. hebrew cosmology as well painted a picture of the watery world of the primordial beginnings. like other ancient cosmologies, there was darkness, the deep (space) chaos, formlessness and void. in addition, we were told the spirit (feminine noun) hovered above the waters of chaos. darkness, deep, void, space and the spirt all represents femininity. then emerged the masculine principle, the penetrating voice that spoke creative order into the primordial formlessness. a closer look shows that masculine and feminine igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 85 principle was there as well in hebrew system. one could say the creator is androgynous, male and female principles but either a male of a female. the earth was conceived to be flat and permanent and permanently stationed on pillars. one also gets the sense of the earth floating on the waters. above the firmaments are the watery sea described as the “waters above the firmament.” then the waters below the firmament otherwise known as “the deep.” above the earth is the dome of the firmament where the constellations are positioned. creation account opens thus: “in the beginning god created the heaven and the earth. now the earth was unformed and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep” (gen. 1: 1-2) the synchronicity of the biblical version especially with the kemetians, the mesopotamian and other preexisting creation legends of ancient world is clear. according to one of the many versions of egyptian cosmology described above, we encounter the word atum. the egyptian atum (first creator god who sad on muddy mound) became the sumerian adamu (first man created by mixing mud with the blood of a god). in hebrew he was converted again to adamah or adam (first man created out of mud). the religio-cultural symbiosis of ancient world stands out clearly. from atum to adamu to adam, the morphology was carefully adapted to suit cultural flavors. still we the journey continues into the era. atum, adamu and adam emerged in modern quantum physics describing the (first) building block of all reality, atom. in whichever way you look at it, these terminologies point certain primal origin. the indian sacred sanskrit has the word adim which stands for the beginning. i suggest reader do their own homework to decode the historical evolution of these concepts. for the egyptians, atum (first cause) engendered two collaborative principles (deities), shu (air)and tefnut(moist). even though egyptians introduced zoomorphic and anthropomorphic construct into their cosmology, nevertheless, they were very advance in what you might call today as physics. to understand how corrupt the bible is, adam had two sons. one wonders who they married. this is a left-brain based thinking. this is where the bible took the rout of left-hand negative route. two positives (males) cannot engender another being. and this is where kemetic system proves superior of hebrew system. atum created shu and tefnut. this makes more sense than hebrew/adam’s can and abel especially bearing in mind that these names were not people by union of opposites. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 86 kemetic priests understood that the principle of positive and negative are prerequisite in the universe. kemet also presented gods male and female companion. two negatives or two positives would be abomination in the kemetic mind. thus, they presented a balanced cosmos. the sickness of unbalanced cosmos continues to be seen in male only priesthood in many religions. the mother, the universal motherhood is destroyed. this is a destructive left-brain conception of reality which the west is known for. in kemet, shu and tefnut engendered nut (heaven/masculine) and geb (earth/feminine). kemetic deities when it was introduced to the greek became the famed demiurge. however, greek overly represented unbalanced principles in the cosmos. their deities were known to be egotistical homosexual patriarchal. following the concept of nut and geb, hebrew biblical cosmology formulated that elohim (the gods) created the heaven and the earth. in the sumerian creation account, we encounter the word eridu. the anunnaki gods come down from the heavens and involved in the creation drama which finalized in making of adamu/adama race. anunnaki within the sumerian linguistic system means “those who from heaven came to earth.” the sumerian creation myth described a beautiful garden, named eridu. the sumerian eridu where the anunnaki walked physically later became the hebrew garden of eden (eridu) where the elohim (the gods not god) walked physically as well. translation of the plural noun elohim (אלוהים) into the singular noun, god in english language is a premeditated deception. the word elohim has gone through ecclesiastical fancy brush by identifying the plural deities with the concept of god the father, god the son and god the holy spirit. every unbiased hebrew scholar understood this perverted trick. this trick is meant to cover the fact that elohim and the sumerian anunnaki overloads are one and the same according to so many independent researchers. the german word—erde, the dutch word—aarde, old english word—eorthe, aramaic word—aratha/ereds, gothic word—airtha, the kurdish word— erd/ertz, the hebrew--eretz as well as the english word—earth derived from the sumerian world eridu (sitchen, 2000). although there is slight linguistic distortion due to thousands of years of mutation, the consistency is crystal clear. enuma elish (babylonian creation story) chronicled extensively the activities of the anunnaki lords. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 87 the babylonians, as part of mesopotamian civilization, were advanced in sexagesimal mathematics, physics of the solar system as well as in astrotheology. enuma elish described the solar system thousands of years before the invention of telescope. modern science is still trying to catch up with what the ancient knew. it is out of ignorant of how the ancient science of the cosmos that modern people call them blind and primitive. for instance, between 10,000 b.c.e. to 6000 b.c.e., the kemetians had already developed advanced solar calendar (ben-jochannan, 2000). with their advance knowledge of astronomy, the kemetians understood the orion star constellation in detail (bouval, 2000). evidently the three great pyramids of giza were oriented perfectly toward the three stars of the orion belt which is located millions of light years from the earth. gnostic cosmology gnosticism is based on the concept that one can attain knowledge of higher realities (realm) through divine intuitive, inner knowledge also known as gnosis. many scholars would argue that christianity is a mishmash of orphism as well hermeticism. gnosticism was part of early christian theological sect. some gnostic teachers were mentioned in the new testament, nicolas whose followers were called nicolaitans (rev. 2:5) and simon (acts 8:9). information presented about these figures in the new testament are scanty and propaganda based. gnosticism first emerged in syria and populated mediterranean region. but during the time of the roman emperor, hadrian (a.d, 110 a.d. –38 a.d.), syrian gnosticism moved to kemet. figures like basilides, carpocrates and valentines standing tall in alexandria (doresse, 1986). gnostic cosmology is diverse depending on doctrinal variations of specific school. just like there are variations christian theological school, lutheran, calvinism, catholicism etc. however, the central message of gnosticism in relations to material creation remains similar. there is an unknowable prime originator of all things. this unknowable transcendental being made lesser spirits. he is not associated with the material creation. then the lesser spirits out of rebellion made the material world. gnosticism held that the material universe is debased. according to the gnostics the material world was created by the fallen evil demiurge. this demiurge goes by different names, ialdaboath, archon, iao, (yahweh), sabaoth, adonaois, astaphaios, eloaios, horaios jehovah, etc. these would be what christian call satan. evidently the demiurge was associated with elohim of the bible. gnostics believes the god of genesis to be evil demiurge. he igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 88 is of the lower heaven. they hold that since the god of genesis is associated with material creation, he cannot be from the higher realm. the manifestation of matter was contrary to the will of the transcendental prime creator. the catholic church persecuted and murdered the original gnostics out of existence in so many places. gnosticism lean towards a famine universe. judaism, christianity and islam on the other hand lean towards a psychotic masculine godhead. gnosticism taught the preeminence of femininity in the order of existence. scientist now posit that ninety six percent of the cosmos is dark energy and dark matter associated with the feminine. only four percent of reality that is masculine. this begs the question, is the prime architect of all things a father or a divine motherhood? we know that the gnostic libraries were set on fire. gnostic teachers were killed, and some were driven into exile by ecclesiastical papacy and his dictatorial bishoprics. many church fathers outrightly published lies and fabrications against the gnosticism. this lies and fabrications were promoted by the church and has come to define gnosticism. many researchers still believe that gnosticism is closer to the truth compared to the current christian doctrinal fabrications coming out of constantine’s nicaean counsel of 325a.d. vedic indian cosmology indian rig vada cosmology is vast. so, justice would not be done in explaining the complete package of this worldview in its entirety in this paper. the reader is advised to carry out further research for additional information. rig veda holds that in the beginning was nothingness. nothingness does not refer to ex-nihil. rather, it refers to absence of order. this postulation shares commonality with the kemetian cosmology. rig veda suggests the existence of a primordial ocean as well as primordial chaos. it was unclear how this chaos was introduced. however, veda cosmology is clear about who introduced order into the formlessness. it was the god indra who brought order into the state of formless void and chaos. indra achieved this through his boundless creative power. one of the divine attributes of indra is he who has a thousand testicles. the introduction of genitalia here should not be construed literally. one is aware that anthropomorphism could present serious roadblock to textual decipherment. indra possessing a thousand testicles in this context indicates unmatchable creative potency. biologically speaking, the testicles are sex organ responsible for producing sperm. sperm cells are responsible for fertilizing the egg thereby engineering new creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 89 veda cosmological doctrine, like so many other cosmologies, firmly established male and female principles in the order of existence. masculine energy (indra’s testicle) unites with feminine energy (primordial dark matter/chaos) in order to engender creation. indra’s had to conquer the primordial forces of chaos before creation sprang out. indra is also a combat god who must overcome many battles. evidently indra true to his nature separate ‘sat’ from “asat.” sat is existence or creation. asat is the chaos or nonexistence (prasad, 1995). that is, he separated existence from nonexistence. nothingness has always existed. one must bear in mind that the notion of nothingness applies to chaos, not ex-nihil. there is already preexisting materials for creation. in the hebrew narrative, god separated the waters above from the waters beloved. similar creative process that is found in rig veda. it was indra separated heaven and earth in vedic cosmology (ev cochrane, 2010). sat and asat were separated. zinda vesta cosmological system zinda vesta is the sacred scripture of the religion of zoroastrians. the religion was founded by zarathustra. scholars date the time of this prophet between 1500 b.c. to 1200 b.c. (knight et al, 1996). zinda vesta was priced as authoritative in providing adherence with solid cosmological interpretation of reality. the deity ahura mazda is the principal actor within this cosmology. ahura mazda stands for ‘lord wisdom’ (kia, 2016). avesta describes creation like an egg. the upper half is the sky. the lower half is the earth with the waters. the cosmogonic account described in zinda vesta identified the number seven (stages) with creation just as we see in hebrew scripture. the first in the creation stage was the heavens/sky. next step, the earth conceived as flat. next, was the water/ocean. forth in line a single tree. fifth, a single bull and sixth a man. thus, after crating the earth, plants, animals, the creation of humans followed. hebrew system presented similar creation sequence viz vegetations (gen. 1:11), animals (gen. 1:24), and man/woman (gen. 1:26). then came the seventh creation which is fire (sun). zinda vesta described two forms of fire viz the regular fire we know and the inner fire. the inner fire is the cosmic soul. without cosmic soul matter will forever reman in a state of inertia. the cosmology continued thus: the first tree, the animal/bull and the first man were in the state of inertia. the bull (white) dwelled on a riverbank. the usage of the color “white” in this description may symbolize original innocence or uncorrupted state. the bull was also igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 90 described as humongous. on the other side of the riverbank stood the man who was referred to as ‘mortal life.’ from this point on, zinda vesta introduced movement/activities into the prevailing prime inertia. the bull and the man were sacrificed by the gods. and out of their sacrificial demise other humans and animals were created. to decipher this cosmology, one needs to be familiar with ancient symbolism. the bull dwelt on the water. water significance feminine energy. the man and the bull both signify masculine energy. male and female principle entered the creative process. popul vuh cosmological system the popol vuh is considered the sacred ‘bible’ of the mesoamericans. this scripture describes the creation of the world from a primordial matter. it depicts a time of the beginning of all things. noting existed but the void, darkness and chaos. like other cosmologies, popol vuh spoke about the primordial ocean of waters. this scripture identified specific names of gods who became the great architect of the universe. among these gods was the sovereign plumed serpent known and quetzalcoatl (taube, 1993). other gods have tittle such as maker, begetter, modeler, heart of the lake, bearer and heart of the sea. these gods held a counsel with other sky deities to in reference to their plan for creation. this idea of the gods holding a council was reflected in the holy bible as well: “come let us make…’ indicating plurality of entities reaching a consensus. we see this unanimous agreement in popol vuh. in their council, the gods concluded to free the cosmic womb of its entrapped potentials. similarity in zinda vesta cosmology, indra freed cosmic water of creation from the monstrous demon vritra. popol vuh described earth as coming out of the primordial water by means of command (voice). the poetic serenity of the primordial world as described the people of mesoamerica is enchanting. in the primordial beginning, all was still, only infinite waters. then came the vibration which led to third density creation. here is the description: “now it still ripples, now it still murmurs, ripples, it still sighs, still hums and it is empty under the sky.” the above draft paints a picture of when time did not exist. there was no human being or animal, no tree, no ground, nothing except the sea. there was utter state of inertness. no motion or activities. we interpret the enchanting description of ripples and murmurs and signs to be what scientist could describe as the initial big bang. biblical terminology refers to the same as the voice of god issuing forth a command. this has something to do with sound vibration through light igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 91 frequencies. when photons of like which is pure spirit slows down it condenses into matter. in order world, matter is a slowed down (condensed) vibration of spirit. igbo cosmological system the igbos of south eastern nigeria has a cosmological system that agrees with the other systems enumerated above. the igbos knew about the primordial ocean. they express their cosmology in their mythos. it appears that the idea of universal ocean was a frequency which was downloaded by the human consciousness all over the world irrespective of geographical location. the igbos refer to a beginning when everywhere was covered with water (primordial ocean). they express that in the beginning “ala di deke-deke.” roughly translates “in the beginning everywhere (the land) was waterlogged. the mythos creates a sense of universal instability (chaos). the igbos utilized zoomorphism in their creation mythology by explaining the reason chameleon moves very slowly. it is because when dry land started to emerge out of the primordial cosmic ocean everywhere still waterlogged and muddy. therefore, the chameleon learned to move about with extreme precaution. in another version of the igbo zoomorphic cosmology, okpoko (pied hornbill) had no place to bury its parents due to there was no dry land, only primordial ocean of waters. so, it had to bury them on either side of his head which explained why the bird has enlarged head and beak. in some other versions of igbo cosmology, an anthill emerged out of the primordial waters. the creator then established creation on the anthill. this is like the kemetic ptah causing a hill to emerge out of the waters and creating the world. in another version of kemetic mythos, ptah was the hill. igbo cosmology learn towards cosmic balance. there are positive and negative principle which endangered creation. these principles were deified as ‘igwe’ (the sky) and ‘ala’ (earth goddess). the idea of union of opposite is engrained in igbo consciousness. it also points to a sense of cosmic duality. there appear to be a common trend in most of the systems discussed above. the all identified the beginning of creation with the water of chaos, darkness and formlessness. science postulate that 96 percent of the cosmos is dark energy/dark matter. so, there is agreement in belief at least between religion and science as chaos, atom and darkness. what differs is agreement in attitude. religion propose an intelligent creator to be the organizing fore of chaos into creation. scientist of materialist predilection propose that this force behind existence is a purely irrational, blind and mechanical lacking in conscious igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 92 ontology. the bible states that out of this boundless and incomprehensible darkness god uttered a command “let there be light” and so we were told “and there was light.” science holds that out of big bang the universe was born. hermeticism, manicheanism and cosmic duality the 36,000-year-old religious document known as the emerald tablet of thoth is the oldest known religious teaching on this planet. the god thoth is also known as tahuti. the greek called him hemes or hermes trismegistus. in rome he was the god mercury (judah-el, 2015). it is from hermes we get hermetics which relates to the mystical writings of hermes. when the greeks came to kemet, they identified tehuti’s cultural center as hermopolis (the city hermes). in general usage hermeticism means esoteric traditions attributed to the teachings of hermes trismegistus. we encounter in christian theology the concept of hermeneutics. this concept derived from the occult teaching of the god thoth/tehuti/hermes. one can see that the church plays double agents. on the one hand condemning ancient mysteries as satanic and on the other hand covertly practicing and copying from the same esoteric mysteries while pretending original doctrines. thoth/tehuti or hermes taught the seven hermetic principles. the fourth of these seven principles is the law of polarity, i.e duality. this implies that all things have two sides. even the prime creator by deciding to create matter he shows his other side. he engendered duality and multiplicity. duality is intended by the creator to govern creation. ‘good and evil’ are necessary and they do exist side by side. one must also bear in mind that somethings the human mind classify as evil are just some necessary process of balance when considered on a grand cosmic scale. evil vs good are but thesis and anti-thesis which leads to synthesis, a doctrine that georg wilhelm friedrich hegel (1770 – 1831) expounded quiet well in his famous dialectical philosophy (steward, 2000). hegel underwood duality as necessary for all evolutions of consciousness. manichaeism is a religious philosophy of dualism. this religious movement originated in ancient iran. it was founded by mani (216 a.d. – 274 a.d.). all famous religious ‘mystery’ systems on earth came from the esoteric teaching of hermes, mani was an initiate in ancient version of hermetic mysteries. his dualistic teachings came from the teaching of hermes. the core doctrine of manichaeism centers on cosmic duality. mani like buddha has logical and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 93 mystical preoccupation with good and evil in the universe. mani thought that these two eternally co-existing forces or principles express themselves in the form of fight between light and darkness (coyle, 2009). st. augustine of hippo, a former initiate of manichaeism, lunched an ecclesiastical anti-polemics against mani’s teaching. st. augustine’s famous work is titled on the city of god. the title of this work vindicates manichaean dualism. st. augustine created a sharp contrast between the city of god (catholic church) and the city of man, the state. he claimed that the city of god leads to the eternal father. conversely, the city of man leads to perdition. is there any better way to talk about good vs evil polarity as preached by mani than this? basically, st. augustine was talking about the duality between good and evil using, eloquently, his fancy apologetic brush. st. augustine’s writings betrayed his secrete admiration for manichean dualism as reflected in his preoccupation with the nature of evil and the nature of good. any logical thinker understands that the idea of affirmation also contains the idea of negation. just as the idea of life carries the idea of its dual negation, death. to talk about good implies knowledge of the non-good or evil. to talk about a tall man implies foreknowledge of a short man. for st. augustine to talk about good indicates that there is evil even though he was trying to justify his religion by absorbing god of all responsibilities to the existence of evil. this leads many thinkers to conclude that christian theology is apologetically infantile. st. augustin was reestablishing what mani tried to do. that is, understand evil vs good polarity. mani’s philosophical construction was misrepresented by the ecclesiastical system. in philosophy the problem of evil is a real problem which is yet to be solved. mani, as an adept of preexisting ancient ‘mystery system’ understood the existence of duality as a phenomenon within the cosmic realm. this duality was spoken about by other ancient teachers as “the harmony of opposites.” grown-up thinkers understood god to be androgynous. therefore, in him is the principle of polarity. even though this polarity is unified in perfect harmony. nevertheless, it is there. the very component of atom, the building block of reality contains duality—electron and proton—engaged in an endless vibrational struggle. mani proposed that there is ongoing struggle between two core universal principles-birth and death. i suggest that one look at these universal principles with adequate metaphysical insight. these two principles act as comic justice that balances all thing within the three-dimensional reality. matter is in constant motion. motion implies change. for there to be movement or activity in the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 94 primordial cosmic inertia, there must be struggle of polarity. for there to be movement within an atom there must be dualistic polarity. there is matter and anti-matter, gravity and anti-gravity as well as energy and anti-energy. the universal struggle of opposites is a reality impressed open the logical mind through sense perception. the notion of death as cessation of vital function of the brain of a biological human organism is necessary in this real. life and death are the oscillation of cosmic duality in harmonious unity. it is a form of manichean duality or endless battle of two opposite of the same unity with creativity manifestation well as negative entropy. mani was right, there is parallel struggle of opposites and it is cosmically eternal. duality in kemetic cosmology the religious notion of god and the devil is also the notion of order and chaos in the cosmos. for the kemetians, order is represented by the law of maat. maat is the organizing principle, the law of justice, harmony, reciprocity and balance. maat is a feminine principle. she was anthropomorphized as a goddess. by following the law of maat, balance is maintained. maat also represents eternal truth. the kemetians believed in the interconnectedness of reality. any disharmony in any part of the cosmic system affect the entire system. opposed to maat is an evil chaotic principle known as isfet (falsehood). isfet fights against goodness, righteousness, truth, justice and harmony. isfet is constantly at work trying to overthrow maat. kemetians often represent isfet as a monstrous evil force. they depict him as the destructive serpent known as apophis. this indicate that there is a manichaean-like dualistic battle between good and evil the universe. however, kemetians believe that apophis, in the final battle, would be defeated and his body dismemberment. these dualistic principles were also described in the ‘contending of horus and seth’ (wakeman,1973). horus was born of immaculate conception, had twelve disciples, taught in the temple at the age of twelve and performed miracles. seth is the evil one who opposes horus. in certain version this takes on the form of astro-mythology. horus is the risen ‘sun of god’ and he won the battle over seth (evil) who also represents darkness. kemetic cosmology indicates that there is endless battle between horus (principle of good) and seth (principle of evil). night and day is also anthropomorphized as the dual struggle between horus and seth. in another version of this cosmology, horus is represented as ra (the sun) while seth is depicted as the apophis, dark and evil. it was stated that at sundown horus battle seth all night and comes out victorious at sunrise. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 95 duality in mesopotamia cosmology mesopotamia has a cosmological thinking describing ongoing battle between light and darkness. the hero of this battle is ninurta who symbolizes order. ninurta has an opposer, the demonic viperous monster anzu. anzu dwells in the underworld, the apsu. the word abyss has its root in apsu (sitchin, 1977). as the demon of the underworld he constantly works to offset cosmic balance to usher in the reign of chaos and destruction. the power tussle between ninurta and anzu is on a cosmic scale and endless. the winner would decide the fate of the entire world. humanity would either be ruled by good or by evil. there are variations to this story. however, they all focus on the battle between light and darkness. ninurta was also said to have fought labbu another massive monster whose every essence chaos. in another version of the story, niturta defeated asakku whose aim was to nullify all things that stood for good. asakku represents sickness and everything death. with the fall of babylon came the rise of assyria. in assyria, ninurta became the god ashur. even though there was a name change based on adaptation, the central idea or concept remained the same. that is, there is a battle going on between light and darkness and its endless. duality in canaanite cosmology in canaan, baal was portrayed as engaging in battle with yam. yam was described as the primordial water or ocean of chaos. while el and baal were creating, maintaining and preserving order in the world, yam did the opposite. yam was described as a chaos monster of destruction introducing disharmony in the universe (beal, 2002). hinduism also presents a picture of the god yama who is associated with darkness, death and destruction. no doubt both yam and yama have one ancient conceptual derivation. another chaotic monster in the canaanite pantheon catalogue was the god mot. mot was equivalent to death and destruction. mot represented darkness, evil, drought and famine. like the god seth in kemet, mot was the demon of the barren desert. baal as the defender of el’s created order has the duty of engaging mot to preserver creation. the arch energy was yam and mot, both fierce unruly monstrous forces. mot was the god of the underworld since associated with death and darkness. baal was said to have journeyed to the door of hell to battle with mot. in the myth, we were told that baal was defeated. however, the goddess anat lunched into rescue mission and saved baal from the jaw of darkness. the battle of the god was also interpreted to include changes in seasons. rain and abundance on the one hand and dryness and barrenness on the other. the reader must have noticed at this igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 96 point the introduction of male and female principle as the defender of created order. that is, baal and anat. although presented in theomorphic interpretation the myth was alluding to cosmic duality. duality in vedan cosmology in the rig veda system, there is a cosmic law called ‘rita.” rita is a positive balance in the universe. everything should follow the law of rita. rita is equivalent to kemetic law of maat. rita is the way of the cosmos, the blueprint for creation. rita is superior to the gods. just like in kemet the gods follow the law of maat. disobedient to this law is what introduces evil and chaos in the universe. the law of rita teleologically leads all things in existence to their purposeful end. the human moral law is derived from the law of rita. there is a contra force whose goal is to negate rita. this force is called vritra. vritra is an ach-demon. by its very nature the destroyer. in the christian theology he would equate with satan. he is often depicted as a monstrous serpent. vritra is deceptive, cunning and vile. the god indra and his cohorts were said to be given the responsible of defending rita (the truth). just as in christian theology michael is said to be the defender of the kingdom of light from the ever-waring forces of darkness. indra fighting on behalf of rita to defeat the arch-demon vritra and his forces. duality in avestan cosmology zorastarianism has the concept of asha and druj. asha is truth, druj is falsehood. avesta sees this two peinciples as engaged in a battle. the principle of good is represented by the god ahura mazda, the principle of evil is represented by angra mainyu. ahura mazda is the principle of light, harmony, truth, order and balance. on the other hand, angra mainyu is the force of falsehood representing disharmony as well as the law of entropy. avesta has it that in the order of things, there is a time allotted for angra mainyu to exercise its evil influence in the world, a time mapped out for darkness to envelop the world. but this time is limited and the superior power of ahura mazda will regain control over the force of evil. ahura mazda would be accompanied with the ‘holy immortals’ in the final battle to overthrow the beast of destruction. the holy immortals were specifically created for this crucial task of assisting ahura mazda. duality is a las of the cosmos everything in the cosmos goes through a period of activity and rest, just like the days and nights created by planetary rotation. day and night are not limited to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 97 our galaxy or to our planet earth alone. on a grand cosmic level, there is periods of activity and period of repose. in sanskrit, a cosmic day is known as manvantara while a cosmic night is called pralaya. manvantara is a period of activity. pralaya is a period of repose. being alive means being in manvantara. death implies pralaya. the ancient understood there is seven cosmic laws that governs all manifestation. seven manvantaras or cosmic days make up one great cosmic day. one great cosmic day is known as known as mahamanvantaras and it equals 311,040,000,000,000 in earth years (aun-weor. 2014). in the same way, seven cosmic nights (pralayas) make up one great cosmic night (mahapralaya). the sanskrit word ‘maha” stands for “great” in english language. within our planetary realm we experience this symphony of dualism in multiple forms. from reading the paper one must have come to the awareness by now of how the ancient described this state of inertia and movement in terms of the war between the gods—one is good and the other evil. there is no gainsaying the fact that a sense of epistemological duality pervades human perception of the universe. the ancient understood this very well. without duality it would be impossible for anything to be perceived, interpreted and understood by the human intellect. chaos vs order, negative vs positive, darkness vs light, day vs night, life vs death, right vs left, female vs. male, evil vs good, spirit vs matter, inert vs activity, god vs the devil etc. anyone who truly research manichaean dualism will arrive at an undeniable fact that duality do in fact endlessly exist in space and time. the concept of duality has generated much philosophical and theological discuss throughout history. another way duality manifest is seasonal cyclical changes. sometimes the ancient interpreted cyclical changes as duality between good and evil. in the west, winter is seen as the time of death (entombment), spring on the underhand is equated with resurrection. it is no coincidence that the christian easter celebration was encrypted to occur in springtime. spring is when vegetation comes back to life after long death from winter cold. all through the ancient time, before christianity, spring has always been known as the time of resurrection from the death (walter, 2014). following the council of nicea in 325 a.d. the controllers, decided to affix easter celebration to coincide with the first sunday following the full moon of the spring equinox. easter is an extension of pagan nature feast. part of the ritual of duality between light and dark hemispheres of the cosmos. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 98 cosmic frequencies the core of the cosmos is emitting frequencies nonstop. star systems are broadcasting information through encrypted spectra of light. the earth as has a sound frequency known as the schumann resonance. this earth’s vibrational resonance is designed to resonate with the human biology. changes in the geomagnetic field affects the biology of humans tremendously. cosmic frequency emissions come in form of wavelengths. the ancients, as i have suggested above, spoke extensively about light and dark principles. these could also be understood as different waves. they saw creation as coming from a core which they referred to as the ‘tree of life.” this is the generative epicenter of creation. pythagoras alluded to the tree of life when he proposed that at the heart of the cosmos is a ‘central fire.’ the tree of life is the point of big bang. science and religion agree there was point of origin of all things. the conflict lies in the disagreement in attitude. the creative word of god and the vibratory expansive explosion of the big bang are one and the same thing. the universe oscillates between light and dark hemispheres as i suggested above. evidence of this is observed even in the systolic and dystopic oscillation of the human heartbeat as well as the symphony rotation of day and night. this is how everything within the visible light spectrum operates. the book of genesis described in terms of “night and day.” this is what we have been trying to demonstrate in this paper by our previous citation of ancient cosmologies as they relate to the concept of duality. the chinese yin-yang symbol is perfect example of activity and rest in cosmos, the synchronized duality. it is the synchronistic sign of positive and negative oscillation. this symbol presents to the mind a universal understanding of the chaos and harmony. like the chinese yin and yang, the mayan hunab ku is a symbol of duality as well representing the oscillation of cosmic hemispheres. duality in the universe is not completely polarized. these opposites work in unison. it is this theory that led many to argue that what we call evil and good are only a manifestation of one unified conscious being (god). the limited human mind is unable to understand reality from a grand cosmic scale. in ancient mesopotamia one sees the symbol of the god ningishizda represented as two serpents entwined on a pole. the two serpents indicate duality or the balance of opposites. the pole represents the point or the axis, the balance. it appears the serpents are engaged in a struggle. and the struggle is a forward movement along the line of the pole which represent immutability, incorruptibility and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 99 permanency. the two serpents represent change or the law change. ningishizda was described as “lord of the good tree.” in many ancient texts one encounters the concept of “cosmic tree” referring cosmic axis from where creation emirates. ningishizda symbol is the first and the oldest imagery in the entire world utilizing entwined serpent on a pole to represent cosmic duality (colman, 2016). the reader must have decoded by now that it is from this symbol that the universal medical symbol—a staff with two entwined serpents derived from. it is called the caduceus. serpent symbolism appear in so many ancient myths. the reason is that serpent was a perfect mental image the ancient used when describing wavelengths emanating from the tree of life. the movement of snake and wave was descried as similar. the state of inertia in the hebrew bible became animated by the geometrical creative wave forms which biblical writer described as the voice of god speaking things into existence: “and god said let there be light and there was light (genesis 1:3). this act of speaking reality into the initial chaotic formless void of darkness signified the mating of two opposites. the voice of god going forth implies masculine energy uniting with feminine energy (formless void or darkness). for the bible to propose that there was darkness implies that there was something already in existence. this is a further vindication of other preexisting reports by pre-biblical cultures that god did not create ex-nihil but merely introducing order into the preexisting primordial matter. as i mentioned somewhere above, the primordial matter, void, space, darkness, formlessness or cosmic ocean stands for dark matter/dark energy which is feminine. in order word, creation is 96 percent feminine 5 percent masculine. since this is the case, how come the creator be represented as a patriarchal chauvinistic energy. how come god be called father and not the divine motherhood? the ancient were right-brained. thus, they did not represent reality in overly abstract form as the materialistic modern left brained-based people do. kemetic hieroglyphics, hebrew alphabet are example of right brain ideograms. zoomorphic expressions were often employed by the ancient in the explanation of being qua being, all right brain hemisphere. ancient serpent zoomorphism as symbol of cosmic wave movement many people are familiar with the symbol of two serpents entwined around a central pole. this is called the caduceus. the caduceus symbol has been utilized igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 100 to represent medical field in our modern world. many people are familiar with moses in the bible lifting a serpent on a pole. he was mimicking preexisting ancient caduceus mystery but because his religion tended to eliminate the feminine part of the universe, he only had one serpent indicating his yhwh patriarchy. the creation of the caduceus indicated that the ancient geared towards right brain ideogramic representation. the serpent symbolized for the ancient the movement of cosmic waves or creation waves. a keen observer will notice that snakes move like waves. so, there was no better animal to represent wave movement than the snake. our modern minds have been controlled by the controllers to think of serpent as virtually evil due to the zoomorphic myth appearing in the book of genesis. however, serpent symbolism was not conceived as evil in the minds of the ancient. two serpents entwined on a pole rather represents two waves frequencies expressing themselves in cosmic duality. that is, the dark and the light hemisphere of the cosmos. it represents balance and harmony or the unification of opposites. medical science utilized this simple to suggest that medicine and medical practices were supposed to foster biopsychospiritual wellbeing—balance between mind and matter or spirit and body. mind and body still point to a sense of duality. western medical science has long fallen into unadulterated materialistic reductionism in term of understanding of the human psychospiritual and material wholistic existence which caduceus symbolizes. duality must be united for new creation to emerge; this is a cosmic law. balancing the opposite is being like the creator. the essence of the creator is not patriarchal sadistic genocidal dictator as we were taught in most of the major world religions. the creator is both male and female principle in unison. the cosmic balance which the ancients spoke about has been turned into synthetic religion of male superiority and female inferiority. the suppression of feminine aspect of the creator is not just unbalance but infectious evil in the minds of the people. in order world, the real creatrix is more appropriate in terms of the nature of god than creator. the invention of male creator came as a result of switch from right brain consciousness to left brain consciousness. right left-brain consciousness brought patriarchal and dominated the global spiritual worldview. to understand this, we need to understand the cosmic association between light and dark hemisphere of the cosmos which affects the overall human consciousness. the tree of life and the galactic core igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 101 modern science now validates ancient view that the cosmos is a sea of energy. this is what the scientists refer to as dark matter and dark energy. dark matter and dark energy comprise 96 percent of the entire cosmos. this is the feminine aspect of existence. on the other hand, visible light spectrum represents only 5 percent of reality. this five percent is understood to be left-brain(masculine). i suggest that whatever created this whole reality is more of a divine motherhood than “god the father”. i also posit that the knowable reality is only a tiny fraction of what exists. our biological sense perception is not designed to perceive higher vibratory light frequencies existing within the described cosmic sea of energy. modern science is trying with special equipment picking up higher wave forms. creation wave carries codes via light spectra to different densities. as i have described earlier, the ancient identified this dark matter with the primordial ocean, water of nun, the deep, or the primordial chaos. our milky way galaxy has a central sun. the sun’s procession through the dark space is in the form of vortex of movement dragging along planets as it moves. the sun is not stationary with planets running around it as the bible depicted. this biblical geocentric thinking has been changed since the time of nicolaus copernicus (1473 --1543). the entire milky way system is moving through the infinite darkness of the cosmos. our sun as one of the billions of stars in this galaxy, is in turn is, orbiting even a bigger sun system. this sun system has been identified as sirius which is in the constellation of canis major. from canis we get the name dog. canis also gives us the word k9, referring to dog. this is because, canis is called the dog star. why is canis called the dog star. it is because in kemet, canis is associated with the god of the underworld, anubis (anpu). anubis is a deity with dog head. dog head indicates his extraordinary ability for higher perception, his knows everything. this is another case of zoomorphism. one wonders why the name god is an anagram of the word dog. some researchers are making connection with dog headed god anubis. all religious system as we can see is traceable to ancient africa. since the gravitational magnetism of sirius star has controlling effect on our galaxy, it is not surprised that the anubis astromythology identified him with the word god as an anagram of dog or canis. most language has esoteric dimension to it. there are millions of galaxies and containing trillions of stars and planets and none is stationary. nothing in the heavens is still. so, this implies every space body responding to a greater magnetic field. they are all orbiting other bodies more massive and more forceful than themselves. this indicates that everything igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 102 in the universe is spiraling around acound a central core. this is what the ancient described as the “tree of life.” creation waves emanating from cosmic axis during the 1920s, george lamaitre, a belgian catholic priest and an astronomer, shocked the world when he proposed the famous big bang theory. through his astute astronomical observation, he concluded that the universe has a point of origin. he extrapolated that this point of origin is to be found in the primordial atom. thus, he confirmed what the ancients already knew. cognizance of the potential theological implication, pope pius xii reactively affirmed that lamaitre’s new assertion relative to existence of the observable universe did not counterbalance established ecclesiastical creation system. lamaitre, true to scientific principle maintained a total neutrality to this papal lure. he advised the papacy to limit public discussion on the implication of his finding. the papacy understood that the trajectory of big bang theory would be blamed on the church. this is because big band theory has always been understood as a satanic materialist view of reality. this was an expensive satire for a church concerned with her image in the world. what stood out in lamaitre’s theoretical assertion, however, was that the universe has continued to expand since creation. the notion of expanding universe was later substantiated by albert einstein as well as the american astronomer edwin hubble. the use of sophisticated astronomical machines has led to the discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation (cmbr). cmbr is the left-over radiation from the big bang which continues to expand. as i indicated somewhere above, the big bang is equivalent to the voice of the creator as described in the book of genesis. voice signifies sound frequency. for the purpose of this paper, i will define sound as electromagnetic wave that carries energy. the energy coming from big bang is in the form of gamma rays (delsemme, 1998). today research in cmbr, has shown that distribution of temperature in the universe is traced to a singular point of origin, the singularity. creation waves carries information which are coded and transmuted through geometrical patterns. it is this geometrical pattern that the ancient referred to as the ‘flower of life’ (melchizedek,1998). the existence of the flower of life or geometrical pattern induced by sound frequency has now been proven by simple experimental studies called cymatics. anyone can carry out this experiment. cymatics has shown that sound vibration carries three-dimensional vibration igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 103 hologram. thus, the connection between the voice of the creator (big bang) and physical reality is clear. the voice of god (sound frequency) is what created physical reality or dense matter. it appears the law of cymatics is the law of the entire cosmos. also, i it worth noting that the tree of life is coded on everything that is. this is the blueprint of creation. not until recently physicist still held unto the classical view of matter. studies in quantum physics now provide us with evidence that atom are in the state of probability. therefore, matter exists in a state of potentiality and it is consciousness or the observer that influences the state of its materialization. this new information came from an experiment scientist call the “double slit experiment.” when placed in controlled observation, atoms behave in a wave form as well as like particles. everything is wave and everything follows a frequency. the behavior of electrons has no definable particle and position within an atom. it exists as quanta of light called photon which is not locatable in space and time depending on the observer’ observation. impact of light frequencies from the galactic core the entire reality runs on electromagnetic frequency. some of the spectra of light frequencies include gamma rays, x-rays, ultraviolent rays, infrared, microwave, radio wave as well as long waves. i posit there might be others still which is undetectable using scientific and technological equipment. these frequencies carry information from the galactic core. there is overwhelming evidence to support the fact that evolution of the human consciousness is highly determined by light frequencies. the entire structure of the cosmos is broadcasting intense pulsation containing evolutionary data. we are carbon-based beings. carbon is so abundant in the universe. carbon is the basis of life on this planet. this begs the question: where did carbon come from.? astrobiologist affirm that carbons are stardust. that is, leftover particles from the death of stars. thus, our link with the stars is undeniable. ecclesiastical authorities (the church) has a history of condemning knowledge and study of celestial bodies in relation to their influence on the biosphere. certainly, these is a covert operation by the church to control the people from understanding the nature of this reality. this is what unmitigated attacks on astrology is all about down through the history. how can we live in a universe full of cosmic light frequencies without being influenced by them? the moon is a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 104 typical example. as minuscule as it is when compared to other space bodies, the moon exerts tremendous biopsychological influence earth. some researchers now believe that the moon acts as an incubator to all biological organism on this planet. the female menstrual cycle is regulated by the moon. then english word lunatic has the latin word luna in it. luna simply mean the mood. there is studies now which link full moon to rise in animal bites as well as psychological disorders in humans. in the west, there is high cases of mental health disturbances during winter season. studies has pointed to a correlation between reduced amount of solar activities with depression for example (broers, 2012). there is a correlation between direct sunlight and severe clinical problems. the bottom line is that cosmic rays affect life on earth positively or negatively. a research publication tittle clinical cosmobiology has linked sudden cardiac attack and varieties of other sudden deaths with extreme disturbances in geomagnetic field caused by sporadic solar activities (stoupel et al, 2006). there have also been scientific studies correlating rise in crime with solar activities every microscopic particle of matter contains the seed of consciousness. atoms and sub-atoms have in an intelligent manner. cells behave in an intelligent manner. thus, the human atomic and molecular structures respond to the electromagnetic interaction of light frequencies coming from the core of the cosmos. the core of the cosmos is constantly emitting gamma rays. due to the vastness of the cosmos it takes millions of years for these rays to reach us in our little corner of this planet. our sun is estimated to be 93 million miles from the earth. thus, earths geomagnetic field is influenced by solar activities (broers, 2012). when solar storm is triggered by atomic combustion of helium and hydrogen, it takes about three days for the charged solar photons to reach the earth. solar activities trigger solar thunderstorm discharging more particles towards earth surface. the atomic particles existing between the ionosphere and earth’s electromagnetic field are charged by solar energy. it the charged particles in the ionosphere that triggers lightning and thunderstorm as we know it. this thunderstorm generates electromagnetic energy waves called atmospherics. atmospherics are key to the creation of amino acid which is the basis of life on earth. if the stars are instrumental creating prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells that led to whole organism, how would anyone deny that the same electromagnetic field force from the stars has influences on the evolution of consciousness on earth. the creator designed the body to receive these cosmic light frequencies. how does this happen? the human deoxyribonucleic acid (dna) is there to act just igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 105 like radio or tv antennas which transduce these cosmic frequencies into the systems of the human bodies. this is how life evolves. in order words it is light frequencies that activates our biopsychospiritual codes. the dna is “light encoded filament” (marciniak 1992). the phrase light encoded means information loaded. its functions are to received data from the cosmic axis i.e. the tree of life in order to update the systems. evolution therefore follows frequencies emitting from interstellar star systems. as stated earlier, our sun has a tide just like the sea which rises and falls. the emission and fluctuation of the solar tide is a response to greater gravitational pull of a bigger star gravity and electromagnetism. as big as our sun is, it orbits other suns. some researchers believe that our sun follows sirius star system. it is sirius that triggers the diastolic/systolic tidal wave of our sun. the ancient understood this. they knew that the yin-yang cosmic polarity coming from deep space has a real effect on this earth. radio astronomers understood this fact as well. there are invisible electromagnetic fields all around us. radio and television stations broadcast information to their receivers based on manipulating cosmic light frequencies which is known as radio waves. the prime creator/creatrix understands that every universe needs a conscious observer. in fact, a universe void of consciousness is not possible. therefore, the teleology of creation is consciousness. the end goal of man is consciousness. the future is evolving towards perfection of consciousness. it is through cosmic consciousness that the creator does self-introspection. i posit this logic, if creation reflects the creator, the creator must be looking at his reflection then. the pineal gland has been studied and understood as the seat of human spiritual awareness consciousness. st. augustine of hippo following preexisting ancient knowledge stated that the pineal gland is the point of interaction between mind and body or between spirit and matter. here he again acknowledged manichean dualism which he condemned. the production of melatonin by the pineal gland is controlled by solar activities. again, the point is that the electromagnetic field which pervades the cosmos is the engine that drives the evolution of the human consciousness. geodetic alignments the ancient understood waves frequencies than we give them credit for. ancient geodetic markers have been observed all over the world. geodesy deals with surveying the surface of the earth to understand specific point in the earth’s igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 106 surface. part of geodesy studies earth’s gravity fields. the ancient understood planetary lay lines, electromagnetism and gravitational fields. some scholars now reveal that the great pyramid in kemet is a geodetic marker aligned to transduce certain frequencies on this earth. pyramids are found in africa, china, the americas, japan and so many other locations around the earth. the great pyramid is positioned on the intersection of 3oo north and longitude 600 east which many consider perfect alignment to the north (hart, 2003). the strategic positions of these pyramids and other stone monuments around the world have been said to follow not only certain strategic planetary alignments and grids but also that of galactic light frequencies. the great giza pyramids shows that they are aligned perfectly to the tree star systems of the orion star belt—alnilam, mintaka and alnitak. the great pyramid is at the center of the planet earth. did ancient kemet build this pyramid to transduce electromagnetic frequencies from the deep stars to the earth through lay lines and planetary grids? this is food for thought. brainwaves as indicated above, the cosmos has a frequency, the universe has a resonance frequency, the earth has a frequency, and so are the star systems. these frequency broadcast of waves act as evolutionary activation. similarly, the brain emits frequency as well. the planet earths resonance, schumann resonance, emits frequencies that resonates with brainwaves as well as the pulsation of the human heart. the 7.83hz frequency of the earth resonates particularly with the alpha brainwave. the u.s psychotronic conference during the 1970s reported on the synchronicity between schumann resonance and alpha brainwave. alpha brainwave is associated with psychic abilities and intuition (jones et al, 2009). it was the german psychiatrist hans berger in 1924 who invented electroencephalography. this device is used in measuring electrical nano charges in the brain. neural oscillation triggers billions of electrical pulsations. the human brain has certain beat. the brain like every electrical and magnetic field in the universe emits is full of electricity. hertz is the unit of frequency in which neuronal vibrational pulse is measured. the different types of brainwaves are often depicted to correspond with five greek letters. these include: gamma brainwave indicates a frequency ranges between 32-100 cycles per second. in this brainwave there is a heightened neuro activity creating intensification in mental concentration. beta brainwaves, 13-32 cycles per second and associated with agitated and intense mental focus or awareness. alpha brainwaves igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 107 frequency ranges between 8-13 cycles per second which is associated with relaxed and alert theta brainwaves with frequency ranging between 4-8 cycles per second. this state is characterized by creativity, dream state, fantasy, intuition, imagery etc. delta brainwaves indicate a frequency range between 0.5 – 4 cycles per second and it is associated with a state of pure sleep. the geomagnetic frequency with its electromagnetic field in do interface with neuronal waves. the biopsychospiritual circadian rhythm is regulated by the pituitary gland located in the brain. the pituitary gland has a direct resonance with cosmic light frequencies. the brain has a correlation with the invincible photons of light (broers, 2012). thus, electrical activities in the geomagnetic field influences changes in the human consciousness. expanded state of consciousness is possible by downloading frequencies (data) from the cosmos. solar wave emits activation data. these codes are crucial for mental evolution. generally, the earth cannot do without solar energy. solar photons are necessary for sustaining biological lives on this planet. ancient people were not stupid when they venerated the sun of god. exposure to certain solar magnetic field could induce spiritual awakening through direct activation of some of the endocrine systems such as the pineal gland and the pituitary gland. there is no gainsaying the fact that the creator speaks only through these frequencies and resonance vibrations. cosmic waves and civilization in third century b.c.e around 3115 b.c.e, human consciousness took a giant leap forward. there was a massive download of galactic wavelength frequencies. this led to global rise and spread of significant inventions as well as complex cities and civilizations. prior to third century b.c.e, societies were organized around micro agrarian families with shamanism as the main religious concept. obviously, many researched found that there was a great morphological jump in the human bioneurology which lead to evolution in consciousness. egypt, mesopotamia, anatolia as well as the indus valley were some of the societies that emerged supreme at this period. researchers believe that the human mind received mental shift. it was as if humanity woke up the next day to realize their brain has evolve exponentially. social stratification, political leadership and architectures completely tool new and advanced direction. people started to reason differently. this is because the galactic frequency resonated with the planet earth geomagnetic field thereby activating the dormant mind. social inequality rose igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 108 with the rise of cities. monarchies were instituted. from agrarian religious shamanism to the institution of elaborate exploitative priestly clans. cosmic waves and religious changes during the 5th century b.c.e. another galactic wave frequency reached the earth and was downloaded by the human consciousness b.c.e. 500. this frequency triggered activated of the dormant human consciousness and directed it towards patriarchal religious institutions. matriarchy was fought and etched out. this was the period of the rise of major religions and theosophical systems we know in the world today. few of these include, confucius in china, tzolkin in mesoamerica, prince siddhartha gautama (buddha) of buddhism, mahavira of janism, zarathustra of zoroastrianism, pythagoras and his salvific philosophy etc. it was after the babylonian exile in 597 bce that the repressive zealous shelanite-judah elites forced their cult of yahwehism on the consciousness of mankind (asher,2013). patriarchal yahwehism continues to dominate the religious awareness of majority of people on this planet as evidenced by judaism, christianity and islam, the three abrahamic religions. the 17th century age of enlightenment with the 17th century, a new cosmic light frequency was download by the human mind. this was the age of philosophy. in conventional term, this period is known as the age of rationalism. previous cosmic wavelengths activation frequencies gave way to even more extreme a left-brain hologram. reason substituted ignorance and superstitious. this period is also known for its atheism, the godless man was emerging. the man who will recreate the whole earth in his image this is called teraformation. the age of rationalism ushered in the emergence of soulless characters which later philosophers talked about. nietzsche spoke about the coming of the “superman. machiavelli described the coming of the soulless “prince.” mary shelley wrote about the abomination called “frankenstein.” george orwell’s book titled 1884 tells about the “big brother” who will control everyone’s life in a dictatorial soulless digital world. everyone would be reduced to slave. orwell went on to describe the hunting state of the planet earth in the following dystopic symbolisms— oceania, eurasia and eastasia. these are esoteric metaphors. aldous huxley book a brave new world talked about the almighty state oligarchs utilizing mass mind control via psychotronic weapons, medication mass hypnosis to dominate and reprogram all humans on earth. even though, it appears that the wave downloaded during enlightenment was meant to free humans from the gods and from the bondage of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 109 addictive ignorance of religious indoctrination, it viewed the world into a more left-brain based reality. the shift in mental state was tremendous. towering figures like john locke, jean-jack rousseau, voltaire, david hume, adam smith, montesquieu, denis diderot, spinoza, immanuel kant, mendelssohn as well as a whole lot more were receiving activations of the left-brain hemisphere and consequently the domination of scientific west received a universal welcome on this planet. galactic activation energy from the 17th century shifted human perception to a completely new dimension. the 1990s wave frequencies—digital revolution the 90s brought in a unique shift in the human mental awareness. again, this was evolution towards left-brain as well. it appears the scientific man was fully awakened. this shift directed evolution along two futuristic paths—cybernetics and genetics. this two would merge as symbiotes. from this point a terminology is now emerging in the human consciousness “onto-biosynthetic”. this means that this earth is in the process of being transformed form bio-organism to ontomechanical-artificial synthetic planet. this is part the dystopic vision that led to the completion of the sequencing of the human genome in in 2003 in what is now known as the great “human genome project.” the was the first human initiation to transhumanism. it was during this period that the human brain started downloading left-brain frequency. what we now call world wide web (www)was initiated by the elite in the year 1989. the cybernetic world was ushered in, the age of machines is here. today everyone has a digital existence which is going to increase exponentially soon. we would not fully understand what this means until singularity is finally reached. the era of digital technology has defined the whole of this planetary future. human consciousness is led towards the entrapment of souls into the cybernetic machines’ universe. it is a matter of time before cyborgs take over the world. police officer of the future will be cyborgs and androids. cyborg means cybernetic organism. computer will attend the level of intelligent which will make man appear imbecilic. synthetic futurist such as ray kurzweil in his book titled the age of spiritual machines: when computers exceed human intelligence, mr. kurzweil forecast that by the year 2050 the age of singularity would have been perfected on this planet. the age of singularity alludes to a time when computers would rule over humans. the synchronicity between man and machine would be perfected by this time. there will be humans who receive digital enhancement and those who chose not to. those who refuse to be infused igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 110 with synthetic machines and nanobots would find it difficult to operate in the future cybernetic world. systems like facial recognition is already in use. very soon it would be possible to go through the airport with no passport. just show your face to a cyborg camera and your retina scan is completed. your data is pulled up. already we are witnessing how the scientist are creating synthetic blood and other body parts. this is how the concept of prosthesis came about, replacing biological organism with synthetic artificial parts. the u.s and other world powers now have enhanced solders. that is, human soldiers who are infuse with digital codes and whose performance seems out of this world. cybernetic anthropomorphous machine systems (cams)are a reality today. the superpowers now have in their possession intelligent and highly animated exoskeletal machines, bionics, teleoperators, etc., to do whatever inhuman act they want to do. psychotronic weapons is not a reality. weapons that targets specific brain wave through electromagnetic field. using gun to fight is now like stone age technology. many people are not aware of this. robotics, biocybernetics, synthetic mechatronics and other scary nanobots have been unleashed since the 1990s. actual explosion in cybernetic thinking came around 1999 and continues to rise exponentially in this 21st century and beyond. humanity is now looking forward to entering the nano holographic cyberworld where they will be enslaved on a soul level. this is what nigerian born american scientist philip emeagwuali termed man attending “digital immortality.” cosmic day and night and mind activation the brain has both right and left hemisphere. these hemisphere as i pointed out earlier corresponds to the light and dark hemispheres of the cosmos. they also correspond today and night. the geographic location of the west corresponds to certain cosmic hemispheres of the universe. it is this specific hemisphere that activates the overly left-brain anti-spirituality scientific so-called prowess of the west. the eastern as well as the southern hemispheres of this planet are aligned differently, to the right brain-hemisphere. that is why spirituality is more prevalence in both the eastern and southern hemispheres. people who live in these cosmic emitting wave frequencies tend to value visual symbolism, wholistic approach, intuition, dance, spirituality etc. compare this to the west more attuned to individuality, logic, scientific reductionism etc. all these has to do with duality of our cosmic system which the ancients interpreted as the fight between light and darkness or the fight between good god and evil god. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 111 everything in existence oscillates between periods of activity and periods of rest. in our earth language it is called day and night. we could understand this by studying the systolic and dystonic rhythm of the heart. the contrasting and relaxing pulsation of the hearth is in response to the pattern in existence. just as their rhythm hoof day and night on earth. there is also cosmic day and night. conclusion in following the topic of discussion--igwebuike, i attempted to explore the unity of reports by the ancients that in the beginning of creation there was a cosmic sea of energy. i argued that this sea of energy is what modern science now identify with dark mater or dark energy. i equally argued that when the ancients talked about duality especially the fight between evil and good, they implied anisotropic principles in the cosmos. in this context, anisotropic principle is used to indicated that the earth, galaxy and the entire cosmos oscillate between light and dark hemispheres. just as there is day and night on earth, there is day and night on a grand cosmic level. this is that is referred to in sanskrit as mahavantara and pralaya there is period of activity and rest in all reality or organic and inorganic. manichaeism was right to a greater extent when he philosophized that there are two eternally co-existing forces in battle. although this philosophy offends religions sensibility, nevertheless manicheanism was reflecting on the reality of our existence. i have also argued that the separation of the brain into right and left hemispheres correspond to the greater cosmic hemisphere. i discussed that creation had beginning. however, in line with the ancient, beginning does implied ex-nihil. it rather means introducing order in the state of chaos. i indicated that when the brain is aligned with certain cosmic light frequencies (night) it leads to de-evolution. when it is aligned to the right hemisphere of the cosmos it reaches a synchronistical alignment with balance. when the earth is attuned to the right brain the sanskrit call it sat yuga, the golden age. the sanskrit described certain cycles that our planet goes through. these cycles no doubt corresponds with day/night cosmic oscillation. according to sanskrit, the age of left brain, logical reductionism, individualism and selfishness is the age of kali yuga. this is where we are now, the age of vanity, material science, debasement and evil. on the other hand, the age of sat yuga corresponds with the age of wholeness, community, harmony, intuition, spirituality, connectedness igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 112 etc. i have presented some argument with historical records suggesting that when the ancient talk about god engaging in endless fight (good and evil) they were speaking about light and dark sides of the same one cosmos. sometimes these came in form of anthropomorphism. at other times it came in form of zoomorphism. but because modern world is rationalistic and tend to use left brain more, it is difficult to comprehend the ancient without reducing the very advanced thinking to superstitious mytho. left brain is good in reductionism. empirical science is purely a produce of left-brain reductionism. in the distant past, the world was not organized this way. at certain time in the distant past, it would appear unimaginable to look at god as “father” instead of as androgyny with feminine predominance. in calculating, i would argue that because the cosmos is cyclical, western science will in the future fizzle out and the world would return to a balance right-brain universe. i did not claim to have covered all necessary historical changes as a result of the human consciousness downloading waves corresponding today/night cosmic hemispheres. this paper is limited to go into such detail. however, this little discussion provides inquisitive researchers platform to delve further into unpopular research fields not promoted by academic statues quo. in order world, this is not a conclusion but the beginning of a discussion. references 1. amit goswami, phd, the self-aware universe: how consciousness creates the material world, (new york: penguin, 1993) 2. houjun mo, frank van den bosch, simon white, galaxy formation and evolution (uninted kingdom, cambridge: united press, 2010) 3. gerald l. schroeder, phd, genesis and the big bang theory: the discovery of harmony between modern science and the bible (new york: random house publishing, 1990) 4. cheikh anta diop, civilization or barbarism: an authentic anthropology (chicago illinois: chicago review press inc, 1981) 5. alasdair a. macdonald, weder r. w. m. von martels, jan riepke veenstra, christian humanism: essays in honor of arjo vanderjagt, ( denvers ma: drill, 2009) 6. geraldine pinch, handbook of egyptian mythology (san barbara, california: abc-clio, 2002) 7. david p. silverman, ancient egypt (new york: oxford university press, 1997) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 113 8. brenda rosen, the mythical creatures bible: the definitive guide to legendary beings (new york: sterling publishing company inc., 2009) 9. ewa wasilewska, creation stories of the middle east, (london, england: jessica kingsley publishers ltd, 2000) 10. gerald massey, egyptian wisdom and the hebrew genesis (new york: cosimo inc, 2008) 11. henri frankfort, kingship and the gods: a study of ancient near east religion as the integration of society and nature, (u.s.a: chicago university press, 1978) 12. michael starsheen, tales of the egyptian gods, (rt.rev. michael starsheen, 2018) 13. stephanie dalley, myths from mesopotamia: creation, the flood, gilgamesh, and others, (new york: oxford university press,1989) 14. russell gmirkin, berossus and genesis, manetho and exodus: hellenistic histories and the date of he pentateuch, (new york: t&t clark international, 2006) 15. ross marshall, noah's ark and the genesis 10 patriarchs (ross marshall, 1991) 16. david i. owen, neo-sumerian archival texts primarily from nippur in the university museum, the oriental institute and the iraq museum (u.s.a: eisenbrauns, 1982) 17. nicholas de vere, the dragon legacy: the secret history of an ancient bloodline (book tree, 2004) p. 375. 18. irvin finkle, the ark before noah: decoding the story of the flood, (pub. by nana. talese: irvin finkle, 2014) 19. zacharia sitchin, genesis revisited: is modern science catching up with ancient knowledge? (new york: harper collins, 1990) 20. will hart, the genesis race: our extraterstrial dna and the true origin of the species, (copyright, will hart, 2003) 21. yosef ben-jochannan, a chronology of the bible: challenge to the standard version, (boltimore md: black classic press, 1973). 22. robert bauval and thomas brophy, black genesis: the prehistoric origins of ancient egypt, (bear & company: 2011) 23. gary greenberg, 101 myths of the bible: how the scribes invented biblical stories, (naperville, illinois: gary greenbuerg, 2000) 24. jean doresse, the secret books of the egyptian gnostics: an introduction to the recently discovered ancient manuscript that rival the dead sea scrolls in importance, (new york, mjf books, 1986). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 114 25. ramananda prasad, song of god, (fremont, california: the american gita society, 1995) 26. ev cochrane, fossil gods and forgotten worlds, (lulu press, 2010) 27. mahrdad kia, the persian empire: a historical encyclopedia (volume 2), (santa barbara, california, 2016) 28. john kevin coyle, manichaeism and its legacy, (koninklijke brill, 2009) 29. faheem judah-el, the ancient science of vibration: the teachings of tehuti (axium publications, 2015) 30. jon steward, the unity of hegel's "phenomenology of spirit: a systematic interpretation, (evanston, illinois: northwestern university press, 2002) 31. mary k. wakeman, god's battle with the monster: a study in biblical imagery, ( brill, 1973) 32. zecharia sitchin, the 12th planet (book i) (the first book of the earth chronicles), (bear & company: 1977) 33. timothy beal, religion and its monsters, (new york: rautledge, 2002) 34. philippe walter, christian mythology: revelations of pagan origins, (2nd edition), (inner traditions: 2014) 35. samael aun-weor, the revolution of beelzebub: the demon who renounced evil and the man who guided him, (glorian publishing, 2014) 36. carl johan calleman phd, the purposeful universe: how quantum theory and mayan cosmology explain the origin and evolution of life (bear & company, 2009) 37. laid scranton, seeking the primordial (copyright, laid scranton, 2017). 38. marie d. jones, larry flaxman, the resonance key: exploring the links between vibration, consciousness, and the zero point grid (new page book, 2009) 39. drunvalo melchizedek, the ancient secret of the flower of life, volume 1 (flagstaf az: light technology publication, 1998) 40. stoupel et al (2006), clinical cosmobiology sudden cardiac death and daily / monthly geomagnetic, cosmic ray and solar activity the baku study, (20032005) (sun and geosphere, 2006; 1(2): 13-16) issn 1819-0839 41. kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. augustinian publications. 42. kanu i. a. (2015b). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. augustinian publications. 43. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 115 44. kanu, i. a. (2016b). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 1-7 45. kanu, i. a. (2014). suffering in igbo-african ontology. research in humanities and social sciences 4. 5. 8-13 46. kanu, i. a. (2015a). igwebuike as the consumate foundation of african bioethical principles: a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france. 47. kanu, i. a. (2015b). igwebuike as an ontological precondition for african ethics: international conference of the society for research and academic excellence, university of nigeria, nsukka. 14th -16th september. 48. kanu, i. a. (2015c). “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education”: a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france. 49. kanu, i. a. (2015d). “igwebuike as the unity of the african philosophical experience”: international conference of the society for research and academic excellence, university of nigeria, nsukka. 14th -16th september. 50. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. the impact of igwebuike ideology on peace building in african igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 265 the impact of igwebuike ideology on peace building in african okafor, emmanuel ikenna (ph.d) department of christian religious studies, peaceland college of education, enugu & ude, chizoba chilotaram department of social studies education, institute of ecumenical education, thinkers corner, enugu & okolo, rosemary ngozi (ph.d) department of religion and cultural studies, university of nigeria, nsukka & amaechi-ani, nneka nkiru. department of social studies education, institute of ecumenical education, thinkers corner, enugu agbudugbu@gmail.com executive summary african continent had perceived group soldering as the greatest strategies to tackle difficult and tedious challenges that torment human society. it is an ideology that rose from the natural and spontaneous communalistic spirit in the people's collective relationships. igwebuike is an igbo language which literally means large number is strength. it is a concept that has been developed by prof. kanu ikechukwu anthony within the context of the underlying principle of african philosophy, religion and culture. the basic ideology there is that united majority is aviable machinery in solving group or members' problems. this paper therefore aims at re-focusing on how igwebuike as an ideology can be adopted in africa to okafor, emmanuel ikenna (ph.d), ude, chizoba chilotaram, okolo, rosemary ngozi (ph.d) & amaechi-ani, nneka nkiru. igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 266 provide lasting peace in africa and among african states and people. the research observes that serious concern is not given to the igwebuike ideology on the area of peace build. attention was very much on application of the ideology for economic gains, group opposition attacks and for political gains. the research recommends that earnest concern should be given to this ideology throughout africa with the use of age –grade system, communal worship system, women folk, kinship system, to mention but a few. the research adopted historical and sociological approaches. data were sourced from both primary and secondary means. data were analyzed with phenomenological method of data analysis.0 keywords: igwebuike ideology, kanu ikechukwu anthony, peace–building and african people introduction the impact of igwebuike ideology overwhelmly occupies the african perception of peace-building. for the sake of peace-building in africa, late dr. nnamdi azikiwe had made serious effort to unite african nations; the evidence can be derived from his establishment of a newspaper industry with the name, west african pilot, and the establishment of a financial institution known as african continental bank. before his death, he was popularly known as the zik of african. zik’s initiative motivated the name given to one of the old generation’s banks as united bank for african-uba. at the face of confusions that triggered nigerian civil war some nigerians including dr nnamdi azikiwe still advised for one nigeria. today, against the creation of another country out from nigeria, some still advocate for one nigeria with good political restructuring. the country’s academic system teaches unity in diversity in the area of the impact of igwebuike ideology on peace building in african igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 267 social studies. in the researcher’s council area, during a serious political tussle, a prominent politician in the local government area in the person of rt. hon. dr. festus uzor stated thus: “no ezeagu man is more ezeagu than the other. you are… because we are… you cannot be… if we are …” he is stressing here that the office occupied by one politician in ezeagu local government area is made possible because majority of ezeagu politicians supported the person therefore when the same majority stand behind someone, he or she alone should not counter. igwebuike captures and communicates the igbo-african world. igwebuike is the form and symbolic of the igbo-african mental being and the gateway to igbo-african philosophy. beyond the literal understanding of igwebuike (igwenumber; bu-is; ike-strength) as “there is strength in number”, it captures the igbo philosophy of relationality, complementarity and interconnectedness of reality (kanu 2014; 2015; 2016; 2017; 2018; 2019). it concatenates igbo forms, symbolism, signs, media, meaning, anthropologies, universal cosmic truths, functions, semantic powers, physics, phenomena, faculties, and igbo environ-mentalities, and symbolizes the propositional powers of igbo knowledge, perception, identity, phenomenalism, physics, metaphysics, logic, history of analytic character, speculative mindset and positive provisions for definitions of facts (kanu 2020). in a nutshell the views and actions stated above, rally round the idea in the igbo word igwebuike. larger group alliance is always strength and powerful. an igbo adage states thus: ofu onye siere oha, oha e richee ya, ma na oha siere ofu onye, o ma richee ya. this means that if an individual prepares meal of any quantity for a large united group, the group will consume it all, but when the group prepares any quantity of food for the individual, he cannot finish it. in view of the above, it could be ascertained that this igwebuike ideology has serious impact on the african people’s security and peace-building in virtually all the ramifications of their lives, be it political, economic, social, education, religion, health and so on. mrs ajayi marian (personal communication, 7 april 2020) states that most okafor, emmanuel ikenna (ph.d), ude, chizoba chilotaram, okolo, rosemary ngozi (ph.d) & amaechi-ani, nneka nkiru. igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 268 african comm.unities from history believed in team work. they did group farming, group hunting etc. what mrs ajayi says is true, because today, for example, in the hunting games, when a group march to the bush, with their individual guns, dogs etc, they threaten the bush, making every animal there uncomfortable. after the game, many animals are caught. this is just a sample of how united majority can subdue any obstacle that arises. when united group spirit is well developed, there is no doubt, the group can move mountains in return, such unity sustains peace among them and fosters security. igwebuike ideology is not relatively far from african communalism but the only demarcation is that communalism can exist between independent individual communalist relationships, but igwebuike sees the group mission as supreme to individual interest: most african states were able to gain political, economic and even religious independence because of their formidable united majority (igwebuike) spirit. the igbo/ibibio women that confronted the ruling muscles of the colonialists in the so called aba women riot, was made possible on the basis of igwebuike ideology which had impacted lasting peace among the local women and families in the zone. among the findings of the research is that with effective actualization of the idea of group soldering so many problems can be tackled to their barest minimum. that notwithstanding, the same igwebuike ideology can be used for negative intention or goals, for example, the mob actions, team armed robbery et cetera. the paper intends to re-echo how igwebuike as an ideology would be implemented in africa, its communities and nations, to provide lasting peace in africa, its nations, and peoples. the research also discovers that much more serious concern is not given to the igwebuike ideology on the area of peace building. the ideology is mostly applied for selfish economic gains, group opposition attack and counter attacks, political gains, selfish social solidity, etc. it is recommended in this research that more serious concern should be attached to igwebuike ideology throughout africa with the use of traditional machineries such as age-grade system, the impact of igwebuike ideology on peace building in african igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 269 communal worship system, the masquerading society, the title institutions, family institution, and other modern machineries like the youth clubs and associations, neighborhood watch teams, elders forum, town union, christian and muslim associations, government and non-governmental organization et cetera. the methodologies used in this research are both historical and sociological approaches. data used were generated from primary and secondary stocks. the method of data analysis was phenomenological analytical method. igwebuike ideology is synonymous with the broom bunch as an adage or concept. individual sticks that make up the broom bunch can easily be broken, but to break the broom bunch is definitely difficult. the broom exhibits its strength in its bunch than when it is separated from the bunch. the broom sticks in a bunch are peaceful, that is why they have agreed to be tied together as one entity. this is the basis on which igwebuike as an ideology champions all ramifications of human welfare in typical african society. clarification of concepts the concepts or terms that fundamentally call for explanations are: igwebuike ideology, peace-building, and african (people). igwebuike as a word finds its origin in igbo ecolingual base. igwebuike links itself with terms like communalism, cooperative movement and even united majority. though slight differences might exist between these three terms but the variation seems to be insignificant. akukwe (1996) opines that cooperative comes from the latin word co-operate, i.e. to work together. according to akukwe, the idea of men working together is as old as man himself because of his social nature. because of his inherent limitations, man needs the co-operation of his fellow human beings to develop his physical, intellectual and spiritual potentialities (akukwe, 1996). according to summers (2001), communal is perceived as that shared by a group, especially a group of people who live together, or that which involves people from many different races, religions, or language groups. this adjective communal, forms the basis of the term communalism. majority on the other hand, links itself with number. most of the people or things in a particular group (summers, 2001). the igwe in the word connotes okafor, emmanuel ikenna (ph.d), ude, chizoba chilotaram, okolo, rosemary ngozi (ph.d) & amaechi-ani, nneka nkiru. igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 270 majority/large in number, the ‘bu’ means is in english language. it is just a verb that shows the attribute of the suffix to the prefix ‘lke’ which means strength/power in english language. while communalism emphasizes on sharing things in common, cooperative/cooperation focuses on the unity to achieve specific goal(s). when these three basic strands of thought are merged together, the concept of igwebuike becomes comprehensible. peace-building has peace as the head word. peace in the lay man view might imply or mean happiness. but peace connotes, no war, agreement, no noise, calmness, etc (summers, 2001). peace-building, simply means the art of structuring, sustaining a condition of calmness, noiselessness, agreement in positive mindedness, no war, no conflict, no violence etc. african people as we all know, are one of the peoples that make up one of the continents of the world, dominated with the people with dark or black identification. mr. onwuka francis (personal communication, 13 march 2020) points out that what aboriginals of igbo nation commonly call or presume africans to be is the people with black hair-ndi isi oji. summers (2001) adds that the word “african interprets someone from africa. mr. gabriel patrick (personal communication 6 april, 2020) points that africa as an area is in most cases presented as a sunny zone. what patrick stresses could be truly acceptable because africa has the highest geographical coverage where the sun radiates the ultra violet rays heavily. dr. obiora aniebo, a geographer/geo-physicist (personal communication, 8 may, 2020) opines that the ultra-violet rays discharge greater heat within africa as a geographical region more than other regions across the globe. therefore we conceptually agree that africa is sunny, more so, it is the indigenous region of the people who are more or less black or dark in complexion, with black hair color. the impact of igwebuike ideology on peace building in african igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 271 impact of igwebuike ideology in peace-building in discussing igwebuike as an idea, it is pertinent to stress here that peace-building in any given society, runs the holistic gamut of the people’s livelihood ranging from economic, social, political, religious, and health welfare. it is on this background that this research would examine the import of igwebuike ideology in peace-building among african states. it is also envisaged that this examination will arouse the interest of african people to understand that the idea of igwebuike has recommendable relevance in sustaining peace among african states, countries or nations. be that as it may, human livelihood is similar to the local stove phenomena where when there is absence of or exclusion of one of the three stands of the stove it incapacitates the firmness of the local stove. in regard to this, we can testify that when an aspect of people`s welfare is in shambles, no matter how less important it may appear, it affects the peaceful sustainability, growth and progress of the people. therefore this paper cut across peacebuilding in every affair of african people for actualizing central hallmark for general peace building in africa. at this point, let us turn to examine them one after the other. import of igwebuike ideology on economic peace at the family level, economic peace helps to curb so many risks that could introduce violence of various forms, poverty etc. ezeador and ezeani (2019:60) buttress that: … one of the traditional means of socialization of children is through trading. however, the introduction of young girls into street trading increased vulnerabilities of the girls to sexual harassment. sexual abuse of young girl in nigeria is linked with child labour … poverty and inaccessible to funds for parents to take care of their wards has contributed to child sexual abuse. on this realm, igwebuike ideology becomes very pivotal. instead of families engaging their children especially the girls in child labour because of poverty and inaccessibility to funds for parents to take care of their children to degenerate families expected standard, the concept of igwebuike comes into place to salvage such ugly situation. families okafor, emmanuel ikenna (ph.d), ude, chizoba chilotaram, okolo, rosemary ngozi (ph.d) & amaechi-ani, nneka nkiru. igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 272 became can collectively agree to engage on a particular source of income where both parents and wards should be involved in a risk free manner for the economic growth of the entire family. their collective input can be on farm work and other mini businesses where parents and older siblings will have monitoring eye to one another. in this team work, everyone covers a particular vacuum in the business to enable the agreed enterprise to flourish. a group soldering of this nature tackles poverty and reduces other risks or dangers that could develop due to economic under development, and incapacitations. okafor and amechi –ani (2019:309) maintain that: aziza as a concept in africa runs a whole garmut of the world– view of oneness, togetherness, communalism, patriotism, and synergy. the physical structure of the aziza is that it is made up of individual palm frond sticks. these sticks can stand individually, but each individual stick cannot function on its own. nevertheless, when they are tied together, they serve the purpose for which they are made or more. this had been the principle that had held african fore –bears together, and had aided their ability to achieve the much they could achieve before the advent of western and arabian culture. what okafor and amaechi-ani points out her echoes the replica of what the igbo meant by igwebuike. the aziza symbol which they used as a principle is a masterpiece to understanding of the ideology igwebuike. when people are consistently binded together for economic reasons and every member of the united economics front is economically comfortable peace is automatically built among the members. in a situation of this kind, one would not be wrong to say that such group has built economic peace. on a similar vein, okafor (2019:90-91) elaborates thus: economic factor appears to be the most common factor responsible for migration. man always tries as much as possible to make ends meet. human ends invariably differ from one person to another. in some cases, means of economic the impact of igwebuike ideology on peace building in african igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 273 survival can be conceived in a given society with very limited areas of human endeavour, hence, people with higher ends struggles to source out other areas of economic engagements in order to actualize other life dreams. when these areas of endeavour are not found within the immediate environment, people begin to think of other places or settings where they can find the opportunities for wealth acquisition. in so doing, people migrate beyond their immediate environment. this migration peculiar with people that source for economic interest has been classified as both permanent and temporary (anigbo, 1992). no matter the class or condition for migration, for that of economic reason, migrants see group migration as a formidable mechanism for great economic achievement. the commonest team migration observable with the south-eastern part of nigeria is the ebonyi state (hired labourers) farmers migrants. they move in groups of two, three, four and five team partnership. whatever farm work each team charges, they complete it in no distant time. as they do it, they attract more jobs for themselves, meanwhile they make enough money each annual farming season. different ethnic groups, communities, villages, nations, and state indigenes who find themselves in foreign soils synergized and formed associations that principally assist their members in pursuing social and economic gains. for the fact that these group soldiering expeditions sustain the peoples’ economic lives, they are bound to build peace both in diaspora and at home to enable them keep acquiring more wealth and create a conducive atmosphere to enjoy the wealth. having seen that their coming together enhances opportunities of sustaining available economic tempo among them, they ought to keep the flag flying. with financial strength groups can sponsor community development project thereby extending economic development in various communities, local government areas, states and so on. with sustainable economic development definitely there are greater chances of building a durable peace in the continentafrica. okafor, emmanuel ikenna (ph.d), ude, chizoba chilotaram, okolo, rosemary ngozi (ph.d) & amaechi-ani, nneka nkiru. igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 274 economic impact of igwebuike ideology has not be exhausted. let us x-ray the ideology in the involvement of women in traditional igbo economy in the area of salt production and pollution of laid down traditional religious taboos. on this circumstance. njoko (2008:17) maintains that: the salt lakes had their deities and were hedged around with many taboos. for example, menstruating women and one who had fornicated without atoning for it could not fetch water from the lake. contravention of any of the taboos incurred the dreadful wrath of the deities. the women producers formed themselves into a guild. all these devices were aimed at achieving a set of purposes to restrict entry into the industry, exclude men from participation and protect the lakes from misuse and defilement. salt seems to have been the mainstay of uburu and okposi economy. it was marked throughout igboland and even beyond a critical look at the management of the salt industry by the uburu and okposi people demonstrates an exact presentation of igwebuike ideology in an economic scene. the producers of the salt from the lake were predominantly women. they were challenged with a problem of tradition order promulgated by deities. but they were able to sustain the industry by forming a guild to deprive others, including men, the chance of entering the lake in order to protect the lake and allow their salt business to progress. this guild without any doubt had handled future war at the lake, foster calmness, order, noiselessness among other things because of the cooperation, oneness, togetherness and synergy that they were able to maintain. by doing this, they succeeded in building peace in their channel of economic sustainability. the earnings from the industry contribute immensely to the family up keep. as far as their families are well taken care of economically, with the spirit of togetherness and cooperation, peace will prevail. this peace motivated character would be extended to the larger or wider society, making the society peaceful. apart from the impact of igwebuike ideology on peace building in african igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 275 industrial woman group and other sorts of groups already discussed as integrals in the igwebuike ideology, it will not be an over-statement to identify the same ideology in age grade system, kinship system, umuada, umunyedi etc as it affects the economic well being of the members and the society at large. the age set association, the kinship members, umuada, nwunyedi folks cetera have been active in economic assistance to members and their different communities. the age grade contributes immensely to the economy of the traditional african society. they can donate money to assist members and nonmembers. in some cases they sponsor skill acquisition programs, administer cooperative bodies etc. the kinship, umuada, and nwunyedi institutions do related functions of the age grades. mr. festus ozor egwu (personal communication, 20 april, 2020) narrated some experiences where a member of their kinship was attacked by a conflagration which destroyed his large rice farm in anambra east area, he stated that their kinship on the hearing the incidence started with compulsory material contribution to their affected kinsman. as the kinsmen were donating money and material things, the next farming season, according the informant, the umuada folk mobilized themselves to assist the victim with two local week days free labour in which the victim was mandated not to offer food to the umuada. considering the economic supports given to humanity with the believe in the igwebuike ideology, everyone would embrace peace. the ideology would bring peace since it is used to make whoever that is in agony to be liberated or alleviated. import of igwebuike ideology on political peace politically, the ideology helps to sustain peace. orji and olali in okafor (2020) stress that traditional institutions are symbols of indigenous people’s rights, privileges, laws, customs and traditions which include but not limited to parameter rules and their councils. the traditional institution in nigeria context is inclusive of chiefs-in council, elders in council, title holders who may be appointed based okafor, emmanuel ikenna (ph.d), ude, chizoba chilotaram, okolo, rosemary ngozi (ph.d) & amaechi-ani, nneka nkiru. igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 276 on their contributions to growth and development of their communities (okafor, 2020:251. the act of producing these traditional leaders is often time an arduous task. anigbo (1987: 176) uses references to ibagwa-aka to emphasize on this difficulty thus: the chieftaincy dispute in ibagwa aka centers on an issue as to which of two individuals should be the acknowledged representative of one town and be recognized as such both internally and externally such an individual is known by various names, viz: a “chief,” “natural ruler” “traditional ruler,” “traditional head of autonomous igbo village community”. in the struggle for such political leadership, taking the igbo traditional political system as a masterpiece, it had been the igwebuike ideology that settles it and still encourages peace-building. majority side will always carry the vote. when an aspirant sees that majority of his people do not want him or her in certain leadership position in the village, community, etc he/she is left with no option than to accept defeat, without raising any dust. igwebuike ideology responds to democratic representation for the people. ijeoma (1988) opines that; democracy therefore as an institutional arrangement and a method of making decisions endeavours to ensure that the society thereby arrives at an orderly, stable and legitimate government which would guarantee the presentation of rights and freedom with which men are endowed to. it is therefore my contention that any methods through which men are able to institute an orderly, stable legitimate government to the satisfaction and happiness of the greatest number in democracy. with this ideology, the political terrain historically and traditional was peaceful, orderly and stable. it had aided peace building among african states. complete adherence to igwebuike ideology on political the impact of igwebuike ideology on peace building in african igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 277 matters will encourage peace-building because it restores political peace and stability relevance of igwebuike ideology in maintaining social peace on the aspect of social group soldiering, ikeyi (2004:210) explains thus: although all of us probably would be able to identify and describe the various small groups we belong to, we might find it difficult to follow the same process with the large groups that affect us. as patrons or employees of large organization and governments, we function as part of large groups at all time. thus, sociologists must study large groups as well as small groups in order to understand the workings of society. in fact, all groups must not be at equal sizes to acquire the igwebuike ideology. groups differ probably as a result of circumstances, objective, natural scope and so on. when we listen to our social media, we hear about several groups showcasing their relevance in one way or the other. the actions of different groups tend to inform us that a united group is strength. today the academic staff union of universities is embarking on an industrial action since march. the individual in this body cannot achieve any goal if left to pursue his welfare independently. but as far as the individuals in that platform have organized themselves in pursuance of everybody’s interest, a lot of their welfare would be looked into. other groups that make corrections on the affairs of the state also help to ensure decorum in numerous situations. when these groups follow legal measures to exist, they will diplomatically achieve some of their interests, meanwhile encouraging peace-building in the society. traditionally, certain united groups are known as agents of peacebuilding in the society. they include the masquerading society, the kinship, the umuada and nwunyedi folks, the age grade teams, the village associations or union etc. occasions where a member of the society defaults the norms of the community considering the gender or sex of the offender, and the degree of the offence, one or more of okafor, emmanuel ikenna (ph.d), ude, chizoba chilotaram, okolo, rosemary ngozi (ph.d) & amaechi-ani, nneka nkiru. igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 278 these s are mobilized to visit and punish the offender. in some cases evil doers are ostracized or excommunicated. in the olden days when western education was introduced in the hinterland, the village unions or associations formed tax force teams to generate money that was used to finance school programs in the rural areas. the most intelligent pupils were sponsored in continuing their secondary school studies. some village unions sent their intelligent sons to the university within nigeria or even overseas. all these are in the spirit of the ideology of igwebuike. more so, this spirit of livelihood among the aboriginals encourages peace-building. mr. boniface ejike (personal communication 14 november 2020) avers that in the year 1981, a member of his age grade, by name emmanuel ozo happened to beat his aunty and was stupidly disturbing the entire village. on a masquerading festival, the kinsmen, masquerade cult and his age set visited him in his father’s house and was terribly dealt with. he continued that after beating the young emmanuel with so many strokes of cane, he was coerced to finish 20 liters of water before he can be allowed to go for the day. according to mr. boniface, from that day henceforth, mr. emma really amended his ways. the mr. emma in question according to him is presently among those who advocate for peace in their community. igwebuike ideology plays a vital role in the security of lives and properties. today, towns and villages form their government through which they inaugurate vigilante or neighbourhood watch groups authorized by the national government in form of community policing to secure lives and properties. all these collective efforts are known as igwebuike, and offers social peace among dwellers of several communities. relevance of igwebuike ideology in building religious peace traditionally, religion has been the filament that sustains life of community norms, customs, values and taboos. it is the deities that execute and monitor crimes. though individuals have their personal objects that represent numerous gods for them but spiritual regard the impact of igwebuike ideology on peace building in african igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 279 becomes so efficacious when a large group of people install shrines and the spirits that they will honour in worship. these deities, shrines, gods install by the people remain the intermediary between the people and the almighty god. the groups unanimously promulgate righteous, unrighteous and forbidden actions the god of the land now do the policing role on the laid down rules agreed by the group. this group religious tenets are the yardsticks for maintenance of law and order in the traditional society. it is this background that when people remember the spiritual implications of committing certain abominations, they will rethink, thereby making the adherent to experience religious peace. religions in return attracts peace to other spheres of life. religious peace makes better transcendent connection which more people are committed to it. the holy bible states that when two or three are gathered, i am in their midst. the more people gather together as a religious community, the more they see themselves as brothers and sisters living peacefully. problems come in when critics and misconceptions emanate from two or more religions or denominations. on this note ecumenism now forms a basis to harmonize the igwebuike ideology that will foster religious peace among the hostile groups. at anytime an african man feels he is having some distant relationship with god it gives him so much worry, in order to assure close contact with the supernatural they pledge, vow and sacrifice. most of these pledges and vows are made by individuals in the midst of the a worshipping community. to this end okafor (2019:74) asserts that the african man engages in religious pledges and vows to enable him be psychologically and spiritually balanced. god is the sole arbiter and controller of man and his activities here on earth. based on this, he continuously makes pledges and vows because of the problem that assails his feelings. as far as these pledges and vows are made amidst the group, the group led by the officiating priests must acknowledge the fulfillment of those pledges and vows made. it is culturally believed that they are undergoing covenants of peace reminding every member of the group that curses befall whoever makes troubles among them. in order to lay okafor, emmanuel ikenna (ph.d), ude, chizoba chilotaram, okolo, rosemary ngozi (ph.d) & amaechi-ani, nneka nkiru. igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 280 more emphases on the religious collective commitment among africans, nwokike (2005:8) uses the awha people’s belief in the worship of the earth goddess thus: this is ani awha, representing the earth which gives yam and every food crop: the earth on which plants grow: the earth on which animal grow: and the mother earth which eats up a dead animal or tree. in awha, when libations are poured even in simple prayer ani awha is called upon together with the ancestors to come and take control of each situation to bring peace, prosperity and good health. even though africans felt they have secured religious peace still supplicate for general peace-building and prosperity of the entire community as a group. in most cases, collective religious activities of a group are often time used to build peace among nations, families, communities etc. importance of igwebuike ideology in restoring health peace unhealthy conditions absolutely hinder peace of mind of the affected persons and relations. health itself is a condition of being sick or not being sick. the health of an individual influences to a large extent, the life of the person. to the traditional igbo, the summumbonum or highest value is life (ndu). this is made manifest in their names e.g. ndubisi-life is of supreme importance, nduka – life is greater, ndukaku – life is greater than wealth, nduamaka – life is good (madu,2004:23). onunwa in madu (2004) points that health is for more social that biological. it does not entirely mean an absence of physical ailments. that there is a clear unitary concept of psychosomatic interrelations is an apparent reciprocity between the mind and matters. health and life intermingle. we cannot virtually say that one is sick, there are undesirable conditions that can make one unhealthy in absence of sickness. take for example when very young lady loses her husband at the very early stage of the marriage. condition of this nature gives both the deceased age grade, umuada, the impact of igwebuike ideology on peace building in african igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 281 nwunyedi and the kinship members serious concerns. even the widow’s maiden home members are also worried. these groups rally around the widow for assistance with the intention to think out ways to secure her life and longitivity of her stay in the deceased husband’s home. similar concern is applicable to a widower. then when someone is sick the african people reaction will easily reflect message on how sacred life is being regarded. the traditional societies that make up nigeria using igbo ethnic group as a specimen, had deep respect for the sacredness of life and dignity of human person. african traditional societies had a lot of cultural values such as philosophical thoughts and proverbs, community life, hospitality, sense of human relations and industry, respect for authority and elders, sense of the sacred and of religion that were deep, sense of time and the respect for the sacredness of life (ele, 2019). in african, a patient is assisted by a lot of groups of which some of them he is a member. for the treatment, ideas flow from every corner. some people have reconciled their differences because of illness. the african man, especially the igbo believe that enmity does not extend to illness or death. it is the idea of igwebuike that arouses the motivation to care for the sick or afflicted because it is a reciprocal relationship. if it is discovered that an individual is reluctant over other people`s life and health consequently he will be left alone when he faces the same problem. in that regard group attention to health relatively becomes compulsory thereby establishes the desire for peace building in the society. recommendations: the study recommends that: 1. the traditional agents of peace building e.g. the masquerading cult, age-grade system, umuada and nwunyedi folks, etc. should be encouraged as far as they conform with the civil rules. 2. members of the civil society should always try to align with group cooperative movement with the positive intention to improve the living standard of the populace. okafor, emmanuel ikenna (ph.d), ude, chizoba chilotaram, okolo, rosemary ngozi (ph.d) & amaechi-ani, nneka nkiru. igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 282 3. individuals with financial prowess should form groups for still acquisition who will be training successive groups on different skill especially in rural and semi-urban settings. this will help to improve inter-personal relationships among the citizenry. 4. religious sentiment should not be allowed to counter the insisting igwebuike system of living in african states. religion should be kept far from the people’s togetherness. 5. government, non-governmental organizations, agencies etc can assist the society by embarking on sensitization programmes to improve more on the igwebuike ideology as a veritable source of peace building in african society. conclusion igwebuike is a wonderful ideology which the society does not assimilate as valuable formation that is capable of building peace in the society. african fore-bears had used it to maintain peace to a reasonable degree, through the masquerade society, age-grade, umunna – kinsmen/kindred, umuada, ndi nwumjed, the youth organizations, the family etc. it was an ideology used in the decades back for the maintenance and construction of roads, markets, public squares, installation of pipe-borne water, electrification of communities, building of schools, sign boards, reconciliation of warning individuals, families and communities. in some cases the ideology might not fight for peace to exist. it is noteworthy that there are so many areas of the people’s lives that it is adopted in which it enhances and promotes peace building. generally speaking, as far as the ideology is able to promote economic peace, political peace, and social peace, religious peace and otherwise, it has automatically portrayed in earnest, central peace for all and sundry. references the impact of igwebuike ideology on peace building in african igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 283 akukwe, f.n (1996). community development cooperatives and democracy. a guide for social workers. onitsha: veritas printing & publishing co. ltd amgbo o.a.c (1987), commensality and human relationship among the igbo. enugu: chuka printing company limited. anigbo, o.a.c (1992). igbo elite and western europe: onitsha: africana-fep publishers limited. ele, c.o (2019), “the sacredness of human life in contemporary nigeria: violation and solutions” in e.j.o ndubisi (ed) oracle of wisdom journal of philosophy and public affairs, vol 3, no 1 pp 23-36. ezeador c.n and ezeani, k.d. (2019). “engaging women in peace keeping: an alternative way to curbing sexual violence in women” in j.o. ndubisi (ed) oracle of wisdom journal of philosophy and public affairs vol. 3 (1) pp 57-64, ijeoma, b.i. (1988). afrocracy: basis for national stability: partless democracy. benin: idodo umeh publishers limited. ikeyi, j.o. (2004). sociology: an introductory text. enugu: zik chuks nigeria. kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. kanu, a. i. (2017c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 7. pp. 165-183. kanu, a. i. (2017d). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 6. pp. 16-50. kanu, a. i. (2017f). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. pp. 153-160. okafor, emmanuel ikenna (ph.d), ude, chizoba chilotaram, okolo, rosemary ngozi (ph.d) & amaechi-ani, nneka nkiru. igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 284 kanu, i. a. (2012). the problem of being in metaphysics. african research review: an international multi-disciplinary journal. vol.6. no.2. april. pp. 113-122. kanu, i. a. (2012). the problem of personal identity in metaphysics. international journal of arts and humanities. vol.1. no.2. pp.1-13. kanu, i. a. (2012a). the concept of life and person in african anthropology. in e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (eds.). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 61-71). nigeria: augustinian. kanu, i. a. (2012b). towards an igbo christology. in e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (eds.). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 75-98). nigeria: augustinian. kanu, i. a. (2013). african identity and the emergence of globalization. american international journal of contemporary research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 34-42. kanu, i. a. (2013). african identity and the emergence of globalization. american international journal of contemporary research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 34-42. kanu, i. a. (2013). globalisation, globalism and african philosophy. c. umezinwa (ed.). african philosophy: a pragmatic approach to african probems (pp. 151-165). germany: lambert. kanu, i. a. (2013). on the sources of african philosophy. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 337-356. kanu, i. a. (2013). the dimensions of african cosmology. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 533-555. kanu, i. a. (2014). a historiography of african philosophy. global journal for research analysis. volume. 3. issue. 8. pp. 188190. the impact of igwebuike ideology on peace building in african igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 285 kanu, i. a. (2014). being and the categories of being in igbo philosophy. african journal of humanities. volume 1. issue 1. pp. 144-159. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. madu, j.e. (2004). honesty to african cultural heritage. onitsha: coskan associates. okafor, emmanuel ikenna (ph.d), ude, chizoba chilotaram, okolo, rosemary ngozi (ph.d) & amaechi-ani, nneka nkiru. igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 286 njoku, o.n (2008). “women in traditional economy” (ed) e.j, otagburuagu and a.e afigbo, new brides more hopes: igbo women in socio-economic change. pp 104135, enugu: global publishers nigeria limited. nwokike, j.c (2005). pottery and cultural life of awka people plus art history 1&2. enugu: de adroit innovation okafor, e. i and amaechi-ani (2019). “aziza as a concept and principle. a basis for a formidable african society” (ed) e. nwabueze. new frontiers in contemporary african studies. pp 309-318 enugu: abic publishers limited. okafor, e.i (2019). “migration as a pattern of life: implications on the religion-traditional identity of africans” (ed) i.a. kanu. journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 2 no. 7, pp 87-100. yola: altograde nigeria limited. okafor, e.i (2019). “pledges and vows to deities in african traditional religion: implications to the practitioners and the society: an igbo example” in e. nwabueze (e.d) lkoro journal of contemporary african studies vol 13 no. 2 pp 70-84, nsukka: institute of african studies. okafor, e.i (2020) “influence of criminal and violent minded interests on nigeria traditional institutions: the question of morality in a populous religious society”. (ed) f.o. orabueze. ogbazuluobodo university of nigeria journal of multidisciplinary studies vol. 1 no. 02 pp 247-256, enugu: timex summers, d. (2001). longman dictionary of contemporary english, england: parson education ltd microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 6.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 1 belongingness and igwebuike: expanding the african metaphysics of effective communal relationship jude i. onebunne, phd department of philosophy faculty of arts nnamdi azikiwe university, awka ji.onebunne@unizik.edu.ng, 080340734664 abstract this paper appreciates belongingness and igwebuike as the african-igbo metaphysics of effective communal relationship. the researcher, through the method of critical analysis discovered that every being is part of a whole and no being can be identified except in the whole, that is what a being is and in proper sense, a being belongs. the being is therefore the basis of the ‘igwe’. ‘igwebuike’ (strength in complementarity) can only be possible if we truly belong to our community, can be identified in our society, are responsible, can give and accept all expressions of love. since a tree cannot make a forest, let us come together in perfect integration and get ourselves identified by understanding that we are nothing except in the whole of which we are part of. keywords: belongingness, igwebuike, african communalist metaphysics introduction the individual is not self sufficient but has many needs which he cannot supply to himself. hence, human beings agreed to submit voluntarily to a system and were bound to live in unison and solidarity. through deep experiences as creatures, human beings realized their insufficiency and dependency. they discovered that they need each other to live a contented life. these experiences of life gave recourse to the idea of complementarity as a measure to survive the challenges posed by other vicissitudes of life. inter-dependency, interrelationship, collectivism and mutual co-existence form the basis for igbo life pattern as expressed in igwebuike and belongingness: the metaphysics of effective communal relationship. being means the existence of a thing. anything that exists has being. anything that partakes in being is also a being. being is a concept encompassing objective and subjective features of reality and existence (wikipedia). before these individual persons can come together to form a community as in “igwe”, they igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 2 must exist, which is ‘to be’. they must exist possibly in a nuclear family, which automatically makes them the members of an extended family, kindred, a clan and a community. the individuals, therefore, form the basis of igwe. they must belong. belongingness is a fundamental quality in understanding being. no being can be understood in terms of its completeness but in its relation to other beings. every being is defined by a relation to something or with an attribute of engaging in something. this fact of ‘beingness’, which is a form of relation, is a form of belonging to, belonging with, and belonging in. relation therefore, becomes a kind of state by which being realizes itself among others and others within it. this relation spells out a place where being realizes itself, a place of social reality, a kind of integrated universe, in john donne’s word: “…a piece of the continent, a part of the main…” this relational form or way of belonging as an integral universe is not a differential one but a fundamental or ontological integration. and for this particular being in itself, it is through this fact of belongingness that it integrates itself in reality (onebunne, 2019, p. 29-30). this is to say that being belongs and this belongingness is a fundamental condition for a thing to be considered a reality. to this end, being and belongingness are said to be ontological. reality therefore, is better known and understood by the concept of belongingness. in other words, reality or being, in its total manifestation, is a process involving belongingness. in this form of belongingness, reality is a given entity that needs continuous existential understanding and development. without belongingness, there would be no discussion on being. whatever is part of reality belongs to something. to understand being as belongingness, it must be understood in its relation to others. belongingness however, overshadows these existential facts of operations. this notion of belongingness is clearly reflected in john donne’s (1996) poem: no man is an island, entire of itself, every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main… any man’s death diminishes me, because i am involved in mankind, and therefore, never send to know for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee. being’s identity, therefore is in belongingness. belongingness identifies being as such. being’s nature is in belonging. its role is in belonging. its mode and operations are in belonging. belongingness, as such, is the ontological value of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 3 being. by belongingness being, is related to other beings by relationship of what it is or does. in understanding being as belongingness on the onto-relational level, there should be, as iroegbu (1995, p.374), opines solidarity of belongingness in being and solidarity of being in belongingness, in the manner in which we exist and relate in the reality of being and belongingness: complementarity belongingness holds that our existence as human beings, as well as our integral participation in the society in which we find ourselves, are to be defined by our being given the sense and substance of belongingness. being as belongingness is necessitated while comprehending being as expressing itself, thereby, rolling into belongingness in its general and fundamental character and attribute. often, the question is, can being be without belongingness? echoing jean-paul sartre, there is no being which is not the being of a certain mode of belonging, a certain mode of existence. igbo communalism is expressed in living together and sharing responsibilities. the traditional igbo society has a great asset in its practice of a mode of life called communalism. this is the bedrock and the result of a wonderful relationship prevalent in the igbo-african community as well as the purpose of the existence of the igbo community in particular and africa in general. in the light of the above and in recognition of the ontological and trajectory relationship of living together and sharing responsibilities, the igwebuike philosophy was developed as an authentic traditional igbo life pattern which is practiced till date. the concept of igwebuike has its nearest english equivalent to the idea of communalism expressed in the sense of njikoka (togetherness is greatest), ibuanyidanda [no load is insurmountable for the ant (danda)], ahamefula (my name should not be lost), onye aghala nwanne ya (be your brother’s keeper), egbe bere ugo bere (let the kite perch and let the eagle perch). concept of belongingness belongingness is the human emotional need to be an acceptable member of a group. whether it is family, friends, co-workers, a religion, or something else, people tend to have an inherent desire to belong and to be an important part of something. this is a relationship that is greater than simple acquaintance or familiarity. the need to belong is the need to give and receive attention to and from others. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 4 belongingness is a strong and inevitable feeling that exists in human nature. without belongingness, one cannot identify himself. renowned philosophers have argued that belongingness is such a fundamental human motivation that we feel severe consequences of not belonging. the desire is so universal that the need to belong is found across all cultures and amidst different types of people (wikipedia). belonging simply means to fit in, to feel right and to be in the right place. it means to be identified, to be appreciated, to be responsible, to be loved and to love. concept of igwebuike igwebuike can be transliterated as “strength in complementarity”. literarily, this means that there is a force that is associated with number. even the bible asserts to this that one shall chase a thousand and two put ten thousand… (deuteronomy 32:30). the igwebuike philosophy according to kanu, (2017, p. 12). is based on the igbo-african complementarity, that is, the manner of being in african ontology. it is a worldview in which individuating differences must work towards a corporate existence where the ‘i’ does not stand as the ‘i’. this kind, difference does not divide neither does it constitute a threat, but rather unites and gives hope that future existence would have meaning. in a cosmogony of this kind, while the ontology of the person is founded on the particularity of the individual, implying that it is the metaphysics of the particular that founds identity, it is the community that gives meaning to such an existence and grounds such identity. meaning of human relationship communal relationships are those where an individual assumes responsibility for the welfare of another. in these relationships, when the other has a specific need, wants support in striving towards a goal, would enjoy being included in an activity, or simply could use the reassurance of care, another strives to be responsive. importantly, they do so with no strings attached. in each case, the benefit enhances or maintains the welfare of the recipient, and the recipient incurs no debt. communal relationships can be either strong or weak. in strong communal relationships, one assumes a great deal of responsibility for the other and would do almost anything, unconditionally, to promote his or her welfare. parents often have very strong communal relationships with their igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 5 children, putting their child’s welfare above their own welfare and spending years providing emotional and tangible support. in very weak communal relationships, one assumes just a small amount of responsibility for another’s welfare, yet within the bounds of that small sense of responsibility, the person is unconditionally responsive to the other person. most communal relationships fall somewhere in between these extremes of very high and quite low communal strength. people have implicit hierarchies of communal relationships ordered according to the degree of communal responsibility they feel for others. at the base are the many strangers and passing acquaintances for whom small courtesies may be provided without expecting a specific, precisely equal repayment. higher in the hierarchy are relationship with colleagues and casual friends, higher yet are relationships with closer friends and a variety of relations. for many people, relationship with best friends, immediate family members and romantic partners are near or at the top. the needs of those higher in the hierarchy take precedence over the needs of those lower in the hierarchy. although some communal relationships may be universal and even dictated by biology or social dictates, others are voluntary. the exact nature of hierarchies will from person to person and, certainly, from culture to culture. belongingness and igwebuike expressed as njikoka njikoka is the african-igbo philosophy of integrative humanism. integrative humanism is the philosophical orientation that sees reality as having both physical and spiritual dimensions, past and present; as well as harmonized framework in which seemingly opposed variables unite without contradiction to achieve progress and epistemic wholeness. njikoka is the act of coming together and integrating ourselves into a whole. it is having a place in one’s heart where every other person dwells, for when you are in that place in me, and i am in that place in you, we are knitted by a strong bond into a whole. in like manner you share my pain and i share yours. belongingness and igwebuike expressed in njikoka conforms to the philosophy of “ubuntu” (i am because we are). the igbos express it by seeing yourself in me and i seeing myself in you. because i see myself in you, i will value you as much as i value myself bearing in mind that whatever affects you, affects me. in njikoka, the community is placed first before the self and the interest of others before one’s personal interest. the essence of integrative humanism is to show that through insights we can provide igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 6 answers to most of the questions that confront us in our daily lives by means of collective responsibility (chimakonam, 2011). integrative humanism is grounded on the igbo cultural injunction “njikokamma” which translates “to integrate is better than to disintegrate”. it is a human centered theory which derives its insights from the igbo culture. this is expressed in the igbo axiomof “anyuko nwamiri onu ogboo ufufu” which is translated as “unity is strength” bearing in mind that a tree cannot make a forest (ofu osisi adighi emebe ofia). we need other human beings in order to be human. an igbo man will always convey by his words and actionsthe philosophy of “somadina” translated as “may i never be alone” approving that loneliness is undesirable, but collectivity is the greatest (chimakonam, 2011). it also involves the act of subjecting oneself to the authority and responsibility of others in total simplicity. the persons act together by virtue of a structure of directed obligations. being part of a community affects our daily life, attitude and character and greatly increases our power to act. individuals receive great benefits from community membership. those increased benefits and power comes with increasing responsibilities. community has greater capacity to correct large-scale social problems; they checkmate some negative tendencies found in the life of individual members. belongingness and igwebuike expressed as ibuanyidanda the permanent feature or behaviour pattern of igbo social life is based on a logical system of thought and a complete positive philosophy expressed in ibuanyidanda. the fact that the world is incomplete (uwa ezu-oke) and nobody is complete (onweghi onye ozuru) necessitates collectivism in action. belongingness, igwebuike and ibuanyidanda are igbo philosophies which express collectivity. collectively, we can surmount any obstacle, no matter how big or strong. asouzu (2004,p.105). describes igbo social life as complementarity which is a concretely lived experience of everyday life. according to him; this idea derives from the general and fundamental human feeling of insufficiency and experience of relativity and fragmentation of historical process. from here arise the human fundamental inclination to solidarity, togetherness and community. in the same way arises all tendencies guiding such ideas as mutual co-existence, co-dependability, co-responsibility ... etc. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 7 the essential nature of traditional igbo social life is conveniently expressed in the above quote. it emerged as a result of the realization that the community is better able to wrest on themselves, the means of developing, sustaining and reproducing themselves. ibuanyidanda in this context is fundamentally a social relation of execution. it is the act of doing things together; the spirit of corporate existence, mutual assistance in work by all and the spirit of collective effort found among traditional igbo people. the life of the igbo is group participation in which each individual participates according to his natural ability. this explains the complementarity. for the traditional igbo, asouzu (1999) cited in egwutuora (2013) says: without complementarity, human life would be unbearable isolated struggles that easily lead to self abandonment. we can now understand why the traditional igbo never cease to sound the clarion call to complementarity and solidarity in times of crisis. there are factors which tie or bound the people incomplementarity, such as blood relation. in fact, a community in igbo land means “people of one blood” kinsmen, or brethren-umunna. other factors that favour complementarity include territorial location (habitation) and physical proximity of members of the community which bring them into personal face-to-face relation. these factors that favour complementarity illustrate vividly the igbo belief that (agbata-obi onye bụ nwanne ya) one’s neighbor is his relation. belongingness and igwebuike expressed as ahamefula no entity has an identity except in the whole. being human is not about being an individual at all; it is about belonging to a particular group of individual. who we are is defined by the social networks and communities to which we belong. when asked to describe ourselves, we do so by talking about our relationship with people and places. through membership within groups we express who we are, our belief and value system. these beliefs and values are embedded in the activities and practices that characterize the group (the automobile association, 2007). a sense of belonging to a greater community improves your motivation, health and happiness. when you see you are connected to others, you know that in the struggles of life, you cannot be left alone. the knowledge that you are not alone gives you assurance and security. the knowledge of not being alone creates a sense of belonging and that you are part of another’s suffering is a call for igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 8 responsibility. to belong therefore means to be responsible; to contribute one’s skill, knowledge, talent, time and resources for the good of another because you belong, because you are part of the whole with the spirit of identity. belongingness means knowing what we own and are responsible for. ahamefula expressed in belongingness and igwebuike is a philosophy of identity which appreciates the individuality in the “igwe” bearing in mind the non-existence of the igwe without the individual beings. it is also a philosophy of responsibility which articulates that these beings are members of the ‘igwe’ who have the collective task of contributing their own quota with a spirit of devotion and commitment to the good of the ‘igwe’ (community). belongingness and igwebuike expressed as onye aghala nwanne ya onye aghala nwanne ya is an igbo philosophy which means ‘be your brother’s keeper’. it is the philosophy of love and acceptance. onye aghala nwanne ya expressed in belongingness and igwebuike suggests that for us to belong and express the strength in collectivism, we must love and accept one another unconditionally. through loving and serving one another, being kind, having fellowship, offering hospitality, carrying one another’s burden and encouraging one another, the igbo man expressed being the brother’s keeper. the philosophy of love is defined by ancient philosophers as ‘love as feeling’ and ‘love as intention’. but in onye aghala nwanne ya love is expressed as both intention and feeling. love as intention begets the feeling. love as intention is active, autonomous and agape. it encompasses a will that is strong enough to be translated into action. because it stems from one’s will, it is said to be autonomous in nature. peck defines the philosophy of love as an act of will both in intention and action that implies choice (peck, 1978, p. 83). love as intention gives rise to the action that actually induces love as a feeling. the intention is seen in the action and the action begets the feeling. the action of this love and service is expressed in our community through dynamic service to all and in all other acts of edification. this love emanating from the individual beings that belongs is seen in the acceptance of one another. not as you want them but as they are in themselves. belongingness and igwebuike expressed as egbe bere ugo bere egbe bere ugo bere (ebub) is an igbo maxim which means ‘let the kite perch and let the eagle perch. etymologically, the kite (egbe) is rumoured to be jealous igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 9 of the eagle (ugo) because even the smallest sized eagle is known to have a more direct, faster flight, relatively longer and more evenly broad wings than the kite. the philosophy of ebub is a call to put jealousy to rest and ask both species to live and let the other live. belongingness and igwebuike expressed as ebub is trying to communicate that if we must live together and belong forming proactive ‘igwe’, we must shun jealousy and intimidation. naturally, the kite and the eagle do not fly nor live together. however, they are permitted to perch together and in this act of perching, we see a kind of relationship of respect and regard, acceptance and accommodation which is possible because they belong to a common world of animals and operate within one human world. iroegbu (1995) however, sees this fundamental aspect of being in belonging as communality relationship. belonging orchestra-sized perching, however, became a principle of operation and modus operandi and modus vivendum for community interaction, for existential relation and interaction. iroegbu (1995, p. 351), sees belongingness as a character of relation in existence. hence, for him, “the synthesis of belongingness expressing community and autonomy expressing individuality is in integrity”. this relational activity manifesting in belongingness is real. it affects every action and it is the basis of interaction in any given communal relationship. thus, maurier refers to it as ‘relation’ and ‘subjectivity’ in community – individuality concept that necessitates a form of being by belonging. this will however, take us to the popular usage of iroegbu (1995,p. 351), of an igbo full expression of the real and ideal synthesis of community – individuality in the old but famous proverb thus: let the kite perch and let the eagle perch, if one says the other should not perch let that one’s wing break. we must acknowledge that this proverb is primarily a principle of justice. nevertheless, iroegbu’s analysis of this proverb points to the fact that belongingness entails not only a fact of being but a fundamental relational activity as well. ‘bere’ (perching) here connotes being as a way of belonging. this coincidentally, is the igbo cultural emblem and the igbo version of the concept of ‘ubuntu’, which is common among many other african groups. this implies that there is room enough for all. the existence of one being is not a threat to the other. this view underlies the way igbos respond to non-igbos in their homes. igbo philosophies demand that strangers and aliens be treated with utmost care, respect and courtesy. it is the summary of igbo philosophy of co-existence; live and let live. (nwachukwu, 2018). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 10 therefore, in african communal ontological existence, the egbe and ugo, represent different individuals and the act of perching that presupposes a locus of operation form a relationship that fundamentally starts with belonging as perching: a form of contact with the other; a contact that spells belonging. the concept of contact is a backdrop of a person’s realization of his belonging as a being immersed in one’s community, (onebunne, 2018). conclusion as humans, we need to belong; to one another, to our friends, our family, our culture, our country and to our world. belonging is primal and fundamental to our sense of happiness and well-being. our interests, motivation, health and happiness are inextricably tied to the feeling that we belong to a greater community that may share common interests and aspirations. isolation, loneliness and low social status can harm a person’s subjective sense of wellbeing, as well as his intellectual achievement, immune function and health. our personal resilience is interwoven into resilience of the communities to which we belong. it is from the web of our relationships and connections with the people that we draw our strength. such communities can lift us when we are down and give us the capacity to deal with whatever challenges that come our way. however, creating and maintaining happy relationships and belonging to positive communities is not straightforward. the two major challenges in maintaining relationships are not putting time into the relationship and not dealing constructively with conflict. if you belong to a community take time to improve it by giving time as a volunteer, taking on a supportive role and assuming a leadership position, being proactive in your personal relationships and attending to them is the key to keep them happy, supportive and personally satisfying. by being more involved in communities, as well as making a difference, you also become the beneficiary as you make supportive connections with people. the more closely we are connected to the people we love, the happier we feel and the more personal satisfaction we have in our lives. people rate moments of connection and shared enjoyment with their loved ones as their most important life experiences. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 11 references asouzu, i i (1999) the method and principles of complementary reflection in and beyond african philosophy; university of calabar press, calabar asouzu, i i (2004). the method and principles of complementary reflection in and beyond african philosophy; university of calabar press, calabar chimakonam, j o (2011). njikoka: the philosophy of integrative humanism odip.webs.com/njikoka.pdf accessed 23/5/2019 domnwachukwu, s c (2018). igbo emblem: egbe bere ugo bere https://igbocountry.com/emblem-egbe-bere-ugo-bere/ retrieved on 23/5/2019. donne, j (1966). devotions upon mergent occasions in ralph l woods (eds). the world treasury of religious quotations, new york; garland books egwutuora, i c (2013). igbo communalism: an appraisal of asouzu’s ibuanyidanda philosophy, filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2 no. 1 iroegbu, p (1995). metaphysics; the kpim of philosophy, owerri international university press ltd iroegbu, p. (1995). metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy, owerri: international university press ltd. kanu, i a (2017). source of igwebuike philosophy towards a socio-cultural foundation, international journal of religion and human relations vol. 9 no. 1 kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and and logic (nka) of african philosophy”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.3 no1. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 12 kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2015a). a hermeutic approach to the study of african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015b). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no. 1.[ 97-101]. kanu, i. a. (2016b). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no.1. [1-7]. kanu i. a. (2018a). sources of igwebuike philosophy. towards a socio-cultural foundation. international journal of religion and human relations vol. 9 no 1 june. kanu, i. a. (2018b). igwebuike and being in igbo ontology: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 4 no 5. [12-21]. onebunne, j i (2018). egbe bere ugo bere (ebub) and ubuntu: expanding the philosophical economics of belongingness and xenophobia in continental africa in nnadibube journal of philosophy, vol. 2 (2) journals.ezenwaohaetorc.org/index.php/njp/article/download/455/405 retrieved 23/5/2019 onebunne, j i (2019). epistemic appreciation of belongingness as a definitive principle in african communalism in oguejiofo, j o (eds) nnamdi azikikwe journal of philosophy vol. ii no. 1 peck, m. s. (1978). the road less travelled: a new psychology of love, traditional values and spiritual growth. http://www.amazon.com/road-lesstravelled-timeless-tradition/dp/0743243153 accessed 23/5/2019 igwebuike_6_7_6.cdr 54 impact of modern conflict management mechanism on igwebuike philosophy francis n. c. iwuh mdibbo adama university of technology yola, adamawa state nduemerem16@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29305.49761 abstract the presence of the colonizers has created a new form of conict in africa. there was an established, recognized and effective system of resolving conict prior to the advent of the colonial masters. the presence of modern conict management has posed a great challenge to the existing traditional method. the work adopted a descriptive method to study the impact of modern conict resolution on igwebuike philosophy. the study is necessitated by the experimentation of the novel model of conict resolution in the same environment and space, where the traditional conict resolution once blossomed. this research work will attract the attention of policy makers, traditional rulers and political leaders in deciding the best method to resolve conict. it has also exposed the deciency and corruption inherent in modern conict resolution. thus, in the healing process, modern methods only rub and never massage the broken bones of conict in igwebuike philosophy of peace and conict resolution. keywords: igwebuike, philosophy, conict, management, kanu ikechukwu anthony, resolution, modern introduction africa, just like other societies, was developing at her own pace with wellestablished mechanisms of managing conicts before the colonial masters came and sewed their own western adjudication system that are alien to africans. with the advent of colonialism, african values, norms and beliefs, which provided the normative and undergirding framework for conict management, were severely weakened, undermined and disregarded. however, the resilience of african justice systems across african states illustrates that they still manage to occupy a central place in the world of dispute resolution in africa. while in europe, for instance, the police are a means of crime detection, several african societies relied on oath taking, divination and blood covenant in pre-colonial times. traditional african methods of resolving conict were geared towards restoring peace, and not necessarily in punishing the offenders. emphasis was igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 55 not on punishment but on reconciliation and restoration of social harmony among the disputants in conict. thus, western justice systems thrived on commissions of inquiries, constitution and court system of lawyers and judges. africans used council of elders, king’s court, people’s assemblies, etc., for dispute management and justice dispensation. a very important reason for being aware of our tradition is so that we may draw lessons from them for the solutions to current problems. it is obvious that the western approaches to conict resolution have failed here in nigeria in bringing back peace, and people even believe that the ongoing conicts in the country are due to these western systems of adjudication (charles, 2016 p. 4). traditional conict resolution mechanisms may not have outlived their usefulness, especially when compared to modern reality, for pre-colonial igbo society was embedded in the tradition and culture of the people. there have been numerous conicts in the history of igbo people of eastern nigeria. these conicts can be due to many factors, such as; ethnic rivalry, religious violence, dispute over ownership of land, boundary issues, as well as political elections. through the barometer of igwebuike philosophy, this paper tends to study the impact of modern conict management mechanism, using some of the basic features of igwebuike philosophy of peace and conict resolution to draw the conclusion that modern conict management in igbo land has actually been a resounding failure. “modern” conceptualized in peace studies, the term modern is used to differentiate with what is traditional. while the traditional refers to the indigenous or rural community which upholds and demonstrates the customs and norms of african society, modern refers to other societies outside africa, and especially the european societies. we must understand here that the nature and functions of customs and norms in modern society quite differed from those of the african traditional societies. the modern world is also a world of competing interests, ideas, values, views, ideologies, religions and cultures – a world full of conicting interests on all levels, between individuals and groups of people within their societies, between all sectors of societies, as well as between economies, nations, states, and so forth. different conict methods are used to manage and increase cooperation, promote reconciliation and strengthen relationships in the modern igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 56 world. modern here refers to the western world as opposed to the african continent. modern can also be applied to those things that exist in the present age, especially in contrast to those of a former age or an age long past. hence, modern, in this case, can mean the conict management method used presently as opposed to the traditional methods that have been in existence since time immemorial in africa. the use of modern model of conict management is relatively new in the african society. however, before the introduction of a new method by alien cultures, the traditional methods of settling disputes varied from one society to the other. these methods were essentially based on each society’s way of life. the introduction had a lot of imposition and condemnation of the original pattern of conict resolution. worthy of note here is that the experimentation of the novel model of conict resolution was in the same environment and space, where the traditional conict resolution once blossomed. the environment and space were the same, but the principles and practitioners of the conict resolution were quite different. even the result was proportionately different. it is, however, important to emphasize the point that the environment of conict situation largely depends on the applicability of what method is in vogue. environmental setting, therefore, is very necessary a determining factor in the desirability and adaptation of a specic method to use in the resolution of a particular conict. conict dened etymologically, conict is a word that is derived from the latin word, “conigere”, which means to “strike together”. conict means to strike, to ght, to struggle or battle, to clash, confrontation, a controversy or quarrel, active opposition, strife or incompatibility, to meet in opposition or hostility, to contend, to go contrary or to be at variance. nwolise (2003) agrees with these, as he describes conict as a clash, confrontation, battle or struggle. from the denitions above, conict is all about disagreement on issues or things. it is disagreement in opinions between people or groups, due to differences in personal attitudes, beliefs, values or needs. for charles (2016), “conict can be dened as the manifestation of a hostile attitude in the face of conicting interests between individuals, groups or states. the conicting interests can be over resources, identity, power, status or values” (p.1). it is generally seen as a struggle between two or more people over the same scarce resources at the same time. ezenwoko and osagie (2014) assert that, conicts are generally accepted to be an inevitable phenomenon in the lives of men (p. 136). it cannot be completely igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 57 separated from the inter-relationships that exist among individuals and communities. it is often argued that because human beings are by nature competitive and aggressive, there will always be conicts amongst them. conict is, therefore, a natural occurrence among human beings. peace scholars generally agree that there must be more than one party to have a conict and that the time factor is important. one cannot avoid conict in families, at work or even when walking on the road. to this effect, zartman (1997) posits that, “conict is an inevitable aspect of human interaction, unavoidable concomitant of choices and decisions.” peace scholars can go on dening conict, but the truth is as faleti (2014) observed, “conict is a uid and denitely elastic concept which can be twisted into different shapes and has become an issue over which scholars nd themselves in sharp disagreement with their colleagues” (p.36). this is true, owing to the fact that as he (faleti 2014) observed, conict can be constructive or destructive. constructively, conict can be used to explore different solutions to a problem and stimulate creativity, while, destructively, conict can hinder progress, and cause hatred and division in the society (p.36). it has been demonstrated that continuous interaction among the individuals and communities cannot always be peaceful. causes of conict 1. competition for inadequate resources competition is the major source of conict, because it drives people into struggling for limited resources, and people put in all their energy to get what they need. the conict that occurs as a result of inadequate resources may assume a destructive dimension when what is available is not judiciously distributed. those that are relatively deprived would always struggle to improve their lot. it is a situation of survival of the ttest. 2. contradicting value systems another factor which may bring about conict is contradicting value systems, such as the religious belief, ideological positions and general world view of the interacting parties. values are beliefs or principles which are important to people. conict arises when one person’s value system contradict another person’s value system. value system conict is the most difcult conict to resolve, because people will always hold on tenaciously to their position, believing that their opinion is better than that of others. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 58 3. group and individuals needs needs here range from psychological, political, economic to social needs of man. these are things that are fundamentally of utmost importance to people; they must be satised as soon as the purchasing power is available. these needs could be love, belonging, association, power etc. therefore, needs have the potential of generating conict, when perceived and expressed differently by people or group. 4. manipulation of information manipulation of information can cause conict in any community, relationship or workplace. when the ow of information is distorted or the content changed, conict is bound to arise. distortion of information comes in the process of passing information, from the sender to the receiver. as information move from one channel to the other, distortion sets in. distortion could either occur in packaging or in understanding of the message. 5. perception lastly, perception has been discovered to cause conict. perception refers to how we see, understand or interpret the situations of things around us. what we see is sometimes different from what it really is, or from the way others see, understand or interpret them. you do not judge a book by its cover. conict management conict managements are broad terms for methods and mechanisms used to avoid, minimize and manage conicts between different parties (niklas and mikael, 2005). wallensteen (2002) differentiates between conict management and conict resolution, saying that, conict management typically focuses on the armed aspects of conict: bringing the ghting to an end, limiting the spread of the conict and, containing it;conict resolution is more ambitious, as it expects the parties to face jointly their incompatibility and nd a way to live with it or dissolve it. a number of scholars, especially from non-western societies, have argued that conict management is a successful tool for resolving conicts over a longer time period, and that it creates the foundation for effective conict resolution. this is contrasted with a more western argument that the importance of conict management lies in its ability to solve short-term conicts. both of these views are entirely accurate, and compatible, and there might just be a cultural difference in our focus (niklas et al, 2005). both of these views can, and should, be incorporated in a theoretical framework for conict management and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 59 resolution, since they entail no inherent contradiction. they are in fact often applied in different stages of a conict and address fundamentally different issues. nevertheless, a number of western scholars claim that the difference is one of long-term versus short-term perspectives and that it is a question of either resolving the underlying problem or managing the current problem. therefore, management measures are applied in later phases when a conict is manifest, but before violence has occurred. conict resolution could, on the other hand, be applied in the de-escalation phase after a violent conict has occurred. nevertheless, resolution can be applied in all phases as soon as the conict is manifest. thus, traditional peace scholars use conict resolution for african method and conict management for modern method, because in the traditional method, conicts are often rooted out. practitioners try to dig out the root cause of every conict, while such cannot be said of the modern method. modern practitioners manage conict; they try to reduce the effect of conict to the barest minimum. the practice of modern conict management in igwebuike philosophy prior to the advent of modern culture, igbo people had a well laid down, though undocumented, traditional process of conict resolution. charles (2016) asserts that “each people, race, or identity group in the world had (and have) their own ways of doing things especially as it concerns social control and conict resolution, (p.7). the big questions have always been, why the imposition of an alien method of managing conict on african society? what is wrong with the traditional method? peace scholars have debated and argued over the most appropriate mechanisms for managing conicts in africa. some scholars believe that the application of western methods in resolving conicts in local communities may have some limited usefulness. others, however, believe that the use of traditional mechanisms of conict resolution would be most appropriate in addressing issues that are emanating from a socio-economic and political setting that is not completely modern. yet, others think that a successful tackling of the conict challenges that abound in igbo-land would require a new and novel thinking that would accommodate both mechanisms by according preference to one or the other where it is most suitable (charles, 2016 p.4). chris (2014) disagrees with charles, saying, “to a great extent, the igbo people do not believe in the modern conict management process, they believe in using the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 60 past history to settle conict. they believe that to settle dispute amicably no side suffers any adverse effect, they go home happy.” interestingly, the pre-colonial igbo society was a decentralized society and decisions were taken at family, clan and age grade levels. council of elders, usually made up of the most elderly and senior members of the community, exists to decide individual and community disputes. dispute resolution is seen closely as a system of justice, to which the community, rather than individual leaders, is at the centre (shedrack, 2014, p.98). therefore, the council of elders is the highest judicial institution in igbo land. sadly enough, today, the council of elders who were once seen as custodians of wisdom and people of impeccable character are gradually being overshadowed in the administration of justice in the land to an alien system. charles (2016) strongly believes that african value systems and conict transformation systems are a viable means of resolving african conicts today. the use of modern methods of conict management, more often than not, has been a resounding failure in igbo society. now, using the igwebuike philosophy of peace and conict resolution as a standard of igbo conict resolution, let us discuss the impact of modern conict management. according to kanu, “igwebuike is an igbo word; one of the major dialects in africa. it is a principle that is at the heart of african thought, and in fact, the modality of being in african ontology” (2017, p. 6). he went on to say that it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. the three words involved: ‘igwe’ is a noun which means ‘number’ or ‘population,’ usually a huge number or population. ‘bu’ is a verb, which means ‘is.’ ‘ike’ is another verb, which means ‘strength’ or ‘power’ (kanu, 2016). thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power;’ that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force. its english equivalents are ‘complementarity’, ‘solidarity’ and ‘harmony’. the preferred concept, however, is ‘complementarity’ (kanu, 2017, p. 6). at rst contact with igwebuike, one can comfortably say that modern conict management mechanism has failed. igwebuike as a concept thrives on complementarity, “to be with others”. the modern method breeds more conict than resolution; this is true because man is a social being created to be with igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 61 others. on this point, kanu (2017), the founding father of igwebuike african philosophy, avers that, as an indigenous african philosophy, igwebuike gives an understanding of the human person as a being who is in relation with the other in the world. it establishes that there exists a common link between human persons and that it is through this relationship that every other human person realizes himself or herself. it is the foundation of openness, availability, afrmation of the other, freedom from threat based on the ability or good in others (p. 6). the western world, with its individualistic ideology, does not encourage community living, this “to be with others”. thus, the force on africans to accept their method of conict resolution creates more complex conict, of identity, culture, tradition and personality. again, modern method uses force to enforce judgment. they often use the police, and in some cases army, to enforce whatever judgment that has been reached in the law court. funny enough, conict always arises when modern method tries to enforce judgment. this is totally absent in traditional method. compliance to decision reached is a collective responsibility in traditional conict resolution. this is supported by the rst basic features of igwebuike philosophy of peace and conict resolution, which states that, “conict is not viewed as a problem between the disputants but as a problem of the entire community. conict, therefore, attracts the attention of the community.” going further, kanu (2017) elaborates on the fth basic feature of igwebuike philosophy of peace and conict resolution, saying, “there is a high degree of public participation. there are no secret trails in african traditional legal system. since the problem between the disputants is seen as a community problem, in restoring harmony, there must be a general satisfaction among the public regarding the procedure and outcome of the case (p. 9).” to this end, conict between/among members of the community is viewed as a community conict. the seventh and eighth basic features of igwebuike philosophy of peace and conict resolution holds that, “decisions are reached through agreement rather than force….the enforcement of a decision is reached through social pressure rather than the police or military” (kanu, 2017, p.9). so, acceptance of the judgment is seen there and then through demonstrative action of reconciliation. reconciliation is at the heart of igbo conict resolution. the institutions that resolve conict in igbo traditional society speak with truth and integrity to the conscience of the parties in conict; a soft igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 62 word, no doubt turns away anger, and in african traditional societies, words have power. moreover, the words of elders are anchored on wisdom. this was captured beautifully well in the third basic feature of igwebuike philosophy of peace and conict resolution by kanu (2017, p.9) in these words: “the emphasis is on reconciliation and restoring social harmony. it purpose is, therefore, aimed at rebuilding broken relationships and restoring the community.” it must be made clear here, that every effort to manage conicts through administrative and bureaucratic machinery in igbo land, coupled with theories and methods crafted in euro-american institutions, has failed to yield practical results in many conict situations. to this, kariuki (2015) opines that, modernity has had its fare share of negative impacts on african justice systems. in pre-colonial period, elders were the rich and wealthiest people as they had land and livestock. their wealth and respect enabled them to be independent during dispute resolution processes. however, in modern societies, younger people have accumulated wealth and in most cases, older people rely on the younger people. this has enabled dispute resolution by elders to be affected by bribery, corruption and favoritism… apart from corruption and bribery, modernity and westernization have broken down the close social ties and social capital between families and kinsmen (pp.12-13).” the presence of modern conict management has posed a great challenge to the existing traditional method. being a method that is corrupt and manipulative, people guilty,, especially those who are easily run to them for settlement, knowing that they can get their way to “a favourable judgment.” hence, nwolise (2004) posits that african traditional societies are known to hold secrets of peacemaking and peace building locked in their culture formed from customs and norms, before the coming of the colonial masters disrupted them. the processes of conict resolution, such as mediation, counseling, conciliation, informal tribunals, arbitration of several types and criminal and civil justice system may not achieve the desired result. over the centuries, african societies have built a wealth of experience as well as specic mechanisms and institutions to prevent conicts, peacefully resolve conicts once they arise and work through reconciliation processes. even with modernization, these traditional institutions still hold sway, keeping the heart of the society in harmony. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 63 inasmuch as modern adjudication system is being practiced, traditional methods of resolving conicts are still alive in our communities. conclusion modern conict management might have helped in the process of conict resolution, but it has not resolved conicts. it may be a means but not an end to conict resolution in african society. so, forcing this method on africans has never worked and will not still work. africans should be allowed to continue with the traditional method which has always been in existence, tested and trusted to resolve conict in our society. since it has come to stay, modern conict management mechanism should assist traditional conict resolution in resolving conicts, and not the other way round. through the igwebuike barometer, we have discovered that modern method caused more conict than resolving it, since it does not foster community living, “the being with the other.” the end product is not to make peace but to create enemies, as the judgment pronounced in modern conict method breeds hatred, disunity and rivalry. civilization brought a cultural conict between the african and the modern cultures. the modern culture was viewed as superior and dominant, thus subjugating african cultures. cultural imperialism was extended to the world of dispute resolution. therefore, modernized system of justice is retributive in nature by emphasizing a winner-loser paradigm in dispute resolution that does not resolve the underlying causes of the conict. the adoption of the modernized justice system in igbo land has made many traditional societies to revert to their own traditional dispute resolution by elders. the traditional method of resolving conict is the best form of conict management for the african people, since it digs deep into the root causes of the conict to ensuring that peace is given a chance to reign once more through reconciliation. references charles, m.o. (2016). tiv and igbo conict management machanism: a comparative study, port harcourt, centre for conict and gender studies (ccgs), 5(7), 22-29. chris, d. (2014). african traditional procedures of settling dispute: a case study between the people of ihiagwa. owerri, donasco the casino united. ezenwoko, f.a. and osagie i. j. (2014).conict and conict resolution in precolonial igbo society of nigeria. benin city, university of benin. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 64 faleti, a.s. (2014). “theories of social conict” in shedrack g.b. (ed.), introduction to peace and conict studies in west africa. ibadan, spectrum books limited. kanu i. a. (2015b). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, a. i. (2016). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1.pp. 1-7. kanu, a.i. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conict resolution, a paper presented at the 2017 igbo studies association international conference held at great wood hotel, owerri, imo state, pp.110. kanu i. a. (2017). igwebuikeconomics: towards an inclusive economy for economic development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 6. 113-140. kanu i. a. (2017). sources of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. 9. 1. pp. 1-23. kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. kanu, a. i. (2017c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 7. pp. 165-183. kanu, a. i. (2017d). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 6. pp. 16-50. kanu, a. i. (2017f). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. pp. 153-160. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 6166. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.2340. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.1221. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 65 kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientic and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. karuiki, f. (2015). conict resolution by elders in africa: successes, challenges and opportunities. kenya, karuiki muigua & co. niklas, l.p. s. and mikael, s. w. (2005). central asia-caucasus institute & silk road studies program. nwolise o.b.c. (2003). war-making, peace-making and conict resolution in africa, a guide to peace education and peace promotion strategies in africa, 2.h.b. harunah, o.b.c nwolise, and d. oluyemi-kusa. eds. lagos, african refugee foundation (aref). nwolise o.b.c. (2004). traditional approaches to conict resolution among the igbo people of nigeria: reinforcing the need for africa to rediscover its roots. amani. shedrack, g.b. (2014). “the methods of conict resolution and transformation.” in shedrack g.b. (ed.), introduction to peace and conict studies in west africa. ibadan, spectrum books limited. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 66 wallensteen, p. (2002). understanding conict resolution: war, peace and the global system. london, thousand oaks, ca; & new delhi: sage publications. zartman, i.w. (1997). governance as conict management: politics and violence in west africa. washington d.c., brookings institution press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya the code of canon law and catechism of the catholic church: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 99 the code of canon law and catechism of the catholic church: an igwebuike perspective igboechesi, emeka stanley catholic institute of west africa port harcourt, rivers state padrestantall@yahoo.com abstract the code of canon law and the catechism of the catholic church are two very important documents in the church. as important as each of these texts may be, they do not work in isolation. it is in this regard that this piece attends to the interdependent nature of cic and ccc from an african lens via igwebuike as an african complementary philosophy. it is employed as a transcendent complementary comprehensive systematic quest to penetrate the structure and dynamics of reality ultimately for the purpose of giving honest answers to fundamental questions or opinions to questions that arise within the arena of asking questions and questioning answers, and selfless enlightenment. in this search for truth, igwebuike, is therefore, understood as an integrated systematic framework that strives beyond all forms of particularities, peculiarities, paradoxes and contradictions, and espouses the path of complementation, therefore, showing how realities can relate to one another in a mutually harmonized non-absolutistic mode. this piece discovers that there is a very strong connection between the code of canon law and the catechism of the catholic church, and that the two, when studied together, can be very enriching. keywords: igwebuike, catechism, catholic church, code of canon law, complementarity igboechesi, emeka stanley themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 100 introduction every canonical norm is based on certain theological premise or doctrine. the search into the theological foundation of the canons in the 1983 code reveals theological presuppositions found in the official pronouncements of the church on the matter. it takes into account the teaching documents of the church, such as the catechism of the catholic church, papal magisterium, etc. the code and catechism do not contradict each other. hence, there exists a level of solidarity which this work hopes to explore from the point of view of igwebuike philosophy. the catechism of the catholic church the history of catechisms in the catholic church goes back to the very earliest days of the church. there is a document called the didache, which sets out in a systematic way the beliefs, practices and moral imperatives of early christians. the didache dates from the end of the first century. it is an extraordinary ancient type of catechetical document. in 1566, the document commonly known as roman catechism was published in response to the request issued three years earlier before the council of trent (bruskewitz, 1996). this was used until 1978; it inspired, as intended, the creation of many national catechisms. in january 1985, pope john paul ii convoked an extraordinary synod of the council of bishops to celebrate the 20 th anniversary of the second vatican council. the synod expressed a general desire for a new catechism for the universal church, and so the following year the pope organized a commission to draft one. thus, this was done in the light of the second vatican council and the whole of the church’s tradition. the text was approved by john paul ii on 25 june, 1992 and promulgated by him on 11 october, 1992. on august 15, 1997, accompanied by the apostolic letter laetamur magnopere, pope john paul ii promulgated the latin typical edition (the “editio typical”). all other publications are derived from this edition (bruskewitz, 1996). the code of canon law and catechism of the catholic church: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 101 the present catechism of the catholic church follows the four-fold presentation structure which has been a tradition, since the earliest days of the church. the first part sets forth the mystery of faith, that is, what catholics believe. this is based on the creed. the second part is based on the celebration of faith, and the way in which the grace and salvation of jesus is mediated to the world. this has to do with the sacraments. the third part of the catechism concerns the faith working through love as it is expressed in christian life, that is, what we must not only believe and celebrate, but what we must do in order to be saved. the basis of this is the ten commandments. the final part of the catechism’s structure is about how we are related in our belief, our celebration and our action to god himself, and this is based on prayer. thirty-nine percent of the text of the catechism of the catholic church is devoted to the creed; twenty-three percent is devoted to the sacraments; twenty-seven percent to the commandments, and eleven percent to prayer. the code of canon law the code of canon law is specifically meant for catholics, and more particularly for catholics of the latin rite. it is sometimes abbreviated as the cic, an abbreviation of the latin title, codex iuris canonici. there is an analogous document, the codex canonum ecclesiarum orientalium or code of canons of the eastern churches, applying to the other sui juris churches of the catholic church. the cic is a body of regulations, the oldest continuously functioning legal system in the western world. it is the internal legal system of the catholic church. internal means that canon law lies wholly within the church’s authority to compose and administer. this is in contrast to the wide variety of external (usually civil) laws to which the church generally defers in the pursuit of her divine mission. canon law operates according to the principles of law chiefly as set out in aristotelian-thomistic legal philosophy. this is in contrast to suggestions that canon law is simply applied theology, morals, or the rules of religious cult. canon law affects virtually every aspect of the igboechesi, emeka stanley themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 102 faith life of catholics all over the world. the code, in the words of pope john paul ii, is in no way intended as a substitute for faith, grace, charisms, and especially charity in the life of the church and of the faithful. on the contrary, its purpose is rather to create such an order in the ecclesial society that, while assigning the primacy to love, grace and charisms, it at the same time renders their organic development easier in the life of both the ecclesial society and the individual persons who belong to it (peters, n.d). the most recent edition of the code of canon law was promulgated in 1983 also by pope john paul ii, suspending the first and previous code, the compilation of which started under the pontificate of benedict xv and ended under the pontificate of pius xi in 1917, hence it is known as pio benedictine code. 1983 code and ccc: an igwebuike perspective igwebuike is the heart of african thought, and in fact, the modality of being in african philosophy. the underlying principle of igwebuike philosophy is the principle of complementarity (kanu, 2017). in consonance with the universal appeal of igwebuike, the connection between the code and the ccc should not be a case of canon law or catechism. if you ask a question starting with “do catholics believe in…?”, you will probably find the answer in the catechism. if you ask a question starting with “are catholics allowed, obliged or forbidden to…?” or “what happens if catholics disobey…?”, then the answer is probably in the code of canon law. the foregoing, however, does not raise walls that exclude complementarity. for example, canon 1184 gives a list of those to be deprived of a christian burial; to the surprise of many it does not mention suicide victims, meaning that they can receive christian burial. the reason for the exclusion is found in the ccc 2280-2283. in line with most customs, the catechism describes suicide as “gravely contrary to the just love of self….” in the minds of many, those who die of suicide are hell-bound due to mortal sin. for a sin to be mortal or the sinner culpable, the following three criteria must be met: grave matter, knowledge that it is wrong and consent of free will. no doubt, suicide as an act constitutes the code of canon law and catechism of the catholic church: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 103 a grave matter, but are all those who carry out the act in the proper frame of mind for all criteria to be met? the answer is for sure, no, because, “grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide” ccc2282). the name catechesis, according to ccc 4, has to do with the “…totality of the church’s efforts to make disciples… to educate and instruct them in this life, thus building up the body of christ.” the ccc is, therefore, a teaching tool for bishops and various catechists; no wonder then, chapter ii of book iii in the 1983 code dedicates canons 773 – 780 to the second form of the ministry of the word, that is, catechetical formation. the rule in canon 773 states that it is a serious duty of pastors to catechize. it lays down in a general way the duties already mentioned with regard to catechesis by canon 386 § 1 for the diocesan bishop and by canon 528 § 1 for the parish priest (sheehy, 1999). under the new code, all the faithful have some responsibility for teaching catechesis but pastors and sacred ministers have the primary duty to supervise catechesis. pastors of souls are to encourage and protect the faithful’s multiform catechetical activity, supplementing their efforts whenever their initiatives are insufficient and assigning certain catechesis to be taught and directed by the faithful. canon 774 stipulates that the duty of catechesis belongs to all members of the church. this canon, no doubt, emphasizes the priority of the parental role, but it also adds that those who take the place of parents, like guardians, foster parents, or godparents, also share in this solemn duty (beal, 2013). as far as godparents are concerned, this obligation is to be understood, according to this canon, not as secondary to the parents’ duty, but is an addition. family catechesis is to be encouraged and fostered by ministers. canon 775 distinguishes among the nominative competence of the apostolic see, the diocesan bishops, and the bishops’ conferences igboechesi, emeka stanley themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 104 over catechetical formation, particularly the approval and use of catechisms. canon 776 lists the duties of a parish priest in relation to catechetical instruction. he is to lead the catechetical formation of the local church. the catechetical responsibility of a parish priest is of extreme importance (cann 528 § 1, 761, 733). he is to ensure that catechesis is taught in the local church placed under his care. canon 777 throws up a list of different types of catechesis entrusted in a special manner to the parish priest and his duty to attend to them. the use of the words, “the parish priest is to ensure” indicates that the parish priest does not necessarily have to carry out these catechetical activities all by himself but to see that these things are done. the canon also encourages diocesan bishops to draw up a guideline for catechesis, according to their unique sociological data. canon 778 puts forth the duty of religious superiors and superiors of societies of apostolic life (both local and major) with regard to catechesis, with specific reference to the catechesis which they should teach in their churches and place of apostolic work. religious orders and congregation of men and women, though subject to their charisms and their obligation, are called to help with the catechetical task. to the extent they can, they should teach catechesis. this they may do at times at their own initiative as an institute or at other times at the bishop’s request (fuentes, 2004). the key catechetical tool is the catechism (canon 775). however, canon 779 encourages the use of other tools and means to teach catechesis. the tools are to be selected bearing in mind sociological data, age and the capabilities of the catechists. in choosing catechetical methods, care must be taken to consider pastoral needs, the range of instructional materials and the need for pastors to encourage the highly varied initiatives that will be proposed by the faithful. the code does not state categorically the tools “out of respect for the authority, which is above all to proclaim magisterially and the code of canon law and catechism of the catholic church: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 105 generally coordinate and supervise the various initiatives” (fuentes, 2004). the need for catechists to be properly trained is addressed by canon 780. according to jose fuentes, a catechist is one of the faithful who directly provides catechetical instruction. preparation is key for anyone working in evangelism. local ordinaries (vicars general, episcopal vicars, diocesan bishops) are encouraged to ensure proper formation for catechists. canon 780 speaks of doctrinal formation and general formation in the discipline of pedagogy. this formation is to be continuous so that they are kept abreast of the magisterial teachings and methods of instruction. to achieve the goal of ongoing formation for catechists, it is advisable to have catechetical schools and institutes. it is also advised that catechetical formation be given in seminaries. conclusion they, cic and ccc, are two separate documents, with separate purposes but one goal, which is the salvation of souls. thus, in the pursuit of this one goal, the essential principle of igwebuike – complementarity comes to play. the cic quotes the ccc for explanation and clarification, and vice versa. thus, this helps to foster a good relationship between the legal and teaching documents of the church. experience and study show that some canonical norms are better interpreted, applied and fully comprehended only from the background of their theological relevance, in so far as they articulate the doctrines of the church, which have been translated into norms of action for practical life. references beal, p. j. et al. (2013). new commentary on the code of canon law. new york: paulists. bruskewitz, w. f. (1996). the new catechism of the catholic church. retrieved 15/6/2020. igboechesi, emeka stanley themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 106 www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/new-catechism-of-the-catholicchurch-1284. fuentes, j. (2004). “catechetical formation” in exegetical commentary on the code of canon law vol.iii/1. montreal: wilson & lafleur. kanu, i. a. (2017). sources of igwebuike philosophy: towards a social-cultural foundation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 9.1. 1. kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015b). igwebuike as an ontological precondition for african ethics. international conference of the society for research and academic excellence. university of nigeria, nsukka. 14 th -16 th september. kanu, i. a. (2015c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25 th -26 th november 2015 university of paris, france. kanu, i. a. (2016). igbo-african christology: a cultural christological construct in post-missionary africa. germany: lambert publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). african traditional folk songs as dialogue between education and entertainment. cambridge international journal of contemporary education research. 6. 6. pp. 53-64. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. the code of canon law and catechism of the catholic church: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 107 kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2016b). african traditional folktales as an integrated classroom. sub-saharan african journal of contemporary education research. vol.3 no. 6. pp. 107-118. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. igboechesi, emeka stanley themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 108 kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. peter, n. e. (n.d). canonlaw.info. retrieved 17/6/2020. www.canonlaw.info. sheehy .g. et al. 1999. the canon law letter and spirit. london: geoffrey chapman. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 3.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 98 une etude sociopolitique de 15 ans ça suffit d’amadou ousmane magnus terna ate phd department of languages and linguistics benue state university, makurdi. talk2ternam@yahoo.com et muotoo chukwunonso phd department of modern european languages nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. chukwunonsomuotoo@yahoo.com résumé l’afrique a été victime du colonialisme et de l’impérialisme, de l’exploitation et de la dégradation. l’impact monumental de ces maux sur le monde moderne du réveil de l’afrique est un fait majeur de notre époque. en afrique de nos jours, la vie sociopolitique est définie sur des principes et la situation de la vie en générale est difficile à définir à cause des maux parmi nous surtout au niveau gouvernemental et même des masses populaires. la compétence de s’exprimer librement n’existe plus car il n’y a pas de droit civil pour les gens de la route dans la société africaine d’aujourd’hui. dans ce cas, les maux de la société africaine augmentent de plus en plus. dans notre roman d’étude, sidi balima centralise le pouvoir du gouvernement et la prise de toute la vie au bentota se caractérise en sécheresse. à travers l’étude sociopolitique en afrique, nous constatons que l’afrique avance philosophiquement, conceptuellement, moralement, économiquement et même politiquement, mais l’expérience de l’afrique et les africains se reposent aux dirigeants que nous avons produit en afrique depuis l’indépendance jusqu’à l’heure actuelle. ces hommes politiques centralisent toutes les affaires du gouvernement à cause de l’égoïsme, de la corruption, de l’injustice, de la discrimination sociale surtout parmi les riches et les pauvres et de la dictature. voilà pourquoi dans notre roman d’étude, 15 ans ça suffit, sidi balima était accusé d’avoir détourné à son profit et au détriment de l’état du bentota 15,000 tonnes de produits céréaliers divers d’une valeur totale estimée à 516 millions de francs. ce détournement de sidi balima fait illustration de ce qui se passe actuellement en afrique poste indépendante. introduction depuis l’indépendance en 1960, il existe essentiellement les crises sociales et économiques en afrique. le cas du bentota, un pays exemplaire dans notre igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 99 roman d’étude n’est pas exceptionnel de ce fléau. le fait que balima avait des camions de transports et une cinquantaine de taxis, mais la presque totalité des employés de la société nationale de transport sont des frères et des parents proches de balima. c’est imaginable et complètement faux puisque le bureau d’emploi ne peut pas permettre une telle chose. ainsi, les activités sociopolitiques comme le thème dominant dans la société africaine attirent l’attention de beaucoup d’écrivains surtout de l’afrique noire de la période post-indépendante. les uns s’engagent à apprécier les bienfaits alors que les autres s’engagent à critiquer les maux de la période pour améliorer la situation sociopolitique dans l’actualité de l’afrique de notre rêve. les activités bureaucratiques sont les sujets qui sont ouvertement discutés dans la plupart des pays africains que les hommes et les femmes politiques, les représentants patronaux, c’est-à-dire les chefs départementaux sont inclusivement en charge. alors que les écrivains et les syndicaux ont ainsi exceptionnellement à l’occasion de s’exprimer d’une seule voix pour dire que l’éradication des ces fléaux revêtent un caractère d’urgence. dans notre roman d’étude ; 15 ans ça suffit, il ne pleut plus, ou guère, à bentota, une république fictive d’un sahel de pénitence bien réel où la faim et la soif sont données à l’homme comme une malédiction sans remède, mais les bureaucrates travaillent toujours pour leur bien-être et le bien-être de leurs propres familles. résumé de 15 ans ça suffit d’amadou ousmane 15 ans ça suffit est écrit par amadou ousmane. l’histoire se déroule dans la république fictive de bentota. cette république malgré le fait qu’elle a eu son indépendance il y a 15 ans, vit des problèmes de tous ordres; naturel, politique, économique, social et idéologique. dans le roman, il s’agit d’une critique de nouveaux pouvoirs politiques installés en afrique après l’indépendance. ici et là, le régime au bentota est dénoncé sans ambages et sans complaisance. dans le roman, sidi balima le député à l’assemblé nationale et le président – directeur général de la société nationale des transports, était prévenu d’avoir détourné à son profit et au détriment de l’état du bentota, 15,000 tonnes de produits céréaliers divers tels que mil, riz, blé, sorgho et maïs d’une valeur totale estimée à 516 millions de francs. depuis un quatrain d’années, il ne pleut pas au bentota. pendant ces trois ou quatre ans, il existe terriblement la sécheresse à travers le igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 100 pays et sidi balima, au lieu de faire venir au secours de la population affamée, il construit des villas. il est prévenu aussi d’avoir acheté à son secrétaire blanche, mademoiselle nicole, une toyota corolla le jour de son 21e anniversaire. la souffrance était telle que les gens étaient en train de fuir pour quitter le pays mais ils sont morts. la population affamée vide : « chez nous, il y a certes la sécheresse, mais dieu sait que nous nous en tirons très bien, personne n’est encore mort de faim ». sidi balima, le député de l’assemblé nationale et le président-directeur général de la société nationale des transports accuse de détournement de vivre : c’est ainsi que nous savons désormais que l’utilisation des biens détourné au détriment de l’état du bentota que j’ai l’honneur de représenter ici, n’a servi que l’intérêt personnel et égoïste de sidi balima et celui des siens… (127) une déclaration faite par maître akpo, l’avocat de la partie civile à propos de sidi balima. dans son défendre, balima disait qu’il n’a pas détourné à son profit et au préjudice de l’état, 15,000 tonnes de produits céréaliers divers comme le spécule. malgré tout cela, son fils ali lui a servit d’avocat défenseur, ali attribuait la faute au système puisque les choses vont très mal du système dans son ensemble. selon lui : « vous savez que depuis quinze ans, tous les leaders du régime ont accumulé autant ou plus que mon père, les biens matériels et des richesses considérables, je me dis qu’en voulant faire justice, vous risquez de faire justice, vous risquez de faire de l’injustice » (123). enfin, le coupable député sidi balima est condamné à huit ans d’emprisonnement à un million de francs d’amende et au remboursement de 516 millions de francs à la partie civile. il est prévenu et puni par l’article 101 du code pénal. de plus, ali sera arrêté bientôt sous prétexte qu’il y tient des réunions clandestine ; ces événements sont suivis par un coup d’état du général wata qui liquide le pouvoir civil et laisser sortir tous les détenus politique surtout monsieur sidi balima. les gens étaient finalement très coutent lorsqu’ils disaient que « quinze ans du régime civil, ça suffit ! sauf l’armée peut instaurer la justice, la loi et l’ordre dans ce pays du bentota. la situation sociopolitique dans 15 ans ça suffit d’amadou ousmane igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 101 malgré une économie déplorable, on trouve qu’il y a la prise de conscience au bentota. l’auteur, ahmadou ousmane, présente la masse populaire comme ceux sensible à la misère et à l’injustice sociale qu’ils se trouvent. soulevant l’attitude que la masse populaire garde vers le gouvernement, ahmadou ousmane présente une réunion spéciale à la mosquée. c’est une réunion où il y a la participation de plusieurs voire. il s’agit dans cette réunion de la critique du système politique en place. c’est une réunion extraordinaire présidée par un marabout. tous les propos des membres étaient enregistrés par un journaliste catholique. a la fin de la réunion, on remarque l’enquête de toute l’assemblée sur le projet de l’intervention militaire. cette vision d’ahmadou ousmane sur la situation sociopolitique à l’égard d’une intervention militaire n’est pas tout à faire acceptable en afrique contemporaine. dans sa critique, fantouré a rejeté cette intervention disant qu’elle fonds un avenir ténébreux en afrique. chez lui le régime militaire menace de plus la liberté qu’on cherche. fantouré s’exprime sa pièce, les cercles des tropiques, « quelques mois plus tard, le docteur maliké, mille houré qui a venait de rentrer d’exil, le colonel fof, le lieutenant beau-temps, salimata étaient mystérieusement assassiné ». a travers cela, on a noté qu’à l’exception de général baba-sauessi, le chef d’etat militaire, les autres dans la lutte contre le gouvernement de messie-koi ont trouvé la mort. donc, en opposent la vision d’ahmadou ousmane à propos du régime militaire, ou peut dire que à ces solution ceux problèmes de l’injustice sociales et politiques ne restent pas dans le coup d’état, car le régime militaire est un symbole d’abus du pouvoir politique en afrique poste indépendante. il y a aussi le problème du tribalisme. on constate cela dans la querelle entre sidi balima et son fils ali au sujet d’aicha. sidi balima qui refuse à un mariage entre ali et aïcha, car mademoiselle aïcha vient du matsari, une autre tribu plus inférieure que la leur. on constate l’hypocrisie politique chez balima. c’est lui qui ne cesse de débiter des discours sur l’unité nationale, la solidarité, l’union et le concorde entre les différentes ethnies du pays. mais, il ne veut pas l’union de mariage entre ali son fils et aïcha, la pauvre amante d’ali sous la seule prétexte qu’elle est d’une autre ethnie. même dans le roman, ou soulevé la position de la presse au bentota. on remarque qu’elle est vigoureusement censurée. il n’a pas la liberté de l’expression. les journalistes ne parlent pas parce qu’on leur passé de l’huile sur igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 102 la bouche. au lieu de dire la vérité, ils se limitent à faire la propagande et ils ne montrent que le bon côté du gouvernement. en somme, on constate dans le roman qu’ahmadou ousmane utilise son œuvre pour exposer le mal existant dans les pays africains de l’après l’indépendance. la corruption comme thème majeur dans 15 ans ça suffit d’amadou ousmane en afrique, le sujet de la corruption est donné comme le thème le plus discuté. cette activité coquine est faite au niveau des leaders politiques, les chefs départementaux et les chefs des entreprises au sujet de détournement et l’égoïsme, par ces dictateurs très assoiffés du pouvoir. voilà pourquoi les écrivains surtout les écrivains de l’après l’indépendance s’engagent pour la critiquer pour faire sortir ce fléau dans la société africaine. dans notre roman de travail, 15 ans ça suffit, ahmadou ousmane souligne l’affaire corrompue du député sidi balima en détournement à son profit l’etat du bentota de l’argent et les produits céréaliers destinés à la population affamée que la vie devient de plus en plus difficile telle que les gens sont en train de fuir pour quitter le pays du bentota. alors que les autres sont morts mais au lieu de faire venir à cette situation, le député sidi balima construit des villas partout au pays. la corruption a détruit notre économie et les rapports internationaux. c’est pourquoi les écrivains la dénoncent. dans son roman intitulé, la grève des battu, amina sow fall a fait un récit d’une tragédie que vivent les mendiants dans une grande ville sénégalaise. mour ndiaye, le directeur du service public de salubrité a confié à son adjoint keba dabo la mission de procéder aux désencombrements humains. en clair de nettoyer la ville de tous ces mendiants. keba dabo étant un travailleur acharné et soumis aux ordres de son patron, en quelques jours libère la ville des mendiants. par contre saga diouf, son secrétaire le rapprochait toujours en lui disant que la mendicité est un précepte de la religion et que la religion recommande que l’on aide les pauvres, mais keba dabo ne veut pas l’écouter de la poursuit son travail. après quelques jours, les mendiants sont jetés comme des refuges dans et sur des camions et les abandonnés à deux cents kilomètres loin de la ville où certains sont morts. a quelques kilomètres de la ville, les mendiants n’ayant l’accès à leur seul gagne-pain, leur charité était besoin de la ville. en clair, de donner la charité parce qu’ils ont besoin de leurs prières mais ils ont refusé à cette fois de retourner en ville et à la fin du drame, l’égoïsme, la corruption, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 103 désencombrement humain sont donnés comme les faits que la poste de vice président n’était pas gagné par mour ndiaye. en somme, la corruption comme thème majeur dans la société africaine mène à la perdue des valeurs culturelles, la récession économique, les rapports internationaux et même la liberté des activités sociaux et politiques. alors, les écrivains critiquent pour que les hommes d’action sachent les effets et les conséquences de la corruption en afrique. la situation économique dans 15 ans ça suffit une économie qui témoigne une crise est celle où il y a une rupture du plan financier et matériel. c’est dans cette perspective que l’auteur décrit dans sa peinture de l’afrique contemporaine. dans le roman, l’économie du bentota témoigne une crise. cela est mieux présenté de l’œuvre à travers le personnage, sidi balima. il joue plusieurs rôles pour faciliter cette crise au bentota. l’auteur lui présenté comme symbole de la corruption. on remarque qu’il se montre indifférent aux problèmes de ses concitoyens affamé. a travers son rôle dans la société nationale des transports, on soulève qu’il détourne les vivres pour son compte personnel. alors, il s’était enrichi de manière scandaleuse grâce au commerce et au trafic en tous genres. il a plusieurs comptes bancaires à l’étranger. l’auteur l’utilise pour montrer comment le matérialisme grossier de certaines privilégies à perpétuer la misère dans un pays. les conséquences de sa corruption c’est la chute au niveau financier au bentota. et puis, la mouvais conduite de la classe politique provoque un mauvais visage économique au bentota. on voit que dans l’affaire de la société nationale des transports, les députés mettent quelques tonnes de coté pour leurs usages exclusifs et celui de leurs familles. avec cette ambition criminelle de gagner l’argent en toutes sortes, le pays devient celui gâté et voit un échec sur le plan financier. au fond, ce qui a gâté ce pays, ce sont ces politiciens qui bouffent tout notre argent pour s’acheter des voitures et des villas pour mieux nous narguer. on dit même que l’un d’entre eux possède tout à la fois une résidence à neuilly, une villa à nice et un chalet en suisse (65). ce gaspillage de l’argent public par la classe politique est une trahison de l’espoir du peuple et le résultat c’est la misère généralisé sur la masse populaire. le igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 104 détournement des biens de l’état apporte un mauvais visage économique et c’est la masse populaire qui voit de plus se conséquence négative. en outre, l’auteur présenté aussi une crise économique causée par des phénomènes naturelles. le climat est une cause naturelle et il est responsable d’une crise économique s’il y a de la sécheresse. par exemple, au bentota où l’agriculture constitue la principale source de revenue nationale, il se face contre une terrible sécheresse. cela entraîne une récession économique dramatique au bentota. alors il existe tellement la soif et la mort. lors d’une réunion des dirigeants politiques, un gouverneur signale l’effet de la sécheresse dans sa province, vous le savez déjà, la province de kokoda est la plus gravement atteinte par les effets de cette sécheresse…, il y a en des morts dans tous les villages, les cadavres des animaux jonchent encore les routes et les alentours des points d’eau. (77) l’auteur utilise tel problème pour montrer une des causes de la pauvreté en afrique. en somme, on peut dire que c’est la base d’une crise économique surtout quand le gouvernement est incapable de surmonter tel problème. c’est telle situation qu’on voit au bentota et voilà pourquoi son économie n’a pas améliorer et que l’auteur, ahmadou ousmane l’utilise pour montrer la mauvaise côté pour les pratiquants à voir les effets et résister de la faire. conclusion dans 15 ans ça suffit, nous avons vu l’affaire du député sidi balima pour le détournement, l’injustice sociale, la discrimination à l’état du bentota, car ces activités du député balima illustrent le fait que les hommes, les femmes politiques, les représentants patronaux c’est-à-dire les chefs départementaux ont induit les africains en erreur depuis l’indépendance jusqu’à l’heure actuelle. pourquoi quinze ans ça suffit ? les se libèrent après quinze ans du régime civil où il existe tellement pendant ces années la corruption, la sécheresse et la mort. dans nos sociétés aujourd’hui, les gens représentent pour servir leurs poches. ils gardent leurs intérêts personnels sans considérant les effets et les conséquences. c’est pourquoi le coupable député sidi balima est condamné à huit ans d’emprisonnement à un million de francs d’amande et au remboursement de 516 millions de francs à la partie civile. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 105 en somme, on a vu que l’affaire des leadeurs africains et le mal représentation contribuent au sous-développement des pays africains car bentota exemplaire utilisé par ahmadou ousmane pour communiquer aux africains. a travers cette étude, nous proposons une révolution en afrique pour faire sortir ces vices sociopolitiques. il est important de noter qu’une situation où ces dictateurs sont très assoiffés du pouvoir mais après avoir tenir ce pouvoir, ils gardent pour servir leurs poches laissant la masse populaire aux problèmes inconnus qui mènent parfois les jeunesses de voler et les vieux à mourir. encore, les pays africains doivent laisser indépendante, la judiciaire pour la justice de prévaloir pour qu’on aura le droit civil, soit pour les riches et pour les pauvres dans les pays africains. les pays africains doivent laisser aussi l’union électorale pour fonctionner indépendante pour que la masse populaire peut élire leur candidat digne de foi. pour faire la justice dans la situation sociopolitique en afrique, les tribunaux doivent punir tous les hommes d’action pour laisser enterrer ces maux et améliorer la situation sociopolitique en afrique post indépendante. œuvres citées alain, ricard. littérature d’afrique noire. des langues aux livres, paris : karthala, 1995. arjun, appadural. après le colonialisme : les conséquences culturelles de la globalisation. traduit de l’anglais par françoise bouillot, paris : payot, 2001. biyaoula, daniel, agonies, paris/dakar : présence africaine, 1998. biyaoula, daniel. la source de joies. paris/dakar : présence africaine, 2003. chanda, tirthankar. «les combats d’une nouvelle génération d’écrivains. tant que l’afrique écrira, l’afrique vivra», dans : le monde diplomatique, décembre, 2005, pp. 30-31. dabla, j-j.s. nouvelles écritures africaines ; romanciers de la deuxième génération, paris: l’harmattan, 1986. denise, coussy. la littérature africaine moderne au sud du sahara, paris : karthala, 2000. dominique, maingueneau. le discours littéraire, paris : armand colin, 2004. dommel, daniel. face à la corruption, paris : karthala, 2003. folkart, barbara, le conflit des énonciations : traduction et discours rapporté, montréal: editions balzac, 1991. gandhi, leela, postcolonial theory: a critical introduction. new york: columbia university press, 1998. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 106 gassama, makhily. la langue d’ahmadou kourouma ou le français sous le soleil d’afrique. edition acct et karthala, 1995. gikandi, simon, «postructuralisme et discours postcolonial» in : lazarus, 2006, pp. 175-202. girard, rené. la violence et le sacré, paris : grasset, 1974. jacques, chevrier. l’arbre à palabre : essai sur les contes et récits traditionnels d’afrique noirs. paris : hatier, 1986. ---. littérature nègre, paris : colin, 1984. jean-marc, piotte. la pensée politique de gramsci. paris : editions anthropos, 1970. jingiri, achiriga j., la révolte des romanciers noirs de langue française. sherbrooke : naaman, 1973. john, theme. postcolonial contexts; writing back to the canon, london/new york: continuum, 2001. joppa, francis. l’engagement des écrivains africains noirs de langue française, university of cape coast : edition naaman, 1982. kourouma, ahmadou. les soleils des indépendances, paris : editions du seuil, 1970. ---. quand on refuse on dit non, paris : editions du seuil, 2004. kristeva, julia. contre la dépression nationale, paris : les editions textuel, 1998. labou, tansi sony. la vie et demie, paris : seuil, 1983. lindfors, bernth, conversations with chinua achebe, jackson: university press of mississippi, 1997. michel, naumann. les nouvelles voies de la littérature et de la libération africaines. paris: l’harmattan, 2001. mounier, jacques. (ed.), exil et littérature, grenoble : ellug, 1986. mouralis, bernard, littérature et développement. essai sur le statut, la fonction et la représentation de la littérature négro-africaine d’expression française, paris et lille, 1981. mourra, jean-mark. littérature francophone et théorie postcoloniale, paris : presses universitaires de france, 1999. ndiaye, papa. la condition noire ; essai sur une minorité française, paris : calmann-levy, 2008. ngandu, nkashama puis. la littérature africaine de 1930 à nos jours. paris : silex, 1984. ousmane, ahmadou. quinze ans ça suffit, abidjan : nouvelle edition africaine, 1985. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 107 ousmane, ahmadou. quinze ans ça suffit, dakar : nouvelle edition africaine, 1985. ousmane, sembène. le mandat, paris : présence africaine, 1965. robin, régine. le réalisme socialiste, paris : fayot, 1986. samba, diop. fictions africaines et post colonialisme. paris : l’harmattan, 2002. sow fall, aminata. la grève battus, dakar : présence africaine, 1985. touraine a. la société postindustrielle, paris : denoël, 1969. winock, michel. le siècle des intellectuels, paris : seuil, 1997. yves, chemla. «entre la colonisation et l’indépendance, je ne saurais te dire laquelle est la pire» dans : interculturel francophones, n. 9, juin –juillet 2006 : tierno, monénembo pp.151-168. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 2.doc igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 163 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) supra-ethnic universality of islam and the ethnocentrism of african culture: questions of assimilation and resilience kanu, ikechukwu anthony professor of religion and cultural studies department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university email: ikee_mario@yahoo.com abstract a cursory glance at the historical development of islam in africa reveals that it made itself present and expanded through trade and migration. while islam was introduced into north africa through the movements and activities of the arabs, in west africa, it was introduced from north africa by the berbers through the trans-saharan trade as early as the ninth century. trading among local african groups which extended to senegal and the northern part of nigeria helped the diffusion of islam to penetrate peacefully beyond the sahel—the semi-arid region of africa, between the sahara and the savannah—into the savannah area. in the coastal areas, the process of interaction between the immigrant arabians and the dominant african groups created a new urban ethos in which islam blended with the indigenous local culture to produce an indigenous islamic religion, like the swahili islam. in this way, a balance was established between local ritual prescriptions and those of universal islam. the present work on schedule is an effort in religio-cultural studies to understand the extent of religio-cultural interaction between islam and african culture: to what degree the islamic religion assimilated the african culture and to what extent the african culture found a home in islam. to arrive at the shores of the objectives of this study, the historical and hermeneutic method of inquiry would be patronized. this piece, however, discovered that the contact between islam and african culture was an interaction in which there was a reciprocal assimilation. keywords: islam, african, culture, assimilation, social movement theory, islamization introduction i would like to describe my invitation to saint augustine’s major seminary to present a paper as a privilege for two reasons. it is a privilege, first, because i was invited by one of the finest minds that taught me, the person of rev. fr. peter hassan. we knew him as a productive scholar; an academic whose productivity is marked by happy versatility, rich variety, unfailing originality, consistent incisiveness, high voltage reasoning, limpidity of style and unwavering logic. secondly, i have honoured invitations from different seminaries to make presentations, but the presentation i made in saint thomas aquinas major igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 164 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) seminary, makurdi in 2016, and now in saint augustine major seminary comes with a different tastethe taste of a profound privilege. this is because this is my alma mater. saint augustine’s major seminary was the garden where we were nurtured by quiet but industrious academic bees; producing scholars whose inner peace, transparent honesty, self-effacing demeanor, yet joyous sense of humor have fascinated colleagues all over the world. at this juncture, i cannot but say a big thank you to you all. as a scholar with an african appetite, i sought for an image from my glossary of african images with which to describe the nacaths week; and of course an image that delivers the content of an african perspective. the image that first came to my mind was that of a festival, not just any sort of festival, but the new yam festival. this is important, as the nacaths week is an opportunity for us to gather as a community of inquiry, in terms of a harvest of knowledge, for the education, entertainment and edification of one another. we are harvesting from the immense and measureless garden of knowledge, the social, cultural, philosophical, theological fruits, among others, which have matured for us as a result of the labors of academics who are committed to the apostolate of pen and paper. implicit in the concept of harvest is a preceding period of sowing or planting. this explains why harvest is a period of blissful celebration, marked for us, especially as africans, by group dances and colorful masquerades, by goodwill visits and exchange of gifts. in the cosmological context of planting and harvesting, as the human drama unfolds, the dynamics provide part of the light which enables us see and understand the human condition at any time in history104: that “unless a grain of wheat falls on the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain, but if it dies, it yields a rich harvest”105. as i travelled from osogbo to jos, i knew very well that many masquerades (scholars) must have performed at various points within the nacaths festival. and i am sure that the performing scholars have not only danced but danced beautifully well. it is in the nature of every serious masquerade to make an impression on the spectators. however, the nature of this impression cannot, unfortunately, be forecast before hand as it depends not only on the dexterity of the masquerade or lack of it as a dancer, but also on the humor of the spectators, and on their ability to assess and appreciate an artistic performance106. to achieve this, i have decided to choose dancing steps that are not monotonous 104 a. e. afigbo, the age of innocence: the igbo and their neighbours in pre-colonial times. a lecture delivered at the 1981 ahiajoku lecture, p.7. 105 john 12:24 106 a. e. afigbo, the igbo and their neighbours. ibadan: university press limited, 1987, p. 10 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 165 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) and insipid, neither do i intend to repeat any of the other dance steps that have already been presented during the nacaths week. nor do i intend to make a mere arrangement of an old and jaded dance steps. when i speak in these ways, it is only my idiosyncratic way of indicating my intention to avoid the unnecessary. my presentation would border on the tension between the supra-ethnic religious universalism of islam and the ethnocentrism of african culture; basically, focusing on the questions of assimilation and resilience. research methodology research methodology involves the science of proper modes and orders of procedure. and the research method that would be patronized during the course of this study would be the historical method of inquiry, an effort to recount some aspects of past life in a way that is scientific and analytic. this is necessary as the study would include a historical development of the relationship between islam and african peoples at various periods of time or at a particular time in african history. the hermeneutic method of inquiry would also be employed for the interpretation of the historical experiences and also for the interpretation of certain dimensions of african cultural realities. this hermeneutic method of inquiry is necessary for the discovery of generalizations that are necessary for the understanding of the past, understanding the present, and to a limited extent, anticipating the future. theoretical framework theories are formulated to explain predict and understand phenomena and, in many cases to challenge and extend existing knowledge, within the limits of the critical boundary assumptions. this section on the theoretical framework focuses on a theory that would be of great significance in the interpretation and understanding of this research on islamic assimilation of african culture. it would, in fact, through the provision of a lens for analysis, help in explaining the meaning, nature and challenges of such religio-cultural assimilations so that the knowledge and understanding may be used to act in more informed and effective ways107. 107 kanu i. a. african bioethics: an indigenous humanistic perspective for integrative global bioethical discourse. lambert academic publishing: germany, p. 50. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 166 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) the theoretical framework to be patronized is the social movement theory108 which is an interdisciplinary theory that generally seeks to explain why social mobilization takes place, the forms under which it manifests, as well as potential social, cultural, and political consequences. within the context of islamic assimilation of african culture, this idea of social mobilization for the islamization of africa, is not based on factors of deprivation109 or random action110, but rather individuals, who are mobilized and who are mobilizing, are rational actors who strategically weigh the costs and benefits of alternative courses of action and choose that course of action which is most likely to maximize their utility. conceptual framework very important to this research is the concept: “african culture”. the african like every other human person is shaped by culture and contributes in the shaping and transmission of this culture. the african therefore, is a homo culturalis. african culture generally refers to all those things which go to the refining and developing of the african’s diverse mental and psychological endowments111. it is the integral system of learned behavior patterns which are the characteristic of the african society and which are not the result of biological inheritance. this bears with the etymology of the word culture as colere, which means “to cultivate” or “to practice”. the human person is, therefore, the author and architect of culture112. it includes the embodiments in african artifacts, the historically derived and selected traditional ideas and values. it is a way of life that is particularly african. the values of the african culture include: honesty, truthfulness, hospitality, among others113. elders in africa are esteemed as figures of wisdom; as such respect for elders is an african culture. there is respect for sacredness of life. communal life is also part of african cultural value, 108 olson, mancur. the logic of collective action: public goods and the theory of groups. cambridge: harvard university press, 1965, p. 48. lichbach, mark. the rebel’s dilemma. ann arbor, mi: university of michigan press, 1995, p. 24; chong, dennis. collective action and the civil rights movement. chicago and london: university of chicago press, 1991, p. 32. 109 smelser, neil j. 1962 theory of collective behavior. london: collier-macmillan. 110 gurr, ted. why men rebel. princeton: princeton university press, 1970. 111 paul vi, gaudium et spes, pastoral constitution of the church in the modern world; second vatican council document, 7th december 1965, no. 40. 112 kanu i. a. a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. augustinian publications, nigeria p.379 113 iroegbu, p. (2004). ‘the dynamism of african culture’, viewpoint magazine, vol. 4, no. 5. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 167 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) summed up thus: “i am because we are, and since we are therefore i am”114. there is also the sensitivity towards the sacred, music and dance115. the word “islam”etymologically is from the arabic word: إس�م , (ar-al_islam). it is part of a large class of words mostly relating to concepts of wholeness, submission, safeness, and peace116. as a religion, it means "voluntary submission to god"117. islam was revealed to the prophet muhammad by allah. thus, historically islam is sometimes called muhammadanism. this concept has not been accepted by many as it suggests that a human being, muhammad, rather than god is central to islam. the word “assimilation” is also important to this study. it is a word developed in the business of sociology. it refers to the gradual process by which a person or group belonging to one culture adopts the practices of another, thereby becoming a member of that culture118. it describes the way a person or group of a particular culture (such as immigrants) might respond to or blend with another culture, or how a minority cultural group might relate to a dominant cultural group119.the process of assimilation can take the form of forced or unforced assimilation. in forced assimilation, a person or group is compelled to take on the practices of another culture, such as by adopting that culture's language and religious traditions. in unforced assimilation, a person takes on the practices of another culture but is not forcibly compelled to do so. the adaptability of the african culture the african culture by its nature is elastic, and like the greek culture, it is open to new ideas, people and methodologies. the african tends to incorporate other cultural values that are beneficial to his or her culture. the african languages are 114 j. s. mbiti, african religions and philosophy. eastern educational publishers, nairobi, 1969, p. 104 115 kanu, i. a. african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. augustinian publications, nigeria p.131. 116 "what does islam mean?". the friday journal. 2011-02-06. archived from the original on 201103-14. 117 lewis, barnard; churchill, buntzie ellis (2009). islam: the religion and the people. wharton school publishing. p. 8. 118 boyer, p (2001). cultural assimilation. international encyclopedia of the social & behavioral sciences. pp. 3032–3035. 119 chegg.study. assimilation. https://www.chegg.com/homeworkhelp/definitions/assimilation-49; wikipedia. assimilation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/cultural_assimilation igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 168 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) in general languages with a concrete vocabulary, rather limited in the expression of more abstract realities. with the arabic language, africans have been able to fill a gap. many african peoples, some scarcely touched by islam, have borrowed a complete abstract, and especially religious, vocabulary from arabic. the presence of arabic language in african languages like hausa, berber, fulani, harari, swahili, etc., is an indication of the openness of the african culture to other cultures. there is also a lot of borrowing from the english language by african languages. for instance, the igbo would say: odi good; achorom that thing; in hausa language we often hear: da munje now; kai fool ne fa, wane irin nonsense ne wannan? etc. this sense of adaptability of african culture to other cultures is obvious in african proverbs, myths and parables. thus, some models of the openness of african culture to diversity would be discussed. a. the ‘ife’ thermodynamic model very interesting is the yoruba mythology of creation. the myth holds that olodumare, the supreme god, originally lived in the lower part of heaven, overlooking endless stretches of water. one day, olodumare decided to create earth. he sent an emissary, the orisha obatalá to perform this task, giving him what he needed to create the world: a bag of loose earth, a gold chain, and a five-toed hen120. these different elements had their purposes. obatalá was instructed to use the chain to descend from heaven to the water below. when he got to the last link of the chain, he poured the loose earth on top of the water and placed the hen on the pile of earth, and ordered it to scatter the earth with her toes across the surface of the water. when the hen was done, obatalá climbed the chain to heaven to report his success to olodumare, who then sent his trusted assistant, the chameleon, to verify that the earth was dry, after which olodumare gave the earth the name: ile ife, the sacred house121. after the creation of the earth, olodumare returned to the uppermost part of heaven. however, before his retirement, he distributed his sacred powers to obatalá, the orisha of creation, and yemayá, the orisha of the ocean, who gave birth to a pantheon of orishas, each possessing a share of olodumare's sacred power. olodumare gave obatalá the sacred power to create human life. obatalá 120 marta moreno vega, "the altar of my soul: the living traditions of santeria," one world/ballantine, 2001. http://www.religioustolerance.org/ifa.htm 121 marta moreno vega, "the altar of my soul: the living traditions of santeria," one world/ballantine, 2001. http://www.religioustolerance.org/ifa.htm igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 169 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) was the divinity that created our ancestors, endowing them with his own divine power122. the ife thermodynamic myth of creation, leaves us with several lessons about the openness of the african to diversity. b. proverbial model one of the major traditional vessels where african philosophy, religion and culture have continued to be preserved is in african proverb. mbiti writes that: “it is in proverbs that we find the remains of the oldest forms of african religious and philosophical wisdom”123.the igbo refer to them as vegetables for eating speech and as the palm oil with which words are eaten. the zulu of southern africa describe proverbs thus: without proverbs, language would be but a skeleton without flesh, a body without a soul. the yoruba would say that proverbs are horses for chasing missing words124. they spring from the people and represent the voice of the people and express the interpretation of their beliefs, principles of life and conduct125. some of these proverbs include: a. a person is a person because of other people b. sticks in a bundle cannot be broken c. when spiders unite they can tie up a lion d. if one finger tries to pick up something from the ground, it cannot e. if you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together f. i am because we are, and since we are, therefore, i am g. if a lizard stays off from the foot of a tree, it would be caught h. a tree does not make a forest i. when a bird builds its nest it uses the feathers of other birds j. one person is not the whole world k. it is by taking a goat around that you are able to sell it l. if two or more people urinate in the same place at the same time, it would produce more foam 122 marta moreno vega, "the altar of my soul: the living traditions of santeria," one world/ballantine, 2001. http://www.religioustolerance.org/ifa.htm 123 john mbiti, african religions and philosophy. east african education publishers, nairobi, 1969, p. 89. 124 kanu i. a., a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, philosophy and theology. augustinian publications, nigeria, 2015, p. 65 125 kanu i. a., african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. augustinian publications, nigeria, 2015, pp. 55-56. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 170 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) from these proverbs, one can draw a lot about the african principle of openness to religio-cultural diversity. c. the ‘choosy princess’ complementary model there was once a choosy princess who turned down the requests of those who asked for her hand in marriage. her father was disturbed because of her choosy attitude and made public that any man who would win the love of his daughter would have half of his kingdom given to him. this was heard by a python that lived in the river and immediately it went about borrowing the parts of the human body and when it looked fully human, physically, it stormed the palace of the king in a grand style. immediately the princess saw the human python, she was attracted to him, fell in love and decided to marry him. the human python departed with her and owned half of the wealth of the kingdom as the king had promised. when the python was returning with her to his home, just before the river, it turned into a python and went into the river with the princess. those who witnessed the scene brought word back to the king that his son-in-law is not a human being but a python126. this bordered the king who assembled the wise men in his kingdom for a way forward towards rescuing the princess. they came to the decision that to rescue her, extraordinary talents would be required for the mission. this included professionals like: a boat rider, a thief, a carpenter, a diviner, a hunter and a swimmer. when they got to the river, and did not know where to begin to find her, the diviner did some incantations and found out where the princess was hidden by the python. having discovered her, the thief went into the river and stole the princess from where she was hidden. he handed her over to the skillful swimmer who immediately moved with her behind him. at this point, the python woke up from its slumber and angrily went after the swimmer. this was when the hunter came in and fired at the python. while the boat rider was heading to the shore with her, the anger of the python was stirred and it hit hard on the boat, damaging a good part of it; and to save the boat from sinking the carpenter came in and mended the damaged part of the boat that they may continue on their journey. with a combined effort, the team was able to take the princess back to the king127. islam and other religio-cultural traditions 126 kanu i. a., sources of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. 9. 1. 1-23. june 2017. p. 10. 127 kanu i. a., sources of igwebuike philosophy. p. 11. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 171 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) the relationship between islam and other religio-cultural affiliations can be categorized into her relationship with “people of the book” and with traditional religion, under which the african culture’s experience with islam can be studied. a. islam and the religions of the ‘people of the book’ religious and cultural diversity was part of the scene from which islam emerged. christians and jews lived around the various peninsula and its environs during the time of prophet muhammad. in the northwest we had the ghassanids and the byzantine which were christians. to the southwest in yemen, there were small christian groups. to the west of yemen was the abyssinian christian kingdom of the negus. in the city of medina, there was a significant jewish presence as well128. springing from this environment, the qur’an accepts a world created by god in its diversity: o humankind! we created you male and female, and we made you into peoples and tribes that you might learn to know one another. indeed god considers the most noblest among you those of most reverent awe129. in another text, the quran speaks of diversity within the context of plural communities of faith: we have made for each among you a revealed road and a way to travel. had god wished, he would have made you a single community, but to test you according to what he has given to each of you. therefore, vie with one another in good deeds, for god is the final goal of all of you, and it is he who would clarify for you those things about which you now argue130. the above texts from the qur’an, understand religious and cultural diversity as coming from god, and allowed by him so as to test how we can work out our differences, and as an impetus to a beneficial moral competition131. however, the relationship between islam and other religious cultures have varied from one place to another. early muslim administrators at one point allowed for freedom of worship, while others didn’t. under the administration of the the umayyads, islamic rule had a policy that protected the dhimmi (protected minority), that is, non-muslims who chose not to convert to islam. this policy gave them the right to freedom of worship as long as they paid their 128 john renard, responses to 101 questions on islam. better yourself books, india, p. 110 129 qur’an 49:13; cf 30:22; 14:4 130 qur’an 5:48; cf 2:148; 23:61 131 john renard, responses to 101 questions on islam. better yourself books, india, p. 111 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 172 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) poll tax (jizya) in addition to the universally levied tax (kharaj). in iranian territories, the dhimmi’s included christians, jews, zooroastrians, etc132. this freedom policy did not in any way remove the significant restrictions that the islamic administration placed on the people of the religion of the book. they were forbidden to proselytize and had to wear clothes that identified their confession. while they could repair their ritual sites, they could not build new ones133. this is still operative in some muslim communities to this day. islam and the religions of “idol worshippers” the word ‘idol’ is from the greek word eidolon, which means image or shape, usually copied from the real thing. thus is speaks of what is false compared to the real thing. in relation to african traditional religion, it was used, mainly by islam to speak of it as the worship of false gods. africans were thus a people who needed to be liberated from their worship of false gods134. this served the bases for islamic missionary work in africa. the dhimmis must be distinguished from ‘idol worshippers’ at this juncturethe dhimmis were the ‘people of the book’ comprising christians, jews, zorostrians, etc; while they had some respect, the idol worshippers were treated without respect or religious toleration. they had the choice to get converted or flee for their lives135. the implication being that while islam had more tolerance for the culture of the ‘people of the book’, it had very limited tolerance for the religion of ‘idol worshippers’. thus, it is not surprising that most muslims stress that they have a duty to convert "pagans" from primal religions to islam. this is backed by the qur’an136, which makes it the collective responsibility of the muslim community to wage holy war, jihad against unbelievers in order to subject them to muslim rule137. it was with the lens of “idol worshippers” that african religious culture was understood. creative adaptations of traditional categories in islam a cursory glance at the historical romance between islam and african culture reveals that despite efforts to purge islam of african elements has continued to display a level of ‘africanness’ that reveals a progressive indigenization of islam 132 john renard, responses to 101 questions on islam. better yourself books, india, p. 29 133 john renard, responses to 101 questions on islam. better yourself books, india, p. 29 134 kanu, i. a., african traditional religion in a globalizing world. international journal of humanities, social sciences and education. volume. 1. issue. 8. 4-12. 2014. 135 john renard, responses to 101 questions on islam. better yourself books, india, p. 30 136 qur’an 9. 5 137 clark p.b., & linden i., islam in modern nigeria, munchen, 1984, pp. 138-149 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 173 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) in africa. this is evident in her interaction with the bori traditional hausa religion and the north african church. the chronicles of bori hausa religio-cultural heritage in the pre-colonial hausa states, long before the advent of islam, there was what we could consider a strong hausa animism. it was called bori, which was the state religion of the traditional maguzawa138. bori means ‘the spiritual force that resides in physical things’. it has a relationship with borassa, which is the word for local distilled alcohol and boka, which means the practice of medicine139. in traditional hausa societies, the bori controlled the forces, and the performance of an adorcism, which constituted the rituals, dances and music by which these spirit forces were controlled and by which illness was healed. the network of bori priestesses and their helpers was led by the royal priestess, called the ‘inna’, or ‘mother of us all’. the inna oversaw this network, which was responsible for protecting society from malevolent forces through possession dances, but provision of healing and divination. when islam started making inroads into hausa land in the 14th century, certain aspects of the bori religion and culture were driven underground. such aspects include: the pre-eminence of women in power. the powerful advisory roles of women, exemplified in the bori priestesses, either disappeared or were transferred to muslim women in scholarly, educational, and community leadership roles. idol worship was obliterated. however, some other aspects were assimilated, making the hausa to feel at home with islam. these aspects include: 1. polygamy: polygamy has existed all over the african continent as an aspect of the african culture. this practice was very important to the african because children were seen as a form of wealth and this way a family with more children was considered to be more powerful. when islam came to africa, it’s religious regulation on polygamy blended with the african culture. the qur’an says: if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans, marry women of your choice, two or three or four; but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one, or 138 maguzawa are a subgroup of the hausa people who still adhere to some of the tenets of the pre-islamic traditional religions of kano and katsina, cities in northern nigeria. most of the citizens are found in the rural areas close to kano and katsina. 139 h. r. palmer. bori among the hausas. man, vol. 14, 1914 (1914), pp. 113–117. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 174 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) (a captive) that your right hands possess, that will be more suitable, to prevent you from doing injustice140. this provision in the qur’an made it possible for the assimilation of the african culture of polygamy by islam. 2. the use of charms and amulets: the use of charms and amulets, also known as the “goodluck charm”, were very important, in traditional african societies. when islam came into africa, they recognized that the making and sale of charms and amulets, which were believed to offer protection against evil forces and generally ensure success in life, were important in winning over converts. islam, therefore, took the making of amulets to the next level by making packages, usually of animal skin containing sacred verses of the qur’an to generate a force that is able to interact with unseen forces. these were attached to the clothing of children and also won by adults to give them protection from seen and unseen evil forces. 3. belief in spirit forces: the african universe is one that is dominated by spirit forces, both benevolent and malevolent. when islam came, the idea of spirit forces were not obliterated but assimilated for the indigenization of islam. for instance, in the northern part of nigeria, the bori spirit possession priestesses maintained nominal influence over the sultanates that replaced the earlier animist kingdoms. priestesses communed with spirits through ecstatic dance ritual, hoping to guide and maintain the state's ruling houses. the pre-muslim babbaku spirits of the maguzaci were added to the muslim spirits farfaru, and spirits of other ethnic groups, even those of the european colonialists. thus, mbiti avers that even after the suppression of african traditional religion, in matter of deeper subjects such as life, birth, marriage, death, many african muslims remain the followers of african religion141. moreso, the muslim ritual prayer did not completely dislodge the traditional rituals of seeking to appease the ancestors142. 4. architecture: with the advent of islam in africa, the african traditional forms and symbols, especially, the artistic and architectural domains 140  qur'an, sura 4, 3 141 john s. mbiti, an introduction to african religion. nairobi: east african publishers. p.191. 142clark p.b., & linden i., islam in modern nigeria, munchen, 1984, pp. 138-149 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 175 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) indicative of an indigenous system, were often not discarded but retrieved and recast in new forms blending with islamic architecture. once a compromise was reached between the local traditional cultural heritage and the universal prescriptions of the islamic religion, the next step was to adopt the african ancestral imagery or iconography into islamized form. for instance, the african traditional architecture was highly patronized during the construction of the mosque in mande of west africa, which was configured from a local altar shrine. according to labelle prussin: the single, towering pyramidal earthen cone became the mihrab with its system of projecting wooden pickets extending out of this massive structure. the ends of these wooden pickets served as a scaffold for workers to climb and repair the walls. the ancestral conical structure pillar was now redirected to a new focal center, that of mecca. in certain cases... some of the mosques that were built in mali had mihrabs that evoked the image of an african mask143. the adoption of the african traditional architectural design also influenced the islamic architectural tradition through the inspiration of the architectural imagery of mosques evident in the thatched domes of the senegal-guinea area144. 5. the african sense of community: the africans who were converted to islam found in the muslim umma145 a solidarity and a sense of belonging not very different from that obtainable in traditional african societies146. with the advent of colonialism which oversaw the dismantling of the african sense of community and brotherhood, the islamic brotherhood provided a safe haven for so many africans who were disoriented after losing their cultural heritage. the new solidarity within the muslim community replaced the african village and tribal solidarities. 143 encyclopedia of islam and the muslim world. african culture and islam. https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-andmaps/african-culture-and-islam 144 encyclopedia of islam and the muslim world. african culture and islam. 145 ummah (arabic: أمة [ˈʊm.mæ]) is an arabic word meaning "community". it is distinguished from shaʻb (ش����عب [ʃæʕb]) which means a nation with common ancestry or geography. ... it is a synonym for ummat al-islām (م أمة the islamic community'), and it is commonly used to' ,ا�س����� mean the collective community of islamic people. 146 encyclopedia of islam and the muslim world. african culture and islam. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 176 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 6. prayers: another area of assimilation was the manner of payer. in traditional african societies, most prayers were said at home, presided by the head of the family, who was the priest at this level of worship. in the same way, islam allowed for small prayer units at home headed by the father of the home. when islam came, this practice in traditional african societies created a fertile ground for assimilation. 7. traditional medicine: medical practitioners belong to a class called sacred personages or sacred specialists. they principally concern themselves with sickness, disease and misfortune147. they symbolize the hope of society: hopes of good health, security and prosperity. sickness and misfortune were generally believed to be caused by the ill will or ill action of one force against the other. the medical personnel is thus consulted to diagnose the type of sickness and trace the cause of it. when islam came, it encouraged a system of healing that was psycho-spiritual. in fact, in most islamic communities, the imams were the medicine men. 8. simplicity: the simplicity of islam made it attractive to african people who were already part of a religious culture that was very simple. the simplicity of the islamic doctrine and mode of worship helped propagators to make converts in africa. unlike some other religions, islam is not just a religion or a mass of doctrines or beliefs and rituals, but rather a complete way of life or civilization, just as the african traditional religious culture was a way of life. as regards conversion, the islamic faith was much more adaptable in africa with very minimal requirements for new members. keeping to religious responsibilities and the understanding of the faith came later after conversion. the north african chronicles a study of the decline and eventual disappearance of christianity from north africa and its islamization is relevant to this study. before the islamic invasion of africa, the great alexandria, the second most important city of the then roman empire, was the naval and centre of african christianity. thoughts of the alexandrian school of theology and their famous catechetical school, far back as the 2nd century reminds us of how egypt shared in primitive christianity. we 147 kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). “a metaphysical and epistemological study of african medical practitioners”. in issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 227-240). a publication of the association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 177 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) learn from the acts of apostles that pilgrims from egypt were present during the pentecost148. the catechetical school produced great theologians like origen, philo, st pantaenus, clement of alexandria, st dioysus, eusebius of caesarea and, athanasius, who explored greek philosophical categories to formulate christian mysteries149. in upper egypt, the christian community had introduced monasticism to the church by the end of the 3rd c 150. this new form of life contributed greatly to “the history of a phenomenon of the inner life of the church”151. modern tunisia, located at the western side of egypt, and was then referred to as carthage; a place where the great st augustine lived between the 4th and 5th centuries. after carthage there was the great city of numidia which is today’s algeria. it was from among this christian community that the earliest church martyrs emerged: st perpetual, a noble lady of carthage, and the slave girl felicity152. through a progressive process of islamization, this rich christian heritage in north africa declined and eventually disappeared. at the time of arab invasion of egypt, there was a conflict between the duosites and the monophysites (copts). this conflict and division provided a fertile ground for islamic penetration. while egypt gradually became an arab nation, the coptic community clung to its identity and continued to use the coptic language in their liturgy153. the strength of the coptic church that has kept it surviving to this day is their acceptance of the gospel within the categories of what they already believed and knew. they were already having some quasi belief in the trinity, based on the egyptian osiris, isis and horus, so believing in the trinity was not something strange. they maintained their originality and were only converted to christianity using the coptic language. thus, their resistance of the islamic invasion was based on the fact that they had their faith interwoven in their language and tradition, giving it a nationalistic identity154. 148 kanu, ikechukwu a. & elizabeth ezenweke (2012). “revisiting the lessons of the interaction between faith and culture in north africa”. in the proceedings of the international conference on sustainable development. vol. 8. no. 2. pp. 67-71. 149 raymond hickey, two thousand years of african christianity, ibadan: daystar press, 1987, p.2. 150 l. a. thompson, christianity in egypt before the arab conquest, in tarikh, vol.2, no. 1. pp.4-15 151 jedin, h. and dolan, j. (eds), history of the church; vol. ii, london: burns and oats, 1980, p.337 152 raymond hickey, two thousand years of african christianity, p.10 153 raymond hickey, two thousand years of african christianity, p.4 154 sylvester dagin, lecture note on african church history, st augustine’s major seminary, unpublished material, 2006. pp.10-12 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 178 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) christianity in the nubian church was completely wiped out. it is only through the effort of the world archeological community under the supervision of unesco from 1959-1969, that they discovered the long history of the nubian church. they uncovered a church of unbaked bricks dating to a period of 543 ad155. what were the reasons for the success of the islamization of the north african church? the reasons include: 1. while the christians were fighting over doctrines, islam came with its simplicity of doctrine, providing an alternative to the people. a simplicity that augurs well with their traditional religion. 2. unlike the copts, christianity was presented as a religion of the elite. rather than using the language of the local people, latin and greek languages were used. islam came with simplicity, extending its hands to the poor and unlearned. conclusion in spite of islam’s reserved openness of islam to african religious culture, which paved the way for assimilation, there were obvious areas of irreconcilable differences. instances of obvious areas of difference included, the islamic emphasis on individual ownership of land and property, whereas in various african societies, land belonged to the community. the african customary law was oral in nature while the islamic law was written down, with the written word held in high esteem. following is the emphasis on rights and obligations: while the islamic law emphasizes the rights or obligations of individuals, the african customary law was kinship based. very interesting, is that the intensity of assimilation varies from one part of africa to another. for instance, the yoruba women of southwestern nigeria continued to be market women even after the coming of islam, whereas their counterparts in northern nigeria tended to lead more secluded lives. in 1941, muhammad jumat imam, a southern muslim scholar in ijebu-ode taught that women should be educated, included in public affairs and attend mosques together with men156. so many factors account for this differences in assimilation. these factors include the length of time during which islam and the particular 155 sylvester dagin, lecture note on african church history, p.12 156 encyclopedia of islam and the muslim world. african culture and islam. https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-andmaps/african-culture-and-islam igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 179 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) african culture interacted. there was also the factor of the compatibility or incompatibility of the worldviews of islam and the particular african culture157. in our age of globalization, an era when one quarter of the world’s 1.2 billion muslims live in africa, making muslims, half the continent's population, the paramount question looming at the horizon is: how will both islam and african indigenous traditions fare? is the african culture destined to die out as religiocultural interactions have disrupted the cultural nexus in which these traditions have thrived? this is rather unlikely as african indigenous cultures have demonstrated much resilience even as their followers become muslims. as i look into the future, with the benefit of hindsight, i have no doubt that the final episode of the unfolding global resurgent islam is yet to emerge. bibliography afigbo, a. e., the age of innocence: the igbo and their neighbours in pre-colonial times. a lecture delivered at the ahiajoku lecture, 1981. afigbo, a. e., the igbo and their neighbours. ibadan: university press limited, 1987. boyer, p., cultural assimilation. international encyclopedia of the social & behavioral sciences. 2001. chegg. study. assimilation. retrieved 10th march 2019 from https://www.chegg.com/homework-help/definitions/assimilation-49. wikipedia. assimilation. retrieved 10th march 2019 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/cultural_assimilation clark p.b., & linden i., islam in modern nigeria, munchen, 1984. chong, dennis, collective action and the civil rights movement. chicago and london: university of chicago press, 1991. dagin, s., lecture note on african church history, st augustine’s major seminary, unpublished material, 2006. 157encyclopedia of islam and the muslim world. african culture and islam. https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-andmaps/african-culture-and-islam igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 180 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) encyclopedia of islam and the muslim world. african culture and islam. retrieved 10th march 2019 from https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacstranscripts-and-maps/african-culture-and-islam gurr, ted, why men rebel. princeton: princeton university press, 1970. iroegbu, p., ‘the dynamism of african culture’, viewpoint magazine, vol. 4, no. 5. 2004. john renard, responses to 101 questions on islam. better yourself books, india, 1999. john s. mbiti, an introduction to african religion. nairobi: east african publishers, 2005. john s. mbiti, african religions and philosophy. east african education publishers, nairobi, 1969. jedin, h. and dolan, j. (eds.), history of the church; vol. ii, london: burns and oats, 1980. kanu, i. a., african traditional religion in a globalizing world. international journal of humanities, social sciences and education. volume. 1. issue. 8. 412. 2014. kanu i. a. & b. a. c. obiefuna, the value of life in african ontology and global bio-ethical discourse. nigerian journal of theology. june, 27. 126146, 2013. kanu, i. a. & ezenweke, e. o., revisiting the lessons of the interaction between faith and culture in north africa. a paper presented at the international conference on sustainable development. vol. 8. no. 2. pp. 67-71. uyo: international research and development institute, 2012. kanu, ikechukwu a. & b. a. c. obiefuna. african culture as a basis for ecumenism. professor bassey andah journal of cultural studies. 6. 1-11. 2013 kanu i. a., healers in african life and philosophy. a paper presented at the fourth international conference on culture, science and sustainable igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 181 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) development. july 10th -11th. university of abomey-calavi, cotonou, republic of benin, 2012. kanu i. a., a metaphysical and epistemological study of african medical practitioners. ezenweke e. o., & kanu, i. a. (eds.). in issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 227-240). augustinian publications, nigeria, 2012. kanu i. a., time in african ontology: a philosophical analysis. ezenweke e. o., & kanu, i. a. (eds.). in issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 241-252). augustinian publications, nigeria, 2012. kanu i. a. african bioethics: an indigenous humanistic perspective for integrative global bioethical discourse. lambert academic publishing: germany, 2015. kanu i. a. a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. augustinian publications, nigeria, 2015. kanu, i. a. african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. augustinian publications, nigeria, 2015. kanu i. a., sources of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. 9. 1. 1-23. june 2017. lichbach, mark, the rebel’s dilemma. ann arbor, mi: university of michigan press, 1995.’ lewis, barnard & churchill, b. e., islam: the religion and the people. wharton school publishing, 2009. marta moreno vega, the altar of my soul: the living traditions of santeria. retrieved 10th march 2019 from one world/ballantine, 2001. http://www.religioustolerance.org/ifa.htm mbiti, j.s. african religions and philosophy. eastern educational publishers, nairobi, 1969. olson, mancur, the logic of collective action: public goods and the theory of groups. cambridge: harvard university press, 1965. paul vi, gaudium et spes, pastoral constitution of the church in the modern world; second vatican council document, 7th december 1965. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 182 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) palmer, h.r. 'bori' among the hausas. man, 14, 1914. 113–117. raymond hickey, two thousand years of african christianity, ibadan: daystar press, 1987. smelser, neil j., theory of collective behavior. london: collier-macmillan, 1962. thompson, l. a. christianity in egypt before the arab conquest, in tarikh, vol.2, no. 1. 4-15, 1998. what does islam mean? the friday journal. 2011-02-06. archived from the original on 2011-03-14. retrieved 10th march 2019 from https://www.google.com/search?q=%22what+does+islam+mean?%22 .+the+friday+journal.+2011-02 microsoft word igwebuike journals vol. 4. no. 5..docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 35 obedience and discernment in the life of consecrated persons prof. kanu, ikechukwu anthony department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university, umunya ikee_mario@yahoo.com abstract this piece has studied the meaning and nature of obedience and discernment, and the interaction of obedience and discernment in the life of consecrated persons. circumstances have arisen that requires that the consecrated life takes a fruitful journey of renewal. in this process of renewal, the elements of obedience and discernment are fundamental. the challenge to examine our fidelity to our consecration and to the mission entrusted to us must be done in the spirit of obedience and discernment. in this piece, consecrated persons become the locus or locale for a theological reflection on the dialogue between obedience and discernment. keywords: obedience, discernment, consecrated persons, religious institutes, poverty, chastity. introduction the very fact that the religious life is centred on the search for the will of god, a sincere and profound response to it makes obedience and discernment very important accompaniments in a sincere search for the divine purpose. hence, in the consecrated person’s search for the truth, a discernable practice of obedience requires a reflective and contemplative manner of life. this becomes more important as the religious is burdened by the responsibility of distinguishing among internal voices, including his or her own self-centred and resistant one31. herman hesse describes the complexity of the voices in the world thus: the soul that waits in silence needs to disentangle the voice of god from the noise of other voices, the ghostly whispering of the subconscious self, the luring voices of the world, the hindering voices of misguided friendship, the clamour of personal ambition and vanity, the murmur of self-will, the song of unbridled imagination, the thrilling note of religious romance. to learn to keep one’s ear to so subtle a labyrinth of spiritual sound is indeed at once a great adventure and a liberal education. one hour of such listening may give us a deeper insight into the mysteries of 31 janet ruffing, discernment and our vow of obedience. the mast journal, vol. 14, no. 1. 2004, 21 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 36 human nature, and a surer instinct for divine values, than a year’s hard study or external intercourse with others32. in the daily exercise of the fundamental responsibility of waking up the world, circumstances have arisen in the life of consecrated persons that has called for a deep reflection on the dynamics of obedience and discernment within the parameters of the consecrated life. in this piece, consecrated persons become the locus or locale for a theological reflection on the dialogue between obedience and discernment. the theology of consecrated persons by consecrated persons, it is meant the members of the religious institutes and societies of apostolic life. they are lay persons or clerics who assume the evangelical counsels by means of a sacred bond, and become members of an institute of consecrated life according to the law of the church33. they totally dedicate themselves to god with the goal of pursuing perfection in charity by faithfully embracing the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience. in this sense, consecrated persons respond freely to the invitation of the holy spirit to follow christ the poor, the celibate, the obedient son, more closely, thus becoming in this life a sign of the life to come. “the evangelical counsels of chastity dedicated to god, poverty and obedience are based upon the words and examples of the lord. they were further commanded by the apostles and fathers of the church, as well as by the doctors and pastors of souls”34. these counsels are referred to as evangelical because the religious vows are central to the life of jesus and message and also because religious consecration is founded on baptismal consecration35. the consecrated life is also traceable to the postapostolic church, especially to those early christians who dedicated themselves to a gospel-oriented life-style, to a radical following of jesus christ. the first person in this line was anthony of egypt. he was followed by a line of disciples, until it became an institution in the church36. very significant is the idea of consecration. it is derived from the word ‘holy’ or ‘holiness’. in hebrew it is qadash and in greek hagios; these are translated to 32 herman hesse, steppenwolf. new york, holt, rinehart and winston, 1963, 43. 33 canon 573.2 34 lumen gentium 43 35 fleming, d. l., understanding a theology of religious life. in g. a. arburckle and d. l. fleming (eds.). religious life: rebirth through conversion. new york: alba house, 1990, p. 22 36 mary-sylvia nwachukwu, consecrated: a vision of religious life from the point of view of the sacred. lagos: change publications, 2010, pp. 34-35. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 37 mean ‘to consecrate’ (lev 15:31; ezek 14:7). in numbers 6:5-7, 12, the nazirites were referred to as consecrated because of their vows to god. this makes the person holy, a consecration that separates the person from others. thus the word consecration implies a setting apart or a separation. this separation does not in any way imply superiority37, or complete severance from those the consecrated are called to serve38. the second vatican council document says, “the state which is constituted by the profession of the evangelical counsels, though it does not belong to the hierarchical structure of the church, nevertheless, undeniably belongs to the life and holiness of the church”39. the document continues, “the holiness of the church is fostered in a special way by the observance of the counsels proposed in the gospel by the lord to his disciples. an eminent position among these is held by virginity or the celibate state”40. thus, another second vatican council document exhorts consecrated person thus, “members of each institute should recall first of all that by professing the evangelical counsels they responded to a divine call so that by being not only dead to sin (cf. rm 6:11) but also renouncing the world they may live for god alone. they have dedicated their entire lives to his service. this constitutes a special consecration, which is deeply rooted in that of baptism and expresses it more fully”41. obedience and consecrated persons obedience derives from the latin “oboedire” – ob: towards and oedire: “to hear”. put together, it means “to hear or listen towards”. in popular english usage, it means to follow, heed, comply with commands or injunctions within a sphere of jurisdiction. it is from this perspective that obedience developed a law-based interpretation, meaning rule-keeping, commandment compliance, performance according to precepts, etc. in studying religious obedience, the concepts of authority and law are still of great relevance. however, it derives from the teachings, example and commands of jesus in the gospel42. thus, obedience as a vow identifies the religious with jesus and his life.43 it is that general submission, which religious vow to god, and voluntarily promise to their superiors, in order 37 myers, a. c. holiness. the eerdmans bible dictionary. eerdmans: grand rapids, 1987, p. 493. 38 myers, a. c. sanctify, consecrate. the eerdmans bible dictionary. eerdmans: grand rapids, 1987, p. 493. 39 lumen gentium 44 40 lumen gentium 42 41 perfectae caritatis 5 42 as clearly affirmed by the vatican ii decree on the adaptation and renewal of religious life perfectae caritatis 5, these are the common element to the consecrated life. 43 cf. d. j. ward, osb, monastics : life and law. reflections of benedictine canonist, edited by renée branigan, osb, the american benedictine academy, 1998. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 38 to be directed by them in the ways of perfection, according to the purpose and constitutions of their order or congregation.44 in the old testament, obedience is expressed through the hebrew word “shema” which means “to hear, listen, obey” and is abundantly recurrent in the old testament. god made obedience a sine qua non for belonging to his people: “if you obey my voice ..., you shall be my possession.”( exod. 19:5). and after moses received and transmitted the decalogue to israel, the people eagerly promised: “all that the lord has spoken we will do; we will be obedient.” (exod. 24:7). the lord still insisted on obedience as listening in the book of deuteronomy: “hear, o israel, the lord your god is one…” (deut. 6:4). still through the prophets, yahweh told the rulers that he prefers obedience to any sacrifice they may offer: “to obey is better than sacrifice” (1 sam. 15:22). at disobedience of israel, god expressed his disappointed at them: “my people did not listen to my voice; israel did not obey me” (ps. 81:11). so right from the old testament, obedience has been at the heart of the relationship between god and his people. in the new testament, obedience involves: freedom from ambition, which leads a person to choose a position of inferiority. it implies a spirit of humility, which esteems others as superior, and willingly yields them the first place; the sacrifice of independence and will; the spirit of self-denial and mortification, which keeps the passions under control; readiness to accept a common rule and direction. however, these are possible only through the obedience of christ. saint paul teaches that believers should live by “taking every thought captive to the obedience of christ” (2 cor. 10:5). christ’s first and last words in the gospel of luke clearly express the whole content and meaning of obedience: “did you not know that i must be in my father’s house?” (lk. 2:49) and “father, into your hands i commend my spirit” (cf. ps. 30:6; lk. 23:46), an echo in history of the words of the psalmist (ps. 39:7-9) which the author of the letter to the hebrews puts on the lips of christ from the very beginning: “when christ came into the world, he said … ‘see, god, i have come to do your will, o god’” (heb. 10:5-7).45 in the lord’s prayer, scripture says: “your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (mt. 6:10). this is repeated in anguish at gethsemane: “not what i want, but what 44 a. vermeersch, religious obedience, in the catholic encyclopedia. vol. 11. new york: robert appleton company, 1911. 27 apr. 2015 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11182a.htm>. 45 cf. j. rovira, cmf, authority and obedience in religious life. on the instruction “faciem tuam,” in uisg n° 138 (2008), 6-7. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 39 you want” (mt. 26:39,42). it is exercised in the midst of trials: “he learned obedience through what he suffered” (heb. 5:8), an obedience “to the point of death– even death on a cross” (ph. 2:69), ever real like daily “food” (jn. 4:34).as a result, on the cross christ could say: “it is accomplished” (jn. 19:30). he was the father’s “yes” to humanity (god’s fidelity to humanity) as well as humanity’s “yes” to the father (total obedience) (cf. 2 cor 1:20; acts 1:4-5; 3:14). such obedience is “not servile but filial … a reflection in history of the loving harmony between the three divine persons.”46 so, eagerness to do the will of god in all things is a mark of the obedience to god which led christ to say “i do always the things which please my father” (jn. 7:29). in professing obedience, the religious offer the full surrender of their own will as a sacrifice of themselves to god and so are united permanently and securely to god’s salvific will.47 thus, obedience to god becomes: the path of growth and, therefore, of freedom for the person because this obedience allows for the acceptance of a plan or a will different from one's own that not only does not deaden or lessen human dignity but is its basis. at the same time, freedom is also in itself a path of obedience, because it is in obeying the plan of the father, in a childlike way, that the believer fulfils his or her freedom48. the church does not distinguish between those who command and those who obey since all actually obey. thus, saint augustine of hippo referred to his flock as his fellow disciples on the way49. he constantly regarded himself as a labourer in the vineyard working with his flock with the strength provided by the lord.50 the meaning of discernment discernment is from the greek words dia krisis, which is a compound word taken from the verb krinein. it also has a latin root discernere. from both greek and latin origins, it means to separate, to sift, to distinguish. to achieve this would mean that the person who discerns have a special capacity to weight a thing or a situation and draw the right conclusion from it. it is a process that helps a person to see without ambiguities the right in the process of making a choice or taking a decision51. theologically, it is a “conscious experience of god’s grace drawing 46 st. john-paul ii, vita consacrata 21d. 47 cf. perfectae caritatis 14. 48 ciclsal, faciem tuam. 5 49 cf. saint augustine, sermon 134, 1. 50 ibid, 49, 2. 51 fidelis ogbunu, understanding god’s will and discernment of spirits. enugu: snaap press, 2004, 4. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 40 one to a course of action or exposing the influence that a projected course of action will have on one’s relationship to god in christ”52. in sum, it is “disentangling the voice of god from the noise of other voices”53. it is an insertion into a process of finding and owning the will of god, or in other words of christian decision making. thus, bill will write that “a discernment which does not lead to a decision is incomplete, has been aborted somewhere along the way. when a decision has been reached, it becomes a concrete expression, an incarnation of one’s desires to respond to god’s love and to serve his kingdom”54. in the old testament, the word ‘to discern’ appears about 23 times and is used in the context of judging between two things. many of the instances of its usage include: moses explaining to jethro how he sits in judgment and decides cases between disputes (exodus 18:16); solomon asks god (1 kings 3:9) for the charism (divine influence) of an understanding mind or hearing heart to distinguish between right and wrong in the government of his people when hearing judicial cases (v.11); officials are appointed to judge israel (1 chronicles 26:29); and as judges israel’s priests are to decide in accordance with god’s law (ezekiel 44:24). god himself is also presented as judge: he will judge between the idolatrous and faithful in israel (ezekiel 20:35-36); as shepherd of the flock of israel he will judge or separate out the good and bad sheep, particularly their leaders, (ezekiel 34:17, 20) and judge the nations for their treatment of his people (i.e. judge between the two; joel 4:2, 12 lxx). in the heavenly realm god is presented as judging angels (job 21:22) because god presides over the heavenly court (psalm 81:1 lxx). from the foregoing, the usage of the word ‘to discern’ is within the context of judgment: to discern between two opposing choices in a judicial sense. in the new testament, it refers to the ability to distinguish or differentiate between good and evil, which is the basic message of hebrews 5:11-14. it is possessed through training the human will like an athlete practices in this way, the person trains himself, through constant practice to distinguish between good and evil. it is the mother of all virtues as well as their guide. it clears the vision, deepens understanding and regulates the inner life. however, there are two basic conditions for discernment: the first is freedom, that is, freedom of the will from 52 bill schock, a collection of readings vol ii, bangalore, saint pauls, 1997, 119. 53 herman hesse, steppenwolf. new york, holt, rinehart and winston, 1963, 43. 54 bill schock, a collection of readings vol ii, bangalore, saint pauls, 1997, 119. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 41 disordered affections, for their presence opposes the freedom of the will55; secondly, divesting oneself of self-love, self-will and self-interest56. religious obedience nurtures discernment just as the sun produces light, obedience enhances and brightens discernment. hence, where there is no obedience, there can’t be discernment. if discernment is about an insertion into a process of finding and owning the will of god, to find this will, a person must be open to that will by being ready to give up his or her own will for the divine will. the true measure of our obedience determines the level of our discernment. our refusal to follow god’s leading or direction would obstruct the revelation of his will for us, for obedience is searching for the will of god to fulfil it. this understanding, a very strong link between obedience and discernment is established, such that to fail in obedience would imply a failure in discernment. at the base of both obedience and discernment is spiritual poverty, which helps us to recognise god as god and his will for us. spiritual poverty would, therefore, mean the complete emptying of ourselves so that we may embrace god’s saving action. religious obedience leads to discernment in religious obedience, the major superior who is obeyed through his instructions and teachings helps the religious to discover the will of god for himself or herself. saint augustine in his rule would therefore instruct the brothers: “the superior should be obeyed as a father with the respect due to him so as not to offend god in his person, and even more so, the priest who bears responsibility for you all”57. in obeying the superior, the divine will for the particular religious is discovered and followed. the major superior is there to see that the precepts of the particular congregation, which has been put in place to help the members discover the will of god for them is followed. according to augustine: “but it shall pertain chiefly to the superior to see that these precepts are all observed and, if any point has been neglected, to take care that the transgression is not carelessly overlooked but is punished and corrected”58. discernment, obedience and sycophancy 55 st ignatius of loyola, spiritual exercises, 23. 56 st ignatius of loyola, spiritual exercises, 189. 57 rule of saint augustine, chapter vii, no. 44. 58 rule of saint augustine, chapter vii, no. 45. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 42 true obedience is not sycophancy, that is, of those who avoid any obstacle or hurt, who value their own comfort above all: obedience is truthfulness, an obedience animated by the enthusiastic energy of love, that is the true obedience which has made the church fruitful over the centuries, freeing her from babylonian temptation and bringing her back to the side of her crucified lord. obedience is demonstrated in the humble and opportune presentation of one’s personal point of view in the sincere desire to seek the truth in love; in continual respect for everyone, including, therefore, those who exercise the service of authority with the expectation that others will respect differences among members; in the untiring effort to reconcile the demands of obedience to legitimate authority with the demands which cannot be abandoned in conscience: let us recall the words of saint paul (rom. 14-15; 1cor. 8-10. gaudium et spes teaches that: deep within their consciences men and women discover a law which they have not laid upon themselves and which they must obey. its voice, ever calling them to love and to do what is good and to avoid evil, tells them inwardly at the right moment: do this, shun that. for they have in their hearts a law inscribed by god. their dignity rests on observing this law, and by it they will be judged. their conscience is people’s most secret core, and their sanctuary. there they are alone with god whose voice echoes in their depths. . . . through loyalty to conscience, christians are joined to others in the search for truth and for the right solution to so many moral problems59. this is based on the shared theology that god peaks through all of us and not just some of us. people who act with this attitude certainly serve the church, and they help us know and accomplish the will of god60, especially when an obedience that does not strengthen our commitment to the gospel way of love is demanded of the religious. this does not mean that everyone should act based on his own conscience without reference to the community and the patrimony of the particular congregation. the religious must therefore engage in constant spiritual consultation with his confessor or others who could help spiritually. there is also the need to share one’s spiritual experiences with the community in which a person lives since no one can really be sure of having arrived at the will of god. 59 gaudium et spes no. 16 60 cf. lumen gentium 37a ; code of canon law 212; catechism of the catholic church 907and 911. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 43 this was the way paul acted despite the fact that he had received great revelations from god. he wrote: “then i laid before them, though only in a private meeting with the acknowledged leaders, the gospel that i proclaim among the gentiles, in order to make sure that i was not running or had not run in vain”61. sharing personal spiritual movements with an ecclesial community would help the individual religious to proceed with security. obedience and discernment and alienated relationship with authority the vows that religious have made, has committed them to cooperate with legitimate authority within the limits defined by our various constitutions. and by legitimate authority, it is meant the entire governance structure of the particular religious institute: the chapter, the provincial and his council, regional assemblies, regional leaders, local coordinators and those who hold delegated authority62. the relationship of a particular religious with the legitimate authority requires a sustained dialogue and an ongoing relationship. obedience in this case would, therefore, imply openness, prayer, discussion and dialogue63. however, if relationship with authority have been untrustworthy and deceptive, obedience and discernment would become difficult without prejudice. to avoid this kind of scenario that makes obedience difficult and insincere, leaders of religious institutes must strive to provide a leadership that stimulates fidelity to the charism of the particular institute and commitment to mission64. where there are imbalances in dialogue, it is incumbent on the more powerful to create the conditions of safety that foster dialogue and integrity of word and deed. conclusion the foregoing has studied the meaning and nature of obedience and discernment, and the interaction of obedience and discernment in the life of consecrated persons. during this period marked by the holy father, pope francis as the year of consecrated life, it is necessary that the consecrated life takes a fruitful journey of renewal. this is a period marked out by the bishop of rome to be grace filled and marked by the presence of the spirit. in this process of renewal, the elements of obedience and discernment are fundamental. the challenge to examine our fidelity to our consecration and to the mission entrusted to us must be done in the spirit of obedience and discernment. 61 galatians 1:1-2 62 janet ruffing, discernment and our vow of obedience. the mast journal, vol. 14, no. 1. 2004, 22 63 janet ruffing, discernment and our vow of obedience. the mast journal, vol. 14, no. 1. 2004, 22 64 kanu, ikechukwu anthony, echoes of hope: the stand of the conference of major superiors of nigeria on issues of faith and life. nigeria: cmsn. 2013, 39. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 7.doc igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 1 african gods as potent forces in the efficacy of traditional medicine mokwenye ekene michael department of religion university of nigeria, nsukka ekene.mokwenye@unn.edu.ng abstract the main aim of this research work is to review and highlight the importance, prophylactic and therapeutic potentials of medicinal plants from the african ecological biodiversity inspired by god through his pantheon of gods who serve as potent forces in the efficacy of african traditional medicine and whose spiritual roles are always undermined and degraded. the research method adopted here is the phenomenological research method. having been identified as people notoriously religious, and being hemmed round with a strong belief in god and other pantheons of divinities, africans through the help of deities have identified certain herbs that cure different ailments. it however should be noted that this work is conceived as a result of excruciating pains and effects observed among africans over the years of their existence through expenditure on orthodox medicine. the nigerian people of west africa believe in the power of her herbalists to cure ailments using herbs. christians and muslims also seek medical help from herbalists in the face of medical challenges. the paper argues that traditional medical system inspired by the gods who are today despised, used to be the dominant health care system in africa prior to colonialism. to some extent, colonialism, western religion and education as well as globalisation phenomenon have negatively affected perception about african traditional medicine. this notwithstanding, the demand for and use of african traditional medicine have continued to grow not only in africa but indeed the entire world. as with all things traditionally african, we must learn from the past, build on it and carry it forward for continued growth. keywords: african, god, traditional, medicine, potent forces, healing. introduction the main aim of this research work is to review and highlight the importance, prophylactic and therapeutic potentials of medicinal plants from the african ecological biodiversity inspired by god and the gods who serve as potent forces igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 2 in the efficacy of african traditional medicine and whose spiritual roles are always undermined and degraded. the research method adopted here is the phenomenological research method. information were gathered from oral interviews and existing materials. traditional african medicine has a holistic approach to medicine based on the premise of interconnectedness of african herbs and spirituality. disease is understood to be a misalignment, spiritual and social disorder either internal or external. it is believed that all people are made up of many levels of being which function together as a whole; moral, social, physical and spiritual, and if any of these parts are out of balance, the person will become physically ill (dis-eased) or suffer spiritually. there cannot be any form of african traditional healing without a connection to the spiritual. this study on african god(s) as potent forces in the efficacy of african traditional medicine is necessitated to show how holistic african traditional medicine is with the help of the gods through divination. using myriad forms of diagnosis such as questioning, observation and touching (still used today in western methods) as well as a very important aspect of divination and dream interpretation to name a few...it is the role of the dibia odinani (traditional physician) to re-align the patient with the origin of the influences so as to re-balance the disorder. forms of treatment include but are not limited to; surgery, dietary therapy, herbalism, psychotherapy, aromatherapy, exorcism, rituals and sacrifice without the two later processes it cannot be called traditional medicine. african healing is influenced by natural cycles of days, seasons and natural occurrences and the accepted realities of the physician. african culture acknowledges that real healing lies, not in a synthetic pill but in recognition of our true position on the earth and in bringing our actions into respectful balance with the natural world intent upon god. african traditional medicine is also used for other functions aside healing; it is used for hunting, love portions, trading, and security to mention a few. definition of key terms african traditional medicine according to the world health organisation, african traditional medicine is “the sum total of the knowledge, skills and practices based on the theories, beliefs and experiences indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 3 not, used in the maintenance of health, as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement or treatment of physical and mental illnesses”. (who, 2000b:1). traditional healer, traditional healer, on the other hand, is “a person who is recognised by the community where he or she lives as someone competent to provide health care by using plant, animal and mineral substances and other methods based on social, cultural and religious practices” (who, 2000a:11). traditional medicine in 21st century africa every african has a notion of god and believes in his existence and it is not questioned or doubted. here, it will be necessary to look at the african concept of god and god(s); and their understanding of him in their world view. for africans, god is essentially good and he is credited with superlative attributes. omoregbe (1988:23) opined that, when the african man reflects on his own life, its brevity, the vicissitudes, joy, sorrows, suffering, achievements and failures of life, fundamental questions arise in his mind. man’s powerfulness to control even his own destiny, stark reality of disease, death and decay, to which he is subject, can lead to deep reflection about his nature and dependence upon a being higher than him. metuh (1998:38), pointed out that the concept of gods can never be treated outside a people’s religion because it is through religious worship or activities that man relates with his god. human life is dynamic and the mind of man continues to yearn for the absolute good which is truth and life. as observed by adegbehingbe (2008:34), african religious revelation designates a being from whom all good things, like power to cure sickness, flow by the term god(s). in african traditional medicine, it is a belief that the gods inspire man on the right herbs to use in curing any ailment. while the western propaganda machine would lead those who don't know to believe that african traditional healers are practitioners of witchcraft, it is important to note that african belief does not encourage or condone witchcraft, it merely accepts that witchcraft or bad medicine exists in africa; the same way that a particular religion does not support or condone adultery, but must accept igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 4 that some of its practitioners partake in it. as in any religion, people set up their own concept of what it means to live in harmony with their philosophy and find ways to excuse their evil. this is evident in religions around the world; the pope who blessed the soldiers that mussolini sent into ethiopia to slaughter africans for their land and columbus to perform genocide on the native americans and indians on the caribbean islands, israel taking palestinian land and placing people in refugee camps because god says it's their land etc. african religion is no exception, and it is possible if one goes looking to find unethical and unsavoury behaviour. however, it is important to understand that making a connection between bad-medicine and african traditional healing is the exception to the rule, especially since the employment of a traditional healer is not always necessary. discourses about the impact of colonialism in africa are clouded by a mixture of ‘fortune’ and ‘agony’. some scholars like nyamiti (1984:68), are of the opinion that the process of modernization in africa is intrinsically connected with foreign intervention particularly in areas of health and democracy. he argued that the period between 1840 and 1860 marked a significant and rapid innovation in tropical medicine, particularly, the invention of quinine to stem the scourge of malaria in the most endemic region of the world like the west african nigeria. from this point of view, the institutionalization of the modern health care system can, therefore, be seen as one of the many ‘legacies’ of western encroachment in africa. on the contrary, there are those who believe that western invasion is a set-back in the process of development in africa see achebe, (1958); afisi, (2009); offiong, (1980); rodney, (1972). this afrocentric attitude is made manifestparticularly in the ‘modes of knowledge production’. these scholars mention slavery, capitalism, colonialism and imperialism, neo-colonialism and all forms of dominations and exploitations that are embedded in these epochs as major stumbling-blocks in the actualization of indigenous african development especially in areas of african traditional medicine. similarly, while some critics of colonialism have focused on the economic and political impacts, others have shifted attention to the impact of colonialism on indigenous herbal knowledge system; such views underscore the negative impact of colonialism on indigenous medicine. it is explained that the introduction of western medicine and culture gave rise to ‘cultural-ideological igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 5 clash’ which had hitherto created an unequal power-relation that practically undermined and stigmatized the traditional health care system in africa because of the over-riding power of the western medicine. according to hassim (1996:2) …a century of colonialism and cultural imperialism have held back the development of african traditional health care in general and medicines in particular. during several centuries of conquest and invasion, european systems of medicine were introduced by colonisers. pre-existing african systems were stigmatised and marginalised. indigenous knowledge systems were denied the chance to systematize and develop. the suppression of african traditional medicine continued in most african countries even after independence. indeed, local efforts were initiated to challenge the condemnation and stigmatisation of african traditional medicine in some african communities during and after colonialism. adejoh, (1971:6) reported that the first protest against the marginalization of african traditional medicine in nigeria is dated back to 1922 when a group of native healers insisted that their medicine be legally recognized. smith (2008:33), noted that concerted efforts have been made to recognise african traditional medicine as important aspect of health care delivery system in africa. for instance, in nigeria, the federal government through the ministry of health encouraged and authorized the university of ibadan in 1966 to conduct research into the medicinal properties of local herbs with a view to standardising and regulating african traditional medicine (who, 2001). in 1980s, policies were put in place to accredit and register native healers and regulate their practice. in 1981, the national council on health (nch) unanimously approved the establishment of a national traditional healers' board at the federal level involving representatives of the federal and state governments which was to be duplicated at the state levels. under the present health care reform of the federal government of nigeria, african traditional medicine is purportedly recognized as an important component of health care delivery system especially at the primary care level (federal ministry of health (fmoh), 2004). the federal government of nigeria has established the nigeria natural medicine development agency (nnmda) to study, collate, document, develop, preserve and promote nigerian traditional medicinal products and practices and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 6 to also fast-track the integration of the african traditional medicine into the mainstream of modern health care system in line with happenings in china and india. however, the lingering mutual distrust between white and traditional medicine practitioners in africa has continuously hampered and thwarted the process of integration and cooperation between traditional and modern medicines as well as the difficulties in regulating traditional medical practice, magesa, (1997:33). on the whole, western-trained physicians appear unwilling to allow african traditional medicine and their practitioners to be included in the official system of medical care in africa. for instance, abodunri (2008) found out that nigerian medical students have reservation for the integration of african traditional medicine into the mainstream of health care provision in the country. this is an indication that not much is being done in medical schools to encourage the teaching of african traditional medicine as they keep unfolding in some parts of the world. according to mrs. faith ibekwe (phone conversation, july 21, 2016) of school of nursing abakeleke, ebonyi state and nwachukwu lilian of sunderland university, london (phone conversation, july 21, 2016), african traditional medicine has never been treated as a course in the nursing school, mention is only made often in line of criticism. african gods as potent forces in the efficacy of traditional medicine the celebrated potency of african traditional medicine lacks impetus without the role of god(s) who are often consulted for inspiration to get a cure for particular ailment. african traditional physicians are often priests, or high priestesses, or belong to a guild-like society hidden within tribal boundaries, completely secret to the outside world. in african communities, even obtaining an education in african traditional medicine may require becoming an initiate of one of these societies. diviners treat illnesses primarily through facilitating the direct intervention of the spiritual world obinna (2012:142). if an illness is believed to be caused by inappropriate behaviour on the part of the patient, a remedy or cure for the illness can only come through spiritual intervention. whilst herbal healers use plants to treat diseases, diviners seek input from the spiritual world to understand the cause of the illness and prescribe a cure. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 7 the role of a traditional healer is broader in some respects than that of a contemporary medical doctor. the traditional healer advises their clients in all aspects of life, including physical, psychological, spiritual, moral, and sometimes legal matters. they also understand the significance of ancestral spirits and the concept of witches. as some medicine men attach the practice of their medicine to a tutelary spirit and magic, they are sometimes shunned by christians. the fact is that many of the types of medicine prescribed by african traditional healers, especially the herbal practitioners, have nothing to do with mystical powers. the high priests interpret the factors surrounding a patient’s misalignment by means of their connection to the various oracles of the religion. these reveal themselves through divinatory activity of the priests and an elaborate corpus of oral tradition that interprets the divinatory symbols as analysed by ugwu (1999:48). the world view of the african priests involves training and discipline to interpret events that are indicative of the nature of the patient’s ailment internally with their own conscious and unrecognized issues, as well as with a variety of external forces and beings which inhabit our realm and require the inner version of the priests to interpret. the history of medicine cannot be traced without egypt. egyptian history of medicine seems like a quagmire that relative new-comers to the medical field would have the audacity to present traditional medicine as primitive. however, it is a fact that during colonial rule traditional healers were viewed as pagan superstitious heathens using unscientific methods; and, in an effort to control went so far as to send diviners and healers to camps to be “re-educated” as well as declaring the sale of herbal medicines illegal. in addition, despite their ability to tend to the basic health needs of the people, traditional healers were largely ignored and attempts were made to discredit them, since healers are more likely to call on the supernatural realm in times of conflict and war. the hypocrisy is even more evident when it is understood that today the herbal trade market in durban alone is said to attract between 700,000 and 900,000 traders a year. another example is the 2,000 metric tons in cameroon and another 600 tons from ijebu-ode here in nigeria. africans have a proven history of treating illness and many of the ancient remedies remain in use today, although the active component in many cases is now produced synthetically. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 8 it is easy to understand african cynicism and suspicion towards western medicine philosophy when one understands the history of colonialism. couple this with the multitude of western doctors who have intentionally (and factually) caused harm and gone unpunished to countless african families. to name a few; the bulgarian doctors who intentionally infected 100's of libyan children with h.i.v, werner bezwoda who conducted experiments using very high doses of chemotherapy on unsuspecting south african breast cancer patients, richard mcgown who in zimbabwe killed at least 7 infant patients with lethal doses of morphine, “dr.” michael swango who is suspected of causing the deaths of over 60 africans with lethal doses of potassium and finally wouter basson, a former head of project coast (south africa's chemical and biological weapons unit under apartheid) who was charged with killing hundreds of africans via injected poisons but was never convicted. in nigeria countless cases of forgotten instruments in different parts of the body by medical doctors abound. it should also be noted, that during the trial of basson, at which his lieutenants testified to the medical crimes conducted against african people, it was also reported that one of their chief goals was to find ways to selectively and secretly sterilize africans. abodunrin, (2008:55). there appears a clash in methodology and world-view when studying the differences between traditional african healing vs. western methods (metaphysical vs. crisis intervention). well educated traditional healers are the preferred option for african patients because of their shared belief systems, and because they offer personalized information, counselling and treatment based on an understanding of their environment. yet even today, medical apartheid rears its head as traditional healers are rarely included in key decision making, action agendas and community program discussions held by colonizers. not only is this behaviour arrogant, but the continued failure to engage manifests the image of the west as aggressive and perpetuates the view that the goal of colonialism is to erase indigenous peoples thoughts and perceptions of their own culture. surely the west has many useful medical advancement, that africans can learn from, but their current overpowering role makes reciprocity nearly impossible. traditional healers have a crucial role to play in the continued growth of the health system on the continent, the only acceptable solution to this conundrum is african agency. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 9 a divergence of the attitude towards faith healing in 21st century has taken place. according to scientific medicine, rigidly conceived, all illness often including mental disorder is a result of physiological malfunctioning; in this scheme of things, faith healing including results of african traditional medicine has a credible role as observed by odebiyi (1990:27). the belief in the therapeutic supremacy of the god(s) is made manifest in the day to day activities of traditional healers. today, people have globally, developed unique indigenous healing traditions adapted and defined by their culture, beliefs and environment, which satisfied the health needs of their communities over centuries. shaw (2008:12) mentioned that herbal drugs are now being packaged for export and used by people of all nations. african traditional medicine has also been integrated into some countries’ national health care systems to encourage the development of national policy and regulations as essential indicators of the level of integration of such medicine within a national health care system. national agency for food and drug administration and control (nafdac) have already established african traditional medicine registration processes in nigeria. at the other extreme, scholars like offiong (2008:91) opined that some practitioners of faith healing believe that the genesis of all diseases lies in the disorder of the mind or spirit realms in which faith healers see themselves as uniquely effective. two quite different manifestations of healing attitude are presented by science and traditional faith healing sects. the former holds that the origin of all evil, including physical illness, is in the minds, ignorance of true reality, (which can be scientifically diagnosed) whereas the latter regard illness as caused by demons or evil ancestral spirits and practice healing techniques through which the divine spirit is believed to triumph over the evil spirit. this dualistic believe in the causes of illness still hold true till date. a number of factors have been identified as responsible for the widespread use of traditional medicine and the sudden concern for assessing and evaluating the effectiveness of the medicine across the world. research has shown that a number of traditional medicines are important and effective therapeutic regimens in the management of a wide spectrum of diseases, some of which may not be effectively managed using western medicines. in nigeria, effective medicinal plants in management of various diseases have been documented by igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 10 various researchers. in the words of omololu (oral conversation, august 15, 2016), among the ijebu remos, some insects, when combined with other ingredients, can be used for spiritual protection, preparation of love medicine, management of the eye and ear problems, as well as prevention and control of convulsion in children. in the same vein, arthropods are reportedly used to cure thunderbolt, child delivery, bedwetting, yellow fever, and a host of many other ailments that cannot be treated using western medicines and therapy. furthermore, inadequate accessibility to modern medicines and drugs to treat and manage diseases in middle and low income countries in africa, may have contributed to the widespread use of african traditional medicine in these regions especially in poor households. in a recent study by the world health organisation and health action international (hai) in 36 low and middleincome african countries, drugs were reportedly way beyond the reach of large sections of the populations. therefore, the widespread use of african traditional medicine in africa can be attributed to its accessibility. for instance, the ratio of traditional healers to the population in africa is 1: 500 compared to 1:40 000 medical doctors. indeed, majority of medical doctors available in africa are concentrated in urban areas and cities at the expense of rural areas. therefore, for millions of people in rural areas, native healers remain their health providers. african traditional medicine provides an avenue through which cultural heritages are preserved and respected. indeed, african traditional medicine practice is in line with the socio-cultural and environmental conditions of the people who use it in africa owumi, (2002:88). african traditional medicine is sought by africans for health conditions that had failed to respond to initial treatment, health conditions stigmatised at communities of origin and health conditions thought to have resulted from supernatural causes. the use of african traditional medicine can be attributed to safety, acceptability, affordability, compatibility and suitability for the treatment of various diseases particularly chronic ones. in developed countries, on the other hand, factors responsible for the widespread use of african traditional medicine are beyond accessibility, affordability and cultural compatibility. according to the world health organization (2002)anxiety about the adverse effects of chemical drugs, improved access to health information, changing values and reduced tolerance of paternalism are igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 11 some of the factors responsible for the growing demand for african traditional medicine in developed countries. similarly, increase in reported cases of chronic diseases especially in developed countries has been attributed to the growing use of african traditional medicine. although modern treatments are widely available to deal with these ailments, some patients are convinced that they have not provided satisfactory result, hence, the need for alternative or complementary measures. there is a widespread use of african traditional medicine among people with chronic illnesses in developed countries. it appears that people with chronic illness comfortably reconcile the potential benefits of remedies and practices whose foundations derive from radically different worldviews and understandings of human health and illness processes. following the growing demand for african traditional medicine and the contributions of the medicine to the overall health delivery system particularly in africa, some authors have suggested that traditional medical system be integrated into the mainstream of health care services to improve accessibility to health care obute, 2005; odebiyi, 1990; okigbo and mmeka, 2006). for example, obute (2005) asserts that “like all peoples of the world the southeastern nigerians have their rich traditional medicine that should be properly organized and formally integrated into the regular healthcare delivery system”. this, according to odebiyi (1990: 341), would improve health care in two folds: enhancement of quality of care and supply of low-cost primary health care. in the same vein, the resolution made at the regional committee for africa, in 2000, recognized the potential of african traditional medicine for the achievement of universal health coverage in the african region and suggested accelerated development of local production (who, 2002), consequently, the publication of methodologies on research and evaluation of traditional medicine by the world health organization (who, 2000b) and “guidelines for assessing the quality of herbal medicines with reference to contaminants and residues” (who, 2007) were to ensure that people have adequate access to the kinds of information required for effective use of african traditional medicine and appropriate methodology to be adopted. there are certain problems and challenges to be overcome in order to fully achieve the objective of regulation, standardization and integration of african traditional medicine in africa. first and foremost, the ethnocentric and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 12 medicocentric tendencies of the western hegemonic mentality that are usually paraded by most stakeholders in modern medicine remains a very serious challenge. it is a general belief in medical circle that african traditional medicine defies scientific procedures in terms of objectivity, measurement, codification and classification. even then, there are indications that the physical aspects of african traditional medicine (i.e. the physical ingredients) can be scientifically studied and analysed. in yoruba culture, for instance, african traditional medicine comprises the physical and spiritual realms. while the physical aspects can be subjected to scientific analysis using the conventional scientific methods of investigation, the spiritual realm may not. the biggest challenge therefore, is how to scientifically analyse the spiritual aspect of yoruba african traditional medicine e.g. ofo (incantation). again, if integrated, who provides training to medical doctors on the ontology, epistemology and the efficacies of african traditional medicine given the ethnocentric tendencies in modern medicine? that is, who determines the efficacy and effectiveness of african traditional medicine given the inherent epistemological and ideological characteristic differences of both medicines? it is part of these difficulties that some scholars suggest that both african traditional medicine and cosmopolitan medicine be allowed to operate, develop and flourish independent of one another. the western people did not develop their medical aspect in order to integrate it with anyone else. theirs was to first make themselves and later the rest of the world live a healthy life. from this point of view, if african traditional medicine is coopted into the modern medicine, it would further justify and promote the “supremacy” or “superiority” of the cosmopolitan medicine thereby jeopardising the identity and integrity of african traditional medicine in africa. another fundamental challenge to african traditional medicine is the widespread reported cases of fake healers and healing, though, this is not limited to african traditional medicine practice only. since the proficient healers could be rendering beneficial services to a large population, it might be a common place to encounter quacks among the practitioners. in the same vein, it must be noted that in the current economic climate and amid the concomitant unemployment, there is a marked increase in the ranks of traditional healers, among whom there are, unfortunately, quite a number of charlatans. modern africans believe that it is their prerogative to be healthy and enjoy life, thus sickness and disease of any form is believed to be caused by the gods who igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 13 are meant to be protectors of man or who to some are the cause of evil in the society. disease is primarily understood as a disorder or misalignment of the internal or external milieu of the patient. part of the role of the physician is to align the patient with the matrix of influences that will rebalance their particular disorder. sometimes also, a disorder develops as a result of losing or ignoring a relationship with a matrix or influence. utilizing non familiar forms of diagnosis, such as divination and dream interpretation, in addition to traditional format of questioning, observation and touching, the african physician may use familiar techniques of dietary therapy, psychotherapy, surgery, and herbal medicine, but may also perform exorcisms, ritual, sacrifices and other procedures which seem more the province of priests than physicians sofowora a. (1993:91). diagnosing diseases in african traditional religion dime (1995:30–31) argues that the diagnosis of diseases in an african traditional healing system is a twofold event. firstly, the organic or physical cause of the sickness has to be established by careful examination and questioning by the medicine man. secondly, this is complementary to a divination of the spiritual or mystical cause for the illness. consulting the spirit world (divination): they consult the ‘spirit world’ to identify the cause of the disease or to discover whether there was a violation of an established order from the side of the sick person. this is established through the use of cowry shells, throwing of bones on strips of leather or flat pieces of wood. the divining bones are not strictly all bones but comprise shells, money, seeds, dice, domino-like objects or even dominos themselves, and other objects that have been appointed by the gods and the spirit to represent certain polarities. animal bones from lions, hyenas, anteaters, baboons, crocodiles, wild pigs, goats, antelopes and others form the large majority of the objects. there are bones for all psycho-socio-spiritual polarities. the bones represent all of the forces that affect any human being anywhere, whatever their culture cumes (2014:11). in some african cultures, it is performed using sacred divination plates made of wood or performed on the ground, within a circle or the use of divination pots and slaughtering of animals sarpong (2002:103). he further argued that: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 14 divination is a technology that is used to deliberately initiate a process of accessing and collecting information, through the use of randomly arranged symbols and then, using the brain's capacity for analogical thinking, making associations that are ordinarily inaccessible. it is therefore a transpersonal field of information to gain healing knowledge. it is also viewed as a way to access information that is normally beyond the reach of the rational mind. diviners base their knowledge on communication with the spiritual forces, such as the ancestors, spirits and deities (olupona 2004:103–104). in view of this understanding, divination is, therefore, an integral part of an african traditional way of diagnosing diseases. because of the revealing powers of divination, it is usually the first step in african traditional treatment and medicine omonzejele (2008:122). interviews and medical reports: some of the traditional healers in kumasi, ghana, confirmed that they do sometimes interview their patients in order to find out the history behind the sickness, where they have been for treatment, and how long the person has been in that situation. this approach informs them on how to handle the matter at hand. if the client is unable to speak, other family members speak on behalf of the sick person. furthermore, some clients and practitioners of african tradition health care in kumasi reported that some traditional healers do consider medical reports. sometimes, after the healing process, they also advise their clients or patients to go for medical diagnoses to confirm that they are healed. these medical reports sometimes serve as a form of pride for the traditional healers and are a way of assuring other clients of their ability and credibility. african traditionalists believe that there is only one supreme god (mbiti 1986:40–43). in spite of their view about god, they also believe in ancestral spirits, with the belief that they are all intertwined and are in constant relationship with living beings. these spirits demand worship and are said to possess supernatural powers with which they punish or reward their worshippers (sarpong 2002:95–97). according to mbiti, the african traditional view about god is influenced by factors such as geographical location, culture, language, social and political factors. he further states that the indigenous names of god are always present in the worldviews of african people and have been passed down through generations by oral tradition. in his conclusion, he emphasised that there is therefore, no place for atheism or denial of god's igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 15 existence in traditional african communities and that africans are ontologically attached to god. in african traditional practitioners’ understanding, god is for everyone everywhere (mbiti 2012:6–15). however, god does his work through ancestral spirits and diviners (chavunduka 1999). this implies that god is the healer but works through mediums such as spirits, herbs and deities with the assistance of diviners or traditional healers (obinna 2012:135). the challenges of african medicine in the 21st century incurable diseases have forced africans to reject their traditional belief. the outright condemnation of african traditional religion contributed a lot. people who inherited gifts from their parents have abandoned such because of christian teaching. a good example is found among the tiv of nigeria. among the tiv people of benue state, there is a group of bone setters to whom their ancestors bequeathed the act of bone setting. according to shishima (1999:20) some people inherited or acquired the knowledge of relieving neck-stiffness, others making infants walk, curing spirit possession, giving an enemy sickness, or for seizing thieves in garden crops or targeting forest animals. this is to say that the knowledge of african herbalism is inherited and unarguable a patrimony of individual family, passing from generation to generation is a service of the whole community and beyond. adults, who convert to other religions destroy these gifts. the who estimates that more than 80% of african populations visit traditional healers for health reasons and that 40%–60% of these have some kind of mental illness, a fact collaborated by achebe achebe (1986:16).however, little is known about the profiles and outcome of this traditional approach to treatment (who:2003). adulteration: herbal medicines were considered safe by over half of the users. safety of herbal medicines was erroneously attributed to their natural sources. this misconception was one of the reasons for using herbal medicines by pregnant women in nigeria and other people in the developed countries which resulted in the negative. the fact that herbs are of natural origin does not automatically igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 16 guaranty their safety. several cases have been reported of herbal medicine preparations or products being adulterated. combination of african traditional medicine and orthodox medicines. one of the limitations of the role of gods in 21st century is the concurrent use of orthodox and african traditional medicine. this has given birth to confusion on whether to attribute healing to orthodox or a.t.m. lack of formal education the levels of education of african traditional medicine users have been shown to significantly influence their use in nigeria as observed by oke (1995:18). many users of african traditional medicine contrarily, see no significant association between herbal medicine use and users' level of education. the influence of relatives, friends and neighbours on health-care seeking preferences for herbal medicines has been reported globally in both adults and children as scribed by owumi (2009:12). nevertheless, these findings further corroborate the fact that knowledge of herbal medicines are handed down from parents, relatives and friends and may not necessarily require any formal education. civilization the challenge to african traditional medicine is attributed mainly to colonialism and its accompanying attributes. traditional medicine and healing has always been associated with witchcraft, hence viewed with negative and prerogative connotations. mbiti (1976:23). this has been chiefly because of eurocentric paradigms of africa where the perjured interpretations of africa have remained grafted on the mental processes and human aspirations of modern africans thereby robbing them intellectual confidence and mental identities with regard to posterity. unfortunately many traditional medicine practitioners have stretched this kind of thinking further through their immoral advertising strategies. diagnosis: it does not rely on accurate diagnosis. dosage: sometimes neglects the importance of dosage. unhygienic: often prepared in unhygienic conditions. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 17 secrecy: the knowledge of the medicine is not easily disseminated but kept by those who have it. dependence on divination: some of the practitioners depend on divination which makes it difficult for christians to access their services (gyasi, mensah & osei-wusu adjei 2001:4850). long before the advent of western medicine, africans had their own way of dealing with diseases and it worked for them. african traditional healers or diviners were intelligent enough to prescribe traditional solutions to diseases whether it had spiritual or physical causes with little or no side effect. before we conclude our discussion it is pertinent we look at one of the fruits that the god(s) has blessed us with. recommendations in the face of very high unemployment status of the nigerian community, the federal government should encourage the use of herbal medicine. it is estimated that theannual revenues in western europe stood at us$ 5 billion in 2003-2004, in china the revenue was estimated at us$ 14 billion in 2005, and in brazil it was us$ 160 million in 2007. (who,2008). the paying of allegiance to some benevolent spirits who often inspires providers of african traditional medicine to mix different herbs for positive result should not be discouraged by so called born twice christians. by and large african traditional medicine has shortas well as long-term potential to be developed as future trado-pharmaceutical to treat and manage panoply of infectious and chronic conditions. african countries depend on traditional medicine for primary health care. the who estimates that in many developed countries, 70% to 80% of the population has used some form of alternative or complementary medicine including, homeopathic, naturopathic, traditional oriental, and native american indian medicine. it is also recognised by the who that herbal medicines are the most popular form of traditional medicine, and are highly lucrative in the international medicine market. conclusion the paper argues that traditional medical system inspired by the gods who are today despised, used to be the dominant health care system in africa prior to the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 18 period of colonialism. to some extent, colonialism, western religion and education as well as globalisation phenomenon have negatively affected the perception about african traditional medicine in africa, usually among the educated elites. this notwithstanding, the demand for and use of african traditional medicine have continued to grow not only in africa but indeed the entire world. as with all things traditionally african, we must learn from the past, build on it and carry it forward for continued growth. keeping in mind that with the introduction of commerce in the form of paper money, many of these traditions have been corrupted and there is no shortage of characters who will take advantage of believers by claiming to have the power to heal or fend off spiritual attacks. recent studies in health care seeking behaviour, therefore, are increasingly coming to a realisation that traditional practitioners are important players in healing processes especially in developing countries. finally, the acceptance of western religion, education, urbanisation and globalisation phenomena in africa is affecting the use of african traditional medicine. this introduction of western culture particularly into rural parts of africa has had a tremendous negative impact on the role of the gods and their traditional medicine players. as western education, christianity and increased contact with the global community become an integral part of rural communities, taboos, traditions and customs have been affected and in some instances abandoned altogether. it is thus recommended that the black man should bear in mind that the white constantly seek ways to keep him mentally enslaved by recommending only what has her origin. we must all embrace what is good in african medicine and reject what is bad. references abodunrin, f (2008). blackness: culture, ideology and discourse. ibadan: dokun ltd. achebe, chinwe.(1986). the world of the ogbanje. enugu:forth dimention pub. adegbehingbe, o.o. (2008) clinical effects of garcinia kola. journal of orthopedic surgery research. enugu: orthopedic publications adejoh, r.g (1971), idoma traditional attitude towards disease. ibadan: university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 19 cumes, d., (2014), divination bones, viewed 13 january 2015, from http://davidcumes.com/divining_bones.html geertz, c (2004), the interpretation of culture. new york : basic books hassim, s,b (2008) cytotoxicity and biological activity of selected sudanese medicinal plants. south sudan research journal of medicinal plant. magesa, l., (1997), african religion: the moral traditions of abundant life, orbis books, maryknoll, ny. mbiti,j.s (1976).the prayers of african religion. new york; orbis books. metuh e.i., (1998) igbo world-view: a premise for christian/tradi-tional religion dialogue. jos: sams nyamiti, c., (1984), christ as our ancestor: christology from an african perspective, mambo press, gweru. obinna, e., (2012), ‘life is a superior to wealth?: indigenous healers in an african community, amariri, nigeria’, in a. afe, e. chitando & b. bateye (eds.), african traditions in the study of religi on in africa. pp. 137–139, farnham, ashgate. obute, c. (2005) ‘ethnomedicinal plant resources of south eastern nigeria’. . (accessed fromhttp://www.siu.edu/~ebl/leaflets/-obute.htm. on the 18th september, 2015) odebiyi a i. (1990). western trained nurses assessment of the different categories of traditional healers in south western nigeria’ international. journal of nursing studies. offiong d a. (1980).imperialism and dependency: obstacles to african development enugu: fourth dimension publishers. oke ea. (1995) traditional health services: an investigation of providers and the level and pattern of utilization among the yoruba: ibadan: sociological series. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 20 omoregbe, j. (1988). history of western philosophy vol. 1. lagos: joja educational publication. owumi, b. e. (2009). the place of traditional medicine in primary healthcare in nigeria: state of arts. ibadan: department of sociology press. parrinder e.g. (1961) west african religion: a study of the beliefs and practices of akan, ewe, yoruba, ibo, and kindred peoples. london: geralds press. rodney w. (1972) how europe underdeveloped africa. london: boglel'ouverture publications. sarpong, k.p., (2002), people differ: an approach to inculturation in evangelism, accra: subsahara publishers. shaw, t. (2008). nigeria, its archaeology and medicine and early history. london:thames and hudson. shishima, s.d (2005) lecture notes. department of religion and philosophy, benue state university, makurdi. smith e.w. (2008). african ideas of god. london: municipal press. sofowora a. (1993). medicinal plants and traditional medicine in africa. ibadan, nigeria: spectrum books ltd; 1993. ugwu c.o.t. (1999) man and his religion in contemporary society. nsukka: chukka who (2000), author. general guidelines for methodologies on research and evaluation of traditional medicine. geneva: world health organisation. microsoft word igwebuike journals vol. 4. no. 5..docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 62 an appraisal of liturgy as communication justine john dyikuk department of mass communications, faculty of arts, university of jos, plateau state, nigeria justinejohndyikuk@gmail.com abstract the worship of god connects the material with the spiritual sphere. it also presents human beings with the opportunity of relating with god in a more profound manner. for christians, the finest expression of faith is found in the liturgy especially the celebration of holy mass. however, many catholics are yet to understand the eucharist as communication. this paper, “an appraisal of liturgy as communication” examined the matter using the qualitative method of study. it discovered that from the liturgy of the word to the liturgy of the eucharist, the holy mass is essentially a communication between human beings and god. the study recommended active participation, reverential disposition and effective-communication with god as recipes. it concluded that understanding liturgy as communication is crucial to appreciating the eucharist more and the interaction that flows from that act of worship which is directed to god who alone is worshipped and glorified. keywords: communication, holy, liturgy, mass, worship. introduction from time immemorial, human beings have engaged in the worship of the either a deity or supreme being referred to as god. even in ancient traditions and kingdoms, people provided a sacred space for communication with a god who is expected to convey their prayers to the ultimate being. in those primitive societies especially in africa, the day-to-day life of the community is related to divine realities as local priests, dibias or intercessors often conveyed the sentiments of the people to deities for intervention in times of famine or pestilence. what is important at those moments is that the people had a sense of direction regarding where to pour out their supplications. even with the coming of both islam and christianity, the remnant adherents of african traditional religion (atr) still communicate with their gods through shrines and temples. some christians in africa still visit local shrines to have their problems solved. theologians have blamed the trend on syncretism. while that is not the preoccupation of this paper, it is crucial to note that human beings igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 63 are always in constant communication not only with a higher being but with one another. this communication comes in the form of thanksgiving, petition, adoration and supplication or through the use of signs and symbols. to put this discussion in perspective, the christian faith also considers communication with god as one of its cardinal objectives. since the christian faith is an offshoot of judaism, the letter to the hebrews beautiful summarizes how god communicated with humanity through the ages: “in the past, god spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways but in these last days, he has spoken to us by his son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe” (heb. 1:1-3). this divine communication with humanity is the basis for the liturgy of the new and everlasting covenant established by christ. little wonder, the church upholds the liturgy as the ultimate platform through which human beings can relate with god. in the catholic church, liturgical celebrations often take the form of prayer and worship through the use of rites or rituals which involve signs and symbols. the fullest expression of the church’s liturgy takes place in the eucharistic celebration where the faithful meet either on a daily basis or once a week to worship the god of heaven and earth who alone demands all honour and glory (rom.16:27). perhaps that is why it is said, all religions especially christianity are essentially about communication (social communication departments amecea & imbisa, 2000, p.21). apparently, god’s people have always made the communication systems of each era holy by using them to communicate with all who gather to worship (bonnot, 2001). this is why some scholars hold the view that god is all about communication (dyikuk, 2017, p. 046). instructively, john’s gospel opens with the word being present with god and communicating with god (john 1:1). it is further argued that, that the word is associated with light and life and creativity which are “the very hallmarks of the digital age, and is transmitted to the world, enfleshed amongst us and we have seen his glory. that communicated word, that enfleshed word, makes known god, exegetes god to all of us. a communicative god incarnates himself within a specific culture and within a specific cultural mode of communication” (phillips, lewis & bruce, 2013, p.3). the church, as an assembly of god’s holy people presents a platform for christians who express their faith in a way that is unrivalled. in the catholic church, the deepest expression of the worship of god is found in the liturgy of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 64 the holy eucharist which opens the faithful up to the reality of communicating with the world to bring forth the values of the kingdom. this is where human communication, through interpersonal and group communication becomes not only crucial to human existence (dyikuk, 2018, p. 045) but to divine worship thus, an appraisal of the liturgy as communication. despite the riches of the liturgy which makes for true worship of god, communication between god and man, humanity and god and human beings with one another, christians are yet to fully understand and appreciate the liturgy of the holy mass as communication brought about by nourishment received from the word of god and the table of the eucharist. in its entirety, liturgy is more than words. it involves all the senses action and gesture. however, churches hardly recognize that this is part of the way they should worship god (perham, 1998). for instance, a good number of catholics do not realize that the words of dismissal, “go and announce the gospel by your life” is an invitation to go out and communicate the values imbibed at mass to the world. as such, the aim of this conceptual paper is to: 1. appraise the place of the celebration of the holy eucharist in the life of the church; 2. decry the inability of many catholics to appreciate the holy mass as communication; 3. explore the liturgy of the word, the liturgy of the eucharist, signs, symbols, ecclesiastical architecture and images as drivers of communication; 4. find the missing link between liturgical celebrations and living the christian life in the light of communicating the values of the kingdom. 5. galvanize more support for understanding and appreciating the celebration of the holy eucharist in terms of communication between god and humanity and research about the subject matter. deconstruction of concepts (a). liturgy: for the purpose of this paper, liturgy is understood as a fixed rite of public worship which ranges from para-liturgical functions like penitential service to full celebrations like the holy mass. the vatican ii document states that: “although the sacred liturgy is above all the worship of the divine majesty, it likewise contains abundant instruction for the faithful – not only when things are ‘which have been written for our instruction’ (rom. 15:4), but igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 65 also when the church prays and sings or acts, the faith of those taking part is nourished and their souls are raised to god” (sacosanctum concilium, no.33). it also maintains that the eucharistic liturgy is the source and summit of our christian lives and existence (sacosanctum concilium, no.10). little wonder, the church draws her life from the eucharist (ecclesia de eucharistia, no. 1). liturgy is also conceived as the formalized worship of the father through the son in the spirit by signs and symbols otherwise known as verbal and nonverbal cues. it is the live-wire of the church and the driver of both natural and supernatural grace for divine encounters between god and humanity which leads to transformation of lives. (b.) communication: communication deals with the sending, receiving, and understanding of information and meaning with the response of the receiver defining the success or not of the communication process (scott, 2005, p.4 & dyikuk, 2017,p.19). scholars are also of the opinion that communication is the exchange of thoughts, ideas, emotions and understanding between a sender and a receiver (guo & sanchez, 2005, p.83). communication is equally viewed as a theological term. for instance, god spoke in the beginning and there was light (gen. 1:3) that divine speech meant that he related a message or better still, he communicated – this makes social communication as the first course in the theological sciences. besides, after creation, adam exclaimed “this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh…” (gen. 2:32) – an exclamation that is a communicative act (dyikuk, 2017, p.20). beyond expression of ideas or emotion, communication also implies giving of self in love as exemplified by christ whose communication was spirit and life. in the eucharist, he gave the church the most intimate form of communion and communication between god and humanity as an expression of the deepest union which could exist between him and human beings (communio et progressio, 1971, no. 11). it is in this incarnational, self-giving and self-revealing human communication that this study highlights the four main forms of communication identified by dyikuk (2017, pp.23 & 24) which occur within the context of liturgy: i. intrapersonal communication: in the context of liturgy, intrapersonal communication is the kind of communication which takes place within a person in which a person thinks aloud, reflects and broods over an issue like deciding to go for the celebration of holy mass. communicating with oneself through feeling or emotion about the need for prayer, god and going for sunday worship for instance, fulfils igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 66 the demands of interpersonal communication. this kind of communication in which the source and receiver is the same also takes place after the readings are read and the faithful broods over or reflects about the homily in the light of the readings and as it relates to day-today life. ii. dyadic or interpersonal communication: as the name implies, interpersonal communication occurs at the level of person-to-person. it involves two individuals sharing ideas mostly through face-to-face or oral medium with verbal and non-verbal cues. this type of communication in which the source becomes a receiver and the receiver becomes a source, gives way to feedback between the sender and the receiver. liturgically, the communication between the chief-celebrant and each parishioner or that which occurs between the readers (lectors and cantors) and each person on the pew passes for dyadic or interpersonal communication. this is because, most times, the readings or homily often appear as if they are addressed to the each individual – this is notwithstanding the verbal and non-verbal cues which occur between the functionaries and the faithful during the celebration of holy mass. iii. group communication: group communication takes place in small groups of three to ten or fifteen people who have a common purpose, mutual influence, shared identity and specific goal. it enables everyone in the group to become a source and also a receiver because of information-sharing and mutual-feedback. a good example of where and how group communication takes place is at small christian communities (scc’s). the celebration of the sacraments like anointing of the sick, penitential service and holy mass with small groups of not more than fifteen people qualifies for this kind of communication. the coming together of the faithful every sunday is a perennial opportunity for communication and evangelisation (faniran, 1998, pp.147-148). focused group discussions or meeting of various sodalities or pious societies in the church also passes for group communication. group communication helps in mobilising christian families for pastoral activities towards the expansion of the faith (olusola, 2013, p.309). iv. traditional or trado-rural communication: this kind of communication entails the use of available traditional media or means of communication to communicate messages. traditional or trado-rural communication reinforces the bonds of community and cooperation, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 67 mutual esteem and incorporation of every member of the community (wilson, 2008, p.51). often times, trado-rural communication is based on beliefs, systems, opinions, actions, culture and customs which are native and historical to a any given society nsereka (2013, p. 16). in africa, for instance, the liturgy is often spiced up with the use of traditional songs and music, proverbs and fables which speaks to tradorural communication. mimes and theatre, talking drum et al are also effective vehicles for communicating the message of the gospel (ecclesia in africa, no. 123). music and dance have a genuine place in african worship. for example, to further enhance this kind of communication, the catholic church in nigeria introduced into her liturgy singing of choruses, playing of local instruments, clapping of hands and dancing (udoette, 2012, pp.19 &151). review of literature and discussion in this section, our preoccupation would be church as mystical communion, liturgy as communication, biblical perspectives of liturgy, liturgy of the word as communication, communicative aspects of liturgy of the eucharist and liturgical gestures, images, symbols, architecture and the communication of meaning: church as mystical communion the church is a communion and fellowship of the body of christ (rom. 12; 1 cor. 12). incidentally, the paradigm of the church as the “people of god” is upheld by the church’s ecclesiology in vatican ii. to be sure, as the mystical body of christ, the church adopts the participatory, interpersonal, two-way model of communication which empowers. as opposed to the linear, top-bottom model of communication, the church provides an engaging type of communication through the community celebration of the liturgy. the community celebration provides that the priest “say(s) mass for the people” (social communication departments amecea & imbisa, 2000, p.16). in contemporary liturgical parlance, he “says mass for and with the people.” god’s self-communication to humanity and the cosmos reached its peak of unity in the incarnation of jesus who became man and dwelt among us (mcdonagh, 1994, p.282). according to pivarnik (2013, p.221), the entry point of the transitus between god and humanity is the trinitarian action which has its roots in selfcommunication of the triune god. sacramental celebrations allow christ to instruct the faithful and also bind them to the gospel (pivarnik, 2013, p.221). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 68 as it were, the earthly liturgy is a foretaste of the heavenly liturgy which is celebrated in the holy city of jerusalem, the eternal dwelling place of all believers where christ is seated at the right side of god and ministering and the faithful are singing hymns with all the heavenly army, venerating the memory of the saints and hoping for some fellowship with them as they await that day when they shall appear before god in glory (catechism of the catholic church, nos. 1076-1209). commenting on this, mcnamara (2016) stated that the liturgy is a mysterious union with christ our high priest which is carried out in perceptible signs which come from christ himself such as the use of bread and wine for the eucharist and of water and the trinitarian formula for baptism. this reveals the church as a mystical communion which discloses the mind of god through its liturgical rites. this shall guide our discussion into liturgy as communion and later, how liturgical signs and symbols communicate meaning. liturgy as communication we shall consider the three forms of worship due to god, the honour given to the blessed virgin mary and the honour accorded the saints so as draw their communicative meaning. these are – latria, hyperdulia and dulia. from its greeco-latin roots, latria is the highest form of communication between god and humanity is the worship or prayer that is due to no other person but exclusively reserved to god who alone is praised, worshipped and adored. a typical example of this form of prayer is the celebration of holy mass which fulfils the prayer of thanksgiving, petition, supplication and adoration. hyperdulia is the veneration and honour the church gives to the blessed virgin mary because of her immaculately conception and perpetual virginity as well as unique role in the mystery of salvation gives her preeminence over the saints. this is because “god prepared before hand to be the worthy mother of his son.” the pilgrim church has a symbiotic relationship with her because she communicates directly to her son on their behalf and on behalf of the suffering church in purgatory. common examples of this form of prayer are: paraliturgical prayers and devotions such as may and october devotions, the litany of the saints and other marian prayers/devotions. dulia is a greek term which means the veneration or homage is opposed in nature and degree from the adoration and worship given to god because it is the communication between human beings and the saints which is lesser than hyperdulia because the blessed virgin mary is ranked higher than the saints. the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 69 faithful engage in an interpersonal communication with the saints by way of honouring them and seeking their intercession before god. for instance, the veneration of the saints and other intercessory prayers which invoke the saints, fall under dulia (). since vatican ii, all the documents of the church especially the constitution on the sacred liturgy which remains its magna charta have made the point that liturgy is a dialogue or communication between god and the faithful. the point is also made that in the liturgy, god speaks and the people listen and then respond in a way that there is a blend of action and symbolic narrative with ritual made up of the combination of words and deeds (social communication departments amecea & imbisa, 2000, p.42). it has been observed that catholic history appropriates and fully integrates each era’s new communication culture into its worship (bonnot, 2001). this is because the liturgy is essentially a form of communication (terwilliger, 1969). since we are experiencing a notorious communications revolution, the question of liturgical communication is of utmost urgency (terwilliger, 1969). this calls for understanding and appreciating of the liturgy as communication. for instance, in the liturgy, the principal celebrant is the one who adopts, internalizes and emits signs from the treasure of the church, for the faithful. in that way, he is a recipient and also the vivid interpreter of the liturgical content. the faithful who are involved in the liturgy receive the message of god through the celebrant and are urged to interpret it in their christian lives (krajnc & gerjolj, 2014, p.87). indeed, in the process of communication, there is someone who emits signs, so that he or she creates its material form and communicates its meaning through a concrete form. there is also the recipient of the message who recognizes the physical appearance of signs and through this concrete form, perceives the meaning that he interprets at the same time (krajnc & gerjolj, 2014, p.87). it is important to also highlight the fact that there is a form of continuity in the liturgy. this is because within it, some communication of the truth that ours is a historical religion (terwilliger, 1969) takes place. as such, liturgy is a communication between the priest, who precedes over the assembly and the faithful (john paul ii, 2003, p.3). biblical perspectives of liturgy although some evidence points to the fact that there was some form of scripture reading in the time of the second temple (after about 500 b.c.), there is probability that there were no homilies. although they practiced some form of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 70 storytelling, prophecy and songs in the temple, the jews believed that god helped them by speaking directly to them through the prophets. in that way, they integrated the available oral communication system into their worship (bonnot, 2001). with the passage of time, orality graduated to documentation as a means of communicating the message of god. with the recoding of stories in manuscripts by scribes, the jewish way of worship changed from less literate to a literate culture. it is crucial to note that when the temple was destroyed, synagogue worship replaced temple worship and scriptures replaced sacrifices. in both rabbinic judaism and apostolic christianity, the worship of god depended on the reading and interpretation of the scriptures and buildings became central (bonnot, 2001). the levitical system of old was a sort of picture gallery for the coming of christ (webster, 2018). by his total surrender, christ became our burnt offering (lev. 1; 6:8-13 & 8:18-21) (webster, 2018). from the one single sacrifice he offered and entered into his glory (heb. 10:11-18), christ abolished the old sacrifices of bulls and rams and established the new passover of the lamb (heb. 9:13-10:18 & 7:27) as the sacrifice of the holy eucharist. this is the reason why in contemporary ecclesiology, the church is the vocal point of contact or communication between god and humanity. it is where the incarnation is celebrated. that is why some scholars opine that: “in the past god spoke to our ancestors through papyrus and paper in many different and various ways, but in these last days, his word is shown through the digital realm” (phillips, lewis & bruce, 2013, p.3). this directs our discussion in the way of viewing the biblical perspectives of liturgy as it relates to communication. the pastoral instruction on the means of social communication states that while he was on earth, christ revealed himself as the perfect communicator through his incarnation, by totally identifying himself with those who are expected to receive his communication. he gave his message in words and by the whole manner of his life by preaching the divine message out of the press of his people without fear or compromise and so, adjusted to his people’s way of life (communio et progressio, 1971, no.11). commenting on this, musa (2018) stated that the use of oral communication to the usage of scrolls to record the message of prophets and sages culminated in jesus, “the perfect communicator” who used different media of communication such as interpersonal, group communication, public speaking and local language as well as proverbs and stories to convey his message to the world. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 71 in the context of communication, the church edifice provides that the congregation hears the word of god and offer prayers. the good acoustics in christian basilicas have the capacity to make large crowds hear the word of god. backed by the reading of scriptures and preaching, magnificent ecclesiastical architecture have became major media events which have made worship to sacralize literate communication culture and restructure the sacred space to accommodate it. the effect is the incorporation of statues, mosaics, frescoes and paintings from greco-roman culture into contemporary worship space with the eucharistic sacrifice being offered no longer in christian homes but in basilicas (bonnot, 2001). this is why the new rite rightly communicates and interprets the primitive new testament original nature of the eucharist (terwilliger, 1969). we shall return to this when considering the communicative aspects of liturgy of the holy eucharist. liturgy of the word as communication all communication is said to be propositional that is “locutionary” which means that it conveys information. some liturgical language such as the bible reference citation announced by the lector or deacon during the liturgy of the word, are locutionary (leaver & zimmerman, 1998, p.147). the liturgy of the word, also known as the ministry of the word, takes three forms namely, liturgy, catechesis and scripture reading. it is argued that without the ministry of the word, everything degenerates liturgy into magic and ritualism, law into legalism and juridicism, institution into institutionalism and patrons into administrative bosses which calls for setting this deviation and degeneration right (social communication departments amecea & imbisa, 2000, p.41). the liturgy charges christians to be at the service of the word by being committed to the word who is jesus. just as the early apostles continued to devote themselves to prayer and the service of the word (acts 6:3-4), the word which is proclaimed provides a leeway for christians to like christ, heal, instruct, reconcile and show love. like jesus, it enables christians to communicate effectively in a way that the power of such words come out powerfully (social communication departments amecea & imbisa, 1999, p.20). the pulpit is the designated place for the proclamation of the word of god. it is also the rightful place where those who belong to the ministerial priesthood proclaim and break the word of god. discussing liturgy of the word as communication also draws our attention to the role of the laity as heralds (communicators) of the good news. as lectors, cantors, masters of ceremony igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 72 or commentators, they communicate the message of christ to the faithful. at other times, members of the laity preach the good news to one another in the various pious societies or sodalities they belong to (dyikuk, 2011, pp. 18, 19 & 23). the opinion that favours this view holds that: “through the liturgy of the word which corrects, indicts, incites, heals, sustains, builds, commands, approves and disapproves, the faithful are led towards shaping their attitudes and structures of societies” (anagwo, 2014, p.340). this means that the eucharistic assembly communicates the word of life which has the potency to change and transform lives. the role of liturgical preaching as the most efficient means of communication in favour of the liturgy for life (chibuko, 2005, p.25) cannot be dispensed with especially by pastors of souls. communicative aspects of liturgy of the eucharist according to christian liturgical tradition, the people of god spread out their hands in particular in relation to the joyous message which in the eucharistic sacrifice reaches its peak during the kiss of peace (krajnc & gerjolj, 2014, p.83). the eucharistic liturgy is the sacrifice of the cross that is re-enacted in an unbloody manner by the church following the command of christ “do this in memory of me (luke 22:19). this makes it the highest form of prayer and the most efficacious of prayers of the catholic faithful (anagwo, 2014, p.338). the liturgy of the eucharist is the reenactment of the sacrifice of holy mass on holy thursday when christ instituted the apostles as priests of the new covenant (john paul ii, 2003, p.3). it makes the central sign of the reception of holy communion basis for union between god and nieghbour (mcdonagh, 1994, p.288). two perspectives are critical here: the paschal mysteries and unceasing atonement for sins. on the one hand, by shedding his blood, christ saves sinners through faith in jesus whom john declares as the lamb of god who takes away the sins of the world (john 1:29). on the other hand, he unceasing makes atonement for the sins of world by calling human beings to repentance. just as the throats of lambs were slaughtered every morning and evening in the old testament (lev. 16: 22 & 26) as a sin offering, christ the high priest (heb. 4:14) who comes in the order of melchizedek (graham, 2018) is slain as a sacrifice and sheds his blood to redeem humanity (dyikuk, 2016). though this sacrifice was made once and for all at calvary, it is repeated in the sacrifice of the holy mass in an unbloody manner following the command of christ. every time holy mass is celebrated, the full effects of calvary come to the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 73 fore as the atonement of sins is achieved through anamnesis. this means that the people of god are at liberty to always approach the table of the lord with confidence to communicate and or commune with god in the eucharist (dyikuk, 2016). liturgical gestures, images, symbols, architecture and the communication of meaning we have seen that liturgical gestures are decked with communicative meaning. perhaps it is why for instance anagwo opines that, striking the breast during the confiteor, making the sign of the cross on the forehead, lips and hearts at the beginning of the gospel, kneeling during certain parts of the mass, bowing in adoration at the elevation and joining in chanting at appropriate responses have deep meaning. this is because there is no gesture approved by the church that is without meaning and value (2014, p.339). the theological and anthropological dimension of a gesture is even more obvious when the sign of the cross is made with wide spread arms. the procession at mass, collect, being the official greeting, standing position of the priest who spreads out his hands and places his entire body in the shape of a cross in a prominent posture for open, direct, honest and authentic communication, has deep meaning which reveals that all the senses that are used for communication are located at the front of the body in the shape of a cross (krajnc & gerjolj, 2014, p.83). interestingly, “the cross with spread hands is the most convincing posture of communication and is the starting point for a hug, be it in pain or in joy. with open palms facing upwards, it expresses confidence and courage, as well as honesty and consistency with the spoken word” (krajnc & gerjolj, 2014, p.83). in some cultures, greeting is expressed in the form of a hug and a kiss (krajnc & gerjolj, 2014, p.83). it is much the same in liturgy. the christian tradition of kneeling, which is intended either for a more personal prayer or a moment in the liturgy, which reveals intrapsychic communication highlights the sinfulness and smallness of the human person or community before god (krajnc & gerjolj, 2014, p.83). other rites such as songs and prayers which are usually inspired by the holy scriptures clarify the deeper meaning of the essential mysteries (mcnamara, 2016). liturgy is a combination of word and music, silence and space, action and gesture which enables the people of god together to draw close to him (perham, 1998). both the teachings of the vatican council ii and the catechism of the catholic church upheld the role of symbols and signs in liturgical celebrations. while the former states that in the liturgy the sanctification of man is signified by signs igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 74 which are perceptible to the senses and is effected in a way which corresponds with each of these signs (sacosanctum concilium no. 7), the latter maintains that in keeping with the divine pedagogy of salvation, a sacramental celebration is woven from signs and symbols whose meaning are rooted in the work of creation, and in human culture as specified by the events of the old covenant and fully revealed in the person, life and work of jesus christ (catechism of the catholic church no. 1145). tillich (cited in krajnc, 2014, p.311) opines that symbols give access to the deepest reality which underlies every other reality especially the reality of the holy. they also demonstrate the way to god who is “the ultimate concern” of every human being and the means of the disclosure of the truth that union with god is the supreme aspiration of human existence. tillich’s theory of symbols stresses the importance of symbolism in the liturgy and also emphasizes that understanding liturgical symbolism is key to appreciating the wholeness of liturgy in the light of its symbolism (krajnc, 2014, pp.311 & 314). there is evidence that pictures and images also radiate realities that are otherwise inaccessible to us and also communicate a sense of what is vital. they perform a sacramental function of rendering visible invisible values and enable us to partake in communal activities while indoctrinating our attitudes and world views (goethal, 1994, p.14). giving his take on the theology of ecclesiastical architecture, the architectural historian denis mcnamara argues that the church building is a symbol of the mystical body of christ which reveals the spirit of liturgy (clayton, 2015). by words, gestures and signs, the past event becomes a present event which christ makes present to provide christians the power of his saving action in such a way that they are saved by it (christ communicates) (driscoll, 2016). studies indicate that: “in ordinary human relationships we communicate with gesture, with touch, with symbolic action. we do this because experience has taught us that actions speak louder than words. the church understands this and so communicates god through its great sacramental forms – supremely in the water of baptism and the bread and wine of the eucharist – but also through the little gestures that speak of friendship, community, prayerfulness and blessing that are part of every service” (perham, 1998). dismissal and doxology as essential components of communication the ite missa est, which literally means, go it is the dismissal, given at the end of mass denotes that the holy mass is not a private affair. those words underscore igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 75 the social dimension of the worshipping community which challenges them to influence the world around them through social justice which they have imbibed during worship. they are not expected to miss the mandate of christ for instance when he said in luke, go and do the same in the case of the good samaritan or how he ended the parable of the seed: let the one who has ears to hear me, hear (chibuko, 2005, pp.84 & 85). the ite missa est or words of dismissal have their importance in liturgical parlance which communicates rich meaning. it is the mind of the church that the words of dismissal and doxology are a continuation of the invitation to carry on the great commission (mat. 28:16-20). it is hoped that the christian lives the fruits of the holy mass in the public space. the church expects that the word of god that is broken and the bread of life that is shared from the table of the eucharist have ripple effects in the daily events of the lives of believers. to concretely sustain this, the bishops of africa in the early 1970s established small christian communities (scc’s) as the locus for greater communion, most realistic and contextualized way of a church that is participatory at the grassroots with the potential to meet regularly for common worship, discernment and action about common problems. through interpersonal focused group discussions, the scc’s enable the faithful to share more intimately and coresponsibly, the self-sustenance of the community as well its mission to the world thus experiencing support, acceptance and identity (social communication departments amecea & imbisa, 2000, p.32). the church expects that her members become ambassadors of god’s saving work. this is why both the words of doxology and dismissal are meant to empower the christian to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world (matthew 5:13 & john 8:12). as a result of the eucharist: “true worshipers ought to renounce violence, greed, materialism, indiscipline, corruption, superstition, immorality, dishonesty and other related juvenile delinquencies, to embrace a spirit-filled life of hard work, faith hope and charity. no wonder then the church has always given the pride place to the eucharistic liturgy” (anagwo, 2014, p.335). table: a graphic summary of the liturgy as communication variables examples communicative meaning igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 76 1. church as mystical communion. the church as the bride of christ and union of christ and his church. it discloses the affinity between the christ and the baptized christian and the promise that we are heirs of the kingdom. 2. liturgy as communication. the entire liturgical celebration from the sign of the cross at the beginning to the blessing and doxology as well as the fruits of the liturgy in the liturgy of life or life of the faithful. liturgy is the act of worship in which christ reveals himself to humanity in a more intimate union which allows for communication between god and humanity, human beings and god and human beings with one another. 3. biblical perspectives of liturgy. from the levitical priesthood to the priesthood of the new covenant enacted by christ in the order of melchizedek, the sacrifice of bulls and rams is replaced by the sacrifice of calvary and the institution of the holy eucharist becomes the supreme act of worship in the church. the biblical perspectives of the liturgy reveals how god communicated with humanity through the ages, through prophets culminating in the fullness of his self-communication with human beings by the incarnation of christ “the perfect communicator who came and spoke from the press of his own people.” 4. liturgy of the word as communication. the word takes flesh and is broken on the table of the eucharist. the ministry of the word speaks to the heart of the word made flesh which is broken to take away the sins of the world thus signifying an open relationship and communication with god igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 77 who nourishes, empowers, heals and strengthens the christian. 5. communicative aspects of liturgy of the eucharist. the communicant receives the body of christ as nourishment for the journey of faith. through anamnesis, christ is ever present among the faithful making the eucharistic feast a foretaste of the heavenly banquet which is now consumed thus communicating the union between christ and the faithful while serving as remedy for sin. 6. liturgical gestures, images, symbols, architecture and the communication of meaning. sign of the cross, kiss of peace, kneeling/genuflection, mosaic, music/songs and ecclesiastical architecture among others. they communicative the deeper realty of things unseen and lift our hearts to a god revealed in christ who has gone to prepare place for the elect and shall return in glory to judge the living and the dead. source: author/2018. table: b graphic summary of the hierarchy of liturgical prayer and communication meaning variables examples communicative meaning 1. latria the celebration of holy mass which fulfils the prayer of thanksgiving, petition, supplication and adoration. the highest form of communication between god and humanity is the worship or prayer that is due to no other person but exclusively reserved to god who alone is praised, worshipped and adored. 2. hyperdulia para-liturgical prayers the veneration and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 78 and devotions such as may and october devotions, the litany of the saints and other marian prayers/devotions. honour the church gives to the blessed virgin mary because of her immaculately conception and perpetual virginity as well as unique role in the mystery of salvation gives her preeminence over the saints. this is because “god prepared before hand to be the worthy mother of his son.” the pilgrim church has a symbiotic relationship with her because she communicates directly to her son on their behalf and on behalf of the suffering church in purgatory. 3. dulia the veneration of the saints and other intercessory prayers which invoke the saints. this is veneration or homage is opposed in nature and degree from the adoration and worship given to god because it is the communication between human beings and the saints which is lesser than hyperdulia because the blessed virgin mary is ranked higher than the saints. the faithful engage in an interpersonal communication with the saints by way of honouring them and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 79 seeking their intercession before god. source: author/2018. limitation of the study at this point, it is imperative to state the limitations of the study. the paper did not examine all the aspects of liturgy which communicate meaning. while accepting the limitation of this research, it is fundamental for the researcher to stimulate further research on the necessary communications-infrastructure which are required for a lively and captivating liturgy that meets the demands of the 21st century christian. this may involve considering the use of powerpoint, audio-visuals, graphics and online platforms such as twitter, facebook, whatsapp et al for both propagating and enhancing the faith. this may also demand interdisciplinary approaches. perhaps through an interdisciplinary approach which involves the anthropological basis of celebrating the liturgy like being sensitive to the way a community interpret and understand their lives in relation to the supreme being, incarnating oneself to both the internal and external worldviews of people, knowing how they worship god and how they describe their religious practices (social communication departments amecea & imbisa, 1999, p.53) is important. this is capable of making the mass better understood and appreciated as a continuous communication. recommendations and conclusion recommendation 1. thorough preparation: planning is crucial to any serious endeavour in life. it is not different with liturgy. since liturgy is basically a communication between god and humanity, it requires careful preparation and competent execution. this means that it must be celebrated in a manner that it becomes a dialogue which involves the proclamation of the word of god and the appropriate responses igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 80 from the people that are rendered more intelligibly and meaningfully. this also entails that the faithful take part knowingly, actively and fruitfully (social communication departments amecea & imbisa, 2000, p.42). it is an obligation on the part of the faithful to attend and prepare well for an integral transformation (anagwo, 2014, p.339). 2. active participation: to counter the position that mainline churches are dull, uninteresting and incapable of carrying people along at liturgical functions (udoette, 2012, p.206), the church ought to look inwards towards not only motivating active participation in liturgy but providing the needed liturgical paraphernalia which makes for good and qualitative worship. vatican ii has persistently called for “full, conscious, and active participation” (sacosanctum concilium, no.14) in liturgical celebrations. liturgical participation is the watchword for realizing this noble project which is integral, full, plenary and total. the participation is expected to engage the whole person with all the faculties mind, heart and soul as well as body with tongue and lips, hands and feet, arms and legs (anagwo, 2014, p.339). the directory for masses with children, states that: “a fully christian life is inconceivable without participation in the liturgical services in which the faithful, gathered into a single assembly, celebrate the paschal mystery” (simcoe , no. 8, p.202). this may mean letting people do as much as possible (pivarnik, 2013, p.156). 3. effective-communication: it is necessary to consider employing the most effective forms of communication ranging from intrapersonal, interpersonal, group or small christian community and trado-rural communication as well as other modern strategies of communication which have the potency of making liturgical celebrations lively. from the perspective of the word of god, it would be appropriate to consider what is the text saying, what it is saying to me, what is it saying to us as an assembly of god’s holy people and the imperative, what must we do? this is where ministers of the word and sacraments ought to make their homilies or sermons lively by taking advantage of the means of social communication such as, modern means of communication and new media for the liturgical purposes in particular and evangelization in general. the use of microphone and powerpoint is equally important (dyikuk, 2011). since effective communication is a key component in conveying information, developing, sustaining and determining successful relationships (dajur, 2015, p.135), it is indispensable within the liturgical assembly. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 81 4. reverential disposition: participation in the liturgy requires interior participation and transformation (anagwo, 2013, p.10). the people of god are expected to allow the role of external gestures to manifest within the liturgical assembly (anagwo, 2014, p.339). god is communicated through the words of the liturgy which means that people ought to rightly care deeply about the words they use (perham, 1998). this calls for the requisite reverential disposition from every worshipper. 5. integration of liturgical and practical life: the people of god ought to integrate liturgical and practical life. for instance, dominican spirituality advocates for effective integration of liturgical life and practical spirituality. since the eucharistic liturgy has the potency to empower the faithful towards integral transformation, christians are urged to integrate liturgical life with practical life (anagwo, 2014, p.340). 6. unity and synergy: one of the most beautiful features of the liturgy is that it is the privileged place of encounter between the oppressor and the oppressed where the two share from the common table of god’s word and sacraments. it provides the oppressor the rare opportunity to seek redress and reconciliation as the oppressed sees the need to manifest god’s forgiveness by extending the olive branch to the oppressor who is aware that he or she has done wrong (chibuko, 2005, p.24). conclusion this study had provided substantial evidence that the liturgy which is celebrated at the prompting of the holy spirit is essentially communication. it has also noted that human beings desire to draw close to god through every act of worship. due to his graciousness, the human beings approach god in the liturgy with expectations. they often demand a response which turns every act of worship into a relationship of reciprocity namely communication with divine realities or god himself. as such, when we offer our worship to god, whose nature is always ready to accept what we offer, turns it into a gift and makes it a moment of encounter so that in giving we find ourselves receiving (perham, 1998). god has always communicated with humanity through the ages. however, for christians, his incarnation is the ultimate self-revelation and communication which often evokes a response from the church as a whole and each individual through liturgical worship with its effects in the life of the believer. as such, in the new covenant, christ manifests and communicates his work of salvation igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 82 through the liturgy of the church until he returns in glory (driscoll, 2016). this is why some scholars insist that the “liturgy has huge potential to communicate more of god than anything else within the church’s life” (perham, 1998). we have seen that the world in which the christian lives falls within the scope of liturgical celebrations and that liturgy is the catalyst and motivating force which determines the complete way of life of the christian wherever he finds himself (chibuko, 2005, p.20). it is safe then to conclude that the liturgy is primarily and essentially a triple communication between god and humanity, human beings and god and human beings with one another which calls for deeper research, reflection and appraisal. references anagwo, e. c. (2013). active participation in the ecuharistic celebration. port harcourt, nigeria: university of port harcourt. anagwo, e. c. (2014). enhancing youth ministry in the eucharistic liturgy for integral transformation in africa: issues, challenges and prospects. in, nwaigbo et al (eds.), theology and youth empowerment for integral development of africa. port harcourt, nigeria: ciwa publications. bonnot, b (2001). a liturgical via media.www.americamagazine.org/issue/349/article/liturgical-media. accessed 7/23/2018. catholic church. (1994). catechism of the catholic church. vatican city: libreria editrice vaticana. chibuko, p, c. (2005). liturgy for life: introduction to practical dimensions of the liturgy. london: iko – verlag für interkulturelle kommunikation. clayton, d. (2015). denis mcnamara on the theology of architecture. www.thewayofbeauty.org/blog/2015/10/denis-mcnamara-on-thetheology-of-architecture. accessed 7/26/2018. dajur, i. k. c. (2015). business communication simplified. bauchi: new era production. driscoll, a.j. (2016). the liturgy: work of the holy trinity. www.churchlife.nd.edu/2016/07/18/the-liturgy-work-of-the-holy-trinity. accessed 7/26/2018. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 83 dyikuk, j.j (2011). the pew and the pulpit: homiletics in the light of social communications and collaborative ministry. kaduna, nigeria: fingerprints. dyikuk, j.j (2016). behold the lamb of god. www.frjustinejohndyikuk.blogspot.com/2017/01/shikrot-mpwi-sundaywith-fr.html?m=1 accessed 7/26/2018. dyikuk, j.j (2017). christianity and the digital age: sustaining the online church. international journal of journalism and mass communication. 3(1). [043-049]. dyikuk, j.j (2017). couples’ clinic: a practical guide on conflict resolution in marriage and the family in the light of effective communication. jos, nigeria: usca prints. faniran, j. o (1998). towards a pastoral plan for social communication for the “good news” in journal of inculturation theology, vol.13, no. 1. [3-22]. goethal, g. (1994). the expressive face of culture: mass media and the shape of the human moral environment – i. in rossi, p & soukup, p. a (eds.) communication culture and theology: mass media and the moral imagination. kansa, usa: sheed & ward. graham, r. (2018). the order of melchizedek. www.simplybible.com/f136-idaysorder-of-melchizedek.htm. accessed 7/27/2018. guo, l. c. & sanchez, y. (2005). “workplace communication.” organisation behavior in health in nancy borkowski. jones and bartlett publications, [77110]. john paul ii, (1995). post-synodal apostolic exhortation, ecclesia in africa of the holy father john paul ii to the bishops, priests, and deacons, men and women religious, and all the lay faithful on the church in africa and its evangelizing mission towards the year 2000. nairobi, kenya: paulines publications, africa. john paul ii, (2003). post-synodal apostolic exhortation: ecclesia de eucharistia of the holy father john paul ii to the bishops, priests, and deacons, men and women religious, and all the lay faithful on the eucharist in its relationship to the church. washington, d.c: united states conference of catholic bishops. john paul ii, (2004). john paul ii: rise, let us be on our way. nairobi, kenya: paulines publications africa. krajnc, s & gerjolj s (2014). non-verbal communication and communicative understanding of the liturgy and liturgical signs in the light of charles igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 84 sanders peirce’s theory of signs. the person and the challenges. university of ljubljana, slovenia. vol. 4. no. 1. [pp. 77–96]. krajnc, s. (2014). liturgy and tillich’s theory of symbols. izvirni znanstveni članek (1.01) bv 74 (2014) 2, [311—325]. leaver r.a & zimmerman, j.a (1998). liturgy and music: lifetime learning. minnesota, usa: liturgical press, collegeville. mcdonagh, e. 1994, p.14). moral theology as communication. in rossi, p & soukup, p. a (eds.) communication culture and theology: mass media and the moral imagination. kansa, usa: sheed & ward. mcnamara e. (2016). why we have liturgy: an exercise of jesus’ priestly office. www.zenit.org/articles/why-we-have-liturgy. accessed 7/26/2018. musa, g. m. (2018). catholic church in nigeria: the challenges of the use of social media. being a paper presented at the samsaa 2018 congress of st. augustine’s major seminary jos, plateau state on 21st june, 2018. port harcourt rivers state, nigeria: center for the study of african culture and communication (cesacc), catholic institute of west africa, (ciwa). nsereka, b. (2013). trado-modern media in grassroots sensitization: the noa approach. port harcourt: geocelia integrated service. olusola, e. (2013). leadership and communication: enhancing participation in small group with particular focus on small christian communities. ibadan, nigeria: spectrum books. perham, m. (1998). communicating god through liturgy. the society of saint francis. www.franciscanarchive.org.uk/1998may-perham.html. accessed 7/26/2018. phillips, p; lewis, b. & bruce, k. (2013). digital communication, the church and mission. durham: church growth resourcing mission bulletin. pivarnik, r. (2013). toward a trinitarian theology of liturgical participation. minnesota, usa: liturgical press, collegeville. pontifical council for social communications collection: 7 vols. pastoral instruction on the means of social communication, communio et progressio. libreria editrice vaticana 1986–2002 www.logos.com/product/37722/pontifical-council-for-socialcommunications-collection. accessed 7/27/2018. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 85 scott, j. & marshall, g. (2005). oxford dictionary of sociology. oxford university press: new york. second vatican council. (1965). communio et progressio. in austin flannery (1971) (ed.) vatican council ii: the conciliar and post conciliar documents, [283-292]. dublin. dominican publications. simcoe, m.a. (1985). directory for masses with children. in, the liturgy documents: a parish resource. chicago: liturgical training publications. social communication departments amecea & imbisa, (1999). communication in the church and society: communication for pastoral formation. vol. 2. nairobi, kenya: paulines publications africa. social communication departments amecea & imbisa, (2000). communication in the church and society: communication for pastoral formation. vol. 3. nairobi, kenya: paulines publications africa. terwilliger, r. e (1969). towards a living liturgy: the liturgy of the lord's supper examined in essays. liturgical communication. new york: church of saint mary the virgin. udoette, d. (2012) christianity in nigeria: trends and interpretations. uyo, nigeria: alcollins printers. webster, a. (2018). the five sacrifices of calvary. www.housetohouse.com/thefive-sacrifices-of-calvary/ accessed 7/26/2028. wilson, d. (2008). research on traditional communication in africa: the development and future directions, african communication research 1. (1). grassroots, participatory communication vol. 1, no. 1. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 295 desertification of linguistic ecology: the southeast experience o. s. akujobi1, mirian ucheike2 1, 2 department of english language and literature, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, nigeria os.akujobi@unizik.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29105.45929 abstract nigeria is a heterogenous linguistic community endowed with aboriginal languages as well as the english language. although these languages are influenced by certain environmental factors, some have gained more prominence than others. it has been postulated that some non-prominent languages are likely to be extinct if these environmental indicators are not controlled. this paper therefore examines the extent these environmental factors have affected both the english language and the igbo language. questionnaires were used as instruments for data collection and were analyzed using the spss data analysis. the findings showed that environmental factors play a role in affecting the use of the english and igbo languages. the igbo language was found to be on the verge of extinction while some dialects are being eroded. the indigenous people of the southeastern part of nigeria are encouraged to take responsibility for preserving their native language by changing their actions and inactions towards it, and give attention to their native language in order to ensure its sustainability. keywords: desertification, linguistic ecology, endangerment, dialects. introduction according to nölle, fsanoli and tylén (2020), conceptual construal expressed in language is motivated by structure inherent in the environment. this is why most of the lexical items imbedded in a language are gotten from the surroundings. suffice it to say that an important marker of an environment is the language because the environment is reflected in the language, as well as in the use of the language by the people in that environment. the environment can be physical (mineral resources, topography, basis of human life or survival) or social (mode of life, human thoughts, religion and so on) and these environments igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 296 are constantly intersecting. sapir (1912) explained that environment acts directly on an individual. no wonder a child who is raised at a border will have an influenced language. that is why language is used to identify where someone is ‘coming from’. also, it is language that carve up or shape the way things are done in an environment and the world at large which is solely based on the users of the language. garner (2005) explained that “language is not a rule-governed system, but a form of patterned behaviour arising from the needs of human sociality: communication, culture and community” nigeria is a linguistic environment with people who speak various languages. there are six geopolitical zones in nigeria namely: north west, north east, north central, south west, south east and south south. these zones are not carved out solely based on geographic location but based on similarity in culture as well as languages. there are many languages spoken in nigeria and by the virtue of colonization, most nigerians are bilinguals if not multilinguals, hence, there is a tendency of struggle between the existence of these languages. some tend to be more prominent than others, some tend to be left out or even forgotten. just as one of the causes of desertification is the removal of the natural vegetation through over grazing; so also, is desertification of linguistic ecology caused by the removal of languages in a particular environment through some activities. in nigeria, the languages being ‘removed’ are apparently not the english language, but the indigenous languages and it is done gradually and unconsciously by its native speakers. purpose of study in nigeria, language has been a tool to mark various regions as well as ethnic groups. there are about two hundred and fifty (250) ethnic groups and over five hundred and twenty-five (525) native languages spoken with english as the official language (wikipedia). it turns out that in nigeria, the whole environment is covered with everything ‘english’ starting from the signs and billboards on the road to identity. this begs for the question ‘what happens to our indigenous languages?’ this research is limited to the south-east region of nigeria, where the igbo language is the native language spoken in this area of the country. this study, therefore, seeks to find out how environmental factors has affected igbo language and if there are dialects that are being endangered or on the verge igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 297 of going into extinction in the south east region of nigeria. consequently, this research is driven by the following questions: a. does the environment have any influence on igbo language? b. to what extent is the igbo language being deserted? desertification of linguistic ecology linguistic ecology also referred to as language ecology was proposed by einar haugen in 1971 and he defined it as the study of the interactions between any given language and its environment. these interactions can be seen between various languages, speakers of these languages and their sociocultural and economic settings (wikipedia) thus encompassing both physical and social environment. harald haarmann further explained that demographic, social, political, cultural, mental, interactive linguistics are the environmental variables to linguistic behavior in an environment and these he said, interact with each other to form ecological system (hishour, n.d). also, linguistic ecology looks at environmental issues embedded in sociolinguistics thus exposes one to some issues of language: marginalization, endangerment, variations as well as classifications and perceptions of languages. furthermore, desertification literally means the process through which a region becomes a desert from natural changes in climate or by human activity (oed). a desert is regarded to be a barren land which cannot support or produce life. also, ‘desert’ as a verb means to forsake or abandon something. therefore, desertification of linguistic ecology is a process whereby language becomes deserted, abandoned hence it becomes barren, that is, it has no life or does not thrive in a particular environment which is as a result of some activities done by humans or natural factors (kanu 2021). desertification of linguistic ecology can be seen as endangerment or extinction. an endangered language is a language that is at the risk of falling out of use because it has few surviving speakers and when it loses all its native speakers, it becomes extinct. aikawa in unesco (2001) as cited in asonye (2013) gave five ranks of language endangerment: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 298 • extinct: a situation where there is no one who can speak or remember the language. • critically endangered: a situation where the youngest speakers are in the great grandparents’ generation and the language is not used for everyday interactions. • severely endangered: in this case, the language is spoken only by grandparents and other generations, while the parent generation may still understand the language, they typically do not speak it to their children. • definitely endangered: at this stage, the language is no longer learned as the mother tongue by children in the home. the youngest speakers are of the parental generation. at this stage, parents may still speak their language to their children, but their children do not typically respond in the language. • unsafe: most children speak their parental language as their first language, but this may be restricted to specific social domains such as the home where children interact with their parents and grandparents. another aspect of linguistic ecology is linguistic diversity which is inherent in linguistic environment such as nigeria. this phenomenon can be found in the southeastern part of nigeria in the form of dialects. the southeast experience the southeast, formerly known as eastern nigeria, came about with the recommendation made by alex ekwueme (vice president of nigeria from 1979 to 1983) following the division of the country into three parts (east – central state, river state and south – eastern state) in 1967. it was in 1976 that more states were created (wikipedia). the southeast is one of the six geopolitical zones in nigeria, and it is comprised of five states, thus: • imo state: this was created in 1976 from the east central states under the leadership of murtala muhammed and 98% of the population speak igbo. it shares borders with abia state at the east, delta state at the west, anambra state at the north and river state at the south. • anambra state: this was first created in 1976 from the east central state and its capital was enugu. however, in 1991, anambra was separated from enugu and its capital became awka. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 299 it shares borders with enugu at the east, delta at the west, imo and river states at the south, enugu state at the east and kogi state at the north. 98% of the population speak igbo. • enugu state: this was created in 1991. it shares borders with ebonyi state at the east, anambra at the west, benue at the north east, kogi state at the north west and anambra state at the west. • abia state: this was created in 1991 from part of imo state. it shares borders with akwa ibom at the east and southeast, imo and anambra states at the west, enugu and ebonyi states at the north and rivers state at the south and southwest. • ebonyi state: this was created in 1996 from parts of enugu state (abakiliki) and abia (afikpo). it shares borders with cross river state to the east, abia and imo state to the south, enugu state to the west and benue state to the north. the igbo language is the dominant language in the southeast of nigeria although there are people in the south south (delta state and river state) who speak a variant of the igbo language. there are over 40 million speakers of the igbo language and in them are various dialects marked by geographic region (wikipedia). igbo is used to refer to both the people and to their language. the five states in the southeast have english language as their official language but the igbo language as their dominant native language; however, there are variants of the igbo language known as the igbo dialects which is a tool for marking identity as well as environment (regions). for instance, anambra, enugu, abia, imo and ebonyi have distinct variants of the igbo language and within them are small linguistic enclaves which differ in some ways. note that “a dialect is a variety of a language that is used by one group of persons and has features of vocabulary, grammar or pronunciation distinguishing it from other varieties of same language that are used by others” (egwuonwu, 2017). for instance, in anambra state, there are onicha dialect, awka dialect, idemili dialect and etcetera; in imo state, there are owerre dialect, mbaise dialect etcetera; in enugu state, there are nsukka dialect, ozara dialect spoken by people in nkanu, nike dialect etcetera; in abia state, there are ohafia spoken by people of bende, arochukwu dialect, ngwa dialect, ohuhu dialect spoken by people in umuahia etcetera; in eboyi state, there are ezaa dialect, afikpo dialect etcetera. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 300 these dialects depict various environments in igbo lands and as well as various cultures because every group with their own dialect have their culture which tends to reflect in their language. in as much as these dialects may seem to be a cause for segregation, the igbo people came with a standard dialect or central igbo which is known as ‘igbo izugbe’ which would serve as a unifying language for every linguistic environment in the igbo land. the central igbo was developed in 1972 based on the owerre (isuama) and umuahia (ohuhu) dialects though it omits the nasalization and aspiration of these varieties (wikipedia). methodology quantitative survey was used, and the population of study was the estimated population of the southeastern part of nigeria. purposive sampling was used in choosing 100 respondents and simple random technique was used to select sample units to represent each state in the southeast. structured questionnaires were used to gather data and spss was used to analyze data gotten. data analysis figure 1: age bracket of the respondents igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 301 source: survey 2021 from figure 1 above, 50.0% of the respondents fall within the age category of below 30, while 35.0% and 15.0% are within the age bracket of 30 years but less than 70 years and 70 and above respectively and this is shown in bar chart labeled figure 1 above. this implies that respondents can be classified as an active population. in ascertaining the awareness of the existence of central igbo language about 92.2% said yes they are aware of its existence. in the same regard, 34.0% of those aware of its existence indicated that they communicate with central igbo at home while 27.2%, 29.1% and 1.9% communicate with their dialect, english and other languages at home respectively. this is also represented in figure 2 below. figure 2: state of origin figure 2 is a stacked column that details the state of origin of the respondents. the survey shows that 42.4%, 6.1%, 18.2%, 7.1 %, 22.2% and 4.0% of our respondents are from anambra, ebonyi, imo, abia, enugu and others. the implication of this is that it shows that our study is concentrated in the igbo speaking region. evaluation of objectives this study tends to achieve two specific objectives which are: objective one: to find the extent to which the environment has affected the igbo language. 0 10 20 30 40 50 anambra ebonyi imo abia enugu other series1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 302 this objective is evaluated using table and pie chart as thus: table 2: current environment affecting the use of igbo current environment affecting the use of igbo frequency percent valid percent cumulative percent valid yes 68 68.0 68.0 68.0 no 32 32.0 32.0 32.0 total 100 100.0 100.0 100 source: survey 2021 figure 3 current environment affecting the use of igbo igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 303 source: survey 2021 in ascertaining if the environment constitutes a factor that militates against the use of igbo language in the region, table 2 and figure 3 present the views of the respondents and it shows that about 68.0% of the respondents agreed that their current environment has an effect on their use of igbo language while only about 32.0% of the respondents were not in agreement with the views of others. objective two: to ascertain the extent the igbo language has been endangered figure 5: to ascertain the extent the igbo language has been endangered source: survey 2021 to ascertain the extent at which the igbo language has been deserted, the study tends to check the comfortability level of the respondents in using the igbo language. the study revealed that about 43% of the respondents are comfortable in speaking in central igbo language while 37.0% are comfortable with the use of english and only 20.0% are comfortable with their dialect. this means that igbo language is still central in communication in the southeast, but it is on the verge of being deserted with the frequent use of english in our environment while majority of dialects are being deserted. findings from the data gotten the following were realized: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 304 • one of the causes of desertification of linguistic ecology in the southeast is the linguistic diversity. in the southeast there are many dialects (of which some are not intelligible) which gave rise to the need for a standard dialect. people then turned to the central dialect because there is a need to communicate effectively, hence, deserting their dialects. from the data, few respondents below 30 years are familiar with their dialects and can speak it while the rest rely on the central igbo. • there is an over emphasis on the central igbo. everybody uses the central igbo to the detriment of the various dialects. what is taught in schools are mostly the central igbo and the students get home to meet their parents conversing in it as well. they only get to hear of their dialects whenever they travel to the village. • majority of the younger generation (below 30 years) do not speak their dialect but the central igbo which is filled with hybridity as a result of neologism and contacts. neologism (excessive use of slangs) infused in the language by the younger generation has made the igbo language lose its originality. these neologisms come up to replace certain words or grammar. for example, people say narie instead gbaa ọsọ, udo instead a dį m mma etcetera. • language contact with the english language has affected the igbo language. the main idea of haugan in his linguistic ecology is that languages are in a state of equilibrium just as species. they tend to compete with each other, and their very existence depends on each other (wikipedia). most respondents rely heavily on the english language, they read and write fluently in it unlike the igbo language. • there is a negative attitude of the people towards igbo language. most respondents feel comfortable speaking english instead of the igbo language and they prefer conversing in it as well. also, the english language has become a class marker. most respondents assumed speaking english makes one look educated. they do not view the igbo language as their identity. • migration has contributed to the desertification of some dialects in the southeast. when people leave where their native language is spoken and go places where they encounter other languages, the future of their language seems to be in peril because when languages come in contact igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 305 (may be as a result of business transactions), they tend to influence one another. one of the major drives of migration is the need to survive. people tend to move to places where they would find the ‘greener pasture’. now, one of the ways to identify with the host community or environment is through their language. that is why people are tilting towards learning the chinese mandarin. this is because it would aid them carry out business transactions in china. in the mega cities such as onitsha in anambra state, nike in enugu state of the south east are inhabited by non-native speakers and native of a particular dialect ascribed to that city or community. the non-native speakers end up learning the dialect in that community. for instance, a respondent who is from anambra state but resides in nike town in enugu state for over twenty years acknowledge he speaks nike fluently than his own dialect. conclusion it is every nigerians’ responsibility to preserve his/her native language as an identity. it should not be left in the hands of the government or anyone else. there would not have been english if it was deserted by the british and english language would not have been a global language if the native speakers had abandoned it for another language. the igbos need to start viewing their language as their identity and their heritage. there is a need to preserve the igbo language as an indigenous heritage and forestall its extinction. failure to do so would lead to a perilous fate of the future generation as depicted in the poem: sonnet for the poor and the young little child, what sort of future have you? living in clothes given from foreign lands dependent on food from a stranger’s hands will all your life be spent in food queue? the languages which you speak and learn are those of another people’s country you will never know your family why is our culture like so much wood burned? the sins of those long dead and gone; igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 306 why must you suffer because of them? o colonial men who exploited them, the rebels say rise up and take back your pride how can you, when the disease is inside? (kenneth wee, cited in asif, 2005) for there to be a future and growth of the igbo language, the younger generation who are the future of the language need to have a root in the language besides no seed grows or germinates from a branch, it first of all gathers root before sprouting. this can only be done by all the generations putting their hands on deck to ‘cure the disease inside’, understand that it is first an identity, then revitalize the deserted ones and progress the language from as little as spelling the native names with the orthography of the igbo language to speaking and writing it. with this, we hope that igbo would not be deserted like the nsibidi which many igbo have not heard of or seen. references akindele f. and adegbite w. (1999). the sociology and politics of english language in nigeria: an introduction. o.a.u press asif i. s. (2005). shame: a major cause of language desertion. journal of research, faculty of language and islamic studies, 8(11). retrieved april 20, 2021 form, https://jorurdu.bzu.edu.pk/website/journal/article/5e82584601aab. asonye e. (2013). unesco prediction of the igbo language death. journal of the linguistic association of nigeria, vol 16 (1). retrieved april 24, 2021 from, http://www.jstor.org/stable/659930. egwuonwu g. (2017). arondizogu dialect of the igbo language: a descriptive approach. journal of nigerian languages and culture,17 (1). retrieved april 20, 2021 from, https://imsu.edu.ng/oer/publication/65882d69e7913e. garner m. (2005). language ecology as linguistic theory. kajian linguistic dan sastra, 17(33). retrieved april 20, 2021 from, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267545297 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 307 hisour. (n.d). ecolinguistic. retrieved april 23, 2021 from, https://www.hisour.com/ecolinguistics-49423/amp. kanu, i. a. (2021). sacred animals as an igbo-african ecological knowledge system. in i. a. kanu (ed.). african indigenous ecological knowledge systems: religion, philosophy and the environment (1-18). maryland, usa: association for the promotion of african studies. isbn: 978-978-997-555-6. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.21355.67368 kanu, i. a. (2021). igbo-african market days and the conservation of the eco-system. in i. a. kanu (ed.). african indigenous ecological knowledge systems: religion, philosophy and the environment (41-56). maryland, usa: association for the promotion of african studies. isbn: 978-978-997-5556. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.21355.67368 kanu, i a. (2021). sacred trees/plants: the greening of igbo-african religion. in i. a. kanu (ed.). african indigenous ecological knowledge systems: religion, philosophy and the environment (73-96). maryland, usa: association for the promotion of african studies. isbn: 978-978-997-555-6. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.21355.67368 kanu, i. a. (2021). african eco-philosophy: nature and foundations. in i. a. kanu (ed.). african eco-philosophy: cosmology, consciousness and the enviornment (1-18). maryland, usa: association for the promotion of african studies. isbn: 978-978-997-558-7. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.23033.39526 kanu, i. a. (2021). ecological significance of mmuo mmiri (water spirit) in igbo philosophy and religion. in i. a. kanu (ed.). african eco-philosophy: cosmology, consciousness and the enviornment (31-42). maryland, usa: association for the promotion of african studies. isbn: 978-978-997-5587. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.23033.39526 nölle j., fusanoli r. and tylén m. (2020). language as shaped by the environment: linguistic construal in collaborative spatial task. parlgrare commum, 6(27). retrieved april 24, 2021 from https://doi.org/10.1057/54159. sapir e. (1912). language and environment. american anthropologist, 14(2) 226 – 242. retrieved april 20, 2021 from http://www.jstor.org/stable/659930. ugwu e. (2016). ìgbò our mother language. kent: ezeọgụ publication. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 1 the teaching and learning of literature in nigeria for achieving sustainable development goals: prospects and challenges ogunnaike, m. j. ph.d department of english studies tai solarin university of education ijagun, ijebu-ode, nigeria jimmyogunnaike@yahoo.com;ogunnaikemj@tasued.edu.ng doi:10.13140/rg.2.2.21005.15840 abstract after the failure of many countries, including nigeria, to meet the target of achieving the millennium development goals (mdgs) rolled out in the year 2000 by the united nations (un), the un general assembly met in 2015 to adopt the 2030 agenda for sustainable development (asd). the annual human development reports usually published by the united nations development programme (undp) have always shown a wide gap in achievements between the developed and underdeveloped (developing) countries of the world, especially in the areas of literacy, poverty, child and maternal health care and life expectancy. in view of item 4 of the 17 – point agenda, which requires that all nations should “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote life-long learning opportunities” (undp, 2015), the place of education in achieving such sustainable development goals in nigeria cannot be overemphasized as education has always been considered as the bedrock of development of any nation. this paper is of the opinion that for achieving sustainable goals in nigeria‟s education sector, literature-inenglish, which is one of the subjects taught at the secondary school level, cannot be left out especially when its roles are considered. among the roles that literature can play in achieving the goals include, sensitization of the citizenry and awareness of their societal roles, entertainment, education and enlightenment, expression of cultural values, addressing social and material inequalities, propagation of efforts to end hunger, achieving food security and sustainable agriculture, assisting in ensuring healthy life and promotion of the well-being of citizens. the paper therefore posits that literature-inenglish should be made compulsory for all students in schools. it advocates that all education stakeholders should endeavour to encourage literature teachers through incentives that will allow them handle the subject with all dexterity required for achieving the sustainable development goals in the education sector. keywords: literature, sustainable development goals, prospects, challenges, roles of literature mailto:jimmyogunnaike@yahoo.com;ogunnaikemj@tasued.edu.ng https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.21005.15840?_sg%5b0%5d=6_ylcsnh_8r3yjcpn_t640cqgldtezp5cexkmgumuw1rg5zmc6uw0e8wekfeqna3bpncjtukbihc18ovmx1pwq19vq.ihxj5yl2yzdrnn8e21kxp5grh-bynu2j_-pwh42adtwoin_o42bv4n2y-cxfrjjtnzbhm4yriikou-xr8ezmvq igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 2 introduction literature-in-english used to be a core subject for all students in the school curriculum in the past. however, the nigerian educational policy later changed this position, thus making the subject optional for students wishing to study science courses at the tertiary level and making it a compulsory subject for students who wish to study english language and literary studies in the university. it is not only made compulsory but emphasis is laid on its being passed at a credit grade in their secondary school certificate examinations. such is presently the status of literature-in-english in nigeria. it is pertinent to also discuss briefly the complementary role of literature to english language. english is nigeria‟s official language being used for economic, political, religious, cultural, social as well as educational purposes. proficiency in literature therefore, is widely believed to be an avenue for performing effectively in english. this point can further be buttressed when considering the aims and objectives of teaching literature at the secondary level of education in nigeria. the national curriculum for senior secondary schools sub-section of the national policy on education (npe – ncsss, 1985 revised) produced by the federal ministry of education states the aims and objectives of literature teaching to include the following: (i) give students a rich and well rounded humanistic education through broadening the cultural horizon of students; (ii) reinforce the english language skill already acquired by the students by exposing them to language in action in literature texts and works; (iii) expose students to the beauty and potentials of languages; (iv) prepare the students to pass literature in the senior secondary school examinations and the joint matriculation examination and also to prepare them for work; and (v) utilize each literary activity as scaffolding for language growth. there is no doubt that the above aims and objectives of teaching literature-inenglish in the nigerian secondary schools are lofty and are in consonance with the aims and objectives of the global sustainable development goals. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 3 concepts of ‘development’ and ‘sustainable development’ in a broad sense, development is a product of planned activity aimed at bringing about a positive change which is meant to achieve a goal. it can be regarded as an action deliberately designed to bring about a positive change. the above stated view is corroborated by adepoju and aderinoye (2001), who are of the opinion that development is a process of change with two basic elements of planning and action. from their view, development involves planning a programme and ensuring that the plan is hatched and implemented to bring about the desired result, which is, a positive impact on people. todaro (2003) is of the opinion that development is a multi-faceted concept which implies the improvement in a qualitative manner in the living conditions of people on one hand and a process of economic and social transformation within countries, on the other hand. this view is in consonance with bamidele‟s (1999) assertion that, development is in connection with the individual, which subsequently determines the development of the nation involved. and, as also stated by abba and anazodo (2006), development can be seen as a product of a sustained elevation of an entire society and its social system towards a more glorified and better life for its citizenry. in other words, development, as perceived by paulley (2011), can mean a process which tends to alter an existing social structure, popular attitudes and national institutions with a view to accelerating economic growth, reduction of inequalities within societies as well as reduction of absolute poverty among the populace. the sum-total of the above views, as well as others, brings us to the fact that „development‟ is an encompassing phenomenon that involves the production and utilization of natural resources and human talent to improve the well-being of the people through the provision of reliable and affordable energy, decent housing, transportation and communication services, opportunities for employment and provision of basic amenities, a society devoid of poverty. it may therefore be very difficult for a country to claim that it has attained a developed status when it cannot meet its citizenry‟s basic needs, such as: clothing, shelter, education, health care, social and infrastructural facilities, and all necessary things that will make life comfortable. no nation can also claim any development where there is a social polarization – a situation of the few well-todo citizens oppressing the down-trodden, where corruption thrives in high igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 4 places and injustice prevails, where there is no iota of transparency in government‟s business and where insecurity is the order of the day. according to khale and gurel-atay (2014),„sustainability‟ is the process of living within the limits of available physical, natural and social resources in ways that allow the living systems in which humans are embedded, to thrive in perpetuity. nnokam & sule (2017) draw our attention to the concept of „sustainable development‟ by saying that it was at the united nations conference on human development attended by various heads of government at stockholm, sweden, in 1972, a mention of it was made. the conference, among other things, discussed extensively the rights of families to have access to decent health and productive environment, democratic governance, uninterrupted energy supply and affordable education. as cited by aaron and ibaba (2004) the term „sustainable development‟ is an idea conceived by the united nations world commission on environment and development (1983) to meet the development needs of the present generation without necessarily jeopardizing or compromising the needs of the future generations. noting therefore that the needs of any generation are multidimensional, the united nations (un) believe that all countries should be able to provide these needs within the ambit of their economic resources. in line with the un‟s position of meeting the needs of people, countries of the world, including nigeria started to put up efforts to alleviate the sufferings of their citizenries. a major breakthrough towards this global effort is the un‟s adoption of an 8 – point development agenda tagged “millennium development goals‟ (mdgs) in the year 2000, which include the provision of universal basic education. since literature is a school subject, its teaching and learning will therefore be germane to development in the education sector. as it was sure that many countries of the world, including nigeria, could not meet up with the year 2015 deadline for achieving the goals, the united nations organization (uno) had to meet in september 2015 to adopt the year 2030 agenda known as “sustainable development goals” (sdgs) either to replace the former mdgs or continue with the achievement of the goals. according to osman, ladhani, findlater and mckay (2017), the sdgs are only meant to guide the world countries and to be used as parameter to measure the various countries‟ achievement of the sdgs by the year 2030. the united nations igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 5 development programme (undp, 2015) in its booklet, (sdgs booklet), states the 17 goals of the sdgs which include to: 1. end poverty in all its forms everywhere; 2. end hunger, achieve food security and promote sustainable agriculture; 3. ensure healthy lives and promote well-being of all ages; 4. ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote life-long learning 5. achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls; and others. considering the fourth goal of the sdgs which states that countries should “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote life-long learning” opportunities for all, it is no gainsaying that education is of great significance to a nation‟s development. in an effort to achieve this fourth goal which pertains to education, it should be noted that “…quality education” is anchored on the quality of the teacher and the teaching strategies employed in the class by him. this, by extension, has a very vital impact on the learner, either positively or negatively. both the teacher and the learner are major stakeholders in the education industry of any nation, including nigeria. from the foregoing therefore, the literature teacher or learner is one of the contributors to the developmental processes, as literature itself epitomizes life. literature-in-english and the objectives of teaching it the word literature is derived from the latin word “littera”, which means “a letter of the alphabet”. in a wide sense, literature is taken to mean every expression in letters that is written down (okolo, 2003). however, to scholars of literature, the term does not apply to every form of written expression, it is limited to certain categories of written expressions which have artistic merit or aesthetic appeal. it can also further be explained that literature is a work of art created with words, either in oral or written form and whose value lies in its impressive nature and ability to arouse admiration. in describing the concept, banu & dogan (2013) state that it may be a misconception to define „literature‟ in a way that may seem ambiguous to non-literary minds, rather, the term should be viewed from two perspectives, and so, the following could be a summation of the various definitions: literature should include choosing any text worthy to be taught to students by teachers of literature, when these texts are not being taught to students in other departments of a school or university; and that, literature is a canon, which consists of those works in language by which a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 6 community defines itself through the course of its history. this includes works primarily artistic and those whose aesthetic qualities are only secondary. literary writers (aristotle, 1956; unoh, 1981; collie & slatter, 1987; lazar, 1993; ayo, 2003; kure, 2011; onuekwusi, 2013; ogunnaike, 2016; and a host of others) have defined and discussed literature from different perspectives. these writers all agree that literature is one of the subjects that has been contributing and will continue to contribute to the growth and development of any nation if given proper and adequate attention. it will, at this juncture be necessary to narrow down the definitions and scope of the term literature to two broad senses. first, it can be used to refer to any written material on a subject; and second, as one of the school subjects studied by students in any school. it is this second sense that applies in this paper. as a school subject, the national curriculum for senior secondary schools produced by the federal ministry of education in 1985 (p. iii) unequivocally states the aims and objectives of teaching literature-in-english, among others, as to: … give students a rich and well-rounded humanistic education, which can be achieved by exposing them to works that are varied in perspective and universal in application; reinforce the english language skill already acquired by exposing the students to language in action in literary texts and works; encourage attempts at creative writing; and inculcate in the students the entertainment and instructive values of literature. the document further emphasizes the need to prepare students to pass literature in the senior secondary school examination (ssce) and the unified tertiary matriculation examination (utme). for students who intend to pursue their course in english studies at the university, a credit grade in literature-inenglish is required at the ssce, apart from also having a credit grade in english language at that level of their education. literature-in-english as a subject in the secondary school has three components that constitute the subject. they are prose, drama, and poetry. however, the national curriculum also mandates the teaching of literary appreciation in addition to teaching the three major generic divisions or components. the aims igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 7 and objectives of teaching these components are spelt out in the document as follow: prose prose is a genre of literature, usually written in narrative as a reflection of human experience. it can be an imaginative experience (fiction) or real experience (non-fiction) of the writer. the objectives of teaching prose are to: (i) identify those elements in creative prose which will enhance a reader‟s response to specific texts, such as subject matter, characterisation, theme, setting, plot and language; (ii) recall incidents in fiction that are probable in life and whose interpretation can be of value since fiction is imaginative writing; and, (iii) be exposed to various ideas and values embodied in fictions. drama drama is life‟s experience usually enacted (i.e. acted on stage). it makes use of an art form known as ‘impersonation’ to depict personalities known as characters in the play. the objectives of teaching drama in schools according to the curriculum are to: (i) relate drama to life by demonstrating that the central action is from human experience; (ii) examine the inter-relationship and the difference between action in real life and action in drama; and, (iii) analyse action as a means of demonstrating and understanding elements of drama, such as dramatic techniques, structures, characterization, setting, etc. poetry poetry is an expression of experiences in a rhythmic form that is natural to human beings. the language is usually symbolic and aesthetic in nature. the objectives of teaching this component as stated in the curriculum are to: (i) expose different kinds of poems as a means of demonstrating the richness and variety of poetic expressions and ability; (ii) identify and evaluate the various linguistic and thematic components of poetry; and, (iii) encourage poetic creative expression through attempt at writing poems. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 8 literary appreciation as already stated, literary appreciation is not a genre of literature-in-english but the national curriculum makes its teaching mandatory, as it spells out the following as objectives for teaching it. it should be taught in order to: (i) develop the students‟ critical sensitivity to literature by introducing them to the techniques of decoding literary works; (ii) develop skills in literature that will lead to independent assessment of prose, drama and poetry. the document encourages teachers to teach and allow students to discover the significance of literary texts and works, identify figures of speech and other literary devices and terms and their effectiveness in a text; and identify the effect of mood and tone of the writer. its study and knowledge will enable students understand and perform well in courses, such as, literary study, practical criticism, etc., at the university level. having highlighted the concept of literature/literature-in-english, its components and the aims and objectives of teaching it, it is pertinent at this juncture to discuss the prospects of literature-in-english, if well handled in achieving the sdgs in the education sector. prospects of literature-in-english teaching in the achievement of the sdgs  incorporating aspects of the sdgs into the literature curriculum english language/literature donor agencies and relevant government agencies should ensure incorporating aspects of the sdgs into the literature curriculum so that by continuous teaching and learning of the respective sdgs in the classroom, more awareness and knowledge would be created and gained. as suggested by owede and duyilemi (2009), a very strong political will and commitment to education by government and international donor agencies is equally needed at this point to ensure that viable internal reforms to raise the efficiency of the education sector in terms of service delivery is urgently entrenched especially within the context of the drive towards achieving the sdgs. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 9  achieving the sdgs using literature as instrument for sensitization and awareness one of the major roles of literature is its ability to mirror the society. it is a subject used for correcting the ills of the society, educating the masses and entertaining the entire citizenry especially when the dramatic component of it is enacted. therefore, literature can play a vital role in this era where emphasis is placed on inclusiveness in the provision of education. this means that there is enormous responsibility lying on the shoulders of literature educators and researchers to ensure that well-articulated awareness and sensitization programmes, targeting both the nigerian government at all levels and the citizens are organized, where emphasis would be placed on the need to meet substantial number of the sdgs (if not all) within the time frame of 2030 and against the backdrop that nigeria was unable to meet the previous 8 mdgs whose deadline expired in 2015.  achieving the sdgs through literature’s role as solution provider it should be emphasized at this juncture that if nigeria had failed to meet the previous 8 mdgs within a space of fifteen years on account of inappropriate implementation strategies, efforts should now be put in place to meet the target of the sdgs before 2030. one of such steps is to implement programmes in the education sector as adequately as required. literature as a subject should be made compulsory to all students both in the sciences and humanities, as it is a subject that deals directly with human growth and development, having it at the back of our minds that no nation can grow without proper education of its citizenry. as a problem-solving subject, literature teachers should be encouraged to put in their best so that both the teaching and learning process will yield the desired result. the constant high rate of failure in literature will reduce and by extension, failure in english language, which is a compulsory subject for all students to pass in order to forge ahead education-wise, will also reduce. this will go a long way in meeting the education sector‟s sdgs.  literature’s role through entertainment and societal reforms among the roles of literature-in-english towards achieving the sustainable development goals are: entertainment, teaching/education, societal reform, employment provision, propagation of history and culture, expansion of knowledge, mobilization towards eradication of poverty, among others. the entertainment functions of literature is hidden in its ability to give pleasure, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 10 amusement and happiness through its various organs such as prose drama, theatre, stand-up comedy, poetry, etc. many written plays, novels and poems have served as means of entertainment to their various readers and audience. they have also been used as societal reformer, thus exposing societal ills and vices and condemning them. teaching morals and educating people, especially children on ways of life, are some of the roles literature is playing in achieving the goals of development. most children literature texts are meant to shapen children‟s lives in order to make them become responsible adults. more serious literary works written by well-educated nigerian writers such as chinua achebe, wole soyinka, ben okri and other younger writers also entertain. helon habila‟s measuring times though a historical novel, creates pleasures in a world dominated by men. in the text, habila deals with deception, aftermaths of warfare, youthful exuberance, greed, love, hatred and insecurity. though pleasurable, the text also teaches moral lesson about the need to be hopeful in all situations. for example mamo and lamamo who are the twin brothers about whom the story is written are almost written off as failures in the society but at the end of the story, the duo assist to effect the desired change that led to the desired liberation of their society. this was achieved through determination and life of selflessness.  literature’s roles through education and enlightenment another very important contribution that literature can make to achieve the goals is enlightenment and education on various human activities such as health care, family life, law, culture, politics, population, election, etc. for example, chinua achebe‟s things fall apart propagates culture education and traces the historical background of colonialism and christianity in nigeria. the novel traces the pre-colonial and post-colonial experiences of the igbo people from 19th century. it is about the unpolluted and original igbo society before the coming of the europeans and the consequences of the british arrival. most importantly, the novel centres on the life of okonkwo, a famous umuofia man who is everything to his people before the coming of the europeans: a wrestling champion, a senior chief, a successful farmer, a respected husband of two wives and a defender of the ancestors and clan until things fall apart. chinua achebe‟s a man of the people traces the problem of corruption in nigeria to the origin of the country. in order to solve the problem as it affects nigeria, we have to go to the background of the problems. the same corruption that brought the first republic to its igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 11 untimely end has given the nation sleepless nights even after sixty years of its existence.  propagation of culture through literature through literature, the values inherent in the nation‟s culture can be expressed, eulogized or praised. an instance of this is in elechi amadi‟s the concubine. the text teaches different traditional beliefs and cultures of the people. the novel has its setting in the village of omokachi, a rural african community where modern ideas are absent. beliefs in spiritual husband, betrothal and marriage are the focus of the text. femi osofisan‟s women of owu, ahmed yerimah‟s abobaku, soyinka‟s death and the king‟s horseman are other examples where literature is used to propagate culture.  literature as a tool for addressing societal problems social and material inequalities that manifest in nigerian societies can also be addressed through literature. it can also address the problems created by poverty in all its forms in the society. festus iyayi‟s violence is a good example of this. the novel frowns at capitalism as an economic philosophy that is employed to promote unnecessary competition or rivalry in nigeria. another very important theme of the text is poverty versus virtue. a poor person cannot strongly protect his/her dignity and morality. in the novel, adisa, though not loose in integrity, her desire for money to meet her needs makes her morally weak. this explains the state of many female members of the society who commit adultery in order to survive including catering for the well beings of their husbands and children.  using literature to promote agriculture and end hunger literature can help to propagate the efforts of nations to end hunger, achieve food security and promote sustainable agriculture. apart from this, it can help to protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forest, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation/biodiversity loss in different ways. in an attempt to achieve the above mentioned objectives, many poems in niyi osundare‟s anthology titled eye of the earth are relevant. in one of the poems, “ours to plough and not to plunder” niyi osundare emphasizes the need to take care of the mother earth and not destroy it. in the poem, osundare calls for orderliness, rectitude and restraint in the way human beings handle nature and its resources. in the first stanza of the poem, the poet projects the earth as the source for agricultural igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 12 establishment in all its forms where man needs to plough and plant. he sees the “hoe” as the “barber” for the earth. in the second stanza, the poet emphasizes the need to fetch more farm implements such as mattocks and machetes. the need for calabashes, trays, and rocking baskets for harvesting is also emphasized. the third stanza talks about the need to explore earthly resources such as the “bread some hands of the wheat field and legumes cloth” that is put on the “naked bosom of shivering moulds”. the poem has a universal theme of the need to respect and preserve the earth. also, the poem is a metaphor of the need for political leaders to guard and guide our national entity to prevent the resources from being vandalized so that it can be exploited for the good of all.  literature as a tool for promoting healthy life and well-being of citizens apart from the above, literature can assist to ensure healthy life and promote the well-being of all ages through giving values to things that are made in nigeria such as music, musical instruments, arts, crafts, food items and locally manufactured products. for example, the beauty that is inherent in nigerian traditional music, culture and power of music as a universal language is expressed in j p clark‟s poem titled “agbor-dancer”. the poem is symbolic and it speaks the language of all those who believe in nigerian traditional solution to our national problems. a dance from agbor, (present day town in delta state of nigeria) expresses victory to the eloquent and trenchant voice of african music and the musical instruments which are african in origin. the poet wants all modern african people to respect the culture of their people and request that people should prepare to “answer the communal call” at all times.  achieving inclusive and equitable education of children and youth through literature the need to ensure inclusive and equitable education and promote life-long learning could also be achieved through literary propagation. in chukwu emeka ike‟s our children are coming the need to give adequate attention to our children is emphasized. in the novel, ike expresses his dissatisfaction with the injustices and inadequate attention meted to youths by the adults in the society. according to him, the inadequate attention has led to the generational gap between the old and the young. ike complains about the gap that exists between parents and children, principal and students, university authority and their undergraduates, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 13 government officials and the youths generally. ike sees failure to develop the youths as the portrait of crisis of youth‟s development.  achieving gender equality and empowerment through literature achievement in gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls is another role of literature. this is captured in the agitation of our female writers who have become voices to reckon with through their various creative works in which they express their dissatisfaction with the dominance of male members on the female. they also seek a just, egalitarian and equal society where female members will be treated as equal rather than being subordinate to their male counterparts. examples of these are demonstrated in buchi emecheta‟s second class citizens and earnest-samuel gloria‟s iheoma my dear among several others. challenges of teaching literature and the effect on the achievement of sustainable development goals  teachers’ awareness of sdgs literature is the mirror of life and this is why it is important that literature teachers should not only be diligent in the discharge of their duties, but ensure a proper implementation of government policies and programmes that would foster/enhance growth and development of their nation. however, a situation where teachers are not aware of government programmes, such as the sdgs, they may find it difficult to align with or work towards achieving the respective goals in the sdgs. as reported in a cross-sectional study carried out by omisore, babarinde, bakare, and asekun-olarinmoye (2017) drawing their respondents from academic and non-academic staff and undergraduates from universities in south-west nigeria, results show that 43% of the respondents are aware of the sdgs, 4.2% have knowledge of the sdgs while 52.8% have no knowledge of any sdgs. the report concludes that respondents with high awareness/knowledge level are those with higher educational qualifications or those who get to know through individual research about the sdgs. this situation does not augur well for attainment of the sdgs – a programme unknown to those who would implement and benefit from it. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 14 teachers’ attitude towards their job the term „attitude‟ as perceived in this paper is the belief system or feeling one holds towards a social or environmental issue of concern which can be positive, negative or ambivalent. most teachers often develop negative attitude towards teaching because of the ways both the government and people perceive it as a non-lucrative profession. most people believe that teaching is a job meant for less fortunate and „unconnected‟ people who have little or no hope for a brighter future. this perception has always had a negative effect on the attitude of teachers towards their job. the literature teacher is not an exception in this case as he too sees himself as not being accorded the right recognition like his colleagues in other professions. this, has one way or the other, posed a problem to the achievement or sustainability of the development goal envisaged in literature as a core subject in nigeria‟s education system.  learners’ attitude towards achieving their goal in education the notion that the nigerian public is not a „reading public‟ is often exhibited by nigerian secondary school students, especially in the public schools. researches have shown that most students in the public schools lack basic/recommended textbooks especially in english language and literature-in-english. in particular, they complain about „too many books‟ being recommended on literature by the examining bodies. the lack of books, coupled with shoddy preparation for examinations, is a major factor that has always been responsible for the mass failure in english and literature-in-english year in, year out. yisa (2015) laments this attitude as he notes that the attitude of nigerians to reading generally is not encouraging while students exhibit their displeasure for reading. the reading habit problem is also partly responsible for bad leadership and bad followership. if most nigerian leaders have read and digested some literary works, especially classical literature texts, their political lives would have been positively molded to properly handle leadership challenges, among which are temptation to mismanage and embezzle public funds. the sum-total of this discourse is that it is one thing to have literary works created around developmental themes but it is another thing entirely to have them read by people such works are meant for. therefore, one of the factors responsible for the crawling state of nigeria‟s development and its inability to reach the sustainable development goal in education is poor, inadequate reading habit of her citizens igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 15 regardless of the abundant reading textual materials available at the citizens‟ disposal.  teachers’ involvement in government policy formulation and implementation the low turnout rate in the involvement of teachers in the preparation of the curricular is a factor that has contributed to the inadequacies of literature-inenglish. findings in major researches show that a low percentage of the subject‟s teachers are involved in the planning and implementation of the curricular. more often than not, the ministry of education officials and personnel from the examining bodies, are responsible for planning the curricular. this major action of involving just a low percentage of teachers at the planning stage has been responsible for the lapses in literature-in-english curricular design. it should be noted that teachers‟ experiences when implementing curricular programmes usually depict whether some of the objectives are achievable or not or whether the contents are probably contextually relevant or are at variance with the learners‟ background. this partial or non-involvement of teachers in the planning of the curricular, has also been responsible for the disregard to cultural and socio-economic background of the learners and the inappropriate methodologies adopted in the class. this and other factors have contributed to the mass failure of students in both english language and literature-in-english at waec and neco examinations in nigeria secondary schools as earlier noted, literature-in-english is a core subject in the humanities, it is therefore important that any instructional strategy employed by the teacher in the class should be able to yield the desired result of enabling students to massively pass the subject.  government attitude for accomplishment or implementation of any policy, government should be aware that workers or civil servants in the various sectors e.g. ministries and parastatals officials are the actors while in the education sector, teachers are the major stakeholders. one of the impediments of successful implementation of policies is government‟s negative attitude. most of the time, government finds it difficult to encourage teachers through incentives to do their work as it should be done. delay in the payment of teachers‟ salaries, incessant and arbitrary transfer, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 16 favouritism for a few „connected‟ people, etc; are some of the factors that have always militated against attainment of the sustainable goal in education.  negative influence of politics another impediment for literature to contribute its quota to national development is the unconducive environment in which nigerian literature writers write. there is no doubt that politics over-rides all spheres of life directly or indirectly in nigeria. the consequences of bad government range from epileptic public power supply, high cost of living, insecurity, and low standard of living, among others. insecurity-wise, the early writers in the 1960s were more hit, and as epitomically put by ikheloa (2016), most of them wrote under difficult conditions. in addition to the above, writers like ken saro wiwa and dele giwa to mention a few, fell by the military gun bullets and bombshell for daring to condemn the excesses of the then military oligarchy in nigeria. however, in this era of democratic governance, even though writers are free to write to condemn, such writings are often „suppressed‟ by politicians who try to buy them over. writers thus find it difficult not to be influenced and therefore resist writing the truth. however, where it is difficult to say or write the truth, the society may not grow or develop or reach its development goal, as being experienced in nigeria today.  teacher’s quality and its effects another problem which literature encounters in nigeria today revolves around the quality of teachers teaching it as a subject. in the classrooms, there seems to be little or no innovation on the part of the teachers. it is pathetic to note that most teachers of literature still adopt any method at their disposal (ogunnaike, 2016) to teach the subject. for example, the non-provision by government of ictbased tools to complement the teaching of literature is a problem. coupled with this, the shoddy preparation of the teacher to the class, non-provision of inservice training workshops and seminars for improvement of teachers, all culminate into poor performance and poor results in the subject. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 17 recommendations in view of the above discourse, the following are recommended: i. the literature-in-english curriculum and programme should be reappraised, re-invented and re-tooled to align itself with the current global realities that accompany the sdgs. such re-tooling will no doubt create the needed awareness and knowledge of sdgs in the pre-service teachers undergoing professional preparation programmes. ii. granted that learning from the mistake of the past is one of the best ways to correct a re-occurrence of an error, it will be a plus if there is a synergy and co-operation between the teacher education training institutions and the government‟s office coordinating the implementation of the sdgs at the federal, state and local government levels. iii. government should encourage literature teachers by giving them special incentives that will motivate them to achieve their goal. iv. teachers of literature should change their lukewarm attitude towards the teaching of the subject. teaching should be done with the enthusiasm it deserves. teachers should act as model or mentor to students so that they will see in the teachers an effortless command of literary texts. teachers should propagate and encourage emotional and aesthetic responses in students, so as to make them become more sophisticated readers, capable of reading and understanding any literary text with little or no assistance from their teachers. v. academic learned associations such as the nigeria english scholars association (nesa), nigeria literary writers association (nlwa) , poetry club, school drama association, curriculum organization of nigeria and a host of other literary associations, should be more proactive and note that organizing or calling for conferences should go beyond mere paper presentation or theorization to achieving result-oriented conferences where effective and workable frameworks for implementation can be set to achieve the development goals for the benefit of their associations and the entire nigerian society. vi. literature teachers in secondary schools should be trained on the use of methods that will promote higher achievements in literature as a subject. vii. incorporating information and communication technology (ict) – based tools into the literature curriculum and training teachers on how to use them to complement their teaching strategies, will enhance and improve both the teaching and learning of literature in schools. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 18 viii. literature experts such as poets, play-wrights and novelists should try to produce literary texts that are within the level of the learners by making use of simple language and structures that the learners can easily comprehend. conclusion the sdgs, spanning the years 2015 – 2030, should not be seen as an unrealizable feat. if nigeria has not been able to achieve completely the 8 goals of the mdgs in 2015, government should now be ready to put all machineries in motion to accomplish the sdgs. the education sector should be financially beefed up, teachers generally should be encouraged, while education policies and programmes should be implemented without delay. bureaucratic bottleneck should be removed during the process of implementation, funds for implementation should be properly monitored to avoid being diverted to other areas while every nigerian should demonstrate and exhibit actions that are in consonance with patriotism. on the whole, government and the citizenry should endeavour to work harmoniously in the education sector, encourage learners to study literature to the extent of recognizing it as an important subject that can be used in the education sector to accomplish the task of meeting the sd goals even before the target year of 2030. references aaron, k. & ibaba, s. (2004). analyzing the social sciences: some contemporary theories. in k.k. aaron (ed) social sciences in social relations: an introduction to the social sciences. port-harcourt: kemula publication. abba, u.e., & anazodo, r. (2006). development administration in africa. onitsha: abbot books ltd. achebe, chinua (1958) things fall apart. london: heinemann ltd. achebe, chinua (1966) a man of the people. london: heinemann ltd adepoju, t., & aderinoye, r. (2001). literacy and development. in j.t. okedara (ed), rethinking and adult and non-formal education. lagos: stirling-horden publishers. amadi,elechi (1966) the concubine. london: heinemann. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 19 aristotle (1956) the poetics of aristotle (third edition; s. butcher, ed.) london: macmillian publishers. ayo, a.o. (2003). developing el2 learners‟ communication competence through literature-in-english. in oyeleye, l & olateju, m. (eds). readings in language and literature. ile-ife, nigeria: obafemi awolowo university press. bamidele, b. (1999). “language/communication: implication and media design”. a conference paper presented to the national association for the promotion of studies in arts and social sciences, zaria. july 29 – august 1. banu, i. & dogan, y. (2013). literature and language teaching: a course book. ibadan: africana fep publishers. collie, j. & slater, s. (1987). joanne collie & stephen slater. in literature in the language classroom: cambridge: cambridge university press. clark, j.p. (1972). agbor dancers. london: heinemann. earnest-samuel,gloria (2016) iheoma my dear. ibadan: kraft books limited emecheta, buchi (1974) second class citizens. london: allinson and busby federal republic of nigeria (1985). national curriculum on english language, abuja: nerdc press. federal republic of nigeria (2014). national policy on education (7th edition) abuja: nerdc press. habila, helon ((2007) measuring time. abuja: cassava republic press. ike, chukwuemeka (1990) our children are coming. ibadan: spectrum. ikheloa, i. (2016). nigeria: literature and the state of the restless muse in the 21st century. in trending peace poem praxis magazine. iyayi, festus (1977) violence. ibadan: longman khale, r. & gurel-atay, e. (eds.) (2014). communicating sustainability for the green economy. new york: m.e. sharpe. kure, a. (2011). literature and national development. in adegbite, w. (ed.) journal of the nigeria english studies association. 14(1). lazar, g. (1993). literature and language teaching. cambridge, u.k: cambridge university press. nnokam, n., & sule, h. (2017). teacher education and sustainable goals in nigeria: problems and prospects. international journal of scientific research in education, 10 (4), 401 – 412. ogunnaike, m. (2016). enhancing students‟ performance in literature-in-english at the secondary school level in nigeria – an appraisal of some igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 20 instructional strategies. revue des science du langage et de la communication (rescilac) numero 3/2016/2nd semester; 142 -165. journal de faculte des lettres, art et sciences humanities, universite d‟abomey-calavi, republique de benin. okolo, i.c. (2003). general principles of literature. ibadan: book builders. omisore, a.g., babarinde, g.m., bakare, d., & asekun-olarinmoye, e.o. (2017). awareness and knowledge of the sustainable development goals in a university community in south western nigeria. ethiop journal of health science 27 (6), 669-776. onuekwusi, a.j. (2013). literary traditions and globalization: the case of romanticism in post-colonial african poetry. journal of nigerian english and literature. 3(2) 110 – 124. osman, a., ladhani, s., findlater, e., & mckay, v. (2017). curriculum framework for the sustainable development goals. the commonwealth secretariat. owede, v.c. & duyilemi, b.o. (2009). meeting the education for all: challenges and opportunities. journal of science and technical education 1 (1) 162 – 167. paulley, f.g. (2011). quality assurance mechanisms in nigeria teacher education for sustainable national development. journal of sociology of education in africa. 10(1), 57 – 69. todaro, m.p. (2003). economies for a developing world. london: longman group ltd. tutuola, amos (1952) palm wine drunkard london: faber and faber united nations development programme (2015). sustainable development goals. retrieved from www.undp.org unoh, s.o. (1981). new perspectives in junior literature-in-english. ibadan: oxford university press. yisa, a. (2015). differential effects of rural-urban located schools on students‟ reading habit in selected local government areas in ogun state. a project submitted to the department of english studies, tai solarin university of education, ijagun, nigeria. i. the essential character of igwebuike igwebuike, is employed as a unifying concept of african thought, especially, that aspect concerning the human person's conception of the spiritual and material universe in which he or she lives. it is an explanatory theory or principle that interprets the puzzle of our complex relationship with the non-corporal world and human social life, that is, major social institutions that ensure social continuity and group identity, and further, underpins the epistemological manifestations of the human person's universe. it is essentially, a transcendent complementary comprehensive systematic quest to penetrate the structure and dynamics of reality ultimately for the purpose of giving honest answers to fundamental questions or opinions to questions that arise within the arena of asking questions and questioning answers, for selfless enlightenment and furthering of human happiness. in this search for truth, igwebuike, within an integrated systematic framework, strives beyond all forms of particularities, peculiarities, paradoxes and contradictions and espouses the path of complementation, therefore, showing how realities can relate to one another in a mutually harmonized non-absolutistic mode. thus, igwebuike explores methods and principles for the mediation, coalescing and comprehension of the different units of reality: ideal and real, universal and particular, progressive and conservative, necessary and contingent, transcendent and immanent, essential and inessential and other units of reality within the same framework. it treats all units, fragments or components of reality, no matter how minute as units and combinations, or missing links that are necessary for the conceptualization of reality as a whole. ii. igwebuike in the theatre of being 'to be' in igbo ontology is idi. the operative word in idi (to be) is di (be) and it comes from the word odi (it is), which is the third person of the singular idi. it means 'to exist' or 'to be'. it is an adjective and can be suffixed to anything to show that it exists. for instance, okwute di (stone exists), nkita di (dog exists), kanu di (kanu exists), uwa di (the world exists). although every reality has a force, not all realities have the same degree of force. the variety of the degree of forces is at the base of the categorization of being, and thus, the hierarchy of forces (kanu 2017a). in the hierarchy of forces, those with a greater force come first, with god at the apex as the source of all force (kanu 2017b). 3. “igwebuike”: linguistic and ontological analysis 19 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya in igbo-african ontology, reality is subsumed into the following categories: muo (spirit), madu (human being), anu (animal), ihe (thing), ebe (place), oge (time) and uzo (manner, modality or style of being). everything is in relation to the other, except the creator (kanu 2017c). as subjects in the horizon of perception and realization of their existential ends, beings depend on each other for their temporal flourishing. the dependence here is a positive dialectics resulting from their physical and spiritual limitations. human beings are not ontologically creators of themselves, they are essentially limited, and their existence and action, in the midst of communication, are limited by time, place, perception and knowledge, their being is existentially complimentary (kanu 2017d&e). hence they are naturally candidates for company and co-operations. this modality of being in relation to the other is what igwebuike conceptualizes. iii. igwebuike in its literal and linguistic setting igwe bu ike is an igbo proverb and also a typical igbo name. igbo proverbs and names are among the major traditional vessels where african philosophy, religion and culture have continued to be preserved. mbiti (1970) writes that: “it is in proverbs that we find the remains of the oldest forms of african religious and philosophical wisdom” (p.89). they contain the wisdom and experience of the african people, usually of several ages gathered and summed up in one expression. proverbs spring from the people and represent the voice of the people and express the interpretation of their beliefs, principles of life and conduct. it expresses the moral attitudes of a given culture, and reflects the hopes, achievements and failings of a people (kanu 2018). this is to say that beyond the linguistic expression lies a deeper meaning, that is, the spirit of the letter. it is at the philosophical level that igwebuike is understood as providing an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations (kanu 2016c). the expression, igwebuike is a combination of three igbo words. it can be understood as a word or a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. literally, igwe is a noun which means number or multitude, usually a large number or population. the number or population in perspective are entities with ontological identities and significance, however, part of an existential order in which every entity is in relation to the other. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is a noun, which means strength or power (kanu 2016a&b). igwe, bu and ike put together, means 'number is strength' or 20 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. 'number is power' (kanu 2017f). however, beyond the literal sense of igwebuike, it means otu obi (one heart and one soul) cor unum et anima una. beyond the literal understanding of igwebuike, it concatenates igbo forms, symbolism, signs, media, meaning, anthropologies, universal cosmic truths, functions, semantic powers, physics, phenomena, faculties, and igbo environ-mentalities. this is anchored on the fact that the universe in which the human person lives is a world of probabilities. an igbo proverb says: “if a thing remains one, then nothing remains”. this is because the power or strength generated by a person is not strong enough to withstand the existential gamble of life, as the chances of being overcome are on the high side; thus the need for an existential backing. there is also an african proverb that says: “while going to the toilet in the morning ensure that you carry two sticks”. the sticks were used for cleaning up oneself after using the convenience. but because there is always the high probability of the stick falling into the pit, it is always advisable to take a second stick, just in case. with two sticks one has a greater assurance of cleaning oneself up after using the convenience; the higher the number, the greater the preparedness towards minimizing the casualty of life; the second stick is also necessary in case of a second coming or remainder of the output. in a metaphoric sense, it is used within the igbo linguistic setting to refer to relational engagement in the world, accomplished in solidarity and complementarity, and the powerful and insurmountable force therein (kanu 2017g). the closest words to igwebuike in english are complementarity, solidarity and harmony. iv. anthropological and epistemological foundations of igwebuike igwebuike has anthropological and epistemological foundations. these are based on the nature of the human brain, which functions in an inclusive manner for the realization of wholistic knowledge. a cursory glance at the human brain reveals different sections which could be described as circles. below is a diagram to explain the different sections of the human brain and what they represent. why olympic brain how olympic brain what noecortex figure 2: dimensions of human brain 21 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya the human brain has the olympic dimension referred to as olympic brain and the noecortex dimension, referred to as the noecortex brain. the olympic brain has two sections, which include the inner and outer olympic brain. thus, the three circles of the brain are the inner olympic brain, the outer olympic brain and the noecortex brain. these different parts of the brain concern themselves with different questions that arise in human relationships: the questions of why, how and what. while the inner olympic brain responds to the question of why, the outer olympic brain responds to the question of how, and the noecortex brain responds to the question of what (kanu 2017c). for knowledge to be wholistic and translate into action for transformation, it must be based on an understanding of the what, how and why questions about reality. for a leader to be effective, the led need to know what they do, how to do what they do, and why they do what they do. the absence of any of these strangles followership. in advert, most organizations only explain what they do, how they do what they do without explaining why they do it. this explains why many organizations fail. this is based on the fact that people patronize you because of why you do what you do and not just because of what or how you do it. the question of why speaks of your uniqueness and the newness you are bringing into the system. it is at the why level that you find: feelings; loyalty; trust; decision making and human behaviour. the complementary character of the brain creates an anthropological and epistemological basis for igwebuike. v. ontological foundations of igwebuike the mutual relations and complementarity that igwebuike conceptualizes is anchored on the following basic human conditions (njoku 2015): a. the world in which we live is one in which we encounter several needs, however, with very little resources to take care of the needs. this limitation calls for the mobilization of other forces outside of the self, a social fellowship for the satisfaction of particular needs. b. nature has placed in us the alikeness for fellowship. this is based on the fact that we were created by god in his own image and likeness. c. although we are equal essentially, we have different gifts and abilities. what i may be able to do another may not be able to do, meaning that my relationship with the other completes what is lacking in me. d. collaboration with the other is ground for becoming, as everything takes a bit of another to make itself. it is a ground for staying alive and transforming the universe. 22 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. human fellowship and cooperation is a reality that is rooted in the human nature and to keep away from relating is to place a limitation on our being. it is, therefore, a unit of order inscribed in the human nature for survival. the more a person relates the more he or she lives out his or her being to the full. mutual cooperation and fellowship in the society increases protection, assistance, etc. being in the company of the other reduces the burden that nature imposes on a person as an individual. vi. cosmological foundations of igwebuike igwebuike is an african cosmological idea that shapes the african cultural, religious and social. it is symbolic of the african universe of particularities where every creature as an independent entity must negotiate another's existential highway for mutual survival. it is a dependent, interdependent and combinational universe. negotiation is very important in the african universe because it is a world that one shares with the other in an atmosphere of inter-subjective relations (kanu 2018). these inter-subjective relations only play out without chaos when the individual is able to skillfully bridge his or her interiority with the individuality of the other. the african universe has physical and spiritual dimensions. in the spirit realm, god represents the chief being, and sits at the apex of power. in the physical world, human beings dominate, occupying the central position in the scheme of god's creation. the structure of the african universe can be illustrated in three levels: the sky, the earth and the underworld: the sky is where god chukwu or chineke and angels reside; the earth where human beings, animals, natural resources, some devils and physical observable realities abide; and the underworld where ancestors and bad spirits live (kanu 2013). these worlds interact in spite of their peculiarities, and persist because of a healthy inter-subjective relation. there is really no wall between the physical and spiritual worlds, between the visible and invisible, the sacred and profane; as there is a cooperate existence of reality. thus, certain elements can move from one structure to another to commune with other elements. in this interaction, human beings commune with god, the divinities, the ancestors and vice versa. in these movements, you find complimenrarity, relationships, interactions etc, which sustain the universe. vii. igwebuike research method igwebuike posits that life is a relationship, and it is only within this relationship that knowledge and life itself is possible. to be a human being, you must relate to your 23 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya environmentand know the things around you. “to be” and not know is not “to be” (kanu 2019a). every human being wants to know, meaning that every human being cannot but research in a general sense. this aspect of our humanity shows itself in the curiosity of a child who is always asking questions, becoming completely absorbed in the search for the truth, trying to make sense out of a complex world, making guesses and testing them, trying to understand his or her limits and the limits of the situations surrounding him or her. since “to be” is to know, once this liberality to know is restricted, the human person loses something of its humanness, and begins to die intellectually and emotionally. if a person is allowed to ask questions without limit, he or she takes progressive essential steps in the process of becoming human (kanu 2019b). whenever the human person learns only to follow the familiar and safe way, or to ask only those questions to which the teacher knows the answer, or learns never to upset existing organizational patterns and procedures or to see defect in the existing orderhe or she sacrifices some of his or her humanness (torrance, 1970, pp. 6-7). this is the uniqueness that igwebuike adds to the concept of research. research is not just an attempt to find solutions to problems but to reach the full potentials of our humanity. for a research method to be igwebuike in character, it must employ one of more of the following approaches: it has to be wholistic in approach, complementary, interdisciplinary, move from the known as a bridge to the unknown, and should be nonderogatory and sympathetic, which is the areopagus approach. igwebuike research method wholistic complementary interdisciplinary areopagus known to the unknown figure 3: approaches of igwebuike research method 24 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 33 democracy and challenge of good governance in africa anthony raphael etuk, phd department of philosophy university of uyo etuky4real@gmail.com doi:10.13140/rg.2.2.21005.15840 & livinus ibok aweting, phd university of maryland st jospeh medical centre towson md, usa doi:10.13140/rg.2.2.21005.15840 abstract the paper discusses the challenges of democratization in africa. it considers the idea of democracy as a universal one, rather than an exclusive preserve of the west. however, it regards the attempt to foist the western liberal type of democracy on africa as an ideological factor in contemporary african cultural dislocation by the west. it attributes the failure of this democracy in africa, as manifested in the rampant political instability and bad governance, to the system’s neglect of the cultural roots of the african people. it calls for the revival and creative exploitation of valuable assets from the indigenous african democratic culture for the construction of authentic paradigm of democracy relevant to the conditions of africa in the contemporary world. the paper concludes with the caveat that democracy in africa may not succeed until such cultural adaptation is done. keywords: democracy, communalism, culture, democratization, freedom, ontology, autonomy. introduction the collapse of the communist regimes of the former soviet union in europe, precipitated the surging wave of democratization in several parts of the world. in africa today, the western democracy has gained much publicity, especially through the propaganda machinery of europe and america. much resources have been expended in attempts to institutional it in the majority of the africa‟s 54 countries. africa‟s attraction for western liberal democracy follows its widespread popularity as the most reliably civilized system of governance and “sustainable mode of organizing society for development” (offor, 120). for this mailto:etuky4real@gmail.com https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.21005.15840?_sg%5b0%5d=6_ylcsnh_8r3yjcpn_t640cqgldtezp5cexkmgumuw1rg5zmc6uw0e8wekfeqna3bpncjtukbihc18ovmx1pwq19vq.ihxj5yl2yzdrnn8e21kxp5grh-bynu2j_-pwh42adtwoin_o42bv4n2y-cxfrjjtnzbhm4yriikou-xr8ezmvq https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.21005.15840?_sg%5b0%5d=6_ylcsnh_8r3yjcpn_t640cqgldtezp5cexkmgumuw1rg5zmc6uw0e8wekfeqna3bpncjtukbihc18ovmx1pwq19vq.ihxj5yl2yzdrnn8e21kxp5grh-bynu2j_-pwh42adtwoin_o42bv4n2y-cxfrjjtnzbhm4yriikou-xr8ezmvq igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 34 reason, it is argued that, “africa could not ignore the global consensus on the value of democracy” (salim, 5). however, africa has the misfortune of remaining practically underdeveloped with bad governance, despite years of experimentation with the western democracy. in fact, it can only be said that africans are worse off under the socalled “democratic” governments than they were many decades before the democratic hype. the freedom house‟s freedom in the world index, for instsnce, classifies the system of governance in africa as autocratic and hybrid regimes, noting equally that “majority of the sub-saharan african states are not free as a result of steady decline in basic tenets of democracy” (2018 report). today, africa is has become “a home to the world‟s largest number of least developed countries… it is the theatre of endless conflicts, and strive, hunger, and gross abuses of human rights” (igbafen, 74). this explains why african some scholars have argued that “democracy is not only in crises in the continent, but the institutionalization of liberal democracy in africa…is altogether counterproductive and horrendous” (oguejiofor, 3). in the face of this frustrating experience, it makes reflective sense to ask: if democracy is what is needed to secure good political governance in the society, what then is the problem with it in africa? why is it not working in africa? this „political conundrum‟ has increasingly, raised the concerns of many stakeholders in the african project. contemporary african scholarship has focused on it and several responses and theoretical options have been proposed. this paper is a philosophical contribution to this debate. for an efficient engagement with this desideratum, the paper seeks to address the following fundamental concerns: why is the western liberal democracy not working in africa? is democracy an exclusive preserve of the west? must democracy necessary mean western democracy such that it becomes a single model of democracy for every country, regardless of cultural differences? are there democratic political cultural assets indigenous to africa that could serve as a guide for the task of social reconstruction and effective democratic process in africa? conceptual clarification of democracy although there is almost an inexhaustible available literature on the concept of democracy, there appears to be a glaring absence of consensus by scholars on the definition and application of this term. matters get complicated by the honorific igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 35 nature and popularity of the term, as virtually all political systems claim to have something to do with it. democracy, for this reason, seems to be “a term with many meanings” (olaitan, 424). however, there exist certain operative elements, often associated with the etymology of the term, and so crucial, without which no society or political system can be considered democratic. hence, to avoid the conceptual challenges, any attempt at defining this concept must always take into consideration its etymology. the term “democracy”, is the product of two agglutinated greek words, demos meaning, “people”; and kratia, meaning, “rule”; hence, the word democracy, literary means, “the rule of the people, that is, government of then people” (omoregbe, 30). any conception of the term democracy, cannot be adequately or correctly done without reference to this etymological implication as being “the government of the people” (owolabi, 131). in other words, the concept of democracy from its classical greek origin is inseparable from the notion of power or sovereignty in the hands of the people. it makes sense therefore, to identify with the popular definition of the term given by abraham lincoln in his famous gettysburg address as, “government of the people, by the people and for the people” (qtd. in salami, 74). as l. thompson further explains, “democracy connotes a system of political structures in which sovereignty belongs to the people” (thompson, 3). an outstanding fact here is that democracy is distinguishable from other political systems by the fact that it is not a personal, authoritarian or dictatorial rule. rather, it is the government of the people, where the people actively participate in governing themselves or determining how they are governed through their chosen representatives. history has generally witnessed two major approaches by which people expressed their power and will in a democratic system, namely, direct and indirect democracies. direct democracy was witnessed in the first democratic community in history, the athenian greek city-state, where all adult male citizens had the civic right to participate directly in the act of governance. here, male adult citizens, who so wished participated directly in the decision making and day-to-day governance of the state (held, 6). however, despite its popularity in athens and other ancient greek city-states, democracy was highly criticized by the two notable classical greek philosophers, plato and aristotle. plato, for instance, who favoured aristocracy, regarded democracy as, “the worst of all lawful governments and the best of all lawless governments” (qtd. in omoregbe, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 36 31). for him, democracy breeds anarchy and mediocrity, and is dependent on the citizens‟ impulses rather than wisdom and reason. he insists that the philosopher-king is the most suitable person to rule a state by virtue of his vast knowledge and virtues, and declares in his republic that: “the world would have no peace until either philosophers become kings or kings become philosophers” (473d). direct democracy could not survive the economic conflicts and cultural differentiations of the modern society. it had to give way to the present-day indirect or representative democracy, where people participate in governance through their elected representatives. the indirect democracy received its philosophical impetus from the social contract theories of thomas hobbes, jean jacque rousseau and john locke. it emanated also from the economic conflicts of the nineteenth-century european society (owolabi, 114). for reason of these influences of its immediate origin, this variant of democracy is also often called western “liberal democracy”, because apart from embracing representative government, it also emphasizes the issue of right to private property. “the belief that the individual should be free to satisfy his instinct of property acquisition is seriously emphasized by this form of democracy” (owolabi, 114). hence the present day western democracy is not only a “political theory” but also an “economic theory”. it is the model of democracy in vogue and which is being foisted on africa today. as obvious from the above presentation, the basic defining principle of liberal democracy is “freedom”. franklin roosevelt, former president of the united states, expressed the four basic freedoms that liberal democracy strives at, namely: “freedom of speech and expression; freedom of worship; freedom from want; and freedom from fear” (qtd. in owolabi, 114). it is the “openness” of the democratic society guaranteed by these “freedoms”, that is believed to be capable of making room for the maximization of productivity, which is assumed to be the secret behind democracy‟s role in economic development of a society. though the “freedom” and autonomy of the individual is emphasized in liberal democracy, the individual also has the “duty” to obey the freedom of others. however, it is clear from the foregoing that democracy is not merely a convenient label for whatever political system anyone may personally approve of or prefer; rather, it is ultimately power vested in the people. the tenets of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 37 democracy can be summarized in the following four attributes of democracy identified by charles frankel (33): (i) consent of the governed (ii) the ideal of an open society (iii) individual autonomy (iv) the ideal of responsible government. these attributes entail the following precise democratic ideals: constitutional government, respect for human rights, transparency in wielding of power, rule of law and accountability in governance. bayo okunade explains these ideals to include the following principles: “free and fair elections, open and accountable government, civil and public liberties” (13). for robert dahl, the indispensable condition for any democratic government and theory of democracy is responsiveness: i assume that a key characteristic of democracy is the continuing responsiveness of the government to the preferences of its citizens, considered as political equals…i should like to reserve the term „democracy‟ for a political system, one of the characteristics of which is the quality of being completely or almost completely responsive to all its citizens (15). on the whole, a genuine democratic process involves the creation of an effective system of governance for the expression of the sovereign power or will of the people. this implies the provision of institutional mechanism for political liberalization and ensuring adequate participation by all interest-groups (ethnic, religious, political parties, professional bodies, etc.) in the national and local community decision-making processes as well as a functional system of maximum accountability. a further implication of this is that a genuine democratic vision encompasses ideals that ensure good and quality human life: liberty, equality before the law (rule of law), human dignity, respect for human life, civic responsibility, security of lives and property, widespread participation in the direction of social affairs, and concern with baking (and not merely the sharing) of the national cake (thompson, 11). democracy also presupposes the independence of the judiciary, good leaders and informed followers, who are economically and educationally empowered and capable of holding their leaders accountable. the absence of features in a given society clearly signals the absence of democracy in that society, no matter how many “democratic institutions” it may claim to possess. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 38 crisis of good governance in africa though western democracy seems to thrive especially in most part of europe and america, the situation in africa reveals an untoward experience of abysmal failure of the system. the failure is so deep and frustrating that nothing else appears needed now than a new direction in thought and action to redress to halt the slide and to regain of africa‟s capacity for “deliberate, self-imitated change” (oladipo, 107). in fact, there are ample evidence to show that the western liberal democracy has not only further weakened the african capacity for selfdetermination, but has compounded the african socio-political problems. to begin with, democracy without human freedom is nothing but terminal autocracy and dictatorship. freedom house‟s freedom in the world index report describes democracy in africa as being in the state of “dramatic decline” following the “dramatic decline” in freedom in african countries (2018 report). despite the claim of being democratic, many african governments are highly repressive and many of the african political rulers treat their countries either as patrimonies or as legitimate booty (akinola, 28). they come to power and maintain their power by their brutal force, and treat the lives of million as their own playgrounds. they readily equate oppositional and dissenting voices against many of their unpopular policies with disloyalty and subversion and respond with all sorts of repressions, including detention without trial, torture, and murder. francis offor confirms that, “most of the states in africa, despite their claim to democracy, still retain either the authoritarianism inherited from the erstwhile colonial rulers or the command structure and authoritarianism of the military with which they have had much contact since independence, by way of military rule” (126). this is what plays out in such africa “democratic” leaders as francisco macias nquema of equatorial guinea, who in 1971, put forth a law that bestowed all powers of the government on him and killed nearly a third of the population during his reign. again, as soon as he came into power in 1980, robert mugabe of zimbabwe, consolidated it by creating a single party state and employing a north-korean-trained security force to deal with dissidents and opposition forces to his government. omar albashir of sudan also disbanded all rival political parties. he is said to have created the genocide that occurred in dafur, and intentionally directing attacks on civilians. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 39 furthermore, jose eduardo dos santos of angola, impoverished his people greatly, by taking over a number of natural resource industries of the state to build his personal wealth and dealing ruthlessly with opposition. charles taylor of liberia, created his own private army to fight opposition, while reducing the size of the armed forces of liberia. and mobutu sese seko of democratic republic of congo, created one party state that concentrated power in his hands. he had a reign of terror and theft. moreover, the tendency to see all sorts of political problems, especially those related to the issue of national unity, as an occasion abusing of citizens‟ rights, abridging local autonomy, display of „federal might‟ and greater centralization of power at the federal level, has been endemic in african states. aaron gana, believes such heavy doses of authoritarianism in african states significantly contribute to the dysfunctional process of democratization in the continent (6). another element of liberal democracy which has failed in africa is that of political liberalization with its competitive party-politics, that is meant to decide who controls state power according to the will of the people. this has been a huge failure in africa, for as adebayo salami captures it, “political parties in africa are nothing but feuding between classes” (77). political liberalization in african democracies are only opportunities for autocratic regimes in the continent to create sham democracies by pretending to open up the political space for competition, whereas their aim is to diffuse the opposition in order to remain in power. in nearly all states in africa, state power is constituted in such a way that apart from hijacking the political process so that the people‟s votes do not count at elections, the party in power ensures that the opposition parties are either undermined or totally eliminated in the process. and even though they are differently tagged, some of the political parties are created by the states as auxiliary parties to support the party in power. often, the parties in power are funded by a few powerful industrialists and entrepreneurs and the government is run according to their wishes rather than the wish of the people. thus, democracies in africa are nothing but oligarchies run behind the scene by few industrialists and entrepreneurs. it is no surprise then why hardly any election is free and fair in the continent. instead, elections are competitions in rigging; as the parties with the highest money to bribe the electorates and which successfully rigs out the others, emerge as “winners”. hence, in africa, “the majority is not in control of government” (mayo, 285). in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 40 fact, democracy in africa is a form of political heaven for the rich and an economic hell for the poor. godfrey onah appropriately captures the situation as he describes democracy in africa as “a government of the parties, by the parties, for the powerful or alternatively, an exploitation of the people, by the powerful, through the parties” (276). democracy has failed in africa; for it is not a government of the people, but a government for the rich and powerful who fund the parties and control them. and the parties have become end in themselves instead of means to an end. politicians serve and are accountable to their parties rather than the people. in fact, the trend in most african states has been in the direction of seeing only those who have economic power control the state; the parties in power subvert the people‟s will by hijacking the entire political process and creating one-party states through systematic elimination of the opposition parties, as well as manipulate the disparate cultural and ethnic entities for power calculations. the latter point here explains why political parties are organized around ethnic and related groupings, and are more or less ethnic organizations arranged against each other in the struggle to capture the state and its resources. despite embracing liberal democracy, development is highly impeded by bad governance in africa. this has resulted in low ranking of the continent in virtually all indices of human development. mugabe says that, “…whereas standards of living in other countries have arisen over time, in africa, present standards of living are no better than they were two decades ago… (qtd. in igbafen, 74). african countries have constantly made the list of the most corrupt countries in the world by transparency international. and from the statistics provided by the world bank report, the gross domestic product of subsaharan-africa which was about 5.4% in 1965 has over the years divided to 3.2% by 2018 (gdp-sub-saharan africa, 2018). bad governance in africa has created an unfortunate economic situation where whole population of people is condemned to conditions of near destitution. we have a situation where the enormous wealth and the unbridled luxury of the privileged few in the corridors of power stand in violent and offensive contrast to the mass poverty of the vast majority. and over 70% of the populations of african countries are illiterates. in the words of joseph omoregbe, “african countries are suffering from illiteracy, abject poverty and corruption. over 70% igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 41 of the populations of these countries are illiterates, over 80% of them live in abject poverty, while corruption permeates every aspect of life” (22). the continent further boasts of the largest refugee population in the world (igbafen, 74). furthermore, it is the theatre of endless conflicts, civil strife, and gross human rights abuse. besides, in almost all african countries, the judiciary that is supposed to be independent in a democracy is under the heavy control the executive arm of government, which manipulates and makes a sport of the judiciary. the electoral commissions, put together by the ruling party, are there to protect the political interest of the party. another damaging setback to the western liberal democratic process in africa is that, it is too expensive for the already impoverished continent to operate with all its structures. david potter says that the system is for “people of plenty” (qtd. in mayo, 292). it is not for the third world african countries with markedly poor and underdeveloped economies largely attributable to the forces of colonialism and neo-colonialism. karl lowenstein agrees indirectly with this line of thought as he states that, “america is only able to sustain democracy because of her abundant wealth” (qtd. in mayo, 285). claude ake says that liberal democracy can thrive in the west because of the availability of such enabling socio-economic historical background, which is absent in africa: “the generalization of commodity production and exchange (and hence a market economy), social atomization and organic solidarity and… a developed system of capitalist production” (4). the foregoing simply demonstrates that liberal democracy is not working in africa. it also shows that there is a clear need for a new direction in thought and action to redress this sad situation. it has not been able to emancipate the continent from the shackles of under-development, authoritarianism, insecurity and political instability. however, the intention here is not just to catalogue the swarming indices of failure of liberal democracy in africa, but also to clearly demonstrate the fact that its present western-frame constitutes a serious barrier to its workability in africa: it is not an authentic expression of the african political culture. francis offor maintains, in support of this view, that the failure of liberal democracy in africa is attributable to its lack of direct bearing with the historical and socio-cultural experience of the african people (128). omoregbe also attributes this failure to the fact that it is being forced on african countries by the western world, especially their former colonial masters (43). besides, the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 42 western aid donors‟ increasing insistence on liberal democracy as a condition for granting aids to african countries, has greatly shown the western desperation to force this alien system down the throats of african countries, irrespective of africa‟s socio-cultural differences. be that as it may, it is time to recognize the ultimate mission of western liberal democracy in africa: it is a western ideological factor in contemporary african cultural dislocation, shot with imperialistic ethos under the disguise of universalism and civilization. it cannot, therefore, lay claim to ideological innocence. in fact, thirey verheslt reveals, what western democracy does is that, it brings cultural imperialism and assassination of the civilizations of other countries for the sake of western civilization. hence, rather than bring development to the third world countries, “the alien culture of western democracy will bring under-development” (18-19). in other words, the western liberal democracy in africa is a trajan horse of western imperialism for african disempowerment. it is time for african to initiate africa‟s cultural revitalization and embrace kwasi wiredu‟s call for “conceptual decolonization” (15). it is time to boldly walk away from this “culture of dependency” (obadina, 35), which has crippled the african capacity for self-reliance and sustainable development. it is time to domesticate our democracy by drawing valuable assets from the indigenous practice of democracy in africa to construct authentic paradigm of democracy relevant to the conditions of africa in the contemporary world. for the fact that democracy is essentially about good governance, which reflects the rule and will of the people, it cannot be said to be the preserve of the west. it cannot also be universalized in its western liberal mold to every culture, without regard socio-cultural variations. verheslt says, “in each culture, there is a system of government which is traditional to the culture” (18-19). in fact, according to kolawole owolabi, “a regime can lay claim to being democratic, if and only if the regime allows for maximum participation of the people and give maximum accountability to them” (the quest for democracy…, 10). the idea of democracy is, thus, a universal one; but “since cultural organisms differ from each other (often in very significant ways), democratic systems may naturally also differ in the particular ways in which they concretize the concept of „people‟ and in the particular mechanisms by which „the people‟ express its power or will” (thompson, 4). as sophia oluwole further explains, “a true democracy transcends specific historical forms. it has to do with certain defining values, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 43 principles, rules and precepts, according to which a good government… must be run” (420). the imperative of the moment for africans, therefore, is not a total abandonment of the idea of democracy, but to emphasize a kind of democracy beyond western encrustations, which takes into consideration african values and traditions, suitable for the existential conditions of contemporary africa. african cultural heritage is rich in ideas, precepts and values that define good governance. these indigenous values and precepts must be revived and adopted into our democratic systems of governance, if we must achieve sustainable and successful democratization process and good governance in the continent. indeed, as verhelst rightly consents, “indigenous cultures contain within them the seeds necessary to give birth to societies which differ from the standardized and devitalized model that has spread over the world” (24). we are firmly resolved that, if democracy is to succeed in africa, it must fully adapt to the african culture. the constant instability of the african states, can without doubt be traced to the conflicts that exist in the mind of the individual between the foreign values that the african modern societies strive at, and the traditional values which have been transmitted to the people by their ancestors. african indigenous democratic values african societies cannot be expected to become carbon copies of western democracies, because the values and priorities of african societies differ greatly from those of the west. the present situation in africa where political engineering is being carried out without a proper grasp of the cultural roots of the people, is the explanation for the political instability, which is very rampant in africa. to drive this very functional point home, for a successful and wellentrenched democratization process in africa, there is the need to integrate it within the context of the african cultural values. cultural values and beliefs have a way of getting into the consciousness of the people. according to v. simiyu, who made a historical study of the political structures in many pre-colonial african societies, “there are some democratic structures in the african traditional political systems, which could be adopted to enhance the course of democratization in modern day africa” (51). simiyu reveals that though there was no homogeneity in their political structures as values embedded in those societies vary and depended on cultural differences of those igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 44 societies yet, values of justice, liberty, openness, accountability, communal governance and a sense of belonging necessary for the maintenance of social cohesion, were not absent from pre-colonial african societies. those values were the underlying principles of governance in most traditional african societies. african pre-colonial societies, therefore, had not only histories but also viable traditional institutions which enabled them to survive through the centuries before colonization. asante, songhai, oyo, great zimbabwe and benin kingdoms were empires they built before colonization. on the whole, there were two main political systems in pre-colonial africa. first, were the constitutional monarchies headed by kings of varying statue and importance depending on the size and population of the kingdom. however, whether big or small, participation in governance was the key word, because “the kingdoms were governed in accordance with constitutional usages under which the monarchs shared their powers with representatives of groups and interests within their domain” (akinola, 20). the traditional societies, by it arrangements also encouraged, as richard dagger refers to it, “active, public spirited citizenship” (6). in all these traditional constitutional monarchies, participation was the operational definition of societal membership, because the rulers (monarchs) never arrogated to themselves the power to take decisions that affected their communities, as we see in many modern african “democratic” states. the rulers only had the autonomy to pronounce decisions taken and policies made in conjunction with their chiefs and representative of their people within their domain. but in many modern african societies that claim to be democratic, the executive rulers have become so powerful, authoritarian and larger-than-life despots that control the decisions of the entire government apparatus. african traditional constitutional monarchies were more democratic than the present-day democratic states in africa. basic institutions were provided for a fair measure of self-rule and representation at all levels of governance. thus, such groupings like clans, lineage or families were represented by their heads at the councils of the kings as well as those of the provincial, district or village chiefs. power was clearly decentralized, unlike the all-pervasive power of the modern democratic states in africa, where power is concentrated at the central government and where local autonomy is abridged. in the traditional constitutional monarchies, “there was the substantial autonomy at the lower levels where the subordinate igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 45 chiefs and their councils could manage their own affairs without undue interferences from the centre” (akinola, 21). there was striking balance between power, service and accountability; and government operated based on consultations and consensus, with leaders guided by the fact that the essence of power is for service delivery to the people. the decentralize system of governance with these positive implications was destroyed during the colonial era by the colonial conquerors who not only lumped together various people and territories for administrative convenience, but also devised centralized systems of governance with enormous powers that constitute the basis of liberal democracy in africa. with the centralized structure of liberal democracy in africa, power is taken away from the people in their communities and with it is gone that traditional sense of participation in governance and active, public spirited citizenship. that traditional sense of belonging, which was essential for the maintenance of social cohesion is equally gone. there is a systemic disconnect between the government and the people; governance is far away from the people, who neither know those who claim to represent them nor is their interest of any importance to their representatives. this explains in precise terms, why this kind of democracy is not working in africa. of importance too to the element of participation in governance and representation in traditional african governance was the existence of a number of associations through which the average commoner could play a role in public affairs. a member of one age-association for instance, could take part in police duty, public works, defense, as a young man. and on attaining the status of an elder one could become a member one organization or another that undertook important judiciary functions (such as the ogboni in yorubaland). besides, the title-associations which cut-across lineages or families enabled distinguished men and women to be appointed to responsible positions in the community, thereby accommodating all lineages or families in the governance of the community. power truly vested in the people in this traditional government, unlike the modern day democracy in africa, which embodies periodic elections to choose among competing professional politicians whose appearance as candidates in determined largely by undemocratic means, especially where wealth now functions as a de facto prerequisite for the right to appear as candidate. hence, the unacceptable emphasis today that is often placed on igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 46 “political efficiency to the exclusion of any notion of social dimension of democracy” (lipset, 50). therefore, however worthy the ideals of liberty and legal equality may be as foundations of western liberal democracy, conspicuously absent in its practice in africa are the notions of civil responsibility or of widespread political participation of the people in governance. in whatever culture is operates, democracy is a system of open government and public decision making by majority will or the consent of the majority, without prejudice to the rights of the minority or minorities. the second major traditional political system in africa had minimal institutionalized political authorities. examples of this system were found among the maasai, the nuers, the tiv and the igbos. lacking centralized institutions, these communities normally managed their corporate affairs through the elders of their communities. decisions affecting the communities were reached on popular assemblies by consensus. occasionally, individuals were vested with power on an adhoc basis, as in times of war. leadership thus depended on personal ability, except in cases where religious dignitaries, diviners or rainmakers exercised some kind of initial power. traditionally, popular participation was encouraged using a process of consultation that allowed african leaders to reinvigorate their rule with community imputes. the botswana pre-colonial society, for instance, had a strong element of democracy based on this arrangement. the traditional democracy of this society rested on the political structure called, kgotta (owolabi, 121). in the botswana political culture, kgotta was an institution where adult males considered very important issues about governance; they made laws and found communal solutions to the problems at hand. participation and deliberations in the kgotta was free and open, and according to mogobe ramose, “any decision arrived at was seen not as triumph of one group over another, but as achievement of all concerned parties” (63). this democratic political structure was made the foundation of the modern botswana political arrangement. and as molutsi and holm argue, the botswana post-colonial society succeeded because of its roots in the indigenous culture” (324). this element of consensus in the botswana “kgotta”, is also heavily reflected in the traditional mode of governance among the chewa people of central africa (dicher, 78), as well as the gikuyu people of kenya (kenyatta, 164). this experience provides us with evidence of an alternative path to the painful struggle and experimentation with igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 47 the liberal democracy in africa. political organization process in africa cannot neglect the values and beliefs of the indigenous african societies. it is clear from the foregoing, that the ethos of governance during the traditional time was guided by certain humanistic principles of living in harmony with man and nature. the first principle is that there was a striking balance between authority and power and service and accountability (ayittey, 22). leaders were guided by the fact that the essence of power is for service delivery to the people. the second principle is that government operated based on consultation and consensus of the people (ayittey, 22). rulers were required to take into consideration the opinions of the people with the understanding that failure to respect the views of the people could lead to crisis and overthrow of the leaders. another basic fact is that the organization of political governance followed the essentially communal nature of the african culture and worldview. governance was rooted in the communalistic virtues such as wholesome human relations among people, collective responsibility, reciprocity, respect for others, communal feeling, consensus, organicity and hospitality (sofola, 4). it was governance organized along the idea of extended family setting, kinsmen and brotherhood, because, communal life constitutes the essence of the african existential life; and this value, remains an indispensable plank for the success for any political system in the continent. as sekou toure rightly asserts, “africa is fundamentally, „communocratic‟” (qtd. in oyeshile, 110). that is, by tradition and cultural orientation, “the african society puts more stress on the group than on the individual, and more on the communion of persons than on their autonomy” (oyeshile, 110). this is demonstrated in the collective life and social solidarity of africans. this does not mean the total absorption of the of the individual to the community, in such a way that his rights and initiatives do not count in social development nor a denial of his freedom to choose or even a repudiation of the notion of human rights as inconsequential. rather, it is a clear expression of the realization that without the community, the individual‟s capacity for self-fulfillment would be fundamentally circumscribed. hence, in the traditional african life, the individual can only say, in the words of j. s. mbiti, “i am because we are and since we are, therefore i am” (108). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 48 this typical african norm, according to o. otite, “runs counter to the liberal democracy stress on individual liberty, this african norm being „cooperative, not egoistic and or individualistic” (9). central to this communitarian framework of traditional african form of socio-political organization was an ethic of responsibility, which emphasized the need for the individual to be sensitive to the well-being of other members of the society in his own conducts, so that he does not pursue his personal goals or desires in such a way that may jeopardize the welfare of the community. behind this was thus, a sense of cooperate responsibility, fair play and the need to avoid the havoc individualism, greed and other egoistic tendencies could inflict on the society. the decentralized political structure, consensus process of decision making and political participation or “active, public spirited citizenship” that characterized african traditional political culture, were the natural outcome of this african “community society”. these values, which are what we seriously need today, are patently lacking in modern african democratic societies, due to the ectopic engagement with the alien and essentially individualistic western liberal democracy. this system has generally precipitated the horrendous wave of abuse of political power by the political rulers, who, motivated by its individualistic ethos, have grown into powerful oligarchs, whose main business in government is to loot the public treasury with reckless abandon, revel in unbridled luxury, repress dissents with maximum force, are accountable to no one, and manipulate the government machinery in favour of their litany of selfish interest and that of their cronies. but as indicated above communalism is a distinguishing feature that defines the africanness in all respect, including political governance. it is rooted in african unitary ontology, which reflects interrelatedness of beings. take it aware from any system of life in africa (as is the present case with liberal democracy), and the structure collapses inexorably like a pack of cards, with all the dire political consequences as we face today. hence, the failure of liberal democracy in africa can largely be attributed to absence of the african “communocratic” norm and its positive implications in political governance in the system. nowadays, we contend with personalized nature of rule, use of brutal means to get to power and to retain power by all means, abuse of human rights, political alienation of people, political apathy, extreme centralization of power in the hands of a few people and abridgement of local autonomy in favour of the central government. but there is no escaping the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 49 fact that popular participation and communal initiative are crucial for any effective democratization process and good governance. of course, good governance entails the efficiency and effective reciprocity between rulers and the ruled, and with it incumbent upon government to be responsive through the accountability of leadership to the electorate. it must be noted here, in line with this, that liberal democracy fails in africa also because of the states‟ control of the economy which has made politics the most lucrative business, intensifying thereby the problem of corruption ethnicity, nepotism and site-tight syndrome in power. the importance of popular participation in building democratic society was underscored in the african charter for popular participation in development and transformation thus: “the significance of ordinary people having power is important in any society moving toward democracy” (national research council, 12). to ensure this, government needs be brought nearer to the people at the grassroots through decentralization of power in line with the african traditional political culture, discussed above. for this reason, it more than ever, necessary to recognize ethnic groups as important units of the multi-ethnic modern african states and to grant them autonomy as a means of encouraging participation of people in governance and resolving inter-ethnic tensions. a state‟s greatness is not necessarily a factor of how highly centralized it is. but it resides more in how power is decentralized to the constituent units, wherein governance can truly be in the hands of the people or their own elected representatives, who are responsible and are accountable to them. again, in any society, holding citizens responsible for their actions in politic service and the private sector is significant to ensure some level of accountability. the lack of accountability of modern african leaders has led to gross misuse of public resources. this also shows a clear failure of liberal democracy in africa. however, elements of traditional african political thought besides participation, consensus, communal spirit were accountability, tolerance and respect for human rights. accountability was not only characteristic of traditional governance, but as john ekei observes, “it was a duty done on behalf of the ancestors and the human community” (454). the traditional african societies have had several ways not only to ensure accountability of their rulers but also to set a limit to what their rulers could do in office, to avoid any form of abuse of power. for example, as a principle of accountability and checks and balances, the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 50 kings were, as a matter of rule, required to consult the community elders, councilors or representatives of the people before taking or implementing any vital decisions. kwame gyekye says, “acting without the advice and full concurrence of his council was a legitimate cause of a king‟s deposition” (11). chiefs and kings were therefore, held accountable at all times and removed from office for dereliction of duty” (ayittey, iv). in fact, there were societies in pre-colonial times, where kings who exceeded their powers were, as a rule, or failed in accountability were obliged to commit suicide. for instance, the oyomesi (council of elders) in the pre-colonial yoruba society were in the position to make sure the values and traditions of the society were respected by the alaafin of oyo (the king). history has it that the oyomesi could authorize bashorun (prime minister) to send to the alaafin an empty calabash, symbolizing rejection by the people, whenever the king actual unconstitutionally failed to be responsive, accountable or exceeded his powers. the alaafin had no option than to commit suicide (dibie, 139). this shows the non-absolute, but constitutional nature of the african traditional monarchies and the multiple sources of political legitimacy that enforced accountability. unfortunately, these indigenous democratic values and institutions were destroyed by colonialism without building any stable replacements. african politicians were presented at independence with ready-made states in western liberal democratic mold, deposing enormous powers without any virile institutions that could check the abuse of those powers. today, african leaders and “democratic” governments can hardly be said to be accountable to the people. and since politics has become a lucrative business today, the politicians have elevated their party allegiance and ethnicity factor in politics to the point that any public criticisms against them is represented as indirect attacks either on their political parties or to their ethnic extractions, which must be quelled ruthlessly with the use of state force. this also explains why african leaders today seek to perpetuate themselves in office by manipulating ethnic and religious groups against one another with a view to forestalling resistance, criticism, and rejection by the people. contextualizing democracy in africa an essential reflective point from our discussion above is that, for democracy to work in africa, it must be contextualized in africa, that is, it must be redefined in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 51 local terms or more precisely, built with local cultural materials from the bottom up – to suit the african cultural context. the way to handle this is to reinvent the african sense of communalism in governance by revisiting the power sharing formula. it is time to restructure, and to give the african system its cultural communitarian orientation, for effective governance and a successful democratic process. this is no more time for the african rulers to manipulate the disparate cultural entities for their selfish and ephemeral power calculations. it is no time for the government to desire greater centralization of power at federal level by seeing every ethnic demand for political inclusion as a threat to national unity, which be visited with maximum use of „federal might‟. it is no time for the government to rudely proscribe credible ethnic-based socio-cultural organizations for their noble aspirations and quests for political relevance. it is the highhandedness of the federal governments, quest for power centralization and wrong managements of this ethnicity factor that are responsible for turning the african continent into a theatre of conflicts, wars and bloodshed. an inclusive approach to governance that reflects the traditional political culture of community governance is, thus, recommended here, rather than the quests for dominance of one ethnic group above the other or the present all-pervasive power of the central government. what needs to be reinvented and re-introduced to energize our democracy is that african traditional community system of governance, whereby in the present situation, power is decentralized or devolved to the major and minor ethnic groups that make up the modern african states. there would be no need to maintain a bicameral legislature at the federal level since the legislative power would be based mostly on the ethnic communities. only a few legislators, who must be lawyers of good standing, representing each state of the federation would constitute the federal legislative body, which would legislate only on three major areas: national defense, currency and foreign affairs. the power of the president at the federal level would be limited to this exclusive list; and the judiciary at this level would address issues only as they relate to these with the necessary facility of independence. next in this arrangement would be the regional level, administering over the major ethnic groups in the society. the legislators constituting the regional parliaments, and representing the sub-ethnic groups in the regions, would have broader of areas to legislate about on as it concerns the affairs of the people in the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 52 region such as, education, culture, regional security, land, taxation, economy, etc. they must be people of character, chosen by their sub-ethnic groups and capable of holding the regional heads (executive) accountable. decisions would be taken based on consultations and consensus. and the regional judiciary would address issues only as they relate to the regional laws and without interference from the federal government. there would be no need to replicate these arms of government at the sub-ethnic groups level of governance to save cost and to encourage an even greater participation of people in governance. at this grassroots level led by a traditional ruler, governance would be directed by elders or chiefs representing each village, making up the sub-groups. decisions would be taken also based on consultations and consensus. however, the judiciary mechanism would be devised to handle issues at this level, based on the cultural norms of the people and in line with the civil law. and the judiciary would be separate and not under the influence of the traditional ruler or of the ruling council of elders. it would include for its membership sound custodians of the laws and traditions of the people of the areas. their duty would include serving justice to the people and checking the excesses of the traditional rulers and the ruling council. this arrangement would be replicated at the village level, where the village heads, together with representatives of families, would direct governance in the village in line with cultural norms and regional laws. the village council would be broad enough to accommodate all groupings and organizational interests in the village, without excluding anyone. here also, decisions must be taken only based on consultations and consensus. the judiciary, which would primarily check the excesses of the village heads and his council members, would be made up of the village lawyers and other people of noble standing. membership would be few and exclusive of those in the ruling village council or their relations. this political template will not only bring government closer to the people and make them have a sense of belonging by owning their government, but will also ensure a striking balance between power, service and accountability, as was the case before. this will also enhance the level of political engagements and effective participation of the people in governance, as well as promote a sense of responsible representation and accountability in governance. it will ensure that government is based on consultation and consensus of the people, rather than igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 53 misdirected whim and impulses of individuals or mercantile political parties. this will also create a climate of true freedom in a democracy (which is presently lacking in africa), in which the people would be free not only to choose those who govern them; who would also be able to make effective demands on them; one in which in which the whims and caprice of the rulers would be effectively moderated by the rule of law, and the chaos and misery of bad governance would be replaced by a socio-political order guided by collective life and social solidarity. conclusion africans do not necessarily need the entire western liberal democracy structures of to ensure good governance. democracy is not the exclusive preserve of the west; for like other political beings, africans appreciate the essence of peopleoriented government and good governance, which is what democracy is all about. the present situation of experimentation with western liberal type of democracy in africa, without adaptations to the cultural roots of the people, is the explanation for the rampant political instability and bad governance in africa today. but for effectiveness and efficiency of democracy in africa, the system must receive imputes from the african traditional political culture of communal life with its positive implications. as revealed in this work, the african cultural heritage is sufficiently rich with democratic values for effective participation in governance and responsible leadership for good governance in a democracy. the african traditional communal society, where governance was guided by the altruistic principles, where there was a balance between power, service and accountability, and where government operated based on consultation and consensus of the people, presents us with the needed political orientation and indigenous african values to draw from for a successful democratic process in africa. this is the way to go as we strive to build modern economies and political institutions through the democratic process that suits the african culture. such an approach at building our democracy with “local materials”, from bottom up is imperative for ensuring effective democratization in the continent for good governance. democracy in africa may not succeed until such adaptation is done, which will enable the people at the grassroots to understand and participate in it while at the same time ensuring effective representation and accountability in governance. we must therefore seek to redefine democracy in local terms to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 54 solve our problems, rather than rely on borrowed western ideals alien to our culture. works cited ake, claude. “democratization of disempowerment in africa”. cass occasional monograph. 1 port harcourt: malthouse press, 1994. akinola, g. a. “factors in the development of a democratic ethos in africa”. democracy, democratization and africa. ed. l. a. thompson. ibadan: afrikalink book, 1994. ayittey, george. “traditional institutions and the state of accountability in africa”. social research 77 (4): 2010: 20-66. dagger, richard. civic virtues: rights, citizenship and republican liberalism. new york: oxford university press, 1997. dahl, robert. polyarchy: participation and opposition. new heavens: yale university press, 1971. dibie, c. essential government. ibefo: tonad, 2008. ehusani, george. an afro-christian vision: towards a more humanized world. maryland: university press of america, 1991. ekei, john. “governance in traditional africa: implications for a nascent modern african polity”. philosophy, democracy and responsible governance. ed. j. o. oguejiofor. enugu: delta publication, 2004. frankel, charles. the democratic prospect. new york: harper and row, 1962. freedom house: freedom in the world index in 2018. www.fredomhouse.org/report/freedom-world-2018. retrieved may 2, 2020. fukuyama, francis. “the end of history”. the national interest. summer, 1989. gana, aaron. “the promise of liberal democracy in africa: the nigerian betrayal”. afrigov monograph. 1 (1996): 6-18. gyekye, kwame. an essay on african philosophical thought: the akan conceptual scheme. cambridge: cambridge university press, 1987. held, david. “democracy and the global order”. world bank. gdp (current) subsaharan africa 2018. data.worldbook.org. retrieved: may 4, 2020. plato. the republic. trans. desmond lee. new york: penguin, 1974. igbafen, m. l. theories and issues in philosophy of development. ekpoma: inno press, 2003. kenyetta, j. facing mount kenya. london: seeker and warburg, 1968. http://www.fredomhouse.org/report/freedom-world-2018 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 55 lipset, s. political man: the social basis of politics. new york: macmillan, 1960. maclver, r. m. the ramparts we guard. new york: macmillan press, 1956. mbiti, j. s. african religions and philosophy. london: heinemann, 1969. mayo, a. b. introduction to democratic theory. new york: oxford university press, 1960. molutsi, p. and j. d. holm, “developing democracy when civil society is weak”. african affairs. 89. 356 (july, 1990). obadina, tunde. “culture of dependency”. africa today. 22. 34. (april 2005): 24 65 offor, francis. “democracy as an issue in african philosophy”. core issues in african philosophy. ed. olusegun oladipo. ibadan: hope publications, 2006. oguejiofor, j. “in search of a democratic ideal”. current viewpoint: a review of culture and society. 2. 2002. okunade, bayo. “democracy and human rights in the context of the twentyfirst century”. remaking africa: challenges of the twenty-first century. ibadan: hope, 1998. oladipo, olusegun. “african culture and technological change”. philosophy, logic and issues in science and technology. ed. olusegun oladipo and g. m. adedeji. ibadan: hope, 2007. olaitan, w. “democracy and democratization in african: not yet the dawn”. proceedings of the symposium on democratic transition in africa. 1. (1992): 435-434. oluwole, sophia. “democracy and indigenous governance: the nigerian experience”. philosophy, development and responsible governance in africa. enugu: delta publication, 2004. omoregbe, joseph. socio-political philosophy and international relations. lagos: joja educational research and publishers, 2007. onah, godfrey. “africa and the illusion of democracy”. philosophy, perceiving and responsible government in africa. 1. ed. j. obi oguejiofor. munster: lit verlag, (2003): 276-308. otite, o. et. al. themes in african social and political thought. enugu: fourth dimension, 1978. owolabi, kolawole. “if democracy is the answer, what is the problem? demystifying liberal democracy for development. democracry, democratization and africa. ed. l.a. thompson. ibadan: afrika-link book, 1994. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 56 ______. “the quest for democracy in africa: a theoretical exposition”. african studies monography. lagos: o. o. publishers, 1999. oyeshile, olatunji. “the individual-community relationship as an issue in social and political philosophy”. core issues in african philosophy. ed. olusegun oladipo. ibadan: hope publications, 2006. ramose, mogobe. “african democratic tradition: oneness, consensus and openness: a reply to wamba-dia-wamba”. quest. vi. 2 (dec. 1992): 55-78. salami, adebayo: “democratic theory and practice. the nigerian experience”. democracy and democratization and africa. ed. l. a. thompson. ibadan: afrika-link book, 1994. salim, ahmed salim. “the movement towards democracy in africa”. national council research: democratization in african views, african voices. washington dc: national academic press, 1992. simiyu, v. g. “the democratic myth in african traditional societies” democratic theory and practice. ed. w. o. oyigi, et. a. portsmouth: heinemann, 1981. sofola, j. a. african culture and african personality. ibadan: university of ibadan press, 1973. thompson, l. a. “observation on the concept of democracy and the democratization process”. democracy, democratization and africa. ed. l.a. thompson, ibadan: afrika-link book, 1994. verhelst, t. no life without roots: culture and development. trans. bob cunning. london. zed books, 1987. pp. 18-24. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 81 conflict of cultures, peace and universal communalism francis chigozie ofoegbu department of philosophy /religion and cultural studies alex ekwueme federal university ndufu alike, nigeria gozie.ofoegbu@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.36109.97768 abstract peace is a necessary condition for the development and growth of man in his society. but this peace can be thwarted and scuttled by man’s “kill-peace” culture, which has the elements of injustice, hatred, selfishness and tendency to self preservation, among others. anyone conscious of the happenings in the world, cannot but observe that some part of the world no longer enjoys the state of tranquility because of conflict of cultures in the society. these have affected millions of people and have ensued in lost opportunities relative to economic development, persistent poverty and inequality amongst some world citizens. above all are the insecurity and the death these have caused. thus, this paper attempts to highlight and examine religious violence, poverty, ethnicism, war and terrorism, kidnapping, political violence, colonialism and their various manifestations in the world, making nigeria a case study among few other nations. it also seeks to transform, reintegrate and re-orientate the minds of men and women, to embrace peace by practicing universal communalism. this is because; it makes a peaceful, progressive and harmonious coexistence in the society. keywords: conflict, culture, peace, universal communalism. introduction in his nobel peace prize address martin luther king jr. (1964)writes: “we live in a day, says the philosopher alfred north whitehead when civilization is shifting its basic outlook: a major turning point in history where the presuppositions on which society is structured are being analyzed, sharply challenged, and profoundly changed”. this is the situation the world system finds itself today. we live in a world; where “might is right”; that is torn by division, injustice, poverty, and strife; a world of culture conflict where our pattern and way of life is inhuman, unfair, deceptive and wrong. decrying the situation, one writes: that the world economic order encourages trade mainly among the wealthy nations, which emphasizes efficiency as the supreme law of economics and dismisses morality from trade; elevating self-interest to a moral virtue in the accumulation of wealth, while ignoring the resultant poverty and misery of over one billion people in a section of the world and leaves much to be desired (ugorji, 2014:41). mailto:gozie.ofoegbu@gmail.com https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.36109.97768?_sg%5b0%5d=nnomtxdh21aedi_xepodbdtdyfkgcgjz92h6gxugydugdzovqitdq0pcheewm3c91ikjsktkwkibfqv-ovb61lja3g.nrnjh2azuf6mbn5gagyqih9aoyytuztqiwqfs8f-f2zwgv4ct-fhi_pt3lkrrrodug9jauewq4koh3fqi4ymaq igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 82 thus, this condition of the world has become worrisome and needed to be remedied by building a peace and developmental processes. little wonder, peace and collaborative development network (2014) suggests; creating peace in one‟s personal life; change in global priorities; additional training/education on conflict issues; engaging in productive dialogue with others; fostering sustainable economic development among others. therefore, this paper seeks to transform, reintegrate and reorient the minds of the world citizen through the philosophy of peace know as universal communalism. concept of culture conflict also known as conflict of culture refers to a kind of friction or discord that arises within a group especially when the beliefs or actions of one or more members of the group are resisted by or not acceptable to one or more members of another group (wikipedia, 2017). from the above definition conflict could be intra-group and inter-group. it is defined as a situation whereby there are opposing demands or ideas that brings about making a choice. (cambridge english dictionary, 2017). thus, conflict means a state of friction, discord, collision, opposition, disagreement, contradiction, within or among a group of people. on the other hand, culture according to emenanjo (2000:5) is the totality of the ways of life evolved by a people in their attempt to meet the challenges of living in their environment which gives order and meaning to their social, economic, aesthetic and religious norms and models of organization. for okoro (2005:163) culture offers people a configuration of meanings and behavioural norms. it controls their perception of things, programmes, their thinking and acting, and bestows on them the much desired and cherished identity. accordingly, culture conflict refers to the conflict of behavior patterns and values that occur when different cultures are incompletely assimilated especially the conflict that finds expression in high level of criminality and delinquency (merriam-webster dictionary, 2017). so, it is a kind of conflict that happens as a result of clash or differences of cultural values and believes within a society. consequently, conflict of culture could be seen as unfair and wrong ways of life by people in their attempt to meet the challenges of living in their environment, which gives order and meaning to their social, economic, aesthetic and religious norms and models of organization. it is an unjust, deceptive, and wrong pattern of human knowledge, belief and behavior in the society. here, culture conflict is likened to the “negatives” which are shunned in martin luther king jr. concept of the “world house”. this “world house” is the world in which everyone lives igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 83 together. thus, in the “world house” he admonishes all to; transcend tribe, race, class, nation, and religion to embrace the vision of a world house; eradicate at home and globally the triple evils of racism, poverty, and militarism; curb excessive materialism and shift from a “thing”oriented society to a “people” oriented society; and resist social injustice and resolve conflicts in the spirit of love embodied in the philosophy and methods of non violence (martin luther king jr: 1964). furthermore, culture conflict is akin to thomas hobbes concept of “state of nature”. the state of nature in the thinking of hobbes was a state in which men lived prior to the setting up of organized society. in that state there were no laws, no authority, no morality and no sense of justice or injustice. here, it lacked the central sovereign power, life was precarious, for human nature was predominantly egoistic, and man will do anything that seemed to him necessary for self preservation, no one will act on that maxim that will militate against selfpreservation. to drive this point home, hobbes opines that an invader has no more to fear than man's single power, if one plants, sows, builds or possesses a convenient seat, others may come with force in order to dispossess and deprive him, not only of his fruit of labour, but also of his life or liberty. and this invader may be attacked by another invader (hobbes, 1963: 85). here, popkin et al (1969: 64) observes that in the state of nature "conflicts always break out among them in the effort to satisfy their desires at the expense of others. thus, for hobbes (1963: 8) state of nature becomes a state of continual fear, and danger of violent death, where the life of man becomes solitary, poor, nasty, and brutish and short. this really reflects the culture conflict where individuals are driven by their egoistical, instinctual nature struggle for power, glory and security. following the above, culture conflict becomes the unjust, inhuman and wrong pattern of behavior and activities of men in the society. these kinds of life are experienced politically, economically, religiously, socially, globally, and are driven by injustice, hatred, selfishness, individualism and tendency to self preservation. let‟s consider some manifestations of the unjust culture having nigeria as a case study and few other nations. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 84 manifestation of culture conflict conflict of culture is visibly expressed and experienced through; poverty, sex and child trafficking, political violence, colonialism, gender inequality, racism/ethnicism, religious violence, terrorism, cultism, kidnapping, theft, war, murder among others. religious violence it is a situation that involves the use of provocative words, quarrelling, fighting occasioning harm, maiming, killing and so on between opposing religious parties (ofoegbu, 2014:35). in african countries especially nigeria there are african traditional religion, islam and christianity. african traditional religion here refers to the indigenous religion of nigeria, whose scriptures and fundamental principles are nondocumented. islam is the religion of the muslims, which is largely practiced in northern nigeria and it is very uncompromising in the totality of its claims for authority over all aspects of life (agi, 1998: 17). on the other hand, christianity is the religion of the christians, who pay ultimate allegiance to god almighty who is seen to be beyond this sinful world. in nigeria due to certain circumstances some of these religions have often clashed, thereby giving rise to very serious consequences. these clashes or violence in nigeria may be seen as intra religious violence or inter religious violence. amidst all the causes of religious violence, one may observe that ignorance, poverty, fanaticism, and the hegemonists or opportunist exploration of religion for political ends is the major cause of the violence. and these portray an unjust culture which is detrimental to national stability and development of nigeria in particular and the world at large. poverty it deals with general scarcity, dearth, or the state of one who lacks certain amount of material possessions or money (merriam-webster dictionary: 2013). the people in this state are burdened with hardships, starved and are homeless. the poor are exposed to greater personal and environmental health risks, are mal nourished, have less information and are less able to access health care; they thus have a higher risk of illness and disability (world health organisation:2015). the world bank global monitoring report forecasts that “about 702.1 million people were living in extreme poverty in 2015, down from 1.75 billion in 1990” (world bank:2015). this kind of unjust culture, result from the action of the leaders of rich countries, multinational corporations, institutions, and influential people, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 85 while the poor nations and their people are powerless (shah:2014). hence, this poverty and inequality must be addressed for the good of everyone in the society. ethnicism ethnicity connotes the interaction among members of a diverse groups and the concept of ethnicism denotes ethnic loyalty, which is a feeling of attachment to one‟s ethnic group. it involves a degree of obligation which is often accompanied by a rejective attitude towards those regarded as outsiders. one may observe that based on the heterogeneous ethnic social formation of nigeria, there have been a high potentiality of lack of cordiality, mutual suspicion and fear, and in addition a high tendency towards violent confrontations for various reasons which have contributed to the failure of nigeria as a nation. for instance, in some parts of nigeria, ethnicity has employed the weapon of ethnic military that has led to unnecessary killing of members of other ethnic groups. other groups have employed the weapon of serious blackmail backed by threats of more serious action to be taken in order to redress real or perceived marginalization. no wonder nnoli (1978: 176) in his ethnic politics captures the colouration of nigerian politics with ethnicism thus: most nigerians have come to believe that unless her own men are in government they are unable to secure those socio-economic amenities that are disbursed by the government. hence governmental decisions about the siting of industries, the building of roads, awards of scholarships, and appointments to positions in public services, are closely examined in terms of their benefits to various ethnic groups in the country. drawing from above, one cannot deny the fact that this is an existing status quo in nigeria which reflects culture of conflict and these have implications for national development, peace and security of nigeria among the comity of nations. war and terrorism war is a state of armed conflict between societies. it is generally characterized by extreme collective aggression, destruction, and usually high mortality (war:2015). it also involves state of hostility, conflict and antagonism among people. report has it that for about hundred years now, the united states of america has sent about 39 million americans to fight in wars. among this igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 86 number about 631,000 people have been killed, while more than 1,224,000 have been wounded or maimed (adams:2013). this conflict of culture has been a serious occurrence in nations like syria, iraq, afghanistan, pakistan, nigeria, ukraine, south sudan, israel/gaza, somalia, and yemen among others. it has caused a lot of death, injury of people, loss of economic resources, destruction of the environment, loss of productivity among nations and people. accordingly, united nation (1999) defines terrorism as any act intended to cause death or serious bodily injury to a civilian, or to any other person not taking active part in the hostilities in a situation of armed conflict, when the purpose of such act, by its nature or context is to intimidate a population, or to compel a government or an international organization to do or to abstain from doing any act. it is also seen as the unlawful use of violence or threat of violence to instill fear and coerce governments or societies. it is believed that this is motivated by religious, political, or any ideological beliefs and committed in the pursuit of goals that are political (department of defense dictionary:2015). terrorism therefore is a conflict of culture that is very cruel and deadly, it only produces people who are morally and psychological diminished. de petris (2014) observes that the 5 deadliest terrorist groups in the world are; the islamic state of iraq and the levant, boko haram, islamic revolutionary guard corpsquds force, haqqani network, and kataib hezbollah. this group has done no good but harm to the society, even to the extent of destruction of lives and properties. hence, there is the need for a peaceful reconstruction of our society, through the propagation of philosophy of peace (universal communalism). kidnapping this is the crime of forcibly abducting a person from his or her own home and sending the person to another place, but often this is done with a demand for ransom. according to adibe (2015), kidnapping is the taking away of a person against the person's will, and usually for ransom or in furtherance of another crime. for instance, in nigeria it has become lucrative to be a big business for militants, unemployed, swindlers and greedy people. it spreads from the niger delta to all nooks and crannies of the country. the victims of kidnapping were first the foreign oil workers and later extended to nigerians, including grandparents, parents, children or any person who has a relative that could be made to pay a ransom. kidnapping later assumed dangerous dimension whereby wives would want to fleece their husbands of their hard-earned money igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 87 by organizing their own kidnapping and share the loot with kidnappers. likewise, the husbands may do this to their rich wives and children may also do it to their parents. here one can see kidnapping as a culture conflict caused by government neglect of her people and selfishness, which has cost a lot to nigerians especially in the area of security, development and investment. political violence it is a violence perpetrated in order to secure political interest or fight against it. the motives behind political violence include political fanaticism, ethnicity, religious, extremism and ideological differences (ofoegbu, 2014:48). this violence could arise by aggression from frustration and social discontent or fallout of clashes among dominant groups in a society. one may observe that politics and violence are like siamese twins in nigeria. this is because political activity has always featured a notable degree of violence, in both the colonial and post colonial phases of nigeria's chequered existence. in the recent democratic dispensation, political violence in nigeria has metamorphosed from open demonstrations (strike actions) to faceless bomb explosions and assassinations. also, election crisis is another political violence which is manifested especially through political thuggery and abduction among others. it is pertinent to note that this inhuman and culture conflict is not just peculiar to nigerians, but is also prevalent in other parts of the world. hence the need and desire for a philosophy of peace that will guarantee a progressive, peaceful and harmonious coexistence in the society. colonialism (neo) colonialism is the policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically (oxford advanced learner‟s dictionary: 2015). a researcher captures this well when he observes that most african scholars agree that all forms of conflict and woes of african continent can be traced back to colonialism and the scramble for africa. and in historical past, as a result of this africans were humiliated and mentally strangulated, and even lost their pride and dignity. the researcher further decried that this scramble has continued in two ways: a) the form of neocolonialism which keeps africa as “third world” with all the negatives which go with that title, b) there is a continuation of the scramble among africans themselves and that nigeria has had and is still having her own fair share of the evils of colonialism (obilor: 2005: 151). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 88 further, to maintain the existing imbalance the colonialists employed a hidden and „neutral‟ mechanism by the way of neo colonialism. this they did by introducing the structural imbalance/inequality in the world socio-economic system. ugorji (2005:14) observes that there are three distinct methods by which the rich western countries maintain their advantage over the poor nations in africa: the first is the mechanism of international trade; the second is through the whole international finance system (imf, world bank, london, and paris club, etc); and the third is through multinational or trans-national companies. this is conflict of culture that should be rejected, whereby everyone works together to enshrine respect, peace and justice in the society. hence, the need of universal communalism as a political system and a philosophical principle, that will guarantee the right and well being of an individual and the society. unjust culture: the world desire for universal communalism universal communalism as the philosophy of peace is a systematic and universal application of communalism. it has “an underpinning philosophy of “live and let live” and consists of solidarity and subsidiarity. solidarity, because there is alliance, collaboration, help, compassion, commitment to the cause of the needy, friendship and social charity among one another. subsidiarity because of the society protects the particular right and competence of individuals and the larger ones. it establishes social justice that impels everyone in the society to promote and advance the cause of common good in the society. it gives the individual members of the society a “sense of belongingness, complementarity and integration in the society. it is also a social political system that guarantees an individual right and involves a rational process (ofoegbu: 2018: 129). following the above, one may observe that conflict of culture is an ill wind that blows one no good. no wonder, john paul ii (1987) sees these structures as „structures of sin‟. he defines it as unjust structure, which is against god‟s plan and will, rooted in personal sin such as selfishness, short-sightedness, mistaken political calculations, and imprudent economic decisions. it is linked to the concrete acts of individuals, who introduce them, consolidate them and make them difficult to remove. and they grow stronger, spread, and become the source of other sins and so influence people‟s behavior. here, the pope sees the unjust culture as an evil that should be avoided. the causes of unjust culture may not be limited to the negative human nature (selfishness, hatred, individualism, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 89 etc), but a reaction to injustices suffered from the hands of the oppressors (governments, leaders, and individuals). consequently, one desires a world fellowship in a call for an all-embracing and unconditional love for all men, so there will be peace in the society. thus, martin luther king jr (1964) buttresses this: this is the great new problem of mankind. we have inherited – big house, a great “world house” in which we have to live together – black and white, easterners and westerners, gentiles and jews, catholics and protestants, moslems and hindu, a family unduly separated in ideas, culture, and interests who, because we can never again live without each other, must learn, somehow, in this one big world, to live with each other. therefore, the world desires universal communalism a philosophy of peace that will transform, reintegrate and re-orientate her. in the light of the above, one would observe that with universal communalism there will be equality of opportunity and social justice for everyone in the society. this is because the basic content of social justice covers social and economic rights of everybody to adequate food, clothing and housing, health care, welfare services, education among others. this is against capitalism and individualism which discourages sacrifice and fairness, but encourages selfishness, inequality, greediness, and perpetrates social injustice (ofoegbu: 2018: 129). and, it is only when there is social injustice that most of the unrests and crimes arise in the society. no wonder, ucheaga (2001:218) buttresses that “there is a limit to which human endurance can be stretched because of social injustice, and once this limit has been reached, the individual fights back. the impact of this on society is in the wave of crimes.” thus, conflict of culture accounts for the galloping wave of crime in the society. accordingly, the acquisitive instinct and excessive competition, which is largely responsible for the vicious excesses, exploitation and inequality under the capitalist system, will be tempered by a sense of togetherness, and a rejection of graft and meanness. this is because there will be loyalty to the society, and it gives the members a sense of security and universal hospitality. thus, universal igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 90 communalism became a social security scheme, with no written rules, but with a strict pattern to which everyone adhered. if someone did not take on the obligations inherent in the system, he found that when he next got into trouble, he received little or no attention. moreso, universal communalism will bring about the normative conception of personhood in the society. this implies that one acquires personhood by being integrated into the society, and being morally educated and socially responsible about the communal ways of life and values (ofoegbu: 2018: 129). this is contrary to culture conflict that encourages selfishness, hatred, injustice and individualism to the detriment of the society and creates deficiencies in harmonious coexistence. thus, this emphasizes the primacy of social responsibility as a precondition for an individual‟s right, freedom and autonomy. with this, there will be love, human well being, communal peace and harmony. further, universal communalism will bring about the psychological well being of individuals in the society (ofoegbu: 2018: 130). unlike the culture of conflict where one is prone to loneliness, hopelessness, depression, suicide ideation and rejects social support. this is because, its intricate web of social relationships tends to ensure the individual‟s social worth. it is thus part of the doctrine of universal communalism that the individual can find the highest good materially, morally, and spiritually, in relationships with others and in working for the common good. therefore, there will be no opportunity for any unrest to be carried out in the society. whenever there is the practice of universal communalism in the society there will not be any conflict between an individual (a citizen) and the society (country). this is because, there will not be any tension between the interest of an individual and any effort to exclude the other will be termed wrongful act. from the foregoing, culture conflict is opposed to universal communalism which believes that “to be” is not to be alone. while culture of conflict de-emphasizes the common good and communitarian spirit in terms of which society is ought to be defined and lived. and anytime the society deviates from the reflection of the principles of universal communalism, the social political situations will be personally motivated, then the hobbesian thesis of self-preservation and selfgains come to the fore. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 91 evaluation and conclusion this paper is an attempt to highlight and examine the concept of culture conflict and its manifestations in the world. it observes that conflict of culture could be seen as unfair and wrong ways of life by people in their attempt to meet the challenges of living in their environment, which gives order and meaning to their social, economic, aesthetic and religious norms and models of organization. it also sees it as an unjust, deceptive, and wrong pattern of human knowledge, belief and behavior in the society. the paper likened the culture conflict to the “negatives” which are shunned in martin luther king jr. concept of the “world house”, and thomas hobbes concept of “state of nature”. it is also of the view that unjust culture is visibly expressed and experienced through; poverty, sex and child trafficking, political violence, colonialism, gender inequality, racism/ethnicism, religious violence, terrorism, cultism, kidnapping, theft, war, murder among others. accordingly, the paper buttresses that culture conflict is an ill wind that blows one no good, since it has affected millions of people negatively, ensuing in lost opportunities relative to economic development, persistent poverty and inequality amongst some world citizens. the worst of all are the insecurity and the death these have caused. hence, the paper calls for a worldwide fellowship in the search of peace and the development of the world system and its citizens. conclusively, it suggests that the world should embrace the universal communalism a philosophy of peace, which makes a peaceful, progressive and harmonious co-existence in the society. references adams, c. millions went to war in iraq, afghanistan, leaving many with lifelong scars (online), available: www.mcclatchydc.com (14 nov 2015). adibe, j. pervasive kidnapping in nigeria: symptom of a failing state? (online), available: http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com (18 oct, 2015). agi, s. p. (1998) political history of religious violence in nigeria, calabar: pigasiann and grace. collins english dictionary (2015) unjust (online), available: www.collinsenlishdictionary (15 nov 2015). http://www.mcclatchydc.com/ http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/ http://www.collinsenlishdictionary/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 92 department of defense dictionary of military and associated terms (online), available: www.dtic.mil/doctrine/dod-dictionary (nov 15 2015). emenanjo, e. n. (2000) “culture”, nigerian languages and national development, vol. 2, june, pp. 5-12. fine dictionary (2015) unjust (online), available: www.finedictionary.com/unjust.ht (16 nov 2015). hobbes, t. (1963) „„leviathan‟‟ in english works of hobbes.(ed.) sir molesworth. aalen: scientia. john paul ii, (1987) sollicitudo rei socialis, no.36, vatican city. king, m. l. (1964) nobel lectures: the quest for peace and justice (online), available: www.nobelprize.org/nobel-prizes (18 nov 2015). king, m. l. (1964) the world house (online), available: www.forusa.org (17 nov 2015). merriam-webster dictionary (2013) poverty (online), available: www.merriamwebsterdictionary (13 nov 2015) nnoli, o. (1978) ethnic politics in nigeria. enugu: fourth dimension publishers. ofoegbu, f. c. (2014) live and let live: nigeria: a philosophical cum historical reflection on nigeria @ 100, owerri: applause b multi-sects ltd. ofoegbu, f.c. (2018) “liberal democracy in africa and a new model of democracy: the universal communalism”, sapientia journal of philosophy, vol. 9, june, pp. 126-131. okoro, e. n. (2005) “the role of language and culture in conflict resolution”, a journal of nigerian languages and culture, vol. 7, september, pp. 162-169. oxford advanced learner‟s dictionary (2015) (online), available: www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition (12 nov 2015). peace and collaborative development network (2014) 12 actions for a more peaceful 2014 (online), available: www.internationalpeaceandconflict (16 nov 2015). popkin, r. h and stroll, a. (1969) philosophy made simple. britain: richard clay ltd. http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/dod-dictionary%20(nov%2015 http://www.finedictionary.com/unjust.ht%20(16 http://www.forusa.org/ http://www.merriamwebsterdictionary/ http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition%20(12 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 93 shah, a. (2014) causes of poverty (online), available: www.globalissues.org/issue/2/cause (16 nov 2015). the world bank (2015) global monitoring report (online), available: www.worldbank.org/en/publication (16 nov 2015). ucheaga, d. (2001) “social justice, corruption and criminality in nigeria” in international journal of social science and public policy. vol.4, no. 2, september, ugorji, l. (2005) collaboration between africa and europe: towards restructuring the world economic order, enugu: snapp press ltd. united nation (1999) international convention for the suppression of the financing of terrorism (online), available: www.un.org/documents (17 nov 2015). war, (2015) (online), available: http://en.mwikipedia.org/wiki/war (14 nov 2015). world health organization (2015) poverty (online), available: www.who.int/topics/poverty/en/ (16 nov 2015). http://www.globalissues.org/issue/2/cause%20(16 http://www.worldbank.org/en/publication%20(16 http://www.un.org/documents%20(17 http://en.mwikipedia.org/wiki/war%20(14 http://www.who.int/topics/poverty/en/ ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and human resource management igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 205 ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and human resource management omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd department of business administration and management villanova polytechnic, imesi ile, osun state omojolassma@yahoo.co.uk executive summary this paper discussed the relationship between ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and human resource management. this philosophy emphasizes togetherness, collegiality and collaboration. hrm is concerned with administrators overseeing people within a particular organization using the rules and policies. six parts of hrm processes were discussed human resource planning, recruitment, selection, professional development, performance appraisal and compensation. in arriving at a connection between these two concepts, the work disclosed that they both deal with people and their affairs; working together and depending on others for achievements were identified as related. the links in the process of hrm were also acknowledged to be common to the two thoughts, which are important factors toward individual and general development. it was then recommended that hrm departments and administrators can use ‘igwebuike’ philosophy to form policies for organizational goals. phenomenological method of research was used for the purpose of this study. keywords: igwebuike philosophy, human resource management, recruitment, selection, kanu ikechukwu anthony, professional development, performance appraisal, compensation and policies. omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 206 introduction this paper has its aim in discussing the link between igwebuike philosophy and human resource management. human resource management and personnel management are two terms that have always been used interchangeably until human resource management became more popular. armstrong (2006) gives a clue to the transformation of the term, personnel management, to human resource management. personnel management began around the end of the 19th century, when welfare officers (sometimes called ‘welfare secretaries’) came into being. they were women who were concerned only with the protection of women and girls. the creation of this welfare secretaries was a reaction to the harshness of industrial conditions, coupled with pressures arising from the extension of the franchise, the influence of trade unions and the labour movement, and the campaigning of enlightened employers, often quakers, for what was called ‘industrial betterment.’ when men became part of this process, personnel management, as a term, began to fade, and human resource management came to play. supporting this assertion, lundy (2008) opines that the first world war accelerated change in the development of personnel management, with women being recruited in large numbers to fill the gaps left by men going to fight, which in turn meant reaching agreement with trade unions (often after bitter disputes) about ‘dilution’– accepting unskilled women into craftsmen’s jobs. during the 1920s, jobs with the titles of ‘labour manager’ or ‘employment manager’ came into being in the engineering industry and other industries where there were large factories, to handle absence, recruitment, dismissal and queries over bonuses, and so on. employers’ federations, particularly in engineering and shipbuilding, negotiated national pay rates with the unions, but there were local and district variations and there was plenty of scope for disputes. according to mello (2001), during the 1930s, with the economy beginning to pick up, big corporations in these newer sectors saw ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and human resource management igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 207 value in improving employee benefits as a way of recruiting, retaining and motivating employees. the second world war brought about welfare and personnel work on a full-time basis at all establishments producing war materials, because an expanded ministry of labour and national service insisted on it. the government saw specialist personnel management as part of the drive for greater efficiency and the number of people in the personnel function grew substantially; there were around 5,300 in 1943. this development, as in the view of armstrong, brought human resource management into popularity because the term left the level of being use for women and girls to include management of people (men inclusive) and their affairs. in the opinion of cole (2002), while stating why hrm is preferred to personnel management states that, “use of hrm language also helps to bypass ‘politically incorrect’ terms used in the past, such as manpower planning”p8. although cole’s distinction between the two terms has been shared by numerous authors, like lunnernburg and ornstern (2008), some scholars, like ajayi and ayodele (2002), are still of the opinion that personnel management and human resource management can be used to mean the same thing. kamoche (2001) gives a simple closure to this discussion. to him, whether human resource management is called “personnel management, personnel administration or strategic human resource management is immaterial” (p.1). by implication, the four terms are the same, since they are all about managing people and their affairs to achieve the objectives of organization; even drucker (1986) calls hrm personnel administration and human relations. human resource management is a deliberate style of managing people or workforces in an organization for the accomplishment of company’s goals. in an attempt to develop an adequate definition for human resource management, scholars came up with series of descriptions. to understand the exact meaning of the term ‘human resource management’ and its scope, the following definitions formulated by eminent scholars on management science, as put omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 208 together by miller and miller (1973) will be very useful. they are as follows: human resource management is concerned with obtaining and maintaining a satisfactory and a satisfied work force. human resource management is an extension of general management that promotes and stimulates every employee to make fullest contribution to the purpose of the business. human resource management is that aspect of management having as its goal the effective utilization of the labour resources of an organization. manpower management is the function of activity aiding and directing working men and women in maximizing their contributions and satisfaction in employment. it helps workers, including all those who work, from unskilled common labourer to corporation president to public administrator,combine their efforts with those of others in providing the services and products we all want. the personnel function is concerned with procurement, development, compensation, integration and maintenance of the workers in an organization for the purpose of contributing towards the accomplishment of that organization’s major goals or objectives. therefore, the researcher feels that personnel management is the planning, organizing, directing and controlling of the performance of those operative functions. according to brech (2010), human resource management is that part which is primarily concerned with human resource of organization. it includes the function of employment, development and compensation. these functions are performed primarily by the human resource manager in consultation with other departments. human resource management is an extension to general management. it is concerned with promoting and stimulating competent work force to make their fullest contribution to the concern. personnel management exists to advice and assists the line managers in personnel matters. therefore, hrm department is a staff department of an organization. personnel management lays emphasis on action, rather than making lengthy schedules, plans and work methods. the problems and grievances of people at work can be solved more effectively through ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and human resource management igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 209 rationale personnel policies. it is based on human orientation. it also motivates the employees through its effective incentive plans so that the employees provide fullest co-operation. hrm deals with human resources and all that has to do with them. in context to human resources, it manages both the individual as well as the organization. willie (2010) gives a picture of human resource management as the management of employees’ knowledge, aptitudes, abilities, talents, creative abilities and skills/competencies. it is a continuous, on-going development function aimed at improving human processes. human resource management follows the systems thinking approach. it is not considered in isolation from the larger organization and takes into account the linkages and interfaces. it is considered a strategic management function. ajayi and ayodele (2002) define human resource management as ”the careful selection of and placement of new employees and the development and effective utilization of existing ones with a view to attain the potential of individual employees and organizational goals and objectives” (p.152). in the definition of stoner, freeman and gilbert (2002), human resource management is a process “that tries to keep the organization supplied with the right people in the right positions, when they are needed” (p.376). to akindutire (2004), however, personnel administration “is the process of getting qualified personnel to provide instructional services for the goal achievement of the school system” (p26). the common factors in these definitions are the fact that the above authors focus on obtaining, using and maintaining a satisfied workforce. it is a significant part of management concerned with employees at work and with their relationship within the organization. human resource management is the planning, organizing, compensation, integration and maintenance of people for the purpose of contributing to organizational, individual and societal goals. simply put, it is about managing people, about working together for organizational targets, development of people and the company, and omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 210 finally, hrm processes are connected, which means they are not separated as visibly shown in the model. in describing the roles the human resource management department performs for an organization, arum and roksa (2010) agree with the following: conducting job analyses, planning personnel needs and recruitment, selecting the right people for the job, orienting and training, determining and managing wages and salaries, providing benefits and incentives, appraising performance, resolving disputes and communicating with all employees at all levels. these are what it takes to be a human resource manager. in line with this, kamoche (2001) says that human resource management “is concerned with the management of people, the employer-employee relationship or labour regulation” (p.1). and akindutire feels that the functional aspects of personnel administration are: placement of personnel, training and development and service activities related to welfare of personnel. the functions presented by kamoche and akindutire have recently been broken into ten responsibilities by meich (2019) as planning for the future, recruiting top talent, succession (career) planning, evaluating job functions, incentives and rewards, employee engagement and internal marketing, employee wellness, general administration, employee off-boarding, safety and health standards. all these descriptions of the hrm department can be compressed to be getting proper staff to meet objectives, organize, motivate and communicate appropriately, evaluate and develop workforce, , all of which, to the researcher, will reflect in the hrm process. human resource management process human resource management is a planning unit in any organization that has a manager and other staff that carry out the process of making the affairs of all personnel in the organization realizable. therefore, stoner et al have analyzed human resource process to be in seven parts as follows: human resource planning, recruitment, selection, training and development, socialization, performance appraisal and promotions/transfers/demotions and separations. in the ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and human resource management igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 211 same vein, lunnernburg and ornstern (2008) break the process into six parts in this way: human resource planning, recruitment, selection, professional development, performance appraisal and compensation. for the purpose of this work, however, lunnernburg and ornstern’s pattern will be adopted, taking for granted that socialization that is added to the first one is embedded in professional development or training and development of the processes, while, promotions/transfers/demotions and separations are entrenched in performance appraisal and compensation, because compensation is about reward, and if no reward, there will be demotions or lay-off. below is human resource management model. human resource management process model the human resource model is a reflection of what the human resource department does in the organization to make the affairs of personnel achievable. the model reflects connections or networks between all the phases, step by step. it must begin with human resource planningthis is logical planning and forecasting to see that there are no dearth of personnel in an organization. it will pay attention to job analysis that is divided into two parts job specification which is the outlining of the required qualifications of any interested person to take up a job. job description, therefore, is the stating clearly of the job title, the superior of the staff to be employed, statement of job goals and duties /responsibilities. this exercise gives the organization reasons to be proactive and exist without fear that there can be disappointment in relation to manpower shortage. recruitment: this is referred to as “the process of generating a pool of competent applicants needed to fill the available positions in an organization” (lunenburg and ornstein, 2008p.492). the hrm department has the responsibility of attracting, shortlisting, selecting and appointing candidates for permanent or temporary jobs in an organization. it can be done through internal or external sourcing, since there can be some qualified staff among the existing ones to fill in the gaps. if there are, it is a matter of deploying them to the given positions for new ones to occupy their places. it is a good way of omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 212 motivation and a reliable method of improving the organization. therefore, hrm department will get personnel to replace them. this stage is always preceded by an interactive session with the team approved by the organization to do it. this must be done by human resource management department before selection. selection: this is a way of picking the best candidates out of the recruited ones. mahek (2019) proposes the following as steps in the selection process in any organization preliminary interview, screening of applicants, employment tests, selection interview, checking of references, medical examination, and final selection/hiring. this process, in the mind of the researcher, is combining the entire hrm process, not taking a step at a time. the first four processes should be left for the recruitment stage, while the selection phase should be concerned with checking reference, medical examination and final selection and hiring. although mahek insists that “the selection process varies from industry to industry, company to company and even amongst departments of the same company” (p.2). after recruitment and selection, the next step is professional development. professional development: this is a way of teaching administrators and professionals the skills needed for both present and future positions. it has dual benefits: confidence to perform better on a given assignment and ability to improve the standard of the organization, now and in the future. nevertheless, trammel (2019) suggests ten ways of professional developments for those who long to be few steps ahead of others as follows; hone a learning mindset, examine your decisions, read regularly, write regularly, attend training programs, teach what you know, build self-awareness, gather feedback, find mentors and cultivate peer relationships. these proposals have merits because they include assessment, training and evaluation which have been the regular ways of developing workers in organizations. and to this, drucker (1986) warns that apart ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and human resource management igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 213 from the fact that individuals should make regular efforts to develop their careers, the work environment must maintain this fact when he stresses that “the work therefore must encourage the growth of the individual and must direct it-otherwise it fails to take full advantage of the specific properties of the human resources” (p.266). there should be regular assessment of workers in hrm to see if they are responding to the needs of the organization. this can only be achieved through consistent performance appraisal. performance appraisal: performance appraisal is a method that hrm adopts to assess employee response and contributions to an organization. it is done for the following reasons: 1. to check the effectiveness of personnel selection procedure. 2. the outcome of it is used by administrators to make decisions for compensation, promotions, transfer, demotions and lay-off. 3. also, it reveals areas in an organization where improvements and developments are needed. this exercise is often called annual review, performance review or employee appraisal, since it also focuses on how an organization is progressing through the workforce. compensation: compensation is a vital part in hrm process. employees develop serious anxiety if they are not adequately compensated. apart from this, they talk ill about their organization and administrators. they can become less effective and committed, which will have adverse effect on the organization in question. compensation includes fringe benefits or bonuses, profit sharing, overtime pay, even promotions, responsibilities and recognition rewards are parts of compensation. these processes in hrm are to be followed step by step and properly planned. as it reflects in the model, the processes are connected with each other and none is less important as in the spirit of igwebuike philosophy. igwebuike philosophy according to alalama (2018), while citing kanu, “igwebuike philosophy is based on the igbo-african worldview of omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 214 complementarity, that is, the manner of being in african ontology. it is a worldview in which individuating differences must work towards a corporate existence where the “i” does not stand as the “i” but as a ‘we’, where life and living makes meaning. in a scenario of this kind, difference does not divide neither does it constitute a threat, but rather unites and gives hope that future existence would have meaning” (p.20). kanu (2017) had earlier explained this philosophy in this assertion. it (igwebuike philosophy) “is anchored on the african worldview, which is characterized by a common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny. life is a life of sharedness” (p.17). igwebuike philosophy has its worth in paying attention to people and, by extension, the environment in which people live or work. it also emphasizes togetherness and sharing which can easily prompt the development of the individual and the entire group. above all, it highlights being connected with a given group that can simply foster support and encouragements for improvement. igwebuike philosophy and human resource management the link between igwebuike philosophy and human resource management is paramount to this work. the following important characteristics, which also explain the nature of human resource management, can be deduced from the various definitions and explanations given above. it concerns employees: it is primarily concerned with the efficient utilization and conservation of these human resources; it considers employees as individuals and also as members of a group; it is concerned with personnel policies in formulating policies with regard to recruitment, selection, training, promotion, transfer, job evaluation, merit rating and working conditions. igwebuike philosophy is also concerned with people being ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and human resource management igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 215 together for growth and development, and connected with other members in a group. as human resource management is the strategic approach to the effective management of people in a company or organization such that they help their business gain improvement, so also is igwebuike philosophy giving attention to people, and it emphasizes togetherness and sharing, with much importance on what you have in common. as kanu explained, it is “characterized by a common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny. life is a life of sharedness” (p.17). also, it has a connection or link with the hrm process as in the model where all the processes stand as one and none could be omitted at any point, if truly the hrm department must function as it should be, which is closely associated with the thought of alalama “’i’ does not stand as the “i” but as a ‘we’” (p.20), in defining igwebuike philosophy. another common factor is development. since development of staff is a must in hrm and indeed the system must be able to naturally develop personnel, so also will the association with a group in igwebuike philosophy certainly develop every member of the group. recommendations based on the discussions above, the following recommendations are offered. that since human resource management is about people and their welfare, human resource managers are, therefore, encouraged to make the office to be more people-oriented and to be more preoccupied with their dealings as in the igwebuike philosophy which stresses ‘we’ not ‘i’. on the part of workers, however, there should be cooperation with the administrator or hrm manager to achieve all the laid-down rules. attention should not be given to individual interest but to the group omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 216 for the benefit of all. it is important to keep in mind that hrm processes are connected, so also is igwebuike philosophy about life of sharing, as kanu states “life is a life of sharedness” (p.17). working together harmoniously must equally be underlined. where ever you find people, there must be understanding for development. therefore, managers are encouraged to lead their members in a manner that will enhance their growth, as in the mind of maxwell while citing firestone that “it is only as we develop others that we permanently succeed” (p.112). conclusion this work has been able to show the link between hrm and igwebuike philosophy. human resource management is an integral but distinctive part of management, concerned with people at work and their relationship within the enterprise, seeking to bring together intereffective organization men and women who staff the enterprise, enabling each to make his/her own best contribution to its success, both as an individual and as a member of a working group. it seeks to provide relationships within the firm that are conducive both to effective work and human satisfaction. igwebuike philosophy is about paying attention to one another and not being individualistic in a group. it advocates the idea that all members should always seek the growth and progress of the group, for the group. like the saying goes, if you want to walk fast, walk alone and if you want to walk far, walk together. walking together is always the focus of any organization. this brings about back-up and assistance for success, which is the view point of igwebuike philosophy that hrm can also adopt. references ajayi i. a and ayodele j. b (2002). fundamentals of educational management. nigeria. greeline publication. akindutire i. o. (2004). administration of higher education. lagos. sunray press. alalama v.e (2018). igwebuike as an african philosophy for peace and conflict resolution in obeama-nguru of aboh-mbaise l.g.a. imo state. ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and human resource management igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 217 retrieved (5/5/2020) from https://www.academia.edu/37608513/. armstrong, m. (2006). a handbook of human resource management practice. international student edition. (10th ed). kogan page, london and philadelphia. arum, r., & roksa, j. (2010). personnel management. retrieved (5/4/2020) from http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/personnelmanagement.html brech, c. (2010). academically adrift: limited learning on college campuses. chicago: university of chicago press. cole, g. a. (2002). personnel and human resource management. tj international ltd. padstow, cornwall. drucker p. f. (1986). the practice of management. new york. harper. kamoche, n. (2001). understanding human resource management. buckingham. open university press. kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. 2016 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. 2016 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. 2016 kanu, i. a. african traditional folktales as an integrated classroom. sub-saharan african journal of contemporary education research. vol.3 no. 6. pp. 107-118. 2016 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christianmuslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 218 journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. 2017 kanu, i. a. african philosophy, globalization and the priority of ‘otherness’. journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 40-57. 2018 ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and human resource management igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 219 kanu, i. a. african traditional philosophy of education: essays in igwebuike philosophy. germany: lambert publications. 2018 kanu, i. a. igbo-african gods and goddesses. nnadiebube journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 118-146. 2018 kanu, i. a. igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 5983. 2018 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. 2018 kanu, i. a (2017). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6. lundy o. (2008). from personnel management to strategic human resource management. international journal of human resource management. 5 (3): 687-720. lunnernburg f. c. and ornstern a. c. (2008). educational administration: concept and practices. usa. wadsworth: cengage learning. mahek s. (2019). selection process in hrm. retrieved (5/5/2020) from http://www.economicsdiscussion.net/humanresource-management/selection-process-in-hrm/31871. maxwell j.c. (2001). the power of leadership. nigeria: joint heir publications ltd. meich c (2019). 10 core functions of human resource management. retrieved (5/5/2020) from https://tracktime24.com/blog/10-core-functions-of human-resource-management mello j. a (2001). strategic human resource management. south western, cincinnati. miller j. b. & miller m. g. (1973). personnel and industrial relations: a managerial approach. new york: macmillan company. stoner j. a. f., freeman r. e. and gilbert d. r. (2002). management. sixth ed. new delhi: asoke k. ghosh. omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 220 trammel j. (2019). 10 ways to maximize your professional development. retrieved (5/5/2020) from https://www.inc.com/joel-trammell/10-ways-to-maximizeyour-professional-development.html microsoft word igwebuike journals vol. 5. no. 7.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 174 a review of igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosphy by prof. anthony ikechukwu kanu, o.s.a jude i. onebunne, phd department of philosophy faculty of arts nnamdi azikiwe university, awka ji.onebunne@unizik.edu.ng this piece, published in 2017 is a work of great attempt on one of the most dreaded areas of philosophy, the logic and in particular the african logic. it is noteworthy that, while some promising african scholars were still at large on the possibility of african philosophy, kanu has started discussing the logic that is the nka of african philosophy. in this paper, kanu painstakingly dwelt comprehensively on the logic of african philosophy. logic as a major branch of philosophical discourse is the science of unaided correct reasoning knowing full well that correct or good-exact ideas do not fall from heaven. logic, from the greek word, logos, therefore, is an art of right and sound reasoning. according to aristotle, logic is the new and necessary reasoning. logic as an organon of knowledge is the product of human mind as well as that of a man as an animal cogitans, thinking animal and animal rationalis, rational animal relating it with the concept of igwebuike, the african philosophy of complementarity and solidarity which sees power as belonging to the multitude. the author sees philosophy as very fundamental, addressing reality with regard to the welfare of man that rationalizes. making a cursory attempt at the dawn of philosophical enterprise, from ancient period, through the medieval times and unto the modern and contemporary, philosophical reflections were all about the value of knowledge for humanity. kanu succinctly admits that as an academic discipline, philosophy basically exercises the principle of reason and logic in an attempt to understand reality and answer fundamental questions about knowledge, life, morality, and human nature. african philosophy has become a part of the world philosophic heritage that can no longer be neglected. obi j. oguejiofor in his paper problems and prospects of the history of african philosophy, published in american catholic philosophical quarterly, vol. 77, fall 003, no. 4. sees logic as an indispensable ingredient in any discourse to merit philosophy. if african philosophy is to be distinguished from the derogatory-disregard as ethnophilosophy, sage or folk philosophy and the likes, it must have the needed logic. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 175 kanu continued to show in this paper indebt knowledge and mastery of the unknown and yet to be acknowledged history of african philosophy by the references he made of the works of innocent onyewuenyi’s the african origin of greek philosophy: an exercise in afrocenticism, and makinde’s afican philosophy: the demise of a controversy. other african philosophical works that demonstrated the existence of philosophy in african continent centuries past are: theophile obenga’s african philosophy: the pharaonic period 2780-330bc, george g.m. james’ greek philosophy is stolen egyptian philosophy, theophile obenga’s ancient egypt and black africa and george quest’s the march of civilization. these literary works presupposes great scholarship on philosophy in africa continent centuries past. nka or african logic in african philosophy remains a theory of reasoning or the study of the consistency of statement-thoughts and valid consequences of an argument. as long as africans are homo loquens and interacts, there is need for nka. logic is needed to prove us rationally consistent. if african philosophy is to maintain the expected philosophicality there should be an operational logic. if it must maintain its africanity, such philosophical enterprise must be on african context, reality or worldview, done by scholars within or outside the geography of african continent. kanu authoritatively doubted if there can be african philosophy without proper nka, african logic. he nevertheless admits that for any philosophy to retain the identity of philosophy, it must have basic elements of logic to maintain the philosophical structure. by extension, african philosophy must have african logic, properly referred as nka to worth the name. having established african philosophy, it is illogical to question the existence of african logic knowing that no logic, no philosophy. maritain jacques underscores this when he enumerated the great division of philosophy thus: logic, speculative philosophy and practical philosophy. prof. kanu appreciating logic as the foundation of sound structures of valid arguments and correct statements was passionately vehement in the appreciation of african logic, that is, nka, as such. for him, in african logic, the focus is on the structure of african pattern of thought and reasoning as it is related to traditional african language. he emphasized that the adjective african in african logic shows the locus of the logicality. african logic while exercising the general principles of logic is contextualized within the african reality as every good culture is expressed within the frame of language and thought. the relationship of igwebuike as the modality of being in african philosophy provides the relational igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 176 connectedness of solidarity and complementarity within the african society. kanu aptly observes that african worldview is ruled by the spirit of complementarity which seeks the conglomeration, the unification, the summation of fragmented thoughts, opinions and ideas with this understanding that parts can never be greater than the whole. igbo reality as such has a complementary as well as distinctive character corresponding to the universality and particularity of logic as logic. since the branches of philosophy are interrelated, igwebuike being the modality of being, and african ontology having been understood as the strength is power or power of the multitude, then african logic flowing from the african ontology is complementary. here lies igwebuike as the ontological foundation of an african logic. african man in his worldview must think correctly and reason validly within the bounds and limits of his reality. african logic or nka is a great attempt at solving one of the greatest problems of contemporary african philosophy after method. other attempts have been made with regard to the proper igbo nomenclatural and the actual igbo fitting translation of logic. we have seen kanu’s nka which has something to do with scientificity or sytematicity as it concerns techne. recently chimakonam proposed ezumezu logic as african logic in african philosophy. the concept of ezumezu as ezu m ezu connotes a kind of coming together which in a very strict and large sense is related to igwebuike. bibliography kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and and logic (nka) of african philosophy”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 177 kanu, i. a. (2015a). a hermeutic approach to the study of african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015b). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no. 1.[ 97-101]. kanu, i. a. (2016b). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no.1. [1-7]. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 5.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 154 philosophical polemics and initiatives for african development: lessons from igwebuike as an african philosophy sharkdam wapmuk, phd senior research fellow and head division of african politics and integration research and studies department nigerian institute of international affairs, lagos, nigeria sharksnaw@yahoo.com. abstract this paper seeks to answer these questions: to what extent can african plan of economic development premised on a philosophical basis that is not african yield the desire economic development in africa? what are the alternative philosophical approaches proposed by african thinkers for african development? what lessons can we draw from igwebuike as an african philosophy? the paper is, therefore, divided into five sections. following the introduction, section two examines the concepts of philosophy and development. while section three discusses western dominated philosophical approaches to african development, section four focuses on the alternative philosophical approaches to african development. section five discusses the lessons from igwebuike as an african philosophy and concludes. keywords: igwebuike, philosophy, development, knau ikechukwu anthony, african introduction the issue of african development has always attracted the attention of philosophers, scholars and policymakers within and outside the continent. the contribution of philosophy to developmental issues is not new. philosophers and scholars have argued that africa and its societies are underdeveloped or developing. many explanations have been given by african and non-african philosophers on what they consider to constitute the root-cause of africa’s underdevelopment. most studies are hardly complete without prescriptions of policies that should be implemented so that african societies can evolve from states of underdevelopment to states of development (ntibagirirwa, 2010). there have been philosophical debates between western and african perspectives on development. by the time african countries started gaining independence in the late 1950s and 1960s, the world had entered the cold war era. the ideological igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 155 contestation between the east and the west led to the gradual rise of capitalism and socialism. as a result, africa’s independent countries took a neutral stance in theory, but in practice, they took a different direction with an infusion of african philosophy. this was reconstructed it in a form of african socialism. among the countries that took the socialist path were tanzania and ghana (masolo, 1994). since all theories of development presuppose some philosophy, then we can argue that philosophy is at the basis of theories of national development. while several external theories informed and shaped the adoption of strategies for african development, such strategies were neither produce in africa, nor their philosophical basis african rooted. among the dominant economic theories that have informed the adoption of african development strategies were the modernisation, dependency and neoliberal perspectives. on the one hand, neoliberal perspectives superintended by the modernisation theory views africa’s economic development as a modernisation process where focus is put on individualism, primacy of the market and the rising per capita income which is also considered as the central measure of growth. the modernization theory, influenced by the ideological contestation between the east and the west, sought to promote a european model of development based on aggressive industrialization. this no doubt permeated the thinking of post-independent african leaders. on the other hand, the dependency theory was perceived as a persuasive tool that could help africans to launch a collective self-reliant and self-sustaining economic development. the ideological postulations from these theories informed the adoption of african development initiatives such as the lagos plan of action (lpa) and new partnership for african development (nepad) (agupusi, 2016). at the time of introduction of each of these development initiatives, african leaders who had assumed the postures of ‘philosophical kings’ were convinced that they would get africa out of the underdevelopment trap. however, this is far from being achieved. it is obvious that while the lpa adopted in 1980 has ceased to be the reference framework for africa’s economic development, the nepad, since its adoption in 2001, leaves much to be desired in terms of development of the continent. one common feature of the two development plans is that they have used borrowed theories of economic development without sufficiently being sensitive to the african philosophical dimension. thus, this paper seeks to answer these questions: to what extent can african plan of economic development premised on a philosophical basis that is not african yield the desire economic development in africa? what are the alternative philosophical approaches proposed by african igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 156 thinkers for african development? what lessons can we draw from igwebuike as an african philosophy? the paper is divided into five sections. following the introduction, section two examines the concepts of philosophy and development. while section three discusses western dominated philosophical approaches to african development, section four focuses on the alternative philosophical approaches to african development. section five discusses the lessons from igwebuike as an african philosophy and concludes. conceptualizing philosophy and development philosophy the word philosophy is as old as mankind. as a discipline of study, philosophy has gained wide popularity especially given its connection with disciplines such as history, political science, economics, sociology, anthropology, law, religion and the science. the term philosophy originates from two greek words namely, philos and sophia. philos means love of, while sophia means wisdom. from these two greek words, we derive the etymological or literary meaning of philosophy as “love of wisdom”. accordingly, the philosopher is a “lover of wisdom.” but this definition is inadequate when seen against the background of what philosophers do today and philosophy has not kept up with modern developments. for instance hawking (2010, p.5) claims that philosophy is dead. he enunciated a series of questions that philosophers have historically posed: ‘how can we understand the world in which we find ourselves? how does the universe behave? what is the nature of reality? where did all this come from? did the universe need a creator?’ he argued that physics can now answer cosmological questions about our origins and purpose. on his own part, pinker (2013), posits that science rather than religion must answer ‘the most ambitious, the deepest questions about who we are, where we came from, and how we define the meaning and purpose of our lives’. pinker also claims that ‘the belief systems of all the world’s traditional religions and cultures’ are ‘factually mistaken’. he argues further that that is to replace those belief systems is a ‘worldview given to us by science’. contrary to the views expressed by hawking and pinker, philosophy rather than science remains the instrument for the creation of new knowledge. this explains, to a large extent, why the highest degrees that universities award the world over is the doctorate of philosophy (phd). in its original sense, philosophy means love igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 157 of wisdom, both theoretical and practical. we may go further to posit that philosophy is the comprehensive vision that tries to fit all of our experience into a comprehensible whole. it is the process of answering all the important questions that we cannot begin to answer with any degree of final certainty: how did we get here, where are we going, and how are we supposed to live (verharen et al, 2014). philosophy can be used in two senses: the narrow sense and the popular sense. in the narrow sense, it refers to a discipline which uses conceptual analysis to arrive at truths. according to wiredu (1980) philosophy can be used in the "nationalistic" sense. in his view, the nationalistic sense of philosophy would be concerned with “...accumulated wisdom of what might be called the collective mind of our societies, handed down through traditions both verbal and behavioural, including aspects of art, ritual and ceremonial (wiredu, 1980, p. 28)”. drawing from this perspective, it is apparently in this sense that we will consider “african socialism”, “ubuntu” and “igwebuike” and many others as philosophies in their own rights. generally, philosophy can be used as the basis for understanding the fundamental questions of life, including developmental issues. it may also be used as an instrument for critically examining, evaluating and synthesising the conditions of human participation in history. understood this way, it would be a contradiction for any authentic philosophy to be insensitive to criticism or progressive ideas at any given moment in history. through many of its branches for instance, ethics, logic, aesthetics, axiology, epistemology, meta-ethics and mathematics, philosophy provides the basis for critically examining the basic foundations of man's social life by establishing a rational basis upon which rational development of man may be predicted. development development is a term that has greatly been confused with economic growth. the two terms are not identical. growth may be necessary but not sufficient for development. economic growth refers to increases in a country’s production or income per capita. production is usually measured by gross national product (gnp) or gross national income (gni), used interchangeably, an economy’s total output of goods and services. economic development refers to economic growth accompanied by changes in output distribution and economic structure. the pendulum has swung between growth and development. a major shift came near the end of the un’s first development decade (1960–70), which had stressed economic growth in poor countries. because the benefits of growth did not often spread to the poorer half of the population, disillusionment with the decade’s progress was widespread, even though economic growth exceeded the un igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 158 target. in 1969, dudley seers signaled this shift by asking the following questions about a country’s development: what has been happening to poverty? what has been happening to unemployment? what has been happening to inequality? if all three of these have become less severe, then beyond doubt this has been a period of development for the country concerned. if one or two of these central problems have been growing worse, especially if all three have, it would be strange to call the result “development,” even if per capita income has soared. (seers, 1969, p.3–4) our focus in this paper is the philosophical view of development. development is essentially a conscious act of every man by which he naturally and historically projects himself toward the essential realisation of his potentialities within his concrete existential conditions of living in society. this concept of development is contingent upon man's ability to rationally control and harness nature for social utility. this struggle of man's becoming needs freedom and in the absence of freedom, it must be the very process of struggle to restore the lost freedom. in fact, by its very nature, essential development is very much tied to both human labour and human reason. it implies the qualitative changes that man must effect in order to improve his well-being which is the most important primary objective of rational development. every development undertaking which does not subsume the notion of man as the primary objective of development tasks is both unrealistic and philosophical. all development policies, objectives and strategies meaningful only with reference to man; there should be nothing more dignified in the process of development than the well-being of man. philosophical perspectives on development theories and africa development initiatives history has shown that all cultures have their conceptions and theories of development. while africa is not lacking its own development thinking or initiatives, it would appear that these are dominantly shaped by external ideology, philosophy and theoretical perspectives. since the 1950s, three euroamerican development ideologies, and their concomitant theories particularly, modernization, dependency and neo-liberalism have held sway over development thought and practice in africa. the modernization thinkers include, but are not limited to: w.w. rostow, emile durkheim, marquis de condorcet, david apter, seymour martin lipset, david igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 159 mccelland and talcott parsons. rostow’s unilinear and universal stage theory divided the development process into five stages namely: the traditional society; the establishment of the preconditions for take-off; the take-off stage; the drive to maturity; and the era of high mass consumption. rostow’s major argument was that all societies, sooner or later, will go through these five economic stages. the modernization theory of development is predicated on the idealization and the idolization of the modern era in the history of western europe. the modernization theory of development advocates for the mechanization of the modes of production from the land based feudal mode to the capital and technology based industrial mode. while feudalism was a prominent mode of production in the west, the idea of feudalism was foreign to most african societies. proponents of this theory of development believe that development would have taken place in other parts of the world if industrialization took place in the same sequence it took place in the west, that is, if the capitalist-scientific mode of production were adopted worldwide. unfortunately, modernization paradigm has not been able to deliver the expected development to africa. a major shortcoming of this theory is its failure to realize that the historical values of an external or foreign culture are often not so compatible with the receiving culture. aspect of modernization open to criticism is its insistence on the need to eliminate traditional values on the road to development. more so, the historical realities in africa, characterized by rape of slavery, colonialism, neo-colonialism and globalization makes it difficult for africa to play the catch up as posited in the modernization paradigm. the second dominant theory that shaped african development strategy in the post-independence era is the dependency theory. the dependency theory received great attention under raül prebisch at the economic commission of latin america in the 1950s. scholars that further developed the dependency school were andré gunder frank, f.h. cardoso, immanuel wallerstein, claude ake and many others. the proponents of the dependency theory reacted against two major theories of economic development which prevailed in latin america, namely the structuralism represented by arthur lewis and the linear process proposed by walter w. rostow. andre gunder frank was interested in identifying the causes of underdevelopment under the structural framework of the metropoles and satellites. frank argued that the crucial mechanism for extraction of the surplus was trade and other kinds of exchange of goods and services not only international trade, but also exchange internally in the peripheral societies. cardoso rejected the notion that peripheral countries could igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 160 be treated as one group of dependent economies, and that the world market and other external factors should be seen as more important than intra-societal conditions and forces. cardoso regarded the national bourgeoisies of the dependent societies as potentially powerful and capable of shaping development. these classes could be so weak that they mostly functioned as an extended arm of imperialism. wallerstein (2004) favoured economic theory of a world system in which the nations of the world are divided into core states and peripheral states. the core states and the peripheral states sandwich the semiperipheral states who struggle between leaving the peripheral global economic region and being absorbed into the league of core states. in this economic system which incidentally is the prevalent model today, the core states specialize in the manufacture of finished goods using advanced technology while the peripheral states are made to produce raw materials for the industries in the core countries. the peripheral states are usually encouraged to concentrate on the production of a single commodity which is usually an agricultural produce or a mineral resource. a major shortcoming of the dependency theory is that it commits the fallacy of composition by equating delinking from capitalism with development. this is partly because it deems import substitution industrialization as a key pathway to development. the eurocentrism of dependency theory is easily gathered from marx’s description of the phases of social change. the most advanced phases corresponded to european experiences, and africa was outside of the historical processes of change (ntibagirirwa, 2010). there is no doubt that the dependency theory greatly influenced on development practice of many african countries. the doctrine of african socialism and its attendant development strategies can be strongly associated with the dependency school. prominent among african leaders who advocated it are leopold senghor of senegal, kwame nkrumah of ghana, julius nyerere of tanzania, sekou toure of guinea, ahmed ben bella of algeria, habib bourguiba of tunisia and kenneth kaunda of zambia. the neo-classical theory goes back to adam smith’s philosophical reflection on how the wealth of a nation could be created and increased. smith argued that human behaviour is guided by self-interest and that the freedom to pursue it leads to collective interest (smith, 1965, p.14). they dismissed the structuralists’ appeal to state intervention to deal with structural obstructions in the economic development of less developed countries, and the dependency theory as unrealistic. they went as far as claiming that the dependency theorists had little knowledge of neoclassical economic theory, and argued that the economic igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 161 underdevelopment was rather a consequence of poor economic policies as well as the excessive state intervention in the economy. thus, the solution to economic underdevelopment was thought to be an efficient market economy achieved by eliminating market restrictions and by the limitation of state intervention. this was concretised by the promotion of the free trade and the elimination of state regulations which affect the market (ntibagirirwa, 2010). the export of primary goods continued under the economic policies of structuralism. as such, the neo-classical theorists are later day disciples of the classical theory of development. essentially, they argued for free market, deregulation, privatization and non-interference of the government in the marketplace. for them, the ‘invisible hand’ of free market will eventually benefit all facets of the society. they are the main advocates for the so called structural adjustment programme (sap) in the third world. the sap policies were promoted as conditionalities by the breton wood institutions: world bank, imf and world trade organization, when african countries sought loans and support for their economies in the 1980s-1990s. to what extent are african development initiatives shaped by these development theories? africa has come up with many development initiatives. these include, but not limited to the monrovia strategy in 1979, africa’s priority programme for economic recovery 1986-1990 (apper) in 1985; united nations programme of action for africa’s economic recovery and development (un-paaerd) in 1986; the african alternative framework to structural adjustment programme for socio-economic recovery and transformation (aaf-sap) in 1989; the african charter of popular participation for development (acppd) in 1990; the united nations new agenda for the development of africa (un-nadaf) in 1991, cairo agenda for action (1995), and au agenda 2063 (adedeji, 2002). however, our focus in this article will be on two major development initiatives: the lagos plan of action (lpa) of 1980 and the new partnership for africa’s development (nepad) of 2001. the choice of these development initiatives is because, historically, they are regarded as landmark development initiatives in africa. the lagos plan of action (lpa) together with the final act of lagos (fal) is still regarded as the africa’s first homegrown development initiative and landmark expression of its desire to developed utilising the region's resources. its goal was also to build a self-reliant and self-sustaining economy. the other parallel objective was the establishing of an african economic community (aec) by the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 162 beginning of the 21st century (economic commission for africa, 1991). historically, lpa is a culmination of an effort of four years initiated by the economic commission of africa (eca) under the leadership of adebayo adedeji as executive secretary. adedeji and his colleagues at the eca reviewed the development paradigms that africa followed since the period of independence in the 1960s and achievements of economic development by african countries. they concluded that economic performance in africa was obviously in decline. by the late 1970s, africa’s economic crisis was and in dire need of realistic strategies at both national and regional levels to cope with challenges of the period such as global economic recessions, low prices of export commodities, growing national debts and increasing poverty on the continent. in response to these realities, the eca researched and prepared several draft plans. in 1976, the eca proposed a revised framework of principles for the implementation of the new international order in africa. the draft plans were duly considered and adopted at the 16th ordinary session of the oau heads of state and government in monrovia, liberia, in july, 1979. this meeting adopted the monrovia declaration of commitment of the heads of state and government of the oau on guidelines and measures for national and collective self reliance in economic and social development for the establishment of a new international economic order (adedeji, 2002). at the extra ordinary session of the oau heads of state and government held in lagos, nigeria, the monrovia guideline was renamed lagos plan of action and the final act of lagos. the lpa was expected to serve as africa’s economic development plan between 1980 and 2000. the lpa emphasized collective self-reliance, self-sustaining development, and economic growth (oau, 1980, p. 4). through the lpa, the eca desired to africans to move away from the external dependence (adebayo, 1985, p. 13). however, lpa was based on adapted development theory, namely the dependency theory which has its philosophical and historical context in marxism and the latin american experience. even though many african countries had embraced marxism and its veneers such as socialism and dependency, african countries could not extricate themselves from the shackles of imperialism. the strategies designed by the eca under the lagos plan fell short of expectations of donor partners in the developed countries and the bretton woods institutions. instead, the world bank sponsored its own assessment team which came up with the berg report and recommended the structural adjustment programmes (saps) of the 1980s. in the argument of the developed countries, africa has remained poor and underdeveloped largely due igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 163 to internal problems such as bad governance, corruption, mismanagement and deficient economic policies. on the contrary african leaders blamed external factors for its predicaments. sap de-emphasized state-led development approach in favor of market-led strategy. the state led strategy had relied heavily on subsidized social welfare, industrialization through tariff-supported import substitution, deficit financing of public expenditure, etc. whereas sap favored rolling back the state from involvement in the economy by privatizing public interest and liberalization of the economy, this however, did not consider the side effects on social wellbeing of the african people. the new partnership for africa’s development (nepad) was adopted on 23 october, 2001, with the aim of eradicating poverty, promoting sustainable development on the continent, and to benefit from the opportunities of globalization in the 21st century (akinrinade, 2003). unlike the lpa, which was anchored on self-reliance and self-sufficiency, nepad was crafted in response to globalization and aligned with the millennium development goals (mdgs), particularly the goal of reducing poverty. accordingly, it sought to address two major issues relating to the economic development of african countries, namely: the effectiveness of development aid and the market economy as a solution to underdevelopment. with the world bank jettisoning the lpa, african countries adopted sap, which proved to be unattainable as a development strategy. by the late 1990s, standard of living fell lower than their positions in the 1980s. africa became the poorest region in the world with not less than half of its total population living on less than us$1 per day; africa also accounted for only 1 percent of the global domestic product (gdp), while the income distribution highly showed disparity against the poor in favor of the rich; 1 out of 5 africans lived under armed conflict, creating doubt about the region’s future. african became the most indebted and most aid dependent region; africa had the largest population infested with hiv/aids (nepad, 2002, p.54) africa therefore entered the 21st century as the poorest, the most technologically backward, and the most debt distressed, and the most marginalized region of the world. the reality is that nepad deepened neo-liberal policies in africa. sap, which was rejected by adedeji and his team, became entrenched under the neoliberal embrace of nepad. our examination of the lpa and nepad reveals that the conceptions of the nature and purposes of development as well as the theories and strategies for achieving them have remained a territory predominantly traversed by euroigwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 164 american theorist. ebo (2018, p.211) has argued that african academicians tend to re-echo these development visions and philosophies in new forms and packages. it is also evident that these theories of economic development were not solely rooted in african realities. while the lpa was largely informed by the experiences of philosophy as well as theory of marxism and dependency, it also builds on the experience of latin america. nepad relies on the neo-classical economic theory (agupusi, 2016). there is no doubt that latin america shared with africa certain historical features such as the colonial experience and certain economic features such as economic underdevelopment and asymmetric economic relationships with the developed countries. nevertheless, latin america and africa differ in major respects: their respective philosophical and cultural backgrounds. in the case of nepad, the neo-classical theory of economic development is a by-product of the philosophical and the cultural experience of the western world (agupusi, 2016). the question that remains unanswered is: to what extent can borrow philosophy and theories of economic development take root and help africa to achieve the goal of development? our examination of the euro-american philosophies and development theories shows clearly that none of the constructs can be regarded as an ‘ideal theory’ most suited to the african peculiar existential situation. they are all more or less, cross cultural adaptations which are not ideally suited to african condition as argued by scholars such as mazrui (1980). even though the euro-american philosophies and development theories may have been attractive to african leaders, economists and policy makers, they have not succeeded in promoting the goal of development of the continent. in fact, dissatisfaction with the external philosophies and development theories has led african philosophers to look inwards in search of alternative approaches to african development. alternative philosophical approaches to african unity and development the alternative approaches to african development have been put forward by mostly post-independence african leaders that assume the posture of “philosophical kings” proffering solutions, at national, sub-regional and continental levels, to all african development problems. among these were nkrumah (1909-1972), senghor (1906-2001) and nyerere (1922-1999). that is not to say that only those in leadership positions provided philosophical alternatives to african development. in fact most debates about philosophy and african development emanated from african and non-african sources, particularly from the academia. for example, even though tempels’ work, bantu philosophy (1947), contributed to denounce epistemological and cultural imperialism that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 165 earlier denied the existence of any particular philosophy beyond that inherited from the greek genius. it also confirmed that african philosophy exists and has served as a search light for african people for a better life and existence. other leading lights in philosophy and african development include mbiti (1970), and gyekye (1987), adedeji (1980), amongst others. some of the theories of development came about by way of pan-african movements, african identity, african unity, and developmental ideology. these ideas came to have a definite character and assumed a philosophic outlook and took different names such as; pan africanism, consciencism, african socialism, african humanism and ubuntu (kasanda, 2018). pan-africanism is both an ideology and movement which according to nkrumah sought the revival and development of the ‘‘african personality,’’ temporarily submerged during the colonial period. pan-africanism finds expression in a reawakening consciousness among africans and peoples of african descent of the bonds which unite us our historical past, our culture, our common experience, and our aspirations (nkrumah, 1962). in essence, the pan-africanists argue that for africa to development, its people will have to come to terms with their identity, culture, historical realities and forge a common aspiration. the leading lights of pan-africanism included african-americans such as marcus garvey (1887-1940), w.b. du bois (1868-1963), g. padmore (1903-1959), and m. blaise diague, amongst others. even though the vision of pan-africanism and panafrican movement began outside the continent in the 1950s and 1960s, it later took roots in the continent and championed the struggle of africans and peoples of african descent for emancipation and the restoration of their dignity, against slavery, colonialism and all forms of racism and racial exploitation, and to overcome developmental challenges. the proponents of the pan-african movement believed that there cannot be any real development in a colonized environment. hence, the first step in achieving real development must be putting in place an enabling environment in form of decolonization. others like nkrumah, nasser, modibo keita, sekou touré believed in the creation of a wide state structure inform of a united states of africa. this, in their view, would serve the purpose of protecting africa’s hard earned independence from imperialism as well as forge better unity and socio-economic development (oruka, 1990). kwame nkrumah also articulated his vision for development in the theory of consciencism as an alternative to western development paradigm (nkrumah, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 166 1959). he argues that africa can never develop unless she is first liberated from the clutches of colonialism (nkrumah, 1966). according to nkrumah, the african personality is defined by the cluster of humanist principles which underlie the traditional african society. therefore his vision was to awaken the philosophical conscience of every african person in or outside the african habitat; to bring as many african people as possible to the understanding that the philosophical consciencism which accepts matter as primary reality is the key to total african liberation, unity and development. the idea of african humanism is not in harmony with western perception of humanism. while the two approaches consider the human being as their starting point, they interpret the human being differently. while the western perspective puts emphasis on human being as an individual being; african conceptions of humanism insist on human being as a social being. for senghor, who stressed on the idea of negritude (black identity or africanness) as an ethno-philosophy, a human being remains also the measure of everything. he criticized the theory of marxism which stresses “materialism and determinism, praxis and means, to the detriment of dialectics and ethics, to the detriment of man and his freedom” (senghor, 1964). senghor describes african humanism as follows: “thus, though our humanism must have west african man as its major objective. it cannot, without peril, end with west africa, not even with all of africa. kaunda’s conception of humanism has egalitarianism enshrined in it. the equality of man should be maintained in everything despite all accidental inequalities that abound here and there. for him, all people have a moral right to equal opportunities. an example of the expression of african humanism is with respect to the concept and practice of ubuntu. it is related to the saying ‘umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu’ a person is a person through other people. according to mogobe ramose (2002) ‘ubuntu can be construed to mean that to be a human being is to affirm one’s humanity by recognising the humanity of others and, on that basis, establishing human relations with them’. drucilla cornell avers that ubuntu is ‘the african principle of transcendence through which an individual is pulled out of himself or herself back toward the ancestors and forward toward the community and toward the potential each one of us has’ (cornell, 2009). bishop desmond tutu who popularised the concept of ubuntu within the framework of his responsibility as the head of justice, truth and reconciliation commission in south africa, argues that it recognises that ‘my humanity is caught up, and is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 167 inextricably bound up in yours’ (tutu, 2002). ubuntu therefore emphasises the treatment of people humanely, on interconnectedness, and on belonging. ubuntu can also be seen as an african approach which falls outside western discourses on development because it emphasises not individuality but social nature of our existence. another major alternative philosophical approach to african development put forward by african philosophers was african socialism. this theory builds on the premise that communitarism and economic solidarity constitute the essence of african traditional life (nyerere, 1968). african socialism was viewed as an authentic means of achieving the economic, social and political development of the new african states. the common characteristic in the african version of socialism is the attempt to claim that modern socialist planning is no more than a redefinition of the communalistic basis of traditional african social organization. african socialism is quite different from others, especially the traditional marxism. african socialism is communal, not collective, is democratic not totalitarian; and is founded on the primacy of law and not on the dictatorship of class. african socialism was taken up as a theory of development and leadership ideology by mwalimu julius nyerere of tanzania. in analyzing ‘ujamma’ as the basis of african socialism, nyerere argued that socialism like democracy is an attitude of the mind, a disposition of considering wealth only in terms of its use for the service of other fellow men (nyerere, 1968). on the whole, africa’s alternative philosophical approaches to development are not in agreement western conception that the problem of development is not a purely economic one. african philosophers recognized the social nature of african societies. this partly explains the tendency for african leaders to propose alternative development frameworks that advocate socialism. a more concerted effort is offered by african philosophers who approach the issue from the analytical and holistic approach. it is in this regard that we examine lessons from igwebuike as an african philosophy. lessons from igwebuike as an african philosophy for development this section of the essay argues that igwebuike as an african philosophy can provide us with viable lessons for african holistic development. propounded by professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, the philosophy of igwebuike has been employed as a philosophical lens for the interpretation of reality from an african perspective. kanu argues that “igwebuike, which comes from three words igwe igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 168 bu ike is an igbo word which means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’ (kanu, 2017a, p.3; kanu, 2017d). kanu further avers that as an ideology, igwebuike rests on the african principles of solidarity and complementarity (kanu, 2017b, p.52). this philosophy of development shares some similarity with ubuntu which roots one’s humanity by recognising the humanity of others (kanu, 2017e). a major strength of igwebuike model of development is the notion of ‘reality as holistic’. a major shortcoming of modernization theory, classical liberalism and neo-classical liberalism is the emphasis on individualism. however, african philosophical thinkers emphasise communalism, solidarity, complementarity, and the whole notion of ‘one for all and all for one’. igwebuike can be likened to the philosophy of the broom. if a broom was only made up of one bristle or broomstick, it would be useless and can easily be broken, but because the bristles or broomsticks are joined together, the results are incredible. from a philosophical perspective, this can symbolize the unity and strength of a people. another analogy is that of leadershipfollowership. the strength of a leader lies in the followership. a leader is able to implement development policies more effectively with the support of his people. this is made difficult when people neither support the leader nor his policies. igwebuike is an underlying social philosophy of african culture that talks of the collective consciousness of people. igwebuike directs our thoughts towards african people’s recognition of brotherhood, sharing and treating other people as not just human beings, but part of oneself. igwebuike draws our attention to shared values and strength in numbers. in african and nigerian (igbo) tradition, the expression of compassion, reciprocity and humanity works in the interest of building and maintaining communal harmony and wellbeing (kanu, 2017f). as a philosophy, igwebuike is borne out of the fundamental belief that the power of number comes not just from the self, but community support. beyond the conception of neo-liberalists emphasis on the notion of market and profit maximization, igwebuike model of development is a holistic social process that includes: economics, social, political, cultural and moral dimensions of life as presentation graphically. model of holistic development moral political african development religious economic igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 169 source: kanu (2017a) kanu’s notion of complete development agrees with the argument put forward by michael todaro. according to todaro (1977) development to be so regarded as development, it should not be purely an economic phenomenon but rather a multidimensional process involving reorganization and reorientation of entire economic and social system, and bring about qualitative change in the people. this is imperative because, the people and the quality of their lives should be at the centre of the conception of development. fundamental, the perspective of igwebuike as an alternative philosophy of development recognizes the major challenges that undermine africa’s progress and development which must be address if african is to occupy its rightful place in the comity of developed continents of the world (kanu, 2017a). these include, but not limited to leadership and governance crisis, corruption and mismanagement of resources, religious fanaticism and fundamentalism, ethnicity, tribalism, unbalanced distribution of power, human rights violations, and environmental injustice, amongst others (kanu, 2017a). accordingly, igwebuike provides a framework for addressing these factors that continue to undermine africa’s quest for development in the 21st century. for instance, igwebuike as an indigenous method of peace and conflict resolution makes a strong case for community-based approach which draws from the values of host communities, and founded on the custom and tradition of the african people (kanu, 2007b). in contemporary times, several of african intra-state conflicts have emanated from religious and ethnic cleavages. as a proposition towards addressing religious fanaticism and fundamentalism, igwebuike philosophy calls for comprehensive dialogue between the adherents of different religions from time to time (kanu, 2017a). such dialogue should be institutionalized and transcend times of violent conflict. igwebuike, as an indigenous philosophy argues that the diverse religions in africa should focus on their commonalities and elements that unite them. biological social science/technolo gy cultural igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 170 the fact that corruption hinders african development is a reality that many african leaders and peoples have had to come to terms with. towards addressing this cankerworm, igwebuike argues that the responsibility for fighting corruption does not lie only with the government, but also, individuals, private institutions, and religious institutions, and the civil society. in addition to strongly condemning the scourge of corruption, the stakeholders, particularly our religious institutions should reject donations of funds and financial gifts from questionable sources (kanu, 2017a). in essences, there is need for solidarity in addressing the problem of corruption in african societies. relating the principle of igwebuike philosophy to the interpretation of the violation of human rights, kanu (2007c) posited that the violation of human rights is the greatest disservice to humanity and yourself. he also avers that a person that keeps quiet at the violation of another’s human rights… is quiet at the violation of his own human rights. in essence, under the igwebuike philosophy, the fight for the preservation of human rights in africa is viewed as the responsibility for all africans. closely linked to human rights is the issue of freedom. for a meaningful functioning of philosophy in the development process, there must be essential freedom. this should manifest itself as economic freedom, political freedom, social freedom, intellectual freedom, national freedom, and individual freedom (sen, 1999). some criticisms and shortcomings of the igwebuike philosophy are apt. this is imperative, if the philosophy is to be popularized as a philosophy beyond its origins to guide national, regional and continental development. first, it treats people as a homogenous group that are ready to sacrifice the individual good for the common good. african countries, including nigeria, are diverse in nature. diversity refers to the plurality of identity groups that inhabit countries. they include individuals, societies, communities and socio-economic and cultural groups. within and between ethnic groups, even within one community and ethnic group such as the igbo, people tend to set themselves apart from others (we and them) and to distinguish one another from others. nigeria is a case in point with more than 250 ethnic groups and having diverse religions – christians, muslims, and traditional worshipers. despite nigeria’s popular aphorism of unity in diversity, its diversities are sometimes exploited by the ruling and political class resulting in ethno-religious and communal conflicts. the issues of race, ethnic and religious identities in africa are not confined to the jurisdiction of a given state. for instance, the fulani people are spread over some 19 countries, the hausa people are found in five countries, the luo live in kenya, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 171 uganda, sudan, ethiopia and tanzania whereas the somalis are fragmented into four of the greater horn countries (uneca, 2011). in the case of the fulani in nigeria, the sporadic occurrence of farmer-herder conflicts reveals that the fulani support and defend their kinsmen across national frontiers. secondly, the igwebuike philosophy is yet to be widely popularised and accepted beyond its roots of origin and few academicians that have engaged in the study of the philosophy. like ubuntu, the igwebuike philosophy should be subjected to wider national, regional and even global discourse. in this regard, the major challenge to the popularization of the igwebuike philosophy will continue to be factors such as the damage done by colonialism to african identity, cultural globalisation and the encroachment of modernity on traditional african culture. that notwithstanding, the igwebuike philosophy provides us with vital lessons in african development. it argues that development should be comprehensive, all-round, balanced and holistic in approach. importantly, development should result in not only the expansion of our industries, agriculture, education, social, religious and cultural institutions, but also the quality of lives of individuals and communities. african philosophical approaches such as igwebuike can contribute to african development and african consciousness. however, the west has continued misunderstand africa philosophies and to disregard african solutions to its developmental problems as was the case with the lpa. african pragmatic development strategies are jettisoned and western philosophies are being foisted on african people with the belief that the western development strategies constitute the best option for african development. africa’s experiences with sap attest to the fact that misreading of the african crisis results in deepening of its economic crisis. more so, africans policy makers have dependent on western development models. according to anyanwu most experts and professionals in africa do not have self-confidence in their beliefs, ideas, and activities unless they are endorsed by the western governments and institutions. therefore, african experts and professionals have not been able to make any cultural impact on their societies to prove their relevance (anyanwu, 1983, p.61). the significance of this point is that africans need to have confidence in their own alternative approaches to development which should be informed by their conceptions of the african reality. concluding remarks we have examined in detail the philosophical polemics revolving around the trajectory of african development. our analysis of western dominated igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 172 philosophical approaches to african development reveal that modernization, dependency and neo-liberalism are the three euro-american development theories that influenced and shaped africa’s approaches to development. evidently, the two development plans, namely lpa and nepad that have been discussed were fuelled by two dominant theories of economic development – dependency and neoclassical theories. however, despite the arguments put forward by their initiators that they are “indigenous african development initiatives” they are largely adaptations and reconstructions of the american and eurocentric paradigms discussed earlier. these ‘african’ frameworks were formulated without much input from african philosophers and african philosophical thinking. hence, they were easily jettisoned by africans that ought to own the continental development process. the major alternative philosophical approaches to african unity and development that are put forward by african philosophers and its philosophical kings place emphasis on the social basis of african societies, communality and solidarity as constituting the essence of african traditional life. these include: pan africanism, consciencism, african socialism, african humanism and ubuntu, amongst others. a major point of departure from these perspectives is the philosophy of igwebuike, which emphasises strength of number and grounded in african principles of solidarity and complementarity. the study concludes by noting that the igwebuike philosophy presents a huge prospect as a viable framework for understanding african development holistically. consequently, the igwebuike philosophy should be further researched, developed and popularized as one of the alternative comprehensive and holistic philosophical approaches of african development. this point is being made against the backdrop of the conviction that philosophy and philosophers should, as a matter of practice, be open to further development. only in this way can genuine philosophers rise above the marxian challenge that: the philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point, however, is to change it. references adedeji, a. (2002). from lagos plan of action to the partnership for african development and from the final act of lagos to the constitutive act: wither development? keynote address presented at the african forum for envisioning africa. nairobi, kenya, 26-29, april 2002. agupusi, p. (2016). the african nion and development in africa. the watson institute for international and public affairs at brown university, working paper no. 2016-30. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 173 akinrinade, s. (2003) the new partnership for africa’s development: dispensing the begging bowl or plus ca change, plus cest la meme chose? in obadare, e. and oyewole, d. (eds) (2003) the new partnership for africa’s development (nepad); challenges and development. lagos: centre for democracy and development. anyanwu, k.c. (1983). african experience in the american market place. new york: exposition press. cornell, d. (2009).ubuntu, pluralism and the responsibility of legal academics to the new south africa. law and critique 20 (1):43-58. ebo, s (2018). philosophical perspectives on theories of development for african economies. international multidisciplinary scientific conference on the dialogue between sciences & arts, religion & education, 2 (2), 209-218. economic commission for africa (1991). appraisal and review of the impact of the lagos plan of action on the development and expansion of intraafrican trade. economic commission for africa eleventh meeting of the conference of african ministers of trade ababa, ethiopia, 15 to 19 april 1991. hawking, s. & mlodinow, l. (2010). the grand design, new york: bantam press. kanu, i. a. (2016, february 29). igwebuike as the unity of the african philosophical experience. retrieved from http://igwebuikepedia.blogspot.com/2016/02/igwebuike-as-unity-ofafrican.html kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. paper presented at the national conference on peace and national development organized by the centre for peace development, veritas university, abuja, 20-22 november, 2017. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. paper presented at the 2017 igbo studies association international conference held at great wood hotel, owerri, imo state, from 8-10 june. kanu, i. a. (2017c). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. paper presented at the second african philosophy world conference held at the university of calabar, cross rivers state, department of philosophy, conversatonal school of philoosphy, from october 12th to 14th 2017 kanu, i. a. (2017d). igwebuike as an igbo-african wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. 2017, p.52 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 174 kanu, i. a. (2017e)., igwebuike and the logic of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. 2017, p.9 kanu, i. a. (2017f). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. 2017, p.127 kasanda, a. (2018). contemporary african social and political philosophy: trends, debates and challenges. london and new york: routledge. masolo, d. a., (1994). african philosophy in search of identity. bloomington. indiana university press. mazrui, a.a. (1980). the african condition. london: heinemann educational books ltd. mbiti, j. s. (1969). african religions and philosophy. new york: anchor nkrumah, k. (1959). consciencism. london. nkrumah, k. (1966) african socialism revisited. african forum: a quarterly journal of contemporary affairs, 1(3). ntibagirirwa, s. (2010). towards and african philosophy on economic development. paper presented at a colloquium on ‘developing the next generation of responsible leaders’ pretoria on 18 may 2010. nyerere, j. k. (1968). ujamaa: essays on socialism. london: oxford university press. o.a.u (1980) lagos plan of action for the economic development of africa (reprinted document). o.a.u: addis ababa. oruka, h.o. (1990) sage philosophy: indigenous thinkers and modern debate on african philosophy. ny: e.j. brill. pinker, s. (2011), the better angels of our nature: why violence has declined, new york: viking. ramose, m. (2002) i conquer therefore i am the sovereign: reflections upon sovereignty, constitutionalism, and democracy in zimbabwe and south africa. in p.h. coetzee & a.p.j. roux (eds.), african philosophy reader (2nd ed.). london: routledge. seers, d. (1969). the meaning of development. international development review 11(4), 3–4. sen, a. (1999). development as freedom. new york: oxford university press. smith, a. (1965). an inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of nations. new york: modern library. todaro, m.p. (1977). economics for a developing world: an introduction to principles, problems and policies for development. london: longman. tutu, d. (1999). no future without forgiveness. ny: doubleday. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 175 verharen, c., gutema, b., tharakan, j., bugarin, f., fortunak, j., kadoda, g., liu m. & middendorf, g. (2014). african philosophy: a key to african innovation and development. african journal of science, technology, innovation and development, 6:1, 3-12. wallerstein, i. (2004). world systems analysis: an introduction. durham: duke university press. wiredu, k. (1980). philosophy and an african culture. cambridge: cambridge university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 57 turn-taking and overlapping in a nigerian online political interview adamma m. amadi university putra malaysia federal university lokoja adammaamadi@gmail.com doi:10.13140/rg.2.2.21005.15840 abstract previous studies on media discourses in nigeria have not given adequate attention to the language of television interviews. the broadcast media seems not to have many admirers like the print media does. this study therefore attempts to fill this gap by analyzing turntaking types and overlapping in a news interview. the specific objectives are to describe the turn-taking pattern and describe the overlapping speech patterns. the interview, which was downloaded from youtube and transcribed using saymore, was selected because of the importance of the politician in nigerian politics. the method used in this study is qualitative and the analysis is inductive. the findings of the study revealed that the turn-taking pattern in the interview deviates from the question-response pattern expected of news interviews. the pattern identified in this study is explanation, question and response. interruptive and non-interruptive overlaps were identified in the study. interestingly, this study also identified a recursive interruptive overlap. finally, it was observed that disagreement between the interviewer and the interviewee often led to cases of overlaps. keywords: turn-taking patterns; overlapping; political interview; conversation analysis introduction nigeria’s political system is one which is filled with a lot of rivalry and resentments. according to tamir (2019) “many nigerians are sceptical about the country’s political and judicial systems” (tamir, 2019). the people of nigeria, despite this, are hopeful that the political system will change for the better. therefore, they have expectations for politicians and hope that they become concerned about the plight of the masses. since, the vast majority of the people may not have direct access to the politicians, one of the ways in which they can see and hear their politicians is through the media. political news interviews are mailto:adammaamadi@gmail.com https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.21005.15840?_sg%5b0%5d=6_ylcsnh_8r3yjcpn_t640cqgldtezp5cexkmgumuw1rg5zmc6uw0e8wekfeqna3bpncjtukbihc18ovmx1pwq19vq.ihxj5yl2yzdrnn8e21kxp5grh-bynu2j_-pwh42adtwoin_o42bv4n2y-cxfrjjtnzbhm4yriikou-xr8ezmvq igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 58 a way of assessing politicians and what they have to offer the people in their capacity as leaders. as beattie points out: intimate conversations between a politician and an interviewer are broadcast, to millions of viewers who witness at close quarters the speech and nonverbal style of the politician. many people seem to have become aware of this and that viewers were more likely to forget the content of the political message than the way it was delivered (beattie, 1982:95). being aware of this, it is important for politicians to be adept at turn-taking skills during their interviews since the people’s perception of them is highly significant. political interviews, a means of passing on political messages, make it very essential for politicians to dialogue effectively. interviews, in general, have a particular turn-taking pattern that involves questions by the interviewer (henceforth to be referred to as ir) and answers by the interviewee (henceforth to be referred to as ie) but this pattern is not often adhered to. non-adherence to this pattern causes overlapping. turn taking is an essential part of every conversation. this is important for both normal everyday interaction and institutional talk. every conversation type has its rules as to who speaks and at what time one is to speak. despite the differences in context, sacks et al. (1974) postulate that turn taking in conversation should have only one person speaking at a time and speaker change should occur. heritage and greatbatch have perfectly described the turn-taking system for news interview: turn-taking is organised through a distinctive normative procedure in which – unlike conversation – the types of turns that may be produced by each speaker are provided in advance. news interview talk should proceed as sequences of ir questions and ie responses to those questions. correspondingly, speakers who act as irs may not properly engage in actions other than questions, while those who take part as ies should refrain from initiating actions (such as unsolicited comments on prior talk) or sequences (for example, asking questions to which the ir or other ies would be obliged to respond) (heritage and greatbatch 1991:97–98). also, journalists are obliged to hold politicians accountable when they try to avoid answering questions that are of interest to the large populace. these questions may be related to how well they have functioned as politicians or if they have been indicted for corruption at any point. as the mouthpiece of the people, the journalist is expected to act in this capacity, else, the people would no igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 59 longer trust the journalist. the journalist may thenceforth be seen as a partaker in the political discourse that is full of propaganda. overlapping in interactions occur when two speakers are talking at the same time. overlapping varies across different conversations. sacks et al. (1974) opine that overlaps whenever they occur are usually brief and are accountable with regards to the turn-taking rules. overlapping in news interviews usually occur as a way of accepting what the other has said, refuting what the other has said (this is usually in the case of the ie) or a way of stopping the ie from talking too much or deviating from the topic of discussion (this is done by the ir). overlapping may be interruptive or non-interruptive. this study will identify the interruptive and non-interruptive overlaps and see what this does to meaning comprehension and what it tells us about the participants. turn-taking types and overlapping have been researched by scholars in various parts of the world. fitroh (2016) carried out a study on turn-taking strategies used by donald trump in his interview at university of wisconsin-green bay. adda-decker et al. (2008) carried out a study on annotation and overlapping speech in political interviews in greece. also, konakahara (2015) examines overlapping questions in casual english as lingua franca (elf) conversation. she identifies interruptive overlapping and its effect on the elf participants. furthermore, roca-cuberes (2014) compares broadcast political interviews in commercial and public broadcasts in spain. a study on the determinants of turntaking in nigerian television talk shows was done by (olutayo, 2013). the study identified seven main determinants and features of turn-taking in the talk shows. these studies have not accounted for the turn-taking patterns and overlapping in nigerian political interviews. therefore, the aim of this study is to analyse turntaking types and overlapping in the interview. the specific objectives are to describe the turn-taking pattern and describe the overlapping speech patterns. in line with this, conversational analysis (henceforth to be referred to as ca) as developed by (sacks et al., 1974) will be used in the study. ca proposes the need to analyse naturally occurring conversations and identify how participants make meaning of what they say, the rules guiding their talk-in-interaction and how they build social relationships. the features of talk as stipulated by gail jefferson will be used in the transcription of the data. heritage opines thus: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 60 the central goal of conversation analytic research is the description and explication of the competences that ordinary speakers use and rely on in participating in intelligible, socially organized interaction. at its most basic, this objective is one of describing the procedures by which conversationalists produce their own behaviour and understand and deal with the behaviour of others (heritage, 1984). methodology the method used in this study is qualitative and the analysis is inductive. the spoken discourse selected for this project was an institutional talk. it was an interview on fireworks, a weekly fiery interview programme on tvc news nigeria. fireworks is one of the television broadcasts that has several politicians coming up to answer questions on their political journeys, political interests and ways in which they have served the people. it is on one of such occasions that the data for this research is gotten from. fireworks is anchored by bukola samuelwemimo. currently at tvc news nigeria, bukola is a news anchor, who runs commentaries during live broadcasts and doubles as reporter and presenter of tvc’s fireworks programme (city people, 2017). in this case, bukola interviewed a well-known nigerian politician who has at different times crosscarpeted from one political party to another and who the people look up to for a better nigeria. this interview is of interest to nigerians as it shows how the politician has progressed in his political career and how much he has the interest of the people at heart. the duration of the data is 26 minutes and 37 seconds. the excerpts from this interview will be analysed according to their turn-taking patterns and the overlapping speech pattern. the recording was retrieved from youtube and transcribed using the transcription notation by jefferson transcription system. there is a list of transcription notations from jefferson transcription system, however, only three of the notations are used in this project. only overlaps (represented by brackets), continuation (represented by equal sign) and abrupt stop (represented by hyphen) would be noted in the transcription. the transcription uses three columns: the first column contains line numbers, the second column are the interactants, and the last column is the talk. the commas and full stops in this transcription are not indicative of jefferson’s transcription system. they are mere punctuations. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 61 analysis and discussion the analysis of the data will focus on describing turn-taking patterns and the overlapping speech of the interactants. turn-taking patterns the pairs of talk in an interview should include questions from the interviewer and responses from the interviewees. also, turn-taking rules state that one person should talk at a time. this is also important in political interviews since the interviewer is meant to ask questions in order to elicit information from the interviewee. the interviewer is therefore expected to ask clear questions and the interviewee to respond accordingly. in this study, we have identified three patterns from the recording, which is explanation, question and response. excerpt 1 ir : now, you had served for 8 years under the all nigeria's people's party as a lawmaker and of course you benefitted from that party. now, do you, when your house is on fire do you leave and go to your neighbour's house whose house is not on fire? ie : no no no, it was not like your house is on fire, these are different things it's like excerpt 2 ir : let's make progress, how do you... it is you know popular that you are the face of government as far as the national assembly is concerned in terms of budgetary matters and all of that, you have been the face of the government. how do you reconcile this key role that you're playing with your support for the senate president in his travail? ie : well, i don’t know where this interest conflicts... excerpt 3 ir : now, let's make progress your excellency, let's now look at issues of the fallout of insurgency in the country. i know that you have been in the forefront of promoting the course of the idps and indeed you moved the bill that enabled them to vote during the elections. can we look at the north east development commission bill which is also generating a debate? igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 62 ie : no, it has been generating support from these three excerpts, we see the interviewer gave an explanation on the background of the question before asking the question. this follows with a response from the interviewee. this is a pattern in the interviewee because the interviewer is trying as much as possible not to be misunderstood. interviewer wants to ensure that the interviewee understands what interviewer is talking about since the topic of discussion is politics which happens to be sensitive especially in a country like nigeria, where the people are at alert when it comes to political figures and what they say or do. on the other hand, a reverse of the turn-taking pattern in news interviews was identified in this interview. this occurs when the ie asks the ir questions. this occurred a few times as can be seen below (excerpts 4 and 5): excerpt 4 excerpt 5 types of overlaps overlaps as explained earlier can either be interruptive or non-interruptive. the excerpts below show the different kinds of overlaps in the data of the study. interruptive overlaps excerpt 6 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 63 the overlap occurs because the interviewee thinks the interviewer does not understand his stand-point. the interviewee therefore says, “…let me put it out to you clear.” the interviewee causes the overlap and holds the floor. excerpt 7 this interruptive overlap occurs because the interviewee already understood the question the interviewee wanted to ask and this can be seen in his response. the interviewee gives an adequate response to the question. he says “of course…i’m part of the saraki group” excerpt 8 this overlap occurs the moment the interviewee thinks that the interviewer is not in agreement with his thought. he expects the interviewer to accept that she is supporting the north east development bill. he tries to convince her as to why she should support the bill. recursive interruptive overlaps in the excerpts below (excerpts 9-11), there are several cases of recursive interruptive overlaps. recursive interruptive overlaps are where the overlaps continued between the interactants for more than a pair of talk. to the best of our knowledge, past studies have identified interruptions but none known to these researchers have talked about recursive interruptions in political interviews. excerpt 9 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 64 excerpt 10 excerpt 11 the ir and ie kept interrupting each other in these instances of talk. the ie always ensures that he holds the floor after the interruptions as can be seen above. non-interruptive overlaps there’s only one case of non-interruptive overlap in the interview. this interviewer repeats a word from what the interviewee had said and allowed the interviewee to continue with what he was saying. this can be seen in excerpt 12. excerpt 12 to our surprise, we have discovered that we have 75 instances of overlapping speech throughout the 26 minutes 37 seconds recording data. however, only 4 pairs of overlapping speech were not due to disagreement. one of the instances of overlapping speech which was not caused by disagreement was in excerpt 12. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 65 the rest of the overlap instances occurred because of disagreement. we could deduce from excerpts 13-15 that the ir and ie are aware of the turn-taking patterns that are supposed to be implemented during a news interview. the ir asks questions and the ie waits for her to finish before he responds. this can be seen in the excerpts below: excerpt 13 excerpt 14 excerpt 15 however, we noticed that 67 overlap instances were caused by disagreements between the ir and ie. the ie at different points in time kept saying, “no no no…” and this usually overlaps with the utterance of the ir. examples could be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 66 seen in excerpts 16 and 17. asides, the use of “no no no…” to show disagreement during the cases of overlap, the interviewee also uses words that show negation. he tries to negate whatever the ir says. for instance in excerpt 18, he says, “i don’t…”. excerpt 16 excerpt 17 excerpt 18 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 67 it was also observed that not all disagreements came in the form of “no no no…” or “i don’t….” utterances. in excerpt 19 and 20, the ie disagrees with the ir without saying, “no”. excerpt 19 excerpt 20 conclusion the turn-taking pattern identified in this study deviates from the questionresponse pattern that is expected of news interviews. the question of the interviewer is preceded by an explanation of what is to be asked. this is to ensure that the interviewee understands the background of the discussion. also, there are three types of overlaps identified in this study. the interruptive and non-interruptive overlaps have been identified in previous studies (beattie, 1982; fitroh, 2016). this study’s contribution is an identification of a recursive interruptive overlap. this form of overlap occurred severally in the interview. the interviewee begins the overlap and does not give up the turn even when the interviewer continues. he ensures he has the floor eventually. finally, the study identified disagreement as the cause of overlaps in the news interview. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 68 references adda-decker, m., barras, c., adda, g., paroubek, p., mareüil, p. b. de, habert, b., & to. (2008). annotation and analysis of overlapping speech in political interviews. marrakech, morocco. beattie, g. w. (1982). turn-taking and interruption in political interviews: margaret thatcher and jim callaghan compared and contrasted. semiotica, 39(1–2), 93–114. https://doi.org/10.1515/semi.1982.39.1-2.93 city people. (2017). bukola samuel-wemimo wins tv presenter of the year award. retrieved december 6, 2019, from city people online website: http://www.citypeopleonline.com/bukola-samuel-wemimo-wins-tvpresenter-year-award/ fitroh, f. (2016). turn-taking strategies used by donald trump’s interview in the university of wisconsin-green bay (master’s thesis). maulana malik ibrahim state islamic university, malang. heritage, j. (1984). a change-of-state token and aspects of its sequential placement. in atkinson, j. m., and heritage, j. (eds.), structures of social action: studies in conversation analysis, 299--345. heritage, j. and greatbatch, d. (1991) on the institutional character of institutional talk: the case of news interviews. in boden d. and zimmerman d. h. (eds) talk and social structure: studies in ethnomethodology and conversation analysis, 93–137. konakahara, m. (2015). an analysis overlapping questions in casual elf conversation: cooperative or competitive contribution. journal of pragmatics, 84, 37–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2015.04.014 olutayo, o. g. (2013). determinants of turn-taking in nigerian television talk shows. world journal of english language, 3(3), 67–77. https://doi.org/10.5430/wjel.v3n3p67 roca-cuberes, c. (2014). political interviews in public television and commercial broadcasters: a comparison. discourse and communication, 8(2), 155–179. https://doi.org/10.1177/1750481313507154 sacks, h., schegloff, e. a., jefferson, g., & angeles, i. l. (1974). university of california, university of california, university of p irvine los angeles. language, 50(4), 696–735. https://doi.org/10.2307/412243 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 69 tamir, c. (2019). as elections near, nigerians view their country’s economy and political system negatively. retrieved november 30, 2019, from pew research center website: https://www.pewresearch.org/facttank/2019/02/12/as-elections-near-nigerians-view-their-countrys-economyand-political-system-negatively/ microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 5.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 74 igwebuike versus relativism: the quest for truth ejikemeuwa j. o. ndubisi phd department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya, anambra state, nigeria. ejikon4u@yahoo.com & vincent gerald onwudinjo department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya, anambra state, nigeria. vincentgerald58@gmail.com abstract in the search for truth, how do we go about it? what is truth? is it an opinion? does truth have a universal characteristic or standard? does it differ in socio-cultural, socioreligious and socio-political terms? truth is often seen as being in accordance with fact or reality. but that fact or reality can be argued by the relativists to be subject to change or only spurred for the moment. this present paper tends to look at igwebuike as a concept and see how the term as an igbo worldview represents a universal search for truth in reality and how it relates to relativism. is truth absolute or is it relative? the study seeks to answer this and the related questions. for the purpose of this paper, the igwebuike research method of inquiry was employed. keywords: igwebuike, philosophy, relativisim, epistemology, truth, kanu ikechukwu anthony introduction the igbo term igwebuike can be used either as a word in contextual parlance or as a name of a person. just as other contextual names as oguejiofo, ejikemeuwa (ejighi ike eme uwa) and ozoemena, it strongly depicts life events and people’s participation in or approach to it. to save us the hurdle of ambiguity, igwebuike literarily means “strength in many.” it is the concurrence of many as against the opinionated or individualistic attitude of the few in a given circumstance. igwebuike is just like saying the more corroborating voice or acceptance an event of life has, the more it can be seen as a fact or as having a popular stronghold or influence. in other words, something can be taken as truth if majority agrees or if it has a universal application or appeal as against a relativist or particular approach. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 75 igwebuike is the belief that there is strength in collectivity, in collaboration, in solidarity, in unison, in agreement, in standing together, in working and achieving together. the more there is greater number of participation to reality, the more the tendency to arrive at truth or truthful conclusions. relativism as a term is often seen as appraising reality in contextual or situated pedestal. relativists believe there is no universal application of reality. what is good for the goose may not be good for the gander is their opinionated assessment of things. in the search for truth, how do we go about it? what is truth? is it an opinion? does truth have a universal characteristic or standard? does it differ in sociocultural, socio-religious and socio-political terms? truth is often seen as being in accordance with fact or reality. but that fact or reality can be argued by the relativists to be subject to change or only spurred for the moment. this present paper tends to look at igwebuike as a concept and see how the term as an igbo worldview represents a universal search for truth in reality and how it relates to relativism. is truth absolute or is it relative? the study seeks to answer this and the related questions. the concept of truth: an exposé truth is often seen as being in accordance with fact or reality. however, even at that, the concept of truth is still very much controversial as there is no absolutism on how different scholars view truth. each of them has differing views as to how truth can be gotten or comprehended. is truth universal or relative? these differing views succeeded in making the concept partitioned into many theories but chief among them are: 1. correspondence theory of truth. 2. coherence theory of truth. 3. pragmatic theory of truth. according to stanford encyclopedia of philosophy, much of the contemporary literature on truth takes as its starting point some ideas which were prominent in the early part of the 20th century. there were a number of views of truth under discussion at that time, the most significant for the contemporary literature being the correspondence, coherence, and pragmatic theories of truth. these theories all attempt to directly answer the nature question: what is the nature of truth? they take this question at face value: there are truths, and the question to be answered concerns their nature. in answering this question, each theory makes igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 76 the notion of truth part of a more thoroughgoing metaphysics or epistemology. explaining the nature of truth becomes an application of some metaphysical system, and truth inherits significant metaphysical presuppositions along the way.1 the basic idea of the correspondence theory is that what we believe or say is true if it corresponds to the way things actually are – to the facts.2 narrowly speaking, the correspondence theory of truth is the view that truth is correspondence to, or with, a fact—a view that was advocated by russell and moore early in the 20th century. but the label is usually applied much more broadly to any view explicitly embracing the idea that truth consists in a relation to reality, i.e., that truth is a relational property involving a characteristic relation (to be specified) to some portion of reality (to be specified). this basic idea has been expressed in many ways, giving rise to an extended family of theories and, more often, theory sketches. members of the family employ various concepts for the relevant relation (correspondence, conformity, congruence, agreement, accordance, copying, picturing, signification, representation, reference, satisfaction) and/or various concepts for the relevant portion of reality (facts, states of affairs, conditions, situations, events, objects, sequences of objects, sets, properties, tropes). the resulting multiplicity of versions and reformulations of the theory is due to a blend of substantive and terminological differences.3 the correspondence theory of truth is often associated with metaphysical realism. its traditional competitors, pragmatist, as well as coherentist, verificationist, and other epistemic theories of truth, are often associated with idealism, anti-realism, or relativism. in recent years, these traditional competitors have been virtually replaced (at least from publication-space) by deflationary theories of truth and, to a lesser extent, by the identity theory (note that these new competitors are typically not associated with anti-realism). still more recently, two further approaches have received considerable attention. one is truthmaker theory: it is sometimes viewed as a competitor to, sometimes as a more liberal version of, the correspondence theory. the other is pluralism: it incorporates a correspondence account as one, but only one, ingredient of its overall account of truth.4 in epistemology, b. a cornelius noted that the coherence theory of truth regards truth as coherence within some specified set of sentences, propositions or beliefs. the model is contrasted with igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 77 the correspondence theory of truth. a positive tenet is the idea that truth is a property of whole systems of propositions and can be ascribed to individual propositions only derivatively according to their coherence with the whole. while modern coherence theorists hold that there are many possible systems to which the determination of truth may be based upon coherence, others, particularly those with strong religious beliefs hold that truth only applies to a single absolute system.5 in general, truth requires a proper fit of elements within the whole system. very often, though, coherence is taken to imply something more than simple formal coherence. for example, the coherence of the underlying set of concepts is considered to be a critical factor in judging validity. in other words, the set of base concepts in a universe of discourse must form an intelligible paradigm before many theorists consider that the coherence theory of truth is applicable. it is the "theory of knowledge which maintains that truth is a property primarily applicable to any extensive body of consistent propositions, and derivatively applicable to any one proposition in such a system by virtue of its part in the system.6 ideas like this are a part of the philosophical perspective known as confirmation holism.7 coherence theories of truth claim that coherence and consistency are important features of a theoretical system, and that these properties are sufficient to its truth. to state it in the reverse, that "truth" exists only within a system, and doesn't exist outside of a system. according to another version (the philosopher credited with the definitive formulation of the theory, in his book the nature of truth, published in 1906), truth is a systematic coherence that involves more than logical consistency.8 in this view, a proposition is true to the extent that it is a necessary constituent of a systematically coherent whole. others of this school of thought, for example, brand blanshard, hold that this whole must be so interdependent that every element in it necessitates and even entails every other element. exponents of this view infer that the most complete truth is a property solely of a unique coherent system, called the absolute, and that humanly knowable propositions and systems have a degree of truth that is proportionate to how fully they approximate this idea.9 pragmatic theory of truth holds (roughly) that a proposition is true if it is useful. peirce and james were its principal advocates. utility is the essential mark of truth. beliefs that lead to the best "payoff", that are the best justification of our actions, that promote success, are truths, according to the pragmatists. the problems with pragmatic accounts of truth are counterparts to the problems seen igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 78 above with coherence theories of truth. 10 first, it may be useful for someone to believe a proposition but also useful for someone else to disbelieve it. for example, freud said that many people, in order to avoid despair, need to believe there is a god who keeps a watchful eye on everyone. according to one version of the pragmatic theory, that proposition is true. however, it may not be useful for other persons to believe that same proposition. they would be crushed if they believed that there is a god who keeps a watchful eye on everyone. thus, by symmetry of argument, that proposition is false. in this way, the pragmatic theory leads to a violation of the law of non-contradiction, say its critics.11 second, certain beliefs are undeniably useful, even though – on other criteria – they are judged to be objectively false. for example, it can be useful for some persons to believe that they live in a world surrounded by people who love or care for them. according to this criticism, the pragmatic theory of truth overestimates the strength of the connection between truth and usefulness.12 truth is what an ideally rational inquirer would in the long run come to believe, say some pragmatists. truth is the ideal outcome of rational inquiry. the criticism that we don't now know what happens in the long run merely shows we have a problem with knowledge, but it doesn't show that the meaning of "true" doesn't now involve hindsight from the perspective of the future. yet, as a theory of truth, does this reveal what "true" means?13 having succeeded in exploring the concept of truth, although, not exhaustive, let us look at the concept of igwebuike and truth in igbo ontology. igwebuike and the concept of truth in igbo society according to kanu, igwebuike is partitioned into three words. the three words include: igwe as a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power. thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force.14 kanu believes that at the level of igwebuike, no task is beyond the collective capability. igwebuike provides an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. as an ideology, igwebuike rests on the african principles of solidarity and complementarity. it argues that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 79 is ‘to be with the other’, in a community of beings. this is based on the african philosophy of harmony and complementarity, which is the underlying principle and unity of african traditional religious and philosophical experience. 15 asouzu in his complementary philosophy of ibuanyidanda, presents the african reality as “an all-embracing whole, in which all units form together a dynamic play of forces, which are in harmony with each other, by completing and supporting the other.16 asouzu further speaks of reality as “necessary complements of each other.”17 while describing the human society, asouzu advanced that, “human beings and societies exist only in relations.”18 the points being espoused here are that igwebuike as a concept has a people-centred orientation. it is communal in scope and application. it is the existential feeling that the more the merrier. it encapsulates the essence of life which is the fact that no man is an island. it is in strength and numbers that society is built. it is in strength and numbers that people are able to interact and build a strong network of interdependence, diplomacy and culture. in igbo, truth is called eziokwu. ezi-okwu is a combination of two words: ezi meaning, correct, right or good; and okwu meaning word or speech. literally, eziokwu means the right word, the correct sentence, the appropriate statement. in other words it is the correct response to a question, the appropriate intervention in an argument. in igbo culture, when one wants the interlocutor to say the truth, he demands of him, kwuo ezi okwu. this means that the interlocutor should say the truth as he knows it or heard it or saw it. in this context, truth is correspondence between a statement or a fact or a concrete thing. also among the igbo, truth could be obtained by analyzing what a person says. if the analysis reveals that the statement coheres with a set of accepted facts or beliefs, then it is true; otherwise it is false.19 however, truth in practice may be suffering universal application. in igbo culture, for instance, the idea of truth should be symbolic. corroborating this notion of the problem of truth in igbo culture, j. u. ikegwu noted that igbo culture has been jeopardized by colonialism and globalization and is on the precinct of dilapidation and extinction as a result of ignorance and disdain for cultural practices.20 she noted that one of the things symbolic of justice and truth in igbo land is the ofo. the ofo is the symbol of truth and justice. thus, the igbo sees one who holds the ofo to be able to dish out truth and justice in a way that shows collective acceptance or community solidarity. the reason being that it igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 80 shows the spirit of the community as an upholder of truth and justice.21 all the post-colonial indigenous scholars unanimously believe that ofo stands for truth justice and authority. their definitions and beliefs are in agreement with ejizu: ofo bụ akara nke eziokwu, ikpenkwumọtọ, ikike ọchịchị, inwere onwe, ekpere ruru chineke ntị, n’ike dị’ n’ aka ụmụnwoke, na umụnna bụ ude; na ofo bụ akara nke eziokwu, ikpenkwumọto, ịkwụwa aka ọtọ, ike ọchịchị, na ikike ịgọ ma ọ bụ ikpere chineke na ndị mmụọ ekpere.22 the above citation literally means that “ofo is the symbol of truth, justice, power of leadership, freedom, prayer that reaches god’s ear, reserved power for the men and strength in kinsmen and ofo is the symbol of truth, justice, righteousness, power of leadership, worship and prayer to god and the spirits”23 n. h echem noted that in igbo worldview, truth is so valued that the axiom ‘ezi okwu bụ ndụ’, ‘truth is life’, has become commonplace. in this sense therefore, a liar is someone who negates the life principle which truth gives. for them, a man’s being is diminished or increased depending on the “quantity” and “quality” of the truth he possesses. theory of truth in igbo thought and life is not based on establishing ground for belief of propositional sentences in the language. instead, it deals with the truth of knowledge expressed in propositional sentences. for examples: � my friend is sick � god exists � gold is expensive. an igbo man would ask, whether is it a fact that; ‘my friend is sick’, ‘god exists’, and ‘gold is expensive’. for the igbo, truth is a quality of knowledge and not a quality of being, because of this truth is never possessed. even though they believe and say that a man’s being is diminished or increased depending on the ‘quantity’ and ‘quality’ of the truth he possesses. what the igbo mean here by possession of truth is that any person who presents things as they are supposed to be is said to possess truth.24 the igbo understands so well, what it means to possess truth. that is why they say, that truth can never be possessed. this is because truth is not a quality of being but a quality of knowledge. that is to say that the possession of truth igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 81 which the igbos are talking about is different from the universal possession of truth. the possession of truth, we are talking here, is not finding oneself in the totality of truth or in ‘definite’ truth. possession of truth, we want to explain here is or could be likened to an organism in the atmosphere. i breathe truth always and everywhere. it is my very life. however, just as i breathe only a small part of the air so also i possess only a small portion of truth. for igbos, truth is an elusive and enigmatic concept. either as humanity or as an individual, man knows very little of the property and internal energy of things. he can only extract some immediate values in relation to his proper need for feeding himself. his food is what he finds already in nature, so also are his habitation, clothing or even arms, example: the stone. what does man really know about the air he breathes or the sun that gives him light and heat? in fact, he knows very little or nothing about the secret structure of his proper organisms, the laws, the coordination of their biological functions, the mystery of himself. he does not know his habitation – the earth – what it is, how it is, where it is, not to talk of the stars and the heavens. consequently, the igbos comes to the realization that certain truths are above human knowability.25 the igbo have the conception of both mundane and divine or eternal truth. mundane truth is reached through consensus, that is, it is ‘socio-praxical’, it often demands the requirement of pragmatic efficacy, verdict of oracle, visionary insights, ancestral transmissions and the words of sages and elders. divine or eternal truth belongs to the almighty god. this type of truth can be revealed to man through the oracles, divinities, or elders who are inspired by the gods..26 following from the above points, among the igbos, individuals are permitted to hold to their subjective truths derived from their personal conviction borne out of their peculiar experience. objective truth is truth accepted after communal vetting through years of authentic tests. hence, for the igbos, the conception of truth is both integrative and analytic, it is circumstantial and absolute, and everything depends on the matrix of discourse.27 as we have already stated, that the notion of truth in igbo thought and life is vividly explained in the two major expression with which the igbo describe the truth of a statement. that is ‘ezi okwu’ and ‘ihe mere eme’. they are used to capture in totality, the notion of truth among the igbo. just as we said that the expression ‘ihe mere eme’ defines what truth is for the igbo; “ezi okwu’ gives the criteria to back it up. just as in the case of correspondence and coherence theory of truth in western epistemology.28 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 82 now, to our analysis of these expressions. on its own, the expression ‘ezi okwu’ has no moral undertones. the ezi (good) in ezi okwu is not necessarily a moral one since it is not used in contradistinction to ‘evil’. however, ‘onye ezi okwu’, that is, one who speaks the truth has great moral undertone for ‘onye ezi okwu’ is many times over preferred to the opposite: ‘onye okwu asị’. however, the distinction ends here, especially if it is considered why ‘onye ezi okwu’ is in a moral sense preferred over and above ‘onye okwu asị’.29 from the foregoing, one thing is clear: the igbo view of truth is both subjective and objective. subjective, in the sense that truth for the igbo can be based on personal conviction of what is right. this is seen according to how ‘onye na chi ya so aga.’ for instance, the igbo name ‘muna chim so aga' aptly captures this subjectivism. thus, at this subjective level, if one walks and works with his chi, the outcome of event becomes a true reflection of one’s destined path irrespective of how others may see or view those events. thus, it becomes truth according to how one’s ‘chi' wants things to go, according to conscience and moral rectitude. on the other hand, the igbo also see truth in relation to communal or ancestral heritage. truth is what has been long standing and upheld by the community down the ages. it is a composition of solidarity, unity, purpose, agreement and togetherness. thus, where there is collective unity of purpose, the igbos believe truth prevails and exist there. it is in this sense that igwebuike holds water. here, the idea of vox populi, vox dei becomes also true for the igbo. truth becomes eternal because it has a universal appeal. understanding relativism we have looked at the concept of truth in relation to the igbo society. let us discuss relativism as a concept. relativism is the idea that views are relative to differences in perception and consideration. there is no universal, objective truth according to relativism; rather each point of view has its own truth.30 the major categories of relativism vary in their degree of scope and controversy.31 moral relativism encompasses the differences in moral judgments among people and cultures.31 truth relativism is the doctrine that there are no absolute truths, that is, that truth is always relative to some particular frame of reference, such as a language or a culture (cultural relativism).32 descriptive relativism seeks to describe the differences among cultures and people without evaluation, while normative relativism evaluates igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 83 the morality or truthfulness of views within a given framework. e. westacott argues: relativism is sometimes identified (usually by its critics) as the thesis that all points of view are equally valid. in ethics, this amounts to saying that all moralities are equally good; in epistemology it implies that all beliefs, or belief systems, are equally true. critics of relativism typically dismiss such views as incoherent since they imply the validity even of the view that relativism is false. they also charge that such views are pernicious since they undermine the enterprise of trying to improve our ways of thinking.33 perhaps because relativism is associated with such views, few philosophers are willing to describe themselves as relativists. however, most of the leading thinkers who have been accused of relativism – for example, ludwig wittgenstein, peter winch, thomas kuhn, richard rorty, michel foucault, jacques derrida – do share a certain common ground which, while recognizably relativistic, provides a basis for more sophisticated, and perhaps more defensible, positions. although, there are many different kinds of relativism, they all have two features in common. (1) they all assert that one thing (e.g. moral values, beauty, knowledge, taste, or meaning) is relative to some particular framework or standpoint (e.g. the individual subject, a culture, an era, a language, or a conceptual scheme). (2) they all deny that any standpoint is uniquely privileged over all others.34 it is thus possible to classify the different types and sub-types of relativism in a fairly obvious way. the main genera of relativism can be distinguished according to the object they seek to relativize. thus, forms of moral relativism assert the relativity of moral values; forms of epistemological relativism assert the relativity of knowledge. these genera can then be broken down into distinct species by identifying the framework to which the object in question is being relativized. for example, moral subjectivism is that species of moral relativism that relativizes moral value to the individual subject.35 concluding reflection igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 84 in the beginning of this paper, we sought to construe igwebuike as a concept and contrast it with relativism in the quest and search for truth and also to ascertain which of them is more viable. truth is basically seen as correspondence to fact. however, can truth be absolute? is truth universal in discovery and application or relative? igwebuike represents universalism in igbo ontological understanding. if there is strength in many, it follows that what is true holds water, what is true is strong enough to disprove what is false. it means that igwebuike is objective because many agree to a fact of event or reality as against a subjective construal and approach to reality which is relativism. the truth of “we” has a stronger effect than the truth of “i.” that is why in the law courts, a person cannot by his own prove innocence except one or multiple witnesses say what is the truth or what truly transpired. the judge leverages on the outcome of the witnesses to pass a verdict or judgement. relativism is a personal, subjective approach to viewing, judging and evaluating things or reality without public considerations. relativism is against universalism because it cannot be applied in all given circumstances. it is always about an opinion and truth in objective construal cannot be opinion, even though, some philosophers like kwasi wiredu has likened it to opinion. igwebuike is the philosophy that the “i” is subsumed in the “we.” although, at the existentialist level, this is contentious, especially as the likes of soren kierkegaard disapproves of the ‘anonymous mass of they.’ for the individual must rise above the crowd to find personal cum authentic existence. be that as it may, this kind of existentialist thinking has its own merit in relation to authentication and personal development but not in relation to group and societal progress or development. for a community or society to truly evolve, all hands must be on deck. the igwebuike philosophy can be likened to the building of a house in which one cannot be the bricklayer, welder, plumber, architect and labourer all alone or all at once. when many people become involved in the house project, it will be completely built with ease and in record time. therefore, in the search for truth and meaning in reality, universal approach is better compared to a relativistic approach. igwebuike philosophy, as propagated by i. a kanu, becomes a paradigm, a leeway to the search for truth and meaning in human existence and society because it has mass appeal. the adage: “i am because we are, and since we are, therefore, i am,” best captures the idea that there is strength or power in many. indeed, igwe bu ike! igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 85 endnotes 1. stanford encyclopedia of philosophy, “truth” https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/truth/#neoclathetru (accessed: 1/7/2019) 2. ibid 3. ibid 4. ibid 5. benjamin, a. cornelius, "coherence theory of truth", in d. d. runes. (ed.), dictionary of philosophy, (littlefield, adams, and company, totowa, nj, 1962), p. 58. 6. ibid 7. ]quine, w. v., and ullian, j. s., the web of belief (random house, new york, ny, 1978), ch. viii. 8. internet encyclopedia of philosophy, “truth” https://www.iep.utm.edu/truth/#h6 (accessed:4/7/2019). 9. baylis, charles a. "truth", in d.d. runes (ed.), dictionary of philosophy (littlefield: adams and company, totowa, nj. 1962), p. 321-322 10.internet encyclopedia of philosophy, op.cit. 11. ibid 12. ibid 13. ibid 14. i. a., kanu, “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership” in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 (7), december 2017. pp.165-183. 15.i.a.,kanu, “igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization” in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 (1), march 2016.pp.1-7 16. asouzu, i. i. “ibuaru: the heavy burden of philosophy, beyond african philosophy.” studies in african philosophy series. (munster: lit verlag, 2007), p. 14 17. asouzu, i. i., the methods and principles of complementary reflection in and beyond african philosophy. (calabar: university of calabar press, 2004), p. 46 18. asouzu, i. i., ibuanyidanda: new complementary ontology. beyond world immanentism, ethnocentric reduction and impositions (munster: lit verlag, 2007), p. 74 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 86 19. s. i.nnoruka, “african culture and the quest for truth” in philosophy today, vol. 43. no. 4 (1999). 20. j. u. ikegwu, “ofo as a global cultural resource and its significance in igbo culture area.” https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269277866 (accessed: 4/7/2019). 21. ejizu, t.c., ofo igbo ritual symbol (enugu: fourth dimension publishers, 1986). 22.ibid 23. ibid 24.n.h. echem, “notion of truth in igbo thought and life.” http://www.scharticles.com/notion-truth-igbo-thought-life/ (accessed: 5/7/2019). 25.ibid 26.ibid 27.ibid 28.ibid 29.ibid 30. wikipedia, “relativism” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/relativism#cite_note-1 (accessed: 6/7/2019). 31.ibid 32.ibid microsoft word igwebuike journals vol. 4. no. 5..docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 128 religion and politics in nigeria jude ifeanyichukwu onebunne department of educational foundation federal college of education (technical), umunze, anambra state juno.anyi@gmail.com abstract the relationship between politics and religion is intimate because there is always a point of convergence. more so, the relationship is complex because of the intricacies inherent in the politicization of religion. focusing on nigeria, today, there are three dominant religious groups in nigeria, islam, christianity and african traditional religion. islam and christianity are not recognized here because of the trivialization of the position of traditional animism; that they take the centre stage in this work is deliberate because of the impact of both on the nigerian government and politics. the researcher uses the method of critical analysis to review the politicization of these religions and the extent to which religious and political intolerance have had adverse effects on the peace, stability and national growth and development in nigeria. the impact profoundly reinforces regional and ethnic differences and makes stability in all ramifications more difficult. the recognition of the problem brought about by the politicization of religion has inspired the writing of this paper which is aimed at exploring the relationship between the two; how they both relate to power; and the problems that have emanated from there. the researcher advocates that the three tiers of government, clergy and the politicians should come together to see that religion and politics work together in nigeria because they are in separable. keywords: religion, politics, nigeria introduction religion and politics have been bound in a passionate love-hate affair since the beginning of time. bearing in mind the volatility of nigeria and the havocs religious crisis have wrecked in the country, one may ask: should religion and politics be mixed, most especially in a secular state like nigeria? and if they are mixed, would the mixture be like "manna from heaven", or a powerful poison that burns everything it touches? though it has being this way, but there is an incontrovertible connection between religion and politics. while the actual role that religion plays in politics has remained debatable, the nexus between the two concepts has been established for long (falana, 2010). religion does not make people good or bad. on the contrary, it is being used as an instrument of oppression and deceit in nigeria. it appears that nigerians have resigned igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 129 themselves to fate and this is possibly further compounded by poverty, illiteracy, and lack of political education on the part of majority. this position is further aggravated by the general perception that politics is a dirty game and that only people who can deceive, manipulate, and greedily accumulate wealth are meant to participate (egbewole & etudaiye, 2011). the number of religious people in nigeria run into million, yet the level of insecurity, destruction of lives and properties and crimes committed in the name of religion is overwhelming. the need for political stability in nigeria cannot be overemphasized. a major variable in the nigerian polity is the relationship between religion and politics which some consider as inseparable, while some support the notion of the separation of religion from politics, so that, the former will not imbibe the corruption inherent in the latter. this leads observers sometimes to speak of the politicization of religion, and aver that it is against the original intent of the founder of religion, or god himself (van der veer, 1996). all over the country, religion plays an important role in the daily lives of her citizens; the way we interact with one other, our choice of dressing, food, and politics are mostly affected by religion. in other words, religion and politics are intertwined and it empowers man to function in his society by contesting for a political position so as to contribute his ideology. nigeria's population of over 140 million is divided nearly equally between christians, muslims and a minority traditional worshippers. the importance of this division is well illustrated by the fact that religion, not nationality, is the way in which most nigerians choose to identify themselves; though not in all cases. thus, the domains of religion, secularism and politics are becoming increasingly intermingled in both overt and covert ways. invariably, sectarian politics is inherently problematic (tar & shettima, 2010). thus, there is a need to look at the effects of religion on politics in nigeria since independence. in addition, the study intends to find out how religion can bring sustainable development to our politics. it concludes by agitating for religious tolerance and the hinging of politics on moral codes. conceptual framework concept of religion the word ‘’religion’’ is derived from three latin words vis-à-vis ‘’ligare’’ meaning to bind, ‘’relegere’’ meaning to unite or link, and ‘’religio’’ meaning relationship. from this exploration, religion is a relationship that exists between igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 130 human beings and divine beings. bouquet articulated it as “a fixed relationship between the human self and some non-human entity, the sacred, the supernatural, the self-existent, the absolute or simply, god” (as cited in omoregbe, 1993). however, we consider religion in this study as human activities manifesting through beliefs and ritual practices in response to the super sensible being, believed to exist. imo (1986) posits that ‘religion’ has a combination of two things: the profane and the supernatural. therefore, a good definition of religion must have to take the two things into consideration. he advances that religion is the varied, symbolic expression of, and appropriate response to that, which people deliberately affirm as being of unrestricted value for them. mcgee (1980) defines religion as “a set of activities organized around the sacred that non-empirical source of power, transcendence, mystery and awe’. the basic dimensions of religion include the belief patterns which accommodate the sacred reality people experience through revelation, reflection or divine illumination; ritual practices which are prescribed for believers as appropriate human responses in the relationship to the ultimate source of being or value; ethical codes which are behaviour directed towards other person; and cultic organization. according to james g. frazer, “religion is a belief in a power superior to man, which is believed to direct and control the course and nature of human life” (as cited in rao, 1990). nottingham (1971), on the other hand defines it from the perspective of emotional and sentimental attachment of the traditional practices of the past as the determining criteria for religious belief. she says, “religion is for many people so much an affair of the heart, so often inexplicable even to themselves, so coloured by their own special feeling for the particular belief and ceremonies that have become sacred to them through long association”. another view closer to the above definition given by malcolm hamilton (2001) is that “religion is seen to be the product of psychological factors inherent in all human beings and on the other it is seen as providing support for social values and social stability”. concept of politics politics is from two greek words polis meaning city and tikos meaning art, skill or method. abearian & masannat (1970) define politics as “a phenomenon which has its origin in the class of individual preferences, its process in public demands igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 131 for accommodation of competing goals and its output in the form of binding public polices’. david easton (cited in olaniyi, 2001) defined politics as being concerned with the process of “authoritative allocation of values in any social system”. values here include all things sought after in the society such as wealth, respect, prestige, position, security, power among others. aristotles ( 384-322 bc) saw politics as a natural tendency of human beings and cannot be avoided, for example when he tries to determine his position in society , when he tried to achieve personal well-being , and when he attempted to persuade others to accept his view . aristotle concluded that the ability of individuals and businesses to achieve higher forms of social life is through political interaction with other people. interactions that occur within an institution that is designed to solve social conflicts and establish state goals. thus the word indicates an aspect of political life, is commonly understood as life aspects relating to the elements of power: the state, power, decision making, policy, and division or allocation. johan kaspar bluntschli states that politics is the science of watching the affairs of state, to fight for and understanding of the state and circumstances, the properties essentially, in various forms or manifestations of development. ” joyce mitchell defines politics as the collective decision-making or policy-making common to the whole society (politics is a collective decision making or the making of public policies for an entire society). karl w. duetch states that politics is a decision-making through public facilities. ” (politics is the making of a decision by public means). religion and politics religion has been an indispensable phenomenon in nigeria. it had become an important factor in political discourse (adigwe & grau, 2007). the influence of religion is not only limited to politics but its power influences virtually all other facets of life. political power affects economic prosperity, social relation, educational advancement, and the psych of the society. there are three dominant religions in nigeria: african traditional religion, islam and christianity. all these religions and their ideologies allow for interaction between religion and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 132 politics. the traditional religion of a society is a systematic reflection of their sociocultural influence, history and legacies on elemental forces, which in turn produces a belief in a supreme cosmic power that created heaven and earth. to this power belong all things in their social psych. thus, traditional politics of the people has a strong linkage to belief in theocracy. to the yorubas, oba (king), the political leader of the people, is only holding his office in trust for olodumare (the supreme being). more so, before an oba is selected or appointed, as the case may be, the ifa oracle must be adequately consulted for spiritual approval. therefore, politics and religion in traditional society are intertwined and have direct influence on each other. this is still the situation, even at the close of the 20th century (laguda, 2008). also, islam as a way of life dictates and governs the totality of life of muslims from cradle to grave. consequently, his political interest, economic considerations, social values and interaction are often given islamic interpretations based on the holy quran, prophetic practices and other sources of law recognized in islam. these virtues are expected to permeate the sociopolitical structure of any islamic state. in fact, prophet mohammed was the spiritual as well as the political leader of his people during his lifetime. after his death, the caliphs emerged and still held on to the same principles. regardless of the nature of the society, islam encourages muslims to hold on to its principles by allowing the holy quran and the sunnah to be their guide. we can conclude here that islam allows for a spiritual relationship between religion and politics (akintola, 1997). similarly, abubakre (1984), writing from an islamic perspective, suggests that islam is a way of life, which dictates the political ideology and practice in any islamic society. he points out that the ideals of islam are good and are meant to guide political conducts, however, the practices of such ideals are usually influenced by the socio-cultural institutions in the society, including politics. for many muslims, islam is a total way of life. it is not correct, according to this viewpoint, to speak of religion and politics but instead religio-politics. islam is believed to be relevant and integral to politics, law, education, social life, and economy. these are not viewed as secular institutions or areas of life but as aspects of the islamic religion. thus, religion and society are interrelated. laguda (2008) argues that christians in nigeria would rather not get involved in politics but the fact remains that jesus christ did not discourage political igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 133 participation for the faithful. however, laguda’s argument is unconvincing due to the fact that there are many christians who are involved in politics and that have won political seats as governors, senators and honourable. in judaism, which provided background to christianity, the god of israel, yahweh, is the god of war (josh. 6:20), economy (ex. 16), obedience and moral virtues (num. 21:4-8). hence, from the outset of the three main religions in nigeria, politics and religion have effectively complemented each other. as the divine played the religious role, human played the political role. and the effectiveness of both religion and politics has been based, not only on the involvement of the divine in the activities of man, but also in following its ethics and principles. political scientists believe that man is a political animal. this means that we cannot do without politics as well as religion in our everyday life. therefore, since we make use of each of them in our daily activities, we tend to politicize religion and religionize politics. thus, nigerian politics is characterized chiefly by “politicization of religion and religionization of politics” (adogame, 2006). mixing the two together makes religion to lose its sanctity and politics to become dirtier. this reality is manifested in the nature of nigeria’s postcolonial state system, particularly the capture and control of state power by a self-centred, and divided political class that strategically used religion and politics to divide the people, consolidate and extend its control over resources and power in nigeria’s emerging capitalist formation. for instance, after nigeria’s independence in 1960, sir ahmadu bello, the premier of northern nigeria, embarked on an “official” campaign to “islamize” the north and eventually spread islam to other regions. this drive generated, particularly among the christians and adherents of african traditional religions (atrs), the fear of looming religious extinction. many scholars have postulated several definitions of religion; however, there is no concise meaning for it because there are problems in defining religion. in fact, idowu (1973) argues that religion is a difficult topic to handle, whether we are considering its connotation, its origin, or its definition. wali (1989) asserts that religion is a people’s way of life including both their tradition and social interaction. it is man’s integral attitude of life. from the dawn of his creation, man has never been divorced of religion, whatever kind it may be. it is important to note that religion possesses great functional value and, as a dimension of human life, is believed to have been present since time immemorial. hence, it is glaring that people attached a strong significance to religion. it controls man in its entirety. it shows that man cannot do without religion regardless of what he/she believes in. in addition, religion stimulates man to control his environment by struggling for power, so as to achieve his objective(s). in a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 134 nutshell, religion empowers man to pursue political power and other forms of power that can make him to have firm control of his environment. the access to the powers which religion gives to man makes religion inseparable from politics. in survey conducted by the pew forum on religion and public life from may to june 2006 explained that 76% of christians say that religion is more important to them than their identity as africans, nigerians or members of an ethnic group. among muslims, the figure that chose religion as their most important factor stood at 91%. this shows the power inherent in religion and the value people place on it (ruby & shah, 2007). politics on the other hand does not have a common definition. politics is the activity through which people make, preserve and amend the general rules under which they live. as such, it is an essentially social activity, inextricably linked on the one hand to the existence of diversity and conflict, and on the other, to a willingness to co-operate and act collectively. politics requires a constitution and political parties. it involves ideology. it includes criticism (opinion); it requires the public and the state which made up of individuals (dzurgba, 2008). it is about the acquisition of power and the use of such power. onyekpe (1998) defines it as: the struggle for power which itself is the authority to determine or formulate and execute decisions and policies, which must be accepted by them. it is the struggle for power of governance, especially executive authority. from the aforementioned, politics is an everyday affair. we make use of politics in our home, office, school, organization, church, mosque etc. it is about control, supremacy and authority. hence, there is an element of power in religion and politics. however, there is a possibility of effective interaction between religion and politics in a pluralized society. this relationship will depend largely on some essential conditions in the society. these include secularization of politics, flexibility of religious beliefs and respect of the other (where adherents of different faiths are not fanatical or particularistic) and separation of religion from politics. in the same vein, in homogenous societies, it is possible to have pluralized religious ideologies. but where there is a consensus on teachings and practices of such religions, there is bound to be unity of political purpose (alfold, 1981). in other words, it is the society that will determine the success of the relationship and this depend on how they apply their religious tenets to every issues related to the society. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 135 religion and politics since independence generally, there are three ways in which religion can influence politics, namely, by the direct involvement of religious men in politics, by fusing the two (religion and politics) as one and by subjecting politics or government to the doctrine or laws of religion, thereby carrying out politics or governance along the line of religious doctrine, ideals or laws (omoregbe, 2003). all these are obvious in nigerian politics and this makes religion and politics inseparable. religion and religious conflict have long been part of nigerian politics and public life. in the 1950s, while nigeria remained under the british rule, islamic law (sharia) was incorporated into the country's legal system. in the late 1960s, religion was one factor in the internal conflict that eventually erupted into biafra war (1967 to 1970), during which about 600,000 people were killed. at the end of the civil war, despite gowon’s declaration of no victor, no vanquished, the foreign missionaries who were working in the former biafran enclave were expelled from the country and all the mission schools in the east central state were taken over by the government. this immediately put the church into a position of opposition to the government. in addition, other measures imposed by the federal government clearly placed the people of the former biafra in a very difficult position. these measures included the introduction of the federal character in civil service appointment, the quotasystem in the admission process into tertiary institutions and the setting up of pilgrims’ welfare boards, specifically and exclusively for muslims. since the creation of the christian association of nigeria (can) in the 1970s, the northern political leaders have regarded it as the political wing for christians. since the mid-1980s, however, tension between christians and muslims has become consistent feature of nigerian politics .the reaction of the northern political leaders towards this development strengthened against the consciousness of the christians for greater involvement in the political arena. they became aware of the inspiration and support which islam provides for muslim politicians and strived for a reciprocal situation among christian politicians (enwerem, 1995). in 1986, the then muslim military ruler incorporated nigeria into membership of the organization of the islamic conference (oic), provoking an immediate outcry from many christians, who objected to it. in response, nigerian christians pushed the government to establish formal diplomatic relations with the state of israel and this occurred in the early 1990s. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 136 in a joint pastoral letter, the catholic bishops’ conference of nigeria emphasizes the civic and political responsibilities of all christians. this excerpt represents the general content of the letter: .... it is the noble right and serious duty of every responsible citizen to do what he can towards the establishment, maintenance and successful operation of a good government. the prospective voter should be convinced of the importance of his vote. neglecting to vote is the denial of potential support for social justice and progress... voting conscientiously and purposefully is the citizen’s most available and direct way of contributing to the election of most suitable leaders and support of beneficial policies. it is also in this sense that selling one’s vote or cashing it for short-sighted gain is offensive before god and man (schineller, 2002). effect of religion on politics the presidency of obasanjo in 1999 again brought about the return of religious debate, especially on the sharia law. his presidency was supposed to be recompense to the north for totally supporting him during the 1999 election. although according to kukah (2003), it was in 1979 that non-muslims outside the north appeared to have heard of the sharia for the first time. during the debate on the draft constitution for the new republic, members of the national assembly stumbled on a clause in the draft which states as follows: 1. there shall be a federal sharia court of appeal, which shall be an intermediate court of appeal between the states’ sharia courts of appeal and the supreme court of nigeria. 2. the court shall be composed of a grand mufti and whatever number of muftis (not less than three) the national assembly shall prescribe. 3. in each state of the federation that so desires there shall be a sharia court of appeal to be established by the constitution of the state”. with this understanding, christians in the national assembly were united in purpose to stand against the endorsement of shari’a law. likewise, the muslim members stood their ground to see it become law. after negotiations, a subcommittee was set up, which finally tabled a draft proposal for the members to consider. this draft was accepted and duly inserted in the proposed constitution. it stated that, instead of having a separate federal sharia court of appeal, which might appear to be at par with the supreme court, the supreme court should comprise some members that are learned in islamic law to hear appeals from igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 137 state sharia courts of appeal. though, this proposal was accepted, later events revealed that religion has penetrated into nigerian politics in a powerful way than ever before. the muslims on one hand seem to have braced up to pursue the sharia issue and to implement it in the entire federation while christians, on the other hand, were set on the alert and considered ways to foster solidarity among themselves in resistance to feared attempts at the islamization of nigeria. finally, religion became a strong factor that could not be waved aside in policy making. in addition, the debate on sharia law led to schism. many muslim interpreted the constitutional provisions by focusing on the provision on freedom of religion. many christians, in contrast, focused on the provision that no state religion be adopted and feel that the introduction of shari’a law is unconstitutional, because it affects their religious freedom. with the introduction of shari’a law, some christian groups have ‘translated’ the current muslim debate into the realm of christianity and demanded the introduction of (christian) canon law in predominantly christian states (imo, 2008). moreover, the implementation of sharia law brought about religious unrest, violence and annihilation of christians, especially in the states that adopted sharia law. during obasanjo’s tenure, christian-muslim tensions deepened. shortly after he assumed office in 1999, twelve states decided to apply sharia to criminal cases, provoking considerable hostility from the christians. at the same time, many christian denominations stepped up evangelistic and missionary efforts in middle-belt and northern states thus, further heightened tensions. on this, atubi (2007) remarks that: the anti-sharia demonstration by christians on 21st february, 2000 led to a major conflict between the two groups, resulting in massive killings of people on both sides, the destruction of religious buildings, general arson, and destruction of property. the scale of the massacre and destruction was very high and thousands of people were reported to have been slaughtered like rams. the kaduna conflict demonstrated the fundamental problem created by the adoption of the sharia legal system. there was insecurity of life among christian minority groups in the state. many people, on both sides, called for partition of nigeria, rather than adoption and abandonment of the sharia system. the kaduna religious crises led to retaliatory killings and burning of mosques in abia and owerri, in which igbo youth targeted northerners who they accused of killing their kith in the north. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 138 since may 1992, over 10,000 people have died from communal-religious conflicts. plateau, benue, taraba and borno states constituted the highest figure of causalities. according to some accounts, more than 10,000 people have been killed in sectarian conflicts, primarily in kaduna and plateau states in the last seven years. subsequently from 2001, incidents of christian-muslim violence have become more frequent and bloodier. violence between muslims and christians in nigeria has claimed thousands of lives in the past decade. it flared again in february 2006 when muslim were outraged at the caricatures of the prophet muhammad which led to a massacre of dozens of christians in the north, followed by reprisal killings of muslims by christians in the south. more than 150 people were killed and numerous churches and mosques destroyed. also, the effect of religion on politics has brought about people voting according to their faith regardless of the capacity of the candidate to lead the country. this was evident in the southeast. for instance, catholic priests in anambra state openly enjoined their members to vote for peter obi (former governor) because of his religious inclination. according to him “he always clutched his chaplet tightly in his hands to demonstrate to the catholic faithful that he was certainly one of them. ”and they accepted him (okafor, 2011). although, islam and christianity have taken a clear position in the political life of nigerians, it does not mean that african traditional religion is relegated to the background. even muslim and christian politicians, privately and secretly consult the priests of the african traditional religion, especially when it comes to political agreements and business contracts. however, african traditional religion is not a strong factor in the fashioning of state policies and political programs. the manipulation of religion by some powerful individuals who hide under the guise of religion to pursue selfish interests, and greediness of some religious leaders who patronize corrupt rulers remains part of the negative effects of religion on the polity. greed has crept into the religious terrain to the extent that some religious leaders now patronize corrupt rulers to meet their lust for money and other material gains. efforts by nigerian politicians to gain ascendancy and power have led to situation in which politics have swept away sacred precepts of religion, and in the process, contaminated the hearts of people with bitterness and enmity for the religion of others. hence, falana (2010) quotes bala usman who says that: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 139 ‘’the real basis of the manipulation of religion in nigeria today is the need to obscure from the people of nigeria, a fundamental aspect of our reality; that is the domination of our political economy by a class of intermediaries who are being increasingly exposed. and this is to enable this class to cover themselves with religious and ethnic disguises in order to further entrench division among our people, slow down their awakening at any cost; even the unity of our country for which so much has been sacrificed.’’ on the other hand, the positive effect of religion on politics has brought about the reinvigoration of christian reawakening to politics. in the 1999 elections, pentecostal christians openly supported obasanjo’s candidature under the banner of the people’s democratic party (pdp), viewing him as a symbol of the restoration of christian control over the government of nigeria and of the “ending of muslim political dominance” (ojo, 2004). after obasanjo was elected president, pentecostal leaders conducted an all-night prayer meeting for him. this gesture was politically endorsed and rewarded with the construction of a chapel in the presidential villa, the seat of national politics. obasanjo’s victory at the polls and his eventual swearing-in as president on 29th may, 1999 was heavily steeped in christian pentecostal symbolism. a drama that was spectacularly replayed in subsequent elections testifies to this: to many christians, obasanjo’s “second coming” was a spiritual metaphor, one that went beyond the ordinary fact of his fortuitous emergence as a beneficiary of political compromise between the country’s geo-political power blocs ... for christians it was a fulfilment of god’s promise to liberate his children (southern christians) from the yoke of northern (muslim) leadership. a political exigent “second coming” was therefore invested with a spiritual halo, and obasanjo himself became transformed into a virtual ‘messiah’ almost overnight (obadare, 2006). after the completion of two four-year terms and the abortive third term by president olusegun obasanjo, political leaders began talking of alternating the presidency between the largely christian south and predominately muslim north. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 140 after considerable infighting and the disqualification of several would-be contenders, all of the country's major political parties chose muslims as their candidates and after the controversial election, alhaji musa yar’adua emerged as the president. though occult practices, cultism and superstitions which serve as a device among politicians to tussle for power becomes paramount. eso (2003) notes some incontrovertible facts pertinent to our religion-in-politics dilemma. according to him, “religion has a place in the lives of every nation, nigeria included. irrespective of the faith or denomination, religion when truly practiced in its truest form and spirit, has been and remains sacred. it plays a vital role in purposeful leadership, community building, social justice, law and order, peacemaking, reconciliation, forgiveness and the healing of wounds, be it political, family or personal”. this means that if people truly make use of beliefs, values and attitudes inherent in religion into politics, it will bring about focused and resolute political leaders in the country who will be devoid of sanctimonious hypocritical attitude. it will also help in bringing about fair play into politics. religion as an instrument for sustainable political development religion can bring about sustainable political development through the inculcation of high sense of morality, sense of duty, selfless service, public accountability, respect for human lives, love of one’s neighbour, sense of humanity, abhorrence of violence, love for peace, contentment with what one can legitimately have, corruption, justice etc in the citizens as well as the leaders as stated by omoregbe (2003). if a religion fails to inculcate a sense of morality in the people, then it has failed in its creed and is not in a position to help bring about good governance and sustain political development in a country where it has failed to raise the moral standard of the people. devotion to religious tenets by the leaders and followers will greatly enrich political activity. embedded in each religion are the beliefs, practices and ethics that serve as check for excesses in human behaviour. thus, values in religion are viable mechanisms for political stability and development. in addition, religion can function as a unifying factor for political development, since religion influences every aspect of human lives and serves as a basis for human existence. religion can boost inter-religious dialogue which can ultimately bring about religious tolerance in the society. inter-religious dialogue is a platform where religious leaders discuss and orientate people about the essence of religion and its efficacy in the society. hence, it is important for religious leaders to guide igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 141 against hypocritical teaching that can disrupt peace and political stability. therefore, exchange of ideas remove ignorance and eliminates religious conflicts. also, the observance of the oath of office by the political leaders will sustain political development. political office holders should allow their religious tenets to guide them continuously. this is why adeleye (1988) asserts that: religion breeds an ideal heart in man to be able to be conscious of the need to have a clean heart. by this, he will grow to have a philanthropic or patriotic thought before venturing to lead or represent his people in government of the state. in another words, religion will prepare the mind of man to be a good politician who will constantly fall back upon his religion to guide him. the teachings or threats of religion are expected to guide him to be able to lead his people aright as a politician with fear of god in him. he will never consider himself first, rather he knows that he is the servant of the electorates that is, his people. religion in an idealistic set up, therefore, serves as oil to lubricate politics. this is to say that religion bears peace and love, both of which are vital ingredients that can sum the interests of societies together for an ideal and a very healthy and purposeful politics. therefore, in achieving good governance and political stability, religion should serve as a guiding factor in all political activities that the country engages in. the impact of religion on politics can enhance sustainable development if the impact is positive. with the politicization of religion, there is a sense of religious reawakening which is supposed to have a positive impact on the political development of the country but has had a negative effect. however, religion can contribute to national integration, political mobilization, reformation of ethnic identity, nationalism, peaceful co-existence, economic, social and political development. apparently, the effect of religion on politics all over the world is bifocal, in the sense that it is both positive and negative. it is positive in the sense that religion, as earlier identified, is value-driven and it naturally robs off on the polity through the participation of ardent religious believers. the negative effect could be deciphered from the perspective of sectarian tendency; where religious bigots do anything in the name of religion to ensure that positions or offices are gained igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 142 by their adherents. such people stand on the position that their ideals and beliefs dominate any environment they find themselves (new york times, 2005). recommendation to ensure a stable environment where both religion and politics can flourish, the government should give more power to the national religious advisory board and the nigeria inter-religious council who will promote inter-religious dialogue and religious tolerance through organising seminars and workshops for religious adherents which will help in building sustainable political development. also, the basis of gaining political power must be based on the ability to perform with good moral standard. it should not be based on religious identity. religious leaders should act as watchdogs to political office holders by guiding them against unacceptable practices that can jeopardize political development, not meddling with politics. the government should stop using public fund to sponsor people to pilgrimage. instead, the fund apportion to it should be diverted to create employment for the teeming youth, improve our educational institution and to alleviate poverty in the society. thus, making use of religion in nigerian politics should be geared towards ensuring a harmonious and peaceful co-existence (of christianity and islam) and political development. conclusion sincerely, religion has been used and is still being used to induce violence and has caused stunted growth to our political stability and sustainable development. the relationship between religion and politics in any society should be mutual, and if properly managed, should bring about tranquillity and national growth and development. on the other hand, if the relationship is not properly managed, it could generate conflict. this is because religion is about personal experience and access to divine powers, while politics is all about gaining political power for personal reasons. since these are mutually and exclusively related, there is constant need for symbiotic relationship. hence, religion can either bring conflict or peace, development or destruction, growth or retardation, stability or instability, security or insecurity. it depends on how it is made use of along with politics. the mixing of both religion and politics is not a problem, but igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 143 the level of moral standard, patriotism towards the country and proper understanding of religion are the determining factor. references abubakre, r. d. (1984). islam nostrum for religious tolerance in polity of a multi-religious state: the nigerian experience. in: j.o. onaiyekan (ed.), religion, peace and unity in nigeria (ibadan, nacs). p.129. adeleye, m. o. (1988). religion, politics and society. in: s. a. adewale (ed), religion and society: the nigerian experience, ibadan: orita publications. p. 75. adigwe, h., & grau, i. (2007). when god says yes -who can say no? religion as a factor in political discourse in nigeria since the 1960s. stichproben. wiener zeitschrift fürkritische afrikastudien. p. 81. retrieved from http://www.univie.ac.at/ecco/stichproben/nr13_ adigwe_grau.pdf. adogame, a. (2006). politicization of religion and religionization of politics in nigeria. in c.j. korieh and g.u. nwokeji (eds), religion, history, and politics in nigeria. oxford: university press of america. p. 128. akintola, i. l. (1997). introduction to islam. in: i. s. aderibigbe and d. afolabi, o. o. (2015). the role of religion in nigerian politics and its sustainability for political development. net journal of social sciences, 3(2): 42-49. aiyegboyin (eds.). religion: study and practice. ijebu-ode: alamsek press. p. 138. alfold, b. (1981). religion and politics. in r. roberts (ed.), sociology of religion. canada: penguin. p.164. atubi, n. o. (2007). historical perspective of islamic religious crisis and political development in nigeria. in: e. e udoye (ed). environment and conflict in africa: issues and problems. enugu: prefabag investment limited. pp. 253-264. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 144 bujra, j. (2006). leo igwe: interview with a nigerian humanist. review of african political economy, 33 (110): 740-743. dzurgba, a. (2008). nigerian politics and ethical behaviour. ibadan: john archers (publishers) ltd. p. 1-5. egbewole, w . o., & etudaiye, m. a. (2011). religion, politics and justice: interplay of forces in nigeria. retrieved from http://www.etudaiyeandco.com/.../religion_politics_and_justice_ interplay_of_ forces_in_nigeria.pdf. eso, h. (2003). nigeria: religion as a tool of politics. retrieved from http://www.kwenu.com/publications/hankeso/religion_politics.htm. falana, f. (2010). a public lecture delivered at the 51st birthday anniversary of rt. rev alfred adewale martins, catholic bishop of abeokuta, ogun state on saturday june 5, 2010. federal republic of nigeria (1999). constitution of the federal republic of nigeria. retrieved from http://www.nigeria law.org/constitutionofthefederalrepublicofnigeria.htm. furtune news (2011). senator-elect decries religion’s role in jigawa’s polls. april 19. from john akubo (dutse) and babatola adeyemi (lagos). idowu, e. b. (1973). african traditional religion. a definition. london: scm press. p. 22. imo, c. (2008). evangelicals, muslims and democracy: with particular reference to the declaration of shari’a in northern nigeria. in t. ranger (ed.) evangelical christianity and democracy in the global south.oxford. oxford university press. p. 64. kukah, m. h. (1993). religion, politics and power in northern nigeria. ibadan: spectrum books. p. 228. kukah, m. h. (2003). human rights in nigeria. hopes and hindrances. aachen: missio. retrieved from http://www.missio igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 145 aachen.de/images/mr%20nigeria%20englisch_tcm14-12285.pdf december 07, 2007. p.31. laguda, d. o. (2008). religion and politics in a pluralistic society: the nigerian experience. politics and religion, 2:123-133 new york times. february 23, 2005. obadare, e. (2006). pentecostal presidency? the lagos-ibadan ‘theocratic class’ and the muslim ‘other’. review of african political economy, 33(10): 665678. ojo, m. a. (2004). pentecostalism, public accountability and governance in nigeria. a paper presented at the workshop on pentecostal-civil society dialogue on public accountability and governance. lagos, 18 october, 2004. p. 2. okafor, j. c. (2011). nigeria, religion and politics. retrieved from http://www.jonchikadible.word press.com. omoregbe, j. i. (2003). religious ideals and the question of governance in africa. in: oguejiofor, j. o. (ed.). philosophy, democracy and desponsible governance in africa. new brunswick and london: transaction publishers. p. 309. onyekpe, j. g. (ed). (1998). politics and political power in nigeria: nature, dynamics and determinants. in: m. dukor, philosophy and politics: discourse on values and power in africa. lagos: obaroh and ogbiriaka publishers. p. 16. ruby, r., & shah, t. s. (2007). nigeria’s presidential election: the christian muslim divide.pew forum on religion & public life. pew research center. w ashington, dc. retrieved from http://pewresearch.org/pubs/435/nigeria presidential-election. van der veer, p. (1996). the ruined center: religion and mass politics in india. journal of international affairs, 50(1):254-277. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 146 wali, n. s. (1989). ‘morality in nigeria: an islamic viewpoint’ in: atanda, j. a., ashiwaju g. and abubakar y. nigeria since independence: the first 25 years https://www.naija.ng/401889-religion-and-politics-nigeria-egbo-ekeneopinion.html#401889 https://www.naija.ng/401889-religion-and-politics-nigeria-egbo-ekeneopinion.html#401889 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 179 demythologization of religion: integrity and the role of patriotic citizenship in the realization of restructuring and resource control clifford terhide gbashaphd department of religious studies federal university kashere gombe state nigeria cliffgbash@gmail.com; 08036305005 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.36109.97768 & adidi, dokpesi timothy department of philosophy veritas university, abuja timshow03@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.36109.97768 & cletus dauya department of christian religious studies kaduna state university, kallymore4real@yahoo.com;08125153532 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.36109.97768 abstract employing mainly documentary methods of data collection and analysis with reflections on the rudolf bultmann theory of demythologization, the paper seeks to interrogate integrity in nigeria and the relevance of religion to the discourse on restructuring and resource control. reflecting on rudolf bultmann theory, religion in modern times should not be employed in the restructuring drive of the nation nigeria rather integrity should be at the core, so, to get at the true meaning of restructuring, religion must be demythologized. this agitation for restructuring and lack of integrity among nigerians not merely illustrates but actually coincides with failure of government and systemic poverty and inequalities within the state. the less important role of religion in driving restructuring and the discourses around leadership and conscience restructuring towards national cohesion is far from the concerns of students of religion. this paper, therefore, seeks to interrogate the ways in which nationalist restructuring methods by leaders with integrity are mobilized and contribute to the growing and widespread recourse to restructuring and national cohesion as against the emphasis on religion. this paper also submits that nigeria has never been a nationalist state, what has been is ethnic nationalism which is what needs to be restructured, not necessarily resource control. religion has only been used as tool to foster ethnic nationalism depending on the side of mailto:cliffgbash@gmail.com https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.36109.97768?_sg%5b0%5d=nnomtxdh21aedi_xepodbdtdyfkgcgjz92h6gxugydugdzovqitdq0pcheewm3c91ikjsktkwkibfqv-ovb61lja3g.nrnjh2azuf6mbn5gagyqih9aoyytuztqiwqfs8f-f2zwgv4ct-fhi_pt3lkrrrodug9jauewq4koh3fqi4ymaq mailto:timshow03@gmail.com https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.36109.97768?_sg%5b0%5d=nnomtxdh21aedi_xepodbdtdyfkgcgjz92h6gxugydugdzovqitdq0pcheewm3c91ikjsktkwkibfqv-ovb61lja3g.nrnjh2azuf6mbn5gagyqih9aoyytuztqiwqfs8f-f2zwgv4ct-fhi_pt3lkrrrodug9jauewq4koh3fqi4ymaq mailto:kallymore4real@yahoo.com;08125153532 https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.36109.97768?_sg%5b0%5d=nnomtxdh21aedi_xepodbdtdyfkgcgjz92h6gxugydugdzovqitdq0pcheewm3c91ikjsktkwkibfqv-ovb61lja3g.nrnjh2azuf6mbn5gagyqih9aoyytuztqiwqfs8f-f2zwgv4ct-fhi_pt3lkrrrodug9jauewq4koh3fqi4ymaq igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 180 the divide. religion has thus helped in producing these difference and confusion. we are particularly interested in unraveling how social and nationalist actors with moral standing can feed into national cohesion. keywords: religion, integrity, restructuring, demythologization, national cohesion, nationalism, ethnicity introduction integrity is closely related to patriotic citizenship, and patriotic citizenship is a sine qua non for national cohesion and integration and the dependence on religion for national integration is a risky adventure in a country like nigeria were religion is extremely tied to politics. no doubt, it is human beings that should practice religion and not irrational creatures or lower animals; but at the same time, religion has its role to play in the character formation of the individual and other moral characteristics that could be imbibed can foster peaceful co-existence in nigeria. in fact, religion has influenced different forms human civilizations such as in art, architecture, music, poetry, dance, history, philosophy, politics, and so on1. unfortunately, the nigeria of today is faced with multifaceted issues that borders on religion; and religion which is supposed to be a tool for national reconstruction has become an axe and have reduced patriotic citizenship to ethnic rivalry for political gains. this is the reason the call for restructuring and resource control cannot be the sole prerogative of religious inclinations and ethnicism; but the demythologization of religion can help is reducing the so much attachment to religious inclinations so as to reduce the fanatic dimension to what religion is in nigeria; since religion itself is fast losing its sacredness and the much more commercialization by some religious entrepreneurs. according to gwamna dogara je’adayibe in religion and national transformation in nigeria asserts this fact thus: with such enviable credential as the most religious nation, it is paradoxical one of the most corrupt nation in the world. the damning verdict on religion is that instead of serving as a resource for peace and stability, it has become a veritable resource for conflict and war and easy tool for manipulation by some politicians, elites and religious charlatans and bigots. 2 1 gwamna, dogara j.e (2014) religion and national transformation. in a journal of christian religious studies (jocres) vol.2 no.2, a publication of the nigerian association for the study of religious studies: kaduna state university, kaduna: 2014 2 ibid. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 181 i it is a fact that religion in itself has with it what it takes to make society better with its good intentions but as long as human beings are the instrumental users of religion then we can be rest assured of its manipulations for selfish gains and interest. nonetheless, if politics is perceived to be for the common good of society, then religion is not the basis for this common good due to its misconceptions, misinterpretation and misapplication; but it is the aspirations for all citizens and the goal to live a happy life. therefore, this paper adopts rudolf bultmann’s theory of demythologization as the basis to strip religion of its mythological elements so as to enable its adherents purify themselves from the prejudice and sentiments of religion which has constitutes a nuisance to patriotic citizenship so as not to allow the superstitious belief that is characterize by religion to be the basis of restructuring and resource control in nigeria. clarification of terms religion the universality of the acceptable fact that there is no generally accepted definition of religion does not mean this paper will not have a working definition that will suit the contextual application of this paper. according to majimre referencing silverstri and fba in his functionalist approach to the definition of religion, and what religion does to people, such as providing them with sources of identity, morality, law and order, or by linking them together into communities (2019:184)3. it is this identity, morality, law and order that has brought about serious concerns where a particular religion tries to be dominant than the other and begin to use manipulative ideas as a means to issues pertaining to restructuring and resource control. this paper shall adopt paul tillich’s definition of religion as reflected in the key note address of anthony akinwale who described religion as the ultimate concern of the human person4. it is this concern for the human person that brings about the functionalist approach of linking communities together through patriotic citizenship rather than through religion itself going by the manipulations and misinterpretations of religion by its adherents, which has become the basis of restructuring and 3 majimre j.s (2019) the church, christian religious studies and the quest for economic diversification in nigeria. in benin journal of religions and society; vol. 2 no.2. a publication of the department of religions, faculty of arts, university of benin, benin city, edo state. 4 akinwale a. (2019) religion and societal conscience formation. jamahh u.v (ed) in his key note address delivered and reflected in the proceedings of the second theology week of the good shepherd major seminary, kaduna. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 182 resource control; and thus, created more problems in religio-ethnicism. hence, for the sake of this paper, religion shall be defined as the creation of man’s own imagination use for manipulating the common goods that is supposed to be a platform for the humanization of the society and not to be seen as an end to restructuring and resource control. this means that paul tillich’s definition has an ingredient of demythologization that can enhance patriotic citizenship since it is concern with the human person which is the basis for national cohesion and integration. integrity “integrity” has become a concept and topic with more prominence in research on government and governance, as well as in actual policy making at all levels.5the main question here is concerned with the meaning of this intriguing concept, what is “integrity?” everybody desires it, but what exactly is it and why is it being longed for and talked about? according to ogbemudia benedict integrity epitomizes a person’s content of character in relation to fairness, honesty, equity and justice. persons of integrity do not just act consistently with their endorsements but stand for something: they stand up for their best judgment in a community of people trying to discover what in life is worth doing.6 in ethics, integrity is regarded as the honesty and truthfulness or accuracy of one's actions. integrity can stand in opposition to hypocrisy, in that judging with the standards of integrity involves regarding internal consistency as a virtue, and suggests that parties holding within themselves apparently conflicting values should account for the discrepancy or alter their beliefs. the word integrity evolved from the latin adjective integer, meaning whole or complete.7 in this context, integrity is the inner sense of "wholeness" deriving from qualities such as honesty and consistency of character. as such, one may judge that others "have integrity" to the extent that they act according to the values, beliefs and principles they claim to hold. restructuring 5 l. w. j. c. huberts, integrity: what it is and why it is important accessed on 21 st of april, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10999922.2018.1477404 6 imhanrenialena, ogbemudia benedict. "religion and employees’workplace integrity in selected establishments in abuja, nigeria." european journal of business, economics and accountancy vol. 5, no. 5, 2017 issn 2056-6018 progressive academic publishing, uk page 21-37 www.idpublications.org 7 op cit p5 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/honesty https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/accuracy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/hypocrisy https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/integer#latin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/honesty https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/moral_character https://www.tandfonline.com/author/huberts%2c+l+w+j+c igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 183 ideobodo nwafor-orizu et al in their study on restructuring pointed that, obiora okonkwo, argued that to restructure is to change an existing status quo in order to make it more functional. deductive from his assertion is that restructuring is a purpose-driven activity that hinges on replacement of an existing nature of a system with a new one that will be suitable to achieve the purpose of the system. in view of this, restructuring is operationally seen in this paper as a significant alteration, re-organization, reformation and rearrangement of an existing structuring, form or status quo in a revolutionary or evolutionary manner, with the aim of making it more improved, effective, efficient and functionally competent.8 political restructuring on the other hand: this has had different meanings as it has been a topic on the paper of most scholars with varying perspectives. it entails both political re-configuration of the country and devolution of powers to the constituent units as it is practiced in other climes. restructuring is a constitution review strategy aimed at bringing government as closely as possible to the people at the grass roots. the whole idea of restructuring is to achieve unity of objective, efficiency and effectiveness by creating and locating our significant political, economic, social technological, educational and legal units as near as possible to the people at the grass roots. to restructure an organization or system means to change the way it is organized, usually in order to make it work more effectively. 9 patriotic citizenship patriotism is love of and loyalty to one's country. it also involves accepting the responsibilities of good citizenship. patriotism can be defined as love of one’s country, identification with it, and special concern for its well-being and that of compatriots. patriotism or national pride is the feeling of love, devotion and sense of attachment to a homeland and alliance with other citizens who share the same sentiment. this attachment can be a combination of many different feelings relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or historical aspects. citizenship requires doing our share for our community and our country. being a good citizen means caring about the good of society and 8 ideobodonwafor-orizu et al., politicalrestructuring in nigeria: the need, challenges andprospects: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328517752_political_restructuring_in_ni geria_the_need_challenges_and_prospects 9 ibid https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328517752_political_restructuring_in_nigeria_the_need_challenges_and_prospects https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328517752_political_restructuring_in_nigeria_the_need_challenges_and_prospects igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 184 participating actively to make things better. patriotism is an important part of good citizenship. patriotism is love of and loyalty to our country.10 patriotism conveys a less localized and temporalized sense of particularist effect as it is conceptually more related to people’s feelings and acts as consociates regardless of the type of political configuration (e.g. be it the city-state, the nation-state, a region, etc). thus, although it may at times coincide with nationalist concerns, it does not always overlap with nationalism as it signifies a more broadly conceived allegiance than the allegiance towards a nation-state.11 that patriotism is conceptually distinct from nationalism does not mean that it is not practically conflated with the latter. this often results in patriotism being blamed for pathologies usually associated with nationalist excesses. within much philosophy of late modernity and post-modernity, and within the broader social milieu, any attachment to a nation or to a nation-state is rendered suspect, and this suspicion is then expanded to any attachment to a particular collectivity felt as patria.12 citizenship on the other hand as defined by eteete, is the connecting rod that appropriates or attaches a particular person to a defined sovereign political entity called a country or state. citizenship may also be described as the identity of a person in accordance with his belonging to a sovereign state. in other words, citizenship may be used interchangeably with the concept of nationality. in this regard, it refers to a condition of being a full member of a defined community, country or group. thus, a person is a citizen of a community or country if he is identified as a national of such a country, community or society.13 nigeria is not the only country in africa that is peopled with persons from different multicultural ethnic origins and background, yet nigerians seem to have displayed 10 griffin, dustin (2005), patriotism and poetry in eighteenth-century britain, cambridge: cambridge university press. 11 isaiah negedu and augustine atabor, nationalism in nigeria: a case for patriotic citizenship in american journal of contemporary research, vol 5. no. 3, june 2015. www.aijcrnet.com 12 papastephanou, m. (2013). “inward and outward patriotism”, review of european studies; vol. 5, no. 2; department of education, university of cyprus, nicosia, cyprus, url: http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/res.v5n2p20 13 eteete, a. m, “ethnic nationalism, statism, citizenship and the right to non-discrimination under the nigerian constitution,” (department of international law and diplomacy, babcock university, illishan-rem, 2013), 49 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 185 unpatriotic tendencies to a high degree among african nation-states. from the understanding of patriotism as a deep feeling of love for one’s fatherland and a fundamental disposition of care for the common good, we hope to glean a conceptual understanding that could help revamp the falling and failing nigerian state and this understanding should ultimately be guided by unity. although the many diverging factors among nigerians majorly anchored on tribe and religion; nigeria can produce true nigerian citizens that will remain patriotic not for gain or favour but who will believe in the country again. demythologization demythologization in everyday dictionary usage as seen in cambridge english dictionary simply means to provide an explanation of something, or to present something, in a way that removes any mystery14. rudolf bultmann introduced the term within the context of religious text and seeks to separate cosmological and historic claims from philosophical, ethical and theological teachings15. for the purpose of this paper, demythologization is the realization that religion should strip itself from the mysteries that shrouds its existence so as to make the adherents balanced in approaching life issues and make the human person the priority of one’s advocacy, most especially when it has to with the common good of the society. demythologization of religion will enhance more of patriotic citizenship, than religion the basis of what constitutes national cohesion. the religious landscape in contemporary nigeria nigeria is a pluralistic society and been a pluralistic society it is a multi-faith society; and this means that there are many religions in nigeria such as christianity and islam, adherents of african traditional religion (atr), new agers and a few atheist 16. yet, despite the religious status of the country, one would have expected a huge turnaround on the economic status of the country; but according to gwamna, he compared the current state of landscape of nigeria like the biblical israel saying thus: 14 https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/demythologize retrieved online 13th september, 2019. 15 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/demythologization retrieved online 13th september, 2019 16 gwamna dogara j.e (2014) religion and national transformation. in a journal of christian religious studies (jocres) vol.2 no.2, a publication of the nigerian association for the study of religious studies: kaduna state university, kaduna. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/demythologize https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/demythologization igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 186 nigeria can be best compared to what amos saw of israel, as a people, who had “turned justice into bitterness and cast righteousness to the ground” (amos 5:7). isaiah says “so justice is driven back and righteousness stand at a distance, truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter17 the nigeria of today has led to what peter cuncliffe-jones reflects thus when he opined that since independence, tensions between christians and muslims have grown as nigerians disillusioned with what the country has become, have turned more than ever to religion for their answers; and as an ever more important part of their identity, religion has become one of the great issues dividing the country18. nigeria is the sixth producer of oil in the world and after fifty-nine years (59) of independence, despite its great potentials still grapple with issues of enormous concern; and one of its greatest problem associated with the setback of nigeria is religion that is more prevalent that ethnicism. according to dickson and kajom, religion has become a fundamental factor in contemporary nigerian politics against the background of religious unrest, inter and intrareligious conflicts, and the complementary unjustifiable destruction of lives and property. religious difference played a more noticeable role than ethnicity and has its root (class) in the political scheming19. this unfortunately is also linked to the distribution and sharing of the “national cake” and fast becoming more and more a factor in both politics and policymaking, such that the consuming power of religion in nigerian politics and society looms large20. the romance between religion and politics is not a new development in nigeria and most especially in the northern part of nigeria and various hypocritical attempts have been made to severe religion from politics but unfortunately it has even gotten worst in recent times and even affected the psyche of the electorates who vote base on religious sentiments than competence of meritocratic decision. no doubt, the inability of government to practically 17 ibid. 18 cuncliffe-jones p (2010) my nigeria: five decades of independence. palmgrave macmillan, new york: p.165 19 dickson m. d & kajom h.d (2014) religious violence in nigeria: its implication on peace initiatives for national transformation. in a journal of christian religious studies (jocres) vol.2 no.2, a publication of the nigerian association for the study of religious studies: kaduna state university, kaduna. pg. 19. 20 ibid. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 187 enforce the nigerian constitution which guarantees that nigeria is a secular state has failed in its commitment to ensure that policies are effected to checkmate the excessive dimensions to religious affiliations. as long as politics is viewed with the eyes of religion then our long standing problems will continue to linger. moreso, this has even affected the dignity of human life were the value of human life is now an attitude that allows the destruction of human life for the sole reason that those been killed are from a different religion and ethnicity is the greatest form of structural injustice prevalent in the society21. this is exactly where we are as a country and hence the need for the demythologization of religion to enhance and enthrone patriotic citizenship in a country that the misgivings and misinterpretation of religion has devastated and brought about unmitigated disaster and national destruction. integrity, resource control and the nigerian nation the concept of integrity and good governance are mutually intertwined. integrity and good leadership are critical for the achievement of results. it is often said that no organization, nation or country can develop beyond the level of its leadership. the predicament of nigeria in terms of underdevelopment and corruption can be adduced to the problem of leadership and lack of integrity by these leaders.22 nigeria needs committed leaders who will govern with integrity and doggedly influence its human and natural resources toward the actualization of sustainable national development. when we take stock of where we are as a nation, we will agree what the lack of integrity is doing in nigeria has rather dragged nigeria backwards. in the book the servant of the people, muel kaptein describes that integrity starts with that politicians should know what their position entails, because integrity is related to their position. integrity also demands knowledge and compliance with both the letter and the spirit of the written and unwritten rules. integrity is also acting consistently not only with what is generally accepted as moral, what others think, but primarily with what is ethical, what politicians should do based on reasonable arguments23. 21 bagobiri j (2018) liturgy and social justice. kaduna: cywhite ventures. pg 51 22 onwuejeogwu, angulu m. the multi-ethnic nationalities of nigeria and the problems of governance. institute of african studies, university of ibadan project. 1972. 23 kaptein, muel"the servant of the people: on the power of integrity in politics and government". social science research network, 2014. ssrn 2498730 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ssrn_(identifier) https://ssrn.com/abstract=2498730 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 188 the history of the area now known as nigeria is characterized by agitation for resource control. first, after the abolition of slave trade in 1807, local traders engaged in resource control struggles to participate actively in the trade of palm oil. similarly, resource control was one of the highlights of the ijaws’ representation to the willink commission.24 thus, it should be emphasized from the outset that in nigeria, states, majority as well as minority groups have on one occasion or the other in history agitated for resource control. however, the demand for resource control reached its crescendo as soon as the military government of general yakubu gowon created a twelve-state federal structure on may 27, 1967 from the former four regions. on the one hand, some of the states that were created e.g., the oil-rich rivers and eastern states as well as lagos immediately demanded for the control of the natural resources located and extracted from their areas. on the other hand, major areas that were not granted statehood but were economically viable equally demanded for resource control out of frustration. before this time, however, the struggles for the control of the nation’s resources have also, to some extent, been based on the regional cleavages. this, entwined with political conflict, has sometimes led to political manipulations and delineations with the aim of influencing wealth allocation. the issue of resource control in nigeria has posed different challenges to the nation as a whole. it has been harmoniously challenge by civil society groups and communities in the country.25 nigeria as a nation runs many miles to stay on the same spot. virtually everyone agrees nigeria needs leaders with integrity. there is a chance that if you asked one out of every two to three nigerians their idea of the most crucial attribute our leaders should have, they would say incorruptibility. everybody, regardless of party affiliation, believes that we need leaders with a moral compass whose actions consistently engender values that promote social well-being of nigerians and by large, a sustainable development in nigeria. 26 but why has it been virtually impossible for us to find persons of integrity to people our public institutions? how can a country with about a vast population be so ethically paralysed that we basically repeat the same crew who perpetrate habits of underdevelopment and corruption that frustrate meaningful progress in our country? nigeria needs a leader who can withstand the temptation to give in to 24 buhaya, noah “ethnicity in nigeria: background report”. the pbs online news hour www.pbs.prg//ethnichtml 25 ibid 26 onwuejeogwu op cit igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 189 being corrupt, leaders that are enthusiastic about integrity. leaders that are focused, committed, dogged, selflessness, discipline, and enterprising personality in order to attain all round development. ikubaje is of the opinion that the way out of poor governance and ineffective anti-corruption policies in africa is a collective will of both the political leadership as well as the citizens to say no to corruption no matter the cost and embrace integrity. in the thoughts of friedrich nietzsche, nigeria is in a dire need of a "superman" who will rise out of the blues, full of integrity and patriotism in order to salvage the nation from chaos and anarchy. patriotic citizenship and the question of resource control and restructuring in nigeria restructuring and resource control are prevalent terms in the mouth of an average nigerian as the best way out of our economic depression and political instability. this is where we raise the question as to who is restructuring what in nigeria? is the call to restructuring a call base on patriotic citizenship or a call to an expression of certain political misgivings? who does the restructuring? how can resource control be done without the realization of the fact that citizens need to be patriotic? the foundation of any restructuring and resource control must be hinged on the quest for patriotic citizenship which originally and naturally will demythologize religion as the basis for any genuine policy making sugar coating presentation of policies not driven by patriotic citizenship. hence, according clifford gbasha terhide, how do we reconcile god and politics in nigeria when religious leaders have in themselves taken the place of god as they make members take decisive positions base of their personal sentiments; and as such the recent growing interest of nigerian pentecostals in politics is a reaction to the popular narrative of a muslim agenda27. patriotic citizenship is also known as national pride rather than religious pride. it is the feeling of love, devotion and sense of attachment to one’s own country and in alliance with other citizens who share the same sentiment and not religion. this attachment can be a combination of many different feelings that leads to national cohesion and integration. alasdair macintyre, for example, argues that morality is rooted in the life of a specific real community – a village, a city, a 27 gbasha c.t (2019) the role of homilies in the formation of society: the pentecostal dimension. . jamahh u.v (ed) in his key note address delivered and reflected in the proceedings of the second theology week of the good shepherd major seminary, kaduna. pg. 111 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 190 nation, with its idiosyncratic customs and history – and therefore, adherence to morality requires loyalty to such a community28. patriotic citizenship according to him (alasdair macintyre) is essential for living morally good life as given in his lindley lecture, is patriotism a virtue? this provides the philosophical framework in establishing the foundations for patriotic citizenship which is the basis for resource control and restructuring. according to negedu and atabor patriotic citizenship: is the force of unity that holds a people together within a particular nation-state. thus, it is implied that though there may be varieties in language, culture, religion and ethnicity, the shared common grounds of unity becomes the most cherished relational bond that runs through a people within a nation-state as nigeria29. it is this relational bond that anthony akinwale calls “human trait of relationality”30. relationality is the desire and capacity for and the fact of human interaction in a life lived in common. it is manifest in the fact that the human being is conceived, lives and thrives in a habitat that is a network of relationships31.it is this network of relationships that is an antithesis to religion from the descriptive tendencies as it is today and when it is synthesizes; it develops and forms a new thesis of patriotic citizenship devoid of geographical provenance, religious affiliation, ethnic attachment and other factors that are antithetical to national cohesion. conclusion living in a free society, we have the rights and responsibility to think for ourselves, to make choices, and are prepared to take ownership of consequences of our actions. our personal choices, beliefs and the resulting behaviors will greatly influence the quality of life that we experience. to live authentically, we 28 macintyre a (1984) is patriotism a virtue? (the lindley lecture), lawrence: university of kansas. 29 negedu i. & atabor a (2015) nationalism in nigeria: a case for patriotic citizenship. in an american journal of contemporary research vol.5 no.3 june 2015.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317913246_nationalism_in_nigeria_a_case_for _patriotic_citizenship retrieved online 14th september, 2019. 30 akinwale a. (2019) religion and societal conscience formation. jamahh u.v (ed) in his key note address delivered and reflected in the proceedings of the second theology week of the good shepherd major seminary, kaduna. 31 ibid https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317913246_nationalism_in_nigeria_a_case_for_patriotic_citizenship https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317913246_nationalism_in_nigeria_a_case_for_patriotic_citizenship igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 191 must be willing to constantly examine and re-examine our beliefs which influence us in the choices we make. in today’s world free societies exist and are challenging us to think for ourselves. science and technologies are constantly showing us proof that contradict the ideas and short-comings of religious beliefs. our personal sense of integrity, deeply ingrained in our very physiology, is guiding us to disgust when we are confronted with the evil being done by religious extremists in the name of their gods. as sciences dealing with the inner workings of our brains are giving us answers as to how we think, we are learning that superstitions are not responsible for outcomes in our lives. let us as nigerians be confident and optimistic that within a free society, human integrity can continue to emerge as the guiding force in our world. as people we are all imperfect. yet we all posses the ability to think, and choose the pathway that we all know is aligned with human integrity. historically we have overcome tremendous obstacles and have time after time defeated the forces of evil that have threatened our survival. the reason we have survived the challenges and continue to evolve is because it is written into our very genetic code to do so. we are yet in another challenging time of covid-19 pandemic which challenges religion in different forms, only integrity, unity and oneness will save us. recommendations 1. integrity should be given its proper place in nigeria instead of relying on religious sentiments. religion should be demystified and leaders should be made accountable by publicly declaring what they have been able to achieve in terms of performance as well as how much was expended in every sector on a yearly basis and auditors with integrity should be made to verify the claims in order to ascertain the genuineness of the claims. 2. national cohesion refers to a sense of unity and oneness by citizens of a country to the extent that, despite their diversity, they see themselves as forming a nation. this has not been so for nigeria, nigeria lacks nationalism in every sense of the word. this paper suggests that sense of solidarity encourages patriotic citizens to invest economically, socially, politically and emotionally in the wellbeing of the nation-country. national cohesion does not mean the absence of disagreements but those disagreements play out and are resolved within the parameters laid out by the country’s laws and regulations and in a manner that preserves that sense of oneness and not the religiousethnic-regional or class card igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 192 3. the judicial arm of government should be made or empowered to function effectively so as to ensure that corrupt leaders are brought to book and made to face necessary sanctions and penalties which would serve as deterrents to others. 4. also, elections should be made to be free and fair and not rigged. when citizens are allowed to choose their leaders, the leaders should in turn have a sense of responsibility that they owe the people for good governance. 5. the ethicizing of corruption should be stopped and discouraged, corrupt persons no matter what background they come from should be judged based on the content of their character and according to law bibliography akinwale a. (2019) religion and societal conscience formation. jamahh u.v (ed) in his key note address delivered and reflected in the proceedings of the second theology week of the good shepherd major seminary, kaduna. bagobiri j (2018) liturgy and social justice. kaduna: cywhite ventures. pg 51 boswell, james (1986), hibbert, christopher (ed.), the life of samuel johnson, new york: penguin classics, isbn 978-0-14-043116-2 buhaya, noah “ethnicity in nigeria: background report”. the pbs online news hour www.pbs.prg//ethnichtml cuncliffe-jones p (2010) my nigeria: five decades of independence. palmgrave macmillan, new york: p.165 dickson m. d & kajom h.d (2014) religious violence in nigeria: its implication on peace initiatives for national transformation. in a journal of christian religious studies (jocres) vol.2 no.2, a publication of the nigerian association for the study of religious studies: kaduna state university, kaduna. pg. 19. eteete, a. m, “ethnic nationalism, statism, citizenship and the right to nondiscrimination under the nigerian constitution,” (department of international law and diplomacy, babcock university, illishan-rem, 2013), 49 gbasha clifford.terhide (2019) the role of homilies in the formation of society: the pentecostal dimension. . jamahh u.v (ed) in his key note address igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 193 delivered and reflected in the proceedings of the second theology week of the good shepherd major seminary, kaduna. pg. 111 griffin, dustin (2005), patriotism and poetry in eighteenth-century britain, cambridge: cambridge university press. gwamna, dogara j.e (2014) religion and national transformation. in a journal of christian religious studies (jocres) vol.2 no.2, a publication of the nigerian association for the study of religious studies: kaduna state university, kaduna: 2014 https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/demythologize retrieved online 13th september, 2019. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/demythologization retrieved online 13th september, 2019 isaiah negedu and augustine atabor, nationalism in nigeria: a case for patriotic citizenship in american journal of contemporary research, vol 5. no. 3, june 2015. www.aijcrnet.com ideobodonwafor-orizu et al., politicalrestructuring in nigeria: the need, challenges andprospects: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328517752_political_rest ructuring_in_nigeria_the_need_challenges_and_prospe cts imhanrenialena, ogbemudia benedict. "religion and employees’workplace integrity in selected establishments in abuja, nigeria." european journal of business, economics and accountancy vol. 5, no. 5, 2017 issn 2056-6018 progressive academic publishing, uk page 21-37 www.idpublications.org kaptein, muel"the servant of the people: on the power of integrity in politics and government". social science research network, 2014. ssrn 2498730 l. w. j. c. huberts, integrity: what it is and why it is important accessed on 21st of april, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10999922.2018.1477404 majimre j.s (2019) the church, christian religious studies and the quest for economic diversification in nigeria. in benin journal of religions and society; vol. 2 no.2. a publication of the department of religions, faculty of arts, university of benin, benin city, edo state. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/demythologize https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/demythologization https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328517752_political_restructuring_in_nigeria_the_need_challenges_and_prospects https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328517752_political_restructuring_in_nigeria_the_need_challenges_and_prospects https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328517752_political_restructuring_in_nigeria_the_need_challenges_and_prospects https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ssrn_(identifier) https://ssrn.com/abstract=2498730 https://www.tandfonline.com/author/huberts%2c+l+w+j+c https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10999922.2018.1477404 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 194 macintyre a (1984) is patriotism a virtue? (the lindley lecture), lawrence: university of kansas. negedu i. & atabor a (2015) nationalism in nigeria: a case for patriotic citizenship. in an american journal of contemporary research vol.5 no.3 june 2015 .https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317913246_nationalism_in_n igeria_a_case_for_patr otic_citizenship retrieved online 14th september, 2019. onwuejeogwu, angulu m. the multi-ethnic nationalities of nigeria and the problems of governance. institute of african studies, university of ibadan project. 1972. papastephanou, m. (2013). “inward and outward patriotism”, review of european studies; vol. 5, no. 2; department of education, university of cyprus, nicosia, cyprus, url: http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/res.v5n2p20 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317913246_nationalism_in_nigeria_a_case_for_patr%20otic_citizenship https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317913246_nationalism_in_nigeria_a_case_for_patr%20otic_citizenship http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/res.v5n2p20 microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no 3.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 34 igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education kanu, ikechukwu anthony department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university, umunya, anambra state email: ikee_mario@yahoo.com abstract a cursory glance at the educational system in africa reveals that, although a substantial progress has been achieved in the area of girl-child education, however, the disparity in gender education still remains an issue of concern as there are still fewer girls in school than boys. it is this regard that this piece attends to the questions of girl-child education from an african perspective, employing igwebuike as an african complementary philosophy, with the purpose of emphasizing the dangerous consequences of poor girlchild education on the whole society. the hermenueti method of inquiry would be employed for the purpose of this study. keywords: girl-child, education, igwebuike, philosophy, education, africa, nigeria introduction the declaration that the education of the girl child is a human right has been part of many fundamental documents in human history. the universal declaration of human rights, upholds the right to education as a human rights: (1) “everyone has the right to education. education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. elementary education shall be compulsory. technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit. (2) education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. it shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the united nations for the maintenance of peace. (3) parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children”. (26, 1-3). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 35 in a more particular manner, the united nations convention on the rights of the child also establishes the education of the girl-child as a human right: 1. “states parties recognize the right of the child to education, and with a view to achieving this right progressively and on the basis of equal opportunity, they shall, in particular: (a) make primary education compulsory and available free to all; (b) encourage the development of different forms of secondary education, including general and vocational education, make them available and accessible to every child, and take appropriate measures such as the introduction of free education and offering financial assistance in case of need; (c) make higher education accessible to all on the basis of capacity by every appropriate means; (d) make educational and vocational information and guidance available and accessible to all children; (e) take measures to encourage regular attendance at schools and the reduction of drop-out rates. 2. states parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that school discipline is administered in a manner consistent with the child's human dignity and in conformity with the present convention. 3. states parties shall promote and encourage international cooperation in matters relating to education, in particular with a view to contributing to the elimination of ignorance and illiteracy throughout the world and facilitating access to scientific and technical knowledge and modern teaching methods. in this regard, particular account shall be taken of the needs of developing countries”. (18, 1-3). according to the 1998 nigeria’s national policy on education: 1. “education is meant to be an instrument for the formulation of ideas, their integration for national development and the interaction of persons and ideas. 2. education is aimed at fostering the worth and development of the individual, for his/her own sake and for the sake of the nation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 36 3. there is need for the equality of educational opportunities to all nigerian children, irrespective of any real or imagined disabilities, each according to his or her abilities. 4. there is need for a functional education for the promotion of a progressive and united nigeria….” (npe 40) with these developments, one can say that a substantial progress has been achieved in the area of girl-child education. it is obvious in many african countries that the enrollment of the girl-child into schools of all levels has inproved tremendrously. this development not withstanding, the disparity in gender education still remains an issue of concern as there are still fewer girls in school than boys. it is this regard that this piece attends to the questions of girlchild education from an african perspective, employing igwebuike as an african complementary philosophy, with the purpose of emphasizing the dangerous consequences of poor girl-child education on the whole society. education and the experience of the girl-child according to the united nations development programme (2007), the ratio of boys to girls in primary education improved from 79% in 2004 to 81% in 2005 while the proportion of women in non-agricultural wage employment stood at 79% in 2005. the proportion of women in national parliament was 5.76% as against 30% target. secondary school enrolment has increased for both males and females at the tertiary level. from the report of unicef (2010), female adult literacy rate between 2003 and 2007 is 80%. a gradual improvement in the proportion of girls enrolled in primary school, though noteworthy, is not yet enough to meet the target of 2015. there are still fewer girls than boys in school. there are signs of backsliding in the number of girls in tertiary education. at the heart of this is the traditional role society has assigned to the woman: producing and raising babies, cultivation of crops and playing a docile role in the society. however, with the evolution of modern stratification in society, the concept of the role of the woman has been broadened (joel 2003). education is one of the basic instruments to empower a woman for the realization of her full potentials. however, this is impeded by a retinue of factors hence a huge number of women still are uneducated. in nigeria, there is a high disparity in the literary ratio between men and women, with a greater number of uneducated women in northern nigeria, especially igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 37 muslim women. there is a literary ratio of only 47% for women and 67% for men (unesco 1991 &; mahmood & nakwe 2003). a couple of factors have formed a combined force against the education of women. these range from early pregnancies, early marriages, poverty, and consideration of female education as secondary to that of boys and certain inhibitive religious practices common in the northern part of nigeria (joel 2003). for those who successfully further their education into the secondary school and university, a couple of factors keep on hunting and limiting their aspirations and learning achievements as girls. among these is gender stereotyping in school curriculum, which suggests that certain subjects such as the sciences are meant for men while those of arts are feminine. this is the result of women living as the shadows of men in nigeria, which has created a psychological complex in the mind of the society which thinks that the female gender is meant to play a second role (fafunwa 2003). education according to anyakora and umanze (2003) is the basis for the promotion and improvement of the condition of women in nigeria. it is an indispensable tool for the empowerment of the women folk. it is in this regard that salaam (2003) argues that the lack of education has been a strong visible barrier to female participation in the nigerian formal sector. igwebuike as a basis for girl-child education the underlying principle of igwebuike philosophy is the idea of complementarity (kanu 2017a&b; 2016). every segment or dimension of human society is relevant to the complete whole, and to relegate any dimension to the background is to do disfavor to the entire whole. while on traditional grounds, many african societies have not allowed the education of the girl child, it has had adverse effects on the entire african societyit comes with consequences that also affect men; this is because the denial of education to the girl-child limits her in the exercise of her indispensable complementary role to the man. obviously, educated girls are healthier, that is, they are able to take care of themselves better without being a liability to the society. for instance, women are most vulnerable to trafficking when they are undereducated and poor. protection from hiv/aids and the enhancement of environmental awareness is linked to education. and more so, through education the chances of women earing higher income becomes more possible, and through this, they are able to raise their household out of poverty. being a caring group of humans, educated women are more able to extend care to their children through education and provision of healthcare, and thus child mortality is reduced to a significant level. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 38 children of educated mothers are twice as likely to survive past the age of five. women with some formal education are more likely to seek medical care, ensure their children are immunized, be better informed about their children's nutritional requirements, and adopt improved sanitation practices. as a result, their infants and children have higher survival rates and tend to be healthier and better nourished. the education of the girl-child has consequences on the economy of the country or state, as it can lead to greater economic growth. infact, the gross domestic product, better known as gdp, soars when both girls and boys are being offered equal educational opportunities. being educated, women are able to make their peculiar contributions towards the growth of the economy. this also touches on the area of violencethis is because educated girls and women are less likely to be victims of domestic and sexual violence or to tolerate it in their families. as women become more educated, they are less likely to support militancy and terrorism than similarly educated men. this very easy to understand if one takes a look at the educational background of the women who engage in suicide bombing. politically, educated women are more likely to participate in political discussions, meetings, and decision-making, which in turn promotes a more representative, effective government. conclusion from the foregoing, igwebuike posits that the responsibility for the girl-child education is wholisticit is a responsibility that falls on the shoulder of every member of society, both men and women. the complementary character of igwebuike holds that there is power in number, and that when the different dimensions of the group come together to address a particular issue, the group can attain a success that might not have been imagined. thus, having discussed the problem of girl child education, which is a worldwide issue, igwebuike believes that the solution to it must be wholistic: every dimension of society must be actively involved, this is very important as every one shares in the adverse effects. this would include the government, parents, siblings and relations, schools, churches, mosques, etc. these different dimensions of society are complementary. the school complements what parents are doing, the government complements what the school and family relations are doing, and the church and mosque complement what the school, family and government are doing for the enhancement of the education of the child. while the effort to solve igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 39 the problem of disparity in educational opportunities is complementary, the consequencies are also shared by every member of the society. references anyakora m. and umanze t., education as an essential ingredient for economic empowerment of nigerian women in the third millennium. quoted in james runi and vera nok, “women and education in nigeria: problems and prospects”. a paper presented at the 8th annual conference of women in colleges of education (wice), federal college of education, yola, 14th oct., 2003. fafunwa, b. a, socio-economic and cultural condition of the girl-child: implications for radical social work service in nigeria. quoted in james runi and vera nok, “women and education in nigeria: problems and prospects”. a paper presented at the 8th annual conference of women in colleges of education (wice), federal college of education, yola, 14th oct., 2003. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and the question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. 103-110. kanu, i. a. (2015). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy.jos: augustinian publications. kanu, a. i. (2016). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1.pp. 1-7. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. 9-18. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 40 kanu, i. a. (2016). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christianmuslim relations in northern nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 2 .1-12. mahmood, u. & nakwe s. (2003). educating girls: an investment for the future. a paper presented at the 8th annual conference of women in colleges of education (wice), federal college of education, yola, 14th oct. rahab joel (2003). the role of women education in nation building, a paper presented at the 8th annual conference of women in colleges of education (wice), federal college of education, yola, 14th-17th oct. the 1998 national policy on education, quoted in james runi and vera nok, “women and education in nigeria: problems and prospects”. a paper presented at the 8th annual conference of women in colleges of education (wice), federal college of education, yola, 14th oct., 2003. titi salaam (2003). a brief analysis on the situation of women in nigeria today, http://www.socialistnigeria.org/women/1-3-03.htm, march 1. undp (2007). mdgs in nigeria: current progress. retrieved 10/11/2012 from: http://web.ng.undp.org/mdgsngprogress.shtml unesco, 1991, see also mahmood, u. & nakwe s., “educating girls: an investment for the future”, a paper presented at the 8th annual conference of women in colleges of education (wice), federal college of education, yola, 14th oct., 2003, p.6. unicef (2010). at a glance: nigeria. retrieved 10/11/2012 from: http://www.unicef.org/mdg/index_aboutthegoals.htm united nations convention on the rights of the child, office of the united nations high commissioner for human rights (ohchr), geneva 10, switzerland.http://www.ohchr.org/en/publicationsresources/pages /publications.aspx universal declaration of human rights, office of the united nations high commissioner for human rights (ohchr), geneva 10, switzerland. http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights the lessons of psalm 133 and the principle of unity of igwebuike philosophy themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 215 the lessons of psalm 133 and the principle of unity of igwebuike philosophy naanmiap baamlong, osa estudio teologico de valladolid spain fadabaamlong@yahoo.com abstract complementarity implies the existence of distinct realities that need to relate and collaborate, resulting in a single reality that is better than each of the individual realities alone. this positive idea of complementarity is at the centre of the igwebuike philosophy, an african philosophy in which individuating differences must work towards a corporate existence, where the ‘i’ does not stand as the ‘i’ but as a ‘we’, where life and living makes meaning. this calls, therefore, for harmony, togetherness and communality amongst people living together. these positive attributes have proven to be functional amongst not only the african societies, but amongst all humans. because of the positive effect this philosophy has, it is worth emulating and practising. in view of this, from the theological point of view, this write-up aims to demonstrate how the message on unity and harmony of psalm 133 can contribute more lessons and values to this principle of complementarity of the igwebuike philosphy, illustrating, therefore, how theological values can help to improve as well the values already existent in the igwebiuke philosophy. keywords: psalms, theology, igwebuike philosophy, unity, harmony, brotherhood, togetherness, blessing. naanmiap baamlong, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 216 introduction igwebuike philosophy is an igbo-african thought centered on the worldview of complementarity. it is a worldview in which individuating differences must work towards a corporate existence where the ‘i’ does not stand as the ‘i’ but as a ‘we’, where life and living makes meaning 1 . in a scenario of this kind, difference does not divide nor does it constitute a threat, but rather unites and gives hope that future existence would have meaning. in a cosmogony of this kind, while the ontology of the person is founded on the particularity of the individual, implying that it is the metaphysics of the particular that founds identity; it is the community that gives meaning to such an 1 kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igboafrican modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. the lessons of psalm 133 and the principle of unity of igwebuike philosophy themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 217 existence and grounds such an identity 2 . this philosophy, like most philosophies, began within african thinkers based on thier wonder about their environment 3 . with this philosophy in function, it has four basic principles which are the values and ideas that shape this philosophy. while these principles guide igwebuike philosophy, it also justifies igwebuike philosophy. these principles are: the principle of identity, the principle of contrariety, the principle of hierarchy and the principle of unity 4 . this work will concentrate on this last principle and its aim to see how the message on unity and harmony of psalm 133 can contribute more lessons and values to this principle of unity 5 . this principle understands every individual reality as part and completion of the whole, and thus there is a unity in the midst of diversity. thus, ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity; and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is ‘to be with the other’ in a community of being. i am because we are, and since we are, therefore i am. this african worldview, therefore, is governed by the principle of complementarity, which seeks the conglomeration, unification, summation of fragmented thoughts, opinions and other individualized 2 cf.https://www.academia.edu/34910747/sources_of_igwebuike_philoso phy_towards_a_socio-cultural_foundation, kanu, i. a., sources of igwebuike philosophy: towards a socio-cultural foundation, accessed 12/04/2020. 3 igwebuike philosophy began with wonder as african traditional thinkers began to wonder at the very nature of their immediate universe. it began from the understanding of their immediate universe which is not detached from the whole universe. as they wondered about the nature of their immediately universe, it began to shape their thoughts, therefore, establishing a connection between philosophy and the cosmos. 4 cf. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/jrhr/article/view/190043, kanu, a., on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy, accessed 24/04/2020. 5 the principle of unity points to the fact that spite of the contrariety of reality, in spite of the singular identity of each reality, there is something common to everything. igwebuike presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. cf. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/jrhr/article/view/190043, accesed 24/04/2020. naanmiap baamlong, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 218 and fragmented thoughts and ideas 6 . to achieve this task, that is, the posible contribution of the theological values of this bible chapter to this principle of unity of the igwebuike philosophy, a general analysis of the psalms will be made, stating its structure and the message it contains, and the theological values and ideas that can be of great value to this igwebuike philosophical position. about psalm 133 psalm i33 7 is a very short psalms. it has three verses of about seventy words. the psalm says the following; “behold, how good and peasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! it is like the precious oil upon the head, running down upon the beard, upon the beard of aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! it is like the dew of hermon, which falls on the mountains of zion! for there the lord has commanded the blessing, life for evermore”. this psalm is part of the collection of fifteen psalm (120-134) entitled “song of ascent”. they are designated this way because most scholars believe that these they were sung by the israelites as they went to jerusalem on the annual pilgrimage, on the occasion of their festivities. it was thrice a year: easter, pentecost and tabernacles. they were probably sung by pilgrims on their way to jerusalem or as part of a festive celebration. when they finally arrived, there used to be great rejoicing and a beautiful spirit of unity among all the people who had gathered in jerusalem. and all these psalms are short, except psalm 132 and, therefore, it is easy to memorize them. these psalms deal with things of daily life, for example, place of residence, 120; routine activities, 121; importance of husbands and children, 128; and our psalm, that is, 133 makes reference to unity and harmony amongst 6 ibíd. 7 this psalms as produced in this work is gotten from the revised standerd version of the bible, published by the bible societies in 1901. the version used here is the one produced for society of st. paul in 1971. the lessons of psalm 133 and the principle of unity of igwebuike philosophy themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 219 people in the community, which was most likely used by ordinary people on their way to jerusalem and in jerusalem 8 . structure and time of composition of the psalms this psalm, with only three verses, is too short, and as such, it seems too complicated and dificult to divide into subsections. however, it can be divided into these three parts: verse 1 which introduces the concept of unity and harmony with the imperative “behold”. after this invitation to contemplate the goodness and joy of living together, verses 2-3 compare this union with the anointing oil of the priest and the dew of the hermon mountain. two simple and beautiful comparisons (oil and dew) are made describing the kind of unity existing. the first is like oil, and what it indicates here is the best olive oil used to consecrate the heads of the guests at the party; and the second comparison is, like dew of hermon, known for it freshness. the last part of the psalm is verse 3bc, which concludes the chapter with a blessing. and that's probably the most important thing. here, it speaks of the result of such harmonious living, which is god's blessing, the eternal life that flows from the inexhaustible source of life, yahweh himself. this psalm, although difficult to determine its settings and structure, fits well with the other psalms of pilgrimage, 120-134. as kraus states, it is very difficult to determine where its sitz im leben lies, but it can be said that it comes from the circle of teachers of wisdom and contemplates a situation of daily life 9 . the psalm praises fraternity. this is the fraternity that binds verse 1 together. verses 2-3 emphasize the importance of this fraternal union with the verbs run and fall which appear three times. the repetition of this verb probably 8 cf. the new interpreter’s bible commentary vol. iv. u.s.a., abingdon press 2001, 1176. 9 cf. kraus, h. j., los salmos, vol. ii. salamanca, ediciones sígueme 1995, 714. naanmiap baamlong, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 220 alludes to the need to obtain this blessing of god in verse 3. and it is also characteristic of the psalms of this group 10 . as we have already indicated, this psalm belongs to the group of the 15 psalms called the psalms of pilgrimage. therefore, it is certainly a hymn of pilgrimage. it has a sapiencial tone. this psalm is from the circle of the masters of wisdom. the sapiencial judgment begins with the word “behold (look)” which instantly demands attention and points towards something (cf. ps 127,3ff). also, the exclamation “how good” is a characteristic of the sapiencial form (cf. sir 25,4ff) 11 . it enunciates the value and importance of fraternity and harmony amongst people living together 12 . interpretation and message of psalm 133 the first verse introduces the theme of unity and harmony between brothers. but who are these brothers? many scholars, in an attempt to answer this question, conclude that it refers to siblings in a broad sense. it has been thought of as the unity of the family, the harmony of the fellow citizens or the unity of the community gathered for worship. this latter interpretation is naturally more attractive because of the sacred insertions it contains and that characterise it. kraus believes, however, that the right thing to do is to think about the order of family life and family law in israel and the world of the ancient east, where the family heritage remains in the undivided possession of the male children after the death of the father. and so the brethren have to live and dwell together, such as abraham and lot, jacob and esau who also lived together. this verse is probably a sapiencial saying, praising members for being responsible and faithful in their task of seeking good for the family and spreading it (cf. deut 25,5). according to allen, it refers to the whole congregation of the entire 10 cf. allen, l. c., word bible commentary vol. xxi. u.s.a, word books publishers 1983, 214. 11 cf. kraus, h. j. los salmos. vol. ii. salamanca, ediciones sígueme 1995, 715. 12 cf. schökel, l. a. y carniti, c., salmos ii. navarra, verbo divino 1993, 1541. the lessons of psalm 133 and the principle of unity of igwebuike philosophy themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 221 pilgrims in jerusalem that gathered for the feast. these people are linked not only by race but in the name of god 13 . verses 2-3b, with two simple and beautiful comparisons, emphasize the importance of this union, of this coexistence, like the precious ointment used for the consecration of priests, pointing to a choice of the best olive oil. this is to show the appreciation of this visible union in worship of god. it praises the harmonious coexistence of the brothers in lands that are of common heritage. it describes in images that radiate the peace and happiness of the brothers who live together in harmony. the oil in the east is mixed with aromatic herbs and serves as care for hair and skin (cf. mic 6,15); it is poured over the head and then descends to the beard (verse 2a) 14 . verse 3a reads, as a dew from hermon; it probably alludes to a spiritual significance like in hosea 14, 5. accorrding to some scholars, although hermon's significance is unclear, the reference may be to the amount of dew that is appropriate for a sacred mountain 15 . mount hermon is the highest in this area (2814 m. above sea level). another comment says that the parallel with hermon's dew is probably mentioned because of its extraordinary and copious wealth, and that imparts life and fertility 16 . verse 3c, probably the most important, concludes the psalm; it makes reference to what was said in the first verse about brothers in communion. there in the community of united brothers, the lord sends his blessing, blessing that is life, life that is lasting. brotherly love is a blessing that attracts blessings; it is full life that prolongs; it is aroma that spreads; it is dew that permeates. in kraus’ words, “yahweh himself becomes the saving power and force of a community in which brothers coexist harmoniously” 17 . 13 cf. allen, 215. 14 cf. kraus, 715. 15 cf. allen, 215. 16 cf. briggs, c. a. y briggs, e. g., a critical and exegetical commentary. vol. ii., edinburgh, t & t clark 1907, 476. 17 cf. kraus h. j., los salmos. vol. ii. salamanca, ediciones sígueme 1995, 716. naanmiap baamlong, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 222 this psalm talks about the coexistence of the brothers as something necessary, highlighting the need for it. it is a commendable action that brightens and refreshes life, and is also of tremendous importance. the harmonious coexistence of the brothers attracts the blessings of yahweh. god's saving power radiates with its light the areas of human life 18 . saint augustine, in his commentary on this psalms, states that this psalms gave rise to monasteries because, although it refers to believers, in a strict sense, this psalms does not refer to all christians. in this sense, it would apply only to christians who live in unity and harmony. therefore, it does not refer to all, but to some special ones, from whom, however, it reaches out to others. augustine says: “these words of the psalter, this sweet sound, this pleasant melody in both the song and the understanding, gave rise to the monasteries” 19 . there are indications that can be identified with the usage of this psalms within christianity. for christians, the term, ‘brother,’ is used to designate other fellow believers. jesus admonishes, do not let yourselves be called my lord, for your master is one, and you are all brothers (mt 23,8-10). there are also indications in paul's texts. the apostle condemns lawsuits and discord among the brethren (1 cor 1,11; 6,5s). instead, he calls for an experience in the unity and love of god; brotherly love is a gift from god. saint augustine says that it is the grace of god that makes this coexistence of the brothers and sisters. it is god himself who makes possible this coexistence, which is not of human origin or fruit of human effort, but the blessing of god 20 . it would be correct, therefore, to mention in the afirmative that the central message and theme of this psalms is about unity and harmony amongst people living together. and in relation directly to christian values, such coexistence in unity attracts naturally the presence of god, the supreme being. 18 ibíd. 19 cf. cf. obras de san agustín xxii, enarraciones sobre los salmos, madrid, bac 1967, 463-465. 20 id, 475. the lessons of psalm 133 and the principle of unity of igwebuike philosophy themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 223 psalm 133 vis-a-vis igwebuike philosophy it can be said in the affirmative that psalms 133, whose central message is about fraternal living, would rightly contribute many postive lessons to this african philosophy of complementarity. as mentioned above, one of the principles of this igwebuike philospohy is unity. in fact, it is the inner or underlying principle of this african philosophy 21 . this unity stems from the coming together and putting into one place the various and different exiting realities. the principle points to the fact that, inspite of the contrariety of reality, in spite of the singular identity of each reality, there is something common to everything. igwebuike understands every individual reality as part and completion of the whole, and thus there is a unity in the midst of diversity. igwebuike presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. thus, ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is ‘to be with the other’, in a community of beings. “i am because we are and since we are, therefore i am” 22 . the first verse of the psalms precisa mente speaks about unity and harmony amongst brothers. and like we have seen, this brotherhood that the psalms speaks about is not only limited to blood ties. the brotherhood, based only on blood affinities, is always restrictive and limited. it is, therefore, obvious that the brotherhood involved here is more inclusive and covers a wide range of persons and individuals. consequently, it makes reference to a large comunity, the entire comunity. this tie stems from not blood and other similar affinities, but from the name of god. this, of course, without any doubt, fits well for the igwebuike concept of unity. the african culture, by its very nature, is very inclusive. most african societies are characterized by and have this conscience and belief of “i am 21 cf. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/jrhr/article/view/180084, kanu, i. a., sources of igwebuike philosophy: towards a socio-cultural foundation, acessed 14/04/2020. 22 cf. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/jrhr/article/view/190043, kanu, i. a., on the origin and principles of igwebuike, accesed 24/04/2020. naanmiap baamlong, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 224 because we are and since we are, therefore i am”. and beause of this strong sense of togetherness and unity, everyone in a given comunity considers the next person as a brother. as long as you are a member of a given group, you have some strong relationship with and connection to everyone in the society. no one is considered different or outside of the circle that binds the community. to be identified as an individual, one is first considered as part of the whole group. it is the whole that gives meaning and importance to the individual or a particular reality and aspect. in this line too, that is, in relation to this sense of unity, harmony, community, complementarity and solidarity among the community of beings, one philopspher speaks of the bond on which this unity, togetherness and complementarity is built as the beings forces’, and this beings forces’ of the universe are not a multiple of independent forces placed in juxtaposition from being to being. all creatures are found in relationship according to the law of hierarchy. nothing moves in this universe of forces without influencing other forces by its movement. the world of forces is held like a spider’s web of which no single thread can be caused to vibrate without shaking the whole network 23 . this unity and harmony is a force that binds together the individuals and the various particular realities, making it one and strong. another aspect of unity in igwebuike philosophy stresses the advantage that stems from this union of various parts. according to the study of kanu, igwebuike strongly holds that the whole is greater than the corresponding parts. it is also a view that maintains that by the coming together of the individuals or parts, a viable and sustainable whole will emerge, and by this, the parts will get to the brim purpose of their existence 24 . the coming together of the parts to form one single unit makes the various parts strong and powerful. in line with this, it would be relevant the teaching of the psalmist. 23 ibíd. 24 ibíd. the lessons of psalm 133 and the principle of unity of igwebuike philosophy themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 225 it emphasizes this concept of harmony because to produce fruit there have to be strongly in place understanding and intergretion a community that is together in harmony; we are all aware that in a house, the brothers may be living together but be in quarrels, with resentments. the psalmist speaks of a concept of harmony. for a better understandinding of harmony, it would be good to imagine such in music. musically, harmony reminds us, for example, of an orchestra. those who have had the opportunity to see it in action know that it is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families, including bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, and double bass; brass instruments, such as the horn, trumpet, trombone; woodwinds, such as the flute, oboe, clarinet and bassoon; and percussion instruments, such as the timpani, bass drum, triangle, snare drum, cymbals, and mallet percussion instruments, each grouped in sections; but there is a director and a work of art that guide them to make a beautiful melody come out. they are all in harmony. the psalmist used two metaphors to reinforce this harmony. in the first metaphor, it says that this harmony that occurs when people live together is like good oil; but it is not any kind of oil. for example, it is not an oil that serves to cook, it is the oil that is used to anoint the priest aaron. in the ancient christian communities, priests and kings were anointed to be set apart for god's service. the oil with which they were anointed was a holy oil, set apart for this sacred and religious purpose. it indicates that this community of brothers the psalmists is making reference to is set apart for god, for his purposes. the other image is that of the dew. it is like the dew of hermon descending upon the mountains of zion. scholars say that if one spends the night in that mountainous región of zion, the next morning one is completely soaked. this dew serves to bring freshness and to nourish the arid and dry soil in the judean region. in the same line, living together in harmony breeds nourishment and freshness to the entire society. the community must be united not only for its own benefit or for its own order or security. the community must manifest its unity, because a fragmented (or divided) community does not have naanmiap baamlong, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 226 much to say to a fragmented world. the psalmist, therefore, calls for harmony. this virtue and quality of life is something compulsory for such a community, a community where god exists. such a community must be the role model to others. it is like when jesus christ warns his disciples, you are the salt of the earth, but if it becomes tasteless, what will it be salted with? it's nothing but to be trampled by men (mt 5,13) 25 . in his work, an aspect stressed by kanu in line with this principle of unity is the one that touches the theme of anthropology. this idea is developed by mibiti. mbiti, in his work on african religion and philosophy, speaks of african ontology in terms of unity, solidarity and complementarity. the anthropocentric ontology is a complete unity or solidarity which nothing can break up or destroy. to destroy or remove one of these categories is to destroy the whole existence, including the destruction of the creator, which is impossible. one mode of existence presupposes all the others, and a balance must be maintained so that these modes neither drift too far apart from one another nor get too close to one another 26 . this idea is much more related to the central message of the psalms. unity breeds the presence and blessings of god. once god is involved, nothing stands against his powers and sovereignty. therefore, just like mbiti speaks of the imposiblity of destroying the creator, psalms 133 mentions clearly that once this harmony and unity is in place, it is imposible to speak of the absence of the blessings of god. verse 3 of the psalm contains a very important message. it makes allusion to what was stressed in the first verse about brothers living together in a community. this coesxitence in harmony always comes with great benefits. it is always a blessing. blessing that is life, life that is lasting. brotherly love is a blessing that attracts blessings; it is 25 cf. http://razondelcristianismo.blogspot.com/2016/09/hermeneutica-del-salmo133-samuel.html, samuel rodriguez, hermeneútica del salmo 133, accessed 24/04/2020. 26 cf. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/jrhr/article/view/190043, kanu, i. a., on the origin and principles of igwebuike, accesed 24/04/2020. the lessons of psalm 133 and the principle of unity of igwebuike philosophy themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 227 full life that prolongs; it is aroma that spreads; it is dew that permeates. god himself becomes the saving power and force of a community in which brothers coexist harmoniously 27 . the result of this kind of coexistence is this blessing that comes from the supreme being himself. its result is very practical; it is something that is felt by everybody. one might ask what is this god’s blessing? the psalm mentions life everlasting which, without doubt, is a blessing and gift from the lord. however, when we read and reflect on the scripture, it can be seen that god’s blessings are so great, and one can not finish listing and counting them. brothers, sisters, family, food, shelter, home, happiness, etc., aid in tribulation. and above all, eternal life! it would not be out of place to state that if one attempts to visualize eternal life, one cannot see nor grasps very clearly its significance. therefore, to grasp the significance it has, it would be good to sit and imagine a great party where you can meet everyone who enjoys spending time with you, with all those who make you feel full and happy and those who make you see the beauty of life. this is most likely how etertnal life would be, and that is why the psalmist mentions that the lord sends eternal life. this idea of benefits that come from this community living can be related to the opinión of edeh, in his reflection about unity, and in this case he mentions a specific cultural society in nigeria the igbos. in his reflection on igbo metaphysic, he emphasizes the closeness of reality through which reality attains its fulfillment in existence. accordingly, the igbo way of life emphasizes ‘closeness’ but not closed-ness’. there is a closeness in living because each person ‘belongs to’ others and, in turn, ‘is belonged to’ by others. by adopting this life of ‘closeness’ or ‘belongingness’, an igbo becomes immersed in the culture’s spiritual substance, love; and by love, he acquires a fulfillment as a person beyond mere individuality 28 . this 27 cf. kraus h. j., los salmos, vol. ii. salamanca, ediciones sígueme 1995, 716. 28 cf. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/jrhr/article/view/190043, kanu, i. a., on the origin and principles of igwebuike, accesed 24/04/2020. naanmiap baamlong, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 228 clearly calls, therefore, for unity and collaboration which psalm 133 stresses: life in a community and a life of unity and together, and not an individualistic or egoistic type of living. conclusion having seen the relationship between the psalms and philosophy, one can see how theological values can help to improve the values already existent in the igwebiuke philosophy. the psalm examined begins with an invitation to “behold”, to see something important. in this paper, what is presented is a call on igwebuike thought and belief; of the fact that, in theology, it can get many values too to add to the one it has and is still developing. the greatest of this value, however, is not far from the central idea of the igwebiuke pilosophy. this is the value of complementarity 29 . it is, therefore, very positive and 29 kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kanu, i. a. (2019). on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159-176. kanu, i. a. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. the lessons of psalm 133 and the principle of unity of igwebuike philosophy themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 229 encouraging for people to seek community, not institutions, not organizations. it invites all to embrace the gospel of brotherly living to make the word “brother” real in every aspect. everyone has creative ideas. some have the ability to approach new people, others to share knowledge, others to make food, ornaments, ideas, etc. it is pertinent that we work for communities that evoke: “behold how good and how delicious it is to dwell as brothers together in harmony”. everyone has something to offer, and when all is put in one place, everything will work perfectly, because the community now makes everybody strong. bibliography allen, l. c. (1983). word bible commentary vol. xxi. u.s.a, word books publishers briggs, c. a. & briggs, e. g. (1907). a critical and exegetical commentary. vol. ii., edinburgh, t & t clark kanu, i. a. (2016). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no. 1 [ 97-101]. kanu, a. i. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies. vol. 3 no 2.[155-160]. kanu, i. a. (2014). igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholic-pentecostal relations. jos studies. 22. pp.87-98. kanu, i. a. (2015b). igwebuike as an ontological precondition for african ethics. international conference of the society for research and academic excellence. university of nigeria, nsukka. 14 th -16 th september. kanu, i. a. (2015c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25 th -26 th november 2015 university of paris, france. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. naanmiap baamlong, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 230 kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. the lessons of psalm 133 and the principle of unity of igwebuike philosophy themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 231 kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kraus, h. j. (1995). los salmos, vol. ii. salamanca, ediciones sígueme obras de san agustín xxii, enarraciones sobre los salmos, madrid, bac 1967 naanmiap baamlong, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 232 schökel, l. a. & carniti, c. (1993). salmos ii. navarra, verbo divino igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 15 aspects of nigeria’s political economy from imperialism to independence philip afaha department of history and diplomatic studies university of abuja philip.afaha@uniabuja.edu.ng; 08035330806 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.36109.97768 abstract majority of the african countries were dominated by the global north. however, this paper discusses aspects of nigeria’s political economy from imperialism to independence. nigeria’s political economy was basically bases on the traditional system that is an agrarian society before the coming to the european who came to introduce what they called ‘civilization’ capitalised on this booming sector of the nation and exploited it. the imperialist invaded the territory through missionary movement and later on full colonialism this act of the imperialist has never gone done well the nigerian political economy as the sector began to faced various challenges during and after their participation. however, the objectives of this paper are to discuss the various aspects of the nigeria’s political economy, the nature of this political economy between imperialism and independence and ascertain its impact on the development of nigeria. the paper adopted a descriptive research methodology to discuss the above objectives. findings of the research has revealed that in spite the growth in over dependency on the agricultural export during this period the sector has decline to the extent that it has not be able to serve as an engine of growth for the nation. also, the internal structure of the agricultural sector has become more fragile when compared to other developed and developing countries. key words: politics, economy, imperialism and independence introduction the concept of political economy is not new in sociological and political discourse. it was developed in the 18th century as the study of the economies of states, or politics, hence the term political economy. today, political economy, where it is not used as a synonym for economics, may refer to very different things including marxian analysis, applied public choice approaches emanating from the chicago school and the virginia school, or simply the advice given by economists to government or public on general economic policy or on specific proposals (groonwegen, 2008) mailto:philip.afaha@uniabuja.edu.ng https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.36109.97768?_sg%5b0%5d=nnomtxdh21aedi_xepodbdtdyfkgcgjz92h6gxugydugdzovqitdq0pcheewm3c91ikjsktkwkibfqv-ovb61lja3g.nrnjh2azuf6mbn5gagyqih9aoyytuztqiwqfs8f-f2zwgv4ct-fhi_pt3lkrrrodug9jauewq4koh3fqi4ymaq igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 16 in line with the above the discussion of political economy is not a recent phenomenon in the nigerian society. nigeria is a vivid example of the colonial and post-colonial developing nation which contains a very curtail lesson on the issues of political economy retardation in the developing world. the country as colonial entity has enjoyed drastic boom in the agrarian and mining sector and this earned the nation foreign exchange. the different part of the country were known for their different comparative advantages, the north were known for their groundnut production, the west for their cocoa and the east for its palm oil productions. during this period the politics of development was already on high gear and the imperialist begun the constructions of rail line to enable them explore the various areas for raw materials which also brought revenue to these entities. according to njoku, he stated that the british political economy in nigeria was along with economic exploitation of the colonised by foisting i into the european capitalist economic system. nigeria has embarked on a plethora of post-colonial developmental plans which equally have not achieved its desired objectives as stated in the second national development plan. this unpleasant situation can not augur well in the development of a stable political and economic institution necessary for building a strong and successful nation. however, it is based on the above that this research discusses the aspect of nigerian political economy from imperialism to independence. territorial history of nigeria x-rayed history has it that for several centuries there were a number of mega states dotting the present nigerian state. these states evolved complex systems of government. these include the hausa kingdoms and the borno empire in most of what is today the north-west and the north-east zones respectively; the igala and jukun kingdoms in the middle-belt; the oyo empire in the west and the benin kingdom in the mid-west. interspersed with those were numerous petty kingdoms, chiefdoms and communities at various stages of socio-political developments. the various polities contained numerous peoples speaking several immutable languages put variously from 200 to 350-the major ones being hausa-fulani in the north, yoruba in the south-west, igbo in the south-east and the ijo and ibibio in the south-south. while the hausa states, borno and their igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 17 satellites such as biu/ babur, bolewa and mandara were muslim states, the other centralised states such as oyo, benin and igala where divine kingdoms with sprinkles of animism while the smaller states and communities were more or less animists. the hausa states and borno were linked to the trans-saharan trade along which african goods such slaves, leather goods, elephant tusks, gum arabic etc were transported in exchange for north african, middle-eastern and european goods such islamic books, garments and jewellery in exchange for leather goods, elephant tusks, slaves etc. the hausa and borno traders served as middlemen through whom the tran-saharan trade radiated further inland linking much of the present northern and middle-belt areas of nigeria and beyond. through the agency of the arab merchants islam and muslim culture was introduced into hausaland and kanem-borno and subsequently carried by the hausa and bornoan itinerant merchants further inland although for centuries it remained more or less a court religion. at the southern end of the study area i.e. along the coastal region, another external trade which also radiated inland had been going since the 16th century. there europeans had been trading mainly from their hulks through the intermediary of coastal middle men largely in slaves in exchange of european goods including guns and liquor. unlike their arab counter-parts there were no attempts by the europeans, who felt they were there only to make profit, to interfere in the socio-cultural traditions of their coastal trade partners. two events, one internal and the other external, which took place almost at the same time in the beginning of the 19th century, were to radically change the status quo, laying the background for the emergence of modern nigeria and shaping the course of its political development and setting the stage for some of the intractable challenges now facing the political elite. one was the fulani jihad of shehuusman dan fodio and the other the industrial revolution in europe. while the latter was the raison d’être for the conquest and unification of the various states and communities into what is now nigeria, the former dictated the form and shape of the unification. first, the internal factor; in1804 shehu usman dan fodio declared a jihadin gobir, one of the hausa states. in less than half a century the movement led to the creation of one of the largest political units in 19th century west africa. it was igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 18 made up of 15 major emirates spread over 466,000 kilometres, which required 4 months to cross from east to west and two months from north to south. while uniting almost all the hausa states, and making them the core of the caliphate, the state included several areas now in jigawa, and bauchi states which were conquered from bornoempire. the jihad also led to the creation of new emirates out of loosely none-muslim communities where none existed in what are now bauchi, taraba, gombe and adamawa states. the latter, are the most extensive in the caliphate, incorporated areas now in adamawa and taraba as well as the largest part of northern cameroon republic. further south, the jihad incorporated the nupe kingdom and amputated ilorin from the tottering oyo empire. the unity of such a heterogeneous polity was based on the religion of islam, the hausa language and commerce which the jihad helped to spread extensively. it was a literate polity, based on islamic language and muslim tradition; the religion hitherto more or less confined to courts now being the religion of the majority. the jihad and emergence of sokoto caliphate had other dire consequences: although it failed to incorporate borno, it was able to amputate much of its western dependencies as we have noted as well as precipitating the eventual collapse of the over 1000 year-old sefawa dynasty and its replacement by that of the shehus. the latter were in the process of consolidating themselves when rabeh, a predatory conqueror from sudan, overran borno and many of its eastern satellite states. rabeh was himself killed by the european imperialists before he could properly establish himself. elsewhere, the jihad contributed in no small measure in precipitating the collapse of the tottering oyo empire, its relocation southwards where it embarked on efforts to build a new polity, contributing to the yoruba civil wars which were only terminated by the british colonialists. in the meantime the efforts of the jihadists to extend the caliphate to the middle belt was hardly successful before the british imperialists came to stop it, leaving most of the populations with only the bitter memory of fulani raids for slaves. sokoto caliphate and borno passed wholesale, more or less, into colonial nigeria meaning they nearly formed half of the nigerian state in terms of space and population. added to this was the adoption of their socio-political system by the colonialists under what was known as „indirect rule‟ by the british and the attempt to impose it on the parts of nigeria. such were some of the issues that successive political elites have been battling to resolve from the colonial period to date. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 19 european incursion and imperialism wave in the niger area the external event which drastically changed the course of events in the nigerian area was the industrial revolution, first in britain followed by other european countries. this was when the europeans, more particularly britain, realized that instead of buying the africans and transporting them as slaves to the americas and caribbean plantations it would be more profitable to leave them in africa to produce the industrial raw materials needed and their countries to serve as markets for the industrial finished products. this, of course, took sometimes to crystallize and even when it did it was ostensibly cloaked under the toga of civilizing mission of suppressing what was now termed „obnoxious‟ slave trade and promoting „legitimate‟ trade in commodities such as palm oil desperately needed by their factories in exchange for european manufactured goods, and, as a complement, replacing the customs and traditions of the indigenes now termed „reprehensible‟ with those of the europeans. thus, in 1807four years after the declaration of the jihad in gobirbritain formally abolished the slave trade and tried to persuade all those involved in it to agree. there were, however, obstacles in implementing the „newday realism‟. the coastal populations and most of their european trading counterparts were not ready to give up the slave trade which they found lucrative. in fact it took sometimes for the coastal chiefs to accept the fact that the british were actually serious about the abolishing of slave trade of which they were hitherto its leading practitioners. according to crowder, when king pepple of opobo was told of the british decision to abolish the slave trade, he replied „we tink trade no stop, for all our ju-ju men tell we so, for demn say yo country can niber pass god a‟mighty‟ (crowder:128). having failed in its persuasion efforts to stop the slave trade, britain had to take upon itself the role of enforcing its compliance by both the african and european traders. the resolve by britain to stop slave trade and replace it with legitimate trade at the coastal areas and to extend same to the populations in the hinterland largely laid the grounds for the eventual conquest and colonization of what is now nigeria. that was achieved gradually and at times hesitantly. the first step in that direction was by forcing the coastal populations to sign anti-slavery treaties or treaties of amity in which the signatories agreed to stop trade in slaves to be replaced by the so-called legitimate trade mostly in sylvan products especially in palm oil and kernel (alagoa in ikime, 1980, 249). these were more or less igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 20 eventually achieved by the 1840s. subsequently consuls were appointed and courts of equity-to settle disputes between the coastal traders and their european counterpartsestablished at calabar, opobo and other delta ports. in the western coastal areas the cessation of lagos island in 1862 allowed the british consul, who had been maintained there since 1852, more powers to extend his interference in the political and economic affairs of many of the neighbouring yoruba states in the name of resolving conflicts and controlling slave trade. by the mid-19th century, the slave trade and slavery has been largely abolished in the coastal areas and replaced by the legitimate trade mainly in palm oil in exchange for european goods. however, both african and european traders in palm oil were still not different from their slave trade predecessors, in that they still prevented the new comers from penetrating inland so as to reach the rich interior markets in order to maximize their profits. the british were, however, determined to by-pass the coastal populations and their european collaborators in order to establish direct economic relations with the populations in the hinterland. the first effort was to obtain more detailed information of the geography and people and the means through which regular traffic could be established between them and the coast. thus, from 1805 the british government sponsored many explorers and travellers to penetrate the interior both from the coast and across the desert. they were directed to learn about the people, their environment, their socio-political and economic organizations, their main products as well as their needs. they were to provide information of not only how to stop the slave trade and replace it by trade in british products but also on how to divert the interior trade towards the coast by way of nigerbenue waterways and their tributaries. finally, it was to be appreciated if the explorers could provide information on how to bring christian civilization to what was regarded as a „blighted region of darkness and death‟. the mine of information about the people and environment of the interior which emanated from the reports and publications of those explorers, more than ever before, convinced the english industrialists and traders that there was very much to gain from establishing direct economic relations with the populations in the interior. in addition, in 1830 john lander has settled the question of the river niger as the super way linking the niger delta to the interior. what was more, the effective igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 21 use of quinine as a prophylactic against malaria has by the mid-19th century proved that it was possible for the europeans to survive in the interior. there was more determination by the traders to go into the interior and coerced their authorities to back them. the endeavours to and eventual success in achieving that effectively laid the background for the colonization of nigeria. the explorers, were the forerunners of british imperialism in nigeria andavant-garde of the missionary, the trader the soldier and the empire builders. the first missionaries, who were anglican and methodists liberated slaves and converted in brazil or cuba, landed in badagry in 1842, but finding the town unsatisfactory moved on to abeokuta, a new town struggling for survival and seeking access to the sea. from there the returnee missionaries were able to expand christianity to other yoruba towns such as lagos, ibadan, ijaiye and subsequently to the neighbouring villages. in what is now south-eastern nigeria, it was the scottish missionaries that pioneered evangelisation in calabar in 1846 but their work was very slow (aye, 2000:162) until the arrival of the returnee ex-slaves from sierra leone, most of whom were methodists or anglican that the number of converts swelled. they first settled at duke town and creek town which were considered potentially christian. from there they started extending towards the niger first at abo then onitsha in1857, brass in 1861, brass in 1861 and bonny in 1864 (ibi. 350). they made more progress by establishing schools affording the delta communities opportunities to train as clerks (ibid.). expansion of the mission field outside calabar inland occurred mostly after 1880s and the igbo areas after the destruction of long juju at orochukwu and the establishment of british rule in the early 20th century. in the north attempts to covert the muslims since the niger expeditions of 1841 and 1854 up to the close of the century did not succeed. having failed to convert the hausa muslims the missionary shifted their evangelisation to areas outside core of hausa land. up to 1910, however, there were only 45 churches and about 650 pupils in mission schools in northern part of nigeria compared to about116 churches in ijebu-ode district alone and over 4,000 children in mission schools in abeokuta. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 22 the transition from slave to legitimate trade as well as the advent of the missionaries and the british consuls changed the perceptions of the traders on the situation on the coast. very soon there were european traders spread all along the lower niger and its tributaries. however not only do they belong to the different british firms but there were other traders from other european nationsespecially the french-as well. to make matters worse, the traders were involved in serious cut-throat competition. that of course seriously affected profits which were the main motivating factors for colonialism. the above scenario was to change by the arrival captain george goldie in nigeria in 1877. goldie was able, in 1879, to amalgamate the rival british firms in the niger delta into the united african company (uac) so as to consolidate british trade in the area. then, through shrewd diplomacy, by beguiling the communities to enter into agreements to place themselves under the british protection and buying out rivals he successfully eliminated the french commercial competition on the lower niger (afaha,2011:674). two years later, goldie organised the company into the national african company, nac, to enable it exercise political power over the niger district. by then „scramble for africa‟ amongst the european powers was well on the way. that was when the europeans became intensively involved in outmanoeuvring each other in grabbing as much of african territories as possible. it soon became clear that if care was not taken those rivalries may degenerate into bloodsheds. on the suggestion of portugal, bismarck, the german chancellor, called for a european roundtable conference in berlin in 1884-5 where it was decided to share africa „gentlemanly‟ around a table than shedding european blood scrambling over its territories. to prepare for the berlin conference the european powers embarked on what was called the era of „treaty-making‟ where african chiefs were persuaded, beguiled or at times coerced into signing documents-which they hardly understood-giving their territories to the european powers. the british involvement in what is now nigeria was not different. these pieces of paper were used as evidence of possession during the berlin conference. the suspicion over the genuineness of such treaties must have contributed to the caveat at the berlin conference that whichever country was allocated an african territory was to justify it by effective occupation, i.e. conquest, in order to keep the others away. it was in order to render river niger safe as a gateway into the interior, the british colonizers proclaimed protectorates in the delta regions. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 23 thus in 1885 the niger coast protectorate was proclaimed, comprising the corridor from the mouth of the niger to the confluence as well as the territories on both banks of the benue. in1886 the nac, on the basis of treaties allegedly concluded with some emirs, chiefs and community leaders, was conferred with a royal charter becoming royal niger company, rnc, so as not only to trade but to administer the said territories as well (sa‟ad in ikime,449). the rnc spurred on by the traders soon embarked on imperialist expansion with the aim of consolidating its position and keeping away other european rivals. for example, in 1897 the constabulary of the r.n.c. subdued both ilorin and nupe, installing a more pliable emir on the former and forcing the latter to concede half of his kingdom-the present kabba chiefdom in kwara state-to the company. this was the first inroad by the british into the sokoto caliphate. that sokoto did not come to the aid of her two beleaguered emirates must have given the niger committee of 1989 the idea to advise that the emirates should be conquered one after another as will be noted below. however, the failure of the rnc to consolidate itself and, more importantly, keep the other european rivals from the niger-benue territory led to the revocation of its charter by the british government in 1900. the territory was declared a protectorate and captain fredrick lugard was appointed its first high commissioner (ibid). it was in order to render river niger safe as a gateway into the interior, that the british colonizers proclaimed protectorates in the delta regions. in 1885, the niger protectorate was proclaimed. these protectorates were initially administered by the royal niger company and its sphere of influence reached the north as far as idah. (egwemi, 2011, 294) the company took over from the niger coast protectorate the corridor from the mouth of the niger to the confluence as well as the territories on both banks of the benue (ejituwu, 1991, 158). the niger coast protectorate in an area curved out by the royal niger company through “treaties” with ruling potentates, buying out other european trading firms and keeping other europeans out.) goldie`s niger company had received a royal charter and became the royal niger company. in 1889 the remaining area under the protectorate after the excision was renamed the oil rivers protectorate, (afikpo,1972:320) with calabar as its headquarters. in 1891 sir claude maxwell macdonald was appointed commissioner and consulgeneral for the area with instructions “to develop trade, promote civilization and pave the way for placing the territories under british rule”(nae,6-7). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 24 in 1893,the oil rivers protectorate was renamed the niger coast protectorate with additional territory excised from the area controlled by the royal niger company(osae& odunse,1974:111) and given instruction to “open up the country, push the trade and hoist the flag”(anene,1966:313). although the amalgamation of nigeria took place in 1914 the most important document that actually laid the foundation for the evolution of the nigerian state was the selborne report of 1898.the report came immediately after the niger convention of june 1898 which settled the outstanding differences between britain and france in west africa which gave the enormous territory that was already being referred as „nigeria‟ in correspondences to the british sphere of influence. the then colonial secretary formed a committee made of five officials, four them who largely influenced the report, were men-on-the-spot to deliberate and advise government of what to do with its acquired territories. it was chaired by the earl of selborne, the under secretary for colonies. the committee submitted its report in less than three weeks. there were several salient features of the report. the first was the recommendation that the lagos colony, the niger coast protectorate and the niger company‟s territories should be eventually amalgamated “under one head” to be named „governor general‟ who will be resident in the territory. it was also recommended that river niger although a natural boundary between the north and the south, should not be made the dividing line. both banks should be under one jurisdiction in view of the international question which may arise on the use of the river in addition to the difficulty which might arise over the administration of law if the opposite banks of the river belonged to different administrations. further, the committee recommended the division of „nigeria‟ into a „maritime province‟ and a „sudan province‟. the former, was to be further divided into west province with capital at lagos and east province with capital at asaba. „sudan province‟ which was to be left as a whole, should have its capital at lokoja. it was also recommended that a force to be named west african frontiers force (waff) be established for the conquest and consolidation of the remaining vast territory which fell under the british sphere. hausa should be the lingua franca for the waff in the „sudan province‟ while yoruba was to be the lingua franca for that stationed in the „maritime province‟. the only additional recommendation on this was that sokoto and borno territories should not be conquered at once but each emir should be taken in turn. a customs union was igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 25 recommended for all the three provinces and the proceedings be divided according to the budget needs of the provinces. however, since all ports of entry should be at the coast for all the provinces and the „sudan province‟ has no seaport, it will mean that it will have no revenue and thus would have to be sustained by the „maritime provinces‟. most of the committee‟s recommendations were accepted without reservations by the british government. therein was laid the problem of nigeria‟s federalism. following closely the recommendation of the committee, the charter of the royal niger company was revoked on 31st december, 1898. an imperial orderin-council of the same date, following closely the recommendation of the niger committee the niger coast protectorate and the area under the control of the rnc as far north as idah were amalgamated and became known as protectorate of southern nigeria with headquarters at asaba. sir raph more was appointed its first commissioner. it included the present edo and delta states, the whole of present south-eastern states and the owo area of yorubaland. sir ralph moor was appointed its first high commissioner. in the eastern provinces-more particularly igboland-regular administration started with the appointment of sir claude macdonald as consul-general in 1891(afigbo in ikime, 414ff). lagos with its headquarters at lagos island remained, as it has been since 1862, a crown colony. sir henry mccallum was its governor. also retained was the protectorate of lagos, which comprised the remainder of yorubaland created by order-in council and placed under the jurisdiction of lagos since 1887. the rest of the country, comprising the sokoto caliphate, what remained of borno and all related areas-virtually the whole of the present north-west, north-east and north-central states, about two-thirds of its landmass and population, was to be administered as the protectorate of northern nigeria. it was an area curved out by the royal niger company through “treaties” with ruling potentates, buying out other european trading firms and keeping other europeans out. its headquarters was at lokoja and captain fredrick lugard was appointed its first high commissioner. it is of interest to note that all the two high commissioners and governor were members of niger (selborne) committee. after the naming of administrators it was left for britain to make effective their control on ground as par the agreement of the berlin conference. in may, 1892, sir gilbert carter sent a military expedition which defeated the ijebus, making it igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 26 the first to be occupied in yorubaland. the awujale and his chiefs were forced to sign treaties promising not to block trade, to refer all disputes with neighbours to the governor, to stop human sacrifice and not to hinder the missionaries. this was replicated throughout the rest of yorubaland in 1893 through the famous carter trek. nigeria political economy before and during amalgamation by close of the 19th century, nigeria was being governed as four countries with a common name. each had come under british rule at different period, in different circumstances and through different means.in the south, except in the igboland, british control was firmly on ground. in the northern protectorate, however, though being the largest and the most populated, british control was only on paper or as crowder noted „nothing but a cartographical claim‟ (crowder, 1966, p211). it was left to lugard not only to bring the area effectively under the british flag but also to establish its administration. in fact it was only on january 1st that the british flag was hosted at lokoja the headquarters of the protectorate. to accomplish the conquest, again following the recommendation of the selborne committee, the west african frontier force (waff) was raised in 1898-99, and on its return from its successful campaign in ashanti in1901, the task of dealing with the muslim emirates was undertaken in earnest. kontagorawas the first to be coerced1902-3, and by april 1901borgu, ilorin,kabba, kontagora, bida, zazzau, nasarawa and muri were effectively brought under lugard‟s control. in adamawa, the most extensive of the emirates of sokoto caliphate it was a real battle, for, although emir zubairu was defeated he withdrew to his territory in the german sphere, replenished his forces and became a throne to both the two colonial regimes until he was inadvertently murdered by some pagans in 1903 (saadabubakar 2008:349) . borno having been weakened, by rabeh‟s army , who himself had been defeated in british territory by a french force, placed itself under the british government, and general morland‟s force, en route thither, brought bauchi under control. zaria also offered no opposition to peaceful occupation. the fall kano the emporium of the caliphate and subsequently that of sokoto itself in march, 1903, sealed the fate of the caliphate as it were. consequently, most of the minor emirates found it better to submit then face the seemingly invincible military power of the british (lugard, para.1). the british, however, found it extremely difficult to bring the loosely organized nonemuslim communities into submission. not only were most of them located in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 27 hilly and other impregnable locations, but unlike their muslim neighbours it needed several sorties to subdue each community. rather than precipitate so much energy many locations of the „pagan‟ communities were declared „closed areas‟ meaning no member of the administration went there unless necessary and in which case very heavy armed. although systematic penetration of the almost wholly unexplored country east of the niger began in 1900, it was only in 1902 when the aro fetisha cult of human sacrifice and slaverywhose ramifications was believed to extended throughout the eastern portion of the country, was crushed by force of arms that systematic attempts were made to conquer igboland. to belie that assumption many parts of igboland were only brought under effective control in 1918 although even then some series of punitive expeditions had to be carried out in order to concretise british administration. in the south, lugard reported that the early administrations were confined to the coast area, where large revenue was at hand from the duties imposed on imported trade spiritssmall though the duties were at that time. access to the interior was the first desideratum, the creation of roads through the primeval „bush‟, the clearing of the waterways blocked with sand, and, later, the creation of a port at lagos and the commencement of a railway. any coherent policy of native administration was well-nigh impossible in such circumstances, and the material was very unpromising except among the communities in the hinterland of lagos. gradually the wall of opposition which barred access to the interior was broken down. according to obaroikime, the area “was now left free for british economic and political manoeuvres” (ikime,1981; 158). before jaja‟s episode, goldie`s niger company had received a royal charter and become the royal niger company. in 1889 the remaining area under the protectorate after the excision was renamed the oil rivers protectorate,(afikpo,1972; 320) with calabar as its headquarters. in 1891 sir claude maxwell macdonald was appointed commissioner and consulgeneral for the area with instructions “to develop trade, promote civilization and pave the way for placing the territories under british rule”(nae,6-7).in 1893,the oil rivers protectorate was renamed the niger coast protectorate with additional territory excised from the area controlled by the royal niger igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 28 company(osae& odunse,1974,111) and given instruction to “open up the country, push the trade and hoist the flag”(anene,1966,313). it is a known fact that the colonial economy in the area under consideration had as its mainstay, cash crops and trade in allied commodities. it was this reliance which attracted the appellations “commodity trade”, “legitimate trade” and “oil rivers” constantly used in describing the colonial enterprise along the cross river basin. before the 1960s, nigeria was a major exporter of commodities namely palms produce, cocoa, rubber, and groundnuts. these exports through various stages of experimentation were produced to meet international standards (udoka,1996:61).to lugard, the challenges of administering a territory as vast as nigeria were daunting the more so as the two countries of north and south were diametrically dissimilar in almost every facet of life, ostensibly due to their culture and period of contact with the western world. in the report, lugard lamented thus; it was clear that so large a country as nigeria, with an area of 332,400 square miles-of which the north and south were connected only by a single railway and the uncertain waterway of the niger, while no lateral means of communication existed at allmust be divided into two or more dependent administrations under the control of a central government. the first problem therefore which presented itself was the number of such lieutenantgovernors, their powers, and relations to the various departments, together with the subordinate administrative units throughout the country, and the control of such departments as the railway and military forces, which were common to the whole of nigeria. the functions, and future constitutions, of the executive and legislative councils, the unification of the laws and regulations based upon them, and of the executive „general orders‟ and other instructions, the judicial system, the methods of taxation direct and indirect and the disposal of the revenue so as to benefit the country as a whole, without creating jealousy and friction, the assimilation of the policy of native administrationthese, with many minor problems, had to be solved by any scheme of amalgamation which should have any prospect of permanency. in every one of these matters the systems of the two governments differed essentially as i shall show in discussing each in detail. the alarm and suspicion caused among the native population of the south by the appointment of a committee to enquire into the question of land tenure igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 29 added to the difficulty of the task. amalgamation in my view was „not a mere political, geographical, or more especially a financial expression‟. i regarded it rather „as a means whereby each part of nigeria should be raised to the level of the highest place attained by any particular part‟. thus regarded each of the two administrations had much to learn from each other. the north-a younger governmentwas capable of improvement in its departmental organization, and backward both in the development of its material resources and of the facilities (such as roads) required for the purpose. the south required a better organization of its native administration and of its judicial system. (lugard, amalgamation report,1919,para.8) sir lewis harcourt, then secretary of state for the colonies (1910-1915), declared on the eve of the amalgamation of the northern and southern nigerian protectorates that the british “has released northern nigeria from the leading strings of the treasury. the promising and well-conducted youth is now on allowance on his own and is about to effect an alliance with a southern lady of means. i have issued the special licence and sir frederick luggard will perform the ceremony. may the union be fruitful and the couple constant.” as noted above, the two protectorates come under british control at different times had, before 1914, been subdued at different times and ruled separately and differently. even after amalgamation the territories were still governed separately until 1946 when a single legislative council was composed for them as the first step in unifying their institutions. the two paramount reasons for the amalgamation of the two protectorates were (a) administrative convenience, and (b) financial imperative fuelled by a perceived need to cushion the cost of governance by the colonial authorities. indeed, the core reasons which informed the amalgamation exercise of 1914,according to lugard, was “ to render possible the realization of the direct tax paid in kind, which was in danger of failure owing to the difficulty of finding a market for it, and to cheapen administration.”(lugard, para.7) sir lugard became the first governor general of nigeria and ruled until 1919. he was succeeded by hugh clifford(1919-1925), graeme thompson(1925-1931, donald cameron(1931-1935),bernard bourdillon(1935-1943), arthur richards(1943-1948), john macpherson(1948-1954)and james robertson(1954igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 30 1960). the conquest of nigeria went hand in hand with the establishment structure that would be ideal for the vast and varied colony(uzeogwe, 1966:7). on 1st october 1960, nigeria gained her independence from britain amidst pomp and tumultuous fanfare. the new country was already expected to be an influential factor in global affairs given the sheer potentials she commanded both in size and resources. the first political experiment was a parliamentary democracy which was truncated by a group of trigger-happy soldiers led by major kaduna nzeogwu on the 15th january,1966. although the revolution envisaged by these coupists was frustrated and supplanted by gen.ironsi regime, it succeeded in setting a stage for almost four decades of unbroken chain of military coups in nigeria. despite the promising start made by the nigeria at independence in1960, and an enviable robust petro-economy, the country was to be engulfed with political schisms both among her politicians and the military class. this state of affairs fuelled ethnic and religious frictions which climaxed in the nigeria-biafran civil war of 1967-1970. however, there were few interjections of civil rule during the dark years of military rule in nigeria; these occurred during the shagari led governments of 1979-1983, and the short-lived interim experiment of ernest shonekan in 1996. one noticeable hallmark of military rule in nigeria was the abolition of the regional structure and the incessant creation of states as component units of the nation`s political system as almost all the military rulers created states up to the present number of 36 and 774 local government structure. another was the propensity to maintain a centrist or unitary administrative system while at the same time balkanizing the country in a federalist manner. the apparent confusion arising from this centro-federal system of government constantly threatens the very soul of the polity-a stark reminder of the very fears expressed by lugard in his report on amalgamation in 1919. the merger of hitherto independent nationalities to form what is now called nigeria far outdates the 1914 amalgamation by frederick lugard. as earlier submitted, the country`s history is awash with series of mergers through treaties and military effort with the sole aim of protecting british colonial interest. from 1914 immediately after the historic merger, there appeared dissenting opinions especially from those who thought the amalgamation exercise excluded the consent of the parties to the merger and that their identities and interests were igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 31 not protected. this suspicion and the apparent lop-sidedness of the merger made some opinion to describe the exercise as a mistake and call for a national dialogue. there has been series of attempts at dialogue by different administrations in nigeria since independence, each with different agenda and nomenclature but all intended at fostering harmonious coexistence among the over 300 ethnicities in the country. constitutional development in nigeria was gradual depending on what the british viewed as the political maturity of the different countries in the western sense. with the arrival of sir huge clifford as governor-general in 1922 it was felt that the some nigerians were enlightened enough to start partaking in rulership of the country. this as was reflected in what was known as the clifford constitution had a legislative council in which the north was represented by european officers in the person of the lieutenant governor and the senior residents of the region. predictably, laws passed by the legislative council operated only in the south and the lagos colony. in 1939 the governor sir bernard boudillon de-amalgamated southern nigeria into west and east in what was then stated for easier administration purposes. by 1946, there was feeling that the country has politically matured for a major administrative reform. the richards constitution of that year ended the isolation of the north by having its representatives participate in the legislative council. the richards constitution also entrenched the nigerian federalism by legitimizing boudillion‟s three regional system developments noting that the country not only naturally falls into three regions arguing but that the three regions differ widely from one another. consequently the three regions became constitutional units to develop along their own lines with political consequences for the country upto independence in 1960. in the area of international trade, nigeria competed favourably with other world players before her independence. before the 1960s, nigeria was a major exporter of primary commodities namely palms produce, cocoa, rubber and groundnuts. these exports through various stages of experimentation were produced to meet international standards. peasant producers were encouraged to produce the commodities and where peasants respond were discouraging. the colonial government established plantations to boost productions and ensure their constant supply to the international market. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 32 nigeria political economy as at 1960 however, after 1960, a country like nigeria began to witness a shortfall in the supply of these products in the world market. indeed, there was a dramatic reduction in earnings from agricultural exports between 1960 and 1972. for instance, while the earning from agricultural exports contributed about 19.8 percent to the nation‟s economy in 1960, by 1972, contribution from agricultural earnings had dropped to only 5.3 percent. historically, given their technological edge, the western nations have governed their terms of exchange in the world and hence decided the direction of accumulation of wealth and the balance of exchange. the role of developing countries of africa has for long be relegated to the periphery as source of cheap raw materials and closed market for the metropolitan centres of the western europe. such was the lot of developing west african countries throughout the colonial period that the dismantling of glaring inequitable economic set-ups has become a major pre occupation of the post-independence era. in 1960,developing africa‟s per capital gdp constituted only 8.7 percent of the developed market economies but this ratio fell to 6.8 percent in 1982.inherent in the declining share of africa‟s output in world production is its relatively slow growth as well as the size and structure of the production base that it inherited at independence. options differ on the role of international trade on economic development. basically, there are two camps. the first camp consists of classical and neo-classical economists and some modern economists attach more importance to international trade in a country‟s development and see it as „an engines of growth‟. according to them, international trade contributes to development in the following ways viz: static gains and dynamic gains. suffice to begin here by saying that nigeria and indeed west africa‟s resources were not fully utilized or employed prior to 1960. the quantum of trade with the international community‟s helped opened up the hinterland and catalyses surplus production to exchange for imported goods it could not produce. in other words, as at 1960s nigerian economy moved from pre-production to what is called the production possibility frontier. this represented a static gain. this means that when resources are fully utilised, production in nigeria moved to the frontier stage without much technical change. export expansion occurred in most igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 33 peasant products like; cocoa ,palm oil ,ground nut, rubber and other allied products which it had comparative advantage. equally, international trade also helped to transform the subsistence sector into a monetary sector by providing markets for farm products and raising the income or standard of living of the rural people of west africa. this implies that by1960,it was possible for west africa people to have increased sales and patronage. for example, in the earliest 20th century, when the portuguese came and opened up trade in west africa, money came to peoples hand hence, market economy evolved. west africa also benefited indirectly from international trade in what economist called dynamic trade. it is called dynamic trade because of the economic consequences it has on the entire economy. it has been seen that international trade leads to specialization and wide markets. and this in turn leads to economies of scale. in agriculture, for instance, mechanised farming is possible where large areas of land is used or the size of workers, machineries etc .compared to the peasant techniques where crude implements are used. wider markets encourage the level of production but in the field of specializations resources are pulled together for effective production. these economies of scale make it possible to realise change in technology and skills and thereby contributing to economic growth in a total economy. it is this technical advance and advances in skills that will push out the production possibility frontier and actually increase the economic growth. additionally, new wants are to be created which will be filled with domestic production especially including production for exports. this also means increase of production techniques. thirdly and more importantly, this increase in technical skills and the rising income that they create are also said to spread to other sectors of the economy thereby resulting in what h1a myint called „export-led-growth‟. fourthly, if as a result of international trade, national income rises and the consequent increase in savings lead to productive investment, then the ensuing growth of national incomes is also another dynamic gain of international trade. in summary, international trade is perhaps indispensable to economic growth of the nigeria especially in the 1960s. it widens the market and made it possible for machines and techniques to be imported thereby making west africa to enjoy igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 34 direct gain which can produce economic growth and development. thus, international trade can be said to have been the „engine of growth‟. on the contrary, there is a certain school of thought which believes that international trade is in itself antithetical to economic growth. in this view are gunner myrdal and hans singer who postulated that international trade is equally very harmful to economic development. the main issue here is that international trade has not been beneficial to the less developed countries and sometimes have been detrimental to their progress. one point they made is that international trade and the kind of development it has encouraged has created economic enclaves for example, on plantations and mines which do not have adequate linkages with the rest of the economy. this means that to promote international trade, foreign investors have come and tended to invest in areas of plantation and mining which did not have strong link with the rest of the economy being largely extractive. in these circumstances, profit went primarily to the foreigners and these profits were not always re-invested to stimulate growth domestically. such gains that went to local wage earners were used to purchase import goods and not local products. gunner myrdal also posits that this type of economic enclaves did not have „spread effect‟ or beneficial effect on the rest of the economy. in some cases, they had harmful effect, for example, slave trade survived through a slave factory whose result was devastation and war in the locality. one way to increase export expansion was these enclaves of mines and plantation. however, where exports expansion was through peasant farmers as in the case of cocoa, groundnut and palm oil, international trade still failed to stimulate lasting growth or to act as a leading sector because of the techniques and the equipment used by the peasants. so that accepting full utilization of land, labour and other resources like capital and hence no lasting economic growth occurred. another argument concerns the term of trade and the nature of exports by the developing countries. most of the exports are primary products (unprocessed produce) such as palm produce, groundnut, cocoa, iron ore and unrefined petroleum. these products tend to have unstable prices in world market and generally command lower prices compared with what west african countries pay for manufactured goods from europe. because of this, writers like immanuel wallerstein believes that international trade cannot be effective means of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 35 increasing our income and using it to develop. additionally, according to wallerstein, the cost of higher wages in industrial countries and lower wages in developing countries, african countries will always pay more to buy what they produce and sell to us than what they pay for what we produce, this is called „unequal exchange‟. the theory of international demonstration effect (i.d.e.) posits that international trade exposes developing countries to the products taste and the technology of the advance countries and we tend to accept or borrow these things as they are and hence they stifle our initiative while inflicting on us tastes and wants that we are not capable of getting. however, it is also true that international demonstration effect can be put into advantage if the technology and the techniques and the machines can be adapted to local expertise. in that case, foreign trade will be said to have educative effect. conclusion this paper has stressed that the whole colonial enterprise, even as at 1960s,systematically appropriated the surplus earned from the commodity exports of africa‟s, imposing as a consequence of this rigid, static, selfperpetuating economic structure on the continent: expanding production capacity even with falling prices. so long as wages could be compressed and profit maintained: neglected investment on improving the productivity of domestic agriculture: and withheld credit and insurance from enterprising small scale african business people; often with the full authority of government ordinances. africans were taught for generations, often by force and with appalling brutality or by disincentive, to neglect domestic agriculture and food production in favour of export cash crops: to spend their income on imported goods that they could easily and cheaply have manufactured. in aid of ricardo‟s theory of comparative advantage: to abandon their calling as small scale farmers and entrepreneurs in favour of joining the plantation and mining proletariat. however, the paradox for the west africa‟s economies is that, in spite of their growing over-dependence on agricultural based international trade, this sector has failed to become the much need engine of growth for most west african countries. true enough, the share on agriculture has shown the downward trend associated with economic transformation: but the internal structure of this sector has grown even more fragile as compared to what happened in the developed igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 36 countries. this international trade which was anchored on this background was not without imperialist traits and as such could not be said to have been „engine of growth‟. references 1. obaraikime: the fall of nigeria: the british conquest london: heineman 1981. 2. ini a. udoka, “the rule of private foreign investors in the production of palm produce in south eastern nigeria, 1910 – 1955”. ibom journal of history no.1, january.1996. 3. joseph aneneand godfrey brown (eds), africain the nineteen and twentieth centuries ibadan: university press, 1966. 4. afigboa.e.: the warrant chiefs: indirect rule in south eastern nigeria,london: longman, 1972. 5. nae, cso 1/4, “duties of commissioner and consul-general, oil rivers protectorate. 6. osae,t. a. and a.t.odunse (eds), a short history of west africa 1800 to the present london: university of london press, 1974. 7. ejituwumkparom: a history of obolo (oron:manson publishing company,1991) . 8. egwemi, v., “the amalgamation of 1914 and the north-south divide in nigeria; some comments on contemporary manifestations” in j.mangut and t.wuam, colonialism and the transition to modernity in africa, lapai, ibb university.2011. 9. afaha, philip, “the impact of colonial economy on inter-group relations among the communities in the lower cross river basin” in j.mangut and t.wuam, colonialism and the transition to modernity in africa, lapai, ibb university.2011. 10. crowder,m., the story of nigeria, london, faber & faber,1973. 11. saadabubakar, “the northern provinces under colonial rule:1900-1959” , obaroikime(ed),groundwork of nigerian history, heinemman, ibadan,2008. 12. fredrick, lugard: nigeria report on amalgamation of northern and southern nigeria, and administration, 1912-1919”. (h.m. stationery office, 1919). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 37 13. alagoa e j, “the eastern niger delta and the hinterland in the nineteenth century”, obaroikime(ed), groundwork of nigerian history, heinemman, ibadan,2008. 14. hopkins a.g. ,economic of history. west africa,london,longman ltd,1980. 15. inia.udoka. “the role of private foreign investors in the production of palm produce in south eastern nigeria,1910-1955” in ibom journal of history no.1 jan 1996. 16. babaraingham, tropical export and economic development. london,mcmillan ltd,1981. 17. adebayo adedeji, “africa and the world economy” africa today, london, abl 1991. 18. gunnar myrdal, “what is development?”.ekistics,vol.40,no.237,august 1975. 19. g.a. petch, economic development and modern west africa, london, university of london press, 1965. 20. immanuel wallerstein: “the rise and future demise of the world capitalist systems:concepts for comparative analysis” comparative studies in society and history. vol.16,no.4,sept.1974. 21. kenneth k.s. dadzie; “the commodity economy of africa”.africa today, london, abl,1991. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 2.doc igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 62 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) effect of forensic auditing on reducing fraud cases in nigeria money deposit banks asusu peace ukoma department of accountancy faculty of management sciences nnamdi azikiwe university, awka abstract the study dwelt on the effect of forensic auditing in reducing fraud cases in deposit money banks (dmbs) in nigeria. the study sought to find out to find out the effect forensic auditing have of internal control system, cash management system and loan processing and repayment system. survey research design was adopted in the study. questionnaires, personal interviews, and document review were the methods that were used to obtain data for this study. a sample of forty eight bank auditors, operational managers and general managers were used from sixteen dmbs in nigeria. ordinary least square (ols) regression was used to analysis the data and it was found that forensic auditing services is significantly associated with the internal control systems and cash management systems of dmbs but not significantly associated with loan processing and repayment system. the study recommended for the adoption of forensic auditing in addition to the external audit of dmbs in nigeria. keywords: forensic auditing, fraud cases. introduction the nigerian banking sector has not been spared from the susceptibility to fraud, both from within and without. fraud constitutes a problem to banks in their operations and their roles in the economy at large. various countries, both the richest and electronically mobile countries have witness a fair share of financial commotion and uncertainties sown by fraud-related crimes. the nigerian banking sector has had a fair share of financial scandals. the origin of bank failure in nigeria can be traced to the 1930s bank failure and crises. bank failure occurred in the 1930s when all indigenous banks, except the national banks collapsed. this occurred again during the banking boom and crash of the late 1940s when all but four indigenous banks were not liquadited. sixteen (16) banks failed between 1952 and 1954 and twenty six (26) failed in the late 1990s while others were either restructured, renamed or completely acquired (owolabi, 2010). as a result of capital inadequacies in 2004, nigerian banks experienced liquidity problem which led to the raising of minimum capital base to n25 billion. this brought the number of banks to 25 in 2006 which is a reasonable reduction from the 89 which existed in 2004. management of five banks; igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 63 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) intercontinental, oceanic, union, afri, and first inland banks were sacked over alleged fraud and mismanagement in 2009 which greatly increased public anxiety about the well-being of these banks and to some extent also created doubts about the audit function being performed in these banks. evidence therefore shows that out of the 25 big banks operating in nigeria after recapitalization, three international accounting firms have been their auditors (zachariah et al, 2014). the large number of financial statement fraud in the banking sector is now of a great concern to the nation. the inability of the law enforcement agents to successfully track down perpetrators of fraud has made it worrisome. fraud prevention, detection and reduction are of course outside the ambit of the statutory auditor to report on except when placed on inquiry. his responsibility is defined by sec. 359 (cama, 2004) and the relevant auditing standards. in relation to external auditors’ work, statutory regulations such as companies and allied matters act 2004 (as amended), nigerian deposit insurance corporation (ndic) act 2007, banks and other financial institutions act (bofia) 1991, and banks ordinance 1991 have not spelt out fraud detection as part of auditor’s duty rather than management. conventional auditing has become ineffective in its preventive role, and lack of integrity which is an essential quality of an auditor. this means there is need to devise different means of tackling fraud taking into consideration the types of frauds, perpetrators, the mode of perpetration, and the duties of external auditors as enshrined in the governing statutes. in response to this, forensic auditing came to the fore. forensic auditing is perceived to have evolved in response to certain emerging fraud related cases and the increasing sophistication of financial fraud requires that forensic auditing be added to the tools necessary to bring about the successful investigation and prosecution of those individuals involved in criminal activities (nwosu, 2015). it is against this backdrop that the study seeks to examine the effect of forensic auditing on reducing fraud cases in nigeria deposit money banks. 1.2 statement of research problems the demand for forensic audit service has been on the forefront as a result of increasing fraudulent practices in businesses around the world in recent time. the fraud scandals that are most often quoted which almost swallow the corporate world were cases of enron, arthur anderson, and worldcom. these cases actually laid bare the urgent need for forensic auditing. frequent fraud igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 64 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) cases in the nigerian dmbs makes the integrity of the employees, management, internal auditors and even the external auditors of the banks questionable and also gives rise to absolute loss of customers’ confidence in banking. such widespread of fraud in the banking sector have made traditional auditing and investigation ineffective and inefficient in the detection, prevention and reduction of fraud confronting it. however existing laws have been evoked to show that fraud detection is not in the scope of the external auditors’ duties rather he is saddled with the responsibility of providing an assurance on the financial statement prepared by the management. the financial loss caused by fraud has in several cases rendered some customers of banks penniless who once had substantial amount of money in his bank account. since the external auditors’ functions cannot cover fraud detection, a system that needs to checkmate the menace of fraud in the banking sector needs to be introduced. various studies however have been carried out to show the relationship, effects and the roles that forensic audit has to play in checkmating and reducing the rampant fraud cases in nigeria dmbs. to a great extent, most of the previous studies have a consensus result. this studies however is to add to the body of knowledge on the study of the effect of forensic auditing in reducing fraud cases in dmbs in nigeria by introducing intervening variables such as internal control system, cash management system and loan processing and repayment system. objectives of the study the main objective of this research is to examine the effect of forensic auditing on reducing fraud cases in nigeria dmbs. the specific objectives that will guide the main objectives are: 1. to examine the effect of forensic auditing on the internal control system of dmbs in nigeria 2. to examine the effect of forensic auditing on the cash management system of dmbs in nigeria 3. to examine the effect of forensic auditing on the loan processing and repayment system of dmbs in nigeria research hypotheses 1. ho: forensic auditing service does not affect the internal control system of the dmbs in nigeria 2. ho: forensic auditing service does not affect the cash management system of the dmbs in nigeria igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 65 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 3. ho: forensic auditing service does not affect the loan processing and repayment system of the dmbs in nigeria literature review concept of forensic auditing forensic auditing is the tripartite practice of utilizing accounting, auditing and investigative skills to assist in legal matters (nwosu, 2015). it is a specialized field of accounting that describes engagements that result from actual or anticipated disputes or litigation. forensic auditing can, therefore, be seen as an aspect of accounting that is suitable for legal review and offering the highest level of assurance (apostolou, hassell, & webber 2000). forensic auditing in the view of zysman (2004), is the integration of accounting, auditing and investigative skills. this definition may however be incomplete as the area of application isn’t covered. dhar & sarkar (2010) define forensic auditing as the application of accounting concepts and techniques to legal problems. howard & sheetz (2006), gave a more comprehensive definition which states that forensic auditing is the process of interpreting, summarizing and presenting complex financial issues clearly, succinctly and factually often in a court of law as an expert. crumbley (2003) defined forensic auditing as an accounting analysis that can uncover possible fraud that is suitable for presentation in court. albretch (2001), described forensic auditing as the utilization of specialized investigative skills in carrying out an enquiry conducted in such a manner that the outcome will have application to the court of law. forensic auditing is an activity that consists of gathering, verifying, processing, analyzing of, and reporting on data in order to obtain facts and evidence in a predefined context in the area of legal/financial disputes and/or irregularities and giving preventive advice. forensic auditors according to zachariah et al (2014), are experienced auditors, accountants, and investigators of legal and financial documents that are hired to look into possible suspicion of fraudulent activity within a company; or are hired by a company who may just want to prevent fraudulent activities from occurring. it demands reporting, where accountability of the fraud is established and the report is considered as evidence in the court of law or in administrative proceedings. in the definition of messier (2000), forensic auditors are fraud examiners employed by corporations, government agencies public accounting firm and are trained by association of certified fraud examiners (acfe) on areas which covers, fraudulent financial transactions, legal elements of fraud investigation, criminology and ethics. in the opinion of albretch (2001), the primary aim of forensic auditing is fraud detection, unlike the traditional igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 66 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) auditing that focuses on review of internal control system, error identification and prevention. eyisi & abgaeze (2014) enumerated the objectives of forensic auditing to include but not limited to: improving management accountability; improving corporate governance and the statutory audit function; improving financial reporting system; help in detecting financial fraud; help in strengthening auditors independence; providing additional assurance for audit committees; assisting financial statement auditors to take greater responsibility for the detection of fraud and illegal acts when auditing financial statement due to the fact that another set of auditors (forensic auditors) would be critically evaluating their role; giving the audit committees better tools to evaluate the quality of the financial statement audit by the external auditor. the above objectives according to them could be said to have stronger impact on corporate governance, since the forensic auditor is expected to go beyond normal audit as to search for fraud and investigate deeper using more sophisticated scientific analytical tools and software packages to detect fraudulent activities perpetrated by the management and their employees or fraud which the external auditor has conceivable connived with the management to cover. concept of fraud curtis (2008) stated that fraud encompasses the acquisition of property or economic advantage by means of deception, through either a misrepresentation or concealment. other components of fraud include bribes, cronyism, nepotism, political donation, kickbacks, artificial pricing and frauds of all kinds (williams, 2005). ihiagarajah (2008) views bank fraud to any of a number of actions carried out with the intent of defrauding a financial institution. similarly, the concept has been stated to mean the use of fraudulent means to obtain money, assets, or other property owned or held by a financial institution. one thing stands out from the various definitions above which is the fact that fraud vary widely in nature, character and method of perpetration. however, levanti (2001) argues that no definite and invariable rule can be laid down as a general proposition in defining fraud. fraud may be classified into two broad ways: nature of fraudsters and method employed in carrying out the fraud. on the basis of the nature of the fraudsters, fraud may be categorized into three groups, namely; internal, external and mixed frauds. internal fraud relates to those committed by members of staff and directors of the organizations while external fraud is committed by persons not connected with the organization and mixed fraud involves outsiders colluding igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 67 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) with the staff and directors of the organization (ajie & ezi, 2000). karwai (2002) reported that the identification of the causes of fraud is very difficult. he stated that modern day organizations frauds usually involve a complex web of conspiracy and deception that often mask the actual cause. various schools of thoughts have come out to categorise fraud. a particular school of thought categorised fraud according to occupation and nonoccupational (singleton et al, 2006), while another on the basis of whether it is public or private sector fraud (comer, 2001). another school of thought also classified fraud in terms of industry in which the fraud was committed, such as bank fraud and insurance fraud (skalah et al, 2001). lendemen (2003) categorize it in terms of whether it is corporate or non-corporate, such as management fraud, insider dealing, investment fraud, and other related frauds. concentrating on fraud in dmbs, singleton et al (2006) stated that bank frauds have developed in nature and complexity from the traditional system of simple cheque fraud, where fraudster would just forge his name on a simple cheque by using an ordinary pen to more sophisticated techniques, such as the advance fee fraud which utilizes the internet and computer highways. skalah et al (2001) however identified two species of fraud, those that are committed by insiders and those committed by other fraud felons outside. among the bank frauds emanating from within are: rogue traders, fraudulent loans, wire fraud, forged documents, theft of identity, and demand draft fraud. on the other hand, fraud committed by outsiders include: forgery and altered cheques, stolen cheques, cheque kitting, payment card fraud, booster cheque duplication and skimming of card information, fraudulent loans applications, impersonation and theft of identity fraud and advance fee fraud, money laundering. theoretical framework fraud diamond theory: this theory was introduced by wolf and hermanson (2004). the model added a fourth variable “capabilities” to the three factor theory of fraud triangle (pressure, opportunity and rationalization). wolf and hermanson believed many frauds would not have occurred without the right person with right capabilities implementing the details of the fraud. with the additional element presented in the fraud diamond theory affecting individuals’ decision to commit fraud, the organization and auditors need to better understand employees’ individual traits and abilities in order to assess the risk of fraudulent behaviours. in addition, better systems of checks and balances should be implemented and monitored to proactively minimize risks and losses as a result of fraudulent activities in the workplace. hence, because of the capability igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 68 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) of those who engaged in fraud and other form of atrocities, the service of a trained and experienced investigator like the forensic auditor is required to forestall the occurrence of such fraud. white collar crime theory: sutherland (1949) as cited in michael (2004) happened to be the first to formulate the theory. sutherland originally presented his theory in an address to the american sociological society in an attempt to study two fields, crime and high society which had no previous empirical correlation. he defined his idea as crime committed by a person respectable and of high social status in the course of his occupation. he noted that in his time, less than two percent of the persons committed to prison in a year belong to the upper class. his goal was to prove a relation between money, social status and the likelihood of going to jail for a white-collar crime, compared to more visible, typical crimes, although, the percentage is a bit higher today. hence, because of the status of those who engaged in these atrocities, the service of a trained and experienced investigator like the forensic auditor was required to forestall the occurrence of such fraud. empirical review zachariah et al (2014), examined the application of forensic auditing in fraud control in nigerian banks. the study observed that nigerian banks over the past decades suffered from the menace of frauds which resulted to distresses and liquidations which hamper the roles of banks in the economy, and that the external auditors failed to detect the frauds in the course of carrying out their work. analysis by the researchers show that the common types of frauds and forgeries perpetrated are: atm fraud; fraudulent transfers/withdrawals; internet banking; lodgement of stolen warrant; presentation of forged cheques; suppression of customer deposit. the study analysed the trend in fraud cases from 2001-2012, included were the amounts involved in frauds, the most frequent types of fraud, and the losses sustained by banks. the descriptive analysis was used in the study which revealed that there are up and down movements in fraud cases. the study recommended that since banks continually lose huge sums of money as a result of the inability of the auditors and the supervisory regulators to curtail the trend, there is therefore the need to devise different means of tackling frauds in the banks. the study therefore suggests employment of forensic auditing in nigerian banks by amending the existing statutes, in such a way that forensic auditors are included in the audit team, which will provide the auditors with more tools to effectively deal with challenges in detecting fraud. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 69 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) njanike, thulani & mashayanye (2009), studied the effectiveness of forensic auditing in detecting, investigating, and preventing bank frauds. the study was set out to find out the extent that the forensic auditors have been able to fulfill their mandate and investigate problems that hinder forensic auditors to make progress in their operations in developing countries. the study also established the role of forensic auditing in banking operations. questionnaires, personal interviews, and document review are the methods that were used to obtain data for the study. a sample of thirty forensic auditors was used from thirteen commercial banks, four building societies, and four audit firms in zimbabwe. it was found that the forensic auditing departments suffer from multiple challenges, amongst them being the lack of material resources, technical knowhow, interference from management, and unclear recognition of the profession. the study concluded that the forensic auditors must be capacitated materially and technically to improve their effectiveness and thus recommended that the forensic auditors should create a constituted body that serves their interests and regulate the activities just like any other profession. henry & ganiyu (2017) examined the effects of forensic accounting services on fraud reduction in the nigerian banking industry. the specific objectives focused on effect of forensic accounting services on treasury and forex operation and effect of forensic accounting services on loan processing and cash management. the study adopted a survey research method and primary data were collected with the aid of a questionnaire. correlation and regression model was used to analyze the data. the findings of the study revealed that forensic accounting services reduce fraud in banking industry, which implies that pragmatic policy options needs to be taken on internal control system and effective management of core banking operations like cash management, treasury operation loan processing and forex transaction and must be diligently guided and subjected to forensic accounting. it was recommended that maximization of customer’s interest should be major focus without contravention of regulations set out by central bank of nigeria. okafor & agbiogwu (2016), examined the effects of forensic accounting on the management of bank fraud in nigeria. the study focused on the effect of forensic accounting skills on management of bank fraud in nigeria. the study revealed that possession of enhanced skills aid the forensic accountant in discharging his duties. ehioghiren & atu (2016), studied forensic accounting and fraud management: evidence from nigeria. primary sources of data were used for the study. the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 70 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) findings of the study show that forensic accounting significantly influences fraud detection and control, and also there is significant difference between the duties of professional forensic accountant and that of traditional external auditors. nwosu (2015), carried out a research on the assessment of forensic auditing and financial accounting in nigeria. the trust of the study was to find out if there is significant agreement amongst stakeholders on the effectiveness of forensic auditing in financial fraud control, financial reporting and internal control quality. survey design was used in the study and with a sample size of 143, consisting of accountants, management staffs, practicing auditors among others. simple random technique was utilized in selecting the sample size, while the binomial test was employed in the data analysis. the findings of the study showed that there is significant agreement amongst stakeholders on the effectiveness of forensic auditing in fraud control, financial reporting and internal control quality. in line with the above findings, the study recommended that the institute of chartered accountants of nigeria, association of national accountants of nigeria and the national universities commission should encourage formalization and specialization in the field forensic auditing. in addition, the government should stimulate interest in forensic auditing for monitoring and investigation of suspected fraudulent activities in financial accounting. enofe et al (2015) examined the impact of forensic audit on corporate fraud in nigeria. the objective of the study was to determine the relationship between forensic audit and corporate fraud. the study employed survey method to collect primary data using questionnaires, while the data were analyzed using ordinary least square (ols) regression technique with the aid of spss statistics 21. the study concluded based on the statistical analysis that the frequent utilization of forensic audit services will significantly help in the detection, prevention as well as reduction of incidences of fraud in and businesses. consequently forensic audit was adjudged to be an efficient and effective tool against corporate fraud. it therefore recommended that forensic audit be made statutory for businesses and organizations. olaoye & dada (2017) examined the impact of auditors captured by risk assessment, system audit and verification of financial report on banking fraud control in southwest nigeria. the study employed survey design in which a set of questionnaire was administered on the selected banks in southwest nigeria. multiple regression technique and anova were used for the analysis. the results indicated that the level of fraud control in nigerian banks during the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 71 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) period covered was low; the result revealed that risk assessment management, system audit and verification of financial reports adopted by the banking industry in southwest nigeria limit the fraudulent activities among the nigerian banks by 35, 13 and 18 percent respectively; the results also showed that audit roles captured by risk assessment, system audit and verification of financial reports were statistically significant in determining the fraudulent act in banking industry in nigeria. based on the findings, the study concluded that risk assessment, system audit and financial report verifications were carried out to determine the effectiveness and impact of auditors on fraud control in nigerian banks which reveals that auditors’ roles need to be improved to enhance fraud control in banking industry. the study recommended that auditors should increase the scope of their activities on the efficiency of banks internal control system, risk assessment and system audit as this will enhance the detection of fraudulent activities. also, management of banks should ensure strict compliance with their respective internal control system. ogiriki & appah (2018) empirically analysed the effect of forensic accounting and auditing techniques on public sector fraud detection, investigation and prevention in nigeria. specifically, the study sought to establish the effect of the various techniques of forensic accounting on public sector fraud and secondly, to determine the effect of forensic auditing on fraud detection, investigation and prevention. the study adopted an ex-post factor design, structured questionnaire were distributed for data collection and the hypothesis were analysed using regression analysis. the study revealed that the relationship between forensic accounting and auditing techniques and public sector fraud detection, investigation and prevention in nigeria is quite significant. the study therefore concludes that forensic accounting and auditing techniques is a major panacea to the level of fraudulent activities experienced in the nigerian public sector. it was recommended among others that government should consider providing more fraud hotlines, improve the whistleblowing policy and establish forensic accounting department in the public sector in order to enhance the fraud detection, investigation and prevention mechanism in the public sector. adeniyi (2015) examined the effect of forensic auditing on financial fraud in nigerian (dmbs). a cross sectional survey design was adopted. the population of the study comprised the staff of banks and audit firms in abeokuta, ogun state. the study used purposive sampling technique for questionnaire administration while logistic regression analysis was used for data analysis. the results of the study revealed that forensic audit has significant effect on financial fraud control in nigerian (dmbs) and that forensic audit report significantly igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 72 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) enhances court adjudication on financial fraud in nigeria. the study concluded that the application of forensic audit to tackle financial fraud in nigerian (dmbs) is still at the infant stage. the study recommended that organisations should have a strong internal control system in place to reduce the occurrence of fraud. onodi, okafor and onyali (2015) researched on the impact of forensic investigative methods on corporate fraud deterrence in banks in nigeria. the study adopted a survey research design and data from primary source were collected through interviews and administration of questionnaires, while secondary source consists of reports on fraud and forgery in the banking sector. statistical tools used to analyze the data include percentages, mean score, frequency tables, regression analysis and z-test. the result revealed that there is a significant relationship between the forensic investigative methods and corporate fraud deterrence. the findings revealed that expert services of forensic investigators are normally required in the prosecution of fraud, but majority of the audit and accounting personnel in nigeria are suffering from poor perception and knowledge of forensic investigative methods. methodology this study adopted survey design as a research strategy. the study employed the use of primary data in order to achieve the stated objective of the study. descriptive and inferential statistical method was adopted in order to provide a proficient appraisal of the effect of forensic audit on fraud reduction in dmbs. the population of this study include 16 dmbs in nigeria while data were source from auditors, operation managers and branch managers. the whole 16 dmbs were also selected as the sample size but with awka in anambra state as the area of study. data used for this study were obtained using a well structured questionnaire from a sample size of 48 respondents selected from the 16 dmbs branches in awka, anambra state nigeria. the data was analyzed using ordinary least square (ols) regression technique. model specification this study examined forensic audit (fa) as a function of fraud cases reduction (fcr) which is proxied by internal control system (ics), cash management system (cms) and loan processing and repayment system (lprs). the function is represented as follows. fa = ƒ(ics,cms,lprs) the model is thus specified as: fa = β0 + β1ics + β2cms + β3lprs + µt where: fa = forensic audit igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 73 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) ics = internal control system cms = cash management system lprs = loan processing and repayment system µt = error term. β0,…β2 = regression coefficients of the model. a priori expectation: β1 > 0 and β2 > 0 presentation and interpretation of results model summary model r r square adjusted r square std. error of the estimate change statistics r square change f change df1 df2 sig. f change 1 .951a .904 .902 .31391 .904 440.434 3 140 .000 a. predictors: (constant), lprs, cms, ics anovab model sum of squares df mean square f sig. 1 regressio n 130.198 3 43.399 440.434 .000a residual 13.795 140 .099 total 143.993 143 a. predictors: (constant), lprs, cms, ics b. dependent variable: fa igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 74 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) coefficientsa model unstandardized coefficients standardized coefficients t sig. 95.0% confidence interval for b b std. error beta lower bound upper bound 1 (constant) .102 .049 2.075 .040 .005 .198 ics .548 .091 .638 6.041 .000 .369 .727 cms .194 .071 .252 2.720 .007 .053 .335 lprs .053 .086 .073 .611 .542 -.118 .224 a. dependent variable: fa the diagnostic statistics revealed that the r-squared (r2) value is 0.904, and after adjusting for degree of freedom the adjusted r-squared (adjusted r2) value is 0.902, indicating that the application of forensic audit could increase the chances of reducing fraud cases 90%. this justifies the fact that the fit of the data to the model was good. reinforcing the justification of the fit of the model to the data is the f-statistics. the f-statistics being a test of appropriateness with a value of 440.434 and a significance value of 0.000 means that the model is found to be significant and that a significant linear relationship exists between forensic audit and fraud cases reduction, consequently forensic audit can be used as a measure for reducing fraud cases in dmbs. from the analysis also, the application of forensic audit would result in a 0.548, 0.194 and 0.053 unit increase in the checkmating of internal control system, cash management system and loan processing and repayment system respectively of dmbs. with t-statistics of 6.041 and 2.720 and 0.611 for internal control system, cash management system and loan processing and repayment system respectively and their respective significance values of 0.000, 0.007 and 0.542. since the p value < 0.05 except for hypothesis three, we are inclined to reject the null hypothesis of hypothesis one and two and accept it for hypothesis three which say that forensic auditing service does not affect the internal control igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 75 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) system of the dmbs in nigeria, forensic auditing service does not affect the cash management system of the dmbs in nigeria and that forensic auditing service does not affect the loan processing and repayment system of the dmbs in nigeria. summary of findings, conclusion and recommendations findings from the research showed that forensic auditing affects the internal audit system, cash management system but does not affect the loan processing and repayment system of dmbs in nigeria. the findings thus can be summarised be saying that the application forensic auditing will significantly reduce the fraud cases in dmbs in nigeria. the result of the analysis of this study is to a greater extent in agreement with the previous studies of zachariah et al (2014), henry & ganiyu (2017), ehioghiren & atu (2016), nwosu (2015), enofe et al (2015), ogiriki & appah (2018), adeniyi (2015) and onodi, okafor & onyali (2015). the study thus adds to these existing bodies of knowledge on the effect of forensic auditing and reduction of fraud cases in nigeria dmbs and therefore recommends for the adoption of forensic auditing in addition to the external audit of dmbs in nigeria. the study however gives room for further research especially using the loan processing and repayment system as a proxy for fraud cases reduction in nigeria dmbs since that particular proxy hasn’t been used much in previous researches. references adeniyi, a.a., (2015). forensic auditing and financial fraud in nigerian deposit money banks (dmbs). european journal of accounting, auditing and finance research, 4(8), 6-11. ajie, h. a. & ezi, c.t. (2000). financial institutions and markets. owerri, corporate impression. albretch, c., & albretch, u. (2001). can auditors detect fraud? a review of research evidence. journal of forensic accounting 11, 1-2 apostolou, b., hassell, j.m., & s.a. webber (2000). forensic expert classification of management fraud risk factors, journal of forensic accounting, i, 181192. comer, m.t (2006). a guide to workplace fraud and criminal behaviour recognition. retrieved from www.nao.gu.au igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 76 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) crumbley, d. l (2003). forensic and investigative accounting. cch publishing. curtis, g.e., (2008). legal and regulatory environments and ethics: essential components of fraud and forensic accounting curriculum. issues in accounting education, 23(4), 535-543. dhar, p. & sarkar, a. (2010), forensic accounting: an accountant’s vision, vidyasagar university journal of commerce, 15(3), 93-104. ehioghiran, e.e. & atu, o.o.k (2016). forensic accounting and fraud management: evidence from nigeria, igbinedion university journal of accounting, 2, 245 – 283. enofe, a.o., omagbon, p. & ehigiator, f.i. (2015). forensic audit and corporate fraud. international journal of economics and business management, 1(7). eyisi, a.s. & agbaeze, e.k. (2014). the impact of forensic auditors in corporate governance, international journal of development and sustainability, 3(2), 404 – 417. henry, a. w., & ganiyu, a. b. (2017). effect of forensic accounting services on fraud reduction in the nigerian banking industry. advances in social sciences research journal, 4(12), 53-64. howard s. and sheetz, m. (2006).forensic accounting and fraud investigation for non-experts, new jersey, john wiley and sons inc. ihiagarajah, f. (2008). bank and loans orange country. retrieved from www.allbusiness.com. karwai, s.a. (2002), bank fraud: can shari’ah prevent it?, journal of business administration, 2(1), 62-78. lendemen, r. (2003). implications for investigations and forensic auditor. new york. boston beacon press. levanti, m. (2001). prevention of fraud. london. crime prevention paper 17 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 77 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) messier w.f. (2000), auditing and assurance services, a systematic approach. united states. mcaraw hill njanike, k., dube, t., & mashayanye, e. (2009). the effectiveness of forensic auditing in detecting, investigating, and preventing bank frauds. journal of sustainable development in africa, 10(4), 405-425. nwosu, m.e., (2015). forensic auditing and financial accounting in nigeria: an assessment. international journal of economics and management studies, 2(7), 6-11 ogiriki, t., & appah, e., (2018). forensic accounting & auditing techniques on public sector fraud in nigeria. international journal of african and asian studies, 2, 7-16. olaoye, c.o., & dada, r.a, (2017). the roles of auditors in fraud detection and prevention in nigeria deposit money banks: evidence from southwest. european scientific journal, 13(31), 290-306 onodi, b.e., okafor, t.g. and onyali, c.i. (2015) the impact of forensic investigative methods on corporate fraud deterrence in banks in nigeria. european journal of accounting, auditing and finance vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 69 – 85. owolabi, s.a. (2010). fraud and fraudulent practices in nigeria banking industry. african research review: an international multi-disciplinary journal, 4(3b) singleton, j., singleton, a.t.,& balogna, g.j. (2006). fraud auditing & forensic accounting. london, mcgraw-hill. skalah, s. l., alois, m.a., & sellar, g. (2005). fraud: an introduction. london, mcgraw-hill. williams, i. (2005) corrupt practices: implications for economic growth and development of nigeria, the nigeria accountants, 38 (4), 44-50. wolf, d.t. and hermanson, s.r. (2004). the fraud diamond: considering the four elements of fraud. the cpa journal, december. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 78 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) zachariah p., masoyi, a. d., ernest, e. i.and gabriel, a.o. (2014) application of forensic auditing in reducing fraud cases in nigeria money deposit banks, global journal of management and business research: d accounting and auditing, 14(3). zysman, a. (2004). forensic accounting demystified, world investigators network standard practice for investigative and forensic accounting engagements, canadian institute of chartered accountant, nov 2006. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no 3.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 61 the african (igbo) concept of akara aka: a philosophical reassessment ugwu, anayochukwu k. philosophy department university of nigeria, nsukka anayochukwujp@gmail.com; anayochukwu.kingsley.pg82208@unn.edu.ng 08060587835;09025356644 abstract the issue of human success and failure has raised series of questions in history. some argue that all human experiences (success and failure) are solely akara aka based, that is, pre-ordained or predestined by ‘divinity’ and that man can never alter them; others argue in very opposite, that they are all man’s conscious effort and determination to maximize his existential potentiality to explore nature; whereas many others posit that they are the combination of akara aka and man’s effort to maximize his existential possibilities. at this, we may ask: (1) if there is akara aka, why must some be preordained for success and others failures? (2) in the face of akara aka, what is the fate of human endowments, tendencies and capabilities and most of all, the human freedom and volition which are the core ingredients of human existence? or what is the difference between luck/fortune, god’s blessings on hard works and akara aka? (3) is god still an impartial and just god if some people’s akara aka are failures or hard-going while some success or easy-going? (4) what is then the true nature of god and man vis-à-vis the question of evil and moral judgments on people’s actions? nevertheless, we will here try to analyze and evaluate the whole idea of akara aka and the implications from its igbo understanding and then try to evaluate if there is limit to divine interference or penetrations in human affairs. in doing this, we will employ expository, analytical and comparative methods. introduction generally speaking, akara aka in igbo understanding is understood as that which god, during creation has ordained or destined man to be in life. the encounter jeremiah had during his calling expressed this clearly, he was told: “i chose you before i gave you life, and before you were born i selected you to be a prophet to the nation” (jer. 1:5). jeremiah’s ordination had been before his lifeless mortal body was molded or before the divine breath through which the lifeless body gained life. but was this divinely purposely for him, or for every existing being? what is the significant difference and similarity between man’s destiny and the point when life is put (perhaps breathed) into him, and their workings in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 62 man’s affairs? be that as it may, for the igbo, akara aka can never be altered, it must come to be, nothing can stop its fulfillment or accomplishment. thus, it portrays the concept of “predestination” or “pre-ordination” or even “fatalism”. it is a bit different in conception from the general philosophical discourse of the concept of “determinism” though they are all under the same field of discourse. predestination is the view that “everything that happens has been decided or planned in advance by god or by fate and that humans cannot change it” (oxford advanced learner’s dictionary). perhaps it is best explained in the biblical saying that “what i have written stays written” (jn. 19:22), or “i will have mercy on whom i will”. but the question is: why should god now be selective on whom to have mercy on? is it based on individual please to him or predestination? in some interpretations, it is the view that “god has already decided for each soul whether it will be saved or condemned” and this position is traced to the bible: romans 8, 9, and ephesians 1 (mautner, 2000:442). but souls are conceived as god’s particles in men, how then can god’s sparks in men be destined for doom? can god─ represented by the soul─ be destined (by himself) for ‘hell fire’ or doom? fatalism is the position that “all events are decided in advance by a supernatural power, and humans have no control over them” (oxford dictionary of current english). mautner (2000:195) even adds that the argument is three-dimensional: based on ‘logical principles’, ‘principle of causality’ and ‘assumption of perfect divine foreknowledge.’ determinism is “the belief that people are not free to choose what they are like or how they behave, because these things are decided by their surroundings and other things over which they have no control” (oxford advanced learner’s dictionary) or “the belief that people are not free to do as they wish because their lives are determined by factors outside their control” (oxford dictionary of current english). the cardinal difference between the two concepts is that in “predestination”, god is the sole cause of human actions, man is like a robot being controlled from somewhere towards a pre-ordained course, but in determinism, natural and physical laws, biological and mechanical factors of human nature are the attributive causes or determinants of human actions towards a course. again, there are no versions in the discourse of predestination like that of determinism. finally, as a similarity, both question the fate of human freedom and volition in the bid to carry out a course. in determinism (omoregbe, 2011:186-191), there are soft-determinists who do not rule out entirely the moral responsibility. they do not deny the involvement of human freedom in human actions. man as the agent who acts should thus be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 63 held morally responsible for his actions. by extension, these ‘indeterminists’, ‘libertarians’ or “compatibilists maintain that freedom is possible under determinism” (mautner, 2000:137-8). they support the institutions of moral codes, legal systems, the establishment of customs, norms and ordinances, judicial interference, courts, and legal punishments like prisons. all these are to avert the emergence of the hobbesian state of nature sort of. but in the very opposite are the core or hard-determinists who rule out into to moral responsibilities. they deny human freedom in human actions. for these incompatibilists, man is like a robot in the face of certain factors in his nature and generally the laws of nature, for his actions are all determined by these factors. “nobody would be blamed, condemned or punished” for his actions; and this implies that the ideas of regret, reproach, remorse or feeling of sorry and even penance for actions are invalid and unnecessary, the question of choice or decision-making is not there for there is no freedom or consciousness for it. still splitting them, we have: (i) physical determinists who hold the view that man is an essential part and parcel of physical nature, and the implication is that all his actions are determined by physical laws of nature. natural forces in the human nature cause man’s actions, that is to say that man is essentially mechanic─ matter-component only. (ii) historical determinists who contend that historical events are determined or motivated by some factors─ economic, material possession, socio-cultural, religious, natural laws or human nature or even in a sense “fated” to occur through some people with high valor. some even see these events as “moments” through which the absolute manifests or rather develops itself. (iii) ethical determinists who assert that man’s actions are determined by what he conceives as good. hence man sees and knows an act to be good, he is automatically pushed by his instinct to will for it for his human will is controlled by that which he has conceived as good. (iv) psychological determinists who posit that psychological factors like the human instincts, emotions, motives, environment, desire, appetites and aversions, libido, etc determine the actions of man. he is therefore a slave to his psychological instincts and generally his human nature. some exponents could be termed emotivists, motivists, situationists, etc. (v) theological determinists whose view is that god knows all that man will experience and what will experience man in his life. here, the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 64 foreknowledge of god in human affairs is reiterated but knowing is different from interfering in man’s affairs. god is like being there, watching how you, with your human nature and freedom, can fulfill his knowledge of your existence. in clear terms, it is written: “from the beginning, i predicted the outcome; long ago, i foretold what would happen. i said that my plans would never fall, that i would do everything i intended to do. i am calling a man to come from the east; he will swoop down like a hawk and accomplish what i have planned. i have spoken, and it will be done” (is. 46: 10-1). note: ‘the outcome’ (of what?) and ‘what would happen’ (before and after what?) are unknown. again, ‘he will swoop down like a hawk and accomplish what i have planned’ means that there has been a plan, it is now left for man to realize it. further, those plans are equally unknown─ they could be bad or good ones. we must also note that he (god) would do everything he intends to do, but may change the time and how he wants to do them─ refer to his reverse in hezekiah’s case and his words of seriously dealing with the israelites and the reverse of the punishments, etc. but the point remains that here, man will descend and then accomplish god’s plan. man is therefore assigned some duties through which the divine plans would manifest. god has plans, or has foreknowledge of man’s future, but it is man who will make them to manifest. perhaps for clarity to our suspense mind it was explained in another place thus: “i alone know the plans i have for you, plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future you hope for. then you will call to me. you will come and pray to me, and i will answer you.” (jer. 29: 11-2). prosperity and hope are on what man has already established. it is only after then (conditional) that man’s prayers and requests would then be answered by god. so, work precedes prayer just as man’s effort precedes divine penetration on man’s affairs. on the other hand, is it right, having seen that i am heading toward doom, yet allow me to continue? is god that unemotional, unsympathetic and rigid towards the affairs of men even when he says that our situation touches him and the bible says that he is kindhearted! however it is, the point remains that the igbo (generally african) understanding of and approach to akara aka is apt for critical, philosophical and rational review. this follows the fact that the attitudinal approach to life proceeding as influence igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 65 from the igbo understanding of akara aka is posing threat to human capabilities. the understanding has made the african too weak, to live unfulfilled life and with no worries, irrationally and aimlessly dependent on ‘divine’ and to ignorantly refuse to maximize his natural endowments and potencies for a better life and as a justification to creation. it has made him to see all things as the will of god, and as consequences, he appears non-responsive to nature for his survival and has inculcated in many the thought that their actions are justified at all time hence pre-ordained. this is nevertheless, not to rule out the whole idea of ‘divine penetration’ in human affairs, but to recommend a mediation where human freedom, inherent and expressive in life, should be primary, and all ‘divine involvement’ will then be attracted and become secondary. by this, we maintain that man as a free agent, has a say, obligation and responsibility/duty to fulfill in his own life, survival and safety, and as a moral being. hence, we posit that there must be an existential shift in the conception of akara aka to accommodating human freedom and allow the ‘authenticity’ of human living proved by man. this is because man as a free being must accept his faults and irresponsibility and glories for the idea of akara aka has ever served as an avenue to excuse his evil, partiality/prejudices, injustice and certain negativities in life thereby making it difficult for him to even differentiate between what he calls akara aka or ‘divine will’ from his ‘human will’ or ‘freedom/human right’ and when they apply in his life. critical exposition and analysis of the concept of akara aka the term akaka aka is an igbo word literarily meaning the ‘lines in palms’. it cannot be well analyzed and understood without the concept of chi, and this we will expose later in this work. however, it is believed that no two persons, not even twins have the same exact lines of the palms or chi., and that is why the igbo say that ofu nne n’amu, mana ofu chi anaghi eke (even though one mother bears all, chi is exclusively individual). mbonu was more explicit on this when he asserts that “no one’s chi is like another because no two persons are identical. a rich man’s chi is rich and a poor man’s chi is poor. a man’s chi is masculine and a woman’s chi is feminine. a man’s chi is equal to that man” (1955:183). gender, richness and poverty as existential qualities of chi is something worrisome for they portray both good and evil as natural hence chi is a natural existential phenomenon. and when mbonu says that a man is equal to his chi, what does it really mean: physical correspondence of one’s qualities of chi or in terms of one possessing the exact power and functional tendencies with one’s chi. but if it is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 66 the second option, then why do the igbo say that no one fights against one’s chi will survive because chi is supernatural? achebe on her own was critical and quite insightful to quickly stress that this instilled chi in every man is to continue the work of creation in man as he lives, but will be recalled to the creator immediately he dies (achebe, 1986:16; isichei, 1976:25). thus, as many as there are different existing persons are difference in akaka aka, hence these palm-lines so stand as the principle of individuality. however, ideally, these palm-lines (akara aka) are what the igbo conceive as predestination or preordination. they represent that which ‘divinity’ during creation has kept for or preordained one to be in life. conceiving akara aka as identifiable with chi and a product of creation, ilogu (1974:146) maintains that “chi is the divine particle in man by which he shares in the supreme being and the basis of which rests in man’s immortality and communion with the ancestors.” as the creator’s element in man, man now becomes ontologically empowered to have an easy access to the spiritual realm─ the creator, the ancestors, among other spiritual deities. for metuh, it is “the immanent presence of god in man or man’s guardian angel in life” (onyibor, 2019:90). at this definition, it appears like the ‘biblical soul’ in one hand, and the general african conception of chi as an individual’s guardian angel on the other hand. apparently, achebe (1986:17) contends that “at creation, god entrusted each human being with a chi, a creative force, this creative force… is god’s representative and emissary on earth, which helps or works in every delicate collaboration with each individual to fulfill those life’s possibilities and attributes which the individual personally chooses.” it can be said here that an individual’s chi is god-still-in-creation in him, which implicates the individual’s natural inclinations of creations and strength for tireless-life-survival. this is quite a commendable conception of chi vis-à-vis akara aka which aligns with the critical position of this paper in regards to dismantle the igbo conception of akara aka that enhances weakness towards life-struggle-tendencies. more interesting is arinze’s position that chi (akara aka) is given to an individual at conception which contradicts the biblical position which says: “i chose you before i gave you life” in jere. 1:5 hence he writes: most ibos [sic] believe that each individual has a spirit, a genius or spiritual double, his chi, which is given to him at conception by chukwu and which accompanies this individual from the cradle to the grave. chi is strictly personal… the ordinary ibo [sic] man igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 67 regards his chi as his guardian on whose competence depends his personal prosperity (1978:88-9) this conception raises the question as to when an individual is created: at conception or has already been made and stored but inserted in the womb at conception after conjugal actions, or even during foetal development? nevertheless, while some believe that chi is recalled to the creator at death, arinze holds the opposite that it goes down to the grave with every man. however, as a concept that is individual, it is believed that nothing can stop akara aka from happening to the person it is apportioned to, and this explains why the saying, ‘destiny can be delayed but cannot be denied.’ but the beggingfor-an-answer-question is: does it mean that no two people can have same destiny? but we see many people doing same thing almost perfectly same way and manner! how can we differentiate akara aka from (talents and lucks/fortunes) and the tireless efforts one makes to add meaning to one’s life or progress one’s natural endowments and their true manifestation? if akara aka is entirely divine, and that man cannot alter it, why should it even be ‘interfered’ with (delayed) or even finally be diabolically taken away or destroyed? some even hold that there are destiny-helpers or fulfillment-instruments. these are both human/non-human entities through whom/which one’s destiny gets realized. but the question is: if destiny is so conceived, why should god need these human/non-human intermediaries to ensure that one’s destiny is realized as if he (god) is no more omnipotent? can’t he from his ‘omni-nature’ do everything and divinely, to ensure that everybody is driven or flown to where his destiny lies await for him? though, this does not imply that two persons cannot have the same talents or inborn endowments (onatara chi), but the extent of their play-out and the mode of identifying them lays the question of their distinctness. some africans also believe that that which one finds so easy even when it is hard for others is one’s akara aka or onatara chi. so, the ease in doing something goes a long way in identifying destiny or natural endowment. it is believed that every person has his own akara aka, but they differ. some people’s akara aka are good, some others’ are bad. professor c. b. nze once told us that he believes some people are destined for doom, to perish. jokingly we added, ya bu na ekwensu ga enwenata customers (that implies that satan must have customers (in the hell)?). perhaps this could imply the content of the biblical expression when it is said: “everything the lord has made has its destiny; and the destiny of the wicked is destruction” (prov. 16:4). but how does one acquire wickedness? where and when is its fundamental root? nature or igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 68 human? if natural, the person’s doom-existence is of and by god. but if human, man can fortunately twist it by twisting his way of life. but there has been a serious argument among the igbo scholars on how akara aka is acquired. to this point, onyibor (2019:84) contributes: while some scholars argue that the choice of destiny was made by the individual in [sic] co conjunction with his/her chi before birth, after which the child suffers total amnesia after birth with regard to destiny package earlier chosen. others are of the opinion that chi whom chinaeke/chukwu the igbo supreme being created with the individual was assigned the role of dispenser and guardian of destiny already allotted by the creator while some insist that to explain akara aka is subsequently to explain chi and they are assigned to an individual before birth, others hold otherwise by contending that chi in man remotes his akara aka while living. however, naturebestowed-doom-destiny clearly played out in ola rotimi’s the gods are not to blame (1998:2-3) at the shrine of ogun─ “the god of war, of iron, and doctor of all male children” when the “purblind old man” chief priest─ baba fakunle declared the destiny of the prince. he said: “this boy, he will kill his own father and then marry his own mother.” this implies that people like this prince are essentially evil and their lives surrounded by and lived in evil. in the light of this position arises big questions on the nature of god and man and the emergence of evil. by this, is god not partial in his dealings with men? is he also not the originator of evil─ for bad destiny is evil? perhaps, evil is in god’s nature, substance and essence and that is why it is very easy for him to bestow bad destiny on some while even creating them─ he cannot give what he does not have! however, some, just like the yoruba, also hold the view that akara aka is acquired through choosing from the spirit world of ajala the god who is in charge of ori (destiny) (gbadegesin, 2004:313-23). but if one has a say in choosing one’s destiny, god is then free for one’s life is preplanned by oneself, not god or any divinity again. now being a product of human, god is therefore justified in all these accusative questions above for man alone remains the architect of his own existence and success/failure. the outstanding point is the conceptual misunderstanding about akara aka or ori concept and the hazy line of distinction between it and natural endowments, fortunes and the exercise of human freedom. apparently, having likened the concept of akara aka to that of chi, nevertheless, chi has variously been described and defined as an individual’s “personal god-divine afflatusthe spirit that animates human beings,” (madu, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 69 1995:33) “a unique life force which each person possesses,” (ekennia, 2003:27) “individual personal god which accounts for the fortune or the misfortune that one experiences in life,” (achebe, 1975:94-5) and so “really a personal god… the supreme god shared by each individual but more specifically in his aspect as giver and author of destiny” (okere, 1971:142). similarly, the concept chi as likened to that of akara aka explains why when something─ whether positive or negative─ happens to one, people quickly respond: o bu ya na chi ya (it is his destiny), o bu chi ya nyere ya (it is his chi that (divinely) gave or provided it for him). so, on this context, chi is someone’s akara aka. chi is therefore a full embodiment, entity or phenomenon of someone’s life, happiness and sadness. the igbo conceive akara aka as ‘that which will be must be.’ they see it as unavoidable, that even if one is not following the right path to realizing one’s akara aka, one must surely get to it, and when one is not in the right path to it, one, no matter the amount of effort put in, can never get to it. this is explained in the saying that agbaka m mbo bu ego nri (that i have truly tried (suffered) can only provide food (if that is not my akara aka)). but the question is: why must it be attained even when on wrong path, but can never be attained even on the right path if it is not one’s akara aka? obviously, there are elements of doubt in the igbo conception of akara aka. it is indeed a discouraging one, and that is where the problem lies. this is where they encourage week existence among themselves. some use it to cover their weakness towards struggling in life and say, ‘if it is mine (destined for me) i should have got it’. they equally say ‘when the time for god’s promises reaches, it surely will manifest on me’ or ‘he (god) has not opened my page (remembered me)’. they keep lying in wait for the right time and name their children oge chi kachasi mma (god’s time is the best). they keep lying in wait for the promises of god, as if it will fall down from heaven like that of biblical old story of ‘manna from heaven’ instead of acting so as to establish justifyinggrounds for the promise-fulfillment. however, the question now is: when is the god’s time, the time for the promise-fulfillment, the time god will open your page? the biblical case of hezekiah should have influenced this conceptual position. was hezekiah ‘destined’ to die the very time his death-proclamation was brought to him? if it was his destiny, it was changed even by he who destines, just as it happened also in the biblical story of jabez. it was changed following their reactions when the ‘destiny’ was made known to them. that implies that ‘destiny’ (even on this context) comes into fulfillment after your own human actions. so, even if there is divine interferences─ say akara aka, promise, time, etc─ they all depend on when you want yours and how you help them to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 70 manifest. but what is the level of the ontological force/influence of akara aka on man and his human freedom and volition if it truly exists? are all those who are in political offices today, even when they are rigged in there, predestined to be there? if yes, why must their destiny and destiny-helpers be dubious all the way? why must these dubious destiny-helpers commit sins against the prevalence of the exercise of human nature─ ‘will’ of the people? unfortunately some even reject negative life experiences as parts of their akara aka. if god has ‘predestined’ every experience man will encounter in life, why do we then blame those who are drunk and enter steering and drive out and smash themselves and other people? why is it possible for some to use charm, poison and other facilities to kill others? if i do not stand and respond to my instinct by writing this paper on this concept, how would it have come into fruition? or has god ‘predestined’ that it must come today and in this way? what if i had chosen to sleep all these days, what would have happened vis-à-vis this paper? or is divinity (or precisely god) the one using my body and thinking to do all these? is he still the one using my body to commit sins and behave improper? i equally hope he will not judge me at the end! at this therefore, there is no need for moral codes, decorum, legal system, punishment, moral judgment by both man and god, reproach and sorry, even for the establishment of purgatory (as the catholics hold), hell fire and even heaven. and if the igbo believe that death is part and the very last of someone’s akara aka, and that there must be difference in our akara aka, why should certain deaths like dying in labour, being drowned, suicide-commitment, among other means of death, be termed abomination? but all these are nature manifesting and in its own ways and times. all of us cannot live long like methuselah and die peacefully on our home beds. some must have been ‘predestined’ to die in those ways and at early age, for immediately after birth, what ends the life is nothing but death. why then should natural ways, times and manifestation be culturally conceived as taboos? what is then the need for ‘die so soon’, ‘die too young’, ‘ugegbe etiwaa/akuwaa n’ike’ which are all about (die so or too soon) syndrome on the postals of the deceased? when and how they die are their destinies, and as such, there is no sacrilegious or abominable death, and the cultural speculation or belief that they would be rejected in the cycle of their ancestors in the spirit world. influence from religion interpretations of religious assertions, event and incidents have become troublesome that if it does not kill us, it will save us. many have interpreted the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 71 biblical scenario of jesus’ death as obtainable through only faith. just have faith and then be in the church daily from morning to night praising god, all other things, including your destiny will come after (locate) you, after all it is written: “obey the lord and nothing evil will happen to you” (prov. 16:6), not even exam failure. this explains why some churches hold prayers and gatherings every day and during working-hours when people should be on their workshops, and after that, the men of god would resort to extorting their members, and when the members now have nothing again to give, they themselves resort to shameless begging all in the name of ozioma (evangelization), charity works, religious and region works where they hungrily and unconsciously display gluttony. they would say that one day, their prayers would be answered and money will come, things will be better. some students among them would engage in this act of allday-prayer-and-fasting after which they resort to malpractice or belief that god will come down from heavens-above to write their examinations for them, mark and score them 100% equally. how can they fail while they pray and have faith in their prayers and god? they would comfort themselves that their prayers would one day lead them to their akara aka, provide money and food for them (after all, god will provide); and then avert certain social and family challenges from them and their families. through the touch of religious faith, they now derail from their supposed human efforts and now hope that divinity will come down unto them. they would quickly quote that “all living things look hopefully to (god), and (god) gives them food when they need it… (god) gives them enough and satisfies the needs of all… (god) supplies the needs of those who honour him” (ps. 145:15-6, 19). but they forget that hoping is hoping on ‘something’, your own ‘contribution’. you do not have to hope on what you do not contribute in, for your contribution guarantees and justifies your hoping. something always comes out from something, unlike nothing, and that is why it is written: “your reward depends on what you say and what you do; you will get what you deserve” (prov. 12:14). the simple expression from this is that you deserve nothing when you do not contribute─ say and do─ anything. perhaps it is for this category of faithful-but-lazy persons that it is written: “some people ruin themselves by their own stupid (decisions and) actions and then blame the lord” (prov. 19:3). they forget that to work and to pray are the same thing in different ways. achebe summarizes this sort of belief thus: “it is a belief by backward people that some day without any exertion whatsoever on their part, a fairy-ship will dock in their harbor laden with every goody they have always dreamed of possessing.” (1983:57). but i know that even the bible discourages igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 72 laziness, for a lazy man is no different from a destructive someone─ see prov. 11:1; 18:9; 19:24; 28:19. insightfully, the northern nigerian muslims might have been influenced with this kind of predestination concept which made them to believe that they are predestined to rule. perhaps that could be a manifestation of the biblical assertion that we will be the head (rulers) not the tail (ruled), lenders, not borrowers. but the point remains that this religious belief and orientation of the northerners has encouraged politics of do or die and reclamation-of-stolenmandate. that explains why when a northern muslim is not in power, they feel cheated and can apply any means whatever cost, provided a northern muslim takes over. regrettably from the same religious experience, in nigeria, not even the whole africa where vocation boom has become the order of the day, we see people go for religious interview, and only those who are from that diocese, district or region are successful or those whose relatives are top on the affairs of that congregation or diocese. at the end, the unsuccessful are told in consolation that many are called but few are chosen. who are the called-many and the chosen-few? who are the caller and the chooser? are all ordained men of god predestined to be? if that is true, then god must be questioned on his purity, impartiality, holiness and justice-claims! where is the limit of human freedom? where and when should man accept the application or effect of his freedom? to this end, we must recall that it is said that faith without work is dead. akara aka is no more sought for, through trial and error which is the only way to find akara aka. but it is never kept for, if it is, then rarely would man succeed in life. this explains the igbo saying that mkpughari/nkwughari ka e ji ere nwa mkpi (it is through location and relocation that we sell the he goat), akwughi otu ebe ekiri mmonwu (you do not stand one place to watch the masquerade). if you stand one place, you will end up seeing only one masquerade. it is this ‘nkwughari phenomenon’ that makes it possible for one man to become highly talented and almost perfect in many fields of life. if man had stayed at one place (field of life), he would have definitely ended up being an expert in one field. and so, man’s life ought to portray the fact that reality is multi-faceted. in this light, when man acts, his destiny will find him for he has established that justification-ground for it to happen even if it is termed superstition. no one is predestined to be poor, ever live in bad economic condition and underdevelopment, technologically backwardness, poor education system, poor igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 73 infrastructural outlook, political instability, etc. all these are products of what one wishes for oneself through one’s inactions. africans are not predestined to be poor, and ever live in this present pitiable condition. they are in this mess because they have not yet sincerely determined to say ‘no’ to their pitiable, disgusting and pathetic condition. the europeans are not predestined to be ever better than the africans. it is the europeans’ tireless effort, sincere determination to painstakingly work harder and harder towards making their lives better, and today, we envy them in their comfortable homes and pay billions to be there, and if we cannot afford the price, we give ourselves as sacrificial phenomena, we submit ourselves to their whims and caprices, to their mercy and pity, provided we smell and experience their comfortable homes. in our words, we say obodo oyibo amaka (european world is fine), but we forget to ask ourselves, when will africa be that fine also? when will the europeans also pay heavily to come and visit her? what has now happened that the europeans no longer seek for employment in africa, precisely nigeria as it was the case in the 50s-80s? has the african destiny now changed and the reverse being the case? we believe that akara aka can be changed through diabolical means, perhaps, the europeans came and changed ours to replace theirs and the consequences include selfdependence on the european products, development, economy, standardized education system, commerce etc which are the by-products of their painstaking suffering, and self-denial of certain comfort for the societal development, sweat and hard-intellectual-labour. we now, with no qualms of conscience, consume their products without even asking questions as to how what we consume come about. consequently, we unfortunately never cared to enquire on the negative effects on our economy, politics, religion, technology, security, tradition and cultural values. we are now identified by the problem of consumer or squandermania mentality or consciousness, which is all about “that disposition in a people by which they conceive and judge things mostly in terms of their consumable value. on the whole the [people] become dominated largely by acquisitive rather than productive instinct.” (okolo, 1994:9). the african has forgotten that “the real big man, the man truly great is and should be the creative individual who has transformed the environment through industry, initiative, resourcefulness, that is to say, through his creative labour.” (okolo, 1993:27). first, divinity cannot come down and tell you your akara aka and still drag (force) you to work towards accomplishing it. in fact, to me, there is no akara aka in this sense. the igbo may have misconceived conscious determination to explore nature with ‘human possibilities plus divine blessing’ onto hard work, to be akara aka. the book of proverbs (16:3) was insightful when it says: “ask the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 74 lord to bless your plans, and you will be successful in carrying them out.” life or existence is destined and determinedly pursued to be fulfilled all by the liver. “your joy is your own; your bitterness is your own. no one can share them with you,” it is what you destine for yourself (prov. 14:10). by this, the principle of destiny portrays individuality as the cardinal of existence, for destiny is exclusively personal, there is no communal destiny even though the african is identified by communalism through which he acquires communal identity. the igbo cites it and says let he who works eat, otherwise let he not eat. equally, it is a popular saying that heaven helps those who help themselves, not those who do not help themselves. man should define himself and existence and then, set his daily dreams, direct his motives in life towards whatever he wishes himself. divinity does not wish you what you have not wished yourself first. yesteryears, marrying-people didn’t seek for ‘the face of god’ to know if the two are predestined for each other before marriage, and 90% of them lived well. today, almost everybody going into marriage seeks for ‘the face of god’ and many a times, it will say yes, ‘i approve it’. but before it is known, divorce is the next action. what then happened? many never sought because they have seen handsome or rich guy, or a guy whom they have feeling for. greater percentage of them end in peace because they follow the ‘move’ from their mind, while many failed because they think that all that glitters are diamond. thus, even marriage is contained in understanding and accommodation, not predestination. evaluation and conclusion the igbo must be aware that akara aka as denoted by the concept of predestination is quite symbolic. akara aka is not akara ukwu (lines of the legpalms), and why? this is because action (and thinking) is one thing that man is predestined with and for, when coming into existence. he has been predestined with inclinations to act towards his instincts. this power to decide and define his destiny is what is been referred to when it is written: “today i give you authority over nations and kingdoms to uproot and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant” (jer. 1:10). ‘today’ as used above refers to the creation day, and since that day, man has been endowed with power to say who he really is, to triumph over the two ruling natural powers: evil and good. it is clearly stressed in sirach when it is written: don’t blame the lord for your sins, the lord does not cause what he hates… he does not need the help of sinners to accomplish his purposes… in the beginning, the lord created human beings. he left them free to do as they wished… he has placed fire and water igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 75 before you; reach out and take whichever you want. you have a choice between life and death; you will get whichever you choose (15:11-20) man’s destiny is searched for and realized through his actions─ what he does. it is earned, not given. his safety, existential situations are defined by what he does. nothing has been kept (predestined) for him. he destines himself, defines himself and leads himself home through his admiration (motivation or likeness/love) and determined subsequent actions toward realizing that admiration or dream. the igbo say that mgbe onye jiri teta ura, oburu ututu ya (when one wakes becomes his morning). this hinges on the fact that existence (and dream) is exclusively one’s even though interrelational. the earlier one wakes (consciously realizes) his existential aloneness and the bound obligation to pursue his dreams instead of akara aka belief, the better for one. this may implicate kierkegaard’s position that a child may attain the third and last stage of self-development (religious) while the elder is still in the first (aesthetic). hence time to wake is important, and age is indeterminate and insignificant in dream and self-development. sartre similarly has posited that existence is strictly for the individual, and that existential freedom naturally roots in existence. so, in one’s existence, one exercises his nature-bestowed freedom so as to add essence to his life. “to exist means to be personally committed to a freely chosen way of life… to be at the helm of one’s affairs, personally directing its main course… living one’s own life the way one has freely chosen and assuming responsibility for it” (omoregbe, 1999:38). this explains why he disgusts crowd-existence, for to exist is to be free and to answer to existential responsibilities individually. “this means that man first of all exists, encounters himself, emerges in the world, and defines (and destines) himself afterwards… because he is first of all nothing. he will be nothing until later on, and he will be what he will make himself” (sartre, 1970:21, 22). existence for him should be freely personal for dream-fulfillment is never an affair of the crowd but the individual, and following this trend, one’s destiny is in one’s hands and dependent on one’s dream and manner of pursuing it in life. this sort of life is nothing but ‘authentic life’. one’s existence goes with boundless freedom from where he is unlimited to fulfill his existential dream. this aligns with heidegger’s position that one of the existential characteristics of dasein (man) is his ‘existentiality’ which is his nature of full of ‘possibilities’. thus, man, the conscious and being who asks questions about his existence, is the being that exists─ “the being that exists is man. man alone exists,” every igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 76 other thing merely ‘are’ (kaufmann, 1956:215). as the being that exists, he must define and destine himself, there is no predestination therefore. apparently, the igbo caution that ka onye si dozie akwa ya o rahu otu ahu (the way one makes one’s bed one lies on it), or onye kwe, chi ya ekwe (if you say yes, your chi─ personal guidance/god or in this sense akara aka─ will also say yes). so, upon your own agree (by your work), god will then agree (to bless/progress your work). there is no fixed destiny for anyone. destiny is what one chooses and pursues its course seriously. the implication in this caution is that one’s determination and serious and conscious commitment towards one’s desire─ that which motivates one or which one becomes hungry of, which is allembodiment of motivation or force that motivates one to work towards acquiring it─ goes a long way in determining one’s success in life. your personal and serious decision, by implication of this caution, changes your akara aka or direction or success or failure in life. but on the other side, he believes that agbaka m mbo bu ego nri (that you are trying (suffering to survive) ends only in providing food) or ama ka mmiri amana ogazi, akika ya kadi ya n’ahu (no matter what circumstance one encounters, one’s destiny never escapes him). while the first is nothing but an encouragement for one to be one’s life-architect, the other portrays the strong belief and dependence on akara aka that no matter how the concept ‘die-trying provided success guides one’, all the suffering and even the eventual death can only end in ordinary food provision. what a contradiction! but on a critical note yet, when the bible says that he who does not make good use of the one given to him, that the little one he still has would be taken away from him, what exactly does it mean? denial or revocability of destiny? but even the bible also says that the gift of god is irrevocable. does it implicate the african saying as explained above? which way exactly is the safe way to survival in life? however, the inevitably and unexplainable problem associated with this belief is that one may tirelessly be working towards one side while unfortunately his akara aka is on the other side. even when he says that the ease in what he does defines his destiny, it is logically fallacious for it is not always obtainable ceteris paribus. epistemologically, how can one identify one’s destiny? how does one really know that this discovered walk of life is where one is predestined to be in? what is the different between dream and its pursuance and destiny? at the face akara aka as a concept, what is the reward or encouragement for hard work? if okonkwo in achebe’s things fall apart did not start towards success, he would igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 77 have become just as wretched and hopeless as his father. in describing the person of okonkwo, it is written his life had been ruled by a great passion─ to become one of the lords of the clan. that had been his life-spring. and he had all but achieved it… he had been cast out of his clan like a fish on to a dry, sandy beach, panting. clearly his personal god or chi was not made for great things. a man could not rise beyond the destiny of his chi. the saying of the elders was not true─ that if a man said yea his chi also affirmed. here was a man whose chi said nay despite his own affirmation (achebe, 1985:vii) okonkwo, unlike his weak father, created his own destiny, consciously followed it through actions and it became realized. supposedly, the igbo mistake talent or the fruit of painstaking effort for self progress and future betterment for akara aka. determined and continuous effort for self development are misunderstood by him and that is why he seemingly believes that those experts and professionals who endlessly work harder and harder every day in their different fields of life─ say football like l. messi, c. ronaldo, and other great football legends, wrestling like the undertaker, r. reigns, b. lesnar, etc, other sports entertainments, arts, music, science and those who risk their lives researching among numerous others, are all destined to be like that. but the igbo seems to forget that some africans who can measure up with these legends─ because of their tireless efforts added to their career─ are before, with these destinies familiar or locatable in their environment. but when the africans leave africa, they quickly become measurable on the same scale of success with the european legends. perhaps there are different types of destinies for different races/continents and that of africa is negative. or, may be, destinies are infectious, and that is why africans who leave the continent quickly become successful in life as those of the europeans would now affect them; or that their destinies get changed, which if it were in their continent, it would not be realizable. we must grow above ethnic conceptions and environmental peculiar factors. outside nigerian schools and universities and indeed africa today, the students are limited by financial constraints, hardship, dilapidation in the school facilities, buildings/structures and equipments, consequently leading to discomfort and high level of disorganization in the system, internet challenges, poor level of intellectuality among teachers/lecturers, among other limiting factors, but all these were the problems of many western countries in the 15/16th igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 78 centuries. when the african students cannot compete with their mates outside africa, it perhaps, becomes their destinies to remain globally ever underdeveloped and academically poor. thus, it is deducible that where destiny is highly effective is only in africa─ because we have refused to do the needful and exactly the way those who do it and it works for them do theirs. we are in africa blindly believing in akara aka while others outside africa are excelling as a result of their different views on certain things, hard-work and determination and commitment in their life-professions. we blindly console ourselves and in our ignorance. as a matter of fact, this concept of akara aka (predestination) has affected africa and particularly nigerians negatively as we see in their belief system be it a muslim, a christian and even a traditionalist that we cannot go above our destiny as if we can certainly epistemologically say ‘this is our destiny, and this is the level it stops’. and to summarize it, we hear the aphorism: omeworo ma chi ekweghi, ndi uta atakwana ya (if you try and it does not work out, let no one blame your chi). and the question is: ‘why won’t the person be blame?’ what effect has his trial made in knowledge development if there will be no epistemic enquiry on his attempt as to know why the failure, whether the person does it exactly as supposed and as successful others did theirs, which place, when and what are facilities used, among other enquiries. by this, such intellectual attempt will be useful. heaven (divine interference or penetration─ blessings on your hard-work) can only come in form of help onto those who help themselves. he who is fed (the weak, need, hungry) brings his mouth closer to the feeder and not the other way round because, if you refuse to bring closer your mouth (refuse to work harder), you will certainly not be fed (not attract the heavenly blessings). so for heaven to help you, you have to lead the way─ do something as a testimony, mark and justified-ground for the heavenly mysterious blessings. if this is the case, then nothing has been kept for anyone ‘pre’ his existence as his destiny. existence is only justified on trial/error-ground. it is when you are going this trial-and-error-way that success or luck will ‘jam’ you and then bless your efforts. your akara aka even in that core igbo sense of understanding will not locate you, rather you will locate it or rather them─ if one could be destined with more than one destiny. perhaps this is also possible for we have seen one man being an expert in many walks of life. even though if followed by this igbo understanding god appears bias in nature, nevertheless, that is true for it is said in the bible that i will have mercy and bless those i wish. if there is no chosen class of people, why should god select those to be blessed and have mercy on? but the point remains that the igbo understanding of akara aka portrays god highly and shamelessly partial for some, assumedly, appears igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 79 more endeared to god (destined for success) than others─ who are destined for failures. if men are small gods and truly are created in the likeness and image of god and possess god’s sparks in them (soul) and this soul is the sole and absolute driver who drives the lifeless motor (human body), then in this sense, god should be held responsible. again, punishing the soul is punishing god (inserted in man in creation) and by god. how rational is that? if sinned souls go to hell fire─ the eternal place of gnashing of teeth in agony and laments─ how rational does it appear that god goes to hell fire to be punished for his actions? in the first place, how could it (he) commit evil? is it in his nature? man, if at all should be punished, should not because it is still the soul (small god in man) that uses the body to do evil for which the human would be punished after life. if man is predestined, there is no need for human freedom and volition. man becomes a robot-like-creature to his akara aka which he never knew. many occurrences are thus justified for they are preordained to happen. suicide, killings, oppression, partiality and injustice are all predestined or preordained that they must happen on a particular day, place, through a particular person (s), at a very hour, to a particular extent, etc. the hobbesian state of nature is allowed, the predicaments that have befallen and bedeviled the africans are all justified and preordained to happen accordingly as happened. thus, those historical determinists like hegel, marx, hitler, napoleon hill, alexander the great, etc are all justified and right in positing that through such history, different levels of consciousness emerge, the absolute develops and manifests himself, globally recognized events evolve, historicism emerge and is preserved for posterity (kanu 2015a&b). thus, before entirely believing on akara aka, it is vital to ask: what am i doing? where? when? how? to which extent? for who? at which aim or for what purpose? in what frequency? when the igbo fails these and subsequently fails to emulate on the daily evolving strategies and skills, they reflect on his career, business or work, and when this condition lasts for years, he would console his adamant to these indispensable factors for success, with agbaka m mbo bu ego nri. so, no matter how much one tries, one can never succeed in it so long it is not one’s destiny and that presupposes the saying that man proposes but god disposes. and in proverbs, it is reiterated: “we may make our plans, but god has the last word” (16:1). in the same passage it is said: “you may make your plans, but god directs your actions” (16:9). at this, the question now becomes what is then the need for man’s volitional exercise if god has the last say in one’s plans and equally directs his actions? what if in his humanity he makes plans toward igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 80 what is not his destiny, would god still direct his actions toward fulfilling the plans? but if god directs man’s actions, man should not border to struggle for life-survival and he ought not to be blamed for any error in life! works cited achebe, a. chinua. “chi in igbo cosmology”. in eze, e.c. (ed). african philosophy: an anthology. malden, massachusetts usa: blackwell publishers inc. 1975. achebe, a. chinua. the trouble with nigeria. enugu: fourth dimension publishers. 1983. achebe, a. chinua. things fall apart. nigeria: heinemann educational books limited. 1985 reprinted. achebe, chinwe (mrs). the world of the ogbanje. enugu: fourth dimension publishers. 1986. arinze, f. sacrifice in ibo religion. ibadan: ibadan university press. 1978. ekennia, j. bio-medical ethics. owerri: barloz publishers inc. 2003. gbadegesin, segun. “toward a theory of destiny” in wiredu kwasi (ed). a companion to african philosophy. usa: blackwell publishing limited. 2004. ilogu, e. christianity and igbo culture: a study of the interaction of christianity and igbo culture. new york: nok publishers. 1974. isichei, e. a history of the igbo people. london: macmillan. 1976. kanu, i. a. (2015). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy.jos: augustinian publications. madu, r. o. “problem of meaning in philosophy and theology: the hermeneutic solution”, academic paper presented at the 1995 graduation ceremony of bigard memorial seminary enugu. 1995. mautner, thomas (ed). the penguin dictionary of philosophy. england: penguin books limited. 2000. mbonu, ojike. my africa. london. 1955. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 81 metuh i. e. cited in onyibor, i. s. marcel. “the role of chi in selfactualization in traditional igbo cosmology” in nnamdi azikiwe journal of philosophy, vol. 11. (1). 2019. okere, t. can there be an african philosophy?. phd dissertation. louvain belgium. 1971. okolo, c. b. education and nigerian values: a companion for students. enugu: cecta (nigegira) limited. 1993. okolo, c. b. squandermania mentality: reflections on nigerian culture. nsukka: university publishers. 1994. omoregbe, i. joseph. a simplified history of western philosophy. lagos: joja publications limited. 1999 reprinted. omoregbe, i. joseph. knowing philosophy. lagos: joja educational research and publishers limited. 2011 reprinted. onyibor, i. s. marcel. “the role of chi in self-actualization in traditional igbo cosmology” in nnamdi azikiwe journal of philosophy, vol. 11. (1). 2019. oxford advanced learner’s dictionary, new 8th edition. oxford dictionary of current english. rotimi, ola. the gods are not to blame. ibadan: university press limited. 1998. sartre, j. paul. l’ existentetialisme est un humanisme. paris: nagel. 1970. heidegger, martin. “the way back into the ground of metaphysics” in walter kaufmann (ed). existentialism from dostoyevsky to sartre. new york: meridian books inc. 1956. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 33 cloud seeding and its effects in the ecosystem structure nnoruga james n., phd department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe university awka, anambrastate jn.nnoruga@unizik.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29105.45929 abstract clouding seeding has been a subject of debate among people of all cultures and all endeavors, but for scientists, this is not an issue of debate though the problem still remains on why the scientists cannot make or scientifically produce rainfall from the clouds during the dry season in all areas or even hold back falling of snow in most places, but only during the raining season they can make the rain to fall. rainmakers from different cultures again sometimes are able to retain or disperse rainfall from clouds which are intending to fall as they claim. some other times they claim that they are able to make the rain to fall either heavily or sparsely through their ritual processes which are mostly known to them. and these have been practiced from ages to ages as we can see or take a clue from scripture where some known prophets were able to shut down heaven and there was no rainfall for years. this write-up tried to investigate the effects and implications of cloud seeding or artificial rainfall in our environment. having known that the rainfall from cloud seeding is not natural but forced rain this implies that the normal natural process was not followed by nature itself thereby disrupting the atmospheric and ecosystem structure. from the findings of the research carried out through observation and gathering of primary sources, it is known that the ecosystem is grossly abused continually and on daily basis especially the biosphere. though there are some advantages in the cloud seeding but its disadvantages outweigh the gains of the cloud seeding. keywords: cloud seeding, environment, ecosystem, rainmakers, culture introduction there are various opinions concerning the cloud seeding both from scientists and non scientists as regards to the view, whether it is possible or a mere fiction that rainfall can be produced artificially from atmosphere by introduction of certain elements or through other means. cloud seeding has been described and seen to be possible by different scholars and scientists but questioned from many angles on how it takes place and being only produced mostly during the raining season, while it is a bit too hard to hold back the falling of snow from atmosphere. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 34 generally, cloud seeding is not new in many communities or societies of the world, while to some societies it is new in the sense that it is not possible to manipulate the cloud to produce rain. in africa it is seen as normal or a gift from the gods, while some oppose the rain-making as not possible. the aim of the write-up is to investigate the different propositions as given by some scientists and some cultural beliefs that claimed that cloud seeding is possible against those who claimed its impossibility. above all to see its positive or negative effects or impacts on the climatic change that is going on the world today. in a nut-shell cloud seeding according to chauhan (2013) is a deliberate attempt or deliberate introduction into the clouds of various substances that act as a condensation nuclei or ice nuclei in an attempt to induce precipitation for various purposes. however, the practice has been questioned by some meteorologists and atmospheric scientists concerning its effectiveness. according to chauhan the first experiment with cloud seeding was conducted in 1946 by american chemist and meteorologist vincent schaefer. the cloud seeding has been done or performed through or with the use of aircraft, rockets, cannons, and ground generators with substances like solid carbon dioxide (dry ice), silver iodide at temperatures below freezing points. in clouds, at temperature above the freezing points calcium chloride particles provide the condensation nuclei around which raindrops form. cloud seeding can be seen as a way of improving our activities in the world but the question is, has it any implication on the surface of the earth or in the atmosphere or with regard to living organisms on earth? again in cloud seeding is it possible during the dry season and can the atmosphere retain rainfall if it has reached its saturation point? this is important because many believe in the art or process of holding back raindrops in the atmosphere from reaching the earth surface by spreading the saturated cloud with wind being generated through any means, while some do not believe its possibility (kanu 2021). a glance through the scripture can also show its stand or belief on cloud seeding. the prophet elijah we read of in the 17th chapter of first kings, when he came before the king and said “as the lord god of israel liveth, before whom i stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word”. again in the letter of saint james (5: 17), he confirmed the above shutting of the sky for elijah prayed earnestly for it not to rain, and no rain fail for three and a half years. then he prayed again and the sky gave rain and the earth gave crops. according to ezeani and onyiloha (2016) the mother earth has been declared to be ill as a result of manipulation of atmosphere, which includes global warming, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 35 dirty air, cloud seeding, toxic wastes and these make the environment to be unsafe for living things on earth. this paper seeks to describe and explore the effects of the cloud seeding from different points of view especially from scientific, cultural and s0cial perspectives. again to view its possible threats towards the environment in general and climatic change taking place today. cloud seeding and its formation in many countries or places of the world, the rainfall is being experienced almost throughout the year, while in some it sparsely rains which necessitated production of artificial rainfall or cloud seeding. rain is essential for life of living things on earth without which the environment and its living organisms cannot survive. again water cycle plays a very important role in the formation of rainfall where by water moves from the river and streams all the way up to the sky forms a cloud there and then comes back as rainfall. without this water cycle or hydrological cycle, it will or may not be possible for environmental lives. so water cycle according to toppr (2021): … begins at sea, where water is warmed by the sun. this causes the evaporation of seawater. thus seawater turns to water vapor and the steam. this vapor rises as hot air tend to be light. with the height, water vapor becomes cooler. this cooling causes the water vapor to condense as it cannot store water droplets. when the vapor condenses, clouds are formed. this cloud receives more and more vapor until it cannot store any more. after saturation of the cloud, precipitation starts. based on the temperature, precipitation has many forms. thus it can include rain, hailstones, sleet or snow. the rain flows into rivers and streams bringing down the water back to the sea where the cycle begins again. (p. 5). the formation of rainfall has been from natural process through the increase or decrease of atmospheric temperature. hence we have different forms or types of rainfall or precipitations. many scholars enumerated different kinds of rainfall but byju’s (2021) enumerated three types of rainfall based on its origin, conventional rainfall, orographic or relief rainfall and cyclonic or frontal rainfall. again types of rainfall based on intensity include light rain, moderate rain, and heavy rain. according to toppr (2021) relief rainfall is common in places with mountain and sea. it is made of moisture-laden wind which blows from the sea up to the high mountain and it is cooled at the height of the mountain and cloud is formed. the saturated cloud at the windward side of the mountain with water vapor begins to precipitate on the side of the mountain. sometimes most people igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 36 regard it as mountainous rainfall. it rains very little at leeward side because the cloud has lost most of its moisture. conventional rainfall occurs frequently on hot days usually giving cumulus cloud and thundery showers. this happens when the sky will suddenly get darker with grey cloud. without any warning the heavens open and it begins to rain. but before this the sun must have heat the ground which causes the air to warm and become very hot. then the air rises upwards and becomes cool. then it condenses to form cumulus cloud. frontal rainfall according to toppr (2021) occurs when a warm, tropical air mass comes in contact with a cold, polar air mass. here the air is in the warm front then it rises over the cold front. the air is automatically cooled and condenses to form a stratus cloud and when saturated it begins to precipitate. this is in a nutshell a formation of natural rainfall as observed by most scientists (kanu 2021). beyond these types of rainfall which is natural process of showering or water cycle on the surface of the earth, cloud seeding is more of artificial or induced rainfall in a particular place and for particular purposes. cloud seeding according to pelley (2016) is a weather modification technique that improves a cloud’s ability to produce rain or snow by artificially adding condensation nuclei to the atmosphere, providing a base for snowflakes or raindrops to form. put in another form cloud seeding is type of weather modification that aims to change the amount of or type of precipitation that falls from clouds by introducing some substances into the air that serves as cloud condensation which alter the microphysical processes within the cloud. though its effectiveness according to pelley is debated but the usual objective is to increase precipitation either for its own sake or to prevent rainfall from occurring in days or hours. hill and ming (2012) stressed that the most common chemical used for cloud seeding may include silver iodide, potassium iodide and solid carbon dioxide. researches going on also include table salt as becoming popular. this may be dispersed by aircraft or dispersion devices. as of today there are many other ways through which cloud seeding can be done which include electric charges emission instruments, infrared laser pulses and so on. cloud seeding in african culture rainmaking is not a new phenomenon in african traditional culture or religion, various communities in africa have two, three or at least one rainmaker living among them and they are called by various names depending on the communities. as of today, many believed that rainmaking ritual or process is part and parcel of africa’s ancient wisdom or religion because rainmakers are igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 37 taken as one of the custodians of the african society. in all, it is always difficult to divulge the act or process involved in rainmaking among the africans. and this has made it impossible either to improve on it or maintain the process for future use and even put in a scientific way. according to onuigbo (2009) the act of rainmaking is a special kind of gift to cause, control or make rain not to fall. these rainmakers are called various names like in sudan they are called keepers of rain and those who pray rain in uganda they are called askers of rain and those who cause rain to fall in kenya are called the seers or watchers of rain or followers of rain, in south africa the lovedu queen is renowned as the greatest rainmaker. in africa god is referred to as the rain-giver or giver of water though people assume that they are rainmaker, hence people know that rain comes from the sky and not people make rain. some assume that rainmakers only pray to god while others insist that it is through the process of some rituals being performed. according to onuigbo (2009) the rainmakers’ duty is to ask for rain from god. they do not make rain they only pray for it, perform rituals for it and as far as possible tell people when it will rain, this means that they look to god to produce rain. mbiti (1969) buttressed the above view that in many parts of africa it is reported that both people and rainmakers know for certain that only god can make or produce rain. therefore, rainmakers play the role of intermediaries among the people. the actual process of precipitation or rainmaking in african culture is through rituals or other ceremonies accompanying rainmaking which is community affair sometimes. mbiti (1969) affirmed that: part of the rainmaking rite involves bringing a skin full of water to the rainmaker, which he drinks publicly. the rainmakers among the udhuk nearby perform complicated rituals using red, white, and blue rainstones. formerly the akamba used to bury a child alive, as part of the ceremony or sacrifice for rain when severe droughts struck the country. katab rainmakers address their prayers directly to god, but if rain comes they offer thanks to their most remote forefathers. (pp. 179-180). beyond the above method of ritual or ceremonies of rainmaking, there are other methods of rainmaking; parrinder (1962) confirmed that: many methods of producing rain are tried, but most of them are based on the principle of similarity, that is to say that they perform igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 38 some action like rain, in the hope that the elements will imitate it. green branches are burnt, in order to produce great dark clouds which, it is hoped, will attract the rain clouds. or the rain-maker crouches under a blanket over a fire, and his running sweat symbolizes the coming rain. or the rain-maker fills his mouth with the water, and squirts it into the air, with the object of inducing the rain to fall in like manner; like elijah pouring out the water. a european writer in togoland says that going on trek at the beginning of the rain season, he took with him a boy who was supposed to have the virtue of stopping the rain falling. this power depended on the boy never washing. all went well and the weather was dry until the last day, when the boy got so hot and dirty that he took a bath, and immediately the rain fall. this was an application of the principle that like attracts like, water attracts rain. (pp. 88). this somehow proves that the process of rainmaking in african traditional culture is an art and at the same time a hereditary phenomenon, in the sense that in some societies, the knowledge and the powers of rainmaking are handed down from one generation to his/her near relatives. but ultimately god is the giver of water as we noted earlier. not only men are rainmakers, women are also rainmakers as we have stated earlier about the rain-queen of luvedu of south africa. it is worthy of note that mbiti (1962) included the use of some objects in the art of rainmaking in african traditional religion. he states that: the actual practice of the rainmaker involves the use of sacred objects especially ‘rain-stones’ some of which are rare and others are believed to have fallen from the sky. burning of rain-leaves or other combustibles is another method, whereby the smoke from them is thought to ‘capture’ the rain from the sky and bring it down. other rites involve the use of water in various ways, such as ceremonial sprinkling of water on the crowds or at the place of the rainmaking ceremony, drawing water from special or sacred wells, or collecting perspiration and spraying it in the air. (pp. 181). above all, no one has ever tried to make the rain to fall during the peak of the dry season, this shows that those in the art of rainmaking are well versed in reading or monitoring of weather conditions, and may spend long periods acquiring their knowledge. according to mbiti the rainmakers obtain this knowledge from rainmakers, observing the sky, from studying the habits of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 39 trees, insects, and animals from common sense. finally, rain is regarded by africans as a sacred phenomenon, for it is explicit expression of the goodness and providence of god. it is seen as the eternal and mystical link between past, present and future generations. this explains the reason why most africans observe days of rest to mark the start of the rain season and greet the season again with ceremonies of thanksgiving and prayers for fruitful planting and harvest of crops. bahlsen (2014) also commented that water (rainfall) is important on earth without which there will be no life, this explains why it is being worshipped and regarded as sacred in most of the african communities. bahlsen commented on importance of water, of which there will be no life on earth if there is no water on earth. going further he reiterates that: there is no life as we know it on earth without water. astronauts may explore the moon and other stars of the universe looking for life, or traces of life, or the possibility of living there, but are set to failunless there is water, or traces of water.... yet, there is a real danger if we ignore the natural force to which we owe our lives, and the lessons from natural disasters including floods, draughts, pollution of air and water, scarcity of food and water, and climate change are real. the people who worship the water goddess are deeply aware of the precariousness of the pre-condition of life, and many of their age-old survival strategies are valuable and worth learning from…while the people are keenly aware of the local bodies of water as economic assets, their culture also respects these waters as sacred and observes the water’s own rules, rather than attempting to dominate it. (pp 147-148). beyond this, the economic aspects of water (rainfall) is well known and its other benefits hence it is being honored, worshipped and regarded as sacred among the african communities. this also explains why some communities preserve and take care of their lakes, rivers and entire water environment. some regarded these waters as divinities due to spiritual function attached to them. environmental implications of cloud seeding clouding seeding if we recall involves artificial way of getting rainfall or stopping of it, on the surface of the earth through the introduction of certain chemicals or substances to the atmosphere scientifically or through rituals or rites as the case may be. nature is always tampered with, in the course of human igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 40 activities either it improves it or it degrades its nature. the fight against the environmental destruction does not seem to yield reasonable positive results. the desire to explore the resources of the earth continues to go on uncontrollably and this keeps creating more troubles or problems to the environment. though ezeani and onyiloha (2016) maintained that care of the environment has been a major social, political and ethical issue because of environmental pollution, again because of wastages and the threat to human lives and other living things on the surface of the earth. concerning the climate changes taking place in different form, it is believed that it is what the humans give to the environment is what they get back from it. this means that actions of human beings cause environmental changes and environmental changes cause changes in human life and behavior. clouding seeding is really a harmful process to the nature (living things) or human environment, when one considers the force being applied to get the rainfall or stop the already condensed precipitation which is about to fall back to earth. this process has its serious adverse effect which may not be known immediately but it keeps building up its effects waiting to unleash its effects. cloud seeding is believed to be causing reduction in the contents of atmospheric make-up. according to eugene (2005) the atmosphere is known to be the life blanket of the earth, the essential ingredient for all living things. it extends 500kms above the surface of the earth and is composed of many gases. it is this atmosphere that provides air in order to support life, protects the earth from the radiation from the sun and regulates the climatic conditions on earth. the atmosphere is mainly composed of nitrogen (78.09%) and oxygen (20.95%). again chuka (2019) listed five layers of the atmosphere which include troposphere which contains 80% of the atmospheric mass and water vapour, the stratosphere, which contains the ozone layer, the mesosphere, the ionosphere and the exosphere. these layers and gases are destroyed in the course of introducing substances to form rain or stop it from reaching the earth. hence we hear of intense radiation in some parts of the world. today, the whole world is suffering from dreaded pandemic corona-virus disease (covid-19) which is an infectious disease being caused by the sars-cov2 virus. in most countries of the world, many deaths were recorded while some recorded few deaths. these deaths can be explained from the fact that there is reduction in the atmospheric ingredients in many parts of world which are meant to absorb certain dangerous gases leaked in the air. in africa the effects of corona-virus disease is very slow unlike in the first world countries where great igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 41 number of deaths are recorded. this can be attributed according to some scholars mainly from the effects of climatic changes taking place mainly in the more industrial parts of the world. in some parts of africa, there are instances or times when the dry season and rainy season are not taking place when it ought to take place, this is due to climatic changes taking place because of environmental changes by the action of man in the environment. clouding seeding may be one of the causes of the variations in the seasonal changes which are being experienced from time to time in the environment. this always amounts to low production during the harvesting of crops, apart from low harvest being experienced, many animals tend to be dying because bad weather conditions. this also explains the reason why there is migration of cattle herders or animal from place to place because of bad weather. infact it affects farmers greatly in their outputs of various crops. on the other hand, cloud seeding helps to provide rainfall where and when it is needed for crops and animals. it ensures the survival of organisms and other activities. cloud seeding contributes majorly to the climate change going on in the world today. the climate change according to chuka (2019) refers to the synthesis of weather in a given place over a period of at least 30 years. it involves the permanent departure of climate patterns from mean values of observed climate indices. the variations range from the periods of extreme minimum temperatures to periods of high temperatures. many scholars note that this is caused by increase in population and corresponding increase in human economic activities with their consequent impacts on the environment. cloud seeding generally reduces the constituent elements of weather which include the temperature, humidity, clouds, mist, and so on. the cloud seeding leads to unwanted ecological changes as we have seen before, like ozone depletion, continued ocean acidification, erratic changes in rainfall patterns and so on. the cloud seeding again requires the use of potentially dangerous substances, when these substances like solid carbon dioxide or silver iodide into the sky, these elements tend to be part of the environment which will later become harmful to human being and other living things. most of the times, the effectiveness of this process is not assured, this again will be waste of time and creation of environmental hazards. the ozone layer acts as the world’s sun glasses protecting all living organisms from the sun’s ultraviolet radiation. chukka (2019) asserts that it is worrisome to notice that the ozone layer has been igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 42 found to be depleting and leaking. cloud seeding plays great role in this ozone depletion which harms the animal and plants on daily basis. the cloud seeding by its nature alters weather patterns in other regions, this means that when clouds receive seeds that encourage more rainfall in a specific area, then the activity could rob other regions of the moisture that they typically needed. even when it regulates the weather locally, it changes the pattern of what other regions receive hundreds of miles away. this emphatically means that if one solves a drought problem in one region, then another problem is created somewhere else. hence artificially changing what atmosphere do naturally by itself, this means that its natural process has been altered which must necessarily lead to something else. with this process, cloud seeding can produce different forms of weather related damages. for example, communities in regions that experience such chronic water shortages are often ill equipped to manage a sudden surge of water availability. though there are many advantages of cloud seeding like producing of more precipitation, this helps greatly in agriculture to produce more crops of better quality and this certainly reduces famine and drought. this also allows groundwater ecosystems to recharge. cloud seeding helps to regulate weather patterns in some locations. this in turn helps in boosting the economy of any society, tourism is also improved when there are more recreational waters enjoyed by people. it can be used in reduction of crop destruction, where the precipitation is unwanted which leads to destruction of things, clouding seeding can be used to change the formation of clouds and makes them less of a threat to the crops and other prone flooding environments. conclusion it is true that the nature presented to human beings a natural environment to improve on it and to take care of it, hence it can never remain the same for ages. various activities are going in the course of human beings trying to improve on what is given to it by nature. sequel to the above activities of man, a lot of damages or destruction towards the environment is going on which is being noticed by the irregular conditions of the environment. ezeani and onyiloha (2016) ideally put forward that the mother earth has been declared to be ill as a result of dirty air, global warming, polluted waters and toxic wastes. this of course does not promote life but rather diminishes it. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 43 the continuous human tendency to exploit the environment has led to many disasters known and unknown to human beings. cloud seeding has been one of the ways through which our environment is being brutally attacked, though its advantages may be there but its adversity or disadvantages outweighs the good effects. all the process involved in the cloud seeding is mainly artificially induced process which is not natural, hence the destruction of atmospheric composition continues to take place. largely human activities are responsible for the changes in the atmospheric composition and its impacts are affecting patterns of life and living conditions of the people. there is need for cooperate efforts in saving the environment against continuous degradation, as with other global issues or problems, the global environmental problems are so complex and widespread that unilateral measures are not the way out of the problem but cooperative efforts are needed. but the problem still remains that no individual nation can be forced to join in the fight for good environment. according to chuka (2019) the international system is anarchic in that there is no overarching authority (world government) that can dictate to individual states what they must do or force to cooperate. though there are international courts and tribunals according to desombre (2005) but no nation can be forced to appear before them. hence, many hundreds of international conferences on climate change have yielded nothing but disappointing results and non compliance. cloud seeding is not yet seen as a problem in the world stage of climatic changes but its effects are hazardous to human life and environment. references bahlsen, s. j. (2014). mammy water in igbo culture ogbuide of oguta lake. enugu: ezu books ltd byju’s (2021). types of rainfallncert notes. www.byjus.com . retrieved on 30th october 2021. chauhan, y. (2013). cloud seeding; atmospheric science. www.britannica.com. chuka, e. (2019). international environmental relations. awka: giniks publishers. desombre, e, (2005). the global environment and world politics. new york: continnm eugene, t. (2005). environmental economics. delhi: vrinda publications. ezeani, e. & onyiloha, c. a. (2016). global inequality and care of the environment: a political and ethical consideration. international journal of religion & human relations. 8(1)173-190 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 44 ezeani, e. and onyiloha, c. a. (2016). global inequality and care of the environment: a political and ethical consideration. international journal of religion & human relations. 8(1)173-190. hill, s. a. & ming, y. (2012). nonlinear climate response to regional brightening of tropical marine stratocumulus. geophysical research letters. 39(15) l15707 kanu, i a. (2021). igwebuike as the operative condition of african eco-spirituality. in i. a. kanu (ed.). african ecological spirituality: perspectives on anthroposophy and environmentalism. a hybrid of approaches (71-86). maryland, usa: association for the promotion of african studies. isbn: 978-978-997-557-0. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29744.28163 kanu, i. a. (2021). african eco-spirituality: nature and sources. in i. a. kanu (ed.). african ecological spirituality: perspectives on anthroposophy and environmentalism. a hybrid of approaches (1-22). maryland, usa: association for the promotion of african studies. isbn: 978-978-997-557-0. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29744.28163 kanu, i. a. (2021). african eco-theology: nature and sources. in i. a. kanu (ed.). african eco-theology: meaning, forms and expressions (1-20). maryland, usa: association for the promotion of african studies. isbn: 978-978-997-556-3. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.26388.83846 kanu, i. a. (2021). ala deity and environmental sustainability. in i. a. kanu (ed.). african eco-theology: meaning, forms and expressions (109-122). maryland, usa: association for the promotion of african studies. isbn: 978-978-997556-3. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.26388.83846 kanu, i. a. (2021). amadioha and the quest for ecological balance. in i. a. kanu (ed.). african eco-theology: meaning, forms and expressions (181-192). maryland, usa: association for the promotion of african studies. isbn: 978-978-997-556-3. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.26388.83846 mbiti, j. s. (1969). african religion amd philosophy. heinemann: london. onuigbo, s. a. (200). the three worlds in igbo traditional religion. enugu: delta publications. parrinder, e. g. (1962). african traditional religion. london: sheldon press. pelley, j. (2016). “does cloud seeding really work” chemical and engineering news. 94(22)1821 toppr (2021). types of rainfallrelief, conventional, and frontal rainfall. www.toppr.com .retrieved on 30th october 2021. microsoft word igwebuike journals vol. 4. no. 5..docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 12 igwebuike and being in igbo ontology prof. kanu, ikechukwu anthony department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university, umunya, anambra state ikee_mario@yahoo.com abstract metaphysics, as a branch of the discipline of philosophy, concerns itself with the determination of the nature of beingthe meaning, structure and principles of whatever is insofar as it is. being, therefore, remains a fundamental question within the parameters of enquiry in metaphysics right from the pre-socratic period to the contemporary era. the study of the categories of being in african metaphysics has occupied the desks of african philosophers, as they have tried in various capacities to move away from the abstract perspectives of being dominant in western philosophy to a substantive and concrete idea of being. this piece is a contribution to the ongoing being-project in african metaphysics. it studied the different dimensions of the categories of being with particular attention to the modality of being as a category of being, since it is the centre of discussion. having discussed igwebuike as the unity of the african philosophical experience, this study discovered that the centrality of igwebuike profoundly relates to its place as the modality of being. to be from the perspective of igwebuike is to be with the other and in the company of the other. to be outside of this is alienation. keywords: igwebuike, modality, being, igbo, ontology, african. introduction a cursory glance at the development of african metaphysics reveals an attempt by african thinkers to redefine being, moving away from the elusive and unsubstantive concepts employed by their western counterparts. in this process, they have employed categories common to the experience of the african. in his work, la philosophie bantou published in 1945, placide tempels set out to help european missionaries understand the thought pattern or worldview of the bantu people. this he thought, according to imbo (1998), would make the work of evangelization easier for the european missionaries, and also help them to avoid misunderstanding the people and their culture. in the process of his research, tempels arrives at a fundamental and underlining factor in bantu philosophy, which he calls force. while for the westerner it could be considered as an attribute of being, for the bantu, it is identical with being. tempels (1945) wrote: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 13 i believe that we should most faithfully render the bantu thought in european language by saying that the bantu speak, act, live as if, for them, beings were forces. force is not for them an adventitious, accidental reality. force is even more than a necessary attribute of being; force is the nature of being, force is being, being is force. (p. 431). having described being as force, tempels, goes ahead to differentiate the degree of forces in the hierarchy of being. god, spirits of ancestors, human beings, animals, plants and inanimate objects. god, therefore, has a greater force, followed by the spirit of the ancestors, then human beings. thus, the created universe of the bantu people is centred on the human force, for everything in the universe is understood only in relation to man. from this perspective, we gather that in bantu ontology, as in other african worldviews, the cosmos is anthropocentric. alexis kagame, in his work philosophie bantou-rwandaise de l’etre, tried to develop further tempel’s philosophy of force. he worked among the people of rwanda who were called kinyarwanda and tried to develop their thought through a linguistic ethno-philosophy. according to njoku (2010), he discovered that ntu is the category of being or the generic meaning of something. this he classified into four: umuntu (human beings); ikintu (non-human beings); ahantu (place and time); ukuntu (aristotelian category of quantity). ntu is the unifying notion among all these, even though god does not belong to it. there is an interaction between all these forces: umuntu being a being with intelligence has the consciousness that allows it to use other objects that do not have the same capacity. thus, ikuntu is at the disposal of umuntu for self-actualization. the absence of a place for god in kagame’s project of being reveals the limitation of the philosophy. emmanuel edeh was one of the earliest nigerian thinkers from the igbo speaking area who tried to articulate igbo metaphysics: towards an igbo metaphysics. he defined being, using igbo categories. edeh posits a notion of being that is derived from a dual loci: from the igbo language and the igbo concept of the human person. he says that it is born from the fact that human beings are the principal focus of the igbo physical world, comprising the human and non-human. he first employed the concept of onye in igbo language to testdenote the concept of being. but he discovered that onye hypothesis is basically applicable to human beings. having understood the limitations of onye, edeh (1985) in his indefatigable spirit moves on to make further investigations on a more appropriate concept of being. in his investigation, he arrives at ife. according to edeh, “the igbo word ife primarily means thing, anything material igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 14 or immaterial. it is used to refer to a happening, an event or an occurrence. ife can also be affixed to any adjective to mean specific things” (p. 95). for instance, ife obuna (anything), ife ebube (thing of wonder), ife ojoo (bad thing), ife oma (good thing). after a wide and profound investigation, he realized that there is no word in igbo language outside ife that approximates the igbo concept of being. having arrived at the ife hypothesis, edeh further realised that ife as a concept does not bring out all that being means. to find a solution to this problem, edeh (1985) combines ife and idi to get ife-idi. idi is the igbo verb to be. it can be used as an adjective and can also be suffixed to anything to show that it exists. for example, okwute di (the stone that exists), nkita di (the dog that exists), kanu di (kanu who exists). iroegbu (1995), a nigerian igbo philosopher, in metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy avers that to be is to belong. thus being is belongingness. he defines belongingness as ‘the synthesis of the reality and experience of belongingness’ (p. 374). iroegbu believes that the igbo world into which a child is born crying abatala m ya (i have come into it) is made up of seven characteristics: common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny. even as the baby sleeps in its cradle, it already has its being, performance and akaraka (destiny) partly enshrined and construed in the igbo world. this expresses the indisputable and inevitable presence of, not just the family, but the community to which the individual belongs. the igbo worldview is community oriented. okere (1983), abanuka (2003) and njoku (2010), have proposed chi as an alternative concept for being. the idea of chi has created more problems than it set out to address. njoku’s argument is that chi is preferable because everything in igbo, whether animate or inanimate has a chi. he seems to forget that the emphasis is not in a name for a thing that is contained in everything in the igbo world. chi would better serve as an underlying principle in igbo metaphysics than as a name for being. the idea of chi takes us back to the arguments of the ionian philosophers who spoke of water, air and fire as the underlying principle in every reality. there isn’t enough ground to conclude from here that reality is water or air or fire. it is difficult to conclude that because a thing, say ‘a’, possesses another thing inside of itself, say ‘b’, that ‘b’ is now ‘a’. for instance, as human beings possess blood in their veins, it is not a sufficient reason to conclude that because every human being has blood therefore every human being is blood. chi cannot stand as a concept for being. that ‘all things possess chi’ does not easily translate into ‘all things are chi’. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 15 while these positions introduce us to the problem of being in african philosophy, the primary preoccupation of this piece is the study of the category of being, and the place that igwebuike occupies in the categorization of being. while this remains central to the discourse at hand, it is worthwhile and sequentially logical to give an understanding of being which would guide the categorization of the same subject; for who can categorize a subject unknown to him or her? being in igbo ontology the appropriate concept for being in igbo-african metaphysics is idi. the operative word in idi (to be) is di (be) and it comes from the word odi (it is) which is the third person of the singular idi which means ‘to exist’ or ‘to be’. it is an adjective and can be suffixed to anything to show that it exists. for instance, okwute di (stone exists), nkita di (dog exists), kanu di (kanu exists), uwa di (the world exists). as a concept, it goes beyond the limitations of the notions of being already analysed, and in fact, it is the missing link of the different conceptions of being already analysed. more so, everything that is, is because it has ike-ndu, that is ‘force’ and the quality and quantity of this force determine the nature of a being. at this point tempels (1959) mixes up the concept of being with force: “force is the nature of being, force is being, being is force” (p. 24). everything that the igbo-african does is towards the preservation of this force: when he prays to chukwu or the ancestors, when he offers sacrifices to gods, spirits, ancestors etc. when he pours libation, rites and rituals are all for the preservation of this force, which is life. ogugua (2003) writes: little wonder, the igbo people work towards acquiring life, strengthening this life even if it entails doing too difficult things ‘iga agu asaa, igwue mmiri asaa’passing through seven thick forests invested with danger and swimming seven deep and deadly oceans. (p. 60). force therefore is necessarily and essentially an attribute of being in igbo-african ontology. the appreciation of this reality of being, according to ogugua (2006), is the springboard of the igbo-african belief in the intimate relatedness, connectedness and interwovenness of reality. thus, tempels (1959) writes, “the world of forces is held like a spider’s web of which no single thread can be caused to vibrate without shaking the whole net-work” (p. 60). the existence-inrelation to the other or being-with-the other creates constancy in interaction and influence. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 16 the categorization of being although every reality has a force, not all realities have the same amount of force. the variety of the degree of forces is at the base of the categorization of being. in the hierarchy of forces, those with a greater force come first, with god at the apex as the source of all forces. in igbo-african ontology, reality will be subsumed into the following categories: muo (spirit): muo as a force has categories of forces. it includes god, the divinities and spirits. god is at the apex of the muo category as the source of all forces, tempels (1959) wrote, “above all force is god... it is he who has force, power, in himself. he gives existence, power of survival and of increase, to other forces. in relation to other forces, he is he who increases force” (p. 29). he wrote further, “he knows all forces, their orderings, their dependence, their potential and their mutual interactions” (p. 34). his existential cause is within himself and sustains resultant forces. the subsistence and annihilation of other forces are within his power alone. while other creatures can paralyse, diminish or stop the operation of another being’s vital force, they cannot stop it to exist entirely, only god can. after the supreme being are divinities. they are intermediaries and share aspects of the divine status. they are responsible to god for whatever act they perform in their relationship with human beings. they are functionaries in the theocratic governance of god, sometimes referred to as his messengers and at other times as his sons. awolalu and dopamu (1978) refer to them as the executive heads of various divine departments in the supreme being’s monarchical government. they are a lesser force compared to the supreme being, but generally, they are a great force. there are also myriads of spirits that occupy the african universe. after death, two groups of spirits emerge: the benevolent spirits, known as the ancestors. they are a greater force than human beings. they bind men to god and exercise influence on the living, tempels (1959) wrote that “the strengthening of life, the preservation and respect for life, are by the very nature of creation the business of the ancestors” (p. 57). he further wrote: they must not be injured or scorned, nor must they be threatened with a breaking off of relationships, for this would mean simply death for the living. when a disaster falls upon the clan, there must be no question of reproaching the ancestors, but simply of testifying from out of mourning igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 17 to be re-established filial attachment to secure a new alignment with the vital influence of the forebears. (p. 69). apart from the ancestors, there are malevolent spirits, known as bad spirits. mmadu (human being): the human person (muntu) is a vital force endowed with intelligence and will. although god is the source of vital force, man is the sovereign vital force in the world, ruling the land and all that abides in it, however, “his fullness of being consist in his participation to a greater or lesser extent in the force of god” (p. 47) who possesses the supreme force. he also shares an ontological relationship with his patrimony, relations and land. he has a will to choose between good and evil, which might be life giving or life destroying. man is the centre of the universe, including the world of the dead. tempels wrote that “man is the supreme force, the most powerful among created beings” (p. 46). he can renew his vital force by tapping the strength of other creatures. he wrote further, “each being has been endowed by god with a certain force, capable of strengthening the vital energy of the strongest being of all creation: man” (p. 22). in the category of human beings, there are the elders, who bind the ancestors with their descendants. thus, tempels (1959) avers that, “ontologically and jurisdically, the elders who hold the ascendancy are the only ones to know fully, in the last resort. their wisdom exceeds that of other men” (p. 35). they are said to be closer to the ancestors. this explains why they serve as priests in their communities and clans, especially when it comes to the offering of sacrifices to the ancestors. anu (animal, tame and wild): this category of being comprises forces not endowed with reason. they are ruled by instincts. they are all under the force of man and exist for man. according to tempels, “in fact even inferior beings, such as inanimate beings and minerals, are forces which by reason of their nature have been put at the disposal of men, of living human forces, or of men’s vital forces” (p. 31). in another text, he wrote, “these lower beings exist, by divine decree, only for the assistance of the higher created being” (p. 46). they are used to feed human beings and also for offering sacrifices to god, divinities and the ancestors. ife (things): edeh (1985) avers that “the igbo word ife primarily means thing, anything material or immaterial. it is used to refer to a happening, an event, an occurrence. ife can also be affixed to any adjective to mean specific things” (p. 95). for instance, ife obuna (anything), ife ebube (thing of wonder), ife ojoo (bad thing), igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 18 ife oma (good thing). ife as a force cannot act for itself, and thus can only become active when a greater force like god, divinities, spirits and man act on them. they have no will of their own and thus depend on the will of a greater force. ebe (space): space talks about place. it is the relation of distance between any two bodies or points. it responds to the question of where. for instance, where did you see emeka? where did you pick-up nnamdi? where was the sacrifice offered? according to ijiomah (2005) space in igbo ontology consists of three levels: they are the sky, the earth and the underworld: “the sky is where god chukwu or chineke and angels reside; the earth where man, animals, natural resources, some devils and some physical observable realities abide; and the underworld where ancestors and some bad spirits live” (p. 84). ekwealor (1990), corroborated ijiomah’s perspective when he categorized the igbo-african universe into three spheres: elu-igwe or sky, alammadu or the world of the living and alammuo or the land of the spirits. the idea of space is known through sight, touch and supra-sensory insight. oge (time): time responds to questions such as: when did you see emeka? when did you pick-up nnamdi? when was the sacrifice offered? mbiti (1970) defined the african concept of time as “the composition of events which have occurred, those that are taking place now and those which are immediately to occur” (p. 17). thus, the african concept of time is concrete and substantive. it is epochal, as it is wrapped around events and activities. iroegbu (1995) avers that it is in time the africans perform or fails to perform, and that his future and destiny are based on his use of time. igwebuike as the uzo (modality) of idi (being) apart from the already mentioned categories of being above, there remains another: igwebuikethat is the mode of being, uzo idi. the uzo of being talks about the manner, modality or style of being. and in igbo-african ontology, igwebuike is the manner of being, that is, being in relation to otherness. everything is in relation to the other: existence-in-relation to the other or beingwith-the other. as subjects in the horizon of perception and realization of their existential ends, beings depend on each other for their temporal flourishing. the dependence here, which i call ‘contemporary completion’ is a positive dialectics resulting from their physical and spiritual limitations. because human beings are not ontologically creators of themselves, they are essentially limited. because their existence and action, in the midst of communication, are limited by time, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 19 place, perception and knowledge, their being is existentially complimentary. hence they are naturally candidates for company and co-operations. therefore, every being is by belonging. this is expressed in various igbo-african proverbs, such as, ngwere ghara ukwu osisi, aka akpara ya (if a lizard stays off from the foot of a tree, it would be caught by man). this expresses the indisputable and inevitable presence of, not just the family, but the community to which the individual belongs. mbiti has classically proverbialized the community determining role of the individual when he wrote, “i am because we are and since we are, therefore i am” (p. 108). the community, according to iroegbu (1995), therefore gives the individual his existence and education. tempels (1959) explans that “the world of forces is held like a spider’s web of which no single thread can be caused to vibrate without shaking the whole net-work” (p. 60). the existence-in-relation to the other or being-with-the other creates constancy in interaction and influence. the modality of being is therefore tied to the modality of the african universe. igwebuike as a modality of being is strongly related to the widely held view that african societies are communalistic: in other words, the community is the centre of gravity. the gravitational force largely pulls individuals to the communal centre. consequently, individuals are like spokes organized around the hub— the community. a disruption in any part of circular structure creates a malfunction in the whole set-up. it is said that, if a rung of the societal ladder is removed, the line of the societal life-force is jeopardized. the emphasis on the collectivity as determining the ‘person’ of the individual prides itself as an ontological unity whose creed is ‘i am because others are, or i am because we are.’ this is a merit to the view that the community gives individuals their ‘being.’ to be ‘maintained’ in ‘being,’ one must conform to community’s injunctions and ways. the ‘other’ is understood here as the altrui – the other (person) or the natural environment of god. the hallmark in the ‘we-identity’ has been used to explain the social being of the african as a positive value. while this may peculiarly concern the human society, it relatively affirms the ontological constitution of other dimensions of being. if ‘we are because i am’, then, one can say that the community dies or survives with the co-operation of others. in the collectivistic community of meaning, what claims one has do not derive from one’s ontological constitution as an irreplaceable and incommunicable being but from the label placed on one as constituting a part in the whole. evidently, the community in the african sense igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 20 presents itself as the greatest infallible judge and distributor of resources for social living. thus, johannes messner observes that “the social theory of all collective systems . . . begins with the social entity as the absolute primary value, but never reaches the full reality of the human person with its supra-social ends and its value ranking above that of the society.”(p.4) conclusion in this piece, the different dimensions of the categories of being have been explored with particular attention on the modality of being as a category of being. while other categories were studies briefly, the modality of being was studied as comprehensively as possible, since it is the centre of discussion. having discussed igwebuike as the unity of the african philosophical experience, this study has discovered that the centrality of igwebuike strongly relates to its place as the modality of being. beyond the inanimate and lower animate levels, the idea of being with the other has been at the heart of the philosophical enterprises of individual and collective philosophies and philosophers. a recurrent idea is the claim that african societies are communalistic; this has been put forward by many african thinkers to maintain that the african is ontologically predisposed to care for the other or that individuals have an attitude of care towards each other. kwame nkrumah branded the attitude of care as ‘egalitarian’ and julius nyerere articulated it as an ‘ujamaa.’ in the world of cultural encounter with europe and america, leopold sedar senghor captured the lively africa spirit with the concept of negritude – the predisposition for a care on the african as a posting of the self in a free and symbolic embrace with the other. innocent asouzu, pantaleon iroegbu and francis njoku captured it in their igbo philosophies as ibuanyidanda, uwantology and chi respectively. it is the same idea, however, with some uniqueness that runs across igwebuike, the science of the modality of being for the realization of being. references abanuka, b. (2003). two enquiries in african philosophy. nsukka: spiritan publications anah, a. (2005). belongingness: a redefinition of being. in george ukagba. father kpim: philosophy and theology of pantaleon iroegbu (pp.130-152). ibadan: hope publications. awolalu, j. o. and dopamu, p. o. (1979). west african traditional religion. ibadan: onibonoje press and book industry. edeh, e. (1985). towards an igbo metaphysics. usa: loyola university press igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 21 ekwealor, c. c. (1990). the igbo world-view: a general survey. e. oguegbu (ed.). the humanities and all of us (pp.29-33). onisha: watehword. ijiomah, c. (2005). african philosophy’s contribution to the dialogue on reality issues. sankofa: journal of the humanities. 3. 1. 81 – 90. iroegbu, p. (1995). metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: iup. izu, o. (2009). beginning metaphysics. enugu: victojo. messner, j. (1965). social ethics: natural law in the western world. london: b herder book co. kanu, i. a. (2013). the dynamics and functionality of being in pantaleon’s operative metaphysics vis-a-vis the quest for gender equality. in c. umezinwa (ed.). philosophical essays on human problems (pp. 172-191). enugu: afro-orbis publications ltd. njoku, f. o. c. (2010). a search for unifying conceptsdestiny and change, freedom and determinism in african philosophy. in benjamin ike ekwelu (ed.). philosophical reflections on african issues. enugu: delta ogugua, p. (2003). epistemological conditions of african understanding (a study of the functions of symbolism in igbo thought system). phd dissertation. unn: department of philosophy. okere, t. (1983). african philosophy: a historico-hermenuetical investigation of the conditions of its possibility. lanham: university press omoregbe, j. (2002). metaphysics without tears. lagos: joja educational research and publications. russell, b. (1975). history of western philosophy. london: george allen and unwin ltd. tempels, p. (1959). bantu philsoophy. paris: presence africaine. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 218 tattoo marking: a challenge to the contemporary christians’ call for maintenance of the body as the temple of god demas sam sarki department of christian religious studies, taraba state university, jalingo sarkisammillen@gmail.com & karbon, philip benjamin department of christian religious studies, taraba state university, jalingo karbon01@yahoo.com & habila katuka department of christian religious studies, taraba state university, jalingo doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29105.45929 abstract man as a moral being is inquisitive in his need and want. this happens to show itself in so many places like a man trying to do something different from others whether it is morally good or bad. in man's quest to coming up with new things, this is what has triggered the new rush for tattoo marking which was not very popular some years back. but to the contemporary society has been taken over by the new trend (tattoo), it has become a fashion that if you don’t have tattoo marks in any part of your body, you are considered to be uncivilized, and unworthy to be fused into the global society. to this fact, many christians in the western world, even in nigeria are fully bought by this social and modernistic gospel commonly said “god looks at the heart, not the appearance.” therefore, this paper investigates this new trend in tattoo marking in the twenty-first century especially among christians to fashion out whether this edifies christians or a violation of the biblical prescription. furthermore, the paper looks at the principle calls “body preservation and maintenance” as a challenge to those christians who think that there is no evil in tattoo marking. to this end, the paper recommends among others that every christian is the temple of god and he/she has no right to mutilated in the name of tattoo marking. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 219 keywords: tattoo, maintenance, temple, christians, god introduction man is a free moral agent. this freedom of choice which man enjoys, there is a responsibility attached to it. man’s freedom of choice has led him into doing so many evil things today. one such thing is tattoo making. uchegbue and ekeke as this to say; “today many have won the award as the most tattooed person in their community, while some are even holding guinness world records as the most tattooed couple or person on earth. (56)” there is a mad rush for tattoo especially among celebrities such as; nollywood actors/actress, nollywood actors/actress, nollywood, wrestlers, musicians and footballers, and even their fans. it is the desire of many youths, and even adults that spurred us into this research on tattoo making, to see how christianity views it especially in the light of body maintenance and preservation. looking at the development of the subject matter, the tattoo is not a new concept of this century; it has been practiced in the early days before the dawn of civilization. uchegbue and ekeke quoted thomson, and said that; tattoo is not a recent development in the world. it has been an issue in the body modification industry since 4000 bc when it was practiced in egypt in association with fertility rites and also as a mark of social status. the greeks and the romans also practiced it extensively, but the early christians banned it (56). captain cook reintroduced it to europe in the late 18th century when he returned from polynesia, and in the 19th century, tattoo making became fashionable. apart from its uses as fashion, there are many reasons as to why people in the early history indulge in tattoos such as; protection against dangers, restoring youth, as a love charm, implementing fertility, and propitiating supernatural powers. today, one of the common reasons for the tattoo is for association with personality disorder, especially with emotional immaturity. tattoos are more popular than ever. currently, one in ten youths in nigeria has at least one tattoo (21 percent) which is up from the 16 percent and 14 percent who reported having a tattoo in 2003 and 2008, respectively. entertainers, professional athletes, and even a 2009 version of barbie in the us have multiple, and very visible, tattoos. ( https://www.crosswalk.com/family/singles/is-it-biblical-for-christians-to-gettattoos.html) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 220 it is worthy of note that, what is drawn on the body differs depending on the individual intention for drawing such a tattoo, they have names to such a tattoo they draw, some are; lucifer tattoo, the snake tattoo, butterfly tattoo, star tattoo, and so many others which is to remain on the body for a lifetime. to this end, this paper examines tattoo making as a challenge and a call to the body of christ to maintain their bodies. tattoos as place a permanent mark and have disfigured god’s creation, this concept informed the researchers to give a clearer understanding, as to why so many youths and even adults are involved in tattoo marking. the meaning and concept of tattoo the meaning of the word “tattoo” comes from the dutch taptoe. broken down into its root words tap (or “faucet of a cask”) and toe (meaning “shut”), taptoe refers to the time of the evening when police used to visit taverns to turn off the taps. the word was also used as a figurative expression to mean “say no more” in 17th-century dutch. according to an online dictionary of etymology, the first meaning of “tattoo” — referring to body art — comes from polynesian languages such as tahitian, samoan or marquesan. it’s most likely connected to the words tatau or tatu, meaning “mark or puncture on the skin.” (etymoline.com/word/tattoo). the second definition agrees with what the researchers had in mind because it has been performed on the body. naturalists aboard were the first europeans to observe and document the practice of tattooing in tahiti. many of the ship’s sailors got their tattoos from locals. meanwhile, artists on board the ship made drawings depicting the body art they saw in new zealand, and the society islands. in 1769, after returning to england, cook published his account of this first journey to polynesia. in it, we can find the first documented instance of the word “tattoo” in the english language, when cook describes how men and women would paint or “tattoo” their bodies by inserting black pigment under the skin. (etymoline.com/word/tattoo) by this time in europe, people had already begun creating inked body art designs; therefore, it wasn’t cook who “discovered” the practice of tattooing. however, he brought renewed attention to the art form, as well as a new word to describe it in english. some believe that tatau could be an onomatopoeic word — with tat signifying the “tapping” of the needle into the skin, and au representing igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 221 the outcry of the person receiving the tattoo (“ow”). wherever the word came from, tatau formed the base for the word “tattoo” in numerous other languages. according to the presentation above, a tattoo refers to a permanent design placed into the flesh using specific equipment and ink for any cause. for thousands of years, people have used tattoos to mark their bodies for protection, medicine, punishment, social status markers, religious or spiritual beliefs, and as expressions of love and devotion. scientists have discovered tattoos that are around 5,200 years old. tattoos are used in numerous ancient civilizations, including egyptian, african, asian, greek, roman, south american, north american, japanese, and polynesian (www.macmillandictionaryblog.com/47440-2). while many cultures continue to use archaic tattoo methods such as a long stick, a sharp needle, and ink to mark the flesh, the advancement of modern technology has elevated tattoo design to a highly valued art form. tattoo artists nowadays generally spend years honing their craft, employing a variety of motorised needles and brilliantly coloured inks. the majority of tattoo shop owners are extremely wealthy; a single tattoo may cost between n200, 000 and n300, 000 on average. origin and history of tattoo many historians believe that captain james cook first introduced this word into the english language in the mid-18th century as stated earlier. in 1768, cook set off for his first expedition to the south pacific. when the ship arrived in tahiti, cook was entranced with the beauty of the island and its people — and he was struck by the unique, vibrant body art that adorned their skin, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/tattoo). a good example can be seen among the hausa fulanis and canury in the kano and brono states of nigeria. tattoos are as old as man himself. in 1900, british anthropologist ling roth identified four techniques of skin marking and proposed naming them "tatu," "moko," "cicatrix," and "keloid." the first is pricking, which leaves the skin smooth, as seen in the pacific islands; the second is tattooing combined with chiseling to leave furrows in the skin, as seen in new zealand; the third is scarification with a knife or chisel, as seen in west africa; and the fourth is scarification by irritating and re-opening a preexisting wound, as seen in west africa. (97). implicit in the classification was an evolutionary development from igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 222 the most primitive form of body modification [the last] to the most sophisticated, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/tattoo) the iceman in 1992, the body of a man who lived roughly 5000 years ago in the bronze age was discovered in the alps. he had been completely preserved in ice for all of that time, providing archaeologists with a rare specimen to examine from that era. not just his physique, but also his clothes and equipment, had remained nearly undamaged by time, garnering him the nickname "the iceman" in current parlance. one of "the iceman's" startling discoveries was that he had 58 tattoos of dots, and lines on various parts of his body. that's what we call cool tattoos; really, that's what we call downright chilly tattoos. similar to iceman, we have one of the worldly musicians, by the name lil wyne who is currently alive, he has fans over the world, broke the record of iceman by making up to 89 tattoos all over his body. tattooed mummies from ancient egypt, as well as mummies from other regions of the world, have been uncovered. the body of a pazyryk chief discovered in russia was the most highly tattooed, with tattoos of many different animals and "monsters" resembling gry-phons. his back was also highly tattooed, with little circles running parallel to his spine, which was thought to be for therapeutic purposes. some of the tattoos done in ancient times were not done for enjoyment, but identification. criminals were tattooed by the early greeks and were subsequently adopted by the romans so that they could be easily identified if they fled. mercenary soldiers were also tattooed to identify deserters. the first record of tattoos in japan come from clay figures that had images painted on them or engraved in them to represent tattoos. tattooing was popular among some religious groups in the ancient mediterranean culture, according to robert graves in his book "the greek myth," which may have led to the ban of tattooing in leviticus. tattooing, on the other hand, was exclusively widespread among slaves throughout the classical greek period. (1). to that end, the history and legacy of tattoos are still very loud now; it is growing so prominent in the twenty-first century, where machines are invented and original ink that cannot be erased is generated; in other words, it is a permanent mark that is for life. christians now control some of the most prominent tattoo parlours in the western world and nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 223 tattoo: an art of idolatry many christians worry if getting tattoos is a sin. should they acquire one, and if so, how much should they pay? tattoos, according to the scholar, are evil and should be avoided by christians. tattoos have long been considered a sin in christianity, but this is changing. things that were formerly thought sinful are now deemed acceptable. the topic of whether tattooing is related to worship remains unanswered. according to terry walking, throughout history, the tattoo has been associated with paganism, demonism, ball worship, shamanism, mysticism, heathenism, cannibalism, and nearly every other belief. (watkins, 1). this is very true of the picture painted above by watkins because all tattoos speak about a particular representation from one's heart or a picture of someone that one cherishes so much, in other words, your idol. to buttress this assertion, a nigeria newspaper published on 4/4/2021 reported that a woman tattooed the image of the apc national leader; a nigerian woman who tattooed ahmed bola tinubu's face on her back has been sent packing by her husband the woman with the twitter handle @ayokunmibabato1 appealed to nigerians to come to her rescue as she has nowhere to stay according to her, family members have also deserted her because of the tattoo. she shares her ordeal, saying she's now homeless and sleeps wherever she can find after being deserted by her family. (https://www.legit.ng/1410693-woman-drew-tattoo-tinubu-cries-packing-byhusband.html) that is how a tattoo has caused a housewife; it could be that ahmed bola tinubu may likely be the godfather, she prefers to promote her idol, this single act caused her, her home, and the tattoo is idolatry. if a tattoo has a pagan origin, it is, therefore, very clear that christians should have nothing to do with such practice no matter its popularity, and acceptance by society or even the government. a tattooist in many cultures is also a shaman, magic man, priest, or priestess of a particular deity that is worshiped in that culture. tattooing is often a magical rite in the more traditional cultures, and the tattooist is respected as a priest or shaman. (delio, 73). agreeing to what deilo said, uchegbue and ekeke added: the actual tattooing process, which involved complex rituals and tattoos, could only be done by the priest and was associated with beliefs in which secrets were known only to members of the priestly caste. tattoo is about personalizing the body, making it a true home and fit temple for the spirit that dwells inside it… igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 224 tattooing, therefore, is a way of keeping the spiritual and the materials needs of the body balance (58). they go on to say that the new tattoo fad is tribal tattoos, which are pure paganism. tribal tattoos are images with deep symbolic, metaphysical, and occult implications. tribal tattoos, in particular, are potential conduits for spiritual and demonic possession. tattoos have their very own powers and charms when the designs are well picked. the researchers agree with the abovementioned professors' conclusion that in many tribes today, some of these tattoos are given, notably in nigerian society, during their annual festival of initiation rites. some of these tattoos depict goddesses or ancestral spirits, whom people revere by imprinting them on their bodies. ferguson and lynn procter, as described by uchegbue and ekeke, noticed in the same presentation that; skulls imprinted on skin abound, and depictions of grim reaper are commonly seen… these images, indelibly marked on the skin, reflect uncertainty about the future and sublimate the pervasive fear of the unknown. possibly, from at the same time… it is an attempt to protect the wearer from such a fate (ferguson and procter, 76). to emphasise the argument, ronald scutt attempts to illustrate the notion of utilising tattoos as a channel of communication to a superior deity in his “book, art, sex, and symbol,” which covers a great deal about the history, and culture of tattoos. he stated that most tattoos are associated with spiritual, religious, and mystical objectives. he goes on to say that "tattoos had a mystical significance or were utilised as a status symbol, with the red ochre bearing a link with blood and life” (scutt, 22). he opines further that tattoo is associated with sun-worship, megalithic building, ear-piercing, serpent worship… “these marks (tattoos) are believed to be associated with the worship of the sun-goddess neith” (scutt, 24). possible reasons people get tattooed in 2006 the journal of the american academy of dermatology found that 24% of americans between the ages of 18 and 50 are tattooed, and that about 36% of americans age 18 to 29 have at least one tattoo. (https://reddragontattooart.wordpress.com/2015/10/23/the-origin-of-theword-tattoo.) people get tattoos for many reasons these reasons include: reconnection to the flesh, attention, self-expression, artistic freedom, rebellion, a visual display of a personal narrative, reminders of spiritual/cultural traditions, sexual motivation, addiction, identification with a group, or even drunken igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 225 impulsiveness (which is why many tattoo parlors are open late). other reasons are discussed below: reconnection to their flesh maureen mercury, author of pagan flesh's works: the alchemy of body modification believes that some people are getting tattoos to becoming reconnected with their flesh. the pain from the tattoo sparks the feeling sensation in their skin, which in turn causes them to feel again with their flesh. people get tattoos to celebrate their fandoms in the globe, there are hundreds of sherlock tattoos, star wars tattoos, and yankees tattoos. someone who is fascinated with a certain television show, actor, book, song, or movie may get a tattoo to memorialise it. it's their way of expressing, "this item is important to me, and it has made a significant impact in my life." just like when someone walks out of the home wearing a band t-shirt, there is a potential that other members of the fanbase may notice and admire the tattoo. it has the potential to spark talks between strangers who have a lot in common. people get tattoos for sentimental reasons the majority of tattoos have significant meaning. they are not a random design that someone decided to have printed on them after a night of drinking. they are important. they are significant; many individuals acquire tattoos in memory of a family member or close friend who has died. they might be given across with the person's name or date of death inscribed on it. tattoos featuring prayer hands, angel wings, cancer ribbons, halos, and dog tags are also frequent of course; a design of a lost loved one's favourite animal, flower, or song lyric may also be created. they may select a design that evokes a memory of that individual. a recollection that encapsulates that entire person meant to them. people get tattoos as pieces of artwork tattoos are considered lovely by certain individuals. they see them as works of art. they may not have a clear purpose for selecting their design. they might have just selected something attractive. tattoos are a method for individuals to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 226 build their own identity, to stand out from the cookie-cutter crowd around them, and to feel a bit more distinct. even if there is no technical explanation for why they choose their particular design, their tattoo has a lot of meaning for them. because of some of the reasons described above, many individuals have been initiated due to ignorance, as some of these tattoos are bad emblems. we should not label ourselves for anything. tattoo and the christian’s principle of body maintenance and preservation as the temple of god human understanding, philosophy, and practice cannot alter the premise of god's word. the bible is the highest, or ex-cathedral, and the last author of all christian beliefs concerning faith and behaviour, regardless of culture, age, or race. on the matter of “tattoo,” some people believe it is a contemporary term, yet god has revealed in the past that as christians, “our body is the temple of the holy spirit.” we will give biblical (ot and nt) perspectives on the tattoo. the old testament view of tattoo long before man invented, and named tattoos, god foresaw the practice and warned against it. god approved at least one sort of bodily piercing (tattoo) under the old covenant. this happened when a master and slave had such a good rapport that the slave wanted to sacrifice his entire life and the lives of his family to his master. slaves were expected to be freed during the year of jubilee under the old law (leviticus 25). the slave who did not wish to be set free, on the other hand, had to get his ear pierced to symbolise his wish to remain with his lord (deuteronomy 15:17). the old testament, on the other hand, was not so kind when it came to tattooing. “ye must not make any incisions in your flesh for the dead, nor stamp any markings upon you: i am the lord,” says leviticus 19:28. (kjv). “you shall not create any incisions in your body on behalf of the dead, nor tattoo any marks upon you, i am the lord,” says the revised standard vision (rsv). most scholars think that this taboo was imposed to distinguish the israelites from the surrounding countries that practiced different types of idolatry, and tattooing was associated with their idolatrous rituals. israel was to be pure to the lord and apart from pagan customs (leviticus 20:7). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 227 according to rick bickelhaupt, “at the time of authoring this section scripture, many pagan nations used self-mutilation as a show of grieving for the dead,” now observe how the bible specifies that we are not to create cuts in our body or mark upon our skin. he goes on to add that "all body marks, no matter what, and how they are, like painting on your body, having a tattoo, the bible says don't do it.” (bickelhaup, 1). the new testament view of tattoo it will be meaningless to declare that we are not subject to the same constraints as under the old covenant now. as a result, our pattern for life is based on christ's example as well as the apostles' teachings in the new testament. while there is no formal ban in the new testament for piercings or tattoos, there are several principles that would govern such behaviour. let's take a look at a couple of them. …or do you not know that your body is a temple of the holy spirit who is in you, whom you have from god, and that you are not your own? for you have been bought with a price: therefore, glorify god in your body (1corinthians 6:1920). the bible holds high regard for the body as god's workmanship that must not be deformed. non-israelis did not share this viewpoint. today, some people have permanently altered their bodies to resemble animals or aliens rather than humans, who are the only creatures made in god's image. we must question ourselves how far we can change our bodies to accommodate our aspirations without destroying the beauty of the human body as god created it. romans 12:1 also states that; “therefore, brothers, by the mercies of god, i urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to god; this is your spiritual worship.” 1corinthians 3:16 “don’t you know that you yourselves are god’s temple and that god’s spirit dwells in your midst? these passages emphasise the fact that we are god's property; we do not own ourselves, any attempt to modify, we are destroying the temple which god built. “therefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and i will welcome you,” paul urges the corinthian church (2 corinthians 6:17). the christians’ are not to engage in worldly activities since doing so shows that they love the world (1 john 2:15-17). according to james, friendship with the world is hostility with god (james 4:4). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 228 we should have nothing to do with tattoos and piercings since they indicate worldliness. (kevin cauley) tattooing is an evil that the early christians forbade because they recognised it sprang from satan's original aim of disfiguring humans. some religious organisations promote or embrace as fashion anything that has a medical effect on those who use it. as a result, we declare that all types of tattooing are terrible, wicked, and mutilation of the human body. the human body is intended to be god's temple. one appropriate duty we should do to god is to bring our bodies to him in worship, pure, holy, and un-mutilated (rom. 12:1-2). the consequences of tattoo marking every action of man, whether good or terrible, has a consequence, which can be fatal at times. the marking or drawing of a tattoo is not without consequences; a source from the internet lists 10 detrimental effects of tattoos on the human body, which include: unwanted allergic reactions are a good idea for those who have never been inked before to find out whether they are allergic to ink. tattoos frequently elicit negative reactions. some may be irritated in the short term, but others may not be so fortunate. as a result, it could be worth a shot to investigate which inks to use and to think twice before getting inked on the spur of the moment. though most individuals are not sensitive to tattoo ink straight away, certain allergies require time to trigger a reaction. this is more frequent with lighter colours, such as yellows and greens, which can fade when exposed to sunshine. 1. beware of hiv and hepatitis when getting inked, if the place isn’t sterile, and if the needles that work on your body are being reused, this may be cause for some concern. reused needles may cause severe diseases such as hiv or hepatitis 3. not all scars are cool if you're unlucky, your new tattoo may create excessive scarring surrounding the location. though it normally disappears, some people are unlucky, and they are left with a permanent tat and the permanent tattoos that go with it. if a person is really unfortunate, keloids may form around the tattooed region. keloids are simply an aggregation of collagen in a specific location that can produce redness, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 229 lumps, and unsightly scarring. though there is no clear way to predict if a tattoo will cause scarring, it is something that individuals should be aware of before being tattooed. 1. skin infections apart from scarring, tattoos may also cause other skin infections such as rashes. these can usually be treated with medication and will fade over time. however, people need to be informed of these side effects. areas around a tattoo can even be infected with a sterile needle, and it might take some time for the negative effects to show. 1. scanning complications for people with tattoos who are getting scans such as x-rays, they should be warned that this could lead to complications. for starters, the tattoo may interfere with the scanned image, which may cause problems. additionally, the magnetic rays may react unfavourably with the tattoo, and the area around it could get infected. 1. are you a blood donor? people who donate blood regularly should be told that they will be unable to provide blood for a particular period after having been tattooed. this interim period normally lasts a week or so, although particular centres may request that it be prolonged for up to a month. furthermore, the tattoo parlour where the tattoo was created should be controlled. if the tattoo parlour does not follow these standards, people may never be able to donate blood again. as a result, anyone being tattooed who is or wants to be a blood donor should check with the tattoo parlour ahead of time to see if they follow such restrictions. 1. unhealthy bruises if the needle punctures a blood vessel at the time of getting inked, it may lead to a hematoma. this essentially means that the blood vessel under the skin is punctured and the blood has formed a clot beneath the skin. though with time, such bruises may fade, it is a good idea to get it checked out to be relieved of undue worry. a. nobody likes cancer though a regulated tattoo parlour usually does away with hiv or hepatitis complications, people should also be aware that cancer is a hazardous side effect igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 230 of tattoos. the most common complication is skin cancer, which doesn’t raise its ugly head until it is too late. the tattoo ink may cause toxins to enter the bloodstream, which may lead to cancerous results. though it isn’t a proven medical result, experts do believe this to be a dangerous side effect. b. stress to the lymphatic system getting inked may cause undue stress to one’s lymphatic system. it is usually caught when inflammation occurs around the tattooed region. the accumulations of nodules that appear around the tattooed area are known as granulomas. in severe cases, granulomas are a permanent side effect. they usually appear around areas of the skin where the lymphatic system detects a foreign substance on the body c. the constant judgement tattoos may be emotionally draining in addition to the physiological risks. though many people acquire tattoos as a kind of emotional rebellion, it may be a good idea to investigate the cultural frameworks before getting tattooed. tattoos may be a bad indicator for persons originating from orthodox families, causing a lot of emotional abuse, even from individuals close to us. furthermore, tattoos may be viewed as a sign of unprofessional behaviour in the workplace, and one may be required to have their tattoos hidden at all times something that may not be possible with all tattoos, depending on where one desires to get inked. (ankita datta, https://listsurge.com/top-10-negative-sideeffects-permanent-tattoos/) tattoos may be emotionally taxing as well as physically dangerous. though many individuals get tattoos as a kind of emotional rebellion, it is a good idea to research the cultural contexts before being inked. tattoos may be a negative omen for those from traditional households, resulting in a lot of emotional abuse, even from people close to us. furthermore, tattoos may be considered as a sign of unprofessional behaviour in the job, and one may be obliged to keep their tattoos covered at all times, which may not be achievable with all tattoos, depending on where one wishes to be tattooed. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 231 conclusion finally, we want to emphasise that everything that calls into question christians’ practice should be examined in light of god's word and norm. no matter how popular a behaviour is, if it violates god's law, it is not good for christians to participate in it. according to the research, tattooing has satanic, occultist and origins, and is hence incompatible with the christian religion. “tattooing was strongly frowned upon” early in the christian tradition as it extended from rome to the rest of the globe. in fact, “pope hadrian prohibited tattooing, claiming that god created man's body in his likeness and that to deface it in any manner was to deface god's gift.” in support of.” marking one’s body is not necessarily vandalism. wise christians weigh their motives. winifred probably the greatest tattooist historian, and researcher that ever had written over and over that tattoos are based on pagan spiritual and religious rituals. any serious and honest study of the origin and foundation of the tattoo will clearly express the demonic and supernatural extent of the tattoo (winifred, 3). no christian could be deceived to believe that there is anything like a christian tattoo, some tattoo the cross, the image of christ, others write bible verses on the body believing to be witnessing for christ, etc. god had warned that his children should not practice what the heathen practice. christian leaders must take a firm stance on the word of god against all forms of tattooing. references ankita datta;(2021) retrieved from https://listsurge.com/top-10-negative-sideeffects-permanent-tattoos bardlsay, rosemary. (2007) body piercing and tattoos (retrieved from hpp//www.hubpages.com/hub/body piercingand tattoo) caplan j. (ed). (2000) written on the body: the tattoo in european & american history, princeton n.j, princeton university press,. christian o. uchegbue and ekeke c. emeka, ed. n. s.s iwe, (2010). tattoo marking in the twenty first century: challenge to christian principle of body preservation: africa pentecost journal of theology, psychology and social work; department of religious and cultural studies university of calabar nigeria, vol. 3. no 2 pp. 56-62 cloak and dagger tattoo history: flash art".( http://www.hubpages.com/hubcloak and dagger) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 232 . retrieved 17 april 2021 crosswalk.(2021),christianstattoo, retrievedfromhttps://www.crosswalk.com /family/singles/is-it-biblical-forchristians-to-get-tattoos.html) deilo, (2003) michelle tattoo: the exotic art of skin decoration june 2003, ( retrieved from http://www.library.hub.ac.uk/catlink/bib/29219) ekeke, emeka c. (2010), issues biomedical ethics: a christian perspective. saarbucker: lap ambert academic, ferguson,h.(2021)theartofthetattoo,retrievedfrom(website:http://www.hub pages.com/hub/threarfthetattoo) january,n(2021).whydo people tattoo? retrieved from(website:hpp//www.hubpages.com/hub https://thoughtcatalog.com/january-nelson)/2018/07/why-do people-gettattoos kevin c.(2021) piercings and tattoos, retrieved from (website:hpp//www.hubpages.com/huchurchofchristarticles) macmillan dictionary retrieved (website:hpp//www.hubpages.com/hub blog.com) mcdougall, r & davidson, (2016) . the roth family, anthropology, and colonial administration. routledge. nigeria people news:(2021) retrieved from https://www.legit.ng/1410693woman-drew-tattoo-tinubu-cries-packing-by-husband.html the history of tattoo, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/tattoo). retrieved on 4/4/2021 the etymology of tattoo, (https//www.etymoline.com/word/tattoo). retrieved on 4/4/2021 the origin of the word tattoo. (https://reddragontattooart.wordpress.com). 4/4/ 2021 april 2021 winfred, h(2021) “the history: of tattoo and its significance” retrieved (website:hpp//www.google.com/un/search?clientms.oopera igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 233 mbmosbchannel+bh&sq=2&q=hambly-winfred-onthe-history-of tattaa&site=universal). sctt, ronald w.b.(1974) art, sex and symbol a. s. barnes edition, retrieved from (website:http:www.amazon.co.uk/ronald-scutt/084534756) the inter-personalist ideology of igwebuike and the workings of neurons: an interpersonalitic-neuroscientific inquiry themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 275 the inter-personalist ideology of igwebuike and the workings of neurons: an interpersonalitic-neuroscientific inquiry dozie iwuh, osa department of philosophy augustinian institute makurdi benue state registered501@gmail.com abstract the human brain research has always been an interesting field of study,understanding how it coordinates itself, receiving and giving out information, encoding, decoding and even encrypting signs. it is a delicate organ in the human body, whose work is so important that if compromised, the human person will be considered as lacking in that quality that makes him human, namely his rational consciousness. in contemporary times, brain research and study has been termed as neuroscience (having many subfields under it, namely, neurophilosophy, molecular neuroscience, cognitive, behavioral, computational neuroscience, etc. neuroscience studies the nervous system, combining fields, such a physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, developmental biology, cytology, mathematical modeling, computer science, genetics, medicine, philosophy and psychology, to give credence to its study of neurons and the neural circuits). the importance of the human brain stems from the reality of what specifically defines the human, namely, his rationality. i had earlier termed this as a rational consciousness. this is because the human being is rational and is conscious of the fact that he is rational. more to dozie iwuh, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 276 this, he is conscious and is conscious of the fact that he is conscious. this is principally what separates us from the genus of the animal. there is a certain kind of consciousness that resides in brutes, and indeed every living creature, that is non-animal like. for instance, some plants, like the humulus lupulus, have a tendency to move when touched, a phenomena that is known as thigmotropism. other plants, like the venus flytrap, are conscious whenever an insect wanders into their wide open jaws. they thus close up and ingest the insect. such instances we may term as a response to stimulus, anchored by mother nature, but such response is yet reminiscent of a sort of consciousness. in all that has been said, the human consciousness is by far the most intriguing. what makes this so? a study into the brain and how consciousness arises from the working of the brain has revealed that there are small molecular cells at work in the brain, known as neurons. it is being speculated (this implies that it has not been holistically accepted in the entirety) in some neuroscientific quarters that it is these neurons that are the chief source of the consciousness in man. that is to say that these cells are the ones behind man’s conscious awareness. since the dawn of the discovery of the neurons in the late 1800s, the investigation into the brain has skyrocketed and more insights into the workings and modalities of operation of the brain have been unveiled. the workings of neurons have proven to be insightful and broken grounds in the medical/scientific/philosophical field. nonetheless, what lesson can be garnered by the workings of the neurons in the light of the interpersonalism that is the heart of the igwebuike philosophy? the igwebuike philosophy portrays the sense of an interpersonalistic rapport between individuals. having its root in the igbo culture of south-eastern nigeria, this ideology carries with it two vital principles, namely: solidarity and complementarity. the inter-personalist ideology of igwebuike and the workings of neurons: an interpersonalitic-neuroscientific inquiry themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 277 yet, can this ideology be understood further by looking at how the neurons in the brain work, complementing each other? can the solidarity of the neurons and its network, leading to a well orchestrated brain operation and indeed a very well organized human functioning, be used to throw some light on how this solidarity, as espoused by igwebuike, can lead to better interpersonal affinity and empathy, thus resulting in a better understanding of one another? we do not seek to consider a certain neuroscientific field; we aim at showing how effective igwebuike is, not only to the igbo society, but to the world at large, via looking at the workings of the neurons of the brain. keywords: neurons, neuroscience, solidarity, complementarity, igwebuike, brain, interpersonalism. neurons and their functioning this is a late nineteenth century greek term which refers to highly specialized “nerve cells”. a neuron exhibits a highly complex repertoire of specialized membranous structures, embedded ion channels, second messengers, genetic and epigenetic elements and unique complements of various proteins such as the receptors. neurons are excitable cells (i.e., able to conduct electrical impulses of action potentials), which form elaborate networks through axons and dendrites. this ensemble is responsible for integrating, processing and transmitting information, and forms the basis for e.g., coordinated muscle movements and brain functions, including learning and memory formation. 1 neurons have four morphologically defined regions: the cell body, dendrites, axon, and presynaptic terminals. a 1 m. d. binder, n. hirokawa, u. windhorst (eds.), encyclopedia of neuroscience, springer-verlag gmbh, berlin heidelberg, germany, 2009, 2751. dozie iwuh, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 278 bipolar neuron receives signals from the dendritic system; these signals are integrated at a specific location in the cell body and then sent out by means of the axon to the presynaptic terminals. there are neurons which have more than one set of dendritic systems, or more than one axon, thus enabling them to perform simultaneously multiple tasks; they are called multipolar neurons. 2 a neuron is an electrically 2 a. borisyuk et al, eds., tutorials in mathematical biosciences i. mathematical neuroscience, springer-verlag berlin heidelberg, germany 2005, 1. neurons may be classified into • bipolar: similar to retinal cells, two processes extend from the body of bipolar neurons. • unipolar: there are two dorsal root ganglion axons for each unipolar cell. one axon stretches out in the direction of the spinal cord and the other in the direction of the skin or muscles. • multipolar: these neurons contain many processes that branch out from the cell body. however, here the neurons each only have one axon (e.g. spinal motor neurons). • pseudo-unipolar neurons, a variant of bipolar neurons that sense pressure, touch and pain, have no true dendrites. instead, a single axon emerges from the cell body and heads in two opposite directions, one end heading for the skin, joints and muscle and the other end traveling to the spinal cord. • anaxonic: an anaxonic neuron is a neuron where the axon cannot be differentiated from the dendrites. some sources mention that such neurons have no axons and only dendrites. they are found in the brain and retina, which act as non-spiking interneurons. • pseudounipolar: a pseudounipolar neuron is a kind of sensory neuron in the peripheral nervous system. this neuron contains an axon that has split into two branches. these neurons have sensory receptors on skin, joints, muscles, and other parts of the body. the area of the axon that is closest to the receptor is the trigger zone for the neuron. the signal is conducted through the axon to the dorsal root ganglion's cell body, then through the axon and ending at the sensory nuclei in the dorsal column-medial lemniscus pathway of the spinal cord. another very basic method for the classification of neurons is by identifying which way they transmit information: • efferent neurons (motor neurons): these direct information away from the brain towards muscles and glands. • afferent neurons (sensory neurons): these transmit information to the central nervous system from sensory receptors. • interneurons: found in the central nervous system, these pass information between motor neurons and sensory neurons. the inter-personalist ideology of igwebuike and the workings of neurons: an interpersonalitic-neuroscientific inquiry themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 279 excitable cell that processes and transmits information by electrochemical signalling. unlike other cells, neurons never divide, nor do they die off to be replaced by new ones. by the same token, they usually cannot be replaced after being lost, although there are a few exceptions. the average human brain has about 100 billion neurons (or nerve cells) and many more neuroglia which serve to support and protect the neurons. 3 each neuron may be connected to up to 10,000 other neurons, passing signals to one another via as many as 1,000 trillion synaptic connections, equivalent by some estimates to a computer with a 1 trillion bit per second processor. estimates of the human brain’s memory capacity vary wildly from 1 to 1,000 terabytes. information transmission within the brain, such as takes place during the processes of memory encoding and retrieval, is achieved using a combination of chemicals and electricity. 4 the neuron, as seen in fig 1.1, is made up of a cell body called the soma, branched projections called dendrites and an axon, which is the long, slim nerve fibre that transmits information to muscles, glands and other neurons. signals are received at the dendrite, processed in the nucleus of the soma and transmitted away from the soma along the axon. 3 90% of the brain cells are glial cells, which primarily protect brain by absorbing possible chemicals which might endanger the body's operations. these specified cells are a key component of the nervous system as they represent the vehicles that carry the messages from one part of the body to the other. 4 j. zhang, basic neural units of the brain: neurons, synapses and action potential, in ifm lab tutorial series no. 5, 2019, https://arxiv.org/pdf/1906.01703.pdf, 1-38. dozie iwuh, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 280 fig 1.1 parts of a neuron include: 1. soma: the soma is the body of the neuron. as it contains the nucleus, most protein synthesis occurs here. the nucleus can range from 3 to 18 micrometers in diameter. 2. dendrites: the dendrites of a neuron are cellular extensions with many branches. this overall shape and structure is referred to metaphorically as a dendritic tree. this is where the majority of input to the neuron occurs via the dendritic spine. 3. axon: the axon is a finer, cable-like projection that can extend tens, hundreds, or even tens of thousands of times the diameter of the soma in length. the axon primarily carries nerve signals away from the soma, and carries some types of information back to it. many neurons have only one axon, but this axon may and usually will -undergo extensive branching, enabling communication with many target cells. 4. axon hillock: the part of the axon where it emerges from the soma is called the axon hillock. besides being an anatomical structure, the axon hillock also has the greatest density of voltage-dependent sodium channels. this makes it the most the inter-personalist ideology of igwebuike and the workings of neurons: an interpersonalitic-neuroscientific inquiry themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 281 easily excited part of the neuron and the spike initiation zone for the axon. in electrophysiological terms, it has the most negative threshold potential. while the axon and axon hillock are generally involved in information outow, this region can also receive input from other neurons. 5. myelin: myelin is a lipid-rich substance formed in the central nervous system by neuroglia called oligodendrocytes, and in the peripheral nervous system by schwann cells. myelin insulates nerve cell axons to increase the speed at which information travels from one nerve cell body to another or, for example, from a nerve cell body to a muscle. the myelinated axon can be likened to an electrical wire with insulating material (myelin) around it. 6. node of ranvier: unlike the plastic covering on an electrical wire, myelin does not form a single long sheath over the entire length of the axon. rather, each myelin sheath insulates the axon over a single section and, in general, each axon comprises multiple long myelinated sections separated from each other by short gaps called nodes of ranvier. 7. axon terminal: the axon terminal is found at the end of the axon farthest from the soma and contains synapses. synaptic boutons are specialized structures where neurotransmitter chemicals are released to communicate with target neurons. 5 every neuron maintains a voltage gradient across its membrane, due to metabolicallydriven differences in ions of sodium, potassium, chloride and calcium within the cell, each of which has a different charge. if the voltage changes significantly, an electrochemical pulse called an action potential (or nerve impulse) is generated. this electrical activity can be measured and displayed as a wave form called brain wave or brain rhythm. this pulse travels rapidly along the cell’s axon, and is transferred across a specialized connection known as a synapse to a neighboring neuron, which receives it through its 5 ibid dozie iwuh, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 282 feathery dendrites. a synapse is a complex membrane junction or gap (the actual gap, also known as the synaptic cleft, is of the order of 20 nanometres, or 20 millionths of a millimetre) used to transmit signals between cells, and this transfer is, therefore, known as a synaptic connection. although axon-dendrite synaptic connections are the norm, other variations (e.g. dendrite-dendrite, axon-axon, dendriteaxon) are also possible. a typical neuron fires 5 50 times every second. 6 each individual neuron can form thousands of links with other neurons in this way, giving a typical brain well over 100 trillion synapses (up to 1,000 trillion, by some estimates). functionally related neurons connect to each other to form neural networks (also known as neural nets or assemblies). the connections between neurons are not static, though, they change over time. the more signals sent between two neurons, the stronger the connection grows (technically, the amplitude of the post-synaptic neuron’s response increases), and so, with each new experience and each remembered event or fact, the brain slightly re-wires its physical structure. 7 how neurons communicate with one another from the foregoing, we have learnt that neurons are connected to one another through synapses, and these are sites where signals (electric) are transmitted in the form of chemical messengers. each neuron in the body is interlinked to another and is capable of carrying varied complex computations. according to r. jahn, “each neuron has an antenna zone comprising the cell body and its extensions (dendrites). it is here that it receives signals from other neurons”. 8 this is the place that communication occurs. the signals are then computed and forwarded by a cable, “the axon, in the form of electrical impulses. in the emitter region, the axon branches to form contact sites known as synapses, where the signals are transmitted to other neurons. at the synapse, electrical impulses arriving from the axon are converted into 6 ibid 7 ibid 8 r. jahn, how neurons talk to each other, in neuroscience news, 24 th september, 2016, https://neurosciencenews.com/neurons-synapses-neuroscience-5119/ retrieved 7 th may, 2020. the inter-personalist ideology of igwebuike and the workings of neurons: an interpersonalitic-neuroscientific inquiry themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 283 chemical signals. the information then flows in one direction, 9 that is to say that one cell (neuron) talks, and another listens. in the communication of neurons, the dendrites of the first neuron receive information from, for instance, a sensory receptor on the finger detecting pain from a hot object. the message, in the electrochemical form, is transmitted up to the brain by a chain of neurons to be assessed by the many neurons in the brain. then this information is carried to the dendrites of the first neuron, then to its body and nucleus where the information is interpreted. next, the message is passed on by charges in the neuron onto the axon which is at resting potential, 10 but soon its charge is altered by positive and negative ions to bring it to an action potential state. 11 when this electrical signal reaches the end of the axon, a neurotransmitter 12 is deployed, and this restarts the process (this communication by neurons is one way and this transfer 9 ibid. 10 resting potential is the membrane potential (electric charge) in a neuron that is not currently transmitting a signal. 11 action potential is a brief depolarization (reduction in the magnitude of the charge) along the neuron’s axon: action potentials are all-or-nothing (they do not have degrees of magnitude). the starting state is called resting potential which is when the cell is negatively charged inside and positively charged outside. this balance is altered by elements that move through the membrane such as: sodium (na + ), potassium (k + ), calcium (ca 2+ ) and chlorine (c1 ).when the chemical distribution is changed, such as when sodium moves into the axon as na + channels open making it positively charged inside the axon it is called the action potential. when this occurs, the neurotransmitter is released. during this whole process the electrochemical signals are transmitted between neurons via junctions called synapses and these are located and the end of the axon terminal and before the dendrites of the subsequent neuron. however, once a neuron has fired the impulse to the next neuron, it cannot fire again for a 1000th of a second this is called the absolute refractory period. however, if a neuron obtains a stimulus much stronger than its usual threshold then it can fire again and this is referred to as the relative refractory period. (v. whiteley, describe the structure of the nervous system. how do neurons communicate) 12 these are chemical messengers that communicate between adjacent neurons; release of neurotransmitters from one neuron will either help depolarize ir hyperpolarize (increase the magnitude of the charge) the adjacent neuron, making an action potential either more or less likely to occur in the next neuron. dozie iwuh, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 284 of messages can be visualized by fig 1.2). 13 what is being said here is that neurons communicate to one another, by making use of special chemical, known as neurotransmitters. neurotransmitters are the one that send messages from one neuron to another. 14 each neurotransmitter binds only to its specific receptor, just as a key fits only a particular lock (fig 1.3). 15 depending on the neurotransmitter, it either excites the other neuron or inhibits (that is to say that neurotransmitters are either excitatory or inhibitory), making it either more likely or less likely to fire an action potential of its own. 16 it should be noted that all these happen with very high precision and are repeated again and again, at very fast speed, going up to 100m/s. this 13 v. whiteley, describe the structure of the nervous system. how do neurons communicate, in the research gate online journal, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301888628, retrieved 7 th may, 2020. 14 m. ludwig, how your brain cells talk to each other in frontiers for young minds, 5:39, 26 th july, 2017, https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2017.00039, retrieved 7 th may, 2020. 15 a neurotransmitter is a chemical that relays signals across the synapses between neurons. neurotransmitters travel across the synaptic space between the terminal button of one neuron and the dendrites of other neurons, where they bind to the dendrites in the neighbouring neurons. furthermore, different terminal buttons release different neurotransmitters, and different dendrites are particularly sensitive to different neurotransmitters. the dendrites will admit the neurotransmitters only if they are the right shape to fit in the receptor sites on the receiving neuron. (j. walinga-c. stangor, introduction to psychology 1 st canadian edition, bccampus vicotria b.c., canada, 2014, 129-131, retrieved from https://opentextbc.ca/introductiontopsychology/) 16 talking about neurotransmitters, they appear in two main forms: excitatory or inhibitory. an example of an excitatory neurotransmitter is nitric oxide, which induces the excitatory postsynaptic potential which makes the impulse continue to be transmitted along the neurons. an inhibitory neurotransmitter could be serotonin and this works in the reverse way to induce an inhibitory postsynaptic potential which will stop the transmission of the impulse and hence end the communication between neurons. (v. whiteley, describe the structure of the nervous system. how do neurons communicate). an excitatory transmitter promotes the generation of an electrical signal called an action potential in the receiving neuron, while an inhibitory transmitter prevents it. whether a neurotransmitter is excitatory or inhibitory depends on the receptor it binds to. the inter-personalist ideology of igwebuike and the workings of neurons: an interpersonalitic-neuroscientific inquiry themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 285 kind of communication between neurons is called wired communication. 17 fig 1.2 according to gazzaniga et al neurons receive, evaluate, and transmit information. these processes are referred to as neuronal signaling. information that is received by the neuron at its input synapses passes through the cell body and then, via the axon, to output synapses on the axon terminals. at these output synapses, information is transferred across synapses from one neuron to the next neuron; or to nonneuronal cells such as those in muscles or glands; or to other targets, such as blood vessels. within a neuron, information moves from input synapses to output synapses through changes in the electrical state of the neuron caused by the flow of electrical currents within the neuron and across its neuronal membrane. between neurons, information transfer across synapses is typically mediated chemically by neurotransmitters (signaling molecules); these synapses are called chemical synapses. at electrical synapses, however, signals between neurons travel via transsynaptic electrical currents. regarding information flow, neurons are referred to as either presynaptic or postsynaptic in relation to any particular synapse. most neurons are both presynaptic and postsynaptic: they are presynaptic when their 17 ibid. dozie iwuh, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 286 axon’s output synapses make connections onto other neurons or targets, and they are postsynaptic when other neurons make a connection at input synapses onto their dendrites or elsewhere on the receiving neuron. 18 fig 1.3 in sum: what should be noted here is that the nervous system works using an electrochemical process: which is that the electrical charge moves through the neuron, and it is the chemicals that are employed to transmit the information between the neurons. it is by means of the 18 m.s. gazzaniga, r.b. ivry, g.r. mangun, cognitive neuroscience. the biology of the mind, w. w. norton & company, new york, 2019, 28. the inter-personalist ideology of igwebuike and the workings of neurons: an interpersonalitic-neuroscientific inquiry themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 287 chemicals that these electric current is transmitted from one neuron to another, however, within the neuron, it is the electric current that moves. this implies that the electric current is the message that is being communicated, but the chemicals are there to ensure that such message is transmitted from one neuron to another. these chemicals are aroused when the electric signals reach the terminal buttons. these chemicals are referred to as neurotransmitters which occasion a communication of these electric current between neurons spaced out by synapses. the electric current moving through the neuron is due to changes in the electrical charge of the axon. the axon would normally remain in its resting potential (where the interior of the neuron contains a greater number of negative charged ions than its exterior. this further means that at its ground state, the neuron is negatively charged. it only becomes positively charged, when there is a message being transmitted through it). when the segment of the axon that is closest to the cell body is stimulated by the electrical signals from the dendrites and if this electric signal is strong enough that it passes a certain level or threshold, the cell membrane in this first segment opens its gates, allowing positively charged sodium ions (na + ) that resided in the outside to flow inside. this change that occurs in the neuron when a nerve impulse (a message) is transmitted is known as the action potential (once this action potential occurs, the internals of the neuron becomes more positively charged than the exteriors, because the number of positively charged ions exceeds that of the negative ions. as the message passes one section of the axon, the positive charge drops, and that segment of the axon returns back to its high number of negative charged ions, also known as the resting potential. it should be noted that this message that is transmitted in each segment of the axon moves in a set of small jumps. 19 the movement of this message is done in an all or nothing manner, that is to say that either the neuron fires completely or it does not fire at all. 19 j. walinga-c. stangor, introduction to psychology 1 st canadian edition, bccampus vicotria b.c., canada, 2014, 129-131, retrieved from https://opentextbc.ca/introductiontopsychology/ dozie iwuh, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 288 for the neuron to fire completely, it has to move fast, very fast. the speed of the message is what prioritizes the message and not its strength. as the message passes from one neuron to another repeatedly, the mode of communication between the two is strengthened, such that if a message is relayed again, the synaptic gap separating the two neurons becomes more acquainted with one another, that the message is easily passed on from the two “friendly” neurons (this is the means by which people form habits or become addicts). that is to say that communication becomes more fluid and less hectic between the acquainted neurons. igwebuike as an interpersonalistic philosophy before we venture into the interpersonalistic philosophy of igwebuike 20 , we better separate the two words, interand personalism. let us start off with the latter, personalism. it derives from the latin word, ‘persona’, which means person or personality. it is a trend in philosophy which acknowledges the person as the prime creative reality, having the highest spiritual value. it views the world as a manifestation of the supreme person. it differentiates between the concepts of the “individual” and the “person”. a human being is an individual as a member of society, as a part defined in correlation with the whole. as a person, one can affirm oneself in freewill and in an eternal source-god. the decision of a person presupposes an 20 kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kanu, i. a. (2019). on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159-176. kanu, i. a. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. the inter-personalist ideology of igwebuike and the workings of neurons: an interpersonalitic-neuroscientific inquiry themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 289 intention, a choice, a moral evaluation and an affirmation of personal freedom. 21 personalism would consider the persona as an individual being which is realized through conscious ownership and independent disposal of an own self. the concept of person, which was unknown to the greek philosophy, developed under the influence of jewish-christian thinking as late as in the patristic era and then it gradually found its place in philosophy. 22 according to e. mounier, personalism is a philosophy; it is not merely an attitude. it is a philosophy but not a system. 23 the personalistic philosophy pays tribute to the person as the center of all that concerns reality. arising from the term “person”, it maintains that a person is one who is consciously aware of his acts, doing it in an awareness that arises from his free will. personalists consider personhood as the fundamental notion, one which gives meaning to all of reality and constitutes its supreme value. personhood carries with it an inviolable dignity that merits unconditional respect. the term, ‘inter-,‘ as a prefix is used to form words from the outside, in contrast to the prefix, ‘intra-'. interpersonalism translates to a person-to-person conscious interaction, one that is willfully mediated and orchestrated for the sake of the other person. it is a philosophy that embraces and brings under its wings the existential, ontological reality of the person, while not handling lightly the individuality of the person, but giving it more credence. the interpersonalistic nature of the igwebuike is mirrored by the zulu proverb: umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu (i am because you are; you are because we are). in africa, we say that a person is a person because of other people. our conception of being is held in common. we agree with our ancestors 21 t. zaverzhenets, the personalism of emmanuel mounier, in mozaik 1, 2003, 20. 22 p. dancak, personalism. the philosophical movement for human development in advances in social science, education, social sciences and humanities research, vol.124, 2017, 51-55. 23 e. mounier, personalism, routledge & kegan paul ltd, london, 1950, vii. dozie iwuh, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 290 in believing that our humanness is not an individual quality but something that is of necessity shared. 24 according to r.j. khoza, in metaphysical terms, ubuntu is first and foremost a statement of beingthe “i am” in all of us. it declares that each of us, in our separate lives, draws existence from the collective and we are only persons through other persons. this is a meta-statement because it makes a fundamental assertion about the nature of our existence which is not reducible to anything else. i am because others are. the reach of this statement is enormous. its repercussions flow through all subsequent statements about who and what we are; ontologically how should we see the world; epistemologically what our knowledge amounts to; logically what is reasonable; ethically how we should act for the good of all; politically how decisions should be made; aesthetically how beauty can be collectively perceived. 25 the igwebuike interpersonalistic ideology holds on to two basic tenets of solidarity and complementarity 26 . igwebuike is very much like the ubuntu philosophy in this regard. 27 it argues that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of 24 dr r.j. khoza, the ubuntu philosophy as a conceptual framework for interpersonal relationships and leadership, an address given to nedbank group technology leaders on the 15 th of september 2012, 25 ibid. 26 kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. 27 d. iwuh osa, action understanding is not entirely neutral it is existential, it is igwebuike in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019, 51-70. the inter-personalist ideology of igwebuike and the workings of neurons: an interpersonalitic-neuroscientific inquiry themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 291 solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is ‘to be with the other’, in a community of beings. this is based on the african philosophy of community, which is the underlying principle and unity of african traditional religious and philosophical experience. 28 b.i. ekwulu emphasizes this concept of complementarity as he notes: if the other is my part or a piece of me, it means that i need him for me to be complete, for me to be what i really am. the other completes rather than diminishes me. his language and culture make my own stand out and at the same time, they enrich and complement my own. in the presence of his language and culture, the riches and poverty of my language and culture become clear and i see that his own and my own when put together form a richer whole when compared to any of them in isolation. 29 what b.i. ekwulu notes is the crux of that which pertains to the igwebuike ideology, namely that: i am personally linked to the other person, who is also personally linked to me. this interpersonal linkage does not in any way reduce or tamper with the reality of the person’s individuality. it rather emphasizes it. a.i kanu buttresses this point: the principle of identity is the first principle of igwebuike philosophy. it states that every being is determined in itself, is one with itself and is consistent in itself. thus, every being is one with itself and divided from others. the qualities of matter, referred to in traditional metaphysics as accidents, such as size, colour, shape, etc., distinguish one being from the other. if reality does not have an identity, then everything would be everything, giving birth to one thing since nothing 28 a. i. kanu, igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy, in igwebuike an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 1, march 2016, 108-113. 29 b.i. ekwulu, igbo concept of ibe (the other) as a philosophical solution to the ethnic conflicts in african countries in b. i. ekwulu (ed.), philosophical reflections on african issues, enugu publications, delta, 2010, 183-192. dozie iwuh, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 292 can be differentiated from the other. in this case, there would be no subject and object relationship. 30 the interpersonalism of igwebuike is inherent in its principles of solidarity and complementarity, but is seen further in the underlining principle of “sharedness”. a.i. kanu notes: the igbo would… refer to the ‘other person’ as ibe m which means ‘my piece’ or mmadu ibe m (my fellow human being). this is the concept also employed in reference to relationships and reciprocity: love one another (hunu ibe unu n’anya), help one another (nyere nu ibe unu aka), respect one another (sopuru nu ibe unu), etc. since the ‘other’ refers to my own piece, it would, therefore, mean that to love the other is to love oneself, to help the other is to help oneself and to respect the other is to respect oneself. 31 according to this philosophy, each person may have his own individual paths to thread, it yet does not negate the fact that we all share in one supreme desire, which is wellbeing. this wellbeing that is sought after by all and sundry can only be attained by banding together to working for this common desire. it demands from persons commitment, alignment and, above all, communication. the interpersonalism that igwebuike breeds is one that situates the human person as the center of all that happens in the world. this is because it is the human person that makes sense of what is happening around him, based on the conscious awareness that he has. interpersonalism says that the human person is not a solitary being, he is not solipsistic, he is interrelational, he is part of a bigger family of persons, who complement one another. the interpersonalism of igwebuike bespeaks of the human person who is characterized by a common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, 30 a.i. kanu, on the origins and principles of igwebuike philosophy, journal of religion and human relations, volume 11 no. 1, 2019, 159-176. 31 a.i. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity, in igwebuike. an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017, 153-160. the inter-personalist ideology of igwebuike and the workings of neurons: an interpersonalitic-neuroscientific inquiry themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 293 shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny. 32 synthesis between the interpersonalistic igwebuike and neuron communication let us think of the brain as a forest of dense proportions, one in which different kinds of trees grow near, around and on top of one another, their branches and roots intertwining. indeed, as all trees share one basic structure, that is roots, trunk, branches, etc., but do not look exactly alike, all neurons in the brain are variations on a common structural basis. that is to say that even if the neurons have one and the same structure, they are not alike (although scientific research is still ongoing as to this aspect). irrespective of the fact that neurons are not all alike, yet this does not hinder communication; that is to say that they still transmit electrochemical messages with one another. each neuron is linked to the other, not standing on its own, and does not operate on its own. it rather operates in tandem with other neurons to produce optimal result. as it is witnessed, there are times when there is break in communication amongst neurons, for instance, a stroke is just one example of a condition when communication between nerve cells breaks down. micro-failures in brain functioning also occur in conditions such as depression and dementia. in most cases, the lost 32 kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. dozie iwuh, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 294 capacity will return after a while. however, consequential damage will often remain so that the functional capability can only be restored through lengthy treatment. this treatment will involve relearning all that one has previously learnt, for instance, motor activities, as in the case of a patient with a stroke. this is because significant alterations occur in neural cells while the communication pathways are blocked. neuron networks reconnect during such periods of inactivity and become hypersensitive. if we imagine that normal communication pathways are motorways, when they are blocked, a form of traffic chaos occurs in the brain, whereby information is re-routed in a disorganized form along what can be called side streets and minor routes. additional synapses are generated everywhere and begin operating. when the signal is reinstated, the previously coordinated information routes no longer exist and, as in the case of a child, the appropriate functions need to be learned from scratch. since they are receiving no normal signals during the phase of brain malfunction, the nerve cells also become more sensitive in an attempt to find the missing input. once the signals return, this means they may overreact. 33 this implies that the basic functioning route that the neuron takes in its communication pathway ought not to be hindered, lest the human person risks losing one of the vital functions that pertain to his being. for this communication pathway to be fostered continually, there is the need of a link that connects the two neurons. this link is known as neurotransmitters, as already noted. without the neurotransmitters, the possibility of connecting one neuron to another would be impossible. there is, in essence, an interneuronal relationship that exists in the brain amongst neurons. much like the neurons in the brain, the human being is entirely the same, structure wise, but no two persons are the same. our individuality is contained in the fact of our being persons. “individual,” as an english word, is derived from two latin words, 33 university of erlangen-nuremberg, what happens when nerve cells stop working? total breakdown in the brain, in science daily, 27 september 2017, <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/09/170927093300.htm>. the inter-personalist ideology of igwebuike and the workings of neurons: an interpersonalitic-neuroscientific inquiry themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 295 namely, inand –dividus, which translates literally to “not divisible”. in the light of the non-divisibility of the person, boethius defines the person as naturae rationalis individualis substantia. 34 according to norris clark, commenting on the thought of st thomas aquinas: …to be a person it is not enough merely to possess a complete individual intellectual nature which all admitted was an essential requisite, according to the classical definition of boethius: a person is "an individual substance of a rational nature." to be a person in its own right such a nature would have to possess or "own" its own act of existence (esse). thus the human nature of christ, though a complete human nature, just like ours, was not a human person, because it was owned by a divine person (the son or word of god), in what is technically called the hypostatic (i.e., personal) union of god and man. hence, it is the nature's own proportionate act of existence, actualizing it as an existent, which formally constitutes that nature a person. the person is the concrete whole resulting from this union, expressed by the term "i.'' ordinary language indicates quite clearly the distinction by two distinct questions: "who am i?" (person) and "what am i?" (nature). thus for st. thomas the person could be defined as "an intellectual nature possessing its own act of existence, so that it can be the self-conscious, responsible source of its own actions." in a word, in perhaps the briefest and still one of the best descriptions of person ever given, a person is a being that is dominus sui, that is, master of itself, or self-possessing (in the order of knowledge 34 substantia (substance) is used to exclude accidents; individua, that is individum in se, boethius considers it synonymous to singularies (singular); rationalis naturae, meaning that the person is predicated only of intellectual being. l. geddes, person, in the catholic encyclopedia, robert appleton company, new york, 1911, http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11726a.htm, retrieved 10 th may, 2020. dozie iwuh, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 296 by self-consciousness; in the order of will and action by selfdetermination or freewill). 35 communication between human persons has to be willfully orchestrated; this actually implies that without the full participation of the will, then, interpersonal relationship would not be possible. we should think of the human will as the neurotransmitters that enable communication between the neurons; the will, thus, is what enables one person to engage in an interrelational rapport with the other person. each single neuron serves a primary purpose in the grand scale of all that refers to coordination and functioning; this is what makes important the interneuronal relationship that is seen in the human brain. each human person also serves a primary purpose in the grand scheme of all that is (reality). thus, an interpersonal rapport is central to the human person. igwebuike ideology, which stands in support of this interpersonal affinity amongst persons, gives the latter more credence in noting that there is also the ethic of reciprocity inherent in this ideology. according to a.i. kanu, the philosophy of igwebuike is not just a philosophical foundation for the ethic of reciprocity, but it is the ethic of reciprocity. it presents the ethic of reciprocity not just as a moral principle, but as a duty that one owns to himself or herselfeveryone owns himself or herself of treating the other in a way that one would like to be treated. this is because igwebuike sees a very strong relationship between every realityan intricate web. to treat the otherthat which is different from the self in a way that accords with honour is to treat oneself in a way that is honourable. however, to treat the other in a way that is dishonourable to dishonor oneself, because everything we do to the other has a way of getting back at us. thus, in igwebuike, the ethic of reciprocity is not just a moral principle, but a moral obligation one must have towards the other. in fact, from the above understanding, it is 35 n. clark, person and being. aquinas lectures, marquette university press, milwaukee, 1993, 26-28. the inter-personalist ideology of igwebuike and the workings of neurons: an interpersonalitic-neuroscientific inquiry themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 297 not just a moral obligation one owns the other, but an obligation to oneself. 36 an interpersonal bond amongst persons, in the light of igwebuike, should arise willfully, based on an understanding that every individual is a part of a grand scheme, greater than his/her selfish inclinations or trends. such a bond is strengthened by continued interrelational acts, aimed at the “sharing of the” good (igwebuike bespeaks of sharing). it is acknowledged that there can be no strengthening of bond, if there is no bond to start with. as such, a willfully initiated relation, based on an understanding of the position of the human person in the greater scale of humanity, is key in the fostering this bond. this is the philosophy of igwebuike 37 . conclusion it is impossible to situate the relationship of the human person on the determined relationship of neurons in the brain; true. but this is where the will of the human person comes in. as much as the neurotransmitters enable relations between neurons amidst the 36 a.i. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity, in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017, 153-160. 37 kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. dozie iwuh, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 298 synaptic gap that is present between them, the will enables such relations between human persons. yet, the will should be motivated by one truth, being that: life is a shared reality, one that presupposes a tailormade-cloth, measured, cut and sewn to fit into the curves, contours, shape and size, peculiarities and particularities of a being. thus, every being has a missing part and is, at the same time, a missing part. bibliography a. borisyuk et al, eds., tutorials in mathematical biosciences i. mathematical neuroscience, springer-verlag berlin heidelberg, germany 2005. b.i. ekwulu, igbo concept of ibe (the other) as a philosophical solution to the ethnic conflicts in african countries in b. i. ekwulu (ed.), philosophical reflections on african issues, enugu publications, delta, 2010. e. mounier, personalism, routledge & kegan paul ltd, london, 1950. d. iwuh osa, action understanding is not entirely neutral it is existential, it is igwebuike in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. dr r.j. khoza, the ubuntu philosophy as a conceptual framework for interpersonal relationships and leadership, an address given to nedbank group technology leaders on the 15 th of september 2012. j. walinga-c. stangor, introduction to psychology 1 st canadian edition, bccampus vicotria b.c., canada, 2014. j. zhang, basic neural units of the brain: neurons, synapses and action potential, in ifm lab tutorial series no. 5, 2019. i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no. 1 2016:1-6. the inter-personalist ideology of igwebuike and the workings of neurons: an interpersonalitic-neuroscientific inquiry themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 299 i. a. kanu. igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 5983. 2018 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. 2018 i. a. kanu. new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. 2018 i. a. kanu. collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. 2019 i. a. kanu. igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. 2019 i. a. kanu. igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. 2019 i. a. kanu. igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cociopolitical system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. 2018 i. a. kanu. on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159-176. 2019 dozie iwuh, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 300 i. a. kanu. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christianmuslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. 2017 the inter-personalist ideology of igwebuike and the workings of neurons: an interpersonalitic-neuroscientific inquiry themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 301 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. 2017 i. a. kanu, igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy, in igwebuike an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. i. a. kanu, on the origins and principles of igwebuike philosophy, journal of religion and human relations, volume 11 no. 1, 2019. i. a. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity, in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. l. geddes, person, in the catholic encyclopedia, robert appleton company, new york, 1911, http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11726a.htm, retrieved 10 th may, 2020. m. ludwig, how your brain cells talk to each other in frontiers for young minds, 5:39, 26 th july, 2017. m.d. binder, n. hirokawa, u. windhorst (eds.), encyclopedia of neuroscience, springer-verlag gmbh, berlin heidelberg, germany, 2009. dozie iwuh, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 302 m.s. gazzaniga, r.b. ivry, g.r. mangun, cognitive neuroscience. the biology of the mind, w. w. norton & company, new york, 2019. n. clark, person and being. aquinas lectures, marquette university press, milwaukee, 1993. p. dancak, personalism. the philosophical movement for human development in advances in social science, education, social sciences and humanities research, vol.124, 2017. r. jahn, how neurons talk to each other, in neuroscience news, 24 th september, 2016, https://neurosciencenews.com/neurons-synapsesneuroscience-5119/ retrieved 7 th may, 2020. t. zaverzhenets, the personalism of emmanuel mounier, in mozaik 1, 2003. university of erlangen-nuremberg, what happens when nerve cells stop working? total breakdown in the brain, in science daily, 27 september 2017. v. whiteley, describe the structure of the nervous system. how do neurons communicate, in the research gate online journal. in search for native communication: igwebuike and shikrot philosophical renderings igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 261 in search for native communication: igwebuike and shikrot philosophical renderings justine john dyikuk university of jos, plateau state justinejohndyikuk@gmail.com executive summary the ancients developed their modes of communication which helped them to relate with one another and communicate with the divine. these forms of communication also distinguished them from others while providing meaning about life and the eternal destiny of man. unfortunately, the arrival of the colonialists and the advent of the internet with its razzmatazz of new media expressions showed an exit door to native media. this qualitative study, “in search for native communication: igwebuike and shikrot philosophical renderings” investigated the matter with the help of native theory of communication theoretical framework. while dissemination of information, public relations and entertainment were found as native forms of communication in igbo philosophy, it was discovered that being persuasive, active listening and saying the truth are elements of communication in ngas culture. the paper recommended revamping african traditional education, embracing public relations and encouraging divine encounter as veritable ways of inculcating traditional values of community among people of the two cultures. it concluded that notwithstanding the use of the new media, if various forms of communication are married to newer expressions, africans are capable of finding solutions to contemporary challenges in an african way. justine john dyikuk igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 262 keywords: communication, kanu ikechukwu anthony, native, igwebuike, shikrot. introduction before the arrival of white imperialists to africa, the people of the continent used oral tradition as a vital vehicle for information gathering, sharing and worship. while living their normal lives, they cultivated, built, ate, sang, danced, healed their sick, created and communicated through various modes such as incantation (duru, 2016). most importantly, language which has also been a veritable tool for communication, alongside other linguistic forms of communication among homo sapiens, was employed through sound and the acoustic effects they produced (ahamefula & odii, 2014). this meant that the people crafted their modes of communication and attached meaning to them. these traditional forms of communication were part and parcel of the people’s philosophy. for example, the igbos of the south east and ngas people of north central nigeria enjoyed rich communication values which helped the people to distinguish themselves and fulfill their destiny. however, the advent of the digital age with all its attractions seems to have pushed these erstwhile local media to the background. worse still, for africans, traditional or native forms of communication which made a lot of sense to people are gradually being replaced by digital formats. the coming of the internet plus smartphone technology is also truncating the traditional forms of human interaction. in societies where having a meal together, sharing banters with friends, telling children stories under the moon light and other indigenous types of communication are gradually being faced out, the implication is that interpersonal, intrapersonal, group and extra-communication are now considered as older ways of communication. what is now trending is surfing the internet and communicating through various social media platforms, like facebook, whatsapp, twitter, instagram, emails, to mention a few. in search for native communication: igwebuike and shikrot philosophical renderings igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 263 the ease with which information is now being transmitted creates an instantaneous sensation of satisfaction. because social media is characterized by speed, media convergence and interactivity, it creates a feeling that these media can perfectly replace older forms of human communication. in a bid to embrace this new technology, africans now stand the risk of missing out on sharing common meals, going out to enjoy traditional dance in the village square, bonding as an extended family or members of the same kindred or paying regular visits to friends and family. this is because new media could provide an avenue to contact them. inspired by this anomaly, this qualitative research aims at: 1. presenting a resume’ of the igbos of the south east in juxtaposition with the ngas people of north central nigeria; 2. investigating native communication in igwebuike philosophy; 3. exploring traditional communication in shikrot philosophical outlook; 4. searching for common grounds regarding native communication in igwebuike and shikrot philosophical thoughts, and; 5. stimulating academics (media scholars and philosophers) to encourage the young not to lose their africanness in a digital age which seems to supply all things western. conceptual analysis native communication also known as traditional or trado-rural communication, native communication is communication from an african perspective. it is a kind of communication which starts from a person’s birth to his death, as it affects every aspect of life. africans communicate with themselves, their neighbours, the deities, ancestors, and god. it consists of both verbal and non-verbal cues. in the context of justine john dyikuk igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 264 igwebuike (igbo) and shikrot (ngas) philosophies, this means the transmission of essential values which catapults the worldviews of these people towards appreciation by others (dyikuk, 2019) and finding local solutions to african problems. igwebuike philosophy igwebuike, which simply means “number is strength” or “number is power,” is at the heart of african philosophy. it is the idea that when human beings form a united front, their solidarity and complementarity becomes an unbreakable union, such that nothing can defeat their collective resolve (kanu, 2016a & b). as the lungs or vital organ of igbo tradition, igwebuike is a driver of communication as it engenders complementarity, harmony and communality. it is the philosophy of the igbo people which helps them in transmitting values, mores and customs. as the mechanism for ensuring complementarity, harmony and communalism in the community, igwebuike brings about unity and synergy between the igbos at home and those in diaspora. it is the core or underlying principle of african philosophy and a manner of being in african ontology, which translates as complementarity, harmony and communality. the worldview persuades everyone in the community to work towards corporate existence by creating a situation where “we” becomes lauder than “i” (2015 & 2016c&d). although the community means much to the individual, it does not suppress him/her, as the individual’s talents do not constitute any threat to the society. igwebuike unites all and gives hope that the future is full of meaning. it argues that it is the community that gives meaning to a person’s existence based on his/her identity (kanu, 2017 & 2018a). here, the family and community which the individual belongs to are indisputable and inevitable. the community-oriented philosophy posits that life and living makes meaning because of the community (kanu, 2016 & 2018b). this philosophy takes cognizance in search for native communication: igwebuike and shikrot philosophical renderings igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 265 of divine and human realities, methods of traditional education and native communication as invaluable ways of transmitting igbo culture. shikrot philosophy literally translated as “talk of love,” shikrot philosophy encapsulates the religious, political and socio-cultural life of the ngas people of plateau state. it includes the philosophy, ethics and behavioural patterns as well as the cultural-ideology of the people. as the worldview which helps them to raise the stakes, shikrot philosophy provides that ngas sons and daughters should be knitted in love and also live out values such as truthfulness, straightforwardness, honesty, heroism, accountability and ingenuity. notwithstanding the barrier between the nkarang (bona fide citizens) and nlap (foreigners), this philosophy invites all to love unconditionally (dyikuk, 2008 & dyikuk, 2019). based on the communitarian dimension of shikrot, the people exuded the spirit of charity and solidarity, sharing their farmlands with members of the kindred and close allies. “built on love, communalism and a high sense of fellow-feeling, shikrot philosophy reveals the various forms of communication in the society. it also showcases the revered culture of the people such as their mores, customs and traditions. because the community emphasizes a communitarian way of life, it frowned at those who had rebellious tendencies” (dyikuk, 2019,p.5). the same author opines that from manhood training which was based on circumcision (vwang) to naming and wedding ceremonies and funerals, native communication was used as a vehicle of communicating values and customs. comedians (clowns), town criers, messengers, dancers and musicians had a crucial role to play in the community as they served as conveyors of information, masters of ceremony, consolers and producers of comic relief. justine john dyikuk igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 266 theoretical framework this study adopts native theory of communication as theoretical framework. this indigenous theory engenders collaborative decisionmaking processes about socioeconomic and environmental sustainability as well as diverse stakeholder interests in various communities and organizations (deetz, 2020). the theory makes case for a culture-bound development that is all-round, which meets the needs of the people and attempts answers to the puzzles of life. native theory of communication is a 21 st century assumption which argues that an african model of communication should be developed by africans for africans, which takes into the cognizance the culture, norms, mores, values, traditions as well as wishes and aspirations of the people towards finding home-grown solutions to problems. as a theory which engenders integral development, it insists that for “africans to freely communicate with themselves and find lasting solutions to the issues that affect them, both capitalist post-colonialism and neo-colonialism with their ingredients of hierarchical and linear approaches to governance must be kept at the back door. an erstwhile linear model of communication must necessarily give way to a grassroots, people oriented or participatory model of communication which indicates that power belongs to the people; something akin to strict principles of democratic governance” (dyikuk, 2018,p.15). this theory is in tandem with the study because native communication is key to revitalizing the african philosophical worldview in the light of igwebuike and shikrot renderings. literature review and discussion igbos of south eastern nigeria: a synopsis the igbos have a very rich history igboid languages are said to have originated from volta–niger family. as one of the biggest and most inflectional ethnic groups in nigeria with about 40 million people throughout nigeria, they have an ancient and well-organised culture. in search for native communication: igwebuike and shikrot philosophical renderings igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 267 the well-urbanized ethnic group lives in igbo land, which consists of such cities like onitsha, owerri, nnewi, okigwe, aba and orlu. they have a variety of dialects and were predominantly farmers, traders and craftsmen. their style of pottery is traced back to 2500 bce. genetic research finds them close to niger-congo-speaking peoples (agu, 2020 & adeboyejo, 2018). according to one school of thought, the igbos originated from the nri kingdom where eri, a king-figure, held sway. although the nri kingdom was theocratic in nature, the people practiced a quasidemocratic governance without centralized states. scholars put the five groups of igbo people as northern igbos, western igbos, igbos of north-eastern nigeria, igbos of south-eastern nigeria and igbos of eastern nigeria. another school of thought traces igbo roots to ancient hebrews. it is believed that they migrated from the middle east to their present ancestral home. a third version simply suggests that the tribe originated from ancient orlu or awka towns (agu, 2020 & adeboyejo, 2018). unlike other cultures, the igbos did not have a centralized system of government. they had title holders who were respected for their achievements, but were not revered as kings. they had a traditional republican system of government that is consultative in nature, which guarantees equality to citizens. they cultivate roots and tubers like yam and cassava, which explains why most of their cuisines are pounded yam and garri eaten with vegetables soup of different variety (oha, nsala, akwu, okazi and ofe owerri), alongside fruits and seeds. little wonder during the new yam festivals (iri ji), the harvest of yams is celebrated (adeboyejo, 2018). regarding marriage in igbo culture, there are four stages: the first stage is “knocking the door,” known as iku aka. the second stage is the visit of the groom with his family members to the woman’s family where her extended family members are supposed to give their consent. the third visit involves paying of bride price and collection of list for wedding items from the prospective in-laws. the fourth and justine john dyikuk igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 268 final stage, called igba nkwu or “wine carrying,” is the wedding itself; here, the groom will hide in the crowd and the bride will look for him and offer him a cup of palm wine to show everyone that he is the man. after this, the couple is blessed by family, friends and all present as celebration continues (adeboyejo, 2018). built on igwebuike, igbo culture encapsulates various customs, practices and traditions of the people. it comprises ancient practices and modern concepts which have evolved due to external influences. some of these customs and traditions are visual art, religious beliefs, birth, marriage and death rituals, use of language, music and dance forms, cultural attire, food and language or dialect. the igbos express their culture through customs, beliefs, war, burial, social norms, religion, racial and social or material traits. they often seize every opportunity to educate the world about their rich culture and traditions through festivals of arts and culture (obindigbo, 2020). for the igbos, traditional education or philosophy includes moral and religious instruction that is meaningful to all (osuagwu, 2006). ngas people of north central nigeria: a historical overview ngas or angas is an afro-asiatic language spoken by certain dwellers in north central plateau, nigeria. they are said to have migrated from bornu from where they passed through villages before settling in their present homes on the highlands of plateau and splintered into subgroups in pankshin, ampang, amper and kabwir. the major city of the ngas people is pankshin (tolu, 2020). they have many festivals, such as pus dung which brings all ngas sons and daughters from diaspora to celebrate cultural diversity and rendition. this is celebrated annually at nefur arena. other such festivals are tsati tar or mos tar, the “shooting the moon,” which is celebrated during harvest to mark the end of the farming season and the beginning of a new season. the moslum festival, which occurs around march or april, features the preparation of local brew mus which the people use in search for native communication: igwebuike and shikrot philosophical renderings igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 269 in a ritual to ask for blessings from the gods for a bumper harvest. the masquerade, wong, comes out during this event (tolu, 2020). as regards marriage rites, the people practice match-making. “the child then gets to know about this when they are fully grown. paying for a wife involves farming for the eventual in-laws and this lasts for as long as the courtship lasts. cakes of tobacco and salt are also offered to the girl’s father and mother respectively. there is no specific bride price here. goats are also offered as part of the marital rites” (tolu, 2020). since it is difficult to separate a people’s religious life from their social life, the historical and social life of the ngas man reveals that they are deeply religious people. ngas people are divided into hill ngas (pankshin lga) and the plain ngas (kanke lga) (gyang, 2020). they, however, have similar beliefs and practices with few variations in one village or the other. shikrot is the worldview of the ngas people. most inhabitants of pankshin and kanke local government areas in north-central geopolitical zone are ngas by tribe. while christianity is currently the major religion there, there are few muslims and pockets of those who still practice african traditional religion (atr). the rural population still practices extended family system and common farming activities as well as animal husbandry. the ngolong ngas is the paramount traditional ruler in the two lgas who superintends over the traditional affairs of the ngas populace (gyang, 2020). shikrot sums up the ontology or philosophy of the ngas people. native communication in igbo culture: viewpoints from igwebuike philosophy 1. dissemination of information: announcements concerning public or community works, duties or responsibilities of the collective citizenry are carried. defaulters in the community often faced automatic sanctions. the traditional authority could send certain justine john dyikuk igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 270 groups of people or individuals to make announcements or disseminate information about upcoming events. the news takes the form of passing information about new or impending events which are of importance to the community (akakuru, nwokedi & edi, 2015). 2. advertisement, public relations and entertainment: advertisement was carried out through displaying products on a table, tree stump or flay pole, peripatetic hawkers and vendors. the merchants often sang, accompanied by drumming while naming the product for sale. in igwebuike philosophical thought of communication, public relations (pr) was achieved through personto-person or on a person-to-organisation basis, where the individual tries to promote the image of his organization through singing. entertainment was done through music, dance and drama, which were carried out either free of charge or paid for in some circumstances. it could also take the form of performances and announcements that were made to enhance communication in the community to a greater level (akakuru, nwokedi & edi, 2015). 3. education: in igbo culture, educating the people is at the heart of all cultural expressions. as such, education is derived through informal means from parents to their children or through a more formal means where membership into certain societies through membership of other sociocultural groups in the community could afford one the chance to learn (akakuru, nwokedi & edi, 2015). 4. signs and symbols: in igbo land, various forms of traditional communication include: idiophones, membranophones, aerophones, symbolography. as instruments which produce sound without using an intermediary medium, idiophones produce sound when shaken, scratched, struck, pricked (pulled) or pressed with the feet. examples are: gong, woodblock, wooden drum, bell and rattle. membranophones are skin or leather drums which produce sounds through the vibration of membranes when beaten specially with carved sticks. as media which comprise flute family, whistle reed pipes, hones and trumpets, aerophones produce sound as a result of the vibration of a column of air. in igwebuike tradition, in search for native communication: igwebuike and shikrot philosophical renderings igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 271 symbolography are a descriptive representational device for conveying meaning. they are known as “uri” in igbo, which stands for writings or painting on a wall or human body (akakuru, nwokedi & edi, 2015). 5. sound and acoustics: in a paper which investigated the various non-verbal forms of cultural communication among igbo people, ahamefula and odii found “that sound patterns and acoustic effects (extra linguistic) other than the sounds from the vocal tract system of man play a significant role in human communication, especially in cultural communication” (2014.p.35). the authors noted that aside from the ‘ọja’ (flute), there are many other igbo traditional instruments such ikoro (giant gong), igba (membrane drum), ekwe gong), ogene (metal gong) that are employed in cultural communication. 6. ikpe ekpere (prayers): as a central part of the life of igbo people, ikpe ekpere, as prayer is called, serves as a direct link to ala mmuo (the spirit land). in traditional igbo beliefs and practices, morning prayer was carried out every day by the head of each household. as he does that, he offers oji (kola nut) to the different divinities (ogbukagu cited in duru, 2016). it is essential to communicate with the divine before one communicates with his/her fellow human beings. this is what igwebuike philosophy stimulates. 7. incantations: incantation is a collection of special words that are either uttered or sung to have magic effect on someone. it also involves an activity through employing special spiritual passwords. in line with igwebuike philosophy of communication, in igbo thought, incantation belongs to an extra-mundane form of communication which takes place between the living and the dead, supernatural and supreme being. this mode of communication includes: rituals as ‘igo-ofo’ (traditional worship), iwa oji (breaking of kolanut) and itu oza mmii (pouring of libation). these are secret ways of giving or practicing traditional medicine for the purpose of love or imprisoning mosquitoes to stop them from biting the person making the incantation justine john dyikuk igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 272 in some localities, like umunoha in mbaitoli local government area of imo state (duru, 2016). native communication in ngas culture: shikrot philosophical perspective 1. being persuasive: in ngas culture, persuasiveness, referred to as man le shitok den’en gurum or man shitok, means talking to make an influence or impact on your audience. usually, children would sit behind elders in order to listen so as to learn from them (govwang, cited in dyikuk, 2008). ngas people believe that the ability to speak persuasively is a gift from god, although some people who admire orators can learn. those with this gift are often asked to represent the people, especially in modern times. man shitok connotes making a good speech. in olden times, those who were talented in public speech were sent on errands to deliver messages to the people. due to lack of formal education, children imitated orators and mimicked them while playing (jurshak, cited in dyikuk, 2008). this was an essential element of socialization. 2. active listening: ngas people hold good listening ability as a most cherished type of native communication. ten kom, as it is referred to, means listening attentively with mind and heart alert. children are not expected to speak when elders are discussing. they just listen and only reply when they have better knowledge of what their elders are talking about. in this custom, children are taught the basics of active listening, especially when they are before their seniors or visitors (govwang, cited in dyikuk, 2008). also known as fot shitok, active listening is fundamental to the people’s communication. when a child refuses to listen or pay attention to what is being said, we say, gem de po fot kom ka, which translates as – “this child does not pay attention and is stubborn” (jurshak, cited in dyikuk, 2008). 3. saying the truth: le zin is speaking the truth in ngas language. one is expected to speak the truth at all times. as one grows, one is taught to speak the truth all the time; as such, dishonesty is abhorred (govwang, cited in dyikuk, 2008). truth-telling is symbolized by the in search for native communication: igwebuike and shikrot philosophical renderings igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 273 one-one facial tribal mark on each side of the chick. because of this, the hausa’s nicknamed the ngas as “aska daya, magana daya” – one mark (on each side), one word. children learn how to tell the truth from their parents. sanctions such as flogging are consequences for lies. to buttress this point, a typical ngas man would say: “shikok gak do mun la shi nyi” – which literally translates as “we will only follow one thing (message) that is said (jurshak, cited in dyikuk, 2008). saying one thing underscores truth in the culture. usually, children would sit in kantang and are taught about the dangers of stealing or fighting over other people’s property as these contradict truth. 4. showing respect: respect in ngas is, pen warang, pen kun or nang kun. showing respect, especially to elders, is fundamental to many cultures in africa. this is because doing so is also associated with the divine. ngas people believe that “one who respects a human being, respects god.” when a child shows lack of respect, it is concluded that such a child is not from a disciplined home. to this end, children are trained to respect their elders. as a sign of respect, children are expected to help someone who is older to carry load. at home, they are taught to wake up very early in the morning, greet their elders and run errands. as a mark of respect, a younger person is expected to be the last person at meals – he/she cannot leave the plate for his/her seniors, even if he/she is satisfied. any member of the community who is elderly, not necessarily his/her parents or guardians, can discipline an erring child (yeldung, cited in dyikuk, 2008). also, food is distributed to children according to their age. disrespectful children are beaten squarely to serve as a deterrent to others. as such, showing respect is a non-negotiable native form of communication. 5. sense of followership: because the leader comes across as a vanguard, gadfly and shining star, the led are expected to follow the leader. this underlines the importance of followership among the ngas people as a form of native communication. “the idea of an individual standing alone on his or her on does not really make sense in ngas thought” (govwang, cited in dyikuk, 2008). that is why justine john dyikuk igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 274 members of the community hold communality, submissiveness and followership in high esteem. since togetherness enhances progress, followership is an invaluable traditional asset. in solidarity, respect, humility and search for the common good, the people follow the leader. this is closely connected to respect. in the light of respect for constituted authorities, the people are groomed to be loyal to superiors and all those in authority. as such, a leader must be followed and respected as a sign of loyalty, submission and good followership (yeldung, cited in dyikuk, 2008). 6. traditional entertainment: another critical form of native communication is amusement or nang shuar. since humour creates comic relief, excitement and eases tension, amusement or traditional entertainment helps people in the community to feel relaxed and enjoy a good life. in a typical ngas community, there are comedians who entertain people at various occasions, such as traditional festivals, weddings and funerals. although these comedians (clowns) are not trained, they, nonetheless, act in an impromptu manner to make people laugh to the admiration of women and children (yeldung, cited in dyikuk, 2008). nang shuar by the amuser (go tok barak) is cherished by the people as a gift or talent. usually, he demonstrates these abilities during funerals to make people forget the pain of their loss (yeldung, cited in dyikuk, 2008). 7. sense of community: like other cultures in africa, the ngas have a high sense of communality expressed through the extended family system. for them, the individual realizes himself/herself in and through the community. that is why they live together, farm together (nwok) and eat as a family in groups of men, women and children. an individual’s problem becomes a problem of the community. women use common utensils and go to the farm as well as the stream in groups to fetch water and bathe their babies. this is usually accompanied by a melodious traditional song which inspires team spirit and keeps the body alive. for the ngas people, “…co-operative community effort [is] considered necessary for the development of good character” (fafunwa, 1975,p.24). in search for native communication: igwebuike and shikrot philosophical renderings igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 275 recommendations: common grounds for native communication in igwebuike and shikrot philosophical thought although moemeka (1998) suggested that african communalism is anchored on supremacy of community, sanctity of authority, respect for old age, usefulness of the individual and religion as a way of life, we shall consider common features in both the igwebuike and shikrot philosophies of native communication in the light of education, public relations, divine encounter and interpersonal relations: 1. african traditional education: in igwebuike philosophical rendering, the system of education created multiple personalities in the society. traditional education included moral and religious instruction that was meaningful to all. it encapsulated the world view of the people which takes into cognizance language, culture, morals, proverbs, signs and symbols, even as it provided answers to the people's questions about life and afterlife (osuagwu, 2006). children were taught by their parents in the kindred or extended family system. the use of proverbs, songs and dance was part of preparing children for a holistic appreciation of igbo culture. like the philosophy of ohazurume (umeogu, 2007), igwebuike is the sum total of the people’s realities, places, thoughts, language and actions. in shikrok philosophy of communication, children receive their earliest education from parents, guardians, elders or seniors within the kindred. for a holistic socialization, children are trained to respect their elders (dyikuk, 2008). they are also taught about religious and moral values, especially during vwang rite of initiation into adulthood. although informal, this education was a gateway to who the child would grow to be in the future. everything was done in love so as to groom the young into a descent and invaluable member of the community as well as a mature citizen. therefore, it is evident that both igwebuike and shikrot worldviews hold african traditional justine john dyikuk igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 276 education of the young as a form of native communication dearly. this is aimed at preparing a person for the future. it is crucial for traditional rulers, religious leaders and stakeholders in the education sector to encourage parents/guardians as well as other custodians of culture to incorporate teaching african traditional education into contemporary curricular so as equip children with the love of language and culture and how to communicate same. 2. public relations: we saw earlier that another vital form of native education in igwebuike philosophy is public relations, with its twin variables of advertisement and entertainment. the igbos value performances and announcements because they are carried out to enhance communication in the community (akakuru, nwokedi & edi, 2015). through the use of signs and symbols, such as idiophones, membranophones, aerophones, symbolography, local entertainers, performers and dancers communicate important messages and provide useful entertainment for the people. for example, sound and acoustics from local instruments, like ịgba membrane drum), ekwe gong), ogene (metal gong) (akakuru, nwokedi & edi, 2015), are useful recipes for the social life of the people. “traditional communication in igbo land is a continuous process of information dissemination” (akakuru, nwokedi & edi, 2015,p.17). in like manner, the ngas consider amusement or nang shuar as a useful vehicle for transmission of values. for this ethic group, the comedian who performs at funerals is one endowed with the gifts of persuasion and humour so as to provide comic relief for people in moments of tension. as a traditional form of communication, public relations makes room for amusement or local entertainment which helps people in the community to feel relaxed and enjoy a good life (dyikuk, 2008). since public relations is a common denominator in the two cultures, in the face of decaying cultural values, african in search for native communication: igwebuike and shikrot philosophical renderings igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 277 academics from these extractions should drum support for revamping this important element of native communication in both localized and urbanized settlements. this will go a long way in connecting young people who may have lost their roots to be reconnected to the rich traditions of the past. 3. divine encounter: in view of ikpe ekpere, igbos believe that prayer is a direct link to ala mmuo (the spirit land) which is why morning prayer is offered by the custodian of the family, accompanied by oji (kola nut) and other divinations (ogbukagu cited in duru, 2016). igwebuike philosophy is built around the idea of igwe, god as the supreme being who holds all things in being and to whom other smaller gods like amadioha, the god of thunder, are subject to. everything about the life of this people, from birth to death, is associated with divine realities. in the same vein, the ngas cannot understand life outside of religion. this is why, for instance, children are taught that god must not be excluded from education; the plateau people hold that nen is the supreme god, while other lesser ancestors and spirits are within the environment to whom libation is made in form of food and drink (mus or pito) (gyang, 2020). from when a child is born and prayers are offered, to the time of death, the idea of god is central to all affairs. another meeting point in the two cultures is the supremacy of god and dependence of man on him. what is more, it behooves sages and scholars to canvas for an acculturation of the good aspects of this overt reliance on god as a resource for a native form of communication that is inculturated, especially in the light of christian faith. 4. interpersonal relations: one of the finest expressions of igwebuike philosophy is the concept of universal brotherhood and love. this form of native communication among the igbos comes from the concept of the love of god who in turn justine john dyikuk igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 278 inspires human beings to love one another. this is why the extended family or kindred, umunna, practice communalism and fellow-feeling. this is also why events like the new yam festival (iri ji) and marriage ceremonies bring people together for common celebrations (adeboyejo, 2018). all these point to interpersonal relations as ways of expressing native communication in igbo society. the sense of followership, traditional entertainment by comedians and dissemination of information by the town crier reveals various levels of traditional communication among ngas people. because interpersonal relations is paramount to this ethnic group, the people engage in certain common practices such as eating together in groups of men, women and children, using common utensils for fetching water, drinking from the well and engaging in commercial farming (dyikuk, 2008). at every point, the people must interact. this common feature in igbo and ngas cultures underscores the place of traditional communication in africa and the need to restore same in formal settings. the right place to start is the home, followed by local communities where community or traditional leaders are custodians of the traditions of the people. 5. respect for authority: igbo philosophy is built around igwebuike which connotes that the people ought to help one another to succeed. as the igbo saying goes, “a child who washes his hands well eats with the elders.” when someone is of age or the person is married, he/she is respected by both the young and old alike. the person can even take part in discussions with his kinsmen and participate in meetings with elders. respect is deeply rooted in truth, honesty and transparency. interestingly, persons who have excelled in their fields, brought about development, or those who possess exceptional abilities, qualities and achievements are given titles (nairaland, 2017). in search for native communication: igwebuike and shikrot philosophical renderings igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 279 the youths who are initiated into the “ngas cult” are taught how to respect their elders, keep secrets, show love and make sacrifice for the good of the society. “in ngas tradition like other cultures in africa, elders are repertoires of knowledge who communicate or transmit those values to their children. in line with traditional african education, parents teach their kids how to eat, greet, dress and treat others with respect” (dyikuk, 2019,p.11). in a society where traditional values of communication, like respect for authority are challenged due to advances in technology and loss of touch with cultural roots, it is expedient that a new model of african traditional education is developed to remind the young on the need to respect constituted authorities. conclusion the study was able to demonstrate that dissemination of information, advertisement, public relations and entertainment, education, signs and symbol, sound and acoustics, ikpe ekpere (prayers) and incantations are veritable forms of igwebuike philosophy of communication in igbo thought. in like manner, the article provided evidence that being persuasive, active listening, saying the truth, showing respect, sense of followership, traditional entertainment and a high sense of community are elements of native communication in ngas culture. since the study set out in search for native communication in igwebuike and shikrot worldviews, a common ground was found. this was why revamping african traditional education, public relations, divine encounter, interpersonal relations and respect for authority in the communities under study, through educational policies, were recommended as useful ways of restoring native communication in the two cultures. this can be achieved if the requisite communication values are infused into primary and secondary curricula for education. it is worth reiterating that traditional communication affects every aspect of an african’s life. these common grounds are not exclusive justine john dyikuk igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 280 to the igbos or ngas people of nigeria, as they are also found in other parts of the global south. be that as it may, in a society where homegrown solutions seem to be taking the centre stage in almost every part of the world, educationists of african extraction need to think out of the box to find lasting remedies to challenges in the african way. indeed, native communication, like native intelligence which entails taking a helicopter view of contemporary issues, should propel various academics, especially media scholars and philosophers, to encourage the young not to lose their africanness in a digital age which supplies all things western. references adeboyejo, a (2018). an introduction to nigeria's igbo people. https://theculturetrip.com/africa/nigeria/articles/anintroduction-to-nigerias-igbo-people/.accessed 4/28/2020. agu, z (2020). origin of igbo tribe in nigeria www.legit.ng/1151109origin-igbo-tribe-nigeria.html. accessed 4/27/2020. ahamefula, n.a & odii, b (2014). preliminary study on the use of sound and acoustics in igbo cultural communication. innovare journal of social sciences. 2(2), [35-39]. akakuru, o.c; nwokedi, c.i & edi, t.o (2015). means and forms of traditional communication in igbo land in contemporary socio-cultural interactions. journal of humanities and social science (iosr-jhss). volume 20, issue 6, ver. iv, [17-20]. doi: 10.9790/0837-20641720. deetz, s (2020). native theory. www.cu.edu/ptsp/nativetheoryaccessed 4/27/2020. duru, w. (2016). the communicativeness of incantations in the traditional igbo society. journal of media and communication studies, 8(7), 63-70. dyikuk, j.j (2008). ngas values of social communication as vital tools for effective homiletics: a case study of bwarak. bachelor’s degree in theology (bth) thesis. university of jos, nigeria. dyikuk, j.j (2018). communicating the marshall plan to africa: challenges and responses. sumerianz journal of social science. vol. x, no. x, [11-18]. in search for native communication: igwebuike and shikrot philosophical renderings igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 281 dyikuk, j.j (2019).communication and culture in igwebuike and shikrot philosophies: a critical evaluation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5 no 8 [1-16]. fafunwa, a.b (1975). history of education in nigeria. london: george allen and unwin ltd. gyang, l.j (2020).the effect of western education on africa traditional values. www.academia.edu/37705415/the_effect_of_wester n_education_on_africa_traditional_values. accessed 4/27/2020. kanu i. a. (2018a). sources of igwebuike philosophy. towards a socio-cultural foundation. international journal of religion and human relations vol. 9 no 1 june. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no. 1.[ 97-101]. kanu, i. a. (2016b). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no.1. [1-7]. kanu, i. a. (2018b). igwebuike and being in igbo ontology. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 4 no 5. [12-21]. kanu, i. a. (2015b). igwebuike as an ontological precondition for african ethics. international conference of the society for research and academic excellence. university of nigeria, nsukka. 14 th -16 th september. kanu, i. a. (2015c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25 th -26 th november 2015 university of paris, france. kanu, i. a. (2014). igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholic-pentecostal relations. jos studies. 22. pp.87-98. kanu, a. i. (2017c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 7. pp. 165-183. justine john dyikuk igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 282 kanu, a. i. (2017d). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 6. pp. 16-50. kanu, a. i. (2017f). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. pp. 153-160. kanu, i. a. igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. 2018 kanu, i. a. igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 1117. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. 2017 kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. in search for native communication: igwebuike and shikrot philosophical renderings igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 283 kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory socio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. moemeka, a. (1998). communalism as a fundamental dimension of culture. journal of communication, 48(4) [118–41]. nairaland.com (2017). respect in igbo land and it general misconception in nigeria(debunking the lies). www.nairaland.com/3676537/respect-igbo-land-itgeneralaccessed 4/28/2020. obindigbo.com (2020). igbo culture. http://obindigbo.com.ng/category/igbo-culture/. accessed 4/27/2020. osuagwu, p.c (2006). the education of the whole person: the igbo moral perspective. etd collection for fordham university. aai3222144. https://fordham.bepress.com/dissertations/aai3222144. tolu, (2020). facts about the angas tribe of nigeria. https://everyevery.ng/facts-about-the-angas-tribe-of-nigeria/. accessed 4/27/2020. umeogu, b. (2007). ohazurume: a philosophical definition of communalism as the typology of igbo being. in i. odimegwu (ed.), perspective on african communalism. pp. 107 112. canada: trafford. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no 3.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 9 igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity kanu, ikechukwu anthony department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university, umunya, anambra state email: ikee_mario@yahoo.com abstract for the purpose of a more particular study in african thought in relation to the ethic of reciprocity, this piece focuses on igwebuike, which is an igbo-african philosophy of complementarity to explain how the ethic of reciprocity is at the heart of african philosophy and religion. the hermenuetic method of inquiry has been adopte for the purpose of this study. keywords: igwebuike, igbo, african, philosophy, reciprocity introduction the ‘ethic of reciprocity’ is across-religiocultural ethical principle that is found in virtually every religious and cultural background. it simply states: “do to others what you would like done to you”. it is also called ‘the golden rule’ and provides a ready precept for the handling of conflicts and promotion of harmony among peoples (kanu 2009). it is derived from human feelings and behaviour; it is also relatively simple to articulate and understand, and yet, addresses an enormous range of human behaviour. thus, “the ethic of reciprocity stands alone as a legion in its own right and in the form of a general rule” (matthew black 1967). although the most common reference to the ethic of reciprocity is the gospel of matthew (7:12), a cursory glance at african traditional values, and in fact, its worldview reveals that the ethic of reciprocity is at the heart of african philosophy or thought. one can hear the breath of the ethic of reciprocity so strongly in the following selected yoruba and akan proverbs: 1. one going to take a pointed stick to pinch a baby bird should first try it on himself to feel how it hurts (yoruba). 2. when one fells a tree in the forest, one should apply the matter to oneself (yoruba). 3. whenever one does something to another, one should put oneself in that person's shoes (yoruba). 4. if one sees the corpse of a wicked person on the ground and one kicks it, there are then two wicked people (yoruba). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 10 5. as the young of birds hurt, so the young of humans hurt (yoruba). 6. what you do not find acceptable if it were done to you by another, do not do to him or her (yoruba). 7. if you do not allow your neighbor to reach nine you will never reach ten (akan). 8. somebody's troubles have arrived; those of another are on the way (akan). 9. it is a fool that says, "my neighbor is the butt of the attack not me” (akan). 10. the stick that was used to beat takyi is the same that will be used to beat nyankomago (akan). 11. one person's path will intersect with another's before too long (akan). while these proverbs are of akan and yoruba origin, they are employed in the stead of african proverbs that communicate the same complementary spirit. this goes to show that the ethic of reciprocity is a fundamental african precept for conflict resolution and the promotion of peace among african peoples. however, for the purpose of a more particular study in african thought in relation to the ethic of reciprocity, this piece focuses on igwebuike, which is an igbo-african philosophy of complementarity to explain how the ethic of reciprocity is at the heart of african philosophy and religion. but, before a study of this ethic within the context of igwebuike, it would be worthwhile to understand in a more detailed way the meaning of the ethic of reciprocity. the ethic of rceiprocity and its cross-religiocultural character as already indicated, the ethics of reciprocity holds that “we do unto others as we would like done unto us”. we are not just to love our neighbour but that we must bear the same affection to them as we do to ourselves. it is from this perspective that henry (2007) believes that the meaning of the ethic of reciprocity lies in three fundamental dimensions: 1. we must do that to our neighbour which we ourselves acknowledge to be fit and reasonable: the appeal is made to our own judgment, and the discovery of our judgment is referred to that which is our own will and expectation, when it is our own case. 2. we must put other people at the same level with ourselves, and reckon that we are as much obliged to them as they are to us. we are as much bound to the duty of justice as they, and they are as much entitled to the benefit of it as we. 3. we must, in our dealings with others, suppose ourselves in the same particular case and circumstances with those we have to do with, and deal igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 11 accordingly. for instance, if i were making a bargain for someone else, labouring under the same infirmity and affliction, how should i desire and expect to be treated? this is a just supposition because we do not know how soon their case or situation may turn out to be ours. at least, we may fear, lest god by his judgment should do to us as we have done to others, if we have not done as we would have loved done to us (henry 2007). beyond the christian scripture, particularly the gospel of matthew, the ethic of reciprocity can be traced to some other passages of scripture and also some literatures in judaism and ancient eastern religions. the best known in judaism is probably that of rabbi hillel or hillel the elder (leske 2004), who in giving an answer to a question from a proselyte who demanded a precise and good understanding of the law and the prophets: “that which displeases you do not do to another. this is the whole law, the rest is commentary” (mckenzie 1999). in brahmanism it is expressed thus: "this is the sum of dharma: do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you" (mahabharata, 5:1517). in buddhism: "...a state that is not pleasing or delightful to me, how could i inflict that upon another?" (samyutta nikaya v. 353) in confucianism: "do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you" (analects 15:23). in ancient egyptian religion: "do for one who may do for you, that you may cause him thus to do." (the tale of the eloquent peasant, 109 110) in hinduism: “this is the sum of duty: do not do to others what would cause pain if done to you” (mahabharata 5:1517). in taoism: "the sage has no interest of his own, but takes the interests of the people as his own. he is kind to the kind; he is also kind to the unkind: for virtue is kind. he is faithful to the faithful; he is also faithful to the unfaithful: for virtue is faithful." (tao teh ching, chapter 49) similar text is also found in the old testament in the book of tobit 4:5: “never do to anyone else anything that you would not want someone else to do to you”. having understood the ethic of reciprocity and its cross-religiocultural contexts, it would be appropriate to study igwebuike philosophy and the relevance of ‘the other’ to igwebuike. it is in the idea of ‘the other’ in relation to ‘the self’ that the idea of the ethic of reciprocity occupies a fundamental place in igwebuike philosophy. igwebuike in igbo-african philosophy igwebuike is the heart of african thought, and in fact, the modality of being in african philosophy. it is taken from the igbo language, which is a composite igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 12 word made up of three dimensions. therefore, it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. the three words involved: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power. thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force (kanu, 2016a). its english equivalent is ‘complementarity’. at this level, no task is beyond their collective capability. it is a concept that was employed by african traditional philosophers of the complementary school of thought to discuss the nature of the observed african reality (kanu, 2016b). the igbo concept of the other as a basis for igwebuike philosophy of reciprocity igwebuike is anchored on the african worldview, which, according to iroegbu (1995) is characterized by a common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny. it is a complementary philosophy which understands life as a shared reality. life is a life of sharedness; one in which another is part thereof. it is a relationship, though of separate and separated entities or individuals but with a joining of the same whole (kanu 2015c). it is a relationship in which case the two or more coming together makes each of them a complete whole; it is a diversity of being one with each other. thus, mbiti (1970) classically proverbializes the community determining role of the individual when he writes, “i am because we are and since we are, therefore i am” (p. 108). reflecting on the african idea of life as a shared reality, and in which complementarity is observed, kanu (2015d) avers that it presupposes a tailormade-cloth, measured, cut and sewn to fit into the curves, contours, shape and size, peculiarities and particularities of a being. thus, every being has a missing part and is at the same time, a missing part. ewulu (2010), therefore, writes that: if the other is my part or a piece of me, it means that i need him for me to be complete, for me to be what i really am. the other completes rather than diminishes me. his language and culture make my own stand out and at the same time, they enrich and complement my own. in the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 13 presence of his language and culture, the riches and poverty of my language and culture become clear and i see that his own and my own when put together form a richer whole when compared to any of them in isolation. ekwulu (2010) further opines that the self is not only completed in relating with the other, but that it attains self-realization in the other: i realize myself in the other because it is in the ‘thou-ness’ of the thou that my ‘is-ness’ is realized. i am ‘i’ because you are ‘you’. without thou there is no i. we are ‘we’ because they are ‘they’, and without ‘they’, there is no ‘we’. (p. 189). in the contention of asouzu (2007): “it is within this ontological context (of life as sharedness) that all questions of meaning can be handled adequately and fully within the context of mutual complementarity of all possible relations.”(p. 252253). the foregoing, explains why the igbo would refer to the ‘other’ as ibe, which means ‘a piece of’ or ‘a part of’, as in ibe anu (a piece of meat) or ibe ede (a piece of cocoyam). the igbo would, therefore, refer to the ‘other person’ as ibe m which means ‘my piece’ or mmadu ibe m (my fellow human being). this is the concept also employed in reference to relationships and reciprocity: love one another (hunu ibe unu n’anya), help one another (nyere nu ibe unu aka), respect one another (sopuru nu ibe unu), etc. since the ‘other’ refers to my own piece, it would, therefore, mean that to love the other is to love oneself, to help the other is to help oneself and to respect the other is to respect oneself. put the other way round, to hate the other is to hate oneself, to refuse help to the other is to refuse help to oneself and to disrespect the other is to disrespect oneself. igwebuike and the ethic of reciprocity the point of connection between igwebuike and the ethic of reciprocity is very easily noticeable. while the ethic of reciprocity teaches that you do unto others as you would want done unto you, and the philosophy of igwebuike provides a philosophical foundation for such a perspectivein relation to a fellow human person, more fundamentally, the other is perceived as a part of the self. if the other is a part of the self, one with this understanding would treat the other as one would like to be treated. the philosophy of igwebuike is not just a philosophical foundation for the ethic of reciprocity, but it is the ethic of reciprocity. it presents the ethic of reciprocity not just as a moral principle, but as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 14 a duty that one owns to himself or herselfeveryone owns himself or herself of treating the other in a way that one would like to be treated. this is because igwebuike sees a very strong relationship between every realityan intricate web. to treat the otherthat which is different from the self in a way that accords with honour is to treat oneself in a way that is honourable. however, to treat the other in a way that is dishonourable to dishonor oneself, because everything we do to the other has a way of getting back at us. thus, in igwebuike, the ethic of reciprocity is not just a moral principle, but a moral obligation one must have towards the other. in fact, from the above understanding, it is not just a moral obligation one owns the other, but an obligation to oneself. conclusion the ethic of reciprocity, generally, is imperfect just as there is hardly a perfect moral law. it has been criticized because it makes the assumption that everyone has the same tastes and opinions and wants to be treated the same way in every situation, and seems to be an injunction to impose one’s own way on the other. however, the ethic of reciprocity is a general moral principle, not a hard and fast rule to be applied to every facet of life. treating other people as we would wish to be treated ourselves does not mean making the assumption that others feel exactly as we do about everything. the treatment we all want is the recognition that we are individuals, each with our own opinions and feelings and for these opinions and feelings to be accorded respect and consideration. this work is not concerned with the shortcomings of the ethic of reciprocity but has argued that at the heart of igwebuike as an ethic of reciprocity, is not the idea of treating everyone uniformly; it is rather a recognition that everyone, independent of human differences deserves to be treated with respect and love. references asouzu, i. i. (2007). ibuanyidanda: new complementary ontology. beyond world immanentism, ethnocentric reduction and impositions. munster: lit verlag. ekwulu, b. i. (2010). igbo concept of ibe (the other) as a philosophical solution to the ethnic conflicts in african countries. in b. i. ekwulu (ed.). philosophical reflections on african issues (pp. 183-192). enugu: delta. iroegbu, p. (1995). metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: international universities press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 15 kanu, i. a. (2015). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy.jos: augustinian publications. kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. kanu, a. i. (2016b). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 1-7. kanu, i. a. (2009). the religio-cultural experience of women in nigeria: towards a theology of liberation. bsc. thesis, department of theology. saint augustine’s major seminary, jos. kanu, i. a. (2015a). igwebuike as the consumate foundation of african bioethical principles. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france. kanu, i. a. (2015b). “igwebuike as an ontological precondition for african ethics”. international conference of the society for research and academic excellence. university of nigeria, nsukka. 14th -16th september. kanu, i. a. (2015c). “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education”. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france. kanu, i. a. (2015d). “igwebuike as the unity of the african philosophical experience”. international conference of the society for research and academic excellence. university of nigeria, nsukka. 14th -16th september. kanu, a. i. (2016). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1.pp. 1-7. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 16 kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. leske, a. (2004). matthew. in willaim farmer et. al (eds). international bible commentary (pp. 1336-1350). bangalore: theological publications india. matthew black et al. (eds) (1967). peake’s commentary on the bible. canada: thomas nelsom. matthew henry (2007). matthew henry’s commentary on the whole bible. usa: hendrickson publishers. mbiti, j. (1970). african religions and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational publishers. mckenzie, j. (1999). the gospel according to matthew. in raymond browm et. al. (eds.). the jerome biblical commentary (pp. 63-85). uk: paper back. william barclay (2000), the daily study bible, the gospel of matthew vol.1, chapters 1-10. bangalore: theological publications india. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 5.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 104 nigeria and the debacle of leadership and good governance: perspectives from igwebuike philosophy ogbaki, peter emmanuel centre for research and religious studies kaduna, kaduna state ogbaki@gmail.com abstract the main thrust of this paper is to analyse the debacle of leadership and good governance in nigeria while gleaning on the perspectives of igwebuike philosophy. nigeria as a country with all its human and natural resources and great potentials have suffered in the hands of incompetent and inept leaders as a result, effective leadership and good governance have become a sham and farce in our country. the paper is a survey, using the descriptive and analytical research methodology. data were collated from secondary sources i.e. journals, books, official publications of the government, internet materials among others. the data was analysed using the content analysis. the good governance theory and the transformational leadership theory were used as the theoretical framework for the study. the findings show that there is a dearth of effective leadership and good governance in nigeria. as a result of the systemic and endemic corruption prevalent in the country, she has failed all the measurable indicators of good governance in leadership. the study concludes with some pathways to sustainable leadership and governance in nigeria and advocates the involvement of the masses in the activities of government; nongovernmental organisations and the media need capacity building and empowerment; national orientation agency needs to do more in terms of campaigns against corruption, and lastly capital punishment for corrupt public office holders like it is practiced in china. keywords: igwebuike, philosophy, governance, leadership, nigeria, africa, perspectives introduction one of the central issues on the front burner in nigeria and indeed all the african countries is leadership. nigeria has suffered from the mishap of poor leadership and bad governance. since independence in 1960, our leadership strategies have remained antiquated and superannuated. nigeria and nigerians have been under the heavy burden of bad governance from our supposed leaders. a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 105 country with uncommon and unquantifiable resources in both human and material form, yet here in nigeria resides the headquarters of poverty and corruption – two indicators of a failed state and bad leadership and governance. oni & excellence-oluye (2017) opine that: paradoxically, nigeria the giant of africa (as it is called) wallows in socio economic, political and infrastructural decadence in all her crevices. the inability of nigeria's leadership to harness the nation's vast resources and reserves towards socio economic development continuously calls to question the composition of the fabric of the nation's leadership and governance. there seems to be a total collapse of ethical governance with the abuse of every moral norm of administration and a loss of conscience towards 'rightness' and objectivism in polity. to this end, it becomes a wonder if nigeria can ever rise out of decadence and her impoverished state if those that are meant to drive the steering towards the nation's emancipation lack the morality and sanity to do so. this, consequently implies that the vehicle of socio-economic progress has been fixed on the reverse gear. so, while it seems we are taking two steps of forward movement, we seem to be taking four steps backwards. sad as these indices portends for nigeria, this is not to say that progress have not been made at all in terms of development. there is no doubt that past leaders in this country have tried their best to fix the leadership and governance issues, however several debilitating factors have vehemently opposed such policies and strategies. according to blanchard (2011), leaders have a major role in setting the vision to move toward the organisation’s goals, and then creating a motivating environment for people so those goals can be reached. excellent leaders can turn a good organisation into a great one, and poor leaders can, in his view, ‘send a great organisation downhill’. this goes to show that if nigeria as a nation has remained in this downhill position, it means therefore that we have had poor or perhaps bad leaders. blanchard (2011) buttresses the point further when he said: leadership is very important. leaders have a major role in setting the vision to move toward the organization’s goals, and then creating a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 106 motivating environment for people so those goals can be reached. but leaders who don’t know what they’re doing, or have big egos, can take a good company and drive it straight into the ground. leadership does matter.” there is no gainsaying that leadership matters and it indeed matters for nigeria especially at this moment of our political history when the indices in leadership and governance have plummeted backwards. it is against this backdrop that this study reflects on the debacle of leadership and good governance in nigeria. objectives the objectives of this study amongst others are: (i) to ascertain the place of effective leadership and good governance as necessary catalyst to satisfactory development in the nigerian society; (ii) to establish impacts and effects of bad leadership and governance in our nation; (iii) to determine the role that endemic and systemic corruption has played in destroying the fabrics of effective leadership and good governance in nigeria; (iv) to establish the perspectives of igwebuike philosophy in good leadership and governance in nigeria; (v) to proffer some useful pathways to sustainable leadership and good governance in nigeria as the way out of the present debacle. research method this study is a survey, using the descriptive and analytical research methodology. it utilizes qualitative research techniques in trying to critically evaluate the dearth of leadership and good governance as the fundament debacle of the nigerian state. it therefore uses secondary sources of data such as text books, journals, magazines, newspapers and the internet. conclusions and useful policy implications were outlined based on the above descriptive designs. conceptual clarification a. leadership igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 107 kellerman (1984) defines leadership as a process by which one individual consistently exerts more impact than others on the nature and direction of group activity. ologbenla (2007) however, defines leadership in its simplest term as the quality of being good at leading a team, organization, a country, etc. according to singh (2017), one of the first formal studies referred leadership to hereditary genius (galton, 1962), showing that leaders have inborn qualities. however, in recent times, “more importance has been given to authentic leadership” – a person who truly wants to serve people becomes a leader. however, i believe that leadership is needed to lead in a group or a company… leadership is not about knowing a particular trade or excelling in it, it is about the people in that trade, it is about relations. a good leader may not know the trade well, but his leadership will not be effective if he cannot understand the sentiments of the people working with him. it is about the way a leader communicates with his subordinates. more often leadership is related to the position for example a president of a country may not always be a good leader, but still people relate to the president as a leader. however, this is not the case “it’s not the position that makes the leader; it’s the leader that makes the position” for depree (1989), the first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. the last is to say thank you. in between the two, the leader must become a servant and a debtor. that sums up the progress of an artful leader. he adds, “the art of leadership requires us to think about the leader-as-steward in terms of relationships: of assets and legacy, of momentum and effectiveness, of civility and values. leaders should leave behind them assets and a legacy. first, consider assets; certainly leaders owe assets. leaders owe their institutions vital financial health, and the relationships and reputation that enable continuity of that financial health. leaders must deliver to their organizations the appropriate services, products, tools, and equipment that people in the organization need in order to be accountable. blondel (1987) avows that leadership entails the ability of the one or few who are at the top to make others do a number of things (positively or of the one or few who are at the top to make others do a number of things (positively or negatively) that they negatively) that they would not do or at least might not have done. for okadigbo (1987) however, leadership is the process through which one individual consistently exerts more influence than others in the pursuit of group behaviour. hah and bartol (1983) also define igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 108 political leadership as the mobilization and direction, by a person or persons essentially non--coercive means, of other persons within a society to act in patterned and coherent ways coercive means, of other persons within a society to act in patterned and coherent ways that cause (or prevent) change in the authoritative allocation of values within that society. in that society. covell, (2014) holds that to become a public leader, one must understand that it is a calling and a privilege to serve and solve public problems. it requires all qualities in a man. the requirements involve education, knowledge and personality traits because without these qualities, leadership is impossible (adair, 2003). these are developed over time through formal and informal educational experience, and professional and social experiences. she also adds, quoting other scholars, that: from the contemporary knowledge of leadership, dr. cornel west defined leadership as “using imagination.” john p. kotter, a professor of leadership at harvard business school defined leadership as changes in “the systems and organizations that managers need, and, eventually, elevate them up to a whole new level or . . . change in some basic ways to take advantage of new opportunities.” yukl (2006) defined leadership as “the process of influencing others to understand and agree about what needs to be done and how to do it, and the process of facilitating individual and collective efforts to accomplish shared objectives”. it is about “telling others what to do” (mcshane, 1992). consequently, leadership is the process of leading implemented by a person authorized though appointment or election to do so. leadership emerged because every society is either organized or seeks to be organized as the masses cannot lead hence the need to have a few people to lead (ujo, 2001). ogbonnia (2007) defines an effective leader “as an individual with the capacity to consistently succeed in a given condition and be viewed as meeting the expectations of an organization or society.” this is because leaders are recognized by their capacity for caring for others, clear communication, and a commitment to persist, as individual who is appointed to a decision-making position has the right to command and enforce obedience by virtue of the authority of his position. however, he must possess adequate personal attributes to match his authority, because in the absence of sufficient personal competence, he may be confronted by an emergent leader who can challenge his role in the organization and reduce it to that of a figurehead (nkechi & ikechukwu 2014, p. 69). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 109 in their celebrated work, leadership on the line: staying alive through the dangers of leading, heifetz and linsky (2002, pp. 3-4), suggest that to lead means putting yourself and your ideas on the line, responding effectively to the risks, and living to celebrate the meaning of your efforts. according to the authors: to lead is to live dangerously because when leadership counts, when you lead people through difficult change, you challenge what people hold dear – their daily habits, tools, loyalties, and ways of thinking – with nothing more to offer than a possibility. moreover, leadership often means exceeding the authority you are given to tackle the challenge at hand. people push back when you disturb the personal and institutional equilibrium they know. and people resist in all kinds of creative and unexpected ways that can get you taken out of the game: pushed aside, undermined, or eliminated. for the purpose of this study, a leader is one who influences a people or group of people towards an effective and efficient realization of shared goals. it is not dependent on title nor formal authority. b. governance and good governance governance, a concept that is greatly debated, is now inviting greater attention within and amongst countries and as the number of democratic administrations is continuously increasing, good governance has evidently become a key standard to judge a nation’s credibility as well as respect on international scales (iyoha, et al 2015). governance refers to several ways by which social life is coordinated. it is a process of social engagement between the rulers and the ruled in the society which implies that governance is predicated on the relationship between the ruling class and the ruled class in the society (iyoha, et al 2015, nyewusira 2007). governance can be referred to as the traditions as well as institutions that define how authority is exercised in a given country (kaufmann, kraay & zoido 2000 cited in omoregbe, 2016, p. 37). salman (2009) cited in omoregbe, (2016, p. 37) asserts that governance entails the procedure through which governments are selected, monitored, held accountable, and replaced; it is government’s ability to judiciously manage resources well and formulate, implement as well as enforce good policies and regulations; and the respect of citizens and the state for the institutions that govern economic and social interaction between them. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 110 according to kolade (2012), governance involves participation by both the governor and the governed (i.e. the leader and the follower). he asserted that in order to get the expected governance in nigeria, there is the need to provide „leadership education that highlights service delivery, quality and accountability; severely curtail the excesses of position holders, encourage the culture whereby position holders vacate office when being investigated for wrong doing; and openly celebrate leaders that excel or perform well. the world bank institute (2012) avers that governance is the way power is exercised in the management of the country’s economic and social resources to the development of a society (world bank, cited in obadan, 1998, p. 24). the bank further identified the following three key aspects of governance: the form of a political regime; the process by which authority is exercised in the management of a country’s social and economic resources and the capacity of governance to design, formulate and implement policies and discharge functions. citing wai (1975), obadan (1998), agrees with the above conceptualization and states “that governance encompasses the state’s institutional and structural arrangements, decision-making processes, and policy formation and implementation capacity. other indices include development of personnel, information flows and the nature and style of leadership within the political system” (george-genyi, 2013, p. 56). it is the ability of the government to efficiently and effectively promote the economic well-being of its people. from the perspectives of ndehfru (2007), governance is a fundamental process through which the lives and dreams of the citizenry are collectively pursued by deliberate and systematic strategies and policies, for the realization of their maximum potentials. he went on to argue that this process is a combination of responsible leadership and enlightened public participation. the concept of good’ in ‘governance’ is an appendage to the word ‘governance’ and it is seen as the process and institutions by which authority in a country is exercised (world bank, 2004). furthermore, governance includes how governments are selected, held accountable, monitored and replaced with an emphasis on the capacity of government to manage resources and respect the rule of law (world bank, 2004; boyte, 2005). therefore, the word ‘good’ in governance connotes the proper exercise of authority, management of resources igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 111 and respect for the rule of law in accordance to laid-down principles for the benefit of all in a society. in this regard, babawale (2007) sees good governance as the exercise of political power to promote the public good and the welfare of the people. he argues that good governance is the absence of lack of accountability in government, corruption, and political repression, suffocation of civil society and denial of fundamental human rights. he points out the attribute of good governance in any society to include: accountability, transparency in government procedures, high expectation of rational decisions, predictability in government behaviour, openness in government transactions, free flow of information, respect for the rule of law and protection of civil liberties, and press freedom. also, brinkerhoff (2005) argues that governance extends beyond government action to address the role of citizens and the way groups and communities within society organize to make and implement decisions on matters of general concern. he observes that promoting good governance includes: reforms to increase accountability, transparency and responsiveness. furthermore, good governance seeks to improve the capacity of the state, encompassing a variety of strategies to increase efficiency and effectiveness of government performance (omona, 2010). this implies that accountability, transparency and responsiveness on the part of government and its officials are the hallmark of good governance in any society (gberevbie, et al., 2014). good governance within the confines of a popular democracy, according to anyadike & emeh (2014, p. 71), should be anchored on two things – a constitution suited to the special needs and circumstances of nigeria and leadership suited not only to the exigent needs of nigeria, but the exactitudes of the people. hence good governance requires no ordinary type of leadership as tolerance, breadth of outlook, intellectual comprehension, hard work, selfless devotion, statesmanship, a burning sense of mission are some of the virtues that are necessary to make a success in this nation. unfortunately, past administrations have lacked these virtues or at best have possessed one at the expense of the other and as such led them to groping in the dark on how to deliver good governance. the increasing fears is that today, with the legislature implicitly, involved, the current government is guilty of the same crime; as the current administration have refused to cultivate leadership qualities shown to have knacks to develop a mental magnitude, as clear as our problems are, and there seems a lack of ability in appreciating and grasping the salient details as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 112 well as most of the temporal and practical implications of a given situation or problem (dickson, 2012 cited in anyadike & emeh, 2014, p. 71). in a very important empirical work, kaufmann, kraay, & mastruzzi (2004, pp. 24), cited in soludo (2007, p. 3) construct six aggregate governance indicators: i. voice and accountability: this includes a number of indicators measuring various aspects of the political process, civil liberties and political rights. they measure the extent to which citizens of a country are able to participate in the selection of governments, and also measure the independence of the media. ii. political stability and absence of violence this combines many indicators measuring perceptions of the likelihood that the government in power will be destabilized or overthrown by possibly unconstitutional and/or violent means--including domestic violence and terrorism. the higher the uncertainties faced by the political process the more likely the quality of governance is compromised. iii. government effectiveness this measures the quality of public service provision, the quality of the bureaucracy, the competence of civil servants, the independence of the civil service from political pressures, and the credibility of the government’s commitment to policies. emphasis here is on ‘inputs’ required for the government to be able to produce and implement good policies and deliver public goods. iv. regulatory quality or soundness of policies this focuses on the soundness of policies pursued by government. it measures the extent of market unfriendly policies such as price controls, inadequate bank supervision, regulatory burdens imposed on foreign trade (customs and ports regimes) and business development (cost of doing business), soundness of the macroeconomic policies (fiscal and monetary policies); etc. v. rule of law measures the extent to which agents have confidence in and abide by the rules of society. the indicators here measure the success of a nation in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 113 developing an environment in which fair and predictable rules form the basis for economic and social interactions, and crucially, the extent to which property rights are protected. indicators here include perceptions of the incidence of crime, the effectiveness and predictability of the judiciary, and the enforceability of contracts. vi. control of corruption indicators here measure the perceptions of corruption. consequently, these indicate that good governance can indeed be measured and evaluated based on these indicators. for any country to truly say she enjoys good governance, she must be seen to measure up in these basic six (6) indicators. as a country, nigeria is far off from these indicators, as time and again, she falls short in most of them. c. igwebuike philosophy igwebuike is a theory of african philosophy developed by an augustinian scholar by name, professor kanu ikechukwu anthony. to understand this philosophy, an understanding of the concept would be necessary. kanu (2017, p. 17) avers that, igwebuike is an igbo word that expresses the heart of african thought, logic and the modality of being in african philosophy. although it is a word, it is not just a word, it carries within it an entire structure: the structure of african philosophy, traditional religion and culture. it is taken from the igbo language, and is a composite word made up of three words. therefore, it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. the three words involved: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power. thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful and can constitute an insurmountable force. its english equivalents are solidarity and complementarity. it is anchored on the african worldview, which is characterized by a common origin, common world-view, common language, igwebuike as an african philosophy provides an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 114 (kanu, 2016). it is an ideology that promotes the value of the human person and his/her dignity in the community. the human person finds meaning and significance when he relates as a member of a community. kanu (2016a&b), who promotes this philosophy affirms that: igwebuike rests on the african principles of solidarity and complementarity. igwebuike holds that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is ‘to be with the other’, in a community of beings. thus, igwebuike is based on the african sense of community, which is the underlying principle and unity of the african philosophical experience. it is anchored on the african worldview, which, is characterized by a common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny. consequently, this indicates that, a person is truly a person when he/she is in a community. the wellbeing of one, finds meaning only in the wellbeing of others. (kanu, 2016) goes further in explicating this philosophical ideology to say: igwebuike as a complementary philosophy understands life as a shared reality. and it is only within the context of complementarity that life makes meaning. life is a life of sharedness; one in which another is part thereof. a relationship, though of separate and separated entities or individuals but with a joining of the same whole. it is a relationship in which case the two or more coming together make each other a complete whole; it is a diversity of being one with the other. to put the other away removes the balance of being. this presupposes a tailor-made-cloth, measured, cut and sewn to fit into the curves, contours, shape and size, peculiarities and particularities of a being. thus, every being has a missing part and is at the same time, a missing part. if the other is my part or a piece of me, it means that i need him for me to be complete, for me to be what i really am. the other completes rather than diminishes me. his language and culture make my own stand out and at the same time, they enrich and complement my own. in the presence of his language and culture, the riches and poverty of my language and culture become clear and i see that his own and my own when put together form a richer whole when compared to any of them in isolation. the self is not only completed igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 115 in relating with the other, but that it attains self-realization in the other: i realize myself in the other because it is in the ‘thou-ness’ of the thou that my ‘is-ness’ is realized. i am ‘i’ because you are ‘you’. without thou there is no i. we are ‘we’ because they are ‘they’, and without ‘they’, there is no ‘we’. (p. 189). igweguike as a philosophy therefore places some significant value on the human person as a being-in-community. theoretical framework for the purpose of this study, two theories have been adopted as the framework upon which the study will hinge. the good governance theory and the transformation leadership theory. the good governance theory the good governance theory is associated with governing methods and structures in developing countries and it is particularly relevant to governance in nigeria because nigeria is a developing country. good governance theory develops from a set of principles or policies first introduced by the world bank in relating with and in assisting developing or third world countries. the world bank usually requires good governance practice, among others, as a condition from the developing countries. good governance is about how the public sector in third world countries can be developed. it has been realized that a modern form of government is not just only about efficiency, that governing is also about accountability between the state and its citizens (bjork and johansson, 2001). good governance is about how people are treated not merely as customers or consumers (as in the new public management approach) but as citizens, who have the right to hold their governments to account for the actions they take or fail to take. the demand for efficiency in the public sector should not be allowed to lead to bad service. when there is bad service, citizens have the right to protest and hold politicians accountable. good governance theory, therefore, is a governance theory that sets some basic principles according to which a good government, whatever its form, must be run. such principles include accountability, control, responsiveness, transparency, public participation, economy, efficiency etc. in sum, the theory of good governance is created to reflect all the principles enunciated above and many more (minogue, polidano and hulme, 1998). in view of the foregoing and in line with the world bank principles and policy interventions in third world countries, good governance involves an efficient public service, an independent igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 116 judicial system and legal framework to enforce contracts and responsible administration of public funds. other requirements for good governance include an independent public auditor responsible to a representative legislature, respect for the law and human rights at all levels of government and a pluralistic institutional structure. apart from the above, good governance is predicated on three segments of the society which have direct effect on governance as highlighted. the type of political regime, the process by which authority is exercised in the management of the economic and social resources with a view to development, and the capacity of governments to formulate policies and have them effectively implemented (world bank, 1992, p. 3) in addition, imf (2012) declares that good governance, in all its aspects, is by ensuring the rule of law, improving efficiency and accountability of the public sector, and tackling corruption as essential elements of a framework within which economies can prosper. adding to the essential elements of the good governance perspective, undp (2007) also espouses eight attributes: political participation, rule of law, transparency, responsiveness, consensus, equity and inclusiveness, efficiency and effectiveness, and accountability. from the various principles, ideas and conditions enunciated by the above-mentioned international organisations, the theory of good governance originated. the theory is very relevant as its principles will aid the understanding of this study and will also be used as indices to measure or assess governance in nigeria. therefore, a proper understanding of the theory of good governance and its principles is sine qua non to a proper understanding and assessment of governance in nigeria. this is very necessary with a view to making far-reaching suggestions for improvement as well as the likely implications for policy and practice on governance in nigeria. unfortunately, when it comes to good governance practice in the contemporary world, it is observed that nigeria, like most african states, is seriously lagging behind when compared to the advanced democratic countries in europe and america, using the principles of good governance or democracy as yardsticks or indices. transformation leadership theory transformational leadership theory is defined as a leadership approach that causes change in individuals and social systems. in its ideal form, it creates valuable and positive change in the followers with the end goal of developing followers into leaders. enacted in its authentic form, transformational leadership enhances the motivation, morale and performance of followers through a variety of mechanisms. these include igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 117 connecting the follower’s sense of identity and self to the mission and the collective identity of the organization; being a role model for followers that inspires them; challenging followers to take greater ownership for their work, and understanding the strengths and weaknesses of followers, so the leader can align followers with tasks that optimize their performance. burns (1978) first introduced the concept of transforming leadership in his descriptive research on political leaders. according to him, transforming leadership is a process in which “leaders and followers help each other to advance to a higher level of morale and motivation”. burns related to the difficulty in differentiation between management and leadership and claimed that the differences are in characteristics and behaviours. he established two concepts: “transforming leadership” and “transactional leadership”. he affirms that the transforming approach creates significant change in the life of people and organizations. it redesigns perceptions and values, and changes expectations and aspirations of employees. unlike in the transactional approach, it is not based on a “give and take” relationship, but on the leader’s personality, traits and ability to make a change through example, articulation of an energizing vision and challenging goals. transforming leaders are idealized in the sense that they are a moral exemplar of working towards the benefit of the team, organization and/or community. another researcher, bass (1985), extended the work of burns (1978) by explaining the psychological mechanisms that underlie transforming and transactional leadership; he used the term “transformational” instead of “transforming.” he added to the initial concepts of burns (1978) to help explain how transformational leadership could be measured, as well as how it impacts follower motivation and performance. the extent to which a leader is transformational, is measured first, in terms of his influence on the followers. the followers of such a leader feel trust, admiration, loyalty and respect for the leader and because of the qualities of the transformational leader are willing to work harder than originally expected. these outcomes occur because the transformational leader offers followers something more than just working for self gain; they provide followers with an inspiring mission and vision and give them an identity. the leader transforms and motivates followers through his or her idealized influence (charisma), intellectual stimulation and individual consideration. in addition, this leader encourages followers to come up with new and unique ways to challenge the status quo and to alter the environment to support being successful. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 118 the full range of leadership introduces four elements of transformational leadership: 1. individualized consideration – the degree to which the leader attends to each follower's needs, acts as a mentor or coach to the follower and listens to the follower's concerns and needs. the leader gives empathy and support, keeps communication open and places challenges before the followers. this also encompasses the need for respect and celebrates the individual contribution that each follower can make to the team. the followers have a will and aspirations for self-development and have intrinsic motivation for their tasks. 2. intellectual stimulation – the degree to which the leader challenges assumptions, takes risks and solicits followers’ ideas. leaders with this style stimulate and encourage creativity in their followers. they nurture and develop people who think independently. for such a leader, learning is a value and unexpected situations are seen as opportunities to learn. the followers ask questions, think deeply about things and figure out better ways to execute their tasks. 3. inspirational motivation – the degree to which the leader articulates a vision that is appealing and inspiring to followers. leaders with inspirational motivation challenge followers with high standards, communicate optimism about future goals, and provide meaning for the task at hand. followers need to have a strong sense of purpose if they are to be motivated to act. purpose and meaning provide the energy that drives a group forward. the visionary aspects of leadership are supported by communication skills that make the vision understandable, precise, powerful and engaging. the followers are willing to invest more effort in their tasks, they are encouraged and optimistic about the future and believe in their abilities. 4. idealized influence – provides a role model for high ethical behaviour, instils pride, gains respect and trust. from the foregoing, the transformational leadership theory is relevant to the study on the debacle of leadership and good governance in nigeria. it offers deep seated insights into the debilitating scenario of leadership and governance in nigeria and equally outlines strategies for changing the leadership and governance narrative in nigeria. the transformational leadership theory exercises influence rather than power or authority over followers and motivates igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 119 followers to achieve beyond what they could have done by themselves without the influence and motivation of the leader. tragedy and impact of bad leadership and bad governance in nigeria unfortunately, dickson (2012) cited in anyadike & emeh, (2014, p. 71), averred that, one fundamental thing we lack in governance and government in nigeria is the word “good” even when many nigerians have identified good governance as the sine qua non for peace, progress, stability, free and fair elections. in fact, it is viewed as the only passport to delivering the dividends of democracy. for the nation to work, we need good governance. in order to maximize our potentials, improve the general welfare of the nigerian people and even development in geo-political terms, there must be good governance. until good governance is viewed as the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented, we are still far off simply because the way and manner public persons deal with public institutions, conduct public affairs, manage public resources, are questionable, corrupt, and without due regard for the good of the people. the crop of leaders that have attained leadership position since independence in nigeria had in one way or the other lacked vision and most of them have been engrossed with corrupt practices and political bickering leading to the enthronement of maladministration and mismanagement of public resources, which beget economic setbacks and abject poverty as a national heritage. this is based on the fact that the socio-economic and political development of any country depends largely on the ability of its leadership to facilitate, entrench and sustain good governance. good governance seen as a manifestation of committed, patriotic and discipline leadership. in nigeria’s fifty-nine years of independent existence, there is but little record of socio-economic development. this ugly trend is not unconnected with poor leadership as achebe and others had asserted (lawal, et al, 2012). anyadike & emeh, (2014, p. 71) cited professor anezi okoro, who, in his introductory remark as the chairman of dialogue 33, an african leadership forum, examined the various leadership dynamics, complexities and contradictions that have transported african countries (nigeria inclusive) from the misfortunes of colonial domination to the damnation of bad governance and the consequent misery that has become the lots of most africans. african leaders, he said, have, through a complex mix of mismanagement, pandemic corruption, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 120 primitive greed and gross incompetence, comprehensively retarded the growth of their nations and peoples and relegated them to the lowest rungs of global economic ladder. he lamented the tragic irony of africa’s abject poverty in the midst of its often stated super-abundant natural and human resources. this he attributed partly to historical hangovers and subsequent neo-colonial manipulations, actively aided by the divisive internal forces deeply entrenched at the heart of many african societies in the face of which both leaders and the followers have remained lamentably helpless, and at times, criminally negligent. bad governance according to the world bank (1992) has many features, among which are: failure to make a clear separation between what is public and what is private, hence a tendency to divert public resources for private gain; failure to establish a predictable framework for law and in government’s behaviour in a manner that is conducive to development, or arbitrariness in the application of rules and laws; excessive rules, regulations, licensing requirements, etc., which impede the functioning of markets and encourage rent-seeking; priorities that are inconsistent with development, thus, resulting in a misallocation of resources and excessively non-transparencies in decision-making. when these features occur together, they create an environment that is hostile to development which is one of the essences of government. in such circumstances, the authority of governments over their peoples tends to be progressively eroded; and as such, bad governance represented by corruption, and lack of accountability and transparency, provides opportunities for the well-connected elites and interest groups in the society to corner for themselves a sizeable proportion of the society’s resources at the expense of the masses. thus, bad governance is contrapuntal to a nation’s socio-economic and political development (obadan, 1998, cited in ogundiya 2010). thus, the attainment of good governance requires accountability, transparency, rule of law and human rights, responsiveness, a strong civil society, free press, social sanction and reward system, popular participation, efficient systems and structures. lack of good governance is a major impediment to national development. the quality of governance is the major determinant of a country’s economic development. good governance is partly characterized by creation of employment, security of life and properties. security of lives and properties is fundamental to good governance. good governance is thus an ingredient that provides a conducive environment for foreign investors which can promote economic growth and development (bello & lamidi 2009, cited in omoregbe et al, 2016, p. 41). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 121 dr. oby ezekwesili, a former nigerian minister of education has attributed the rising poverty in the country “to poor governance and the monotonous economic structure….” according to ezekwesili (2014): [b]ad governance which had manifested through corruption was responsible for the poor economic performance of the country … nigeria had been unable to translate the huge natural resources at her disposal to the improvement of her citizens’ living standard. ezekwesili (2014) also confirmed that: poor governance or its virulent manifestation, public corruption is … the fundamental reason for nigeria’s poor performance despite our globally acknowledged economic potentials to have become not just one of the largest economies of the world, but in fact, one of the most prosperous in those countries. in a broader sense, leadership connotes the following: assignments, effectiveness, responsibility, accountability, vision, character, productivity, persuasion and realization of targeted goals. the extent to which these characteristics are inhered in our leadership largely determined the type of governance that we have in nigeria over the years. alamu (2004) cited annang (2013) in contends that in nigeria, there is “perhaps pollution of leadership qualities, a bastardizing of revered tradition, convention and culture”. he argues further that leadership is perceived as “a means of exploitation, personal enrichment, fulfilling parochial interest and selfish ambition”. given the above position, nigeria has over the years been in search of credible leadership to no avail. those that succeed to take over the reins of power alamu observes “proceed methodically to strip the public treasury for their own pocket and their cronies”. consequently, alamu suggests among others that public leadership in nigeria should “imbibe and cultivate moral character, piety, human-heartedness, self-discipline, purpose, accomplishment indispensable for quality leadership with deep conviction, responsibility, knowledge, leadership with example” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 122 in fact, the challenge of leadership is very serious in nigeria. scholars such as chinua achebe (1984) and ibrahim gambari (2008) note the failure of leadership in the country. for example, gambari (2008, p. 6) asserts that among other challenges: leadership is a critical factor in nation-building, and it should be understood in two important but related ways. firstly, there are the personal qualities, honesty, commitment, and competence of individual leaders at the top. secondly, there are the collective qualities of common vision, focus, and desire for development of the elites as a whole. gambari (2008, p. 7) succinctly encapsulates the dire condition in the country further: the standards for recruitment and the performance of our individual leaders over the years have left much to be desired. we do not need leaders who see themselves as champions of only some sections of our population. we do not need leaders who do not understand the economic and political problems of the country, not to talk of finding durable solutions for them. we do not need leaders who are more interested in silencing their opponents, than in pursuing justice. we do not need leaders, who preach one thing and do the exact opposite. we do not need leaders who place themselves above the constitution and the laws of the country, but leaders who lead by upholding and respecting the law. we do not need leaders who have no sense of tomorrow, other than that of their private bank accounts. to address the leadership problem gambari (2008, p. 7) recommends thus: [w]e must have a leadership that is committed to the rule of law and has a demonstrable sense of fair play and democratic tolerance; a leadership with ability and integrity; and above all else ... leaders who have a vision for nigeria better than one they inherited; leaders who will lead by deeds and not by words; achievers, not deceivers. addressing the problem of nigeria, achebe (1984) gaudily declared that the problem with nigeria is fundamentally that of leadership. achebe observed that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 123 there is absolutely nothing wrong with the nigerian character. to achebe, the problem with nigeria is “the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the challenge of personal examples, which are the hallmarks of true leadership”. nwobu (2013) buttresses further the points made by achebe when he notes that: achebe’s testament of bad leadership by successive nigerian leaders remains timeless in the scale and scope of its vindication from independence to date. looking around nigeria, nothing but colossal failure is evident. from local government councillors all the way to the presidency, the only business of government is the monumental and frenzied looting of the nation’s coffers, while the huddled masses reek in unbelievable poverty and destitution. nwobu (2013), yet again cites achebe in these words: nigeria is “a nation for sale,” high jacked since independence by thieves, bigots, mass murderers, war criminals, unpatriotic opportunists, election riggers and other such vermin who have run the nation through an unnecessary civil war, corruption and total despoliation. nigeria is consequently, a failed state, plagued by social injustice, unrest, debilitating poverty, disharmony and ethnoreligious turbulence. a score card of the nation’s sadistic leaders since independence as listed below underscores the timeless veracity of achebe’s apocalyptic testament of a nation poisoned since its founding by bad leadership. the illustration of the problems of leadership graphically presented by both achebe and gambari (2008) are appropriate demonstration of the existential condition in nigeria. most political “leaders” in the country strictly speaking are not leaders; they are what the nigerian afro music king, fela anikulapo kuti as well as music veteran sony okosun in their respective musical albums, appropriately refer to as “rulers” and not “leaders”. to all intents and purposes “rulership” is largely antithetical to modern-day tenets of democracy (coker & george-genyi, 2014, p. 1138). some of the impact of negative “leadership” practice in nigeria are wanton looting of public treasuries, insensitivity to public opinion, non-accountability, abuses of power with impunity. others are the raising of sycophancy to the level igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 124 of statecraft, sponsored blackmailing, or kidnapping; and outright and assassination of political opponents. these activities of the political leadership in the country do not exhibit commitments to the enthronement of just and fair society; a society where the ingredients necessary for the achievement of peace, security and sustainable development can be insured. contrarily, their activities can largely without any doubt enhance and perpetuate bad governance in nigeria. in her musings about bad leadership and governance in nigeria, zainab (2011, p. 2) affirms that: the basic philosophy of our nigerian-ness after more than 5 decades has become lost amidst the rubble of crippling poverty, increasing inequality between the haves and the haves-nots, the dearth and near collapse of infrastructure, alarming level of insecurity, intensification of ethnic, regional and religious cleavages and animosity amongst citizens, infamous bad leadership and scandalous corruption. zanaib (2011, p. 2) concludes that: all these have culminated in a political leadership that is confused, mediocre and grossly inefficient populated by corrupt self-seeking, and fractured political elite devoid of patriotism, nationalistic pride and sovereignty… this leadership and elite have not only resulted in weak and dysfunctional state institutions but also a followership which in the absence of effective and inspiring leadership is distrustful of such leadership and mutually antagonistic of one another, a followership bedevilled by poverty, inequality, marginalization and a sense of injustice that is increasingly becoming desperate, disillusioned and militant. dike expatiating on the tragedy of leadership in nigeria explains that: the leaders have the capacity to influence public policies to make a difference in the lives of the citizen, but have failed to do so because their primary goal of assuming leadership position is selfenrichment... leading a country involves making policies and finding solutions to problems, ensuring stability of the polity, and guiding the society to prosperity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 125 dike is quick to observe that most leaders in the country “lack the vision, the passion, and the character to effectively govern the state and deal with crumbling economy”. according to dike, our leaders do not demonstrate clear comprehension “of their responsibilities, as some of them are insensitive to the people’s sufferings.” dike summarized nigerian’s loss of faith in their leaders in the following words: “nigerians are tired of complaining to those who are leading without listening to them.” corruption as an endemic factor of bad leadership and governance in nigeria commenting on the impact of bad leadership and governance in nigeria, clinton, (2009) a former u.s. secretary of state cited in coker, & george-genyi, (2014, p. 1132) averred that: mismanagement and graft over decades have imperil led nigeria’s development, deterred investment, undermined democracy and deepened conflicts such as the insurgency in the southern niger delta and bouts of religious violence in the north. she goes further to report a loss of over $300 billion to nigeria since the past three decades due to corruption and other problems. clinton not only argued that “… besides good governance, nigeria’s future also depended on respect and understanding among religions, particularly among islam and christianity” but also that for nigeria to move forward, she has to increase transparency and bolster democracy. consequently, corruption, amongst other prevalent issues, has wreaked havoc to nigeria as a nation. dike (2008) in his “governance and nigeria’s weak institution: is the 2020 project achievable?” opines that corruption is a very serious vice bedevilling the country as it contributes to “poor governance, socio-political and economic problems." in nigeria, it takes numerous forms, but suffices to say that corruption should encompass any act undertaken any person to gratify oneself unjustly as the expense of another person. with regards to the above, it is crucial to note that both the leaders and the led are guilty of this vice and its related forms; there is both the demand and the supply sides of the phenomena. again, it could be bureaucratic, electoral, economic or legal. cases of corruption and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 126 related vices/offenses are very common in nigeria. samples of these cases are mentioned in this paper. an excerpt from dike’s paper, for instance, reported: the press revealed how a former aide of obasanjo… (now, a senator of the federal republic of nigeria) used the presidential jet to haul $170,000 in cash into the united states (daily trust, november 10, 2006) … there was the shocking revelation by the otunba fasawe, during his testimony at the senate investigations into the ptdf scandal that during the obasanjo administration, the presidency used billions of public money to fund the party’s 2003 election… (thisday, march 20, 2007;), and the national assembly probe panel’s shocking revelation of alleged $16 billion the obasanjo administration spent on the power sector without commensurate results (daily trust, march 21, 2008; dike, www.gamji.com/article8000/news8396 htm, p5 of 12). concerned about nigerian’s poor international image, soon after the inception of former president olusegun obasanjo’s administration in 1999, the government requested assistance from the world bank in undertaking a major governance and corruption diagnostic survey in nigeria (world bank 2001, p. 7 cited in iremiren, 2011, p. 146). the bank in turn collaborated with a number of nigerian institutions in conducting the survey in 2001. the institute for development research of ahmadu bello university was appointed as the lead partner for the nigerian research and institutions that participated in the exercise included: the centre for development studies (cds) of the university of jos, the institute for development studies (ids) of the university of enugu, the nigerian institute for social and economic research (niser) in ibadan, the nigerian centre for economic management and administration (ncema) in ibadan and the department of economics of the university of port harcourt. the study adopted three survey instruments which were randomly applied to selected households, public officials and business organizations in nigeria respectively. this national survey was designed through a multi-stage area sampling, which cut across two states in each of the six geopolitical zones due to the multi-ethnic diversity of nigeria’s geopolitical space. overall, a total of 5,000 randomly selected respondents participated in the survey. more specifically, the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 127 number of households sampled was 2,500, while a total of 1,500 respondents across the three tiers of government participated in the public official’s sample and 1,000 respondents were interviewed in the business enterprises survey. the three surveys were undertaken in 2001, and were intended to provide an understanding into the perception of the major problems militating against development in nigeria. the surveys identified endemic corruption as one of the major problems to have significantly shaped the level of social-economic development in nigeria. for example, in one of the surveys, households were asked to identify the degree of seriousness of each of the problems. the respondents identified unemployment (15.2%) as the most serious problem facing nigeria, followed closely by corruption in the public sector (13.1%) and the high cost of living (11.4%), suggesting that corruption is perceived by respondents as a serious problem militating against economic development. in a similar vein, households were interviewed to capture their perceptions of the degree of corruption in nigeria. the figure shows that 80.1% of the respondents believed that corruption is a very serious problem in nigeria, while only 5.4% thought that it was not so serious. furthermore, public officials were also asked in the survey to measure the extent of corruption in nigeria and the survey results showed that public officials also believed that corruption was endemic. 71% of public officials believed that corruption was prevalent/extremely prevalent in nigeria, while 22.2% indicated that they thought that corruption was modest. only 1% of those interviewed thought that corruption was non-existent in nigeria in 2001. when asked to reflect on the levels of corruption three years before the date of the survey (1998), 79.4% of the public official respondents indicated that they believed that corruption had been prevalent/extremely prevalent, while only 13.4% indicated that it had been moderate, although 1.1% of those surveyed had indicated that they thought that there had been no corruption three years ago. these figures suggest that public officials’ perception was that generally the extent of corruption in nigeria had declined considerably over the three years to 2001 when the survey was conducted. interestingly, when asked about the level of corruption in their own organisations, 32.3% of those interviewed indicated that corruption was prevalent/extremely prevalent, while 38.2% believed it was modest and 21.5% thought it rare, suggesting that public officials were less critical of their own organisations. once again, however, there was a perception that the situation was improving (47.2% had believed that corruption was prevalent/extremely prevalent in their own organization three years previously). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 128 nevertheless, even this figure is relatively low in comparison to the general figures. to get a further sense of perceptions of the degree of corruption in nigeria’s public sector, representatives from private enterprises were asked to indicate how often their organisations needed to give bribes to public officials for access to the basic services. in 2001, the respondents indicated that they frequently had to bribe public officials to get access to services or that they paid bribes to influence the political process. the highest levels indicated were in relation to payments designed to access government contracts. 33.2% admitted that they always gave bribes to public officials when tendering for government contracts; whilst a combined total of 69.4% of the enterprises interviewed acknowledged that they always, mostly or frequently gave bribes to officials in order to access government contracts. only 6.8% of those surveyed claimed that they seldom/never had to give bribes to access government contracts. in a similar vein, enterprises that were interviewed indicated that they gave bribes to access basic public services like electricity and telephone. 22.8% admitted to always paying bribes to get connected to these services, while a combined total of 59.6% acknowledged that they always/mostly/frequently had to give bribes and only 6.5% claimed that they seldom/never had to give bribes to access these services. the survey also showed that the level of corrupt practices in dealing with the customs service was high. 27.4% of business enterprises always gave bribes when dealing with the customs service, while a total of 61.3% indicated that they always/mostly/frequently have to give bribes, with only 7.2% seldom or never having to give bribes to access such services. these analyses suggest that in 2001 it was almost inconceivable to do business in nigeria without having to offer bribes. endemic corruption and pervasive rates of crime are often cited by businesses as one of the major obstacle to doing business in nigeria and further studies have been done more recently which have tried to explore attitudes towards these issues in more detail (iremiren, 2011, p. 153). respondents were asked to rank from 1 (most serious) to 7 (least serious) several of the major problems that nigeria currently faces. overall scores based on the rankings of all respondents were then calculated for each factor. thus the lower the overall score calculated for any particular “problem” the more igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 129 seriously the problem was viewed by the respondents, while the higher the score the less seriously the problem was judged by the respondents. the score for corruption from this ranking exercise was 2.46, meaning that corruption was perceived by respondents as the most serious problem nigeria faces (or at least of those listed in the exercise). following this were poverty and unemployment, whose scores were 3.04 and 3.54 respectively. in the thoughts of iremiren (2011, p. 172), the scale of the problem posed by the levels of corruption in nigeria (however measured) is clearly significant. as karbgo, (2006) suggests, the impact of corruption cannot be limited to the size of the monetary terms involved, but also disproportionately affects other socioeconomic, political and institutional aspects. perhaps, as argued by perry (1997: 22), one of the most important consequences of corruption is that its impacts often appear to hit the poorest and most marginalised sectors of society the hardest and can cause a reduction in scarce public resources that could be channelled into more productive aspects of the economy for the common good. the socio-economic and development impacts of corruption are difficult to measure directly. corruption tends, for example, to be more frequent within weak and ineffective institutions, thus making it a difficult task to separate out the impacts of corruption from other variables because corruption seems to be both a cause and consequence of inefficient and unaccountable institutions and leaders. nevertheless, when considered along with other forms of institutional weakness, corruption can clearly have significant impacts on socio-economic development (see: a4 anti-corruption resource centre, n.d, cited in iremiren, 2011, p. 172). evidence from the 2001 world bank survey clearly shows that a wide range of nigerians have very strong views about the impacts of corruption in their country. for example, we have already seen above that households and businesses identified corruption in the public sector as one of the major problems facing nigeria or, in the case of businesses, their business activities. one of the major arguments relating to the detrimental impacts of corruption is that it produces waste in public resources which acts to further reduce the capacity of government to provide basic services for the common good. as far back as 1985, achebe argued that “knowledgeable observers…estimated that as much as 60 percent of the wealth of the nation was regularly consumed by corruption” (achebe 1985, p. 40). twenty years later (2004), the former chairman of the efcc, nuhu ribadu, claimed that over 70 percent of the nation’s income igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 130 was wasted due to corruption and over 70% of these funds were kept outside nigeria (see: efcc 2006, khakee 2008). perspectives of igwebuike philosophy in leadership and good governance the philosophy of igwebuike is very apt to the discourse on leadership for very obvious reason. firstly, igwebuike occupies a central place in the category of being. in the words of kanu (2017, p. 170), “it is the modality of being.” secondly, leadership plays a vital role in the progress of any nation, igwebuike is thus concerned about the forward movement and progress of the citizenry of african nations. kanu (2017, p. 171) affirms that: leadership within the context of igwebuike philosophy is understood as an inclusive enterprise. the leader does not see himself as a separate entity from the people, but as leading from among the people; while the individual is a potent and viable being, as such a force, it is potent and viable in a limited way; however, when there is a conglomeration of forces, the human potency can be extraordinary. leadership is not about power but about service. the leader sees himself as part of a group and not as a person different from the group or better than the people he is serving. he or she understands that there are no leaders without followers, and leadership always involves interpersonal influence or persuasion. in the absence of followership, interpersonal influence and persuasion, the person is only taking a walk and not leading. this gives credence to what maxwell (1993, p. 1) opines in his work: developing the leader within you, that “he who thinketh he leadeth and hath no one following him is only taking a walk.” this literally implies that a leader does not look for followers, but followers are moved by the leaders and his vision and they follow him. going further, kanu delineates the fact that followership is essential in leadership, but even more so, the values and ingenuity the leader produces are fundamental. the relevance of the leader is based on the people whom he is leading; if there are no people, there can’t be a leader, and the ability of the people who constitute the state to achieve their national goal, is dependent on the ingenuity of the leader. so the leader needs the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 131 led as much as the led needs the leader. this springs from the understanding that every reality has a purpose of existence. the leader and the led both share in this pool of universal purposefulness of existence, which they draw from and contribute to by playing their unique roles in the journey of existence. situations where by the leader sees himself as superior and indispensable to the people that he or she is leading, can be considered an aberration or alienation of true leadership. likewise, the polarization and fragmentation of society into antagonistic factions, in the bead to ‘divide and rule’ is a disservice to and an aberration of the human society. (kanu, 2017, p. 171). therefore, if the leader sees himself as superior and indispensable to the people, he loses out. this therefore implies that, he must put service and servant leadership as a core value in order to bring the goals and aspirations of the people to fruition. consequently, igwebuike philosophy sees service at the heart of leadership. service must drive leaders, because it has the capacity to bring about transformation and progress. servant leadership can therefore bring about the gains of effective leadership and good governance to bare in the lives of the citizenry. pushing the discussion on good governance further, anyadike, & emeh, (2014, p. 71) avow that good governance within the confines of a popular democracy should be anchored on two thingsa constitution suited to the special needs and circumstances of nigeria and leadership suited not only to the exigent needs of nigeria, but the exactitudes of the people. hence good governance requires no ordinary type of leadership as tolerance, breadth of outlook, intellectual comprehension, hard work, selfless devotion, statesmanship, a burning sense of mission are some of the virtues that are necessary to make a success in this nation. it is essential to state here, therefore, that, servant leadership can bring about the realization of good governance as well as the values that the leadership of good governance engender. to buttress this point further, ogbaki (2016, p. 31) cites the former ceo of the greenleaf center, larry c. spears, who, in describing servantleadership says as we near the end of the twentieth century, we are beginning to see that traditional autocratic and hierarchical modes of leadership are igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 132 slowly yielding to a newer model – one that attempts to simultaneously enhance the personal growth of workers and improve the quality and caring of our many institutions through a combination of teamwork and community, personal involvement in decision making, and ethical and caring behaviour. this emerging approach to leadership and service is called servant-leadership.” ogbaki (2016, p. 32) makes allusion to the fact that servant leadership is key because of the values it engenders. servant-leaders may or may not hold formal leadership positions. servant-leadership encourages collaboration, trust, foresight, listening, and the ethical use of power and empowerment. it is not uncommon for many servant leaders to become leaders simply, because people respect them for always putting other people’s interests first. prime minister datuk seri abdullah ahmad badawi exemplified servant-leadership when he humbly professed “work with me, not for me. i am the no.1 servant of the realm” and meant every word of it. igwebuike philosophy of leadership therefore avows that in every circumstance, the good of those led is placed over the self-interest of the leader. this is the leadership that promotes the valuing and development of people, the building of community, and the promotion shared power. leadership is, therefore, not a position, rather, it is about how well we work together; the great leader is the one who has been able to connect to the different dimensions of society, not minding the depth of its diversity. there are all kinds of human beingsgood and bad, in the society, and this is where the role of the leader comes in, it is a responsibility and not a call to enjoy life; the leader should be able to manage all these peoples and make the best out of them. this makes the deciding difference. as a philosophy, igwebuike in relation to leadership recognizes that a team is made stronger through diversity; it acknowledges that our differences are what make us stronger. this would mean that the less the diversity, the less the power of the group (kanu, 2017, p. 172). nigeria can truly pull out of the quagmire of ineffective leadership and bad governance that has engulfed her like a crocodile on her prey. the high level of corruption and failed system can be corrected. leaders who would follow the ten characteristics of servant leadership of robert greenleaf can pull nigeria out igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 133 of this leadership morass. these characteristics include: listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of the people and lastly, building community. the pathway to sustainable leadership and good governance in nigeria bad leadership and poor governance have caused nigeria and nigerians untold hardship, poverty and despondency. these have been brought upon us by the leader we elected into office to lead us to eldorado, on the contrary, they have turned themselves into an oligarchic rulers and are destroying our collective destinies as a nation. one of the major ways by which we can bring this corrupt, avaricious, tyrannical system to an end is to destroy corruption. aluko (2006) cited in omoregbe et al (2016, pp. 44 – 46) has recommended ways through which corruption could be curbed in nigeria which will bring about good governance and accountability on the part of government. some of the recommendations include: a. involvement of the masses in the activities of government in order to promote public awareness of the tasks, policies and priorities of government, transparency is needed at all levels of government. the programmes of government at all levels as well as their expected outcomes should be made clear. furthermore, any occurrence of corruption at any level of government, as well as the cost to the system, should be exposed. these public enlightenment measures are required as part of an empowerment plan to ensure popular participation. in order to get rid of the pervasive apathy within civil society, government has to be accountable to the people. the mechanisms provided for civil society to hold effective consultations with and monitor their elected representatives at all levels need to be publicized and strengthened. accountability brings about transparency in governance such as transparency in decision making, and policy formulation. the masses and their representatives should hold regular meetings with government representatives where mind bugging questions and issues can be discussed in relation to the development of their communities and the welfare of the people through community or town hall meetings. the representatives are then expected to go and hint the people in government about the demands of the people, what they are aggrieved about and what they are pleased with regarding the governance of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 134 the incumbent leader. additionally, there is also the need to ensure the existence of a regularly reviewed and periodically updated code of ethics to guide the performance of legislative functions at all times. this requires adequate publicity to enable civil society to monitor its enforcement. if government wants the masses to be actively and excitedly involved in the execution of government’s priorities, then they should involve the people in the process of setting them up. the principle of participatory budgeting should also be adopted. b. non-governmental organisations and the media need capacity building and empowerment there is an urgent need for the media, as the fourth estate of the realm, to strengthen its investigative and monitoring capacity and foster greater professionalism and integrity, in the conduct of its affairs. the press should be allowed to discharge its duties freely without fear or favour. the media and nongovernmental organizations (ngos) should act as the ultimate watchdog institutions by closely monitoring the political process, party financing, the effectiveness of representation, performance of government service delivery agencies and regulatory institutions. the private sector on its own part should support and fund the ngos. these institutions also need to develop survey techniques as well as advocacy and lobbying skills. they should conduct annual surveys on the nature, incidence and extent of corruption in nigeria. this effort will go a long way to complement the efforts of government. c. pillars of integrity it is integrity that can make a man or woman incorruptible and the lack of it makes a man or woman corrupt. the religious bodies in particular, the traditional rulers, as well as media should come more alive to their civic responsibilities by consistently/regularly teaching and preaching to nigerians on the virtue of integrity and the dangers of the lack of it on the community, self and nigeria as a whole. in other words, the vision and strategy for an effective anti-corruption drive should, in the long run, evolve around particular „pillars‟ of integrity such as professional associations, the media, religious bodies, and the systems of traditional rule. they all need to be strengthened. gleaning on the thoughts of ogbaki (2018), he avers that: the anti-graft war should be pursued with vigour and without selection. this has the potency of exposing corrupt public office holders, and ensuring that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 135 justice is not only done, but seen to be upheld, this can assist in redressing the prevalence of corruption and other forms of unethical conduct in the public service. the national orientation agency should carry out a more robust and greater awareness campaign against unethical and corrupt practices just like the government does in term of hiv/aids. the role of ongoing training cannot be overemphasized, as such, continuous training and refreshers courses on ethics and accountability should be carried out from time to time. this will enhance ethical conducts in the public sector as well as boost productivity and lead to growth. subjects on ethics and accountability should be introduced in the curriculum of post primary schools and post-secondary institutions should make courses on ethics and accountability a compulsory general subject (gs) for all departments. one of the agonizing problems confronting the nigeria state is the leadership question. there is therefore, the need for visionary, committed, focused, disciplined, purposeful, responsible, selfless and mentally resourceful leadership that has the capacity to positively inspire and propel the civil service towards attaining a high degree of ethics and accountability in the system (iji 2005, in beetseh, and kohol, 2013, p. 22, cited in ogbaki, 2018). china practices capital punishment against public servants who are corrupt and unethical in their conduct. such a practice has been advocated by many nigerian authors and scholars of ethics and accountability. it is believed that such a practice would bring bribery, corruption and unethical conducts to a halt in nigeria and as such lead to growth and productivity. finally, accountability is a central part of governance which is characterized by foreseeable, open and enlightened policy making (i.e. transparent process). transparency is another vital aspect of good governance. transparency and accountability go hand in hand. transparent decision making is crucial for the public sector in making sound decisions for better performance (afolabi 2004). kolade (2012) asserted that the abuse of authority, and privilege of office; the absence of culture of accountability; and the inadequacies of stakeholder’s dynamism could all hinder true/good governance in nigeria. conclusion igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 136 it is fundamentally obvious from the foregoing that nigeria, since her independence in 1960, has suffered from bad leadership, bad leaders and poor governance. it is also evident that bad leadership and poor governance in antithetical to progress and sustainable development. in fact, sustainable development cannot thrive in an environment where there is systemic poverty, deprivations, frustration of aspirations, and violent activities by a sizeable number of the citizens. in the findings of this study, it reveals that nigeria has not been fortunate enough to be governed by honest, selfless, transparent and accountable leaders. equally, the citizens who constitute the followers nigeria have over the years displayed a high degree of political ineptitude, sycophantic, political lethargy and sometimes political apathy. the study also avers that bad leadership, poor governance as well as an endemic and systemic culture of corruption have become the clog in the wheel of progress in nigeria. these indices, the study posits, are made possible by the absence of visionary and effective leadership and followership in the country. the leadership, as well as the followership is both culpable in the persistent lack of sustainable development of nigeria. in fact, the leadership creates and takes advantage of their stupendous primitive accumulation of wealth on one hand, and the enervating poverty conditions of vast majority of the populace. no investor will invest in an environment of endemic and systemic corruption. at the moment, nigeria is gradually taking over as the headquarters of corruption and poverty in the world, no thanks to our leaders. the debacle of leadership and good governance perpetrated by our “rulers” has literally crumbled this once revered giant of africa. references achebe, c. (1985) colonialist criticism. in ashcroft, b. et al (eds) the post-colonial studies reader. london: routledge. annang a. (2013), “the problem of leadership and development in nigeria: religious lessons from the old testament as a panacea”, african journal of culture, philosophy and society, vol. 3 no. 1, retrieved on june 30, 2019 from http://www.aworomannang.com/new/?q=content/problemleadership-and-development-nigeria-religious-lessons-old-testamentpanacea#sthash.ecpzyezz.dpuf, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 137 anyadike, n. o. & emeh, i. e. j. (2014). effective leadership for good governance in nigeria; addressing the interface. iosr journal of humanities and social science (iosr-jhss). volume 19, issue 1, ver. x (feb. 2014), pp 6974 babawale, t. (2007). good governance, democracy and democratic best practices: prescriptions for nigeria. lagos: centre for black and african arts and civilization publications monograph series. pp. 7-16. bass, b. m, (1985). leadership and performance, new york: free press bjork, p.g. and johansson, h.s.h. (2001). towards governance theory: in search for a common ground. bjork-johnson 2001pdf. ipsa. retrieved on june 26, 2019 from http://unoacademia.ch/webdav/site/development/shard/development/ mdv/sutienauxcours0809/e721governance/2.1. blanchard, k (2011), why does leadership matter, 8 october, retrieved on 11 june, 2019 from http://howwelead.org/2011/10/08/why-does-leadershipmatter/ boyte, h. c. (2005, september/october). reframing democracy: governance, civil agency and politics. public administration review. 65(5). pp. 536-546. burns, j.m, (1978). leadership, new york: harper and row. coker, a. m. & george-genyi, e. m. (2014). bad governance: the bane of peace, security and sustainable development of nigeria. international journal of development and sustainability. volume 3 number 5 (2014): pages 1121-1146 covell, c. (2014). public leaders of the 21st century the key foundation of excellent leadership. a paper presented at the midwest political science association conference, chicago, il. april 3-6, 2014 depree, m. (1989). leadership is an art. new york: doubleday. dike, v. (2008), “governance and nigeria’s weak institutions: is the 20202 project achievable?” retrieved on june 30, 2019 from www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/.../governance-and-nigerias-weakinstitution. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 138 economic and financial crimes commission (2006) zero tolerance for corruption: magazine of the nigeria’s economic crimes and financial crime commission, vol. 1. no. 1, july. ezekwesili (2014), “bad governance behind poverty in nigeria” punch nigeria, 7 february, 2014, retrieved on june 30, 2019 from www.punchng.com>news gambari, i.a. (2008), “the challenges of nations building: the case of nigeria”, first anniversary lecture, mustapha akanbi foundation & february, 2008 retrieved on june 30, 2019 from www.mafg.org/anniversary/challenges_nation_building_nigeria.htm gberevbie, e. d., oyeyemi, i. a. & excellence-oluye, o. n. (2014). the challenges of good governance, accountability of governmental agencies and development in nigeria. acta universitatis danubius. administratio, vol 6, no 2 (2014). george-genyi, m.e. (2013). good governance: antidote for peace and security in nigeria. european journal of business and social sciences, vol. 2 no.2. hah, c.d. and bartol, f. c. (1983) “political leadership as a causative phenomenon: some recent analyses.” world politics vol. 36. no.1. pp: 100120 international monetary fund (2012): imf reform. washington dc: centre for international governance innovation” (cigi), imf headquarter. iremiren b. a. (2011). governance, corruption and economic development: reflections on corruption and anti-corruption initiatives in nigeria. unpublished doctoral dissertation from the university of loughborough. iyoha, f.o., gberevbie, d.f., iruonagbe, c.t., &egharevba, m.e. (2015). cost of governance in nigeria: in whose interest? international journal of social, education, economics and management engineering. 9, (1). kanu a. i. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. kanu, a. i. (2016). “igwebuike, personal identity and alterity”. in kanu, i. a. (ed.). igwebuikepedia: internet encyclopedia of african philosophy. makurdi: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 139 augustinian institute of philosophy. http://igwebuikepedia.info/alterity.asp. online. kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. kanu, a. i. (2016b). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 1-7. kanu, a. i. (2017). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017 kargbo, a. (2006) corruption: definition and concept manifestations and typology in the african context. paper presented at the training for members of parliament and members of civil society from english speaking west africa: aberdeen. retrieved on june 26, 2019 from http://www.scribd.com/doc/55275342/corruption-definition-andconcept-manifestations-and-typology-in-the-africa-context. khakee, a. (2008) energy and development: lessons from nigeria. european development cooperation. retrieved on june 26, 2019 from http://www.edc2020.eu/fileadmin/textdateien/edc2020_policybrief_no. 1_web.pdf kolade, c. (2012). the possibility of good governance in nigeria. retrieved on 11 june, 2019 from www.businessdayonline.com/ng/index.php/news/111 lawal, t, imokhuede, k & johnson, i (2012) governance crisis and the crisis of leadership in nigeria. international journal of academic research in business and social sciences. july 2012, vol. 2, no. 7. maxwell, j. (1993). developing the leader with you. tennessee: thomas nelson, inc. minogue et al. (1998). introduction: the analysis of public management and governance. in minogue m., polidano, c., & hulme,d (eds.). beyond the new public management, changing ideas and practices in governance. cheltenham: edward elgar publishing limited. ndehfru j (2007). good governance and the challenges of democratic sustainability in nigeria. policy alert: j. pub. pol. anal., 1: 1. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 140 nkechi. o. a. and ikechukwu e.j. e. (2014). effective leadership for good governance in nigeria; addressing the interface. iosr journal of humanities and social science (iosr-jhss) volume 19, issue 1, ver. x (feb. 2014), pp 6974. nwobu, l.c. (2013), “the trouble with nigeria: chinua achebe’s testament of bad leadership”, retrieved on june 30, 2019 from http://247ureports.com/2013/05/03/the-trouble-with-nigeria-achebestestaments-of-bad. nyewusira, v. (2007). selected socio-political issues in nigeria: religious institutions as agents of change. journal of pedagogy and educational development, 12, (1). obadan, m. i. (1998). the state, leadership, governance and economic development, presidential address at the annual conference of nigerian economic society, kano, july 22–24. ogbaki, p. e. (2016). masterplan of effective leadership and management in the church and organisations: a handbook for all leaders. kaduna: lumen development initiative. ogbaki, p. e. (2018). public ethics as a tool for economic recovery in nigeria: challenges and way forward. paper presented at the 9th annual national conference of kaduna polytechnic – college of administrative studies and social sciences. 5th – 7th june 2018. ogbonnia, skc. (2007). political parties and effective leadership: a contingency approach. iosr journal of humanities and social science (iosr-jhss) volume 9, issue 1, ver. x (april. 2007), pp 105 119. ogundiya, i.s (2010) democracy and good governance: nigeria’s dilemma. african journal of political science and international relations vol. 4(6), pp. 201208, june 2010. okadigbo, chuba (1987) power and leadership in nigeria. enugu: fourth dimension publishing company limited. ologbenla, d. k. (2007) “leadership, governance and corruption in nigeria.” journal of sustainable development in africa. vol. 9, no.3. pp: 97-118. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 141 omona, j. (2010). meeting the millennium development goals’ targets: proposed un global government challenges of the 21st century. journal of social development in africa, 25(1), pp. 129-159. omoregbe o. s. n., oladele, j. k., imhonopi d., evbuoma, i. k., (2016). good governance and leadership: pathway to sustainable national development in nigeria. journal of public administration and governance, 2016, vol. 6, no. 1 oni, o. s. and excellence-oluye, o. n. (2017). leadership and good governance: the nigerian experience. retrieved on 11 june 2019 from http://eprints.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/9223/ perry, p. (1997). political corruption and political geography. aldershot: ashgate. singh, p. v. (2017). what is leadership? retrieved on 11 june, 2019 from https://www.academia.edu/12694212/what_is_leadership soludo, c. c. (2007). creating effective governance and leadership for sustained national prosperity. draft of a presentation as part of the 12th murtala muhammed memorial lecture, delivered at the ecowas auditorium, abuja: february 12, 2007. ujo, a. (2001). understanding public administratio. kaduna: anyaotu enterprises and publishers (nigeria). ltd. united nations development programme. (2007). governance indicators: a user’s guide. new york: document library. world bank (2012): neo-classical/liberalist development approachunited nations global issues. retrieved on june 26, 2019 from http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/671351468214493253/pdf/ wps6165.pdf microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 5.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 87 ịgwebụike as a key to the interpretation of religious change in africa james nnoruga, ph.d department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe university, awka nnorugajames@gmail.com abstract the two world religions that invaded the african continent have no doubt influenced african world view in all aspects. again the response given by african continent has been interpreted in several ways by many authors. this paper advocated that ịgwebụike as a key principle to this interpretation can give us a good explanation of what happened years ago and what is still going on. with african solidarity and complementarity, explanation on religious change or conversion will be comprehensive. then african traditional religion will also be among the world religions. ịgwebụike as a key principle of explanation will also account or explainfully the reasons behind the mushrooming of independent churches or the rise of penticostalism in africa. by way of quick understanding, the paper tends to explain the historical approach of religious change as explained by fisher (historical approach) and socio-structural approach by ifeka-moller. keywords: igwebuike, philosophy, interpretation, religious, change, africa, nigeria introduction efforts have been made and on-going by many researchers or authors with each person suggesting his or her own model(s) or principle(s) in trying to explain the religious change that took place or still in a process in africa. the need for this interpretation becomes so necessary at this time, africa as continent is fast developing in all areas of life through globalization and modernization, which at the same time are blowing up like wild wind all over the world. again, the earlier scholars who dealt into the explanation of religious change in africa as we are going to examine them, did not understand what it is to be african, or features of african traditional religion. all interpretation was based on their own ideology not mainly on african cosmological ideas. this quickly reminds us of what achebe (1958) said: does the white man understand our custom about lands? asked okonkwọ, “how can he when he does not even speak our tongue?” responded oberika, and then he continued, “but he says our customs are bad; and our igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 88 own brothers who have taken up his religion also say that our customs are bad.” (p.124). commenting on the above, kanu (2015) said “the west was ignorant of the language and custom of the local people, but yet they arrived at conclusions” (p. 27). this is very tragic in any research work, and definitely it will lead to false conclusions about any findings. there is the need to study or interpret again the religious change that took place in africa to see if some crises in africa regarding religious crisis can be resolved. as we noted above, false interpretation of religious change in africa has breed a lot of false views among the african people, the current religious and leadership crisis bedeviling african continent can be resolved through understanding and re-interpretation of religious change in africa. it is true that african traditional religion was exposed to christian and islamic faith, with non religious factors, the traditional religion in the face of all these factors declined rapidly. hence different interpretations and explanations arose from different authors. with this, different questions arose whether religious change in africa, a real conversion to christianity or to islam, or is religious change in africa a question of adhesions as nock (cited by metuh, 1987) will put it. and finally is religious change in africa a product of mixed religion, that is, african traditional religion mixed with christianity or african traditional religion mixed with islam which is in vogue in africa today. most of modern scholars believed that what took place or is going on now is mixing of elements of traditional religion with the two world religions, which in turn give births to penticostalism and aladura churches. in this write-up, we are going to examine or take a survey of various explanations, done by different authors on religious change in africa. we are going to examine different factors mentioned by some authors. one thing common to most of the authors we are going to examine is that all seem to believe that conversion or religious change in africa is a multicausal phenomenon. according to metuh (1987): one needs only to take stock of the different factors mentioned by all the authors, to discover that an impressive list would emerge. trimingham mentions the following factors: the crumbling of the structures of traditional religions, and the need for a universalist religion in place of the village religion. horton mentions the rationalization of traditional beliefs in response to modernization. fisher lists the following factors: literacy, conquest, migration, and the activities of devout clerics. ịfeka-moller suggests: a desire for “white power”, deprivation, denominational rivalry, education, literacy and knowledge of the bible.(p. 23). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 89 to these factors of religious change in africa one can add a host of others. but these factors enumerated by different authors as they see it from their own personal point of view does not completely explain the religious change that took place in africa. hence this paper, is proposing ịgwebuike as a key to explanation of religious change in africa, whose principles according to kanu (2015) lies or is based on the african sense of communality and complementality which is at the root of african religious thought and an ontological quality of african man. to be an african and have an understanding of this above, it will help one to possess the key to explanation of african traditional religious change, which necessarily must be done by an african or africans themselves. there is need for us africans to explain what took place in african soil, many years ago in the name of religious change, because we know our world view (african world view) better than any stranger who can’t even hear or understand us. also by principle of communality and complementality of ịgwebụike, africans would be able to come up with different experience of religious change that took place in their locality or community, when summed up, it will give a better explanation of religious change that took place in africa than one researcher or foreigner being in one area or community to write about a religious change in vast continent like africa. igwebuike as a key principle to understand or explain religious change in africa will account for the process of christian and islamic conversion which has varied from one part of community or country to another over past years. according to roland and crowder (cited by metuh, 1987). … in some areas, such as buganda (uganda), entire population accepted the new faith quickly; in others, such as most of the traditionally pastorist areas, there were only a handful of converts. in come areas, such as most of southern africa, the chiefs were the first to be converted, in others, such as the akan kingdoms of ghana, they were the last; in some areas mainly women have become christians, in others both sexes. (p. 24). ịgwebụike as a key principle of explanation will also account or explainfully the reasons behind the mushrooming of independent churches or the rise of penticostalism in africa. by way of quick understanding, the paper tends to explain the historical approach of religious change as explained by fisher (historical approach) and socio-structural approach by ifeka-moller. historical approach igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 90 fisher (cited by metuh, 1987), based his religious change in africa more on the socio-cultural causes. he listed the following factors as the causes of religious change in africa: literacy, conquest, migration and activities of devout clerics. fisher’s historical approach on religious change in africa was a reaction to horton’ intellectualist interpretation of religious change in africa. for horton (cited by metuh, 1987) argued that the drift into the mission churches was not simply a passive exercise. it involves some measure of rethinking and adaptation of african traditional beliefs to the realities of the resultant socio-structural changes. or put in another way, horton thesis or explanation is that conversion from african traditional religion to christianity or islam is due to the developing structures of traditional african world view responding to the features of world religions or modern civilization. fisher (cited by metuh, 1987) is arguing that “the history of islam in africa, covering a period of almost a millennium, displays a pattern of religious change which suggests that other explanations are necessary” (p.16). he divided the stages in conversion roughly into quarantine, mixing, and reform. the quarantine stage represents the new comers to new faith which came into a community or society. here orthodoxy or the teaching of new religion is relatively secured because there are no new converts yet. but with the increasing numbers of community people coming to the new faith, the local people also bring along with them elements of their traditional beliefs, thus a mixing stage occurs. this is seen when nwoye the first son of okonkwor in things fall apart by achebe (1958) decided to join the new faith in mbanta: but there was a young lad who had been captivated. his name was nwoye, okonkwọ’s first son. it was not the mad logic of the trinity that captivated him. it was the poetry of the new religion, something felt in the marrow… nwoye did not fully understand. but he was happy to leave his father. he would return later to his mother and his brothers and sisters and convert them to the new faith. (p. 118-122). from the above quotation, we see that the new convert (nwoye) joined the new religion with his traditional beliefs which is already in him. the mixing stage will continue for a period of decades, then comes a stage of reform which sweeps away the mixing stage and restores the orthodoxy of the quarantine stage. fisher makes a distinction between conversion and adhesion. for conversion according to fisher (cited by metuh, 1987) means a deliberate turning from an earlier piety to another. while adhesion allows a believer to adopt new forms of worship as useful supplements to his former beliefs. the adhesion is much seen igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 91 in practice now among the contemporally african people, where elements of new religion christianity and islam are being combined with african traditional religion. through this way, fisher come to the conclusion of about first and second conversions. the first conversion involves a change of religious cult while the second conversion is change from mixing stage to fervency. the relationship between literacy and religious change has been emphasized by fisher (cited by metuh, 1987) who argued that literacy in africa also served as an effective means of preserving the orthodox teachings which are imbibed from the stages of conversion. the reform movement takes the form of revivalism to preserve the product of mixed religion either of christian or islamic religion. a jihad or revivalism not only reforms but also makes a new converts through the dissolution of structures of traditional religion. from the above one can see that conquest has been a factor in religious change that took place in africa and that religious change is a continuous process. as we can notice again that the conversion or religious change that started in africa years past is still on, in different ways. hence there are many stages of conversion and types of conversion. these can be adhesion without conversion, and conversion which involves exchange of faith for another faith. adhesion is much practiced in african soil today with regards to religious change. this is why obiefuna (1985) cried out that christianity in igboland is skin deep christianity because christians have their one leg in traditional religion and the other in christian religion. not minding that christianity has stayed for century in igboland and made some impacts. he said: christianity has made an impact among our people. there is no gainsaying it. thousands come to our churches. many also avail themselves of the sacraments. but times without number the remark reaches us that our christians are worshiping “idol”, false gods. they swear on idol. they erect shrines in their homes, in their compounds. they hide fetishes in their shades, in the market place, and in their workshops. catechists, seminarians on apostolic work in the towns and village are sturned at the degree of idol worship and superstitious practices that still exist among a people that are mostly baptized catholics. (p. 5-6). the above citation depicts adhesion fisher talked about, which is being seen among africans today. though he was highly accused of not accounting for cases of difficult conversion. historical approach of fisher was so taken up with the second type of conversion, (that is change of affiliation with conviction) that he forgot the first stage which is practiced more in africa. nonetheless the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 92 historical approach underscore the importance of factors internal to religion which made conversion possible. some factors responsible for religious change in africa served the purpose of keeping aglow the light of new faith especially at mixing stage. since historical approach of fisher did not address the issue of how africans adopt islam or christianity in the first place, before making or turning it into fervency or reformed orthorodoxy, it cannot be said to be fully a good model or key to the interpretation of religious change in africa. again his research was more on islamic encounter with africans while we have two major world religions that came to africa. socio-structural approach (deprivation theory) ifeka-moller is the proponent of deprivation theory which is also based on reaction against horton’s intellectualist interpretation of religious change in africa. ifeka-moller (cited by metuh, 1987) thus explains “conversion as either a change of affiliation from cult (traditional religion) to church, or from orthodox christianity to spiritualist church (aladura)” (p. 18). and this religious change or conversion took place through socio-structural factors rather than through intellectual approach as proposed by horton. again she proposes that/sociostructural factors are the most fruitful field of research rather than ideas. she argues that: for if a cosmology is embedded in a social order, as were indigenous cosmologies in east nigeria, and as aladura belief is today, then we can only appreciate the extent to which ideas have shaped such new religious forms as aladura churches if we focus on changes in the social order. (p. 18). from the above, religious change or conversion can only take place through socio-structural order. just like fisher, ifeka-moller listed these factors to be responsible for religious change: a desire for white power, deprivation, denominational rivalry, education, literacy and knowledge of the bible. unlike fisher, ifeka-moller in her deprivation theory accounted or explained not only for cases of easy conversions or religious change but also for cases of resistance to conversion. in her studies and analysis, she identifies the onitshaawka cultural area of igboland as a case of poor response to religious change (christianity) in spite of a strong exposure to missionary activities, modernization, she compared it with calabar and owerri cultural areas which have had less exposure to missionary activities, urbanization or development igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 93 during the same time with onitsha-awka cultural areas. calabar and owerri areas recorded conversion on a high scale to christianity and the aladura church. even today, the high rate of christianity at owerri-calabar axis still persists. ifeka-moller (cited by metuh, 1987) said that: factors which account for massive conversions in owerri and calabar areas include rapid social change, and a growing frustration among the inhabitants at the failure to reap the rewards promised by an acceptance of radical changes. they turned to christianity which promised a new kind of power, identified with the power of the white man, which people could use to discover the secret of this technological superiority. factors which encouraged a change to aladura christianity include frustration at the “exclusion from sources of secular power, scarce material resources and hence, dependence upon alternative kinds of power, and the evident strength of old social forms and associated beliefs systems.” (p. 18). education and denominational rivalry she includes as secondary causes of conversion to christianity. denominational rivalry found among churches comes from the fact that each denomination tries to outwit the other both in missionary activities and charitably works shown to the people. the slow rate of conversion seen in onitsha is because onitsha has been exposed to modernization and other western values years before the coming of the europeans or the missionaries. hence, their contact with white men gave them exposure to civilization and an advantage over people from other areas in securing well-paid jobs. this means that religious change in onitsha areas did not bring disruption of traditional society nor the frustration arising from unfulfilled expectation as claimed by timingham and horton, (cited by metuh, 1987). deprivation theory of ifeka-moller though tried to account for low and high rate of conversion in certain areas but many scholars were of the view that deprivation suffered in the calabar-owerri cultural areas was not the cause of massive conversion in those areas. for onitsha has a high rate of literacy and low rate of conversion, but we know that most missionaries used education to convert many traditional people. this implies that christianity is not taken as alternative to success but a means to success to modern world. hence there is no real conversion among the people. just like fisher, ifeka-moller carried out her observation within eastern part of nigeria which is only a part of nigeria and can not be used to generalize what happened in other parts of africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 94 ịgwebụike as a key to interpretation of african religious changes many scholars or researchers have tried in many ways to interpret the religious change that took place in africa, each from his/her own point of view. what they think that are the causes of religious change in africa, of course most scholars divided them into religious and non religious factors. again one notices that conversion or religious change itself meant different things to different scholars. a critical survey of the various explanations of religious change in africa shows that conversion or religious change in africa is a case of multicausal phenomenon. that is why the need for ịgwebụike as explanatory model is employed here for interpretation of religious change in africa. mono causal factor cannot adequately explain conversion in africa nor a single research by single author do justice to it. though researches done already will help to be an off shoot towards getting an adequate explanation of religious change that took place in africa. the above efforts already made by different authors metuh (1987) avers that: one needs only to take stock of the different factors mentioned by all the authors, to discover that an impressive list would emerge. trimingham mentions the following factors: the crumbling of the structures of traditional religions, and the need for a universalist religion in place of the village religion. horton mentions the rationalization of traditional beliefs in response to modernization. fisher lists the following factors; literacy, conquest, migration and the activities of devout clerics. ifeka-moller suggests: a desire for “white power”, deprivation denominational rivalry, education, literacy and knowledge of the bible. to these one could add a host of others; intermarriage, family and kingship ties, social prestige and a desire not to be labeled as a “pagan” or as “primitive”. (p. 23). to avoid all these mono-causal explanation of conversion by one researcher or scholar, then comes the need to employ ịgwebụike as a key or model of religious interpretation in africa. this model of interpretation was advanced or proposed by kanu (2015) which is based on the principle of african sense of communality and complementality, which is at the root or anchored on the ontological quality of african and african worldview. the african world view in relation to the above, iroegbu (1994) described it as having common origin, common world view, common language, shared race, culture, colour and habits and even common historical experience and a common destiny. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 95 in analyzing the concept of ịgwebụike as the key principle in interpretation of religious change in africa, kanu (2015) avers that: being in igbo ontology is ịdị, that is to be. ịgwebuike is the modality of being. it is an igbo word which is a combination of three words. thus, it can be understood as a word and as a sentence: as word, it is written thus ịgwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written thus, ịgwe bụ ike with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space…. ịgwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a large number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is a noun, which means strength or power. put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force. at this level no task is beyond their collective capability. (p. 67). from the above concept of ịgwebuike two things can be deducted, it presents being as a relational character, and ideologically, that to be is to live in solidarity and complementarity. to be means to be with others in community. therefore the africans emphasize community life as a living principle of which the basic ideology is community identity. that is why mbiti (1969) wrote that “i am because we are and since we are, therefore i am” (p. 108). therefore, according to onwubuike (1991), the authentic african is known and identified in by and through his community” (p. 14). so in a community, the existence of others assures me of their solidarity and complementality without which i cannot be. solidarity is such a vital value that individuals cannot but work and identify themselves with it. life in the african community is also based on the philosophy of live and let live. inter-personal relationship is realized by the interaction between individuals of different community. it is from this relational character and solidarity found among africans that it is possible to come together as a force or power to establish and describe a religious change that took place in africa. with african togetherness and solidarity, each community would be able to tell their story of religious change. we understand our world view and can interpret our actions. through it our language and culture are well known to us than the foreigners. the problems of vastness of africa will be solved because each countries or communities in a place can validly present their history or story. through this way details of each community will be known in terms of conversion that took place and better understanding will be gained. the short-comings encountered by scholars trying igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 96 to explain or provide a comprehensive explanation of conversion which took place in complex cultural continent like africa will be solved with ịgwebụike as a key principle of interpretation in a religious change. the gods who are on retreat will come back in full force. conclusion the two world religions that invaded the african continent have no doubt influenced african world view in all aspects. again the response given by african continent has been interpreted in several ways by many authors. this paper advocated that ịgwebụike as a key principle to this interpretation can give us a good explanation of what happened years ago and what is still going on. with african solidarity and complementarity, explanation on religious change or conversion will be comprehensive. then african traditional religion will also be among the world religions. bibliography achebe, c. (1958). things fall apart. england: heinemann. iroegbu, p. (1995). metaphysics: the kpm of philosophy. owerri: international universities press. kanu, i. a. (2015). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. job: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and and logic (nka) of african philosophy”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.3 no1 january kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2016). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 35-44. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 97 kanu, i. a. (2016). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june. kanu, i. a. (2018). on the sources of igwebuike philosophy: towards a sociocultural foundation. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 9. no. 1. pp. 1-23. mbiti, j.s. (1969). african religion and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational publishers. metuh, e.i. (1987). the shattered microcosm: a critical survey of explanations of conversion in africa. in h.p. kirsten petersen (ed.) religion, development and african identity (pp. 11-27). sweden: ekblad. obiefuna, a.k. (1985). idolatry in a century – old faith. nimo: rex charles & patrick. onwubiko, o.a. (1991). african through religion and culture. enugu: snaap press ltd microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no.4.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 95 igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation kanu, ikechukwu anthony department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university, umunya anambra state ikee_mario@yahoo.com abstract the organic and departmental nature of reality calls for a method of research that both respects the organicness and departmentalness of realty. it is in this regard that this work introduces the igwebuike research methodology, in an attempts at widening the scope of research methodologies. it is an indigenous, first because it has its origin in an african wordigwebuike which literally means “there is strength in number” but speaks more of the philosophy of complementarity. second, because it appeals to the african spirit while not limiting its use to the african environment or problems. it is a universal principle from a unique world. it puts into consideration not just the universally accepted research conditions but also the local categories that peculiarizes a people. the present work is, therefore, an attempt at developing an indigenous method of research that can help in the search for knowledge in a wholistic and exhaustive way with a view of developing valid knowledge which would be applied in addressing peculiar and universal problems. it has, therefore, discussed research as a basic feature of our humanness; meaning that ‘to be’ is to want to know and to find solutions to the problems of the human society. the major dimensions of igwebuike research method is that it is wholistic, begins from the known to the unknown, it is interdisciplinary, complementary and non-dominant. this research method does not in any way see itself as the most important research method, but emphasizes the necessity of a synthesis of methodologies if wholistic solutions to fundamental problems wrecking society are to be found. the complementary method of investigation was adopted for the purpose of this research. keywords: igwebuike, research method, new trend, wholistic, complementary, interdisciplinary introduction research stems from the english word‘to search’, which means ‘to look for’. the prefix ‘re’ emphasizes the need ‘to look for again’, more carefully, more exhaustively (anaekwe 2007). it implies going beyond the periphery, going beyond what is common knowledge to discover something profound and fundamental. to research is a crucial aspect of our human reality. this is because in a general sense all of us researchwe all develop the keen interest of observing igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 96 certain situations in life, such as the nature of the universe, the nature of the vegetation around us, the character of human beings, the behavior of animals. these are experiences that are observable by every human person. from these observations, we raise questions about the phenomenon and situations that we have observed. by raising these questions, efforts follow in some circumstances to improve on the state of things. going beyond the general sense of research, there is a systematic sense in which the word ‘research’ can be used. this concept of research goes beyond the ordinary daily involvements of everyone to a more organized, diligent and systematic search for knowledge with the hope of solving a particular problem. in the systematic sense of the word, osuala (2005) defines research as: the process of arriving at dependable solutions to problems through the planned and systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of data. research is a most important tool for advancing knowledge, for promoting progress, and for enabling man to relate more effectively to his environment, to accomplish his purpose, and to resolve his conflicts. (p. 1). this systematic concept of research is engaged in with a goal or a purpose, suggesting that it is something that someone does consciously and conscientiously. osuala (2005) focusing on the purpose of research, writes that: research is oriented towards the discovery of relationships that exist among the phenomena of the world in which we live. research is devoted to finding conditions under which a certain phenomena occurs and the conditions under which it does not occur in what might appear to be similar circumstances. (p. 1). however, with the peculiarities of societies, questions have arisen as to the need for diverse or indigenous research methods that may be unique to particular issues. the present work attempts at widening the scope of research methodology by introducing igwebuike research methodology as an indigenous research method. it is referred to as indigenous, first because it has its origin in an african wordigwebuike, which literally means “there is strength in number” but speaks more of the philosophy of complementarity. second, because it appeals to the african spirit while not limiting its relevance to the african environment or situations. it is a universal principle from a unique world. the present work is, therefore, an attempt at developing an indigenous method of research that can help in the search for knowledge in a wholistic and exhaustive igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 97 way with a view of developing valid knowledge which would be applied in improving situations. igwebuike as an indigenous research method the concept igwebuike is a combination of three words. thus, it can be understood as a word and as a sentence: as a word, it is written thus igwebuike, and as a sentence, it could be written as igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. the first word igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power. thus put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, that when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force or strength; and at this level, no task is beyond their collective capability (kanu 2017a,b&c). this understanding, in terms of complementarity, provides an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. as an ideology, igwebuike holds that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is ‘to be with the other’, in a community of beings. this is based on the african sense of community, which is the underlying principle and unity of african philosophy (kanu 2016a&b). igwebuike is, therefore, anchored on the african worldview, which iroegbu (1994) describes as being characterized by a common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny. the anthropological dimension of igwebuike research method‘to be’ is to research ‘to be’ in igwebuike philosophy is to be in relation to the other, including the environment. life is a relationship, and it is only within this relationship that knowledge and life itself is possible. to be a human being, you must relate to your environmentand know the things around you. to be and not know is not to be. every human being wants to know, meaning that every human being cannot but research. this aspect of our humanity shows itself in the curiosity of a child who is always asking questions, becoming completely absorbed in the search for the truth, trying to make sense out of our complex world, making guesses and testing them, trying to understand his or her limits and the limits of the situations surrounding the child. since to be is to know, once this liberality to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 98 know is restricted, the child loses something of its humanness, and begins to die intellectually and emotionally. if the child is allowed to ask questions without limit, the child takes progressive essential steps in the process of becoming human. this search for knowledge in the human person is not satisfied with quick, easy and superficial answers to the questions that come up in the mind. to accept just simplified answers, choose mediocrity, give up the desire for excellence and forgo interrogating difficult questions has consequences on the humanity of a personat that point the person begins to lose something of his humanity. however, whenever a person keeps digging, attempting to know and attain excellence he deepens the realization of his humanity. thus, parents and teachers who are respectful of the questions students ask, original ideas and suggestions also contribute to the building of the humanity of the students. torrance (1970) writes that: whenever the child learns only to follow the familiar and safe way, whenever the adventure is taken out of learning, whenever a child learns to ask only those questions to which the teacher knows the answer, whenever he learns never to upset existing organizational patterns and procedures, whenever he learns never to see defect in the existing order he sacrifices some of his humanness. he progresses whenever he dares take the next step from where he is to a new level of functioning. (pp. 6-7). this is the uniqueness which igwebuike philosophy adds to the concept of research. research is not just an attempt to find solutions to problems that surround us as human beings; research is an attempt to reach the full potentials of our humanity. dimensions of igwebuike research method there are basic dimensions of igwebuike research method. these dimensions include wholisticness, beginning from the known to the unknown, interdisciplinariness, sympathy or respect for other perspectives and complementarity. these dimensions will thus be discussed in details. a. wholistic igwebuike approach to the search for knowledge is wholistic. its wholisticness is anchored on the igwebuike perspective that all parts of reality are interconnected and that they find identity, meaning and purpose through connections to the other. this wholisticness is the basis igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 99 for igwebuike emphasis on multidimentionality in research. thus, an investigation of a particular situation or reality should imply the several viewpoints or perspectives so as to arrive at a global and balanced perspective. the result of a wholistic method of research is an integrated education that serves the interest of the physical, psychological and spiritual dimensions of the human person. it is not enough to deal with the psychological dimension while leaving out the spiritual and physical, or the spiritual while leaving out the psychological and physical. to deal with only the physical and leave out the spiritual and psychological is only to scratch the problem of the human person. a wholistic research would, therefore, bring together, in one combined process, more than one element, subject, method or stream in the research process. for instance, with the recent prevalence of suicide in the society, a person who would like to research on it but focuses only on the psychological dimension of the problem, leaving out the spiritual and the physical realities that could contribute to it, would only present a result that is limited and not integrated. the problem with such a limited result in research is that while it solves the problem from the psychological perspective, it creates another problem. a problem created as a result of ignorance. b. from the known to the unknown igwebuike research method begins from the known reality to the unknown. it uses the known as a stepping stone to get to the object of its research, which is the unknown. this method of research is based on the very nature of learning itself. the first step of learning is observation. and a person observes not only with the eyes but the other senses like listening, feeling/touching, smelling, and tasting. these senses are the means by which we experience the external world. even before a child is born, it already begins to observe. they hear the sound and know the smell of their parents. what children observe become “known” to them, and it is by comparing what they already know with some other thing unknown to them that they learn new realities. thus, children learn by comparison, for instance, by comparing a new voice with the voice of the mother. babies always like to taste and feel things with their mouths, and in this tasting, they are igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 100 comparing two different realities, and often relate to one based on the taste of the other. thus, they are moving from the known to the unknown. as children continue to make more comparisons, more information moves into the “known” category. saint paul uses this same principle of moving from the known to the unknown while speaking to the athenian philosophers at the areopagus in acts of the apostles chapter 17. as he observed the city of athens, he conversed with philosophers, no wonder, when it was time to begin his sermon, he started by stating the known, “i perceive that in every way you are very religious.” he then uses the known to introduce the unknown, “for as i passed along and observed the objects of your worship, i found also an altar with this inscription, ‘to the unknown god.’” paul continued by explaining to them who god is by giving them examples of what god has done. c. interdisciplinary igwebuike research strongly advocates for an interdisciplinary kind of investigation. this is based on the interconnectivity of reality. by interdisciplinary research it means combining of two or more established or traditional academic disciplines in a process of research. nisani (1997) defines interdisciplinary as: interdisciplinarity is best seen as bringing together distinctive components of two or more disciplines. in academic discourse, interdisciplinarity typically applies to four realms: knowledge, research, education, and theory. interdisciplinary knowledge involves familiarity with components of two or more disciplines. interdisciplinary research combines components of two or more disciplines in the search or creation of new knowledge, operations, or artistic expressions. interdisciplinary education merges components of two or more disciplines in a single program of instruction. interdisciplinary theory takes interdisciplinary knowledge, research, or education as its main objects of study. (n.p). thus, an interdisciplinary research synthesizes perspectives, knowledge, skills, interconnections, epistemologies, etc., thus drawing knowledge from several other professions, technologies and fields like sociology, anthropology, psychology, economics, religion, culture, science, etc. it is about creating new knowledge by thinking across boundaries. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 101 the interdisciplinary method of research is indispensable if complex problems must be solved in society. this, may, therefore, involve two or more researchers from different disciplines pooling their experiences, approaches and modifying them so that they are better suited to the problem at hand. the advantages of interdisciplinary method of research include: i. it promotes meaningful, purposeful and deeper result in learning experiences. ii. it covers areas in more depth because they are considering the many and varied perspectives from which a problem can be solved. iii. critical thinking skills are used and developed as researchers look across disciplinary boundaries to consider other viewpoints and also begin to compare and contrast concepts across subject areas. iv. it motivates researchers to pursue new knowledge in different subject areas. v. it can lead to greater creativity. vi. it allows for synthesis of ideas and the synthesis of characteristics from many disciplines. vii. it addresses researchers’ individual differences and helps to develop important, transferable skills. viii. it expands the room for creativity ix. it reduces the possibility of errors which could have been best detected by people familiar with two or more disciplines. x. it serves to remind us of the unity-of-knowledge ideal. xi. it allows for greater flexibility in research. d. sympathetic and non-derogatory the sympathetic, non-derogatory or non-dominant model of igwebuike research method has great focus on the encounter between the african culture and religion with the west. the encounter was non-sympathetic, dominant and derogatory to the african culture and religion. with particular reference to the igbo experience of western missionaries, jordan (1949) and okonkwo (2002) observe that they referred to the igboland they had come to evangelize as the citadel of paganism and the domain of the lord of hell. isichei (1970) noted that the missionary priest rev. fr. lutz advised his colleagues during this early missionary ventures to note that this portion of ‘dark continent (africa)’ was cursed and engulfed by the power of the devil. according to okonkwo (1998ab&c), such missionary igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 102 postures created more damaging effect on the igbo surface and depth grammar which has until the present age, made the massage of the gospel to a large extent in igbo land ‘tongue-independent’ as an ‘engli-igbochurch’. uzukwu (1988) described the this missionary frame of mind as oppressive and dominant and confirms such frame of mind that portrayed the igbo religious language, culture and worldview as inferior and as such was due for replacement. they identified everything “good to be white” and everything “bad to be black” (nkrumah, 1981). the sympathetic and non-derogatory method of research connects with the pauline method of getting to the athenians. although he was so exasperated at the sight of athens, an idol-ridden pantheistic city and people, he –paul the missionary per excellence, did not prima facie, condemn neither the idols nor the people as in the cases cited in the above igbo missionary missing links. paul’s sympathetic, non-dominant and nonderogatory approach created a free and natural ground for his mission. he went further with a secular wisdom and intellection and called the ‘idolridden-pantheistic athenians-a god-fearing and extremely scrupulous people in religious matters (act, 17:23). paul did not gloss-over their religious and cultural values but rather showered understanding to them in their freedom and accord with their lives and the laws of nature which he perfectly signed off with the greek concept-kata physin. st. paul after his polite and humane method of meeting with foreigners – the gentiles, he still was vehement and firm in his solemn proclamations (okonkwo 2019). e. complementarity igwebuike research method understands the search for knowledge as a project carried out by a community of inquiry. this is done in relation to the other person. the other person’s perspective sharpens your own perspective and thus complements what is lacking in your own perspective. every researcher must maintain connection with the resources that are outside of him. the support and stimulation of the group has a way of improving on the quality of knowledge that is arrived at. torrance (1970) writes that: one becomes human by making use of the energy available from outer sources to becomes a better integrated personality, to interact at a deeper level with the environment, and to achieve greater fulfillment of his potentialities. one loses his humanness when he is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 103 enstranged, isolated, rejected, and cut off from the sources of information, inspiration and spiritual strength. (10). to keep away from the complementary power of other persons and the other sources of knowledge is to limit one’s research. this is very important, for as golden (1970) points out: “no one earns a perfect grade on the test of humanity. the human index merely registers differences of degree, and always involves something lacking” (p. 15). he writes further: “we become human to a degree but never absolutely. this is always an incomplete process. it always involves something lacking” (p. 15). through complementarity, that which is lacking is completed and every missing link in knowledge is bridged. conclusion ancient studies explained reality in terms of an organic reality as is seen in the writings of the greeks, however, modern research is beginning to see reality in terms of compartments and departments, without necessarily rejecting the interconnectedness of reality. this, therefore, calls for a method of research that respects both the departmental and organic nature of reality. it is in this regard that this piece studies the implications of igwebuike philosophy for academic research. thus, the foregoing began by discussing igwebuike as an indigenous research methodology that understands research as a basic feature of our humanness. to be is to want to know and to find solutions to the problems of the human person. the major dimensions of the igwebuike research method is that it is wholistic, begins from the known to the unknown, it is interdisciplinary, complementary and non-dominant. this research method does not in any way see itself as the most important research method, but emphasizes the necessity of a synthesis of methodologies if wholistic solutions to fundamental problems recking society is to be found. this synthesis of methodologies is also indispensable is research must arrive at the development of generalizations, principles or theories that would be helpful in making predictions about future occurrences. if the researcher’s observations and descriptions must be accurate, a wholistic approach is indispensable. references anaekwe m. c. (2007). basic research methods and statistics in education and social sciences. sophie printry and publicity ltd, onitsha. isichei, e. (1970). seven varieties of ambiguity: some patterns of igbo response to christian mission, in journal of religion in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 104 iroegbu, p. (1994). metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: international universities press. jordan, p. (1949). bishop shanahan of southern nigerian, dublin. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike and and logic (nka) of african philosophy”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.3 no1 january 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 35-44. 2016. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june 2016. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, on the sources of igwebuike philosophy: towards a socio-cultural foundation. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 9. no. 1. pp. 1-23. 2018 kwame, n. (1981). the struggle continues. london: panaf. nissani, m. (1997). "ten cheers for interdisciplinarity: the case for interdisciplinary knowledge and research". social science journal. 34 (2): 201–216. okonkwo, j. (1998). folks-media and the new era of evangelisation: the igbo perspective, in: communication socialis: international zeitschrift fur kommunication in religion, kirche und gesselschaft, salzburg. okonkwo, j. (1998). oramedia-traditions and the igbo question in nigeria: a philosophy of identity, in gehlaar, s. (ed.), prima philosophia, cuxhavendartford. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 105 okonkwo, j. (2000). language and evangelisation: the challenges of the igbo pastor, in okonkwo, j. (ed). pastoral language and evangelisation 2000, enugu, fourth dimension publishers. okonkwo, j. (2002). onugaotu ahiajoku lecture colloquium, 2002, owerri. okonkwo, j. (2002). religious language and igbo folks-media: the crisis situation of modern trend of evangelisation, in okonkwo, j. et.al (eds.) onugaotu ahiajoku lecture colloquium, 2002, owerri. okonkwo, j. i. (2019). chi and christ: the search for the universal essence of god in igbo and christian thoughts. unpublished paper. osuala, e. c. (2005). introduction to research methodology. african first publishers limited, ibadan. torrance e. p. (1970). what it means to become human. in scoby m and graham g. (eds.). to nurture humanness (pp. 3-13). washington, association for supervision and curriculum development. uzukwu, e. (1988). missiology today: the african situation, in religion and african culture-inculturation: a nigerian perspective, snaap, enugu. igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework proceedings of an online colloquium on igwebuike philosophy held from 20th january-20th july 2020 ikechukwu anthony kanu (ed.) igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework edited by: ikechukwu anthony kanu first published in 2020 a publication of igwebuike research institute (iri) copyright © 2020 by the igwebuike research institute (iri) all rights reserved: no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or retrieved or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photographic, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the editor isbn: 978-978-985-904-7 13245 trebleclef lane silver spring 20904, maryland, united states of america dedication igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework iv dedication mazi emmanuel nwafor kanu in memory of an igwebuike philosopher introduction igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework v introduction igwebuike is essentially a transcendent complementary comprehensive systematic effort to understand the structure and dynamics of reality ultimately for the purpose of giving honest answers to fundamental questions or opinions to questions that arise within the arena of asking questions and questioning answers, selfless enlightenment and furthering of human happiness. in this search for truth, igwebuike, within an integrated systematic framework, strives beyond all forms of particularities, peculiarities, paradoxes and contradictions and espouses the path of complementation, therefore, showing how realities can relate to one another in a mutually harmonized nonabsolutistic mode. this piece studies the dimensions of igwebuike, which include its place within the theater of being, and its literal and linguistic meanings. it also searches for the basis of inter-subjectivity in the african worldview conceptualized in igwebuike philosophy, and this it locates in chi. the next two papers study aspects of plutarch’s ethical-political thought in comparison with the igwebuike philosophy and employed igwebuike as an ontological toolbox that forms the trajectory system of the igbo-african world. there are further inquiries on the relationship between igwebuike and the liberation and ethics. there is also a study of the relationship between igwebuike ideology and the “i – thou” philosophy of martin buber, which the author avers are both geared towards an authentic human existence. it further inquires into the possibility of the igwebuike principle of complementarity advancing interreligious dialogue and modern efforts towards conflict resolution. there is also a discourse on the relationship between igwebuike as a philosophy and leadership. this piece remains a major contribution to the corpus of literature on igwebuike philosophy. i, therefore, introduce this piece to all lovers of african philosophy, religion and culture. table of contents igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework vi table of contents dedication iii introduction iv the dimensions of igwebuike philosophy ikechukwu anthony kanu 1 semiotic interpretation and the igwebuike identity: an antidote for interpersonal misunderstanding dozie iwuh, osa 11 chi: in search for an explanatory principle for the interrelatedness of igwebuike philosophy ikechukwu anthony kanu 37 “city before the self”: a comparative study of plutarch’s ethical-political thought and igwebuike communal philosophy kolawole chabi, o.s.a., phd 51 igwebuikeand language: in search of a ontological toolbox for igbo-african philosophy ikechukwu anthony kanu 79 the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse. hilary ugwu, msw 95 igwebuike: a key principle in african liberation theology nnoruga james, phd 135 table of contents igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework vii igwebuike, individual freedom and responsibility in african ethics jude i. onebunne, phd and mirian n. alike, phd 157 igwebuike ideology and martin buber’s i-thou theory: towards a model for authentic existence ejikemeuwa j. o. ndubisi, phd 179 the teachings of the church on the dialogue between christians and muslims in the current world: a model for igwebuike philosphy naanmiap baamlong, osa 191 igwebuike philosophy, strategic religious action and the theory of change mike boni bazza, phd 205 igwebuike and leadership styles omojola o. immaculata, ssma, phd 219 the impact of modern conflict management strategies on igwebuike philosophy francis iwuh 235 igwebuike and communication in nollywood: a qualitative review justine john dyikuk 251 the impact of igwebuike ideology on peace building in african okafor, emmanuel ikenna (ph.d); ude, chizoba chilotaram; okolo, rosemary ngozi (ph.d); amaechi-ani, nneka nkiru 265 the dimensions of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 1 the dimensions of igwebuike philosophy ikechukwu anthony kanu department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university umunya, anambra state ikee_mario@yahoo.com executive summary this paper has studied the dimensions of igwebuike. as a unifying concept of african thought, especially, igwebuike is understood as that aspect concerning the human person’s conception of the spiritual and material universe in which they live. it is an explanatory theory or principle that interprets the puzzle of our complex relationship with the non-corporal world and human social life, that is, the major social institutions that ensure social continuity and group identity, and further underpins the epistemological manifestations of the human person’s universe. this piece has studied the dimensions of igwebuike, which include its place within the theater of being, and its literal and linguistic meanings. it also focused on the anthropological and epistemological foundations of igwebuike, and also its ontological and cosmological foundations. this work, although it has studied the linguistic and literal senses of igwebuike, goes further by focusing on the philosophical dimension of the concept. the method of inquiry employed for the purpose of this research is the igwebuike complementary approach. keywords: igwebuike, linguistic, literal, ontological, epistemological, anthropological introduction igwebuike, essentially, is a transcendent complementary comprehensive systematic quest to penetrate the structure and mailto:ikee_mario@yahoo.com ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 2 dynamics of reality ultimately for the purpose of giving honest answers to fundamental questions or opinions to questions, for selfless enlightenment and furthering of human happiness. in this search for truth, igwebuike, within an integrated systematic framework, strives beyond all forms of paradoxes and contradictions and espouses the path of complementation, therefore, showing how realities can relate to one another in a mutually harmonized non-absolutistic mode. thus, igwebuike explores methods and principles for the mediation, coalescing and comprehension of the different units of reality: ideal and real, universal and particular, progressive and conservative, necessary and contingent, transcendent and immanent, essential and inessential and other units of reality within the same framework. it treats all units, fragments or components of reality, no matter how minute, as units and combinations, or missing links that are necessary for the conceptualization of reality as a whole. the above notwithstanding, this piece will study the dimensions of igwebuike philosophy. this would include its understanding within the theater of being, and the literal and linguistic settings. it will further focus on the anthropological and epistemological foundations of igwebuike, and also its ontological and cosmological foundations. igwebuike in the theatre of being ‘to be’ in igbo ontology is idi. the operative word in idi (to be) is di (be), and it comes from the word odi (it is), which is the third person of the singular idi. it means ‘to exist’ or ‘to be’. it is an adjective and can be suffixed to anything to show that it exists. for instance, okwute di (stone exists), nkita di (dog exists), kanu di (kanu exists), uwa di (the world exists). although every reality has a force, not all realities have the same amount of force. the variety of the degree of forces is at the base of the categorization of being, and thus, the hierarchy of forces (kanu 2017a). in the hierarchy of forces, those with a greater force come first, with god at the apex as the source of all force (kanu, 2017b). in igbo-african ontology, reality is subsumed into the following categories: muo (spirit), madu (human being), anu (animal), ihe the dimensions of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 3 (thing), ebe (place), oge (time) and uzo (manner, modality or style of being). everything is in relation to the other, except the creator (kanu, 2017c). as subjects in the horizon of perception and realization of their existential ends, beings depend on each other for their temporal flourishing. the dependence here is a positive dialectics, resulting from their physical and spiritual limitations. human beings are not ontological creators of themselves; they are essentially limited, and their existence and action, in the midst of communication, are limited by time, place, perception and knowledge. their being is existentially complementary (kanu, 2017d&e). hence, they are, naturally, candidates for company and co-operations. this modality of being is what igwebuike conceptualizes. igwebuike in its literal and linguistic setting igwe bu ike is an igbo proverb and also a typical igbo name. igbo proverbs and names are among the major traditional vessels where african philosophy, religion and culture have continued to be preserved. mbiti (1970) writes that: “it is in proverbs that we find the remains of the oldest forms of african religious and philosophical wisdom” (p.89). they contain the wisdom and experience of the african people, usually of several ages gathered and summed up in one expression. proverbs spring from the people and represent the voice of the people and also express the interpretation of their beliefs, principles of life and conduct. it express the moral attitudes of a given culture, and reflect the hopes, achievements and failings of a people (kanu, 2018). this is to say that beyond the linguistic expression lies a deeper meaning, that is, the spirit of the letter. it is at the philosophical level that igwebuike is understood as providing an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations (kanu, 2016c). the expression, igwebuike, is a combination of three igbo words. it can be understood as a word or a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. literally, igwe is a noun which means number or multitude, usually a large number or population. the number or population in perspective ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 4 are entities with ontological identities and significances; however, it is part of an existential order in which every entity is in relation to the other. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is a noun, which means strength or power (kanu 2016a&b). igwe, bu and ike put together, means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’ (kanu, 2017f). however, beyond the literal sense of igwebuike, it means otu obi (one heart and one soul) – cor unum et anima una. this is anchored on the fact that the universe in which the human person lives is a world of probabilities. an igbo proverb says: “if a thing remains one, then nothing remains”. this is because the power or strength generated by a person is not strong enough to withstand the existential gamble of life, as the chances of being overcome are on the high side; thus, the need for an existential backing. there is also an african proverb that says: “while going to the toilet in the morning, ensure that you carry two sticks”. the sticks are used for cleaning oneself after using the convenience. but because there is always the high probability of the stick falling into the pit, it is always advisable to take a second stick, just in case. with two sticks, one has a greater assurance of cleaning oneself up after using the toilet; the higher the number, the greater the preparedness towards minimizing the casualty of life.the second stick is also necessary in case of a second coming or remainder of the output. in a metaphoric sense, it is used within the igbo linguistic setting to refer to relational engagement in the world, accomplished in solidarity and complementarity, and the powerful and insurmountable force therein (kanu, 2017g). the closest words to it in english are complementarity, solidarity and harmony. anthropological and epistemological foundations of igwebuike igwebuike has anthropological and epistemological foundations, which are based on the nature of the human brain which functions in an inclusive manner for the realization of holistic knowledge. a cursory glance at the human brain reveals different sections which could be described as circles. below is a diagram to explain the different sections of the brain and what they represent. the dimensions of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 5 a diagram showing the dimensions of the human brain the human brain has the olympic dimension, referred to as olympic brain, and the noecortex dimension, also referred to as the noecortex brain. the olympic brain has two sections, which include the inner and outer olympic brain. thus, the three circles of the brain are the inner olympic brain, the outer olympic brain and the noecortex brain. these different parts of the brain concern themselves with different questions that arise in human relationships: the questions of why, how and what. while the inner olympic brain responds to the question of why, the outer olympic brain responds to the question of how, and the noecortex brain responds to the question of what (kanu, 2017c). for knowledge to be holistic and translate into action for transformation, it must be based on an understanding of the what, how and why questions about reality. for a leader to be effective, the led need to know what they do, how to do what they do, and why they do what they do. the absence of any of these strangles followership. in ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 6 advertisements, most organizations only explain what they do, how they do what they do, without explaining why they do it. this explains why many organizations fail. this is based on the fact that people patronize you because of why you do what you do, and not only because of what or how you do it. the question of why speaks of your uniqueness and the newness you are bringing into the system. it is at the why level that you find: feelings, loyalty, trust, decision making and human behaviour. for a comprehensive understanding, they must complement one another. the connection of complementarity to the human brain explains the epistemological and anthropological foundations of igwebuike. ontological foundations of igwebuike the mutual relations and complementarity that igwebuike conceptualizes is are anchored on the following basic human conditions (njoku 2015): a. the world in which we live is one in which we encounter several needs, however, with very little resources to take care of the needs. this limitation calls for the mobilization of other forces outside of the self, a social fellowship for the satisfaction of particular needs. b. nature has placed in us the alikeness for fellowship. this is based on the fact that we were created by god in his own image and likeness. c. although we are equal essentially, we have different gifts and abilities. what i may be able to do, another may not be able to do, meaning that my relationship with the other completes what is lacking in me. d. collaboration with the other is ground for becoming, as everything takes a bit of another to make itself. it is a ground for staying alive and transforming the universe. human fellowship and cooperation is a reality that is rooted in the human nature, and to keep away from relating is to place a limitation on our being. it is, therefore, a unit of order inscribed in the human nature the dimensions of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 7 for survival. the more a person relates, the more he/she lives out his/her or her being to the full. mutual cooperation and fellowship in the society increases protection, assistance, etc. being in the company of the other reduces the burden that nature imposes on a person as an individual. cosmological foundations of igwebuike igwebuike is a cosmological idea enshrined in the african cosmos that shapes the african cultural, religious and social activities. it is a universe of particularities where every creature as an independent entity must negotiate another’s existential highway for mutual survival. it is a dependent, interdependent and combinational universe. negotiation is very important in the african universe because it is a world that one shares with the other in an atmosphere of intersubjective relations (kanu, 2018). these inter-subjective relations only play out without chaos when the individual is able to skillfully bridge his/her interiority with the individuality of the other. the african universe has physical and spiritual dimensions. in the spirit realm, god represents the chief being, and sits at the apex of power. in the physical world, human beings dominate, occupying the central position in the scheme of god’s creation. the structure of the african universe can be illustrated in three levels: the sky, the earth and the underworld. the sky is where god chukwu or chineke and angels reside; the earth, where human beings, animals, natural resources, some devils and some physical observable realities abide; and the underworld, where ancestors and some bad spirits live (kanu, 2013). these worlds interact in spite of their peculiarities, and persist because of a healthy inter-subjective relation. there is really no wall between the physical and spiritual worlds, between the visible and invisible, the sacred and profane, as there is a cooperate existence of reality. thus, certain elements can move from one structure to another to commune with other elements. in this interaction, human beings commune with god, the divinities, the ancestors and vice versa. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 8 conclusion from the foregoing, igwebuike is employed as a unifying concept of african thought, especially, that aspect concerning the human person’s conception of the spiritual and material universe in which he/she lives. it is an explanatory theory or principle that interprets the puzzle of our complex relationship with the non-corporal world and the human social life; that is, major social institutions that ensure social continuity and group identity, and further underpins the epistemological manifestations of the human person’s universe. this piece has studied the dimensions of igwebuike. these dimensions include its place within the theatre of being, and its literal and linguistic meanings. it also focused on the anthropological and epistemological foundations of igwebuike, including its ontological and cosmological foundations. although this work included the study of the linguistic and literal senses of igwebuike, it goes beyond that in its focusing on the philosophical dimension of the concept. references kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. kanu, a. i. (2017c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 7. pp. 165-183. kanu, a. i. (2017d). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 6. pp. 16-50. kanu, a. i. (2017f). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. pp. 153-160. kanu, i. a. (2013). african identity and the emergence of globalization. american international journal of contemporary research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 34-42. the dimensions of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 9 kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2012). the problem of being in metaphysics. african research review: an international multi-disciplinary journal. vol.6. no.2. april. pp. 113-122. kanu, i. a. (2012). the problem of personal identity in metaphysics. international journal of arts and humanities. vol.1. no.2. pp.1-13. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 10 kanu, i. a. (2012a). the concept of life and person in african anthropology. in e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (eds.). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 61-71). nigeria: augustinian. kanu, i. a. (2012b). towards an igbo christology. in e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (eds.). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 75-98). nigeria: augustinian. kanu, i. a. (2013). african identity and the emergence of globalization. american international journal of contemporary research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 34-42. kanu, i. a. (2013). globalisation, globalism and african philosophy. c. umezinwa (ed.). african philosophy: a pragmatic approach to african probems (pp. 151-165). germany: lambert. kanu, i. a. (2013). on the sources of african philosophy. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 337-356. kanu, i. a. (2013). the dimensions of african cosmology. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 533-555. kanu, i. a. (2014). a historiography of african philosophy. global journal for research analysis. volume. 3. issue. 8. pp. 188190. kanu, i. a. (2014). being and the categories of being in igbo philosophy. african journal of humanities. volume 1. issue 1. pp. 144-159. mbiti, j. s. (1970). african religions and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational publishers. njoku, f. o. c. (2015). the philosophical grid of igbo socio-political ontology: ibu anyi danda. 147 th inaugural lecture of the university of nigeria, nsukka. semiotic interpretation and the igwebuike identity: an antidote for interpersonal misunderstanding igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 11 semiotic interpretation and the igwebuike identity: an antidote for interpersonal misunderstanding dozie iwuh, osa department of philosophy augustinian institute makurdi benue state registered501@gmail.com executive summary that which is validly true about our human existence and all that pertains to it is the reality of communication. it is communication that breeds human interrelationships, a rapport, assuring us that we are not isolated in the world, but have access to other human persons like us. the communication that is spoken of here cannot be limited to just the verbal type, if we do that, we would be registering a stereotype. communication also pertains to the non-verbal, the non-visible (the supposedly telepathic means of communication), etc. yet, what is to be maintained is that whether it is verbal or non-verbal, visible or non-visible, communication is mediated through the use of signs. language is what can be defined as an oral/worded/lettered, yet mental (this is because before ever a word is uttered, it is first constructed in the mind, whether it be consciously or unconsciously. more to that, people think or construct their line of thought in tandem with the language they speak.) representation of signs. this goes to indicate that, even though there is the external world, the human person, in his own subjective worldview (which is internal), is able to make contact with the external world, by means of sign inter-rapport. that is to say that he understands the signs that are external to him and is able to relate to the external world also by means of signs. the external world that is being spoken of here also pertains to mailto:registered501@gmail.com dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 12 the other human person that is not “i”, but the “you”. the individual mediates the external world, by means of signs received and perceived (the focus of this piece is between the “i” and the “you.”). there is no means of really understanding what lies in the depths of the mind of the other person, the “you”. the “i” can only decipher according to those signs that have been let out by the “you”. it should be noted that misunderstandings arise when the signs given by the “i” is not properly deciphered by the “you”. misunderstandings have been the bane of the human existence, causing strife, suspicion, conflicts, divisions, etc. the igwebuike ideology proffers what its name signifies, namely “togetherness”, arising on the wings of a better understanding amongst persons. yet, this would not be the case when there is a failure to rightly understand and decode those signs that are received, with the reciprocal giving of the right signs as well. semiosis, which considers the meaning of signs, can also prove to be very vital in the ensuring of the “togetherness” which the igwebuike stands for. igwebuike itself is a sign, one that communicates to us and that needs to be semiotically interpreted, to make sense of what it proffers, namely “ensuring a communal existence of the humanity.”yet, it seems as if the issue of misunderstanding will always remain with the human personthis is because there is a near impossibility of decoding what is the in the mind of the other. that is to say that the mental state of the other person remains his exclusive hub, unless such a one allows another in, via the unleashing of signs. the other side of the coin is the right way in which such mental state should be conveyed to the other. this piece will be dedicated to the rightful appreciation of the sign igwebuike communicates. keywords: igwebuike, kanu ikechukwu anthony, semiotics, semiosis, human person, igwebuike, social interaction. semiotic interpretation and the igwebuike identity: an antidote for interpersonal misunderstanding igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 13 what is semiotics? semiotics is properly referred as the science of signs and developed out of the need of physicians of the western world to understand the interactive pattern between the body and the mind within certain cultural domains. 1 it is the study of signs and symbols as elements of communicative behaviour, the analysis of systems of communication, as language, gestures or clothing. at its most fundamental level, semiotics is the study of how meaning is made. even if we endorse the fact that it studies signs, this is to be taken on a broad spectrum of the meaning of a sign: that is to say, sign as that which communicates a meaning beyond itself. we call signs all and only those things which represent something other than themselves, and we have found that this can occur only when and insofar as the “other” is represented to or for some other still. 2 for example, a rose may represent naturally a flower (plant), or it may indicate love or passion. at the most basic level, human beings interpret signs as they communicate with one another. meaning derivation from signs denotes that which is proper to the animal (even brutes, what has now come to be referred to as zoosemiosis 3 ). nonetheless, “semiotics”, however, as a term, has become conventionalized as the generally accepted term to label the study of signs in their distinctive action. 4 “semiotics” as an english word comes to us from a kind of bastard greek coinage made by john locke in the essay concerning humane understanding that he published in 1690, where, at the conclusion of his book, he proposed semiotike as the one-word equivalent of the 1 t.a. sebeok, an introduction to semiotics, university of toronto press incorporated, 1994, xi. 2 j. deely, on ‘semiotics’ as naming the doctrine of signs, in semiotica vol 152, 2004, 75-139. 3 there are other areas of semiosis added to the zoosemiosis, they include, anthroposemiosis and phytosemiosis, all these pertain to a larger area of study known as biosemiosis. 4 j. deely, on ‘semiotics’ as naming the doctrine of signs. dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 14 english expression, “doctrine of signs”. 5 this term, as it appears in locke, according to j. deely, is malformed. deely remarked that, according to the applicable requirements of greek grammar, the term should have had an epsilon separating the mu from the iota, as in semɛiotike. this is not apparent. furthermore, in his reasoning, one cannot say that this malformation be dismissed as a printer’s error; for, in every subsequent edition of the essay prepared by locke prior to his being overtaken by the boundary of time and made a definitively past author, the original malformation is meticulously maintained. 6 j. deely notes: now it is interesting that “semiotics” is not a straight transliteration of locke’s greek malformation. what is a straight transliteration of the greek malformation locke introduced, however, is the latin term “semiotica”, which no latin author ever used. so the term, a greek malformation in locke’s essay, is in effect a neologism in latin transliteration, but it means in english “the doctrine of signs”, according to the only definition locke provided in his original introduction of and comment upon the term. the reason that this detour through the latin transliteration of locke’s greek malformation is interesting is because “semiotica” as latin neologism would be a neuter plural name that could only be translated into english as “semiotics”. professional linguists have been careful to point out that there is in english a class of “-ics” words which do not conform to the usual rule that an english noun is made plural by adding an “s” to its ending. by this reckoning, “semiotics” is not the plural form of “semiotic”. nonetheless, “semiotics” is the direct english transliteration of the latin “semiotica”, which in turn is the direct transliteration of the greek malformation locke introduced into the closing chapter of his 5 j. deely, the red book. the beginning of postmodern times or charles sanders peirce and the recovery of signum, in the metaphyiscal club for the university of helsinki, finland, 2000, 1-79. we ought to note that even though john locke had translated this word semiotike from the greek, to mean semiotics, it was 50 years earlier thoroughly studied by john poinsot, unknown to locke. 6 ibid. semiotic interpretation and the igwebuike identity: an antidote for interpersonal misunderstanding igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 15 essay. so a latin, rather than a greek, background proves etymologically decisive for sign and semiotics alike as contemporary notions, despite locke’s conscious choice of the greek root (sem-) for the notion of “natural sign” (semeion) in his one-word summation or name (semiotike) for the doctrine of signs. 7 the phenomenon that distinguishes life forms from inanimate objects is semiosis. this can be defined simply as the instinctive capacity of all living organisms to produce and understand signs. a sign is any physical form that has been imagined or made externally (through some physical medium) to stand for an object, event, feeling, etc., known as a referent, or for a class of similar (or related) objects, events, feelings, etc., known as a referential domain. in human life, signs serve many functions. they allow people to recognize patterns in things; they act as predictive guides or plans for taking actions; they serve as exemplars of specific kinds of phenomena; and the list could go on and on. the english word ‘cat’ for example, is an example of a particular kind of human sign known as verbalwhich stands for a referent that can be described as a 'carnivorous mammal with a tail, whiskers and retractile claws. each species produces and understands certain kinds of specific signs for which it has been programmed by its biology. these can range from simple bodily signals to advanced symbolic structures such as words. signs allow each species to (1) signal its existence, (2) communicate messages within the species, and (3) model incoming information from the external world. semiotics is the science that studies these functions. the goal of this opening chapter is to introduce several basic notions for the formal study of semiosis. 8 7 ibid. 8 t.a. sebeok, signs. an introduction to semiotics 2 nd ed, university of toronto press incorporated, toronto, 2001, 3. dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 16 the primary objective of semiotics is to understand both a species' capacity to make and understand signs and, in the case of the human species, the knowledge-making activity this capacity allows human beings to carry out. the former is known, as mentioned above, as semiosis, while the latter activity is known as representation. representation is a deliberate use of signs to probe, classify, and hence know the world. semiosis is the biological capacity itself that underlies the production and comprehension of signs, from simple physiological signals to those that reveal a highly complex symbolism. 9 human intellectual and social life is based on the production, use and exchange of signs and representations. when we gesture, talk, write, read, watch a tv program, listen to music, look at a painting, etc. we are engaged in sign-based representational behaviour. representation has endowed the human species with the ability to cope effectively with the crucial aspects of existence knowing, behaving purposefully, planning, socializing and communicating. however, since representational activities vary from culture to culture, the signs people use on a daily basis constitute a mediating template in the worldview they come to have. 10 semiotics considers both verbal and non-verbal signs, enabling a community of communication between and amongst biological species. verbal and non-verbal signs according to semiology, there are six types of verbal signs, which include: 1. symptom: the symptom is a reflex of anatomical structure. animals with widely divergent anatomies will manifest virtually no symptomatology in common. it is interesting to note, by the way, that the term symptom is often extended metaphorically to refer to intellectual, emotional and social phenomena that result from causes that are perceived to be analogous to physical processes. 9 ibid, 8. 10 ibid. semiotic interpretation and the igwebuike identity: an antidote for interpersonal misunderstanding igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 17 2. signal: all animals are endowed with the capacity to use and respond to species-specific signals for survival. birds, for instance, are born prepared to produce a particular type of coo, and no amount of exposure to the songs of other species, or the absence of their own, has any effect on their cooing. 3. icon: an icon is a sign that is made to resemble, simulate or reproduce its referent in some way. photographs may be iconic signs because they can be seen to reproduce their referents in a visual way. onomatopoeic words are also iconic signs because they simulate their referents in an acoustic way. 4. index: an index is a sign that refers to something or someone, in terms of its existence or location in time or space, or in relation to something or someone else. smoke is an index of fire, pointing out where the fire is; a cough is an index of a cold; and so on. the most typical manifestation of indexicality is the pointing index finger, which humans the world over use instinctively to point out and locate things, people and events in the world. 5. symbol: a symbol is a sign that stands for its referent in an arbitrary, conventional way. most semioticians agree that symbolicity is what sets human representation apart from that of all other species, allowing the human species to reflect upon the world separately from stimulus-response situations. words in general are symbolic signs. but any signifier object, sound, figure, etc. can be symbolic. a cross figure can stand for the concept ' christianity'; a v-sign made with the index and middle fingers can stand symbolically for the concept 'victory' ; white is a colour that can be symbolic of ' cleanliness,' 'purity,' or 'innocence,' but dark can be a symbol of 'uncleanness,' ‘impurity,' or 'corruption'; and the list could go on and on. these symbols are all established by social convention. ‘ 6. name: this is an identifier sign assigned to the member of a species in various ways, as we shall see subsequently, that sets the specific member off from the others. a human name is a dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 18 sign that identifies the person in terms of such variables as ethnicity and gender. added names (surnames, nicknames, etc.) further refine the 'identity referent' of the name. 11 another form of sign conveying is by non-verbal communication. non-verbal communication takes place within an organism or between two or more organisms. within an organism, participators in communicative acts may involve as message sources or destinations or both on rising integration levels, cellular organelles, cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems. in addition, basic features of the whole biological organization, conducted non-verbally in the milieu interieur, include protein synthesis, metabolism, hormone activity, transmission of nervous impulses, and so forth. 12 homo sapiens are capable of communicating, simultaneously or in turn, by both nonverbal and verbal means. the expression 'by verbal means' is equivalent to some such expression as 'by means of speech , ' or ' by means of script,' or 'by means of a sign language ' (e.g., for use in a deaf group), that are , each , manifestations of any prerequisite natural language with which human beings are singularly endowed. however, not all humans are literate or can even speak: infants normally do develop a capacity for speaking, but only gradually; some adults never acquire speech; and others lose speech as a result of some trauma (e.g., a stroke) or in consequence of aging. such conditions, notwithstanding, humans lacking a capacity to verbalize speak, write, or sign can, as a rule, continue to communicate non-verbally. 13 these two modes of signature can also stand in as the two modes of communication in the human person. understanding the concept of “igwebuike” igwebuike is the heart of african thought and, in fact, the modality of being in african philosophy. it is taken from the igbo language, and is a composite word made up of three dimensions. therefore, it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as 11 ibid, 9-11. 12 ibid, 12 13 ibid, 11-12. semiotic interpretation and the igwebuike identity: an antidote for interpersonal misunderstanding igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 19 igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. the three words involve: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power. thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force. 14 igwebuike is anchored on the african 14 a.i. kanu, igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2, no. 1, 2016, 97-101. kanu, ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy, 14. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kanu, i. a. (2019). on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159176. kanu, i. a. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 20 worldview, which is characterized by a common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny. 15 life is a life of sharedness, one in which another is part thereof. it is a relationship, though, of separate and separated entities or individuals but with a joining of the same whole. 16 philosophically, according to a.i. kanu, igwebuike points to the complementary nature of reality and is not limited to the igbo world, it is a universal philosophy that is the incarnation and confirmation of the universal relevance of solidarity and complementarity. 17 the richness of this philosophy an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. 15 a.i. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity, in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017, 153-160. 16 a.i. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education, a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25th 26th november 2015 university of paris, france. 17 a.i. kanu, on the origin and principles of the igwebuike philosophy, in journal of religion and human relations, volume 11 no. 1, 2019, 159-176. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and semiotic interpretation and the igwebuike identity: an antidote for interpersonal misunderstanding igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 21 pointing to the complementarity and solidarity of reality also has much relevance in a meaningladen reality. what is being said is that the reality that confronts the human person is a reality that is teeming with meaning. thus, it is worthy of note to insist that this philosophical term, although of igbo origin, has universal implications. a.i. kanu succinctly touches on this point as he says negotiation is very important in the african universe because it is a world that one shares with the other in an atmosphere of inter-subjective relations. this intersubjective relations only plays out without chaos when the individual is able to skillfully bridge his or her interiority with the individuality of the other. 18 can there be negotiations, without an in-depth grasp of the terms of negotiations? can humans engage in any meaningful discourse, pertaining to ways and means to forge ahead in the bond of solidarity, when misunderstanding looms large? can we as humans complement one another, in the absence of true brotherhood soldered on the ground rules of a rich understanding of each person’s individuality? this is where semiotics (or semiosis) meets with the igwebuike. igwebuike in the light of semiosis: part one the igwebuike philosophy is grounded on certain principles that have their roots in african proverbs and idioms. it should be said that communication in the african verse, before the dawn of the colonial rulers, was by means of idioms, proverbs and the likes. according to j.j dyikuk, conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. 18 ibid. dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 22 communication in the traditional igbo societies was by the means of idioms, proverbs, and figures of speech…without idioms, proverbs, and figures of speech, conversation would be bland and distasteful. it is only infants and little children that speak in plain language. 19 while the major reference in the aforementioned quotation is to the igbo traditional society, it should be noted that such means of communication cut across the entirety of the african traditional society. as earlier noted, the igwebuike is grounded on certain principles having their roots in the african proverbs and idioms, a few of these proverbs and idioms include: a. a person is a person because of other people. b. sticks in a bundle cannot be broken. c. when spiders unite they can tie up a lion. d. if one finger tries to pick up something from the ground, it cannot. e. behind an able man there are always other able men. f. it takes a village to raise a child. g. if you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together. h. i am because we are, and since we are, therefore, i am i. if a lizard stays off from the foot of a tree, it would be caught. j. a tree does not make a forest. k. if two or more people urinate in the same place at the same time, it would produce more foam. l. when a bird builds its nest, it uses the feathers of other birds. m. one person is not the whole world. n. it is by taking a goat around that you are able to sell it. 20 19 j.j. dyikuk, the intersection of communication in igwebuike and trado-rural media: a critical evaluation, in journal of african studies and sustainable development vol. 2 no 3, 2019, 175-192. 20 a.i. kanu, on the origin and principles of the igwebuike philosophy. semiotic interpretation and the igwebuike identity: an antidote for interpersonal misunderstanding igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 23 there is a seeming thread that cuts across the above-mentioned proverbs, namely “togetherness”. the igwebuike ideology that is borne on the wings of these proverbs express a sign, a sign that should be well elaborated in semiotic terms. at this point, we need to really understand what a sign is, because inherent in every aspect of communication is the penchant to understand what is being communicated or signaled from the “signaler” to the one who is communicated to or signaled. in other words, in communication, there is a back and forth movement of signs. this back and forth movement of signs is conveyed verbally and non-verbally by words and actions . a word is the sign of some “thing” 21 which can be understood by the hearer when pronounced by the speaker. 22 according to augustine, a sign is something that shows itself to the senses and something other than itself to the mind. 23 he repeats this further in his de doctrina christiana, where he says, a sign is a thing which, over and above the impression it makes on the senses, cause something else to come into the mind as a consequence of itself, just as when we see a footprint, we conclude that an animal whose footprint this is has passed by; and when we see smoke, we know that there is fire beneath; and when we hear the voice of a living man, we think of the feeling in his mind and when the trumpet sounds, soldiers know that they are to advance or retreat or do whatever else the state of the battle requires. 24 augustine gives two distinct types of signs, namely; the natural and the conventional signs. 21 a thing according to augustine, in his de dialetica,v, «is whatever is felt (sensed) or understood or ‘latet’ (is hidden, inapprenhensible) » 22 augustine, de dialetica, v. «uniuscuisuque rei signum, quod ab audiente possit intellgi, a loquente prolatum.» 23 ibid. «signum est quod se ipsum sensui et praeter se aliquid animo ostendit. » 24 augustine, de doctrina christiana, ii, i,1. dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 24 natural signs are those which, apart from any intention or desire of using them as signs, do yet lead to the knowledge of something else, as for example, smoke when it indicates fire. for it is not from any intention of making it a sign that it is so, but through attention to experience we come to know that fire is beneath, even when nothing but smoke can be seen. and the footprints of an animal passing by belong to this class of signs. and the countenance of an angry or sorrowful man indicates the feeling in his mind, independently of his will; and in the same way every other emotion of the mind is betrayed by the tell-tale countenance, even though we do nothing with the intention of making it known. 25 as pertaining to signa naturalia, no mental state is induced when such signs arise in our consciousness:, that is to say that we do not enter into any mental state when we become aware of such signs. for instance, when we think of some natural or cultural entity, like a tree, or a flag, we are not aware of any "mental state" as such. rather, we are aware of a tree or a flag, 26 just that. conventional signs are those which living beings mutually exchange for the purpose of showing the feelings of their minds or their perceptions, or their thoughts. 27 in other words, conventional signs are the exclusive reserve of the human beings. these are articulate signs that reflect the mindset, thought pattern, emotional state, and mood of the one who is talking or speaking. the hearer is able to perceive directly and understand wholesomely what the speaker is saying. in conventional signs, signa data, mental states are induced. augustine continues, nor is there any reason for giving a sign except the desire of drawing for the conveying into another’s mind what the giver of the sign has in his own mind. we wish then to consider and discuss this class of signs so far as men are concerned 25 augustine, de doctrina christiana, ii, i, 2. 26 j.n. deely, cognition from a semiotic point of view, in semiotics 1981, j.n. deelym.d. lenhart (eds), plenum press, new york, 1983, 23. 27 augustine, de doctrina christiana, ii, ii, 3. semiotic interpretation and the igwebuike identity: an antidote for interpersonal misunderstanding igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 25 with it… the beasts, too, have certain signs among themselves by which they make known the desires of their mind. for when the poultry-cock has discovered food, he signals with his voice for the hen to run to him, and the dove by cooing calls his mate, or is called by her in turn… 28 according to a medieval thomisitic commentator, john poinsot, there are two things that concur to constitute the general rationale of a sign. the first is the rationale of something manifestative or representative. the second is an order to another, specifically, on the one hand, to the thing which is represented (which must be other than the sign, for nothing is a sign of itself nor signifies itself), and, on the other hand, to the cognitive power to which the sign manifests and represents the thing distinct from itself. 29 to the division of the sign, he notes: there are twofold division of the sign formal and instrumental signs… but insofar as signs are ordered to something signified, they are divided according to the cause of that ordering into natural and stipulative and customary. a formal sign is the formal awareness which represents of itself, not by means of another. an instrumental sign is one that represents something other than itself from a preexisting cognition of itself as an object, as the footprint of an ox represents an ox. and this definition is usually given for signs generally. a natural sign is one that represents from the nature of a thing, independently of any stipulation and custom whatever, and so it represents the same for all, as smoke signifies a fire burning. a stipulated sign is one that represents something owing to an imposition by the will of a community, like the linguistic expression "man." a customary sign is one that represents from use alone without 28 ibid. 29 john poinsot, tractatus de signis, part one, bk 1, q.1i, 646a9-41, university of california press berkeley, los angeles, california, 1985. dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 26 any public imposition, as napkins upon the table signify a meal. 30 what should be said here is that, in the thought pattern of john poinsot, also known as john of st thomas, there are two categories of signs. there is the sign that is ordered according to power and that which is ordered according to something signified. as regards that which is ordered according to power, the sign can either be the formal or the instrumental. and for that which is ordered according to something signified, it is divided into the natural, stipulative and the customary sign. in the light of the explication given by john poinsot, we can situate igwebuike as a stipulative sign, one that represents something owing to an imposition by the will of the community. 31 this implies that a stipulative sign is one that is knowable not immediately but mediately by means of another. the knowledge of igwebuike is mediated upon the principles on which it stands. in line with the aristotelian categories of the substance and nine accidents, a sign resides in the level of a relation. this relation, according to john poinsot, is not a transcendental one, according to the way of being, but is an ontological one, that is according to the way the relation has being. 32 while it stands that to represent another is indeed required for a sign, a sign does not consist in this alone; for a sign adds something beyond representing, and formally bespeaks of representing another deficiently, or dependency upon the very thing signified, and by substituting in the capacity of that thing. and thus, a sign respects a significate, not as something purely selfmanifested and self-illuminated, but as the principal knowable and the measure of the sign, something in whose place the sign is surrogated and whose vicegerent the sign is in bringing that knowable thing to a cognitive power. 33 a vivid example is in the case of smoke that signifies fire. as 30 john poinsot, tractatus de signis, part one, chapter ii, 9b34-10a26. 31 ibid. 32 ibid, part one, bk 1, q.1i 647al6-b26. 33 ibid. semiotic interpretation and the igwebuike identity: an antidote for interpersonal misunderstanding igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 27 an ontological relation, a sign is not formally a relation but is the foundation of a relation. john poinsot, notes, therefore a sign does not formally consist in a relation, but in the fundament (foundation) of a relation. the major premise follows from the definition of sign. if a sign is "that which represents something to a knowing power," then it is accordingly something leading the power to an object signified. 34 the foundation of a sign is seen in its propensity to move the cognizing power, or arouse in such mind, that to which it points to. it is to this that john poinsot refers to the sign as a mover or an arouser, because it belongs to the capacity of arousing or moving. 35 igwebuike as a stipulative sign bears the major mark of a sign, namely; that it is the foundation of a relation. it is for this that we say that a stipulated sign moves (acts) by reason of the imposition, not as knowable immediately and by reason of itself, but mediately and through another, just as any other unreal beings; and thus, we say, presupposing that its knowability is got by borrowing, a stipulated sign takes on the rationale of something moving and representing, just as it also takes on the rationale of something knowable. 36 igwebuike in the light of semiosis: part two as already noted there are principles on which igwebuike is founded, and these include: 1. the principle of identity 2. the principle of hierarchy 3. the principle of contrariety 34 ibid, 650b20-651al4. 35 ibid, 652al4-bl6 36 ibid, 653b29-654a40 dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 28 4. the principle of unity 37 yet, igwebuike is anchored on an igbo-centric african worldview, which, according to iroegbu, is characterized by a common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny. it is a complementary philosophy which understands life as a shared reality. 38 it indicates literally ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power;’ that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force. 39 its english equivalent is ‘complementarity’. at this level, no task is beyond their collective capability. it is a concept that was employed by african traditional philosophers of the complementary school of thought to discuss the nature of the observed african reality. 40 igwebuike rests on the african principles of solidarity and complementarity. it argues that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is ‘to be with the other’, in a community of beings. this is based on the african philosophy of community, which is the underlying principle and unity of african traditional religions and philosophical experience. 41 according to b.i. ekwulu: if the other is my part or a piece of me, it means that i need him for me to be complete, for me to be what i really am. the other completes rather than diminishes me. his language and culture make my own stand out and at the same time, they enrich and complement my own. in the presence of his language and culture, the riches and poverty of my language 37 a.i. kanu, on the origin and principles of the igwebuike philosophy. 38 a.i. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity, in igwebuike. an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017, 153-160. 39 a.i. kanu, igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy in igwebuike. an african journal of arts and humanities, 2. 1. 2016, 97-101. 40 a.i. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 2016, 1-7. 41 a.i. kanu, igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy in igwebuike. semiotic interpretation and the igwebuike identity: an antidote for interpersonal misunderstanding igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 29 and culture become clear and i see that his own and my own when put together form a richer whole when compared to any of them in isolation. 42 it is a sign that indicates a move towards the other, the “you”, for the sake of existential thriving of the self, the “i”. this is the bedrock of igwebuike. the implication of this is the rich complementarity that the igwebuike philosophy brings to bear on s the broader spectrum of philosophy. it indicates how much of the “other” is in the “i”, or better put, how much of you is contained in me, and me in you. 43 ekwulu opines further that the self is not only completed in relating with the other, but that it attains self-realization in the other: i realize myself in the other because it is in the ‘thou-ness’ of the thou that my ‘is-ness’ is realized. i am ‘i’ because you are ‘you’. without thou there is no i. we are ‘we’ because they are ‘they’, and without ‘they’, there is no ‘we’. 44 it is within this being-laden context, which is life as sharedness, that all questions of meaning can be handled adequately and fully within the context of mutual complementarity of all possible relations. 45 according to kanu, from the foregoing, this explains why the igbo would refer to the ‘other’ as ibe, which means ‘a piece of’ or ‘a part of’, as in ibe anu (a piece of meat) or ibe ede (a piece of cocoyam). the igbo would, therefore, refer to the ‘other person’ as ibe m, which 42 b.i. ekwulu, igbo concept of ibe (the other) as a philosophical solution to the ethnic conflicts in african countries in b. i. ekwulu (ed.), philosophical reflections on african issues, enugu publications, delta, 2010, 183-192 43 d. iwuh osa, action understanding is not entirely neutral it is existential, it is igwebuike, in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019, 51-70. 44 b.i. ekwulu, igbo concept of ibe (the other) as a philosophical solution to the ethnic conflicts in african countries. 45 i.i. asouzu, ibuanyidanda. new complementary ontology. beyond world immanentism, ethnocentric reduction and impositions, lit verlag publications, munster, 2007, 252-253. dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 30 means ‘my piece’ or mmadu ibe m (my fellow human being). this is the concept also employed in reference to relationships and reciprocity: love one another (hunu ibe unu n’anya); help one another (nyere nu ibe unu aka); respect one another (sopuru nu ibe unu), etc. since, the ‘other’ refers to my own piece; it would, therefore, mean that to love the other is to love oneself, to help the other is to help oneself and to respect the other is to respect oneself. 46 put in another way, to hate the other is to hate oneself, to refuse help to the other is to refuse help to oneself and to disrespect the other is to disrespect oneself. 47 this complementarity that is the crux of the igwebuike is that which is being given out as a sign or symbol that ought to be understood. it is a concept that is existential and ontological, arising from a culture and a people that have assimilated within themselves the importance of standing together and working together. it does not negate the reality of individuality; it rather pays a lot of tributaries to it by means of emphasis, as seen in the principle of identity (which is one of the principles, albeit the first principle, of the igwebuike). as to the human individuality, it also endorses the fact of contraries, in life, in reality (physical and spiritual), in the mindset of persons, etc. that is to say that, in just as we would find contraries in reality and in every aspect that surrounds the human person, there is also bound to be contraries in thought patterns in each individual. this also emphasizes the individuality in persons. it supports and aligns itself with the principle of hierarchy, which appreciates the fact that in reality, although the physical is separated from the spiritual, yet there seems to be a communication between both, a communication of forces; the spiritual stands as a force higher than that of the physical. yet in the singular reality of the spiritual, there is a gradation of powers, a diversity of forces, inherent in all these is the presence of contraries, all working together for the furtherance of one cause, namely existence. this is also visible in the physical realm. nonetheless, there 46 a.i. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. 47 d. iwuh osa, action understanding is not entirely neutral it is existential, it is igwebuike. semiotic interpretation and the igwebuike identity: an antidote for interpersonal misunderstanding igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 31 is a united working of each person, force or power, in a united front (the principle of unity), for the sake of existence. according to i.m. onyeocha, “the african conceives of reality in terms of a universe of forces that are linked together, and are in constant interplay with one another”. 48 this is because what is pertinent to igwebuike is not that the branch grows out of the tree; it is that the branch remains connected to the tree, sharing one life force. it knows the tree as much as the tree knows it. 49 igwebuike understands every individual reality as part and completion of the whole, and thus, there is a unity in the midst of diversity. igwebuike presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. 50 as a stipulative sign, what does igwebuike indicate? from the aforementioned, we have seen solidarity; we have also seen complementarity and we earlier saw togetherness. and all these are aimed towards one end, namely, existence. the beauty of the human existence is seen not in isolation, but in interaction; it is not seen in a solipsistic reality, but in a shared reality; it is not seen in “i” alone, but in “you and i”. final remarks a cursory look at the work of john poinsot, also known as john of st thomas, will reveal that his definition and understanding of signs have no special affinity with the real or the unreal, being equally at home in signifying either. that is to say that signs can be equally and conveniently used to explain both the real and the unreal, the abstract and the concrete. again, signs are necessarily mind-dependent, for it is the function of a sign as such to represent, not to explain. it follows that to some extent, signs can take on a life of their own. sign thus,is a being in its own right, as our words do, becoming relatively mindindependent as they are embedded in our culture by linguistic habit. 48 i.m. onyeocha, africa’s idea about the nature of reality in maryland studies. 3. 5., 2006, 89-105. 49 d. iwuh osa, action understanding is not entirely neutral it is existential, it is igwebuike. 50 a.i. kanu, on the origin and principles of the igwebuike philosophy. dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 32 words, that are internally and externally representations of signs, are cultural signs; thus, to translate them is to bridge cultures, bringing one way of life into contact with another. igwebuike philosophy has arisen from the igbo people with their own culture, mode of thinking and operation. but, it is philosophy that has far-reaching implications. the igwebuike sign is one that does not seek to explain what it stands for; it only seeks to represent or indicate what it refers to, namely; complementarity, solidarity and togetherness. as already noted, it is a sign that shows how much of the “i” resides in the “you”, and how the “you” and the “i” complement each other. it represents how much can be achieved when human persons graft together, working for a well-defined purpose. in his magna moralia, aristotle defined the friend as a second self, “for the friend is as we assert a second self”. 51 there are far-reaching implications to this aristotelian mode of thinking, one of which is this: since this friend is a second self, it stands affirmative that knowledge of the self, can also be attained by focusing on the friend, the second self. even though aristotle downsized this relationship to existing between friends, that is, friends of character (friends of virtue, in the thought of aristotle, are rare, because people of this kind are few. 52 ), we can in the thought pattern of the igwebuike extend this beyond the confines of the friends of character. igwebuike maintains that we are all born out of one thread. it is to this effect that “i” find myself in “you”, as much as “you” find yourself in “me”. as rare as it might seem to be, the friendship of virtue was never rare to the african, for it has always been a part of the african. we might allude here that the friendship of this sort (friendship of virtue) in the present time, for the african, is rare; igwebuike calls out to us all, telling us to retrace our steps, to find out who we truly are. in igwebuike, the strength of the other is my strength; the glory of the other is my glory; the positives of the other and her concomitant negatives are mine. i live for the other, just as the other lives for me. it is a reality founded on the friendship of virtue, 51 aristotle, magna moralia, bk ii, i2i2b20-i2i3a23, translated by g. stock, clarendon press, oxford, 1908. 52 aristotle, nicomachean ethics 1156b31-32. semiotic interpretation and the igwebuike identity: an antidote for interpersonal misunderstanding igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 33 thus making it an existential reality that ought to stand the test of time. 53 bibliography aristotle, magna moralia, bk ii, i2i2b20-i2i3a23, translated by g. stock, clarendon press, oxford, 1908. aristotle, nicomachean ethics 1156b31-32. b.i. ekwulu, igbo concept of ibe (the other) as a philosophical solution to the ethnic conflicts in african countries in b. i. ekwulu (ed.), philosophical reflections on african issues, enugu publications, delta, 2010. d. iwuh osa, action understanding is not entirely neutral it is existential, it is igwebuike, in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. d. iwuh osa, aristotle’s concept of friendship and the igwebuike philosophy in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. i. a. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity, in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. i. a. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 2016. i. a. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education, a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france. i. a. kanu, on the origin and principles of the igwebuike philosophy, in journal of religion and human relations, volume 11 no. 1, 2019. 53 d. iwuh osa, aristotle’s concept of friendship and the igwebuike philosophy in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019, 46-57. dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 34 i. a. kanu, igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2, no. 1, 2016. i. a. kanu. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. i. a. kanu. igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 5983. 2018 i. a. kanu. igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. 2018 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no. 1 2016:1-6. i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. 2017 semiotic interpretation and the igwebuike identity: an antidote for interpersonal misunderstanding igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 35 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christianmuslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. 2019 i. a. kanu. igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. 2019 i. a. kanu. igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cociopolitical system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. 2018 i. a. kanu. new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. 2018 dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 36 i.i. asouzu, ibuanyidanda. new complementary ontology. beyond world immanentism, ethnocentric reduction and impositions, lit verlag publications, munster, 2007. i.m. onyeocha, africa’s idea about the nature of reality in maryland studies. 3. 5., 2006. j. deely, cognition from a semiotic point of view, in semiotics 1981, j.n. deely-m.d. lenhart (eds), plenum press, new york, 1983. j. deely, on ‘semiotics’ as naming the doctrine of signs, in semiotica vol 152, 2004. j. deely, the red book. the beginning of postmodern times or charles sanders peirce and the recovery of signum, in the metaphyiscal club for the university of helsinki, finland, 2000. j.j. dyikuk, the intersection of communication in igwebuike and trado-rural media: a critical evaluation, in journal of african studies and sustainable development vol. 2 no 3, 2019. john poinsot, tractatus de signis, part one, bk 1, q.1i, 646a9-41, university of california press berkeley, los angeles, california, 1985. t.a. sebeok, an introduction to semiotics, university of toronto press incorporated, 1994, xi. t.a. sebeok, signs. an introduction to semiotics 2 nd ed, university of toronto press incorporated, toronto, 2001, 3. chi: in search for an explanatory principle for the interrelatedness of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 37 chi: in search for an explanatory principle for the interrelatedness of igwebuike philosophy ikechukwu anthony, kanu department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university, umunya anambra state ikee_mario@yahoo.com executive summary this work is a search for the basis of intersubjectivity in the african worldview conceptualized in igwebuike philosophy. this piece found the basis of intersubjectivity of the african reality in chi, which carries a variety of meanings among the igbo-african people. however, the nuance of chi that is employed here is that which understands it as the divinity in every human person or the spark of the divine in created things. it understands chi as the thumb print or mark of chukwu in each and every one of us that places the other in a special place in relation to the self. this piece revealed that although chi is a religious reality, it is conservative of the social institutions of the igbo-african people. if i and the other have the thumb print of the same chukwu, the spark of the supreme being, it then means that we relate in a special way that goes deeper than our individualities. this work, therefore, argued that our rootedness in chukwu through chi is what makes the other a part of me. to treat the other in a way that is undeserving of the divine mark in him or her not only affects the person(s), but the ontological structure to which i also belong and, thus, myself. the importance of chi in this study is that the belief in chi is as universal to the igbo-speaking people as the belief in chukwu, and it mailto:ikee_mario@yahoo.com ikechukwu anthony, kanu igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 38 is a fundamental and outstanding characteristic of igbo social structure and collective temperament. for the purpose of this study, the igwebuike holistic approach of inquiry was adopted. chi provides a central and satisfying framework for the understanding of the interrelatedness and individuality of the igbo-african reality. keywords: chi, igwebuike, philosophy, intersubjectivity, igbo-african, explanatory principle introduction there are several spiritual and corporal elements in igbo-african world that are central to the igbo-african belief and actions. chi is one of these elements, and occupies a very important place in the understanding of the igbo-speakingafrican people. it remains one of those elements that the igbo employ to explain or picture the world around them. no wonder, chukwukere (1980) avers that: the ideas, assumptions, beliefs and actions relating to the metaphysical conception point to its centrality in igbo worldview and philosophy in general. of particular interest here are the igbo people’s notions and expressions concerning human personality and the very broad theory of causation (p. 1). chi, therefore, is at the heart of the puzzle of human origin, social life and the principles of operations of social institutions that ensure continuity and group or individual identity. the operation of relations within the igbo-african world, within the context of chi, points to the reality that relationship in the igbo world is both with and between the corporal and in-corporal worlds. it is this connection of chi with relationships within the igbo world that makes it a fundamental element in the understanding of the dynamics of inter-subjectivity in igwebuike philosophy, as igwebuike philosophy is a philosophy of interrelatedness, inter-subjectivity, complementarity and solidarity. chi: in search for an explanatory principle for the interrelatedness of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 39 this work argues that chi is the foundation or basis for the interaction or relationships in the igbo-african universe. and its importance in this study is deepened by the fact that the belief in chi is as universal to the igbo-speaking people as the belief in chukwu. this piece will, therefore, study the concept of chi and its understandings in igbo thought. this would be followed by a sociological interpretation of the concept, chi, guided by the focal interest of this paper, which is the search for the fundamental and outstanding base of the igbo social structure and collective temperament. theoretical framework durkheim (1915) posits that: “the first systems of representations with which men have pictured to themselves the world and themselves were of religious origin. there is no religion that is not a cosmology at the same time that it is a speculation upon divine things”(p. 21). in this, durkheim argues for a very strong relationship between religious truths or perspectives and social life of people, that is, for an eminently social character of religion. the germ of durkheim’s theory is that the religious beliefs and practices of people reflect their social structure. this perspective, notwithstanding, evans-pritchard (1956) and goody (1961) have argued further on this theory that not all aspects of religion are tightly bound to social organizations. some aspects can only be loosely linked and, thus, operate as semi-independent variables. it is within this context that chi, which is a religious reality or element, is employed to understand the foundations of the igboafrican social or relational character of reality. in this sense, chi becomes a religious symbol with accumulated meanings or intentions which sometimes contradict one another. and as a symbol, within the context of hermeneutics, it expresses a meaning or meanings, however, with a basic meaning always connected. it is in this regard that etymologically, an understanding of hermeneutics suggests a sacred origin, being derived from the greek word “hermeneia,” which is related to the name of the god, hermes, and the verb, ikechukwu anthony, kanu igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 40 “hermeneuein”, which means: to express/expression; to explain/explanation and to translate/ translation. all the three shades of meaning are rendered in english by to interpret/interpretation, which, in general, means “bring to understanding” (kanu, 2015). thus, oguejiofor (2009) holds that: hermeneutics involves bringing an inner meaning into the open. it entails making explicit what is implicit. it is thus a quest for meaning, one’s own meaning in one’s life, society and milieuin short, in the totality of one’s universe, which could be said to be constituted by one’s cultural symbols. (p. 80). as a theory of interpretation, it goes back to ancient greek philosophy, when plato employed the term to differentiate between religious knowledge, that which has been revealed, and sophia, which is knowledge of truth-value of utterance. during the medieval and renaissance ages, it emerged in relation to the scriptures, precisely, its interpretation. during this period, gadamer (1976), heidegger (1978) and dilthey (1996) observe that saint augustine introduced the universal claim of hermeneutics and argue that interpretation of scripture involves a deeper, existential level of self-understanding. these, notwithstanding, within the context of this study, chi as a religious symbol expresses profound meanings about the spiritual world which helps in the interpretation of realities in the human world. chi in igbo-african worldview there are various dimensions to the use of the concept of chi by the igbo. it is in this regard that green (1947) writes that: “it is difficult to know what the real igbo significance of the word is” (p. 30). achebe (1975), recognizing the subtle analytical possibilities of the concept of chi which is thrown open by the fundamental abstract notions of igbo cosmology and theology, avers that its real meaning might never be revealed, and thus, he raises questions about the concept of chi without proffering answers to them, knowing full well the implications of such a response. chi: in search for an explanatory principle for the interrelatedness of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 41 the exact relationship between the supreme god (chukwu), the sun and chi in igbo cosmology will probably never be (and perhaps was intended not to be) revealed. but if chukwu means literally great chi, one is tempted to borrow the words of christian dogma and speak of chi as being of the same ‘substance’ and ‘proceedings’ from chukwu. or is chi an infinitesimal manifestation of chukwu’s infinite essence given to each of us separately… or does chukwu have a separate existence as ruler over a community of chi…? (p. 11) achebe’s position points to the fact that the concept of chi is as elusive as it is enigmatic. thus, nwodo (2004) avers that the elusiveness and enigma involved is attributable to the fact that the concept is metaphysical in the sense of being a non-material reality. from the foregoing, it is obvious that scholars are yet unable to reach a consensus on what chi actually means for the igbo people and what its relationship with the supreme being exactly is. it is in this regard that this piece would discuss the different understandings of chi in igbo ontology. a. chi as the divine aspect of man some african thinkers have interpreted chi as the divine aspect of man or a spark of chukwu in man. it is a spiritual being or force that every igbo-african is believed to possess within or outside of himself/herself . this explains why it is spoken of in the possessive sense like: chim (my chi), chigi (your chi), chiya (his/her chi), chi anyi (our chi), an igbo interjection for surprise chim o (my god), etc. this also explains why every igbo who gets married, in most instances, establishes their own chi symbol for the simple reason that it is personal. it is within this context that ilogu (1974) avers that chukwu has assigned to each human person at birth a portion of divinity referred to as chi. this implies that each individual has a portion of the great god. it is also within this context that nwodo (2004) argues that chi is a divine person possessed of intellect and will. ikechukwu anthony, kanu igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 42 b. chi as being abanuka (2004) understands chi as being, as opposed to non-being. he argues that as being, it has three different aspects that are nonetheless related. chi is first of all the principle of identity. in this regard, chi performs the metaphysical function of making a particular thing what it is other than other things, that is, one with itself and consistent with itself. second, chi makes each thing unique. thus, ojike (1955) and ekennia (2003) present chi as a unique life force, which each person possesses as a principle of individuation. this implies that no two persons have the same chi and that no person is replaceable. this can be spoken of in terms of the principle of authenticity. third, chi as a principle of subsidiarity, meaning that chi is a generative or causal principle; this is understood in terms of exercising influence over things. c. chi as our other identity this perspective is linked to the understanding of chi as a spark of the divine in man. this position is noticed in achebe (1975) who understands a person's chi as his other identity in spirit-land his spirit being complementing his terrestrial human being; this is based on the perspective that nothing can stand alone, there must be another thing standing beside it. in this case, the chi shadows the physical aspect of our being on earth and in fact remains a more powerful aspect of us as its influence is high. this other part of us in the spiritland is not in opposition with our identity here in the world but complements it. chi as the source of identity could be understood better from the practice of the igbo who plant a special tree in their compound like the ogilisi or oha or make a small clay pot, filled with sand with three sticks cut from a special plant thrust jointly into the sand, and preserved as the personal chi of individuals which cannot be a symbol of the chi of any other person. no wonder, once the person dies, his/her chi is removed. these representations are usually kept in a special place, with an altar built around it for the offering of sacrifice. chi: in search for an explanatory principle for the interrelatedness of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 43 d. chi as guardian angel in things fall apart, achebe (1958) presents the igbo chi as guardian angel. when okonkwo, the protagonist of the novel, shot at ekwefi (one of his wives) and missed, chielo said: “your chi is very much awake my friend”. in another scene, when abame was attacked by the avenging band of white men, obierika described the incident, thus: “everybody was killed, except the old and the sick who were at home and a handful of men and women whose chi were wide awake and brought them out of that market”. as such, a person’s chi could be asleep or awake, expressed in the particular event in a person’s life. when a bad thing happens, its said that the person’s chi is asleep, and when something good happens, it is said that a person’s chi is awake. there were other times that a chi was considered good or bad. when a good thing happens to a person, it is said that he has a good chi and when something bad happens, it is said that the person has a bad chi. e. chi as the determiner of destiny describing chi as a spark of the divine in man, okere (1971) posits that it is through the gift of the chi that the supreme god determines the destiny of each person. once the supreme has determined a person’s destiny through his chi, it cannot be changed. in things fall apart, achebe (1958) describes okonkwo as “a man whose chi said nay despite his own affirmation”. it is in this regard that one can understand okonkwo’s tragic fate as the result of a problematic chi—a thought that occurs to okonkwo at several points in the novel. it was the belief at the time, as achebe narrates in chapter 14, a “man could not rise beyond the destiny of his chi.” however, there is another understanding of chi that conflicts with this definition. in chapter 4, the narrator relates, according to an igbo proverb, that “when a man says yes his chi says yes also.” according to this understanding, individuals can alter their destinies. in this case, okonkwo seems either more or less responsible for his own tragic death. this, notwithstanding, the first definition explains why the igbo would say that: a. no matter how many divinities sit to plot a man's ruin, if his chi does not affirm it, their plans will come to nothing. ikechukwu anthony, kanu igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 44 b. even water gets stuck inbetween the teeth of the person with a bad chi. c. the antelope learns to climb the day the person with a bad chi goes hunting. d. a person whose efforts at improving his fortunes are frustrated by his chi should be absolved from blame. e. a person with a bad chi cut down an iroko tree, but it got suspended on a spear grass. it is in this regard that nwodo (2004) avers that the chi in igbo cosmology enforces throughout an individual's life the spoken bond into which he willingly enters at his creation. for instance, unoka, the father of okonkwo in things fall apart, is said to have a bad chi because evil fortune followed him to his death. ekwefi, okonkwo's second wife, is also said to have a bad chi because she has given birth to many children, but only one has survived. also, okonkwo, exiled from the clan and disappointed that his son has joined forces with the white missionaries, also blames his chi, believing that his chi is not made for great things. okoro (2008) explains this further through the spectrum of igbo application of chi. when the igbo says: chi m, it mean ‘my fate’, ‘my destiny’, ‘my portion’. in another case, chi ojo, mean ‘bad fate’, ‘bad destiny’. in this latter sense, chi becomes destiny itself, rather than just the determiner of destiny. chi as a basis for igwebuike philosophy of interrelatedness igwebuike is a unifying concept of african thought, especially that aspect concerning the human person’s conception of the spiritual and material universe in which he/she lives. it is an explanatory theory or principle that interprets the puzzle of our complex relationship with the non-corporal world and the human social life, that is, major social institutions that ensure social continuity and group identity, and further underpins the epistemological manifestations of the human person’s universe (kanu, 2016a;2017a). taken from its etymology from the igbo words (igwe: number; bu: is; ike: power), literally chi: in search for an explanatory principle for the interrelatedness of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 45 meaning that ‘number is power’, it points to a philosophical nuance of ‘one heart and one mind’, a spirit of complementarity, solidarity and interrelatedness that characterizes the african reality (kanu, 2014;2015;2016b; 2017b). the basic question being attended to in this section of this work is: hat is the basis of this inter-subjectivity, interrelatedness, solidarity or complementarity of reality within the african universe? it is within this context that this piece argues that chi is the basis of this complementarity or inter-subjectivity or interrelatedness of reality in the african universe. igwebuike, as a perspective, holds that, in spite of the contrariety of reality, there is something common to everything. it understands every individual reality as part and completion of the whole, and thus, there is a unity in the midst of diversity (kanu, 2017c; 2018; 2019). although chi provides for the individuation, identity and contrariety of being, it is also the basis for the unity of being. how is this possible? chi, being a ‘thumb print’ of chukwu in all that he has made, provides a reason for the unity of being, and a basis for interaction and collaboration. thus, the strong individualistic strain, which chi provides in the theory of personality, does not contradict the emphasis on the overriding value of unity in diverse human situations. chi, therefore, is not only a basis for identity in igbo ontology; it is also a basis for unity a common gift or platform for communal relations. this is evident in the way that the igbo greet one another within the context of the word, chi: ibo chi, a greeting that reflects a rhetorical, informative and questioning expectancy reports from the individuals that are in this relational (greetings) exchange; isa chi, a greeting that reflects also the same rhetorical, informative and questioning expectancy reports from both individuals engaged in the same relational exchange; ifo chi, a greeting that reflects the same rhetorical, informative and questioning expectancy from the dialoging individuals. the nuance of chi, employed in this work to drive the understanding of the unity of reality, is that which understands it as the divinity in every human person or the spark of the divine in created things. it is ikechukwu anthony, kanu igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 46 this chi, which is a thumb print or mark of chukwu in each and every one of us that places the other in a special place in relation to the self. if i and the other have the thumb print of the same chukwu, the spark of the supreme being, it then means that we relate in a special way that goes deeper than our individualities. our rootedness in chukwu is what makes the other a part of me. to treat the other in a way that is undeserving of the divine mark in him/her not only affects the persons but the ontological structure to which i also belong, and, therefore, myself as well. conclusion this work has studied the concept of chi and its implications for intersubjectivity in the african universe. the concept of chi has been used in various capacities by the igbo; first, in the capacity of the supreme being, and as a guardian angel or a spiritual being or force which every person possess, among other perspectives. its essence lies in the commonest everyday expression of the word, chi; verbally, in possessive singular adjectival form: chim (my chi), chigi (your chi), chiya (his/her chi), chi anyi (our chi), an igbo interjection for surprise chim o (my god) or a common curse among the igbo chi ne’ke kpo gi oku (may god burn you). however, the concept of chi that has helped in determining the basis of inter-subjectivity in the african universe is the understanding of chi as a spark or portion of the supreme being in each and every human person. this creates a ground for relationships or connection between beings, and explains the necessity of solidarity and complementarity in the african universe. worthy of note is that, while the concept of chi helps in explaining the basis of relationships or inter-subjectivity in the african universe, it also serves as a foundation of the igbo-african philosopher’s intellectual effort to make sense of the bewildering diversities of the human personality, experiences and cosmic phenomena, and, thus, an explanation for the dominant individualizing principle in the igbo social order. while chi provides an explanation for the interrelatedness of reality and the individuation of reality at the same time, it can be said to be a theory both of causation and human chi: in search for an explanatory principle for the interrelatedness of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 47 personality in the wider context of the igbo-african cosmology. thus, it serves as a framework within which the igbo-africans can boldly speculate, interpret or understand the world around them. references abanuka, b. (2004). philosophy and the igbo world. enugu: snaap press. achebe, c. (1975). morning yet on creation day: essays. heinemann african writers. adibe, gregory e. (2009). igbo issues: values, chi, akala aka, ikenga, magic, agwu and manipulation of divinities. onitsha: mid-field publishers. chukwukere, i. (1980). chi in traditional igbo religious thought: a key interpretative concept. a paper presented at the workshop on the foundations of igbo civilization. may 2022, institute of african studies, university of nigeria. dilthey, w. (1996). hermeneutics and the study of history. eds. rudolf a. makkreel and frithjof rodi. princeton. new jersey: princeton university press. durkheim, e. (1965). the elementary forms of the religious life. london: george allen and unwin ltd ekennia, j. (2003). bio-medical ethics. owerri: barloz publishers. evans-pritchard, e. e. (1956). theories of primitive religion. oxford: university of oxford press. gadamer, h. (1976). philosophical hermeneutics. trans. david e. linge. berkeley: university of california press. goody, j. (1961). religion and ritual: the definitional problem. the british journal of sociology. vol. 12. no. 2. pp. 142161. green, m. m. (1947). igbo village affairs: chiefly with reference to the village of umbueke agbaja. britain: taylor and francis. heidegger, m. (1978). gesamtausgabe. frankfurt am main: vittorio klostermann ilogu, edmund (1974). christianity and igbo culture. new york: nok publishers. ikechukwu anthony, kanu igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 48 kanu, i. a. (2014). igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholic-pentecostal relations. jos studies. 22. pp.8798. kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015b). igwebuike as an ontological precondition for african ethics. international conference of the society for research and academic excellence. university of nigeria, nsukka. 14 th -16 th september. kanu, i. a. (2015c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25 th -26 th november 2015 university of paris, france. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. chi: in search for an explanatory principle for the interrelatedness of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 49 kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. nwodo, c. s. (2004). philosophical perspectives on chinua achebe. port harcourt: university of port harcourt. oguejiofor, o. j. (2009). negritude as hermeneutics: a reinterpretation of leopold sedar senghor’s philosophy. american catholic philosophical quaterly. 83. 1. 79-94. ojike, m. (1955). my africa. london: blandford press. okere, t. (1971). can there be an african philosophy? phd dissertation, louvain belgium. okoro, e. (2008). chi symbolism in achebe’s things fall apart: a hermeneutical understanding. https://www.ajd.info.2008. https://www.ajd.info.2008/ “city before self”: a comparative study of plutarch’s ethical-political thought and igwebuike communal philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 51 “city before self”: a comparative study of plutarch’s ethical-political thought and igwebuike communal philosophy kolawole chabi, o.s.a., phd institutum patristicum "augustinianum" rome, italy kolachabi@gmail.com executive summary this paper studies some aspects of plutarch’s ethicalpolitical thought in comparison with the igwebuike philosophy. so, it exposes, on the one hand, how plutarch insists on the need for citizens, especially those involved in politics to seek first the good of the community and give priority to the progress of society above personal achievements. on the other hand, the paper presents the communitarian/communal view that springs from the igwebuike understanding of life in the community. we present the positions of various african thinkers who reason along the line of this worldview to establish that community does have pride of place in the african conception of life together. the last step in this study is a synthesis of plutarch’s ideas and the igwebuike philosophy. we discover that mutatis mutandis, what plutarch advocates for his greek compatriots, constitutes the underlining principle of the igwebuike worldview. moreover, this confirms the universality of this emerging trend in african philosophy. keywords: plutarch, philosophy, common good, igwebuike, kanu ikechukwu anthony, community, african. mailto:kolachabi@gmail.com kolawole chabi, o.s.a., phd introduction the reading of a new translation of the works of plutarch 1 recently published in the “ancient wisdom for modern readers series” of princeton university press prompted me to undertake the present study in order to compare the vision of an ancient western thinker with the african igwebuike worldview. the basic principle of plutarch’s political thought, and the common thread to his works in the new translation, can be aptly summarised as ‘city before self’. this line of thought seems to rhyme well with the african igwebuike communal thought. in this paper, we shall present the underlying presuppositions and orientations of plutarch’s political and moral philosophy, on the one hand, and the igwebuike worldview, on the other hand, to draw the similarities and differences between a representative of ancient western cultural thought and a specific line of african philosophical pensée. both the works of plutarch and secondary literature on them are abundant, and we shall depend on authoritative studies on the topic to back up our line of argument in the first part of the article. concerning studies on the igwebuike approach to reality, a lot of studies are going on, and works of i. a. kanu and other african scholars testify to it. we will precisely depend on most of their scientific research in the field of african philosophical thought in the second part of the paper. the paper will begin with a brief presentation of plutarch’s biography and an exposition of the significant aspects of his ethical and political thoughts, most notably regarding common life. the second segment of the paper will be devoted to the igwebuike philosophy on communality. in a synthesis of our itinerary, we will draw the similarities in plutarch’s thought and igwebuike understanding of common life before bringing the study to its conclusion. 1 cf. plutarch, how to be a leader: an ancient guide to wise leadership. ancient wisdom for modern readers, transl. j. beneker, princeton university press, 2019. “city before self”: a comparative study of plutarch’s ethical-political thought and igwebuike communal philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 53 plutarch and his conception of moral virtue and political engagement plutarch: a profile plutarch was born and educated in chaeronea, a small village located about sixty-seven miles northwest of athens. he spoken with warmth of his family: his wife, timoxena; his father, autobulus, his grandfather, lamprias, for whom he expresses special admiration, and his brothers, timon and lamprias. plutarch deeply loved his wife, timoxena, and their five children, only two of whom survived into adulthood. we have the consolation to his wife (608a–612b) that he wrote after the death of their only daughter at the age of two. it remains a moving testimonial to his love of family. his views on his own marriage can be summed up in one of his memorable quotes: “very fortunate is the man who in the entire span of his life knows from the beginning only one woman, the one whom he marries” (cat. min. 7.3). 2 2 cf. m. beck, introduction. plutarch in greece, in a companion to plutarch, ed. m. beck, wiley blackwell 2014, 2. it is interesting to note that plutarch’s thought on marriage, women and sexuality has gained interest among scholars of late. interested readers could see for example s. b. pomeroy, reflections on plutarch, “a consolation to his wife”, in plutarch’s “advice to the bride and groom’ and “a consolation to his wife”: english translations, commentary, interpretive essays, and bibliography, ed. s. b. pomeroy, oxford university press 1999, 75-81; p. a. stadter, φιλόσοφος και φίλανδρος: plutarch’s view of women in the “moralia” and the “lives”, in plutarch’s “advice to the bride and groom’, 173182. in this paper, stadter demonstrates that plutarch’s writing addressed to women, especially to clea (“virtues in women” and “isis and osiris”), reveals the level of education and philosophical sophistication he expected in them. «isis and osiris» considers his metaphysical basis for the virtues and limits of female action. examples of women’s virtues in “virtues of women” and the “lives” suggest that he expected women not to act as independent agents. p. walcot, plutarch on women, in symbolae osloenses: norwegian journal of greek and latin studies 74 (1999), 163-183. according to walcot, the evidence offered by the “lives” and the “moralia” shows that plutarch had a low opinion of women, regarding them as being deceitful, savage, sexually insatiable, frivolous and gossips. women are thought to be weak, but at the same time, dangerous. there are, kolawole chabi, o.s.a., phd although he was born in the “poor, little town” of chaeronea, plutarch was hardly the “dull, stupid person” the name has come to connote in modern times. judging from the respect he got while still living, and the acclaim some of his works handed down through the centuries, he was one bright and witty fellow – so much so that montaigne would later claim that it was by reading plutarch’s lives that the rest of us “dunces” are “raised out of the dirt.” 3 he received much of his early education from the reputed egyptian philosopher, ammonius, with whom he lived during an extended stay in athens as a young man of twenty years. 4 his education was augmented by conversations at the dinner table with his family, relatives, and circle of friends. 5 we can acquire an approximate idea of what these evening sessions may have been like from reading plutarch’s lengthy table talks (quaest. conv. 612c–748d). 6 by the time he was an older man, he had a reputation of being a very learned and wise man. much of his adult life was devoted to social, civic and however, notable exceptions, most obviously those women whose stories are related in the “mulierum virtutes”; id., plutarch on sex, in greece and rome: journal of the classical association 45/2 (1998), series 2, 166-187. in this paper walcot indicates that some of plutarch’s works reveal his heavily prejudiced and grossly inhibited attitude toward sex. on family and its importance in the development of the person in the thought of plutarch, see fr. albini, family and the formation of character. aspects of plutarch’s thought, in plutarch and his intellectual world. essays on plutarch, ed. j. mossman, london 1997, 59-70. j. beneker, sex, eroticism, and politics, in a companion to plutarch, 503-515; id., the passionate statesman: eros and politics in plutarch’s « lives », oxford university press 2012. 3 cf. b. j. verkamp, plutarch, in encyclopaedia of philosophers on religion, ed. b. j. verkamp, mcfarland 2008, 152. 4 cf. ibid. 5 de tuend. san. 133e. 6 cf. m. beck, introduction. plutarch in greece, 2. an interesting study of the life of plutarch is that of f. klotz, portraits of the philosopher: plutarch’s selfpresentation in the «quaestiones convivales», in classical quarterly nova series 57/2 (2007), 650-667. “city before self”: a comparative study of plutarch’s ethical-political thought and igwebuike communal philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 55 literary activities. he focussed on taking care of his family, serving as a magistrate in chaeronea, representing his hometown and country on various missions to rome (where he also briefly gave lectures on philosophy). he also produced a vast body of writings (most notably, the parallel lives). it is not an exaggeration to say that plutarch was a prolific writer. his literary legacy testifies to it. the so-called lamprias catalogue, an ancient library catalogue incompletely preserved, supposedly compiled by plutarch’s son lamprias, lists 227 works, of which several are no longer in existence. 7 plutarch’s works are classified into philosophical and historical-biographical. the latter, the so-called lives of distinguished greek and roman men examined in pairs, demonstrate plutarch’s historical and rhetorical abilities, also showing his interest in character formation and politics. 8 plutarch’s philosophical works, predominantly dialogues (set in delphi or chaeronea), cover half of his literary production. in modern times, they have been published under the collective term, moralia. however, as karamanolis rightly observed, when plutarch’s collection was augmented by many other writings preserved in other manuscripts on various other topics, ranging from metaphysics, psychology, natural philosophy, theology, logic, to philosophy of art, the name was retained with the misleading implication that plutarch’s philosophical works are essentially or primarily ethical. 9 one can say that, of all the writers of classical antiquity, plutarch is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the most popular to contemporary readers. he certainly owes this popularity to the nature of his genius, to the choice of subjects he dealt with, to the eternal interest in the names of the great men whose images he painted. enough by way of presentation! 7 cf. d. a. russell, plutarch, london 1973, 18-19. 8 cf. ibid., 100-116. 9 cf. g. karamanolis, plutarch, in stanford encyclopaedia of philosophy online https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plutarch/#plupla accessed on 24/07/2020. kolawole chabi, o.s.a., phd plutarch’s ethical and political postulates in favour of common good in terms of philosophical literary production, plutarch gives pride of place to ethics in this thought, and this is characteristic of his age. he believes philosophy is a way of life. such a position was familiar with the hellenistic philosophers whose worldview he shares from that perspective, even though he criticises stoics and epicureans for proposing what he considered misguided ethical ideals. 10 likewise, concerning the involvement of philosophers in politics, plutarch criticizes these philosophers. he finds fault with the early stoics for their abstaining from taking part in political activities. 11 in the same line of thought, the political quietism of epicurus and his school, according to him, amounts to abrogating or abolishing laws and political community. 12 nevertheless, when it comes to some 10 cf. plut. an recte dictum sit latenter esse vivendum 1129f-1130e. some scholars have noted elements of exaggeration in plutarch’s attacks on stoics and epicureans. that is the position of a. pierron in the introductory part of his french translation of plutarch’s lives. pierron wrote: “il est certain, d’ailleurs, que son attachement trop exclusif pour le platonisme l’a rendu injuste envers les stoïciens.” cf. a. pierron, notice sur plutarque, in plutarque i. vies des hommes illustres, transl. a. pierronm paris 1853, iv. kamaranolis, in his article cited above, justifies plutarch’s reaction to the leading hellenistic schools of thought thus: "plutarch engaged in writing so many polemical works against the two main hellenistic schools of philosophy. one reason for plutarch’s preoccupation must be that the early stoics and epicureans both strongly criticized plato. the epicurean colotes, for instance, plutarch’s target in the against colotes, was critical of plato’s dialogues in his against plato’s lysis and against plato’s euthydemus […] while he also criticized the republic’s myth of er and the implied view of an immortal human soul […]. another reason for plutarch’s engagement was the fact that both epicureans and stoics drew freely and extensively for their purposes on plato without acknowledging it and despite their criticism of plato." see also m. montiel – j. francisco, plutarco transmisor de la filosofía epicúrea: el «contra colotes» entre polémica y didáctica, in plutarco e l’età ellenistica: atti del convegno internazionale di studi: firenze, 23-24 settembre 2004, ed. a. casanova, firenze 2005, 337-350; m. isnardi parente, plutarco contro colote, in aspetti dello stoicismo e dell’epicureismo in plutarco. atti del ii convegno di studi su plutarco, ferrara, 2-3 aprile 1987, ed. i. gallo, ferrara, 1988. 65-88. 11 cf. plut., de stoic. repugn. 1033bc. 12 cf. id., adv. col. 1125c; 1127d. “city before self”: a comparative study of plutarch’s ethical-political thought and igwebuike communal philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 57 fundamental elements of virtual life in society, for stoics and platonists, a man educated in philosophy was expected to mould the character of the people in his community through his example of virtuous conduct, prudent advice and continuous efforts on behalf of the common good. for plutarch, as a platonist, appropriate conduct towards the community meant placing the common welfare ahead of one’s private interests, including acts of beneficence towards that community and initiatives to preserve the liberty, harmony and wellbeing of all groups within the state. 13 plutarch’s encouragement to seek common good is a particularly vital element of his thought that calls attention to what we shall see later when examining the communal dimension of igwebuike. the common welfare is supposed to supersede the personal interest to guarantee a better life together. the concept of “political virtue” (πολιτικὴ ἀρετή) embraces excellence in all these activities—from cultivating moral improvement in others through one’s own virtuous character, to taking effective action to improve the conditions of life in the community. as s. jacobs summarily put it, the distinction between the “virtue” of a statesman (politikos) and that of an ordinary "good man" is based on the sphere in which virtue is exercised (public versus private action) and those on behalf of whom action is taken (the common good of the state as a whole versus the individual caring for his soul). in that light, she argues, both aristotle and plutarch agree that the highest expression of practical virtue for human beings is “political virtue”. since public virtue benefits more people than private virtue, public virtue is a “higher degree” of virtue than virtue in private life. 14 political virtue was deemed the “most complete” or “perfect” virtue 13 cf. susan jacobs, plutarch’s pragmatic biographies lessons for statesmen and generals in the parallel lives (columbia studies in the classical tradition), leiden-boston 2018, 18. 14 cf. ibid. note 31. kolawole chabi, o.s.a., phd (τελεώτατα) because it combined the qualities of a virtuous character (courage, temperance and justice), a willingness to place the good of the community ahead of self-interest (magnanimity) and effective action on behalf of the common good (φρόνησις). 15 plutarch’s work, political precepts, treats a wide range of practical functions that require both a moral foundation of temperance, mildness, justice and dedication to the common good, as well as critical judgment about how to administer the city, maintain harmony between groups, foster prosperity and conduct diplomacy to protect its liberty and security. indeed, in this treatise, moral virtue is not desirable for its own sake, but as a tool of effective leadership: it produces a reputation for incorruptibility that makes a statesman more persuasive, and it empowers reason to guide his judgment on behalf of his state. 16 moreover, sometimes, a politician with the qualities of a philosopher fails as a politician where someone who is less qualified as a philosopher proves to be superior as a politician. in real life, then, the good of a community cannot be reached by philosophy alone,persuasion appears to be a necessary instrument, and popular appeal is a value not to be underestimated. 17 giving pride of place to the interests of the community is not only presented as a feature of a philosophical attitude, but also as a morally noble action. such is the importance that plutarch places on the good of the community over the individual interest or the satisfaction of a small circle of friends, that we could say that, for him, a specific action, which is in se morally reprehensible, may nonetheless be justified if it is beneficial to the state. in his work, alcibiades, plutarch has one of his characters argue that: “one who had an eye to the general welfare of the community (τὸ συμφέρον) may betray a few 15 ibid., 18. 16 ibid., 24. 17 cf. m. van raalte, more philosophico: political virtue and philosophy on plutarch’s lives, in the stateman in plutarch’s works. volume ii: the stateman in plutarch’s greek and roman lives, eds. l. de blois et al., leiden-boston 2005, 111. “city before self”: a comparative study of plutarch’s ethical-political thought and igwebuike communal philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 59 dubious persons, if he could thereby save many good men from the anger of the people”. 18 politics is concerned with the highest interests of the community. when it is practised rightly, one does not strive to attain wealth or fame; the purpose is to serve the community. 19 to bring our study on plutarch to an end, we deem it fitting to add his opinion on the role older people play in the life of their community. in his work titled "an seni sit gerenda res publica” (whether an old man should engage in public affairs), plutarch argues that older people have much to offer, not only on account of their years of experience, but also because they are less prone than their younger colleagues to give in to their passions. older people, he maintains, are more reasonable in their judgements and less inclined to impulsiveness than young people. for plutarch, the primary function of senior politicians was to teach their younger colleagues in both word and deed. he instructs his readers, for example, on how to support young leaders and how to correct them without giving offence or creating hostility. in this way, older politicians could pass on their wisdom and experience to the next generation of leaders. plutarch beautifully puts his idea thus: it is not right to say, or to accept when said by others, that the only time when we do not grow weary is when we are making money. on the contrary, we ought even to emend the saying of thucydides and believe, not only that “the love of honour never grows old,” but that the same is even truer of the spirit of service to the community and the state, which persists to the end even in ants and bees. for no one ever saw a bee that had on account of age become a drone, as some people claim that public men, when they have passed their prime, should sit down in retirement at home and be fed, allowing their worth in 18 plut., alcibiades 21, 5. 19 id., an seni sit gerenda res publica 783 e. kolawole chabi, o.s.a., phd action to be extinguished by idleness as iron is destroyed by rust. 20 this passage of whether an old man should engage in public affairs summaries the conviction of plutarch regarding the need for older people to be involved in public affairs, not because they do not wish to hand power over to the younger generation, but because they still have something to contribute to the common good. however, plutarch does not support those aged men who, for the love of office, involve themselves in a busy restlessness, lying in wait for every opportunity to grab power and relevant positions in the state, seek for themselves discredit and live a toilsome and miserable life. plutarch opines that, to do these things even with the goodwill of others is too burdensome for advanced age, but, in fact, the result is the very opposite: for such old men are hated by the young, who feel that they do not allow them opportunities for public activity and do not permit them to come before the public, and by people, in general, their love of precedence and of office is held in no less disrepute than is other old men’s love of wealth and pleasure. 21 granted that an old man can be useful in public affairs, there is a code of conduct he ought to observe. plutarch makes interesting recommendations for elders who still wish to serve the common good, one who still has the honour of setting and making speech in the assembly: he should not be constantly jumping up on the platform, nor always, like a cock, crowing in opposition to what is said ; nor should he, by getting involved in controversy, loose the curb of reverence for him in the young men’s minds and instil into them the practice and custom of disobedience and unwillingness to listen to him ; but he should sometimes both slacken the reins 20 ibid., 784 a. 21 ibid., 793 e. “city before self”: a comparative study of plutarch’s ethical-political thought and igwebuike communal philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 61 and allow them to throw up their heads boldly to oppose his opinion and to show their spirit, without even being present or interfering except when the matter at stake is important for the common safety or for honour and decorum. 22 plutarch offers a wide range of interesting ideas in favour of communal life and the common good. he calls all citizens to place the city before the self and also exhorts elders to participate in public life with the necessary prudence and wisdom. we shall now expose the igwebuike philosophy. igwebuike communality/complementarity worldview a brief definition of igwebuike philosophy in a recent publication, we have made our first attempt of comparison between the igwebuike philosophy of common life and the augustinian ideal of community life as expressed in his rule and other essential works. 23 this comparative study helps to establish the universality of the postulates of the new trend in african philosophy being proffered by the emerging igwebuike philosophical worldview. 24 igwebuike philosophy was developed by professor ikechukwu anthony kanu in his attempt to interpret and understand the african 22 ibid., 794 f. 23 cf. k. chabi, augustine’s ideal of community vis-à-vis the communal dimension of “igwebuike” african philosophy, in perspective on igwebuike philosophy: essays in honour of professor kanu, ikechukwu anthony, o.s.a., 1333. 24 for a response to the query whether igwebuike is exclusive to the igbo or africa, see i. a. kanu, on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy, in journal of religion and human relations 11/1 (2019), 159-176. in this paper, kanu connected igwebuike philosophy to the oldest philosophical elucubrations of presocratic philosophers such as thales, anaximander, and empedocles to show that it has been in existence for long “beyond the walls of the igbo traditional society.” (cf. p. 161 of the article). kolawole chabi, o.s.a., phd reality. “igwebuike” is an igbo word, which is a combination of three other words. thus, it can be understood as a word and as a sentence: as a word, it is written thus, igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. “igwe” is a noun which means number or population, usually a large number or population. “bu” is a verb, which means is. “ike” is a noun, which means strength or power. put together, it means ‘number is strength’, or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force”. 25 igwebuike is, therefore, along the line of the 25 i. a. kanu, igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy, in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities 2/1 (march 2016), 110. kanu, ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy, 14. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kanu, i. a. (2019). on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159-176. kanu, i. a. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. “city before self”: a comparative study of plutarch’s ethical-political thought and igwebuike communal philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 63 positions held by such african philosophers as john mbiti, 26 m. nkafu nkembkin, 27 b. i. ekwulu 28 and many others who pinpoint the importance of the solidarity and complementarity that underline and define the african concept of the person as a relational being. we shall now look concretely at the various expressions of igwebuike philosophy regarding communality and complementarity identifiable in some african philosophers, apart from those already mentioned. some expressions of igwebuike worldview among african philosophers it may not be a wrong step to take into consideration the thoughts of the major exponents of the first african intellectuals who gave expression to the idea of the primacy of communality in african socio-ethical life. leopold sédar senghor is, without doubt, one of such prominent figures. according to him: “negro-african society puts more stress on the group than on the individual, more on the communion of persons than on their autonomy. ours is community society.” 29 he further opines that “negro-african society is collectivist or, more exactly communal, because it is rather a communion of souls than an aggregate of individuals.” 30 in these statements, we fine nothing less than the aspect of igewbuike 26 j. mbiti, african religions and philosophy, narobi 1970. the study of p. tempels on the bantu people of central africa also affirms some the basic postulates of igwebuike philosophy. he writes: “the living ‘muntu’ is in a relation of being to being with god, with his clan brethren, with his family and with his descendants. he is in a similar ontological relationship with his patrimony, his land, with all that it contains or produces, with all that grows or lives on it.” (p. tempels, bantu philosophy, paris 1959, 66). 27 cf. m. nkafu nkembkia, african vitalogy. a step forward in african thinking, nairobi 1999. 28 cf. b. i. ekwulu, igbo concept of ibe (the other) as a philosophical solution to the ethnic conflicts in african countries, in ed. id., philosophical reflections on african issues, enugu 2010, 183-192. 29 l. s. senghor, on african socialism, transl. mercer cook, new york 1964, 93-94. 30 ibid., 49. kolawole chabi, o.s.a., phd philosophy we are studying in this section of our paper. where people give primacy to the community, the self continues to exist. but it identifies itself with the organic body (the community) to which it belongs; hence, it does not place itself above the ensemble. the same opinion of senghor holds for other advocates of african socialism, such as kwame nkrumah, jomo kenyatta and julius nyerere, who tenaciously sustained their socialist ideological choice, finding its foundation in the traditional african ideas about society. 31 that is why k. nkrumah could say that “if one seeks the socio-political ancestor of socialism, one must go to communalism,” 32 which, of course, in their opinion, is the basic principle of reality in the african conception of common life. expressing the idea of man as a communal being in the african culture, specifically from the perspective of his ghanaian context, n. k. dzobo opines that: the individual’s being emerges from a prior social whole which is truly other; it comes into being for the sake of him and exists for his development and growth. hence, an individual who is cut off from the communal organism is nothing. in africa, it is true then to say: “as the glow of a coal depends upon its remaining in the fire, so the vitality, the psychic security, the very humanity of man depends on his integration into the family.” by living creatively, the individual is also contributing to the life and quality of his community and so can say “we are, therefore i am, and since i am, therefore, we are.” 33 31 cf. k. gyekye, person and community in african thought, in person and community: ghanaian philosophical studies i, eds. k. wiredu – k. gyekye, washington dc 1992, 103. 32 k. nkrumah, consciencism – philosophy and ideology for decolonisation and development in particular reference to the african revolution, london 1964, 73. 33 n. k. dzobo, the image of man in africa, in person and community: ghanaian philosophical studies i, eds. k. wiredu – k. gyekye, washington dc 1992, 132. “city before self”: a comparative study of plutarch’s ethical-political thought and igwebuike communal philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 65 the very last quotation of dzobo’s text, which is another version of mbiti’s famous axiom in expression communitarianism in africa, has been further examined in a study by i. a. menkiti which is worth mentioning here. this scholar affirms, based on mbiti’s statement “i am because we are…”, that from the african perspective, community has an ontological primacy and independence. in his words, “as far as africans are concerned, the reality of the communal world takes precedence over the reality of the individual life histories, whatever these may be.” 34 a few postulates follow in menkiti’s attempt to contrast the african with the western worldview. he contends that in africa, “it is the community which defines the person as person, not some isolated static quality of rationality, will or memory”. 35 according to him, what we find in the african understanding of the person is the notion of personhood as acquired, “something which has to be achieved, and not given simply because one is born of human seed.” 36 for this reason, in african societies, “personhood is something as which individuals could fail.” 37 all these emphatic positions on communal values, collective good and shared goals, could lead to the conclusion that communitarianism conceives the person as entirely constituted by social relationships, that it tends to suppress the moral autonomy of the person, that it makes the being and life of the individual person totally dependent on the activities, values, projects, practices and ends of the community; and as a consequence, that communitarianism would diminish the person’s freedom and capacity to choose or question or re-evaluate the shared values of the community. 38 for this reason, some voices rose to critically examine the african communitarian conception of the human person! 34 i. a. mentiki, person and community in african traditional thought, in african philosophy. an introduction, ed. r. a. wright, lahman, md, 1984, 171. 35 ibid., 172. 36 ibid, 172. 37 ibid., 173. 38 cf. k. gyekye, person and community in african thought, 102. kolawole chabi, o.s.a., phd in recent times, some scholars have indicated that the “we existence” ontology of person which characterizes african philosophy, represented by igwebuike and the african philosophers we mentioned above, was more fitting in opposing the western liberal individualism from a political standpoint, to reclaim human dignity for the colonized african. p. nnodim is of the view that: “unmeasured emphasis on group-oriented ideas of the person among africans undermines the broader metaphysical dimensions of personhood existing in the thought systems of many traditional african societies.” 39 such a position is also present in k. gyekye’s article already cited above. according to the ghanaian philosopher, menkiti’s position that the personhood is defined or conferred by the communal structure of the society cannot be wholly accurate, despite the natural sociality of the human person which places him in a cultural structure. 40 gyekye posits that the human person is also, by nature, other things besides being a communitarian being. there are various attributes, such as rationality, the capacity for virtue and for evaluating and making moral judgements and choices. the community does not create these attributes but discovers and nurtures them. moreover, when he fully uses these attributes in her participation in the life of his community, his personhood would be fully defined by the communal structure or social relationships. 41 instead of an unrestricted communitarianism expressed in the views of senghor and others, gyekye advocates a moderate or restricted version of communitarianism which accommodates the communal values as well as values of individuality, social commitments, including duties to self-attention (which is not individualism). taking a stand on what we have exposed so far, we contend that community constitutes an essential element in the african 39 p. nnodim, the concept of person in african philosophy, in life, body, person and self: a reconsideration of core concepts in bioethics from an intercultural perspective, eds. graetzel and guhe, freiburg 2017, 88. 40 cf. k. gyekye, person and community, 111. 41 cf. ibid., 111-112. “city before self”: a comparative study of plutarch’s ethical-political thought and igwebuike communal philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 67 understanding of reality. the human person is endowed with a lifeforce that can only yield and be productive if it is put at the service of common good. we agree with gyekye that some essential human attributes are natural endowments. however, at the same time, it is vital to emphasise that from the igwebuike point of view, by nature, a human person can only put his worth to bear within a community. v. mulago’s idea on this issue captures the igwebuike pensée: the community is the necessary and sufficient condition for the life of the individual person. the individual person is immersed into the natural world and nevertheless emerges from it as an individual and a person within his conscience a freedom given him by the mediation of the community in which he senses a certain presence of the divine. 42 this same idea comes in a more straightforward axiom formulated by kanu: "to be is to belong and to belong is to be.” 43 42 v. mulago, african heritage and contemporary christianity, nairobi 1989, 115. 43 i. a. kanu, a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy, jos plateau state, 2015, 250. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. kolawole chabi, o.s.a., phd some anthropological theories, such the darwinist conflict theory and the freudian theory, see man as an aggressor and a predator/destroyer by nature, who finds himself obliged to collaborate with other human beings to subjugate his aggressive instincts. from the igwebuike african standpoint, such is not the understanding of the human person. the basic element of life together is the drive to complementarity within the creative synthesis of being which characterizes the african person. furthermore, in this context, placing the common good ahead of personal interests marks the true spirit of belonging to the body. thus, the "self", the individual person with all his natural endowments and attributes, works with the common good in mind. the idea of complementarity that constitutes the underlining principle of igwebuike finds expression also in the vital relationship that exists between the generations in the traditional african environment. elders are highly regarded in their roles within the traditional african communities. as people who hold the stories and wisdom of the past to enlighten the present, elders have the answers to questions such as “who are we?”, “where do we originate from?”, “how do we keep alive the heritage handed down to us?” because of their knowledge and life experience, elders are held in high esteem. as g. j. s. dei puts it, in traditional african societies, people have “respect for the nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igboafrican modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. “city before self”: a comparative study of plutarch’s ethical-political thought and igwebuike communal philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 69 authority of elderly persons for their wisdom, knowledge of community affairs, and ‘closeness’ to the ancestors… there is in africa a general belief that old age comes with wisdom and an understanding of the world.” 44 p. o. onyoyo expresses the same idea stating that: “… in several african traditional societies in which customary law ruled the lives of people the role of elders was substantial and critical for order and harmony. the elders are construed to be the custodians of customary law, its promulgators and enforcers…” 45 in the yoruba culture to which i belong, and in several other african ethnic groups, elders preside over religious ceremonies, sit as judges in cases of feud, apply corrective measures to repair the damages caused by offenders, facilitate reconciliation and harmony. as kanu indicates in one of his studies, elders have such mastery of language that they use folktales in judging in village courts, telling tales in such a way that the people grasp their meanings without requiring further explanation. 46 those of them with specific roles in priestly lineage pray for the community and offer sacrifice, mediating between god, people, ancestors, and spirits. they have many more vital roles for the good of their community. a very distinctive feature of elders in the yoruba culture is the desire to hand over their knowledge to the younger generation as the time of their exit from this world draws near. a yoruba saying states that a divinity whose cult is hidden from the offspring of its priest is doomed to disappear. so, elders are not merely preoccupied with their business in the community without regards to the younger ones. they nurture a sense of complementarity and the desire to transmit the cultural and spiritual patrimony to posterity. 44 g. j. s. dei, afrocentricity: cornerstone to pedagogy, in anthropology and education quarterly 25/1 (1994), 13. 45 p. o. onyoyo, a theory of gerontocracy in the african customary law, a paper published on https://www.academia.edu/9644458/a_theory_of_gerontocracy_in_the_african_c ustomary_law, accessed on july 27 th , 2020. 46 cf. i. a. kanu, a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, 77. kolawole chabi, o.s.a., phd plutarch’s ethical-political philosophy of common good and igwebuike having exposed the contents of the two worldviews we set out to compare in this paper, we shall now examine what they have in common and what differentiates them. plutarch’s ethical-political philosophy which advocates the primacy of “city before self”, to express the commitment that a good citizen should have towards the common good, finds mutatis mutandis, a corresponding expression in the igwebuike idea of community. even prior to what we know about his philosophical standpoint, plutarch’s very life as a lover of family, as a man who cherished and remained viscerally attached to the service of his native chaeronea, indicates that this ancient philosopher had a strong sense of belonging which is characteristic of the traditional african attitude toward life and community. the same emphasis that plutarch places on the common good the individual should strive for is present in our african worldview. it confirms the belief that the same seed of wisdom is sown in the spirit of all people of the world, irrespective of the categorisation we make to divide ourselves into groups or factions. the possibility of naturally working for the (common) good stands in opposition to the anthropological conflict theory sustained by some exponents of western philosophy in the 19 th century. in the greek philosopher’s thought, the obligation of the good citizen towards the welfare of his social group does not suppress his personality. in his many works, and through the example of his life, plutarch shows the importance of self-development. he never neglects the importance of the person as an individual with his attributes. likewise, the african communitarianism affirmed by igwebuike does not obliterate the individual within the society. it only puts to the fore the importance of belonging and working for the good of the body. “city before self”: a comparative study of plutarch’s ethical-political thought and igwebuike communal philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 71 plutarch defends the need for those who, on account of their old age, are considered useless in public affairs to be active and to continue contributing to the life of their community. in the igwebuike framework, elders are never discarded in their old age for retirement as far as the life of the community is considered. no one looks at them as intrusive in matters concerning public life. on the contrary, their opinion is sought and revered. an interesting aspect of plutarch’s recommendation to elders willing to continue their involvement in public life is that of being careful so as not lose the respect and consideration of the youth. respect for elders is distinctive of the traditional african code of conduct. but it is worthwhile to mention that, in the real sense, an elder is one who, with the advanced age, also has the wisdom, the goodness and the interest of the community at heart. among the yoruba, “àgbà" is the word for an elder. when an elderly person is referred to as "àgbà òshì” or “àgbà ìyà” (that is miserable elder), it is not necessarily because of material indigence. that adjective added to qualify him could portray some aspects of his moral and behavioural stand. a shameless elder who involves himself in baseness belongs to the category of “àgbà òshì”. consequently, he cannot be a point of reference to the people of his community. both in plutarch’s society and our traditional african setting, a person could lose the respect of the community even in his old age. by and large, we have observed some common points in the plutarch and igwebuike worldviews concerning life together and the common good. igwebuike is a universal worldview expressed in the language and within the cultural environment of the igbo in nigeria. that should not come as a surprise, for every trend of thought and every philosophy has a cradle, a point of departure, a culture from which it propagates. this study contributes to the reinforcement of the kolawole chabi, o.s.a., phd universal character of this trend as already demonstrated by i. a. kanu. 47 conclusion the greek philosopher, plutarch, has consecrated most of his works to revealing the educational power of the past by giving many historical figures as examples for today. in his thought, he laid much emphasis on the need for citizens to seek the common good and to place the well-being of the community before personal or selfish interests. his philosophical pensée seems to rhyme with the igwebuike african philosophy in which commonality, complementarity, and seeking the common good have pride of place within the social fabric. for this reason, our study focused on the comparison of the two philosophical worldviews to establish what they have in common and what differentiates them. apart from the concern for the common good that cut across both philosophies, the aspect of the place and role of elders within the community retained our attention, since it is present in both. plutarch defends the importance of elders in public life. igwebuike sees elders as the custodians and teachers of culture. however, to be an elder is also earned through the wisdom, kindness and exemplary life an aged person displays within his community. in the ideal world of traditional africa, as it was in the ancient western and biblical world, ageing was revered and considered a blessing. living to see one’s children’s children is blessing beyond measure. in traditional africa, elderly people were attended to and accompanied in their old age until they rested with the ancestors. it seems, however, that things are much different nowadays. many elders suffer abuse and neglect. according to aderemi suleiman ajala, among the yoruba, for example, due to urbanisation and other social factors, the perception of ageing has changed from peaceful retirement to crisis-ridden stage of living. some of the crises include: neglect of the elderly, poor feeding and poor health status for the aged. 47 i. a. kanu, on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy, in journal of religion and human relations 11/1 (2019), 159-176. “city before self”: a comparative study of plutarch’s ethical-political thought and igwebuike communal philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 73 thus, the aged can no longer play their roles as social reformers and custodians of the people’s culture. 48 this situation could be a subject for further studies from the igwebuike perspective, to see how we can reconcile structural development and material progress with the core values of our being africans, with respect to our igwebuike credo. bibliography b. j. verkamp, plutarch, in encyclopaedia of philosophers on religion, ed. b. j. verkamp, mcfarland 2008. fr. albini, family and the formation of character. aspects of plutarch’s thought, in plutarch and his intellectual world. essays on plutarch, ed. j. mossman, london 1997. g. j. s. dei, afrocentricity: cornerstone to pedagogy, in anthropology and education quarterly 25/1, 1994. g. karamanolis, plutarch, in stanford encyclopaedia of philosophy online https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plutarch/#plupla accessed on 24/07/2020. i. a. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity, in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. i. a. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 2016. i. a. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education, a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france. 48 a. s. ajala, the changing perception of ageing in yoruba culture and its implications on the health of the elderly, in the anthropologist 8/3 (2006), 181188. kolawole chabi, o.s.a., phd i. a. kanu, on the origin and principles of the igwebuike philosophy, in journal of religion and human relations, volume 11 no. 1, 2019. i. a. kanu, igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2, no. 1, 2016. i. a. kanu. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. i. a. kanu. igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 5983. 2018 i. a. kanu. igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. 2018 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no. 1 2016:1-6. “city before self”: a comparative study of plutarch’s ethical-political thought and igwebuike communal philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 75 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christianmuslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. 2019 i. a. kanu. igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. 2019 i. a. mentiki, person and community in african traditional thought, in african philosophy. an introduction, ed. r. a. wright, lahman, md, 1984, 171. j. beneker, sex, eroticism, and politics, in a companion to plutarch, 503-515; id., the passionate statesman: eros and politics in plutarch’s « lives », oxford university press 2012. kolawole chabi, o.s.a., phd j. mbiti, african religions and philosophy, narobi 1970. k. chabi, augustine’s ideal of community vis-à-vis the communal dimension of “igwebuike” african philosophy, in perspective on igwebuike philosophy: essays in honour of professor kanu, ikechukwu anthony, o.s.a., 13-33. author house, london. k. gyekye, person and community in african thought, in person and community: ghanaian philosophical studies i, eds. k. wiredu – k. gyekye, washington dc 1992. k. nkrumah, consciencism – philosophy and ideology for decolonisation and development in particular reference to the african revolution, london 1964. l. s. senghor, on african socialism, transl. mercer cook, new york 1964. m. beck, introduction. plutarch in greece, 2. an interesting study of the life of plutarch is that of f. klotz, portraits of the philosopher: plutarch’s self-presentation in the «quaestiones convivales», in classical quarterly nova series 57/2 (2007), 650-667. m. beck, introduction. plutarch in greece, in a companion to plutarch, ed. m. beck, wiley blackwell 2014 m. nkafu nkembkia, african vitalogy. a step forward in african thinking, nairobi 1999. m. van raalte, more philosophico: political virtue and philosophy on plutarch’s lives, in the stateman in plutarch’s works. volume ii: the stateman in plutarch’s greek and roman lives, eds. l. de blois et al., leiden-boston 2005. n. k. dzobo, the image of man in africa, in person and community: ghanaian philosophical studies i, eds. k. wiredu – k. gyekye, washington dc 1992. p. nnodim, the concept of person in african philosophy, in life, body, person and self: a reconsideration of core concepts in bioethics from an intercultural perspective, eds. graetzel an p. o. onyoyo, a theory of gerontocracy in the african customary law, a paper published on “city before self”: a comparative study of plutarch’s ethical-political thought and igwebuike communal philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 77 https://www.academia.edu/9644458/a_theory_of_geronto cracy_in_the_african_customary_law, accessed on july 27 th , 2020. p. tempels, bantu philosophy, paris 1959. plutarch, how to be a leader: an ancient guide to wise leadership. ancient wisdom for modern readers, transl. j. beneker, princeton university press, 2019. susan jacobs, plutarch’s pragmatic biographies lessons for statesmen and generals in the parallel lives (columbia studies in the classical tradition), leiden-boston 2018. igwebuike and language: in search of an ontological toolbox for igbo-african philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 79 igwebuike and language: in search of an ontological toolbox for igbo-african philosophy ikechukwu anthony kanu department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university umunya, anambra state ikee_mario@yahoo.com executive summary human beings are by nature enshrined in an inescapable world-hood web called language. as a symbolic construction and human agenda setting in semantic space, language ensures the application of social meaning, control, culture and social knowledge. as a result of the place that language occupies in the integration, interpretation and internalization of convention for the state of affairs of sociality, it is not surprising that it has always been an attractive area and a fascinating topic for philosophers. the history of philosophical thinking about language is almost impossible to separate from the history of logic and indeed the entire history of philosophy. this piece argued that human beings do not live in the world without the agency of language which becomes the medium of expression within particular societies. it is based on this understanding (that the real world of a people is based on their language habits) that this paper employed igwebuike as an ontological toolbox that forms the trajectory system of the igbo-african world. within the context of igbo-african philosophy of language, this piece argued for the necessity of the use of the word “igwebuike” as it captures and communicates the igboafrican world. igwebuike is the form (and symbolic) of the igbo-african mental being, and thus, the gateway to igboafrican philosophy. beyond the literal understanding of mailto:ikee_mario@yahoo.com ikechukwu anthony, kanu igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 80 igwebuike (igwenumber; bu-is; ike-strength) as ‘there is strength in number’, it captures the igbo philosophy of relationality, complementarity and interconnectedness of reality. the objective of this work is to discover the centrality of language within philosophy and thus give correct bearing to philosophy. for the purpose of this piece, the igwebuike holistic approach will be employed. keywords: igwebuike, language, philosophy, igboafrican, ontological, toolbox introduction the concept of igwebuike as a toolbox of igbo-african philosophy is better understood from the background of wittgenstein’s concept of language as a toolbox which contains hammer, plier, saw, screwdriver, ruler, glue pot, nails, screws, etc. from this metaphor, language, therefore, offers functions through words that are as diverse as the objects in the toolbox (1961, p. 18). these functions would include that of communication, identification and instrument of thought. as practical as these objects are, so practical must a language be in its structuring of reality within its original home. it is through language that people are able to practically explore their world and reality. thus, according to sefler (1974): language and the world are two sides of one and the same reality. the world i know is known inseparable from the language i use. one cannot split the two and discuss them in isolation without some literal misrepresentation. such segregation necessitates some metaphysical device, such as local space, to be intelligible, yet its metaphorical character must be preserved and recognized to avoid even in this context misleading conclusions. an investigation of the aspects of language is at the same time an investigation of the formal aspects of the world. to give the essence of propositions is to give the essence of all description, therefore, the essence of the world (p 188). igwebuike and language: in search of an ontological toolbox for igbo-african philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 81 arguing along this line, okonkwo (2002) avers that the language of a people is a reflection of the world of the people: the worldhood of man is therefore his language. the language as a ‘given’ in a worldhood can be called legitimately ‘ontolingustic’. onto-linguistic defines language as the state of affairs that demarcates and structures the world of man (dasien) and his being-in-the-world. the world around me is the world made possible through my language. it is my language that concretely arranges, organizes, shapes and delineates my experience and knowledge of my environment, situation and history (p. 180). thus, one can argue that human beings do not live in the world without the agency of language, which becomes the medium of expression within the society in question. this implies that one cannot adjust to the realities within a particular people or place without the use of language as an instrument of communication, understanding and reflection. it is from this perspective that igwebuike is employed as a toolbox that forms the trajectory system of the igbo-african world. within the context of igbo-african philosophy of language, this piece argues for the necessity of the use of the word igwebuike as it captures and communicates the igbo-african world. igwebuike is the form (and it is symbolic) of the igbo-african mental being and the gateway to igbo-african philosophy. beyond the literal understanding of igwebuike (igwenumber; bu-is; ike-strength) as “there is strength in number”, it captures the igbo philosophy of relationality, complementarity and interconnectedness of reality (kanu 2014; 2015; 2016; 2017; 2018; 2019). it concatenates igbo forms, symbolism, signs, media, meaning, anthropologies, universal cosmic truths, functions, semantic powers, physics, phenomena, faculties, and igbo environ-mentalities, and symbolizes the propositional powers of igbo knowledge, perception, identity, phenomenalism, physics, metaphysics, logic, history of analytic character, speculative mindset and positive provisions for definitions of facts. ikechukwu anthony, kanu igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 82 philosophical perspectives of language the human person, not minding place and time, is enshrined in an inescapable world-hood web called language. as a symbolic construction and human agenda setting in semantic space, it ensures the application of social meaning, control, culture and social knowledge. as a result of the place that language occupies in the integration, interpretation and internalization of convention for the state of affairs of sociality, it is not surprising that it has always been an attractive area and a fascinating topic for philosophers. the history of philosophical thinking about language is almost impossible to separate from the history of logic and indeed the entire history of philosophy. thus, all major philosophers and schools of philosophy have had some doctrine about the relationship between mind and language, and language and the world. the earliest interaction between philosophy and language dates back to the ancient greek philosophical era. heraclitus, understanding logos within its semantic and symbolic function, had thought that the word was not merely an anthropological phenomenon but captures what he regarded as a universal cosmic truth. in him, ancient early greek thought moved from the study of nature to philosophy of language. plato’s life-long battle against the sophists is a typical example of the concerns of the ancients with the phenomenon of language. plato attacked the sophists because of their competent but dubious ability to twist language to their own advantage for the sake of making money. he was infuriated by what he saw as the danger and threat that sophistry posed to genuine communication and life in the society (pierer, 1992). the sophists, before plato, had dealt with linguistic and grammatical problems in a systematic way. unlike plato, they were not interested in the problem of language for theoretical purposes. they had a more urgent task to accomplish: to teach how to speak for the sake of igwebuike and language: in search of an ontological toolbox for igbo-african philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 83 political success and to win law suits. language was the greatest instrument for political struggle in the athens of the 5 th century. language became an instrument for definite, concrete and practical purposes. the sophists believed that one had to manipulate language to his or her own advantage, if such a person were to attain their objective. to enhance this purpose, the sophists began a new branch of knowledge called rhetoric (cassirer, 1976). as a result of their proficiency in rhetoric, they were able to make the weaker argument the stronger and to sweet-talk something bad into something good and turn black into white (honderich, 1976). in the plato’s dialogue, cratylus, he considered another dimension of language: the question of whether the names of things were determined by convention or by nature. in this case, his analysis of language addressed the problem of nomenclature. he criticized conventionalism because it led to the bizarre consequence that anything could be conventionally denominated by any name. hence, it cannot account for the correct or incorrect application of a name. he claimed that there was a natural correctness to names. to do this, he pointed out that compound words and phrases have a range of correctness. he also argued that primitive names had a natural correctness, because each phoneme represented basic ideas or sentiments. while plato concerned himself with meaning, aristotle, in his philosophy of language, steps up his concern to issues of logic and categories. he separated all things into categories of species and genius, and believes that the meaning of a predicate was established through an abstraction of the similarities between various individual things (kanu, 2010 & 2012). the stoics, in their philosophy of language, made important contributions to the analysis of grammar, distinguishing five parts of speech: nouns, verbs, appellatives (names or epithets), conjunctions and articles. they also developed a sophisticated doctrine of the lektón associated with each sign of a language, but distinct from both the sign itself and the thing to which it refers. this lektón was the meaning (or sense) of every term. the lektón of a sentence is what we ikechukwu anthony, kanu igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 84 would now call its propositions. only propositions were considered "truth bearers" or "truth-vehicles" (i.e. they could be called true or false), while sentences were simply their vehicles of expression (kanu 2014). medieval philosophers were greatly interested in the subtleties of language and its usage. this interest was provoked by the necessity of translating greek texts into latin. furthermore, the scholastics of the high medieval period, such as occam and john duns scotus, considered logic as the science of language (scientia sermocinalis). more so, the employment of greek words in the explanation of the christian faith remains a major contribution of the patristic and medieval philosophers and theologians. in line with the thoughts of the linguists of the renaissance and baroque periods, such as johannes goropius becanus, athanasius kircher and john wilkins, locke (cited in kanu 2012), in the 17 th century, argued that only an adequate or correctly formed language could be a vehicle for communication. he believed that the desire to know reality was the foundation of communication. even though there is the possibility of lying, locke argued that lies do not constitute communication, since to lie is to deny reality. to lie is the perpetration of inequality in society, since it denies the other his/her share and portion of reality. to deceive a person is an implicit assumption that he/she she is not worthy to know the truth. this explains why locke, like plato, condemned sophistry: nor has this mischief stopped in logical niceties, or curious empty speculations; it hath invaded the great concernment of human life and society; obscured and perplexed the material truths of law and divinity; brought confusion, disorder and uncertainty into the affairs of mankind; and if not destroyed, yet in great measure rendered useless, those two great rules, religion and justice. (p. 486). in the early 19th century, the danish philosopher, soren kierkegaard, insisted that language ought to play a larger role in western http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/renaissance http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/baroque http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/johannes_goropius_becanus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/athanasius_kircher http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/athanasius_kircher http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/john_wilkins igwebuike and language: in search of an ontological toolbox for igbo-african philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 85 philosophy. he argued that philosophy had not sufficiently focused on the role language plays in cognition, and that future philosophy ought to proceed with a conscious focus on language. hence, language began to play a central role in western philosophy in the late 19th century. the philosophy of language then became so pervasive that for a time, in analytic philosophy circles, philosophy as a whole was understood to be a matter of philosophy of language (kanu 2014). during the 20 th century, ayer (1942) averred that our being as human beings was about the inversion of language for the all-encompassing agenda-setting of humanity. as such, humanity has no other choice than the total experimental engagement for the understanding of the workings of language. wittgenstein (1961), thus, argues that the function of philosophy is not to construct theories but to clarify thought. therefore, philosophy is an activity of elucidating propositions in order to make them clear, and this can only be done within the boundaries of human knowledge and the use of language. keller (1979) and rorty (1992) speak of modern trends within philosophical inquiry as a method that denotes philosophy as the passage from the philosophy of nature to the philosophy of language. they argue in favour of this linguistic turn on the basis that there is no singular possibility of human sciences outside the data base of human language. bell (1978) avers that “it is quite an illusion to imagine that one adjusts to reality essentially without the use of language and language is an incidental means of solving specific problems of communication or reflection” (p. 130). humbolt (1985) further underscores language as the totality of the human spirit which in itself is the central human activity that gives character and structure to human culture and individuality. language as the trajectory system of african philosophy this piece does not argue that african philosophy cannot be done in other languages; rather, it maintains that to engage in african philosophy more profoundly, the african language is indispensable. ikechukwu anthony, kanu igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 86 mbiti (1970) speaks of language as a very important element in understanding african philosophy: there is great potential in african scholars studying african traditional religion and philosophy, with the aid of scientific tools and methodology and with the advantages of being part of the peoples of africa, having almost unlimited access to information and speaking the languages which are the key to serious research and understanding of traditional religions and philosophy (p. 14). edeh (1985) further writes that: “our brief consideration of the igbo language leads us into the culture of the people since it is obvious that a language cannot be divorced from the culture which it expresses” (p. 56). while talking about destiny, gyekye (1987) brings out the link between language and philosophy as expressed by thinkers: the first relates to the link that a number of thinkers find between language and thought, or more precisely in the present context, between language and metaphysics. they claim that there is some kind of reality antecedent to language that language is developed to express or depict. language or linguistic structure, they hold, reflects a deep lying structure of reality or being. (p. 105). it is within this context that adeshina (2006) observes that every language system embodies a particular ontology and a system of knowledge about reality. language, from this perspective, becomes loaded with worldviews and metaphysics, and, more importantly, a person’s language determines, at least in part, the way to perceive and conceive the world. thus, when you lose the language of a people, you also lose a great chunk of their philosophy. it is not surprising that tempels (1959), edeh (1985), gyekye (1987) and iroegbu (1995) thought it significant to begin from the analysis of language in their philosophical searches. wittgenstein (1961), in his tractatus, argues that the structure of language is conditioned by the structure of reality, for language makes igwebuike and language: in search of an ontological toolbox for igbo-african philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 87 us see reality in a structure corresponding to the structure of language. he writes, “what every picture of whatever form must have in common with reality in order to be able to represent it at all… is the logical form, that is, the form of reality” (p. 18). he strongly believes that the structure of the world is pictured by language, which can now be considered a model of reality. wittgenstein (1974) further writes, “these facts (of which the world is made of) are pictured by language so that by means of language we make to ourselves pictures of facts” (p. 1). in this picture and the pictured, there must be something identical in order that one can be a picture of the other at all. language is like a mirror of facts, and if it does not correspond to it, it is false. what wittgenstein is saying is that just as you cannot use human language to talk about divine realities, you also cannot use european languages to talk about african realities, because there are so many things that the european language cannot picture in the african world, and even when it pictures it, it does that inadequately, for the simple reason that there are no such realities in the european world. ki-zerbo (1981) has argued that language is the treasury house of a people’s philosophy: language is like a bank or museum in which, over the centuries, each ethnic group has deposited all it has built up and accumulated in the way of mental and material tools, memories and resources of the imagination. by means of an in-depth and wide-ranging study of the language (both infra and supra linguistic). (p. 94). the emphasis on language as an indispensable element for doing profound african philosophy is very evident in the philosophical position of ethno-philosophers who view african philosophy as the philosophical thought of africans as could be gotten from their various world views, myths, proverbs, etc. in this sense, it is the philosophy indigenous to africans, untainted by foreign ideas. it places little or no emphasis on scientificity, logic, criticism and argumentation, and makes more emphases on local relevance or ikechukwu anthony, kanu igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 88 context. in studying ethno-philosophy, we discover the deep relationship between language and philosophy. in his work, african religions and philosophy, mbiti (1970) begins with an analysis of the african concept of time from the kikamba and gikuyu languages, in which he analyses three verbs that speak of the future, covering only a period of six months and not beyond two years at most. alexis kagame, in his work, philosophie bantou-rwandaise de l’etre, reveals that from the language of the rwandans who were called kinyarwanda they developed their thought through a linguistic ethno-philosophy. njoku (2010) discovered that ntu is the category of being or the generic meaning of something. this he classified into four: umuntu (human beings), ikintu (non-human beings), ahantu (place and time), and ukuntu (aristotelian category of quantity). ntu is the unifying notion among all these, even though god does not belong to it. iroegbu (1995) develops an african concept of being as belongingness from the igbo principle of egbe bere ugo bere (let the kite perch, let the eagle perch), which he believes re-enacts the contents and significance of belongingness. these developments in african philosophy are a pointer to the relevance of african language in doing african philosophy. it is also within the umbrella of this understanding that the igwebuike is adopted as a very significant concept in the understanding and communication of igbo-african philosophy. the tripartite dimensional reasons for igwebuike as a languagebased philosophy okosisi (2012) posits that each language of the world stands out as a configuration and mechanization of the people’s book of history and of philosophy, containing and concatenating their implications of real ‘worldhood’ of facts and metaphysics. thus, he avers, “the people who use that language are registered and known by the realities of that same language” (p. 9). it is in this regard that igwebuike stands out as a configuration and mechanization of the igbo-african book of history, and captures the igbo-african real world of facts and igwebuike and language: in search of an ontological toolbox for igbo-african philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 89 metaphysics. it is within this context too that it is referred to as the gateway to igbo-african philosophy or ‘worldhood.’ to understand better how igwebuike serves as a gateway to the igbo ‘worldhood’ of facts and metaphysics, it would be worthwhile to employ the tripartite dimensional functions of language in okonkwo (1994), which include: the function of communication, the function of interpretation of the real world (thought function) and the function of ontology (metaphysics or identity), and explain how igwebuike functions in these capacities. a. igwebuike as an instrument of igbo-african thought: igwebuike is an instrument of thought which natures and showcases the igbo-african human ideas that may be instances and stances of science in a fact of ‘worldhood’, and this is possible because of the central place of igwebuike in the igboafrican worldview. within this context, igwebuike becomes an expression of the igbo-african world because it captures and expresses igbo forms, symbolism, signs, media, meaning, anthropologies, universal cosmic truths, functions, semantic powers, physics, phenomena, faculties, and igbo environthought communication language igwebuike social identity ikechukwu anthony, kanu igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 90 mentalities, perception, identity, phenomenalism, metaphysics, logic, history of analytic character, speculative mindset and positive provisions for definitions of facts. it is a media for conveying basic facts about our relationship with one another, the environment and super-sensible world. b. igwebuike as an instrument of igbo-african social communication: communication speaks of the state of affairs within which human persons share commonly and mutually intelligible and knowledgeable competences. igwebuike, with all it embodies, is an instrument of social communication. this is possible because it is the moving spirit, and therefore captures the entirety, of the african means of communication which involves stories, proverbs, dancing, music, costumes, arts, religious ceremonies, rites and rituals, music, etc., which might be used for the transmission of cultural and religious heritages, skills and knowledge. c. igwebuike as an instrument of igbo-african social identity: igwebuike captures the social identity of the igboafrican. as a concept, it gives the igbo-african the identity of being in an integral framework of relationality. igwebuike is, therefore, not just a word but symbolizes the identity of the igbo-african. it is based on the worldview of the people which is a background to igbo behaviour and metaphysics. it explains the igbo attitude, blueprints, traits, skills, etc., that have registered on their identity, institution, organization, management, etc. the analysis of igwebuike from the stand point of the functions of language, and the discovery of the fulfilment of these functions by igwebuike, becomes a basis for the insistence on the importance of language in african philosophy and the emphasis on igwebuike as the gateway to igbo-african philosophy. igwebuike and language: in search of an ontological toolbox for igbo-african philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 91 conclusion this study on igwebuike as the ontological toolbox of igbo-african philosophy, which is a reflection within the parameters of african philosophy of language, has been undertaken on the basis that the igbo language and igbo world are merged into the same reality. any attempt to separate the two points to the impending danger of misrepresentation and misinterpretation. igwebuike is understood within this context as the gateway to igbo-african philosophy. thus, an investigation of the structure of igwebuike, which is an igbo language, is at the same time an investigation of the formal structures and aspects of the igbo world. it is within this context that wittgenstein stated that “the limit of my language is the limit of my world”. references adeshina, a. (2006). the language question in african philosophy. in olusegun, o. (ed.). core issues in african philosophy (pp. 41-58). ibadan: hope. ayer, a. j. (1942). language, truth and logic. new york: dover publications. bell, r. (1978). sociolinguistics: goals, approaches and problems. london: b. t. batsford ltd cassirer, e. (1976). an essay on man: an introduction to a philosophy of human culture. new haven: yale university press. edeh, e. (1985). towards ab igbo metaphysics. chicago: loyola university press. gyekye, k. (1987). an essay on african philosophical thought: the akan conceptual scheme. cambridge: cambridge university press. honderich, t. (1976). the oxford companion to philosophy. england: penguin books. iroegbu, p. (1995). metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: international universities press. ikechukwu anthony, kanu igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 92 kanu, i. a. (2010). towards an african cultural renaissance. professor andah journal of cultural studies. 3. 59-70. kanu, i. a. (2012). the colonial legacy: the hidden history of africa’s present crisis. an international journal of arts and humanities 1. 1. 123-131. kanu, i. a. (2014). igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholic-pentecostal relations. jos studies. 22. pp.8798. kanu, i. a. (2015). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2016). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2012). the role of language in the socio-political philosophy of john locke. international journal of humanities and social science. vol. 2. no. 14 pp.126-131. kanu, i. a. (2014). african philosophy and the problem of language. asian academic research journal of social science and humanities. vol. 1. no. 21. pp. 248-258. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in igwebuike and language: in search of an ontological toolbox for igbo-african philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 93 mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kanu, i. a. (2019). on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159-176. kanu, i. a. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. keller, a. (1979). sprachphiloosphie. muenchen: verlg karl alber. ki-zerbo, j. (1981). general history of africa, methodology and african prehistory. berkley: university of california. mbiti, j. (1970). african religions and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational. njoku, f. o. c. (2002). essays in african philosophy, thought and theology. owerri: claretian institute of philosophy. njoku, f. o. c. (2010). a search for unifying conceptsdestiny and change, freedom and determinism in african philosophy. in ikechukwu anthony, kanu igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 94 benjamin ike ekwelu (ed.). philosophical reflections on african issues. enugu: delta. okonkwo, j. i. (1994). nationalism and nationism: the sociolinguistic cross-road of the nigerian national language policy. aap. 40. 115-130. okonkwo, j. i. (2002). worldview and life form crisis of the nigerian philosophy of culture: an appraisal. journal of nigerian languages and culture. 4. 171-182. okosisi, j. i. (2012). okwu danahu onu: the basic principle of igbo philosophy of language. inaugural lecture series. no. 6. imo state university, owerri, nigeria. pierper, f. (1992). abuse of language, abuse of power. san francisco: ignatius press. rorty, r. (1992). the linguistic turn: essays in philosophical method. chicago: chicago university press. sefler, m. (1974). language and the world: a methodological synthesis within the writing of martin heidegger and ludwig wittgenstein. new york. tempels, p. (1959). bantu philosophy. paris: presence africaine. wittgenstein, l. (1961). tractatus logico-philosophicus. london: reute ledge and kegan. the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 95 the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse hilary ugwu, msw university of oklahoma school of social work norman, usa, hiugwu@yahoo.com executive summary why are some bible-believers and judeo-christian and islamic scholars so reluctant about investigating extrabiblical facts that contradict existing biblical and theological constructs? the answer is simple! it has to do with the problem of theological dogmatism. webster dictionary defines dogma as “a system of doctrine proclaimed true by a religious sect,” or “principle, belief or idea especially one considered to be absolute truth.” webster equally defines dogmatism as “the expression of an opinion or belief as if it were a fact…” or “a viewpoint or system of ideas based on insufficiently examined premises.” dogmatism of any kind inhibits sound scholarly research. there are dogmatist physicists who refuse to abandon some of the outdated theories of einsteinian-type classical physics, even in the face of the triumphant new discoveries in quantum physics. such physicists prefer traditionalism over facts. thus, they have difficulties conceptualizing that solidity and individuation of matter within the realm of perceptible physical world is an illusion. this is because the atomic and the subatomic quantum realm operates with the law of pure potentiality or possibility. it is consciousness that brings density into materialization. this fact has been proven by the new research in “double-slit experiment.” in the same way, the dogmatic pharmacological scientist mailto:hiugwu@yahoo.com hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 96 is closed-minded and will not investigate the universal harmonic frequency in order to consider that homeostatic natural foods and herbs are way superior to their bigmoney-driven allopathic synthetic pills. these pills are not in tune with the human biorhythm and bio-vibratory frequency. the problem with dogmatism of any kind is that they make laws, ordinances, sanctions, rules, and condemn oppositions. dogmatists often hold the key to certifications, and if you don’t agree with them, your certification is frozen. their arrogance and attitude is much like: ‘if you are not with us, you are a heretic and dangerous.’ i am certainly one of those who consider theological dogmatism as inhumane, ungodly and absurd. dogmatism of any kind is counter-research as well as contra-scientific. dogmatists are nothing but ideological bullies as well as intellectual harassers. this is how dogmatism works: first it displays its version of ‘the truth,’ like a pre-manufactured industrial consumer goods. it calls this version absolute. then, it forces the masses into uncritical consumption of that brand or version. any real or perceived opposition is aggressively and apologetically rejected. ideological dogmatism is a servant-slave to the status-quo. with theological dogmatism, there is no room for a dialectical scrutiny of the structural components of the belief system in question. theological dogmatists are closed-minded religious luddites, with rigid authoritarian worldview. they are ecclesio-theological buffers against critical intellectual and historical searchlights. a dogmatist is insecure and will attack every attempt to throw new light on some old information systems. dogmatism is like a self-preserving narcissistic poltergeist afraid to come out to the sunlight. religious dogmatists, especially, utilize guilt, shame, condemnation, excommunication, ‘sending-to-hell,’ character assassination, intimidation, thuggery as well as doctrinal nazism to create a colonial monopoly of the the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 97 thought processes of the masses. in theological dogmatism, a point of view is manufactured and imposed as irreducibly infallible wherewith one must swallow or be vilified as a rebel. a typical fanatical dogmatist mindset runs thus: “the bible is the absolute word of god, end of argument, take it or leave it” or “the church says it and you must follow with no questions.” this explains why so many people are not just incapable of looking beyond what is fed to them as ‘truth,’ but are actually afraid to do so. there are those who can decipher the fallacy of biblical chronology but choose to persist in the error of their fallacy. this might be due to fidelity to statutory ecclesiasticism, cooperate orthodoxy, ritualism, institutional didacticism and mass kerygmatic pentecostal showmanship. to speak the truth often means compromising a position. this work is meant to push the envelope and invoke a critical examination of the established narrative, particularly relative to the mysterious identity and/ or events surrounding the person of moses. keywords: african, biblical, old testament, moses, igwebuike, philosophy, kanu ikechukwu anthony introduction religious and non-religious folks alike study the bible for moral codes of conduct, spiritual guidance, part-time explorative curiosity, scholarly investigation, etc. whichever the case may be, the bible continues to be both a source of simplistic pious inspiration as well as a source of fierce controversial pedagogical debate. my intension is to awaken some critical insights and stretch the mind to a new and higher dimension of reasoning and conceptualization. i do not believe for a moment that the bible is a book of absolute historical facts. the bible is more of a compilation of astro-theology, zodiac myths, moral codes, hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 98 tribal religious rituals, etc. historical facts in the bible are very minute and highly corrupted when one considers the book in its entirety. both the old and the new testaments are full of manufactured falsehoods, psydo-epigraphical deceptions, intentionally omitted facts, inaccurate dates and so on. in the new testament, for example, ecclesio-patristic regimes created so much intentional forgeries. the brutal repression of the socalled heretics was a form of clampdown of all other facts which the church feared. origen adamantius, also known as origen of alexandria or simply origen, is one of the brightest scholars in the history of christian theology. but, he fell out of favour with the church and he was vilified and refused to be according the title of ‘sainthood,’ despite his undisputed acetic discipline and moral beacon. he was defamed by the claims that he got himself castrated in his quest for purity of the body. this story is probably an ecclesiastical fabrication. what was origen’s error? part of his vilification was very obvious. he spoke the truth. i am currently looking into the reason why so many christian scholars and theologians coming out of africa (alaxandra in egypt) as well as cartage were termed heretics. it has to do with the fact of them being in possession of the original stories from where the new testament derived. the imperial, expansionist, euro-roman church condemned many bright out-of-africa scholars as heretics. the ecclesiastical regime wanted a monopoly of the religious narratives which was achieved not by the free will and superior intellectual debate but by force and brutality. so many large libraries were destroyed by ecclesiastical regimes, especially those of north africa church scholars. many scholars believe that the church would never have defeated gnostic movements, if it was not through military force, because they possessed superior knowledge. reading the account of the gnostic movement from the point of view of the church, one encounters so much propaganda and falsehood. some of the propaganda are funny and absurd. origen linked jesus and the story of his death and resurrection with the pre-existing religious sect like that of the dionysian cult. the cult the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 99 of dionysus pre-existed in greece thousands of years before christianity. dionysus’ birth had an annunciation from a divine being, his mother was called the virgin, he was born through immaculate conception, he taught in the temple at the age of twelve, he had twelve disciples, he was crucified on a tree, and he resurrected and is celebrated in paschal mystery with bread and wine. dionysus enjoins his followers to drink his blood and eat his flesh to have life— exactly the same doctrinal translations present in the new testament. we must bear in mind that even the greek dionysus was a copycat of the african/egyptian cult of horus/heru. according to the historian, diodorus, the africans/egyptians mocked the greeks as infantile because when they copied their astro-theology, they made it real history. the egyptian god, set, shetan (satan), for example became the greek god, typhon. if the ancient egyptian priests and philosophers were to come back in our own time, they will mock as absurd so many things that the christians believe today . this is because they would know that the beliefs are mirrors of their ancient astro-theological mythos. the twelve houses of israel were nothing other than the twelve houses of zodiac astrological constellations. it is difficult to prove the actual existence of the twelve tribes of israel. hebrew history scholars are trying to convince us that following the military campaign of the assyrian kings, tiglath-pileser iii (745–727 b.c.e.), shalmaneser v (727–722 b.c.e.) and sargon ii (722–705 b.c.e.), the israelis were permanently deported and from this deportation came the story of the lost tribes. where is the archeological evidence? in the new testament, we see so many fish symbolisms: mathew 4:18-19; mathew14:17-21; mathew 7:9-10; matthew12:40; luke 24:42; john 21-13, and there are many more. the new testament’s allusion to fish connotes zodiac astrology. we were told that jesus fed the people with “two fishes.” anyone who investigates astrological houses will know that pieces is the 12 th sign. it is symbolized by two fish. two thousand years ago, the sun was in the constellation of pieces. it was called the age of pieces or the age of fish which became esoterically coded in the new testament. we were told that hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 100 before the feast of passover (this is not actual history), the israelites were asked to slaughter lambs. if egyptians actually lost every first male child in the last plague, how come they did not record it? how come there were no further records of it by world renounced historians. there is a fragmented piece of archeological document known discovered in egypt called the papyrus ipuwer or the admonitions of ipuwer. many biblical scholars are stating that this is an evidence that the egyptians recorded the famous “hebrew plague.” but in that papyrus, ipuwer who might have been a priest, an official scribe or just a private scribe wrote expressing certain tragedy that took place in the land akin to war tragedy or years of national difficulties. it is irresponsible to conclude that this is a sign that the hebrew sadistic blood thirsty tribal deity, yahweh, was the cause. the slaughtering of lambs as hebrew passover even was an astrological symbolism as well. lamb is the symbol of the zodiac sign of aries. it was a ritual performed in commemoration of the sun leaving the constellation of aries—that is, passing over to a new zodiac house—that of pieces. it is to mark the ending of an old age and the beginning of a new zodiac era. we also see that jesus was described feeding the people with fish. this description is purely esoteric because at that time, the sun was in pieces constellation. it takes the sun about 25,000 years to complete its procession through the twelve zodiac houses. when the sun moves into a new zodiac constellation house, it affects earth’smagnetosphere. there have been geomagnetic changes recorded in history due to solar procession through the different consolations. new solar frequencies will trigger the human genetic mutations and dna updates and people will evolve. there is no doubt that the sun is the major source of genetic evolution of man. if there is a solar flare or solar storm, plasma, solar waves and photons are discharged throughout the space. the earth’s ozonosphere will filter radioactive solar materials but will also permit certain passages throughout planet through different electromagnetic frequencies. it is because we are dumb that we condemn the ancient when they venerate the sun. the sun is an active intelligence and it is what activates the code of dna without this biosphere. the age of the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 101 pieces is gone. this age was characterized by blind belief systems and rigid religious rituals. with the sun moving into the current aquarius constellation, we will notice changes in the structure of the human society. blind religious belief will decline drastically. people will want to know and not just believe. science, inner reflection, selfawareness, liberation from religious dogmas is going to override simplistic will, override religious mass mind-controls. institutionalism and traditionalism will decline. in the gospel of st. luke 22:10, the pseudo-epigraphical writer(s) made us believe that jesus said the following: (he said to them) “behold, when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. follow him into the house that he enters.” this statement is purely a coded esoteric symbolism, alluding to the sun’s procession through the zodiac houses. remember, from the age (house) of aries, the sun moved to the age (house) of pieces. then the next solar age is the age of aquarius. so jesus was referring to the “aquarius mam.” the word aquarius means “water carrier.” if one researches the symbol of aquarius, it is depicted in all ancient astrological pictographic murals as a man carrying a water pitcher and pouring the water content down. the symbol of the pouring is the “the new spirit’ or dna update or activation. jesus told them to follow this man into his “house.” each zodiac constellation is called by all ancient scripts as “a house.” jesus was esoterically telling them that the great age of pieces in which they were in (symbolized by two fish) will soon end after in about 2000 years. he then pointed them to follow the next age, the age of aquarius symbolized in ancient paintings as a man carrying a water jar. in the grand scheme of things, we are currently in the age of aquarius. any astronomical scientist will tell you that the sun is now entering the constellation of aquarius and will remain there for the next 2000 years plus before it moves to the next which is the constellation of sagittarius. this is why the church does not want people to study astrology and they vilify it as occultic or evil to frighten the people. this is because a sound knowledge of astrology hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 102 will expose so many information hidden from the ordinary people. the term “holy bible” tells it all. it is greek words for “helios byblos” which literarily means “sun book” or the book of the sun. consequently, the book if full of zodiac symbolism, sun worships and the whole compendium of ancient esoteric astrological events. many bible scholars have never known that there were so many other messianic figures that predate the christian doctrinal theology. jesus’ story of annunciation, virgin birth, teaching in the temple at the age of twelve, performing miracle, betrayal, crucifixion on a cross and resurrection had the exact repeated pattern of these other historical personages as chronicled in these other sacred texts. who copied from whom? and why are they hiding it from the people and scaring people from finding out? christianity is very new and recent compared to others. there is a lot of historicizing of astro-mythology in the new testament, including the story of jesus. my interest in this work is to awaken a critical discussion on a topic which many apologetic bible scholars shy away from. many bible teachers assume the story of the bible are facts and thus, need no investigation. and, when some actually investigate, they keep to the status quo by subliminally evading the consequences of their research entirely. my sole purpose here is to investigate the african identify of the character identified in the bible as moses. i could not have done this without preparing readers to have at the back of their minds, that a lot of things written in the bible were not facts. there is higher probability that moses, if indeed he existed, was of african bloodline. thus, before accusing me of having an afro-centric view of the bible, take time to investigate thoroughly any evidence that i will be raising herein. knowledge of the great ancient african nile river civilization as one of the major civilizations that shaped humanity’s theological conceptions is important. majority of people who read the bible do not have access to extra-biblical material facts or sources to compare with the stories they are reading and believing. thus, a lot of people, including prominent bible teachers, are prone to digesting the bible with acute historiographical, historiological and metaphysical the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 103 blunders. when religious gaffe translates into metaphysical dogmas, the result could be profound mass delusion. orthodox theological establishment could serve as a fertile ground for mass folie-a-deux as well as anti-fact religious movement. there is need for an authentic epistemo-cognitive praxeology in the examination of the historical claims of all religious documents. hellenism and the name egypt when reading the bible, one comes across names like egypt and egyptians. another name which is used in the old testament to refer to egypt is mizraim (genesis 10:13). however, the fact remains that the people and the place being referenced to as egypt or the egyptians were africans. these africans did not identify themselves with such names as egypt of egyptians. so, what did the socalled egyptians call themselves? before delving into this question, let’s look at what led to foreigners’ re-naming of africa land as egypt. there were historical factors that led to the decline and eventual collapse of the great nile river civilization of egypt (africa). the name ‘egypt’ came as a result of greek invasion. before the greeks invaded, there were the assyrians, the persians, the hyksos, etc. each of these invasions vulturized the black land and its civilization. alexander the great, son of philip of macedon, arrive in africa with his army in 332 b.c. by this period, the land had already been weakened militarily, culturally and economically. the egyptian global influence had waned. the great african pharaohhood had been compromised. this led to the hellenic foreigners forcing themselves into the pharaohic thrown of the africans beginning in 334 b.c. the first hellenic coronation introduced a new era called the ptolemy dynasty. greek invaders even started changing the name of the african god and imposing their own version. for instance, they created the cult of oserapis. the image of oserapis would later become the iconic picture of jesus christ painted and kept in homes all over the world— continued imperialism of the mind of the indo-european and angloamerican psychological warfare. the ptolomy kings confined the hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 104 word ‘oserapis’ from eclectically combining two names of egyptian deities, osiris and apis (also known as hapi). with the greek take over came the re-naming of africans, their lands and their culture. the african city of men-nefer was misnamed by the greek as memphis. this city was where the temple of the god, ptah, resided. ptah was the same creator-god that would later emerge in the hebrew creation myth as the creator-deity of the garden of eden myth. this is a replica of memphite theological construct. the temple of ptah, situated in memphis, was called by the african people of the time “hikuptah,” which could translate as ‘house of the soul of ptah.’ eventually, the greeks started calling the entire city of memphis, aigyptos, which is a mispronounced, hellenized and misunderstood word for hikuptah. it is from aigyptos that we have the name egypt. from calling the city of memphis aigyptos, they proceeded further to apply the name to the entire land. similarly, the greek used to call africans αἰθίοψ, aithiop (ethiop) which meant “burnt face” or black face, a name that now becomes identified specifically with ethiopia. due to the re-naming of place and erasing of ancient identities, it is difficult to contextualize history in its purity. we read books and watch movies. we see how anglo-america’s powerful cinematographic mind-controller—the hollywood has produced multiple movies and books in which egyptians and their people are depicted with caucasian or arabic features. i still have to reiterate this fact to many of my non-african friends that egypt is in africa. many africans who read the bible are unaware of the level of mind-control they are dealing with. one will be surprised to find out that majority of bible readers do not know that mount sinai, which was significant in the story of moses and the exodus, is in africa as well. the name ‘sinai’ has an etymological derivative from the sumerian word sin. sin is a moon deity (natan, 2006). this deity was very popular throughout the mesopotamian region in ancient times. sin is the father of the sun god, shamash. innana is the mother of shamash. inanna took different names in different cultures, such as anat, ishtar, venus, asherah, and astarte, isis and, in the modern time, the virgin mary. all named goddesses are referred to as “the the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 105 queen of heaven.” the cult of goddesses was a universal occurrence. these goddesses have luna crescent as symbols. many pictures virgin mary have her standing with her feet resting on a crescent moon; the same ancient coded esoteric imagery of the ancient mother goddess. often they are seen carrying a baby or nursing a baby who is the “sun god” or “son of god.” this is why virgin mary is often drawn standing on a crescent moon. so mount sinai is obviously associated with the concept of the mountain of the moon god. sin, with his female companion innana, engendered as son, the sun god shamash. what did the egyptians call themselves? but what did the africans who established one of the greatest civilizations around the nile river call themselves? they identified themselves with the word kmt or kemet, which means ‘black land,’ indicating the colour of the people who lived there. whether you call it kemet, chem or chemi, they are the same and mean black. the word chemistry is etymologically derived from the ancient african name, chem or kemet. the arabic word kimiya, probably with a greek derivation, means black. it is from this arabic word that the word alchemy comes . alchemy initially was an advanced african ‘magical’ formula of transforming base matter into pure gold. the term ‘black magic’ is used today in a derogatory way. but the term originally stood for the ancient african (chem) knowledge of advanced science. it literarily means ‘african science.”. the indoasiatic/indo-aryans called it ‘black magic’ because it was the science of the ancient (black, kmt, chem) africans. black magic, in its original meaning, did not mean evil, as we have been brainwashed to believe. it used to refer to certain knowledge of quantum physics and how to manipulate etheric energy forms to create solutions within the visible spectrum of light. for instance, black magic is not different from the science of manipulating radio waves in the electromagnetic spectrum in order to receive telephone, television and radio signals. black magic/black science is the ancient african knowledge and application of the law of physics and the quantum realm. it was the hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 106 ignorance of the indo-asiatic and indoeuro-aryanists that termed it “black magic.” they called it magic because they did not understand it. today, many africans use the term “black magic,” not understanding that it is a self-mockery. it is equivalent to calling the use of radio wave frequency to make telephone calls “white magic.” moses as an african was very versed in the egyptian alchemical black magic—advanced knowledge of the invisible realms and how they interact with the visible light spectrum. these are advanced knowledge. where did the egyptians originate from? the current people in north africa who are called egyptians are not the descendants of the original historical egyptians. these were recent invaders who spread to africa from arabia. the original inhabitants of the land of the pharaohs were blacks. for some racist europeans who claim that egyptian civilization is not an african civilization, the great scholar, dr. ben-jochannan (1989), disagrees. according to him, the egyptians themselves attested to the fact of whom they are and where they came from. he cited an excavated papyrus containing funerary rites belonging to an ancient egyptian (african) called hunefer. in this priced archeological document, the egyptians made it clear that “we came from the beginning of the nile where god hapi dwells, at the foothill of the mountain of the moon.” this referenced mountain of the moon is not the same as mount sinai described above. rather this is in reference to a mountain range in east africa, kenya and uganda and the democratic republic of congo. mount kilimanjaro is in kenya. mount ruwenzori is between uganda and the democratic republic of congo. my curiosity was alerted when the egyptians identify the god, hapi, with the mountain of the moon in africa. hapi is one of the oldest gods on the planet. so, the egyptians were also attesting to their pre-history as being authentically african. hapi/api is the god of the annual flooding. we know for certain that the nile river in egypt has its origin in east africa. the ugandan word for the ruwenzori is “rain maker.” i am just curiously making a connection between the ugandan word describing the mountain of the moon “ruwenzori” with “rain’ and the egyptians identity the god the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 107 who dwell in the same region with annual flooding (rain). to any racist who is in denial, hunefer’s papyrus is a strong piece of historical evidence of the african origin of egyptian civilization. the egyptologist, robert bauval and his colleague thomas brophy, published their work under the title of: black genesis: the prehistoric origins of ancient egypt in which they made it clear that egyptian civilization, with their highly advanced technological prowess, was an authentic black african civilization. the name moses: etymological exposition the egyptian word ‘ms’ or “msi” (mose) passed from its greek linguistic hellenization to its present construct, moses. the hebrew word , transliterates as mosheh (moses). hebrew language has the word, which is different from for those who have at least some elementary understanding of hebrew. if you have basic knowledge of hebrew, you will notice diacritical differences in both words. the word, transliterates as mashah. mashah literarily implies “to draw.” therefore, a correlation between mashah and mosheh was somehow falsely established (thanks to the nameless egyptian princess). this correlation was crafted to justify moses’ nonafrican or rather assumed hebraic bloodline. greenberg (2008) is among the researchers who reject this engineered cut-and-join explanation. sigmund freud (1939) of psychoanalytic theory, himself a jew, rejected the hasty correlation of mashah and mosheh as well. freud exposed a biblical fallacy hiding in plain sight. he stated that it is very “nonsensical” to believe that an egyptian princess had good knowledge of hebrew linguistic and cultural etymologies as shown in her naming of baby moses. biblical narrator states thus: “she (pharaoh’s daughter) named him moses, saying i drew him out of the water” exodus 2:8). this is a huge red flag. if the story is true, the egyptian princess must have been a hebrew scholar or linguist. she must have lived in hebraic culture to know their language and naming rituals. this is very unlikely. if the hebrews were salves in egypt (it is not very certain), one must also believe that a princess will not copy hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 108 the inferior culture of the slaves. it is the other way round; the slaves will learn the superior culture of their enslavers and masters. this is much like assuming that president trump’s daughter, ivanka, found an abandoned yoruba (nigerian tribe) baby from a poor immigrant labourer floating in the mississippi river in the southern part of usa and gave him an authentic yoruba name, eniolorunopa and then proceeded further to provide a solid cultural etymology to the name as meaning “the one whose life god will spare.” the first mistake is clean. it is very unlikely that ivanka would understand a single word in yoruba language. as a highly placed princess of his father, living in super affluence, interacting with the world’s most powerful people, it is highly unlikely that she spends time socializing with poor common workers, let alone learning their language and understanding specific linguistic and cultural meanings. then, compare this to the claim attributed to the egyptian princess and do the math. the drama of naming of moses by pharaoh’s daughter was a façade, a historical fabrication, and a lie. the process of converting moses from his african root into a hebrew was gradual. as described above, we saw that the greeks invaded and controlled the entire levant region, foisting their colonial culture over the people. hellenistic elites translated the original hebrew-stolen african name mose (mosheh) to mosis; then from greek mosis to our popularly adopted anglicized (english) translation, moses. in ancient egypt, the word “ms” means “is born.” the hebraic corruption of this name is obvious for any scholars who can look deep enough. hebraic plagiarized version is a mockery to egyptian child-naming culture. egyptians would not just name a child “ms” or moses. for instance, in igbo (nigerian tribe) language, chukwubuike (god is strength) could be corrupted as “buike,” which translates as “is strength.” igbos do not just name a child “buike.” a non-igbo who decides to plagiarize the name “buike” and impose such a name on his/her child has committed an epistemological error for those who understand igbo cultural and linguistic root. the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 109 the above analogy provides a picture of the hebrew corruption of the egyptian word “ms” (mose). there is usually a prefix to the name mose. egyptians give their children names, such as: amenmose (amen-moses), which means the god amen is born; tutmose (tut/thot-moses), the god tut or thot is born; ramses (ra/re moses), the god ra (sun god) is born; ptahmose (ptah-moses), the god ptah is born; ahmose (ah/aa/iah-moses), the moon (god) is born, etc. in his book, history of egypt, breasted (1905), the famous egyptologist, re-echoed similar hebraic plagiarism of egyptian babynaming style. he translated the word “mose” to mean “a child” is born. breasted indicated that amen-mose could also stand for “amena-child” (is born). that is, the god, amen (as a child) has been born. to understand this psychology of child naming, i would like to invoke the new testament in the gospel of st. mathew (1:23). the hebrew has the following equivalent english alphabetical transcription: -yi/, -ma/ -nu/ אל-el) pronounced y’manu-el or emanuel, el standing for god as in (el’ohim. the hebrew word, as translated in the new testament following isaiah’s prophesy, means “god is with us.” so, when the egyptians name a child amenmose(s), for instance, they are alluding to divine incarnation through the birth of a child. it means god has manifested in the named newborn child. it is worth noting here that it is the same egyptian god “amen” deity that christians and muslims invoke at the end of prayer when they say “amen,” indicating that all religions came out of the mystery systems, particularly from egypt. church fathers have plagiarized an enormous number of documents from ancient egyptian astro-theologies and deities. the church destroyed, through years of persecution and death, any documents that would expose origin of their significant theological personalities and doctrinal constructions. coming back to our central topic, sigmund freud contends that the bearer of egyptian name, in this case moses, is egyptian. although, to be intellectually fair, bearing of any name from any culture does not necessarily make one part of that culture, as it might just imply cultural adoption, appropriation, or assimilation. however, there are other factors which provide concrete evidence of moses being an hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 110 egyptian and not hebrew. the problem is that some read the bible as though it is some scientific historical facts, thus, locking their minds out of any authentic extra-biblical accounts of history. another possible evidence of moses being a true egyptian and not hebrew could be deciphered in exodus (4:10): moses said to the lord, “pardon your servant, lord. i have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. i am slow of speech and tongue.” interpretations of this verse often allude to him as being a stammerer, as in verbal impediment. but this could mean that moses was explaining that he was not familiar with hebraic language, culture, and the entire social psychology of the population he planned to lead out of egypt. he could not speak the language. he did not understand them. they were not in the same social, educational, or statutory psychology. moses belonged to the egyptian elite. it could mean that as a highly placed scholar, highly learned it would be hard to speak to the understanding of mostly illiterate agrarian community and convey a revolutionary philosophy (in this case, monotheism, which i will come to shortly) to them. he needed an intermediary. someone who was part of and used to the lower class since aaron provided a way out. for instance, imagine a harvard super-elite scholar, who works with the world’s superpower president and government all his life, born into wealth, never been close to, nor understands rural village life or the psychology of poor people. imagine such a person coming back to an impoverished people in rural village, trying to get them to abandon their way of life and to follow him and study quantum physics. that was how it was for moses, if we follow the trend of the story. the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 111 the appropriation of moses’ african identity in the book of exodus chapter 2, pharaoh’s daughter provided an account of moses’ identity. when subjected to exegetical contextualization, this account is false. many bible scholars never questioned why chroniclers of this biblical birth event omitted the specific name of the egyptian princess who supposedly rescued abandoned baby moses from the nile river. this pharaoic princess (who has no name) went on and testified regarding moses’s identity thus: “this is one of the hebrew babies” (vs 6). the psychology of this statement has a hideous intent. those who can read in between the line can detect the lies. bible writers were carefully emphatic and specifically descriptive in linking the messianic type moses with hebraic root. within this emphasis is a covert implant of fabricated falsehood. the reason was that they were trying to claim the child, so that through him they could manufacture a historical narrative that justifies an existence of a people belonging to a deity who supposedly orders the making of that historical narrative. prehistoric israel is non-existent. extra-biblical, genetic, archaeological and paleontological evidences do not support the existence of prehistoric israel. the great african scholar, cheikh anta diop (see, civilization or barbarism), explains that there is a “paleontological vacuum” to the notion of garden of eden origin of humanity. he further states that the levant region was once populated by negroids. there was a time when the entire planet was populated by negroid humanity, according to diop. there was no mongoloid and no caucasoid. if this, and the science of mitochondrial dna, is true, it is an assault on human intelligence to credit the creation of man by a group of extra-terrestrial space-invading elohim beings in the garden of eden somewhere in the middle east. diop confirms with biological science that all other shades of racial colours results from the synthesis of vitamin d through the sun’s ultraviolent frequency. paleontologists have been able to establish that the oldest anatomically modern human such as australopithecus afarensis came from africa, that is, assuming that darwin’s evolutionary theory is hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 112 true. the british paleontologist, professor louis leaky (1903 – 1972), attested to an african origin of modern humanity. a critical mind would have been asking by now, if humanity existed in africa millions of years before the garden of eden creation, why have theologians continued to promote garden of eden fairy tale. because the negroid has always existed on the planet before any other race, the goal of many history creators of the past has always been to fabricate a narrative that supports historical emergence of certain people on this planet. in so doing, where facts are lacking, religious myths fill in the gap. let us return to pharaoh’s daughter’s false testimony that moses was a hebrew child. the false testimony was put into the mouth of this nameless egyptian princess by the religious elites and scholars of the bible. we see a similar birth story preexisting in akkadia, samaria. the story of sargon of akkad had exact birth circumstances with moses and it is questionable if chroniclers of moses birth did not plagiarize sagon’s messianic symbolism, including his mysterious birth and miraculous survival by being rescued from the rivers by a maiden. narrator(s) of moses’ birth reported that pharaoh’s daughter named the child, moses, saying, “i drew him out of the water.” thus, they succeeded in making pharaoh’s daughter to provide a pseudo etymology of the name moses. the decipherment of egyptian hieroglyph has provided an understanding of the historical morphology of the name, moses. in any case, it is non-hebraic and has never been. it is rather african, egyptian. there is a deceptive reason as to why bible writers used the general term, pharaoh, when discussing egyptian kings. pharaoh is not a name of a person; it is rather a position, an office, much like the office of the president. if bible chroniclers had mentioned specific names of individual pharaohs and periods of their reigns, it would have been easy to unearth the complicated inaccuracies of biblical reports when fact-checked against extra-biblical authentic historical records. the fact that they did not shows a hideous intention. for instance, any honest historian would be filled with rage, reading the enter four the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 113 hundred years of african slavery in america, without specific mention of specific president during specific time. if between 1648 and 1863, a group of scholars were chronicling african slavery in america, and instead of identifying specific names of individuals occupying the office of the president, they resorted to using the world “the president,” how would that history be. by using the name pharaoh, this is what scholars who wrote the bible did—cover their tracks. granted, they mentioned one or two specific names of pharaoh but that is about it. therefore, it is difficult to double-check reports of biblical events such as the plagues, with actual factual written histories by the egyptians themselves. it appears bible writers knew their tricks ahead of time and that they were trying to hide the nonexistence of the ancient history which they had invented. why did moses and his followers leave egypt? it was not any deity commanding moses to get out of egypt. a civil war broke out due to religio-ideological factions. moses was following a new revolutionary teaching--the monotheism. this teaching was invented and promoted by the pharaoh akhenaten. pharaoh akhenaton (circa 1353 b.c to 1336 b.c) reigned during egypt’s 18th golden dynasty. he was the pharaoh amenophis iv, but took up the name akhenaton after his spiritual awakening that led him to invent monotheism. akhenaton stood out prominent in history. many people, based on the hebrew bible, attribute universal monotheism to the hebrew deity javhe (yahweh). this demonstrates lack of knowledge of the egyptian history. moses, having been under pharaoh akhenaton, was only an ambassador to pharaoh’s universal religious doctrine. sigmund freud established an inseparable dependence of the jewish concept of monotheism on that of the monotheistic emergence out of egyptian history. when akhenaten died, moses was promoting his monotheistic teaching. it was a radical shift in the human concept of self and the divine—a shift towards the left-brain hemisphere, involving cognitive abstraction. prior to akhenaton, gods were represented all over egypt hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 114 and, in fact, all over the world in anthropomorphic imageries, concrete symbols, visual pictographs, statues, zoomorphism, etc. this approach uses the famine right-brain hemisphere of conceptualizing reality. akhenaton destroyed statues of the gods causing so much controversy. he was the first human in history to invent monotheism, not moses. moses was just his advanced imitate servant. monotheism, for the people of that era, was a mathematical abstract concept. it was unnatural to them, unheard of. akhenaton’s new religion condemns representing god in visual images, only abstract universal concept. we can see, historically, that once monotheism got hold of humanity, the art of writing became alphabetical and no longer pictographic. akhenaton’s destroying of the statues of the gods did not go well with the priests and local political establishments. he was hated and they wanted him dead and gone. one could rationally understand why moses was hesitant in proceeding with his akhenaton-driven monotheistic mission. after the death of akhenaton, it was almost suicidal for him to continue to promote monotheism in a society that hated the pharaoh and all he stood for. egypt was polytheistic, and the powerful establishment wanted it remain so. for moses to continue to promote and practices belief in a single universal god, he had to leave the land with all his akhenaton followers. akhenaton died in his seventeenth year of reign as pharaoh. for his role in disturbing and offsetting the established political, religious and social status quo, he was disliked in egypt. after his death, egyptian elites sought to erase his memory from history. the city he founded, amarna, was destroyed and abandoned. his monuments and status were destroyed. his image was defaced on public buildings. thus, his reputation suffered within the egyptian society. sigmund freud’s research work placed moses as living in the time of akhenaton. the religion of monotheism which moses gave to a group of people he led out of egypt is akhenaton’s religion of aten. akhenaton redirected the motion of history and thinking by initiating an act that was considered treasonable. what he did was unheard of in the annals of egyptian history and the world of the ancient time. the the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 115 old testament’s psalm 104 was originally akhenaton’s composition known as hymn to aten, the one god he promoted. expulsion of moses and his rebellious group from africa (egypt) there are scanty extra-biblical accounts of exodus. the only evidence for exodus is the book of exodus. biblical historians and archeologists are still wondering how come there is no archeological evidence of the israelites’ wandering in the desert for forty years through the mountains and deserted places. there is no artifacts, no focalized human bones nothing. the event did not take forty years as alluded. this paucity of materials makes it somewhat easy to gesticulate that exodus’ of the hebrews out of egypt was nothing but dramatic mythic creation. however, the few extra-biblical egyptian records show series of events which indicate possible mass exodus. freud placed exodus out of egypt around 13 th century b.c. he explained the sequence of anarchic events chronicled by egyptians themselves which might indicate civil unrest and mass movement. egyptian pharaonic chroniclers did not appear to identify any pharaohs ruling egypt at this period. this might be due to the fact that egypt was under what we consider today as military decrees. it was the time of the strong egyptian military tactician, haremhab /horemheb. haremhab’s military strength ended the civil unrests. the great scholar, greenburg (2008), dated exodus out of egypt to be 1315 b.c., following the death of haremhab. greenburg concluded that moses would have been born in 1395 b.c. and may have been about eighty years old during exodus. exodus were rebellious sects sent out due to a new religious concept. the jewish historian, josef ben matityahu popularly known by his roman adopted names flavius josephus, commenting on the work of another historian called manetho, stated that moses might have been known by the name osarseph. monetho, according to josephus, reported that moses organized a mass rebellion of the oppressed leprosy-ridden population against the egyptian authority. this account indicated that osarseph caused trouble for some years until he was driven out of egypt into canaan--the same land the israelites were hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 116 said to have settled in after leaving egypt. as indicated above, many egyptologists conclude that the exodus occurred in the period following the death of the revolutionary pharaoh akhenaton. sigmund fraud (1939) confirmed this in his brilliant work on monotheism thus: “all conditions, internal and external, favoring the exodus coincide only in the period immediately after the death of the heretic kind.” a form of civil war erupted in egypt. the status quo, now emboldened by akhenaton’s death, would no longer put up with monotheism. moses was having a serious hard time promoting akhenaton’s monotheistic religion. as an ardent believer in akhenaton’s “one god” view of the world, he no longer had a place within the highly polytheistic social, cultural and political system. thus, this was the beginning of exodus. many scholars conclude that the people who were expelled from egypt were native egyptian rebels in which moses was the leader—not hebrews. egyptology vs biblical history with the advent of egyptology, we are beginning to have extrabiblical information relative to some events chronicled in the bible. as i have pointed out above, the egyptian myth provides insightful back-story into the stories chronicled in both the old and the new testaments. one can state, with strong conviction, that the egyptian astro-theological myth, in addition to so many other astromythologies, is what informed the entire bible. to claim to understand the bible, without a sound understanding of pre-existing astro-theologies, is tantamount to claiming to be a car engineer without being able to account for the specific inner components of a car engine. astrological twelve houses of the zodiac were converted, by hebraic religious scholars, as the symbolic number 12 which continued to reappear throughout the bible. if biblical stories are factual historical events, then we can conclude that the major players, evidently, learned whatever they knew and wrote from africa i.e. egypt. abraham was from the land of ur in chaldea (genesis 11:28). chaldea is the modern-day iraq. my critical mind never ceases to ponder on the absurdity as to how come a full-blooded babylonian man (abraham) became the first hebrewspeaking guy. the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 117 if chronology of the bible is a fact, we were informed that abraham migrated to the land of mizraim, i.e. africa, specifically egypt. he married an african woman and followed the ancient egyptian custom of circumcision. later, biblical myth-makers would claim this ancient african custom of circumcision as hebraic. but african (egyptian) records discredit such ridiculous claims. we also see that the hebrew scribes created a story in which joseph ended up in egypt (genesis, 37:28). thus, this was how they carefully got the character of moses carefully interwoven into the history of egypt and later made him a hebrew messianic figure (exodus 2). the new testament is not complete without egyptian association. the pseudo-epigraphic writers of the new testament created a typology between the old joseph, who was sold into slavery, and the new joseph, who became the surrogate father of jesus. this typology creates an obvious covert psychological game called typology. the two josephs had a persecutory type connection. the first joseph was persecuted and sold by his brothers to egypt. the second joseph fled from palestine, out of persecution, with baby jesus. this is an advanced psychological operation. anyone who read both stories would make subconscious association and, thus, deep subconscious validation of the latter story, without even being consciously aware of it. again, they have to like a history to egypt because egypt was the light of the work. jesus was also in egypt. thus, egypt was cardinal in the historical mythologies found in both the new testament and the old testament. what did all these people learn from egypt when they were there? we know that a latter-day myth took the story of heru, the egyptian god, and made it theirs. heru was the son of god; there was annunciation and immaculate conception. he was born on december 25, taught in the temple at the age of twelve, had twelve disciples, engaged in public ministry in his 30s, worked miracle, was betrayed, and killed and rose again. new testament writers are quite aware of this preexisting story and it surely informed their thought process. sumerology is another area of studies that has provided much information as to the origin of some of the prominent biblical stories. for instance, the creation of man in genesis, the deluge and the hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 118 covenant were all lifted by hebraic scholars from the original sumerian stories. the first massive contact of hebrews with advanced babylonian philosophies, myths and cosmologies came during the exile of 597 b.c. – 538 b.c. it is naïve, blindness and uncritical adherence to religious traditions that made the materialist, karl marx, voice out his dialectical mockery of religious beliefs as being synonymous with “opium” addiction. mental health professional will tell you that opiates are neurodepressant. opiate absorption causes adverse bio-synaptic impact on the neurotransmitters in such a way that individuals exhibit an altered state of consciousness. opiate has chemical substances that literally put coherency and cognition to sleep. it creates a sense of false euphoria. karl marx, though blatantly anti-religion, presented his historical “opium of the masses” mockery with communist propaganda. his agenda being to replace transcendental beliefs and worship of god(s) with belief in and worship of the almighty state god, the communist state. nevertheless, one must not deny the fact that fundamentalism in religion could tranquilize the mind into a state of excitatory delirium to the extent that any facts outside the scriptural canon becomes instantaneously trashed into the mental delete bin. this sort of cognitive ejection of truth and extra-biblical facts, by religious fundamentalists and their fanatical factions, has led materialists, like richard dawkins, to write a book titled “the god delusion.” how oold is the bible? the bible is not as old as many would want to believe. some consider genesis creation history a factual history. this is such a monumental cognitive error. there is no evidence of the existence of israel/the hebrews in terms of nationhood prior to the 13 th b.c. the concept “the land of israel” is a modern creation through a forceful but systematically induced evolution of religio-national identify by certain rabbinical and euro-christian planners. the historical process that went into the formation of the concept “the land of israel” is clearly elucidated by shlomo sand, in his eye-opening book, the invention of the land of israel: from holy land to homeland. the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 119 there is no extra-biblical evidence anywhere, no archaeology, no paleontology, nothing pointing to ancient (prehistoric) israel. there is no existing record of any scriptural texts earlier than the 4 th century b.c. we have account of written histories at this period from other nations and cultures, but israel/hebrew nation cannot be found. none of these advanced nations with elaborate written culture mentioned hebrew nation in their official or unofficial chronologies. some argue the pre-existence of oral history which later was translated into written document (pentateuch). let us assume that was the case. this would mean that oral history was transmitted for over a thousand years accurately before being written down in scripts. how possible is this? even if oral history existed, they were legends, myths, fabricated hero deifications and religio-philosophical speculations. the pre-existing pentateuchal scripts were not fully developed until late 6 th century b.c. bible writers collected divergent narratives which they used to fashion a comprehensive history. this mishmash of divergent scripts created a big chronological, epistemological, metaphysical and historical discrepancies. this led scholars to study and isolate the multiple sources of biblical composition. one needs to understand that there was a team of religious intellectuals who came together and compiled divergent accounts and myths into a centralized form, the pentateuch. scholars noticed that pentateuch utilized different names to refer to god, implicating different eras, styles, mindsets, textual contents, compositions, and timelines. during the 19 th century a.d., scholars exposed these sources and identified them by letters, such as: the j source which referred to god as yahweh; the e source which used the name elohim, the third is the p source named due to its ritualistic priestly nature and, finally the d source (deuteronomist) which is limited to the book of deuteronomy. the j scripts creators appeared to have composed theirs between 922 b.c. to 722 b.c.; e source between 848b.c. to 722 b.c.; p between 722b.c. to 600b.c. and d is sometime around 622 b.c. hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 120 following king cyrus of persia’s conquest of babylon in 539 bce, he (cyrus) granted freedom to the jews to return to the land from where they were taken and to rebuild the temple which was previously destroyed by king nebuchadnezzar. many years later, the jews again fell under colonial hellenism. the greeks conquered the entire levant region, including egypt. at this time, they foisted certain brand of kingship over their subjects, called the ptolemy dynasty, as i have described somewhere above. it was the ptolemy ii philadelphia (282—246 b.c.) who forced hebrew sacred scripture to be translated into greek. the greek translated version of the hebrew bible is known as the septuagint. septuagint means “the seventy’. this name came about because the named greek king selected a group of seventy hebrew religious scholars, believed to be members of the essene (group of ascetic, esoteric religious practitioners and intellectuals), and forced them to translate their sacred scriptures from hebrew to greek. reason was that as a colonizing force, greek was a universal language to the colonizers, much as english is today. so, greek rulers wanted to liberalize the knowledge contained in the hebrew scripture and make it available for studies for everyone. anyone who understands the religious history of the hebrews and their reverence for their deity yahweh/elohim will understand that this request to translate their scripture in into greek was an abomination. the original document from where the greek translation was derived was not preserved. scholars believe that the group of seventy hebrews who provided the translation gave a deceptive/false interpretation account in greek. they did not want to provide accurate knowledge of their sacred text and the god to greek heathens with their ungodly hellenistic imperialism. in the year 382 a.d., st. jerome was assigned by pope damasus to translate from the greek septuagint into latin for the catholic church. the romanized imperial church fathers were known for creating a form of rational syncretism between jesus’ teaching and greek intellectual/rational philosophical worldview. jerome’s translation is known as the catholic vulgate. in the late 13 th century, john wycliffe, an english scholar, attempted to translate the catholic the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 121 vulgate version into the english language. this attempted latin to english translation was later improved by a man known as william tyndale, another english scholar, during the 15 th century a.d. william tyndale’s version was where king james bible version derived from. king james of england summoned over forty of his scholars and asked them to translate the bible in his name because he fell out of favour with the authoritarian catholic church at the time over some dogmatic altercations regarding polygamous lifestyle. king james version of the bible was supervised under the all-seeing eyes of some secret society. we know this because francis bacon (1561 – 1626) edited the bible. francis bacon was a high initiate in the rosicrucian secrete society. that explained why king james version of the bible is one of the most corrupt and inaccurate translations— misguided translation. it is specifically sympathetic to europe and the church of england, just like the entire new testament, especially the epistles, was a roman psychological operation. many things written there are very sympathetic to the imperial colonizing roman government—like slaves obey your master; if a man slaps you on one cheek, turn the other one; if someone asks you to carry his luggage for a mile, go two miles; and your pay tax. any jewish scholar will tell you that the new testament was a tool of the imperial rome for mind-control and to neutralize the possibility of the jewish messianic uprising and revolution. the romans had hard times dealing with the maccabean revolt and they had to find away to destroy the strict jewish religion. that is why many writers of the new testament will never be known. they were not meant to be known. so, there continued to be some questions as to if initial greek septuagint bible translation was even accurate to begin with. and there were many scholars lamenting the monumental corruption in biblical translations down through history. we know this by the publication of cardinal ximenes in 1515 a.d titled the polyglot of paris (paris polyglot). he compared all the historical versions and reported all the biblical translations to be in error. antonio fabre d’olivet (1767 1825) also published a work titled hebraic tongue restored. he, like cardinal ximanes, concluded, through his hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 122 extensive work, that all the versions were mistranslated based on poor knowledge of hebraic tongue and culture. the point we are arriving at is that the bible is not as old as millions of people presume, coupled with the acts of historical misunderstandings, mistranslations, and blatant inaccuracies. when biblical history is compared to the entire history of the earth, one could metaphorically state that the bible was written like few minutes ago. the earth is millions of years old. similarly, when biblical history is compared to the history of human civilization, one wonders how such a book can lay claim to knowledge of the beginning of the world and time. the jewish masoretic account vs the christian accounts of creation the jewish masoretic chronological account of creation is the most original of all the other biblical versions, like the sumerian and the septuagint versions. masoretic derives from the word mesorah, which indicates tradition. so masoretic text deals with official rabbinic jewish scholars who were the didactic writers of text in question. according to the masoretic account, the creation of the world is dated to 3761 b.c. the religious revolutionist/revivalist and an ex-augustinian monk, martin luther critically examined the genesis chronology and dated the creation of the world to 3960 b.c. during the 17 th century, archbishop james usher also did a chronological study of creation and he came up with the conclusion that the world was created in 4004 b.c. these scholars were all rock stars in their time, due to the fact that majority of the people did not challenge their religious indoctrination, but accepted myth as facts. if the bible is true, adam died in the year 2831 b.c. at that time in history, africa (egypt) had already had thousands of years of established dynasties. this means one thing: people have existed and created advanced civilization before adam, first human on earth, was even created. and, we are not even talking about the egyptian predynastic period which dates even farther thousands of years back to the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 123 pre-history. the egyptian sacred book, called the book of the coming forth by day and by night was written 3400 years before the hebrew old testament and 4200 older than the new testament (benjachannan, 1995). something does not add up and we do not have to accept concocted history simply because the bible said so. such is for the illogical, uncritical and infantile minds. the fact of the matter is that the old testament is only a few thousand years old. how can a book that is not more than seven thousand years old teach humanity about the history of the planet that is millions of years old? age of the earth in perspective: the geologic timetable the universe is about 16 million years in formation. our solar system is about 10 million years old. paleontologists generally agree that the planet earth, as part of the solar system, came into existence some 4.6 billion years ago. evidence from the fossil indicates that single-celled organism was on this planet some 3.5 million years ago, which were the only form of life on earth. about 630 millions of years ago, multicellular organisms were present on earth. the following is a rough draft of geologic timetable, according modern science: era period years (in millions) prominent animals cenozoic holocene .02 mammoths and mastodons, saber-toothed tigers present on earth pleistocene 2 emergency of australopithecus hominid –homo habilis pliocene 5 emergence of up-right walking primates hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 124 miocene 25 first ape in line of humans such as dryopithecus (ramapithecus) oligocene 38 first appearance of ape-like creature on the planet eocene 55 hoofed mammals present on the planet paleocene 65 appearance of rodent-like multituberculates mesozoic cretaceous 144 dinosaurs and lizards jurassic 213 emergency of gigantic sauropods, like the diplodocus triassic 248 age of reptiles populating the planet permian 286 creatures like finback pelycosaurs the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 125 paleozoic carboniferous 360 amphibians populate the planet devonian 408 emergency of terrestrial arthropods, including wingless insects silurian 438 sea creatures were prevalent at this period ordovician 505 diverse marine invertebrates cambrian 590 emergence of trilobites – aquatic arthropods the ten commandments is copied from the egyptian 42 laws of ma’at in ancient egypt, there was a universal ethical code that was meant to govern all human intentions and behaviours. this code is called the 42 laws of ma’at, the negative confession, or the declaration of innocence. ma’at is the universal principle of righteousness, equity, balance, harmony which ought to govern all humans. ma’at is anthropomorphized as a goddess with a feather planted on her hair. we see this symbolism copied all over the world today, with people putting feathers on their hats. ma’at feather represented purity of heart, sincere intention, truth, justice, honesty, righteousness, etc. so next time you see someone with a feather on their hat or cap, you know it is an ancient symbol of godliness from the african universal mother goddess, ma’at. the egyptians believe the dead will appear hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 126 before a panel of 42 judges, each representing one of the moral principles. everyone will be judged according to if his/her life was in harmony with certain universal laws. for the egyptians, living according to these set of principles means living in harmony not just with the society, but with the entire universe. disharmony with these laws implies chaos and disharmony with all of existence. if anyone wants to have a good live on earth, the egyptians believe he/she must follow these universal codes. moses, having had an elevated position within the egyptian elite, was familiar with these universal ethical codes. many scholars now report that moses copied his decalogue (the ten commandment) from the 42 laws found in egyptian mystery system. below is the egyptian negative confession or 42 laws of ma’at. i implore readers to pay keen attention to the following egyptian universal moral code: african/egyptian 42 law of (the goddess) ma’at: 1. i have not committed iniquity/sin. 2. i have committed robbery with violence. 3. i have not stolen. 4. i have committed murder. 5. i have not defrauded offerings. 6. i have not diminished obligations. 7. i have not plundered the thing that belong to god 8. i have not spoken falsely. 9. i have not snatched away food. 10. i have not caused pain. 11. i have not committed fornication. 12. i have not caused shedding of tears. 13. i have not dealt (with neighbors) deceitfully. 14. i have not transgressed. 15. i have not acted treacherously. 16. i have not laid wasted the ploughed land. 17. i have not eavesdropped. 18. i have not borne false witness against anyone 19. i have not been wrathful for no reason. 20. i have not defiled the wife of any man. the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 127 21. i have not defiled the wife of any man. 22. i have not polluted myself. 23. i have not caused terror. 24. i have not transgressed. 25. i have not consumed with rage. 26. i have not turned my ears against truth and righteousness. 27. i have not caused sorrow. 28. i have not acted with insolence. 29. i have not stirred up strife. 30. i have not judged hastily. 31. i have not committed acts of eavesdropping 32. i have not exaggerated my words. 33. i have not done neither harm nor ill. 34. i have never cussed the king. 35. i have polluted the water. 36. i have not been disdainful in my words. 37. i have not cursed the god (s). 38. i have not stolen. 39. i have not swindled the god (s) of their offerings. 40. i have not plundered the offerings of the blessed dead. 41. i have not stolen food from a child. 42. i have not slaughtered with evil intent the cattle of the god(s). moses’s ten commandments switched from negative confession to positive admonition. instead of “i have not,” moses used “thou shall not.” reader can easily fish out the moral codes of the ten commandments from the above egyptian negative confession or the 42 laws of ma’at. the moral code of the bible can be authoritatively said to come from ancient africa egypt. the biblical ten commandments as copied from the 42 laws of ma’at in egypt 1. thou shalt have no other gods before me. in the original egyptian version, we see respect for god in lines numbers, 37, 39 and 42. many christian and non-christian theologians believe this first biblical code is the origin of hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 128 monotheism. but as i have discussed above, moses’ idea of monotheism came from his association with pharaoh akhenaten, who was the first to make a law abolishing polytheism and uphold the worship of only one god. moses’ association with this radical pharaoh has been established by egyptologist and historians. 2. thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image. the second biblical law is also of egyptian origin. refer to earlier discussion on akhenaton’s abolishment of every engagement and physical representation of the gods in any form. monotheism was not moses invention. he was only continuing akhenaton’s religious revolution. 3. thou shalt not take the name of the lord thy god in vain. refer to the egyptian version above in lines, 7, 37. this moral code deals with, not defiling, abusing or profaning the name of god. 4. remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. this code could be deciphered from the original egyptian version in lines 37, 39 and 42. 5. honor thy father and thy mother. this code could be decoded from lines 7 and 34 in the above original egyptian version. honoring one’s parents and elders is intrinsically encoded in the african culture; that it is not even a debate. 6. thou shalt not kill. compare this code with the original egyptian version in lines 4, 12, 27 and 33. 7. thou shalt not commit adultery. refer to similarity in the original egyptian lines 20, 21 and 11. the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 129 8. thou shalt not steal. compare with the original egyptian version in lines 2, 3, 5, 38 and 41. 9. thou shalt not bear false witness. compare with the original egyptian version in lines 8, 15, 17, 18, 30, 31,32 and 36. 10. thou shalt not covet. compare this with the original egyptian version in lines 11, 21 and 22. conclusion so much has been stolen from africa— philosophical, religious political and cultural ideologies. it becomes difficult to tell africans that certain things which they assume belong to other races are actually theirs. for instance, the head dress which judges all over the world wear is from africa. it is a symbol of the god, anubis or ampu. many african scholars have shallow indoctrinated information and have not lived up to the expectation of the term “research scholarship.” african scholars are helplessly stuck in pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial histories/societies when it comes to research. they promote redundant researches of transatlantic slave history, poverty and wars. there is no deep exploration of true history and deep scientific knowledge. africa should not overly dwell on the european-induced stereotyped information, such repeated slaveinferiority narrative. there have been few outstanding scholars who have done exceptionally brilliant works in the field of pre-historical and historical research relative to africa. black african diasporas, especially in the western hemisphere, have championed the reinvestigation of african prehistory and history, and have continued to fight to place africa in her proper perspective in history. african history and knowable have been stolen, colonized and re-baptized by other races. for instance, the entire idea of the immaculate conception, virgin birth, a virgin /mother carrying a son-god, the concept of the mother of god, the suffering and death of an incarnate god, the ideas hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 130 of an incarnate god who was tempted, suffered, crucified and rose, the twelve disciple, the twelve (zodiac)houses of israel etc., were present in africa hundreds of years before indo-asiatic civilizations stole such concepts and re-articulated them in their own sacred scriptures and fine-tuned them to their specific cultural psychologies. ancient historians, such as herodotus, erastosthenes, diodorus and plutarch, established the superior antiquity of ancient africa over all others. the assyrians, the persians, the hyksos, the greeks, the turks, the romans, the british, the french and, recently, the arabs were some of the invaders of egypt/north africa. with all these invasions came stealing of african religion, sciences, art forms which are repackaged and given back to africans as a ‘gift of civilization.” no doubt, one continues to see ‘educated africans’ continue to post pictures of a white man in their homes, believing they are jesus and god. this is a hypnotically induced mind-control and a form of mental illness. with all these in mind, one would not be distraught to learn that if moses was an actual historical character, he was an african, and not a hebrew. bibliography cheikh anta diop, civilization or barbarism: an authentic anthropology, lawrence hill books, illinois, 1991 gary greenberg, the moses mystery, pereset press book, ny, 2008 gerald massey, the egyptian book of the dead and the ancient mysteries of amenta , cosimo inc., new york, 2008. james h. breasted, a history of egypt: from the earliest time to the persian conquest, the new era printing co., pa, usa, 1905 john g. jakson, christianity before christ, american atheist press, nj, usa, 2002. john j. jackson, pagan origins of the christian myth, american atheist press, nj, 2010 josef ben-jochannan, a chronology of the bible: challenges to the standard version , black classic press, md 1973 the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 131 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. 2016 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. 2016 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. 2016 kanu, i. a. african traditional folktales as an integrated classroom. sub-saharan african journal of contemporary education research. vol.3 no. 6. pp. 107-118. 2016 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christianmuslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. 2017 hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 132 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. 2017 kanu, i. a. african philosophy, globalization and the priority of ‘otherness’. journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 40-57. 2018 kanu, i. a. african traditional philosophy of education: essays in igwebuike philosophy. germany: lambert publications. 2018 kanu, i. a. igbo-african gods and goddesses. nnadiebube journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 118-146. 2018 kanu, i. a. igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 5983. 2018 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. 2018 kanu, i. a. new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. 2018 the african identify of biblical moses: an igwebuike discourse igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 133 richard a. scott john r. ward exodus reality: unearthing the real history of moses, identifying the pharaohs and examining the exodus from egypt, the career press, usa, 2014. richard marlow, moses in ancient egypt and the hidden story of the bible, richard darlow, 2006. robert bouval and timothy brophy: black genesis: the prehistoric origins of ancient egypt, bear & company, vermont, usa, 2011. shlomo sand, the invention of the land of israel: from holy land to home land, verso, ny, 2014. sigmund freud, moses and monotheism, vintage books, ny 1939 yoel, natan, moon-o-theism: religion of a war and moon god prophet vol. i of ii , 2006 igwebuike: a key principle in african liberation theology igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 135 igwebuike: a key principle in african liberation theology nnoruga james department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe university, awka nnorugajames@gmail.com executive summary the ripples caused by the invasion and partition of african nations by the europeans many years ago have caused and are still causing havoc to african countries. it has led africans into bad leadership, migration and human trafficking. the economy of african nations is in constant meltdown . with crisis and political instability, africa remains undeveloped marginally, when compared to other continents of the world. there have been many advocates of african liberation, each with its own strategy towards the liberation of african nations. we are going to use igwebuike principles to navigate towards the liberation of african nations. the reflective and theological approach is employed in this research. keywords: igwebuike, african liberation theology, kanu ikechukwu anthony, philosophy, principle introduction there are many factors constituting the past and present ugly situation of things found in africa today. these crises or factors that shaped the situation of african people the way it is today came from internal and external spheres. hence, we have a lot of challenges that need to be tackled for the development and stability of the african countries. unfortunately, these crises in africa touch or spread all through the cultural, religious, political and social aspects of the african people. mailto:nnorugajames@gmail.com nnoruga james igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 136 this accounts for non-development or slow pace of development in almost all the sectors of their lives in different countries of africa. it is believed that most of the african countries have gotten their independence, yet they are ruled indirectly by the different strong countries of the world that colonized them initially. this makes africans to be marginalized in most parts of the world, because they are seen as slaves, undeveloped, and uncultured. even the colour of their skin (black) segregates them from the white people and makes them third class citizens; hence, today, africa is regarded as a continent of third world countries. in the religious sphere, africans, their god and their worship are regarded as nothing, and they were regarded as incapable of conceiving and worshipping the real almighty god as the rest of the world. hence, african traditional religion was called all sorts of names by europeans and arm-chair researchers. talbot (1926), mbiti (1969), quarcoopome (1987) and kanu (2015) all affirmed that names like idolatry, fetishism, animism, paganism, primitive were given to african traditional religion, because they fail to understand the culture and language of african people. achebe (1958) confirms the above: does the white man understand our custom about land, asked okonkwo, “how can he when he does not even speak our tongue”, responded obierika, and then he continued, but he says our customs are bad, and our own brothers who have taken up his religion also say that our customs are bad. (p. 124) this confirms the level of degradation africans were subjected to, even in terms of religion. this level of degradation or subjugation meted out to them is seen through other aspects of their lives. sequel to the above , many african scholars, including sociologists and theologians, have offered many ways to alleviate the oppressive or ugly state of african situation. many have advocated many options through which africa can be developed and sustained, just like other strong continents of the world. igwebuike: a key principle in african liberation theology igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 137 igwebuike, as a concept or key, will be used as a tool to seek ways to alleviate the condition of the african people. the cry by the advocates of african liberation theology cannot be complete without the igwebuike principles. this will help in developing african countries when the principles of igwebuike are fully applied. african continent will find real independence, not pseudo independence, as we are having it today. igwebuike, as concept or principle, is advocated for by an african scholar, professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, just like other advocates of african liberation theology. in this write up, we are going to use the principles of igwebuike to advance further the development, stability and independence of african nations. african situation: an overview there are fifty four countries in africa today, according to the united nations, with other territories which are dependent on stronger countries of the world or being colonized by other countries of the world, territories like reunion, which is dependent on or being colonized by france; mayotte, being colonized by france; saint helena, which depended on the united kingdom and western sahara, which is still under dispute. but wikipedia ( 2020) listed fifty six sovereign states ( fifty four of which are member-states of the united nations), two non-sovereign (dependent) territories of non-african sovereign states, and nine sub-national regions of non-african sovereign states. the african continent is being surrounded by water from all directions, with clearly defined borders. in the north, it is separated from europe by the mediterranean sea; in the north-east, it is separated from asia by the suez canal and farther by the red sea. from the east and southeast, it is surrounded by the indian ocean, and from the west by the atlantic ocean. the work of liberating african nations, which is a continent of immense diversity, according to oborji (2005), is not only on the level of geographical areas, but also includes cultural, sociological, political, religious and economic levels. though africa is a diversified whole, its unity can be seen in their tenets of african world view, life principles and unity of spirit. according to kanu (2015), its unity can nnoruga james igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 138 be seen in their belief in worship of supreme being, just like other people, but with a profound sense of sacredness and mystery. hence, for africans, it is difficult to separate their day-to-day activities of life from their personal inclination to the divine. no wonder, mbiti (1969) argued that: wherever the african is, there is his religion. he carries it to the fields where he is sowing seeds or harvesting new crop, he takes it with him to the beer parlour or to attend a funeral ceremony, and if he is educated, he takes religion with him to the examination room at school or in the university, if he is a politician, he takes it to the house of parliament. (p. 2) paris (1995) also echoed that “the ubiquity of religious consciousness among african people constitutes their single most important common characteristics” (p. 27). comparing african continent in terms of development from all sectors of life with other continents of the world, one will feel a great shock, because it is being ravaged internally and externally by many factors. they stretch from social crisis, political crisis, economic crisis, religious crisis, racism, human trafficking which is new form of slavery, and so on. these crises can be traced to have originated from when the african continent was divided by the strong powers, without the consent of africans. according to mbefo (1996): it was in berlin that the master plan and implicit agreement about european intentions in africa were decided and given active assistance. the result of the conference was that the on-going “scramble for africa” was organized systematically, according to agreed principles. while it is wrong to claim, as some have done, that africa was carved out by european powers at this conference, it is right to affirm that it was there the european powers agreed on maintaining colonies in africa. european powers agreed not to interfere but to igwebuike: a key principle in african liberation theology igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 139 respect the “areas of influence” acquired by any given power. it is remarkable that no african was invited to a conference that decided the fate of africa. (pp. 28-29) with the invasion by the super powers into africa, africa was subjugated, dominated, and the development of africa was stalled. there are many instances to show that africans were developed people before even the europeans came in contact with them. they have their own institutions with their own idea of government. but sadly, africa has been exploited and dominated over the years by stronger powers. rodney (2009) showed that using comparative standards, africa today is underdeveloped in relation to western europe and a few other parts of the world, and that the present position has been arrived at, not by separate evolution of africa, on the one hand, and europe, on the other, but by exploitation. in terms of social situation, africa has continued to deteriorate. this is evidenced by the pressure of urbanization and rural emigration. the decay in educational sector and health infrastructure, growing malnutrition and poverty, the worsening plight of refugees and displaced persons, and wide spread unemployment are signs of decay in african society. recently the ravage of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (aids) killed many african people. ebola disease was contained, but many africans died. as of today, the corona virus pandemic (covid-19) is ravaging the world. though it is not much in africa, but it is known that african countries lack the health facilities, quite unlike the other countries of the world, to stop its spread. economically, the african situation, according to drimmelen (cited by igboamalu, 2003), can be summarized thus: africa as a whole includes 33 of world’s 50 poorest countries. the combined gross national product (gnp) of the entire continent south of the sahara is less than that of the netherlands; the sub-saharan africa is the only region in the world likely to experience an nnoruga james igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 140 increase in absolute poverty over the next decade. (p. 48) african counrties are nowhere to be found in the global market economy. the globalization of economy today puts the african countries in the slow lane track. hence, they remain beggars among the continents of the world. the institutions that are developing economy are not developed, rather they are been looted out, and most african countries keep borrowing for consumption. world economic policies do not favour the african trade. this has contributed enormously to the impoverishment and underdevelopment of africa. africa is exploited by their colonizers who take most of their crude oil and agricultural products at a giveaway price only to sell them back to africa at a high price. oborji (2005) rightly observed that the present world economy manipulates prices of the raw materials from the african countries and, through the protectionist policies of the industrialized countries, blocks the inflow of manufactured goods from the developing countries. due to serious crises in african economies, african countries are variously referred to as underdeveloped, developing or less-developed countries. the above reality means that african economy is caged and in bondage, and this is expressed by adedeji (1984), that the african economy has meaning only to the extent it is allowed to be controlled by the former colonial masters. with this economic system, africa can never develop fully like other great countries of the world. politically, african countries have not found their feet, though they have gotten their independence. most of the african countries are still being ruled indirectly by strong powers that colonized them. according to igboamalu (2003), one of the major problems or crises of the african countries and other developing countries, with regard to the issue of global governance, is the tendency of the west and america or the colonizers to impose their socio-cultural and political standards and values, which they want, on the rest of the world. hence, africa is always suppressed politically, without these super powers remembering that we have our own ideas of government igwebuike: a key principle in african liberation theology igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 141 before their advent. this led to the enthronement of puppet leaders and presidents who would always obey the strong powers that put them put them in office. m. hence, achebe (1983) rightly observed that leadership remains the problem of african countries. this continues to make african countries to be political slaves to most nations in the world. this affirms oborji(2005) claim that “the newly independent african states were modeled politically and economically on the nations which had colonized them” (p. 34). again, dudley (1984) pointed out that the constitution handed over to the new nations was not founded on african cultural environment or atmosphere. by implication, the independence lacked the ingredients of its new nations; this accounts for political instability in most of the african nations. this political instability led to several military coups d’ etat in africa. this well-known military rule in africa helped in reducing africa to abject poverty. slavery and colonization were great blows to the african continent, judging from all aspects of african lives. this in particular perpetuated poverty in africa today. african countries gradually became poor with the conquest of african nations. african states were divided at the berlin conference, for self interest and exploitation. offiong (2001) asserted that: the conference produced the berlin act, an instrument to which the major european powers were signatories. it had as its aims those of fostering the development of trade and civilization… the moral and material wellbeing of the native populations. this was nonsensical because in all their undertakings, their interests came first and all was designed to enhance the exploitation of the people. (p. 9) it is well known that the conquest and occupation of the continent of africa by europeans spanned four centuries . during these centuries, africans were dominated, exploited. this led to the formulation of colonial policies and disorganization of the traditional pattern of societal organization in africa. this makes african countries to be nnoruga james igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 142 stooges to the stronger countries of the world. these situations above, in a nut shell, show the image of bondage in africa which has held the african people hostage for centuries. the african continent has been promised liberation (even by our colonizers), through many ways, out of their poverty, political instability and underdevelopment, yet things keep on becoming worse and backward when compared to this age of globalization. igwebuike as a principle of liberation with the critical situation of the african continent, which is being ravaged by constant wars because of forceful divisions or partition of african borders by the world powers, poverty now takes place in a continent known to be full of agricultural raw materials and crude oil. world powers rose to a greater height of industrial growth by impoverishing africa through slave trade and other exploitations. mbefo (1996) lamented that as of today, african nations are still undergoing new forms of slavery through our youths going back freely, and on their own, to europe, because of bad state of the economy and the political instability in africa. mbefo called it slavery in reverse gear. with the above situation, many scholars have advocated for many solutions to the african state of crisis. we apply the principles of igwebuike in seeking to control and redirect or restructure the african continent. according to kanu (2015), igwebuike is the modality of being, and being in igbo ontology is ‘idi’, that is ‘to be’. igwebuike is an igbo word which is a combination of three words. according to him: it can be understood as a word and as a sentence: as a word, it is written thus igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written thus, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space [and meaning]. (p. 67) he went further to explain the three words that make up the word igwebuike. igwe is a noun, which means number or population, igwebuike: a key principle in african liberation theology igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 143 usually a large number or population; bu is a verb which means ‘is’; ike is a noun, which means strength or power. when these words are put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power.’ this, in effect, means when a good number, group or society of human beings come together in solidarity, they are powerful. again, solidarity combines with complementarity, because everybody needs each other to make a complete whole; it constitutes a powerful group and an insurmountable force. at this level, kanu asserted that no task is beyond their collective capability. again, this analysis provides or proves an african ontology that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. mbiti (1960) also asserted that “man is at the very centre of existence, and african people see everything else in its relation to this central position of man… it is as if god exists for the sake of man” (p. 92). metuh (1991) affirmed that “everything else in african worldview seems to get its bearing and significance from the position, meaning and end of man” (p. 109). the above analysis shows that for man to achieve his aims or objectives in this world, he has to be in relational character with the other people around him. this will ensure a formidable force. the human person, following the african worldview, is understood in his relation with god and his fellow human beings. ideologically, kanu (2015) argued that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is to be with the other in a community of being. onwubiko (1991) expressed this sense of community rightly with lozi proverb which says: “go the way that many people go; if you go alone you will have reason to lament” (p. 13). anchoring or explaining igwebuike on the basis of the african world view, iroegbu (1994) described it as being characterized by a common origin, common worldview, common language, common historical experiences and common destiny. determining the role of community to the individual or human beings, mbiti (1969) asserted that “i am because we are and since we are, therefore i am” (p. 108). the sense of community here portrays family-hood or brotherhood, which means collaboration in existence. achebe (cited by kanu, 2015) in order to nnoruga james igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 144 bring out the essential nature of the igbo african communal relationship, related that: we do not ask for wealth because he that has health and children will also have wealth. we do not pray to have more money but to have more kinsmen. we are better than animals because we have kinsmen. an animal rubs its itching flank against a tree, a man asks his kinsmen to scratch him. (p. 68) the quotation above shows that life is shared in the african worldview which makes life meaningful. so it is in relationship or coming together that each completes a whole. thus, according to kanu (2015), every being has a missing part and is at the same time a missing part. ekwulu (cited by kanu, 2015) confirmed the above view by saying that “if the other is my part or a piece of me, it means that i need him for me to be complete, for me to be what i really am. the other completes rather than diminishes me” (p. 68). this rightly explains why igbo-african worldview would refer to the other as ‘ibe’, which means a piece of or a part of, as in ‘ibe ji’ (a piece of yam), or ‘ibe ede’ (a piece of cocoyam). kanu (2015) asserted that the igbo-african refers to the other person as ‘ibe,’ which means ‘my piece’, or ‘mmadu ibe m’ (my fellow human being). this concept is also employed in relation to relationships and reciprocity: love one another (hunu ibe unu n’anya), help one another (nyere nu ibe unu aka), respect one another (sopuru nu ibe unu) etc. from the above, we see that igwebuike portrays the african sense of commonality, solidarity, brotherhood, familyhood and complementality as the root of the african world view, thought and the ontological quality of real african, which is needed to liberate the african people from the state of anarchy seen in all aspects of their lives. igwebuike: a key principle in african liberation theology igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 145 igwebuike as a tool in african liberation theology the theology of liberation or liberation of africa has gone through many phases. and it arises out of the concern of african scholars or african theologians to address the people’s experience of exploitation, oppression and injustice that are going on through different means. in june 2020, there was a protest in all the states of america because of a black man killed by an officer of the law who is meant to protect life. though not african, the blacks protested against such oppression and injustice. african scholars continued to seek solutions to the current situation of exploitation, poverty, oppression and injustice in a continent which for a long time has suffered from subjugation, according to oborji (2005), in the forms of imperialism: slave trade, colonialism, multinational corporations, the activities of the national bourgeoisie, despotic regimes and racism. okolo (1994) asserted that the theology of liberation emerged as a response to experiences of negation, grinding poverty caused by greed, exploitation and oppression from world leaders and african leaders. though this critical reflection by okolo was in the light of the gospel, it was with the aim of inspiring in african people and their leaders the confidence to stop the horrors of oppression in africa and to build a more just and human african society. liberation has been a major theme or emergent theological thought in africa, in a bid to liberate africa from its current state of anarchy. oborji (2005) linked or related theology of liberation in africa with inculturation. according to him: the aim of inculturation is to facilitate an in-depth evangelization of a particular socio-cultural context or milieu. on the other hand, liberation theology seek, through the gospel, to address the oppressive elements in a traditional culture, and focus on political and economic situation of the particular cultural context so as to liberate people from the forces of sin and death, nnoruga james igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 146 reinforce their identity, and give a new orientation to their advancement. (p. 154) this implies that for any liberation to be real or authentic, it must be inculturated, in the sense that the social and cultural milieu of the particular people must be involved. this will make it easy and meaningful. it must not be transported or forced into people, so that their initial world view would be abandoned, rather it would start with their world view. this is exactly the aim of igwebuike as a tool of liberation in africa. igwebuike liberation constitutes majorly of using african world view, which is based on solidarity and complementarity, to seek freedom for african people in their state of anarchy that is still ongoing in this age of globalization. there have been many advocates of african liberation through their philosophical and theological critical reflections. many of the african scholars or advocates of african liberation hammered so much on the poverty of the african nations. many remarked that it is as if africans got political independence in order to enjoy poverty. ezeanya (1992) remarked that today in africa wherever anyone goes, he sees or notices poverty and suffering starring in the face of african people. surely, christ is suffering terribly among the african people. many african countries have gotten their independence yet under colonial yoke. going further, morrow (cited by oborji, 2005) described african poverty situation thus: africa-sub saharan africa, at least has begun to look like an immense illustration of chaos theory, although some hope is forming at the margins. much of the continent has turned into a battleground of contending dooms: aids and overpopulation, poverty, starvation, illiteracy, corruption, social breakdown, vanishing resources, overcrowded cities, drought, war, and the homelessness of war refugees. africa has become the basket case of the planet, the “third world of the third world”, a vast continent in free fall, a sort of precolonial breakdown. (p. 158) igwebuike: a key principle in african liberation theology igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 147 this is the reason why most advocates of african liberation (or african writers) conducted their critical reflection for a better sociopolitical cultural-cum-religious, and economic order in the nations of africa. at this time of the corona virus pandemic, world leaders in other continents of the world are projecting that it will later spread more in africa because health facilities are not in place, or are not found in most health centers in african countries. with their prediction, the world powers are evacuating their citizens from african countries back to their countries. one of the advocates, uzukwu (1996) traced the poverty of african nations to dependency status of african nations, seeing it as the major cause of poverty in the continent. this is because dependency is a system problem which is destroying the african nations from inside and makes the african countries to be beggar countries, and a beggar has no respect. hence, uzukwu advocated for an end to foreign aid to africa. in its stead, africa needs committed leadership at all levels of government who are not influenced by the world powers. igwebuike, as a tool for african liberation, hinges on the solidarity and complementarity of african people based on african world view, which is quite different from other principles of african liberation theology or black liberation theology. cone and wilmore (1979) described black theology or black liberation theology thus: black theology is that theology which arises out of the need to articulate the religious significance of black presence in a hostile white world. it is black people reflecting on black experience under the guidance of the holy spirit, attempting to redefine the relevance of the christian gospel for their lives…-black subjugation under white oppression. (p. 468) here, liberation from white oppression is based on the christian world view as a basis which is different from igwebuike as a tool for liberation, which is based on purely african world view. theology of black liberation was seen again, as we have noted before, with the protest of all blacks in america recently in june 2020, when a police nnoruga james igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 148 man killed a black man for no reason. again cone and wilmore (1979) described african liberation theology as a theology which is based on the biblical faith and speaks to the african soul: to speak of african theology involves formulating clearly a christian attitude to other religions. it must be pointed out that the emphasis is on christian theology, which could be expressed through african thinking and culture. (p. 473) mbiti (1979) also echoed the same when he described black theology as emerging from the pains of oppression of the negro’s experience in america in the social, economic, political, cultural and educational spheres of their lives, while african liberation theology grew out of joy in the experience of the christian faith preached to africans. all we are trying to establish above is that it is igwebuike as a tool that would touch fundamentally the african world view which needed liberation, than implanting another world view on the african soil, and then using it for liberation. the complementary role of igwebuike from its point of ideology will be used in solving the problems of african continent and advancing the quality of life in africa (kanu 2018). from the analysis done before, the ideology of complementarity in the african world view reaches to individual basis, ontological basis and social basis. the embracing of these entire bases will give a whole solution in which all the units when put together will give a formidable and dynamic force to achieve freedom and development. in africa today, what is needed is a formidable and dynamic force in pursuing a goal, like wiping away hunger or poverty in africa. when the efforts of our governments or leaders are combined as a unit whole with that of the masses, great achievements will be made in the economic and political lives of the africans. this automatically will ensure security and the employment of our youths. the communal life which is already in the african world view will help in great advancement of the african continent for which igwebuike, as a tool for liberation, is seriously advocating. this is also echoed by asiegbu (2010), in expressing the african world view as a igwebuike: a key principle in african liberation theology igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 149 fundamental constituent for an authentic dimension of thoroughgoing complementarism. the collective efforts seen in the igwebuike ideology relates again to the social dimension of action in any african society. here, the role of sharing life in a community makes life meaningful (kanu 2016). when conceived in terms of complementarity, a community life is full of relation and relationships. this brings in vividly teamwork which is against the choice of isolation. teamwork or team spirit is going on in the african continent to see how the corona virus pandemic can be contained, which is against the choice of the world powers, each are trying to work out something to be the first country to contain the pandemic. igwebuike again advocates complementary attitudinal change of all africans. africans from unit to the whole should liberate their psyche and undergo a total transformation that starts from the african world view than from other world views. this type of re-education ensures an authentic new understanding towards life as an independent being, not as a dependent being (kanu 2017). this again is in line with asouzu’s (2004) line of thought that the liberation of african nations constitutes a complementary attitudinal change of psyche which comprises their whole being, attitude and vision. the igwebuike ideology consists also of solidarity that, in the words of nnoruka (2009), means people coming together. in igbo expression: ayili n’igwe n’aga egwu a naghi atu (when people are marching together, there is no fear). people coming together stand for a reasonable number of people who have come together to achieve a common purpose, a common objective. no one loses his identity in a group. the solidarity of the african union (au) needs to be revamped. african solidarity is needed continually to fight insecurity and wars prevalent in african nations. with this solidarity, african countries will engage in more introverted economies which have some built-in protectionism and some trade barriers argued (offiong, 2001). nnoruga james igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 150 religiously, africa has, to some extent, achieved religion indigenous to africa, seen in the emergence of african independence churches (a. i. c.). according to ndiokwere (2019): as african saw it, it was not only the europeans who had the divine mandate to go and make disciples of all nations (mt. 28:19). discipleship was the universal vocation of every christian, but africans are not stopping at founding churches and religious movements… african prophets and self-acclaimed religious leaders found and run “churches” of their grass root tastes. (pp. 9-10) the above originated after the partition of africa by the colonial masters of europe, in which christian missionary organizations followed the flags of their respective nations to the shores of african nations. this supports the view that igwebuike as an ideology has a common origin, common shared culture, common historical experience and common destiny. today many african people are introducing new religious movements which bear features of the african traditional religion. this is possible because the common historical experience and cultures shared by africans necessitate this. this necessitates also the common trend today about the need for dialogue between the african traditional religion and christianity. from the dialogue so far, the question of how to merge the two religions (african traditional religion and christianity) become a problem. many theologians and african scholars have proposed inculturation, adaptation, hybridization, indigenization, translation and contextualization. muonwe (2014) argued that before the emergence of inculturation, a plethora of terms, as we see above, had been employed over the years in an attempt to fashion out the best model or approach to be adopted in relating the christian faith with the african traditional religion or culture. as a tool for liberation in africa, igwebuike is firmly grounded in the african sense of solidarity and complementarity and on the ontological quality of the african. igwebuike: a key principle in african liberation theology igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 151 conclusion the principle of igwebuike, when understood and properly applied towards the critical situation of africa, will go a long way in helping african nations to salvage themselves from all crises. its ideology is all embracing; hence, it is oriented towards the coming together of all people of africa. this will start from african leaders looking inwards than outside for the solution to the critical situation of the african continent. though there are internal and external factors constituting the deplorable state of african nations, it is true that many scholars have advocated for solutions igwebuike, as a key, ushers in a new ideology and combines with all other possible solutions for the liberation of african people. the igwebuike ideology comes from african world views; hence, it can trace and deal properly with the problems of africans themselves. references achebe, c. (1958). things fall apart. london: heinemann. achebe, c. (1983). the trouble with nigeria. enugu: fourth dimension publishers. adedeji a. (1948). the economic evolution of developing africa. in m. crowder (ed.). the cambridge history of africa. (pp.192-250) university press. asiegbu m. f. (2010). african renaissance, globalization and philosophy. in a. b. c. chiegboka and t. c udohezeajughi g. i. udechukwu (eds.). the humanities and globalization in the third millenium.( pp 77-92). nimo: rex charles & patrick. asouzu, i. i. (2004). the method and principles of complementary reflection in and beyond african philosophy. calabar. university of calabar press. cone j. h. and wilmore g. s. (1979). black theology and african theology: considerations for dialogue, critique and integration. in g.s. wilmore & j. h. cone (eds.). black theology. a documentary history. 1966-1979. (pp.463-476). new york orbis book. nnoruga james igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 152 dudley, b. j. (1984). decolonization and the problem of independence. in m. crowther (ed.). the cambridge of africa. (pp. 52-94). cambridge: university press. ezeanya, s. n. (1992). the poor in our midst. onitsha: tabansi press. igboamalu, u. b. (2003). globalization and the future of africa. enugu: san press. iroegbu, p. (1995). metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: international university press. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. igwebuike: a key principle in african liberation theology igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 153 kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. nnoruga james igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 154 kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. mbefo, l. n. (1996). coping with nigeria’s two-fold heritage. enugu: snap press mbiti (1969). african religions and philosophy. london: heinemann. mbiti, j. s. (1979). an african views american black theology. in g. s. wilmore & j. s. cone (eds.). black theology: a documentary history, 1966-1979 (pp.477482). new york orbis books. metuh, i. e. (1991). african religions in western /conceptual schemes. jos: imico. muonwe, m. (2014). dialetics of faith-culture integration inculturation or syncretism. bloomington: liberty drive. ndiokwere, n. i. (2019). christianity in turmoil: the african scenario. owerri: lui house of excellence ventures. nnoruka, s. i. (2009). solidarity: a principle of sociality. a phenomenologicalhermeneutic approach in the context of the philosophy of alfred schutz and an african culture. owerri: living flame resources. oborji, a. o. (2005) trend in africa theology since vatican ii; a missiological orientation. italy: leberit press. offiong, d. a. (2001). globalization: post-neodependency and poverty in africa. enugu: fourth dimension. okolo, b. c. (1994). african liberation theology: concept and necessity. in sedos bulletin. pp. 102-103 onwubiko, o. a. (1991). the christian mission and culture in africa. african thought, religion and culture. enugu: snapp press. paris, p. j. (1995). the spirituality of african peoples, the search for a common moral discourse. minneapolis. quarcoopome, t. n. o. (1987). west african traditional religion. ibadan: african university press. igwebuike: a key principle in african liberation theology igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 155 rodney, w. (2009). how europe underdeveloped africa. abuja: panaf publishing. talbot, p. a. (1926). the peoples of southern nigeria: o. u. p. uzukwu, e. e. (1991). a listening church: autonomy and communion in african churches. new york :orbis books. wikipedia ( 2008). sovereign states and dependent territories in africa. retrived july, 27, 2020. http://en.wikipedia. igwebuike, individual freedom and responsibility in african ethics igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 157 igwebuike, individual freedom and responsibility in african ethics jude i. onebunne, phd department of philosophy nnamdi azikiwe university, awka juno.anyi@gmail.com & mirian n. alike, phd department of philosophy nnamdi azikiwe university, awka mirianngozialike@gmail.com executive summary the concept of igwebuike as a philosophy of inclusive action in unity still respects the individual person in the african world view. igwebuike is possible when the individuals congregate, defined by a common interest as a goal. the individuals, therefore, make up the igwe (populace, unison, people) that exercises or has the enormous ike (strength). hence, igwe is ike. by and large, the morality or the ethical demand of the individual is not lost amidst the population or in the igwe, with regard to the exercise of ike; rather, the individual is responsible for every action within the igwe, and the igwe, via individual actions, has a cooperate responsibility to bear and as such there is an individual responsibility in igwebuike as regards african ethics. the act of belonging within the african community entails a duty within the limits of the communal ethics. applying the method of critical analysis, this paper explores and finds out that the communalistic relationship between igwebuike and the individual person is within the bounds of african ethics. jude i. onebunne, phd & mirian n. alike, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 158 keywords: igwebuike, individual person, kanu ikechukwu anthony, freedom, responsibility, african ethics introduction this work proposes igwebuike as the key in understanding african philosophy and, by implication, african ethics as its main branch. igwebuike is a relational concept that defines a communal action in the african world view. man, the individual human person, is always, to a great extent, the product of his environment, that is, the community known for communion and other forms of human interactions. the community must be understood as being one and the same with the society, environment or group of people, though with differential nuances. however, maritain (1951:2) maintains that “a community is more of a work of nature and more nearly related to the biological; a society is more of a work of reason, and more nearly related to the intellectual and spiritual properties of a man”. in both senses, however, community is synonymously interchanged with the state. the human person interplays out his life within the community as an individual within a group. in this sense, it is applicable to say that, no individual, no community; that is, if there is no individual person, there is no group formation as a result of the aggregate of individual persons. this is the hallmark of igwebuike. igwebuike, as an african relational concept, is the modality of being in african metaphysics. it is an igbo concept, which is a combination of three words. therefore, as kanu (2017:23) explains, it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some form of spatial independence. according to kanu, igwebuike is anchored on the african world view. kanu (2017:23), the apostle of igwebuike, defines it as “the expressive modality of being in igbo ontology”. for him, igwebuike, which, according to asouzu (2007:11) is literally strength in togetherness, is the locus of meeting of beings in igbo communalist metaphysics, with special reference to existentialism and leadership. onebunne (2020), in igwebuike, individual freedom and responsibility in african ethics igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 159 a paper titled belongingness as igwebuike and african philosophy: a critical relationship (unpublished), sees a crucial but necessary relationship between igwebuike and belongingness. in developing the fundamental character of being as belongingness, however, iroegbu (1996:45) initially defines belongingness as a definitive principle in african communalism. he used belongingness as a principle of membership applied to a given community. this membership is not a mere identification, but a kind of belonging that is security-assured. in this understanding, belongingness implies the basic commonness that makes a community a community, and in our context, it is what makes a given african community as such. this feeling of belonging is a basic need and a unique term in the dynamics of living and existence. hence, iroegbu (1995:19) asserts that “belongingness makes sure that all belong and none is marginalized, both contributively (duties and responsibilities) and distributively (sharing of communal cake)”. this is the locus of igwebuike at play. one does not necessarily belong. one is ever conscious of where one is putting up or belonging. continuing, one can therefore appreciate belongingness as igwebuike; hence, they are being characterized by a common origin, common worldview, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny. the communalindividuality of the african life is expressed in the igbo-african proverb: ngwere ghara ukwu osisi, aka akparaya (if a lizard stays off from the foot of a tree, it would be caught); otu osisi anaghi emebe ohia (a tree does not make a forest); gidigidi bu ugwueze (the dignity of a king is the number of his supportive followers); mmetuko ahu bu utondu (the beauty of life is in mixing up with others). mbiti (1970:108) has classically proverbialized the community by determining role of the individual when he wrote, i am because we are and since we are, therefore i am. this would mean that the confidence of being is because others are in being. the existence of others assures me of their solidarity and complementarity without which i cannot be. achebe (1958:133) brings the essential nature of the igbo-african communal relationship to a higher and more fundamental focus when he wrote: jude i. onebunne, phd & mirian n. alike, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 160 a man who calls his kinsmen to a feast does not do so to save them from starving. they all have food in their own homes. when we gather together in the moonlight village ground it is not because of the moon. everyman can see it in his own compound. we come together because it is good for kinsmen to do so. the community in question is ever guided by principles which, of course, are the hallmark of personal actions of the individual persons. hence, the individual person in igwebuike has a defined responsibility within a defined group that opts for it. such is the thrust of african ethics, guiding the operations of igwebuike in a communal state. the full understanding of this kind of relationship is properly expressed in the meaning of community and or a state, as already referred to above as communal state. maritain (1951:2), however, maintains that “both community and society are ethico-social and truly human, not mere biological realities”. as a consequence, therefore, if they are truly human and more real africans, they need a moral principle and should be under moral obligation as well as have a practice of african value system as the cardinal points of african ethics. these cardinal practices are regarded as african way of life, at least, in pristine and still in modern african societies and groups. such cardinal acts are more of communalistic in nature. this understanding underlines the key characteristics of a human communal state, namely: mutual participation, social relationship, fellowship and equal sharing of certain fundamental rights, origin (root), good or orientation in the community. it entails sharing a defined locality and communality, which are often expressed in the concept of a nation as people from the same root, natus. many will refer to this form of communal nature as mere communalism as such. according to ekennia (1998: 348), the idea of communalism expressed in a communal state ‘’refers to social relationship, fellowship, socialites, organized society. it invokes obligingness”. in our popular parlance and understanding, it invokes belongingness. belongingness has been identified as an ontological igwebuike, individual freedom and responsibility in african ethics igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 161 abstract term that specifies that a human person is because he belongs within the communal state. a human person, as the primary subject of african ethics, displays and defines himself more in belongingness. belongingness, in this understanding, is the propulsive move of a human person to perfect himself so as to operate within an environment, a kind of communal state. onebunne (2019a:2) expatiates on this idea of belongingness, thus: belongingness is a fundamental quality in understanding being. no being can be understood in terms of its completeness but in its relation to other beings, defining itself through other beings. every being is defined by a relation, that is, a being is in relation to something, or with an attribute of engaging in something. and this fact of beingness, which is a form of relation, is a form of belonging to, belonging with, and belonging in. relation, therefore, becomes a kind of state by which being realizes itself among others and others within it. belongingness, to this extent, concretizes one in existence in relation to others within the spatial temporality like the communal state. the communal state in question is understood as a nexus of inter-relational relationship for human actions and interactions, that is, existence in the broadest perception. igwebuike, nevertheless, becomes a practical expression of communal interaction and responsibility in this communal state, since it is the basis for a communal life that demands a just ordered and well-organized society as african ethics demands and opines. concept of igwebuike igwebuike is the action of human beings as an entity. it is the modality of human beings. in our context, and as a concept, igwebuike is the african mode of human beings’ style of belonging in african communalistic metaphysics and socio-political philosophy. therefore, it is the actus humanus of a being to belong within a communal jude i. onebunne, phd & mirian n. alike, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 162 setting. it is the mode of any and every reality as such in african philosophy. kanu (2017:1) was clear in placing igwebuike at the hub of african philosophical enterprise on which many african institutions and societal interactions are built. it is, therefore, the background to meaningful communal interaction and significant existence. hence, there are values of igwebuike, for kanu, a. they are in its complementary character, solidarity form, unitary nature and concordance style. igwebuike is an igbo word, which is a combination of three words. therefore, it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. the three words involved: igwe is a noun, which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power. thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’. it was employed by igbo traditional philosophers as a theory based on an illustrative statement to teach that when human beings come together in solidarity and complementary relationship, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force to express their world of relationship, harmony, continuality and balance. at this level, no task is beyond their collective capability. this provides an ontological horizon that presents human beings as that which possess relational character of mutual interest. as an ideology, igwebuike argues that to be is to live in solidarity and harmony, and to live outside the parameters of complementary solidarity is to suffer alienation. to be is to be with the other, in a community of human beings. this is based on the african sense of community, which is the underlying principle and unity of african philosophy. igwebuike philosophy is, therefore, sourced from the proper and professional but critical interpretation of the african world view and praxis, with regard to their thoughts and culture mostly embedded in the african orature. this, to a large extent, has to do with the african myths, folklore, symbols, proverb and songs. igwebuike, individual freedom and responsibility in african ethics igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 163 person the concept of person, with its root in latin as persona and in greek as prosopon meaning mask or disguising, explains concretely the human being, often the man. sacred scripture was apt to acknowledge that man, a living thing, is a creature of god with body and soul, made in the image and likeness of god (cf. gen. 1 26 ff). man was created by the immediate hand of god, and is generically different from all other creatures. his complex nature is composed of two elements, two distinct substances, viz: body and soul. the scriptures, nevertheless, appreciate man based on the hebrew word 'adam, used as the proper name of the first man. hence, the first man was called adam because he was formed from the red earth (cf. gen.1-8). the name is derived from a word meaning to be red. it is also the generic name of the human race. its equivalents are the latin homo and the greek anthropos. the hebrew 'ish’ denotes also man in opposition to woman, h’isha. equally, human evolution has it that human beings have common ancestorship with the apes, the chimpanzees, as characterized by a number of morphological, developmental, physiological constituents and behavioural changes unto the moment of homo erectus, irrespective of the discovery of the much-lauded missing link of man’s ancestry. it was charles darwin’s 1958 publication on the origin of species which, according to bowden (1991: x), “provided evidence to show how the very diverse animals now existing had evolved from earlier primitive life over a long period of time”. this is the beginning of the great controversial theory of human evolution, which is the evolutionary process that led to the emergence of anatomically modern humans, beginning with the evolutionary history of primates—in particular, genus homo—and leading to the emergence of homo sapiens as a distinct species of the hominid family, the great apes. amidst these theories of human evolution, pierre teihard de chardin’s hominization, in line with the becoming of man, along with the crossing the threshold of reflection, culminating in his omega point, is against the mere physical science that man is not uniquely man but ape-man. according to lewis (1969:3), “scientists generally accept the fact that human beings jude i. onebunne, phd & mirian n. alike, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 164 evolved from ape-like ancestors”. scientific human evolution based on evidence from comparative anatomy, paleontology and embryology and as a result of mutation, adaptation and natural selection acknowledges man as human person, that is homo sapiens, homo faber, homo loquens, and a homo cogitans. all these definitional concepts differentially define the human person as a rational animal than an animal with instinctual nature. in the words of mondin (1985:243), “historically the word person marks the line of demarcation between pagan and christian culture…until the advent of christianity, there did not exist, either in greek or in latin, a word to express the concept of a person, because in pagan culture such a concept did not exist, these cultures did not recognize the absolute value of the individual as such, and made their absolute value depend essentially on class rank, wealth and race.” mondin (1985: 256) continuing, gave an authoritative definition of a person, thus, “the person can be defined as a subsistent gifted with self-consciousness, communication and self transcendence.” isaka seme was one of the first western-educated africans to challenge the european colonialism and malevolent explorations then sweeping across the continental africa. in 1906, however, he addressed the royal african society in london. below is the excerpt from his speech titled regeneration of africa: man, the crowning achievement of nature, defies analysis. he is a mystery through all ages and for all time. the races of mankind are composed of free and unique individuals. an attempt to compare them on the basis of equality can never be finally satisfactory. each is self. the speech was an epoch-making event that woke up the europeans to the fact that africans are human beings as a result of their human personhood. their personality gives them the title of a human person with defined rights and responsibility. he reminded them that the years of slavery, yokes of dehumanization of africans as mere object and plundering of africa are over. africa, therefore, must be regenerated igwebuike, individual freedom and responsibility in african ethics igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 165 as they have degenerated it. the starting of course is the recognition that the races of mankind are composed of free and unique individuals as african persons as such. african person african persons are people who are native to africa, descendants of natives of africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of africa. this person in question enjoys the quality of a human person and, added to that, the singular privilege of being culture-bound. africanity, therefore, becomes another defining character and peculiar value amidst other continents and comity of nations in the new world order. an african person is a human person with african weltanschauung as a basic background. continental africa has lot of possibilities, in spite of the rare privilege of africa being the cradle of ancient civilization and mother of civilization of all civilizations. as oguejiofor (2001:24) puts it : “the african continent was also host to ancient civilizations such as egypt, kush, napata and meroe, nubia and axum. when these had had their days, the continent kept pace with the rest of the world”. the contemporary and renewed continuation of the scramble for africa, after the much-lauded independence and end to open slavery, leaves every good-thinking man with a lot of questions, with regard to africa’s coming of age to be (amidst the inherent racism and resurgence of white supremacy). the beauty of africa, as plo mulumba would alert, makes africa still attractive to the west and the rest of the world. this attractiveness is very much seen and exceptionally dependent both on the human and natural resources within the african continent. explaining further, plo mulumba said: when i look at africa and see how attractive she is, one word comes to mind globalization. when they talk about globalization, they talk about it as if it were new. africans were once globalized as a commodity in the slave market, we were sold everywhere in the world, that was globalization. jude i. onebunne, phd & mirian n. alike, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 166 then we were globalized again through colonization. then, again, through neo-colonization. now we are being globalised again in the context of opening our markets: it was julius nyerere who in many of his enlightened moments said, "we should open our markets in the name of globalization and they say that the rules are the same." "i laugh," he said. then he went on to say, "it's like a boxing match, the rules are the same but you don't put a heavyweight boxer with a lightweight boxer in the same ring and say the rules are the same, it's murder. the african person, therefore, is appreciated more from the context that human beings are the centre of all reality, based on the fact that human life, from the ethical point of view, is of primary value. mondin (1985:25) puts it thus: “of all the forms of human action, the most elementary and fundamental one, and the one which at the same time emerges as the most complex and rich with content, is life.” human life, not animal life, nor plant life, therefore, places the human person as the locus of creation and created things. this is why human life is a primary value. it is the value of all values, and without it, no other value is valuable. human life, therefore, vivifies the human person and as a consequence the african person. as iroegbu (1994:136) rightly puts it, “there is in african anthropology an anthropocentricism that is nonetheless a humanism and an integralism.” an african person, therefore, has a holistic personality that is very dynamic and exceedingly unique, in line with the shakespearean (hamlet, act ii, scene ii) descriptive exaltation of man, thus: what a piece of work is man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals! igwebuike, individual freedom and responsibility in african ethics igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 167 the african person, therefore, is fundamentally culture-bound and communally understood and appreciated. this is the background knowledge of a person through the sense of extended family system and super hunger for human interaction. the african person of the 21 st century unfortunately must once again be liberated from the shackles of structural imperialism, racial discrimination and white supremacy. back then in 1906, isaka seme daringly spoke boldly fearless, thus: by this term regeneration i wish to be understood to mean the entrance into a new life, embracing the diverse phases of a higher, complex existence. the basic factor which assures their regeneration resides in the awakened race consciousness. this gives them a clear perception of their elemental needs and of their underdeveloped powers. it therefore must lead them to the attainment of that higher and advanced standard of life. concluding, isaka seme was vehement in addressing the issue of reviving africa from all forms of mis-educated and misguided ideas imported into africa. he was blunt against the carting away of what they branded blackishly evil and despicably demonized. a civilization they wickedly denounced, yet they cherished to covertly import and appropriate them. seme, however, concluded thus: the regeneration of africa means that a new and unique civilization is soon to be added to the world. the african is not a proletarian in the world of science and art: he has precious creations of his own—of ivory; of copper and of gold; of fine, plaited willow-ware; and weapons of superior workmanship. civilization resembles an organic being in its development—it is born, it perishes, and it can propagate itself. more particularly, it resembles a plant; it takes root in the teeming earth, and when the seeds fall in other soils, new varieties jude i. onebunne, phd & mirian n. alike, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 168 sprout up. the most essential departure of this new civilization is that it shall be thoroughly spiritual and humanistic-indeed, a regeneration moral and eternal. freedom and responsibility rousseau’s renowned phrase, in his social contract, is that man is born free, but he is everywhere in chains. with this form of chained freedom, he asserts his exalted idea of the contemporary nature of humanity. this chained freedom, nevertheless, suppresses the basic expression of freedom that is our birthright and is absolute against every natural instinct that is mere animalistic, and for this reason, man enters into civil society with every duty and responsibility. it is, therefore, freedom in responsibility. it is freedom that is accounted for and such is a responsible freedom. it has to do with the ability to respond as need be in the cause of exercising free actions. you are free to the extent you can account for it. this is responsibility. it is freedom in responsibility. freedom to this extent is duty-bound. in this is basic understanding that man is free but everywhere in chains, according to j. p. sartre. man is free as long as his freedom respects others’ free acts. man is free within boundaries. this is a limited freedom. this is the fundamental idea behind freedom to and freedom from. the concept of freedom is from the latin word, libertas, and the greek word, eleutheria, both of which indicate a condition of independence, a kind of autonomy, a form of self-determination. freedom is the liberty, license or ability to do something. it is a rational concept reflecting an inalienable human right to realize one's human will in form of freedom to and freedom from. freedom, according to online webster’s dictionary, is the quality or state of being free: such as (a) : the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action, (b) : liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another : independence, (c) : the quality or state of being exempt or released usually from something onerous. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/liberation https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/independence https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/exempt#h1 igwebuike, individual freedom and responsibility in african ethics igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 169 the word, freedom, therefore, stands for something greater than just the right to act in whichever way one wishes to act. it also stands for securing to everyone an equal opportunity to life, emancipation, and the pursuit of happiness. freedom is a term which is synonymous with liberty. it has been a point of deliberation among various epochs of philosophy in both ethical and political circles. a man is said to be free to the extent that he can choose his goals or the course of his conduct, without being compelled to act as he would not himself choose to act. it is the absence of the imposition of one’s will by any other authority or power. karl jasper is reputed for his philosophy of freedom which he considers not free but gained. according to jasper (1959: 32), “freedom is not absolute; it is always bound at the same time. i do not have it, i gain it.” the exercise of freedom in real practice, at the long, necessitates a kind of limit to what an individual does in a community. the whole idea is about the place of african ethics in a community. african ethics ethics, western ethics to be precise, deals with the moral value of human actions and decency of human behaviour against all forms of animality. the human actions and behaviour, by this understanding, must be accounted for as long as one confronts confusing but decisive moments in living out his daily experience on what is right or bad and what ought to be done or not. from this ethical appreciation, one moves unto traditional african ethics. traditional ethics has to do with norms, precepts, doctrines, principles and moral codes, which regulate the conduct and actions of individuals in african societies. kanu (2015:166) confirms that “traditional african societies had had their traditional ethics”. traditional, however, informs african ethics as it tries to maintain and ensure social order and stability in conventional african societies. african ethics is a realistic and pragmatic philosophy that involves and engages the african person with regard to limits of freedom and, as a result, his responsibility in a communal engagement. african ethics is a main branch of african philosophy. it jude i. onebunne, phd & mirian n. alike, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 170 is a practical philosophy which, according to maritain (2005:177), “is for the good man”. iroegbu (1994: 136), defines african ethics, thus: this is a horizontal aspect of metaphysics and the consequence of epistemology. ethics in african philosophy has been argued to be independent of religion. to this we say yes and no. while god does not directly determine all moral norms, the fear of god makes the realization of those norms effective. ethics, as a branch of practical philosophy, deals directly with human actions in relation to others. however, philosophers today usually divide ethical theories into three general subject areas: meta-ethics, normative ethics and applied ethics. stanford online dictionary, however, gave a general descriptive definition of ethics thus: the ethics of a society is embedded in the ideas and beliefs about what is right or wrong, what is a good or bad character; it is also embedded in the conceptions of satisfactory social relations and attitudes held by the members of the society; it is embedded, furthermore, in the forms or patterns of behavior that are considered by the members of the society to bring about social harmony and cooperative living, justice, and fairness. the ideas and beliefs about moral conduct are articulated, analyzed, and interpreted by the moral thinkers of the society. here, we see the difference between morality (that is value) and religious innuendoes (nuances of belief), as regards the fear of god. it is all about the question of the defining differential nuances between moral instruction and religious education. onebunne and alike (2017) reiterate that “religion and morality are not synonymous. religion and morality are concepts whose conceptual relationships are expressed between religious views and informed conduct of morals…morality igwebuike, individual freedom and responsibility in african ethics igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 171 does not necessarily depend upon religion”. however, african ethics is all about value, rather than religious belief. over the years, stanford online dictionary offers that “african societies, as organized and functioning human communities, have undoubtedly evolved ethical systems—ethical values, principles, rules—intended to guide social and moral behaviour”. hence, there are outstanding african values which are the thrust of african ethics; they include: respect for the sacredness of human life, extended family system, large family system, industry, hard work, respect for senior members of the society, religion, value for private property, language, to mention but a few. african ethics, therefore, has to do with the conduct and action of the human person within a specified community. maritain (2005:173) maintains that, “ethics is as practical to any true science in the strict sense can be, for it teaches not only the most general rules of remote applications but also the particular rules applicable to the particular action to be performed.” it has the good of man in every explicit term by defining what is right and determining what is wrong. in spite of the progress already made in science and technology amidst transvaluation of values and disparagement of the fundamentals of african culture and the threat of monoculture via globalization, an african man is still very conscious of his root and identity as an african. an african man by nature is morally conscious of his attitude, especially within the community. hence, he lives on the pretext of what community identity offers, approves or disapproves. the communal life often determines the african man with the spirit of extended family system already in practice. african ethics is african morality. it is the african value. it has to do with african value system, with regard to the norms and morality of the african human person’s right or bad conduct within the community of persons. it is the modus operandi as well as the modus vivendum of an african man as an african. african ethics is operational within the african world view which is holistic and encompassing. hence, african ethics starts with the individual in the community and extends beyond that. kanu (2015:170), explains it, jude i. onebunne, phd & mirian n. alike, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 172 thus, “the community in africa survives on the contributions of individual endowments. ” according to bujo (2003:20), african ethics is “realized primarily by means of a relational network that is equally anthropocentric, cosmic and theocentric”. from this, one discovers that african ethics is a kind of relationship with man at the centre in relation to uwa as a generic term that englobes all that is. uwa, however, is the locus of operation for human living and necessary interaction. however, against other philosophers who have delved into philosophical excursus, iroegbu was very rigorous in adopting from okere the uses of the concept of uwa, which is an igbo word meaning world. for iroegbu, uwa is the totality and fullness of being in its self expression. it is the theatre of activity for being as belongingness. to this view, asouzu (2007:204) appreciates thus, that. “this ethnocentric flavour notwithstanding, what i find very positive in iroegbu’s use of the concept uwa, is that this concept gives us some feelings concerning the comprehensiveness, totality and wholeness of reality itself; an understanding of reality quite in consonance with the teaching of traditional philosophers of the complementary system of thought”. through different mutual dynamics of relationship, the term, uwa, remains a universalising concept, respecting the boundaries of african ethics in any community living and interaction. bujo (2003:20) further reiterates that “the main goal of african ethics is fundamentally life itself. the community must guarantee the promotion and protection of life by specifying or ordaining ethics and morality.” igwebuike expressing african ethics of living igwebuike is a lived out principle of participation. the concept of igwebuike expresses concretely the african ethics of living. something, of course, is holding and binding them so as to form and be referred to as igwebuike. there is an underlying fact or rightly put , a guiding principle of operation. igwebuike is a practical expression of communal attitude with underlying guidance, based on the value system of the people, and in our context, african value system. igwebuike, individual freedom and responsibility in african ethics igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 173 igwebuike specifically spells out the communal strength that is exerted in moments of communal need in order to execute or achieve a feat. such communal enterprise, nevertheless, is within specified principles as african ethics. it is the individuals that actually make up the population that is identified and empowered as such as igwebuike. these individual persons are very conscious of their individuality and responsibility towards the other and the community in general as a result of their free will to associate and relate as such. bujo (:114) explains that “it must be recalled that african ethics does not define the person as selfrealization or as ontological act; rather, it describes the person as a process of coming into existence in the reciprocal relatedness of individual and community….” there is a collective responsibility that is rightly translated as igwebuike in this context. personal responsibility succinctly defines a response-able person. that is, an individual who is capable of giving a response, albeit in every situation that demands so. such idea of responsibility defines a permissible person, with regard to age and the expected accountability. this has to do with the idea that a human being is ever the architect of his ideas, with a status within the bounds of moral obligation. this is the border line of an african person as an individual in the igwebuike crusade. hence, the attended personal responsibility attunes one into the level of individual commitment which all congregating individuals are willing to make or sacrifice in setting clear goals needed for full responsibility in their achievement of the igwebuike mandate. bujo (2003:112) affirms accordingly that “the position of the individual and the community in ethical behaviour is very important”. there must be a morally bottom line of action. the individual responsibility in question is as a result of the aggregates of acceptable single individual behaviour that is of course bordered on choice. however, bujo (2003:115) explains further that: the individual becomes a person only through active participation in the life of the community. it is not membership in a community as such that constitutes jude i. onebunne, phd & mirian n. alike, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 174 the identity: only common action makes the human person a human person and keeps him from becoming an unfettered ego. the community becomes a veritable ground for the true meaning and expression of the individual participation in and for the community based on igwebuike. this is solidarity in the form of concrete expression of igwebuike. therefore, every form of interaction of the individual in the community is based on the needed solidarity. bujo (2003:117) continues to buttress that “life in a community demands alertness and the maintenance of one’s own individuality”. igwebuike, therefore, respects and recognizes the individual amidst other persons. though igwebuike thrives on the strength of the igwe (number, population), yet it appreciates the minor individual, as well, the concrete contributions of each in strengthening the other are recognized. a good understanding of the individual persons’ response-ability, as well as the responsible freedom in a community, while expressing their appreciable solidarity in their best interest too, is what igwebuike is all about. part of the african value system is a well-defined relationship that is well spelt out on mutual interest and common good of all. igwebuike is for the common good. igwebuike is a unification of communal talents and possibilities harnessed for the general interest. bye and large, such interest and communal expression must be under some guiding principles. this is what african ethics is all about. conclusion life is of primary value. according to iroegbu (2000:179), “life is the highest, foundation and end-point of all values”. the life in question, especially human life, is the locus of operation for the concepts like igwebuike and african ethics in the exercise of freedom and practice of responsibility. however, iroegbu (2000:182) buttresses this enduring fact, thus “every life has meaning. the highest meaning of life is to live for somebody, for something, for others, for igwebuike, individual freedom and responsibility in african ethics igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 175 society…making others alive”. igwebuike is possible as a result of the individual persons acting as a group within the bounds of peculiar moral guidance for the good of all in a communal setting. african ethics, however, is that value parameter that vivifies igwebuike as the modality of human beings in the african community. contemporary african philosophers have tried to give sustained reflective attention to the implementation of african ethics as it contributes to the understanding of the african human person. through the african human person and african language of morality expressed as such in the practise of igwebuike, african ethics is given a prominent place through the individual’s responsible freedom and responsibility. in the exercise of the communal effort, informed most probably by the spirit of igwebuike, african ethics becomes the yardstick for the involved individuals. references achebe, c. things fall apart. england: heinemann. 1958 asouzu, i.i (2007) ibuanyidanda: new complementary ontology. zurich: lit, verlag gmbh & co; wien boweden, m. science vs evolution. kent: sovereign publications. 1991. bujo, b. foundation of an african ethic: beyond the universal claims of western morality.nairobi: paulines publications africa. 2003. ekennia, j. african communalism and political rationality: a critique in african philosophy and public affairs. enugu: delta publications, 1998. iroegbu, p. enwisdomization & african philosophy. owerri: international universities press ltd, 1994 iroegbu, p., metaphysics: kpim of philosophy (owerri: international university press), 1995. iroegbu, p. kpim of politics: communalism, owerri: international university press. 1996 iroegbu, p. kpim of personality: treatise on the human person. owerri: eustel pubs. 2000 jaspers, k.. philosophy vol. 2 trans. new york: chicago press. 1959. jude i. onebunne, phd & mirian n. alike, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 176 kanu, a. african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. awka: fabanieh ltd. 2015. kanu, i. a. igwebuike and being in igbo ontology in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 4 no 5. [12-21]. 2017 kanu, i. a “sources of igwebuike philosophy: towards a sociocultural foundation” traditional african personality, identity and philosophy: challenges and ways forward. 5thinternational annual conference of the association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars, 28th30th june 2017, school of postgraduate studies conference hall, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka anambra state, nigeria. kanu, i. a. (2014). igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholic-pentecostal relations. jos studies. 22. pp.87-98. kanu, i. a. (2015b). igwebuike as an ontological precondition for african ethics. international conference of the society for research and academic excellence. university of nigeria, nsukka. 14 th -16 th september. kanu, i. a. (2015c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25 th -26 th november 2015 university of paris, france. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud igwebuike, individual freedom and responsibility in african ethics igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 177 misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. jude i. onebunne, phd & mirian n. alike, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 178 lewis, j. anthropology made simple. great britain: richard clay (the chancer press) ltd. 1969. maritain, j. man and the state. chicago: university of chicago press, 1951 maritain, j., an introduction to philosophy, london: continuum, 2005 mbiti, j. s. african religion and philosophy. london: heinemann. 1969. mondin, b. a history of medieval philosophy. india: theological pub.1991 onebunne, j.i., being as belongingness: expanding the hermeneutics of african metaphysics of to be, awka: fab anieh nig ltd,. 2019a onebunne, j. & alike, m. religious and or moral education: in search for a critically defining difference in ejikemeuwa j.o. & ejikeme, p.o. (eds). society and human development: essays in honour of j.b. akam. ng: bobpecco pub. 2017. p. 335-353. online webster’s dictionary, https://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/freedom. retrieved 04/07/2020 shakespeare, w. hamlet, act ii, scene ii stanford online dictionary, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/africanethics/. retrieved 10/07/2020 seme, i. https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/1906-isakaseme-regeneration-africa/. retrieved on 04/07/2020 https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/freedom.%20retrieved%2004/07/2020 https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/freedom.%20retrieved%2004/07/2020 https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/african-ethics/ https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/african-ethics/ https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/1906-isaka-seme-regeneration-africa/ https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/1906-isaka-seme-regeneration-africa/ igwebuike ideology and martin buber’s i-thou theory: towards a model for authentic existence igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 179 igwebuike ideology and martin buber’s ithou theory: towards a model for authentic existence ejikemeuwa j. o. ndubisi, phd department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, nigeria ejikon4u@yahoo.com executive summary our contemporary society is such that emphasizes individualism. there is less emphasis on interpersonal relationship. many people tend to live and behave as though they do not need the other. today, there is high rate of frustration, hopelessness, suicide actions and rejections among the young and the old. in this regard, this paper burdens itself with a phenomenological inquiry into the existential problem of human interaction. it states that both igwebuike ideology and the i – thou theory are geared towards an authentic human existence. this study argues that the human person can only authenticate his/her existence as a social being when he/she collaborates with the other in a relationship that is hinged on openness, reciprocity, trust, sincerity, truth, mutuality, respect for the other, justice, among others. it, therefore, submits that the overemphasis on the ‘i’ cannot bring about an authentic human existence and, as such, our contemporary society needs to understand and appreciate this model for an authentic human existence as derived from the igwebuike ideology and buber’s i – thou theory. keywords: igwebuike ideology, kanu, i-thou, buber, human relation mailto:ejikon4u@yahoo.com ejikemeuwa j. o. ndubisi, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 180 introduction experience has shown that the issue of interpersonal relationship has been the concern of many philosophers and thinkers. philosophers, such as aristotle, aquinas, kierkegaard, gabriel marcel, heidegger, levinas, nietzsche, ozumba, nyerere, among others, have written volumes on human relationship. one thing that is clear in the submissions of most philosophers and thinkers mentioned above is that the human person is a being that cannot but interact with others; the human person is a relational being. emphasizing the importance of human relationship, aristotle (1953) argued that it is not possible for a human person to live without friends (p. 258). this explains the existential fact that the human person is a social being. existentialists affirm that the human person is a being-with-others. the nature of the human person is that of relationship with the other. one cannot actually see one’s face without the aid of a mirror; and as such, it can be said that one cannot actually know oneself or discover oneself fully without the other. in the view of kaitholil (2001), a human being is said to be more human when he interacts with others (p. 13). the implication here is that without interaction, a particular human person becomes less human. in our contemporary society, experience has shown that there is much emphasis on individualism. some people tend to believe that they are comfortable without relating with others. this, among others, has constituted a serious threat to the essential aspect of the human person as a being-with-others. today, suicide is on the increase; family relation is being crushed; frustration and hopelessness have become the order of the day. the pertinent question now is: how can a human person live a meaningful life without interacting or relating with others? in an attempt to address this and other related questions, this study is set to phenomenologically analyze the igwebuike ideology from igbo-african perspective, especially as championed by professor kanu, and also buber’s theory of i-thou relationship. the paper begins with a basic understanding of the igwebuike ideology and a igwebuike ideology and martin buber’s i-thou theory: towards a model for authentic existence igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 181 brief exposition of buber’s i–thou theory. it further presents the igwebuike ideolog and the i–thou theory as a model for an authentic human existence in our contemporary society, and thereafter ends with a conclusion. the understanding of the igwebuike ideology the power of effectively pulling forces together to achieve a common goal cannot be undermined or overemphasized. there is always stronger and unquenchable strength in unity. the igbo adage has it that a single broom can easily be broken, but when they are united as a bundle of broom, it then becomes very difficult, if not impossible, to break. this understanding is the brain behind the igbo-african ideology of igwebuike. the notion of igwebuike hinges on the existential fact that ‘united we stand, but divided we fall’. ndubisi (2019) opines that igwebuike is an all-embracing ideology and as such, it “captures the philosophical, religious, political, economic and social life of the african people” (p.142). as a concept, igwebuike is derived from three igbo words: igwe bu ike. this igbo expression can be understood as ‘strength in number’, strength in many’ or ‘power in multitude’. in this regard, one can say that igwebuike has to do with synergy in human relationship. it is important to note at this point that the contemporary understanding and usage of igwebuike in african discourse was popularized by professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, a renowned contemporary african scholar. kanu (2016a) explains that “when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force. at this level, no task is beyond their collaborative capacity” (p.3). the point here is that igwebuike, as an ideology, underscores the existential reality that a part can never be bigger than a whole. it hinges on the need for a cordial interrelationship and interaction among human beings. kanu (2016a) further explains: as an ideology, igwebuike rests on the african principles of solidarity and complementarity. it argues that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity and to live outside that ejikemeuwa j. o. ndubisi, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 182 parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is ‘to be with the other’ in a community of beings. this is based on the african philosophy of harmony and complementarity, which is the underlying principle and unity of african traditional religious and philosophical experience (p. 3). the above citation amplifies the understanding of igwebuike as an ideology. one thing to note here is that igwebuike is an ideology of togetherness; it is an ideology that tends to unite the views and ingenuity of people to achieve a common goal. igwebuike is a philosophy of complementarity and solidarity. experience has shown that every human person needs the other in order to survive or to make meaning in life. kanu, as cited in ogbaki (2019), avers that igwebuike has to do with sharing. he relates: igwebuike as a complementary philosophy understands life as a shared reality. and it is only within the context of complementarity that life makes meaning. life is a life of sharedness. one in which another is part thereof. a relationship, though of separate and separated entities or individuals but with a joining of the same whole. it is a relationship in which case the two or more coming together make each a complete whole; it is a diversity of being one with the other … if the other is my part or a piece of me, it means that i need him for me to be complete, for me to be what i really am. the other completes rather than diminishes me. his language and culture make my own stand out and at the same time, they enrich and complement my own (kanu as cited in ogbaki, 2019, p. 170). the above reflection pictures the existential and complementary nature of igwebuike. the ideology presupposes that no one is actually complete without the other. in a musical parlance, it is said that a particular music is melodious when all the musical instruments and voices are harmonized together. without the harmonization of the instruments and voices, it will be very difficult to perceive the melody igwebuike ideology and martin buber’s i-thou theory: towards a model for authentic existence igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 183 of the particular music. one thing we must note is that “kanu’s perception of igwebuike is such that is all-embracing: it is a philosophy of inclusiveness” (ndubisi, 2019, p 143). in this regard, kanu affirms that igwebuike, as an ideology, is the igbo-african search for meaning in all spheres of life (kanu 2016b, p.5; kanu 2017, p. 9). the igbo-african, in particular, and the human person, in general, can only find meaning in life through the proper understanding and application of the igwebuike ideology. for sure, no man is an island. the igwebuike ideology, as understood and championed by kanu, sees complementarity as the fundamental requirement for human existence. for one “to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation” (kanu 2016a, p.3). it, therefore, follows that the authentic human existence can be understood and achieved in the other. aliba (2019) corroborates: “in igwebuike, co-relating with each other is an essential part of survival because it aids mutual understanding and co-existence. this gives the idea that whatever happens to an individual person affects the community” (p. 163). onebunne (2019) relates the igwebuike ideology to belongingness. he argues that igwebuike ideology is expressed in the philosophy of belongingness. every human person belongs to each other; every human person depends on the other in order to survive. he strongly argues that it is the “experience of life that gave recourse to the idea of complementarity as a measure to survive the challenges posed by other vicissitudes of life. inter-dependence, inter-relationship, collectivism and mutual coexistence form the basis for igbo life pattern as expressed in igwebuike and belongingness: the metaphysics of effective communal relationship” (p. 71). one thing that is clear is that the igwebuike ideology is at the heart of igbo-african understanding of reality; it explains how the igboafrican relates to reality within and around him. it can be seen as the totality of african pphilosophy, religion and socio-political experiences. ejikemeuwa j. o. ndubisi, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 184 following the nature of this study and also having given the basic understanding of the igwebuike ideology, the next subtopic shall focus on martin buber’s theory of i-thou relationship. i – thou theory in martin buber: a brief exposé it was in 1923 that martin buber wrote his famous essay, ich und du (i and thou). it is in this work that he expressed his doctrine of i– thou relation as the mode of human existence. buber explained that there are two modes of encountering the world, namely, i–thou and i–it. he used these two modes to explain interpersonal relationship in the world. one can relate to things in the world as either persons (thou) or as objects (it) (buber, 1958; buber, 1968; buber, 1970). the understanding of the i–thou relationship, according to buber as cited in okonkwo (2014), is that of “a relationship of mutuality, openness, recognition, directness, reciprocity and above all presence. it is a relationship in which the whole being of an individual is engaged in an unassuming relationship with the other” (p.21). one important thing to note about buber’s notion of i–thou is that it is essentially a relationship of mutuality. it is such a relationship where mutual relationship among human beings is enthroned. in this type of relationship, the particular human person only discovers himself/herself f not in relation to himself/herself, but in relation to others. this, for buber, is possible when individualism is removed and mutuality is emphasized. more so, buber maintained that the i–thou relation is possible in an atmosphere of openness. both the ‘i’ and the ‘thou’ must be open to each other. the fact is that the other can only exist for me, and i exist for the other when there is openness. this type of openness is devoid of deception. buber remarked that the i–thou relation is devoid of any prejudice or pre-conceived ideas. any form of prejudice, according to buber, constitutes a barrier to i–thou relation (buber, 1958, p. 11). another important element in i–thou relation, as conceived by buber, is reciprocity. this understanding entails a mutual response of individuals to the actions of the other. there is no intention igwebuike ideology and martin buber’s i-thou theory: towards a model for authentic existence igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 185 whatsoever of individual in i–thou relationship to gain from the other. as soon as a person sets goals or objectives to be achieved prior to the relationship, there can be no mutuality because one’s intention in the relationship would be to realize an objective which is very often at the expense of the other. in this regard, i–thou is seen as mutual relationship and not a parasitic or exploitative type of relationship (buber, 1970, p.115). it is important to note that buber’s strong position is that no one can be fully human without experiencing the other, the world around him/her and also god. it follows that these tripartite expressions constitute, for buber, the essential elements for one to be fully human and to experience an authentic existence. furthermore, another important thing to note in buber’s position is that the doctrine of i– thou is not only related to other human beings alone; it also relates to things (iit) and the eternal thou (god). this means that the particular human person can find meaning in life as he/she relates with other human beings, the environment and god. buber argues that i–it relationship is very essential as it helps the human person to develop and accumulate knowledge. he explains: “the primary relation of man to the world of it is comprised in experiencing, which continually reconstitutes the world, and using, which leads the world to its manifold aim, the sustaining, relieving and equipping of human life” (buber, 1958, p. 38). as the individual relates with the thou and the it, there remains the third party, which buber called the eternal thou (god). it is the relationship with the eternal thou that helps to authenticate one’s existence. in sum, buber’s relational mode for authentic existence is manifested in a triad relation: i–thou, i–it and i–eternal thou. this is a kind of existential relationship that is required for a harmonious interpersonal relationship (koyeli and roy, 2002, p. 192). igwebuike ideology and buber’s i–thou theory: a model for authentic existence so far, we have been able to discuss the igwebuike ideology as propounded by kanu and also presented a highlight of buber’s i–thou ejikemeuwa j. o. ndubisi, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 186 theory. one thing that is clear is that both the igwebuike ideology and the i–thou theory are geared towards an authentic human existence. the human person can only authenticate his/her existence as a social being when he/she collaborates with the other. the overemphasis on the ‘i’ cannot bring about an authentic existence. the human person, in the light of this study, is required to move beyond the ‘i’ in order to have meaningful relationship with the other. it is in a relationship with the other that life can be said to be meaningful to an individual person. this explains the reason this present study argues that both the igwebuike ideology and buber’s i–thou theory can be seen as a model for an authentic human existence, especially in our contemporary society that is carried away by individualism and scientism. it is an existential truism that no human person or anything at all can be said to be absolutely useless. and so, a particular individual can gain from another individual when they engage in a relationship. as a model for an authentic human existence, it means that the igwebuike ideology and the i–thou theory emphasize the essential character of complementarity. in a society such as nigeria, it should be noted that all of us need the other in order to experience an authentic human existence as nigerians. there is something in an igbo person that the hausa person needs; there is also something in the yoruba person that the tiv person or the fulani person needs. this is an existential fact! no person, tribe or nation can exist in isolation; there is always the need for complementarity. one important thing to note is that the emphasis on igwebuike and/or buber’s i–thou theory does not in any way negate individual differences, choices and interests. it means that individuals in a relationship have to work together to achieve a common goal. without working to achieve a common goal, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to achieve anything or derive meaning in life. uzukwu (2019) discusses the importance of the igwebuike ideology, thus: “the social, economic, political, religious, physical and gender differences of the members [of a particular society] are important for the varieties igwebuike ideology and martin buber’s i-thou theory: towards a model for authentic existence igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 187 of contributions and as well as the proportionate strength of the group” (p. 145). the implication of uzukwu’s position is that the strength of economic growth, peaceful coexistence, political stability, etc., that is observed in a particular society is highly dependent on the level of synergy or collaboration experienced in that particular society. conclusion the igwebuike ideology and buber’s i–thou theory constitute, in the view of this study, a model for an authentic existence. no one can claim to live for oneself alone. there is no way an individual’s history can be written without reference to the ‘thou’. authentic existence implies living in solidarity, collaboration, synergy and complementarity with other human beings. there is always the essential need to foster a common ground for human relationship. as aliba (2019) avers: “human association remains an inalienable aspect of our human nature. the human person as a being, is not independent, but rather needs the other to foster his own existence” (p.163). the fact is that human relationship is inevitable and very essential for an authentic human existence. this relationship, to achieve its goal, in the light of the igwebuike ideology and buber’s i–thou theory, should be hinged on openness, reciprocity, trust, sincerity, truth, mutuality, respect for the other, justice, among others. it should be devoid of deceit, bias, inferiority or superiority complex, objectifying the other, using the other simply as a means to an end and not as an end in itself, etc. our contemporary society needs to understand and appreciate this model for authentic human existence as derived from the igwebuike ideology and buber’s i–thou theory. references aliba, s. i. (2019). “a comparative study of igwebuike philosophy and ujamaa: towards a common brotherhood”. journal of african studies and sustainable development, vol. 2, no. 4. pp. 156165. ejikemeuwa j. o. ndubisi, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 188 aristotle (1953). the nichomachean ethics. j. a. k. thomson, trans. london: george allen and unwin. buber, m. (1958). i – thou. g. r. smith, trans. new york: charles scribers buber, m. (1968). between man and man. london: collins buber, m. (1970). a believing humanism: my testament. new york: simon and schuster kaitholil, g. (2010). communion in community: a renewal programme for religious, 6 th ed. mumbai: st. pauls kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and the question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 3, no. 1. pp. 9 – 18. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2, no. 1. pp. 1-6. kanu, i. a. (2016b). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 1 – 9 kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at igwebuike ideology and martin buber’s i-thou theory: towards a model for authentic existence igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 189 the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. koyeli, c. and roy, a. (2002). interpersonal relationship and human dignity. indian philosophical quarterly, 29. pp. 2 – 13. ndubisi, e. j. o. (2019). “igwebuike philosophy in i. a. kanu visà-vis the validity of truth-claim in african epistemology”. journal of african studies and sustainable development, vol. 2, no. 3. pp. 141147. ogbaki, p. e. (2019). nigeria and the debate of leadership and good governance: perspectives from igwebuike philosophy”. in e. j. o. ndubisi, a. a. ichaba and j. nnoruga (eds.). igwebuike philosophy: an african ejikemeuwa j. o. ndubisi, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 190 philosophy of integrative humanism: a book of readings in honour of professor kanu, ikechukwu anthony. bloomington, usa: author house. pp. 154 – 208. okonkwo, i. e. (2014). “i -thou relationship in martin buber’s existentialism: a critical analysis”. (unpublished project, department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya). onebunne, j. i. (2019). “igwebuike: an african metaphysics of communal strength” in j. i. onebunne, p. t. haaga and e. j. o. ndubisi (eds.). igwebuike ontology: an african philosophy of humanity towards the other: papers in honour of professor kanu, ikechukwu anthony, osa. bloomington, usa: author house. pp. 63 – 81. uzukwu, g. n. (2019). “igwebuike as an african expression of the pauline theology of collaboration in mission”. journal of african studies and sustainable development, vol. 2, no. 4. pp. 141155. the teachings of the church on the dialogue between christians and muslims in the current world a model for igwebuike philosphy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 191 the teachings of the church on the dialogue between christians and muslims in the current world a model for igwebuike philosphy naanmiap baamlong, osa estudio teologico de valladolid spain fadabaamlong@yahoo.com executive summary going through the history of the human beings, it is clear that, the human person is a religious and social being. religious because he believes and professes belief in the existence of a deity (a supreme being, god, a creator of the universe) and realities that are supreme to the realities surrounding man. he is social because he lives not alone but with other humans in the society. with the diversity of nature of the human person, it has become very necessary to always cultivate dialogue and interraction for peaceful coexitence. interreligious dialogue is one aspect of the different forms of dialogues existent amongst humans. in this brief reflection, we are going to present the teachings of the catholic church about dialogue between christians and muslims. in a document of the second vatican council nostra aetate, these guidelines and teachings about dialogue are discussed. in view of this, from the theological point of view, this paper aims at demonstrating how the message about interreligious dialogue can contribute more lessons and values to the principle of complementarity of the igwebuike philosphy, illustrating, therefore, how theological values can help to improve, as well, the values already existent in the igwebiuke philosophy. mailto:fadabaamlong@yahoo.com naanmiap baamlong, osa igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 192 keywords: god, nostra aetate, dialogue, kanu ikechukwu anthony, interreligious dialogue, igwebuike philosophy, christians, muslims, unity. introduction interreligious dialogue, also referred to as interfaith dialogue, is about people of different faiths coming to a mutual understanding and respect that allow them to live and cooperate with one another, in spite of their differences. the term refers to cooperative and positive interaction among people of different religious traditions, at both the individual and institutional levels. each party remains true to their own beliefs, while respecting the right of the other to practise their faith freely. although interreligious dialogue is a recent term in the vocabulary of the church, its reality is not new, but has always been existent in the church 1 . the document nostra aetate of the second vatican council is a document that presents the church's relations with non-christian religions. it gives us some key guidelines for establishing a fraternal dialogue, of relations, of mutual trust and respect between christians and muslims. certainly, when they promulgated the document, the council fathers took into account the pluralism of both religions and cultures and ideologies. although basically, the texts deal with questions concerning what practical relationships between christians and muslims should look like; however, they also offer suggestions on aspects of a new catholic theology on dealings with muslims. the following reflection will be based on this document and other texts of the popes (encyclicals and messages), in order to present some of the teachings of the magisterium on the dialogues of the catholic church in reference to islam, with special emphasis on the practical 1 cf. dupuis, r, “cristología fundamental”, en diccionario de teología fundamental, latourelle, r., fisichella, r. y pié-ninot, s. (directores), madrid, ediciones paulinas 1992, the teachings of the church on the dialogue between christians and muslims in the current world a model for igwebuike philosphy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 193 demonstrations of these teachings of the popes from vatican ii. this paper will point out very important aspects about inter-faith dialogue beneficial to the igwebuike philosophy. this philosophy is based on the igbo-african worldview of complementarity, that is, the manner of being in african ontology. it is a worldview in which individuating differences must work towards a corporate existence, where the ‘i’ does not stand as the ‘i’ but as a ‘we’, where life and living makes meaning. in a scenario of this kind, difference does not divide nor does it constitute a threat, but rather unites and gives hope that future existence would have meaning. in a cosmogony of this kind, while the ontology of the person is founded on the particularity of the individual, implying that it is the metaphysics of the particular that founds identity, it is the community that gives meaning to such an existence and grounds such an identity 2 . the church always calls for 2 cf. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igboafrican modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. naanmiap baamlong, osa igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 194 dialogue between all people. it calls all to a dialogue and solidarity as human persons, to work for the common good of all 3 . the teachings of the church on dialogue the beginning of this document indicates that all peoples form one community and have the same origin, because god made all humanity dwell on the whole face of the earth 4 . the text continues with an affirmation of islam's link to biblical tradition, as can be read in number 3; “the church also looks with appreciation at the muslims, who worship one living and subsisting god, merciful and omnipotent, creator of heaven and earth, who spoke to men, to whose cult designs seek to submit entirely, as was submitted to god abraham, to whom the islamic faith refers willingly”. although the reference to muslims’ professing to abraham's faith seems to be on a subjective level, its position as one of the nonchristian monotheistic religions can be clearly seen. this is inferred from the phrases that speak of muslims who worship the one god, merciful, omnipotent, and creator of everything, and also wait for the day of dudgment, when god will reward all men once they are resurrected. therefore, they appreciate moral life and venerate god above all, with prayer, alms and fasting 5 . the document states that the church sees muslims with great appreciation. they worship one god of mercy and almighty creator of everything. two things attract attention to the document reader. the first thing is that it emphasizes what muslims and christians have in common and at the same time emphasizes the essential point of difference, with reference to christ, whom islam venerates as a 3 cf.http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/ papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html. accessed 10/07/2020. evanglii gaudium, nn. 217-237. 4 cf. nostra aetate, n.1. 5 ibíd., n.3 http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html the teachings of the church on the dialogue between christians and muslims in the current world a model for igwebuike philosphy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 195 prophet, and does not recognize him as god. in addition, they also honour mary the mother of jesus christ and sometimes even invoke her devoutly. the document states that the church sees muslims with great appreciation 6 . undoubtedly, a mention of jesus and mary is a sign of the special place they occupy within the quran. it describes jesus not only as a prophet and messenger of god, but also as the word of god (cf., quran 3:45; 4.171) strengthened by the holy spirit (cf. quran 2:87, 235; 5.110). these notes mentioned above also open up the possibility of cooperation between the two religions, in situations of religious conflict, especially in today's world. the phrases at the beginning of this document appear only as an ordinary preamble, but it is a fact that makes the statement exceptional. this official declaration on islam made by a church council should be seen as a point of reference and an absolutely new beginning. the creed and the worship of one god are the center of the muslim religion, as it is also for christians whose faith solemnly professes, “credo in unum deum”. the document briefly mentions some aspects of islamic eschatology, referring to the final judgment. this aspect is essential for both the christian religion and islam. as you study these aspects in more details in both religions, you will no doubt see that there are notable differences. however, in both the new testament and the quran, it is mentioned that in the final judgment, each will receive his/her reward, according to the actions performed during his/her pilgrimage in the world. in addition, if you look closely at the document, three basic elements of the muslim religion are also mentioned in it: prayer (salat), alms (zakat) and fasting (sawm) 7 . as regards to its profession of faith, (shahada; there is no god but allaah), it has been mentioned in the beginning of the document. 6 ibíd. 7 ibíd. naanmiap baamlong, osa igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 196 the second part of the document deals with the prospects for understanding and collaboration between christianity and islam in the present and in the future. the hatred and war of the past must be forgotten, not ignored but overcome, in order to achieve a mutual understanding, which is the goal that the two religions must secure. it says; “since in the course of centuries not a few quarrels and hostilities have arisen between christians and muslems, this sacred synod urges all to forget the past and to work sincerely for mutual understanding and to preserve as well as to promote together for the benefit of all mankind social justice and moral welfare, as well as peace and freedom 8 . to succeed, therefore, in addition to seeking sincere understanding, believers have the responsibility and need to go beyond a simple dialogue between christians and muslims. our greatest responsibility as believers is to actively cooperate in preaching and in the experience of the message of peace and dialogue that our faith in god demands. in this message, we are all called to reproach as alien to the spirit of christ, any discrimination against men or harassment of them because of their race, colour, condition of life, or religion. on the contrary, following in the footsteps of the holy apostles peter and paul, this sacred synod ardently implores the christian faithful to maintain good fellowship among the nations (1 peter 2,12), and, if possible, to live for their part in peace with all men, so that they may truly be sons of the father who is in heaven, thereby building a better world 9 . practical actions of the popes in relation to the declaration nostra aetate the progress of interreligious dialogue since the second vatican council has certainly been positive and deserves praise. the first protagonists of this are the popes themselves. it is worth emphasizing the role of the popes in this mission as a service to the unity exercised 8 ibíd. 9 ibíd., n.5. the teachings of the church on the dialogue between christians and muslims in the current world a model for igwebuike philosphy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 197 by them on behalf of the whole church, so that the prayer of jesus, “that all may be one” ( jn 17,21) may continue to strengthen his church. pope john xxiii himself, when he convened the ecumenical council, had in his mind the idea of dialogue, which we know or we heard of his famous saying; “let the wind of change blows into the church.” this is a clear sign of his desire for dialogue. it can be said that this idea underlies the whole council. if we take a look at his encyclical pacem in terris of 11 april 1963, it speaks on peace among all peoples that will be founded on truth, justice, love and freedom; an encyclical intended not only for christians, but also for all men of good will. paul vi, in whose hands was the task of presiding over and concluding the second vatican council, was thinking of the prevailing need for dialogue among all humanity. this is evident in his encyclical ecclesiam suam of 6 october 1964, which deals with the church's mandate in the contemporary world. number 27 of the document deals specifically with this idea of dialogue. for its part, the practicality of its actions is a very significant element, of its willingness to promote a church in dialogue with the world. in january 1964, he paid a visit to the holy land, where he embraced the patriarch of constantinople atengoras. that same year, he went to bombay in india, preaching once again the gospel of dialogue. he then paid a visit in 1969 to africa in kampala uganda, during which he had some meetings with muslims. and in manila, the philipines in 1970, he made great praise of the religious wealth of the asian continent. it is almost impossible to cover all the teachings of john paul ii, on christian-muslim dialogue. but he certainly kept in line with his predecessors by emphasizing the need for dialogue. in most of his papal trips, he had meetings and conversations with different muslim leaders, for example, his speech to young muslims in casablanca in morocco in 1985 and his visit to egypt in 2000. on one of his visits to naanmiap baamlong, osa igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 198 turkey, he addressed the people with words of dialogue. on the other hand, it shows much of the dialogue and relational character that the church must play, with his gesture when he entered a mosque in damascus on 6 may, 2001, an action that many people today remember as a great display of love and dialogue. benedict xvi also made works to strengthen dialogue between christians and muslims, like the meeting with representatives of muslim communities in germany in august, 2005. also, the current pope, whose pontificate is still young, has already made many visits to the middle east, central africa, preaching a message of peace and mercy. it is worth mentioning the importance of his commentary on the current situation of terrorism in the world as the beginning of the third world war. these practical examples presented show the evident actions and efforts of the popes in the implementation of the council's teachings not only in their words, but above all in their actions. if we look at the efforts and the results that have come out of all of them, we can confidently say that, although it has not been easy, and despite the apparent setbacks, progress has been made on the path of reconciliation. as christians and catholics, at this time full of challenges and difficult situations to manage, let us not forget the words of jesus: “i am with you always, to the close of the age” (mt 28:20). we must encourage one another to preach peace and dialogue. our christian conduct towards dialogue must be a translation of the values of the gospel, which we are called to live with hope, even if the other does not want it. that is not why we must be discouraged, because, “though the fig tree do not blossom, no fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet i will rejoice in the lord, i will joy in the god of my salvation” (habakkuk 3, 17-19). the teachings of the church on the dialogue between christians and muslims in the current world a model for igwebuike philosphy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 199 benefits church’s teaching on interreligious dialogue to igwebuike philosophy from the above discourse on the church and interligious dailogue, it is clear that the central message is about peaceful coexistence amongst people of distinct religious beliefs and practices; this will rightly contribute good ideas to this african philosophy of complementarity. one of the principles of the igwebuike philospohy is unity. in fact, it is the inner or underlying principle of this african philosophy 10 . this unity stems from the coming together and putting into one place the various and different exiting realities. the principle points to the fact that in spite of the contrariety of reality, in spite of the singular identity of each reality, there is something common to everything. igwebuike understands every individual reality as part and completion of the whole, and thus there is a unity in the midst of diversity. igwebuike presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. thus, ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is ‘to be with the other’, in a community of beings. “i am because we are and since we are, therefore i am” 11 . 10 cf. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. 11 cf. kanu, i. a. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy, 14. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national naanmiap baamlong, osa igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 200 the document nostra aetate emphasizes aspects that muslims and christians have in common. and like we have seen, at the heart of this similarity is the act of belief in only one god. god is the binding force and the belief in this one supreme god is at the heart of the interaction and dialogue. it is, therefore, obvious that what is involved here is very important and serves as the basis on which all other dialogues can be established. consequently, this of course, without any doubt, fits well for the igwebuike philosophy which preaches complementarity and unity. “i am because we are and since we are, therefore i am”. and because of this strong sense of togetherness and unity, everyone in a given community considers the next person as a brother. as such dialogue can easily be made, and by the very nature of this belongingness and togethernes, there is intimately in existence dialogue because no one is considered different or outside of the circle that binds the community. to be identified as an individual one is first considered as part of the whole group. it is the whole that gives meaning and importance to the individual or a particular reality and aspect. that is dialogue in play. interreligious dialogue increases the understanding christians and non-christians have of the beliefs and practices of the other. this enhanced understanding can lead to a more peaceable coexistence in the pluralistic culture of the 21st century africa. as people of different religious communities encounter another in mutual service in schools, in government, and in civic activities, the foundations established through dialogue will enable these people to know the areas in which mutual activity can enhance society (as well as to know in advance the areas in which religious differences can make mutual undertakings difficult). development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. the teachings of the church on the dialogue between christians and muslims in the current world a model for igwebuike philosphy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 201 as stated above, dialogue enhances the efficacy of peaceful coexistence. the clarified understanding of other religions will be published in books and articles about the religions, many of which will be read by all, as well as transmitted to everybody person. this, therefore, effectively addresses and shapes the thinking of one group of people about the beliefs and cultures of the other group. it helps each group to better understand their own faith. because the focus of interreligious dialogue is on the differences between religions, people are forced to examine their own beliefs in order to support these positions. this examination will increase the self-understanding of christians and muslims, helping them to see the great values they both possess. this enables both groups to identify and contextualize the teachings of other religions, and to present a reason as to why each believes differently. finally, interreligious dialogue increases and breeds love and unity. this is another aspect that the igwebuike philosophy stresses, the advantage that stems from this union of various parts. according to the study of kanu, igwebuike strongly holds that the whole is greater than the corresponding parts. it is also a view that maintains that by the coming together of the individuals or parts, a viable and sustainable whole will emerge, and by this, the parts will get to the brim purpose of their existence 12 . the coming together of the parts to form one single unit makes the various parts strong and powerful. in line with this, it will be relevant the teaching of nostra aetate. it emphasizes this concept of dialogue, because to produce fruit, there has to be strongly in place understanding and integration a 12 cf. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cociopolitical system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kanu, i. a. (2019). on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159-176. kanu, i. a. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. naanmiap baamlong, osa igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 202 community that is together in harmony and dialogue. igwebuike philosophy preaches harmony and relationship. according to the study done by kanu, igwebuike is an ordered relationship, even though the idea of igwe (large number of people or group) may give the impression of a mob or disordered relationship. igwebuike is a relationship guided by the igbo-african principle: egbe bere ugo bere (let the kite perch, let the eagle perch). the idea of egbe (kite) and ugo (eagle) speaks of a variety of positions, personality, creed, culture, etc., and in fact, differences in life, which is found in the world, and yet must coexist together. when the egbe settles in the uwa (the world) and imagines that the ugo has no right of existence and then begins to castigate ugo and to push it out of being, at that point, the egbe alienates the being of the ugo. when egbe castigates and condemns the ugo, it thinks that it is making progress; it is rather alienating itself, because the being of the ugo has an existential and fundamental contribution to make to the being of the egbe. it is such that when egbe kills the uugo, the egbe also kills itself. to be in the world, kanu assert that the egbe and the ugo must dialogue. the world is such that differences would always exist and to try to destroy the other as a result of difference is to waste one’s time; to end the variation of reality is to end reality itself, for reality is by its nature variegated. egbe beru, ugo beru (let the kite perch, let the eagle perch). this implies they must dialogue and, therefore, must have a relationship. they have the options of either relating and being happy or being in perpetual discord which alienates their being in the uuwa. when the egbe and ugo harness their energies towards a common project, need and desire, they can constitute an insurmountable force in pursuing their collective vision. only then can they overcome their collective difficulties. in the same way, only when muslims and christians come together in existential solidarity, which is a correlative and complementary solidarity, a ‘we’ relationship, can they fulfill their divine mandates. both religions have something to learn from each other, and to avoid or alienate the other is to deny oneself the teachings of the church on the dialogue between christians and muslims in the current world a model for igwebuike philosphy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 203 of knowledge and growth, and, thus, expanding the capacity of ignorance. when both religions slight each other, look down on each other, segregate each other and reject the contribution of each other, they are committing the ontological evil of alienation 13 . nostra aetate, in the concluding part, warns against all these negative aspects amongst the different religions calling for dialogue and understanding. 14 conclusion interreligious dialogue involves meeting people themselves and getting to know their religious traditions. inter-faith dialogue is not just words or talk. it includes human interaction and relationships. it can take place between individuals and communities and on many levels. for example, between neighbours, in schools and in places of work it can take place in both formal and informal settings. in nigeria, for example, muslims and christians live on the same streets, use the same shops, buses, and attend the same schools. normal life means that we come into daily contact with each other. dialogue, therefore, is not just something that takes place on an official or academic level only – it is part of daily life during which different cultural and religious groups interact with another directly, and where tensions between them are the most tangible. christian-muslim dialogue should always aim at providing a positive alternative to destructive violence, especially in situations of tension and strife. the situation in nigeria calls for dialogue, if people must live in peace 13 cf. kanu, i. a. (2019). collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. 14 cf. nostra aetate, n.5. naanmiap baamlong, osa igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 204 with one another. wherever christians and muslims live in peace, dialogue between them should aim at addressing common problems for the good and peaceful coexistence of the society. this is important because today muslims and christians are now neighbours, colleagues at work, members of the same political parties and football clubs. their children attend the same nurseries, schools and universities. having seen the relationship between the teaching of the church on dialogue and philosophy, one can see how theological values can help to improve as well the values already existent in the igwebiuke philosophy. igwebuike philosophy, strategic religious action and the theory of change igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 205 igwebuike philosophy, strategic religious action and the theory of change mike boni bazza, phd veritas university abuja (the catholic university of nigeria) department of history and international relations danbazza68@gmail.com executive summary this paper examines the root causes of the problems of religious tensions, violent conflicts and killings, using the north central region of nigeria as a case study. consequently, the paper develops a strategic religious action to tackle the menace. the research uses the tools of an indigenous african philosophy called igwebuike, which is a substratum of african traditional values, philosophy and religion. it embodies an integral principle of african philosophical experience which enhances the unity of all africans. igwebuike philosophy is an accepted tactics of soft power, i.e. the ability to attract and co-opt people, expose problems about human rights on freedom of religion or belief (forb), and then proffer a strategic religious action. the submission quickly addresses all the contentious issues that facilitate agitations from different sections and players in the region under focus, and submits that traditional african values, in relation to the igwebuike philosophy, strategic religious action and the theory of change (collectively speaking), are sine qua non for prosecuting the problems in question. to achieve the goal of this study, historical and phenomenological methods of enquiry are deployed in the collection and analysis of data, while the ‘indigenous holistic theory’ and the ‘theory of change’ were adopted mailto:danbazza68@gmail.com mike boni bazza, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 206 for the interpretation and understanding of the problems at hand. furthermore, it concludes by stating the ultimate aim of the study, which is basically to examine the root causes of the aforementioned problems in the middle belt of nigeria, namely: religious tensions, violent conflicts and killings and proffer a strategic religious action within the context and framework of the theory of change (toc). keywords: igwebuike, philosophy, kanu ikechukwu anthony, human rights, freedom of religion, african traditional values, theory of change introduction professor ikechukwu anthony kanu developed the concept of ‘igwebuike’ to describe the unity of the african philosophical experience, which profoundly relates to a perspective-driven ideology and epitomizes the manner of being in african ontology. this, according to him, includes african cherished traditional values such as complementarity, harmony, communality, etc. thus, igwebuike, being the inner or underlying principle of african philosophy, has successfully been used as a holistic response to the problem of evil, and sometimes it has been applied to define the logic of african philosophy, inclusive leadership and even the issue of national development. for the purpose of this discourse, igwebuike philosophy is adopted as a solution to the problems about human rights on freedom of religion or belief (forb) which, on the long run, encompasses a strategic religious action. strategic religious action promotes and builds on its extensive experience and best practices, which specifically focus on women and youth as contained in article 18 of the universal declaration of human rights on freedom of religion or belief (forb). 1 while admitting that forb is a fundamental human right enshrined in international treaties and constitutional provisions in most countries, the actual practice of forb encounters many challenges, particularly in the sphere of religious tensions, violent conflicts and killings. 2 our igwebuike philosophy, strategic religious action and the theory of change igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 207 ultimate aim in this paper is to examine the root causes of the aforementioned problems in the north central region, i.e., the middle belt of nigeria and proffer a strategic religious action within the context and framework of the theory of change (toc). 3 the presentation in presenting the igwebuike philosophy as an accepted tactics of soft power about human rights on freedom of religion or belief (forb), we will like to explore the kanu school of thought as a remedy for almost every human problem. doing so will enable us to appreciate immensely the apt and scholarly interpretation of igwebuike from this perspective. according to this school of thought, igwebuike is from an igbo composite word and metaphor: igwebuike, a combination of three words. therefore, it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. 4 the three words involved are explained thus: igwe is a noun, which means ‘number’ or ‘population’, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means ‘is’. ike is another verb, which means ‘strength’ or ‘power.’ thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’; that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force or strength, and at this level, no task is beyond their collective capability. 5 igwebuike is, therefore, a philosophy of harmonization and complementation. it understands the world immanent realities to be related to one another in the most natural, mutual, harmonious and compatible ways possible. 6 tackling the root causes of religious tensions, violent conflicts and killings by applying the pprinciple of igwebuike philosophy the root causes of the above-listed problems in the north central region (middle belt) of nigeria can be understood by using a ‘causal factor’ approach. using this approach, the root causes of the problems can be classified into factors which include: economic, political and socio-cultural factors. mike boni bazza, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 208 economically, the root causes of the identified problems in the north central region of nigeria include the scramble for economic opportunities and resources. the economic opportunities in the north central region are scarce. these opportunities include employment and trade. as a result of the scarcity, the ethno-religious backgrounds are resorted to, in order to get access to these opportunities, on the one hand. on the other hand, the inability of some people to have access to these opportunities is interpreted along ethno-religious lines. with this situation, a “we versus them” construct is created among the people of various backgrounds in the region, thereby deepening the differences among the people and raising conflictive tendencies, which eventually manifest in the problems within the region. 7 the dominant and most important economic resource in the region is land. acquiring portions of land in the region is tantamount to wealth acquisition, as the land can be used for farming or grazing livestock. accordingly, farmers-herders dimension of the identified problems in the region is basically as a result of clashes over land. politically, the identified problems in the north central region of nigeria are as a result of the weak government institutions, lack of political will by the government agencies and political leaders, the quest for territorial expansion by migrating stock of people into the region, the struggle for the control and domination of the region among the diverse ethnic groups found therein, 8 et cetera. government institutions which are supposed to control human behaviours in the society and ensure social order have not been performing their duties. the police, courts, military, have even been accused of partiality, partisanship, and even connivance as perpetrators of the problems within the region. weakness of the institutions has eventually ossified into a lack of political will by the institutions and political leaders to finding lasting solutions to the problems. hence, the problems have become a daily reoccurrence in the region. 9 as a matter of fact, many political leaders have been associated with all the identified conflicts in the states igwebuike philosophy, strategic religious action and the theory of change igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 209 within the region, but of course, because “this is nigeria,” nothing has been done to bring them to book. constitutional weakness has also been one of the root causes of the identified problems in the region. the nigerian constitution makes provisions for citizenship and indigenity. constitutional provisions, by virtue of their ambiguity over the terms “indigene” and “residency” for accessing citizenship rights, have not been satisfactorily clarified. it appears that the indigene principle promoted in section 147 (3) 10 is not in line with the citizenship provisions of section 15 (3) (b), 11 which stipulate that “for the purpose of promoting national integration, it shall be the role of the state to secure full residence rights for every citizen in all parts of the federation.” 12 this provision becomes difficult in being implemented in various states of the region. consequently, indigenes of the states in the region and other citizens of nigeria residing within the region are constantly struggling for citizen rights and privileges, where the indigenes believe the rights and privileges are reserved for them within their domains. 13 this sets a fertile ground for the endless myriad of problems in the region. there has been a wave of north-south migration from the northernmost part of the country into the north central region. this migration is basically a movement of the hausa/fulani ethnic nationalities. these immigrants into the region not only seek means of livelihood, but seek to assert themselves (in the context of one nigeria) on the indigenes of the region. hence, there has been a perception of extra-territoriality which must be confronted by irredentism, leading to reoccurring bloodshed and damage of property in the region. socio-culturally, the north central region is made up of diverse ethnic groups which have not been able to harness their diversity for progress. rather, these groups found themselves in constant competition, which is problematic for the society. equally, the social conditions within the region provide a fertile ground for the preponderance of problems. these conditions include: high level of poverty, high population density, religious antagonisms, inadequate mike boni bazza, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 210 social and infrastructural facilities, high level of illiteracy and unemployment, et cetera. the failure of government and religious and traditional institutions to properly manage these social conditions of the region has become a recipe for the identified problems to persist. igwebuike philosophy, strategic religious action and the theory of change after defining igwebuike as a philosophy of harmonization and complementation that understands the world immanent realities to be related to one another in the most natural, mutual, harmonious and compatible ways possible, 14 we will now focus our attention on the strategic religious action that is incumbent towards contextualizing the theory of change. we begin our discourse by asking: what is the theory of change? the theory of change as the name suggests, is a hypothesis of how we think change occurs. so essentially, it is a comprehensive description and illustration of how and why a desired change is expected to happen in a particular context. 15 therefore, in the context of this study, the theory of change can be said to be a paradigm which promotes social change in the society, albeit positive. the theory explains the linkages in an initiative by explaining the processes of change. this link shows why an outcome, step or action is a prerequisite for another. 16 in other words, the theory suggests why a particular action is necessary for a particular result to be achieved. using the theory of change, the strategic religious action i will humbly suggest is inter-religious dialogue, using the tool of igwebuike. interreligious dialogue is necessary for social order and human and societal development. the role religion plays in the society cannot be overemphasized. religion has become the way of life for many people. religion appeals to their consciences and determines who they relate with, how they interact with their environment and what awaits them in the world and beyond. the connection people have with their religion is as strong as glue, that anything which seeks to undermine their belief or relationship with their religion, whether perceived or igwebuike philosophy, strategic religious action and the theory of change igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 211 real, is considered an affront that must be confronted immediately. hence, religion has become a tool for conflict, progress and propaganda. 17 with the place religion has taken in the society, a strategy of interreligious dialogue is sine qua non for finding solutions to the problems bedeviling the human society. without regard to extremists’ perspectives on some religions, all religions seek a good society (put in other word, life) for their respective followers. when inter-religious dialogue is adopted, a better understanding of various religions and the complementary roles they play in the development of the society and enhancement of human existence will be put in place. this is necessary for the prevention of religious extremism, violence and intolerance, which have often resulted in religious tensions, violent conflicts and killings. 18 through inter-religious dialogue, religious leaders will be given additional roles to their primary role of evangelism. they will be able to play mediatory roles in issues of human society and not just that of the religious realm. with that, religious institutions and leaders will play complementary roles to the efforts of government, civil society organizations and traditional institutions as they seek to develop the society and enhance peaceful co-existence. evidence-based outcome essentially, inter-religious dialogue will enable inter-religious relationship. this will bring the various people in the society into a common front for peaceful co-existence. inter-religious dialogue has played vital roles in conflict resolution and sustaining peace, even in the north central region of nigeria. this was the case in the yelwa-shendam religious conflict of the early 2000s in plateau state. 19 in the june, 2018 violent ethno-religious conflict in riyom, barkin ladi and jos south local government areas, 20 where some victims of armed attack were saved by an imam, mike boni bazza, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 212 due to the relationship that had existed between him and the people of the community. conclusion in the context of this study, we have employed the use of the word, igwebuike, as a philosophy of harmonization and complementation, because when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful and can constitute an insurmountable force or strength, and at this level, no task (even the complexity of inter-religious dialogue) is beyond their collective capability. although inter-religious dialogue has empirically played cogent roles in addressing human problems, it has not been given a proper place to flourish as it has not been formerly adopted as a strategic action. the government of the united states, through its embassies, has been making efforts to encourage the adoption of inter-religious dialogue, with the commemoration of world religions day. when inter-religious dialogue is adopted as a strategic action, many problems bedeviling the society can be solved and future ones prevented. once again, my humble submission in this study is that traditional african values, in relation to igwebuike philosophy, strategic religious action and the theory of change (collectively speaking) are sine qua non for prosecuting the problems in question. in addition, it is important to note that inter-religious dialogue is very necessary for social order, human and societal development, and igwebuike philosophy is the right tool to achieve this onerous task. endnotes 1. article 18 of the universal declaration of human rights on freedom of religion or belief (forb) specifically focuses on women and youth. 2. ibid 3. in the context of this study, the theory of change can be said to be a paradigm which promotes social change in the society, albeit positive. the theory further explains the processes of change. 4. kanu, i. a., igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. a paper presented at the international igwebuike philosophy, strategic religious action and the theory of change igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 213 conference on law, education and humanities. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france, 2015a. 5. kanu, i. a., igwebuike as an ontological precondition for african ethics. international conference of the society for research and academic excellence. university of nigeria, nsukka. 14th -16th september, 2015b. 6. ibid. 7. bazza, m. b., a special submission made to: the joint initiative for strategic religious action (jisra) as a member of the nigeria input team on 24 th july, 2020. 8. ibid. 9. ibid. 10. the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria (as amended), section 147 (2). 11. the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria (as amended), section 15 (3b). 12. ibid. 13. this is the author’s interpretation of section 15 (3b) of the 1999 constitution as amended. 14. kanu, i. a., igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france, 2015a. 15. the joint initiative for strategic religious action (jisra) theory of change (both narrative and visual), 2020. 16. bazza, m. b., a special submission made to: the joint initiative for strategic religious action (jisra) as a member of the nigeria input team on 24 th july, 2020. 17. ibid. 18. ibid. 19. a research interview on the berom-fulani ethnic conflicts, 2001-2018, with h. salleh, kurra falls, gashish, plateau state. salleh expressed how imam abubakar saved christians by hiding them in his house when muslim gun men stormed the communities in gashish district on 23 rd june 2018. the report was captured by many media outlets and the imam was given an mike boni bazza, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 214 award and subsequently honoured by the united states of america embassy here in nigeria in the year 2019. 20. emmanuel innocent, “imam ashafa and pastor james wuye: bringing peace to warring nigerian communities”. premium times, april 9 th 2020, retrieved july 24 th, 2020. https.//crcc.usc.edu/imam-ashafa-and-pastor-james-wuyebringing-peace-to-warring-nigerian-communities/ bibliography akanni, a.a. (2014), ‘history of terrorism, youth psychology and unemployment in nigeria’ in journal of pan african studies, vol.7, no. 3. article 18 of the universal declaration of human rights on freedom of religion or belief (forb) augustine, saint. ‘just-war theory’, available at http://www.mtholyoke.edu/-jasingle/justwar.html bandura, a. (1973), aggression: a social learning analysis. england cliffs, nj: press. bazza, m. b., a special submission made to: the joint initiative for strategic religious action (jisra) as a member of the nigeria input team on 24 th july, 2020. centre for defense information,(2003), a brief history of terrorism. available at http://www.cdi.org/friendlyversion/printversion.cmf?docum entid=1502. chalianda, g. & blin, a. (2007), (eds.) the history of terrorism. (schneider, e., pulver, k. & browner, j. trans.), berkeley, university of california press. dollard, j., doob, l., mowver, o., & sears, r. (1939), frustration– aggression. new haven, c.t. university press. ebun-amun, c. (2010), ‘bombing as nigeria’s new sub-culture?’ the nigerian tribune, may 11. emmanuel innocent, “imam ashafa and pastor james wuye: bringing peace to warring nigerian communities”. premium times, april 9 th 2020, retrieved july 24 th, 2020. https.//crcc.usc.edu/imamhttp://www.mtholyoke.edu/-jasingle/justwar.html igwebuike philosophy, strategic religious action and the theory of change igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 215 ashafa-and-pastor-james-wuye-bringing-peace-towarring-nigerian-communities/ fiala, a. (2002), ’terrorism and the philosophy of history: liberalism, realism and supreme emergency exemption’ in essays in philosophy, a biannual journal, vol.3, special issue. frey, r.g. & morris, c.h. (1991), violence, terrorism and justice. cambridge university press, new york. hegel, g.w.f. (1967), the phenomenology of the mind. (j.b. baillie, trans.), new york: harper & row publishers. ikime, o. (1985). in search of nigerians: changing patterns of intergroup relations in an evolving nation-state. presidential inaugural lecture, 30th congress of the h.s.n., university of nigeria nsukka. kamal, m. (2008) ‘the meaning of terrorism: a philosophical inqury’ in national centre of excellence for islamic studies nceis research papers, vol.1, no.1 university of melbourne. kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. 2016 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. 2016 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. 2016 kanu, i. a. african traditional folktales as an integrated classroom. sub-saharan african journal of contemporary education research. vol.3 no. 6. pp. 107-118. 2016 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christianmuslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international mike boni bazza, phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 216 journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. 2017 kanu, i. a. african philosophy, globalization and the priority of ‘otherness’. journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 40-57. 2018 igwebuike philosophy, strategic religious action and the theory of change igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 217 kanu, i. a. african traditional philosophy of education: essays in igwebuike philosophy. germany: lambert publications. 2018 kanu, i. a. igbo-african gods and goddesses. nnadiebube journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 118-146. 2018 kanu, i. a. igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 5983. 2018 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. 2018 kanu, i. a. new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. 2018 micewski, e.r. (2006), ‘terror and terrorism: a history of ideas and philosophical-ethical reflections’ in cultic studies review, vol.5,no.2. primoratz, i. (2004), terrorism: philosophical issues. palgrave macmillan, new york. roberts, a. (2008), the ‘war on terror’ in historical perspective. in t.g. mahnken & j.a. maiolo (eds.), strategic studies: a reader. new york: routledge. rootberg, r. (2002), the new nature of nation-state failure. the washington quarterly 25 (3) rootberg, r. (2003), state failure and state weakness in a time of terror. washington dc. brooklyn institution press. the joint initiative for strategic religious action (jisra) theory of change (both narrative and visual), 2020 zoro, s. (2011). the north: development and discontent. the african report 35:10-11. igwebuike philosophy and leadership styles igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 219 igwebuike philosophy and leadership styles omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd department of business administration and management villanova polytechnic, imesi ile, osun state omojolassma@yahoo.co.uk executive summary this paper discusses igwebuike philosophy and leadership styles. it is an attempt to see how this philosophy can be applied to leadership styles or how a connection can be drawn between the two terms. igwebuike philosophy, according the author, means “‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power;’ that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful and can constitute an insurmountable force.” leadership has been defined by various authors in various ways. however, it has been agreed by many scholars that leadership involves people, unequal distribution of power, ability to influence, and values. authoritarian, democratic and laissez-faire leadership styles were discussed as a concise presentation of all leadership styles. phenomenological method of research was used for the purpose of this study. it was discovered that democratic or participative leadership style correlates with what the author of igwebuike philosophy has in mind. the discussion also disclosed that both terms have number of people, involvement, goals and values in common. it was then recommended that igwebuike philosophy should be a guide to leaders as they endeavour to know what to do and how to do it for the realization of organizational goals. omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 220 keywords: igwebuike philosophy, leadership styles, kanu ikechukwu anthony, authoritarian, democratic, laissez-faire, goals and involvement introduction leadership is an act of giving directives to people in an organization for the accomplishment of organizational goals. it takes into cognizance some skills to guide individuals, lead a group and facilitate a team work through influences. a leader is one who constantly makes positive statements of ethics. leadership has been defined by various scholars in various ways. some, in an attempt to arrive at a good definition, describe leaders and their functions, while some pay attention to traits or qualities. for example, maxwell (2001) claims that “a good leader is a guy who can step on your toes without messing up your shine”(p.72), and akindutire (2004) opines that a leader is a person who can help a group to achieve goals with as little fraction as possible, have a sense of unity and provide an opportunity for self-realization. “leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal” (northhouse 2007, p. 122). in the view of lunnernburg and ornstern (2008), “leadership is not about who is smarter or tougher but about qualities we all have or can develop” (p. 84). considering the input of (zeichik 2012), “leadership is inspiring others to pursue your vision within the parameters you set, to the extent that it becomes a shared vision and a shared success.” (p. 3) miguel (2017), while quoting maxwell, says “a leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way;" (p. 64), and jack welch offered, "before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. when you become a leader, success is all about growing others." (p. 64) recently, ward (2020) stresses that, “a simple definition is that leadership is the art of motivating a group of people to act toward achieving a common goal. this can mean directing workers and igwebuike philosophy and leadership styles igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 221 colleagues with a strategy to meet the company's needs.” (p. 9) she further says that a leader is the inspiration for and director of the action. it is the person in the group that possesses the combination of personality and leadership skills to make others want to follow their directions. in all these definitions, it can be deduced that leadership deals with people, motivation, influence, organizational goals and values. also, nearly all these authors are of the opinion that leaders are made not born. to jago (1992), “good leaders are made not born” (p. 7). if you have the desire and willpower, you can become an effective leader. good leaders develop through a never-ending process of self-study, education, training and experience. it is surprising to the researcher that the even the definition given by lunnernburg and ornstern that pays attention to “qualities we all have or can develop” (p. 84) ended with leaders are made not born. the researcher is of the opinion that “have” in this definition is referring to inborn traits, while “can develop” is about learning. some of the arguments of these authors can be summarized as follows: stoner, freeman and gilbert (2002) say that what is to be leant are motivation, a clear idea of what you need to improve and consistent practice, because to them, leadership works through emotions, and the most important quality of a leader is supervisory ability. akindutire (2004), who also shares the same view, arrives at the conclusion that the major attribute of a leader is communication skills. jago (1982) later makes a distinction between the terms a born leader and a made leader in this claim. “leaders carry out this process (desire and willpower) by applying their knowledge and skills. this is called process leadership. however, we know that we have traits that can influence our actions. this is called “trait leadership,” in that it was once common to believe that leaders were born rather than made.” (p. 8) ward (2020) is not taking a stand; instead, he agrees with the fact that leaders are born and that leaders can be made through constant practice. “while there are people who seem to be naturally endowed with more leadership abilities than others, anyone https://www.thebalancesmb.com/best-advice-on-being-a-business-leader-2948500 omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 222 can learn to become a leader by improving particular skills.” (p. 18). in line with this, luenendonk (2016) associates certain traits to democratic leadership style especially. “there are certain traits that make being a democratic leader easier. if you possess the below four traits and you enhance these qualities, you can begin your journey towards democratic leadership.” (p. 6) the four characteristics are intelligence, honesty, creativity and fairness. the researcher stands with the views of jago, luenendonk and ward, because in some cases, issues that might have caused a lot of problem can just be addressed by a leader without noise. if traits are not recognized, why do we prefer a particular person for a specific office? or why do people appointed unopposed? traits are inborn and traits of a particular trade or profession can be developed for effectiveness. psychologists talk about enneagram-personality in sum total of the general characteristics which distinguish one individual from another. this is an attempt to showcase individual traits and what they can be used for. in the work of anifaloba (1997), type three has been identified as the administrator and type eight, the boss. both administrator and boss are terms that are common to leadership. therefore, people of particular traits have been identified to be more effective in these areas. through acquisition of knowledge and experiences, though, leaders can emerge and be successful. while leadership is learned, their (leaders) knowledge can be subjective to traits and qualities, such as background, values and character. both knowledge and skills are relevant to leaders’ achievements and exceptionality. leadership styles leadership style is a way and manner with which a superior gives directives and supervision for the execution of plans, through motivation, for the attainment of organizational goals. in general, twelve types of leadership styles can be identified for organizational improvement as follows: https://www.thebalancesmb.com/best-advice-on-being-a-business-leader-2948500 igwebuike philosophy and leadership styles igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 223 1. autocraticleadership style is centered on the boss. in this leadership, the leader holds all authority and responsibility without consulting their subjects. 2. democratic leadership style: subordinates are involved in making decisions; headship is centered on subordinate’s contributions. 3. strategic leadership style which is geared towards a wider audience at all levels for creation of better performance. 4. transformational leadership motivates others to do more than originally intended and often even more than they thought possible. they set more challenging expectations and typically achieve higher performance. 5. team leadership: working with the heart and minds of all workers is the focus. it also recognizes that team work may not always contain trusting cooperative relationship. 6. cross-cultural leadership normally exists where various cultures are included. this leadership has also industrialized as a way to recognize front runners who work in the contemporary globalized market. 7. facilitative leadership that is too dependent on measurement and outcome,not a skill, although it takes much skill to master. 8. laissez-faire leadership style gives authority to employees or subordinates to work as they choose with minimal or no interferences. 9. transactional leadership maintains or continues the status quo. it is the leadership that comprises an exchange process, whereby followers get immediate, tangible reward for carrying out the leader’s orders. 10. coaching leadership encompasses teaching and supervising followers. a coaching leader is highly operational in a setting where result or performance required improvement. 11. charismatic leadership manifests a leader’s revolutionary power. charisma does not mean sheer behavioural change. 12. visionary leadership is about leaders who recognize that the methods, steps and processes of leadership are all obtained with and through people. omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 224 all these leadership styles have been summarized by stonner et al (2012) as authoritarian, consultative and participative, in which consultative and participative styles have been used interchangeably by many authors. similarly, lunnernburg and ornstern (2008) and akindutire (2004) present the summary of all the leadership styles as autocratic, democratic and laissez-faire. for the purpose of this work, authoritarian /autocratic, democratic/ consultative/ participative and laissez-faire leadership styles will be discussed to arrive at how they can be linked with igwebuike philosophy. authoritarian or autocratic leadership style authoritarian leadership style involves formulation of policies by the leader. he is also responsible for stating implementation format. he controls and directs all activities without any meaningful input from his subjects. leaders using this type of style will quickly punish any subordinate that is not working at their pace, because their attention is always on task and output, and not on employees’ welfare. authoritarian leaders are often referred to as “autocratic,” and they are termed powerful because they always accompany their commands with threats or intimidations. this type of leadership style has a lot of negative effects both on employee and the organizational growth. employee will lack creativity and sense of responsibility, especially when the leader is not available, which will eventually tell on the organization. it is becoming an obsolete style of leadership, but can be used in some cases as janse (2018) opines, “in teams where consensus is not easily reached because of a high diversity of team members or a group that is only briefly going to be working together, the authoritarian leader sees quickly what needs to be done and who is best suited for this” (p. 9). democratic or participative leadership style democratic or participative leadership style has been presented by authors as also consultative. this is defined by gastil (2018) as igwebuike philosophy and leadership styles igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 225 “distributing responsibility among the membership, empowering group members, and aiding the group’s decision-making process." (p. 8) the democratic style of leadership encompasses the notion that everyone, by virtue of their human status, should play a part in the group's decisions. however, the democratic style of leadership still requires guidance and control by a specific leader. leaders may even ask subordinates to vote before a decision is accepted. therefore, majority carries the vote. gastil further says that the democratic or participative leadership style places significant responsibility on leaders and their staff. this is true for all organizations, from private enterprises and government agencies to educational institutions and nonprofit entities. democratic leaders build their employee and expect staff who report to them to have detailed experience and to display self-assurance. leaders of this type must possess the following qualities: honesty and integrity, confidence, inspire others, commitment and passion, good communicator, decision making, capabilities, accountability, delegation and empowerment, creativity or innovation, empathy, resilience, emotional intelligence, humility, transparency, vision and ppurpose (hassan, 2020). kanu (2017) presents these qualities as: listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, foresight, stewardship and commitment to growth of people. this type of leadership style is relevant in all cases as it makes both the leader and subordinates to have the same focus. it is a leadership style that has benefits in creating a sense of value and job fulfilment for employees, because their opinions and efforts are relevant in the decision-making process of the organization. this is in line with the opinion of kanu (2017), who says that, “in every circumstance, the good of those led is placed over the self-interest of the leader. this is the leadership that promotes the valuing and development of people, the building of community, and the promotion shared power” (p. 8). this will also encourage staff to stay with the organization for a long time to see that organizational goals are realized. consultative leadership style is task-oriented, and focuses on the end result almost omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 226 as much the leader seeks the opinion and viewpoints of his subordinates, before taking final decisions. it is a tactful way of asking for the opinion of subjects by the leader. this definition is not far from what democratic and consultative leadership styles stand for. laissez-faire leadership style laissez-faire leadership style is also referred to as free rein leadership style. leaders in this regard allow followers to have complete freedom to make decisions concerning the completion of their work. it permits followers a self-rule, while at the same time offering guidance and support when requested. the laissez-faire leader provides followers with all materials necessary to accomplish their goals, but does not directly participate in decision making, unless the followers request his assistance. in the description of universal teachers, laissez-faire leadership style is “no leadership at all” (p. 4), because the leader uses his/her power very little, if at all, giving subordinates a high degree of independence in their operations. such leaders depend largely on subordinates to set their own goals and the means of achieving them, and they see their role as one of aiding the operations of followers by furnishing them with information and acting primarily as a contact with the group’s external environment. however, leaders are encouraged to learn all leadership styles and apply them to situations in their organizations. whichever style a leader adopts, his/her intellectual capacity helps to conceptualize solutions and to acquire knowledge to do the job. stoner et al (2002) feel that a manager’s style must address situation, while paying attention to organizational size, specific work, time and environmental factors. (p. 471). it is to be noted, therefore, that the most popular and prevalent of all leadership styles is the democratic style. it has more advantages than disadvantages. it is very easy to practice, makes problem solving easy, working together increases the knowledge of members and encourages team spirit that brings about subordinates igwebuike philosophy and leadership styles igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 227 believing their leaders. in any organization, what subordinates consider the greatness attribute of a leader is credibility or trustworthiness. they want to say from time to time that, ‘my boss has won my trust!’ igwebuike philosophy according to kanu (2019) ‘igwebuike’ is an igbo word that is characterized by three simple words. on his terms, the three words involved: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power. thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force. (p. 1). kanu (2017) further explains this in this assertion. it (igwebuike philosophy) “is anchored on the african worldview, which is characterized by a common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny. life is a life of sharedness.” (p. 17). in the researcher’s assessment of this philosophy, it pays attention to togetherness, collegiality, closeness and sharing. in its merit, it focuses on people, and that no member of the same group can exist or function well without support from others. it also gives encouragements to people to stay and work together in unity for progress (kanu, 2016). igwebuike philosophy and leadership styles in an attempt to draw a line between the igwebuike philosophy and leadership styles, the summary of leadership styles presented in this work will be compared. among the three styles discussed as a omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 228 compressed form of all leadership styles authoritarian, democratic and laissez-faire, the democratic or participative leadership style fits in properly to what the author of igwebuike philosophy has in mind. the democratic leadership style involves people, as leadership generally stresses on staff strength in organizations. igwebuike philosophy also involves large numbers of people. the philosophy is about sharing “common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny. life is a life of sharedness” (p. 17), while democratic or participative leadership style emphasizes people or personnel working together irrespective of colour, origin or race. one is qualified to participate in decision making by virtue of only being a human person. it boils down to a democratic leader having mutual respect for his subordinates and allowing a free flow of ideas. on this, kanu (2017) asserts that “igwebuike posits that the level of the leader’s impact is dependent on the level of connection he is able to have with his people” (p. 7). another common factor of these terms is focusing on a common goal or goals. any group of people that have agreed to relate together in that regard must work towards a collective target. while the igwebuike philosophy put emphasis on ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’; that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful and can constitute an insurmountable force; it is about what they can achieve together (kanu, 2015 & 2018). any organization without a focus or output will not last, and it is this output or productivity that a democratic leader stands to gain in any organization, be it for-profit or non-profit organization. leaders alone cannot improve quality; employees must be encouraged to take ownership of their work. the best way to achieve this is to make them part and parcel of the organization through participation in decision making. if this not done, they become negative about the organization and sell it to outsiders. this negative thought might quickly put down whatever business it may be and vice versa. igwebuike philosophy and leadership styles igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 229 recommendations based on the discussions above, it is recommended that leaders should carry their subordinates along in decision making, as the democratic leadership style involves people and the igwebuike philosophy advocates for large numbers of people in leadership. a democratic leader should keep in mind that working together for the attainment of organizational goals, in the spirit of delegation of duty, will reduce stress and improve productivity. it is also recommended that formation and in-service training for staff should be paramount in the mind of a democratic leader to enable them to be committed to duty. leaders should keep in mind that regular formation is a better and lasting form of motivation for staff, since igwebuike philosophy is about life of ‘sharedness.’ this recommendation can be concluded by saying that the igwebuike philosophy can give any leader a clue to what is expected to be done from time to time, which means, a leader must know what he should be, know and do for the attainment of organizational goals, since according to kanu (2017), “the success of any organization, religious or secular, state or nation is highly dependent on the quality of leadership. where there is no good leadership, there can’t be unity, peace and progress” (p. 3). conclusion this paper has discussed how the igwebuike philosophy is relevant to leadership styles. among the three leadership styles discussed as a condensed form of other styles authoritarian, democratic and laissez-faire only the democratic style matches what igwebuike philosophy advocates in the life of ‘sharedness.’ leadership definitions capture the essentials of being able and prepared to inspire others, which is based on ideas from the leader and the subordinates. ability to communicate these ideas properly to subordinates and properly implement them is the responsibility of the leader. omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 230 although the performances of a leader will be influenced by his values, background, knowledge and experiences, good leaders, however, will continue to work and study to improve their leadership skills, not rely on already gained knowledge. the two terms, igwebuike philosophy and leadership styles, have, to a very great extent, large number of people, goals or productivity and involvement in common. in conclusion, irabor (2019) reviewed kanu’s essay on inclusive leadership and igwebuike philosophy. he came up with the fact that this philosophy could still “inform the grooming of a leader that will explore the principles of solidarity and complementarity within the whole” (p. 2). references akindutire i. o. (2004). administration of higher education. lagos. sunray press. anifaloba p.j (1997). removing the plank with enneagram knowing yourself and understanding others better. nigeria. claverianum press. gastil, j. (2018) "a definition and illustration of democratic leadership". new york: mcgraw-hill. hasan s. top 15 leadership qualities that make good leaders (2020). retrieved (28/4/2020) from https://blog.taskque.com/characteristics-good-leaders. kanu, i.a (2017). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development in african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, kanu, i.a (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. a paper presented at the second african philosophy world conference held at the university of calabar, cross rivers state, department of philosophy, conversational school of philosophy, from october 12th to 14th 2017. http://jgastil.la.psu.edu/pdfs/definitiondemocraticleadership.pdf http://jgastil.la.psu.edu/pdfs/definitiondemocraticleadership.pdf https://blog.taskque.com/characteristics-good-leaders igwebuike philosophy and leadership styles igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 231 kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory socio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kanu, i. a. (2019). on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159-176. kanu, i. a. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. 2016 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. 2016 omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 232 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. 2016 kanu, i. a. african traditional folktales as an integrated classroom. sub-saharan african journal of contemporary education research. vol.3 no. 6. pp. 107-118. 2016 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christianmuslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. 2017 igwebuike philosophy and leadership styles igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 233 kanu, i. a. african traditional philosophy of education: essays in igwebuike philosophy. germany: lambert publications. 2018 kanu, i. a. new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. 2018 irabor, benson peter. (2019) a review of kanu ikechukwu anthony’s “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. pp 168 jago, a.g. (1982). leadership: perspectives in theory and research. management science, 28(3), 315-336. janse, b. (2018). authoritarian leadership. retrieved [22/4/2020] from toolshero: https://www.toolshero.com/leadership/authoritarianleadership/ luenendonk, m. (2016). democratic leadership guide: definition, qualities, pros & cons, examples. retrieved (28/4/2020) from https://www.cleverism.com/democratic-leadershipguide/ lunnernburg f.c and ornstern a.c (2008). educational administration: concept and practices. usa. wadsworth : cengage learning. maxwell j.c. (2001). the power of leadership. nigeria: joint heir publications ltd. miguel m. m. integrity and leadership defined in the journal of government financial management. volume: 66. issue: 4 publication date: winter 2017. page number: 52. www.questia.com northhouse, g (2007). leadership theory and practice. (3 rd ed.). thousand oaks, ca: sage publications. https://www.toolshero.com/leadership/authoritarian-leadership/ https://www.toolshero.com/leadership/authoritarian-leadership/ https://www.cleverism.com/democratic-leadership-guide/ https://www.cleverism.com/democratic-leadership-guide/ omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 234 stoner j.a.f, freeman r.e and gilbert d.r (2002). management sixth ed. new delhi: asoke k. ghosh. universal teachers publication. (2017). leadership styles: consultative leadership, free rein leadership. http://www.universalteacherpublications.com/mba/freeproject/p1/page5.htm ward s. (2020). the definition of leadership. retrieved (28/4/2020) from https://www.thebalancesmb.com/leadership-definition-2948275 http://www.universalteacherpublications.com/mba/free-project/p1/page5.htm http://www.universalteacherpublications.com/mba/free-project/p1/page5.htm https://www.thebalancesmb.com/leadership-definition-2948275 impact of modern conflict management manchanism on igwebuike philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 235 impact of modern conflict management manchanism on igwebuike philosophy francis n. c. iwuh mdibbo adama university of technology yola, adamawa state nduemerem16@yahoo.com executive summary the presence of the colonizers has created a new form of conflict in africa. there was an established, recognized and effective system of resolving conflict prior to the advent of the colonial masters. the presence of modern conflict management has posed a great challenge to the existing traditional method. the work adopted a descriptive method to study the impact of modern conflict resolution on igwebuike philosophy. the study is necessitated by the experimentation of the novel model of conflict resolution in the same environment and space, where the traditional conflict resolution once blossomed. this research work will attract the attention of policy makers, traditional rulers and political leaders in deciding the best method to resolve conflict. it has also exposed the deficiency and corruption inherent in modern conflict resolution. thus, in the healing process, modern methods only rub and never massage the broken bones of conflict in igwebuike philosophy of peace and conflict resolution. keywords: igwebuike, philosophy, conflict, management, kanu ikechukwu anthony, resolution, modern introduction africa, just like other societies, was developing at her own pace with well-established mechanisms of managing conflicts before the mailto:nduemerem16@yahoo.com francis n. c. iwuh igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 236 colonial masters came and sewed their own western adjudication system that are alien to africans. with the advent of colonialism, african values, norms and beliefs, which provided the normative and undergirding framework for conflict management, were severely weakened, undermined and disregarded. however, the resilience of african justice systems across african states illustrates that they still manage to occupy a central place in the world of dispute resolution in africa. while in europe, for instance, the police are a means of crime detection, several african societies relied on oath taking, divination and blood covenant in pre-colonial times. traditional african methods of resolving conflict were geared towards restoring peace, and not necessarily in punishing the offenders. emphasis was not on punishment but on reconciliation and restoration of social harmony among the disputants in conflict. thus, western justice systems thrived on commissions of inquiries, constitution and court system of lawyers and judges. africans used council of elders, king’s court, people’s assemblies, etc., for dispute management and justice dispensation. a very important reason for being aware of our tradition is so that we may draw lessons from them for the solutions to current problems. it is obvious that the western approaches to conflict resolution have failed here in nigeria in bringing back peace, and people even believe that the ongoing conflicts in the country are due to these western systems of adjudication (charles, 2016 p. 4). traditional conflict resolution mechanisms may not have outlived their usefulness, especially when compared to modern reality, for pre-colonial igbo society was embedded in the tradition and culture of the people. there have been numerous conflicts in the history of igbo people of eastern nigeria. these conflicts can be due to many factors, such as; ethnic rivalry, religious violence, dispute over ownership of land, boundary issues, as well as political elections. through the barometer of igwebuike philosophy, this paper tends to study the impact of modern conflict management mechanism, using some of the basic features of igwebuike philosophy of peace and conflict resolution to impact of modern conflict management manchanism on igwebuike philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 237 draw the conclusion that modern conflict management in igbo land has actually been a resounding failure. “modern” conceptualized in peace studies, the term modern is used to differentiate with what is traditional. while the traditional refers to the indigenous or rural community which upholds and demonstrates the customs and norms of african society, modern refers to other societies outside africa, and especially the european societies. we must understand here that the nature and functions of customs and norms in modern society quite differed from those of the african traditional societies. the modern world is also a world of competing interests, ideas, values, views, ideologies, religions and cultures – a world full of conflicting interests on all levels, between individuals and groups of people within their societies, between all sectors of societies, as well as between economies, nations, states, and so forth. different conflict methods are used to manage and increase cooperation, promote reconciliation and strengthen relationships in the modern world. modern here refers to the western world as opposed to the african continent. modern can also be applied to those things that exist in the present age, especially in contrast to those of a former age or an age long past. hence, modern, in this case, can mean the conflict management method used presently as opposed to the traditional methods that have been in existence since time immemorial in africa. the use of modern model of conflict management is relatively new in the african society. however, before the introduction of a new method by alien cultures, the traditional methods of settling disputes varied from one society to the other. these methods were essentially based on each society’s way of life. the introduction had a lot of imposition and condemnation of the original pattern of conflict resolution. worthy of note here is that the experimentation of the novel model of conflict resolution was in the same environment and space, where the traditional conflict resolution once blossomed. the environment and space were the same, but the principles and practitioners of the conflict resolution were quite different. even the result was proportionately different. it francis n. c. iwuh igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 238 is, however, important to emphasize the point that the environment of conflict situation largely depends on the applicability of what method is in vogue. environmental setting, therefore, is very necessary a determining factor in the desirability and adaptation of a specific method to use in the resolution of a particular conflict. conflict defined etymologically, conflict is a word that is derived from the latin word, “confligere”, which means to “strike together”. conflict means to strike, to fight, to struggle or battle, to clash, confrontation, a controversy or quarrel, active opposition, strife or incompatibility, to meet in opposition or hostility, to contend, to go contrary or to be at variance. nwolise (2003) agrees with these, as he describes conflict as a clash, confrontation, battle or struggle. from the definitions above, conflict is all about disagreement on issues or things. it is disagreement in opinions between people or groups, due to differences in personal attitudes, beliefs, values or needs. for charles (2016), “conflict can be defined as the manifestation of a hostile attitude in the face of conflicting interests between individuals, groups or states. the conflicting interests can be over resources, identity, power, status or values” (p.1). it is generally seen as a struggle between two or more people over the same scarce resources at the same time. ezenwoko and osagie (2014) assert that, conflicts are generally accepted to be an inevitable phenomenon in the lives of men (p. 136). it cannot be completely separated from the inter-relationships that exist among individuals and communities. it is often argued that because human beings are by nature competitive and aggressive, there will always be conflicts amongst them. conflict is, therefore, a natural occurrence among human beings. peace scholars generally agree that there must be more than one party to have a conflict and that the time factor is important. one cannot avoid conflict in families, at work or even when walking on the road. to this effect, zartman (1997) posits that, “conflict is an inevitable aspect of human interaction, unavoidable concomitant of choices and decisions.” peace scholars can go on defining conflict, but the truth is impact of modern conflict management manchanism on igwebuike philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 239 as faleti (2014) observed, “conflict is a fluid and definitely elastic concept which can be twisted into different shapes and has become an issue over which scholars find themselves in sharp disagreement with their colleagues” (p.36). this is true, owing to the fact that as he (faleti 2014) observed, conflict can be constructive or destructive. constructively, conflict can be used to explore different solutions to a problem and stimulate creativity, while, destructively, conflict can hinder progress, and cause hatred and division in the society (p.36). it has been demonstrated that continuous interaction among the individuals and communities cannot always be peaceful. causes of conflict 1. competition for inadequate resources competition is the major source of conflict, because it drives people into struggling for limited resources, and people put in all their energy to get what they need. the conflict that occurs as a result of inadequate resources may assume a destructive dimension when what is available is not judiciously distributed. those that are relatively deprived would always struggle to improve their lot. it is a situation of survival of the fittest. 2. contradicting value systems another factor which may bring about conflict is contradicting value systems, such as the religious belief, ideological positions and general world view of the interacting parties. values are beliefs or principles which are important to people. conflict arises when one person’s value system contradict another person’s value system. value system conflict is the most difficult conflict to resolve, because people will always hold on tenaciously to their position, believing that their opinion is better than that of others. 3. group and individuals needs needs here range from psychological, political, economic to social needs of man. these are things that are fundamentally of utmost importance to people; they must be satisfied as soon as francis n. c. iwuh igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 240 the purchasing power is available. these needs could be love, belonging, association, power etc. therefore, needs have the potential of generating conflict, when perceived and expressed differently by people or group. 4. manipulation of information manipulation of information can cause conflict in any community, relationship or workplace. when the flow of information is distorted or the content changed, conflict is bound to arise. distortion of information comes in the process of passing information, from the sender to the receiver. as information move from one channel to the other, distortion sets in. distortion could either occur in packaging or in understanding of the message. 5. perception lastly, perception has been discovered to cause conflict. perception refers to how we see, understand or interpret the situations of things around us. what we see is sometimes different from what it really is, or from the way others see, understand or interpret them. you do not judge a book by its cover. conflict management conflict managements are broad terms for methods and mechanisms used to avoid, minimize and manage conflicts between different parties (niklas and mikael, 2005). wallensteen (2002) differentiates between conflict management and conflict resolution, saying that, conflict management typically focuses on the armed aspects of conflict: bringing the fighting to an end, limiting the spread of the conflict and, containing it;conflict resolution is more ambitious, as it expects the parties to face jointly their incompatibility and find a way to live with it or dissolve it. a number of scholars, especially from non-western societies, have argued that conflict management is a successful tool for resolving conflicts over a longer time period, and that it creates the foundation for effective conflict resolution. this is impact of modern conflict management manchanism on igwebuike philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 241 contrasted with a more western argument that the importance of conflict management lies in its ability to solve short-term conflicts. both of these views are entirely accurate, and compatible, and there might just be a cultural difference in our focus (niklas et al, 2005). both of these views can, and should, be incorporated in a theoretical framework for conflict management and resolution, since they entail no inherent contradiction. they are in fact often applied in different stages of a conflict and address fundamentally different issues. nevertheless, a number of western scholars claim that the difference is one of long-term versus short-term perspectives and that it is a question of either resolving the underlying problem or managing the current problem. therefore, management measures are applied in later phases when a conflict is manifest, but before violence has occurred. conflict resolution could, on the other hand, be applied in the de-escalation phase after a violent conflict has occurred. nevertheless, resolution can be applied in all phases as soon as the conflict is manifest. thus, traditional peace scholars use conflict resolution for african method and conflict management for modern method, because in the traditional method, conflicts are often rooted out. practitioners try to dig out the root cause of every conflict, while such cannot be said of the modern method. modern practitioners manage conflict; they try to reduce the effect of conflict to the barest minimum. the practice of modern conflict management in igwebuike philosophy prior to the advent of modern culture, igbo people had a well laid down, though undocumented, traditional process of conflict resolution. charles (2016) asserts that “each people, race, or identity group in the world had (and have) their own ways of doing things especially as it concerns social control and conflict resolution, (p.7). the big questions have always been, why the imposition of an alien method of managing conflict on african society? what is wrong with the traditional method? peace scholars have debated and argued over francis n. c. iwuh igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 242 the most appropriate mechanisms for managing conflicts in africa. some scholars believe that the application of western methods in resolving conflicts in local communities may have some limited usefulness. others, however, believe that the use of traditional mechanisms of conflict resolution would be most appropriate in addressing issues that are emanating from a socio-economic and political setting that is not completely modern. yet, others think that a successful tackling of the conflict challenges that abound in igbo-land would require a new and novel thinking that would accommodate both mechanisms by according preference to one or the other where it is most suitable (charles, 2016 p.4). chris (2014) disagrees with charles, saying, “to a great extent, the igbo people do not believe in the modern conflict management process, they believe in using the past history to settle conflict. they believe that to settle dispute amicably no side suffers any adverse effect, they go home happy.” interestingly, the pre-colonial igbo society was a decentralized society and decisions were taken at family, clan and age grade levels. council of elders, usually made up of the most elderly and senior members of the community, exists to decide individual and community disputes. dispute resolution is seen closely as a system of justice, to which the community, rather than individual leaders, is at the centre (shedrack, 2014, p.98). therefore, the council of elders is the highest judicial institution in igbo land. sadly enough, today, the council of elders who were once seen as custodians of wisdom and people of impeccable character are gradually being overshadowed in the administration of justice in the land to an alien system. charles (2016) strongly believes that african value systems and conflict transformation systems are a viable means of resolving african conflicts today. the use of modern methods of conflict management, more often than not, has been a resounding failure in igbo society. now, using the igwebuike philosophy of peace and conflict resolution as a standard of igbo conflict resolution, let us discuss the impact of modern conflict management. according to kanu, “igwebuike is an igbo word; one of the major dialects in africa. it is a principle that is impact of modern conflict management manchanism on igwebuike philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 243 at the heart of african thought, and in fact, the modality of being in african ontology” (2017, p. 6). he went on to say that it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. the three words involved: ‘igwe’ is a noun which means ‘number’ or ‘population,’ usually a huge number or population. ‘bu’ is a verb, which means ‘is.’ ‘ike’ is another verb, which means ‘strength’ or ‘power’ (kanu, 2016). thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power;’ that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force. its english equivalents are ‘complementarity’, ‘solidarity’ and ‘harmony’. the preferred concept, however, is ‘complementarity’ (kanu, 2017, p. 6). at first contact with igwebuike, one can comfortably say that modern conflict management mechanism has failed. igwebuike as a concept thrives on complementarity, “to be with others”. the modern method breeds more conflict than resolution; this is true because man is a social being created to be with others. on this point, kanu (2017), the founding father of igwebuike african philosophy, avers that, as an indigenous african philosophy, igwebuike gives an understanding of the human person as a being who is in relation with the other in the world. it establishes that there exists a common link between human persons and that it is through this relationship that every other human person realizes himself or herself. it is the foundation of openness, availability, affirmation of the other, freedom from threat based on the ability or good in others (p. 6). the western world, with its individualistic ideology, does not encourage community living, this “to be with others”. thus, the force on africans to accept their method of conflict resolution creates more complex conflict, of identity, culture, tradition and personality. again, modern method uses force to enforce judgment. they often use the francis n. c. iwuh igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 244 police, and in some cases army, to enforce whatever judgment that has been reached in the law court. funny enough, conflict always arises when modern method tries to enforce judgment. this is totally absent in traditional method. compliance to decision reached is a collective responsibility in traditional conflict resolution. this is supported by the first basic features of igwebuike philosophy of peace and conflict resolution, which states that, “conflict is not viewed as a problem between the disputants but as a problem of the entire community. conflict, therefore, attracts the attention of the community.” going further, kanu (2017) elaborates on the fifth basic feature of igwebuike philosophy of peace and conflict resolution, saying, “there is a high degree of public participation. there are no secret trails in african traditional legal system. since the problem between the disputants is seen as a community problem, in restoring harmony, there must be a general satisfaction among the public regarding the procedure and outcome of the case (p. 9).” to this end, conflict between/among members of the community is viewed as a community conflict. the seventh and eighth basic features of igwebuike philosophy of peace and conflict resolution holds that, “decisions are reached through agreement rather than force….the enforcement of a decision is reached through social pressure rather than the police or military” (kanu, 2017, p.9). so, acceptance of the judgment is seen there and then through demonstrative action of reconciliation. reconciliation is at the heart of igbo conflict resolution. the institutions that resolve conflict in igbo traditional society speak with truth and integrity to the conscience of the parties in conflict; a soft word, no doubt turns away anger, and in african traditional societies, words have power. moreover, the words of elders are anchored on wisdom. this was captured beautifully well in the third basic feature of igwebuike philosophy of peace and conflict resolution by kanu (2017, p.9) in these words: “the emphasis is on reconciliation and restoring social harmony. it purpose is, therefore, aimed at rebuilding broken relationships and restoring the community.” it must be made clear here, that every effort to manage conflicts through administrative and bureaucratic machinery in igbo land, impact of modern conflict management manchanism on igwebuike philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 245 coupled with theories and methods crafted in euro-american institutions, has failed to yield practical results in many conflict situations. to this, kariuki (2015) opines that, modernity has had its fare share of negative impacts on african justice systems. in pre-colonial period, elders were the rich and wealthiest people as they had land and livestock. their wealth and respect enabled them to be independent during dispute resolution processes. however, in modern societies, younger people have accumulated wealth and in most cases, older people rely on the younger people. this has enabled dispute resolution by elders to be affected by bribery, corruption and favoritism… apart from corruption and bribery, modernity and westernization have broken down the close social ties and social capital between families and kinsmen (pp.12-13).” the presence of modern conflict management has posed a great challenge to the existing traditional method. being a method that is corrupt and manipulative, people guilty,, especially those who are easily run to them for settlement, knowing that they can get their way to “a favourable judgment.” hence, nwolise (2004) posits that african traditional societies are known to hold secrets of peacemaking and peace building locked in their culture formed from customs and norms, before the coming of the colonial masters disrupted them. the processes of conflict resolution, such as mediation, counseling, conciliation, informal tribunals, arbitration of several types and criminal and civil justice system may not achieve the desired result. over the centuries, african societies have built a wealth of experience as well as specific mechanisms and institutions to prevent conflicts, peacefully resolve conflicts once they arise and work through reconciliation processes. even with modernization, these traditional institutions still hold sway, keeping the heart of the society in harmony. inasmuch as modern adjudication system is being practiced, traditional methods of resolving conflicts are still alive in our communities. francis n. c. iwuh igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 246 conclusion modern conflict management might have helped in the process of conflict resolution, but it has not resolved conflicts. it may be a means but not an end to conflict resolution in african society. so, forcing this method on africans has never worked and will not still work. africans should be allowed to continue with the traditional method which has always been in existence, tested and trusted to resolve conflict in our society. since it has come to stay, modern conflict management mechanism should assist traditional conflict resolution in resolving conflicts, and not the other way round. through the igwebuike barometer, we have discovered that modern method caused more conflict than resolving it, since it does not foster community living, “the being with the other.” the end product is not to make peace but to create enemies, as the judgment pronounced in modern conflict method breeds hatred, disunity and rivalry. civilization brought a cultural conflict between the african and the modern cultures. the modern culture was viewed as superior and dominant, thus subjugating african cultures. cultural imperialism was extended to the world of dispute resolution. therefore, modernized system of justice is retributive in nature by emphasizing a winnerloser paradigm in dispute resolution that does not resolve the underlying causes of the conflict. the adoption of the modernized justice system in igbo land has made many traditional societies to revert to their own traditional dispute resolution by elders. the traditional method of resolving conflict is the best form of conflict management for the african people, since it digs deep into the root causes of the conflict to ensuring that peace is given a chance to reign once more through reconciliation. references charles, m.o. (2016). tiv and igbo conflict management machanism: a comparative study, port harcourt, centre for conflict and gender studies (ccgs), 5(7), 22-29. impact of modern conflict management manchanism on igwebuike philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 247 chris, d. (2014). african traditional procedures of settling dispute: a case study between the people of ihiagwa. owerri, donasco the casino united. ezenwoko, f.a. and osagie i. j. (2014).conflict and conflict resolution in pre-colonial igbo society of nigeria. benin city, university of benin. faleti, a.s. (2014). “theories of social conflict” in shedrack g.b. (ed.), introduction to peace and conflict studies in west africa. ibadan, spectrum books limited. kanu i. a. (2015b). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, a. i. (2016). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1.pp. 1-7. kanu, a.i. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution, a paper presented at the 2017 igbo studies association international conference held at great wood hotel, owerri, imo state, pp.1-10. kanu i. a. (2017). igwebuikeconomics: towards an inclusive economy for economic development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 6. 113-140. kanu i. a. (2017). sources of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. 9. 1. pp. 1-23. kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. kanu, a. i. (2017c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 7. pp. 165-183. francis n. c. iwuh igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 248 kanu, a. i. (2017d). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 6. pp. 16-50. kanu, a. i. (2017f). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. pp. 153-160. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. impact of modern conflict management manchanism on igwebuike philosophy igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 249 kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. karuiki, f. (2015). conflict resolution by elders in africa: successes, challenges and opportunities. kenya, karuiki muigua & co. niklas, l.p. s. and mikael, s. w. (2005). central asia-caucasus institute & silk road studies program. nwolise o.b.c. (2003). war-making, peace-making and conflict resolution in africa, a guide to peace education and peace promotion strategies in africa, 2.h.b. harunah, o.b.c nwolise, and d. oluyemi-kusa. eds. lagos, african refugee foundation (aref). nwolise o.b.c. (2004). traditional approaches to conflict resolution among the igbo people of nigeria: reinforcing the need for africa to rediscover its roots. amani. shedrack, g.b. (2014). “the methods of conflict resolution and transformation.” in shedrack g.b. (ed.), introduction to peace and conflict studies in west africa. ibadan, spectrum books limited. wallensteen, p. (2002). understanding conflict resolution: war, peace and the global system. london, thousand oaks, ca; & new delhi: sage publications. zartman, i.w. (1997). governance as conflict management: politics and violence in west africa. washington d.c., brookings institution press. igwebuike and communication in nollywood: a qualitative review igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 251 igwebuike and communication in nollywood: a qualitative review justine john dyikuk university of jos, plateau state justinejohndyikuk@gmail.com executive summary the current digital society has affected almost every sector of life. the nigerian movie industry, which suffered the onslaught of colonialism, is not left out. nollywood is tossed about by the desire to be truly african, on the one hand, and the aspiration to be at par with hollywood and bollywood, on the other. this qualitative review entitled “igwebuike and communication in nollywood: a qualitative review” investigated the matter, using the homophily principle of communication as theoretical framework. it found undue western influence, negative narratives and inability to explore igwebuike as the communalistic philosophy of igbo people in home movies. it recommended promotion of african heritage, transmission of culture and civilization, promotion of community life, decolonizing the film industry and entrenchment of a valuable digital culture as possible panacea. the study concluded that, given its place in global reckoning, nollywood has the capacity to overtake other prominent industries in the world towards providing a classroom of entertainment and education for second generation igbos and other africans in the diaspora. keywords: communalism, communication, film, igwebuike, nollywood, kanu ikechukwu anthony. mailto:justinejohndyikuk@gmail.com justine john dyikuk igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 252 introduction culture and communication are critical elements of the nigerian movie industry. this is because most contents of cinematic platforms are laced with african flavour. from typical village square scenes to settings of royalty in the igwe, emir or oba’s palace, the film industry in africa is africanised. this africanisation speaks to the heart of culture and communication. while communication transmits culture, culture is handed over to unborn generations through effective and efficient communication. this brings to the fore the igwebuike philosophy of the igbos of south eastern nigeria, which communicates the communalistic behaviour, ethos, beliefs, culture, tradition and norms of the people. the already-vibrant movie industry in nigeria is a handy platform for the romance between igwebuike rendering and communication. as the philosophy which encapsulates the way of life and values of the igbos, igwebuike pushes the frontiers of family system, kindred and a strong sense of fellow-feeling. because the movie industry in nigeria has journeyed through an amateur screen to a golden goose on a global spotlight (dyikuk, 2015), it serves as a vehicle for transmitting various values which are dear to the people. one of such values is igwebuike which connotes communal living and peaceful existence in igbo societies. igbo films, which are an irresistible recipe on the nollywood menu, are replete with scenes which express africanism, care for one another and common solidarity. despite the lofty place it occupies on the movie screen in nigeria, some critics, like johnson (2000), are of the opinion that igbo and english movies are culturally confusing. perhaps this is because, for instance, a film could begin with emeka (not real name), in the village, as a local champion who speaks using idiomatic expressions and end with him, in lagos, as a “white man” who appears in a suit and dazzles everyone with big grammar (british accent). unfortunately, despite few instances where culture is infused in scenes, the film industry in nigeria has not paid enough attention on promoting values, customs and traditions. copying western values has also been an albatross of the industry. igwebuike and communication in nollywood: a qualitative review igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 253 to this end, this study aims at: 1. appraising the place of communication and culture in nollywood, despite western influence 2. accounting for nollywood through a historical sketch 3. doing a critical review of igwebuike in nollywood 4. assessing elements of communication in nollywood 5. making case for communicating an igwebuikenised cinema in nigeria conceptual spadework a. igwebuike: as a composite metaphorical igwebuike igbo word, igwebuike is a combination of three words igwe bu ike, which means: “igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power. thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force or strength, and at this level, no task is beyond their collective capability” (kanu, 2017b, pp.69-70). b. communication: various types of communication include: verbal, nonverbal and written communication (go, monachello, baum, 1996 & dyikuk, 2017b). also, “expressive or informal communication occurs when information is not directly related to role performance” (mohamad, 2008,p.9). in this article, we would understand communication as showcasing igwebuike (african values) in nigerian films. c. nollywood: this is the nigerian film industry which traces its roots to 1992, in onitsha, when kenneth nnebue produced the movie living in bondage 1 & 11 an igbo-language film with english subtitles. experts cite this as the beginning of commercial film production in nigeria (mordi & onu, 1999). justine john dyikuk igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 254 theoretical framework the study adopts the homophily principle of communication as theoretical framework. this principle, which speaks to the heart of the degree of difference on any attribute or group of attributes between a sender and a receiver, holds that for any change agent, such as films makers, cinematographers, videographers, communication scholars, journalists, teachers and other professionals, to succeed in influencing a receiver of communication, namely audiences and viewers, both the agent and the receiver must have the same attributes. these attributes could mean the same culture, norms, education, socialization process and socio-cultural, religious and political values (mgbejeme, 2009). the choice of the homophily principle of communication as theoretical framework for the study is informed by pan-africanism, which seeks a decolonization of the cinematic platform towards raising african scholars and films makers who are in touch with their roots and share the same vision, passion, values and norms with their people. the principle argues that it is when films makers, cinematographers, videographers, communication scholars, journalists, teachers and other experts in the nigerian film industry africanise the screen that their audiences would better appreciate watching nollywood. a nollywood inspired by igwebuike, especially african communalism, is key to effective education and entertainment which the movie industry desires to achieve. literature review and discussion igwebuike rendering: an overview igwebuike is an igbo-african philosophy of complementarity. igwebuike explains how the ethic of reciprocity is at the heart of african philosophy and religion (kanu, 2017d). igwebuike philosophy aligns with its inner principles of inclusiveness, complementarity and solidarity (kanu, 2017b). the igbos believe that “no people can rise to an influential position in the community of nations without a distinct and efficient nationality” (kanu, 2017e,p.36). this is because of the high sense of community over the individual. “igwebuike rests on the african principles of solidarity and complementarity. it argues igwebuike and communication in nollywood: a qualitative review igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 255 that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation” (kanu, 2016, p.110-111). explaining this further, kanu opines that the african worldview: is ruled by the spirit of complementarity which seeks the conglomeration, the unification, the summation of fragmented thoughts, opinions and other individualized and fragmented thoughts and ideas. it believes essentially that the whole is greater than the corresponding parts. it is also a view that maintains that by the coming together of the individual or parts, a viable and sustainable whole will emerge, and by this, the parts will get to the brim purpose of their existence (2017c, p.14). the extended family system is tied to faith in the supreme being and the deities, as well as in ethos of the people. “because their existence and action, in the midst of communication, are limited by time, place, perception and knowledge, their being is existentially complimentary. hence they are naturally candidates for company and co-operations” (kanu, 2018, pp.18-19). in africa, the individual is connected to the divine through interaction with the deities and ancestors who are believed to intercede for the living. this reveals a collegiality that is tied to faith and morals which further provide “dos” and “don’ts” as ethical codes that guide personal and interpersonal communication. nollywood: a historical sketch the first nigerian films by two filmmakers, ola balogun and hubert ogunde were produced in the 1960s, but the high cost of production put them out of market (adesokan, 2006). by this time, the stage had been set for television broadcasting in the country. the 1970s saw the emergence of the first nigerian feature, kongi’s harvest, written by wole soyinka and directed by ossie davis. when state-owned stations began broadcasting in the 1980s, theatre productions which were circulated in video format took centre stage in lagos. through justine john dyikuk igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 256 his nek video links, kenneth nnebue produced two yoruba movies namely aje ni iyami (1989) and ina ote (1990). from that time on, an amateur video trade production (cinema of nigeria) began. however, it was his movie, living in bondage 1 & 11 an igbo-language film with english subtitles which was produced in onitsha in 1992 (mordi & onu, 1999) that experts hold as the beginning of nollywood and commercial film production in nigeria. when nnebue’s two movies glamour girls 1 & 2 (1994) and true confession (1995) hit the new movie industry (shaka, 2003), lack of equipment, piracy and harsh economic policies by international monetary fund (imf) and structural adjustment programme (sap) frustrated the industry (haynes, 1995). in his submission, uchenna (2009) explains that what we know today as nollywood passed through four periods of development, namely; the colonial period (1903-1960), independence period (1960-1972), indigenization decree period (1972-1992) and nollywood period (1992 till date). he further maintained that the history of film in nigeria from 1903 to 1992 is related to the crucial stages of nigeria’s history. as it stands today, the nigerian film industry (nollywood) ranks among the top three filmmaking industries in the world, in terms of the quantity of productions, popularity amongst nigerians and the transnational audiences (hanmakyugh, 2019). igwebuike and communication in nollywood: an investigation identities based on religion, ethnicity, regionalism and communalism, which are essentially “given” rather than “chosen” have existed since the creation of nigeria (jega, 2001). for the igbos of eastern nigeria, igwebuike explains their identity. this identity further reveals who they are and their ultimate destiny. their identity is communal in nature. accordingly, “these common history, culture, and customs are what this thesis describes as ‘communalism’ in terms of the nature of the igbo and african cultures. it embodies the substance of the beingness of africans or the africanness of africans as a matter of fact, their existence and the quiditas of their characteristics” (uwah, 2009, p.11). this is where igwebuike comes in. igwebuike and communication in nollywood: a qualitative review igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 257 igwebuike captures the communalistic nature of igbo societies. the anthropological depictions of africans, especially igbo philosophy and thought, are seen in their communalism which buttresses, more or less, the aesthetic cultural elements of these films (uwah, 2009). experts on african film think that “communalism captures the ecosystem that operates in african cosmology which serves as a core attribute of most nollywood filmic story lines” (uwah, 2009,p.54). it is essential to understand that the notion of being in existence is founded on communalism, whereby, every being is considered to be related to one another (uwah, 2009). to this end, the concept of god in african communalism is revealed by the names given to him in african languages (uwah, 2011). for moemeka (1997, p.181), “just as the communalistic culture demands that the younger generation must respect, listen to, and learn from the elders, so it demands from the elders appropriate action to provide conducive learning experiences for the younger generation.” communication is always a question of attitude towards one’s neighbour closely tied to communication rules designed to ensure communal social order. he contends that in both verbal and nonverbal, communalistic acts are engaged in in order to confirm, solidify and promote social order (moemeka, 1998). igwebuike is conveyed through effective communication. perhaps, this is why to maintain cohesion in african communalistic societies, there is a “belief in a kind of power communication [vital force] between the ‘spirit world’ and the ‘human world’, whereby activities in one realm affects those in the other realm” (uwah, 2011,p.94). the igbo communication style is learned within the primary socialization process of the igbo ethnic group. they also use their communication styles for code switching, engaging in conversations with their co-ethnic membership as well as interacting with family members in their ancestral home (onuzulike, 2018). justine john dyikuk igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 258 that second generation igbos are able to learn igbo traditional culture directly from their home-land through nollywood (onuzulike, 2018) demonstrates the relevance of igwebuike to the cinematic platform. movies such as my best friend (2003), oil village (2001), widow (2007), last ofala (2002), fool at 40 (2006) showcase the concept of communalism (uwah, 2009). film as a means of communication is a potent tool for image making, cultural diplomacy, propaganda, education, information and entertainment (hanmakyugh, 2019). today, “one impressive aspect of nollywood in all of these is in the representation of religio-cultural rituals as a major aspect of communalism” (uwah, 2011,p.86). culture is the bedrock of nollywood’s thematic film expositions. one can, therefore, conclude that nollywood is nigeria’s cultural ambassador. although nollywood films are quite potent in celebrating and promoting nigerian cultures, some of these films have come under thematic criticisms as they glamourize negative ritual themes in the name of culture (hanmakyugh, 2019). recommendations: towards communicating an igwebuikenised nollywood 1. promotion of african heritage: even as it seeks to mirror society, nollywood should promote local content, which includes rich artifacts, customs/cultural images and idioms. by the same token, african drama and cinema should be at the forefront of promoting african (nigerian) identity (dyikuk, 2015) to the world through igwebuike and all it encapsulates. that way, nigerians abroad and successive generations would be able to remember their rich heritage. 2. transmission of culture and civilization: this study argues that igwebuike should promote an african civilization through culture. lovers of sports, movies, documentaries and other genres of television in the country should take advantage of what digital television offers to not only have a good time in terms of recreation but also learn new cultures and civilization (dyikuk & chinda, 2017) which are capable of building bridges of peace amongst various people across the country and the african continent. igwebuike and communication in nollywood: a qualitative review igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 259 3. promotion of community life: igwebuike stands for community life and sharing. as such, nigerian films should be “deeply rooted in nigerian cultural traditions and social texts, which focus on nigerian community life” (onuzulike, 2009,p.176). this is in agreement with the submission of another film scholar who explained that “one impressive aspect of nollywood in all of these is in the representation of cultural rituals as a major aspect of communalism” (uwah, 2009, p.25). interestingly, the works of experts on communication and african communalism, like moemeka (1997), lend credence to igbo style of communication which promotes community life, sharing and a strong sense of fellow-feeling. 4. decolonizing the film industry: because africa has been misunderstood and misrepresented by the west, it behooves scholars and film experts to use nollywood as a platform for decolonisation. “by understanding the interactivity between africans and their environment as communalistic people, one discovers the errors of the colonialists who rejected what they did not understand of the people’s cultures and [mis]represented them as barbaric and paganistic” (uwah, 2009, p.25). promoting igwebiuke worldwide may serve as the desired recipe that would checkmate the incursion of western values in the local film industry. 5. entrenching a valuable digital culture: because “the world has evolved a fascinating digital culture” (dyikuk & chinda, 2017,p.41), it is crucial for film makers to seize the opportunity to promote good homegrown movies which teach morals and values from an african perspective. for example, the criticism that the ongoing big brother naija which seems to showcase western values is receiving could be addressed by using the platform to entrench african values. besides, nollywood can help the diaspora community or second generation igbos to be in touch with their roots. justine john dyikuk igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 260 conclusion we saw that although culture and communication are important elements of the nigerian movie industry, the igwebuike philosophy, which aligns with the principles of inclusiveness, complementarity and solidarity, has not been given a pride of place on the screen. this is why the author employed the homophily principle of communication as theoretical framework to demonstrate that film makers, cinematographers, videographers, communication scholars and journalists in nigeria have the capacity to change the narrative towards giving igwebuike philosophy, with its ingredients of culture, norms, education, socialization process and socio-cultural, religious and political values, its rightful place in home movies. given its place in global reckoning, nollywood could overtake hollywood and bollywood if experts insist on infusing african values, like igwebuike, into film production. this way, africans in the diaspora, particularly second generation igbos, will benefit more. in conclusion, to effectively and efficiently communicate an igwebuikenised nollywood, promotion of african heritage, transmission of culture and civilization, promotion of community life, decolonizing the film industry and entrenchment of valuable digital culture must be given high premium. references adesokan, a. (2006). new nigerian cinema: an interview with akin adesokan www.indiana.edu. accessed on 8/19/2020. dyikuk, j. j. & chinda, f. e. (2017). digital terrestrial television: a critical assessment of the adventures and misadventures of nigeria’s digital switch over. international journal of applied research and technology. 6(12): [40 – 49]. dyikuk, j.j (2015). the nollywood narrative: africa’s golden goose on a global spotlight? global advanced research journal of social science (garjss) vol. 4(x). http://www.indiana.edu/ igwebuike and communication in nollywood: a qualitative review igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 261 dyikuk, j.j (2017). scrutinizing organisational communication through work-environment, power and politics in nigeria. international journal of advanced research and publications (ijarp). vol. 1 is. 2. [45-53]. go, f. m., monachello, m. l., & baum, t. (1996). human resource management in the hospitality industry. ny: john wiley & sons, inc. hanmakyugh, t.t (2019). ritual culture phenomenon in igbo films: a study of money is money. ejotmas: ekpoma journal of theatre and media arts. vol. 7 nos. 1-2. [376-385] jega, a. 2001. identity transformation and identity politics under structural adjustment in nigeria. stockholm: nordiska afrikaininstitutet and centre for research and documentation. johnson, d. (2000). ‘culture and art in hausa video films’ in haynes, j (ed) nigerian video films. ohio: university centre for international studies. kanu, i.a (2016). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. an african journal of arts and humanities. a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies. vol. 2 no 1.[108-113]. kanu, i.a (2017a) igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies. vol. 3 no 2. [63-75]. kanu, i.a (2017b). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies. vol. 3 no 7. [165-183]. kanu, i.a (2017c). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. an african journal of arts and humanities. a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies. vol. 3 no. 1 [9-18]. kanu, i.a (2017d). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. an african journal of arts and humanities. a publication of https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ejotmas/issue/view/18838 https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ejotmas/issue/view/18838 justine john dyikuk igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 262 tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies. vol. 3 no 2. [153-160]. kanu, i.a (2017e). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. an african journal of arts and humanities. a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies. vol. 3 no 6. [16-50]. kanu, i.a (2018.) igwebuike and being in igbo ontology. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies. vol. 4 no 5. [12-21]. mgbejume, o. (2009). communication and society: some basic issues. jos: motion picture academy. moemeka, a. (1998). “communalism as a fundamental dimension of culture” in journal of communication. blackwell publishing. [118 – 138]. moemeka, a. (1997). communalistic societies: community and selfrespect as african values. in c. christians & m. traber (eds.), communication ethics and universal values (pp. 170–193). thousand oaks, ca: sage. mohamad, s. f (2008). "effects of communication on turnover intention: a case of hotel employees in malaysia". graduatetheses and dissertations. paper 11164. mordi, v & onu, c (1992). living in bondage 1 & 2. prod. nnebue, k. with kenneth okonkwo, nnennanwabueze, francis agu, and kanayo o. kanayo. nek video links production. onuzulike, u (2018). the igbo communication style: conceptualizing ethnic communication theory. do 10.1007/978-3-319-75447-5_4. and technological hybridity. international journal of intercultural communication studies, 18(1), 176–187. onuzulike, u. (2018). explicating communication styles in the diaspora: the case of young igbo-americans. in w. jia (ed.), intercultural communication: adapting to emerging global realities: a reader (2nd ed., pp. xxx–xxx). san diego, ca: cognella publisher. igwebuike and communication in nollywood: a qualitative review igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 263 shaka, f. 2003. ‘rethinking the nigerian video film industry: technological fascination and the domestication game.’in f. ogunleye (ed), african video film today. manzini, swaziland: academic publishers. uchenna, o. (2009). nollywood: the emergence of the nigerian video film industry and its representation of nigerian culture. [online] a master’s thesis submitted to the faculty of clark university: worcester, massachusetts. uwah, i. e (2009). from rituals to films: a case study of the visual rhetoric of igbo culture in nollywood films. phd thesis, faculty of humanities, dublin city university, ireland. uwah, i. e (2011). the representation of african traditional religion and culture in nigeria popular films. politics and religion 1/vol. v. udk: 316.72:[791.23:2(669) ; 791.232(669). the impact of igwebuike ideology on peace building in african igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 265 the impact of igwebuike ideology on peace building in african okafor, emmanuel ikenna (ph.d) department of christian religious studies, peaceland college of education, enugu & ude, chizoba chilotaram department of social studies education, institute of ecumenical education, thinkers corner, enugu & okolo, rosemary ngozi (ph.d) department of religion and cultural studies, university of nigeria, nsukka & amaechi-ani, nneka nkiru. department of social studies education, institute of ecumenical education, thinkers corner, enugu agbudugbu@gmail.com executive summary african continent had perceived group soldering as the greatest strategies to tackle difficult and tedious challenges that torment human society. it is an ideology that rose from the natural and spontaneous communalistic spirit in the people's collective relationships. igwebuike is an igbo language which literally means large number is strength. it is a concept that has been developed by prof. kanu ikechukwu anthony within the context of the underlying principle of african philosophy, religion and culture. the basic ideology there is that united majority is aviable machinery in solving group or members' problems. this paper therefore aims at re-focusing on how igwebuike as an ideology can be adopted in africa to okafor, emmanuel ikenna (ph.d), ude, chizoba chilotaram, okolo, rosemary ngozi (ph.d) & amaechi-ani, nneka nkiru. igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 266 provide lasting peace in africa and among african states and people. the research observes that serious concern is not given to the igwebuike ideology on the area of peace build. attention was very much on application of the ideology for economic gains, group opposition attacks and for political gains. the research recommends that earnest concern should be given to this ideology throughout africa with the use of age –grade system, communal worship system, women folk, kinship system, to mention but a few. the research adopted historical and sociological approaches. data were sourced from both primary and secondary means. data were analyzed with phenomenological method of data analysis.0 keywords: igwebuike ideology, kanu ikechukwu anthony, peace–building and african people introduction the impact of igwebuike ideology overwhelmly occupies the african perception of peace-building. for the sake of peace-building in africa, late dr. nnamdi azikiwe had made serious effort to unite african nations; the evidence can be derived from his establishment of a newspaper industry with the name, west african pilot, and the establishment of a financial institution known as african continental bank. before his death, he was popularly known as the zik of african. zik’s initiative motivated the name given to one of the old generation’s banks as united bank for african-uba. at the face of confusions that triggered nigerian civil war some nigerians including dr nnamdi azikiwe still advised for one nigeria. today, against the creation of another country out from nigeria, some still advocate for one nigeria with good political restructuring. the country’s academic system teaches unity in diversity in the area of the impact of igwebuike ideology on peace building in african igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 267 social studies. in the researcher’s council area, during a serious political tussle, a prominent politician in the local government area in the person of rt. hon. dr. festus uzor stated thus: “no ezeagu man is more ezeagu than the other. you are… because we are… you cannot be… if we are …” he is stressing here that the office occupied by one politician in ezeagu local government area is made possible because majority of ezeagu politicians supported the person therefore when the same majority stand behind someone, he or she alone should not counter. igwebuike captures and communicates the igbo-african world. igwebuike is the form and symbolic of the igbo-african mental being and the gateway to igbo-african philosophy. beyond the literal understanding of igwebuike (igwenumber; bu-is; ike-strength) as “there is strength in number”, it captures the igbo philosophy of relationality, complementarity and interconnectedness of reality (kanu 2014; 2015; 2016; 2017; 2018; 2019). it concatenates igbo forms, symbolism, signs, media, meaning, anthropologies, universal cosmic truths, functions, semantic powers, physics, phenomena, faculties, and igbo environ-mentalities, and symbolizes the propositional powers of igbo knowledge, perception, identity, phenomenalism, physics, metaphysics, logic, history of analytic character, speculative mindset and positive provisions for definitions of facts (kanu 2020). in a nutshell the views and actions stated above, rally round the idea in the igbo word igwebuike. larger group alliance is always strength and powerful. an igbo adage states thus: ofu onye siere oha, oha e richee ya, ma na oha siere ofu onye, o ma richee ya. this means that if an individual prepares meal of any quantity for a large united group, the group will consume it all, but when the group prepares any quantity of food for the individual, he cannot finish it. in view of the above, it could be ascertained that this igwebuike ideology has serious impact on the african people’s security and peace-building in virtually all the ramifications of their lives, be it political, economic, social, education, religion, health and so on. mrs ajayi marian (personal communication, 7 april 2020) states that most okafor, emmanuel ikenna (ph.d), ude, chizoba chilotaram, okolo, rosemary ngozi (ph.d) & amaechi-ani, nneka nkiru. igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 268 african comm.unities from history believed in team work. they did group farming, group hunting etc. what mrs ajayi says is true, because today, for example, in the hunting games, when a group march to the bush, with their individual guns, dogs etc, they threaten the bush, making every animal there uncomfortable. after the game, many animals are caught. this is just a sample of how united majority can subdue any obstacle that arises. when united group spirit is well developed, there is no doubt, the group can move mountains in return, such unity sustains peace among them and fosters security. igwebuike ideology is not relatively far from african communalism but the only demarcation is that communalism can exist between independent individual communalist relationships, but igwebuike sees the group mission as supreme to individual interest: most african states were able to gain political, economic and even religious independence because of their formidable united majority (igwebuike) spirit. the igbo/ibibio women that confronted the ruling muscles of the colonialists in the so called aba women riot, was made possible on the basis of igwebuike ideology which had impacted lasting peace among the local women and families in the zone. among the findings of the research is that with effective actualization of the idea of group soldering so many problems can be tackled to their barest minimum. that notwithstanding, the same igwebuike ideology can be used for negative intention or goals, for example, the mob actions, team armed robbery et cetera. the paper intends to re-echo how igwebuike as an ideology would be implemented in africa, its communities and nations, to provide lasting peace in africa, its nations, and peoples. the research also discovers that much more serious concern is not given to the igwebuike ideology on the area of peace building. the ideology is mostly applied for selfish economic gains, group opposition attack and counter attacks, political gains, selfish social solidity, etc. it is recommended in this research that more serious concern should be attached to igwebuike ideology throughout africa with the use of traditional machineries such as age-grade system, the impact of igwebuike ideology on peace building in african igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 269 communal worship system, the masquerading society, the title institutions, family institution, and other modern machineries like the youth clubs and associations, neighborhood watch teams, elders forum, town union, christian and muslim associations, government and non-governmental organization et cetera. the methodologies used in this research are both historical and sociological approaches. data used were generated from primary and secondary stocks. the method of data analysis was phenomenological analytical method. igwebuike ideology is synonymous with the broom bunch as an adage or concept. individual sticks that make up the broom bunch can easily be broken, but to break the broom bunch is definitely difficult. the broom exhibits its strength in its bunch than when it is separated from the bunch. the broom sticks in a bunch are peaceful, that is why they have agreed to be tied together as one entity. this is the basis on which igwebuike as an ideology champions all ramifications of human welfare in typical african society. clarification of concepts the concepts or terms that fundamentally call for explanations are: igwebuike ideology, peace-building, and african (people). igwebuike as a word finds its origin in igbo ecolingual base. igwebuike links itself with terms like communalism, cooperative movement and even united majority. though slight differences might exist between these three terms but the variation seems to be insignificant. akukwe (1996) opines that cooperative comes from the latin word co-operate, i.e. to work together. according to akukwe, the idea of men working together is as old as man himself because of his social nature. because of his inherent limitations, man needs the co-operation of his fellow human beings to develop his physical, intellectual and spiritual potentialities (akukwe, 1996). according to summers (2001), communal is perceived as that shared by a group, especially a group of people who live together, or that which involves people from many different races, religions, or language groups. this adjective communal, forms the basis of the term communalism. majority on the other hand, links itself with number. most of the people or things in a particular group (summers, 2001). the igwe in the word connotes okafor, emmanuel ikenna (ph.d), ude, chizoba chilotaram, okolo, rosemary ngozi (ph.d) & amaechi-ani, nneka nkiru. igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 270 majority/large in number, the ‘bu’ means is in english language. it is just a verb that shows the attribute of the suffix to the prefix ‘lke’ which means strength/power in english language. while communalism emphasizes on sharing things in common, cooperative/cooperation focuses on the unity to achieve specific goal(s). when these three basic strands of thought are merged together, the concept of igwebuike becomes comprehensible. peace-building has peace as the head word. peace in the lay man view might imply or mean happiness. but peace connotes, no war, agreement, no noise, calmness, etc (summers, 2001). peace-building, simply means the art of structuring, sustaining a condition of calmness, noiselessness, agreement in positive mindedness, no war, no conflict, no violence etc. african people as we all know, are one of the peoples that make up one of the continents of the world, dominated with the people with dark or black identification. mr. onwuka francis (personal communication, 13 march 2020) points out that what aboriginals of igbo nation commonly call or presume africans to be is the people with black hair-ndi isi oji. summers (2001) adds that the word “african interprets someone from africa. mr. gabriel patrick (personal communication 6 april, 2020) points that africa as an area is in most cases presented as a sunny zone. what patrick stresses could be truly acceptable because africa has the highest geographical coverage where the sun radiates the ultra violet rays heavily. dr. obiora aniebo, a geographer/geo-physicist (personal communication, 8 may, 2020) opines that the ultra-violet rays discharge greater heat within africa as a geographical region more than other regions across the globe. therefore we conceptually agree that africa is sunny, more so, it is the indigenous region of the people who are more or less black or dark in complexion, with black hair color. the impact of igwebuike ideology on peace building in african igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 271 impact of igwebuike ideology in peace-building in discussing igwebuike as an idea, it is pertinent to stress here that peace-building in any given society, runs the holistic gamut of the people’s livelihood ranging from economic, social, political, religious, and health welfare. it is on this background that this research would examine the import of igwebuike ideology in peace-building among african states. it is also envisaged that this examination will arouse the interest of african people to understand that the idea of igwebuike has recommendable relevance in sustaining peace among african states, countries or nations. be that as it may, human livelihood is similar to the local stove phenomena where when there is absence of or exclusion of one of the three stands of the stove it incapacitates the firmness of the local stove. in regard to this, we can testify that when an aspect of people`s welfare is in shambles, no matter how less important it may appear, it affects the peaceful sustainability, growth and progress of the people. therefore this paper cut across peacebuilding in every affair of african people for actualizing central hallmark for general peace building in africa. at this point, let us turn to examine them one after the other. import of igwebuike ideology on economic peace at the family level, economic peace helps to curb so many risks that could introduce violence of various forms, poverty etc. ezeador and ezeani (2019:60) buttress that: … one of the traditional means of socialization of children is through trading. however, the introduction of young girls into street trading increased vulnerabilities of the girls to sexual harassment. sexual abuse of young girl in nigeria is linked with child labour … poverty and inaccessible to funds for parents to take care of their wards has contributed to child sexual abuse. on this realm, igwebuike ideology becomes very pivotal. instead of families engaging their children especially the girls in child labour because of poverty and inaccessibility to funds for parents to take care of their children to degenerate families expected standard, the concept of igwebuike comes into place to salvage such ugly situation. families okafor, emmanuel ikenna (ph.d), ude, chizoba chilotaram, okolo, rosemary ngozi (ph.d) & amaechi-ani, nneka nkiru. igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 272 became can collectively agree to engage on a particular source of income where both parents and wards should be involved in a risk free manner for the economic growth of the entire family. their collective input can be on farm work and other mini businesses where parents and older siblings will have monitoring eye to one another. in this team work, everyone covers a particular vacuum in the business to enable the agreed enterprise to flourish. a group soldering of this nature tackles poverty and reduces other risks or dangers that could develop due to economic under development, and incapacitations. okafor and amechi –ani (2019:309) maintain that: aziza as a concept in africa runs a whole garmut of the world– view of oneness, togetherness, communalism, patriotism, and synergy. the physical structure of the aziza is that it is made up of individual palm frond sticks. these sticks can stand individually, but each individual stick cannot function on its own. nevertheless, when they are tied together, they serve the purpose for which they are made or more. this had been the principle that had held african fore –bears together, and had aided their ability to achieve the much they could achieve before the advent of western and arabian culture. what okafor and amaechi-ani points out her echoes the replica of what the igbo meant by igwebuike. the aziza symbol which they used as a principle is a masterpiece to understanding of the ideology igwebuike. when people are consistently binded together for economic reasons and every member of the united economics front is economically comfortable peace is automatically built among the members. in a situation of this kind, one would not be wrong to say that such group has built economic peace. on a similar vein, okafor (2019:90-91) elaborates thus: economic factor appears to be the most common factor responsible for migration. man always tries as much as possible to make ends meet. human ends invariably differ from one person to another. in some cases, means of economic the impact of igwebuike ideology on peace building in african igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 273 survival can be conceived in a given society with very limited areas of human endeavour, hence, people with higher ends struggles to source out other areas of economic engagements in order to actualize other life dreams. when these areas of endeavour are not found within the immediate environment, people begin to think of other places or settings where they can find the opportunities for wealth acquisition. in so doing, people migrate beyond their immediate environment. this migration peculiar with people that source for economic interest has been classified as both permanent and temporary (anigbo, 1992). no matter the class or condition for migration, for that of economic reason, migrants see group migration as a formidable mechanism for great economic achievement. the commonest team migration observable with the south-eastern part of nigeria is the ebonyi state (hired labourers) farmers migrants. they move in groups of two, three, four and five team partnership. whatever farm work each team charges, they complete it in no distant time. as they do it, they attract more jobs for themselves, meanwhile they make enough money each annual farming season. different ethnic groups, communities, villages, nations, and state indigenes who find themselves in foreign soils synergized and formed associations that principally assist their members in pursuing social and economic gains. for the fact that these group soldiering expeditions sustain the peoples’ economic lives, they are bound to build peace both in diaspora and at home to enable them keep acquiring more wealth and create a conducive atmosphere to enjoy the wealth. having seen that their coming together enhances opportunities of sustaining available economic tempo among them, they ought to keep the flag flying. with financial strength groups can sponsor community development project thereby extending economic development in various communities, local government areas, states and so on. with sustainable economic development definitely there are greater chances of building a durable peace in the continentafrica. okafor, emmanuel ikenna (ph.d), ude, chizoba chilotaram, okolo, rosemary ngozi (ph.d) & amaechi-ani, nneka nkiru. igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 274 economic impact of igwebuike ideology has not be exhausted. let us x-ray the ideology in the involvement of women in traditional igbo economy in the area of salt production and pollution of laid down traditional religious taboos. on this circumstance. njoko (2008:17) maintains that: the salt lakes had their deities and were hedged around with many taboos. for example, menstruating women and one who had fornicated without atoning for it could not fetch water from the lake. contravention of any of the taboos incurred the dreadful wrath of the deities. the women producers formed themselves into a guild. all these devices were aimed at achieving a set of purposes to restrict entry into the industry, exclude men from participation and protect the lakes from misuse and defilement. salt seems to have been the mainstay of uburu and okposi economy. it was marked throughout igboland and even beyond a critical look at the management of the salt industry by the uburu and okposi people demonstrates an exact presentation of igwebuike ideology in an economic scene. the producers of the salt from the lake were predominantly women. they were challenged with a problem of tradition order promulgated by deities. but they were able to sustain the industry by forming a guild to deprive others, including men, the chance of entering the lake in order to protect the lake and allow their salt business to progress. this guild without any doubt had handled future war at the lake, foster calmness, order, noiselessness among other things because of the cooperation, oneness, togetherness and synergy that they were able to maintain. by doing this, they succeeded in building peace in their channel of economic sustainability. the earnings from the industry contribute immensely to the family up keep. as far as their families are well taken care of economically, with the spirit of togetherness and cooperation, peace will prevail. this peace motivated character would be extended to the larger or wider society, making the society peaceful. apart from the impact of igwebuike ideology on peace building in african igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 275 industrial woman group and other sorts of groups already discussed as integrals in the igwebuike ideology, it will not be an over-statement to identify the same ideology in age grade system, kinship system, umuada, umunyedi etc as it affects the economic well being of the members and the society at large. the age set association, the kinship members, umuada, nwunyedi folks cetera have been active in economic assistance to members and their different communities. the age grade contributes immensely to the economy of the traditional african society. they can donate money to assist members and nonmembers. in some cases they sponsor skill acquisition programs, administer cooperative bodies etc. the kinship, umuada, and nwunyedi institutions do related functions of the age grades. mr. festus ozor egwu (personal communication, 20 april, 2020) narrated some experiences where a member of their kinship was attacked by a conflagration which destroyed his large rice farm in anambra east area, he stated that their kinship on the hearing the incidence started with compulsory material contribution to their affected kinsman. as the kinsmen were donating money and material things, the next farming season, according the informant, the umuada folk mobilized themselves to assist the victim with two local week days free labour in which the victim was mandated not to offer food to the umuada. considering the economic supports given to humanity with the believe in the igwebuike ideology, everyone would embrace peace. the ideology would bring peace since it is used to make whoever that is in agony to be liberated or alleviated. import of igwebuike ideology on political peace politically, the ideology helps to sustain peace. orji and olali in okafor (2020) stress that traditional institutions are symbols of indigenous people’s rights, privileges, laws, customs and traditions which include but not limited to parameter rules and their councils. the traditional institution in nigeria context is inclusive of chiefs-in council, elders in council, title holders who may be appointed based okafor, emmanuel ikenna (ph.d), ude, chizoba chilotaram, okolo, rosemary ngozi (ph.d) & amaechi-ani, nneka nkiru. igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 276 on their contributions to growth and development of their communities (okafor, 2020:251. the act of producing these traditional leaders is often time an arduous task. anigbo (1987: 176) uses references to ibagwa-aka to emphasize on this difficulty thus: the chieftaincy dispute in ibagwa aka centers on an issue as to which of two individuals should be the acknowledged representative of one town and be recognized as such both internally and externally such an individual is known by various names, viz: a “chief,” “natural ruler” “traditional ruler,” “traditional head of autonomous igbo village community”. in the struggle for such political leadership, taking the igbo traditional political system as a masterpiece, it had been the igwebuike ideology that settles it and still encourages peace-building. majority side will always carry the vote. when an aspirant sees that majority of his people do not want him or her in certain leadership position in the village, community, etc he/she is left with no option than to accept defeat, without raising any dust. igwebuike ideology responds to democratic representation for the people. ijeoma (1988) opines that; democracy therefore as an institutional arrangement and a method of making decisions endeavours to ensure that the society thereby arrives at an orderly, stable and legitimate government which would guarantee the presentation of rights and freedom with which men are endowed to. it is therefore my contention that any methods through which men are able to institute an orderly, stable legitimate government to the satisfaction and happiness of the greatest number in democracy. with this ideology, the political terrain historically and traditional was peaceful, orderly and stable. it had aided peace building among african states. complete adherence to igwebuike ideology on political the impact of igwebuike ideology on peace building in african igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 277 matters will encourage peace-building because it restores political peace and stability relevance of igwebuike ideology in maintaining social peace on the aspect of social group soldiering, ikeyi (2004:210) explains thus: although all of us probably would be able to identify and describe the various small groups we belong to, we might find it difficult to follow the same process with the large groups that affect us. as patrons or employees of large organization and governments, we function as part of large groups at all time. thus, sociologists must study large groups as well as small groups in order to understand the workings of society. in fact, all groups must not be at equal sizes to acquire the igwebuike ideology. groups differ probably as a result of circumstances, objective, natural scope and so on. when we listen to our social media, we hear about several groups showcasing their relevance in one way or the other. the actions of different groups tend to inform us that a united group is strength. today the academic staff union of universities is embarking on an industrial action since march. the individual in this body cannot achieve any goal if left to pursue his welfare independently. but as far as the individuals in that platform have organized themselves in pursuance of everybody’s interest, a lot of their welfare would be looked into. other groups that make corrections on the affairs of the state also help to ensure decorum in numerous situations. when these groups follow legal measures to exist, they will diplomatically achieve some of their interests, meanwhile encouraging peace-building in the society. traditionally, certain united groups are known as agents of peacebuilding in the society. they include the masquerading society, the kinship, the umuada and nwunyedi folks, the age grade teams, the village associations or union etc. occasions where a member of the society defaults the norms of the community considering the gender or sex of the offender, and the degree of the offence, one or more of okafor, emmanuel ikenna (ph.d), ude, chizoba chilotaram, okolo, rosemary ngozi (ph.d) & amaechi-ani, nneka nkiru. igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 278 these s are mobilized to visit and punish the offender. in some cases evil doers are ostracized or excommunicated. in the olden days when western education was introduced in the hinterland, the village unions or associations formed tax force teams to generate money that was used to finance school programs in the rural areas. the most intelligent pupils were sponsored in continuing their secondary school studies. some village unions sent their intelligent sons to the university within nigeria or even overseas. all these are in the spirit of the ideology of igwebuike. more so, this spirit of livelihood among the aboriginals encourages peace-building. mr. boniface ejike (personal communication 14 november 2020) avers that in the year 1981, a member of his age grade, by name emmanuel ozo happened to beat his aunty and was stupidly disturbing the entire village. on a masquerading festival, the kinsmen, masquerade cult and his age set visited him in his father’s house and was terribly dealt with. he continued that after beating the young emmanuel with so many strokes of cane, he was coerced to finish 20 liters of water before he can be allowed to go for the day. according to mr. boniface, from that day henceforth, mr. emma really amended his ways. the mr. emma in question according to him is presently among those who advocate for peace in their community. igwebuike ideology plays a vital role in the security of lives and properties. today, towns and villages form their government through which they inaugurate vigilante or neighbourhood watch groups authorized by the national government in form of community policing to secure lives and properties. all these collective efforts are known as igwebuike, and offers social peace among dwellers of several communities. relevance of igwebuike ideology in building religious peace traditionally, religion has been the filament that sustains life of community norms, customs, values and taboos. it is the deities that execute and monitor crimes. though individuals have their personal objects that represent numerous gods for them but spiritual regard the impact of igwebuike ideology on peace building in african igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 279 becomes so efficacious when a large group of people install shrines and the spirits that they will honour in worship. these deities, shrines, gods install by the people remain the intermediary between the people and the almighty god. the groups unanimously promulgate righteous, unrighteous and forbidden actions the god of the land now do the policing role on the laid down rules agreed by the group. this group religious tenets are the yardsticks for maintenance of law and order in the traditional society. it is this background that when people remember the spiritual implications of committing certain abominations, they will rethink, thereby making the adherent to experience religious peace. religions in return attracts peace to other spheres of life. religious peace makes better transcendent connection which more people are committed to it. the holy bible states that when two or three are gathered, i am in their midst. the more people gather together as a religious community, the more they see themselves as brothers and sisters living peacefully. problems come in when critics and misconceptions emanate from two or more religions or denominations. on this note ecumenism now forms a basis to harmonize the igwebuike ideology that will foster religious peace among the hostile groups. at anytime an african man feels he is having some distant relationship with god it gives him so much worry, in order to assure close contact with the supernatural they pledge, vow and sacrifice. most of these pledges and vows are made by individuals in the midst of the a worshipping community. to this end okafor (2019:74) asserts that the african man engages in religious pledges and vows to enable him be psychologically and spiritually balanced. god is the sole arbiter and controller of man and his activities here on earth. based on this, he continuously makes pledges and vows because of the problem that assails his feelings. as far as these pledges and vows are made amidst the group, the group led by the officiating priests must acknowledge the fulfillment of those pledges and vows made. it is culturally believed that they are undergoing covenants of peace reminding every member of the group that curses befall whoever makes troubles among them. in order to lay okafor, emmanuel ikenna (ph.d), ude, chizoba chilotaram, okolo, rosemary ngozi (ph.d) & amaechi-ani, nneka nkiru. igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 280 more emphases on the religious collective commitment among africans, nwokike (2005:8) uses the awha people’s belief in the worship of the earth goddess thus: this is ani awha, representing the earth which gives yam and every food crop: the earth on which plants grow: the earth on which animal grow: and the mother earth which eats up a dead animal or tree. in awha, when libations are poured even in simple prayer ani awha is called upon together with the ancestors to come and take control of each situation to bring peace, prosperity and good health. even though africans felt they have secured religious peace still supplicate for general peace-building and prosperity of the entire community as a group. in most cases, collective religious activities of a group are often time used to build peace among nations, families, communities etc. importance of igwebuike ideology in restoring health peace unhealthy conditions absolutely hinder peace of mind of the affected persons and relations. health itself is a condition of being sick or not being sick. the health of an individual influences to a large extent, the life of the person. to the traditional igbo, the summumbonum or highest value is life (ndu). this is made manifest in their names e.g. ndubisi-life is of supreme importance, nduka – life is greater, ndukaku – life is greater than wealth, nduamaka – life is good (madu,2004:23). onunwa in madu (2004) points that health is for more social that biological. it does not entirely mean an absence of physical ailments. that there is a clear unitary concept of psychosomatic interrelations is an apparent reciprocity between the mind and matters. health and life intermingle. we cannot virtually say that one is sick, there are undesirable conditions that can make one unhealthy in absence of sickness. take for example when very young lady loses her husband at the very early stage of the marriage. condition of this nature gives both the deceased age grade, umuada, the impact of igwebuike ideology on peace building in african igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 281 nwunyedi and the kinship members serious concerns. even the widow’s maiden home members are also worried. these groups rally around the widow for assistance with the intention to think out ways to secure her life and longitivity of her stay in the deceased husband’s home. similar concern is applicable to a widower. then when someone is sick the african people reaction will easily reflect message on how sacred life is being regarded. the traditional societies that make up nigeria using igbo ethnic group as a specimen, had deep respect for the sacredness of life and dignity of human person. african traditional societies had a lot of cultural values such as philosophical thoughts and proverbs, community life, hospitality, sense of human relations and industry, respect for authority and elders, sense of the sacred and of religion that were deep, sense of time and the respect for the sacredness of life (ele, 2019). in african, a patient is assisted by a lot of groups of which some of them he is a member. for the treatment, ideas flow from every corner. some people have reconciled their differences because of illness. the african man, especially the igbo believe that enmity does not extend to illness or death. it is the idea of igwebuike that arouses the motivation to care for the sick or afflicted because it is a reciprocal relationship. if it is discovered that an individual is reluctant over other people`s life and health consequently he will be left alone when he faces the same problem. in that regard group attention to health relatively becomes compulsory thereby establishes the desire for peace building in the society. recommendations: the study recommends that: 1. the traditional agents of peace building e.g. the masquerading cult, age-grade system, umuada and nwunyedi folks, etc. should be encouraged as far as they conform with the civil rules. 2. members of the civil society should always try to align with group cooperative movement with the positive intention to improve the living standard of the populace. okafor, emmanuel ikenna (ph.d), ude, chizoba chilotaram, okolo, rosemary ngozi (ph.d) & amaechi-ani, nneka nkiru. igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 282 3. individuals with financial prowess should form groups for still acquisition who will be training successive groups on different skill especially in rural and semi-urban settings. this will help to improve inter-personal relationships among the citizenry. 4. religious sentiment should not be allowed to counter the insisting igwebuike system of living in african states. religion should be kept far from the people’s togetherness. 5. government, non-governmental organizations, agencies etc can assist the society by embarking on sensitization programmes to improve more on the igwebuike ideology as a veritable source of peace building in african society. conclusion igwebuike is a wonderful ideology which the society does not assimilate as valuable formation that is capable of building peace in the society. african fore-bears had used it to maintain peace to a reasonable degree, through the masquerade society, age-grade, umunna – kinsmen/kindred, umuada, ndi nwumjed, the youth organizations, the family etc. it was an ideology used in the decades back for the maintenance and construction of roads, markets, public squares, installation of pipe-borne water, electrification of communities, building of schools, sign boards, reconciliation of warning individuals, families and communities. in some cases the ideology might not fight for peace to exist. it is noteworthy that there are so many areas of the people’s lives that it is adopted in which it enhances and promotes peace building. generally speaking, as far as the ideology is able to promote economic peace, political peace, and social peace, religious peace and otherwise, it has automatically portrayed in earnest, central peace for all and sundry. references the impact of igwebuike ideology on peace building in african igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 283 akukwe, f.n (1996). community development cooperatives and democracy. a guide for social workers. onitsha: veritas printing & publishing co. ltd amgbo o.a.c (1987), commensality and human relationship among the igbo. enugu: chuka printing company limited. anigbo, o.a.c (1992). igbo elite and western europe: onitsha: africana-fep publishers limited. ele, c.o (2019), “the sacredness of human life in contemporary nigeria: violation and solutions” in e.j.o ndubisi (ed) oracle of wisdom journal of philosophy and public affairs, vol 3, no 1 pp 23-36. ezeador c.n and ezeani, k.d. (2019). “engaging women in peace keeping: an alternative way to curbing sexual violence in women” in j.o. ndubisi (ed) oracle of wisdom journal of philosophy and public affairs vol. 3 (1) pp 57-64, ijeoma, b.i. (1988). afrocracy: basis for national stability: partless democracy. benin: idodo umeh publishers limited. ikeyi, j.o. (2004). sociology: an introductory text. enugu: zik chuks nigeria. kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. kanu, a. i. (2017c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 7. pp. 165-183. kanu, a. i. (2017d). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 6. pp. 16-50. kanu, a. i. (2017f). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. pp. 153-160. okafor, emmanuel ikenna (ph.d), ude, chizoba chilotaram, okolo, rosemary ngozi (ph.d) & amaechi-ani, nneka nkiru. igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 284 kanu, i. a. (2012). the problem of being in metaphysics. african research review: an international multi-disciplinary journal. vol.6. no.2. april. pp. 113-122. kanu, i. a. (2012). the problem of personal identity in metaphysics. international journal of arts and humanities. vol.1. no.2. pp.1-13. kanu, i. a. (2012a). the concept of life and person in african anthropology. in e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (eds.). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 61-71). nigeria: augustinian. kanu, i. a. (2012b). towards an igbo christology. in e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (eds.). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 75-98). nigeria: augustinian. kanu, i. a. (2013). african identity and the emergence of globalization. american international journal of contemporary research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 34-42. kanu, i. a. (2013). african identity and the emergence of globalization. american international journal of contemporary research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 34-42. kanu, i. a. (2013). globalisation, globalism and african philosophy. c. umezinwa (ed.). african philosophy: a pragmatic approach to african probems (pp. 151-165). germany: lambert. kanu, i. a. (2013). on the sources of african philosophy. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 337-356. kanu, i. a. (2013). the dimensions of african cosmology. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 533-555. kanu, i. a. (2014). a historiography of african philosophy. global journal for research analysis. volume. 3. issue. 8. pp. 188190. the impact of igwebuike ideology on peace building in african igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 285 kanu, i. a. (2014). being and the categories of being in igbo philosophy. african journal of humanities. volume 1. issue 1. pp. 144-159. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. madu, j.e. (2004). honesty to african cultural heritage. onitsha: coskan associates. okafor, emmanuel ikenna (ph.d), ude, chizoba chilotaram, okolo, rosemary ngozi (ph.d) & amaechi-ani, nneka nkiru. igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 286 njoku, o.n (2008). “women in traditional economy” (ed) e.j, otagburuagu and a.e afigbo, new brides more hopes: igbo women in socio-economic change. pp 104135, enugu: global publishers nigeria limited. nwokike, j.c (2005). pottery and cultural life of awka people plus art history 1&2. enugu: de adroit innovation okafor, e. i and amaechi-ani (2019). “aziza as a concept and principle. a basis for a formidable african society” (ed) e. nwabueze. new frontiers in contemporary african studies. pp 309-318 enugu: abic publishers limited. okafor, e.i (2019). “migration as a pattern of life: implications on the religion-traditional identity of africans” (ed) i.a. kanu. journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 2 no. 7, pp 87-100. yola: altograde nigeria limited. okafor, e.i (2019). “pledges and vows to deities in african traditional religion: implications to the practitioners and the society: an igbo example” in e. nwabueze (e.d) lkoro journal of contemporary african studies vol 13 no. 2 pp 70-84, nsukka: institute of african studies. okafor, e.i (2020) “influence of criminal and violent minded interests on nigeria traditional institutions: the question of morality in a populous religious society”. (ed) f.o. orabueze. ogbazuluobodo university of nigeria journal of multidisciplinary studies vol. 1 no. 02 pp 247-256, enugu: timex summers, d. (2001). longman dictionary of contemporary english, england: parson education ltd igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 189 igwebuike ethic and the case of biafran agitation columbus n. ogbujah, phd & ibifuro r. jaja department of philosophy, rivers state university, port harcourt doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29105.45929 abstract the phenomenon of diverse people espousing different ethical schemes, demonstrates that ethics, for the most part, originates from the history and experiences of a people. every society, by reason of distinct experiences, are structured in peculiar ways, and are guided by peculiar principles of action. this, by no means, derogates from the universalist appeal of ethics which, was patently espoused by immanuel kant, but a sober reminder of the feminist epistemologists’ grounds for perspective relativity of ideas. the centrality of igwebuike ― literally ‘strength in numbers’ ethic, to life and development in igboland, cannot be exaggerated. its significance to the protection of human and natural rights echoed by the undp, and the sustenance of the biafran agitation for nationhood, is weighty. in this paper, we established the biafran agitation within the gambit of the igwebuike ethic, and by the same token, demonstrated the futility of applying physical solutions to a collective ideological task. we underscored the profuse immersion of the igwebuike ethic in the origin, growth and sustenance of the biafran agitation, which, in so doing, established a strong nexus between them. by using the hermeneutic and expository methods, we critically appraised the problems, and proposed that for a lasting solution to the current quagmire, efforts must be made to assuage the pains of the right’s violations of the igbos. keywords: igwebuike, biafran agitation, ethics, self-determination, collective ideology. introduction ethics is a science of conduct,73 which encapsulates the fundamental standards by which we live. every society has its own ethics―written or unwritten. although individuals might have distinct ethics in the sense of self-imposed standards within which they operate, personal ethics are generally subsumed under the gambit of that of the larger society. in fact, it is rare for an individual to 73 p. krishnamurthy, ‘an introduction to ethics’, ssrn electronic journal, (2011), 3, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228237796_an_introduction_to_ethics, accessed 7 december 2021. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 190 have an ethics that is clearly different from that of the society they belong to. this is so because ethics is not a product of nature but that of nurture; it is not innate, but is rather learned or passed down through various processes of socialization. once a child is born, he/she begins to assimilate (both formally and informally) the principles of conduct governing their people’s way of life concerning what is right or wrong, good or bad. this integration provides a safe guide to human conduct, as it is only on a people’s ethical groundwork that actions are weighed. ethics originates from the history and experiences of a people such that the ethical system of a society is structured in line with human practices and environmental impacts. as there are different people with peculiar experiences, so are there different ethics. apparently, what is considered ethically right in one part of the world, might not be seen in that light in some other parts of the world. this does not derogate from the universalist character of philosophical ethics which, by hinging on reasoning, promotes actions that are acceptable across board―a position specially advocated in immanuel kant’s deontological principles. in the groundwork of the metaphysic of morals, kant underscores the point that ethical actions should follow universal moral laws.74 but given that every society, by reason of distinct experiences, are structured in peculiar ways, there then exists peculiarities in the world ethical system. the igbos, much like other ethnic nationalities, historically have an ethical system that suits their reality and experiences. this system is manifest in the values espoused and the norms that guide their individual and collective actions. it is within this ambience that we situate the igwebuike ― literally ‘strength in numbers’ ethic. igwebuike is an unwritten ethic that is passed down from one generation to another through various socialization processes like storytelling, proverbs and folklores. its centrality to life and development is germane, as it is the underlying factor that guides the actions and inactions of the people both individually and as a group, consciously or otherwise. in this essay, we shall attempt to link the biafran agitation within the gambit of the igwebuike ethic, and by the same token, demonstrate the futility of applying material solutions to a collective ideological challenge. but in order to achieve this, we must first adumbrate the concept of igwebuike and its place in traditional igbo society. understanding the leitmotif of igbwebuike ethic 74 i. kant. groundwork of the metaphysic of morals. trans. by ellington, j.w. (3rd ed., hackett, 1993 [1785]), 4:421. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 191 the igbo ― one of the three major tribes in nigeria, occupy the south-eastern region of the country. its organizational structure is majorly acephalous, as there are rarely any positions for monarchs with supreme powers. it is a decentralized and egalitarian society. chikendu aptly captures the nature of the traditional igbo society as he notes: the basic unit was the family, the most operative unit being the kindred, then the village and the town. the village groups were not organized in kingdoms. the function of government was carried on by a council of elders who shared power in various levels of intensity with various other groups – age grades, titled men, women, ritual priests, etc.75 the igbo traditional society is called a gerontocracy (government by a council of elders) known as ‘ndi iche’. the people are known for their rich socio-cultural heritage, which, for the most part, revolve around their ethical system. the training of a child in igboland is not solely the duty of the nuclear family. the community at large is involved. in fact, parents, guardians, relatives and a wider circle of kinsmen in igboland consider it a sacred trust of discharging their obligations as it concerns the socialization of the igbo child.76 during the formative period of life, the community ensures that the child is properly initiated into the traditional ‘cults’, and be well versed in the tradition and practices of the community, in order to become a responsible member of the clan. this practice is borne out of the cherished system of communalism that carters to the needs of the individual writ large. the traditional igboland is community structured. columbus ogbujah incisively outlays this in the idea of personhood.77 all human life and activities revolve in and around the community such that one could rightly say that to exist, is to exist in a group, in a community. a person is a person within a community that provides collective security as well as safeguards all that is precious to the individual entity.78 this, in turn, elicits in the individuals, a high sense of communality. everyone contributes their quota for the enhancement of the common stock. the idea is that when the individual alone is enriched, the wealth is only for his family, but when the community is enriched, the wealth trickles 75 p. n. chikendu, ‘nigerian politics and government. enugu: academic publishing company. 2003, p.18 76 b. o. ukeje. education for social reconstruction. london and basingstoke: macmillan education.1976, p.54. 77 here, ogbujah provides insights for this communal structure by analyzing the meaning and relationships of the human person in igbo land. see: c. n. ogbujah. the idea of personhood. (enugu: snaap press ltd., 2006). 78 p. n. c. okigbo. ahiajiku lecture. (owerri: culture division of ministry of information, culture, youth and sports, 1986), 14. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 192 down to every individual within the society. it was a sacred duty for one to exert oneself for the growth of one’s community. ogbujah avers: the igbos carry out their civic and social responsibilities according to the provisions of omenala (community tradition). at one time, it may require a participation in a communal labour, as in clearing of village pathways; at other times it may demand all the members of the community to cultivate a member’s farmland. when one’s palm tree is being tapped, it specifies certain days when one makes available the palm wine for general free consumption….they afford one the opportunity of contributing his own quota to the growth of the community that has nursed him into existence.79 the mark of a true igbo is his ability to prioritize communal interest over his personal ones, and his greatest joy is found in amusing himself in the midst of companions. the individual efforts of the citizens are exerted towards achieving the greatest good of the community. igwebuike is thus, anchored on the igbo system of communalism. etymologically, the concept derives from two nouns and a copula, namely: igwe – number, people; bu – is/are (copula); and ike – strength/power. igwebuike, literally ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power,’ is a phenomenon which depicts that when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or constitute an insurmountable force.80 the igbos recognize that human beings are not selfsufficient; that no one is an island. this lends credence to the communal structure of personhood which ogbujah establishes from the biological, operational, ontological and processual standpoints.81 human beings as such can only survive and thrive in reciprocal love and co-operation. the flaw of insufficiency in individuals, the igbos believe, is not found in the society, as the society is one super structure that is self-sufficient as a result of the co-operative spirit of its members. the igwe is hence a super human that possesses might that no single individual possesses. this is reiterated in the igbo proverb, i shiri oha nri, oha ga e ri cha ya, mana oha shiere gi, i gaghi e richa – if an individual cooks for the community, the community will finish it, but if the community cooks for an individual, the individual will not finish it. the community enjoys power against which no individuals can compete. 79 c. n. ogbujah. the idea of personhood, 99. 80 i. a. kanu, ‘igwebuike and being in igbo ontology’, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, 4, no. 5, (2017), 12. 81c. n. ogbujah. the idea of personhood, 139-145. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 193 igwebuike is the action of human beings as an entity.82 it involves the actualization of a common interest through collective capability. although igwebuike is community centered, it does not lose sight of the individual needs. in fact, the hallmark of igwebuike philosophy is ‘no individual, no community’; that is, if there are no individual persons, there is no group formation as a result of the aggregate of individual persons.83 it is the various strengths of the individuals that make up the insurmountable strength of the igwe―community. thus, igwebuike ethic is not some lofty abstract ideology. it is the sum total of the ethics of the individuals in the society. although individualistic spirit is encouraged, it is always understood in relation to the other.84 rather than being anchored in ‘individualism’ which is rooted in egocentricism, the igbo individualistic spirit emphasizes and promotes personal achievements―one’s individuality, which often manifests on the number of signature projects attributed to one within the community.85 what this means is that the traditional individualistic ethic transcends from egoism to altruism. kanu buttresses this point as he notes: unlike western ethics that emphasizes individual rights, and sometimes to the point of promoting selfish interests at the expense of the interests of the other, igwebuike goes beyond the self, to feel the pain of the other as though it were my pain, the redemption of the other as though it were my redemption.86 in a nutshell, the igwebuike philosophy determines the ethical system which individuals are required to adhere. the implication is that the overriding motif of ethical principles is to foster the common good or interest of the community. igwebuike ethic argues that to be is to live in solidarity and harmony, and to live outside the parameters of complementary solidarity is to suffer alienation.87 it is to live like a fish cast out of water unto a sandy beach, panting. to promote complementary solidarity, there is high regard for the ethics of honesty and integrity. these ethical principles are germane for conflict resolution, as they are 82 j. i onebunne & n. a mirian, ‘igwebuike, individual freedom and responsibility in african ethics’, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, 6(9), 120, https://www.acjol.org/index.php/iaajah/article/view/978/963, accessed 7 december 2021 83 j. i onebunne & n. a mirian, ‘igwebuike, 120. 84 i. a. kanu, ‘igwebuike and african ethics’, igwebuikepedia, 2012, sec. 3, https://www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/igwebuikepedia-articles.php?open=25, accessed 7 december 2021 85 c. n. ogbujah. the idea of personhood, 101-102. 86 i. a. kanu, ‘igwebuike and african ethics’, igwebuikepedia, 2012, sec. 3. 87 j. i onebunne & n. a mirian, ‘igwebuike, 120. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 194 essential for the restoration of harmonious relationships amongst members of the community. other allied ethos that bolster the igwebuike ethic include respect for life, justice and freedom. we shall return to these values in the later part of this research. the phenomenon of igwebuike ethic depicts a symbiotic relationship between the individual and the community (igwe) such that the igwe is responsible for the actions of the individual and the individual as well, is responsible for the actions of the igwe. this is possible because of the cherished igbo principle of sharedness of life.88 people are evaluated in the light of their community, and vice versa. for instance, we hear igbos make statements like: ngwa people are xyz, so this man from ngwa is xyz; or put differently, this man from ngwa is xyz, so ngwa people are xyz. it is of less concern to the people that psychologists declare such statements as stereotypical, or logicians see them as fallacious. what matters is its informative and pragmatic relevance to the people as it reinforces the igbo ethical system, which reminds individuals that their actions or inactions have direct bearing on their community. although this system of thought is not peculiar to the igbos, as it is common in other african cultures, and most recently applied on a broader global stage where diplomatic policies that impact countries are made based on the actions of a few citizens of those countries, it is specially reinforced by igbo values. the biafran agitation biafra is an almost rhomboid shaped territory which is demarcated to the west by the lower reaches of the river niger and its delta, to the east by the obudu plateau and the highlights of oban and ikom, to the south by the bight of biafra and to the north by an administrative boundary following, approximately, the seven (7) deg. n. latitude.89 the biafran region is predominantly occupied by the igbos. the biafran agitation for secession began in 1967 by some igbo nationalists led by lieutenant colonel odimegwu ojukwu who believed they could no longer coexist with nigeria as a result of injustice perpetuated against the igbos. after the coup and counter-coup of 1966 deepened nigeria’s ethnic tensions, an 88 i. a. kanu, “igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity”, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 5 no. 3 (2019), 4. 89 a. u. ebony, “a critical reflection on the biafran agitations and the questions of nigeria amalgamation in 1914.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5 (2017), 61. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 195 approximately 30,000 igbo civilians were killed in the north.90 in search of political solution, ojukwu instigated a meeting with the federal government and northern leaders at aburi, ghana, which agreed to a less centralized union of regions. but on return to nigeria, the federal government reneged on the agreement and unilaterally enacted policies to shortchange the biafra enclave. piqued by this action, ojukwu, on 30 may 1967, declared independence of the republic of biafra, citing the apparent inability of the federal government to protect the lives and properties of the igbos.91 his speech followed the resolution passed on may 27, 1967 by the chiefs, elders, and representatives of eastern nigeria, which reads in parts: whereas we cherish certain inalienable human rights and state obligations such as the right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness; the right to acquire, possess, and defend property; the provision of security; and the establishment of good and just government based on the consent of the governed; whereas in practical demonstration of these beliefs, our people settled in other parts of nigeria, served their country in many capacities, and contributed immensely to the growth and development of nigeria; whereas we are living witnesses of injustices and atrocities committed against eastern nigeria, among which are the premeditated murder of over 30,000 of our innocent men, women, and children by northern nigerians, the calculated destruction of the property of our sons and daughters, the shameless conversion of 2,000,000 eastern nigerians into refugees in their own country, all this without remorse; whereas in consequence of these and other acts of discrimination and injustice, we have painfully realized that the federation of nigeria has failed, and has given us no protection…. now, therefore, in consideration of these and other facts and injustices, we, the chiefs, elders, and representatives of all the twenty provinces of eastern nigeria… hereby solemnly: 1. mandate his excellency lieutenant colonel chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu, military governor of eastern nigeria, to declare at the earliest practicable 90 “nigeria 1967–1970”. armed conflict events database. onwar.com. biafran secession. 16 december 2000, https://web.archive.org/web/20080905090002/http://www.onwar.com/aced/data/bravo/biafra1967.htm, accessed 10 december 2021. 91 b. philips. "biafra: thirty years on". bbc news, (13 january 2000), http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/596712.stm, accessed 10 december 2021. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 196 date eastern nigeria a free, sovereign, and independent state by the name and title of the republic of biafra.92 on the 6th of july 1967, the federal forces, under the leadership of general yakubu gowon, attacked biafra to force it back to the union, and this ignited the civil war. biafra enjoyed independence from 1967 till 1970 when they were defeated by the nigerian forces. although the civil war ended in 1970, the biafran agitation endures, as the problems that led to the war are yet unresolved. in fact, the agitation has over the years birthed three movements with different approaches, but with same ideals and vision.93 these movements include movement for the actualization of the sovereign state of biafra (massob); biafra zionist movement (bzm); and indigenous people of biafra (ipob).94 massob, which was led by ralph uwazuruike, was declared a non-violent agitation, and the leadership advertised a 25-stage plan to achieving its goal peacefully.95 it held rallies, hoisted the biafran flag at significant points in the south east and introduced the biafran currency. massob was accused of inciting violence by the nigerian government, and their leader ralph uwazuruike was arrested and detained on grounds of treasonable offence in 2005, but released in 2007. massob lost its momentum when a large number of its followers were detained and allegedly executed secretly by the nigerian government forces. years later, a uk based lawyer benjamin onwuka, with the support of igbos in diaspora founded the biafra zionist movement. benjamin was a little more diplomatic with his approach. he sent an application to the united nations’ (un) secretariat, dated august 6, 2012 with reference bzm/os./republic of biafra, noting the insecurity of lives and property and a lack of religious freedom/worship as grounds for the application.96 excerpts from the application read thus: it is now abundantly clear that the security of lives and property of the biafran people are no longer guaranteed in the entity called nigeria. it is also very clear that the right of the biafran peoples to peacefully practice 92 c. o. ojukwu. biafra selected speeches and random thoughts of c. odumegwu ojukwu (ny: harper & row, 1969), 191-196. 93 a. u. ebony, a critical reflection on the biafran agitations, 61. 94 a. u. ebony, a critical reflection on the biafran agitations, 61. 95 oneindia, ‘dream of free biafra revives in southeast nigeria’, [media release], 11 july 2006, para. 12, https://www.oneindia.com/2006/07/11/dream-of-free-biafra-revives-in-southeast-nigeria-1152596368.html?story=5, accessed 10 december 2021. 96 c. orji, ‘the biafra zionist movement’, the nation, (6 november 2012), para.6, https://thenationonlineng.net/the-biafra-zionist-movement/, accessed 11 december 2021 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 197 their religion and freedom of association under the united nations charter of freedom of association is no longer safe and guaranteed in the entity called nigeria. therefore, the people of biafra have resolved that on 5th november 2012, we shall be re-declaring our independence and opt of nigeria in order to guarantee and protect the biafran peoples’ right to practice their religion without being killed and bombed.97 the most recent organization in the biafran struggle, however, is the indigenous people of biafra (ipob). like the previous bodies, its main aim is to restore an independent state of biafra in the old eastern region of nigeria, comprising mainly today's south-east and south-south regions of nigeria; and also parts of the middle belt such as benue and kogi states, through an independence referendum.98 nnamdi kanu, a political activist and leader of the ipob group garnered significant media attention to the body through his radio broadcasts. ipob has criticized the nigerian federal government for poor investment, political alienation, inequitable resource distribution, ethnic marginalization, heavy military presence, and extra-judicial killings in the south-eastern, southcentral and parts of north-central regions of the country.99 the movement has succeeded in mobilizing millions of igbo youths worldwide who have been protesting the peace of nigerian embassies and officials around the world.100 their largely peaceful protests in nigeria, has often been broken down by military/police violence which, lead to human casualties. on 19 october 2015, ipob leader kanu was arrested by the nigerian security forces on charges of sedition, ethnic incitement and treasonable felony.101 after he was granted bail, he later fled the country in 2017 when the military launched an attack on his home at afaraukwu, abia state. he was subsequently declared wanted by the government. as a follow-up, the buhari regime in 2017, proscribed and declared 97 c. orji, ‘the biafra zionist movement’, para.6. 98 a. simon, ‘mystery of the missing biafran separatist’, the continent, (6 october 2017), para. 4, https://mg.co.za/article/2017-10-06-00-mystery-of-the-missing-biafran-separatist-1/, accessed 12 december 2021 99 m. o. ‘the dream of biafra lives on in underground nigerian radio broadcasts’, los angeles times, 30 april 2019, para. 8, https://www.latimes.com/world/africa/la-fg-nigeria-war-legacy-20190430-story.html, accessed 11 december 2021 100 a. u. ebony, a critical reflection on the biafran agitations, 61. 101 o. ibeanu, n. orji, k.c. iwuamadi, ‘biafra separatism: causes, consequences and remedies’, researchgate.net, 3 november 2016, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312129707_biafra_separatism_causes_consequences_and_remedies, accessed 11 december 2021 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 198 ipob a terrorist organization, even when virtually the rest of the world refused to follow suit. on june 29, 2021, the nigerian government announced the rearrest of kanu in a rather bizarre manner.102 he has since been remanded by the department of state services, and is answering the charges proffered against him at the court of law. igwebuike ethic: a concrete grounding for biafran agitation as a nation, nigeria is constituted of a pluriformity of cultures, religions, languages and values. the members of each ethnic group are identified and defined by their ethics (acceptable principles of conduct) which are in turn structured by their values. values are implicit and explicit assumptions or beliefs that constitute the foundation of ethical actions.103 owing that all rational choices and decisions originate from underlying values, and given that assumptions or beliefs ―being reflective of values, determine individuals’ actions in specific situations, values are thus, the livewires of societies. little wonder they are held in high esteem. this is perhaps, why conflicts that border on values are a tad more difficult to handle. for over half a century, precisely fifty-two (52) years after the end of the nigerian civil war, the biafran agitation persists not only because the factors that birthed it still exist, but because these factors are at odds with the ethics and values of the igbos of the south east of nigeria. in the preceding section, we established the centrality of igwebuike ethic in the life and values of the traditional igbo. to set forth the basis of the aforesaid grounding in this section, we shall discuss the biafran agitation in the light of the various elements of igwebuike ethic. the traditional igbo community is an egalitarian one akin in various respects to the modern day democracy. the igbos propagated sublime democratic features such as liberty, equality and accountability even before the political system gained traction within the nigerian state. in a typical igbo community, all indigenes have equal rights and powers. these rights, as recently categorized by the undp, include the right to life, freedom of movement, freedom of worship, freedom of speech, right to self-determination, etc. with respect to life, the igbos believe that human life is inherently sacred and precious. this belief is anchored in the understanding that human beings are imago dei (made in the image of 102 p. john, ‘nnamdi kanu rearrested, remanded in dss custody’, hotnaija, 29 june 2021, para. 7, https://www.hotnaija.com.ng/2021/06/nnamdi-kanu-re-arrested-in-uk.html, accessed 10 december 2021 103 c. ogbujah, african cultural values and inter-communal relations: the case with nigeria, developing country studies, 4/24 (2014), 208. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 199 god), and inextricably linked to the divine. everyone has a chi104 that determines the course of their life. hence, if an individual is successful, it is believed that their chi willed it. also, if an individual is unsuccessful it is also believed that it is the will of their chi, as the saying goes: “omere ma chi ya ekweghi, onye uta-atala ya – when one struggles to survive and his chi refuses to assent, he should not be blamed.” chi is the ‘guardian spirit’―a spark of chineke (creator god) which he bequeaths everyone at birth. it is man’s portion of divine being.105 and as possessing a spark of god, every human life is sacrosanct and should not be tampered with by man. unfortunately, the operators of the nigerian state have constantly violated this ethic, or have turned blind eyes to its detractors. right from the early years of independence, the igbos have suffered gross violations, as their sons and daughters have lost their lives to meaningless attacks borne out of prejudices. in 1966, for instance, in what is termed an anti-igbo pogrom, between 8000 – 30000 igbos and other people of southern nigeria living in northern nigeria were massacred.106 this was followed by the 1967 asaba massacre of about 500 men, and the constant targeting of igbo lives and properties in all the riots in northern nigeria till date. in recent times, the terror attacks in igbo states perpetrated by the so-called unknown gunmen (who are widely believed to be state actors), has abruptly ended the lives of many igbo sons and daughters. seeing, as onwuka earlier averred, that the security of their lives and property are no longer guaranteed in the entity called nigeria, and given that individually they could achieve little or nothing, biafrans could not but band together to struggle for survival. thus, the massive support of igbos to the biafran agitation for statehood, is both a manifestation of the realization that there is strength or power in numbers (igwebuike), as well as their collective display of disgust with the violations to one of the core values of igwebuike ethic―sanctity of human life. allied to this are the primordial liberty to function according to one’s choices, and the respect of the inherent dignity of agents of choices. the igbos enjoy unabated freedom of worship. in fact, most families in the traditional society had their various deities and the shrines where they worshiped them in their 104 chi enjoys double signification in igbo ontology: on one hand, it is taken as an ensemble of ‘fortune package’ from god to the individual, which connotes the idea of blind fate; on the other, it is understood as a ‘guardian spirit’ emanating from god―the spark of god in every human being. this later sense depicts chi as the principle of individuation which is strictly personal, indivisible and un-shareable. 105 c. n. ogbujah. the idea of personhood, 132. 106 l. murray, ‘poison and medicine: ethnicity, power and violence in a nigerian city,’ the royal african society, 104/417, (2005), 710. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 200 compounds. this gives vent to other enjoyed freedoms like that of movement, speech, association, etc. today, the igbos are settled in large numbers in virtually all part of the country, and indeed, in almost every corner of the world, especially in places with good economic prospects. a typical igbo enjoys freedom of speech. like in athenian democracy, every opinion of qualified citizens is considered. but unlike in ancient athens, women and youths are allowed to express their views through the various umu ada associations and age groups respectively. however, the opinions of minors, much as in world democracies where only those 18 and above are enfranchised, are usually not solicited for. since the 1966 igbo pogrom in the north, their right to freedom of movement has been drastically limited in nigeria. everywhere they went, they met with discriminations in terms of businesses and job opportunities; resistance in terms of political assimilation, and sometimes, outright violence on their lives and properties. recently, this right’s violation became glaring when seventy-two (72) igbo lagosians were arrested and deported from lagos to onitsha, for no known offence in law, by the lagos state government.107 more so, in 2017, following a successful sit-at-home organised by two pro-biafra groups, ipob and massob, in remembrance of the millions of biafrans that lost their lives during the civil war, the arewa youth consultative forum (aycf) on june 6 issued a three months ultimatum for all igbos in the 19 northern states to vacate the region.108 these constant moves to stifle igbos’ capacity for choices and liberal lifestyle―another core value of igwebuike ethic, have elicited grassroots support for the biafra agitation. in a typical igbo community, all indigenes enjoy equal opportunities and same right to self-determination. in fact, with the absence of monarchs with special privileges and accrued wealth from communal tax payment, the differing factor is hard work. everyone is inclined to work hard because their destiny lies in their hands. there are no handouts for lazy ones. individuals are passionate in the pursuit of their heart’s desires, although with deference to the interests of the community. this hard work has spurred the phenomenal igbo apprenticeship system which, vividly manifests entrepreneurial spirit that is hinged on igwebuike 107 i. nwamaka, ‘deportation of igbos in nigeria: the constitutional implications’, pinnacle sociology & anthropology, vol. 2, no. 3, p.2. 108 e. onyeji, ‘northern youth group which gave igbos ultimatum reviewing its stance’, 24 july 2017, para 6, https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/more-news/238045-northern-youth-group-gave-igbos-ultimatumreviewing-stance.html, accessed 12 december 2021 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 201 ethic. the igbo apprenticeship system (ias) is a business philosophy of shared prosperity that utilizes the induction strategy to initiate young igbos into entrepreneurial projects by already established entrepreneurs from their immediate communities. this igwebuike model has, for the most part, led to meaningful engagement of the youth, economic prosperity and relative peace for the region. however, the granting of unequal opportunities based on primordial affiliations such as ethnicity, language, or religion, and its quasi institutionalization through the ‘federal character’ principle in nigeria, is at odds with igbo value for enterprise and hard work. this flawed system, for the most part, celebrates mediocrity on the grave of competency, and sacrifices meritocracy at the altar of nepotism. it has so pulverized the nation that majority of igbos want to opt out of the union. given that “ideals and values are the lynchpin around which social life flourishes,”109 and owing that igwebuike (strength in numbers) philosophy demands collective responsibility in shielding societal values, it was a matter of “of course” for most igbos to support the biafran agitation. the backing is so robust not just because they believe they must suppress, or at least interfere with any action that seeks to destroy their long-held cherished values and ideals (deontic judgment), but because they believe that to do so is a responsibility judgment―a belief that it is mandatory to suppress or resist such an action. conclusion the term society―living associated with others, is a sociological concept premised on the capacity of members to embrace common values and ideals. it entails a space where divergent individual aspirations which, sometimes can be inimical to common life, are intricately woven or regulated through the enforcement of ideals such as justice, or the enthronement of communal ethic such as igwebuike. in the absence of unifying ideals and values, the assemblage of people will, strictly, not be considered a society, but a rambling mass of individuals reminiscent of hobbesian state of nature.110 values, as essential features of a people, constitute a culture, and are profoundly esteemed by the people. from the foregoing, it is apparent the origin, growth and sustenance of the biafran agitation is profusely immersed in the igwebuike ethic. whilst its 109 c. n. ogbujah. “ideals and values: pivots to meaningful intercultural dialogue,” dialogue and universalism, xxvii/1, (2017), 9. 110 ogbujah. ideals and values, 9. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 202 beginning is traced to the violation of some elements of igwebuike philosophy like ‘biri ma mbiri – live and let live’; ‘onye aghala nwanne ya – people should be protective of their kinsmen,’ etc., its sustenance has largely depended on the realization that there is ‘strength in numbers―igwebuike.’ it is this sublime ethic that has unified the igbos both home and abroad in the fight for freedom and protection of their customs and values. as in identity-related conflicts that are sustained by unifying values, the biafran agitation has been sustained over half a century by the igwebuike ethic. although many may object to the manner by which the ipob pursues its objective, the biafran agitation is an exercise of their basic right to selfdetermination. they want to be stakeholders in determining the course of their lives. remember, it was the politics of inequity and marginalization that birthed and has continued to fuel its support, in the first place. therefore, to seek for lasting solution to the current quagmire, efforts must be made to assuage the pains of these violations. this is not a big ask, since the elements of igwebuike ethic, as we illustrated above, are same as the natural rights echoed by undp, and fostered by true democratic systems of governance. bibliography ebony, a.u., “a critical reflection on the biafran agitations and the questions of nigerian amalgamation in 1914,” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, 3/ 5, (2017), 43-61, https://www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/journal/3.6.5.pdf, accessed 9 december 2021 ibeanu, o., orji, n., & iwuamadi, k.c., ‘biafra separatism: causes, consequences and remedies’, researchgate.net, (3 november 2016), https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312129707_biafra_separatism_c auses_consequences_and_remedies, accessed 11 december 2021 john, p., ‘nnamdi kanu rearrested, remanded in dss custody’, hotnaija, (29 june 2021), https://www.hotnaija.com.ng/2021/06/nnamdi-kanu-rearrested-in-uk.html, accessed 10 december 2021 kanu, i. a., ‘igwebuike and being in igbo ontology’, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, 4/ 5, (2017). kanu, i. a., ‘igwebuike and african ethics’, igwebuikepedia, 2012, https://www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/igwebuikepediaarticles.php?open=25, accessed 7 december 2021 kanu, i. a., ‘igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity,’ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, 5/3, (2019). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 203 kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory socio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kanu, i. a. (2019). on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159176. kanu, i. a. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. krishnamurthy, p., ‘an introduction to ethics’, ssrn electronic journal, (2011), https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228237796_an_introduction_to_eth ics, accessed 7 december 2021 krista mahr, o. a., ‘the dream of biafra lives on in underground nigerian radio broadcasts’, los angeles times, (30 april 2019), https://www.latimes.com/world/africa/la-fg-nigeria-war-legacy-20190430story.html, accessed 11 december 2021 murray, l., ‘poison and medicine: ethnicity, power and violence in a nigerian city,’ the royal african society. vol. 104/417, (2005), 710–711 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 204 ndigbo, ‘these killings in igboland must stop’, vanguard, (october 2021), https://www.vanguardngr.com/2021/10/these-killings-in-igboland-must-stopndigbo/, accessed 11 december 2021 “nigeria 1967–1970”. armed conflict events database. onwar.com. biafran secession. 16 december 2000, https://web.archive.org/web/20080905090002/http://www.onwar.com/ace d/data/bravo/biafra1967.htm, accessed 10 december 2021. nwamaka, i., ‘deportation of igbos in nigeria: the constitutional implications’, pinnacle sociology & anthropology, 2/ 3, (2017). ogbujah, c. n. “ideals and values: pivots to meaningful intercultural dialogue,” dialogue and universalism, xxvii/1, (2017), 67-81. ogbujah, c. n. the idea of personhood. (enugu: snaap press ltd., 2006). ojukwu, c. o. biafra selected speeches and random thoughts of c. odumegwu ojukwu (ny: harper & row, 1969). onebunne, j. i & mirian, n. a., ‘igwebuike, individual freedom and responsibility in african ethics’, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6, no. 9, https://www.acjol.org/index.php/iaajah/article/view/978/963, accessed 7 december 2021 oneindia, ‘dream of free biafra revives in southeast nigeria’, [media release], 11 july 2006, https://www.oneindia.com/2006/07/11/dream-of-free-biafrarevives-in-southeast-nigeria-1152596368.html?story=5, accessed 10 december 2021 orji, c., ‘the biafra zionist movement’, the nation, (6 november 2012), https://thenationonlineng.net/the-biafra-zionist-movement/, accessed 11 december 2021 onyeji, e.,‘northern youth group which gave igbos ultimatum reviewing its stance’, 24 july, 2017, https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/morenews/238045-northern-youth-group-gave-igbos-ultimatum-reviewingstance.html, accessed 12 december 2021 philips, b. “biafra: thirty years on”. bbc news, (13 january 2000), http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/596712.stm, accessed 10 december 2021. simon, a., ‘mystery of the missing biafran separatist’, the continent, 6 october 2017, https://mg.co.za/article/2017-10-06-00-mystery-of-the-missingbiafran-separatist-1/, accessed 12 december 2021 microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 6.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 105 the blessed trinity and igwebuike philosophy chukwuebuka charles ugonwafor, osa cento estudo teologico augustiniano valladolid, spain mccharlesbarth@gmail.com abstract an intent to understand and capture the reality and enigma surrounding the divine trinity presents the theologian with the adventure of having to pass through words like nature, hypostasis, person etc. and it is not an easy adventure because there is the tension of maintaining balance in the “paradox” of unity and plurality , one and three, nature and personhood. but a perfect trinitarian theology should be able to highlight, emphasize and centralize that in the divine life there exist a community of persons bounded in love. this work intends to express the presence of igwe-bu-ike in the life of the blessed trinity, this way elevating igwebuike to divinity and drawing inspiration from it for humanity. introduction in this time of ours of advancing technologies and social innovation, there is this certitude in the minds of people of the surge of new things on one hand but on the other hand, there exist a certain doubt of having something new on coming aboard. but in spite of the doubt, our time has demonstrated that new grounds will continue to be broken, new realities explored, new ideas and books, new trends. the term igwebuike, is not a new word in the igbo lexicon but yes, it is, in the circle of african philosophy and its birth is owed to the academic midwifery of professor kanu ikechukwu anthony96. an article igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy97, appeared in 2016 making case that the concept of igwebuike should be part of what constitutes african 96 this article is dedicated to professor kanu ikechukwu anthony, osa (bsc. rel., uni. jos; b. phil., urban. rome; m.a. rel., unizik; m.a. phil., unn; ph.d. rel. unizik) priest of the order of st. augustine, president association for the promotion of african studies, on the occasion of his 10 th priestly anniversary. 97 kanu, i. a. “igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2, no 1, march 2016. pp. 108-113 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 106 philosophy as it tends to bridge the gap between various divergent trends in african philosophy, especially the particularist and the universalist schools of african thought. kanu states this, making reference to harmony as a fundamental principle that describes the core of the african spirit upon which a new school of thought would be built, in other to bring about the desired convergence and complementation among the trends of african philosophy. this new school of thought is enshrined in the term-igwebuike98. igwebuike, as posited by professor kanu, brings to the academic circle, the power of uniting various tributaries and schools of thought but most importantly, it is its capacity to relate with the human person in different scopes and perspectives, that cuts across the human person as a being in history: a being in history that is social, political and religious. thus, igwebuike by it is relationship with the human person, can be said to be on one side immanent and transcendent on the other. another important feature of professor kanu´s igwebuike is that it springs from a socio-historical context but its origin does not impede her wide-reaching effect. igwebuike is a word that affirms its igbo origin but its connotation, meaning and perspective is not restricted by either geographical or political boundaries; it is not withheld by racial colors or nationalistic creeds. its modus operandi is based on the human person. owing to various theological inputs and reflections especially on the blessed trinity, there exists a trend of studying the three personsthe father, the son and the holy spiritnot so much in the terminologies of ousia, physis, hypostasis of the first councils of the church99 rather from the doctrinal social dimension of the 98 kanu, a, ibid. 110-111 99 moltmann, j. trinidad y reino de dios: la doctrina sobre dios, ediciones sígueme, salamanca, 1983 pp. 166-168 highlights the problem of the symbol of faith of the ancient church in its dogmatic formulation of the blessed trinity, by trying to answer the two questions that arise at the time of interpreting their significance, concretely on the council of nicene´s homousios and the athanasian thesis of unus deus. the first question is formulated as thus: “the father, the son and the holy spirit are they one in possession of the same divine substance or identical in the same divine subject?” the second question is postulated, “the unity of the three distinct persons does it consist in the homogeneity of the divine substance that is common to them or does it consist in the sameness and identity of a unique divine subject?” the responses he gave to these questions made him arrive at drei-einigket tri-unity as presented in the biblical testimony of the three persons at work in the life of jesus christ. this unity, according to him, “is to be understood as a consequence of the union of the three person that is open, integrating… the union of the trinity that is given by the community of the father, the son and the holy spirit. the difference in their personality is the virtue of their unity, hence personhood and sociability constitute two aspects of the same reality. the unity of god is to be situated in the perichoresis of the divine persons and not in the trinitarian level of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 107 trinity. this trend intends to study the trinity from the communitarian-relations that exist among the three persons of the blessed trinity. the theology of the catholic church holds that the blessed trinitygod the father, god the son and god the holy spiritis at the zenith of the hierarchy of revealed truths in the catholic theology. it has been a subject of discussion over the ages since the inception of christianityboth within and outside of her ecclesial circle. this is a mystery, but not an occultic reality on one handoccult here in the sense of being hidden – because it has been revealed to us historically in that god is a true personal interlocutor of man and this expressed in his capacity to speak by himself (gen. 1:3), to reveal his name (ex. 3:13ff)100 and definitively, in the person of jesus christ (cf. heb. 1:1-2; mt. 3:16-17; 28:19). it is not, on the other hand, a gnostic phenomenon reserved only for a selected few rather it is for all men, an invitation to participate in the divine life. this mystery is made manifest through its continual gradual revelation in through the body of christ, the church in journey to its definitive eschaton. hence in this work, there are two distinct concepts: igwebuike and the blessed trinity. the aim of which is to present a global vision of what professor kanu makes of this igbo concept and then use the fundamental elements of igwebuike to talk about the existent communion in the trinity as igwebuike per excellence, the trinitarian perichoresis as the highest and best form of igwebuike. the reflections will not just be centered on the divine persons because effort will be made to see the anthropological implication that this divine igwebuike has for the human person. part i: igwebuike and its implications individual homogeneity of the divine substance be it the sameness of the absolute subject (tritheism) or in one of the person of the three (radical monotheism)”. 100 ratzinger, j introducción al cristianismo, ediciones sígueme, salamanca, 2016 pp. 111-113 in stating the idea of a name, draws a line between a name and a concept. the latter is tended to express the essence of a thing in itself, while the former is directed towards making it possible for something to be summoned or called upon. the idea of a name lies in its capacity to create a relationship, a nameless reality does not have that relational possibility. it is in naming a thing or somebody, that one can actually talk of co-existence. this is the significance of god revealing his name to moses, to be made accessible to and coexist with his people. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 108 a. comprehending igwebuike the first part of the work looks to present what igwebuike means both as a word and as a philosophical principle. it has been mentioned that the word ¨igwebuike¨ has its origin in the igbo language. therefore, on one hand, whatever interpretation that is sought and any attempt at defining it must have its bearing in the igbo lexicon. on the other hand, we must give attention too, to what professor kanu has defined igwebuike to be in his papers that are related to this topic. by doing so, we can be sure of having a global view of what igwebuike is. i. root definition of igwebuike igwebuike is made up of three wordsigwe bu ike and depending on the context of its use it could be a sentence (igwe bu ike) or a single word (igwebuike). igwe is a noun which means number or population. bu is a verb which means is. ike is also a noun that means strength and power. these words put together gives us the literal translation as number is strength or number is power. in unity, there is strength. technically, it makes reference to the strength in solidarity and complementarity especially that which (should) exist(s) in human society and relations101. the anecdote of a man who tried to unite his two warring sons on his deathbed, could also help in understanding what igwebuike stands for. the reference to solidarity and complementarity should not be interpreted as collectivism-communism, whereby the individual subject makes no impact and is only given the sense of belonging based on the collective whole-a phenomenon that exists in communist countries. ii. professor kanu and igwebuike through his academic prowess, professor kanu has been able to draw so many implications of what igwebuike is and stands for and this can be found in the numerous articles and paper presentations he has been engaged in. 101 kanu, i. a “igwebuike and the question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. p. 108. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 109 professor kanu posits that igwebuike is at the heart and the underlying principle of african philosophy and that it is also a mode of being in african ontology. this he buttresses through presenting that, igwebuike as an african principle, is built upon various facets of the typical african socio-cultural background102. the sources of igwebuike philosophy are: african proverbs, african folktales, african myths, african symbols, african songs, african names and professional african philosophers. these facets, although not being philosophies in themselves, are not denied their inherent philosophical capacities through the help of hermeneutic interpretation that capacitates the passage to philosophy from culture103. another perspective from which professor kanu has elaborated on igwebuike is that of ontology from the african viewpoint. igwebuike for him is a mode of being, uzo idi this mode is characterized by being in relation to otherness (others). igwebuike, for professor kanu paves way for complementarity in human relations. this is because the human persons, being limited and finite entities, need to depend on each other for their temporal flourishing. this modality of being, igwebuike has its virtual presentation in the african setting that points to the community as the center. professor kanu buttresses the creed “i am because others are” or “i am because we are” to imply that the community favors the identity of the individual and not its negation104. also, we can add that, the interpretation of igwebuike as a mode of being in the igboafrican setting underlines the attitude and belief of belonginess105. if in the scope of african ontology, professor kanu refers to igwebuike as being in relation to otherness, it takes up a new line of hermeneutic interpretation at 102 kanu, i. a “sources of igwebuike philosophy: towards a socio-cultural foundation” traditional african personality, identity and philosophy: challenges and ways forward. 5 th international annual conference of the association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars, 28 th -30 th june 2017, school of postgraduate studies conference hall, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka anambra state, nigeria. p.1 103 kanu, i. a ibid. pp. 1-4 104 kanu, i. a “igwebuike and being in igbo ontology” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 4 no. 5 november 2018. pp. 18-19 105 cf. kanu, i. a towards an igbo-african christology: a cultural christological construct in post missionary africa, lap lambert academic publishing, mauritius, 2017. p. 93 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 110 the port of african sociopolitical trend. this is enshrined by the term, inclusivity. in his article, “igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development” professor kanu made it known that out of the 100 appointments made by muhammadu buhari in 2015, 81% of those appointments went to the north while the south received an underwhelming 19%, this presents a vivid act of favoring some geo-political zones of the country over others106. this is directly opposed by igwebuike that stands for an all-round, comprehensive and balanced development of nation. professor kanu avers that for the success and progressive development of a nation that is diverse in groups and cultures (which is a good thing), its leadership must be inclusive and he does this by presenting the example of the success story of singapore by lee kuan yew107. an inclusive style of leadership and governance according to professor kanu must: • discover those circumstances that can help the people feel secured and preserved in their ethnicity. • imbibe a federal character that upholds coexistence, equality, individual freedom, autonomy of and respect for the culture of ethnic groups. • put in effort to engrave in the constitution various possibilities that assists in preserving human rights and promoting human development108. b. values of igwebuike from what has been presented in the foregone, one can deduce that igwebuike, as a philosophical principle, can have various positive implications in the human society and by the way of summarizing the definition and elucidations given above, few points shall be raised as to the values of igwebuike. unity: this concept is one of the fundamental ideas that lies behind the message of igwebuike. the term, unity is defined as “the state of being in agreement and 106 kanu, i. a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no. 6 september 2017. pp. 36-42. 107 kanu, i. a cites lee kuan yew in “igwebuike as an igboafrican philosophy of inclusive leadership” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no. 7 december 2017. p. 166. 108 kanu, i. a ibid. p.179 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 111 working together; the state of being joined together to form one unity”109. igwebuike buttresses the fact that it is a principle that deals with human relations, it seeks to make an impact among people, so as to set their sight on common goals that really matter. it is in this fundamental idea that human relations are made better and a strengthened. the igbo people also have other concepts that make reference to this call to unity, for example, “a nyụkọ maamịrị ọnụ, ọ gbọọ ụfụfụ” (unity is strength), “egbe bere, ugo bere, nke sị ibe ya ebela, nku kwaa ya” (live and let live)110. complementarity: professor kanu states succinctly that the principle of complementarity is the underlying principle of the igwebuike philosophy111. it is important to restate the communitarian undertone to igwebuike as earlier mentioned. igwebuike is community and communion, and this is lived without trying to suppress the individual at the expense of the whole. the intent of understanding igwebuike from its communitarian feature, should give the sensation of not being extremist in discussing the community at the expense of the individual, neither is it to be permitted to be excessively dependent on the individual subject to the extent of the community becoming the individual or 109 wehmeier, s. (ed) oxford advanced learner’s dictionary. new york: oxford university press. 2005. p. 1614 110 kanu, a. i towards an igboafrican christology: a cultural christological construct in post missionary africa, lap lambert academic publishing, mauritius, 2017. p. 91-94. the egbe bere, ugo bere, nke sị ibe ya ebela, nku kwaa ya ideology has been interpreted by professor kanu in the light of relations between persons in the community especially from the viewpoint of belonging or to being part of a community as it is found in the igbo cultural setting. the concept of belonging “re-enacts the contents and significance of belongingness as the essence and hermeneutic core of reality”. this is in no way a contrast understanding to the idea of unity that is embedded in egbe bere, ugo bere… that of which igwebuike also transmits, rather what we have in these words and principles is the advantage of being able to generate pluriform and multifaceted interpretations that do not contradict themselves. secondly, we must affirm that following the what has been said, unity and belonginess are both implied because to belong presupposes unity on one hand, while unity is the outward manifestation of belonging. 111 kanu, a. i “igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no.7, december 2017. pp 116-117. he avers complementation as bringing together or summing up distinct or similar things to make a new meaning, outlook or phenomenon. igwebuike perceives reality as an interrelation of its segment and that the whole is greater than its corresponding parts. he uses the analogy of the fingers to buttress that every being needs the other for its self-realization because the self is not realized in isolation. each individual finger cannot do so much as when the five fingers unite in function. we can draw further inspiration by using the melody from the piano sound that is better when both hands (ten fingers) are in agreement. but again, much more do we appreciate the melody of the piano that is played with not just with both hands but also accompanied with the foot pedals operated by both feet. therefore, in igwebuike there is a strong sense of complementarity, complementarity that is a point of fulfillment for being. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 112 vice versa. it is important to affirm that in the community, the “i” factor and the “we” factor complement each other. it is worth mentioning that in the igbo culture, the person has his dignity and exercises it within the community. some names like azubuike, ikemba, among others give the sensation that a person cannot live in isolation but with the support of the community. this is not to say that the thinking of the igbo does not value a person's autonomy (i.e. radical collectivism). there is need to make it clear that the community, in igbo culture, does not deny the individual the characteristic of being unique, the community does not prevent the development of the individual nor does it discourage personal initiatives and self-reliance. that the man is considered as unique, therefore matchless, special and inimitable, does not mean that man is totally free and existentially alone in this world112. solidarity: this is another feature that is implicit in igwebuike philosophy. if in the complementarity complex we buttressed the coming together of diverse or same entities to form a new phenomenon, in solidarity we find the fulcrum on which complementarity functions, that is the idea that man is a social being, capable of complementation and simultaneously in need of it (complementation), that is realized in union with the “thou” of other men and of the community (cf. gaudium et spes, 25). the principle of solidarity affirms the relation among human persons, social groups and the society, expressing the anthropological and ethical union among each and every person. it is also the call to everyone to be ethically responsible for other members of the society113. we can affirm therefore that solidarity is synonymous to and the effect of fraternity. this concept of solidarity is experienced in the igbo setting and igwebuike embodies this phenomenon, this we see in various elements of socialization in the igbo cultural setting: ezi n’ulo 112 agulanna, c (citing, chinua achebe) community and human well-being in an african culture. “trames. journal of the humanities and social science”. 2010.3.05 p. 294 113 galindo, g. a moral socioeconomica, biblioteca de autores cristianos, madrid 2016. p. 16. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 113 (the family), umunna (the clan), ndi ọgbọ (the age grade system)all of these have solidarity written all over them. to conclude this segment, we have drawn interpretations and implications of the igwebuike philosophy from its root significance and professor kanu’s insightful contributions. the multifaceted characteristic of this principle is made obvious by the different values that have been inferred from its strength-in-unity baseline. these values are not divergent nor contradictory, rather each value makes way for another to build on it, this goes on to demonstrate that the igwebuike principle, which professor kanu moves for, is ingrained in the natural structure of human relationship and socio-political progress. part ii: the blessed trinity: personhood, relations, perichoresis and triunity. the second part of this work will treat the question of the blessed trinity in the manner that it relates with the igwebuike theme hence the exclusion of the presentation of the historical evolution progress of the dogma of the blessed trinity. in its stead, we shall make case as to what the concept of person is, for this is the foundation that enables us to understand the relations that exists in the life of the blessed trinity. in perichoresis, we shall underline the communion and community of life of the three divine persons and the implications of this perichoretic characteristic of god the father, god the son and god the holy spirit. a. the concept of the person. we are meant to understand that the concept of the person as we have it today is indissolubly bound with theology and most especially as a product of the patristic thought114 and from the church’s endeavor to give expression to its faith 114 zizioulas, j. d being as communion: studies in personhood and the church st. vladimir’s seminary press, new york 1985 pp. 27-35. he presents the problem of the greek and roman conception of the person. the greeks have been presented by many writers, according to zizioulas, as possessing essentially a “non-personal” point of view and that this mode is enshrined both in the platonic and aristotelian philosophies. the platonic philosophy failed to achieve the concept of the person because it was interested in demonstrating that everything concrete and individual is a reflection of the abstract idea that constitutes its ground and final justification, therefore the person is an ontological impossibility because what determines its permanence ( the soul, the abstract idea) is not in any way united permanently with the concrete individual man. the aristotelian philosophy, on the other hand, laid its emphasis on the concrete, the individual and so could not provide any grounds for permanence nor continuity. the soul is intimately united with the individual man in that it ceases to exist when the individual man is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 114 in the triune god and this was done by identifying the hypostasis with the person. the term hypostasis did not have the same connotation as the term persona, for while the former was used to refer to the term substance, the latter was understood as a mask. therefore, there was need for the persona to be modified in its perception, hence it came to be understood as an existence that is proper, untransferable and unconfused115. in the question of the defining what a person is we shall examine the postulation of various theologians who have made input towards this topic. st. augustine (354-430): he made reference to the difficulties that existed in his time of the application and the usage of hypostases, ousia, prosopon. to this end he aligned himself with the latin postulation of one essence or substance, three persons. the father, the son and the holy spirit (the gift of god) are referred to as persons and this is for the reason of not being silent and not so much about defining the blessed trinity because human language is impoverished to come up with a better term116. st. augustine did not define directly what a person is, rather it is inferred from his explanation, that a person is an individual and singular entity117. destroyed by death. the reason for the greek thought’s inability to find permanence for the human individuality according to zizioulas (p.29) is rooted in the ontological monism that characterized the greek philosophy from inception. this ontological monism has the cosmos as its center, that portrays the harmonious relationship of existent things among themselves hence everything is determined and it is impossible for freedom to operate as an absolute and unrestricted claim to existence. it is in this ambience that the person, prosopon is defined, in that it is the mask that man wears, something which is without ontological content. the person, in the ancient roman thought, is conceived solely from the sociological perspective, that is, man’s ability to relate with others in the society and the different roles he carries out in the society for the good of the state. the individual person owes his or her freedom and identity to the organized whole, the state. hence “persona is the role which one plays in one’s social or legal relationships, the moral or “legal” person which either collectively or individually has nothing to do with the ontology of the person” (p. 34). in other to arrive at an identification of the person with the being of man, zizioulas averred that there was a need for “a radical change in cosmology that would free the world and man from ontological necessity and secondly a need for an ontological view of man which would unite the person with the being of man, with his permanent and enduring existence, with his genuine and absolute identity”. the first task was resolved by the biblical outlook of the creation and the christians perception to it while the second will be done by the use of the greek thought’s interest in ontology (p.35). 115 moltmann, j. op. cit p. 187. zizioulas, j. d op. cit pp. 36-39 116 cf. de trinitate v, ix, 10. 117 cf. de trinitate vii, vi, 11 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 115 boethius: the definition that was given by him is still referred to as a classical one persona est naturae rationalis individua substantia, a person is an individual substance of a rational nature118. luis ladaria posits that this definition came about from a christological context and so it is not directly trinitarian and from the definition he underlines two elements. first is the role of substance in the definition that tends to not only point to the underlying fundament of being but also its characteristic of being individualized and not interchangeable. the second is the role of the rational nature, that helps to specify the individuality of man, in that it is by the virtue of the rational nature that man experiments the incommunicability of each individual119. richard of st. victor: against the difficulty of tritheism that arose at the time of applying boethius’ definition to the persons of the blessed trinity, richard postulated the definition of the person as an incommunicable existence of a rational nature120 by this way, he substituted the term substance for existence. to be a person is to exist, existence is to be understood as subsistence in relation to the other, therefore, each person of the blessed trinity, by the virtue of the love that is found among them, receives the fullness of the eternal life from others121. st. thomas aquinas: in his summa, we find a reformulation of the boethian concept of the person. for st. thomas, a person signifies what is most perfect in all nature that is, a subsistent individual of a rational nature and that this name is applied to god in the most excellent meaning of the word122. two features, therefore, constitute personhood for aquinas: subsistence and intelligence. the sense of substance in the definition of boethius, is seen to signify selfsubsistence, while the possession of rational nature is meant to signify an intelligent nature and not as a discursive thought123. the implication of the 118 cf. liber de persona et duabus naturis, 3 (pl 64, 1343). 119 el dios vivo y verdadero: el misterio de la trinidad, secretariado trinitario, salamanca. 2010 4 . p. 358. 120 de trinitate, iv 23 121 moltmann, j. op.cit p. 189. 122 sth. i 29, 3 123 sth. i 29, 3 ad 4 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 116 definition of person by st. thomas takes a new turn under the lenses of relations. he recognizes the difficulty that has come with the connotation of the person in the discussion of the blessed trinity as to whether it implies essence directly or indirectly on one hand and relation directly or indirectly. since distinction in god is only by relation of origin and this relation is not as an accident in a subject rather by its divine essence (by the virtue of its substance), a divine person signifies relation as subsisting124. in the divine life, the concept of the person signifies self-donation and aperture, it is in relation that the three persons are distinguished. this distinction is not by anyway to mean separation rather it is relation and self-giving to the other. the father, the son and the holy spirit are by the virtue of their relation, a perfect communion125. jürgen moltmann: the content of the definition of a person revolves around his intent to present a social doctrine of the trinity from biblical testimonies that demonstrates the history of the communitarian relations of the trinity126. according to moltmann, we must determine the union of the three person from biblical history and this will lead us to understand the union of the father, the son and the holy spirit as openness, integrative. to be in union, for moltmann, means to be a person, the concept of a person implies relationship and union, therefore personhood and relation with the other are two aspects of the same reality127. joseph ratzinger: to confess god as a person, is necessarily to confess him as relation, communicability, fecundity. with this enunciation, he goes on to explain the second thesis of the implication of the blessed trinity from a positive sense. he goes on to give us the literal meaning of the greek’s prosopon and the latin’s persona both which have the undertone of communicability that is directed towards something, that its indication of relation. to refer the concept of person to god in the absolute sense of the word for ratzinger, does not mean absolute 124 sth. i 29, 4 125 ladaria, l. f op.cit p. 363 126 op. cit p. 33 127 op.cit pp. 167-168. 189-190. cf. ladaria, l. f la trinidad, misterio de communion p. 108 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 117 singularity, rather in the triple personality of god, it demonstrates that he supersedes the human personhood of man128. john d zizioulas: he drew inspiration from the cappadocian fathers (st. basil especially) to postulate that the divine life of god as the father, the son and the holy spirit is owed not to the substance rather to one personthe father. the being of god is identified with a person (the father) and that it this personal existence that constitutes his substance129. to further buttress his existential point that god exists on the account of a person and not on the account of being substance, he avers that god exists as a person because: (a). he possesses an absolute ontological freedom that is uncreated and unbound by “necessity130” (b). he affirms and exercises this ontological freedom by transcending and abolishing the ontological necessity and replaces this necessity with the free selfaffirmation of divine existence. (c). he is unique and unrepeatable as father that is eternally distinguished from that of the son and of the spirit. the son is immortal because of his being the “only-begotten”. the spirit is life-giving because he is communion. the life of god is eternal because it is personal and realized as an expression of free communion, as love. life and love are identified in the personhood of god131. all these could be summarized in this manner: “that the father is a person that generates otherness from his being that is identified with freedom and love. the central theme of zizioulas’ trinitarian thought is the person and not the substance. the father is the personal and ontological origen of the blessed trinity”132. from st. augustine to st. thomas aquinas, it is believed that there is a thread that moves from underlining characterization of a person from the standpoint of substance to the gradual unravelling of the person as a relation this was as a 128 op. cit p. 151 129 op. cit p. 41 130 by “necessity” zizioulas is making reference to other created realities that exist side by side with the human person at the time of expressing his/her freedom. 131 op. cit pp. 42-49 132 tapia, m. s el misterio de dios: la trinidad. la unidad divina y la comunión trinitaria. (unpublished lecture note). estudio teológico agustiniano, valladolid, 2018. p.6 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 118 result of the effort to salvage both the trinitarianchristological part of the faith of the church from the heretics. we are not to be oblivious of the direction of thought in the modern era that sought to redefine various concepts and concretely, the concept of person. it sought to give it a new appraisal stemming from the anthropological point of view, which has affected the reflection and comprehension of the person both in philosophy and theology. b. the relations in the blessed trinity. the question of the relations that exists in the internal life of the blessed trinity is said to have its origin in the processions of the son and the holy spirit with respect to the father. the vision of the fathers of the 4th and 5th century commencing with st. athanasius, developed in the east by gregory of nazianzen and by augustine in the west, consists in stating that the differences that we find in the blessed trinity is not owed to the substance rather by the virtue of their intra-divine relations133. let us examine st. augustine’s thought on this theme. in the fifth book of de trinitate, we read augustine, who proves his resourcefulness against the heretics of his time, to whom with all intent tried to reduce the divinity of the son in respect to that of the father. a fundamental metaphysical truth is that in god there is no accidental feature, he is pure substance, ousia. the arian heretics in accepting that in god no accident can be found predicated the concept of unbegotten and begotten as two different substances, therefore the father and the son are not of the same substance134. augustine in quoting jn 10:30, established that the son had already affirmed the unity between himself and the father, which means that they both are one and consubstantial. it is not the same when these two concepts of unbegotten and begotten are predicated because they are not to be understood in the substantial 133 kasper, w. el dios de jesucristo, ediciones sígueme, salamanca, 1986. p. 318 134 de trini. v, ii, 4 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 119 sense rather in the sense of relation and this relation is predicated in the being of god that is absolute perfection135. given this possibility of relation, whatever is said or predicated of the trinity is said of each person of the blessed trinity but he adverts against referring to the trinity as just the father or the son or the holy spirit. although following the logic that god is spirit and at same time holy, it is possible to call the trinity, holy spirit but there is a line to this because the holy spirit is also in the trinity and so it is not the trinity. the holy spirit is the ineffable communication of the father and the son136. st. thomas aquinas is another theologian that has made case for the relations in the life of the blessed trinity. he defines relation as only what refers to another, it is the regard of one to another, according as one is relatively opposed to the other137. since it is from the processions that we have the relations in the life of the trinity, st. thomas138 helps us state that there are only two processions: the procession of the word (generation) and the procession of love (spiration) and from these two we have four relations, viz: • the relation of the father with the son: active generation (generare), paternity. • the relation of the son with the father: passive generation (generari), filiation. • the relation of the father and the son with the holy spirit: active spiration (spirare). • the relation of the holy spirit with the father and the son: passive spiration. • walter kasper gives a concise explanation that helps to understand better what has been presented in the foregone. he avers that 135 de trin .v,v,6 136 de trin. v, xi, 12. 137 sth. i, 28, a 1.3 138 sth i, 27, a 4 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 120 only three of the four relations actually help to create a distinction among the three persons and that is paternity, filiation and passive spiration. the active spiration is not to be seen as distinct because the father and the son are not two source from which the holy spirit proceeds, rather that both, the father and the son, are a common origin of the holy spirit, meanwhile the passive spiration refers to the father and son as distinct from the holy spirit. therefore, in god, by the virtue of the two processions, there are three oppositions and an original foundation of a dialogic and relational reference of the father, the son and the holy spirit in the history of salvation139. after all of what has been put down, it is pertinent and not out of place to ask the consequence(s) the assertions on the relations in god have for us. firstly, i would like to stand with the affirmation of ratzinger who averred that in god there exists a dialogical dynamism, thanks to the distinction and the relation of the three. the ability to dialogue and to relate, together with the concept of substance is a primordial form of being. the virtue of relation does not create a multiplicity of divine substances in god, rather, in the god one and undivided, there is the phenomenon of dialogue, of relation between the word and love, it is their relationship that constitutes the unity of the divine essence. the person is a pure relation of reference towards the other and nothing more. to be a person implies the capacity of being referable140. luis ladaria141 summarizes this as the theology of relation in god. an enumeration of the points he raised with regards to this theology. • the relations in god implies the fullness of life and communion. • the relations in god have their origins and their end in the divine life of the blessed trinity. that is the relationship of the father (paternity), the son (filiation) and the holy spirit (spiration) only has its starting and terminal points within the life of the trinity and not outside of it. 139 op. cit p. 318. 140 op. cit p. 154ss 141 el dios vivo… pp. 353-354. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 121 • the relations are eternal as the being of god, this implies that there is no chronological difference between the being of god and the relations of god. c. perichoresis and tri-unity the term perichoresis can be summarily understood as the interpenetration, coinherence or co-indwelling of the divine persons (cf. jn 10:30; 14:9; 17:21). it is believed that gregory of nazianzen in letter 101, 6, was the first to use this terminology when he was making reference to the union of the divine and human natures in jesus christ. it was later adopted by john damascene for the divine persons. the term was translated in the latin circle as circumisessio referring to a dynamic interpenetration of the divine persons, another terminology is circuminsessioreferring to a static mutual presence142. perichoresis is understood to mean that the three divine person do not only subsist in the common divine essence but also that they exist in their mutual relationship with others, living in and through the other. the father exists in the son, the son exists in the father and both of them in the holy spirit just as the holy spirit exists in the father and the son. this reality is made possible by the eternal love that each offers to the other two143. gisbert greshake alludes to the importance of interpreting the trinity as communion. for him “that god is one and triune signifies that god is a communion by which the three divine persons, in an interchanging trilogy of love, express the one divine life as a reciprocal communication of themselves”. communio for gisbert is a process of mediation between unity and plurality. in this communion there is conjunction, auto-unification, auto-differentiation144. perichoresis emphasizes a presence that points to inhabitation, unity and distinction. the inhabitation of these three persons reciprocates, expresses and 142 kasper, w op.cit p.323 143 moltmann, j. op. cit p. 191 144 el dios uno y trino: una teologia de la trinidad, biblioteca herder, barcelona. pp. 223-248 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 122 realizes in the best manner, the unity of the persons in their distinction145. therefore, to affirm the perichoretic relation of the divine persons means to give credence to the unity of persons and unicity of the divine essence. it is important to state also that the unicity and union of the three divine persons do not eliminate the distinction that exists by their virtue of their relation, for each of them maintains his individual distinctive identity. part iii: the blessed trinity, igwebuike’s best representation from all that has been presented in parts i and ii, it will not be difficult to affirm that the underlining thesis of this work is that the blessed trinity, the community of the divine persons of the father, the son and the holy spirit, is both the divine form of igwebuike and its origin par excellence. by this affirmation, we are not making an assertion that drives off the igbo-african identity from igwebuike, rather we are opening up another vista that affirms the originality and validity of the content of the trend that professor kanu has thrown into the academic fray. hence, we can also look at understanding a certain theology of igwebuike that has its starting point in the blessed trinity. to be able to carry out the task before us, we shall talk about the salvific actions of the blessed trinity to man. the end to this, is to state that the trinity, with scriptural support, is characterized as a communion and a community that is open to sharing its divine life with man and later, we shall reflect on the lessons of the theology of igwebuike for human relations. a. the blessed trinity and the history of salvation. i. god the father, creator and origin of all things. the invocation of god with the name “father” constitutes one of the original phenomena of the history of religions. the general conception in the ancient babylonian and assyrian religions is that the divine is the father, origin and ultimate destiny of all. to be denominated as father, meant origin and principle of all things by a physical generation of things. the concept of father is adopted in the old testament but in reference to god, there is no attribution of any 145 tapia, m. op. cit p. 11 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 123 physical/material generation of things from him as perceived in the ancient religions146. but in christ, we experience the grace of the adoptive filiation, through him who introduced us to call godfather (cf. eph. 1:5; gal. 4:4-5; jn. 1:12-13; mt. 6:9-13). moltmann asks, who is the father? his response takes off from the strong emphasis that the paternity of the first person of the blessed trinity be understood exclusively in the ambience of the trinity and in relation to the son, this is the christian idea of the paternity of the first person of the trinity. the application of “father” with respect to the created reality springs from the christian’s understanding that the father created through his son, therefore, it is right to say that it is only in reference to the son that the first person of the trinity becomes our father. the father, in the trinitarian circle, is the origin without beginning, principium sine principio of the son and the holy spirit147. the old testament makes reference to god as the god of abraham, isaac and jacob148and also refers to israel as his people, his firstborn son (ex. 4:22; hos. 11:1; jer. 31:9). the paternity of god and the filiation is not based on some mythological fables or of a natural genealogy rather it is a relation made possible by the virtue of election and vocation, which the people experienced through the salvific action wrought for them by yhwh in history149. in the new testament, we have references that points to the father, most of which were made in relation to jesus christ. in the synoptic gospels, jesus refers to god as “my fathermt 11, 25-27” and to his disciples he uses “your father mt 6, 8.14”. this qualification by jesus is said to be related with the central theme 146 kasper, w op.cit p.166. 147 op. cit 179-182 148 ratzinger, j. op. cit 103-104 interprets this as the manifestation of the personhood which makes it take a different dimension from the pagan’s conception of divinity. for while the pagans’ divinity is inclined to a being restricted to a geographical vicinity. the god of abraham, isaac and jacob is a god who shows and manifests his operational presence wherever men are found, a god who is comprehended on the level of i-thou relation and not of a geographical location. in this we see the clear manifestation of the personhood of god. 149 kasper, w. op.cit p. 167. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 124 of his kerygmathe kingdom of god, one that is characterized by the love and graciousness of the father150. st. paul is fond of using the term god and father in his salutations and epilogues (cf. 1 thes. 1:1; gal. 1:3). these expressions are said to have originated from the liturgy of the christian community. paul makes it clear to us that we are children of the father by the virtue of the sonship of jesus christ (rom. 8,15; gal. 4,6). the paternity of god signifies liberty and freedom for those who have been called to be children, hence, they cease to be slaves (gal. 4,1; rom 8,15) and this liberty is expressed and demonstrated in love and service to others (gal 5, 13). the johannine tradition also gives us the perspective of the paternity of god to signify the origin and content of the revelation made manifest by son. this is jesus’ task, to reveal who reveal who the father is to men so that they in turn are made children by believing in the revelation of god (jn 1, 12-13). the father is the one who commends the mission to the son (jn. 5, 43) and this mission is to make known the name of the father (jn. 17, 6.26). ii. god the son, mediator and redeemer. the son is the first receptor of the father’s love and this has been confirmed through the new testament texts of mk. 1,11; mt. 3, 17; lk. 3, 24 during the baptism of jesus christ and also in the recount of the episode of the transfigurationmk. 9,7; mt 17,5; lk 9,35. st. paul refers to the son of god as the one who liberated us from sin (col. 1,13). the gospel of st. john also makes reference to the love that exists between the father and the son (jn. 3, 35; 5, 20; 10,17; 15, 9; 17, 23-24.26). in general, tapia sanchez151 helps us understand in what manner the son of god is presented to us in the new testament. according to him, the significance of 150 ibid. p. 169 151 tema iii: la doctrina sobre dios en el nuevo testamento. estudio teologico agustiniano, valladolid. 2018 (unpublished lecture note) pp 8-13 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 125 term “the son” in the synoptic tradition indicates that jesus christ is the one sent by the father. it is in him the definitive filiation of israel is realized. in the johannine tradition, the prologue of the gospel gives us the insight of the preexistence of the logos, the son, that indicates that the son exists in an intimate union with the father and the holy spirit. it is through the testimony of the son that men have come to know the father and by that, come into union with the father (jn 2, 22-24). the pauline tradition affirms the pre-existence and the incarnation of the son by whom we are made adopted sons of the father and this was made possible by the virtue of his kenosis (phil 2,6; 2 cor 8, 9; gal. 4, 5). there are four aspects to which the second person of the blessed trinity is perceived in the new testament: • ontological perspective-this refers to the essential characteristics of christ with respect to the father. this is an independent reality from creation. it is the affirmation of the homousios-ness in divine substance. • functional perspectivethis is the christocentric dimension of his existence in relation to his soteriological task (jn. 1,1-14; col 1,16; 1 cor 8, 6) • historical perspectivethe perspective of the son of god in history and his relation with the world in the historic dimension (hb. 9,14; 1 cor. 15, 3; 2 pe 1,8-9). • personal perspectivethis aspect refers to the jesus as glorified by god in resurrection (mt. 22,24; mc. 16, 19; acts. 2, 34; eph. 1, 20; jn 20-21). iii. god the holy spirit, gift of love and sanctifier152. the third person has been linked to be the ruah, a divine dynamic entity through which god’s actions are carried out. the holy spirit is referred to as the gift of god (acts. 8, 20), as the subject of the gift (acts. 2,38; 10,45; 11,17), he is also referred to as the spirit of jesus christ (rom. 8,9; 1 pet. 1,11; gal. 4,6). 152 ladaria, l. op. cit p. 443ss. tapia, s op.cit p. 14ss igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 126 in the synoptic tradition, the holy spirit is affirmed to be given to jesus at the time of his baptism (mt. 3, 13-17; mk 1,9-11; lk 3, 21-22). he is usually linked with the person and works of christ. in the acts of the apostles, we see a more active dimension of the work of the holy spirit: the pentecost, the liturgical gathering of the community and in the mission of the communityall of these point to the presence of the holy spirit at the inception of the church. the pneumatology of st. paul is said to be more elaborate. jesus is said to be declared the son of god with power according to the spirit of holiness (rom. 1,3). it is through the holy spirit that we attain the new life promised us in the resurrection of jesus christ (rom. 8, 6-13). one is said to be a christian by the virtue of the holy spirit working in the life of the believer (rom. 8, 9.14) a life that is characterized by liberty (gal. 5, 13). in the johannine tradition, the holy spirit is said to be the paraclete, jn 14, 26 whose task is to teach and remind the disciples of christ all that has been taught them, to the end of uniting all who believe in the loving union of the father and the son. from what has been affirmed in the foregone, we can be clear that the community of the divine persons is not a community that is exclusively closed in itself. it is a community that is open to communion with humanity, a desire that springs from the initiative of the triune god and it is realized fully in the divine life. god the father extends his paternity to us by the grace of his son, jesus christ, in the pattern of love that holy spirit generates. this is seen from biblical testimonies, that god the father, god the son and god the holy spirit is a community that extends an invitation to the human community by various historical personalities to participate in the divine life. b. the blessed trinity: a model for the human community taking inspiration and insight from what professor kanu has postulated to be the significance of igwebuikea modality of being that is manifested by being in relation to the other (otherness)and having affirmed that the blessed trinity is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 127 the forma excelsis of igwebuike, we want to make inferences from this affirmation and draw out the consequences it has for the human society. firstly, we want to infer that the blessed trinity is a community and communion of the father, the son and the holy spirit. second affirmation is that the individual distinctions by the virtue of the relations (as stated earlier in p. 9ss) does not put the unity of the three persons in jeopardy. third affirmation is that while maintaining their distinctive characters, the father is equal to the son and the holy spirit, the son is equal to the father and the holy spirit and the holy spirit is equal to the father and the son. community: the cambridge dictionary defines community as “all the people who live in a particular area, or a group of people who are considered as a unit because of their shared interests or background”153. it is interesting to note that in this definition, the qualification of the group of people who form a community, as a group with a common background or interest. therefore, the use of the term community (in this work) cuts across race or religion; color or language. what qualifies the human community for this paper is the christian perspective of each human person as the image of god (gen. 1, 26-27). while we cannot copy the community of the trinity in all respect as it is impossible, but we can do so in some respects and one of it is by finding out that which constitutes our homogeneity and makes us compatible, in other words, our common ground. the text of gen. 1, 26-27 gives us a common base, that every human person is created as imago dei. this christian perspective serves as a starting point towards accepting everyone into our communities. 153 cambridge dictionary https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/community accessed 30th july, 2019. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 128 experiences has shown, nonetheless, that this could be some utopian structure that cannot realized. we owe this to the extreme conception and exercise of autonomy and freedom, which in turn paves way for individualism and the ‘i’ at the expense of the ‘thou’, what matters is no longer the wellbeing of the other, it is now all about the satisfaction of the ego. retaking professor kanu’s postulation, using the igbo proverb ngwere ghara ukwu osisi, aka akpara ya (if a lizard stays away from the foot of the tree, it would be caught by man), that the community is what grants the individual the sense of belonging, it affirms that the community life is not a one man task, rather the task of all154. it is in the community that an individual is realized and not only that, it provides the ambience for this realization of potentials of the individual. to this effect, professor kanu cites ekwulu, in buttressing this point: “i realize myself in the other because it is in the ‘thou-ness’ of the thou that my ‘is-ness’ is realized. i am ‘i’ because you are ‘you’. without thou there is no i. we are ‘we’ because they are ‘they’, and without ‘they’, there is no ‘we”155. the blessed trinity teaches us not just the value of community and communionness but also it initiates both realities for us. from the scripture we can find events that puts the concept of community in the spotlight: the creation story already gives the origin of being as imago dei (gen. 1, 2627), the vocation and covenant with abraham (gen. 12. 15. 17. 22, 15-18), the exodus experience and the covenant on mount sinai (ex. 13. 14; 19-24), the liberation of the people from exile, the kerygma of the kingdom of god as an invitation to participate in the divine life (mk. 1, 14-15; lk 14, 15-24), the congregation of different nations at pentecost (acts. 2, 1-47). these are instances to prove that the blessed trinity initiates, promotes and perfects the human community because the triune god is a communion and a community. 154 “igwebuike and being in igbo ontology” … p. 19 155 kanu, i. a (citing ekwulu, b.i) igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa … p. 126 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 129 diversity: the emphasis on the need to be a community and opened to unity does not mean that we are to suppress the distinction that exists in our society, as a matter of fact, diversity builds a stronger community. the life of the blessed trinity has shown has that the father not being neither the son nor the holy spirit; the son not being neither the father nor the holy spirit; the holy spirit not being neither the father nor the son does not in anyway jeopardize the fundamental truth of their unity because “the perfect communion in the one essence of god includes the differences in the mode of possession of the essence”156. the same should be applied in human societies. unity is not to mean uniformity as neither can be implied necessarily in the other. the human community should give room for diversity, the acceptance of diversity and distinction helps to build a community and that what others bring to the table positively, helps to open up vistas and perceptions to various realities that we did not know existed157. professor kanu proposes a panacea for this dilemma, averring that the diversities of people, culture, language from the perspective of igwebuike philosophy enriches the nation and could coexist in a federation158. just as igwebuike philosophy proposes, the blessed trinity lives out the perfect union while each of the three maintain their distinct characters and identities. equality: this is to be considered important especially from the christian perspective, that we are all made equal by the virtue of being created in the image and likeness of god. this concept of equality is closely knitted to the dignity of each individual. no one has to be made to feel less human. the church has this to say regarding equality: 156 kasper, w. op. cit p. 350 157 it is a sad reality that xenophobia is now redefining various places that were once a beautiful home to all. racial undertones are now being read in almost every statement or action taken in a multi-cultural society. the general perception of being ‘on guard’ and ‘cautious’ is now trending in various socio-political boundaries, there is fear and mistrust of the ‘other’ who is not part of the ‘homogeneity’ that exists in a place. true there are legitimate reasons to all of these but is unfortunate that we are drawing evermore closer to demonizing ‘the different’ be it race, colour and tribe. 158 “igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development” … p. 44 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 130 “since all men possess a rational soul and are created in god's likeness, since they have the same nature and origin, have been redeemed by christ and enjoy the same divine calling and destiny, the basic equality of all must receive increasingly greater recognition”159 we can understand what has been stated here by underlining the points of interest in it that all men are equal because: • all have a rational soul • all have the same nature. • all have the same origin. • all are redeemed by christ (that is, his sacrifice is intended for all, though only some may choose to benefit from it) • all are called to the destiny of union with god in heaven (though only some will realize it, and even those who are saved may realize this to different degrees of perfection). only in these basic matters are men equal. they may vary greatly in other respects160. professor kanu igwebuike recognizes equality as an attribute of being human. in african ontology, hierarchy does not conflict with the idea of equality given that equality is not placing everyone on the same level rather it is about giving everyone what is due to the person161. in this we clearly see that making reference to equality brings us to the port of justice. according to mijancos gurruchaga: justice and equality are two related and united concepts that cannot be valued without each other. recognizing that some values such as the legitimacy of power, freedom, social justice, the common good, etc., are aspects of justice, the only principle that cannot enunciate justice without any valuation is the principle of equality. when it is stated that something 159 second vatican council gaudium et spes no 29. 160 castellano, d. j commentary on gaudium et spes repository of arcane knowledge. https://www.arcaneknowledge.org/catholic/councils/comment21-16.htm#ch2 accessed 30 th july, 2019. 161 “igwebuike and african ethics” igwebuikepedia: internet encyclopedia of african philosophy http://igwebuikepedia.info/shared.asp accessed 31st july 2019. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 131 is fair, it is because there is an equal exercise with respect to the other. the scope of this principle is given by three elements: the alterity or orientation towards the other, the presence of a deontic duty or requirement and the equality or proportionality of the debit of justice. for the common good, the good of individuals is essential162. within the blessed trinity, we find that equality forms part of the life of the trinity as each one of them has its specific roles, yet in no way is one’s role to be considered as the better of the other two rather through perichoretic dynamism of the father’s love, the grace of the son and the communion of the holy spirit (cf. 2 cor. 13,13), they work together to realize these functions in the history of salvation. i think it is important to pay attention this concept and most especially imbibe igwebuike in our discourse as it possesses this value to make our human community better. conclusion igwebuike is a well-thought principle that can be interpreted in many different academic, political and social circles. ascribing this principle to the foundation of the christian faith, the blessed trinity, does not seek to avoid the question and identity of mystery which is attached to it. rather what i have done in the foregone is to see if the igwebuike principle championed by professor can be used to make a discourse on the trinity from its social dimension, that is based on the relations that exists in the life of the blessed trinity. there are many possibilities in the igwebuike principle of professor kanu especially in the ambience of life of the church and her missions. i believe igwebuike can extend a helping hand to explaining the christian principles in an indigenous manner that is more appealing and original to those who evangelize and to the evangelized. works cited 162 gurruchaga, m. justicia e igualdad: dos conceptos relacionados, relacionales y valorativos universidad de las baleares. https://www.unav.edu/documents/29020/12981524/mijancos.pdf accessed 31st july 2019. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 132 agulanna, c community and human well-being in an african culture. “trames. journal of the humanities and social science”. 2010.3.05. pp. 282298 castellano, d. j commentary on gaudium et spes repository of arcane knowledge. https://www.arcaneknowledge.org/catholic/councils/comment2116.htm#ch2 accessed 30th july, 2019. galindo, g. a moral socioeconomica, biblioteca de autores cristianos, madrid 2016. gisbert, g. el dios uno y trino: una teologia de la trinidad, biblioteca herder, barcelona. 2009. gurruchaga, m. justicia e igualdad: dos conceptos relacionados, relacionales y valorativos universidad de las baleares. https://www.unav.edu/documents/29020/12981524/mijancos.pdf accessed 31st july 2019. kanu, a. i “igwebuike and african ethics” igwebuikepedia: internet encyclopedia of african philosophy http://igwebuikepedia.info/shared.asp accessed 31st july 2019. kanu, a. i “igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no.7, december 2017. 113-131 kanu, i. a “igwebuike and being in igbo ontology” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 4 no. 5 november 2018. 12-21 kanu, i. a “igwebuike and the question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. 103-110 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 133 kanu, i. a “igwebuike as an igboafrican philosophy of inclusive leadership” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no. 7 december 2017. 165-183 kanu, i. a “sources of igwebuike philosophy: towards a socio-cultural foundation” traditional african personality, identity and philosophy: challenges and ways forward. 5th international annual conference of the association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars, 28th -30th june 2017, school of postgraduate studies conference hall, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka anambra state, nigeria. kanu, i. a towards an igbo-african christology: a cultural christological construct in post missionary africa, lap lambert academic publishing, mauritius, 2017. kanu, i. a. “igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2, no 1, march 2016. 108-113. kanu, i. a “igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. 16-50. kasper, w. el dios de jesucristo, ediciones sígueme, salamanca, 1986. ladaria, l. el dios vivo y verdadero: el misterio de la trinidad, secretariado trinitario, salamanca. 20104. ladaria, l. f la trinidad, misterio de communion, secretariado trinitario, salamanca. 2002. moltmann, j. trinidad y reino de dios: la doctrina sobre dios, ediciones sígueme, salamanca, 1983. ratzinger, j introducción al cristianismo, ediciones sígueme, salamanca, 2016. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 134 tapia, m. s el misterio de dios: la trinidad. la unidad divina y la comunión trinitaria. (unpublished lecture notes). estudio teológico agustiniano, valladolid, 2018. tapia, m. s tema iii: la doctrina sobre dios en el nuevo testamento. (unpublished lecture notes) estudio teológico agustiniano, valladolid. 2018. wehmeier, s. (ed) oxford advanced learner’s dictionary. new york: oxford university press. 2005. zizioulas, j. d being as communion: studies in personhood and the church st. vladimir’s seminary press, new york 1985. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 7.doc igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 44 ethnicity and the quest for peace and national development: extrapolating from the philosophy of complementary reflections sunday edoh odum postgraduate student department of philosophy benue state university edohodum@gmail.com & alo f. chibuzor department of philosophy federal university, wukaritaraba state email: chibuzorfrank208@gmail.com tel: +234(0)8130558755 abstract ethnicity, properly construed does not constitute a threat to peace and national development, what does is the negative employment of ethnicity for one’s gain and a corresponding display of negative attitudes towards other ethnic groups. this attitude is both divisive and counter-productive; it leads to crisis and conflicts of attrition and fuels separatist tendencies and movements which undermine the peace and development of any multi-ethnic state. this reflects the exactitude of the nigerian situation. this paper recognizes and argues for the imperativeness of peace for nigerian’s national development despite its multi-ethnic configuration; it is in this context that the philosophy of complimentary reflection which sees everything that exist as a missing link of reality that serves to complement one another finds relevance. this paper concludes that heterogeneous nature of the nigerian state notwithstanding, peace, which is the requisite condition for national development can only be guaranteed when the concept of ethnicity is redefined and ethnic groups see each other as missing links of reality within the ambience of complementary reflections rather than competitors that should be outdone and enemies that should be degraded. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 45 keywords: philosophy, ethnicity, peace, national development, complementary reflections. introduction nigerian is a multi-ethnic state. the high point of its heterogeneity within the context of ethnic affiliations is evident in the fact that there exist over 250 ethnic groups and over 700 tribes in nigeria. the above as history avers from the wake of independence have been harnessed negatively to achieve personal and group aims. whilst it is a statement of fact that marginalization ranks amongst the major reasons for the above, it must be noted that the most part of ethnic conflicts as have been argued elsewhere are elitist conspiracy to create tension and consequently achieve their aims. calhoun (1999) quoted in adetiba and rahim (2012:659) corroborate the above when they asserted that ethnicity “is a creation of political leaders who often utilize and depends on the strength of people’s ethnic differences to gain socio-political and economic advantage for their groups as well as pursuing their own socio-economic benefits”. while the history of ethnicity and ethnic conflicts have been traced to the forceful amalgamation of the northern and southern protectorate in 1914 to become the entity called nigeria today, it remains to argue that after over an hundred years of this amalgamation and over five decades of her independence, nigeria have not been able to transcend this history and see themselves as nigerians. rather, they have elected to conceive of themselves as igbo’s, hausa’s, yoruba’s, tiv’s, ijaw’s just to mention but a few. the consequent of this antecedent is that there have been crisis of attritions which have served to fuel the ambers of ethnic agitation and conflicts. these have also led to the elevation of tribal nationalities over and against the country nigeria which houses all the ethnic groups. in this regards, loyalty is paid to the tribal and ethnic configuration and not to the nigerian state. the implications of the present reality in nigeria is that national integration have been scarified on the altar of ethnicity, the frontiers of peace have been pushed back and hence, the presence of little or no development. it is sequel to the above and the imperativeness of peace for development that this paper seeks to interrogate the conception of ethnicity within the context of nigeria and to accordingly extrapolate from the philosophy of complementary reflections in the bid to defining ethnicity for institutionalization of national igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 46 integration for peace and development. to achieve this aim, the paper is divided into four sections: the first is this section which is the introduction; the second section concerns itself with an explication on the concept of ethnicity and its implications. the third section dwells on ethnicity, peace and national integration within the context of the philosophy of complementary reflection while the fourth section will sum up and brings the discourse to a close. on the concept of ethnicity the concept of ethnicity has been defined variously. according to osariemen as quoted in eze (2015:46), ethnicity is the “consciousness of belonging to, identifying with and being loyal to a social group distinguished by shared cultural traditions, a common language, in group sentiments and self identity”. it sometimes transcends a mere consciousness to a willingness to act on the behalf of the group, to limit one’s vision, scope and perception of human existence to that as held by the group. drawing from the definition of osariemen, one can argue that ethnicity, taken objectively as an affiliation to or paying allegiance to one’s kith, kins and place of birth does not constitute a problem. it is in this regards that ake (1993:4) intimated that: it is not clear that ethnicity by itself generates conflict or that it is inherently threatening. one may prefer one's kinsfolk or one's own community without being antagonistic to others. it is odd that those who consider ethnicity as a manipulable instrument are also the ones who regard it as a problem. if ethnicity is manufactured at will and manipulated to serve any number of selfish purposes, then it is only an 'object', the case for calling it a cause of the numerous problems regularly attributed to it would not be sustainable. by implication, ethnicity does not constitute any threat to the socio-political and economic development of a state. it is the negative employment of ethnicity – negative attitudes towards those regarded as outsiders – that constitute the threat to socio-political and economic development. hence, the positive aspects of ethnicity often become insignificant in multi-ethnic states. the interaction of ethnic groups may either negatively or positively affect the socio-political and economic positions of other groups. in essence, ethnicity becomes problematic igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 47 when the various ethnic groups turn the table against each other in an attempt to have access to political power, thus degenerating from a form of political support into a basis for political conflict (adetiba and rahim, 2012:659). conversely, achebe quoted in iyanda and owojori (2015:163) sees ethnicity as the discrimination against a citizen because of his place of birth. in nigeria, the concept of ethnicity and tribalism are used interchangeably. egwu (2003: 38) corroborated the above when he avers that ethnicity is about the mobilization and politicization of ethnic group identity drawing on those elements that mark out the group such as language, culture, territory, mode of dressing and sharing jokes. often associated with multi-ethnic existence, ethnicity refers to context discrimination by members of one group against others on the basis of some exclusive criteria. quoting heinecke and grove (1984) and unrisd (1995), tanko and akombo (2016: 297-298) defines ethnicity as a “strained and exaggerated feeling of difference in relation to other groups. it is a deeply emotional basis of mobilization that not only merely distinguishes one group from the other but can also dehumanize other groups and demonise the other group”. from the above, ake, adetiba and rahim could both be read as exonerating ethnicity and arguing against its being considered as the cause of the many problems that have been attributed to it. while the above position stands erect in the court of reason, it must be noted that “ethnicity does not only manifest in conflictive and competitive relations but also in the context of cooperation” (okeke and idike, 2016:70). dodo (2015:142) corroborated the above when he avers that ethnicity is positive because it involves the appreciation of one’s social root in a community and cultural group without necessarily disparaging other groups”. ethnic groups are often the major engine of development in africa and the closest thing in existence to a social welfare organization (ake, 1993:4). be that as it may, it is the discrimination, and the mobilization of ethnicity to achieve one’s end and the dehumanization cum demonization of other ethnic groups in the process that constitutes a problem. the implications of the above within the context of nigeria, is that it has ruptured inter-group relations and led the conflicts of attrition which consequently leads to inter-ethnic conflicts and wars. the result of which is the destruction of life and properties. it has also fuelled cessationists and separatists movements which threatens the peace and collective existence of the nigeria state. the quit notices from the northern igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 48 youths, the attempt at declaring the niger-delta state and the sovereign state of biafra in the recent past in nigeria are lucid examples in that regards. all these do not make for peace which is imperative for national development. it is in this context that this paper seeks to argue for the imperativeness of peace for national development in the midst of our heterogeneous existential life in nigeria and to do that, this paper extrapolates from the philosophy of complementary reflections. ethnicity and the search for peace and national development: lessons from the philosophy of complementary reflection in nigeria, ethnicity constitutes a challenge to national development and this is historical. it has also permeated every aspect of our existential life. citing achebe, iyanda and owojori (2015:166-167) intimated that at our independence in 1960, our national anthem which is our hymn of deliverance from british colonial bondage has these lines, “though tribe and tongues may differ, in brotherhood we stand”. this brotherhood lasted only six years and ever since, a nigerian child seeking admission into a federal school; a student wishing to enter the university; a graduate seeking employment in the public service; a businessman tendering for a contract will fill a form which requires him to confess his tribe. in nigeria, the tendency is for ethnic struggle and acrimony to become acute because of the peculiar nature of our dependent mode of production, the fragile nature of the state or of our federalism where the components units depends almost exclusively on the subventoires or grants from the national government for survival (onah, 1997:5). be that as it may, the need to navigate this innuendo and move towards peace and national development remains imperative. the philosophy of complementary reflection (otherwise known as the ibuanyidanda philosophy) was developed and championed by innocent asouzu, a professor of philosophy at the university of calabarnigeria. it is a philosophy that emphasizes and elevates the imperativeness of a mutual dependence and interdependence of reality. at the background of this philosophical system is the lesson from the dandas (the igbo cognate of the ants). according to asouzu (2011:11), the concept ibuanyidanda draws its inspiration from the teachings of traditional igbo philosophers of the complementary system of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 49 thought. the closest english equivalent to the word “ibuanyidanda” is “complementarity”. danda are ants that have the capacity, in mutual dependence and interdependence, to carry loads that appear bigger and heavier than themselves. what this implies is that they can surmount very difficult challenges when they are mutually dependent on each other in the complementation of their efforts. hence, traditional igbo philosophers insist that: ibu anyi danda (no task is insurmountable for danda). it is from this synthetic idea “ibu anyi danda” that serves a heuristic pre-scientific function within the context of traditional igbo experience that the synthetic-analytic concept “ibuanyidanda” is derived through abstraction. deducible from the above is the fact of the importance of mutual dependence and the benefits of the same. asouzu further intimates that ibuanyidanda philosophy is a transcendent complementary comprehensive systematic inquiry into the structure and dynamics of human consciousness as to determine the reason for the subject-object tension and dichotomy by reason of which the ego always seeks its autonomy outside the foundation of its unity. it is an attempt at addressing this tension with a view to providing workable solutions towards its containment in a complementary comprehensive mutually harmonized fashion (2011: 38). the central methodological thesis of the philosophy of complementary reflections it hinged on the fact that anything that exists serves a missing link of reality. the question however is that as has to do with what is a missing link? in response to the above poser, asouzu (2004: 277-278) intimated that the missing links are the: diverse units that make up an entity within the framework of the whole and as they are complementarily related. they are all the imaginable, fragments, units, components, and combinations that enter into our understanding of any aspect of our world. they are also all the units and combinations necessary in the conceptualization of an entity or of the whole. thus missing links are, for example, thoughts and the thoughts of thoughts. they are diverse modes of manifestation of being in history. they are categories and the categories of categories. they are the units and the units of units, entities and the entities of entities, and things and the things of things. they are ideas and the ideas of ideas, etc., as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 50 these can possibly be abstracted and related to each other as conditions of possibility of their perfectibility in a harmonious systemic manner. viewed in the light of ethnicity, especially within the context of a multi-ethnic nation state like nigeria, one can say that every ethnic group that exists in nigeria serves as a missing link to the other. in other words, the igbos serves a missing link to the hausas and vice versa and hence should live in complementary terms. however, and in reality, this has not been the case. the reason is not farfetched; it is because of fundamental and the greatest instinct in man which is tailored towards self-preservation. due to this instinct, the human person reacts to conceive and perceive ethnic and tribal similarities and difference along the line of the maxim that asouzu calls “the nearer the better the safer”. this illusion, related to ethnic matters, asouzu (2007:181) avers that: the mind seeks to convince itself that a person or a group of individuals are better off and are safer in the midst of those that share certain common, unique or exclusive qualities. these are our kith and kin, our own tribal people, people of our race, of our (tribal) nation etc. thus, in most contentious issues of life, we tend to act in keeping with this maxim. the above can be read as stipulating a situation where the igbos feels that they are most likely to realize themselves if they are closer to themselves, so do the hausa and other ethnic groups and as such they fall into intended or unintended ethnocentric commitment. it can also be taken to mean that one has some form of security when one is attached to his or her kith and kin. this kind of security according to asouzu is a false security and is based on a thinking that is semirational. in this thinking, a negative formulation of the maxim of the nearer the better the safer could be articulated to mean that “the more removed a unit is from the world of our internal belongingness, our ethnic world for example, the less are we obliged to it and the more can we exploit it freely with impunity for our own survival, and in this case without remorse” (2007: 181). the above aptly captures the present realities in nigeria as regards the misinterpretation and misuse of ethnicity for private or group gains which have assumed the status of being a problem. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 51 a critical look at the maxim of the nearer the better the safer reveals some limitations. these limitations as put forward by asouzu are in three folds, and an explication of them is here considered necessary. the first limitation and illusion is that as have to do with the assumption that “units can attain set goals optimally, within the same system, and at the exclusion of the interest of some other units that necessarily enter into the definition of the system in question”. in response to this assumption, asouzu (2007:183) intimated that: if a system is constituted of units, the realization of the interest of the units can hardly be achieved where the actor acts in a way that negates the fact of the necessary link joining all stakeholders. this necessary link has the character of a higher principle of integration on the basis of which equity and justice can be guaranteed for all. where actors pretend that that such a higher principle of integration is not necessary and acts in a way as to arrogate this function to themselves and thereby seek to legislate arbitrarily on matters of general interest, the invariably expose themselves to the risk of not realizing the goals they have set for themselves. the response of asouzu in this regards cannot be truer, especially within the context of nigeria. the failure of the biafran civil war, the failure of the attempts at establishment of an islamic state out of nigeria by the boko haram group and the recent collapse (in principle) of the indigenous people of biafra, a unit of the system called nigeria can be attributed to the actors negating the necessary link binding and joining all stakeholders. the second assumption of the maxim of the nearer the better the safer according to asouzu is that ensuring from the illusion that the greatest threat is always from the outside. here the outside is defines as all the groups and individuals whose interest are diametrically opposed to that of the group in question and against whom the group must unite to defend its interest. for asouzu (2004:184), in the excessive sensitivity concerning external threats, most ethnic groups makes themselves ill prepared for the challenges of difference arising from within their own rank and file, such that when these do arise, they easily destabilize and consume the groups concerned. in the absence of commitment to such a higher principle, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 52 ethnic groups are exposed to incessant internal strife and to the danger of annihilation. the third assumption stemming from illusion of the maxim of the nearer the better the safer according to asouzu (2004:185) is that “the right to cleavage entitles to absolute otherness an in this sense to the use of privilege ensuring from such rights in a manner that can imperil and even negate the interest of other stakeholders without serious consequences”. in nigeria, a nation of heterogeneity, this case of the above assumption is evident. for many in nigeria, “the impression is created that the state is the overriding principle of appropriation of the right of her citizens and this by the reason of her natural right to guarantee harmony among stakeholders” (2004: 185). it is in this sense that one can see the crisis of attritions that have been fostered by ethnic groupings as opc (oduwa people’s congress), massob (movement for the actualisation of the sovereign state of biafra), mosop (movement for the survival of ogoni people), apc (arewa people’s congress), ndvf (niger delta volunteer force) and more recently ipob ( indigenous people of biafra). an assessment of the activities of all these groups here mentioned reveals their readiness to employ and deploy whatever means at their disposal with the intent of getting their demands met not minding whether it infringes on the right of other ethnic groups or stakeholders. it must be noted that “in such ambivalent situations, in the passionate and blind pursuance of those interest perceived as the natural rights of units, in total negation of the higher principle of harmony, stakeholders easily forget the severe consequences that goes with such approach”(185). from common senses construct, it returns that if self determination is granted, the unit (as in the case of the niger-delta region of nigeria and the indigenous people of biafra) will survive and be sustained while the wealth in question lasts. hence, the thinking that the maxim of the nearer the better the safer within the purview of ethnicity is a principle and method of actualizing one’s aim is flawed. closely linked to the third assumption is the fact that “issues relating to control and appropriation of resources (resource control), in a multiethnic context cannot be resolved on the basis of winner takes-all as we are misled to believe due to ambivalence of our situation. such matters are best handled within the context of a higher principle of integration, which is capable of guaranteeing the equitable participation of all stakeholders” (asouzu, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 53 2007:185-186) and within the purview of complementarism which sees all units of the system as a missing links. away from the illusions of the maxim of the nearer the better the safer, a universal principle of integration on the basis of the philosophy of complementary reflection is imperative. to move from this maxim and its assumptions, and move towards a universal platform for the harmonization of the differences resulting from the multi-ethnic nature of the nigerian state that will guarantee the realization of the interest of all, the philosophy of complementarity will do. as early stated, the general principle of the philosophy of complementary reflections is that as based on the principle of harmonious integration on the basis of the fact that anything that exists serves a missing link of reality. this, according to asouzu (2007), means that in any given framework or system of action, all units (in this case, ethnic groups in nigeria), no matter how insignificant, enter necessarily into the definition of the system (nigeria) in question. and hence, to ensure that the life (and corporate existence) of the system is maintained, all the units constituting it have to be considered in their insufficiency, such that a typical human action in all given situations is understood as geared towards the joy of all concerned. understood in other words, the acceptance of all ethnic groups and the respect for same in view of their contributions to the whole or not, or on the basis of our contribution to them or not is what makes for the integration and the joy of all. in this regards: without the commitment to such categories as integration, tolerance, endurance, acceptance, readiness to forgive, to reconcile and to view the world in a comprehensive way, and leave the future open for the amendment of errors ensuring from inherent human insufficiency, no system-typical act is thinkable. these positive categories of integration belongs to intrinsically to the character of the principle of complementarity as its most dynamic moment (asouzu, 2007:187). asouzu further adds that since all units within a given system are necessarily related to each other, any service which they render each other turn out to be self-service. the same can be said of the denial of such services. in this sense, the idea of mutual indebtedness and interdependence in complemetarity of all stakeholders within any given system is a fundamental axiom of complementary reflection. again, “where the principles and imperatives of complementary reflections are in force, a negation of the interest of any of the stakeholders igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 54 (ethnic groups), by any member of the system is immediately perceived as a contradiction that is consequent to self-negation. in this case, the stakeholders come to the full awareness that consistent or consequent self-interest is anti-selfinterest. in any given system, the units have no other option than to adopt such a principle of action should they uphold their existence” (2007:187). he further intimated that: adhering to dictates of the higher principle of integration in our actions offers us therefore the conditions for transition to a higher level of rationality, in so far as it puts us in a position to break with the constraints imposed by the maxim of the nearer the better the safer, whose origin is the prompting of a semi-rational natural instinct of self-preservation (187). the above paragraph can be read, within the context of ethnicity and ethnic conflicts in nigeria, to mean that the elevation of the interest of any particular ethnic group over and agent the interest of the others is self-negation and antiself-interest and for us to uphold our corporate existence, only two possibilities are left open, and they include: one, all ethnic group who are stakeholders in the nigerian system must learn to see them as missing links and that in their insufficiencies, they are as a matter of necessity dependent on other ethnic groups to exist authentically. two, a subscription to the higher principle of integration which makes for peace and national development is imperative if nigeria must move forward. national development can be said to be a nationwide and wholistic development of a nation state. it implies the well being of a covert majority of the citizens in material terms. it implies the decrease in inequality levels. above all, national development implies the guarantee of security of lives and property in the state, national development has an infrastructural trajectory, it is interpretable as the availability of critical infrastructures for the engendering of further positive changes in a given state. consequently, national development is not a static condition. the availability that it indicates necessarily leads to some other end, in a continuing dimension. national development is accordingly “work in progress” (okeke and idike, 2016:72). deducible from the above within the context of the study, it is important to note that national development is a consequent of peace. again, there is a total or near igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 55 absence of national development in a nation that is bedeviled by ethnic hostilities and crisis of attritions. this is true particularly for a country like nigeria. the phenomenon of ethnicity has long been used to indicate various axes of ethnic differentiations that eventually contribute to and further accentuates socialpolitical and economic backwardness. what this translates into is the need for an ideology and project that will bring to the fore as well as elevate a cohesive system of every ethnic group in nigeria that will lead to national integration and development. the philosophy of complimentary reflections which emphasizes the mutual dependence and interdependence of units in any given system in the opinion of this paper is that cohesive system. drawing from the lessons that are derivable from the “dandas” (the english cognate of ants) who are usually able to surmount all hurdles and challenges, when in unity, this philosophy possesses within itself, the tendency of aiding nigeria in her attempts at navigating and overcoming her challenges which to say the least are multifaceted. it remains to say that no human society can actualize itself outside the framework of unity in diversity. where this is attempted (as it is the cases in nigeria), it would be practiced at the great risk of self-strangulation. this is important because, the idea of a human being necessarily connotes relations. this is even truer because no individual is alone in the world and every human society is a composite of human individuals with diverse sets of resourcefulness, which fundamentally negates any form of closed circuit mentality. no human society can be conceptualized as exclusively homogenous (asouzu, 2004:74). it is in this regards that the notion of ethnicity is here redefined with the intent of pushing back the frontiers of the its mobilization on the basis of a closed circuit mentality along the lines of the maxim of the nearer the better the safer for group gains at the expense of national integration, peace and development. conclusion in this paper, it has been argued that ethnicity, taken in itself does not constitute a problem to development. rather, it is the mobilization of ethnicity fuelled by the maxim of the nearer the better, the safer for individual group gains to the neglect of other units within the system that constitutes a problem. it has also been argued that, viewed from that prism, ethnicity possesses the tendency and propensity of stunting growth and national development which is work in progress. in nigeria, the above returns true and cohere with actual state of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 56 affairs. peace have eluded the state, there are tensions and agitations amongst the unit of the system called nigeria and these have heated up the polity and pushed back the frontiers of peace and national development with the infrastructural trajectory being the worst hit in cases of crisis and conflict. to this end, this paper, drawing from the philosophy of complementarity which has at its core, the fact that everything that exist serves as a missing link of reality and elevates the imperativeness mutual dependence and interdependence of units in a system calls all ethnic groups and units in the system called nigeria to see themselves as missing links of reality, to see themselves as nigerians and not as igbo, hausa, yoruba, tiv, ijaw, igede etc. the conclusion that is reached is that, for nigeria to come out of limbo within the context of national development despite it heterogeneity, a cohesive rational principle and project that is based on the higher principle of integration is both imperative and timely. this principle as can be extrapolated from the philosophy of complementary reflections and it is only with the philosophic temper that underpin this principle that nigeria can surmount her numerous challenges and move in the path of national development. references adetiba, t. c and rahim, a “between ethnicity, nationalism and development in nigeria” in the “international journal of development and sustainability. vol. 1, number 3, 656-674 ake, c (1993) what is the problem of ethnicity in africa? transformation. vol. 22. asouzu, i. i (2004) the method and principles of complementary reflection in and beyound african philosophy. calabar: university of calabar press. __________ (2007) ikwa ogwe: essential readings in complementary reflections, a systemic methodological approah. calabar: saeprints publishers. _________ (2011) “ibuanyidanda” and the philosophy of essence: philosophy, the missing links of reality. calabar: university of calabar press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 57 dodo, c. a. (2015) “the role of ethnicity, religion and resource control in the jos crisis” in wuam, t et’al (edited) ethnic minority agitations and political development in nigeria. vol. ii. abuja: donafrique publishers. egwu, s (2003) “ethnicity and citizenship rights in the nigerian federal state” in gana, a. t and egwu, s. (edited) federalism in africa vol. 2. african press inc. eze, o (2015) “ethnic consciousness and the nigerian civil war” in wuam, t et’al (edited) ethnic minority agitations and political development in nigeria. vol. ii. abuja: donafrique publishers. iyanda, k. a and owojori, a. (2015) “religion and ethnic politics in nigeria” in wuam, t et’al (edited) ethnic minority agitations and political development in nigeria. vol. ii. abuja: donafrique publishers. okeke, r, c and idike, a. n (2016) “ethnicity, political leadership and national development in nigeria: the contradictions and the local government nexus” in the world scientific news. vol. 56, 67-81. onah, o. f (n.d) “information management and ethnic crisis in nigeria” in jonah onuoha et’al (ed) ethnic nationalism and democratic consolidation: perspectives from nigeria and the united states of america. nsukka: great ap express publishers. tanko, a. g. and akombo, e. i (2015) “regional self-rule and ethnicity in nigeria’s first republic: a panoramic view” in wuam, t et’al (edited) ethnic minority agitations and political development in nigeria. vol. ii. abuja: donafrique publishers. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 308 the african musician as a social reformer: a periscopic assessment of òrìsà oko festival music of ókémẹ ̀sí-èkìtì. south west nigeria báyọ̀ ògúnyemí, ph.d. mountain top university, lagos-ìbàdàn expressway, prayer city, mágbóró, lagos, nigeria. phone: 08171353575; email: aoogunyemi@mtu.edu.ng abstract this paper is a descriptive account of the reformative function of music in africa. the article is based on data collected during the performance of òrìsà oko festival in òkèmẹ̀sí èkìtì, èkìtì state, nigeria. the paper explains the musical practices employed by the yorùbá people of south west nigeria in curtailing social vices and delinquencies that constitute social nuisances. it equally attempts to extend discussions on functions of music in africa to that of maintaining social cohesion and upholding values. through descriptive analysis of the song-text, musical practices and other essential musical contents, the paper gives insight into those roles of traditional yorùbá music that are intended to effect behavioral change. exploring ethnomusicological approach, the paper relies on ethnographic methods to extrapolate the primary data from the selected ensemble. the study concludes that òrìsà oko festival music otherwise called gbegberekúgbe, holds much promise in the regulation of societal immoralities and crimes and such should be advanced in principles and practice. it suggests that music like gbegberekúgbe music, should have a place in today’s society that is fraught with ill behaviors. keywords: african music, ethnomusicology, delinquencies, ethnographic, gbegbekúgbegbe introduction discussions centered on music in cultures have not been emphatic on the theoretical content but on the functionality. one of the earliest approaches to understanding the music of africans was predicated largely on studying its functions and uses in the cycle of life. in the process of having a grasp of african music, early researchers dissected the music from the perspective of functions and application this is an approach propagated by scholars like merriam, blacking, jones and nketia. in the views of blacking (1967:17), “music was examined “essentially as a social activity,” and musical structures were explored for their actual and symbolic representation of social hierarchies and relationships in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 309 society”. stone, (2000) says that ‘music in africa maintains close link to the rest of social and political life (7) while most discussions of other cultures’ music are focused on such elements as aesthetics and theory, those of african music have always centered on functions and usages. writing on african music, baines (2016) quoting ruud e says, music is a culturally derived phenomenon; it is a way of organizing vibrations, it is coded sound. while vibrations may be universally felt, understanding music implies knowing the codes or manner of representation prevalent in the culture, which also means knowing the culture. (91) nketia (1966:20) goes so far as to say that the practice of traditional music is not an embellishment of life, but a necessary and indispensable part thereof. ọmọ́jọlà (1999:41) contributes that an understanding of the conception of music among the communities in africa would have to derive from a combination of factors such as the words used by the people to describe music, the contexts of musical performances, the organized procedures associated with music, the nature of musical expression itself and the meaning intended in a musical performance. in merriam’s (1964: 15) opinion, music is a human behavior. he goes further to state that “the functions and uses of music are as important as those of any other aspect of culture for understanding the workings of society. music is interrelated with the rest of culture; it can and does shape, strengthen, and channel social, political, economic, linguistic, religious, and other kinds of behavior. song texts reveal many things about a society, and music is extremely useful as a means of analysis of structural principles”. in further buttress of his views, merriam (1964: 220) quoting mcallester states that: with us a principal function of music seems to be as an aid in inducing attitude. we have songs to evoke moods of tranquility, nostalgia, sentiment, group rapport, religious feeling, party solidarity, and patriotism, to name a few. thus we sing to put babies to sleep, to make work seem lighter, to make people buy certain kinds of breakfast foods, or to ridicule our enemies. according to blacking (ibd) musical structures were explored for their actual and symbolic representation of social hierarchies and relationships in society. blacking’s opinion is supported by weman (1960) when he states that ‘africa’s music, is the mirror of the soul, “an essential part of the african’s inmost being; it has the power to liberate, and it is in the music and the dance that the african can best be himself” (20). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 310 african music in the cadre of the topic here have been found to be most effective. people abhor repugnant behavior for the fears of consequences. as huge (1970:3) puts it: one can well imagine the forcefulness of the reprimand conveyed to a wrongdoer when he finds his misdeeds sung about by thirty to forty strapping young men before all the people of the village, or the blow to the pride of an overweening petty official who has to grin and bear it while the young men jeer to music at his pretentiousness. what better sanction could be brought to bear upon those who outrage the ethics of the community than to know that the poets will have you pilloried in their next composition? no law of libel would protect you from the condemnation conveyed by those concerted voices of the whole village set to full orchestra and danced in public for all to revel in. this discourse which is centered on the correctional and reformatory functions of music in africa has come under different headlines in many academic fora. coming under the title ’social control functions of music, udok e & peter a, (2010: 355) writes: social control songs for social control are full of gossip, ridicule and scandal. the song texts are conceptualized for the sole purposed regulating social conduct in the society. in africa, it is possible to convey messages which could not be discussed or communicated in ordinary speech in music. song texts (lyrics) in iban isong music are sometimes connected with the situation or incidence that occurs in the society. sometimes, the kind of text used plays a remarkable role in the authenticity and efficacy of the song. it is not uncommon for the iban isong musical performers to extemporize and ridicule any deviant behavior during iban isong musical performance. an instance is the woman (adiaha akpan udo) known to have been fallen in love with somebody’ husband and was ridiculed in songs instantly… merriam (1964: 197) reinforces the submission of udok and peter by saying: this song group is concerned with direct social control, that is, songs are sometimes used, through admonition, ridicule, and in some cases even more direct action, to effect actual change in the behavior of erring members of society. such songs may be directed toward a wide variety of social ills, among them sex offenses, such as the song in dahomey heard by herskovits and "sung against a young woman who had been careless with her favors and had in addition been guilty of theft. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 311 adjia j. (2019) on his own calls it music to admonish and says it is an important aspect of nigerian music used in admonishing the people of the community; be it the elite or the commoner…music plays important roles where there is moral breakdown or the appearance of it in the society (323). it is in the process of this social control that music has found a place in the yorùbá society and that is what forms the focus of this essay. the yorùbá people, predominantly located in south western states of nigeria, frown at antisocial behaviors in all forms. integrity, good conduct and hard work remain the hallmark of the yorùbá people. the yorùbá have a saying, ìwàlẹwà ọmọ ènìyàn translated: good character is the hallmark of humanity. yorùbá people’s worldview of good conduct is predicated on the philosophy of ọmọlúàbí. ọmọlúàbí as a cultural philosophy encapsulates hard work, integrity, diligence and honesty. elaborating on the ọmọlúàbí cultural philosophy, ọlúnládé (2017) writes that the concept of ọmọlúàbí is the bedrock of ethics in the yorùbá cultural society. conformity to these culturally approved standards earns a yorùbá person the prestigious and noble name ọmọlúàbi. (806) the yorùbá society is strictly guided by rules and laws. crimes and criminalities are frowned at in yorùbá land. stealing, thuggery, unfaithfulness, disloyalty, betrayal, immorality, treachery and treason are categorized as misdemeanors and social vices punishable by established measures. reprimand could be in form of jailed term for the offender, derision, excommunication, flogging, banishment and others. in the process of executing these punishments, oral literature like poetry, chants, songs, recitatives and spoken verses are constantly employed. explaining the concept of law and justice in yorùbá land bámgbósé (2017: 839) says: sanctions is recognized in the traditional yorùbá culture. throughout history, persons who violate societal norms and values were subjected to discipline, sanctions, and punishment… it is machinery for facilitating collective conscience of the development of legal norms and disrupting the social equilibrium. in specifics, bámgbósé (2017: 840) identifies singing as a form of punishment adopted by the yorùbá people in enforcing, laws, instilling discipline and control in the society. “ridicule, and humiliation are sanctions aimed at bringing a member to sobriety by singing satirical songs directed at the offender or the family”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 312 this practice is not peculiar to the yorùbá people but general to africa as a whole. hugh traccy (1954:237), while speaking of the african chopi says: "you can say publicly in songs what you cannot say privately to a man's face, and so this is one of the ways african society takes to maintain a spiritually healthy community". in her own writings ofusun (2012: 111) documents that: the efutu of winneba in ghana incidentally sings opanyingyengyan (the hopeless elder) a topical song that satirizes the rapist. these songs are sung round the town during festival periods to remind those perpetrators of evil doings to have a change of life for a better life. lullabies are also used to cast insinuations to embarrass certain people for varied reasons. for example, fathers who shed their responsibilities always face with such lullabies from their wives and the wives also using same songs to cast insinuations at each other. ofusun (ibd) goes further with the example of urhobo people of the southern part of nigeria. according to him: the urhobo women will gather themselves and sing through the streets of the town to criticize evil doers and sadists who take delight in inflicting cruelty on others and the society in general. they in the end of the march past sing to the house of their target, strip themselves naked so as to register their anger in a way of criticizing such people's activities. this study therefore undertakes a musicological analysis of the music traditions of the yoruba people of south western nigeria using òkèmẹ ̀sí èkìtì as a microrepresentation. the study is done with the view to bringing socio functions of music in africa forth for further academic discourse and preserve them against endangerment. the study adopts a musicological perspective, enriched by oral and documentary data, to explore how the selected festival music is conceived and delivered for the purpose of social control in the aforementioned town. though the primary data for this study is taken from òkèmẹ̀sí èkìtì, which is a town in the eastern part of the yorùbá state in nigeria, the study is in pursuit of a general discussion of african music and yorùbá music in particular. the reason for choosing òkèmẹ̀sí èkìtì, is to narrow the scope of the work to a small enclave of yorùbá land which in the researcher’s opinion is adequate in the representation of a whole. the ambition here is to use this small town to discuss more general – international, conceptual and generative – aspects of functionality of african music. òkèmẹ̀sí èkìtì, though a less cosmopolitan yorùbá town shares several attributes with the ọ̀yọ́-yorùbá. the ọ̀yọ́-yorùbá are arguably considered as the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 313 mainstream yorùbá people (akínyemí 2001). the data for this research was collated using oral interviews and observation methods. the aim of this study is to prolong discussions on this particular function of africa music which seems to be of much relevance to the present day realities but are dwindling in practice. the paper intends to analyze the song text used in the discharge of this particular function of african music as it relates to the expected outcome of changed behavior. the paper will scrutinize the musical content of the ensemble involved to determining the organization and socio-political relevance to the topic of discourse. the study hinges on two theories. the safety valves functions theory by devereux (1961) and the aesthetics functionalism theory. in his book, ‘arts and mythology’ co-published with labarre w, devereux states that all arts exist because they meet a social need not gratified by other cultural activities. this is what he calls the safety valve function which he situates in the theory of psychologist, sigmund freud and applies to all the arts. according to him: in addition to viewing art as a harmless safety valve, society and the artist alike consider the artistic utterance as unrepudiable in regard to form, but repudiable as to content…in brief, art can function as a social safety valve precisely because, like wit, it is a compromise and is, moreover repudiable as to intent and content. it permits the artist to say—and the consumer to hear (or to see)—the forbidden, provided only that: (1) the utterance is formulated in a manner which a given society chooses to call "art," (2) the actual content of the utterance is officially defined as subordinate to its form, and (3) the utterance is understood to be repudiable. . . . (368-369). this theory of safety valve function is supported in this paper with the aesthetics functionalism theory. the aesthetics functionalism theory states that the meaning on an art work is found within the art work itself. the meaning of music here being discussed is rooted in the role music plays in the life of those who make it. the functionalists attribute the meaning and value of a work of art to its relationship with the activities of the society. as a work of art, the value of the yorùbá people is judged by the functions that music performs in the yorùbá society igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 314 findings like the other cultures in africa, the yorùbá people have a belief system that sees music as essential in the promotion of community wellbeing. the yorùbá employ music to teach morals, inculcate discipline into the children, and propagate healthy habits amongst the populace etc. an example is this song used to teach good conduct; fig 1: a staff notation of the song ‘kíni n ́ f’olè se by the researcher, 2021 song text translation kíni n ́f’olè se what shall i do with stealing láyé tí mo wá. in this life that i have come láyé tí mo wá. in this life that i have come kàkàkí n jalè for me to steal ma kúkú d’ẹrú i rather opt to being a slave this song which is usually taught from the cradle says much about the yorùbá people’s perception of stealing as a social misbehavior. to show their utter intolerance to stealing, the yorùbá people would rather be enslaved, than steal and lose their honour. it is not uncommon to see women, men and children besiege an offender’s house in yorùbá land to sing in derision of his act. in most cases, when an offender is caught, he or she is excommunicated from the community. in such case, a banished offender is sung out of the town by women and children. songs in this realm can be abusive, combative, derogatory and immoral, depending on the nature and circumstances of the offence(s). an example of yorùbá common song sung when a thief is apprehended is; igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 315 fig 2: a staff notation of the song ‘ojúolèrè’ by the researcher, 2021 song text: translation in english call: ojúolèré behold a thief response: o lè a thief the form of the song is responsorial and it has no restrictions. it can be sung by both women and men, old and young. the call and response can be between boys and girls, women and men or whoever is present at the scene. the context of performance is usually at the point when the culprit, in this case, the thief, is apprehended. they sing along the streets while escorting the culprit out of town or parading the thief where the gravity of the offence is mild and does not warrant excommunication. the purpose here is to subject the thief to disgrace and opprobrium. vidal (2012) states in support of this position that: just as kings, individuals, town, corporate groups, social institutions and events are praised and romantically glorified, so also are they derided, satirized and condemned at festivals if the prevailing social conditions at the events of the festivals demand such. on such occasions, no one is spared from the pangs of bitterness and derision, for the festival provides members of the society with an avenue to undertake uninhibited self –expression through music. (284) òkèmẹ̀sí èkìtì is an agrarian town whose people are predominantly farmers. the people farm not for sustenance but commercial levels thereby making agro products the mainstay of the economy of the over 100,000 inhabitants. like their igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 316 other yorùbá counterparts, òkèmẹ̀sí èkìtì people are very rich in cultural practices. they share same yorùbá belief in olódùmarè as the supreme being to whom the other deities in the pantheon are subordinate. genealogically, the people are traditional religion worshipers and believe in diffused monotheism-a belief in a supreme god that is approached through several gods as intermediaries. (adédèjì 2008: 65). the people of òkèmẹ̀sí èkìtì worship deities like ògún, sàngò, ọya, ọbàtálá and many others. they also have various cultural festivals which are either spirit or social inclined. some of these traditional festivals are, egúngún, orò, erinlẹ̀, ọ̀sẹ́, pàràká, ọ̀rìsà oko (which forms the basis of this paper). however, like their other yorùbá counterparts, the advent of european missionaries and adventurers in yorùbá and have shaped the beliefs and practices of these people. the town is now dominated by christians and muslims while traditional practices have taken the background –a development which has affected, regressively though, their traditional practices ọ̀rìsà oko festival, literally implies farm deity. the festival is intended to celebrate new harvest season, when the people come around to appreciate the gods for good harvest or appease the gods in case of a bad experience in the course of the years. however, the important place of yam as a principal farm produce by the yorùbá people has taken prominence. therefore, ọ̀rìsà oko festival is stereotyped to the celebration of new yam festival. this festival is an annual festival that is celebrated between the months of june and july when it is presumed farmers are done with the year’s harvest. this is a period the farmers make a return from their various farm settlements to the urban centres where they live. since it is pre-planting season, when weather is favorable, they spend the time in recreation, sporting, festivities and socialization. it is also a time to worship their deities, venerate ancestors and propitiate the favours of other terrestrial powers. therefore, this period is a time for musical activities to thrive. meanwhile it is also a time to give account of whatever transpired in the course of the season in their farm settlements, narrate their experiences and document their various encounters and expeditions. these are done in the form of storytelling, dance drama, poetry and other forms of oral literature. it is the belief of the people that ọ̀rìsà oko is a god that has been assisting the town to have bountiful harvests annually, regardless the drought and, or any unfavorable conditions. according the chief àjàyí fákóredé who served as an informant to the researcher, in an oral interview with the researcher, the secrets behind this remain sacred and mysterious. ‘as long as the people keep igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 317 to the dos and don’ts of ọ̀rìsà oko, the harvest expectations are naturally met’ (oral interview, 2020). the comperes of the festival are ọba ojóko´, ọba ságunrín and yéyè làsé. through divination and other oracular consultations, a date for the commemoration of the festival is fixed. the first musical activity signaling the celebration is the beating of the òrisà gong at dawn to signify the commencement. there are three (3) drums for the festival, the ugbìn, jàànpérè and rebeje. others musical instrument are gongs which serve as the time liner. in the course of the farming years, the olọ ́rìsà cult keep records of transgressions, criminalities, misdemeanors and social vices committed by the people in the community. they do this discretely with the aid of specialized spies and undercover agents. these spies take record of transgressions in the community regardless of the social or economic status of the offender. in the night of the festival finale, ọ̀risà drums are rolled out to abuse/deride the identified culprits. they, often times move to the house of the criminal to sing and ridicule him or her. the ọ̀lọ́rìsà never spare any criminal in the town, no matter his or her social status. while the ensemble serves as the mirror of the community, the olọ́rìsà enjoy the protection of the entire society. they have the license to execute their musical arts without interference from anybody. according to chief ajayi-fákóredé, the musical experience in ọ̀rìsà oko festival was primarily designed to expose evil doers in the community. in recent time, he said, the igeríòrìsà (the cult as being referred to) has added some socially relevant issues to the celebrations in compliance with the directives of the gods. now, he said, critical issues of interest to the community take prominence in their rendition. he cited the last celebration as an example when lack of state sponsored infrastructure in the town was emphasized and re-echoed continuously by the performers throughout the night. this, according to him was done this to hearing of the nobles, particularly the politicians present at the night parade. ọ̀rìsà oko festival music is characterized by lots of innuendoes, metaphors, proverbs, anecdotes, poetry, all of which are expressed through songs, dance and drama. apart from instrumentation and singing, the festival involves speech songs. the music which is generally called gbegberekúgbe derives the name from the drum text. the rhythm line is generated from two high pitched drums. one of the drums takes the low tone while the other interjects with the high note forming an interlocking rhythmic pattern which when verbalized gives the gbegberekúgbe. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 318 fig 3: a staff notation of the rhythm line of gbegberekúgbe source;the researcher, 2021 the actual performance starts with a parade around the town shortly after the preliminary rituals are completed. this heralds the nightlong activities which keep every resident of the community awake since they are apprehensive of the trend the performance may take. it is reported that some offenders who fear their cases might be visited are known to leave the town to avoid the embarrassments. there are two phases to the performance with the initial one commencing with friendly rendition of songs to appreciate the king, chiefs and eminent personalities who are adjudged to have performed well in the town in the year under review. in this section, the singers make jest of these same people in a way, extoling their virtues. the king who is the chief custodian of the people’s traditions and the chief administrator of the town is also adulated in this process. the occasion is also used to pass salient messages to the aristocrats. if the igeriòrìsà people have any complaints about the king’s conduct and attitude, they use the opportunity to tell him. there were cases in the past where the king was told in speech song to moderate his habit of english speaking while addressing his subjects. they considered it not idealistic for a king to conduct his sittings in a language not comprehensible by the people. they had once told a king to stop frolicking with the young ladies and allow young men access to the maidens. they had also told a king to be mindful of his conduct on the throne because he was considered temperamental. all these were done to correct the king and endear him more to his subjects. after all the preliminaries, the performers proceed to the houses of the identified offenders slated for ridicule. the form of their musical performance in this case oscillates from songs to speech-songs, recitatives and dance-drama. an example of a song used to deride a thief is scored in the staff below. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 319 fig 4: a staff notation of the song ‘ó t’oko ‘lè dé ‘ source: the researcher, 2021 song text: translation ó t’oko ‘lè dé here he comes from stealing expeditions bàm bà bam ba behold his big foot prints esẹ̀lákùrọ̀ in the swamp cases focused in this year’s (2021) festival include that of an adulterer who was caught sleeping with the wife of his apprentice. his partner in crime, the woman, was also his relative. this is a heinous abomination in okemesi ekiti because it is not just a case of adultery but incest and breach of trust, as the woman in question, his co-culprit is the wife of somebody who works under him. having realized he might be a focus of the yearly festival, the offender (male) left the town shortly before the celebration. his absence did not deter the igeríọ̀rìsà from discharging their duties. they proceeded to his family house and speech-sang as follows: speech-song translation ọmọ arẹ́nà òkè son of upland chief arẹ́nà ọ́ mí bá t’odò súǹ that sleeps with the daughter of lowland chief arẹ́nà ọmọ arẹ́nà kọ́ mí the son of upland arẹ́nà f’okó sú du àbúrò rè. that sleeps with his sister sọ̀kí sọ̀kí olókóo dóni dóni one with a free for all penis. another case in focus during this year’s celebration was the case of a pedophile. the man was caught sleeping with his eleven-year-old stepdaughter whom he was said to have deflowered. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 320 speech –song translation òbò ìyàwó rèẹ̀ dẹ̀ẹ̀ dùn mọ́ o he is dissatisfied with her wife’s vaginal ọmọ dídó dèẹ̀ ló tún kùn he has resorted to sleeping with the daughter a dómo d’ọ́yà he who sleeps with wife and the daughter éèlójútì a shameless human being ó ye ke á gbélúgbó fit only for the forest pẹ̀lú ẹranko cohabiting with animal conclusion discussions on the functions of music in africa are inexhaustible. the foregoing has just tried to highlight those functions that are directed to achieving a changed behaviour in the cause of sustaining the society. the paper discusses that category of african music that performs a highly social and cathartic function in a society. the paper also emphasizes art, (music in this respect) as a sociological element whose purpose in african society is to perform social and corrective functions which are beyond the narrow scope of aesthetics. music is used to regulate conduct, shape human attitude and rejuvenate the society. laws, although largely unwritten in traditional africa are enforced by the use of oral literature and music. this study is significant especially when related to the present circumstances in african continent. application of music, in today’s africa, in the form as canvassed by this paper, can lead to a renaissance in the continent. a continent that is adjudged most corrupt with high rate of immoral practices, being ravaged by war, genocide, may gain a lot in these musical practices of the old. in the recent past the continent of africa has seen popular musicians of african descent used music for the emancipation of the continent. there were popular musicians like fẹlá aníkúlápó kútì, sunny okonsun, madu dibango, lucky dube among others who fought oppression, rights abuse corruption with music. however, the trend had since nosedived. the society of africa stands to benefit from this tradition if all stakeholders can make their musical art as purposeful as possible in the direction of healing the society of increasing ills and vices. references igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 321 adédèjì f. (2008) compositional techniques in african art music: the metamusical dimension, african musicology on-line vol.2 ed. odwar h, no 2 pp 60-80. akíntúndé a (2001). the yorùbá royal bards: their work and relevance in the society, nordic journal of african studies 10(1): 90-106 (2001) adjija .o (2019). importance of music and the effect of modernity in nigeria, journal of association of nigerian musicologists, no. 13, p323. baines s (2016). the role of culture in music and medicine: considerations to enhance health, music & medicine, vol 8, issue 3 pp 91 – 95. bámgbósé o. (2017), law and justice, cultures and customs of the yorùbá, ed., tóyin fálọlá& akíntúndé akínyẹmí, pan african university press, pp 829845. blacking, j. (1967). venda children’s songs: a study in ethnomusicological analysis. johannesburg witwatersand university press. djedje, j. (2003). ‘four words’, in anri herbst, meki nzewi& kofi agawu (eds.) musical arts in africa: theory, practice and education.:unisa press pretoria. devereux, g, and labarre w (1961). art and mythology. in bert kaplan (ed). studying personality cross culturally. evanston: row, peterson, pp. 361403 huge t (1970). chopi musicians, the music poetry and instruments, international african institute, oxford university press london, new york, toronto. ọlúnladé. f (2017). ethics, social control, and management structure. cultures and customs of the yorùbá, ed., tóyìn fálọlá & akíntúndé akínyẹmí, pan african university press, pp 805-815. ọmọ ́jọlà, o. (1999). “cultural and social identity in nigerian traditional music” the performer. vol. 1, no 2: 41-5 merriam a (1964). anthropology of music, northwestern university press, evanston, illinois usa. nketia, j. (1966). music in african cultures. legon: institute of african studies. stone r. (2000). african music in a constellation of arts, the garland handbook of music ed. ruth jones, 2nd edition, garland publishing, inc. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 322 udok e & peter a, (2016). analytical study of the structures and technique of iban isong musical performance of the ibibio in akwa ibom state, journal of the association of nigerian musicologists, no. 10, p355. weman, h. (1960). african music and the church in africa. vol. 3 of studia missionalia upsaliensia. uppsala: svenska institutet för missions forkning vidal a. (2012). the role and functions of music at yorùbá festivals, essays on yorùbá musicology, history, theory and practiced adédèjì. p 284. microsoft word igwebuike jounals vol. 5. no. 1.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 55 a critical exposition of madukakism as a theory of being human in contemporary africa enyimba, maduka phd department of philosophy university of calabar calabar enyimbamauka@gmail.com abstract in our world today, what is meant to be human is shrouded in mystery as a result of two major factors. the first being globalization and its attendant information communication technology (ict). the second having to do with the universal drive towards economic achievements and material acquisition. following these, the essence, worthiness and self-authenticity of the human person is almost eroded. this paper presents madukakism as a philosophy of being human in contemporary africa. its make the claim that, the idea of madukakism when imbibed by all and sundry, will restore human dignity and worth as well as foster global peace. the philosophical methods of conversationalism, exposition, conceptual clarification and deduction were employed to show that madukakism is drawn from the word madukaku, which is an igbo concept that represents, explicates and exposes the true nature of human being. madukaku connotes the quality and value which the being “human” possesses as against other existing beings. following the idea of madukaku, the notion of human being, humanhood, personhood or humanity consist in the quality, value, worth or importance attached or attributed to a person over and above other things. the paper attempts to defend this view by presenting arguments to show that the (igbo) african, places more value on a person than anything else and this is evident in their naming tradition among other things. it also argues that the terms “human being”, as well as madukaku, are combinations of two words, each of which when broken down are synonymous in meaning and signification. moreover, “being” metaphysically refers to anything that exists whether visible or invisible, spiritual or physical; and humans are part of the existing things. hence, the paper presents madukakism as the authentic basis for (humanness) being human in (igbo) african worldview. keywords: madukaku, madukakism, being human, africa (igbo) worldview introduction ifeanyi menkiti and kwame gyekye have articulated different notions of being human in african thought. while recognizing the merit of some of their propositions, this paper has gone further to present the position that the concrete nature of being human in africa is encapsulated in the idea of madukaku, which is that a person or being is human because he/she is worth more in quality and essence than other (beings) things. menkiti had argued in his paper “person and community in african traditional thought”, that in the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 56 african view, it is the community which defines the person as person, not some isolated static quality of rationality, will or memory [1984,172]. the argument against menkiti is that whether within or outside the community, a person an rightly be called a person by virtue of his/her worthness, value or importance over other things. personhood is not what one has to work for or acquire. it is rather inherent in one’s ontological nature. thus, whether the community recognizes it or not, a person remains a person because of the possession of intrinsic worth or value over other creations. rejecting menkiti’s view of the community determination of the personhood of a person, kwame gyekye presents a normative view of personhood from the akan perspective. according to him, though a person may be described as communitarian by virtue of being born into an existing community, yet such a community does not determine his humanity. instead he/she remains a person by virtue of the morality of his/her conduct. in other words, personhood is for kwame, defined in terms of moral qualities [1992,109-110]. kwame’s normative conception of the human person, appears to be lopsided as it does not consider other essential aspects of the personhood of a person. thus, it is argued that personhood is the intrinsic ontological virtue of a person that distinguishes him/her as a human being. being human is an expression of the intrinsic, ontological worth of someone over other beings as embodied in the concept of madukaku, which forms the bedrock of madukakism as a philosophy of being human. the method of conversationalism is deployed to converse with other scholars and authors on the notion of personhood. the approach of conceptual clarification is employed to explicate and expose the meaning of madukaku and madukakism, while employing deduction to arrive at the conclusion that madukaku is the basis of being human in contemporary africa. this paper is both practically and theoretically significant, in that it aids in solving the problem of misguided self and the search for self-identity or authenticity which are at the root of racial bigotry, and crisis of human relations in the globe. the fact, that an embrace of madukakism as a philosophy of being human, restores man’s dignity and worth and fosters global peace, justifies this research. the notion of madukaku the concept of madukaku is a combination of two distinct igbo words and one igbo phrase. these are “madu”, “aku” and “ka” respectively. the most appropriate english rendition of these concepts are; “human”, “wealth” and “is greater than”. these translate into “human is greater than wealth”. wealth here can refer to anything else outside the human person. infact, non-human igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 57 entities or objects constitutes what can be called wealth. wealth also include such material acquisitions as; money or finances, houses, cars, social, political, religious and economic status etcetera. this is why the concept of madukaku (human is greater than wealth) is seen as the embodiment of what it entails to be a human person. madukaku connotes the essence of being human in that it expresses the intrinsic worth of the being called human. uzukwu defines human being as “mmadi,” meaning “beauty that is” [1982,195]. closely related to this aesthetic description of the human person, is chimakonam and lucky’s assertion that, “mmadu” ought to relate with one another and other existing reality in order to bring out the beauty of life [2015,270]. in otherwords, for them “mma””ndu” simply means the beauty of life. in an attempt to show that contemporary african society seems to have derailed from upholding human dignity and therefore have lust touch of what it really means to be human, ejiogu amaku rhetorically questions thus: how do we explain the contemporary preference of money and wealth to human life, such that a human person can be mercilessly kidnapped, held in the bush for days and often killed if a financial demand is not met with?... [2014,4]. in response to this dehumanizing situations in present day africa, ejiogu amaku makes a case for an authentic pan-african humanism whose major aim is the happiness of the human person. for him, education is the basis for an advancement of pan-african humanism [2014,251-301]. similarly, ike odimegwu decries the fact that african notion of personhood has not be given the attention it deserves, and has been somehow occluded by the bland assertion of communalism that is now fast turning into a cliché [2008,ix]. he thus, presents his theory of integrative personhood which he believes has great relevance to human beings. according to the theory of integrative personhood, a person perceives and presents himself/herself as the enduring self-present of being constituted in the unity of individuality and communality by the dialogic of presencing [2008,104-135]. what odimegwu means here is that personhood in africa is inclusive of a person’s individuality and his being a member of the community. this is what defines personhood from the perspective of odimegwu’s integrativism. this present study perceives this as amounting to menkiti’s, mbiti’s as well as gyekye’s idea of personhood which the theory of madukakism disagrees with. this will be shown in subsequent section. considering the relevance of the idea of these scholars and others like chielozona eze [1998,27-48], emmanuel edeh. [1985,100], iroegbu [1995,351], to the idea of madukaku, this work proposes a return to the ideals and values of igbo notion of being human as encapsulated in the concept of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 58 madukaku as the authentic basis of being human in contemporary african. this is the theory of madukakism which is projected in this work. madukakism as a theory of being human in contemporary africa for the igbo speaking people of eastern nigeria, west africa, where the word is drawn from, madukaku is used to express the value placed on humans above other existing things. for this sect of african people, importance, worth, value, essence and high quality are attached or attributed to a human person over and above other things. according to the igbo thought system, life cannot subsist without the human person. if the human person is removed from the surface of the earth, the universe becomes empty, having no meaning. in other words, it is humans that give meaning and worth to life forces and other aspects of human existence. this explains why the igbos of west africa believe that, no matter how wealthy and highly placed one may be, without a human interactions such a person has lost the meaning and essence of life. thus, life becomes meaningful because of the existence of humans in the universe. whereas other things in the universe cannot deploy humans, it is only human beings that have the capacity to use every other existing things, thereby adding meaning and worth to them. what money and other material things cannot do, a human can do them. this idea of madukaku as expressed in the worldview of the igbos is made more explicit through their naming tradition. within the igbo cosmos, names are given consciously and purposefully in other to express the intrinsic worth attached to the human person and to life generally. at this point, a conceptual analysis of some of these names will expose further the philosophy behind madukaku. the name, madubisi is another variant of madukaku. “madu” here refers to “human” “bu” refers to “is” and “isi” implies “head”. in otherwords “madubuisi”, means, “human is the head”. by implication, human is not subservient to any other, he/she is the head, and not the tail. he/she is in charge and supreme. another name that reflects the essence and intrinsic worth of the human person that readily comes to mind is “madubueze”. it means “man is king”. other names include; “maduakolam” (let no human lack in my life or may i not lack a human in my life) and “madubuike” (human is strength). in otherwords, there are certain things want cannot do by his/herself alone, but with fellow humans around, you receive strength to do them.“maduforo” (human remains when all is lost). this means if one has lost everything but human life remains, then he/she still has something worth. “madukamkpa” (human is more important). others include “madubuchiibeya” (humans are god to his fellow) onunwa [1991,69]. “nwakego” (a child is more precious than money); “nwabueze (a child is king), “nwakanma” (a child is better than anything else); “nwabuihe” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 59 (a child is light); “ndukauba” (human life is greater than riches) and “ndukaku” (human life is greater than wealth). all these and many other names which underscore the philosophy behind “madukaku” is summarized in the igbo proverb that says; “onye nwere madu ka onye nwere ego” which is interpreted to mean, “he who has somebody (human person) is greater and better than he that has only money or wealth” the truth implied in this maxim is that, there are certain things which money or riches may not do for he that has it, but only a human may, with a human, money may then become useful and meaningful. in the same vein, there are many things that wealth, riches or money may not buy, but only a human person may bring it or cause it to happen or take place in somebody’s life. such things include; happiness, joy, peace, love and many more. thus, madukaku is the basis of being human in africa and the world over. it is to be worth more than wealth or any possession or material things. consequently, madukaku rejects colonialism, slavery or any form of dehumanizing of the human person. it also forbids man’s inhumanity to man. madukaku underscores all other view’s on human person as subsistent to the quality and value of being greater than wealth or material acquisition. all these as embedded in the idea of madukaku have been articulated to formulate “madukakism” as the philosophy of being human. madukakism therefore, connotes the essence of humanhood, personhood, humanity, human personality, humanness and indeed being human. udobata onunwa in his “the individual and community in african traditional religion and society”, seems to lend credence to the above claim. after a careful exposition and criticism of the effect of community or group domination on the individual person, udobata summarizes thus: while not the lord of the universe in igbo cosmology, man believes himself to be at the centre of the universe, where the pressures and influences of all other things converge and operate. man is then important [1994,258]. indeed, if the human person is at the centre of the universe and its activities, then a person’s importance, worth and place in the scheme of things in the universe cannot be undermined. thus, for madukakism the human is supreme. infact, as the centre piece of the pressures and influences of other beings in the cosmos, the human person is a force to reckon with, which goes to say that, “the society, community or universe is, because the human person is”. thus, the protagorean dictum that “man is the measure of all things” stumpf [1994,29] becomes significant here. this idea projects the philosophy and theory of madukakism. on the contrary john s. mbiti’s dictum that, “i am because we are and because we are i am” [1974,158], is antithetical to the idea of madukaku as the basis of being human in africa and as such against the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 60 foundation of the philosophy of madukakism. by implication, what j. s. mbiti means is that man’s security and importance can be located within his own king group which makes him aware of himself. in other words, without the group or community interest or consciousness, the individual ceases to exist and to have meaning. it is pertinent to mention at this point that on the basis of mbiti’s aphorism, ifeanyi menkiti elaborated his own idea of personhood. in a paper with the title “person and community in african traditional thought”, menkiti avers that “in the african view, it is the community which defines the person as person, not some isolated static quality of rationality, will or memory. moreover, personhood for him is something which has to be achieved, and not given simply because one is born of human seed” [1984,172]. the implication of menkiti’s assertion is that, the self or personal identity which an individual comes to posses as a human cannot be made sense of, except by reference to collective consciousness. it further implies that, one attends full personhood or becomes fully human, depending on how long he has been in a community or how old he is. in other words, the older an individual is the more human that individual becomes. the problem with the communal interpretation of the human person by mbiti and menkiti which the idea of madukaku and the philosophy of madukakism rejects is the fact that it places the community above the individual. it makes the individual a function of the society in which he lives, such that the individual’s rights are assessed in relation to the will of the community. this, not only threatens, but also destroys the individual’s self-worth, creativity and ingenuity. what both authors seem to overlook, but which the philosophy and theory of madukakism takes into cognizance is the fact that, there is no community, state, nation or universe without the individual human person. this is why plato as quoted by desmond describes the state as “individual write lar7,4e” [1984], meaning that it is the individuals that make up the state. the point is that, it takes an individual to agree with another individual to come together in a marital union. this union though primarily, a sexual relation,brings into existence other human beings, thus, forming a family. the family is further enlarged through this same human personal relationship, into kindreds, from kindreds to communities, states, nations and the universe as a whole. thus, “the individual is a microcosm” (onunwa, 1991,68). the individual is the building block, the foundation or the root of the community that mbiti and menkiti were referring to. without the individual, there is no community and by estention, no universe. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 61 this is why the philosophy of madukakism places madukaku at the foundation of human existence. to be human is to be madukaku and to be madukaku is to be human. thus, personhood is not achieved by a human person working towards getting the community to approve of his/her humanness as mbiti and menkiti, suggest. humanity, personhood, humanhood or human existence is a product of the idea of madukaku, which is a product of the individual worthness, value, integrity, self-importance, which is his essence. a person is simply human because he is of a human seed and possesses within him/herself that natural tendency and value over non-human aspects of the cosmic environment. this is why madukaku and the philosophy of madukakism reject racism, slavery and the projection of one race above another. according to jonathan chimakonam and lucky ogbonnaya, in their work “a conceptual and contextual meaning of mmadu in igbo reality scheme”, it is around mmadu that everything revolves. he/she may not possess all the power required to survive in the dangerous world, but does posses the intellectual wizardry to control all other forces, to use their powers to serve his/her existential needs. this makes mmadu the ultimate reality in the igbo universe [2015,271]. in otherwords, for these scholars, the centrality and importance of mmadu in the universe cannot be overemphasized, especially as it renders human life as the ultimate reality in igbo worldview. now, though the idea of madukaku as being human affirms the above assertion that since human person is the ultimate reality, his/her absence renders every other thing non-existence and therefore meaningless. however, it disagrees with it on one count, as the theory of madukakism does not subscribe to the claim that it is the ‘intellectual wizardry’ which the individual possesses that makes him/her human and therefore supreme over other beings. the idea of madukaku as the basis of being human projects an individual as having personhood in so far as he/she is of the human seed which naturally bestows on him the supremacy, worthness, importance and value over and above other things. infact, to accept the view that a person assumes the status of personhood or humanhood on the basis of possessing intelligence, will power, memory or intellectual wizardry as chimakonam and lucky put it, is to place one human person over and above another who may have less of the above quality. such a criterion will dehumanize some persons. it is this type of reasoning that creates room for: racism, ethnicity, dehumanization, slavery, man’s inhumanity to man, terrorism, war, conflicts, discrimination of all kinds and forms and at all levels. these are the very ideas that madukaku, the basis of madukakism as the philosophy of being human opposes and seeks to overcome. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 62 against the conception of an individual, being a human person on the basis of intellectual prowess by chimakonam and lucky, and against the communal interpretation of the nature of human person by mbiti and menkiti, kwame gyekye proposes a normative conception of the human person. from the background of the akan speaking people of ghana, kwame observes that the individual is a person on the basis of his possession of a moral character. according to him, a person is defined in terms of his/her moral qualities or capacities. a human person is a being who has a moral sense and is capable of making moral judgments [1992,110]. kwame’s assertion suggests that moral qualities such as humility, respect for others, goodness, peace-loving, etc, is what makes a person who possesses them human. kwame disagree with menkiti that it is the community which defines the person as person, and not some isolated static quality of rationality, will or memory. for kwame, a human is a person whatever his age or social status, it is not acquired or yet to be achieved as one goes along in the society. in otherwords, kwame presents some static quality of morality as that which embodies human beings. thus, it follows that the acquisition and display of moral virtue by individual is what makes him/her human. though madukakism supports the idea that one is a person because of what he is, not because of what he has acquired, yet it does not subscribe to moral virtue alone as the sole embodiment of what it means to be human. the reason is that, there are many persons who live immorally and amorally, yet they do not cease to be humans. some persons may not, have the capability for virtuous acts, yet they still remain humans. another significant aspect of kwame’s analysis of the human person, is his observation that god created everyone to be good, which means that by nature man is good. the implication here is that, inherently and naturally, man possesses good qualities. and these good qualities are interpreted by kwame to mean moral goodness, which implies that man has the natural tendency to display moral virtues and to make moral choices. hence, man is a moral agent [1991,102]. the idea of madukaku as the basis of being human, and its attendant philosophy of madukakism conceives the human person as not only inherently and naturally good, but also rich in high moral values, greater than and better than every other existing things in all ramification. in other words man’s worth, dignity, value and humanness transcend communal approval, intellectual wizardry and moral responsiveness. the human person is thus, supreme in him/herself and over other things in the universe. summary and conclusion africa and the world over is in need of peace. the continent is traumatized with numerous crisis, ranging from crisis of identity, and of relevance, crisis for dominion and for supremacy, religious, social and political crisis. ethnic igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 63 and tribal conflicts as well as racial bigotry and discrimination at the global level cannot also be overlooked. in the midst of all these, human value, dignity, worth, freedom and self-authenticity are played down. individuals have become instruments in the hands of fellow individuals. the society is rife with man’s inhumanity to man, bloodshed, murder, suicide bombing, terrorist attacks and the destruction of human lives with reckless abandon. this gory state of the human person and humanity have made it even more difficult to understand what it really means to be human in today’s africa, and the world at large. it is against this backdrop that madukakism is articulated as the philosophy and theory of being human. this philosophy is presented as the needed launch pad to restoring human value, dignity and self image in our world today. if every race, group or persons will recognize humans for who they are, all forms of dehumanization will be eroded. this philosophy is founded on the igbo idea of madukaku, which is interpreted to mean humans are greater than riches and wealth. according to the notion of madukaku, to be human is to be intrinsically worth more than wealth or any possession of material things. it is to be more precious and valuable than anything else. using the idea of madukaku as the basis of being human in (igbo) africa, madukakism rejects colonialism, slavery, racism, ethnicity and all forms of discrimination and dehumanization of the human person. having examined the views of j. s. mbiti, ifeanyi menkiti, jonathan chimakonam and lucky ogbonnaya as well as kwame gyekye, this work exposes the positive import of their analysis on personhood. however, following the principle of madukaku upon which madukakism as the philosophy and theory of being human is formulated. it was argued against mbiti and menkiti that individual human person does not exist after and for the society. he/she is the bedrock of the society or community. thus, the human person does not really need the community’s approval to be who he/she is. again, against the views of chimakonam and lucky, human being (madu) is not human solely because of his intellectual prowess. he is much more than that, for to accept that as the basis of being human, is to reduce other humans who may have less of such prowess, to less human. this is against the principle of madukaku and the philosophy of madukakism. moreso, kwame gyekye’s critique of menkiti and his brilliant exposition of the moral responsiveness of the individual as the basis of being human was also shown to be in opposition to the philosophy of madukakism on the ground that capability of virtuous act is not enough basis for being human in contemporary times. for to accept that, again, will imply that those individuals with moral weakness are therefore less human. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 64 on the other hand, the theory of madukakism identifies with onunwa’s position that a human person is at the centre of the pressures and activities in the universe. madukaku as the basis of being human presents the individual person as human in so far as he/she is of the seed of human, and as such possesses natural and intrinsic worth or value that transcends intelligence, morality, community and any other limiting feature or quality. thus, to be human is to be madukaku and to be madukaku is to be human. references chielozana, e. (1988). man as mmadu: human being and being human in igbo context. west african journal of philosophical studies. 1(1) 27-48. chimakonam, j. o. and lucky, o. a. (2015). conceptual and contextual meaning of “mmadu” in the igbo reality scheme: further contribution to uram igbo studies, uram. 34 (3-4): 268 – 83. desmond, l. plato�1987). the republic. england: penguin books. ejiogu, e. a. (2014). the problematic of human dignity in africa. owerri: living flames resources. emmanuel, m.p.e. (1998). towards an igbo metaphysics. chicago: loyola university press. gyekye, k. (1992). person and community in african thought. in; wiredu k and gyekye k, (ed.). person and community: ghanaian philosophical studies, i. washington d.c: council for research and values,. p101 – 122. iroegbu, p. (1998). metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: international university press. mbiti, j. s. (1974). african religions and philosophy. newyork: heinemann educational. menkiti, i. a. (1984). person and community in african traditional thought. in; wright r. (ed.). african philosophy: an introduction. 2nd ed. new york: university press of america; p170 – 80. odimegwu, i. (2008). integrative personhood: a communalist metaphysical anthropology. london: transaction publishers. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 65 onunwa, u. (1991). humanism: the bedrock of african traditional religion and culture. religious humanism. xxv (2) 66-71. onunwa, u. (1994). the individual and community in african traditional religion and culture. the mankind quarterly . xxxiv (3) 249-260. stumpf, e. s.(1994). philosophy: history and problems. newyork: mcgrawhill. uzukwu, b. (1982). igbo world and ultimate reality and meaning. ultimate reality and meaning. 5 (3): 188 – 209. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 6.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 176 a review of ikechukwu anthony kanu’s “igwebuikeconomics: towards an inclusive economy for economic development” charles c. nweke department of philosophy nnamdi azikiwe university, awka nkesun2002@yahoo.com, cc.nweke@unizik.edu.ng apparently perturbed by the stumpy economic realities of africa, as well as the continent’s place in the global economic ranking, ikechukwu anthony kanu extended the application of his pet philosophy “igwebuike” which underpins almost all his intellectual repositories, to the problem of africa economic development. hence, the piece, “igwebuikeconomics: towards an inclusive economy for economic development” remains his germane input towards addressing the african economic existential situation. kanu began the discourse by a review of the cutting edge research, which has caught the interests of many development and philosophy scholars, carried out by daron acemoglu and james robinson in their seminal book, why nations fail: the origins of power, prosperity and poverty. he noted that acemoglu and robinson identified inclusive economic institutions as the cornerstone of any society’s economic prosperity. with the analysis of the 25 richest and 25 poorest countries in the world, as reflected in the world atlas, kanu maintained, in validation of acemoglu and robinson’s position, that poorest and richest countries have common denominators; weak and vibrant economic institutions respectively. in his words: nations that are poorest in the world always have something in common, even if they are geographically far apart: weak economic institutions; in the same way, nations that are economically prosperous always have something in common: vibrant economic institutions.(kanu, 2017) it is worrisome that no african nation made the list of the 25 richest countries in the world, whereas, african countries constituted about 80 per cent of the 25 poorest world countries. the four countries (kiribati, haiti, afghanistan and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 177 solomon islands) outside the continent of africa that make up the list share common feeble economic institutions with the african countries. considering his “explanatory variables for the hierarchy of incomes among nations” viz; the geographical, culture and ignorance hypotheses, kanu in line dismissed each of the hypotheses as a militating factor for any nation’s prosperity. as regards the geographical hypothesis, kanu (2017) submitted that: … geographical differences are not the major cause of poor economies. the example of countries like south korea and north korea and nogales sorona and nogales arizona, that share the same geographical setting and yet different economic states points to the fact that hierarchies in economies cannot be adequately explained by geographical differences. likewise, the culture hypothesis which identified culture as the factor responsible for economic divergences advanced by max weber and supported by .j. s. mbiti, could not proffer sustainable explanation to economic differences among nations. thus, kanu (2017) posited: to the extent that social norms are related to culture, one can say that culture can affect economic development; however, culture is not enough to explain economic differences among nations. if we go back to nogales arizona and nogales sorona which have the same culture but different economies, it is very difficult to explain how culture makes the difference economically. ignorance hypothesis presents ignorance as the cause of world economic inequality. in this instance, the leaders of economically backward nations, especially those in africa, are said to lack the requisite knowledge of how to advance their countries’ development. kanu (2017) refuted this view on the ground that: … a cursory glance at the cases of apparent economic decline mismanagement and subsequent decline of the economy of many igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 178 african countries is not the product of ignorance. if a leader is ignorant and well-meaning for his people, he can always learn what policy would favour the economic prosperity of his people, or seek advice on how to go about it. since the three hypotheses could not sufficiently explain especially the african developmental retardation, it remains obvious that the continent is lacking in inclusiveness in its political and economic institutions. in order to address the malady of extractiveness in the african nations, kanu proposed igwebuikeconomics as a possible panacea. igwebuikeconomics, a term derived from the combination of igbo compound word igwebuike meaning ‘strength in many’ and economics simply entails an economy that is driven by the african philosophy of complementarity, with its principles of inclusiveness and relatedness, where each individual’s capacity is considered crucial to the growth of the society. in other words, igwebuikeconomics is an african oriented communal economics where development affects each member of the society “… not as a separate individual but as a participant whose activities impact every aspect of the whole.” (obi, 2017) in kanu’s own words, igwebukeconomics involves: … an economics that is anchored on the african worldview that understands reality as inclusive, complementary and relational, and which places the interest and good of the human person at the centre of reality. it is a humanistic economics that concerns herself with the description and analysis of production, distribution and consumption of goods and services from a complementary perspective for the development of peoples. it understands economic realities not in terms of aspects, identities and static elements but thinks in terms of relatedness that systematically takes into cognizance the interactions of the different elements of social life, especially, economic structure, political structure, social structure and belief systems, with an awareness of the complexity and dynamism of relatedness.(kanu, 2017) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 179 kanu presents igwebukeconomics as resting on two critical foundations, anthropocentric and socio-cultural foundations. igwebukeconomics is an economic humanism which does not place material prosperity above man. rather it prides in placing man, in line with the african worldview, at the center of reality. it is an inclusive economics that shuns all forms of elite capitalism and all exploitative tendencies. it equally leaves no room for “… laziness, negligence, cheating, insincerity, dishonesty and selfishness.” (kanu, 2017) it is grossly anti-colonial and negates all manner of oppressive economic policies. it is based on what osuagwu (1999) considers as anti-thesis to european colonialism. igwebuikeonomics is founded on the african culture of communalism which features the spirit of togetherness economically expressed in communal ownership of means of production. productions of goods are through collaborative efforts of the community the interest of which is placed over and above that of the individual. economic policies are people driven as they entrench equal opportunities and provide level playing ground in for everyone in the community. it recognizes technocracy and draws from the strength of its inherent developmental diversities. such inclusive economy promotes innovation in every facet of human endeavour. in presenting igwebuikeconomics as an interdependent economy, kanu underscores the importance of inter-connection between economic entities in such a way that both producers and consumers are mutually indispensable for the economic progress of any system. likewise, there ought to be a synergy between economic and political institutions. the strength of economic institutions is tremendously based on the provisions of political institutions. a nation’s economy thrives when government of the nation promotes human capacity and adequate enabling economic environment based on integral inclusiveness. to demonstrate the strength of economic and political interdependence based on inclusiveness, kanu examined the economies of northern, western and eastern regions of nigeria. the northern region is blessed with natural sources that ingrain diverse mining activities as well as cement and leather industries. it is equally known with enormous crop and livestock products accounting for around 23% of nigeria’s gdp. blessed with rich agricultural base, the western region’s economy is further boosted with effervescent commercial activities due igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 180 partly to the presence of the port together with other economic activities in the leading city, lagos credited with the highest of internally generated revenues in nigeria. as the 7th fastest growing city in the world, lagos has become a global economic hub and africa’s economic window to the rest of the world. characterized with a populace of indigenous people that are unrelentingly merchandizing, the eastern region’s economy is grossly trade driven. the igbo people of the region are known to own and run industries in the region, every other part of nigeria and beyond. onithsa, aba and nnewi house the major markets in the region that are reckoned as among the biggest markets in west africa. the igbo trade ingenuity is extended in other major markets in the country where they dominate in areas of electronics, ict, cosmetics and automobiles. nigeria is ranked among the highest economy in africa. its economic progress is powered by the interdependence of the three regions’ economies. kanu (2017) notes that: economic interdependence of the three regions allows room for the usefulness of surplus labour and surplus products. without the other regions, surplus product would not be able to balance with necessary product. surplus labour which is based on the demands from the different regions helps particular regions to maximize their full potentials economically. as regards the improvement of nigeria economy kanu (2017) made salient suggestions thus: to spur up economic prosperity in nigeria, there is, therefore, the need to open up the different regions more profoundly than they are at the moment to increase access to goods and services. while the west has linkages through the transatlantic ocean, and the east through the calabar sea, the economy of the north, landlocked with no access to international coastlines, has been badly affected. to expand the opportunities for access to her goods and services, the dredging of the river niger would be an important milestone. there is also the need for an efficient railway system that would help igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 181 the movement of goods and services. the fact that every imported item in nigeria, from petrol to sugar is cheaper in the west than in the north, means that the north’s disadvantage is been further compounded by poor transportation system and poor access. it does not make sense for any manufacturer to site his factory in kastina or yobe if he cannot easily move his goods to markets in the south or for export. nigeria economy would definitely thrive if it upholds the principles of igwebuikeconomics. the critical indicators of igwebuikeconomics are in line with the characteristics of inclusive economics as stipulated by rockefeller foundation. such inclusive economy must be equitable, participatory, growing, sustainable and stable. such inclusive economy is insured by good governance and guarantees sustainable economic growth evident in economic prosperity, equitable distribution of economic gains and poverty reduction. nigeria prides itself as one of the biggest africa economy, yet classified among the countries with the poorest citizens in the world. such contradiction entails, according to nnaemedo (2017, 290) that “measurement of the well-being of people should transcend quantitative evaluation of the means of the well-being to actual quality of life the people derive therein.” igwebuikeconomics remains for africa, a model of inclusive economy in which a symbiotic synergy between inclusive political institutions and inclusive economic institutions brings about integral and progressive development. thus igwebuikeconomics attends to ekei’s (2006, 169) call for africa’s socio-economic stability which “… requires well-designed scheme of resources and office distribution that take into consideration african socio-cultural peculiarities, particularly her ethno-religious diversities.” igwebuikeconomics calls for reversal to the “…principles of communalism which tend to bind people together in african brotherhood. such principle will simply collapse the politics and social relations of ethnic consciousness.”(nweke, 2013:154) it is noteworthy that the principles and characteristics of igwebuikeconomics are novel in so far as they represent kanu’s perspective on inclusive institutions and african development. however, the views expressed in the article can be regarded as the product of consolidating existing system inherent in african communalism to which kanu takes much credit. it could, on a separate consideration, be argued that the 1999 constitution of nigeria reflects elements of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 182 inclusivity in principle, but the country lacks consistent practical application of the principles. kanu’s article would have been further enriched if it had identified and addressed specific factors that militate against such expected practicalities. references ekei, j.(2006) “justice in communalism and social stability” in asiegbu, m. & agbakoba. j.c.a.(eds.), philosophy and praxis in africa, ibadan: hope publications ltd. kanu, i. a.(2017) “igwebuikeconomics: towards an inclusive economy for economic development” in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and and logic (nka) of african philosophy”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2015a). a hermeutic approach to the study of african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015b). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. nweke, c. c. (2013) “social stability within the nigerian state” in ujah: unizik journal of arts and humanities, vol. 14, no. 3. nnaemedo, b. (2017) “africa’s status in global development index: a critique” in ndubisi, e.j.o. & ejikeme, p.o. (eds.) society and human development, benin: bobpeco publishers obi, a.c. (2017) being as duality and african hermeneutics of foundation, enugu: snaap press ltd. osuagwu, m.i. (1999) a contemporary history of african philosophy, enugu: snaap press ltd. igwebuike theology of omenani and the crisis of the missionary bifurcation of horizons themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 19 igwebuike theology of omenani and the crisis of the missionary bifurcation of horizons ikechukwu anthony kanu department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university umunya, anambra state ikee_mario@yahoo.com abstract african theology points to the fact that every particular situation or context calls for a particular theological reflection, that is, if the theological reflection is to make meaning within that unique circumstance. it is within this context that the igwebuike theology of omenani emerges in relation to the understanding of culture as the seed of the word of god, which already pre-existed in africa even before the emergence of the western missionaries. the purpose of adopting this idea of culture as the seed of the word of god is to enhance the reconciliation between the african and christian/western ’worldhoods’. this piece presented the african culture as an important element in evangelization in africa, as it is the spirit that animates the african people. it further emphasized the indispensability of integrating the african worldview in the communication of the gospel to the people of african. it, therefore, located the seed of the word of god in the omenani (the law of the land) of the african people through which they were able to achieve holiness, even before the advent of the gospel. it observed that the failures of the missionary enterprise were majorly because of missionaries’ lack of openness to the african religion and culture. the identification of omenani as the seed of ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 20 the word of god showed that culture is not an enemy of the gospel, but an instrument for its transmission.. the purpose of this study is to bridge the bifurcation created by the missionaries between the christian and african ‘worldhoods’. the theoretical framework employed in this research is the igwebuike sympathetic and non-derogatory framework, which emphasizes evangelization with a sense of understanding. it is a polite and humane approach, and excludes the influences of bias in the process of knowing and relationship. keywords: omenani, logos spermatikos, culture, african, igbo, evangelization, igwebuike introduction african theologians are agreed that the religious invasions in africa, among other experiences, have made the african homeless at home. even the theologians, who had the privilege of going to europe to study theology at the feet of european theologians during the missionary era, have discovered that to make a distinctive meditation upon faith in christ in such a way that it does justice to the life circumstances of the african christian would not be possible without executing a dismantling and an appropriate reconstruction; in this way, making theology fit into the african reality and christianity at home in africa. this notwithstanding, the question looming at the horizon is: how can the church be more and more at home in africa and africa more and more at home in the church? pope paul vi (cited in mbefo 1989) asks: does the church in africa retain a certain christian religious form that was brought in from outside and which makes her, as it were, a stranger and pilgrim among her people? should new and more suitable means be sought in theology and in pastoral practice? (p. 9) igwebuike theology of omenani and the crisis of the missionary bifurcation of horizons themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 21 these questions, among others, led to the emergence of african theology in the twentieth century. as it is with the emergence of new concepts, with the introduction of the concept “african theology”, there arose the question of the limits of its content and meaning. the need for conceptualization was necessary, not because of the need to give the rightful place to african culture and worldview, but to what extent this should be included in relation to the substance of the faith. in the midst of these discussions, dickson (1984) defines african theology thus: the expression ‘african theology’ is not a slogan of vindication and whatever its popular use might connote, it is not meant to be simply an amalgamation of christian and traditional belief elements; the aim of those involved in the quest is to arrive at a distinctive meditation upon faith in christ that does justice to the life circumstances of the african (p. 122). this concept of african theology points to the fact that every particular situation or context calls for a particular theological reflection, that is, if the theological reflection is to make meaning within that unique circumstance or environment. it is within this context that the igwebuike theology of omenani emerges, in relation to the understanding of culture as the seed of the word of god, which already pre-existed in africa, even before the emergence of western missionaries. the purpose of adopting this idea of culture as the seed of the word of god is to enhance the reconciliation between the african and the western perspectives. it presents the african culture as an important element in evangelization in africa, as it is the spirit that animates the african. it emphasizes the indispensability of integrating the african worldview in the communication of the gospel to the african people. this paper further locates the seed of the word of god in the omenani (the law of the land) of the african people through which they were able to achieve holiness, even before the advent of the gospel. ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 22 defining igwebuike theology the concept, igwebuike, began first as a methodology and philosophy. gradually, its philosophical elements began to have serious implications for theological discourse, especially with the increasing need to do theology that arises from the philosophy of the african people. such a theology would always have an inescapable element of philosophy, speaking to people in their own native context, because it is expressed in categories of thought that arise out of the philosophy of the african people. this affirms the reality of the link between philosophy and theology, especially regarding the links between the great philosophical questions and the mysteries of salvation which are studied in theology under the guidance of the higher light of faith (kanu, 2010). pope lee xiii makes a connection between philosophy and theology: philosophy if rightly made use of by the wise, in a certain way tends to smooth and fortify the road to true faith, and to prepare the souls of its disciples for the fit reception of revelation; for which reason is well called by ancient writers sometimes a stepping stone to the christian faith; sometimes the help and prelude of christianity, sometimes the gospel teacher (p. 1). in igwebuike theology, theology takes on the form of a bridge that connects the human person who lives within the context of a changing culture to god, who is beyond the law of change. while this bridge is the message, for it to reach the human person, it requires the agency of revelation and culture. revelation without culture would be a message that is not understood. culture is the symbolic network of meanings through which the human person interprets the world. as such, any message from god must come through cultural symbols. theology, therefore, becomes a dialogue between revelation and culture; the level of this dialogue would determine the level of absorption of the christian message. below is a bridge illustration of theology to help convey this point. igwebuike theology of omenani and the crisis of the missionary bifurcation of horizons themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 23 figure 1source: missionmusings (2017) this notwithstanding, igwebuike is a combination of three igbo words. it can be understood as a word or a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. literally, igwe is a noun, which means ‘number’ or ‘multitude’, usually a large number or population. the number or population in perspective are entities with ontological identities and significances; however, part of an existential order in which every entity is in relation to the other. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is a noun, which means strength or power (kanu, 2016a&b). igwe, bu and ike put together, means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’ (kanu, 2017f). however, beyond the literal sense of igwebuike, it means otu obi (one heart and one soul) – cor unum et anima una. it refers to the relational engagement in the world, accomplished in solidarity and complementarity, and the powerful and insurmountable force therein (kanu, 2017g). the closest words to it in english are complementarity, solidarity and harmony. in ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 24 this way, igwebuike conceptualizes or captures the nature of the african universe. thus, what igwebuike does is that it captures the nature of the african universe and uses it as a framework for discussions within the enterprise of theology. the value that it brings to the table of theological discussions is its emphasis on the african worldview as an indispensable element in any successful african theological discussion and missionary enterprise. this makes theological discussions relevant to the african and his/her environment. igwebuike theology is a quest to arrive at a unique understanding of faith in christ in such a way that it captures the african worldview and the african’s life circumstances. only thus will evangelization respond to the inadequacies of the missionary enterprise, give birth to a new african personality and be in accord with the legitimate aspirations and concerns of the african people. igwebuike theology does not in any way imply a change in the church’s theologyit is the same theology, a systematic and scientific discourse on god, presented in such a way that it fits into the african religious, social, anthropological and philosophical realities, mentality and needs. the focus on christ, the scripture and tradition is not altered in any way. they remain the inevitable revelatory agents. as a result of the uniqueness of igwebuike theology, it has peculiar approaches, which include: understanding theology as contextual, that is, a theology of life and culture that is accountable to the context in which the african people live; understanding reality as complementary and interconnected; understanding african traditional religion and culture as preparation for the gospel message; understanding theology as an enterprise that provides answers to the african person’s innermost and deepest longings, that is, the search for happiness (god). its sources include: the bible, church tradition, african philosophy, religion and culture, african anthropology and african experiences. igwebuike theology of omenani and the crisis of the missionary bifurcation of horizons themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 25 theoretical framework the theoretical framework employed in this research is the igwebuike sympathetic and non-derogatory framework in evangelization. it emphasizes evangelization with a sense of understanding. it is polite and humane, and excludes the influences of bias in the process of knowing. it is sympathetic and non-derogatory to that which is within the circumference of the other. okonkwo (1998 & 2019), taking from the encounter between paul and the athenians in acts of the apostles, describes the sympathetic and non-derogatory approach. paul, the missionary per excellence, though he was so exasperated at the sight of athens, an idol-ridden pantheistic city and people, did not, prima facie, condemn neither the idols nor the people. rather, he adopted a secular wisdom and intellection and called the ‘idol-riddenpantheistic athenians’ “a god-fearing and extremely scrupulous people in religious matters” (act, 17:23). paul did not gloss-over their religious and cultural values; rather, he showered understanding on them. st. paul, after his polite and humane method of meeting with foreigners – the gentiles, he still was vehement and firm in his solemn proclamations in the condemnation of false gods and idolatry. this same sympathetic and non-derogatory approach we find in jesus, the apostles and the church fathers. in sowing the seed of the gospel, they had respect for other peoples’ cultures. jesus and his apostles came from the jewish background whose religiosity, prayers and practices of worship were well-defined. however, jesus’ attitudes toward the jewish cult were represented in two categories: fidelity and autonomy. in fidelity, jesus had respect for the traditions of his time. he came not to abolish the law and the prophets but to fulfill them (matthew 5:17). he was faithful in observing the offering of sacrifices in the temple (matthew 21:12), the service of words in the synagogue (matthew 6:6), observing the day of the sabbath, the feasts of passover, tabernacle, and dedication (matthew 26:17-19). however, his fidelity did not lie in passivity, but represented that of a “critical yes”, a reforming fidelity that placed a demand of purification on the ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 26 worship of its time. his autonomy found expression in his challenge to fellow jews to spiritualize and interiorize the jewish religion, and in this process, he was giving birth to the era of christian worship. when jesus preached the gospel, he used categories familiar to his audience. we hear of absentee lords and tenant revolts (matthew 21:31-45), small family-run farms (matthew 21:28-30), debts and debtors (matthew 18:25-35), extortion and corruption (luke 16:1-9), uncaring rich (luke 12:18), day labourers paid merely subsistent wages (matthew 20:1-6). these graphically reflect the detail of the picture of palestinian countryside during his time. st paul wrote, “to the jews i became a jew, in other to win jews… i have become all things to all men that i might by all means save some” (philippians 9:20 & 22). in the opinion of metuh (1996), st paul was talking about missiology, and at the same time using the language of contextual theology in which lies the theology of inculturation: bringing the christian experience into the culture of the people, a process that makes alive the dynamic and eternal motion of the incarnation. freyne (1980) observes how st paul criss-crossed the mediterranean world on sea and land with the good news of christ vying for the souls of the masses with religious leaders and philosophers. any contemporary missionary will testify to the value of paul’s acquaintance with the language of the people and his ability to share many of their assumptions with them. after jesus, dulles (1983) observes that his apostles continued to employ the same model in their attempt to bring the good news to the peoples of their time. with the conversion and subsequent mission of st paul to the gentiles, so many of them were converted to christianity and there now arose the question as to whether to allow the gentiles to become christians without imposing on them the law of circumcision held in high esteem by the jews. this called for the council of jerusalem between 4950ad. the judaizers held that circumcision, as contained in the old testament, was necessary for salvation, while st paul and his followers maintained that all that was igwebuike theology of omenani and the crisis of the missionary bifurcation of horizons themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 27 needed for salvation was faith in jesus and baptism in his name (acts 15). according to schineller (1991), peter’s position which agreed with paul’s, prevailed, and it was decided not to lay extra burdens on the gentile converts. because of this liberating decision, the mission of paul continued with great success, and the church expanded far beyond the borders of palestine. one did not first have to become jewish before becoming a christian. (p. 30). this sympathetic and non-derogatory approach points to the importance of beginning from where the people are and what they know to where they need to be or need to know. jesus began with worshipping the jewish way, and taught the people within the contexts of the jewish categories. he did not begin with condemnation or looking down on the people. in the same way, saint paul began with addressing the athenians as religious people. in relation to the missionary enterprise in africa, this framework would advocate the missionary first discovering the seed of the word of god within a particular culture, rather than condemnation of the culture of the people. african culture as the seed of god’s word during the 2 nd century, christianity had moved beyond the walls of jerusalem to the greek and roman territories, with the challenge of christianity coming face to face with other religious and cultural traditions outside of judaism. this required a more dynamic method of evangelisation that does not in any way compromise the gospel message. rather than a radical rejection of greek culture, they indulged in a great appreciation and partial acceptance of the greek culture as a starting point for their sowing of the seed of the gospel. although they were primarily christian theologians, they employed greek culture and philosophy for the service of the gospel. they found philosophical themes and concepts useful for developing and clarifying the christian message. ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 28 at the time that these christian thinkers brought the message to the greeks, neo-platonism, a revival of platonic philosophy, was at its peak. these christian thinkers found neo-platonism a useful tool for the explanation of christian doctrines. prominent among these christian writers were: justine martyr, clement of alexandria, gregory of nyssa, origen, augustine, among others. according to omoregbe (1997): these men christianized neoplatonism by giving christian interpretation to certain theme and concepts in neoplatonic philosophy, such as logos, the divine mind, creation, the soul, the problem of evil, the problem of the universal and the particular, the problem of man’s freedom and god’s foreknowledge, etc. (p. 93) they were, therefore, the first, outside of the apostles, to raise the problem of the relationship between the doctrinal tradition of the church and other cultures outside of jerusalem. however, more interesting is the position taken by justine martyr on this matter, when he tried to engraft stoic concept of the logos into christian revelation. justine, in his analysis of natural law, linked it to his concept of man. he saw man as composed of three distinct parts: body (σώμα, soma), soul (ψυχή, psyche), and spirit (πνεύμα, pneuma). he used the term ζωτικόν πνεύμα (zotikon pneuma), in latin (spiritus vitalis) to describe the spiritual dimension of the human person. the ζωτικόν πνεύμα, he understands as the divine principle in human beings, the distinguishing feature of his nature, his unique dignity and as a participation in the very life of the logos, and so he calls it the "seed of the word" or “reason in man”, in greek, the σπερματικός λόγος (spermaticos logos) and in latin, the ratio seminalis. through the σπερματικός λόγος, the divine principle in the human person, humanity was able to govern itself and pursued virtue, even before the coming of christianity. this divine principle, he argues, has an intimate connection with the divine logos, the word of god. in every human being, st. justin martyr believed, "there is a divine particle, his reason, which at least before christ's coming was human igwebuike theology of omenani and the crisis of the missionary bifurcation of horizons themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 29 person's best guide in life" (ap. ii 10.8). this created a burden in human beings to live in accordance with reason and not against or without reason. by this, the human person participated in divine reason, which formed his fundamental law. through this reason, human beings, without express faith in christ, already experienced christ the logos at work in them (lex christianorum 2010). he writes: we have been taught that christ is the first-born of god, and we have declared . . . that he is the word of whom every race of men were partaken, and those who lived reasonable are christians, even though they have been thought atheists.” (apol. i, 46.1-4) he writes further that: all right principles that philosophers and lawgivers have discovered and expressed, they owe to whatever of the word they have found and contemplated in part. the reason why they have contradicted each other is that they have not known the entire word, which is christ. (apol. ii, 10.1-3) in his use of the concept ‘logos’, st. justin martyr was certainly not viewing these logoi spermatokoi, these divine sparks in human beings, as being of the same substance (homoousios), as the divine logos itself, though they clearly share in his mind, in some insubstantial, created, and relatively distant sense, in the divinity of the logos (homoiousious). an image which scholars have used to explain st. justin martyr's concept of logos sparmatikos is plato's chariot allegory of the soul. in his dialogue, phaedrus (sections 246a 254e), plato uses the allegory of a chariot to explain his view of the human soul. plato describes the inner workings of the human being as a charioteer governing a chariot pulled by two horses, one white and one black. the white horse is long-necked, well-bred, well-behaved, and runs without a whip. the black horse is short-necked, poorly bred, and undisciplined, requiring ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 30 constant guidance. st. justin martyr would make his logos spermatikos the charioteer charged with the task of using intellect and reason, that is, logos, to guide the white horse of the soul (psyche), and its rational moral impulses, and the black horse of the body (soma), with is irrational and concupiscent nature, to the true and the good. to st. justin, the governing principle in us, the spermatikos logos or zotikon pneuma, is the source of the faculty of the natural moral law, the law that god has placed in the heart of every human being and which distinguishes him/her from beasts. it is what makes him/her a child of the one only god, and makes him/her brother and sister with all those of his/her . it is the ruler, the pilot, of the lesser natures, part rebellious, part docile (lex christianorum 2010). igwebuike theology of omenani as the seed of god’s word justin the martyr holds that different cultures were inspired by god and should be appropriate for his service. he saw culture as a prefiguration of christ: a logos spermatikos (seed bearing word). he taught that the spermatic logos has been implanted in the heart of every human culture, since all things were created through christ, with him and for him. thus, christ was already present in local cultures in an imperfect way, even before the word of god was preached to these cultures. this understanding he connects with the scriptural parable of the sower (mtt 13:3-9), as grace sowed already in the hearts of men, or in terms of creation, where men, even before the coming of christ, were already created in the image and likeness of god (gen 1:26-27). this work, within the context of justin the martyr’s argument, situates the prefiguration of the seed of the word of god in african culture in the omenani of the african people. omenani, also called omenala (translated as the tradition of the land), is the system of unwritten moral principles or rules of conduct taught by chukwu to the first igbo ancestor and handed down from one ancestor to another, which includes provisions, prohibitions, traditional beliefs and practices, that igwebuike theology of omenani and the crisis of the missionary bifurcation of horizons themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 31 guide the day-to-day life of the igbo-african, with a view to preserving order and maintaining the community bond. after chukwu created the human person, as it is in the book of genesis, there was need for a moral standard that would guide the relationship between human persons and chukwu, and just as god gave adam and eve the command to eat only of the fruit of a particular tree, igbo traditional religious thought has it that chukwu also gave laws to humanity. traditionally, the goddess ala or ani is considered the custodian of igbo morality. ala is a merciful mother and no deity takes action against the igbo without first asking her to warn her children. however, if she decides to strike, no deity can stop her. as the custodian of igbo morality, when the law is broken, it is called nsoala, that is ‘taboo’, she takes action to save the community, and thus, its individuals. the connection that omenani has with chukwu, ala deity and the college of the ancestors, is what makes the community to hold these laws in high esteem, and to see them as a way of preserving the community, maintaining solidarity with chukwu, the deities, the living dead and preserving their individual destinies. it is by keeping these laws and regulations that individual members of the community are able to arrive at the world of the ancestors. examples of omenani include: a. prohibition of claim of equality with god and the spirits b. prohibition of homicide c. prohibition of suicide d. prohibition of a man marrying another man e. prohibition of incest f. prohibition of adultery g. prohibition of fornication h. prohibition of theft i. prohibition of the alteration of land boundaries ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 32 the coloring that omenani brings to the table in theological discussions, regarding african culture and evangelization, is that it points to the fact that: 1. the laws in question are from god 2. the laws are the laws of the land that has been in existence from the first ancestor(s) created by god the fact that the omenani came from god, transmitted from one generation to another, makes african culture a preparation for the gospel. its divine origin is what made it possible for the igbo to attain salvation through it, even though it did not contain the fullness of revelation. as imperfect as it was, it pointed to the fullness of revelation in christ. below is a table showing the relationship between omenani and christian morality, and that the african moral principles already contained the christian morality, even before the advent of the gospel. table 1: a table showing the relationship between omenani and christian morality no. omenani christian morality and belief 1. an igbo man's ancestral heritage, called “ana obi,” is not sellable, elders will not permit this. if this is somehow done due to the influence of the west, the person is considered a fool and is ostracized by the community. 1 king 21:3: when ahab asked naboth for his vineyard, he said to him: “i inherited this vineyard from my ancestors, and the lord forbid that i should sell it, said naboth”. 2. in igbo land, it's a tradition that the male children are circumcised on the 8th day. leviticus 12:3: scripture says: “on the eighth day, the child shall be circumcised” 3. the seventh commandment (v. 14) adultery has never been tolerated among african people. both the igwebuike theology of omenani and the crisis of the missionary bifurcation of horizons themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 33 treats the family as a s a c r e d social unit, and thus sees adultery as a desecration of the marriage bond. elders of the land and the gods forbid it. 4. among the igbo, the spilling of blood is something that is avoided under normal circumstance, except during warfare. once you spill blood, it was believed that the blood would go into the land as a testimony and ala deity will avenge such a death. the sixth commandment (v.13) is concerned with the protection of human life within the community of israel, against destruction by fellow israelites. the fact of this possible connection between omenani and christian morality shows that, in spite of the fact that it was not a christian era, it carried within it the seed of the word of god awaiting full revelation in the new testament. the missionaries would have made more impact if they began from what they people knew to what they did not know. discarding as evil or condemning the african culture, religion and morality outright by most missionaries was a move in the wrong direction, and the basis for crisis in the christian faith in africa. conclusion christianity came into existence in a greco-roman world, with judaism as its first encounter. these two worlds played significant parts in shaping its character and influencing its history, in the sense that greek philosophy and culture shaped early christian theological formulations, and the roman world, with its rich organizational structures, shaped the organizational and practical dimensions of the life of the christian church, and its religious impulses from the rich ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 34 jewish tradition. as christianity moved to the shores of africa, its encounter with african traditional religion and culture, its sympathetic, non-derogatory and non-dominant touch was not felt in relation to its encounter with the greek, roman and jewish cultures. there was a smugness toward african traditional religion and culture, which generated barrage of names like primitive, pagan, heathen, magic, ancestor worshippers, juju, animists, fetish, animism, etc (kanu, 2015a). this smugness towards the african religion and culture shaped the missionaries’ conception of the african religion and culture and limited the african personality (kanu, 2019). the early missionaries, therefore, saw the african culture in the negative light. the first strategy employed was that of disassemblage. they made no appraisal of african languages enriched with traditions of centuries or the african parables, many of them the quintessence of family and national histories; the african modes of thought, influenced more or less by local circumstances our poetry which reveals the profundity of african literary wizardry. the drums were banned from sounding in most churches. . african names for baptism were rejected, and as a replacement, they encouraged the adoption of not only christian names, but also european family names like de santos (kanu, 2015b). it is from this background that this piece, beginning with the understanding of igwebuike theology, and adopting the igwebuike theoretical framework of the sympathetic and non-derogatory approach, interpreted culture as the seed of the word of god, using omenani as a context. it argued that the failures of the missionary enterprise were majorly because of their lack of openness to the african religion and culture. the understanding of omenani of the igbo-african people as the seed of the word of god, even before the advent of the missionaries to the african soil, shows that culture is not an enemy of the gospel, but could be employed as an instrument for the transmission of the gospel message. igwebuike theology of omenani and the crisis of the missionary bifurcation of horizons themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 35 references dickson kwesi (1984). theology in africa. orbis books: maryknoll. dulles, a. (1983). an ecclesial model for theological reflection. in j. hug (ed.). freyne, s. (1980). the world of the new testament. delaware: michael glazier. justin the martyr (1885). the second apology. translated by marcus dods and george reith. from ante-nicene fathers, vol. 1. edited by alexander roberts, james donaldson, and a. cleveland coxe. buffalo, ny: christian literature publishing co. kanu, i. a. (2010). a discourse on the romance between philosophy and christian theology. international journal of theology and reformed tradition, vol. 2. pp. 185-198. kanu, i. a. (2015). a hermeneutic approach to the study of african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. augustinian publications, nigeria kanu, i. a. (2015). an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. augustinian publications, nigeria kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 36 mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2019). a hermeneutics of amadioha as a prefiguration of christ in igbo traditional religion. nnadiebube journal of philosophy vol. 3. no. 2. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2019a). collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. kanu, i. a. (2014a). igbo proverbs as depositum of igbo-african philosophy. international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 4. no. 1. pp. 164-168. kanu, i. a. (2014a). suicide in igbo-african ontology. developing countries studies. vol. 4. no. 5. usa. pp. 27-38. kanu, i. a. (2014b). suffering in igbo-african ontology. research on humanities and social sciences. vol. 4. no. 5. pp. 8-13. kanu, i. a. (2014b). the place of igbo myths in igbo-african philosophy. american journal of contemporary research. vol. 4. no. 2. pp. 98-102. kanu, i. a. (2015). african traditional democracy with particular reference to the yoruba and igbo political systems. international journal of philosophy and public affairs. vol. 2. no. 3. pp. 147-160. kanu, i. a. (2015). personal identity and punishment in john locke (a dissertation for the award of master of arts degree in philosophymetaphysics), university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu state. kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (ed.) (2016a). complementary ontology: provocative essays on innocent asouzu’s african philosophy of igwebuike theology of omenani and the crisis of the missionary bifurcation of horizons themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 37 integration for progressive transformation. germany: lambert academic publishing. kanu, i. a. (ed.) (2016b). ibuanyidanda: a complementary systematic inquiry. reflections on innocent asouzu’s african philosophy. germany: lambert academic publishing. kanu, i. a. (2016). igbo-african christology: a cultural christological construct in post-missionary africa. germany: lambert publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). african traditional folk songs as dialogue between education and entertainment. cambridge international journal of contemporary education research. 6. 6. pp. 53-64. leo xiii, the restoration of christian philosophy, 1, 879. retrieved 20th. http://search.sweetim.com/search.asp?src=2&q=on+the+re storation+of+philosophy%2c+leo+xiii lex christianorum (2010). st. justin martyr: the spermatikos logos and the natural law. lexchristianorum.blogspot.com/2010/03/st-justin-martyrspermatikos-logos-and.html mbefo, l. n. (1989). towards a mature african christianity. enugu: spiritan publications. metuh, i. e. (1991). african religions in western conceptual schemes: the problem of interpretation. jos: imico. missionmusings (2017). contextua evangelical theology. retrieved from https://munsonmissions.org/2015/02/24/contextualevangelical-theology okonkwo, j. i. (1998). folks-media and the new era of evangelisation: the igbo perspective, in: communication socialis: international zeitschrift fur kommunication in religion, kirche und gesselschaft, salzburg: pp, 246-270. ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 38 okonkwo, j. i. (2019). chi and christ: the search for the universal essence of god in igbo and christian thoughts. in m. r, duru (ed.). amarachi: a festschrift in honour of amarachi anthony, j. v. obinna on the event of his archepiscopal silver jubilee (pp. 221-238). owerr: divine favour digital concepts. omoregbe, j. i. (1997). a simplified history of western philosophy: ancient and medieval philosophy. joja educational research and publishers limited schineller, p. (1990). a handbook on inculturation. new york: paulist.tracing the spirit (pp. 218-241). new york: paulist. as a result of the centrality of igwebuike to african thought, it finds expression in virtually every religio-cultural dimension of the african people. i. appellative expressions of igwebuike the basic concern here is to see how african names express igwebuike or echo the spirit of harmony and complementarity. thus, three categories of names would be studied from the igbo perspective: the names given to human beings, titles given to people and the names given to god. a. human names these names speak of human relationships towards the other, a constant reminder that the human person is not alone. 1. obinwanne: the heart of a brother 2. ekwutosinammadibegi: don't condemn your fellow human being 3. chisom: god is with me 4. kesandu: increase and multiply life 5. chinanurumogu: god fights my battle 6. somadina: may i not live alone 7. lotanna: remember the father 8. adaeze: daughter of a king 9. nnamdi: my father lives 10. adaora: daughter of the people. b. titles given to human beings these titles are given in relation to what the title holder has done for others. no one becomes great in african ontology as a result of what he or she has done for himself or herself. 1. uba zuo oke: let wealth go round 2. onwa na etiri ora: man of the people, a philanthropist 3. ochiri ozuo: a helper, especially to the less privileged 4. ada oha: the community's famous daughter 5. aka ji mba: the people's life-wire 7. religio-cultural expressions of “igwebuike” 32 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. 6. ome udo: the peacemaker 7. okwaruzo: the road maker 8. omeruora: one who does good things for people 9. ebube dike: glorious hero of the community 10. ikemba: the power (strength) of a nation (place) c. african names for god these are names given to god based on what he has done for human beings or what is expected from him. 1. okosisi na eche ndu: the mighty tree that gives protection 2. echeta obi esike: the giver of confidence 3. agbataobi nwa ogbenye: the friend of the poor 4. agbataobi onye ajuru aju: the friend of the rejected 5. olilianya nde ogbenye: the hope of the poor 6. obata obie: he whose presence ends every pain/misfortune 7. onye nzoputa: the savior 8. chukwu na'kpu nwa: the god that creates children 9. okwere nkwa meya: the one that fulfills his promise 10. odi mma na eme mma: the good god that does good ii. proverbial expressions of igwebuike african proverbs contain the wisdom and experience of the african people, usually of several ages gathered and summed up in one expression. they spring from the people and represent the voice of the people and express the interpretation of their beliefs, principles of life and conduct, moral attitudes, and reflect the hopes, achievements and failings of a people (kanu 2014a & 2018). examples are: 1. a person is a person because of other people 2. sticks in a bundle cannot be broken 3. cross the river in a crowd and crocodile will not eat you 4. two ants do not fail to pull a grasshopper 5. a single stick may smoke but it will not burn 6. when spiders unite they can tie up a lion 7. if you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together 8. if two or more people urinate in the same place at the same time, it would produce more foam 33 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya 9. when a bird builds its nest, it uses the feathers of other birds 10. let the kite perch, let the eagle perch iii. folkloric expression of igwebuike africans are parable and story telling people, (zani 1972) and their stories according to rattray (1930) mirror more or less accurately the african idea of life, conduct and morals. apart from the african system of education which is tied to roles such as farming, hunting, firewood gathering, dancing, storytelling, naming ceremony, etc., the african got much more instruction through tales (brosnan 1976). this was in the main moral instruction given at night after the evening meal, on the way to farm or the stream, in the village square or at moonlight nights (shorter 1973 & kanu 2015b). they are told in such a way that people are able to pick up their meanings without any explanation (kanu 2016b). an example of an african folktale that beautifully expresses igwebuike is that of the choosy princess. there was once a choosy princess who turned down the requests of those who asked for her hand in marriage. her father was disturbed because of her choosy attitude and, made public that any man who would win the love of his daughter would have half of his kingdom given to him. this was heard by a python that lived in the river and immediately it went about borrowing the parts of the human body and when it looked fully human, it stormed the palace of the king in a grand style. immediately the princess saw the human python, she was attracted to him, fell in love and decided to marry him. the human python departed with her and owned half of the wealth of the kingdom as the king had promised. when the python was returning with her to his home, just before the river, it turned into a python and went into the river with the princess. those who witnessed this brought word back to the king that his son-in-law is not a human being but a python. this bordered the king who assembled the wise men in his kingdom for a way forward towards rescuing the princess. they came to the decision that to rescue her, extraordinary talents would be required for the mission. this included professionals like: a boat rider, a thief, a carpenter, a diviner, a hunter and a swimmer. when they got to the river, and did not know where to begin to find her, the diviner did some incantations and found out where the princess was hidden by the python. having discovered her, the thief went into the river and stole the princess from where she was. he handed her over to the skillful swimmer who immediately moved with her behind him. at this point, the python woke up from its slumber and angrily went after the swimmer. this was when the hunter came in and fired at 34 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. the python. while the boat rider was heading to the shore with her, the anger of the python was stirred and it hit hard on the boat damaging a good part of it; and to save the boat from sinking the carpenter came in and mended the damaged part of the boat that they may continue on their journey. with a combined effort, the team was able to take the princess back to the king. this was realized through the complementary effort of the different members of the rescue team (kanu 2017k). one person wouldn't have been able to withstand the python, let alone rescue the princess. iv. musical expression of igwebuike africans are a people of songs. they sing in their farms during work, in their shrines during worship, at home while cooking, during storytelling, at war fronts, on a journey, etc., (kanu 2016a). african songs point to the relatedness of reality. one among many is the songs titled nwankelu: onye kugbulu nwankelu?: who killed the rabin? kerere nwankelu (reframe) ukwa dagbulu nwankelu: the bread fruit killed nwankelu kerere nwankelu gini mere ukwa ahu?: what happened to the bread fruit? kerere nwankelu obi mara ukwa ahu: a digger pierced the breadfruit kerere nwankelu gini mere obi ahu?: what happened to the digger? kerere nwankelu akika kporo obi ahu.: the digger was infested by termites. kerere nwankelu gini mere akika ahu?: what happened to the termites? kerere nwankelu okuko tuga akika ahu: a cock was eating the termite. kerere nwankelu gini mere okuko ahu?: what happened to the cock? kerere nwankelu ufu chuga okuko ahu.: a fox was pursuing the cock kerere nwankelu gini mere ufu ahu?: what happened to the fox? 35 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya kerere nwankelu mmadu chuga ufu ahu.: a man was pursuing the fox. kerere nwankelu gini mere mmadu ahu?: what happened to the man? kerere nwankelu chukwu kere mmadu ahu.: god created the man. kerere nwankelu gini kere chukwu ahu?: what made god? kerere nwankelu anyi amaghi ihe kpuru chukwu, chukwu kpuru mmadu, mmadu chuga ufu, ufu chuga okuko, okuko chuga akika, akika taru obi, obi mara ukwa, ukwa dagbulu nwankelukerere nwankelu.: (we do not know what made god, god made man, man was pursuing the fox, the fox was going after the cock, the cock was after the termite, the termite infested the digger, the digger pierced the bread fruit, the bread fruit fell and killed wankelukerere nwankelu) (kanu 2013). in this song, the relationship between reality is expressed. v. symbolic expression of igwebuike of the many cultural symbols in igboland, none has received attention like the kola nut. it is very important and central to the life and ceremonies of the igbo. for the igbo, it goes beyond the red and yellow seed that you find in trays sold on the street and in kiosks. it is not just the biannual crop grown and stored in sacks and baskets. it is a food that must be eaten with relish; it commands adoration and many accolades and must be attended to with deserving feast. it unites the living and dead, and symbolizes a feast of togetherness, love and trust. the kola nut is a symbol of life ndu, this is why the igbo say: “he that brings kola brings life” (kanu 2019). plate 1: the igbo kola nuts 36 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. every kola can be broken into lobes, and these lobes signify numbers. and number is very important for the african. some have 1 lobe, some 2 lobes, some 3, some 4, some 5, some 6 and some 7. kola nut with one lobe is a dumb kola (oji ogbi); it is not eaten because it is the kola of the spirits. it belongs to chukwu, because chukwu bu mmuo. when it has two lobes, it is called oji gworo, symbolizing male and female. it is an elliptical gender shadow of oji ogbi. three lobed kola nut is called oji ikenga (ike eji aga) or oji dike. it is the masculine kola and thus the kola of the valiant. as a matter of principle it is eaten only by warriors, brave men, the consecrated or ordained. it is not eaten by women. the kola with four lobes is the kola of peace and blessings, oji udo, oji ngozi, oji aka ano, oji ahia na ano ubosi na ano: afor, nkwor, eke and orie. it is the kola nut for both male and female genders, and thus considered the most gender sensitive kola. the kola with five lobes is the kola of procreation, protection, industry, achievement, wealth, progress and good luck. the kola with six lobes called oji ikenga abuo and, therefore, oji ogbugbandu. it is the kola of blood and spirit, and thus, indicative of communion with the ancestors. no wonder the smallest part of it is not eaten but given to the ancestors. the last is the seven lobed kola, which is known as the kola nut of consummations, wisdom, power, fulfillment, celebration, festivities, ezumezu. the igbo would say: uwam uwa asaa; asaa ndu na anwuanwu; ikpa naasaa mmiri naasaapointing to the kola of endlessness or eternity (kanu 2019). this notwithstanding, among the lobes, there is always a female and male lobe. when these lobes stay together they remain alive, but when they separate they die and dry off. their togetherness is a symbol of life, and their separation, death. it's a symbiotic relationship in the sense that they need each other to remain alive. a. mythological expression of igwebuike myths are the outcome of the human attempts to explain historical institutions and developments by appeal to non-historical factors and forces. african myths are, therefore, veritable mine of materials on african traditional religion, philosophy and culture. esposito, easching and lewis (2006), explain that “myth” comes from the greek word “mythos”, which means “story”. according to marshall (1988), myths are “invented stories about the gods in which they behave like human beings with superhuman powers” (p. 449). gunkel (1901), corroborating marshall, defines myth as “stories of the gods in contradistinction with legends in which the actors are men” (p. 14). the nri hegemony and its influence on igbo history cannot be over emphasized. it is in 37 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya this regard that madubuko (1994) observes that the story of the igbo people, no matter how briefly considered, would be incomplete if one omits the eri-nri myth. eri clan originated from the region of anambra river, at aguleri; from there they fanned eastward and established various communities. according to uzukwu (1988), eri is the father of all nri; and tradition says that he came from chukwu. it is reported that the earth was not firm when he came to the world. to solve the problem of flood, he employed blacksmiths from awka to use their bellows to dry the flooded land. there was no food as well for the people. to provide food, he prayed to god and he demanded that he should sacrifice his first son and daughter to him. after the sacrifice and burial of his son and daughter, as though all were lost, yam and palm tree began to grow out of the place where he buried his first son while vegetables and cocoyam grew out of the place where he buried his daughter. if yam germinated from where eri's first son was burried, it means that yam is the resurrected son of eri, and since it was given to man to sustain life, it is regarded as life itself. madu (2004) observes a cosmological drama between god and man, land and crops. eri, the civilization hero enjoys a special relationship with chukwu, and through eri's sacrifice, humanity now enjoys a special relationship with the land which offers food for his sustenance. the ritual performed by eri established a covenant between eri, his descendants and chukwu. from the sacrifice of eri, we discover why yam is very prominent in igbo sacrifice and life, a situation which warrants its annual elaborate festival throughout igbo land. the growing of yam from the spot where eri's first son was buried accounts for the respect given to okpara (first son) in igbo life. he is considered to be closer to the ancestors. this notwithstanding, significant to our consideration is the collaboration between eri and awka blacksmiths. eri, even though he enjoyed a special place in the divine plan still had to collaborate with others for the meaningfulness of his existence. 38 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 5.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 186 a review of kanu ikechukwu anthony’s “igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa” irabor, benson peter (phd student) university of lagos department of philosophy benpet1@yahoo.com one of the most intriguing aspects of kanu’s essay is mainly its effort to interrogate the spate of human rights violation in africa from the perspective of the igbo-african indigenous knowledge systems. he does this through the ideologies and perspectives embedded in the concept of ‘igwebuike.’ the present study intends to disinter the strengths and weaknesses of kanu’s (2017a) proposal regarding how to not only consider but also safeguard and guarantee human rights in africa. before we explore the weight of his proposal, the task of each of the following paragraphs is to explain the meaning of igwebuike as well as the spate of human rights violation in africa. this is calculated to allow us to possess a good gaze of the perspective that kanu’s analysis derive. the spate of human rights violation in africa has almost become an abnormal norm that has not been given the needed critical revision and improvement. this, to my mind, seems to be the primary contention of kanu (2017a). kanu (2017) bemoans the firm grip of the fundemantal human rights in several places in africa where the lives of africans have loss its intrinsic worth. using africa in general and nigeria in particular as a point of cue, kanu explores how human rights are violated from the dimensions of state, religion and biomedical research. of these trio, i maintain that the biomedical perspective to the denigration of the lives of africans is not to be treated as trivial. perhaps this occurs according to kanu (2017a: 12) as a result of “the challenges of underdevelopment, poverty, disease, inadequate health infrastructure etc.” kanu seems certain these factors contribute to “have made africa to become a vulnerable group for the conduct of biomedical research” (chima 2008: 12). and the consequence is not far-feteched the contraction of deadly viruses that have led to the death of innocent africans. this is clearly a contradiction of what the principles of fundamental human rights depict. as a result of the high and disturbing transgression of the fundamental human rights of africans, kanu igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 187 (2017a: 124) proposes his igwebuike concept for succor. what exactly is igwebuike? for kanu (2017b: 171) ‘igwebuike’ is an igbo word that is characterized by three simple words. on his terms, the three words involved: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power. thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force (kanu, 2017b: 171). from this etymological analysis it is clear that the concept extends to solidarity, collectivism, interdependence and mutual respect and understanding for one another. in the words of kanu regarding how igwebuike works to curtail the spate of violence and extremism that undermine human rights: igwebuike philosophy sees the other as a part of me, and together, in our peculiarities, we make up the whole. and if together we make up the whole, it then means that the other is a part of me and what affects the other affects me. to alienate the other is to alienate myself (kanu, 2017a: 125). as the foregoing illustrate, the essence of igwebuike is to mediate mutual understanding and respect – the perception of the other as an extension and embodiment of one self (kanu, 2017a: 126-7). in his words: “the other is understood, not in terms of the ‘i and the not i’ but in terms of the ‘i and thou’. the other is seen as a complement of the self, and to violate the human rights of the other who is a complement to you is to violate your own fundamental human rights” (kanu, 2017a: 127). in spite of the positive and social engineering essence of kanu’s igwebuike, one is still led to infer that his approach and application to the distinction between the one and the other is not nouveau. for instance, his use of the phrase ‘i and thou’ is more synonymous with the existential ethic of martin buba. however, kanu (2017a) uses the phrase here as though it sprung originally from his intellectual engagements. similarly, assuming the traditional igbos used this concept as a yardstick for social ordering one wonders why they still warred igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 188 among themselves and in some cases against ethnic identities such as igbo-ibibio conflict and akpa interventions (isichei, 1983: 164). in spite of the foregoing warrants, it is instructive to still maintain that kanu’s spirited effort still deserves accolades especially his exploration of the biomedical dimension to the violation of fundamental human rights in africa. for the reader of his essay, this is the place where the shocking truths concerning human rights violation is rendered more acute yet given minimal attention in the public sphere. references chima, c.s. (2008). “overriding patient autonomy in medical practice: best interests, necessity, therapeutic previledge and public policy.” a paper presented at the international conference on bioethics organised by the unesco regional center for documentation and research on bioethics at egerton university, 12-14th august. isicheic, e. (1983). a history of nigeria. london: longman kanu, i.a. 2017a. “igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3(7): 113-31 kanu, i.a. 2017b. “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3(7): 165-83 kanu, a. i. (2017b). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 1.[9-18]. kanu, a. i. (2017c). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2.[155-160]. kanu, i. a. (2016). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation.. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no. microsoft word igwebuike jounals vol. 5. no. 1.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 98 the pros and cons of social communication in the mission of the church in nigeria justine john dyikuk department of mass communication, faculty of arts, university of jos, nigeria justinejohndyikuk@gmail.com. abstract to foster encounters between people through information-sharing, social communication is open to the church’s mission. sadly, these encounters are confronted by debased use of communication-media which prevents effective communication. the researcher used multimedia theoretical framework to assess the situation of the use of the means of social communication in the mission of the church in nigeria. through the qualitative method of study, it was discovered that despite the rich extant documents of the church on effective use of the means of communication, there is a wrong understanding of communication, lack of will-power to incarnate media use into the nigerian pastoral context and suspicion concerning the use of virtual reality. engaging the media of communication, supporting the directorate of social communications and establishing a national pastoral plan were recommended for efficient use of social communication in the mission of the church in nigeria. it concluded that shying away from engaging the media for the purposes of evangelisation amounts to playing the ostrich which has dire consequences. keywords: church, communication, mission, nigeria, social. introduction from telephone to the telegraph and radio of the twentieth century, the twenty-first century has ushered in a wide range of communication tools which place the entire globe within the range of messages which bridge cultural differences. in addition to cellular phones, voice mail and automatic dialling, the century has added the dimension of video and computerised data to the traditional voice phone making it a blend of telephone, television, computer and many more (qubein,1997,p.135). these advances in technology are rethinking the way we communicate as well as the means of communication which we use daily. while this is operational in the secular sphere, it also affects the church because without the society, there is no church. from inter merifica through communio et progressio, social communication has been employed in the mission of the church. over the years, social communication has enabled the church to enlarge the possibilities of encounters between people. often times, these encounters which unfold through dialogue, mutual understanding and reconciliation disclose the great potentials which social communication offers. what is more, the avalanche of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 99 opportunities the media of communication places at the disposal of the church further reveals the importance of good communication in the salvific ministry. it has been argued that technology is a resource which the church must wisely use to accomplish the great commission (stetzer, 2014). perhaps due to its riches, the church has always used the means of communication as a vehicle for transmitting her mission. this is borne out of the fact that she sees communication as a human achievement and potential that can be harnessed in furtherance of the gospel message. of particular importance to new evangelisation is the spiritual significance of the means of communication. it serves the mission of the church through evoking the power of words and gestures to resolve misunderstandings, heal memories, build bridges of peace and communication as well as touches the very fabric of human existence, which is the soul. perhaps that is why john paul ii calls the media “the first areopagus of modern times” that is, the market place of ideas through which the questions about life and the existence of god are thematised and discussed (communication for pastoral formation, 1999,p.131). in the overall scheme of things, good communication through whatever medium brings about harmony in a world that is polarized by so many divisive commentaries on the social networks. in nigeria, the new media platforms are daily offering the church through young people avenues of bringing the good news to others. many parishes, dioceses and sodalities have whatsapp groups, facebook chat groups, instagram accounts, and twitter handles amongst other forms of new media which they use in reaching out to their members especially those who are unable to come to church for serious reasons like sickness (dyikuk, 2017, p.44). “all of this raises the very delicate issue of global governance. technologically, we are living in a totally globalized world, so no matter where you are you receive the same e-mails and so on” (allen, 2006). this is aside from the various social communications’ secretariats in every archdiocese and diocese which remains the image maker of the local church. at the national level, the catholic secretariat of nigeria (csn) through the directorate of social communications is the mouth-piece of the catholic bishops’ conference of nigeria (cbcn). the body is at the fore front of making press releases on behalf of the catholic church in nigeria and using both the print and electronic media to carry out the mission of the church. it is to be seen whether the church in nigeria has exhausted the options at its disposal in using the media of communications to expand god’s kingdom. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 100 problem, aim and significance of the study despite some of the enormous benefits which the media of social communications offers the church in nigeria, there is an apparent apathy in the embracing both the print and electronic media in the evangelisation process. notable among the reasons is, first, the wrong understanding of communication. before now, the belief that interpersonal communication was an absolute in terms of reaching out to the faithful was strong among the clergy. traditional means of communication such as verbal communication through interpersonal and group communication sessions like preaching and catechesis (ihejirika, 2010), talks and seminars were considered as sufficient means of fast-tracking the mission of the church. although inter merifica had opened the way for engaging the media of communication for evangelisation purposes, the slowness in embracing modern means of communication such as print, electronic and new media as a veritable compliment to interpersonal and group communication left the church in nigeria in the woods. second, the lack of will-power to incarnate the media into the nigerian pastoral context is another sad reality that has remained a clog in the wheel of progress regarding using the means of communication in the mission of the church in nigeria. using the means of social communication involves finances and infrastructure. apparently, many dioceses are not willing to spend huge sums of money in employing the media to spread the gospel. this is where the pentecostals are giving the catholic church a run for its money. apart from the fact that they exploit the media for propaganda, they engage print, electronic and new media to not only bully the catholic church but counteract very good catholic teachings. the catholic church has lost some members, no thanks to televangelism. third, in a country where pentecostal spirituality is increasingly becoming attractive due to the media activities of jet-pastor’s who flaunt their wealth and showcase a modern-christianity which has zero tolerance for suffering or the cross of jesus, the catholic church has suffered a big blow. someone rightly observes: “across nigeria, catholic churches are increasingly competing for membership with other christian denominations, particularly large charismatic pentecostal churches. and a growing number of students in nigeria choose to straddle catholicism and pentecostalism: they attend mass while at home with their parents but are involved with pentecostal movements on campus” (unah, 2017). ihejirika (2009,p.19) concurs to the above summation when he noted that one of the defining characteristics of pentecostal christianity is the appropriation and use of modern media technologies as part of their religious ritual practice. the coldness in using the same platforms to either correct the anomaly or igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 101 preach the christianity of the cross as taught and lived by jesus of nazareth often results in mass exodus of youths from the church. fourth, just like an erstwhile attitude of the universal church regarding politics, there has been “traditional suspicion” concerning the use of virtual reality for the gospel. this attitude has affected the way and manner the church in nigeria has approached the use of the means of communication in fulfilling the universal mission of the church. perhaps the question that needs to be asked is, will embracing virtual reality by the church truncate interpersonal and group communication which aims at reaching out to others in a deep expression of love as expressed in the gospels? well, the point has been made that the availability of state-of-the-art media platforms offers the church veritable opportunities for using the media to its advantage. it is yet to be seen how the means of communication can be channels for fostering the church’s mission in the church in nigeria. the study aims at: 1. x-raying the pros and cons of social communication in the mission of the church in nigeria. 2. highlighting why the church in nigeria has not fulfilled its mandate regarding the use of the means of communication for evangelisation. 3. stating some of the dangers of the media which might affect the spread of the gospel. 4. proposing the necessary steps required for engaging the means of communication in the mission of the church. 5. making a case for more research on what the church stands to miss if it does not use print, electronic and new media for new evangelisation. the significance of the study stems from the fact that we are in an era of egovernance. since the demands of an e-world stare the church in the face, it cannot be indifferent in exploiting every avenue information and communications technologies (ict) present towards the spread of the gospel. the paper is relevant because the signs of the time are both digitally compelling and technologically enticing. since communication experts are calling people to develop new products and services to take advantage of new technologies (qubein,1997,p.136) why should the church stand aloof and watch? deconstruction of concepts social communication social communication is the communication of and in human society which includes all ways and means of communicating within a community (eilers, no date, p.1). for guo and sanchez, communication is the creation or igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 102 exchange of thoughts, ideas, emotions and understanding between sender(s) and receiver(s) (2005, p.83). eilers quotes giorgio braga as opining that “social communication is the study of communicative processes within society” while insisting that it is concerned with the “interactions of human beings in their public expressions within a respective society or cultural group” (eilers, unpublished article, no date, 1). the first step to communicate in a rapidly changing society and also improve skills is the awareness of the need to communicate (maurus, 2010,p.10). olusola (2013,p.6) agrees that communication goes beyond just passing of information when he noted that it involves the whole person and everything it takes to build a community of persons. there is a difference between the word “communications” and “communication.” “the word communications, with “s” at the end is often used to indicate communication and mass media with developments in modern technologies” while communication without “s” at the end “…is a process of sharing between humans” (scrampickal, 2012, p.15). as such, in the context of this paper, social communication embraces the means of communication which concerns all ways and possibilities by which people express, share and transmit messages or information of any kind (communication for pastoral formation, 1999, p.107). this includes, print, electronic and new media platforms. according to atoyebi (2015, p.2) this confusion is rife in church circles where some people think that being a communication expert is only about becoming an editor of the diocesan newspaper. he further argues that “it is rather, about offering systematic communication insight and coordinating the communication life of the church towards building an authentic and a witnessing community” (atoyebi, 2015, p.2). this means that communication is an art and a theological concept. this makes social communication the first course in the theological sciences (dyikuk, 2018, p.65). this further implies that the witnessing of priests, religious and the laity is also communication. marshall mcluhan has reminded contemporary society of how word-centered and printed centered it tends to be instead of making channel, communication and communicator relate with the receiver (ogwuche, 2014). as communicators, the people of god especially priests have a prophetic role to play in the society through the use of audio-visual aids and biblical literary devices at their disposal such as myths, poetry, hymns, parables, apocalypse, genealogies etcetera, to create spiritual consciousness among the people they are called to minister to. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 103 mission in the context of this study, mission is understood as that sacred task entrusted to the church by the lord to preach, teach and sanctity the world. mission takes its roots from the great commission christ entrusted to his apostles and to the church (matthew 28:16-20). there are two types of mission: mission ad intra and mission ad extra. the former means mission within the church in terms of preaching and catechesis and engaging pious societies in various missionary enterprises, while the latter has to do with engaging in ecumenism with christians of other faith and dialogue with muslims. church the church is the mystical body of christ. established by christ on the apostles (matthew 16:18 & 18:18), the church was born on the day of pentecost. as the bride of christ, the church is identified by four marks namely: one, holy, catholic and apostolic. the church is understood as an assembly of god’s holy people which has a local ordinary (the bishop) who with his priests, religious and laity form the people of god under the visible leadership of the supreme pontiff. theoretical framework this study adopts the multimedia theoretical framework which involves the use of various media platforms to achieve a mission. the theory revolves around the questions of power, the nature of media influence, media-social relations and the media as a public space (burton, 2011, p.50). often, this has far reaching impacts in society. adjudged as the best approach to any communication campaign exercise (nwabueze, 2007,p.71), the multimedia theoretical framework is based on the views of communication scholars like mcluhan and walter ong. the theory explores six different kinds of media which relate with different senses or aspects of the personality to reach different audiences. it is argued that not every aspect of a message can be communicated using one medium. it has been established that different cultures are either more oral or visual. this is why different professions use different media. different media activate different parts of the brain. while reading activates the eyes and analytic parts of the brain, oral communication activates the ears and the oral imagination. reading involves “visual logic” and analytic thinking. more so, each medium has a different communicative function. an example, while radio involves interpersonal communication, reading has to do with being meditative. each medium catches the audience in a different life moment. radio may catch people in the car. each medium reaches different people who use that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 104 medium more. again, radio reaches young people better. each medium has different genres and different genres reach different people (radio reaches music lovers or followers), (musa, 2014). based on this framework, this paper employs the use of 3 different multimedia approaches namely, print, electronic and new media platforms in furtherance of the mission of christ on earth in the nigerian pastoral context. literature review and discussion historical sketch and demographics of the church in nigeria the catholic faith came to nigeria precisely benin and warri between the 15th and the 16th centuries through the portuguese missionaries. according to taiye (2016), the appearance of the europeans among the natives of the delta region in 1472 lasted for about three hundred years; that is till the close of the 18th century. unfortunately, their missionary enterprise did not last long as it disappeared by the 17th century as it could not gain permanence in benin, warri, bonny and calabar. this was blamed on the overriding commercial interest rather than prominence of the gospel. but by the 16th century, the missionary enterprise gained more momentum. in 1514, this positive development made esigie (1504-1550), the oba of benin to send emissaries to king manuel of portugal asking for more priests to be sent to benin. this saw new converts from african traditional religion embracing the catholic faith like the oba’s son and other members of the king’s cabinet who received baptism. because the early missionaries attached great importance to both capacity building and infrastructural development, the neophytes started learning how to read and write as churches were being built. among those who benefitted from the white man’s way of life was orhoghua, the oba’s successor (taiye, 2016). through the bishop of sao tome, gasper cao (1556-1565, 1571-1574), the faith was brought to warri in the mid-sixteenth century as augustinian priests were sent there. they not only built santo augustino but ensured that more missionaries were sent to itsekiri land from portugal. towards the end of the 18th century, the missionary enterprise started dwindling because of the following reasons: lacuna in posting of priests, lack of sufficient missionaries, paucity of funds to support the few missionaries who were on ground, language barrier, divided attention to other missions and distance from missionary operational ground. also, the high rate of death due to malaria frustrated the mission of the portuguese and later italian priests who brought the faith to nigeria (taiye, 2016). in africa, christianity has witnessed the most explosive growth. in the 20th century, africa grew from a catholic population of 1.9 million in 1900 to 130 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 105 million in 2000, a staggering growth rate of 6,708 percent (allen, 2006). this growth is no less in nigeria as the country has a vibrant clergy and an explosive laity. appraising the church in nigeria, a keen observer noted that: “the church in nigeria is caring and consoling. it shapes consciences and offers a moral compass. but most importantly, for many of us the church is home” (ekeocha, 2017). like the proverbial mustard seed, the catholic faith spread to different parts of the country. today, the catholic church has 9 archdioceses, 44 dioceses, 2 apostolic vicariates, 1 maronite exache, 30 male religious congregations and 51 female religious congregations. this is in addition to 16 existing major seminaries and 10 degree awarding institutions plus veritas university abuja which was established in november 2008 (kaigama, 2017). in terms of growth, the church has undergone tremendous spiritual and pastoral growth which includes, nine ecclesiastical provinces, 55 dioceses, a basilica and a population of about 40 million faithful with numerous number of priests who are working in and outside the country (anyanwu, 2017). global perspectives of social communication in the life of the church globally, the means of social communication have been used to advance the mission of the church. this is because the church has always believed that the work of evangelisation can be better harnessed through the available means of communication. it is a given that social communications facilitates the evangelisation process. according to evangelii nuntiandi, “our century is characterized by the mass media or means of social communication, and the first proclamation, catechesis or the further deepening of faith cannot do without these means, as we have already emphasized” (evangelii nuntiandi, (en) apostolic exhortation, paul vi, 1975, no. 45). accordingly, the means of communication are catalysts for reaching out to multitudes towards the expansion of the kingdom of god. through the means of communication, multitudes are reached and the kingdom of god grows. “when they are put at the service of the gospel, they are capable of increasing almost indefinitely the area in which the word of god is heard; they enable the good news to reach millions of people. the church would feel guilty before the lord if she did not utilize these powerful means that human skill is daily rendering more perfect. it is through them that she proclaims ‘from the housetops’ the message of which she is the depositary. in them she finds a modern and effective version of the pulpit. thanks to them she succeeds in speaking to the multitudes” (en, no. 45). various pontiffs have maintained that through the means of communication, dialogue between the men and women of our time can be fostered. social igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 106 communication helps the church to engage people in the dialogue of faith. through them, she is able to engage men and women to appreciate their desires, their doubts, and hopes in order to build their faith. pope francis made this submission while addressing participants at the plenary assembly of the pontifical council for social communications on 21/09/2013 to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the conciliar decree inter mirifica. it is crucial to note that the means of communication have the power to checkmate the evils of disorientation and isolation which new technologies and social networks create in society. by this, a real presence that listens, converses, and encourages is established. according to pope francis, “do not be afraid to be this presence, expressing your christian identity as you become citizens of this environment. a church that follows this path learns how to walk with everybody” (francis, 2013). in like manner, the church has emphasized that the means of communication can help in rediscovering the beauty of faith. the church is led to a deepening of faith and encounter with christ (francis, 2013) through social communication. this is because the world of social communication has become a “living environment” for many, a web where people communicate with each other, expanding the boundaries of their knowledge and relationships (benedict xvi, 2013). local perspectives of engaging social communication in the life of the church in nigeria in his 2010 message during the 44th world communications day titled “the priest and pastoral ministry in a digital world: new media at the service of the word,” benedict xvi pointed out that the church, especially priests, should put the media in the service of the word, employ audiovisual resources for dialogue and catechesis, introduce people to the church, build vast and real fellowships, open the doors of encounter, pursue truth and progress and ensure the common good. we shall highlight these in the light of what is being done by clerics to advance the course of the gospel through the means of communication: putting the media at the service of the word in nigeria, priests, religious and laity understand that they standing at the threshold of a new era. this is why they are increasingly taking advantage of new technologies to create deeper forms of relationship across greater distances within archdiocese and dioceses as well as provinces. particularly, pastors of souls are pastorally responding to the call of the universal church in world communications’ sunday messages and post-conciliar documents on the means of communication by putting the media more effectively at the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 107 service of the word. in most parishes, the use of projectors is now common practice. for greater communication, most parishes are now using hi-tech microphone systems in contradistinction to the erstwhile “catholic microphone.” employing audiovisual resources for dialogue and catechesis in line with the demands of information and communications technologies (ict), priests are reading the signs of the time in order to respond accordingly. this is why they are taking up the challenge to proclaim the gospel through employing the latest generation of audiovisual resources (images, videos, animated features, blogs, websites) which, alongside traditional means, open up broad new vistas for dialogue, evangelization and catechesis. the church in nigeria has been a mother to other christian groups. many parishes are now using audiovisual materials and large screens to transmit mass live. introduce people to the church aware of the positive impact of the means of communication, priests are now introducing people to the life of the church by helping them to discover the face of christ through new communication technologies. since their contemporaries are media savvy and are in touch with modern realities, pastors of souls are becoming interested in ict and other related means of communication to advance the course of the gospel. for instance, through various whatsapp groups, twitter handles and facebook accounts, parishioners who are incommunicado as regards church attendance are reached out to. parishes are taking advantage of these social media platforms to not only keep taps with those who do not come to church but also introduce neophytes into the church. building vast and real fellowships pastors of souls are using what the new media offers to facilitate far-reaching pastoral possibilities. they are also encouraging the faithful to embody the universality of the church’s mission to build vast and real fellowships, testify in today’s world to the new life which comes from hearing the gospel of jesus and the eternal son who came among us for our salvation. in their effort to promote vast and real fellowships, the catholic bishops’ conference of nigeria (cbcn) has consistently encouraged dialogue between muslims and christians in nigeria. the viral pictures of their recent visit to the sultan of sokoto on september 7 during their first plenary which held at pinnacle guest inn and resort, sokoto from september 6-14, 2018 tells the story more (dyikuk, 2018). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 108 open doors of encounter aware of the indispensable role of consecrated men and women working in the media, the church in nigeria has created platforms such as the catholic media practitioners’ association of nigeria (campan) and catholic artistes and entertainers association of nigeria (caen) have a special responsibility for opening the door to new forms of encounter, maintaining the quality of human interaction, and showing concern for individuals and their genuine spiritual needs (benedict xvi, 2010). pursue truth and progress in order to promote truth and progress, the catholic television of nigeria has embarked on programmes on ait/ctv and nigcomsat with the call on priests and religious to make themselves available by actively participating in these progammes (catholic directors of communication, 2018). all media workers in the country are often charged to work together to ensure that the media of communication contributes to the pursuit of truth and the speeding up of progress (cp no. 13). to further ensure that, signis-nigeria. the catholic association for communication constituting the directorate of social communication at the national and diocesan levels, catholic association of media practitioners of nigeria, catholic artistes and entertainers association of nigeria, catholic ict entrepreneurs and catholic communication lecturers has been at the fore front of advancing the use of the means of communication for evangelisation purposes. ensure common good the lay men and women who work in the media in nigeria see their position as an opportunity to instruct the tastes and judgements of others especially the young and uneducated. they also use their profession to ensure that the total output of the media in terms of news, culture and entertainment makes for the common good (cp nos. 15 & 16). the pros and cons of using the means of communication in the mission of the church in nigeria modern media opens a vast array of opportunities for christians to bond together and share ideas as members of one family especially through platforms like facebook, linkedin and twitter by coming together to affect their lives (olushola, 2015,p.698). this is why at the national level, apart from being a critical stakeholder in the pastoral and socio-economic development of country, the church through the directorate of social communications at the catholic secretariat of nigeria (csn), abuja is at the fore front of promoting igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 109 the interest of the church in public space as well as ensuring the unity and overall development of the country on behalf of the catholic bishops’ conference of nigeria (cbcn). for instance, the directorate of social communications publishes the national directory of the catholic church in nigeria which contains a comprehensive account of the progress being made by the church in the country in spiritual and pastoral spheres. this is a confirmation of the cbcn as the symbol of the unity of the catholic church in nigeria (anyanwu, 2017). it also runs two websites, one belongs to csn and the other, the cbcn which are used for the mission of the church in nigeria. being a public relations tool for the church, the directory not only contains veritable information about the church but it is a justification of the call to her by the universal church to carry the mission within the country (ad intra) and outside the country (ad extra). part of that mission is being the image-maker of the church in nigeria by coordinating the affairs of all archdiocesan and diocesan offices of social communication and other church organisations in the country (anyanwu, 2017) through a process known as networking. importantly too, the 55 dioceses in nigeria have either a directorate of social communications or a media outfit for the propagation of the faith and showcasing what the diocese does to the world. most dioceses have newspapers odenore (2015,p.724) which are public relations tool for information-sharing in and outside the diocese. the advent of new media has also afforded many dioceses the opportunity of establishing diocesan websites, facebook accounts, twitter handles, whatsapp groups to mention just a few. these media are employed for the mission of the church. as part of fulfilling their baptismal calling in the secular space, there are a number of lay catholic columnists in the nigerian papers who use their wit and creative spirit in building a fan base of persons from various divides who read their articles. more often than not, they reflect their faith in their writeups especially when it concerns sensitive issues of national importance which touch on their catholic values. the critical role of the witness these laypersons offer the church in the public space through the pen apostolate cannot be over emphasized. this can further be enriched (odenore, 2015,p.724) to involve more lay people, priests and religious. despite the seeming plausible ways of engaging the means of communication for evangelisation, the church in nigeria has not lived up to its expectations in terms of maximizing the opportunities that these media offer. olushola (2015, pp.691-692) and mcquail (2009, p.70) blame the situation on use of a linear, one-way and transmission model of communication which does not give way to the participatory model of communication. the communication igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 110 experts also mention use of church owned media outfit to discredit other denominations as responsible for lack of effective use of the media in the mission of the church in nigeria. this is why the catholic church through its secretariat and the communication directorate ought to trail the blaze in addressing the issue. little wonder, odenore (2015,p.718) notes that although there is an increase in the coverage of religious functions for a fee, there is no discernible improvement in the quality of how the media reports religion. he further states that even though other denominations view the media as an indispensable tool for creating awareness about their activities, regrettably, the catholic church is more circumspect because it only allows for coverage of its activities but makes it difficult to access information about the inner workings of the church. the presence of the catholic church in the print media is low. aside from theologians who write beautiful articles in diocesan newspapers, the presence of the church in secular media is not encouraging. this makes the authoritative voice of the church to be missing in the secular space. theologians are more comfortable writing for catholic newspapers, leaving lay persons with the task of engaging the secular print media in the pen apostolate (odenore, 2015,p.724). the impact of priests, religious and laity on the use of the media for evangelisation there are few examples of priests, religious and laity who have used the means of communication for evangelisation globally and locally in nigeria. in the 1950s, archbishop fulton sheen’s weekly television broadcasts about the catholic faith drew audiences to the nascent medium. also, mother angelica, an american franciscan nun of the poor clare nuns of perpetual adoration (p.c.p.a.), best known as a television personality and the founder of the eternal word television network (ewtn), single-handedly made the catholic-focused cable channel gain wide distribution in the united states of america and across the world. pope emeritus benedict xvi surprised the world in 2012 when he joined twitter with the twitter handle @pontifex. the pontifical council for social communications was the agency that provided the behind the scenes guidance for church leadership in the use of the new medium of communication which led the holy father to the new and exciting platform of communication. throughout his four years pontificate, pope francis has been very active in both broadcast and social media. the pope who has given igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 111 several media interviews, is known to speak in “sound bite” style phrases, and has 6.65 million twitter followers. in the list is bishop robert barron. bishop barron, the auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese of los angeles who was before his appointment to the episcopacy known in the media as father robert barron is another mediasavvy bishop whose public television series “catholicism” as a priest drew wide acclaim. one prelate in nigeria who has stood tall in engaging with the media is the catholic bishop of sokoto diocese, the most rev. dr. matthew hassan kukah. bishop kukah has engaged the media for more than three decades as an outspoken courageous social critic and contributed to nation building through several debates and public lectures within and outside the country. like him, fr. george ehusani too through his chapel of lux terra leadership foundation abuja is able to reach out to large audiences on african independent television, ait and youtube.com by way of shared-homily. prominent lay faithful too have paid their dues to the church in terms of giving it a voice on television. chief dokpesi the founder of daar communications and owner of ait, raypower and faaji fm offers the church the opportunity of presenting faith-based programmes such as the light of the nations, oremus and catholic mass on ait. most recently prince robert-joseph soji olagunji joined dokpesi by founding lumen christi tv, a channel which is dedicated to the service of god and furtherance of the gospel as well as giving hope to those whose faith seems dead. although it is in its incubating stage the media is bulled to compete favourably with ewtn. improper ways of using the media of communication there is a craze about making noise concerning little issues which are supposed to be normal. this mentality of exaggeration is often driven by halftruths as prevalent in politics. sadly, this has crept into the church. some priests make noise in the media about some completed projects in the schools or parishes they run but upon a visit to such institutions or parishes, one will realise that the work is either not completed or haphazardly done. anything that is built on propaganda does not last. there is a growing trend of cult-personality or hero-worship among the clergy in our time. this worrisome because in a bid to showcase their talents, some clerics have gone beyond the line. the first attraction is being on television or igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 112 in the news – the quest for popularity like sugar water makes a person desire recognition at all cost and where it is not given, problems begin to crop up. cases abound where some people in the rank and file of the church engage the media to get at the authority. to be sure, those who fight the hierarchy, fight themselves because they are part and parcel of the church. the contestation about the bishopric of ahiara diocese is a case in point. it is now worrisome that pastors and priests openly attack the church’s hierarchy based on hierarchical or doctrinal issues (dyikuk , 2017,p.44). besides, putting oneself against the church only makes one a victim. no sane person takes family feuds or squabbles to the media. granted that human beings are political animals, one of the ways priests and religious use the media of communication wrongly is through undertaking media activities for political ends such as campaigning or even persuading parishioners to vote for preferred candidates. it is worrisome that some priests and religious could spend their lives defending politicians on social media than defending the church. despite the attendant good of using social communications, they can become a real nuisance when they are used all the time. instead of busying themselves with the work god has called them to do, some priests sometimes over indulge in watching football, do good, tinsel or big brother naija; it is not unlikely to find pastors of souls at the confessional busy with whatsapp or facebook instead of facing the sacred task at hand. certainly, this is not a good way of using the media of social communications. more so, social communications sometimes give people a false impression of being social without actually going out to socialise. family members or friends can be together but not in company because everybody is busy with his or her phone or ipad – social media can kill relationships. it also gives some people a false impression that they have friends who may in the long run be unreal. it makes people develop friendship easily without actually making any effort to develop trust and build relationships. some people hide under the media to lie, defraud or tarnish the good reputation of others. yahoo-yahoo boys and hackers are all over the place. only cyber laws which criminalise such unsocial behaviour can curb the menace. also, the addiction of taking pictures in a distracting manner during liturgical functions is a needless activity which needs to be discouraged. sexting is sending and receiving of sexually explicit messages, mostly between device phones (keene, 2013, p.1). the term became popular in the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 113 early 21st century. it is a portmanteau of sex and texting, where the latter is meant in the wide sense of sending a text possibly with unclad images (edmond, 2010, 1). sexting as a word was listed in the dictionary in august 2012. cases abound where some young people blackmail their sexual partners and former partners by threatening to release private images of them (van hilten, 2015, p.1). the ugly scenario of some “men of god” posting indecent pictures or sharing same on social media with their friends lives much to be desired. another wrong way of using the media of social communication is through making use of ipads as sacramentary in place of the prescribed liturgical books. the sad reality of some lay people demanding that priests hear their confessions on the phone is scandalous. the church’s hierarchy has not yet approved such innovations into her liturgical life. as such, it is important to adhere strictly to the liturgical norms. towards an effective use of the media of communication in a seminal study, stetzer (2014) argues that technology enables communication, community and discipleship. on how technology enables communication, the author stresses that for instance, through facebook and twitter or through a church blog, we can easily communicate directly with the people in our congregation, throughout the day and week. this enables the congregation to easily have direct communication with other members and we can have communication with them on a broader or a clearer scale. ongoing communication through technology helps the mission of the church. regarding how communication enables community, the scholar notes that technology allows for a greater sense of community that doesn’t demand proximity stressing that this is a big shift in how we interact, but we have to use it if we want to enable community for the sake of the mission of the church. as regards discipleship, the author discloses that technology enables members of a church and attendees to enhance their discipleship experience at church through by using an app which people can actually use in accessing the sermon outline and people use their phones or ipads to follow along and take notes (stetzer, 2014). in like manner, bolu opines that ict is a crucial strategy in the mission of the church, because young people make up the lion share of church membership with some churches as high as seventy percent. the internet bandwidth is fast increasing in nigeria with the huge quantity of terrestrial bandwidth flowing into the country which means that church leaders must not jettison on the use of the internet for church growth programmes, electronic mails, telephone and virtual learning environment for communication as well as the deployment of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 114 church ict infrastructure for church administration and human capital management (bolu, 2012). most importantly, it is observed that: “virtual learning programs and open access initiatives allow bible knowledge to spread beyond physical boundaries, thus, enhancing the church’s important role in raising new generation of leaders with character” (bolu, 2012). perhaps that is why in his 2010 message for the 44th world communications day titled “the priest and pastoral ministry in a digital world: new media at the service of the word,” benedict xvi pointed out that the church, especially priests, should be conscientious in the use of the media at the service of the word. he also ceased the opportunity to note that consecrated men and women who are working in the media have a special responsibility for opening the door to new forms of encounter, maintaining the quality of human interaction, and showing concern for individuals and their genuine spiritual needs (benedict xvi, 2010). this means that all media workers must work together to ensure that the media of communication do in fact contribute to the pursuit of truth and the speeding up of progress (cp no. 13). while this is a most urgent need, again, lay men and women who work in the media especially those who instruct the tastes and judgements of others as well as all who teach the young or the uneducated have an enormous responsibility of ensuring that the total output of the media in terms of news, culture and entertainment makes for the common good (cp nos. 15 & 16). recommendations and conclusion recommendations (i) engage the media of communication: each diocese or ecclesiastical institution can do a lot by engaging both the traditional and new media like the local television and radio stations around. the presence of the church needs to be felt more in the media. liturgical inculturation should be taken more seriously in terms of using proverbs for homilies or the use of vernacular in liturgical assemblies. the establishment of the centre for the study of african culture and communication (cesacc) by the catholic institute of west africa (ciwa), port harcourt, nigeria, where students are taught how to engage the media of communication vis-à-vis trado-rural communication for the purpose of evangelisation and the common good is a groundbreaking achievement by the catholic bishops of the west african sub-region towards inculturating the faith. also, the introduction of “theological chapter” by the same institution for students of the faculty of theology is a welcome development since it helps in achieving the purpose of liturgical inculturation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 115 for instance, parishes and deaneries as well as departments of ecclesiastical institutes can create a facebook or whatsapp page; or better still, create a twitter handle wherein lay students as well as priests, and religious can access or share information. kafanchan diocese has an active telegram through which the bishop and priests share information/homilies. the need for a diocesan or institutional website where basic information about the diocese or institute can be accessed is also expedient. projectors and powerpoint presentations could also be employed for lectures, conferences, homilies and catechesis in catholic schools and parishes. (ii) revamp the culture of bulletins, notice boards and suggestion box: the bulletin is a useful medium for the propagation of the faith. aside from being the public relation’s (pr) tool of an institution or a parish, the bulletin, if well handled, can be a source of income for any institution. bulletins should be handled by a committee with a six-man editorial board comprising of the following: 1.the editor; 2.the deputy editor; 3.computer layout/secretary; 4.the production manager and sales agent(s)/manager(s); 5.treasure and 6.the spiritual director (preferably a priest). preferably, most of these people should be professionals working with the media. the bulletin should carry important news for the institution or parish. it should be handy, neat, well-edited, devoid of numerous and mundane adverts. it should also come out timely – by friday or latest, saturday morning, the sunday-bulletin should be out (dyikuk, 2011, p. 122). also, bulletins or notice boards which carry announcements can reduce the amount of time spent on announcements in most of our institutions or parishes. against the popular notion that the suggestion box archaic, it is an ancient yet useful tool for feedback. the suggestion box creates avenue for people to express themselves about how they feel about their school or the church – the suggestion box provides the room for reform and improvement. (iii) support the directorate of communication: the directorate of social communication is the eye of the diocese and the main instrument of communication in the local church. since the communication commission shares in transmitting the life and teachings of the church as the image maker of the diocese, it must be supported by the bishop, priests and religious. more support is needed by the laity in cash and kind because running the office is capital intensive. such supports could be through sponsorship of catholic programmes on tv and radio or placing advertisements in the diocesan newspaper. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 116 (iv) create parish communications committee: it is essential for every parish in a diocese to establish parish communications committee (pcc). this body is saddled with the responsibility of supplying the diocesan directorate of social communication with news and events from parishes these persons are usually selected from each parish. on its part, the directorate ought to make it a point of duty to engage them in capacity building by way of media training in the area of news gathering, processing and dissemination. (v) develop a national or diocesan pastoral plan for social communication: it is important for the church in nigeria to develop a pastoral plan which includes the vision, mission, strategy and paradigm of the nigerian church towards she is doing and she intends to do in the area of social communications. it is the responsibility of the directorate of social communication at the catholic secretariat of nigeria (csn) in conjunction with cesacc and the association of diocesan and religious directors of social communications of the catholic church in nigeria to initiate and execute this national pastoral plan for social communications in nigeria (nppscn) plan while stating the duration the pastoral plan will take. this nppscn should be replicated in every diocese with adaptations to the peculiar situation in that local church. the vision states what the country or diocese intends to do, the mission indicates what the diocese is doing and the strategy has to do with how the things are to be done – the paradigm involves the model of communication the country or diocese will choose for itself. the ideal model of communication is the participatory communication which makes for both up-ward flow and downward flow of communication. up-ward flow of communication provides a leader with the opportunity to access information from employees in order to make decisions, identify problems, collect data, determine staff morale and reveal employee thoughts and feelings about the organisation (enudu, 2004, p.70). since it involves passing information from the laity to the bishops, or from members of the laity and priests to the deans or consultors to the bishop, it demands open door policy, counselling and participatory decision-making techniques. down-ward flow communication involves passing information from superiors to subordinates which allows superiors to implement their decision in a way that it will influence employees who are lower in hierarchy (enudu, 2004, p.69). for effective flow of information in the country or diocese, the hierarchy should create a way of making both priests and laity feel they are in-group members – people that are trusted and not out-group members – those who do not belong or cannot be trusted. this means that the church at the national or diocesan level must be a home for everyone. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 117 (v) create feedback mechanism: most times, pastors of souls do not care to get feed-back from the flock concerning their homilies in particular and their ministry in general. the priest may be shouting, talking too fast or slowly; he might even be neglecting a particular topic or gender in his homilies. it is expedient that he asks for feedback from mature parishioners. it is important to consult mature people because sycophants are everywhere they will sugar-quote everything and tell you what you want to hear except what you should hear, namely the truth. feedback is meant to challenge you, make you sit up and above all, improve your output (dyikuk, 2011, p.130). (vi) procure good public address systems: a good public address system is a sure aid to good communication a bad one has a damaging impact on a speaker and his audience. no matter what it will cost, a school, parish or diocese should procure good public address systems. it is not an investment one would regret. it saves the speaker many things; his energy, shouting, panting, rattling, sweating and even embarrassment. protestant and pentecostal counterparts have given catholics a run for their money in that regard (dyikuk, 2011, pp.126-127). we have seen that the church in nigeria is vibrant in terms of numbers and diversity. ekeocha (2017) agrees no less when he observed: “i believe that it is because of this unflinching fidelity to the teachings of christ that the catholic church in africa has flourished, even in the midst of the most difficult tragedies, the most extreme conditions and a growing cultural imperialism from western nations.” like jesus told the rich young man, you lack one thing, what remains for church in this clime is to embrace the beauty and variety the means of communication presents to continue the work of evangelisation. conclusion we have seen that despite the beauty inherent in social communication as a tool for evangelisation, it has attendant dangers. the church fathers’ caution is important: “nevertheless the use of the means of social communication for evangelization presents a challenge: through them the evangelical message should reach vast numbers of people, but with the capacity of piercing the conscience of each individual, of implanting itself in his heart as though he were the only person being addressed, with all his most individual and personal qualities, and evoke an entirely personal adherence and commitment” (en no.45). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 118 the study has opined that while engaging the media of communication, priests, religious and laity ought not to forget the importance of interpersonal communication and witnessing. they are urged to be media savvy. however, they must not be known for facebook without facing-god; owning a gmailaccount without a guarded-moral; operating yahoo without yahweh and accessing google without the gospel. pope francis surmised that: “...priests [and religious] present in the world of digital communications should be less notable for their media savvy than for their priestly [or religious] heart, their closeness to christ. this will not only enliven their pastoral outreach, but also will give a ‘soul’ to the fabric of communications that makes up the ‘web’” (benedict xvi, 2010). this important call by the pope also applies to members of the laity who use the means of communication more than priests and religious. for the church in nigeria to live up to its responsibility in the use of the means of communication, it must ensure objectivity (mcquail, 2009, p.200) in its gathering, processing and dissemination of information while fulfilling its missionary mandate. it is the opinion of this paper that the use of 3 different multimedia approaches namely, print, electronic and new media platforms in line with the theoretical framework would further harness the mission of christ on earth in the nigerian pastoral context. references allen, j.l (2006). africa and catholicism. www.africamasterweb.com/adsense/africaandcatholicism.html. accessed november 15, 2018. atoyebi, c. s. (2015). structure covering all aspects of communication: social and religious. port harcourt: catholic institute of west africa. benedict xvi, (2010). message for the 44th world communications day: the priest and pastoral ministry in a digital world: new media at the service of the word. accessed.w2.vatican.va/content/benedictxvi/en/messages/communic ations/documents/hf_ben-xvi_mes_20100124_44th-worldcommunications-day.html. accessed november 15, 2018. benedict xvi, (2013). message for the 47th world communications day: social networks: portals of truth and faith; new spaces for evangelisation. w2.vatican.va/content/benedictxvi/en/messages/communications/documents/hf_benxvi_mes_20130124_47th-world-communications-day.html. accessed november 15, 2018. bolu, c. a. (2012). the church in the contemporary world: information and communication technology in church communication for growth: a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 119 case study. journal of media and communication studies vol. 4(4), pp. [80-94]. burton, g. (2011). media and society: critical perspectives (2nd edition). mcgraw hill: open university press. catholic directors of communication (2018). proclaiming the truth as an indispensable tool for peace-journalism and panacea to fake news in nigeria – resolutions issued at the end of the first plenary of the association of diocesan and religious directors of social communications of the catholic church in nigeria held at eziafakaego garden resort, nnokwa, onitsha archdiocese, from 5–7 march, 2018. communication for pastoral formation, (1999). communication, culture and community. vol. 3. pauline publications africa: kenya. communication for pastoral formation, (1999). communication, culture and community. vol. 2. pauline publications africa: kenya. dyikuk j.j (2017). christianity and the digital age: sustaining the online church. international journal of journalism and mass communication. 3(1): 043-049. dyikuk j.j (2018).an appraisal of liturgy as communication. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5. [62-85]. dyikuk, j.j. (2017). couple’s clinic: a practical guide on conflict resolution in marriage and the family in the light of effective communication. usca prints: jos. edmond, t. (2010). ringwood community addresses sexting. www.northjersey.com/news/education/parents-students-get-the-4-11-on-sexting-1.974685. accessed november 15, 2018. eilers, f. j. communication theology and some considerations. www.freinademetzcenter.org/. accessed november 15, 2018. ekeocha, o. (2017). a thriving church amid the tragedy of nigeria. www.catholicherald.co.uk/issues/april-7th-2017/a-thriving-churchamid-the-tragedy-of-nigeria/. accessed november 15, 2018. enudu, t. o (2004). introduction to business management, 2nd ed., enugu: johnkens and willy publication. faniran, j. o (1998). towards a pastoral plan for social communication for the “good news”. in journal of inculturation theology, vol.13, no. 1.[3-22]. francis, (2013). message for the plenary assembly of the pontifical council for social communications: social communications for binging others to christ. www.en.radiovaticana.va/storico/2013/09/21/pope_francis_communi igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 120 cations_is_for_bringing_others_to_christ/en1-730505. accessed november 15, 2018. guo, l. c. & sanchez, y. (2005). “workplace communication.” organisation behavior in health by nancy borkowski, jones and bartlett publications [77110]. ihejirika, w. c. (2009). research on media, religion and culture in africa: current trends and debates (pp.1-60). in african communication research, vol. 2, no. 1.[1-60]. ihejirika, w. c. (2010). innovative pastoral applications of the new information and communication technologies (nicts) by the catholic church in nigeria, (phd dissertation), universidade metodista de sao paulo. keene, c, (2013). what is the connection between sexting and sexual violence? www.news.vawnet.org/2013/06/sexting/. accessed november 15, 2018. maurus, j. (2010). the art of communicating effectively. the bombay saint pau society: india. mcquail, d. (2009). mcquail’s mass communication and theory. sage publications: india. musa, g. (2014). seminar on media application in development 5222. catholic institute of west africa, port harcourt, nigeria. nwabueze, c. (2007).environmental communication: perspectives on green communication and information management. enugu: daisy press. odenore, h.o. (2015). the church theologian and ecumenical discourse in the nigerian print media. [699-730]. in (eds) ijezie, l.e; audu, s and acha, a.i. the church in nigeria and ecumenical question. port harcourt: chatan publications. ogwuche, p. (2014). a summary of “the prophetic role of the christian media” by fr. diosnel centurion. port harcourt: catholic institute of west africa. olusola, e. (2013). leadership and communication: enhancing participation in small group with particular focus on small christian communities. ibadan: spectrum books. olusola, e. (2015). social communication and christian unity: providing answers to the ecumenical question in nigeria [681-698]. in (eds) ijezie, l.e; audu, s and acha, a.i. the church in nigeria and ecumenical question. port harcourt: chatan publications. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 121 pontifical council for social communications collection (1992). aetatis novae (pp. 119-139). in eilers, f. (1993). the church and social communication: basic documents. manila: logos publications. pontifical council for social communications collection: 7 vols. libreria editrice vaticana 1986– 2002.www.logos.com/product/37722/pontifical-council-for-socialcommunications-collection. accessed november 15, 2018. qubein, n.r. (1997). how to be a great communicator in person, on paper, and on the podium. pinnacle of grace publishing: nigeria. scott, t. j. (2005). the concise handbook of manager: a practitioner’s approach. illinois: haworth press. stetzer, e.d (2014). 3 ways technology enables the mission of the church. www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2014/october/3-waystechnology-enables-mission-of-church.html. accessed november 15, 2018. taiye, a. (2016). main trends in the church growth in nigeria. european scientific journal october edition vol. 8, no.23 [1-12]. unah, l. (2017). young nigerians are connecting with pentecostal churches. will they return to catholicism?www.americamagazine.org/faith/2017/11/16/youngnigerians-are-connecting-pentecostal-churches-will-they-returncatholicism. accessed november 15, 2018. van hilten, l. g. (2015). sexting coercion is on the rise – and can be as traumatic as partner violence.www.elsevier.com/connect/sextingcoercion-is-on-the-rise-and-can-be-astraumatic-as-partner-violence. accessed november 15, 2018. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 4.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 136 the presence and impact of church missionary society in ngwo clan, enugu in eastern nigeria 1917-1930 ani, uchenna s. ph.d., mhsn department of history and strategic studies, federal university, ndufu-alike, ikwo, nigeria uchennaani05@yahoo.com & ezeonwuka innocent-franklyn o. ph.d., mhsn department of history, international studies & diplomacy, godfrey okoye university, enugu, nigeria egbuacho@gmail.com, +2348033096134 abstract the penetration of christian missionary activities into the hinterland igbo societies where ngwo belong started after the colonial conquest of the societies and full establishment of colonial administration. in ngwo for instance, missionary activities was triggered by economic and political activities that followed the discovery and exploitation of coal in their farmlands. their mission was not only to preach the message of jesus christ and enforce repentance and conversion of the people from african traditional religion to christianity; but also to transmit the white mans’ knowledge of reading, writing and numeracy to the people. it is the opinion of this paper that the people that masterminded the establishment of church missionary society (cms) in ngwo clan are not in themselves christians; and they did not covert to christianity when it has taken root in the clan. that the interest of majority of the people was not in the acceptance of the message of jesus christ and repentance from traditional practices but in learning the white man’s knowledge through the schools which will give them and their children opportunity in taking advantage of economic and political realities of colonial activities in enugu township. in the period under review, most adherents to christianity had the liberty to indulge in a syncretic mix of christianity and traditional customs of the land, this invariably strengthened african traditional religion in ngwo clan. this work drew heavily from primary sources which are comprised of oral tradition collated through random sampling mode, granted by reliable informants, intelligence report and other materials collated from national archives, enugu. secondary sources include books, journal articles and other materials which provided useful information on the subject matter. available facts were analysed historically using qualitative research methodology. key words: missionary activities, traditional religion, syncretism, colonialism igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 137 introduction the church missionary society was introduced in ngwo clan on the 17th january, 1917 by rev. isaac uzowulu ejindu; a missionary priest born in 1882 to the families of mr. and mrs. aje ejindu of ugamuma in obosi in present anambra state.1 his arrival in ngwo marked therefore, the first contact ngwo people had with christianity.2 in the period, colonial activities were strongly taking shape in abgaja area of old udi division where ngwo belong. the relevance of udi division had become very high owing to the discovery and eventual exploitation of coal in enugu-ngwo.3 the massive exploitation of coal in enugu-ngwo was occasioned by the first world war which distorted not only mining but other economic activities in europe. as enugu ngwo coal was certified suitable enough to sustain the energy purposes of nigeria and other british west african colonies, aggressive mining strategy was put in place by the colonialists which involved bringing in labourers from western igboland, western nigeria and other african groups,4 who had earlier come in contact with euro-christianity and westerns education. the influx of these diverse groups into enugungwo gradually shifted ngwo society, which over the years had adhered to africa traditional religion from homogeneity to heterogeneity. there was need therefore, for the establishment of eurochristianity which had become the religion of, not only the colonial officers in enugungwo but also of the african groups who had come in contact with colonial activities, earlier than the hinterland igbo where ngwo society belong. the church missionary society was the first to be established in ngwo clan and the impact was felt in the society in diverse ways. this paper will first of all draw our attention to the origin of ngwo and the religions and cultural practices prevalent in the society before the advent of christianity. it will be followed by the establishment and spread of cms in ngwo clan; a survey of the impact will be made, then comes the conclusion. 1917, the year cms outpost was planted in ngwo was chosen as the commencement point of this paper, it will be terminated in 1930 the year the pioneer missionaries were posted out of ngwo in continuation of their missionary work. traditions of origin it is difficult to reconstruct the early history of a pre-literate people, especially the igbo of south eastern nigeria. this is because the igbo did not evolve igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 138 large empires and kingdoms to the magnitude of kanem-borno, oyo, benin etc. they remained decentralised, therefore making the documentation of its history difficult. lack of conventional records of early igbo history has raised scepticism about the possibility of the study of igbo history.5 some writers have written of the igbo as if they did not exist before the 16th century, at which time, it would appear they suddenly came into existence.6 some scholars of igbo history too have also lumped the history of igbo societies together; the assumption was that what happens at a particular area should be happening at some other areas. this was what informed anyanwu’s idea of studying the igbo history at the level of micro-societies.7 this study on ngwo, a micro-society in the old udi division of present enugu state follows this perception. agbodike noted that in pre-literate african societies, the making and transmission of tradition was not the work of the historian as in the modern times.8 in the largely structured states especially those with centralised monarchical administration such as dahoemy, kanem–borno, oyo empires, etc, where political and legal implications of tradition were of everyday importance; the transmission of oral tradition was easier as it was controlled and as well regulated by chroniclers, selected priests and elders.9 but in highly segmented societies like the igbo generally and ngwo in particular, where roles were not sharply differentiated and where activities varied from one town to the other, oral tradition especially as regards the origin is difficult to reconstruct. foreigners have made incursions into the origin of ngwo, when mr. o’conor, the then resident of the old onitsha province of which ngwo was part of, described ngwo as decentralised villages scattered on the hill without a definite common ancestor.10 but as afigbo had put it, no matter what contributions outsiders might make, recent events teach that igbo history has to be written by the igbo themselves.11 that is to say that nobody knows a people better than they know themselves. no legend can therefore explain better the origin of ngwo people except an indigenous legend. a certain ngwo legend has attributed the origin of ngwo to the ehum.12 the ehum were said to be people that came from a distant area as far as uburu and igalaland. the protagonists of this legend believed that the ten towns of ngwo did not originally come from one man; that the people who formed ngwo society were numerous in number when they came.13 it is also stated that the people were also of equal status without a definite leader. this explains why ngwo did not have a central administrative structure up to the early 1980s.14 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 139 the legend also explains why the uniqueness of ngwo is very clear among her neighbours. due to the fact that they, (the ehum), came from as far as igala and uburu which did not have any cultural resemblance with other towns or clans that border it on all sides, they (ngwo) could not identify with any of her neighbors, therefore, they stood alone. the exponents, of this legend also believed that the ehum were not culture conscious, 15 that was why they embraced almost all aspects of culture they encountered in the area. ngwo therefore adheres both to odo and maa cults unlike her neighbours. the legend of origin that is widely accepted by ngwo people is the ngwo-ako legend. this legend explains that ngwo originated from a farmer and hunter known as ngwo-ako, 16 who came from an unknown place to settle at ishiokpoto. the legend has it that ngwo-ako married two wives, the first from his northern neighbour ojebogene out of whom he had three sons: ameke, amankwo and uboji; while he married his second wife from his eastern neighbour nkanu out of whom he had seven sons: enugu, etiti, amachalla, amebo, ukaka, okwojo and umase. it is the ten sons of ngwo-ako that fathered the ten towns of ngwo. 17 but tracing the origin of different communities and kindreds that made up ngwo contradicts the ngwo-ako legend to a large extent. for instance the ngwo-ako legend traces enugu-ngwo to be the first son of the second wife of ngwo-ako and umuode as the eldest son (village) of enugu. but that same umuode is said to have migrated from ojebogene, hence the popular saying. umuode ojebogene, ndi o ji ji egbuogene, kaobu n’osisi adighin’ofia. when rendered in english it is: umuode ojedogene the people that beat the gungs with yam tubers as if there were no sticks in the bush. thus alluded to their dexterity in yam cultivation. the argument is that, if umuode, the first son of enugu migrated from obebogene, it means that the other kindreds and hamlets that made up the town might have migrated from different places. 18 in ameke too, the three hamlets that made up the town are said to have migrated from different places, for instance umuezeani migrated from ukana, ifueke migrated from egede and ibute migrated from ebe. 19 but in the opinion of many elders in ngwo, the legend of ngwo-ako should be adhered to because that is the only legend that relatively weilds the people together. further inquiries were made as to when ngwo-ako came to limelight in the history of ngwo. it was traced to the colonial period, at the time when chief onyeama of eke was the most influential warrant chief in the whole of agbaja, ngwo, nkanu and part of nsukka areas. at the period the native court that administered the affairs of agbaja and ngwo was situated at eke; ngwo people in protest on chief onyeama’s overriding influence at the court, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 140 argued that ngwo people would no longer sit in the court at eke and that the jurisdiction of the court would no longer cover ngwo that ngwo was not agbaja, but ngwo-ako, and should therefore have its own separate native court. 20 they buttressed their argument by emphasizing that ngwo adheres to the odo and maa cult unlike the agbaja people. this prompted mr. peking the then resident officer of udi division to intensify the study of all the clans in agbaja area which at the period was already in progress. in the end, it was understood that ngwo was entirely different from the other clans almost in all areas of life. a native court was therefore approved for ngwo people which was opened at isi okpoto. 21 if ngwo-ako out of which the legend of ngwo-ako was formed, came into limelight of ngwo history during the colonial period, one can safely say that it is not strong enough to sustain the history of the origin of ngwo. to ikenga john agu agbo and many other elders of ngwo, the legend is as old as ngwo but not to the knowledge of many especially non ngwo indigenes until the colonial period when events as noted earlier brought it to limelight. but just like the bayajida legend in hausaland, which, saddled with many shortcomings, scaled through as the generally accepted legend of the origin of hausa people, the ngwo-ako legend should, inspite of its shortcomings be accepted as it serves as the only unifying factor for all the towns in ngwo.22 religious and cultural practices in ngwo before the advent of christianity prior to the coming of christianity, ngwo people were adherents of african traditional religion; this includes veneration of the land deity.23 afigbo noted that with the coming of agriculture, the igbo became dependent on the land out of which food is produced for sustainability, they had to evolve a whole new system of rules, laws and rituals to control land use.24 because the land feeds her children, it came to be conceived as a woman, a mother. and because of the way it transformed crops when sown, god-like powers were attributed to it leading to its deification.25 in ngwo the land goddesses reside in the village squares of all the ten towns that make up ngwo clan. their shrines are characterized by very tall trees and an altar of worship concealed in a small shelter with red and white cloth. that is where the priest of the land performs ritual consecrations and sacrifices.26 afigbo also noted that the deification of ala in turn required working out a system of relationship between it, the ancestors and other gods recognized by the community.27 this condition is synonymous with ngwo of the period. everybody is connected to the land goddess of their individual villages in several ways. for instance, the umbilical cord of every child as soon as it is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 141 detached from the navel is deposited at the shrine of the land goddess of their particular village.28 this practice signifies a strong bonding between the people and the land goddess of their respective villages. also during the feasts of the aju festival, series of consecration and sacrifices which requires the sprinkling of the blood of animals are performed yearly to strengthen the bonding among the people and as well, their accountability to the land goddess.29 for instance during igo-okpa (leg consecration by men who participates in farming for the season) all the men assemble at the shrine of the land goddess at the village square with each extended family, according to their capacity, presents an offering of either goat, ram, or cow to the goddess. the priest of the land performs the ordinances which include slaughtering of the animals to the shrine, with the people seated on the ground; the blood of the animals is smeared on their legs one after the other with chants and incantations by the priest. the people will also be dedicated afresh to the goddess for protection and guidance.30 ancestor worship had also permeated the fabrics of ngwo society in the period under review. as p.a. tablot posited, perhaps nowhere in the world is the influence of the dead stronger than in west africa, nowhere is the dividing life between the dead and the living less definite. no one can hope to appreciate the feelings and thought of the black man who does not realise that to him, the dead are not dead but living.31 to ngwo people, their ancestors are ever alive influencing the society as their guardians of morality. the ancestor is the rallying point for the family, extended family, kindred and even the community. the basis of the chi (personal family god) in ngwo cosmology is purely to worship and venerate the ancestor. they believe that the ancestors were the ones mediating and interceding for them before the chiukwu (supreme god). in other words, their dead do not actually die; rather they depart to live again.32 every morning prayers are offered through the ancestors to the supreme god, chiukwu for blessings and protection of every member of the family. but once in every year during the first aju period, igo-nna the feast of commemoration of the ancestors is performed.33 it is a feast of reunion where every member of individual families returns to their root, even the ones married outside the town return with their children. sacrifices and prayers are offered through the family shrine on behalf of every member of the family. vengeance is also requested for any offence against the family members.34 c.a obi posited that the igbo of onitsha at the period of the early missionaries believe that every igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 142 material thing has a spirit that animates it. for the men, it is mkpulu-obi (seed of the essence or of the principle of man) which gives him life and which lives on after death.35 the spirit of the grandfather could be transmitted to a child in the process of ino-uwa the belief in re-incarnation or igba-nje-uwa, commuting between the material world and the world of the spirits.36 in ngwo of the period, there is prevalence of male to male, female to female and male to female re-incarnations. re-incarnations are always traced when a child is affected with strange ailment or condition that defies several attempts on medication. a dibia (diviner) is consulted to search the spirit of the gods and trace the incarnator.37 the gods will in turn make their demands known through the diviner to the family. sacrifices (igba-aja) are made by the family in accordance to the demands of the spirit and offered at required location where it will be accessible by the spirit of the incarnator. when that is done, the person gains total freedom.38 the dead in ngwo especially the aged are not buried outside the family compound. this is because the spirit of the dead lives among the people and intercedes for them in the presence of the chiukwu.39 after the burial of such people, a cockerel is strangled at the head position of their coffin, the head of the fowl and its feathers will be buried alongside the dead. that will enable the spirit of the dead to return and dwell among his people for good.40 other aspects of the peoples culture include veneration of other gods which had relationship with the ancestors of the people for instance ugwuenechi, ikpa, amuma, nome, ezata, ekwulu, ugwuakulu etc.41all these deities are venerated alongside the land goddess resident at the village squares of all the villages that make up ngwo clan. these deities also took vengeance against individuals and families in the event of commission of abomination.42 at death, such people (who committed abomination) are not buried but deposited in the evil forest such as be okwobun’agu and be enyaka nti.43 their will be multiple calamities and deaths in such families which only stops when a dibia is consulted to search the mind of the spirits concerning the requirements necessary for the performance of ritual cleansing of the abomination. as noted by nwaezeigwe, the sacrifice of abrogation of any law or cleansing of abomination has to be performed by the priest of the ground who offers sacrifice when any of such laws are violated.44 in ngwo, the priest of those deities offer sacrifice of appeasement at the shrine of the particular deity offended before the final ordinance is performed to the land goddess at the village square. the cleansing takes the blood of animals and sometimes humans, depending on the enormity of the abomination.45 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 143 other traditional practices include odo and maa traditional institutions. though they were borrowed from other clans in the environs and even far away from ngwo, it became part and parcel of ngwo traditional practice. it is used as an agent of social control, implementation of policies and avenue of measuring social standing. for instance before an adult male becomes a bonafide member of the extended family, he must be an initiate of both the odo and maa traditional institutions; therefore, abiding by the tenets of the institutions fosters social control.46 most parents took it as their statutory obligation to initiate their children early, in most cases when they are still teenagers .therefore, before the coming of the cms missionaries, almost all the men in ngwo are initiates of the odo and maa traditional institutions. the coming of cms in ngwo clan the initial attempt at the establishment of christianity in the agbaja area of old udi division was in 1913 when chief onyeama (the paramount ruler of eke and the speaker/head of all the warrant chiefs in agbaja area where ngwo belong requested mr. n.c duncan, the british colonial officer at udi to help him transmit the white man’s knowledge and wisdom to his people by way of establishing a church and a school at eke where the indigenous people would be instructed in english language.47 chief onyeama had travelled with mr. duncan to london for the empire day celebration on the 24th of may 1912. he was fascinated at the level of development he saw and decided to replicate same in his home town.36 in that regard, mr. duncan, (himself an adherent of cms) invited rev. g.t basden who was in the period, the education secretary of the church missionary society (cms) in onitsha province,49 for inspection and establishment of a school. rev. basden posted rev. daws after the inspection to open a cms church and school at eke. after the establishment of the school, rev. daws decided to instruct the natives in the igbo language instead of the english language and every effort made to change the did not work.50 owing to this, chief onyeama did not only stop rev. daws and the operations of cms but proscribed its establishment in the whole of agbaja area. that same year, (1913), he (chief onyeama) invited rev. father joseph shanahan of the roman catholic mission (rcm) who established rcm church and that is, st. paul’s catholic church and school at eke. that was why the cms did not have a strong presence, especially in the northern agbaja area up to affa and akpakwume/nze. in 1917 conscious effort was made both by mr. duncan and rev. g.t basden to see if cms can be re-established in agbaja area, this time at enugu-ngwo. as ealier noted, coal mining operations which started in 1914 and the activities of the eastern railway and even the influx of other european firms igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 144 had transformed enugu-ngwo. the influx of people from all parts of the country and even beyond had transformed the town into a plural society. the warrant chiefs of ngwo, under the leadership of chief onyeama still oversaw the affairs of enugu-ngwo township.51in 1915 rev basden met with mr duncan requesting him to use his position as the district officer to help establish cms in enugu-ngwo. duncan fearing that chief onyeama who equally doubled as the colonial government’s land agent in enugu-ngwo might detect the presence of cms if opened in enugu-ngwo township preferred establishing it in enugu-ngwo village where their activities can be concealed.52the chiefs were divided in accepting the proposal for the establishment of a c.m.s outpost especially, those loyal to chief onyeama. ozo chime ukwuani, the warrant chief, representing ekagbani which was comprised of enugu, etiti, and amachalla bowed to the pressure of the protagonists and quickly contacted ozo nnadi nwagu who promptly released his compound for its establishment. rev. isaac uzowulu ejindu who had taken over from rev. daws was invited to start a cms church in enugungwo on the 17th of january, 1917.53 impacts of cms missionary activities in ngwo clan. education and medical impact: ngwo is a society that accommodates people of diverse groups. since 1909 when coal was discovered in their land to 1914 when exploitation commenced in full commercial capacity to 1915 when the northern and western rail lines were extended to enugu ngwo to 1917 when a trunk “a” road was constructed across their land with a major cross road linking the northern and western nigeria at the centre of their locality; ngwo people has been accommodating people of diverse groups. their liberal mindedness afforded then the opportunity to learn and as well benefit from the people they come in contact with the situation was not different from their experience with the cms missionaries led by rev. isaac. ejindu. the missionaries arrived ngwo, passing through awlaw, and ozalla on evangelical mission.54 ngwo, being a highly religious people, rev. ejindu devised a plan for penetrative evangelism. he came with a monkey which many people went to watch, he also came with a guitar and a flute with which he played music to the delight of the people that gathered to watch his monkey. his activities gradually changed the major pastime of the people, especially in the evenings when most people must have been through with the day’s activities. people who could have relaxed in their neighbourhoods after farm work to enjoy evening palm wine and play local games trooped to the village square to watch his performance. he toured the whole of ngwo clan with his monkey and music, his presence always attracted a large number of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 145 spectators who, after being entertained with music, had the gospel preached to them. as the number of his spectators kept increasing by the day, he devised a programme for formal education and bible lessons for them. onwubiko noted that the most spectacular achievement of the missionaries in west africa is in the field of education, 55 the christian missionaries, regarded education as the indispensable hand maid of evangelization and also promoted it from the onset of their activities. 56 on arrival at ngwo clan rev. ejindu the lead missionary came with mr. john eze nwoye, a seasoned school teacher to pioneer the establishment of schools in ngwo clan.57 they first established st. mary’s primary school in enugu ngwo. 58 pupils were instructed in english language which of course is very new in ngwo clan. pupils were thought how to both read and write in english language. parent too did not hesitate in releasing their children to the established schools. as the church and school expanded rapidly in the compound of ozo nnadi nwagu, the missionaries demanded for a land to permanently site the church and school. an abominable piece of land known and referred to as be enya ka nti which means a place where one seas for himself rather than hearing. it was a land where numerous atrocious, things were deposited including dead bodies.59 at the completion of the permanent site of the church and school in september, 1917, enrolment of pupils into the school especially from a akagbani section of ngwo clan increased drastically. pupils from amankwo were trekking very long distance to attend classes and other church activities connected to the school. their devotion and dedication to the activities of the missionaries reflected in their knowledge of writing, reading and communication in english language. the pupils were clearly distinguished from their mates who were not making such sacrifice, trekking that long distance to gain western education. it was in this regard that community leaders in amankwo, ameke and uborji under the leadership of chief ozofor nwaozalor of okwe, amankwo applied for the establishment of a church and school for ngwo uno section of ngwo clan in november, 1917, st. paul’s church and school was planted at amankwo. 60 in 1919 people from ime-ama section of ngwo which is comprised of okwojo, ukaka, amebo and umuase through their leader chief ugwu ozonyia requested for the establishment of their own church and school. they provided the land and erected the building by themselves as st. peter’s church, okwojo.61 the schools established in all the sections of the clan were all junior primary schools, the standard were not high because they lacked qualifies teachers. it was low grade teachers that pass instruction to the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 146 pupils.62 but with the proliferation of pupils in the schools the extent that facilities and teachers could no longer contain, the missionaries applied to ngwo clan for land for the establishment of a standard primary school in ngwo. in 1922, a parcel of land at 7 miles (seven miles) that stretched from ukaka to okwojo was released both to the cms and rcm (roman catholic mission) which, in the period was rapidly spreading at ngwo uno section of ngwo.63 on that land the cms established the central school in ngwo. the school in the period was the best primary school in the whole of agbaja area of old udi division, high profile teachers were posted from onitsha to run the school. the standard of the school was very high to the extent that when primary school leavers in the whole of onitsha province competed for a very competitive entrance into the prestigious denis memorial grammar school (dmgs) onitsha; a son of ngwo clan and a graduate of the central school ngwo, mr. isaac nwangwu scaled through as a pioneer student. 64 the missionaries also opened a vocation training centre for men located at be okwobu n’agua land deserted by its owners because of the presence of an evil spirit called nomeh the spirit not only tormented people, it as well mysteriously killed children.65 a flourishing industrial training centre was established in it, where converts were trained either as carpenters or masons. the lead instructor was mr. arinze from obosi.66 the vacation centre for women was located at the site of st. mary’s church. it doubled both as a vocation centre and a maternity home. mrs. celina nwosu was in charge of taking care of orphans, twins and pregnant women, the missionaries worked hard to stop the killing of twins and female genital mutilation. mrs. mercy nwere was in charge of the centre for skill acquisition and home making.67 some wives of the new converts to christianity were sent to st. monica’s vocation training school at ogbunike in present anambra state to train in catering, seamstresing, home keeping as management. the participants include mr. bernice eze, mrs. agnes aneke and mrs. onoh. on their return, they became instructors in the vocation school established at st. mary’s church where they train young christians and even non-christian girls on different areas of home making. graduates from the centre were resourceful. it therefore became a breeding ground for young men in choosing their wives.68 religious and cultural impact the primary objective of missionaries’ activities in africa generally was to evangelize the people and convert them from their traditional forms of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 147 worship to christian way of life as belief. as noted earlier the missionaries came with a monkey, guitar and flute, they are attractive to the people and will always pull ground to the places they go to evangelize. their teachings were in total variance to the pre-existing traditional beliefs and practices. for instance, ancestor veneration, usage of ogwu charms to ward off death, sickness and misfortune. the economics of the new teaching was also, to an extent, a point of attraction to some converts. the goats, yam and other articles that exchange hands in supplicating to the deities serve other vital economic purpose since the christian god does not require any of such, except prayers and faith. dedication of people and their resources to the land deity as the basis of success started losing edge while worshiping the invisible god gained momentum. 69 the new converters owing to the persecution they faced in the period because to their preference to christianity relocated from their homes to the deserted land of industrial mission where an industrial training center had already been established. the early setters include mr. nathanael aneke, mr. paul ugwu, mr. simeon nwani, mr.hezekiah onoh, mr. philip onoh, mr. amos aneke, mr. appolos aneke, mr. john nnadi, mr. timothy ugorji. their descendants still reside in industrial mission as at the time of this writing.70 industrial mission became a melting point where christian culture diffused into other parts of ngwo clan. it is pertinent to say here that through the adherents to christianity were many, passive adherents who combined traditional practices with christianity were more in number. the warrant chiefs who influenced the establishment of churches and schools in different parts of ngwo clan were not themselves christians; rather they strongly engage in traditional practices. apart from few devoted elderly people, the bulk of the truly devoted people were more among children and teenagers who were not up to the age of initiation into the traditional institutions of ngwo clan. conclusion the cms missionaries made giant strides in ngwo clan in the period under review. the people both converters and non-converts to christianity embraced christianity in one way or the other. there was a general belief that the missionaries came with mere civilized knowledge and the people did not hesitate to embrace it in one way or the other. parents gave their children free hand to attend both school and church activities. the school did not only confer greater wisdom in the pupils, it placed the clan on a better position to benefit from the greater possibilities that accompanied colonialism. lots of them eventually secured placement in government departments, parastatals igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 148 and corporation in enugu. graduates of the vocation canter and industrial training institute became resourceful and selfsufficient. they as well trained younger people who contributed meaningfully to the development of the clan. some ancient traditional practices like killing of twins and human sacrifice reduced drastically. the tenants of christianity was advanced by the missionaries in ngwo clan to a large extent freely and unmolested. but unfortunately, christianity remained poorly internalised and superficial. most adherents were passive in their belief. they combined christian tenets and traditional practices. most of their interest revolved around intellectual development which will offer their children the opportunity of taking advantages of the economic and political realities of the colonial activities in enugu ngwo township and not in the advancement of christian teachings and ethics. be that as it may, the legacies left behind by the cms missionaries in their 13 year apostolate laid a firm foundation that sustained the advancement of ngwo clan. end notes 1. brochure of the foundation stone laying ceremony of ejindu memorial church center, enugu: edilo press 2009, p,22 2. j.o ahazaem, “the nigerian coal industry and the problem of failing coal consumption in nigeria” nsukka journal of history vol 1, no 1, nsukka: meks unique publishers 1989,p.337. see also a. akpala “the background to enugu colliery shooting incident in 1949” in k.o dike (etal), journal of historical society of nigeria, vol 3, no2, ibadan: university press, 1965, p.337. 3. sydney aneke, c.77 retired civil servant and church teacher, diocesan historian, church of nigeria, anglican communion, missionary diocese of enugu north, interviewed 28/07/11. u. ani, “social and political change in ngwo, 1909-1983”, m.a thesis, department of history and international studies , university of nigeria nsukka, 2008 pp. 44-45 4. n.a.e/ p.e.h hair, the story of enugu, 5. a.e. afigbo, “igboland before 1800” in o.ikime (ed) groundwork of nigerian history, (ibadan: heinemann educational books, 1980) p.74. 6. a.e afigbo, “igboland before 1800”… 7. u. anyanwu, igbo society in transition: the ezza example, (nsukka: great a. p. express publishers ltd, 2005) p.5. 8. c.c. agbodike, sources and traditions of african historiography, (awka: nuel publishers ltd, 2004) p.12. 9. c.c. agbodike, sources and traditions… 10. j.o. agu, ngwo: its people and culture ... p.4. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 149 11. a.e. afigbo, ropes of sand: studies in igbo history and culture, (ibadan: university press, 1981) p.4 12. j. o. agu, ngwo: its people and culture … p.4. 13. j.o agu, ngwo: its people and culture… pp.4&5. also, aspects of these forms the opinion of the present writer, this arose from his in-depth inquiry into the ngwo origin. he arrived at this point when he ventured into the studies of different towns, villages, kindreds and families that makeup ngwo. he came to a conclusion that the people that make up ngwo clan were to a large extent not only the descendants of ngwo-ako. 14. j.o agu, ngwo: its people and culture… 15. j.o agu, ngwo: its people and culture… 16 s.n agu, c.71 retired civil servant\politician\community leader, interviewed at ameke, 26th december, 2007; also, pa joseph nwangwu, elder sydney aneke and many other ngwo elders believed in the legend of ngwo-ako, not because it is strong enough to sustain the tradition of origin of ngwo people, but because it is an instrument of unity that bound ngwo into one entity. 17 s.n agu, pa joseph nwangwu,etc, interviews cited 18 ikenga john agu agbo, interview cited. 19 nze s.n agu, interview cited 20 ikenga john agu, interview cited. 21 nae, ondist 20/1/269, intelligence report on ngwo clan in agbaja area, udi division of onitsha province. with correspondence, registered, 30th august, 1933. see also, interview with ikenga. john agu agbo. 22 nze stephen agu, pa joseph eneje nwangwu and ikenga john agu agbo among other ngwo elders were of the opinion that inspite of the short comings of the ngwo-ako legend; it still sustains the history of origin of ngwo people. 23 a.e afigbo, ropes of sand: studies in igbo history and culture, ibadan; university press 1981, p.45 24 a. e afigbo, ropes of sand… 25 pa ude nweze, c.88, trader, traditionalist, culturist, community leader, interviewed, 17/07/2009 26 pa ude nweze, interview cited. 27 ichie sam chime c.63, civil servant, businessman/community leader, interview, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 150 28 19/12/2007. see also ikenga john agu-agbo , c.81, businessman/community leader interviewed on 17/12/2007. 29 ichie sam chime and ikenga john agu-agbo, interview cited. 30 pa ude nweze, see also pa joseph eneje nwangwu c.86 retired colliery staff, craftsman, community leader/traditionalist, interviewed on 01/01/2008 31 p.a talbot, peoples of southern nigeria, vol 2, ethnology, london; oxford university press, 1926, p.438. 32 pa ude nweze, interview cited, see also nze christopher ogbodo, c.77 retired civil servant, culture expert and community leader, interviewed 29/7/2004. 33 ikenga john agu-agbo, nze christopher ogbodo interview cited. 34 c.a obi, “conflict and continuity between igbo religious practices and the holy ghost fathers of onitsha 1885-1930”, seminar paper presented to the school of african studies, university of london, 1980, p.1. 35 c.a obi, conflict and continuity… 36 part of the materials used for sacrifice sometimes include, pot shield, egg, day old chick, local chalk etc. udeani nko-agu was one of the notable diviners in ngwo of the period. he was consulted both within and outside ngwo clan. he performed ordinances and sacrifices required in tracing incarnators, he also destroys the “ogba-nje spirit in people’s lineage. see also ikenga john agu-agbo, nze christopher ogbodo and pa joseph eneje nwangwu interviews cited. 37 ikenga john agu-agbo, nze christopher ogbodo and pa joseph eneje nwangwu interviews cited. 38 ikenga john agu-agbo, nze christopher ogbodo and pa joseph eneje nwangwu interviews cited. 39 pa ude nweze interview cited. 40 ikenga john agu-agbo and nze christopher ogbodo interviews cited 41 ikenga john agu-agboand nze christopher ogbodo interviews cited 42 sydney aneke interviewed cited. 43 n.t nwaezeigwe, the igbo and their nri neighbours: a study in the politics of igbo culture and origins, enugu: snaap press ltd, 2007, p.125 44 ikenga john agu-agbo, nze christopher ogbodo interviews cited 45 j.o agu, ngwo: its people and culture… p.27 46 d. onyeama, chief onyeama: the story of an african god, enugu: delta publications, 1982. 47 sydney aneke, interview cited. 48 the church missionary society (cms) came into ngwo on the 7th day of january, 1917. the advent of which came out of a failed attempt by igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 151 rev. daws in 1912 to establish the cms at eke. this was as a result of the misunderstanding that ensued between him (rev. daws) and chief onyeama, the paramount ruler of eke, who was also the okwuloha, that is, the speaker of all the warrant chiefs in the agbaja area of the old udi division. cms had to wait for another five years before it was established in enugu-ngwo by a missionary priest from obosi, rev. isaac uzowulu ejindu. from that period, cms spread like wild fire from ngwo to its environs even as far as awgu. see n.a.e/onprof 7/4/ 8, application for mission site in udi division 1917-1925. see also sydney aneke, c.77 retired civil servant and church teacher; diocesan historian, church of nigeria, anglican communion, missionary diocese of enugu-north, interviewed, 28/07/11. 49 nae, onprof 7/4/8, application for mission site in udi division, 1918-1921. 50 brochure for the inauguration of the missionary dioceses of enugunorth, published by cheston agency ltd. enugu, march 2007 p.30 51 nae,cse 1/85/6114, intelligence report on ngwo clan, in the agbaja area of udi division, onitsha province, compiled by i.j clerk, 1933. 52 sydney aneke, inteview cited, see also brochure for the inauguration of the missionary dioceses of enugu north etc. p.30. 53 “history of st. mary’s parish ngwo”, published on the occasion of year 2003 synod, 15th to 18th june 2003. 55 k.b.c onwubiko, history of west africa, 1800present day, zaria: africana fep publishers ltd, 1973, p.211 56 k.b.c onwubiko, history of west africa… 57 brochure of the foundation stone laying ceremony…. 58 j.o agu, ngwo: its people and culture… p.39 59 u. ani, “missionary activities of rev. isaac uzowulu ejindu in ngwo clan abgaja area of old udi division, 1917-1930” in d.i. ajaegbo etal, perspectives on igbo history and culture: festschrift in honour of mazi prof okoro ijoma, enugu: snaap press nig ltd 2015 60 brochure of the foundation stone laying ceremony…p.39 61 u. ani, missionary activities of rev. isaac uzowulu ejindu… 62 j.o. agu, ngwo: its people and culture…p.39 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 152 63 nae onprof 7/4/8 application for mission site in udi division, 19181922 64 j.o agu ngwo: its people and culture… 65 sydney aneke, interview cited 66 u. ani, missionary activities of rev. isaac uzowulu ejindu… p.7 67 brochure of foundation stone laying ceremony… 68 u. ani missionary activities of rev. isaac uzowulu ejindu… p.8 69 sydney aneke, interview cited 70 u. ani, missionary activities of rev. isaac uzowulu ejindu... microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 4.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 47 the africanity of augustine’s philosophy of education prof. kanu ikechukwu anthony, o.s.a. department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university, umunya anambra state ikee_mario@yahoo.com abstract in this piece focussed on the contribution that augustine’s african background, that is, his afro-cosmo-vision of reality, made to the development of his philosophy of education. this piece is very important, first, because we have found ourselves at a time when some scholars, against evident historical evidence, argue that saint augustine is not an african. second, we have also found ourselves at a time when many scholars believe that nothing good can come from africa. this piece would, therefore, serve as a pointer to the africanity of augustine and the africanness of his philosophy and theology. the hermeneutic method of inquiry would be employed. keywords: africanity, augustine, philosophy, education. introduction in 2016, i published a paper titled “the concept of ‘family’ as the contribution of africa to the consecrated life”. the reason was to point out the contribution that augustine’s african background made to the evolution of the consecrated life. in the 4th century, when constantine legalized christianity in the empire of rome, christianity became the popular religion in rome, it gradually lost the self-sacrificing spirit which it possessed during the era of roman persecution. in reaction, many holy men and women went into the desert, propagating a new kind of martyrdom for the kingdom of god. those who lived this kind of life were referred to as hermits (200ad350ad). because of the role which the desert played as the locus for the expression of this kind of life, this period is also referred to as the age of the desert. the pioneer of this kind of life who symbolized this new ideal in a way no one else had done was saint anthony of the desert. in the desert they prayed and fasted, doing battle with the devil in the wilderness as christ had done long ago. however, they did all these as individual hermits (kanu 2016). with the passage of time, the eremitic life gave birth to the cenobitic style of life (350-1200), that is, a communal asceticism. st pachomius was the father of the cenobitic life. he adopted the idea of communal patterns and established a monastery where monks lived in common between 318 and 323. after saint basil visited the monks of egypt, palestine and syria, he founded a monastic igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 48 community in asia minor. in palestine, melania the elder, a friend of saint jerome, promoted communal asceticism and founded a monasteries jerusalem. gradually, from the eastern half of the roman empire, cada et al (1979) aver that this way of religious life spread to the western half of the roman empire, especially in spain and gaul. as these different persons moved beyond the shores of africa, egypt, they took with them the african value of community which was at the heart of monasteries of the time. in algeria, africa, an african, saint augustine began a community of monks also referred to as canon regulars in 397. they lived according to the rule of saint augustine in monasteries, sharing their goods in common. their main purpose of coming together, according to the rule and constitution of the order of saint augustine (2010), is to live harmoniously in one house intent upon god and in oneness of heart and mind. thus, in 529 saint benedict founded a monastic community in monte cassino in 529 along the same spirit of community living. gradually, the importance of the presence of community spirit spread across europe. this afrio-cosmo-vision soon spread from africa to other parts of the world. it shaped not just the future of the consecrated life, but also the philosophies and theologies of these great men of african descent and in fact that of the world civilization. in this piece, i would focus on the contribution that augustine’s african background, that is, his afro-cosmo-vision of reality, made to the development of his philosophy of education. this piece is very important, first, because we have found ourselves at a time when some scholars, against evident historical evidence, argue that saint augustine is not an african. second, we have also found ourselves at a time when many scholars believe that nothing good can come from africa (hegel 1956, kanu 2015a, kanu 2015b). this piece would, therefore, serve as a pointer to the africanity of augustine and the africanness of his philosophy and theology. the nature of african traditional education african traditional education generally means the type of education that was obtainable in africa before the advent of the west as colonial masters and missionaries. boateng (1983) avers that it prepared them for their responsibilities as adults in their communities. it was a method of education that was based on the african cultural heritage, and the family is the first school of every child and the mother the first teacher of the child, gradually into the hands of the uncles, father and community at large. just as we have greek education, western education etc., africans also had a method of education defined by the african worldview. it was a native, locally igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 49 developed lifelong process of learning, with well defined goals, structures, content and methods, through which cultural values, skills, norms and heritage were transmitted by the older and more experienced members of society from one generation to another to help individuals be integrated into the society. at the end of such an education, it is true that graduants never wrote final year exams or were not awarded certificates; however, they graduated ceremoniously and were considered graduates by the society, not because they had papers to show, but because they are able to do what they have graduated in. african traditional education is heavily anthropocentric. that is, the human person is at the centre of education. mbiti (1969), therefore, asserts that “man is at the very centre of existence and african people see everything else in its relation to this central position of man… it is as if god exists for the sake of man” (p. 92). corroborating with mbiti, metuh (1985), avers that “everything else in african worldview seems to get its bearing and significance from the position, meaning and end of man” (p. 109). the idea of god, divinities, ancestors, rituals, sacrifices etc., are only useful to the extent that they serve the needs of the human person. it is in this regard that udechukwu (2012) avers that man, in african cosmology, has been given a high and prestigious position. the objectives of african traditional education the aim of education in traditional african society is multilateral. these aims could be articulated as follows: 1. to prepare the young for life. education in africa is always for a particular purpose. there is nothing like a purposeless education. 2. to help people to realize themselves. self-realization is at the heart of african indigenous education. the first thing a child is taught is who he or she is, where he or she has come from, the heroes that have come from his clan, etc. self-realization helps him or her to know how to comport the self. 3. to help people to relate with others in an atmosphere of mutual understanding. life in african traditional society is relationship. to be is to relate, to cease to relate is to move towards annihilation. it is in this regard that individuals are taught to relate with one another. 4. to inculcate the spirit of self-reliance, industry, versatility and selfdisciplined. in african traditional society, people are trained to be selfreliant. they do not wait for the government to give them employment. they rather work hard to contribute to the general society. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 50 5. to make the educated aware of his or her responsibilities and privileges. these responsibilities and privileges go with status. there is no status in traditional african societies without responsibilities and privileges. thus, before a person attains that statusmarried, etc, the person in question is taught the responsibilities and privileges that go with them. 6. to develop a person’s latent physical skills. 7. to develop the character of a person. 8. to help a person to understand, appreciate and promote the cultural heritage of the community or society. the afro-cosmo-vision of education in augustine a cursory glance at saint augustine’s philosophy reveals a thought system that, in all its multiplicity and varied projections, responds globally to an overall vision, which can be referred to as a cosmo-vision of reality. it is a vision that is all-embracing and confers connectiveness and consistency to the most variant manifestations of reality. his philosophy of education is not in variant with this overall vision. augustine developed a philosophy of education in which the role of the teacher is to open the learner to question, arouse curiosity and create a moment for learning that is characterized by dialogue between the teacher and student (morahan 2006). this philosophy of education is based on augustine’s concept of the human person, first, as a being that is essentially integrated in the cosmos and the human community. thus, a person cannot save himself by himself or live in solitude to himself. if a person wishes to reach plentitude, then, he must be in communion with others. second, he understands the human person as a being that is radically contingent and changeable. that is, a being that is in the act of being. it is this natural disposition of the human person that opens the door for learning and thus, growth and development. no. african traditional philosophy of education augustine’s philosophy of education relationship 1. the concept of education in africa is heavily anthropocentric. this is based on the african cosmology that is augustine’s philosophy of education is based on his concept of the human person, first, as a being that is essentially anthropocentric igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 51 anthropocentric. integrated in the cosmos and the human community(bienzobas 2006) 2. to develop a person’s talents and physical skills. to achieve a certain balance among these three things: talent, education and experience (de civitate dei, 11. 25) skill development 3. to help people to relate with others in an atmosphere of mutual understanding. life in african traditional society is relationship. to be is to relate, to cease to relate is to move towards annihilation. it is in this regard that individuals are taught to relate with one another. make use of knowledge like scaffolding that is used to help build the building of love; that building will last forever, even when knowledge has been dismantled (letter 55, 21, 39). augustine sees love as the key of true humanity. “love and do what you will” (letter vii. 8). fosters relationship 4. the family is the first school and the parents the first teachers augustine emphasized the importance of the education received from his home, with his mother as his first teacher. family 5. to make the educated aware of his or her responsibilities and privileges. it is not so much to introduce contents to the human soul, but to dynamize and help what is latent in the pupil to emerge. awareness and self-discovery 6. african traditional education is multilateral. it is religious, political, education for augustine is also multilateral. it involves not just the acquisition of knowledge, multilateral igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 52 social, economic, etc. but improving our relationship with god. 6. education in africa takes into consideration the needs of the students. they are taught skills necessary for their survival and which reflects their environment they must always start from the perceived needs of the students. this is to avoid a situation where the teacher operates from an ivory tower, far away from the students who are supposed to be his pupils. contextual 7. to develop the character of a person education serves for the nourishment of the soul, that the human person might be more human (disc. chr. xi. 12) character development 8 to help a person to understand, appreciate and promote the cultural heritage of the community or society education in augustine is community oriented. it understands education as a community of inquiry. community oriented 9. education in africa is dialogical, participatory and which promotes the humanness of the student education for augustine is also dialogical and participatory. dialogical and participatory table 1: showing the relationship between african traditional education and augustine’s philosophy of education conclusion there are basically five canons or foundations of african traditional philosophy of education. they include: preparationism, functionalism, communalism, perenialism and holisticism. a cursory glance at augustine’s philosophy of education reveals all these principles of african traditional philosophy of education have evident reflections in the philosophy of education of augustine. preparationism is a principle that asserts that people were trained for the purpose of equipping them with a particular skill for the fulfilment of their particular roles in the family or society. knowledge igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 53 conferred was always for a particular purposeskill for an awaited responsibility. functionalism sees education as practical and participatory in nature (kanu 2018). thus, the pupil learns through working with or observing the master. communalism emphasizes that the responsibility of teaching was not solely the responsibility of the parents of the child. this is based on the fact that the child is not individually owned. there is an igbo adage that says: “nwa bu nwa oha” (a child is for everyone). the parents, family, the community and society are all involved in the training of a child. perennialism generally, perennialism as a principle believes that in our world of upheavals, and uncertainty, it is beneficial to stick to certain absolute principles (kanu 2017). it, therefore, sees education as a way of preparing the child to become acquainted with the finest achievements of his cultural heritage, to become aware of the values of his heritage. holisticism implies that, although people were trained to specialize in a thing, they also got other trainings alongside people were productive in all areas. it was a multiple kind of education. a comparative study of augustine’s philosophy of education reveals his strong african background. it does not only provide a footing for the argument of his african origin but stands for the fact that his thoughts were well incensed by his african identity. references augustine, saint, (2010). the rule and constitution of the order of saint augustine. augustinian curia: rome. augustine, st. (1952). the first catechetical instruction (400), trans. joseph p. christopher. westminster, md: newman press. v. 9. augustine, st. de civitate dei is translated in the city of god against the pagans, translated by r.w. dyson, cambridge texts in the history of political thought, cambridge university press 1998. 11, 25 augustine, st. epistulae are translated by w. parsons in the fathers of the church series: letters, 55, 21, 39. augustine, st. epistulae are translated by w. parsons in the fathers of the church series: letters vii. 8. boateng, f. (1983). african traditional education: a method of disseminating cultural values. journal of black studies. 13. 3. 321-336. cada, l. et al (1979). the shaping of the coming age of the religious life. new york: cross road book. hegel, g. w. f. (1956). the philosophy of history. new york: dover. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 54 kanu i. a. (2016). the concept of ‘family’ as the contribution of africa to the consecrated life. catholic voyage. 12. 33-39 kanu i. a. (2018). african traditional philosophy of education: essays in igwebuike philosophy. germany: lambert publication. kanu, a. i. (2015a). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian. kanu, a. i. (2015b). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian. kanu, i. a. (2015). a history of the consecrated life. in i. a., kanu (ed.). consecrated life: the past, the present, the future and the constant demand for renewal (pp. 15-26). st paul’s publications: ibadan. kanu, i. a. (2017). the philosophical canons of africa indigenous education. hummingbird: journal of african sustainable development. 9. 8. 78-90. mbiti, j. (1969). african religions and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational. metuh, e. i. (1985) african religions in western conceptual schemes: the problem of interpretation. jos: imco. morahan, m. (2006). climate in the augustinian school. in eusebio b. berdon (ed.). basic elements of augustinian pedagogy (pp. 170-182). augustinian publications, rome. udechukwu, g. (2012). igbo traditional education and good governance. in a. b. c. chiegboka et al (eds.). the humanities and good government (pp. 812-819). anambra: rex charles and patrick. igwebuike_6_7_3.cdr 19 the teachings of the church on the dialogue between christians and muslims in the current world a model for igwebuike philosphy naanmiap baamlong, osa estudio teologico de valladolid spain fadabaamlong@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29305.49761 abstract going through the history of the human beings, it is clear that, the human person is a religious and social being. religious because he believes and professes belief in the existence of a deity (a supreme being, god, a creator of the universe) and realities that are supreme to the realities surrounding man. he is social because he lives not alone but with other humans in the society. with the diversity of nature of the human person, it has become very necessary to always cultivate dialogue and interraction for peaceful coexitence. interreligious dialogue is one aspect of the different forms of dialogues existent amongst humans. in this brief reection, we are going to present the teachings of the catholic church about dialogue between christians and muslims. in a document of the second vatican council nostra aetate, these guidelines and teachings about dialogue are discussed. in view of this, from the theological point of view, this paper aims at demonstrating how the message about interreligious dialogue can contribute more lessons and values to the principle of complementarity of the igwebuike philosphy, illustrating, therefore, how theological values can help to improve, as well, the values already existent in the igwebiuke philosophy. keywords: god, nostra aetate, dialogue, kanu ikechukwu anthony, interreligious dialogue, igwebuike philosophy, christians, muslims, unity. introduction interreligious dialogue, also referred to as interfaith dialogue, is about people of different faiths coming to a mutual understanding and respect that allow them to live and cooperate with one another, in spite of their differences. the term refers to cooperative and positive interaction among people of different religious traditions, at both the individual and institutional levels. each party remains true to their own beliefs, while respecting the right of the other to practise their faith freely. although interreligious dialogue is a recent term in the vocabulary of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 20 church, its reality is not new, but has always been existent in the church1. the document nostra aetate of the second vatican council is a document that presents the church's relations with non-christian religions. it gives us some key guidelines for establishing a fraternal dialogue, of relations, of mutual trust and respect between christians and muslims. certainly, when they promulgated the document, the council fathers took into account the pluralism of both religions and cultures and ideologies. although basically, the texts deal with questions concerning what practical relationships between christians and muslims should look like; however, they also offer suggestions on aspects of a new catholic theology on dealings with muslims. the following reection will be based on this document and other texts of the popes (encyclicals and messages), in order to present some of the teachings of the magisterium on the dialogues of the catholic church in reference to islam, with special emphasis on the practical demonstrations of these teachings of the popes from vatican ii. this paper will point out very important aspects about interfaith dialogue benecial to the igwebuike philosophy. this philosophy is based on the igbo-african worldview of complementarity, that is, the manner of being in african ontology. it is a worldview in which individuating differences must work towards a corporate existence, where the ‘i’ does not stand as the ‘i’ but as a ‘we’, where life and living makes meaning. in a scenario of this kind, difference does not divide nor does it constitute a threat, but rather unites and gives hope that future existence would have meaning. in a cosmogony of this kind, while the ontology of the person is founded on the particularity of the individual, implying that it is the metaphysics of the particular that founds identity, it is the community that gives meaning to such an existence and grounds such an identity2. the church always calls for dialogue between all people. it calls all to 1 cf. dupuis, r, “cristología fundamental”, en diccionario de teología fundamental, latourelle, r., fisichella, r. y pié-ninot, s. (directores), madrid, ediciones paulinas 1992, 2cf. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 21 a dialogue and solidarity as human persons, to work for the common good of all3. the teachings of the church on dialogue the beginning of this document indicates that all peoples form one community and have the same origin, because god made all humanity dwell on the whole face of the earth4. the text continues with an afrmation of islam's link to biblical tradition, as can be read in number 3; “the church also looks with appreciation at the muslims, who worship one living and subsisting god, merciful and omnipotent, creator of heaven and earth, who spoke to men, to whose cult designs seek to submit entirely, as was submitted to god abraham, to whom the islamic faith refers willingly”. although the reference to muslims’ professing to abraham's faith seems to be on a subjective level, its position as one of the non-christian monotheistic religions can be clearly seen. this is inferred from the phrases that speak of muslims who worship the one god, merciful, omnipotent, and creator of everything, and also wait for the day of dudgment, when god will reward all men once they are resurrected. therefore, they appreciate moral life and venerate god above all, with prayer, alms and fasting5. the document states that the church sees muslims with great appreciation. they worship one god of mercy and almighty creator of everything. two things attract attention to the document reader. the rst thing is that it emphasizes what muslims and christians have in common and at the same time emphasizes the essential point of difference, with reference to christ, whom islam venerates as a prophet, and does not recognize him as god. in addition, they also honour mary the mother of jesus christ and sometimes even invoke her devoutly. the document states that the church sees muslims with great appreciation6. igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. 3cf.http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papafrancesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html. accessed 10/07/2020. evanglii gaudium, nn. 217-237. 4 cf. nostra aetate, n.1. 5 ibíd., n.3 6 ibíd. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 22 undoubtedly, a mention of jesus and mary is a sign of the special place they occupy within the quran. it describes jesus not only as a prophet and messenger of god, but also as the word of god (cf., quran 3:45; 4.171) strengthened by the holy spirit (cf. quran 2:87, 235; 5.110). these notes mentioned above also open up the possibility of cooperation between the two religions, in situations of religious conict, especially in today's world. the phrases at the beginning of this document appear only as an ordinary preamble, but it is a fact that makes the statement exceptional. this ofcial declaration on islam made by a church council should be seen as a point of reference and an absolutely new beginning. the creed and the worship of one god are the center of the muslim religion, as it is also for christians whose faith solemnly professes, “credo in unum deum”. the document briey mentions some aspects of islamic eschatology, referring to the nal judgment. this aspect is essential for both the christian religion and islam. as you study these aspects in more details in both religions, you will no doubt see that there are notable differences. however, in both the new testament and the quran, it is mentioned that in the nal judgment, each will receive his/her reward, according to the actions performed during his/her pilgrimage in the world. in addition, if you look closely at the document, three basic elements of the muslim religion are also mentioned in it: prayer (salat), alms (zakat) and fasting (sawm)7. as regards to its profession of faith, (shahada; there is no god but allaah), it has been mentioned in the beginning of the document. the second part of the document deals with the prospects for understanding and collaboration between christianity and islam in the present and in the future. the hatred and war of the past must be forgotten, not ignored but overcome, in order to achieve a mutual understanding, which is the goal that the two religions must secure. it says; “since in the course of centuries not a few quarrels and hostilities have arisen between christians and muslems, this sacred synod urges all to forget the past and to work sincerely for mutual understanding and to preserve as well as to promote together for the benet of all mankind social justice and moral welfare, as well as peace and freedom8. to succeed, therefore, in addition to seeking sincere understanding, believers have the responsibility and need to go beyond a simple dialogue between 7 ibíd. 8 ibíd. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 23 christians and muslims. our greatest responsibility as believers is to actively cooperate in preaching and in the experience of the message of peace and dialogue that our faith in god demands. in this message, we are all called to reproach as alien to the spirit of christ, any discrimination against men or harassment of them because of their race, colour, condition of life, or religion. on the contrary, following in the footsteps of the holy apostles peter and paul, this sacred synod ardently implores the christian faithful to maintain good fellowship among the nations (1 peter 2,12), and, if possible, to live for their part in peace with all men, so that they may truly be sons of the father who is in heaven, thereby building a better world9. practical actions of the popes in relation to the declaration nostra aetate the progress of interreligious dialogue since the second vatican council has certainly been positive and deserves praise. the rst protagonists of this are the popes themselves. it is worth emphasizing the role of the popes in this mission as a service to the unity exercised by them on behalf of the whole church, so that the prayer of jesus, “that all may be one” ( jn 17,21) may continue to strengthen his church. pope john xxiii himself, when he convened the ecumenical council, had in his mind the idea of dialogue, which we know or we heard of his famous saying; “let the wind of change blows into the church.” this is a clear sign of his desire for dialogue. it can be said that this idea underlies the whole council. if we take a look at his encyclical pacem in terris of 11 april 1963, it speaks on peace among all peoples that will be founded on truth, justice, love and freedom; an encyclical intended not only for christians, but also for all men of good will. paul vi, in whose hands was the task of presiding over and concluding the second vatican council, was thinking of the prevailing need for dialogue among all humanity. this is evident in his encyclical ecclesiam suam of 6 october 1964, which deals with the church's mandate in the contemporary world. number 27 of the document deals specically with this idea of dialogue. for its part, the practicality of its actions is a very signicant element, of its willingness to promote a church in dialogue with the world. in january 1964, he paid a visit to the holy land, where he embraced the patriarch of constantinople atengoras. that same year, he went to bombay in india, preaching once again the gospel of dialogue. he then paid a visit in 1969 to africa in kampala uganda, during 9 ibíd., n.5. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 24 which he had some meetings with muslims. and in manila, the philipines in 1970, he made great praise of the religious wealth of the asian continent. it is almost impossible to cover all the teachings of john paul ii, on christianmuslim dialogue. but he certainly kept in line with his predecessors by emphasizing the need for dialogue. in most of his papal trips, he had meetings and conversations with different muslim leaders, for example, his speech to young muslims in casablanca in morocco in 1985 and his visit to egypt in 2000. on one of his visits to turkey, he addressed the people with words of dialogue. on the other hand, it shows much of the dialogue and relational character that the church must play, with his gesture when he entered a mosque in damascus on 6 may, 2001, an action that many people today remember as a great display of love and dialogue. benedict xvi also made works to strengthen dialogue between christians and muslims, like the meeting with representatives of muslim communities in germany in august, 2005. also, the current pope, whose ponticate is still young, has already made many visits to the middle east, central africa, preaching a message of peace and mercy. it is worth mentioning the importance of his commentary on the current situation of terrorism in the world as the beginning of the third world war. these practical examples presented show the evident actions and efforts of the popes in the implementation of the council's teachings not only in their words, but above all in their actions. if we look at the efforts and the results that have come out of all of them, we can condently say that, although it has not been easy, and despite the apparent setbacks, progress has been made on the path of reconciliation. as christians and catholics, at this time full of challenges and difcult situations to manage, let us not forget the words of jesus: “i am with you always, to the close of the age” (mt 28:20). we must encourage one another to preach peace and dialogue. our christian conduct towards dialogue must be a translation of the values of the gospel, which we are called to live with hope, even if the other does not want it. that is not why we must be discouraged, because, “though the g tree do not blossom, no fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the elds yield no food, the ock be cut off the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet i will rejoice in the lord, i will joy in the god of my salvation” (habakkuk 3, 17-19). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 25 benets church’s teaching on interreligious dialogue to igwebuike philosophy from the above discourse on the church and interligious dailogue, it is clear that the central message is about peaceful coexistence amongst people of distinct religious beliefs and practices; this will rightly contribute good ideas to this african philosophy of complementarity. one of the principles of the igwebuike philospohy is unity. in fact, it is the inner or underlying principle of this african philosophy10. this unity stems from the coming together and putting into one place the various and different exiting realities. the principle points to the fact that in spite of the contrariety of reality, in spite of the singular identity of each reality, there is something common to everything. igwebuike understands every individual reality as part and completion of the whole, and thus there is a unity in the midst of diversity. igwebuike presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. thus, ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is ‘to be with the other’, in a community of beings. “i am because we are and since we are, therefore i am”11. the document nostra aetate emphasizes aspects that muslims and christians have in common. and like we have seen, at the heart of this similarity is the act of belief in only one god. god is the binding force and the belief in this one supreme god is at the heart of the interaction and dialogue. it is, therefore, obvious that what is involved here is very important and serves as the basis on which all other dialogues can be established. consequently, this of course, without any doubt, ts well for the igwebuike philosophy which preaches 10 cf. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientic community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. 11 cf. kanu, i. a. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy, 14. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 26 complementarity and unity. “i am because we are and since we are, therefore i am”. and because of this strong sense of togetherness and unity, everyone in a given community considers the next person as a brother. as such dialogue can easily be made, and by the very nature of this belongingness and togethernes, there is intimately in existence dialogue because no one is considered different or outside of the circle that binds the community. to be identied as an individual one is rst considered as part of the whole group. it is the whole that gives meaning and importance to the individual or a particular reality and aspect. that is dialogue in play. interreligious dialogue increases the understanding christians and nonchristians have of the beliefs and practices of the other. this enhanced understanding can lead to a more peaceable coexistence in the pluralistic culture of the 21st century africa. as people of different religious communities encounter another in mutual service in schools, in government, and in civic activities, the foundations established through dialogue will enable these people to know the areas in which mutual activity can enhance society (as well as to know in advance the areas in which religious differences can make mutual undertakings difcult). as stated above, dialogue enhances the efcacy of peaceful coexistence. the claried understanding of other religions will be published in books and articles about the religions, many of which will be read by all, as well as transmitted to everybody person. this, therefore, effectively addresses and shapes the thinking of one group of people about the beliefs and cultures of the other group. it helps each group to better understand their own faith. because the focus of interreligious dialogue is on the differences between religions, people are forced to examine their own beliefs in order to support these positions. this examination will increase the self-understanding of christians and muslims, helping them to see the great values they both possess. this enables both groups to identify and contextualize the teachings of other religions, and to present a reason as to why each believes differently. finally, interreligious dialogue increases and breeds love and unity. this is another aspect that the igwebuike philosophy stresses, the advantage that stems from this union of various parts. according to the study of kanu, igwebuike strongly holds that the whole is greater than the corresponding parts. it is also a view that maintains that by the coming together of the individuals or parts, a viable and sustainable whole will emerge, and by this, the parts will get to the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 27 brim purpose of their existence12. the coming together of the parts to form one single unit makes the various parts strong and powerful. in line with this, it will be relevant the teaching of nostra aetate. it emphasizes this concept of dialogue, because to produce fruit, there has to be strongly in place understanding and integration a community that is together in harmony and dialogue. igwebuike philosophy preaches harmony and relationship. according to the study done by kanu, igwebuike is an ordered relationship, even though the idea of igwe (large number of people or group) may give the impression of a mob or disordered relationship. igwebuike is a relationship guided by the igbo-african principle: egbe bere ugo bere (let the kite perch, let the eagle perch). the idea of egbe (kite) and ugo (eagle) speaks of a variety of positions, personality, creed, culture, etc., and in fact, differences in life, which is found in the world, and yet must coexist together. when the egbe settles in the uwa (the world) and imagines that the ugo has no right of existence and then begins to castigate ugo and to push it out of being, at that point, the egbe alienates the being of the ugo. when egbe castigates and condemns the ugo, it thinks that it is making progress; it is rather alienating itself, because the being of the ugo has an existential and fundamental contribution to make to the being of the egbe. it is such that when egbe kills the uugo, the egbe also kills itself. to be in the world, kanu assert that the egbe and the ugo must dialogue. the world is such that differences would always exist and to try to destroy the other as a result of difference is to waste one’s time; to end the variation of reality is to end reality itself, for reality is by its nature variegated. egbe beru, ugo beru (let the kite perch, let the eagle perch). this implies they must dialogue and, therefore, must have a relationship. they have the options of either relating and being happy or being in perpetual discord which alienates their being in the uuwa. when the egbe and ugo harness their energies towards a common project, need and desire, they can constitute an insurmountable force in pursuing their collective vision. only then can they 12 cf. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kanu, i. a. (2019). on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159-176. kanu, i. a. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 28 overcome their collective difculties. in the same way, only when muslims and christians come together in existential solidarity, which is a correlative and complementary solidarity, a ‘we’ relationship, can they fulll their divine mandates. both religions have something to learn from each other, and to avoid or alienate the other is to deny oneself of knowledge and growth, and, thus, expanding the capacity of ignorance. when both religions slight each other, look down on each other, segregate each other and reject the contribution of each other, they are committing the ontological evil of alienation13. nostra aetate, in the concluding part, warns against all these negative aspects amongst the different religions calling for dialogue and understanding.14 conclusion interreligious dialogue involves meeting people themselves and getting to know their religious traditions. inter-faith dialogue is not just words or talk. it includes human interaction and relationships. it can take place between individuals and communities and on many levels. for example, between neighbours, in schools and in places of work it can take place in both formal and informal settings. in nigeria, for example, muslims and christians live on the same streets, use the same shops, buses, and attend the same schools. normal life means that we come into daily contact with each other. dialogue, therefore, is not just something that takes place on an ofcial or academic level only – it is part of daily life during which different cultural and religious groups interact with another directly, and where tensions between them are the most tangible. christian-muslim dialogue should always aim at providing a positive alternative to destructive violence, especially in situations of tension and strife. the situation in nigeria calls for dialogue, if people must live in peace with one another. wherever christians and muslims live in peace, dialogue between them should aim at addressing common problems for the good and peaceful coexistence of the society. this is important because today muslims and christians are now neighbours, colleagues at work, members of the same political parties and football clubs. their children attend the same nurseries, schools and universities. having seen 13 cf. kanu, i. a. (2019). collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientic and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. 14 cf. nostra aetate, n.5. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 29 the relationship between the teaching of the church on dialogue and philosophy, one can see how theological values can help to improve as well the values already existent in the igwebiuke philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya the virtuous ninevites: echoes of igwebuike theology in the narrative analysis of jonah 3:1-10 themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 109 the virtuous ninevites: echoes of igwebuike theology in the narrative analysis of jonah 3:1-10 malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd santa clara university california, united states of america theophilusmalachy@gmail.com abstract this article argues that the ninevites' reaction to jonah's preaching of doom echoes an igwebuike perspective. the text (jonah 3:1-10) shows how, even animals, acted in solidarity with their human patrons to avert an impending danger. while jonah would have preferred an outright extermination of his pagan enemy nation, the penitential solidarity of the people of nineveh, man and beast alike, elicited the mercy of god. thus, in this narrative, just as in jonah chapter one, we see a god who is not only interested in israel, the elect people of god, but also one whose mercy and love supersedes national and religious boundaries. while the attitude of the people of nineveh shows unity of purpose and a deeper understanding of how god works in human history, jonah's attitude shows the opposite. he couldn't see beyond his prejudice against nineveh and its inhabitants to a deeper understanding of our common humanity and how god acts from the same point of view. the ninevites seemed to understand this better, and as such, did not allow their religious difference or political history with israel prevent them from drinking from the common ocean of divine mercy. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 110 introduction at the close of chapter one of the book of jonah, certain issues found resolutions, but, certainly, not the command of yhwh to jonah in 1:1; a command that instructs jonah to proclaim the word of yhwh to the people of nineveh. this brings us to the second part of the book. in this part, the words of yhwh came to the prophet a second time. these divine words elicited different reactions from the different characters. reactions like obedience, anger, repentance and dispute. but one thing that is significant in this part of the book of jonah is the reaction of the ninevites, even though they are a pagan nation, to the preaching of jonah. in their acts of penitence, we see echoes of igwebuike theology, for even the animals acted in solidarity with their human patrons to avert an impending danger. while jonah would have preferred an outright extermination of his pagan enemy nation, the penitential solidarity of the people of nineveh, man and beast alike, elicited the mercy of god. thus, in this narrative, just as in jonah chapter one, we see a god who is not only interested in israel, the elect people of god, but also one whose mercy and love supersedes national and religious boundaries. thus said, employing the art of biblical narrative, this article will do a close reading of jonah 3:1-10, concentrating on the response of the ninevites and their king to the preaching of jonah. the aim is to show, not just the virtuousness of the ninevites, but also how their actions echo igwebuike theology. to do this, i will be contrasting the prophet jonah with the pagan ninevites. in jonah 3:1-3a, the divine injunction, which seems to be interrupted by the scenes at the sea (cf. jonah 1:4-2:11), is now taken up anew through what i may call "a second chance to the prophet" (cf. jonah 3:1). the end of chapter two breaks the downward movement, which had characterised the plot, so that jonah could emerge from within the belly of the fish to the dry ground. again we have the change of the compositio loci, no more in the belly of the fish, but on the dry ground. however, the major protagonists remain the same: yhwh and jonah. thus, chapter three can be divided into two: first, jonah 3:13a relates to the reiteration of the virtuous ninevites: echoes of igwebuike theology in the narrative analysis of jonah 3:1-10 themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 111 the divine order, the reaction of jonah and his execution of the order. in the second part, jonah 3: 3b-10, the narrative becomes centred on nineveh and its inhabitants. 1 a second chance to the prophet (3:1-3a) now the word of the lord came to jonah a second time, saying, "arise, go to nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that i tell you." so jonah arose and went to nineveh, according to the word of the lord i would like to divide this first part into two segments: the reiteration of the divine command (vv1-2) and the reaction of jonah to this command (v. 3a). the reiteration of the divine command (3:1-2) jonah 3:1 is reminiscent of jonah 1:1 as shown in the table below: jonah 1:1 jonah 3:1 ָ֥ה ה ֶאל־יֹונ ְַֽיִה֙י ְדַבר־ְיהו ָ֔ ֶבן־ֲאִמת ַו ר׃ ֵלאמ ית ָ֖ה ֵשִנָ֥ ָ֛ה ֶאל־יֹונ י ְדַבר־ְיהו ַוְיִהִ֧ ר׃ ֵלאמ now the word of yhwh came to jonah, son of amittai saying: now the word of yhwh came to jonah a second time saying: almost word for word, in a telling mode, the prophetic formula of the call of yhwh to his prophets is repeated: "then the word of yhwh came to jonah…saying" (3:1). the slight difference lies in the omission of the paternal identification: "son of amittai" (cf.1:1), and the addition of a temporal specification: "a second time" (3:1). our protagonists remain yhwh and jonah. 1 cf. d. scaiola, abdia, giona, michea: introduzione, traduzione e commento, nvbta (milano: san paolo, 2012), 45. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 112 among the differences between jonah 1:1-3 and 3:1-3 is the adverb ית that replaces the prophet’s patronym. some scholars see this as ֵשִנָ֥ an indication of the hand of the redactor who wants to knit together the two parts of the book (chapters 1-2 and 3-4). 2 however, jack sasson disagrees. for him, this purpose is too heavy a burden for an adverb. there is a construction in haggai that is reminiscent of jonah’s. that book opens with "time setting" + "the word of the lord came by haggai [...]" + "to zerubbabel" (cf. hag 2:1-2). subsequent occurrences (between 2:1 and 2:10) drop the ʾel clause and address the message directly. but in hag 2:20, the book’s introductory sentence is reformulated as follows: "then the word of the lord came to haggai a second time (ית here, šēnît does ".[...] (ֵשִנָ֥ not necessarily imply repetition of the previously received message, or a deliberate paralleling the two messages; rather, it emphasizes that this particular message is the second one to be delivered on that same day. thus, sasson concludes that in jonah, the narrator knowingly used šēnît to belittle the passage of time as a dominant factor in this tale, possibly to have us concentrate on the renewed opportunity given to jonah to make amend his disobedience. 3 therefore, without denying the possibility of a redactional process outright, i would rather say that this phenomenon of repetition marks, from the narrative point of view, a second chance for jonah. besides the reference to jonah 1:1, the verb י also connects ַוְיִהִ֧ chapter three with chapter two, thus, continuing the plot. at the end of chapter two, the plot of the story is left pending: what will happen after the fish has vomited jonah onto dry land? what about the message of god for the people of nineveh? the reiteration of 2 cf. cyrus h. gordon, "build-up and climax," in y. avishur – j. blau, ed., creation, genesis and flood, (jerusalem: rubinstein, 1978), 30; phyllis trible, studies in the book of jonah, un published dissertation (columbia university, new york, 1963), 185. 3 cf. jack m. sasson, jonah. anchor bible 24b (new york: doubleday, 1990), 225. the virtuous ninevites: echoes of igwebuike theology in the narrative analysis of jonah 3:1-10 themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 113 the divine command answers these questions and continues the plot of the story. yhwh’s words carry no rebuke for jonah and no warning of what would happen if he once again fails to obey. so, in this merciful manner, the plot rewinds and begins anew. the divine command (3:2) after the narrative introduction of the divine speech, the narrator represents yhwh’s command to jonah in direct speech: "arise, go to nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that i tell you" (v.2). this verse again resumes the beginning of the book of jonah (1:2), that is, the mission formula. the divine command to jonah consists of three imperatives in direct speech. however, one notes a slight difference in the wording of this mission injunction in comparison with the first in jonah 1:2. the table below highlights the difference: jon 1:2 jon 3:2 arise, go to nineveh, the great city, and proclaim against (ַעל) it for their wickedness has come up before me. arise, go to nineveh, the great city, and proclaim to (ֶאל) it the message that i tell you if the first two imperatives ְך ּום ֵלָ֥ in 1:2 and 3:2 are the ("arise, go") קָ֛ same, the third imperatives: יה ֶלֶ֑ א ע ָ֣ in 1:2 ("proclaim against it") ּוְקר and יה א ֵאֶלֶ֙ ָ֤ in 3:2 show a notable variation in the ("proclaim to it") ִּוְקר change of prepositions from ַעל in 1:2 to ֶאל in 3:2. these two prepositions often seem to be used interchangeably, but they are not synonymous and, consequently, not interchangeable. the lxx malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 114 translates 1:2 and 3:2 identically and neutrally: κήρυξον ἐν αὐτῇ "preach in it." 4 however, ֶאל is most commonly translated as "to" while ַעל could be translated as "against, above, over, upon" in the hebrew scriptures. thus, wolff observes that the change of prepositions from ַעל to ֶאל may be connected with the modification of the divine command given to jonah in 3:2. in 1:2 the wickedness of nineveh is the reason jonah is to speak "against" the city (ַעל). but in 3:2, it appears that the emphasis is on the message itself which has to be carried to (ֶאל) the city. 5 giving this understanding, jonah 1:2 is rightly translated as "proclaim or call out against it" and 3:2 as "proclaim to it." but does this variation in repetition have any narrative significance? according to lessing: the literary technique of repetition is a common feature of the old testament narrative. often there is some minor but significant change in the repeated version, reflecting a different standpoint or interpretation of events between the first and the second texts. 6 thus, in the case of jonah 1:2 and 3:2, one notes that the content of what jonah was to preach was not made clear in 1:2; but from the context, one could deduce that it was meant to be a message of judgement. however, the change from ַעל in 1:2 to ֶאל in 3:2 suggests a more neutral directive. thus, it is plausible that the shift from ַעל to ֶאל involves a change in yhwh's instruction to his prophet. whereas in 1:2 yhwh instructed jonah to preach "against the city," now in 3:2 4 reed r. lessing, jonah, concordia commentary (st. louis: concordia publishing house, 2007), 270. 5 cf. walter h. wolff, obadiah and jonah. (minneapolis: augsburg, 1986), 139. 6 lessing, 271. for example, compare gen 24:1-22 with gen 24:34-49 (especially 24:3-4 with 24:41). also compare the three versions of the interaction between potiphar's wife and joseph in gen. 39 (especially 39:12-13 and 39:17-18). the virtuous ninevites: echoes of igwebuike theology in the narrative analysis of jonah 3:1-10 themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 115 yhwh commands him to "proclaim to it the message which i am going to tell you." this means that the message is yet to be specified; 7 it will not be revealed to jonah until he enters the city. furthermore, this shift from ַעל to ֶאל tells us something about the prophetic status of jonah. in 1:2 he had every freedom to word the content of the message the way he wanted; but 3:2 specifies that jonah is to be completely dependent on yhwh for the wording of his prophetic statement, which will not be given to him until it is time to proclaim it. 8 therefore, it appears, with this prepositional variation, the narrator without explicitly saying it, lets us into the mind of yhwh, who, owing to jonah's rebellious tendencies, decides to personally word the content of his prophetic message this time around. as if, knowing his prophet well, god decides to directly put on his lips an ad hoc announcement. so, jonah must proclaim to nineveh what has been proclaimed by god. the expression: "proclaim to it the message that i tell you" uses an unusual qal participle of the root verb דבר, usually in piel form. this form, insisting on the present form of the verb "to say," 9 is found 31 times in the old testament, 10 but of note is in ex 6:29, where yhwh instructed moses to tell pharaoh what he (yhwh) says. in this context, the prophet is obliged to say what he has been told by god. if moses obeyed the divine order, will it also be so with jonah? in addition to the participle qal, the proclamation formula is also expressed through the repetition of the root word קרא, but this time with a definite article: ה this cognate accusative construction .ֶאת־ַהְקִריא ָ֔ is a hapax, 11 which may be translated as "message." the word is also a 7 ibid., 270-71. 8 ibid, 271. 9 uriel simon, jonah: the traditional hebrew text with the new jps translations (philadelphia: jewish publication society, 1999), 26. 10 cf. scaiola, 68. 11 hapax is a word or an expression that appears only in one place in the bible, in this case, in the old testament. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 116 neutral term, in that it does not indicate whether the message is a message of salvation or a message of judgement. so, with this unspecified message, the narrator, therefore, creates a gap here through the techniques of reticence, leaving the reader with a blank space for his imagination. in this first part, the phenomena of repetition enter into a common dynamic, thus indicating that it is a new principle. then it creates a suspenseful effect that raises the question: will jonah seize the opportunity offered by god as a second chance? or will he again flee (cf. jonah 1:3)? the obedience of the prophet (v.3a) once again, the word of yhwh sets everything in motion, but this time in the mode of obedience rather than flight: "so jonah arose and went to nineveh, according to the word of the lord" (3: 3a) after rising, jonah does not flee "to tarshish away from the face of yahweh" (cf. 1: 3), but he goes "to nineveh according to the word of yahweh" (3:3). this connotes obedience. the difference is made word for word using verbs of motion. while "he arose to escape," at the first instance, (1:3); now, "he arose," "and went" (3:3). while the waw in 1:3 is disjunctive, in 3:3 it is consecutive, emphasising jonah's obedience to the word of yhwh. at the level of the city, we have nineveh (3:3), as opposed to tarshish (1:3); and from the point of view of relationship to yhwh, we have: "according to the word of yhwh" (3:3) as opposed to "away from the face of yhwh" in 1:3. these whole variations in the expressions, as noted above, show a total change on the part of jonah. his movement becomes in conformity with the word of the lord who instructed him to go to nineveh. the last word: "according to the word of the lord," summarizes this conformity to the divine command, and characterizes the prophetic obedience. thus, at this point, the first two imperatives ("arise, go") of the divine command immediately find their fulfilment, but the third ("proclaim") delays. uriel simon notes that, even though jonah had been subdued to "arise and go in accordance to the word of yhwh," he has not the virtuous ninevites: echoes of igwebuike theology in the narrative analysis of jonah 3:1-10 themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 117 been persuaded. his silence still conceals the content of his heart. 12 this makes the lector suspect: will he obey and proclaim the message which is about to be given to him? however, we know nothing of how soon he left, how the trip went, when he arrived in nineveh, or any such detail. at present, we can only assume that he recognizes the futility of further disobedience to his god and would attempt no further rebellion, at least in terms of his actions. 13 the ninevite's response to jonah's preaching (3:3b-10) "now nineveh was a great city to god, a three days' walk across" (3:3b). in 3:3b, the narrator interrupts the narrative catena with a waw-xqatal, 14 and using a delay tactic, he seizes the opportunity to present something concerning the city of nineveh. the opening of a narrative unit with the circumstantial wav is not unusual (e.g., "now moses, tending the flock of his father-in-law jethro" (cf. ex 3:1); "now king david was old, advanced in years" (cf. 1 kg 1:1). even though here it comes in the middle of a verse, there is no doubt that the 12 cf. simon, 26. 13 cf. douglas stuart, hosea-jonah, wbc 31, (dallas: thomas nelson inc. 1987), 482. 14 although the hebrew verbal system can be categorized into tenses (the perfect and the imperfect, technically referred to as qatal and yiqtol respectively), the precise implication of these tenses is complex, but suffice it to know that the hebrew perfect does not necessarily indicate tense (does not have tense or time of action) apart from context and issues of syntax. it rather signifies type of action (aspect). it designates a verbal action with its conclusion envisioned in the mind of the speaker or writer. likewise the hebrew imperfect, it does not necessarily denote tense. it has predominantly an indicative meaning. it is used to denote incomplete action, whether in the past, present or future. which means it does not have tense or time of action apart from context and syntactical considerations. the waw-prefixed forms: wayyiqtol and weqatal are sequential forms, used in clauses depicting sequential events, while the free-standing forms qatal and yiqtol are nonsequential malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 118 circumstantial clause is anticipatory, since it serves as an exposition that gives us an insight into the city. 15 the expression: "nineveh was a great city to god" has generated different interpretations among scholars. some see it as expressing a superlative. for example, according to simon, the expression "a great city to god" is placed on a godly scale: "everything that [an author] wishes to present as being very large is associated with god as a way of magnifying it." 16 thus, simon sees the expression as a superlative. however, hebrew has several customary ways of expressing a superlative. 17 this is not a common way, nor do all grammarians agree that the phrase here should be regarded as a superlative. sasson objects to this superlative interpretation of the expression. he argues that if it is indeed a superlative, then it will be very unique to scripture because such superlatives normally have a noun in construct with elōhîm/ʾēl. so, the text in question should read something like ʿîr ʾelōhîm or even ʿîr-ʾelōhîm gedôlâ. but here, what we have is lēʾlōhîm. 18 winton d. thomas discusses eight passages in which either ֱאל or is allegedly used to form a superlative. he concludes that "the ֱאֹלִהים divine names have a superlative force so long as we understand that the superlative force is imparted, not by the addition of the divine names as intensifying epithets, but by the fact that a person or thing is brought into a relationship with god." 19 in the case of jonah 3:3, thomas argues that nineveh was "great to god," that is, even to god, who has a different standard of greatness from men. 15 cf. simon, 27. 16 ibid, 28. 17 cf. b. k. waltke m. o'connor, an introduction to biblical hebrew syntax. (indiana: eisenbrauns, 1990), § § 14.3.3b; 14.5; p. joüon t. muraoka, a grammar of biblical hebrew. sb 27 (rome: gb press, 2011), § 141 j. 18 sasson, 228. 19 w. d. thomas, "a consideration of some universal ways of expressing the superlative in hebrew," vetus testamentum 3 (1953), 216. the virtuous ninevites: echoes of igwebuike theology in the narrative analysis of jonah 3:1-10 themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 119 in seven of the eight passages considered by thomas, a noun is in construct with a term for "god." jonah 3:3 is the only one of the eight passages in which a superlative is allegedly formed by "god" in a prepositional phrase. 20 so for him, the greatness of nineveh is not just a mere superlative; rather, the narrator meant to let us know that "nineveh is great to god," as rightly captured by the lxx: μεγάλη τῷ θεω (3:3). a city which is a symbol of enmity to israel is great to god. this is a theological affirmation. however, i think the addition of the preposition ְל in the expression, ים אֹלִהָ֔ is not just superfluous; it must be taken seriously. it is a ,ֵל circumlocution for a genitive, as such, "the greatness of nineveh" could be said "to belong to god." so, nineveh belongs to god, just as israel belongs to god. this suggests a divine perspective that readily explains god's merciful disposition towards nineveh. even though this merciful attribute is part of the nature of god, but its disposition towards mankind is not always automatic; it must be activated by human actions or response to the divine (cf. 2 chron 7:14; jer 15:9; zech 1:3; mal 3:7). therefore, the greatness of nineveh exceeds a mere superlative; it suggests divine ownership: nineveh is a city that belongs to god. this theological interpretation of nineveh has a significant narrative implication in the plot of jonah. the affirmation here that nineveh is a great city belonging to god fits with jonah’s confession in 1:9 that yhwh is the god "who made the sea and the dry land," since all creation belongs to him. it is also consistent with what yhwh himself would say about the city in jonah 4:10-11, where yhwh compares nineveh to the qiqayon plant. using the verbs "to labour" and "make grow" for the plant in 4:10, yhwh implies in 4:11 that he himself cultivated the city, just as he did the plant. as earlier noted, the author of jonah repeats key words and phrases, which take on added significance with each new repetition, until the climactic one reveals the full import. in this way, the narrative progresses towards 20 cf. ibid, 209-24. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 120 its goal. lessing captures the progressive descriptions of nineveh as follows: 1. "arise, go to nineveh, the great city" (1:2). 2. "arise, go to nineveh, the great city" (3:2). 3. "now nineveh is a great city (belonging) to god"(3:3) 21 thus, the fourth climactic description of nineveh confirms the interpretation that 3:3 declares that nineveh is great and that it belongs to god, even though the full extent of yhwh’s compassion for the city is not revealed until 4:11. 22 therefore, from the literary point of view, 3:3b is an unusual circumstantial sentence (cf. ex 3:1), the value of which is proleptic. 23 the narrator makes this information on the city an essential element in order to understand the rest of the narrative plot centred on jonah's entrance into the city. this information shows how the narrator uses the technique of repetition to build up and give a deeper meaning to a particular word or concept. in this case, the information about the theological greatness of nineveh is carefully given to grow the plot. therefore, in addition to the repetition of the expression: "the great city," we now know that the city has a relationship "to yhwh." finally, we are given a spatial expression with respect to the city: "a journey of three days." without going into mathematical reflections of the width and circumference of the city, i think this spatial information is intended to draw the attention of the reader to something very important, because the biblical narrator does not say something just for the sake of it. jonah's obedience (v.4) jonah began to go into the city, going a day's walk. and he cried out, "forty days more, and nineveh shall be overthrown!" 21 ibid, 280. 22 cf. ibid, 281. 23 cf scaiola, 69. the virtuous ninevites: echoes of igwebuike theology in the narrative analysis of jonah 3:1-10 themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 121 in fact, jonah did not go through the city in three days, but he begins to enter the city only "for a day's journey" (3:4). so, jonah finds himself outside the gates of nineveh. the longest period of narrated time, the journey, is reported in the briefest of narrative time. 24 this imperfect parallelism shows a difference of temporal order: "only a day's journey" (3:4) connoting a readiness that contrasts with the reluctance and slowness of jonah in fulfilling his mission. even though he obeyed to go to nineveh after a near-death experience in the belly of the fish (see jonah 2), his body language, as evident in his one day preaching instead of three days, shows his inner disposition. jonah does not want the salvation of nineveh; he would rather prefer they are destroyed. this is even more obvious in the way he worded his preaching. it makes one wonder: what will happen after the proclamation of a single day's walk in a city that takes a three-day walk? the slowness of the narration created by the description of the city, and the slow entrance of jonah in nineveh, accentuates the suspense, but leads to the fulfilment of the divine order by jonah. in verse 4b, which tells the story of the proclamation of jonah to nineveh for a journey of one day, the reader enters the realm of direct discourse: "and he called and said [...]" the introduction to it relieves the suspense about jonah's response to yhwh's third imperative: "call." 25 and the content of the proclamation that the reader has been expecting from the first two chapters of the book is now about to be made known. the pace of the narrative after the slowdown is now accelerated. before now, i noted that only two of the three divine commands given to jonah in 3:2 were fulfilled. but now we have a perfect correspondence, word for word, of the three divine commands (in three wayyiqtols), as shown in the table below: this completes the obedience of the prophet to the divine command. yhwh's instruction jonah's obedience 24 cf. golka w. friedemann, the revelations of god: a commentary on the books of song of songs and jonah. (grand rapids: eerdmanns, 1988), 102. 25 cf. trible, 179. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 122 ּום arise" (3:2)" קָ֛ ְך go" (3:2)"ֵלָ֥ א ָ֤ and call" (3:2)" ּוְקר ם ַָֽ֣ק וי "and he arose" (3:3) and he went" (3:3)" ַוֵיֶלְך א and he called" (3:4b)" ַוִיְקר in the earlier command (1:2), god does not specify the message for jonah to transmit, as we have already seen; god shows faith that jonah will know what to say. in chapter three, however, god dictates a message to jonah, thereby making it more difficult for him to deviate from his renewed assignment. moreover, let's recall that the wording of this divine command to jonah in chapter three ("proclaim/call to it") is different from what we have in chapter one ("call out against it"). the former connotes a message of repentance and not condemnation. but does jonah understand the theological implication of the divine instruction: "to proclaim to it (nineveh)?" jonah's call to the ninevites he cried and said, "another forty days, and nineveh shall be overturned!" (3:4) instead of urging the people to repent, jonah announces their imminent doom, reverting to the original command: "call out against it." jonah does not want the people of nineveh to repent; on the contrary, he prefers to witness their demise. jonah begins to preach his message: "forty days and nineveh would be הפך (destroyed or overturned?)." in the bible, the number forty indicates a time of trial or testing that leads to renewal and salvation. thus, the duration of "forty" here is reminiscent of noah's flood (gen 7:4.12.17; 8:6), the forty days of moses on sinai (ex 24:18; 34:28), of ezekiel bearing the iniquity of judah for forty days (ezek 4:6). most pragmatic is israel's forty years in the wilderness. 26 yet, these events relate to an elapsed time during which the actions take place. but in our case, it is rather a 26 cf. philip cary, jonah: brazos theological commentary on the bible, (michigan: brazos press, 2008), 108. the virtuous ninevites: echoes of igwebuike theology in the narrative analysis of jonah 3:1-10 themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 123 tuned delay: a postponement of execution that provides opportunity to escape destruction, and to give room for efforts to earn god's forgiveness. in the words of uriel simon: forty days is a typological number that indicates a relatively long period of time (cf. dt 9:18; also 1 kgs 19:8). here it is the period of grace until it comes due. this stay of execution presents an opportunity to escape the impending destruction. 27 i think the narrator’s choice of the niphal participle of the verb הפך to describe the fate of nineveh, as proclaimed by jonah, is very deliberate. the verb is the same used in the overthrow of sodom and gomorrah (gen 19:21,25,29). as such, it becomes part of biblical cliché used to describe wrath and destruction that is as bad as when the lord overturned sodom and gomorrah. evidently, jonah finds comfort in this word. if nineveh's fate is like that of sodom and gomorrah, he will of all, be very happy. 28 the temporal force of the niphal participial verb: ֶכת .can be determined from the context ֶנְהפ participles, generally, are mostly used for imminent actions that will take place soon. 29 hence, jonah may well have hoped that no change would take place in nineveh until it is destroyed in forty days’ time. this may as well explain the lethargic attitude with which he approached the message: "yet in forty days, and nineveh would be destroyed" (3:4). in a day, jonah was done with his message to a city that takes three days walk (3:3b-4a). but, will the ninevites be really destroyed in "forty days' time?" it suffices to say, though, that the verb הפך for certain recalls what happened to sodom and gomorrah, but it also has certain subtlety in its nuance. the verb, which is usually translated as "destroy," also means "upset, overturn, or change." the verb can refer to a radical reversal from one extreme to another, including a change of heart. for example, in dt 23:6, moses reminded the sons of israel that "yhwh your god turned [ ְך qal imperfect] for you the curse [of balaam] ,ַוַיֲהפ 27 simon, 29. 28 cf. cary, 108. 29 cf. p. joüon – t. muraoka, § 121 e. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 124 into a blessing, because yhwh your god loves you." 30 hence, this double sense of the verb calls the reader to expect the unexpected. j-p sonnet opines that the verb appropriate to this logic of "overturning" is הפך, because it represents the overturning of all in all, which only god is capable of doing. 31 as such, the question that confronts the lector at this point is: will the city be reversed or overturned in the sense of being ruined, or will it be reversed in the sense of repentance? but we must also wonder whether jonah is really aware of the double sense of that word. therefore, it appears as if the narrator, using the forty days of respite for the upheaval of the city, creates a verbal irony of the double sense of the verb, הפך. this further creates the effect of suspense that opens up the future of the narration and makes conversion possible. "yet, forty days nineveh will be overturned" could refer to its destruction like sodom and gomorrah or to its change from impenitent wickedness to repentance and faith. either way, nineveh will be changed! 32 jonah likely would have understood his message to be one of impending doom of the sort that befell sodom, and the ninevites clearly took it as a warning that they would perish, if they did not repent. 33 and as such, they overturned their way of life to avert the overturning of their city and its inhabitants. the two possible meanings of the verb allow for a fact that yhwh seeks a change in the people’s hearts (see 3:9-10), while jonah longs for their destruction (see 4:1,5). jonah’s distress in chapter four is partly because he does not realize that his sermon came true in the sense yhwh intended. how ironic! 34 however, at the macro level of the story, this verse marks the 30 lessing, 283. 31 cf. j.-p., sonnet, "jonas est-il parmi les prophètes? une réécriture narrative sur les attributs divins," in c. clivaz al ed., éscritures réécriture. bethl 247 leuven (2012) 137-157. 32 cf. lessing, 283. 33 cf. donald j. wiseman, "jonah's nineveh," tyndale bulletin 30 (1979): 2951. 34 cf. lessing, 283. the virtuous ninevites: echoes of igwebuike theology in the narrative analysis of jonah 3:1-10 themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 125 resolution, not only of the divine command of 3:2, but also the plot that had begun in 1:3 with the first complication, that is; of jonah fleeing to tarshish. finally, he obeys and proclaims, not minding his reluctance and desire for the doom of nineveh. the reaction of the ninevites and the people of nineveh believed god; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth (3:5). in 3:4, we see god's words as reported by jonah, "yet forty days and nineveh will be overturned/destroyed." jonah never claimed divine authority for this statement, however, the people of nineveh gave a theological response to it: "they believed god" (3:5). coming from the hebrew root אמן, this verb has never been used in the course of our story; it forms a play on words with the name of the father of jonah, amittai, which is derived from the same root and therefore connotes trust or faith. hence, the announcement to the ninevites by jonah, the son of one whose name means "god's faithfulness or trust in god," inspires the ninevites to trust in god. 35 scaiola observes that the swiftness of their belief in god contrasts ironically with the slowness of jonah, who only accepted his divine commission towards nineveh after a three-day and three-night ordeal in the belly of the fish. 36 even when he finally accepts to preach to the ninevites, he presents it lethargically in five hebrew words, translated: "yet, forty days, nineveh will be destroyed." but, despite jonah's seemingly nonchalant attitude towards the preaching, the people of nineveh all believed in god. phillip cary said that it will be difficult to resist adding: "and it was counted to them as righteousness," 37 just as it was said of abraham (cf. gen 15:6). the loftiness of the repentance of the people of nineveh to the preaching of the israelite prophet shines out when compared with the attitude of the israelites given the same circumstances. a close look at certain biblical passages shows that the very response of faith that israel could not give without signs and 35 cf. trible, 513. 36 cf. scaiola, 69. 37 cary, 110. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 126 wonders (cf. ex 4:9) or even refused to give despite miracles (isaiah 7), the pagan ninevites gave after a sermon of a reluctant preacher. 38 "calling a fast and putting on sackcloth" is the same language used for calling a solemn assembly in order to sanctify a fast in israel (cf. joel 1:14; 2:15). the first word comes from the root verb קרא (they call or proclaim a fast) which is the same verb that jonah used to announce to the people of nineveh the words of god in 3:4. the second comes from the root verb לבש (they put-on sackcloth). this is a new word thus far in the story. however, both phrases are used to express penitential acts. but it is not used for a non-israelite, except in jonah. the expression: "from the largest to the smallest of them" gives an emphatic character to the absolute repentance of the people of nineveh. uriel simon observes here that "in the sodom periscope, it is the all-inclusive scope of the guilt that is emphasized, 'from young to old' (gen. 19:4). here, however, the comprehensive guilt is overcome by the all-inclusive scope of the repentance." 39 one thing that surprises the reader is the ease and immediacy with which they believed in the message of a foreign prophet, or better still, "an enemy prophet." also, they were not in any concrete danger at the moment, like the sailors in chapter one, 40 whose conversion was occasioned in the midst of an actual peril. thus, the repentance of these pagan characters appears surprising. this raises the curiosity of the reader: is there an element of the past that escapes us? this narrative blank, which is never filled-up in the story, keeps the lector in tension and pushes him to formulate for himself a reading key, a key which j.-p. sonnet supplies. he says that this blank exists "so that the project of god, which constitutes the substratum of the narrated story, acts through the spring of curiosity." 41 in the reaction of the 38 lessing, 284-85. 39 simon, 30. 40 cf. trible, 513. 41 j.-p. sonnet, " l'analisi narrativa dei racconti biblici," in m. bauks – c. nihan,ed., manuale di esegesi dell'antico testamento. testi e commenti (bologna: edizioni dehoniane bologna, 2015), 65-6. the virtuous ninevites: echoes of igwebuike theology in the narrative analysis of jonah 3:1-10 themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 127 people of nineveh, we see how a minimum means (jonah's fivewords-preaching) produced a maximum effect. as if one should say, like yesua ben david, "nowhere in israel have i seen a repentance like this" (cf. matthew 8:10). the reaction of the king of nineveh when the news reached the king of nineveh, he rose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes (3:6). the news reaches the king of nineveh, and now it's the subjects who dictate the order of the day, pushing the king by their example to make penitential acts. the king's appearance on the scene, who is also not named in the story, matches the appearance of the captain of the ship in 1:6; but this instance is even more insightful. he is exemplary, both in his response to the word of god and in his actions. with no storm blowing, no boat about to sink, just one brief and ambiguous message, he realizes the city is in great danger and that something has to be done to save it. learning that his people have called a fast and put on sackcloth, he follows suit. he formalises their effort of penitence with a decree. in the words of phillip cary: "it seems he is not above following his own people (how many kings are this wise?), jumping on the bandwagon when he sees it carrying them toward life, not death." 42 he doesn't merely follow the example of his subjects, but he acts even further: he strips himself of his regalia, making a journey back from the royal dignity to penitential humility. 43 or better still, according to lessing, "in response to jonah's message that nineveh would "be changed" (3:4), the king himself changed, both in dwelling, in dress, and in dignity." 44 this portrays, not just contrition, but true repentance. his action begins with his rising from his throne, and ends with his sitting in ashes: 45 42 cary, 113. 43 cf. trible, 514. 44 lessing, 309. 45 ibid, 309. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 128 a he rose from his throne b removed his royal robe b' covered himself with sackcloth a' and sat upon the ash heap. the narrator probably represented the action of the king in this chiastic summary, to underline the change the king underwent in an effort to show his repentance. unlike jonah's descent which was in disobedience, the king descends in humility before the word of god, from his throne to an ash heap. thus, while jonah in 1:3 arises to go down in disobedience, the king of nineveh arises and sat down in humble obedience to the word of yhwh preached by jonah. god did not speak directly to the king of nineveh, as he did to jonah. but even at that, the king responds in a humble and ready way, as if the word of god had been given to him without mediation. the king's response to the דבר (word) yhwh is quite exemplary and this is exactly what jonah could not get around to, until he finds himself helpless in the deep waters. so, the king and jonah are antitypes. jonah's first response to the דבר yhwh was to flee, but the king's immediate reaction was to abase himself in obedient response to the word of god. it is interesting to see how the king spontaneously steps away from his regal status as he arises from his throne to sit down in ashes and exchanges his royal regalia for sackcloth. 46 the action of the king does not surprise the reader, who has already been prepared by the narrator in the previous verse, when he learned that the people of nineveh believed god and they immediately performed penitential acts; but what surprises the reader here is that the actors follow inverse paths which one would not ordinarily expect of them: a king, rather 46 cf. d. timmer, "jonah’s theology of the nations: the interface of religious and ethnic identity," rivbib 120 (2013): 13-23. the virtuous ninevites: echoes of igwebuike theology in the narrative analysis of jonah 3:1-10 themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 129 than controlling, follows the example of his subjects; and instead of the normal course: "from grass to grace," he follows an opposite route: "from grace to grass." all this points to the genuineness of the repentance of the king and his people. furthermore, the reaction of the king of nineveh is all the more very remarkable in that, elsewhere in the old testament, assyrian kings are portrayed as arrogant, boasting monarchs who not only defy yhwh and threaten jerusalem, but also argue that their power is greater than yhwh’s because they have been able to defeat the god of israel/judah just as they defeated the gods of other nations (cf. is 10:5-34; 2kgs 18-19; nahum 2-3). 47 on the contrary, the king in jonah (3:6) acted, not in the manner one would expect from an assyrian ruler, but in a way one would expect from a king after god's own heart, like david (cf. 2 sam 12:16). in fact, the king is not only distinctive among assyrian rulers, his actions also dwarf that of many kings in israel. for example, jer 36:9-31 makes clear that jehoiakim of jerusalem was notably unmoved by jeremiah’s words and, therefore, was denounced for his obstinacy. but this pagan king of nineveh, acted quite differently. the decree of the king (vv. 7-9) then he had a proclamation made in nineveh: "by the decree of the king and his nobles: no human being or animal, no herd or flock, shall taste anything. they shall not feed, nor shall they drink water ..." (3:7-9). in 3:7, the focus shifts from the king’s personal response back to the city’s communal response. only after humbling himself does the king issue an edict to institutionalise the "overturning." there is something very striking here. the edict issued by the king has almost a prophetic function. normally, when the word of god comes to the prophet, as regards an impending doom, the prophet either intercedes on behalf of the people, or calls the people to repentance (cf. abraham in gen 47 cf. lessing, 309. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 130 18:23-32; and moses in ex 32). jonah obviously acted like the opposite of abraham and moses. however, since jonah did not behave like a prophet, the king of nineveh filled the gap, playing the role of a prophet and calling his people to repentance. 48 more so, even the process by which the ninevites arrive at their particular form of repentance is a kind of overturning for nineveh's social status: the highs (the king and his nobles) following the lows (the common people of nineveh). 49 scaiola observes that there is a play on words based on the term ַטַעם, which means decree only in ancient hebrew, while, customarily, it assumes the sense of "taste," "judgment" or "discernment." as such, it recalls the content of the decree through the root verb טעם; which indicates the prohibition to taste food. the interesting thing here, though, is that the verb that is normally used with respect to human beings now affects also animals. 50 scaiola further observes that this vocabulary has a broader resonance in wisdom literature. it has a sensual nuance. so here it could indicate that men and animals have to give up any form of pleasure. 51 the king's decree involves both men and animals, emphasising that the penitence comprises the totality of nineveh. the entire city has to make a penitential movement, or rather should refrain from all the normal actions that serve life and, moreover, produce a gratification of the senses. it may seem an ironic trait that even animals are involved in fasting, but we find a similar nuance elsewhere in scripture (cf. joel 1:18-20; judt 4:9-10). thus, this simply shows that, even the animals are more responsive to yhwh than the israelite prophet, jonah. the animals are in solidarity with their human patrons in the effort to avert the impending doom. animals participate in fast when they are not 48 cf. yair zakovitch, "through the looking glass," bi 12 (1993): 139-152. 49 cf. cary, 115. 50 cf. scaiola, 72. 51 ibid, 72. the virtuous ninevites: echoes of igwebuike theology in the narrative analysis of jonah 3:1-10 themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 131 pastured or watered (cf. judith 4,9-11). in this way, they call on god in their hunger and thirst, for even the bellowing of animals is a sort of prayer, as attested to by the prophet joel: "the very beasts of the field cry out to you; for the watercourses are dried up" (joel 1:20). the king's decree continues. after the three negative commands in the previous verse follows the three positive commands here. and at the beginning of each of this part, the phrase ‘men and animals’ is repeated. therefore, with this strong call to repentance, addressed to each and every one (man and beast alike), without exception, we see the true contrition of the inhabitants of nineveh, man and beast alike. the force of this radical change is seen in the last decree of the king: "let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in their hands;" the people of nineveh have to turn, that is, convert. the verb used is from the root שוב. interestingly, the expression: "they must turn, each from his evil ways" is prevalent in the old testament, particularly in the book of jeremiah (cf. jer 18:11; 23:14,22; 25:5; 26:3; 35:15; 36:3,7). however, here in the book of jonah, this expression is made, not by an israelite prophet, but by a pagan king. as such, lessing succinctly observes: that this king speaks the same words yhwh utters through his prophet jeremiah recalls the similar situation in jonah 1, where the pagan captain used commands spoken earlier by yhwh: "arise, ... call" (1:2). when the captain and the king quote god, the satire is evident: the israelite jonah is unfaithful to yhwh's word, but the pagan gentiles are converted to faith in accord with yhwh's word. 52 here, the israelite prophet is out propheted by gentile converts. in fact, this pagan king showed a knowledge of god that outclassed jonah's understanding of the way god works. the king said in his decree: "who knows? god may repent and change his mind ..." (v.9). the fact that the king of nineveh expressed a certain kind of 52 lessing, 314. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 132 uncertainty regarding the reaction of god to their repentance, with a question full of hope, but without any real certainty, indicates his awareness of how god works. god's compassion and mercy are not to be taken for granted; they come solely from the love of god. god alone will decide the fate of nineveh. the citizens of nineveh can believe and repent, but sincerity alone cannot control what god is free to do for them or against them. they can hope for deliverance, but cannot surely expect it (3:9). the hearer/reader does not know what will happen either. this understanding of god's activity that the king of nineveh has is quite different from the one that jonah shows in his behaviour (cf. 4:2). the expression highlights the fact that in the bible, the culprit has no right to redress. in other words, "who knows if god may repent?" (3:9) does not denote lack of faith; rather, it is an expression of the discrete hope 53 of one who knows that he (god) will be gracious to whom he intends to be gracious to, and will show compassion on whom he wills to show compassion (cf. ex. 34:19). the nifal verb נחם ("to repent") semantically defines the retraction of a judgment already issued or to a previously planned action; but more deeply, it expresses the divine freedom that can move without restriction from one attribute to another, from justice to mercy, mercy to justice, without being accused of caprice or inconstancy. it's a reversibility appropriate to the god who, in exodus 3:14, reveals himself to moses as "i am who i am." in other words, "i can be whoever and whatever i want to be," claiming the possibility of alternation of his attributes. 54 53 cf. pietro bovati, cosi parla il signore: studio sul profetismo biblico, bib, (bologna: edb, 2008), 138-9. for other texts in which ַע י־יֹוֵדָ֣ is used cf. 2 sam ִמ 12:22; joel 2:13-14. 54 for the theological import of נחם as an attribute of god, see the concluding section of this work which is dedicated to some theological reflections; also cf. cf. j.-p., sonnet, "god's repentance and "false starts" in biblical history," congress volume ljubljana (2007): 469-494. the virtuous ninevites: echoes of igwebuike theology in the narrative analysis of jonah 3:1-10 themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 133 jonah, uttering the oracle in 3:4 "yet forty days and nineveh will be overturned," had perhaps intended it as a terrible announcement of punishment which will definitely come to pass, but the people of nineveh interpreted differently; for them, it was an urgent call to repentance, and as such, they entered in the dynamic of divine reversibility that they now wonder if god would turn back from his anger and repent: it's not a certainty, but a trust in the love of god. even yesua ben david recognised the remarkable significance of the attitude of the people of nineveh towards the preaching of jonah that he accorded them the right to condemn his generation (cf. luke 11:32). thus, he makes the people of nineveh models of true repentance and calls his followers to emulate it. god's response to the "who knows?" "when god saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, god changed his mind/repented ... " (3:10) in vv. 8-9, one notes the connection between the action and the decree of the king in vv. 8-9, on one hand, and god's reaction, on the other. the king's exhortation: "and let everyone return from his evil way" (v. 8) is confirmed in the conduct of the people of nineveh: "and god saw that they had all returned from their evil way" (v. 10). the king had hoped: "who knows, god will return and repent ,and return from the fierce of his wrath" (v. 9); and now it is assured: "and god repented of the evil" (v. 10). this underlines the substantial difference between the divine and the human responses: god's answer comes in the way of god, in an unpredictable way. thus, just as trible rightly observed, "human action does not dictate divine response." 55 the "who knows," of the king of nineveh confirms this dictum. god, in his own way, overturns the dreaded harm into salvation. 55 trible, 516. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 134 echoes of igwebuike 56 theology in jonah 3:1-10 56 kanu i. a. (2015b). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu i. a. (2017). igwebuikeconomics: towards an inclusive economy for economic development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 6. 113-140. kanu i. a. (2017). sources of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. 9. 1. pp. 1-23. kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. kanu, a. i. (2017c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 7. pp. 165-183. kanu, a. i. (2017d). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 6. pp. 16-50. kanu, a. i. (2017f). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. pp. 153-160. kanu, i. a. (2010). towards an african cultural renaissance. professor bassey andah journal of cultural studies. volume 3, pp. 146-155. kanu, i. a. (2012). a metaphysical epistemological study of african medical practitioners. in o. e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (2012). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 227-240). nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2012). being qua belongingness: the provenance and implications of pantaleon’s redefinition of being. uche: journal of the department of philosophy, university of nigeria, nsukka. vol. 17. pp. 57-58. kanu, i. a. (2012). from ‘onye’ to ‘ife’ hypothesis: the contribution of edeh to the development of the concept of being. lwati: a journal of contemporary research. 9, 4. 218-223. kanu, i. a. (2012). inculturation and christianity in africa. international journal of humanities and social science. vol. 2. no. 17. pp. 236-244. kanu, i. a. (2012). the functionality of being in pantaleon's operative metaphysics vis-a-vis the niger delta conflict. african research review: an international multi-disciplinary journal. vol.6. no.1. pp. 212-222. kanu. i. a. (2012). towards an igbo christology, in ezenweke, e.o and kanu, a.i. (eds) issues in african traditional religion and philosophy, jos: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2012). the problem of being in metaphysics. african research review: an international multi-disciplinary journal. vol.6. no.2. april. pp. 113-122. kanu, i. a. (2012). the problem of personal identity in metaphysics. international journal of arts and humanities. vol.1. no.2. pp.1-13. kanu, i. a. (2012a). the concept of life and person in african anthropology. in e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (eds.). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 61-71). nigeria: the virtuous ninevites: echoes of igwebuike theology in the narrative analysis of jonah 3:1-10 themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 135 from this close reading of jonah chapter three, two things stand out: jonah's attitude towards an enemy nation and the ninevites uprightness, despite being an "other" in this narrative. the other against whom israel's identity is forged is abhorred, abject, impure, and in the old testament, a vast number of them obliterated, while in the new testament, vast numbers are colonized. igwebuike theology erases the line between "us" and "them," a line which jonah, by his attitude, tries to maintain. his reluctance to go and preach the message of repentance to an enemy nation and the lethargic attitude with which he eventually does it show his ill disposition towards nineveh. jonah would rather god destroys nineveh; this explains why he was greatly distressed when god showed his gracious mercy towards the people of nineveh (cf. jonah 4:1). however, the adonai of israel (ל ֵאָ֔ ֙ה ְלִיְשר is also god the most high (ְיהו ֹון) ל ֶעְליָ֔ who created the heavens and the earth (cf. gen 14:22). this ,(ֵאָ֣ is an aspect of god that jonah didn't want to accept. he acted as if to say the enemy of israel should also be the enemy of yhwh; the nation which israel hates, god should also hate. the narrator did not tell us of the antecedent relationship between nineveh and israel, nor did he let us into the reason why jonah was particularly angry at the mercy of god towards the people of nineveh. but from biblical evidence, we could suppose that jonah was reluctant to go to nineveh, owing to the antecedent hostile relationship between the two nations (israel and assyria). secondly, jonah knew that god is rich in mercy (cf. jonah 4:2) and will eventually forgive nineveh, the arch enemy of israel, should it repent. but, jonah would not want such mercy over a augustinian. kanu, i. a. (2012b). towards an igbo christology. in e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (eds.). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 75-98). nigeria: augustinian. kanu, i. a. (2013). african identity and the emergence of globalization. american international journal of contemporary research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 34-42. kanu, i. a. (2013). globalisation, globalism and african philosophy. c. umezinwa (ed.). african philosophy: a pragmatic approach to african probems (pp. 151-165). germany: lambert. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 136 city like nineveh. the city, apart from being mentioned in an etiology concerning the origin of several mesopotamian cities in gen 10:8-12; is also mentioned in 2 kgs 19:36; is 37:37; and in nahum and zephaniah. both of those prophetic books emphasize nineveh’s role as the symbol of the assyrian empire, the mortal enemy of israel, renowned for brutal conquest and butchery. 57 however, god's mercy towards nineveh "challenges every separatist theology that tries to exclude people based on religion, tribe, ethnicity, nationality or moral ideology. it tells us from biblical perspective that "to belong" does not necessarily mean conformity to a particular standard or people. it simply means "to be" ___ to be available for the divine as part of the global human family." 58 more so, this sovereign god, who alone is good (cf. mk 10,18) by his very nature, reacts to evil, no matter who commits it, whether israel or any other nation of the earth. the predicament of man is the predicament of god who has a stake in human situation. sin, guilt and suffering cannot be separated from the divine situation. the life of sin is more than a failure of man; it is a frustration to god who is involved in human history. 59 therefore, the yhwh of israel is the sovereign lord over all nations. he is the god of jonah, the god of the sailors and the god of the ninevites. this understanding calls us to rise above our differences which, in themselves, should not constitute a threat or be a factor that divides us; rather, they can be basic notes for a beautiful musical symphony. furthermore, god seemed to be drawn by the beautiful solidarity in the penitential acts of the inhabitants of nineveh. for even the animals, through their bellowing, were in solidarity with their human patrons in seeking for divine mercy. nineveh’s repentance manifests 57 cf. lessing, 85. 58 malachy theophilus, "the role of rehab in the conquest story of joshua as a manifestation of igwebuike theology: a narrative analysis of joshua 2," in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5, no. 8 (2019), 91. 59 cf. abraham j. heschel, the prophets, (new york: harpercollins publishers, 2001), 291. the virtuous ninevites: echoes of igwebuike theology in the narrative analysis of jonah 3:1-10 themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 137 itself in a form that rivals even the most pious israelite times of repentance. not only the king, but all the people and even the livestock put on sackcloth and fasted (jonah 3:5-8). jonah 3:8 is worded to suggest that just like the people, the livestock too, cover themselves with sackcloth! in that way, the ninevites’ penitence exceeds any recorded for israel. this powerful unity in their penitential gestures appeared to move god, in his sovereign freedom, to act in favour of nineveh and its inhabitants. conclusion from the foregoing, we see how jonah, urged repeatedly by god's command, went to nineveh, proclaimed the word of yhwh, and then left the scene for the people of nineveh, the king of nineveh and of course yhwh. the ninevites and their king performed penitential acts and made a real change of direction. while the attitude of the people of nineveh shows unity of purpose and a deeper understanding of how god works in human history, jonah's attitude shows the opposite. he couldn't see beyond his prejudice against nineveh and its inhabitants to a deeper understanding of our common humanity, and how god acts from the same point of view. the ninevites seemed to understand this better and, as such, did not allow their religious difference or political history with israel prevent them from drinking from the common ocean of divine mercy. of course, the reader would be wondering what happened to jonah; what will his reaction be to this unexpected and positive action of the ninevites, on one hand, and god's mercy, on the other: will he really grow up and avail himself to the ways of god, who "shows favour to whom he wants, and grants mercy to whom he wants" (cf. ex 34:19)? will he really realise that just as israel is "a people of god," so too nineveh is "a great city unto god" (jonah 3:3b)? i do not have the answers to these questions. but it suffices to say that the book of jonah is the only biblical book that ends with a question mark. through such ending, the narrator calls us, not just to participate in the conflict between jonah and god's ways, but more importantly, to participate in malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 138 the theology of the book and confront our own inclination that assumes salvation is only for us. bibliography bovati, p. cosi parla il signore: studio sul profetismo biblico. bib. bologna: edb, 2008. cary, p. jonah: brazos theological commentary on the bible. michigan: brazos press, 2008. friedemann, g. w. the revelations of god: a commentary on the books of song of songs and jonah. grand rapids: eerdmanns, 1988. gordon, c. h. "build-up and climax," in creation, genesis and flood. edited by y. avishur – j. blau. jerusalem: rubinstein, 1978. heschel, a. j. the prophets. new york: harpercollins publishers, 2001. joüon, p. muraoka, t. a grammar of biblical hebrew. sb 27. rome: gb press, 2011. kanu i. a. a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. 2015 kanu i. a. igwebuikeconomics: towards an inclusive economy for economic development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 6. 113-140. 2017 kanu i. a. sources of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. 9. 1. pp. 1-23. 2017 kanu, a. i. igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. 2016 kanu, a. i. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 7. pp. 165-183. 2017 the virtuous ninevites: echoes of igwebuike theology in the narrative analysis of jonah 3:1-10 themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 139 kanu, a. i. igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 6. pp. 16-50. 2017 kanu, a. i. igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. pp. 153-160. 2017 kanu, i. a. towards an african cultural renaissance. professor bassey andah journal of cultural studies. volume 3, pp. 146-155. 2010 kanu, i. a. a metaphysical epistemological study of african medical practitioners. in o. e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (2012). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 227-240). nigeria: augustinian publications. 2012 kanu, i. a. being qua belongingness: the provenance and implications of pantaleon’s redefinition of being. uche: journal of the department of philosophy, university of nigeria, nsukka. vol. 17. pp. 57-58. 2012 kanu, i. a. from ‘onye’ to ‘ife’ hypothesis: the contribution of edeh to the development of the concept of being. lwati: a journal of contemporary research. 9, 4. 218-223. 2012 kanu, i. a. inculturation and christianity in africa. international journal of humanities and social science. vol. 2. no. 17. pp. 236-244. 2012 kanu, i. a. the functionality of being in pantaleon's operative metaphysics vis-a-vis the niger delta conflict. african research review: an international multi-disciplinary journal. vol.6. no.1. pp. 212-222. 2012 kanu. i. a. towards an igbo christology, in ezenweke, e.o and kanu, a.i. (eds) issues in african traditional religion and philosophy, jos: augustinian publications. 2012 kanu, i. a. the problem of being in metaphysics. african research review: an international multi-disciplinary journal. vol.6. no.2. april. pp. 113-122. 2012 kanu, i. a. the problem of personal identity in metaphysics. international journal of arts and humanities. vol.1. no.2. pp.1-13. 2012 malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 140 kanu, i. a. the concept of life and person in african anthropology. in e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (eds.). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 61-71). nigeria: augustinian. 2012 kanu, i. a. towards an igbo christology. in e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (eds.). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 75-98). nigeria: augustinian. 2012 kanu, i. a. african identity and the emergence of globalization. american international journal of contemporary research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 34-42. 2013 kanu, i. a. globalisation, globalism and african philosophy. c. umezinwa (ed.). african philosophy: a pragmatic approach to african probems (pp. 151-165). germany: lambert. 2013 lessing, r. reed. jonah. concordia commentary, st. louis: concordia publishing house 2007. sasson, j. m. jonah. anchor bible 24b. new york: doubleday, 1990. scaiola, d. abdia, giona, michea: introduzione, traduzione e commento. nvbta. milano: san paolo, 2012. simon, u. jonah: the traditional hebrew text with the new jps translations. philadelphia: jps, 1999. sonnet, j.-p. "god's repentance and "false starts" in biblical history." congress volume ljubljana (2007): 469-494. sonnet, j.-p. "jonas est-il parmi les prophètes? une réécriture narrative sur les attributs divins," in éscritures réécriture. edited by c. clivaz et al. bethl 247 leuven (2012): 137-157. sonnet, j.-p. " l'analisi narrativa dei racconti biblici," in manuale di esegesi dell'antico testamento: testi e commenti. edited by m. bauks – c. nihan. bologna: edizioni dehoniane, 2015. stuart, d., hosea-jonah, wbc 31, dallas: word, incorporated, 1987. theophilus, m. "the role of rehab in the conquest story of joshua as a manifestation of igwebuike theology: a narrative the virtuous ninevites: echoes of igwebuike theology in the narrative analysis of jonah 3:1-10 themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 141 analysis of joshua 2," in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5, no. 8 (2019): 72-92. thomas, w. d. "a consideration of some universal ways of expressing the superlative in hebrew." vetus testamentum 3 (1953): 209-224. timmer, d. "jonah’s theology of the nations: the interface of religious and ethnic identity." rivbib 120 (2013): 13-23. trible, p. "studies in the book of jonah." an unpublished dissertation. columbia university, new york, 1963. waltke, b. k. o'connor, m. an introduction to biblical hebrew syntax. indiana: eisenbrauns, 1990. wiseman, d. j. "jonah's nineveh," tyndale bulletin 30 (1979): 2951. wolff, w. h. obadiah and jonah. minneapolis: augsburg, 1986. zakovitch, y. "through the looking glass," bi 12 (1993): 139-152. a glance at traditional modes of communication through the lens of liturgical inculturation: perspectives from igwebuike and shikrot traditions themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 55 a glance at traditional modes of communication through the lens of liturgical inculturation: perspectives from igwebuike and shikrot traditions justine john dyikuk university of jos, plateau state justinejohndyikuk@gmail.com abstract one of the challenges of pastoral and liturgical communication has been the failure to christen the rich traditional modes of communication for effect worship in an african way. inspired by the search for genuine liturgical inculturation, the researcher embarked on a qualitative study entitled: “a glance at traditional modes of communication through the lens of liturgical inculturation: perspectives from igwebuike and shikrot traditions” to investigate the matter in igbo and ngas cultures. it found that music, song and dance, death and funeral rites, baptism and churching, as well as elements of human communication, are traditional modes of communication that are resourceful for liturgical inculturation. with expert-theological insights, such as introducing peoples/cultures into the church, and enriching the gospel with positive values and cultural diversity, the study recommended rethinking theological content, restoring group/participatory communication and employing signals, signs and symbols as other critical ways of ensuring excellent liturgical inculturation. it concluded that developing an ongoing-evangelization which baptizes the rich values of the cultures under review is crucial for smooth liturgical inculturation. justine john dyikuk themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 56 keywords: communication, igwebuike¸ inculturation, liturgical, shikrot, traditional. introduction communication has always been part and parcel of man. before the advent of colonialism in africa, people of the continent had their modes and forms of communication. among various cultures in africa, different forms of traditional communication, such as idiophones, membranophones, aerophones, symbolography, were effectively employed as traditional modes of communication (akakuru, nwokedi & edi, 2015). aside from these, the people also saw comedians, town criers, messengers, dancers and musicians as public relations’ experts who used various forms of human communication to fulfill their role in society. the igbos of south and ngas people of north central nigeria held traditional modes of communication in high esteem. while the worldview of the igbos was built around igwebuike (kanu, 2016 & 2019), that of the ngas was weaved around shikrot. from birth to death, these philosophies set the parameters for every kind of communication in the society. since ours is an incarnational faith, part of the history of christianity has been its encounter with other cultures, being deeply rooted in these cultures (udeani, 2007). unfortunately, in africa, the story was different. as time went by, the arrival of christian missionaries led to a crisis of faith. since the early missionaries did not understand the native modes of communication, they framed everything as fetish, thus discarding it. consequently, they passed the faith to africans under the cloak of western culture. for this reason, the message was disdainfully looked upon as one that lacks luster and content which is irrelevant to the daily lives of the people (umezinwa, 2014). this mentality was, however, met by resistance from emerging local clergy and scholars. there was then agitation to inculturate some aspects of the faith towards harmonizing faith and culture. reflections of popes paul vi and john paul ii, through the vatican ii document, facilitated this. this is because the church began to teach that, although salvation in a glance at traditional modes of communication through the lens of liturgical inculturation: perspectives from igwebuike and shikrot traditions themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 57 christ is for all peoples, there exists an inclusiveness which reflects on existential religious liberty and pluralism. this is where igbo traditional religion or igwebuike comes in (anyanwu, 2019). umezinwa concurs that “some efforts have been made after the vatican ii council to express god’s message through culture” (2014,p.199). inspired by the dire need for smooth liturgical inculturation in both igbo and ngas cultures, amidst a europeanized-church in africa, this study aspires to: 1. account for the traditional modes of communication in both igwebuike and shikrot traditions; 2. trace extant sacred objects and cultural values of igbo and ngas origins that could be employed for liturgical inculturation; 3. review extant theological insights of liturgical inculturation visà-vis its bottlenecks and challenges; 4. facilitate interreligious dialogue between faith and culture in igwebuike and shikrot traditions, and; 5. propose valuable recommendations towards revamping liturgical inculturation in igwebuike and shikrot worldviews. conceptual clarification a). traditional modes of communication in this study, traditional modes of communication means the organised system of communication which was in place before the coming of the imperialists to africa. also referred to as trado-rural or native media, traditional modes of communication, which were anchored on oramedia, enabled the people to communicate with one another and transmit vital information within the community. in igwebuike and shikrot ontologies, these modes of communication include: directives, news, advertising, public relations, entertainment justine john dyikuk themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 58 and education as well as transmission of mores, customs and traditions (dyikuk, 2019a & akakuru, nwokedi, edi, 2015). b). liturgical inculturation the operational definition of inculturation is the process by which the church takes up the good values of different cultures (john paul ii, 1995, no 61) and transforms or incarnates them into truths of the gospel. since every culture has positive values and forms which can enrich the gospel (john paul ii, 2001, no 16), inculturation midwifes the marriage between faith and culture in a new and profound way. it takes into cognizance gestures and signs as well as all other different forms of communication employed by the people of god (francis, 2013, no 129) in particular churches during liturgical and paraliturgical celebrations. c). igwebuike tradition as the lungs or vital organ of igbo tradition of south eastern nigeria, igwebuike philosophy means “number is strength” or “number is power” (kanu, 2016). it is a worldview which engenders communication and culture through complementarity, harmony and communality. it is also described as a driver for the transmission of values, mores and customs of igbo people. igwebuike is a mechanism for ensuring unity and the desired synergy for discussion within and outside igbo land. in this study, igwebuike tradition will be used interchangeably with igbo tradition, culture, philosophy and worldview (kanu, 2015, 2017, 2018). d). shikrot tradition shikrot, which translates as “talk of love,” encompasses the religious, political and socio-cultural life of the ngas people of north-central nigeria. it covers the ethics and behavioural patterns of the people that are based on charity. the communitarian philosophy further reveals the various forms of communication in the society, even as it showcases the revered culture of the people, such as their mores, a glance at traditional modes of communication through the lens of liturgical inculturation: perspectives from igwebuike and shikrot traditions themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 59 customs and traditions (dyikuk, 2019c). shikrot tradition will be used exchangeably with ngas culture, tradition, worldview and philosophy. arrival of the catholic faith in igbo and ngas lands: a historic approach overview of the faith in igbo land the igbos of south eastern nigeria are said to have originated from the nri kingdom. there are other views that igbo people have ancient hebrew roots. from whichever perspective one views it, the southeasterners are said to have settled in cities like onitsha, owerri, nnewi, okigwe, aba and orlu. their culture and traditions which are displayed through festivals of arts and culture (obindigbo, 2020) are weaved around igwebuike philosophy, which makes for communalism and shared communication. this philosophy is further expressed in kindred, clan and extended family system. their patterns of stratification and socialization are also built on a strong sense of fellow-feeling and the need to put the community first. when the holy ghost fathers evangelized the semi-savannah northern igbo land in the 1900s, within the first three decades, the faith was consolidated (kalu, 1995). ilogu (1974, pp. 56-62) presents the history of the advent of catholicism in igbo land in three phases. the first phase (1885-1900) started with the introduction of missionary policies through contact with the igbo people, their religion and culture; the second phase (1900-1905) featured a focus on implementing missionary apostolates, like building schools, hospitals and opening new mission churches in major igbo towns; and the third phase (1931-1967) saw the establishment and growth of the catholic faith, through consolidation with catholic schools and hospitals in the area. before and within this time, there were a lot of pagan, diabolic, superstitious practices which the early missionaries frowned at. this made the dialogue between faith and culture very difficult. what made matters worse was that the early missionaries simply dismissed justine john dyikuk themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 60 african cultural practices as primitive and evil. they frustrated any attempts at inculturation. as time went on, the seeming conflict between faith and culture began to be resolved as local clergy were ordained. this paved way for priests studying up to doctorate degree levels so as to be experts in various theological disciplines, on the one hand, and to initiate attempts at liturgical inculturation, on the other. from erstwhile heroic witness of bishop joseph shanahan, c.s.sp. (1871–1943), today catholicism is a nationalreligion for people of the southeast because the region has the highest number of indigenous clergy (including bishops) and the world’s largest catholic seminary, bigard memorial, located in enugu (2020 president and fellows of harvard college, 2020). synopsis of the faith in ngas land the ngas people of plateau state in north central nigeria who are now divided into sub-groups in places like pankshin, ampang, amper and kabwir have borno as their ancestry (tolu, 2020). its people, who are now domiciled in pankshin and kanke local government areas, are driven by shikrot worldview which is a guiding principle for relating to god and humanity. although ngas is the most populous language in the two lga’s, its people live amidst diverse cultures with inhabitants who speak many languages, like mupun, miship, fier, tal, kadung, pal and bijim. other tribes in pankshin include: mupun, miship, fier, tal, kadung and pal. there is also the presence of a few igbos, yorubas, idomas, tivs, etc (pankshin local government area, 2020). in terms of religion, the ngas are mostly christians, with few african traditional religionists and muslims who migrated from bauchi, zaria, katsina kano and kebbi. like jos, the plateau state capital, the old pankshin lga which was split, with kanke as a new lga, has been the melting pot of the middle-belt that is blessed with good weather and rich stable food. this made the area an irresistible attraction for christian missionaries to start new churches (higazi, 2011). today, the dominant faiths in ngas land are roman catholic church, church of christ in nations (cocin), anglican church, foursquare gospel church, assemblies a glance at traditional modes of communication through the lens of liturgical inculturation: perspectives from igwebuike and shikrot traditions themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 61 of god, redeemed christian church of god, mountain of fire and miracles ministries (mfm), to mention just a few. with the arrival of society of african missions (sma) catholic missionaries in shendam on 12 february 1907, the seed of the faith was planted. one hundred and seven years later, the catholic diocese of pankshin was carved out of the archdiocese of jos and shendam diocese on march 18, 2014 as the 56 th diocese in nigeria, with the appointment of most rev. michael gobal gokum as its first bishop. pankshin diocese comprises five civil districts of pankshin, kanke, bokkos, mangu and kanam, and is a suffragan of jos ecclesiastical province. holy cross pankshin, whose liturgical feast falls on every 14 september, is the cathedral church of the new diocese (society of african missions, 2014 & paulines publications africa, 2020). aside from the substantive bishop michael gokum of pankshin, it would be recalled that ngas has had three other bishops: gabriel gonsum ganaka of jos archdiocese (24 may 1937 11 november 1999), kevin aje of sokoto diocese (25 april 1934 27 may 2019) and malachy john goltok of bauchi (12 july 1965 21 march 2015). today, local clergy are trained in various theological disciplines abroad and locally towards inculturating the faith. traditional modes of communication: liturgical inculturation in igwebuike and shikrot worldviews music song and dance because the catholic church in nigeria opened the way for singing of choruses, playing of local instruments, clapping of hands and dancing her liturgy, the liturgy in igbo land is saturated with traditional media (udoette, 2012 & dyikuk, 2019a,pp.180-181). according to umezinwa, (2014) the exit of the missionaries in the 1970s saw concrete efforts at using culture to evangelize, like celebrating holy mass in vernacular, translation of the holy bible and roman missal into igbo language and taking exultet and passion narrative of good friday, which were hitherto sang in latin, in igbo justine john dyikuk themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 62 language. it is now common place to find local hymns and instruments accompanied with dance and clapping of hands as features of igbo liturgical worship. anibueze (2018) is of the view that liturgical innovations and renewal in igbo land started between 1900 and 1977, with the production of igbo liturgical, biblical and catechetical texts. praying the holy rosary and singing of the latin hymns like lauda sion during eucharistic processions, such as corpus christi or christ the king celebrations, are now celebrated with many traditional modes of communication. above all, during the celebration of holy mass, “the procession is now accompanied with singing of traditional songs and dancing to the rhythm of local instruments” (umezinwa, 2014,p.209). the ngas people use the animal horn flute, which they call sombi, for liturgical purposes. during the festival dance of the ancestors, called fer nji, certain rhythms, songs and dance steps are made while the horn flute is blown to appease the ancestors. women and children could participate in some fer nji in these festivals. the songs of the nji, ancestors are used during social and festival dances. during emergencies which put the lives of the community at risk, musical instruments like the reed flute, bel, the thin corn-stalk flute, yang i nvelang or velang and the big corn-stalk flute, kwarak are used. small or big drums are used in all festival dances. the small drum nging is hung over one shoulder and is beaten by a curved stick, while the free hand hit it. it entails kneeling to control the beat and musical messages communicated. it is used in all social events where two or more drummers perform simultaneously. because the big drum (kung) is sacred and very big, the drummer has to sit or stand by its side when performing (habila, & danfulani, 1996). death and funeral rites in igbo land, “the adoption of traditional religious features into christian celebrations is very pronounced in funeral rites. just as in the traditional practice, the funeral mass is often now celebrated a glance at traditional modes of communication through the lens of liturgical inculturation: perspectives from igwebuike and shikrot traditions themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 63 in the family compound of the diseased. the burial of the diseased is always in his or her compound and not in the cemetery. this is a hangover from the traditional religion” (umezinwa, 2014, p.210). in ngas land, when someone dies, the person is mourned for three days. the christian community prays for the person on the third day, with a celebration, to mark the three days christ spent in the tomb. however, the three days wailing is that of victory over death, since it is believed that somehow the dead are around, and could visit, and death has been defeated. it is held that, psychologically, death is powerless because those who have died are not actually dead but they are nji living dead which form an extension of the community of the living. etymologically, nji denotes ancestors which derive from the word ji, which means “come” or “arrival.” nji could mean “the one who comes back or returns from the dead.” among the chadicspeakers of the jos-plateau area, especially the ngas, there is a strong belief in rebirth. according to ngas tradition, the dead are buried facing sara, the east, to facilitate their return to the human world. sara represents their ancestral home in the east towards the chad-borno basin from where the dead are re-borned (habila, & danfulani, 1996). this view is now replaced with the hope of union with the resurrected christ in heaven. baptism and churching for the igbos, the church has adopted some form of inculturation with regard to a child that is born. “after baptism, the woman goes for churching. this consists of presenting the child formally to the lord, offering mass of thanksgiving and the eating and drinking that follow soon after the mass. in the traditional religion, sacrifice of thanksgiving was offered to the ancestors generally 28 days after the birth of a child” (umezinwa, 2014,p.211). in like manner, ngas people have the manhood training which was based on a circumcision (vwang) rite of separation that lasted for about 30 to 60 days. associated with mysteries of worship, ancestors justine john dyikuk themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 64 and the spirit world, this period was aimed at testing to know who is a real man among young men. while those who are brave were called real men, gomis, anyone who died was said to have been eaten by the ancestors: “won se kora.” women were not part of this ceremony (ngas cultural festival pusdung, 2019 & dajur cited in dyikuk, 2019c). also, there is the gwim rite which is a covenant-making or oath-taking meal, which entails that the people will reach an agreement or take an oath before the spirit realm that they will cease from committing sin and wickedness in the land. this is done when drought is associated with consequences of communal and individual transgression. gwim rite is performed to cleanse or purify the land before a rain maker is begged to invoke rainfall. it is believed that if this rite of oath-taking does not take place, the drought will not abate (habila, & danfulani, 1996). both vwang and gwim are now considered as the sacrament of confirmation. elements of human communication scholars have maintained that various elements of human communication, such as activeness, solidarity and complementarity, ethic of reciprocity and shared philosophy, tradition and religion are rich traditional modes of communication that find expression in igwebuike and shikrot cultures. describing traditional media as an admixture of beliefs, opinions, systems, models, actions, culture and historical narrative of a given people, they contend that they constitute the oil that greases day-to-day life in rural africa (dyikuk, 2019a; domnwachukwu, 2018; kanu, 2016 & kanu, 2017). from active listening during the celebration of holy mass, concrete solidarity at small christian communities (sccs) to shared values, such as the need for saying the truth at all times as well as the place of tradition and religion, these elements of human communication are invaluable assets in liturgical inculturation. theology of liturgical inculturation: views and insights in attempting to regurgitate or generate a theology of inculturation, it is important to look in the direction of pastoral communication. a glance at traditional modes of communication through the lens of liturgical inculturation: perspectives from igwebuike and shikrot traditions themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 65 perhaps, the best way to initiative is to the pastoral instruction on the means of social communication, communio et progressio, (cp, no.11) where christ is described as a perfect communicator who related with humanity through his “incarnation.” that document further discloses that by totally identifying himself with those who are expected to receive his communication, he gave his message in words and by the whole manner of his life by preaching the divine message out of the press of his people without fear or compromise. to do that, it continues, he had to adjust to his people’s way of life. this epic rendering speaks to the heart of the interplay between faith and culture. expectedly, the pontifical council for culture has demonstrated leadership in framing requisite perspectives for “reading the signs of the time” (dyikuk, 2017). without this, there would be no meaningful inculturation. this study will consider some theological points of view for an important endeavor like liturgical inculturation. from the submissions of the second vatican council to post synodal documents and other papal encyclicals, there is robust support for incarnating the word of god and the liturgy in various cultures. the church supports liturgical inculturation for the following reasons: to introduce peoples/cultures into the church just as jesus was born into jewish culture, where we are born introduces us to the culture and tradition of our immediate environment. this shows that we all come from different traditions and cultures. as such, the church “introduces peoples, together with their cultures, into her own community” through inculturation (john paul ii, 1990, no 52 & catechesi tradendae, 1979, no 53). this it does by making the christian realize that he is welcome to the faith, without prejudice to where he comes from. in fact, the universality and catholicity of the church supports this view because, the church is for people of every tribe, tongue, people and nation. justine john dyikuk themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 66 enrich the gospel with positive values/forms there is no culture that has no positive aspects. for example, the aspect of respect for elders and kneeling in prayer in igbo and ngas cultures does not contradict the catholic faith. therefore, the church does not reject those rich aspects of traditional values that can animate the faith. indeed: “every culture offers positive values and forms which can enrich the way the gospel is preached, understood and lived” (john paul ii, 2001, no 16). become a bride bedecked with jewels the analogy of the church as the bride of christ lends credence to the theology of liturgical inculturation. this parallel indicates that faith and culture are two sides of a coin. through using none offensive signs and symbols in liturgical or para-liturgical activities, the church takes up the values of different cultures and becomes sponsa ornata monilibus suis, “the bride bedecked with her jewels” (cf. is61:10)” (john paul ii, 1995, no 61). ensure cultural diversity/unity in a church where conservatists, non-conformists and ecclesiastical mavericks think that liturgical inculturation poses a threat to the unity of the church, the people of god are reminded that “when properly understood, cultural diversity is not a threat to church unity. the holy spirit, sent by the father and the son, transforms our hearts and enables us to enter into the perfect communion of the blessed trinity, where all things find their unity” (francis, 2013, no 117,p.94). if anything, liturgical inculturation aspires to promote cultural diversity and the unity of the spirit. transmit the faith in newer forms liturgical inculturation helps to transmit the faith in ever new forms. this is why understanding evangelization as inculturation is key. in trying to undertake inculturation, the culture experiences a rebirth as the people of god in a particular church are able to translate the gift a glance at traditional modes of communication through the lens of liturgical inculturation: perspectives from igwebuike and shikrot traditions themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 67 of god into their life and in consonance with their genius, thus bearing witness to the faith they received. this enriches the faith in a new and eloquent way (francis, 2013, no 122). ensure a locus theologicus for new evangelization in an era of new evangelization, the people of god are charged to promote and strengthen the faith through continuous inculturation. “indeed, popular piety, with all its expressions, teaches us to read the signs of time because they are a locus theologicus which demands our attention in an era of new evangelization” (francis, 2013, no 126). recall that john paul ii employed the term “new evangelisation" in section 33 of his encyclical, redemptoris missio, to draw the attention of the church to mission ad gentes, christian communities and the new evangelisation (cotter, 2013 & dyikuk, 2019d). create synthesis with a particular culture theologians are increasingly looking for avenues where there will be a perfect harmony between faith and culture. perhaps, that is, pope francis warned that the faith should not be predicated on fixed formulations or specific absolute words. he contends that because this communication occurs in different ways, it is not possible to catalogue them all. he surmised thus: “if the gospel is embedded in a culture, the message is no longer transmitted solely from person to person. in countries where christianity is a minority, then, along with encouraging each of the baptized to proclaim the gospel, particular churches should actively promote at least preliminary forms of inculturation. the ultimate aim should be that the gospel, as preached in categories proper to each culture, will create a new synthesis with that particular culture” (francis, 2013, no 129,p.104). justine john dyikuk themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 68 liturgical inculturation: bottlenecks and challenges doubts and fears most efforts at liturgical inculturation are met with doubt, fear and apprehension. this is because african theologians are sometimes circumspect about which aspect of culture they should push forward and which they should discard. “this is always a slow process and at we can be overly fearful. but if we allow doubts and fears to dampen our courage, instead of being creative we will remain comfortable and make no progress whatsoever. in this case we will not take an active part in historical processes, but become mere onlookers as the church gradually stagnates” (francis, 2013, no 129,p.104). umezinwa, agrees that “there are some people who are not comfortable with the idea of spreading the gospel through the vehicle of culture” (2014,p.213). these unresolved doubts and fears frustrate genuine efforts at inculturating the faith. aberrations and abuses various abuses and aberrations have slowed the approval of rites by the vatican. some priests experiment liturgical inculturation with changing the structure of holy mass. some even go as far as using another form of bread or other types of unapproved wines for the celebration of the holy eucharist. for instance, some traditional beliefs and practices, such as belief in reincarnation, traditional method of healing, libation to the ancestors/spirits and polytheism, which are gradually being adopted into christian practice in the name of inculturation, are at variance with christian doctrine and should be opposed (etuk, 2002). also, excessive use of incense and wooden utensils which makes purification after mass difficult is a recurrent decimal in many places. because africans love dancing, some priests permit some immodest kinds of dance which are sensual in nature in the name of dancing in an african way. this leaves local ordinaries and major superiors with the burden of sanctioning inculturation attempts with good intention. a glance at traditional modes of communication through the lens of liturgical inculturation: perspectives from igwebuike and shikrot traditions themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 69 syncretism for instance, back in the seminary, a novice of ngas extraction that was taking some courses with the seminarians suggested that dog meat which is a delicacy among the ngas people should be used for the eucharist. the rebuttal she got from the seminarians was enough to send home the message that the idea was weird and unacceptable. this is an example of syncretism. it is common to find people in both cultures patronizing dibias or shrines for concoctions and charms which they either use for protection, seeking a lover or to harm a perceived aggressor. this syncretic tendency has the capacity of making people develop a superstitious mentality during liturgical functions so that they see the use of sacraments, such as holy water, as having “magical powers.” this is a major drawback in developing a theology of liturgical inculturation. many africans today declare that are christians, yet when it comes to matters of inner aspects of their lives, such as passage rites and crises, they turn to their african traditional religions (udeani, 2007). by proposing that the church needs “to reduce the syncretic practices among its adherents and build up a strong faith that can serve a bulwark in moments of crisis,” (umezinwa, 2014,p.203) this author presupposes that syncretism is a danger that should be expunged. lack of knowing the culture the urban/rural migration in africa in search for a better life and white collar job has forced many people out of their ancestral homes. this has further made them to forget their culture and traditions. many priests, religious as well as seminarians and novices are products of this cultural dislocation. it becomes very difficult for them to know the deposit of culture. since they are not in touch with their roots, it becomes very difficult to inculturate the faith. for example, it is over 100 years since catholic missionaries came to pankshin, but masses are still said in hausa language in over 95 percent of the parishes across the diocese. except for the new testament, shikrot mpwi, there is no liturgical book, including the sacramentary, in ngas justine john dyikuk themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 70 language. while those who know the culture do not know the faith, those who know the faith do not know the culture – there lies the paradox. anyanwu (2019) argues that the church in igbo land needs to understand the values igbo people attach to their culture and make use of them for proper inculturation. this is also true for the ngas people. failure to understand the deposit of faith the african priest is often caught in a dilemma. he learns theology in english and thinks in the local language ngas or igbo. for those who travel to rome for further studies, the story is worse because they are forced to learn italian and are taught in that language only to return home and teach in english or struggle to translate what they have learn in the local dialect. as such, the challenge is, thinking in italian and speaking english, igbo and ngas makes it difficult to communicate effectively, let alone talk about inculturating the faith. the point is that the faith often comes in a westernized form that is difficult to digest. as a result, inculturating becomes some form of randomized trials. conclusion from the views of ecclesiastical sources, the study highlighted plausible reasons for liturgical inculturation to include introducing peoples/cultures into the church, enriching the gospel with positive values/forms, becoming a bride bedecked with jewels, ensuring cultural diversity/unity, transmitting the faith in newer forms, ensuring a locus theologicus for new evangelization and creating synthesis with a particular culture. also, we saw that doubts and fears, aberrations and abuses, syncretism, lack of knowing the culture and failure to understand the deposit of faith are bottlenecks which stand in the way of a robust liturgical inculturation in the african context. after a careful review of extant literature in both igwebuike and shikrot philosophical points of view, the study highlighted rethinking theological content, employing music and dance, use of signals, signs a glance at traditional modes of communication through the lens of liturgical inculturation: perspectives from igwebuike and shikrot traditions themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 71 and symbols, utilizing proverbs and wise sayings, restoring group/participatory communication and debuting inculturation guidelines as doable recommendations. in attempting the romance between faith and culture in igbo and ngas traditions, it is important to understand that “a people continuously evangelizes itself” (puebla document, 1979, p.450). while evangelisation is a continuum, it must be established that the holy spirit is the principal agent of inculturation (aparecida document, 2007, p.264). in conclusion, interreligious dialogue must be employed between the church and traditional religion (anyanwu, 2019) in africa. it is crucial to develop an ongoing kind of evangelization which baptizes the rich values of the cultures under review. little wonder, one expert opined that: “african inculturation theologians have chiefly reinterpreted western theological traditions of the church through a retrieval of some traditional african concepts and values” (ishola, 2012, pp.166-169). because many igbos and ngas people are now christians, inculturation of the faith has taken roots amongst them (dyikuk, 2019a). this is why we need more than a glance at the traditional modes of communication through the lenses of liturgical inculturation towards a more concrete empirical research in igwebuike and shikrot traditions which garners support for thinking about god and man’s relationship with him in the way the african thinks and knows best. recommendations: towards liturgical inculturation in igwebuike and shikrot worldviews rethinking theological content: various stakeholders, like theologians, especially lecturers in nigerian major seminaries, the directorate of social communication at the catholic secretariat of nigeria (csn), the diocesan and religious directors of social communications of the catholic church in nigeria, and the catholic theological association of nigeria (cathan), need to rethink the content of theological inculturation. “religion needs dynamism or growth in order to address the ever changing needs of man. it justine john dyikuk themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 72 needs culture contact as well to do the same. the church needs to be dynamic; it needs to grow; it needs to enter into dialogue with igbo culture in order to be relevant to the people” (umezinwa, 2014,p.203). what this translates to is that indigenous content of communication, like igwebuike and shikrot philosophies of communication, trado-modern and rural communication, should be included in the curriculum for formation in both philosophy and theology. future leaders of the church should be taught on the need to baptize the good aspects of culture towards solving contemporary issues. restoring group/participatory communication: the onus lies on the hierarchy of the church in nigeria and theologians to make concerted efforts at restoring group and participatory communication in various dioceses. the fertile ground for this is small christian communities (sccs) where group communication engenders solidarity and fellow feeling. also, “at the level of interpersonal, group, or trado-rural communication, it behoves all to listen to one another, ask critical questions that affect life as well as the realities of peace and justice so as to drive home wholesome growth in all sectors of life” (dyikuk, 2018b,p.15). employing music and dance: unarguably, music and dance are part and parcel of liturgical celebrations in africa. although without official ecclesiastical endorsement, local music and dance have become part and parcel of liturgical celebrations in nigeria. in igbo culture, african music and dance have been truly incarnated as genuine aids to the true worship of god (udoette, 2012 & dyikuk, 2019a). from pankshin to awka, it is common place to find families dancing to the altar, especially during thanksgiving for child dedication. since this practice has been in place for over two decades now, it is incumbent on the catholic bishops of onitsha and owerri provinces (for igbo) as well as jos province, where speakers of ngas language who are part of pankshin diocese are domiciled, to come up with a list of approved instruments for liturgical use, as well as measured kind of liturgical dance that should take place during a glance at traditional modes of communication through the lens of liturgical inculturation: perspectives from igwebuike and shikrot traditions themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 73 eucharistic celebrations. dyikuk (2018a) stresses that traditional songs and music are used to garnish liturgical celebrations. the african mode of worship, which is dynamic and expressive with bodily movements that express joy, should be incorporated in developing a distinctively igbo (anyanwu, 2019) and ngas liturgy. use of signals, signs and symbols: the use of signals, signs and symbols is an indispensable aspect of liturgical inculturation. since the people of south-eastern nigeria often employed signals, namely physical embodiments of a message, such as fire, gunshots, canon shots and wooden or skin drum, to draw the attention of listeners that an important message is about to be passed, it becomes crucial for the church in the areas under consideration to endorse same. in the two cultures, verbal and nonverbal communication constitutes signs and symbols which affect the behaviour of others in communication contexts and have rich meaning. for instance, the ngas or igbo traditional patterns of prayer should be considered for possible inculturation into the church in these regions to suit the people’s cultural context (anyanwu, 2019). specifically, anyanwu (2019) contends that the sacred objects and cultural values of igbo origin could be used to facilitate an igbo church. dioceses should be encouraged to train people in sign language who would assist the deaf and dumb in various communities to understand the word of god. while these signs are associated with denotative meaning, symbols convey connective meaning. this is why scholars emphasize that symbols need an interpreter to unravel their meaning (dyikuk, 2019a). utilizing proverbs and wise sayings: because of the importance of proverbs and wise sayings in igbo and ngas communities, children were taught how to speak in idioms, proverbs and other figures of speech by elders in society. for example, among the igbos, it was believed without idioms, proverbs, and figures of speech, conversations would be bland and distasteful (domnwachukwu, 2018 & dyikuk, 2019a). dyikuk (2018a) concurs that the liturgy is often spiced with the use of proverbs and fables which reveal elements of justine john dyikuk themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 74 trado-rural communication. indeed, “liturgical inculturation should be taken more seriously in terms of using proverbs for homilies or the use of vernacular in liturgical assemblies” (dyikuk, 2019b,p.114). debuting inculturation guidelines: catholic bishops should be at the forefront of inculturating the faith (dyikuk, 2019b). concerted efforts should be made to incarnate media-use into the nigerian pastoral context (dyikuk, 2019b). the journal, cultures and faith, published by the pontifical council for culture, is a veritable tool for ensuring that the church gate-keeps her faith while accepting new cultures (dyikuk, 2017). with these in place, “the synthesis of faith and cultural elements enriches the church and makes it strong” (umezinwa, 2014, p.203). references akakuru, o.c; nwokedi, c.i & edi, t.o (2015). means and forms of traditional communication in igbo land in contemporary socio-cultural interactions. journal of humanities and social science (iosr-jhss). volume 20, issue 6, ver. iv, [17-20]. doi: 10.9790/0837-20641720. anibueze, m.r (2018). african catholicism: the birth of the liturgical vernacular in igboland. https://churchlifejournal.nd.edu/articles/authors/sr-maryreginald-anibueze-ddl/.accessed 5/8/2020. anyanwu, u. (2005). modes of mass communication in traditional igboland. international journal of communication no. 3 [8085]. anyanwu, c. (2019). reshaping the theology and praxis of inculturation through interreligious dialogue between the catholic church and african traditional religion in igboland, nigeria (doctoral dissertation, duquesne university). https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/1781. accessed 5/7/2020. aparecida document (2007). fifth general conference of the latin american and caribbean bishops, 29 june. a glance at traditional modes of communication through the lens of liturgical inculturation: perspectives from igwebuike and shikrot traditions themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 75 apostolic exhortation catechesi tradendae (1979). 53: aas 71 (16 october), 1321. dyikuk, j.j (2017). christianity and the digital age: sustaining the online church. international journal of journalism and mass communication. 3(1): 043-049. dyikuk, j.j (2018a). an appraisal of liturgy as communication. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 4 no 5.[62-85]. dyikuk, j.j (2018b). communicating the marshall plan to africa: challenges and responses. sumerianz journal of social science, 2018, vol. x, no. x.[11-18]. dyikuk, j.j (2019a). the intersection of communication in igwebuike and trado-rural media: a critical evaluation. journal of african studies and sustainable development vol. 2 no 3, [175-192]. dyikuk, j.j (2019b). the pros and cons of social communication in the mission of the church in nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5 no 1 (98-121). dyikuk, j.j (2019c). communication and culture in igwebuike and shikrot philosophies: a critical evaluation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5 no 8 [1-16]. dyikuk, j.j (2019d). media and ministry: examining the role of priests in nigeria in new evangelisation. annals of journalism and mass communication. vol. 1, is. 2, [15-22]. etuk, u (2002). religion and cultural identity. ibadan: hope publications ltd. francis (2013). apostolic exhortation evangelii gaudium of the holy father francis to the bishops, clergy, consecrated persons and the lay faithful on the proclamation of the gospel in today’s world.papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangeliigaudium_en.accessed 4/30/2020. habila, u & danfulani, d (1996). rituals as dance and dance as rituals: the drama of kok nji and other festivals in the religious experience of the ngas, mupun and mwaghavul in nigeria. scripta instituti donneriani aboensis.[27-58]. do 10.30674/scripta.67222. justine john dyikuk themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 76 higazi, a (2011). the jos crisis: a recurrent nigerian tragedy. discussion paper. no. 2. friedrich-ebert-stiftung, abuja, nigeria. ilogu, e (1974). christianity and igbo culture. new york: nok publishers. ishola, h.t.k (2012). crs826 ecclesiology. national open university of nigeria. victoria island, lagos. www.noun.edu.ng. accessed 4/30/2020. john paul ii (1990). encyclical letter redemptoris missio (7 december), 52: aas 83 (1991), 300. john paul ii (1995). post-synodal apostolic exhortation ecclesia in africa (14 september), 61: aas 88 (1996), 39. john paul ii (2001). post-synodal apostolic exhortation ecclesia in oceania (22 november), 16: aas 94 (2002), 383. kalu, o.u (1995). the dilemma of grassroot inculturation of the gospel: a case study of a modern controversy in igboland, 1983-1989. journal of religion in africa. vol. 25, fasc. 1 [4872]. doi: 10.2307/1581138. kanu, i. a. (2014). igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholic-pentecostal relations. jos studies. 22. pp.87-98. kanu, i. a. (2015b). igwebuike as an ontological precondition for african ethics. international conference of the society for research and academic excellence. university of nigeria, nsukka. 14 th -16 th september. kanu, i. a. (2015c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25 th -26 th november 2015 university of paris, france. kanu, i. a. (2016). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no. 1 [ 97-101]. kanu, a. i. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies. vol. 3 no 2.[155-160]. a glance at traditional modes of communication through the lens of liturgical inculturation: perspectives from igwebuike and shikrot traditions themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 77 kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. justine john dyikuk themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 78 kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. ngas cultural festival pusdung. (2019). circumcision in ngas tradition. a glance at traditional modes of communication through the lens of liturgical inculturation: perspectives from igwebuike and shikrot traditions themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 79 www.web.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=22855106 51772436&id=1588390771484431&__xts__[0]=68. accessed 5/22/2020. obindigbo.com (2020). igbo culture.http://obindigbo.com.ng/category/igbo-culture/. accessed 5/11/2020. pankshin local government area (2020). about pankshin. www.plateaustate.gov.ng/government/lgas/pankshin.accessed 5/11/2020. paulines publications africa (2020). erection of the diocese of pankshin and appointment of the first bishop. http://paulinesafrica.org/erection-of-the-diocese-of-pankshinand-appointment-of-the-first-bishop/.accessed 5/11/2020. puebla document (1979). third general conference of the latin american and caribbean bishops, 23 march. society of african missions (2014).pankshin: nigeria’s 56th diocese is born. https://sma.ie/pankshin-nigeria-s-56th-diocese-isborn/. accessed 5/11/2020. tolu, (2020). facts about the angas tribe of nigeria. https://everyevery.ng/facts-about-the-angas-tribe-of-nigeria/. accessed 5/11/2020. udeani, c.c (2007). inculturation as dialogue: igbo culture and the message of christ. series: intercultural theology and study of religions.vol.2. [xv,228].doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789401204606. umezinwa, c.c. (2014). inculturation of the church: example of the igboland, south-east, nigeria. an international journal of arts and humanities bahir dar, ethiopia. afrrev ijah. vol. 3 (1), s/no 9, [199-217]. 2020 president and fellows of harvard college (2020). catholicism in nigeria. https://rlp.hds.harvard.edu/faq/catholicism-nigeria. accessed 5/11/2020. microsoft word igwebuike jounals vol. 5. no. 1.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 1 a critique of hegel’s concept of africa anetoh bonaventure chike, ph.d. department of philosophy & religious studies tansian university, umunya & ezeilo paschal ifenna pope john paul ii major seminary, okpuno anetohbonaventure@yahoo.com abstract this study focuses on a critique of hegel’s erroneous conception of africa, precisely black race of africa. africa is one of the continents of the world and it is very rich in human and mineral resources. it is often denoted as the ‘black race’. in the past, some western scholars doubted, and almost denied the humanity as well as the intellectual ability of africans. among such scholars is georg hegel who even excluded africa from the world history. some derogatory terms such as ‘irrational’, ‘uncivilized’, ‘irreligious’, etc. were used to refer to africa. hegel argued that africa has no place in the world history and has actually nothing to contribute to the world history. the fundamental questions are: is it correct to describe africans as irrational and uncivilized people? has africa any place in the world history? is hegel correct in his concept of africa? this study, employing analytical and critical methods, examines hegel’s concept of africa. this study argues that africa is part and parcel of world’s history, and thus, hegel’s denial of africa a place in the world history is quite unfounded. it evaluates hegel’s concept of africa, and argues that most of hegel’s ideas regarding africa are quite erroneous. such erroneous ideas seem to be as a result of deep-rooted racism. this study maintains that whiteness of skin colour does not imply superiority just as blackness of skin does not entail inferiority. africa has contributed and is still contributing to the civilization of the world. keywords: georg wilhelm friedrich hegel, africa, critique. introduction georg wilhelm friedrich hegel is a german philosopher. he lived between 1770 and 1831. he is popularly known for his dialectical process of history as well as ideas from thesis to antithesis and then to synthesis, which later becomes a new thesis. however, he is one of the western scholars that uphold negative views about africa, precisely the black race of africa. most of his claims about africa were as a result of deep rooted racism and were obviously unfounded. his development of the dialectical scheme of the progress of history is quite remarkable, though very controversial. hegel conceives history as a dialectical process of development of ‘the absolute’. in the world historical categorizations, hegel argues that ‘asia’ is the beginning and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 2 ‘europe’ is the end of history, while ‘africa’ has no place at all in the world history. thus, he denied africa a place in the world history. he further argued that africa has no contribution to make to the history of the world. also, he used many pejorative and derogatory terms to refer to africa and everything that has to do with the black race of africa. however, the pertinent questions that quickly come to mind are: how can one justify the fact of europe being the greatest in the world history with high rated culture? how can one really justify the assertion that africa has no place in the world history? does it mean that africa is not a continent? can the exclusion of africa from the world history be justified? are hegel’s negative views about africa at all justifiable? is it not a contradiction to deny an existing continent a place in the world history? why must it be africa and not any other continent that could be said to have no place in the world history? the responses to these questions are very necessary in assessing hegel’s placement of africa as well as his negative views about africa. analysis of hegel’s concept of africa hegel conceives the universe as a ‘coherent whole’, and the essential part of this whole is what hegel calls ‘idea’ or ‘spirit’ or ‘divine mind’. he argues that the ‘spirit’ is the only reality that governs the universe. history, for him, is a rational process, and the spirit is capable of realizing and producing all history. thus, the spirit is self-contained existence which is self-consciousness; and the essence of spirit is ‘freedom’. from this perspective, hegel is said to be a freedom-centred philosopher. it is from this concept of the spirit that his correlation of the hierarchy of races as well as civilizations came up. hegel is one of the western scholars who uphold very negative and derogatory views about ‘africa proper’. omotade adegbindin brings out very clearly hegel’s division of africa into three parts. according to him: furthermore, it is important to bring to the fore hegel’s analysis of africa, which entails three major distinctions; he divides africa into three parts: i. africa properthe territory that lies south of the sahara; ii. european africathat which lies north of the sahara; and iii. egyptthe territory that is connected to asia.1 thus, hegel’s attack is on ‘africa proper’. by ‘africa proper’, he was referring to ‘black race of africa’. he criticized africa, arguing that africa is characterized with backwardness. while examining the geographical basis of history, he argued that africa’s backwardness is closely associated with geographical factor. in the words of hegel: africa proper, as far as history goes back, has remained — for all purposes of connection with the rest of the world — shut up; it is the gold-land compressed within itself — the land of childhood, which igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 3 lying beyond the day of self-conscious history, is enveloped in the dark mantle of night. its isolated character originates, not merely in its tropical nature, but essentially in its geographical condition.2 hegel conceives africa as a land of darkness and insists that africa has no place in the world history. this may partly be as a result of his claim that nothing of world historical importance has ever happened in africa. besides, africans, for him, do not have written histories. he sees history as that which is consequent upon people’s ideas, religion and philosophy. it is geography, climate as well as locality of an environment that determine the ‘national character’ or ‘common mentality’ of a people. he argues thus: the unchangeableness of climate, of the whole character of the country in which a nation has its permanent abode, contributes to the unchangeableness of the national character. a desert, proximity to the sea or remoteness from it, all these circumstances can have an influence on the national character.3 hegel insists that africans are isolated from other people of the world due to their geographical situation. thus, he states: “africa has remained cut off from all contacts with the rest of the world... its isolation is not just a result of its tropical nature, but an essential consequence of its geographic character.”4 thus, the geographic character of africa isolates africa from the rest of the world. one essential feature of world-historical peoples, however, is contact and mixture with other peoples, and hence, not racial homogeneity or racial purity, but heterogeneity. hegel stresses the relationship of the ‘african consciousness’ with its geographical situation. for him, the african mentality is still imprisoned in nature, and africans are living in a harsh natural environment. this has grievous demands on them. the demands of living in a harsh natural environment are such that consciousness has not been able to free itself sufficiently from nature to make spiritual progress. africans, in hegel’s analysis, are still in the complete grip of nature, such that, in the interior of africa, the consciousness of its inhabitants has not yet reached an awareness of any substantial and objective existence. this influences their conception of a supreme being. in the words of hegel: the africans “have not yet attained this recognition of the universal; their nature is as yet compressed within itself; and what we call religion, the state, that which exists in and for itself and possesses absolute validity — all this is not yet present to them.”5 hegel argues that the negroes (africans) lack the objective existence of higher principles of life. it ought to be noted that a ‘negro’ refers to one who belongs to a race from africa with black skin. he regards negroes as undeveloped, and have not yet attained any knowledge of god or law. this implies that africans have no religion. according to hegel: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 4 in negro life, the characteristic point is the fact that consciousnes has not yet attained to the realization of any substantial objective existence — as for example, god, or law — in which the interest of man’s volition is involved and in which he realizes his own being. this distinction between himself as an individual and the universality of his essential being, the african in the uniform, undeveloped oneness of his existence has not yet attained; so that the knowledge of an absolute being, an other and a higher than his individual self, is entirely wanting. the negro, as already observed, exhibits the natural man in his completely wild and untamed state. we must lay aside all thought of reverence and morality — all that we call feeling — if we would rightly comprehend him; there is nothing harmonious with humanity to be found in this type of character.6 the point hegel wants to emphasize is that africans do not have a genuine idea of god and thus, have no religion as well as morality. explaining further, he asserts: religion begins with the consciousness that there is something higher than man. but even herodotus called the negroes sorcerers: — now in sorcery we have not the idea of a god, of a moral faith; it exhibits man as the highest power, regarding him as alone occupying a position of command over the power of nature. we have here therefore nothing to do with a spiritual adoration of god, nor with an empire of right. god thunders, but is not on that account recognized as god. for the soul of man, god must be more than a thunderer, whereas among the negroes this is not the case. although they are necessarily conscious of dependence upon nature — for they need the beneficial influence of storm, rain, cessation of the rainy period, and so on — yet this does not conduct them to the consciousness of a higher power: it is they who command the elements, and this they call “magic.”7 moreover, africans, for him, don’t even conceive the idea of immortality of soul. furthermore, hegel maintains that black africans practice tyranny and cannibalism. as was earlier stated in this study, hegel is a freedomcentred philosopher. thus, he has strong opposition to practices that are contrary to human freedom such as tyranny, slavery, cannibalism, polygamy and so on. he observes that such practices as already mentioned could be observed in africa and thus states that in africa: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 5 tyranny is regarded as no wrong, and cannibalism is looked upon as quite customary and proper. among us instinct deters from it, if we can speak of instinct at all as appertaining to man. but with the negro this is not the case, and the devouring of human flesh is altogether consonant with the general principles of the african race; to the sensual negro, human flesh is but an object of sense – mere flesh. at the death of a king hundreds are killed and eaten; prisoners are butchered and their flesh sold in the markets; the victor is accustomed to eat the heart of his slain foe. when magical rites are performed, it frequently happens that the sorcerer kills the first that comes in his way and divides his body among the bystanders.8 the implication of hegel’s assertion is that tyranny and cannibalism are basically traditional in africa. it is seen as no wrong and as such makes it morally right for the africans to devour their fellow human flesh. he gave example with the burial of a king where hundreds of humans are killed and eaten, prisoners butchered and their flesh sold in the markets. hegel sees these very acts as dehumanizing and as such was strongly against their practices. also, hegel observes that the negroes practice polygamy so as to have many children to be sold into slavery. parents sell their children, and at the same time children sell their parents if they have the opportunity.9 the practice of slavery is common among africans. thus, they are not afraid to give out their fellow human beings. for him, the poverty of african spiritual understanding, coupled with lack of regard for human life explains african courage. according to him, life for the negroes has a value only when it has something valuable as its object. among the negroes, moral sentiments are quite weak or more strictly speaking, non-existent. this implies that africans have no sense of morality. hegel describes slavery as a characteristic fact with reference to negroes. it ought to be noted that hegel nowhere suggests that negroes should be ‘dominated like animals’. indeed, he explicitly condemns the enslavement of negroes in his day. he stated categorically that “reason must maintain that the slavery of the negroes is a wholly unjust institution, one which contradicts true justice, both human and divine, and which is to be rejected.”i0 obviously, there is no room for slavery in the modern state, and as such in rational states, slavery no longer exists. in the words of hegel: another characteristic fact in reference to the negroes is slavery. negroes are enslaved by europeans and sold to america. bad as this may be, their lot in their own land is even worse, since there slavery quite as absolute exists; for it is the essential principle of slavery, that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 6 man has not yet attained a consciousness of his freedom, and consequently sinks down to a mere thing – an object of no value.11 slavery is against human freedom which hegel is advocating for. he argues that africans witnessed the worst form of slavery, and insists that an absolute form of slavery exists in africa. this is as a result of hegel’s view that africans lack the required consciousness of their freedom, and thus see themselves as mere objects of no value. this, for him, is indeed the essential principle of slavery. hegel's lectures on philosophy of history contain his famous and controversial claim on the notion of freedom. as was earlier demonstrated in this study, hegel is an advocate of human freedom. he believes that man is free, and at the same time, he is not convinced of the consciousness of this freedom among black africans. he holds that the history of human race is a development from less to greater freedom, and from less adequate freedom to perfect freedom. one who has achieved freedom ought to be independent. according to him: “i am free…, when my existence depends upon myself.”1ii this implies that “slavery is in and for itself injustice, for the essence of humanity is freedom; but for this man must be matured.”1iii hegel equates the essence of humanity with freedom furthermore, hegel argues that africans devalues humanity. in fact, he maintains that the undervaluing of humanity among africans reaches an incredible degree of intensity. this, as well as other issues discussed above led hegel to the following conclusions: at this point we leave africa, not to mention it again. for it is no historical part of the world; it has no movement or development to exhibit. historical movements in it — that is in its northern part — belong to the asiatic or european world. carthage displayed there an important transitionary phase of civilization; but, as a phoenician colony, it belongs to asia. egypt will be considered in reference to the passage of the human mind from its eastern to its western phase, but it does not belong to the african spirit. what we properly understand by africa, is the unhistorical, undeveloped spirit, still involved in the conditions of mere nature, and which had to be presented here only as on the threshold of the world’s history.14 in summary, one could see from the discussions so far that hegel has very negative views about africa. he even went to the extent of stating that africans do not have good political constitution, and maintains that it is only external force that can hold them together. some have argued that all he portrayed about africa is based on prejudiced, while some scholars have preferred to term him a racist who is particularly concerned with africa. let us at this juncture undertake a critique of hegel’s conception of africa in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 7 order to discover the plausibility of his positions and observations. this is the focus of the next section of this study. a critique of hegel’s concept of africa the previous of this study has tried to analyze hegel’s view of ‘africa proper’. hegel’s view of africa elicited conflicting reactions from different scholars. some scholars admired hegel’s ideas, while some denounced hegel as a racist as stated in this study. obviously, from the facts available to us, hegel could be said to be a racist. at this juncture, these pertinent questions quickly come to mind: what necessitated hegel’s negative views about africa? are they actually justifiable? what is hegel’s intention for such ideas? what is the rationale behind hegel’s statements concerning africa? how would one categorize hegel and his views about africa? what actually led hegel to claim that ‘africa proper’ has no history? why did hegel focus only on the black race of africa? all these questions are necessary in assessing hegel’s views about africa? obviously, hegel claims that africa has no history because, for him, nothing of world historical importance has ever happened in ‘africa proper’. is there any group of people without a history? what actually is hegel’s conception of history? it could be said that hegel is completely wrong by claiming that africa has no history or has played no significant role in history. the exclusion of ‘africa proper’ from world history is unjustifiable. his metaphysical speculations are basically on the ground that he is a child of enlightenment and was enthusiastic to display his philosophic genius in order to attract the attention of some thinkers. hegel failed in his world historical classifications. it is quite unfair to deny any group of people a history just because one thinks that one is from a superior race that has contributed much to world civilization. such superiority complex leaves much to be desired. some of what he claims to be his evidences are quite unreal. hegel denigrated the black race of africa most probably on the ground of skin colour. but this denigration of africa indicates that he is even ignorant of history. from the archeo-scientific discoveries, life and civilization began in africa. it is a historical fact that africa has contributed to world’s civilization. it ought to be noted that hegel only relied on the circumstantial accounts of early christian missionaries. however, we have note also that there are some early missionaries that even gave very positive accounts of africa. for instance, placide tempels argued that africans (bantu) have their own philosophy and system of thought. thus, africans cannot be said to be incapable of thinking, and cannot be said to have no culture. nevertheless, placide tempels bantu philosophy was later classified as ethno-philosophy by contemporary african philosophers such as p. hountondji. also, gobineau attributed the inspiration igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 8 of poetry as well as art to the black race of africa. thus, it could be argued that hegel was not quoting the missionaries correctly. rather, he was too selective and was forcing facts to suit his negative direction of thought. hegel did not acknowledge the views of some early missionaries who gave positive account of africa. certainly, hegel’s denial of africa as a historical part of the world is quite unjustifiable since to exist in the world is already to be part of the world history. one cannot talk of world history without reference to africa. africa remains one of the continents of the world, and anyone who denies this fact is not doing justice to world history. all his portrayal of african image in a negative sense is arbitrary. one can easily argue that hegel may be said to be ignorant of history or does not properly understand what history is all about. among the african scholars who opposed hegel’s view of africa and argued that africa is the cradle of human race is j. obi oguejiofor. in his words: scientists no longer dispute that africa is the cradle of human race and its evolution to the stage of homo sapiens many hundreds of thousands of years ago, and before the beginning of the neanderthaal period in europe. africa was also the cradle of the technological evolution of humanity from the invention of wooden and bone tools to the momentous advance into the stone-age….by 600 bc. it [africa] was able to produce what has been described as “perhaps the best steel in the world of the time, and certainly equal to or even better than the steel produced in early modern europe.15 the question is this: how can africa that is said to be the cradle of human race and has hosted ancient civilization be excluded from world history? from all indications, it is clear that hegel is a racist. skin colour is very essential for him, and his problem is basically with skin colour. he likes white coloured skin and hates dark coloured one. his fundamental problem is that he thinks that ‘whiteness’ implies superiority. he fails to understand that skin colour is accidental and not essential to our nature as human beings. from the foregoing, it is obvious that hegel is a racist. w. shirer argued that hegel’s philosophy formed the intellectual background and the theoretical structure of the racist nationalistic movements which adolf hitler was to bring to practical perfection in national socialism with terrible consequences.16 also karl popper, a renowned philosopher of science and political philosopher, sees hegel as the founder of german racialism and discovers a close connection between hegel and racialist nazism. this idea was made very explicit by w. kaufmann. in his words: “the nazis got their racism from hegel.”17 in a similar way, karl popper states that: “hegel + haeckel is the formula for modern racism.”18 also, j. o. oguejiofor at the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 9 conclusion of his treatment on the philosophers’ views on the african predicament argues thus: most philosophers who supported racism, slavery, and oppressive leadership, did not derive their positions from the logical consequences of their philosophy. in most cases they contradict themselves, or made objectionable applications of their questionable ends. second, there are relatively few the implications of whose philosophy leads to the justification of inhumanity or the subjugation of human beings in the society. of these, with the clear exception of hegel, none is based on race, colour or origin of those under consideration…. there are very few thinkers whose theories are squarely against the fusions we have identified as underlying the african predicament.19 another area where hegel is wrong in his conception of africa is in the domain of the conception god. africans have an idea of the supreme being which is approached through the minor deities and spirits. hence, africans have their traditional religion with its accompanied morality. thus, hegel’s assertion that negroes (africans) have not yet attained the realization of any substantial existence such as god or law, is strictly based on unfounded assumptions which are as a result of inherent prejudice and bias. he sees the african as undeveloped person who exhibits the natural man, and hence cannot conceive god. but africans as we know even before the advent of the missionaries have the existence of god in their subconscious minds. though they have many gods which were taken to be in charge of different functions in the world, but they see these gods as intermediaries through which their prayers and devotions ascend to the supreme being. they serve as channels through which prayers, sacrifices and offerings are presented to the supreme being. in the words of c.o.t. ugwu, “...they assume both natural and human forms. among the igbos, such divinities include the sun god, moon god, egbeigwe, ‘kamalu’ as it is called in imo state, nigeria, or ‘amadioha’, sky god, etc.”20 these beings have been given various names by various writers such as ‘gods’, ‘demigods’, ‘nature gods’, ‘divinities’ and the likes and are nothing but divinities which serve as an intermediary between god and man. it becomes very clear that africans have conception of the supreme being. hence, one stands to condemn hegel for saying that africans have no idea of objective existence of god and law. hegel even contradicted himself when he asserted that “religion is the consciousness that there is something higher than man.”21 at the same time, he accused africans of having no religion. africans obviously are not devoid of this consciousness of higher being who is greater than man as we have demonstrated above. why then did hegel say that there igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 10 is no idea of substantial existence of god among the africans if not based on unfounded assumptions? more so, hegel’s assertion that the polygamy of the negroes has frequently for its object the having many children to be sold into slavery is quite incorrect and unjustifiable. traditional africans do not have many children just for slavery. many traditional africans used to have many children in order to have enough man-power for farm work since farming was the major source of income in traditional africa, and one’s wealth was measured by the number of one’s yam barns. also, traditional africans value male children very highly, and anyone who has only female children tends to have many children in search for the male ones. with these, and other related reasons, traditional africans used to have many children. it is not for slavery as hegel postulated. polygamy, as a matter of fact, has existed in all over the african continent. it represents an aspect of our culture and religion. among the reasons why this has happened is because the african societies have managed to see that children were a form of wealth, and thus a family with more children was considered to be more powerful. under these circumstances, the polygamy in africa was considered to be part of the ways one could build an empire. furthermore, hegel’s assertion that cannibalism is seen as quite customary and proper in africa is far from being the case. according to him, it is seen as no wrong, and as such makes it morally right for the africans to devour their fellow human flesh. it is possible to criticise hegel's lack of proper information on some of claims about africa. it is an over-statement to assert that cannibalism is morally right among africans. though it was practiced in the past in some parts of africa, it cannot be said to be proper in africa. besides, it cannot be said to be perculiar to africa. it is important however, to note that this study is not arguing that cannibalism was never in existence at all, obviously it was and is still in existence today in some countries, but the contention of this study is that hegel was wrong to particularize it to africa. wikipedia, the free encyclopedia listed some places where cannibalism was practiced in the past, viz. ussr, africa (congo, west africa, central african republic, uganda), asia (cambodia, north korea, china, tibet) and various cultures such as urapmin people, aghoris, korowai tribe of south-eastern papua.22 if all these people as listed by wikipedia practiced cannibalism in the past, why did hegel focus only on africa? why did he exclude other continents and only talked of africa as associated with cannibalism? he even denied that such practice could not even be mentioned among them. it could be argued that some cases of cultural cannibalism cited by explorers, missionaries, and anthropologists just as in the case of hegel, were as a result of deep-rooted racism, and some of which were unsubstantiated. more so, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 11 history has shown that in most cases where cannibalism was practised, were mainly the periods of time when there was famine in those areas or countries during which the people yielded to the notion of ‘survival of the fittest’. some of them ate only strangers in their land as a source of meal for survival. this is not an attempt to exonerate africa, but the fact remains that the act in question is not peculiar to africa, and cannot be said to be the unique characteristic of africa. evaluation and conclusion serious attempt has been made in this study to examine hegel’s views about africa. it is obvious from the study that hegel has basically negative views about the black race of africa. having seen so far the criticisms levelled against hegel, one can easily concur with the researchers that hegel is a deeprooted racist. it is explicitly clear that he was arguing from the perspective of racial superiority complex. this study argues that hegel’s ideas about africa are unfounded and they lack factual as well as logical justifications. hegel is fundamentally euro-centric in approach, and thus sees everything from such perspective. it seems to the researchers that no race is superior to the other. rather, each race is just different from the other, and thus very unique. whiteness does not in any way entail superiority. it is only a matter of skin colour. also, blackness or darkness does not in any way imply inferiority. hence, hegel’s denigration of africa due to skin colour leaves much to be desired. it is unfortunate that he could not rise above racism even in his philosophy. it is expected that rationality would enable one to be objective in the assessment of issues. this expectation is not realized and actualized in hegel’s conception of africa. it is obvious that he allowed personal sentiment and bias to influence his ideas. no matter how one tries to defend him or tries to justify his ideas, the truth remains that one cannot extricate elements of racism from his views about africa. j. obi oguejiofor rightly observed that scholars who did not allow racial discrimination to influence them were more positive in their assessment of africa. he argues thus: there are, on the other hand, those philosophers who lived before the modern epoch. these were mostly ancient greek philosophers. these must also have known a good deal about africa, but the importance of their views is attenuated by the fact that they lived in a time when there was no race prejudice against the african. in a carefully researched book on the ancient perception of blacks, frank snowdon concluded that there were indeed numerous references to blacks in ancient records, but these references never had any racial undertones. they also show that blacks lived side by side with other races, and moved freely upward or downward on the social ladder without racist hindrance.23 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 12 one only began hearing of these prejudiced views about africa in the modern period when racism has become so ingrained even into the subconscious minds of some scholars. as was demonstrated in this study, hegel’s contention that africa, because of her geographical condition, is capable of no development and culture stands to be refuted. it is certain that africa has recorded a lot of developments in different sectors of life, though some would argue that the development is slow and stunted. also, a lot of things have actually changed from the time of hegel to the present day africa. an ancient philosopher, heraclitus rightly argues that everything is in a state of flux, and the only thing that is permanent in life is change. consequent upon that, the present day africa has in area of development, achieved a tremendous improvement as regards the level of consciousness of freedom among them as criticized by hegel. for example, the issue of slave trade which he held as a weak point on the part of the africans is more or less no longer a serious issue today. more so, in the present day africa, the issue of burying the king with slaves is more or less no longer an issue in africa. from all indications, it is explicitly clear that the present day africa is no longer the same as it was during the time of hegel or as he portrayed it to be. however, it ought to be noted that bad leadership is one of the major factors militating against rapid development in africa. endnotes 1omotade adegbindin, critical notes on hegel’s treatment of africa, http://www. ajol.info/index. php/og/ article/download/ 121673/111136 (27/04/2018). 2robert maynard hutchins (ed.), ‘hegel’ in great books of western world, vol. 46. (chicago: encyclopedia britannica inc., 1952),p.196. 3 a.v. miller (trans.), ‘hegel’s philosophy of mind’, in william wallace (ed.), encyclopedia of the philosophical sciences, part iii (oxford: claredon press, 1971), p. 394. 4 g. hegel, lectures on the philosophy of world history, h. b. nisbet (trans) (cambridge: cambridge university press, 1975), p.174. 5robert maynard hutchins (ed.), ‘hegel’ in great books of western world, vol. 46.,p.196. 6ibid. 7ibid.p.197. 8ibid.pp.197-198. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 13 9g.w.f. hegel, philosophy of history, j. sibree (trans) (new york: random house, 1956),p.96. 10robert maynard hutchins (ed.), ‘hegel’ in great books of western world, vol. 46.,p.199. 11ibid.,p.198. 12g.w.f. hegel, philosophy of history,p.17. 13ibid.p.99. 14robert maynard hutchins (ed.), ‘hegel’ in great books of western world, vol. 46.,p.199. 15j.obi oguejiofor, philosophy and the african predicament, (ibadan: hope publications, 2001), p.24 16 w. shirer, the rise and fall of the third reich, (new york: faweet crest, 1960), pp.143-152. 17 w. kaufmann, ‘the hegel myth and its method’ in steward jon (ed.), the hegel myth and its legends (illinois: northwestern university press, 1966), p.102. 18 k. popper, the open society and its enemies (princeton: princeton university press, 1950),p.252. 19j.obi oguejiofor, philosophy and the african predicament, p.87. 20c.o.t. ugwu, ‘african traditional religion and sustainable development in nigeria’ in e. ezenweke (ed.) african traditional religion, philosophy and sustainable development in nigeria (awka: fab anieh nig. ltd., 2014), p.52. 21robert maynard hutchins (ed.), ‘hegel’ in great books of western world, vol. 46.,p.197. 22wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, human cannibalism, https://en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ huma-cannibalism.(12/03/18). 23j.obi oguejiofor, philosophy and the african predicament, p.69. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 4.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 29 biafra: beyond the realm, sabotage and dearth of intel in the biafra/nigeria debacle, 1967-1970 ezeonwuka innocent-franklyn o. ph.d., mhsn department of history, international studies & diplomacy, godfrey okoye university, enugu egbuacho@gmail.com, +2348033096134 & ani, uchenna s. ph.d., mhsn department of history and strategic studies, federal university, ndufu-alike, ikwo, nigeria uchennaani05@yahoo.com abstract war, as the last stage of diplomacy and peace, requires a strategic sequence to be effected. the biafran republic once declared on may 30th, 1967, was welcomed, protected and propelled by natural pride of the groups that made up eastern nigeria as well as resourcefulness and jealousy-guarded patriotism, triggered by the preceding litany of organized pogrom meted against the easterners. from start, many eastern nigerian soldiers and police personnel serving with the nigerian armed forces, swiftly changed sides and fought on the biafran side. with unequalled vigour, and common cause of able commanders stationed in different places were psyched up by the biafran propaganda machinery to defend the newly taken freedom with iron and blood. at the initial stages of the war, biafran successes were tremendous; however the headache on the nigerian army over these successes was short-lived owing to sabotage, divisiveness and paucity of military tactical intelligence which when strategically synthesized could silence the impact of lethal weaponry; all these played discordant tunes on the biafran high command. this work contends that the importance of signals, its interpretation and analysis necessary for the prosecution of modern warfare was highly undermined by the biafran high command; it was complicated by viable selfish interests which paved way for the biafran loss of the war. the need for historical objectivity and analysis in this study, has underscored the reliance on primary information and research, even into classified documents keywords: military intelligence, sabotage, signals, communication introduction the noisy clatter of machine guns and the deafening noise of deadly explosives and projectiles undoubtedly help in packaging sceneries in stable modern war theatres. designate troop movements, weapons’ deployment and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 30 application in warfare is guided by definite objectives, momentarily supported by trusted information. information drives strategy, and when deciphered and synthesized drives tactical missions and maneuvers, hence remains one of the primary propellers in warfare. from the earliest time, historical annals are inundated with the numerous roles played by spies, town criers and traditional whistle blowers and even broadcasting on the spot details emergent on the battlefield, to the consumption of engaged warriors in the field and even those afar off. over the ages, selected high-rise trees, hills and man-made towers have provided viable platforms to ensure clarity of vision, objectivity and safe haven for such information providers. herein lies the background from which the contemporary military intelligence and communications evolved, and has not only continued to prove its importance, but has remained an orthodox primary accomplice in not only military circles, but the countless relations existing between various individuals, and sovereignties on the global stage. intelligence and communication aid countries to execute wars at least with limited costs, and equally help on the other hand in preventing over reaction and consequent collateral damage. delving a little into the field military intelligence and communication, command and control may help throw more light and properly elucidate, the positional depth of this study vis a vis the challenges of sabotage and communication as witnessed in biafra while the war lasted. military intelligence and communications represent all activities, equipments, techniques and tactics used by the military during hostility and in hostile areas of the world to generate, collate, transmit and interpret information on land, in the sea, or on air. it should be noted that the attributes of classical subtleness, untrustworthiness and selfishness imbued in, and manifest in basic human nature, did drive even the earliest of human societies whether in asia or traditional african communities to encrypt such information being transmitted, thereby secluding it from adversaries. this tactics came to be tagged-signal, hence signals and signalers became a highly distinct military occupation dealing rather with general communication methods, than with weapons. intelligence, aids command and control through communication (military comms). moreover, through the help of tactical signals, operations remain focused, packaged and proactive. after the successful invention of the first military-based equipment mounted inside an automotive vehicle in 1934 in the soviet union, the spy world went berserk with hi-tech communication satellites, air crafts, automated drones, sonic network attacks and operations. this brings us into the purview of military command and control as a product of intelligence analysis and organization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 31 command and control (c2) in a military organization can be understood as the exercise of authority and direction by a properly designated commanding officer over assigned and attached forces in the accomplishment of a mission 1. command and control functions are performed through an arrangement of personnel, equipment, communications, facilities, and procedures employed by a commander in planning, directing, coordinating and controlling forces and operations in the execution of a mission. (c2) consists of several aspects and sub-domains, which are represented by derivative terms hereunder explained. 1. c2i – command, control & intelligence 2. c2i sr – c21 plus surveillance 3. c2i star – c2 plus 1star: intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance 4. c3 – command, control & communication (human activity focus) 5. c3 – command, control & communications (technology focus) 6. c3i – 4 possibilities; the most common is command, control, communications & intelligence 7. c31star – c3 plus 1star 8. c31srew – c2sr plus communication and electronic warfare 9. c5i – command, control, communications, computers, combat systems and intelligence, among others. in this context, command is the exercise of authority relative to certain knowledge and aimed at a definite objective, while control entails the verification and management of activity such that the objective or goal of command is accomplished. communication is the ability to exercise the necessary liaison between tactical or strategic units, while intelligence includes collection as well as the analysis and distribution of information. once intelligence is gathered through the interception of signals sigint, it becomes communication intelligence – comint; when such signals involve an electronic gadget (electronic intelligence elint) or the combination of the two. intelligence cycle management involves the use of cryptanalyst to trace the origin, content and designation of such signals. all defensive signals intelligence demand appropriate encryption against content interception, most especially when the belligerent is a formidable opponent, who could detect the signal. the biafra country, while it lasted, wholesomely embarked on defensive program, which had it completely exposed to the threat and capabilities of its enemy, who largely relied on highly variable transmission schedules with transmitting frequencies using a spectrum spread technique connecting overhead monitoring air crafts. (russian migs.) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 32 it may be recalled that the january 15th, 1966 military putsch marked the first official meddling of the nigerian army into civilian governance of the country. it was followed by some significant developments for instance, the massive civil riots in may, 1966 which took the lives of over 3,000 eastern nigerians, quickly followed by a military counter-coup and pogroms, also directed against the same people at an estimated cost of over 50,000 lives,2 all weighted down and helped to finally cascade the country into a bloody three-years war. even as the eastern nigeria government was engaged with the general gowon led federal government at the center on the plight of easterners in different parts of northern nigeria, there remained no viable information link sustaining and feeding aggrieved and agitated minds in eastern nigeria. this not only created room for a costly gap, but was mischievously exploited to promote confusion most especially against the easterners. it must be said, that before now, general ironsi’s decree 34 accompanied by numerous intended appeasement have helped in liquidating and decimating the biggest proactive and dynamic eastern ethnic organization, the igbo union, which cared for, duly informed and homogenized the igbo people both within and outside nigeria. with the ominous dark clouds speedily gathering on the national horizon, in the eastern region, there persisted a dangerous atmosphere of eclipse of fraternal confidence between the military government, the surviving returnee senior military officers, the politicians, the civilian think -tank and some now released young officers who took power in the january coup, who felt betrayed by these senior officers.4 this situation became so bad that even as the nigerian military has been polarized between the east and the rest of nigeria, added to the hot exchanges and verbal agreements between the authorities of both sections, the aburi deliberations and altercations in the eastern region, the remnants of these returnee army officers felt side tracked in that no singular attempt or opportunity was spent in either seeking for their suggestion or even detailing them with eastern policy decisions as dictated by the biafra executive council. by mid-april, 1967 this explosive development assumed a dramatic dimension with the impromptu cancellation of all military drills in the east by the military governor as a counter measure to avert an ‘impending coup’ to unseat ojukwu5. this marked the beginning of a dangerous trend even before the declaration of the biafran nation; reliable or not, but that which cumulatively and constructively contributed to the physical demise of a peoples spirited attempt to be free. call it coup or sabotage, it simply remained a portent distraction, which brought with it disorder and lack of common action for common cause. punitively, major igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 33 nzeogwu and a host of other military officers were suspended from performing military duties6, at a time when the east should rather be putting it’s house in order, fully aware of the progressive heightened crescendo of insecurity against it. raw suspicion and accusation of disloyalty and planning to over throw the eastern regional government was even done with recklessness that colonel njoku, the eastern regional army commander’s insistence to be allowed to sit at the executive council meetings was not only misconstrued as a threat to the governor’s office, but his personality came under assassination soon afterwards throughout the east, as one with vaulting ambition and doubtful loyalty7. one may not help observing with putation, the high level of acrimony and distrust subsisting in the eastern region even at a period when myriads of wounded igbo pogrom survivors needed organized attention, more so when the declaration of the republic of biafra has not even taken place. on the other hand, apart from the crisis of confidence enveloping the eastern region’s government, the many accounts of returnee igbo army officers and the civilian population, created strong base for multiple unfounded rumors which fanned curiosity, anxiety, fear and tension, hence un-conditioning the region for a meaningful resistance against any invading force. while the eastern regional police largely proved wanting in the provision of adequate and corporate information in tandem with the voracious demand of such in the period, recourse was rather taken to extant rumors and musings from border-inhabited communities. such intelligence posed challenging synthesis and coordination. reflections though mandated by, and acting in accordance with the dictates handed over by the eastern nigeria consultative assembly, colonel ojukwu, equally irked by the people’s euphoric demands for freedom, and apparently threatened and taunted by variegated endogenous and exogenous challenges, finally declared the republic of biafra on 30th may, 1967. mere declaration of an intention or a status is simply a far cry from achieving and sustaining it, more so where resources with regards to the enabling mission appear intractable. agreed, secession on the part of biafra, given the subsisting circumstances was made to appear inevitable, but on the other hand, the young republic has no right to underestimate the impending federal reaction and response, fully aware that the existing political and strategic nomenclature in nigeria grandiosely tilted against it. apart from the ‘unreliable pathology’ of the yoruba culture group, one may not be reminded that british overbearing influence on nigeria, even at this period, was unquestionable. moreover, the british foreign policy on eastern nigeria, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 34 evolve from a hideous past, and a continued relationship, where it perceives the eastern nigerian igbo as a portent exploitative competitor, and an inhibiting octopus to its continued selfish desires within its political contraption. that britain, russia, egypt and a host of other groups militarily later aided the nigerian forces against biafra that was left with about 240 professional soldiers, technicians and tradesmen inclusive, after the exit of large numbers of northern soldiers from enugu in august, 1966 fully with their weapons8, may not be the thrust of this study. however, the conclusion one must draw is that, penultimate to the final declaration of the biafran state, the eastern region operated bereft of equitable intelligence and information. where lies the reason and objective on the part of the eastern region’s governor to have acceded to having a separate agreement with general gowon, whereby the northern soldiers serving in the east were repatriated with all their assigned weapons and equipment, whereas the few surviving easterners (soldiers) were not allowed to migrate back, in consonance with national directives9. one may equally recall and question the reason for the self-imposed state of anomie, which the eastern regional government assumed between january and may 1967, while intensive recruitment into the army was ongoing throughout nigeria except in the eastern region, where gowon warned against such an exercise10. fully aware of the continued estrangement of the eastern region under the emerging scenario, planning and acting in tandem with the demands and dictates of covert and overt information and actions would have occupied colonel ojukwu and his high command, rather than basking in heightened propaganda and unguided optimism, with little or no attention for pre-emptive military preparations, even when the information was made public in a national daily that major o. appolo had successfully paid for a large catchment of armory in europe, meant for the nigerian army11. this study is of the view that biafran authorities never took time to evaluate the weight of the gathering clouds, not until the actual inundation took off. this cumulatively led to the eventual massive drafting and exposure of the first greater number of the untrained biafran recruits, ill-armed and anxious for vengeance (the 7th and 8th biafran battalions) into putting up resistance at the hands of the federal fighting patrol detachments, which attacked specific eastern regional outposts towards the ending days of may 1967. it is important to note that, on the part of the biafran high command, faced with dire logistical challenges, even at the early stages of the conflict, coordinating both battalions from enugu headquarters, and reaching out to nsukka and port harcourt respectively along biafra’s contiguous borders, became a daunting task. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 35 how could one explain the incident which took place on 20th july, 1967 in obollo afor during the earliest phase of the war, where lack of intelligence communication even under some seasoned biafran officers ( colonels madiebo and eze) the ‘a’ and ‘b’ companies inflicted heavy causalities on biafran ‘d’ company12. this incident finally happened since no precaution was taken to ameliorate apparent warnings on the disconnect between the 51st and 53rd biafran brigades. the obollo afor incident was significant enough, for apart from its innumerable human loss through friendly fire, it played out that between 3rd and 6th august, when it became glaring to the federal forces that there was either a lacuna or nonexistent intelligent coordination of the biafran resistance in this area, they simply utilized four days of intensive shelling without the application of any infantry to take the area13. one may have to contrast this with what happened on the 6th of july, 1967, when the federal troops attacked garkem (30 miles from ogoja town). here, the 7th biafran battalion operating without any wireless communication confirmed the nigerian/ biafran war to have really started, only when it saw the first set of biafran casualties being brought in. soldiers of this battalion had comfortably assumed that what they had been hearing from 2am in the night was simply heavy thunder accompanying rainfall in the neighboring community14. devoid of wireless communication in military operations and most especially on deep penetration, control of troops is absolutely impossible. moreover, understanding the dramatic events that finally culminated in the biafran loss of ogoja province would further expose both the dangerous depth of the sabotage challenges and the intelligence disconnect within the biafran operational high command. this study in tandem with professional historical objectivity having relegated terms like luck, mistake, disaster and “miracle” to the background, remains entirely agreed that the entire biafran military operations (milops) in the ogoja province of the biafran country wholesomely collapsed due to paucity of battle field military intelligence. ogoja province hosting at the same time, the antagonistic forces of nigeria’s first division and third marine commando against biafra’s first battalion, starved not only the clash of elitist military engagements from both sides, but the accomplishment of nigeria’s tactical offensive on a biafran strategic hub at a timely period15. a field participants, odonna, who fought on the biafran side recounted how there was practically no effective intelligence feedback mechanism not up to 48hours into the ogoja imbroglio. according to him, poor relations amongst other things between the subsisting biafran troops with the indigenous inhabitants did not help matters. just as the local coordination and purposeful milops were absent on igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 36 the battle field, so also the emergent dangerous disconnect which unfolded within the third day of the invasion of gakem between enugu and ogoja.16 apart from the paucity of wireless communication gadgets on the biafran side, a proactive centrally-controlled intelligence unit able to send tactical signals in tandem with the changing contours and demands of the various war theatres was inexistent. this easily often busied the biafran army in tactile and tangled mess, creating unhealthy dangerous openings for egocentric inordinate ambitions, which was the least expectation and engagement a people under siege needed. within the first four months of 1967, when it became increasingly clear that the biafran army could hardly holdback the nigerian offensive inferno, the need arose to fall back and reorganize the militia under the command of brigadier effiong into an effective and disciplined force17. this move appear justified, since the militia provided ready source of manpower reinforcement to the regular army; assisted in military administration behind enemy lines and ran the propaganda engine which sustained the war. the biafran militia (intellectuals, businessmen and professionals) largely in-coordinate as it were, quickly split into two powerful and opposing factions (the enugu and port harcourt groups). all attempts at reconciliation, even under police commissioner chinwuba, proved abortive, and as clear as it ran its cause, the army always took time to steer clear of its affairs18. howbeit that an ill-equipped army, with poor administrative support, surviving on a life line of always overstretching itself trying to actively defend the amorphous fragile biafran boundaries would rather than unite and propel a common approach, prefer to engage in unnecessary dangerous divisiveness. in falling back and resorting to strategic defense, biafran military leaders simply lost sight of the fact that by defending everywhere, biafra could not possibly be strong anywhere; after all, one does not need to capture everywhere in order to win a war. defensive battles alone cannot win wars. the vulnerability of the flanks always renders defensive positions unsafe and unprotected. surprise still remains one of the most portent strategies which go a long way in deciding the eventual outcome of any conflict. however, in order to achieve surprise, intelligence must guide and guard flexibility, timing, strength, precision, conduct and force, or the formidability of designate operations. efficiency suffers when experience is alienated; military orders are better discussed, debated and not simply issued. it could be nostalgic to reflect on biafra’s lightening break on the midwestern parts of nigeria on the night of august 8th, 1967, and the motive behind its wasteful three days delay and diversion into sapele and warri towns, rather than its designated ‘liberating’ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 37 push into ibadan and lagos. how could the biafran high command toy with this operation, by having it commanded by colonel banjo, whose orientation; utterances and actions since the botched january 15th nzeogwu coup, have remained controversial. it may be recalled that banjo for one, though a yoruba, was not officially cleared from attempting a fatality on general ironsi’s life19. regardless of the cumulative propelling details of such invasion on the biafran side, considering its tactical advantages, it does equally appear that the intricate reprisal consequences of the failure of such a mission were not duly weighed. the midwest invasion finally turned out to be a disastrous political miscalculation by biafra which dissipated sympathy for it in the western/midwestern regions. while it caught the nigerian army off guard and shot it out of complacency, it also gave some non-easterners the impression that biafra’s objectives were not limited to self-defense, but harbored territorial expansion as its cardinal ambition20. by the early months of 1968, just as purposeful objectives and intelligence streamlined nigerian army’s offensive on strategic biafran towns and establishments, such was not the case in the east. in the course of most wars and conflicts, positions of negotiations and bargaining in proposed punctuating conferences or armistice meant for belligerents, are often better approached from battle field gains and advantages. very much eager to adversely reduce biafra’s import capability and economic base towards sustaining the war, and further weakening its bargaining positions at the proposed may 25th to 30th 1968, nigeria/biafra conference in kampala, uganda, the nigerian army actually dug in and succeeded in capturing bonny and port harcourt just some days before that conference actually held. such amazing success couldn’t have been gotten and sustained if not for the active use and deployment of local niger delta indigenes (civilians) as intelligence officers by the nigerian army21. apart from the many fatalities and losses which the biafran army entertained sequel to the lack of cumulative basic intelligence on the path of the biafran high command, this study still finds it difficult to fully estimate the cumulative damage and the financial chasm which the january 1968 nigerian currency change created on biafra. disorganized in stable structural organization, and in dire need of all basic human needs, including the ‘lack of weapons’ challenge, biafra was made to lose above fifty million pounds22 in the middle of an ongoing defensive war. undoubtedly, adequate intelligence would have averred the biafran authorities of this move on time, so as to have planned and braced up for it. a good financial base not only bequeaths confidence and focus on parties engaged in conflict or war, but enables needs igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 38 accessibility. the enabling factor or ‘steam’ was removed from biafra after nigeria’s currency change. moreover, the gruesome and atrocious application of hunger as a strategic potent weapon of war as propounded by obafemi awolowo, (the nigerian finance minister in the war period) and wholesomely executed by the nigerian government against the biafran enclave under siege conclusively drove the death nail which finally decimated whatever remained of the biafran resistance. amongst belligerents, most especially on the battle fields, planning predates execution, and proper planning elicits intelligent information as regards enemies’ engagements, or else pre-emptive calculations and suggestions take the upper hand. biafran women married or not, in order to beat hunger and support their families at this austere time, took up the option of cohabiting with the soldiers of the “victorious” nigerian army as mistresses or wives. espionage, whether involuntarily done as a strategic emergent trading initiative meant to support/sustain survival ( ahia attack), or voluntarily drawn into such venture as to “trade sex” with the occupying force, one issue is obviously certain, a process of give and take is not only trivially important but institutionalizes foundations of battle field trust and conviviality across enemy lines. some of these “unholy relationships” were hurriedly contrived and concluded as the exigencies of the frontlines demanded, while others were sustained over prolonged period, so long as the “supplier” and the “consumer” still placed value on the “product” and services. the imbroglio started manifesting glaringly from the closing months 1968, and in the biafran country it grossly disaffected,, disrupted, distorted and dismembered what was left of the biafran compact resistance and wartime intelligence. call them yakambaya or ora-okpu (prostitutes) in their nefarious strides, these women turned into potent spies, espionage handmaids, dangerous traders and controversial breadwinners depending on which angle one chooses to see them. a risky exercise indeed, conducted mostly at night under the atmosphere of dangerous hostilities, most of those women strove to gain maximally from both sides. engaged and entangled in such risky conduct, they largely competed among themselves on each successive trip as regards food and financial gratification and strove to build and sustain relevance, admiration, value and credibility to the nigerian troops by trading other products more than intangible beauty; logistics and prospects. the weighty implications of divulging such sensitive information at the primary source would always remain phantomable to the uninformed, and a gainful venture to the transacting medium, after all naturally, the women folk appear fashioned and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 39 formulated to bend either way as talebearers ever ready to feed the uninterested ears. slightly related to this was the part played by the biafran food directorate throughout the duration of the war. it simply operated on false strength returns, with meal periods ill-timed against that of military operations, just as cooking houses dispersed and took several days to reassemble and reestablish in another location, each time the army lost ground23. as the war progressed, and biafran territory shrank, food producing zones were lost in sequence, and faced with the unavailability of fiscal power; many soldiers became exposed to prolonged and intensive hunger. the army lost flexibility and surprise unless one was ready to forgo some meals. severally, the biafran army and the food directorate fell apart with counter accusations of malpractices, cheating and deceit, hence by the middle of 1969, the cumulative amount of food the army was collecting from the directorate onwards to the soldiers operating actively on the frontlines, amounted to a meal in four days24. while the war progressed, the siege on biafra continued to develop into an economic squeeze hence hunger drove a good number of the biafran soldiers into fraternizing with the nigerian troops, in the hope of getting presents of tinned foods and cigarettes. this scenario was witnessed in many locations, and the cumulative damage on biafran intelligence was calamitous25. it may appear right to say, the biafra joint planning committee (jpc), which came into being by 1969, was rather too late since it was merely to satisfy the long outstanding demand of the people for an organized and collective planning of the war. the committee worked without necessary facts and achieved absolutely nothing. emergent situation was that each time a major decision was taken in biafra, the army thought the civilians were responsible for it, while the civilians thought the reverse was true26. when heightened propaganda remains extremely contradictory over a longtime from the realities on the ground, most especially where recalcitrant and inordinate objectives appear to polarize the realization of a definite cause, resistance become chequered, after all, ‘the sound produced from the mouth as the bitter kola is being masticated is quite different from its real taste.’ from the beginning to the end of the war, biafran army remained comparatively severely handicapped in weapons acquisition, and armed with such vital information, the nigerian forces generally successfully resorted to bulldozing their way through biafran resistance with heavy armor, artillery and russian/egyptian-backed airpower first, before sending in the infantry if need be. these russian migs could afford to fly even below tree tops, selecting their targets, since the biafran army had no radars, and extremely igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 40 few anti-aircraft guns27. proper and effective espionage or spy network could have afforded the biafran high command with privileged intelligence that would equip it with the tactical weapon of surprise, since physical strength (weaponry) was a far cry. surprise has an edge over strength, and preoperation discussions and detailing if any, could have educated the disadvantaged but determined biafran infantry to adopt more of a flanking move rather than a head-on collision against armor, which was a recurrent incident. the cumulative lack of basic intelligence, battalion indiscipline and inharmonization, the reliance and preference to spiritual and esoteric directives and solutions most especially from 1968, primarily contributed to the fall of aba and umuahia, and the destruction of the biafran 12th division and ‘s’ commando division, thereby exposing the rear of the 15th division operating in okigwe sector. it was simply easier for the nigerian 3rd marine commando under brigadier adekunle (black scorpion), operating from the south to join up with the first division descending from the north (enugu). consider the scenario that emerged, when armed with detailed and accurate information, the 12th division was exposed to sustained aerial and land bombardment; it took a runner 24 hours to inform the biafran 12th division headquarters at mbawisi from ebiri of an attack going on, and 48 hours for the biafran army headquarters (enugu) to obtain such vital information28, in order to re-plan and take contingency steps, just because of the unavailability of vehicles and wireless link. faced with such appalling challenges, hopelessness and failures on the battle field, the biafran army easily found itself villainised and vilified by no less than an angry civilian populace, who were traumatized by the unfolding negative realities. perhaps, the greatest singular element that preyed on, and psychologically sowed viable discordant seeds, hence contributing to the eventual biafra’s loss at the war was the controversial problem of ‘sabotage’. as the war began, just after the initial deadly clashes and setbacks on biafra’s northern sector, as unfolding development and outcome appeared to challenge proper reasoning, preparation, calculation and expectations, accusations went rife and realistic or not, the sagacious garb of sabotage provided a pragmatic escapade. the word sabotage, having been cast like an infested spell on the young biafran nation, clung tenaciously and with rapacious momentum, permeated, disorganized, weakened the primary base and collective motivational igbo spirit. in this subsisting scenario, rumor-peddling took a viral momentum, hoodwinking even those in the commanding heights of the defence of the motherland. the depth of this problem could be evaluated only when one is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 41 apt to realize that this development even affected the few mercenaries that fought on biafran side, to the extent that they easily resorted to dictating their terms (financial gratifications), whenever they were called upon to assist in any operation29. this blackmail dangerously sprouted and created negative hiccups here and there, like during the aba and owerri invasions of july, 196830. on the part of these mercenaries, the setting was right, since the whole lot of the biafran civil and military population found it hard trusting one another’s’ suggestions, intentions and actions. this study is not apt to debunk all sabotage accusations and claims that pathologically cling to the historical annals of the nigerian/biafran war, but cannot either willfully overlook some libelously – obvious cases, which appear purposefully directed ‘to give the dog a name, in other to hang it’. it may be recalled that under the atmosphere of crisis of confidence and personality clash, some days before the war actually started, the military governor of the eastern region, col. ojukwu, had to suspend some igbo army officers, including major nzeogwu from performing military duties, and continued to bar colonel njoku, the 1st biafran army commander from participating in executive council meetings31. furthermore, when it became obvious that njoku’s every move and suggestions continued to attract increasing anxiety, controversy and suspicion, colonel ojukwu, poised to safeguard his personality cult, had to place him and his battlefield experience under protective custody, till the end of the war32. suffice it equally to say that major nzeogwu even died under implicating and controversial circumstances within opi axis, having operated with his personal reconnaissance commando unit successfully for some time. he may have fallen through organized friendly fire. factually, abundant supporting evidence show that almost all professional eastern army officers that fought on the biafran side had at one time or the other, during their various engagements, come under the ‘sabotage tag’. while some were unlucky to have been surreptiously mobbed and killed, others were either saved by providence or finally executed through the firing squad, in accordance with the dictates of an official military tribunal. once the word sabotage is mentioned, with due regards to the historical account of the nigerian biafran war, and so long as the details emanate from the biafran angle, the names of colonels banjo and ifeajuna would always continue to ring a bell. colonel banjo is of yoruba ethnic stock, while ifeajuna hails from onitsha. colonel ifeajuna had to face the firing squad, having been found guilty of plotting to overthrow ojukwu’s government during the war. on the biafran high command, one maybe bound to believe that what was igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 42 intended to be an offensive surprise liberation operation, freeing the midwest, lagos and ibadan, and totally changing the existing focal structure of the war got intentionally sabotaged even before the start of this operation on the 9th of august, 1967. in the words of egbuachor, banjo’s complexities and inexcusable actions lay in his unexplained delays, even by the 6th of august, when all allotted militia, soldiers and commando unit designated for this operation, were already concentrated in onitsha33. according to him, we practically met no serious opposition up till benin city, where we were regimentally kept without army details, until the fourth day, when serious commotion started and continuously came from our ‘a’ frontline invasion unit, who had earlier on permeated ore axis, and were now beating back speedily. we lost all military composure and tactical retreat as a force, resorting to individual survival skills, since troop and regimental command and control simply and suddenly collapsed34. researchers on the biafran account of the war are still puzzled by the real reasons behind colonel banjo’s three days delay in benin, the strategic need of diverting at all into sapele and warri, whereas such veritable biafran units detailed here, would have been drafted towards ibadan. some fellow officers dismissed his activities as clouded with unnecessary secrecy and mystery. a ‘high sounding nothing’ as it would first appear, even imbued with his talismanic trait, it often would hit the dust35. in any war situation spying and espionage activities remain and occupy a proactive tool which drives intelligence and course of action. fore knowledge and even pre-empting enemy intentions is always a good advantage. however, it is rather critical when the sabotage scare not only suffices for long, and rather than diminishing by the day, grows in leaps and bounds. perhaps the biggest collateral damage done to biafran intelligence application over a detailed period was systematically orchestrated by lieutenant colonel emmanuel ieeajuina, who hails from onitsha a science graduate of university of ibadan who led many student union protests there and along the line relate in closely with chirstopher okigbo, j.p clark, chike obi and emeka anyaoku. in 1954, he won commonwealth gold medal in high jump. primarily interested deeply in revolutionary politics and with an undying penchant and passion of practicing it, he left his teaching job at ebemeder anglican grammar school, abeokuta and became one of the first graduates to enroll in the nigeria army in 1960. by 1966, he has not only reached the rank of major, but has met and developed an intimate relationship with major chukwuma nzeogwu. though both shared the same revolutionary solution to nigeria’s decadent political solution then, ifeajuna appeared to be the greater driving igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 43 factor covertly maintaining political linkages with some close aides to president kwame nkrumah of ghana*. it is still believed that ifeajuna killed the prime minister tafawa balewa, brigadier zakariya maimalari (his commanding officer), lieutenant general a. largema and the finance minister, festns okotie eboh. with the failure of the coup through ironsi and ojukwu’s intervention, ifeajuna fled to ghana and was hosted by nkrumah, who was shortly over thrown through a military coup. after reassurances from ojukwu about his safety, he returned to biafra at the onset of the nigerian-biafra war and actively got involved with victor banjo, philip alale and samuel agban in a secrete negotiation with some nigerian officials through certain british elements, hoping to bring about a cease fire to ‘save civilian lives’. this involved a plan to eliminate both ojukwu and gowon, so as to enthrone chief obafemi awolowo as president and secure prominent positions for themselves. ojukwu uncovered this plot and got them eliminated after a court martial, through a firing squad on 25th sept, 1967, having been convicted of treason. the biafran capital was captured by the nigerian army two days later, courtesy of overwhelming destabilizing intelligence from ifeajuna and his compatriots. admitted, as the war progressed, many biafran soldiers and militia members for one reason or the other, at one time or the other defected over the nigerian side. as they moved, of course intelligent information moved. some culture groups like the ikwerre in rivers state, among others, made the success of the biafran course, at least in their area, an impossible mission. what of the divisiveness in the biafran army in the face of such glaring sabotage? how could one possibly explain the fact that a biafran commando unit was officially applied in the destruction of the robust biafran 12 division, at a time when all available hands and ideas were needed to resist the fall of aba, ikot ekpene and umuahia36. moreover, it is still enigmatic to some military historians, the remarkable coincidence and the resulting confusion which was played out on the battle front, as the men of the 14th brigade of the nigerian army and the 14th battalion of the biafran army got mixed up for more than six hours during the battle over port harcourt. just as both exhibited the number ‘14’ on their arm tags simultaneously, as expected, before the biafran army could buy time in order to sort out this confusion, the invading army has already inflicted irreparable damage on it37. how could such scenario have successfully happened, even within the biafran territory, to the advantage of the invading army? if not sabotage, it is mere irresponsibility of the biafran command structure that is imbued with lack of intelligence and signals management. in laying credence to the non-availability of wellestablished and functional intelligence-gathering unit system, and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 44 subsequently substantiating the prevalent sub-standard apparatus on the ground servicing the biafran army, young hungry orphans were recruited into ‘boy’s brigade; haphazardly instructed and used to infiltrate area under the effective control of the nigerian army. when tactical reconnaissance took the form of ‘rekking’ and ‘combing’, as it was termed in the biafran enclave in the period; when hunger, operational disconnect, unprofessionalism and vicissitudes of battle field operations challenge these intelligence recruits, ones guess may not be hard to make. conclusion that the eastern region opted for secession was circumstantially lt. colonel odumegwu ojukwu’s political decision, treacherously-driven by general gowon’s subtle selfish and oligarchic tantrums. once the nigeria federal government lost its candor, goaded by an odious british foreign policy on eastern nigeria evolving from a hideous past, secession resulted, and fighting became inevitable-an armed clash between sections of a broken army. secession was for ojukwu a hanging apple, just as for majors nzeogwu and ifeajuna -their revolution still have a chance, and for madiebo, njoku, kuruobo among others who survived the northern pogrom-there was need to redeem their honor as professional soldiers. on the part of the biafran civil population, propelled by a tacit belief in divine help and justification in defending their freedom right in their motherland, they practically threw everything in. the biafran high command, the army and the civilian population appear to have approached and carried this struggle rather with inharmonious parallel objectives that were largely withdrawn from the common major danger that stared them on the face. the loss of one key town followed another in the biafran country, and apart from its physical and psychological impact on the fighting force and the civilian population, it equally denigrated biafra’s status and position in the kampala peace talks, among others. the nascent biafra never realized that to simply defend, dissipates enormous energy, since coordination and sustenance must remain a continuum. moreover, running a war simply with reliance on ‘walkie talkies’ and the remnants of what was left of the nigeria postal and telecommunications equipments in the besieged biafra, negates proper thought sequence. the need for informed and structured channels of signals and feedback in any human endeavor cannot be underrated. however, veritable information deliberately handed over to the enemy covertly, is classified under rational human thinking as a sabotage action. copious information abound in the biafran war archive which lay credence to the position of this study; that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 45 elements of secrecy, surprise, intelligence and coordination were scarcely employed by biafra right from the beginning of the war, till its end. military and operational intelligence and signals, lubricates, drives and sustains the vision and mission of a belligerent entity, though unfolding developments would always appear sour and unorthodox wherever vital information about an adversary is deliberately leaked to an opponent. defection and sabotage as unethical conducts and behaviors would always suffice as potential human attributes. it is only when studies of this nature is painstakingly done succinctly, that facts and objectivity would reveal not only what led to the final outward result, but create a benchmark and salient indices for plausible historical lessons. propaganda considerations took precedence over cold realities, while methodical calculations were persecuted on the altar of hopeful interpretation and wishes. endnotes 1. u.s department of defense, joint publication 1 – 02. department of defense dictionary of military and associated terms. http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/new-pubs/jpl-02.pdf (accessed 10/8/2017) 2. francis fredricks, “the gathering clouds”, west african, june 4, 1966, p.42 3. arthur nwankwo and sam ifejika, the making of a nation: biafra (london: c. hurst and company 1969),p. 33 4. colonel aghanya, 5. alexander madiebo, the nigerian revolution and the biafran war (enugu: fourth dimension publishers, 1980), p. 88. 6. madiebo, the nigerian revolution and the biafran war…p. 97 7. madiebo, the nigerian revolution and the biafran war…p. 98 8. madiebo, the nigerian revolution and the biafran war…p. 100 9. madiebo, the nigerian revolution and the biafran war…p. 101 10. michael stafford, quick kill in slow motion: the nigeria civil war (marine corps and staff college, 1984) 25 11. james calaghan, “prelude to war”, daily times, march 8th, 1967,p. 7 12. madiebo, the nigerian revolution and the biafran war…p. 87 13. madiebo, the nigerian revolution and the biafran war…p. 90 14. madiebo, the nigerian revolution and the biafran war…p. 97 15. alfred egbuacho, c.76, biafran war veteran who was later absorbed into the nigerian army. during the war initially operated first as one of the coordinators of the “boys brigade” guerilla group and afterwards admitted into the controversial biafran commando unit that operated majorly around the riverine anambra area. also, he actively participated in the midwest igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 46 invasion. at the time of this writing, he is the traditional ruler of amesi kingdom of anambra state, nigeria 16. paul odonna, c.78, a native of ogoja who operated at different periods both on the biafran and nigerian side during the war. 17. madiebo, the nigerian revolution and the biafran war…p. 101 18. madiebo, the nigerian revolution and the biafran war…p. 83 19. max siollun, oil, politics and violence: nigeria’s military coup culture (1966 – 1976) (new york: algora publishing, 2009) p. 162 20. godwin alabi – isama, the tragedy of victory (ibadan: spectrum books limited , 2013),p. 97 21. cervernka zdnek, a history of the nigerian war, (ibadan: onibonoje press, 1972) p. 58 22. madiebo, the nigerian revolution and the biafran war, p. 48 23. patrick anwunah, the nigeria – biafra war 1967 – 1970: my memoirs (ibadan: spectrum books, 2007) p. 48 24. cornelius agbodike c.77, a professor of history. he actively participated in the nigerian /biafra war as a soldier. he operated under the 13th brigade that covered ihiala/uli axis 25. madiebo, the nigerian revolution and the biafran war, p.48 26. colonel aghanya interview cited 27. cervernka zdnek, a history of the nigerian war, p. 8 28. siyan oyeweso, perspectives on the nigerian civil war (lagos: campus press limited, 1992) 62 29. siyan oyeweso, perspectives on the nigerian civil war, p. 70 30. madiebo, the nigerian revolution and the biafran war, p. 110 31. aghanya, interview cited 32. alfred egbuacho, interview cited. 33. alfred ebguacho interview cited 34. alfred egbuacho interview cited. 35. emma udeagbaja c.86. he operated during the war from the biafra army headquaters, enugu, and later as a militia coordinator after the fall of port harcourt. 36. emma udeagbaja interview cited the concept of igwebuike in igbo knowledge integration igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 301 the concept of igwebuike in igbo knowledge integration obinna victor obiagwu, phd directorate of general studies federal university of technology, owerri obinnaobiagwu71@gmail.com executive summary igwebuike, as a concept in igbo ideology, is that of strength in numbers, where togetherness in one accord remains the watch word and the spirit of engagement. it aims towards the promotion of a sustainable development and also improvement of economic, social, cultural and political purity within the igbo-speaking people in comparison with their neighbours of other languages and nationalities. the igwebuike philosophy, therefore, becomes the force behind the igbo indigenous knowledge holders in making their own decisions as it affects their future life endeavours, which define them as a people among others of different cultures. what it implies then is that igwebuike application is inherent in selfdetermination and consistent with socio-cultural and other developmental relativity. igwebuike ensures equity and justice in igbo integration of knowledge through its nature of all hands being on deck. keywords: igwebuike, philosophy, kanu ikechukwu anthony, igbo knowledge introduction according to posey (1998), there will be nothing ‘new’ if we do not develop new methodologies for dialogue with local knowledge holders. he goes further to say that until indigenous people have political and economic parity with development forces that is only obinna victor obiagwu, phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 302 when a positive result will be achieved on indigenous knowledge development. looking at the case of igbo knowledge integration, one can be tempted to ask how indigenous igbo people can assert their traditional cultural values within their social environment in a way that it will be fair to all concerned. the simple answer to this question is the “igwebuike” concept. the concept of “igwebuike” is a concept that was articulated by professor kanu ikechukwu anthony. it captures and communicates the igbo-african world. igwebuike is the form and symbolic of the igbo-african mental being and the gateway to igbo-african philosophy. beyond the literal understanding of igwebuike (igwe number; bu-is; ike-strength) as “there is strength in number”, it captures the igbo philosophy of relationality, complementarity and interconnectedness of reality (kanu 2014; 2015; 2016; 2017; 2018; 2019). it concatenates igbo forms, symbolism, signs, media, meaning, anthropologies, universal cosmic truths, functions, semantic powers, physics, phenomena, faculties, and igbo environ-mentalities, and symbolizes the propositional powers of igbo knowledge, perception, identity, phenomenalism, physics, metaphysics, logic, history of analytic character, speculative mindset and positive provisions for definitions of facts (kanu 2020). parity, in this context, involves equal relations among the indigenous peoples of igbo extraction, whose knowledge is being integrated with the other worlds, knowing full well that knowledge integration involves the synthesization of multiple knowledge models, or representation into a common one. knowledge integration has also been studied as the process of incorporating new information into a body of existing knowledge with an interdisciplinary approach (wikipedia). integration, therefore, occurs when separate ideas or things are brought together, just like in the amalgamation of northern and southern protectorates of nigeria in 1914 by lord frederick lugard, the then governor general of the combined colony of nigeria. the concept of igwebuike in igbo knowledge integration igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 303 the igwebuike spirit of parity is, therefore, seen as the ability of the igbo indigenous knowledge holders to make autonomous decisions about their future, based on a set of principles derived from their own collective ontology. the igbo integration of knowledge must be based on people’s understanding of the world, rather than from imposed assumptions. parity of igbo knowledge integration is inherent in selfdetermination and consistent with cultural relativity. parity ensures equity and justice, just like in “igwebuike”, where all hands must be on deck without any pranks. igbo knowledge integration of western education western education, no doubt, has come to stay in igbo cultural milieu. but the issue here is “educational diversification.” this is important to meet individual differences as regards interests and abilities. the emphasis here is on specialization. according to eliot (1949), education is the process by which the community seeks to open its life to all the individuals within it and enable them to take their part in it. it attempts to pass on to them its culture, including the standards by which it would have them live. in furtherance to the emphasis on education, okafor (1974) states that education is a process of acculturation by which the individual is helped to attain the maximum activation of his potentialities according to right reason and to achieve thereby his perfect self-fulfillment. looking at the two above, one can observe that the igwebuike concept of igbo knowledge integration has a major role it is already playing. the issue of western education is at present a collective concern of the igbos. one can easily observe the community efforts in the establishment of schools and training of individuals. in most igbo communities, some indigenous people attended various levels of education, through communal efforts, believing that any educated mind among them is a major asset to the community. through the igwebuike concept, the igbo communities from 1950s till date still build schools, in order to ensure that western education does not elude them. they also endeavour to see that their people are educated, by going further to make contributions towards the education of some of obinna victor obiagwu, phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 304 their sons and daughters. they as well made earlier donation of lands to the white missionaries for the establishment of educational institutions, even before the advent of community schools. that is actually the concept of igwebuike in the igbo western education knowledge integration. the “igwebuike” spirit of oneness helped so much in this direction, even till date. western education is still very important to the majority of the igbos that the issue of scholarship award is still common among the people, just to make sure that those who cannot afford western education on their own can benefit from such awards. going through studies and researches on “igwebuike” concept of the traditional igbo attitudes and values with a view to formulating educational procedures responsive to the good in the igbo background have inescapably brought into sharp focus the importance the igbos attach to educational realities. they have quite acknowledged the fact that western education is an integral and prevailing factor among the people. igbo knowledge integration of christianity christianity is agreeable to igbo culture – a culture of deep spirituality, maximized religious values and quite theocentric in outlook. this fact was very evident in the early centuries when parts of igbo land first came in contact with the christian religion. christianity, therefore, is an excellent example of what renascent igbo should incorporate into her cultural fabric. however, distinction must be made between christianity as practiced by discrete individuals and groups and christianity in its essential substance. in the words of okafor (1974), over the centuries, certain individuals and groups did, in fact, run into behavioural mud water in the practice of christianity; but still over the centuries, many individuals and group did succeed in exemplifying in their lives the perfection that was essentially embedded in christianity. okafor also goes further in his work to remind us of the fact that, that many do not the concept of igwebuike in igbo knowledge integration igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 305 measure up to the ideal does not remove the validity or the reality of the ideal. in spite of individual failures, christianity still remains the most civilized of all religions. it remains the religion better than which none can be found. looking at its nature, one can observe that christianity remains that unique religion, which by all means holds the greatest potentialities of meeting up with the dilemmas and challenges of the modern igbo race. it is so simply because of the fact that christianity puts into consideration a mysterious combination of the essentials of the traditional igbo religions and those principles which constitute the badge of civility to contemporary man. in comparison with the christian religion, the igbo traditional religion also accommodates certain christian doctrines like forgiveness, patience, brotherhood, blessing of the peace-makers and the merciful, kindness, malice towards none, charity, etc. all these and others are agreeable to the igbo man. they not only touch at the heart of the traditional igbo religion but also reveal any imperfections that might be present in them. the igbo man, in his “igwebuike” spirit, accepted the christian religion holistically and has been making concerted efforts to enroute christianity into the cultural norms of the igbos. this is being achieved through communal efforts, just like in the case of western education. the igbo communities have invested much in the building and establishment of churches of different denominations, with a good number of igbo sons and daughters going into various religious professions. prayer itself has become a central survival strategy of the igbo people. conclusion it will be totally wrong and a great social misgiving for one to think that there is nothing good, admirable or worth preserving in the igbo of the old. there are a lot of things that are quite good, highly admirable, and worthy to be preserved in the igbo traditional obinna victor obiagwu, phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 306 knowledge norms. same is also applicable to that of the other worlds. every group of people is naturally endowed or structured with some characteristic assets and blessing. taking into consideration the fact that humans are structured as a community of brotherhood, which makes the assets of any sector of humanity a common property for all to share. as such, there must be a kind of unity in diversity. just as whitehead (1982) states that a diversification among human communities is essential for the provision of the incentive and material for the odyssey of human spirit. other nations of different habits are not enemies; they are god-sends. whitehead goes further to explain that men require of their neighbours something sufficiently akin to be understood, something sufficiently different to provoke attention and something great enough to command admiration. as a result of speedy communication of development in these contemporary times, the world has been brought closer, together than it has ever witnessed. this has also made the issue of knowledge integration quite imperative. one sector of the global arrangement, therefore, must influence another socially, politically and economically, as well as in their different cultural norms. in a situation like these, the igbos, propelled by their “igwebuike” philosophy, need a proper integration of their knowledge with other nationalities of the world. they are expected to conform to what okafor (1974) described as judicious selective integration of culture. the old norms of knowledge must be treated with respect, as a legacy for the newer ideas. but it must also be refined, given new meaning, expression and direction. anything undesirable in the old knowledge must be dropped as history of the old, so as to pave way for the new normal. to cope with the present challenges, the igbos must approach their plan of action with every atom of definition. they should not allow the mystical past to conscript them, nor allow themselves to be consumed by the indecision of the present. they should be clear about the present situation, and avoid building castles in the air. in the best the concept of igwebuike in igbo knowledge integration igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 307 “igwebuike” team spirit, the igbo should collectively be realistically guided in their cultural spectrum. references eliot t. s., (1947). notes towards the definition of culture, new york: harcourt, brace & company. kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. kanu, a. i. (2017c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 7. pp. 165-183. kanu, a. i. (2017d). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 6. pp. 16-50. kanu, a. i. (2017f). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. pp. 153-160. kanu, i. a. (2012). the problem of being in metaphysics. african research review: an international multi-disciplinary journal. vol.6. no.2. april. pp. 113-122. kanu, i. a. (2012). the problem of personal identity in metaphysics. international journal of arts and humanities. vol.1. no.2. pp.1-13. kanu, i. a. (2012a). the concept of life and person in african anthropology. in e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (eds.). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 61-71). nigeria: augustinian. kanu, i. a. (2012b). towards an igbo christology. in e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (eds.). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 75-98). nigeria: augustinian. kanu, i. a. (2013). african identity and the emergence of globalization. american international journal of contemporary research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 34-42. obinna victor obiagwu, phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 308 kanu, i. a. (2013). african identity and the emergence of globalization. american international journal of contemporary research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 34-42. kanu, i. a. (2013). globalisation, globalism and african philosophy. c. umezinwa (ed.). african philosophy: a pragmatic approach to african probems (pp. 151-165). germany: lambert. kanu, i. a. (2013). on the sources of african philosophy. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 337-356. kanu, i. a. (2013). the dimensions of african cosmology. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 533-555. kanu, i. a. (2014). a historiography of african philosophy. global journal for research analysis. volume. 3. issue. 8. pp. 188190. kanu, i. a. (2014). being and the categories of being in igbo philosophy. african journal of humanities. volume 1. issue 1. pp. 144-159. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. the concept of igwebuike in igbo knowledge integration igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 309 kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. okafor f. c., (1974). africa at the crossroads, philosophical approach to education. new york: vantage press, inc. purcell t. w. & onjoro e., (2004) models of knowledge integration; in harvesting & sharing indigenous knowledge in africa (eds) okere t. i. & nkwocha l. owerri assumpta press. nwaka g. i., (2004) using indigenous knowledge to strengthen local governance and development in nigeria, in harvesting & sharing indiginoud knowledge in africa. (eds) okere & nkwocha l. owerri assumpta press. whitehead a. n., (1919a (1982). an enquirty concerning the principle of national knowledge. cambridge: cambridge university press. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 3.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 13 intercultural communication, boon or bane in ikwerre of the north eastern niger delta region of nigeria rowland olumati, ph.d department of religious and cultural studies faculty of humanities university of port harcourt, choba, rivers state, nigeria olumatirowland01@yahoo.com abstract the focus of this paper is on intercultural communications: boon or bane in ikwerre of the north eastern niger delta region of nigeria. before the coming of christianity and other modern forces of change into africa in general and ikwerre ethnic nationality in particular, ikwerre have had various ways of expressing their religious and cultural experiences about the humans relating with the supernatural invisible sacred being. these ways are expressed in symbols, idioms and metaphors which are indigenous to them. the use of ikwerre names in liturgy, names of ikwerre in african cosmology, the use of ikwerre songs and musical instruments in worship, the use of native agencies, the use of indigenous ikwerre ritual objects and symbols, oath-taking and investiture, as well as initiation into manhood (igbaiku) and other findings in the research work make it a boon in the ikwerre religious life because ikwerreman cannot do without his religion. however, some features of the ikwerre belief systems elapsed and others remain resolute. the work adopted the phenomenological methodological approach in the interpretation of data because this enabled the researcher to observe the phenomenon he was investigating over time allowing it to unravel and reveal itself instead of forcibly reading in or reading out meaning on the object of the research. however, when the missionaries came to ikwerre from the 19th century, they adopted or borrowed these idioms and metaphors and incorporated it into their christian liturgy (anglicanism), hence, intercultural communication. the work recommends that the good side of african traditional religion should be allowed to take place and should be incorporated into the nigerian educational curriculum. keywords: intercultural, boon, bane, ikwerre, traditional and culture. introduction the language of religion is often colored with rites and symbols. man the “homoreligiosus” has in every age and culture, in his horizontal and vertical relationship with the sacred and the humans, evolved means of communicating and expressing his sentiments and belief patterns. patent and evocative as they may be, rituals in symbolic forms have remained a rhythm of significance in man’s response to the sacred and his experience within the ecosystem. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 14 configured in icons and expressed in metaphors, religious rituals and symbols convey a people’s religious consciousness, thought-logic and world view. in this paper, the researcher shall be dwelling on the interrelationship between two or more cultures or better put, how two or more cultures inter-mingle to yield positive responses or results. since in human communication, no culture can boast or pride itself as being independent but rather they are dependent and inter-related borrowing one or more aspect from other societies’ culture and other larger or macro society borrowing from the micro society and vice versa. but before dwelling on this adequately, it is pertinent to clarify some terms. what is intercultural communication? according to larry, a.s. et al (2007:9-15) in their edited book communication between cultures, “intercultural communication occurs when a member of one culture produces a message for consumption by a member of another culture”. more precisely, according to them, intercultural communication involves interaction between people whose cultural perceptions and symbol system are distinct enough to alter the communication event. it is important to state that intercultural communication is important because life in an age when all of the people on earth regardless of their background or culture are interconnected. it seems that now more than ever, what happens in one part of the world touches all parts of the world. therefore, intercultural communication could be seen broadly as the transmission of values, norms, beliefs, practices, language, history, symbols etc. from one society to the other to yield positive result and to bring about change in human society. whereas, human communication is the process through which symbols are transmitted for the purpose of eliciting a response. consequently, this paper will elucidate on how western cultures imparted their mission, evangelical-oriented cultures with case studies in names in african cosmology, use of african songs and musical instruments in worship, use of native agency in the evangelization process, use of indigenous ikwerre african ritual objects and symbols, african concept of salvation, title-taking or investiture in african ikwerre, initiation into manhood (igbaiku) in ikwerreland. at the end, the work will be concluded by drawing an analysis on whether intercultural communication is a boon or a bane. names in african cosmology gbule (2011:187-197), argues that at birth, all persons born in ikwerre land are given a name(s). the choice of the name is a product of the agreement between the father and the mother. it may be after due verbal consultation or divination. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 15 in the case of the latter, the parents would consult a diviner to know who has reincarnated. the right to give a name to a child could be delegated to friends, relations, grand-parents or other associates. the choice of a name to give could be determined by the place of birth, the month or season of birth, the prevailing circumstances at the time of birth. indeed, any phenomenal or historical event may influence the name parents give to their children. for example, a child born at ibadan may be named bamidele to reflect that the parents were living in a yoruba city. if the child is born on any of the traditional days in ikwerre, such as an ekhe day, the child could be called nwekhne. but if the parents had the child after a protracted trial on a heinous crime and adjudged innocent the child could be called chinugonum (god advocates for me) or chinweikpe (judgment belongs to god). a historical event can also determine the choice of name in ikwerre land, for example, if the parents have just completed a new house the child could be called woroma (good house). children born during civil disturbances like nigerian civil war could be given the name ndidi to evoke their perseverance or endurance. sometimes, the child could be born shortly after the death of one of the parents. if she is a girl, who was born after the death of the father she could be called nnedah (the father’s mother). if he is a male he could be called enyidah (the father’s friend). ikwerre names therefore embody worldview and are very significant. names are not given arbitrarily. this explains why eke and chukwu (2003) affirm that “the tendency to name child english names by missionaries during baptism was a rape of the people’s culture: as it did not reflect people’s psycho linguistic world”. one wonders why a child should be named donatus, or pamela, or rose or justus when these names represent the names of flowers and other objects in europe and america. before now, it was unacceptable to use ikwerre names at baptism as conversion to christianity meant doing away with all that was associated with the indigenous religious culture. this was to say the least a colonization of the mind. fortunately, the anglican churches now allow the use of indigenous names at baptism. there is no doubt that this will help to preserve ikwerre christian identity within the anglican churches. thus, people take names such as okechukwu, orazundah, or chimzi, or chitukpobi, or nnedah at baptism. use of ikwerre songs and musical instruments in worship the anglican church has also accommodated the use of worship songs in ikwerre or native airs in the churches, especially during offertory. the songs are rendered with local musical instruments such as drums (“nkwa”), gongs (“ugele”) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 16 tambourine (“ayara”), dug out wood (“ogwo”), bells (“ngbinigba”), et cetera. in the past, the destruction of these objects of worship was a symbol of conversion to christianity. this was based on the belief that the traditional musical instruments constituted a medium of communication between the gods and their votaries. in ikwerre, it is believed that through the sound of the drum (nkwa) or gong (ugele), together with the accompanying rhythmic dancing and clapping of hands, the traditional priests invoked and made supplication to the deities or ancestral spirits. it is for this reason that the pioneer missionaries disallowed indigenous ikwerre songs, dance and clapping of hands. today, the anglican churches have begun to incorporate and adapt these ritual objects in their worship and liturgy. for instance, madam irene wali of holy trinity church, choba and madam love onuegbu of mgbuitanwno, emohua, have produced praise songs in ikwerre, which today are used in most anglican churches in ikwerre land. the songs and accompanying ikwerre dance steps are a delight to watch. men and women wave their white handkerchiefs in praise of jehovah of hosts (“chiokike”). according to rev. canon e. n.worlu (2010), church services have become more exuberant as the people can make sense from the songs rather than sterile and fuzzy tunes of organ music of hymnal companion. the repertoire of songs is drawn from a source that has influenced african theology and christianity in general, i.e., african religious thought forms and idioms (kalu 2008). it is this dynamism and diversity in worship and liturgy that is responsible for the shift in christianity centre of gravity, and for africa to be described “the next christentendom” (jenkins, 2002). use of native agency in the evangelization process again, gbule (2011:187-190), argues that perhaps one area the anglican churches in ikwerre land have made significant progress at contextualization of the gospel is in the use of native agents, catechists, teachers, chiefs, “biblewomen” in the evangelization process. it has been noted that the beginning of anglicanism in most ikwerre communities is traceable to the conversion experiences of indigenous ikwerre men and women from itinerant ijaw traders and fishermen. these native agents provided the funds and materials with which the newmission stations started. for example, madam wojiewhor erinwo of ibaa, jessy daniel of evekwu, chiefs beniah ihuordu and john orlu of ogbakiri were instrumental in introducing christianity to their respective communities. there were yet others who served as interpreters, guides, and aides to the ijaw missionaries by advancing the work of evangelism in their communities. these proved to be the strong pillars on which today’s ikwerre anglicanism is built. from these native agents have arisen three ikwerre bishops, notably sam igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 17 onyekwu elenwo, who became the first ikwerre bishop and fourth diocesan of the old niger delta after bishop yibo fubara. the other two are rt. rev. blessing enyindah, the bishop of ikwerre diocese and rt. rev.innocent u. ordu, bishop of evo diocese. the statistics of the clergy disposition of the diocese of ikwerre for 2010/2011 shows that out of a total ninety-four (94) clergymen distributed in over ten archdeaconries only six (6) are nonindigenes. undoubtedly, the indigenous ikwerre are much happier receiving the gospel message from the hands of their own kith and kin. christianity is no longer perceived as an alien religion nor is the ikwerre the object of mission. instead they are now active participants in the reception, transmission, and transformation of christianity in africa. it would be recalled that the anglican church missionary society, hereafter cms, has recognized the use of native agency as missionary principle and praxis. henry venn, the secretary of the cms from 1841-1872 had advocated the use of native agency as the key to mission (chatfield, 1989:64). this was his vision of the “three-self’s”: self-governing, self-propagating, and self-financing congregations. it was because of this policy that samuel ajayicrowther, an african was ordained priest in 1843, and subsequently made bishop in 1864. his achievements in the niger mission have been hugely documented by scholars of different feathers (ajayi 1965, ayandele, 1966, tasiel978). in ikwerre land, the native agents serve as pioneers and catalysts in the contextualization of christianity in the anglican churches. for example, madam irene weli and love onuegbu have used their repertory of ikwerre songs in worship and liturgies to make the worship of god have meaning for the indigenous ikwerre. as g.om tasie has rightly expressed “the native agents made christianity reflect the immediate environment and be presented in the liturgy and language the indigenous converts could easily appreciate and follow” (1978:325). thus the use of indigenous agency in the evangelization process has made the anglican churches in ikwerre land assume a native character, thereby giving them a sense of identity. use of indigenous ikwerre ritual objects and symbols ritual processes are a series of symbolic action which are both highly complex and multi-dimensional. they involve actors, actions, use of time and space, as well as other symbolic agencies and agents. ritual symbols or the use of concrete objects are visible elements in several religious traditions or denominations. their visibility can be observed in the profusion of religious emblems, ideograms, rituals, songs, prayers, myths, incantations, vows, customary behaviour and personifications (nabofa, 1994:4). the symbolic use and significance of water, sand, oil, salt, palm fronds, leaves, feathers, kaolin (native igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 18 white chalk), and other ritual objects is commonplace in ikwerre ritual system, the context under which the anglican churches exist. by locating these religious objects within the precinct of the host, religious and cultural substrate, some features suggestive of affinity and discontinuity in both worldviews become manifestly clear. for many religious groups, water (“mini”) is an ancient symbol of “life” and “power”. the anglican churches use holy and sanctified water to perform both therapeutic and prophylactic functions after it has been sanctified through prayers. it may be used in bathing, ingested as a purgative, drunk to restore spiritual powers and to heal physical ailments, sprinkled or wetted on a space to confuse and chase away unwanted malevolent spiritual forces. such water is added salt, which in biblical imagery is to destroy or neutralize or render impotent such evil powers. the anglican church also uses water as ritual of baptism. the rite of baptism represents an important ritual of passage for any anglican. according wotogbe-weneka (1997:57), baptism consists of two parts; “the visible and invisible sign and the inward and outward grace. the outward grace is water ‘in which the person is baptized in the name of the father, of the son, and of the holy spirit’.” thus water (“mini”) and the name of god the father, god the son, and the holy spirit are regarded by the anglican church as the essential parts of baptism in which the individual is incorporated into the anglican communion. the church does not discriminate between baptism by total immersion or sprinkling, both are allowed. this probably explains why some anglican churches make provision for baptismal fonts suited for both immersion and sprinkling. in the absence of baptismal fonts, baptism can be conducted from a flowing stream, river, lagoon or sea, in after the appropriate prayer and sanctification rituals have been offered. olumati (2013), argues that another important ritual symbol used by the anglican church in its healing ministry is sand. the sand here is understood not its biological sense but it symbolizes the source and ground of all humanity true existence. it is everywhere, and on it everybody moves. from the earth also comes food for all creatures and to the earth will creatures return at the end of earthly existence. thus, the earth symbolizes power and real existence. according to chikodi wachukwu (2010), sand is used in prayers of healing and judgment. the idea is that sand which is everywhere is a living testimony to the action or inaction one takes and if one tries to tell lies or break the covenant the impartial mother will judge him in several ways which includes sickness and other calamities that may result in death. in ikwerre cosmology, the earth goddess (“ali”) is the guardian of morality and any moral infraction (“nso ali”) against it is visited with sickness or even death. no ikwerre man can have sex in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 19 the bush or bare ground because it is a taboo against the earth goddess. besides sand, the anglican church also uses anointing oil for its healing ministry. the oil is used for consecration for holy works and to empower the individual against enigmatic malevolent forces which afflict humans with various diseases and sicknesses. the scriptures in several passages enjoins the believers to pray for the sick and anoint with oil within the context of prayer of faith. the point being made here is that the symbolic use of water, sand, oil and other ritual objects for purposes of healing, fertility, purification, prevention, and spiritual empowerment has been re-valorized and reinforced in the ritual system of ikwerre anglicanism. thus as afe adegome has argued that: what has changed in this sense is not the attitude towards and the motif behind the ritual symbolism, but rather the medium or object to which the rituals are directed. such symbols are seen as a means to an end and not an end in itself. it is a symbol which helps to strengthen and reinforcefaith of the members (adegome. 2000:74) thus the affinity and continuity of features or elements from the indigenous ikwerre religious culture in the healing praxis of anglican church cannot be overemphasized. there is no doubt that as the indigenous ikwerre begins to see elements of continuities of ikwerre ritual cosmos in christianity; it will impact significantly upon the inner meaning of his faith. after all, during the early stages of ikwerre anglicanism, some ikwerre people testify that their conversion to christianity was due to their healing, which they attributed to the christian god. such persons as beniah wosu and john orlu from ogbakiri became anglicans after hearing the biblical accounts of healing miracles (orlu, 1990). on the use of indigenous symbols and ritual objects for greater pastoral attention and proper contextualization, the roman catholic mission (rcm) had had a head-start over the anglican mission, particularly since the vatican ii. for example, in igboland the roman catholics have employed local materials as well as indigenous religious and cultural ideas, symbols and motifs to express some important christian themes and values. consecrated water is sprinkled on the congregation during offertory and before the celebration of the eucharist. during the holy week, it is usual to see catholics rob on ashes on their foreheads on ash wednesday. besides, it is common place to see huge and beautifully carved doors rich in indigenous art-forms and symbols adorn several churches and catholic centres in igboland (ejizu, 2009:12). ozigboh (1985) explains that one of the strategies the roman catholics adopted to make more progress than the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 20 protestants in igboland was the use of aesthetic and indigenous ritual symbols. because the igbo are symbol-loving, the rcm make profuse use of candles, incense, water, sand, oil, masks, and palm fronds to inculturate christianity in igboland. iwe (1979), has advocated for the replacement of imported wine and wafers with local palm wine and yam as substances for the celebration of the eucharist. because iwe’s prescription has generated a lot of debate, i.e., between the roman catholic idea of transubstantiation and co-substantiation by the protestants, he is worth quoting at length: why can we not make use of our native materials for mitre and crosier and thereby end our stultifying dependence on materials and stones from europe? can our glittering native palm oil not be a fit and worthy material for consecration and other sacramental and liturgical purposes? can any ontological, biblical or liturgical superiority of the mild mediterranean olive oil over our buoyantly glittering palm oil be proved and established? why can we not use decent and high-quality palm wine for mass or divine worship?... if christ were a native of this land would behave waited for wine- imported wine-for his last supper? were the elements of his last supper imported ones or local jewish elements? (iwe, 1979:101) the implication of all this, is for anglican mission to harness elements of african religious culture for use in church life and worship so that there would be a down-to-earth and meaningful contextualization of christianity. a serious attempt should be made to substitute foreign vestment, vessels and other ritual objects with local ones to ensure the emergence of a dynamic, original, and exuberant church at the grassroots. title-taking or investiture in ikwerreland one notable aspect of the contextualization of anglicanism in ikwerre land is that it has mainly occurred primarily among the indigenous ikwerre communities who have retained their rootedness in traditional ikwerre values and beliefs, accommodating christianity to them i.e., from ‘the ground up’ rather than the reverse. for these communities, the conversion process succeeded only to the degree that they found points of convergence between their beliefs and values and the new religion (wicker 1998:358-91). this analysis is reflected in the traditional institution of title-taking and other liminal rites, such as initiation into manhood. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 21 in the political structure of ikwerre, titles were invested on men and women with exemplary character, as a mark of communal honour, prestige, and achievement. these values were mined from primal ethics in order to maintain civic order. for instance, among the indigenous ikwerre the clan head (‘nyewe-eli’) is the ritual agent par excellence, even in situations where there are priestly guardians of communal shrines. priestly functions are invested in the paterfamilias, first sons (‘ekpera’), kinship heads (‘nye-vu-oro’), village or clan heads (‘nyenwe-eli ‘), the council of elders (‘ohna’), and female priestesses. gerontocracy, the rule of the elders, predominates, because elders and ancestors are thought to be in close proximity. however, in every ikwerre community there exits ritual power nodesdiviners, seers, herbalists, and witchcraft expertswho provide protective enhancements and destructive medicine, charms, and amulets. general practitioners may combine some of these roles, and elastic structure enables the recruitment of spiritual forces from foreign communities for witchcraft detection (‘oje-nkoro’) and achievement-enhancing medicine. guilds and secret societies also co-exist, sharing wisdom, craft, cult, and medicine. they mobilize around certain interests, including healing, wealth, influence, esoteric knowledge, material aid, and entertainment. in some communities, leaders can only emerge from among the members of the secret society. this explains why in the formative years of ikwerre anglicanism the institution of title taking was condemned. thus, a christian taking traditional title was considered to have compromised the faith, and therefore excommunicated from communion. so the problem then was can a christian take a traditional title? or can titled man be saved? and if a christian accepts a traditional title what are the rites he should undergo? in some contexts, a christian was in dilemma of becoming a member of the council of elders (‘ohna’) or he may send some body as proxy. because the rites of initiation into oha are hedged with many traditional religious rites, the church educated their converts against becoming members of oha. this has affected the institution adversely. in some communities, this ended in disaster. for example, in ibaa community, an anglican convert had to commit suicide because he was under pressure to join ‘ohna’ by his village and because of the religious rituals involved, which he considered unchristian (onu 2005:276). in a related example, chief james kejeh of mgbueto in emohua refused to use the sacred “owho” stick and also refused to serve “agbada” deity. today, there are attempts by the church to inculturate the institution of ohna (council of elders). many christian nominees are now insisting on the conditions for membership, which includes the removal of what they consider offensive religious rituals involved, such as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 22 the substitution of “nnokam or agbada” deity with the bible. the other practices are the abolition of the divinatory and oracular roles the ohna performed, which they consider contrary to christianity. others eligible christians into ohna have urged the removal of “owhor” stick, which is carried by ohna man. for example, in isiokpo community, a retired archdeacon of the anglican church s.y chukwuigwe became a member of ohna. this shows the ingenuity of the church to incorporate and re-valorize indigenous religious ideas and practices to make the people have a sense of identity. in many parts of africa, titles are usually invested on individuals who had distinguished themselves in one field of endeavour or the other during the new yam festivals, and other socio-cultural activities. such persons may be conferred with such titles as the voice of the people (‘onu-nu-kwonu-ohna’), the strength of the people (‘nye-dike-mbam’); the leopard which guards the village (‘agnu-ne-chembam’), and other self-aggrandizing titles like, the light, the sun, the moon, and the lighting that shows the way, etc. the imagery is a cluster of money, power, and light on the darkened path of the communities (kalu, 2008:202). there is no doubt that some of these titles may be well intentioned and good. they promoted primal ethics. the pastoral challenge the anglican faces is how to accommodate these titles so that the elite can be won over for christ. for example, only the eldest male of the village are admitted into ohna council. his office is a composite one. he performs political, religious, social and judicial functions. he is the custodian of the village ‘owhor-nu-ogwo’ and a repository of the ancestral wisdom. nye-ohna is an embodiment of right living. membership is by ascription and not achievement. usually, in most indigenous communities the head of the council of elders (‘nye-risi-ohna’) is the leader of the clan or the paramount ruler (‘nyenweeli‘). unlike the “ozo” among the igbo neighbours whose membership is by achievement ‘ohna’ was not. in fact, as n.j gbule avers that to be enlisted into ohna is to be initiated a spiritual life of encyclopaedic inclusiveness (gbule, 1982:5).this is how revered significant the ohna institution is to most ikwerre communities. besides, the ‘ohna’ institution, the commonest titles among the ikwerre are chieftaincy titles. there are compound chiefs, village or clan chiefs. these assist the paramount ruler or clan head (‘nyenwe-eli’) in adjudication of cases and other functions. chieftaincy titles are conferred on worthy sons and daughters of the community who have distinguished themselves in politics, education, and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 23 business and contributed to the development of their respective communities. most times individuals who are conferred chieftaincy titles are also members of the church. for example, in 2000 chief j.j ohaka the paramount ruler of uvuawbu community and foundation member of the holy trinity church conferred chieftaincy titles on some sons and daughters of the community. most of the people that received these titles were also members of their local anglican churches, thus, showing intercultural communication. initiation into manhood (“igbaiku”) in ikwerre land related to title-taking is the initiation into manhood (“igba-iku”). it varies from one ikwerre community to another. among the ibaa community, the ceremony of initiation into manhood is very elaborate and extends over many days. only males who have attained the age 50 are eligible to take part. some ibaa sons abroad (overseas), who are unable to attend, are represented by proxy provided they fulfil the customary rites involved. the climax of the initiation ceremony involves the members gathering all their walking sticks together into bundle on the ground and take an oath of unity, moral integrity as well as to support each other in all circumstances. among the ipo, omademe, and izuaha, all in ikwerre, the ‘itu-nuenya’ is also an initiation ceremony into manhood. but unlike the ibaa example, one does not need to get to the age of 50 before undergoing the traditional rites. the ‘itu-nuenya’ is still shrouded in secrecy. it is open to only males between the ages of 1840. initiates into the itu-nuanya are expected to spend a week or more in the bush where they undergo tests of manliness before emerging from the forest. during the period of ordeal it is believed that they have been energized by the ancestral spirits concerned. they also swear to an oath of secrecy not to divulge what goes on to an outsider, even under the pain of death. initiates are expected to climb the palm tree with bare hand and cut down the young tendrils (omungwu). the first person to do this has achieved a feat. oral testimonies of some of the anglican priests in the area show that this is one of the traditions that has refused exorcism. for example, the last ceremony in 2010 was held on sunday at ozuaha community and it was to be a day of worship for all christians. but that day, almost all the churches in these communities were deserted with empty pews. there is no doubt that the ‘itu-enya’ ceremony poses a pastoral challenge to the anglican church and its leadership. the bishop, rt. rev enyindah of the diocese of ikwerre is even unsure what to do. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 24 however, with the introduction of honorific titles to honour elders and all those who had distinguished themselves in the service of god and humanity by anglican communion, there appears to be light in the horizon. the order of knighthood was introduced into the anglican church in ikwerre land in 1995, even though it had been introduced into the eastern province of the anglican communion ten years earlier by bishop benjamin c. nwanikiti (adiele 1996: 225). the history of knighthood dates back to the medieval era in europe. they were known for their chivalry or knightly conduct like bravery, loyalty, devotion generosity and above all reverence to god. according to shed adiele (1996), during the crusades, many of them joined the order to defend the faith against the muslim invaders. the patron saints of the order include st christopher, st. augustine, st. paul, and knights of good shepherd. there were also ladies of st. mary and st bethany. the lives of these patron saints serve as inspiration and a role model for anglicans. the words of long fellow, an anglican historian, is apt here: “lives of great men all reminds us that we can make or lives sublime, and departing; leave behind us foot print on the sand of time” (quoted in adiele 1996:227). as noted above, the first investitures into the knighthood order in the niger delta diocese occurred in 1995, when rt. rev bishop samuel o.elenwo knighted eight (8) anglicans at st andrew’s anglican church, diobu, and port harcourt. the knights were given the title “sir” and their wives as “lady auxiliary”. but now a woman who is knighted took the title “dame” rather than ‘lady’, an inversion of “madame,” as the title “lady” had the pejorative connotation of spinsterhood. an aspirant to the knight order must be a communicant of the anglican communion, a husband of one wife (i cor. 9:5), blameless in conduct (i tim. 5:7, 6:14), given to hospitality (i titus 1:8, rom. 2:13), not a member of secret society, and not given to much wine (i tim 3:3titus 1:7) (adiele 228-229). the regalia of knights included a red coat, and black trousers stripped by the sides, and a long parade sword. there is doubt as to whether the introduction of the knighthood in the anglican communion has encouraged devotion and a spirit of philanthropy in the church. infact, the methodist in order to counter the drifting of their elite members to other denominations has introduced the knight of st wesley. thus, many dioceses in the anglican communion now have council of knights as a statutory body to mobilize funds for projects and other development plans. this has encouraged the laity to participate actively in church activities, as the vibrancy of any church depends on what the laity does. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 25 the honorific title of knighthood is an ingenious solution by the anglican leadership to re-appropriate such indigenous ikwerre social values and political structures as title-taking and initiation rites for the service of god and humanity. for as african and ikwerre life is interwoven. there is no dichotomy between the secular and the profane, for religion is part of the warp and woof of culture. the african, in this context, the indigenous ikwerre, looks at a person holistically and therefore christianity needs to retain this integrity in its teaching (makauolwendo 2009:120). according to ntetem (1987:100) “the conversion of man should not be regarded as a break at whatever cost with his past and with his tribal religion, as if to make a kind of dichotomy between light and shadow, between what is holy and what is perverted. if a cultural practice is in conflict with the bible, then, that practice shouldbe discouraged. if the practice has some elements that can enhance the understanding of christian living but does contain some aspects that conflict with the bible, then, the practice can be redeemed by deconstructing the principle behind the practice in some church programmes. this is clearly demonstrated with introduction of honorific titles by the anglican churches in ikwerre land. andrew walls also shares the same sentiment when he avers that “conversion is to turn what is already there in a new direction... it is not a matter of substituting something new for something old... rather, christian conversion involves redirecting what is already there, turning it in the direction of christ”. he cites the case of thejerusalem believers and what they did with their jewish inheritance and in the tabernacle. he asks rhetorically: how was it possible in the wilderness to make the gold cherubim that symbolized the divine presence? or whence came the gold pot that held the manna, or the vessels in the holy of holies? all these precious metasi could have come only from the spoiling of the egyptians. and the tabernacle curtains must have been made from the egyptian cloth. the work of christians is to take the materials of the heathen world and fashion them into objects for the worship and glorification of god. thus by such means the highway of old athens were painfully rerouted in the direction of the new jerusalem (1997:8). this is the ingenuity the anglican church in ikwerre land has demonstrated with the introduction of the honorific title of knighthood. the church through the investiture of knighthoodhas perceptively intercommunicated cultural, socioigwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 26 ethical values in the african primal worldview and those of medieval europe for the worship and glorification of god. conclusion as seen from our study, intercultural communications have facilitated development, enhanced inter-marriages, increased cultural awareness, promoted information technology and contributed to globalisation among others, thus it could be said that intercultural communication is a boon and not a bane, because through inter-cultural communications, inter-religious dialogue is enhanced. however, ejizu (2011), underscores the point that dialogue with atr reveals the many values which are common to both christianity and atr which can serve as a “praeparatio evangelica” as stepping stones for introducing african adherents of atr into the full acceptance of the christian faith, this may not be right since inter-cultural communication enhances cross-fertilization of ideas. this however, should not be the immediate purpose of dialogue. nor should this possible outcome be positively excluded. however, the value common to both religions unveiled through dialogue are indispensable for inculturation. there can be no serious inculturation without dialogue with atr where our (african traditional) religious values have their natural habitat. the christian church itself gains from this, for inculturation helps the african christians to live in an integrated life which is truly christian and truly african. most often, religious pluralism cuts across national, tribal, and at times even family line. in nigeria, for example, people belonging to different faiths (atr, islam and christianity) in the same village, town, or live in the same compounds or bloc of flats in the urban areas and even in the same family. they meet at family meetings, birth, marriage and funeral celebrations, village meetings. they work side by side in the same office, schools, factories. so that a situation for dialogue a sort of imposes itself on the people who find themselves in such situations. this immediate aim of inter-cultural communications is to work out workable comprises for co-existence and cooperation which often paper over their religious differences, in order to maintain social harmony and integration, to avoid conflicts and discord in the society. consequently, indigenous african religions face the critical crises of existential proportion and with the crises arises a fundamental challenge to the humanity of africans globally. many indigenous african religions have become extinct, succumbing to the centuries of concerted efforts from both cast, west and within igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 27 to destroy them. every single indigenous african religion is under severe assault and is endangered and to be complacent is to actively encourage the perilous disaster waiting to happen to global african religions. there is no doubt that african traditional religions are fundamental elements in terms of africans having a positive cultural identity and hence has been a primary target for destruction in order to dehumanize and derogate the identity of african peoples globally. forces from the east and west were in full understanding of the direct relationship between the people and their religions and with the way the people felt about, saw and related with themselves. iconoclasm and epistemicide have been the most effective tools used throughout africa to dispossess africans of their religious heritage, indigenous knowledge systems, scientific heritage, cultural identity and value systems and that is exactly what this work recommends. also, some belief systems elapsed and others remain resolute. that the good side of african traditional religion should be allowed to take place and should be incorporated into the nigerian educational curriculum.it is clear that what is at stake is the preservation of the indigenous religions of africa and the cultures they encapsulate, thereby making an afrocentric connection to the natural world in a sustainable way possible. references ayandele, e. a. (1966). the missionary impact on modern nigeria, 1842-1914: a political and social analysis longman: london. gbule, n. j. (201). contextualisation of christianity in anglican churches in ikwerreland. unpublished ph.d dissertation, uniport, dept. of rel. & cultural studies. iwe, n. s. s. (1979). christianity, culture and colonialism in africa: port harcourt: r.s.n.c. jenkins, p. (2002). the next christendom: the coming of the global christianity. o.u.p. new york. kalu, o. u. (2001). “sacred egg: worldview, ecology and development in west africa” in john a. grim (ed) indigenous traditions and ecology. cambridge, massachusetts: harvard university press. kalu, o. u. (1980). the history of christianity in west africa. longman: essex. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 28 kalu, o. u. (2000). “after the former rains: paradigm shifts in the study of cultural identity and christianity in nigeria” in e. a. odumuyiwareligion, science and culture. t. olatunji pointers: ikwerre remo. larry, a. s. et al. (2007). thompson learning academic resource centre u. s. 6th edition. olumati, r. (2012). the symbolism of ali deity and its ritual forms in ikwerre of rivers state, nigeria.ekpoma journal of rel. studies.vol.9,nos. 1&2. olumati, r. (2016). the relevance of ali (earth deity): ritual forms and processes in the 21st century ikwerre of north eastern niger delta. in icheke, journal of the faculty of humanities, ignatius ajuru university of education, rumuolumeni, port harcourt. vol. 14, no. 2.pp.89-112. sanneh, l. (2001). translating the message, the missionary impact on culture.orbis books: new york. shorter, a. (1973).african culture and the christian church london: geoffrey talbort, a. (1967). tribes of the niger delta: their and customs. london: frank cass. tasie g. o. m. (1980). “christian awakening in west africa 1914-1918. a study of the significance of native agency,” in o. u. kaluhistory of christianity in west africa.london: longman, pp. 293-308. tasie, g.i.k (2013). the gods as tourist attractions; a study of african indigenous religions the man stay of cultural tourism in africa international journal of arts and commerce vol. 2, no. 3 p. 33-42. uk. tasie, g.i.k. and olumati, r. (2013).west african religious heritage; clear vision publication opera square, accra ghana. vander veer, p. (1994). “syncretism, multiculturalism and the discourse of tolerance” charles stewart and rosalind shaw (ed), syncretism, anti syncretism: the politics of religious synthesis. routledge: london. waliggo, j. a. a. roestcrollius, et al (1986). inculturaltion.its meaning and urgency.nairobi: st. paul publications. walls, a. f. (2000).the missionary movement in christian history.orbis books. new york. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 29 wals, a.f. (2002). the cross-cultural process in christian history:orbis books. new york. welbourne, f. & bethel a. ogot (1967).a place to feel at home. nairobi: oxford univ. press. wobasi, o. o. (1993). “traditional system of government and justice in ikwerre” in otontindukastudies in ikwerre history and culture vol. 1. ibadan: kraft books. wotogbe, weneka w.o. (1990) “ikwerre indigenous religious beliefs and practices” in elechiamaadi’s works (with references to the concubine, the great ponds and the slave) in w. peuser and e. eko (ed) elechiamadi at 53: poems, short stories and papers. pp. 80-88. wotogbe-weneka, w. o. (1997). anglicanism. port harcourt link advertising ltd. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no 3.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 82 impact of religion on economic diversification in nigeria: amidst religious conflicts christopher ndubuisi ibenwa, ph.d religion and cultural studies, university of nigeria, nsukka. e-mail: christopherndubuisi05@gmail.com & chidimma jessica allison ph.d religion and cultural studies, university of nigeria, nsukka. e-mail: chidimma.allison@unn.edu.ng abstract operating a mono-economic structure and the constant reliance on oil sector has been viewed as the major challenges of the nigerian economy. the prospect of nigerian economy towards attaining a sustainable growth and development, as many economists would observe, requires the correction of this existing structuring distortions. diversification of her economy is seen as the easiest way to record this growth and development in the economy. unfortunately, the influence of religion on this growth and development has been relegated to the background. can there really be any visible economic diversification programme/project in nigeria amidst the present religious sentiments and turmoil in the country? it is this gap that the present study proposes to fill. the study among others aims at unraveling the impact of religion on economic diversification and growth in nigeria. the study draws on data from available literature but bent on analyzing them critically using descriptive phenomenological method. the study found out that religion can either play a positive or negative role in the economic growth and development of the country. keywords: impact, religious conflict, economic diversity and religion. introduction national development is a process of improving the range of opportunities that will enable individual, humans and communities to achieve their aspirations and full potential over a sustained period of time while maintaining the resilience of economic, social and environmental system (munasinghe, 2004). economic development on the other hand, is the process of growth in total and capital igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 83 income accompanied by fundamental changes in the economy (oguji and kene, 2009:9). it is both the tool and the variables of national development, and it has three major phasespre-industrial phase/ primary stage (low levels of growth and low income per capita), industrialization phase/ secondary stage (high growth rates and sharp increase in income per capita) and finally, the post modern/ postindustrialization phase/ tertiary stage (modest levels of growth and high income per capita). diversifying the economy is generally seen by economists as the easiest way to record a remarkable and sustained result on the economy and on the national development of a nation at large. the present economic systemthe mono-economic structure and the sole dependence on one resource is believed to be the major threat to nigerian national development. the negligence of non-oil sectors of the nation, which has been the lead income-base of the nation before the discovering and exploration of oil, poses a great risk vulnerability to the economic life and national development of the nation. hence the need to diversify her economy through harnessing other resources and sectors become not only necessary but urgent. this explains the consistent call for “economic diversification”. however, from available literature it is obvious that the idea and concept of economic diversification is not entirely new to nigeria? as a matter of fact, there are quite number of attempts (vision/ policies/ plans) made by nigerian past government towards diversifying the economy. unfortunately, the extent to which the objectives of these plans/ decrees have been reached remained questioned. for many the result was below expectations and a failure. though nigeria has witnessed many development plans since inception as democratic and sovereign nation, none of such plans has achieved the objective of emancipating the country from crushing economic backwardness and underdevelopment (folala, 2012). there are list of factors seen as being responsible for the failures and some recommendations on how to address the plans in the future. from the above premises it is quite obvious that religion has an outstanding impact on the entire economic development process of the country. the reason for the failure of most of these past programmes of the government was supplied by researchers and they include conflicts. viewing the cause of the failure from both internal and external conflicts, (folala, 2012) opines: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 84 the cause can be located in certain internal and external factors. these factors are partly natural and partly man-made. for example, the contemporary conflicts and crisis to which nigeria has been subjected in modern times are grave manifestations of poor leadership. among these crises are niger delta crisis, the massob agitation, the boko haram up-rising, the surging unemployment state, etc. these are in our opinion, manifestations of leadership failure consequent upon lack of knowledge of economic and political history of our nation (p.63). some of the articulated prospect of future development plans in nigeria include; 1. a well-articulating information/ sensitization programme for the masses, 2. inculturation of right moral value 3. mobilization of the people for programme, 4. strengthening the institution and finally 5. acquisition of the right needed skills. concept of conflict, religious conflict and economic diversifications it is usually better to begin a work by first clearing the definitional fogs that might inhibit a clear understanding of the topic under review. and the terms include conflict, religious conflict and economic diversifications. the terms conflict, religious conflict and economic diversifications have been severally defined by different authors at various times under different historical, cultural and ideological influences. francis (2007) sees conflict as the pursuit of incompatible goals by different groups. there is yet another more elaborate definition of conflict given by coser in ugwu (2009:519) as a struggle over values or claims to status, power, and scarce resources in which the aims of the conflicting parties are not only to gain the desired values but also to neutralized, injure or eliminate their rivals on the other hand religious conflict according to gofwen (2014 in ugwu 2009:519) is a specific form of conflict between groups which differed ideologically along religious lines within a pluralistic setting with each striving for political relevance. economic diversification simple put is “movement into new fields and stimulation and expansion of existing traditional products. it does not discourage specialization, but requires that resources be channeled into the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 85 best alternative uses (ayeni, 1987 & iniodu, 1995). it is the strategy of investing in a variety of assets. it is one of the two general techniques for reducing investment risk. the other is hedging. economic diversification on the other hand is the degree to which an economy’s mix of industries, sectors, skill levels and employment levels differ from a larger reference economy. economic diversity is the ability of having a wide variety of jobsnot just in different industries, or in different pay scales but also different backgrounds. three areas of economic diversity include in industry, in industry categories and in human capital (talent). talent according to him, is everything when it comes to attracting new business (nave andrew (n.d). option for diversifying an economy abounds. it includes agriculture, entertainment, financial services, industrialization, information and communication technology, tourism etc. the simplest example of diversification is provided by the popular proverb “don’t put all your eggs in one basket”. it is believed that dropping ones eggs in one basket will break all the eggs and placing each egg in a different basket is more diversified and then safer. there is more risk of losing one egg, but less risk of losing all of them. a common path towards diversification is often to reduce risk or volatility by investing in a variety of assets (or basket in this analogy here). economic diversity has often been promoted as a means to achieve the economic goal of stability. few empirical studies have been able to relate higher levels of diversity to both economic stability and overall levels of economic activity (diversity). the stability of diversifying the economy is linked with the dependence on more than one or a few sectors encouraged by diversification, which yields positive economic outcomes when those sectors are growing. since dependence is a source of vulnerability when key sectors find their competitive position threatened. other things being equal, diverse economies tend to be more stable because they are less dependent on single industries of firms. the broader mix of economic activities in a place means that decline in one sector may sometimes be offset by growth in another. advantages of diversification of economy abounds. diversification fosters a more creative and innovative workforce, a key aspect of entrepreneurialism, and help to create a competitive economy in a globalized world (sophia kerby & crushy burns, 2012). economic diversification and the nigerian experience the two major need for diversifying the nigerian economy as observed by many economist and social analysts is hinged on the effect of depending on a single commodity-oil; which come with the relegation to the background of other igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 86 sectors of the economy and the inefficacious management of oil revenues in driving the economy to a commendable level of development. many other findings posit that after 5 decades of oil exploration activities, a good percentage of nigerian’s still live in abject poverty; unemployment is low productivity (a. utting & etengu onum, 2013). for nigeria to break loose from the problems inherent in this scenario especially one largely dominated by oil, which is subject to depletion, international price shocks and unfavorable quota arrangement, the need for diversification becomes pertinent. economic diversification or a move towards diversifying her economy features prominently in most of the development plans and broad policy agenda of various nigerian governments since independence. nigeria’s first development plan covered the year 1962 to 1968, the second plan 1970 to 1974, the third covers 1975 to 1980 (5 years plan). besides these earlier development plans, there were later development plans, such as, the vision 2010, 2015 and 2020 etc which were all believed to have been designed to boast the nigerian economy (folala,p.63,n.d). even the 7 point agenda touches on diversification with emphasis on making a shift from the undue emphasis on oil and gas. in agricultural sector to be precise, there have been a recorded in-road/ plans towards strengthening the sector and by so doing, achieving the broader goal of diversifying the economy. notable among these programmes is the structural adjustment programme (sap) of 1986, which one of the objectives was to “restructure and diversify the productive base of the economy”, with a view to reducing dependence on the oil sector and imports. in agriculture we have plans/ policies such as; 1. agricultural development projects (adps) of 1972 2. re-organisation of agricultural research institute decree 33, of 1973 3. national accelerated food production project (nafpp)of 1975 4. river basin development authorities (rbdas) decree 25 (amended 1977, 1979) of 1976 5. the green revolution programme of 1980 6. directorate of food, roads and rural infrastructure (dfrri) of 1986 7. statewide agricultural development projects (sadps) of 1991 and finally 8. agricultural policies under vision 2020 of 2007 to date, and their objectives were geared towards -ii. achievement of self-sufficiency in food product, i. the achievement of increase in productivity iii. selfsustained growth in agricultural sector; and iv. the realization of structural transformation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 87 appraisal of these plans, as many economist and researchers observe, indicates that the result was below expectations and a failure. others insist that though nigeria has witnessed many development plans since inception as a democratic and sovereign nation, that none of these or such plans has achieved the objective of emancipating the country from crushing economic backwardness and underdevelopment (folala 2012). the reason for these negative or poor outcomes of the plans abounds. the cause, as folala maintains, can be located in certain internal and external factors. these factors are partly natural and partly manmade. for example, the contemporary conflicts and crisis to which nigeria has been subjected in modern times are grave manifestations of poor leadership: among these crises are niger delta crisis, the massob agitation, the boko haram up-rising, the surging unemployment state, etc. these are in our opinion, manifestations of leadership failure consequent upon lack of knowledge of economic and political history of our nation (p.63) aside the above reasons, other scholars tend to associate the weakness/ failure of these plans to factors such as: 1. insincerity in the implementation of the policy/ plans, 2. uncoordinated institution (lack of strong or capable institution), 3. corruption, lack of strong institution and needed skills (soludo, 2018). to checkmate these, some researchers have proposed the following remedies: 1. a well-articulated information/ sensitization programme for the masses 2. inculturation of right moral values 3. mobilization of the people for programme. impact of religion on economic diversification in nigeria by impact we mean a marked effect or influence or even the impression of religion on economic diversification in nigeria and of course, on national development. the impact religion has on the society and the economy has been constantly re-emphasized. religion as mbiti (1999:1) made us to understand permeates all departments of life to such an extent that it is not easy or possible to isolate it. religion observed omoregbe (1999) is such a prominent feature in human society that it cannot be simply ignored; and the history would be incomplete without reference to religion. it has aided social programmes, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 88 education, development, interpersonal and international cooperation etc. for ibenwa and iheanacho (2017:49) religion is a system of building social development and ethical culture of any given society. for the africans, “to live is to be caught up in a religious document”. religion is indeed fundamental for africans, since human beings live in a religious universe. religion constitutes the main fabric of african societies and is intertwined with their general existence, including their sociopolitical and economic development (schuuran, 2011). the saying that african’s live religiously, eats religiously and dies religiously is not a mare saying. there is hardly any aspect of an african live that is not influenced and moderated by their religious ideology. same reality is the case with nigeria. excluding the influence the three major religious ideologies of the nation has on the economic development and diversity of the nation will amount to serious oversight. the need and usefulness of diversity was stressed by christian religion in ecclesiastes (11:2) “put your investments in several places, many places, in fact, because you never know what kind of bad luck you are going to have in this world (nj. bible). from critical appraisal of these impacts, one would identify both positive (healthy) and negative (unhealthy) impacts. positive impacts of religion on a nation include: 1. as an institution: religion has the capacity to foster and propagates government plans and programmes aimed at promoting diversification. among christian religion, the church for example has strong institutions, such as health institution, schools, income generating sectors, support groups that the government can work with in the propagation of her diversification ideology. 2. as a moral or valueorienting organ: religion could be of immense importance to the government in the inculcation of right values and moral principles required in the process of diversification of the economy. since one of the challenges of past economic diversification plans has to do with lack of right principles and corruption. religion could help through teachings to restores the needed and required attitude towards diversification in nigeria. 3. as human formation organ/ agency: religious institutions remain an important and outstanding organ in human / character formation in any country. as such, religious organizations / institutions in nigeria should be seen as an important stakeholder in any successful economic diversification plans/ programmes in the country. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 89 however, there are also some challenges often posed by religious institutions which can disrupt the positive attributes and impacts of the institution to economic development of the country. some of these challenges are: 1. religious violence and the effects: most of the religious unrest often results in destruction of government establishments and investments. this is a slide to any progress in development of a nation. 2. the unhealthy relationship between the religious leaders and the political leaders: this has been identified as one major challenge that diminishes the healthy impacts of religion to a nation. some nigerian religious leaders are biased in their position due to their self-centered interest and relationship with politics and political leaders. most of them are referred to as cash-and carry men of god who are only interested in boosting their bank accounts and prestige. some of them connived and are still conniving with our failed leaders to impoverish the people more and more since they do not want to lose the benefits and privileges they enjoy being close to the corridors of power. 3. it is negative effect on education is a huge one. it leads to closure and altering of school calendar thereby prolonging the stay of our children in schools. for instance, the abduction of over 200 chibok secondary school girls of 15th april, 2014 led to the closing of the school. lending credence to this claim ugwu (2018:13-14) writes that on 19th february 2018, boko haram kidnapped over one hundred female students from federal government science and technical college, dapchi in yobe state and this indeed paralyze school activities. (news agency of nigeria, 2018 cited in ugwu, 2018:13-14). in line with this ibenwa, okoli and mgbaegbu (2017) aver that whenever there is any serious terrorist/religious attack in any part of the country or in educational institution, the students are usually asked to go home and to come back at a later time when the school authority feels that there is an enabling environment for teaching and learning. by so doing, the school calendar is normally altered and prolonged. at times, a student who is to spend only four years in a course will spend more years as a result of crises. 4. wanton destruction of lives property. each time there is any religious war lives and property are destroyed, some are injured lightly, some maimed and others killed. this no doubt reduces workforce, that is the number of people that are available for labour and production output, thereby effecting the nation’s gnp. corroborating this fact ibenwa (2014) attributes igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 90 the following activities to boko-haram islamist terrorist group, the bombing of police force headquarters in abuja on 16th june 2011 claimed 6 persons and 73 vehicles destroyed and created atmosphere of tension. likewise, the bombing of the un house at abuja on 26th august, 2011 caused diplomatic strain. at least 23 persons (11 un personnel and 12 non-un personnel) were killed. the 25th dec. 2011 bomb explosion at st. theresa’s catholic church in madala, niger state.(okwor, 2012) .and nyanya bomb blast that occurred at nyanya motor park on 14th april,2014 with over 88 people dead and 200 injured, to mention but a few, are further examples. 5. discourages foreign investment: when the foreigners that came to invest in our country see these things happen often as it is happening this day in southern kaduna, zamfra state, born state, kano state, plataeu state,they feel that their lives and investments are not safe, they are discouraged and may decide to close their companies and go. attesting to this point ibenwa, okoli and mbaegbu (2016) comment that persistent terrorist attack discourages foreign investment. foreigners, who come to do business in nigeria, when they witness these terrorist attacks, know that they or their businesses are not safe. they get discouraged because of insecurity of their lives and property. the tendency is that they may decide to withdraw and go back to their various countries thereby withdrawing their investments. 6. it leads to decrease in workforce/output/inflation: during religious riots men, women and children are killed. the perpetrators of these terrorist acts are mainly youths. they kill people and they themselves are also killed. these actions have tremendous negative effects on the work force. as a result of these killings the country’s output in the labour market is affected and this, in turn, has led to scarcity and inflation in all areas of human endeavour, particularly agricultural products like tomatoes, onions, carrots, cucumber, cabbage, pepper, etc ibenwa, okoli and mbaegbu (2017).. 7. it creates artificial scarcity of goods and services: because each time there is any serious religious war farmers usually run away from their farms and refuse to come back until after a long time for the fear of reprisal attack, so also the public and civil servants. aligning with this view point, ibenwa, okoli and mbaegbu (2017) argue that during religious disturbances commercial activities are disrupted. some business activities are put to a halt and this leads to scarcity of commodities produced in those areas. for instance, in jos, kano or kaduna, any time there is any serious terrorist igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 91 attack, traders that go to those places to buy commodities like onions, melon, cucumber, carrots, irish potatoes e.t.c would not go. conclusion and recommendations notwithstanding the negative effects of religion on economic diversification in nigeria and on the entire life of the nation, the present study maintains that religion still has a strong value and influence that can be utilized in achieving economic diversification goals of the country. as such, our leaders are encouraged to positively utilize the potentials of our religious organizations, especially, religious values and ideologies in sustaining any economic diversification programmes in the nation. the study therefore recommends as follows: 1. the government should work with religious leaders in the inculcation of the needed moral values and principles in economic diversification in nigeria. 2. government should make use of religious institutions, such as health facilities, schools, support groups, income generating programs and tourist sites in the administration of the economic diversification plans/ programmes of the country. 3. government should not be tribalistic in appointment of people into economic diversification programmes and in the choice of areas to be developed. 4. also government should not allow religious affiliation to come into play in selection of people for economic diversification programmes. 5. it is the contention of the authors that the government should first return to agricultural programme over and above any other consideration for economic diversification programme. references ayeni, b. (1987). resource localization, exchange relations & diversification: strategy for nigerian economy. ibadan: nigerian economic society, heinemann educational books. blavatsky, h.p. (2013). “the funtions of religion”. http://theocietypages.org/pappers/religion-and-politics (retrieved on 03/12/2013). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 92 folala, j. (2012). violence in nigeria: the crisis of religious politics & secular ideologies. new york: university of rochester press. francis, d. j. (2007). “peace and conflict studies: an african overview of basic concepts” in gaya-best, s. (ed). introduction to peace and conflict studies in west africa. ibadan spectrum books limited.z gofwen, r. i (2004). religious conflicts in northern nigeria and nation building: the throes of two decades 1980-2000. kaduna, human rights monitor. hornby, a. s. (2010). oxford advanced learners dictionary britain: oxford university press. ibenwa, c.n. (2003). “religion and social change in nigeria”. in okeke, v. i et al (eds.) comprehensive textbook in the social sciences. enugu: joen publishers. ibenwa c.n. (2017). “religion in contemporary african society” in onu, a. o et al (eds.) social science perspectives to peace and conflict vol.1. enugu: parakletos immunnis drive. ibenwa, c.n, okolie and mbaegbu, c. c (2017). ”terrorism”in onu, a.o. et al (eds) domestic and globalterrorism: an analysis.. vol. 2. enugu: parakletos immunnis drive. iniodu, p. u. (1995). diversifying nigeria’s non-export base for sustainable development, external trade & economic development in nigeria. selected paper for the 1995 annual conference of the nigerian economic society, (pp. 227-285). mbiti, j.s. (1999). an introduction to african traditional religions. london: heinemann munasinghe, i. (2004). making development more sustainable: sustainomics framework and practical application. uk: mino. oguji, c. o. & kene, g. i. (2009). foundation of development studies. onitsha: west & solomon publishers. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 93 okwor, c. o. (2012). “religious conflict in nigeria and national development: causes and effects” in ituma, e. a. nsukka journal of religion and cultural studies. (njrcs)vol. 5, university of nigeria, nsukka: department of religion and cultural studies. omoregbe, i. (1999). comparative religion: christianity and other world religions in dialogue. ibadan: joja. phil-eze,p.o. (2009) “the environment, peace and conflict in nigeria” in ikejiani-clark,m (ed) peace studies and conflict resolution in nigeria. ibadan: spectrum books limited. schuuran, e. (2011). “eight questions about corruption”. journal of economic perspectives, 19(3), 19-42. soludo, c. (2018). “restructuring better than diversification”. the sun: voice of the nation. sophia, k. & crushy, b. (2012). “a diverse workforce is integral to a strong economy”. in the top 10 economic facts of diversity in the workplace. retrieved from www.google.com on 19th june, 2018. ugwu, c. o. t (2009). “religious conflicts in kano and kaduna states of nigeria”.in ikejiani-clark, m(ed). peace studies and conflicts resolution in nigeria. ibadan: spectrum books limited. ugwu, i. a (2018). “hate speech and it’s contribution to ethno-religious conflicts in nigeria”. a seminar paper presented to the department of religion and cultural studies, university of nigeria, nsukka. utting, c. a. & etengu, o. u. (2013). “beyond oil: dualimperatives for diversifying the nigerian economy”. journal of management & strategy, vol.4, no.3. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 3.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 30 rethinking agila traditional methods of conflict resolution and the need to institutionalize indigenous methods of conflict resolution in nigeria solomon ochepa oduma-aboh, phd department of christian religious studies, kaduna state university, kaduna. solomonoduma@gmail.com & james bako danjuma tella department of christian religious studies, kaduna state university, kaduna. & ochoga edwin ochoga doctoral student, department of political science benue state universitymakurdi ochogaeochoga@gmail.com abstract since independence, the nigerian government has effectively promoted western methods of conflict management and resolution in all parts of the country including agila district in ado local government area of benue state. however, various forms of conflict have become more pronounced in the area within the last twenty years. these conflicts include gender-based violence, land related conflicts, family conflicts and value based conflicts, among others. the study analyzed agila indigenous methods of conflict resolution. it used historical research design with the utilization of primary and secondary data. the primary data was obtained from archival sources and oral interviews from informants. secondary data was obtained from published works and journals. the study established that indigenous institutions were important to peace building and conflict resolution but were neglected to some extent. it concluded that indigenous institutions are still available and relevant in conflict resolution in the study area and recommended that the government, all stakeholders and the constitution to revisit and give more emphasis on the use of indigenous institutions in conflict resolution in nigeria. this will ensure peaceful co-existence as individuals and in everycommunity in nigeria as a collective. key words: agila, traditional methods, conflict, resolution and management. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 31 introduction contemporary nigeria is bedeviled with series of conflicts arranging from ethnopolitical, ethno-religious, terrorism and land related conflicts; thereby making conflict resolution a continuous government enterprise in present day nigeria. experience has shown that an attempt to resolve one conflict, another conflict often surface and as such persistence of conflicts in nigeria indicate that the orthodox methods designed to manage or, and resolve conflicts has not been fully effective1. this obvious problematic imply that conflicts in nigeria are rooted on cultural cleavages and as such dynamic culturally-oriented strategies could be required to manage them. augsburger presents four basic propositions in regard to cross-cultural conflict. he posits that win–lose form of conflictresolution block people from exploring alternative solutions. people in conflict are the least able and equipped to settle their owndisputes and that the traditional ways of settlement like threats and litigation must be broadened into more creative ways likemediation and negotiation.2 augsburger further contends that there exist in traditional cultures time tested ways of resolving conflictthat are better than modern ways. as such universal way of achieving conflict resolution would be inappropriate because there exist in every culture a way to resolve problems that work for them based on their values and history. furthermore, he argues that it isimportant to decentralize from common sense in regards to conflict. each culture will have a pattern of behaviours, a set of values and aset of laws to deal with conflict and thus they will vary from culture to culture.peace building should have space for diverse actors, from the state to civil society and ultimately to local community members whoare faced daily with the impact of conflict.3 he advocates grassroots peace building instead of state-centric peacebuilding, hence his conception of the peace building pyramid model which categorizes actors in peace building into top, middle andgrassroots ranks.4 1tsuwa j. t and ochoga, e.o. conflicts in africa: a search for conflict prevention strategies. in international journal of humanities and social studies, www.theijhss.com,2016,p.6 2 augsburger, d. w. conflict mediation across cultures: pathways and patterns. westminster: john knox press.1992,p.45 3 lederach, j. p. building peace: sustainable reconciliation in divided societies. tokyo: united nations university.1997,p.56 4 see augsburger, d. w. conflict mediation across cultures:.. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 32 at the top level, there are government institutions, political elites and the military leaders who are not only powerfulbut also have the mandate to engage in peace building from their constituencies. the middle-level actors include nongovernmentalorganizations, other civil society actors and local leaders who are capable of influencing both top leaders and grassroots actors. at thebottom level of the pyramid are grassroots actors and members of local communities who not only experience the day-to-day impactof conflict but are also best positioned to resolve that conflict because they are aware of their environment and the needs of thecommunity. in his research, ayittey advocates for the use of existing institutions to generate economic prosperity. he asserts thatdevelopment simply means improving existing ways of doing things to make the processes more efficient and productive than before5. in the african context, development means using the same indigenous system to produce more output. furthermore, he argues that the real development solution lies in returning to africa's own roots and building upon its age-old traditions of participatory democracy, free markets, and free trade. as such africans must embrace indigenous conflict resolution mechanisms to ensure peace in thesociety.ayittey contends that peace education is an interdisciplinary area of education whose goal is institutionalized and non-institutionalizedteaching about peace and for peace6. it aims to help students acquire skills for non-violent conflict resolution and toreinforce those skills for active and responsible action in the society for the promotion of the values of peace. in addition, peaceeducation aims to prevent conflict in advance. people are taught how to peacefully exist on the basis of non-violence, tolerance, equality, respect for differences and social justice.in her study on agikuyu traditional moral values, kotze notes the rapid decline in moral standards in society. there arewidespread social evils such as corruption, robbery, prostitution, broken homes and sexual promiscuity. the large number of ethno-political, ethno-religious, terrorism and land related conflicts, is a matter of great concern too7. more worrisome is the growing application of western methods of conflict management in nigeria with little or no positive 5 ayittey, g.b.n. (1992). africa betrayed. new york: st. martin’s pres.1992,p34 6 ayittey, g.b.n. ibid….. p.57 7 kotze, dirk. issues in conflict resolution. african journal on conflict resolution, no12, no.2 .2002.pp.7786. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 33 impact. while much attention has been focused to the alternative methods of conflict management and resolution in nigeria, little attention has been paid to the role of traditional institutions that can address the problem of conflict in nigeria. it is within this gap, that the argument of this paper is located. this paper considers what the indigenous methods of conflict management and resolution can do in addressing the ever ranging conflicts in the country. consequently, the loss of respect for traditional values had created a moral vacuum. assuch conflicts have increased in contemporary nigerian societies and hence the need to trace traditional roots to deal with the situation using agila traditional conflict resolution and management strategies as a micro unit for analytical generalization. theorizing the problematic the study was informed by the indigenous political institutions perspective and human needs theory. the study sought to establish towhat extent the indigenous institutions can be used in the management of conflicts in nigeria. indigenous approaches toconflict resolution are important because they hinge on people’s culture (byrne & irvin, 2000; tsuwa and ochoga, 2016). 8 rituals were key components inconflict resolution among the nigerian traditional societies.scholars of the indigenous political institutions perspective emphasize the need to interpret the world from the indigenous peoples’own perspective and purpose (alfred & wilmer, 1997; ayittey, 1992; zartman,2000; smith, 2001, tsuwa and ochoga,2016). indigenous peoples’ institutional theory can helpscholars and researchers to explain the indigenous peoples’ existence in contemporary society to counter western institutions andvalues that have been promoted all over the world at the expense of indigenous cultural systems. the indigenous institutions perspective indicates that societies can still apply indigenous conflict resolution mechanisms to addresslocal conflicts. the current study seeks to examine traditional conflict resolution and their relevance in the modern nigerian society. thistheory is relevant to the study because it recognizes the role of culture in conflict management and it emphasizes on the need of theinvolvement of all the people 8 see tsuwa j. t and ochoga, e.o. conflicts in africa: a search for conflict prevention strategies. in international journal of humanities and social studies, www.theijhss.com,2016,p.6 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 34 in the community to solve conflicts. human needs theory bright-brock utre, states that individuals must be given recognition as persons if social and genderbased violence isto be contained, young people must be given a role in the society if street gangs are to vanish and teenage pregnancies are to decrease9.in addition, ethnic minorities must be given an autonomous status if violence is to be avoided, decision-making systems must be non-adversarialif leadership roles are to be collaborative. bright-brock utre further contends that when societies were small extended family, there was a large degree of collaboration within them. withpopulation increase and end of face to face relationships, conflicts of interests conditioned social relationships. the struggle to surviveand achieve has been very much a personal and not a community one. conflicts are defined in physical terms even if there are nonmaterialhuman values and needs involved. but in all cases, there are non-material needs to be satisfied that provoke such aggression. following this theory, if the needs of the people of agila communities and all other communities in nigeria are satisfactorily satisfied conflicts in the region will reduce. the term “conflict” is variously defined to mean disagreement. several definitions emphasize the incompatibility of goals. for example, lederach explains: …that conflict occurs in the event of “escalated competition between two or more parties, each of which aims to gain advantage of some kindpower, resources, interest, values…. at least one of the parties believes that conflict is over a set of mutually incompatible goals.” similarly, “when two or more parties perceive that their interests are incompatible, they express hostile attitudes, or… pursue their interests through actions that damage the other parties10. these parties may be individuals, small or large groups and countries.” albert (2002:2), observes that human perception of reality is very important in the understanding of a conflict situation. folger, et al has identified five key features of conflict interaction that: 9 bright-brock utre . “indigenous conflict resolution in africa”. institute of educational research, university of oslo, 2001. pp. 8-11. 10 seelederach, j. p. preparing for peace: conflict transformation. syracuse.. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 35 • conflict interaction is characterized by moves and counter-moves which are themselves determined by the power wielded by the parties involved; • pattern of behaviour tends to be sustained; • steps taken in the course of such interaction are products of the larger environment in which they take place; • there is a general understanding of the direction of such interaction; and • such interaction impacts on relation between the parties involved.11 it is also important to state that conflicts occur at different levels. these levels are: 1. intra-personal 2. inter-personal 3. intra-group/community 4. inter-group/community sa’ad (1999:2) had noted that even though the different levels of conflicts exist, communities in north-east nigeria including the fulbeof adamawa appear to record higher cases of inter-personal and intra-group/community conflicts. these conflicts, he observes, usually involve cases like theft, debts, adultery, wife abduction and homicide. sa’ad also reported that there are various ways of managing and resolving conflicts in the communities of the zone. some of the approaches are individualistic and formal, while some others are communal and informal. conflicts could also be managed peacefully or in extreme cases with violence. from the going, we rest our argument with the viewpoint of tsuwa and ochoga (2016:83) that is the violent expression of disagreement among groups over values and hard held interests which results to the use of dangerous weapons against unarmed civilians which leads to the destruction of lives and property. particularly, according to tsuwa (2014:23): conflict takes place at the individual level, societal, state and international levels. in all of these conflicts, there are highly contested values, resources and issues that the parties are usually reluctant to relinquish. in most cases, these valuables bother on the corporate existence and survival of the parties involved. in essence, we can argue that, conflict arises from the 11folger, j.p et al.working through conflict.new york: educational publishers inc.1997,p.56 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 36 unmet needs and desires especially when the party or parties that feel deprived engage in conflictual disagreement with the other party(s) they perceived as been privileged or have advantage over them. 12 tsuwa (2014:30) therefore insist and argues that: other issues such as poor decision making, environmental factors (pollution, climate change) have also caused starvation, distrust amongst people and severe communication which results to conflicts. it is worth to argue therefore that irrespective of these theoretical standpoints, it is a truism that, conflicts do occur in human relations as individuals or groups have different needs and methods of acquiring them. conflict management and resolution is pertinent with the view to put an end to the lingering consequences of such conflict. that is why tsuwa argues that, conflict management involves a whole gamut of activities that can even start from prevention to resolution which brings in amicable resolution to the contested differences. this dynamism starts from the ability of the parties or a third intervening party to nip the conflict in the bud or to development strategies that will de-escalate the conflicts. this is a stage of reconciliation and reestablishment of the old order. it is a stage where peace agenda is develop and implemented by the parties in a conflict. the parties are once again united and reconstruction and rehabilitation commences to ensure unification cooperation. efforts are made politically, economically, culturally or socio-religiously towards concrete peace building peace. it involves de-militarization, demobilization, arms control among many other strategies13 . be that as it may, the frequency of conflicts and their escalation in nigeria necessitated the carrion call for a shift in paradigm form the western methods of conflict management and resolution to the hitherto existing indigenous methods of conflict management and resolution. thus, the next segment discusses agila traditional methods of conflict management and resolution with the view to show case its relevance in solving the perilous of constant wave conflicts in nigeria. historical background of theagila people of north central nigeria agila is a name of a district in idoma land of benue state, north central nigeria. agila town which is about eighty-five kilometers from otukpo is the ancestral home of the agila people in ado local government area of benue state. apart 12 see tsuwa j.t understanding conflicts. in george-genyi (ed) introduction to peace and conflict studies. makurdi: gwatex publishers. 2014.p.43. 13 see tsuwa and ochoga… igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 37 from the ancestral home, agila has other settlements such as apa-agila, ivetse, ikpeba, ogbokwu, udokwu, odah, udegu-ukpo, aganacha, avovo etc. formerly, apa agila which was predominantly a settlement of those agila people who were unable to return to agila town after the nigeria civil war. today however, apa agila is the most developed community in agila district population and infrastructural wise. agila shares common boundaries with ohaukwu lga of ebonyi state in the east, enugu state in the west, and igumale the ado local government headquarters to the north. traditionally, agila community has twelve clans. agila is among sub-cultures of the idoma nation. it lies between longitudes 07, 50 and 07, 59 and latitudes 06, 31 south and 06, 45 north. agila lies south-east of otukpo, the headquarters of the idoma nation of the middle-belt of nigeria, but politically and constitutionally known as north central nigeria14. the majority of the agila live in apa and agila-town as their main settlements, although the rest are living in their farming settlements known as ole-elo.agila town consist of contiguous villages of varying number of compounds of related matrilineal families named after their common ancestors who founded them generation ago. each village has a common playground opfu for meeting and recreational purposes. each compound comprises a member of male household and their families. however, the eldest male controls theiyetse, sacred grove as the custodian of the arekwu, the ancestral spirits which regulates the actions and activities and wellbeing of the descendants. the language of the people is known as idoma. but like any other ethnic group in africa, there are variations in the various dialects of idoma. these dialectical variations do not however, pose any barrier in understanding of one another’s tongues, although each group tends to lay claim to the originality of its dialect. the variations only exist in spellings and pronunciations but not in the meaning and understanding of words. the dialects are distinguished by substitution of tsi for chi or ji and ri for li phonetics. those in the west and south employ the use of ji, tsi and ri respectively.15the agila goes for tsi and ri phonetics, while those in the north and central part of idoma goes for the chi phonetics. for example, oche which means king to the north and central idoma is pronounce as otse by the agila of idoma south. 14 see benue guide.... 15 author’s field survey,2017. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 38 the agila are predominantly farmers. the men cultivate yams and rice while women plant cassava, groundnuts, beniseed, pepper, melon, vegetable and bambara nuts. these are supplemented with hunting, fishing and men owns the economic trees like palms. coconut trees, oranges, cashew, guava and bush mangoes. while the women owns, cotton. besides agriculture, the people are known also for their interest in cloth weaving, blacksmithing, palm wine tapping and extraction of palm oil, hunting and trading. it is no longer news among the idoma say that the success of every important occasion is limited to the supply of quality and original agila palm wine. the agila traditions encourage the formation of social groups to instill a sense of oneness amongst the people. social groups also serve for identity and to encourage healthy competitions within the community. some of them include; owa. aleko, egboki, okwolebi, osi-ije, ikpirigidi, aopa-onobi, aopa-enele and others. they play active role in shaping the destiny of members of the public and from the means for mustering local resources, determining needs of the community and for being involved in various development programs and conflict management. agilaindigenous methods of conflict resolution and management to start with, the agila traditional council (atc) under the authority of the otse-agila has the prerogative of rule-making and enforcement within the domain. by the tradition, the atc periodically review existing laws and sometimes enacts new laws as the case may be. although, the laws are unwritten but the people recognizes it provisions and tenets. matters such as bride price, drinks and other requirements for traditional marriage, punitive measures for persons found stealing, land disputes, penalty (sanction) for violation of arekwu associated norms, and all other issues relating to agila customs, traditions and culture in its entirety. of course the owu, law making jurisdiction of the atc is not limited to aforementioned areas.16 new law(s)-owu can be made any time but the atc normally use the occasion of traditional festivals mostly the ujor new yam festival to make public pronouncement of new law(s) for the community. the law could be a review of existing ones or entirely new law(s).once the official pronouncement is made, compliance is not negotiable and its enforcement is strictly within the jurisdiction of the atc. some of the 16 oral interview with mr. m. ochoga, apa-agila, age 59 years on the methods of conflict management in agila, 2th january,2017 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 39 indigenousmethods the agila people usein conflict resolution and management includes the following amongst others: (a) the arirepa otu(dead of the night)method of conflict management in most cases, the members of the atc meets at the otse-agila’s palace in a dead night to deliberate on emerging issues that is been considered necessary to be regulated by a law. the decisions reached at the meeting are usually kept secret within the members until the day of public pronouncement to the general public. in as much as the chairman of atc (that is, the otse-agila) has the veto power, disagreement or divergent opinions among the atc members is always secretly resolved without knowledge of any agila person outisde the atc. the otseagila has a special office designated as agila traditional court, where the chief and members of the atc mediates between conflicting parties in the community. cases are treated based on its merit, divorced of bias and partiality as the otseagila is hitherto seen as the father of every agila and non-agila residing within his controlled territory. even with the emergent of the western methodology of conflict resolution in agila, specially the establishment of area courts in agila by the colonial authority and later inherited by the benue state government, most agila people still preferred the engagement of the traditional court to the western alternative. (b) the agbla ole otse-agila (agila traditional court of arbitration) method of conflict management in terms of conflict resolution, the decision of the agbla ole otseagila, agila traditional court (atc) is presumed to be of best interest of peace and as such it is final. therefore, it is incumbent upon the parties to comply with the judgment (or the court decision). the agila traditional court has different methods of enforcing decisions of the court. the enforceability of the decision of the court largely lies on the description of the otse-agila and members of the traditional court. the nature of the case is also important in the choice of enforcement mechanism. in the area of violation of norms and values associated with arekwu, the atc has its peculiar ways of addressing such infractions. the nature of punishment and sanction to this kind of cultural oriented offences is determined by the atc and enforced by delegated group of persons. as part of checks and balances, the custom and tradition does not empower the otseagila to unilaterally make law without the involvement and inputs of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 40 members of the council and vice-versa.17 the distinguishing features of the agila adjudicating system is that, the system forbids partiality as the otse-agila and members of the atc are under oath of the arekwu and the ajecult-the earth divinity,to always uphold truth. secondly, the court emphasizes on evidence and witnesses based prove of allegations by the alleged party. thirdly, conflicting parties and their witnesses are often time ask to swear an oath, etc. all these are strategies institutionalized by the traditional system to ensure quick and fair dispensation of justice. (c) the eka ogwogwa (oath-taking)method of conflict management apart from the agila traditional court, some conflicting parties in agila may prefer taking themselves to the shrine to swear an oath rather than resolving the dispute through the formal traditional court. despite of it grievous consequences (in which most time its results to death of the guilty person), this method has been predominantly used in the past. although, the influence of christianity has to a large extent reduced the usage of this agila-oriented methodology of conflict resolution. there are established historical cases by which guilty persons who decided to adopt the eka ogwogwa(oathtaking)method of conflict resolution in shrineslost their lives at the end of the day. every extended family in agila has an ancestral shrine for the veneration of ancestors thus; the available of shrines for such engagement is not scarce in the community. outside the family shrines, there are prominent shrines of different that are popularly invoked in the community by conflicting parities to resolve their conflict. amongst the most prominent and commonly used oath swearing shrine is the opa ekpe which is the arekwu ancestral spirit cult own by the otokilo and anidu clans. the opa ekpe oath-shrine is known for its dreaded expeditious response against the guilty party. 18 it is based on this dreaded expeditious response that the christian community frowns at it or use christianity as an alibi not to take the oath for fear of the disastrous consequences of the aftermath of the eka ogwogwa, oath taking. (d) the ada iyetse (custodian of sacred grove) method of conflict management 17 oral interview with mr. s.ogbu, apa-agila, age 99 years on the methods of conflict management in agila, 2th january,2017 18 oral interview with mr. a adai , apa-agila, age 77 years on the methods of conflict management in agila, 2th january,2017 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 41 also, there is the ada iyetse (custodian of sacred gove) method of conflict resolutionwhere elders of the extended family use their wisdom to listen to the conflicting parties, investigate the matter and then conclusions are drawn under suprintendency of the ada iyetse. in this alternative, the ada iyetse is the chief mediator by virtue of being the link between the living memebers of the family and the communion of ancestors, assisted by the elders in the family19. in fact, this platform happened to be the initial place where agila people first and foremost seek redress of their conflicts. parties that are not satisfy with the decision reached by the ada iyetse and the elders have the option to seek readdress at the agila traditional court. be that as it may, the forgoing analysis has clearly shown that agila has robust mechanisms of conflict resolution long before the introduction of the western methodologies of conflict management and resolution. conclusion the subject matter of this paper was necessitated by the frequency of conflicts in nigeria of which the application of the western conflict resolution strategies has proven to be ineffective; thereby demanding a rethink for positive return to the hitherto existing traditional methods of conflict management. the series of reoccurring conflicts virtually every part of nigeria is a demonstration that the alternative methods of conflict resolution has not be able to prevent conflict in the country hence stakeholders have largely relied on the application of the orthodox methods. in spite of that, contemporary nigeria is been engulfed with series of conflicts and as such we are advocating for paradigm shift; where the hitherto existing indigenous methods of conflict resolution would be applied. hence, every ethnic group in nigeria has its own traditional methods of conflict resolution which may be more effective than western methods because of the percuiliarities of every conflict. like the agila communities have witnessed communal clashes ranging from chieftaincy to land related conflicts and the like, so also other communities in nigeria have their share of conflicts in different spheres of human endeavours. interestingly, too, the over-bearing influence of western methods of conflict management adversely made indigenous communities not to appreciate their numerous traditional mechanisms to manage and resolve the various conflicts that occur in their communities.the unique characteristic of the agila and other 19 oral interview with mr. m. ochoga, apa-agila, age 59 years on the methods of conflict management in agila, 2th january,2017 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 42 communities’ traditional mechanisms, has been found to be a very important and effective instrument of managing and resolving conflicts at the intra and intergroup levels. the traditional mechanisms could perfectly nurture our dynamic modern political, social and economic developments and transformed them to withstand the changes experienced within the nigerian society. the methods could be undoubtedly remained useful to nigeria and nigerians. it is hereby suggested that further researches be undertaken into the nature of conflicts and their resolution patterns in the nigerian communities not only in agila but wherever they are. a clearer understanding of the concept of indigenous would definitely assist policy makers and mediators in resolving conflicts in nigeria. this study established that indigenous institutions are very important in peace building and especially in conflict resolution. however, people need to be sensitized on the importance of these institutions in managing conflicts amongst them. the government through theconstitution should give more emphasis on the indigenous institutions; our preference for alternative dispute resolution (adr) to western methods is notbecause they are cheapand speedy but it indigenous and culturally-oriented. giving the incessant cases of conflicts in nigeria, alternative dispute resolution mechanisms are a better option to the people of nigeria. emphasis needs to be put in re-educatingthe members their traditions and the benefits of embracing adr in conflict management. adr is relevant to nigerian communities since the mechanism is indigenous to them.for adr to be incorporated in modern nigeria legal system, the government and all stakeholders must be involved. adr mechanisms needs tobe recognized fully in the constitution. the society should be made aware of the many positive alternatives to resolve conflicts. thiswill ensure peaceful coexistence among members of the society. adr mechanisms will also ensure reduced backlog of cases in thecoventional courts, assist and expeditethe processes of dissemination of justice to all and sundry in all ramifications. microsoft word igwebuike journals vol. 4. no. 5..docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 1 interactivity in the national open university of nigeria: the case of language learning adaobi nwando udeze department of english studies university of port harcourt nigeria & michael alozie nwala department of english studies university of port harcourt nigeria abstract the interaction hypothesis states that the development of language proficiency is promoted by interaction and communication. it further states that the conditions for second language acquisition are greatly increased when learners negotiate for meaning which occurs when there is a breakdown in communication. this study demonstrates that interaction is not only needed for second language acquisition but that it also has an impact on students’ satisfaction in their overall learning experience. for this study, a structured questionnaire was used for data collection and was administered to 131 distance learning students at the yenagoa and port harcourt learning centres of the national open university of nigeria. the simple percentage ratio was used in the analysis of the data obtained. the findings of this study show that there is indeed a relationship between interaction and students’ learning experience; hence, the study recommends that, since distance learning by its nature cannot accommodate more frequent contacts with facilitators, interaction among students should be promoted and incorporated as a vital part of the mode of language learning in the national open university of nigeria key words: interactivity, noun, hypothesis, language acquisition and language learning introduction the national open university of nigeria (noun) is a tertiary institution in nigeria that employs the distance instruction method. it was established because the capacity of the nation’s tertiary institutions is insufficient to meet the increasing number of people seeking for admissions into the universities. it has become the nation’s largest institution in terms of number of students (jegede, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 2 2009) and it has study centres spread throughout the country. its mission statement is to provide functional, cost-effective, flexible learning, which add lifelong value to quality education for all who seek knowledge. in okonkwo (2012), “national open university of nigeria’s instructional system does not provide lectures to registered students in a normal classroom situation, but provides specialized study materials that are based on self-learning’ (p. 223). this means that their language courses lack significant interaction which is ‘a key determinant of student success rate’ (ambe – uva, 2006). interaction promotes community and connection in the course which creates support systems that facilitate learning. it provides learners a balance view on topics. on the other hand, the lack of interaction isolates students who procrastinate and eventually drop out. ariza and hancock (2015) state that when distance second language course design and practice adhere to quality distance learning pedagogy and are driven by second language acquisition theories and research, the subsequent courses can provide learners with opportunities to acquire other languages in more flexible and accessible settings than traditional classrooms and language labs. furthermore, these theories provide us with information of how people acquire languages and how certain conditions, when put in place, promote effective learning of a second language. review of literature a number of works on language learning and theories of language learning abound in the literature, in this article, we review two theories of language learning, and nwala (2015) and isaac (2018) opinions of language learning. we begin with the theoretical framework. theoretical frame work here, we adopt the krashen’s input hypothesis of language learning and that of long’s interaction hypothesis. we begin with the krashen’s input hypothesis. krashen’s input hypothesis the term ‘acquisition’ has been used by language theorists in the field of psychology and linguistics to distinguish between the ‘nature’ and ‘nurture’ processes. the principle of ‘nature’ holds that knowledge of language arises from the human predisposition to acquire language due to the presence of a ‘built -in’ device known as the language acquisition device (lad), a naturally endowed igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 3 or inherited language mechanism, which is responsible for the manifestation of language. on the other hand, the nurture principle holds that all knowledge must come from experience, experience that comes with interacting with our environment through our reasoning or the use of our senses. krashen (2013) begins by making a distinction between language acquisition and language learning. he states that while language acquisition occurs subconsciously, language learning is a conscious process. the input hypothesis relates to acquisition, not to learning. according to the input hypothesis, we acquire structure not by focusing on structure but by understanding messages containing new structure. the input hypothesis also claims that we do not teach speaking directly, rather, through a simply provision of comprehensible inputs. speech will come when the acquirer feels ready. this readiness state arrives at different times for different people. also, early speech is typically not accurate; grammatical accuracy develops over time as the acquirer hears and understands more inputs. a third part of the input hypothesis is the claim that the "best" input should not be "grammatically sequenced," that is, it should not deliberately aim at i + 1which is language acquirer level of competence plus the next immediate step along the development continuum. krashen (1985, p.3) claims that people acquire language faster by understanding target language inputs, that is, a little beyond their present level of competence. the foreign/second language teacher should always send meaningful messages, which are roughly tuned, and ‘must’ create opportunities for students to access i+1 structure to understand and express meaning. for instance, the teacher can lay more emphasis on listening and reading comprehension activities. specifically, the theory hypothesizes that if there is successful communication and the acquirers understands the message contained in the input, i+1 will automatically be provided in just the right quantities. acquirers will receive comprehensible input containing structures just beyond them if they are in situations involving genuine communication, and these structures will be constantly provided and automatically reviewed. according to the input hypothesis, if students can follow the general meaning of a discussion, i + 1 will be provided for them, different i+ i for different students. with natural comprehensible input, students need not worry about missing a class and thereby missing the topic taught forever. the topic may come up again and again, both in class discussion and in reading. finally, there is no need to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 4 worry about contextualizing a different structure of every unit because the topic itself is embedded in every lesson. the focus, at all times, is on helping students understand messages and not rules of grammar. in other words, input for acquisition need not focus only on i + 1, it only needs to contain it. thus, i + 1 will be supplied, and naturally reviewed, when the acquirers obtain enough comprehensible input. according to krashen (1983), the input hypothesis similarly accounts for the success of immersion programmes and also helps explain why certain bilingual education models work well in teaching english and others do not. they work because they supply large amounts of comprehensible input via comprehensible subject matter teaching. he claims that such programmes often teach english more effectively than all-day sub-immersion programmes, even when pull-out esl is included. krashen states that the goal of the formal instruction is to provide students with a sufficient base so that they can take advantage of the ‘real world’, and thus continue acquiring language. but it is not known, neither does the model speculate about how much exposure to optimal, comprehensible input is necessary for language learners to make that successful transition from the controlled and supportive environment of the classroom to the much more personal and disinterested environment of the outside world. this leads us to consider the interaction theory. long’s interaction hypothesis in the interactionist theory, the acquisition of language is viewed as the result of an interaction between the learners’ mental abilities (cognition) and the linguistic input, (long, 1981). this model seems to combine both naturist and the nurturist ideas. the interaction hypothesis states that the development of language proficiency is promoted by interaction and communication. the hypothesis agrees with the need for comprehensible input but adds that the effectiveness of comprehensible input is greatly increased when learners negotiate for meaning which occurs when there is a breakdown in communication which the interlocutors attempt to overcome. in this situation, one of the participants will say something that the other does not understand which will lead to the use of various communicative strategies to help the interaction progress. by so doing, the learners receive feedback from their production and on the grammar that they have not igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 5 mastered. this process even leads to more inputs from the participants in that exchange than they would otherwise. but more importantly, interactions show the learners the difference between their knowledge of the target language and what they actually hear, which makes them to pay even more attention to the part of the target language that they are not aware of. therefore, according to this theory, the conditions for acquisition are especially good when interacting in the second language; specifically, conditions are good when a breakdown in communication occurs and learners must negotiate for meaning. the modifications to speech arising from interactions like this help make input more comprehensible, provide feedback to the learner, and push learners to modify their speech (long, 1996). language learning language, either acquisition or learning is a process through which the acquirer or learner masters a habit. it is a linguistic and biological habit formation process, which involves knowledge and use of speech. language learning unlike acquisition is a conscious activity or action which involves a formal or semiformal setting, with well-defined methods and processes according to nwala (2015), language learning generally involves second or foreign languages, which means the learners must have acquired a first language and must have come of adult age. the exercise according to him is usually formal and guided. in a related opinion, isaac (2018) submits that language learning involves a second language learner (an older person) who must have had an l1 or first language or mother tongue. like nwala, isaac admits that the learning exercise is usually conscious and in a formal context, with the teacher or facilitator acting as the main agent of exposure to tame the learner systematically to attend the desired level of proficiency. because the exercise is formal and guided, isaac notes, practice, reinforcement and mediation as three basic necessary conditions that promote effective learning. from the foregoing, it is crystal that language learning is different from language acquisition even though there are some common overlaps. the noun students are basically nigerians who have acquired their various l1 or mother tongues and are therefore learning or using the english language as their second language. the learning method used in this institution is programmed, welligwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 6 defined and guided no matter the level of contact and interaction between the students and their facilitators or their facilitating modules. 3.0 methods the paper implored the quantitative research design. using it, the data got from the questionnaire administered to 131 distance learning students at the yenagoa and port harcourt learning centres of the national open university of nigeria were analysed, in tables. two research questions were used, while a simple percentage ratio was used to interpret the responses. 4.0 analysis here, we present and analyse the responses got from the research population. the corresponding questions from each of the broad research questions are put in tables, named tables1-3. we begin with the research question 1. research question 1: to what degree are language learners at noun satisfied with their learning experience? table 1: what can you say about your overall learning experience at noun ? learning experience ratings no. of respondents percentage (%) poor 70 53.4 satisfactory 24 18.3 good 22 16.8 very good 13 9.9 excellent 2 1.5 total 131 99.9 (approx. 100%) in table 1, 53.4% of the respondents rated their overall learning experience at noun as poor, 18.3% of the respondents rated their experience as satisfactory, 16.8% of the respondents said it is good, 9.9% of the respondents found it very good while 1.5% of the respondents rated their experience as excellent. table 2: i would like to have more frequent contact with my facilitator? response options no. of respondents percentage (%) strongly agree 63 48.1 agree 52 39.7 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 7 disagree 10 7.6 strongly disagree 6 4.6 total 131 100 in table 2, 48.1% of the respondents strongly agreed to have more frequent contact with their facilitators; 39.7% of the respondents simply agreed to the question. 10 respondents which represent 7.6 disagreed to have frequent contact with their facilitator, while 6 respondents which represent 4.6 strongly disagreed to have frequent contact with their facilitator. research question 2 : to what degree does interaction with facilitators affect students learning experience table 3: relationship between interaction with facilitators and students’ learning experience test question sa a d sd total 1 26 86 11 8 131 2 39 61 22 9 131 3 58 49 14 10 131 4 40 70 12 9 131 5 69 39 12 11 131 6 53 54 15 9 131 total 285 359 86 56 786 discussion of findings we investigated issues of interaction and, more specifically, the degree of interaction with facilitators, the adequacy of such interaction and the learners’ desire for more frequent contact with their instructors. almost 50% of the respondents describe their degree of interaction as lacking with another 24% as moderate. this is to be expected in distance learning programmes as they, by their very nature, lack significant face-to-face time between facilitators and their students. again, a total of 51.4% of the respondents were of the opinion that their level of contact with their facilitator was not adequate with another 87.6% expressing their desire for more frequent contact with their facilitators. these results are not surprising since interaction creates a rich feeling of community and banishes isolation. the facilitator is also key in giving feedback with which igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 8 the learner measures his/her progress. he provides guidance and enables the learner recall previous information. he serves as the most important source of input in the language class because his assessment of their performance serves as the standard yardstick for measuring their progress. table 1 presents the overall learning experience ratings. over 50% of the respondents rated their learning experience at the institution as poor. from the results obtained in table 1, we may infer that this could be attributed to their limited level of interaction with their facilitators with most of them expressing their desire for more of such interaction. since this cannot be obtained due to the nature of distance learning programs, it has led to students’ dissatisfaction. in assessing the degree to which interaction with the facilitator affects students’ learning experience, we had to determine if a relationship did exist in the first place between interaction with the facilitator and students’ learning experience. to do this, several test questions were asked (see questions 1 to 6 of section b in appendix i) to determine the benefits of the facilitator in the language class. the respondents were tested for feedback, assessment, guidance, recall of previous information, community experience and motivation. at the end, it was discovered that there was indeed a significant relationship between interaction with facilitators and students’ learning experience. what this proves is that the lack of or very limited interaction between the students and their facilitators have led to dissatisfaction with their overall learning experience. however, since interaction is a vital part of the language learning process, we recommend that interaction at other levels should be promoted. for instance, interaction among students should be promoted and incorporated as a vital part of the mode of language learning in noun since it is well-known that students do not only learn from their teachers but they also learn from each other. conclusion in this article, we have examined krashen’s input hypothesis and long’s interaction hypothesis from the examination of these theories, it has been discovered that interaction plays a vital role in the acquisition of the target language both at the input and output stages. when there is little or no interaction between learners and their facilitators or among students, the students’ learning experience and overall satisfaction diminishes. therefore, for second language learning to be successful in distance learning programmes, the interactive aspects of learning must be promoted. unlike the traditional igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 9 classroom settings with face-to-face courses, the distance learning course design should be tailored to promote interaction especially among learners which is vital for feedback and serves as a measure of the learner’s progress. references ambe-uva, t. n. (2006). interactivity in distance education: the national open university (noun) experience. online submission ariza, e. n. & hancock, s. (2003). second language acquisition theories as a framework for creating distance learning courses. the international review of research in open and distributed learning. 4(2) isaac, t. (2018). applied linguistics: teaching english as a second language. port harcourt: lap lambert academic publishing jegede, o. j. (2009). the beginning of a new dawn for education in nigeria. convocation speech delivered at national open university of nigeria’s 1st convocation ceremony krashen, s. d. (1983). second language acquisition theory and the preparation of teachers: toward a rationale. georgetown university round table on languages and linguistics, 255-263. krashen, s. d. (1985). the input hypothesis: issues and implications. addison-wesley: longman ltd. krashen, s. (2013). the case for non-targeted, comprehensible input. journal of bilingual education research and instruction, 15(1), 102-110. long, m. h. (1981). input, interaction, and second‐language acquisition. annals of the new york academy of sciences, 379(1), 259-278. long, m. h. (1996). the role of the linguistic environment in second language acquisition. in w. ritchie and t. bhatia (eds.), handbook of research on second language acquisition (pp. 413-468). nwala, m. a. (2015).introduction to linguistics: a first course.(rev). port harcourt: obisco nig. enterprises igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 10 okonkwo, c. a. (2012). a needs assessment of odl educates to determine their effective use of open educational resources. the international review of research in open and distributed learning.13(4) 293-312. appendix i an evaluation of second language acquisition in open distance learning programmes in nigeria questionnaire the researcher is conducting a study in order to improve the language learning programme. gathering information from the students is a vital part of this process. please complete the following questions to reflect your opinions as accurately as possible and to answer factual questions to the best of your knowledge. your information will be kept strictly confidential. thank you. section a 1. level of study: ……………………………………………………… 2. age: 21 – 30 yrs ( ) 31 – 40 yrs ( ) 41 – 50 yrs ( ) 51 – 60 yrs ( ) 61 yrs and above ( ) 3. gender: female ( ) male ( ) section b research questions 1. to what degree are language learners at noun satisfied with their learning experience a. what can you say about your overall learning experience at noun ? b. i would like to have more frequent contact with my facilitator 2. to what degree does interaction with facilitators affect students language learning experience? for the following questions, please tick the number that best reflects your opinion in the answer column to the left of the question. (sa = strongly agree, a = agree, d = disagree, and sd = strongly disagree) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 11 s/n questions sa a d sd 1. the level of contact with my facilitator is adequate. 2. i received feedback faster in my tutorials. 3. my performance was easily assessed by the facilitators in the class. 4. i received better guidance by the tutor in the class. 5. my tutor enables me to recall previous information. 6. the instructor created a feeling of community in the class. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 2.doc igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 136 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) influence of socio-cultural factors on girl-child education in secondary schools in kebbi central senetoral district of kebbi state, nigeria onyeanisi, t. u. department of educational foundations, faculty of education, benue state university, makurdi email: obinujuaku@gmail.com phone number: 08037741882 abstract this study investigated the influence of socio-cultural factors on the girl-child education in secondary schools in kebbi central senatorial district of kebbi state, nigeria. five research questions and five hypotheses guided the study. the related literature review was done under the conceptual framework, empirical studies and summary which identified the influence of socio-cultural factors on the girl-child education in secondary schools. ex-post facto research design was adopted for the study. the population of the study comprised 810 principals, vice principals and pta exco members from 90 secondary schools in kebbi central senatorial district of kebbi state. a sample of 300 principals, vice principals and pta exco members were used for the study. a 25 item structured questionnaire constructed by the researcher titled “influence of socio-cultural factors on the girl-child education questionnaire (scogeq)” was used for data collection. descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while the ttest statistical tool was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. the findings revealed that early marriage, gender preference, sociocultural factors, socio-economic statues of parents and political factors significantly influence the girl-child education in secondary schools in kebbi central senatorial district of kebbi state. it was recommended among others that the issue of early marriage should be avoided by parents who should encourage and give orientation to their girl-child on the importance of education before marriage. key word: socio-cultural factor, girl-child education introduction education is a human rights that should be given to all human beings male and female. education developed from the human struggle for survival and enlightenment. education may be formal or informal. informal education refers to the general social process by which human beings acquire the knowledge and skills needed to function in their culture. formal education refers to the process igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 137 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) by which teachers instruct students in courses of study within an institution. girl-child education is a process through which the young girl acquires knowledge, skills and realizes her potentialities and uses them for selfactualization, economic benefits and to be useful to her society and others. according to ocho (2005), girl-child education is the process of providing information to an inexperienced person to help her develop physically, mentally, socially, emotionally, politically, and economically. education is the process through which individuals are made functional members of their society (ocho, 2005). gomwalk (1996) defines girl-child education as the knowledge and skills given to the girl-child in the formal school setting to enable her to advance her status – knowledge for interaction, self-improvement and status advancement. he went further to say that girl-child education is very important in our society now because, previously the girl-child position was known only to be in the kitchen. and this lack of knowledge was adversely affected, the development of the society. according to okeke (2011), girl –child education is a global policy and the process of empowering future women so that they will be able not only to defend their rights and live with dignity, but also, to contribute to national development. girl-child education is the key to the development of human resources, thus through education, women can realize their potentials for longterm sustainable development. ukeje, akabogu and ndu (1992) opine that as a social institution, the school management is affected by various forces within the society and this affect the education of the girl-child. they went further to identify some of the forces that affect management of the schools to be socio-cultural, politico-economic, religious or technological. they observed that these forces act collectively to determine the quality and quantity of the output from the schools. for any secondary school to achieve its stated goals, availability of human, material, financial and time resources is necessary. management of secondary schools has the duty to ensure that competent staff are recruited, accommodation are provided for the students and that necessary facilities and equipment are purchased. educational managers can manage effectively and efficiently if the external factors which have effect on the management process are properly controlled. such are those factors that influence the secondary education of the girl child. management of secondary education just like any other educational institution, according to okwori and ede (2012), may be defined as the whole process igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 138 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) through which appropriate human and material resources are made available and made effective for accomplishing the processes of an educational enterprise. the relationship between education and development is established very well such that education is a lay index of development. research has also shown that schooling improves productivity, health, statues and reduces negative features of life such as child trafficking, child labour, child abuse and so on. world bank (2002), in support of this states that girl-child education raises economic productivity, reduces poverty, and fertility rates, lowers infant and maternal mortality, and improves health, nutrition and environmental management. because of this, there has been a lot of emphasizes on the need for all citizens to have access to basic education. however, the researcher has observed that girlchild education is important for proper management of secondary schools, national development and realization of human dignity. these factors that affect girl child education have effect on the overall school management process of planning, organizing, staffing, coordinating, and directing. the girl–child education is an economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights since people cannot fully realize their freedom without education. like all human rights, the context of female right to education can be found in our local legislators and international commitments. despite all this, the female child still bears the double jeopardy she suffers as a child and then the discrimination that comes as a result of her being a girl-child. unesco (2009), report states that 69 million children are not enrolled in school and majority of them are girls. despite the fact that education is the right of every girl-child, most girls do not have access to education. the girl-child is most often saddled with responsibilities, which may make her not to have access to quality education even in this 21st century. statistical monitoring of education reveals that the national literacy rate for girls is only 56% as compared to 72% for boys (jekayinfa, 2006). while in other states, the female literacy, enrolment and achievement rates are much more unreasonably lower than their male counterparts. this is because of many factors such as socio-cultural factors, economic, political, and early marriage. in support of this view, magaji (2010) observes that even though education is regarded as a human right for the realization of human dignity, many factors have been found to be responsible for the low enrolment of girls in schools when compared to the enrolment of boys. among these factors, according to her, are poverty, sociocultural impediments, religious misinterpretation of holy book, societal negative attitude to women education, early marriage and gender biases. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 139 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) kiki (2010) discovered that there was gap in favour of boys in school environment, retention and completion. the study on girl education revealed factors affecting girl education as cost of education, school environment, government policies and their implementation, the culture of the people amongst others. there are no policies that specifically address gender issues thereby leaving room for the gender gap. the right to education, which is a basic human right, is frequently denied to girls in nigeria particularly. in the area, when families have to make choices due to limited resources of either a girl or a boy child, it is always the boy that is preferred to attend school. as such, many girls are prevented from getting education because families often send their daughters out to work at a young age so that they can get the additional income they may need to exist beyond subsistence level and finance the education of boys who are heirs to the families. though the importance of education in a life of any individual cannot be over emphasized, the most basic factors perceived to be militating against girl-child education are early marriage, gender preference, socio-cultural, parent’s socioeconomic status and political factors. early marriage is referred to both formal marriages and informal unions in which a girl lives with a partner as if married before age of 18 (unicef, 2005). from their definition, one will conclude that early marriage is any marriage carried out below the age of 18years, before the girl is physically, physiological, and psychologically ready to shoulder the responsibility of marriage and childbearing. field-man (2000) states that evidence from developing countries showered that early marriage leads to early pregnancy and early child bearing contributes to the limitation of career opportunities for teenage mothers. the above argument was based on the lower qualification achieved by girls who have dropped out of school due to marriage or pregnancy. evidence in this report revealed that young mothers are at a greater risk of living school or attaining a lower level of education and therefore the possibility for them to reach their professional goals is minimal which leads to fewer job opportunities. early marriage leads to girl child dropout from school temporarily or permanently, before she completes her secondary education. chivore (1986) notes that dropout has a negative impact on the schools, communities and the country at large. the negative impact may take different forms, for example, a wastage in education resources. another factor that militates against girl-child education is gender preference. gender is a social construct which is fundamentally the ways boys and girls igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 140 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) interact with each other, to the ways development issues and initiatives are planned for and implemented. chege and sifuna (2006), observe that in many developing countries, a long history that dates right from the colonial period and possibly even earlier, present trends of gender inequality, not only in education but also in labour market, political leadership and social and economic spheres. gender preference is located within a broader historical and cultural context that explains discrepancies in the education of girls relative to boys. this is so because education is developed from traditional and cultural settings, contexts through the era of missionaries, the colonial times, to the post-colonial period whereby the construction of gender, gender identities and relations, based on patriarchal ideologies, have resulted in fewer women and girls benefiting from education (chege and sifuna 2006: 13). juma and simatwa (2014) observe that cultural factors have a big influence on girl student academic achievement than boys’ students. thus the girl child is subjected to domestic chores daily in case of day schools. as for boarding schools, the girl student is affected mostly during school holidays. furthermore, they state, the boy child is given preference where financial resources are scare. hence, the girl student does not attend school regularly as desired. the girl child is also affected more by incidents of hiv and aids pandemic as the girl student is compelled to take care of the sick siblings and parents as the case may be in serious cases of loss of income, they are forced to drop out of school temporarily to look for food, clothing and at times shelter. when they are readmitted back to schools their performance in class work is generally below average. the education of the girl-child has been influenced by so many factors; amongst them is the political factor. christopher (2011) supports this assertion by saying that the inability of the government to provide adequate infrastructural facilities in schools to accommodate the training number of children in our schools, have made certain families to enroll only the male children in place of the female one. eshiwani (1993) notes that the presence of quality school facilities and services are some of the symbols of high educational quality. it is the role of the principal to put in place rules and regulations that will ensure that girls remain in school at all times unless they are participating in educational activities outside the school. in kebbi central senatorial district, education of the girl-child has not received serious attention. this is as a result of the materialistic concept of education among the parents especially the uneducated parents and the other factors mentioned earlier. the belief is that the girl-child will eventually marry and leave the family with whatever material benefits derivable from her education to her igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 141 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) husband’s home. the parents would rather prefer to invest in the education of the male child who will eventually marry and bear the father’s name. according to tradition, the role of women has been that of complete house-wife, home maintenance and rearing of children. this is why right from childhood; the girl child is prepared and trained by her mother and others in cooking, and all kinds of chores in the home. all these are directed towards becoming a better house-wife. thus, the gender role type poses a bias against the girls by the society. in kebbi central senatorial district, the girl-child is faced with a lot of constraints and factors which act as serious impediments towards her selfrealization. it is in line with the above that the researcher intends to find out the factors influencing the secondary education of the girl child in kebbi central senatorial district of kebbi state. statement of the problem education is the process of transmitting values, cultures, etc from one generation to another. it is seen as a fundamental human right that should be given to all human beings whether male or female. the problem of the girl-child education is global and as old as human creation. thus, women education has always been in a strong state of marginalization. the issues in recent times have received worldwide attention. over the years, the role of the girl-child in kebbi central senatorial district has been erroneously conceptualized to housekeeping and child bearing. this is why males are groomed for careers in technical and scientific fields while females are guided to concentrate their efforts on home economics. the girl-child constitutes the highest percentage of kebbi central’s population but very few of the total female population are literate as against the male population. this is because in kebbi central senatorial district, female secondary education is influenced by socio-cultural factors. the girl-child is denied education, suffers from child trafficking, prostitution and ritual sacrifices. thus, in the study area, the relevant stakeholders have raised serious concerns on the factors influencing girl-child education such as early marriage, gender preference, socio-economic status of parents’, political and cultural factors. this leads to girlchild dropout from school. it is against this background that there is a felt need by the researcher to research into the influence of socio-cultural factors on the education of the girl-child in kebbi central senatorial district. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 142 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) purpose of the study the main purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of socio-cultural factors on the education of the girl-child in kebbi central senatorial district of kebbi state. specifically, the study seeks to: 1. examine the influence of early marriage on girl-child education in secondary schools in kebbi central senatorial district of kebbi state. 2. find out the influence of gender preference on the education of the girlchild. 3. find out the influence of traditional/socio-cultural factors on the education of the girl-child. 4. establish the influence of socio-economic status of parents on the education of the girl-child. 5. ascertain the influence of political factors on the girl-child education. research questions based on the purpose of the study, the following research questions guided the study: 1. what are the influence of early marriage on the education of the girl-child in secondary schools in kebbi central senatorial district? 2. to what extent does gender preference influence the education of the girlchild? 3. what are the traditional/ cultural factors that influence the education of the girl-child? 4. how does the socio-economic status of parents influence the education of the girl-child ? 5. to what extent does the political factor influence the education of the girlchild? research hypotheses the following null hypotheses are formulated and were tested at 0.05 level of significance. 1. early marriage does not significantly influence the education of the girlchild in secondary schools in kebbi central senatorial district. 2. gender preference does not significantly influence the education of the girl-child. 3. traditional/socio-cultural factors do not significantly influence the girlchild education. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 143 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 4. socio-economic statuses of parents do not significantly influence the education of the girl-child. 5. political factors do not significantly influence the education of the girlchild. methodology the research design for the study is casual comparative (ex-post–facto) design. ex-post-facto research design according to emaikwu (2011) is a research design in which the independent variables have already occurred and in which the researcher begins observation on the dependent variables, followed by a retrospective study of possible relationships and effects. ex-post-facto research design is employed for this study because the study area is large, and a selection of a small portion will enable the researcher to come out with concrete evidence that would produce the desired characteristics typical of the sampled population under the study (akem, 2007). survey research design requires willful and active involvement of the study participants in the collection of data where the researcher elicits the needed information from willing respondents through the use of questionnaire. population of the study the population of this study comprised 90 principals, 180 vice principals, 540 pta exco members from 90 public secondary schools in kebbi central senatorial district of kebbi state. thus making a total of 810 principals, vice principals, and pta exco members. sample and sampling technique a sample of 300 out of 810 principals, vice principals, and pta exco members representing 37% was selected from nine out of 90 public secondary schools representing 10% for the study. this agrees with glass and hopkins in emaikwu (2012), who assert that where the population is over 1000, a sample of 5% and above is considered as an ideal representative sample. stratified random sampling technique was used to select the sample. simple random sampling of balloting without replacement was also employed to select the sample size. this was to guarantee the chances of including every member of the population in the study. thus, some pieces of papers with written numbers were squeezed and dropped in a container for some persons to pick without replacement until the required number of sample is obtained. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 144 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) instrument for data collection the instrument that was used for the collection of data is a structured questionnaire developed by the researcher called “influence of socio-cultural factors on girl-child education questionnaire” [scogeq]. it is a twenty five (25) item structured questionnaire which consists of two sectionsa and b. section a contains the name of the schools of the respondents while section b elicited information on the variables of the study such as socio-cultural factors, gender preference, early marriage, socio-economic status of parents’ and political factor. the instrument is modeled on a four point rating scale with the following weights as assigned below: strongly agree (sa) (4), agree (a) (3), disagree (d) (2), and strongly disagree (sd) (1) respectively. method of data collection a total of 300 copies of the questionnaire were given to respondents in the 9 selected public secondary schools. these copies of the questionnaires were administered and collected back from the respondents with the assistance of some trained research assistants. these trained research assistants were briefed on the purpose of the exercise and trained on how to assist the respondents in filling the questionnaire. the researcher collected all the completed copies of the questionnaire from the respondents on the spot to avoid loss of instrument and by implication, loss of vital information. data presentation, analysis, interpretation and discussion of findings the data collected was presented as follows: research question one what are the influence of early marriage on the girl-child education in secondary schools in kebbi central senatorial district? the data that provide answer to the research question one were presented on table 1. table 1: perceived views of principals, vice principals and pta exco members on the influence of early marriage on the girl-child education in secondary schools in kebbi central senatorial district. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 145 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) ite m no item description sa a d sd x std decision 1 female children who get married at early age easily drop out of school. 215 56 18 11 3.58 0.77 accepted 2 school programmes are affected by high number of female dropouts as a result of early marriage. 187 68 25 20 3.41 0.90 accepted 3 early marriage among female students negatively influences school revenue generation. 144 121 19 16 3.31 0.81 accepted 4 high dropout rate of female students as a result of early marriage influences her selfactualization. 136 133 21 10 3.32 0.75 accepted 5 increased female dropouts as a result of early marriage affect school planning. 136 119 28 17 3.25 0.85 accepted cluster mean and standard deviation 3.37 0.81 accepted data on table 1 showed that the means rating for items 1 to 5 in this cluster were 3.58, 3.41, 3.31, 3.32 and 3.25 respectively with their corresponding standard deviations of 0.77, 0.90. 0.81. 0.75 and 0.85. all the mean ratings are above the cut-off point of 2.50. this means that the respondents had agreed that female children who get married at early age easily drop out of school. school programmes are affected by high number of female dropouts as a result of early marriage. they also agreed that early marriage among female students negatively influence girl child education in secondary schools. more so, high dropout rate of female students as a result of early marriage affects school management and that increased female dropouts as a result of early marriage igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 146 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) influence school planning. the cluster mean of 3.37 with the standard deviation of 0.81 was also found to be above the cut-off point of 2.50. this implies that early marriage influence girl child education in secondary schools in kebbi central senatorial district. research question two to what extent does gender preference influence girl-child education in secondary schools? the data that provide answer to the research question are presented on table 2. table 2: perceived views of principals, vice principals and pta exco members on the influence of gender preference on the girl-child education in secondary schools item no item description sa a d sd x std decision 6 gender disparity and inequality result to low school enrolment among girls, these lead to failure in the school system. 161 103 21 15 3.37 0.82 accepted 7 female students are treated with high sense of considerations among their male counterparts by the schools. 151 123 16 10 3.38 0.74 accepted 8 the school environment is sometimes hostile to girls thereby affecting their level of cooperation with the school management. 191 79 18 12 3.50 0.78 accepted 9 crises sometimes erupt in the school when female students are exempted from school labour by management. 117 94 56 33 2.98 1.01 accepted 10 female students are sometimes placed on scholarship to 146 108 27 19 3.27 0.87 accepted igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 147 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) encourage parents sending more of their girls to school which tends to boost school enrolment. cluster mean/standard deviation 3.30 0.84 accepted from the analysis of data as shown on table 2, the mean ratings for items 6 to 10 in this cluster were 3.37, 3.38, 3.50, 2.98 and 3.27 respectively with their corresponding standard deviation of 0.82, 0.74, 0.78, 1.01 and 0.87. all the mean ratings are above the cut-off point of 2.50. this means that the respondents had agreed that gender disparity and inequality result to low school enrolment among girls, these lead to failure in the school system. female students are treated with high sense of considerations among their male counterparts by the schools. also that, the school environment is sometimes hostile to girls thereby affecting their level of cooperation with the school management. more so, crises sometimes erupt in the school when female students are exempted from school labour by management and that female students are sometimes placed on scholarship to encourage parents sending more of their girls to school which tends to boost school enrolment. the cluster mean of 3.30 with the standard deviations of 0.84 was also found to be above the cut-off point of 2.50. this implies that gender preference influence girl child education in secondary schools. research question three: what are the socio-cultural factors that influence the girl-child education in secondary schools? the data that provide answer to the research question three are presented on table 3. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 148 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) table 3: perceived views of principals, vice principals and pta exco members on the influence of socio-cultural factors on the girl-child education in secondary schools. ite m no item description sa a d sd x st d decision 11 many african cultures such as early marriage, gender preference and girls as home-keepers, do not see girl-child education as a necessity. 102 91 61 46 2.83 1.06 accepte d 12 schools suffer low enrolment rate as a result of the cultural beliefs of some parents who see girl-child education as a waste of money. 140 106 31 23 3.21 0.91 accepte d 13 male children receive better educational attention from their parents than the girls as a result of perceive cultural beliefs. 144 112 26 18 3.27 0.86 accepte d 14 most girls stop schooling after their secondary education and get married because of cultural beliefs of their parents. 149 111 29 11 3.31 0.80 accepte d 15 the belief of cultural attire to be worn by girls in most cultures discourages them sending their female children to school to wear short skirt and blouse. 102 143 34 21 3.09 0.85 accepte d cluster mean and standard deviation 3.03 0.90 accepte d igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 149 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) table 3 indicates that the mean ratings for items 11 to 15 in this cluster were 2.83, 3.21, 3.27, 3.31 and 3.09 with their corresponding standard deviations of 1.06, 0.91, 0.86, 0.80 and 0.85. all the mean ratings are above the cut-off point of 2.50. this means that the respondents had agreed that many african cultures such as early marriage, gender preference and girls as home-keepers, do not see girlchild education as a necessity. schools suffer low enrolment rate as a result of the cultural beliefs of some parents who see girl-child education as a waste of money. male children receive better educational attention from their parents than the girls as a result of perceive cultural beliefs. moreso, most girls stop schooling after their secondary education and get married because of cultural beliefs of their parents and that the belief of cultural attire to be worn by girls in most cultures discourages them sending their female children to school to wear short skirt and blouse. the cluster mean of 3.03 with the standard deviations of 0.90 was also found to be above the cut-off point of 2.50. this implies sociocultural factors influence the girl-child education in secondary schools. research question four: how does the socio-economic status of parents influence the girl-child education in secondary schools? the data that provide answer to the research question four were presented on table 4. table 4: perceived views of principals, vice principals and pta exco members on the influence of socio-economic status of parents on the girl-child education in secondary schools ite m no item description sa a d sd x std decision 16 female children of wealthy parents have the opportunity of attending schools which tend to increase the revenue of the schools. 172 88 26 14 3.39 0.85 accepte d 17 girls from poor home background find it difficult to purchase the needed learning materials and this affects effective school planning 101 160 22 17 2.82 0.97 accepte d igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 150 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) and learning process. 18 female children from parents’ low socio-economic status feel shy to introduce their parents which tends to affect them psychologically as well as their participation in schools programmes 125 141 19 15 3.25 0.79 accepte d 19 parents always prefer paying their male children’s school fees to females thereby making room for school drop outs among girls. 151 114 24 11 3.35 0.78 accepte d 20 wealthy parents do not mind sending all their male and female children to school which tends to positively boost the school population and enhance more revenue. 136 133 17 14 3.30 0.78 accepte d cluster mean and standard deviation 3.22 0.83 accepte d from the analysis of data shown on table 4, the mean ratings for item 16 to 20 in this cluster were 3.39, 2.82, 3.25, 3.35, and 3.30 respectively with corresponding standard deviations of 0.85, 0.97, 0.79, 0.78 and 0.78. all the mean ratings are above the cut-off point of 2.50. this means that the respondents agreed that female children of wealthy parents have the opportunity of attending schools which tends to increase the revenue of the schools. girls from poor home background find it difficult to purchase the needed learning materials and this influences effective school planning and learning process. also that female children from parents’ low socio-economic status feel shy to introduce their parents which tends to affect them psychologically as well as their participation in schools programmes. moreso, parents always prefer paying their male children’s school fees than females thereby making room for school drop outs among girls and that wealthy parents do not mind sending all their male and female children to school which tends to positively boost the school population and enhance more revenue. the cluster mean of 3.22 with the standard igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 151 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) deviations of 0.83 was also found to be above the cut-off point of 2.50. this implies that socio-economic status of parents influence the education of the girlchild in secondary schools. research question five: to what extent does the political factor influence the girl-child education in secondary schools? the data that provide answer to the research question four are presented on table 5. table 5: perceived views of principals, vice principals and pta exco members on the influence of political factor on the girl-child education in secondary schools item no item description sa a d sd x std decision 21 lack of government enactment policy emphasis on girl-child education influence female low school enrolment. 156 94 31 19 3.29 0.89 accepted 22 non-implementation of polices on girl-child education by the government discourages female enrolment in schools. 144 118 22 16 3.30 0.82 accepted 23 nigeria government policy prohibiting girl-child education on the basis of married women and / or girls, who are pregnant or rearing children, tends to affect schools in terms of increase in funding. 168 100 19 13 3.41 0.79 accepted 24 political factors resulting to irregular or non-payment of salaries discourages parents from sending their children to schools and this tends to affect co-educational system. 143 93 42 22 3.19 0.94 accepted igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 152 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 25 politicians sometimes hijack certain benefits meant for girl-child education and this tends to affect policy implementation by the school management. 140 109 31 20 3.23 0.89 accepted cluster mean and standard deviation 3.28 0.87 accepted from the analysis of data shown on table 5, the mean ratings for item 20 to 25 in this cluster were 3.29, 3.30, 3.41, 3.19 and 3.23 respectively with corresponding standard deviations of 0.89, 0.82, 0.79, 0.94 and 0.89. all the mean ratings are above the cut-off point of 2.50. this means that the respondents agreed that lack of government enactment policy emphasis on girl-child education affects female low school enrolment. non-implementation of polices on girl-child education by the government discourages female enrolment in schools. also that, nigeria government policy prohibiting girl-child education on the basis of married women and /or girls, who are pregnant or rearing children, tends to affect schools in terms of increase in funding. moreso, political factors resulting to irregular or non-payment of salaries discourages parents from sending their children to schools and this tends to affect co-educational system and that politicians sometimes hijack certain benefits meant for girl-child education and this tends to affect policy implementation by the school management. the cluster mean of 3.28 with the standard deviations of 0.87 was also found to be above the cut-off point of 2.50. this implies that political factor influence the girl-child education in secondary schools. testing research hypotheses in testing the four hypotheses of this study, the t-test statistical tool was used to test the four hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance and the results are presented on table 5 to 8 and the detailed analysis shown in hypotheses one: early marriage does not significantly influence girl-child education in secondary schools in kebbi central senatorial district. table 6: t-test analysis of the influence of early marriage on the girl-child education in secondary schools igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 153 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) opinion n st. error df (n-2) level of sig t-cal t-crit decision no effect 35 0.047 298 0.05 70.42 1.96 ho effect 265 rejected p < 0.05 the result on the table 6 shows that t-cal is 70.42 while the t-table is 1.96 at 0.05 level of significance. the t-test results indicate that there is a statistically significant influence of early marriage on the girl-child education in secondary schools in kebbi central senatorial district. consequently, the hypothesis (ho) suggesting no statistically significant influence of early marriage on the girl-child education in secondary schools in kebbi central senatorial district was therefore rejected. this is a clear indication that early marriage significantly influences the girl-child education in secondary schools in kebbi central senatorial district (see appendix iii). hypotheses two: gender preference does not significantly influence the girl-child education in secondary schools. table 7: t-test analysis of the influence of gender preference on the girl-child education in secondary schools opinion n st. error df (n-2) level of sig t-cal t-crit decision no effect 36 0.047 298 0.043 70.83 1.96 ho effect 264 rejected p < 0.05 the result of table 7 shows that t-cal is 70.83 while the t-table is 1.96 at 0.05 level of significance. the t-test results indicate that there is a statistically significant igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 154 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) influence of gender preference on the girl-child education in secondary schools. consequently, the hypothesis (ho) suggesting no statistically significant influence of gender preference does on the girl-child education in secondary schools was therefore rejected. this implies that gender preference significantly influence the girl-child education in secondary schools (see appendix iv). hypothesis three: socio-cultural factors do not significantly influence the girl-child education in secondary schools. table 8: t-test analysis of the influence of socio-cultural factors on the girlchild education in secondary schools opinion n st. error df (n-2) level of sig t-cal t-crit decision no effect 54 0.052 298 0.05 61.81 1.96 ho effect 246 rejected p < 0.05 from the result of analysis of data shown on table 8, the t-cal is 61.81 while the ttable is 1.96 at 0.05 level of significance. the t-test results indicate that there is a statistically significant influence of socio-cultural factors on the girl-child secondary education. consequently, the hypothesis (ho) suggesting no statistically significant influence of socio-cultural factors on the girl-child education in secondary schools was therefore rejected. this implies that sociocultural factors significantly influence the girl-child secondary education (see appendix v). hypothesis four: socio-economic statuses of parents do not significantly influence the girl-child education in secondary schools. table 9: t-test analysis of the influence of socio-economic status of parents on the girl-child education in secondary schools igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 155 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) opinion n st. error df (n-2) level of sig t-cal t-crit decision no effect 35 0.046 298 0.05 71.16 1.96 ho effect 265 rejected p < 0.05 from the result analysis of data as presented on table 9, the t-cal is 71.16 while the t-table is 1.96 at 0.05 level of significance. the t-test results indicate that there is a statistically significant influence of socio-economic status of parents on the girl-child education in secondary schools. consequently, the hypothesis (ho) suggesting no statistically significant influence of socio-economic status of parents on the girl-child education in secondary schools was therefore rejected. this is implies that socio-economic status of parents significantly influence the girl-child education in secondary schools (see appendix vi). hypothesis five: political factors do not significantly influence the girl-child education in secondary schools table 10: t-test analysis of the influence of political factors on the girl-child education in secondary schools opinion n st. error df (n-2) level of sig t-cal t-crit decision no effect 50 0.051 298 0.05 63.87 1.96 ho effect 250 rejected p < 0.05 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 156 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) from the result analysis of data as presented on table 10, the t-cal is 63.87 while the t-table is 1.96 at 0.05 level of significance. the t-test results indicate that there is a statistically significant influence of political factors on the girl-child education in secondary schools. consequently, the hypothesis (ho) suggesting no statistically significant influence of political factors on the girl-child education in secondary schools was therefore rejected. this is implies that political factors significantly influence the girl-child education in secondary schools. discussion of findings early marriage and the girl-child education in secondary schools based on the analysis of the five research questions and testing of the five hypotheses, the following findings were organized and discussed here for easy comprehension. the first finding of this study revealed that early marriage significantly influences the girl-child education in secondary schools in kebbi central senatorial district. this finding agrees with the opinions of chivore (1986) who states that early marriage leads to girl child dropout from school temporarily or permanently, before she completes her secondary education. he also notes that dropout has a negative impact on the schools, communities and the country at large. the negative impact may take different forms, for example, a wastage in education resources. he states that girl dropout from school cause educational wastage in the following ways: the money which is invested is under-utilized; materials and resources are not put into use, which is uneconomic; the dropout cannot attain a full educational capacity; consequently, they dropout cannot maximally contribute to the country’s economy building; as a result, the dropout becomes a liability to the country instead of being an asset; the dropout reduces opportunities for other children who could have better utilize those resources to the benefit of the country. similar in support to the finding, mawere (2012) observes that early marriage and its attendant girl dropout in many schools, for example, have resulted in some teachers losing their jobs or overstaffing causing some teachers to transfer forcibly to other schools. such situations create socio-economic and unemployment problems as those teachers who lose jobs are negatively affected. in addition to the finding, adidi (2003) in his study on the effects of early marriage on girl-child education in obudu local government area of cross river state found that early marriage and early child-bearing affect girls from furthering their education. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 157 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) gender preference and girl-child education in secondary schools the second finding of this study revealed that gender preference significantly influences the girl-child education in secondary schools. this finding corroborates with the views okpoko (2005) who states that gender preference in favour of boys disappreciates roles and works against the girl child in terms of curriculum, content, structure, relation, and other aspects of school management and educational system. this is why in the school system; there is a general misplaced perception that girls have to be socialized to be wives, home-makers, dependent and secretaries, while boys are to be husbands, doctors, pilots, breadwinners, defenders, engineers, and scientists. thus, the boys are exposed to a different curriculum than the girls; suggesting that girls do not need a degree in any formal profession such as medicine, engineering and so on to be a good wife. this has affected the management in the planning of the school curriculum, textbooks, and teaching-learning approaches in secondary schools. in addition, chege and sifuna (2006) observe that there are adequacies of school preparation as a factor contributing to girls’ lower pass rates. there are specific areas of the curriculum, like mathematics, which are taught less well to girls because teachers consider boys more important to educate or brighter than girls and transmit these attitudes, through different treatment, (krystall, 1978:59). furthermore in support to the finding, amamchukwu (2005) in his study on gender inequality in schools: implications for curriculum planning in nigeria found that when parents are not able to discharge their obligations to their children like providing the basic needs such as food, shelter, health care and so on, they are forced to withdraw the female children to engage them in some kind of child labour to supplement family income. this reduces female enrolment in schools leading to discrimination or gender preference in school policies. socio-cultural factors and the girl-child education in secondary schools the third finding of this study revealed that socio-cultural factors significantly influence the girl-child education in secondary schools. this finding is in consonance with the views of utulu (2001) who notes that traditions have practices that discriminate against the status of girls and women in society and these have negative effects on their psycho-social and educational development. that in nigerian society, the girl-child is conditioned very early in life to look after the younger ones, the home and the kitchen. perhaps this is why it is generally believed that the girls place is culturally assumed to be in the kitchen. she is expected to be seen and not to be heard. she stressed further that, these cultural practices have great effect on the self-concept and self-esteem of the girl igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 158 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) in nigerian society. socio-cultural believe leads to low investment in female education and hence, low societal demand for female education. in consonance with the finding, juma and simatwa (2014) who observe that cultural factors have a big influence on girl student academic achievement than boys’ students. thus the girl child is subjected to domestic chores daily in case of day schools. as for boarding schools, the girl student is affected mostly during school holidays. furthermore, they state, the boy child is given preference where financial resources are scare. hence, the girl child is also affected more by incidents of hiv and aids pandemic as the girl student is compelled to take care of the sick siblings and parents as the case may be in serious cases of loss of income, they are forced to drop out of school temporarily to look for food, clothing and at times shelter. when they are readmitted back to schools their performance in class work is generally below average. in line with the finding, aba (2000) in his study on cultural practices affecting girl-child education in otukpo local government area of benue state found that the practices of living the women in the kitchen and rearing of children influence the education of the girl-child. socio-economic statuses of parents and girl-child education in secondary schools the fourth finding of the study revealed that socio-economic statuses of parents significantly influence the girl-child education in secondary schools. this finding is in agreement with the opinions of okeke (2011) who observes that families with low socio-economic status find it difficult to send their children to school, due to high cost of education. that in most cases, these parents end up sending the girls to hawk and bring funds to feed the family and train the boys in school, on the bases that the boys will remain with the family and help the family to train the younger ones. also in line with the finding, juma and simatwa (2014) observe that cultural factors have a big influence on girl student academic achievement than boy students. thus the girl child is subjected to domestic chores daily in case of day schools. as for boarding schools, the girl student is affected mostly during school holidays. furthermore, they state, the boy child is given preference where financial resources are scare. hence, the girl student does not attend school regularly as desired. the girl-child is also affected more by incidents of hiv and aids pandemic as the girl student is compelled to take care of the sick siblings and parents as the case may be in serious cases of loss of income, they are forced to drop out of school temporarily to look for food, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 159 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) clothing and at times shelter. when they are readmitted back to schools their performance in class work is generally below average. moreso in agreement with the finding, ola (2000) in his study on the effects of parents’ socio-economic status on girl-child education in bauchi state found that parents’ educational level, income level and the locality where they reside influence the education of their children particularly the female ones. political factors and girl-child education in secondary schools the fifth finding of the study revealed that political factors significantly influence the girl-child education in secondary schools. this finding corroborate with the views of eshiwani (1993) who notes that the presence of quality school facilities and services are some of the symbols of high educational quality. it is the role of the principal to put in place rules and regulations that will ensure that girls remain in school at all times unless they are participating in educational activities outside the school. she understands the curriculum establishment and plays a key role to increase retention by organizing, planning and coordinating school activities with the girl at center. in another support to the finding, abu (2003) adds that the non-implementation of certain polices by the government have also discouraged many parents and female children from enrolling in schools. they believe that after all, the male will manipulate their ways in and take over what is not theirs. in his assertion, he is referring to the non-implementation of the 35 percent women affirmation policy, which states that women should be given 35% of all contestable opportunities, be it, admission into institutions, political offices, appointments, employments, among others. in addition to the finding, ade (2003) in his study on the effects of government policies on the education of the girl-child in otukpo local government area of benue state found that lack of employment for the educated women discourage parents from sending their female children to school. conclusion based on the findings of this study, it was concluded that early marriage, gender preference, socio-cultural factors, socio-economic status of parents and political factors significantly influence the girl-child education in secondary schools in kebbi central senatorial district of kebbi state. recommendations based on the findings of the study, the following recommendations were made: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 160 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 1. the issue of early marriage should be disabusing in the minds of parents by encouraging and giving them orientation towards educating their child before giving them out for marriage. 2. the child right act should be strengthened and government should ensure that it is implemented in all states of the country. this would go a long way in checking indiscriminate child abuse and gender disparity. 3. the government should make policy statements that will make the education of the girl-child to be mandatory for all citizens irrespective of culture or tribal practices. 4. the society should encourage girl-child education by awarding scholarships to girls from parents of poor socio-economic status which makes them unable to send their female children to school. 5. government policies should be geared towards encouraging rather that discouraging parents from sending their children to schools. the female children should also be made to feel they have a place and role in the society and so be prepared to go to school and acquire knowledge and skills that would make them useful and functional in the society. references aba (2000). cultural practices affecting girl-child education in otukpo local government area of benue state. unpublished m.ed dissertation, benue state university, makurdi. adidi (2003).the effects of early marriage on girl-child education in obudu local government area of cross river state.unpublished thesis. akabogu, ndu&ukeje (1992). educational administration. enugu: fourth dimension publishing co. ltd. amanchukwu, r.n. (2005). women, law and education.international journal of forum for african women educationists nigeria (ijofawen). chege, f. &sifuna, d. (2006).girls and women’s education in kenya.gender perspective and trends. nairobi: unesco. chivore, b.r.s. (1986). educational wastage in zimbabwe.jongwe printers (pvt) ltd: harare. christopher, g.u. (2011). parents systoles, gender and occupational preferences of students in uyo metropolis. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 161 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) ede, e. &okwori, a. (2012).management issues in education. makurdi: aboki publishers. eshiwani, g.s. (1986). science teaching and women in kenya. a paper presented at the workshop on access of girls and women to technical and vocational education, nairobi, kenyan science teachers college. fieldman, c. (2000). gender and domestic decision in sri lanka.sociologicalforum, 12(4), 15-32. gomwalk, s. (1996).strategies for making education more accessible to the girl-child.a cross sectional and a gross cultural analysis and policy suggestions.the teacher gindiri 1(1), 22 – 27. juma, l.s.a. and simawa, e.m.w. (2014). impact of cultural factors on girls’ students’ academic achievement in secondary schools in kenya: a case study kisumu east district. educ. res. 5(5): 166 – 178. kiki (mar 10, 2010). girl child education in nigeria; why not? krystall, a. (1978). the education of women in kenya since independence, bureau of educational research, university of nairobi. maweremunyaradzi (2012). causes and effects of girl child dropouts in zimbabwean secondary schools: a case study of chadzamiragutu district. international journal of educational research and technology. ocho, u. (2005). gender assessment, rwanda isp 2004-2008, kigaki, rwanda. okeke, f.a. (2011). persisting inequality in education, female under schooling in africa or accessed by the african academy research programme.retrieved from http://www.edu@yahoo.com on 28th november, 2011. okpoko, a. (2005). strategies for overcoming the barriers to girls’ education in nigeria: international journal of forum for african women educationist nigeria. oloo, m.a. (2003). gender disparity in students’ performance in day secondary schools, migori, unpublished masters’ thesis, maseno university. unesco (2009). efa global monitoring report 2008: education for all by 2015: will we make it? paris: unesco and oxford university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 162 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) unicef (2005).scaling up good practices in girls’ education. paris: author. unicef. (2005). early marriage: a harmful traditional practice: a statisticalexploration, n.y, usa. world bank (2002) integrating sender into world banks work: a strategy for action. washington d.c: world bank. introduction igwebuikeconomics is the application of igwebuike philosophy to economic development. it is, therefore, the product of two words: igwebuike and economics. to understand igwebuikeconomics, an understanding of the two words: igwebuike and economics, that make up the compound word would be necessary. in relating igwebuike with economics, economics provides the central context for the application for igwebuike philosophy; and the word igwebuike is descriptive, in the sense that it speaks of the kind of economics that we are dealing with here. it is an economics that is anchored on the african worldview that understands reality as inclusive, complementary and relational, and which places the interest and good of the human person at the centre of reality. it is a humanistic economics that concerns herself with the description and analysis of production, distribution and consumption of goods and services from a complementary perspective for the development of peoples. it understands economic realities not in terms of aspects, identities and static elements but thinks in terms of relatedness that systematically takes into cognizance the interactions of the different elements of social life, especially, economic structure, political structure, social structure and belief systems, with an awareness of the complexity and dynamism of relatedness. it is this relatedness of reality that has called for this complementary approach to economics that addresses problems complementarily and concretely rather than abstractly. imu olu as a dimension of igwebuikeconomics the igbo apprentice system popularly known as 'imu-olu' (learning work) or 'imu-ahia' (learning trade) or 'igba boy' (to serve) is a major factor in any discussion about igbo commerce. maleke (2018) describes it as an “apprenticeship system that purports established businessmen in a town, street or locale to pick up teenagers-young adults [the apprentice] from their homes and give them an informally formal, but raw and practical, cutthroat business education” (n.p). the teenager might be a relative, sibling or nonrelative from the same region. he writes further that “the idea centers around taking them off the streets and the perilous tendencies of an idle mind to give them a purpose, so that they can continue the trend when they are established” (n.p). imu olu as a system of commerce has been with the igbo before the nigerian civil war, with which they created wealth across the nigerian nation. after the civil war, when the igbo world was crumbled following the terrible legacy of the biafra war, marked by great poverty, halting of livelihood, scarcity of funds and human capital and hopelessness, 9. igwebuikeconomics 42 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. it was the igbo apprentice system that pulled majority of igbo families out of poverty within two years after the war. arrangements and dynamics of imu olu the apprentice leaves his parents and comes to live under the care and supervision of an established business igbo person who becomes his master. he takes care of his master for the agreed number of years, and does every chore that the master assigns him. he serves his master not only in the shop or in relation to the business but at home as well. he has no right to travel home without the consent of the master, even if the parents live in the same city. he must work hard to win the trust and favour of his master, as it is the master who would make an appraisal of his service. at the end of the apprenticeship, the master gives him a take-off fund to hire or purchase a shop, goods, equipment, where necessary and in some cases, accommodation for a given period of time. this take-off fund does not in any way mean that he ceases to collaborate with the master. the master still assists him with goods procurement to reduce overhead importation cost, knowing that the apprentice has a weak purchasing power. through different responsibilities, the master prepares the apprentice for the future. it is not in all cases that the master stays with the apprentice in the same shop or business premises. having gathered some experience, the master can decide to open a shop elsewhere, different from the location where he might be. in this case, the apprentice manages the business branch for the master, representing him at business negotiations. this seeming independence of the apprentice in management does not only help the master expand his business and, thus, make more profit, it also helps the apprentice with an ownership mindset that gives room for trust, building of confidence and exposure, which are necessary for the apprentice if he must succeed in the future. once an apprentice graduates and is settled, he has a responsibility of doing for others back at home what his master has done for him. he, therefore, goes to the village and picks another apprentice who would serve him. meanwhile, before his graduation, his master must have gone home and picked another apprentice who would learn the trade (crescent 2019). neuwirth (2018) visited the alaba international market in lagos dominated by the igbo and observes that the igbo apprenticeship system that governs alaba international market is the largest business incubator platform in the world and has produced more millionaires and billionaires than the entire nigerian university economic system has produced. these millionaires: innoson, coscharis, ibeto, chikason, ekenedilichukwu, etc., are not just millionaires, they make millionaires every year through the apprentice incubator platform. the system is such that there is always a millionaire waiting to be born (ted, november 2018) 43 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya the communal and spiritual dimensions of imu olu in spite of the absence of clearly written laws to guide the relationship between the master and the apprentice, this system has succeeded over the years because, first, the apprentice treads with caution, knowing that if he fails or ruins his masters business, his own future would be ruined. he treads carefully in managing the affairs of his master and tries to prosper the master's business for he knows that his destiny is tied to the economic destiny of his master. this fear, according to okoro (2018) engenders honesty as every established acts of theft, diversion of fund and flamboyant use of business finances terminates the arrangement. while the apprentice does his best to avoid the termination of the apprentice arrangement, the master is also careful to avoid a bad labeling from his community where he has picked the son of a brother or relation. to fail to keep to the terms of apprenticeship after the agreed number of years of service can incur the wrath of the community back at home. the igbo apprenticeship system is not only an arrangement between the master and the apprentice, it is a community or family affair. masters who are notorious for not settling their apprentice hardly get apprentice to work with them. according to okoro (2018), insincere masters run the risk of having their businesses ruined by the apprentice's personal deity, known as the chi. this is why every master does his best to give a take-off package to the apprentice after the fulfillment of the agreed years of service. at this point of settlement the blessing of the master is more important than the financial package, because the financial package without his blessing ends in ruin (kanu 2019). master apprentice to master apprentice to master apprentice to master apprentice to master apprentice to master figure 4: igbo apprentice incubator network 44 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. foundations of igbo apprentice incubator network there are three fundamental principles that shape the igbo apprenticeship system: a. igbo social construction of reality among the igbo of nigeria, the life of a human person is circumscribed within the uwa (the world) (kanu 2012a). in the contention of oguejiofor (2010) “this unitary conception of reality pervades the igbo world in a remarkable way” (p. 21). the igbo, therefore, does not see himself or herself as an individual without noticing immediately the need for the other. no wonder he or she often warns the other: onye aghana nwanne ya (no one should leave his brother/sister behind) (kanu 2012b). b. igbo philosophy of resilience the igbo world is not a bed of roses. it is a world of struggles that begins from birth, noticeable in the cry of a little child as soon as it is born. circumscribed to the uwa (world), the human person is faced by difficulties and frustrations. this makes survival in a tolerable way a major concern for the igbo, and it to a large extent determines the igbo attitude to life. to face the struggles of life, the igbo generate a corporate front, partnering with the other to avoid being overwhelmed. c. igbo think-home philosophy the igbo have a saying that: aku ruo uno (wealth must reach home). if a person is known all over the world but not known in his home town then he is not known. if a person does not make an effort to return home, he or she is referred to as an efuru efu (the lost one). after the nigerian civil war, when the property and wealth of the igbo in states outside of igboland were seized by the nigerian government, the igbo philosophy of cheruo uno, (think home) became more important (kanu 2014a). no matter where the igbo travel to and the number of houses he builds elsewhere, he ensures that he has a home in his village. home is home for them and so they are at home for the celebration of festivals like christmas, new year, easter, new yam festival, etc. more interesting is that many who are not able to travel during these seasons have one association or the other to which they belong in the city where they live. even when he dies, the corpse must be taken home. the corpse needs to get home to rest well (kanu 2014b). 45 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 255 journalistic metamorphosis: robot journalism adoption in nigeria in a digital age desmond onyemechi okocha, phd department of mass communication bingham university, karu, nasarawa state, nigeria orcid 0000-0001-5070-280x desmonddoo@yahoo.com; desmonddoo@binghamuni.edu.ng & roxie ojoma ola-akuma department of mass communication bingham university, karu, nasarawa state, nigeria roxie.ojay@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29105.45929 abstract the headways in artificial intelligence have impacted on every aspect of society especially communications which is a vital part of any civilisation. ai revolution in multimedia applications have now become a means of guaranteeing stress reduction, speed, performance and in the face of a pandemic such as the covid-19 a safe avenue for journalists. but sadly as a result of the issues faced by developing countries such as nigeria, journalists are not current with innovations that will lessen the load of seemingly routine duties in the newsroom and collaborate with new technologies in order to stay relevant. in light of this, the purpose of this research was to examine journalists’ perception on how robot journalism can (or has) transformed journalism. hinged on the mediamorphosis theory, the study utilised quantitative survey as 389 former and current media practitioners were chosen through a purposive sampling technique. the research discovered that most nigerian journalists though familiar with the concept of robot journalism believe nigerians are not adequately prepared for its adoption. it was established that automation is the way of the future, and nigerian journalists cannot afford to be consigned to oblivion in the final shift to an automated world, so they must be acquainted to embrace robot journalism. this study recommends that while media practitioners try to grapple with the reality of automated journalism and with concerns on the uncertainties such as pandemics, practitioners need to keep up with technology as supportive techs in their jobs in light of the covid-19 protocols, around social distancing, ban on travels to ensure they stay on top of major happening without becoming victims. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 256 keywords: artificial intelligence, pandemic, robot journalism, newsroom, nigerian journalists. introduction every society is significantly reliant on information especially through the media which is responsible for disseminating a wide range of content to a diversified audience via many means, including newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and, of course, new media (internet). one may be able to appreciate the intelligence assistance, if you have ever said or heard any of these ‘hey google’, ‘hi alexa’ or ‘hi cortana’. or maybe while typing using microsoft word, wrong spellings or poor phrases are underlined red to draw the attention of the writer. this is artificial intelligence (ai) at work and shows how everyday lives are being reshaped by technology. today there are even ‘speech to text’ options where you can simply hit the dictate button and speak for the system to type for you. or consider the novel corona virus, discovered at the end of 2019 (cvetković, et al., 2020) which raised concerns for media professionals around the world who had to take advantage of available technologies such as zoom and teams to conduct live interviews during the lockdown to observe the covid19 protocols especially around social distancing and to keep them safe while they work. in spite of the fact that it is difficult to tell whether journalists became ill at work or in their personal life, the swiss organization press emblem campaign (pec) announced in 2021 that the pandemic had claimed the lives of over 600 journalists worldwide. (press emblem campaign, 2021). thanks to technological advancements such as computers, the coast is larger for journalists who have access to digital tools to exchange information with others from laptops, smart phones and in a world where the internet is becoming the fastest growing media, software applications (apps) are innovations for disseminating information (aten, 2020). the generation of software applications for varying sectors such as health care, economics, geopolitics, law, urban development, government, media, the military, and even the trade and investments demonstrate that ai has established itself in all sectors of human endeavor. for mainstream media, something quite fundamental is changing how traditional media are going about news collection, writing, editing, storage, retrieval, and dissemination in the news industry. on the mission for data, information execution and need for speed in a datafied society are creating considerable opportunities that are inciting a reexamination of digital work tools that will enhance journalism's fundamental purpose and goal, as well as the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 257 shape and ethics of the news industry. welcome to the age of artificial intelligence (ai) were softwares source, write and tell stories in a matter of seconds. across the world in africa, argentina, britain, america, sweden and china, software developers have recognised that there is a need to find new ways to keep the journalism industry afloat in an era of globalisation. unfortunately, like other african countries, many nigerian journalists have not fully grasped the concept of what artificial intelligence (ai) is, to adopt it for newsroom activities. ai is a software or application that is designed and keyed with codes that will lead it to makes independent decisions and performs activities that mirror human intellect such as generation of data, analysis, problem solving, language comprehension, and sound and visual recognition. with the help of the code which is referred to as an algorithm the ai is layered with stage processes of commands that allows it to work offline or online depending on its purpose. unlike google search engines or yahoo which generates related information based on key words, the robot journalist, software journalism, automated journalism or algorithm journalism is intended to not only generate possible data but turn them into stories from different angles and the outstanding thing is that ais such as quakebot, wordsmiths, heliograf can generate hundreds of angles in a matter of seconds. how is this even possible? online activities across various websites span across sports, company earnings, pandemics, wars, all of those seem like history but then as long as it was at any point produced, the virtual products can be intended to observe any data found anyplace across the web. this is because data is the most important component of any ai; the algorithm depends on. from the aforementioned, robot journalism can help journalists do more with less, keep them safe, increasing the potential to even explore uncharted territory that may not have been possible due to location, space and time. robot journalism does not work in a vacuum, it needs a code to function, and it needs data to be able to generate any reasonable information leading us to use the popular term ‘gigo’ meaning garbage in garbage out (rose & fischer, 2011). meaning we cannot expect it to find what is not already there. an example is the paraphrase tool by grammarly, you need to upload text for it to work or else it is as useless to the user as a whiteboard. due to the pieces of data coming in around ai in today’s world of communication, one may not be able to measure the full impact on journalism as such, it cannot be over-looked. since its arrival automated or robot journalism igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 258 have certainly changed the way journalists around the world work, how stories are developed and disseminated. robot journalism has had positive impacts, without doubt, but there are also concerns about their expansions and research abilities and the disruption it could have on journalists who have been used to the traditional working patterns. just like the google search engine, robot journalism could become like the journalistic tool buddy. the presence of artificial intelligence online has also created a dependency among those working in the media and many are unable to do without them. while journalists in the west are becoming more sophisticated in their use of automated journalism, and are now using ais to source news, it appear to be less of a topic for nigerian journalists who are tied to regular news activities, audience engagement and productivity. this study set out to achieve the following goals in the face of these opposing viewpoints. 1. to know if journalists in nigeria are exposed to robot journalism tools. 2. to examine the impressions journalists in nigeria, have on the use of automated journalism. research questions 1. to what extent are journalists in nigeria exposed to robot journalism? 2. what are the views of journalists in nigeria on the use of automated journalism? theoretical framework this research is based on roger fidler’s mediamorphosis theory of mass communication, popularly known as the "digital metamorphosis," which he proposed in 1990. the idea describes and forecasts the changes in the digital world and culture. the shifting nature of traditional media is referred to as mediamorphosis. although proposed in 1990, ekeli and enobakhare (2013) believe that as new media forms have evolved and developed, they have influenced the development of other existing media to varying degrees, such that rather than the emergent media displacing the existing ones, the existing ones simply converge with them to improve their operations. the migration of readers, viewers, and advertisers from hardcopy print newspapers, radio, and broadcast television to the internet is an example. the term "mediamorphosis" refers to the evolution of communication media as a result of a complex interplay igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 259 between perceived information demands, sociopolitical pressures, and ongoing social and technological developments (fidler, 1997). significance of mediamorphosis theory to traditional newsroom styles and ai. mediamorphosis, according to fidler (1997), is a coherent viewpoint about the technological growth of communication media. from the concepts of coevolution, convergence, and complexity, he derived his mediamorphosis principles. mediamorphosis, according to roger fidler, show how by studying the communications system as a whole, we will see that new media do not emerge spontaneously and independently, but they emerge gradually from the transformation of media systems (gillianrcomth, 2016; bantigue, 2016). for example, there was nothing similar to mass communication as we have now in nigeria hundred years ago. despite this, from the first tabloid 'iwe irohin fun awon ara egba' on november 23, 1859, more have emerged as a result of technological progressions, which have followed not just by other prints but also by electronic media (radio, television) and now we have the internet. this illustrates according to mediamorphosis, new media only evolved to update and upgrade old media. in this way, we may say that ai or software journalism is primarily intended to improve upon the traditional labour of news sourcing (nwammuo & nwafor, 2019) that requires movement to various locations to source news, conduct interviews and return to writing, editing footages (tv broadcast) and publishing or broadcasting eventually. considering these, robot journalism, like new media, did not emerge spontaneously or independently, but rather as a result of progressive improvements to an old medium or its concept. this historical pattern of evolution in the communication system caused fiddler to assert that the emergence of a new medium or technology does not imply the end or death of an existing/old medium. meaning newsrooms will continue to exist, but in a more sophisticated, advanced form. journalists are now exposed to new media tools such as podcasts, blogs, youtube, and other live audio-visual streaming platforms, (mohammed, 2021) which the researcher believes are all intended to make work more fun and a lot easier. this theory was chosen as the best for this study since it discusses the current changes in how information is disseminated, as well as how the entrance of ai into journalism practice may influence information dissemination in better ways. literature review igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 260 the beginning of journalistic practices in nigeria journalism is very important in nigeria as in other climes because the role is to inform, educate and entertain and this is primarily in visual or audio form (print, radio, and television.) this undoubted role of journalism in developing countries, have led the media to become the most controlled for both technical and political reasons (udomisor, 2013). the history of journalism in nigeria can be traced back to the colonial regime by the british. the eagerness of britain to civilise nigeria helped to lay the foundation of nigerian broadcasting (adejunmobi 1974). britain provided nigeria with its first telegraph lines in 1895 to establish a railway between lagos, the capital of nigeria, and abeokuta, in nigeria’s southwest. this activity is what allowed for communication and corresponds to the birth and growth of journalism in nigeria. newspaper history and evolution reverend henry townsend, the founder of journalism in nigeria, introduced the newspaper profession in nigeria by publishing the first tabloid 'iwe irohin fun awon ara egba' on november 23, 1859, although the content of the newspaper was news of church activities, arrival and departure of religious dignitaries, ordinations etc but it was later broadened to include stories that revolved around abeokuta, including business news highlighting cotton and cocoa statistics (pulse.ng, 2018). although first published as a yoruba-language fortnightly paper, it became bilingual eight years later when an english language supplement was added from march 8, 1860, also 'iwe irohin fun awon ara egba moved on to incorporate advertisements from local firms and government agencies same year (omu, 1967). four years after 'iwe irohin’, the second nigerian newspaper anglo-african was published in 1863 by robert campbell and was the first paper published in lagos (library of congress, 2021). it was intended for african self-improvement through the consumption of western and african systems of knowledge (pulse.ng, 2018). by october 1867, 'iwe irohin’ ended brusquely with the closure of the european property due to cultural and political clashes that occurred between the egbas and the british which resulted in the expulsion of all europeans in egbaland (oduntan, 2005). seventeen years following the anglo-african newspaper, richard olamilege beale blaize a nigerian businessman, and one of the richest africans in lagos in the early 20th century came in from freetown to lagos in 1862 and worked first as a printer for robert campbell, editor of the anglo-african and then igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 261 established the third nigerian newspaper, known as the lagos times and gold coast colony advertiser (teniola, 2012.). the newspaper was the first to condemn the overindulgence of the colonialist in one of its editions, issued in 1881. the lagos times and gold coast colony advertiser was quite unforgiving on many of the approaches and activities of the governing masters of the time. the newspaper also criticised the executive and legislative council, which had no african as one of its members (omipidan, 2016). nevertheless, the newspaper went out of distribution on october 24, 1883; though it re-surfaced seven years later but with little or no success. nationalists such as hebert macaulay (lagos daily news in 1925), nnamdi azikiwe (west african pilot in 1937), and obafemi awolowo (tribune newspaper in 1949), among others, founded newspapers and later became embodiments of leadership in nigeria as they fought for independence from british colonial rule (olisa, 1989). the nigerian press today constitutes of lines of newspapers, who consistently championed the fight against colonialism, calling for democracy, including good governance (umeh, 1989). one of such was punch newspapers which was debuted on sunday, march 18, 1973, when its first weekly newspaper, sunday punch hit the newsstand. the newspaper was designed to provide a mix of serious and popular journalism with refreshing information and entertainment. according to an overview by the punch (2021) this was followed 3 years later on november 1, 1976, with the daily tabloid, which the punch, tagged as “the lively paper for lively minds”, the intent was to address most of the shortcomings and inadequacies of the established nigerian newspapers and to be socially aware and responsible. for some years now, punch titles: the punch, saturday punch and sunday punch, have remained the market leaders in nigeria (punch, 2021). despite the constant assaults by successive repressive regimes, nwogwugwu (2015) claims that the nigeria newspaper industry has been regarded as one of the largest industries on the continent, as it has grown in leaps and bounds over the years, surviving draconian laws enacted to stifle the industry's development, with press freedom in nigeria only appearing to be attainable between 1850 and 1983. this freedom according to seng & hunt (1986) had been manifested mainly in the diversification and private ownership of newspapers. the development of radio and later television brought a new dimension to news and events coverage in nigeria (asekun-olarinmoye, et al., 2014). before then, reporters for nigerian newspapers and magazines were only relatively free to comment on the affairs of government a little to the point of negative criticism (seng & hunt, 1986). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 262 radio radio broadcasting was introduced into nigeria in 1933 by the colonial government although, some other sources say it was in 1932 (adegbija, fakomogbon, & adebayo, 2013). the history can be traced to the radio diffusion system, (rds) where information was relayed by the overseas service of the british broadcasting corporation (bbc) through a wired system with loudspeakers at the listening end (media nigeria, 2018). this translated to the nigeria broadcasting service, (nbs) in april 1950 (osa, 2018). it was a recommendation from a deliberate survey carried out by the british government that enabled the establishment of radio stations in five (5) key regions at the time. namely: lagos, kaduna, enugu, ibadan and kano. the nigerian broadcasting corporation, (nbc) was launched in april 1957 through an act of parliament no. 39 of 1956 (globefmbauchi, 2021) and the director general was mr. j.a.c knott obe (omorotionmwan, 2016). it is worthy of note that it was a radio broadcast that was utilised by the military when major chukwuma kaduna nzeogwu to announce nigeria’s first military coup using radio nigeria, kaduna on january 15, 1966 (vanguard, 2010). by then there were 6 radio broadcasting stations in nigeria – western nigerian broadcasting corporation wnbc (in 1959), eastern nigerian broadcasting service enbs (in 1960), northern nigerian broadcasting service nnbc (in 1962), midwestern state broadcasting service, north eastern state programming service, and south eastern states programming service which was after 1967 (adejunmobi 1974). in 1978, the nbc was re-organised to become the federal radio corporation of nigeria, (frcn). the nbc handed over short wave transmitters from the states to the state governments. even though some experts consider the beginning of the civil war as a major shift in broadcasting services, it needs to be cited that radio stations such as radio biafra in eastern nigeria, likewise contributed to the evolution of ground-breaking practices of broadcasting even though it was only transitional within the biafran experience but it is worthy of note that the station was used to conquer the home front when the biafran government tactically exploited the propaganda potential of radio (omaka, 2017). that experience may also have later contributed to the use of radio democrat also called radio kudirat owned by wole soyinka where the nobel laureate, africa's foremost dramatist, challenged the military administration of general sani abacha, possibly nigeria's worst ever dictator (osha, 2005) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 263 frcn at the time of this study, had eight (8) zonal stations across the country in abuja, lagos, kaduna, enugu, ibadan, the northeast. the northeast zonal station of frcn consists of six fm stations: globe fm bauchi, jewel fm gombe, peace fm maiduguri, sunshine fm potiskum, fombina fm yola, and gift fm jalingo (abdulkadiri, 2021). the north central zone has five fm stations established by the zone, namely: harvest fm makurdi, benue state, prime fm lokoja, kogi state, harmony fm idofian, kwara state, highland fm jos, plateau state and precious fm nasarawa state. the south-south zone has six fm stations bronze fm benin city, treasure fm port harcourt, atlantic uyo state, creek yenagoa, canaan city and charity fm asaba. raypower 100.5 fm was nigeria's first privately owned and operated radio station. the station began test transmission on december 15, 1993 and began commercial broadcasting in lagos the following year on september 1. it was also the first radio station in nigeria to transmit 24 hours a day (sherif, 2020; news24, 2021). the broadcasting corporation of northern nigeria, bcnn, was converged with the nbc stations in lagos, ibadan and enugu as the current frcn. at the time of this study, according to nbc (2021), nigeria had a total of 501 radio stations out of which 22 are owned and controlled by frcn and 36 owned and controlled by the state government. lagos had the highest number of 43, followed by oyo state and the federal capital territory which had 39 and 30, respectively. the states with the lowest presence of radio stations were kebbi and zamfara which had only 3 radio outfits. this feat only became possible from 1993 when the monopoly of government was broken to allow private media operations which gave the broadcast audience multiple choices for information sharing (asekun-olarinmoye, sanusi, johnson, & oloyede, 2014). television nigeria has had television (tv) broadcasting for more than 60 years (1959-2021). the author of a 2013 paper liwhu betiang of the university of calabar observes that the rise of television journalism in nigeria has also resulted in a number of local responses to global socioeconomic and political contexts, as well as psychological impact. prior to the final deregulation of television broadcasting in 1992, which was seen as the then military president’s diplomatic response to pressures from the bretton woods institutions, which opened up national media markets to global penetration and accelerated media globalisation and its effects igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 264 in nigeria (betiang, 2013). but what was the origin of television transmission prior to that? according to umeh (1989), the western nigeria television/western nigeria broadcasting service (wntv/wnbs) in ibadan became the first television station in nigeria and africa in 1959. this, according to the author, prompted the need for a replication in the eastern and northern regions, which resulted in the establishment of eastern nigeria television (entv) in october 1960 and radio kaduna television (rktv) in march 1962 as a tv service of the bcnn. from the formation of the midwest area in 1963 to the onset of the civil war in 1967, all of these stations served partisan political goals for subsequent governments between the 1970’s wars until 1976, when the government (military) assumed control of regional television stations (egbon, 1983). the nigeria television authority was founded a year later by the military government (umeh 1989). the establishment of the nbc in 1992 was a move to deregulate the broadcast industry (nbc, 2021). the deregulation of the broadcast industry in nigeria made it competitive as a precursor to what we have in the present day, which has witnessed a shooting increase in the number of terrestrial and cable tv stations to more than 100 (akeem, et al., 2013). developments in the journalistic field from the aforementioned history of journalism in nigeria, the media innovations, have led to the arrival of new media, there have been various changes in the journalistic sector that have opened the way for simpler news collection, analysis, documentation, and dissemination. the field of journalism is rapidly evolving. pens were replaced by typewriters, which were replaced by desktops, which were replaced by laptops, notebook computers, and smart phones. a retired journalist puts the changes this way: when i started in the 1980s, i used to send in copy by telex, or dictate it over the phone to a copy-taker. i used to spend days working on a single story and would spend many hours going to visit people and sites with photographers. i used to work in libraries, consulting books and old files or reading microfiche. i used to know that when i left my office and its landline phone behind, no-one could reach me. those were the days… i used to handwrite articles, or type them on a manual typewriter, or type text onto a stencil to be printed off by a big-barreled duplicator... it is difficult to remember how we lived without email, without google, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 265 without facebook, without twitter, without whatsapp, without instagram, without tumblr, without the internet. and it is almost impossible to imagine how we managed with phones that were always attached to a wire in a room, and did not take photos, did not send texts, did not use gps mapping, did not play music or video, and did not pay bills. (edwards, 2017) the internet has given rise to a plethora of new material sources that are linked all over the world. during the lockdown, media practitioners involved in scripted tv programmes and film making had to shut down or delayed their productions as reported by the los angeles times (2021) & mellor (2020). to stay on air and adapt to the covid-19 safety protocols, network and local news programmes ensured that improvised studios were setups for anchors, correspondents and meteorologists across the country to be able to deliver reports from the comfort of their homes (battaglio, 2021; mellor, 2020) where they employed applications such as zoom, microsoft teams and blue jeans to get across to guests. the internet, and particularly its graphical interface, the world wide web, is reported to be approaching its fullness and extensive adoption around the globe, specifically, for online journalism, in an era of computer-assisted reporting (car) (deuze, 2001). amongst other things, a more sophisticated car has emerged with news organisations like the bbc, cnn, associated press and the los angeles times who have started to use artificial intelligence to generate automated content, which enables the tagging of digital text, and editing of articles. as technology advances, news outlets are seeing the need to rely on robot journalists to cover everything news worthy. although technology is influencing the future of journalism, it will not eliminate the necessity for qualified and experienced reporters. technology is also creating access for writers and editors who are able and willing to adapt to changes in the industry. for example, if you want to work in journalism, you don't have to go to a campus in australia, canada, or the united kingdom; instead, you can enroll in an online bachelor’s program that can help augment your writing or data analysis skills. podcasts, blogs, and social media are some of the ai advancements impacting the future of journalism. these are all new media tools with storytelling platforms that provide users with channels that are likely becoming even more important to the future of journalism. what is more is that these platforms are being utilised majorly by individuals and freelancers (korreck, 2021). spotify for igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 266 example as noted by thisday (2021) features a music streaming service whose podcast listening became popular in nigeria in 2018. sources note that it has a record of 165 million paid subscribers. as at the time of this study there were over two million digital broadcast titles available to spotify listeners in nigeria. according to caygill (2017) podcasting is also changing the face of journalism and audio media around the world and competing the space now for radio journalism which as an offline tool would have declined, if not that most radio stations have also moved online. with podcasting, journalists have an opportunity to recount events via audio media and reach a new and growing world of listeners (newman, 2021) who can access content on their mobile smart phones such as spotify, stitcher, google podcasts, other android podcast apps, listen notes, deezer, iheartradio, tunein and rss. developments of ai in journalism in automated journalism, also known as algorithmic journalism or robot journalism (caswell & dörr, 2018), news stories can be generated by computer programs. according to cohen (2015), thanks to ai technology, stories are generated automatically by computers rather than by human reporters in robot journalism. these programs examine, organize, and present facts in a form that people can comprehend. according to lindén (2017), the digital revolution has increased the volume and availability of data that may be used for quantitative journalistic processes, as well as the ability to predict events to a greater extent than hitherto. what is also available today is data journalism, which is the process of making a sense of data collected, producing articles based on the information, and including visualizations in the articles to assist readers grasp the story's significance (o’reilly media, 2012; manovich, 2011; cai & zhu, 2015). it fuses several disciplines thereby justifying the mediamorphosis theory as posited by fidler (1997). according to bradshaw (2010), data can be acquired through an in-depth study and statistics to design and programming. volumes of available data can be retrieved, analysed using a variety of multi-article structures, vital points organized, and significant details such as identities, places, amounts, ranks, averages, and other numbers included using an algorithm without human contribution or physical contact. audiovisuals or audio only output can be further tweaked to a given voice, tone, or style (montal & reich, 2017). narrative science and automated insights are a few of the significant companies that are teaching computers to write news stories (levy, 2012). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 267 cases of robot journalism according to arenstein (2017), automation in journalism has already begun in several nations, with africa (namibia and zimbabwe) not left out of the ai fest. the notable one in africa is called afribot which is simplifying reportage processes. some of the first examples of robot journalism were by news providers such as the associated press, forbes, propublica, and the los angeles times (montal & reich, 2017), which covered stories that could be understood through numbers. this early adoption by the media industry focused on productivity and efficiency improvements (cohen, 2015). the author of a 2019 article, matteo monti links the origins of automated journalism to an ai that was first used in a newsroom by the new york times (nyt) in a project called 'editor’ which according to underwood (2019), the software dubbed 'editor' was created to make the journalistic process easier. keywords, sometimes known as tags, are commonly used to make an article searchable on the internet. the ai was coded to distinguish, sort, and apply these tags to news stories that had previously been created (monti, 2019; underwood, 2019). the ai can also search through information in real time, retrieving information based on categories such as occurrences, prominent figures, geography, and time periods. 'editor,' according to underwood (2019), can make contents more accessible, make the research process easier, and offer journalists with quick and precise fact checking. this affirms linden’s (2017) position that even the field of journalism requires support for stories, reports and research in the newsroom which can be made easier through automated news. this increases not just efficiency but job satisfaction too with automation of monotonous and error-prone routine tasks. the really simple syndication (rss), usually recognized as rss, was another early algorithm. rss files are xml files that can be read by a computer that automatically update information on financial news, sports, and weather (dickinson & miller, 2005). this has simplified the effort of trying to discover all news sources by putting them all in one location. rss.com lists cnn, new york times, huffington post and fox news as some of its top feeds for 2021. mittmedia, which owns dozens of swedish newspapers, was reported to be effectively developing and combining aips, automation tools, and robotics into workflows to boost the capabilities of newsrooms at the international press communications council's (iptc) spring meeting in 2016. mittmedia company, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 268 which owns 19 swedish newspapers, launched their first robot journalism project in which the ai was designed to gather data from the swedish meteorological and hydrological institute to make weather reports. (finnäs & tjernström, 2016). thomson reuters had demonstrated how automated journalism could generate financial news pieces on its online news platform as early as 2006 (dalen, 2012). by 2016, reuters has built an interactive data visualization (idv) platform spanning a wide range of themes, including entertainment, sports, and journalism, allowing news organizations and publishers to access the data through the reuters open media express platform (shahzad 2020). the company then revealed in march 2018 that it was working on a technology that would help journalists analyze data and even propose article ideas. the product, lynx insight, has now been distributed to newsrooms all around the world. thompson reuters, the ai's owners, claim that through their software solutions and services, they've been employing technology to make detailed content more available to clients. one of the sophisticated uses of ai in news writing was when the washington post (wp) created a software called heliograf to cover the 2016 olympic games in rio; what this ai did, was to auto circulate stories on the rio olympics by collecting data related to the events such as the schedule, the results, and medals awarded (antonopoulou & kyriazis, 2018). the bbc news labs created the 'juicer' and 'summa' news aggregation and content extraction apis to make the workflow easier. ‘juicer’ is designed to take news content, automatically tag it, then provides a fully featured api to access this content and data (bbcnewslabs, 2017) while ‘summa’ is targeting media streams across many languages and is programmed to analyse the myriads of data it finds and transform them to text even low quality audio files (sun, 2017). shahzad (2020) notes that ‘juicer’, has been used to also extract more than 1000 global news outlets and rss feeds. the associated press (ap), began using ai to write corporate earnings stories on public companies and it was necessary to stay ahead because there are more than 4,000 public companies in the us meaning their staff could not possibly write all of the required pieces every three months, but by using ai, associated press produced more than 3,700 corporate earnings stories per quarter in 2015 (gopalan, 2017). this feat by ap was achieved principally because ai performed the writing of the more routine corporate earnings accounts. then in 2018, mittmedia’s newest automation the ‘homeowners bot’ was reported to have igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 269 written 10,000 articles in four months of house sales (govik, 2018). in 2015, an algorithm named dreamwriter was designed by one of the largest chinese internet firms called tancent, which delivered the first piece of chinese automated news at a record of a thousand words in a minute (huifeng, 2015; jung, et.al. 2017 in jia, 2021). united robots has provided robot journalism experience for many media outfits such as roularta media group in belgium and dutch regional media group ndc. for example, roularta media group is able to publish live weather forecast texts for the 64 municipalities of the west-vlaanderen (west flanders) province all automated. the ai system allows for text updates for all morning, afternoon and evening weather so that readers can use the map on the de krant van west-vlaanderen website to choose weather forecasts for their own municipality and area. while ndc in 2020 was set to cover every single local match for the entirety of the season meaning 60,000 football games which ordinarily was far beyond the capacity of the orthodox newsroom. the robots are programmed to write the match reports, and with the internet, social media platforms and citizen journalists the photos and comments from coaches will be generated (united robots, 2020; pressgazette, 2021). the guardian australia published its first news item written by its in-house automated scheme, 'reportermate,' on february 1, 2019. the ai was trained to take datasets and a story template file and turn them into a news story with little to zero human intervention (evershed 2019). another feat by the guardian in automated news was revealed to the public on september 8, 2020, when the neural network known as ‘gpt-3’ wrote a full article and the published parts were hand-picked by a human editor who finished the story (the guardian, 2020). gpt-3 is a cutting-edge language model that employs machine learning to generate text that appears to be written by a person. to steer the piece, key phrases and an introduction required to be fed into the system. according to the program gpt-3, eight (8) alternative versions of the essay were created, each one original, engaging, and with a separate advanced argument for "why robots were no threat." according to the editorial staff for the guardian, the gpt-3 article was not treated differently compared to editing a human op-ed. same editorial actions were still carried out such as cutting of lines and paragraphs and rearranged the order of them in some places. but then, overall, it took less time to edit than many human op-eds (the guardian, 2020; metz, 2020). latar (2016) opines that robot journalism has served as a telepresence technology and can be quite effective in collecting data from war zones without risking the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 270 lives of human journalists. in a disaster such as the 2014 california earthquake, quakebot was used by the los angeles times to publish the story on their website within three minutes after the quake with no staff having to be affected and no time being lost (levenson, 2014; oremus, 2014). during the pandemic, samuel danzon-chambaud a knight news innovation fellow for the tow center for digital journalism did examine nine news agencies (broadcast and print) across eight countries: germany, united states, canada, finland, norway, sweden, united kingdom and switzerland. findings showed that all nine media organizations used automated news specially to report on covid-19 through new media products. even after most of the restrictions have been removed, bach (2021) notes that most news agencies still plan to hold onto the online interviewing and news sourcing platforms. in nigeria, an internet-based data mining tool was launched by the centre for disease control and prevention (ncdc) in 2016 which was established as an event-based surveillance (ebs) system for data generation (beebeejaun, et al., 2021). in the face of the coronavirus, the agency in partnership with unicef designed and released another ai, that would provide citizens with timely and accurate information on covid-19 through an sms-based interactive chatbot (unicef, 2020).  merits and discrepancies of robot journalism 1. before the advent of digital tools, much of the information communication between individuals required physical presence. until the coronavirus pandemic lockdown, most nigerian journalists were constantly on the move, sourcing material on their own (adegboyega, 2020). after an interview, a reporter had to rush back to the newsroom as quickly as possible in order to beat the competition to print and then publish the story. as the digital revolution has progressed, the roles of journalists have changed. the internet is one of the numerous advantages of the advancement of information transmission technology, as it allows people to learn about events without having to attend them. during the countrywide shut down, certain news organizations, such as tvc news and channels tv, attempted to use video conferencing software like skype to keep the conversations going. journalists can utilise artificial intelligence to report on breaking news moreover as used by the quakebot in 2014 during the earthquake in california. ai could help future newsroom tasks become more efficient if it is integrated into the process. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 271 2. fact-check: journalists may employ ai technologies to help them factcheck in real time and develop automated news coverage. a few examples are the fandango and goodnews project (cassauwers, 2019) which is helping journalism benefits from the ai innovation as it entails seeking for and analysing contents to determine whether or not a story exists or is fake. 3. speed: in an article by roose (2014) robots are invading the news business, and it's great for journalists (roose, 2014) the author describes how it took less than a second for an ai known as automated insights to recap the quarterly earnings of alcoa, the giant metals company, for the associated press. the likes of mittmedia goes a long way to show how ai in news media is being used in new ways from speeding up research to accumulating and cross-referencing data and beyond (corinna, 2019). there are quite a few discrepancies when it comes to robot journalism. some of which are: 1. news objectivity: one of the advantages of robot journalism is that, unlike humans, it lacks built-in bias, making it a more reliable source because – for the most part, data does not lie (montal & reich, 2017). however, wu (2019) discovered substantial variations in the objectivity and credibility ratings of auto-written and human-written news stories in the journalistic disciplines of politics, economics, and sports news stories, which partially refutes this argument. sports news articles for instance were assessed as more impartial and credible in auto-written news stories, whereas financial news stories were rated as more biased. financial news stories were evaluated as more neutral and reliable in human-written pieces. finally, political news stories, demonstrated more bias among humanwritten news items and when auto-written and human-written stories were merged. 2. news/source credibility: as more news articles are written via collaboration between journalists and algorithms, questions have arisen regarding how automation influences the way that news is processed and evaluated by audiences waddell (2017) in a study observed that as more news articles are written via collaboration between journalists and algorithms, concerns have arisen pertaining how automation influences the way that news is processed and evaluated by audiences. waddell used the expectation violation theory and the main model to perform two igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 272 examinations that would show how the effect of alleged machine authorship on news believability affected people's perspectives. according to the first study, it was observed that news credited to a machine is thought to be less trustworthy than that attributed to a human journalist. in a second investiation, negative effects of machine authorship and the moderating of robotics by prior recall were identified, resulting in negative expectation violations. this shows the relevance of authorship, where there are practical reasons, as articulated by montal & reich (2017), where the public feels entitled to know the source of a news story so that they may make practical judgments like buying stock or unlocking a video game sequence. 3. ownership/authorship: for news organizations, journalists, and their readers, montal & reich (2017) notes that the growing dependence on algorithms to generate news automatically has important practical, legal, and professional ramifications. the algorithmic authorship is one of the most contentious yet unexplored parts of it. according to montal & reich, their research found significant differences between authorship perceptions and crediting policies. this could mean that journalists may have to be freed from the source protection clause, a core tenet in journalism that even the courts cannot compel a news agency or reporter to reveal (spj, 2014). or maybe not, in an era where attribution is the norm, especially for scientific literature (omoniyi, 2018). 4. liability: when it comes to legal issues, there have been conflicts about who is responsible for unethical or libelous content. or who should be given credit for a robot-generated piece. is it the robot, the editor, or the news organization? is there a need for robot journalism legislation? despite the fact that article 22 of nigeria's 1999 constitution provides for objective, truthful, and comprehensive coverage of newsworthy activities in nigeria, popoola (2012) notes that boko haram sect terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, and crisis situations have emerged as the country's greatest threat to press freedom. nigeria's political environment is likewise a string cautiously zone for journalists. several issues have hampered the public's right to know about government policy, most notably under the military administration, when a slew of decrees were enacted to curtail journalistic freedom and jeopardize the public right to know and receive information (aghamelu, 2014). much has been done politically in the democratic age to limit journalists' ability to examine and disseminate information. for example, in june 2021, a political decision was made to simply make igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 273 information unavailable to the general public – twitter was banned. this is due to the fact that today's audiences choose what they read, and the majority of them believe they should be able to contribute content and thoughts (harper, 2010). one thing is certain: no government, no matter where it is located, can function without journalism, which documents official activities for the benefit of the public. these disagreements connect this research to some of the ethical and legal issues surrounding ai, which monti (2019) and graefe (2016) argue are the editor's or fact-checker's responsibility. for example, would anyone hold google liable if a fake post was generated using their "search engine optimization" (seo) services? but everyone has a license to post and create contents whether academic papers, blog posts, and articles which can be published online. this requires the author to provide a range of tags so that the document may be identified using key phrases. however, how sufficient is that? one thing is sure content creators do not go out there labelling their pieces as phony, so as consumers utilise the seo to collect data, all contents are bound to appear as either locked, unrestricted, or genuine search results. this is practically what the ai is supposed to achieve. as of march 2021, google searches every second were reported at 90,460 (chang, 2021), and because ai is reliant on what is saved online by individuals and organisations, sources must be recognized by the ai to prevent liability difficulties if the content is incorrect, discriminating, or libelous. this would explain montal & reich's proposed disclosure transparency clause posited in 2017. 5. job loss: one of the growing concerns among journalists is the loss of job that could happen as a result of the adoption of robot-writers (kim & kim, 2017). there are fears that news automation would obviate the need for journalists. these arguments follow a deterministic line of reasoning since working with ai promises better efficiency and job satisfaction through automation of repetitive and error-prone routine chores; nevertheless, automation of these routine duties may result in job losses. however, findings from study conducted in germany by aljosha karim schapals and colin porlezza in 2020 contradict this position, revealing that newsroom workers believed automated journalism will enhance their positions. also, according to osf journalism (2018), those interested in becoming journalists should be aware that, while ai can aid with content creation, it cannot replace human reporting. reuters' lynx insight and the guardian's gpt-3, for example, are not designed to replace reporters, but igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 274 rather to comb through data to find trends and allow human workers to examine, ask questions, and comprehend context before publishing. to summarize, united robots, a malmo, sweden-based ai startup, claims that robot journalism does not pose a danger to newsroom jobs; the company has been automating journalism in sweden since 2015 (karlsson, 2019). when an editor receives news, he or she might opt to change it or publish it as it is (cant, 2018). human journalists are adept at cultivating connections with sources, conducting in-depth data analysis, and deciding if a certain issue is newsworthy all of which ai is incapable of. journalists will just have to adapt to a new type of work that necessitates computational thinking (o’connell, 2019). methodology this is a survey study, and the research instrument was a questionnaire with a series of questions designed to collect data from respondents. all of the respondents were media practitioners. according to the nigerian union of journalists, the total number of registered journalists in nigeria was twenty thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight (20,868) as of july 6, 2021. the sample size was carefully drawn from nigerian media practitioners past and present (n = 389). although the sample size of 378 was calculated using a digital sample size calculator that is similar to cochran's formula, with a confidence level of 95% and a margin of error of 5%. as a result, 378 or more surveys were required to achieve a confidence level of 95%, implying that the real value is within 5% of the measured/surveyed value. hence the researchers used a sample size of 389 replies. the questionnaire was created using google forms, an online survey tool. the survey was done entirely online, which was made feasible by the expansion of the internet and the use of email as a means of communication, making the electronic survey a more generally used survey method, and thus it was chosen. purposive sampling was used since it is a non-probability sample strategy that will allow the researchers to identify registered journalists across nigeria, where these individuals are difficult to find. purposive sampling has several advantages, including: 1. the capacity to enroll hard-to-reach people 2. ability to acquire primary data at a low cost. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 275 with every advantage, presents its weaknesses some of which are: 1. respondents may be hesitant to provide names of peers and asking them to do so may raise ethical concerns 2. oversampling a particular network of peers can lead to bias, 3. there is no guarantee about the representativeness of samples or to determine the actual pattern of distribution of the population. with these weaknesses in view, the researchers tried to mitigate these occurrences by selecting journalists across the six (6) geopolitical zones in nigeria to ensure the results will reflect findings from north central (nc), northeast (ne), northwest (nw), southwest (sw), southeast (se) and south (ss). data analysis and interpretation the questionnaire was designed to get data around the 3 research questions and the findings are presented under the following major questions data gathered was presented using charts and data spread sheet from excel. the preliminary questions were analysed across demographics, media sector and ownership. 1 – disaggregation by sex figure 1: bar chart showing disaggregation by sex igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 276 the bar chart above shows the number of media practitioners classified by their sex. the total number of respondents were 389, with males constituting 243 (62.5%), females constituting 136 (35%), and those who preferred not to state their sex making up 10 (2.5%). 2 – media sector figure 2: bar chart showing classification by media sector the chart above shows the aggregated number of respondents based on the media sector they work with. respondents from radio sector are 111 (28.5%), television sector 99 (25.45%), radio and television 66 (16.9%), print 63 (16.2%), online media 23 (5.9%), and others 27 (6.9%). 3 ownership igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 277 figure 3: bar chart showing the classification of respondents by media ownership the chart above shows the ownership of the different media outfits by the federal government, state governments, and private organizations/individuals. media practitioners from the radio formed the highest number of respondents with 29.8% (116) and based on ownership, 16% (63) of the respondents worked with radio stations owned by a state government. 9% (35) owned by the federal government, and 5% (18) of the respondents were from radio stations run by private organizations. 103 respondents from the television with over 50% run by the federal government. some of the respondents work with media outfits that are both radio and television stations a total of 66 (16%) and others in the print media, with a total of 59 15% from private print organisations and also uncategorized outfits that are represented by “others” with a total of 45 (12%) respondents. 4location/new media tools igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 278 figure 4: bar chart showing new media tools used by media agencies in the bar chart above, facebook has the highest record of users total of 293 (75%) as all the geopolitical zones represented did say their agency has a facebook page to connect with their audience or clients. 158 (40%) of the respondents did say that their media agency did operate an official website. following up third, fourth and fifth were twitter usage evident from 126 (32.4%) of the respondents, instagram at 74 (19%) and youtube at 40 (10%) respectively. whatsapp was only considered as a tool for connecting to audience by 1 (0.3%) agency. 5 – issues faced by journalists: 82 16 12 8 1 97 44 14 12 9 548 8 8 8 20 4 10 15 1 40 3 15 45 3 40 17 11 34 11 42 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 website instagram twitter youtube whatsapp facebook new media tools disaggregated by geopolitical zones south west north central north west south east south south north east igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 279 figure 5: pie chart showing issues faced by journalists according to the pie chart above, 15% (57) of respondents said that harassment from security personnel was a rising concern, with 14% (53) agreeing that professional ethics was one of the challenges journalists face. online media rivalries were cited by 12% (46) of respondents as a key setback for journalists, followed by censorship, unlawful arrests and tight budget which was mentioned by 11% (43) each as issues facing journalists in nigeria. insurgency was only selected by 9% (33) of the respondents, indicating that less than half of the respondents considered it was only a growing problem. banditry, libel, and sexual harassment received 7% (26), 5% (20), and 4% (17) of the vote, respectively. others included copyright, kidnapping, inadequate remuneration, poor working conditions, lack of technology know-how and lack of information which accounted for the remaining 42% (157) of responses. 6 – present practice of journalists a total of 388 submissions were received in response to the question about emerging issues facing journalists today. the pie chart below represents the different issues that media practitioners have identified. 14% 12% 7% 9% 5% 11% 5% 15% 11% 11% 42% issues faced by journalists professional ethics online media rivalries banditry insurgency libel censorship igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 280 figure 6: pie chart showing the present practice of journalists in nigeria to face emerging issues to determine whether the present practice of journalism in nigeria was adequate to address those emerging or present issues in the country, the pie chart above represents the perceptions of journalists. a total of 138 (35%) of respondents thought that the present practice of journalism was somewhat inadequate or totally inadequate, while a total of 181 (47%) thought that it was adequate or somewhat adequate. 7. level of awareness of robot journalism figure 7: level of awareness of robot journalism this chart shows that over 50% (202) of respondents were aware of the concept robot journalism, while 47% (187) were not. 18% 15% 19% 28% 20% present practice of journalists neither adequate nor inadequate very inadequate very adequate somewhat adequate somewhat inadequate igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 281 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 282 8. nigeria media sector is well positioned to adopt robot journalism figure 8: showing the perception on media sector readiness to adopt robot journalism disaggregated by media ownership, responses showed that a majority of 36% (138) did say the media industry was not well positioned to adopt robot journalism (these were the ones that disagreed or strongly disagreed). a total of 47% (180) of the practitioners agree that the media industry in nigeria was ready for robot journalism. 9. perception of media practitioners over robot journalism perception frequency percentage robot journalism will not increase journalists' voice in news coverage and dissemination. 131 33.7 news coverage through robot journalism is necessary for the achievement of increased news coverage and data collection 189 48.6 there is need for close collaboration between journalists and software 281 72.2 17% 36% 47% neither adequate nor inadequate very inadequate very adequate igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 283 experts. there should be media training on robot journalism for all journalists. 280 72 political action will be required to address the problems behind information technology adoption. 184 47.3 robot journalism is necessary to reduce workload of human journalists. 194 49.9 robot journalism would help to provide better and improved journalistic service to news agencies. 187 48.1 human journalists should continue to cover news in order to save true journalism. 247 63.5 robot journalists will make the audience to be more responsive while providing information needs. 114 29.3 journalists are not to be blamed for the low coverage news. 189 48.6 war and conflict report is of high news worthiness. 226 58.1 robot journalism does not require any special training anyone with a phone can do it. 61 15.7 robot journalism will make human journalism to be boring. 101 26 robot journalism will increase journalist socio-economic status. 83 21.3 human journalists cannot be available at all times for every breaking news, hence there is need to adopt robot journalism. 190 48.8 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 284 media owners/editors are slow to appreciate and adopt technology and innovation. 169 43.4 many media agencies do not have funds to purchase new technologies that support the work of journalists. 248 63.8 adoption of robot journalism will lead to loss of employment for human journalists. 203 52.2 adopting robot journalism on a longterm basis, will mean committing professional suicide. 139 35.7 actually, i do not care much about robot journalism because it will not increase journalist’s productivity. 107 27.5 there is need for legislation on the adoption of robot journalism in nigeria. 166 42.7 table 1: showing the perception of media practitioners over robot journalism the table above shows the perceptions of media practitioners on robot journalism. according to the table above, 203 (52.2%) of the respondents perceived that the "adoption of robot journalism will result in the loss of jobs for human journalists" while 83 (21%) of the submissions agreed that "robot journalism will improve journalist socio-economic standing." 101 (26%) people chose the statement "robot journalism will make human journalism uninteresting," with 131 (33%) saying it will not strengthen journalists' voice in news coverage and dissemination, and 139 (35%) believing that adopting robot journalism on a long-term basis will be "career suicide." as a result, 247 (63.5%) said that human journalists should keep covering news in order to safeguard authentic journalism. this could explain why 107 (27%) of the media professionals said, actually, i don't care much about robot journalism. being that they felt it will not increase journalists’ productivity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 285 in response to positive reactions to the adoption of robot journalism, 114 (29%) respondents believe that robot journalists will make audiences more responsive while providing information needs, while 187 (48%) of the media practitioners believe that robot journalism would help to provide better and improved journalistic service to news agencies. indeed, 166 (43%) of the respondents believe that legislation on the use of robot journalism in nigeria is necessary. this could explain why 184 (47%) of the media practitioners believed, political action will be required to address the issues surrounding information technology adoption in the country. 189 (49%) of the respondents agreed that robot journalism was important for increased news coverage and data collecting, as did another 49% who did not believe that journalists were to blame for low news coverage, and 190 respondents who added that human journalists cannot be present at all times for every news story as a result, robot journalism is required. robot journalism, according to 194 (50%), is required to alleviate the workload of human journalists. while 280 (72%) of the respondents believe that all journalists should be trained in robot journalism, 281 (72.2%) affirmed that there was a need for close collaboration between journalists and software engineers. however, 61 (15.7%) of respondents said robot journalism did not require any specific expertise because anyone with a phone could do it. many media organizations, according to 248 (63.8%) of the respondents, lack the financial resources to invest in innovative technology that benefit journalists in their work. according to 169 (43.4%) of media practitioners, this could be the reason why media owners/editors are sluggish to embrace and adopt technology and innovation. discussion of findings this study set out to answer 2 questions: to what extent are journalists in nigeria exposed to robot journalism? findings revealed that although journalists in nigeria were exposed to social media tools with facebook being the highest but were not necessarily ready for the adoption of robot journalism as seen from the responses of 17% of the practitioners in figure 8. it is important to add that facebook, whatsapp and instagram are corporate businesses based on algorithms (unesco, 2019) and facebook is by igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 286 far the most powerful media company in the world today, with more than three billion recurrent users (internetlivestats 2021). it is about automating communication. the response of respondents shows that they may have heard about robot journalism but not currently using it as knowledge of technology does not equal to usage. this view is supported by mwantok (2019) who notes that although journalists around the world are increasingly turning to digital media tools, but as of 2017 nigerians were arguably still struggling to keep pace with digital technology that would make their work easier. this may explain why journalists in nigeria are still faced with issues such as harassment from security personnel was a rising concern reported by 15% of respondents, professional ethics by 14% agreeing that was one of the challenges journalists face. matters of unlawful arrests, the insurgency which is a growing problem along with banditry, libel, kidnapping, and sexual harassment made it on the list. adopting robot journalism will help reduce or better still eliminate some of these issues threatening the lives and safety of journalists who are faced with reporting stories even in unfavourable situations. this supports the position of latar (2016) who described the usage of ai within journalism as a telepresence technology that can be quite effective in collecting data even from war zones without risking the lives of human journalists. this could also keep journalists safe in cases of pandemics. the second objective was to x-ray the perceptions of journalists in nigeria on the use of automated journalism. data gathered revealed that over 50% of the respondents did perceive that the "adoption of robot journalism will result in the loss of jobs for human journalists" – this perception seems to be legit following the report by premiumtimes on the replacement of 50 human journalists working for microsoft’s news arm msn which occurred in 2020. this could additionally provide an explanation as to why over 70% of media practitioners did not accept that "robot journalism will improve journalist socio-economic standing” because how can this be possible if the journalists are replaced by robots like in the msn saga? although 65% of respondents did not perceive that adopting robot journalism on a long-term basis will be "career suicide." but for the sake of authentic journalism, 63.5% said that human journalists should keep covering news to safeguard that aspect. 74% are of the opinion that "robot journalism will make human journalism interesting supported by 67% who believed it was an avenue that will strengthen journalists' voice in news coverage and dissemination, and it is supported by 73% of media professionals who cared much about robot journalism being that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 287 they felt it will increase journalists’ productivity. these findings have been supported by schapals & porlezza (2020) whose study revealed that newsroom staff sensed that automated journalism would indeed advance their roles. robot journalists will help to provide better and improved journalistic service to news agencies this is also a matter of speed as illustrated by roose (2014). this could make audiences more responsive to automated stories while providing information needs. with regards to matters of legislation on the use of robot journalism in nigeria, a majority thought it was not necessary. one would recall that the anti-social media bill which was introduced by the senate of the federal republic of nigeria on 5 november 2019 to criminalise the use of social media in peddling false or malicious information (umoru, 2019) received a whooping backlash from the majority of nigerians, this study gathers that over 50% of the media practitioners did not believe, political action was necessary to address the issues surrounding information technology adoption in the country. information technology adoption is in the hands of the people. another perception of media practitioners was that there was a need for increased news coverage and data collecting. in the face of covid-19, this may also confirm why 49% of the respondents added that human journalists cannot be present at all times for every news story as a result, also as such over 50% of the respondents affirmed the need for such a technology that would support in alleviating the workload of human journalists. this leads to the next steps for training where 72% of the respondents believe that all journalists should be trained in robot journalism, especially through a close collaboration between journalists and software engineers. this will justify what schapals & porlezza (2020) observed that most journalists might not (yet) make use of the technology in the actual production of journalistic work, but their organisations do deploy algorithms to assist editorial work. the majority of respondents said robot journalism did require specific expertise because not everyone with a phone could do it. most media organisations are lacking the financial resources to invest in innovative technology that benefits journalists in their work. according to 169 (43.4%) media practitioners, this could be the reason why media owners/editors are not motivated to embrace or adopt digital technology and innovation. conclusion igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 288 findings showed that 53% of media practitioners were aware of the concept of robot journalism but the majority of media practitioners 52.2% did submit that the adoption of robot journalism was going to lead to loss of employment for human journalists while 21.3% agreed that robot journalism will increase journalist socio-economic status. this means that the remaining 78.7% did not believe that robot journalism would contribute to the socio-economic status of the journalist. the continuous mundane tasks of gathering stories around beats such as sports, finance, and weather are some of the activities that can be delegated to automation which could explain why 74% believed robot journalism will make human journalism to be interesting. with 66.3% who did not agree that ‘robot journalism will not increase journalists' voice in news coverage and dissemination. this means that a majority of the respondents believe that robot journalism will increase journalists' voice in news coverage and dissemination. this is because as they get the time to handle other beats, the time that would have been spent on sourcing some news will yield more. robot journalism is an innovation in information technologies. this paper does not only seek to report it but also proposes its usage by demonstrating some of the ways robot journalism is enhancing the productivity of journalists across newsrooms. with a look at ai usage across the globe such as ‘afribot’ already explored in namibia and zimbabwe, new york times (nyt) ai called ‘editor’ and reuters’ ‘lynx insights’ amongst others all designed with the goal to gather data to make weather, sports, financial and political reports. the story does not just end at the 2016 olympic games in rio with the use of heliograf, but more and more news agencies are seeking ways to integrate ai into their daily operations. this justifies the mediamorphosis theory that talks about the unified system as a media need is seen, innovative tools are designed to support the process. the study also revealed that journalism in nigeria needs to experience a regeneration in terms of adoption and not just report it. this confirms what okon (2001) said that technologies and new media forms are unfamiliar to nigerian society. precisely, media houses and journalists ought to try as much as possible to acquire the required skills so as to adopt and adapt to global standards in gathering, packaging, and disseminating news and other relevant information to the public. it is clear from journalists’ perception that human journalists cannot be present at all times for every news story. so far over 600 journalists have lost their lives as a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 289 result of the pandemic and with the restrictions across the world and safety protocols of social distancing, this study makes a strong case for the adoption of robot journalism to not just enhance the productivity of journalists but also ensure the safety of journalists. automation is the way of the future, and nigerian journalists cannot afford to be consigned to oblivion in the final shift to an automated world, so they must prepare and embrace robot journalism. this study’s advice was that while media practitioners tried to grapple with the reality of automated journalism, media schools need to develop a variety of courses that keep up with technology and adequately prepare future communicators for the use of supportive techs in their jobs. recommendations following the findings from this study, the following recommendations will support robot journalism adoption: 1. newsrooms should champion the use of ai so nigerian journalists can easily verify and fact-check information before publishing their stories. 2. in the face of pandemics, banditry, kidnapping, and risky locales such as crises, robot journalism makes it safe for journalists. as a result, news organizations must begin to budget for the possibility of implementing technologies that will make news sourcing easier while not sacrificing the human journalist. 3. journalists must be trained in robot journalism, which should be done in close collaboration between journalists and software engineers. 4. universities should introduce curricula that would boost the technical know-how of journalists and media students. 5. to stay afloat in an era of digital transformations across the globe, journalists must continue to build their capacities to handle more digital tasks creatively so that robot journalism will not take over their jobs but perform supportive roles. 6. there is a need for the national broadcasting commission to provide a code of conduct that will guide the use of robot journalism to avoid ethical infractions or abuse. references adegbija, m. v., fakomogbon, m. a., & adebayo, m. (2013). roles of broadcast media for instructional delivery in open and distance learning: nigeria igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 290 as a case study. european scientific journal, esj, 9(23). retrieved 7 15, 2021, from http://eujournal.org/index.php/esj/article/viewfile/1688/1721 aghamelu, f. c. (2014). the role of the mass media in the nigerian electoral process. ujah: unizik journal of arts and humanities, 14(2), 154-172. retrieved 7 4, 2021, from https://ajol.info/index.php/ujah/article/view/101202 antonopoulou, p., & kyriazis, a. (2018). potential applications of algorithmic (robot) journalism for the greek sport media. new media and mass communication, 67, 27-30. retrieved 6 23, 2021, from https://iiste.org/journals/index.php/nmmc/article/view/41242 asekun-olarinmoye, o. s., sanusi, b. o., johnson, j., & oloyede, d. b. (2014). imperatives of internet and social media on broadcast journalism in nigeria. new media and mass communication, 23, 8-15. retrieved 7 3, 2021, from https://iiste.org/journals/index.php/nmmc/article/download/11666/12 011 bbcnewslabs. (2017). bbc. retrieved from https://bbcnewslabs.co.uk: https://bbcnewslabs.co.uk/projects/juicer/ betiang, l. (2013). global drums and local masquerades: fifty years of television broadcasting in nigeria: 1959-2009. sage open, 3(4), 2158244013515685. retrieved 7 1, 2021, from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2158244013515685 cant, p. (2018, 3 23). robots in the newsroom. retrieved from https://medium.com/up-in-the-air-by-oxygen/sxsw-robots-in-thenewsroom-e087d825cc72 caswell, d., & dörr, k. (2018). automated journalism 2.0: event-driven narratives. from simple descriptions to real stories. journalism practice, 12(4), 477-496. retrieved 12 21, 2021, from https://tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17512786.2017.1320773 cohen, n. s. (2015, may 15). pink slips to pink slime: transforming media labor in a digital age. the communication review. doi:10.1080/10714421.2015.1031996 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 291 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria (1999). nigeria-law.org. retrieved 12 8, 2021, from http://www.nigerialaw.org/constitutionofthefederalrepublicofnigeria.htm underwood, c. (2019). emerj artificial intelligence research. retrieved from https://emerj.com/: https://emerj.com/ai-sector-overviews/automatedjournalism-applications/ dalen, a. v. (2012). the algorithms behind the headlines; how machine-written news redefines the core skills of human journalists. journalism practice. doi:10.1080/17512786.2012.667268 danzon-chambaud, s. (2021. covering covid-19 with automated news. columbia journal review. retrieved 12 27, 2021, from https://www.cjr.org/tow_center_reports/covering-covid-automatednews.php deuze, m. (2001). online journalism: modelling the first generation of news media on the world wide web. first monday, 6(10). retrieved 12 24, 2021, from https://ojphi.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/893/802 dickinson, r. l., & miller, m. (2005). rss feed generator. retrieved 6 26, 2021, from https://patents.google.com/patent/us20070156809a1/en edwards, r. (2017). freedom of information and the future of journalism. journal of information ethics, 26(1), 26. retrieved 12 24, 2021, from https://questia.com/library/journal/1p4-1936132666/freedom-ofinformation-and-the-future-of-journalism egbon, m. (1983). western nigeria television service--oldest in tropical africa. journalism & mass communication quarterly, 60(2), 329-334. retrieved 7 1, 2021, from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ej286511 finnäs, j., & tjernström, m. (2016). mittmedia & journalism++integrate robots into publishing processes. international press communications council. gopalan, r. (2017, 9 22). how ai is fuelling our on-demand media needs. retrieved from https://digit.fyi: https://digit.fyi/ai-creative-industries/ govik, r. (2018, february 12). mittmedia. retrieved from medium: https://medium.com/mittmedia/the-homeowners-bot-36d2264e2d34 harper, r. a. (2010). the social media revolution: exploring the impact on journalism and news media organizations. inquiries journal, 2(03). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 292 retrieved 7 4, 2021, from http://inquiriesjournal.com/articles/202/thesocial-media-revolution-exploring-the-impact-on-journalism-and-newsmedia-organizations kim, d., & kim, s. (2017). newspaper companies' determinants in adopting robot journalism. technological forecasting and social change, 117(117), 184195. retrieved 12 21, 2021, from https://sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/s0040162516308150 latar, n. l. (2016). can robot journalists replace human journalists in the coverage of wars? in i. saleh, & t. kneiper (eds.), the visual politics of wars. cambridge scholars publishing. retrieved 12 23, 2021, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315685166_can_robot_journa lists_replace_human_journalists_in_the_coverage_of_wars levy, s. (2012). can an algorithm write a better news story than a human reporter? retrieved 12 24, 2021, from https://www.wired.com/2012/04/can-analgorithm-write-a-better-news-story-than-a-human-reporter/ library of congress. (2021). the anglo-african. retrieved 12 21, 2021. from https://www.loc.gov/item/sn98021409/ linden, t. c.-g. (2017). algorithms for journalism: the future of news work. retrieved 12 21, 2021, from https://journals.uio.no/index.php/tjmi/article/view/2420/4150 montal, t., & reich, z. (2017). i, robot. you, journalist. who is the author? taylor&francis, 5(7), 829-849. retrieved 6 23, 2021, from https://tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21670811.2016.1209083 monti, m. (2019). automated journalism and freedom of information: ethical and juridical problems related to ai in the press field. retrieved 12 23, 2021, from https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3318460 oduntan, o. b. (2005). iwe irohin and the representation of the universal in nineteenth-century egbaland. history in africa, 32(1), 295-305. retrieved 7 14, 2021, from https://muse.jhu.edu/article/187889/pdf olisa, m. s. (1989). azikiwe and the african revolution. africana-fep. retrieved 7 14, 2021 omaka, a. o. (2017). conquering the home front: radio biafra in the nigeria– biafra war, 1967–1970:. war in history, 25(4), 555-575. retrieved 7 15, 2021, from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0968344516682056 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 293 omipidan, t. o. (2016). oldnaija. retrieved from https://oldnaija.com/: https://oldnaija.com/ omu, f. i. (1967). the iwe irohin, 1859-1867. journal of the historical society of nigeria, 4(1), 35-44. retrieved 7 14, 2021, from http://africabib.org/rec.php?rid=191395099&db=p osha, s. (2005). nigeria's democracy project : lessons from the abacha regime. african renaissance, 2(5), 78-83. retrieved 7 15, 2021, from https://journals.co.za/content/aa_afren/2/5/ejc10146 popoola, i. s. (2012). press and terrorism in nigeria: a discourse on boko haram. global media journal: african edition, 6(1), 43-66. retrieved 7 3, 2021, from https://journals.co.za/content/glomed_africa/6/1/ejc123043 pulse.ng. (2018, february 6). pulse.ng. retrieved from https://www.pulse.ng: https://www.pulse.ng punch. (2021). punch newspapers – the most widely read newspaper in nigeria. retrieved 7 14, 2021, from punchng.com: http://punchng.com roose, k. (2014). robots are invading the news business, and it's great for journalists. retrieved 12 21, 2021, from new york mag intelligencer: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/07/why-robot-journalismis-great-for-journalists.html seng, m. p., & hunt, g. t. (1986). the press and politics in nigeria: a case study of developmental journalism. boston college third world law journal, 6(2), 85. retrieved 7 5, 2021, from http://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1429&con text=twlj teniola, e. (2012). sierra leon: the creoles in nigeria. retrieved 7 14, 2021, from http://www.thisissierraleone.com/sierra-leone-the-creoles-in-nigeria/ the guardian. (2020). a robot wrote this entire article. are you scared yet, human? gpt-3 retrieved 11 26, 2021, from https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/sep/08/robotwrote-this-article-gpt-3 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 294 uche, l. u. (1989). mass media, people, and politics in nigeria. concept publishing company. retrieved 7 14, 2021, from https://books.google.com/books?id=bx7aj8fapvoc&pg=pa95 udomisor, i. (2013). management of radio and television stations in nigeria. new media and mass communication, 10, 1-12. retrieved 7 8, 2021, from https://iiste.org/journals/index.php/nmmc/article/download/4387/445 5 umeh, c. c. (1989). the advent and growth of television broadcasting in nigeria: its political and educational overtones. africa media review, 3(2). retrieved 7 3, 2021, from http://archive.lib.msu.edu/dmc/african journals/pdfs/africa media review/vol3no2/jamr003002006.pdf vanguard. (2010, september 30). (vanguard media limited, nigeria.) retrieved from vanguard: https://www.vanguardngr.com waddell, t. f. (2018). a robot wrote this. digital journalism, 6(2), 236-255. retrieved 12 21, 2021, from https://tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21670811.2017.1384319 united robots. (2020). how dutch ndc will cover 60,000 regional football matches retrieved 11 25, 2021, from https://www.unitedrobots.ai/about/news/how-dutch-ndcwill-cover-60000-regional-football-matches wu, y. (2019). is automated journalistic writing less biased? an experimental test of auto-written and human-written news stories. journalism practice, 1-21. retrieved 12 23, 2021, from https://tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17512786.2019.1682940 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 73 knowing fallibly and its epistemic and non-epistemi implications: fallibilism revisited okwenna, chysogonus m. dominican university/institute, samonda, ibadan. chrysogonusokwenna@gmail.com; +2348033807674 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.10379.82727 abstract this paper revisits the epistemological doctrine of fallibilism and discusses its overarching consequences to the whole structure of human knowledge and its extended applications. fallibilism claims that we can never have absolute certainty to justify our knowledge claims. that means, knowledge needs not have an absolute, definitive warrants. consequently, using the discursive method of enquiry, the paper argues that, if fallibilism is true, then, the concept of knowledge is redefined. hence, knowledge would no longer mean the preclusion of error but the contextual absence of doubt. accordingly, knowledge in this schema, would only be an approximation [or even a verisimilitude] to the truth or a working tool for future progress so long as it serves the purposes of the present. it is the conclusion of the paper, that aside its apparent epistemic implications, fallibilism has also non-epistemic implications which ranges from a more general change in attitude towards our stances to a more applied and direct consequences in both legal, religious or moral enterprises of human endeavours. keywords: consequences, epistemic, fallibilism, justification, knowledge. introduction what happens when we know given some certain conditions and yet at another time mistaken under same conditions? the answer to this question is indeed multifaceted, with divergent answers from different epistemologists. nevertheless, it is a fundamental question that underpins the concept of fallibilism. how can we both know and not know in the same prevalent condition? or how can we both know and not know we know or not know how we know? these are the fallibilist dilemmas and paradoxes and to address them is to a large extent to say what fallibilism is or what it means to know fallibly. consequently, it is the concern of this present discourse to revisit the doctrine of fallibilism and then discuss its consequences to the whole structure of human knowledge and its extended applications. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 74 general meaning, formulation and nature of fallibilism the point of departure for expressing fallibilism is simply that: (a*) all beliefs are fallible (no belief is infallible) to be more precise this can be commonly understood in the following manner: (b) m can know that k even if it is possible that m is erroneous in believing that k because this is open to misapprehension it is pertinent to highlight three claims that it has often been mistaken for. first, it is not saying that all beliefs are false that is, it is possible for m to know that k even if it is false that k. for this would imply the denial of truth as a necessary condition for knowledge. although it is allowed by fallibilism but it is not necessary. secondly, fallibilism is not just saying that all who hold beliefs (people) are fallible, that is, m can know that k even though m is liable to be mistaken that k. people are said to be fallible if at one point in time they have held false beliefs but this is to be taken in the manner that the people have also believed infallibly. this however is not what fallibilism is saying. (b) does not also espouse the idea of contingent truth, that is, it is possible for m to know that k even if it is possible that it is false that k. this is the same as saying that contingent truth can be known. for even non-fallibilists accept that contingent truth can be known since it is the same as when one says ‘i am in shock’. the realization of contingent truth (that all truth is contingently true) is not the concern of fallibilism. conversely, fallibilism is concerned about our attempts in themselves to accepting or believing truth. it is about the subsisting limitations of the powers of our rational thought and representation. consequently, a satisfactory way to depict fallibilism is: (a1*): all beliefs are only, at best, fallibly justified. (b1) m can know that k even if m does not have definitive grounds that warrant believing that k. this implies that people can know through non-deductive arguments. and when they do, they do so on the basis of perceptual, inductive, testimonial evidence that does not say what the evidence is specifically for. to be sure, we know many things through this way and that can be termed ‘fallible knowledge.’ this is best igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 75 noted in the light that if one proposition, p, is fallibly known, and p implies q, and q is believed because of p, then q is also fallibly known as well even though the grounds for q, that is, p, implies q (feldman, 1981). (a1*) and (b1) better characterize fallibilism because they pinpointed that fallibility reside in the ostensible justification (epistemic justification) that is present on behalf of a given belief. the suggested formulation, a1*, of fallibilism is saying that there is never decisive justification for the truth of a given belief. this is a stronger form of fallibilism. it has more proponents and one of them is nicolas rescher. however, charles peirce, the father of fallibilism, is one of the few proponents of a weaker form of fallibilism, which might aver that any scientific theory or system might ultimately fail. fallibilism as a theory about epistemic justification epistemic justification, generally, is whatever would make a belief reasonably well supported and directed to the truth. this is corroborated by e. conee and r. feldman. they argue that whenever some evidence is providing epistemic support (justification) for a belief, that it is a matter of supporting the truth of that belief (conee and feldman, 2004). little wonder it is characterized by its essential relationship to the cognitive goal of truth. it is on this note that epistemic justification is said to be distinct from non-epistemic justification (that is, other species of justification such as moral and pragmatic justification) given that it uniquely intends to serve the goal of believing truth and avoiding falsity (vahid, 2005; swinburne, 2001; sosa, 2008). accordingly, just as there are various interpretations of the nature of epistemic justification, epistemologists take care to read the best representations of fallibilism. take for example a1*, the most traditional way to interpret it will be that no one can ever be in a position (even in the possession of evidence in favour of the truth of a specific belief). that, if one were to be so rational, that is, taking into cognizance, comprehending and disposed to the adequate response to just the evidence, the person could not proceed to doubt that the belief is true. thus, as we have noted above, the best way to understand fallibilism as a theory about epistemic justification is in its locating the problem (the issue of fallibility) as originating within the purported justification that is present in the stead of a particular belief. so, with regards to a1*, the gist will be that no matter how satisfactory one’s justification is in confirming the truth of a particular belief, that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 76 justification is never so good as to be definitive or conclusive – there is always a room for improvement, or for rational doubt. rational doubt in this case is to distinguish this kind of actual or potential doubt from irrational one, which is a doubt that is only psychologically available. this kind of doubt can arise from two possible ways when we imagine that a person attending to the evidence for the truth of a belief refuses to accept the veracity of the belief. now, suppose the person’s rejection of the belief’s truth value is due to (1) misunderstanding the evidence or (2) psychological issues such as perspectival prejudices. doubt can always arise from such a sordid reason even in the face of rationally conclusive evidence. however, fallibilism is not concerned about that psychological case of doubt. conversely, it deals with a rational doubt; it is indeed what it claims to be – the ever-present availability of rational doubt. in the light of the preceding paragraph, one possible way of misinterpreting a1* would be muddling the notion of a rational doubt with that of a subjectively/psychologically felt doubt. rational doubt need not to be psychological doubts, in the same way psychological ones need not be rational ones. as a conjecture, one may be doubtful with regards to the veracity of a particular claim where this doubt is uncalled for, perhaps the person felt that way as a result of misconstruing the vigour of the evidence the person has for the claim. similarly, misconstruing can occur when the person becomes doubtful towards the truth of a belief, when this doubt is needless. in either case, the person’s reactions by being doubtful and not being doubtful does not determine whether the person’s evidence is actually providing rationally conclusive support. this is because a particular reaction (doubting or not doubting) might be wanting of justification or not as rational in itself as is possible. stephen hetherington provided an analogy for such a scenario: “a brutal tyrant who claims, sincerely, to have a clear conscience at the end of his life. the morality of his actions is more obviously to be explicated in terms of what his conscience should be telling him rather than of what it is telling him” (hetherington, 2019). essentially, a1* as we keep reiterating, is saying that whatever case the evidences are making, no matter how carefully they have been collated and no matter how rational they were used and evaluated, there can never by that means be a definitive justification for a belief which is to be supported through all those evidences. likewise, a1* is saying that despite the circumstances that one might occupy, and come what may in the formulation of any particular belief, no guarantee is thus provided of the veracity of the belief. in these regards, according igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 77 to a1*, any justification available is susceptible to error – fallible – it will remain so come what may. in that way, fallibilism as a theory about epistemic justification peregrinates way down into the human cognitive condition than it would be if it were a matter of logic. simple analogies towards understanding fallibilism the simplest way to comprehend fallibilism, given all that has been expounded above; is that it is a method of thinking critically, or a critical thinking, in which our assent or attitude to the available evidence undergoes proportionating or weighing. considering a person who plays a lottery game and the chance of winning is 1 ratio 100000000. the person would not certainly know that he will lose but the person can be very certain that he will not win. now if the person plays more, s/he slightly increases the chance of winning. but the person can be very confident that s/he will not win. similarly, if a biologist says s/he knows it is true that there are 206 bones in the adult human body, it means that the proposition is true beyond reasonable doubt. this is definitely true unless humanity for years has been in dream to conceive that, or a powerful force has deceived us all into thinking that there are 206 bones. although these could happen but there is no reason to believe that it was all in the dream that the whole of humanity simultaneously saw that there are 206 bones or that we are all collectively deceived. now, there is mind-boggling evidence for the groundwork ideas/facts of modern biology, but none that people who play betting games or lottery generally wins. to be sure, the evidence will suggest that almost everyone who plays these games loses. now, a critical mind would learn to tell apart the almost certainly true and the probably true; similarly, to tell the difference between the likely to be true, the probably not true and the obviously false. to make clear what i am saying here, let us consider some other examples. assume i say, as one born in nigeria and presently residing in ibadan, one of the following: (1) i have been to gliese 581c. (2) i have been to the antipodes islands several times. (3) i visited the antarctica once. (4) i have been to spain. (5) i have been to algeria. (6) i have been to oyo. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 78 (7) i have been to ibadan. it is conspicuous that as we go down the list, the possibility that i have been to those places increases. in the first example, the chances that i have been to gliese are pragmatically inexistent (of course, the fallibilist must concede that i had, perhaps, i am an extraterrestrial being who had taken human form). in the last example, it is 100 percent ascertained that i have been to ibadan unless i lied about living in ibadan or i am deceived by powerful forces to assume that i live in ibadan. accordingly, if i claim (1), then it is beyond reasonable doubt that the claim is false. if, however i tell someone (7) while inside the university of ibadan, then the person will know beyond reasonable doubt that the claim is true. likewise, if i tell someone (4), the person will not just know, s/he will have to evaluate the evidence to weigh the probability that my claim is true. consequently, this is how one can be a fallibilist and claim to know things concurrently – indeed this is what it means to ‘know fallibly’ as opposed to not knowing at all. any belief i have could be wrong, but i feel remarkably convinced that (1) is false and (7) is true. if i am justified in being remarkably convinced by the evidence, then knowledge is born. finally, fallibilism presupposes that any belief could be wrong but some are more likely to be true than others. all that is required is that one takes care to proportion/weigh their assent to the available evidence. reasons for fallibilism fallibilism is that epistemological theory, as we have seen, that has reconciled the knowledge dilemma or seeming paradox, that investigates how possible we can say, with congruity, that our ideas might be erroneous, yet we are still justified in believing them. the only question that still remain unasked is why fallibilism? through observation and advance in empirical research we have been shown how fallibility enters our cognitive faculties such as can be deduced from the suppositions of the previous sections. one of such ways is by misusing evidence. this can occur when we misevaluate the strength of the evidence before us or overlook some of its pertinent components. other reasons for fallibility will include unreliable senses and memory, reasoning fallaciously, limitations of the modes of our representation; we use language and thought to represent things as we see them, but oftentimes we are mistaken as a result of the inadequacy of this medium (hetherington, 2019). for example: suppose i am a king in the 15th igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 79 century england and the only way we can communicate between far distances is through letter writing. now there is this criminal that is to be sentenced and only i have the power to release him, then i write to the hangman to release him: “release him, not kill him.” assuming i misplaced the comma and inserted it after ‘not’, then the statement would now read: “release him not, kill him,” he will be killed whereas i wanted him to live. if i left the coma altogether then the hangman will be confused. this is an illustration of the extent to which this limitation can go. finally, the last practical reason for fallibilism is the limitations of intelligence. we often observe mistakes coming from people as result of their possessing lesser intelligence (hetherington, 2019). epistemic and non-epistemic implications of fallibilism at this crossroad, after having to a large extent looked in detail what fallibilism is and what status uncertainty occupies in our knowledge acquisition, it seems appropriate to add to this work the overarching implications or consequences of fallibilism to the edifice of human enquiry. to recap, according to fallibilism, every logical inquiry is an attempt to escape from inevitable doubt and fallibilism is a theory that we can never have absolute certainty to justify our knowledge claims. so, what does this situation have for the whole of human quest to know. practical implications first and foremost, fallibilism is not just a thesis but an attitude. if anything characterizes reason in critical ratiocination, such a thing is more of an attitude than it would be of a mere adherence of a purported scientific method. if so, then that attitude is not restricted to the scientist, but recommended for any person who in any occupation desires to act in a reasonable way. this attitude is no other than the fallibilist attitude. after canvassing peirce’s fallibilism it would seem outlandish if a change of attitude, from the dogmatism and foundationalism that is more characteristic of the human projects, was not required. according to peirce, fallibilism, together with a confidence in the reality of knowledge and a sincere and serious desire to learn, makes up, the core of his thoughts. peirce contends that the fallibilist attitude is one to be desired in a scientist and that indeed originates from experience: “persons who know science chiefly by its results – that is to say, have not acquaintance with it at all as a living inquiry – are apt to acquire the notion that the universe is now entirely explained igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 80 in all its leading features” (1837). fallibilism according to peirce, demands an attitude that arises from our proven incapability to foresee with certainty what future science will be like. this attitude which is in itself practical has in turn many implications. accordingly, the practical consequence of fallibilism may be summed up with peirce’s famous dictum: “do not block the way of inquiry.” this dictum demands that we should not close the doors to learning not because it is an end in itself, which would make it a futile quest, but because each and every one of us may be wrong, and to block the way out of error would be senseless rather. that is, although, we sincerely believe in the truths of our ideas and have done our best to tender them to criticisms, we cannot shy away from envisaging that even at that they may be wrong and we cannot avoid acting correspondingly, that is avoiding the block to inquiry. however, this entails that research must continue for the very reason that its object is the development of true knowledge. therefore, any human activity that leads to the encumbrance of genuine research must be conceived as depraved, nefarious and preposterous. attitudes such as dogmatic pedagogy, obliterating different orientation, inadequate information, exquisite or callous censorship of criticism, limitless and aggressive application of technology, and so on, are frowned at by the doctrine of fallibilism. implications for foundationalism and coherentism foundationalism and coherentism are two independent theories that describe the structure of knowledge and justification and they are distinct by the way they each explain epistemic justification. hence, foundationalism claims there are sets of beliefs which provide stopping-points for chains of justification. that is, there are basic beliefs that by their very nature justifies other beliefs and they are intrinsically credible beliefs such that they need not be justified by other beliefs. they are somewhat “self-evident.” likewise, as a theory of knowledge, foundationalism claims knowledge is knowledge when it rests on justified beliefs that are basic so as to make them enjoy epistemic incorrigibility, certitude and indubitability. foundationalism is very much like basic real numbers; 0,1,2,3. they are interconnected and successive (williams, 2001). on the other hand, coherentism makes justification an interconnection between beliefs. thus, a belief derives its credibility from its playing a role in a larger system of beliefs. according to coherentism, knowledge and justification are structured like a web where the strength of any given area depends on the strength of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 81 surrounding areas. for the coherent theory, justification is a property of the whole system (williams, 2001). foundationalism is like a building with its basic foundation. that foundation supporting all that might be built on top of it. coherentism, however, is like an interconnected space station that rests on nothing. these two theories have been impacted greatly by the emergence of the theory of fallibilism. to be sure, their failures to offer an adequate theory of knowledge and justification have caused their general acceptance to dwindle. it is said that both foundationalism and coherentism gave rise to fallibilism. their limitations and failures resulted in fallibilism gaining more prominence. it should be recalled that fallibilism is the idea that epistemic propositions can be accepted as true even when such propositions cannot be absolutely justified. ultimately, coherentism is an offshoot of foundationalism (it emerged to correct the failures of foundationalism – as against the basic status of some beliefs in foundationalism, each position in the web of coherentism must at least be self-justifying – have a foundation). foundations themselves are justified on the basis of their absolute necessities – they must present themselves as tautologies (necessary truths). one basic problem against foundationalism is that it cannot tell us which beliefs are basic or self-evident that would not need further beliefs to justify them (the problem of basis). such basic beliefs that suffice for knowledge must be intrinsically credible. that is why, it must depend on its content for this credibility so external factors need not apply. foundationalists more commonly appeal to experiential knowledge as an example of self-evident belief. this is because it is basic by virtue of being the highest common factor in veridical and non-veridical perception. such beliefs or knowledge also rest on acquaintance (experience and sensation). these beliefs and knowledge are just given by experiencing them. foundationalism therefore knots basic beliefs or knowledge (that are so basic that do not need further justification) on empirical data or experiential matter. however, these beliefs or knowledge are only so according to how we perceive them. this is where the problem lies. we might be mistaken on our object of experiences as we have seen. peirce, to map out his theory of fallibilism, has already demonstrated how all our supposed sources of knowledge including experience cannot be indubitable (peirce, 1837, 1955). if we can be mistaken in our experiences, it means foundationalists’ basic and indubitable beliefs and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 82 knowledge are after all, not basic and indubitable. that is why classical foundationalism failed woefully in the attacks of skepticism. foundationalism has also failed to satisfy those standards upon which a given belief would enjoy such epistemic privilege. it simply could not provide “nonquestion-begging guarantees” for the robust claims it made (epistemic incorrigibility, indubitability, and infallibility). as a result of this failure, fallibilism has over the years evolved to amend the excesses of foundationalism by providing a modest or moderate version of foundationalism – fallibilist foundationalism. fallibilist foundationalism, therefore, makes claim to certainty in epistemic justification, such certainty is not construed in a definitive, infallible or nonrevisable sense. rather this model accommodates the concerns or epistemic anxieties of the anti-justificationist and anti-foundationalists (such as the skeptics), about knowledge. it does this by characterizing the foundations of knowledge and justification in a manner that is of interest and relevance to the skeptics and fallibilists: it acknowledges both certainty and fragility of the very foundations upon which human knowledge and justification rests. in doing so, its claims are kept modest, not exaggerated. more so, this approach is “paradoxical” because it deals with two contrary notions; yet it is also “synthetic” because it seeks a point of convergence, a middle-ground, where the inherent “antimonies” are diffused or dispelled. accordingly, in using a modest version of foundationalism, the range of possibilities within which the skeptical challenge can achieve success is limited (hendricks, 2006). finally, with the failures of foundationalism and its ultimate re-adaptation by fallibilism, excesses of coherentism are not far-fetched. coherentism opposed foundationalist claim to doxastic basicality (beliefs that are intrinsically justified and as result, justifies other beliefs) in its stead; it leaves belief systems floating clear of reality, like a space station. coherentism has what is called “cognitive spontaneous beliefs” or “perceptual (in a way).” they need both spontaneous beliefs and epistemic beliefs to regulate them. this is the “rationalized input requirement.” it is the material constraint for coherence, since every belief system needs external constraint and beliefs without which it is just a game. accordingly, coherentism has the plus of making perceptual input something that must be scrutinized and enjoys less epistemic status (which is not like the foundationalist exalted status of basicity). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 83 fallibilists’ clamp down on coherentism would be on its insistence on material constraint of scrutiny which must be confirmed by human cognitive faculty. like peirce’s ground for fallibilism would show (peirce, 1837, 1955), this faculty has its limits. it is also prone to error. and if it is error prone, then it means that it could pass f as rational what actually does not make sense on the web of beliefs that constitutes the structure of coherent theory of knowledge and justification. consequently, we are drawn back to adopting a moderate version of any theory that would not accord absolute justification to any set of beliefs. and what other theory serves this purpose better other than fallibilism? knowledge as the approximation of truth and a working tool the major implication of fallibilism in epistemology was its redefinition of knowledge and certainty. peirce’s fallibilism revolutionized the notion of knowledge and certainty. hence, knowledge (and the certainty that characterizes it) is not the preclusion of error but the contextual absence of doubt. as a result, knowledge is no longer absolutely definitive but a working tool for the moment. knowledge is more or less a work in progress. prior to fallibilism, to really know something means that one cannot possibly be mistaken. but several times we think we know something and it turns out we were mistaken (homer and westacott, 2000). given, this experience we cannot possibly claim that knowledge is the absolute absence of error. furthermore, even the traditional account of knowledge – the tripartite analysis of knowledge – that specifies the necessary and sufficient conditions for knowledge; has been found not sufficient. according to this account, knowledge (as in s knows that p) is justified true believe (jtb). false propositions cannot be known. therefore, knowledge requires truth. a proposition s doesn’t even belief cannot be a proposition that s knows. hence, knowledge requires belief. ultimately, s’s being correct in believing that p might merely be a matter of luck or intelligent guess. therefore, knowledge requires justification. this is how we arrive at the tripartite analysis of knowledge: s knows that p if and only if p is true and s is justified in believing that that p (ichikawa and steup, 2018). despite how convincing the tripartite analysis of knowledge is, it has been shown to be incomplete. there are cases of jtb that do not pass for knowledge. the gettier cases are typical example. they arise because neither the possession of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 84 evidence nor origination in reliable faculties is sufficient for ensuring that a belief is not true merely because of luck or intelligent guess (ichikawa and steup, 2018). accordingly, ever since the gettier cases, epistemologists have been engaged in warfare of ideas trying to decipher what constitutes knowledge. despite the efforts and failures, fallibilism seems to be the best alternative to account for the nature of knowledge. come to think of it, if the major sources of our knowledge are limited, it means whatever knowledge we get from them is susceptible to been mistaken. if this is so, then knowledge does not need to be a fixed state of affairs because what we have today might actually turn out to be erroneous tomorrow. thus, what we have today (knowledge) is nothing more than a working tool. it might not be the truth but it is surely its approximation. knowledge in this regard is only required to be a nearness to the truth. it does not have to be the truth. otherwise, it would mean we have always known very little. accordingly, another way to understand fallibilist redefinition of knowledge is by appealing to practical certainty (as opposed to theoretical certainty). we are indeed quite certain that many of our beliefs are true. do i know for sure that boiling the yam on the stove would make it hotter and softer? definitely i know that. the evidence for my knowledge is that i will never put that yam into my mouth without cooling it first. this proves that in everyday life we go about our everyday life with enormous confidence in our everyday business with enormous confidence in our everyday beliefs. our ability to do simple things rests on a great many beliefs. for instance, just to fetch water from my bathroom, i must have the belief that when i turn on the tap, water rushes out. if very many of such beliefs turned out to be false, i probably could not complete the task. however, there are two points associated with this reasoning. first, it does not prove any particular belief to be true; at best it only shows that a fair percentage of our beliefs must be true. thus, why practical success can be explained most simply as resulting from correct beliefs, it does not guarantee the truth of any particular belief. secondly, from a theoretical view point, our practical success in dealing with the world is compatible with none of our beliefs being true – as in, in the sense of accurately describing the way things are. our beliefs form a system that functions as a model of reality. we generally trust this model because it allows us to make accurate predictions and manipulate things (as when i fetch water from my bathroom). however, we have no way of proving that this model accurately maps the way things are other than by appealing to its practical success; and this success only proves the model’s usefulness; it does not prove its truth. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 85 an example is the geocentric model of the solar system that was generally accepted before copernicus; it was quite successful from a practical point of view. it enabled astronomers to predict accurately the paths of the star, planets, eclipses of the sun and noon, and other similar occurrences. but we now think that this model, although useful, was not a true representation of reality. it seems then, that our beliefs need not be absolutely certain before it could pass for knowledge and be useful to us. all that is required of it is a verisimilitude to truth (or how things actually are). in the mean time we make do with what we have. fallibilism realizes this and reasonably shifts the notion of knowledge to what is actually obtainable in the real world. knowledge as the absence of mistake seems to be possible theoretically after the long battle of ideas that has continued to persist in the human quest to know/scholarship. legal implication frederic r. kellogg in his article, “legal fallibilism” argues that law, like science is a form community inquiry. he illustrates a process that is parallel to how scientists contribute to or add to the wealth of human knowledge. in this schema, community of scientists involve themselves in the exploration of a common and ongoing, but specific problem. accordingly, for kellog, the “many minds” in the final sentence include trained judges, as well as lawyers on opposing sides of a succession of recurring disputes that, when arising at the first instance, is better resolved without prejudgment according to a preexisting principle. like in science, the caution against premature generalization is frowned against and like scientific experiment an early decision in an emergent controversy opens inquiry by creating precedent for future cases (kellogg, 2008). in kellogg’s illustration, multiple findings can reveal similarities and after the accumulation of jury decisions discloses patterns, judges may begin to generalize; he borrows this from oliver wendell holmes. this is like in science, where it is only after an enough experience has established a distinct pattern that trained observers may begin to “abstract” a general rule. he further highlights the relationship between law and science: both are prompted by practical problems confronting the community at large, reflecting peirce’s doubt-belief model of inquiry. in both, informal and non-professional attempts to resolve such problems, burdened by superstition, have been replaced by formal and professionalized analysis (kellogg, 2008, p.6). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 86 now, if such a correlation can be made then it raises a concern for the current state of affairs in the legal systems of the world. kellogg himself decries the obscurity that the parallel has encountered by the emphasis of contemporary jurisprudence on legislation. oftentimes, it is the case that law in many societies operates by the rescript from sovereign institutions and the general rule at least to a large extent, are made sturdy, unreviewable, and sacrosanct in application as though humans are made for it. to be exact, let us consider the case of death penalty and fallibilism. it raises a great concern that such a phenomenon still exists in the 21st century. fifty-six countries retain death penalty (including such developed country as the us) and 60% of the world population lives in countries where death penalty is applicable by law (amnesty international, 2018). accordingly, the possibility of error avowed by fallibilism, apply with particular piquant to the death penalty matter. it has been observed by independent agencies especially in the us, to be a process “fraught with error, discriminates on the basis of socioeconomic status, race, and geography, it is arbitrary and capricious, including its use against the mentally ill and defendants who did not kill anyone and who did not intend that anyone be killed” (amnesty international, 2018). observations such as these will help us to see how overarching fallibilism can be. for if we cannot be entertained about the justifications that got someone to death row, then, it logically follows that we might be wrong about their guilt. put simply, death penalty is an equivalent of one such cases (that peirce decries) where the road of inquiry is blocked. it is the only form of punishment that closes the possibility of further inquiry into the case and this can lead to injustice that can never be overturned. history has repeatedly born witness to this. so, we can represent this argument succinctly as follows: 1st premise: that death penalty should only be used if and only if we can prove beyond reasonable doubt (certainty) that someone is guilty. [it is “if and only if,” because there is no room for self-correction when someone is sentenced to death] 2nd premise: however, no belief, including that someone is guilty, can be conclusively justified (no certainty to that effect). conclusion: therefore, we should not apply death penalty. ultimately, if fallibilism is true, then, it would require that the interpretation of statutory and even constitutional language, is ceaselessly applied to new and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 87 unanticipated situations and that they are advanced on case-by-case revisionary ground that can equitably be understood as fallibilistic. if this can be done, then the fifty-six retentionist countries could (under that pretext) update their constitutions to join the 142 abolitionist countries. religious and moral implications although fallibilism was meant for scientific knowledge or inquiry (according to the intention of its earliest pioneers: c.s. peirce, john dewey etc.), it is not consigned to it. and since knowledge informs all human projects and orientations it seems fitting to look at the consequences of fallibilism on religion and morality. it is good to note that at the time fallibilism was emerging as theory of enquiry, the catholic church was the strongest religious force against the dawning secularization of the time. so, most of what will be said will tilt towards this oldest christian institution. in his article “fallibilism and faith,” richard shustermon critiquing cardinal ratzinger’s homily at the votive mass for the election of the new pope, argues that the cardinal “refuses to acknowledge the intermediary positions that could better serve the growth of faith and understanding” (2007). shustermon reacted to ratzinger’s condemnation of the “dictatorship of relativism,” wherein the cardinal defines relativism as a “trickery that strives to entice people into error,” so that their belief is “tossed here and there, carried about by every wind of doctrine.” in tandem to this, the cardinal further contrasts relativism with the creed of the church,” which he describes as “truth” and “knowledge” that are determinate, unequivocal and “definitive” because it is received directly from jesus and christ tells us that all he gives to us, he receives from the father. christ gives us his full trust and with trust, also knowledge and to our weak mind he entrusts his truth. accordingly, we will not be mistaken to say that almost all religious principles depart from maxims such as this, that the truth they possess is unsullied, absolute, certain because it comes from a supernatural being who has nothing but absolute perfection. history is a better teacher to enlighten us. now, shusterman observes, that one intermediary position or attitude that cardinal ratzinger’s homily (and religious maxims such as contained in the homily) ignores is fallibilism, which contends (as the homily does) that our minds are weak but also retains (in contrast to the homily) that human knowledge, as deficient, needs continuous amendment (shustermon, 2007). fallibilism, hence combines, as christianity (and indeed other religion) should, humility with an ethics of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 88 perfectionist meliorism (an intermediate of pessimism and optimism). viewed in this way, it would seem that fallibilism is not incompatible with christianity (or religion as a whole). however, religion, for fear of errors that could taint its principle totally blocks the way of inquiry. here, care should be taken to not confuse fallibilism and karl popper’s falsificationism, which avers that, knowledge grows only when we attempt to falsify our beliefs and theories so as to test their veracity and discover errors; fallibilism on the other hand concedes that future experience may show that our present beliefs are somewhat insufficient and deficient to newer ideas that progress from but outlie them. in fact, peirce criticizes cartesian doubt for this reason; he would contend that it is a waste of time to doubt the little things we managed to grasp; instead, we should spend our energy on those innumerable things we are not sure of (peirce, 1837, 1955). so far, we have seen what fallibilism means for religion. in fact, peirce was far from being a relativist, nihilist or sceptic; he is rather a scholar and a christian believer who encourages intellectuals “to worship god in the development of ideas and of truth” (peirce, 1837, 1955). from shusterman’s commentary on the then cardinal ratzinger’s homily, we can see how fallibilism instead of tainting religion, can advance spiritual growth, enhance ethical knowledge, and intensify religious faith since it shuns the strains between dynamism and staticity, growth and truth, that the cardinal’s homily was frightful about. shusterman argues that the cardinal’s efforts to mediate these strains by making a repeated recourse to the complementarity of the body and soul prove ineffectual because these notions, as he employs them, are equally criminated in dualistic discordance. he adds, that it appears to him that the cardinal has been looking for philosophical assistance in the wrong place; and he recommends with respect, that [peirce’s] fallibilism may be of use to him (and indeed religion as a whole) as an ethicist and theologian (and as an ethical and theological institution) (shustermon, 2007). finally, fallibilism is the right attitude towards moral dilemmas, as it gives a most favourable account for change in moral principles with the passage of time and the advent of general changes in human values. conclusion this paper began to say what it means to fallibly know, or better still what fallibilism is and how it is formulated by exploring primarily the thoughts and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 89 submissions of contemporary epistemologists stephen hetherington and richard feldman. the paper went further to highlight the consequences or implications that these doctrines have for the age-long human attitude towards knowledge and its applications. in summary, the paper shows that: 1. to fallibly know is to know that, even if one does not have a conclusive warrant to believe that. thus, fallibility resides in the ostensible justification (epistemic justification) that is present on behalf of a given belief. 2. fallibilism presupposes that any belief could be wrong but that some are more likely to be wrong or right than others. 3. the major reason for fallibilism is the limitations of our cognitive faculties. that is, the fact that we can misevaluate evidences amongst others. 4. knowledge is possible even when there is no conclusive justification for such a knowledge claim. 5. knowledge is no longer the absence of error but the contextual absence of doubt. references amnesty international, “abolitionist and retentionist countries as of july 2018,” index: act 50/6665/2017. conee e. and r. feldman. evidentialism: essays in epistemology. oxford: oxford university press, 2004. feldman, richard. epistemology. new jersey: prentice-hall, 2003. __________ “fallibilism and knowing that one knows.” the philosophical review, vol. 90, no. 2, april 1981. hendricks, vincent. mainstream and formal epistemology. new york: cambridge university press, 2006. hetherington, stephen. “fallibilism,” internet encyclopedia of philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 90 jonathan matheson (ed.), accessed 17th december 2019. https//www. iep.utm.edu/fallibil/&hl=igng&grqid=xnsx0txo&geid=1084grqid=. homer, chris and emrys westacott. thinking through philosophy: an introduction. new york: cambridge university press, 2000. ichikawa, jonathan and mathias steup. “the analysis of knowledge,” the stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (summer 2018 edition), edward n. zalta (ed.). url= <https:// plato. stanford. edu/archives /sum2018/ entries/knowledge-analysis/> peirce, c.s. collected papers. c. hartshorne, p. weis and a. w. burks (eds.) (cambridge: harvard university press, 1931-1958), (1. 13-14, c. 1897). sosa, ernest. “the raft and the pyramid.” in epistemology: an anthology, eds. ernest s., jaegwon k., jeremy f., and matthew m. malden: blackwell publishing ltd., 2008. swinburne, richard. epistemic justification. oxford: clarendon press, 2001. vahid, hamid. epistemic justification and the skeptical challenge. new york: palgrave macmillan, 2005. kellogg, frederic r. “legal fallibilism: law (like science) as a form of community inquiry,” discipline filosofiche, vol. xix, no. 2, 2008. shustermon, richard, “fallibilism and faith,” common knowledge, 13:2-1, (2007), p. 379-384 microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 6.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 13 kanu anthony’s igwebuike philosophy and human suffering among the umuaga people clement agu joachim department of philosophy saint augustine’s major seminary, jos plateau state cjoachin32@gmail.com abstract at the mention of the word suffering, our minds virtualize some sort of painful feelings and conditions, unbearable situations, poverty and even a kind of evil. no wonder then that it is hard to seemingly set a demarcation between the problem of human suffering and the problem of evil. the university of human suffering lays its burdensome weight on every man in one way or the other. the people of umuaga are therefore not exempted from this critical situation. the researcher employs the african philosophy of solidarity and complementarily, igwebuike, which means ‘crowd is power’, or ‘crowd/people is strength’ to view this problem. this research therefore seeks to show that though a perennial problem, human suffering can be gradually brought to a minimal level and eventually eradicated in umuaga land, through the practical us of igwebuike. this work is expository, interpretative and analytic in nature to show the need for igwebuike in umuaga community. the primary source of this research is drawn from oral interviews and interactions as well as personal reflection on the topic. the secondary source is basically drawn from relevant books, magazines and articles. keywords: igwebuike, philosophy, kanu ikechukwu anthony, human, suffering introduction it is always said that poverty knows no colour or race. suffering also knows no gender or profession. no man can ever boast of not experiencing suffering in life, experiences from the time of his birth, his growing up, down to the time of death. man finds his life filled with anguish anger, loss of a beloved one, hunger, discrimination, marginalization, lack of essential needs for living, accident, and so the unending list of heartbreaking experiences. it is then not surprising that pope st. john paul ii noted in his book “go in peace” that the reality of this suffering is ever before our eyes and often in the body, soul and heart of each of us (133). the reality of suffering is very evident among the people of umuaga ever since the time of their ancestors. today, this problem still igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 14 exists and can be found among the people. many pass through bodily pains, physical disabilities, poverty, depression, hopelessness, anxiety and even clan discrimination, while some get to the level of destitution. the people of umuaga are predominantly christians and in fact catholics, so it is no surprise to see them asking god questions when faced with these perennial problems. some feel that god has forsaken them, while other traditionally oriented ones turn to traditional god (chi), or their destiny (akala aka) as being responsible for the misfortunes and suffering in life. these questions and problem of the people of umuaga is closely related to that of the problem of evil, where according to celestine chukwuemeka, suffering and evil are close to each other in expressing a disquieting absence of the food that ought to be (31). the new dictionary of theology in this same light sees suffering as the deprivation of human good, though it went further to stress that god is not the cause of evil and suffering but rather the source of all good (mary 990). it is this problem that the researcher feels that in as much as the people of umuaga attributes to god or the influence of some spirits in the universe, also the action of the human person has a major role to play in the cause and existence of suffering among them. hence, if they curtail some of their activities and also improve their relationship with the other members of the community, having in mind the view of helping each other and improving the level of living for the less privileged, then the researcher believes that there will be rapid reduction of suffering among the people of umuaga. there is no doubt that there exists a high rate of suffering among the people of umuaga. this is to say that to deny the existence of this problem is to deny an empirical reality. since this problem affects every member of the community directly or indirectly, there is therefore a serious need to provide means of reducing it. when faced with this problem, many people feel weak, reluctant to find lasting solutions to these problems and so end up in miserable, hopeless and anguish. the great need for togetherness and real sense of belonging is important to be stressed. the spirit of solidarity is going down so it is not surprising to find in a community some being over rich while some living in destitution. in nigerian dailies and magazines, one will find that nigerians are blessed with different ideas and theories concerning politics and man related issues. the area igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 15 of suffering is not left out in this theory-making on how to reduce it, but it is also true that most of these ideas seemingly have not been able to fulfill their aims owing to the fact as many nigerians are still languishing under this problem. the researcher feels that one of the reasons why there has been little success in this sector is due to the inability of the effort to be practical. most are very theoretical and lack the practical and empirical dimensions. one of the aims and objectives of this work is to enlighten the good people of umuaga of the need to reduce this problem using igwebuike as an institutional means of reducing human suffering. also, the researcher wants to bring the mind of the people to the need of true sense of solidarity. another objectives of this work is to show that igwebuike can be a pragmatic concept. the nature of man daniel j. sullivan in an introduction to philosophy is of the opinion that the most widely held view of man today is of a superior animal. and just as animals in general are creatures of instinct, with no real control over their instinctive drives or the pull over their senses from the outside, so too man is impelled purely by the attractions of the sense goods and by the blind drive of instinct (63). he further argues that besides being an animal, man has a powerthe power to reasonwhich in itself makes him different in kind from the rest of the animals. hence, the researcher agrees with him since man is an animal with a body, sense power, feelings and emotions just as any other animals. in philosophical anthropology, batista mondin sees man as a living being. he is essentially alive. his life is specifically different from that of animals and plant (49-50). batista also argues that the body is the first and most obvious dimension of man, yet, it is also obvious that the body, by itself, does not constitute the entire human reality, but it does so only with the soul (231). st. thomas aquinas in his summa theological sees the soul as the life principle of a living body. the human soul is a non-bodily substance endowed with intellect and will. in this life the human soul has an extinctive dependence on the body, but not an intrinsic dependence. it can exist and operate per se even if it be severed from the body. and this means that it is truly a subsistent substance. it is subsistent, yet, while it is a complete soul, it is not a complete human being. the complete human being is a compound of body and soul (60). man according to batista is also a cultural being. this means that at the moment of birth, nature gave man the necessary minimum, the essentials, to be man and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 16 assigns him the task of making himself and forming himself so as to fully realize his being through culture (146). he further argues that man is a cultural being in two senses he is the artifice of culture, and he is also the prime receiver and the greatest effect of culture (148) the article ‘the person and society’ in the opus dei argues that god did not create man as a solitary being’, but wanted him to be a ‘social being’ (i) aristotle also in an affirmative form says that a man is a social animal. it thus that the social nature of the human being finds expression in the setting up of a variety of associations aimed at attaining distinct goals. the article further sees the society as a group of persons bound together organically by a principle of unity that goes beyond each one of them (2). the social nature of man has been argued by many philosophers especially in regard to his forming of society. the english philosopher thomas hobbes (1588 – 16799) envisaged man in the state of nature as living solely according to his passions and instinct. man is a predatory animal, and the natural state of man is of war. however, among his instinct is that of survival. to keep from being exterminated, primitive man chose to sacrifice his natural freedom in order to secure the benefit of peace. accordingly, he surrendered his liberty forever to a single strong man or group of men who are guaranteed to keep order (sullivan 187). unlike hobbies, the famous french philosopher jean jacques rousseau (1712 – 1778) argues that the natural state of man is a state of total, unrestricted liberty, he is naturally good. for rousseau too, the origin of the state is in a ‘social contact’. primitive man surrendered his private liberty to the collective will of the community, which rousseau termed the general will (sullivan 187). igwebuike okanu in igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles views igwebuike as the study of modality of being for the realization of the being. it is from the igbo word igwebuike. it is understood as a word and as a sentence as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as igwebuike, with the component word enjoying some independence in terms of space. igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number of population. bu is a verb, which means is, ike is another verb which means strength or power. thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’ (97). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 17 kanu in igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education avers that igwebuike rests on the philosophy of solidarity and complementarity; thus, to be is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. kanu quoted iroegbu that igwebuike is based on the african cosmology which is characterized by a common origin, common world view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny (96). the researcher feels that the concept of igwebuike covers and embodies a lot of things. it is a basic whole. this can be seen in the different wholes that igwebuike is used. kanu opines that igwebuike is the substratum of african traditional values, philosophy and religion. because of its centrality in african philosophy, the development of a philosophy of education that is hinged on it is aimed at developing a philosophy of education that is in tandem with the african ontology. as a philosophy of education, it stands for a dialogical pedagogy that gives proportionate places to the teacher and the student. it is inculturated to fit into the african category which is realistically oriented to qualitative humanism (97). kanu also argues that igwebuike is the underlining principle of african bioethics. here, solidarity, respect for persons, together with the principles of beneficence and non-maleficence principle are all dimensions and parts of principles of igwebuike and basic principle in african bioethics. in african ontology, life is not a personal thing. it is community after involving both the physical and spiritual world. the researcher agrees with this, for one’s life is made complete in the life of others, and since igwebuike calls for people to come together, and as one attain a common wrongdoings that will affect the life of other (98). life is life when it is of sharedness; it is one in which another is part thereof. a relationship, though of separate and separated entities or individuals but with a joining of the same whole. thus, igwebuike provides an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. it represents the perspective that ‘to be’ is to in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside this parameter is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’, is ‘to be with the other’, in a community of beings (igwebuikepedia.org). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 18 man and suffering human suffering, its nature, causes and consequence as well as the possible solutions, have occupied the mind of the human person for ages. it is not an experience reserved for a group of peasants or a theoretical problem that occupies the speculative intellect of some specific scholars. all people of all times and places have had a taste of this venom, if there is any difference, it is not in its universality, inevitability and the nauseating feelings that characterize it, rather, it concerns the different degrees and colourings it has taken in different people at different times and circumstances (umeh) i.). it such asserts that suffering weighs on the shoulders of every human. each person is thus uniquely able to identify those at hand-events that have unraveled the order that one had vainly hoped to find in life. the experience of suffering has so weighed every shoulder that we find ourselves to be no longer agile, many are not longer able to direct life toward their authentic chosen goals. each individual without any assistance can identify the specific evils that he or she has encountered in life. because each person bears one’s own suffering upon one’s own shoulders each is the unique seer who alone can address the question of the meaning of that burden of suffering which he or she bears (liderbach 7-8). the problem of evil the problem of evil is one of the major arguments against the existence of god. the substance of this arguments goes thus, if god is all – powerful and all-good, why is there so much gratuitous and unnecessary evil in the world? if he is allpowerful, he should be able to remove “unnecessary” evil, and if he i all-good he should want to remove it; but he does not, why? must we assume that he is either not all –powerful or all-good? edward insisted that theists want to avoid such conclusion at all costs; they see the problem as one of logical compatibility; they must have an answer which squares god’s all-powerfulness and all-goodness (schedler 361), this shows how atheists tried to discredit the goodness and powerfulness of god. edward thus, listed theistic solutions to the problem of evil. firstly, “contrast” and the “nonintervention” solutions; evil according to the first argument is necessary as a contrast so that we shall properly be able to understand and appreciate the good life. the second argument, is a by-product of the operation of the law of the universe. evil events like earthquakes, famines, etc. are simply natural events in a world which is overall, a good one. thirdly, for a better understanding to the problem of evil, there is a cluster of related scriptural views. to the question igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 19 what does god have in mind by allowing gratuitous evil in his world? students of christian scripture have replied variously, (1) evil is punishment for sin; (2) evil tests man’s faith (3) evil is god’s warning to man. the fourth solution is the character-building theory, on this view evil is a necessary part of our world because experience of it yields such virtues as courage, endurance, charity and sympathy. the fifth solution is that, the philosophical optimist claims that this is the best of all possible world even though evil is a necessary ingredient of it (schedler 362,363). optimists like leibniz, did not claim that evil was only an appearance or an illusion, as he is so often interpreted. he readily admitted that the world contains evil in a positive and real way, but his point was that it contained just exactly the right amount of evil. hence it is the best of all possible worlds. lawhead have this to say about leibniz understanding of evil when he categorized evil into three; firstly, metaphysical evil which is imperfection, the unavoidable imperfection present in any being that is finite. since leibniz thinks it obvious that existence is better than non-existence, it follows that an imperfect world is better than no world at all. since evil is a privation or the negative quality of lacking perfection. it cannot be said that evil is a positive reality created by god. secondly, physical evil; leibniz handles the problem of physical evil with an apriori argument. since he has argued that this must be the best world, then even the suffering of its creatures must somehow contribute to the overall good of the total system. finally, leibniz explains why moral evil exists. moral evil is caused by the free choices of people who lack a rightly ordered will. thus, god cannot be blamed for the existence of moral evil (lawhead 263-264). that is to say leibniz believed that this world is the best of all possible worlds and as such, the existence of evil is compactable with the existence of god. lawhead insists that theists use different arguments to answer the problem of evil. firstly, john hick’s greater good defense; the claim that god allows some evil to exist because it is necessary to the achievement of a greater good. hick’s developed what he calls the “minority report” in the history of theology. this view is that when god initially created humanity, there was still some work to be done in making a complete product. however, this remaining work could not be accomplished by god alone; we have to contribute to the process. using the greater good defense hick’s argues that even god himself could not achieve certain results without allowing us to struggle against evil and to ensure suffering. this goes to say that god allows some evil to exist because it is necessary to the achievement of a greater good. secondly, the free will defense; this is the claim that god could not create creatures (such as us) who have the freedom of will and who are incapable of doing evil. furthermore, the third igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 20 argument is the natural order defense; in this argument, free choice can be used. one way in which a free will defense can account for natural evil is to say that in order for there to be free choice, whether these choices are evil or good ones, there has to be a fixed, reliable order of natural cause and effects (lawhead 357364). from the hindu’s perspective according to lawhead, hinduism believed that everything is an aspect of god. as such how does hinduism account for the existence of evil in the world? one answer is that the law of karma implies that all sufferings are just and are the outcomes of choices that we make in this life or a previous life (lawhead 376). that is to say hinduism did not have problem with the existence of evil because they see evil as punishment of an offence committed. from the buddhits’ perspective, the problem of evil and the existence of suffering is the main theme of buddha’s teachings. according to buddhism, the cause of suffering is twofold. first, most of our sufferings are the result of our own desires and our preoccupation with the illusion of the self. second, suffering is simply a fact of life that we must face; no divine purpose is being achieved by suffering (lawhead 382). st augustine on the problem of evil st. augustine a theistic philosopher in trying to find answer to the problem of evil was faced with the dualistic method of the manichaeans. augustine thought that the only way to absolve god of blame if the god of light is limited in power and is caught in an eternal struggle with the competing power of darkness, then no one can suppose god is responsible for evil in creation (omoregbe 103). however, sheed has this to say, in the words of st. augustine: whatever that cause might be, i saw that no explanation would do which would force me believe that the immutable god is mutable; for if i did that i should have being the very thing that i was trying to find (namely a cause of evil). from now it was with no anxiety that i sought it, for i am sure that what the manichees said was not true. with all my heart i rejected them, becaue i saw that while they inguired as to the source of evil, they were full of evil themselves, in that they preferred rather to hold that your substance committed it (sheed 134). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 21 furthermore, williams dwelling on st. augustine, started by classifying freedom into three: (i) physical freedom which involves the absence of restraints, (ii) metaphysical freedom which is the freedom to choose in a way that is not determined by anything outside my control, (iii) autonomy freedom which is the sort of freedom that people have in mind when they think they are free because they have no human masters (williams 1). st. augustine in his argument with evodius, was asked is not god the cause of evil? augustine’s answer is that human beings have metaphysical freedom, and so the blame for any evil action rests on the person who performs the action. but evodius further asked “if metaphysical freedom can lead to evil, then should not god be blamed for giving it to us in the first place?” augustine agreed that without metaphysical freedom, there would be no evil, but he also thinks that there would be no genuine good either. without metaphysical freedom, the universe is just a divine puppet show (williams 2, 3). if there is to be any new and creative act of love rather than the merely mechanical uncoiling of a wind-up universe, if there are to be any real decisions other than those made in the divine will, then there must be metaphysical freedom, and such freedom brings with it the possibility of evil as well as the promise of goodness. kanu posits that for augustine, everything, including matter is good. with the understanding of evil as non-being, augustine sees no need of asking the question as to who created evil, since it is not a thing that can be created. since evil is not a being, it then means that it needs a being to exist, since it cannot exist on its own (chidili, 292). suffering in umuaga land the people of umuaga as earlier pointed out in chapter one, dwell in the umuaga town of the udi local government area of enugu state. they are predominantly farmers, though they also engage in other lucrative businesses. they are industrious in various phases of life, and this can be seen as they are known for palm wine tapping (charles). the researcher while interacting with some of the youths of the town realized that most of them experience despair at the lack of opportunities to put down a concrete living. with the cost of living rising by the day, the lack of financial ground has become very frustrating owing to the opinion that there are little good paying jobs around (ebuka). other forms of suffering experienced in the town consists mostly of social sufferings, inquiring from the experiences of some women, widows, orphans and even poor farmers to place down good living to the inability of those who are sick to fully access good medical treatment. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 22 the concepts and worldview of the igbos are the same across their different locations, as such, while the researcher will be using the general igbo concepts, he is in turn referring to those among the umuaga people. as far back as the 6th century bc, answers to fundamental questions about reality, man and cosmos were asked and answers to them were sought through mythology. it is not different when it comes to questions bothering on evil and human suffering. according to obi, the anthropophenomenological reality of suffering have posed questions that have attracted responses from diverse cultures and epochs with the aim of finding out its origin and instructing people on how best to confront it. like other cultures, the igbo people have tried to understand the source or origin of human suffering. this is well explained in an igbo myth narrated by mbaegbu, he wrote that there was a time the sky lay just above the earth. thus, human beings could reach chukwu (god) through a rope which hung down from the sky. there was no death at the time chukwu created the world and human beings. human beings never lacked anything, as chukwu was involved in their affairs: associated with them and provided for all their needs. in that world, the spirits and human beings were one. however, it happened one day that a woman spit into the eyes of chukwu. he picked offence and thus withdrew into the sky where he now dwells. this result led to the punishment of human beings and to their death. since then suffering came into the world, and evil and sin spread throughout the world. the association of god with the sky has earned him names in this direction. he is called eze igwe (king of the sky) or igwe ka ala (the sky greater than the earth) (kanu 9). the igbo-african concept of human suffering obiezu observes that suffering and evil are so interchangeably used in discussions that one is often assumed when the other is used. however, griffin asserts that suffering is only a dimension or evil connected to and experienced by human beings and other creatures. it is indeed the relation of cause and effect. however, suffering as defined by stoeber, is “the experience of emotional pain, a mode of consciousness that can arise from sensation of intense physical pain, but which need not at all be associated with it ... a painful state of consciousness that we wish we do not have to experience” (20). the definition agrees with those of hick and cassell who identified suffering with an emotional consciousness that one would not ordinarily want to desire. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 23 from the igbo perspective, suffering is expressed in the igbo word ahuhu, which means an unfavorably situation which ought not to be. the word can be applied in a strict sense and in a broad sense. in a strict sense, ahuhu connotes a gravely difficult, painful and dishonorable situation which a person undergoes i punishment for offences committed against the deities, humanity or the created order. the definition agrees with the igbo unified view of reality, which sees the world as having an ontological link. it is in this regard that madu avers that “there is an ontological link of the different spheres of the cosmic order, to the extent that what affects one sphere invariably will affect the other” (21). thus, from the igbo perspective, suffering is retributive and proportionate to the abomination committed. it is in this regard that the igbo would say isi kote ebu ogbaa ya (the head that pushes the beehive receives the sting) and ihe onye metara, no n’isi ya (whatever a man sows that he would reap). thus, ezeanya avers that “suffering of every kind of epidemic, sickness of all sorts, accidents, fire outbreak, natural disasters like flood, and earthquakes were all attributed to the influence of the powers above man, both good and evil showing their displeasure at human offence” (19(. this explains why the igbo would say awo anaghi agba oso ehihie na nkiti ( a toad does not run in the day time for nothing, for either it is pursuing something or something is pursuing it). suffering is believed to be perpetrated by bad spirits ndi ajo nmuo and sometimes the ancestors could also inflict suffering. there were also human collaborators known as ndi ajo nmadu. they collaborated with bad spirits to inflict suffering on fellow human beings. in a loose sense, the igbos understands suffering as any kind of painful or difficult experience resulting from situations or painstaking efforts to achieve difficult objectives. it is in this regard that suffering is understood in terms of opipia, that is, penance, usually done to achieve special heights, or olu ike or olu sisi ike, that is hard work, as in the case of a man who works at a cement industry, daily carrying about 500 bags of cement from one point to another. it is considered ahuhu, but for the purpose of raising money to take care of his family. in this case it also refers to igba mbo (making serious effort). this kind of suffering brings hope and does not lead to despair or destruction. the igbo would say; nmiri mmadu kwosara onwe ya adighi atu ya oyi, (the water a person pours upon himself does not bring him or her cold). hard work is at the center of the igbo spirit. thus the igbo would say; onye obula choro ihe mara mma ga adi nkwadobe ikuchara ya okpofu n’ihu na o dighi ije oma na-adi ne’lu (one who desires great things must be ready to work hard for them), in another proverb, the igbo would say; o igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 24 bu naani ukwu gbara apiti na eri ihe guru ya (it is only the leg that is soiled with mud that enjoys whatever it likes). this kind of suffering is not a curse but attracts blessings from the gods. greatness is achieved through hard work (kanu 9). the igbo-african broadview’s of suffering mbaegbu in his discourse on the problem of evil from the igbo perspective brought out three approaches towards the understanding of evil and human suffering the igbo cosmological optimistic view, the personal god and destiny view, and the middle-course view (kanu 10). cosmological optimistic perspective mbaegbu avers that this perspective regarding human suffering believes that it is traceable to human beings, that is some moral evil committed by human beings. it asserts that god is a creative principle is good in himself and that his creation is intrinsically good. support for this view is built upon the igbo myth as regards the separation of god from human beings and the subsequent coming of evil into the world, and sometimes proverbs such as madu bu njo ala (man makes the world evil) and uwa ezu oke which means that it is the insatiability of human wants is the cause of imperfection. it is in this regard nwala opines that “there is belief in the unity among beings, belief in original cosmic (universal) harmony and order which unfortunately the action of the human being upsets” (29). this understanding of evil and human suffering places the human person at the center of it. since man is finite and limited in perfection and can never be otherwise, he continues to cause suffering in the world. this suffering may not be caused by the human person existing in the present, but by a person’s ancestors, those who have lived before one. thus, in igbo traditional thought, the evil that men and women do live after them, in the sense that it has effect on their kit and kin. that is why divination is very significant in the igbo world, because it helps the living to know the source of their problems (kanu 10). human destiny perspective the perspective links the suffering of human beings to a person’s personal god who determines the person’s destiny at the time he or she is coming into the world. in the african world, it is believed that the destiny of people as regards success and failure has been apportioned to them by god before birth. thus, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 25 their life course has been charted and fixed by god. when something happens in a person’s life, especially among the igbos, it is traced to his akala aka: his destined lot. the igbos belief in what is called the chi, which each human being derives from the great chukwu, who is the creator of all. this explains why the igbo would say chukwu-new-ike (all power belongs to god); ife oma nine di chukwu na aka (all good things are in the hand of god; madu nwaa oke ya, ndiozo dili chukwu (when a man has done his best, the rest is left to god). at the point of creation, ilogu avers that chukwu gives the human person the chi, which is a part of this divine nature. from this perspective, whatever abilities, good or bad fortune, success, failure, weakness etc., possessed by a person is attributed to the person’s chi. every individual in a family has his or her own chi, explaining why there are differences among people, and when a person dies, his or her personal god goes back to god to give an account of his life. a lucky person is said to be one chi oma (a person with a god personal god) and an unlucky person is said to be onye chi ojoo (a person with bad personal god) explaining this perspective further, mbaegbu wrote: the summary point of it all is that the concept of personal god and destiny help to impute personal accountability in ethical behaviours as well as furnishing explanations for underserved and unavoidable evils, namely why are some people intelligent, rich, gifted, enjoy life, healthy and have good fortune while others may be born blind, deformed, become orphans, die young and end up barren (317). while this perspective move the blame from human beings to divinities, thus sparing god again from having any involvement with evil, it still leaves questions as regards god’s goodness, justice and power unanswered. criticizing this perspective, gregory avers that the african has sold his freedom to act to supernatural forces. if man is not free, it means that he should not be blamed for any failure or mishap in the course of his life journey. equally, guilt of crimes committed should also not be punished as man would not be responsible for his actions (kanu 11). eclectic perspective the eclectic perspective is a synthesis of the above views. according to mbaegbu, this perspective holds that man and his personal god or some other known or unknown spirits, particularly those that specialize in mischief are the sources of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 26 evil and human suffering in the world. thus, evil and suffering are not intrinsic to the world but rather emerge through the negation of the cosmic order by human beings and spirits. edeh holds on this perspective, and wrote, “… judging from our treatment of the cause of evil… the three proximate causes of evil are the evil spirits, the element gods and human beings” (109). in this analysis, chukwu is still exempted from being part of the causes of evil. although this perspective is born out of common sense and has little objections, it still does not adequately answer the question of the problem of evil and human suffering in the world. like the other perspectives, it still leaves god out of the problem of evil with an attempt not to detract from his goodness and omnipotence. but again, if we really understand element gods or divinities as the deans of god and carry out his instructions, it then really means that indirectly, god is involved in the problem of evil and human suffering. the missing link and the mystery perspective as the bridge having studied these different perspectives, and seeing their limitations or inadequacies as regards answering the question of the problem of evil and human suffering in the world, kanu proposed a fourth perspective which he called the mystery perspective. of all the above three perspectives, it is observable that scholars from the camps of igbo traditional religionists and scholars of modern igbo traditional thought have left god out of all their analysis of evil. a strong contributing factor is the fact god is a mystery to the igbo human person. this explains why the igbo would say: onyema chukwu (who knows god). onyema uche chi (who knows the mind of god). one cannot know him let alone to arrogate faults to him. he is further and fundamentally referred to as amamaamasi-amasi (known but not fully known). since god cannot be fully known, he is a mystery and human suffering is associated with the mysteriousness of god, this is becaue through suffering the incomprehensibility of god is revealed. it is because he cannot be known that human suffering cannot be fully explained. thus human suffering is a mystery. and what is a mystery? it is a hidden reality or secret. the chambers’ twentieth century dictionary defines it as “that which is beyond human knowledge to explain.” etymologically, the word mystery comes from the greek word mysterion which has its root in the aramaic raz that means a ‘secret thing’, and corresponds to the classical hebrew word sod (xavier 19). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 27 thus, suffering is a mystery – a hidden reality that goes beyond human comprehension, and intimately connected to the mystery of god. it is in this regard that rahner wrote: the incomprehensibility of suffering is part of the incomprehensibility of god. not in the sense that we could deduce it as necessary and thus inevitable as clarified from something else that we already know of god. if this were so it would not be at all incomprehensible. but the very fact that it is really and eternally incomprehensible means that suffering is truly a manifestation of god’s incomprehensibility in his nature and in his freedom. in his nature because, despite what might be described as the terrible amorality of suffering (at least on the part of children and innocent people), we have to acknowledge the pure goodness of god, which needs no acquittal before our tribunal. in his freedom, because this too, if it wills the suffering of the creature, is incomprehensible, since it could achieve without suffering the sacred aims of the freedom that wills suffering. suffering then is the form … in which he incomprehensibility of god himself appears (206). thus, to accept that god is the intractable mystery is to accept too the inexplicability and un-answerability of suffering, since they are one and the same event (kanu 12). igwebuike philosophy as an ideology, igwebuike argues that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is to be with the other’, in a community of beings. this is based on the african sense of community, which is the underlying principle and unity of african philosophy igwebuike is anchored on the african worldview, which iroegbu describes as being characterized by a common origin, common world – view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny. as a philosophy, igwebuike was founded by rev. fr. ikechukwu kanu osa. igwebuike is a philosophy of complementarity which is based on the nature of african cosmology. this is simply the way africans perceive, conceive and contemplate their universe; the lens through which they see reality, which affect their value systems and attitudinal orientations igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 28 igwebuike as a pragmatic response to human suffering igwebuike as an african philosophical principle, provides ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. it rests on the african principles of solidarity and complementarity and argues that ’to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is ‘to be with the other’, in a community of beings. thus, asouzu in his complementary philosophy of ibuanyidanda, presents the african reality as “an all-embracing whole, in which all units form together a dynamic play of forces, which are in harmony with each other, by completing and supporting the other” (14). asouzu further speaks of reality as “necessary complements of each other” (46). while describing the human society, asouzu advanced that, “human beings and societies exist only in relations” (74). pragmatism is a philosophical movement that has its root in america. pragmatism according to william lawhead is america’s distinctive contribution to the world of philosophy (460). it stresses the intimate relationship between thought and action. it claims, for example, that the meaning of a concept is identical in the practical effects of the object of our conception (lawhead 577). pragmatism views ideas as tools for getting a job done and values them if they are successful when put to work. the main pragmatist philosophers are; charles sanders peirce, william james and john dewey. igwebuike, when addressing the problem of human suffering, sees it as an experience that can actually be taken care of if the human persons understand that they are meant to complement each other in the society. life is actually well lived, when lived in complementarity and solidarity. it is in the light of this complementary living that an igbo will say; onye-ahana nwaneya, (one should not leave his brother), it thus goes on to ask, onye ha nwaneya? ikuku eburu ya (what if one leaves his brother? the storm/wind will carry him away). the idea of brotherhood thus goes beyond the shore of merely living together in a community, but extends to holding each other’s hand. this statement should thus be understood in terms of helping each other achieve their set out goals in life. it is no surprise then that the word onyinyeaka (help), can be literally translated as the act of giving of hand. this goes thus to mean that one cannot claim to help another person without giving the person a hand or adding his own hand to the task the other is undertaking. the need for tangible and practical assistance is thus very important, for the act of inyeaka (giving of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 29 hand/helping) is one that ought to be practically carried out towards ones neighbor, relation or any fellow in the community. igwebuike in this light will see suffering as a result of living in isolation, irrespective of whichever manner one suffers. one suffers then if he embarks on the journey of life alone. the aforementioned igbo proverbs clearly puts it that if one walks alone or leaves the hand of his brother, the different storms of life which includes that of suffering will blow him away. igwebuike therefore, based on relationships and the experiences of interrelationship, will hold that life is fully lived when lived in complementing and the solving the needs of others. if this is carried out, then the pains of another will be well shared and even solved. chinua achebe in things fall apart gives a superb state of such complementarity when he said, “an animal rubs its itching flank against a tree, a man asks his kinsman to scratch him” (132). again, even if one suffers as a result of his ill destined lot at the time of his or her coming into the world, through complementary living, those with good lots should not see themselves as highly favored, but should use their good fortunes to help the less favored ones. such practical involvement will definitely reduce the heights of suffering the other brothers undergoes summary, recommendations and conclusion man, a superior being that is full of rationality and drives is basically a living being. the life of man is especially different from that of plants and animals (mondin 49) because of his intellectual soul which ought to guide his instincts and drives. he is also a cultural, political and social being. it is the social nature of man that defines him not as a solitary being, but a being in participation with other beings in the world. the act of participation, relationship and communality of man in his society is really emphasized in african cosmology, which sees man as occupying the third section of the african cosmology which has god or the supreme being occupying the first, while the other deities and spirits occupy the second (kanu). this relationship thus goes on to give more accounts of why man experiences suffering. man finds himself in the midst of this phenomenon in one way or the other throughout his lifetime. the african cosmology thus sees suffering as traceable to human beings or moral evil, it also links suffering to one’s personal god who determines the persons destiny at the time he or she is coming to the world. the africans also see suffering as being caused by some unknown spirits, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 30 particularly those that specializes in mischief (mbaegbu 109). finally, suffering can be seen as a mystery. this can be deduced from the fact that god or the being that created the universe cannot be fully understood, and is thus a mystery. human suffering can also been associated with the mysteriousness of god. it is because he cannot be understood that suffering cannot be understood (kanu 12). from the above therefore, it is not a surprise that igwebuike the african philosophy of complementarity and solidarity avers that through complementary living, man discovers that his humanity is wholistic in the sense that it encompasses the spiritual, emotional, mental and physical that the elements of being. it also expresses the capacity of reciprocity, dignity, harmony and humanity in the interests of building and maintaining community. igwebuike goes beyond the self so as the pain of others is thought as my pain, the redemption of other is as thought it were my redemption, the sufferings that the other passes through is as though i am the one that passes through it (ethics, igwebuikepedia.org). reccommendations the researcher recommends that the people of umuaga should be enlightened about the relevance of complementary living. for example, the act of helping our people that do not have the strength to farm in the village, most especially the aged and do not have enough energy to carry out this function, should be revitalized earnestly. the people of umuaga should also try to avoid doing things that will endanger their fellows in the community, for the act of doing any harm to one’s fellow destroys the aim of igwebuike, and will definitely lead to pains and sorrows. the researcher recommends that good elementary institutions that will incorporate the upbringing of children and the youths of umuaga should be established. this is because, if the young ones have adequate moral and intellectual knowledge, they will have little problems in meeting up with the demands and challenges of the 21st century world. the researcher recommends that well equipped health institutions should be established, and practitioners that are real humanitarians in contrast to those who are out for the financial benefits should be employed. the institutions should also take their time to enlighten the people of umuaga on the causes and symptoms of some peculiar sickness among them, for example, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 31 stroke and hypertension. this will help them to seek medical assistance when they become victims of such illnesses, and not to sit back, suffer and accuse one another of witchcraft and evil architatory. david hume argues that only action that have public utility or the wellbeing of mankind can beconsidered virtuous (omoregbe 83). in this light, the researcher recommends that only projects that have the wellbeing of the people of umuaga in mind can be really accessed and utilized by them should be carried out. as such, the governing body of umuaga land should examine the living situation of the people, and declare the most demanding aspects as the common good. projects like erecting new boreholes for good water supply, this will reduce the risk of water borne diseases. just like the ‘i and thou’ philosophy of gabriel marcel, igwebuike also stresses the importance of brotherhood that is complementary. in this light, the researcher recommends that the financially strong members of umuaga land should always, as possible as they can assist those who do not have. the suffering of these less privileged ones are obvious to some extent, as such, the financially strong ones can at least assist them either financially or with other material needs. the researcher recommends that the people of umuaga should be enlightened on the needs of entrepreneurship, especially the youth. if it is possible, seminars on new innovations and how one can really start up something should be conducted for them. the community members should also be encouraged to take part in it fully. conclusion the problem of human suffering which is closely related to that of the problem of evil is one fundamental phenomenon of the human life that many scholars have agreed on, especially between theists and atheists. it is an existential reality that has man at is center, but man should always remember that he exists in the society, and it is this society that gives him his full meaning in life. he should therefore put himself in positions that will enable him to observe the norms and common good of his society. he should see himself not as only a being in the society but a being that actualizes his true nature through the act of participatory and complementary living. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 32 igwebuike does not closes its eye to this problem that man encounters. in fact, it is because of this suffering that it urges everybody to carry out his living with the life and problems of his brother in his heart, for when two carry a load, the weight is shared and less felt by the individuals. works cited achebe, chinua, things fall apart new york: heinemann, 1958 amitia, etzioni, common good mumbai: john wiley and sons ltd, 2015 argandoha, antonio, the common good barcelona: iese business schooluniversity of nawarra, 2011, asouzu, i. innocent, ibuanyidanda: new complementary ontology, beyond world immanentism, ethnocentric reduction and imposition, berlin transaction, 2007. batista, mondin, philosophical anthology: bangalore: theological publications, 2011. chidili, bartholomew and kanu, ikechukwu anthony, augustine through the ages, passionate reflections of his african spiritual sans at their 75. jos, augustinian publication, 2014. charles, ibenyinwa (interview) 27/12/2016 ebuka nebo (interview) 28/12/2016. edeh, m. emmanuel, towards igbo metaphysics. chicago: loyola university press, 1985 ezeanyi, n. stephen. the christian and suffering, onitsha: tabansi, 1989 glenn, j. paul, a tour of the summo of st. thomas aquinas, bangalore: theological publications, 2007 grisez, germain, christian moral principle, vi.. 1 chicago: franciscan herald press, 1983. illogu, edmund, christianity and igbo culture, onitsah: university press, 1974. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 33 kanu, ikechukwu anthony, a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy, jos. augustinian publication, 2015. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. augustinian publications, 2015. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, “igwebuike and globalization”, igwebuikepedia internet encylopedia of african phiolosophy. kanu i. anthony and jerome okonkwo (eds.). accessed 28 april, 2017. www.igwebuikepedia.info. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, “igwebuike and the unity of african philosophy”. igwebuikepedia internet encylopedia of african philosophy. kanu i. anthony and jerome okonkwo (eds.). accessed 29 april, 2017. www.igwebuikepedia.info. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, “igwebuike and african ethics” igwebuikepedia internet encylopedia of african phiolosophy. kanu anthony and jerome okonkwo (eds.). accessed 28 april, 2017. www.igwebuikepedia.info. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, “igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory socio-political system of governance”. hummingbird journal of humanities and social sciences. 6. 4. pp. 1-12. 2016. kanu, i. anthony, “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education” igwebuikepedia internet encylopedia of african phiolosophy. kanu anthony and jerome okonkwo (eds.). accessed 30 jan., 2017. www.igwebuikepedia.info. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, “igwebuike as the expressive modality of being in igbo ontology”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 4. 5. pp. 12-21. 2018. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, “igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles”. nnadiebube journal of philosophy. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 1-13. 2016. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 34 kanu, ikechukwu anthony, “igwebuike, personal identity and alterity”. igwebuikepedia internet encylopedia of african phiolosophy. kanu anthony and jerome okonkwo (eds). web. accessed 30 jan., 2017. www.igwebuikepedia.info. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, “igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization”. nnamdi azikiwe journal of philosophy vol. 10. no. 2. pp. 61-66. 2018. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment”. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, “igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering”. berkeley international journal of contemporary education research. vol. 3.no. 6. pp. 56-72. 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, “igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity”. berkeley journal of humanities and social sciences. pp. 115-124. 2017. lawhead, f. william, the philosophical journey: an interactive approach (2nd ed). new york. mcgraw hill higher education, 2003. lawhead, f. william, the voyage of discovery: a historical introduction to philosophy (2nd ed). mississippi: wadsworth/thomson learning ltd. 2002. liderbach, daniel, why do we suffer? new ways of understanding: mahwah: paulist press, 1941. mary, ann fatula ‘suffering’, in the new dictionary of theology. j. komonchak m. collinsdermot cedd (eds). willington dc: michael glazier, 1987. mbaegbu, c. celestine, hermeneutic of god in igbo ontology, awka, fab, 1983. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 35 omoregbe, i. joseph, a simplified history of western philosophy: ancient and medieval philosophy vol. one. maryland: joja educational research and publishers ltd. 1993. paul ii, john, go in peace. chicago: loyola press, 2003. peschke, h. karl. christian ethics; moral theology in the light of vatican ii. alcester: theological publication, 2013. rahner, karl. theological investigations: faith and ministry, vol 19. london: darton, longman and todd, 1983. schelder, o. norbert. philosophy of religion: contemporary perspectives. new york: macmillian publishing co. inc., 1974. sheed, f. joseph. the confessions of st. augustine. new york: sheed and ward inc., 1943. stoeber, michael. reclaiming theodicy: reflections on suffering, compassion and spiritual transformation. new york: macmillan, 2005. sullivan, j. daniel. an introduction to philosophy. milwaukee: the bruce publishing company, 1957. umeh, c. celestine. the human suffering, concept, nature and cause: any way out? nimo: rex charlse and patrick ltd, 2006. “umuaga in development”. www.issuesindevelopment.blogspot.com accessed october 21, 2016. william, thomas. augustine on free choice of the will. indianapolis: hacket publishing company inc., 1993. microsoft word igwebuike journals vol. 5. no. 7.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 26 igwebuike as the foundation of african logic ejikemeuwa j. o. ndubisi, phd department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, nigeria. e-mail: ejikon4u@yahoo.com abstract the major focus of this paper is to echo or reecho the reality of african communal spirit which is made manifest in almost everything the african does. this is all about sharing of ideas, discarding unjustified ideas and bowing to superior ideas. this paper recognizes the limited nature of the individual human person and as such finds a solution in the collective human person. the logic is simple: what i cannot see, my brother may see it; what my brother and i cannot see another person may see it. this is the spirit of igwebuike. igwebuike as a foundational structure of african logic enables the african to maintain sound, correct, objective and critical reasoning. it makes it easier for the african to evaluate arguments without bias in order to distinguish correct reasoning from incorrect reasoning. this paper strongly argues that the proper understanding and application of igwebuike philosophy will help to sharpen the thinking faculty of the african. african logic therefore, provides the african the tools and skills as a being in the african world through the focal lens of igwebuike philosophy. keywords: igwebuike, philosophy, logic, kanu ikechukwu anthony, african introduction the fact that the human person is a rational being is undebatable and undeniable. every human person, irrespective of culture, tribe, and nationality, manifests this essential quality: rationality. the rationality of the human person is mostly made manifest in the way and manner a person or a group of persons thinks or acts. it is from the action or inaction of a person that we can judge a person. the evaluation of a thing or a person is generally dependent on certain logical structures. this implies that without logic, the human person can hardly achieve anything meaningful. it is important to note that the human person is a relational being. the implication of this statement is that the human person is a being that interacts with others; he communicates with others. hence, he makes use of language as he communicates. human communication will be very difficult if not impossible without logic. so, logic is an essential quality of language. it has been argued that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 27 “logic is central to any culture because every culture has a language and language is only made possible by logic” (ndubisi, 2017, p. 80). it is not possible to have an organized culture that is devoid of logic. the thrust of this paper is to establish the nexus between igwebuike philosophy and african logic. suffice it to say that igwebuike philosophy is an articulation of professor ikechukwu anthony kanu – a contemporary african philosopher and theologian. kanu is the founder of the association for the promotion of african studies; igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities; igwebuikepedia: internet encyclopedia of african philosophy; and many other academic foundations. therefore, to achieve the aim of this paper, we shall first of all take a look at the basic understanding of igwebuike, logic, and also african logic. thereafter, the paper shall make effort to present igwebuike philosophy as the foundation of african logic. the paper ends with a conclusion, igwebuike: a brief exposé there is a popular igbo adage that says: ofu mkpuru aziza anaghi aza ezi; transliterated to mean: one stick of broom cannot be used to sweep. this means that when one brings many sticks of broom, they can form a bundle of sticks and only then can the bundle be used to sweep. it is a fact of life that no human person, no matter how intelligent or powerful, can claim to achieve success all alone. there is always the need of the other as one makes effort to climb the ladder of success. the above examples are clear manifestations of the notion of igwebuike. there are things one cannot achieve all alone; in this case, there is need to interact and collaborate with others. the concept of igwebuike is all about strength in many. it is a popular notion in igbo worldview. however, as an ideology, it has been popularized by professor ikechukwu anthony kanu. igwebuike is a true manifestation of the african spirit – i am because we are. it is an ideology that finds true meaning of reality in relation to the other. the notion of igwebuike is such that when human beings gather together in one accord, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force (kanu, 2016a, pp. 3 – 4; kanu, 2016b, pp. 8 – 88; kanu, 2016c, pp. 5 – 7; kanu, 2017, pp. 13 – 14). igwebuike explains the kind of bond or strength in collaboration and community spirit. it is a fact of life that no human person can claim to know everything; and so the need of the other to complement one’s knowledge. kanu (2016a) explains: as an ideology, igwebuike rests on the african principles of solidarity and complementarity. it argues that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 28 of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is ‘to be with others’ in a community of beings. this is based on the african traditional religious and philosophical experience (p. 3). in sum, the concept of igwebuike is an indication of the necessity of synergy. akam (2008) strongly avers that one of the essential factors for success is the ability to synergize (p. 72). igwebuike as propounded by kanu amplifies the value of african communal spirit towards achieving success or anything meaningful in life. general understanding of logic simply put, logic is the art of good and sound reasoning. it manifests the true nature of the human person as a rational being. it is all about the proper application of human rationality to human experiences. logic is an essential property of a rational mind; it is what essentially differentiates human beings from other lower animals. ndubisi (2015) presents a clearer analysis of the notion of logic: logic concerns itself with the proper method of reasoning. it distinguishes correct reasoning from incorrect reasoning; removes ambiguities and obscurities from human discourse. logic brings out truth from false, consistency from inconsistency, orderliness from disorder, valid argument from invalid argument. logic dissipates confusion that usually arises in our everyday discourse (p. 64). the above citation is a concise view on the general notion of logic. on his part, copi (1982) is of the view that logic studies the method and principles that enable us to distinguish good reasoning from bad reasoning and correct reasoning from incorrect reasoning (p. 21). also aja (2008) sees logic as the branch of philosophy that teaches us to reason correctly (p. 3). echekwube as cited in jaja and badey (2012) avers that logic is concerned with the process of thinking and reasoning correctly (p. 96). from the foregoing, one can simply say that logic is the science of sound and correct reasoning. therefore, having presented a brief overview of the concept of logic, the next subtopic shall focus on african logic. african logic the notion of african logic presupposes the existence of african philosophy. the struggle or debate for the existence of african philosophy can now be found in history books. no rational mind argues today about the existence of african igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 29 philosophy; the matter speaks for itself. many scholars have come out to establish and enlarge our knowledge on the notion of african logic. in the words of ndubisi (2017), “african logic is a major branch of african philosophy and it deals precisely with the application of reasoning to the world and culture of the african, to his language and object of his reference” (p. 82). the fact is that every people and culture has a particular way of reasoning that is unique to them. there is logic in every culture. this explains why jaja and badey (2012) sees african logic as “the application of the thinking process on the african world, language, culture and objects (p. 96). african logic, in this sense, deals with the reasoning of the african people with reference to language, beliefs and ways of life of the african people. it has to do with the ways the african thinks and reflects with reference to realities in the african world. jaja and badey (2012), uduma (2015), ogugua and ogugua (2015), ndubisi (2017) and kanu (2017) have separately argued for the reality and nature of african logic. without mincing words, uduma (2015) observes that “the existence of african philosophy is supposed to dovetailed the existence of an african logic” (p. 59). the implication of uduma’s observation is very simple: we cannot have african philosophy without african logic. ndubisi (2017) argues that “african logic is shaped therefore by the way the africans view reality. it is a natural logic encompassing the entire worldviews of the african peoples and culture. african logic thus concerns itself not so much with abstract reasoning as with difficulties and problems of real life” (p. 83). kanu (2017) sees african logic primarily as the “structure of african thought” (p. 12). he further explains: “every culture and people has its own peculiar way of thinking or reasoning and it is the african pattern of reasoning that has brought about the african logic” (kanu, 2017, p. 12). one thing we must note is that africans, as rational beings, possess quest for knowledge acquisition and they actually possess some knowledge. this knowledge of the african (african epistemology) can only be possible through the vehicle of african logic. so african logic provides the necessary ‘ingredients’ towards the justification of what we claim to know. african logic, therefore, has to do with the application of reason to the affairs and realities in the african world with african lens. igwebuike and african logic the notion of igwebuike as earlier stated has to do with the communal spirit of the african people. it is anchored on the understanding of complementarity. in african world, there is a very serious connection between igwebuike philosophy and african logic. generally, african people do not draw their conclusions igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 30 simply on what one person has said. whenever and wherever the african people meet, the outcome of their reflection is not based simply on the authority of one person but on the general views of people concerned. among the igbo people of southeast nigeria, it has been observed that generally, family or kindred discussions are based on the principle of igwebuike. there is always this idea of bowing to the superior arguments. with arguments and counter arguments, the african arrives at a general conclusion. this is the dialectical and complementary nature of african logic which is primarily structured on the philosophy of igwebuike. for sure, the individual possesses logical and rational thinking. this notwithstanding, the logic of an individual is meaningful when compared and contrasted with others. this is a case of iron sharpens iron. kanu (2017) elucidates: the african worldview, therefore, is ruled by the spirit of complementarity which seeks the conglomeration, the unification, the summation of fragmented thoughts, opinions and individualized and fragmented thoughts and ideas. it believes that the whole is greater than the corresponding parts. it is also a view that maintains that by the coming together of the individual or parts, a viable and sustainable whole will emerge, and by this, the parts will get to the brim purpose of their existence (p.14). one thing we must note is that african logic is communalistic. this does not mean that it does not have regard for individual or personal reflections and thoughts. it simply means: bring your ideas and let us reason together. there is always a greater strength when forces are pulled together. it is an existential fact that two good heads are better than one good head. this is the basis of the argument on igwebuike as the foundation of african logic. it is all about complementarity. this explains further the position of asouzu (2004): “complementarity is a philosophy that seeks to consider things in the significance of their singularity and in the exclusiveness of their otherness in view of the joy that gives completion to all missing links in reality” (p. 39). the african strongly believes and would always accept sound and critical reasoning that enjoys communal assent. in this case, if a person thinks that he has a stronger argument, the onus is on him to convince members of his community to see reasons with him. there is a high possibility that what one person sees may not be exactly the way the person presents it; hence the need for some other igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 31 persons to look at it again for the purpose of confirmation or refutation. this is the spirit of african logic that is largely hinged on the philosophy of igwebuike. conclusion so far, we have been able to establish the nexus between igwebuike philosophy and african logic. the major focus of this paper is to echo or reecho the reality of african communal spirit which is made manifest in almost everything the african does. this is all about sharing of ideas, discarding unjustified ideas and bowing to superior ideas. this paper recognizes the limited nature of the individual human person and as such finds a solution in the collective human person. the logic is simple: what i cannot see, my brother may see it; what my brother and i cannot see another person may see it. this is the spirit of igwebuike. igwebuike as a foundational structure of african logic enables the african to maintain sound, correct, objective and critical reasoning. it makes it easier for the african to evaluate arguments without bias in order to distinguish correct reasoning from incorrect reasoning. this paper strongly argues that the proper understanding and application of igwebuike philosophy will help to sharpen the thinking faculty of the african. african logic therefore, provides the african the tools and skills as a being in the african world through the focal lens of igwebuike philosophy. references aja, e. (2008). logic and clear thought: an invitation to good reasoning, 2nd ed. enugu: university of nigeria press. akam, j. b. (2008). the path of hope. enugu: gostak printing and publishing asouzu, i. i. (2004). the methods and principles of complementary reflection in and beyond african philosophy. calabar: university of calabar press copi, i, m. (1982). introduction to symbolic logic. new york: macmillan jaja, j.m. and badey, p. p. (2012). logic in african philosophy: examples from two niger-delta societies. international journal of academic research in business and social sciences, 2(4). pp. 95-102. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2, no. 1. pp. 1-6. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 32 kanu, i. a. (2016b). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 85 -89 kanu, i. a. (2016c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christianmuslim relations in northern nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 1 – 9 kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 3, no. pp. 9 – 18. kanu, i. a. (2015a). a hermeutic approach to the study of african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015b). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu i. a. (2018a). sources of igwebuike philosophy. towards a socio-cultural foundation. international journal of religion and human relations vol. 9 no 1 june. ndubisi, e. j.o. (2017). african logic. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 2. pp. 76 – 85 ndubisi, e. j.o. (2015). nature and function of logic in african epistemology. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 63 – 70. ogugua, p.i. and ogugua, i.c. (2015). is there an igbo african logic?. open journal of philosophy, 5, pp. 243-251. uduma, u. o. (2015). beyond irredentism and jingoism: reflections on the nature of logic and the quest for (an) african logic. [7th ebonyi state university inaugural lecture]. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 3 performance techniques and styles for the udumala mother drum of abigbo ensemble eunice ukamaka ibekwe phd department of music, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka eu.ibekwe@unizik.edu.ng & chima albert abiakwu department of music, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka ca.abiakwu@unizik.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29105.45929 abstract the african drum is not just any percussive instrument. its roles and functions are seen and understood in the context of the society or culture within which it features and to which it belongs. beyond the obvious musical import, it exudes symbolism and performs a host of extra-musical functions; within the ambiance of musicality, its role is not merely melo-rhythmic as it communicates with other instruments and performers within an ensemble. in fact, the african drum talks as it entertains. the above is entirely true of the udumala which is the mother drum of the famed abigbo ensemble of the mbaise people. it performs all the above listed functions and even more, in the hands of a master drummer. this study therefore reveals the intricacies involved in learning and playing the udumala drum. primary and secondary sources were consulted in generating the data required for this study and the researcher’s participant observation proved handy too. it was discovered that the udumala controls the rhythm and entire flow of the abigbo drums, since it gives cues and direction to both the edimala and ekelebe. moreover, the researcher found that playing the udumala drum involves both the hands and feet of the player as its tone-range is expanded by the use of the feet. the researcher therefore, recommends that further studies be made into the organology of the udumala mother drum as this will reveal deeper information on the nature and performance techniques of african drums in general. keywords: udumala, abigbo, mother drum, performance technique. introduction abigbo mbaise is unarguably the most widespread and most famed traditional musical ensemble of mbaise, a people homogeneous in culture, faith and occupation. it is seen as one, across the entire length and breadth of mbaise, since igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 4 it is seen in virtually all villages in this densely populated, land-locked territory. it is therefore not a surprise to hear the aphorism “abigbo mbaise wu otu” chanted by all abigbo groups in the land. a notable member of the ensemble from one village is free to identify with and perform with the ensemble from another village. the name abigbo stands for this special genre of native art and also represents the individual groups which perform it. abigbo is conceivably indigenous to the mbaise nation and is seen in the musicality of every village within; hence it enjoys the status of what nzewi (1991) called a ‘music event.’ this is so because abigbo is not tied to any ritual, occasion or precise social gathering. it can be performed on its own as a recreational activity, as is the case for a host of other native musical genres like ogbengelenge, ekereavu, agborogwu etc. its performances are also seen in various occasions and social functions ranging from cultural carnivals, marriage ceremonies, political rallies to child/house dedications as well as funerals. there are uncertainties to the question on the origin of abigbo. but the majority of responses uphold the statement that abigbo as we now know it evolved from nkwa otile and nkwa ogbo and that it’s roots are found among the ezinihitte folks; one of the clans making up mbaise (five clans). onyeji (2004) agrees to this narrative when he states thus: “elder abigbo musicians claim that abigbo evolved from nkwa otile and nkwa ogbo and originated in ezinihitte from where it has spread to other parts of mbaise.” social significance: the abigbo ensemble performs key socio-cultural and socio-political roles within all the villages of mbaise that perform it. it is an avenue to openly condemn evil, praise integrity and goodness. it calls a ‘spade a spade’ in a rather light-hearted fashion. in consenting to this, onyeji (2004) asserts: “abigbo songs may present satire, derision, praise or general commentaries on communal events.” when it derides and satirizes, it generally avoids mentioning names of people except when it necessarily has to do so; but it lays out the entire facts clearly and introduces the use of proverbs and expressions that make it easy for a clearer understanding of the message. the famous ‘adighi onye anyi kporo aha’ is always very conspicuous in abigbo songs. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 5 the mbaise people are very egalitarian and at the same time, light-hearted and easy going by their disposition. being predominantly subsistence farmers, traders and fishermen for those up north who are bordered by the imo river, they have an active lifestyle wherein music (of all types) plays a special role. music accompanies their daily life and activities as well as punctuate their entire life. after the hassles and tedium of daily labour, it is normal sight to have musical recreations. abigbo serves the social functions of recreational entertainment and social reformation since it gives life to social conscience. since a light-hearted people have no place for enmity and rancor among them and between them and the supra-sensible realities that share the same ambiance with them, there has to be a ‘light-hearted’ avenue for calling out errors, social deviants and dissident acts, and to praise and encourage diligent, patriotic and successful members of the society. this is exactly what abigbo does. abigbo music is seen beyond the perspective of sound as it has become a socio-cultural reality which occupies a central position in every mbaise society (abiakwu, 2016). it is in fact as umezinwa (2009) puts it, ‘a living force.’ furthermore, a society cannot exist and function maximally only by its own merits; there must be communication with other societies, neighbors with whom certain traits, likes, dislikes and aspirations are shared. abigbo comments on this relationship. praiseworthy achievements of neighboring communities are celebrated in abigbo songs and recommended to the mbaise listening audience while anti-social trends from neighboring communities are derided. the sacredness of truth as well as the moral duty to protect the harbinger of truth are both hallmarks of abigbo music; hence, abigbo stands for social justice and equity. it is the society’s conscience as it protects the values and norms which the mbaise society holds dear, a fact is supported by okafor (2005) who stated that “the musician has a role as a keeper of public conscience and as a man who has his hands on the social control lever.” the mere fear that one’s action would definitely become a theme song in the hands of the abigbo, is more than enough to deter anyone from anti-social behaviors. it is therefore these roles of providing light-hearted entertainment/recreation while at the same time satirizing or celebrating, deriding or encouraging individual and collective acts, that mark abigbo out as a special ensemble, a social muster point and a shared identity among all mbaise people. in recent times, abigbo has contributed to socio-political discourses, setting the pace and affecting choices through its music and messages. mention must also be made of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 6 numerous economic benefits it brings with it, both to the performers and to the economic environment where it performs. the udumala drum the drum from all over africa can be discussed musically as an instrument that produces two or more primary levels of tone (not definite pitch). as such, the african drum is normally used as a singing or talking musical instrument. (nzewi, 2007:1) the above succinctly describes the udumala drum, which is the largest of abigbo drums. the others are a middle sized edimala and a small high-toned ekelebe. udimala as the mother drum of the ensemble is responsible for over five levels of tone, depending on the dexterity of the player. although according to onyeji (2004) abigbo comprises of a sequence of songs with light instrumental accompaniment and dancing, and extemporization is minimal during the vocal sections,” instrumental interludes and solo passages punctuate the event especially during yodeling and ululation sessions of the music event. the udumala is principally responsible for the instrumental interludes, during which it extends the conversations to other verbal symbolism by its own melo-rhythmic conversations with both players and audience. construction: the udumala is usually the largest instrument of the ensemble. it is made from tree trunks and it is an open ended membrane drum. the trunk is shaped in such a way that the hollow increases in breadth towards the membrane, giving the semblance of a wide circumference membrane and a smaller circumference open hollow at the rear. the choice of wood for the frame-work is carefully made; then the framework after being hollowed is smoothed since the player will most certainly sit on the wooden framework while playing the drum. tuning: a membrane produced from skins/hides of animals is treated with fire or sundried to ensure that its tensile strength doesn’t get loosened easily. it is then placed on the wider area of the circumference/hollow. this membrane is further fastened with about five to seven pegs (depending on the circumference) around the hollow. ties and binding cords are utilized to hold the pegs in place firmly. these pegs ultimately perform the function of tuning. the more tightly the pegs are fastened to the cords either by hitting the pegs or by sunning the membrane, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 7 the more the membrane gets stretched and the pitch of the drum is higher. if a lower pitch is desired, the reverse becomes the case; once the grip of the cords/tie on the pegs is loosened, the membrane gets dampened and the pitch becomes lower. performance and play technique/template posture: the player of the udumala drum must sit on the wooden framework of the drum while the drum is set horizontally on the floor. usually, the best position is to sit upright about 3 inches to the drum-head, with one leg stretched out in front of the membrane towards the center of the circle which harbor other instrumentalists. the other leg is placed at an angle of 45 degrees very close to the face of the membrane. playing styles: the player primarily produces three levels of tone on the surface of the membrane. the first level is the tone produced by hitting the center of the membrane and immediately lifting the hands. the second level of tone is produced by hitting the membrane and retaining the hands on the membrane a little longer before lifting it. this second level of tone is almost an interval of a 6th lower than the first level. the third level of tone is produced when the player uses the tips of the fingers to play very close to the edges of the membrane. the tone produced is often almost a 3rd higher than the first level of tone. melo-rhythmic contour: the vocabulary/tone range of the udumala is derived from a skillful combination of the three primary levels of tones. and this agrees to the three basic speech levels of most african languages; high, mid-range and low. the entire range is further expanded by the secondary levels of tone which eminently make the udumala a talking drum. this secondary level is produced when the player uses the foot which is placed at an angle of 45 degrees in front of the membrane to press the drum head and by so doing, he heightens the tension on the membrane before playing. this technique expands the range between a 5th and an octave higher, depending on the amount of force applied by the foot to the membrane. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 8 it is therefore evident that the udumala imitates the speech message of the vocalists and further communicates. a player of this important instrument must be aware of the following: 1. the tonal inflections of the community he is playing for 2. the position of both the primary and secondary levels of tone 3. the technique required to reach and produce the desired tone 4. the requisite skill to combine different levels of tone to produce a recognizable rhythmic syntax 5. the finesse required to alternate between fast and slow rhythms and to punctuate the various sessions of the performance. in example 1 below, the first and second primary levels of tone are combined with the secondary level of tone to create a recognizable grammatico-rhythmic syntax: the rhythmic example above is heard when the udumala speaks thus: “bia, i gbakwa aka bia ile m” (have you come to watch me with empty hands?). it is a satirical rhythmic phrase for an unappreciative audience. the vocalists do not need to verbalize/sing the lyrics in spoken language, but the audience already understand the message and before you say ‘jack’, gifts of money and edibles are provided for the performers, from the audience. some rhythmic passages played by the udumala: 1. basic udumala rhythm: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 9 the example above is a basic udumala drum-line at the beginning of every abigbo performance. this rhythm is the basis for further extemporizations. notice that this basic rhythm is performed only on the primary levels of tone. most of the times, the player is required to maintain the primary levels of tone for a while before introducing the secondary level. the player is also at liberty to extemporize this basic rhythm though not arbitrarily so as not to compete with the vocal lines which carry the message of the performance and enjoys preeminence. 2. osonkwa for the udumala: the above example is the rhythm for osonkwa; this is a section in the performance of abigbo when, all singing is stopped and the attention thrown to dancing. all members of the ensemble who are not busy with any musical instrument, are both chorus and dancers. at the time for osonkwa, the leader of the troupe who is often the lead vocalist rings his bell (atani) or blows his whistle to signify a heightening of the performance; the tempo gradually becomes fast and steadily rises into a frenzy with all dancers pacing round the instrumentalists in accurate fashion. the dance at this period is not a free medley as the dancers must maintain equal steps and similar body movements back and forth. there’s usually no singing during this gesture, both yodeling and ululation can be heard from the lead vocalist or any other member of the troupe. conclusion so far, the torchlight has been on the udumala, which is the mother drum of the abigbo ensemble and a very crucial soloist within the contexts of abigbo performances. this work is intended to serve as a simple learning template for a newbie who wants to play the udumala. the rhythm has been written on three lines: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 10  the lowest line is for notes played on the lowest level of tone which is achieved by playing and holding the membrane of the drum a little while longer before lifting the hands.  the middle line is for notes played on the second primary level of tone which is produced by playing the membrane of the drum and lifting the hands immediately.  the topmost line, is for notes played on the secondary level of tone which is produced by increasing the tensile strength of the membrane using the foot which is positioned in front of the membrane. the foot is used to apply pressure on the membrane to produce a much higher tone level. it is my view that further research is carried out into the udumala and other african drums and documentation on their playing techniques made; this will aid students and performers of african music to master the art of african drumming with less hassles. references: abiakwu, c.a. (2016). music and tourism: a case study of the traditional musical ensembles of mbaise origin. (unpublished bachelor project). nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state, nigeria. kanu i. a. (2015a). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2010). towards an african cultural renaissance. professor bassey andah journal of cultural studies. volume 3, pp. 146-155. kanu, i. a. (2015b). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. nzewi, m. (1991). musical practice and creativity: an african traditional perspective. bayreuth: iwalewa-haus, university of bayreuth. nzewi, m. & nzewi, o. (2007). a contemporary study of musical arts: informed by african indigenous knowledge systems. theory and practice of modern african classical drum music. vol. 5., book 3. okafor, r. c. (2005). music in nigerian society. enugu: new generation books onyeji, c. (2004). abigbo music and musicians of mbaise, igbo: an introduction. in peter mannel (ed). ethnomusicolgy. journal of the society for ethnomusicology. vol. 48 (1) 52-72. umezinwa, e.c. (2009). igbo music, freedom and philosophy. awka journal of research in music and the arts. (ajrma)) nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. 6,128 136. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 2.doc igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 106 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) african theology of nation building: an imperative for human development timothy barga department of theology saint augustine’s major seminary jos, plateau state timbarga2@icloud.com abstract the fundamental question that this article wrestles with is to what extent african christian theology has contributed to nation building in africa and nigeria in particular. the proposal here is that theology has its own contributions to make but that this depends on the deconstructions and reconstruction of the live faith that advances africa development. for instance, in an insightful article first published in 1974, john mbiti a professor and leading african theologian lamented what he called the theological paralysis of the church in africa. this undesirable situation arose as a result of the failure of christian theology to adequately articulate itself to the point that it addresses the real concerns that african nations are facing. these concerns include issues that have to do with corruption, politics of hate speech, ethnicism, political ideologies and instability, economic imperialism, and poverty. admittedly, progress has been made in some of these areas since then, but one of the areas where theology has continued to exhibit intellectual shyness is in the area of democratic participation of the church. this article sails to demonstrate how theological discourse could lead to nation building in our nascent democratic governance and development of the people. introduction there is no gainsaying the fact that most african countries are still experiencing political instability in spite of their so-called democratization. it is also a fact that life aspirations and life spans have been cut short due to the unsavory consequences of the situation. because of this experience, the church is obliged by the demands of the biblical tradition and the exigencies of political reality, consciously to live at the nexus of powerlessness and power. in other words, even when located on the side of rulers and in ministering to a government that seeks to promote social justice, it is to do so in solidarity with those who suffer most in society. this mandate is distinctly expressed in jesus’ manifestoes. the church which is faithful to the prophetic biblical vision can never allow itself to become trapped within the limits of what the rich, the powerful, and the dominant forces of society insist is realistically possible. it is theologically and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 107 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) morally obliged to reject obsolete first-world visions of economic development, which amount to the economic development of the few at the expense of the many and maintain first-world privileges at the expense of third-world countries. this paper is focused on how theology in the african context leads to nation building. discipleship as nation building jesus’ injunction to the christian to be “salt” and “light” is a metaphorical way of saying that christians should get involved in society-building by influencing and seasoning the human society. in other words, a christian can make his/her contribution towards nation-building from any standpoint: moral, domestic, social, educational, commercial, economic, administrative, political or religious.69 in this way, the church in africa needs to consider theology of nation building through its discipleship in the society. from this context, dietrich bonhoeffer saw discipleship as a nation building agenda. he described the christian identity and community in terms of the life of christ. in 1933, he defined the place of christ in relation to the state and civil society. as such, christ is there at the centre of humanity, history and nature. with the term “center” bonhoeffer wanted to emphasize that christ is the beginning and fulfilment of all new existence in all ages. his notion of “centre” must be understood as grounded in his communitarian christology. since christ exists as the church, the church is both the (communitarian) centre and boundary of the state, civil society, in a two-fold relationship. the christian congregation stands at the point at which the whole world ought to be standing; to this extent it serves as deputy for the world and exists for the sake of the world. on the other hand, the world achieves its own fulfillment at the point at which the congregation stands. this dialectic in bonhoeffer's theology is of vital importance. on the one hand, the christian congregation that is the local faith community exists for the political and socioeconomic community. it cannot retreat and still be called the church. on the other hand, the church can no longer express its presence in civil community in such a way that the other spheres cannot achieve their own fulfillment. the church can no longer boast the final word on the formation of community and the nation. it joins all the spheres of society in a healing cycle of 69 anie, gold okwuolise. “christian theology of work: its implications for nation-building in nigeria”. ogbomoso journal of theology, vol. 9 dec 2004, p 58. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 108 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) transformation.70 the african church does this as a force of liberation in the society alongside the civil organizations. politics in the context of salvation if one may ask, what does politics have to do with salvation? politics and government often appear as terrains of corruption, dirty game, favouritism to special interests, lust for power, and exercise of force against law-breakers. admittingly, these do characterize african politics and indeed the politics of every people in every time. however, christians understand that although sin infects every social institution, sin’s effects are not total in themselves. institutions retain their god-given purposes to assist his people to live peaceably and justly in this world in need of redemption and to find eternal life. it is easy to see this with the family. we know that our own families and those around us are less than perfect, just as pope francis said no family is perfect. but they remain families, still called to the purposes for which god created them, in mutual love and support, raising children, transmitting of culture and faith across the generations and economic sustenance. we do not give up on family nor do we regard it as irrelevant to our salvation, even when it fails in one or more of these missions. instead we work to renew and enhance it to produce fruit.71 it is the same with politics and other social institutions. they are less than perfect, but they retain their original call in the case of government, to promote justice, to advance the common good, and to protect human rights and dignity. in a democracy, the people of god also have power, and strict scrutiny awaits them if they fail to engage in political and social action to advance justice, dignity, and the common good and more so if we fail to call elected officials to task when they violate their trust. if the political system is corrupt, it is not only they who are the problem, but the electorate as well. christians must understand that faith is not a private matter between the individual person or group and jesus, nor is it something that happens only at mass or any christian service on sundays. christian faith is essentially social, fundamentally community oriented. faith pertains to the whole of life. thus, salvation is intimately connected not just to our individual, private holiness or sinfulness but also to family life, workplace behaviour, interactions with neighbours and in small christian community and affective social life as whole. this truth challenges the often-heard statement that 70 rüssel, botman. “who is jesus christ as community for us today?” journal of theology for southern africa, 97 mar 1997, 35. 71 cochran, e. clark and david carrol cochran. catholic, politics and public policy: beyond left and right. maryknoll; new york: orbis books, 2003, 3. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 109 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) society will improve only when individual people become better christians. if only people were more honest, faithful, morally pure, generous, kind, and loving, the argument goes, then our world would be a better place. this of course is the fundamental principle to nation building. society is better when individual behaviour is better. nevertheless, individual goodness is not enough. because human beings are social, social institutions also need reform, and this means involvement in public life in the right direction.72 political mission of theology a theology which fails to address the most urgent questions asked by ordinary people and given the bias of the church in favor of the marginalized people, especially their questions is not theology at all because theology is the discourse of god in relationship to people’s mentality and needs. it is little more than an academic exercise in uncovering archaic or dying religious beliefs and reified doctrines about god. ultimately, it is an escape from the challenge of discerning the liberating presence of god in the midst of the struggle for a better world. such a theology, suggests gustavo gutierrez, is a false theology.73 false, because theology has the critical and permanent task of promoting liberation from every form of captivity in each new age. for this to happen theology's first task is to probe and understand "the meaning of the time" (lk 12:56) within which we live. closely related to such an exercise is social analysis, the separating of the different components of a policy or political program, with a view to uncovering its true intent and actual consequences towards our final destiny. it involves uncovering the causes of suffering and exploitation in society, as well as identifying the signs of new birth that reside within the community--as a basis for both confronting the state and encouraging programs of hope and renewal for a radical transformation. important in this regard is the need for the church to heed the warning not to judge by outward appearances. things are not always what they appear to be. jesus warned that the leaders may "look fine on the outside but are full of dead bones and decaying corpses on the inside" (mt 23:27). when the prophet samuel 72 barga, timothy. pastoral challenges of the principles of catholic social teaching to african traditional values. jos: pastoral institute press, 2018, 27. 73 karl marx, “the german ideology,” quoted in anthony gibbon, capitalism and modern social theory: an analysis of the writings of marx, durkheim and weber. london: cambridge university press, 1972, 42. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 110 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) was sent to search for a new king of israel the lord warned, "pay no attention to how tall and handsome he is . . . i do not judge as people judge. people look at the outward appearance, but i look at the heart" (1 sam 16:7). to "discern the signs of the times" is to "see deep"; it involves hard-nosed and critical analysis. karl marx warned: “whilst in ordinary life every shopkeeper is very well able to distinguish between what somebody professes to be and what he really is, our historians (read theologians) have not yet a won even this trivial insight”74. the church has too often allowed itself to be persuaded by nice words and simple explanations. called to be as gentle as a dove, the church is also called to be as wise as a serpent. the most important political task of the church is "to tell the truth." it is to reach behind what rulers and others profess to be, in making known the actual effects of their policies and what it is they really stand for. it is to analyze political policy, to expose its consequences for the poor and to anticipate its long-term effects on society as a whole. in response to this obligation, during 1989 christians in south africa joined in a nation-wide defiance campaign against unjust laws under the banner of the standing for the truth campaign. it resulted in resistance against oppression and exploitation inherent to certain economic and social laws and practices which were promoted in the name of democracy, economic development, and christian values. it resulted in thousands of christians being beaten by the police, brutalized, arrested, and imprisoned for insisting that a government that does not serve the common good is theologically and morally illegitimate. without such vision, the people suffer in the dark. nation-building theology must emerge in relation to the posing of tough and uncomfortable questions about the global economy, international alliances, national development programs, and such local issues that affect the lives of ordinary people at a material and spiritual level. for this to happen, church leaders and theologians continually need to be exposed to the insights of critical economists, social scientists, and political analysts. theology and ministry outside of this encounter are at best simply irrelevant. at worst, wittingly or unwittingly, they can become part of a national lie. the report of the first assembly of the all african council of churches which met in kampala in april 1963 warned against the inherent danger of dictatorship that lies just below the surface in most nation-building exercises. the task of the church, concluded the assembly report, is to be “the watchman in the midst of 74 gustavo gutierrez. a theology of liberation. london: scm press, 1974, 13. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 111 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) the nation.”75 at the most practical level this requires the church to develop concrete strategies in continuing solidarity and alliance with the poor which is invariably a logical implication of liberation theology to promote justice and equity in the new society. this could involve boycotts, civil disobedience, and political protests. these strategies were effectively employed at significant personal and communal cost in the struggle for independence and, where circumstances demand it, need to be resorted to yet again. but nation-building necessarily also involves a sharing in the process of government, in consultation and being part of the creation of a new justice-oriented culture and milieu. theological view to political questions in africa another way that christian theology can aid the development of the people from their own perspective is through conversation on topical issues that arise in that realm. this may be referred to as social action, which is different from social ministry. while social ministry seeks to alleviate the sufferings of people, social action attempts to deal with the societal structures, which cause and perpetuate such sufferings. the call for this kind of involvement has come from different quarters. kenneth kaunda, a former president of zambia, while referring to his country’s clergy and their nonchalant attitude to socio-political issues, stopped short of an outright indictment when he said, “is not a disproportionate amount of their time and intellectual talent solely devoted to matters of domestic ecclesiastical concern? would it be unkind of me to say that many of the clergy have completely shut themselves off from the ongoing life of our nation”76. these comments are revealing especially as they are coming from a political leader himself. the situation that is being described exists in varying degrees in other african countries. there is obvious need for the leaders of the church to bring their intellectual talent into the service of their nation. mwai kibaki, a onetime kenyan president, put it in a different way: politics and religion are inseparable. to suggest that politics should be left to politicians and religion to the clergy is a terrible intellectual arrogance... this way tends to suggest that through some mysterious magical process, 75 drumbeats from kampala: report of the first assembly of the aa cc. london: lutterworth, 1963). reprinted in c. villa-vicencio between christ and caesar: classic and contemporary texts on church and state. grand rapids: william eerdmans, 1986, 175-76. 76 john enyinnaya. “a theological approach to political transformation in africa”. ogbomoso journal of theology vol. xi, 86. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 112 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) some politicians have become specially qualified as to be the only ones to pronounce on political issues.77 in this sense, there is an apparent unity that runs through the whole task of national development. nation-building is one huge, demanding and multifaceted task that requires the contribution of all. a nation can use all the contribution it can get from her citizens in this enterprise. there are times when commitment to the nation will lead the church and her leaders to speak against a government and seek to make it accountable to the people. it must always be some in mind that the government and the nation are not synonymous. when a government, that is, the group of persons who have been charged with the running of the affairs of the state at a particular point in time, fails in carrying out the specific functions of state it has been assigned, then it introduces a state of conflict and oppression. this leads to disaffection and depression. to such christian theologians cannot be silent. this is one of the ways christian theology can be made to be of service in the process of nation building. hypothetically, christian theology must even be open to the possibility of the use of revolutionary measures in the process of political transformation. when a government insists on policies that enslave and pauperize the citizens, the church must be open to the use of strong and far-reaching measures to remedy the situation. however, since revolutions as pointed out by henry okullu, are usually destructive and in many cases do not succeed in correcting the problems they set out to correct, it should be the primary duty of the church to prevent revolution from happening.78 this it can do by striving in the course of its witness to society to establish and maintain justice even if it means opposing the government of the day such that revolutionary uprising need not occur. in this context, jesus may be seen as the ultimate example in this effort to stand for the right and against the wrong. contrary to the pictures of an apolitical jesus which some have tried to paint, it can be seen that jesus exerted a great deal of political influence. richard cassidy, in his work, “jesus, politics and society”, has shown how the jesus of luke’s gospel was indeed a serious threat to go man rule and any established authority which did not reflect the idea of society which he stood for.79 his position regarding material possessions, the poor, women and other marginalized people was not consistent with the status quo. in response to 77 ibid., 87 78 ibid., 87 79 richard cassidy. jesus, politics and society: a study of luke ’s gospel. maryknoll: orbis, 1979, 87. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 113 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) a social order premise upon domination and exploitation, jesus insisted that social relationship must be governed by the themes of service and humility. “he refused to defer to or cooperate with political officials who were responsible for maintaining unjust societal patterns, he even called herod “that fox”80 (luke 13:32). all these may be understood as some form of social action towards nation building. great christian thinkers through history have followed in this example of jesus. karl barth, the renowned swiss theologian of the last century, was known to have strongly opposed nazism which led to his suspension from the university of bonn. he even pioneered the convening of the “synod of barmen” in 1934, which issued the “barmen declaration” opposing the policies of nazi germany. dietrich bonhoeffer of germany also opposed hitler’s regime at a time when many theologians had been cowed into obeisance and concurrence. north america had martin luther king jr. who led the fight against the enslavement and oppression of african americans in the united states of america. finally, the contributions of desmond tutu of south africa to the dismantling of apartheid is still within living memory81. these witnesses are examples of resources to nation building in their times. these are examples other african theologians and church leaders can follow so that the christian faith will continue to be relevant to the yearnings and aspirations of the people of africa. african theological reconstruction the commitment of the church in africa to take this obligation on itself emerged in the 1960s with the euphoria of independence sweeping across the continent. world war ii has cajoled africans into defending "democratic freedom" and "self-determination" among the nations of north africa and europe. they had fought and died alongside their colonial masters, and they returned home, their hearts were fired with a desire for a freedom of their own.82 when independence came to nations that colonial powers had claimed during the last century in the scramble for africa, the call was for the church to share in a nation-building process in order that the people of this continent is brought to stand on its feet. however, notes andrew hasting, an african church historian, the colonial task of the missionary had been simply to require african converts to remain indifferent to political concerns. as a result, many african christians leaders saw 80 ibid., 87 81 cohrane, c. arthur. “barth, karl”, encyclopedia britannica, 15th ed., vol. 2, 726. 82 villa-vicencio, charles. “the kingdom of god and people's democracy towards a nation building theology for africa.” journal of theology for southern africa, vol. 74 mar 1991, 5. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 114 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) no connection between religion and political liberation.83 this has been a damaging opinion to our nation building theology in our contemporary times. some, in turn, collaborated with their imperialist overloads abroad observes shula marks.84 this hangover is still in play till today. the first general secretary of the all african council of churches (aacc), donald m'timkulu, in 1962 sought to incorporate the african will to be free into the life of the church. african christians, he warned, “are growing impatient with so-called nonparticipation in politics.... freedom from colonialism means the freedom and obligation of all nationals to participate in the nation's political life. it meant, he said, being “involved on the ground floor in the task of nation-building”85 this is necessary because the people of a nation must be concerning all that affects political and religious. because these are what the colonial masters effected africa with. this view often robs our people of participation in political affairs. yet soon the euphoric expectation that political liberation would herald a new age of socio-economic development and political democracy, radically improving the quality of life of all africans, was shattered. colonial nations and super-powers were not prepared to surrender ideological and political influence in the former colonies--and neo-colonialism, corruption, and political opportunism turned the dream of independence into the nightmare of new forms of oppression for several african nations. first-world nations refused even within the limits of their own self-interest to redistribute the vast capital resources which they had derived from colonialism. they refused to loosen their strangle-hold on the world economy and african nations were plunged into debt, becoming trapped in the cycle of spiraling interest rates. to this was added the devastation of drought and famine, and the economic divide between african nations and their former masters increased.86 despite these devasting factors, there are african nations that have made outstanding progress since independence in building the essential infrastructures of education, health care services, communications, and social stability in the wake of war. zimbabwe is only one such nation. at a continental level, however, 83 a. hastings. a history of african christianity. cambridge: cambridge university press, 1979, 21. 84 shula marks, “ambiguities of dependence: john l. dube of natal”. journal of southern africa studies 1 1975, 126. 85 m’timkulu, d. africa in transition: the challenge and the christian response. geneva, aacc and wcc, 1962, 18. 86 ibid., 26. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 115 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) it is not an exaggeration to speak of the "failure of africa." king moshoeshoe ii, in an important address to the lesotho council of churches in 1988 observed with dismay that: after more than thirty years of so-called development . . . millions of africans are still constantly hungry, millions still live in entirely inadequate conditions and have grossly insufficient access to education, to health care, and many basic necessities for decent living. there is ample evidence, he suggests, to confirm that abject poverty in africa has grown in proportions never experienced before.87 a great deal of responsibility for this must be laid at the doors of generations of colonialism and the determination of neo-colonial powers who continue to dominate this continent. but not all the blame can be placed here. africa would be most irresponsible to suggest that it bears no responsibility for its plight. a child cannot a child forever. to do so would be to mimic the trivial excuses of former colonial dictators who insisted that it was the 'communists' and a few anarchical agitators who were responsible for the tyranny with which they were obliged to rule. again, it demonstrates lack of confidence and patriotism to look inward for freedom. at the 1984 vancouver assembly of the world council of churches, archbishop desmond tutu called african delegates to the assembly to a special meeting, reporting that he had witnessed the violation of basic human rights in africa that reminded him of what he had seen in south africa. "why have you been silent?" he asked the african church leaders. "while africa is guilty of violating human rights," he continued, "our task in south africa is made that much more difficult”.88 trading moral blame aside, today in this 21st century, africa is to shoulder the responsibility of her own burdens, and the great leaders of this continent julius nyerere, robert mugabe, and others are on record, as saying precisely this. this awareness, said king moshoeshoe ii, in his keynote address “has caused us to look to our own resources, to search the realms of our own culture, history and 87 villa-vincenio 6. 88 desmond tutu. “black theology/african theology soul mates or antagonists.” journal of religious thought fall/winter, 1975, p.8. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 116 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) traditional religion, our own politics and economics, as well as our own african christian faith”.89 democratization of leadership for a genuine nation building to happen and appreciated, political and ecclesial leaders need to understand people’s plight at all level. a nation-building theology which takes the liberatory incentive of the gospel seriously is necessarily a theology that supports and promotes democracy at every level of society. it operates from the assumption that the best and most effective way to ensure human rights and to promote the eradication of racism, sexism, and classism in society is to enable the full and unqualified participation of people of all races, all sexes, and all classes in all aspects of society. the gospel is a message of equality for all people before god. this has something to do with full participatory democracy.90 a democracy that upholds and respects people right of choice of elective leadership where their votes count. for the church authentically to promote this message, it is obliged to democratize its own structures. one of the consequences of the historic constantinian alliance between church and state has been the emergence of a hierarchy of control in the church similar to that which exists within the state. indeed, in many situations the church is today more authoritarian, more hierarchical, more oppressive and less democratic, and less participatory and less liberating than the state at many levels. judgment begins with the household of god. today there is a revolution sweeping through the church. a new theological vision of the church's place in society is emerging from among ordinary, often oppressed, and frequently alienated christians. church leadership and theologians are to listen and learn afresh from such people, who are challenging ecclesial sexism, racism, and classism. a pertinent question is whether the new wine of god's liberatory presence that is sweeping across southern and south africa can be contained within the old wineskins of institutional church structures designed for a colonial age. 89 king moshoeshoe ii. "key note address" 12 august 1988, mazenod conference centre, lesotho. 90 villa-vicencio, charles. “the kingdom of god and people's democracy towards a nation building theology for africa.” journal of theology for southern africa, vol. 74 mar 1991, 11 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 117 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) cultural empowerment a nation-building theology has a special obligation to empower the nation to become involved in the ongoing quest for national liberation, as well as political and economic independence. it is to be part of what antonio gramsci has called “a cultural battle to transform the popular mentality”.91 it is to facilitate the emergence of a social force that empowers the poor and marginalized people of society. for this to happen suggest villa-vicencio “the people of africa are, without being parochial or isolationist are obliged to look to their own resources and discern the spirit of the lord within their own culture, history, and identity. africans are to discover within the experiences of the political, economic, and social history of this continent resource with which to incarnate the spirit of liberation”92. the biblical imperative speaks of the emergence of a new heaven and a new earth. for paul this translates into an obligation to proclaim a message which gives rise to new people. the old adam (and eve) is to die and people are to be reborn in christ. this, at the level of nation-building involves a theologically inspired new consciousness, grounded in moral and communal rather than material and individualistic incentives. the task of the church in this regard includes engagement in the constitutional process and law-making but also in promoting the social values inherent to the gospel, forgiveness, and a willingness to bear one another's burdens. central to these values is an economic obligation to proclaim the values of economic justice. relevant to this is the biblical teaching on the jubilee year within which injustices will be reversed as an incentive towards economic reconstruction. recognizing that there is no single blueprint for economic reconstruction and that each emerging new society is obliged to rebuild structures from such resources and in relation to the levels of development that exist at a given time in history, the church has a special obligation to promote values that favor the poor and promote such levels of egalitarianism that are possible on earth. this is a task involving the important question as to which cultural resources best serve this responsibility. nationbuilding and cultural empowerment are necessarily to be contextually specific according to the mentality and needs of the people. too many politicians and national seers with limited popular support have sought to inspire a qualitatively different society on african soil by appealing exclusively to european-inspired doctrinaire marxist ideologies, to the neglect of indigenous, contextual, and 91 antonio gramsci. selections from the prison notebooks. quintin hoare and geoffrey nowell smith edited. new york: international publishers, 1971, 348. 92 ibid., 10. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 118 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) religious values that have for centuries been part of the african psyche. the egalitarian and communal ideals of the christian tradition though often buried under generations of some brands of missionary imperialistic religion which shows special concern for the marginalized of society are to be reaffirmed if the church is to contribute meaningfully to empowering the poor and creating a new society. as kwesi dickson rightly observes, the continuing debate between african cultural theology dominant in many parts of africa and south african black liberation theology is pursued continuously. the important question is whether the empowering and liberating resources being sought are to be found in mining cultural resources hidden within ancient pre-colonial traditions of africa or within contemporary socio-economic and political circumstances.93 leaving aside the details of this debate, it is worth noting the observation of archbishop desmond tutu: african theology has failed to produce a sufficiently sharp cutting edge ... very little has been offered that is pertinent to the theology of power in the face of the epidemic of coups and military rule, about development, about poverty and disease and other equally urgent present-day issues. i believe this is where the abrasive black theology may have a few lessons for african theology.94 traditional symbols continue to be powerful ingredients in african culture in nation building theology. black and other liberation theologies recognize, however, that human identity embraces more than culture. it also fundamentally embraces political and economic identity. until african theology addresses these sources of alienation it does not address the hard reality of african deprivation and oppression. on the other hand, only to the extent that liberation theology develops a spirituality that speaks to the soul of africa will it mobilize and empower the sons and daughters of this continent.95 a theologically liberating african spirituality is yet to be born. african culture refuses to separate the sacred and the secular and it is here that a theology which 93 kwesi, dickson. theology in africa. london: longman and todd, maryknoll orbis, 1984, 126. 94 desmond tutu. "black theology/african theology soul mates or antagonists.” journal of religious thought fall/winter, 1975, 126. 95 villa-vicencio, charles. “the kingdom of god and people's democracy towards a nation building theology for africa.” journal of theology for southern africa, vol. 74 mar 1991, 10. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 119 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) empowers the poor must begin. when africans celebrate their religion, john mbiti has said “they dance it, they sing it, they act it”96. resistance culture in south africa has incorporated that section of the church that is given to liberation, and religion has as such enriched and empowered the struggle against apartheid. in a new south africa and today in independent sub-sahara africa, it is the task of the church to contribute towards a liberating culture of national unity. but that culture, like any other form of culture, can only emerge from the actual participation by the church in the struggle for liberating unity. today in south africa and elsewhere the struggle for political rights is giving rise to a culture offering the poor a sense of hope and human dignity. for the church to fail to share in this process is for the church to fail to address its liberating obligation to society. this kind of theology requires the church to rediscover public and communal service as a christian vocation. the early lutheran and calvinist traditions are rich with teaching along these lines. a theology of public service is an important ingredient to a theology of nation-building. a nationbuilding theology suggests villa-vicencio: has the important task of relativising all cultural prejudices before the unqualified gospel incentive that all of god's people might always become free in all situations. theologically this means that all contemporary quests for human emancipation are to be weighed and measured against god's promise of total liberation. it also means that the christian tradition itself needs to be weighed and assessed in the light of each new experience of liberation in society, which anticipates the eschatological rule of god on earth.97 the writings of the church fathers on political democracy the teachings of many church fathers which were based on the scriptures and apostolic tradition have helped to define genuine democracy and form the basis of many renowned democratic constitutions, legislation and judiciary of many governments in nation building. those that have left an impact on democratic governance include: i. clement of alexandria's theologiae sententiarum through this document, the church father maintained that every christian has a duty to support a government which has its roots in the biblical principles of liberty, justice and legitimization. good governance is willed by god. good obedience to legitimate leadership is also willed by god. one can be a good 96 mbiti, s. john s. an introduction to african religion. london: heinemann, 1975, 126. 97 villa-vicencio, charles, 11 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 120 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) christian and achieve one's salvation while defending a political philosophy other than the political egalitarianism; just as one was able to be a practicing christian in the days of the roman empire while accepting the regime of slavery, or while holding to the political rule of unquestionable dictatorship.98 ii. polycarp’s de trinitate expositio in this book, the martyr who died in 155 a.d. pointed out that leaders in secular society are god's ministers and stewards. they have, therefore, to look after the people with love, justice and humility. most of all they have to help the people of god attain the eternal life that was won by christ on calvary. he further stressed that christianity is simply living effectively and affectively, building healthy relationships between the creator and the creatures. in his view, christianity provides guidelines for the right way of achieving liberty and progress without exploiting others through jealousy, greed or war. the community which embraces faith, hope and love, embraces the trinitarian god and trinitarian liberty. iii. st. augustine's humanae et regulae pastoralis liber saint augustine stressed that political leaders are duty-bound to care for the weak and poor members of the society by ensuring that justice, where the lowest in the society have a share of the created goods, is adhered to. under divine law, every public officer is obliged to promote the cause of the poor at all costs and not merely out of the former's superfluous goods. material benefits, where need arise, should be given with love while aiming at helping the recipients to develop themselves towards independence. the saint observed farther that the greatness and prosperity of a government is determined by how its poorest are cared for. when every citizen (rich and poor alike) is empowered with knowledge, energy and tools for wholistic liberty and progress, then he/she serves best the community for the common good and salvation. iv. st. justin's dialogus cum tryphone saint justin instructed that every government, must honour and advance the welfare of society as well as the dignity and total vocation of the human person. it is important that every human being created in the image of god understands and obeys intelligently god's law in the community. the voter and the elected should both follow this law since nobody is above it and nobody is beside it. it is only the person who is guided by the divine law that becomes the source, the 98 majawa, clement. “the church's role in defining genuine democracy in africa”. afer, vol. 42 no. 1 – no. 2 feb apr 2000, 61. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 121 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) centre and the purpose of societal living towards liberty and salvation. this was confirmed by st. basil in, destruam lorrea mea, when he wrote: the fundamental purpose of societal governance and living must not be the mere living together without a vision. it must not be a mere multiplication of citizens for a big state. it must not be for personal fame, or profit, or domination. rather, it must be for the service of god and human beings; and indeed, of the whole human beings, viewed in terms of christian principles and the demands of his intellectual, moral, cultural, spiritual and religious life. christian life should 'not' be separated from genuine politics, since the two vocations are the servants of the same trinitarian god.99 by such understanding, a theology of nation building is realized. christian involvement in politics the need for christians’ involvement in politics is not just a demand for mere fulfilment of participation but of a call to transform the society for the common good for which a man or woman is tasked with. the gospel has the power to transform political structures. if as the bible says authority in heaven and on earth has been given to jesus (matthew 28:18), how will authority come about without our involvement in transforming the society in the direction of good governance? how do we bring his kingdom to bear on this world if the world is left in the hands of evil people? if christ is both the king and the judge of his kingdom, and he is the designer and the constructor of the kingdom, christians can only be co-operators with him in the process of his kingdom as reflected in politics and other social involvements. aside, in canvassing for political positions, christians must exercise their franchise by going to polls at all elections to cast their votes for the right individuals to deliver on the goods of good governance. as john ojo assents, “if christians are truly expecting the coming of the king, the christ, they must get ready by preparing the world in all areas including politics for him. if the world is corrupt, christians must prevent it from further corruption even if they cannot redeem the corrupted”.100 if the world is corrupt, it is because christians are corrupt, and if the world is liberated from corruption and decay, it is because christians have participated in its transformation by 99 ibid., 62. 100 ibid. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 122 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) using inherent power of the gospel.101 when christ then returns he will bring perfection to the world bettered by his disciples. christians today can do more than comforting and healing those who are victims of structural evils by not giving them only aids. they should attack or prevent the evils themselves in order to reduce the number of victims to be cared for. one of the ways to do this is to be involved in the machinery to operate the structures of the society. the church has been performing the role of a good samaritan (luke 10:25-37). it has been caring and comforting those who are hurt not only by thieves but also by oppressive structures. the church, however, should not be satisfied or comfortable with this mission alone, though important. it must struggle to prevent thieves, predators and oppressive powers from harming their victims who are innocent people of god. this prevention is better than cure. the church should be seen preventing crises rather than waiting to care and comfort victims of crises. this is why the mission of justice, development and peace organ of the church should go beyond providing aids to victims of insurgency. biblical revelation calls christians to commitment to god with their whole life in the service to their neighbours. politics forms a part of human life and it is not irreconcilable to the general purpose of creation. it is part of human stewardship under the sovereignty of the lord of history. christians should not divide the world in their understanding of it. “instead, we should have an integral sense of one life in one world under one king who will judge our political life”. 102 government is part of god's will and god's means of controlling or regulating human affairs in the society. many of the social ills in the society are traceable to structural problems caused by political leaders, who stir the atmosphere with many preventable social problems in the society. good leaders are god's servants. they serve god by rewarding good deeds and punishing evils (rom l3:3-4). justice and transformation can only be expected when god-conscious men and women take active part in political as well as other sectors of their communities. the role of the church in promoting new democratic order undeniably, the church is and remains the conscience of society. this means that the church can never adopt an attitude of being satisfied with the status quo. however good the social situations may appear to be, it is the mission of the 101 barga, timothy. pastoral challenges of the principles of catholic social teaching to african traditional values. jos: pastoral institute press, 2018, 58. 102 ojo, a. john. “a case for christian involvement in politics for justice and peace”. ogbomoso journal of theology vol. xix (2) 2014, 84. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 123 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) church to strive to make it even better. the church’s relevance, as the conscience of the society, is embedded in its incessant challenging of the status quo. it is on this basis that any new political order with which the populace can identify and hold as their own must be central to church’s evangelical mission. consequently, the church should endeavour to address the root causes of present threats to democracy. all human affairs are imperfect, and so is the practice of democracy. due to disillusionment and apathy towards politics, the general public hardly believes in the common good. working for a better social order, a better polity, in contemporary africa is something that is often taken for granted. in an ideally democratic society the common good depends not on the ethical efforts of the individual leaders. it is guaranteed a priori through the social structures. this is because ethical behavior is always at risk it is always imperfect and changing. therefore, the freedom and justice of the state must be moved from individuals onto societal structures. the church must preach against oppressive structures as well as think of better ways to build them a new. the church must condemn and label any democratic sin as a social and structural sin. in all, it is not the ethical principles and behaviour of the political class that carry the structures. rather, the structures themselves should shape how those who live and work in them behave. another compelling challenge that african democracy faces is the so-called tyranny of numbers brought about by political mergers or gladiators who seek power at all cost. the so-called political mergers in contemporary democracies in africa can at best be described as disunited hostile juxtaposition of individuals supported by lack of information and by the sacrifice of ethics on the altar of human relationships. politicians unite for nothing else but political expedience of winning votes, and not on anything that can further the common good of the populace. this is a sheer rejection and invalidation of morality for which the church stands.103 103 yaye, christopher oyó. “rethinking democratic structures in africa: towards an integrated consensual theory”. afer, vol. 59 nos. 1 2 mar jun 2017, 144-6. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 3.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 108 reminiscing the proximate triggers of ethno-religious and political violence in nigeria: a remedy amanambu, uchenna ebony, ph.d nnamdi, azikiwe, awka email: ebonyuchem@gmail.com abstract this paper focuses on recalling the history and immediate causes of ethno-religious and political violence in nigeria. it observes that even though religion plays a pivotal role in triggering violence in nigeria, other factors play a vital role. it outlines some dangers of ethno-religious and political violence to the nigerian socio economic and political development and existence. the study submits that if nigeria must survive from the dangers of ethno-religious and political violence, nigerian leaders must adopt superior humanistic ideologies that will ensure mutual respect, beneficial relationships, justice, equity and fairness to everybody. introduction majority of the news emanating from the country recently tilts more towards the outbreaks of intra and inter-ethnic and religious violence. it has resulted in death of millions of people and destruction of property worth billions of naira. from the opinion of kukah (2010), there are the historical hangovers of mutual suspicion stemming from decades of mutual hostility, political victimization and marginalization, unguarded statements and infringements on people’s rights and freedom. the quests to either enforce or deny these rights among the adherents of two dominant religions in nigeria have overwhelmingly underpinned the outbreaks of violence in the garb of religion across the country. for example, nwanaju (2008) cites incidents where some discontented sects in islam reoriented themselves and engaged in wars especially the tijaniya and qadiriya sects who fought over mosques across the northern nigeria (p.239). oloyede (2000) argues that the decision to expand the sharia into the nigerian legal system was though a legitimate move reopened a sustained hostility and violence in nigeria (p.156). after many churches have been burnt in taraba and benue states, two catholic priests and over seventeen other worshippers were gruesomely murdered in gwer local government of benue state during a mass celebration, nigerian christians under the aegis of christian association of nigeria (can) took to the street on sunday 29th april, 2018 to protest against the killings. being conscious of the ethno-religious and political configuration of nigeria, it is almost like a timed bomb. the humanitarian tragedy in terms of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 109 loss of lives and property in this chain of violent encounters is summarily unimaginable. in view of this precarious situation, soyinka according to emejo (2017) warns that, “if we do not tame religion in nigeria, religion will kill us. many nigerians have paid the ultimate price because of religion and religion is now embedded in our society.” theoretical framework the study adopts the functionalist and conflict theories in explaining the cohesive and progressive functions expected of ethnicity and religion to the society and the dangers when it works to the contrary. iruonagbe (2013) avers that durkheim one of the proponents of functionalist theory believes that social life is impossible without the shared values and moral beliefs that form the collective conscience. the absence of the aforementioned threatens social order, social control, social solidarity or cooperation and the unity of the people (p.5). coser (1956), one of the disciples of the foremost originator of the conflict theory, karl marx, said that conflict is a struggle over values and claims to scarce status, power and resources in which aims of the opponents are to neutralize, injure or eliminate their rivals (p.3). ani (2012) affirms that conflict manifests as products of interactions amongst human beings and groups who plot to outwit others (p.158). this theory is used because it implies that conflict is generated by the quests to protect one’s identity and maximize one’s interest. functionalist theory is employed because religion is one of the factors that a society needs to properly function. therefore, the society will be in danger if religion refuses to perform or functions negatively. it is used to highlight the dangers of how a dysfunctional religion can retard the growth and progress of the nigerian state. some proximate triggers of ethno-religious and political violence in nigeria there are several proximate triggers of ethno-religious and political violence in nigeria and they include: failed leadership, execrable colonial policy, the fallouts from foreign politics, the formation of ethno-religious and socio-politically inclined associations, unguarded, flippant and selfish political and religious utterances, the culture of mixing religion with politics, drippy poverty, structured injustice and the culture of impunity, systemized corruption discrimination and desire for equality, state mismanaged responses, the quest for a nigerian islamic or christian state, the subjective idea of hereafter, mutual suspicion and fear: lack of prosecution and trivialization of early warning, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 110 inciting media hype, intra/interdenominational misunderstanding. these factors will be briefly discussed. failed leadership: the effects or otherwise of leadership have been topical in human history. for instance, many people share the view that luther appeared at the right time during the reformation but hillerbrand (1968) notes that the body of clergy at that time had lived in luxury and splendor. it was a paradox of a church whose purpose should have been to nourish the spiritual needs of its flock. luther offered an alternative that was appealing and the german peasants in the land flocked to luther's camp. he opines that even when luther was not disposed to the revolution and wished to avoid social rebellion as seen in his an admonition to peace, the masses forced the revolution on him (pp.62-90). in the nigerian case, achebe (1983) categorically said that the problem with nigeria is simply and squarely failure of leadership (p.1). for example, to buttress achebe’s position, the study tries to analyze the origin of boko haram regarded as one of the greatest problems confronting nigeria. fabiyi and akasike (2016) state that the borno state attorney general and commissioner for justice, kaka lawan, asserts that boko haram was a creation of ali modu sheriff, the former governor of the state (p.5). like some other long held notions, he explained that sheriff established and funded the groups initially as ecomog which he used for elections in borno and one of them, alhaji buji fai, who gusau (2009), avers was made a commissioner of water resources and later religious affairs under amodu sheriff led government (p.6). when he fell out with them, they metamorphosed into the deadly boko haram. many reports have it that at a point people trooped en mass to join the militants because the leadership of the groups provided leadership respites for the people. many nigerians are yet to come to term to why the indigenes of dapchi would be singing the praises of boko haram as the terrorists drove into the community to return some of the girls they abducted from school. according to audu (2016), boko haram gave loans and huge aids to many youths and people in the northeastern nigeria (p.5). by this act, boko haram has taken the place of government in the lives and existence of these people. if the governments have carried out their welfare responsibilities as enshrined in the 1999 constitution these militias would have not enticed these youths. the failure of government in this regard amounts to leadership failure. the leadership problem in nigeria cuts across every type and strata of leaders. there has been a disconnect between the leaders and the people thereby giving the masses the only alternative of resorting to religions. naturally, people tend to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 111 defend wherever their interests are provided and because religion provides some of these basic needs ostensibly overlooked by the government, many nigerians are ready to defend their religions instead of the country. the insatiable quests of these rulers to siphon the national patrimony have beclouded their sense of responsibilities thus creating the avenue for uneven distribution of the nation’s wealth. many of these politico-economic bourgeois build mansions and allowed cockroaches and weeds to inhabit them while a large percentage of the people live under the bridges and public motor parks. while most of the people are living without meals, many of these economic and political rulers eat and throw their leftovers into the dustbin to show off their status. while many nigerians are queuing for the problem-prone public transports to catch up with official appointments, these few rulers have all classes of vehicles in their garages and sometimes including jets which they will not finish using all in their life time. generally, leadership is responsible for whatever happens in any society. execrable colonial policy: prior to the arrival of the colonialists, islam had penetrated several parts of the northern nigerian. while the southern part of nigeria received christianity, the northern part maintained its islamic dominance. salmone (1991) posits that the colonial officers feared that missionary activities and their attitudes would rupture their dubious alliance with the fulani rulers. therefore, for political expediency, the british prevented european missionaries from operating in the north (pp.54-55). kelly (1968) stressed that this religious tension and dichotomy existed in nigeria throughout the colonial period and it laid the foundation of religious crises (pp-26-28). in the same vein, achebe (2012) points out that the colonialists inserted corruption into nigerian system especially the electoral fraud and greed. in his view, he said that at the nigerian independence these colonialists rigged the elections that produced tafawa balewa who they believed would protect their interests. they lived in reserved areas known as european quarters which is typical of today’s government reserved areas (gra) where amenities were provided while the masses were regarded as unfit and unworthy to enjoy social amenities. as soon as they handed reign over to nigerians, these nigerians continued from where the europeans stopped and even became worse (pp.50-ff). little wonder why monies budgeted for construction of roads, schools, health care and other social amenities are stolen by the privileged nigerians to the detriment of the people. hence, their children can study abroad or the best learning centers around, their medics are done abroad even their meals are imported and in a bid to maintain the tastes of their status, they indulge in all manners of malpractices and frauds. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 112 therefore, the political inequality between the north and the south as created by the colonial masters is seriously responsible for some of the violence in nigeria. the fall-outs of foreign politics: this has to do with foreign powers who for whatever reason have developed vested interest in nigerian socio-economic politics. they can collaborate with some disgruntled elements in nigeria to destabilize the country to achieve their interest. for instance, uwechue (2003) states that during the nigerian civil war, many countries of the world such as france and portugal supported the biafra side (p.93). clarke and linden (1982) affirm that the maitatsine riot of 1980 was heavily linked to late col. mummar gaddafi. agencies like mossaid, the israeli’s intelligent agency, iran, pakistan and other foreign nationals have had hands in the riot in nigeria (p.108). haynes (2003) is of the view that saudi arabia, kuwait and libya’s ability to influence her neighbour’s domestic politics with the fall of oil revenue in 1980s was another reason for the rise of religious violence in nigeria (p.132). wakili (2013) confirms that boko haram has foreign links with other terrorists’ organizations such as al-qaida and isis (p.11). these foreign sponsors and supporters make them better equipped and enhanced to unleash terror against the nigerians and the state. the formation of ethno-religious and socio-politically inclined associations: prior to and at the nigerian independence, most of the nigerians were high expectants of a favourable society. ethnicism could be seen as relationship, concern, favour or regard shown to a person or people because of common language, culture and origin. both scholarship and experience may not have come to a general agreement regarding the exact number of nigeria's multiethnic groups but often there is the idea of the ethnic tripod consisting of hausa/fulani, yoruba and igbo. the rest are generally referred to as the minority groups. the issues of minority questions have permeated the country's landscape since the colonial period and some measures were initiated such as the setting up of the willink commission and federal character commission. kukah (2003) stresses that the concept of quota system as a policy was adopted in the recruitment of persons into the officers’ corps of the armed forces, the police as well as admissions into educational institutions (pp.35-64). however, bako (1997) avers that tribalism was the monster that killed the nigerian first republic (p.284). some of the religious organizations formed in nigeria include: the christian association of nigeria (can), national christian elders forum (ncef) and supreme council of islamic affairs (scia), jam’tu nasril islam (jni) among others. afenifere, arewa consultative forum (acf), ohaneze ndi igbo, oodua igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 113 people's congress (opc), movement for the actualization of the sovereign state of biafra (massob) are some of the organizations formed based on ethnic lines. arguably, the sense of security which is the most sought need of man is one of the triggers of ethnicism. the general security of an individual dictates the person’s actions and inactions. owing to the failures of the nigerian state to live up to its responsibility to the general welfare of the citizen, many citizens have secured relative security in their ethnic climes. thus they are ready to use whatever they have at their disposal to defend their religious and ethnic groups. the formations of ethnic, religious and sectional associations have through their statements, positions on critical national issues and general attitudes brought the unity of nigeria to question. this is because their armies of followers swallow their utterances without any doubt. unguarded, flippant and selfish political and religious utterances: this is a short but profound conversation between dr. nnamdi azikiwe, leader of ncnc and alhaji sir ahmadu bello, the leader of npc which took place in the mid1960s portrays the attitudes of nigerian leaders. according to paden (1986), dr. nnamdi azikiwe said to sir ahmadu bello, “let us forget our differences”... but bello responded, “no, let us understand our differences. i am a muslim and a northerner. you are a christian, an easterner” (pp.66-98). historically, the inflammatory and unguarded utterance fuelled the nigerian civil war and omenka (2009) captured the inciting utterances of some leaders thus:” let no one deceive you this is a war between muslims and christians and aanyone who says the war is not a religious war is either ignorant or extremely malicious” (p.51). this is not only provoking but also inciting and damaging. in the heat of the 1976-1979, constitutional debate, clarke and linden (1982) posit that the leaders’ unguarded utterance almost set the country on fire (p.80). iwuchukwu (2010), usigbe (2012) binniyat (2012) and amanambu (2013) gave the litanies of unguarded utterances of religious and political leaders especially in 2011 and the danger they posed to the survival of nigeria. ajuluchukwu (1989) sums it up that an ordinary nigerian knows nothing about inter-religious cleavages except when incited by their respective doctrinal and political leaders (p.112). imagine the fate of a country where its leaders who are seen as priests and politicians by their followers make these inciting utterances. they are licenses for religious and ethnic violence. the culture of mixing religion with politics: there have been constant debates among scholars on the mixture of religion and politics in a society like nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 114 falola (1998) notes that religion and politics have been bedfellows before and throughout nigeria's history (p.1). in other words, right from the amalgamation of nigeria, the mixtures of religion and politics has existed. the mixture was more pronounced during the coups, counter coups and nigerian civil war. omenka (2009) argues that the 1966 coup d’état in nigeria was given a religious colouration via the press and radio with the handy term “moslem north and christian east”. the terms were coined so as to achieve ethno political agenda. he wondered how the nigerian civil war could be said to be between christian igbo and hausa fulani muslims when the composition of the army then showed that the head of state was a christian and son of a methodist minister from overwhelming middle belt christians (p.79). the nigerian state according to clarke and linden (1982), later realized the deadly impact of religious issues on politics following the virulent and provocative debates it generated in the 1977–78 constitutional conference (p.91). onaiyekan (2000) affirms that some top-level politicians who want to pursue a particular cause often hire people to do the fighting for them under the guise of religious crises (p.76). the danger of politicized religion and religionised politics is indeed unimaginable in a heterogeneous society. for instance, the incursion of military into the nigerian polity as noted by bako (1997) led to the high commercialization of religion because during that time, religion became a lucrative source of primitive accumulation and class formation due to primarily the political alliance between religiosity and militarism. during that time, there were increased rise of mosques, prophets, churches, fundamentalists, born-again movements and this elevated the religious movement from its passive status to the toga of the legitimization of power and wealth of the principal contenders and actors in the political economy of the country (p.287). knowing the attractive nature of religion and deprecating nature of nigerian religiosity, some political elites with vested interests hide under religion to recruit the jobless and illiterate youths who they give peanuts in order to carry out mayhem. they do all these just for political and vested purposes. drippy poverty: poverty is not only when one lacks of money. it is beyond money or resources and ogugua (2012) affirms it when he argues that poverty can be in intellectual, spiritual, social, mental and psychological forms (p.415). according to clarke and linden (1982), “one of the reasons given by the commission of inquiry into the maitatsine riots was that the economic situation of the country left millions of people, especially the youths, without jobs or any means to live a decent life” (p.107). kelly (1999) asserts that there is a direct igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 115 correlation between poverty and crime (p.197). adeogun (2006) maintains that poverty is the dominant factor in the rising trend of ethnic and religious conflicts in nigeria (p.95). lesie (2009) argues that a society where the middle and poor classes are in larger numbers with a small or smaller upper class is prone to dangerous conflict (p.181). ahiuma (2016) said that statistics available from nigerian bureau of statistics (nbs) showed that over (one hundred and twelve) million nigerians are “extremely poor” (p.16). the term “extremely poor” implies that the leadership and nigerian system have all failed in the midst of heavily endowed and enormous human and natural resources of the country. as long as the syndrome of the rich gets richer and the poor getting poorer is being pursued, people will have no other option than to be drunk in the wine of religion which will manifest in the form of violence. structured injustice and the culture of impunity: milestone (1979) recalls that the socio-economic injustices prevalent in hausa land prior to the 1804 usman dan fodio’s jihad together with the illegal and excessive taxation imposed on the poor masses by the rulers of the habe states gave rise to the jihad (p.8). it has not however changed as virtually every activity in nigeria carries overt and covert injustice. olopade (2004) notes that injustice is so highly structured that justice is bought by the wealthy and big weights in nigeria. he cites the ill organized and corrupt judiciary, brutal and corrupt security with other paramilitary agencies together with the paralyzed social system as the architect social injustice in nigeria (p.6). it can be argued that nigeria is structured after the colonial rapacious structure of indirect rule and economic squirearchy. for example, the willing and capable men hardly make it to the leadership of the country because just like the colonialists foisted indirect rule with subterfuge amalgamation of nigeria purposely to protect their trades, that has been how few cabals with some external collaborators usually basterdized the electoral system so as foist inept leaders will always carry out their biding to the detriment of nigerians. in cohortory connivances, they centralized national resources because the centralization gives them the conduit pipe of monopolizing and stealing dry the common wealth. how many of the trillion dollars stashed abroad by nigerians have been returned? injustice and impunity are meted out to the people through harassment, infringement and denial of human rights, impunity and embarrassment from top government officials and the affluent in the society. another clear example is that nigerian road safety officials cannot stop rich men or top government officials even if they break the traffic rules but they serially humiliate the poor and defenseless drivers for trivial issues. the defenseless are dehumanized because they could not resist. all these and more deep worrying igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 116 situations give the fertile ground for the rise of ethno-religious and political violence. systemized corruption: awajiusuk (2014) defines corruption as generally anything that is debased, putrefied, degenerated from original value or state. it is the misuse and abuse of office and trust, using position or office to influence people for personal or group advantage. it is giving and taking of kickbacks, payoffs, palm greasing, bribery, forgery and embezzlement. he identifies the categories of corruption to include political, electoral and bureaucratic corruption. corruption in nigeria is caused by extreme love for materialism, naked greed, over emphasis on paper qualification and other practices that have taken the place of honesty, norms and decorum (p.131). the systemized corruption means that malpractice and shortchange are instituted and freely allowed as cultural. paradoxically, many agencies are created to checkmate corruption in nigeria but they have been repeatedly accused of re-looting the seized and forfeited assets. soniyi (2012) notes that the global financial integrity has revealed that between 2004 and 2015, the nigerian rulers have looted over $1 trillion that accrued to the country from the crude oil making over 80 percent of the population to lack access to drinking water, roads and basic health care services and functional education (p.9). corruption cripples system, encourages impunity and makes people see violence as virtue thus making the country prone to religious crises. discrimination and desire for equality: collier (1986) defines discrimination as the systematic exclusion of a person or group from participating in positions or activities of higher economic value (p.199). a clear example of this is the discrimination of the fulani group in the pre-jihadist hausa land that was organized to demoralize them but according to crowder (1978), it ended up creating cohesion among them just as they scattered in different localities in hausa land and bornu areas, they nursed deep feelings of resentment against existing hausa rulers (p.79). the idea of social class awareness and consciousness is natural especially in a multi religious and cultural setting. discrimination comes from various ways and forms and one example is economic discrimination. the ethnic minorities who are often the victims of socio-economic and political discrimination are the vanguard of movements of terrorism and insurgency. state mismanaged responses: the security agencies have been repeatedly pointed to be responsible for the escalation of violence in nigeria. according to amanambu (2013), wilmot, former lecturer at ahmadu bello university, zaria igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 117 argues that “the ruling class that currently dominates the political scene has no tradition of managing social change their only answer to dissent or rebellion is the massacre”(p. 64). ismail (2012) quotes the former governor of yobe state, bukar abba ibrahim as saying that the metamorphosis of boko haram from a dawah to an arms-bearing sect was partly caused by security agencies. they approached the situation as one of ‘law and order’ and responded as such, with disastrous consequences. the extra judicial killing of yusuf mohammed raised the movement to its broader multifaceted prism as political, social, and economic. the security agencies serially mismanaged the crisis from the outset, and in the process pushed the movement to the extreme end of the spectrum (p.9). kukah (2012) affirms that the extra judicial killing of the sect leader emboldened the sect who has gone on to be the greatest problem of nigeria (p.10). until the seeming relatively doused tension in the southeast, many international agencies like amnesty international have roundly chided the manner and measures through which the security agencies reacted to the protests of the indigenous people of biafra (ipob). apart from their poor responses to religious violence, nigerian security agencies have repeatedly escalated religious violence sometimes by supporting one religion against another. the quest for a nigerian islamic or christian state: the quest for the total christianization or islamization of nigeria have fertilized nigeria for religious violence. this assertion can be understood from the accounts of scholars such as hodgkin, clarke and linden, kukah, suleiman, nwanaju and amanambu. for example, hodgkin (1975), states that the jihad of usman dan fodio in 1804 was “to make upon the heathen king who…make no profession of islam, is obligatory by assent” (p.247). in the same way clarke and linden (1982) said that islamic leaders, like gumi believed that to adopt islam as a state religion was the answers to the problems of the contemporary nigerian society (p.95). kukah (1993) emphatically notes that in order to make islam a nigerian state religion, gumi would employ the state structures to achieve his aim (p.132). suleiman (2011) avers that boko haram terrorist group in maiduguri initially said that their objectives were to abolish democracy and institute sharia law (p.50). the desire to dip the koran into the lagoon, to make islam the central, commanding and unchallenged religion in nigeria has always made the religionists take to violence. nwanju (2008) argues that the dispositions of some christian pentecostal group contribute to the rise of religious violence in nigeria (p.262) amanambu (2013) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 118 corroborates with this when he states that the new religious movements characterized by the nigerian version of pentecostalism because of the kind of belief system they propagate and their aggressive type of evangelism which often aims at “winning nigeria for christ”, “operation for total recovery of the land” and so on have turned from conservatives into militants and they are willing to take a stand and to fight in defence of the christian faith (p.35). in as much as many christians are not favourably disposed to carry out maiming and killing like some of its islamic counterparts, most of their dispositions often suggest the evangelization by violence. the quests for either the state or political triumphant of each of these religious organizations have made nigeria ripe for religious violence. the subjective idea of hereafter: aside from the mixture of religion and politics in nigeria another serious trigger of religious violence is the subjective belief that there is a place fairer than day. the idea of hereafter as taught by various religious traditions have made these traditions to teach that paradise, aljana and nirvana could be attained if an adherent dies in the course of defending god. according to ergun (2002), paradise in isalm is a place where there are many virgins with abundance of feasting waiting for all the martyrs. mohammed himself said that he had looked at the paradise and saw rivers flowing underneath rivers of honey, milk and wine containing varieties of fruits in which believers were swimming as well as drinking. the palaces were made of crystal, sapphire and diamond with seventy couches made of gold and emerald prepared for those fight for the faith (pp.192-195). kukah (1993) remarks that major halilu akilu, officer, who worked to tame the maitatsine insurgent group submitted that the tactics of these jihadists were so appalling that they were not trained to hit and run, but they were bolder than guerrillas fighting in malaysia or jungles of east asia. the spirit that drove them to fight is better summed up in the idea of “reincarnation and better life at death” (p. 154). similarly, inuwa (2017) notes that some intercepted suicide bombers confessed that apart from being paid to carry out suicide bombing in maiduguri and its environs by the boko haram commanders, these people were firmly promised that if they carry out any bomb to successfully explodes, they would automatically go to paradise (pp.5-7). a lot of religious adherents in nigeria have been brainwashed to believe that dying in the course of defending their religion would make them earn the status of martyr and enjoy paradise. therefore, they are inclined to sacrifice their lives even through violent means. many adherents have erroneously believed that life igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 119 is better and richer when spent beyond the physical affairs. this type of belief is the breeding ground for religious violence. mutual suspicion and fear: this is a factor often found among different ethnic and religious groups who feel or are afraid of being dominated. they would want to use violence so as to settle some scores. abiola (1984) argues that one of the reasons usman dan fodio took up arms in the name of jihad against the hausa states was because his tribal men were afraid and felt insecure in the hands of the hausa rulers (p.35). in the same way today, the fear of seeming domination between nationalities that make up the nigerian entity has caused many people to appreciate the languages and activities of religion because they believe that their share of the national cake could be grabbed by violence. beside the sense of security, the alarming height of organized suspicions, intolerance, hatred for one another and with other factors have become the reasons why a little misunderstanding from any section of the country can lead to reprisals even when there is no need for it. inciting mass media: arguably, the media determines what the society prioritizes or ignores. the influence of mass media to the society cannot be overemphasized. experience has shown that some media reports, news analyses and features are capable of playing a positive or negative role in the relationship between muslims and christians depending on the intention and orientation of the journalists and presenters. bashir (2002) argues that most of the actions or reactions of some muslims and christians direct against each other were determined by media reports. the press on many occasions in nigeria has fanned the ambers of disunity through junk journalism and inciting headlines. such negative reports and news analyses often breed religious violence (pp.2330). bidmos (1993) articulates the negative role played by the press in the 1987 kafanchan riot. members of the public were grossly misinformed by the press with partial reports which created another crisis between muslims and christians (pp.34-38). the press discourse on some sensitive issues like sharia and other sensitive religious issues are capable of causing violence. reports and opinions usually elicit actions and reactions. having identified and analyzed the immediate cause of ethno-religious and political violence in nigeria, it is pertinent that remedies be suggested. intra/interdenominational misunderstanding: clarke and linden (1982) affirm that once in a while, there are skirmishes between some of these sects especially in the northern part of nigeria. for instance, in zuru town of kebbi state, in north-western nigeria, there was a serious violence between the derika and izala igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 120 sects over the control of the market and central mosque which occurred in 1987, and it led to the closure of the mosque for several years, the two sects have separate mosques where they worship (p.124). many churches have had cases of violence among them and between others. some have been settled at the courts while others are still lying in the court rooms. binniyat (2016) and njoku (2017) gave accounts of violence in the assemblies of god church where members fought against themselves and were injured because of misunderstanding. specifically, one of the churches and school in kaduna were closed down by kaduna state government (p.12). alozie (2017) notes that there was violence between mountain of conquest assembly and god’s pillar power ministry in owerri, imo state over the proximity of both churches (p.11). this intra/interdenominational misunderstanding though not highly publicized, has the capacity of snowballing into a full blown inter religious cum ethnic violence if not checked. in view of the above, nigerian leaders should rise to the occasion and establish good and purposeful governance, forge national integration and promote indiscriminate economic policy that will ameliorate mass poverty and unemployment because an idle mind is a devil’s workshop. early warning signals monitoring and detecting agency should be apolitically established and empowered to function. the interfaith and daily life forms of dialogue should be vigorously pursued by all since christians and muslims live next to each other and mingle freely in almost all aspects of life. they meet in the market places, on the streets, in schools and other institutions. christian and muslim friends exchange gifts and greetings during their festivities. they worship together during weddings or burials of relatives, friends, colleagues and business associates. there is also an urgent need to improve the quality of education in nigeria because human and social developments depend on information and learning and any society that wants to develop must prioritize education. religious leaders and preachers should be purposefully retrained and reoriented so that they will actually understand and contextualize the letters and spirits of religious terms. this is because these sacred texts originated from different environments and considering these different backgrounds, there seems to be some levels of contradictions and inconsistencies owing to the fact that when its verses were compiled, many of them were taken out of context and listed one after the other. politicians should refrain from playing on people’s religious sentiments and using it in canvassing for support because it can easily erupt into violence. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 121 nigerians must first and foremost learn to be tolerant of each other irrespective of their divide because peace is the pre-requisite for social development. nigerian should imbibe peace as the most relevant for the continued existence of humanity for without peace in the society, human life will be precarious. the nigerian constitution should be strengthened and our elite should always respect it. conclusion one of the stated aims of holding forth the much criticized amalgamation of 1914 is to build a virile country where even though tongues and tribes differ, brotherhood, love for one another and mutual benefits shall reign but religious violence has since made mockery of these lofty dreams. unarguably, most of the religious violence in nigeria are reactions against the ever-increasing failed leadership, unemployment, poverty, hardship, political and other social disequilibrium occasioned by poor economic management, accusations and allegations of neglect, oppression, domination, exploitation, victimization, discrimination, marginalization, nepotism and bigotry. violence also occurs when groups or an individual attempts to modify or alter other people’s domination. nigeria has no respectable agreement and formula on how wealth, power and opportunity are shared among individuals, groups and tribes and that is why while others get abundantly, others are serially denied virtually everything. thus, in nigeria there seems to be a divisive interplay of politics, ethnicism and religions which inadvertently lead to violence. every form of violence is often deadly but religious war is deadlier just it has stagnated nigerian development. references abiola, o.(1984). a textbook of west african history ad 1000 to the present day. ado-ekiti: omolayo. achebe, c. (1983). the trouble with nigeria. enugu:, fourth dimension. achebe, c. (2012). there was a country. england:, penguin. adeogun, a. (2006). “ethnic conflicts and nigeria’s democracy and development, 1999 2004”in hassan saliu et al (eds.) democracy and development in nigeria: social issues and external relations. ilorin: concept igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 122 ahiuma, y. (2016). poverty:112m nigerian live below poverty line. vanguard 19th october. ajuluchukwu, m.c.k. (1989). “c.a.n., christ and government” democratic weekly. sunday august 13, pp.9-10 alozie, c. (2017). “tension as two churches quarrel over space in imo” vanguard 8th may. amanambu, u.e. (2013). nigerian odyssey: the missing link. okigwe: whytem. ani, k. j. (2012). “the impact of religious conflict in inter-group relations in nigeria”. in boko haram and terrorism vol2. eds. anyanwu, s. isidore, n. enugu snaap.pp.156-172 audu, o. (2016). “boko haram offering loans to nigerian youth as recruitment tools-military” premium times monday 30th april. awajiusuk, j.f, (2014). “corruption in nigeria: a product of a twisted value system” bulletin of ecumenical theology.( 26). pp. 129-143. bashir, a. (2002) “religious tolerance, harmony and nation building” in e.t. jolayemi, et. al. (eds.) leading issues in general studies, humanities and social sciences. university of ilorin: pp. 2330 bako, s. (1997). muslim, state and the struggle for democratic transition: from cooperation to conflict, in becrett. . p. and young, c. eds. dilemmas of democracy in nigeria. rochester: university of rochester. pp.284-301. bidmos, m.a (1993). inter-religious dialogue-the nigerian experience. lagos: islamic bureau. binniyat , l(2016). 20 injured, houses razed as assemblies of god faction clash in kaduna. vanguard 12th july. clarke, p. and linden, i. (1982). islam in modern nigeria: a study of a muslim community in a postindependence state 1960-1988. munchen: kaiser. coser, l. (1956). the functions of social conflicts. new york: free press. crowder, m. (1978). the story of nigeria. london: faber & faber. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 123 danjibo, n.d. (2012). islamic fundamentalism and sectarian violence: the maitatsine and boko haram crises in northern nigeria. ibadan: institute of african studies emejo, j (2017). “southern kaduna: religion will kill nigeria if…soyinka” thisday 13th january. ergun, m.c. (2002). unveiling islam. kaduna: evangel. fabiyi, o. and akasike, c. (2016) “sheriff created boko haram, says borno ag” the punch. august 26. falola, t. (1998). violence in nigeria: the crisis of religious politics and secular ideologies. new york: rochester. gusau, u. (2009). “ex-bornu commissioner killed as boko haram member” daily trust 2nd august. haynes, j. (2003). religion and third world politics. new york: colorado. hillerbrand, h.j. ed. (1968). the protestant reformation. new york: harper&row. inuwa, a.b. (2017). “boko haram gave me n200 to detonate explosive”. nation wed. 8th feb. ismail, o. (2012). “northern leaders seek amnesty for boko haram”. sunday sun 9th february. iruonagbe, t.c. (2013). religion and its attendant conflicts in nigerian: a paradox. ogun: covenant kelly, o.p. (1968). two views of islam: that of the muslim reformers and that of christian missionaries in hausa land in the 19th and early 20th centuries. london: oriental. kelly, o p. (1999). “integration and identity in muslim schools: britain, united states and montreal” in islam and christian-muslim relations. 10/2, pp.197–217. kukah, m.h. (1993). religion, politics and power in the northern nigeria. ibadan: spectrum. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 124 kukah, m.h. (2003). ”dialogue and the church’s mission in a pluralistic society: the case of nigeria” bulletin of ecumenical theology.15.(1).pp.3760. kukah, m.h. (2010). “bokoharam: some reflections on causes and effects” ed. simon anyanwu. bokoharam religious conflicts and dialogue initiatives in nigeria vol.1 owerri: edu-edy.pp.1-29. njoku, l. (2017). assemblies of god members fight over property. guardian 27th feb. nwanaju, i. (2008). christian-muslim relations in nigeria. berlin: lagos. ogugua, p. (2012). the poverty of nigerian’s democracy: amatter of crisis of values. in chiegboka a.b.c, okodo, a.i., umezinwa, e.c and umeanolue, i.l. eds.bountiful harvest festschrift in honour of very rev msgr j.p.c nzomiwu. nimo: rex charles. pp.415-430 olopade, o. (2004). access to justice – factors militating against and solutions thereto. being a paper presented at montreal,quebec, canada august oloyede, o.i. (2000). “sharia in the north, concerns of the south: renewed controversy over the sharia in nigeria”. in balogun, i.a.b. ed. islamic tenets and the sharia. ibadan: sambookman.pp.129-154 omenka, n. eds. (2009). “blaming the gods: religious propaganda in the nigerian civil war” bulletin of ecumenical theology. 21(.1) pp.41-79. onaiyekan, j. (2000). “the sharia in nigeria: issues and perspectives” bulletin of ecumenical theology.12.(1). pp.69-87. paden, i. n. (1986). ahmadu bello sarduana of sokoto values and leadership in nigeria. london: hodder and stoughton. salmone, f. (1999). “ethnic identities and religion” religion and society in nigeria historical and sociological perspectives. ed. olupona jacob and toyin falola. ibadan: spectrum, pp.45-64. soni, d. (2013). “dokubo is a coward who will flee in event of war – northern elders and say jonathan ’ll account for ‘our women and children someday”. vanguard 8th june. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 125 umoru, h.(2010). “zoning: don’t push us to the wall, violence may be inevitable -atiku warns”vanguard 15th december. usigbe, l. (2012). “embrace islam or resign, boko haram tells jonathan” nigerian tribune, monday 6th august. uwechue, r. (2003). reflection on the nigerian civil war facing the future. nigeria: wordsmith. wakili, i. (2013). “boko haram has foreign links-jonathan”. daily trust 11th may. igwebuike and communication in nollywood: a qualitative review igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 251 igwebuike and communication in nollywood: a qualitative review justine john dyikuk university of jos, plateau state justinejohndyikuk@gmail.com executive summary the current digital society has affected almost every sector of life. the nigerian movie industry, which suffered the onslaught of colonialism, is not left out. nollywood is tossed about by the desire to be truly african, on the one hand, and the aspiration to be at par with hollywood and bollywood, on the other. this qualitative review entitled “igwebuike and communication in nollywood: a qualitative review” investigated the matter, using the homophily principle of communication as theoretical framework. it found undue western influence, negative narratives and inability to explore igwebuike as the communalistic philosophy of igbo people in home movies. it recommended promotion of african heritage, transmission of culture and civilization, promotion of community life, decolonizing the film industry and entrenchment of a valuable digital culture as possible panacea. the study concluded that, given its place in global reckoning, nollywood has the capacity to overtake other prominent industries in the world towards providing a classroom of entertainment and education for second generation igbos and other africans in the diaspora. keywords: communalism, communication, film, igwebuike, nollywood, kanu ikechukwu anthony. justine john dyikuk igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 252 introduction culture and communication are critical elements of the nigerian movie industry. this is because most contents of cinematic platforms are laced with african flavour. from typical village square scenes to settings of royalty in the igwe, emir or oba’s palace, the film industry in africa is africanised. this africanisation speaks to the heart of culture and communication. while communication transmits culture, culture is handed over to unborn generations through effective and efficient communication. this brings to the fore the igwebuike philosophy of the igbos of south eastern nigeria, which communicates the communalistic behaviour, ethos, beliefs, culture, tradition and norms of the people. the already-vibrant movie industry in nigeria is a handy platform for the romance between igwebuike rendering and communication. as the philosophy which encapsulates the way of life and values of the igbos, igwebuike pushes the frontiers of family system, kindred and a strong sense of fellow-feeling. because the movie industry in nigeria has journeyed through an amateur screen to a golden goose on a global spotlight (dyikuk, 2015), it serves as a vehicle for transmitting various values which are dear to the people. one of such values is igwebuike which connotes communal living and peaceful existence in igbo societies. igbo films, which are an irresistible recipe on the nollywood menu, are replete with scenes which express africanism, care for one another and common solidarity. despite the lofty place it occupies on the movie screen in nigeria, some critics, like johnson (2000), are of the opinion that igbo and english movies are culturally confusing. perhaps this is because, for instance, a film could begin with emeka (not real name), in the village, as a local champion who speaks using idiomatic expressions and end with him, in lagos, as a “white man” who appears in a suit and dazzles everyone with big grammar (british accent). unfortunately, despite few instances where culture is infused in scenes, the film industry in nigeria has not paid enough attention on promoting values, customs and traditions. copying western values has also been an albatross of the industry. igwebuike and communication in nollywood: a qualitative review igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 253 to this end, this study aims at: 1. appraising the place of communication and culture in nollywood, despite western influence 2. accounting for nollywood through a historical sketch 3. doing a critical review of igwebuike in nollywood 4. assessing elements of communication in nollywood 5. making case for communicating an igwebuikenised cinema in nigeria conceptual spadework a. igwebuike: as a composite metaphorical igwebuike igbo word, igwebuike is a combination of three words igwe bu ike, which means: “igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power. thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force or strength, and at this level, no task is beyond their collective capability” (kanu, 2017b, pp.69-70). b. communication: various types of communication include: verbal, nonverbal and written communication (go, monachello, baum, 1996 & dyikuk, 2017b). also, “expressive or informal communication occurs when information is not directly related to role performance” (mohamad, 2008,p.9). in this article, we would understand communication as showcasing igwebuike (african values) in nigerian films. c. nollywood: this is the nigerian film industry which traces its roots to 1992, in onitsha, when kenneth nnebue produced the movie living in bondage 1 & 11 an igbo-language film with english subtitles. experts cite this as the beginning of commercial film production in nigeria (mordi & onu, 1999). justine john dyikuk igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 254 theoretical framework the study adopts the homophily principle of communication as theoretical framework. this principle, which speaks to the heart of the degree of difference on any attribute or group of attributes between a sender and a receiver, holds that for any change agent, such as films makers, cinematographers, videographers, communication scholars, journalists, teachers and other professionals, to succeed in influencing a receiver of communication, namely audiences and viewers, both the agent and the receiver must have the same attributes. these attributes could mean the same culture, norms, education, socialization process and socio-cultural, religious and political values (mgbejeme, 2009). the choice of the homophily principle of communication as theoretical framework for the study is informed by pan-africanism, which seeks a decolonization of the cinematic platform towards raising african scholars and films makers who are in touch with their roots and share the same vision, passion, values and norms with their people. the principle argues that it is when films makers, cinematographers, videographers, communication scholars, journalists, teachers and other experts in the nigerian film industry africanise the screen that their audiences would better appreciate watching nollywood. a nollywood inspired by igwebuike, especially african communalism, is key to effective education and entertainment which the movie industry desires to achieve. literature review and discussion igwebuike rendering: an overview igwebuike is an igbo-african philosophy of complementarity. igwebuike explains how the ethic of reciprocity is at the heart of african philosophy and religion (kanu, 2017d). igwebuike philosophy aligns with its inner principles of inclusiveness, complementarity and solidarity (kanu, 2017b). the igbos believe that “no people can rise to an influential position in the community of nations without a distinct and efficient nationality” (kanu, 2017e,p.36). this is because of the high sense of community over the individual. “igwebuike rests on the african principles of solidarity and complementarity. it argues igwebuike and communication in nollywood: a qualitative review igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 255 that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation” (kanu, 2016, p.110-111). explaining this further, kanu opines that the african worldview: is ruled by the spirit of complementarity which seeks the conglomeration, the unification, the summation of fragmented thoughts, opinions and other individualized and fragmented thoughts and ideas. it believes essentially that the whole is greater than the corresponding parts. it is also a view that maintains that by the coming together of the individual or parts, a viable and sustainable whole will emerge, and by this, the parts will get to the brim purpose of their existence (2017c, p.14). the extended family system is tied to faith in the supreme being and the deities, as well as in ethos of the people. “because their existence and action, in the midst of communication, are limited by time, place, perception and knowledge, their being is existentially complimentary. hence they are naturally candidates for company and co-operations” (kanu, 2018, pp.18-19). in africa, the individual is connected to the divine through interaction with the deities and ancestors who are believed to intercede for the living. this reveals a collegiality that is tied to faith and morals which further provide “dos” and “don’ts” as ethical codes that guide personal and interpersonal communication. nollywood: a historical sketch the first nigerian films by two filmmakers, ola balogun and hubert ogunde were produced in the 1960s, but the high cost of production put them out of market (adesokan, 2006). by this time, the stage had been set for television broadcasting in the country. the 1970s saw the emergence of the first nigerian feature, kongi’s harvest, written by wole soyinka and directed by ossie davis. when state-owned stations began broadcasting in the 1980s, theatre productions which were circulated in video format took centre stage in lagos. through justine john dyikuk igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 256 his nek video links, kenneth nnebue produced two yoruba movies namely aje ni iyami (1989) and ina ote (1990). from that time on, an amateur video trade production (cinema of nigeria) began. however, it was his movie, living in bondage 1 & 11 an igbo-language film with english subtitles which was produced in onitsha in 1992 (mordi & onu, 1999) that experts hold as the beginning of nollywood and commercial film production in nigeria. when nnebue’s two movies glamour girls 1 & 2 (1994) and true confession (1995) hit the new movie industry (shaka, 2003), lack of equipment, piracy and harsh economic policies by international monetary fund (imf) and structural adjustment programme (sap) frustrated the industry (haynes, 1995). in his submission, uchenna (2009) explains that what we know today as nollywood passed through four periods of development, namely; the colonial period (1903-1960), independence period (1960-1972), indigenization decree period (1972-1992) and nollywood period (1992 till date). he further maintained that the history of film in nigeria from 1903 to 1992 is related to the crucial stages of nigeria’s history. as it stands today, the nigerian film industry (nollywood) ranks among the top three filmmaking industries in the world, in terms of the quantity of productions, popularity amongst nigerians and the transnational audiences (hanmakyugh, 2019). igwebuike and communication in nollywood: an investigation identities based on religion, ethnicity, regionalism and communalism, which are essentially “given” rather than “chosen” have existed since the creation of nigeria (jega, 2001). for the igbos of eastern nigeria, igwebuike explains their identity. this identity further reveals who they are and their ultimate destiny. their identity is communal in nature. accordingly, “these common history, culture, and customs are what this thesis describes as ‘communalism’ in terms of the nature of the igbo and african cultures. it embodies the substance of the beingness of africans or the africanness of africans as a matter of fact, their existence and the quiditas of their characteristics” (uwah, 2009, p.11). this is where igwebuike comes in. igwebuike and communication in nollywood: a qualitative review igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 257 igwebuike captures the communalistic nature of igbo societies. the anthropological depictions of africans, especially igbo philosophy and thought, are seen in their communalism which buttresses, more or less, the aesthetic cultural elements of these films (uwah, 2009). experts on african film think that “communalism captures the ecosystem that operates in african cosmology which serves as a core attribute of most nollywood filmic story lines” (uwah, 2009,p.54). it is essential to understand that the notion of being in existence is founded on communalism, whereby, every being is considered to be related to one another (uwah, 2009). to this end, the concept of god in african communalism is revealed by the names given to him in african languages (uwah, 2011). for moemeka (1997, p.181), “just as the communalistic culture demands that the younger generation must respect, listen to, and learn from the elders, so it demands from the elders appropriate action to provide conducive learning experiences for the younger generation.” communication is always a question of attitude towards one’s neighbour closely tied to communication rules designed to ensure communal social order. he contends that in both verbal and nonverbal, communalistic acts are engaged in in order to confirm, solidify and promote social order (moemeka, 1998). igwebuike is conveyed through effective communication. perhaps, this is why to maintain cohesion in african communalistic societies, there is a “belief in a kind of power communication [vital force] between the ‘spirit world’ and the ‘human world’, whereby activities in one realm affects those in the other realm” (uwah, 2011,p.94). the igbo communication style is learned within the primary socialization process of the igbo ethnic group. they also use their communication styles for code switching, engaging in conversations with their co-ethnic membership as well as interacting with family members in their ancestral home (onuzulike, 2018). justine john dyikuk igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 258 that second generation igbos are able to learn igbo traditional culture directly from their home-land through nollywood (onuzulike, 2018) demonstrates the relevance of igwebuike to the cinematic platform. movies such as my best friend (2003), oil village (2001), widow (2007), last ofala (2002), fool at 40 (2006) showcase the concept of communalism (uwah, 2009). film as a means of communication is a potent tool for image making, cultural diplomacy, propaganda, education, information and entertainment (hanmakyugh, 2019). today, “one impressive aspect of nollywood in all of these is in the representation of religio-cultural rituals as a major aspect of communalism” (uwah, 2011,p.86). culture is the bedrock of nollywood’s thematic film expositions. one can, therefore, conclude that nollywood is nigeria’s cultural ambassador. although nollywood films are quite potent in celebrating and promoting nigerian cultures, some of these films have come under thematic criticisms as they glamourize negative ritual themes in the name of culture (hanmakyugh, 2019). recommendations: towards communicating an igwebuikenised nollywood 1. promotion of african heritage: even as it seeks to mirror society, nollywood should promote local content, which includes rich artifacts, customs/cultural images and idioms. by the same token, african drama and cinema should be at the forefront of promoting african (nigerian) identity (dyikuk, 2015) to the world through igwebuike and all it encapsulates. that way, nigerians abroad and successive generations would be able to remember their rich heritage. 2. transmission of culture and civilization: this study argues that igwebuike should promote an african civilization through culture. lovers of sports, movies, documentaries and other genres of television in the country should take advantage of what digital television offers to not only have a good time in terms of recreation but also learn new cultures and civilization (dyikuk & chinda, 2017) which are capable of building bridges of peace amongst various people across the country and the african continent. igwebuike and communication in nollywood: a qualitative review igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 259 3. promotion of community life: igwebuike stands for community life and sharing. as such, nigerian films should be “deeply rooted in nigerian cultural traditions and social texts, which focus on nigerian community life” (onuzulike, 2009,p.176). this is in agreement with the submission of another film scholar who explained that “one impressive aspect of nollywood in all of these is in the representation of cultural rituals as a major aspect of communalism” (uwah, 2009, p.25). interestingly, the works of experts on communication and african communalism, like moemeka (1997), lend credence to igbo style of communication which promotes community life, sharing and a strong sense of fellow-feeling. 4. decolonizing the film industry: because africa has been misunderstood and misrepresented by the west, it behooves scholars and film experts to use nollywood as a platform for decolonisation. “by understanding the interactivity between africans and their environment as communalistic people, one discovers the errors of the colonialists who rejected what they did not understand of the people’s cultures and [mis]represented them as barbaric and paganistic” (uwah, 2009, p.25). promoting igwebiuke worldwide may serve as the desired recipe that would checkmate the incursion of western values in the local film industry. 5. entrenching a valuable digital culture: because “the world has evolved a fascinating digital culture” (dyikuk & chinda, 2017,p.41), it is crucial for film makers to seize the opportunity to promote good homegrown movies which teach morals and values from an african perspective. for example, the criticism that the ongoing big brother naija which seems to showcase western values is receiving could be addressed by using the platform to entrench african values. besides, nollywood can help the diaspora community or second generation igbos to be in touch with their roots. justine john dyikuk igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 260 conclusion we saw that although culture and communication are important elements of the nigerian movie industry, the igwebuike philosophy, which aligns with the principles of inclusiveness, complementarity and solidarity, has not been given a pride of place on the screen. this is why the author employed the homophily principle of communication as theoretical framework to demonstrate that film makers, cinematographers, videographers, communication scholars and journalists in nigeria have the capacity to change the narrative towards giving igwebuike philosophy, with its ingredients of culture, norms, education, socialization process and socio-cultural, religious and political values, its rightful place in home movies. given its place in global reckoning, nollywood could overtake hollywood and bollywood if experts insist on infusing african values, like igwebuike, into film production. this way, africans in the diaspora, particularly second generation igbos, will benefit more. in conclusion, to effectively and efficiently communicate an igwebuikenised nollywood, promotion of african heritage, transmission of culture and civilization, promotion of community life, decolonizing the film industry and entrenchment of valuable digital culture must be given high premium. references adesokan, a. (2006). new nigerian cinema: an interview with akin adesokan www.indiana.edu. accessed on 8/19/2020. dyikuk, j. j. & chinda, f. e. (2017). digital terrestrial television: a critical assessment of the adventures and misadventures of nigeria’s digital switch over. international journal of applied research and technology. 6(12): [40 – 49]. dyikuk, j.j (2015). the nollywood narrative: africa’s golden goose on a global spotlight? global advanced research journal of social science (garjss) vol. 4(x). igwebuike and communication in nollywood: a qualitative review igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 261 dyikuk, j.j (2017). scrutinizing organisational communication through work-environment, power and politics in nigeria. international journal of advanced research and publications (ijarp). vol. 1 is. 2. [45-53]. go, f. m., monachello, m. l., & baum, t. (1996). human resource management in the hospitality industry. ny: john wiley & sons, inc. hanmakyugh, t.t (2019). ritual culture phenomenon in igbo films: a study of money is money. ejotmas: ekpoma journal of theatre and media arts. vol. 7 nos. 1-2. [376-385] jega, a. 2001. identity transformation and identity politics under structural adjustment in nigeria. stockholm: nordiska afrikaininstitutet and centre for research and documentation. johnson, d. (2000). ‘culture and art in hausa video films’ in haynes, j (ed) nigerian video films. ohio: university centre for international studies. kanu, i.a (2016). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. an african journal of arts and humanities. a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies. vol. 2 no 1.[108-113]. kanu, i.a (2017a) igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies. vol. 3 no 2. [63-75]. kanu, i.a (2017b). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies. vol. 3 no 7. [165-183]. kanu, i.a (2017c). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. an african journal of arts and humanities. a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies. vol. 3 no. 1 [9-18]. kanu, i.a (2017d). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. an african journal of arts and humanities. a publication of justine john dyikuk igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 262 tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies. vol. 3 no 2. [153-160]. kanu, i.a (2017e). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. an african journal of arts and humanities. a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies. vol. 3 no 6. [16-50]. kanu, i.a (2018.) igwebuike and being in igbo ontology. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies. vol. 4 no 5. [12-21]. mgbejume, o. (2009). communication and society: some basic issues. jos: motion picture academy. moemeka, a. (1998). “communalism as a fundamental dimension of culture” in journal of communication. blackwell publishing. [118 – 138]. moemeka, a. (1997). communalistic societies: community and selfrespect as african values. in c. christians & m. traber (eds.), communication ethics and universal values (pp. 170–193). thousand oaks, ca: sage. mohamad, s. f (2008). "effects of communication on turnover intention: a case of hotel employees in malaysia". graduatetheses and dissertations. paper 11164. mordi, v & onu, c (1992). living in bondage 1 & 2. prod. nnebue, k. with kenneth okonkwo, nnennanwabueze, francis agu, and kanayo o. kanayo. nek video links production. onuzulike, u (2018). the igbo communication style: conceptualizing ethnic communication theory. do 10.1007/978-3-319-75447-5_4. and technological hybridity. international journal of intercultural communication studies, 18(1), 176–187. onuzulike, u. (2018). explicating communication styles in the diaspora: the case of young igbo-americans. in w. jia (ed.), intercultural communication: adapting to emerging global realities: a reader (2nd ed., pp. xxx–xxx). san diego, ca: cognella publisher. igwebuike and communication in nollywood: a qualitative review igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework 263 shaka, f. 2003. ‘rethinking the nigerian video film industry: technological fascination and the domestication game.’in f. ogunleye (ed), african video film today. manzini, swaziland: academic publishers. uchenna, o. (2009). nollywood: the emergence of the nigerian video film industry and its representation of nigerian culture. [online] a master’s thesis submitted to the faculty of clark university: worcester, massachusetts. uwah, i. e (2009). from rituals to films: a case study of the visual rhetoric of igbo culture in nollywood films. phd thesis, faculty of humanities, dublin city university, ireland. uwah, i. e (2011). the representation of african traditional religion and culture in nigeria popular films. politics and religion 1/vol. v. udk: 316.72:[791.23:2(669) ; 791.232(669). thirdspacing the exile in ezekiel's theology of divine presence and its implications for the abrahamic religions: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 179 thirdspacing the exile in ezekiel's theology of divine presence and its implications for the abrahamic religions: an igwebuike perspective malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd santa clara university california, united states of america theophilusmalachy@gmail.com abstract while the community in judah considered those in exile as "other" because they had no temple and were not within the geographical location called "judah" (cf. ezek 11:15), this study leans on the critical spatial theories of edward w. soja and wesley a. kort to show that location does not guarantee the experience of the divine. what counts is not location, but praxis, that is, our orientation towards the holy one. yhwh's expression (cf. ezek 11:16), in reaction to the tension that existed between the exilic community and the remnant community in judah, challenges the religious tension and religious exclusivism that characterize our world today. it shows that despite the existential peculiarities of each community of faith, there exists a theological minimum that can form the basis of our experience of the divine. sometimes, we may think we possess the fullness of truth, as symbolized in the temple with its sacred adornments or as contained in the torah, the holy bible or the koran, but the reality of the experience of the divine does not necessarily lie in the one who possesses the truth. it is not the possession of the truth that matters, but how prepared we are to walk in the light of the truth that we possess, irrespective of our religious affiliations. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 180 keywords: igwebuike, ezekiel, theology, divine presence, abrahamic religions introduction the idea of divine presence was imperative to the people of the ancient near east. this was evident in their cultic practices. temples, sacrifices and rituals ensured the deities were present to those who revered them. the kingdoms of israel and judah were not exceptions to this concern for the presence of the divine. they may have depended upon the theologies of the ancient near east in the construction of their theology of divine presence. however, "around the time of the neo-babylonian empire, the israelite prophetic writings began to show unambiguous evidence of a changing attitude towards some widely shared assumptions about divine presence." 1 notable among these literatures is the book of ezekiel. the book of ezekiel is punctuated by three great visions linked together by the experience of divine glory. in the first vision (ezek 13), the glory of yhwh comes to ezekiel and his fellow captives in exile beside the river chebar of babylon (cf. ezek 1:1). in ezek 8-11 (the second vision), the glory of yhwh leaves the temple and takes a stand on the mountain to the east of the city (cf. ezek 11:23). in the last part of ezekiel's prophecy (ezek 40-48), ezekiel sees another vision of the divine glory returning and inhabiting the glorious temple. in the above-stated visions (ezek 1-3; 8-11; 40-48), one observes that the presence of yhwh is experienced in three different spaces: in the temple, in exile and on the mountain east of the city. these manifestations of the divine presence in different spaces challenge, not only the traditional priestly understanding of yhwh as exclusively "tabernacled" in the jerusalem temple, but also the claims of monopoly on god from different religious groups in our world today. 1 nathan macdonald, divine presence and absence in exilic and post exilic judaism, fzat 61, eds. nathan macdonald and izaak d. de hulster. (tubingen: mohr siebeck 2013), xi. thirdspacing the exile in ezekiel's theology of divine presence and its implications for the abrahamic religions: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 181 the religious struggles in our world today echo the religious tension that existed between the exilic group and those that remained in judah, as both claimed to be the true qahal (assembly) of yhwh (cf. ezek 11:15-16; 33:25-29). we live in a world polarized by religious conflicts and faith leaders' claim to exclusivity of truth and monopoly on god. this study will illuminate the reality that god cannot be monopolized or restricted to any particular group, a truth that echoes an igwebuike perspective. to demonstrate this, i will, first and foremost, put the igwebuike theology in dialogue with ezekiel's visions of divine presence, particularly with respect to the stands of the jerusalemite community against the exilic community (cf. ezek 11:15-16). then i will lean on the critical spatial theories of edward w. soja and wesley a. kort, to show how praxis and mobility in the visions of ezekiel bridge the gap between the sacred and "non-sacred" spaces. to achieve my objective in this study, i will also interpret the exile space as thirdspace. since the exile motif is theologically rich and entrenched in the formation of israel's self-consciousness, i will focus on the importance of space and memory, looking at the place of the temple/jerusalem in the consciousness of israel through the ages. this will enable us see the significance of the exile space in its firstspace, secondpace and thidspace elements. in discussing the exile as thirdspace, i will show how praxis determines the presence or absence of the divine. the fruits of this study will subsequently shed some light on religion in our contemporary world, especially as it is practiced among the three abrahamic faiths. the aim is to show how this study, on one hand, challenges the religious tension and religious exclusivism that characterize our world today and, on the other hand, lends its voice to the efforts and progress made so far in the area of inter-religious dialogue. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 182 ezekiel's theology of divine presence in dialogue with igwebuike 2 theology 2 kanu, ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy, 14. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kanu, i. a. (2019). on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159-176. kanu, i. a. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian thirdspacing the exile in ezekiel's theology of divine presence and its implications for the abrahamic religions: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 183 in ezekiel, the presence of god is experienced, not only through the .cf] (hand) ַיד and (spirit)רוחַ but also through the divine ,(glory) ּכבֹוד ezek 3:12, 14; 8:3; 11:1, 24; 40:1; 43:5]. the spirit and the hand of yhwh share a connotation of power; they are, therefore, closely related concepts and are used in the visions of ezekiel as instruments of divine presence and activity. however, for the sake of brevity, i will be looking at divine presence from the perspective of the represents an outward manifestation of (glory) ּכבֹוד yhwh. theּכבֹוד the divine presence. it is what john t. strong calls the "hypostasis of yhwh." 3 s. dean mcbride defines hypostasis as "a quality, epithet, attribute, manifestation or the like of a deity which through a process of personification and differentiation has become a distinct (if not fully independent) divine being in its own right." 4 it is interesting to note that ezekiel experienced this visible manifestation of presence of the divine while he was with his fellow university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igboafrican modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. 3 cf. john t. strong, god's käbôd: "the presence of yhwh in the book of ezekiel," in the book of ezekiel: theological and anthropological perspectives, eds. margaret s. odell and john t. strong sblss 9(atlanta: sbl 2000), 69-95. 4 s. dean mcbride, "the deuteronomic name theology" (ph.d diss. harvard university, 1969), 5. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 184 exiles in babylon, specifically, by the river chebar (ezek 1:1). according to pieter de vries, "the chebar was a canal near the city of nippur and was part of an extensive system of irrigation channels that distributed water from the euphrates and tigris to nippur and the surrounding district." 5 it is probably not without significance that yhwh first calls ezekiel beside a river. in fact, de vries further notes that "the countries beyond israel were regarded as unclean (cf. ezek 4:13; amos 7:17). so, israelite exiles preferred to seek communion with god in the vicinity of flowing water, to which cleansing power was attributed (lev. 14:5, 50; 15:13; num. 19:17)." 6 this definitely resonates with the psalmist who also presented a picture of the exiles "by the rivers of babylon" (cf. ps 137:1-4). it is significant, therefore, to realize that it is in this same unclean land, in which the song of zion cannot be sung (cf. ps 137:4), that ezekiel experiences the ים ֹות ֱאֹלִהֵּֽ in both the .("visions of god") ַמְראַ֥ priestly and the zion theologies, the ּכבֹוד functions as a technical expression of god's presence. 7 the place in p (priestly) where god's glory descends 8 is the tabernacle. in exod 40:33b-35, we see how the tabernacle is constructed and completed. but more importantly, the text provides us with information about the relationship of the ּכבֹוד to the tabernacle: 9 thus, moses finished the work. then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the ּכבֹוד yhwh filled the tabernacle. but moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting, because the cloud settled upon it and the ּכבֹוד yhwh filled the tabernacle (exod 40:33b-35). 5 pieter de vries, käbôd yhwh in the old testament: with particular reference to the book of ezekiel, (leiden: brill, 2016), 236. 6 ibid., 236. 7 john f. kutsko, between heaven and earth: divine presence and absence in ezekiel (winona lake: eisenbrauns, 2000), 83. 8 except for the pre-tabernacle texts in exodus 16 and 24. 9 kutsko., 82. thirdspacing the exile in ezekiel's theology of divine presence and its implications for the abrahamic religions: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 185 after the experience in sinai, the tabernacle itself "becomes a mobile sanctuary, a place of rendezvous for moses and the ּכבֹוד yhwh." 10 however, even though the tabernacle is a mobile sanctuary, it has no self-locomotive ability. the ּכבֹודyhwh is housed in it, fixed and carried by its bearers until it has its final resting place in the temple, as the primary locus of divine presence for israel. kutsko observes: the ideology that characterized zion theology of divine presence, especially during the monarchic tradition, is represented by the divine epithet ב ָ֣ ש ֹות י יםְיהָוָ֛ה ְצָבאֵ֖ ַהְּכֻרִבִ֑ , that is, the "yhwh, the god of hosts who sits enthroned above the cherubim" (cf. 1 sam 4:4; 2sam 6:2). 11 the transfer of this ideology to the temple of solomon, according to kutsko, "championed a theology of god's election of and permanent presence in the jerusalem temple (2 kgs 19:15)." 12 thus, ezekiel's ים ֹות ֱאֹלִהֵּֽ in a foreign and unclean land ("visions of god") ַמְראַ֥ demonstrates a shift in the status quo. it fashions an image of god who is not restricted to the temple and provides an effective image of god's presence in exile. however, the inhabitants of jerusalem do not see the exiles as faithful. in ezek 11:15, they share their opinion about the exiles. they say that "[the exiles] have gone far from yhwh; to us this land is given for a possession." in other words, the inhabitants of jerusalem believe that the exiles are cut off from the lord. for them, exile is synonymous with punishment and with being distanced from god. they think of exile as abandonment by god, whereas jerusalem is proof of nearness to god. but they are flat out wrong. in ezek 11:16, yhwh responds to the theological position of the inhabitants of jerusalem with respect to the exiles. they believe that 10 kutsko, 82. 11 ibid., 83. 12 ibid, 83. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 186 yhwh has disinherited the exiles. but yhwh responds that he has not disinherited the exiles; rather, he will be for them a ט ש ְמַעֹ֔ ִמְקָדָ֣ __ a sanctuary in some measure. some translate this as "a sanctuary in small measure." but no matter the translation, the basic point is that yhwh is accessible also to the exilic community in babylon. god's presence is available for the exiles, even without the institution of the temple. although the exiles are far from the temple, they are not far from yhwh. this echoes what i see as the basic tenet of igwebuike theology, a theology that "challenges every separatist theory that tries to exclude people based on religion, tribe, ethnicity, nationality" 13 or even geographical location. in this theology, there is no "us" against "them." it is a theology that sees the entire human race as a family, a family of god's children. for, "when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful and can constitute an insurmountable force." 14 thus, as a theological reality, igwebuike emphasizes that any human being, irrespective of religious affiliation or geographical location, is a child of god; has the capacity to experience god; and "can be an instrument in the hand of the divine for the global picture of salvation. it de-emphasizes those things that separate us." 15 edward w. soja and wesley a. kort shed more light on this, albeit, from a different perspective, using their spatial theories. critical spatial theory this study is influenced by works published in the field of critical spatial theory. these works have not only inspired biblical scholars, but in recent decades, the theoretical perspectives of this theory have been applied by scholars of biblical and religious studies in their 13 malachy theophilus, "the role of rehab in the conquest story of joshua as a manifestation of igwebuike theology: a narrative analysis of joshua 2," in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5, no. 8 (2019), 91. 14 anthony i. kanu, "igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization," in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no. 1 (march 2016), 3. 15 theophilus, "the role of rehab in the conquest story of joshua," 73. thirdspacing the exile in ezekiel's theology of divine presence and its implications for the abrahamic religions: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 187 respective works. 16 liv ingeborg lied observes that in recent times, there has been a rise of theoretical interests in the human conception of space and place. 17 he further notes: this field of theoretical debate has primarily developed in the social sciences, but contributions have also come from other academic disciplines such as philosophy, architecture, and geography. 18 among the scholars who have greatly ignited the interest in space and spatiality are e.w. soja and wesley a. kort. according to lied, "the works of the french philosopher lefebvre 19 and the american geographer soja 20 have held a special position in the field of biblical and religious studies. this is likely due to the investment in their works by the scholars affiliated with the productive sbl-forum: construction of ancient space seminar." 21 16 see liv ingeborg lied, the other lands of israel: imagination of the land in 2 baruch, (leiden. boston: brill, 2008), 13. 17 ibid., 13. 18 ibid., 13. 19 henri lefebvre's la production de l'espace (paris: anthropos, 1974) was published as early as 1974. it was however mostly unknown to the wider circles of scholars until it was translated into english in 1991 (h. lefebvre, the production of space (trans. d. nicholson-smith, oxford: blackwell, 1991). 20 cf. edward w. soja, postmodern geographies: the research of space in critical social theory (london/new york: verso, 1989); edward w. soja, third space: journeys to los angeles and other real-and-imagined places (oxford: blackwell 1996). 21 lied, 13.the constructions of ancient space seminar ran as a joint project of the aar (american academy of religion) and sbl (society of biblical literature) from 2000-2005, the only cross-society venture of its time. for the first time in the development of biblical studies, participants in the seminar attempted to foreground and critically analyze space with the same theoretical nuance that biblical scholars have traditionally devoted to history. cf. www.case.edu/affil/gair/constructions/constructions.html. cf. among others j.l. berquist, "critical spatiality and the use of theory, " n.p. online: http: // www. cwru.edu / affl / gair / papers / 2002 papers/berquist.html; j.l. berquist, "critical malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 188 soja and his master, lefebvre, propose "a change of spatial epistemology." 22 they do this in reaction to modern notions that interpret space as "passively-existing materiality." 23 for soja, we create and form space by our practices. as such, space is not like an empty box; it is a cultural and social construct. 24 another important contribution of soja is his focus on lived experience and social praxis as the decisive aspect of human spatiality. 25 soja sees space as both material and as a product of imagination, 26 and describes the reconfiguration of both the material and the mental as thirdspace. 27 according to him, this space "is a product of a thirding of the spatial imagination, the creation of another mode of thinking about space that draws upon the material and the mental spaces of the traditional dualism but extends well beyond them in scope, substance and meaning." 28 lied's felicitous representation of soja captures the idea even better. in his words, soja sees space as the "comprehensive recombination of material perceptions ('firstspace') and mental conceptions of space ('secondspace') in lived experience ('thirdspace')." 29 furthermore, wesley kort adds another nuance to critical spatial theory. he observes that place-relations 30 are often valued at the spatiality and the construction of ancient worlds," in imagining biblical worlds: studies in spatial, social and historical constructs in honor of james h. flanagan (eds d.m. gunn and p.m. mcnutt, sheffield: sheffield academic press, 2002), 6480. 22 lied, 14. also see soja, "thirdspace: expanding the scope of the geographical imagination," in architecturally speaking: practice of art, architecture and the everyday (ed. alan read, london: routledge, 2000), 19-20. 23 lied, 14. 24 see soja, third space: journeys to los angeles, 13. see also lied, 14. 25 lied, 14. 26 soja, third space: journeys to los angeles, 11. 27 ibid., 11. 28 ibid., 11. 29 lied, 14. also cf. "thirdspace: expanding the scope," 21-22. 30 by "place-relations" kort means human attitude towards a particular geographical location. this is what soja technically calls "praxis." see wesley a. thirdspacing the exile in ezekiel's theology of divine presence and its implications for the abrahamic religions: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 189 expense of mobility and the temporal associations carried by mobility. indeed, this evaluation of place-relations over mobility often implies a contrast between attitudes that are in some way or to some degree judged as traditional and "sacred" in contrast to mobility and temporality, which are judged as modern and "profane" or "nonsacred." 31 kort further notes that "many studies and literatures have ignored the value of mobility, and have thus overvalued the less mobile by assuming that rootedness is morally and spiritually superior." 32 the high value currently placed on rootedness affects the status of the category of "sacred space." it becomes easy to pit "sacred space" against the "profane." kort alludes to the work of mircea eliade as an example, holding that eliade "continues to exert influence not because of the idealism of his phenomenology of sacred space but because he posits sacred space as a contrary to modern history, which is profane." 33 eliade says in the beginning of his work, the sacred and the profane, that "the first possible definition of the sacred is that it is the opposite of the profane." 34 kort concludes that the theories of sacred space, if they are to regain substance, should be based on a more adequate theory of positive place-relations, rather than on history constructed as sacred space's negative contrary. 35 if we begin our investigation of the locus of divine presence from the concept of soja's praxis or kort's positive place-relations, rather than kort, "sacred/profane and an adequate theory of human place-relations," in constructions of space: theory, geography, and narrative vol. 1 edited by jon l. berquist claudia v. camp (new york. london: t & t clark 2007)33-34. 31 kort, 33. 32 ibid, 34. 33 ibid., 34-35. 34 mircea eliade, the sacred and the profane (new york: harper & row publishers, 1959), 10. 35 wesley a. kort, "sacred/profane and an adequate theory of human place-relations," 34-35. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 190 the sacred/profane dichotomy, then we will realize, as larry e. shiner says, that "space is a homogenous continuum ... homogeneity means that every point is of equal value to every other point, that no direction has any privilege over any other, that space is continuous and infinite." 36 this does not mean that there are no places of awe. places exist where we feel compelled to "take off our shoes" because of a perceived connection with the transcendent. however, it does not also diminish the possibility of a supernatural encounter in places that are not that awe-inspiring. application of the spatial theories to ezekiel's theology of divine presence with particular reference to the sacred and non-sacred spaces applying the theories of soja and kort to ezekiel's theology of divine presence will help to understand the theological implication of the divine movements from the temple in jerusalem (sacred space) to the exiles in babylon (non-sacred space) in the visions of ezekiel. but to do this, it will be pertinent to understand first, how the world of the ancient near east saw and understood "exile," and second, the place jerusalem and its temple held in the consciousness of the average jew. dalit rom-shiloni notes that exile was a military punishment forced upon peoples, and usually designated as the last stage in a war. according to him, "subjugating peoples and territories led the neoassyrian, and later on the neo-babylonian empires to rearrange daily life at both the center and the periphery of their domains in diverse ways." 37 exile in the ancient near eastern world was mostly partial. 36 larry e. shiner, "sacred space, profane space, human space," journal of the american academy of religion, vol. 40, no. 4 (1972), 427. 37 dalit rom-shiloni, "ezekiel as the voice of the exiles and constructor of the exilic community," hebrew union college annual 76 (2005),1-2. rom shiloni also observed that "exile" had become an international imperial policy in the neo-assyrian period, mainly under tiglath-pilesser iii (745-27 b.c.e.) and his successors. thirdspacing the exile in ezekiel's theology of divine presence and its implications for the abrahamic religions: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 191 not all the defeated and captured peoples were taken into exile. in most cases, some were taken into captivity, while others remained in the homeland. this is exactly the case with the deportations of israel and judah reported in the biblical literature (cf. 2 kgs 15-17 and 2425). historically, the kingdoms of israel and judah experienced a number of exiles. worthy of note was the exile of 720 b.c.e., the exile of the northern kingdom of israel at the hand of the assyrians. those exiled were supposedly deported and scattered throughout the empire, although biblical archaeology has shown that many migrated to the southern kingdom of judah. 38 another important exile in the history of israel as a people was the exile of the southern kingdom of judah, otherwise known as the babylonian deportations. in 597 b.c.e., the noble members of the society in the southern kingdom of judah, including the prophet ezekiel, were exiled during the reign of nebuchadnezzar ii of babylon. in 586 b.c.e., when the temple was destroyed, a new batch of the judean exiles arrived in babylon, but there was a significant number of judeans who remained behind in judah. alluding to biblical sources, rom-shiloni observes that the event of the exile" divided the judean people into two communities, the exiles with king jehoiachin in babylon on one hand, and the people who remained in the land under king zedekiah (jeremiah 40:6), on the other." 39 38 see israel finkelstein and thomas römer, "comments of the historical background of the jacob narrative in genesis," zaw 126.3 (2014): 317-338. 39 dalit rom-shiloni,exclusive inclusivity: identity conflicts between the exiles and the people who remained (6th -5th centuries bce). (new york london: bloomsbury, 2013), xvi. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 192 for the exiled community, living in exile outside their homeland posed a theological crisis, a crisis that is poignantly captured by the psalmist: by the rivers of babylon we sat mourning and weeping when we remembered zion. on the poplars of that land we hung up our harps. there our captors asked us for the words of a song; our tormentors, for a joyful song: "sing for us a song of zion!" but how could we sing the lord's song in a foreign land? if i forget you jerusalem, let my right hand wither. may my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if i do not remember you, if i do not consider jerusalem my highest joy" (ps 137:1-6, nab). thus, living outside the promised land without the temple was indeed a crisis of faith for the exiles. the ongoing existence of the temple and the daily life in jerusalem advantaged the remnant community, who saw the exiles as the outcasts or better put, as "distant from yhwh" (ezek 11:15). following the priestly and the deuteronomic concepts of exile, the community in jerusalem believed the exile community was punished for their sins (deuteronomy 4:25-28; 8:19-20; leviticus 18:24-30; 20:22-24). in other words, the temple and jerusalem became for them the sign of election, as exile represents for them a sign of divine punishment. unlike the exile space, jerusalem, in the history of jewish religion, is a holy city, a locus sanctus, or an axis mundi 40 associated with historical events and eschatological expectations. it was the place for god to deal with god's people and to be a focal center of god's restored people. emile benveniste, in his study of the ancient european languages, particularly latin and greek, observes that biblical hebrew does not differentiate the idea of the sacred from that of holiness, unlike latin and greek. 41 in hebrew, both notions are rendered solely by qodeš and 40 a perceived center of the world, where heaven and earth are connected. 41 cf. e. benveniste, le vocabulaire des institutions indo-européennes. ii. pouvoir, droit, religion (paris: minuit, 1969), 187–207; h. fugier, recherches sur l’expression du sacré dans la langue latine, ii (paris: belles lettres, 1963), 25–86. thirdspacing the exile in ezekiel's theology of divine presence and its implications for the abrahamic religions: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 193 words composed from that same root. in the semantic field of hebrew, according to francis schmidt, sacredness is situated between the positive and the negative poles. in his words: positively, qodeš refers to that which is in a relationship of belonging to the divine, that which is consecrated to it. negatively, qodeš is defined by opposition to the profane, tāmēʿ." 42 thus, in the above sense, the sacred in which holy objects or sanctified persons circulate, like the temple, is only understood in its relation to the profane. thus, sacred and profane are characterized by their proximity to the divine. jerusalem and its temple are sacred because in the eyes of the biblical jews, god dwells there. the temple is believed to be the epicenter of holiness because it is the abode of the divine and the primary locus of divine presence. this understanding of the temple is evident in jewish religious history.the first book of maccabeus recorded an event that happened around 165 bce. the story was about judas maccabeus, son of mattathias, a priest, who set up camp at mizpah to the north of jerusalem. he and his brothers fasted and wore sack clothes. their faces were turned towards heaven: what were they to do since the abode of the divine had been profaned? the foreigners had profaned the temple. 43 these penitential acts show how important the temple was to them. also in the book of baruch, we read about the man baruch, who "wasted from fasting, his clothing torn, climbs the steps of the temple mount and goes to sit before the doors that the sun lights up in the morning." 44 he laments: 42 francis schmidt, how the temple thinks: identity and social cohesion in ancient judaism (sheffield: academic press, 2001), 90. one of the most characteristic formulations of this opposition is found in lev 10:10 and ezra 22:26; 44:23. 43 ibid., 86. cf. also 1 macc. 3:46–59. 44 ibid., 86. also see 2 bar. 10.5–19. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 194 why from now on sow in the countryside? why should the vine give wine? what good are the reservoirs for rain, of what use the heat of the sun? why should the moon continue to set the sequence of months? of what use are marriages and births? since the meeting place with the divine is destroyed, "how can they still speak of beauty, how can there still be question of grace!" (2 bar. 10:17). 45 this lament of baruch echoes the plight of the people of israel because the epicenter of their relationship with yhwh has been destroyed. in fact, in the two examples above, the main theological question is: since the primary locus of divine presence is destroyed, where and how can we encounter the divine? this understanding of the sacredness of jerusalem and its temple informed the attitude of the remnant community in jerusalem against the exile community in the book of ezekiel. ezek 11:15 reads: "son of man, your brothers, (even your brothers), your own kin, the whole house of israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of jerusalem have said, 'they have gone far from yhwh; to us this land is given for a possession.'" thus, the exile community is the impure that cannot be mixed with the pure, namely, the remnant community in judah. the two spaces cannot meet in the eyes of the jews. the exile as a thirdspace the exile space is not a neutral space but a contested one, or as soja coins it, a thirdspace. for soja, thirdspace encompasses firstspace and secondspace and is always vibrant, flexible and open to (re)interpretation. 46 soja holds that firstspace privileges objectivity and materiality. it aims at a formal science of space. 47 thus, firstspatially, the reader is told where ezekiel received his ים ֹות ֱאֹלִהֵּֽ he was .(visions of god) ַמְראַ֥ "among the exiles by the river chebar"(1:1). here, the firstspace is his 45 cf. ibid., 86-87 46 cf. soja, "thirdspace: expanding the scope," 23. 47 soja, third space: journeys to los angeles.75. thirdspacing the exile in ezekiel's theology of divine presence and its implications for the abrahamic religions: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 195 existential location. ezekiel and his fellow exiles were in a susceptible and helpless situation, a situation that creates a crisis faith. it appears as if their patron, god yhwh, allowed them to be taken into exile, a reality that marked victory for babylonian gods. brandon fredenburg captures this idea even better: the babylonian gods removed a contingent of leading judeans for judah's failure to meet its vassal duties. yhwh, the patron god of israel, had permitted their deportation. the "official" view of those in jerusalem was that yhwh had finally cleansed the capital of its troublemakers and allowed the favored to remain (cf. 11:3). 48 even though we do not know the exact location of the real space (firstspace) of the exiles, the text tells us that it is beside the river chebar. daniel i. block notes that the "hebrew nĕhar kĕbār is the equivalent of akkadian nār kabari/u, "kabaru canal," which occurs several times in the 5th-centuryb.c. archives of the murashu family in babylon." 49 it is believed that nĕhar kĕbār is located in the vicinity of nippur. its conduit was "one of many branches of an elaborate canal system that distributed water from the tigris and the euphrates 48 brandon fredenburg, ezekiel. the college press niv commentary (joplin : college press pub. co., 2002), 37-38 49 daniel i. block, the book of ezekiel. chapters 1-24. nicot (grand rapids: wm. b. eerdmans publishing co., 1997), 84.the archives, consisting of some 730 tablets, represent our main source of information on the population of the nippur region at this time. knowledge of the ethnic composition of the settlers is derived from the personal names that occur in these business records. for studies of these settlements see m. d. coogan, “life in the diaspora: jews at nippur in the fifth century,” ba 37 (1974) 6–12; idem, west semitic personal names in the murašû documents, hsm 7 (cambridge, mass.: harvard university press, 1975); r. zadok, the jews in babylonia during the chaldean and achaemenian periods (haifa: university of haifa, 1979); idem, on west semites in babylonia during the chaldean and achaemenian periods: an onomastic study, rev. ed. (jerusalem: j. j. and z. wanaarta and tel-aviv university, 1978). malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 196 throughout the city and its environs." 50 it does appear that after the city was destroyed, the babylonian king at that time, "repopulated the region with deportees from many parts of the empire; among them were ezekiel and his fellow judeans." 51 as earlier noted, we do not know for sure if the reference to the chebar canal means that ezekiel was physically beside the canal at the time of the vision, or if the expression functions as a general description for the region where the judean exiles lived. in any case, it tells us something, even if only partially, about the existential reality of ezekiel and his fellow exiles. the exile's secondspace would be the conceived or the mental space, which is culturally conditioned. according to soja, "secondspace is entirely ideational, made up of projections into the empirical world." 52 this viewpoint highlights the fact that the exiles are away from their native land, "removed from jerusalem and the temple, the place from which yhwh's glory had emanated in the past." 53 thus, in this sense, the exiles' fate becomes an incontrovertible proof of divine rejection. exile's secondspace is thus a place of divine punishment (cf.deuteronomy 4:25-28; 8:19-20; leviticus 18:24-30; 20:22-24; amos 6:7). this understanding creates a dichotomy between the exiles and the group that remained in jerusalem, the latter saw themselves as superior and thus, the authentic "qahal yhwh" (cf. 11:15). this calls to mind the words of william scott green: "a society does not simply discover its others, it fabricates them by selecting, isolating, and emphasizing an aspect of another people's life and making it symbolize their difference." 54 in addition, green points out the parody nature of definition by otherness, which concentrates on 50 block, 84. see also r. zadok, “the nippur region during the late assyrian, chaldean and achaemenian periods chiefly according to written sources,” ios 8 (1978): 266–332. 51 ibid., 84. 52 soja, third space: journeys to los angeles,79. 53 block, 83. 54 william s. green, "otherness within: towards a theory o f difference in rabbinic judaism," in to see ourselves as others see us, eds. jacob neusner and ernest s. frerichs (chico: scholars press, 1985), 49. thirdspacing the exile in ezekiel's theology of divine presence and its implications for the abrahamic religions: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 197 the life of the collective and stereotypes the group according to one major characteristic. 55 rom-shiloni captures this sense with particular reference to the tension that existed between the exilic community and the community that remained in judah. he says: defining "us" and "them" is thus founded on selection, isolation and emphasis of one major divisive difference. in the conflict between the exiles and those who remained, geographic location __ residence in the land of yhwh versus foreign lands __ has come to symbolize the difference, and the theological consequences of this division are examined in relation to the concept of god-people-land. 56 "the land has been given as a heritage to us"(cf. ezek 11:15) points to the special privileges of the community that remained in jerusalem over the land, as opposed to those of the exilic community that had been exiled from it. this concept of "land" is traceable to the pentateuchal tradition of "land" from the perspective of promise and fulfillment. for instance the phrase, "the land has been given as a heritage to us"(cf. ezek 11:15), echoes exodus 6:2-8, a passage that connects the patriarchs and the exodus generation. the land that was promised to the patriarchs (abraham, isaac and jacob) is here given to the sons of jacob after their slavery in egypt. this is probably the tradition the community that remained in jerusalem alluded to when they claimed divine ownership of the land, and as such, gave a new interpretation to the theme of promise and fulfillment. the thirdspace would be the refiguration of the physical firstspace and the mental secondspace of the exile. it is intrinsic to the narrative. it is a reconfigured space where the excluded become included, and outsiders become insiders. it is an alternative space to the temple/jerusalem space, where election and boundaries of purity and 55 ibid., 49-50. 56 dalit rom-shiloni, 6. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 198 holiness, upheld by some jews, precluded some people from full participation in community. as an alternative space to the temple, it becomes a locus of divine presence as attested to by the words of yhwh: "i have been a sanctuary to them (in some measures) in the countries where they have gone" (cf. 11:16). in other words, yhwh has not disenfranchised the exiles. they are not excluded from the presence of the holy. he will be for them a ט ש ְמַעֹ֔ a sanctuary in) ִמְקָדָ֣ some measure). the thirdspace of the exile, where ezekiel saw the visions of god, is best seen in the light of the wilderness experience in exodus, where moses has a vision of the holy, despite the pains and testing of the wilderness experience (cf. exod 3:1-17; deut 8:2). from the thirdspace perspective, the exile space must not myopically be seen to be an unclean space nor the place of punishment, nor as ezekiel would put it, "a valley of dry bones" (cf. ezek 37). rather, it is a place of possibilities, a place where the presence of the divine could be experienced. the temple and the land of israel, in the consciousness of biblical israel, carry the notion of separateness and exclusivity, distinctiveness and superiority, sacred as opposed to non-sacred. however, the different manifestations of the presence of the divine in the visions of ezekiel show that divine presence cannot be restricted. even the so-called unclean exile space can become the thirdspace of divine presence and activities. in this space, the excluded become included, thereby bridging the dichotomy between the "privileged" remnants and the "faraway" exiles. thus, soja's thirdspace, unambiguously, shows a perspective of igwebuike theology. it is a space of inclusion and complementarity, a space where all are united as a family of god's children. the exile as thirdspace has another significant purpose in the narrative. it is a space for the ים ֹות ֱאֹלִהֵּֽ this .("visions of god") ַמְראַ֥ seems aimed at challenging and changing the people's mind-set toward the people who are in a location other than the land of israel, especially the temple's religious leadership who thought it necessary to have a temple or to be in the land of israel in order to experience the holy one. these social realities and religious boundaries became thirdspacing the exile in ezekiel's theology of divine presence and its implications for the abrahamic religions: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 199 an increasing problem that would undermine or restrict access to the divine to a selected "chosen ones." thus, it is not surprising that ezek 47:21–23 grants the gērîm ("resident aliens") in the new covenant the same status as native israelites so that they receive an equal share in the inheritance. the new boundaries in the renewed city suggest that the new kingdom will preserve the laws of equity and eliminate discrimination against foreign residents, thereby making the experience of the presence of the divine open to all, not just the prerogative of the twelve tribes of israel. gerhard von rad rightly observes that one of the striking effects of ezekiel's theology of divine presence is that of the divine mobility. 57 for him, ezekiel's innovation was the revival of an older ּכבֹוד tradition that inserted an element of mobility and impermanence into the conception of yhwh's presence. 58 even in the older tradition, the travels with the tabernacle as the tribes journey from place to ּכבֹוד place in their wilderness wanderings, while in ezekiel the ּכבֹוד comes to the prophet in exile by the river chebar (ezek 1-3). it removes itself from the jerusalem temple (ezek 8-11) and finally enters the grand temple of ezekiel's last, glorious vision (ezek 40-48). this shows, unlike in the older tradition, the self-locomotive ability of the .ּכבֹוד thus, the ּכבֹוד theology in ezekiel, particularly its mobile characteristic, shows contrary to popular opinion, 59 that the divine presence cannot be boxed only within the four corners of the sacred space. this mobile characteristic of the ּכבֹוד is made manifest through the image of the wheels, which emphasizes divine mobility (cf. ezek 57 cf. gerhard von rad, "deuteronomy's name theology and the priestly document's käbôd theology" in studies in deuteronomy, ed. g. von rad (london: scm, 1953), 37-44. 58 ibid., 42-43. 59 in priestly tradition, the kābȏd appears only in sacred space: first at the mountain of god (exod 24:16, 17; 29:43; 40:34, 35; lev 9:6, 23), later at the tabernacle (num 14:10, 21, 8 22; 16:19; 17:7 [16:42]; 20:6). malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 200 1: 15-21; 10: 9-17).thus, the movements of the divine from the sacred space to the so-called non-sacred space gives credence to the proposal of kort on bridging the dichotomy between the sacred and the profane. 60 also, this further confirms the words of shiner: "space is a homogenous continuum ... homogeneity means that every point is of equal value to every other point, that no direction has any privilege over any other, that space is continuous and infinite." 61 while the temple is the original site of divine presence, the accent on the mobility of the ּכבֹוד in the visions of ezekiel demonstrates that the temple is not the exclusive locus of divine presence. god's presence can also be experienced in spaces like the exile. hence, for ezekiel, god's presence has no boundaries. the same ּכבֹוד yhwh that was tabernacled in the temple and departed from the same temple (ezek 11:22-23) is the divine presence that ezekiel experienced in exile (cf. ezek 1:1-28). 62 it appears that israel's quest to be like other nations (1 sam 8:5) probably led them to build a shrine in jerusalem for their patron deity. but a closer look at 2 samuel 7:5-7 shows that temple was not a necessity; yhwh only permitted it. 63 however, down through the ages, israel came to deify this structure built by human hands. the destruction of the temple could have been to shatter israel's sentimental attachment to the temple as the primary locus of divine presence, and extend the possibility to spaces other than the temple. it is important to note here that ezekiel's experience of the divine in exile is not because the temple was destroyed and the divine was homeless, and as such finds abode amidst the exile. no, "ezekiel encounters the ּכבֹוד yhwh in exile (cf. ezek 1) while the temple was still standing." 64 thus, the departure of the ּכבֹוד in ezek 8-11 was not 60 cf. kort, 34-35 61 shiner, 427. 62 kutsko, 92. 63 fredenburg, 358. 64 steven s. tuell, "divine presence and absence in ezekiel's prophecy," in the book of ezekiel: theological and anthropological perspectives, eds. margaret s. odell and john t. strong sblss 9(atlanta: sbl 2000), 102. thirdspacing the exile in ezekiel's theology of divine presence and its implications for the abrahamic religions: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 201 "a consequence of the temple's destruction, but a necessary precondition for that destruction." 65 furthermore, the condition for the experience of the presence of the holy one is not really about location. . it is not about the exile or the temple: both possess equal opportunity for the experience of the presence of the divine. in the final analysis, what counts is what soja calls praxis, or, in the words of kort, human place-relations. in other words, what counts is the lived experience of the people, with particular reference to their relation with yhwh. righteousness and faithfulness to the covenant (with respect to israel), at any given time, determine one's experience of the divine. block rightly observes that "the repeated references to the evils being committed in jerusalem emphasize that yhwh's abandonment of the temple is provoked by human action." 66 this is evident in the offenses described in ezek 8:3-18: "the introduction of the idol of jealousy into the court of yhwh's temple, the worship of carved images of every sort, the women weeping the tammuz, 67 and twenty-five men paying homage to the sun." 68 yhwh accuses the people of social and moral crimes (cf. 8:7) – they have provoked the anger of yhwh by their sins. yhwh reiterates this accusation in ezek 9:9. the text speaks of 65 ibid., 102. 66 daniel i. block "divine abandonment: ezekiel's adaptation of the ancient near eastern motif," in the book of ezekiel theological and anthropological perspectives, sbl symposium series, (atlanta: sbl, 2000), 36-37. 67 most translations have them "weeping for tammuz," however, block suggests that tammuz denotes a special genre of lament, rather than the deity himself. since this scene follows immediately after the elders' assertion that yhwh had abandoned the land, it appears that these women have either equated yhwh with tammuz or they are expressing their grief at their own deity's departure by adopting the tammuz ritual. in either case, the people were replacing true worship of yhwh with a foreign lamentation. see ibid., 37; block, the book of ezekiel. chapters 1-24. the new international commentary on the old testament (grand rapids, mi : wm. b. eerdmans publishing co., 1997), 294-96. 68 block, "divine abandonment,"37. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 202 a land filled with blood and city filled with perversion. yhwh condemns these evils with the sharpest possible terms: abominable (ezek 8:6a, 9, 13, 15, 17; 9:4), detestable (ezek 8:10) and wicked (ezek 8:9). as a result, yhwh's anger is provoked. 69 on two occasions, yhwh responds in a manner that makes evident the divine wrath, owing to the unrighteous living of the people. in ezek 8:18, the holy one says: "therefore i will act in wrath; my eye will not spare, nor will i have pity; and though they cry in my hearing with a loud voice, i will not listen to them." also in ezek 9:9-10 yhwh declares: "the guilt of the house of israel and judah is exceedingly great; the land is full of bloodshed and the city full of perversity; for they say, 'yhwh has forsaken the land, and the yhwh does not see.' i also will not have pity, my eye will not spare, their wicked deeds (ways) i will bring upon their heads." first, these texts show that god's presence leaves the temple in reaction to sinful actions. second, they indicate that divine presence is not a fixed and exclusive prerogative of the jerusalem temple. on the contrary, god's presence is free to go when the people refuse to live up to the true tenets of their faith. thus said, it is righteous practice and faithfulness to the covenant, in the case of israel, that guarantees the presence of the divine. margaret odell puts it even better in relation to both the jerusalem community and the exilic community. she holds that "just as location does not ensure salvation for the jerusalemites, neither does it guarantee salvation for the exiles. what matters is not location but 69 ibid., 37. thirdspacing the exile in ezekiel's theology of divine presence and its implications for the abrahamic religions: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 203 orientation." 70 those whose hearts continue to turn toward idols and against yhwh will not experience the presence of the divine. the implication of the study to the practice of religion in our contemporary world here, i do not claim to give a theological overview of the relationships amongst the world's religions, as that would be claiming too much and is definitely beyond the scope of this study. instead, i intend to restrict my discussion in this section to the theological relationship that seems to exist among the three abrahamic religions in our world today. a relationship that seems to pitch one religion as superior to the other, or worst still, declare "war" on others who are non-adherents to a particular religion, seeing them as infidels. victoria s. harrison observes that "judaism, christianity and islam provide their adherents with distinctive conceptual frameworks for understanding the world they inhabit; in other words, each of the abrahamic monotheisms provides its adherents with a worldview." 71 however, despite the vast similarities that exist among these religions, their attitudes toward each other, particularly with respect to their view on god and the way they interpret and practice their respective faith, sometimes tend to create dichotomy, instead of unity and understanding. we live in a world that has been bedeviled with religious conflicts and religious leaders' claims to the exclusivity of truth and a monopoly on god. according to katayoun kishi, in 2018 "more than a quarter of the world's countries experienced a high 70 margaret s. odell, ezekiel, (macon, georgia: smyth & helwys publishing 2005), 125. 71 victoria s. harrison,"scientific and religious worldview: antagonism, non-antagonistic incommensurability and complementarity," heythrop journal 47 (2006): 349–350. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 204 incidence of hostilities motivated by religious hatred, mob violence related to religion, terrorism and harassments." 72 this echoes the religious tension that existed between the exilic group and those that remained in judah; particularly with respect to which of the two groups is the true qahal (assembly)yhwh (cf. ezek 11:1516; 33:25-29), as this study has highlighted repeatedly. religious intolerance has become like a cankerworm that affects the fabric of virtually every religious group. an online report by a 2018 minority rights group indicates that "mass killings and other atrocities are increasing in some countries (syria, iraq, nigeria, india, myanmar, pakistan and bangladesh) all in the name of religion. hostilities against muslims and jews also increased across europe and the united states." 73 these religions, which are supposed to promote peace, love and harmony by their very nature, have become so frequently connected with intolerance and violence toward one another. 74 most times, intolerance and aggression are perpetrated by the dominant religion in a particular location against the minority, or by a religion that perceives itself to be superior and more pure, compared to the other. this was exactly the drama that played out in the vision of ezekiel. the judahites believed they were superior to the exilic community; and as such, they were the true qahal yhwh because they had the temple and the land (ezek 11:15). however, the movements of the ּכבֹוד yhwh from the temple in jerusalem to the exile dismantle any form of religious triumphalism. the divine manifestation in the thirdspace of the exile challenges the status quo and demonstrates that no group should see itself as superior to the other. as such, just as soja observes, thirdspace seeks to resist the dominant order, be it social or religious ideology, including its predetermined notions of pure and impure, holy and profane, insiders 72 katayoun kishi, http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/06/21/keyfindings-on-the-global-rise-in-religious-restrictions/ 73 https://minorityrights.org/publications/peoplesunderthreat2018/ 74 see https://minorityrights.org/publications/peoplesunderthreat2018/ thirdspacing the exile in ezekiel's theology of divine presence and its implications for the abrahamic religions: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 205 and outsiders. 75 if we see every religion as having equal access to the divine, then this will go a long way toward curbing the religious intolerance that has bedeviled our world today; as a consequence, religious plurality would no longer be a challenge but a blessing to our world. although each religion differs in its social and religious categories, each, like the exile space and jerusalem temple, is a setting in which god can reveal himself and relate with people. this understanding will help strengthen the strides made so far in interreligious dialogue, especially among the three abrahamic faiths. the three faith communities hold a belief in "one god, maker of heaven and earth," especially in worship. 76 pope gregory vii echoes this, even though partially, in his letter to king anzir of mauritania. the pontiff says that christians and muslims not only believe in the same god but also praise and worship him daily as the creator of all ages and the sovereign of this world. although they might express this belief in different manner from each other, it is still to the same god. 77 michael walzer has a theological equivalent to this argument. in his book, thick and thin: moral argument at home and abroad, he introduces "two different but interrelated kinds of moral argument ____ a way of talking amongst ourselves, here at home, about the thickness of our own history and culture ... and a way of talking to people abroad, across different cultures, about the thinner life we have in common." 78 amy pauw, applying walzer's argument to christian relationships with other faith traditions, holds that the intramural theological agreement among christians will be thick; that is, the 75 soja, thirdspace: journeys to los angeles, 68. 76 amy plantinga pauw, "the same god?" in miroslav volf (ed), do we worship the same god?: jews, christians, and muslims in dialogue, (grand rapids: william b. eerdmans publishing company, 2012), 46. 77 gregory vii, letter to anzir, king of mauritania, in jacques dupuis, the cristian faith in the doctrinal documents of the catholic church, 7th ed. (new york: alba house, 2001), 418-19. 78 michael walzer, thick and thin: moral argument at home and abroad (south bend: university of notre dame press, 1994), xi. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 206 richly referential, culturally resonant locked into a locally established symbolic system or network of meanings. 79 pauw further observes that "theological agreement across religious traditions is by contrast thinner, focused on convergence points." 80 this convergence points are seen to be similar, though expressed in different modes and reflected in different histories. 81 thus, if not in other ways, at least in worship, the thin agreement around god as creator is rooted within the thick theological traditions of each faith community. pauw puts it even better. she holds that "this agreement among jews, christians, and muslims that they worship the same god who is creator of heaven and earth is a theological minimum." 82 consequently, it provides a foundation for these religions to come together. but as walzer also puts it, by its very thinness, it also justifies them to return to the thickness that is their very own. 83 this theological minimum of pauw, or what walzar calls moral thinness, could possibly be likened to the divine expression in ezekiel's second vision of the ּכבֹוד yhwh with respect to the exilic community. there, yhwh says of the exiles: "i have been a ט ש ְמַעֹ֔ ִמְקָדָ֣ (a sanctuary to them in some/small measures) in the countries where they have gone" (cf. 11:16). this shows that despite the existential peculiarities of each community of faith, there exists a theological minimum, a small measure that can form the basis of our experience of the divine who is the origin of the human race. nostra aetate puts it even more lucidly; it holds that the human race has in common what draws them to fellowship. first, their origin, for god made the whole human race to live over the face of the earth. second, their final goal, god. his providence, his manifestations of goodness, his saving design extend to all humanity, until that time when the elect will be united in the holy city, the city ablaze with the glory of god, where 79 pauw, 47; also see walzer xi. 80 pauw, 47. 81 walzer, 17. 82 pauw, 47. 83 walzer, 11. thirdspacing the exile in ezekiel's theology of divine presence and its implications for the abrahamic religions: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 207 the nations will walk in his light. 84 so everyone has the possibility of connecting with the divine. however, what we do with that possibility determines our actual experience of the presence of the divine. no one religion has the monopoly on god. the holy one is accessible to all. in his words: "when you seek me, you will find me. yes, when you seek me with a sincere heart" (cf. jer. 29:13). therefore, this is a clarion call to all religions, be it christianity, islam or judaism, to internalize how it sees itself and others and reevaluate beliefs and practices that create tension along the line of the universal accessibility of the divine to all, so as to foster solidarity and a better understanding among different religions. summary and conclusion this study has shown that interpreting the exile as thirdspace and paying close attention to the movements of the ּכבֹוד yhwh in the visions of ezekiel, not only echoes igwebuike theology, but also helps to bridge the gap between the sacred and the non-sacred spaces. the manifestations of the presence of the divine in both the sacred and non-sacred spaces have opened the door for the possibility of the experience of the divine to all, irrespective of location or religion. the experience of the divine is not about location, nor is it all about religious affiliation. what actually counts is praxis ___ our lived experience, with particular reference to our relationship with god. righteousness and faithfulness to the dictates of the divine at any given time determine one's experience of the divine. what matters is not location but orientation. those whose hearts continue to turn to evil, as opposed to good, will not experience the presence of the divine. hence, it does not matter one's religious affiliation, nor does it matter one's location. what matters are righteousness, justice and love in obedience to the dictates of the divine whom we call god, adonai, 84 declaration on the relation of the church to non-christian religions nostra aetate proclaimed by his holiness pope paul vi on october 28, 1965, no. 1. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 208 allah, etc. these and other good acts guarantee the experience of the presence of the divine. sometimes, we may think we possess the fullness of truth, as symbolized in the temple with its sacred adornments or as contained in the torah, the holy bible or the koran. but the reality of the experience of the divine does not necessarily lie in the one who possesses the truth, for it is not the possession of the truth that matters, it is how prepared we are to walk in the light of the truth that we possess. only this guarantees the experience of the divine. selected bibliography benveniste, emile. le vocabulaire des institutions indoeuropéennes: pouvoir, droit, religion. paris: minuit, 1969. block, i. daniel. "divine abandonment: ezekiel's adaptation of the ancient near eastern motif." pages 15-42 in the book of ezekiel theological and anthropological perspectives. edited by margaret s. odell and john t. strong. sblss. atlanta: sbl 2000. block, i. daniel. the book of ezekiel 1-24. nicot. grand rapids: eerdmans 1997. de vries, pieter. "the relationship between the glory of yhwh and the spirit of yhwh in the book of ezekiel— part one." jbpr 5 (2013) 109-127. block, i. daniel. the käbôd of yhwh in the old testament with particular reference to the book of ezekiel. leiden/boston: brill 2016. finkelstein, israel and thomas römer, "comments of the historical background of the jacob narrative in genesis." zaw, 126, no. 3 (2014): 317-338. fredenburg, brandon. ezekiel. niv commentary. joplin, mo. : college press pub. co., 2002. green, s. william. "otherness within: towards a theory o f difference in rabbinic judaism." pages 49-69 in to see thirdspacing the exile in ezekiel's theology of divine presence and its implications for the abrahamic religions: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 209 ourselves as others see us. edited by neusner jacob and frerichs s. ernest. chico: scholars press, 1985. gregory vii, "letter to anzir, king of mauritania." pages 418-419 in the cristian faith in the doctrinal documents of the catholic church. edited by dupuis, jacques. new york: alba house, 2001. harrison, s.victoria. "scientific and religious worldview: antagonism, non-antagonistic incommensurability and complementarity." hj 47 (2006): 349–366. kanu i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no. 1 2016:1-6. kanu, i. a. igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 5983. 2018 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. 2018 kanu, i. a. new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. 2018 kanu, i. a. collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. 2019 kanu, i. a. igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 210 african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. 2019 kanu, i. a. igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. 2019 kanu, i. a. igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cociopolitical system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. 2018 kanu, i. a. on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159-176. 2019 kanu, i. a. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christianmuslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. 2017 thirdspacing the exile in ezekiel's theology of divine presence and its implications for the abrahamic religions: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 211 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. 2017 kort, a. wesley. "sacred/profane and an adequate theory of human place-relations." pages 32-50 in constructions of space: theory, geography, and narrative vol. 1. edited by jon l. berquist claudia v. camp, new york. london: t & t clark 2007. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 212 kutsko, f. john. between heaven and earth: divine presence and absence in the book of ezekiel. winona lake, indiana: eisenbrauns, 2000. lied, i. liv . the other lands of israel: imagination of the land in 2 baruch. leiden. boston: brill, 2008. malachy theophilus, "the role of rehab in the conquest story of joshua as a manifestation of igwebuike theology: a narrative analysis of joshua 2," in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5, no. 8 (2019): 7294. mcbride, s. dean. "the deuteronomic name theology" (ph.d diss. harvard university, 1969). nathan, macdonald. divine presence and absence in exilic and post exilic judaism, forschungen zum alten testament 61. edited by nathan macdonald and izaak d. de hulster. tubingen: mohr siebeck 2013. odell, s. margaret. "the inversion of shame and forgiveness in ezekiel 16:59–63," jsot 56 (1992): 101-112. pauw, amy plantinga. "the same god?" pages 37-49 in do we worship the same god?: jews, christians, and muslims in dialogue. edited by volf. miroslav. grand rapids: william b. eerdmans publishing company, 2012. rom-shiloni, dalit. "ezekiel as the voice of the exiles and constructor of the exilic community," huca 76 (2005): 1-45. schmidt, francis. how the temple thinks: identity and social cohesion in ancient judaism. sheffield: academic press, 2001. second vatican council. nostra aetate (declaration on the relation of the church to non-christian religions). proclaimed by his holiness pope paul vi on october 28, 1965. vatican web site. jan 7, 2020. thirdspacing the exile in ezekiel's theology of divine presence and its implications for the abrahamic religions: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 213 shiner, e. larry. "sacred space, profane space, human space." jaar 40, no. 4 (1972): 425-436. soja, w. edward. "thirdspace: expanding the scope of the geographical imagination." pages 13-30 in architecturally speaking: practice of art, architecture and the everyday. edited by read, alan. london: routledge, 2000. soja, w. edward. postmodern geographies: the research of space in critical social theory. london/new york: verso, 1989. soja, w. edward. third space: journeys to los angeles and other real-and-imagined places. oxford: blackwell 1996. soja, w. edward. postmetropolis: critical studies of cities and religion, oxford: blackwell 2000. strong t. john. "god's käbôd : the presence of yahweh in the book of ezekiel." pages 69-95 in the book of ezekiel theological and anthropological perspectives. edited by margaret s. odell and john t. strong. sblss. atlanta: sbl 2000. tuell, s. steven. "divine presence and absence in ezekiel's prophecy." pages 976-116 in the book of ezekiel theological and anthropological perspectives. edited by margaret s. odell and john t. strong. sbl symposium series, atlanta: sbl 2000. von rad, gerhard. "deuteronomy's name theology and the priestly document's käbôd theology." pages 37-44 in studies in deuteronomy. london: scm, 1953. walzer, michael. thick and thin: moral argument at home and abroad. south bend: university of notre dame press, 1994. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 214 zadok, ran. the jews in babylonia during the chaldean and achaemenian periods. haifa: university of haifa, 1979. the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 163 the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum dozie iwuh, osa department of philosophy augustinian institute makurdi benue state registered501@gmail.com executive summary it was boethius who defined person as an individual substance with a rational nature, pointing out three important aspects of the nature of the human person, namely his individuality, his rationality and his being a substance. the rational nature of man is not just limited to the use of logic in his dealings, it is not merely reduced to the fact that man thinks or reasons before and even after undergoing an action. it also comprises the fact that man is conscious of all that he does, he is aware of his rationality. the human person is not the only substance in the animal kingdom with consciousness, for all animals have a certain level of consciousness, but the human person is the only animal whose consciousness comes with an awareness; that is to say that the human person is conscious of his awareness or is aware of his consciousness (to put in tautological terms, he is conscious of his consciousness and aware of his awareness). the issue of consciousness only gained dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 164 momentum in the 19 th /20 th century, although some put it in the mid 20 th century. the debate as to how man is conscious and as to how this power arises in him has awed greatly the scientific world, with some holding that the validly accepted explanation to this resides in the homunculus, which is original dated to the 16 th century alchemist paracelsus. this theory is presently rejected, using the infinite regress argument. with the dawn of the quantum field theory, which is relativity applied to quantum mechanics, applied to the field of neuroscience, the issue of how consciousness arises from the brain has resurfaced. applying quantum field theory (qft) to the thought about the brain and consciousness has paved the way for the quantum model of the brain. how much can we know of our conscious state using qft? is it even possible to dabble into the matter of consciousness whose matter is absent, yet whose effect is seen, using scientific theories that depends on the availability of matter? the igwebuike ideology speaks of two strong tenets, solidarity and complementarity (and even togetherness). what this paper will address is that these two main tenets of igwebuike depend on consciousness, for it is the consciousness of the other, that is the foundation of igwebuike’s trends of solidarity and complementarity. with this being said, can it be proposed that the igwebuike gospel has not just macroscopic underpinnings but it also has quantum? keywords: consciousness, qft, kanu ikechukwu anthony, brain, neuroscience, igwebuike, other (environment) what is consciousness? consciousness is a scientific problem that is unlike any other. our own consciousness, as descartes noted, is the most indubitable feature of our existence. it is the most precious one, as well: consciousness is the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 165 life itself, and for most people having their bodies kept alive in a vegetative state is no better than dying. the major religions are defined by their theories of consciousness: whether a person’s essence consists of his consciousness (his soul) or his body; how that consciousness ultimately fares as the result of its choices in life (whether it goes to a special place, or melds into a global mind); and whether the world contains forms of pure, disembodied consciousness in the form of gods, demons, angels and spirits. and the conviction that other people can suffer and flourish as each of us does is the essence of empathy and the foundation of morality. 1 consciousness consists of inner, qualitative, subjective states and processes of sentience or awareness. consciousness, so defined, begins when we wake in the morning from a dreamless sleep and continues until we fall asleep again, die, go into a coma or otherwise become "unconscious." it includes all of the enormous variety of the awareness that we think of as characteristic of our waking life. it includes everything from feeling a pain, to perceiving objects visually, to states of anxiety and depression, to working out cross word puzzles, playing chess, trying to remember your aunt's phone number, arguing about politics, or to just wishing you were somewhere else. dreams, from this definition, are a form of consciousness, though of course they are in many respects quite different from waking consciousness. 2 this definition is not universally accepted, and the word consciousness is used in a variety of other ways. some authors use the word only to refer to states of self-consciousness, i.e. the consciousness that humans and some primates have of themselves as agents. some use it to refer to the second-order mental states about other mental states; so according to this definition, a pain would not be a conscious state, but worrying about a pain would be a conscious 1 d.m. rosenthal, concepts and definitions of consciousness, in the encyclopedia of consciousness, w.p. banks ed, academic press, elsevier inc, oxford, 2009, v. 2 j.r. searle, consciousness, originally published october 8, 1999 as an academic paper at the university of california at berkeley, posted on kurzweilai.net august 13, 2001. dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 166 state. some use "consciousness" behaviouristically to refer to any form of complex intelligent behaviour. 3 the term ‘conscious’ is used most frequently to refer to the condition of people and other creatures when they are awake and responsive to sensory stimulation. a creature lacks consciousness in this first sense when it is asleep, anaesthetized, in a coma, and so forth. the main concern with this kind of consciousness is to explain in biological terms the difference between creatures’ conscious and unconscious conditions. because consciousness of this sort is a property of creatures, it is convenient to refer to it as creature consciousness. 4 this pertains to all sentient and animate creatures. a second important phenomenon we call consciousness is a creature’s being conscious, or aware, of something. there are two ways creatures are conscious of things. a person or other animal is conscious of an object by seeing, hearing, or touching it, or sensing it in some other way. but one is also conscious of something, even without sensing that thing, if one has a thought about it as being present to one, that is, a thought that represents that thing as being in one’s immediate environment. because we describe this phenomenon by reference to a grammatical object, we may call it transitive consciousness. explaining transitive consciousness consists in explaining what it is for a thought to be about something and what it is for a perception or sensation to be of something. a third phenomenon is more controversial in nature, and is the subject of much recent scientific and philosophical literature. we are conscious of various things by virtue of our having perceptions of them or thoughts about them. but those perceptions and thoughts can themselves be conscious or not conscious. subliminal perception is an example of nonconscious perceiving, and it is widely accepted that many thoughts occur nonconsciously as well, that is, outside our stream of consciousness. since this phenomenon is a property of mental states, rather than of creatures that are in those states, it is 3 ibid. 4 d.m. rosenthal, concepts and definitions of consciousness, in the encyclopedia of consciousness, w.p. banks ed, academic press, elsevier inc, oxford, 2009, 157 the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 167 convenient to call it state consciousness. 5 consciousness refers to individual thoughts, memories, feelings, sensations and environment. one’s consciousness is one’s awareness of yourself and the world around you. this awareness is subjective and unique. 6 consciousness, thus, refers to experience itself. rather than being exemplified by a particular thing that we observe or experience, it is exemplified by all the things that we observe or experience. something happens when we are conscious that does not happen when we are not conscious— and something happens when we are conscious of something that does not happen when we are not conscious of that thing. we know what it is like to be conscious when we are awake, as opposed to not being conscious when in dreamless sleep. we also know what it is like to be conscious of something (when awake or dreaming) as opposed to not being conscious of that thing. 7 the quantum model of the brain the quantum model of the brain makes use of excerpts from qft. so, it would be better to let a little about qft before delving into the quantum model of the brain. why qft? qft is physics, 8 as it seeks to uncover that which is fundamental to existence, and it owes a lot to classical physics. classical physics is physics that does not make use of quantum mechanics or the theory of relativity. newtonian mechanics, thermodynamics, and maxwell's theory of electromagnetism are all examples of classical physics. many theories in classical physics break down when applied to extremely small objects such as atoms or to objects moving near the speed of light. in spite of all its 5 ibid. 6 k. cherry, consiousness is the psychology of awareness, in verywellmind online journal, february 24th, 2020, https://www.verywellmind.com/what-isconsciousness-2795922, received 12 th may, 2020. 7 m. velmans, how to define consciousness and how not to define consciousness, in journal of consciousness studies, 16(5), 2009, pp 139-156 8 physics deals with the behavior and composition of matter and its interactions at the most fundamental level dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 168 achievements, classical physics proved itself to be incapable of handling further fundamental issue of reality, like the photoelectric effect, the compton effect, to name a few.  the photoelectric effect: this is the emission of electrons by a metal when light falls on it. according to classical physics, electrons require some energy to escape from the surface of the metal. this amount of energy is called the work function and is given the symbol, 𝜙. according to the wave theory of light, the energy of the incident light is spread over the whole surface. electrons should, therefore, only be emitted if the intensity of the light, given by: intensity = power absorbed by surface/area of the surface. the maximum kinetic energy of the electrons and the number of electrons emitted are also predicted to depend on the intensity of the light. the frequency of the light should not matter, apart from being included in the intensity of the light: intensity ∝ frequency these predictions are clearly at odds with the experimental evidence seen. it was einstein who assumed that ‘light consists of quanta of energy, called photons.’ in fact, planck had introduced the concept of material resonators possessing quanta of energy nhν, where n is an integer, while einstein assumed that each quantum of light possesses the energy hν. the absorption of a single photon by an electron increases the energy of the electron by hν. part of this energy is used to remove the electron from the metal. this is called the work function. the remaining part of the energy imparted to the electron increases its velocity and consequently its kinetic energy. thus if hν, the energy of a photon incident on a metal, is greater than the energy e required to separate the electron from the metal, and v is the velocity of the emitted electron, then the following relation must hold: the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 169 hν = e + 0.5mv 2 the above formula shows that if the energy of the incident photon is less than the work function, the electrons cannot be separated from the surface of the metal and, therefore, will not be emitted. for a particular metal, the work function e being constant, the relationship between the energy of the incident photon and the kinetic energy of the emitted electron is linear. it is also clear that a more intense source of light will cause photons to be emitted at a greater speed, and this will produce a stronger electron current. thus, einstein was able to provide a completely satisfactory picture of the photoelectric effect by using the concept of the quantum nature of light. 9 9 m. saleem, quantum mechanics, iop publishing ltd, 2015, 3. einstein saw that the experimental evidence was explainable if it was assumed that light comes in discrete 'quanta' or packets of energy, which became known as photons.  each photon has a specific energy (e=ℎ f), and only collides with one electron. the probability of two photons colliding with one electron is very low. thus an electron can only absorb a specified amount of energy for light of a specific frequen*cy.  if this energy is insufficient to allow an electron to escape the surface of the metal, no electrons will be emitted. this creates a threshold frequency, above which a photon will provide an electron with enough energy to leave the surface, and below which the electrons cannot escape. the minimum energy required to remove an electron from the metal is the work function, ф. if a photon provides more energy to the electron than this, the rest will be seen as kinetic energy. thus: k.emax = ℎ f− ф= ℎ f−ℎ fo = ℎ (f−fo) k.emax ∝ (f−fo) where k.emax is the maximum kinetic energy of the electrons, ф is the work function of the surface, ℎ is planck's constant, and fo is the threshold frequency.  increasing the intensity only affects the rate of electrons being emitted, but does not affect their maximum kinetic energy. this is because increasing the intensity while keeping frequency constant increases the number of photons hitting the metal per second, and so increases the number of electrons which absorb them. it has no effect below the threshold frequency, because even if a huge number of electrons absorb photons, none of them have the energy to escape the surface. dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 170  the compton effect: this is also referred to as compton scattering. the compton effect is the term used for an unusual result observed when x-rays are scattered on some materials. by classical theory, when an electromagnetic wave is scattered off atoms, the wavelength of the scattered radiation is expected to be the same as the wavelength of the incident radiation. contrary to this prediction of classical physics, observations show that when x-rays are scattered off some materials, such as graphite, the scattered x-rays have different wavelengths from the wavelength of the incident x-rays. this classically unexplainable phenomenon was studied experimentally by arthur h. compton and his collaborators, and compton gave its explanation in 1923. the experiment exhibits that the change in the frequency of incident radiation is independent of its initial frequency and depends only upon the angle of scattering. this can be satisfactorily explained by the quantum theory of light by making use of relativistic expressions for various quantities. 10 to explain the shift in wavelengths measured in the experiment, compton used einstein’s idea of light as a particle. the compton effect has a very important place in the history of physics because it shows that electromagnetic radiation cannot be explained as a purely wave phenomenon. the explanation of the compton effect gave a convincing argument to the physics community that electromagnetic waves can indeed behave like a stream of photons, which placed the concept of a photon on firm ground. other areas in which classical physics failed to give explanation to included the heisenberg uncertainty principle, the correspondence principle, schrodinger’s wave equation etc. the advent of the quantum theory gave better explanation to these happenings, as science could further understand that what was earlier 10 m. saleem, quantum mechanics, iop publishing ltd, 2015, 3. the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 171 considered as the fundamental element of all that is, yet had others more fundamental, and that these resided in a world known as the quantum world. from the above failures of classical physics, it is apparent that what led to such failure was the deterministic way in which classical physics conceived of reality, and reality proved itself again and again to not be as deterministic as classical physics claimed it to be. to add to the above-mentioned, the course of this write-up is aimed at arriving at richer insights when it comes to the study of the brain. qft and its elements of study provide the basic work tools to undergo this study. according to jibu and yasue: …physicist h. umezawa in the early 1960’s (wrote for, addition mine) the necessity of emergence of quantum field theory in describing and investigating the typical physical aspect of living matter, because complex systems of atomic ingredients with strong mutual correlation like living matter cannot be treated by quantum statistical mechanics but only by quantum field theory. 11 what is qft? there is no rigidly acceptable definition of qft, it can thus only be described. it is the mathematical and conceptual framework for contemporary elementary particle physics. it can also be considered as an extension of quantum mechanics (qm), which deals with particles, over to fields. 12 qft deals with and seeks answer to the most fundamental questions to life and to the origin of all that is. if we were to account taxonomically for the organism known as the human being, using him as a means of questions and answers we would say: 11 m. jibu-k. yasue, quantum brain dynamics and quantum field theory, in brain and being: at the boundary between science, philosophy, language and arts, g.g. globus, k.h. pribram and g. vitiello eds., john benjamins publishing company, amsterdam/philadelphia, 2004, 273. 12 m. kuhlmann, quantum field theory, in the stanford encyclopedia of philosophy, sept 27 th , 2012, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/quantum-field-theory/ retrieved 12 th may, 2020. dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 172 what are people made of? people are made of muscles, bones, and organs. then what are the organs made of? organs are made of cells. what are cells made of? cells are made of organelles. what are organelles made of? organelles are made of proteins. what are proteins made of? proteins are made of amino acids. what are amino acids made of? amino acids are made of atoms. what are atoms made of? atoms are made of protons, neutron, and electrons. what are electrons made of? electrons are made from the electron field. what is the electron field made of?… to the best of our present ability to perceive and to reason, the universe is made from fields and nothing else, and these fields are not made from any smaller components. 13 at the fundamental physical level, this is expressed by the quantum foundation of the notion of extended mind in qft (quantum field theory). it was formerly held that matter and particles are the fundamental building blocks. yet, the deeper truth is that the basic building blocks of nature are not discrete particles at all; rather, they are continuous fluid-like substances that spread throughout all of space, and they are called fields. a very good example of fields are the electric and the magnetic fields. these fields, nonetheless, like other areas of nature, have laws that they must obey and these laws are inquired by quantum mechanics (qm). quantum field theory (qft) is the current paradigm of fundamental physics. it emerges from the convolution of quantum physics and relativity, the 13 b. skinner, a children’s picture-book introduction to quantum field theory, in ribbonfarm online journal, 20 th august, 2015, https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2015/08/20/qft/ retrieved 12 th may, 2020. the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 173 two major theoretical revolutions of the 20 th -century physics. 14 while quantum field theory reverts back to quantum mechanics for its mathematical representation, it nonetheless admits of relativism in reality than does qm. quantum field theory deals with systems with infinitely many degrees of freedom. for such systems, the algebra of observables that results from imposing canonical commutation relations admits multiple hilbert-space representations that are not unitarily equivalent to one another. this differs from the case of standard quantum mechanics, which deals with systems with finitely many degrees of freedom. for such systems, the corresponding algebra of observables admits unitarily equivalent hilbert-space representations. 15 one thing that makes qft so special is that it provides a unified framework where the quantum theory and the theory of relativity become consistently integrated out. sometimes, field theory is identified as the theory of particle physics. this is not completely correct. field theory is a framework which goes beyond particle physics. in fact, there are field theories where there is no particle interpretation of the states of the theory. but it is also true that most of the successful field theories admit a particle interpretation. that means that there are states which can be correctly interpreted as particle states and in those cases field theory provides a causal framework for particle interactions where action at a distance is replaced by local field interactions. although this can also achieved by classical field theory, the difference between the classical and quantum theories resides in the fact that in the quantum theory, the interaction between the particles can be interpreted as a creation and destruction (also known as creators and annihilators) of messenger particles process. the association of forces and interactions with particle exchange is one of the most interesting features of qft. the 14 m. asorey, a concise introduction to quantum field theory, in international journal of geometric methods in modern physics, october 2018, 1-45. 15 m. kuhlmann, quantum field theory, in the stanford encyclopedia of philosophy, sept 27 th , 2012, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/quantum-field-theory/ retrieved 13 th may, 2020. dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 174 particles that appear in field theory are very special: they are all identical. this means that the electrons in the earth are the same as the electrons in alpha centauri because all of them are excitations of the same electron field in quantum electro dynamics (qed). another essential characteristic of relativistic field theories is that when the field theory admits particle states, they are accompanied by antiparticle states; that is, the theory requires the existence of antiparticles. 16 areas to note when representing qft: a quantum field theory is a quantum theory which is relativistic invariant, and exists where there is a special type of quantum operators which are associated with the classical fields. in the case of a real scalar field ø, a consistent theory should satisfy the following principles.  p1 quantum principle: the space of quantum states is the space of rays in a separable hilbert space ℋ. 17  p2 unitarity: there is a (anti)unitary representation u(ʌ; a) of the poincare group in ℋ, where time reversal t is represented as an antiunitary operator u(t).  p3 spectral condition: the spectrum of generators of spacetime translations pᶙ is contained in the forward like cone: ˅+ = {pᶙ; p 2 ≥ 0; p0 ≥ 0}  p4 vacuum state: there is a unique state ψϵℋ, satisfying that pᶙψ0 =0. 18  p5 field theory (real boson): for any classical field f in the space s(ℝ3 ) of fast decreasing smooth c ∞ (ℝ3 ) functions there is field operator ø(f) in ℋ which satisfies that ø(f) = ø(f). the field operator can be considered as the smearing by f of a fundamental field operator ø(x) ø(f) = 16 ibid. 17 a hilbert space is an abstract vector space that possesses the structure of an inner product which allows length and angle to be measured. 18 the vacuum state also known as the ground state is that at which the quantum energy level is at its lowest. the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 175 ∫ the subspace spanned by the vectors ø(f1)ø(f2)………… ø (fn)|0} for arbitrary test functions f1; f2; ……fnϵs(ℝ3 ) is a dense subspace of ℋ.  p6 poincare covariance: let ḟϵs(ℝ4 ) be a test function defined in minkowski space-time 19 and ø(ḟ) =∫r4d 4 xø(x)ḟ(x); where ø(x) = ø(x; t) = e itp0 ø(x)e -itp0 . then u(ʌ;a) ø(ḟ)u(ʌ;a) ⸶ = ø(ḟ(ʌ;a)), with (ḟ(ʌ;a))(x) = ḟ(ʌ -1 (x-a))  p7 (bosonic) local causality: for any f, gϵs(ℝ3 ) the corresponding field operators ø(f); ø(g) commute [ø(f); ø(g)] = 0. 20 commutators pertains to bosonic particles, while anticommutators pertains to fermonic particles. quantum brain dynamics 19 minkowski space-time, is a combination of 3-dimensional euclidean space and time into a 4-dimensional manifold, where the interval of spacetime that exists between any two events is independent of the inertial frame of reference. the minkowski spacetime coordinate system has axes given as (x, y, z, ct). it can also be written as (x1, x2, x3, x4). the differential for arc length in spacetime is given by the equation: ds 2 = -c 2 dt 2 +dx 2 +dy 2 +dz 2 . 20 when it is said that operators in the quantum realm commute, what is implied is that they are identically zero. as seen above. let us consider that we have a state ψ and two observables (operators) a, b. when these operators are simultaneously diagonalised in a given representation, they act on the state ψ just by multiplication with a real number either a or b, or an eigen value of the operator (a ψ=a ψ, b ψ=b ψ). imagine that this were real numbers, a and b, this will hold like ab-ba=0 (signifying identicality) or in the operator form (ab-ba) ψ=0 or ((a,b) ψ=0). thus the expression ab-ba= [a,b] indicate that they commute. commutators are used for bose particles (bosons). there is also the expression anticommutators, and these are used for fermion particles. when talking about fermions, the commutators have to be adjusted accordingly (as in the case {θ1θ2= θ2θ1}). to ensure that identicality is recorded so that it sums up to zero, it needs to be adjusted to ({θ1θ2= θ2θ1→ θ1θ2 + θ2θ1 = 0}). dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 176 qft is all about gaining a fundamental understanding to matter. matter can either be macroscopic or microscopic, and even quantum. what is being considered here is brain matter. the use of qft, in what concerns matter, has proven insightful in blazing new trails as pertaining to the understanding of matter in its fundamentality. quantum brain dynamics is used to describe long range ordered dynamics of the quantum system of electromagnetic field, and water dipole field in the brain is proposed as a revival of the original idea developed by umezawa in the early 1960s. 21 qbd is nothing else but quantum electrodynamics (qed) of the electric dipole field of dipolar solitons and water molecules with a symmetry property under the dipole rotation. the highly systematized functioning of the brain is found to be realized by the spontaneous symmetry-breaking phenomena. memory printing, recall and decay processes are represented by the fundamental physical processes standing for the phase transition process, the symmetry-restoring process and the quantum-tunneling process, respectively. 22 the brain, as already noted, is a typical macroscopic object extraordinary in its functioning as it gives rise to highly advanced mental "objects" such as consciousness (plus unconscious), mind, memory and will. it is the custom and cognitive sciences to regard the brain as a tissue made of a huge of brain cells, and many phenomenological theories of brain functioning based on the macroscopic picture of electric and chemical circuits of cells take into account various mesoscopic aspects of the brain cell revealed by molecular biological studies. 23 of all living matter, the brain is considered as the highest example. thus, investigating the brain and its functionality thus pertains to the quantum field. qbd is a completely new theoretical framework to describe the fundamental physical process of the brain dynamics that 21 m. jibu-k. yasue, magic without magic. meaning of quantum brain dynamics in the journal of mind and behaviour, vol 18, no2/3, 205-227 22 m. jibu-k. yasue, quantum brain dynamics and quantum field theory, in brain and being. at the boundary between science, philosophy, language and arts, 269. 23 m. jibu-k. yasue, magic without magic. meaning of quantum brain dynamics. the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 177 makes man human on the basis of quantum field theoretical analysis of the fundamental system of brain tissue. 24 the fundamental system of living matter: the brain is a living matter. thus, it will be best to investigate the essential characteristic of the fundamental system of living matter. in living matter, there is specifically two degrees of freedom to which qft ponders; the first is the dipolar soliton (also known as the davydov soliton), localized in each protein filament of the background three-dimensional network structure and the water molecules surrounding them. in the words of jibu and yasue, the first degree of freedom we are looking for in the fundamental system of living matter may be found as an internal degree of freedom of the background three dimensional network structures of protein filaments free from thermalization. 25 this degree of freedom was found by davydov in 1979 as a coherent dipolar solitary wave propagation along the one-dimensional chain of protein molecules such as the protein filament. 26 in quantum field theory, a coherent solitary wave propagation is considered as a localized degree of freedom maintaining and carrying energy, without loss due to thermalization, and it is called the “davydov soliton” or “dipolar soliton.” 27 namely, energy in coming from the metabolizing system of living matter through the atp cyclic process to the fundamental 24 m. jibu-k. yasue, quantum brain dynamics and quantum field theory, in brain and being. at the boundary between science, philosophy, language and arts, 279. 25 ibid. thermalization is the process of physical bodies reaching thermal equilibrium through mutual interaction. 26 a.s. davydov, solitons in molecular systems, in physica scripta, 20, 1979, 387– 394. 27 the dipolar soliton is a collective mode of many dipolar oscillations maintained by nonlocalized electrons trapped in the one-dimensional chain of protein molecules and may be regarded as the first degree of freedom of the fundamental system of living matter. it is a quantum mechanical degree of freedom representing electric dipole moment localized in each background protein filament. the dipolar soliton arises from a coherent solitary wave propagation of nonlocalized electron along each protein filament. the dipolar soliton is created at the end of each protein filament by energy gain from the metabolizing system through, for example, the atp cyclic process. dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 178 system of living matter induces first dipolar solitons localized in each protein filament. as a specific character of soliton in quantum field theory, energy stored in soliton form is kept free from thermalization and belongs to the fundamental system of living matter, though creation of soliton is triggered by incoherent and disordered interaction with the metabolizing system. in other words, the creation and annihilation process of dipolar solitons plays the role of a gateway between metabolizing and fundamental systems. these dipolar solitons in the human brain are referred to as corticons, 28 but “in the general case of cell assembly, we call it simply ‘dipolar soliton’”. 29 the second degree of freedom of the fundamental system of living matter is the water molecule. jibu and yasue capture this better as they note: the water molecule, h2o, is a typical molecule simple in its form but rich in its physical characteristics. the origin of richness can be found, however, in simpleness of its form. namely, due to the spatial geometric configuration of two hydrogen atoms relative to one oxygen atom, the water molecule manifests nonvanishing electric dipole moment. thus, the totality of enormously large number of water molecules can be well described from a physical point of view by a quantum mechanical degree of freedom of electric dipole moment moving and rotating freely. this is the second degree of freedom of the fundamental system of living matter. we call it the “water dipole moment.” 30 finally, we have obtained a physical picture of the fundamental system of living matter. it is essentially a quantum mechanical manybody system described by two different degrees of freedom interacting with each other, that is, dipolar solitons localized in the background 28 c.i.j.m. stuart., y. takahashi, h. umezawa, on the stability and non-local properties of memory, in journal of theoretical biology, 71, 1978, 605–618. 29 m. jibu-k. yasue, quantum brain dynamics and quantum field theory, in brain and being, 278. 30 ibid. the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 179 three-dimensional network structure of protein filaments and water dipole moments surrounding them. 31 as earlier stated, the brain is a living matter; thus, there are two major components (in the words of jibu and yasue, degrees of freedom) that are vital in the computing of the qbd, namely; the dipolar solitons and the water dipole moment. 32 yet, in the brain, these solitons are referred to as corticons, and these protein filaments are immersed in water molecules, leading to a somewhat superimposition of states. thus, instead of having two degrees of freedom acting in the brain, as in other living matter, we have one superimposed degree of freedom known as corticons. these corticons can be described as “the fundamental system of brain tissue described by a single degree of freedom of electric dipole field spanning the spatial volume of the brain tissue.” 33 according to jibu and yasue, the corticon in qbd is now fully described by the electric dipole field (of both dipolar solitons and water dipole moments) spanning the spatial volume of the brain tissue. in this sense, we may call the fundamental system of brain tissue simply as the “system of corticons,” hereafter. considering the physical background of the electric dipole field as those of dipolar solitons and water dipole moments, we may assume that the electric dipole field manifests symmetry under rotation. namely, even if the electric dipole 31 ibid, 279. 32 permanent dipoles are found in water molecules and these occur when two atoms in a molecule have substantially different electronegativity. 32 a molecule with a permanent dipole moment is called a polar molecule. in electromagnetism, there are two kinds of dipoles: an electric dipole is a separation of positive and negative charges. the simplest example of this is a pair of electric charges of equal magnitude but opposite sign, separated by some (usually small) distance. a permanent electric dipole is called an electret. a magnetic dipole is a closed circulation of electric current. a simple example of this is a single loop of wire with some constant current through. 33 m. jibu-k. yasue, quantum brain dynamics and quantum field theory, in brain and being, 280. dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 180 field on each position is rotated by any spatial angle, the total energy of the system of corticons is kept invariant. in quantum field theory, the total energy of the system of any field quantity plays an important role in specifying dynamics of the field, and it is usually called the “hamiltonian.” so, we refer to the total energy of the system of corticons as the hamiltonian of the system of corticons or equivalently the hamiltonian of qbd. then, we obtain the following invariant or symmetry property: the system of corticons in qbd manifests a symmetry under the rotation of the electric dipole field in a sense that the hamiltonian of qbd is invariant. 34 thus, we can define qbd as nothing but quantum electro dynamics (qed) of the electric dipole field with symmetry under the dipole rotation. the spontaneous breaking of symmetry: symmetry plays a big role in physics. it often greatly simplifies the solution to a problem. suppose we have an object shaped like the base of a wine bottle, and a marble is placed on the hump at the base of the wine bottle, even though the floor of the wine bottle after the hump is yet perfectly symmetric, the marble will not end up in the centre, where it would be sitting on a hump; it will come to rest somewhere on the circle of lowest points. this is precisely what spontaneous symmetry breaking is about; for the ground or lowest-energy state does not share the symmetry of the underlying physics. instead, there is a whole family of ground states, the different points on the circle. 35 the symmetry breaking is spontaneous in the sense that (unless we have extra information) we cannot predict which of these ground states will be chosen. spontaneous symmetry breaking is ubiquitous in condensed matter physics. it often occurs when there is a phase transition between a high-temperature, symmetric phase and a low-temperature 34 ibid. 35 t.w.b. kibble, spontaneous breaking of symmetry in gauge theories, in phil. trans. r. soc. a 373: 2015 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2014.0033, 1-12. the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 181 one in which the symmetry is spontaneously broken. the simplest example is freezing. if we have a round bowl of water sitting on a table, it looks the same from every direction; it has rotational symmetry. but when it freezes, the ice crystals form in specific orientations, breaking the symmetry. 36 symmetry is said to be spontaneously broken when the lagrangian of a system is invariant under a certain group of continuous symmetry, say g, and the vacuum or ground state of the system is not invariant under g, but under one of its subgroups, say g′. the ground state then exhibits observable ordered patterns corresponding to the breakdown of g into g′. the possibility of having different vacua with different symmetry properties is provided by the mathematical structure of qft, where infinitely many representations of the canonical commutation relations (ccr) exist, which are unitarily inequivalent with respect to each other, i.e. there is no unitary operator transforming one representation into another one, and thus they are physically inequivalent as well, that is they describe different physical phases of the system. 37 in sbs theories, the goldstone theorem predicts the existence of massless bosons called nambu-goldstone (ng) particles. the spin-wave quanta, called magnons in ferromagnets, the elastic wave quanta called phonons in crystals, the cooper pair quanta in superconductors, etc., are examples of ng particles. ng bosons condensed in the ground state of the system, according to the bose-einstein condensation, are the carriers of ordering information out of which ordered patterns (space ordering or time ordering as, e.g., “in phase” oscillations) are generated. the condensation density of the ng boson quanta determines the macroscopic field which is called order parameter, e.g. the magnetization in ferromagnets. 38 the order parameter is a classical macroscopic field in the sense that it is not 36 ibid. 37 w.j. freeman-g. vitiello, dissipation and spontaneous symmetry breaking in brain dynamics, in escholarship.org, 2008, https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5c43n596, 1-16. by contrast, in quantum mechanics all representations are unitarily (and therefore physically) equivalent. 38 ibid. dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 182 affected by quantum fluctuations. its value may be considered to be the code or label, specifying the physical phase of the system. in the absence of gauge fields, the ng quanta are observed as realistic physical quanta, and excitations of the system ground state extend over the whole system (collective modes or long range correlations). they may scatter with other particles of the system or with observational probes. if a gauge field is present, the ng bosons still control the ground state condensation in the ordered domain, and the gauge field propagation is confined into regions where the order is absent. through the generation of ng collective modes, sbs is responsible for the change from microscopic to macroscopic scale: crystals, ferromagnets, superconductors, etc., are macroscopic quantum systems. they are quantum systems, not in the sense that they are constituted by quantum components (like any physical system), but in the sense that their macroscopic properties, accounted for by the order parameter field, cannot be explained without recourse to the underlying quantum dynamics. 39 in the words of vitiello, symmetry “corresponds to indistinguishable points.” 40 but the symmetry which gets broken in the creation of observable ordered patterns is the symmetry of the dynamical equations; symmetry is said to be spontaneously broken when the symmetry of the ground state is not the symmetry of the dynamical 39 ibid. when symmetry is broken, a quanta, a masseless scalar with no spin, appears, this masseless scalar according to vitiello, is the carrier of the ordering information and therefore the quantum mediating the long range correlation among the atoms. this scalar is a boson, which means that many of them can be found in the same state with similar quantum properties (charge, energy, numbers etc). symmetry can be restored via condensation of the bosons, one that is controlled by the bose-einstein distribution function (referred to as the bose-einstein condensate). according to vitiello, at conveniently high temperature, above a certain critical temperature tc, the condensed bosons may “evaporate”: condensation is destroyed and symmetry is restored. symmetry is restored and broken by means of an occurrence known as phase transitions. 40 g. vitiello, my double unveiled. john benjamins publishing co., amsterdam and philadelphia, 2001, 30. the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 183 equations. 41 this means that the symmetry is said to be broken since the vacuum state does not possess the full symmetry of the field equations (the dynamics). the “order” is indeed such a “lack of symmetry.” 42 when symmetry is broken, “the invariance of the field equations implies the existence of quanta, the so-called nambu goldstone (ng) quanta.” 43 these ng quanta propagate through the system and are the carriers of the ordering information, “they are long range correlation modes;” 44 in crystals, for example, the ordering information is that which specifies the lattice arrangement. the ng quanta for crystals are the phonons. thus, not only are these ng quanta involved in informational gain, they are also involved in the dynamic ordering of the system. for instance, with magnets, the symmetry broken is that of the magnetic dipole of the electrons, thus the magnetization comprises the correlation amongst all the electrons so that they all choose, among all available directions, one particular direction of the magnetization vector (the ng quanta for magents are magnoni). the ng quanta are masseless scalar bosons. thus, they are to be differentiated from the other type of boson involved in the different energy fields known as the gauge bosons (the photons of the emf, the gluons of the strong field, the w ± and z bosons of the electroweak fields). the gauge bosons are mediators of the energy exchanges among the interacting elements they correlate, because they are effectively quanta of the energy field they mediate (that is the w ± and z bosons are the quantum of the weak field). the ng bosons (ngb) are not mediators of the interactions among the elements of the system. they determine only the modes of interaction among them. 41 ibid, 30-31. according to vitiello, «the word “spontaneous” means that the symmetry of the dynamics can be rearranged in any one of the possible ordering patterns observable at the physical level (in other words any of the physical phases can be dynamically realized).» (g. vitiello, my double unveiled, 31) 42 g. vitiello, the dissipative brain, in brain and being at the boundary between science, philosophy, language and arts, globus g.g., pribram, k.h. and vitiello, g., (eds), john benjamins pub. co. amsterdam, 2004, 317-331. 43 g. vitiello, the dissipative brain, in brain and being. 44 ibid. dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 184 due to the masselessness of the ngb, their condensation does not necessitate a change of energy state of the system. this is because in their “lowest momentum state ng quanta do not carry energy.” 45 this is needed to enable the ng quanta cut across the full system volume, sending long distance informational correlation in the system, “thus setting up an ordered pattern.” 46 in living biological systems, the human body, the ng quanta are the dipole wave quanta (dwq), since they arise from “the breakdown of the electrical dipole rotational symmetry.” 47 how does symmetry breaking happen in the qbd? according to vitiello, this happens by interaction, for the “brain is a system in interaction with the external world from which it receives stimuli carrying information. these stimuli put the brain into states.” 48 the brain-body is not a closed system, but an open system that stands in physical entanglement with the environment. according to streltsov et al., entanglement can arise from incoherent operations, provided one of the communicating systems is coherent. this can be illustrated thus: s (incoherent) a (incoherent) s (coherent) a (incoherent) incoherent op. incoherent op. s is separable from a s is entangled with a. 49 45 ibid. 46 ibid. 47 ibid. according to g. vitiello, «in qft the dynamics (i.e. the lagrangian or the hamiltonian, or simply the field equations) is in general invariant under some group, say g, of continuous transformations. spontaneous breakdown of symmetry occurs when the minimum energy state (the ground state or vacuum) of the system is not invariant under the full group g, but under one of its subgroups.» (g. vitiello, my double unveiled. john benjamins publishing co., amsterdam and philadelphia, 2001, 93). 48 g. vitiello, my double unveiled, 73. 49 a. streltsov et al, measuring quantum coherence with entanglement, in physics review letters, number 115, june 2015, pp1-8.. the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 185 thus, the personal unit brain-body-environment has its physical foundation in the quantum entanglement brain-body-environment. the entanglement “represents the impossibility of cutting the links between the brain and the external world;” 50 the quantum model of the brain is based on the fact that the brain “is an open system in interaction with the external world.” 51 for information printing on the brain “is achieved under the action of external stimuli, which produce the breakdown of the symmetry associated with the electric dipole vibrational field.” 52 thus, emphasis is laid on the brain being entangled or “coupled to the environment.” 5354 the centrality of the brain, as constantly noticed in the foregoing lines, should not lead to a hasty consideration of the body as inconsequential in the entire dynamics that defines the human person, for the three components, of body-brain-environment, stand as integral 50 g. vitiello, the dissipative brain, in brain and being at the boundary between science, philosophy, language and arts, globus g.g., pribram, k.h. and vitiello, g., (eds), john benjamins pub. co. amsterdam, 2004, 317-331. 51 g. vitiello, my double unveiled, 104. 52 ibid. 53 ibid. 54 each personal conscious state of a human being corresponds to a complex phasecoherence among the oscillating electromagnetic force fields of some material parts (molecules) of the three components involved. that is for instance in the personal state of me as seeing now the computer screen in front of me some (effectively many trillions) of molecules of the neurons of a part of the visual cortex involved, many and many trillions of the molecules constituting the parts of the ocular system involved (ocular nerve, ocular muscles, cones and rods of my retina, of the crystalline membrane in front of my retina etc), many and many trillions of molecules constituting the gases forming the air between me and the computer screen, and finally the many and many trillions of the molecules of the part of the screen i am seeing and emitting the electromagnetic radiation putting in phase the molecules of screen, of airs, of my oculomotor system, of my visual cortex, on its turn influencing the oscillation in phase of my emotional system: limbic system, amygdala etc. this is a personal state unified at the material level by the electromagnetic fields, ordered and then unified informationally by the nambugoldstone bosons characterizing univocally this so complex phase coherence domain of electromagnetic, oscillating force field. dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 186 to a valid comprehension of the human person. according to capolupo, freeman and vitiello, brains are thermodynamics systems that use chemical energy to construct knowledge from information. the oxidative metabolism of glucose provides the energy, as measured by oxygen depletion and carbon dioxide production. the sensory receptors in the body and on the body surface provide the information by absorbing energy of various types impinging from the internal and external environments. the role of each sensory receptor is to selectively convert a microscopic quantity of energy first to ionic currents (receptor potentials), then to a train of pulses (action potentials, units, spikes) on its axon. 55 once the external stimuli are intercepted by the body, a necessary sbs occurs, a definite ground state, from the many infinite ground states or vacua, is chosen. masseless ngb are observed, which carry long-range correlation waves observed in the brain dynamics. as a consequence of this, the time-reversal symmetry is also broken, because the choice of a ground state entails that the information has been recorded. 56 after information has been recorded, the brain state is fixated and the brain cannot be brought to the state configuration in which it was before the information printing occurred, for before the information recording process, the brain can in principle be in anyone of the infinitely many (unitarily inequivalent) vacua. 57 the brain as an open/dissipative system the brain is an open, dissipative system; the brain closed on the world is a dead brain, physiology tells us. isolation of the brain (closure to the world) produces serious pathologies. thus, the extension of the quantum model of brain to the dissipative dynamics appears to be a 55 a. capolupo et al, dissipation of dark energy by cortex in knowledge retrieval in physics life review, volume 10, issue, 1, march 2013, pp85–94. 56 g. vitiello, my double unveiled. the dissipative quantum model of the brain, 107. 57 ibid. the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 187 necessity. 58 the dissipation of the brain, and its inherent openness, is a mark of the interaction that exists between the brain and the environment, for the brain (/body) is not a closed system, but an open system that stands in physical entanglement with the environment. we ought to note that the entirety of the human person, as a biological system, stands in relation to other biological systems (other human persons and the environment). as a biological system, the human person is a dynamic comprising the brain and the body. the human person is an open-dissipative biological system in relation to the environment (that was why it was earlier asserted that the human person stands in relation, a relation of brain-body-environment). the human body (brain-body) operates dynamically in a phase coherent order. this macroscopic level of a high degree of coherence is referred to as order parameter. the order parameter is the macroscopic variable that characterizes the new emerging level of matter organization and is related to the matter density distribution. the emergent properties are neither the properties of the elementary constituents nor their summation. rather, they are new properties, depending on the modes in which they are organized, that is to say, on the dynamics controlling their interaction. a point to recall is that “the ordered pattern which is actually realized is the output of the system’s internal dynamics.” 59 this pattern is realized through a process known as spontaneous symmetry breaking. 60 then, the mathematical formalism for quantum dissipation requires the doubling of the brain degrees of freedom. 61 the doubled degrees 58 g. vitiello, the dissipative brain, in brain and being. 59 g. vitiello, the dissipative brain, in brain and being. 60 symmetry breaking can also be explicit, referred to as explicit symmetry breaking. in this case, the dynamical operations are modified by adding one or more terms that are not consistent with the symmetric terms. 61 the conventional approach in introducing the qft algebraic structure consists in assigning the canonical commutator or anticommutator relations for the boson or fermion case, respectively. however, one needs also to specify which one is the prescription for adding primitive observables such as energy, angular momentum, etc. it could seem that such a prescription does not belong to the algebraic structure dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 188 of freedom, say a˜ (the tilde quanta; the non–tilde quanta a, denoting the brain degrees of freedom), are meant to represent the environment to which the brain is coupled. the physical meaning of the doubling is the one of ensuring the balance of the energy flux between the system and the environment. the environment thus represented by the doubled degrees of freedom appears described as the “time–reversed copy” (the double) of the brain. 62 the environment is “modelled” on of the theory. effectively, this is not the case. in fact, in order to specify, e.g., the total energy e of two identical particles, one writes e = e1 + e2. the meaning of the labels in such a formula is that e1 refers to the first particle and e2 to the second particle. however, it is easy to realize that e1 = e × 1 where the index 1 thus refers to the first position. similarly, e2 = 1 × e. thus, e = e1 + e2 = e × 1 + 1 × e, and similarly j = j1 + j2 = j × 1 + 1 × j, for the angular momentum, which are nothing but the commutative coproducts of a coalgebra. here, “commutative” refers to invariance of the coproduct under the permutation 1 ↔ 2, as it needs to be on the premise that the particles are identical. we should be able therefore to go from the algebra a for the single particle to the algebra for two of them, namely, a → a × a. of course, we need also to be able to go back to a single particle, namely, a × a → a. the conclusion is that the basic algebra to start with, in qft is a bialgebra, that is the hopf algebra. we thus see that the “doubling of the degrees of freedom” (ddf) implied in the hopf mapping a → a × a arises as a natural requirement in setting up the qft algebraic structure. most interesting is the case when the two systems need to be treated not on the same footing, as, for example, in thermal field theory, or when dealing with open systems in general, where the system under study and its thermal bath or environment are not exchangeable. in these cases the proper tool is provided by the q-deformed hopf algebras with non-commutative coproducts, e.g., ∆aq = a×q+q −1 ×a ≡ aq + q −1 ˜a, with aϵa, and its hermitian conjugate, ∆a† q = a†×q*+(q −1 )*×a†. of course if q is real, q* = q; if it is imaginary, then q* = q −1 . the deformation parameter q may depend on temperature, decay constants, etc. the qft formalism of the ddf has been introduced and used in many applications of the tfd formalism for many-body systems. the hopf coalgebra thus describes the doubling of the degrees of freedom a → {a, ˜a} and of the state space f → f × ˜ f, with the operators a and ˜a acting on f and ˜ f, respectively. we stress that the associated hopf algebra is, as said, a non-commutative coalgebra. (g. basti, g. vitiello and a. capolupo, quantum field theory and coalgebraic logic in theoretical computer science, in arxiv:1701.00527v1[quant-ph], 29 th dec, 2016, 120). 62 g. vitiello, the dissipative brain, in brain and being. when the system under consideration is dissipative, it accepts external energy without heating up, stores the order, and can later give it up to the surrounding heat bath environment. umezawa’s the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 189 the brain. time–reversed since the energy flux outgoing from the brain is incoming into the environment, and vice versa. 63 the doubling of the degrees of freedom in the dissipative model thus arises as a consequence of the irreversible time evolution. the superimposition of the dipole soliton and the water dipole moment in the brain lead to one defined degree of freedom known as corticon. this, according to g.g. globus, “disregards the neuron’s and neuroglia’s boundary membrane” 64 that is the mark of classical physics. these corticons are created when an input from the environment comes into the vacuum. but let us understand the concept of vacuum in qbd. the concept of vaccum in qbd: vacuum states are near-zero energy states, also called “ground states.” in the case of ordered water, the momentum axes of the spinning water dipoles all point in the same direction in the θ-vacuum states upheld by the living brain. 65 as already stated, when input comes into this vacuum, corticons (dipole wave quanta) are created, they are quanta which undergo annihilation innovation is to treat the heat bath environment as tilde. the nontilde system exchanges energy with its ⁓environment, while the energy of the nontilde system + ⁓environment, that is, the energy of the closed system, remains constant in strict accordance with energy conservation laws. so when the nontilde system dissipates order to the ⁓system, its entropy increases and the entropy of the ⁓system in compensation decreases. the total entropy of nontilde and tilde systems, however, remains constant under any exchange. (g.g. globus, g.g. globus, quantum closures and disclosures. thinking-together postphenomenology and quantum brain dynamics 36). 63 the quantum dissipation formalism implies that the full operator describing the system time evolution includes the operator describing the coupling between the non–tilde and the tilde quanta. at the same time, such a coupling term acts as the mathematical tool to attach the label to the vacua (and thus to distinguish among different memories). this label is time–dependent: the system states are thus time– dependent states. 64 g.g. globus, quantum closures and disclosures. thinking-together postphenomenology and quantum brain dynamics, john benjamins publishing co., amsterdam and philadelphia, 2003, 22. 65 ibid. dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 190 and creation dynamics. this input provokes corticon dynamics. in the corticon dynamics, the energy gained can be dissipated, with the system relaxing back into a different θ-vacuum state than before. (the θ-vacuum transformation is called the bogoliubov transformation, which remarkably, in russian literally means the love-of-god transformation. so we might say that we have memory, and so our humanity, through the love of god.) input provokes corticon dynamics and a bogoliubov transformation to a θ-vacuum state. (memory – hence temporality – is derived through the bogoliubov movement). 66 understanding bogoliubov transformation via the hopf coalgebra of qft: there is one more aspect of qft and its intrinsic algebraic hopf structure, which is relevant from the perspective of the coalgebraic logic and computer science: the tilde modes provide the intrinsic dynamic (coalgebraic) reference (semantics) for the non-tilde modes. the coalgebra structure of the doubling both the space, and the operators, turns into a strict correspondence between each operator and its tilde-copy (the doubled operator) so that one of the two provides the address of the other one. the result is the self-consistent dynamical inclusion of the “reference term” in the logical scheme. a sort of contextual self-embedding, or dynamical generation of meaning, a “local”, not “absolute”, but crucially meaningful truth, singled out of the infinitely many possibilities offered by the infinitely many representations of the ccrs. the simplest example is perhaps obtained by explicitly computing the expectation value of the number operator nak = a † kak in the ground state |0(θ)}n . by inverting the bogoliubov transformations, we have ∀k nak(θ) ≡ n{0(θ)| a † kak |0(θ)}n = n{0(θ)|a˜k(θ) a˜ † k(θ)|0(θ)}n = sinh 2 θk, (1) 66 ibid. the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 191 which shows that for any k, the only non-vanishing contribution to the number of nontilde modes nak(θ) comes from the tilde operators. in this sense, these last ones constitute the dynamic address for the non-tilde modes. through them, the total number nak(θ) of the ak condensate is determined. of course, the reverse is also true, namely the only non-zero contribution to na˜k(θ) comes from the non-tilde operators, and nak(θ) − na˜k(θ) = 0. the whole condensate content of |0(θ)}n is thus specified by the n-set ≡ {nak(θ), nak(θ) = na˜k(θ), ∀k}. such a n-set is called the order parameter. it provides a characterizing parameter for the θ-vacuum |0(θ)}n and explains the meaning of the n subscript. its knowledge constitutes the “end point” of the computation, the searched result. 67 the corticon fields in which corticon creation and annihilation dynamics take place are of the spontaneous symmetry-breaking type. at the ground, there is sameness before difference, vacuum states without preference – degenerate θ-vacua – and difference is achieved, intrinsic to the ground, in symmetry-breaking. in non-vacuum states, the unbroken symmetry of “a uniform rotation of the electric dipole moment vectors of the h2o molecules does not change the fundamental dynamics of the water rotational field described by the schrödinger equation.” the field entity, with its various energy levels, makes no distinctions under uniform rotation in higher energy states. but in least energy vacuum states, the rotational symmetry can be broken: a change in the direction along which the electric dipole moment vectors lineup changes the vacuum. symmetry-breaking in vacuum states thus permits distinction. order becomes ontological 67 g. basti, g. vitiello and a. capolupo, quantum field theory and coalgebraic logic in theoretical computer science, in arxiv:1701.00527v1[quant-ph], 29 th dec, 2016, 1-20. dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 192 through symmetry-breaking, without which there is only the degeneracy of uniformity. 68 so vacuum states support distinction, permit order. when input spontaneously breaks the rotational symmetry of the vacuum, the broken symmetry is specific to a particular input. however, fundamental energy conservation laws do not allow the loss of symmetry under these conditions. the “lost” invariance is in fact conserved in massless quanta known as nambugoldstone (n-g) bosons. 69 the broken symmetry is preserved by the ngb. according to g.g. globus, the ngb “in living brain tissue are none other than the “symmetrons” of the early umezawa school, since they conserve the lost symmetry specific for input.” 70 how does consciousness arise? the personal unit brain-bodyenvironment has its physical foundation in the quantum entanglement brain-body-environment. the entanglement “represents the impossibility of cutting the links between the brain and the external world;” 71 the quantum model of the brain is based on the fact that the brain “is an open system in interaction with the external world.” 72 for, information printing (this is also consciousness) on the brain “is achieved under the action of external stimuli, which produce the breakdown of the symmetry associated with the electric dipole vibrational field.” 73 thus, emphasis is laid on the brain being entangled or “coupled to the environment.” 7475 the centrality of the 68 g.g. globus, quantum closures and disclosures. thinking-together postphenomenology and quantum brain dynamics, 23. 69 ibid. 70 ibid. g.g. globus refers to these symmetrons as goldstone symmetrons, to remind all that they are massless quanta which conserve the symmetry specifically broken by input order. 71 g. vitiello, the dissipative brain, in brain and being. 72 g. vitiello, my double unveiled, 104. 73 ibid. 74 ibid. 75 each personal conscious state of a human being corresponds to a complex phasecoherence among the oscillating electromagnetic force fields of some material parts (molecules) of the three components involved. that is for instance in the personal state of me as seeing now the computer screen in front of me some (effectively many trillions) of molecules of the neurons of a part of the visual cortex involved, the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 193 brain, as constantly noticed in the foregoing lines, should not lead to a hasty consideration of the body as inconsequential in the entire dynamics that defines the human person, for the three components, of body-brain-environment, stand as integral to a valid comprehension of the human person. according to capolupo, freeman and vitiello, brains are thermodynamics systems that use chemical energy to construct knowledge from information. the oxidative metabolism of glucose provides the energy, as measured by oxygen depletion and carbon dioxide production. the sensory receptors in the body and on the body surface provide the information by absorbing energy of various types impinging from the internal and external environments. the role of each sensory receptor is to selectively convert a microscopic quantity of energy first to ionic currents (receptor potentials), then to a train of pulses (action potentials, units, spikes) on its axon. 76 once the external stimuli are intercepted by the body, a necessary sbs occurs, a definite ground state, from the many infinite ground states or vacua, is chosen. masseless ngb are observed, which carry long-range correlation waves observed in the brain dynamics. as a consequence of this, the time-reversal symmetry is also broken, many and many trillions of the molecules constituting the parts of the ocular system involved (ocular nerve, ocular muscles, cones and rods of my retina, of the crystalline membrane in front of my retina etc), many and many trillions of molecules constituting the gases forming the air between me and the computer screen, and finally the many and many trillions of the molecules of the part of the screen i am seeing and emitting the electromagnetic radiation putting in phase the molecules of screen, of airs, of my oculomotor system, of my visual cortex, on its turn influencing the oscillation in phase of my emotional system: limbic system, amygdala etc. this is a personal state unified at the material level by the electromagnetic fields, ordered and then unified informationally by the nambugoldstone bosons characterizing univocally this so complex phase coherence domain of electromagnetic, oscillating force field. 76 a. capolupo et al, dissipation of dark energy by cortex in knowledge retrieval in physics life review, volume 10, issue, 1, march 2013, 85–94. dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 194 because the choice of a ground state entails that the information has been recorded. 77 after information has been recorded, the brain state is fixated and the brain cannot be brought to the state configuration in which it was before the information printing occurred; for before the information recording process, the brain can in principle be in anyone of the infinitely many (unitarily inequivalent) vacua. 78 there is the presence of time-reversal symmetry which means that the human person assumes a present state of affairs, one that can be distinguished from the past and the future, what vitiello calls, “now you know it!” 79 according to vitiello, “consciousness appears to be intimately related to dissipation.” 80 he adds further that “consciousness seems thus to emerge as a manifestation of the dissipative dynamics of the brain.” 81 this dissipative dynamics has to do with the coupling of a (the nontilde subject) with ã (the tilde object), which describes nonlinear dynamical features of the dissipative model. the nonlinearity of the dynamics describes a self-interaction process for the a system. ã thus also plays a role in such self-coupling or self-recognition processes. the ã system is the mirror in time image, or the time-reversed copy of the a system. 82 it actually duplicates the a system. it is the a system's double, and since it can never be eliminated, the a system can never be separated from its double. the role of the ã modes in the selfinteraction processes leads me to conjecture that the tilde-system is 77 g. vitiello, my double unveiled, 107. 78 ibid. 79 ibid. 80 ibid, 123. 81 g. vitiello, quantum dissipation and information. a route to consciousness modeling, in neuroquantology 2003; 2: 266-279. 82 according to g.g. globus, that the tilde object is a mirror image of the nontilde object, this representation is only in the mathematical sense, for there is no world running forward in the nontilde system and running backward in the ⁓environment, and so a metaphor of time and time-reversal as a movie run forward and backward respectively would be an inappropriate metaphor. (g.g. globus, quantum closures and disclosures. thinking-together postphenomenology and quantum brain dynamics, 36-37). the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 195 actually involved in consciousness mechanisms. 83 dissipation manifests itself as a second person, the double or sosia, to dialogue with. in this way, consciousness appears to be not solely characterized by a subjective dynamics; its roots, on the contrary, seem to be grounded in the permanent trade of the brain (the subject) with the external world, on the dynamical relation between the system a and its sosia 84 or double ã, permanently joined to it. 85 consciousness is reached through the opening to the external world. the crucial role of dissipation is that self-mirroring is not anymore a self-trap (as for narcissus), the conscious subject cannot be a monad. consciousness is only possible if dissipation, openness onto the outside world, is allowed. without the objective external world, there would be no possibility for the brain to be an open system, and no ã system would at all exist. the very same existence of the external world is the prerequisite for the brain to build up its own subjective simulation, its own representation of the world. the informational inputs from the external world are the images of the world. once they are recorded by a, they become the image of a; ã is the address of a, it is identified with (is a copy of) a. 86 in vitiello’s formulation, the 83 ibid. the mathematical and physical meaning of the tilde-system is to describe the environment to which the brain is permanently coupled (linked). since the brain is intrinsically an open system, the tilde-system can never be neglected. the tildemodes thus might play a role as well in the unconscious brain activity. this may provide an answer to the question "as whether symmetron modes would be required to account for unconscious brain activity. as already observed, the tilde modes might tell us something about that fuzzy region between fragile consciousness and the obscure unconscious core of the dream activity. 84 the "doubling" of the self is actually a very old literary metaphor. plautus invention of the "doubling" of sosia in his comedy amphitruo (plautus, 189 b.c.), or even the falling in love of narcissus with himself mediated by his "reflection" in the water, are famous examples of such a metaphoric use of the "doubling ". on the other hand, in the ancient vedic tradition (kak 1996), consciousness also flows between two poles: an identity of self and an identity with the processes of the universe. g. vitiello, my double unveiled, 141. 85 ibid. 86 ibid. dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 196 brain is an open system exchanging energy with the external world. there is a “permanent ‘trade’ of the brain (the subject) with the external world.” this trade is reiterated in the relation between the brain (subject) and its ⁓double. …the unavoidable coupling with the external world is ‘internalized’ in the dialectic, permanent relation with the double. 87 so now there is a subject/object dialectic where subject is nontilde and object is tilde, and a subject/double dialectic where again subject is nontilde and double is tilde. consciousness arises for vitiello where tilde and nontilde come together, where nontilde subject meets a world that is “in some sense” tilde, a meeting of time-reversed mirror images, self meeting double. consciousness, in vitiello’s account, is the case of subject self-recognition in a ⁓conjugate mirror. in his metaphor, consciousness is not on either side – neither nontilde/subject nor tilde/object, but at the tail of a mirror in which the mirror image comes up in an alter universe. 88 in vitiello’s thermofield qbd formulation, consciousness lies in the vacuum states where an interaction match takes place. dasein’s dissipative quantum brain, which supports controlled interactions in its ground states, does it all. so vitiello’s formula resolves to: nontilde subject self-recognizing world representation → consciousness. vitiello gives no justification for thinking of nontilde as subject. it has the very same symmetry as the ⁓object, only time runs oppositely in the latter. tilde and nontilde modes here are perfectly symmetrical, so they cannot support the categorical distinction between subject and object, indeed their only distinction is the time reversal. 89 in the very mathematical formulation, the self recognition or match is assumed. 87 g. vitiello, my double unveiled, 141. 88 g.g. globus, quantum closures and disclosures. thinking-together postphenomenology and quantum brain dynamics, 31. 89 ibid, 32 the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 197 vitiello “requires” that the condensate contain an equal number of a and a⁓ modes, which insures “that the flow of the energy exchanged between the system and the environment is balanced.” 90 the equation of subject and object here is imposed by fiat; their equality is simply postulated, in the dominating fashion typical of still metaphysical modernity. 91 conclusion consciousness, as a nonphysical entity that is pertinent to the rationality of the human person, is an issue that has for long defied any explanation. yet, with the findings of the qbd, based on qft, it is now seen that the age-long truth of “no man is an island” comes to bear in what has been elaborated upon thus far. consciousness arises in the brain-body-environment interaction or, to put it in quantum terms, entanglement. the environment referred to here is all that is outside the subject, the “i”, including the “other”, that is the “you”. that is to say that the environment is not limited to the inanimate, or the brute, or the vegetative life that resides outside the subject. it also encapsulates other subjects, who in reference to the subject under study, is the object. the mode in which consciousness arises also makes reference to the view that opposes solipsism, but speaks for interaction, community, solidarity and togetherness. these latter qualities have been championed in philosophical debates under titles such as existentialism, personalism, interpersonalism, especially in igwebuike philosophy 92 . what this goes to certify is that the human 90 g. vitiello, my double unveiled, 111. 91 g.g. globus, quantum closures and disclosures. thinking-together postphenomenology and quantum brain dynamics, 32. 92 kanu, ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy, 14. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 198 portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kanu, i. a. (2019). on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159-176. kanu, i. a. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 199 person is not a closed system, but is an open system who is in continuous interaction and rapport with others (rational, animate and inanimate alike). the human person becomes a closed system when he dies; as qft records it, this is when he attains to the state of maximum entropy. the exchange between him and the environment is cushioned under the second law of thermodynamics, such that there is a balance, even in this exchange of energy (for what is exchanged is energy). the human person is one with other, and not one with himself, his rational consciousness attests to this. that the human person is linked to the other is what makes consciousness arise, one which is rational and cognitive. what is to be said is that our solidarity and complementarity, our interpersonal interaction, our “igwebuikeness” as human persons, is neural, it is cognitive and it is quantum. bibliography a. capolupo et al, dissipation of dark energy by cortex in knowledge retrieval in physics life review, volume 10, issue, 1, march 2013. problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igboafrican modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 200 a.s. davydov, solitons in molecular systems, in physica scripta, 20, 1979. a. streltsov et al, measuring quantum coherence with entanglement, in physics review letters, number 115, june 2015, b. skinner, a children’s picture-book introduction to quantum field theory, in ribbonfarm online journal, 20 th august, 2015, https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2015/08/20/qft/ retrieved 12 th may, 2020. c.i.j.m. stuart., y. takahashi, h. umezawa, on the stability and non-local properties of memory, in journal of theoretical biology, 71, 1978. c.i.j.m. stuart., y. takahashi, h. umezawa, mixed-system brain dynamics. neural memory as a macroscopic ordered state, in foundation of physics, 9, 1979. d.m. rosenthal, concepts and definitions of consciousness, in the encyclopedia of consciousness, w.p. banks ed, academic press, elsevier inc, oxford, 2009. g. basti, g. vitiello and a. capolupo, quantum field theory and coalgebraic logic in theoretical computer science, in arxiv:1701.00527v1[quant-ph], 29 th dec, 2016. g.g. globus, quantum closures and disclosures. thinkingtogether postphenomenology and quantum brain dynamics, john benjamins publishing co., amsterdam and philadelphia, 2003, g. vitiello, my double unveiled. john benjamins publishing co., amsterdam and philadelphia, 2001. g. vitiello, the dissipative brain, in brain and being at the boundary between science, philosophy, language and arts, globus g.g., pribram, k.h. and vitiello, g., (eds), john benjamins pub. co. amsterdam, 2004. the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 201 g. vitiello, quantum dissipation and information. a route to consciousness modeling, in neuroquantology 2003; 2. i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no. 1 2016:1-6. i. a. kanu. igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 5983. 2018 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. 2018 i. a. kanu. new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. 2018 i. a. kanu. collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. 2019 i. a. kanu. igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. 2019 i. a. kanu. igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. 2019 i. a. kanu. igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cociopolitical system of governance. tolle lege: an dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 202 augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. 2018 kanu, i. a. on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159-176. 2019 i. a. kanu. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christianmuslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 203 contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. 2017 j.r. searle, consciousness, originally published october 8, 1999 as an academic paper at the university of california at berkeley, posted on kurzweilai.net august 13, 2001. k. cherry, consiousness is the psychology of awareness, in verywellmind online journal, february 24th, 2020, https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-consciousness2795922, received 12 th may, 2020. m. asorey, a concise introduction to quantum field theory, in international journal of geometric methods in modern physics, october 2018,. m. jibu-k. yasue, quantum brain dynamics and quantum field theory, in brain and being: at the boundary between science, philosophy, language and arts, g.g. globus, dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 204 k.h. pribram and g. vitiello eds., john benjamins publishing company, amsterdam/philadelphia, 2004. m. jibu-k. yasue, magic without magic. meaning of quantum brain dynamics in the journal of mind and behaviour, vol 18, no2/3. m. kuhlmann, quantum field theory, in the stanford encyclopedia of philosophy, sept 27 th , 2012, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/quantum-field-theory/ retrieved 12 th may, 2020. m. saleem, quantum mechanics, iop publishing ltd, 2015. m. velmans, how to define consciousness and how not to define consciousness, in journal of consciousness studies, 16(5), 2009. t.w.b. kibble, spontaneous breaking of symmetry in gauge theories, in phil. trans. r. soc. a 373: 2015 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2014.0033. w.j. freeman-g. vitiello, dissipation and spontaneous symmetry breaking in brain dynamics, in escholarship.org, 2008, https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5c43n596. microsoft word igwebuike journals vol. 5. no. 7.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 1 igwebuikeology: kanu anthony’s fundamental approach to african philosophic knowledge jude i. onebunne, phd department of philosophy faculty of arts nnamdi azikiwe university, awka ji.onebunne@unizik.edu.ng abstract kanu, ikechukwu anthony’s conceptual coinage of igwebuikeology is understood as the systematic study of igwebuike philosophy within the bounds of traditional african philosophic enterprise with regard to prospects and problems. igwebuikeology is kanu’s fundamental approach to african philosophic enterprise visible in his other likely concepts as igwbuikecracy, igwebuikepeadia and other literary publications. using the method of critical evaluation and analysis, the researcher appreciates kanu’s great effort in contributing to african philosophical enterprise. keywords: igwebuikeology, african philosophy, being, belongingness. introduction african philosophy is recently appreciated and defined as a movement and a discipline. as a discipline, it shares in the philosophical traditions especially the one that is african amidst its africanity and philosophicality. according to osuagwu (1999), philosophicality advocates claim for african philosophy, a strictly formal and genuine scientific sense of the term and discipline of philosophy. advancing, osuagwu (1999), states that the africanity of african philosophy also receives a scientific consideration, identification and specification. in its particularities, it includes the geo-ethno-technological factors. as a movement, it is an afrocentric methodological deconstruction, reconstruction and construction aimed at reclaiming and rewriting the right and proper history of centuries of philosophical excursus. the concept of igwebuikeology is an extension of igwebuike philosophy, however, is an underlining principle for many african philosophic heritages. notwithstanding, iroegbu (1994, p.116) defined african philosophy thus: african philosophy is the reflective inquiry into the marvels and problematic that confronts one in the african world, in view of producing systematic explanation and sustained responses to them. it is inquiry with two aspects: philosophical and african. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 2 beyond every derogatory reference of african philosophy as sage philosophy, folk philosophy, negritude and or ethno philosophy as well as far from being just the maxim that constitutes the leit-motif or inspiring principle, that is the motto or philosophy of life, african philosophy according to iroegbu (1994, p. 117118) is philosophy done in an african context…in this respect, every philosophy is contextual philosophy. it is, therefore, quest for (african) wisdom. stressing further, iroegbu (1994, p. 116) explains that african philosophy is the reflective and systematic investigation into the fundamental question that confronts the human being. like other philosophical enterprise, african philosophy is a human enterprise. explication of igwebuikeology igwebuikeology is simply a coinage of igwebuike and logy literally meaning science of igwebuike. it is a systematic knowledge of igwebuike in its entirety. igwebuikeology is a science or systematic study of igwebuike philosophy as it applies to igwebuike ethics, igwebuike economics, igwebuike politics, etc. as a concept, igwebuike embodies all the fundamental appreciation and application of the philosophy of igwebuike. it’s kanu’s proposal to the typology of igbo being. igwebuike therefore is a hermeneutics of communal strength as the typology of igbo belongingness where being is in one way or the other. that is to say that a being fundamentally belongs. igbo being therefore is igbo belongingness. being is belongingness. according to kanu (2014), igwebuike is the study of the modality of being for the realization of the being. where being is seen as belongingness, igwebuike can be said to be the modality of being through belongingness. equally kanu, (2015) sees igwebuike as one concept that stands on the principles of solidarity and complementarity. igwebuike in this extended use remains a great underlying principle for great many african philosophic thoughts and knowledge. (ekei, 2005, p.331), descriptively showed the proper meaning of igwebuike thus: the importance of communal existence is a rational provision aimed at a better understanding and appreciation of man, not as a discrete individual but as a being-with. this understanding has provided an enduring manner of attending to man as being with an inalienable interconnectivity with the rest of men. and so, the idea of coexistence as bedrock of caring and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 3 concern (sympathy) is highly significant in africa as a whole. hence, the igbo people normally talk of power as belonging to the multitude (“igwe-bu-ike”). in fact, the very concept of the multitude is in itself understood as a source of power and authority. understanding of igbo being umeogu (2007,p.108), defines igbo being thus, igbo being means igbo reality. it means identity. it means igbo space. it means igbo time. it means igbo people. to be precise, igbo being means everything or any place or any person at all. igbo being in a very strict sense is a concrete reality, a spatial reality and temporal reality that belongs. umeogu, (2007) however reiterates that “the typology of igbo being is belongingness”. understanding igbo belongingness iroegbu, (2000), in one of his papers referred to being as belongingness: an african metaphysics to be. belongingness is therefore an african metaphysics of being. it is a proper african understanding and appreciation of existence and condition of any and every reality as such. a typical igbo appreciation and understanding of existence or being is tied up in belongingness. hence a being fundamentally belongs. belongingness is ontosophical being is ontosophical. the concept of ontosophical shows that being which is belongingness is knowable. its knowability is metaphysical. belongingness is knowable. stanford dictionary of philosophy, however, has it that in line with fitch's paradox of knowability which is one of the foundational or fundamental puzzles of metaphysical epistemic logic, there is a challenge to the knowability thesis, which states that every truth is, in principle, knowable. one may refer to it as metaphysical episteme or epistemological ontology. they point at one indubitable fact that being as belongingness is knowable. the paradox is that this assumption implies the omniscience principle, which asserts that every truth is known. belongingness, like igwebuike, is activity. they are action packed. belongingness is a fundamental quality in understanding being. no being can be understood in terms of its completeness but in its relation to other beings. every being is defined by a relation to something or with an attribute of engaging in something. this fact of ‘beingness’, which is a form of relation, is a form of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 4 belonging to, belonging with, and belonging in which in relation therefore, becomes a kind of state by which being realizes itself among others and others within it. this relation spells out a place where being realizes itself, a place of social reality, a kind of integrated universe, in donne’s word: “…a piece of the continent, a part of the main…” this relational form or way of belonging as an integral universe is not a differential one but a fundamental or ontological integration. and for this particular being in itself, it is through this fact of belongingness that it integrates itself in reality. this is to say that being belongs and this belongingness is a fundamental condition for a thing to be considered a reality. to this end, being and belongingness are said to be ontological. reality therefore, is better known and understood by the concept of belongingness. in other words, reality or being, in its total manifestation, is a process involving belongingness. without belongingness, there would be no discussion on being. whatever is part of reality is belonging to something. to understand being as belongingness, it must be understood in its relation to others. belongingness however, overshadows these existential facts of operations. this notion of belongingness is clearly reflected in john donne’s (1996) ‘no man is an island’; no man is an island, entire of itself, every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main… any man’s death diminishes me, because i am involved in mankind, and therefore, never send to know for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee. being’s identity, therefore is in belongingness. belongingness identifies being as such. being’s nature is in belonging. its role is in belonging. its mode and operations are in belonging. belongingness, as such, is the ontological value of being. by belongingness being is related to other beings by relationship of what it is or does. in understanding being as belongingness on the onto-relational level, there should be, as iroegbu, (1995,p.374) opines solidarity of belongingness in being and solidarity of being in belongingness, in the manner in which we exist and relate in the reality of being and belongingness: belongingness holds that our existence as human beings, as well as our integral participation in the society in which we find ourselves, are to be defined by our being given the sense and substance of belongingness. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 5 being as belongingness is necessitated while comprehending being as expressing itself thereby, rolling into belongingness in its general and fundamental character and attribute. often, the question is, can being be without belongingness? echoing jean-paul sartre, there is no being which is not the being of a certain mode of belonging, a certain mode of existence. ingredients of belongingness an ingredient is a substance that forms part of a mixture. it means an essential part, a component, a constituent or an element. every concept has something that helps to build it or that made up its whole. there are few concepts that are basic to the formation or appreciation of belongingness as the african communalist metaphysics of being as such. they are: knowledge being as belongingness is ontosophical. knowledge is very important in life. francis bacon in his entire philosophical enterprise summarily declared that knowledge is power. the bible even says that god’s own people perish because they lack knowledge (hosea 4:4). knowledge is a product of man’s quest to get into the other or something. belongingness, the issue at hand, does require knowledge even if it seems not to. it is not a matter of regarding or intending to do that. in order to really belong, you must know the other, his needs, and be disposed and determined to respond to these. you need to know the limitations and powers of who and what you are belonging to. in belongingness, i know the other directly; the union i experience with that other goes with my awareness of its separateness and individuality. it is uncommon for us not to realize that knowing is involved in belongingness due to our habits which most often restrict knowledge to the intellect and arbitrarily, to what can be verbalized. but the truth is that not only words are or could be communicated, and once we think so, we restrict equally the meaning of communication, and that is dangerous; for experience remains a valid kind of knowledge and experience is acquired in relation with other people. knowledge is very relational. knowledge not only relates but has universal application. hope hope has enshrined in itself the principles of projection and expectation, tied in an embrace towards a progressive move in a man’s bid to actualize himself. man, no doubt, is hopeful, for he is perpetually hoping in expectancy and, at times, in suspense. hope is the thread of life and could be seen as the elixir of life. in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 6 belongingness, there is every inclination for the other to grow and this specific expectation is stringed unto caring. what does hope mean in the context of belongingness? it does suggest hoping for growth, and the hoping of growth, as we hope, our belongingness equally hopes; and continues to stretch. hope does suggest an expression of the plenitude of the present, by the participation of the elements of the nature. by belonging one is stirred and spurred by the possibilities to be realized. belongingness is not only associative, it is also multidimensional and once the light of belongingness is not shining, there would not be growth, and that being will, no doubt, start to decline. belongingness though rooted in the past and present is equally rooted in the future as it enlarges the importance of the present, but does not subordinate the present and cannot turn it into a mere means. life is replete with hope and in it there is an inter-twine of love and faith. we hope for the actualization of a purpose, in anticipation of a promise. in belongingness the expectations of the past, present and future are tied. care care is feasible and possible because of belongingness. it is one’s ability to create and maintain relationships that facilitate the growth of the other and stands in a position to say something positive towards the growth of yourself and the other. the meaning which a being has to fulfil is something beyond himself, it is never just himself.” once one remains in his own cocoon, he is selfish, he cannot expand or enlarge himself, for he does not really live as a gregarious animal. man is a social animal; that means he is made to live in a society; he who is unable to do so is either a beast or a god. it then suggests that one needs to be his brother’s keeper, must care for the other in order to really hold that he belongs to the community, which cannot be sustained without the oil of care. it is by caring for another that you aid him to grow, and by so doing it enters the process of self-development and actualization. whether one is belonging to a group, community, etc., a particular trend is seen and a pattern is established. it is care that helps an individual to record, and indeed, orders one’s principles and values properly together with activities around this great project of belongingness; which could be stretched to lead to the source of life – god. it is via care that we can get at belongingness and arrive at the meaning of our lives. man is at home with himself, not by dominating or even appreciating nature, but by caring and being cared for. it is the project of belongingness, strictly speaking, that can ameliorate the human condition or situation. in belongingness, one does not need to lose touch with either himself or the other. with care, belongingness igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 7 becomes more meaningful as it unifies all the activities of relatedness among beings that always belong. patience in a world dominated by turmoil, scandals and ethical breaches, where people and institutions lack integrity and moral fortitude, discouragement is bound to prevail. where negativism and social dilemmas take stronghold of people’s minds, probabilities are that more people will become more impatient, hence, there is need for patience in order to maintain equilibrium in the society. it is in the bid to really participate in the project of belongingness that the nudge one requires to forge ahead and explode positively is built and maintained, so as to really become the changed person belongingness makes of one, for it is not static. by belonging, you mature, and maturity at different levels, entails transcending your own needs and wading through life, forging ahead to tap into the deepest resources of our humanity. doing so suggests the reality and necessity of patience. patience entails waiting. as you exercise patience you grow and mature in wisdom and knowledge, and eventually gather experience, you assist the other to grow according to his own pattern, and realize himself in his own time. patience entails tolerance, and as such, encourages human relationship for it is indeed a mark of respect for the other. you require patience to really belong to any group or community as there are various behaviours and characters. to belong, you must give oneself a chance to learn, see explore and use time meaningfully so as to really influence human relations and blend with others who are positive-minded as belongingness is positive and tied to excellence. justice it is impossible to belong and remain in a naturally or manmade hostile environment. justice as giving to each his or her due upholds belongingness as very basic for the possibility of dispensing justice. belongingness as a definitive principle of communalism is the arrangement of the fundamental structures of any society such that it incarnates and manifests the commonness of origin of history and of general destiny of all the members of the community. belongingness is, therefore, “umunna concretized”. belongingness pursues in a large sense the social justice of the people. according to iroegbu, (1996),“ it (belongingness) makes sure that all belong and that none is marginalized: both contributively and distributively.”belongingness here will be understood as a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 8 defining principle in the theory of african communalism. the fundamental structures of communal existence are definitively pillared on belongingness. expressions of belongingness in some african philosophical concepts onebunne (2012), shows that there is a growing reflection on and expansion of literature on african philosophy, african concepts and african realities. in african philosophical traditions, there are some concepts that contrast or even explain western philosophical traditions and concepts. one of such concepts is belongingness. however, there are many expressions of belongingness either in a strict sense or in a large sense, by implication or otherwise by many african thinkers of repute. some of these african philosophers, in trying to posit their philosophies ended up directly or indirectly buttressing the fact of belongingness as a fundamental fact of being as well as a definitive principle of african communalism. it is in this sense that belongingness is the propulsion of being towards self-realization. this is why belongingness remains a process towards, a way of becoming, and as well, an activity of being within a community of beings. many african philosophers and authors indirectly dealt with the prospects and principle of belongingness in their pursuit for an african identity, the socioeconomic and political well being of africans. the philosophical engagements of some of these philosophers are on different levels expressing communalism in concrete deep terms especially in the ideological political or philosophical thoughts like african brotherhood or ujamaa (nyerere), negritude (senghor), consciencism (nkrumah) and other authors. what of the philosophical writings of placide tempels’ bantu philosophy and john mbiti’s african religions and philosophy. others are the theories of african personality to recover and build on the identity of the african (edward wilmot blyden), pan-africanism for the entire african in or out, the african humanism that preaches that traditional africans were humane and communal, with a spirit of “ubuntu” – humanness. linguistic appreciation of igwebuike igwebuike etymologically is a composite word igwebuike as well as a complete sentence igwe bu ike all meaning literally unity of strength or communal strength. igwe means group or community, it means an association. for kanu, (2017) the linguistic formation of igwebuike makes the word to be “at the heart of african thought, and in fact, the modality of being in african philosophy”. kanu understands that, igwe is a noun which means number or population. bu is a verb meaning is. ike is another verb meaning power or strength. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 9 igwe means being. igwe means belongingness. igwebuike is a communalist metaphysical theory of collective action, strength and power. the strength and power in question fundamentally rests on the community. it is a communal strength for corporate existence. igwebuike therefore is a philosophy of communal agreement and consensus. kanu, (2017), igwebuike literally means number is strength or number is power. this power or strength is manifested when human beings work in solidarity and/or complementarity kanu opined. igwebuike like belongingness is in line with african worldview life and activities are shared. kanu, (2017, p.120) reiterates this when he affirms that “igwebuike is a complementary philosophy which understands life as a shared reality”. igwebuike is therefore an expressive modality of being as belongingness in african philosophy. it is an expression of collective capability. this idea is well articulated in asouzu’s ibuanyidanda as complementary ontology. as an action word therefore, igwebuike carries the entire arrangementof african reality. in line with view, kanu convincingly affirms that igwebuike is an african philosophy of complementarity. philosophical principles of igwebuike igwebuike has a complementary methodological moment. for kanu, “the underlying principle of igwebuike philosophy is the principle of complementarity. complementarity here is understood as balance, a kind of match or to add to. it has to do balancing or combining well. to complement, therefore, means to bring together, and most probably form a new look or idea. kanu, however, explains that, “as the modality of, complementary relations to the other, therefore, becomes the point of fulfilment for being, for it is in relation to the other that a being realizes itself”. every being needs the other for self realizationthe self is not realized in isolation. this is a form of relationally belongingness. expressions of kanu’s igwebuike philosophy it is indeed a credit that kanu has over the years sustained igwebuike philosophy via many numerous publications and themes. his publications on igwebuike and other concepts of human endeavour and enterprise show his dedication to explore to the fullest the philosophy of igwebuike. igwebuike concept has been turned into an institution by numerous engagement and projects the idea of igwebuike offers to the human society via kanu’s intellectual rigour and submissions. hence one thinks of igwebuike journals, igwebuikepedia: an african internet . few of kanu’s papers to this regard are: igwebuike as an igboigwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 10 african philosophy of inclusive leadership, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol.3, no.7, 2017, igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol.3, no.7, 2017., igwebuike philosophy and issues of national development, in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol.3, no.6, 2017. igwebuike in communalism there is igwebuike in communalism. however, the term communalism as a theory originates from the latin origins as communion-onis (f) communis –is-e; communitas –alis (i). it is derived from the adjective communal, which originates from the french commune and is translated community. communalism properly and generally expresses an intense community spirit and communal interrelationship that exist among groups of people or an entire people. igwebuike is a product of community spirit. communalism embodies ties of close relationship and interactions through common origin, language, culture, customs, religion and socio-economic life. in a large sense, it is an expression through nationality, that is, people from the same root. hence, peoples commune easily, freely and more intensely with their members in contrast to social give and take, and this makes their community the central focus of their lives. communalism is opposed to individualism where people think and act on the basis of the wishes of the individuals as opposed to community good and values (it is as well opposed to pluralism where there are dualistic tendencies of opposing forces to every issue. fundamentally, communalism undergirds the social aspect of human nature. it is so pronounced in african societies that it is regarded as an african way of life at least in pristine and still in many modern african societies and groups. communalism remains an african political theory especially of well-ordered society. the various understanding of communiononis(f) and communion –is-e (adj) underline the key characteristic of a human community, namely mutual participation, social relationship, fellowship and equal sharing of certain fundamental rights, values, origin (root), good or orientation in the community, which are often expressed in a nation as people from the same root (natus). the full understanding of communalism is expressed in the meaning of community. according to ekennia (1998), communalism expressed in a community, “refers to social relationship, fellowship, socialites, organized society. it invokes obligingness”. in our popular parlance and understanding, it invokes belongingness. the community is understood as a nexus of interrelational igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 11 relationship for human actions and interaction. and communalism is practical in this community since it is basis for a communal life that demands a just ordered and well organized society. according to senghor (1961), “we see this that the negro-african society is a collective society, more precisely communal…” the term communalism, associated with african society and life, has a political origin. it became famous in the western colonizers and for the decolonization of african continent. to some it is a political weapon for the independence and a development weapon for africans. and ekennia (1998) summed it up thus: if communalism was regarded as one of the guessesmade on the african social system by westerners inthe eye of mbonu ojike, it turned out to be the foundation of african theories of political andeconomic liberations, in the work of authors like kwame nkurumah, leopard sedar senghor, julius, nyerere and many other politicians of africa. nyerere (1976), however, defines african communalism as african brotherhood. his, is an ujamaa project in a practical concretization of a task of a command breakthrough for africa. these african thinkers and writers who reiterate the original existence of the communal way of life among african people believe in the sense of the communion of soul, one mind, one spirit, as opposed to aggregation of individual in a society among africans. in iroegbu’s (2001,p.41) ,”thus the life of sharing, communal togetherness distinguishes african societies from the western ones where there is pronounced individualism” with regard to the status of communalism, iroegbu believes that, communalism is not an abstract theory like the hegalian utopian ideal world. it is rather a realizable model designed for a particular society, an african one. communalism, therefore, addresses the foundational and distributive structures of any society that is the institution of any society, which are so justly arranged for the good of all members, communalism remains a theory of justice for a wellordered society for an ordered society where everyone belongs for the wellbeing of all. in such communal belonging, there is a kind of shared personality or sharing with other selves. conclusion african philosophy is part of the world philosophical heritage. igwebuike philosophy is at the heart of african philosophy which is part of the world philosophical tradition like chinese philosophical tradition, european igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 12 philosophical tradition, etc. african philosophy is part of the philosophical tradition that tries to underline the african heritage and knowledge. igwebuikeology nevertheless is a philosophical tool that makes the african philosophical enterprise real. igwebuikeology places igwebuike philosophy at the heart of african reality making african philosophical knowledge worth it. references asouzu, i.i. (2007). ibuanyidanda: new complementary ontology, uk: transaction publishers donne, j (1966). devotions upon mergent occasions in ralph, l. woods (ed.). the world treasury of religious quotations, new york; garland books. ekei, j. c. (2005). the challenges of african moral heritage: the igbo case in oguejiofor, o. j. and onah g. i. (ed.). african philosophy and hermeneutics of culture: essays in honour of theoplius okere, nj: transaction publishers. ekennia, j. (1998). african communalism and political rationality: a critique in africa philosophy and public affairs. enugu: delta publications. iroegbu, p. o. (1995). metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri international university press iroegbu, p. o. (1996b). kpim of politics: communalism. owerri international university press. iroegbu, p. o. (2000). being as belongingness: an african metaphysics of to be in the proceedings of the metaphysics for the third millennium conference, rome: assumption institute, vol. 1, pp. 481-490 iroegbu, p.o, (2005). the political significance of belongingness in philosophy, culture and traditions, xavier university, antigonish, canada, vol. 3, 2005, pp.39-54 iroegbu, p. o. (2001). revisiting the african philosophy of communalism. enwisdomization journal. vol. 1, no. 3. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 13 iroegbu, p. o. (1994). enwisdomization and african philosophy. owerri: international universities press ltd kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and and logic (nka) of african philosophy”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2015a). a hermeutic approach to the study of african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015b). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no. 1.[ 97-101]. kanu, i. a. (2016b). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no.1. [1-7]. kanu i. a. (2018a). sources of igwebuike philosophy. towards a socio-cultural foundation. international journal of religion and human relations vol. 9 no 1 june. kanu, i. a. (2018b). igwebuike and being in igbo ontology: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 4 no 5. [12-21]. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol.3, no.7. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 14 kanu, i. a. (2017).igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol.3, no.7. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike philosophy and issues of national development, in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol.3, no.6, 2017 kanu, i. a. (2014). igwebikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholic-pentecostal relations. jos studies 22. 87-98. kanu, i. a. (2015). igwebuike philosophy as an igbo-african philosophy for national unity. paper he presented at the 2015 international conference of the faculty of arts nnamdi azikiwe university awka, anambra state, june 17-19 nyerere, j. (1976). freedom and development. london: dup. onebunne, j. (2012). being as belongingness: a hermeneutic investigation in african metaphysics. unpublished doctoral thesis in nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. onebunne, j. (2019). being as belongingness: expanding the african metaphysics of to be. awka: fab anieh nig. ltd osagie, e. (2007). ‘’festival of blood’’ in daily sun newspaper, friday march 16, 2007. osuagwu, i. m. (1999). african historical reconstruction. owerri: assumpta press senghor, s. l. (1961). african socialism. paris: preghume. stanford internet encyclopaedia of philosophy, visited 10/07/2019 the code of canon law and the second vatican council document: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 81 the code of canon law and the second vatican council document: an igwebuike perspective igboechesi, emeka stanley catholic institute of west africa port harcourt, rivers state padrestantall@yahoo.com abstract the 1883 code effectuates and perfects the renewal of christian life introduced by the second vatican council. it puts into juridical formulae the principles of the council. this piece, through the underlying principle of igwebuike philosophy, highlights the complementary relationship between these two essential documents of the church. igwebuike is employed here not only as a philosophy but as a methodology of research. it is employed as a transcendent complementary comprehensive systematic quest to penetrate the structure and dynamics of reality ultimately for the purpose of giving honest answers to fundamental questions or opinions to questions that arise within the arena of asking questions and questioning answers, and selfless enlightenment. in this search for truth, igwebuike is, therefore, understood as an integrated systematic framework that strives beyond all forms of particularities, peculiarities, paradoxes and contradictions, and espouses the path of complementation, therefore, showing how realities can relate to one another in a mutually harmonized non-absolutistic mode. this piece discovers that there is a very strong connection between the code of canon law and the second vatican council document, and that the two when studied together can be very enriching. igboechesi, emeka stanley themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 82 keywords: vatican ii, code of canon law, complimentarity, igwebuike, methodology introduction stability is an essential quality of any good legal system, because a community’s laws are an expression of its identity, and there is no identity without permanency. in a religious community where the source of its identity is in the common memory of a divine revelation, the demand for stability is even stronger. fidelity to the word of god and the teachings of the church becomes the principal virtue. yet, any good legal system must be open and receptive to developments. no community, secular or religious, can be frozen in time and live; absolute stillness means death. this work, therefore, in the spirit of igwebuike is about the respective roles and desirable balance between canon law and vatican ii. vatican i and the code of 1917 any process of centralization requires the proliferation of universal laws in order to maintain harmony and promote unity. by the time of the first vatican council (1869-1870), the church’s legislative activity had resulted in a considerable confusion. while proclaiming the primacy and infallibility of the pope, the council fathers realized that the church’s legal system needed to be completely revamped. despite the significant historical attempts to coordinate the church’s laws, there had never been an authoritative or official codification. even the corpus juris canonici was unofficial, scholarly work. several decades after the close of vatican i, pope pius x attempted to accomplish this task. on march 19, 1904, he announced the establishment of a commission of cardinals to gather into one authentic collection all the universal canonical legislation of the latinrite church. this monumental task took thirteen years. much of the work was done by the secretary of the commission, pietro cardinal gasparri. this first code of canon law was promulgated on pentecost sunday, may 19, 1918 (komonchak, 1986). the code of canon law and the second vatican council document: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 83 vatican i represents the final extrication of the church from the medieval christendom notion. with the loss of the papal states, the church emerged as entirely spiritual. the church and state were seen as two separate but complete societies. it is only natural, therefore, that their legal systems should be similar, diverging only by reason of goal and means, but identical in the structures required by the nature of man (e.g., general norms, procedures and penalties). vatican ii and the 1983 code law is an evolving science and art. it reflects the changing practices and life of a community. it is inevitable that the church’s legal system would once again grow complicated, confusing and unwieldy. within a relative short period of time, the interpretations clarifying various canons amounted to a printed volume larger than the code itself. the church’s first codification achieved a great deal of clarity and precluded the massive confusion of former times, but eventually a total revision was necessary. this need for renewal was not simply one of legal technique. on the contrary, changing theological insights and pastoral values in the church called for a thorough canonical reform of the church’s structures (komonchak, 1986). into this situation stepped pope john xxiii, who ushered in another stage in the revision of canon law, linked to the movement of reform, crystallized in the second vatican council. vatican ii took an even more significant step towards a separate legal system. it recognized its law on its own model, according to its understanding of itself as a church. the revised code still bears some resemblance to civil law, but the similarities are diminished. thus, the code is organized differently based on the threefold office of christ as king, prophet and priest. it considers people of god as a hierarchical communion in which all are commissioned to imitate christ according to their own “juridic condition.” the concrete effects are easily observable: “governance” is described in general norms and in books ii, v, vi, vii, “teaching” is in book iii and “sanctifying” is book iv. in addition, penalties are reduced drastically. the second codex juris canonici in the history of the catholics of the latin rite igboechesi, emeka stanley themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 84 was promulgated by pope john paul ii on january 25, 1983 and entered into effect on november 27, 1983. it contains 1,752 canons divided into seven books. 1983 code and vatican ii: an igwebuike perspective igwebuike is an igbo word. it literally means that there is strength in unity.however, philosophically, it points to the complementary nature of reality. it confronts discontinuity and the compartmentalization of reality. although this philosophy is captured in an igbo word, it has a universal taste and obvious in universal experience. it is a universal philosophy that is the incarnation and confirmation of the universal relevance of solidarity and complementarity (kanu, 2017). the philosophy of igwebuike is clearly brought to the fore in the interwoven relationship between the 1983 code and vatican ii. the constitution, sacrae disciplinae leges, in every distinct term notes the incorporation of the new ecclesiology of vatican council ii as one of the motivations of the 1983 code. the ecclesiology on which the new code of canon law is based is predominantly that of the second vatican council, for which the code is rightly called the code of the second vatican council, to demonstrate the close relationship between the new code and vatican council ii. a proper understanding of the canons will require close examination of the key features of ecclesiology of the council as they relate to the canonical system, since the codification mirrors the new ecclesiology (nwagwu, 2002). the new code embraces the council; it solemnly re-proposes fundamental institutions and major innovations and it establishes positive norms for implementing the councils. there are several examples of conciliar innovations that can be found in the new code of canon law: the first is the doctrine regarding the episcopate and the relationship between the episcopate and the primate, that is, episcopal collegiality. this is not an entirely new doctrine in the deep consciousness of the church, but rather a happy discovery. the code firstly, in canons 330the code of canon law and the second vatican council document: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 85 341, represents this clearly, and secondly, canons 342-348 accompany it with the positive view that constitutes the structure of the synod of bishops, allowing effective implementation of the structure of episcopal collegiality (olson, 2013). a second example is the council’s teaching on the laity and, therefore, on the appropriate and active mission of the lay faithful in the life of the church. once again, this is not absolutely new, but more rediscovery. in canons 224-231, the revised code of canon law reiterates this teaching through a series of regulations, regarding the diocesan pastoral council or the parochial pastoral council (olson, 2013), structures that allow the laity to effectively participate in the pastoral decisions of the bishop or the pastor. more than the mere necessity of updating the church’s legal system, the new code was meant to effectuate and perfect the renewal of christian life introduced by the council. the revision of the code was directly sought and requested by the council itself. the council fathers were quite conscious of the canonical revision, which was to follow their deliberations. they left the specification of many disciplinary matters to the subsequent codification process. the code, therefore, became the instrument for carrying out the decisions of the council. it was subsequently directed towards putting into juridical formulae the principles of the council (nwagwu, 2002). the commissions for revision and the consultors who drafted the code referred continuously to the documents of the council in the course of their work. the canons in their formulations reveal this close and dependant relationship on the council. they frequently employed the concepts, language and expressions of the conciliar decrees. the code therefore depends on the previous work of the council; it reflects its ecclesiology, its overall theological vision and manifests it spirit, not because of its content but because of its origin as both the code and the council originated in a bid to renew christian life. in consonance with the creed of igwebuike, much of the post-conciliar legislation implementing the council’s decrees, such as norms on igboechesi, emeka stanley themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 86 dispensations, ecumenical marriages, annulment procedures and liturgical discipline, is incorporated into the revised code. this means that the code must be interpreted in the light of the conciliar documents. as paul vi explained: now, however, with changed conditions of things – for life seems to move along with greater speed – we must recognize with due prudence that canon law must be adapted; to the new mentality of the second vatican ecumenical council from which great contributions are being made to pastoral duties and new needs of the people of god. to understand the canons properly, therefore, one must seek their meaning in their sources, that is, the documents of the council. the conciliar teachings rule and guide the interpretation of the canons. it is, therefore, true to say that the code of canon law is the fruit of the second vatican council, the council’s final document. this means that the canons of the code must be read in the light of the constitutions and decrees of the council, which gave rise to them (nwagwu, 2002). at the 100 th anniversary of the 1917 code that took place in 2017, pope francis stated that after the second vatican council marked the passage from an ecclesiology modeled on canon law to a canon law conforming to ecclesiology. canon law “should be the instrument for implementing the vision of the second vatican council.” pope francis continued by saying that, the new code should promote, “collegiality, synodality in the governance of the church; valuing particular churches; the responsibility of all christian faithful in the mission of the church… and healthy collaboration between the church and civil society in its various expressions” (wooden, 2017). conclusion like any other piece of legislation or system of jurisprudence, the code is often difficult to decipher and there is a risk of missing some nuance in the text, or of being aware of some underlying legal the code of canon law and the second vatican council document: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 87 principle if the principles of igwebuike are not adhered to. therefore, the documents of second vatican council are necessary when exploring the church’s internal legal system. this is a fact every canonist or student of canon law should remember while delving into the code. references kanu, i. a. (2017). sources of igwebuike philosophy: towards a social-cultural foundation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 9.1. 1. kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015b). igwebuike as an ontological precondition for african ethics. international conference of the society for research and academic excellence. university of nigeria, nsukka. 14 th -16 th september. kanu, i. a. (2015c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25 th -26 th november 2015 university of paris, france. kanu, i. a. (2016). igbo-african christology: a cultural christological construct in post-missionary africa. germany: lambert publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). african traditional folk songs as dialogue between education and entertainment. cambridge international journal of contemporary education research. 6. 6. pp. 53-64. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. igboechesi, emeka stanley themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 88 kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2016b). african traditional folktales as an integrated classroom. sub-saharan african journal of contemporary education research. vol.3 no. 6. pp. 107-118. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. the code of canon law and the second vatican council document: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 89 kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. komonchak, a. j. (1986). vatican ii and new code. archives de sciences des religion. 62. 1. nwagwu, o. m. (2002). theology and methodology of canon law. enugu: snaap press ltd. olson, c. e. (2013). vatican ii and the code of canon law. retrieved 6/5/2020. https.//www.catholicworldreport.com/2013/01/22/vatican-iiand-the-code-of-canon-law. wooden, c. (2017). canon law must serve vatican ii vision of the church. retrieved 6/6/2020. https.//www.ncroline.org.news/vatican/canon-law-must-servevatican-ii-vision-of-the-church-pope-says. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 3.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 71 philosophical inquiry into god-definition question: the context of mercy bartholomew nnaemedo department of religious studies/philosophy abia state university, uturu. nnaemedobartholomew@gmail.com abstract it is difficult to define god. this definitional intricacy is dependent on two factors: the complexity of definition as a term and the obscurity of god-question. the resultant effect is the divergent voices concerning the nature of god as represented by theists, atheists and agnostics. this research, nonetheless, aligns with theists and so argues for the possibility of attaining a definition of god: via affirmativa (affirmative way), via negativa (negative way), via conjunctiva (way of conjunction) and via analogia (way of analogy). of specific note, it underscores via analogia as the optimum definitional option for goddefinition problem. further, this research notes that the complexity of god-definition question dovetails into contextual definition of god that is, definition of god from any of his attributes. in this work, the stress is on his attribute of mercy. but the discourse on god from the aperture of mercy, though perspectival, is inkling into an exhaustive theistic definition of god. it subsists as one of the gateways to a more realistic definition of god. consequently, it complements and reinforces other attributive definition of god essentially and ontologically. ipso facto, mercy corroborates other divine attributes. such harmony constitutes the index for conceiving justice-mercy relationship. key words: god, mercy, justice, definition, analogia. introduction can one actually define god given the fact that definition is often fraught with many problems? this constitutes one of the basic epistemological questions that have agitated the minds of thinkers down the ages. it is a basic fact of human beings' academic life experience that there is never a consensus among thinkers on any particular field of life. what obtain most often are divergent views, at times contradictory rather than complementary. this accounts for describing many disciplines as multi-definable. for instance, philosophy has as many definitions as there are philosophers. each thinker attempts to define it from his perspective. each presents his definition as the final, and of course, as the perfect update of the previously held definitions. on the contrary, it is a common experience that the reverse is the case. claims and counter claims by various proponents of various disciplines have led people to cast doubt on the legitimacy of certain disciplines. philosophy has, because of such problem attracted a question like: why philosophy? some even describe it as scandalous: a situation igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 72 where a discipline which proffers to offer solutions to human predicaments fails to initiate such therapeutic exercise from within; that is, by first healing itself. god-definition question is caught up in similar definitional web as described above. there are as many definitions of god as there are thinkers on such issue. some gave theistic interpretation to it. embodied here are the pantheists like baruch spinoza; the panentheists like alfred north whitehead, f. kranse, c. hartshone; the fideists such as william of ockham; the idealists like plato, hegel, schelling, fitche; the spiritualists like leibniz, henri bergson; the immanentists like maurice blondel; and the ontologists like st anselm. others include: aristotle, st. augustine, st. thomas aquinas, and so on. there were likewise some who adopt atheistic stand, such as ludwig feuerbach, sigmund freud, jean paul sartre, to name but a few. similarly, there are thinkers who maintain neutral ground. in this camp are the agnostics like immanuel kant, david hume, voltaire, and bertrand russell; the sophists like protagoras, gorgias; and the logical positivist like alfred jules ayer. but whichever position one adopts has its implications and complications. at a narrower level, the attempt to define god from the pedestal of mercy is also fraught with myriad of problems. just like god-definition question in general, most often the divine attribute, mercy, used of god can be taken from various dimensions. it can be seen as a description of the limitations of god and so a depiction of weakness on the side of god. similarly, it can be perceived as a corruption of majesty and supremacy of god. to this last frame of mind, the concept, mercy, illustrates a deliberate intention of god to compromise his divinity and his immutable throne of justice. at the same time, there is the tendency to conceive mercy as a positive attribute, and in fact, as an inherent quality of god. the aim of this work, however, is to weigh the above conflicting views about mercy. to achieve this objective, this work undertakes a critical consideration of the possibility or impossibility of god-definition question from the aperture of his attributes. the above justification is required as a guarantee of the legitimacy or illegitimacy of god-definition question from the aperture of mercy. as rational inquiry into the concept of mercy is incomplete without reference to its impact on human beings, this work likewise discusses the place of man in this "mercy-defined-god" inquest. god-definition question in this context, 'god-definition question' deals with man's rational attempt to articulate the reality, god, within the spectrum of human understanding. the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 73 focus here is on how man can rationally understand god. but the difficulties pervading and paralyzing such intellectual inquiry are the abstract and contentious nature of the reality under consideration. as a reality, god is within the circumference of the supra-sensible. realities of that nature have not only bent epistemology towards idealism with a partial or even a total mistrust of senses; but have as well attracted the hatred and utter rejection of counteridealist theorist. metaphysics is not spared. metaphysics' claim to investigate into such realities has inspired philosophers like hume and his cohort to advocate for committing metaphysics of that nature to flame. "the only abstract objects of the abstract science of demonstration are quantity, number and all attempts to extend this more perfect species of knowledge beyond these bounds are mere sophistry and illusion." (hume, 63). the same frame of mind was expressed by alfred jules ayer when he notes: we may accordingly define a metaphysical sentence as a sentence which purports to express a genuine proposition, but does, in fact, express neither a tautology nor an empirical hypothesis. and as tautologies and empirical hypothesis form the entire class of significant propositions, we are justified in concluding that all metaphysical assertions are nonsensical. (ayer, 24). it must be noted that adherence to the above concept of metaphysics is counterproductive. "theology in particular ends up neglected together with occult, emotions or even insanity." (patryk zadarnowski, http//jantar. org.). then conscious of the above problem surrounding inquiry into meta-empirical realities, it is relevant to cast doubt on the possibility or impossibility of goddefinition question; given the experiential facts regarding the difficulties humans encounter in their attempt to define temporal realities. consequently, in the face of this apparent definitional paralysis, complicated by the irresistible penchant for demystification of god-definition question, suffice it to consider in some details the impossibility and possibility of embarking on such epistemological/metaphysical issue. yet, it is relevant to note that this work is not concerned with the proof or argument for god's existence. already, this work takes such inquiry as unnecessary as existence of god is considered here as a presupposition. impossibility of defining god definition of god is a controversial one. the controversy is predicated upon two factors, namely: on the ground of paralysis of definition; and on the nature of god as divine. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 74 paralysis of definition to define denotes a limitation, circumvention of reality in the midst of comity of realities. it is to create a boundary between a given reality and other realities. definition can also mean digging into a given reality to uncover or discover what lies inside it. the excavation into the nature of reality is not identical with michel foucault's archeology of knowledge. foucault had under his principle of exteriority sustained that "...we are not to burrow to the hidden core of discourse, to the heart of the thought or meaning manifested in it; instead, taking the discourse itself, its appearance and its regularity, that we should look for its external conditions of existence, for that which gives rise to the chance series of these events and fixes its limits". (foucault, http://www.appstate.edu/~stanovskydj/discourse.pdf). what he actually meant is that in human beings' interpretation of reality, the inquirers are only "...to look at the surface of what is said, rather than to try to interpret language in terms of what stands behind it, be that hidden meaning, structures, or subjects". (kelly, mark, http://www.iep.utm.edu/foucault/). thus, foucault calls for rejection of such notions as tradition, influence, development and evolution, and 'spirit. he rather insists: we must question those ready-made syntheses, those groupings that we normally accept before any examination, those links whose validity is recognised from the outset; we must oust those forms and obscure forces by which we usually link the discourse of one man with that of another; they must be driven out from the darkness in which they reign. and instead of according them unqualified, spontaneous value, we must accept, in the name of methodological rigour, that, in the first instance, they concern only a population of dispersed events. (foucault, https://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/) the notion of definition in this work is akin to deconstro-reconstructive process. this process is similar to habermas's idea of reconstruction which is the act of "taking a theory apart and putting it back again in a new form in order to attain more fully the goal it has set for itself." (habermas, jurgen, 95). habermasan definition as expressed above comprises two processes: deconstruction and reconstructive. but deconstruction is here understood in the sense of heideggerian destruktion destruction (heidegger, the concept of time, 88). in heideggerian framework, destruction is conceived in contrast to nietzschean demolition but rather in the context of dismantling or liquidating (heidegger, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 75 what is philosophy?, 71-73). it can also be conceived in the sense of derridean deconstruction even though he tried to dissociate himself from that idea (derrida, letter to a japanese friend, 270-276; derrida, the time is out of joint: 14– 41). deconstruction is similar to husserlian abbau dismantling or unbuilding (mishara, 35. cf. hua 11/125). it is equally akin to emmanuel levinas' idea of openness to the other. deconstruction "...is in fact much closer to the original meaning of the word analysis itself, which etymologically means, "to undo" a virtual synonym for "to de-construct." (barbara, 1981). but deconstruction as used in this work is much deeper than the above original meaning of analysis, for it involves in-depth inquest into the totality of being and accommodates the metaphysical realm of existence which the latter (analysis) does not recognize. this is why barbara writing on deconstruction in relation to text affirms: "the deconstruction of a text does not proceed by random doubt or arbitrary subversion, but by the careful teasing out of warring forces of signification within the text itself. if anything is destroyed in a deconstructive reading, it is not the text, but the claim to unequivocal domination of one mode of signifying over another." (barbara, 1981) in this context, it is apparent that deconstruction involves..."discovering, recognizing, and understanding the underlying and unspoken and implicit assumptions, ideas, and frameworks that form the basis for thought and belief." deconstruction provides the intellectual window for possible rational separation of the substantial domain of realities from mere accidents. deconstruction makes feasible the identification of the definienses for onward integration into a meaningful whole, which subsequently illuminates and unveils the specificity of the definiendum as a separate entity, through the reconstructive process. "the work of reconstruction takes a serious account of how and where systems of the past indicate the need for reconstruction in the present moment". (dewey, john, xi). in reconstruction, the definienses are eventually gathered not indiscreetly but in rapport with the principle of ontological similitude. the stress at this level is not on apparent similarity of the definienses but rather on the identification graduated on the intrinsic nature of the realities. emphasis on ontological similitude is essential in this perspective as a caveat against arbitrary integration of definienses to constitute a definition of a definiendum. this last process brings to climax the deconstro-reconstructive process required for the definition of anything: be it at stipulative, lexical, précising, theoretical or persuasive definitional platform, respectively. it is of note that ballard considers igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 76 the aforementioned definitional platforms as the "five types of definition." (ballard, 57). so, definition does not deal with just the phenomenal aspect of realities. rather, it considers both the phenomenal and the noumenal facets of realities. from the phenomenon, one proceeds to the basic or intrinsic features of the realities in question (the noumenon). definition is hence a com-penetration of the phenomenal and noumenal phases of realities. it is the integration and articulation of these two aspects of one and the same reality into a rational whole. this articulation can be done in four ways: via affirmativa (affirmative way), via negativa (negative way), via conjunctiva (way of conjunction) and via analogia (way of analogy). in affirmation, one highlights the highpoint of the reality under investigation. the concentration at this point is on the constitutive elements of the reality in question. this approach goes to emphasize qualities that are specific about the issue or being under consideration. in a simple language, under affirmation, the inquirer deliberates on highlighting what a given reality under discourse is: the positive indicator about the reality. in contrast, under negation, the inquirer begins by pointing out what the reality is not. the definitional thrust in this purview is on those qualities or appellation that can never be attributed to the reality in question. realities possess certain attributes that primarily belong to them as distinct beings. to discuss these realities outside these fundamental attributes constitutes what can be described as a robbery in the ontology of being. this implies a kind of denial to a being what belongs to its intrinsic nature, which in strict interpretation signals a deliberate attempt to obscure the being. ontologically, such attempt at best, can be described as a trespass into the domain of the indestructible: for being can never be destroyed or annihilated ultimately. in-between via affirmativa and via negativa is via conjunctiva. under via conjunctiva, the inquirer describes or discusses the phenomenon in relational perspective, by comparing and defining it from comparative perspective. the investigative search is directed in this context on the basic relationship between a given reality and other realities. in this viewpoint, a given reality is defined as a member of other realities. class factor plays outstanding role here. a given reality is considered in the comity of related realities. the idea behind this definitional approach is the understanding that no reality is occupying a monadic status. each exists as a reality among other realities of similar or the same class. a typical instance here is the concept 'man' which can be defined as a rational being (via affirmativa); a being devoid of mortal soul (via negativa); and as a being igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 77 belonging to the class of mammals (via conjunctiva). a reality can also be defined via analogia. this lies between the principle of univocation and equivocation. analogy may be defined as: ...the use of a term to designate a perfection or analogon found in a similar way in two or more subjects or analogates, in each of which the perfection is partly the same and partly different. in univocal predication, predicates have an absolute meaning and can be accurately and distinctly defined in themselves. but strictly analogous predicates cannot be so defined; their meaning is proportional to the subjects of which they are predicated. the reason for this difference is that univocal terms arise by a complete abstraction from the particular subjects in which the perfection is present, so that the difference in the subject does not enter into their meaning. analogous terms, on the other hand, arise by the incomplete abstraction known as separation, and on this account they retain a relation to a primary subject. a consequence of this is that there is no clear meaning for an analogous predicate, since it must always include in its definition a reference to the subject from which it was derived. (wallace, 88-89) however, what captures empirical realities most is the first one (via affirmativa). it does not give room for confusion or conflicting situation. the way of negation states what a thing is not. but what a thing is not is not specific to that reality. there are other realities which possess the same description. for instance, human being can be defined as a reality who is not god. but other realities can equally be described thus, since they are not god. similarly, definition by conjunction is deficient as it offers a relational definition of reality which is not the sole and sacred property of the phenomenon. by indicating that a particular reality belongs to a class of being, the inquirer is not specifically giving unique information about the being in view. at most, the information it offers can best be described as a stepping stone towards the realization of the fundamental about the reality at issue. the fact of the paralysis of definition does not stem from the four dimensions of engaging into definition issue discussed above. the problem, nevertheless, is based on the dual arguments that the term definition is a misnomer; and the related contention that no word has a meaning unless when viewed from a context. the thesis that definition is a misnomer sustains that it is impossible to define a thing. instead, what is advocated is description, so that every definition is per se, a description of a sort. following this argument, to talk about definition is a mistake in term. it is a mistaken displacement of the concept of description igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 78 for that of definition. this mode of reasoning conceives every definition as a scratching of a reality from a particular standpoint; which in its estimation is insufficient to stand as having captured the essence of the reality under discussion. thus, every attempt to define a term or a concept only ends in unveiling an aspect of the reality. for this frame of thought, the described aspect cannot subsist as the whole but remains a part of the whole. similar definitional attitude is that which conceives definition as contextual. for this mode of reasoning no word has a meaning outside a context. the contextual consideration of words renders every attempt to define such words or realities an entry into the domain of the 'impossible.' nonetheless, the major implication of this mode of thinking about definition is that it frustrates all efforts at objective consideration of any reality whatsoever. the meaning of every reality is judged from a particular epistemological and metaphysical binocular. what is taken as the meaning of a particular word can change with change in the context in which it is perceived. at this, the whole idea of objectivity of truth is brought to serious dispute. it implies that one cannot talk of objective truth. rather, what takes precedence is relativism and subjectivism. following this trend, nothing has an objective meaning. every meaning is contextually considered and judged. the protagorean theorem comes into play here. thus, "man is the measure of all things, of those that are that they are, of those that are not that they are not." (protagoras, fragment 1. in. copleston, 87). another negative impact of the above attitude to definition is the fact of endless search for context on which to base one's definition of a term or reality. in this understanding, every definition requires a context to be meaningful. then, the background itself requires another framework to justify itself and this continues to infinity leading to regressio ad infinitum (regression to infinity), and ipso facto regressio ad absurdum (regression to absurdity). in this situation any attempt to define a thing amounts a fruitless inquiry into endless search for justification for the legitimacy of the term or reality in question. the consequence of this for god-definition question is that such intellectual project is at most descriptive of an abortive investigation into the rational articulation of god. hence, it conceives the idea of achieving a definition of god as similar to what shakespeare describes as a story told by an idiot signifying nothing. the nature of god as divine the central issues to be considered in this segment are the infinity of god and finitude of man. god is conceived as an infinite being. the infinitude of god is expressed in every of his attribute since "agere sequitur (esse) -action follows igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 79 being." (bretzke, james 13, https://books.goggle.com.ng). of course, the aforehighlighted statement is in tandem with the cliché: 'as a being is so it acts.' by virtue of this philosophical position, as god is infinite, everything about him follows suit. that being the case, to seek for the definition of god implies an effort at grasping his essence in its infinitude. in this context, definition indicates an intellectual quest and ascent into the essence or the quiddity of a reality. in the case of god, it represents humans' honest intellectual endeavours to grasp what could be considered as the key to understanding the reality of god. this key constitutes the kernel or "the kpim," (iroegbu, 373) of god. in a more specific igbo terminology, it can be described as the "kpom-kwem" of god. the kpom-kwem of god designates the nucleus or the dna (deoxyribonucleic acid) of god. it is the point of points which provides the wide vistas for accessing god-reality issues. through this divine aperture, it is possible to expand one's scope and visions about god. to have succeeded in the intellectual accent to this realm of epistemological/metaphysical apprehension of god is indicative of success in the establishment of indubitable legitimate philosophical foundation of godreality question. but the apparent impasse encountered in this intellectual discourse is the tension between the limitedness of human intellect which inquires into this limitless divine essence. the complexities above harp on the possibility or impossibility of capturing divine essence with finite human intellect. it questions how man, a finite being, can access the quiddity of god, using limited and deficient human intellect and reason. the situation exacerbates on realization that whatever is perceived is conceived according to the mode of the perceiver. put in an articulate aquinine rendition: "for it is clear that whatever is received into something is received according to the condition of the recipient (quidquid recipitur ad modum recipientis recipitur). (aquinas, thomas, 1a, q. 75, a. 5, http://www.documentacatholica.eu/d_1225-1274-%20thomas%20aquinas%20-%20summa%20theologiae). what aquinas actually sets out to affirm is that: ...knowledge is regulated according as the thing known is in the knower. but the thing known is in the knower according to the mode of the knower. hence the knowledge of every knower is ruled according to its own nature. if therefore the mode of anything's being exceeds the mode of the knower, it must result that the knowledge of the object is above the nature of the knower. (aquinas, thomas, 1a, q. 12, a. 4, http://www.documenta-catholica.eu/d_1225-1274-%20thomas%20aquinas%20%20summa%20theologiae). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 80 in effect, it implies that divine essences are only perceived by human intellect according to the mode of human intellect. consequently, this approach raises the question of whether what man grasps is divine essence or mere semblance of divine essence which is a product of man's conjectures. in this framework, god is created in the image and likeness of man. this mode of thought is clearly expressed by ludwig andreas feuerbach in his work the essence of christianity: "what was formerly contemplated and worshipped as god is now perceived to be something human." (feuerbach, ludwig andreas, 13). this implies that "man man is the mystery of religion projects his being into objectivity." (feuerbach, ludwig andreas, 30). subsequently, "the yearning of man after something above himself is nothing else than the longing after the perfect type of his nature, the yearning to be free from himself, i.e., from the limits and defects of his individuality." (feuerbach, ludwig andreas, 281). by implication, "all divine attributes, all the attributes which make god, god, are attributes of the species attributes which in the individual are limited..." (feuerbach, ludwig andreas, 152-153). sequel to feuerbach's notion of god, "a really finite being has not even the faintest adumbration, still less consciousness, of an infinite being, for the limit of the nature is also the limit of the consciousness.” (feuerbach, ludwig andreas, 2). hence, what man conjectures is a mere expression of disfigured and corrupted nature of god or at most, a very limited notion or idea of god. invariably, human's bid to grasp the divine essence, following the logic above, ends up in the construction and conception of admixture of god. this, in the terminology of natural sciences, can be described as kind of "philosophical alloy". here, it designates invalid and unwarranted philosophical fusion of the divine essence and man's fabrication of the same. man from this perspective can be ascribed as incapable of accessing into the innermost or the quiddity of god. the best he can achieve in the above frame of thought is a corrugated and besmirched mixture of the divine essence and the intellectual construct of the knower: an essentially distorted intellectual modification of god. then, if what is perceived is a misconstrued and warped nature of god, one can sustain that definition of god is a myth. subsequently, the inevitable logical conclusion is that man has no faculty or capacity for such meta-empirical or metaphysical engagement. in effect, the human's rational attempt to define god ends up, a banal intellectual exercise in misconstruction of god: a kind of muddling up or complexification of god-definition question. but before one concludes and resigns to the above idea, suffice it to wade into the idea of possibility of god-definition question. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 81 possibility of god-definition question aristotelian-thomistic epistemological tradition upholds and propagates that humans possess faculties for knowledge both at the sensitive level and at intellective plane. man is capable of knowing things in their particularities. he is equipped with five external senses: the sense of sight (vision), hearing (audition), touch (feeling), taste (gustation) and smell (olfaction). each of these senses has a corresponding sense organ. the ear is responsible for hearing. the body opens humans to sense of touch and feelings. the tongue empowers him to access the taste of things; and with the nose he perceives smells. "...the senses indeed do not know being except under the conditions of here and now." (aquinas, thomas, 1a, q.75 a.6). the validity of the external senses as legitimate epistemological apparatus is attested by the fact that "... if a sense be wanting, the knowledge of what is apprehended through the sense is also wanting. for instance, a man who is borne blind can have no knowledge of colours." (aquinas, thomas, 1a, q.84, a. 3). at the same time, humans are endowed with four internal senses: common sense (sensus communis), phantasy (or imagination), estimative senses and memorative powers. aquinas sums up the functions of these internal senses as well as their nexus with the external senses thus: therefore, for the reception of sensible forms, the "proper sense" and the common sense are appointed...but for the retention and preservation of these forms, the phantasy or imagination is appointed which is the store house of forms received through the senses...for the apprehension of intentions which are not through the senses, the estimative power is appointed; and for the preservation of them, the memorative power, which is a store-house of such intentions... ((aquinas, thomas, 1a, q.78, a. 4) the common sense is the direct link between the external senses and the other internal senses. it performs the role of unification of the sense data provided by the external senses, distinguishes, divides, arranges and rearranges them into a meaningful whole. the external senses conceive different aspects or qualities of a reality but it is the common sense that assembles theses different dimensions or qualities of the one and the same reality as this or that reality. in order to make available the information obtained by the common sense, humans possess also the imaginative sense or phantasy. through this sense, humans are endowed with the capacity for conservation and reproduction of the object of the common sense, even when the known (physical object) is not present to the knower (subject). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 82 the estimative sense or particular reason is an instinctual power in humans which enables them to gather things in consideration of their presumed values or to avoid things in relation to their assumed risks. for aristotle, it is called power of nature or instinct. finally, memorative power brings to consciousness the data of the past. it does not negate the temporality of this data in the event of recasting this past memory. to differentiate it from intellectual memory, memorative sense is also called the sensuous or sensitive memory. in general, like the external senses, the information obtained at the level internal senses is fraught with materiality. it has not yet reached the level of intellection which is the domain of things in their universality. at the level of the senses, be it in the external senses or in the common senses, the human mind is yet to attain the status of being able to permeate the innermost depth of reality to grapple with what kant calls 'things in themselves' or in aristotelian-thomistic phraseology, 'the substantial form' or in platonic rendition, the 'form' of things. as superior of other primates, especially, of animal kingdom, humans have the capacity for intellection. this capacity is the intellect which is "cognitive faculty, which apprehends non-material things and apprehends material things in a manner free from the limitations of sense-cognition." (gleen, paul. j. 65). according to aquinas, the intellect is of two kinds: active and passive intellect respectively. the information contained in the common sense is abstracted by the active intellect as impressed specie. in turn, the impressed specie is taken to passive intellect as expressed specie. "the interplay of this active and passive intellect makes the potentially intelligible species to be an actively intelligible species. this takes place via the intellectual knowing process." (nnaemedo, bartholomew, 32). at the level of intellection, humans are not only capable of knowing things in their particularity. they are able to know things in their first principles universalities. the level of intellection is the level knowledge is communicable. what one actually communicates is not the particularity about things but rather their universal principles. this is why immateriality is at the root of knowledge. the veracity of the above truth claim is authenticated by the human being's capacity for conceptualization or ideation, symbolization and abstraction. humans know not just this particular tree or this specific man; they also know the general about the specific realities. thus, man can talk about the treeness, humanity, man, and good, and so on. all these are various instances of ideation and demonstrations of humans' capacity for universalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 83 when the human mind captures reality, it does this according to human epistemic ability. the discourse about the possibility of god-definition question borders on the possibility of man's rational attempt to know or understand god. it gravitates on humans' ability to know god using humans' limited epistemic faculties. the stress is whether humans can understand god as humans and not as god knowing himself. all the same, this work is of the view that humans can attempt to define god. such definition falls within any of the four definitional dimensions already outlined above: via affirmativa, via negativa, via conjunctiva and via analogia. man can strive to define god by reference to what he thinks god is not. man can equally make an effort to define him with reference to what he thinks he is. he can as well endeavour to define him by resorting to class comparison. but via affirmativa and via conjuctiva require via anaologia as an indispensible complement. in this sense, humans attempt to define god by moving from positive human attributes, and predicate the same to god in a superlative degree. obviously, the predicable human attributes in this context may be infinitesimally small. it may be considered as an apparently negligible facet of the reality. yet, it does not follow from this that the attribute per se is insignificant. the relevance of a reality does not consist in its material quantification but rather subsists on its intrinsic quality. a thing can be of a magnificent quantity but of little quality compared with another of its kind, of the same genus, but of superior and compelling quality. therefore, granted that what is captured by the human intellect may be smaller than the actual object or reality existing out there, this does not vitiate or destroy the authenticity of captured or realized being in question. even though it is not the totality of the reality in question, yet, it offers what can be regarded as the epistemic or the ontological dna (dioxyribonucleic acid) of the reality under consideration. it implies that just as the dna can enable a scientist have an indepth interpretation of a reality when thoroughly analyzed, the captured aspect of a reality can guarantee an inquirer a similar interpretation of a given reality. the knowledge under dispute in this perspective is not comprehensive of the reality under discussion. nobody has ever succeeded in grappling with the exhaustive knowledge of any reality whatsoever. every reality has a "yet" and a "not-yet". there are certain aspects of realties that are known and there are likewise certain facets of them that are yet to be known. that is why philosophical inquiry is never a concluded issue but rather something in fieri (in the making). human investigative nerve stands the chance of being atrophied in the instance where man claims to have arrived at the apogee of knowledge. for instance, hegel thought that by positing absolute spirit he has achieved the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 84 height of philosophical inquiry only for his thought to be critiqued by philosophers after him. hence, the attributes of realities, just like dna of animal species is inkling into the nature of realities. from these attributes further investigations into the comprehensive nature of realities are feasible. the implication of the above statement is that god-definition question is not a fictio-mentis (mental image). of course, this work had earlier hinted that it considers the existence of god as a presupposition and as datum. therefore, the argument as to whether or not god exists is outside the scope of this work. rather, the thesis is whether from the attributes of this presupposed god, humans can define god. so this intellectual discourse sustains that goddefinition question is not only possible but analogically demonstrable. from the divine attributes, it is possible to graduate into a probable definition of god. it also admits that no singular quality or attribute is comprehensively exhaustive of god; instead each provides a useful and indispensible aperture into a better assessment of god-definition issue. the divine attribute can be divided into three: entitative, operational and transcendental attributes respectively. the entitative attributes have their originating locus from the "god's being as esse per se or aseitas (self-existence"). (iroegbu, pataleon, 111). it includes: simplicity, infinity, unicity, incorporeality (supra-spatiality), immutability, eternity (or supra-temporality), impassibility, immensity, ubiquity (omnipresence), omnipotence (infinite causality or sovereignty), omniscience, infinite truth and infinite goodness. on the other hand, operative attributes discusses the immanent activities of god in the world. this embodies: infinite intelligence, voluntariety (will), causality (consciousness, enjoyment, immanence, wisdom, conservation, and concurrence), freedom, personality, eternal law (government) and providence. finally, the transcendental qualities of god deals with the general attributes of being but applicable to god in superlative degree. involved here are: distinctness, exemplarity (similarity), intelligibility, delectability and order beauty. (ott, ludwig, 30-48; iroegbu, pataleon, 123). notably, the divine attributes outlined above are analogically derived via affirmativa, via negativa and via conjunctiva. mercy in general the word mercy can be conceived from various perspectives. for instance dictionary.com views it from five standpoints, which include: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 85 compassionate or kindly forbearance shown toward an offender, an enemy, or other person in one's power; compassion, pity, or benevolence: 2.the disposition to be compassionate or forbearing: 3.the discretionary power of a judge to pardon someone or to mitigate punishment, especially to send to prison rather than invoke the death penalty. 4. an act of kindness, compassion, or favor: 5.something that gives evidence of divine favor; blessing. ( http://www.dictionary.com/browse/mercy). the nuances above show that the concept 'mercy' is a very broad term that is applicable to many fields of life. thus, it has political/legal, psychological, theological, philosophical as well as social dimension respectively. from legal perspective, mercy is conceived against the backdrop of clemency administered by an authority to a subject as a way of tempering justice with mercy. in his discourse on the prerogative of the executives, locke underscores the idea of the prerogative that is due to the executive to enable him extend clemency to those areas where law may be silent; provided they are for the good of the society. thus, he writes: many events may occur in which a strict and rigid adherence to the laws may do harm; ... so the ruler should have a power to mitigate the severity of the law and pardon some offenders. since the purpose of government is the preservation of all as much as may be, even the guilty should be spared when this will do no harm to the innocent... the word ‘prerogative’ is the name for this power to act according to discretion, for the public good, without the support of the law and sometimes even against it. (locke, 5960). legal conception of mercy, however, presents mercy as an impersonal quality that does not stem from the nature of its administrator. it negates that mercy ought to constitute "...the willingness to help those in need simply because they are in need. (juliana m. casey, 538). the true nature of mercy is made clearer by a recourse to its etymological derivatives: chesedh (according to the old testament hebrew bible: exodus 34:6; tobit 12:8; psalm 103:8) and elos (as seen in the new testament greek or aramaic bible: matthew 5:7; luke 15:11-32; luke 6:36; ephesians 2:4; 1 peter 2:9-10). for biblical experts, chesedh "is an untranslatable word (barclay, william, 103). likewise the new testament use of the greek word, elos, to translate mercy in most english versions of the bible, is broader than the word mercy suggests. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 86 (mckenzie, john l, 567). "chesedh, mercy, means the ability to get right inside the other person's skin until we can see things with his eyes, thinks things with his mind, and feel things with his feelings." (barclay, william, 103). st augustine treats it as "... a certain feeling of compassion in our hearts, evoked by the misery of another and compelling us to offer all possible aid..." (augustine, de civ. dei ix, 5). consequent upon st augustine's position, aquinas argues: "mercy takes its name "misericordia" from denoting a man's compassionate heart [miserum cor] for another's unhappiness." (summa theologiae, ii-ii, q. 30. a. 4. available in: http://dhspriory.org/thomas/summa). this implies that chesedh is not just a superficial identification with the person in need of mercy. rather, the one who shows mercy first enters into the world of the recipient of mercy in order to give mercy not just on the basis of legal requirement but as he would expect to be treated if found in the same circumstances. viewed from the above outlook, mercy can be defined philosophically as that quality which enables its possessor to penetrate the 'world of the other as the other.' the administrator of mercy in this context does not see the recipient of mercy from an impersonal viewpoint. instead, he considers the said recipient as 'his other self.' it is on this note that pope francis in his discourse on the year of mercy writes: in this holy year ... let us open our eyes and see the misery of the world, the wounds of our brothers and sisters who are denied their dignity, and let us recognize that we are compelled to heed their cry for help! may we reach out to them and support them so they can feel the warmth of our presence, our friendship, and our fraternity! may their cry become our own, and together may we break down the barriers of indifference that too often reign supreme and mask our hypocrisy and egoism! (pope francis, misericordiae vultus, 15) the one who administers mercy can possess it in two senses: as an 'inherent' or 'ontological possessor' or as a 'participatory possessor.' the ontological possessor has mercy as his 'intrinsic or innate attribute. occupying the ontological domain is god, for he possesses mercy as part of his essence. on the other note, man is characterized as a participatory possessor of mercy. thus, whereas god shows mercy as a part of his desire to com-penetrate and incarnate in the world of man, alternatively humans demonstrate mercy to others as a participation in this selfdiffusion of god's personal identification with humans. this indicates that mercy is not only an inbuilt quality but also relational in character. mercy (chesedh) "is expected as a normal part of good human relations." (mckenzie, john l, 565). in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 87 this sense, mercy is understood as a term whose meaning is clearly manifested in its concretization in real life. its theoretical value is justified and authenticated by its relational character. actually, in real life situations, no human being can dispense with mercy. consciously or unconsciously, human beings infringe the right of others. a person who is a victim of such circumstance can turn out to be the perpetrator of the same or similar act in future. this makes every human being, a potential dispenser and recipient of mercy, respectively. with such disposition, the language of mercy is inevitable for sustained human relationship in the society. each, hence, finds himself immersed in an intractable thrust towards identification with others in their various life situations; the apparent relationship deadlock notwithstanding. this implies that commitment to mercy towards each other is a sine qua non and indeed one of the bedrocks of every human society. mercy and god-definition question among the operative attributes of god is the principle of causality which comprises divine concurrence and others. by virtue of divine concurrence, god sustains in being all that exists through his principles of justice, mercy, love, to name but a few. but this poses the question of whether the divine attribute of mercy is a depiction of strength or weakness in god. thus, the discourse on the reality of mercy in this section focuses on two areas, namely; mercy as a depiction of lack on the part of god, and mercy as revelatory of god. mercy as depiction of lack on the part of god at face value, the concept 'mercy' evokes a sense of weakness on the part of god. often, it is taken as a pejorative term employed by humans to illustrate the possibility of weakening god through human's plea for compassion. in logical parlance, this approach to mercy not only ensnares humans in the fallacy of argumentum ad misericordian (appeal to mercy), but subsequently entraps god in ontological compromise: a devaluation of god's impeccable and incorruptible attribute of justice. god, in this context, is conceived as a supra-sensible reality whose nature is characterized by justice and unreserved readiness to execute prescribed punishment on offenders irrespective of the human beings involved. this line of thought has no place for the weakness of man or human frailty. god envisaged on the above note, to think of him as possessing such a quality as mercy is considered as a devaluation of his supremacy. such a tolerance is taken as god stooping to the level of creatures; not in the sense of incarnation, rather in the light of the reduction of the divinity of god in order to accommodate humans and their frailties. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 88 the ascription of mercy to god as above adumbrated, amounts attachment to him, a quality that is extraneous or extrinsic to his nature. mercy is understood here as an attribute that is accidentally annexed to god, of which dissociation of such quality from him portends no danger. in fact, to detach mercy from god is like robbing him of a quality whose inherence in his nature conceals rather than reveals his nature. hence, dissociation of mercy from god is regarded as an exercise in de-concealment of the concealed-god. when mercy is conceived as an extrinsic quality in god, its detachment from god is considered as of no substantial effect to the nature of god. this implies that a comprehensive definition of god does not necessarily require the inclusion of his attribute of mercy. god-definition question is resolvable in this parlance without reference to his attribute of mercy. a journey into an exhaustive appreciation and understanding of god does not essentially require such features which are more to the province of mortality, of which mercy is a typical instance in this consideration. mercy as a definition of god mercy is considered in this viewpoint as a strong attribute of god. it is no longer a mark of negation or denigration. alternatively, it is a depiction of god's omnipotence. on the strength of the above background, the collect of the 26th sunday in ordinary time of the year depicts god's mercy and forgiveness as revelatory of the beauty and the almightiness of his power. (sunday missal, 341). poetically, william shakespeare articulates the above idea thus: "the quality of mercy is not strain'd, it droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath: it is twice blest, it blesseth him that gives, and him that takes: 'tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes the throned monarch better than his crown." (merchant of venice, act iv, scene i). in aquinine rendition: “it is proper to god to exercise mercy, and he manifests his omnipotence particularly in this way”. (summa theologiae, ii-ii, q. 30. a. 4. in. pope francis, misericordiae vultus, no. 6). the proof that mercy is a strong quality is evident from practical life experiences. in practical life, it is easier to retaliate than to show mercy. it is more difficult to repress or sublimate anger than to revenge. therefore, god's possession of mercy perfectly and even points to his supremacy than to his weakness. this sense of understanding mercy considers it as a quality that is intrinsic to god's nature. as an intrinsic quality in god, mercy is considered a positive quality. it is no longer a derogatory attribute applicable to god as a diminution of his omnipotence. rather, mercy is taken as an attribute which igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 89 characterizes god substantially. the idea of the intrinsic nature of god's mercy further identifies mercy as an inseparable reality about god. being an inherent quality in god, mercy constitutes one of the definitive attributes of god. to be god is to be merciful. to conceptualize god comprehensively, his attribute of mercy can never be bypassed. to imaging a god devoid of mercy is to think of a defective god, who per se is not god. the moment god can be conceived without mercy; the implication is that what is at issue is no longer one and the same god but rather a deformed version of god. possibly, it can be described as a contextual god: a definition of god that can never subsist as an exhaustive notion of god. the resultant effect is that it does not make sense to think of god without mercy. as a dynamic being, god expresses himself in action: action reveals being. thus, as a being, god cannot but manifest his quality as a merciful god. a being which has natural appetency for a particular type of life cannot but exhibit that tendency. so, the idea of mercifulness on the part of god presents him as a being who cannot but exhibit mercy; not out of weakness, rather as an inescapable living-out of his nature as a merciful god. to live authentically, is to diffuse his mercy to other beings in need of it. not to diffuse such equals a relapse into inauthenticity. here god is caught-up in the inescapable web of inevitable tendency to diffuse his mercy. but the phrase 'being caught up in the web' as used here is not descriptive of limitations on the part of god or the existence of another being superior to god impelling him to operate outside his nature. instead, it denotes the fact that as mercy constitutes an essence of god; he cannot but exists essentially as a merciful god. in this sense, mercy defines god not as his singular attribute, but as one of his other attributes. identification of god as mercy raises the question about the place of human mercy vis-à-vis god's mercy. the question ranges from whether human mercy is identical with god's mercy, to whether it is superior to it, or vice versa. nevertheless, the identification of god as mercy reveals the character of god as a being that does not only possess mercy to the fullest in the sense that there can be a time when he can be deficient of it. god is mercy per excellence. mercy is a quality that belongs to god's nature essentially. human mercy is only a participation in the divine mercy. what this means is that the concept, "mercy" is only applicable to man analogically. the depth of human mercy is dependent on the degree of man's relationship with god. just as the closer an iron or a metal piece is to fire the hotter it becomes; correspondingly, the closer human beings are to god, the more they are diffused with the mercy of god; ipso facto, the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 90 more they are endowed with his mercy. conversely, the farther they are from god, the farther they are from his mercy. in sum, human mercy is only man's expression of the depth of divine mercy in man's life. as created and contingent beings, humans possess mercy extrinsically whereas god possesses it intrinsically. whereas mercy and humans are separable, mercy and god are inseparable. one can envisage a man devoid of mercy but to think of god outside mercy is incongruous with god's nature. in fact, it is not heretical and atheistic to affirm that one of the things god "cannot do" is to cease from being a merciful god. nonetheless, the phraseology "cannot do" does not entail limitation on the part of god, but rather a depiction of the immutability of divine essence of which mercy is one of them. part of god's nature is mercy. so, 'a divine nature bereft of mercy' is incompatible with god's nature. from the foregoing, to deliberate on the issue of god's mercy, implies a tacit or an explicit discourse on the recipient of this diffused god's mercy. the recipient in this perspective is no other reality than human beings. to god belongs fullness of mercy. and for humans to maintain a recipient status in this divinehuman engagement indicates a lack on the part of humans: the direct beneficiaries of divine mercy. this shows that humans' lack of mercy defines god's fullness of mercy. in the god-man mercy question, the osmotic pressure of mercy is on the side of man as an entity desirous of mercy which he fundamentally requires for fulfillment. this follows the law of diffusion which is always from the area of higher concentration of the object to be diffused to the region of lower concentration of the same (object). on the other hand, god necessarily imparts mercy in consonance with his nature which cannot but diffuse mercy. hence, one can authoritatively surmise that god's mercy is desired as a remedy for its fundamental lack in humans. correspondingly, it is given as an inescapable aspect of divine nature whose part of his essence is mercy. as a living reality, god cannot but live out his nature as mercy per se: diffusing and dispensing this nature on humans who cannot but desire mercy as a complement to his being. therefore, it is not superfluous to affirm that mercy defines god; ipso facto, lack of mercy in humans defines god as a being with plenitude of mercy. mercy as a definition of god cannot be conceived as an extensive definition of god. rather, it constitutes an aperture to god-definition question. it provides a necessary and inevitable initial point for god-definition question. through the in-road created by such vision of god, an inquirer can proceed to a fuller definition and comprehension of god. viewed as one of the gateways to godigwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 91 definition question, mercy is considered as "a" definition of god and not "the" definition of god. the articles "a" and "the" are carefully chosen to drive this message home. what is implied in this context is that god-definition question can also be approached from other dimensions, depending on the attribute one wants to emphasize. each of these apertures is but a perspective to understanding god. none can subsist as a fundamental definition of god. yet no definition of god can claim perfection if any of the attributes is sidelined. each of the apertures can be compared to the deoxyribonucleic acid (dna) of living organisms: though imperfectly since each dna is capable of furnishing one with fundamental information about the individual concerned; whereas each attribute only gives an aspect of the reality. mercy and justice the pertinent question to ask here is whether the idea of god's mercy vitiates his divine justice or whether it complements it. the justice of god demands that the good are rewarded and the bad punished. each receives proportionate reward or divine retribution respectively. not to mete out such divine justice signals a lack on the part of god and denial of justice on the side of humans. such is echoed especially when the justice expected is in view of some positive effects. but the aspect that posits greater problem is a situation where justice expected is punitive. it becomes a problem when, instead of receiving a presumed desired punishment, a culprit ends up, either evading it completely or receiving a blessing in return. under such circumstance, people are usually baffled and mistake the reversal of divine justice as a kind of weakness on the part of god. however, god can be ascribed with the above appellation, where justice of god is considered in isolation from his other attributes, especially, that of mercy. in such a case the reversal of the divine justice order has no just cause. that means god ought to abide by his principle of justice for him to subsist as a just god. by this principle, a culprit can never be acquitted and discharged without appropriate retribution. to act otherwise is to toe the line of favouritism and partiality which are inimical to the nature of god. however, in a situation where the justice of god is treated alongside his other attributes, the concept of divine justice is accorded an in-depth understanding, and in fact, a new coloration. such scenario obtains when a guilty pleas for god's mercy. at this juncture, the application of divine justice appears impaired. but it must be admitted that such conception of god's justice is only a product of misunderstanding of the working of his justice. but this frosty idea is dissipated when one realizes that just as the justice of god demands that the guilty is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 92 punished, the plea for mercy makes certain justice requirements on god. at this point, mercy and justice of god intermingle. hence, the possibility of reversal of the divine justice arrangement takes its bearing from the plea of mercy on the part of the supposedly recipient of divine justice. the justice of god prescribes appropriate divine reward or punishment to whoever is concerned. in the event the individual concerned solicits for clemency, it is incumbent on god to respond accordingly. what is fundamental in this context is that the justice of god is applicable to both the derailed and the repentant wrong doer. thus, justice it is to reward right behaviour and punish bad ones. similarly, injustice it is to resist truly repentant person and still punish him as if he has not done away with old habit. this implies that god is required to administer justice whenever somebody performs an act that requires such; be it engagement in good acts or disengagement in bad through prior plea of divine mercy. the crux of the above argument is that should somebody perform an act that attracts divine justice of punishment, justice demands that god responds accordingly. again, whereby a person pleas for mercy, justice again demands that god responds accordingly. this shows that divine mercy does not vitiate divine justice, rather it complements it. it helps to unveil it. when god exercises his divine mercy, it is always an illustration of his justice. what is central in each case is justice. divine justice it is when god punishes somebody for wrong doing. likewise, divine justice it is when god retracts his punishment on somebody on the ground that the person concerned pleaded for mercy. not to respond to such plea for clemency is not inconformity with divine nature. it is hence congruous to affirm that mercy and justice corroborate and complement each other; and so, are never contradictory. conclusion it is indubitable that attempt at exact definition of any aspect of reality is always fraught with difficulties. this perplexity is more when the reality in question is a supra-sensible reality. the above difficulties and perplexities notwithstanding, to deny outright definition to any reality on the ground of the conflicting views of academics or on the basis of the obscurity of the reality under discussion is unsatisfactory. even the knowledge that a reality is complex or obscure is itself a kind of definition of the reality: even though it could be regarded as a definition in the lose sense of the word. likewise, to stick solely to contextual definitional approach to reality, and in effect, deny the possibility of objective definition of the same reality is also logically indefensible. of course, even the affirmation and endorsement of relativity in definition is itself an attestation of the feasibility of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 93 objectivity in definition. one cannot affirm the objectivity of his 'relative standpoint' and go further to dispute the objectivity of others' 'objective standpoint' without enmeshing himself in an inescapable epistemological web of self-contradiction. in the same vein, this work is of the view that mercy as a definition of god is not isolated and insulated from the above definitional quagmire. granted there are many who hold contrary position with regard to the possibility or the impossibility of 'god-definition question' on one hand, and definition of 'god as mercy' on the other hand, this work affirms that god can be defined from the purview of mercy. mercy in this context is conceived as an inherent attribute of god which belongs to his operative attribute of divine concurrence. as an intrinsic quality in god, mercy is constitutive of god's nature. it is not an accidental modification of god or something extraneous to the nature of god. rather, mercy is a quality whose separation from god impairs the rational conception of god fundamentally. to talk of god outside the context of mercy is akin to conception of humanity that is devoid of the capacity for rationality, auto-transcendence, self-consciousness and the likes. similarly, detachment of 'mercy' from the overall attributes of god deprives him of one of his defining qualities. definition of god in the context of mercy neither diminishes nor denigrates his divinity. god as mercy defines the superfluity of his divine nature as a being with superabundance of compassion. it equally situates man as a being who is not only deficient in mercy, but also as one who stands in need of being perpetually fed from the continuous overflow of god's mercy. in a nutshell, god's mercy is sufficient not only to upgrade humans' basic lack of the same (mercy), but also to accommodate man's lapses. these fundamental lacks and lapses negatively contrived often push humans to retire into revenge in place of forgiveness, tolerance and understanding. in contrast, when the lacks are positioned in their proper perspectives, they constitute catalysts for the reversal of the aforementioned negative imports of the pejorative conception of mercy. there is the possibility of com-penetration of divine justice and divine mercy; a marriage which is often misconstrued as an evidence of compromise on the side god. under such entanglement, mercy dissolves into a justification of justice of god in diffusing the proposed retribution for offence committed by a repentant offender. in this light, the previously mistaken marriage of justice and mercy of god now graduate as an illustration of his impeccable application of his divine igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 94 justice. thus, justice constitutes the fulcrum around which both mercy of god and his justice revolves. consequently, justice demands that the good be rewarded. justice also requires the bad is penalized. the same justices demands that repentant person be pardoned and not punished as already prescribed. pardon of that nature is never an expression of weakness on the part of god but rather a triumph of his principle of justice and a demonstration of his omnipotence. works cited aquinas, thomas, the summa theologica, vol.1, maryland: christian classics, 1981 aquinas, thomas, the summa theologica, translated by fathers of the english dominican province. available at:http://www.documentacatholica.eu/d_1225-1274 %20thomas%20aquinas%20%20summa%20theologiae). retrieved on 27 february, 2017. augustine, city of god, vernon j. bourke (ed) new york: doubleday religion, 1953. ayer, alfred jules, language, truth & logic, london: penguin books, 1946 ballard,keith emerson, copi: introduction to logic, new york: macmillan publishing co., inc. 4th edition, 1972. barbara, johnson, the critical difference: essays in the contemporary rhetoric of reading, london: johns hopkins university press, 1992 (3rd print). available at: https://www.amazon.com/critical-differencecontemporaryrhetoric-reading/dp/0801827280. retrieved on 25 february, 2017. barclay, william, the daily study bible: the gospel of matthew, vol.1, india: theological publications, 1999. bretzke, james t., consecrated phrases: a latin theological dictionary; latin expressions commonly found in theological writings, 3rd edition, minnesota: liturgical press, 1998. available at https://books.goggle.com.ng. retrieved on 27 february, 2017. casey juliana m., "mercy." in glazier, michael and monika k. hellwig, the modern catholic encyclopedia, minnesota: liturgical press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 95 christian community bible, 48th edition, india: claretian publications, 2010. copleston, frederick, a history of philosophy, vol. 1, london: bloomsbury, 2013. "deconstruction." new world encyclopedia, . 27 jul 2013, 23:03 utc. 25 feb 2017, 20:15 <http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=deco nstruction&oldid=971610> derrida, jacques, "letter to a japanese friend." in: a derrida reader (ed. p. kamuf), pp. 270–276, new york: harvester, 1991. --------------------, "the time is out of joint." in: deconstruction is/in america: a new sense of the political, (ed. a. haverkamp), pp. 14–41, new york: university press, 1995. dewey, john, reconstruction in philosophy, boston: beacon press, 1957 (edition) dictionary.com. available at http://www.dictionary.com/browse/mercy. retrieved on 22-3-2017. feuerbach, ludwig andreas, the essence of christianity, new york: harp and row, 1957. foucault, michel, the archaeology of knowledge (first 3 chapters of foucault's influential work), routledge, 1972. available at: https://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/fr/f oucault.htm ............................, discourse on language, available at: http://www.appstate.edu/~stanovskydj/discourse.pdf. retrieved on 25 february, 2017. (in foucault, michel, the archaeology of knowledge and the discourse on language, smith, sheridan a. m. (transl), new york: pantheon books, 1972). gleen, p. j., criteriology, u. s.a.: b. herder books, 1933. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 96 habermas, jurgen, communication and evolution of society, london: heinemann, 1979. heidegger, martin, the concept of time: the first draft of being and time, ingo farin and alex skinner, (transl), newyork: continuum international publishing group, 2011. -----------------------"what is philosophy?" in. what is philosophy? sources in philosophy, johnstone, henry w. (ed.), new york: macmillan publishers, 1965. hume, david, enquiry concerning human understanding, xii, 111, 12, 1, oxford: clarendon, 1975. iroegbu, pantaleon, metaphysics the kpim of philosophy, owerri: international univ. press ltd, 1995 p.235. locke, john, second treatise of government early modern texts, 1980. available at: http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/assets/pdfs/locke1689a.pd. retrieved on 22-3-2017. mckenzie, john l, dictionary of the bible, (3rd indian reprint), bangalore: asian trading corporation, 2002. nnaemedo, bartholomew, "aquinas as a mediator between sensism and intellectualism," b. phil memoir, pontifical urban university rome, 1997. kelly, mark, "foucault, michel" in internet encyclopedia of philosophy, available at: http://www.iep.utm.edu/foucault/. retrieved on february 24, 2017. mishara, a., “husserl and freud: time, memory, and the unconscious,” husserl studies 7, 1990. ott, ludwig, fundamentals of catholic dogma, (transl.), cork: the mercier press, 1960. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 97 patryk zadamowski, sydney 1997. available at http//jantar. org. retrieved on 20-4-2012 pope francis, misericordiae vultus: bull of indiction of the extraordinary jubilee of mercy, given in rome, at saint peter’s, on 11 april, 2015. available at: https://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/bulls/documents/pa pafrancesco_bolla_20150411_misericordiae-vultus.html. retrieved on 23-3-2017. shakespeare, william "the merchant of venice". in. the complete works of william shakespeare, britain: wordsworth edition, 1999. the new sunday missal, london: geoffrey chapman, 1982. wallace, william a. the elements of philosophy: a compendium for philosophers and theologians, india: st. paul’s/alba house, 2012. igwebuike_6_7_7.cdr 67 igwebuike and communication in nollywood: a qualitative review justine john dyikuk university of jos, plateau state justinejohndyikuk@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29305.49761 abstract the current digital society has affected almost every sector of life. the nigerian movie industry, which suffered the onslaught of colonialism, is not left out. nollywood is tossed about by the desire to be truly african, on the one hand, and the aspiration to be at par with hollywood and bollywood, on the other. this qualitative review entitled “igwebuike and communication in nollywood: a qualitative review” investigated the matter, using the homophily principle of communication as theoretical framework. it found undue western inuence, negative narratives and inability to explore igwebuike as the communalistic philosophy of igbo people in home movies. it recommended promotion of african heritage, transmission of culture and civilization, promotion of community life, decolonizing the lm industry and entrenchment of a valuable digital culture as possible panacea. the study concluded that, given its place in global reckoning, nollywood has the capacity to overtake other prominent industries in the world towards providing a classroom of entertainment and education for second generation igbos and other africans in the diaspora. keywords: communalism, communication, film, igwebuike, nollywood, kanu ikechukwu anthony. introduction culture and communication are critical elements of the nigerian movie industry. this is because most contents of cinematic platforms are laced with african avour. from typical village square scenes to settings of royalty in the igwe, emir or oba’s palace, the lm industry in africa is africanised. this africanisation speaks to the heart of culture and communication. while communication transmits culture, culture is handed over to unborn generations through effective and efcient communication. this brings to the fore the igwebuike philosophy of the igbos of south eastern nigeria, which communicates the communalistic behaviour, ethos, beliefs, culture, tradition and norms of the people. the already-vibrant movie industry in nigeria is a handy platform for the romance between igwebuike rendering and communication. as the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 68 philosophy which encapsulates the way of life and values of the igbos, igwebuike pushes the frontiers of family system, kindred and a strong sense of fellowfeeling. because the movie industry in nigeria has journeyed through an amateur screen to a golden goose on a global spotlight (dyikuk, 2015), it serves as a vehicle for transmitting various values which are dear to the people. one of such values is igwebuike which connotes communal living and peaceful existence in igbo societies. igbo lms, which are an irresistible recipe on the nollywood menu, are replete with scenes which express africanism, care for one another and common solidarity. despite the lofty place it occupies on the movie screen in nigeria, some critics, like johnson (2000), are of the opinion that igbo and english movies are culturally confusing. perhaps this is because, for instance, a lm could begin with emeka (not real name), in the village, as a local champion who speaks using idiomatic expressions and end with him, in lagos, as a “white man” who appears in a suit and dazzles everyone with big grammar (british accent). unfortunately, despite few instances where culture is infused in scenes, the lm industry in nigeria has not paid enough attention on promoting values, customs and traditions. copying western values has also been an albatross of the industry. to this end, this study aims at: 1. appraising the place of communication and culture in nollywood, despite western inuence 2. accounting for nollywood through a historical sketch 3. doing a critical review of igwebuike in nollywood 4. assessing elements of communication in nollywood 5. making case for communicating an igwebuikenised cinema in nigeria conceptual spadework a. igwebuike: as a composite metaphorical igwebuike igbo word, igwebuike is a combination of three words igwe bu ike, which means: “igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power. thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force or strength, and at this level, no task is beyond their collective capability” (kanu, 2017b, pp.69-70). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 69 b. communication: various types of communication include: verbal, nonverbal and written communication (go, monachello, baum, 1996 & dyikuk, 2017b). also, “expressive or informal communication occurs when information is not directly related to role performance” (mohamad, 2008,p.9). in this article, we would understand communication as showcasing igwebuike (african values) in nigerian lms. c. nollywood: this is the nigerian lm industry which traces its roots to 1992, in onitsha, when kenneth nnebue produced the movie living in bondage 1 & 11 an igbo-language lm with english subtitles. experts cite this as the beginning of commercial lm production in nigeria (mordi & onu, 1999). theoretical framework the study adopts the homophily principle of communication as theoretical framework. this principle, which speaks to the heart of the degree of difference on any attribute or group of attributes between a sender and a receiver, holds that for any change agent, such as lms makers, cinematographers, videographers, communication scholars, journalists, teachers and other professionals, to succeed in inuencing a receiver of communication, namely audiences and viewers, both the agent and the receiver must have the same attributes. these attributes could mean the same culture, norms, education, socialization process and socio-cultural, religious and political values (mgbejeme, 2009). the choice of the homophily principle of communication as theoretical framework for the study is informed by pan-africanism, which seeks a decolonization of the cinematic platform towards raising african scholars and lms makers who are in touch with their roots and share the same vision, passion, values and norms with their people. the principle argues that it is when lms makers, cinematographers, videographers, communication scholars, journalists, teachers and other experts in the nigerian lm industry africanise the screen that their audiences would better appreciate watching nollywood. a nollywood inspired by igwebuike, especially african communalism, is key to effective education and entertainment which the movie industry desires to achieve. literature review and discussion igwebuike rendering: an overview igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 70 igwebuike is an igbo-african philosophy of complementarity. igwebuike explains how the ethic of reciprocity is at the heart of african philosophy and religion (kanu, 2017d). igwebuike philosophy aligns with its inner principles of inclusiveness, complementarity and solidarity (kanu, 2017b). the igbos believe that “no people can rise to an inuential position in the community of nations without a distinct and efcient nationality” (kanu, 2017e,p.36). this is because of the high sense of community over the individual. “igwebuike rests on the african principles of solidarity and complementarity. it argues that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation” (kanu, 2016, p.110-111). explaining this further, kanu opines that the african worldview: is ruled by the spirit of complementarity which seeks the conglomeration, the unication, the summation of fragmented thoughts, opinions and other individualized and fragmented thoughts and ideas. it believes essentially that the whole is greater than the corresponding parts. it is also a view that maintains that by the coming together of the individual or parts, a viable and sustainable whole will emerge, and by this, the parts will get to the brim purpose of their existence (2017c, p.14). the extended family system is tied to faith in the supreme being and the deities, as well as in ethos of the people. “because their existence and action, in the midst of communication, are limited by time, place, perception and knowledge, their being is existentially complimentary. hence they are naturally candidates for company and co-operations” (kanu, 2018, pp.18-19). in africa, the individual is connected to the divine through interaction with the deities and ancestors who are believed to intercede for the living. this reveals a collegiality that is tied to faith and morals which further provide “dos” and “don’ts” as ethical codes that guide personal and interpersonal communication. nollywood: a historical sketch the rst nigerian lms by two lmmakers, ola balogun and hubert ogunde were produced in the 1960s, but the high cost of production put them out of market (adesokan, 2006). by this time, the stage had been set for television broadcasting in the country. the 1970s saw the emergence of the rst nigerian feature, kongi’s harvest, written by wole soyinka and directed by ossie davis. when state-owned stations began broadcasting in the 1980s, theatre productions igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 71 which were circulated in video format took centre stage in lagos. through his nek video links, kenneth nnebue produced two yoruba movies namely aje ni iyami (1989) and ina ote (1990). from that time on, an amateur video trade production (cinema of nigeria) began. however, it was his movie, living in bondage 1 & 11 an igbo-language lm with english subtitles which was produced in onitsha in 1992 (mordi & onu, 1999) that experts hold as the beginning of nollywood and commercial lm production in nigeria. when nnebue’s two movies glamour girls 1 & 2 (1994) and true confession (1995) hit the new movie industry (shaka, 2003), lack of equipment, piracy and harsh economic policies by international monetary fund (imf) and structural adjustment programme (sap) frustrated the industry (haynes, 1995). in his submission, uchenna (2009) explains that what we know today as nollywood passed through four periods of development, namely; the colonial period (19031960), independence period (1960-1972), indigenization decree period (19721992) and nollywood period (1992 till date). he further maintained that the history of lm in nigeria from 1903 to 1992 is related to the crucial stages of nigeria’s history. as it stands today, the nigerian lm industry (nollywood) ranks among the top three lmmaking industries in the world, in terms of the quantity of productions, popularity amongst nigerians and the transnational audiences (hanmakyugh, 2019). igwebuike and communication in nollywood: an investigation identities based on religion, ethnicity, regionalism and communalism, which are essentially “given” rather than “chosen” have existed since the creation of nigeria (jega, 2001). for the igbos of eastern nigeria, igwebuike explains their identity. this identity further reveals who they are and their ultimate destiny. their identity is communal in nature. accordingly, “these common history, culture, and customs are what this thesis describes as ‘communalism’ in terms of the nature of the igbo and african cultures. it embodies the substance of the beingness of africans or the africanness of africans as a matter of fact, their existence and the quiditas of their characteristics” (uwah, 2009, p.11). this is where igwebuike comes in. igwebuike captures the communalistic nature of igbo societies. the anthropological depictions of africans, especially igbo philosophy and thought, are seen in their communalism which buttresses, more or less, the aesthetic cultural elements of these lms (uwah, 2009). experts on african lm think that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 72 “communalism captures the eco-system that operates in african cosmology which serves as a core attribute of most nollywood lmic story lines” (uwah, 2009,p.54). it is essential to understand that the notion of being in existence is founded on communalism, whereby, every being is considered to be related to one another (uwah, 2009). to this end, the concept of god in african communalism is revealed by the names given to him in african languages (uwah, 2011). for moemeka (1997, p.181), “just as the communalistic culture demands that the younger generation must respect, listen to, and learn from the elders, so it demands from the elders appropriate action to provide conducive learning experiences for the younger generation.” communication is always a question of attitude towards one’s neighbour closely tied to communication rules designed to ensure communal social order. he contends that in both verbal and nonverbal, communalistic acts are engaged in in order to conrm, solidify and promote social order (moemeka, 1998). igwebuike is conveyed through effective communication. perhaps, this is why to maintain cohesion in african communalistic societies, there is a “belief in a kind of power communication [vital force] between the ‘spirit world’ and the ‘human world’, whereby activities in one realm affects those in the other realm” (uwah, 2011,p.94). the igbo communication style is learned within the primary socialization process of the igbo ethnic group. they also use their communication styles for code switching, engaging in conversations with their co-ethnic membership as well as interacting with family members in their ancestral home (onuzulike, 2018). that second generation igbos are able to learn igbo traditional culture directly from their home-land through nollywood (onuzulike, 2018) demonstrates the relevance of igwebuike to the cinematic platform. movies such as my best friend (2003), oil village (2001), widow (2007), last ofala (2002), fool at 40 (2006) showcase the concept of communalism (uwah, 2009). film as a means of communication is a potent tool for image making, cultural diplomacy, propaganda, education, information and entertainment (hanmakyugh, 2019). today, “one impressive aspect of nollywood in all of these is in the representation of religio-cultural rituals as a major aspect of communalism” (uwah, 2011,p.86). culture is the bedrock of nollywood’s thematic lm expositions. one can, therefore, conclude that nollywood is nigeria’s cultural igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 73 ambassador. although nollywood lms are quite potent in celebrating and promoting nigerian cultures, some of these lms have come under thematic criticisms as they glamourize negative ritual themes in the name of culture (hanmakyugh, 2019). recommendations: towards communicating an igwebuikenised nollywood 1. promotion of african heritage: even as it seeks to mirror society, nollywood should promote local content, which includes rich artifacts, customs/cultural images and idioms. by the same token, african drama and cinema should be at the forefront of promoting african (nigerian) identity (dyikuk, 2015) to the world through igwebuike and all it encapsulates. that way, nigerians abroad and successive generations would be able to remember their rich heritage. 2. transmission of culture and civilization: this study argues that igwebuike should promote an african civilization through culture. lovers of sports, movies, documentaries and other genres of television in the country should take advantage of what digital television offers to not only have a good time in terms of recreation but also learn new cultures and civilization (dyikuk & chinda, 2017) which are capable of building bridges of peace amongst various people across the country and the african continent. 3. promotion of community life: igwebuike stands for community life and sharing. as such, nigerian lms should be “deeply rooted in nigerian cultural traditions and social texts, which focus on nigerian community life” (onuzulike, 2009,p.176). this is in agreement with the submission of another lm scholar who explained that “one impressive aspect of nollywood in all of these is in the representation of cultural rituals as a major aspect of communalism” (uwah, 2009, p.25). interestingly, the works of experts on communication and african communalism, like moemeka (1997), lend credence to igbo style of communication which promotes community life, sharing and a strong sense of fellow-feeling. 4. decolonizing the film industry: because africa has been misunderstood and misrepresented by the west, it behooves scholars and lm experts to use nollywood as a platform for decolonisation. “by understanding the interactivity between africans and their environment as communalistic people, one discovers the errors of the colonialists who rejected what they did not understand of the people’s cultures and [mis]represented them as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 74 barbaric and paganistic” (uwah, 2009, p.25). promoting igwebiuke worldwide may serve as the desired recipe that would checkmate the incursion of western values in the local lm industry. 5. entrenching a valuable digital culture: because “the world has evolved a fascinating digital culture” (dyikuk & chinda, 2017,p.41), it is crucial for lm makers to seize the opportunity to promote good homegrown movies which teach morals and values from an african perspective. for example, the criticism that the ongoing big brother naija which seems to showcase western values is receiving could be addressed by using the platform to entrench african values. besides, nollywood can help the diaspora community or second generation igbos to be in touch with their roots. conclusion we saw that although culture and communication are important elements of the nigerian movie industry, the igwebuike philosophy, which aligns with the principles of inclusiveness, complementarity and solidarity, has not been given a pride of place on the screen. this is why the author employed the homophily principle of communication as theoretical framework to demonstrate that lm makers, cinematographers, videographers, communication scholars and journalists in nigeria have the capacity to change the narrative towards giving igwebuike philosophy, with its ingredients of culture, norms, education, socialization process and socio-cultural, religious and political values, its rightful place in home movies. given its place in global reckoning, nollywood could overtake hollywood and bollywood if experts insist on infusing african values, like igwebuike, into lm production. this way, africans in the diaspora, particularly second generation igbos, will benet more. in conclusion, to effectively and efciently communicate an igwebuikenised nollywood, promotion of african heritage, transmission of culture and civilization, promotion of community life, decolonizing the lm industry and entrenchment of valuable digital culture must be given high premium. references adesokan, a. (2006). new nigerian cinema: an interview with akin adesokan www.indiana.edu. accessed on 8/19/2020. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 75 dyikuk, j. j. & chinda, f. e. (2017). digital terrestrial television: a critical assessment of the adventures and misadventures of nigeria’s digital switch over. international journal of applied research and technology. 6(12): [40 – 49]. dyikuk, j.j (2015). the nollywood narrative: africa’s golden goose on a global spotlight? global advanced research journal of social science (garjss) vol. 4(x). dyikuk, j.j (2017). scrutinizing organisational communication through workenvironment, power and politics in nigeria. international journal of advanced research and publications (ijarp). vol. 1 is. 2. [45-53]. go, f. m., monachello, m. l., & baum, t. (1996). human resource management in the hospitality industry. ny: john wiley & sons, inc. hanmakyugh, t.t (2019). ritual culture phenomenon in igbo lms: a study of money is money. ejotmas: ekpoma journal of theatre and media arts. vol. 7 nos. 1-2. [376-385] jega, a. 2001. identity transformation and identity politics under structural adjustment in nigeria. stockholm: nordiska afrikaininstitutet and centre for research and documentation. johnson, d. (2000). ‘culture and art in hausa video films’ in haynes, j (ed) nigerian video films. ohio: university centre for international studies. kanu, i.a (2016). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. an african journal of arts and humanities. a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies. vol. 2 no 1.[108-113]. kanu, i.a (2017a) igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies. vol. 3 no 2. [63-75]. kanu, i.a (2017b). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies. vol. 3 no 7. [165-183]. kanu, i.a (2017c). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. an african journal of arts and humanities. a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies. vol. 3 no. 1 [9-18]. kanu, i.a (2017d). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. an african journal of arts and humanities. a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies. vol. 3 no 2. [153-160]. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 76 kanu, i.a (2017e). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. an african journal of arts and humanities. a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies. vol. 3 no 6. [16-50]. kanu, i.a (2018.) igwebuike and being in igbo ontology. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies. vol. 4 no 5. [12-21]. mgbejume, o. (2009). communication and society: some basic issues. jos: motion picture academy. moemeka, a. (1998). “communalism as a fundamental dimension of culture” in journal of communication. blackwell publishing. [118 – 138]. moemeka, a. (1997). communalistic societies: community and self-respect as african values. in c. christians & m. traber (eds.), communication ethics and universal values (pp. 170–193). thousand oaks, ca: sage. mohamad, s. f (2008). "effects of communication on turnover intention: a case of hotel employees in malaysia". graduatetheses and dissertations. paper 11164. mordi, v & onu, c (1992). living in bondage 1 & 2. prod. nnebue, k. with kenneth okonkwo, nnennanwabueze, francis agu, and kanayo o. kanayo. nek video links production. onuzulike, u (2018). the igbo communication style: conceptualizing ethnic communication theory. do 10.1007/978-3-319-75447-5_4. onuzulike, u. (2009). nollywood: nigerian technological hybridity. international journal of intercultural communication studies, 18(1), 176–187. onuzulike, u. (2018). explicating communication styles in the diaspora: the case of young igbo-americans. in w. jia (ed.), intercultural communication: adapting to emerging global realities: a reader (2nd ed., pp. xxx–xxx). san diego, ca: cognella publisher. shaka, f. 2003. ‘rethinking the nigerian video film industry: technological fascination and the domestication game.’in f. ogunleye (ed), african video film today. manzini, swaziland: academic publishers. uchenna, o. (2009). nollywood: the emergence of the nigerian video film industry and its representation of nigerian culture. [online] a master’s thesis submitted to the faculty of clark university: worcester, massachusetts. uwah, i. e (2009). from rituals to lms: a case study of the visual rhetoric of igbo culture in nollywood lms. phd thesis, faculty of humanities, dublin city university, ireland. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 77 uwah, i. e (2011). the representation of african traditional religion and culture in nigeria popular lms. politics and religion 1/vol. v. udk: 316.72:[791.23:2(669) ; 791.232(669). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 2.doc igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 79 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) life history and last day of eddy nawgu healing ministry emmanuel c. anizoba department of religion & cultural studies faculty of the social sciences, university of nigeria, nsukka. emmanuel.anizoba@unn.edu.ng abstract this work studied the anioma healing ministry of late prophet eddy okeke a.k.a eddy nawgu. the aim was to trace the life history of eddy nawgu, education and career, origin of the healing ministry and last days of eddy nawgu primary and secondary sources of information were made use of while descriptive and narrative methods of data presentation were adopted. the study found out that historically eddy was not even a native of nawgu. it was his great ground who migrated from the present day capital of dunukofia, ukpo precisely and settled in the present day nawgu town. it was also discovered that the late prophet acquired very little education at the present primary two levels. on the origin of the ministry, the researcher found out that the healing ministry started in 1985 from jos, through eddy’s connections and contacts with indian spiritualists. the work finally reveals that the last day of the prophet on earth was catastrophic. the work found out that what started as a mere harassment and arrest of eddy nawgu on the 4th of november 2000, finally culminated in the public execution of the late prophet on the 9th of november, at the ochanja market round about, onitsha by bakassi boys, that came to anambra from aba during the time of the former governor of anambra state, dr. chinweoke mbadinuju. key word: healing ministry, life history of eddy nawgu and last day of eddy nawgu introduction anene (1993) rightly observed that, history should not be judged with today’s value. in other words, what a man does in the early stages of his civilization or mental development cannot be judged with today’s civilized value. this was why the great savagery displayed in the slave trade tends to be blamed not on today’s europeans whose forefathers committed the hideous crimes, but on an underdeveloped level of civilization with very low moral value. today, the white man should look back to slavery with a great sense of guilt and shame. just as today’s nigeria is supposed to have reached a level of civilization from which she should look back at the hideous savagery of human sacrifices, oracular deceits, trial by ordeal and sadism practiced in his recent past with a sense of shame. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 80 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) given this background, the late prophet eddy okeke popularly known as prophet eddy nawgu and his anioma healing ministry will be discussed. this hero of our time has been a very enigmatic figure in the minds of those who knew him. this is immensely reflected on the seeming paradoxes and discrepancies in his prophetic ministry, which includes his life history, origin of his anioma healing ministry, and the last day of the ministry. the life history 0f eddy nawgu according to anene (1993), the real name of eddy nawgu is “edward onyebuchi okeke” and he was born to mr. and mrs. nwoye mgboga, in 1957 in nawgu, in the dunukoffia l.g.a of anambra state, in nigeria. anene was not alone in this claim; i.n. anizoba (personal communications aug. 12, 2008) confirmed that the real name of eddy nawgu was “edward onyebuchi okeke.” anizoba however, traced the biography of the prophet further by positing that eddy was not a real indigene of nawgu, but was a stranger, whose grandfather, okeke ogini committed abomination in his own town ukpo in the same dunukofia l.g.a, and had to run away to nawgu after he had been banished by his community. he further hinted that, it was not the immediate father of eddy, nwoye mgboga that migrated to nawgu, but the prophet’s grandfather okeke ogini, who married a nawgu indigene and beget nwoye mgboga, who in turn begets the late prophet eddy nawgu. f.i. okafor, (personal communication, aug. 8, 2008) agreed to this assertion and further hinted that nwoye mgboga had a total of five children, a girl, and four boys, of which eddy was one. education and career because of certain geographical and social factors eddy did not acquire sufficient, western education. according to d. ude, (personal communication nov. 8, 2008), at the time of eddy’s birth and boyhood, the people of nawgu did not place much value on western education, they were rather prone to trading and commercial activities. because of this, it was affirmed that the late prophet did not even complete his primary education before he took to a 7 years apprenticeship in timber and building materials, under one mr. ude. as a result, he graduated from his timber apprenticeship and became a timber dealer in jos, nigeria. this was why anene (1993) posited that eddy had just a little formal education. origin of the healing ministry according to anene ((1993), the healing ministry started in 1985 from jos, through eddy’s connections and contacts with indian spiritualists. he posited igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 81 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) that this contact started initially through letter writings with or to an indian occult organization called “the indian secret agent.” according to him, eddy’s application for membership was granted around the 80s, and he was given a catalogue titled “the indian secret agent, first in africa, 3rd edition.” anene, revealed that in the catalogue, the healing home called “anioma healing ministry” was rather addressed as “professor eddy’s mystic home of wonders”. he posited that in order to disguise his true identity the prophet changed the name of the ministry to “anioma healing ministry”. he further hinted that the catalogue has sections displaying multiple charms with different functions and operations, such as charms for beating security operations and the police, success staff for business connections, as well as love portions for attracting and charming down the man or woman one admires. r. uba, (personal communication aug. 4, 2008) further revealed that people with long standing court cases who consulted eddy were normally given charms and talisman that influenced the trial judge negatively and strangely. he would struck out the case without a just cause. sometimes the trial judge would die mysteriously in the course of the case. and at other times, the opponent of the prophet’s client is charmed into appealing for the dissolution of the case. it was gathered that following the reception of this mystic power, eddy forged that he had been called by god into the ministry of the church. according p: nwoye (personal communication aug. 8, 2008) at that point, eddy, in a bid to attract followership from the unsuspecting public, pronounced that the source of his power was divine, and by divine mandate. he further hinted that by late 1984, eddy started what finally metamorphosed to world renowned “prophet eddy healing home” or ministry” this ministry was initially started gradually in his residence in jos, where his initial clients were his trade union members, the jos timber traders and dealers. nwoye posited that, in no distant time from its inception, the ministry which he opined was an offshoot, or branch of an indian secret society known as “yogism” grew like wild fire, in popularity and patronage, so much that his jos residence would no longer contain the membership and activities of the ministry. because of this, according to j. okeke (personal communication dec, 8, 2008) eddy taught towards home and applied to the “ogbonabo land committee” of nawgu town for land allocation. according to okeke, this application was speedily granted, because the town thought and expected that the growing ministry would bring accelerated development to the community. according to j. okafor (personal communication nov. 8, 2008), it was following this igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 82 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) development that eddy left jos which was his beginning point in the ministry, and relocated his mystic home to nawgu, his home town. he further revealed that the healing home, which was a branch of the indian yogism, was originally brought to nigeria in 1965 by an indicant agent resident in a papa lagos. okafor said the society came that time with mystic charms and ocultic candle sticks called “yoga.” this was why s. ikechukwu (personal communication nov.8, 2008) lamented that eddy merely feigned to be a christian because he knew that christianity was popular, and also the society views as a heathen, anybody with antichristian belief or practices. he didn’t wait to reveal his true identity as an occult master, hence he disguises as a prophet with a christian ministry, added ikechukwu. m. okeke (personal communication dec. 8, 2008) supported this view when he described the late eddy and his ministry as a cheat and modern pharisaism, which claims falsely to bequeath to people a spirituality or soul salvation it did not posses l. chukwudozie (personal communication aug. 7, 2008) highlighted this claim further when he asserted that eddy made use of the holy bible only to deceive people. he hinted that in public eddy would consult the bible, but in secret, he would consult indian charms and mediums. okeke (1986) confirmed this claim when he affirmed that eddy “aka prophet” used more than 32 million talisman hindu gods. with all the above citations, it become likely that the ministry of the late prophet which started around 1985 in jos, and later relocated to nawgu, had what seems an ocultic background linked up with an indian secret organization called the “indian secret agent’ and operated through the practice of the indian “yogism”, hence, d. ude (personal communication aug. 9, 2008) posited that the late prophet eddy did not even conceal the demonic origination of his ministry, because, according to him, the main administrative building at the prophet’s anioma healing home had a bold statue of a very big python painted in full brazen colours. he claimed that the signs of or the indicators of the home’s satanic origin was very clearing and visible, but lamented that people fell prey his deceptions because of the pressures of their needs and problems. ude claimed that this python symbol was enough to reveal the full identify of the false prophet to the public, because python was one of the symbols of satan. he maintained that in the garden of eden, the satan that deceived eve appeared to her in the form of a serpent. from this premise, he concluded that 1. a serpent con not represent god 2. that the representation of his ministry with they symbol of a serpent shows that eddy has the same ministry with the devil whom the bible igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 83 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) addressed as “the old serpent” (rev. 12:9,20:2) and as one who came to steal and to kill and destroy (jn 10:10). 3. that the symbol be speaks that the prophet had nothing good to offer, but rather a mission to kill and to destroy, so that even when he render any outward act of generosity, his main agenda must invariably be to kill and to destroy. last days of eddy nawgu what eventually culminated to the death of eddy nawgu started building up in the early 1990’s when it became very clear to everybody that they prophet had deviated completely from the path of faith and godliness, and consequently there was mass dissatisfaction and complaint from the entire people of nuwgu and its envious against the nefarious activities of the prophet and his healing home. according to s. nnadozie (personal communication sept. 8, 2008) eddy derailed from the path of truth and justice, and started doing all sorts of devilish and feudish things. he slipped from the path of decency, and became uncontrollable in doing evil. nnadozie claimed that, at this pint. the prophet perpetuated all kinds of malicious crimes ranging from armed robbery, ritual killing, beating of widows, violence acts against the people, and the people could no longer feel secure having the prophet and his ministry which had virtually became a den of thieves around them. it was this deplorable state of the community of nawgu that finally attracted the attention and visitation of the erst while state vigilante service popularly known as “bakass, boys” to the prophets healing home, on the 4th day of november, 2000 a.d, following a tip off by dissatisfied and oppressed indigenes of nawgu. according to g. nwosu (personal communication aug. 10, 2008), that same day, the bakassi boys succeeded in abducting and arresting prophet eddy okeke, alongside his father, and his older brother. mr. john okeke. nwosu further hinted, that they were consequently taken to the bakassi headquarters in onitsha for interrogations, and eddy was eventually found guilty, condemned, and executed on the 9th november, 2000, while his aged father and elder brother were released on the 11th and 12th of november, 2000 respectively. concerning the abduction and trial of the late prophet, his wife okeke (2001) has this to say: it was on the 4th november 2000, at about 4.00am i was asleep, suddenly i heard a loud bang on the bedroom door. someone said, “open this door or i will break it down!” i ram to the door, my husband was sleeping. (p. 10) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 84 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) she further stated that there was a second bang at the door, and she opened the door and saw many men about fourty with angry looks and pump action guns and machetes: she hinted that these men quarried where her husband was, and as she asked them who they were, they pushed her aside and went and pulled her husband up from the bed violently. according to her, on waking up from the bed her husband quarried who they were and to this they thundered that they were “bakassi boys” on government order or assignment. as eddy, asked them what they wanted, they started beating him, dragged him outside, and quisked him away to their head quarters, reiterated the wife. according to ekenna (2000), on november 9, 2000, the bakassi boys led eddy out of the confines and brought him to a market placed in onitsha, where some twenty thousand on lookers sang enthusiastic songs as the bakassi boys hacked the sorcerer to pieces with their matchets. concerning the arrest and final execution of the prophet, his eighty year old father who was arrested together with him, but was later released on the 11th of november 2000. had this to say: the bakassi boys would bring him out of the cell from a day or two, and then bring him back. he was tortured and had matchet and gun belt wounds all over. the sight of him alone was enough to make one cry. when he was taken out, we didn’t know where they were taking him. some of the bakassi had a radio and we heard on the radio that he had been killed. (p.8). maduemesi (2000) also further hinted on the trial and execution of the prophet, by narrating an eye witness account of one of the inmates who shared the same cell with eddy at the initial time of his detention. in the words of maduemesi: a man who shared the same cell with eddy said that the bakassi boys kicked okeke in the stomach and hit him with their matchetes and quns. they accused him of killing people. eddy okeke denied this and said the bakassi boys should test him to prove his guclt or innocence. the bakassi boys hit him again with matchetes and stabbed him all over. (p.12). thus, what started as a mere harassment and arrest of eddy nawgu on the 4th of november 2000, finally culminated in the public execution of he late prophet on the 9th of november, at the ochanja market round about, onitsha. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 85 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) recommendations the research was not all successful due to some constrain and obstacle confronted at the process of the research. the researcher recommends that anybody or groups who may develop an interest to make a further research on this topic should have some financial backup in order to undertake a smooth research and emerge out with formidable and captivating materials. again, i recommend that a none indigene of the town should carry out a research on this topic and pretend as the ministry’s faithful, and study the ministry as an insider, especially after the death of eddy okeke to find out whether the ministry had stopped or not. conclusion from the foregoing, it is obvious that the prophet eddy okeke alias eddy nawgu was not a native of nawgu historically, but just as the history has it also present location of the town nawgu was not even the people’s land. this is to say that all came to settle in the present day nawgu including eddy’s grandparents. whether the ministry still exists after the demise of the late prophet is a call for further research. as at time of this research work, the researcher found out that prayers, counseling, deliverance and miracles are still going on, though on skeletal basis. references abugu, i. (1990, may 18). commissioners stops the worship adeji, d. (2000, december 11). atiku’s power moves. tell ajah, p. (1989) the defense of faith. uburu: truth and light pub. alioha, g. m. (1984) the grain of mustard seed aba: assemblies of god press. and occult in postcolonial africa. london: university of virginia. anene, o. (1993). truth and the oral at nawgu. enugu: hanoby. azuonye, c. (2000, december 18). witches and witch-hunts. newswatch. banfield, e.(1958). the moral basis of a backward society. chicago: free press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 86 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) beidelman, t.o. (1986). moral imagination in kaguru models of thought. bloomington: indiana university. bill, a. (1983) tropical history of christianity. wheaton illinois: tyndale house pub. charles, j.i and hunter, s. (1983). to heal the sick. kingwood: hunter books. cimino, r, l. (1982) the history and development of central bible college. old umuahia: assemblies of god press. ebekue, c.(2001 october 16). why we kill eddy nawgu. newswatch. ekenna, g. (2000, december 11). the alleged killing of eddy. newswatch. ekenna, g.(2000, december 11). my husband is till alive. tell magazine. feminmore, j. (1986) secred biography and history. day ton olio: w. j. shuey pub. gechiere, p. (1997). the moderinity of witchcrafts: politics andoccult in postcolonial africa. london: university of virginia. harnishfegar, j. (2006, december 30). state decline and the return to occult a case of prophet eddy in nigeria. in journal of modern africa studies. retrieved december 10, 2007, from http://nigeria world. com. henderson, r.n. (1972). the king in everyman: evolutionary trends in onithsa ibo society and culture. london: yale university. ibegbu, i. (2001, october 2). the extrajudicial killing of citizen by the bakassi boys. weekly newspaper. klingarrd, r. (1988). controlling corruption. barketely: university of califonia. madu, j.e. (1999). honest to africa cultural heritage.calabar: franedoh. madueemsi, u. (2000, december 4). the extrajudicial execution of prophet eddy okeek of nawgu. tell magazine vol. 5. p. 4. marwick, m.g. (1965). sorecery in its social setting: a study of the northern rhodesian kewa. manchester: manchester university. mcbirnie, w. s. (1973) the search for the twelve apostles. illinois: tyndale house pub. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 87 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) neil, s. (1964) a history of church missions. end penguine: midde sex pub. nzeribe, g. (2000, march 4). i don’t have any knowledge of what happened to eddy okeke. daily star. vol. 10. pp.8-10. okafor j.i. (1995, february 22) incessant harassment and threat of life. daily star. okafor, s. (2000, december 11). ritual killings. tell magazine okeke, e. (1989). professor eddy mystic home of wonders, in current catalogue (3rd e.d). okeke, s.t. (1995, november 9). an appeal for government intervention. guardians newspaper. steward, b. (1989) historical background of church in nigeria. lago: interwale press and bookstores. ukaegbu, g. (1996), december 23). cultism in the country. champions. uzuakpunwa, a. (1990, may 8). the worship of ajana is unconstitutional daily star. vol. 5. p.6. wehmeier, g. (2000). oxford advances learners dictionary (6th ed). new york: oxford. william, m. (1980) anioted to serve. spring field mo: gospel publishing house. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 234 a study of udenu’s elaborate funeral celebrations ngwu, mabel omavuaye, ph.d department of religion and cultural studies university of nigeria, nsukka omavuayemabel@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29105.45929 abstract udenu people of enugu state believe that the spirits and the ancestors who are higher than them in rank must be appeased. in order to achieve this aim, they get involved in several propitiatory rites and customs for the dead in order to appease the gods and the spirit of the departed by according respect and special rite to the corpse before it is buried. this is done by providing food and other items with the belief that the dead still needs such things in the underworld. burial rites is an integral part of igbo society and religious life since death which is the final end of man on earth has been part of the igbo. it follows that burial rites had also been an integral part of udenu people’s religious life. burial which is the act or ceremony of burying a dead body is not a new concept in the academia. using phenomenological method, the work gathered information from key informants and secondary materials from existing literatures. death is inevitable to human race and everybody must be ready and prepared to face the bullet of death anytime no matter your age, sex or races. death is natural which put an end to all earthly plans, dreams, desires and endeavours and whatever had a beginning must end up somewhere. it is believed that after the cessation of life, the body must decompose to mother-earth to avoid odour which will saturate the environment of those alive. it is advisable that the family of the deceased must bury the dead which is one of the corporal works of mercy. keywords: igbo, udenu, funeral celebrations, death, immortality introduction from buying expensive caskets and tailoring new clothes to slaughtering animals and organizing a massive feast, little expense is spared in udenu’selaborate funeral celebrations. this elaborate and expensive manner of celebrating the dead is exactly the problem this work is set to tackle. life starts from the fusion of the male sperm and female egg to form a zygote which later divides and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 235 becomes human being. life–span on the other hand is a period between somebodies’ birth, marriage and ends at death, or a sum period of somebody’s existence or function (hornby 2000:683). death means cessation of life which also marks the beginning of another life in the world beyond for man. originally according to the biblical account of creation man was created to live forever in a stable and peaceful world but the sin of adam and eve against the warning of their creator (god) brought death to him (genesis 3:3). anyacho (2005) described life to an african as a continuous process, its cessation paves way for the soul to experience life in the great beyond. death therefore is a passage to the hereafter. the last rite given to a man at death marks his transition from the physical existence to the invisible existence which takes him to the land of the ancestors. the death of humans has generally and commonly been considered sad or unpleasant occasion. this is due to the affection for the being that has died and termination of social or familial bounds with the deceased. in african society, death brings about burial and funeral rites. this is an idea that centres on the unified view of reality that leads man to seek for an acceptable way of pacifying or creating harmony among the spheres of the universe; the heaven, earth and underworld so as to maintain the fluidity among them in order to live in peace and to avoid molestation by the deceased. udenu people believe that the spirits and the ancestors who are higher than them in rank must be appeased. in order to achieve this aim, they get involved in several propitiatory rites and customs for the dead in order to appease the gods and the spirit of the departed by according respect and special rite to the corpse before it is buried. this is done by providing food and other items with the belief that the dead still needs such things in the underworld. burial rites is an integral part of igbo society and religious life since death which is the final end of man on earth has been part of the igbo. it follows that burial rites had also been an integral part of udenu people’s religious life. burial which is the act or ceremony of burying a dead body is not a new concept in the academia. the concept of burial among udenu people the universality of the concept of burial cannot be denied but however it is necessary to observe that every culture has one way or the other conceived or expressed an idea about the activities that take place in the next life after proper burial. funeral ceremonies are not justevents to honour those who have died, they are important rituals that help survivors take part in dealings with their deceased one. it also assists in taking the first steps in the grief process by igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 236 reinforcing the reality of deaths. a funeral ceremony offers an opportunity to express feelings of grief. it provides support from friends and families and acknowledges the loss with the community. funerals are more than just a service for the person who has died, it is also for the loved ones who are left behind. participating in a funeral ceremony can be a therapeutic act which starts the healing process. funerals are not chiefly to benefit the dead, but the living as well. as a rite of passage; funerals assist the bereaved in recognising the passing of a loved one, supporting you as you start your life without the deceased and reintegrating you back into the social group as a person whose loved one is no longer alive (rando: 1991). although, funeral ceremony has a lot of benefits to both the deceased and the bereaved; there are also difficulties involved in the preparation of funerals which have effect on the development of the people. one such challenge is that funerals are periods of sadness, pains to the loved ones of the deceased. it is a source of distress not solely for one individual or a social group but also for an entire community. death poses a challenge or threat to the moral order and systems of ultimate meaning in the society. according to basden (1982:14), burial rites among the igbo are not only elaborately done but also expensive. to him: the best possible arrangement must be made. there must be no half measures and nothingness on the part of the family. in the case of titled man or affluent person the highest honours will be rendered and no expense spared to give their relative worthy send-off. to support basden, nwogu and ubani (2014:1) found out that “in almost all parts of igbo land, the living spends lavishly to bury their dead one. even if the dead was a pauper, all the traditional burial rites which are extremely elaborate, expensive and complex must be observed to the later. these assertions corroborate the fact that burial rites in udenu local government in igbo land is not only very elaborately done but also very expensive, since they believe that there is a connection between death, burial rites and acceptance in the ancestral homeland in african traditional religion. generally, these elaborate and expensive burial rites described above are very much important in ensuring that the dead is accepted in the land of the ancestors in igbo traditional religion. hence these elaborate and expensive funeral rites among the traditionalists pave way for a dead person’s acceptance into the ancestral home land this is till date a practice among the people. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 237 these ceremonies and rituals performed by the living members of the family for the deceased lend credence to the unbroken family relationship between the living and the dead. it is their belief that the dead and the living have a role to play in order to fulfil their family obligations properly. for instance, it is the duty of the bereaved to give the deceased a befitting burial rite of food, drinks and shelter to show their reverence and remembrance while the deceased in return plays the role of protection and guidance. ezekwugo (1992:86), opined that africans regard their dead parent as the living dead and are alive and keeping surveillance over the affairs of the living that is why food items, clothing, trinkets and ornaments are buried along with the corpse so that the dead is believed still make use of them in the ancestral world. ezekwugo (1992:87) when he wrote to say that the respect given to the deceased is not worshipping but participating in symbolic roles showing that african world is inhabited by the living, the dead and yet unborn. this applied to udenu people of enugu state which is part of africa who show respect to their dead parents not worshipping them. the people also had the idea of after-life and that humans can become saints if they live well during their life time. this idea of sainthood prompts africans to celebrate expensive funeral which compromises traditional funeral with its rituals which is the greatest service that can be given to the deceased who has joined the community of living-dead. (beller 2001). in continuation, beller observed three stages of burial which includes physical commitment of the corpse into the grave, burial which is more of a party; organised to mark a person’s death (second burial) and memorial services which is organised in honour of the dead (remembrance service). ogbukagu (1997) and gehman (2008) supported beller that the second burial rites is absolutely necessary since it is only when it is conducted that the deceased is believed to have reached the world of the spirit. denying the dead a second burial could lead to bad luck as the ancestral spirits will be unhappy with the living for not according them proper burial. to avoid these bad luck on the part of the bereaved, the udenu people despite financial involvement and inconveniences the burial rites will cause them, go on to carry out expensive burial for their deceased. the methodology employed in this work is phenomenology which seeks to study religious phenomena in the light of the people’s religious experiences as described by ejizu (2013). one religious ceremony which can be studied in the light of people’s religious experience is funeral rites. this research method helped to bracket off the researcher’s bias to the phenomena being studied and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 238 presents the issue objectively as it manifests itself. it should be noted that the researcher also made use of oral interviews, participation and observation of burial processes in its data collection and also secondary sources from text books and library materials. udenu igbo world udenu people are a group of people, a town and a local government in enugu state, south east of nigeria. the group as used in this paper includes obollo, amala, iheakpu obollo, oba, imilik-enu, ezimo andimilike-agu who has resemblance in culture and tradition. udenu local government is bounded in the north by igbo-eze north local government, in the south nsukka and isi-uzo local areas, in the west by igbo-eze south, in the east by otukpa local areas in benue state and has its headquarter at obollo-afor. it has a cross road system on the triangular 3 link highway at obollo-afor the headquarter which links to amalain the north, orba in the south and obollo-eke in the east and enuguezike in the west. udenu local areas has an area of 248 km2and population of 178,466 of the 2006 census with postal area code of 412. world view according to madu (1996:1) simply means how the world is conceived, contemplated and perceived by people who live in it. the world view of the udenu people is not different from the igbo world view thus we are looking at the general igbo world view. achebe (1986) and madu (1996) asserted that the worldview of igbo people can be ascertained through their myths, proverbs, metaphors, customs and taboos. achebe (1986:10) in her words remarks that; different cultures have different ways of ordering their world. each mode is a lens through which man in a given culture views his world. each culture’s lens, enables it to see only a certain part of the world, but albeit, on which gives meaning to its existence. if one wore a different lens, he world see a different world. the above underscores the comprehensive nature of a world-view as the totality of a people’s assumption. thus it can be said to give a sense of direction and purpose to our lives, and enables us to act purposely in and exercise a measure of control over our environment. in achebes opinion the igbo world is arranged in the following hierarchy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 239 structure of the igbo universe chi ukwu who dwells in eligwe akpu ojodogo (chi) osimiri ala mmadu animate inanimate other spirit forces ala-mmuo alammadu source: achebe (1986:14) certain names are used to describe the igbo way of perceiving the world around them such auwa di egwu (the world is an unfathomable mystery) uwabunkonye no body owns the world) chukwudi (god exists). chukwudike (god is all powerful etc). (1996:4). in the myth of creation, the creative activity was ascribed to chukwuokike (god the creator of all things visible and invisible) as the universe is broadly divided into two realms, visible and invisible worlds. madu (1996:5) opined that the two worlds of the igbo world view can be extended into three, the world of god and gods situated above the firmament and the underworld which is beneath earth surfaced which is the home of the ancestors. though it is described and named according to human insight and conception of worldly structure. ejizu (1986:10) supported madu in classifying the igbo universe into igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 240 three tiers; the elu-igwe(heaven), ala-mmadu (land of the living) and alanmuo (land of the ancestors). in the opinion of madubuko (1994:7) has two tier structural arrangements of the world namely uwa-anaahuanya (visible world) and uwaanaghiahuanya (invisible world). according to madu (1996) the two worlds are overlap. he said that the visible world is made up of elu-igwe and ala-mmuoas well as ala-mmaduare inhabited by beings. ejizu(1986:136) noted that eligwe (sky above) is the abode of the supreme being (chuwu or chineke) and major divinities such as amadioha (god of thunder) and anyanwu (god of light) while ala is the earth goddess, minor deities and man while the ancestors and myriads of spirit forces (good or evil) inhabit under-world. madu cleared the idea of the confusion who inhabit the sphere by asserting that there is mutual interaction of beings in igbo world view. thus beings in a particular sphere migrate to the other sphere when necessary. madugave example to illustrate his point that the ancestors who inhabit the underworld of men can at times visit their families in the world of men. also, the gods can equally do the same and even man can be transformed to visit the land of the dead. even the nature gods inhabit the earth but they belong to the group of invisible beings. to madu (1996) all these beings according to igbo ontology occupy hierarchical ranks according to their vital force. the udenu people of enugu state as part and parcel of the igbo land also believe in this hierarchy of beings. madu (1996:6) in agreement with achebe (1986) identified five categories of spiritual being which includes the supreme being (chineke, chukwu) is the creator, deities (mmuo). onuoha (1987:28-29) called the deities gods or ambassadors, these include anyanwu (the lord of life and light), ala (the earth goddess, mother of life and queen of morality). amadioha or kamalu or igwe (god orderly and agent of instant justice).muommili (the divinely appointed temptress) ahiajioku (the lord of agriculture).agwu-nsi (the lord of divinations and healing), the spirit forces (arusi/alusi). the ancestors (ndichie) and medicine (ogwu). nature and scope of funeral ceremony for titled and non-titled person in the pre-colonial period pre-colonial period refers to the period of time before the arrival of the colonial masters or western culture to our land. the period our fore fathers do their things or way of life as handed down to them by their fore bears. this is the period the africans celebrate their culture without interference of anybody as directed or handed down to them by their progenitors. funeral ceremony of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 241 titled and non-titled person is quite different at the pre-colonial period but the non-titled person’s funeral ceremony will be discussed first before the titled persons in udenu local government area of enugu state, nigeria. death to udenu people is an inevitable end, a transition from this earthly life to another life beyond, a journey everyman must make in order to reach the world beyond and it is not an end to life. the people believed in different types of death such as matured or old age, married with children, lived a good exemplary life while on earth etc and will qualify him to become an ancestor. those that died prematurely or at an unripe age, not married, without children in their lineage and those who died bad death of deadly diseases such as leprosy, madness, died during child birth, witchcraft, accident are not given befitting burials. there is celebration in the name of ‘befitting funeral’ of the people that died in old age with children wives, riches etc. traditionally, burial rites serve both religious and social functions. burial rites are religious because they are part of the religious rites accorded to a dead person among the igbo; they also serve asa social function because they bring families, friends and well-wishers, the umunna and sometimes the whole community to “fellowship” together. burial rites cannot be totally generalised among the igbo people as there are perculialities among the different igbo sub-culture areas about the rites that are accorded to the dead. there are recognisable features of death and burial rites among most igbos sub-cultures. firstly, the igbo belief that some deaths are bad while others are natural. igbo (2012:126) writes that; the people make distinctions among three categories of death. natural death called onwu chi, bad death called ajoonwu and death brought by human agent or vengeance from the gods called onwu aka melu. instances of death considered to be the highest abomination and termed onwuojoo, or ajoonwu include suicide especially by hanging, also death of a spouse on mourning appeared to be abominable. ugwu and ugwueye (2004) agreed with igbo (2012) but included in the above, the category of bad death, death by leprosy, accident, small pox by mysterious illness without explanation or understandable cause. on the other hand, good deaths which attract full burial rites include death at ripe age with a lot of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 242 prosperous children left behind to continue the family linage. this is the type of death everybody wishes for including udenu people of enugu state. also, the igbo believe that there is a connection between these types of death enumerated above and the type of burial rites to be accorded to the dead. ugwu and ugwueye (2004) alluded to this belief by arguing that those that died bad deaths, for example are not accorded full burial rites. conversely, those who died good deaths among the igbo in their traditional belief, are accorded full burial rites. thirdly, the igbo traditionally believe in the practice of second burial which they take to be the final farewell to their departed. (arinze (1970). ilogu (1985) agreed with arinze on second burial but added that those who were not given the second burial, have the capacity to torment family members they left behind. this torment could be in form of misfortune, bad harvest, stagnant business, and general retrogression in the family. it may sometimes include death of family members. fourthly, status, gender and sex all play a role in determining the type of burial rites accorded to the dead among the igbo. by status, it refers to either married or unmarried wealthy or poor, slaves or free born. as regards to marriage, it is usually customary among the igbo not to give dead unmarried men and women befitting burial. gender and sex, refer to being either male or female member of the society. these to an extent determine the type of burial rites accorded to the dead among the igbo including udenu people of enugu state. among the udenu people traditionally, no corpse is allowed to stay unburied more than a day after death but there are exceptions to this, especially the death of a traditional ruler and title men. they are preserved until the expected preparations and arrangements are made. (basden, 1982). ilogu (1985) pointed out that burial of such traditional rulers and titled men involves meticulous religious observances. these assertions agreed with the point made in the work that social status is a determinant of burial rites among the igbo. after the physical burial of the dead, the second burial follows in udenu local government enugu state. this second burial which is mostly called ikwaozu/ikwaonwu does not have a particular time limit in which it must be done but depends on the financial capabilities of the family of the dead; wealthy families always do not take longer in giving their dead a second burial (ojobor eze, personal communication 5th may, 2016). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 243 stages of funeral ceremony in udenu kyrian (2012: 115) posited that it is of interest that for one to be accorded befitting burial rites, one must have been participating virtually in everything that has to do with his kindred, that is, he must not be a defaulter of any norms and values guiding his kindred. he went further to explain that som2e death rituals observed in his community obollo afor (one of the largest communities in udenu local government area in enugu state)namely ozionwu (death errand), izuonwu(gathering for the deceased) and ikwaonwu(final funeral rite of second burial). death errand (ozionwu): thisis the first ritual observed for the deceased by selected and supposed people on behalf of the immediate family of the dead person. this is done by sending the death news to the kinsmen and women and it is carried out in accordance with laid down traditions. according to tradition, the death errand of a woman is slightly different from that of man because it is carried out by the visit to either the first male or female to the woman’s family to inform her kinsmen of their daughter’s death. this message is first of all taken to the eldest male in the immediate family of the deceased who then sends message to their kinsmen who in turn converge at their deceased daughters place for interment. during their visit at the funeral, entertainment of food, drinks, kola-nut is presented to them to show their appreciation (mathias ugwuokepersonal communicationon 22nd february, 2016). izuonwu (gathering for the deceased): this is an official gathering of the family members to discuss how to accord a befitting funeral rite to the deceased. this is done at the compound of the eldest man (onyishi). it is a period in which the daughters of the family married or not, gather to sympathise, keep the bereaved family members company for 8 days in order to assuage the trauma and vacuum created by death. the deceased must have been somebody known to be attending other people’s funeral and not a debtor while alive. according to agnes ezeokwor (personal communication, 23rd march, 2017); if the deceased was a defaulter or debtor, his or her relations are required to repay in cash or kind to the larger family (umunna) on his behalf. during this period of 8days (according to the narrator) food drinks and money representing kola-nut must be given to the daughters of the family (umuada) and umunna. these food items given to the daughters are cooked by married women of the family and critically inspected by the umuada to know the quality and quantity. at the end igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 244 of 8 days (izuabuo) she further explained that, the family of the deceased shave their hair while the widow and their in-laws bring palm wine (drinks) to sympathize with their wives and take their wives back to their marital homes. it is pertinent to note that after the shaving of the widow’s hair, she is confined indoors at home, putting on black regalia bought for her by her husband’s brothers. according to ann mama (personal communication 11th march 2016) the black regalia has now been changed to white due to the influence of modernity. the widow is allowed to mourn the husband for one month before going back to her business if she is still strong. traditionally, the end point of mourning is one year (12 months) after which the chief mourner (widow) burns the mourning regalia which is exchanged with a new wrapper and followed by the rituals of hair shaving again. the one-year funeral rite is very important in the life of the widow or widower as anyone who dies during this period is regarded as one who has died a “bad death”. also, during this period of mourning, they are not allowed to attend social gatherings such as funeral, marriage ceremonies till their period of mourning is over. ikwa onwu (final funeral rite or second burial) this is the peak of funeral ceremonies in honour of the deceasedas, it is believed that until this rite is performed the spirit of the deceased continues to roam restlessly like a ghost among the living members of his family. in the pre colonial period, human beings (slaves) were among the items used for sending the deceased to the world beyond in the case of titled persons such as igwe, onyishi andin addition to a horse (anyinya) but nowadays cows are used in replacement. the place of cow instead of horse could to attributed to the fact that horse might be difficult to bury but the cow can be slaughtered and eaten in honour of the departed. there are reasons behind the use of cow in place of human beings (slaves) during funeral rites in udenu local government area of enugu state, cow is costlier and sacred which only the well to do can afford to buy for funeral ceremony. according to ugwu, c.o. t in a radio interview (voice fm nsukka, 28/2/16), the reasons why cows are used for funeral in igbo land which udenu people of enugu state are part of is that cows are sacred because they have the same gestation period of 12 months unlike human beings that has 9 months. the type of cow is a special specie called “moturu” (a native cow different from cattle). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 245 also, it is morally sacred in the sense that once a male cow impregnates the female, no other male cow goes near the pregnant cow. another reason given for the use of cow for final rite of passage is that if that cow is stolen to a distant environment the cow will eventually return back to the rightful owner no matter the distance. kyrian (2012) agreed with ugwu’s comment during a radio interview that the killing of cow to send the deceased to the land of his ancestors is the highest honour given to the dead person so that his spirit will go to rest with his ancestors. he further explained that the cow to be killed is displayed publicly a day before the funeral rites by the relatives, in-laws and sympathizers parading the market square with words like “okeeshumo” (my big male cow) “nnamg’ala o (my father will go home) etc while on the funeral day, all invited guests, friends, kinsmen and women gather at the funeral yard for merriment. the day is characterized with all sorts of mixed feelings of mourning and fun which include masquerade displays (in case of onyishi or igwe) dancing, eating and drinking etc. (onyishi cyprian ezeugwu, personal communication 12th march, 2017) stated that traditionally the cow is killed next day and shared among people such that the eldest man (onyishi) takes the heart, the killer of the cow takes the hand; while the remaining parts of the cow are shared among the relations of the deceased except the head which is not tampered with as it is exclusively reserved for the immediate family of the deceased. nature of funeral ceremony for titled person in udenu local government area in udenu local government of area enugu state, the titled persons are the igwe, onyishi and distinguished ada (first daughter of the family). when the eldest man in the community who also serves as the leader dies, the death is traditionally announced by firing cannon shots (mkpon’ ani). this makes people to start trooping into the deceased compound, to sympathize with the family. also the appearance of masquerades all over the community brings to mind the death of a prominent man in the society. messages will be sent across to the inlaws and relations both far and near informing them of the death. when an elderly person dies, the corpse is immediately stretched out on plantain leaves after the corpse must have been bathed thoroughly and rubbed with cam wood, dye to mark it as sacred (basden 1982; nehering2016). according to ogbunwasogwa (personal communication, 4th april, 2016) supported basden igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 246 (1982), and nehering (2016) on the method, the deceased body is taken care before the burial traditionally among udenu people of enugu state. furthermore, after cleansing the body, it is laid out in the living room, lying down with the feet facing the entry way. if the deceased is a woman, she is often seated upright. after this preparation for passage, a wake is held and it is the duty of the elder son of the bereaved family to welcome the community into their home with kolanuts and palm wine. prayers and libations are conducted to escort the deceased home. the next morning there is canon shots to announce the death and commencement of the actual physical burial of the deceased and finally the body of the deceased is laid to the grave dug in the centre of the deceased room. sometimes the deceased is buried alongside personal materials: clothes, walking sticks, dane gun, cooking pots, dishes etc. odo ugwu (personal communication 10th april, 2016) explained that since the physical burial is not the end of udenu people (igbo) burial rites, it is customary for the deceased to be accorded a second burial which paves the way for ancestor-hood. the second burial is usually a feast and a merry making occasion rather than mourning period. it is marked by slaughtering of cow in the honour of the dead and invitation of the whole community to come and make merry. nature of funeral in the contemporary society the nature of funeral ceremony in recent times is alarming due to the huge amount of money spent in the celebration. burial ceremony which expresses grief, pains and sorrow have turned to merriment, happiness, party, instead of reflecting on the life and times of the departed by family members. this led okaba (1999:264) to voice out that sending off of the deceased in contemporary times seems to be most elaborate, expensive and highly ritualized of all our social celebrations. in this way, ostentatious funerals have assumed the status of a social narcotic. in the face of these expensive festivities, it has become costlier for an average nigerian to die than to live. ugwuoke martins (personal communication 28th april, 2016) asserted that it is quite true of families among the udenu people of enugu state. this is because what seems to bother them is not the living who is sick but the dead, considering the amount of money to be spent to send the deceased home. it can be seen that when a person is sick the relatives are worried because they are aware of the socio-economic burden death will put on them, as they are aware that it is costlier to die than to live. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 247 in udenu and other igbo-land, burialrite has become so expensive that people now engage in all sorts of unwholesome practices ranging from dubious business activities and even ritual practices in order to make money for burial ceremonies or even incur debt. anyacho (2005) adds that since it is believed that the dead does not settle in the land beyond, if it is not accorded a befitting funeral rite, which will be accompanied by special rituals in form of elaborate funeral rites; in performing these rites, adequate care is taken to follow it to the latter. this is why the children and relatives of the deceased spend a lot of money in order to perform funeral rites in honour of the departed relation which leads to debt and worries to the family. in the view of amadi (1982) many societies give their members elaborate and expensive burial. in nigeria, burials are highly celebrated affairs and account in no small measures for the popularity of the society or members as most people spend so much on burial rites as seen in their choice of expensive coffins, uniforms, assorted drinks and food etc. he further asserted that foreigners wonder at this apparent folly and deplore colossal waste of money due to funeral ceremony. in udenu, the quest for social recognition and popularity has made many people spend above their capacity just to impress the society which leads to deplorable and colossal waste of money. mkpa (2001) condemned the expensiveness of funerals when he wrote that in certain parts of nigeria, people worry about the high cost of living while others worry about a higher cost of dying. this means that in places where burial is too expensive, people tend to worry less about high cost of living but worry more about higher cost of burials.this can be seen when people attend burial ceremonies just to cause havoc by making demands which leadto incuring more expenses for the bereaved as seen in the way elders in udenu local government area prescribe the type and size of animal, food to be prepared and perhaps the type of materials to be used for proper burial as seen during funerals as agitated by umunna and umuada. challenges of burial/funeral ceremony on the development of udenu people of enugu state challenges refer to problems encountered by any person embarking on a project, business education, marriage or even burials of the deceased. the challenges to be discussed in this research are on burial or funeral ceremonies to the development of the people of udenu local government area of enugu state. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 248 there is economic challenge because of funeral ceremony among udenu people of enugu state. funeral ceremonyis aburden to the poor as it has rendered many families’ insolvent depriving them of embarking on any other project till the debts incurred are paid. the period of funeral ceremony is a period in which the people concerned are disengaged from various work such as farming, trading to stay at home to mourn the deceased. though it is a time to rest but the bereaved will no longer partake in any other activity till the period of mourning is over. it is compulsory for any person from udenu local government to participate in funeral ceremony of their relations and any defaulters must be punished as he/she is expected to accord befitting burial to the deceased. death errand (ozionwu) is done by carrying the news of the demise to the kinsmen and women and it has its laid down procedure. according to kyrianseries of visits will be made to the deceased family if it is a woman with the first male and female to the woman’s native home if not the people will not be part of the burial. in the course of the errand items such as food, drinks, kolanuts are presented to the woman’s family. the message bearers could encounter a challenge if the deceased was not taken good care of while she was alive. another challenge is the problem of umuada (daughters of the family) who use the opportunity to fine any person who was not regular in the past funeral ceremony of the deceased relatives. (personal communication26th june 2017). it is a period the umuada (daughter of the family) inspect food, drinks, kola nut brought to the arena to with the aim to accept or reject. according to an informant, even the women married to the family are not left out in the inspection since they cook the food usually sent to the umuada throughout the period of mourning. funeral ceremony takes a long time to consummate and no work is done at this period as everybody must remain indoor mourning the deceased and also consoling the bereaved as culture demands. the long days spent preparing and celebrating the funeral of a deceased keeps people away from their business and all source of livelihood. the fact that funerals are usually fixed almost every month show the adverse effect expensive and lengthy funerals affect the economy of the people. another challenge derived from funeral ceremony is status symbol on the part of the celebrant.this is seen at the nature and calibre of dignitaries that honour the funeral “who is who” in the environment to sympathise and celebrate with the bereaved and their families. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 249 the act of killings cows portrays another economic effect of burial to the udenu people,culturally it is believed that whoever did not kill cow to send his deceased relative to the land beyond would not be accorded the respect due to those who killed cows during funerals; also he/she will not eat beef used to bury any member of their family or else he will die as he/she had not killed a cow for his/her late parents.the belief in life after death adds impetus to the reason why udenu people prefer to accord befitting and expensive burial to their deceased. spending so much on funeral could also be referred to as misplacement of priority considering the fact that when the deceased was alive he/she was not given proper attention such as caring, eating good food, wearing better clothes, taken to hospital when sick but just to be celebrated in death and the celebrant can go borrowing and end-up paying debts after the ceremony. been indebted as a result of expenses incurred for funeral, most people are unable to provide for their children’s needs such as education. socially and economically, the udenu person who is unable to give befitting funeral for his/her deceased is usually looked down upon. medically is not advised that the living should keep the corpse of their deceased one at home for days before burial. the internment observed for the dead for days poses serious health danger to the living. during funeral in udenu local government people are not allowed to go to farm or any form of work, thus agricultural (food), building, and other business bear the brunt of the long days of funeral celebration. reasons for continuity of funeral ceremonies: 1. befitting burial: the motive for funeral ceremony is to lead the deceased to join his/her fellow ancestors; to enable him/her enjoy new life. since it is the people’s belief it is good to accord the dead a befitting funeral. 2. relief for the living: the celebrant is relieved of the stigma of not giving a befitting funeral to his/her deceased parents in the society. 3. economic gain: there is also economic gain on the part of the celebrant as the invitees who attend the funeral aids and sympathize with the bereaved through donations of money and food items. 4. social status: funeral ceremony is also to show the status of the celebrant in the society looking at the categories of people that attend the funeral. the celebrant uses the opportunity to invite his/her social groups such as clubs, group of meetings in his/her environment to support the bereaved and this reintegrates the society. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 250 reasons for discontinuityof funeral ceremonies: there may be good reasons why funeral ceremonies are done in our society, but there are also areas where the ceremonies are disadvantageous: 1. show of status: the expression of social solidarity to reintegrate the society has deviated from the sympathetic support expected from people to the bereaved. this is because funerals are now turned to a period of picnic and merriment. 2. financial waste: a lot of money is spent on expensive coffin, group uniforms (committee of friends) assorted drinks and funeral attires. the quest for social recognition and popularity made many people to give their deceased expensive funeral which lead to over spending above their capacity just to impress the society. the expensive nature of funerals has led many people to engage in all sorts of unwholesome practices such as looting, dubious business activities, ritual practices and even selling their family land in order to get money for funeral ceremony. funeral rites are costly and held in high esteem which leads to untold sorrows arising from expensive funeral ceremonies. 3. the influence of technology: the agents of change such as technology have added to the expensive nature of funerals in udenu local government area of enugu state such as mortuary bills, life-band, funeral advertisement, obituary announcement, printing of invitation cards, posters, decorations etc. this agent of change has affected the mode of death announcement which was done by firing canon shots, and burial has been replaced by mortuary deposition and corpse returned by ambulance car and undertakers who carried corpse and displayed round the road to the deceased’s church and compound. 4. spending on the living not the dead: another area of probable discontinuity of funeral ceremony can be anchored on the fact that most deceased die as a result of lack of proper care. however, during funerals, the most expensive beds are used to prepare and decorate the corpse, renovation of the deceased house and compound within a short period of time. most people in udenu local government area of enugu state partake in expensive funeral ceremonies due to societal expectation which lead both the rich and the poorest among the people to resort to borrowing in order to ‘do it like others’, display wealth instead of the bereaved mourning and learning from the life of the deceased when on earth. recommendations igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 251 1. reduce unnecessary expenditure so as to focus attention on the education and well-being of the wife/wives and children of the deceased. since the motive of funeral rites given to the deceased by his relatives is to make him belong to his ancestral home and to have a good rest in the world beyond; it is advisable that the method used by the bereaved to send the deceased to his spiritual home must be checked and minimized so that the living members of the family will not over spend thus accumulating debt.reduce wastages: the funeral ceremony should be planned in such a way that the bereaved should not waste their resources unnecessarily for food, drinks and other things used for the ceremony. this is because food and drinks that is meant for the needy amongst us are given to pigs or even thrown away in name of funeral ceremony. 2. the communities in udenu should limit the number of days umuada spend for mourning so that they can engage in other useful ventures. 3. elders should warn and place sanctions on the expensive coffins and groups who sow uniforms andshould spell out punishment for defaulters who disobey the sanctions above. 4. proper care must be given to our relations while they are alive than waiting for them to die inorder to spend huge sum of money to show off in the society in the name of funeral ceremony. 5. the period of mourningby the widow or widower of the deceased should be minimized to enable the bereaved have a continued life after the loss of a loved one. 6. sanctions should be melted on those that fight or quarrel during funerals. conclusion death is inevitable to human race and everybody must be ready and prepared to face the bullet of death anytime no matter your age, sex or races. death is natural which put an end to all earthly plans, dreams, desires and endeavours and whatever had a beginning must end up somewhere. it is believed that after the cessation of life, the body must decompose to mother-earth to avoid odour which will saturate the environment of those alive. it is advisable that the family of the deceased must bury the dead which is one of the corporal works of mercy. this is an important assignment to be done to the deceased in form of befitting burial (to bury the dead or lay the person to rest). also, after laying the person to rest, certain arrangements are made to make sure that the deceased joined his ancestors in form of second burial which should be elaborate than the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 252 decomposition of the corpse of the deceased in the mortuary. this is the point where overspending comes to replace the mourning of the deceased by the bereaved relatives. it is important to note that funeral ceremony given to the deceased by the relatives is to honour the dead person and to perform the necessary rite that send the dead to the land of the ancestors since they believed that human beings are indestructible after death and becomes ghosts while the prominent ones become ancestral spirits who will be honoured and petitioned as invisible leaders of their community. oral interviews s/ n name sex age occupati on date place intervie wer 1 ugwuoke mathias m 80yr s mason 22/2/16 ohulorobollo researcher 2 ezeokwor agnes f 70yr s trader 24/2/16 iheakpu obollo researcher 3 mama ann f 58yr s farmer 11/3/16 obollo eke researcher 4 ugwuoke martins m 62yr s mason 28/4/16 orba researcher 5 onyishi cyprian ezeugwu m 87yr s retired civil 2/3/16 umuafia, orba researcher 6 onyishi ogbunwasogw a m 90yr s elder 4/4/201 6 orba researcher 7 odo ugwu m 85yr s elder 10/4/20 16 ezimo researcher 8 ojobor eze m 80yr s elder 5/5/201 6 imilikeagu researcher 9 ogbu regina f 85yr s elder 26/6/20 16 imilikeenu researcher igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 253 references achebe, c. (1986). the world of the ogbanje. enugu: forth dimention. amadi, e. (1982). ethics in nigerian culture. london: heinemann. anyacho, e. (2005). essential themes in the study of religion. obudu: niger link arinze, e (1970) sacrifice in igbo religion. ibadan: university press. basden, g.t. (1982). among the igbo of nigeria. onitsha: university publishing co. beller, r. (2001).life, person and community in africa. way towards inculturation with the spirituality of focolara. nairobi: paulines. ejizu, c.i. (2013). the phenomenological perspective” research in humanities.portharcourt: uniport press. ezekwugo, c.m. (1992). philosophical concept, exorcism, religiousity, metaphysics: the stolen legacy ofafrican heritage. enugu: agathar series publishers ltd. gehman, r.j. (2008). african traditional religion in the light of the bible. bukeuru: african christian textbooks. ifesieh, e.i (1989). religion at the grass roots (studies in igbo religion) enugu: fourth dimensions publishers. igbo, p.c (2012). elements of igbo culture and tradition. onitsha: elites publishers. ilogu, e. (1985) christianity and igbo culture. onitsha: university press. kanu i. a. (2015b). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2010). towards an african cultural renaissance. professor bassey andah journal of cultural studies. volume 3, pp. 146-155. kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kyria, k. o (2012).the man olenyi. enugu: university of nigeria press limited. madu, j.e (1996). fundamentals of religious studies. calabar: franedoh maduboku, l (1994) igbo world view in bigard theological studies bt vol. 14, no2 july-dec. mkpa, m.a. (2001). social and cultural system in nigeria.in ofuebe, c (e.d).dynamics of social studies (pp 105-127) enugu: new generation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 254 nehering, a. (2016). burial rites of the igbo culture” retrieved from http://www.people of over everydaylife.com/burial-rites-igbo-culture on 10/10/2017. nwogu, m; ubani, m; ogbonnaya o; and obella, o; (2014) “elaborate nature of funerals in igbo land”. the leadership newspaper retrieved from htt://www.leadership.ng/features/396431/elaborate-nature-funeralsigbo. on 20/3/2017. ogbukagu, n.t (1997). traditional igbo beliefs and practices.a study on the culture and people of adazi-nnukwu. owerri: novelty. okaba, b (1999). change and continuities in fenural celebrations.evidence from the mein-ijo of western niger delta of nigeria. ins. okodutu (ed) selected issues in third world development crisis from nigeria. (pp. 264) portharcourt.paragraphics onuoha, e 1987.four constratin world views, enugu: empress publishing company ltd. rando, t.a (1991). “grieving: how to go on living when someone you loved dies” random house publishing groups. ugwu, c.o.t and ugwueye, l.e. (2004).african traditional religion.a prolegomenon. lagos: merit inter press. www.udenu.en.gov.ng 20/10/2009. retrieved 23/3/16. microsoft word igwebuike journals vol. 5. no. 7.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 164 a review of kanu anthony’s “igwebuike as the ontological precondition of african ethics” nnoruga james, ph.d department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe university, awka anambra state nnorugajames@gmail.com the need for african ethics is very important now that onslaught of modernism and its allies have influenced what is left of african values and morals. so there is need to take again a critical survey for proper re-interpretation, re-construction and re-situating african ethics to suite africans in their world view. this is against the view of some foreigners who visited african continent especially during the colonial era, with the view that africans do not have any sense of morality. but okafor (1974) strongly argued against this, the ancient african was far from being an abode of laissez-faire morality. there were strict moral principles and determined code of conduct. customs laid down the code of law which established the nature of rightdoings and custom established penalties and taboos against malefactors. moral sanctions were mainly religious sanctions and these metaphysical sanctions were truly effective. (p. 25). having seen what morality is in africa and how it forms integral and inseparable part of the african culture, one cannot say that there is no morality in africa. on the paper under review by kanu, he is asserting that the concept of igwebuike which is a newly igbo-african humanistic philosophy of interrelatedness and interconnectedness, places communalism as the “kpim” or hob of african ethics or to put it in his own way, “igwebuike places communalism at the heart of african ethics”. the paper is divided into five basic parts: introduction, african ethics, igwebuike as an ethics of a shared humanity, igwbuike and the essence of being human and conclusion. in the introduction of this paper, one obviously found out that african ethics unlike european ethics has not received elaborate attention, investigation and clarification. this according to kanu “makes it an area of study that requires an in-depth analysis and interpretation” (p. 1). this is very important in order to project african ethics to the world just like others. though igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 165 efforts have been made by african thinkers to articulate and integrate some acts or behaviours in african culture for maintenance of law and order. kanu here adopts the igwebuike concepts to affirm and enhance the idea that the indigenous people through their world views places the life communalism as the way to advance and situate better the african ethics. a working definition of ethics is giving in this part of paper by many authors relating to the subject matter being morality, which is also being used interchangeably with ethics. in all the definitions posited by many authors about human conduct, kanu aptly posited one question which in a way summarized all the definition given on the subject matter, which is “what theories are right or wrong in evaluating human action? (p.2). this is very important because what is right attitude or character may be wrong in another place or at another time. but kanu immediately avers that through the relationship between ethics and epistemology, which establishes that the purpose of studying ethics is to ensure that human behavior confirms to the norms of social behaviour. for harmonious relationship is required in a community. kanu, therefore came up with african ethics which is an ethics “that is embedded in the ideas and beliefs of the african people as regards to what is right or wrong, what is good or bad character” (p. 2). this right attitude or character will be the one that bring about social harmony cooperative fairness among the people in the community. african ethics that is based on salient features of african world view certainly is different from western ethics. according to kanu, the western ethnologists, sociologists, anthropologists and even missionaries argued that africans do not have a sense of morality because in their moral theory, the social order is mere conformity with conventionalized behavior while for the africans, morality and moral laws are based on belief and unshakable principles tied to their world view. igwebuike as an ethics of shared humanity is a virgin area of study which are being explored by few scholars. kanu explained in detail the meaning of igwebuike, its origin and formation both as a word or sentence. it is deeply rooted within the african indigenous epistemology culture and tradition. igwebuike as a new concept reveals a kind of dynamics found in african reality which is based on the relationships and interconnections. igwebuike being wholistic in nature encompasses reciprocity, dignity, harmony and humanity in the interests of building and maintain human community. it reflects a community based morality; this makes character very central to african ethics, for character is learnt and taught in the community for harmonious living. without this igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 166 harmonious living there will be discovering in the community because one has character can bring disorder in the society. hence, this is why it is strongly believed, practiced and expressed proverbially in igboland thus: when one finger touches oil is spreads to all the rest fingers. sequel to the above, the community has the responsibility of rooting out evil done by an individual or group. kanu posited an african proverb to support the above which says: a kinsman who strays into evil must first be saved from it by all, then afterwards be questioned on why and how he dared stray into it to start with. with this above, it means that taboos have a strong community dimension; hence all community joins hand in fighting against it for the survival of the community. the fourth part is igwebuike and the essence of being human; here kanu recognises three attributes of being human namely: human dignity, human equality and universal brotherhood/sisterhood. the dignity of the human life is based on its relationship with the divine because all life comes from god. the igbo thus will give their children names indicating that life comes or belongs to god. the african idea of human equality is directly linked to her concept of god as the father of all. equality in africa perspective is not placing everyone on the same level but giving everyone his/her due place, hence there exists in africa sense of respect. universal brotherhood/sisterhood is a moral concept that points to the relationship between human persons with common interests and goals. this perception of human person being related to the other makes one to see the other as his or her brother or sister. there is respect and love among africans because of, universal family of humankind. in conclusion, having seen igwebuike as the key to the interpretation and understanding of africa ethics, one may be afraid that since igwebuike is new concept in the field of research, can its principles be sustained or will it faze out like other developed principles or concepts in the future. in developing african ethics, can we hinge everything about african ethics to igwebuike bearing in mind that majority or crowd does not always have the answer to solutions to problems. bibliography kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 167 kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and and logic (nka) of african philosophy”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2015a). a hermeutic approach to the study of african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015b). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no. 1.[ 97-101]. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 6.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 135 igwebuike philosophy and religious pluralism: in search for a relational balance chukwunonso egbedike, osa seton hall university faculty of arts south orange, new jersey chinosoaustin@yahoo.com abstract diversity within the parameters of religion has become more obvious in our time than ever. this diversity, however, does not consist of a variety of independent religious and faith systems existing side by side. rather, it consists of a multiplicity of commitments, which constitutes the matrix of a broad religious pluralism. within this matrix, different and often conflicting religious commitment struggle for identity as they coexist and strive to find a hermeneutical principle through which to interpret meaningfully the interrelationship of differing beliefs and life patterns. this paper argues that dialogue would pave the way for understanding and dealing with the problems associated with diversity in society. for the purpose of realizing this balance, the igwebuike method of research would be employed. since igwebuike philosophy emphasizes the intersubjectivity, interconnectedness and complementarity of reality, it is envisioned that it will refocus attention on the unity in the midst of the plurality of reality. with dialogue, contemporary religious groups could relate positively with each other toward an ever-unfolding discovery of themselves in a religiously pluralistic society, through building community and celebrating differences, healing pain and building understanding, resolving conflicts and positive actions towards co-existence in a pluralistic society. keywords: igwebuike, philosophy, religious pluralism, relational, balance, christian, muslim. introduction religious diversity is an acknowledged cultural and historical fact today. this diversity, however, consists of a variety of independent religious and faith systems existing side by side. thus, different and often conflicting religious commitments, struggle for identity, etc., as they coexist have become inevitable163. today, there are a variety of approaches investigating the 163see alister e. mcgrath, the challenge of pluralism for the contemporary christian church,’ lournal of the evangelical theological society 35 (1992), p.361. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 136 complexity of religious phenomena. such approaches and strategies range from different sorts of independent religious experiences to suggestions about consensus within the differences. nevertheless, there is found in all approaches and strategies either an intuitive urge or some recognized need that leads to a form of “interfaith dialogue.” the stated purposes of interfaith dialogue vary according to those involved in this dialogue. in the main, however, there are five purposes. a. first, dialogue provides a way of understanding someone’s religious commitment. it allows one to give and receive information, to “get the facts” and thereby to understand. b. second, dialogue seeks consensus. with this purpose dialogue attempts to find common ground mutuality, if not agreement in the different religious groups. that common ground could be any number of elements with given religious systems. c. third, dialogue invites conversation about differences in integrity of all elements in the religious system that can be established more firmly and the believer’s identity established more correctly. d. fourth, dialogue affords opportunity for reconciliation among people and groups that have conflicting beliefs, lifestyles, and rituals. this purpose, like the second, may find expression both practically and theoretically in the conjunction of religious symbols and in their cultural expression. e. fifth, dialogue assumes that a vital religious pluralism is the matrix in which truth is sought, claimed, and translated into historically and culturally defined beliefs and patterns of life. in this paper, igwebuike philosophy is employed as an approach to the phenomenon of religious pluralism. since igwebuike philosophy emphasizes the intersubjectivity, interconnectedness and complementarity of reality, it is envisioned that it will refocus attention on the unity in the midst of the plurality of reality. and a fundamental element of igwebuike philosophy is dialogue. it argues that dialogue paves the way for understanding and dealing with the problems associated with religious exclusivity in contemporary society. religious experience: the current issue religious experience is always characterized by asset of beliefs or teachings, rituals for expressing these beliefs in the community of faith, and lifestyle patterns for living out beliefs and rituals in the broader social community. usually the beliefs are understood to come from the object of one’s religious igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 137 orientation, a supreme being or value, and are described as a revelation. rituals are the result of human ways of perceiving, organizing, and interpreting revelation, and thereby offer primary anthropological and sociological data for studying and knowing about the religious experience. thus, the lifestyle pattern would involve an intersection of the religious commitment of one community with the society in general in such a way as to raise the fundamental question of norms for social intercourse broadly conceived. such patterns would describe the meaning of ethical conduct which i think is the primary principles for authentic living in a pluralistic society.164 the inner vitality of any religious experience and the way it is viewed by society in general depends mainly on how its beliefs, rituals, and lifestyles come together to give it character and definition. these three characteristics of religious experience have to be balance in order to affects the community positively and supportively which in turn lays a credible foundation on which the society is build. now, it is good to note, here, that an imbalance and “unhealthy” religious experience produced distortion and create unprecedented problems for the community and the society. for instance, where belief outweighs attention to ritual and lifestyle, the result is often the “holy war” which is motivated as conviction of superiority and for the sake of dogmatic good. the doctrinal end justifies any ritual or ethical means available. it follows then that the practice of the religious experience is often the cause of its demise in the destruction of individuals and the religious system within the broader society. thus, any imbalance affects both the religious group itself and its social context.165 in a pluralistic society, religious systems inevitably affect each other, especially if they are conversionary in outlook and purpose. in such instances, over attention to beliefs may affect other religious groups adversely. when, for example, convictions about religious particularity or divine election are the primary motivations for conversionary religious groups, there is a high potential for distortion in the lifestyle relationship such groups have with other groups. there is a clear tendency among conversionary groups to teach their beliefs to other people and thus “win them over.” that tendency in itself may represent open discussion in a free society and intend no ill effect or unjust treatment of others. 164 b. a. ackermann, social justice in the liberal state (new haven: yale university press, 1980), p.8. 165 b. a. ackermann, social justice in the liberal state (new haven: yale university press, 1980), p.10. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 138 but it may also be the source of interpersonal improbity in which any means used to convert another person are justified by the end, namely: “winning others over.” more often than not, such tendencies occur in religious groups whose heightened sense of commitment to beliefs overshadows judgments about lifestyle and ritual, producing perceived distortions within the style of the group itself and engenders a “we-they” mentality that can lead to a posture of superiority and its resultant devaluing of the other person’s position and right to that position.166 today we observe new activities among the conversionary or transformational groups represented by some fundamentalist and evangelical organizations to “win others over” with apparent disregard for methods used in the process. in the light of this situation, the needed new balance in the pluralistic religious scene is twofold. it involves not only the former need to balance carefully and intentionalize the belief, lifestyle, and ritual within the group’s own experience so that belief will not overshadow lifestyle and ritual or vice versa, but also the contemporary need to seek a carefully and intentionally balanced relationship in the intercourse of a plurality of religious groups. thus, it is essentially a matter of social influence to make religious groups unsatisfied seeking balance internally but have to seek balance externally by the way they coincide and interact with other groups. this need for new balance, then, emerges as a concern for group ethical conduct in the society. the parameters of that concern are the public domain of beliefs in a pluralistic society and the expression of those beliefs in a lifestyle inevitably touching individuals of different religious commitments.167 igwebuike and the search for a new balance igwebuike was proposed by the nigerian augustinian professor of african philosophy and religion, anthony kanu ikechukwu, a distinguished academicas the unity of the african philosophical experience, which profoundly relates to a perspective driven ideology that epitomizes the manner of being in african ontology. the word igwebuike is an igbo word. it is a composite word made up of three dimensions. therefore, it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: 166 martin e. marty, ‘fundamentalism as a social phenomenon,’ in evangelicalism and modern america, ed. george marsden (grand rapids: eerdmans, 1984), p.56-70. 167 alister e. mcgrath, understanding and responding to moral pluralism (illinois: wheaton college, 1994), p.9. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 139 as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. the three words involved: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power. thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force168. however, it is employed within this context as a basis for the search for a balance in the midst of the plurality or diversity of reality. the igwebuike method of investigation holds that reality is relatedeach aspect relates with the whole. it, therefore, understands reality within the context of relationships and experiences of interrelationships and interconnections. it strongly believes that the points of inter-relationships and interconnectedness are only discovered when the burden of differences are lowered and dialogue prevails. dialogue is a very strong principle of igwebuike philosophy. it understands dialogue as a very important stage in the search for and discovery of the unity of reality. this method of inquiry, therefore, forms a framework capable of harmonizing our thoughts and actions into active processes that balances reality. the interaction between religious groups fames a dialogical process for finding the new balance and a human potential that is open to mutual understanding and growth. hence, the claim that dialogue is the answer to problems in 168 kanu, i. a. (2016) “igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology.” journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3;kanu, i. a. (2016). “igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 2; kanu, i. a. (2017). “igwebuike and the logic of african philosophy.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1; kanu, i. a. (2017). “igwebuike and the question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1; kanu, i. a. (2017). “igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education.” nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6; kanu, i. a. (2017). “igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2; kanu, i. a. (2017). “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment”. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4; kanu, i. a. (2017). “igwebuike as an igbo-african wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 140 interpersonal relations is easily made. what is not so easy is to understand what constitutes dialogue and how dialogue functions to better interpersonal relations. dialogue is intended to be a creative process in which open discussion is the arena for mutual understanding, tolerance, forgiveness and growth. often, the adverse effect results, and interpersonal and religious problems intensify because of personal attitudes that are contrary to the mutuality of dialogical process. igwebuike proposes a dialogical process that aims at recovering conversations over beliefs in such a way that life style patterns are affected through mutual understanding, tolerance and growth. this process involves the interaction of personal commitments with openness on the part of individuals and groups to learn from each other without relinquishing the structures of meaning within their own commitments.169 in the dialogical process, growth takes place in the interaction of beliefs, lifestyle, and rituals within religious systems and across religious lines. an example of this liken dialogical process is found in the faith experience of franz rosenzweig, a jew, and eugen rosenstock-huessy, a christian. they call dialogue “speech king,” a process by which truth is revealed through speech that express the intercommunication of one mind with another. it is conversation, speech set against speech that was the method wherein they discovered their respective identities and a common framework. to this, rosenzweig notes: “in the course of dialogue he who happens to be listening also speaks, but he does not speak merely when he is uttering words, nor even mainly when he is uttering words, but just as much when through his eager attention, through the assent or dissent expressed in his glances, he conjures words to his lips and the lips of the current speaker.”170 igwebuike dialogical process holds that the important thing is not what is in the individual speakers in the dialogue but what together they find between them. individuals discover themselves to each other, meaning emerges through this kind of dialogue. conclusion 169 maurianne adams et al., readings for diversity and social justice 3rd. ed (new york: routledge, 2013), p. 3311-3. 170 glatzer, n.n. franz rosenzweig: his life and thought (new york: shocken, 1953), p. 308. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 141 dialogue is an experience that could lead one to make a religious claim for absolutes instead of making absolute claims historically and culturally in the improbity of social influence among religious groups. understood this way, dialogue could lead from a description of the contemporary religious scene to a prescriptive response to that scene by framing the question of ethics of social influence in the balance of beliefs, lifestyle and rituals within a religious system and among religious groups. dialogue between religious groups could continue even with such difference and be fruitful because “a valuable two-way relationship exists between the religious communities and the pluralistic society, which can be extremely productive.”171 thus, with dialogue, contemporary religious groups could relate positively with each other toward an everunfolding discovery of themselves in a religiously pluralistic society, through building community and celebrating differences, healing pain and building understanding, resolving conflicts and positive actions towards co-existence in a pluralistic society.172 bibliography alister e. mcgrath, the challenge of pluralism for the contemporary christian church,’ lournal of the evangelical theological society 35 (1992), p.361. alister e. mcgrath, understanding and responding to moral pluralism (illinois: wheaton college, 1994), p.9. b. a. ackermann, social justice in the liberal state (new haven: yale university press, 1980), p.8. david m. bossman, reinhold niebuhr, jews, and evangelization (jcst 6016: values for a pluralistic society, 2016), p.49. glatzer, n.n. franz rosenzweig: his life and thought (new york: shocken, 1953), p. 308. kanu, i. a. (2016) “igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology.” journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. kanu, i. a. (2016). “igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 2. 171 prof. david m. bossman, reinhold niebuhr, jews, and evangelization (jcst 6016: values for a pluralistic society, 2016), p.49. 172 maurianne adams et al., op.cit., p.313-4. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 142 kanu, i. a. (2017). “igwebuike and the logic of african philosophy.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. kanu, i. a. (2017). “igwebuike and the question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. kanu, i. a. (2017). “igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education.” nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. kanu, i. a. (2017). “igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment”. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. kanu, i. a. (2017). “igwebuike as an igbo-african wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. martin e. marty, ‘fundamentalism as a social phenomenon,’ in evangelicalism and modern america, ed. george marsden (grand rapids: eerdmans, 1984), p.56-70. maurianne adams et al., readings for diversity and social justice 3rd. ed (new york: routledge, 2013), p. 3311-3. themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology proceedings of an online colloquium on igwebuike philosophy held from 20th january-20th july 2020 ikechukwu anthony kanu (ed.) themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology edited by: ikechukwu anthony kanu first published in 2020 a publication of igwebuike research institute (iri) copyright © 2020 by the igwebuike research institute (iri) all rights reserved: no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or retrieved or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photographic, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the editor isbn: 978-978-985-903-0 13245 trebleclef lane silver spring 20904, maryland, united states of america decication themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology iv dedication mazi emmanuel nwafor kanu in memory of an igwebuike philosopher introduction themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology v introduction the concept igwebuike began first as a methodology and philosophy. gradually, its philosophical elements began to have serious implications for theological discourse, especially with the increasing need to do theology that arises from the philosophy of the african people. such a theology would always have an inescapable element of philosophy, speaking to people in their own native context, because it is expressed in categories of thought that arises out of the philosophy of the african people. this affirms the reality of the link between philosophy and theology, especially regarding the links between the great philosophical questions and the mysteries of salvation which are studied in theology under the guidance of the higher light of faith. in igwebuike theology, theology takes on the form of a bridge that connects the human person who lives within the context of a changing culture to god who is beyond the law of change. the first paper in this collection of essays, focuses on igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe which attempts at building a bridge between two conflicting inheritances or worldviews of the african christian: the western heritage and the heritage of his/her ancestors. this is followed by igwebuike theology of omenani and udi in relation to the understanding of culture as the seed of the word of god, which already pre-existed in africa even before the emergence of the western missionaries. there is also a focus on igwebuike as a traditional mode of communication. igwebuike as a complementary and holistic method of inquiry is also employed in the study of the relationship between the 1883 code of canon law and the second vatican council. this method is employed in the study of the canon law and the holy bible and the relationship between the code of canon law and the catechism of the catholic church. focusing on the scripture, the ninevites' reaction to jonah's preaching of doom (jonah 3:1-10) and the message of unity and harmony in psalm 133 are studied in relation to igwebuike philosophy. introduction themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology vi this piece remains a major contribution to the corpus of literature on igwebuike theology. i, therefore, introduce this piece to all lovers of african theology, culture and philosophy. introduction themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology vii table of contents decication iii introduction iv igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe and the cross-cultural conflicts of the missionary era kanu ikechukwu anthony 1 igwebuike theology of omenani and the crisis of the missionary bifurcation of horizons kanu ikechukwu anthony 19 igwebuike theology of udi: reconciling god’s unchanging revelation with man’s changing culture kanu ikechukwu anthony 39 a glance at traditional modes of communication through the lens of liturgical inculturation: perspectives from igwebuike and shikrot traditions justine john dyikuk 55 the code of canon law and the second vatican council document: an igwebuike perspective stanley igboechesi 81 the code of canon law and the scripture: an igwebuike perspective stanley igboechesi 91 the code of canon law and catechism of the catholic church: an igwebuike perspective stanley igboechesi 99 introduction themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology viii the virtuous ninevites: echoes of igwebuike theology in the narrative analysis of jonah 3:1-10 malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd 109 a narrative analysis of jonah/sailors ironies in jonah 1:1-16: an igwebuike perspective malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd 143 thirdspacing the exile in ezekiel's theology of divine presence and its implications for the abrahamic religions: an igwebuike perspective malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd 179 the lessons of psalm 133 and the principle of unity of igwebuike philosophy naanmiap baamlong, osa 215 igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria maduekwe pius chukwuebuka 233 the inter-personalist ideology of igwebuike in the light of the workings of neurons: an interpersonalitic-neuroscientific inquiry dozie iwuh, osa 275 igwebuike philosophy and solidarity during the era of covid-19 mary winifred gloria eche, dmmm, phd 303 introduction themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology ix igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe and the cross-cultural conflicts of the missionary era themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 1 igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe and the cross-cultural conflicts of the missionary era ikechukwu anthony kanu department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university umunya, anambra state ikee_mario@yahoo.com abstract this piece on igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe has attempted at building a bridge between two conflicting inheritances or worldviews of the african christian: the western heritage and the heritage of his/her ancestors. the researcher attempted doing this with maturity and creativity, and without destabilizing the wholeness of the african christian. it defined igwebuike theology contextually, and the igwebuike concept of culture as a preparation for the gospel, basing this on clement of alexandria’s stromata. this created a basis for an igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe. it argued that until this bridge is built, the word of god cannot be effectively communicatedin such a way that the people hearing the word understand who they are and who others are. it observed that communicating the gospel without building a bridge would rather take people away from themselves, thus, creating a problem of identity. it discovered that the major task of the gospel message, which is the transformation of worldviews and conceptual systems, would not be adequately achieved without ikwa ogwe. igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe, therefore, emphasizes identifying with the people and communicating the message through their categories. the purpose of this study is to make a contribution to the ongoing efforts at mailto:ikee_mario@yahoo.com ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 2 resolving the cross-cultural conflicts of the missionary era. the theoretical framework employed is the igwebuike holistic and complementary understanding of evangelization and culture, which focuses on the bigger picture of reality and believes that all parts of reality are interconnected. keywords: igwebuike, theology, ikwa ogwe, missionary enterprise, culture, conflicts introduction in the 20 th century, with the movements towards political changes leading to independence in many african colonial territories, the quest for theological independence became unavoidable. in the contention of parratt (2001), “it seemed incongruous to african christians that while african nations were becoming independent politically, the church in africa should remain essentially controlled by european missionaries” (p. 2). the late harold macmillan, one time british prime minister (cited in mbefo 1989), remarked about the events of the time thus: we have seen the awakening of national consciousness in people who have for centuries lived in dependence of some other power… in different places it takes different forms, but it is happening everywhere. a wind of change is blowing through this continent, whether we like it or not (p.11). the echoing of the quest for freedom within the walls of the church, as though the struggle for political independence was also a demand for an independent african church, was unavoidable, since the church cannot be spoken of in isolation of the world, for the questions that the church grapples with are the questions raised by and in the world. interestingly, around the same period and within the same context of the search for independence, there was a positive appreciation of igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe and the cross-cultural conflicts of the missionary era themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 3 african traditional beliefs and customs among africans, together with a marked sense of their cultural identity. there was a great impetus from the literary movement in french-speaking africa, popularly known as negritude, which emerged through the study of human sciences, like social or cultural anthropology and sociology, and through the monographs of trained anthropologists and the surveys of scholars such as geoffrey parrinder, among others. the factors that led to a positive appreciation of african traditional beliefs and cultures and the emergence of african theology were not only from within, several external factors also made it possible. such factors include the contribution of some western missionaries who observed a problem with the current method of evangelization and, thus, saw the need for a different approach. these include great african missionaries, like father placid tempels, a belgian priest posted to belgium drc congo where he worked for 29 years, and as a result of his great experience among the congo nation, he developed the bantu philosophy, which was rich and systematic in its presentation. later, missionaries, like bishop sundkler and harold tuner, promoted the study of african christian theology by editing several works done by african theologians (barga, 2012). a second impetus from outside of africa was the second vatican council which has a positive appreciation of local cultures and called for the need for adaptation in all spheres of church life, including theology. the development of igwebuike theology may be considered a third stage in the development of african theology. it is not primarily concerned about the failings of the missionary approach to evangelization, even though it not totality cut off from it. it is not focused on emphasizing the need for an african theology, even though it is a product of that struggle. it rather focuses on attending to the conflicts between the african and western religious cultures in christianity for the purpose of making the christian faith more at home in africa. this study is important as the african church still lives with the consequences of an unresolved religio-cultural conflict ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 4 emerging from the encounter between the missionaries and african culture. to ensure the resolution of the above-established conflict, this piece, therefore, proposes ikwa ogwe (bridge building) as a method in igwebuike theology for the resolving of this conflict so that the gospel brought to africa can become culture, and culture becomes the gospel. the concept ‘igwebuike theology’ igwebuike theology is an attempt to make theology more contextual, and as an african theology, it aims at making the african to understand and enter more deeply into the community where they have been placed by god, and to discern and respond to his presence and action in such a manner that greater witness is born. this is contrary to the model that first kicks off by introducing the african into the world of the evangelizer, that through the world of the evangelizer, the african may discern and respond to god’s presence and actionthis approach leads to conflicts and stunts understanding and appreciation of the faith. igwebuike theology is structured on the incarnate word who became man at a particular place and time. it is contextual and biblical: the bible is made up of various books, written to various people from particular places, and such books are shaped by the particularity and peculiarity of the place, and sometimes requiring the knowledge of the particular place and culture to understand the particular text. this is the spirit that animates igwebuike theology. it takes into cognizance the african worldview and the basic elements of the christian message in african theological discourse. figure 1source: mndende, m. (2013) igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe and the cross-cultural conflicts of the missionary era themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 5 the diagram above from mndende (2013) describes in a pictorial way what evangelization should have done, and if followed, what evangelization in africa should have brought about. evangelization should have taken into cognizance the african culture and religion, which should not only have served as a vehicle for the communication of the christian message, but would have enriched the christian message. if this was taken into consideration in most parts of the missionary engagements with african culture and religion, such an engagement should have given birth to an african christianity. in defining igwebuike theology, it is worthwhile to mention that igwebuike as a concept began as a methodology and philosophy. however, its philosophical elements are beginning to have serious implications for theological discourse, especially with the increasing need to do theology that arises from the philosophy of the african people. such a theology would always have an inescapable element of philosophy, speaking to people in their own native context, because it is expressed in categories of thought that arise out of the philosophy of the african people. thus, the value that the concept igwebuike brings into theology is that it creates a context for theological discussion or reflection, a context that is the african complementary worldview. this notwithstanding, the expression, igwebuike is a combination of three igbo words. it can be understood as a word or a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. literally, igwe is a noun which means ‘number’ or ‘multitude’, usually a large number or population. the number or population in perspective are entities with ontological identities and significances; however, part of an existential order in which every entity is in relation to the other. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is a noun, which means strength or power (kanu, 2016a&b). igwe, bu and ike put together, means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’ (kanu, 2017f). however, beyond the literal sense of igwebuike, it means otu obi (one heart and one soul) – cor unum et anima una. it is used within the igbo linguistic setting to refer to relational engagement in the world, ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 6 accomplished in solidarity and complementarity, and the powerful and insurmountable force therein (kanu, 2017g). the closest words to it in english are complementarity, solidarity and harmony. in this way, igwebuike conceptualizes or captures the nature of the african universe. what igwebuike does is that it captures the nature of the african universe and uses it as a framework for discussions within theology or philosophy. the value that it brings to the table of theological discussions is its emphasis on the african worldview as an indispensable element in any successful african theological discussion. the purpose or relevance of this framework in philosophical or theological discussions is that it makes such a discussion relevant to the african and his/her environment. as such, igwebuike theology would mean the quest to arrive at a unique understanding of faith in christ in such a way that it captures the african worldview and the life circumstances of the african people. only thus will evangelization respond to the inadequacies of the missionary enterprise, give birth to a new african personality, address contextual issues and be in accord with the legitimate aspiration of the african people. the fact of igwebuike theology does not in any way imply a change in the church’s theology it is the same theology, a systematic and scientific discourse on god, presented in such a way that it fits into the african religious, social, anthropological and philosophical realities, mentality and needs. the focus on christ, the scripture and tradition is not altered in any way. they remain the inevitable revelatory agents. this notwithstanding, igwebuike theological approaches include: understanding theology as contextual, that is, a theology of life and culture that is accountable to the context in which the african people live; understanding reality as complementary and interconnected; understanding african traditional religion and culture as a preparation for the gospel message; understanding theology as an enterprise that provides answers to the african person’s innermost and deepest longings, that is, the search for happiness (god). its sources include: the bible, church tradition, african philosophy, religion and culture, african anthropology, and african experiences. igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe and the cross-cultural conflicts of the missionary era themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 7 theoretical framework the theoretical framework employed in this research is the igwebuike holistic and complementary understanding of evangelization and culture. igwebuike as a thought current focuses on the bigger picture of reality and believes that all parts of reality are interconnected. how will this approach affect this study? there are two dimensions to this framework that are relevant to discourses in african theology: 1. igwebuike understands culture as an incomplete enterprise that continues to evolve as long as the human person continues to adapt himself/herself to the environment. when this approach speaks of culture as incomplete, it means that even the christian culture that was brought by the missionaries was not complete and thus needed the african incomplete culture for its completeness. for the grounding of christianity in africa, therefore, the african culture becomes the missing link. while the african culture finds completeness in the christian culture, the christian culture would reach its full potential in the african culture, especially as the african people are involved. the incompleteness of the christian culture here referred to does not speak of the core of the christian faith; it rather refers to the cultural garment in which it was clothed and brought to the african people. 2. within the context of the igwebuike framework which is complementary (kanu 2017), the african culture is understood as not only completing the christian message that has been brought to africa, but makes the christian message richer and more meaningful to the african people than it came. in this sense, the encounter between both cultures has a way of sharpening the different cultural perspectives; that is, if both cultures maintain connection with the resources that are outside of them. in terms of this openness to the other, torrance (1970) writes that: “one becomes human by making use of the energy available from outer sources to become a better integrated personality, to interact at a deeper level with ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 8 the environment, and to achieve greater fulfillment of his potentialities” (p. 10). one loses his/her humanness when he/she is estranged, isolated, rejected, and cut off from other sources of information, inspiration and spiritual strength. this also happens each time a culture denigrates the other rather than allowing the other to enrich her. this framework will provide the need for understanding culture as a preparation for the gospel message and the basis for the igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe, that is, building a bridge between the african culture and the christian message. igwebuike concept of culture as a preparation for the gospel a major problem with the missionary enterprise is the clear gulf that was created between the african religion and culture and the christian message, and the stories created around each that made the possibility of their relationship look like the impossibility of heaven and hell meeting together. rather than understand culture as a disjointed element in relation to the gospel message, igwebuike theology understands it as a preparation for the gospel. the concept of culture as a preparation for the gospel message was analyzed by clement of alexandria at a time and in a culture where philosophy was considered worthless and dangerous for christianity. the african culture was also thought in the same way in relation to christianity. in his work, stromata, clement of alexandria addressed the issue of the relationship between greek philosophy and christianity. this was necessary at a time when christianity had moved into the greek world where neoplatonism was the dominant idea. he argued that pagan philosophy contained seeds of the logos and was given to the greeks by god to prepare them for the coming of christ, just as the law was given to the hebrews for the same purpose (mirus 2015). he writes thus: accordingly, before the advent of the lord, philosophy was necessary to the greeks for righteousness. and now it becomes conducive to piety; being a kind of preparatory training to those who attain to faith through demonstration. "for thy foot," igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe and the cross-cultural conflicts of the missionary era themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 9 it is said, "will not stumble, if thou refer what is good, whether belonging to the greeks or to us, to providence." for god is the cause of all good things; but of some primarily, as of the old and the new testament; and of others by consequence, as philosophy. perchance, too, philosophy was given to the greeks directly and primarily, till the lord should call the greeks. for this was a schoolmaster to bring "the hellenic mind," as the law, the hebrews, "to christ." philosophy, therefore, was a preparation, paving the way for him who is perfected in christ. (strom. 1, 5) his own interpretation of greek philosophy is that it was not only necessary for the greeks as an intellectual enterprise, but very useful in preparing christians to accept the faith, as well as helping them to understand it better and defend it against error. his idea becomes clearer when we understand that the early christian thinkers used neoplatonic concepts to clarify the christian message, thus, using philosophy as a vehicle for conveying the christian message. to give a divine origin to his perspective, clement traced greek philosophy to the prophecy of the old testament. he took his time to show that, through a comparative study, plato learned much from the books of moses. in this, he proved that all wisdom, whether of the jews or the greeks, has a common origin: god. the african culture and religion belong to this category. thus, igwebuike theology of african culture and religion as a preparation for the gospel message points to the fact that african religion and culture, if appreciated, could contribute to the understanding of the christian message to the african, as it would deliver the message within categories that the african would understand. it understands african culture and religion as a gift given to the african people from god. imperfect as it was, it contained great wisdom that kept the african in the path of goodness. this, therefore, creates a basis for the theology of ikwa ogwe (building a bridge) across the chasm created between ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 10 african culture and religion, on the one hand, and the gospel message, on the other hand. igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe ikwa ogwe is taken from the igbo language, and it means to ‘build a bridge’. the igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe is based on the complementary relatedness of the african reality and thought which works by building systems and thoughts as a pre-condition for the attainment of true knowledge and gaining insight into reality. it is within this context that igbo traditional thinkers would say: onye kwa ogwe amara uche ya (when a person builds bridges then you know his/her mind). this means that it is only by establishing connections that you come to understand the reality that is being communicated. understanding reality without recourse to the aspects that make its whole leads to inadequate and dangerous knowledge. the missionary enterprise would have been greater, with less conflict, if such bridges were built across religious cultures. the idea of igwa ogwe brings with it a new reality: the understanding of the search for knowledge as a scientific and systematic, as it involves a system that ensures building knowledge from a solid foundation and then making the connections and strengthening what is known. this cannot be understood better with the modern understanding of building bridges. in igbo traditional societies, bridges were built with bamboo sticks and ropes. this involved standing the bamboo from the ground and connecting different bamboos, taking into cognizance the different angles needed and how the bamboos matched with one another, and then tying them together with rope. it was more of weaving together than just building a bridge. it is this process of making bridges, which follows one step after another (ime ihe na usoro na usoro), that makes igwebuike theology a science. however, according to asouzu (2007): “no matter the way the master-builder builds the bridge, what makes his art useful is its relevance to all users of the bridge and this he does taking cognizance of the multidimensional composition of all bridge users and not in igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe and the cross-cultural conflicts of the missionary era themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 11 consideration of the exclusive rights of some individuals” (p. 125). this has great implications for evangelization among a ‘local’ people and the development of theology. it has to be a theology that is relevant to her users. the missionaries built a theology that was relevant to them while they served as missionaries. however, with the emergence of african theologians, there is the need for the reconstruction of the bridge in such a way that it serves the interest of the african people. the theology of the missionaries lacked the science of weaving together that which is african and that which is christian; and the consequence is that it was not very meaningful to the african people. to refuse to reconstruct the bridge is to await the danger of the collapse of the bridge and everyone would run the risk of being submerged, that is, the collapse of christianity. it is important at this juncture to make reference to the christianity in ethiopia and the christianity in north africa. the major reason why ethiopia remained a christian nation after the attacks of muslim jihadists was because it was a christianity that had taken home in africa: there was a weaving together of basisc elements of the ethiopian religion and culture with the christian faith for the realization of an ethiopian christianity the context of the ethiopian people was put into consideration to the point that it has become their religion and not the white man’s religion. in the case of north africa, which produced some of the finest of the church fathers, christianity collapsed, not just because of the muslim jihadists attacks, but because it was an opportunity for the people to revolt against the romans, a church that taught them in latin rather than in their local language. it was rather a roman church in north africa. this systematic framework of bridge building, beginning first from the foundation of understanding the human person who is involved, makes the mission to have a head and a tale (ihe nwere isi na odu), that is, that which is complete. it is difficult, if not impossible, to administer a message to the people that you do not know. if you do not know a people, how would you then deliver the message through what okonkwo (1998 and 2000) refers to as the press of the people? ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 12 the missionaries built the bridge in such a way that it was so tight that it could not allow for multidimensionality or recognition of the multifarious nature of the bridge users. the consequence is that it has led to chaos in its usage, and in fact this chaos was the basis for the agitation for an african theology and the reconstruction of the missionary approach. this kind of bridge succeeded in blocking communication and stiffening the african church. conclusion africans, as a result of the relationship of centuries that they have had with the west, and the relationship they continue to have with the west through the instrumentality of globalization, have now become a people of two heritages, a kind of a cultural hybrid, the one foreign and the other indigenous. however, our wholeness depends on our ability to handle these inheritances with maturity and creativity. this piece on the igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe is an attempt at building a bridge between the two conflicting inheritances or worldviews. it is regarded as a conflict because of the clash of the two worldviews involved in this historical encounter. such a bridge is possible only when there is a better understanding and appreciation of both religious cultures. to appreciate one and not appreciate the other is the basis of the conflict. igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe and the cross-cultural conflicts of the missionary era themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 13 figure 2: sourceagnati, et al (2013) until this bridge is built, the word of god cannot be effectively communicated in such a way that the people hearing the word understand who they are and who others are. communicating the gospel, without building a bridge, would rather take people away from themselves, thus, creating a problem of identity. the major task of the gospel message, which is the transformation of a people’s worldview and their conceptual system, would not be adequately achieved. ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 14 igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe, therefore, emphasizes identifying with the people and communicating the message through the press of the people or the media of the people, using the language imbued with the people’s ‘mundus sensibilis’ (perceived world) which is indicative of their ‘locus intellectus’ (context for understanding), and putting into consideration the people’s pastoral geography and social physics as the incarnate christ did. the act of building a bridge between both religious cultures is to ensure that the gospel becomes culture and the culture becomes gospel; thus, the gospel message becomes culturally situated, and tongue-dependent. references agnati, f. l. et al (2013). the neurobiology of imagination: possible role of interaction –dominant dynamics and default mode dynamics. frontiers in psychology. vol. 4. art. 296. pp. 1-17. asouzu, i. (2007). ibuanyidanda. new complementary ontology. beyond world-immanentism, ethnocentric reduction and impositions. germany: lit. barga, timothy. a pastoral approach to african christian theology. jos: fab anieh, 2012 clement of alexandria, stromata. fathers of the churchnew advent. translated by william wilson. edited by alexander roberts, james donaldson, and a. cleveland coxe. buffalo, ny: christian literature publishing co., 1885 engineering discoveries (2018). why bamboo is more stronger than steel re-enforcement? retrieved from https://engineeringdiscoveries.com/wpcontent/uploads/2019/11/4d31da0d459a75fc75c62e71fc072 43b.jpg kanu, a. i. (2017c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 7. pp. 165-183. https://engineeringdiscoveries.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/4d31da0d459a75fc75c62e71fc07243b.jpg https://engineeringdiscoveries.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/4d31da0d459a75fc75c62e71fc07243b.jpg https://engineeringdiscoveries.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/4d31da0d459a75fc75c62e71fc07243b.jpg igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe and the cross-cultural conflicts of the missionary era themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 15 kanu, a. i. (2017d). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 6. pp. 16-50. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2019). a hermeneutics of the igbo-african kola-nut as a “type” of holy communion. nnadiebube journal of philosophy vol. 3. no. 2. pp. 27-40. kanu, i. a. (2014a). igbo proverbs as depositum of igbo-african philosophy. international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 4. no. 1. pp. 164-168. kanu, i. a. (2014a). suicide in igbo-african ontology. developing countries studies. vol. 4. no. 5. usa. pp. 27-38. kanu, i. a. (2014b). suffering in igbo-african ontology. research on humanities and social sciences. vol. 4. no. 5. pp. 8-13. kanu, i. a. (2014b). the place of igbo myths in igbo-african philosophy. american journal of contemporary research. vol. 4. no. 2. pp. 98-102. kanu, i. a. (2015). african traditional democracy with particular reference to the yoruba and igbo political systems. ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 16 international journal of philosophy and public affairs. vol. 2. no. 3. pp. 147-160. kanu, i. a. (2015). personal identity and punishment in john locke (a dissertation for the award of master of arts degree in philosophymetaphysics), university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu state. kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (ed.) (2016a). complementary ontology: provocative essays on innocent asouzu’s african philosophy of integration for progressive transformation. germany: lambert academic publishing. kanu, i. a. (ed.) (2016b). ibuanyidanda: a complementary systematic inquiry. reflections on innocent asouzu’s african philosophy. germany: lambert academic publishing. kanu, i. a. (2016). igbo-african christology: a cultural christological construct in post-missionary africa. germany: lambert publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). african traditional folk songs as dialogue between education and entertainment. cambridge international journal of contemporary education research. 6. 6. pp. 53-64. mbefo, l. n. (1989). towards a mature african christianity. enugu: spiritan publications. mirus, thomas v. (2015). church fathers: clement of alexandria, part i. catholiic cultuture.org.https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/ar ticles.cfm?id=655 mndende, m. (2013). law and religion in south africa: an african traditional perspective. ngtt journal. vol. 54. no. 4 okonkwo, j. i. (1998). folks-media and the new era of evangelisation: the igbo perspective, in: communication https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/articles.cfm?id=655 https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/articles.cfm?id=655 igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe and the cross-cultural conflicts of the missionary era themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 17 socialis: international zeitschrift fur kommunication in religion, kirche und gesselschaft, salzburg okonkwo, j. i. (1998). oramedia-traditions and the igbo question in nigeria: a philosophy of identity, in gehlaar, s. (ed.), prima philosophia, cuxhaven-dartford okonkwo, j. i. (2000). language and evangelisation: the challenges of the igbo pastor, in okonkwo, j. (ed). pastoral language and evangelisation. enugu, fourth dimension publishers parratt john (2001). a reader in african christian theology. new edition. great britain: spck spanneut, m (2004). clement of alexandria. encyclopedia.com. https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/philosophy-andreligion/roman-catholic-and-orthodox-churches-generalbiographies/clement-alexandria torrance e. p. (1970). what it means to become human. in scoby m and graham g. (eds.). to nurture humanness (pp. 3-13). washington, association for supervision and curriculum development. https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/philosophy-and-religion/roman-catholic-and-orthodox-churches-general-biographies/clement-alexandria https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/philosophy-and-religion/roman-catholic-and-orthodox-churches-general-biographies/clement-alexandria https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/philosophy-and-religion/roman-catholic-and-orthodox-churches-general-biographies/clement-alexandria igwebuike theology of omenani and the crisis of the missionary bifurcation of horizons themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 19 igwebuike theology of omenani and the crisis of the missionary bifurcation of horizons ikechukwu anthony kanu department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university umunya, anambra state ikee_mario@yahoo.com abstract african theology points to the fact that every particular situation or context calls for a particular theological reflection, that is, if the theological reflection is to make meaning within that unique circumstance. it is within this context that the igwebuike theology of omenani emerges in relation to the understanding of culture as the seed of the word of god, which already pre-existed in africa even before the emergence of the western missionaries. the purpose of adopting this idea of culture as the seed of the word of god is to enhance the reconciliation between the african and christian/western ’worldhoods’. this piece presented the african culture as an important element in evangelization in africa, as it is the spirit that animates the african people. it further emphasized the indispensability of integrating the african worldview in the communication of the gospel to the people of african. it, therefore, located the seed of the word of god in the omenani (the law of the land) of the african people through which they were able to achieve holiness, even before the advent of the gospel. it observed that the failures of the missionary enterprise were majorly because of missionaries’ lack of openness to the african religion and culture. the identification of omenani as the seed of mailto:ikee_mario@yahoo.com ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 20 the word of god showed that culture is not an enemy of the gospel, but an instrument for its transmission.. the purpose of this study is to bridge the bifurcation created by the missionaries between the christian and african ‘worldhoods’. the theoretical framework employed in this research is the igwebuike sympathetic and non-derogatory framework, which emphasizes evangelization with a sense of understanding. it is a polite and humane approach, and excludes the influences of bias in the process of knowing and relationship. keywords: omenani, logos spermatikos, culture, african, igbo, evangelization, igwebuike introduction african theologians are agreed that the religious invasions in africa, among other experiences, have made the african homeless at home. even the theologians, who had the privilege of going to europe to study theology at the feet of european theologians during the missionary era, have discovered that to make a distinctive meditation upon faith in christ in such a way that it does justice to the life circumstances of the african christian would not be possible without executing a dismantling and an appropriate reconstruction; in this way, making theology fit into the african reality and christianity at home in africa. this notwithstanding, the question looming at the horizon is: how can the church be more and more at home in africa and africa more and more at home in the church? pope paul vi (cited in mbefo 1989) asks: does the church in africa retain a certain christian religious form that was brought in from outside and which makes her, as it were, a stranger and pilgrim among her people? should new and more suitable means be sought in theology and in pastoral practice? (p. 9) igwebuike theology of omenani and the crisis of the missionary bifurcation of horizons themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 21 these questions, among others, led to the emergence of african theology in the twentieth century. as it is with the emergence of new concepts, with the introduction of the concept “african theology”, there arose the question of the limits of its content and meaning. the need for conceptualization was necessary, not because of the need to give the rightful place to african culture and worldview, but to what extent this should be included in relation to the substance of the faith. in the midst of these discussions, dickson (1984) defines african theology thus: the expression ‘african theology’ is not a slogan of vindication and whatever its popular use might connote, it is not meant to be simply an amalgamation of christian and traditional belief elements; the aim of those involved in the quest is to arrive at a distinctive meditation upon faith in christ that does justice to the life circumstances of the african (p. 122). this concept of african theology points to the fact that every particular situation or context calls for a particular theological reflection, that is, if the theological reflection is to make meaning within that unique circumstance or environment. it is within this context that the igwebuike theology of omenani emerges, in relation to the understanding of culture as the seed of the word of god, which already pre-existed in africa, even before the emergence of western missionaries. the purpose of adopting this idea of culture as the seed of the word of god is to enhance the reconciliation between the african and the western perspectives. it presents the african culture as an important element in evangelization in africa, as it is the spirit that animates the african. it emphasizes the indispensability of integrating the african worldview in the communication of the gospel to the african people. this paper further locates the seed of the word of god in the omenani (the law of the land) of the african people through which they were able to achieve holiness, even before the advent of the gospel. ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 22 defining igwebuike theology the concept, igwebuike, began first as a methodology and philosophy. gradually, its philosophical elements began to have serious implications for theological discourse, especially with the increasing need to do theology that arises from the philosophy of the african people. such a theology would always have an inescapable element of philosophy, speaking to people in their own native context, because it is expressed in categories of thought that arise out of the philosophy of the african people. this affirms the reality of the link between philosophy and theology, especially regarding the links between the great philosophical questions and the mysteries of salvation which are studied in theology under the guidance of the higher light of faith (kanu, 2010). pope lee xiii makes a connection between philosophy and theology: philosophy if rightly made use of by the wise, in a certain way tends to smooth and fortify the road to true faith, and to prepare the souls of its disciples for the fit reception of revelation; for which reason is well called by ancient writers sometimes a stepping stone to the christian faith; sometimes the help and prelude of christianity, sometimes the gospel teacher (p. 1). in igwebuike theology, theology takes on the form of a bridge that connects the human person who lives within the context of a changing culture to god, who is beyond the law of change. while this bridge is the message, for it to reach the human person, it requires the agency of revelation and culture. revelation without culture would be a message that is not understood. culture is the symbolic network of meanings through which the human person interprets the world. as such, any message from god must come through cultural symbols. theology, therefore, becomes a dialogue between revelation and culture; the level of this dialogue would determine the level of absorption of the christian message. below is a bridge illustration of theology to help convey this point. igwebuike theology of omenani and the crisis of the missionary bifurcation of horizons themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 23 figure 1source: missionmusings (2017) this notwithstanding, igwebuike is a combination of three igbo words. it can be understood as a word or a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. literally, igwe is a noun, which means ‘number’ or ‘multitude’, usually a large number or population. the number or population in perspective are entities with ontological identities and significances; however, part of an existential order in which every entity is in relation to the other. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is a noun, which means strength or power (kanu, 2016a&b). igwe, bu and ike put together, means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’ (kanu, 2017f). however, beyond the literal sense of igwebuike, it means otu obi (one heart and one soul) – cor unum et anima una. it refers to the relational engagement in the world, accomplished in solidarity and complementarity, and the powerful and insurmountable force therein (kanu, 2017g). the closest words to it in english are complementarity, solidarity and harmony. in ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 24 this way, igwebuike conceptualizes or captures the nature of the african universe. thus, what igwebuike does is that it captures the nature of the african universe and uses it as a framework for discussions within the enterprise of theology. the value that it brings to the table of theological discussions is its emphasis on the african worldview as an indispensable element in any successful african theological discussion and missionary enterprise. this makes theological discussions relevant to the african and his/her environment. igwebuike theology is a quest to arrive at a unique understanding of faith in christ in such a way that it captures the african worldview and the african’s life circumstances. only thus will evangelization respond to the inadequacies of the missionary enterprise, give birth to a new african personality and be in accord with the legitimate aspirations and concerns of the african people. igwebuike theology does not in any way imply a change in the church’s theologyit is the same theology, a systematic and scientific discourse on god, presented in such a way that it fits into the african religious, social, anthropological and philosophical realities, mentality and needs. the focus on christ, the scripture and tradition is not altered in any way. they remain the inevitable revelatory agents. as a result of the uniqueness of igwebuike theology, it has peculiar approaches, which include: understanding theology as contextual, that is, a theology of life and culture that is accountable to the context in which the african people live; understanding reality as complementary and interconnected; understanding african traditional religion and culture as preparation for the gospel message; understanding theology as an enterprise that provides answers to the african person’s innermost and deepest longings, that is, the search for happiness (god). its sources include: the bible, church tradition, african philosophy, religion and culture, african anthropology and african experiences. igwebuike theology of omenani and the crisis of the missionary bifurcation of horizons themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 25 theoretical framework the theoretical framework employed in this research is the igwebuike sympathetic and non-derogatory framework in evangelization. it emphasizes evangelization with a sense of understanding. it is polite and humane, and excludes the influences of bias in the process of knowing. it is sympathetic and non-derogatory to that which is within the circumference of the other. okonkwo (1998 & 2019), taking from the encounter between paul and the athenians in acts of the apostles, describes the sympathetic and non-derogatory approach. paul, the missionary per excellence, though he was so exasperated at the sight of athens, an idol-ridden pantheistic city and people, did not, prima facie, condemn neither the idols nor the people. rather, he adopted a secular wisdom and intellection and called the ‘idol-riddenpantheistic athenians’ “a god-fearing and extremely scrupulous people in religious matters” (act, 17:23). paul did not gloss-over their religious and cultural values; rather, he showered understanding on them. st. paul, after his polite and humane method of meeting with foreigners – the gentiles, he still was vehement and firm in his solemn proclamations in the condemnation of false gods and idolatry. this same sympathetic and non-derogatory approach we find in jesus, the apostles and the church fathers. in sowing the seed of the gospel, they had respect for other peoples’ cultures. jesus and his apostles came from the jewish background whose religiosity, prayers and practices of worship were well-defined. however, jesus’ attitudes toward the jewish cult were represented in two categories: fidelity and autonomy. in fidelity, jesus had respect for the traditions of his time. he came not to abolish the law and the prophets but to fulfill them (matthew 5:17). he was faithful in observing the offering of sacrifices in the temple (matthew 21:12), the service of words in the synagogue (matthew 6:6), observing the day of the sabbath, the feasts of passover, tabernacle, and dedication (matthew 26:17-19). however, his fidelity did not lie in passivity, but represented that of a “critical yes”, a reforming fidelity that placed a demand of purification on the ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 26 worship of its time. his autonomy found expression in his challenge to fellow jews to spiritualize and interiorize the jewish religion, and in this process, he was giving birth to the era of christian worship. when jesus preached the gospel, he used categories familiar to his audience. we hear of absentee lords and tenant revolts (matthew 21:31-45), small family-run farms (matthew 21:28-30), debts and debtors (matthew 18:25-35), extortion and corruption (luke 16:1-9), uncaring rich (luke 12:18), day labourers paid merely subsistent wages (matthew 20:1-6). these graphically reflect the detail of the picture of palestinian countryside during his time. st paul wrote, “to the jews i became a jew, in other to win jews… i have become all things to all men that i might by all means save some” (philippians 9:20 & 22). in the opinion of metuh (1996), st paul was talking about missiology, and at the same time using the language of contextual theology in which lies the theology of inculturation: bringing the christian experience into the culture of the people, a process that makes alive the dynamic and eternal motion of the incarnation. freyne (1980) observes how st paul criss-crossed the mediterranean world on sea and land with the good news of christ vying for the souls of the masses with religious leaders and philosophers. any contemporary missionary will testify to the value of paul’s acquaintance with the language of the people and his ability to share many of their assumptions with them. after jesus, dulles (1983) observes that his apostles continued to employ the same model in their attempt to bring the good news to the peoples of their time. with the conversion and subsequent mission of st paul to the gentiles, so many of them were converted to christianity and there now arose the question as to whether to allow the gentiles to become christians without imposing on them the law of circumcision held in high esteem by the jews. this called for the council of jerusalem between 4950ad. the judaizers held that circumcision, as contained in the old testament, was necessary for salvation, while st paul and his followers maintained that all that was igwebuike theology of omenani and the crisis of the missionary bifurcation of horizons themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 27 needed for salvation was faith in jesus and baptism in his name (acts 15). according to schineller (1991), peter’s position which agreed with paul’s, prevailed, and it was decided not to lay extra burdens on the gentile converts. because of this liberating decision, the mission of paul continued with great success, and the church expanded far beyond the borders of palestine. one did not first have to become jewish before becoming a christian. (p. 30). this sympathetic and non-derogatory approach points to the importance of beginning from where the people are and what they know to where they need to be or need to know. jesus began with worshipping the jewish way, and taught the people within the contexts of the jewish categories. he did not begin with condemnation or looking down on the people. in the same way, saint paul began with addressing the athenians as religious people. in relation to the missionary enterprise in africa, this framework would advocate the missionary first discovering the seed of the word of god within a particular culture, rather than condemnation of the culture of the people. african culture as the seed of god’s word during the 2 nd century, christianity had moved beyond the walls of jerusalem to the greek and roman territories, with the challenge of christianity coming face to face with other religious and cultural traditions outside of judaism. this required a more dynamic method of evangelisation that does not in any way compromise the gospel message. rather than a radical rejection of greek culture, they indulged in a great appreciation and partial acceptance of the greek culture as a starting point for their sowing of the seed of the gospel. although they were primarily christian theologians, they employed greek culture and philosophy for the service of the gospel. they found philosophical themes and concepts useful for developing and clarifying the christian message. ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 28 at the time that these christian thinkers brought the message to the greeks, neo-platonism, a revival of platonic philosophy, was at its peak. these christian thinkers found neo-platonism a useful tool for the explanation of christian doctrines. prominent among these christian writers were: justine martyr, clement of alexandria, gregory of nyssa, origen, augustine, among others. according to omoregbe (1997): these men christianized neoplatonism by giving christian interpretation to certain theme and concepts in neoplatonic philosophy, such as logos, the divine mind, creation, the soul, the problem of evil, the problem of the universal and the particular, the problem of man’s freedom and god’s foreknowledge, etc. (p. 93) they were, therefore, the first, outside of the apostles, to raise the problem of the relationship between the doctrinal tradition of the church and other cultures outside of jerusalem. however, more interesting is the position taken by justine martyr on this matter, when he tried to engraft stoic concept of the logos into christian revelation. justine, in his analysis of natural law, linked it to his concept of man. he saw man as composed of three distinct parts: body (σώμα, soma), soul (ψυχή, psyche), and spirit (πνεύμα, pneuma). he used the term ζωτικόν πνεύμα (zotikon pneuma), in latin (spiritus vitalis) to describe the spiritual dimension of the human person. the ζωτικόν πνεύμα, he understands as the divine principle in human beings, the distinguishing feature of his nature, his unique dignity and as a participation in the very life of the logos, and so he calls it the "seed of the word" or “reason in man”, in greek, the σπερματικός λόγος (spermaticos logos) and in latin, the ratio seminalis. through the σπερματικός λόγος, the divine principle in the human person, humanity was able to govern itself and pursued virtue, even before the coming of christianity. this divine principle, he argues, has an intimate connection with the divine logos, the word of god. in every human being, st. justin martyr believed, "there is a divine particle, his reason, which at least before christ's coming was human igwebuike theology of omenani and the crisis of the missionary bifurcation of horizons themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 29 person's best guide in life" (ap. ii 10.8). this created a burden in human beings to live in accordance with reason and not against or without reason. by this, the human person participated in divine reason, which formed his fundamental law. through this reason, human beings, without express faith in christ, already experienced christ the logos at work in them (lex christianorum 2010). he writes: we have been taught that christ is the first-born of god, and we have declared . . . that he is the word of whom every race of men were partaken, and those who lived reasonable are christians, even though they have been thought atheists.” (apol. i, 46.1-4) he writes further that: all right principles that philosophers and lawgivers have discovered and expressed, they owe to whatever of the word they have found and contemplated in part. the reason why they have contradicted each other is that they have not known the entire word, which is christ. (apol. ii, 10.1-3) in his use of the concept ‘logos’, st. justin martyr was certainly not viewing these logoi spermatokoi, these divine sparks in human beings, as being of the same substance (homoousios), as the divine logos itself, though they clearly share in his mind, in some insubstantial, created, and relatively distant sense, in the divinity of the logos (homoiousious). an image which scholars have used to explain st. justin martyr's concept of logos sparmatikos is plato's chariot allegory of the soul. in his dialogue, phaedrus (sections 246a 254e), plato uses the allegory of a chariot to explain his view of the human soul. plato describes the inner workings of the human being as a charioteer governing a chariot pulled by two horses, one white and one black. the white horse is long-necked, well-bred, well-behaved, and runs without a whip. the black horse is short-necked, poorly bred, and undisciplined, requiring ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 30 constant guidance. st. justin martyr would make his logos spermatikos the charioteer charged with the task of using intellect and reason, that is, logos, to guide the white horse of the soul (psyche), and its rational moral impulses, and the black horse of the body (soma), with is irrational and concupiscent nature, to the true and the good. to st. justin, the governing principle in us, the spermatikos logos or zotikon pneuma, is the source of the faculty of the natural moral law, the law that god has placed in the heart of every human being and which distinguishes him/her from beasts. it is what makes him/her a child of the one only god, and makes him/her brother and sister with all those of his/her . it is the ruler, the pilot, of the lesser natures, part rebellious, part docile (lex christianorum 2010). igwebuike theology of omenani as the seed of god’s word justin the martyr holds that different cultures were inspired by god and should be appropriate for his service. he saw culture as a prefiguration of christ: a logos spermatikos (seed bearing word). he taught that the spermatic logos has been implanted in the heart of every human culture, since all things were created through christ, with him and for him. thus, christ was already present in local cultures in an imperfect way, even before the word of god was preached to these cultures. this understanding he connects with the scriptural parable of the sower (mtt 13:3-9), as grace sowed already in the hearts of men, or in terms of creation, where men, even before the coming of christ, were already created in the image and likeness of god (gen 1:26-27). this work, within the context of justin the martyr’s argument, situates the prefiguration of the seed of the word of god in african culture in the omenani of the african people. omenani, also called omenala (translated as the tradition of the land), is the system of unwritten moral principles or rules of conduct taught by chukwu to the first igbo ancestor and handed down from one ancestor to another, which includes provisions, prohibitions, traditional beliefs and practices, that igwebuike theology of omenani and the crisis of the missionary bifurcation of horizons themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 31 guide the day-to-day life of the igbo-african, with a view to preserving order and maintaining the community bond. after chukwu created the human person, as it is in the book of genesis, there was need for a moral standard that would guide the relationship between human persons and chukwu, and just as god gave adam and eve the command to eat only of the fruit of a particular tree, igbo traditional religious thought has it that chukwu also gave laws to humanity. traditionally, the goddess ala or ani is considered the custodian of igbo morality. ala is a merciful mother and no deity takes action against the igbo without first asking her to warn her children. however, if she decides to strike, no deity can stop her. as the custodian of igbo morality, when the law is broken, it is called nsoala, that is ‘taboo’, she takes action to save the community, and thus, its individuals. the connection that omenani has with chukwu, ala deity and the college of the ancestors, is what makes the community to hold these laws in high esteem, and to see them as a way of preserving the community, maintaining solidarity with chukwu, the deities, the living dead and preserving their individual destinies. it is by keeping these laws and regulations that individual members of the community are able to arrive at the world of the ancestors. examples of omenani include: a. prohibition of claim of equality with god and the spirits b. prohibition of homicide c. prohibition of suicide d. prohibition of a man marrying another man e. prohibition of incest f. prohibition of adultery g. prohibition of fornication h. prohibition of theft i. prohibition of the alteration of land boundaries ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 32 the coloring that omenani brings to the table in theological discussions, regarding african culture and evangelization, is that it points to the fact that: 1. the laws in question are from god 2. the laws are the laws of the land that has been in existence from the first ancestor(s) created by god the fact that the omenani came from god, transmitted from one generation to another, makes african culture a preparation for the gospel. its divine origin is what made it possible for the igbo to attain salvation through it, even though it did not contain the fullness of revelation. as imperfect as it was, it pointed to the fullness of revelation in christ. below is a table showing the relationship between omenani and christian morality, and that the african moral principles already contained the christian morality, even before the advent of the gospel. table 1: a table showing the relationship between omenani and christian morality no. omenani christian morality and belief 1. an igbo man's ancestral heritage, called “ana obi,” is not sellable, elders will not permit this. if this is somehow done due to the influence of the west, the person is considered a fool and is ostracized by the community. 1 king 21:3: when ahab asked naboth for his vineyard, he said to him: “i inherited this vineyard from my ancestors, and the lord forbid that i should sell it, said naboth”. 2. in igbo land, it's a tradition that the male children are circumcised on the 8th day. leviticus 12:3: scripture says: “on the eighth day, the child shall be circumcised” 3. the seventh commandment (v. 14) adultery has never been tolerated among african people. both the igwebuike theology of omenani and the crisis of the missionary bifurcation of horizons themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 33 treats the family as a s a c r e d social unit, and thus sees adultery as a desecration of the marriage bond. elders of the land and the gods forbid it. 4. among the igbo, the spilling of blood is something that is avoided under normal circumstance, except during warfare. once you spill blood, it was believed that the blood would go into the land as a testimony and ala deity will avenge such a death. the sixth commandment (v.13) is concerned with the protection of human life within the community of israel, against destruction by fellow israelites. the fact of this possible connection between omenani and christian morality shows that, in spite of the fact that it was not a christian era, it carried within it the seed of the word of god awaiting full revelation in the new testament. the missionaries would have made more impact if they began from what they people knew to what they did not know. discarding as evil or condemning the african culture, religion and morality outright by most missionaries was a move in the wrong direction, and the basis for crisis in the christian faith in africa. conclusion christianity came into existence in a greco-roman world, with judaism as its first encounter. these two worlds played significant parts in shaping its character and influencing its history, in the sense that greek philosophy and culture shaped early christian theological formulations, and the roman world, with its rich organizational structures, shaped the organizational and practical dimensions of the life of the christian church, and its religious impulses from the rich ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 34 jewish tradition. as christianity moved to the shores of africa, its encounter with african traditional religion and culture, its sympathetic, non-derogatory and non-dominant touch was not felt in relation to its encounter with the greek, roman and jewish cultures. there was a smugness toward african traditional religion and culture, which generated barrage of names like primitive, pagan, heathen, magic, ancestor worshippers, juju, animists, fetish, animism, etc (kanu, 2015a). this smugness towards the african religion and culture shaped the missionaries’ conception of the african religion and culture and limited the african personality (kanu, 2019). the early missionaries, therefore, saw the african culture in the negative light. the first strategy employed was that of disassemblage. they made no appraisal of african languages enriched with traditions of centuries or the african parables, many of them the quintessence of family and national histories; the african modes of thought, influenced more or less by local circumstances our poetry which reveals the profundity of african literary wizardry. the drums were banned from sounding in most churches. . african names for baptism were rejected, and as a replacement, they encouraged the adoption of not only christian names, but also european family names like de santos (kanu, 2015b). it is from this background that this piece, beginning with the understanding of igwebuike theology, and adopting the igwebuike theoretical framework of the sympathetic and non-derogatory approach, interpreted culture as the seed of the word of god, using omenani as a context. it argued that the failures of the missionary enterprise were majorly because of their lack of openness to the african religion and culture. the understanding of omenani of the igbo-african people as the seed of the word of god, even before the advent of the missionaries to the african soil, shows that culture is not an enemy of the gospel, but could be employed as an instrument for the transmission of the gospel message. igwebuike theology of omenani and the crisis of the missionary bifurcation of horizons themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 35 references dickson kwesi (1984). theology in africa. orbis books: maryknoll. dulles, a. (1983). an ecclesial model for theological reflection. in j. hug (ed.). freyne, s. (1980). the world of the new testament. delaware: michael glazier. justin the martyr (1885). the second apology. translated by marcus dods and george reith. from ante-nicene fathers, vol. 1. edited by alexander roberts, james donaldson, and a. cleveland coxe. buffalo, ny: christian literature publishing co. kanu, i. a. (2010). a discourse on the romance between philosophy and christian theology. international journal of theology and reformed tradition, vol. 2. pp. 185-198. kanu, i. a. (2015). a hermeneutic approach to the study of african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. augustinian publications, nigeria kanu, i. a. (2015). an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. augustinian publications, nigeria kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 36 mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2019). a hermeneutics of amadioha as a prefiguration of christ in igbo traditional religion. nnadiebube journal of philosophy vol. 3. no. 2. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2019a). collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. kanu, i. a. (2014a). igbo proverbs as depositum of igbo-african philosophy. international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 4. no. 1. pp. 164-168. kanu, i. a. (2014a). suicide in igbo-african ontology. developing countries studies. vol. 4. no. 5. usa. pp. 27-38. kanu, i. a. (2014b). suffering in igbo-african ontology. research on humanities and social sciences. vol. 4. no. 5. pp. 8-13. kanu, i. a. (2014b). the place of igbo myths in igbo-african philosophy. american journal of contemporary research. vol. 4. no. 2. pp. 98-102. kanu, i. a. (2015). african traditional democracy with particular reference to the yoruba and igbo political systems. international journal of philosophy and public affairs. vol. 2. no. 3. pp. 147-160. kanu, i. a. (2015). personal identity and punishment in john locke (a dissertation for the award of master of arts degree in philosophymetaphysics), university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu state. kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (ed.) (2016a). complementary ontology: provocative essays on innocent asouzu’s african philosophy of igwebuike theology of omenani and the crisis of the missionary bifurcation of horizons themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 37 integration for progressive transformation. germany: lambert academic publishing. kanu, i. a. (ed.) (2016b). ibuanyidanda: a complementary systematic inquiry. reflections on innocent asouzu’s african philosophy. germany: lambert academic publishing. kanu, i. a. (2016). igbo-african christology: a cultural christological construct in post-missionary africa. germany: lambert publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). african traditional folk songs as dialogue between education and entertainment. cambridge international journal of contemporary education research. 6. 6. pp. 53-64. leo xiii, the restoration of christian philosophy, 1, 879. retrieved 20th. http://search.sweetim.com/search.asp?src=2&q=on+the+re storation+of+philosophy%2c+leo+xiii lex christianorum (2010). st. justin martyr: the spermatikos logos and the natural law. lexchristianorum.blogspot.com/2010/03/st-justin-martyrspermatikos-logos-and.html mbefo, l. n. (1989). towards a mature african christianity. enugu: spiritan publications. metuh, i. e. (1991). african religions in western conceptual schemes: the problem of interpretation. jos: imico. missionmusings (2017). contextua evangelical theology. retrieved from https://munsonmissions.org/2015/02/24/contextualevangelical-theology okonkwo, j. i. (1998). folks-media and the new era of evangelisation: the igbo perspective, in: communication socialis: international zeitschrift fur kommunication in religion, kirche und gesselschaft, salzburg: pp, 246-270. http://search.sweetim.com/search.asp?src=2&q=on+the+restoration+of+philosophy%2c+leo+xiii http://search.sweetim.com/search.asp?src=2&q=on+the+restoration+of+philosophy%2c+leo+xiii http://lexchristianorum.blogspot.com/2010/03/st-justin-martyr-spermatikos-logos-and.html http://lexchristianorum.blogspot.com/2010/03/st-justin-martyr-spermatikos-logos-and.html http://lexchristianorum.blogspot.com/2010/03/st-justin-martyr-spermatikos-logos-and.html http://lexchristianorum.blogspot.com/2010/03/st-justin-martyr-spermatikos-logos-and.html https://munsonmissions.org/2015/02/24/contextual-evangelical-theology https://munsonmissions.org/2015/02/24/contextual-evangelical-theology ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 38 okonkwo, j. i. (2019). chi and christ: the search for the universal essence of god in igbo and christian thoughts. in m. r, duru (ed.). amarachi: a festschrift in honour of amarachi anthony, j. v. obinna on the event of his archepiscopal silver jubilee (pp. 221-238). owerr: divine favour digital concepts. omoregbe, j. i. (1997). a simplified history of western philosophy: ancient and medieval philosophy. joja educational research and publishers limited schineller, p. (1990). a handbook on inculturation. new york: paulist.tracing the spirit (pp. 218-241). new york: paulist. igwebuike theology of udi: reconciling god’s unchanging revelation with man’s changing culture themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 39 igwebuike theology of udi: reconciling god’s unchanging revelation with man’s changing culture ikechukwu anthony kanu department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university umunya, anambra state ikee_mario@yahoo.com abstract the questions that have been looming at the thoughts of many african theologians for years have been: how can the christian faith be made to be at home in africa, in such a way that it harmonizes with african beliefs and practices, thus becoming the religion of the african people? what is the relationship between african traditional religion and culture with the christian faith? does being a christian mean that i should distance myself from my traditional religious and cultural heritages? it is from this background that igwebuike theology emerges as an african theology, posting that effort towards evangelization must begin from the understanding of the african worldview and the incorporation of such in the processes of the communication and learning of the christian faith. this work presented the theology of african typology (udi, meaning type, kind or nature) within the context of igwebuike theology, with a view to creating a balance in the midst of the conflicts between christianity and african religion and culture by connecting the events of the new testament to events and persons in african traditional religion and culture. this connection is such that the events, persons, realities, etc., in african traditional religion and culture find meaning and fulfillment in the new testament scriptures. the mailto:ikee_mario@yahoo.com ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 40 igwebuike theology of udi has created an aperture for further dialogue of culture with faith. it provided a deeper meaning and wider capacity for the application of the concept, ‘typology’. it has contributed to the continuous search for better ways of making the christian faith feel at home in africa, and also making it possible for the redemption of the african culture through its interaction with faith. for the purpose of this study, the igwebuike theoretical framework, which emphasizes beginning from and valuing what is known, and using what is already known as a stepping stone to get to the unknown, was adopted. keywords: igwebuike, theology, udi, faith, revelation, culture, missionaries introduction the missionary enterprise in africa, aimed at converting ‘pagans’ and establishing the church, was not without a methodology. first, they employed the methodology of imposition of the christian message; the second was the translation of the christian message which was mostly in english to the local languages of the african people, and third, the adaptation of the christian message into the african religious culture. through imposition, doctrines, religious customs, morals and ways of acting and praying taken from foreign cultures were forced on the african people. while this might seem like a clear option left to the missionaries, they disregarded and belittled the culture of the african people in the process; the consequence is that the faith has no root and thus, the message remains strange to those who host it. the idea of imposition was based on a wrong conception of christianity as a finished product rather than a faith that reaches its full potential through dialogue with the local cultures of host communities. igwebuike theology of udi: reconciling god’s unchanging revelation with man’s changing culture themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 41 this might have worked with the early missionaries; however, with africans being part of evangelization, disenchantment began to emerge as regards the missionaries’ spiteful attitude to african culture and tradition (bujo, 1992) and her highhanded approach to the african reality (dickson, 1984). it was from this background that the need for an african theology emerged; a theology that would put into consideration the african reality in its approaches. the concept of igwebuike theology flows from this background, however, putting into cognizance and giving a special place to the rich african heritage. it is, therefore, from the principles of igwebuike that the idea of an african typology would be generated and discussed for the purpose of creating a balance in the midst of the conflicts between christianity and african religion and culture. the african theology of udi (type or image), an igbo-african concept of typology, would be employed to connect the events of the new testament to events and persons in african traditional religion and culture. these connections would be made in a way such that the events, persons, realities, etc., in african traditional religion and culture would find meaning and fulfillment in the new testament scriptures. understanding igwebuike theology the questions looming at the thoughts of many african theologians for years have been: how can the christian faith be made to be at home in africa, in such a way that it harmonizes with african beliefs and practices? what is the relationship between african traditional religion and culture with the christian faith? does being a christian mean that i cannot be part of the traditional activities of my people? why must i change my name to a foreign name before i can become a christian? it is from this background that igwebuike theology emerges as an african theology that strongly believes that effort towards evangelization must begin from the understanding of the african worldview and the incorporation of such in the processes of the communication and learning of the christian faith. for theology to be at home in africa, igwebuike theology argues that it must be contextual rather than hang on an ivory tower; and by being contextual, the looming questions begin to get their answers. ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 42 figure 1source: missionmusings (2017) the basis for contextualization is the change that is possible within the permanence of the christian faith. god’s revelation and the cultural context of the respondent are two different realities, however, forming the bridge for communication. while god’s revelation is unchanging, comprising the christ, holy bible, tradition, the culture of the human is dynamic and more varied. the faith would be irrelevant unless it is understood and valued by the recipients in their respective cultures. what theology does is to create a forum for dialogue of faith and culture in such a way that it is understood and appreciated by peoples of all cultures. thus, igwebuike theology as a contextualized enterprise creates a bridge between god’s unchanging revelation and the human person’s changing culture. igwebuike theology of udi: reconciling god’s unchanging revelation with man’s changing culture themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 43 the concept igwebuike began first as a methodology and philosophy. gradually, its philosophical element began to have implications for theological discourse, especially with the increasing need to do theology that arises from the philosophy of the african people. such a theology would always have an inescapable element of philosophy, speaking to people in their own native context, because it is expressed in categories of thought that arises out of the philosophy of the african people. however, the expression, igwebuike, is an igbo word which means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’ (kanu, 2017f). however, beyond the literal sense of igwebuike, it means otu obi (one heart and one soul) – cor unum et anima una. in a metaphoric sense, it is used within the igbo linguistic setting to refer to relational engagement in the world, accomplished in solidarity and complementarity, and the powerful and insurmountable force therein (kanu, 2017g). the closest words to it in english are complementarity, solidarity and harmony. in this way, igwebuike conceptualizes or captures the nature of the african universe. what igwebuike does is that it captures the nature of the african universe and uses it as a framework for discussions within theology. the value that it brings to the table of theological discussions is its emphasis on the african worldview as an indispensable element in any successful african theological discussion, that such a discussion might be relevant to the african. thus, igwebuike theology would mean the quest to arrive at a unique understanding of faith in christ in such a way that it captures the african worldview and his/her life circumstances. only thus will evangelization respond to the inadequacies of the missionary enterprise, give birth to a new african personality and be in accord with the legitimate aspiration of the african people. igwebuike theology does not in any way imply a change in the church’s theology it is the same theology, a systematic and scientific discourse on god, presented in such a way that it fits into the african religious, social, anthropological and philosophical realities, mentality and needs. the focus on christ, the scripture and tradition is not altered in any way. they remain the inevitable revelatory agents. ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 44 this notwithstanding, igwebuike theology is based on the following fundamental lines: a. it understands theology as contextual, that is, a theology of life and culture that is accountable to the context in which the african people live. b. it understands reality as complementary and interconnected. c. it understands african traditional religion and culture as a preparation for the gospel message. d. it understands theology as an enterprise that provides answers to the human person’s innermost and deepest longings, that is, the search for happiness (god). e. its sources include the bible, african philosophy, religion and culture, african anthropology, and african experiences. theoretical framework this research is based on the igwebuike theory of beginning from and valuing what is known as a first step, and then using what is already known as a stepping stone to get to the unknown. it uses the known as a stepping stone to get to the unknown reality. this approach is based on the very nature of learning itself. the first step of learning is observation (kanu, 2019). what children observe become “known” to them, and it is by comparing what they already know with some other thing unknown to them that they learn new realities. in relation to evangelization, you begin from the culture of the people, which is the known and from there you take the people to what they do not know. to disregard the culture of a people and then begin to tell them about what they do not know would not only affect their disposition but would create a missing link. what missing links does is that it distorts the complementary whole of reality. in this context, the african culture serves as a missing link in the process of evangelization, and giving it its rightful place helps evangelization to have ‘a head and a tail’ (nwe isi na odu). there is the need for mutual service in complementarity between the african culture and the christian faith. thus, asouzu (2007) avers that: “… any mode in which being finds expression has an intrinsic moment of dynamic igwebuike theology of udi: reconciling god’s unchanging revelation with man’s changing culture themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 45 mutual service in complementarity” (p. 266). outside the circumference of the understanding of culture as a missing link in evangelization, evangelization ends in chaos and conflicts. this understanding of culture as a missing link within the framework of evangelization is anchored on the cultural realism that holds that no culture is inherently superior or inferior to the other. the thought of inferiority of superiority kills regard for the other, which is an indispensable part of the whole. the reason for the position that no culture is superior or inferior to the other is because cultures are distinct, and there is no common standard for the judging of culture. the standard for the evaluation of one culture might not be the standard for the evaluation of the other culture. most missionaries were ethnocentric, in the sense that they judged african culture, believing that its standards and values were inferior to the western or christian culture. towards an african typology (udi) an interesting aspect of biblical studies is the area of typology. bullinger (1968) defines typology as “a figure or ensample of something future and more or less prophetic, called the ‘antitype’” (p. 768). muenscher (cited by terry, 1890) understands typology as a study of “the preordained representative relation which certain persons, events, and institutions of the old testament bear to corresponding persons, events, and institutions in the new” (terry, 1890, 246). in the contention of broomall (1960): “a type is a shadow cast on the pages of old testament history by a truth whose full embodiment or antitype is found in the new testament revelation” (p. 533). as a theological concept and method of investigation, there are several words in the new testament scripture that form its scriptural basis. paul uses the greek word tupos in romans 5:14 (which means a ‘type of’ in english), to speak of adam as a type of christ. a second word is skia in colossians 2:17 (which means ‘shadow’); paul employs it to speak of the mosaic system as a shadow of things to come. related to these is hupodeigma in hebrews 9:23 (which means ‘copy’). ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 46 parabole in hebrews 9:9 (which means ‘parable’) has also been used to speak of the tabernacle of the old testament as a figure for the present time. another word that points to typology is antitupon in hebrews 9:24 (which means ‘figure’, ‘likeness’ or ‘pattern’). they were employed to denote the fulfillment of a prophetic picture or a correspondence between things, persons, events, etc., in the old testament and the new testament. moorehead (1930) brings out the distinctive features of typology thus: what are the distinctive features of a type? a type, to be such in reality, must possess three well-defined qualities. (1) it must be a true picture of the person or the thing it represents or prefigures. a type is a draft or sketch of some well-defined feature of redemption, and therefore it must in some distinct way resemble its antitype, e.g. aaron as high priest is a rough figure of christ the great high priest, and the day of atonement in israel (leviticus 16) must be a true picture of the atoning work of christ. (2) the type must be of divine appointment. in its institution it is designed to bear a likeness to the antitype. both type and antitype are preordained as constituent parts of the scheme of redemption. as centuries sometimes lie between the type and its accomplishment in the antitype, of course infinite wisdom alone can ordain the one to be the picture of the other. only god can make types. (3) a type always prefigures something future (pp. 3029-3030). examples of type in the scripture include: the passover, with its spotless lamb (exodus 12:5) which was slain “between the two evenings” (12:6), i.e., between three and 3:00 p.m., without any bones being broken (12:46). it was a type of the death of jesus (cf. 1 corinthians 5:7), who was without spot or blemish (1 peter 1:19), who died at about 3:00 p.m. (matthew 27:46), and who had none of his bones broken (john 19:33ff). the feast of the first-fruits (leviticus 23:10), i.e., pentecost, was a celebration in which the initial produce of the harvest was offered to god as a token of the full crop to follow. this ritual typified: (1) the early influx of the jews into the church of christ (romans 11:16); and, (2) the resurrection of the lord jesus as igwebuike theology of udi: reconciling god’s unchanging revelation with man’s changing culture themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 47 god’s pledge of the general resurrection to ultimately come (1 corinthians 15:20, 23).the feast of the tabernacles was instituted to commemorate israel’s sojourn in the wilderness (leviticus 23:43). but it was also designed to remind us that we are but sojourners on this earth (1 peter 2:11), and that someday we will lay aside this earthly tabernacle (2 corinthians 5:1; 2 peter 1:13, 14) for a more permanent abiding place (cf. hebrews 11:9-13). on the annual jewish day of atonement, amidst numerous other rituals, the high priest presented two goats before the door of the tabernacle. after the casting of lots upon these animals, one was sacrificed as a “sin-offering” and the other was “set alive before jehovah” (leviticus 16:9, 10). the blood of the slain goat was taken into the most holy place where it was sprinkled upon the mercy seat. this, of course, was typical of the sacrificial death of christ (hebrews 9:11, 12). the high priest then took the living goat, laid hands upon him and confessed over him all the iniquities of the people. subsequently, by an appointed servant, the animal was led away into the wilderness (leviticus 16:21, 22). the two goats were, so to speak, two sides of the same coin. both constituted the solitary offering of christ. the one signified his death and the atoning effect of his blood, the other his resurrection (cf. romans 4:25) and the complete removal of our sins (cf. isaiah 53:4, 6; john 1:29) (wayne 2019). the flood of noah’s day (genesis 6-8) typified the sudden destruction of the world yet to come at the end (matthew 24:37-39). the miraculous water from the rock in the wilderness (exodus 17:6) was a preview of the life-sustaining water provided by our lord (john 4:14; 1 corinthians 10:4). the manna from heaven in the wilderness (exodus 16:14-16) was a type of that spiritual bread who came down from heaven to nourish humanity (john 6:32). the deliverance of noah’s family from a corrupted world, by means of “water,” prefigured our salvation, through baptism, from the power of darkness into the kingdom of christ (cf. 1 peter 3:20-21; colossians 1:13). the brazen serpent, lifted up in the wilderness, through which the people found physical healing (numbers 21:8), was a type of the lifted-up ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 48 christ (john 3:14; 12:32), through whom spiritual healing comes (isaiah 53:5) (wayne 2019). adam is a type of christ in that, as the former introduced sin into the world, even so, through the latter, a system of righteousness was made available for mankind (romans 5:19). melchizedek, who was both king of salem and a priest of god—at the same time (genesis 14:1820)—was a type of christ. jesus, at his ascension, began to reign on david’s throne and to simultaneously function as our high priest (cf. psalm 110:4; zechariah 6:12, 13; hebrews 5:5-10; 6:20; 7:1-17). this point, incidentally, is disastrous for millennialism. if christ is not yet king (as premillennialism asserts), then he is not yet a priest, and we are yet in our sins! moses, in his noble role of prophet, leader, and mediator for jehovah’s people, was typical of the lord jesus who functions in a similar, though in a more exalted, capacity (cf. deuteronomy 18:15; acts 3:22; 1 corinthians 10:2; galatians 3:27; 3:19; 1 timothy 2:5) (wayne 2019). from the foregoing, it becomes easier to now understand typology from an african context. it is a little bit different from the biblical concept of it, since it relates the old testament events, persons, things, places, etc., to new testament events, persons, things, places, etc. typology in its igbo-african context would be expressed as udi, which means ‘kind’ (a kind of something), ‘type’ (a type of soemthing) or ‘nature’ (the nature of something). from this root, african typology may be defined as the preordained representative relation, which certain persons, events, and institutions of the african religious and cultural heritage bear to corresponding persons, events, and institutions in the new testament scriptures. in relation to african traditional culture and religion, the base for relationship changes from the old testament scripture to the religiocultural experiences, categories, events or persons in traditional african culture and religion, which may find their fulfillment in the new testament scripture. this is anchored on the fact that african traditional religion and culture is understood as a gift from god, given igwebuike theology of udi: reconciling god’s unchanging revelation with man’s changing culture themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 49 in preparation for evangelization. it holds that the events, persons and things in traditional african religion were not so much about the time of their expression, but had the capacity for fulfillment in the future with the fullness of revelation in christ jesus. these patterns often have their greatest manifestations in the life of christ or in the eschaton, but there may be one or more other fulfillments elsewhere in human history, especially in the immediate historical context. an example of an african theology of udi is the kola nut as udi holy communion in the new testament scripture. table 1: the kola nut as udi holy communion no holy communion the kola nut 1. the holy communion is made of bread, which was a common meal among the jewish people. the kola nut among the igbo is a common meal. 2. the bread is held with reverence. when the kola nut is treated with great reverence. 3. it is the product of the human effort at cultivating the earth. it is the product of the human effort at cultivating the earth. 4. the holy communion is life (john 6:25-59 and john 25:56). the kola nut is a symbol of life. 5. the holy communion is a sign of unity. the kola nut symbolizes mutual respect and community. 6. jesus chose from among his followers who would continue to offer this sacrifice. the kola nut is only blessed by men in igbo traditional society. 8. after consecration, the priest breaks the bread and hands it over to worshippers. after the kola nut has been consecrated, it is broken and shared to those present. 9. the priest calls on the saints and asks for their intercession. during the consecration of the kola nut, the ancestors are invoked. ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 50 10. during the consecration of bread, wine is also offered. during the consecration of the kola nut, liquor is also offered. 11. at the end of the eucharistic celebration, the people are blessed. the people present at the consecration of the kola nut are blessed as well. 12. the holy communion is a sacrament, which speaks of an earthly sign with inward grace. the kola nut acknowledges the archetypal patterns of the gods and ancestors in illo tempore. 13 the priests preside at the mass. the most elderly person present presides at the consecration of the kola nut. in the greek society, it is presbyteros, meaning elder. 14 only those who are not in the state of sin are allowed to partake of the eucharistic meal. those who have evil in their heart do not share in the kola nut. 15 the eucharist is the centre and summit of the church’s life and prayer. the kola nut is the centre and life of igbo traditional celebrations. conclusion scripture scholars generally agree that the book of genesis was written during the exile to counter the babylonian myths of the origin of the human person. it is in this regard that gallagher (1997) observes that the narrative of genesis was an early example of dialogue between faith and culture, “as against the babylonian stories of wars and chaos, genesis shows god freely and serenely creating as a gift to humanity, and indeed portraying god as an artist rejoicing in the sheer goodness of the finished work” (p. 105). he further maintains that these texts are much more than the stories of origin. they are rooted in god’s continuing relationship with us in our responsibility for one another and human history. igwebuike theology of udi: reconciling god’s unchanging revelation with man’s changing culture themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 51 when god tells us to multiply and rule the earth, he gives us the mandate of continuing his work of creation, and this provides a biblical basis for us to see culture as a human response to god’s continuing creative gift, since culture is a product of human ingenuity and creativity. and if all that god has made is good, human culture is also good. this does not rule out the proclivity of culture to become sour and lose its beauty; in that case, culture would need redemption. for john paul ii (1995), this is where christianity has the capacity to transform human cultures, where necessary, so that they follow the logic proper to the mystery of redemption. what igwebuike theology of udi does is that it creates an aperture for further dialogue of culture with faith. it provides a deeper meaning and wider capacity for the application of the concept of ‘typology’. the purpose of this development is to contribute to the continuous search for better ways of making the christian faith feel at home in africa, and also making it possible for the redemption of the african culture through its interaction or relationship with faith. references asouzu, i. (2007). ibuanyidanda. new complementary ontology. beyond world-immanentism, ethnocentric reduction and impositions. germany: lit. benezet bujo (1992). african theology in the social context. orbis books: maryknoll. bullinger, e. w. (1968). figures of speech used in the bible. grand rapids, mi: baker. dickson kwesi (1984). theology in africa. orbis books: maryknoll. gallagher, m. (1997). clashing symbols: an introduction to faith and culture. new york: pualist. john paul ii (1995). ecclesia in africa. bangalore: paulines. ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 52 kanu, i. a. (2012). inculturation and the quest for an igbo christology. masters thesis, department of religion and human relations, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2019). a hermeneutics of the igbo-african kola-nut as a “type” of holy communion. nnadiebube journal of philosophy vol. 3. no. 2. pp. 27-40. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i.a. (2012). inculturation and christianity in africa. international journal of humanities and social science. vol. 2. no. 17, september, pp. 236-244. kanu, i. a. (2014a). igbo proverbs as depositum of igbo-african philosophy. international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 4. no. 1. pp. 164-168. kanu, i. a. (2014a). suicide in igbo-african ontology. developing countries studies. vol. 4. no. 5. usa. pp. 27-38. igwebuike theology of udi: reconciling god’s unchanging revelation with man’s changing culture themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 53 kanu, i. a. (2014b). suffering in igbo-african ontology. research on humanities and social sciences. vol. 4. no. 5. pp. 8-13. kanu, i. a. (2014b). the place of igbo myths in igbo-african philosophy. american journal of contemporary research. vol. 4. no. 2. pp. 98-102. kanu, i. a. (2015). african traditional democracy with particular reference to the yoruba and igbo political systems. international journal of philosophy and public affairs. vol. 2. no. 3. pp. 147-160. kanu, i. a. (2015). personal identity and punishment in john locke (a dissertation for the award of master of arts degree in philosophymetaphysics), university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu state. kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (ed.) (2016a). complementary ontology: provocative essays on innocent asouzu’s african philosophy of integration for progressive transformation. germany: lambert academic publishing. kanu, i. a. (ed.) (2016b). ibuanyidanda: a complementary systematic inquiry. reflections on innocent asouzu’s african philosophy. germany: lambert academic publishing. kanu, i. a. (2016). igbo-african christology: a cultural christological construct in post-missionary africa. germany: lambert publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). african traditional folk songs as dialogue between education and entertainment. cambridge international journal of contemporary education research. 6. 6. pp. 53-64. mbefo, l. n. (1989). towards a mature african christianity. enugu: spiritan publications. ikechukwu anthony kanu themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 54 missionmusings (2017). theology as a contextual activity. retrieved from https://munsonmissions.org/2017/03/06/theology-as-acontextual-activity. terry, m. s. (1890). biblical hermeneutics. new york, ny: eaton & mains. wayne, j (2019). "a study of biblical types." christiancourier.com. access date: june 22, 2019. https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/126-study-ofbiblical-types-a william g. moorehead (1930). the typology of scripture. the international standard bible encyclopedia, ed. james orr (chicago: howard-severance co., 1930), vol. 5, pp. 30293030. https://munsonmissions.org/2017/03/06/theology-as-a-contextual-activity https://munsonmissions.org/2017/03/06/theology-as-a-contextual-activity https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/126-study-of-biblical-types-a https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/126-study-of-biblical-types-a a glance at traditional modes of communication through the lens of liturgical inculturation: perspectives from igwebuike and shikrot traditions themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 55 a glance at traditional modes of communication through the lens of liturgical inculturation: perspectives from igwebuike and shikrot traditions justine john dyikuk university of jos, plateau state justinejohndyikuk@gmail.com abstract one of the challenges of pastoral and liturgical communication has been the failure to christen the rich traditional modes of communication for effect worship in an african way. inspired by the search for genuine liturgical inculturation, the researcher embarked on a qualitative study entitled: “a glance at traditional modes of communication through the lens of liturgical inculturation: perspectives from igwebuike and shikrot traditions” to investigate the matter in igbo and ngas cultures. it found that music, song and dance, death and funeral rites, baptism and churching, as well as elements of human communication, are traditional modes of communication that are resourceful for liturgical inculturation. with expert-theological insights, such as introducing peoples/cultures into the church, and enriching the gospel with positive values and cultural diversity, the study recommended rethinking theological content, restoring group/participatory communication and employing signals, signs and symbols as other critical ways of ensuring excellent liturgical inculturation. it concluded that developing an ongoing-evangelization which baptizes the rich values of the cultures under review is crucial for smooth liturgical inculturation. mailto:justinejohndyikuk@gmail.com justine john dyikuk themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 56 keywords: communication, igwebuike¸ inculturation, liturgical, shikrot, traditional. introduction communication has always been part and parcel of man. before the advent of colonialism in africa, people of the continent had their modes and forms of communication. among various cultures in africa, different forms of traditional communication, such as idiophones, membranophones, aerophones, symbolography, were effectively employed as traditional modes of communication (akakuru, nwokedi & edi, 2015). aside from these, the people also saw comedians, town criers, messengers, dancers and musicians as public relations’ experts who used various forms of human communication to fulfill their role in society. the igbos of south and ngas people of north central nigeria held traditional modes of communication in high esteem. while the worldview of the igbos was built around igwebuike (kanu, 2016 & 2019), that of the ngas was weaved around shikrot. from birth to death, these philosophies set the parameters for every kind of communication in the society. since ours is an incarnational faith, part of the history of christianity has been its encounter with other cultures, being deeply rooted in these cultures (udeani, 2007). unfortunately, in africa, the story was different. as time went by, the arrival of christian missionaries led to a crisis of faith. since the early missionaries did not understand the native modes of communication, they framed everything as fetish, thus discarding it. consequently, they passed the faith to africans under the cloak of western culture. for this reason, the message was disdainfully looked upon as one that lacks luster and content which is irrelevant to the daily lives of the people (umezinwa, 2014). this mentality was, however, met by resistance from emerging local clergy and scholars. there was then agitation to inculturate some aspects of the faith towards harmonizing faith and culture. reflections of popes paul vi and john paul ii, through the vatican ii document, facilitated this. this is because the church began to teach that, although salvation in https://brill.com/search?f_0=author&q_0=chibueze+c.+udeani a glance at traditional modes of communication through the lens of liturgical inculturation: perspectives from igwebuike and shikrot traditions themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 57 christ is for all peoples, there exists an inclusiveness which reflects on existential religious liberty and pluralism. this is where igbo traditional religion or igwebuike comes in (anyanwu, 2019). umezinwa concurs that “some efforts have been made after the vatican ii council to express god’s message through culture” (2014,p.199). inspired by the dire need for smooth liturgical inculturation in both igbo and ngas cultures, amidst a europeanized-church in africa, this study aspires to: 1. account for the traditional modes of communication in both igwebuike and shikrot traditions; 2. trace extant sacred objects and cultural values of igbo and ngas origins that could be employed for liturgical inculturation; 3. review extant theological insights of liturgical inculturation visà-vis its bottlenecks and challenges; 4. facilitate interreligious dialogue between faith and culture in igwebuike and shikrot traditions, and; 5. propose valuable recommendations towards revamping liturgical inculturation in igwebuike and shikrot worldviews. conceptual clarification a). traditional modes of communication in this study, traditional modes of communication means the organised system of communication which was in place before the coming of the imperialists to africa. also referred to as trado-rural or native media, traditional modes of communication, which were anchored on oramedia, enabled the people to communicate with one another and transmit vital information within the community. in igwebuike and shikrot ontologies, these modes of communication include: directives, news, advertising, public relations, entertainment justine john dyikuk themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 58 and education as well as transmission of mores, customs and traditions (dyikuk, 2019a & akakuru, nwokedi, edi, 2015). b). liturgical inculturation the operational definition of inculturation is the process by which the church takes up the good values of different cultures (john paul ii, 1995, no 61) and transforms or incarnates them into truths of the gospel. since every culture has positive values and forms which can enrich the gospel (john paul ii, 2001, no 16), inculturation midwifes the marriage between faith and culture in a new and profound way. it takes into cognizance gestures and signs as well as all other different forms of communication employed by the people of god (francis, 2013, no 129) in particular churches during liturgical and paraliturgical celebrations. c). igwebuike tradition as the lungs or vital organ of igbo tradition of south eastern nigeria, igwebuike philosophy means “number is strength” or “number is power” (kanu, 2016). it is a worldview which engenders communication and culture through complementarity, harmony and communality. it is also described as a driver for the transmission of values, mores and customs of igbo people. igwebuike is a mechanism for ensuring unity and the desired synergy for discussion within and outside igbo land. in this study, igwebuike tradition will be used interchangeably with igbo tradition, culture, philosophy and worldview (kanu, 2015, 2017, 2018). d). shikrot tradition shikrot, which translates as “talk of love,” encompasses the religious, political and socio-cultural life of the ngas people of north-central nigeria. it covers the ethics and behavioural patterns of the people that are based on charity. the communitarian philosophy further reveals the various forms of communication in the society, even as it showcases the revered culture of the people, such as their mores, a glance at traditional modes of communication through the lens of liturgical inculturation: perspectives from igwebuike and shikrot traditions themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 59 customs and traditions (dyikuk, 2019c). shikrot tradition will be used exchangeably with ngas culture, tradition, worldview and philosophy. arrival of the catholic faith in igbo and ngas lands: a historic approach overview of the faith in igbo land the igbos of south eastern nigeria are said to have originated from the nri kingdom. there are other views that igbo people have ancient hebrew roots. from whichever perspective one views it, the southeasterners are said to have settled in cities like onitsha, owerri, nnewi, okigwe, aba and orlu. their culture and traditions which are displayed through festivals of arts and culture (obindigbo, 2020) are weaved around igwebuike philosophy, which makes for communalism and shared communication. this philosophy is further expressed in kindred, clan and extended family system. their patterns of stratification and socialization are also built on a strong sense of fellow-feeling and the need to put the community first. when the holy ghost fathers evangelized the semi-savannah northern igbo land in the 1900s, within the first three decades, the faith was consolidated (kalu, 1995). ilogu (1974, pp. 56-62) presents the history of the advent of catholicism in igbo land in three phases. the first phase (1885-1900) started with the introduction of missionary policies through contact with the igbo people, their religion and culture; the second phase (1900-1905) featured a focus on implementing missionary apostolates, like building schools, hospitals and opening new mission churches in major igbo towns; and the third phase (1931-1967) saw the establishment and growth of the catholic faith, through consolidation with catholic schools and hospitals in the area. before and within this time, there were a lot of pagan, diabolic, superstitious practices which the early missionaries frowned at. this made the dialogue between faith and culture very difficult. what made matters worse was that the early missionaries simply dismissed justine john dyikuk themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 60 african cultural practices as primitive and evil. they frustrated any attempts at inculturation. as time went on, the seeming conflict between faith and culture began to be resolved as local clergy were ordained. this paved way for priests studying up to doctorate degree levels so as to be experts in various theological disciplines, on the one hand, and to initiate attempts at liturgical inculturation, on the other. from erstwhile heroic witness of bishop joseph shanahan, c.s.sp. (1871–1943), today catholicism is a nationalreligion for people of the southeast because the region has the highest number of indigenous clergy (including bishops) and the world’s largest catholic seminary, bigard memorial, located in enugu (2020 president and fellows of harvard college, 2020). synopsis of the faith in ngas land the ngas people of plateau state in north central nigeria who are now divided into sub-groups in places like pankshin, ampang, amper and kabwir have borno as their ancestry (tolu, 2020). its people, who are now domiciled in pankshin and kanke local government areas, are driven by shikrot worldview which is a guiding principle for relating to god and humanity. although ngas is the most populous language in the two lga’s, its people live amidst diverse cultures with inhabitants who speak many languages, like mupun, miship, fier, tal, kadung, pal and bijim. other tribes in pankshin include: mupun, miship, fier, tal, kadung and pal. there is also the presence of a few igbos, yorubas, idomas, tivs, etc (pankshin local government area, 2020). in terms of religion, the ngas are mostly christians, with few african traditional religionists and muslims who migrated from bauchi, zaria, katsina kano and kebbi. like jos, the plateau state capital, the old pankshin lga which was split, with kanke as a new lga, has been the melting pot of the middle-belt that is blessed with good weather and rich stable food. this made the area an irresistible attraction for christian missionaries to start new churches (higazi, 2011). today, the dominant faiths in ngas land are roman catholic church, church of christ in nations (cocin), anglican church, foursquare gospel church, assemblies a glance at traditional modes of communication through the lens of liturgical inculturation: perspectives from igwebuike and shikrot traditions themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 61 of god, redeemed christian church of god, mountain of fire and miracles ministries (mfm), to mention just a few. with the arrival of society of african missions (sma) catholic missionaries in shendam on 12 february 1907, the seed of the faith was planted. one hundred and seven years later, the catholic diocese of pankshin was carved out of the archdiocese of jos and shendam diocese on march 18, 2014 as the 56 th diocese in nigeria, with the appointment of most rev. michael gobal gokum as its first bishop. pankshin diocese comprises five civil districts of pankshin, kanke, bokkos, mangu and kanam, and is a suffragan of jos ecclesiastical province. holy cross pankshin, whose liturgical feast falls on every 14 september, is the cathedral church of the new diocese (society of african missions, 2014 & paulines publications africa, 2020). aside from the substantive bishop michael gokum of pankshin, it would be recalled that ngas has had three other bishops: gabriel gonsum ganaka of jos archdiocese (24 may 1937 11 november 1999), kevin aje of sokoto diocese (25 april 1934 27 may 2019) and malachy john goltok of bauchi (12 july 1965 21 march 2015). today, local clergy are trained in various theological disciplines abroad and locally towards inculturating the faith. traditional modes of communication: liturgical inculturation in igwebuike and shikrot worldviews music song and dance because the catholic church in nigeria opened the way for singing of choruses, playing of local instruments, clapping of hands and dancing her liturgy, the liturgy in igbo land is saturated with traditional media (udoette, 2012 & dyikuk, 2019a,pp.180-181). according to umezinwa, (2014) the exit of the missionaries in the 1970s saw concrete efforts at using culture to evangelize, like celebrating holy mass in vernacular, translation of the holy bible and roman missal into igbo language and taking exultet and passion narrative of good friday, which were hitherto sang in latin, in igbo https://www.mountainoffire.org/ https://www.mountainoffire.org/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/roman_catholic_archdiocese_of_jos https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/roman_catholic_diocese_of_shendam justine john dyikuk themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 62 language. it is now common place to find local hymns and instruments accompanied with dance and clapping of hands as features of igbo liturgical worship. anibueze (2018) is of the view that liturgical innovations and renewal in igbo land started between 1900 and 1977, with the production of igbo liturgical, biblical and catechetical texts. praying the holy rosary and singing of the latin hymns like lauda sion during eucharistic processions, such as corpus christi or christ the king celebrations, are now celebrated with many traditional modes of communication. above all, during the celebration of holy mass, “the procession is now accompanied with singing of traditional songs and dancing to the rhythm of local instruments” (umezinwa, 2014,p.209). the ngas people use the animal horn flute, which they call sombi, for liturgical purposes. during the festival dance of the ancestors, called fer nji, certain rhythms, songs and dance steps are made while the horn flute is blown to appease the ancestors. women and children could participate in some fer nji in these festivals. the songs of the nji, ancestors are used during social and festival dances. during emergencies which put the lives of the community at risk, musical instruments like the reed flute, bel, the thin corn-stalk flute, yang i nvelang or velang and the big corn-stalk flute, kwarak are used. small or big drums are used in all festival dances. the small drum nging is hung over one shoulder and is beaten by a curved stick, while the free hand hit it. it entails kneeling to control the beat and musical messages communicated. it is used in all social events where two or more drummers perform simultaneously. because the big drum (kung) is sacred and very big, the drummer has to sit or stand by its side when performing (habila, & danfulani, 1996). death and funeral rites in igbo land, “the adoption of traditional religious features into christian celebrations is very pronounced in funeral rites. just as in the traditional practice, the funeral mass is often now celebrated https://churchlifejournal.nd.edu/articles/authors/sr-mary-reginald-anibueze-ddl/ a glance at traditional modes of communication through the lens of liturgical inculturation: perspectives from igwebuike and shikrot traditions themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 63 in the family compound of the diseased. the burial of the diseased is always in his or her compound and not in the cemetery. this is a hangover from the traditional religion” (umezinwa, 2014, p.210). in ngas land, when someone dies, the person is mourned for three days. the christian community prays for the person on the third day, with a celebration, to mark the three days christ spent in the tomb. however, the three days wailing is that of victory over death, since it is believed that somehow the dead are around, and could visit, and death has been defeated. it is held that, psychologically, death is powerless because those who have died are not actually dead but they are nji living dead which form an extension of the community of the living. etymologically, nji denotes ancestors which derive from the word ji, which means “come” or “arrival.” nji could mean “the one who comes back or returns from the dead.” among the chadicspeakers of the jos-plateau area, especially the ngas, there is a strong belief in rebirth. according to ngas tradition, the dead are buried facing sara, the east, to facilitate their return to the human world. sara represents their ancestral home in the east towards the chad-borno basin from where the dead are re-borned (habila, & danfulani, 1996). this view is now replaced with the hope of union with the resurrected christ in heaven. baptism and churching for the igbos, the church has adopted some form of inculturation with regard to a child that is born. “after baptism, the woman goes for churching. this consists of presenting the child formally to the lord, offering mass of thanksgiving and the eating and drinking that follow soon after the mass. in the traditional religion, sacrifice of thanksgiving was offered to the ancestors generally 28 days after the birth of a child” (umezinwa, 2014,p.211). in like manner, ngas people have the manhood training which was based on a circumcision (vwang) rite of separation that lasted for about 30 to 60 days. associated with mysteries of worship, ancestors justine john dyikuk themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 64 and the spirit world, this period was aimed at testing to know who is a real man among young men. while those who are brave were called real men, gomis, anyone who died was said to have been eaten by the ancestors: “won se kora.” women were not part of this ceremony (ngas cultural festival pusdung, 2019 & dajur cited in dyikuk, 2019c). also, there is the gwim rite which is a covenant-making or oath-taking meal, which entails that the people will reach an agreement or take an oath before the spirit realm that they will cease from committing sin and wickedness in the land. this is done when drought is associated with consequences of communal and individual transgression. gwim rite is performed to cleanse or purify the land before a rain maker is begged to invoke rainfall. it is believed that if this rite of oath-taking does not take place, the drought will not abate (habila, & danfulani, 1996). both vwang and gwim are now considered as the sacrament of confirmation. elements of human communication scholars have maintained that various elements of human communication, such as activeness, solidarity and complementarity, ethic of reciprocity and shared philosophy, tradition and religion are rich traditional modes of communication that find expression in igwebuike and shikrot cultures. describing traditional media as an admixture of beliefs, opinions, systems, models, actions, culture and historical narrative of a given people, they contend that they constitute the oil that greases day-to-day life in rural africa (dyikuk, 2019a; domnwachukwu, 2018; kanu, 2016 & kanu, 2017). from active listening during the celebration of holy mass, concrete solidarity at small christian communities (sccs) to shared values, such as the need for saying the truth at all times as well as the place of tradition and religion, these elements of human communication are invaluable assets in liturgical inculturation. theology of liturgical inculturation: views and insights in attempting to regurgitate or generate a theology of inculturation, it is important to look in the direction of pastoral communication. https://web.facebook.com/ngas-cultural-festival-pusdung-1588390771484431/?__xts__%5b0%5d=68.ardjuplldqv7j7jdjsgfy36l-pqod-4oyeirauf4lxp1rfdtixxwrncgvsjbi9ecl2uhsjl5j8xllr27tu4nd2ges8ysoqn0rwc7j6qwi2be6xlg4cjv3yhbq2fhmfr_asx_imuzn-p18khqzhjlyu7tjvlqgsixzijx2nbo3ahstluxtzfd9-x9kflsfxyqvhabpkc-hpsstuhaqosvv2ozxhnh5w2rlxohny4fcqajwt3gszdu_mrigngych5kjf38xda1gdikxdxnz_idov0q1seau-r-fr_6gx4auftqvlu85xi2gjd5idikuv-xhlmit0wpwlm9un2xc_ztwbna&__xts__%5b1%5d=68.arccxenflmszz33vul2xdc3cp-qqcp8uunea828uifxxo7yq1abi84ayj2awdqgehipznrca9w_pdmbagvjsio6cdnb9dgmsu-xmgb24r1kdtxicitueujevhcqdqpmnvnwhs0baj6flhjjpis44to7xi8_ku_10qrbrgds2eun2jeyj-pvc1aoqram3t6gr95uzgjolsbmvuhsiedd8ue15zaihe2g82li92jfwcn-uk8brswtziqsieqlxrbjs99gzyr8xcxnohncei3yho4yeyazagoctpk37fjbgga8kpsivs0cca-kzhb3ku7yr2eolhpabjp6qqb5xclgfga_w&__tn__=kc-r&eid=arbblzzaskyu_4ia9zj8pw07ghtnzmkladn3gxpdytywtafro7e9rfdelftatys-sfunsi5abglgpzyi&hc_ref=artkslnokp-ywogibijdvcuxrvciyefnvmw2j0v5nzvmtpjm0mbhvltbdora-emduvk&fref=nf a glance at traditional modes of communication through the lens of liturgical inculturation: perspectives from igwebuike and shikrot traditions themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 65 perhaps, the best way to initiative is to the pastoral instruction on the means of social communication, communio et progressio, (cp, no.11) where christ is described as a perfect communicator who related with humanity through his “incarnation.” that document further discloses that by totally identifying himself with those who are expected to receive his communication, he gave his message in words and by the whole manner of his life by preaching the divine message out of the press of his people without fear or compromise. to do that, it continues, he had to adjust to his people’s way of life. this epic rendering speaks to the heart of the interplay between faith and culture. expectedly, the pontifical council for culture has demonstrated leadership in framing requisite perspectives for “reading the signs of the time” (dyikuk, 2017). without this, there would be no meaningful inculturation. this study will consider some theological points of view for an important endeavor like liturgical inculturation. from the submissions of the second vatican council to post synodal documents and other papal encyclicals, there is robust support for incarnating the word of god and the liturgy in various cultures. the church supports liturgical inculturation for the following reasons: to introduce peoples/cultures into the church just as jesus was born into jewish culture, where we are born introduces us to the culture and tradition of our immediate environment. this shows that we all come from different traditions and cultures. as such, the church “introduces peoples, together with their cultures, into her own community” through inculturation (john paul ii, 1990, no 52 & catechesi tradendae, 1979, no 53). this it does by making the christian realize that he is welcome to the faith, without prejudice to where he comes from. in fact, the universality and catholicity of the church supports this view because, the church is for people of every tribe, tongue, people and nation. justine john dyikuk themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 66 enrich the gospel with positive values/forms there is no culture that has no positive aspects. for example, the aspect of respect for elders and kneeling in prayer in igbo and ngas cultures does not contradict the catholic faith. therefore, the church does not reject those rich aspects of traditional values that can animate the faith. indeed: “every culture offers positive values and forms which can enrich the way the gospel is preached, understood and lived” (john paul ii, 2001, no 16). become a bride bedecked with jewels the analogy of the church as the bride of christ lends credence to the theology of liturgical inculturation. this parallel indicates that faith and culture are two sides of a coin. through using none offensive signs and symbols in liturgical or para-liturgical activities, the church takes up the values of different cultures and becomes sponsa ornata monilibus suis, “the bride bedecked with her jewels” (cf. is61:10)” (john paul ii, 1995, no 61). ensure cultural diversity/unity in a church where conservatists, non-conformists and ecclesiastical mavericks think that liturgical inculturation poses a threat to the unity of the church, the people of god are reminded that “when properly understood, cultural diversity is not a threat to church unity. the holy spirit, sent by the father and the son, transforms our hearts and enables us to enter into the perfect communion of the blessed trinity, where all things find their unity” (francis, 2013, no 117,p.94). if anything, liturgical inculturation aspires to promote cultural diversity and the unity of the spirit. transmit the faith in newer forms liturgical inculturation helps to transmit the faith in ever new forms. this is why understanding evangelization as inculturation is key. in trying to undertake inculturation, the culture experiences a rebirth as the people of god in a particular church are able to translate the gift a glance at traditional modes of communication through the lens of liturgical inculturation: perspectives from igwebuike and shikrot traditions themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 67 of god into their life and in consonance with their genius, thus bearing witness to the faith they received. this enriches the faith in a new and eloquent way (francis, 2013, no 122). ensure a locus theologicus for new evangelization in an era of new evangelization, the people of god are charged to promote and strengthen the faith through continuous inculturation. “indeed, popular piety, with all its expressions, teaches us to read the signs of time because they are a locus theologicus which demands our attention in an era of new evangelization” (francis, 2013, no 126). recall that john paul ii employed the term “new evangelisation" in section 33 of his encyclical, redemptoris missio, to draw the attention of the church to mission ad gentes, christian communities and the new evangelisation (cotter, 2013 & dyikuk, 2019d). create synthesis with a particular culture theologians are increasingly looking for avenues where there will be a perfect harmony between faith and culture. perhaps, that is, pope francis warned that the faith should not be predicated on fixed formulations or specific absolute words. he contends that because this communication occurs in different ways, it is not possible to catalogue them all. he surmised thus: “if the gospel is embedded in a culture, the message is no longer transmitted solely from person to person. in countries where christianity is a minority, then, along with encouraging each of the baptized to proclaim the gospel, particular churches should actively promote at least preliminary forms of inculturation. the ultimate aim should be that the gospel, as preached in categories proper to each culture, will create a new synthesis with that particular culture” (francis, 2013, no 129,p.104). justine john dyikuk themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 68 liturgical inculturation: bottlenecks and challenges doubts and fears most efforts at liturgical inculturation are met with doubt, fear and apprehension. this is because african theologians are sometimes circumspect about which aspect of culture they should push forward and which they should discard. “this is always a slow process and at we can be overly fearful. but if we allow doubts and fears to dampen our courage, instead of being creative we will remain comfortable and make no progress whatsoever. in this case we will not take an active part in historical processes, but become mere onlookers as the church gradually stagnates” (francis, 2013, no 129,p.104). umezinwa, agrees that “there are some people who are not comfortable with the idea of spreading the gospel through the vehicle of culture” (2014,p.213). these unresolved doubts and fears frustrate genuine efforts at inculturating the faith. aberrations and abuses various abuses and aberrations have slowed the approval of rites by the vatican. some priests experiment liturgical inculturation with changing the structure of holy mass. some even go as far as using another form of bread or other types of unapproved wines for the celebration of the holy eucharist. for instance, some traditional beliefs and practices, such as belief in reincarnation, traditional method of healing, libation to the ancestors/spirits and polytheism, which are gradually being adopted into christian practice in the name of inculturation, are at variance with christian doctrine and should be opposed (etuk, 2002). also, excessive use of incense and wooden utensils which makes purification after mass difficult is a recurrent decimal in many places. because africans love dancing, some priests permit some immodest kinds of dance which are sensual in nature in the name of dancing in an african way. this leaves local ordinaries and major superiors with the burden of sanctioning inculturation attempts with good intention. a glance at traditional modes of communication through the lens of liturgical inculturation: perspectives from igwebuike and shikrot traditions themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 69 syncretism for instance, back in the seminary, a novice of ngas extraction that was taking some courses with the seminarians suggested that dog meat which is a delicacy among the ngas people should be used for the eucharist. the rebuttal she got from the seminarians was enough to send home the message that the idea was weird and unacceptable. this is an example of syncretism. it is common to find people in both cultures patronizing dibias or shrines for concoctions and charms which they either use for protection, seeking a lover or to harm a perceived aggressor. this syncretic tendency has the capacity of making people develop a superstitious mentality during liturgical functions so that they see the use of sacraments, such as holy water, as having “magical powers.” this is a major drawback in developing a theology of liturgical inculturation. many africans today declare that are christians, yet when it comes to matters of inner aspects of their lives, such as passage rites and crises, they turn to their african traditional religions (udeani, 2007). by proposing that the church needs “to reduce the syncretic practices among its adherents and build up a strong faith that can serve a bulwark in moments of crisis,” (umezinwa, 2014,p.203) this author presupposes that syncretism is a danger that should be expunged. lack of knowing the culture the urban/rural migration in africa in search for a better life and white collar job has forced many people out of their ancestral homes. this has further made them to forget their culture and traditions. many priests, religious as well as seminarians and novices are products of this cultural dislocation. it becomes very difficult for them to know the deposit of culture. since they are not in touch with their roots, it becomes very difficult to inculturate the faith. for example, it is over 100 years since catholic missionaries came to pankshin, but masses are still said in hausa language in over 95 percent of the parishes across the diocese. except for the new testament, shikrot mpwi, there is no liturgical book, including the sacramentary, in ngas https://brill.com/search?f_0=author&q_0=chibueze+c.+udeani justine john dyikuk themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 70 language. while those who know the culture do not know the faith, those who know the faith do not know the culture – there lies the paradox. anyanwu (2019) argues that the church in igbo land needs to understand the values igbo people attach to their culture and make use of them for proper inculturation. this is also true for the ngas people. failure to understand the deposit of faith the african priest is often caught in a dilemma. he learns theology in english and thinks in the local language ngas or igbo. for those who travel to rome for further studies, the story is worse because they are forced to learn italian and are taught in that language only to return home and teach in english or struggle to translate what they have learn in the local dialect. as such, the challenge is, thinking in italian and speaking english, igbo and ngas makes it difficult to communicate effectively, let alone talk about inculturating the faith. the point is that the faith often comes in a westernized form that is difficult to digest. as a result, inculturating becomes some form of randomized trials. conclusion from the views of ecclesiastical sources, the study highlighted plausible reasons for liturgical inculturation to include introducing peoples/cultures into the church, enriching the gospel with positive values/forms, becoming a bride bedecked with jewels, ensuring cultural diversity/unity, transmitting the faith in newer forms, ensuring a locus theologicus for new evangelization and creating synthesis with a particular culture. also, we saw that doubts and fears, aberrations and abuses, syncretism, lack of knowing the culture and failure to understand the deposit of faith are bottlenecks which stand in the way of a robust liturgical inculturation in the african context. after a careful review of extant literature in both igwebuike and shikrot philosophical points of view, the study highlighted rethinking theological content, employing music and dance, use of signals, signs a glance at traditional modes of communication through the lens of liturgical inculturation: perspectives from igwebuike and shikrot traditions themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 71 and symbols, utilizing proverbs and wise sayings, restoring group/participatory communication and debuting inculturation guidelines as doable recommendations. in attempting the romance between faith and culture in igbo and ngas traditions, it is important to understand that “a people continuously evangelizes itself” (puebla document, 1979, p.450). while evangelisation is a continuum, it must be established that the holy spirit is the principal agent of inculturation (aparecida document, 2007, p.264). in conclusion, interreligious dialogue must be employed between the church and traditional religion (anyanwu, 2019) in africa. it is crucial to develop an ongoing kind of evangelization which baptizes the rich values of the cultures under review. little wonder, one expert opined that: “african inculturation theologians have chiefly reinterpreted western theological traditions of the church through a retrieval of some traditional african concepts and values” (ishola, 2012, pp.166-169). because many igbos and ngas people are now christians, inculturation of the faith has taken roots amongst them (dyikuk, 2019a). this is why we need more than a glance at the traditional modes of communication through the lenses of liturgical inculturation towards a more concrete empirical research in igwebuike and shikrot traditions which garners support for thinking about god and man’s relationship with him in the way the african thinks and knows best. recommendations: towards liturgical inculturation in igwebuike and shikrot worldviews rethinking theological content: various stakeholders, like theologians, especially lecturers in nigerian major seminaries, the directorate of social communication at the catholic secretariat of nigeria (csn), the diocesan and religious directors of social communications of the catholic church in nigeria, and the catholic theological association of nigeria (cathan), need to rethink the content of theological inculturation. “religion needs dynamism or growth in order to address the ever changing needs of man. it justine john dyikuk themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 72 needs culture contact as well to do the same. the church needs to be dynamic; it needs to grow; it needs to enter into dialogue with igbo culture in order to be relevant to the people” (umezinwa, 2014,p.203). what this translates to is that indigenous content of communication, like igwebuike and shikrot philosophies of communication, trado-modern and rural communication, should be included in the curriculum for formation in both philosophy and theology. future leaders of the church should be taught on the need to baptize the good aspects of culture towards solving contemporary issues. restoring group/participatory communication: the onus lies on the hierarchy of the church in nigeria and theologians to make concerted efforts at restoring group and participatory communication in various dioceses. the fertile ground for this is small christian communities (sccs) where group communication engenders solidarity and fellow feeling. also, “at the level of interpersonal, group, or trado-rural communication, it behoves all to listen to one another, ask critical questions that affect life as well as the realities of peace and justice so as to drive home wholesome growth in all sectors of life” (dyikuk, 2018b,p.15). employing music and dance: unarguably, music and dance are part and parcel of liturgical celebrations in africa. although without official ecclesiastical endorsement, local music and dance have become part and parcel of liturgical celebrations in nigeria. in igbo culture, african music and dance have been truly incarnated as genuine aids to the true worship of god (udoette, 2012 & dyikuk, 2019a). from pankshin to awka, it is common place to find families dancing to the altar, especially during thanksgiving for child dedication. since this practice has been in place for over two decades now, it is incumbent on the catholic bishops of onitsha and owerri provinces (for igbo) as well as jos province, where speakers of ngas language who are part of pankshin diocese are domiciled, to come up with a list of approved instruments for liturgical use, as well as measured kind of liturgical dance that should take place during a glance at traditional modes of communication through the lens of liturgical inculturation: perspectives from igwebuike and shikrot traditions themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 73 eucharistic celebrations. dyikuk (2018a) stresses that traditional songs and music are used to garnish liturgical celebrations. the african mode of worship, which is dynamic and expressive with bodily movements that express joy, should be incorporated in developing a distinctively igbo (anyanwu, 2019) and ngas liturgy. use of signals, signs and symbols: the use of signals, signs and symbols is an indispensable aspect of liturgical inculturation. since the people of south-eastern nigeria often employed signals, namely physical embodiments of a message, such as fire, gunshots, canon shots and wooden or skin drum, to draw the attention of listeners that an important message is about to be passed, it becomes crucial for the church in the areas under consideration to endorse same. in the two cultures, verbal and nonverbal communication constitutes signs and symbols which affect the behaviour of others in communication contexts and have rich meaning. for instance, the ngas or igbo traditional patterns of prayer should be considered for possible inculturation into the church in these regions to suit the people’s cultural context (anyanwu, 2019). specifically, anyanwu (2019) contends that the sacred objects and cultural values of igbo origin could be used to facilitate an igbo church. dioceses should be encouraged to train people in sign language who would assist the deaf and dumb in various communities to understand the word of god. while these signs are associated with denotative meaning, symbols convey connective meaning. this is why scholars emphasize that symbols need an interpreter to unravel their meaning (dyikuk, 2019a). utilizing proverbs and wise sayings: because of the importance of proverbs and wise sayings in igbo and ngas communities, children were taught how to speak in idioms, proverbs and other figures of speech by elders in society. for example, among the igbos, it was believed without idioms, proverbs, and figures of speech, conversations would be bland and distasteful (domnwachukwu, 2018 & dyikuk, 2019a). dyikuk (2018a) concurs that the liturgy is often spiced with the use of proverbs and fables which reveal elements of justine john dyikuk themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 74 trado-rural communication. indeed, “liturgical inculturation should be taken more seriously in terms of using proverbs for homilies or the use of vernacular in liturgical assemblies” (dyikuk, 2019b,p.114). debuting inculturation guidelines: catholic bishops should be at the forefront of inculturating the faith (dyikuk, 2019b). concerted efforts should be made to incarnate media-use into the nigerian pastoral context (dyikuk, 2019b). the journal, cultures and faith, published by the pontifical council for culture, is a veritable tool for ensuring that the church gate-keeps her faith while accepting new cultures (dyikuk, 2017). with these in place, “the synthesis of faith and cultural elements enriches the church and makes it strong” (umezinwa, 2014, p.203). references akakuru, o.c; nwokedi, c.i & edi, t.o (2015). means and forms of traditional communication in igbo land in contemporary socio-cultural interactions. journal of humanities and social science (iosr-jhss). volume 20, issue 6, ver. iv, [17-20]. doi: 10.9790/0837-20641720. anibueze, m.r (2018). african catholicism: the birth of the liturgical vernacular in igboland. https://churchlifejournal.nd.edu/articles/authors/sr-maryreginald-anibueze-ddl/.accessed 5/8/2020. anyanwu, u. (2005). modes of mass communication in traditional igboland. international journal of communication no. 3 [8085]. anyanwu, c. (2019). reshaping the theology and praxis of inculturation through interreligious dialogue between the catholic church and african traditional religion in igboland, nigeria (doctoral dissertation, duquesne university). https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/1781. accessed 5/7/2020. aparecida document (2007). fifth general conference of the latin american and caribbean bishops, 29 june. https://churchlifejournal.nd.edu/articles/authors/sr-mary-reginald-anibueze-ddl/ https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/1781.%20accessed%205/7/2020 a glance at traditional modes of communication through the lens of liturgical inculturation: perspectives from igwebuike and shikrot traditions themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 75 apostolic exhortation catechesi tradendae (1979). 53: aas 71 (16 october), 1321. dyikuk, j.j (2017). christianity and the digital age: sustaining the online church. international journal of journalism and mass communication. 3(1): 043-049. dyikuk, j.j (2018a). an appraisal of liturgy as communication. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 4 no 5.[62-85]. dyikuk, j.j (2018b). communicating the marshall plan to africa: challenges and responses. sumerianz journal of social science, 2018, vol. x, no. x.[11-18]. dyikuk, j.j (2019a). the intersection of communication in igwebuike and trado-rural media: a critical evaluation. journal of african studies and sustainable development vol. 2 no 3, [175-192]. dyikuk, j.j (2019b). the pros and cons of social communication in the mission of the church in nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5 no 1 (98-121). dyikuk, j.j (2019c). communication and culture in igwebuike and shikrot philosophies: a critical evaluation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5 no 8 [1-16]. dyikuk, j.j (2019d). media and ministry: examining the role of priests in nigeria in new evangelisation. annals of journalism and mass communication. vol. 1, is. 2, [15-22]. etuk, u (2002). religion and cultural identity. ibadan: hope publications ltd. francis (2013). apostolic exhortation evangelii gaudium of the holy father francis to the bishops, clergy, consecrated persons and the lay faithful on the proclamation of the gospel in today’s world.papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangeliigaudium_en.accessed 4/30/2020. habila, u & danfulani, d (1996). rituals as dance and dance as rituals: the drama of kok nji and other festivals in the religious experience of the ngas, mupun and mwaghavul in nigeria. scripta instituti donneriani aboensis.[27-58]. do 10.30674/scripta.67222. justine john dyikuk themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 76 higazi, a (2011). the jos crisis: a recurrent nigerian tragedy. discussion paper. no. 2. friedrich-ebert-stiftung, abuja, nigeria. ilogu, e (1974). christianity and igbo culture. new york: nok publishers. ishola, h.t.k (2012). crs826 ecclesiology. national open university of nigeria. victoria island, lagos. www.noun.edu.ng. accessed 4/30/2020. john paul ii (1990). encyclical letter redemptoris missio (7 december), 52: aas 83 (1991), 300. john paul ii (1995). post-synodal apostolic exhortation ecclesia in africa (14 september), 61: aas 88 (1996), 39. john paul ii (2001). post-synodal apostolic exhortation ecclesia in oceania (22 november), 16: aas 94 (2002), 383. kalu, o.u (1995). the dilemma of grassroot inculturation of the gospel: a case study of a modern controversy in igboland, 1983-1989. journal of religion in africa. vol. 25, fasc. 1 [4872]. doi: 10.2307/1581138. kanu, i. a. (2014). igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholic-pentecostal relations. jos studies. 22. pp.87-98. kanu, i. a. (2015b). igwebuike as an ontological precondition for african ethics. international conference of the society for research and academic excellence. university of nigeria, nsukka. 14 th -16 th september. kanu, i. a. (2015c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25 th -26 th november 2015 university of paris, france. kanu, i. a. (2016). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no. 1 [ 97-101]. kanu, a. i. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies. vol. 3 no 2.[155-160]. http://www.noun.edu.ng/ a glance at traditional modes of communication through the lens of liturgical inculturation: perspectives from igwebuike and shikrot traditions themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 77 kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. justine john dyikuk themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 78 kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. ngas cultural festival pusdung. (2019). circumcision in ngas tradition. https://web.facebook.com/ngas-cultural-festival-pusdung-1588390771484431/?__xts__%5b0%5d=68.ardjuplldqv7j7jdjsgfy36l-pqod-4oyeirauf4lxp1rfdtixxwrncgvsjbi9ecl2uhsjl5j8xllr27tu4nd2ges8ysoqn0rwc7j6qwi2be6xlg4cjv3yhbq2fhmfr_asx_imuzn-p18khqzhjlyu7tjvlqgsixzijx2nbo3ahstluxtzfd9-x9kflsfxyqvhabpkc-hpsstuhaqosvv2ozxhnh5w2rlxohny4fcqajwt3gszdu_mrigngych5kjf38xda1gdikxdxnz_idov0q1seau-r-fr_6gx4auftqvlu85xi2gjd5idikuv-xhlmit0wpwlm9un2xc_ztwbna&__xts__%5b1%5d=68.arccxenflmszz33vul2xdc3cp-qqcp8uunea828uifxxo7yq1abi84ayj2awdqgehipznrca9w_pdmbagvjsio6cdnb9dgmsu-xmgb24r1kdtxicitueujevhcqdqpmnvnwhs0baj6flhjjpis44to7xi8_ku_10qrbrgds2eun2jeyj-pvc1aoqram3t6gr95uzgjolsbmvuhsiedd8ue15zaihe2g82li92jfwcn-uk8brswtziqsieqlxrbjs99gzyr8xcxnohncei3yho4yeyazagoctpk37fjbgga8kpsivs0cca-kzhb3ku7yr2eolhpabjp6qqb5xclgfga_w&__tn__=kc-r&eid=arbblzzaskyu_4ia9zj8pw07ghtnzmkladn3gxpdytywtafro7e9rfdelftatys-sfunsi5abglgpzyi&hc_ref=artkslnokp-ywogibijdvcuxrvciyefnvmw2j0v5nzvmtpjm0mbhvltbdora-emduvk&fref=nf a glance at traditional modes of communication through the lens of liturgical inculturation: perspectives from igwebuike and shikrot traditions themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 79 www.web.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=22855106 51772436&id=1588390771484431&__xts__[0]=68. accessed 5/22/2020. obindigbo.com (2020). igbo culture.http://obindigbo.com.ng/category/igbo-culture/. accessed 5/11/2020. pankshin local government area (2020). about pankshin. www.plateaustate.gov.ng/government/lgas/pankshin.accessed 5/11/2020. paulines publications africa (2020). erection of the diocese of pankshin and appointment of the first bishop. http://paulinesafrica.org/erection-of-the-diocese-of-pankshinand-appointment-of-the-first-bishop/.accessed 5/11/2020. puebla document (1979). third general conference of the latin american and caribbean bishops, 23 march. society of african missions (2014).pankshin: nigeria’s 56th diocese is born. https://sma.ie/pankshin-nigeria-s-56th-diocese-isborn/. accessed 5/11/2020. tolu, (2020). facts about the angas tribe of nigeria. https://everyevery.ng/facts-about-the-angas-tribe-of-nigeria/. accessed 5/11/2020. udeani, c.c (2007). inculturation as dialogue: igbo culture and the message of christ. series: intercultural theology and study of religions.vol.2. [xv,228].doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789401204606. umezinwa, c.c. (2014). inculturation of the church: example of the igboland, south-east, nigeria. an international journal of arts and humanities bahir dar, ethiopia. afrrev ijah. vol. 3 (1), s/no 9, [199-217]. 2020 president and fellows of harvard college (2020). catholicism in nigeria. https://rlp.hds.harvard.edu/faq/catholicism-nigeria. accessed 5/11/2020. http://www.web.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2285510651772436&id=1588390771484431&__xts__%5b0%5d=68 http://www.web.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2285510651772436&id=1588390771484431&__xts__%5b0%5d=68 http://obindigbo.com.ng/category/igbo-culture/ https://www.plateaustate.gov.ng/government/lgas/pankshin https://sma.ie/pankshin-nigeria-s-56th-diocese-is-born/ https://sma.ie/pankshin-nigeria-s-56th-diocese-is-born/ https://everyevery.ng/facts-about-the-angas-tribe-of-nigeria/ https://brill.com/search?f_0=author&q_0=chibueze+c.+udeani https://brill.com/view/serial/itsr https://brill.com/view/serial/itsr https://doi.org/10.1163/9789401204606 https://rlp.hds.harvard.edu/faq/catholicism-nigeria.%20accessed%205/11/2020 https://rlp.hds.harvard.edu/faq/catholicism-nigeria.%20accessed%205/11/2020 the code of canon law and the second vatican council document: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 81 the code of canon law and the second vatican council document: an igwebuike perspective igboechesi, emeka stanley catholic institute of west africa port harcourt, rivers state padrestantall@yahoo.com abstract the 1883 code effectuates and perfects the renewal of christian life introduced by the second vatican council. it puts into juridical formulae the principles of the council. this piece, through the underlying principle of igwebuike philosophy, highlights the complementary relationship between these two essential documents of the church. igwebuike is employed here not only as a philosophy but as a methodology of research. it is employed as a transcendent complementary comprehensive systematic quest to penetrate the structure and dynamics of reality ultimately for the purpose of giving honest answers to fundamental questions or opinions to questions that arise within the arena of asking questions and questioning answers, and selfless enlightenment. in this search for truth, igwebuike is, therefore, understood as an integrated systematic framework that strives beyond all forms of particularities, peculiarities, paradoxes and contradictions, and espouses the path of complementation, therefore, showing how realities can relate to one another in a mutually harmonized non-absolutistic mode. this piece discovers that there is a very strong connection between the code of canon law and the second vatican council document, and that the two when studied together can be very enriching. mailto:padrestantall@yahoo.com igboechesi, emeka stanley themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 82 keywords: vatican ii, code of canon law, complimentarity, igwebuike, methodology introduction stability is an essential quality of any good legal system, because a community’s laws are an expression of its identity, and there is no identity without permanency. in a religious community where the source of its identity is in the common memory of a divine revelation, the demand for stability is even stronger. fidelity to the word of god and the teachings of the church becomes the principal virtue. yet, any good legal system must be open and receptive to developments. no community, secular or religious, can be frozen in time and live; absolute stillness means death. this work, therefore, in the spirit of igwebuike is about the respective roles and desirable balance between canon law and vatican ii. vatican i and the code of 1917 any process of centralization requires the proliferation of universal laws in order to maintain harmony and promote unity. by the time of the first vatican council (1869-1870), the church’s legislative activity had resulted in a considerable confusion. while proclaiming the primacy and infallibility of the pope, the council fathers realized that the church’s legal system needed to be completely revamped. despite the significant historical attempts to coordinate the church’s laws, there had never been an authoritative or official codification. even the corpus juris canonici was unofficial, scholarly work. several decades after the close of vatican i, pope pius x attempted to accomplish this task. on march 19, 1904, he announced the establishment of a commission of cardinals to gather into one authentic collection all the universal canonical legislation of the latinrite church. this monumental task took thirteen years. much of the work was done by the secretary of the commission, pietro cardinal gasparri. this first code of canon law was promulgated on pentecost sunday, may 19, 1918 (komonchak, 1986). the code of canon law and the second vatican council document: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 83 vatican i represents the final extrication of the church from the medieval christendom notion. with the loss of the papal states, the church emerged as entirely spiritual. the church and state were seen as two separate but complete societies. it is only natural, therefore, that their legal systems should be similar, diverging only by reason of goal and means, but identical in the structures required by the nature of man (e.g., general norms, procedures and penalties). vatican ii and the 1983 code law is an evolving science and art. it reflects the changing practices and life of a community. it is inevitable that the church’s legal system would once again grow complicated, confusing and unwieldy. within a relative short period of time, the interpretations clarifying various canons amounted to a printed volume larger than the code itself. the church’s first codification achieved a great deal of clarity and precluded the massive confusion of former times, but eventually a total revision was necessary. this need for renewal was not simply one of legal technique. on the contrary, changing theological insights and pastoral values in the church called for a thorough canonical reform of the church’s structures (komonchak, 1986). into this situation stepped pope john xxiii, who ushered in another stage in the revision of canon law, linked to the movement of reform, crystallized in the second vatican council. vatican ii took an even more significant step towards a separate legal system. it recognized its law on its own model, according to its understanding of itself as a church. the revised code still bears some resemblance to civil law, but the similarities are diminished. thus, the code is organized differently based on the threefold office of christ as king, prophet and priest. it considers people of god as a hierarchical communion in which all are commissioned to imitate christ according to their own “juridic condition.” the concrete effects are easily observable: “governance” is described in general norms and in books ii, v, vi, vii, “teaching” is in book iii and “sanctifying” is book iv. in addition, penalties are reduced drastically. the second codex juris canonici in the history of the catholics of the latin rite igboechesi, emeka stanley themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 84 was promulgated by pope john paul ii on january 25, 1983 and entered into effect on november 27, 1983. it contains 1,752 canons divided into seven books. 1983 code and vatican ii: an igwebuike perspective igwebuike is an igbo word. it literally means that there is strength in unity.however, philosophically, it points to the complementary nature of reality. it confronts discontinuity and the compartmentalization of reality. although this philosophy is captured in an igbo word, it has a universal taste and obvious in universal experience. it is a universal philosophy that is the incarnation and confirmation of the universal relevance of solidarity and complementarity (kanu, 2017). the philosophy of igwebuike is clearly brought to the fore in the interwoven relationship between the 1983 code and vatican ii. the constitution, sacrae disciplinae leges, in every distinct term notes the incorporation of the new ecclesiology of vatican council ii as one of the motivations of the 1983 code. the ecclesiology on which the new code of canon law is based is predominantly that of the second vatican council, for which the code is rightly called the code of the second vatican council, to demonstrate the close relationship between the new code and vatican council ii. a proper understanding of the canons will require close examination of the key features of ecclesiology of the council as they relate to the canonical system, since the codification mirrors the new ecclesiology (nwagwu, 2002). the new code embraces the council; it solemnly re-proposes fundamental institutions and major innovations and it establishes positive norms for implementing the councils. there are several examples of conciliar innovations that can be found in the new code of canon law: the first is the doctrine regarding the episcopate and the relationship between the episcopate and the primate, that is, episcopal collegiality. this is not an entirely new doctrine in the deep consciousness of the church, but rather a happy discovery. the code firstly, in canons 330the code of canon law and the second vatican council document: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 85 341, represents this clearly, and secondly, canons 342-348 accompany it with the positive view that constitutes the structure of the synod of bishops, allowing effective implementation of the structure of episcopal collegiality (olson, 2013). a second example is the council’s teaching on the laity and, therefore, on the appropriate and active mission of the lay faithful in the life of the church. once again, this is not absolutely new, but more rediscovery. in canons 224-231, the revised code of canon law reiterates this teaching through a series of regulations, regarding the diocesan pastoral council or the parochial pastoral council (olson, 2013), structures that allow the laity to effectively participate in the pastoral decisions of the bishop or the pastor. more than the mere necessity of updating the church’s legal system, the new code was meant to effectuate and perfect the renewal of christian life introduced by the council. the revision of the code was directly sought and requested by the council itself. the council fathers were quite conscious of the canonical revision, which was to follow their deliberations. they left the specification of many disciplinary matters to the subsequent codification process. the code, therefore, became the instrument for carrying out the decisions of the council. it was subsequently directed towards putting into juridical formulae the principles of the council (nwagwu, 2002). the commissions for revision and the consultors who drafted the code referred continuously to the documents of the council in the course of their work. the canons in their formulations reveal this close and dependant relationship on the council. they frequently employed the concepts, language and expressions of the conciliar decrees. the code therefore depends on the previous work of the council; it reflects its ecclesiology, its overall theological vision and manifests it spirit, not because of its content but because of its origin as both the code and the council originated in a bid to renew christian life. in consonance with the creed of igwebuike, much of the post-conciliar legislation implementing the council’s decrees, such as norms on igboechesi, emeka stanley themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 86 dispensations, ecumenical marriages, annulment procedures and liturgical discipline, is incorporated into the revised code. this means that the code must be interpreted in the light of the conciliar documents. as paul vi explained: now, however, with changed conditions of things – for life seems to move along with greater speed – we must recognize with due prudence that canon law must be adapted; to the new mentality of the second vatican ecumenical council from which great contributions are being made to pastoral duties and new needs of the people of god. to understand the canons properly, therefore, one must seek their meaning in their sources, that is, the documents of the council. the conciliar teachings rule and guide the interpretation of the canons. it is, therefore, true to say that the code of canon law is the fruit of the second vatican council, the council’s final document. this means that the canons of the code must be read in the light of the constitutions and decrees of the council, which gave rise to them (nwagwu, 2002). at the 100 th anniversary of the 1917 code that took place in 2017, pope francis stated that after the second vatican council marked the passage from an ecclesiology modeled on canon law to a canon law conforming to ecclesiology. canon law “should be the instrument for implementing the vision of the second vatican council.” pope francis continued by saying that, the new code should promote, “collegiality, synodality in the governance of the church; valuing particular churches; the responsibility of all christian faithful in the mission of the church… and healthy collaboration between the church and civil society in its various expressions” (wooden, 2017). conclusion like any other piece of legislation or system of jurisprudence, the code is often difficult to decipher and there is a risk of missing some nuance in the text, or of being aware of some underlying legal the code of canon law and the second vatican council document: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 87 principle if the principles of igwebuike are not adhered to. therefore, the documents of second vatican council are necessary when exploring the church’s internal legal system. this is a fact every canonist or student of canon law should remember while delving into the code. references kanu, i. a. (2017). sources of igwebuike philosophy: towards a social-cultural foundation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 9.1. 1. kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015b). igwebuike as an ontological precondition for african ethics. international conference of the society for research and academic excellence. university of nigeria, nsukka. 14 th -16 th september. kanu, i. a. (2015c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25 th -26 th november 2015 university of paris, france. kanu, i. a. (2016). igbo-african christology: a cultural christological construct in post-missionary africa. germany: lambert publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). african traditional folk songs as dialogue between education and entertainment. cambridge international journal of contemporary education research. 6. 6. pp. 53-64. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. igboechesi, emeka stanley themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 88 kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2016b). african traditional folktales as an integrated classroom. sub-saharan african journal of contemporary education research. vol.3 no. 6. pp. 107-118. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. the code of canon law and the second vatican council document: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 89 kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. komonchak, a. j. (1986). vatican ii and new code. archives de sciences des religion. 62. 1. nwagwu, o. m. (2002). theology and methodology of canon law. enugu: snaap press ltd. olson, c. e. (2013). vatican ii and the code of canon law. retrieved 6/5/2020. https.//www.catholicworldreport.com/2013/01/22/vatican-iiand-the-code-of-canon-law. wooden, c. (2017). canon law must serve vatican ii vision of the church. retrieved 6/6/2020. https.//www.ncroline.org.news/vatican/canon-law-must-servevatican-ii-vision-of-the-church-pope-says. the code of canon law and the scripture: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 91 the code of canon law and the scripture: an igwebuike perspective igboechesi, emeka stanley catholic institute of west africa port harcourt, rivers state padrestantall@yahoo.com abstract the purpose of the canon law is to help catholics live well as christians in line with the teachings of the holy bible. this piece studies the relationship between the canon law and the scripture. it adopts igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for a complementary relationship between these two disciplines of the church and their unique contributions to the development of igwebuike philosophy. it is employed as a transcendent complementary comprehensive systematic quest to penetrate the structure and dynamics of reality ultimately for the purpose of giving honest answers to fundamental questions or opinions to questions that arise within the arena of asking questions and questioning answers, and selfless enlightenment. in this search for truth, igwebuike is, therefore, understood as an integrated systematic framework that strives beyond all forms of particularities, peculiarities, paradoxes and contradictions, and espouses the path of complementation, therefore, showing how realities can relate to one another in a mutually harmonized non-absolutistic mode. this piece discovers that there is a very strong connection between the code of canon law and the scripture, and that the two, when studied together, can be very enriching. mailto:padrestantall@yahoo.com igboechesi, emeka stanley themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 92 keywords: igwebuike, philosophy, code of canon law, scripture, church, catholic introduction rules are needed whenever people work or live together. the church has its own system of law, known as ‘canon law.’ the purpose of canon law is to help catholics live well as christians in line with what the scripture teaches. in consideration of the relationship between the canon law and the scripture, some schools of thought in their approach propound for a virtual identity of the two. such an approach makes the study of canonical science not only dependent on but subservient to theological discipline. this work, in accordance with the tenets of igwebuike, seeks a more balanced relationship. the scripture in canonical texts the scripture is relevant to the development of the canon law. gratian, the father of the study of canon law, suggested this in his first compilation. the opening distinctio of gratian’s decretum began by stating that the human race is ruled by two things, natural law and customary usages. natural law consists of what is contained in the law and the gospel. the subsequent texts in the decretum bear out this theoretical statement of the sscripture’s legal importance. scriptural passages were cited frequently. professor gaudemet’s calculations put the number of references to biblical texts in the decretum at between thirteen and fourteen hundred. early commentators on the decretum followed this lead, themselves citing passages from the scripture with regularity (helmholz, 1994). it is, however, safe to say that the influence of the scripture on the canon law diminished after 1200 in favour of a more purely legal science; the bible was clearly not excluded altogether by later developments. the law of the church became a subject distinct from theology in a way that it had not earlier been, but the division did not necessarily spell the end of the bible’s utility in the law. canons included in the decretals continued to cite passages from the the code of canon law and the scripture: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 93 scripture. despite the reduction of influence, it is certain that the use of scriptural citation in the creation of law was neither excluded on principle nor ended in fact by the separation of law from theology (helmholz, 1994). nevertheless, the bible played a quantitatively smaller role in the formation of the law than it had in the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries, and this was true in the works of canonists as in the corpus iuris canonici itself. canonical understanding of the scripture when you think of law in the scripture, it is apt to think of the detailed rules of conduct found in the book of leviticus or the book of deuteronomy. this, however, was not the approach of the gratian, the father of canon law. he associated the scriptures with natural law, a changeless source of law written on our hearts by god. this approach was also found in the writings of the canonists that followed gratian (helmholz, 1994). the attitude was amiable, even self-evident to them. they regarded the bible and they used it, primarily as a way of showing what natural law required of the church’s legal system. the bible provided juridical norms that were useful in evaluating legislation and in providing guidance for positive law of all sorts. from the medieval point of view, at least, the approach characteristic of canonists made perfect sense. they held that the bible showed, in particular ways, and in particular episodes, how men and women ought to arrange their lives. it was up to them to understand its lessons and now apply them. these lessons the canonists sought to draw from scriptural texts. the bible is rarely used as enacted law. canonists do not treat biblical texts as direct sources or as statutes; they do not take passages from the bible and call them a canon or lex. instead, they draw legal lessons and legal principles from them. canon law and scripture: an igwebuike perspective igwebuike is an igbo word that is characterized by three simple words. according to kanu anthony, the three words involved are identified and explained thus: igwe is a noun which means ‘number’ or igboechesi, emeka stanley themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 94 ‘population’, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means ‘is.’ ike is another verb, which means strength or power. thus, put together, this means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power;’ that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force (kanu, 2017). from the etymological analysis, it is clear that the concept extends to solidarity, collectivism and interdependence. in the light of the foregoing, many of the canons in the decretum and some decretals cited passages or events from the bible as direct justifications for the rules enacted. a number of these were obvious. as a matter of fact, they were inevitable. the canons that dealt with the sacraments could not help but devote some attention to theological questions. here, the universal appeal of igwebuike comes into play as scripture is given an important role. no lawyer could deal with a theological question or with the sacramental life of the church without reference to the bible. for instance, in accordance with the prescription of canon 849, the correct baptismal formula is determined by the commands of jesus as found in the bible, “…baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit…” (mt28:19). jesus directed his followers to baptize in the name of the father, the son and the holy spirit. the words must refer to the trinity of persons, both individually and in their unity. if one refers to the trinity by such terms as “creator, sustainer and sanctifier,” as used in some circles to avoid so-called ‘sexist’ language, such a formula will be invalid, since it does not refer to the three persons of the blessed trinity (sheehy, 1999). no canonist or theologian could responsibly ignore the “proper form of words” as the bible commands when discussing this subject in the canon law. under procedural law, the book of daniel chapter thirteen recounts the story of susanna and the elders and how daniel received testimonies in private and separate examination of each witness. according to the book, when susanna resisted the advances of the elders, they resolved to revenge by accusing her of adultery with an the code of canon law and the scripture: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 95 imaginary young man. after susanna had been condemned to death in an open trial, daniel intervened. he questioned the two elders separately about the supposed crime. one of them placed her action under a yew tree, the other under a clove tree. thus, their perjury was revealed and the life of the innocent woman was saved (helmholz, 1994). proceduralists see in this story a clear support for the system of canonical procedure. canon 221 makes the point clear by insisting that procedural rights be respected in the penal process of the church. genesis 3:9, “but the lord god called to the man and said to him, “where are you?” thus, adam was called to answer for his action. this passage is said to have established one of the basic elements of procedural law, the necessity of a sufficient summons (helmholz, 1994). god knew where adam was, yet he called out to adam as if he was ignorant of adam’s whereabouts. he did that to demonstrate that defendants must be summoned before they are lawfully punished (c.2221). procedural justice must be accorded to all, even the manifestly guilty. as stipulated in canon 220, everyone has the right to good reputation. ecclesiastical penalties have their sources in the scripture. the old testament lays procedures where grievous sins like adultery, apostasy etc., (cf. gen 20:9; ex. 32, 21; 1kgs 2:17; jer. 19:11, lev. 4:2, 13 and 27) were proportionately punished with penalties like death, temporary exclusion from the community for omission of circumcision (gen. 17:14; num. 9: 1-3) or of the feast of expiation (lev. 23, 19:30) (kii, 2019). following the pattern set by the bible, canon 1311 states that the church has its own inherent right to constrain with penal sanctions christ’s faithful who commit offences. canonists sometimes see the admonition of jesus in mt. 22:21 and mk.12:17, the things that belong to caesar should be rendered to caesar and things that belong to god should be rendered to god as an endorsement for ecclesiastical taxation (helmholz, 1994). canon 222 § 1 prescribes the obligation of christ’s faithful to provide for the needs of the church. canon 1263 goes further to state that the diocesan bishop, after consulting the finance committee and the igboechesi, emeka stanley themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 96 council of priests, has the right to levy or tax juridical persons under his authority. in the mind of a canonist, the biblical texts and examples rarely state straightforward legal rules. they are not laws in the sense of enactments that could be applied directly by a judge or lawyer. instead, they demonstrate the existence of a norm or a basic legal principle. the passages of the scripture where it appears that a literal rule of statute appears to have been laid down, are for the most part, not used and applied by canonists, but if ever used, they are used as apt illustrations for general legal standards rather than literal rules to be put into practice. conclusion canonists often consider their work to be more than human science. it is part of a divine plan for the world; hence, they must bear in mind at all times that the salvation of souls is the supreme goal (c.1752). thus, the science of law in the church is not simply a way of meeting societal needs. it is part of the unfolding of god’s plan for mankind, a plan that is set forth preeminently in the scripture. the philosophy of , therefore, provides a fundamental reason why canonists see no absurdity between biblical narratives and legal conclusions. references helmhoz, h. r. (1994). the bible in the service of canon law. 70 chicago-kent law review 1557. kanu, i. a. 2017. “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3(7): 165-83. kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015b). igwebuike as an ontological precondition for african ethics. international conference of the society for the code of canon law and the scripture: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 97 research and academic excellence. university of nigeria, nsukka. 14 th -16 th september. kanu, i. a. (2015c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25 th -26 th november 2015 university of paris, france. kanu, i. a. (2016). igbo-african christology: a cultural christological construct in post-missionary africa. germany: lambert publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). african traditional folk songs as dialogue between education and entertainment. cambridge international journal of contemporary education research. 6. 6. pp. 53-64. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2016b). african traditional folktales as an integrated classroom. sub-saharan african journal of contemporary education research. vol.3 no. 6. pp. 107-118. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. igboechesi, emeka stanley themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 98 kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. kii, b. p. 2019. offences and punishments in the catholic church. enugu: fourth dimension publishing co., ltd. sheehy .g. et al. 1999. the canon law letter and spirit. london: geoffrey chapman. the code of canon law and catechism of the catholic church: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 99 the code of canon law and catechism of the catholic church: an igwebuike perspective igboechesi, emeka stanley catholic institute of west africa port harcourt, rivers state padrestantall@yahoo.com abstract the code of canon law and the catechism of the catholic church are two very important documents in the church. as important as each of these texts may be, they do not work in isolation. it is in this regard that this piece attends to the interdependent nature of cic and ccc from an african lens via igwebuike as an african complementary philosophy. it is employed as a transcendent complementary comprehensive systematic quest to penetrate the structure and dynamics of reality ultimately for the purpose of giving honest answers to fundamental questions or opinions to questions that arise within the arena of asking questions and questioning answers, and selfless enlightenment. in this search for truth, igwebuike, is therefore, understood as an integrated systematic framework that strives beyond all forms of particularities, peculiarities, paradoxes and contradictions, and espouses the path of complementation, therefore, showing how realities can relate to one another in a mutually harmonized non-absolutistic mode. this piece discovers that there is a very strong connection between the code of canon law and the catechism of the catholic church, and that the two, when studied together, can be very enriching. keywords: igwebuike, catechism, catholic church, code of canon law, complementarity mailto:padrestantall@yahoo.com igboechesi, emeka stanley themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 100 introduction every canonical norm is based on certain theological premise or doctrine. the search into the theological foundation of the canons in the 1983 code reveals theological presuppositions found in the official pronouncements of the church on the matter. it takes into account the teaching documents of the church, such as the catechism of the catholic church, papal magisterium, etc. the code and catechism do not contradict each other. hence, there exists a level of solidarity which this work hopes to explore from the point of view of igwebuike philosophy. the catechism of the catholic church the history of catechisms in the catholic church goes back to the very earliest days of the church. there is a document called the didache, which sets out in a systematic way the beliefs, practices and moral imperatives of early christians. the didache dates from the end of the first century. it is an extraordinary ancient type of catechetical document. in 1566, the document commonly known as roman catechism was published in response to the request issued three years earlier before the council of trent (bruskewitz, 1996). this was used until 1978; it inspired, as intended, the creation of many national catechisms. in january 1985, pope john paul ii convoked an extraordinary synod of the council of bishops to celebrate the 20 th anniversary of the second vatican council. the synod expressed a general desire for a new catechism for the universal church, and so the following year the pope organized a commission to draft one. thus, this was done in the light of the second vatican council and the whole of the church’s tradition. the text was approved by john paul ii on 25 june, 1992 and promulgated by him on 11 october, 1992. on august 15, 1997, accompanied by the apostolic letter laetamur magnopere, pope john paul ii promulgated the latin typical edition (the “editio typical”). all other publications are derived from this edition (bruskewitz, 1996). the code of canon law and catechism of the catholic church: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 101 the present catechism of the catholic church follows the four-fold presentation structure which has been a tradition, since the earliest days of the church. the first part sets forth the mystery of faith, that is, what catholics believe. this is based on the creed. the second part is based on the celebration of faith, and the way in which the grace and salvation of jesus is mediated to the world. this has to do with the sacraments. the third part of the catechism concerns the faith working through love as it is expressed in christian life, that is, what we must not only believe and celebrate, but what we must do in order to be saved. the basis of this is the ten commandments. the final part of the catechism’s structure is about how we are related in our belief, our celebration and our action to god himself, and this is based on prayer. thirty-nine percent of the text of the catechism of the catholic church is devoted to the creed; twenty-three percent is devoted to the sacraments; twenty-seven percent to the commandments, and eleven percent to prayer. the code of canon law the code of canon law is specifically meant for catholics, and more particularly for catholics of the latin rite. it is sometimes abbreviated as the cic, an abbreviation of the latin title, codex iuris canonici. there is an analogous document, the codex canonum ecclesiarum orientalium or code of canons of the eastern churches, applying to the other sui juris churches of the catholic church. the cic is a body of regulations, the oldest continuously functioning legal system in the western world. it is the internal legal system of the catholic church. internal means that canon law lies wholly within the church’s authority to compose and administer. this is in contrast to the wide variety of external (usually civil) laws to which the church generally defers in the pursuit of her divine mission. canon law operates according to the principles of law chiefly as set out in aristotelian-thomistic legal philosophy. this is in contrast to suggestions that canon law is simply applied theology, morals, or the rules of religious cult. canon law affects virtually every aspect of the igboechesi, emeka stanley themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 102 faith life of catholics all over the world. the code, in the words of pope john paul ii, is in no way intended as a substitute for faith, grace, charisms, and especially charity in the life of the church and of the faithful. on the contrary, its purpose is rather to create such an order in the ecclesial society that, while assigning the primacy to love, grace and charisms, it at the same time renders their organic development easier in the life of both the ecclesial society and the individual persons who belong to it (peters, n.d). the most recent edition of the code of canon law was promulgated in 1983 also by pope john paul ii, suspending the first and previous code, the compilation of which started under the pontificate of benedict xv and ended under the pontificate of pius xi in 1917, hence it is known as pio benedictine code. 1983 code and ccc: an igwebuike perspective igwebuike is the heart of african thought, and in fact, the modality of being in african philosophy. the underlying principle of igwebuike philosophy is the principle of complementarity (kanu, 2017). in consonance with the universal appeal of igwebuike, the connection between the code and the ccc should not be a case of canon law or catechism. if you ask a question starting with “do catholics believe in…?”, you will probably find the answer in the catechism. if you ask a question starting with “are catholics allowed, obliged or forbidden to…?” or “what happens if catholics disobey…?”, then the answer is probably in the code of canon law. the foregoing, however, does not raise walls that exclude complementarity. for example, canon 1184 gives a list of those to be deprived of a christian burial; to the surprise of many it does not mention suicide victims, meaning that they can receive christian burial. the reason for the exclusion is found in the ccc 2280-2283. in line with most customs, the catechism describes suicide as “gravely contrary to the just love of self….” in the minds of many, those who die of suicide are hell-bound due to mortal sin. for a sin to be mortal or the sinner culpable, the following three criteria must be met: grave matter, knowledge that it is wrong and consent of free will. no doubt, suicide as an act constitutes the code of canon law and catechism of the catholic church: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 103 a grave matter, but are all those who carry out the act in the proper frame of mind for all criteria to be met? the answer is for sure, no, because, “grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide” ccc2282). the name catechesis, according to ccc 4, has to do with the “…totality of the church’s efforts to make disciples… to educate and instruct them in this life, thus building up the body of christ.” the ccc is, therefore, a teaching tool for bishops and various catechists; no wonder then, chapter ii of book iii in the 1983 code dedicates canons 773 – 780 to the second form of the ministry of the word, that is, catechetical formation. the rule in canon 773 states that it is a serious duty of pastors to catechize. it lays down in a general way the duties already mentioned with regard to catechesis by canon 386 § 1 for the diocesan bishop and by canon 528 § 1 for the parish priest (sheehy, 1999). under the new code, all the faithful have some responsibility for teaching catechesis but pastors and sacred ministers have the primary duty to supervise catechesis. pastors of souls are to encourage and protect the faithful’s multiform catechetical activity, supplementing their efforts whenever their initiatives are insufficient and assigning certain catechesis to be taught and directed by the faithful. canon 774 stipulates that the duty of catechesis belongs to all members of the church. this canon, no doubt, emphasizes the priority of the parental role, but it also adds that those who take the place of parents, like guardians, foster parents, or godparents, also share in this solemn duty (beal, 2013). as far as godparents are concerned, this obligation is to be understood, according to this canon, not as secondary to the parents’ duty, but is an addition. family catechesis is to be encouraged and fostered by ministers. canon 775 distinguishes among the nominative competence of the apostolic see, the diocesan bishops, and the bishops’ conferences igboechesi, emeka stanley themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 104 over catechetical formation, particularly the approval and use of catechisms. canon 776 lists the duties of a parish priest in relation to catechetical instruction. he is to lead the catechetical formation of the local church. the catechetical responsibility of a parish priest is of extreme importance (cann 528 § 1, 761, 733). he is to ensure that catechesis is taught in the local church placed under his care. canon 777 throws up a list of different types of catechesis entrusted in a special manner to the parish priest and his duty to attend to them. the use of the words, “the parish priest is to ensure” indicates that the parish priest does not necessarily have to carry out these catechetical activities all by himself but to see that these things are done. the canon also encourages diocesan bishops to draw up a guideline for catechesis, according to their unique sociological data. canon 778 puts forth the duty of religious superiors and superiors of societies of apostolic life (both local and major) with regard to catechesis, with specific reference to the catechesis which they should teach in their churches and place of apostolic work. religious orders and congregation of men and women, though subject to their charisms and their obligation, are called to help with the catechetical task. to the extent they can, they should teach catechesis. this they may do at times at their own initiative as an institute or at other times at the bishop’s request (fuentes, 2004). the key catechetical tool is the catechism (canon 775). however, canon 779 encourages the use of other tools and means to teach catechesis. the tools are to be selected bearing in mind sociological data, age and the capabilities of the catechists. in choosing catechetical methods, care must be taken to consider pastoral needs, the range of instructional materials and the need for pastors to encourage the highly varied initiatives that will be proposed by the faithful. the code does not state categorically the tools “out of respect for the authority, which is above all to proclaim magisterially and the code of canon law and catechism of the catholic church: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 105 generally coordinate and supervise the various initiatives” (fuentes, 2004). the need for catechists to be properly trained is addressed by canon 780. according to jose fuentes, a catechist is one of the faithful who directly provides catechetical instruction. preparation is key for anyone working in evangelism. local ordinaries (vicars general, episcopal vicars, diocesan bishops) are encouraged to ensure proper formation for catechists. canon 780 speaks of doctrinal formation and general formation in the discipline of pedagogy. this formation is to be continuous so that they are kept abreast of the magisterial teachings and methods of instruction. to achieve the goal of ongoing formation for catechists, it is advisable to have catechetical schools and institutes. it is also advised that catechetical formation be given in seminaries. conclusion they, cic and ccc, are two separate documents, with separate purposes but one goal, which is the salvation of souls. thus, in the pursuit of this one goal, the essential principle of igwebuike – complementarity comes to play. the cic quotes the ccc for explanation and clarification, and vice versa. thus, this helps to foster a good relationship between the legal and teaching documents of the church. experience and study show that some canonical norms are better interpreted, applied and fully comprehended only from the background of their theological relevance, in so far as they articulate the doctrines of the church, which have been translated into norms of action for practical life. references beal, p. j. et al. (2013). new commentary on the code of canon law. new york: paulists. bruskewitz, w. f. (1996). the new catechism of the catholic church. retrieved 15/6/2020. igboechesi, emeka stanley themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 106 www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/new-catechism-of-the-catholicchurch-1284. fuentes, j. (2004). “catechetical formation” in exegetical commentary on the code of canon law vol.iii/1. montreal: wilson & lafleur. kanu, i. a. (2017). sources of igwebuike philosophy: towards a social-cultural foundation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 9.1. 1. kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015b). igwebuike as an ontological precondition for african ethics. international conference of the society for research and academic excellence. university of nigeria, nsukka. 14 th -16 th september. kanu, i. a. (2015c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25 th -26 th november 2015 university of paris, france. kanu, i. a. (2016). igbo-african christology: a cultural christological construct in post-missionary africa. germany: lambert publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). african traditional folk songs as dialogue between education and entertainment. cambridge international journal of contemporary education research. 6. 6. pp. 53-64. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. http://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/new-catechism-of-the-catholic-church-1284 http://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/new-catechism-of-the-catholic-church-1284 the code of canon law and catechism of the catholic church: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 107 kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2016b). african traditional folktales as an integrated classroom. sub-saharan african journal of contemporary education research. vol.3 no. 6. pp. 107-118. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. igboechesi, emeka stanley themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 108 kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. peter, n. e. (n.d). canonlaw.info. retrieved 17/6/2020. www.canonlaw.info. sheehy .g. et al. 1999. the canon law letter and spirit. london: geoffrey chapman. http://www.canonlaw.info/ the virtuous ninevites: echoes of igwebuike theology in the narrative analysis of jonah 3:1-10 themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 109 the virtuous ninevites: echoes of igwebuike theology in the narrative analysis of jonah 3:1-10 malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd santa clara university california, united states of america theophilusmalachy@gmail.com abstract this article argues that the ninevites' reaction to jonah's preaching of doom echoes an igwebuike perspective. the text (jonah 3:1-10) shows how, even animals, acted in solidarity with their human patrons to avert an impending danger. while jonah would have preferred an outright extermination of his pagan enemy nation, the penitential solidarity of the people of nineveh, man and beast alike, elicited the mercy of god. thus, in this narrative, just as in jonah chapter one, we see a god who is not only interested in israel, the elect people of god, but also one whose mercy and love supersedes national and religious boundaries. while the attitude of the people of nineveh shows unity of purpose and a deeper understanding of how god works in human history, jonah's attitude shows the opposite. he couldn't see beyond his prejudice against nineveh and its inhabitants to a deeper understanding of our common humanity and how god acts from the same point of view. the ninevites seemed to understand this better, and as such, did not allow their religious difference or political history with israel prevent them from drinking from the common ocean of divine mercy. mailto:theophilusmalachy@gmail.com malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 110 introduction at the close of chapter one of the book of jonah, certain issues found resolutions, but, certainly, not the command of yhwh to jonah in 1:1; a command that instructs jonah to proclaim the word of yhwh to the people of nineveh. this brings us to the second part of the book. in this part, the words of yhwh came to the prophet a second time. these divine words elicited different reactions from the different characters. reactions like obedience, anger, repentance and dispute. but one thing that is significant in this part of the book of jonah is the reaction of the ninevites, even though they are a pagan nation, to the preaching of jonah. in their acts of penitence, we see echoes of igwebuike theology, for even the animals acted in solidarity with their human patrons to avert an impending danger. while jonah would have preferred an outright extermination of his pagan enemy nation, the penitential solidarity of the people of nineveh, man and beast alike, elicited the mercy of god. thus, in this narrative, just as in jonah chapter one, we see a god who is not only interested in israel, the elect people of god, but also one whose mercy and love supersedes national and religious boundaries. thus said, employing the art of biblical narrative, this article will do a close reading of jonah 3:1-10, concentrating on the response of the ninevites and their king to the preaching of jonah. the aim is to show, not just the virtuousness of the ninevites, but also how their actions echo igwebuike theology. to do this, i will be contrasting the prophet jonah with the pagan ninevites. in jonah 3:1-3a, the divine injunction, which seems to be interrupted by the scenes at the sea (cf. jonah 1:4-2:11), is now taken up anew through what i may call "a second chance to the prophet" (cf. jonah 3:1). the end of chapter two breaks the downward movement, which had characterised the plot, so that jonah could emerge from within the belly of the fish to the dry ground. again we have the change of the compositio loci, no more in the belly of the fish, but on the dry ground. however, the major protagonists remain the same: yhwh and jonah. thus, chapter three can be divided into two: first, jonah 3:13a relates to the reiteration of the virtuous ninevites: echoes of igwebuike theology in the narrative analysis of jonah 3:1-10 themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 111 the divine order, the reaction of jonah and his execution of the order. in the second part, jonah 3: 3b-10, the narrative becomes centred on nineveh and its inhabitants. 1 a second chance to the prophet (3:1-3a) now the word of the lord came to jonah a second time, saying, "arise, go to nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that i tell you." so jonah arose and went to nineveh, according to the word of the lord i would like to divide this first part into two segments: the reiteration of the divine command (vv1-2) and the reaction of jonah to this command (v. 3a). the reiteration of the divine command (3:1-2) jonah 3:1 is reminiscent of jonah 1:1 as shown in the table below: jonah 1:1 jonah 3:1 ָ֥ה ה ֶאל־יֹונ ְַֽיִה֙י ְדַבר־ְיהו ָ֔ ֶבן־ֲאִמת ַו ר׃ ֵלאמ ית ָ֖ה ֵשִנָ֥ ָ֛ה ֶאל־יֹונ י ְדַבר־ְיהו ַוְיִהִ֧ ר׃ ֵלאמ now the word of yhwh came to jonah, son of amittai saying: now the word of yhwh came to jonah a second time saying: almost word for word, in a telling mode, the prophetic formula of the call of yhwh to his prophets is repeated: "then the word of yhwh came to jonah…saying" (3:1). the slight difference lies in the omission of the paternal identification: "son of amittai" (cf.1:1), and the addition of a temporal specification: "a second time" (3:1). our protagonists remain yhwh and jonah. 1 cf. d. scaiola, abdia, giona, michea: introduzione, traduzione e commento, nvbta (milano: san paolo, 2012), 45. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 112 among the differences between jonah 1:1-3 and 3:1-3 is the adverb ית that replaces the prophet’s patronym. some scholars see this as ֵשִנָ֥ an indication of the hand of the redactor who wants to knit together the two parts of the book (chapters 1-2 and 3-4). 2 however, jack sasson disagrees. for him, this purpose is too heavy a burden for an adverb. there is a construction in haggai that is reminiscent of jonah’s. that book opens with "time setting" + "the word of the lord came by haggai [...]" + "to zerubbabel" (cf. hag 2:1-2). subsequent occurrences (between 2:1 and 2:10) drop the ʾel clause and address the message directly. but in hag 2:20, the book’s introductory sentence is reformulated as follows: "then the word of the lord came to haggai a second time (ית here, šēnît does ".[...] (ֵשִנָ֥ not necessarily imply repetition of the previously received message, or a deliberate paralleling the two messages; rather, it emphasizes that this particular message is the second one to be delivered on that same day. thus, sasson concludes that in jonah, the narrator knowingly used šēnît to belittle the passage of time as a dominant factor in this tale, possibly to have us concentrate on the renewed opportunity given to jonah to make amend his disobedience. 3 therefore, without denying the possibility of a redactional process outright, i would rather say that this phenomenon of repetition marks, from the narrative point of view, a second chance for jonah. besides the reference to jonah 1:1, the verb י also connects ַוְיִהִ֧ chapter three with chapter two, thus, continuing the plot. at the end of chapter two, the plot of the story is left pending: what will happen after the fish has vomited jonah onto dry land? what about the message of god for the people of nineveh? the reiteration of 2 cf. cyrus h. gordon, "build-up and climax," in y. avishur – j. blau, ed., creation, genesis and flood, (jerusalem: rubinstein, 1978), 30; phyllis trible, studies in the book of jonah, un published dissertation (columbia university, new york, 1963), 185. 3 cf. jack m. sasson, jonah. anchor bible 24b (new york: doubleday, 1990), 225. the virtuous ninevites: echoes of igwebuike theology in the narrative analysis of jonah 3:1-10 themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 113 the divine command answers these questions and continues the plot of the story. yhwh’s words carry no rebuke for jonah and no warning of what would happen if he once again fails to obey. so, in this merciful manner, the plot rewinds and begins anew. the divine command (3:2) after the narrative introduction of the divine speech, the narrator represents yhwh’s command to jonah in direct speech: "arise, go to nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that i tell you" (v.2). this verse again resumes the beginning of the book of jonah (1:2), that is, the mission formula. the divine command to jonah consists of three imperatives in direct speech. however, one notes a slight difference in the wording of this mission injunction in comparison with the first in jonah 1:2. the table below highlights the difference: jon 1:2 jon 3:2 arise, go to nineveh, the great city, and proclaim against (ַעל) it for their wickedness has come up before me. arise, go to nineveh, the great city, and proclaim to (ֶאל) it the message that i tell you if the first two imperatives ְך ּום ֵלָ֥ in 1:2 and 3:2 are the ("arise, go") קָ֛ same, the third imperatives: יה ֶלֶ֑ א ע ָ֣ in 1:2 ("proclaim against it") ּוְקר and יה א ֵאֶלֶ֙ ָ֤ in 3:2 show a notable variation in the ("proclaim to it") ִּוְקר change of prepositions from ַעל in 1:2 to ֶאל in 3:2. these two prepositions often seem to be used interchangeably, but they are not synonymous and, consequently, not interchangeable. the lxx malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 114 translates 1:2 and 3:2 identically and neutrally: κήρυξον ἐν αὐτῇ "preach in it." 4 however, ֶאל is most commonly translated as "to" while ַעל could be translated as "against, above, over, upon" in the hebrew scriptures. thus, wolff observes that the change of prepositions from ַעל to ֶאל may be connected with the modification of the divine command given to jonah in 3:2. in 1:2 the wickedness of nineveh is the reason jonah is to speak "against" the city (ַעל). but in 3:2, it appears that the emphasis is on the message itself which has to be carried to (ֶאל) the city. 5 giving this understanding, jonah 1:2 is rightly translated as "proclaim or call out against it" and 3:2 as "proclaim to it." but does this variation in repetition have any narrative significance? according to lessing: the literary technique of repetition is a common feature of the old testament narrative. often there is some minor but significant change in the repeated version, reflecting a different standpoint or interpretation of events between the first and the second texts. 6 thus, in the case of jonah 1:2 and 3:2, one notes that the content of what jonah was to preach was not made clear in 1:2; but from the context, one could deduce that it was meant to be a message of judgement. however, the change from ַעל in 1:2 to ֶאל in 3:2 suggests a more neutral directive. thus, it is plausible that the shift from ַעל to ֶאל involves a change in yhwh's instruction to his prophet. whereas in 1:2 yhwh instructed jonah to preach "against the city," now in 3:2 4 reed r. lessing, jonah, concordia commentary (st. louis: concordia publishing house, 2007), 270. 5 cf. walter h. wolff, obadiah and jonah. (minneapolis: augsburg, 1986), 139. 6 lessing, 271. for example, compare gen 24:1-22 with gen 24:34-49 (especially 24:3-4 with 24:41). also compare the three versions of the interaction between potiphar's wife and joseph in gen. 39 (especially 39:12-13 and 39:17-18). the virtuous ninevites: echoes of igwebuike theology in the narrative analysis of jonah 3:1-10 themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 115 yhwh commands him to "proclaim to it the message which i am going to tell you." this means that the message is yet to be specified; 7 it will not be revealed to jonah until he enters the city. furthermore, this shift from ַעל to ֶאל tells us something about the prophetic status of jonah. in 1:2 he had every freedom to word the content of the message the way he wanted; but 3:2 specifies that jonah is to be completely dependent on yhwh for the wording of his prophetic statement, which will not be given to him until it is time to proclaim it. 8 therefore, it appears, with this prepositional variation, the narrator without explicitly saying it, lets us into the mind of yhwh, who, owing to jonah's rebellious tendencies, decides to personally word the content of his prophetic message this time around. as if, knowing his prophet well, god decides to directly put on his lips an ad hoc announcement. so, jonah must proclaim to nineveh what has been proclaimed by god. the expression: "proclaim to it the message that i tell you" uses an unusual qal participle of the root verb דבר, usually in piel form. this form, insisting on the present form of the verb "to say," 9 is found 31 times in the old testament, 10 but of note is in ex 6:29, where yhwh instructed moses to tell pharaoh what he (yhwh) says. in this context, the prophet is obliged to say what he has been told by god. if moses obeyed the divine order, will it also be so with jonah? in addition to the participle qal, the proclamation formula is also expressed through the repetition of the root word קרא, but this time with a definite article: ה this cognate accusative construction .ֶאת־ַהְקִריא ָ֔ is a hapax, 11 which may be translated as "message." the word is also a 7 ibid., 270-71. 8 ibid, 271. 9 uriel simon, jonah: the traditional hebrew text with the new jps translations (philadelphia: jewish publication society, 1999), 26. 10 cf. scaiola, 68. 11 hapax is a word or an expression that appears only in one place in the bible, in this case, in the old testament. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 116 neutral term, in that it does not indicate whether the message is a message of salvation or a message of judgement. so, with this unspecified message, the narrator, therefore, creates a gap here through the techniques of reticence, leaving the reader with a blank space for his imagination. in this first part, the phenomena of repetition enter into a common dynamic, thus indicating that it is a new principle. then it creates a suspenseful effect that raises the question: will jonah seize the opportunity offered by god as a second chance? or will he again flee (cf. jonah 1:3)? the obedience of the prophet (v.3a) once again, the word of yhwh sets everything in motion, but this time in the mode of obedience rather than flight: "so jonah arose and went to nineveh, according to the word of the lord" (3: 3a) after rising, jonah does not flee "to tarshish away from the face of yahweh" (cf. 1: 3), but he goes "to nineveh according to the word of yahweh" (3:3). this connotes obedience. the difference is made word for word using verbs of motion. while "he arose to escape," at the first instance, (1:3); now, "he arose," "and went" (3:3). while the waw in 1:3 is disjunctive, in 3:3 it is consecutive, emphasising jonah's obedience to the word of yhwh. at the level of the city, we have nineveh (3:3), as opposed to tarshish (1:3); and from the point of view of relationship to yhwh, we have: "according to the word of yhwh" (3:3) as opposed to "away from the face of yhwh" in 1:3. these whole variations in the expressions, as noted above, show a total change on the part of jonah. his movement becomes in conformity with the word of the lord who instructed him to go to nineveh. the last word: "according to the word of the lord," summarizes this conformity to the divine command, and characterizes the prophetic obedience. thus, at this point, the first two imperatives ("arise, go") of the divine command immediately find their fulfilment, but the third ("proclaim") delays. uriel simon notes that, even though jonah had been subdued to "arise and go in accordance to the word of yhwh," he has not the virtuous ninevites: echoes of igwebuike theology in the narrative analysis of jonah 3:1-10 themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 117 been persuaded. his silence still conceals the content of his heart. 12 this makes the lector suspect: will he obey and proclaim the message which is about to be given to him? however, we know nothing of how soon he left, how the trip went, when he arrived in nineveh, or any such detail. at present, we can only assume that he recognizes the futility of further disobedience to his god and would attempt no further rebellion, at least in terms of his actions. 13 the ninevite's response to jonah's preaching (3:3b-10) "now nineveh was a great city to god, a three days' walk across" (3:3b). in 3:3b, the narrator interrupts the narrative catena with a waw-xqatal, 14 and using a delay tactic, he seizes the opportunity to present something concerning the city of nineveh. the opening of a narrative unit with the circumstantial wav is not unusual (e.g., "now moses, tending the flock of his father-in-law jethro" (cf. ex 3:1); "now king david was old, advanced in years" (cf. 1 kg 1:1). even though here it comes in the middle of a verse, there is no doubt that the 12 cf. simon, 26. 13 cf. douglas stuart, hosea-jonah, wbc 31, (dallas: thomas nelson inc. 1987), 482. 14 although the hebrew verbal system can be categorized into tenses (the perfect and the imperfect, technically referred to as qatal and yiqtol respectively), the precise implication of these tenses is complex, but suffice it to know that the hebrew perfect does not necessarily indicate tense (does not have tense or time of action) apart from context and issues of syntax. it rather signifies type of action (aspect). it designates a verbal action with its conclusion envisioned in the mind of the speaker or writer. likewise the hebrew imperfect, it does not necessarily denote tense. it has predominantly an indicative meaning. it is used to denote incomplete action, whether in the past, present or future. which means it does not have tense or time of action apart from context and syntactical considerations. the waw-prefixed forms: wayyiqtol and weqatal are sequential forms, used in clauses depicting sequential events, while the free-standing forms qatal and yiqtol are nonsequential malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 118 circumstantial clause is anticipatory, since it serves as an exposition that gives us an insight into the city. 15 the expression: "nineveh was a great city to god" has generated different interpretations among scholars. some see it as expressing a superlative. for example, according to simon, the expression "a great city to god" is placed on a godly scale: "everything that [an author] wishes to present as being very large is associated with god as a way of magnifying it." 16 thus, simon sees the expression as a superlative. however, hebrew has several customary ways of expressing a superlative. 17 this is not a common way, nor do all grammarians agree that the phrase here should be regarded as a superlative. sasson objects to this superlative interpretation of the expression. he argues that if it is indeed a superlative, then it will be very unique to scripture because such superlatives normally have a noun in construct with elōhîm/ʾēl. so, the text in question should read something like ʿîr ʾelōhîm or even ʿîr-ʾelōhîm gedôlâ. but here, what we have is lēʾlōhîm. 18 winton d. thomas discusses eight passages in which either ֱאל or is allegedly used to form a superlative. he concludes that "the ֱאֹלִהים divine names have a superlative force so long as we understand that the superlative force is imparted, not by the addition of the divine names as intensifying epithets, but by the fact that a person or thing is brought into a relationship with god." 19 in the case of jonah 3:3, thomas argues that nineveh was "great to god," that is, even to god, who has a different standard of greatness from men. 15 cf. simon, 27. 16 ibid, 28. 17 cf. b. k. waltke m. o'connor, an introduction to biblical hebrew syntax. (indiana: eisenbrauns, 1990), § § 14.3.3b; 14.5; p. joüon t. muraoka, a grammar of biblical hebrew. sb 27 (rome: gb press, 2011), § 141 j. 18 sasson, 228. 19 w. d. thomas, "a consideration of some universal ways of expressing the superlative in hebrew," vetus testamentum 3 (1953), 216. the virtuous ninevites: echoes of igwebuike theology in the narrative analysis of jonah 3:1-10 themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 119 in seven of the eight passages considered by thomas, a noun is in construct with a term for "god." jonah 3:3 is the only one of the eight passages in which a superlative is allegedly formed by "god" in a prepositional phrase. 20 so for him, the greatness of nineveh is not just a mere superlative; rather, the narrator meant to let us know that "nineveh is great to god," as rightly captured by the lxx: μεγάλη τῷ θεω (3:3). a city which is a symbol of enmity to israel is great to god. this is a theological affirmation. however, i think the addition of the preposition ְל in the expression, ים אֹלִהָ֔ is not just superfluous; it must be taken seriously. it is a ,ֵל circumlocution for a genitive, as such, "the greatness of nineveh" could be said "to belong to god." so, nineveh belongs to god, just as israel belongs to god. this suggests a divine perspective that readily explains god's merciful disposition towards nineveh. even though this merciful attribute is part of the nature of god, but its disposition towards mankind is not always automatic; it must be activated by human actions or response to the divine (cf. 2 chron 7:14; jer 15:9; zech 1:3; mal 3:7). therefore, the greatness of nineveh exceeds a mere superlative; it suggests divine ownership: nineveh is a city that belongs to god. this theological interpretation of nineveh has a significant narrative implication in the plot of jonah. the affirmation here that nineveh is a great city belonging to god fits with jonah’s confession in 1:9 that yhwh is the god "who made the sea and the dry land," since all creation belongs to him. it is also consistent with what yhwh himself would say about the city in jonah 4:10-11, where yhwh compares nineveh to the qiqayon plant. using the verbs "to labour" and "make grow" for the plant in 4:10, yhwh implies in 4:11 that he himself cultivated the city, just as he did the plant. as earlier noted, the author of jonah repeats key words and phrases, which take on added significance with each new repetition, until the climactic one reveals the full import. in this way, the narrative progresses towards 20 cf. ibid, 209-24. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 120 its goal. lessing captures the progressive descriptions of nineveh as follows: 1. "arise, go to nineveh, the great city" (1:2). 2. "arise, go to nineveh, the great city" (3:2). 3. "now nineveh is a great city (belonging) to god"(3:3) 21 thus, the fourth climactic description of nineveh confirms the interpretation that 3:3 declares that nineveh is great and that it belongs to god, even though the full extent of yhwh’s compassion for the city is not revealed until 4:11. 22 therefore, from the literary point of view, 3:3b is an unusual circumstantial sentence (cf. ex 3:1), the value of which is proleptic. 23 the narrator makes this information on the city an essential element in order to understand the rest of the narrative plot centred on jonah's entrance into the city. this information shows how the narrator uses the technique of repetition to build up and give a deeper meaning to a particular word or concept. in this case, the information about the theological greatness of nineveh is carefully given to grow the plot. therefore, in addition to the repetition of the expression: "the great city," we now know that the city has a relationship "to yhwh." finally, we are given a spatial expression with respect to the city: "a journey of three days." without going into mathematical reflections of the width and circumference of the city, i think this spatial information is intended to draw the attention of the reader to something very important, because the biblical narrator does not say something just for the sake of it. jonah's obedience (v.4) jonah began to go into the city, going a day's walk. and he cried out, "forty days more, and nineveh shall be overthrown!" 21 ibid, 280. 22 cf. ibid, 281. 23 cf scaiola, 69. the virtuous ninevites: echoes of igwebuike theology in the narrative analysis of jonah 3:1-10 themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 121 in fact, jonah did not go through the city in three days, but he begins to enter the city only "for a day's journey" (3:4). so, jonah finds himself outside the gates of nineveh. the longest period of narrated time, the journey, is reported in the briefest of narrative time. 24 this imperfect parallelism shows a difference of temporal order: "only a day's journey" (3:4) connoting a readiness that contrasts with the reluctance and slowness of jonah in fulfilling his mission. even though he obeyed to go to nineveh after a near-death experience in the belly of the fish (see jonah 2), his body language, as evident in his one day preaching instead of three days, shows his inner disposition. jonah does not want the salvation of nineveh; he would rather prefer they are destroyed. this is even more obvious in the way he worded his preaching. it makes one wonder: what will happen after the proclamation of a single day's walk in a city that takes a three-day walk? the slowness of the narration created by the description of the city, and the slow entrance of jonah in nineveh, accentuates the suspense, but leads to the fulfilment of the divine order by jonah. in verse 4b, which tells the story of the proclamation of jonah to nineveh for a journey of one day, the reader enters the realm of direct discourse: "and he called and said [...]" the introduction to it relieves the suspense about jonah's response to yhwh's third imperative: "call." 25 and the content of the proclamation that the reader has been expecting from the first two chapters of the book is now about to be made known. the pace of the narrative after the slowdown is now accelerated. before now, i noted that only two of the three divine commands given to jonah in 3:2 were fulfilled. but now we have a perfect correspondence, word for word, of the three divine commands (in three wayyiqtols), as shown in the table below: this completes the obedience of the prophet to the divine command. yhwh's instruction jonah's obedience 24 cf. golka w. friedemann, the revelations of god: a commentary on the books of song of songs and jonah. (grand rapids: eerdmanns, 1988), 102. 25 cf. trible, 179. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 122 ּום arise" (3:2)" קָ֛ ְך go" (3:2)"ֵלָ֥ א ָ֤ and call" (3:2)" ּוְקר ם ַָֽ֣ק וי "and he arose" (3:3) and he went" (3:3)" ַוֵיֶלְך א and he called" (3:4b)" ַוִיְקר in the earlier command (1:2), god does not specify the message for jonah to transmit, as we have already seen; god shows faith that jonah will know what to say. in chapter three, however, god dictates a message to jonah, thereby making it more difficult for him to deviate from his renewed assignment. moreover, let's recall that the wording of this divine command to jonah in chapter three ("proclaim/call to it") is different from what we have in chapter one ("call out against it"). the former connotes a message of repentance and not condemnation. but does jonah understand the theological implication of the divine instruction: "to proclaim to it (nineveh)?" jonah's call to the ninevites he cried and said, "another forty days, and nineveh shall be overturned!" (3:4) instead of urging the people to repent, jonah announces their imminent doom, reverting to the original command: "call out against it." jonah does not want the people of nineveh to repent; on the contrary, he prefers to witness their demise. jonah begins to preach his message: "forty days and nineveh would be הפך (destroyed or overturned?)." in the bible, the number forty indicates a time of trial or testing that leads to renewal and salvation. thus, the duration of "forty" here is reminiscent of noah's flood (gen 7:4.12.17; 8:6), the forty days of moses on sinai (ex 24:18; 34:28), of ezekiel bearing the iniquity of judah for forty days (ezek 4:6). most pragmatic is israel's forty years in the wilderness. 26 yet, these events relate to an elapsed time during which the actions take place. but in our case, it is rather a 26 cf. philip cary, jonah: brazos theological commentary on the bible, (michigan: brazos press, 2008), 108. the virtuous ninevites: echoes of igwebuike theology in the narrative analysis of jonah 3:1-10 themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 123 tuned delay: a postponement of execution that provides opportunity to escape destruction, and to give room for efforts to earn god's forgiveness. in the words of uriel simon: forty days is a typological number that indicates a relatively long period of time (cf. dt 9:18; also 1 kgs 19:8). here it is the period of grace until it comes due. this stay of execution presents an opportunity to escape the impending destruction. 27 i think the narrator’s choice of the niphal participle of the verb הפך to describe the fate of nineveh, as proclaimed by jonah, is very deliberate. the verb is the same used in the overthrow of sodom and gomorrah (gen 19:21,25,29). as such, it becomes part of biblical cliché used to describe wrath and destruction that is as bad as when the lord overturned sodom and gomorrah. evidently, jonah finds comfort in this word. if nineveh's fate is like that of sodom and gomorrah, he will of all, be very happy. 28 the temporal force of the niphal participial verb: ֶכת .can be determined from the context ֶנְהפ participles, generally, are mostly used for imminent actions that will take place soon. 29 hence, jonah may well have hoped that no change would take place in nineveh until it is destroyed in forty days’ time. this may as well explain the lethargic attitude with which he approached the message: "yet in forty days, and nineveh would be destroyed" (3:4). in a day, jonah was done with his message to a city that takes three days walk (3:3b-4a). but, will the ninevites be really destroyed in "forty days' time?" it suffices to say, though, that the verb הפך for certain recalls what happened to sodom and gomorrah, but it also has certain subtlety in its nuance. the verb, which is usually translated as "destroy," also means "upset, overturn, or change." the verb can refer to a radical reversal from one extreme to another, including a change of heart. for example, in dt 23:6, moses reminded the sons of israel that "yhwh your god turned [ ְך qal imperfect] for you the curse [of balaam] ,ַוַיֲהפ 27 simon, 29. 28 cf. cary, 108. 29 cf. p. joüon – t. muraoka, § 121 e. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 124 into a blessing, because yhwh your god loves you." 30 hence, this double sense of the verb calls the reader to expect the unexpected. j-p sonnet opines that the verb appropriate to this logic of "overturning" is הפך, because it represents the overturning of all in all, which only god is capable of doing. 31 as such, the question that confronts the lector at this point is: will the city be reversed or overturned in the sense of being ruined, or will it be reversed in the sense of repentance? but we must also wonder whether jonah is really aware of the double sense of that word. therefore, it appears as if the narrator, using the forty days of respite for the upheaval of the city, creates a verbal irony of the double sense of the verb, הפך. this further creates the effect of suspense that opens up the future of the narration and makes conversion possible. "yet, forty days nineveh will be overturned" could refer to its destruction like sodom and gomorrah or to its change from impenitent wickedness to repentance and faith. either way, nineveh will be changed! 32 jonah likely would have understood his message to be one of impending doom of the sort that befell sodom, and the ninevites clearly took it as a warning that they would perish, if they did not repent. 33 and as such, they overturned their way of life to avert the overturning of their city and its inhabitants. the two possible meanings of the verb allow for a fact that yhwh seeks a change in the people’s hearts (see 3:9-10), while jonah longs for their destruction (see 4:1,5). jonah’s distress in chapter four is partly because he does not realize that his sermon came true in the sense yhwh intended. how ironic! 34 however, at the macro level of the story, this verse marks the 30 lessing, 283. 31 cf. j.-p., sonnet, "jonas est-il parmi les prophètes? une réécriture narrative sur les attributs divins," in c. clivaz al ed., éscritures réécriture. bethl 247 leuven (2012) 137-157. 32 cf. lessing, 283. 33 cf. donald j. wiseman, "jonah's nineveh," tyndale bulletin 30 (1979): 2951. 34 cf. lessing, 283. the virtuous ninevites: echoes of igwebuike theology in the narrative analysis of jonah 3:1-10 themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 125 resolution, not only of the divine command of 3:2, but also the plot that had begun in 1:3 with the first complication, that is; of jonah fleeing to tarshish. finally, he obeys and proclaims, not minding his reluctance and desire for the doom of nineveh. the reaction of the ninevites and the people of nineveh believed god; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth (3:5). in 3:4, we see god's words as reported by jonah, "yet forty days and nineveh will be overturned/destroyed." jonah never claimed divine authority for this statement, however, the people of nineveh gave a theological response to it: "they believed god" (3:5). coming from the hebrew root אמן, this verb has never been used in the course of our story; it forms a play on words with the name of the father of jonah, amittai, which is derived from the same root and therefore connotes trust or faith. hence, the announcement to the ninevites by jonah, the son of one whose name means "god's faithfulness or trust in god," inspires the ninevites to trust in god. 35 scaiola observes that the swiftness of their belief in god contrasts ironically with the slowness of jonah, who only accepted his divine commission towards nineveh after a three-day and three-night ordeal in the belly of the fish. 36 even when he finally accepts to preach to the ninevites, he presents it lethargically in five hebrew words, translated: "yet, forty days, nineveh will be destroyed." but, despite jonah's seemingly nonchalant attitude towards the preaching, the people of nineveh all believed in god. phillip cary said that it will be difficult to resist adding: "and it was counted to them as righteousness," 37 just as it was said of abraham (cf. gen 15:6). the loftiness of the repentance of the people of nineveh to the preaching of the israelite prophet shines out when compared with the attitude of the israelites given the same circumstances. a close look at certain biblical passages shows that the very response of faith that israel could not give without signs and 35 cf. trible, 513. 36 cf. scaiola, 69. 37 cary, 110. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 126 wonders (cf. ex 4:9) or even refused to give despite miracles (isaiah 7), the pagan ninevites gave after a sermon of a reluctant preacher. 38 "calling a fast and putting on sackcloth" is the same language used for calling a solemn assembly in order to sanctify a fast in israel (cf. joel 1:14; 2:15). the first word comes from the root verb קרא (they call or proclaim a fast) which is the same verb that jonah used to announce to the people of nineveh the words of god in 3:4. the second comes from the root verb לבש (they put-on sackcloth). this is a new word thus far in the story. however, both phrases are used to express penitential acts. but it is not used for a non-israelite, except in jonah. the expression: "from the largest to the smallest of them" gives an emphatic character to the absolute repentance of the people of nineveh. uriel simon observes here that "in the sodom periscope, it is the all-inclusive scope of the guilt that is emphasized, 'from young to old' (gen. 19:4). here, however, the comprehensive guilt is overcome by the all-inclusive scope of the repentance." 39 one thing that surprises the reader is the ease and immediacy with which they believed in the message of a foreign prophet, or better still, "an enemy prophet." also, they were not in any concrete danger at the moment, like the sailors in chapter one, 40 whose conversion was occasioned in the midst of an actual peril. thus, the repentance of these pagan characters appears surprising. this raises the curiosity of the reader: is there an element of the past that escapes us? this narrative blank, which is never filled-up in the story, keeps the lector in tension and pushes him to formulate for himself a reading key, a key which j.-p. sonnet supplies. he says that this blank exists "so that the project of god, which constitutes the substratum of the narrated story, acts through the spring of curiosity." 41 in the reaction of the 38 lessing, 284-85. 39 simon, 30. 40 cf. trible, 513. 41 j.-p. sonnet, " l'analisi narrativa dei racconti biblici," in m. bauks – c. nihan,ed., manuale di esegesi dell'antico testamento. testi e commenti (bologna: edizioni dehoniane bologna, 2015), 65-6. the virtuous ninevites: echoes of igwebuike theology in the narrative analysis of jonah 3:1-10 themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 127 people of nineveh, we see how a minimum means (jonah's fivewords-preaching) produced a maximum effect. as if one should say, like yesua ben david, "nowhere in israel have i seen a repentance like this" (cf. matthew 8:10). the reaction of the king of nineveh when the news reached the king of nineveh, he rose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes (3:6). the news reaches the king of nineveh, and now it's the subjects who dictate the order of the day, pushing the king by their example to make penitential acts. the king's appearance on the scene, who is also not named in the story, matches the appearance of the captain of the ship in 1:6; but this instance is even more insightful. he is exemplary, both in his response to the word of god and in his actions. with no storm blowing, no boat about to sink, just one brief and ambiguous message, he realizes the city is in great danger and that something has to be done to save it. learning that his people have called a fast and put on sackcloth, he follows suit. he formalises their effort of penitence with a decree. in the words of phillip cary: "it seems he is not above following his own people (how many kings are this wise?), jumping on the bandwagon when he sees it carrying them toward life, not death." 42 he doesn't merely follow the example of his subjects, but he acts even further: he strips himself of his regalia, making a journey back from the royal dignity to penitential humility. 43 or better still, according to lessing, "in response to jonah's message that nineveh would "be changed" (3:4), the king himself changed, both in dwelling, in dress, and in dignity." 44 this portrays, not just contrition, but true repentance. his action begins with his rising from his throne, and ends with his sitting in ashes: 45 42 cary, 113. 43 cf. trible, 514. 44 lessing, 309. 45 ibid, 309. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 128 a he rose from his throne b removed his royal robe b' covered himself with sackcloth a' and sat upon the ash heap. the narrator probably represented the action of the king in this chiastic summary, to underline the change the king underwent in an effort to show his repentance. unlike jonah's descent which was in disobedience, the king descends in humility before the word of god, from his throne to an ash heap. thus, while jonah in 1:3 arises to go down in disobedience, the king of nineveh arises and sat down in humble obedience to the word of yhwh preached by jonah. god did not speak directly to the king of nineveh, as he did to jonah. but even at that, the king responds in a humble and ready way, as if the word of god had been given to him without mediation. the king's response to the דבר (word) yhwh is quite exemplary and this is exactly what jonah could not get around to, until he finds himself helpless in the deep waters. so, the king and jonah are antitypes. jonah's first response to the דבר yhwh was to flee, but the king's immediate reaction was to abase himself in obedient response to the word of god. it is interesting to see how the king spontaneously steps away from his regal status as he arises from his throne to sit down in ashes and exchanges his royal regalia for sackcloth. 46 the action of the king does not surprise the reader, who has already been prepared by the narrator in the previous verse, when he learned that the people of nineveh believed god and they immediately performed penitential acts; but what surprises the reader here is that the actors follow inverse paths which one would not ordinarily expect of them: a king, rather 46 cf. d. timmer, "jonah’s theology of the nations: the interface of religious and ethnic identity," rivbib 120 (2013): 13-23. the virtuous ninevites: echoes of igwebuike theology in the narrative analysis of jonah 3:1-10 themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 129 than controlling, follows the example of his subjects; and instead of the normal course: "from grass to grace," he follows an opposite route: "from grace to grass." all this points to the genuineness of the repentance of the king and his people. furthermore, the reaction of the king of nineveh is all the more very remarkable in that, elsewhere in the old testament, assyrian kings are portrayed as arrogant, boasting monarchs who not only defy yhwh and threaten jerusalem, but also argue that their power is greater than yhwh’s because they have been able to defeat the god of israel/judah just as they defeated the gods of other nations (cf. is 10:5-34; 2kgs 18-19; nahum 2-3). 47 on the contrary, the king in jonah (3:6) acted, not in the manner one would expect from an assyrian ruler, but in a way one would expect from a king after god's own heart, like david (cf. 2 sam 12:16). in fact, the king is not only distinctive among assyrian rulers, his actions also dwarf that of many kings in israel. for example, jer 36:9-31 makes clear that jehoiakim of jerusalem was notably unmoved by jeremiah’s words and, therefore, was denounced for his obstinacy. but this pagan king of nineveh, acted quite differently. the decree of the king (vv. 7-9) then he had a proclamation made in nineveh: "by the decree of the king and his nobles: no human being or animal, no herd or flock, shall taste anything. they shall not feed, nor shall they drink water ..." (3:7-9). in 3:7, the focus shifts from the king’s personal response back to the city’s communal response. only after humbling himself does the king issue an edict to institutionalise the "overturning." there is something very striking here. the edict issued by the king has almost a prophetic function. normally, when the word of god comes to the prophet, as regards an impending doom, the prophet either intercedes on behalf of the people, or calls the people to repentance (cf. abraham in gen 47 cf. lessing, 309. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 130 18:23-32; and moses in ex 32). jonah obviously acted like the opposite of abraham and moses. however, since jonah did not behave like a prophet, the king of nineveh filled the gap, playing the role of a prophet and calling his people to repentance. 48 more so, even the process by which the ninevites arrive at their particular form of repentance is a kind of overturning for nineveh's social status: the highs (the king and his nobles) following the lows (the common people of nineveh). 49 scaiola observes that there is a play on words based on the term ַטַעם, which means decree only in ancient hebrew, while, customarily, it assumes the sense of "taste," "judgment" or "discernment." as such, it recalls the content of the decree through the root verb טעם; which indicates the prohibition to taste food. the interesting thing here, though, is that the verb that is normally used with respect to human beings now affects also animals. 50 scaiola further observes that this vocabulary has a broader resonance in wisdom literature. it has a sensual nuance. so here it could indicate that men and animals have to give up any form of pleasure. 51 the king's decree involves both men and animals, emphasising that the penitence comprises the totality of nineveh. the entire city has to make a penitential movement, or rather should refrain from all the normal actions that serve life and, moreover, produce a gratification of the senses. it may seem an ironic trait that even animals are involved in fasting, but we find a similar nuance elsewhere in scripture (cf. joel 1:18-20; judt 4:9-10). thus, this simply shows that, even the animals are more responsive to yhwh than the israelite prophet, jonah. the animals are in solidarity with their human patrons in the effort to avert the impending doom. animals participate in fast when they are not 48 cf. yair zakovitch, "through the looking glass," bi 12 (1993): 139-152. 49 cf. cary, 115. 50 cf. scaiola, 72. 51 ibid, 72. the virtuous ninevites: echoes of igwebuike theology in the narrative analysis of jonah 3:1-10 themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 131 pastured or watered (cf. judith 4,9-11). in this way, they call on god in their hunger and thirst, for even the bellowing of animals is a sort of prayer, as attested to by the prophet joel: "the very beasts of the field cry out to you; for the watercourses are dried up" (joel 1:20). the king's decree continues. after the three negative commands in the previous verse follows the three positive commands here. and at the beginning of each of this part, the phrase ‘men and animals’ is repeated. therefore, with this strong call to repentance, addressed to each and every one (man and beast alike), without exception, we see the true contrition of the inhabitants of nineveh, man and beast alike. the force of this radical change is seen in the last decree of the king: "let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in their hands;" the people of nineveh have to turn, that is, convert. the verb used is from the root שוב. interestingly, the expression: "they must turn, each from his evil ways" is prevalent in the old testament, particularly in the book of jeremiah (cf. jer 18:11; 23:14,22; 25:5; 26:3; 35:15; 36:3,7). however, here in the book of jonah, this expression is made, not by an israelite prophet, but by a pagan king. as such, lessing succinctly observes: that this king speaks the same words yhwh utters through his prophet jeremiah recalls the similar situation in jonah 1, where the pagan captain used commands spoken earlier by yhwh: "arise, ... call" (1:2). when the captain and the king quote god, the satire is evident: the israelite jonah is unfaithful to yhwh's word, but the pagan gentiles are converted to faith in accord with yhwh's word. 52 here, the israelite prophet is out propheted by gentile converts. in fact, this pagan king showed a knowledge of god that outclassed jonah's understanding of the way god works. the king said in his decree: "who knows? god may repent and change his mind ..." (v.9). the fact that the king of nineveh expressed a certain kind of 52 lessing, 314. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 132 uncertainty regarding the reaction of god to their repentance, with a question full of hope, but without any real certainty, indicates his awareness of how god works. god's compassion and mercy are not to be taken for granted; they come solely from the love of god. god alone will decide the fate of nineveh. the citizens of nineveh can believe and repent, but sincerity alone cannot control what god is free to do for them or against them. they can hope for deliverance, but cannot surely expect it (3:9). the hearer/reader does not know what will happen either. this understanding of god's activity that the king of nineveh has is quite different from the one that jonah shows in his behaviour (cf. 4:2). the expression highlights the fact that in the bible, the culprit has no right to redress. in other words, "who knows if god may repent?" (3:9) does not denote lack of faith; rather, it is an expression of the discrete hope 53 of one who knows that he (god) will be gracious to whom he intends to be gracious to, and will show compassion on whom he wills to show compassion (cf. ex. 34:19). the nifal verb נחם ("to repent") semantically defines the retraction of a judgment already issued or to a previously planned action; but more deeply, it expresses the divine freedom that can move without restriction from one attribute to another, from justice to mercy, mercy to justice, without being accused of caprice or inconstancy. it's a reversibility appropriate to the god who, in exodus 3:14, reveals himself to moses as "i am who i am." in other words, "i can be whoever and whatever i want to be," claiming the possibility of alternation of his attributes. 54 53 cf. pietro bovati, cosi parla il signore: studio sul profetismo biblico, bib, (bologna: edb, 2008), 138-9. for other texts in which ַע י־יֹוֵדָ֣ is used cf. 2 sam ִמ 12:22; joel 2:13-14. 54 for the theological import of נחם as an attribute of god, see the concluding section of this work which is dedicated to some theological reflections; also cf. cf. j.-p., sonnet, "god's repentance and "false starts" in biblical history," congress volume ljubljana (2007): 469-494. the virtuous ninevites: echoes of igwebuike theology in the narrative analysis of jonah 3:1-10 themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 133 jonah, uttering the oracle in 3:4 "yet forty days and nineveh will be overturned," had perhaps intended it as a terrible announcement of punishment which will definitely come to pass, but the people of nineveh interpreted differently; for them, it was an urgent call to repentance, and as such, they entered in the dynamic of divine reversibility that they now wonder if god would turn back from his anger and repent: it's not a certainty, but a trust in the love of god. even yesua ben david recognised the remarkable significance of the attitude of the people of nineveh towards the preaching of jonah that he accorded them the right to condemn his generation (cf. luke 11:32). thus, he makes the people of nineveh models of true repentance and calls his followers to emulate it. god's response to the "who knows?" "when god saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, god changed his mind/repented ... " (3:10) in vv. 8-9, one notes the connection between the action and the decree of the king in vv. 8-9, on one hand, and god's reaction, on the other. the king's exhortation: "and let everyone return from his evil way" (v. 8) is confirmed in the conduct of the people of nineveh: "and god saw that they had all returned from their evil way" (v. 10). the king had hoped: "who knows, god will return and repent ,and return from the fierce of his wrath" (v. 9); and now it is assured: "and god repented of the evil" (v. 10). this underlines the substantial difference between the divine and the human responses: god's answer comes in the way of god, in an unpredictable way. thus, just as trible rightly observed, "human action does not dictate divine response." 55 the "who knows," of the king of nineveh confirms this dictum. god, in his own way, overturns the dreaded harm into salvation. 55 trible, 516. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 134 echoes of igwebuike 56 theology in jonah 3:1-10 56 kanu i. a. (2015b). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu i. a. (2017). igwebuikeconomics: towards an inclusive economy for economic development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 6. 113-140. kanu i. a. (2017). sources of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. 9. 1. pp. 1-23. kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. kanu, a. i. (2017c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 7. pp. 165-183. kanu, a. i. (2017d). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 6. pp. 16-50. kanu, a. i. (2017f). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. pp. 153-160. kanu, i. a. (2010). towards an african cultural renaissance. professor bassey andah journal of cultural studies. volume 3, pp. 146-155. kanu, i. a. (2012). a metaphysical epistemological study of african medical practitioners. in o. e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (2012). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 227-240). nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2012). being qua belongingness: the provenance and implications of pantaleon’s redefinition of being. uche: journal of the department of philosophy, university of nigeria, nsukka. vol. 17. pp. 57-58. kanu, i. a. (2012). from ‘onye’ to ‘ife’ hypothesis: the contribution of edeh to the development of the concept of being. lwati: a journal of contemporary research. 9, 4. 218-223. kanu, i. a. (2012). inculturation and christianity in africa. international journal of humanities and social science. vol. 2. no. 17. pp. 236-244. kanu, i. a. (2012). the functionality of being in pantaleon's operative metaphysics vis-a-vis the niger delta conflict. african research review: an international multi-disciplinary journal. vol.6. no.1. pp. 212-222. kanu. i. a. (2012). towards an igbo christology, in ezenweke, e.o and kanu, a.i. (eds) issues in african traditional religion and philosophy, jos: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2012). the problem of being in metaphysics. african research review: an international multi-disciplinary journal. vol.6. no.2. april. pp. 113-122. kanu, i. a. (2012). the problem of personal identity in metaphysics. international journal of arts and humanities. vol.1. no.2. pp.1-13. kanu, i. a. (2012a). the concept of life and person in african anthropology. in e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (eds.). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 61-71). nigeria: the virtuous ninevites: echoes of igwebuike theology in the narrative analysis of jonah 3:1-10 themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 135 from this close reading of jonah chapter three, two things stand out: jonah's attitude towards an enemy nation and the ninevites uprightness, despite being an "other" in this narrative. the other against whom israel's identity is forged is abhorred, abject, impure, and in the old testament, a vast number of them obliterated, while in the new testament, vast numbers are colonized. igwebuike theology erases the line between "us" and "them," a line which jonah, by his attitude, tries to maintain. his reluctance to go and preach the message of repentance to an enemy nation and the lethargic attitude with which he eventually does it show his ill disposition towards nineveh. jonah would rather god destroys nineveh; this explains why he was greatly distressed when god showed his gracious mercy towards the people of nineveh (cf. jonah 4:1). however, the adonai of israel (ל ֵאָ֔ ֙ה ְלִיְשר is also god the most high (ְיהו ֹון) ל ֶעְליָ֔ who created the heavens and the earth (cf. gen 14:22). this ,(ֵאָ֣ is an aspect of god that jonah didn't want to accept. he acted as if to say the enemy of israel should also be the enemy of yhwh; the nation which israel hates, god should also hate. the narrator did not tell us of the antecedent relationship between nineveh and israel, nor did he let us into the reason why jonah was particularly angry at the mercy of god towards the people of nineveh. but from biblical evidence, we could suppose that jonah was reluctant to go to nineveh, owing to the antecedent hostile relationship between the two nations (israel and assyria). secondly, jonah knew that god is rich in mercy (cf. jonah 4:2) and will eventually forgive nineveh, the arch enemy of israel, should it repent. but, jonah would not want such mercy over a augustinian. kanu, i. a. (2012b). towards an igbo christology. in e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (eds.). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 75-98). nigeria: augustinian. kanu, i. a. (2013). african identity and the emergence of globalization. american international journal of contemporary research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 34-42. kanu, i. a. (2013). globalisation, globalism and african philosophy. c. umezinwa (ed.). african philosophy: a pragmatic approach to african probems (pp. 151-165). germany: lambert. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 136 city like nineveh. the city, apart from being mentioned in an etiology concerning the origin of several mesopotamian cities in gen 10:8-12; is also mentioned in 2 kgs 19:36; is 37:37; and in nahum and zephaniah. both of those prophetic books emphasize nineveh’s role as the symbol of the assyrian empire, the mortal enemy of israel, renowned for brutal conquest and butchery. 57 however, god's mercy towards nineveh "challenges every separatist theology that tries to exclude people based on religion, tribe, ethnicity, nationality or moral ideology. it tells us from biblical perspective that "to belong" does not necessarily mean conformity to a particular standard or people. it simply means "to be" ___ to be available for the divine as part of the global human family." 58 more so, this sovereign god, who alone is good (cf. mk 10,18) by his very nature, reacts to evil, no matter who commits it, whether israel or any other nation of the earth. the predicament of man is the predicament of god who has a stake in human situation. sin, guilt and suffering cannot be separated from the divine situation. the life of sin is more than a failure of man; it is a frustration to god who is involved in human history. 59 therefore, the yhwh of israel is the sovereign lord over all nations. he is the god of jonah, the god of the sailors and the god of the ninevites. this understanding calls us to rise above our differences which, in themselves, should not constitute a threat or be a factor that divides us; rather, they can be basic notes for a beautiful musical symphony. furthermore, god seemed to be drawn by the beautiful solidarity in the penitential acts of the inhabitants of nineveh. for even the animals, through their bellowing, were in solidarity with their human patrons in seeking for divine mercy. nineveh’s repentance manifests 57 cf. lessing, 85. 58 malachy theophilus, "the role of rehab in the conquest story of joshua as a manifestation of igwebuike theology: a narrative analysis of joshua 2," in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5, no. 8 (2019), 91. 59 cf. abraham j. heschel, the prophets, (new york: harpercollins publishers, 2001), 291. the virtuous ninevites: echoes of igwebuike theology in the narrative analysis of jonah 3:1-10 themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 137 itself in a form that rivals even the most pious israelite times of repentance. not only the king, but all the people and even the livestock put on sackcloth and fasted (jonah 3:5-8). jonah 3:8 is worded to suggest that just like the people, the livestock too, cover themselves with sackcloth! in that way, the ninevites’ penitence exceeds any recorded for israel. this powerful unity in their penitential gestures appeared to move god, in his sovereign freedom, to act in favour of nineveh and its inhabitants. conclusion from the foregoing, we see how jonah, urged repeatedly by god's command, went to nineveh, proclaimed the word of yhwh, and then left the scene for the people of nineveh, the king of nineveh and of course yhwh. the ninevites and their king performed penitential acts and made a real change of direction. while the attitude of the people of nineveh shows unity of purpose and a deeper understanding of how god works in human history, jonah's attitude shows the opposite. he couldn't see beyond his prejudice against nineveh and its inhabitants to a deeper understanding of our common humanity, and how god acts from the same point of view. the ninevites seemed to understand this better and, as such, did not allow their religious difference or political history with israel prevent them from drinking from the common ocean of divine mercy. of course, the reader would be wondering what happened to jonah; what will his reaction be to this unexpected and positive action of the ninevites, on one hand, and god's mercy, on the other: will he really grow up and avail himself to the ways of god, who "shows favour to whom he wants, and grants mercy to whom he wants" (cf. ex 34:19)? will he really realise that just as israel is "a people of god," so too nineveh is "a great city unto god" (jonah 3:3b)? i do not have the answers to these questions. but it suffices to say that the book of jonah is the only biblical book that ends with a question mark. through such ending, the narrator calls us, not just to participate in the conflict between jonah and god's ways, but more importantly, to participate in malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 138 the theology of the book and confront our own inclination that assumes salvation is only for us. bibliography bovati, p. cosi parla il signore: studio sul profetismo biblico. bib. bologna: edb, 2008. cary, p. jonah: brazos theological commentary on the bible. michigan: brazos press, 2008. friedemann, g. w. the revelations of god: a commentary on the books of song of songs and jonah. grand rapids: eerdmanns, 1988. gordon, c. h. "build-up and climax," in creation, genesis and flood. edited by y. avishur – j. blau. jerusalem: rubinstein, 1978. heschel, a. j. the prophets. new york: harpercollins publishers, 2001. joüon, p. muraoka, t. a grammar of biblical hebrew. sb 27. rome: gb press, 2011. kanu i. a. a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. 2015 kanu i. a. igwebuikeconomics: towards an inclusive economy for economic development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 6. 113-140. 2017 kanu i. a. sources of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. 9. 1. pp. 1-23. 2017 kanu, a. i. igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. 2016 kanu, a. i. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 7. pp. 165-183. 2017 the virtuous ninevites: echoes of igwebuike theology in the narrative analysis of jonah 3:1-10 themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 139 kanu, a. i. igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 6. pp. 16-50. 2017 kanu, a. i. igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. pp. 153-160. 2017 kanu, i. a. towards an african cultural renaissance. professor bassey andah journal of cultural studies. volume 3, pp. 146-155. 2010 kanu, i. a. a metaphysical epistemological study of african medical practitioners. in o. e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (2012). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 227-240). nigeria: augustinian publications. 2012 kanu, i. a. being qua belongingness: the provenance and implications of pantaleon’s redefinition of being. uche: journal of the department of philosophy, university of nigeria, nsukka. vol. 17. pp. 57-58. 2012 kanu, i. a. from ‘onye’ to ‘ife’ hypothesis: the contribution of edeh to the development of the concept of being. lwati: a journal of contemporary research. 9, 4. 218-223. 2012 kanu, i. a. inculturation and christianity in africa. international journal of humanities and social science. vol. 2. no. 17. pp. 236-244. 2012 kanu, i. a. the functionality of being in pantaleon's operative metaphysics vis-a-vis the niger delta conflict. african research review: an international multi-disciplinary journal. vol.6. no.1. pp. 212-222. 2012 kanu. i. a. towards an igbo christology, in ezenweke, e.o and kanu, a.i. (eds) issues in african traditional religion and philosophy, jos: augustinian publications. 2012 kanu, i. a. the problem of being in metaphysics. african research review: an international multi-disciplinary journal. vol.6. no.2. april. pp. 113-122. 2012 kanu, i. a. the problem of personal identity in metaphysics. international journal of arts and humanities. vol.1. no.2. pp.1-13. 2012 malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 140 kanu, i. a. the concept of life and person in african anthropology. in e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (eds.). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 61-71). nigeria: augustinian. 2012 kanu, i. a. towards an igbo christology. in e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (eds.). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 75-98). nigeria: augustinian. 2012 kanu, i. a. african identity and the emergence of globalization. american international journal of contemporary research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 34-42. 2013 kanu, i. a. globalisation, globalism and african philosophy. c. umezinwa (ed.). african philosophy: a pragmatic approach to african probems (pp. 151-165). germany: lambert. 2013 lessing, r. reed. jonah. concordia commentary, st. louis: concordia publishing house 2007. sasson, j. m. jonah. anchor bible 24b. new york: doubleday, 1990. scaiola, d. abdia, giona, michea: introduzione, traduzione e commento. nvbta. milano: san paolo, 2012. simon, u. jonah: the traditional hebrew text with the new jps translations. philadelphia: jps, 1999. sonnet, j.-p. "god's repentance and "false starts" in biblical history." congress volume ljubljana (2007): 469-494. sonnet, j.-p. "jonas est-il parmi les prophètes? une réécriture narrative sur les attributs divins," in éscritures réécriture. edited by c. clivaz et al. bethl 247 leuven (2012): 137-157. sonnet, j.-p. " l'analisi narrativa dei racconti biblici," in manuale di esegesi dell'antico testamento: testi e commenti. edited by m. bauks – c. nihan. bologna: edizioni dehoniane, 2015. stuart, d., hosea-jonah, wbc 31, dallas: word, incorporated, 1987. theophilus, m. "the role of rehab in the conquest story of joshua as a manifestation of igwebuike theology: a narrative the virtuous ninevites: echoes of igwebuike theology in the narrative analysis of jonah 3:1-10 themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 141 analysis of joshua 2," in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5, no. 8 (2019): 72-92. thomas, w. d. "a consideration of some universal ways of expressing the superlative in hebrew." vetus testamentum 3 (1953): 209-224. timmer, d. "jonah’s theology of the nations: the interface of religious and ethnic identity." rivbib 120 (2013): 13-23. trible, p. "studies in the book of jonah." an unpublished dissertation. columbia university, new york, 1963. waltke, b. k. o'connor, m. an introduction to biblical hebrew syntax. indiana: eisenbrauns, 1990. wiseman, d. j. "jonah's nineveh," tyndale bulletin 30 (1979): 2951. wolff, w. h. obadiah and jonah. minneapolis: augsburg, 1986. zakovitch, y. "through the looking glass," bi 12 (1993): 139-152. a narrative analysis of jonah/sailors ironies in jonah 1:1-16: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 143 a narrative analysis of jonah/sailors ironies in jonah 1:1-16: an igwebuike perspective malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd santa clara university california, united states of america theophilusmalachy@gmail.com abstract this article reviews the journey of jonah, paying attention to his failings. this helps to highlight, not just the virtuousness of the pagan characters in the first chapter of the book of jonah, but also shows an igwebuike theological perspective, a theology that shows the power in unity. the outcome of such theology is life, its opposite being death. the narrative is radical because it joggles so many preconceived ideas of the biblical israel who believe that god is only interested in israel, the elect people of god. but this assumption has not only proved to be misguided, but also completely wrong. the god of the israelite prophet jonah is also the god of the pagan sailors. the sailors' unity of purpose in the face of a neardeath situation stands them out in the narrative in contrast to jonah, the prophet. their theological understanding gained them life, while jonah opted for death. this tells us, from a theological view point, that the special relationship between yhwh and israel does not preclude other nations and people from the mercy of god and from being used by god towards the salvation of others, for god's sovereignty is a world-wide sovereignty. keywords: igwebuike perspective, narrative analysis, jonah, sailors, ironies mailto:theophilusmalachy@gmail.com malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 144 introduction the book of jonah, even though short, is theologically a very rich story about a prophet, the prophet's relation to his god, and god’s relation to all his creation. the narrative is radical because it joggles so many preconceived ideas of the biblical israel about how god operates in our world: is it not the case that he is only interested in israel, the elect people of god? this assumption has not only shown to be misguided, but also flat out wrong. one thing that stands out in the book is its interest in non-israelites, which is my focus in this paper. prophets in israel are known, not just as the mouthpiece of yhwh, but also as those who stand in the gap on behalf of the nation. they rally the nation together for a particular salvific purpose. however, that was not the case with jonah, son of amittai. jonah went counter-current to the basic principles of prophetism, and as such, betrays the principle of igwebuike 1 theology, meaning, "there is 1 for the explaination of the root meaning of igwebuike, see malachy theophilus, "the role of rehab in the conquest story of joshua as a manifestation of igwebuike theology: a narrative analysis of joshua 2," in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5, no. 8 (2019), 72. kanu, ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy, 14. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2019). a narrative analysis of jonah/sailors ironies in jonah 1:1-16: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 145 igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kanu, i. a. (2019). on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159-176. kanu, i. a. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igboafrican modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 146 strength in solidarity." he preferred to stand alone and aloof from every other person, including god. his sentiments and body language preach nationalism instead of globalization or the unity of the human family. however, the sailors, even though minor characters and "pagans," confirm the strength in solidarity. therefore, my aim in this paper is to look at the sailors in the story of jonah and demonstrate how their virtuousness overshadows the action of the prophet jonah. in other words, i will be looking at the book of jonah from the perspective of the supporting casts, with the aim of establishing that the key to unlocking the theology of jonah chapter one lies in the actions of the sailors, even though they are supporting casts or minor characters. to demonstrate this, i intend to use the arts of biblical narrative to show that the book of jonah is one of the biblical narrations in which the supporting casts assume an important role that aids the development of the plot of the story. the narrator masterfully, through the power of words, enrobes these characters with a virtuous garment that that makes them stand out in sharp contrast to the primary character. the literary vehicle through which the narrator conveys the virtuousness of these characters and highlights their importance in the plot is called irony. by this, the narrator, on the one hand, attributes to the them certain qualities that one would have expected of a believer in yhwh; while on the other hand, he presents the prophet jonah in a manner that appears to contradict the expected conformations of a prophet. in the light of the above, i will sometimes refer to these supporting casts (the sailors) as pagans. this is not intended to be derogatory, but is used with the aim to bring out the ironies between them and jonah, african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. a narrative analysis of jonah/sailors ironies in jonah 1:1-16: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 147 the prophet of yhwh. after all, israel in the bible sees the worship of any divinity outside yhwh, the god of israel, as paganism or idolatry (cf. exod 20:2; deut 5:6; 18:9-14). thus said, i intend to follow jonah in his journey in this narrative unit (jonah 1:1-16), paying attention to his failings so as to see how they help to highlight the heroism and the uprightness of the sailors. the story goes from surprise to surprise, following complications, resolutions and revelations. i intend to go into this great journey of conversion as a reader and the narrator will be my guide as i pay close attention to the finesse of his narrative art. jonah 1:1-3 immediately throws us into the heart of the story: the call of jonah and his flight. so let's begin our journey with jonah as i retell the story from the point of view of the art of biblical narrative. expositio the call and the flight of jonah (1:1-3) from the point of view of the hebrew verbal form, ְַֽ֙יִהי ,begins the story ַו rather abruptly. no historical superscription or any other introduction preceded this first episode. the hebrew word, ְַֽ֙יִהי normally translates as ,ַו "and it happened" or "it came to pass." among the twelve minor prophets, jonah is the only book to open with the word ְַֽ֙יִהי a term that often begins , ַו narratives. such a beginning suggests continuation; it implies that the background of the story is already known to the reader. even though the book of ezekiel (1:1) begins the same way, it's a first person narrative. it differs from jonah (1:1) which is a third person narrative. thus, jonah is a narrative whose own beginning is elusive and whose ending remains unwritten. "and it came to pass" signals a tale told in medias res (in the middle of things). therefore, it is possible to conclude that jonah is in the first place a narrative that begins prior to jonah 1:1, making the brief description of jonah in 2kings 14:25 the starting point. this could mean that our malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 148 arrator assumes his audience has a previous knowledge of the prophet from 2 kings 14. 2 the announcement of the intervention of yhwh (jonah 1:1) the story begins with a minimal description of the two interlocutors: yhwh and jonah, "the son of amittai." yhwh, the first protagonist to appear, addressed jonah with the formulation of the prophetic oracle well known in the bible. the clause קום לך אל־ (lit., "get up and go to […]") appears for example, in 1 kings 17:9: "arise and go to zarephath […]" (as an imperative to elijah); also in jeremiah 13:6, "get up and go to the euphrates […]." with this formula, let's suppose, without being explicitly told, that the recipient of the word is a prophet. jonah, as the second protagonist, is introduced by his full name, "jonah, son of amittai." "jonah" in hebrew means "dove," a bird used to describe the folly and inconstancy of israel (cf. hos 7:11-12). 3 our dove also goes counter-current to those of is 60:8-9, where doves are used as a metaphor for the ship that came to jerusalem from tarshish. י ַמן his father’s name is based on the verb ֲאִמַתָ֖ which in the hiphil ,א means "to believe" and in niphal could either mean "faithful or be certain." however, י truth or) ֱאֶמת is closer in form to the noun ֲאִמַתָ֖ faithfulness), which is derived from the verb, ַמן .א 4 based on this lexicographical dimension of the name jonah, some authors observed that the yod at the end of י may be regarded as a hypocoristicon ֲאִמַתָ֖ (shortened form of י ּה or יהוה), allowing amittai to mean something 2 cf. reed. r. lessing, jonah, concordia commentary (st. louis: concordia publishing house, 2007), 64. 3 cf. m. a. sweeney, "jonah" in cotter, d.w., ed., the twelve prophets, berit olam (collegeville: liturgical press, 2016), 304. 4 lessing, 65. a narrative analysis of jonah/sailors ironies in jonah 1:1-16: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 149 like "yhwh is true/faithful. 5 so, our jonah is the son of one whose name means the faithfulness of yhwh. but do his actions and inactions demonstrate this? in jonah, we will see that the one who was surnamed "the faithfulness of yhwh" is being unfaithful to the call and mission entrusted to him by yhwh. the mission of jonah (v.2) the word of yhwh involves three main verbs in imperative: "arise; go and call or proclaim." the imperative קּום ("arise") represents the emergence of yhwh who puts the story in motion, inviting jonah to act. such an order will reoccur two times in the story, always addressed to jonah, but not always from the mouth of yhwh (cf. 1:6 and 3:2). the imperative "go" (ֵלְך) translates a dynamic mission that jonah must follow. finally, the expression יה ֶלֶ֑ א ע ָ֣ ְקר "call or proclaim against it" could imply a dimension of disapproval and reproach common in the prophetic ministry (cf. 1 kings 1:2; jer 25:29). 6 it could also imply a call to repentance. however, the reader, like jonah, already knows the recipient of the message: "nineveh, that great city." but how would jonah respond to these divine imperatives? inciting moment: the flight of jonah (v.3) the first description of jonah's reaction corresponds perfectly to the order of the lord: קום "arise" (cf. v. 2). 7 however, the second verb of 5 cf. sweeney, 304. also see j. m. sasson, jonah, anchor bible 24b, new york: doubleday 1990), 69. also see douglas stuart, hosea-jonah. wbc (dallas : word, incorporated, 2002), 447 6 cf. d. scaiola, abdia, giona, michea: introduzione, traduzione e commento, nvbta (milano: san paolo, 2012), 55. 7 we do not have any word from jonah in response to the command of the lord; no ִני ֵּֽ .here i am» typical of the response of the servants of god (cf. gen» ,ִהנ 37:13; 22:1; 27:18), rather we see an action on his part, an action in the wrong direction. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 150 his response leaves the reader puzzled: ַח the qal .("to flee") ִלְבר ָ֣ infinitive construct of ברח, "to flee" with the preposition ְל, 8 informs us about the purpose of his rising, which indicates an act of rebellion and flight. up until this verse, the reader is expected to follow the plot of the conversion of nineveh, which was the starting point of the book. however, with the disjunctive waw, the narrator introduces the inciting moment to the plot. 9 at this point, the reader would expect a sentence like: "and jonah arose and went to nineveh," as this is the normal response to divine instructions, but that is not the case here. a question surges immediately in the mind of the reader: "but why did jonah not go to nineveh in accordance to the divine injunction?" 10 the narrator, not telling us anything in this regard, creates a narrative gap which puts the reader in suspense and arouses his curiosity. 11 other prophets, like moses, gideon, or jeremiah, who attempted to resist a divine command, expressed their opposition in words (ex 3:11; jdg 6:11-19; jer 1:6) so that it is possible for the lord to persuade them to bow to his yoke. 12 here, on the other hand, the escape from and opposition to the divine command are silent, and 8 in jonah, every human action described by an infinitive construct verb form fails to accomplish the intention of its human subject while every divine action described by the infinitive construct verb form comes to fruition with the sole exception of ַלֲעׂשֹות (the evil he promised to do to them) in 3:10. cf. lessing, jonah, 69. 9 the inciting moment is the moment in which the conflict or the problem appears for the first time and arouses the interest of the reader. cf. ska, 25. 10 cf. j. l. ska, "giona sei tu! la creazione del lettore nel libro di giona," an unpblished paper presented at a confrence in the theological institute of triveneto, italy (2013): 5-22. 11 cf. meir sternberg, the poetics of biblical narrative: ideological literature and the drama of reading, indiana: indiana university press, 1985), 259. 12 u. simon, jonah: the traditional hebrew text with the new jps translations, philadelphia: jps, 1999. 3. a narrative analysis of jonah/sailors ironies in jonah 1:1-16: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 151 look very determined. jonah goes indeed to a very specific place, described with two designations: 1) the name of the city: "tarshish;" and 2) its position with regard to god: "away from the presence of the lord." after this brief introduction, which moves the excitement from "where?" to "how?," we now have the description, action after action, of jonah's flight. we read: he went down to joppa and found a ship going to tarshish and paid the price, and went down into it, to go with them to tarshish from the presence of yhwh (v. 3cd). four verbs punctuate the flight: ירד (twice) "to go down," מצא "to find" נתן "to give" and בוא "to enter." jonah, who had "risen" (v. 3a), now starts a double descent, which will continue all through this narrative unit, describing the principal aspect of his attitude ___ first, to joppa, the port city of israel, and second, for which the "down" use of the verb is most unusual, in a ship. a concatenation of verbs, in wayyiqtol, mostly demonstrates a certain speed in the actions of jonah. the hebrew text is very interesting here because it constructs a play of words between the situation that provokes the decision of god to send his prophet, namely, "the evil that rises up to him;" and the reaction of jonah who rises, but "to go down." this verb "to go down" is a key word, particularly in the first part of this story. it does not only connote "physical or geographical movement, but most of all, the refusal of the prophet with regards to the mission entrusted to him by god." 13 thus, it connotes rebelliousness on the part of jonah. another thing to note in this flight of jonah is its irony couched in a chiastic structure: a: jonah arose to flee to tarshish away from the presence of yhwh. 13 scaiola, 56. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 152 b: he went on to joppa and found a ship and paid its price and boarded it. a: to go with them to tarshish away from the presence of yhwh. 14 the irony of jonah's flight is made evident in the structure above: the presence of yhwh surrounded jonah, even in his flight to tarshish. who can escape the presence of god? no wonder the psalmist says in ps. 139:7-10 (njb): where shall i go to escape your spirit? where shall i flee from your presence? if i scale the heavens you are there, if i lie flat in sheol, there you are. if i speed away on the wings of the dawn, if i dwell beyond the ocean, even there your hand will be guiding me, your right hand holding me fast. but it appears jonah did not know this aspect of god; he is still determined to flee. the story did not end with this ironic but inciting moment; rather, it is only the beginning of its further complications. complicatio the storm at the sea (1:4-16) in this scene, the complication of verse 4 is resolved in verses 15 and 16. the scene is structured in a concentric manner. the first half of the scene (1:4-10a) is progressively enriched by the second half (1:10b-16). the fear, tension, vain efforts and prayers all find resolution in the second half of the scene, thanks to the self-revelation of jonah in v. 9. this self-revelation marks the epicentre of the scene and propels the story to its final resolution. this movement from complication to resolution is obviously not automatic. it goes through certain exigencies (like surprises, vain efforts, fears, prayers and revelations) that highlight the activity of the sailors and the passivity of jonah before reaching its final resolution. 14 as noted by p. trible, rhetorical criticism: context, method, and the book of jonah (minneapolis: fortress press, 1994), 129. a narrative analysis of jonah/sailors ironies in jonah 1:1-16: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 153 complication i: god throws a storm that inspires fear (v. 4-5a) in this second scene, the narrator introduces us to another group of personages, outside the main protagonists of the story (yhwh and jonah), namely: ים ִחִ֗ the sailors." however, it is remarkable that" ַהַמל the sailors in jonah, unlike the ח in ezekiel 27:9, are completely ַמל devoid of any ethnic or national identity (except for the fact that they are non-israelite), while their religious identity receives comparatively ample description. 15 nonetheless, they are non-israelites and supposedly pagans, from israel's perspective. the narrator tells us succinctly that yhwh caused the wind, which caused the storm, which caused the ship to be in danger of sinking. these complicate the story and arouse the curiosity of the reader. the reader, at this point, does not know what would become of jonah and the divine message to nineveh, owing to the tension caused by the storm. this complication of the story (cf. waw disjunctive indicating a break in the momentum of jonah) 16 opens the second stage of the chapter. here, we have a situation of reader-elevating position; that is, a situation where the reader knows more than the characters in the story. 17 the characters do not know the cause of the storm, but thanks to the omniscient narrator, we know that it was god who threw "a great wind on the sea." meanwhile, the sailors' response was: ים ִחִ֗ ּו ַהַמל יְראָ֣ ַוִי "and the sailors were afraid." out of fear, "they cried out, each to his god." 15 cf. aaron j. brody, each man cried out to his god: the specialized religion of canaanite and phoenician (atlanta: brill, 1998) 82-3. 16 1:4a is a construction of the type of waw-x-qatal, which is different from wayyiqtol, it indicates an interruption of the principal line of the narration. 17 cf. j. l. ska, our father have told us, (roma: biblical press, 2000), 54-5. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 154 the efforts of the sailors (v. 5bc) their first action is religious in nature. the sailors have realized that a god can be hidden behind this mysterious storm, because among the ancients, every cosmic calamity is attributed to a divine intervention. 18 as such, they became afraid and cried (זעק) each to his own god. the insight of bruna costacurta on the relationship between "fear" and "cry" is very pertinent here. the cry of the sailors is not just a mere instinctive cry as a result of fear. rather, it is "a cry for help which man, threatened and gripped by fear, addresses both to men and to god. in this case, fear does not paralyse the faculty, but rather expresses itself in a search to find an escape." 19 thus, in their cry, the sailors made recourse, "each to his own god," in the bid to save themselves and to salvage the ship. here, we see the unity of purpose among these sailors. they all prayed, each to his own god, for the common purpose of salvaging the situation. their action resonates with the words of anthony i. kanu, that "when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful and can constitute an insurmountable force." 20 the second action is mechanical: throwing (with the return of the טול verb) the vessels in the sea to lighten the ship. since the prayer does not seem to work, the sailors throw their goods overboard, without knowing yet that jonah is the only load that puts the ship in distress. and indeed jonah, at this time, continues his descent. he cuts off himself from the group and continues with his descent into the world of aloneness. he forgets the popular maxim attributed to the ancient greek storyteller, aesop, that says: "united we stand, but divided we fall." 18 cf. antonio nepi, dal fondale alla ribalta: i personaggi secondari nella bibbia ebraica (bologna: epinia della parola, 2015), 86. 19 bruna costacurta, la vita minacciata: il tema della paura nella bibbia ebraica, anbib 119, roma: pontificio istituto biblico, 1988), 236-7. 20 anthony i. kanu, "igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization," in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no. 1 (march 2016), 3. a narrative analysis of jonah/sailors ironies in jonah 1:1-16: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 155 the religious identity of the sailors may not be yahwistic; however, they had faith in their god(s); and they called upon them in their time of danger. jonah, on the other hand, a prophet of yhwh, is deep asleep. in the words of hayyim angel, "how ironic it is that jonah contrasts himself with the sailors: he is righteous and aware of god's plan; they are idolatrous and ignorant of god's ways. comparatively, the reader sees that the sailors acted admirably, praying and acting to save themselves," 21 and to save jonah as well. so while the sailors move from inner emotion to outward cry to vigorous action, jonah, below the deck, moves from action to inaction and finally to total withdrawal. as the sailors increase, jonah decreases. the verbs "to become afraid" (א ֵ֖ ק or זעק) "and "to call out (ָיר are (ָצַעַ֥ used together only in jonah 1:5 and exodus 14:10, which have an almost identical expression: "they became very afraid, and they call out" (ו ד ַוִיְצֲעקַ֥ יְראוּ֙ ְמא ֹ֔ .(ַוִיֵּֽ 22 thus, looking at it from the point of view of exodus 14:10, it shows that even the non-israelite sailors did what an average israelite should do in times of trouble, namely: "call upon the divine." however, the storm still rages. since their prayer does not amount to a solution, they rightly conclude that the answer must lie in someone else: jonah, of course! but he who is guilty lies indifferently fast asleep. surprise i: jonah eclipsed (v.5d) "jonah, meanwhile, had gone down into the hold of the ship and had lain down, and was fast asleep." the order of the words in hebrew expresses a contrast to that which has just been told. 23 while the sailors are doing everything to survive, 21 angel hayyim, "the book of jonah: a call to personal responsibility," tradition 30 (1995), 60. 22 cf. lessing, 121. 23 cf. simon, 9. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 156 jonah runs away even further from his responsibility and is eclipsed in his sleep, as if it were nothing. nonchalance is emphasized here by the contrast between the three verbs that describe the action of the sailors: "fear, scream and throw," and the three used to describe the action of jonah: "go down, lie down, and fall deep asleep." hence, jonah is inactive, contrary to the active sailors. according to simon, "his ability to sleep at such a time is the first manifestation of his preferred inclination of death to life." 24 scaiola observes that "the verb רדם used here is derived from the substantive ה which could imply either a ַתְרֵדמ profound sleep (cf. 1 sam 26,12; is 29,10) or a state of trance (cf. gen 2,21; 15,12, dan 8,18)." 25 jonah sleeps profoundly, but his sleep is not a trance, but an escape from yhwh and from his prophetic responsibility. to describe the place where jonah had gone down, the narrator makes use of an unusual term: ה usually used to describe ,ְיֵרכ the most extreme and profound part of a place. 26 this jonah's new descent, therefore, emphasizes his estrangement from god and from the stage, to the depths of the ship, in a total detachment from life and the story around him. at this stage, the reader wonders what the fate of the sailors would be, owing to the fact of their ignorance of the person responsible for the danger that had befallen them. turning point: jonah is found and summoned to help (v. 6) "the captain (of the sailors) came and said to him, "what are you doing sound asleep? arise, call on your god! perhaps the god will spare us a thought so that we do not perish" this new complication of the story finds a turning point with the intervention of the captain of the ship. after a rhetorical question that 24 cf. simon, 9. 25 scaiola, 59. 26 of a region (judg. 19:1,18; 2kgs 19:23; is 37:24), of a cave (1sam 24:4), of a house (am 6:10), of a well (is 14:15; ezek 32:23), or of the land (jer. 6:22; 25:32; 31:8; 50:41). a narrative analysis of jonah/sailors ironies in jonah 1:1-16: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 157 implies a rebuke, 27 the captain repeats without knowing the divine imperative: א ֶאל ָ֣ ,upon awakening .("!arise, call on your god") ֚קּום ְקר jonah meets with the word from which he is fleeing. he who refuses to rebuke nineveh is reproached with irony, and most of all, by a nonisraelite who re-proposes the word of yhwh, the god of israel: "arise and call." this officer is the first human character to make a direct speech. he orders jonah to "arise" and "call" to god, whose own command, "arise … call" jonah had already spurned. he is thus called by a new authority to his intercessory mission to save the lives of men. he is called to align himself with the attitude of the sailors, who cried out "each to his own god" (v. 5). perhaps his god will do something to the ship. if yhwh, the god of israel, found in a pagan, the captain, a worthy instrument for his word, it obviously bespeaks of the place of these supporting characters in this narrative unit. it tells us something about the god of the bible. it tells us that despite one's "otherness," in relation to israel, he/she can still be an instrument in the hands of the creator. 28 the captain assumed the role of a prophet, a responsibility which the israelite jonah abnegated. in other words, god used a pagan as his mouthpiece to speak to his prophet jonah, to remind him of his prophetic responsibility. anyone familiar with the prophetic books of the bible knows that the fundamental vocation of the prophet is the "word," or more specifically, ה .(the word of yhwh) ְדַבר־ְיהָוֹ֔ thus, the prophet is one who speaks. 29 however, ironically here, we have a prophet who refuses to speak. god, using a pagan as his 27 cf. simon, 9. 28 cf. theophilus, 72-92. 29 cf. pietro bovati, cosi parla il signore: studio sul profetismo biblico, bib, (bologna: edb, 2008), 53-5. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 158 "mouthpiece," is not peculiar to the book of jonah, it is found elsewhere in the old testament. for example, in jeremiah 40,1-5, god used a pagan captain, nebuzaradan to talk to his prophet jeremiah. but here in jonah, it tells us that we are before a narrative in which the supporting characters assume an important role in accordance with the theology of the book. all this makes jonah look like a "prodigal prophet." the captain is more aware of the power of prayer than the fleeing prophet! the heathen captain seeks divine deliverance, while jonah seeks oblivion. prophets are often expected to intercede in a time of crisis (cf. moses at israel’s golden calf apostasy in exodus 32, 11-14 and amos in the locust and fire disasters in amos 7, 1-6). but jonah remained adamant. his silence is deafening! he is a prophet who does not speak! 30 these repetitions of key words are common features throughout the book, and they convey some important ideas. קום and א in both 1:2 and 1:6 reiterate the ְקָרָ֣ huge gulf between the active praying sailors and the sleeping disobedient prophet of yhwh, who refuses to arise and call to nineveh. also, the repetition indicates that jonah has not escaped the presence of god. 31 the revelation of the guilty by casting of lots (v.7) "the sailors said to one another, "come, let us cast lots, so that we may know on whose account this calamity has come upon us". so they cast lots, and the lot fell on jonah." if in v. 6 we are at the bottom of the ship, where the captain spoke to jonah, who, uninterested in what happens and wanting to stay away from all worries, retires most probably to sleep. in v. 7, the narrator, in a dramatic way, makes evident an action that most likely took place where all the sailors were present, that is, far away from the bottom and on the deck of the ship. so, it is remarkable how the narrator 30 cf. lessing, 122. 31 ibid., 122. a narrative analysis of jonah/sailors ironies in jonah 1:1-16: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 159 moves the reader from one place to another, without the reader realizing it at a first glance. another highlight is the curiosity that the narrator evokes from the reader by omitting the reaction of jonah to the imperatives א ָ֣ .v) ֚קּום ְקר 6) of the captain: what did jonah do in response to the imperatives? did he pray? or did he again ignore the command to "arise and call..."? verse 7 does not tell us what happens, but it makes us imagine what happens: jonah's probable silence brings the sailors into focus as they propose the casting of lots to determine who among them is responsible for the evil. it is as if we are in front of theatrical action: the sailors cast lots and they talk among themselves. not knowing the cause of the tempest, the sailors must have believed that once the culprit was found, the final destruction could be prevented. the phrase that the reader hears, "come, let us cast lots, so that we may know on whose account this calamity has come upon us," also has the effect of creating a little suspense and curiosity: will the lot fall on jonah? the sailors' lot casting: typical of israelite's divination the casting of lots is widely attested to in the ancient world 32 as well as in the hebrew bible. the precise lots in question vary, both within ancient israel and outside it. 33 however, giving the prevalent nature of "lot casting tradition" in the ancient near east, it wouldn't be surprising that the sailors adopted this option in such dire circumstances. 34 but a closer look at this, in the context of jonah, 32 some overviews of this may be found in c. v. dam, the urim and thummim. a means of revelation in ancient israel (indiana: eisenbrauns 1997), esp. 40-44, 203-210, 215-217. 33 cf. b. a. strawn, "jonah's sailors and their lot casting: a rhetorical critical observation," bib 91 (2010): 66-76. 34 cf. brody, 83-84. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 160 "suggests that the sailors’ activity is rather unusual and, literarily speaking, delightful." 35 b. a. strawn rightly observed that in the majority of instances where lots or lot casting are mentioned in the hebrew bible, the language used is not of foreigners, but of israelites. apart from jonah 1:7, "only five other passages speak of foreigners employing the practice: esth 3:7; 9:24; joel 4:3; obad 11; and nah 3:10. all other instances concern intraisraelite use of lots for a rather wide variety of purposes, the majority of which are connected to yhwh (see, e.g., josh 18:8,10; 1 sam 10:20-24; 14:41; prov 16:33), the cult (e.g., lev 16:8-10; neh 10:35), or the land of israel itself” (num 36:2; josh 14:1-2; 15:1). 36 even among those five additional passages (besides jonah) that mention foreigners casting lots, at least four reflect an intra-israelite perspective mentioning israel or yhwh in some fashion (cf. esth 3,7; 9,24; joel 4,3; obad 11). 37 the same might be said of the lot casting in the book of jonah. even though it involves foreigners, the situation that prompted the casting of lots was caused by yhwh, and rightly, the lot fell on yhwh's prophet. on this note, limburg states that "jonah's sailors 'make some theological assumptions in connection with the lot casting. one such assumption is that the storm is divine punishment; another is that god communicates through the casting of lots." 38 similarly, trible holds 35 strawn, 68. 36 ibid., 70. 37 in esth 3:7 and 9:24 the casting of the lot determines the day of the pogrom against the jews in persia. however, as the story proceeds, through an amazing reversal, this date turns out to be a day of great victory for the jews, celebrated in posterity as purim (see esth 9:26-32). in joel 4:3 and obad 11, enemies or foreigners cast lots for yahweh’s people or for jerusalem, respectively. 38 james limburg, jonah: a commentary, (louisville: john knox press, 1993, 51. a narrative analysis of jonah/sailors ironies in jonah 1:1-16: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 161 that "theologically, the use of lots to disclose the truth elevates chance to the level of divine will." 39 so one may say that jonah's sailors, though not unusual in employing divination, but "the fact that they are specifically said to cast lots (לֹות+ נפל ֹור an oft-attested israelite ;(ג practice, using israelite terminology (cf. esth 3:7; 9:24) suggests an israelite perspective on the scene." 40 thus, our sailors are not just painted in israelite garb, but more importantly, are depicted as familiar with israelite ritual. in this, we see the sailors as supporting casts, aiding the development of the plot. their action of casting lots leads to the discovery of the culprit and subsequently moves the story forward. in all this, of course, as is customary in scripture, the story is led by god, who brings into play the human freedom so as to bring man to victory over fear and the recognition of the holy one as the god of life. so, if jonah sought the sea that god himself created, to escape from the face of yhwh, it is god again who guides the story by making the lot to fall on jonah. here, we see a significant relation between human liberty and sovereign dominion of the god of history. questions to determine the nature of the crime (v. 8) "then they said to him, "tell us why this calamity has come upon us. what is your occupation? where do you come from? what is your country? and of what people are you?" the sailors do not automatically lash out against the guilty prophet, since they have identified the culprit. instead, they simply ask him: "tell us why this calamity has come upon us." this is followed by further questions. sweeney notes that this kind of question is conventional and generally made to know the identity of a person. 41 39 phyllis trible, studies in the book of jonah, un published dissertation (columbia university, new york), 1963. 298. 40 strawn, 71-2. 41 cf. sweeney, 313. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 162 here, we have a true and proper interrogation. in ancient israel, there are different steps and processes of establishing justice. even though the lot fell on jonah, the sailors didn't stop at that. they went a step further. they implored the interrogative step. this step functions to ascertain facts and responsibility (cf. gen 3:13; 4:10; judg 18:18). 42 thus, this shows that the sailors are very attentive to establishing the truth. they don't want to give anything to chance. they want to be sure beyond all reasonable doubt about what they are doing. the first question is the most crucial. its answer is not obvious. the crew quite naturally wonders if somehow they might have done some wrong deserving of this calamity. have they offended jonah? are they helping him do something wrong? is it guilt by association? or is jonah alone to blame? are they transporting someone who has committed a great crime? they are still genuinely wondering why the lot fell on jonah and what it means for them. the crew is also desperate to know exactly who jonah is, because they only know that he is somehow the focus of the problem. until they know his identity, they can't expect to know, for example, which god he has offended, and how. thus, the sailors asked him further questions. his occupation, once they know it, will tell them much, if he is a priest, or a prophet, or an executioner, or an idol-maker, or has any one of many other religiously sensitive occupations. the final three questions all concern jonah’s origin. the answer to these would also have religious significance, since one’s national god was usually the most important divinity in one’s life at this point in history. during jonah’s time, people’s personal destinies were inextricably linked with their national destinies, and national gods functioned increasingly as personal gods, at least in palestine. 43 42 cf. pietro bovati, ristabilire la giustizia. procedure, vocabolario, orientamenti,anbib 110 (roma: pontificio istituto biblico, 1986), 64-5. 43 cf. douglas stuart, hosea-jonah, wbc 31, (dallas: world inc., 1987), 460. a narrative analysis of jonah/sailors ironies in jonah 1:1-16: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 163 revelation: jonah's self-identification and the reaction of the sailors (v. 9) "i am a hebrew, he replied. "i fear yhwh, the god of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land". then the men were even more afraid" these questions make us get into the heart of the story of the first chapter of the book of jonah. at last, jonah finally speaks: "i am a hebrew ... i fear yhwh ..." james ackerman says that this answer, taken out of context, is presented as a confession of faith. 44 the problem is that until now jonah has not shown any faith in the god of israel. so, in what sense does he fear god? antonio nepi observes here that jonah's profession of faith in yhwh, the god of heaven, of earth and of the seas "is an example of dramatic irony, because it clashes with the claim of escaping a god who transcends the ethnic boundaries of israel and controls the wind and waves." 45 in other words, if he really "fears" this omnipresent god, why does he try to escape from him? the term י hebrew," on the other hand, is often used when" ִעְבִרָ֣ contrasting israelites with non-israelites. in this vein, jonah's usage of ivri in 1:9 is expected, since he was contrasting himself with pagans. jonah's perceived dissimilarity to the sailors is the main emphasis of jonah 1. we are before a revelation, an important stage in the development of the plot that directs the story towards a resolution. in fact, the sailors’ realization of who their interlocutor is and what he would say to them about his escape from yhwh will lead them to take a dramatic decision. this awareness takes away from the sailors 44 cf. james s. ackerman, jonah, in r. alter, f. kermode, ed., the literary guide to the bible, cambridge: harvard university press, 1987), 234-238. 45 nepi, 87. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 164 the initial curiosity they had about jonah, particularly, about his identity. however, this contrast with the sailors was most important to jonah; therefore, the narrator placed only these words in his direct quotation. this response caused a reaction from the sailors. in all this, however, one notes that jonah avoided the question about his occupation. he didn't say he was a prophet. this omission seems very significant. scaiola opines that this is so "because maybe, given the situation, he finds it difficult to say he is a prophet." 46 but, i would rather think that this omission highlights his continuous desire to flee from his prophetic responsibility. our narrator tells us, "and the men feared a great fear" (1:10a). this א י ֵרָ֖ here links the preceding section to subsequent efforts by the sailors to avert disaster. according to lessing, "the narrator uses ָ֖אי ֵר in different ways to indicate that the events in chapter 1 transform the sailors from sheer terror (1:5) to an awe at the awareness of being in yhwh's presence and finally to trust, belief, and worship of this great god ." 47 in other words, jonah's confession brings the sailors from fear (in verse 5) to awe (in verse 10) of the god of the heavens, who created the sea and the dry land. the sailors react in a way more indicative of faith than does the israelite jonah. he is reacting in a manner one would expect from an unbeliever. the sailors are unable to imagine anyone treating his deity in such a fashion. they, unlike jonah, have fear and respect for the divine. they display greater reverence and understanding than the israelite jonah. flashbacks: the question about the crime (v. 10) "they said to him, "what is this that you have done?" for the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the yhwh, because he had told them so." this interrogation of jonah by the sailors to jonah refers us back to the past of the prophet. this tells us that we are faced with an 46 scaiola, 61. 47 lessing, 101. a narrative analysis of jonah/sailors ironies in jonah 1:1-16: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 165 analepsis, or a flashback, which, in turn, echoes god's question to eve: "what have you done?" (gen 3:13). the narrator withheld the information on how the sailors realised that jonah was running away from yhwh, only to let us into that knowledge now, by telling us that "the men knew because jonah had told them." the question of the sailors is not merely intended to know what they ask, because they already knew through the express confession of jonah, but it seems that they want to rebuke him for what he had done. it may sound like: "how could you do this to your god?" thus, this question is not just a mere desire to seek for information. rather, having established the truth, "because jonah had told them so," the men, through this question, express their perplexity in the fact that a man, who "fears yhwh, the god of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land," could attempt to flee from this same yhwh. so, it appears that with this question that expressed their perplexity, they wanted to bring jonah into the perspective of the gravity of what he had done. jonah is called to help (v.11) "then they said to him, 'what shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?' for the sea was growing more and more tempestuous." there is something very interesting here. the sailors had established the truth: "jonah is the culprit, and yhwh, the god of jonah knows about the storm." and more still, the situation at the sea wasn't encouraging either, "for the sea was growing all the more tempestuous." but despite all this, and as upright men, the sailors do not take the law into their hands. instead, they cordially ask jonah: "what shall we do to you[...]?" i think douglas stuart captures the situation even better. in his words: the sailors are not yahwists, and certainly not prophets. jonah is both the guilty party and the expert here. so jonah is the only one who can tell them what yhwh would require to turn aside his wrath. they ask him what to do. there must be some punishment of jonah which they can instigate that will stop the malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 166 storm. the sea was churning ever higher, so the lightening of the ship by throwing cargo overboard had only bought time; it had not really gotten them out of danger. 48 the sailors want to save their lives. there are no elements suggestive of hostility towards the prophet; indeed, it will soon become evident in their attempt to save his life. revelation: jonah reveals what to do to end the storm (1,12) "he said to them, 'pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you; for i know it is because of me that this great storm has come upon you.'" here, the prophet is well aware of why the storm is raging: it is his disobedience to the will of yhwh that has caused all this. thus, to avert the danger, he asks to be thrown into the sea. the sailors have done everything to avoid ending up in the sea with their ship and jonah, but jonah, on the contrary, asks to be thrown into the sea. here, ska observes that "water, from biblical point of view, is synonymous with the place of death." 49 this contrast is alarming. jonah, the י ,ִעְבִרָ֣ who in v. 9 made what almost looked like a confession of faith: "i fear the lord, the god who of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land," now wants to end up in the sea, the world of death. 50 jonah obviously does not want to obey anyone except his own whims. he, who bears the name of the dove, refuses to go to nineveh, does not pray to his 48 stuart, 462. 49 ska, "giona sei tu!" 12. throughout the bible bodies of water are often a barrier to blessings. god had to split the red sea to set the israelites free from slavery (exodus 14:21-22). god had to stop the flow of the jordan during flood stages so his people could enter the promise land (joshua 3:15-16). in other parts of the bible, bodies of water are symbols for evil, death, and chaos: but the wicked are like the tossing sea; for it cannot be quiet, and its waters toss up mire and dirt.” (isaiah 57:20) “you divided the sea by your might; you broke the heads of the sea monsters on the waters. you crushed the heads of leviathan.” (psalm 74:13-14) 50 cf. ibid, 5-22. https://biblia.com/bible/esv/exod%2014.21-22 https://biblia.com/bible/esv/josh%203.15-16 https://biblia.com/bible/esv/isa%2057.20 https://biblia.com/bible/esv/ps%2074.13-14 a narrative analysis of jonah/sailors ironies in jonah 1:1-16: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 167 god as the captain had asked of him, and now wants to end up in the world of the dead. while the sailors continue to make efforts to bring the prophet to focus about his mistake so he can choose life together with them instead of death, jonah, on the other hand, prefers aloneness and death, instead of unity and life. but the sailors want none of that. they choose life instead; hence, they try to save him at all costs. it is interesting to imagine the passivity of jonah when he asked to be thrown into the sea. he could jump into the water by his own freewill, and assume alone all the responsibility. instead, choosing once again passivity and running away from responsibility, he questions the freedom of the sailors themselves, and involves them in a risky and compromising operation. the efforts of the sailors (v. 13) "nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring the ship back to land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more stormy against them." the qal of the verb חתר (here third common plural imperfect with waw consecutive) could be translated as "to dig, burrow, hollow out." lessing believes חתר was used metaphorically, as for example, in amos 9:2, where yhwh speaks of people who burrow into sheol, seeking to escape his wrath. so here it could mean the sailors dug into the water with their oars, which means they rowed harder. 51 also, it is important to note that the verb, "to row," exists in hebrew, and it is not חתר. in most cases, hebrew uses the root verb שוט to represent the act of rowing, or moving to-and-fro (cf. num 11:8; 2 sam 24,2; ezek on the hand, is used in hebrew to represent the act of ,חתר .(27:6,29 digging, tunneling or burrowing through (cf. job 24:16; ezek 12:5,7). therefore, leaning on the insightful view of christopher meredith, i would rather concur that, by using חתר and not שוט, "the author seems most concerned not with the motion of rowing ____ the action of 51 cf. lessing, 112-3. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 168 digging into the water, but with the severity of the storm and the ship's progress through it. the sailors have to tunnel through waves as the tempest swells around them." 52 in other words, this presents us with a picture where a terrestrial word is used to describe a marine action. this crucial strain between land and sea is what the narrator tries to underline here. "the sailors insist on being back on land, the land lubing jonah insists on being given over to the water." 53 evidently, these sailors did their utmost best to save, not only their own lives, but also the life of the hebrew. if jonah seemed inclined to die, they do not want any death. in a climate of even more growing tension, due to the force of an unleashed sea, these pagans were going against the will of the prophet and against the stormy sea. this desire to save the unfortunate man who had disobeyed yhwh depicts obviously the virtuousness of these sailors. now, given that all their efforts had proven abortive, will they succumb to the request of the runaway prophet of yhwh and hurl him into the sea? the narrator is a teacher who raises this question in the reader: curiosity and suspense pervade these lines. worthy of note is the fact that all this underlines the place of the sailors in this story. even though jonah requested that he should be picked up and hurled into the sea (1:12), they still did everything to save their lives and that of the prophet from israel. they feared killing a man, even when he requested it, and even when doing so would eventually save their lives. the ethical standard of these gentiles is far higher than that of jonah. they have been thrown into a life-threatening storm through no fault of theirs. they have lost their cargo, yet they still seek to save the life of the man who is responsible for all the chaos. the authentic prayers of the sailors (v. 14) "then they cried out to the yhwh, 'please, yhwh, we pray, do not let us perish on account of this man's life. do not make us 52 christopher meredith, "the conodrum of htr in jonah 1:13," vt 64 (2014), 151. 53 ibid, 152. a narrative analysis of jonah/sailors ironies in jonah 1:1-16: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 169 guilty of innocent blood; for you, o yhwh, have done as it pleased you.'" the journey of faith, therefore, seems to be well under way. in fact, we are not in front of people shouting at their own god (1:5), but in front of people calling yhwh, ַוִיְקְראּו ֶאל־ְיהו ה ("they cried out to yhwh"). this is contextually similar to the expression that the bible usually puts on the lips of the children of israel -ֵאל ֶאל־ י־ִיְשר ּו ְבֵנ ַוִיְזֲעקָ֣ ה ְיהו __ "and the sons of israel cried to yhwh [...]" (cf. ex 14:10; jdg 3:15; 4:3). i would like to pay particular attention to this part of the exemplary action of the sailors because, to me, it forms the climax of their progressive journey of faith and demonstrates their uprightness. now the sailors were in a no-win situation. if they throw him overboard, they may bring yhwh’s wrath upon themselves; and if jonah stays on board, they may perish. so, what should they do? they narrator tells us: ְהַוִיְקְר֙אּו ֶאל־י הו ָ֜ "they called to yhwh." the only recourse is to plead for acquittal from yhwh. so, unlike jonah, the sailors did not flee from yhwh (1:3) nor remain silent like jonah who never said a single word to yhwh throughout chapter one. rather, they prayed to god. their prayer was a true supplication to god. in 1:5 "they called out each to his god." but here in verse 14 they invoked the name of yhwh. they have come to believe that israel’s god is the god over the universe, whose power is felt even in the stormy sea. according to lessing, their prayer is in the pattern of the most common hebrew prose prayers: 1. invocation ("o yhwh") 2. petition ("do not let us perish on the account of the life of this man, do not place against us innocent blood") 3. motivation for the petition ("for you are yhwh; just as you please, you do") 54 54 lessing, 135. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 170 in this prayer, as represented above, one sees that it is not only the narrator that says "they invoked yhwh," but the sailors themselves called god "yhwh." this shows a yhwhistic faith. now, let's take a closer look at this prayer pattern used by the sailors. first of all, one notices that apart from their acknowledgement of the sovereignty of yhwh, they also acknowledge that murder is a capital crime for which they could perish if yhwh holds them responsible. in fact, theodore laetsch writes: "these gentiles had the fifth commandment (ex 20:13; dt 5:17) written in their hearts… and revolted from slaying a man." 55 the sailors’ second request: "do not place against us innocent blood" echoes yhwh’s instruction through moses to the people of israel for the expiation of untraced murder in dt 21:8-9. in other words, if jonah has misled them, they are not to be held responsible. hence, they want to be sure that they are doing the will of yhwh, which jonah the prophet never bothered about. 56 finally, they articulated the last part of their prayer in a way one would expect of jonah or any ardent believer of yhwh: "for you are yhwh; just as you please, you do" ( ָ֣ י־ַאת ִכ ית ִש ְצת ע ַפָ֖ ר ח ה ַכֲאֶשָ֥ הְיהו ָ֔ ). this expression, writes jack m. sasson, "looks very much as if it could be used at any time that a hebrew wanted to compare god’s limitless freedom of action to the pagan god's more restricted movement." 57 all this confirms what laetsch says, with regard to the word of the lord being written in the hearts of these pagans. they, in conformity with words of the scripture, confess that "yhwh does as he pleases" (is 46:10; ps115: 3; 135: 6), while jonah, in chapter four, expresses his frustration because yhwh does exactly as he pleases. what an irony! 55 theodore laetsch, the minor prophets. (st. louis: concordia, 1956), 227. 56 cf. lessing, 136. 57 sasson, 136. a narrative analysis of jonah/sailors ironies in jonah 1:1-16: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 171 resolution: jonah is hurled into the sea, the tempest ceased, and the sailors offered sacrifices and made vows (vv. 15-16) "so they picked jonah up and hurled him into the sea; and the sea ceased from its raging. then the men feared yhwh even more, and they offered a sacrifice to the yhwh and made vows." after their prayers, they threw jonah overboard; and the tempest ceased. this confirms that it is indeed yhwh, the god of jonah (1:9), and now, the god of the sailors (1:14), who controls the seas and the waves. so, surely they are safe, the sailors and all in the ship. now, the narrator, playing on the verb א tells us again: “then the ,י ֵרָ֖ men feared a great fear (literarily) of the lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the lord and made vows” (1:16). this brings the spiritual ascent of the sailors to its climax. they moved from sheer fear of danger (1:5) to fear of the presence of yhwh in the storm (1:10) and finally to fear as a reverence to yhwh (1:14,16). the response of these sailors is striking in its simplicity and overpowering in its implications. if jonah, in his "confession of faith," professed a reverence (couched in fear and disobedience) to the god of heaven, these sailor,s on the other hand, worshiped yhwh in an unalloyed manner. they demonstrated commitment to yhwh by offering sacrifice and making vows to him. this is almost certainly a description of whole-hearted conversion to yhwh. "sacrifice" and "vows" mentioned in the same verse confirm this interpretation, since the hebrew bible elsewhere associates these actions with a permanent commitment to yhwh (cf. ps 50:14; is 19:21). it will not be an overstatement to conclude that, in the first and second scenes of the book of jonah, god’s true heroes are the sailors, and not the prophet. conclusion from the foregoing, it is evident that the sailors, even though supporting casts, took the centre stage in jonah 1. jonah, the primary character of the story, in the light of this first chapter, can rightly be malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 172 described as a round character. "round characters" have more depth and their personality often contains conflicting, even contradicting tendencies." 58 the complexity of jonah's character is made evident when compared with those of the sailors. but the sailors, on the other hand, even though secondary characters, acted as main protagonists of the second scene. the sailors progressively move from "each crying to his own god" (1:5a), to lot casting: a typical israelite divination practice, with the aim of establishing the truth. 59 from there, they progressed to an eloquent prayer to yhwh (1:14), which culminates in vow-making and sacrifice to yhwh (1:16). these actions of the sailors evolve the plot. after the general fear caused by the storm, they implored their gods (1:5b); and then, in a progressive manner, turned to yhwh in faith who then averted the danger. but one thing that stands out in this story is the unity of purpose with which the sailors approached their near-death situation. their action, in most part of the story, shows an implicit understanding of igwebuike theology, a theology that shows the power in unity. the outcome of such theology is life, while its opposite outcome is death. this is evident in this story. the sailors were saved because of the unity of purpose in their orientation towards the divine. but jonah, in his quest to stand alone and faraway from god, ended up in the waters, which, symbolically, represents death. 60 the narrative concludes with the offering of sacrifices and vows made by the sailors to yhwh, not in sheer fear, but in outright devotion to yhwh as a culmination of their journey of faith. thus, it is evident that "the sailors are personages linked strictly to the scene of the tempest. they entered the scene after yhwh had unleashed the tempest on the sea, and went out of the scene when the tempest 58 ska, our father have told us, 84. 59 cf. strawn, 66-76. 60 cf. gen 7:4; ex 14:21-22; josh 3:15-16. a narrative analysis of jonah/sailors ironies in jonah 1:1-16: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 173 ceased." 61 this makes them agent characters, not in the sense of flat characters who are not important in themselves, but in the sense of their functional role at the service of the plot. this tells us, from theological view point, that the special relationship between yhwh and israel does not preclude other nations and people from the mercy of god and from being used by god towards the salvation of others, for god's sovereignty is a world-wide sovereignty. it is undisputable that israel, in the bible, is a "vineyard which god himself has planted" (cf. ps 80:7-15). but this does not exclude other nations as part of the universal family of god's children. this further shows that it is not the possession of the truth that counts, but how ready we are to live in the light of the truth we possess. jonah, the "son of god's faithfulness," possessed the word (cf. jonah 1:1-2), but he wasn't faithful to the word he possessed. the sailors, on the other hand, were supposedly ignorant of the word, but their actions throughout the story were indicative of the fact that the word of god was actually written in their hearts. they, rather than the prophet, are the heroes of uprightness in this story. bibliography ackerman, j. s. "jonah." in r. alter, f. kermode, ed., the literary guide to the bible, cambridge: harvard university press, 1987 bovati, p. cosi parla il signore: studio sul profetismo biblico. bib. bologna: edb, 2008. bovati, p. ristabilire la giustizia. procedure, vocabolario, orientamenti. anbib 110. roma: pontificio istituto biblico, 1986. brody, j. a. each man cried out to his god: the specialized religion of canaanite and phoenician. atlanta: brill, 1998. 61 a. niccacci – m. pazzini – r. tadiello, il libro di giona (milano: analecta, 2013), 117. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 174 costacurta, b. la vita minacciata: il tema della paura nella bibbia ebraica. anbib 119. roma: pontificio istituto biblico, 1988. dam, c. v. the urim and thummim. a means of revelation in ancient israel. indiana: eisenbrauns, 1997. hayyim, a. "the book of jonah: a call to personal responsibility." tradition 30 (1995): 56-67. kanu, i. a. "igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization," in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no. 1 (march, 2016):1-6. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 5983. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. a narrative analysis of jonah/sailors ironies in jonah 1:1-16: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 175 kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kanu, i. a. (2019). on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159-176. kanu, i. a. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 176 the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. laetsch, t. the minor prophets. st. louis: concordia, 1956. lessing, r. reed. jonah. concordia commentary, st. louis: concordia publishing house 2007. limburg, j. jonah: a commentary. louisville: john knox press, 1993. a narrative analysis of jonah/sailors ironies in jonah 1:1-16: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 177 meredith, c. "the conodrum of htr in jonah 1:13." vetus testamentum 64 (2014): 147-15 nepi, a. dal fondale alla ribalta: i personaggi secondari nella bibbia ebraica. bologna: epinia della parola, 2015. niccacci, a. – pazzini, m. – tadiello, r. il libro di giona, milano: analecta: 2013. sasson, j. m. jonah. anchor bible 24b. new york: doubleday, 1990. scaiola, d. abdia, giona, michea: introduzione, traduzione e commento. nvbta. milano: san paolo, 2012. simon, u. jonah: the traditional hebrew text with the new jps translations. philadelphia: jps, 1999. ska, j.-l. "giona sei tu! la creazione del lettore nel libro di giona." an unpublished paper presented at a conference in the theological institute of triveneto, italy (2013): 5-22. ska, j.-l. our father have told us, roma: biblical press, 2000. sternberg, m. the poetics of biblical narrative: ideological literature and the drama of reading. indiana: indiana university press, 1985. strawn, b. a., "jonah's sailors and their lot casting: a rhetorical critical observation." biblica 91 (2010): 66-76. stuart, d., hosea-jonah, wbc 31, dallas: word, incorporated, 1987. sweeney, m. a. "jonah" in cotter, d.w., ed., the twelve prophets. berit olam, collegeville: liturgical press, 2016. theophilus, m. "the role of rehab in the conquest story of joshua as a manifestation of igwebuike theology: a narrative analysis of joshua 2," in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5, no. 8 (2019): 7292. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 178 trible, p. "studies in the book of jonah." an unpublished dissertation. columbia university, new york, 1963. trible, p. rhetorical criticism: context, method, and the book of jonah. minneapolis: fortress press, 1994. thirdspacing the exile in ezekiel's theology of divine presence and its implications for the abrahamic religions: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 179 thirdspacing the exile in ezekiel's theology of divine presence and its implications for the abrahamic religions: an igwebuike perspective malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd santa clara university california, united states of america theophilusmalachy@gmail.com abstract while the community in judah considered those in exile as "other" because they had no temple and were not within the geographical location called "judah" (cf. ezek 11:15), this study leans on the critical spatial theories of edward w. soja and wesley a. kort to show that location does not guarantee the experience of the divine. what counts is not location, but praxis, that is, our orientation towards the holy one. yhwh's expression (cf. ezek 11:16), in reaction to the tension that existed between the exilic community and the remnant community in judah, challenges the religious tension and religious exclusivism that characterize our world today. it shows that despite the existential peculiarities of each community of faith, there exists a theological minimum that can form the basis of our experience of the divine. sometimes, we may think we possess the fullness of truth, as symbolized in the temple with its sacred adornments or as contained in the torah, the holy bible or the koran, but the reality of the experience of the divine does not necessarily lie in the one who possesses the truth. it is not the possession of the truth that matters, but how prepared we are to walk in the light of the truth that we possess, irrespective of our religious affiliations. mailto:theophilusmalachy@gmail.com malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 180 keywords: igwebuike, ezekiel, theology, divine presence, abrahamic religions introduction the idea of divine presence was imperative to the people of the ancient near east. this was evident in their cultic practices. temples, sacrifices and rituals ensured the deities were present to those who revered them. the kingdoms of israel and judah were not exceptions to this concern for the presence of the divine. they may have depended upon the theologies of the ancient near east in the construction of their theology of divine presence. however, "around the time of the neo-babylonian empire, the israelite prophetic writings began to show unambiguous evidence of a changing attitude towards some widely shared assumptions about divine presence." 1 notable among these literatures is the book of ezekiel. the book of ezekiel is punctuated by three great visions linked together by the experience of divine glory. in the first vision (ezek 13), the glory of yhwh comes to ezekiel and his fellow captives in exile beside the river chebar of babylon (cf. ezek 1:1). in ezek 8-11 (the second vision), the glory of yhwh leaves the temple and takes a stand on the mountain to the east of the city (cf. ezek 11:23). in the last part of ezekiel's prophecy (ezek 40-48), ezekiel sees another vision of the divine glory returning and inhabiting the glorious temple. in the above-stated visions (ezek 1-3; 8-11; 40-48), one observes that the presence of yhwh is experienced in three different spaces: in the temple, in exile and on the mountain east of the city. these manifestations of the divine presence in different spaces challenge, not only the traditional priestly understanding of yhwh as exclusively "tabernacled" in the jerusalem temple, but also the claims of monopoly on god from different religious groups in our world today. 1 nathan macdonald, divine presence and absence in exilic and post exilic judaism, fzat 61, eds. nathan macdonald and izaak d. de hulster. (tubingen: mohr siebeck 2013), xi. thirdspacing the exile in ezekiel's theology of divine presence and its implications for the abrahamic religions: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 181 the religious struggles in our world today echo the religious tension that existed between the exilic group and those that remained in judah, as both claimed to be the true qahal (assembly) of yhwh (cf. ezek 11:15-16; 33:25-29). we live in a world polarized by religious conflicts and faith leaders' claim to exclusivity of truth and monopoly on god. this study will illuminate the reality that god cannot be monopolized or restricted to any particular group, a truth that echoes an igwebuike perspective. to demonstrate this, i will, first and foremost, put the igwebuike theology in dialogue with ezekiel's visions of divine presence, particularly with respect to the stands of the jerusalemite community against the exilic community (cf. ezek 11:15-16). then i will lean on the critical spatial theories of edward w. soja and wesley a. kort, to show how praxis and mobility in the visions of ezekiel bridge the gap between the sacred and "non-sacred" spaces. to achieve my objective in this study, i will also interpret the exile space as thirdspace. since the exile motif is theologically rich and entrenched in the formation of israel's self-consciousness, i will focus on the importance of space and memory, looking at the place of the temple/jerusalem in the consciousness of israel through the ages. this will enable us see the significance of the exile space in its firstspace, secondpace and thidspace elements. in discussing the exile as thirdspace, i will show how praxis determines the presence or absence of the divine. the fruits of this study will subsequently shed some light on religion in our contemporary world, especially as it is practiced among the three abrahamic faiths. the aim is to show how this study, on one hand, challenges the religious tension and religious exclusivism that characterize our world today and, on the other hand, lends its voice to the efforts and progress made so far in the area of inter-religious dialogue. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 182 ezekiel's theology of divine presence in dialogue with igwebuike 2 theology 2 kanu, ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy, 14. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kanu, i. a. (2019). on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159-176. kanu, i. a. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian thirdspacing the exile in ezekiel's theology of divine presence and its implications for the abrahamic religions: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 183 in ezekiel, the presence of god is experienced, not only through the .cf] (hand) ַיד and (spirit)רוחַ but also through the divine ,(glory) ּכבֹוד ezek 3:12, 14; 8:3; 11:1, 24; 40:1; 43:5]. the spirit and the hand of yhwh share a connotation of power; they are, therefore, closely related concepts and are used in the visions of ezekiel as instruments of divine presence and activity. however, for the sake of brevity, i will be looking at divine presence from the perspective of the represents an outward manifestation of (glory) ּכבֹוד yhwh. theּכבֹוד the divine presence. it is what john t. strong calls the "hypostasis of yhwh." 3 s. dean mcbride defines hypostasis as "a quality, epithet, attribute, manifestation or the like of a deity which through a process of personification and differentiation has become a distinct (if not fully independent) divine being in its own right." 4 it is interesting to note that ezekiel experienced this visible manifestation of presence of the divine while he was with his fellow university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igboafrican modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. 3 cf. john t. strong, god's käbôd: "the presence of yhwh in the book of ezekiel," in the book of ezekiel: theological and anthropological perspectives, eds. margaret s. odell and john t. strong sblss 9(atlanta: sbl 2000), 69-95. 4 s. dean mcbride, "the deuteronomic name theology" (ph.d diss. harvard university, 1969), 5. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 184 exiles in babylon, specifically, by the river chebar (ezek 1:1). according to pieter de vries, "the chebar was a canal near the city of nippur and was part of an extensive system of irrigation channels that distributed water from the euphrates and tigris to nippur and the surrounding district." 5 it is probably not without significance that yhwh first calls ezekiel beside a river. in fact, de vries further notes that "the countries beyond israel were regarded as unclean (cf. ezek 4:13; amos 7:17). so, israelite exiles preferred to seek communion with god in the vicinity of flowing water, to which cleansing power was attributed (lev. 14:5, 50; 15:13; num. 19:17)." 6 this definitely resonates with the psalmist who also presented a picture of the exiles "by the rivers of babylon" (cf. ps 137:1-4). it is significant, therefore, to realize that it is in this same unclean land, in which the song of zion cannot be sung (cf. ps 137:4), that ezekiel experiences the ים ֹות ֱאֹלִהֵּֽ in both the .("visions of god") ַמְראַ֥ priestly and the zion theologies, the ּכבֹוד functions as a technical expression of god's presence. 7 the place in p (priestly) where god's glory descends 8 is the tabernacle. in exod 40:33b-35, we see how the tabernacle is constructed and completed. but more importantly, the text provides us with information about the relationship of the ּכבֹוד to the tabernacle: 9 thus, moses finished the work. then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the ּכבֹוד yhwh filled the tabernacle. but moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting, because the cloud settled upon it and the ּכבֹוד yhwh filled the tabernacle (exod 40:33b-35). 5 pieter de vries, käbôd yhwh in the old testament: with particular reference to the book of ezekiel, (leiden: brill, 2016), 236. 6 ibid., 236. 7 john f. kutsko, between heaven and earth: divine presence and absence in ezekiel (winona lake: eisenbrauns, 2000), 83. 8 except for the pre-tabernacle texts in exodus 16 and 24. 9 kutsko., 82. thirdspacing the exile in ezekiel's theology of divine presence and its implications for the abrahamic religions: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 185 after the experience in sinai, the tabernacle itself "becomes a mobile sanctuary, a place of rendezvous for moses and the ּכבֹוד yhwh." 10 however, even though the tabernacle is a mobile sanctuary, it has no self-locomotive ability. the ּכבֹודyhwh is housed in it, fixed and carried by its bearers until it has its final resting place in the temple, as the primary locus of divine presence for israel. kutsko observes: the ideology that characterized zion theology of divine presence, especially during the monarchic tradition, is represented by the divine epithet ב ָ֣ ש ֹות י יםְיהָוָ֛ה ְצָבאֵ֖ ַהְּכֻרִבִ֑ , that is, the "yhwh, the god of hosts who sits enthroned above the cherubim" (cf. 1 sam 4:4; 2sam 6:2). 11 the transfer of this ideology to the temple of solomon, according to kutsko, "championed a theology of god's election of and permanent presence in the jerusalem temple (2 kgs 19:15)." 12 thus, ezekiel's ים ֹות ֱאֹלִהֵּֽ in a foreign and unclean land ("visions of god") ַמְראַ֥ demonstrates a shift in the status quo. it fashions an image of god who is not restricted to the temple and provides an effective image of god's presence in exile. however, the inhabitants of jerusalem do not see the exiles as faithful. in ezek 11:15, they share their opinion about the exiles. they say that "[the exiles] have gone far from yhwh; to us this land is given for a possession." in other words, the inhabitants of jerusalem believe that the exiles are cut off from the lord. for them, exile is synonymous with punishment and with being distanced from god. they think of exile as abandonment by god, whereas jerusalem is proof of nearness to god. but they are flat out wrong. in ezek 11:16, yhwh responds to the theological position of the inhabitants of jerusalem with respect to the exiles. they believe that 10 kutsko, 82. 11 ibid., 83. 12 ibid, 83. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 186 yhwh has disinherited the exiles. but yhwh responds that he has not disinherited the exiles; rather, he will be for them a ט ש ְמַעֹ֔ ִמְקָדָ֣ __ a sanctuary in some measure. some translate this as "a sanctuary in small measure." but no matter the translation, the basic point is that yhwh is accessible also to the exilic community in babylon. god's presence is available for the exiles, even without the institution of the temple. although the exiles are far from the temple, they are not far from yhwh. this echoes what i see as the basic tenet of igwebuike theology, a theology that "challenges every separatist theory that tries to exclude people based on religion, tribe, ethnicity, nationality" 13 or even geographical location. in this theology, there is no "us" against "them." it is a theology that sees the entire human race as a family, a family of god's children. for, "when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful and can constitute an insurmountable force." 14 thus, as a theological reality, igwebuike emphasizes that any human being, irrespective of religious affiliation or geographical location, is a child of god; has the capacity to experience god; and "can be an instrument in the hand of the divine for the global picture of salvation. it de-emphasizes those things that separate us." 15 edward w. soja and wesley a. kort shed more light on this, albeit, from a different perspective, using their spatial theories. critical spatial theory this study is influenced by works published in the field of critical spatial theory. these works have not only inspired biblical scholars, but in recent decades, the theoretical perspectives of this theory have been applied by scholars of biblical and religious studies in their 13 malachy theophilus, "the role of rehab in the conquest story of joshua as a manifestation of igwebuike theology: a narrative analysis of joshua 2," in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5, no. 8 (2019), 91. 14 anthony i. kanu, "igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization," in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no. 1 (march 2016), 3. 15 theophilus, "the role of rehab in the conquest story of joshua," 73. thirdspacing the exile in ezekiel's theology of divine presence and its implications for the abrahamic religions: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 187 respective works. 16 liv ingeborg lied observes that in recent times, there has been a rise of theoretical interests in the human conception of space and place. 17 he further notes: this field of theoretical debate has primarily developed in the social sciences, but contributions have also come from other academic disciplines such as philosophy, architecture, and geography. 18 among the scholars who have greatly ignited the interest in space and spatiality are e.w. soja and wesley a. kort. according to lied, "the works of the french philosopher lefebvre 19 and the american geographer soja 20 have held a special position in the field of biblical and religious studies. this is likely due to the investment in their works by the scholars affiliated with the productive sbl-forum: construction of ancient space seminar." 21 16 see liv ingeborg lied, the other lands of israel: imagination of the land in 2 baruch, (leiden. boston: brill, 2008), 13. 17 ibid., 13. 18 ibid., 13. 19 henri lefebvre's la production de l'espace (paris: anthropos, 1974) was published as early as 1974. it was however mostly unknown to the wider circles of scholars until it was translated into english in 1991 (h. lefebvre, the production of space (trans. d. nicholson-smith, oxford: blackwell, 1991). 20 cf. edward w. soja, postmodern geographies: the research of space in critical social theory (london/new york: verso, 1989); edward w. soja, third space: journeys to los angeles and other real-and-imagined places (oxford: blackwell 1996). 21 lied, 13.the constructions of ancient space seminar ran as a joint project of the aar (american academy of religion) and sbl (society of biblical literature) from 2000-2005, the only cross-society venture of its time. for the first time in the development of biblical studies, participants in the seminar attempted to foreground and critically analyze space with the same theoretical nuance that biblical scholars have traditionally devoted to history. cf. www.case.edu/affil/gair/constructions/constructions.html. cf. among others j.l. berquist, "critical spatiality and the use of theory, " n.p. online: http: // www. cwru.edu / affl / gair / papers / 2002 papers/berquist.html; j.l. berquist, "critical malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 188 soja and his master, lefebvre, propose "a change of spatial epistemology." 22 they do this in reaction to modern notions that interpret space as "passively-existing materiality." 23 for soja, we create and form space by our practices. as such, space is not like an empty box; it is a cultural and social construct. 24 another important contribution of soja is his focus on lived experience and social praxis as the decisive aspect of human spatiality. 25 soja sees space as both material and as a product of imagination, 26 and describes the reconfiguration of both the material and the mental as thirdspace. 27 according to him, this space "is a product of a thirding of the spatial imagination, the creation of another mode of thinking about space that draws upon the material and the mental spaces of the traditional dualism but extends well beyond them in scope, substance and meaning." 28 lied's felicitous representation of soja captures the idea even better. in his words, soja sees space as the "comprehensive recombination of material perceptions ('firstspace') and mental conceptions of space ('secondspace') in lived experience ('thirdspace')." 29 furthermore, wesley kort adds another nuance to critical spatial theory. he observes that place-relations 30 are often valued at the spatiality and the construction of ancient worlds," in imagining biblical worlds: studies in spatial, social and historical constructs in honor of james h. flanagan (eds d.m. gunn and p.m. mcnutt, sheffield: sheffield academic press, 2002), 6480. 22 lied, 14. also see soja, "thirdspace: expanding the scope of the geographical imagination," in architecturally speaking: practice of art, architecture and the everyday (ed. alan read, london: routledge, 2000), 19-20. 23 lied, 14. 24 see soja, third space: journeys to los angeles, 13. see also lied, 14. 25 lied, 14. 26 soja, third space: journeys to los angeles, 11. 27 ibid., 11. 28 ibid., 11. 29 lied, 14. also cf. "thirdspace: expanding the scope," 21-22. 30 by "place-relations" kort means human attitude towards a particular geographical location. this is what soja technically calls "praxis." see wesley a. thirdspacing the exile in ezekiel's theology of divine presence and its implications for the abrahamic religions: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 189 expense of mobility and the temporal associations carried by mobility. indeed, this evaluation of place-relations over mobility often implies a contrast between attitudes that are in some way or to some degree judged as traditional and "sacred" in contrast to mobility and temporality, which are judged as modern and "profane" or "nonsacred." 31 kort further notes that "many studies and literatures have ignored the value of mobility, and have thus overvalued the less mobile by assuming that rootedness is morally and spiritually superior." 32 the high value currently placed on rootedness affects the status of the category of "sacred space." it becomes easy to pit "sacred space" against the "profane." kort alludes to the work of mircea eliade as an example, holding that eliade "continues to exert influence not because of the idealism of his phenomenology of sacred space but because he posits sacred space as a contrary to modern history, which is profane." 33 eliade says in the beginning of his work, the sacred and the profane, that "the first possible definition of the sacred is that it is the opposite of the profane." 34 kort concludes that the theories of sacred space, if they are to regain substance, should be based on a more adequate theory of positive place-relations, rather than on history constructed as sacred space's negative contrary. 35 if we begin our investigation of the locus of divine presence from the concept of soja's praxis or kort's positive place-relations, rather than kort, "sacred/profane and an adequate theory of human place-relations," in constructions of space: theory, geography, and narrative vol. 1 edited by jon l. berquist claudia v. camp (new york. london: t & t clark 2007)33-34. 31 kort, 33. 32 ibid, 34. 33 ibid., 34-35. 34 mircea eliade, the sacred and the profane (new york: harper & row publishers, 1959), 10. 35 wesley a. kort, "sacred/profane and an adequate theory of human place-relations," 34-35. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 190 the sacred/profane dichotomy, then we will realize, as larry e. shiner says, that "space is a homogenous continuum ... homogeneity means that every point is of equal value to every other point, that no direction has any privilege over any other, that space is continuous and infinite." 36 this does not mean that there are no places of awe. places exist where we feel compelled to "take off our shoes" because of a perceived connection with the transcendent. however, it does not also diminish the possibility of a supernatural encounter in places that are not that awe-inspiring. application of the spatial theories to ezekiel's theology of divine presence with particular reference to the sacred and non-sacred spaces applying the theories of soja and kort to ezekiel's theology of divine presence will help to understand the theological implication of the divine movements from the temple in jerusalem (sacred space) to the exiles in babylon (non-sacred space) in the visions of ezekiel. but to do this, it will be pertinent to understand first, how the world of the ancient near east saw and understood "exile," and second, the place jerusalem and its temple held in the consciousness of the average jew. dalit rom-shiloni notes that exile was a military punishment forced upon peoples, and usually designated as the last stage in a war. according to him, "subjugating peoples and territories led the neoassyrian, and later on the neo-babylonian empires to rearrange daily life at both the center and the periphery of their domains in diverse ways." 37 exile in the ancient near eastern world was mostly partial. 36 larry e. shiner, "sacred space, profane space, human space," journal of the american academy of religion, vol. 40, no. 4 (1972), 427. 37 dalit rom-shiloni, "ezekiel as the voice of the exiles and constructor of the exilic community," hebrew union college annual 76 (2005),1-2. rom shiloni also observed that "exile" had become an international imperial policy in the neo-assyrian period, mainly under tiglath-pilesser iii (745-27 b.c.e.) and his successors. thirdspacing the exile in ezekiel's theology of divine presence and its implications for the abrahamic religions: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 191 not all the defeated and captured peoples were taken into exile. in most cases, some were taken into captivity, while others remained in the homeland. this is exactly the case with the deportations of israel and judah reported in the biblical literature (cf. 2 kgs 15-17 and 2425). historically, the kingdoms of israel and judah experienced a number of exiles. worthy of note was the exile of 720 b.c.e., the exile of the northern kingdom of israel at the hand of the assyrians. those exiled were supposedly deported and scattered throughout the empire, although biblical archaeology has shown that many migrated to the southern kingdom of judah. 38 another important exile in the history of israel as a people was the exile of the southern kingdom of judah, otherwise known as the babylonian deportations. in 597 b.c.e., the noble members of the society in the southern kingdom of judah, including the prophet ezekiel, were exiled during the reign of nebuchadnezzar ii of babylon. in 586 b.c.e., when the temple was destroyed, a new batch of the judean exiles arrived in babylon, but there was a significant number of judeans who remained behind in judah. alluding to biblical sources, rom-shiloni observes that the event of the exile" divided the judean people into two communities, the exiles with king jehoiachin in babylon on one hand, and the people who remained in the land under king zedekiah (jeremiah 40:6), on the other." 39 38 see israel finkelstein and thomas römer, "comments of the historical background of the jacob narrative in genesis," zaw 126.3 (2014): 317-338. 39 dalit rom-shiloni,exclusive inclusivity: identity conflicts between the exiles and the people who remained (6th -5th centuries bce). (new york london: bloomsbury, 2013), xvi. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 192 for the exiled community, living in exile outside their homeland posed a theological crisis, a crisis that is poignantly captured by the psalmist: by the rivers of babylon we sat mourning and weeping when we remembered zion. on the poplars of that land we hung up our harps. there our captors asked us for the words of a song; our tormentors, for a joyful song: "sing for us a song of zion!" but how could we sing the lord's song in a foreign land? if i forget you jerusalem, let my right hand wither. may my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if i do not remember you, if i do not consider jerusalem my highest joy" (ps 137:1-6, nab). thus, living outside the promised land without the temple was indeed a crisis of faith for the exiles. the ongoing existence of the temple and the daily life in jerusalem advantaged the remnant community, who saw the exiles as the outcasts or better put, as "distant from yhwh" (ezek 11:15). following the priestly and the deuteronomic concepts of exile, the community in jerusalem believed the exile community was punished for their sins (deuteronomy 4:25-28; 8:19-20; leviticus 18:24-30; 20:22-24). in other words, the temple and jerusalem became for them the sign of election, as exile represents for them a sign of divine punishment. unlike the exile space, jerusalem, in the history of jewish religion, is a holy city, a locus sanctus, or an axis mundi 40 associated with historical events and eschatological expectations. it was the place for god to deal with god's people and to be a focal center of god's restored people. emile benveniste, in his study of the ancient european languages, particularly latin and greek, observes that biblical hebrew does not differentiate the idea of the sacred from that of holiness, unlike latin and greek. 41 in hebrew, both notions are rendered solely by qodeš and 40 a perceived center of the world, where heaven and earth are connected. 41 cf. e. benveniste, le vocabulaire des institutions indo-européennes. ii. pouvoir, droit, religion (paris: minuit, 1969), 187–207; h. fugier, recherches sur l’expression du sacré dans la langue latine, ii (paris: belles lettres, 1963), 25–86. thirdspacing the exile in ezekiel's theology of divine presence and its implications for the abrahamic religions: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 193 words composed from that same root. in the semantic field of hebrew, according to francis schmidt, sacredness is situated between the positive and the negative poles. in his words: positively, qodeš refers to that which is in a relationship of belonging to the divine, that which is consecrated to it. negatively, qodeš is defined by opposition to the profane, tāmēʿ." 42 thus, in the above sense, the sacred in which holy objects or sanctified persons circulate, like the temple, is only understood in its relation to the profane. thus, sacred and profane are characterized by their proximity to the divine. jerusalem and its temple are sacred because in the eyes of the biblical jews, god dwells there. the temple is believed to be the epicenter of holiness because it is the abode of the divine and the primary locus of divine presence. this understanding of the temple is evident in jewish religious history.the first book of maccabeus recorded an event that happened around 165 bce. the story was about judas maccabeus, son of mattathias, a priest, who set up camp at mizpah to the north of jerusalem. he and his brothers fasted and wore sack clothes. their faces were turned towards heaven: what were they to do since the abode of the divine had been profaned? the foreigners had profaned the temple. 43 these penitential acts show how important the temple was to them. also in the book of baruch, we read about the man baruch, who "wasted from fasting, his clothing torn, climbs the steps of the temple mount and goes to sit before the doors that the sun lights up in the morning." 44 he laments: 42 francis schmidt, how the temple thinks: identity and social cohesion in ancient judaism (sheffield: academic press, 2001), 90. one of the most characteristic formulations of this opposition is found in lev 10:10 and ezra 22:26; 44:23. 43 ibid., 86. cf. also 1 macc. 3:46–59. 44 ibid., 86. also see 2 bar. 10.5–19. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 194 why from now on sow in the countryside? why should the vine give wine? what good are the reservoirs for rain, of what use the heat of the sun? why should the moon continue to set the sequence of months? of what use are marriages and births? since the meeting place with the divine is destroyed, "how can they still speak of beauty, how can there still be question of grace!" (2 bar. 10:17). 45 this lament of baruch echoes the plight of the people of israel because the epicenter of their relationship with yhwh has been destroyed. in fact, in the two examples above, the main theological question is: since the primary locus of divine presence is destroyed, where and how can we encounter the divine? this understanding of the sacredness of jerusalem and its temple informed the attitude of the remnant community in jerusalem against the exile community in the book of ezekiel. ezek 11:15 reads: "son of man, your brothers, (even your brothers), your own kin, the whole house of israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of jerusalem have said, 'they have gone far from yhwh; to us this land is given for a possession.'" thus, the exile community is the impure that cannot be mixed with the pure, namely, the remnant community in judah. the two spaces cannot meet in the eyes of the jews. the exile as a thirdspace the exile space is not a neutral space but a contested one, or as soja coins it, a thirdspace. for soja, thirdspace encompasses firstspace and secondspace and is always vibrant, flexible and open to (re)interpretation. 46 soja holds that firstspace privileges objectivity and materiality. it aims at a formal science of space. 47 thus, firstspatially, the reader is told where ezekiel received his ים ֹות ֱאֹלִהֵּֽ he was .(visions of god) ַמְראַ֥ "among the exiles by the river chebar"(1:1). here, the firstspace is his 45 cf. ibid., 86-87 46 cf. soja, "thirdspace: expanding the scope," 23. 47 soja, third space: journeys to los angeles.75. thirdspacing the exile in ezekiel's theology of divine presence and its implications for the abrahamic religions: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 195 existential location. ezekiel and his fellow exiles were in a susceptible and helpless situation, a situation that creates a crisis faith. it appears as if their patron, god yhwh, allowed them to be taken into exile, a reality that marked victory for babylonian gods. brandon fredenburg captures this idea even better: the babylonian gods removed a contingent of leading judeans for judah's failure to meet its vassal duties. yhwh, the patron god of israel, had permitted their deportation. the "official" view of those in jerusalem was that yhwh had finally cleansed the capital of its troublemakers and allowed the favored to remain (cf. 11:3). 48 even though we do not know the exact location of the real space (firstspace) of the exiles, the text tells us that it is beside the river chebar. daniel i. block notes that the "hebrew nĕhar kĕbār is the equivalent of akkadian nār kabari/u, "kabaru canal," which occurs several times in the 5th-centuryb.c. archives of the murashu family in babylon." 49 it is believed that nĕhar kĕbār is located in the vicinity of nippur. its conduit was "one of many branches of an elaborate canal system that distributed water from the tigris and the euphrates 48 brandon fredenburg, ezekiel. the college press niv commentary (joplin : college press pub. co., 2002), 37-38 49 daniel i. block, the book of ezekiel. chapters 1-24. nicot (grand rapids: wm. b. eerdmans publishing co., 1997), 84.the archives, consisting of some 730 tablets, represent our main source of information on the population of the nippur region at this time. knowledge of the ethnic composition of the settlers is derived from the personal names that occur in these business records. for studies of these settlements see m. d. coogan, “life in the diaspora: jews at nippur in the fifth century,” ba 37 (1974) 6–12; idem, west semitic personal names in the murašû documents, hsm 7 (cambridge, mass.: harvard university press, 1975); r. zadok, the jews in babylonia during the chaldean and achaemenian periods (haifa: university of haifa, 1979); idem, on west semites in babylonia during the chaldean and achaemenian periods: an onomastic study, rev. ed. (jerusalem: j. j. and z. wanaarta and tel-aviv university, 1978). malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 196 throughout the city and its environs." 50 it does appear that after the city was destroyed, the babylonian king at that time, "repopulated the region with deportees from many parts of the empire; among them were ezekiel and his fellow judeans." 51 as earlier noted, we do not know for sure if the reference to the chebar canal means that ezekiel was physically beside the canal at the time of the vision, or if the expression functions as a general description for the region where the judean exiles lived. in any case, it tells us something, even if only partially, about the existential reality of ezekiel and his fellow exiles. the exile's secondspace would be the conceived or the mental space, which is culturally conditioned. according to soja, "secondspace is entirely ideational, made up of projections into the empirical world." 52 this viewpoint highlights the fact that the exiles are away from their native land, "removed from jerusalem and the temple, the place from which yhwh's glory had emanated in the past." 53 thus, in this sense, the exiles' fate becomes an incontrovertible proof of divine rejection. exile's secondspace is thus a place of divine punishment (cf.deuteronomy 4:25-28; 8:19-20; leviticus 18:24-30; 20:22-24; amos 6:7). this understanding creates a dichotomy between the exiles and the group that remained in jerusalem, the latter saw themselves as superior and thus, the authentic "qahal yhwh" (cf. 11:15). this calls to mind the words of william scott green: "a society does not simply discover its others, it fabricates them by selecting, isolating, and emphasizing an aspect of another people's life and making it symbolize their difference." 54 in addition, green points out the parody nature of definition by otherness, which concentrates on 50 block, 84. see also r. zadok, “the nippur region during the late assyrian, chaldean and achaemenian periods chiefly according to written sources,” ios 8 (1978): 266–332. 51 ibid., 84. 52 soja, third space: journeys to los angeles,79. 53 block, 83. 54 william s. green, "otherness within: towards a theory o f difference in rabbinic judaism," in to see ourselves as others see us, eds. jacob neusner and ernest s. frerichs (chico: scholars press, 1985), 49. thirdspacing the exile in ezekiel's theology of divine presence and its implications for the abrahamic religions: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 197 the life of the collective and stereotypes the group according to one major characteristic. 55 rom-shiloni captures this sense with particular reference to the tension that existed between the exilic community and the community that remained in judah. he says: defining "us" and "them" is thus founded on selection, isolation and emphasis of one major divisive difference. in the conflict between the exiles and those who remained, geographic location __ residence in the land of yhwh versus foreign lands __ has come to symbolize the difference, and the theological consequences of this division are examined in relation to the concept of god-people-land. 56 "the land has been given as a heritage to us"(cf. ezek 11:15) points to the special privileges of the community that remained in jerusalem over the land, as opposed to those of the exilic community that had been exiled from it. this concept of "land" is traceable to the pentateuchal tradition of "land" from the perspective of promise and fulfillment. for instance the phrase, "the land has been given as a heritage to us"(cf. ezek 11:15), echoes exodus 6:2-8, a passage that connects the patriarchs and the exodus generation. the land that was promised to the patriarchs (abraham, isaac and jacob) is here given to the sons of jacob after their slavery in egypt. this is probably the tradition the community that remained in jerusalem alluded to when they claimed divine ownership of the land, and as such, gave a new interpretation to the theme of promise and fulfillment. the thirdspace would be the refiguration of the physical firstspace and the mental secondspace of the exile. it is intrinsic to the narrative. it is a reconfigured space where the excluded become included, and outsiders become insiders. it is an alternative space to the temple/jerusalem space, where election and boundaries of purity and 55 ibid., 49-50. 56 dalit rom-shiloni, 6. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 198 holiness, upheld by some jews, precluded some people from full participation in community. as an alternative space to the temple, it becomes a locus of divine presence as attested to by the words of yhwh: "i have been a sanctuary to them (in some measures) in the countries where they have gone" (cf. 11:16). in other words, yhwh has not disenfranchised the exiles. they are not excluded from the presence of the holy. he will be for them a ט ש ְמַעֹ֔ a sanctuary in) ִמְקָדָ֣ some measure). the thirdspace of the exile, where ezekiel saw the visions of god, is best seen in the light of the wilderness experience in exodus, where moses has a vision of the holy, despite the pains and testing of the wilderness experience (cf. exod 3:1-17; deut 8:2). from the thirdspace perspective, the exile space must not myopically be seen to be an unclean space nor the place of punishment, nor as ezekiel would put it, "a valley of dry bones" (cf. ezek 37). rather, it is a place of possibilities, a place where the presence of the divine could be experienced. the temple and the land of israel, in the consciousness of biblical israel, carry the notion of separateness and exclusivity, distinctiveness and superiority, sacred as opposed to non-sacred. however, the different manifestations of the presence of the divine in the visions of ezekiel show that divine presence cannot be restricted. even the so-called unclean exile space can become the thirdspace of divine presence and activities. in this space, the excluded become included, thereby bridging the dichotomy between the "privileged" remnants and the "faraway" exiles. thus, soja's thirdspace, unambiguously, shows a perspective of igwebuike theology. it is a space of inclusion and complementarity, a space where all are united as a family of god's children. the exile as thirdspace has another significant purpose in the narrative. it is a space for the ים ֹות ֱאֹלִהֵּֽ this .("visions of god") ַמְראַ֥ seems aimed at challenging and changing the people's mind-set toward the people who are in a location other than the land of israel, especially the temple's religious leadership who thought it necessary to have a temple or to be in the land of israel in order to experience the holy one. these social realities and religious boundaries became thirdspacing the exile in ezekiel's theology of divine presence and its implications for the abrahamic religions: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 199 an increasing problem that would undermine or restrict access to the divine to a selected "chosen ones." thus, it is not surprising that ezek 47:21–23 grants the gērîm ("resident aliens") in the new covenant the same status as native israelites so that they receive an equal share in the inheritance. the new boundaries in the renewed city suggest that the new kingdom will preserve the laws of equity and eliminate discrimination against foreign residents, thereby making the experience of the presence of the divine open to all, not just the prerogative of the twelve tribes of israel. gerhard von rad rightly observes that one of the striking effects of ezekiel's theology of divine presence is that of the divine mobility. 57 for him, ezekiel's innovation was the revival of an older ּכבֹוד tradition that inserted an element of mobility and impermanence into the conception of yhwh's presence. 58 even in the older tradition, the travels with the tabernacle as the tribes journey from place to ּכבֹוד place in their wilderness wanderings, while in ezekiel the ּכבֹוד comes to the prophet in exile by the river chebar (ezek 1-3). it removes itself from the jerusalem temple (ezek 8-11) and finally enters the grand temple of ezekiel's last, glorious vision (ezek 40-48). this shows, unlike in the older tradition, the self-locomotive ability of the .ּכבֹוד thus, the ּכבֹוד theology in ezekiel, particularly its mobile characteristic, shows contrary to popular opinion, 59 that the divine presence cannot be boxed only within the four corners of the sacred space. this mobile characteristic of the ּכבֹוד is made manifest through the image of the wheels, which emphasizes divine mobility (cf. ezek 57 cf. gerhard von rad, "deuteronomy's name theology and the priestly document's käbôd theology" in studies in deuteronomy, ed. g. von rad (london: scm, 1953), 37-44. 58 ibid., 42-43. 59 in priestly tradition, the kābȏd appears only in sacred space: first at the mountain of god (exod 24:16, 17; 29:43; 40:34, 35; lev 9:6, 23), later at the tabernacle (num 14:10, 21, 8 22; 16:19; 17:7 [16:42]; 20:6). malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 200 1: 15-21; 10: 9-17).thus, the movements of the divine from the sacred space to the so-called non-sacred space gives credence to the proposal of kort on bridging the dichotomy between the sacred and the profane. 60 also, this further confirms the words of shiner: "space is a homogenous continuum ... homogeneity means that every point is of equal value to every other point, that no direction has any privilege over any other, that space is continuous and infinite." 61 while the temple is the original site of divine presence, the accent on the mobility of the ּכבֹוד in the visions of ezekiel demonstrates that the temple is not the exclusive locus of divine presence. god's presence can also be experienced in spaces like the exile. hence, for ezekiel, god's presence has no boundaries. the same ּכבֹוד yhwh that was tabernacled in the temple and departed from the same temple (ezek 11:22-23) is the divine presence that ezekiel experienced in exile (cf. ezek 1:1-28). 62 it appears that israel's quest to be like other nations (1 sam 8:5) probably led them to build a shrine in jerusalem for their patron deity. but a closer look at 2 samuel 7:5-7 shows that temple was not a necessity; yhwh only permitted it. 63 however, down through the ages, israel came to deify this structure built by human hands. the destruction of the temple could have been to shatter israel's sentimental attachment to the temple as the primary locus of divine presence, and extend the possibility to spaces other than the temple. it is important to note here that ezekiel's experience of the divine in exile is not because the temple was destroyed and the divine was homeless, and as such finds abode amidst the exile. no, "ezekiel encounters the ּכבֹוד yhwh in exile (cf. ezek 1) while the temple was still standing." 64 thus, the departure of the ּכבֹוד in ezek 8-11 was not 60 cf. kort, 34-35 61 shiner, 427. 62 kutsko, 92. 63 fredenburg, 358. 64 steven s. tuell, "divine presence and absence in ezekiel's prophecy," in the book of ezekiel: theological and anthropological perspectives, eds. margaret s. odell and john t. strong sblss 9(atlanta: sbl 2000), 102. thirdspacing the exile in ezekiel's theology of divine presence and its implications for the abrahamic religions: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 201 "a consequence of the temple's destruction, but a necessary precondition for that destruction." 65 furthermore, the condition for the experience of the presence of the holy one is not really about location. . it is not about the exile or the temple: both possess equal opportunity for the experience of the presence of the divine. in the final analysis, what counts is what soja calls praxis, or, in the words of kort, human place-relations. in other words, what counts is the lived experience of the people, with particular reference to their relation with yhwh. righteousness and faithfulness to the covenant (with respect to israel), at any given time, determine one's experience of the divine. block rightly observes that "the repeated references to the evils being committed in jerusalem emphasize that yhwh's abandonment of the temple is provoked by human action." 66 this is evident in the offenses described in ezek 8:3-18: "the introduction of the idol of jealousy into the court of yhwh's temple, the worship of carved images of every sort, the women weeping the tammuz, 67 and twenty-five men paying homage to the sun." 68 yhwh accuses the people of social and moral crimes (cf. 8:7) – they have provoked the anger of yhwh by their sins. yhwh reiterates this accusation in ezek 9:9. the text speaks of 65 ibid., 102. 66 daniel i. block "divine abandonment: ezekiel's adaptation of the ancient near eastern motif," in the book of ezekiel theological and anthropological perspectives, sbl symposium series, (atlanta: sbl, 2000), 36-37. 67 most translations have them "weeping for tammuz," however, block suggests that tammuz denotes a special genre of lament, rather than the deity himself. since this scene follows immediately after the elders' assertion that yhwh had abandoned the land, it appears that these women have either equated yhwh with tammuz or they are expressing their grief at their own deity's departure by adopting the tammuz ritual. in either case, the people were replacing true worship of yhwh with a foreign lamentation. see ibid., 37; block, the book of ezekiel. chapters 1-24. the new international commentary on the old testament (grand rapids, mi : wm. b. eerdmans publishing co., 1997), 294-96. 68 block, "divine abandonment,"37. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 202 a land filled with blood and city filled with perversion. yhwh condemns these evils with the sharpest possible terms: abominable (ezek 8:6a, 9, 13, 15, 17; 9:4), detestable (ezek 8:10) and wicked (ezek 8:9). as a result, yhwh's anger is provoked. 69 on two occasions, yhwh responds in a manner that makes evident the divine wrath, owing to the unrighteous living of the people. in ezek 8:18, the holy one says: "therefore i will act in wrath; my eye will not spare, nor will i have pity; and though they cry in my hearing with a loud voice, i will not listen to them." also in ezek 9:9-10 yhwh declares: "the guilt of the house of israel and judah is exceedingly great; the land is full of bloodshed and the city full of perversity; for they say, 'yhwh has forsaken the land, and the yhwh does not see.' i also will not have pity, my eye will not spare, their wicked deeds (ways) i will bring upon their heads." first, these texts show that god's presence leaves the temple in reaction to sinful actions. second, they indicate that divine presence is not a fixed and exclusive prerogative of the jerusalem temple. on the contrary, god's presence is free to go when the people refuse to live up to the true tenets of their faith. thus said, it is righteous practice and faithfulness to the covenant, in the case of israel, that guarantees the presence of the divine. margaret odell puts it even better in relation to both the jerusalem community and the exilic community. she holds that "just as location does not ensure salvation for the jerusalemites, neither does it guarantee salvation for the exiles. what matters is not location but 69 ibid., 37. thirdspacing the exile in ezekiel's theology of divine presence and its implications for the abrahamic religions: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 203 orientation." 70 those whose hearts continue to turn toward idols and against yhwh will not experience the presence of the divine. the implication of the study to the practice of religion in our contemporary world here, i do not claim to give a theological overview of the relationships amongst the world's religions, as that would be claiming too much and is definitely beyond the scope of this study. instead, i intend to restrict my discussion in this section to the theological relationship that seems to exist among the three abrahamic religions in our world today. a relationship that seems to pitch one religion as superior to the other, or worst still, declare "war" on others who are non-adherents to a particular religion, seeing them as infidels. victoria s. harrison observes that "judaism, christianity and islam provide their adherents with distinctive conceptual frameworks for understanding the world they inhabit; in other words, each of the abrahamic monotheisms provides its adherents with a worldview." 71 however, despite the vast similarities that exist among these religions, their attitudes toward each other, particularly with respect to their view on god and the way they interpret and practice their respective faith, sometimes tend to create dichotomy, instead of unity and understanding. we live in a world that has been bedeviled with religious conflicts and religious leaders' claims to the exclusivity of truth and a monopoly on god. according to katayoun kishi, in 2018 "more than a quarter of the world's countries experienced a high 70 margaret s. odell, ezekiel, (macon, georgia: smyth & helwys publishing 2005), 125. 71 victoria s. harrison,"scientific and religious worldview: antagonism, non-antagonistic incommensurability and complementarity," heythrop journal 47 (2006): 349–350. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 204 incidence of hostilities motivated by religious hatred, mob violence related to religion, terrorism and harassments." 72 this echoes the religious tension that existed between the exilic group and those that remained in judah; particularly with respect to which of the two groups is the true qahal (assembly)yhwh (cf. ezek 11:1516; 33:25-29), as this study has highlighted repeatedly. religious intolerance has become like a cankerworm that affects the fabric of virtually every religious group. an online report by a 2018 minority rights group indicates that "mass killings and other atrocities are increasing in some countries (syria, iraq, nigeria, india, myanmar, pakistan and bangladesh) all in the name of religion. hostilities against muslims and jews also increased across europe and the united states." 73 these religions, which are supposed to promote peace, love and harmony by their very nature, have become so frequently connected with intolerance and violence toward one another. 74 most times, intolerance and aggression are perpetrated by the dominant religion in a particular location against the minority, or by a religion that perceives itself to be superior and more pure, compared to the other. this was exactly the drama that played out in the vision of ezekiel. the judahites believed they were superior to the exilic community; and as such, they were the true qahal yhwh because they had the temple and the land (ezek 11:15). however, the movements of the ּכבֹוד yhwh from the temple in jerusalem to the exile dismantle any form of religious triumphalism. the divine manifestation in the thirdspace of the exile challenges the status quo and demonstrates that no group should see itself as superior to the other. as such, just as soja observes, thirdspace seeks to resist the dominant order, be it social or religious ideology, including its predetermined notions of pure and impure, holy and profane, insiders 72 katayoun kishi, http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/06/21/keyfindings-on-the-global-rise-in-religious-restrictions/ 73 https://minorityrights.org/publications/peoplesunderthreat2018/ 74 see https://minorityrights.org/publications/peoplesunderthreat2018/ thirdspacing the exile in ezekiel's theology of divine presence and its implications for the abrahamic religions: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 205 and outsiders. 75 if we see every religion as having equal access to the divine, then this will go a long way toward curbing the religious intolerance that has bedeviled our world today; as a consequence, religious plurality would no longer be a challenge but a blessing to our world. although each religion differs in its social and religious categories, each, like the exile space and jerusalem temple, is a setting in which god can reveal himself and relate with people. this understanding will help strengthen the strides made so far in interreligious dialogue, especially among the three abrahamic faiths. the three faith communities hold a belief in "one god, maker of heaven and earth," especially in worship. 76 pope gregory vii echoes this, even though partially, in his letter to king anzir of mauritania. the pontiff says that christians and muslims not only believe in the same god but also praise and worship him daily as the creator of all ages and the sovereign of this world. although they might express this belief in different manner from each other, it is still to the same god. 77 michael walzer has a theological equivalent to this argument. in his book, thick and thin: moral argument at home and abroad, he introduces "two different but interrelated kinds of moral argument ____ a way of talking amongst ourselves, here at home, about the thickness of our own history and culture ... and a way of talking to people abroad, across different cultures, about the thinner life we have in common." 78 amy pauw, applying walzer's argument to christian relationships with other faith traditions, holds that the intramural theological agreement among christians will be thick; that is, the 75 soja, thirdspace: journeys to los angeles, 68. 76 amy plantinga pauw, "the same god?" in miroslav volf (ed), do we worship the same god?: jews, christians, and muslims in dialogue, (grand rapids: william b. eerdmans publishing company, 2012), 46. 77 gregory vii, letter to anzir, king of mauritania, in jacques dupuis, the cristian faith in the doctrinal documents of the catholic church, 7th ed. (new york: alba house, 2001), 418-19. 78 michael walzer, thick and thin: moral argument at home and abroad (south bend: university of notre dame press, 1994), xi. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 206 richly referential, culturally resonant locked into a locally established symbolic system or network of meanings. 79 pauw further observes that "theological agreement across religious traditions is by contrast thinner, focused on convergence points." 80 this convergence points are seen to be similar, though expressed in different modes and reflected in different histories. 81 thus, if not in other ways, at least in worship, the thin agreement around god as creator is rooted within the thick theological traditions of each faith community. pauw puts it even better. she holds that "this agreement among jews, christians, and muslims that they worship the same god who is creator of heaven and earth is a theological minimum." 82 consequently, it provides a foundation for these religions to come together. but as walzer also puts it, by its very thinness, it also justifies them to return to the thickness that is their very own. 83 this theological minimum of pauw, or what walzar calls moral thinness, could possibly be likened to the divine expression in ezekiel's second vision of the ּכבֹוד yhwh with respect to the exilic community. there, yhwh says of the exiles: "i have been a ט ש ְמַעֹ֔ ִמְקָדָ֣ (a sanctuary to them in some/small measures) in the countries where they have gone" (cf. 11:16). this shows that despite the existential peculiarities of each community of faith, there exists a theological minimum, a small measure that can form the basis of our experience of the divine who is the origin of the human race. nostra aetate puts it even more lucidly; it holds that the human race has in common what draws them to fellowship. first, their origin, for god made the whole human race to live over the face of the earth. second, their final goal, god. his providence, his manifestations of goodness, his saving design extend to all humanity, until that time when the elect will be united in the holy city, the city ablaze with the glory of god, where 79 pauw, 47; also see walzer xi. 80 pauw, 47. 81 walzer, 17. 82 pauw, 47. 83 walzer, 11. thirdspacing the exile in ezekiel's theology of divine presence and its implications for the abrahamic religions: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 207 the nations will walk in his light. 84 so everyone has the possibility of connecting with the divine. however, what we do with that possibility determines our actual experience of the presence of the divine. no one religion has the monopoly on god. the holy one is accessible to all. in his words: "when you seek me, you will find me. yes, when you seek me with a sincere heart" (cf. jer. 29:13). therefore, this is a clarion call to all religions, be it christianity, islam or judaism, to internalize how it sees itself and others and reevaluate beliefs and practices that create tension along the line of the universal accessibility of the divine to all, so as to foster solidarity and a better understanding among different religions. summary and conclusion this study has shown that interpreting the exile as thirdspace and paying close attention to the movements of the ּכבֹוד yhwh in the visions of ezekiel, not only echoes igwebuike theology, but also helps to bridge the gap between the sacred and the non-sacred spaces. the manifestations of the presence of the divine in both the sacred and non-sacred spaces have opened the door for the possibility of the experience of the divine to all, irrespective of location or religion. the experience of the divine is not about location, nor is it all about religious affiliation. what actually counts is praxis ___ our lived experience, with particular reference to our relationship with god. righteousness and faithfulness to the dictates of the divine at any given time determine one's experience of the divine. what matters is not location but orientation. those whose hearts continue to turn to evil, as opposed to good, will not experience the presence of the divine. hence, it does not matter one's religious affiliation, nor does it matter one's location. what matters are righteousness, justice and love in obedience to the dictates of the divine whom we call god, adonai, 84 declaration on the relation of the church to non-christian religions nostra aetate proclaimed by his holiness pope paul vi on october 28, 1965, no. 1. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 208 allah, etc. these and other good acts guarantee the experience of the presence of the divine. sometimes, we may think we possess the fullness of truth, as symbolized in the temple with its sacred adornments or as contained in the torah, the holy bible or the koran. but the reality of the experience of the divine does not necessarily lie in the one who possesses the truth, for it is not the possession of the truth that matters, it is how prepared we are to walk in the light of the truth that we possess. only this guarantees the experience of the divine. selected bibliography benveniste, emile. le vocabulaire des institutions indoeuropéennes: pouvoir, droit, religion. paris: minuit, 1969. block, i. daniel. "divine abandonment: ezekiel's adaptation of the ancient near eastern motif." pages 15-42 in the book of ezekiel theological and anthropological perspectives. edited by margaret s. odell and john t. strong. sblss. atlanta: sbl 2000. block, i. daniel. the book of ezekiel 1-24. nicot. grand rapids: eerdmans 1997. de vries, pieter. "the relationship between the glory of yhwh and the spirit of yhwh in the book of ezekiel— part one." jbpr 5 (2013) 109-127. block, i. daniel. the käbôd of yhwh in the old testament with particular reference to the book of ezekiel. leiden/boston: brill 2016. finkelstein, israel and thomas römer, "comments of the historical background of the jacob narrative in genesis." zaw, 126, no. 3 (2014): 317-338. fredenburg, brandon. ezekiel. niv commentary. joplin, mo. : college press pub. co., 2002. green, s. william. "otherness within: towards a theory o f difference in rabbinic judaism." pages 49-69 in to see thirdspacing the exile in ezekiel's theology of divine presence and its implications for the abrahamic religions: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 209 ourselves as others see us. edited by neusner jacob and frerichs s. ernest. chico: scholars press, 1985. gregory vii, "letter to anzir, king of mauritania." pages 418-419 in the cristian faith in the doctrinal documents of the catholic church. edited by dupuis, jacques. new york: alba house, 2001. harrison, s.victoria. "scientific and religious worldview: antagonism, non-antagonistic incommensurability and complementarity." hj 47 (2006): 349–366. kanu i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no. 1 2016:1-6. kanu, i. a. igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 5983. 2018 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. 2018 kanu, i. a. new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. 2018 kanu, i. a. collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. 2019 kanu, i. a. igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 210 african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. 2019 kanu, i. a. igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. 2019 kanu, i. a. igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cociopolitical system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. 2018 kanu, i. a. on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159-176. 2019 kanu, i. a. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christianmuslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. 2017 thirdspacing the exile in ezekiel's theology of divine presence and its implications for the abrahamic religions: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 211 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. 2017 kort, a. wesley. "sacred/profane and an adequate theory of human place-relations." pages 32-50 in constructions of space: theory, geography, and narrative vol. 1. edited by jon l. berquist claudia v. camp, new york. london: t & t clark 2007. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 212 kutsko, f. john. between heaven and earth: divine presence and absence in the book of ezekiel. winona lake, indiana: eisenbrauns, 2000. lied, i. liv . the other lands of israel: imagination of the land in 2 baruch. leiden. boston: brill, 2008. malachy theophilus, "the role of rehab in the conquest story of joshua as a manifestation of igwebuike theology: a narrative analysis of joshua 2," in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5, no. 8 (2019): 7294. mcbride, s. dean. "the deuteronomic name theology" (ph.d diss. harvard university, 1969). nathan, macdonald. divine presence and absence in exilic and post exilic judaism, forschungen zum alten testament 61. edited by nathan macdonald and izaak d. de hulster. tubingen: mohr siebeck 2013. odell, s. margaret. "the inversion of shame and forgiveness in ezekiel 16:59–63," jsot 56 (1992): 101-112. pauw, amy plantinga. "the same god?" pages 37-49 in do we worship the same god?: jews, christians, and muslims in dialogue. edited by volf. miroslav. grand rapids: william b. eerdmans publishing company, 2012. rom-shiloni, dalit. "ezekiel as the voice of the exiles and constructor of the exilic community," huca 76 (2005): 1-45. schmidt, francis. how the temple thinks: identity and social cohesion in ancient judaism. sheffield: academic press, 2001. second vatican council. nostra aetate (declaration on the relation of the church to non-christian religions). proclaimed by his holiness pope paul vi on october 28, 1965. vatican web site. jan 7, 2020. thirdspacing the exile in ezekiel's theology of divine presence and its implications for the abrahamic religions: an igwebuike perspective themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 213 shiner, e. larry. "sacred space, profane space, human space." jaar 40, no. 4 (1972): 425-436. soja, w. edward. "thirdspace: expanding the scope of the geographical imagination." pages 13-30 in architecturally speaking: practice of art, architecture and the everyday. edited by read, alan. london: routledge, 2000. soja, w. edward. postmodern geographies: the research of space in critical social theory. london/new york: verso, 1989. soja, w. edward. third space: journeys to los angeles and other real-and-imagined places. oxford: blackwell 1996. soja, w. edward. postmetropolis: critical studies of cities and religion, oxford: blackwell 2000. strong t. john. "god's käbôd : the presence of yahweh in the book of ezekiel." pages 69-95 in the book of ezekiel theological and anthropological perspectives. edited by margaret s. odell and john t. strong. sblss. atlanta: sbl 2000. tuell, s. steven. "divine presence and absence in ezekiel's prophecy." pages 976-116 in the book of ezekiel theological and anthropological perspectives. edited by margaret s. odell and john t. strong. sbl symposium series, atlanta: sbl 2000. von rad, gerhard. "deuteronomy's name theology and the priestly document's käbôd theology." pages 37-44 in studies in deuteronomy. london: scm, 1953. walzer, michael. thick and thin: moral argument at home and abroad. south bend: university of notre dame press, 1994. malachi udochukwu theophilus, osa, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 214 zadok, ran. the jews in babylonia during the chaldean and achaemenian periods. haifa: university of haifa, 1979. the lessons of psalm 133 and the principle of unity of igwebuike philosophy themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 215 the lessons of psalm 133 and the principle of unity of igwebuike philosophy naanmiap baamlong, osa estudio teologico de valladolid spain fadabaamlong@yahoo.com abstract complementarity implies the existence of distinct realities that need to relate and collaborate, resulting in a single reality that is better than each of the individual realities alone. this positive idea of complementarity is at the centre of the igwebuike philosophy, an african philosophy in which individuating differences must work towards a corporate existence, where the ‘i’ does not stand as the ‘i’ but as a ‘we’, where life and living makes meaning. this calls, therefore, for harmony, togetherness and communality amongst people living together. these positive attributes have proven to be functional amongst not only the african societies, but amongst all humans. because of the positive effect this philosophy has, it is worth emulating and practising. in view of this, from the theological point of view, this write-up aims to demonstrate how the message on unity and harmony of psalm 133 can contribute more lessons and values to this principle of complementarity of the igwebuike philosphy, illustrating, therefore, how theological values can help to improve as well the values already existent in the igwebiuke philosophy. keywords: psalms, theology, igwebuike philosophy, unity, harmony, brotherhood, togetherness, blessing. mailto:fadabaamlong@yahoo.com naanmiap baamlong, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 216 introduction igwebuike philosophy is an igbo-african thought centered on the worldview of complementarity. it is a worldview in which individuating differences must work towards a corporate existence where the ‘i’ does not stand as the ‘i’ but as a ‘we’, where life and living makes meaning 1 . in a scenario of this kind, difference does not divide nor does it constitute a threat, but rather unites and gives hope that future existence would have meaning. in a cosmogony of this kind, while the ontology of the person is founded on the particularity of the individual, implying that it is the metaphysics of the particular that founds identity; it is the community that gives meaning to such an 1 kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igboafrican modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. the lessons of psalm 133 and the principle of unity of igwebuike philosophy themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 217 existence and grounds such an identity 2 . this philosophy, like most philosophies, began within african thinkers based on thier wonder about their environment 3 . with this philosophy in function, it has four basic principles which are the values and ideas that shape this philosophy. while these principles guide igwebuike philosophy, it also justifies igwebuike philosophy. these principles are: the principle of identity, the principle of contrariety, the principle of hierarchy and the principle of unity 4 . this work will concentrate on this last principle and its aim to see how the message on unity and harmony of psalm 133 can contribute more lessons and values to this principle of unity 5 . this principle understands every individual reality as part and completion of the whole, and thus there is a unity in the midst of diversity. thus, ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity; and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is ‘to be with the other’ in a community of being. i am because we are, and since we are, therefore i am. this african worldview, therefore, is governed by the principle of complementarity, which seeks the conglomeration, unification, summation of fragmented thoughts, opinions and other individualized 2 cf.https://www.academia.edu/34910747/sources_of_igwebuike_philoso phy_towards_a_socio-cultural_foundation, kanu, i. a., sources of igwebuike philosophy: towards a socio-cultural foundation, accessed 12/04/2020. 3 igwebuike philosophy began with wonder as african traditional thinkers began to wonder at the very nature of their immediate universe. it began from the understanding of their immediate universe which is not detached from the whole universe. as they wondered about the nature of their immediately universe, it began to shape their thoughts, therefore, establishing a connection between philosophy and the cosmos. 4 cf. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/jrhr/article/view/190043, kanu, a., on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy, accessed 24/04/2020. 5 the principle of unity points to the fact that spite of the contrariety of reality, in spite of the singular identity of each reality, there is something common to everything. igwebuike presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. cf. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/jrhr/article/view/190043, accesed 24/04/2020. naanmiap baamlong, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 218 and fragmented thoughts and ideas 6 . to achieve this task, that is, the posible contribution of the theological values of this bible chapter to this principle of unity of the igwebuike philosophy, a general analysis of the psalms will be made, stating its structure and the message it contains, and the theological values and ideas that can be of great value to this igwebuike philosophical position. about psalm 133 psalm i33 7 is a very short psalms. it has three verses of about seventy words. the psalm says the following; “behold, how good and peasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! it is like the precious oil upon the head, running down upon the beard, upon the beard of aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! it is like the dew of hermon, which falls on the mountains of zion! for there the lord has commanded the blessing, life for evermore”. this psalm is part of the collection of fifteen psalm (120-134) entitled “song of ascent”. they are designated this way because most scholars believe that these they were sung by the israelites as they went to jerusalem on the annual pilgrimage, on the occasion of their festivities. it was thrice a year: easter, pentecost and tabernacles. they were probably sung by pilgrims on their way to jerusalem or as part of a festive celebration. when they finally arrived, there used to be great rejoicing and a beautiful spirit of unity among all the people who had gathered in jerusalem. and all these psalms are short, except psalm 132 and, therefore, it is easy to memorize them. these psalms deal with things of daily life, for example, place of residence, 120; routine activities, 121; importance of husbands and children, 128; and our psalm, that is, 133 makes reference to unity and harmony amongst 6 ibíd. 7 this psalms as produced in this work is gotten from the revised standerd version of the bible, published by the bible societies in 1901. the version used here is the one produced for society of st. paul in 1971. the lessons of psalm 133 and the principle of unity of igwebuike philosophy themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 219 people in the community, which was most likely used by ordinary people on their way to jerusalem and in jerusalem 8 . structure and time of composition of the psalms this psalm, with only three verses, is too short, and as such, it seems too complicated and dificult to divide into subsections. however, it can be divided into these three parts: verse 1 which introduces the concept of unity and harmony with the imperative “behold”. after this invitation to contemplate the goodness and joy of living together, verses 2-3 compare this union with the anointing oil of the priest and the dew of the hermon mountain. two simple and beautiful comparisons (oil and dew) are made describing the kind of unity existing. the first is like oil, and what it indicates here is the best olive oil used to consecrate the heads of the guests at the party; and the second comparison is, like dew of hermon, known for it freshness. the last part of the psalm is verse 3bc, which concludes the chapter with a blessing. and that's probably the most important thing. here, it speaks of the result of such harmonious living, which is god's blessing, the eternal life that flows from the inexhaustible source of life, yahweh himself. this psalm, although difficult to determine its settings and structure, fits well with the other psalms of pilgrimage, 120-134. as kraus states, it is very difficult to determine where its sitz im leben lies, but it can be said that it comes from the circle of teachers of wisdom and contemplates a situation of daily life 9 . the psalm praises fraternity. this is the fraternity that binds verse 1 together. verses 2-3 emphasize the importance of this fraternal union with the verbs run and fall which appear three times. the repetition of this verb probably 8 cf. the new interpreter’s bible commentary vol. iv. u.s.a., abingdon press 2001, 1176. 9 cf. kraus, h. j., los salmos, vol. ii. salamanca, ediciones sígueme 1995, 714. naanmiap baamlong, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 220 alludes to the need to obtain this blessing of god in verse 3. and it is also characteristic of the psalms of this group 10 . as we have already indicated, this psalm belongs to the group of the 15 psalms called the psalms of pilgrimage. therefore, it is certainly a hymn of pilgrimage. it has a sapiencial tone. this psalm is from the circle of the masters of wisdom. the sapiencial judgment begins with the word “behold (look)” which instantly demands attention and points towards something (cf. ps 127,3ff). also, the exclamation “how good” is a characteristic of the sapiencial form (cf. sir 25,4ff) 11 . it enunciates the value and importance of fraternity and harmony amongst people living together 12 . interpretation and message of psalm 133 the first verse introduces the theme of unity and harmony between brothers. but who are these brothers? many scholars, in an attempt to answer this question, conclude that it refers to siblings in a broad sense. it has been thought of as the unity of the family, the harmony of the fellow citizens or the unity of the community gathered for worship. this latter interpretation is naturally more attractive because of the sacred insertions it contains and that characterise it. kraus believes, however, that the right thing to do is to think about the order of family life and family law in israel and the world of the ancient east, where the family heritage remains in the undivided possession of the male children after the death of the father. and so the brethren have to live and dwell together, such as abraham and lot, jacob and esau who also lived together. this verse is probably a sapiencial saying, praising members for being responsible and faithful in their task of seeking good for the family and spreading it (cf. deut 25,5). according to allen, it refers to the whole congregation of the entire 10 cf. allen, l. c., word bible commentary vol. xxi. u.s.a, word books publishers 1983, 214. 11 cf. kraus, h. j. los salmos. vol. ii. salamanca, ediciones sígueme 1995, 715. 12 cf. schökel, l. a. y carniti, c., salmos ii. navarra, verbo divino 1993, 1541. the lessons of psalm 133 and the principle of unity of igwebuike philosophy themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 221 pilgrims in jerusalem that gathered for the feast. these people are linked not only by race but in the name of god 13 . verses 2-3b, with two simple and beautiful comparisons, emphasize the importance of this union, of this coexistence, like the precious ointment used for the consecration of priests, pointing to a choice of the best olive oil. this is to show the appreciation of this visible union in worship of god. it praises the harmonious coexistence of the brothers in lands that are of common heritage. it describes in images that radiate the peace and happiness of the brothers who live together in harmony. the oil in the east is mixed with aromatic herbs and serves as care for hair and skin (cf. mic 6,15); it is poured over the head and then descends to the beard (verse 2a) 14 . verse 3a reads, as a dew from hermon; it probably alludes to a spiritual significance like in hosea 14, 5. accorrding to some scholars, although hermon's significance is unclear, the reference may be to the amount of dew that is appropriate for a sacred mountain 15 . mount hermon is the highest in this area (2814 m. above sea level). another comment says that the parallel with hermon's dew is probably mentioned because of its extraordinary and copious wealth, and that imparts life and fertility 16 . verse 3c, probably the most important, concludes the psalm; it makes reference to what was said in the first verse about brothers in communion. there in the community of united brothers, the lord sends his blessing, blessing that is life, life that is lasting. brotherly love is a blessing that attracts blessings; it is full life that prolongs; it is aroma that spreads; it is dew that permeates. in kraus’ words, “yahweh himself becomes the saving power and force of a community in which brothers coexist harmoniously” 17 . 13 cf. allen, 215. 14 cf. kraus, 715. 15 cf. allen, 215. 16 cf. briggs, c. a. y briggs, e. g., a critical and exegetical commentary. vol. ii., edinburgh, t & t clark 1907, 476. 17 cf. kraus h. j., los salmos. vol. ii. salamanca, ediciones sígueme 1995, 716. naanmiap baamlong, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 222 this psalm talks about the coexistence of the brothers as something necessary, highlighting the need for it. it is a commendable action that brightens and refreshes life, and is also of tremendous importance. the harmonious coexistence of the brothers attracts the blessings of yahweh. god's saving power radiates with its light the areas of human life 18 . saint augustine, in his commentary on this psalms, states that this psalms gave rise to monasteries because, although it refers to believers, in a strict sense, this psalms does not refer to all christians. in this sense, it would apply only to christians who live in unity and harmony. therefore, it does not refer to all, but to some special ones, from whom, however, it reaches out to others. augustine says: “these words of the psalter, this sweet sound, this pleasant melody in both the song and the understanding, gave rise to the monasteries” 19 . there are indications that can be identified with the usage of this psalms within christianity. for christians, the term, ‘brother,’ is used to designate other fellow believers. jesus admonishes, do not let yourselves be called my lord, for your master is one, and you are all brothers (mt 23,8-10). there are also indications in paul's texts. the apostle condemns lawsuits and discord among the brethren (1 cor 1,11; 6,5s). instead, he calls for an experience in the unity and love of god; brotherly love is a gift from god. saint augustine says that it is the grace of god that makes this coexistence of the brothers and sisters. it is god himself who makes possible this coexistence, which is not of human origin or fruit of human effort, but the blessing of god 20 . it would be correct, therefore, to mention in the afirmative that the central message and theme of this psalms is about unity and harmony amongst people living together. and in relation directly to christian values, such coexistence in unity attracts naturally the presence of god, the supreme being. 18 ibíd. 19 cf. cf. obras de san agustín xxii, enarraciones sobre los salmos, madrid, bac 1967, 463-465. 20 id, 475. the lessons of psalm 133 and the principle of unity of igwebuike philosophy themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 223 psalm 133 vis-a-vis igwebuike philosophy it can be said in the affirmative that psalms 133, whose central message is about fraternal living, would rightly contribute many postive lessons to this african philosophy of complementarity. as mentioned above, one of the principles of this igwebuike philospohy is unity. in fact, it is the inner or underlying principle of this african philosophy 21 . this unity stems from the coming together and putting into one place the various and different exiting realities. the principle points to the fact that, inspite of the contrariety of reality, in spite of the singular identity of each reality, there is something common to everything. igwebuike understands every individual reality as part and completion of the whole, and thus there is a unity in the midst of diversity. igwebuike presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. thus, ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is ‘to be with the other’, in a community of beings. “i am because we are and since we are, therefore i am” 22 . the first verse of the psalms precisa mente speaks about unity and harmony amongst brothers. and like we have seen, this brotherhood that the psalms speaks about is not only limited to blood ties. the brotherhood, based only on blood affinities, is always restrictive and limited. it is, therefore, obvious that the brotherhood involved here is more inclusive and covers a wide range of persons and individuals. consequently, it makes reference to a large comunity, the entire comunity. this tie stems from not blood and other similar affinities, but from the name of god. this, of course, without any doubt, fits well for the igwebuike concept of unity. the african culture, by its very nature, is very inclusive. most african societies are characterized by and have this conscience and belief of “i am 21 cf. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/jrhr/article/view/180084, kanu, i. a., sources of igwebuike philosophy: towards a socio-cultural foundation, acessed 14/04/2020. 22 cf. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/jrhr/article/view/190043, kanu, i. a., on the origin and principles of igwebuike, accesed 24/04/2020. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/jrhr/article/view/180084 https://www.ajol.info/index.php/jrhr/article/view/190043 naanmiap baamlong, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 224 because we are and since we are, therefore i am”. and beause of this strong sense of togetherness and unity, everyone in a given comunity considers the next person as a brother. as long as you are a member of a given group, you have some strong relationship with and connection to everyone in the society. no one is considered different or outside of the circle that binds the community. to be identified as an individual, one is first considered as part of the whole group. it is the whole that gives meaning and importance to the individual or a particular reality and aspect. in this line too, that is, in relation to this sense of unity, harmony, community, complementarity and solidarity among the community of beings, one philopspher speaks of the bond on which this unity, togetherness and complementarity is built as the beings forces’, and this beings forces’ of the universe are not a multiple of independent forces placed in juxtaposition from being to being. all creatures are found in relationship according to the law of hierarchy. nothing moves in this universe of forces without influencing other forces by its movement. the world of forces is held like a spider’s web of which no single thread can be caused to vibrate without shaking the whole network 23 . this unity and harmony is a force that binds together the individuals and the various particular realities, making it one and strong. another aspect of unity in igwebuike philosophy stresses the advantage that stems from this union of various parts. according to the study of kanu, igwebuike strongly holds that the whole is greater than the corresponding parts. it is also a view that maintains that by the coming together of the individuals or parts, a viable and sustainable whole will emerge, and by this, the parts will get to the brim purpose of their existence 24 . the coming together of the parts to form one single unit makes the various parts strong and powerful. in line with this, it would be relevant the teaching of the psalmist. 23 ibíd. 24 ibíd. the lessons of psalm 133 and the principle of unity of igwebuike philosophy themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 225 it emphasizes this concept of harmony because to produce fruit there have to be strongly in place understanding and intergretion a community that is together in harmony; we are all aware that in a house, the brothers may be living together but be in quarrels, with resentments. the psalmist speaks of a concept of harmony. for a better understandinding of harmony, it would be good to imagine such in music. musically, harmony reminds us, for example, of an orchestra. those who have had the opportunity to see it in action know that it is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families, including bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, and double bass; brass instruments, such as the horn, trumpet, trombone; woodwinds, such as the flute, oboe, clarinet and bassoon; and percussion instruments, such as the timpani, bass drum, triangle, snare drum, cymbals, and mallet percussion instruments, each grouped in sections; but there is a director and a work of art that guide them to make a beautiful melody come out. they are all in harmony. the psalmist used two metaphors to reinforce this harmony. in the first metaphor, it says that this harmony that occurs when people live together is like good oil; but it is not any kind of oil. for example, it is not an oil that serves to cook, it is the oil that is used to anoint the priest aaron. in the ancient christian communities, priests and kings were anointed to be set apart for god's service. the oil with which they were anointed was a holy oil, set apart for this sacred and religious purpose. it indicates that this community of brothers the psalmists is making reference to is set apart for god, for his purposes. the other image is that of the dew. it is like the dew of hermon descending upon the mountains of zion. scholars say that if one spends the night in that mountainous región of zion, the next morning one is completely soaked. this dew serves to bring freshness and to nourish the arid and dry soil in the judean region. in the same line, living together in harmony breeds nourishment and freshness to the entire society. the community must be united not only for its own benefit or for its own order or security. the community must manifest its unity, because a fragmented (or divided) community does not have naanmiap baamlong, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 226 much to say to a fragmented world. the psalmist, therefore, calls for harmony. this virtue and quality of life is something compulsory for such a community, a community where god exists. such a community must be the role model to others. it is like when jesus christ warns his disciples, you are the salt of the earth, but if it becomes tasteless, what will it be salted with? it's nothing but to be trampled by men (mt 5,13) 25 . in his work, an aspect stressed by kanu in line with this principle of unity is the one that touches the theme of anthropology. this idea is developed by mibiti. mbiti, in his work on african religion and philosophy, speaks of african ontology in terms of unity, solidarity and complementarity. the anthropocentric ontology is a complete unity or solidarity which nothing can break up or destroy. to destroy or remove one of these categories is to destroy the whole existence, including the destruction of the creator, which is impossible. one mode of existence presupposes all the others, and a balance must be maintained so that these modes neither drift too far apart from one another nor get too close to one another 26 . this idea is much more related to the central message of the psalms. unity breeds the presence and blessings of god. once god is involved, nothing stands against his powers and sovereignty. therefore, just like mbiti speaks of the imposiblity of destroying the creator, psalms 133 mentions clearly that once this harmony and unity is in place, it is imposible to speak of the absence of the blessings of god. verse 3 of the psalm contains a very important message. it makes allusion to what was stressed in the first verse about brothers living together in a community. this coesxitence in harmony always comes with great benefits. it is always a blessing. blessing that is life, life that is lasting. brotherly love is a blessing that attracts blessings; it is 25 cf. http://razondelcristianismo.blogspot.com/2016/09/hermeneutica-del-salmo133-samuel.html, samuel rodriguez, hermeneútica del salmo 133, accessed 24/04/2020. 26 cf. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/jrhr/article/view/190043, kanu, i. a., on the origin and principles of igwebuike, accesed 24/04/2020. http://razondelcristianismo.blogspot.com/2016/09/hermeneutica-del-salmo-133-samuel.html http://razondelcristianismo.blogspot.com/2016/09/hermeneutica-del-salmo-133-samuel.html https://www.ajol.info/index.php/jrhr/article/view/190043 the lessons of psalm 133 and the principle of unity of igwebuike philosophy themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 227 full life that prolongs; it is aroma that spreads; it is dew that permeates. god himself becomes the saving power and force of a community in which brothers coexist harmoniously 27 . the result of this kind of coexistence is this blessing that comes from the supreme being himself. its result is very practical; it is something that is felt by everybody. one might ask what is this god’s blessing? the psalm mentions life everlasting which, without doubt, is a blessing and gift from the lord. however, when we read and reflect on the scripture, it can be seen that god’s blessings are so great, and one can not finish listing and counting them. brothers, sisters, family, food, shelter, home, happiness, etc., aid in tribulation. and above all, eternal life! it would not be out of place to state that if one attempts to visualize eternal life, one cannot see nor grasps very clearly its significance. therefore, to grasp the significance it has, it would be good to sit and imagine a great party where you can meet everyone who enjoys spending time with you, with all those who make you feel full and happy and those who make you see the beauty of life. this is most likely how etertnal life would be, and that is why the psalmist mentions that the lord sends eternal life. this idea of benefits that come from this community living can be related to the opinión of edeh, in his reflection about unity, and in this case he mentions a specific cultural society in nigeria the igbos. in his reflection on igbo metaphysic, he emphasizes the closeness of reality through which reality attains its fulfillment in existence. accordingly, the igbo way of life emphasizes ‘closeness’ but not closed-ness’. there is a closeness in living because each person ‘belongs to’ others and, in turn, ‘is belonged to’ by others. by adopting this life of ‘closeness’ or ‘belongingness’, an igbo becomes immersed in the culture’s spiritual substance, love; and by love, he acquires a fulfillment as a person beyond mere individuality 28 . this 27 cf. kraus h. j., los salmos, vol. ii. salamanca, ediciones sígueme 1995, 716. 28 cf. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/jrhr/article/view/190043, kanu, i. a., on the origin and principles of igwebuike, accesed 24/04/2020. naanmiap baamlong, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 228 clearly calls, therefore, for unity and collaboration which psalm 133 stresses: life in a community and a life of unity and together, and not an individualistic or egoistic type of living. conclusion having seen the relationship between the psalms and philosophy, one can see how theological values can help to improve the values already existent in the igwebiuke philosophy. the psalm examined begins with an invitation to “behold”, to see something important. in this paper, what is presented is a call on igwebuike thought and belief; of the fact that, in theology, it can get many values too to add to the one it has and is still developing. the greatest of this value, however, is not far from the central idea of the igwebiuke pilosophy. this is the value of complementarity 29 . it is, therefore, very positive and 29 kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kanu, i. a. (2019). on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159-176. kanu, i. a. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. the lessons of psalm 133 and the principle of unity of igwebuike philosophy themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 229 encouraging for people to seek community, not institutions, not organizations. it invites all to embrace the gospel of brotherly living to make the word “brother” real in every aspect. everyone has creative ideas. some have the ability to approach new people, others to share knowledge, others to make food, ornaments, ideas, etc. it is pertinent that we work for communities that evoke: “behold how good and how delicious it is to dwell as brothers together in harmony”. everyone has something to offer, and when all is put in one place, everything will work perfectly, because the community now makes everybody strong. bibliography allen, l. c. (1983). word bible commentary vol. xxi. u.s.a, word books publishers briggs, c. a. & briggs, e. g. (1907). a critical and exegetical commentary. vol. ii., edinburgh, t & t clark kanu, i. a. (2016). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no. 1 [ 97-101]. kanu, a. i. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies. vol. 3 no 2.[155-160]. kanu, i. a. (2014). igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholic-pentecostal relations. jos studies. 22. pp.87-98. kanu, i. a. (2015b). igwebuike as an ontological precondition for african ethics. international conference of the society for research and academic excellence. university of nigeria, nsukka. 14 th -16 th september. kanu, i. a. (2015c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25 th -26 th november 2015 university of paris, france. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. naanmiap baamlong, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 230 kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. the lessons of psalm 133 and the principle of unity of igwebuike philosophy themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 231 kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kraus, h. j. (1995). los salmos, vol. ii. salamanca, ediciones sígueme obras de san agustín xxii, enarraciones sobre los salmos, madrid, bac 1967 naanmiap baamlong, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 232 schökel, l. a. & carniti, c. (1993). salmos ii. navarra, verbo divino igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 233 igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria maduekwe pius chukwuebuka augustinian institute makurdi, benue state payopapaz2711@yahoo.com abstract the relationship that does exist between politics and religion is intimate. more so, the relationship is complex because of the intricacies inherent in the politicization of religion. with emphasis on nigeria today, there are two dominant religious groups in nigeria, islam and christianity. islam and christianity are not recognized here to the trivialization of the position of traditional religion. the integration of politics and religion in nigerian political history is believed to be one major problem behind the current religious violence and political instability troubling the country. this research is aimed at looking into the chaos that has been caused by religion in nigeria’s socio-political system and has employed the igwebuike philosophy with the view of addressing the issues of conflict between the two major religions in nigeria. igwebuike principle of solidarity and complementarity will be adopted for this purpose. for the purpose of this thesis, the hermeneutic and phenomenological methods of inquiry will be employed. this thesis, therefore, exposes the misplacement of values by the nigerian people as they tend to place religion and politics as a single entity, rather than practicing them independently. nonetheless, religion and politics are complimentary and can be practiced without steps. mailto:payopapaz2711@yahoo.com maduekwe pius chukwuebuka themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 234 introduction the human person, from researches, is said to be a being that needs the presence of the other to foster its own existence; thus, it is not a totally independent being, despite his religion, social or political class. virtually in all societies of the world, religion has become a key index that carpenters the socio-economic, cultural and political structures, either for good or for bad. nigeria, just like any other multi-cultural society, has a number of religious movements and practices, such as: islam, christianity and indigenous religion. before the arrival of the colonial masters into nigeria, our ancestors were staunch adherents of the african traditional religion (atr). the atr was a system of belief and worship that was totally devoid of acrimony, hate and conflicts. for administrative convenience, fredrick lugard brought forth the thought merging northern and southern protectorates. in 1914, an entity called nigeria emerged, bringing about 250 ethnic groups together into one political and administrative entity. today, ironically, the merger became a bane of peace, progress and stability of the nigerian nation. although nigeria has witnessed some pockets of religious conflicts over the years, it assumed an alarming proportion when nigeria assumed democratic ideals in 1999. as a multi-ethnic and religious entity, christians and muslims (the two major religions in nigeria) in nigeria have over the years tried to outwit each other in terms of belief, adherence, structure and growth vis-à-vis the nigerian nation. consequently, a dimension of fanaticism was introduced into the religious practice. unfortunately, the so-called religions have become a source of strife, anarchy and bloodletting in nigeria in recent times. today, there is a sharp deviation from the core values of religion, occasioned by the alarming nature of religious crisis in nigeria, leading to destruction of lives and property. rather than entrench peace, unity and stability, religion has somewhat threatened the whole essence of nigeria’s nationhood. igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 235 very often, the woes of nigeria are blamed on the events of “slave trade”, “colonialism” and “missionary methods” that were not contextual. today, it is very clear that the very enemies of nigeria are nigerians. the rate at which nigerians destroy one another morally, intellectually, socially, politically and physically in the present world cannot be compared to the accusation we heap on the western world. the various crises in nigeria today need fellow nigerians to be the light of the world and salt of the earth. this calls for a sense of complementarity and inter-personal dialogue, in which the human person can be a reconciled reconciler. in other words, the human person needs a renewal of heart and change of attitude. it must be remembered that as nigerians “the sky is wide enough for everyone to fly”. this will assists us to develop our gifts and actualize our latent potentials to be the light of the world and salt of the earth. thus, the researcher places igwebuike ontology, an igbo-african philosophy of humanity towards the other or integrative humanism viz-a-viz the issues of religio-political crises as a possible attempt to promote complementarity and enhance a more peaceful co-existence. statement of the problem in the nigerian society, three types of religion are prominent: christianity, islam and african traditional religion. the first two are imported religions; and the last is home grown. both christianity and islam are universal while african traditional religion is particular to africa. impliedly, african traditional religion has no body of teaching which is regarded as valid forever (at all times) as it has no universal mission, so proselytization does not exist; hence, african traditional religion cannot be a divisive force. so, traditional religion does not cause havoc in our society; the problem is in the relationships of islamic and christian religions. the problems are at various levels: conceptualization, worldview, beliefs and perceptions, among others. at the level of conceptualization and articulation, both religions, islam and christianity, differ; their philosophies are poles apart as their founders maduekwe pius chukwuebuka themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 236 are both in the largeness of heart cum intelligence and articulation of concepts. christianity is not a parallel concept to islam, nor is christianization a parallel concept to islamization. each is in a world of its own. while christianization concerns itself with conversion of willing persons, islamization concerns itself with conversion of persons both in the spheres of religion and politics with the use of force. at this level, it is clear that islamic religion is not concerned with human acts as such, for these are acts performed with the aid of knowledge, freedom, voluntariness and intention. our problems also are ranging from cosmological exclusivism, lack of leadership, ignorance to corruption, and so on. man is both a political and religious animal; hence, a total separation of religion from politics is not advocated for, but the politicization of religion should be guarded against in order to avoid emotional outbursts, which have escalated problems by the ensued violence and destruction which claimed lives and property. irrational latitude to either religion in politics or vice versa remains an issue of concern in the nigerian state. this study has its importance lying on the very fact that the contemporary nigerian society is in no doubt faced with so much religious differences which produce hatred and intolerance. over the years, religious crises have been a reoccurring decimal and every effort to promote unity, peace and progress in a multi-ethnic and religious society like nigeria has defied all known solutions. this research is aimed at providing a philosophical platform for peaceful co-existence, rational fraternal cooperation and complementarity between nigerian muslims and christians for a better and more standard political system with a practice of true federalism and democracy and in all to have a greater nigeria. the researcher has employed practical, descriptive, expository, historical, dialectic and philosophical approaches in this study. the study has also made use of more secondary sources and a bit of primary sources, as well as the hermeneutic and phenomenological methods. igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 237 the etymology and meaning of igwebuike etymologically, the igbo ontological maxim, igwebuike, is a compound word which is rooted in three igbo words: igwe, bu and ike. these words can also be used in a sentence form, by putting them together, although as independent words, thus making up a complete sentence. igwe which means “number or population” is a noun. bu which means “is” is a verb. ike which means “strength or power” is also a noun. put together, igwebuike comes to mean literally: “number is strength or number is power.” as an igbo-african philosophy, it rests on two primary principles: solidarity and complementarity. it argues that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is ‘to be with the other’, in a community of beings (kanu “african traditional religion”, 67). igwebuike as an ideology has a long history. it was first employed by the igbo traditional philosophers as “a theory based on an illustrative statement to teach that when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force, and more so, to express their world of relationship, harmony, continuality and complementarity. at this level, no task is beyond collective capability” (kanu, “igwebuike and the unity of the african philosophical experience” web). as earlier stipulated, igwebuike factually emanates from a unitary composition, since it emphasizes strength in togetherness or population; just as in the ujaama of julius nyerere, it upholds communal living and fraternal cooperation. furthermore, kanu postulates that it rests on the philosophy of solidarity and complementarity; thus, to be is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. igwebuike is based on the african cosmology. iroegbu, thus, affirms this as he opines that it is characterized by a common origin, common worldview, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny (8). igwebuike is the maduekwe pius chukwuebuka themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 238 underlining principle of african philosophy and religion. it is the unity of the african philosophical experience. it is, in fact, the fundamental category of african philosophy and religion. it is the substratum of african traditional values, philosophy and religion. mbiti has classically proverbialized the community, determining the role of the individual when he write; ‘i am because we are and since we are, therefore i am’ (108). as averred by kanu, it is attainable that igwebuike philosophy is one that strongly invites the african people to a life of a holistic unism as it goes as far as expressing a sense of belonging to the african, and when the reverse is the case, it presents the african to be alienated from the rest of humanity. also, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force or strength, and at this level, no task is beyond their collective capability. igwebuike, therefore, understands the human person as possessing a relational character, and also as one who is inter-subjective and must necessarily relate with the other in order to make a meaningful existence. kanu ikechukwu anthony: the proponent of igwebuike philosophy kanu ikechukwu anthony, the proponent of the igwebuike philosophy, is an augustinian friar and is currently the rector of villanova polytechnic, imesi ile, osun state, nigeria. he was born 20 th november, 1981 at nkwerre. he is of igbo extraction from arondizuogu, ideato north local government area, imo state nigeria. though having his origin from the eastern part of nigeria, kanu had both his nursery/primary and secondary school education in the north in jimeta-yola, adamawa state, from the following schools: command children nursery and primary school, demonstration primary school, army day secondary school and st. peter’s minor seminary, from 1984-1986, 1987-1992, 1993-1994 and 1995-1999 respectively. after his secondary school education, kanu, in responding to his call to the religious life, joined the order of st. augustine, where his vocation was nurtured. thus, kanu proceeded to igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 239 st. thomas aquinas and st. augustine’s major seminaries from 2001-2004 and 2005-2009, where he obtained bachelor of arts degree in philosophy and bachelor of arts degree in religious studies respectively. after the completion of his formation to the priesthood and religious life, in 2009 he was ordained a catholic priest. kanu, after his ordination, proceeded to further his studies. he obtained master’s degrees in philosophy (metaphysics); religion and human relations from university of nsukka, enugu state and nnamdi azikiwe university awka, anambra state from 2010-2015 and 20102012 respectively. in 2012, he continued in the same nnamdi azikiwe university for his doctorate degree programme in religion and human relations, which he obtained in 2015. kanu is a man of great responsibilities and engagements. apart from his religious and pastoral commitments, he served as the dean of students at the international bio-research institute, ugwogo nike, enugu state and lectures in three other institutions, which include: st. augustine’s major seminary, jos; augustinian institute of philosophy, makurdi and veritas university abuja. he is also a member of various academic societies, like: igbo studies association (i.s.a) usa, nigerian philosophical association (npa), international society for african philosophy studies (isaps), association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars (aatreps), just to mention but a few. he is also a member of decision making boards like governing board, international bio-research institute (ibi), ugwogo nike, enugu state; apurimac onlus (ngo), josplateau sstate; board of trustees, association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars (aatreps), and a host of others (tumba,69-71 ). in his bid to contribute immensely to the pool of knowledge, kanu has written omnivorously, making impact in various spheres of life through his works, especially in the areas of african philosophy and african traditional religion (atr) studies in which he has made an indelible impression through his ground-breaking igwebuike maduekwe pius chukwuebuka themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 240 philosophy and other written works, prominent among which include: african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues and a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. kanu, so far, has written 20 books, published 116 articles in national and international peer-reviewed journals, 120 papers presented at different conferences. this is no doubt an indication that kanu is truly a genius and his contributions in creating awareness and imparting positive knowledge cannot be overemphasized. kanu is also the founder and editor-in-chief of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, and igwebuikepedia: an internet encyclopedia of african philosophy (tyogema, 34). kanu, being the proponent of igwebuike philosophy, has made great impact in philosophy through its instrumentality. through igwebuike, kanu has proposed a new way of looking at reality, using the lens of solidarity and complementarity. his works on igwebuike, among many, include, igwebuike and african ethics, igwebuike and the unity of african philosophy, igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principle, igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education, igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization, igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory socio-political system of governance, igwebuike as the expressive modality of being in igbo ontology. pertinent issues that cloud our contemporary world have been addressed by kanu using igwebuike. also, through igwebuike, kanu has made vital contributions in the areas of metaphysics, ethics, epistemology and political philosophy; thus, elevating it to the status of an academic discipline and worthy of being employed for research in various areas of inquiry for positive impacts on the society (tyogema, 34). the sources of igwebuike philosophy the igbo african philosophy, igwebuike, which has its tentacles on the manner of being with the worldview of complementarity, massages the ego of individuals and posits to them a model of living igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 241 in a society with a common goal of togetherness; that is, the “i thou” relationship is the kpim of igwebuike philosophy. igwebuike philosophy is based on the igbo-african worldview of complementarity, that is, the manner of being in african ontology. it is a worldview in which individuating differences must work towards a corporate existence, where the "i" does not stand as the "i" but as a "we," where life and living makes meaning. in a scenario of this kind, difference does not divide nor does it constitute a threat, but unites and gives hope that future existence would have meaning. in a cosmogony of this kind, while the ontology of the person is founded on the particular that founds identity, it is the community that gives meaning to such an existence and grounds such an identity. what are the sources of igwebuike philosophy? it focuses on the raw materials from which igwebuike philosophy is gotten. a cursory glance at the african socio-cultural background reveals that the sources of igwebuike philosophy include the works of professional african philosophers, african proverbs, african folktales, african symbols, african names and african songs (kanu, sources of igwebuike philosophy, 2). africans, like other people in the world, are shaped by their culture and they contribute in the shaping and transmission of this culture. the african, therefore, is a homo culturalis. by african culture, it is meant those things which go to the refining and developing of the african's diverse mental and psychological endowments. also, names among the african people are not just an identification tag for differentiating "a" from "b," but carry with them meanings that are rich and profound. there are times when such names are monumental, in the sense that they tell a history of an event that has occurred. for instance, the igbo name onwudinjo, which means "death is bad," is usually given to a child to tell the story of maybe the death of the mother at the birth of the child or the death of an important relation at the time of the birth of the child. there are times when such names that are prophetic, like ogadimma, which means "it maduekwe pius chukwuebuka themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 242 will be good" could be given to a child to speak of the anticipation of a bright future (kanu, 4). african proverbs occupy a very important place in africa's economy of communication. they have been described variously by the igbo as vegetable for eating speech; the palm oil with which words are eaten. they are so important that the zulu of south africa would say that without proverbs, language would be but a skeleton without flesh, a body without a soul. they carry within them the wisdom and experience of the african people, usually of several ages gathered and summed up in one expression; example, aka nri kwo aka ekpe, aka ekpe akwo aka nri: if the right hand washes the left hand, the left hand would wash the right hand, and others. a glance at the work of contemporary african philosophers reveals that the web that holds their perspective together is the philosophy of complementarity. although perspectives continue to change and differ, they continue to be united by the idea of harmony (kanu, 7). the principles of igwebuike philosophy principally, every school of thought has its source, role and principles that set aright and flaunt the uniqueness of that particular thought. the origin is undeniably the end of a reaction to a given circumstance that is either real or conceptual. thus, it responds to the often posited questions such as; “what is the origin of igwebuike philosophy?” how did it begin as a pattern of thought in african ontology? is it a philosophy that is exclusive to the igbo or africa? and in responding to these questions, kanu, in his work on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy, avers that: igwebuike is an igbo word igwe (number), bu (is), ike (strength), literally meaning that there is strength in unity however, philosophically pointing to the complementary nature of reality. it confronts discontinuity and the compartmentalization of reality. igwebuike is not a philosophy that is limited to the igbo world, it is a universal philosophy igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 243 that is the incarnation and confirmation of the universal relevance of solidarity and complementarity. although, a philosophy captured in an igbo word, it has a universal taste and obvious in universal experience. igwebuike emphasis on the complementary nature of reality was at the heart of the discovery of the ionian philosophers who observed that there was permanence in the midst of change, and also that there was unity in the midst of the plurality of reality. in their wonder, they concluded that there must be a primary element that would explain the unity in diversity and permanence in change. in this, they acknowledged the complementarity of the diverse departments of reality (kanu, 159). the principles of igwebuike philosophy refers to the values or frameworks that shapes igwebuike philosophy. these principles are the values or frameworks on which the philosophy stands. while these principles guide igwebuike philosophy, they also justify the philosophy. these principles include: the principle of identity, the principle of contrariety, the principle of hierarchy and the principle of unity (kanu, 165) the principle of identity this principle, as posited by kanu, is the first principle of igwebuike philosophy and it holds that every being is determined in itself, one with itself and divided from others. it further expresses the uniqueness and individuality of every being, just as qualities of matter, referred to in traditional metaphysics as accidents, such as size, colour, shape, distinguish one being from the other. in other words, the particularity and peculiarity of a being puts an end to the error of generalization and chaos. the principle of hierarchy this principle expresses the levels or degrees of forces in each reality. in the hierarchy of forces, those with a greater force come first, with god at the apex as the source of all force. in igbo-african ontology, maduekwe pius chukwuebuka themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 244 reality can be subsumed under the following categories, according to the hierarchy of their force: spirit. spirit as a force has categories of forces. it includes god, the divinities and spirits. god is at the apex of the muo category as the source of all force. tempels, quoted in the journal of religion and human relations states, “above all force is god, it is he who has force, power, in himself. he gives existence, power of survival and of increase, to other forces” (177), and on this hierarchy goes to the next level occupied by the human person who plays a role so vital on this ladder as man is distinct and possesses will and intelligence as he shares in the all-encompassing nature of god the supreme being; thus, the human being is the center of the universe as he supersedes the next on the ladder which are things. things are referred to as happening, an event, an occurrence. it can also be affixed to any adjective to mean specific things”. for instance, ife obuna (anything), ife ebube (thing of wonder), ife ojoo (bad thing), ife oma (good thing). ife as a force cannot act for itself, and thus can only become active when a greater force like god, divinities, spirits and man act on them. they have no will of their own and thus depend on the will of a greater force. the next in the hierarchy is space (ebe). space talks about place. it is the relation of distance between any two bodies or points. it responds to the question of where. the next is time. time responds to questions such as: when did you see emeka? when did you pick-up nnamdi? when was the sacrifice offered? the last on the hierarchy is modality, manner or style. modality of being does emphasize on the manner of being (kanu, being and the categories of being…). thus, in relation to igwebuike, the degree of forces determines the level or degree of complementarity or connectedness between beings (kanu, 179). the principle of contrariety here, the principle speaks of otherness of realties. otherness points to the state of being different, shifting emphasis from descartes’ philosophical concerns with the other which was struck in abstraction to a concrete other that is located in social and cultural institutions. the question of the otherness of reality has continued to emerge in the igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 245 various epochs of the history of philosophy, fascinating philosophy and giving rise to questions such as: what does it mean to be other than the self? how do i and must i relate to the other? (ibid, 176-177). the word contrariety is from the word contrary. aristotle defines contrariety thus: “for contrariety is a kind of difference, and difference is a kind of otherness”. aristotle writes that: the term contrary is applied to those attributes differing in genius, which cannot belong at the same time to the same subject, to the most different of the things in the same genius, to the most different of the attributes in the same recipient subject, to the most different of things that fall under the same faculty, to the things whose difference is greatest either absolutely or in genius or in species. the other things that are called contrary are so called, some because they possess of the above kind, some because they are receptive of such, some because they are productive of or susceptible to such, or are producing or suffering them, or are losses or acquisitions, or possessions of privations of such ( ibid 763) the principle of unity that which is common to all, that is, in spite of the varieties and dynamism of realities, is what igwebuike identifies as being part of the completion of the whole, and there exists amidst all things which is unity, the unifying principle. igwebuike strongly holds that the whole is greater than the corresponding parts. it is also a view that maintains that by the coming together of the individuals or parts, a viable and sustainable whole will emerge, and by this, the parts will get to the brim purpose of their existence. this sense of unity, harmony, community, complementarity and solidarity among the community of beings finds expression in the philosophy of tempels. ‘beings forces’ of the universe are not a multiple of independent forces placed in juxtaposition from being to being. all creatures are found in relationship, according to the law of maduekwe pius chukwuebuka themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 246 hierarchy. nothing moves in this universe of forces without influencing other forces by its movement. the world of forces is held like a spider’s web of which no single thread can be caused to vibrate without shaking the whole network (kanu, 176). in response to the fundamental questions that have arisen as a result of the wider reading of igwebuike philosophy, this work has been written to address the issue of the origin of igwebuike philosophy. igwebuike and complementarity igwebuike igwebuike is an indigenous philosophy of the modality of being for the realization of being. simply puts, mode of being is relational in nature. it is from the word, igwebuike, which is a combination of three words. thus, it can be understood as a word or sentence: as a word, it is written thus, igwebuike, and a sentence, it is in this form: igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. igwe is a noun which means ‘number’ or ‘population.’ bu is a verb, which means ‘is.’ ike is another verb, which means ‘strength’ or ‘power.’ put together ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’. also, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force or strength, and at this level, no task is beyond their collective capability (kanu, 30). complementarity complementarity is the characteristic of being or state of being. as a dimension of igwebuike philosophy, it can be seen in the light of disposition for, the positive will to, and the practice of living and working together, crowned by performed mutual assistance: spontaneous or organized, among the members of a group who are brought together either naturally or professionally (jude et al, 300). the african practice of solidarity is witnessed on both the economic, social and religious spheres. the traditional nigerian was his brother's keeper, especially at the communal level. in fact, he was and still is often in solidarity to a fault. in the employment and social distribution igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 247 spheres, he first considers his clansperson or tribesman before a foreigner, irrespective of qualification or fitness for the job (jude et al, 301). a brother's misfortune was a common misfortune. a living example is the practice by which once there is a free accident in which a person's house is burnt, immediately and spontaneously, the whole community gathers to work and rebuild the damaged house fully. this is not only spontaneous; it is also gratis. could there be a better expression of african concern, care and comforting for a fellow human being? (ibid). a brother's success was equally a common success, celebrated as such. "we have made it in you” is echoed. the foundation of solidarity was on the natural and common ties of origin, blood, culture, language, conviviality and worldview that characterize each community (ibid). "complementarism is a philosophy that seeks to consider things in the significance of their singularity and not in the exclusiveness of their otherness in view of the joy that gives completion to all missing links of reality" (asouzu, 39). igwebuike philosophy argues that existence is not only meaningful, but also possible only in a community and thus, to live outside of complementarity and solidarity is to live outside; it is to suffer alienation (kanayo et al, 243). igwebuike anthropology as averred by kanu in his work on “igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology,” the concept of the human person cultivated by various indigenous african peoples is a core value in each individual socio-cultural context, and more so, a determinant of thought and relationships within the socio-cultural milieu. this is based on the fact the human person is at the centre of the african universe. mbiti quoted by kanu, therefore, asserts that “man is at the very centre of existence and african people see everything else in its relation to this central position of man. it is as if god exists for the sake of man” (igwebuike as an integrative and progressive anthropology, 2). corroborating mbiti, metuh avers that maduekwe pius chukwuebuka themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 248 “everything else in african worldview seems to get its bearing and significance from the position, meaning and end of man” (qtd in kanu, igwebuike as an integrative and progressive anthropology, 2). the ideas of god, divinities, ancestors, rituals, sacrifices, etc., are only useful to the extent that they serve the needs of the human person. contrary to the mechanistic concept of the human person, the human person in the african worldview has a purpose and mission to fulfill; he comes into the world as a force amidst forces and interacting with forces. good status, good health and prosperity are signs of the wellbeing of a person’s life-force, and man struggles to preserve it through an appropriate relationship with the spiritual forces around him. the goal of every human person is to achieve his destiny imprinted on his palm by his creator. he is not just an individual person, but one born into a community whose survival and purpose are linked with others. thus, the human person is first a member of a clan, a kindred or a community (kanu, 2). nonetheless, there have been researches carried out with respect to the african personality and these have been done tilting towards the reflections on symbols and patterned behaviours associated with one level of personality or the other, like the chi, which in igbo is the symbol of a person’s guiding spirit; the ofo, the symbol of a man’s individuation; the ikenga and odu enyi, symbols of a person’s personal achievement. although the exposure of african traditional values to western culture and influence has brought about a lot of alterations in african perspectives, this piece studies the concept of personhood in traditional african ontology with the purpose of establishing the nexus between ancient african traditional society and the present conceptual package. in studying the traditional african concept of personhood, it would be engaged from the dimensions of african personhood as a coherent pluralism and its dialectically progressive character (ibid, 3). igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 249 igwebuike and the ethic of reciprocity the term ‘reciprocity’ can mean a situation or relationship in which two people or a group agree to do something similar for each other, to allow each other have the same right (mariam–webster dictionary). thus, the ethic of reciprocity is and can be likened to the ‘golden rule’, which states; do to others what you want done to you. hence, this ethic of reciprocity is across religio-cultural ethical principle that is found in virtually every religious and cultural background (kanu, 1). it is derived from human feelings and behaviour; it is also relatively simple to articulate and understand, and yet addresses an enormous range of human behaviour. thus, the ethic of reciprocity stands alone as a legion in its own right and in the form of a general rule. the point of connection between igwebuike and the ethic of reciprocity is very easily noticeable. while the ethic of reciprocity teaches that you do unto others as you would want done unto you, and the philosophy of igwebuike provides a philosophical foundation for such a perspective in relation to a fellow human person, more fundamentally, the other is perceived as a part of the self. if the other is a part of the self, one with this understanding would treat the other as one would like to be treated. the philosophy of igwebuike is not just a philosophical foundation for the ethic of reciprocity, but it is the ethic of reciprocity. it presents the ethic of reciprocity not just as a moral principle, but as a duty that one owes to himself or herself everyone owes himself or herself of treating the other in a way that one would like to be treated (kanu, 15) the ethic of reciprocity as stated by kanu, generally, is imperfect, just as there is hardly a perfect moral law. it has been criticized because it makes the assumption that everyone has the same tastes and opinions and wants to be treated the same way in every situation, and seems to be an injunction to impose one’s own way on the other. however, the ethic of reciprocity is a general moral principle, not a hard and fast rule to be applied to every facet of life. treating other people as we maduekwe pius chukwuebuka themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 250 would wish to be treated ourselves does not mean making the assumption that others feel exactly as we do about everything. the treatment we all want is the recognition that we are individuals, each with our own opinions and feelings and for these opinions and feelings to be accorded respect and consideration. this work is not concerned with the shortcomings of the ethic of reciprocity, but has argued that at the heart of igwebuike, as an ethic of reciprocity, is not the idea of treating everyone uniformly; it is rather recognition that everyone, independent of human differences, deserves to be treated with respect and love (kanu, 7). the point of connection between igwebuike and the ethic of reciprocity is very easily noticeable. while the ethic of reciprocity teaches that you do unto others as you would want done unto you, and the philosophy of igwebuike provides a philosophical foundation for such a perspective; in relation to a fellow human person, more fundamentally, the other is perceived as a part of the self. if the other is a part of the self, one with this understanding would treat the other as one would like to be treated. the philosophy of igwebuike is not just a philosophical foundation for the ethic of reciprocity, but it is the ethic of reciprocity. it presents the ethic of reciprocity not just as a moral principle, but as a duty that one owes to himself or herself everyone owes himself or herself of treating the other in a way that one would like to be treated (kanu 15). religion and politics in nigeria vis-a-vis igwebuike ontology religion: an overview religion etymologically is as old as man itself, but has variously been conceived in the variants of those who attempt a definition of the concept. religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldview that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, the moral values. many a time, the word religion has been interchangeably used as faith or belief system. however, the growth of religion has assumed various forms in different environments or cultures. in some climes, emphasis is placed igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 251 on belief system as it concerns the religion, while in other environments emphasis is largely placed on religious practice (clifford, 26). religion, from the beginning, has played a very important role in shaping the socio-political thoughts of many nations. in fact, most nations of the world were patterned and influenced by the sacred nature of government. religion supported and regulated the loyalty that existed between the state and the people. the idea of divine right of kings, which derived its origin from the theocratic concept of governance, vested absolute power and authority in the king or monarch who was seen as a direct representative of god. the monarch was superior and answerable only to god. ancient history is replete with examples of this idea. for example, in christianity, the pope was seen for centuries as the vicar of christ on earth, and by virtue of his divine right had the ultimate authority over the church, and indirectly over the state (akpanikan, 65). thus, religion represents a strong social force in the politics of the state, given its capacity for effective political mobilization. thus, fox and sander give six major reasons why this is so. they are; 1. the restriction of religious activities is often difficult for state regimes; 2. religious organizations often enjoy good patronage in the media; 3. religious organizations have the capability to easily unite differential social groupings in the society; 4. religious organizations have the ‘ready-made’ platform for political meetings; 5. religious organizations are often strong in weak states; 6. religious organizations have strong international links and enjoy global solidarity (567-568). there are also variants of theories that explain the origin of religion. this brings to the fore the statement of greg m. epstein, a humanist chaplain at harvard university, who believes that all the world’s major religions were founded on the principle that divine beings or maduekwe pius chukwuebuka themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 252 forces can promise a level of justice in a supernatural realm that cannot be perceived in this natural one (epstein, 109). thus, many of the world’s great religions appear to have begun as revitalization movements of some sort, as the vision of a charismatic prophet forces the imaginations of people seeking a more comprehensive answer to their problems than they feel is provided by everyday beliefs. charismatic individuals have emerged at many times and places in the world. it seems that the key to long-term success and many movements come and go with little long-term effect;has relatively little to do with the prophets, who appear with surprising regularity, but more to do with the development of a group of supporters who are able to institutionalize the movement (monaghan, 126). nigeria is apparently divided between islam and christianity, between the north and south respectively. it is glaringly evident that there is a widespread belief, albeit suppressed for political reasons, in traditional religious practices; thus, statistics from world religious survey indicates that 50.4% of nigeria’s population are muslims; 50.8%, christians (15% protestants; 13.7%, catholics; and 19.6%, other christians), and followers of other religious faiths were 1.4%, bbc news (2007). in the core northern nigeria, they are largely muslim faithful. in the middle belt, there are good number of both muslims and christians. in the yoruba land (western nigeria), there is even distribution of the population between the christian and muslim faiths. however, the south-east is predominantly christians, with great beliefs in the christianreligious practices, anglicanism, methodists, catholicism, and very few have trado-beliefs. but the region of niger delta is mainly christian-dominated (nkechi, 18). a good proportion of muslims in nigeria are sunni, but a fair share of shia and sufi also exist, alongside a minority of ahmadiya. conversely, christians in this clime are split evenly between protestantism and roman catholicism. the major churches in nigeria are; igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 253 1. anglican church 2. redeemed christian church of god 3. nigerian baptist convention 4. assemblies of god church 5. the synagogues church of all nations 6. the catholic church the yoruba people are largely anglicans, while the igbos are predominantly catholics. however, there are many adherents of irunmole spirituality which believes that everyone has divine destiny of becoming orisha (‘ori’, spiritual head); ‘sha’ is chosen: to be with olodumare (‘oni odu’, the god source of all energy; ‘ma re’ enlightens). aside the major islamic and christian faiths in nigeria, other minority spiritual and religions groupings in nigeria are; 1. hinduism 2. judaism 3. the bahai faith 4. chrislam (syncretic merging of christianity and islam. also, this country has gradually become the hub for the grail movement and the hare krishnas (nkechi, 19). religion and politics in nigeria religion is a set of beliefs concerning the causes, nature and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs (dictionary.com). on the other hand, politics is the art or science of government that is concerned with guiding or influencing policy(mariam webster). maduekwe pius chukwuebuka themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 254 as a multi-ethnic, multi-religious country, nigeria’s broad religious geography reflects the historical exposure of its northern communities to islam through the trans-saharan trade and the success of christian missionary enterprise in many of its southern parts. however, while historical alliances and shared ethnicity are closely associated with the adoption of these two world religions, religious and ethno-regional identity are cross-cutting, often reinforcing each other. thus, while islam had been entrenched in the pre-colonial hausa cities for centuries, many other northern groups converted to islam in the wake of the nineteenth century islamic jihad under uthman dan fodio (1754-1817), during which the greater part of northern and central nigeria was incorporated into a new caliphate, albeit with the exception of the existing, and much older, islamic kingdom of borno, which remains the most important rival to sokoto’s claims to represent all of northern nigeria. other muslim groups with a tradition independent of the uthmanian caliphate include the yoruba of south-western nigeria, where people initially converted to islam as a result of links to malian trading communities, and nigeria’s middle belt, where large-scale conversion to islam has continued throughout the postcolonial period (insa et al, 10). nigerian christianity dates back to the abolition of the trans-atlantic slave trade in the early nineteenth century, which was followed by the emergence of a literate african elite, consisting of liberated and returned slaves as well as local converts, in coastal cities such as lagos. because christianity is much younger than islam in the local context, it is not associated with pre-colonial relations of power. and because its growth in nigeria was accompanied by the spread of mission education, nigeria’s professional elite was, for a long time, dominated by christians. like islam, nigerian christianity is heterogeneous. roman catholicism has long been the religion of the igbo-speaking south-east, although nigerian-founded pentecostal churches have made strong inroads into this area over the twenty years prior to this study. in other parts of the country’s south, protestant denominations –including pentecostal groups – are dominant in the christian community, but the yoruba-speaking south-west isj almost igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 255 equally divided between christianity and islam. moreover, there are important christian groups in the north, which include both hausa converts and smaller local groups determined to assert their difference from the hausa-speaking majority or from relations of power associated with the caliphate. moreover, just as there are muslim migrants from northern nigeria in many southern cities, there are christian communities of migrants, or descendants of migrants, from the south in almost all northern nigerian cities (insa et al, 10). apart from christianity and islam, nigerians also belong to a range of other religious groups. the largest of these comprises followers of traditional religious practice, here referred to as african traditional religion (atr), with the proviso that local belief systems and practices differ widely, and that their subsumption in one term mainly reflects the fact that these practices do not (yet) hold the status of world religions. however, many african traditional religious groups share the conviction that the worldly and the sacred are closely interwoven, and that all human relations, including those involving the state and its representatives, reflect both secular and spiritual forces. it is believed that insight into these forces can be gained through divination and revelation, and that they can be influenced through sacrifice, prayer and incantation. because traditional practices have influenced christians and muslims and vice versa, debates about their validity form an important and ongoing part of interand intrareligious struggles in nigeria (amherd and nolte, 27). beyond the engagement with local traditions, christianity and islam have expressed a high degree of political competitiveness with each other, at least since the 1970s. nigeria’s colonial and postcolonial rulers have managed the differences associated with different religious constituencies, especially islam and christianity, in various ways. for most of the colonial period, almost all parts of northern nigeria, the areas belonging to the uthmanian caliphate and the kingdom of borno, were under indirect rule, that is, administered through the structures of the caliphate, albeit under british guidance. while secular concerns guided important aspects of the local administration, it was thus maduekwe pius chukwuebuka themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 256 officially presided over by traditional authorities sanctioned by tradition and islam, and islam also constituted the basis for local government. sharia courts, which had existed before colonial rule, were integrated into the colonial state, and most people turned to sharia law for the mediation and resolution of personal conflicts. only in the run-up to independence in 1960 were criminal laws codified into secular law. the colonial state’s reliance on the structures of the caliphate in turn affected religious and educational politics in northern nigeria. in many parts of the north, missionary activity was forbidden, preventing the emergence of an educated elite prepared to challenge either the emirs or local muslim traditions. as a result, when the colonial presence was dismantled, the established urban (trading) elite and the local aristocracy emerged as the tenants of northern nigerian politics. while islam was deeply entrenched in the traditional sphere of the nigerian state, christianity was, especially in the south, mainly associated with modernization. as most missions provided schooling, and later even college training, christianity was closely associated with the spread of education. the rapid growth of literacy contributed to the emergence of a mostly urban intermediary class of educated men and women who worked as catechists, clerks and teachers. this group soon took up and transformed the local elite’s struggles for self-assertion. directly confronted with racial division in the colonial administration, banking practices and even the mission churches, literate southern nigerians eventually formed the core of nigeria’s anti-colonial movement. criticizing both the colonial state and the traditional rulers through which the state had ruled, members of this educated elite considered themselves rather than the representatives of older elite and especially the aristocracy, the natural heirs and rulers of the colonial state after independence (insa et al, 11). religion, for roseline, is a complex phenomenon; thus, the social functions it performs are quite diverse. some religious functions are manifest immediately observable, and some are latent – not immediately discernible. it should be recognized that if an activity helps the integrative performance of an organization, then we call it igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 257 functional. roles like support for tolerance, peaceful cooperation and love are promoted through ministerial and lay practice (4). schaefer & lamn identify some democratic utilities of religion which include the integration of human societies composed of individuals and social groups with diverse interests and aspirations. in their view, religious bond transcends these personal and divisive forces. another important function identified by the two authors is the ability of religion to legitimize the existing social order (273-275). with reference to the first function of restraining and containing government conduct, religious associations in nigeria have repeatedly and stridently denounced bad governmental policies or actions that infringe on the interests of the religious community in particular, and/or the welfare of the citizenry in general. thus, religious associations have joined independence groups in civil society in criticizing the dubious and circuitous nature of the military’s democratization project and government's management of the religious disturbances that have convulsed several northern states. on the stimulation of political participation and civic identification, nigeria’s religious organizations have played an important role in encouraging and mobilizing their members towards active participation in and identification with public affairs and politics. this is done by stimulating a sense of civic identification and participation in their members by urging such members to ‘pray and fast’ for peace, stability, justice and progress of the nation (ayorinde, 17). thirdly, religion promotes democratic values and norms. this is done through the promotion and propagation of such democratic norms and values as tolerance, moderation, willingness to compromise, and respect for truth, justice and freedom. religious leaders in nigeria have at different times demonstrated this commitment to democracy by urging nigerians not to waver in their support for democratic institutions (tukur, 29). more so, religion provides avenues for interest representation. religious organizations articulate, aggregate and represent distinctive societal interests. the christian representation and mobilization against nigeria’s membership of the maduekwe pius chukwuebuka themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 258 country in the oic represented only one of the many instances of interest representation by the christian community since 1986. religion equally generates cross-cutting interest. the existence of cross-cutting interests implies that competing affiliations could operate to secure social peace and democratic stability, and prevent destructive or protracted social conflict, by inducing individuals and groups to divide their emotions in a single explosive line of affiliation. finally, religious organizations, like many other ordered shares of associational activity or social intercourse, provide an appropriate environment of the development of leadership skills. this is done by displaying an impressive capacity to manage people and resources in their respective organizations by speaking out courageously and consistently against the excesses solutions to nation’s problems. through this, religious leaders have gained some reputation and legitimacy as effective national leaders of thorough and potential statement. it would, however, be misleading to conclude that religious organizations have been uniformly or consistently supportive of democratic processes and values in nigeria. on the contrary, they have periodically exhibited disturbing anti-democratic proclivities that have found expression in religious violence and intolerance, in the corruption and manipulation of religious leaders. from the foregoing, some religious activities can be described as dysfunctional because their consequences frustrate the stated goals of the groups. in general, religion is functional or dysfunctional, depending on the extent to which it contributes to the achievement of societal goals (roseline, 56). christians and muslim intolerance; causes in religious conflicts, it is not clear which aims are to be achieved. gofwen regards political aims as primary; in his view, religious conflicts form a specific form of conflict between groups which differ ideologically along religious lines within a pluralistic setting, with each striving for political relevance. in a similar vein, takaya (1992) emphasizes the political import of religions: igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 259 i. religions are parochial and emotional socializers. they specialize in building one-faith exclusive brotherhood communities; ii. religion, at some point, is politics and is the most potent and long lasting political association. moreover, religious creeds excite and extract the deepest possible emotional and physical loyalties from their adherents when in political competition with people of other faiths (10). one significant element driving conflicts of this type is the attitude of superiority that religious persuasions as a sociological fact often adopt in their dealings or assessment of others. this attitude tends to exclude others, classifies them as ignorant and doomed and, invariably, creates an atmosphere of hostility. this atmosphere of hostility tends to intensify where opposing religious persuasions see their numerical strengths as political advantage. in such a situation, the leaders think that new religions are threats to the hegemonies enjoyed. further, where the political, social or economic factors are unfavorable, messianic rhetoric can exacerbate the tensions. thus, nwaomah observes conversion campaigns, as in nigeria, "by opposing religion(s) and fanaticism arising from indoctrination of the adherents, mostly due to parochial education, can also reinforce religious hostilities and thus create a conflict". in other words, what makes religious conflicts special are the unique effects of religious doctrines on the perception of the adversaries, the formation of values, and the central role of feelings and emotions for group identification (101). fundamentally, the following factors heighten religious crises in nigeria. 1. ethnic antipathy: inter-religious ill-feeling is often intensified by ethnic hostility in a situation where the adherents of christianity and islam are also members of two mutually hostile ethnic groups. there seems to be a general agreement that the kafanchan religious riot was aggravated by the ill-feelings harbored by the original natives of kafanchan against the local hausa-fulani “settlers”. maduekwe pius chukwuebuka themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 260 2. role of the press: mischievous and irresponsible reportage and comments from certain sections of the press on religious issues actually heighten or promote religious riots or crisis. this prompted to state that press reports on the kafanchan riots were highly exaggerated. many a time, the statements made by religious leaders on religious issues are quoted out of context. these kinds of press reports and comments inflame passions and promote religious ill-feelings and intolerance. 3. attitude of religious leaders: most leaders assume the position of god, and will speak on behalf of the co-religionists. the negative attitude of some religious leaders is most unfortunate, since it is only through them that tolerance and peaceful coexistence between muslims and christians can be promoted. 4. key ideological differences: the religious crisis in nigeria today has roots in our historical past, with regard to our ethnic heterogeneity, and is further compounded by the irresponsible role of certain sections of the press. be that as it may, other fundamental ideological differences also promoted religious crisis in nigeria. (a) not only does christianity reject mohammed as a prophet, it believes, very strongly, that the way of christ is the only way to salvation. other ways, including the way of the islam, are “shifting sands”. this belief is firm in every christian that everyone without christ is a stranger from ”the covenants of promise, having no hope and without god in the world” (ephesians 2:12). (b) islam, while recognizing jesus as one of the prophets of allah, regards itself as the perfecting of all religions. it admits that christianity, judaism and islam are revealed religions, but to a muslim, islam is the final and most perfect of all religions. jesus himself is interpreted to have said that there would be another messenger after him. “i have many things to say unto you, but cannot bear them now. how be it when he, the spirit of truth comes he will guide you in all truth” (john 16:12). the quran revealed that prophet mohammed is the spirit of truth about whom jesus had foretold igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 261 (quran 61:6). the two positions actually conflict their faiths and beliefs, hence the grave differences between the religions. (c) the quran rejects the concept of trinity when it says: “o people of the book, exceed not the limit in your religion, and say not of god anything but the truth. verily, the messiah, jesus, son of mary, was only a messenger and his word which he sent down to mary and say not, “they are three…” (quran 4: 171172). (d) another issue of discord between islam and christianity and which caused controversy even at the time of mohammed is that of the crucifixion of jesus as atonement for the sins of mankind. the quran says that jesus was neither killed nor crucified (quran 26:45-48). besides the four fundamental differences between the two religions, another source of intolerance is that both religions are proselytizing – seeking new converts from the adherents of each other. the two religions are, therefore, in a continuous competition for adherents (momoh, 9-10). both religions have been at loggerhead with each other for about three centuries in the medieval period in what is known as crusades. there was a bloody military contact between islam and christianity in the medieval period, when both met in nigeria in the 19th century, and were unable to tolerate one another. and here, the attitude of the adherents of different faiths to the opposite faith stems from political, tribal and nationalistic rather than religious motivations. it behooves us then to look beyond the religious confines whenever there is religious conflict, be it inter or intra (momoh, 12). the effects of religious and political crisis in nigeria nigeria, today, was the creation of the british colonialists through the amalgamation of the northern and southern protectorates in 1914. prior to this, nigeria was a heterogeneous and pluralistic society with many autonomous states within the nation, existing independently, hence the multi-cultural and multi-religious nature of the country. the polarization of religion as an instrumentality for administrative maduekwe pius chukwuebuka themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 262 convenience in nigeria began with the colonial administrations. regrettably, the seed planted 103years (1914-2017) ago has gradually grown into a monster that is becoming impossible to subdue. the historical root of this tragic development is traceable to constitutional regionalism and the divide-and-rule policy of the colonial administration. the policy, rather than unite the heterogeneous nation like nigeria, promoted political and religious ideologies that encouraged ethnicity and regional biases. political parties, political participation, appointments, employments and culprits of coups d’état were viewed and handled with ethnic, religious or political biases. nigeria, as multi-cultural and multi-religious country, has two major religions: christianity and islam, each competing and claiming superiority and dominance over the other in number and in might. this claim of superiority, as well as dominance, has served as the foundation for religious intolerance and several socio-political crises that have bedeviled nigeria since independence in 1960. religion is not supposed to be a harbinger of violence, but paradoxically, the character of religious beliefs is in most cases puzzling and fascinating to scholars in humanities. the record of human history has shown that most noble acts of love, self-sacrificing and pious services to humanity are often associated with religion; yet, it is also evident that religion has generated more violence and killed more people than any other institutional force in human history. in the words of lefebure; many of the violent conflicts in the world today involve religious animosities. indeed, the history of the encounters among the world’s religions is filled with distrust and hatred, violence and vengeance. the deepest tragedy of the history of religions is that the very movements that should bring human beings closer to each other and to their ultimate source and goal have time and time again become forces of division. in one conflict after another around the world, religious convictions and interpretations of revelation have been used and abused as justifications for violence and war (7-8). igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 263 olukunle, writing on “social uses and abuses of religion in developing countries” opines that just as alfred nobel invented dynamite to help miners in blasting hard rocks to ease their job, even though dynamites have been misused and abused, so is religion. according to him, religion was meant to create a unique link between god and humanity, and amnog human beings. it was to remind man of the existence of the infinite to help in regulating the relationship between men and in promoting peace. however, religion has been used and abused to promote wars, violence and hatred among humans. the argument here is that men can use good things for negative ends, if they desire. religion is no exception. in this case, one can say that religion which is essentially good and serves a good and positive purpose has been abused by men, hence the constant conflicts, violence and war among religious groups. an inventory of the religious violence and insecurity in nigeria for the past three or four decades leaves a lot to be desired. one wonders what the founders of these religions would say to their adherents if they were to return today and see the mayhem done in their names. why would one use “god” to kill or maim another? why would religion be linked with violence and terrorism? could it be ignorance on the part of their adherents or lack of hermeneutical understanding of the holy books? in an attempt to answer some of these questions, some scholars have alluded to ignorance, prejudice and stereotyping as major factors behind most of the religious violence we experience today in nigeria. it is on this note that okon calls for sensitivity in dealing with religious issues when he said: in analyzing religious practices, we must be sensitive to ideals that inspire profound conviction in believers, yet at the same time take a balance view of them. we must confront ideas that seek eternal, while recognizing that religious groups also promote quite mundane goals such as acquiring money or followers. we need to recognize the diversity of religious beliefs and modes of conduct, but also probe into the nature of religion as a general phenomenon (2). maduekwe pius chukwuebuka themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 264 religion, from the beginning, has played a very important role in shaping the socio-political thoughts of many nations. in fact, most nations of the world were patterned and influenced by the sacred nature of government. religion supported and regulated the loyalty that existed between the state and the people. the idea of divine right of kings, which derived its origin from the theocratic concept of governance, vested absolute power and authority in the king or monarch who was seen as a direct representative of god. the monarch was superior and answerable only to god. ancient history is replete with examples of this idea. for example, in christianity, the pope was seen for centuries as the vicar of christ on earth, and by virtue of his divine right had the ultimate authority over the church, and indirectly over the state. islam, on the other hand, believed in the concept of divine right of caliphs (direct descendants and successors of prophet muhammad) as the supreme leaders of the muslim community. under muhammad, the muslim state was theocratic, with shari ‘a as the religious and moral principles of islam, and the law of the land. the caliphs were seen as secular and religious leaders. they were not empowered to promulgate dogma, because it was believed that the revelation of the faith had been completed by muhammad (dallai, encarta). however, as representatives of allah and direct successors of muhammad, caliphs were to enforce shari ‘a as the religious and moral principles of the land. their powers were not limited to secular issues only but divine, since they were representing allah. it was on this note that muhammad advocated that the muslim community should choose a successor or a caliph by consensus to lead the theocratic process of leadership to exemplify the earthly kingdom under divine rule. it is also on this note that islamic states seek to apply in every detail the islamic laws in any society they find themselves in order to create an islamic culture, as evident throughout the middle east. africans were not left behind in this concept of divine right. in a typical african society, the rulers were also seen as gods or agents of the gods. traditionally, they were believed to have possessed both divine and secular powers to do and undo as the gods igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 265 please. they were traditional priests, custodians and supreme judges in all traditional matters. in african cosmology, there is no clear distinction between the material and the spiritual things. religion embraces the totality of human endeavours. the social, economic, political and spiritual lives of the people are all embodied in one holistic life. man, though mortal, can only have meaning in its social order through divine legislation. it is religion that translates our sociocultural or socio-political order into reality (iosr journal of humanities and social science, 66). according to okon, religion sacralizes the socio-political values to give it a divine sanction or meaning (33). it is these religious beliefs that bind the people together, regulate their lifestyle, and give meaning to their values, whether social or political. again, it is this mental picture of african worldview that enables africans to understand, express, communicate and govern themselves. today, even though democracy has replaced the idea of divine right, religion still plays a major role in the socio-political affairs of most nations of the world. in nigeria, for example, the introduction of democracy as a form of government did not go well with the northern muslims because of its attachment to western civilization. the influence of western education was speedily penetrating the fabric of some islamic values and system that did not go well with some islamic clerics. to counter this, some islamic sects began to emerge with the aim of reforming their state along the islamic laws, promoting islamic education. their objective was to prevent western secularization through education. in the article titled “what accounts for the rise of islam,” kofi johnson states that a case study of nigeria and senegal (iosr journal for humanities and social science, 6667), between the 70s and 80s, many muslims became frustrated as a result of pressures coming from the secularized world. many sought to reject the waves of western cultural imperialism and return to their islamic roots. the situation became exacerbated due to constant confrontations between the west and the arab world over the issues of palestine and arab nationalism. these crises reached their crescendo with the iranian revolution in 1979 (1). maduekwe pius chukwuebuka themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 266 the resultant effects of religious conflicts in nigeria are enormous. they pervade all the sectors of the economy. generally, conflicts breed insecurity, discrimination, mutual distrust and slow economic and educational development. this is the case in nigeria where in addition to the gratuitous killings and maiming of thousands of persons, properties worth billions of naira have been destroyed. certainly, these huge losses have deprived the nation of needed manpower and services for the growth of its wobbling economy. religious conflicts in nigeria have also left their effect on investment options in the crises-ridden areas. the political instability, arising from the insecurity and uncertainty that pervades the region, does not inspire the confidence of foreign investors and thereby deprives the nation of the economic gains. in some instances, the enterprising southerners who had established thriving businesses in the troubled areas in the north have relocated to other and safer places. further, religious conflicts in nigeria have left in their trail a broken society: communities that hitherto co-existed peacefully now treat each other with mistrust and latent or open aggression. consequently, settlement patterns begin to follow the boundaries of religion in these areas so that adherents can be swiftly mobilized in the event of future riots. the disrupted social harmony is sometimes felt in places far from the crisis scene and thus accounts for the reprisal riots in other parts of nigeria (nwaomah, 101-102). igwebuike ontology vis-a-vis the issues of religio-political crisis in nigeria igwebuike philosophy as an ideology encourages solidarity, mutual complementarity, peaceful coexistence, unity, progress and the pursuit of common good. likewise, it discourages and stands against vices and activities like war or crisis, killing, mutual distrust, unhealthy competition and rivalry. it points to the fact that there is no human being or group of humans that are self-subsistent or independent. rather, every human necessarily needs the other’s complement. igwebuike philosophy argues that when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful and can igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 267 constitute an insurmountable force, and more so, to express their world of relationship, harmony, continuality and complementarity. at this level, no task is beyond collective capability (kanu “igwebuike and the unity…” web). thus, while christians regard religion as a personal faith and view the church’s involvement in or use of political activism as a serious aberration, muslims reject any attempt to relegate religion to private sphere, viewing it as a violation of islam principle. for muslims, islam is a complete way of life, and there can be no separation between private and public, spiritual and temporal, religion and politics. for this reason, they make every effort, whether through peace or violence, to lay claim of the public space from which christians tend to retreat. hence, the slow non-partisanship of christians in socio-political activism compared to their muslim counterparts. amid the multiplicity of religious practices in nigeria, there is a possibility of having a nation peacefully coexisting, so long as there is a mutual understanding among religions, and also drawing the line that demarcates religion from politics; that is, certain qualities and goals ought to be the basis of the political system, and not introducing the idea of religion. the appointing or electing of a president, governor, minister or whatsoever political post as the case may be should be done with no attention to religious belief or practice of the candidate, so long as the candidate in question is to come into power and face squarely his political ambition and not lording his/her belief on the nation. and on this note the igwebuike ontology can be adopted in the politics of the nation, a philosophical thought that is devoid of religious or cultural sentiment, but rather upholds complementarity and peaceful coexistence. be a candidate from the eastern, northern, southern or western part of nigeria, it does not matter, but that the candidate proposes a vision to be actualized for the common good of the nation. national political development is about the ability of a nation to improve the lives of its citizens through various measures of improvement, with no emphasis on the religious background of the maduekwe pius chukwuebuka themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 268 citizens. from the igwebuike perspective, this ability to improve the lives of citizens must be comprehensive, all-round and balanced. it includes all aspects of the life of an individual and the nation. it is, therefore, holistic in approach, as it aims at full-growth and expansion of our industries, agriculture, education, social, religious and cultural institutions. furthermore, captured in the journal of moral education in africa, volume 2, kanu states, in his work on igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria, that; religion is a unique phenomenon in the nigerian society. although it is one of the few factors that has succeeded in bringing together a good number of nigerians under one umbrella, irrespective of ethnic considerations, christianity and islam in nigeria have been associated with conflicts and violence which has dealt a terrible blow on the nation’s unity and brought untold hardships on the people. religion has been politicized, manipulated and militarized by unscrupulous people to fan the embers of rivalry, antagonism and ethnic discrimination. one lesson that is evident in the incessant quarrel between christians and muslims in nigeria is that both religions have come to stay. although both religions have misunderstood themselves by dwelling more on their differences, there is the need for dialogue, which does not deny the significant differences between the two religions. so much energy has been dissipated on violence instead of using it for solving the problems of human suffering and other socioeconomic and political challenges that face us in the eye. after several years of interventions, igwebuike is proposed in this work as an indigenous philosophy to help the adherents of both religions to focus on the things that unite them, that is, the importance of dialogue to our common existence. igwebuike is a model that is built on the traditional categories of the nigerian-african. it refocuses attention on the fact that muslims and christians in nigeria have so many things in common as believers and as human beings: the adherents of igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 269 both religions live in the same world, in the same nigeria beset by the same socio-economic and political problems. to fight one another is to engage in a futile enterprise and more so, worsen their conditions. both religions constitute parts of the intricate web of reality and relationships in the ontological order. their differences are for complementarity and not conflict (40). igwebuike, undoubtedly, has its anchor firmly holding the principle of solidarity and complementarity; thus, to be in existence is to live in utmost solidarity and complementarity, as it does paint the ideal picture of man living in relation and in loving harmony with his neighbour. in other words, living outside this circumference of solidarity and mutual love and complementarity is to suffer alienation, as ‘to be’ is to be in communion with the other in a community of being. that one is a christian and the other a muslim or traditionalist should not be the basis of existence, rather, the unity in their diversity of brotherhood is to be fostered as it ought to, with no prejudice, segregation, marginalization and sentiment. recommendations having been exposed to the issues of religio-political crisis in nigeria and the menace the nation is facing, it is thoughtful to give away negative energies by doing away with political and religious sentiments, biases and extremism, and as such embrace the ideals of politics and religion to foster complementarity, as posited in igwebuike ontology; and to this, the writer recommends that for a more peaceful nigeria, the following should be employed: i. freedom to practice any religion, so long as it does not infringe on the fundamental human right of another; ii. there should be a line that delineates politics and religion, that is, non-politicization of religion. iii. candidates for political positions should promote peace and harmony. maduekwe pius chukwuebuka themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 270 iv. religious or ethnic background should not be a basis for politics. v. every candidate should be known for competence and delivery. vi. a sense of self-governance, peace and unity should be inculcated in every citizen from an early stage. vii. political appointments should be devoid of ethnicity or religion but on accountability and qualification. viii. exercising of political franchise should be free and fair. summary and conclusion this research work has looked into the menace of religion and politics in nigeria and the woes facing the nigeria political system. in nigeria, the improper placement and practice of religion have indeed infringed the ideal of politics, thereby disorganizing the nation’s politics and also to a large extent has become an avenue for hate, mistrust and marginalization amongst the nigerian people. this also has led to insecurity, loss of life and property, crashing of the national economy and ethnic and religious clashes. the issues of religiopolitical crisis has sent scores to their graves, displaced several people from their political and social position, subjecting many to inhuman conditions. several reasons are said to have been the cause of the crisis in nigeria, amongst this causes include: political and power tussle, tribalism, religious extremism and ethnic factor, amidst other causes. nonetheless, the idea is to lay a pedestal that would hold and promote national peace and brotherhood. thus, igwebuike philosophy, as an ideology, promotes solidarity and mutual complementarity and is placed side by side with the issues of religio-political crisis. it beckons on the nigerian people to embrace national unity to foster a healthy political system and religious harmony. igwebuike philosophy evidently puts to all that no nation can progress in the absence of peace. it is impossible that a nation experiences growth, progress and development amid prejudice and bias; that is, in igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 271 uniting, every hand must be on deck, each contributing his quota in commitment and love, and gradually the progress would play out. living for one another beckons on everyone to embrace the i-thou relation, upholding that which unifies each person, rather than that that which differs amongst us. a nation that lacks religion is bound to lack conscience, compassion and progress. thus, there is need to support unreservedly the free practice of religion in nigeria, be it christianity, islam or african traditional religion. no religion in nigeria should be ranked superior or subordinate to the other, and none should be state-sanctioned or enforced. notwithstanding, we must be willing to do away with the fuss caused by religion and politics and making religion a tool of our national partisan politics because of the intricacies involved, but uphold humanity amidst complementarity and solidarity. works cited gabriel tumba. the philosopher and society: a portrait of professor kanu ikechukwu anthony, o.s.a. amamihe journal of applied philosophy vol. 14 no. 1, 2016. iroegbu pantaleon. metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: international universities press, 1995. kanu i. a. a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. jos: augustinian publications, 2015. kanu i. a. “igwebuike and african ethics.”igwebuikepedia internet encyclopedia of african philosophy.(eds.) kanu anthony and jerome okonkwo. augustinian institute. igwebuikepedia.web. accessed jan., 2020. kanu i. a. “igwebuike and the unity of african philosophy.”igwebuikepedia internet encyclopedia of african philosophy.(eds.)kanu anthony and jerome maduekwe pius chukwuebuka themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 272 okonkwo. augustinian institute. igwebuikepedia.web. accessed 16 jan., 2020. kanu i. a. “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria.”igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no.2. 24488-9210, june 2016. kanu i. a. “igwebuike, personal identity and alterity.”igwebuikepediainternet encyclopedia of african philosophy. kanu anthony and jerome okonkwo (editors). augustinian institute.igwebuikepedia.web. accessed 17th jan., 2020. kanu i. a. “igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholic-pentecostal relations.”jos studies vol.22. 9782023-36-1, 2014. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. igwebuike ontology and the issue of religio-political crisis in nigeria themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 273 kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. kanu i. a. “igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity.” an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. lawhead f. william. the voyage of discovery: a historical introduction to philosophy. usa: wadsworth/thomson learning. 2002. luther m. king jr. strength to love. benin city: religious broadcasting, 2013. mbiti j.s. african religions and philosophy. london: heinemann, 1969. the inter-personalist ideology of igwebuike and the workings of neurons: an interpersonalitic-neuroscientific inquiry themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 275 the inter-personalist ideology of igwebuike and the workings of neurons: an interpersonalitic-neuroscientific inquiry dozie iwuh, osa department of philosophy augustinian institute makurdi benue state registered501@gmail.com abstract the human brain research has always been an interesting field of study,understanding how it coordinates itself, receiving and giving out information, encoding, decoding and even encrypting signs. it is a delicate organ in the human body, whose work is so important that if compromised, the human person will be considered as lacking in that quality that makes him human, namely his rational consciousness. in contemporary times, brain research and study has been termed as neuroscience (having many subfields under it, namely, neurophilosophy, molecular neuroscience, cognitive, behavioral, computational neuroscience, etc. neuroscience studies the nervous system, combining fields, such a physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, developmental biology, cytology, mathematical modeling, computer science, genetics, medicine, philosophy and psychology, to give credence to its study of neurons and the neural circuits). the importance of the human brain stems from the reality of what specifically defines the human, namely, his rationality. i had earlier termed this as a rational consciousness. this is because the human being is rational and is conscious of the fact that he is rational. more to mailto:registered501@gmail.com dozie iwuh, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 276 this, he is conscious and is conscious of the fact that he is conscious. this is principally what separates us from the genus of the animal. there is a certain kind of consciousness that resides in brutes, and indeed every living creature, that is non-animal like. for instance, some plants, like the humulus lupulus, have a tendency to move when touched, a phenomena that is known as thigmotropism. other plants, like the venus flytrap, are conscious whenever an insect wanders into their wide open jaws. they thus close up and ingest the insect. such instances we may term as a response to stimulus, anchored by mother nature, but such response is yet reminiscent of a sort of consciousness. in all that has been said, the human consciousness is by far the most intriguing. what makes this so? a study into the brain and how consciousness arises from the working of the brain has revealed that there are small molecular cells at work in the brain, known as neurons. it is being speculated (this implies that it has not been holistically accepted in the entirety) in some neuroscientific quarters that it is these neurons that are the chief source of the consciousness in man. that is to say that these cells are the ones behind man’s conscious awareness. since the dawn of the discovery of the neurons in the late 1800s, the investigation into the brain has skyrocketed and more insights into the workings and modalities of operation of the brain have been unveiled. the workings of neurons have proven to be insightful and broken grounds in the medical/scientific/philosophical field. nonetheless, what lesson can be garnered by the workings of the neurons in the light of the interpersonalism that is the heart of the igwebuike philosophy? the igwebuike philosophy portrays the sense of an interpersonalistic rapport between individuals. having its root in the igbo culture of south-eastern nigeria, this ideology carries with it two vital principles, namely: solidarity and complementarity. the inter-personalist ideology of igwebuike and the workings of neurons: an interpersonalitic-neuroscientific inquiry themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 277 yet, can this ideology be understood further by looking at how the neurons in the brain work, complementing each other? can the solidarity of the neurons and its network, leading to a well orchestrated brain operation and indeed a very well organized human functioning, be used to throw some light on how this solidarity, as espoused by igwebuike, can lead to better interpersonal affinity and empathy, thus resulting in a better understanding of one another? we do not seek to consider a certain neuroscientific field; we aim at showing how effective igwebuike is, not only to the igbo society, but to the world at large, via looking at the workings of the neurons of the brain. keywords: neurons, neuroscience, solidarity, complementarity, igwebuike, brain, interpersonalism. neurons and their functioning this is a late nineteenth century greek term which refers to highly specialized “nerve cells”. a neuron exhibits a highly complex repertoire of specialized membranous structures, embedded ion channels, second messengers, genetic and epigenetic elements and unique complements of various proteins such as the receptors. neurons are excitable cells (i.e., able to conduct electrical impulses of action potentials), which form elaborate networks through axons and dendrites. this ensemble is responsible for integrating, processing and transmitting information, and forms the basis for e.g., coordinated muscle movements and brain functions, including learning and memory formation. 1 neurons have four morphologically defined regions: the cell body, dendrites, axon, and presynaptic terminals. a 1 m. d. binder, n. hirokawa, u. windhorst (eds.), encyclopedia of neuroscience, springer-verlag gmbh, berlin heidelberg, germany, 2009, 2751. dozie iwuh, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 278 bipolar neuron receives signals from the dendritic system; these signals are integrated at a specific location in the cell body and then sent out by means of the axon to the presynaptic terminals. there are neurons which have more than one set of dendritic systems, or more than one axon, thus enabling them to perform simultaneously multiple tasks; they are called multipolar neurons. 2 a neuron is an electrically 2 a. borisyuk et al, eds., tutorials in mathematical biosciences i. mathematical neuroscience, springer-verlag berlin heidelberg, germany 2005, 1. neurons may be classified into • bipolar: similar to retinal cells, two processes extend from the body of bipolar neurons. • unipolar: there are two dorsal root ganglion axons for each unipolar cell. one axon stretches out in the direction of the spinal cord and the other in the direction of the skin or muscles. • multipolar: these neurons contain many processes that branch out from the cell body. however, here the neurons each only have one axon (e.g. spinal motor neurons). • pseudo-unipolar neurons, a variant of bipolar neurons that sense pressure, touch and pain, have no true dendrites. instead, a single axon emerges from the cell body and heads in two opposite directions, one end heading for the skin, joints and muscle and the other end traveling to the spinal cord. • anaxonic: an anaxonic neuron is a neuron where the axon cannot be differentiated from the dendrites. some sources mention that such neurons have no axons and only dendrites. they are found in the brain and retina, which act as non-spiking interneurons. • pseudounipolar: a pseudounipolar neuron is a kind of sensory neuron in the peripheral nervous system. this neuron contains an axon that has split into two branches. these neurons have sensory receptors on skin, joints, muscles, and other parts of the body. the area of the axon that is closest to the receptor is the trigger zone for the neuron. the signal is conducted through the axon to the dorsal root ganglion's cell body, then through the axon and ending at the sensory nuclei in the dorsal column-medial lemniscus pathway of the spinal cord. another very basic method for the classification of neurons is by identifying which way they transmit information: • efferent neurons (motor neurons): these direct information away from the brain towards muscles and glands. • afferent neurons (sensory neurons): these transmit information to the central nervous system from sensory receptors. • interneurons: found in the central nervous system, these pass information between motor neurons and sensory neurons. the inter-personalist ideology of igwebuike and the workings of neurons: an interpersonalitic-neuroscientific inquiry themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 279 excitable cell that processes and transmits information by electrochemical signalling. unlike other cells, neurons never divide, nor do they die off to be replaced by new ones. by the same token, they usually cannot be replaced after being lost, although there are a few exceptions. the average human brain has about 100 billion neurons (or nerve cells) and many more neuroglia which serve to support and protect the neurons. 3 each neuron may be connected to up to 10,000 other neurons, passing signals to one another via as many as 1,000 trillion synaptic connections, equivalent by some estimates to a computer with a 1 trillion bit per second processor. estimates of the human brain’s memory capacity vary wildly from 1 to 1,000 terabytes. information transmission within the brain, such as takes place during the processes of memory encoding and retrieval, is achieved using a combination of chemicals and electricity. 4 the neuron, as seen in fig 1.1, is made up of a cell body called the soma, branched projections called dendrites and an axon, which is the long, slim nerve fibre that transmits information to muscles, glands and other neurons. signals are received at the dendrite, processed in the nucleus of the soma and transmitted away from the soma along the axon. 3 90% of the brain cells are glial cells, which primarily protect brain by absorbing possible chemicals which might endanger the body's operations. these specified cells are a key component of the nervous system as they represent the vehicles that carry the messages from one part of the body to the other. 4 j. zhang, basic neural units of the brain: neurons, synapses and action potential, in ifm lab tutorial series no. 5, 2019, https://arxiv.org/pdf/1906.01703.pdf, 1-38. https://arxiv.org/pdf/1906.01703.pdf dozie iwuh, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 280 fig 1.1 parts of a neuron include: 1. soma: the soma is the body of the neuron. as it contains the nucleus, most protein synthesis occurs here. the nucleus can range from 3 to 18 micrometers in diameter. 2. dendrites: the dendrites of a neuron are cellular extensions with many branches. this overall shape and structure is referred to metaphorically as a dendritic tree. this is where the majority of input to the neuron occurs via the dendritic spine. 3. axon: the axon is a finer, cable-like projection that can extend tens, hundreds, or even tens of thousands of times the diameter of the soma in length. the axon primarily carries nerve signals away from the soma, and carries some types of information back to it. many neurons have only one axon, but this axon may and usually will -undergo extensive branching, enabling communication with many target cells. 4. axon hillock: the part of the axon where it emerges from the soma is called the axon hillock. besides being an anatomical structure, the axon hillock also has the greatest density of voltage-dependent sodium channels. this makes it the most the inter-personalist ideology of igwebuike and the workings of neurons: an interpersonalitic-neuroscientific inquiry themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 281 easily excited part of the neuron and the spike initiation zone for the axon. in electrophysiological terms, it has the most negative threshold potential. while the axon and axon hillock are generally involved in information outow, this region can also receive input from other neurons. 5. myelin: myelin is a lipid-rich substance formed in the central nervous system by neuroglia called oligodendrocytes, and in the peripheral nervous system by schwann cells. myelin insulates nerve cell axons to increase the speed at which information travels from one nerve cell body to another or, for example, from a nerve cell body to a muscle. the myelinated axon can be likened to an electrical wire with insulating material (myelin) around it. 6. node of ranvier: unlike the plastic covering on an electrical wire, myelin does not form a single long sheath over the entire length of the axon. rather, each myelin sheath insulates the axon over a single section and, in general, each axon comprises multiple long myelinated sections separated from each other by short gaps called nodes of ranvier. 7. axon terminal: the axon terminal is found at the end of the axon farthest from the soma and contains synapses. synaptic boutons are specialized structures where neurotransmitter chemicals are released to communicate with target neurons. 5 every neuron maintains a voltage gradient across its membrane, due to metabolicallydriven differences in ions of sodium, potassium, chloride and calcium within the cell, each of which has a different charge. if the voltage changes significantly, an electrochemical pulse called an action potential (or nerve impulse) is generated. this electrical activity can be measured and displayed as a wave form called brain wave or brain rhythm. this pulse travels rapidly along the cell’s axon, and is transferred across a specialized connection known as a synapse to a neighboring neuron, which receives it through its 5 ibid dozie iwuh, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 282 feathery dendrites. a synapse is a complex membrane junction or gap (the actual gap, also known as the synaptic cleft, is of the order of 20 nanometres, or 20 millionths of a millimetre) used to transmit signals between cells, and this transfer is, therefore, known as a synaptic connection. although axon-dendrite synaptic connections are the norm, other variations (e.g. dendrite-dendrite, axon-axon, dendriteaxon) are also possible. a typical neuron fires 5 50 times every second. 6 each individual neuron can form thousands of links with other neurons in this way, giving a typical brain well over 100 trillion synapses (up to 1,000 trillion, by some estimates). functionally related neurons connect to each other to form neural networks (also known as neural nets or assemblies). the connections between neurons are not static, though, they change over time. the more signals sent between two neurons, the stronger the connection grows (technically, the amplitude of the post-synaptic neuron’s response increases), and so, with each new experience and each remembered event or fact, the brain slightly re-wires its physical structure. 7 how neurons communicate with one another from the foregoing, we have learnt that neurons are connected to one another through synapses, and these are sites where signals (electric) are transmitted in the form of chemical messengers. each neuron in the body is interlinked to another and is capable of carrying varied complex computations. according to r. jahn, “each neuron has an antenna zone comprising the cell body and its extensions (dendrites). it is here that it receives signals from other neurons”. 8 this is the place that communication occurs. the signals are then computed and forwarded by a cable, “the axon, in the form of electrical impulses. in the emitter region, the axon branches to form contact sites known as synapses, where the signals are transmitted to other neurons. at the synapse, electrical impulses arriving from the axon are converted into 6 ibid 7 ibid 8 r. jahn, how neurons talk to each other, in neuroscience news, 24 th september, 2016, https://neurosciencenews.com/neurons-synapses-neuroscience-5119/ retrieved 7 th may, 2020. https://neurosciencenews.com/neurons-synapses-neuroscience-5119/ the inter-personalist ideology of igwebuike and the workings of neurons: an interpersonalitic-neuroscientific inquiry themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 283 chemical signals. the information then flows in one direction, 9 that is to say that one cell (neuron) talks, and another listens. in the communication of neurons, the dendrites of the first neuron receive information from, for instance, a sensory receptor on the finger detecting pain from a hot object. the message, in the electrochemical form, is transmitted up to the brain by a chain of neurons to be assessed by the many neurons in the brain. then this information is carried to the dendrites of the first neuron, then to its body and nucleus where the information is interpreted. next, the message is passed on by charges in the neuron onto the axon which is at resting potential, 10 but soon its charge is altered by positive and negative ions to bring it to an action potential state. 11 when this electrical signal reaches the end of the axon, a neurotransmitter 12 is deployed, and this restarts the process (this communication by neurons is one way and this transfer 9 ibid. 10 resting potential is the membrane potential (electric charge) in a neuron that is not currently transmitting a signal. 11 action potential is a brief depolarization (reduction in the magnitude of the charge) along the neuron’s axon: action potentials are all-or-nothing (they do not have degrees of magnitude). the starting state is called resting potential which is when the cell is negatively charged inside and positively charged outside. this balance is altered by elements that move through the membrane such as: sodium (na + ), potassium (k + ), calcium (ca 2+ ) and chlorine (c1 ).when the chemical distribution is changed, such as when sodium moves into the axon as na + channels open making it positively charged inside the axon it is called the action potential. when this occurs, the neurotransmitter is released. during this whole process the electrochemical signals are transmitted between neurons via junctions called synapses and these are located and the end of the axon terminal and before the dendrites of the subsequent neuron. however, once a neuron has fired the impulse to the next neuron, it cannot fire again for a 1000th of a second this is called the absolute refractory period. however, if a neuron obtains a stimulus much stronger than its usual threshold then it can fire again and this is referred to as the relative refractory period. (v. whiteley, describe the structure of the nervous system. how do neurons communicate) 12 these are chemical messengers that communicate between adjacent neurons; release of neurotransmitters from one neuron will either help depolarize ir hyperpolarize (increase the magnitude of the charge) the adjacent neuron, making an action potential either more or less likely to occur in the next neuron. dozie iwuh, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 284 of messages can be visualized by fig 1.2). 13 what is being said here is that neurons communicate to one another, by making use of special chemical, known as neurotransmitters. neurotransmitters are the one that send messages from one neuron to another. 14 each neurotransmitter binds only to its specific receptor, just as a key fits only a particular lock (fig 1.3). 15 depending on the neurotransmitter, it either excites the other neuron or inhibits (that is to say that neurotransmitters are either excitatory or inhibitory), making it either more likely or less likely to fire an action potential of its own. 16 it should be noted that all these happen with very high precision and are repeated again and again, at very fast speed, going up to 100m/s. this 13 v. whiteley, describe the structure of the nervous system. how do neurons communicate, in the research gate online journal, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301888628, retrieved 7 th may, 2020. 14 m. ludwig, how your brain cells talk to each other in frontiers for young minds, 5:39, 26 th july, 2017, https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2017.00039, retrieved 7 th may, 2020. 15 a neurotransmitter is a chemical that relays signals across the synapses between neurons. neurotransmitters travel across the synaptic space between the terminal button of one neuron and the dendrites of other neurons, where they bind to the dendrites in the neighbouring neurons. furthermore, different terminal buttons release different neurotransmitters, and different dendrites are particularly sensitive to different neurotransmitters. the dendrites will admit the neurotransmitters only if they are the right shape to fit in the receptor sites on the receiving neuron. (j. walinga-c. stangor, introduction to psychology 1 st canadian edition, bccampus vicotria b.c., canada, 2014, 129-131, retrieved from https://opentextbc.ca/introductiontopsychology/) 16 talking about neurotransmitters, they appear in two main forms: excitatory or inhibitory. an example of an excitatory neurotransmitter is nitric oxide, which induces the excitatory postsynaptic potential which makes the impulse continue to be transmitted along the neurons. an inhibitory neurotransmitter could be serotonin and this works in the reverse way to induce an inhibitory postsynaptic potential which will stop the transmission of the impulse and hence end the communication between neurons. (v. whiteley, describe the structure of the nervous system. how do neurons communicate). an excitatory transmitter promotes the generation of an electrical signal called an action potential in the receiving neuron, while an inhibitory transmitter prevents it. whether a neurotransmitter is excitatory or inhibitory depends on the receptor it binds to. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301888628 https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2017.00039 https://qbi.uq.edu.au/brain-basics/brain/brain-physiology/action-potentials-and-synapses the inter-personalist ideology of igwebuike and the workings of neurons: an interpersonalitic-neuroscientific inquiry themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 285 kind of communication between neurons is called wired communication. 17 fig 1.2 according to gazzaniga et al neurons receive, evaluate, and transmit information. these processes are referred to as neuronal signaling. information that is received by the neuron at its input synapses passes through the cell body and then, via the axon, to output synapses on the axon terminals. at these output synapses, information is transferred across synapses from one neuron to the next neuron; or to nonneuronal cells such as those in muscles or glands; or to other targets, such as blood vessels. within a neuron, information moves from input synapses to output synapses through changes in the electrical state of the neuron caused by the flow of electrical currents within the neuron and across its neuronal membrane. between neurons, information transfer across synapses is typically mediated chemically by neurotransmitters (signaling molecules); these synapses are called chemical synapses. at electrical synapses, however, signals between neurons travel via transsynaptic electrical currents. regarding information flow, neurons are referred to as either presynaptic or postsynaptic in relation to any particular synapse. most neurons are both presynaptic and postsynaptic: they are presynaptic when their 17 ibid. dozie iwuh, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 286 axon’s output synapses make connections onto other neurons or targets, and they are postsynaptic when other neurons make a connection at input synapses onto their dendrites or elsewhere on the receiving neuron. 18 fig 1.3 in sum: what should be noted here is that the nervous system works using an electrochemical process: which is that the electrical charge moves through the neuron, and it is the chemicals that are employed to transmit the information between the neurons. it is by means of the 18 m.s. gazzaniga, r.b. ivry, g.r. mangun, cognitive neuroscience. the biology of the mind, w. w. norton & company, new york, 2019, 28. the inter-personalist ideology of igwebuike and the workings of neurons: an interpersonalitic-neuroscientific inquiry themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 287 chemicals that these electric current is transmitted from one neuron to another, however, within the neuron, it is the electric current that moves. this implies that the electric current is the message that is being communicated, but the chemicals are there to ensure that such message is transmitted from one neuron to another. these chemicals are aroused when the electric signals reach the terminal buttons. these chemicals are referred to as neurotransmitters which occasion a communication of these electric current between neurons spaced out by synapses. the electric current moving through the neuron is due to changes in the electrical charge of the axon. the axon would normally remain in its resting potential (where the interior of the neuron contains a greater number of negative charged ions than its exterior. this further means that at its ground state, the neuron is negatively charged. it only becomes positively charged, when there is a message being transmitted through it). when the segment of the axon that is closest to the cell body is stimulated by the electrical signals from the dendrites and if this electric signal is strong enough that it passes a certain level or threshold, the cell membrane in this first segment opens its gates, allowing positively charged sodium ions (na + ) that resided in the outside to flow inside. this change that occurs in the neuron when a nerve impulse (a message) is transmitted is known as the action potential (once this action potential occurs, the internals of the neuron becomes more positively charged than the exteriors, because the number of positively charged ions exceeds that of the negative ions. as the message passes one section of the axon, the positive charge drops, and that segment of the axon returns back to its high number of negative charged ions, also known as the resting potential. it should be noted that this message that is transmitted in each segment of the axon moves in a set of small jumps. 19 the movement of this message is done in an all or nothing manner, that is to say that either the neuron fires completely or it does not fire at all. 19 j. walinga-c. stangor, introduction to psychology 1 st canadian edition, bccampus vicotria b.c., canada, 2014, 129-131, retrieved from https://opentextbc.ca/introductiontopsychology/ dozie iwuh, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 288 for the neuron to fire completely, it has to move fast, very fast. the speed of the message is what prioritizes the message and not its strength. as the message passes from one neuron to another repeatedly, the mode of communication between the two is strengthened, such that if a message is relayed again, the synaptic gap separating the two neurons becomes more acquainted with one another, that the message is easily passed on from the two “friendly” neurons (this is the means by which people form habits or become addicts). that is to say that communication becomes more fluid and less hectic between the acquainted neurons. igwebuike as an interpersonalistic philosophy before we venture into the interpersonalistic philosophy of igwebuike 20 , we better separate the two words, interand personalism. let us start off with the latter, personalism. it derives from the latin word, ‘persona’, which means person or personality. it is a trend in philosophy which acknowledges the person as the prime creative reality, having the highest spiritual value. it views the world as a manifestation of the supreme person. it differentiates between the concepts of the “individual” and the “person”. a human being is an individual as a member of society, as a part defined in correlation with the whole. as a person, one can affirm oneself in freewill and in an eternal source-god. the decision of a person presupposes an 20 kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kanu, i. a. (2019). on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159-176. kanu, i. a. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. the inter-personalist ideology of igwebuike and the workings of neurons: an interpersonalitic-neuroscientific inquiry themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 289 intention, a choice, a moral evaluation and an affirmation of personal freedom. 21 personalism would consider the persona as an individual being which is realized through conscious ownership and independent disposal of an own self. the concept of person, which was unknown to the greek philosophy, developed under the influence of jewish-christian thinking as late as in the patristic era and then it gradually found its place in philosophy. 22 according to e. mounier, personalism is a philosophy; it is not merely an attitude. it is a philosophy but not a system. 23 the personalistic philosophy pays tribute to the person as the center of all that concerns reality. arising from the term “person”, it maintains that a person is one who is consciously aware of his acts, doing it in an awareness that arises from his free will. personalists consider personhood as the fundamental notion, one which gives meaning to all of reality and constitutes its supreme value. personhood carries with it an inviolable dignity that merits unconditional respect. the term, ‘inter-,‘ as a prefix is used to form words from the outside, in contrast to the prefix, ‘intra-'. interpersonalism translates to a person-to-person conscious interaction, one that is willfully mediated and orchestrated for the sake of the other person. it is a philosophy that embraces and brings under its wings the existential, ontological reality of the person, while not handling lightly the individuality of the person, but giving it more credence. the interpersonalistic nature of the igwebuike is mirrored by the zulu proverb: umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu (i am because you are; you are because we are). in africa, we say that a person is a person because of other people. our conception of being is held in common. we agree with our ancestors 21 t. zaverzhenets, the personalism of emmanuel mounier, in mozaik 1, 2003, 20. 22 p. dancak, personalism. the philosophical movement for human development in advances in social science, education, social sciences and humanities research, vol.124, 2017, 51-55. 23 e. mounier, personalism, routledge & kegan paul ltd, london, 1950, vii. dozie iwuh, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 290 in believing that our humanness is not an individual quality but something that is of necessity shared. 24 according to r.j. khoza, in metaphysical terms, ubuntu is first and foremost a statement of beingthe “i am” in all of us. it declares that each of us, in our separate lives, draws existence from the collective and we are only persons through other persons. this is a meta-statement because it makes a fundamental assertion about the nature of our existence which is not reducible to anything else. i am because others are. the reach of this statement is enormous. its repercussions flow through all subsequent statements about who and what we are; ontologically how should we see the world; epistemologically what our knowledge amounts to; logically what is reasonable; ethically how we should act for the good of all; politically how decisions should be made; aesthetically how beauty can be collectively perceived. 25 the igwebuike interpersonalistic ideology holds on to two basic tenets of solidarity and complementarity 26 . igwebuike is very much like the ubuntu philosophy in this regard. 27 it argues that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of 24 dr r.j. khoza, the ubuntu philosophy as a conceptual framework for interpersonal relationships and leadership, an address given to nedbank group technology leaders on the 15 th of september 2012, 25 ibid. 26 kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. 27 d. iwuh osa, action understanding is not entirely neutral it is existential, it is igwebuike in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019, 51-70. the inter-personalist ideology of igwebuike and the workings of neurons: an interpersonalitic-neuroscientific inquiry themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 291 solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is ‘to be with the other’, in a community of beings. this is based on the african philosophy of community, which is the underlying principle and unity of african traditional religious and philosophical experience. 28 b.i. ekwulu emphasizes this concept of complementarity as he notes: if the other is my part or a piece of me, it means that i need him for me to be complete, for me to be what i really am. the other completes rather than diminishes me. his language and culture make my own stand out and at the same time, they enrich and complement my own. in the presence of his language and culture, the riches and poverty of my language and culture become clear and i see that his own and my own when put together form a richer whole when compared to any of them in isolation. 29 what b.i. ekwulu notes is the crux of that which pertains to the igwebuike ideology, namely that: i am personally linked to the other person, who is also personally linked to me. this interpersonal linkage does not in any way reduce or tamper with the reality of the person’s individuality. it rather emphasizes it. a.i kanu buttresses this point: the principle of identity is the first principle of igwebuike philosophy. it states that every being is determined in itself, is one with itself and is consistent in itself. thus, every being is one with itself and divided from others. the qualities of matter, referred to in traditional metaphysics as accidents, such as size, colour, shape, etc., distinguish one being from the other. if reality does not have an identity, then everything would be everything, giving birth to one thing since nothing 28 a. i. kanu, igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy, in igwebuike an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 1, march 2016, 108-113. 29 b.i. ekwulu, igbo concept of ibe (the other) as a philosophical solution to the ethnic conflicts in african countries in b. i. ekwulu (ed.), philosophical reflections on african issues, enugu publications, delta, 2010, 183-192. dozie iwuh, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 292 can be differentiated from the other. in this case, there would be no subject and object relationship. 30 the interpersonalism of igwebuike is inherent in its principles of solidarity and complementarity, but is seen further in the underlining principle of “sharedness”. a.i. kanu notes: the igbo would… refer to the ‘other person’ as ibe m which means ‘my piece’ or mmadu ibe m (my fellow human being). this is the concept also employed in reference to relationships and reciprocity: love one another (hunu ibe unu n’anya), help one another (nyere nu ibe unu aka), respect one another (sopuru nu ibe unu), etc. since the ‘other’ refers to my own piece, it would, therefore, mean that to love the other is to love oneself, to help the other is to help oneself and to respect the other is to respect oneself. 31 according to this philosophy, each person may have his own individual paths to thread, it yet does not negate the fact that we all share in one supreme desire, which is wellbeing. this wellbeing that is sought after by all and sundry can only be attained by banding together to working for this common desire. it demands from persons commitment, alignment and, above all, communication. the interpersonalism that igwebuike breeds is one that situates the human person as the center of all that happens in the world. this is because it is the human person that makes sense of what is happening around him, based on the conscious awareness that he has. interpersonalism says that the human person is not a solitary being, he is not solipsistic, he is interrelational, he is part of a bigger family of persons, who complement one another. the interpersonalism of igwebuike bespeaks of the human person who is characterized by a common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, 30 a.i. kanu, on the origins and principles of igwebuike philosophy, journal of religion and human relations, volume 11 no. 1, 2019, 159-176. 31 a.i. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity, in igwebuike. an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017, 153-160. the inter-personalist ideology of igwebuike and the workings of neurons: an interpersonalitic-neuroscientific inquiry themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 293 shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny. 32 synthesis between the interpersonalistic igwebuike and neuron communication let us think of the brain as a forest of dense proportions, one in which different kinds of trees grow near, around and on top of one another, their branches and roots intertwining. indeed, as all trees share one basic structure, that is roots, trunk, branches, etc., but do not look exactly alike, all neurons in the brain are variations on a common structural basis. that is to say that even if the neurons have one and the same structure, they are not alike (although scientific research is still ongoing as to this aspect). irrespective of the fact that neurons are not all alike, yet this does not hinder communication; that is to say that they still transmit electrochemical messages with one another. each neuron is linked to the other, not standing on its own, and does not operate on its own. it rather operates in tandem with other neurons to produce optimal result. as it is witnessed, there are times when there is break in communication amongst neurons, for instance, a stroke is just one example of a condition when communication between nerve cells breaks down. micro-failures in brain functioning also occur in conditions such as depression and dementia. in most cases, the lost 32 kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. dozie iwuh, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 294 capacity will return after a while. however, consequential damage will often remain so that the functional capability can only be restored through lengthy treatment. this treatment will involve relearning all that one has previously learnt, for instance, motor activities, as in the case of a patient with a stroke. this is because significant alterations occur in neural cells while the communication pathways are blocked. neuron networks reconnect during such periods of inactivity and become hypersensitive. if we imagine that normal communication pathways are motorways, when they are blocked, a form of traffic chaos occurs in the brain, whereby information is re-routed in a disorganized form along what can be called side streets and minor routes. additional synapses are generated everywhere and begin operating. when the signal is reinstated, the previously coordinated information routes no longer exist and, as in the case of a child, the appropriate functions need to be learned from scratch. since they are receiving no normal signals during the phase of brain malfunction, the nerve cells also become more sensitive in an attempt to find the missing input. once the signals return, this means they may overreact. 33 this implies that the basic functioning route that the neuron takes in its communication pathway ought not to be hindered, lest the human person risks losing one of the vital functions that pertain to his being. for this communication pathway to be fostered continually, there is the need of a link that connects the two neurons. this link is known as neurotransmitters, as already noted. without the neurotransmitters, the possibility of connecting one neuron to another would be impossible. there is, in essence, an interneuronal relationship that exists in the brain amongst neurons. much like the neurons in the brain, the human being is entirely the same, structure wise, but no two persons are the same. our individuality is contained in the fact of our being persons. “individual,” as an english word, is derived from two latin words, 33 university of erlangen-nuremberg, what happens when nerve cells stop working? total breakdown in the brain, in science daily, 27 september 2017, <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/09/170927093300.htm>. the inter-personalist ideology of igwebuike and the workings of neurons: an interpersonalitic-neuroscientific inquiry themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 295 namely, inand –dividus, which translates literally to “not divisible”. in the light of the non-divisibility of the person, boethius defines the person as naturae rationalis individualis substantia. 34 according to norris clark, commenting on the thought of st thomas aquinas: …to be a person it is not enough merely to possess a complete individual intellectual nature which all admitted was an essential requisite, according to the classical definition of boethius: a person is "an individual substance of a rational nature." to be a person in its own right such a nature would have to possess or "own" its own act of existence (esse). thus the human nature of christ, though a complete human nature, just like ours, was not a human person, because it was owned by a divine person (the son or word of god), in what is technically called the hypostatic (i.e., personal) union of god and man. hence, it is the nature's own proportionate act of existence, actualizing it as an existent, which formally constitutes that nature a person. the person is the concrete whole resulting from this union, expressed by the term "i.'' ordinary language indicates quite clearly the distinction by two distinct questions: "who am i?" (person) and "what am i?" (nature). thus for st. thomas the person could be defined as "an intellectual nature possessing its own act of existence, so that it can be the self-conscious, responsible source of its own actions." in a word, in perhaps the briefest and still one of the best descriptions of person ever given, a person is a being that is dominus sui, that is, master of itself, or self-possessing (in the order of knowledge 34 substantia (substance) is used to exclude accidents; individua, that is individum in se, boethius considers it synonymous to singularies (singular); rationalis naturae, meaning that the person is predicated only of intellectual being. l. geddes, person, in the catholic encyclopedia, robert appleton company, new york, 1911, http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11726a.htm, retrieved 10 th may, 2020. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11726a.htm dozie iwuh, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 296 by self-consciousness; in the order of will and action by selfdetermination or freewill). 35 communication between human persons has to be willfully orchestrated; this actually implies that without the full participation of the will, then, interpersonal relationship would not be possible. we should think of the human will as the neurotransmitters that enable communication between the neurons; the will, thus, is what enables one person to engage in an interrelational rapport with the other person. each single neuron serves a primary purpose in the grand scale of all that refers to coordination and functioning; this is what makes important the interneuronal relationship that is seen in the human brain. each human person also serves a primary purpose in the grand scheme of all that is (reality). thus, an interpersonal rapport is central to the human person. igwebuike ideology, which stands in support of this interpersonal affinity amongst persons, gives the latter more credence in noting that there is also the ethic of reciprocity inherent in this ideology. according to a.i. kanu, the philosophy of igwebuike is not just a philosophical foundation for the ethic of reciprocity, but it is the ethic of reciprocity. it presents the ethic of reciprocity not just as a moral principle, but as a duty that one owns to himself or herselfeveryone owns himself or herself of treating the other in a way that one would like to be treated. this is because igwebuike sees a very strong relationship between every realityan intricate web. to treat the otherthat which is different from the self in a way that accords with honour is to treat oneself in a way that is honourable. however, to treat the other in a way that is dishonourable to dishonor oneself, because everything we do to the other has a way of getting back at us. thus, in igwebuike, the ethic of reciprocity is not just a moral principle, but a moral obligation one must have towards the other. in fact, from the above understanding, it is 35 n. clark, person and being. aquinas lectures, marquette university press, milwaukee, 1993, 26-28. the inter-personalist ideology of igwebuike and the workings of neurons: an interpersonalitic-neuroscientific inquiry themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 297 not just a moral obligation one owns the other, but an obligation to oneself. 36 an interpersonal bond amongst persons, in the light of igwebuike, should arise willfully, based on an understanding that every individual is a part of a grand scheme, greater than his/her selfish inclinations or trends. such a bond is strengthened by continued interrelational acts, aimed at the “sharing of the” good (igwebuike bespeaks of sharing). it is acknowledged that there can be no strengthening of bond, if there is no bond to start with. as such, a willfully initiated relation, based on an understanding of the position of the human person in the greater scale of humanity, is key in the fostering this bond. this is the philosophy of igwebuike 37 . conclusion it is impossible to situate the relationship of the human person on the determined relationship of neurons in the brain; true. but this is where the will of the human person comes in. as much as the neurotransmitters enable relations between neurons amidst the 36 a.i. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity, in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017, 153-160. 37 kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. dozie iwuh, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 298 synaptic gap that is present between them, the will enables such relations between human persons. yet, the will should be motivated by one truth, being that: life is a shared reality, one that presupposes a tailormade-cloth, measured, cut and sewn to fit into the curves, contours, shape and size, peculiarities and particularities of a being. thus, every being has a missing part and is, at the same time, a missing part. bibliography a. borisyuk et al, eds., tutorials in mathematical biosciences i. mathematical neuroscience, springer-verlag berlin heidelberg, germany 2005. b.i. ekwulu, igbo concept of ibe (the other) as a philosophical solution to the ethnic conflicts in african countries in b. i. ekwulu (ed.), philosophical reflections on african issues, enugu publications, delta, 2010. e. mounier, personalism, routledge & kegan paul ltd, london, 1950. d. iwuh osa, action understanding is not entirely neutral it is existential, it is igwebuike in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. dr r.j. khoza, the ubuntu philosophy as a conceptual framework for interpersonal relationships and leadership, an address given to nedbank group technology leaders on the 15 th of september 2012. j. walinga-c. stangor, introduction to psychology 1 st canadian edition, bccampus vicotria b.c., canada, 2014. j. zhang, basic neural units of the brain: neurons, synapses and action potential, in ifm lab tutorial series no. 5, 2019. i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no. 1 2016:1-6. the inter-personalist ideology of igwebuike and the workings of neurons: an interpersonalitic-neuroscientific inquiry themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 299 i. a. kanu. igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 5983. 2018 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. 2018 i. a. kanu. new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. 2018 i. a. kanu. collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. 2019 i. a. kanu. igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. 2019 i. a. kanu. igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. 2019 i. a. kanu. igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cociopolitical system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. 2018 i. a. kanu. on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159-176. 2019 dozie iwuh, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 300 i. a. kanu. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christianmuslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. 2017 the inter-personalist ideology of igwebuike and the workings of neurons: an interpersonalitic-neuroscientific inquiry themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 301 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. 2017 i. a. kanu, igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy, in igwebuike an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. i. a. kanu, on the origins and principles of igwebuike philosophy, journal of religion and human relations, volume 11 no. 1, 2019. i. a. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity, in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. l. geddes, person, in the catholic encyclopedia, robert appleton company, new york, 1911, http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11726a.htm, retrieved 10 th may, 2020. m. ludwig, how your brain cells talk to each other in frontiers for young minds, 5:39, 26 th july, 2017. m.d. binder, n. hirokawa, u. windhorst (eds.), encyclopedia of neuroscience, springer-verlag gmbh, berlin heidelberg, germany, 2009. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11726a.htm dozie iwuh, osa themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 302 m.s. gazzaniga, r.b. ivry, g.r. mangun, cognitive neuroscience. the biology of the mind, w. w. norton & company, new york, 2019. n. clark, person and being. aquinas lectures, marquette university press, milwaukee, 1993. p. dancak, personalism. the philosophical movement for human development in advances in social science, education, social sciences and humanities research, vol.124, 2017. r. jahn, how neurons talk to each other, in neuroscience news, 24 th september, 2016, https://neurosciencenews.com/neurons-synapsesneuroscience-5119/ retrieved 7 th may, 2020. t. zaverzhenets, the personalism of emmanuel mounier, in mozaik 1, 2003. university of erlangen-nuremberg, what happens when nerve cells stop working? total breakdown in the brain, in science daily, 27 september 2017. v. whiteley, describe the structure of the nervous system. how do neurons communicate, in the research gate online journal. https://neurosciencenews.com/neurons-synapses-neuroscience-5119/ https://neurosciencenews.com/neurons-synapses-neuroscience-5119/ igwebuike philosophy and solidarity during the era of covid-19 pandemic themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 303 igwebuike philosophy and solidarity during the era of covid-19 pandemic mary winifred gloria eche, dmmm, phd saint thomas aquinas major seminary makurdi, benue state winieoge@yahoo.com abstract igwebuike is an igbo word which means strength in number. solidarity, on the other hand, is a bond of unity or agreement between individuals who are united around a common goal. as the saying goes "united we stand, divided we fall". as it is today, covid-19 is a pandemic that has traumatized people, and isolated them from their loved ones, brought untold hardship to many people, taken away the lives of many and is still killing many people today. therefore, using the principle of igwebuike and solidarity with oneself, family, neighbour, state, country, world, etc., we would go a long way to save the world. the analytical method is used in this work and the aim of this paper is to portray how the igwebuike principle can go a long way to salvaging the situation at hand. keywords: igwebuike, philosophy, solidarity, covid-19 pandemic, principle introduction oxford advanced learner’s dictionary describes pandemic as “a disease that spreads over a whole country or the whole world.” it is a global outbreak of disease. it happens whenever a new virus emerges to infect people and its spread is sustained. its long period of spread is caused by the fact that there is “little or no pre-existing immunity mailto:winieoge@yahoo.com mary winifred gloria eche, dmmm, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 304 against the new virus.” 1 this covid-19 outbreak was “characterized as pandemic on march 11 by the who external icon.” 2 it is also rapidly spreading from person to person. the national center for disease control in nigeria (ncdc) maintains that this is the first pandemic known to be caused by a new coronavirus, even though “in the past century, there have been four pandemics caused by the emergence of new influenza viruses. as a result, most research and guidance around pandemics is specific to influenza, but the same premises can be applied to the current covid-19 pandemic.” 3 it also explains the nature of such pandemics thus, pandemics of respiratory disease follow a certain progression outlined in a pandemic intervals framework. pandemics begin with an investigation phase, followed by recognition, initiation, and acceleration phases. the peak of illnesses occurs at the end of the acceleration phase, which is followed by a deceleration phase, during which there is a decrease in illnesses. different countries can be in different phases of the pandemic at any point in time and different parts of the same country can also be in different phases of a pandemic. 4 the world health organization (who) has also affirmed that this coronavirus disease (covid-19) is an infectious one caused by a newly discovered coronavirus as mentioned above. coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are common in people and many different species of animals, including camels, cattle, cats and bats. it mostly spreads through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes. it is a respiratory disease, 1 centers for disease control and prevention (2019). coronavirus disease 2019, (covid-19). available at https//www.cdc.gov/coronavirus2019ncov/index.html 2 centers for disease control and prevention (2019). 3 centers for disease control and prevention (2019). 4 centers for disease control and prevention (2019). igwebuike philosophy and solidarity during the era of covid-19 pandemic themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 305 which can affect anyone but in different ways. however, people with pre-existing health conditions or problems and older people are more at risk of developing complications, or even death, should they catch the virus. most infected people will develop mild to moderate symptoms and recover without requiring special treatment. the most common symptoms include fever, tiredness and dry cough. while other symptoms include shortness of breath, aches and pains, sore throat, and very few people will report diarrhoea, nausea or a runny nose. 5 brief analysis of covid-19 even though little has been said about the coronavirus pandemic in the introduction, it is also good to elaborate more on this virus by tracing its origin and spread in order to widen our knowledge. according to shereen, coronaviruses belong to the coronaviridae family in the nidovirales order. 6 viruses, and the diseases they cause, are often given different names. in fact, majority of persons know the name of a disease without having the knowledge of the virus that causes the disease. for example, hiv is the virus that causes aids. “viruses are named based on their genetic structure to facilitate the development of diagnostic tests, vaccines and medicines. virologists and the wider scientific community do this work, so viruses are named by the international committee on taxonomy of viruses (ictv).” 7 5 world health organization (who), 2019. coronavirus disease (covid-19) outbreak. available at http://www.who.int/healthtopics/coronavirus/emergencies-redirect. 6 shereen, m.a., (2019). “covid-19 infection: origin, transmission, and characteristics of human coronaviruses” in journal of advanced research, vol. 24, p.91. 7 world health organization (who), 2019 mary winifred gloria eche, dmmm, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 306 shereen describes this coronavirus as being in form of crown-like spikes on the outer surface; under the microscope, the viruses look like they are covered with pointed structures that surround them like a crown. since they are named by their appearance, thus, it was named as a coronavirus. they are minute in size, like 65–125 mm in diameter, and contain a single-stranded rna as a nucleic material, its size ranging from 26 to 32kbs in length. there are also other types of ccoronaviruses found to be in the family. they are alpha (α), beta (β), gamma (γ) and delta (δ) coronavirus. the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (sars-cov), h5n1 influenza a, h1n1 2009 and middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus (mers-cov) cause acute lung injury (ali) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ards) which leads to pulmonary failure and result in fatality. these viruses were actually thought to infect only animals, until humans witnessed a severe acute respiratory syndrome (sars) outbreak caused by sars-cov, 2002 in guangdong, china. a decade later, another pathogenic coronavirus emerged, known as middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus (mers-cov). this caused an endemic in middle eastern countries. and now, just at the end of 2019, wuhan, an emerging business hub of china, experienced an outbreak of a novel coronavirus that killed more than eighteen hundred and infected over seventy thousand individuals within the first fifty days of the epidemic. this coronavirus has been reported to be a member of the β group of coronaviruses. this new virus was named as wuhan coronavirus or 2019 novel coronavirus (2019ncov) by the chinese researchers. the international committee on taxonomy of viruses (ictv) named the virus as sars-cov-2 and the disease as covid-19. in the history, sars-cov (2003) infected 8098 individuals, with mortality rate of 9%, across 26 countries in the world. on the other hand, the new corona virus (2019) infected 3,301,219 individuals, with 233,716 deaths across 213 countries, till the date of this writing, that is, 30 th of april, 2020. it shows that the transmission rate of sars-cov-2 is higher than sars-cov, and the reason could be genetic recombination event at s protein in the rbd igwebuike philosophy and solidarity during the era of covid-19 pandemic themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 307 region of sars-cov-2, which may have enhanced its transmission ability. 8 covid-19 modes of transmission coronavirus was defined by david 9 as “illness caused by a novel coronavirus now called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (sars-cov-2; formerly called 2019-ncov. the name was chosen to avoid stigmatizing the virus's origins in terms of populations, geography, or animal associations.” 10 the most dangerous part of this virus is its mode of transmission, even though based on the available information through the mass media and other sources of information, one is not clear enough of the transmission routes. although we currently understand that the respiratory transmission from human to human is the major transmission route, “other ways for transmission, such as gastrointenstinal transmission or aerosol propagation, is not so 8 c/f shereen, m.a., (2019). “covid-19 infection: origin, transmission, and characteristics of human coronaviruses” in journal of advanced research, vol. 24, p.91. 9 david j cennimo, md, faap, facp, aahivs assistant professor of medicine and pediatrics, adult and pediatric infectious diseases, rutgers new jersey medical school is a member of the following medical societies: american academy of hiv medicine, american academy of pediatrics, american college of physicians, american medical association, hiv medicine association, infectious disease society of america, medical society of new jersey, pediatric infectious diseases society. 10 david j. cennimo, (2020). “coronavirus disease 2019 (covid19), practice essentials, background, route of transmission”, medscape. available on https // emedicine .medscape . com/article/2500114-overview. accessed 04/05/2020. mary winifred gloria eche, dmmm, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 308 clear.” 11 according to ‘africanews,’ which is distributed by apo 12 group on behalf of world health organization (who), the transmission from person to person is through respiratory droplets and contact routes. droplet transmission occurs when a person is in in close contact (within 1 m) with someone who has respiratory symptoms (e.g. coughing or sneezing,) and is therefore at risk of having his/her mucosae (mouth and nose) or conjunctiva (eyes) exposed to potentially infective respiratory droplets (which are generally considered to be > 5-10 μm in diameter). droplet transmission may also occur through fomites in the immediate environment around the infected person. therefore, transmission of the covid-19 virus can occur by direct contact with infected people and indirect contact with surfaces in the immediate 11qian, x., ren, r., wang, y. et al.(2020) “fighting against the common enemy of covid-19: a practice of building a community with a shared future for mankind/ infectious disease of poverty” available at https ://idpjournal. biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40249-020-00650-1. accessed on 05/05/2020 12alpha phi omega-omicron(apo) is a national co-educational service fraternity founded on december 16, 1925. it is organized to provide community service, leadership development, and social opportunities for college students. the purpose of the fraternity is to develop leadership, to promote friendship, and to provide service to humanity; and to further the freedom that is our national, educational, and intellectual heritage. alpha phi omega's primary focus is to provide volunteer service within four areas: service to the community, service to the campus, service to the fraternity, and service to the nation and world.c/f. https://apo.org.uiowa.edu/aboutus. igwebuike philosophy and solidarity during the era of covid-19 pandemic themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 309 environment or with objects used on the infected person (e.g. stethoscope or thermometer). 13 brief explanation of igwebuike and solidarity igwebuike, as noted above, means “number is strength... that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force,” 14 while solidarity is “a bond of unity or agreement between individuals united around a common goal or against a common enemy, such as the unifying principle that defines the labor movement; mutual support within a group” 15 etc. solidarity is that virtue which enables the human family to share fully both the treasures of material and spiritual goods. the strength attributed to "igwebuike," that is, with number, is founded on the interdependence, mutual support and reliance on each other in difficult times, or a pursuit of a particular goal. it is this "organic" interdependence of the components parts, that is, "the number, the many" that is called solidarity 16 . the number is, therefore, 13 apo, (2020). “modes of transmission of virus causing covid-19: implications for ipc precaution recommendations”. africanews. accessed 05/05/2020. 14 eche, mary winifred g., (2019). “igwebuike and the right of inheritance of igbo women” in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, p. 40. issn: 2488-9210(online) 15 the american heritage dictionary of the english language, fifth edition (2016). houghton mifflin harcourt publishing company. 16 kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of mary winifred gloria eche, dmmm, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 310 seen as strength only and only if there is solidarity. in african philosophy and religion, we identify this number and support through the extended family. africans have an extended family structure. hence, for the traditional africans, the family does not stop with the immediate brothers and sisters and parents (nuclear family), but also includes grandparents, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces, cousins, etc. this accounts for why the african notion of family is extended and wider than the nuclear family. family within the african context is usually the major source of the basic necessities of life, health, love and tenderness, food, water, clothing, shelter and sanitation. the extended family ideally provides economic, social and psychological security to all its members. this family system defines social and moral norms and safeguards both material and spiritual customs and traditions as well as provides a variety of role models preparing the way for adulthood. 17 the strength of this extended family is to support one another. in this pandemic period, for example, the nigerian government, in compliance with the advice of the who, has asked her citizens to stayathome, as a necessary precaution to stop the spread of the virus. it is almost unimaginable, but this is the case, that these people are superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. 17 patricia m. amos, (2013). “parenting and culture – evidence from some african communities”. available at http://www.intechopen.com>books>parenting-andculture-... accessed 05/05/2020. igwebuike philosophy and solidarity during the era of covid-19 pandemic themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 311 asked to stay at home without adequate provision of palliatives or means of survival for a people who depend on their daily outdoor work and petty businesses to feed themselves. though this situation has been very challenging for most nigerians, the exchange and support mechanism of solidarity in extended families have been the saving grace for many. the strength and unity of the number, "igwebuike," 18 have become the source of relief and hope for the suffering "parts" of the family. it is in this sense, that the solidarity and unity of the number, ‘igwebuike,’ ultimately become their strength. hence, this sense of solidarity becomes the bond of love and force of victory over challenges and needs. solidarity is, therefore, the acceptance of our social nature and the affirmation of the bonds we share with all our brothers and sisters. solidarity creates an environment in which mutual service is encouraged. it is also the social conditions in which human rights can 18 kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. mary winifred gloria eche, dmmm, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 312 be respected and nurtured. the ability to recognize and accept the whole range of corresponding duties and obligations that are embedded in our social nature can occur only in an atmosphere enlivened by solidarity. 19 the role of igwebuike in the era of covid-19 in the midst of the hopelessness that has taken over the whole world, what can the principle of igwebuike offer to the world to assist during this pandemic. medical personnel and other experts have advised that we take basic precautions such as regular washing of hands with soap, the use of hand sanitizers, keeping of our environments clean, wearing of face masks, maintaining of social distance and most importantly staying at home, etc. we obtain such information through the mass media and social media of different types, such; as television, radio, newspapers, internet, whatsapp, twitter, telegram, facebook, etc. but many nigerians who live in the villages and some that live in the cities have no phones or televisions, or even radios to listen to news, and to have access to such information. more so, many of them are not educated (that is, they have not acquired formal education). most of them still doubt the existence of covid-19. someone from the village called me and said that the sickness is made for rich men and women who travel abroad, and not for poor people like them. i began to explain to him more about the covid-19. this is one of the major areas where the principle of igwebuike comes into play. because of the large size of the extended family, there must be some members that are more enlightened and richer. such members may, therefore, have access to the social media; in that case, they should not hesitate to communicate to other less-privileged 19 rev. robert a. s., (2010). “solidarity: the fundamental social virtue”, in religion &liberty: vol 11, no.5 igwebuike philosophy and solidarity during the era of covid-19 pandemic themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 313 family members about the dangers of covid-19, and also encourage them to take the necessary precautions as stipulated by the world health organization (who) and the ncdc. furthermore, the solidarity principle and support mechanism also are forces that encourage the rich or fairly rich members of the family to provide food and other material needs for the less-privileged members of the family. as the case is today, when government is emphasizing that citizens should stay at home, while many nigerians survive solely on a day-to-day hawking, they have neither savings account nor reservoir; how will they survive, if there is no one to assist them? the principle of igwebuike, manifesting through love of the other, gives life to the hopeless. outside the members of the family, the igwebuike principle advocates for universal unity, love and care. this is because, even though the word is an igbo word, it has a universal relevance. every language possesses the words ‘unity,’ ‘solidarity,’ ‘complementarity,’ ‘love,’ etc. apart from family members supporting their relations, the igwebuike principle invites the rich members of our communities, states and countries to support the poor by donating money, drugs, buildings for isolation centers and provision of medical personnel. retired medical personnel should volunteer to assist with their wealth of experience, which many have done and many are expected to follow suit. this is the time to help the poor and needy. if this is not done, the poor may contract the virus and transmit it to every member of the community. so the rich need to help them so that they can stay at home. on the hand, the principle of igwebuike requires the poor and needy to obey the instructions that have been given. it is very necessary and obligatory that all residents in the potential risk areas should accept to stay at home. this is an effective way to block the transmission routes. for example, i met an electrician who went about working for people, and i observed that he had been doing his normal routine work mary winifred gloria eche, dmmm, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 314 without qualms, as if everything was normal. when i tried to tell him to stay at home, explaining the implications of refusing to stay safe at home, his response was: “whether corolla kills me or hunger kills me, death is death.” he further said that the government did not give them anything to eat and they were asking him to stay at home. i went further to ask him: ”what of if this is war, will you not run after your life? will you be waiting for the government to provide food for you, or do you care to save your life first?” i advised him to see this covid19 as a war and do everything possible to save his life. instead of making empty arguments, people should make effort to stay at home to avoid spreading this virus or to avoid contracting it. it has been observed through some video clips that some mischievous infected persons do everything possible to make sure that many people suffer along with them, thereby trying to spit on objects, touch them, sneeze without protection etc. igwebuike principle speaks against such attitudes. it encourages protection of one another in love and unity. it confirms the “universal relevance of solidarity and complementarity.” 20 this is expressed through proverbs such as: “a person is a person because of other people.” “sticks in a bundle cannot be broken.” “when spiders unite, they can tie up a lion.” “behind an able man there are always other able men.” “it takes a village to raise a child.” “i am because we are,and since we are, therefore, i am.” 21 way forward 20 ikechukwu a. kanu., (2019) “on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy” journal of religion and human relations, vol. 11 no. 1, pg. 160 21 ikechukwu a. kanu., (2019) “on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy” pg. 176 igwebuike philosophy and solidarity during the era of covid-19 pandemic themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 315 based on the igwebuike principle, as individuals we can reduce our chances of being infected or of spreading covid-19, by taking simple precautions in our mode of living (e. g. washing and sanitizing of hands, social distancing, avoiding of crowded places, staying at home and going out only when necessary, etc.), aware that what affects us affects our families and the entire community. the leaders and those in authority have to do their best to discharge their duties diligently and to find ways of cushioning the effects of the restriction of movement and the economic hardship that have ensued. in disbursing palliatives, all forms of discriminations should be avoided. also, the security personnel that are guarding our boarders and road checkpoints should be honest in discharging their duties and avoid taking bribes from people who contravene the restriction of movement. selfishness and greed on their part can lead to the destruction of so many lives. they are on the roads to protect lives not to eliminate. conclusion the covid 19 pandemic has unleashed destruction of lives, suffering and untold hardship upon the world. however, a number of lessons are being learnt. one of such lessons is that love is the greatest force available to us for overcoming obstacles, and indeed, it is the fundamental element that makes life meaningful. according to einstein; “love is light, that enlightens those who give and receive it. love is gravity, because it makes some people feel attracted to others. love is power, because it multiplies the best we have, and allows humanity not to be extinguished in their blind selfishness. love unfolds and reveals”. 22 22 einstein a., (1938). “a letter from albert einstein to his daughter: on the universal force of love”. available at https://monoset.com/blog/journal/a-letter-from-albert-einstein-to-hisdaughter-on-the-universal-force-of-love. accessed on 06/05/2020 https://monoset.com/blog/journal/a-letter-from-albert-einstein-to-his-daughter-on-the-universal-force-of-love https://monoset.com/blog/journal/a-letter-from-albert-einstein-to-his-daughter-on-the-universal-force-of-love mary winifred gloria eche, dmmm, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 316 in this era of the pandemic, people have become more conscious of the fragility of human life and the relevance of family relationship, friendship and solidarity among individuals, states and nations. the need for interdependence, cooperation and solidarity among peoples and nations has become more apparent. these values are at the basis of the igwebuike principle. this paper makes a clarion call to everybody living today to look around and see what help we can give to our neighbours, someone that is hungry, thirsty, naked and homeless. let us try and extend a helping hand, no matter how little; in this way, we shall be participating in the fight against covid 19 and other conditions that endanger human life. bibliography apo, (2020). “modes of transmission of virus causing covid-19: implications for ipc precaution recommendations”. africanews. apo, (2020). “modes of transmission of virus causing covid-19: implications for ipc precaution recommendations”. africanews. centers for disease control and prevention (2019). coronavirus disease 2019, (covid-19). available at https//www.cdc.gov/coronavirus2019-ncov/index.html david j. cennimo, (2020). “coronavirus disease 2019 (covid19), practice essentials, background, route of transmission”, medscape. available on https // emedicine .medscape. com/article/2500114-overview. eche, mary winifred g., (2019). “igwebuike and the right of inheritance of igbo women” in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, (p.40) issn: 2488-9210 (online) einstein a., (1938). “a letter from albert einstein to his daughter: on the universal force of love”. available at igwebuike philosophy and solidarity during the era of covid-19 pandemic themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 317 https://monoset.com/blog/journal/a-letter-from-alberteinstein-to-his-daughter-on-the-universal-force-of-love. kanu, i a. (2019). on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. journal of religion and human relations, vol. 11 no. 1. (p.160) kanu, i. a. (2014). igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholic-pentecostal relations. jos studies. 22. pp.8798. kanu, i. a. (2015b). igwebuike as an ontological precondition for african ethics. international conference of the society for research and academic excellence. university of nigeria, nsukka. 14 th -16 th september. kanu, i. a. (2015c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25 th -26 th november 2015 university of paris, france. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. https://monoset.com/blog/journal/a-letter-from-albert-einstein-to-his-daughter-on-the-universal-force-of-love https://monoset.com/blog/journal/a-letter-from-albert-einstein-to-his-daughter-on-the-universal-force-of-love mary winifred gloria eche, dmmm, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 318 kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 5983. igwebuike philosophy and solidarity during the era of covid-19 pandemic themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 319 kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2020). covid-19 and the economy: an african perspective. published in journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 3. no. 2. pp. 29-36. a publication of the association for the promotion of african studies. kanu, i. a. (2020). covid-19 pandemic and the health of african migrants. amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 18. no. 2. pp. 56-64. kanu, i. a. (2020). saint augustine and covid-19 pandemic: the future and divine providence. tansian university journal of arts, management and social sciences. vol. 7. pp. 151162. patricia m. amos, (2013). “parenting and culture – evidence from some african communities”. available at http://www.intechopen.com>books>parenting-andculture qian, x., ren, r., wang, y. et al.(2020) “fighting against the common enemy of covid-19: a practice of building a community with a shared future for mankind/ infectious disease of poverty” available at https ://idpjournal. biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40249-020-00650-1 robert a. s., (2010). “solidarity: the fundamental social virtue”, in religion &liberty: vol 11, no.5 shereen, m.a., (2019). “covid-19 infection: origin, transmission, and characteristics of human coronaviruses” in journal of advanced research, vol. 24 the american heritage dictionary of the english language, fifth edition (2016). houghton mifflin harcourt publishing company. mary winifred gloria eche, dmmm, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 320 world health organization (who), 2019. coronavirus disease (covid-19) outbreak. available at http://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus/emergenciesredirect. http://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus/emergencies-redirect http://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus/emergencies-redirect microsoft word igwebuike journals vol. 4. no. 5..docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 101 african traditional religion and national development mokwenye ekene michael ph.d. department of religion and cultural studies university of nigeria, nsukka ekene.mokwenye@unn.edu.ng abstract african traditional religion has severally been defined as the indigenous religious beliefs and practices of the africans. it is the religion which resulted from the sustaining faith held by the forebears of the present africans, and which is being practiced today in various forms and various shades and intensities by a very large number of africans. the call for national development has been the most re-echoing political topic in nigeria’s recent history. economic dependence is the major impetus used to support the call for regional independence. african traditional religion is a major religion in nigeria thus it has some potential that could empower the nation. religion has been used to refer to human beings relationship with that which they regard as holy, sacred, transcendent, worthy of especial reverence or divine. this divine dependence of man on the supreme is still very manifest in the life of every african. it is important to note that african religion is not just about humans’ relationship with the supernatural or sacred as found in other religions, but african religion is a way of life; thus the saying that that africans are chronically religiously. the missionaries saw the religious culture of africans in contrast with the tenets of judeo-christian religious culture because african religious culture has no sophisticated symbolic religious and cultural structures as christianity such as written history or holy scripture, temples and other recognizable oriental order. as a result, the traditional religious culture was hastily condemned without second thought. having condemned the culture, her medicine and other positive aspects were also condemned. in this work, the researcher brought out the economic relevance of african religion like her medicine, consultations and tourism which if annexed will generate fund for national development. keywords: religion, peace, and human development, social cohesion. introduction religious ideologies have a lot to offer for the development of a nation. african traditional religion which mbiti (1975, p.12) calls “the product of the thinking and experiences of our forefathers…” is endowed with great propensity to promote peace, attract tourists, promote good eco-system and security to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 102 mention but a few benefits. as observed by awolalu (1976) african traditional religion is the religion which resulted from the sustaining faith held by the forebears of the present africa and which is being practised today in various forms and various shades and intensities by a very large number of africans. this religion has gone beyond the conventional false coating presented on african movies as a dirty religion only associable to magic and bad witchcraft to correcting certain ills in the society and boosting the economy. the high influence of african traditional religion cuts across all aspects of the nigerian society and its influence shine on many individuals found in institutions and policy making bodies. the phenomenological research method was used in ascertaining the role of african traditional religion towards national development. phenomenological method will help to present without bias the role of african traditional religion in nigerian national development. this work seeks to challenge the conventional role of african traditional religion as a religion confined and fraught only with evil. african traditional religion is indeed a motivating factor capable of calming nerves in the face of violence. most crises in nigeria seem to be religious in nature thus portraying the idea of religion as being an instrument of peace as an irony. religious leaders usually argue that violent people by definition are not religious. the islamic bodies in nigeria have often argued that the dreaded terrorist groups be it boko haram or herdsmen are really not muslims. christians on the hand spend so much time preaching and condemning members of other religions and recommending virtues that are wanting in their lives. this is because such groups do not really understand the meaning of religion as instrument of peace. african traditional religion like other religions have always had influence on politics in fact one cannot separate religion from nigerian politics. in islam, the muslims themselves make no such separation. christianity on the other hand is not primarily a set of doctrines, but a lived historical experience embodied and shaped by the empirically observable actions of christians which cut across politics, economic and all aspects of life. african traditional religion is an embodiment of the way of life of africans. relevance of african traditional religion to national development national peace evidence abounds that civilization started in africa if that be it, then, man’s interaction with his god also started in africa. the egyptian pride of being the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 103 cradle of civilization still has contemporary impetus. peace is a universal phenomenon that everyone desires and wishes to enjoy endlessly. african traditional religion has potent prescriptions to attaining and enjoying peace. african traditional religion is the only religion world over that does not use violence to achieve its aim. the undiluted african community had nothing like religious wars. granted crisis is part of man, however no religious war was recorded prior to the advent of christianity and islam to nigeria, there could have existed tribal wars triggered by boundary issues but not religion. violence and forceful mental tortures and persuasions found in other religions are never associated with african traditional religion. whenever and wherever there is peace there tends to be development and longevity. longevity prior to the advent of european and arabian religions was a basic attribute enjoyed by african forbears. african traditional religion which is still the most popular/powerful religion in the world, (popular/powerful because even foreigners secretly consult african spiritualist and on this ground it is still powerful/popular); teaches peace and encourages all adherents to the faith to pursue peace and live peacefully with one another. islam and christianity cannot make such claims as majority of nigerians believe that the crises rocking the nation today are caused by the feud between christianity and islam. scholars like kimball (2002) had already observed that religion is the cause of conflicts. while most arab and some european countries are faced with intra-religious conflicts, nigeria is faced with both intra and inter-religious conflicts. nigeria, which is popularly known as africa’s most populous black nation with a population of now about 170 million people, with more than 250 ethnic groups has christianity and islam as its predominant religions. christianity as a word means followers of christ or christ like. christians therefore are those who follow and act the teaching of christ in all ways of life. one of the climaxes of christianity or christian virtue is peace. christians are enjoined in the bible to embrace and live peacefully with their neighbours’. smith (1962) asserted that peaceful co-existence is the real “meaning and end of religion”. a lot of passages from the bible and quran support peace. one of the key things jesus came to give humanity is peace and expects us to live in peace as can be cited in different scriptural verses in the bible and quran. peace was not only what jesus taught but he also lived it, this in most cases is what scholars call pacifism, as jesus never taught violence. most followers of christ in nigeria do not act according to the teachings of their master, though they are willing to, but for the fact that christianity and islam are igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 104 not part of nigerian people’s culture they tend to physically express adherence to these religions but fail to live it to the full. african traditional religion teaches and also shares a belief in peace and communalism. what affects one affects the other. peace and brotherhood are of vital importance to the african religious practitioners. national development presented above are the roles of african traditional religion towards ensuring peace and having presented the african traditional religious role in ensuring peace its pertinent to show how african traditional religion can development a nation since where there is peace there is development. rodney (2005:1) states that development in human society is a mere-sided process. at the level of the individual, it implies increased skill and capacity, greater freedom, creativity, selfdiscipline, responsibility and material well-being. some of these are virtually moral categories and are difficult to evaluate depending as they do on the age, in which one lives, ones class of origin, and on one’s personal code of what is right and what is wrong. as observed by achimugu (2000) the prosperity of a country depends not on the abundance of its revenue nor on the strength of its army nor on beauty of its public building but its citizens whose men are enlightened and religious, who work for the development of their country. however what is indisputable is that the achievement of any of these aspects of personal development is very much tied in with the state of the society as a whole. democracy is in the actual sense the best system of government however, this form of government is alien to the african people and it is only the government that can give her people meaningful development. having wittingly accepted democracy in place of oligarchy practised in africa prior to the advent of the slave master the onus for meaningful development lies in african traditional religion. this onus is made manifest in the potent shrines found all over nigeria. instead of using the bible to swear with the last words “so help me god” african traditional religious way of swearing can be employed. in africa when people swear or take oath they do that with a personal responsibility; for example the man swearing with the igbo “amadioha” will end his oath with the saying “amadioha kill me if i fail to do what i promise” and amadioha will surely kill such a person. african gods are very potent because they are agents of the almighty god whom other religions still serve deceptively. the agents of god manifested in african deities are very effective but foreign religions have diluted the efficacy of these gods are have either gone on recess or retirement. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 105 the great number of missionary groups who visited africa shows that there was more to their intentions other than the evangelization of the continent. as observed by agha (2004) “the genesis of the different missionaries in nigeria varied from one denomination to another. their port of entry, growth and expansion differs significantly. what is of particular interest and noteworthy is that each of them had a specific objective, message and vision for the evangelization of nigeria and africa in general. nigerians have a higher fear for what is traditionally sacred when compared with what is held sacred in other religions. a simple example can be observed when a red cloth is tired to a tree of orange and when a crucifix is tired to another orange tree to prevent theft, experience shows that the typical nigerian thief will steal from the orange tree with the crucifix rather than from the one with the red cloth tired to it. the deity ekwensu is a major deity in african traditional religion for example that the european christianity has bastardized. opata (2005:27) rightly opined that “ekwensu is not a conceptual equivalence of the christian devil. there is impetus to this fact because the igbos had the idea of ekwensu before the arrival of christianity. ekwensu among the ibusa people of delta state and some other parts of igbo land is a deity responsible for punishing those who disobey the taboos of the community and punish people when they fail to help their communities, but when the missionaries came they misinterpreted this doctrine. umeh (1999:27) supported this view when he asserted that ekwensu is the beautiful one in igboland and in ancient egypt, it is a war god with countless victories as oha obala/ora obala. in igbo afa, it is saluted as ekwensu ugo tagbulu agwo i.e. eagle that pecked the evil serpent to death … ekwensu the eagle spirit of war and victory glides down the earth with countless victories… ekwensu is also confirmed to be one of the benevolent lunar deities … it is indeed a ridiculous absurdity for any igbo person to talk of ekwensu as a devil because ekwensu has never been associated with evil or evil ones but have always been associated with achievement, good victory, and success. religion, next to family, is the second oldest institution meredith (2007). it governs the social as well as personal behaviour of man by providing guidelines, laws and principles relating to his interaction with his fellow man, believed that this was one of the strongest forces which used to maintain peace in the society. one of the main aims of african traditional religion is to promote peace and human development anchored on justice and equity. since justice is one of the main pillars of peace, the elements of peace and religion are same. peace can be achieved only when there is law and order, and a state of harmony and mental igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 106 calm prevails. from the beginning of the world, african traditional religion has existed to help individuals, groups and communities to achieve justice and peace. african traditional religion is one of the strongest institutions that help a person believe in life after death an idea that is important to control human behaviour. african traditional religion is not only a promoter of peace but it has also worked in the field of conflict prevention and resolutions for ages as elders are usually seen attending to cases. tourism: nigeria has one of the best tourist attractions world-over, best because these tourist sights are still in their natural state. african traditional religion is the sole preserver of these tourist sites ranging from osun osogbo grove which is a tourist destination in nigeria that has sacred shrines, sanctuaries, sculptures and art works that are created in the honour of the goddess of fertility, osun. it is a unesco world heritage site situated along the oshun river (www.cometonigeria.com). olumo rock is another tourist attraction that is preserved by the egba people of ogun state who believe that olumo rock has a shrine that protects them and offer annual sacrifices to the deity. it is a monument of african traditional religion of egba people and a source of pride to them. the peak of the rock is 137m above sea level and the rock is naturally by caves some of which up to 20 feet long and 25 feet wide. olumo rock is a favorite tourist’s attraction which when annexed properly will attract both local and foreign tourists thereby generating fund for the nation. without efforts from african traditional religion, the warm hospitality of nigeria and their caring nature which makes nigeria a place to be would have waned down. emotional roles of african traditional religion and national development. in african traditional setting it was and still believed that religion offers emotional, spiritual and material support to its members in times of tension, stress or hardship. the poor and wretched ones are given alms or gifts from the rich ones among them. among the core nigerians a widow is permitted to go into a farm and harvest exactly what she needs to eat with her family. among the ibusa people of delta state, when a man dies the wife is mandated to choose a new husband amongst the husbands kinsmen. this could be her son or any male igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 107 she likes, there might not be any sexual intercourse however the underlying reason is to ensure that the woman is still married within the family. the sickness of a man is the communal responsibility of the community. during farming season the farm of a sick man is usually cultivated communally for him. during marriages or funeral ceremonies the women gather fire wood and water to ensure that the burial goes as planned. victims of natural hazards or wars are aided and their life must be protected as a sacred entity and peaceful coexistence of the society, all inspired by the bound inspired by african traditional religion. african traditional religion serves as a powerful means for solidarity among the african people. its members and nearly all who have contact with the real african people learn to co-exist in solidarity, when there is conflict the elders gather all the conflicting members to settle them. when inter-communal crises arises the two communities usually come together to settle the conflict amicably. it is an understatement to assert that african traditional religion regulates social life of the nigerian intra settlements by creating some sort of order for its members to live together. in nigeria people travel back to their various communities to celebrate their marriage. when someone dies he/she is usually taken to their various villages for funeral. african traditional religion encourages solidarity, consensus, cordiality, harmony, cooperation, unity, stability, security and peaceful co-existence. as noted by johnson (1996:232) religion not only provides responses to enduring human problems and questions but also forms the basis for social cohesion and solidarity. african traditional religion as tool for human development as defined by united nations development programme in okafor (2004:3) human development means creating an environment in which people can develop their full potential and lead productive, creative lives in accord with their needs and interests.. development is much more than economic growth which is only a means of enlarging people’s choices. fundamental to enlarging these choices is building human capacities. in the african traditional religious worldview, the most basic testimony to the type of life one has lead is long and healthy living, one may be alive but not healthy. it is believed that when an individual leads a good life then the ancestors will help prevent ill health. african traditional religion creates conducive environment leading individuals to be knowledgeable, and to have access to the resources needed for a decent standard of living and to be able to participate in the life of the community. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 108 african traditional religion encourages africans to share things equally with all. in african setting the land belonging to the community is shared equally among all male children with the first son inheriting his father’s compound. a close observation of africa and its societies will reveal that religion is at the root of african culture and it is the determining principle of african life. it is no exaggeration, therefore, to say that in traditional africa, religion is life. africans are engaged in religion in whatever they do, farming, eating, drinking, fishing or hunting. religion gives meaning and significance to their lives; both in this world and the next. it is hence not an abstraction but a part of reality and everyday life. as noted by ugwu and ugwueye (2004:111) in african traditional religion observing the norms of the society faithfully attracts favour to an individual and the society. it is against the african traditional religious dictates to ferment trouble against the entire community. elders who are closer to the ancestors will often advice the younger ones with proverbs like “when a man cooks for the community they will finish the food but when the community cooks for an individual it might be difficult for him to finish it” this proverb simply discourages people from the bad habit of fermenting trouble in the community. this goes to justify the truism that in a state of crisis, the place of progress which defines human development is slim. human development which entails the process of enlarging people's freedoms and opportunities and improving their well-being cannot be created in the face of crisis. human development is about the real freedom ordinary people have to decide who to be, what to do, and how to live. the only major institution that helps to emphasize this right is african traditional religion. the human development approach focuses on improving the lives people lead rather than assuming that economic growth will lead, automatically, to greater opportunities for all. income growth is an important means to development, rather than an end in itself. okafor (2004) noted that human development shares a common vision with human rights. the goal of development is human freedom. people must be free to exercise their choices and to participate in decision-making in matters that affect their lives. it can thus be said that human development and human rights are mutually complementary. in a country like nigeria where the politicians decide and determine what rights her citizens should enjoy based on their religion and political affiliations, religious leaders ought to have been constantly on the peak of call for delivery of human rights to all. african traditional religious practitioners; who are better igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 109 feared than practitioners of other religions can compel leaders to deliver factors necessary for quality human development. human development is about giving people more freedom and opportunities to live lives they value. in effect this means developing people’s abilities and giving them a chance to use them. conclusion african traditional religion plays a significant role in ensuring peace and stability of the people and nation nigeria. it is also true that violence is inherent to human nature, and human beings are easily swayed by emotions and irrational behaviour. many factors incite them into violent behaviour, and religious attachment or loyalty happens to be one. political and ideological differences may also lead to lack of national development, however, african traditional religion known also as non-sentimental religion has the capacity to check the excesses of religious-based factors of division. in the forgoing discussion, we focused upon how african traditional religion can serve as tool for national development. african traditional religious leaders can help encourage inter-faith relations, manage crisis, negotiate and mediate in conflict situations, served as a communication link between opposing parties, provided training in peace making schemes and strive to orient members on the need to evade crisis in the society. people may misuse their religious identities to capture political power, or use that power to oppress others, but african traditional religion can help checkmate this as it is a religion of truth whose pantheon of gods are known for justice. the primary purpose of any religion is to see life from a wider perspective and understand its significance in the evolution and elevation of human development and african traditional religion embodies this. religious ethics contributes to peace and development. african traditional religion encourages the principle of honesty, prudence, industry, punctuality and justice in business, creates freedom from fear of cheats and dupes, and offers a peaceful state for commercial and national progress. african traditional religion encourages hard-work/industry, saving money and financial discipline, the diversion of business wealth to economically unproductive activities is discouraged, thus; there should be no laziness and extravagancy which necessitates evil. african traditional religion helps to re-echo the need for economic gains to be spent in a manner that could give glory to god and for the benefit of human development. thus, if the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 110 economic relevance of african traditional religion in society can be appreciated, then nigeria will enjoy better development. recommendation for the good of human and for the cause of peace, let us hope that all our religious leaders will stretch out their hands in friendship to one another and to all people irrespective of race or creed as exemplified by african traditional religion. with a genuine feeling of love and peace, african traditional religious ethics should be revitalised to help restore sanity to the society. religious leaders from islam and christianity should be mobilized to facilitate national development especially between these two major religions in the country using the docility found in african traditional religion as model. adherents of various religions should promote peace and unity through their activities in the society for peaceful co-existence. this will ensure sustainable national development. a major role of religious bodies is to hold the society together as a form of “social glue”. thus african traditional religious leaders should see this as a duty and serve as a social bond that can hold the society together. respect for african traditional religion by all africans helps to strengthen the basis of belief and values of the society. it stresses for the social cohesion of all its members to live in unity and peace. this supports the opinion of lauer (1978) who pointed out that when religion solves social problems, the quality of life is usually improved. the nigerian ministry of culture and tourism should encourage nigerian festivals and ceremonies as african traditional religious ceremonies are performed to remind people that they have a common history and identity, thereby ensuring the continuity for the existence of a better society and national development. references achimugu, l (2000) the agonies of nigerian teacher, friend or foes. portharcourt: baron press limited awolalu, j.o (1976), “sin and its removal in african traditional religion”, journal of american academy of religion. vol. xliv: 275-287. kimball, c. (2002) when religion becomes evil. usa: harpersanfrancisco. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 111 mbiti, j.s, (1975). the prayers of african religion. new york; orbis books. okafor, a.a (2004) poverty and human development in nigeria. nsukka: great ap press. rodney w. (1972) how europe underdeveloped africa. london: bogle-l'ouverture publications; . smith e.w. (2008). african ideas of god. london: municipal press. smith, w.c. (1962) the meaning and end of religion. london: macmillan. ugwu c.o.t and ugwueye, l.e (2004), african traditional religion: a prolegomenon. lagos: merit international publications. umeh, j. (1999). after god is dibia igbo cosmology , divination sciences in nigeria and sacred. vo11 london: karnak house. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 2.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 95 exploring feminine subjectivity in caribbean history: a new historicist perspective inedwidgedanticat’sthe farming of bones methuselah jeremiah, phd department of english and drama kaduna state university, kaduna nigeria mekau65@gmail.com & aule, moses department of english and literary studies ahmadu bello university, zaria nigeria mosesaule@gmail.com abstract set within the context of caribbean literature, this paper deploys new historicism to posit in its argument that history as used in edwidgedanticat’sthe farming of bones exposes the socio-political dilemma hindering the caribbean people from realising a seamless sense of caribbean-ness. to this end, the study unravels the various layers of caribbean history to challenge forces that have made the caribbean people to suffered setbacks, first, in the ways their leaders not only hijacked their nations in terms of bad leadership but by doing so, have set precedence that have continued to hinder the caribbean people from realising the essence of selfhood. second, the paper exposes the relational tensions that have created divisions among the caribbean people. the essence of these is to sustain the argument that caribbean women writers do not only use their texts as a platform for decrying gender imbalances within patriarchal setting or deploy history as a form of writing back to the dominating centre but that by engaging with history, they too write to the caribbean nations to interrogate the state of nation-state and question the notion of selfhood in the context of the caribbean. thus, the paper reveals the relationship between authorial intentions and text-meaning by loosening various historical knots that provide context for interrogating the sense of nationhood in the caribbean. keywords: feminine, caribbean, history, perspective, historicism. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 96 introduction the terrain of writing particularly in cultural discourses whether as creative endeavour, a critical enunciation or a discursive practice is, in the most part, a subjective domain. among the caribbean writers, to be specific, writing provides an arena of contestation where, on the one hand, they design discourses that enhance their power or constantly reverses written (and even spoken) codes that objectivise them. in cultural studies, writing is said to be subjective when a writer (re)creates polarities (consciously or unconsciously) that undermine or interrogate social structures within a given society (as is the case with postcolonial writings), separates or distantiates human relationships (as is seen in gender discourses), negates claims of disinterestedness in historical factuality (as with new historicism) or intentionally overturns existing structures within a written text (as exemplified in deconstruction) etc. and because this is so, writing, on the other hand, becomes an inscription of ‘reverse-discourse’ or a “scandalous reversal of subjective position” (robert, 2007:625) where the hitherto objectivised subject of writing rises to “...challenge, subvert and undermine the ruling ideologies” (michel, 1982:117) with respect to what the ‘universal subject’ gives him/her to think. in line with the above proposition, perry (2007: 274) maintains that “the weak and strong forms of oppositional discursive practices have been designated as re/citation and de/citation...and counter-identification and disidentification...” with this, writing becomes a constant shift of paradigmatic patterns – of evidence and of “a struggle against ideological evidenceness on the terrain of that evidenceness, an evidenceness with a negative sign, reversed on its own terrain” (michel 1982:117). consequent upon this, subjectivity as a coordinate in theoretical discourse entails, using the words of bello-kano (2015:12), “the realm of intentionalactivities of human beings” aimed towards redefining existing structures or towards altering same. because of the self-mediatedness of writing, the innocence of history is therefore shrouded with doubt. this is so largely because even though history intends to present “things as they are without rhetorical adornment or poetic imagery” (white 1978:3), it is limited by or due to the subjectivity of‘intention’. the reason for this is that history is a social construction through which society is patterned in layers. these layers are, most times,(consciously) designed in binary in an attempt to signify a facet of humanity in relation to the ‘other’. this position is premised on the ground that history is a reflection of social formations igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 97 that define an era which in itself defines social relations within time and space. to especially the caribbean writer (whether male or female) therefore, it is not such social formations that define their writings but the interplay of forces which negate, undermine and repress the very humanity of the caribbean ‘other’ within such social formation. in light of this, ‘history’ – which carr (1987: 55) calls “a social process, in which individuals are engaged as social beings...” can be seen as a (linguistic and or literary) trope used to designate the humanity of a people or, to borrow from carr, a “verbal construction that is always in one way or the other political and hence a vehicle of power”. with this,the notion of ‘colonial history’ carries with it a notation of writing by agents of colonialismabout the colonised from a privileged position. based on this, writers from the colonised nations (largely of african, caribbean, and african-american orientation) recreate such historical contexts in their texts in order to reconceptualise or dislodge the irredeemable image of “whiteness, otherness, margins, and decentring” (robert 2007:622, my emphasis) inscribed in repressive historical discourses or texts. this way, history becomes, in darrida’s (1978: 235) words, “a doctrine of indoctrination almost ineffaceable ...” such writers, in the most part, provide (in their writings) historical models or discourses that enunciate, according to young (2007:623), a “strategy of ... retaliation, of overturning” repressive historical structures enshrined within a text. drawing from the above, it can be said therefore, that most discourses by caribbean women writers, like their male counterparts, are subjective. their writings are largely patterned according to (or in order to reflect the tension within) historical, social and political formations that have denied (and have continued to deny) the caribbean people a true sense of humanity. in their case, they recreate historical contexts not only to contend with repressive social and cultural formations but also with post-independent structures that have continually placed hindrances to and ignored the essence of their humanity as women and that of the caribbean people in general. the focus in this paper therefore, is to, first; explore the permeability between the intentions of danticat as a caribbean women writer in the way she reconstruct historical realties in her texts to re-examine and re-contextualize issues in the caribbean. the second is to show that new historicism provide adequate theoretical ground for exploring how past experiences carry with them some daunting and haunting shadows that follow a people into the present. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 98 furthermore, the new historicist angle in this paper unveils some biases hidden in texts that are said to capture caribbean history. these biases, the paper offers, are rendered to undermine or re-contextualise some distorted historical factuality that has continued to sore the wounds of difference among the caribbean people. when this theoretical position and discursive angles are taken together, they would open up the “‘intentional predicate’ or ‘human meaning-making’” (bellokano 2015:12) in the engagement with historyin edwidgedanticat’sthe farming of bones. the implication is that in context-sensitive theories such as new historicism, text and context, as bello-kano (2015:17) posits, are often “held in constant tension” as they continue to shift or blend according to the intentional stands of the writer. hence, said’s (1977: 24) argument that the goal of analysis is to reveal the dialectic between individual text or writer and the complex collective formation (i.e. context) to which his work is a contribution becomes justifying. new historicism the term “new historicism” (the american branch of british “cultural materialism”) – ‘historicism’ referring to the view that the past was truly, fundamentally different (bertens, 2001:141) – describes the work of a group of theorists influenced by the mixture of marxism and post-structuralism, and in particular, the work of foucault (1926-1984), which is concerned as it is, with, in foucault’s (1982: 208)words, “the different modes by which, in our culture, human beings are made subjects”. in specific terms, these theorists, borrowing from poststructuralism, focused “...on power, on the discourses that serve as vehicles for power, and on the construction of identity...” (bertens 2001:140, my emphasis). coming from this position, bello-kano (2015:44), submits that new historicism: is involved in power (“power-knowledge”, what he [foucault] calls the “relations of domination” that articulate discursive practices into a historically specific apparatus, for example, the disciplines, the practices of surveillance and control...power is a key element in (new historicist) discourse in that it is these practices that constitutes subjects). discernable from the above summation is that ‘history’, to the new historicist, provides an unstable ‘context’ in literary discourses because, as greenblatt igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 99 (1980:2) posits, history creates a space for “...self-consciousness about the fashioning of human identity as a manipulable, artful process”. based on this, veeser (1989:xi) argues that one of the key assumptions of new historicism is that “every expressive act is embedded in a network of material practices...that no discourse, imaginative or archival, gives access to unchanging truths nor express inalterable human nature”. in light of this, there is good reason, then, to accept brannigan’s (1998:6) definition of new historicism as “a mode of critical interpretation which privileges power relations as the most important context for texts of all kinds” and his claim that “as a critical practice it treats literary texts as a space where power relations are made visible.” even though abram andharpham (2012:218) maintain that new historicism is concerned with reading a text “from its historical context” rather than dealing with it in isolation, this definition is rather porous following the new historicist point of view above. this is because historical contexts are virtually unending as they depend on the purpose for their interpretation and are affected by the information available to the interpreter of such historical context per time. in this vein, the new historicist, due to the complexities of cultural artefacts, argues that no any one approach is capable of providing a complete picture of what has happened or, most importantly, what it means (dobie 2012: 177). this is because what is perceived as history is, according to dobie (2012:178), “what has been handed down in artefacts, stories, making history a narration, not a purely unadulterated set of precise observations.” the assumption here is that ‘history’ in its narrative form is a ‘text’ (i.e., narrative trope) and because of this, the new historicist seeks to unearth such historicity (which itself is not free from subjectivity) within a textual code by examining the cultural context – the anxieties, issues, struggles, politics (and even more) of an era in which it was created. like foucault (1982) and bello-kano (2015), dobie (2012:181) submits that “the new historicist critics are interested in understanding a culture’s power structure” implicated within a literary text. in light of this, literary interpretation, to the new historicist, involves acknowledging all the social concerns that surrounds (or hides within) a text – the customs, institutions, and social practices it depicts. hence, the new historicists see a text as an instrument of political awareness and a statement of ideology. in this vein, reading a text from the new historicist perspective is to see literary texts as tools for modifying or reifying historical context, because, to them, all texts are social documents and, as such, they reflect and affect the world that produces them. this is because, as foucault foregrounds, “social relations igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 100 are, intrinsically, relation of power” (qtd in bertans 2001:142). their focus, therefore, is to unravel the “far hidden and unsuspecting sources of, and vehicles for, power and the question of how power has worked to suppress or marginalize rival stories and discourses”. by so doing, they uncover the stories of “the disempowered, the marginalized, those whose voices we hardly ever, or never, hear” (bertans 2001:143). it is from this perspectives that new historicists such as louis montrose argue for “the historicity of texts and textuality of history” (abram &harpham 2012:245) and for a form of cultural poetics which is both historicist and formalist (i. e., textual). pointedly, the new historicist “seeks to hold ‘structure’ (history) and ‘text’ (representation) in the same breathe” (bello-kano 2015: 44). the reason for this, as bressler (2003:185) argues, is that “...an intricate connection exists between an aesthetic object – a text or any work of art – and society” hence, a text cannot be evaluated in isolation from its cultural or historical context. as a result of this, bressler (2003:185) points that “we must know, the societal concerns of the author, of the historical times evidence in the work, and of other cultural elements exhibited in the text before we can devise a valid interpretation” of such a text. it is with this in mind that montrose (1989:21) concludes that the new historicists hold the position that: the interdependent processes of subjectification and structuration are both ineluctably social and historical; that social systems are produced and reproduced in the interactive social practices of individual’s group; that collective structures may enable as well as constrain individual agency; that the possibilities and patterns for action are always socially and historically situated, always limited and limiting; and that there is no necessary relationship between the intentions of actors [authors] and the outcomes of their action. understanding the intentional stance of edwidgedanticatin the farming of bones edwidgedanticat’sthe farming of bones can be understood by tracing her encounter with some socio-historical conditions that have reshaped the humanity of the haitian people particularly during the 1930s. born in 1969, the haitianamerican author who was introduced to and influenced by the haitian practice of story-telling early in life was, through it, exposed to the harsh living condition in haiti and how these have reduced them to labour force in the dominican and the resultant massacre that ensued in the quest for better their condition of living. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 101 her novel the farming of bones is therefore a testimonial to the plight of the haitians especially during the reign of trujillo. danticat began writing at the age of nine and at the age of 12, she moved to the united states to live with her parents in a heavy haitian american neighbourhood. as a teenager, she was unable to adjust to her new surroundings and thus turned to literature for comfort. at the age of 14, she published her first writing in english titled “haitian-american christmas: cremace and creole theatre” followed by “a new world full of strangers” in a city wide magazine written by teenagers. she graduated from clara barton high school in brooklyn, new york and was then enrolled at the barnard college in new york city. she completed her b. a. in french literature and went on to obtain a master of fine arts degree in creative writing from brown university in 1993. as her thesis, she laid the foundation of her first novel breath, eyes, memory (1994). this training, therefore, equipped her with the basic skills of transposing history into work of fiction. other novels written by her include the farming of bones (1998), the dew breaker (2004), brother i’m dying (2007). thefarming of bones is therefore, a political novel as it recapitulates her concern with the life experiences of the haitians. a political novel, according to the new historicists is one that uncovers the subtext of historical and political conflicts and oppressions (abram and harpham 2012:248). in particular, the novel provides the backdrop for the systematic discrimination and eventual massacre of thousands of haitians who had migrated to the dominican during the reign of raphael leonidas trujillo molina in 1937. in an afterword to the farming of bones, entitled “nature has no memory” danticat (1998:316-317) recounts: i remember hearing about the 1937 massacre of haitian cane workers in the dominican republic when i was a girl [...]. in the early 1990s, i met an artist named ernst prophète whose grandmother, he told me, had survived the massacre. in her honour, he had painted a graphic painting of her crossing the massacre river with a trial of blood following in her wake [...] this painting rekindled my curiosity in this event and started my quest to reunite the stories of the lost cane workers of my childhood with the survival tale of my friend’s grandmother and others like her. allowing herself certain liberties to combine history with literary aesthetics, she made up “all the characters except trujillo and henry i” (danticat 1998:320). hence, the novel, to her, provides a space for reconstructing history. she acknowledges this in an interview when she points that “i feel that fiction will igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 102 give me the freedom to recreate things as i imagined they happened. writing this novel made this story, these series of stories, a lot more visual... and that’s the only way i felt i could convey it to others” (danticat 1998:324). the reason for rewriting such upsetting historical realities using the novel form, to her, is to egg on the caribbean people particularly the haitians and dominican people “to learn to be better people, better neighbours”. a depiction of feminine subjectivity in edwidgedanticat’sthe farming of bones danticat’s intentional revision of history in the farming of bones is not only to present the history of the haitian massacre from the haitian perspective but also to deconstruct some historical narratives that project trujillo as the epicentre of the 1937 haitian massacre in the dominican republic. the reason for this is that evidence in most historical text such as eric paul roorda’s “genocide next door: the good neighbour policy, the trujillo regime, and haitian massacre of 1937” (1996);wucker, michele’s why the cocks fight: dominicans, haitians, and the struggle for hispaniola(1999);carolina gonzález’s “living on the line: fear of the haitian-dominican border dweller” (1997) and julia alvarez’s in the times of butterflies(1995) point to trujillo as the “dictator [who] gave order to kill all haitians living in the dominican side of the border” (gonzalez 1997:4). contrary to the positions taken by these writers, danticat uses literary aesthetics to presents a version of history that presents trujillo as the symbolic representation of a larger dominican culture of hate against the haitians. in light of this, danticat’sthe farming of bones presents three issues that are worth noting in this study. the first is that trujillo signifies the unifying essence of dominicans in the collective struggle to close up relational space between them and the haitians. the second is that to single out trujillo as the initiator and perpetrator of the massacre is to “drastically narrow responsibility and culpability for the massacre of haitians” (caminero-santangelo n.yr:9). and the third is that any effort made to repress history will hinder the caribbean people from knowing, to use achebe’s words, the place where the rain began to fall on them. although several historical texts such as eric paul roorda’s (1996) “genocide next door: the good neighbour policy, the trujillo regime, and haitian massacre of 1937” and winn peter’s (1992) americas: the changing face of latin america and the caribbean present three factors, namely; race, language and religion as the cause of the lingering hatred between the dominicans and the haitians, danticat’sthe farming of bones dwells on two – race and language. to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 103 foreground this reality, the novel begins with the birth of twins (a boy and a girl) – one black, and the other light-skinned; a symbolic depiction of racial differences that separate the people. the implication of this projection is to show that at the instance of birth, the caribbean child is initiated into the politics of (racial) identity. conscious of the sense of separate peoplehood and its danger to the caribbean people, señora valencia, the mother of the new-borns and the wealthy dominican woman for whom amabelle works asks amabelle “what if she is mistaken for one of you” (p.12). this method of signification, in new historicist perspective, is called thick description – when small actions which seem to have no particular significance in themselves can, along with other actions, suggest how a given people see their world. hence, señora valencia, the mother of these twins represents hispaniola and the twins represent the two rivalry dwellers of the island – the dominicans, the lightskinned and haitians, the dark-skinned. it is no wonder, therefore, that señora valencia tells amabelle to “see what we’ve brought forth together, my spanish prince and my indian princes” (p.29). in this racial space, the dark-skinned girl, from birth, signifies disadvantage and the boy, the light-skinned, signifies advantage. this is why, as captured in the novel, the girl is said to be “...badly placed” (p.19). considering the way the two children are positioned as they come out from their mother’s womb, doctor javier quarrels that “...the other one tried to strangle her” (p.19). in trying to explain the strange position of these children further, the doctor says that: many of us start out as twins in the belly and do away with the other...sometimes you have two children born at the same time; one is stillborn but the other one alive and healthy because the death one gave the other a life transfusion in the womb and in essence sacrificed itself (p.19). this imagery points to the fact that the relational tension between the dominicans and haitians is first, because of racial difference. commenting on this racial divide in the caribbean, winn (1992:288) avers that “if haiti was black, african and voodooist, then the dominican republic would be white, spanish and catholic.” the collective hatred of the dominican people against the haitians is therefore, upheld by racial gap build upon the belief that their “...motherland is spain” (260). this racial consciousness shows the elusiveness of the caribbean essence, the rejection of social permeability among the caribbean people and the existence igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 104 of relational gabs that eventually created the tension that built up into the 1937 massacre of haitians in the dominican republic. as father romain mechanically re-echoes: our motherland is spain; theirs is darkest africa, you understand? our problem is one of dominion...we, as dominicans, must have our separate traditions and our own ways of living. if not, in less than three generations, we will all be haitians. in three generations, our children and grandchildren will have their blood completely tainted unless we defend ourselves now, you understand? (p.260). in his historical text, roorda (1996:304) sums up this reality as follows: the societies that share the island of hispaniola are markedly different, and their relations have been tensed and often violent...by 1930s, there was a large haitian presence in the dominican republic, one comprised of two groups. one was predominantly male brigades of braceros, or agricultural workers, who were contracted to work on the sugar plantations in the south and east...the other, more firmly rooted group included families of workers, smallholders and entrepreneurs, established in the north and west. many of these people were dominican by birth but culturally and ethnically haitians. over the course of years, these independent immigrants established a bicultural identity for the border provinces of the dominican republic. the prevalence of haitian creole, the religion of vodun and the haitian gourde as a medium of exchange demonstrated that the province was less “dominican”... based on these facts, one can see through that the dominican people are concerned about the eroding presence of the haitians into their borders. this concern is expected considering that they were racially different. hence, the fear of infiltrating the dominican with the burgeoning racial admixture, asdanticat expressed in her novel, made them to seek ways through which they could obliterate the haitian people living within their borders. danticat also captures linguistic variation as yet another factor that created separate consciousness between the dominicans and haitians. the concern with this phenomenon in the farming of bones is important in that it serves as the tool with which the humanity of the haitians is determined given that there are other igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 105 dominicans that wear dark skin as well. the contempt with which the haitian language is held by dominicans is metaphorically captured by amabelle thus: sabastien...feels haunted by the crooning of pigeons. their cry, he says, sounds like it’s not meant for others to hear, but like each howling pigeon is trying to bury its head deep inside itself. he imagines that the way pigeons moan is the same way ghosts cry when they are too lonely or too sad, when they have been dead so long that that have forgotten how to speak their own names (p.25). this metaphor explains the antecedents of haitians as the offspring of african slaves. the effect of this comparison is that the haitians have become ghosts who have lost contact with their language and hence, resort to creole as their linguistic code. this linguistic code, as expressed in the novel, “sounds like it’s not meant for others to hear” (p.25). in essence, these two factors – racial and linguistic difference – provided the platform for the wholesale hatred of the dominicans. this foregrounding is crucial in that it provides the platform for understanding the basis for the collective hatred of the dominican people against the haitians. this is why sagás (2000:46) argues that “the trujillo regime and its intellectuals did not invent antihaitianismo; it already was an integral part of dominican culture.” hence, the incidences of violence in this novel validates sagás’ claim as it graphically shows how the violence against the haitians provided a moment of collective dominican national unity and its role in the eventual massacre of haitians. in her novel, danticat evokes this moment in the following description: someone threw a fist-size rock, which bruised my lip and left cheek. my face hit the ground. another rock was thrown on yves...the faces in the crowd were steaming in and out of my vision. a sharp blow to my side nearly stopped my breath... rolling myself into a ball, a tried to get away from the worst of the kicking horde...my scream slowed them a bit... their air vibrated with a twenty-one-gun salute. people applauded and stormed their feet and sang the dominican national anthem (p.295). as these murderous mob carry out this beatings, trujillo is only a vague if not psychological presence inside a nearby cathedral from which the mob is waiting for him to emerge. this portraiture deliberately decentres trujillo from the centre igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 106 of this narrative in order to explore what the jungian principle calls, “the collective unconscious” (microsoft encarta 2009) of the dominican people. the use of the following phrases in the quotation above: “the crowd”, “the kicking horde”, or just the words “them”, “people”, the infinitive pronoun: “someone” and the nameless faces who come together to sing the national anthem, places the weight of haitian massacre on the entire dominican people. consequent upon these, the description sums up to agree with caminerosantangelo’s (n.y:11) position that “violence is more than event-specific...and more than person-specific, as well. it has to do with the whole history of the construction of a dominican nation and the production of the “subaltern” as the other of that nation.” as beverley (2004:8) writes, the notion of “nation” rhetorically sutures over the gaps and discontinuities internal to ‘the people’. but it is in those gaps and discontinuities that the force of the subaltern appears.” danticat’sthe farming of bones is therefore set to reconstruct the violence enacted upon the haitians as the mark of the “gaps and discontinuities” that produces the haitian labourers as subaltern, or better put, the demonic other which incurs the collective hate of the dominicans. by so doing, the novel presents trujillo not as the essence but as a synecdoche representation of a much larger national and racial hatred that led to the 1937 massacre. to further her intentional stands in this direction, danticat, from the very first page of the novel opens the narrative not with deaths from the massacre but with the death of a haitian sugarcane worker, joël. to show that the haitian lives were less valued than the dominican lives, danticat shows how señor pico, a wealthy dominican, refuses to stay back after running over his victim as he is in a hurry to return home to see his newborns. to further prove the existence of random killing of haitians in the dominican, danticat presents another woman [who] began telling stories that she’d heard. a week before, a pantry maid who had worked in the house of a colonel for thirty years was stabbed by him at the dinner table. two brothers were dragged from the cane field and macheted to death by field guard... (p.114). these killings not only reveal the disposableness of haitians living in the dominican but they point, not to trujillo’s genocidal orders, but to the larger national history of racism in which haitian lives are cheapened. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 107 in order to perpetrate their violence against the haitians, the dominican people used the limitation of haitian language as test which is today referred to as “the parsley test”. as captured in the novel: two soldiers laughed, watching. the young toughs waved parsley sprigs in front of our faces. “tell us what this is,” one said. “quedigaperejil.” at that moment i did believe that had i wanted to , i could have said the word properly, calmly, slowly...even though the trill of the r and the precision of the j was sometimes too burdensome a joining for my tongue (p.295). wucker (1999:49) further explains this reality in his historical book when he says: for the haitians...the soldiers applied a simple test. they would accost any person with dark skin. holding up sprig of parsley, trujillo’s men would query their prospective victims: ‘cómo se llama esto?’ what is this thing called? ... haitians, whose kreyol uses a wide flat r, find it difficult to trilled r in the spanish word for parsley, perejil. if the work came out as the haitian pèsil..., the victim was condemned to die. crucial to the understanding of this experience is that danticat uses this language barrier to show that the haitian kreyol-sounding pèsi summarises summation that the subaltern can’t speak. as a corollary to this, therefore, the dominicans conspire to exterminate the creole-speaking-language-deficient haitians from their side of the border in order to avoid the looming encroachment of the haitian (deficient) culture into the dominican (refined) cultural space. conclusion using new historicism to read danticat’sthe farming of bones shows that historicaltruths are political – they are truths in as much as they provide consciousness that continues to privilege a particular class of people at the expense of another. with this understanding, this paperhas used new historicism to unknot danticat’s concern with history in her novel – to provide counternarratives that heal the wound of difference in caribbean history. through the analysis it is clear therefore, that she deploys history to unknit the notion that the 1937 haitian massacre is engineered and perpetrated by trujillo and some political class. on the contrary, the paper shows how she has provided ‘historical igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 108 facts’ that indict the entire dominican people for the crime against the haitian people. works cited abrams, m. h. and harpham g. g. (2012). a glossary of literary terms. usa: wadsworth. london: heinemann. alvarez, j. (1995). in the times of butterflies. new york: penguin. ________ ,(1998). something to declare. new york: thomas allen. bello-kano, i. (2015). “litt 804 literary theory ii: course description, topic outlines, lecture notes, and reading materials”. department of english and literary studies, ahmadu bello university, zaria. _________, (2012). “the return of the repressed: the humanist problematic in three prestructuralist literary theories.” kajolls: katsina journal of linguistics and literary studies. vol. 1, no. 1 (september, 2012), pp.1-40. bertens, h. (2001). literary theory: the basics. london: routledge. _________,(1992). “postcolonial criticism”. redrawing the boundaries: the transformation of english and american studiesin stephen greenblatt and giles gunn. (eds) .new york: mla. beverley, j. (2004). testimonio: on the politics of truth. minneapolis: university of minneapolis press. brannigan, j. (1998). new historicism and cultural materialism. basingstoke: macmillan. bressler, c. (2003). literary criticism: an introduction to theory and practice. new jersey: pearson. carr, e. h. (1987). what is history? london: penguin. danticat, e. (1998). the farming of bones. new york: soho. darrida, j. (1978). writinganddifference. trans. alan bass. chicago: chicago up. dobie, a. (2012). theory into practice: an introduction to literary criticism. boston: wadsworth. foucault, m. (1982). michel foucault: beyond structuralism and hermeneutics. (ed). h. dreyfus and rabinow. chicago: chicago up. __________,(1991). “governmentality.” in burchell,g., gordon,c., and miller,p., (eds.), the foucault effect. chicago: university of chicago press. gonzález, s. v. (2007). “exiled subjectivities: the politics of fragmentation in the dew breaker”. inrevistacanaria de estudiousinglesses. vol. 54. pp 181193. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 109 greenblatt, s. (1980). renaissance self-fashioning: from more to shakespeare. chicago: university of chicago press. michel, p. (1982). language, semantics and ideology. london: macmillan. montrose, l. (1983). “shaping fantasies: figuration of gender and power in elizabethan culture”. representations 2, pp.61-94. ---. (1989). “professing the renaissance: the poetics and politics of culture”. inveeser,h. a. (ed), the new historicist: a reader (pp 15-36). london: routledge. robert, y. (2007). “subjectivity and history: darrida in algeria”. intejumolaolaniyan and atoquayson (eds) african literature: an anthology of criticism and theory (pp 621-627). malden: blacwell. ________,(2001). postcolonialism: an historical introduction. oxford: blackwell. roorda, e. p. (1996). “genocide next door: the good neighbour policy, the trujillo regime, and the haitian massacre of 1937.” in the diplomatic history. vol 20: 3, pp. 301-319. sagas, e. (2000). race and politics in the dominican republic. gsinniville: university press of florida. said, e. (1978). orientalism. london: routledge& kegan paul. veeser, h. a. (1989). “introduction”. in veseer, a. h. a. (ed), the new historicism (pp ix-xvi). london: routledge.. white, h. (1978). tropics of discourse: essays in cultural criticism. london: john hopkins. wucker, m. (1999). why the cocks fight: dominican, haitians and the struggle for hispaniola. new york: hill and wang. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 2.doc igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 1 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) collaboration within the ‘ecology of mission’: an african cultural perspective kanu ikechukwu anthony professor of religion and cultural studies department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university, umunya anambra state ikee_mario@yahoo.com abstract collaborative ministry concerns the dynamics of relationships between the clergy, consecrated persons and lay faithful, that is, how they are able to work together as christian ministers, each in his or her own right, being mutually supportive and acting in fellowship with the wider church1. however, in recent times, the issue of collaboration in ministry has become one of great importance with the passage of time, especially, as continuing cultural, economic and political changes have brought present conditions to such a point of development that completely new delicate and complex problems have arisen. this paper discusses not just the issue of collaborative ministry, but introduces an innovation as it colors the discourse with an african cultural perspective. the major question looming at the horizon of this work is: what has the african worldview to offer in the evolving discourses on collaborative ministry? in response to this question, this piece has explored the african background for african categories that would make discourses on collaborative ministry more meaningful to and at home in africa. having discussed the african worldview and developed models for collaborative ministry in africa, this piece strongly submits that collaborative ministry studied from the african cultural perspective enriches the concept and makes more meaning to the african. for the purpose of this research, the contextual method of inquiry would be employed as it emphasizes circumstances and experiences of each people for the appropriation of the christian faith. the complementary approach would also be patronized, especially as it expresses the nature and rhythm of the african universe. keywords: collaboration, ecology, mission, african, cultural, perspective. introduction a cursory glance at the historical development of the theology, spirituality and ecclesiology developed by the church, especially during the second vatican council, teach us that the different forms of life in the church cannot and should not be compartmentalized, but are always in correlation with one another. and 1 jose cristo rey garcia paredes, ‘collaborative ministry’: consecrated life within the ecology of mission. in kanu i. a. (ed.) consecrated persons and mutual relations: the dynamics of collaboration within the ecology of mission (pp. 56-75), decent global, lagos, 2018, p. 56. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 2 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) this perspective is based on the concept of the nature of the church. st paul, around 90 ad, described the church as “the fullness of christ and of fellowship” (ephesians 3:19)2. the early fathers of the church referred to the church as the ecclesia‘the called out ones’, ‘the elect’, ‘the saints’ and ‘the school of truth and the fellowship of adepts’3. these perspectives define what quality of collaboration should be found in the church. the second vatican council describes the singular constitutive nature of the church, presenting her as mystery4. from pentecost, there exists in the world a new people5, which, vivified by the holy spirit, assembles in christ in order to have access to the father6. she is gathered from all nations and merged into such an intimate unity by the power of the holy spirit that its reality cannot be explained by recourse to mere sociological formula7. only in this transcendent perspective can we rightly interpret the relationships among various members of the church8. intimately related to the idea of the church as a mystery is the image of the church as the body of christ; unity in christ involves a mutual communion of life among her members9. the very life-giving presence of the holy spirit builds up organic cohesion in christ and unifies the church “in communion and in the works of ministry”10. as the body of christ, the church is also the sacrament of salvation, with a visible social organism and an invisible divine presence intimately united11. in this relationship, the social structure of the church serves the spirit of christ who vivifies it12. the intimate reciprocal connection of the two elements, therefore, confers upon the church her special sacramental nature13 and thus, challenges her towards collaboration. 2 kanu i. a. introduction. in kanu i. a. (ed.) consecrated persons and mutual relations: the dynamics of collaboration within the ecology of mission (pp. 4-5), decent global, lagos, p. 4. 3 kung h. the church. new york: image books.1981, p. 32. 4 lumen gentium, in a. flannery (ed). documents of the second vatican council (pp.350-428). dublin: dominican publications, 1964, no. 1. 5 lumen gentium. in a. flannery (ed). documents of the second vatican council, no. 4. 6 kanu i. a. the theological foundations of mutual relations. in kanu i. a. (ed.) consecrated persons and mutual relations: the dynamics of collaboration within the ecology of mission (pp. 4-5), decent global, lagos, 2018, p.7. 7 lumen gentium, in a. flannery (ed). documents of the second vatican council, no. 9 8 lumen gentium, in a. flannery (ed). documents of the second vatican council, no. 4; 7; 8; 9; 12; 18; 21. 9 lumen gentium, in a. flannery (ed). documents of the second vatican council, no. 9 10 lumen gentium, in a. flannery (ed). documents of the second vatican council, no. 4. 11 kanu i. a. the theological foundations of mutual relations. in kanu i. a. (ed.) consecrated persons and mutual relations: the dynamics of collaboration within the ecology of mission (pp. 4-5), decent global, lagos, 2018, p.8. 12 lumen gentium, in a. flannery (ed). documents of the second vatican council, no. 8 13 gaudium et spes (1965). in a. flannery (ed). documents of the second vatican council (pp.903-1001). dublin: dominican publications. no. 42 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 3 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) this notwithstanding, with the passage of time, the issue of collaboration in ministry has become one of great importance in the church, especially, as continuing cultural, economic and political changes have brought present conditions to such a point of development that completely new delicate and complex problems have arisen. this paper provides a context for discussing the issue of collaborative ministry in the church from an african cultural perspective. the uniqueness of this discourse springs from the contribution that the african cultural worldview makes to the discourse on collaborative ministry. the phrase: ‘ecology of mission’ is very significant in this paper because it serves the understanding of the church as an ecosystem in which we find mission in different layers and levels, but all of them in mutual interconnection14. the contextual method of inquiry would be employed for the purpose of this study. this is importance because it emphasizes circumstances and experiences of each people for the appropriation of the christian faith. contextualization removes theology from the ivory tower of merely academic engagement and situates it on the ordinary experience of people. contextualization is cognizant and also respectful of the distinctiveness of the various human conditions and pays attention to them in their particularity15. the complementary approach would also be patronized, especially as it expresses the nature and rhythm of reality in the african world. consequently, my reflection would be divided into four parts: 1. what the african perspective has to offer 2. the imperatives for a cultural perspective 3. understanding african cosmology 4. african cultural models for collaboration 5. articulating an african cultural perspective of collaboration what has an african perspective to offer? the western educational system has extolled the achievements of the west and denied african contributions so that what is known of africa in many instances is limited to the usual stereotypes of the primitive, the savage, the inferior, etc16. this is evident in the writings of many western scholars. 14 jose cristo rey garcia paredes, ‘collaborative ministry’: consecrated life within the ecology of mission. in kanu i. a. (ed.), p. 56. 15 joseph ogbonnaya, african liberative theologies. in introducing african liberative theologies (pp. 26-46), new york: orbis books, 2015, pp. 31-32. 16 innocent onyewuenyi, the african origin of greek philosophy. university of nigeria press, enugu, 1994, p. 33. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 4 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) linnaeus, writing in the 18th century, argues that all creatures were arranged by god in a great chain of hierarchy. in this hierarchy, the americanus were considered tenacious, contented, free and ruled by custom. the europeanus, he says are light, lively, inventive and ruled by rites. the asiaticus are stern, haughty, stingy and ruled by opinion. africans are cunning, slow, negligent and ruled by caprice17. gobineau, writing in the 20th century, developed a racial anthropology, which argues that europe had attained civilization while others are yet to18. as a child of the same racial climate, hume writes: “i am apt to suspect the negroes to be naturally inferior to the whites. there scarcely ever was a civilized nation of that complexion, nor even an individual eminent in action or speculation”19. while hegel avers that: “in negro life the characteristic point is the fact that consciousness had not yet attained to the realization of any substantial existence20”, levy-bruhl questions the veracity of an untutored african knowing god21. baker did not spare the negro: “the negro is still at the rude dawn of faith-fetishism and has barely advanced in idolatry.... he has never grasped the idea of a personal deity, a duty in life, a moral code, or a shame of lying.”22 unfortunately, while this was part of the curriculum of the western educational system, here in africa, african students were starved of information about their rich heritage and the achievements of their ancestral home, while being stuffed with an overdose of the history and achievements of the west. there is, therefore, the need for an honest re-evaluation of what is african. saint pope john paul ii, in ecclesia in africa, observes that the african continent: “is endowed with a wealth of cultural values and priceless human qualities which it can offer to the churches and to humanity as a whole23.” these values became more visible through the writings of leopald sedar senghor, aime cesaire and leon gontran damas in the 19th century. this did not 17 linnaeus, c. system of nature. stockholm: laurentius salvius, 1758, p. 57. 18 gobineau, a. the inequality of human race. london: william heinemann, 1915, p. 36. 19 kanu, i. a. an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. augustinian publications, nigeria, 2015, p. 10 20 hegel, g. w. f. the philosophy of history. new york: dover. 1956, p. 93 21 f. o. c. njoku. essays in african philosophy, thought and theology. snaap press, enugu, 2002, p. 199. 22 f. o. c. njoku. essays in african philosophy, thought and theology, p. 199. 23 pope john paul ii, eclessia in africa, post apostolic exhortation. 2000, no. 42. http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jpii_exh_14091995_ecclesia-in-africa.html. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 5 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) only change the course of the intellectual history of africa, but has also affected the way the gospel message is proclaimed to the black continent24. since then, african theologians began to debate on the value of the gospel message announced to africans by western missionaries25. the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s were years of passionate and fruitful discussions. it is in this same spirit that this paper echoes the relevance of an african cultural perspective in the discourse on the theology of collaboration. the clause “african cultural perspective” is employed to reflect that every culture makes a contribution from its house of experience to the universal themes of theology, thus, making theology relevant to the reality of life. to speak of an african cultural perspective does not in any way undermine the differences obtainable in africa. it rather points to the many similarities and points of convergences in africa because of which a scholar can make limited generalizations26. theological imperatives for an african cultural perspective before we undertake the study of collaborative ministry within the context of an african cultural perspective, it would be necessary to investigate the imperatives for such a study. the imperatives are taken from the scripture and the history of the church. a. imperatives from the scripture jesus came from the jewish background whose religiosity, prayers and practices of worship were well defined. however, his attitude towards the jewish cult was one of fidelity and autonomy. in fidelity, jesus had respect for the traditions of his time. he came not to abolish the law and the prophets but to fulfill them (matthew 5:17). he was faithful in observing the offering of sacrifices in the temple (matthew 21:12), the service of word in the synagogue (matthew 6:6), observing the day of the sabbath, the feasts of passover, tabernacle, and dedication (matthew 26:17-19). however, his fidelity did not lie in passivity, but represented that of a “critical yes”, a reforming fidelity, that placed a demand of purification to the worship of his time. his autonomy found 24 bujo, b. and muya j. i. general introduction: african theology today. in bujo, b. and muya j. i. (eds.). african theology: the contribution of the pioneers. paulines, nairobi, 2006, p. 7. 25 bujo, b. and muya j. i. general introduction: african theology today., p. 7. 26 kanu, i. a., towards an igbo christology: a cultural christological construct in post-missionary africa. germany: lambert publications. 2016, p. 22. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 6 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) expression in his challenge to fellow jews to spiritualize and interiorize the jewish religion27. when jesus preached the gospel, he used categories familiar to his audience. we hear of absentee lords and tenant revolts (matthew 21:31-45); small familyrun farms (matthew 21:28-30); debts and debtors (matthew 18:25-35); extortion and corruption (luke 16:1-9); uncaring rich (luke 12:18); day labourers paid merely subsistent wages (matthew 20:1-6); these graphically reflect the detail of the picture of palestinian countryside during his time. st paul writes, “to the jews i became a jew, in other to win jews… i have become all things to all men that i might by all means save some” (9:20 & 22). in this context, st paul was talking about mission, in a way that brings the christian experience into the cultural experience of the people28. b. imperatives from church history justin the martyr holds that different cultures were inspired by god and should be appropriate for his service. he saw culture as a prefiguration of christ: a logos spermatikos (seed bearing word). he taught that the spermatic logos has been implanted in the heart of every human culture since all things were created through christ, with him and for him29. clement of alexander established a fundamental theorya harmony of faith and greek culture, which places greek philosophy at the service of faith. philosophy was necessary to the greeks for righteousness until the coming of the lord, and even now it is useful for the development of true religion, as a kind of preparatory discipline for those who arrive at faith by way of demonstration. … philosophy was given to the greeks directly; for it was a “schoolmaster”, to bring hellenism to christ, as the law was for the jew”30. as the church expanded from palestine to rome, it became clear that it was going into a new culture and would have to have new ways of expressing 27 kanu, a. i. towards an igbo-african christology: a cultural christological construct in post-missionary africa, p. 58 28 kanu, i. a. & b. a. c. obiefuna, inculturation as the reconciliation of cultures: implications from africae munus. a paper presented at the 27th annual conference/meeting of the catholic theological association of nigeria (cathan). april 20th 13th. at the redemptorist conference centre, ibadan, oyo state, 2012, p 12. 29 kanu, i. a. towards an igbo-african christology: a cultural christological construct in post-missionary africa, p. 59. 30 kanu, i. a. towards an igbo-african christology: a cultural christological construct in post-missionary africa, p.58 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 7 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) herself. in 312 constantine and licinius issued the edict of milan decriminalizing christian worship. this paved the way for the initiation of large numbers of people to christianity and the shaping of their belief systems on the greek and roman cultures. st augustine taught that “as faith runs on earth and takes its citizens from all nations and languages; and faith is not to be pre-occupied with customs, laws and institutions, neither is it to reject or destroy any of these, but rather it should observe and conserve them so that they do not constitute an obstacle to the religion that teaches the true worship of god”31. the african cosmology and inter-subjective relations the structure of the african cosmos is the basis for an african theology of collaboration. it is a universe of particularities that, however, exist in a thermodynamic systemwhere every creature as an independent but interacting entity, negotiates another’s existential highway for mutual survival32. negotiation is very important in the african universe because it is a world that one shares with the other in an atmosphere of inter-subjective relations. this inter-subjective relations only plays out without chaos when the individual is able to skillfully bridge his or her interiority with the individuality of the other. african universe has physical and spiritual dimensions. in the spirit realm, god represents the chief being, and sits at the apex of power. in the physical world, human beings dominate, occupying the central position in the scheme of god’s creation. the structure of the african universe can be illustrated in three levels: the sky, the earth and the underworld: “the sky is where god chukwu or chineke and angels reside; the earth where human beings, animals, natural resources, some devils and some physical observable realities abide; and the underworld where ancestors and some bad spirits live”33. the african universe persists because of a healthy inter-subjective relation. the spiritual and physical realms, although they have separate existence, interact. this is reflected in the above diagram as the three circles representing the spiritual worlds of (god), the spirits and the physical world of human beings 31 kanu, i. a. & elizabeth ezenweke, revisiting the lessons of the interaction between faith and culture in north africa. a paper presented at the international conference on sustainable development. vol. 8. no. 2. pp. 67-71. uyo: international research and development institute, 2012. 32 f. o. c. njoku, ana atutu igbo philosophy: an african perspective on the problem of identity and conflict resolution. goldline and jacobs publishers. usa, pp. 119. 33ijiomah, c. african philosophy’s contribution to the dialogue on reality issues. sankofa: journal of the humanities.3. 1. 81 – 90., 2005, p. 84. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 8 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) overlap and, therefore, interact. there is really no demarcation between the physical and spiritual worlds, between the visible and invisible, the sacred and profane; as there is a cooperate existence of reality in the african universe. this is seen in the fact of the possibility of certain elements to move from one structure to another to commune with other elements. in this interaction, human beings commune with god, the divinities, the ancestors and vice versa34. african anthropology the human person in african ontology was created by god, and this makes life sacred and thus deserving of respect and dignity. this is why the igbo-african bear the names: chi-nyere ndu: god gave life; nke-chi-yere: the one god has given; chi-n’eye ndu: god gives life; chi-nwendu: god owns life; chi-ji-ndu: god owns life. among the yoruba such names also abound: araoluwa – wonder of god; araoluwanimi – i am god’s wonder; ayanfeoluwanimi – i am god’s beloved; ereadura – reward of prayers; eriadurami – testimony of my prayer; ewaoluwa – beauty of god. it is because the human person is understood as ewaoluwa – beauty of god that the igbo cannot but call the human person mmadu, which means that ‘there is beauty’. the human person is not mmadu because he or she has a physical beauty. if it were based on this then many human beings would be referred to as ‘njodu’ (there is ugliness). we are mmadu because of our ontological connection with god who is beauty itself. the divine presence in us, which one could refer to as the chithe spark of the divine in all human beings, provides a unity even in the midst of the plurality of humanity. this unity helps us to develop a philosophy of relationship with the other, ibem. the igbo would refer to the ‘other’ as ibe, which means ‘a piece of’ or ‘a part of’, as in ibe anu (a piece of meat) or ibe ede (a piece of cocoyam). since the ‘other’ refers to my own piece, it would, mean that to love the other is to love oneself, to help the other is to help oneself and to respect the other is to respect oneself. in a paradoxical way ekwulu writes that: the term ibe brings out the reciprocity tension between the self and the other. the self is always implicated in the other. the self’s reference to the other always points back to the self. i am, as it were, in the other and the other is in me. he is my piece as i am his piece. that which is different 34 ekwealor, c. c. the igbo world-view: a general survey. e. oguegbu (ed.). the humanities and all of us (pp.29-33). onitsha: waterside, 1990, p.30. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 9 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) from me is ‘my piece’ or ‘my other’. that which is different from us is part of us35. one can, therefore, argue that the differences among human beings is absolved in identity, for that which is different from me is part of me, ibe m, and, in turn, identity is absolved in the otherness, because i am part of the other who is different from me. identity and otherness are in a sense two related concepts, for the one implies the other36. this anthropology can be a solid ground for constructing an african theology of collaboration. african cultural models of collaboration the idea of models employed here is within the context of a proposal that would serve as a basis for further study in the area of collaboration from an african perspective. while they might look strange, this proposal is in harmony with the economy of the incarnation and the teaching of ad gentes that calls for borrowing from the customs, traditions, wisdom and learning of local people. in harmony with the economy of the incarnation, the young churches, rooted in christ and built up on the foundation of the apostles, take to themselves in a wonderful exchange all the riches of the nations which were given to christ as an inheritance (cf ps. 2:8). they borrow from the customs and traditions of their people, from their wisdom and their learning, from their arts and disciplines, all those things which can contribute to the glory of their creator, or enhance the grace of their savior, or dispose christian life the way it should be37. ad gentes teaches further: from here… the christian life will be accommodated to the genius and the dispositions of each culture. particular traditions, together with the peculiar patrimony of each family of nations, illumined by the light of the gospel, can then be taken up into catholic unity. finally, the young particular churches, adorned with their own traditions, will have their own place in the ecclesiastical communion, saving always the primacy of peter's see, which presides over the entire assembly of charity38. 35 ekwulu, b. i. igbo concept of ibe (the other) as a philosophical solution to the ethnic conflicts in african countries. in b. i. ekwulu (ed.). philosophical reflections on african issues, 2010, p. 188. 36 kanu, i. a. african philosophy, identity and the otherness. a paper presented at the philosophy week of saint thomas aquinas major seminary, school auditorium, makurdi, benue state 13th may, 2017, p. 10. 37 ad gentes, decree on the missionary activity of the church, no. 22 38 ad gentes, decree on the missionary activity of the church, no. 22 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 10 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) in this regard, five african cultural models of collaboration would be entertained. and although they are treated as different models of collaboration, the nature of the african worldview, allows for an interaction in meaning. a. the ‘nri’ negotiative model of collaboration the story of the igbo, no matter how briefly considered, would be incomplete if one omits the eri-nri contribution39. tracing this history, afigbo avers that eri clan originated from the regions of omumbala river, in aguleri; from there they fanned eastward and established various communities40. uzukwu describes eri as the father of all nri; and tradition says that he came from chukwu41. it is reported that the earth was not firm when he came into it. to solve the problem of flood, he employed blacksmiths from awka to use their bellows to dry the flooded land. there was also no food for people on earth to eat. to provide food, he prayed to god and god demanded that he should sacrifice his first son and daughter to him. after the sacrifice and burial of his son and daughter, yam and palm tree began to grow out of the place where he buried his first son, while vegetables and cocoyam grew out of the place where he buried his daughter. if yam germinated from where eri’s first son was burried, it means that yam is the resurrected son of eri, given to man to sustain life. yam is also regarded as life42. in this myth, there is a cosmic drama between god, human beings, land and crops. eri, the civilization hero enjoys a special relationship with chukwu, and through eri’s sacrifice, humanity now enjoys a special relationship with the land which offers food for its sustenance. the ritual act performed by eri established a covenant between eri, his descendants and chukwu. this explains why yam is very prominent in igbo sacrifice and life, one which warrants its annual elaborate festival throughout igbo land43. these notwithstanding, we draw from this myth that collaboration can guarantee the survival of a people. where there is no collaboration, even 39 madubuko, l. igbo world-view. bigard theological studies. 1994, 14, 2. 13. 40 afigbo, a. e. ropes of sand: studies in igbo history and culture. ibadan, 1981, p.48. 41 uzukwu, e. e. nri myth of origin and its ritualization: an essay in interpretation. in e. e. uzukwu (ed.). religions and african culture, inculturation: a nigeria perspective (pp. 56-80). enugu: spiritan publications. 1994, p.73. 42 madu, e. j. honest to african cultural heritage. coskan associates, onitsha, 2004, p. 43 43 madu, e. j. honest to african cultural heritage. p. 44. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 11 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) the most self-sufficient in the ranks of creatures would find it difficult to survive. b. the ‘ife’ thermodynamic model of collaboration very interesting is the yoruba mythology of creation, which can serve as a basis for an african theology of collaboration. the myth holds that olodumare, the supreme god, originally lived in the lower part of heaven, overlooking endless stretches of water. one day, olodumare decided to create earth. he sent an emissary, the orisha obatalá to perform this task, giving him what he needed to create the world: a bag of loose earth, a gold chain, and a five-toed hen44. these different elements had their purposes. obatalá was instructed to use the chain to descend from heaven to the water below. when he got to the last link of the chain, he poured the loose earth on top of the water and placed the hen on the pile of earth, and ordered it to scatter the earth with her toes across the surface of the water. when the hen was done, obatalá climbed the chain to heaven to report his success to olodumare, who then sent his trusted assistant, the chameleon, to verify that the earth was dry, after which olodumare gave the earth as name: ile ife, the sacred house45. after the creation of the earth, olodumare returned to the uppermost part of heaven. however, before his retirement, he distributed his sacred powers to obatalá, the orisha of creation, and yemayá, the orisha of the ocean, who gave birth to a pantheon of orishas, each possessing a share of olodumare's sacred power. olodumare gave obatalá the sacred power to create human life. obatalá was the divinity that created our ancestors, endowing them with his own divine power46. from this creation myth, we draw that in collaboration, you share power, and by sharing power, you do not lose power as a leader but balances power. this perspective is very important as collaboration may wrongly be understood as loss of power or control. 44 marta moreno vega, "the altar of my soul: the living traditions of santeria," one world/ballantine, 2001. http://www.religioustolerance.org/ifa.htm 45 marta moreno vega, "the altar of my soul: the living traditions of santeria," one world/ballantine, 2001. http://www.religioustolerance.org/ifa.htm 46 marta moreno vega, "the altar of my soul: the living traditions of santeria," one world/ballantine, 2001. http://www.religioustolerance.org/ifa.htm igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 12 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) c. the ‘kola nut’ symbiotic model of collaboration of the many cultural symbols in igboland, none has received attention like the kola nut. it is very important and central to the life and ceremonies of the igbo47. for the igbo it goes beyond the red and yellow seed that you find in trays sold on the street and in kiosks. it is not just the biannual crop grown and stored in sacks and baskets socked with water to preserve it. it is not just the seed crops grown in the central and western parts of africa. it is more than all these. it is a food that must be eaten with relish; it commands adoration and many accolades and must be attended to with deserving feast48. it is a holy communion that unites the living and dead. it symbolizes a feast of togetherness, love and trust. the kola nut is a symbol of life ndu, this is why the igbo say: “he that brings kola brings life”, and to share in it is to be part of the project of the preservation of life. it is, therefore, not surprising that the poetry of the kola breaks the day for the typical igbo49. every kola can be broken into lobes, and these lobes signify numbers. and number is very important for the african. some have 2 lobes, some 3, some 4, some 5 and some 6. kola nut with two lobes is a dumb kola and is not eaten because it is understood as the kola of the spirits. when it has three lobes, it is called the kola of the valiant. as a matter of principle it is eaten only by warriors, brave men, the consecrated or ordained. the kola with four lobes is the kola of peace and blessings50. it is a sign of completeness and signifies four market days in igbo society. the kola with five lobes is the kola of procreation, protection and good luck. the kola with six lobes is indicative of communion with the ancestors. no wonder the smallest part of it is not eaten but given to the ancestors51. this notwithstanding, among the lobes, there is always a female and male lobe. when these lobes stay together they remain alive, but when they separate they die and dry off. their togetherness is a symbol of life, and their separation, death. it’s a symbiotic relationship in the sense that they 47 philips nwachukwu. what is this about kola nut in igbo land? vanguard newspaper. https://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/04/what-is-this-about-kolanut-in-igboland. 48 philips nwachukwu. what is this about kola nut in igbo land? 49 philips nwachukwu. what is this about kola nut in igbo land? 50 jon ofoegbu ukaegbu, the kola nut: as an igbo cultural and social symbol. igbonet. http://kolanutseries.igbonet.com/jukaegbu. 51 jon ofoegbu ukaegbu, the kola nut: as an igbo cultural and social symbol igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 13 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) need each other to remain alive. here in, the concepts of co-essentiality and co-responsibility begin to make a profound meaning. d. proverbial model of collaboration one of the major traditional vessels where african philosophy, religion and culture have continued to be preserved is in african proverb. mbiti writes that: “it is in proverbs that we find the remains of the oldest forms of african religious and philosophical wisdom”52. their relevance in african life and philosophy is the basis for the igbo referring to them as vegetables for eating speech and as the palm oil with which words are eaten. the zulu of southern africa describe proverbs thus: without proverbs, language would be but a skeleton without flesh, a body without a soul. the yoruba would say that proverbs are horses for chasing missing words53. proverbs are very important for our study of collaborative ministry within the context of the african cultural setting because they contain the wisdom and experience of the african people, usually of several ages gathered and summed up in one expression. proverbs spring from the people and represent the voice of the people and express the interpretation of their beliefs, principles of life and conduct. it expresses the moral attitudes of a given culture, and reflects the hopes, achievements and failings of a people54. 1. a person is a person because of other people it speaks of the importance of alterity in collaboration 2. sticks in a bundle cannot be broken it speaks of the importance of collaboration 3. when spiders unite they can tie up a lion it speaks of the power of relating with the other 4. if one finger tries to pick up something from the ground, it cannot it speaks of the ontological need for collaboration 5. behind an able man there are always other able men it speaks of our achievements as the result of collaboration 6. it takes a village to raise a child it speaks of the other as a complementary force 7. if you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together it speaks of the fact that you need the strength of others to reach self-realization 52 john mbiti, african religions and philosophy. east african education publishers, nairobi, 1969, p. 89. 53 kanu i. a., a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, philosophy and theology. augustinian publications, nigeria, 2015, p. 65 54 kanu i. a., african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. augustinian publications, nigeria, 2015, pp. 55-56. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 14 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 8. i am because we are, and since we are, therefore, i am your existence is ontologically linked with that of the other 9. if a lizard stays off from the foot of a tree, it would be caught it speaks of the danger of avoiding collaboration 10. a tree does not make a forest it speaks of the incompleteness of being without the other 11. if two or more people urinate in the same place at the same time, it would produce more foam if more impact must be made, then collaboration is indispensable 12. when a bird builds its nest it uses the feathers of other birds we have to collaborate with other people to get the job done 13. one person is not the whole world strength is in collaboration 14. it is by taking a goat around that you are able to sell it it speaks of the importance of meeting the other e. the ‘choosy princess’ complementary model of collaboration there was once a choosy princess who turned down the requests of those who asked for her hand in marriage. her father was disturbed because of her choosy attitude and made public that any man who would win the love of his daughter would have half of his kingdom given to him. this was heard by a python that lived in the river and immediately it went about borrowing the parts of the human body and when it looked fully human, physically, it stormed the palace of the king in a grand style. immediately the princess saw the human python, she was attracted to him, fell in love and decided to marry him. the human python departed with her and owned half of the wealth of the kingdom as the king had promised. when the python was returning with her to his home, just before the river, it turned into a python and went into the river with the princess. those who witnessed this brought word back to the king that his son-in-law is not a human being but a python55. this bordered the king who assembled the wise men in his kingdom for a way forward towards rescuing the princess. they came to the decision that to rescue her, extraordinary talents would be required for the mission. this included professionals like: a boat rider, a thief, a carpenter, a diviner, a hunter and a swimmer. when they got to the river, and did not know where to begin to find her, the diviner did some incantations and found 55 kanu i. a., sources of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. 9. 1. 1-23. june 2017. p. 10. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 15 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) out where the princess was hidden by the python. having discovered her, the thief went into the river and stole the princess from where she was hidden. he handed her over to the skillful swimmer who immediately moved with her behind him. at this point, the python woke up from its slumber and angrily went after the swimmer. this was when the hunter came in and fired at the python. while the boat rider was heading to the shore with her, the anger of the python was stirred and it hit hard on the boat damaging a good part of it; and to save the boat from sinking the carpenter came in and mended the damaged part of the boat that they may continue on their journey. with a combined effort, the team was able to take the princess back to the king56. we draw from this story that our differences are a basis for collaboration. even what we consider as a negative potential in the other, like the case of the thief in the story, when properly harnessed can be very useful. thus, weakness is not a reason for not collaborating. articulating an african cultural perspective of collaboration a discourse on collaborative ministry that requires an african cultural perspective would be almost incomplete if reference to the document on the first special assembly for africa of the synod of bishops held in rome in april and may 1994, was neglected. such exclusion would be even more serious considering that we are dealing with a topic which was at the heart of the key contributions of the african synod. in this document, the synod fathers expressed the relevance of cultural perspectives in theological discourses. the synod observed that the structure of the african socio-political life, which is, the family and community is a key, not just for understanding the african life and philosophy, but also for important theological discussions that pertain to africa: in african culture and tradition the role of the family is everywhere held to be fundamental. …african cultures have an acute sense of solidarity and community life. in africa it is unthinkable to celebrate a feast without the participation of the whole village. indeed, community life in african societies expresses the extended family. it is my ardent hope and prayer that africa will always preserve this priceless cultural heritage and never 56 kanu i. a., sources of igwebuike philosophy. p. 11. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 16 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) succumb to the temptation to individualism, which is so alien to its best traditions57. the african family functions by way of shared responsibilities. everyone is consulted, before decisions concerning the family are taken. when a task is to be performed, everyone gets his or her own share, regardless of age, gender or status. the result is that success is everyone’s success, and failure is everyone’s failure58. to take advantage of this cultural structure already disposed towards the gospel, the synod fathers stressed the particular importance of inculturation. and by inculturation they meant: …the process by which "catechesis 'takes flesh' in the various cultures".(86) inculturation includes two dimensions: on the one hand, "the intimate transformation of authentic cultural values through their integration in christianity" and, on the other, "the insertion of christianity in the various human cultures".59 inserting christianity into the african culture in a way that the gospel message would become culture and the african culture become a christian message, the synod fathers developed the ecclesiology of the church as god's family, enriching ecclesiology from africa’s rich cultural heritage, and taking this as its guiding principle for the evangelization of africa. the synod, therefore, acknowledged the family as: …an expression of the church's nature particularly appropriate for africa. for this image emphasizes care for others, solidarity, warmth in human relationships, acceptance, dialogue and trust. the new evangelization will thus aim at building up the church as family, avoiding all ethnocentrism and excessive particularism, trying instead to encourage reconciliation and true communion between different ethnic groups, favouring solidarity and the sharing of personnel and resources among the particular churches, without undue ethnic considerations60. 57 pope john paul ii, eclessia in africa, post apostolic exhortation. 2000, no. 43. http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jpii_exh_14091995_ecclesia-in-africa.html 58 john aniagwu. collabotaive ministry in the church. unpublished material. 2013, p.8 59 pope john paul ii, eclessia in africa, post apostolic exhortation. 1995, no. 58. 60 pope john paul ii, eclessia in africa, post apostolic exhortation. 1995, no. 63. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 17 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) an important element which cannot be neglected in the idea of church as family is the reality of openness to dialogue, without which there can’t be collaboration. for the african, this begins from the family. it is in the family that the art of dialogue is learnt, and further extended to other persons or communities outside of the family. the synod fathers did not only observe that dialogue was crucial to evangelization, but saw collaboration as an important aspect of dialogue that should exist within each particular church: dialogue is to be practised first of all within the family of the church at all levels: between bishops, episcopal conferences or hierarchical assemblies and the apostolic see, between conferences or episcopal assemblies of the different nations of the same continent and those of other continents, and within each particular church between the bishop, the presbyterate, consecrated persons, pastoral workers and the lay faithful; and also between different rites within the same church61. although the african world is one of relationships, it is also a chaotic universe where conflicts are very possible and sometimes unavoidable. what is required of the individual african is not to brood over a world that is chaotic or to create a world where chaos is absent, but to negotiate the other’s existential highway for mutual survival in the midst of the struggles, ironies and weariness of the present world. this is important as chaos is a fundamental ground for coming into being in african ontology. this notwithstanding, conflicts in african ontology are regulated through covenants. “a covenant is a solemn pact made binding by an oath by which people establish relations to henceforth treat themselves and their relatives”62. it is the covenant that guarantees impartiality among the covenant parties63, mutual treatment and rights of partners, and respects due to their persons and property. covenants provide the principles of truth and justice, and thus the part towards mutual co-existence. this helps us to understand why there is always an emphasis on the signing of contracts and agreements. wherever and whenever a covenant is made and respected, a new life of relationship is born in the world. 61 pope john paul ii, eclessia in africa, post apostolic exhortation. 1995, no. 65. 62 f. o. c. njoku, ana atutu igbo philosophy: an african perspective on the problem of identity and conflict resolution. goldline and jacobs publishers. 2014, usa, p. 120. 63 f. o. c. njoku, a perspective of an african philosophy on the problems of identity and conflict resolution. mbari: the international journal of igbo studies. 1. 1. 2008. pp.40-41. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 18 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) the complementary nature of the african cosmos is another cultural element that enriches our discourse on the theology of collaboration. it is in fact, a preparation for the second vatican council’s concept of shared mission: est in ecclesia unitas missionis, pluralitas autem ministerii (in the church there is unity of mission and plurality of ministries). in the african universe, power is generated, shared and exercised. it is a universe of powers, with a rhythm that is a response to the exercise of power. god is the most powerful force and the initiator of movements, including collaboration. what we actually do in collaborative ministry is that we share in the ultimate power’s power and generatively bestow power. in most cases where collaborative ministry fails, it is because people understand power as an element to be grabbed rather than shared. the distribution of power is resisted by authorities in many occasions for fear of diminution. the result is that rather than creating a balance of power, we create an environment of conflict and competition rather than cooperation. certainty, sureness and creativity is denied, while the gifts of the other are left unused and thus mismanaged. as a result of the african’s holistic awareness of belonging to a universe, in which everything is interconnected64, when he or she engages in collaboration, it is understood as fulfilling the mission of god, since it is a movement that begins from heaven to the earth, to humanity, in which we are involved and engaged. our collaboration with one another is, therefore, in a way, a partnership with god for the fulfillment of his purpose. this is very different from the western conceptualization scheme. from the cartesian model, the western pattern of thought is exclusivistic, depersonalized, objectivised and more concerned with analysis65; the african scheme of conceptualization is inclusivistic, integrative, non-reductionistic, concrete, personalized and subjectivised in all its manifestations, expressing the interconnectedness of realitya world of relationship, harmony, continuality and complementarity. the dualistic and exclusivistic western perception of reality understands a person in relation to the other in terms of “i and not-i”. this creates a dichotomy that brings in a strong divide between the “i and the other”, which could set groups and individuals against themselves66. 64 jose cristo rey garcia paredes, ‘collaborative ministry’: consecrated life within the ecology of mission, p. 56. 65 kanu, i. a. african philosophy, globalisation and the priority of otherness. a paper presented at the 2017 philosophy week of saint thomas aquinas major seminary, makurdi, benue state chapter of the nigerian major seminaries association of philosophy students. on 13th may, 2017, p. 8. 66 kanu, ikechukwu a. igwebuike as a hermeneutical hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. a paper presented at the 5th international annual conference of the association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars, held on 28th june, at the pg school auditorium, 2017, p. 7. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 19 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) for the african, the ‘other’ is part of him or her. it is not an exclusive ‘other’, but an ‘other’ that is part of himself or herself. this has huge consequences in his or her understanding of the theology of collaboration; the approach towards mission is done from the angle of concrete ecclesial community, and not from the perspective of the individual person and function. when there is an emphasis on the individual person and function, the consequence is the empowering of the individual sense of call, the basis for the consciousness of spiritual superiority and hierarchical relations, and the neglect of the community sense of mission which continuous to impede the development of a richer theology of mission in the church. and this is a major contribution that an african cultural perspective makes to the theology of collaboration. conclusion the foregoing has studied the african cultural perspective of collaborative ministry. it began by asking the question as regards what the african/cultural perspective has to offer in relation to a discourse on collaborative ministry. having discovered the rich african cultural background, it developed imperatives for an african cultural perspective from the roots of scripture and church history. since we are dealing with the african/cultural worldview, this piece also ventured into a study of the african worldview from which was developed african cultural models for collaboration. these models were developed from africa’s rich religious and cultural heritage, from african proverbs, mythologies and parables. rising beyond the literal understanding of these heritages, the meanings echoing from behind the words were captured in view of their relevance to the development of an african theology of collaboration in the ecology of mission. in the past decades, scholars from different backgrounds have discussed the theology of collaborative ministry. and each scholar has added to the development of the concept from his or her own rich cultural and theological background. collaboration is obviously a developing concept. it is, therefore, not surprising that competing terms have continued to emerge: total ministry67, local shared ministry, every member ministry, shared mission68. as a developing concept, an african cultural perspective is very relevant and timely, as it would bring about the emergence of a theology of collaboration that is richer 67 s. c. zabriske, total ministry. university of nottingham. alban institute, new york, 1991, p. 26. 68 jose cristo rey garcia paredes, ‘collaborative ministry’: consecrated life within the ecology of mission. in kanu i. a. (ed.) consecrated persons and mutual relations: the dynamics of collaboration within the ecology of mission (pp. 56-75), decent global, lagos, 2018, p. 56. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 20 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) in content. the relevance of pluralistic perspectives cannot be undermined in our age of globalization. references afigbo, a. e., ropes of sand: studies in igbo history and culture. oxford: oxford university press, 1981. bujo, b. and muya j. i. general introduction: african theology today. in bujo, b. and muya j. i. (eds.). african theology: the contribution of the pioneers. paulines, nairobi. ekwealor, c. c., the igbo world-view: a general survey. e. oguegbu (ed.). the humanities and all of us (pp.29-33). onisha: watehword, 1990. ekwulu, b. i., igbo concept of ibe (the other) as a philosophical solution to the ethnic conflicts in african countries. in b. i. ekwulu (ed.). philosophical reflections on african issues, 2010. njoku, f. o. c., a perspective of an african philosophy on the problems of identity and conflict resolution. mbari: the international journal of igbo studies. 1. 1. 2008. njoku, f. o. c., ana atutu igbo philosophy: an african perspective on the problem of identity and conflict resolution. goldline and jacobs publishers. usa, 2015. njoku, f. o. c., essays in african philosophy, thought and theology. snaap press, enugu. gaudium et spes, in a. flannery (ed). documents of the second vatican council (pp.903-1001). dublin: dominican publications, 1965. gobineau, a. the inequality of human race. london: william heinemann, 1915. goldman and w. m. kahnweiler. a collaborator profile of executives of nonprofit organizations. non profit management leadership. 10, 2000, pp. 434450. hegel, g. w. f., the philosophy of history. new york: dover, 1956. ijiomah, c., african philosophy’s contribution to the dialogue on reality issues. sankofa: journal of the humanities.3. 1. 81 – 90, 2005. innocent onyewuenyi, the african origin of greek philosophy. university of nigeria press, enugu, 1994. john mbiti, african religions and philosophy. east african education publishers, nairobi, 1969. jon ofoegbu ukaegbu, the kola nut: as an igbo cultural and social symbol. igbonet. http://kolanutseries.igbonet.com/jukaegbu. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 21 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) jose cristo rey garcia paredes, ‘collaborative ministry’: consecrated life within the ecology of mission. in kanu i. a. (ed.) consecrated persons and mutual relations: the dynamics of collaboration within the ecology of mission (pp. 56-75), decent global, lagos, 2018. joseph ogbonnaya, african liberative theologies. in introducing african liberative theologies (pp. 26-46), marquette university, e-publications, 2015. kanu i. a. introduction. in kanu i. a. (ed.) consecrated persons and mutual relations: the dynamics of collaboration within the ecology of mission (pp. 4-5), decent global, lagos, 2018. kanu i. a. the theological foundations of mutual relations. in kanu i. a. (ed.) consecrated persons and mutual relations: the dynamics of collaboration within the ecology of mission (pp. 4-5). decent global, lagos, 2018. kanu i. a., a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, philosophy and theology. augustinian publications, nigeria, 2015. kanu i. a., african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. augustinian publications, nigeria, 2015. kanu i. a., sources of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. 9. 1. 1-23. june 2017. kanu, a. i. towards an igbo-african christology: a cultural christologial construct in post-missionary africa. lambert, germany, 2017. kanu, i. a. & b. a. c. obiefuna. inculturation as the reconciliation of cultures: implications from africae munus. a paper presented at the 27th annual conference/meeting of the catholic theological association of nigeria (cathan). april 20th 13th. at the redemptorist conference centre, ibadan, oyo state, 2012. kanu, i. a. & elizabeth ezenweke, revisiting the lessons of the interaction between faith and culture in north africa. a paper presented at the international conference on sustainable development. vol. 8. no. 2. pp. 67-71. uyo: international research and development institute, 2012. kanu, i. a. african philosophy, globalisation and the priority of otherness. a paper presented at the 2017 philosophy week of saint thomas aquinas major seminary, makurdi, benue state chapter of the nigerian major seminaries association of philosophy students. on 13th may, 2017. kanu, i. a. african philosophy, identity and the otherness. a paper presented at the philosophy week of saint thomas aquinas major seminary, school auditorium, makurdi, benue state 13th may, 2017. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 22 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) kanu, i. a. an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. augustinian publications, nigeria, 2015. kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a hermeneutical hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. a paper presented at the 5th international annual conference of the association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars, held on 28th june, at the pg school auditorium. kung h. the church. new york: image books.1981. linnaeus, c., system of nature. stockholm: laurentius salvius, 1758. lumen gentium, in a. flannery (ed). documents of the second vatican council (pp.350-428). dublin: dominican publications, 1964. madu, e. j. honest to african cultural heritage. coskan associates, onitsha, 2004. madubuko, l., igbo world-view. bigard theological studies. 14, 2. 13, 1994. marta moreno vega, the altar of my soul: the living traditions of santeria. one world/ballantine, 2001. http://www.religioustolerance.org/ifa.htm philips nwachukwu. what is this about kola nut in igbo land? vanguard newspaper. https://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/04/what-is-thisabout-kolanut-in-igboland. john paul ii, eclessia in africa, post apostolic exhortation. 2000, no. 42. http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paulii/en/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_14091995_ecclesiain-africa.html zabriske, s. c., total ministry. university of nottingham. alban institute, new york, 1991. uzukwu, e. e., nri myth of origin and its ritualization: an essay in interpretation. in e. e. uzukwu (ed.). religions and african culture, inculturation: a nigeria perspective (pp. 56-80). enugu: spiritan publications, 1988. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 5.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 1 epistemological implications of igwebuike philosophy anetoh bonaventure chike, phd department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university, umunya anambra state anetohbonaventure@yahoo.com abstract this work has examined the concept of igwebuike philosophy as articulated by kanu ikechukwu anthony as well as its epistemological implications. by all standards, igwebuike philosophy is a landmark in the history of contemporary african philosophy. this is as a result of its various applications to different aspects of philosophy and human endeavour, and most importantly, because of its unique contributions to the growth and development of knowledge in general. the discourse in this study has actually demonstrated the epistemological implications of igwebuike philosophy. generally, igwebuike philosophy has contributed its own quota towards the improvement of human condition of existence in the universe. with its emphasis on complementarity, solidarity and togetherness, it tries to rediscover and recapture the core traditional african cultural values. for the purpose of this research, the igwebuike method of research has been employed. keywords: igwebuike, philosophy, epistemology, kanu ikechukwu anthony, complementarity introduction this study examines the epistemological implications of igwebuike philosophy. igwebuike philosophy is one of the major contributions of kanu ikechukwu anthony to the world of knowledge. kanu ikechukwu anthony is a renowned and seasoned scholar as well as a reputable researcher in the disciplines of philosophy and religion. his idea of igwebuike philosophy is a landmark in the history of contemporary african philosophy. it rests on the igbo word igwebuike, which is the modality of being in igbo-african philosophy, and at the same time the underlying principle of african philosophy and religion. the fundamental questions are: what is igwebuike philosophy? what are the sources of igwebuike philosophy? what is epistemology? has igwebuike philosophy epistemological implications? if yes, what are the epistemological implications of igwebuike philosophy? this study examines the concept of igwebuike philosophy and argues that it has enormous epistemological implications. philosophical methods of analysis and hermeneutics are employed in this study to unravel the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 2 epistemological implications of igwebuike philosophy. the study maintains that igwebuike philosophy, with its emphasis on complementarity, solidarity, togetherness etc. has contributed immensely towards the growth as well as development of knowledge, and through such, has improved human condition of existence in the universe. the concept of igwebuike philosophy kanu ikechukwu anthony articulated igwebuike philosophy as a trend in african philosophy. this section of the study centers on the clarification of the concept of igwebuike philosophy. conceptual clarification is very necessary in every philosophical investigation. thus, there is need to analyze the concept of igwebuike philosophy in order to appreciate the discourse in this study. igwebuike is an igbo word as well as expression. explaining the meaning of igwebuike, kanu ikechukwu anthony states: it is an igbo word, which is a combination of three words. thus, it can be understood as a word and as a sentence: as a word, it is written thus, igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. let us try to understand the three words involved: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a large number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is a noun, which means strength or power. put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force. at this level, no task is beyond their collective capability. this provides an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations.1 this implies that number is force, and when the number increases, the force also increases. thus, number is associated with power and force. this brings out very vividly the communal aspect of life in the traditional african society. the strength of many people put together cannot be compared to that of an individual. igwebuike is not only an igbo word or expression, it is also an ideology. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 3 as an ideology, igwebuike rests on the african principles of solidarity and complementarity. it argues that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is ‘to be with the other’, in a community of beings. this is based on the african philosophy of community, which is the underlying principle and unity of african traditional religious and philosophical experience. (kanu, ikechukwu anthony, ‘igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy’, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol.2 no 1, march 2016,pp.110-111) ideologically, igwebuike philosophy emphasizes togetherness and solidarity which are of great importance in human life. such togetherness and solidarity throw light to the ‘sense of community life’ in traditional african society. obviously, ‘sense of community’ is among the cultural values of the traditional africans. oliver a. onwubiko attests to this thus: communalism in africa is a system that is both suprasensble and material in its terms of reference. both are found in a society that is believed by the africans to be originally “godmade” because it transcends the people who live in it now, and it is “man-made” because it cannot be culturally understood independent of those who live in it now. therefore, the authentic african is known and identified in, by and through his community. the community is the custodian of the individual, hence he must go where the community goes.2 however, it seems that such communalism is gradually disappearing in the contemporary african society as a result of contact with western culture as well as scientific and technological advancement. hence, there is need to rediscover such value as its importance can never be over emphasized especially in the area of mutual co-existence in the society. furthermore, kanu anthony ikechukwu argues that “igwebuike in igboafrican philosophy is the modality of being.”3 from this perspective, it could be said to be the mode of existence in the universe for the africans. it ought to be noted that ‘being’ is a metaphysical concept, and anything that exists, is a being. this includes real, ideal and logical beings. it igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 4 presupposes that igwebuike, as the modality of being in igbo-african philosophy, has ontological status. it is also based and centered on african cosmology, and cannot be separated from african world-view. igwebuike is based on the african cosmology, which according to iroegbu (1994) is characterized by a common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny. igwebuike is the underlining principle of african philosophy and religion. it is the unity of the african philosophical experience. it is in fact, the fundamental category of african philosophy and religion. it is the substratum of african traditional values, philosophy and religion.4 from the foregoing, it is clear that both african philosophy and religion revolve around igwebuike. it is therefore at the core of african identity. kanu argued consistently that igwebuike philosophy is based on complementarity, hospitality, respect for elders, solidarity, honesty, friendship and respect for life.5 obviously, these are core traditional african cultural values, and they are the essential ingredients of igwebuike philosophy. the implication of this is that igwebuike philosophy cannot be separated from traditional african cultural values. this is as a result of the fact that igwebuike philosophy is deeply rooted in them. he elaborates further thus: igwebuike philosophy is based on the igbo-african worldview of complementarity, that is, the manner of being in african ontology. it is a worldview in which individuating differences must work towards a corporate existence where the 'i' does not stand as the 'i' this kind, difference does not divide neither does it constitute a threat, but rather unites and gives hope that future existence would have meaning. in a cosmogony of this kind, while the ontology of the person is founded on the particularity of the individual, implying that it is the metaphysics of the particular that founds identity, it igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 5 is the community that gives meaning to such an existence and grounds such an identity.6 so far the researcher has tried to examine the concept of igwebuike philosophy as articulated by kanu ikechukwu anthony. at this juncture, there is need to pause a while and ask this fundamental question: what are the sources of igwebuike philosophy? this question is of great importance because awareness of the sources of igwebuike philosophy would enable one understand its tenets better. igwebuike philosophy does not exist from the air. it has its sources. suffice it to say that igwebuike philosophy has african socio-cultural background. in the words of kanu: “a cursory glance at the african sociocultural background reveals that the sources of igwebuike philosophy include the works of professional african philosophers, african proverbs, african folk tales, african myths, african symbols, african names and african songs.”7 thus, for one to understand igwebuike philosophy properly, one must pay serious attention to african folk tales, myths, symbols, songs, names etc. these are quite very necessary in unraveling the rich treasures of igwebuike philosophy. it must be noted that these african socio-cultural realities that serve as sources of igwebuike philosophy are not in themselves igwebuike philosophy but can only give rise to that through proper philosophical interpretations. this idea completely agrees with theophilius okere’s view that ‘hermeneutics’ which is an act of interpretation, is the mediator between culture and philosophy. in the words of theophilius okere: “…it is only within the context of hermeneutics that african culture can give birth to african philosophy.”8 this underscores the deep relationship between culture and philosophy. kanu anthony ikechukwu elaborates on this but with particular reference to igwebuike philosophy thus: the major concern here is the relationship between african philosophy and culture as it concerns igwebuike philosophy. this is very significant as igwebuike is the underlining principle of african philosophy, which is based on the african worldview. a very important part of our african culture include: proverbs, folktales, myths, rites, songs, ceremonies, festivals, symbols, etc. while these are part of our african culture they do not qualify to be referred to as african philosophy simply because they belong to a world that was taken for granted, a world of dogmatism igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 6 and conservatism. they have rarely received the light of reason and thus, their inner meanings or philosophical underpinnings are yet to be interpreted or grasped. however, although they are not philosophies, they qualify as spring boards from which philosophy can emerge, through a hermeneutical interpretation of these cultural elements can bring about the emergence of african philosophy. it is within this understanding, that this work studies african names, african proverbs, folktales, songs, myths, symbols as sources of igwebuike philosophy; not as philosophy in themselves, but as sources of igwebuike philosophy.9 hence, it is quite clear that igwebuike philosophy has an african socio-cultural background and cannot be separated from such. it is this african socio-cultural background that gives igwebuike philosophy its specific identity. this is as a result of the fact that it is deeply grounded in such background. in his different but related works on igwebuike philosophy, he applied the concept of igwebuike philosophy to different aspects of philosophy and human endeavour. however, this study limits itself to the analysis of the application of igwebuike philosophy to the domains african philosophy, philosophy of education, hermeneutics of globalization and african bioethics. in the domain of african philosophy, he argues consistently and strongly that igwebuike philosophy is a trend as well as a school of thought in african philosophy. just as other trends in african philosophy, it has its unique features. its basic tenets as a school of thought in african philosophy include the following: it is ontological and existential in character, and in this way, it makes a difficult synthesis of the basic and positive elements of the universalist school and particularist school for the generation of a new thesis for african philosophy. as igwebuike means “there is strength in unity”, it believes that the harnessing of the positive energies of the universalist and particularist schools would bring about the advancement of african philosophy. ontologically, it emphasizes the universal character of philosophy, existentially, it respects the regional igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 7 character of african philosophy, that is, its africanness, with africa being the locale for the philosophical investigation. it strongly believes that universality and particularity are congenial in the sense that they need each other to remain germane and perennial, to remain contextually intelligible and of standard universally.10 igwebuike school of thought in african philosophy is really eclectic in nature, and it is quite in agreement with the concept of igwebuike as an igbo ideology. its eclectic approach in african philosophy harnesses the rich treasures of other schools in an attempt to articulate a balanced notion of african philosophy that overcomes the limitations as well as the weaknesses of other schools of thought in african philosophy. thus, igwebuike school of thought has a unique as well as a remarkable definition of african philosophy. the igwebuike school of african philosophy would define african philosophy as the combination of the universalist and particularist approaches to african philosophy. this would involve sifting the philosophical thought of africans as could be gotten from their various world views, myths, proverbs, etc, and reflecting on them by an african genius, that is, the african philosophers. at the point of romance between the professional and unprofessional, authentic african philosophy is realized. although the different schools are already doing african philosophy, but that they will do better if they join heads together.11 from the above definition of african philosophy, igwebuike philosophy postulates that eclectic approach is quite necessary and essential in the scholarship of african philosophy. kanu ikechuku anthony also examined igwebuike philosophy in the context of philosophy of education. this involves an extension of the rich treasures of igwebuike philosophy to the understanding of philosophy of education. in the first place, philosophy of education is the discipline that critically investigates igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 8 into the principles, methods and practice of education. applying igwebuike philosophy to philosophy of education, he states: because of the centrality of igwebuike in african philosophy, the development of a philosophy of education that is hinged on it is aimed at developing a philosophy of education that is in tandem with the african ontology. as a philosophy of education, igwebuike stands for a dialogical pedagogy that gives proportionate places to the teacher and the student. it is inculturated to fit into the african category which is realistically oriented to qualitative humanism. it sees the teacher and the student as a community of inquiry; a community in the search for knowledge. education and the educator are understood as mid-wife who is humane, self-effacing, caring, non-authoritative, collaborative and academically unassuming. it recognizes the rights of the human person in their proper perspective. 12 the emphasis of igwebuike philosophy in the domain of education is the issue of african ontology as well as african communalistic attitude to life. thus, collaborative effort of the teacher and learners are quite essential in such philosophy of education. this entails proper dialogue between the teacher and learners. articulating the role of the teacher and students in igwebuike philosophy of education, kanu states: thus, the teacher becomes the educatore (facilitatorlearner), and the student educandi (student-learner). in this dialogical process, both parties are learners, however, with a facilitator of the process. dialogue is, here, an educational existential necessity. igwebuike can be described as an interactive approach to learning, based on the interactive nature of the african universe…igwebuike provides the basic atmosphere for free high extension capacity thinking. the teacher is not placed at an intimidating ivory tower; he is part of this community of inquiry, and they work together for the overall good of the whole through a critical and creative igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 9 thinking that eliminates biased, distorted, provocative and prejudiced reasoning.13 it is obvious that igwebuike philosophy emphasizes on dialogue and interaction between the teacher and learners in education. such interactive approach facilitates learning and bridges the yawning gap between the teacher and learners. from the foregoing, it could be argued that igwebuike philosophy has augmented our understanding of philosophy of education. igwebuike philosophy is also applied to the hermeneutics of ‘globalization’. in the contemporary society, there is much emphasis on globalization. igwebuike philosophy has made its contribution in the hermeneutics of globalization, and through such has ushered in a new interpretation of globalization. interpreting globalization from the perspective of igwebuike philosophy, kanu states: igwebuike interprets globalization as a process in which all the world is involved: generated by all, in all and for all. the interpretation of the globalizing process as a product manufactured in europe and transported to africa is false and also an attempt to alienate the being of the african who is by belonging. reality in globalization is moving towards selfactualization, and africa cannot tell the world to wait for her. africa must move faster to catch up with the rest of the world economically, politically, socially, culturally, educationally and other wise. to begin to blame globalization as though it were a moral being is a waste of effort; no nation will be judged for globalizing, for that would mean blaming a nation for being. the world must be. thus, the understanding of globalization as capitalism, westernization, europeanization, imperialism, re-colonialism, re-enslavement, americanization and universalization are not appropriate.14 hence, africa is part and parcel of globalization, and cannot in any way be separated from it. african remains an active player in the globalizing process. it becomes obvious that any interpretation of globalization that relegates africa to the background is essentially faulty. the employment of igwebuike in the interpretation of the nature and logic of globalization has turned an acclaimed enemy into a friend, and the terrifying journey into the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 10 anticipation of a welcome reunion. until african scholars begin to see globalization as a process, she would continue to remain un-strategically positioned, in fact as a spectator, instead of a player in the incurably globalizing world.15 from the foregoing, it is obvious that igwebuike philosophy has actually enriched our understanding of globalization. it is an interpretation of globalization that recognizes and appreciates the rich contributions of africans to the globalizing process. another important area where igwebuike philosophy is employed is in domain of the interpretation of african bioethics, and this has ushered in a new conception of bioethics. generally, ethics concerns itself with the morality of human actions. ikechukwu anthony kanu defined african bioethics thus: african bioethics is a field of study that concerns itself with the evaluation of ethical issues arising in medicine and the cultural practices in africa from an african perspective. such an evaluation springs from an african background and belief. african categories, therefore, constitute the instruments or principles for the analysis, shaping and transformation of the meanings attached to the experience of life, health and illness.16 african bioethics examines the morality of the practice of medicine from african standpoint. this is as a result of the fact that medicine has to do with human beings. as it obvious from this study, igwebuike philosophy seems to have universal application. employing igwebuike philosophy in the interpretation of african bioethics, he states: the principles of african bioethics that are generated from igwebuike in this work are few among the innumerable dimensions of igwebuike. the first principle is solidarity principle, which is based on the african sense of community; this is followed by respect for others, beneficence and non-maleficence. why is igwebuike central to the principles of african bioethics? it is simply because igwebuike is the underlining igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 11 principle from which all principles of african philosophy emanate.17 he thus demonstrated the centrality of igwebuike philosophy in the following principles of african bioethics, viz. non-maleficence, solidarity, beneficence, and respect for elders. he then argued that these principles of african bioethics are based on igwebuike philosophy. in his words: these principles are based on igwebuike, the igboafrican philosophy of the modality of being. the generation of these principles for bioethical discourses in the african context is an effort towards satisfying the quest for regional variation in bioethical discourses, especially as it concerns issues like abortion, euthanasia, female genital mutilation and human biomedical research. while western bioethical principles are based on the western worldview, these african bioethical principles are based on the african ontology. they are african-based, and would create a different version of principles for bioethics that incorporate the salient features of african ethics. in this age of globalization and intercultural communication, africa, through these principles, has so much to offer to the world from her cultural heritage.18 so far in this study, effort has been made in examining the concept of igwebuike philosophy as well as its applications to different branches of philosophy and human endeavour. at this juncture, let us examine the epistemological implications of igwebuike philosophy which is the central focus of this study. the domain and major concern of epistemology since this study focuses on epistemological implications of igwebuike philosophy, there is need to examine the concept of epistemology as well as its major concerns in the discipline of philosophy. epistemology is one of the major branches of philosophy. it is popularly known as ‘theory of knowledge’ or ‘gnoseology.’ etymologically, it is derived from two greek words: ‘episteme’ (knowledge) and ‘logos’ (word, study or discourse). from etymological perspective, epistemology is the ‘study of’ or ‘discourse on’ human knowledge. its domain is human knowledge and the circumstances that surround it. hence, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 12 it is the branch of philosophy that examines what human knowledge is all about including its extent, justification, validity, status and means of attaining it. epistemology, according to ben o. ebo, “is concerned with the justification of human knowledge. it asks questions about the status and extent of our knowledge of the world, of ourselves, and other people.”19 g. o. ozumba has similar description of epistemology. according to him: “it centres around the fact of wanting to know, to understand and consequently to offer a well considered explanation of why things are the way they are”20 human beings are very curious and ordinarily desire to know. elaborating further on the concept of epistemology, g. o. ozumba states: “it deals with human cognizers. epistemology therefore is concerned with the scope, nature, extent, limits of human knowledge. it deals also with the certainty and reliableness of human knowledge.”21thus, everything about human knowledge is the pre-occupation and major concern of epistemology. it seeks to understand and elucidate human knowledge from philosophical perspective. the concept of knowledge as was already established and demonstrated in this study, the issue of knowledge is the major concern of epistemology, and this explains why epistemology is otherwise called ‘theory of knowledge’. thus, it becomes extremely necessary that the concept of knowledge be examined in this study for proper comprehension of the discourse in this study. the term ‘knowledge’ is commonly used, and so it could be said that knowledge is one of the most common concepts. however, the fact that the term ‘knowledge’ is commonly used does not in any way imply that it is generally well understood. attesting to this, bonaventure chike anetoh states that: “the concept of knowledge is the central issue in epistemology. people make use of the concept often, but some do not actually understand it. some claim to know what they only belief in.”22 the whole enterprise of epistemology would not be well understood if the concept of knowledge is not elucidated. this underscores the importance as well as the central position of knowledge in epistemology. according to g. o. ozumba: actually the word knowledge is noun form of the verb “to know”. there are more than one way of defining knowledge. suffice it for us to define it as the state of awareness of a given fact information. knowledge can also be seen as the fact of understanding, information acquired through learning or experience.23 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 13 the above quotation could be said to be the ordinary understanding of knowledge. g. o. ozumba also conceives knowledge from the perspectives of certainty and indubitability. thus, one ought to be certain of what one claims to know. in his words: apart from “to know” in terms of being certain of our object of knowledge, other definitions do not provide a full-prove criteria for separation of knowledge from non-knowledge. if knowledge is mere understanding, then, how do we differentiate it from learning, perception, awareness, belief, opinion etc. “to know” has implicit in it the requirement of certainty, assurance, indubitability. if we are mistaken about what we claim to know, are we still justified in claiming to know it? certainly not.24 it follows from the foregoing that certainty and indubitability are essential ingredients of knowledge. however, absolute certainty and indubitability may not be very easy to attain. robert audi elaborates on this thus: given these connections between knowledge and certainty, one might hold that knowledge is constituted by conclusively justified true belief, meaning (1) the believer may justifiedly be psychologically certain of the true proposition in question and (2) this proposition is so well-grounded as to be itself propositionally certain.25 hamlyn, as cited by ben o. eboh identified three basic conditions for knowledge thus. i know a thing if: 1. i believed it 2. i had good ground on which to base the belief and 3. the belief was true.26 the above brings out very explicitly three basic facts about knowledge, viz. ‘belief’, ‘good ground’ and ‘truth’. these three factors ought to be considered in any discourse on knowledge. hamlyn’s conditions for knowledge are actually in line with the traditional and more generally acceptable definition of knowledge igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 14 as ‘justified true belief’. analyzing the traditional definition of knowledge as ‘justified true belief’, bonaventure chike anetoh states: the key words in this definition are: belief, truth and justification. it becomes obvious that mere belief is not knowledge. knowledge is much more than mere belief. a belief may or may not be true, and may not have rational justification; but knowledge ought to be true and should have rational justification. it ought to be noted that justification has to do with having rational evidences or rational grounds for one’s belief.27 justification of one’s belief is very necessary in knowledge . otherwise, what one claims to be knowledge may just be mere belief. however, he further observes that there are problems associated with the above definition of knowledge. though this definition of knowledge is most generally accepted by epistemologists, it is not completely free from problems. also, some scholars have criticized it. the definition of knowledge as ‘justified true belief’ should affirm that a belief should be true. the question is this: how can one ascertain with certainty whether a particular belief is true or not? it is obvious that certain beliefs that were accepted to be true were later discovered not to be so.28 despite the limitations of the definition of knowledge as ‘justified true belief’, it is very evident that such definition elucidates the concept of knowledge from philosophical perspective. epistemological implications of igwebuike philosophy the previous sections of this study examined the concept of igwebuike philosophy as articulated by kanu ikechukwu anthony as well as its various applications. the concepts of epistemology and knowledge were also examined in this study. these are geared towards unraveling the epistemological implications of igwebuike philosophy. it is the major argument of this study that igwebuike philosophy has a lot of epistemological implications. as was already established in this study, the major concern of epistemology is human knowledge. thus, epistemological implication of igwebuike philosophy has to do with its implication for human knowledge. knowledge, just as every other igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 15 aspect of human endeavour, is not static or stagnant. it is ever growing and developing, and cannot be redundant. the growth as well as development of knowledge has no end. every good idea contributes to the growth and development of knowledge. igwebuike philosophy is not an exception to this. igwebuike philosophy has contributed to the growth and development of human knowledge. igwebuike philosophy emphasizes solidarity, togetherness, complementarity etc. it is obvious from igwebuike philosophy that knowledge grows and develops faster in social and mutual context. among the major contributions of igwebuike philosophy is the emphasis on social context of knowledge. thomas kuhn, a renowned philosopher of science, laid similar emphasis on social context in scientific investigation and was very emphatic on the existence of scientific community that pays allegiance to the prevailing paradigm in scientific research. in the words of samir okasha: “science for kuhn is an intrinsically social activity: the existence of a scientific community, bound together by allegiance to a shared paradigm, is a prerequisite for the practice of normal science.”29 this brings out clearly the social context of scientific research that improves scientific knowledge. this kuhnian idea is in complete agreement with the principles of igwebuike philosophy. it could be argued that knowledge develops better in the context of mutual criticisms and complementarity. the importance of the social context of knowledge cannot be over emphasized. knowledge, when pursued in isolation, may lead to erroneous ideas which may be dangerous to the advancement of knowledge in general30. in the context of knowledge in general, it follows that knowledge when sought together by many good heads yields better result. the expression that two good heads are better than one remains very interesting in this context, and it agrees with igwebuike philosophy31. complementarity in knowledge, which is the emphasis of igwebuike philosophy, helps in the elimination of wrong ideas, and brings about rapid development of sound and solid knowledge32. igwebuike philosophy also emphasizes on eclectic approach to issues. this has great epistemological implication. combination of different good ideas and approaches will definitely yield good results. this is as a result of the fact that eclectic approach overcomes the limitations of individual different approaches, and brings about sound and unprejudiced knowledge evaluation and conclusion igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 16 sincere effort has been made to examine the concept of igwebuike philosophy as articulated by kanu ikechukwu anthony as well as its epistemological implications. by all standards, igwebuike philosophy is a landmark in the history of contemporary african philosophy. this is as a result of its various applications to different aspects of philosophy and human endeavour, and most importantly, because of its unique contributions to the growth and development of knowledge in general. the discourse in this study has actually demonstrated the epistemological implications of igwebuike philosophy. generally, igwebuike philosophy has contributed its own quota towards the improvement of human condition of existence in the universe. with its emphasis on complementarity, solidarity and togetherness, it tries to rediscover and recapture the core traditional african cultural values. endnotes 1kanu, ikechukwu anthony, ‘igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy’, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol.2, no. 1, 2016, p.110. 2oliver a. onwubiko, african thought, religion & culture, (enugu: snaap press ltd., 1991),p.14. 3ikechukwu anthony, kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education, https://icehm.org/upload/5340ed1115043.pdf, p.96. (10-05-2019) 4ibid. 5ibid. p.97. 6kanu ikechukwu anthony, ‘sources of igwebuike philosophy: towards a sociocultural foundation’, international journal of religion & human relations, vol.9, no.1, 2017, pp.1-2. 7ibid.,p.2. 8theophilius okere, african philosophy a historico-hermeneutical investigation of the conditions of its possibility, (lanham: university press of america inc. 1983), p.15. 9kanu ikechukwu anthony, ‘sources of igwebuike philosophy: towards a sociocultural foundation’, international journal of religion & human relations,p.4. 10kanu, ikechukwu anthony, ‘igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy’, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities,p.111. 11ibid. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 17 12ikechukwu anthony kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education, https://icehm.org/upload/5340ed1115043.pdf, p.97. (10-05-2019) 13ibid. 14ikechukwu anthonhy kanu,’igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization’, nnamdi azikiwe journal of philosophy, vol. 10 (2), 2018, pp.64-65. 15ibid.,p.65. 16ikechukwu anthony kanu, igwebuike as the consumate foundation of african bioethics. nnadiebube journal of philosophy. vol. 1. no. 1. 2017. 17ibid., p.5. 18ibid., pp.10-11. 19ben o. eboh, basic issues in theories of knowledge, (nsukka: fulladu pub. company, 1995), p.1. 20g. o. ozumba, a concise introduction to epistemology, (calabar: ebenezer printing press & computer service, 2001),p.15. 21ibid. 22bonaventure chike anetoh, ‘knowledge and human mind: an analysis’ in matthew aziegbemhin izibili, philip osarobu isanbor and sylvanus undiekeye attoh (eds.), studies in philosophy and society, vol. 1,(jos:eiwa press ltd.2018), p.208. 23g. o. ozumba, a concise introduction to epistemoloogy,p.16. 24ibid.,p.17. 25robert audi, epistemology a contemporary introduction to the theory of knowledge, 2nd ed.(new york: routledge taylor & francis group, 2003), p.225. 26hamlyn, cited by ben o. eboh, basic issues in theories of knowledge, p.7. 27bonaventure chike anetoh, ‘knowledge and human mind: an analysis’ in matthew aziegbemhin izibili, philip osarobu isanbor and sylvanus undiekeye attoh (eds.), studies in philosophy and society, vol. 1, p.211. 28ibid., p.212. 29samir okasha, philosophy of scienc a very short introduction, (new york: oxford university press inc.2002),p.93. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 18 30 ikechukwu anthony kanu,. igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1.pp. 1-7. 2016. 31 ikechukwu anthony kanu. igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. 2017. 32 ikechukwu anthony kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. 2017. igwebuike_6_7_2.cdr 9 igwebuike ideology and martin buber’s i-thou theory: towards a model for authentic existence ejikemeuwa j. o. ndubisi, phd department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, nigeria ejikon4u@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29305.49761 abstract our contemporary society is such that emphasizes individualism. there is less emphasis on interpersonal relationship. many people tend to live and behave as though they do not need the other. today, there is high rate of frustration, hopelessness, suicide actions and rejections among the young and the old. in this regard, this paper burdens itself with a phenomenological inquiry into the existential problem of human interaction. it states that both igwebuike ideology and the i – thou theory are geared towards an authentic human existence. this study argues that the human person can only authenticate his/her existence as a social being when he/she collaborates with the other in a relationship that is hinged on openness, reciprocity, trust, sincerity, truth, mutuality, respect for the other, justice, among others. it, therefore, submits that the overemphasis on the ‘i’ cannot bring about an authentic human existence and, as such, our contemporary society needs to understand and appreciate this model for an authentic human existence as derived from the igwebuike ideology and buber’s i – thou theory. keywords: igwebuike ideology, kanu, i-thou, buber, human relation introduction experience has shown that the issue of interpersonal relationship has been the concern of many philosophers and thinkers. philosophers, such as aristotle, aquinas, kierkegaard, gabriel marcel, heidegger, levinas, nietzsche, ozumba, nyerere, among others, have written volumes on human relationship. one thing that is clear in the submissions of most philosophers and thinkers mentioned above is that the human person is a being that cannot but interact with others; the human person is a relational being. emphasizing the importance of human relationship, aristotle (1953) argued that it is not possible for a human person to live without friends (p. 258). this igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 10 explains the existential fact that the human person is a social being. existentialists afrm that the human person is a being-with-others. the nature of the human person is that of relationship with the other. one cannot actually see one’s face without the aid of a mirror; and as such, it can be said that one cannot actually know oneself or discover oneself fully without the other. in the view of kaitholil (2001), a human being is said to be more human when he interacts with others (p. 13). the implication here is that without interaction, a particular human person becomes less human. in our contemporary society, experience has shown that there is much emphasis on individualism. some people tend to believe that they are comfortable without relating with others. this, among others, has constituted a serious threat to the essential aspect of the human person as a being-with-others. today, suicide is on the increase; family relation is being crushed; frustration and hopelessness have become the order of the day. the pertinent question now is: how can a human person live a meaningful life without interacting or relating with others? in an attempt to address this and other related questions, this study is set to phenomenologically analyze the igwebuike ideology from igbo-african perspective, especially as championed by professor kanu, and also buber’s theory of i-thou relationship. the paper begins with a basic understanding of the igwebuike ideology and a brief exposition of buber’s i–thou theory. it further presents the igwebuike ideolog and the i–thou theory as a model for an authentic human existence in our contemporary society, and thereafter ends with a conclusion. the understanding of the igwebuike ideology the power of effectively pulling forces together to achieve a common goal cannot be undermined or overemphasized. there is always stronger and unquenchable strength in unity. the igbo adage has it that a single broom can easily be broken, but when they are united as a bundle of broom, it then becomes very difcult, if not impossible, to break. this understanding is the brain behind the igbo-african ideology of igwebuike. the notion of igwebuike hinges on the existential fact that ‘united we stand, but divided we fall’. ndubisi (2019) opines that igwebuike is an all-embracing ideology and as such, it “captures the philosophical, religious, political, economic and social life of the african people” (p.142). as a concept, igwebuike is derived from three igbo words: igwe bu ike. this igbo expression can be understood as ‘strength in number’, strength in many’ or ‘power in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 11 multitude’. in this regard, one can say that igwebuike has to do with synergy in human relationship. it is important to note at this point that the contemporary understanding and usage of igwebuike in african discourse was popularized by professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, a renowned contemporary african scholar. kanu (2016a) explains that “when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force. at this level, no task is beyond their collaborative capacity” (p.3). the point here is that igwebuike, as an ideology, underscores the existential reality that a part can never be bigger than a whole. it hinges on the need for a cordial interrelationship and interaction among human beings. kanu (2016a) further explains: as an ideology, igwebuike rests on the african principles of solidarity and complementarity. it argues that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity and to live outside that parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is ‘to be with the other’ in a community of beings. this is based on the african philosophy of harmony and complementarity, which is the underlying principle and unity of african traditional religious and philosophical experience (p. 3). the above citation amplies the understanding of igwebuike as an ideology. one thing to note here is that igwebuike is an ideology of togetherness; it is an ideology that tends to unite the views and ingenuity of people to achieve a common goal. igwebuike is a philosophy of complementarity and solidarity. experience has shown that every human person needs the other in order to survive or to make meaning in life. kanu, as cited in ogbaki (2019), avers that igwebuike has to do with sharing. he relates: igwebuike as a complementary philosophy understands life as a shared reality. and it is only within the context of complementarity that life makes meaning. life is a life of sharedness. one in which another is part thereof. a relationship, though of separate and separated entities or individuals but with a joining of the same whole. it is a relationship in which case the two or more coming together make each a complete whole; it is a diversity of being one with the other … if the other is my part or a piece of me, it means that i need him for me to be complete, for me to be what i really am. the other completes rather than diminishes me. his language and culture make my own stand out and at the same time, they enrich and complement my own (kanu as cited in ogbaki, 2019, p. 170). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 12 the above reection pictures the existential and complementary nature of igwebuike. the ideology presupposes that no one is actually complete without the other. in a musical parlance, it is said that a particular music is melodious when all the musical instruments and voices are harmonized together. without the harmonization of the instruments and voices, it will be very difcult to perceive the melody of the particular music. one thing we must note is that “kanu’s perception of igwebuike is such that is all-embracing: it is a philosophy of inclusiveness” (ndubisi, 2019, p 143). in this regard, kanu afrms that igwebuike, as an ideology, is the igbo-african search for meaning in all spheres of life (kanu 2016b, p.5; kanu 2017, p. 9). the igbo-african, in particular, and the human person, in general, can only nd meaning in life through the proper understanding and application of the igwebuike ideology. for sure, no man is an island. the igwebuike ideology, as understood and championed by kanu, sees complementarity as the fundamental requirement for human existence. for one “to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation” (kanu 2016a, p.3). it, therefore, follows that the authentic human existence can be understood and achieved in the other. aliba (2019) corroborates: “in igwebuike, co-relating with each other is an essential part of survival because it aids mutual understanding and co-existence. this gives the idea that whatever happens to an individual person affects the community” (p. 163). onebunne (2019) relates the igwebuike ideology to belongingness. he argues that igwebuike ideology is expressed in the philosophy of belongingness. every human person belongs to each other; every human person depends on the other in order to survive. he strongly argues that it is the “experience of life that gave recourse to the idea of complementarity as a measure to survive the challenges posed by other vicissitudes of life. inter-dependence, inter-relationship, collectivism and mutual co-existence form the basis for igbo life pattern as expressed in igwebuike and belongingness: the metaphysics of effective communal relationship” (p. 71). one thing that is clear is that the igwebuike ideology is at the heart of igboafrican understanding of reality; it explains how the igbo-african relates to reality within and around him. it can be seen as the totality of african pphilosophy, religion and socio-political experiences. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 13 following the nature of this study and also having given the basic understanding of the igwebuike ideology, the next subtopic shall focus on martin buber’s theory of i-thou relationship. i – thou theory in martin buber: a brief exposé it was in 1923 that martin buber wrote his famous essay, ich und du (i and thou). it is in this work that he expressed his doctrine of i–thou relation as the mode of human existence. buber explained that there are two modes of encountering the world, namely, i–thou and i–it. he used these two modes to explain interpersonal relationship in the world. one can relate to things in the world as either persons (thou) or as objects (it) (buber, 1958; buber, 1968; buber, 1970). the understanding of the i–thou relationship, according to buber as cited in okonkwo (2014), is that of “a relationship of mutuality, openness, recognition, directness, reciprocity and above all presence. it is a relationship in which the whole being of an individual is engaged in an unassuming relationship with the other” (p.21). one important thing to note about buber’s notion of i–thou is that it is essentially a relationship of mutuality. it is such a relationship where mutual relationship among human beings is enthroned. in this type of relationship, the particular human person only discovers himself/herself f not in relation to himself/herself, but in relation to others. this, for buber, is possible when individualism is removed and mutuality is emphasized. more so, buber maintained that the i–thou relation is possible in an atmosphere of openness. both the ‘i’ and the ‘thou’ must be open to each other. the fact is that the other can only exist for me, and i exist for the other when there is openness. this type of openness is devoid of deception. buber remarked that the i–thou relation is devoid of any prejudice or pre-conceived ideas. any form of prejudice, according to buber, constitutes a barrier to i–thou relation (buber, 1958, p. 11). another important element in i–thou relation, as conceived by buber, is reciprocity. this understanding entails a mutual response of individuals to the actions of the other. there is no intention whatsoever of individual in i–thou relationship to gain from the other. as soon as a person sets goals or objectives to be achieved prior to the relationship, there can be no mutuality because one’s intention in the relationship would be to realize an objective which is very often at the expense of the other. in this regard, i–thou is seen as mutual relationship and not a parasitic or exploitative type of relationship (buber, 1970, p.115). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 14 it is important to note that buber’s strong position is that no one can be fully human without experiencing the other, the world around him/her and also god. it follows that these tripartite expressions constitute, for buber, the essential elements for one to be fully human and to experience an authentic existence. furthermore, another important thing to note in buber’s position is that the doctrine of i–thou is not only related to other human beings alone; it also relates to things (iit) and the eternal thou (god). this means that the particular human person can nd meaning in life as he/she relates with other human beings, the environment and god. buber argues that i–it relationship is very essential as it helps the human person to develop and accumulate knowledge. he explains: “the primary relation of man to the world of it is comprised in experiencing, which continually reconstitutes the world, and using, which leads the world to its manifold aim, the sustaining, relieving and equipping of human life” (buber, 1958, p. 38). as the individual relates with the thou and the it, there remains the third party, which buber called the eternal thou (god). it is the relationship with the eternal thou that helps to authenticate one’s existence. in sum, buber’s relational mode for authentic existence is manifested in a triad relation: i–thou, i–it and i–eternal thou. this is a kind of existential relationship that is required for a harmonious interpersonal relationship (koyeli and roy, 2002, p. 192). igwebuike ideology and buber’s i–thou theory: a model for authentic existence so far, we have been able to discuss the igwebuike ideology as propounded by kanu and also presented a highlight of buber’s i–thou theory. one thing that is clear is that both the igwebuike ideology and the i–thou theory are geared towards an authentic human existence. the human person can only authenticate his/her existence as a social being when he/she collaborates with the other. the overemphasis on the ‘i’ cannot bring about an authentic existence. the human person, in the light of this study, is required to move beyond the ‘i’ in order to have meaningful relationship with the other. it is in a relationship with the other that life can be said to be meaningful to an individual person. this explains the reason this present study argues that both the igwebuike ideology and buber’s i– thou theory can be seen as a model for an authentic human existence, especially in our contemporary society that is carried away by individualism and scientism. it is an existential truism that no human person or anything at all can be said to be absolutely useless. and so, a particular individual can gain from another igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 15 individual when they engage in a relationship. as a model for an authentic human existence, it means that the igwebuike ideology and the i–thou theory emphasize the essential character of complementarity. in a society such as nigeria, it should be noted that all of us need the other in order to experience an authentic human existence as nigerians. there is something in an igbo person that the hausa person needs; there is also something in the yoruba person that the tiv person or the fulani person needs. this is an existential fact! no person, tribe or nation can exist in isolation; there is always the need for complementarity. one important thing to note is that the emphasis on igwebuike and/or buber’s i– thou theory does not in any way negate individual differences, choices and interests. it means that individuals in a relationship have to work together to achieve a common goal. without working to achieve a common goal, it will be difcult, if not impossible, to achieve anything or derive meaning in life. uzukwu (2019) discusses the importance of the igwebuike ideology, thus: “the social, economic, political, religious, physical and gender differences of the members [of a particular society] are important for the varieties of contributions and as well as the proportionate strength of the group” (p. 145). the implication of uzukwu’s position is that the strength of economic growth, peaceful coexistence, political stability, etc., that is observed in a particular society is highly dependent on the level of synergy or collaboration experienced in that particular society. conclusion the igwebuike ideology and buber’s i–thou theory constitute, in the view of this study, a model for an authentic existence. no one can claim to live for oneself alone. there is no way an individual’s history can be written without reference to the ‘thou’. authentic existence implies living in solidarity, collaboration, synergy and complementarity with other human beings. there is always the essential need to foster a common ground for human relationship. as aliba (2019) avers: “human association remains an inalienable aspect of our human nature. the human person as a being, is not independent, but rather needs the other to foster his own existence” (p.163). the fact is that human relationship is inevitable and very essential for an authentic human existence. this relationship, to achieve its goal, in the light of the igwebuike ideology and buber’s i–thou theory, should be hinged on igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 16 openness, reciprocity, trust, sincerity, truth, mutuality, respect for the other, justice, among others. it should be devoid of deceit, bias, inferiority or superiority complex, objectifying the other, using the other simply as a means to an end and not as an end in itself, etc. our contemporary society needs to understand and appreciate this model for authentic human existence as derived from the igwebuike ideology and buber’s i–thou theory. references aliba, s. i. (2019). “a comparative study of igwebuike philosophy and ujamaa: towards a common brotherhood”. journal of african studies and sustainable development, vol. 2, no. 4. pp. 156165. aristotle (1953). the nichomachean ethics. j. a. k. thomson, trans. london: george allen and unwin. buber, m. (1958). i – thou. g. r. smith, trans. new york: charles scribers buber, m. (1968). between man and man. london: collins buber, m. (1970). a believing humanism: my testament. new york: simon and schuster kaitholil, g. (2010). communion in community: a renewal programme for religious, 6th ed. mumbai: st. pauls kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and the question of superiority in the scientic community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 3, no. 1. pp. 9 – 18. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2, no. 1. pp. 1-6. kanu, i. a. (2016b). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christianmuslim relations in northern nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 1 – 9 kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christianmuslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 17 kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientic community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girlchild education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. koyeli, c. and roy, a. (2002). interpersonal relationship and human dignity. indian philosophical quarterly, 29. pp. 2 – 13. ndubisi, e. j. o. (2019). “igwebuike philosophy in i. a. kanu vis-à-vis the validity of truth-claim in african epistemology”. journal of african studies and sustainable development, vol. 2, no. 3. pp. 141147. ogbaki, p. e. (2019). nigeria and the debate of leadership and good governance: perspectives from igwebuike philosophy”. in e. j. o. ndubisi, a. a. ichaba and j. nnoruga (eds.). igwebuike philosophy: an african philosophy of integrative humanism: a book of readings in honour of professor kanu, ikechukwu anthony. bloomington, usa: author house. pp. 154 – 208. okonkwo, i. e. (2014). “i -thou relationship in martin buber’s existentialism: a critical analysis”. (unpublished project, department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 18 onebunne, j. i. (2019). “igwebuike: an african metaphysics of communal strength” in j. i. onebunne, p. t. haaga and e. j. o. ndubisi (eds.). igwebuike ontology: an african philosophy of humanity towards the other: papers in honour of professor kanu, ikechukwu anthony, osa. bloomington, usa: author house. pp. 63 – 81. uzukwu, g. n. (2019). “igwebuike as an african expression of the pauline theology of collaboration in mission”. journal of african studies and sustainable development, vol. 2, no. 4. pp. 141155. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 116 promouvoir la coexistence mutuelle dans les pays d'afrique de l'ouest a travers la traduction litteraire anyawuike ozioma s.o department of modern european languages, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state, nigeria oso.anyawuike@unizik.edu.ng doi:10.13140/rg.2.2.21005.15840 résumé la traduction au fil des ans s’est révélée être un outil efficace pour briser les cultures et les cultures barrières entre les différents pays du monde. la diversité des peuples avec la multiplicité des langues qui habitent la sous-région ouest-africaine est parmi ceux connus sous développés. ils sont enlisés dans la pauvreté, la famine, les maladies, la violence ethnique et religieuse. certains d'entre eux l'analphabétisme, les craintes et la suspicion des groupes plus petits qui composent ils seront dominés et exploités par les groupes les plus forts. cet article préconise la traduction en tant que un moyen de transmettre des informations à la base et à la population rurale afin de promouvoir la paix et la compréhension mutuelle dans les différents pays et dans la sous-région. les différents peuples vivant dans cette partie du monde ont besoin de coopérer et d'intégrer avec euxmêmes sur un front commun pour la résolution efficace de ces problèmes socioculturels qui entravent le développement. qu'est-ce un pays ne peut réaliser seul peut être réalisé lorsque des pays comme ceux-ci se réunissent pour faire face à leurs problèmes. mots-clés: afrique de l'ouest, coexistence mutuelle, traduction, culture africaine, traduction litteraire. introduction la traduction est un exercice intellectuel qui consiste à détacher le sens d'un texte original, appelé le texte source, puis à le transférer dans un autre texte ou dans le texte cible. il est un moyen par lequel les idées et les informations sont diffusées d'une culture à l'autre. de cette façon, il permet l'échange d'idées entre une diversité de personnes de cultures différentes. dans la préface de the translator‟s invisibility, bassnett-mcguire et lefevère ont remarqué que “translation, of course, is a rewriting of an original text. all rewritings whatever their intention, reflect a certain ideology and a poetic and as such manipulate literature to function in a given society in a given way” (18).la traduction, bien sûr, est une réécriture d'un texte original. tous les réécritures quelle que soit leur intention, reflètent une certaine idéologie et poétique et en tant que telle mailto:oso.anyawuike@unizik.edu.ng https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.21005.15840?_sg%5b0%5d=6_ylcsnh_8r3yjcpn_t640cqgldtezp5cexkmgumuw1rg5zmc6uw0e8wekfeqna3bpncjtukbihc18ovmx1pwq19vq.ihxj5yl2yzdrnn8e21kxp5grh-bynu2j_-pwh42adtwoin_o42bv4n2y-cxfrjjtnzbhm4yriikou-xr8ezmvq igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 117 manipule la littérature pour fonctionner dans une société donnée d'une manière donnée (notre traduction). la traduction vise à communiquer des idées et des faits d‟une culture au public lisant d‟une culture différente et, de cette manière, permet l‟échange d‟idées entre personnes. avant le lancement des téléphones mobiles dans nos villages ici au nigeria, beaucoup d'analphabètes qui ont leurs enfants et leurs parents dans des villes et des pays lointains ne pouvaient communiquer avec eux que par la médiation de jeunes gens ayant fréquenté les écoles officielles de leur quartier. leur moyen de communiquer avec ces êtres chers n‟est que par l‟écriture de lettres et nous voyons ce phénomène dans le mandat de sembene ousmane (1968) traduit comme «the money order». ils ont également lu et interprété les messages de leurs proches aux parents dans les villages. en réalité, c‟est le rôle du traducteur; communiquer l'esprit de l‟écrivain qui exprime ses besoins, ses idées et même ses émotions à son public cible. seleskovitch et lederer, théoriciens de l'approche interprétative de paris, expriment également cette opinion dans leur ouvrage interpréter pour traduire (10). pratima soutient également cette idée quand il dit que „translation can resolve social problems. it can bring people together, give them a different sensibility to appreciate each other, make them tolerant and respectful to each other‟s view point‟ (3). la traduction peut résoudre les problèmes sociaux. elle peut réunir les gens, leur donner une sensibilité différente pour s‟apprécier, les rendre tolérants et respectueux des points de vue de chacun ». (notre traduction). ceci explique donc l'importance de la traduction dans l'union des personnes malgré leurs idéologies différentes pour travailler ensemble à la réalisation d'un objectif commun rôle passé et le présent de la traduction dans la société la traduction a joué un rôle très important dans la réforme et le développement des langues et littératures européennes et est sur le point de faire de même dans notre société actuelle. la traduction de la sainte bible et des littératures grecques et latines classiques a prospéré et a été très utile pour inculquer des valeurs morales au peuple au 16ème siècle. elle a également contribué à enrichir la formation et l‟établissement de nombreuses langues et littératures européennes. heylen confirme cette idée en notant que„„ translations enable the transfer of literary devices and models from one literature or culture to another and thus enrich, developing literatures in need of poetic models or renew established igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 118 literatures that find themselves in crisis‟‟ (10-11). les traductions permettent le transfert d'appareils et de modèles littéraires d'une littérature ou d'une culture à une autre et enrichissent ainsi les littératures en développement qui ont besoin de modèles poétiques ou renouvellent les littératures établies qui se trouvent en crise (notre traduction). munday (2001) soutient également cette idée lorsqu'il a révélé que luther avait joué un rôle crucial dans la réforme, alors que son langage, utilisé dans un dialecte régional mais socialement large, avait largement contribué à renforcer cette forme de langue allemande en tant que norme. en réponse aux accusations selon lesquelles il aurait modifié les saintes écritures dans ses traductions, luther se défendit dans son célèbre send brief vom dolmetschen. il est très clair que la traduction a joué un rôle très important dans la réforme et le développement des langues et littératures européennes et est en passe de faire de même dans notre société d'aujourd'hui. par cet exemple, on peut voir que la pratique de la traduction à travers les âges a non seulement contribué à la diffusion des connaissances, il a également été une entreprise risquée, car l'accent a été mis sur la fidélité à la lettre. certains traducteurs de la bible, william tyndale et etienne dolet, auraient été accusés d‟hérésie et de blasphème; ils auraient donc été exécutés respectivement en 1536 et 1546 (munday 2001). cela révèle que le concept de fidélité a été étroitement lié à l'exercice de la traduction à travers les âges. en plus de cela, l'urbanisation et les processus de civilisation ont généré un afflux de personnes dans les villes importantes et les pays. ainsi, la diversité des cultures et des langues dans ces sociétés métropolitaines ont créé des besoins croissants pour la compréhension mutuelle et la coexistence pacifique et les gens ont vu la nécessité de maximiser les avantages qu'ils peuvent tirer d'un autre essai afin d'améliorer la relation avec les autres communautés de traduction devient inévitable dans ces sociétés en raison de leur multi-langues et caractéristiques multiculturelles. le besoin d'intégration dans la sous-région à l‟heure actuelle, la mondialisation a réduit le monde à un «village global» où l‟on pouvait faire affaires avec un autre habitant à des milliers de kilomètres, sans entrer en contact physique direct avec eux. depuis que la diffusion de l'information a été améliorée par les technologies modernes telles que le téléphone portable, le fax et internet, les accords commerciaux bilatéraux et les igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 119 entreprises internationales sont maintenant conclus par différents pays via ces moyens de télécommunication modernes et la traduction est l'outil qui facilite ces activités dans le monde entier. maintenant, environ quinze (15) pays appartiennent à la sous-région ouest-africaine en raison du retrait de la mauritanie. cinq de ces pays sont anglophones tandis que les autres parlent français et autres langues. mais il est nécessaire pour eux d'intégrer davantage afin de maximiser leurs avantages de la mondialisation. leurs responsables de la sécurité doivent discuter et convenir de mesures et de stratégies qu‟ils peuvent adopter pour lutter contre la criminalité transfrontalière, le terrorisme, le trafic illicite, la traite des femmes et des enfants afin de garantir la sécurité dans la région. ces décisions sont des secrets bien mérités et doivent être connues. seulement pour eux et c‟est la raison pour laquelle la traduction devient une condition sine qua non de l‟intégration régionale et des associations. obinaju et muotoo sont d'accord avec ces idées lorsqu‟ils disent: la vérité est qu‟avec la mondialisation, il n‟y a plus de cachette et les nations doivent désormais se regrouper, partager des biens et des services, ainsi que leurs expériences en matière de recherche et de technologie, afin de réduire la faim, la pauvreté et un développement plus rapide, faisant ainsi le monde un meilleur endroit pour un tout (22). la traduction aide à éliminer les différences individuelles et sociales qui mettent en danger les conflits et les hostilités et entravent les processus de développement. il est nécessaire de supprimer toutes les barrières linguistiques en afrique et en particulier dans la sous-région pour permettre aux pays membres de réaliser des progrès scientifiques, économiques et politiques. promouvoir la coexistence mutuelle dans les pays d'afrique de l'ouest à travers la traduction littéraire l‟afrique et la sous-région de l‟afrique de l‟ouest sont confrontées à des problèmes incessants de pauvreté, de maladies, de violences ethniques et religieuses. cette situation a aggravé les problèmes troublants de sousdéveloppement de l‟insécurité et de morts, d‟oppressions et d‟exploitations inutiles des groupes plus faibles par leurs voisins dominateurs. la traduction littéraire peut agir comme un outil qui crée un environnement propice à la paix et à la compréhension mutuelle entre les peuples de ces pays. actuellement, de nombreux écrivains africains ont écrit des livres littéraires d'importance igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 120 renommée en raison de leur être traduits dans d'autres langues étrangères. les exemples de telles œuvres littéraires sont l’enfant noir de camara laye, une vie de boy de ferdinand oyono, une si longue lettre de mariama ba, le mandat de sembene ousmane, things fall apartde chinua achebe, kongi’s harvest de wole soyinka, the purple hisbiscusde chimamanda ngozi adichie et d'autres. certaines de ces œuvres écrites en anglais ont été traduites en français et certaines sont en langue française. certains de ces écrivains ont énuméré les problèmes sociopolitiques de leurs sociétés à l‟époque précoloniale et postcoloniale, d‟autres ont critiqué les vices de leur société tels que la cupidité, la corruption, les fanatismes ethniques et religieux, l'oppression et l'exploitation des femmes par leurs homologues masculins et ont défendu l'égalité et la justice pour tous dans la société. dans cette optique, la traduction littéraire contribue à créer et à améliorer des environnements propices à la coexistence pacifique parmi la population diversifiée de l'afrique de l'ouest et à la lecture d'autres œuvres. pour illustrer ce point plus loin, il a été révélé que things fall apart a été traduit en plusieurs langues. cela montre donc que chinua achebe a été en mesure de projeter les valeurs culturelles igbo de l'époque précoloniale et post coloniale à un public beaucoup plus large que si son livre était resté dans sa forme originale. pratima explique succinctement que „translation crosses the linguistics, social, religious and cultural barriers; translation can remove the barriers of between two languages. it can safeguard against regionalism and can promote national integration‟ (3). la traduction franchit les barrières linguistiques, sociales, religieuses et culturelles; elle peut supprimer les barrières entre deux langues. elle peut protéger contre le régionalisme et promouvoir l‟intégration nationale » (notre traduction). compte tenu de ces points, on sent que plus de textes littéraires avec de bonnes valeurs culturelles devraient être mis à la disposition des enfants et des jeunes au nigeria et d'autres pays ouest-africains. en fait, les implications morales et didactiques de la littérature ne peuvent être surestimées. il est un fait que la littérature divertit, et en même temps permet au lecteur de se projeter dans le monde imaginaire d'autres personnes qui habitent les sociétés autres que le leur. il est certainement grâce à la traduction que de nombreux textes classiques et anciens atteignent l'homme moderne d'aujourd'hui. bassnett (1991) affirme que les points de vue de cicéron et d'horace sur la traduction et autres auraient eu igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 121 un impact considérable sur les générations de traducteurs et de linguistes. l'implication de ce que les textes anciens par des écrivains et des philosophes comme aristote, platon, cicéron, horace, sophocle, shakespeare ont été conservés et recréés pour atteindre futurs lecteurs grâce à la traduction. la traduction a joué un rôle remarquable au 16ème siècle en europe. sa fonction civilisatrice dans les processus de la renaissance et de la réforme. elle a énormément contribué au progrès et à l'éducation de nombreuses personnes de cette époque. salomon (1993) montre que des écrivains humanistes français, tels que joachim du bellay, pierre de ronsard et d'autres établir et enrichir leur langue et littérature vernaculaires par la traduction. les littératures grecque et latine classiques traduites à cette époque étaient relatives dans l'éducation morale de la renaissance. cela montre que les œuvres littéraires ne peuvent être limitées par le temps ou l'espace. munday(2001) partage ce point de vue lorsqu'il affirme que la pratique de la traduction était cruciale pour la diffusion précoce de textes et de concepts culturels et religieux essentiels. en occident, les différentes façons de traduction ont été discutées, entre autres, cicéron et horace (ier siècle avant notre ère) et saint jérôme (ive siècle). la traduction peut exposer le public cible, intellectuels ou entrepreneurs locaux, à de nouvelles idées susceptibles d‟élargir leur perspective sur les découvertes scientifiques ou technologiques. se familiariser avec les cultures et les idées d‟autres personnes peut aider les individus à développer certains potentiels et capacités qu‟ils ne savaient pas posséder. ces nouvelles idées peuvent améliorer le développement scientifique et technologique qui, à son tour provoquer l'industrialisation et le progrès économique des populations d'afrique de l'ouest. les œuvres littéraires d'autres parties du monde aident les jeunes à apprécier d'autres cultures des peuples. gwendolyn calvert baker (cité dans amadu maddy et doonarae maccann a affirmé ce qui suit en soulignant que: ce que nos enfants apprennent sur la grande diversité de personnes dans le monde qui les entoure aura une influence considérable sur leur façon de grandir et sur le type d'adultes qu'ils vont devenir. cela déterminera s'ils deviennent des membres de la société confiants et en sécurité, qui respectent et apprécient la diversité, ou des adultes qui voient les autres avec hostilité et crainte à cause de l‟ignorance (17). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 122 afin de garantir la participation active de leur population, les dirigeants du gouvernement devraient poursuivre des politiques qui amélioreront la communication. pour étayer ce point, bamgbose souligne que la communication efficace est un facteur essentiel pour l'élaboration des politiques. évidemment, cela devient plus crucial dans les pays multilingues en particulier aux fins de l'administration. la pertinence de la traduction dans une classe de langue la traduction peut également encore être pertinente dans une classe de langue, bien que la méthode de traduction grammaire semble obsolète. l'enseignant peut enseigner les verbes en utilisant la méthode de traduction. l'enseignant peut créer une meilleure compréhension de ses élèves en les conjuguant en français et en montrant l'équivalence en langue anglaise. en ce qui concerne l'apprentissage, un enseignant intelligent et créatif peut emprunter n'importe quel matériel et utiliser son initiative pour rendre sa matière intéressante et riche. un enseignant créatif n‟est jamais limité par des règles, mais peut faire tout ce qui est en son pouvoir pour trouver des idées et des innovations qui rendent son sujet intéressant et agréable pour ses élèves. il peut utiliser des jeux de rôle, des chansons, des questions, des dialogues et de traduction pour aider ses étudiants ont une bonne compréhension et à la compétence du sujet. pratima soutient le fait d‟enseigner la grammaire par la traduction en disant: actually, the concept of language teaching began with grammar translation method, where the rules of grammar, and the vocabulary items of latin were memorized and each sentence was translated from latin into the mother-tongue and vice-versa. it has certain drawbacks hence the method was rejected. but even today translation is a good technique to teach language (1). en fait, le concept d'enseignement des langues a commencé avec la méthode de traduction grammaticale, qui consistait à mémoriser les règles de la grammaire et les éléments de vocabulaire du latin et à traduire chaque phrase du latin dans la langue maternelle et inversement. il présente certains inconvénients a été rejeté par conséquent la méthode. mais même la traduction aujourd'hui est une bonne technique pour enseigner la langue (notre traduction). dans cette ère de l'industrialisation et le développement scientifique, beaucoup d'informations sont nécessaires pour accélérer le développement technologique igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 123 et économique. la traduction devient très pertinente dans les pays en développement situés dans la sous-région ouest-africaine en raison de leur nature multilingue. des pays comme le nigéria, le sénégal, le niger et d‟autres se caractérisent par la multiplicité des langues et des dialectes plus petits, ce qui crée une inintelligibilité mutuelle. selon elugbe, le nigéria compte environ 400 langues et ce phénomène suscite beaucoup de méfiance et de méfiance, même parmi les différentes communautés du monde. ainsi, la traduction devient inévitable pour surmonter les obstacles linguistiques, facilitant ainsi la communication et la diffusion des idées au sein de ces associations internationales. alan forrest affirme ce fait lorsqu'il a souligné que la diversité des langues européennes posait parfois des problèmes aux entreprises et aux activités de l'union européenne parce que les plus petits états membres hésitaient à permettre que leurs propres langues et cultures soient envahies. cela explique clairement l'absence de choix de langue en tant que lingua franca pour l'union européenne, de sorte que l'anglais, le français, l'espagnol, le portugais, l'allemand, le néerlandais et le suédois sont parlés librement au sein de l'union. selon forrest; problems of language permeate every action of the european union. participants at meetings struggle daily with problems arising from the multiplication of languages which they speak: they are helped by cumbersome but reasonably effective systems of speech interpretation and document translation. tremendous efforts have to be made to ensure that european laws say exactly the same thing in a large number of language versions (338). les problèmes de langue imprègnent chaque action de l'union européenne. les participants aux réunions confrontés chaque jour aux problèmes liés à la multiplication des langues dont ils parlent: ils sont aidés par des systèmes encombrants mais raisonnablement efficaces d'interprétation de la parole et la traduction des documents. beaucoup d'efforts doivent être faits pour faire en sorte que les lois européennes disent exactement la même chose dans un grand nombre de versions linguistiques (notre traduction). la traduction peut aider à combler les barrières au sein de la culture de ces communautés avec la multiplicité des groupes ethniques et langues ce document suggère que: puisque certains de ces pays en afrique de l'ouest sont en proie à des problèmes cruciaux critiques de la pauvreté, les maladies, la igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 124 violence et le sous-développement, ils devraient collaborer leurs efforts pour les affronter et les surmonter. il est évident qu'une diffusion plus large des idées et des informations par la traduction peut aider à renforcer l'unité et l'intégration entre les peuples des différents états de ces pays multilingues. forrest alan (2000) a montré que les problèmes de linguistique rencontrés par des associations internationales telles que l'organisation des nations unies (onu) et l'union européenne (ue) sont résolus par le biais de pratiques de traduction. par conséquent, le document de la réunion et d'autres interactions du syndicat sont convertis quotidiennement dans les langues des etats membres. donc, ce document suggère qu‟un document important comme les constitutions et les politiques écrites en langue anglaise traduite en langues autochtones afin de communiquer efficacement certaines de ces idées importantes pour la population rurale. ainsi, les pratiques de traduction sont très vitales pour la participation massive de la population dans les processus de développement. conclusion cet article a étudié les rôles essentiels de la traduction au cours de la période de la renaissance. il a également vu sa relativité dans les associations internationales, les activités socio-économiques et culturelles. dans les pays multilingues d'afrique de l'ouest, il peut effectivement améliorer la communication entre la population rurale et la classe éduquée. il peut créer permanent les environnements pour la compréhension mutuelle, la confiance et la responsabilité d'autres personnes dans la société. il est très utile pour communiquer des idées scientifiques et innovantes sur l'agriculture et la technologie qui peut accélérer l'industrialisation et le développement économique. grâce à elle les langues et dialectes locaux peuvent être standardisés et enrichis. grâce à la traduction, de nombreuses bonnes littératures peuvent devenir de véritables véhicules qui favorisent l'unité et la coopération internationales dans un continent aussi multilingue que l'afrique. les pratiques de traduction peuvent renforcer le développement et la cohabitation pacifique dans la sous-région ouest africaine, qui a beaucoup souffert de violence religieuse, politique et de pauvreté dans la région. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 125 oeuvres citées bamgbose, a. language policy in nigeria: challenges, opportunities and constraints. keynote address delivered at the first nigeria millennium sociolinguistics conferenceheld at the university of lagos from 16th 18th august, 2001. bassnett-mcguire, susan.translation studies. london and new york: routledge. revised edition.1991 bassnett-mcguire, susan, et lefevère, andre. the translator’s invisibility. london and newyork: routledge. 1999. deslile, jean.translation: an interpretive approach, translated by loan, p., ottawa: university of ottawa press. 1981. elugbe-ohi, b. “national language and national development” dans emenanjo n., (ed) multilingualism: minority languages and language policy in nigeria. agbor: central books limited. 1990. eugene, nida,&taber, c. the theory and practice of translation.leiden: e.j. brill, 1969. forrest, alain. “official languages, working languages and other languages of the european union” dans ajulo s and the festschrift committee of professor brann. (eds) language and society, lagos: university press. 2000. heylen, romy.poetics and the stage: six french hamlets. london and newyork: routledge.1993 munday, jeremy.introducing translation studies: theories and applications.(3rd ed.). london and new york. 2001 obinaju,nwabueze,& muotoo, chukwunonso.globalization and west african subregion:the role of french and english in the journal of mordern europeanlanguages(jmel)onuko, t.(ed.) vol.6,enugu nigeria:nolix educational publishers. 2016 pratima, d.s.fundamental aspects of translation.new delhi, india: phi learning private limited.2012 roger, dominique,& albert-hesse, jane.the communication tree. paris:unesco. 1984 salomon, pierre.littérature française.paris: bordas. 1993 seleskovitch, danica. et lederer, marianne.interpréter pour traduire. paris: didier erudition.1986 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 126 yulisa, a.m., & donnarae, m.“african images in juvenile literature commentaries on neocolonialist fiction”, journal of research in african literatures. vol. 20, no 4. london: james currey limited. 1996 microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 5.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 39 an igwebuike reading of h. l. a. hart’s theory of law paul t. haaga, phd department of philosophy federal university of lafia, haaga.terngu@fulafia.edu.ng & paulohaaga@gmail.com. abstract williams idowu has considered the legal and moral implications of the ogboni group in yoruba land. similarly, kingsley ufuoma omoyibo has looked at the law from the perspective of the etsako community of edo state. all of these try to build a particular perspective to the universal reality of law. this particularization of the law is germane because, the life of the law is not in logic, but in experience. that is, experience is what determines the actual practice and implementation of laws. while these discourses on the african dimension to law and morality are relevant, there is still the need to further deepen the theoretical basis for such an approach to law. this is what this work is aimed at. it seeks to read a foremost legal theorist from the perspective of an african philosophical framework. this is with the view to showing that, the theoretical core of jurisprudence gives some room to the particularization of the law, especially through the path of indigenization. in what follows, the focus will be on igwebuike philosophy and hart’s theory of law. the submission of this essay is that the idea of a minimum content between law and morality which hart insists on is the core of igwebuike dimension in his jurisprudence. by this very token, hart is a moderate positivist and also appreciates the basic tenet of natural law jurisprudence. thus, the law is one thing in itself and the moral element complements its essence, but is not what makes its essence. keywords: igwebuike, philosophy, h. l. a. hart, law, jurisprudence, kanu introduction the idea of bringing indigenous elements into the practice of law has continued to gain curious attention in legal scholarship. from the african point of view, williams idowu has considered the legal and moral implications of the ogboni group in yoruba land.1 similarly, kingsley ufuoma omoyibo has looked at the law from the perspective of the etsako community of edo state.2 all of these try to build a particular perspective to the universal reality of law. this 1 william idowu, “law, morality and the african cultural heritage: the jurisprudential significance of the ogboni institution,” nordic journal of african studies, 14(2):2005, 175-192. 2 kingsley ufuoma omoyibo, “african jurisprudence: the law as a complement to public morality,” international journal of social sciences (ijss), vol.6, no.4, 2016. 13-22. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 40 particularization of the law is germane because, the life of the law is not in logic, but in experience.3 that is, experience is what determines the actual practice and implementation of laws. while these discourses on the african dimension to law and morality are relevant, there is still the need to further deepen the theoretical basis for such an approach to law. this is what this work is aimed at. it seeks to read a foremost legal theorist from the perspective of an african philosophical framework. this is with the view to showing that, the theoretical core of jurisprudence gives some room to the particularization of the law, especially through the path of indigenization. in what follows, the focus will be on igwebuike philosophy and hart’s theory of law. igwebuike as an african philosophical framework igwebuike, according to kanu4 is the study of the modality of being for the realization of the being. it is from the igbo word igwebuike: it is a combination of three words. it can be understood as a word and as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. let us try to understand the three words involved: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power. thus, put together, it means “number is strength” or “number is power”. this philosophy has for basic dimensions which include: solidarity, respect for persons, beneficence and non malfeasance. solidarity is the first dimension of igwebuike and a basic principle in african bioethics. it is directly linked to the ontological order of the african worldview. in african communities, there are recognized family roles and relationships that define the obligations, rights, and boundaries of interaction among the members of a self-recognizing group. this creates a network that gives its members a sense of belonging. it is, therefore, not surprising that the igbo would say: if a lizard stays off from the foot of a tree, it would be caught by man. in another proverb: a tree does not make a forest. the community plays a fundamental role in the life of the 3 holmes, the common law. (harcourt, brace. 1920), 1. 4 kanu, i. a. (2014). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for interreligious dialogue. a paper presented at the nigerian philosophical association national conference, held at the university of lagos, lagos state, october 1517. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 41 individual. all these constitute the sense of solidarity in the igwebuike framework.5 another fundamental dimension of igwebuike philosophy is respect for persons. this is because igwebuike maintains that the other person is a part of the whole ontological order. to harm the other is to harm oneself, and to preserve the other is to preserve oneself. moreover, the human person is also understood as a gift from god. the nexus between god and human beings, makes the human person a theomorphic being, and explains why the igbo-african says: ndu sin a chi (life is from god). it is also on this basis that the human person is respected right from conception. the life of children is not attributed to mere biological fact of conception; this is because every child has existed in an antecedent world of a divine master. thus, the igbo would name their child, chi-nyere ndu: god gave life, nke-chi-yere: the one god has given, chi-n‟eye ndu: god gives life, chi-diogo: god is generous, chi-nwendu: god owns life, chi-ekwe: god has agreed, chi-ji-ndu: god owns life. since life is a gift from god, it must be treated with the respect it deserves.6 there is also the beneficence principle which refers to an active goodness, kindness or charity towards the other. below are african proverbs that promote the principle of dong good to the other: roast something for the children that they may eat; the hen with chicks doesn’t swallow the worm; when there is a feast everyone is welcome; my house is like a spongy coconut, anyone who likes goes into it; sharing is a way of life; sharing is living; what one contributes for another, is what is contributed for him; a good act never dies away, the memory lives on all time. the other is treated with love and kindness because he/she is part of the whole.7 lastly, there is the non-maleficence principle which is the opposite of beneficence. the words put together as non-maleficence would mean keeping away from harming or hurting the other. beyond directly causing harm to someone else, the duty of non-maleficence also includes avoiding exposing 5 anthony ikechukwu kanu, “igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles,” 4th international conference on law, education and humanities (icleh'15) nov. 25-26, 2015 paris, france. 96-97. 6 anthony ikechukwu kanu, “igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles,” 97. 7 anthony ikechukwu kanu, “igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles,” 97-98. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 42 people to harm. a person might not have caused another harm directly, but a person can act in such a way that would expose others to harm.8 all these taken together constitute the core of igwebuike philosophy. before considering how these relate to hart’s jurisprudence, let consider hart’s theory in some detail. h. l. a. hart’s jurisprudential purview hart's most famous work is the concept of law, first published in 1961, and with a second edition (including a new postscript) published posthumously in 1994. the book emerged from a set of lectures that hart began to deliver in 1952, and it is presaged by his holmes lecture, positivism and the separation of law and morals delivered at harvard law school. the concept of law developed a sophisticated view of legal positivism. among the many ideas developed in this book are: a critique of john austin's theory that law is the command of the sovereign backed by the threat of punishment. a distinction between primary and secondary legal rules, where a primary rule governs conduct and a secondary rule allows of the creation, alteration, or extinction of primary rules. a distinction between the internal and external points of view of law and rules, close to (and influenced by) max weber's distinction between the sociological and the legal perspectives of law.9 hart’s methodological approaches: a point of departure hart in the preface to his work the concept of law presents the case that the work is “an essay in analytic jurisprudence. for it is concerned with the clarification of the general frame work of legal thought, rather than with the criticism of law and legal policy”1. going further in this, he also notes that the work could be described “as an essay in descriptive sociology”.10 in summarizing both methods, george letsas describes both methods as conceptual and descriptive respectively. further, letsas notes that the subject matter of these are three related but distinct legal aspects, namely, language, thought and action, which he describes technically as the linguistic, hermeneutic and naturalistic approaches respectively. from the linguistic point of view, hart tries to establish the fact that the use of different words in law related discourse details the existence of different kinds of 8 anthony ikechukwu kanu, “igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles,” 98. 9 online, h.l.a. hart, retrieved on 16.07.10 at http://www2.law.ox.ac.uk/jurisprudence/hart.shtml 10 h.l.a. hart, the concept of law, (oxford: the claredon press, 1961) p. v. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 43 rules which in turn signals the existence of different social functions that each rule performs. with regards to the relationship between rules and words hart observes: many important distinctions which are not immediately obvious, between types of social situations or relationships may best be brought to light by the examination of the standard use of the relevant expression and of the way in which these depend on a social context.11 what hart says here is that linguistic differentiation is not the only way to find out the complexity of law as a social phenomenon, but it is a useful guide one can turn to, to start with. in this we see the influence of j. l. austin ordinary language philosophy12 on hart. in line with this, hart seeks to establish this linguistic slant at the start of his philosophy, that we can learn something about law as a social institution by looking at the way law related vocabulary is used in a given circumstances. also, hart tries to develop his methodology from the hermeneutic and naturalist point of view. to this i add a historical point. thus, though hart offered his projections as an analytic claim, his argument may be usefully read as an astute historically grounded assessment of the institutional capacity of law to fame power in modern world. we can locate this better in the context of the debate between hart and fuller and this debate is located within the particular context of the post-war struggle with the horrific nazi episode, and in particular, the effort of this struggle in legal terms did not reproduce some of the abuses of legality which marked the nazi regime.13 thus, the historical specification of the nazi regime also forms part of what paints hart’s distinction in legal philosophy. we now look at the specifics on how hart uses these methods. 11 h.l.a. hart, “analytical jurisprudence in mid-twentieth cent.: a reply to prof. bodenheimer”, university of pennsylvania law review, 105 (1957) pp 961 – 962. 12 austin held that we can approach philosophical problems through an examination of the resources of ordinary language, for the meaning of words is tied to language as an evolutionary by product of its language and various applications. 13 nicola lacey,” h.l.a hart’s rule of law: the limits of philosophy in historical perspective”, on line retrieved 03. 04. 09 at ( http://eprints.(se.ac.us/3520/) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 44 what law is not: hart’s critique of austin in hart’s opinion, what is law is the most controversial question attended to in the history of legal theory. and these various shades of the responses given to this question are what make it more complex. as such so many simplistic answers have been given to the above question. some in his opinion say the law is “what officials do about disputes and prophesies of what the count will do”14etc. but all these cannot be referred to as law hart says. what really produces these paradoxical and puzzling answers is the fact that law is common knowledge based on simple education. yet there are certain recurrent issues about law that makes it a dicey subject. thus hart opines that, plainly the best course is to defer giving any answer to query “what is law?” until we have found out what it is about law that has in fact puzzled those who have asked or attempted to answer it, even their ability to recognize examples are beyond question.15 with this, hart proposes to go ahead and look at the recurrent issues that have made the question “what is law?” a paradoxical and puzzling issue. hart presents his case on the issue when he states that, there are three recurrent questions in this regard. these are: how does law differ from and how is it related to orders backed by threats? how does legal obligation differ from and how is it related to moral obligation? what are rules and to what extent is law an affair of rules? 16 but having made further complex analysis of the recurrent issues, hart concludes that, it seems clear, when we recall the character of the main issues which we have identified on underling the recurrent question “what is law”, that there is nothing concise enough to be recognized as a definition could provide a satisfactory answer to it.17 this is because in his opinion, the underlying issues are too different from each other and too fundamental to be capable of this sort of resolution. he further notes that why these elements take the place they do, his philosophy will best come to the fore, when it considers the deficiencies of the most prevalent legal 14 h.l.a. hart, the concept of law, pp 1-2. 15 h.l.a. hart, the concept of law, p. 5. 16 h.l.a. hart, the concept of law, p. 13. 17 h.l.a. hart, the concept of law, p. 16. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 45 tradition in english jurisprudence since it was propounded by j. l. austin. this is the drain that the key to understanding law is to be found in the simple notion of an order backed by threats which austin himself termed a “command”. and this too always calls for constant obedience in the sense of what austin calls a “habit of obedience”. in developing a critique of this model of understanding of the law, hart categorized his objection into three. some concern the content of laws; others their mode of origin; and others again their range of application. also on the fourth note, is that the idea supreme sovereign who should be habitually obeyed, on which this model rests, is misleading too. in the first place, as regards the content, criminal law may sound like this model of law. for in criminal law, there is always punishment when the laws are breached. but in a situation of legal rules defining the ways in which valid contracts or wills or marriages are made, such laws do not impose duties or obligations instead they provide individuals with facilities for realizing their wishes by conferring legal powers upon them to create by certain specified procedures and subject to certain conditions, structures of rights and duties within the coercer frame work of the law.18 a breach of these conditions does not result in outright punishment, but in nullity and this is not the same as sanction in any way. besides, a court order from a higher to a lower court act cannot be conceived in this term of a command backed by threat. and if a lower court acts in excess of function or does not follow the procedures allotted to it, the verdict is either quashed or reversed, and this is not the same as sanction. the point here is that, as regards the content of law, those who exercise powers to make authoritarian enactments or order, use this rule in a form of purposive activity utterly different from performance of duty or submission to coercive control.19 as regards the range of application, hart makes a distinction between the legislator in his official capacity as one person and his private capacity as another. as regards the origin of status, they are not similar to order backed by threat because some laws originate in customs and do not owe their legal status to any such conscious law creating act. thus, we see the case hart presents against austin. now we turn to what law is for hart. hart’s conception of law 18 h.l.a. hart, the concept of law, p. 27. 19 h.l.a. hart, the concept of law, p. 41. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 46 having in the above section seen what the law is not, hart goes ahead to try and say what it is. first, the law is an affair of rules and so we can say what the law is, by saying what rules are. in this regard njoku writes that, ‘hart asserts that investigation about law via rules is, the most portable way of three starting points”, 20 but then hart isolates rules from social habits to which they could be mistaken. for although both social habits and rules regulate behaviour, hart states in his essay “the ascription of rights and responsibilities”, “that legal concepts are not reducible to extra-legal concept. that they need contextual understanding”.21 rules are better understood from the point of view from which they emerge, apart from the external aspect which rules share with social habits there is also the internal aspect of rules. this aspect may be illustrated with the rules of a game;22 the rules of the point of view of these who are playing game, as against those who are watching the playing of the game. thus, a closer look discloses that the basic element of rules is the fact that they are normative, general, standard of behaviour, justificatory, are present in hart’s evaluations on rules. so when hart talks about the internal aspect of which characterizes a rule as against the external aspect which it shares with social habit, the normative of the rule comes to the fore. when we consider his argument on legislation, the continuity of the authority to make laws possessed by a succession of different legislators, and the persistence of law long after their maker and those who rendered him habitual obedience have perished, the idea of the generality of the rule comes to the fore. his emphasis on the context dependent nature of the rule brings to the fore the fact that the rule guides behaviour. and when he places the argument that action can be evaluated with regard to rules, we see the justificatory quality of rules. types of rules: towards founding a legal system to further express what he has to say of rules, hart presents the case for the type of rules. first, hart casts our minds back to primitive societies without legislature, courts or officials of any kind. this, we will describe as a legal state of nature. but there in this situation, human actions still have to be regulated and the only means of social regulation or control is a general attitude of the group. a social structure of this kind he describes as one of customs, but prefers to 20 f.o.c njoku, philosophy in politic, law and democracy, (owerri: claretian institute of philosophy, 2007) p. 87. 21 h. l. a hart, “the ascription of responsibility and rights”, proceedings of the aristotelian society, new series, vol. 49, (1948-1949) pp 171-194. 22 h.l.a. hart, the concept of law, p. 55. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 47 technically refer to it as a society built on the “primary rules of obligation”. but for a society to live in this kind of situation, there are some deficiencies that have to be rectified before this kind of system will work quiet effectively. the first defect to be catered for here is that of uncertainty. this is obvious because it is only a small community closely knit by ties of kinship; common sentiment, belief and placed in a stable environment, that could live successfully by such a regime of unofficial rules.23 thus, in any situation apart from the above mentioned, doubts must arise as to what the rules are or as to precise scope of some given rule. there will be no procedure for setting this doubt, either by reference to any authoritative text or to an official whose declaration on this point are authoritative. thus, hart states, for plainly, such a procedure and the acknowledgment of either authoritative texts or persons involve the existence of rules of a type different from the rules of obligation or duty which ex hypothesis are all that the group has.24 this defect in the simple social structure of primary rules we may call its uncertainty. a second defect is the static character of these rules. in this regard, hart opines that the only mode of change in rules known to such a society will be the slow process of growth, whereby courses of conduct once thought optimal became first habitual or usual, and then obligatory. the converse process of decay will be such that when deviations once severely dealt with, they are first tolerated and then passed unnoticed. there will be no means, in such a society, of deliberately adapting the rules to changing circumstances; either by eliminating old ones and introducing new ones. for again, the possibility of doing this presupposes the existence of rules of a different type from the primary rules of obligation by which alone the society lives. thus, we see here that these primary rules suffer from the defect of being static. thirdly, there is also the defect of inefficiency of this system of rule. this system is characterized by the problem of the lack of final and authoritative 23 h.l.a. hart, the concept of law, pp. 89-90. 24 h.l.a. hart, the concept of law, p. 90. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 48 determination of violations. this must be distinguished from another sickness associated with this system. the fact that punishment for violation of rules and other forms of social pressure involving physical effort or the use of force are not administered by a special agency but are left to the individuals affected or to the group at large. hart further contends that the waste of time involved in this inarticulate quest and the smouldering vendetta which may result from self help in this situation will be quite serious.25 additionally, hart further argues that “the remedy for each of these three main defects in its simplistic form of social structure consists in supplementing the primary rules of obligation with secondary rules which are rules of a different kind”.26 the step for remedying each of these defects may be considered a step from the pre-legal into the legal world. this is because each remedy brings with it many elements that permeate law; and all remedies together are enough to convert the regime of primary rules into what is indisputably a legal system. these rules hart refers to as secondary rules and they specify the ways in which the primary rules may be conclusively ascertained, introduced, eliminated and if violated can be conclusively determined. with this general remark, hart now goes ahead to enumerate in more detail the remedies for these deficiencies. in hart’s opinion, the simplest form of remedy for the uncertainty of the regime of primary rules is the introduction of what he (hart) calls “rule of recognition”. this rule will specify the feature or feature possession of which by a suggested rule is taken as a conclusive affirmative indication that it is a rule of the group to be supported by the social pressure it exerts. the existence of this rule in different groups might take different forms. in many early societies, it might just take the form of a list or text of the rules documented and to which reference can be constantly made, as authoritative text for code of conduct in such a society. it is not just the reduction to writing that really matters here, what is crucial is the acknowledgement of reference to the writing or inscription as authoritative as the proper way of disposing of doubts as to the existence of the rule. thus where there is this kind of rule, there is a very simple form of secondary rule for the conclusive identification of the primary rules of obligation. the mode for the articulation and reference to this rule in more advanced societies can be more complex than those in the less advanced ones. this is most times done not by reference to a text or list, they do so by reference to some general characteristic 25 h.l.a. hart, the concept of law, p. 91. 26 h.l.a. hart, the concept of law, p. 91. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 49 possessed by primary rules. this may be the fact of their having been enacted by a specific body, or their long customary practice or their relation to judicial decisions. moreover, where more than one such general characteristic are treated as identifying criteria, provision may be made for their possible conflict by their arrangement in an order of superiority. by providing this authoritative mark, it introduces, although in an embryonic form, the idea of a legal system. for the rules are now not just a discrete unconnected sit but are in a simple way unified. as regards the static quality of the regime of primary rules is an introduction of what hart refers to as the “rule of change”. the simplistic form of such a rule is that which empowers an individual or body of persons to introduce new primary rules for the conduct of the life of the group or some class within it, and to eliminate old rules. such rules of change may be very simple or complex; the powers conferred may be unrestricted or limited in various ways; and the rules may, besides specifying the persons who are to legislate, define in more or less rigid terms its procedure to be followed in legislation. and there will always be a connection between the rules of recognition and that of change, “for where the former exists the latter will necessarily incorporate a reference to legislation as an identifying feature of rules, though it need not refer to all the details of procedure involved in legislation.”27 these rules that make for change in the legal system create rooms for chief amenities in the system. for some of these are: making of wills, contracts, transfer of property and money, and other voluntarily created structures of rights and duties which typify life under law. this makes the system much more dynamic and is akin to giving credence to freedom of individual subjects. as a remedy to the third deficiency of inefficiency is the secondary rules empowering individuals to make authoritative determinations of the question whether, on a particular occasion a primary rule has been broken. this rule hart refers to as “secondary rules of adjudication”. besides identifying the individuals who are to adjudicate, such rules will also define the procedure to be followed. from the above, we come to discover that the primary rules are deficient in that they are uncertain, static and inefficient and to these remedies are provided in the form of secondary rules of recognition, change and adjudication. and it is hart’s opinion that this combination of primary rules of obligation with the secondary rules of recognition, change and adjudication, brings us not only to 27 h.l.a. hart, the concept of law, p. 93. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 50 the knowledge of the legal system. but it is also a most powerful tool for the analysis of laws that has puzzled both the jurist and political theorist. 28 the place of morals in founding rules: an igwebuike dimension in hart’s jurisprudence in traditional african communities, radbruch’s claim that “the fundamental principles of humanitarian morality were part of the very concept of legality and that no positive enactment or statute, however clearly it expressed and however clearly it conformed with the formal criteria of validity of a given legal system, could be valid if it contravened the basic principles of morality”29 applies. and the above principles are what african cultures embrace in emphasizing morality more than the laws. moral formation in traditional africa is given to children at a very tender age in order to acquire the habits, attitudes, beliefs, skills and motives that enable a human being to fit into a community. thus each and every aspect of life contributed to the moral formation of an individual. an individual lived in and was part of the community and it was every one’s duty to uphold the community’s values. thus morality was and still is part and parcel of the community. despite the above, people still bore allegiance to kings, emperors, emirs, obas, obis, elders, etc, which also counted as being moral. but how, one may ask, did those authorities emerge? so, today, how do we account for the diminishing value accorded traditional institutions in africa other than the interface of modernity and rational law? the etsako experience was the basis for this analysis. with regard to the complementary role of law and morality in the conception of the law, hart’s philosophy is very central and this is the basis for igwebuike reading of his work. in talking about the place of morals in founding rules in hart, f.o.c. njoku writes that there is a relationship between them, but that “the bone of contention between law and morality is how their relationship is to be conceived”.30 this is the fact because for hart both law and morals are social phenomena used for the social control of behavior. hart in this regard follows the tradition of a necessary separation of law and morality. but he does not deny the minimal content which they both share as normative systems. he also accepts the fact of the role of morality in founding of the law in hard or 28 h.l.a. hart, the concept of law, p. 95. 29 kingsley ufuoma omoyibo, “african jurisprudence: the law as a complement to public morality,” 15. 30 f.o.c. njoku, philosophy in politics, law and democracy, pg 23. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 51 borderline cases, where law runs out in the face of application and interpretation. and at this point the judge might let his moral conviction come to bear. but hart also tries to warn that this relationship must not be over exaggerated, for the fact that they are both used as instruments of social control suggests “that law is best understood as a branch of morality or justice and that its congruence with the principles of morality or justice rather than its incorporation of order and threats as its essence”.31 but this assimilation often ends in confusing one kind of obligatory conduct with another and to leave insufficient room for difference in kind between legal and moral rules and for divergences in their requirements. this kind of assimilation is what results in statements like, “an unjust law is not law”. and these are products of exaggerated situation between extremes. furthermore, hart argues that there are different types of relation between law and morals. as such what is important is to distinguish some of the ways different things may be meant by the assertion or denial that law and morals are related. but he clearly emphasizes the basic that law, to some extent, has its roots in morals. thus hart opines, “it cannot seriously be disputed that the development of law, at all times and places has in fact been profoundly influenced both by the conventional morality and ideals of a particular social group and also by forms of enlightened moral criticism urged by individuals whose moral horizon has transcended the morality currently accepted”.32 but for the case that there must be some conformity between law and morals, hart argues that this must not be the case. in line with the above, hart goes ahead to emphasis the minimum content which both law and morals share. in his opinion, in the absence of this content, men, as they are, would have no reason for obeying voluntarily any rules; and without a minimum of co-operation given voluntarily by those who find that it is in their interest to submit to and maintain the rules, coercion of others who would not voluntarily conform would be impossible.33 as such the connection here between natural facts and content as well as legal and moral rules is based on a kind of purposive causality, i.e. a kind of causality 31 h.l.a. hart, the concept of law, p. 7. 32 h.l.a. hart, the concept of law, p. 181. 33 h.l.a. hart, the concept of law, p. 189. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 52 deliberately directed to a purpose or end. and these can be represented in the following areas: human vulnerability, approximate equality; limited altruism; limited resources; limited understanding and strength of will, 34 at these points morals and laws share a minimum content. but hart’s conclusion in this regard is that morals have a place in founding of rules, but then rules should not be reduced to morals. by this, hart advises that we take a wider perspective of the law. thus he asserts, “a concept of law which allows the invalidity of law to be distinguished from its immorality, enables us to see the complexity and variety of these separate issues, whereas a narrow concept of law which denies legal validity to iniquitous rules may blind us to them”.34 this is because, as hart will argue that an iniquitous law is law and must be valid. for wicked men will enact weak laws which others will enforce. what surely is needed in order to make men clear sighted in confronting the official abuse of power, is that they should preserve the sense that the certification of something as legally valid is not conclusive of the question of obedience and that, however, great the area of majesty or authority which the official system may have, its demands must in the end be submitted to moral scrutiny.35 this is one of hart’s major reasons for keeping both the law and morals apart, for by so doing the law can be judged by morals. but when they are together they become same and you cannot sufficiently judge the other. conclusion in conclusion, the submission of this essay is that the idea of a minimum content between law and morality which hart insists on is the core of igwebuike dimension in his jurisprudence. by this very token, hart is a moderate positivist and also appreciates the basic tenet of natural law jurisprudence. thus, the law is one thing in itself and the moral element complements its essence, but is not what makes its essence. so too, the force of morality will also require the law to drive it home. without moral rule becoming active codes for guiding behaviour, they are most likely to lose their potency as behavioral variables. bibliography f.o.c njoku, philosophy in politic, law and democracy, (owerri: claretian institute of philosophy, 2007) p. 87. f.o.c. njoku, philosophy in politics, law and democracy, pg 23. 34 h.l.a. hart, the concept of law, p. 207. 35 h.l.a. hart, the concept of law, p. 206. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 53 h. l. a hart, “the ascription of responsibility and rights”, proceedings of the aristotelian society, new series, vol. 49, (1948-1949) pp 171-194. h.l.a. hart, “analytical jurisprudence in mid-twentieth cent.: a reply to prof. bodenheimer”, university of pennsylvania law review, 105 (1957) pp 961 – 962. holmes, the common law. (harcourt, brace. 1920), 1. kanu, i. a. (2014). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for interreligious dialogue. a paper presented at the nigerian philosophical association national conference, held at the university of lagos, lagos state, october 15-17. kanu, i. a. (2015a). a hermeutic approach to the study of african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015b). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015). “igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles,” 4th international conference on law, education and humanities (icleh'15) nov. 25-26, 2015 paris, france. 96-97. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no. 1.[ 97-101]. kanu, i. a. (2016b). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no.1. [1-7]. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and and logic (nka) of african philosophy”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kingsley ufuoma omoyibo, “african jurisprudence: the law as a complement to public morality,” international journal of social sciences (ijss), vol.6, no.4, 2016. 13-22. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 54 kingsley ufuoma omoyibo, “african jurisprudence: the law as a complement to public morality,” 15. nicola lacey,” h.l.a hart’s rule of law: the limits of philosophy in historical perspective”, on line retrieved 03. 04. 09 at ( http://eprints.(se.ac.us/3520/) william idowu, “law, morality and the african cultural heritage: the jurisprudential significance of the ogboni institution,” nordic journal of african studies, 14(2):2005, 175-192. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 2.doc igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 39 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) dialectics of national question and restructuring in nigeria: a rethink patrick peter, ph.d department of political science faculty of social sciences kaduna state university, kaduna peterpatrick041@gmail.com abstract the paper examined the nexus between the national question and restructuring in nigeria with a view to x-raying the centrifugal forces militating against fostering unity in diversity in the country. relying on secondary data and employing content analysis, the paper found that the political elites are practising politics with bitterness; and have been exploiting the great diversity of the country to their advantage to the detriment of the majority citizens. this culminated to the country becoming enveloped in multifarious violent conflicts that is threatening to tear the country apart. consequently, the paper recommended among others that justice and equitable distribution of resources by political office holders and stamping out corruption among others will go a long way in reducing poverty induced conflicts to the barest minimum; and strict adherence to the tenets of democracy such as accountability, transparency, rule of law and being responsive to the citizens’ yearnings and aspirations, coupled with diversifying the economy will enhance socio-economic development and political stability in nigeria. key words: national question, restructuring, security, fourth republic. introduction incontrovertibly, issues revolving around the national question and restructuring are not recent phenomena. going down memory lane, in the colonial era, unitary system of government was introduced and constitutional developments were periodically carried out; and regionalism, revenue allocation formula and minority issues in the three regions were all administrative challenges that the colonial government faced. at the verge of gaining independence by nigeria, the lyttleton constitution of 1954 introduced a full-fledged federal system of government in order to effectively cater for the great diversity in the country. with the advent of independence in 1960, the colonial legacy of a heterogeneous country characterised by three major ethnic groups, over 250 other ethnolinguistic groups, and three religions, namely, christianity, islam and traditional religion among others, created “primordial attachments that offers opportunities for social cohesion at the communal level, but creates social conflicts at the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 40 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) national (state) level, as the arena for socio-political and economic competition” (dunmoye, 2012: 19). the journey of nigeria in the postcolonial era has been a tortuous one owing to her inability to foster unity in diversity, which is a cardinal principle of federalism, hence issues bordering on the national question and restructuring have refused to leave the front burner. this led to a compelling need to give a second thought to the persistent problems that stunts the ability of the country to move forward in terms of reaping the benefits of a federal system of government. the paper is divided into six sections. the first section is the introduction already discussed. the second part has to do with the conceptual clarifications, while the third segment is made up of the literature review. the fourth section comprises the theoretical framework. the fourth aspect is on the national question and restructuring in nigeria. the sixth segment consists of the conclusion and recommendations. conceptual clarifications national question national question is oftentimes seen as a debate on whether nigeria should remain as a nation state or disintegrate. on the other hand, national questions (pluralised) means that nigeria is faced with a myriad of problems such as defective federalism, and other age long injustices. in other words, national question (singularised) has to do with “how to order the relations between the different ethnic, linguistic and cultural groupings, it also entails equal rights and privileges, access to power and equitable share of national resources”(tell, 2002: 62 cited in olasupo, 2005: 138). it follows therefore that in this paper, national question has to do with those factors that are threatening to disintegrate the country. restructuring restructuring entails drastic changes in an organisation or system with a view to improving its activities”. restructuring implies, re-engineering, re-organising, redesign, realignment, transformation, reconfiguration, reshuffle, reshaping, reschedule, reform, revamping, reconversion, adjustment among others” (berry, 1989 cited in kamal and kamal, 2017: 196). according to kabir (2018: 8), igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 41 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) restructuring means different things to different people with different perspectives. to the poor, it means equitable distribution of wealth; it is fair representation in appointment to key positions to politically disadvantaged groups; it is provision of amenities to rural populace; it is state creation or break-up to politically excluded ethnic group or region, it is mindset re-engineering or value re-orientation to others, etc. in nigeria, as a result of sharp practices such as corruption, nepotism, ethnic chauvinism, religious bigotry, regionalism, inequitable distribution of resources and political exclusion of some groups among others, some nigerians are agitating for more equitable change ranging from political to socio-economic restructuring which is the fulcrum on which this paper is hinged. literature review barongo (1980: 64) aptly pinpointing the origin of primordial attachments to the colonial era, which eventually culminated to the current challenges of national question and restructuring, coupled with the manipulation of the heterogeneity of the society by the political elites to satisfy their economic needs as follows: for the successful politician however, being in control of the resources and thus able to manipulate them to the advantage of his supporters augurs a bright political future. thus, politicians representing certain ethnic and sectional interests engage in cut-throat battles in order to control the management of the scarce resources. the manner in which the regime uses discriminatory devices in the allocation and utilization of these resources inevitably alienates some sections of society and intensifies ethnic and elite conflicts. the consequent tension in inter-ethnic and inter-elite relationships frequently leads to political instability. in a similar vein, oyovbaire (1980: 17) succinctly posited that the complexity of conflicts in nigeria which originated from the double strategy of domination and exploitation by the colonial government gave rein to: various dimensions of inequality of access to resources and in the distribution of the national product; inequality of access to power, justice and equity; various types and degrees of hatred, anger, and vice; ethnocentrism and chauvinism, existence of more than two publics and hence public distrust, avarice, bigotry and arrogance; the problems of spurious nationalism, institutional fragility, economic underdevelopment linked with low levels of technology, productivity, organizational skills igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 42 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) and perverse values. every one of these features cuts across the horizontal as well as the vertical formation of the country. primordial sentiment which was the voting pattern in the first republic repeated itself in the second republic as observed by uche (2007: 62) in the following words: the politicization of ethnicity in spite of the constitutional break-up of the old regions into nineteen states… inevitably, political parties and leaders continued to play the only political tricks and campaigns, which they can easily muster and exploit for their individual and class interest – projecting themselves as champions of their respective ethnic homelands. in the process, campaign slogans were targeted at arousing ethnic sentiments with little or no emphasis on socio-economic and political issues concerning the development of the country. poignantly, tedheke (2009: 61) threw more light on how the political elites manipulate nigerian citizens through primordial sentiments in order to satisfy their selfish economic interest as follows: richard joseph was able to link the nigerian crisis in general and democratic crisis in nigeria in particular to the struggle for wealth by the landed aristocrat/comprador/rentier political elite. hence issues of regionalism, population, ethnic blocs, language, religion and level of economic attainment have all become spheres of contest complicating the socio-cultural differences. this has equally rendered the issue of revenue allocation one of uncommon intensity... thus ethnic consciousness is superimposed over the interests of the downtrodden and thus serves to camouflage the more fundamental and ‘objective’ interests of competing elite or classes. the annals of bad governance associated with primordial sentiments in nigeria was amply highlighted by aliyu (2017: 16-17) as the flamboyant display of illegally acquired wealth by politicians, which alienated a considerable percentage of the populace and fans the ember of cleavage and long muted but dangerous primordial sentiments such as ethnicity and religious bigotry. he further observed that the multifaceted persistent eruption of violent conflicts in the country is threatening to tear the country apart and nigeria is at the threshold of collapse. theoretical framework igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 43 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) the paper adopts the marxian political economy approach. marx and engels (1877), the proponents of the theory opined that politics and socio-cultural systems are influenced by the economic structure known as substructure, hence the root causes of conflicts in human societies is the economic structure (patrick, 2009: 6–7; mohammed, 2011: 49). the theory’s position on the economic determinacy of political and socio-cultural activities “helps us to argue that because of the high level of poverty and corruption in africa or third world countries, people tend to see access to political office as an escape route from poverty... these tendencies induce violence and instability” (aule, 2015: 8). in other words, politicians in nigeria view political offices as means of amassing wealth, which is of economic value. this explains why more often than not, politics in nigeria is considered as a door-die affair or practised with bitterness. national question and restructuring in nigeria owing to the failure of nigerian leaders especially political office holders to resolve agitations bordering on the national question, there were, and still are clarion calls by some citizens of the country for restructuring of the polity. however, in the fourth republic, fruitless attempts were made to resolve these contending issues by organising a national political reform conference (nprc) in 2005 during president olusegun obasanjo administration. it was viewed by many people that the conference was meant to serve the interest of the then president and the political elites. this was corroborated by surajudeen (2005: 220) as follows: again, the manner of conduct of the conference showed that it was meant for a selected few in the society. the manner in which some memoranda submitted by the people were totally jettisoned and replaced by some strange document originating from the presidency is a pointer to the fact that the inauguration of the conference was to fulfil the “hidden agenda” of the administration. not only this, the calibre of people that dominated the conference signified “an old wine in a new bottle”. what would have been a good opportunity for the country to replace the old colonial state with an indigenous state capable of nurturing its own structures and institutions was again turned to another neo colonial misadventure at the expense of nigerian people. while nigeria largely depend on the oil sector for its revenue, the negative social effects of the oil industry on the people of the niger delta region include “high igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 44 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) wave of inflation, moral bankruptcy, incessant litigation due to oil industry acquisition of land and emerging trend of environmental refugees and the social menace of youth occasioned by interrelated factors” (aghalino, 2011: 118). although the oil industry has attempted to perform some modicum of social responsibility, its effort is not good enough. some politicians in nigeria operate at the whims and caprices of their godfathers, which is a major debacle to political stability as they are usually embroiled in illegal means of achieving their political ambitions, manipulation of public policies and turning young citizens to hooligans and thugs among others; and relegating the citizens’ welfare and interests to the background (alabi and sakariyau, 2011: 291-294). the manner in which politics is being practised in nigeria as a do-or-die affair in a bid to control sharing of the national cake, which is the fastest means of amassing wealth in nigeria, constitute the driving force behind the violent ethno-religious and regional politics from the first republic to the fourth republic. owing to high rate of poverty and unemployment of the teeming youths, “in such circumstances, youths are exposed to all sorts of activities that enable the politicians to employ them as personal foot soldiers. hence they are openly organized, armed, finance and directed by politicians in the furtherance of their own ends” (ntim and abdulmalik, 2014: 71). the mounting pressure by some nigerian citizens to rectify the defects in nigeria’s federalism and the areas of restructuring from different quotas include among others: resource control; devolution of more powers and resources to states; true federalism; abolishing federal character and quota system; unicameral in place of bicameral national assembly; resource control; rotational presidency; creation of state police; fiscal federalism; creation of more states; removal of state-local government joint account; fiscal federalism; autonomy for local governments; making the present six (6) geopolitical zones regions in place of the thirty six (36) states; removal of immunity clause for president and governors; splitting nigeria into biafra, oduduwa and arewa republics; people’s constitution to replace military drafted constitution; return of parliamentary system of government in place of presidential system of government; and giving immunity to senate president and speaker of house of representative (kamal, 2017: 198). these agitations have metamorphosed to security challenges in nigeria such as ethno-religious conflicts, political violence, inter and intra communal clashes, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 45 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) militancy, insurgency and terrorism among others. this goes to explain why elaigwu (2005: 12) cited in dance, habakuk and john (2017: 116-117) echoed that: the violent protests in the niger-delta over perceived injustice in resource distribution; the itsekiri-ijaw violence in the delta, the menace of odua peoples’ congress and the accompanying violence in lagos and shagamu; the formation of the arewa peoples’ congress (apc) and the igbo peoples’ congress (ipc); the massob feeble attempt to resuscitate biafra; the sharia crisis and the demands for a confederation; the south-south demand for the control of its resources; and all the recent inter-ethnic/religious conflicts in various states across the country are all part of the bubbles of the nigerian groups with the state of the federation. on the whole, restructuring based on the aforementioned criteria without attitudinal change is a mirage. the character of nigerian leaders and the followers shows that whichever step that is taken to restructure the polity without resolving fundamental divisive tendencies bordering on the national question is an exercise in futility. the following excerpts of kabir (2018: 33), is quite instructive to the academia and the general public: restructuring governance structures without addressing nigeria’s fundamental challenges as corruption, tribalism, will not achieve the desired results. by building a stronger sense of national identity, improving trust and confidence in government; strengthening federal, state and local institutions; diversifying the economy; and introducing proactive measures to combat corruption; nigeria could begin on the path to sustainable national development. it is not nigeria that need restructuring but us that need to restructure our minds by change of our attitude. attitudinal change as a must and a necessity. mark these five truths: an envious man finds no peace, a liar has no manly virtue, a greedy man is not to be trusted, a miser has no power and a man of bad character has no glory. do not hate one another, or envy one another or turn your backs on one another; rather be brethren as allah’s slaves. “we are people of many different races, tribes and religions, who are knit together by common history, common interests and common ideals. our diversity may be great but the things that unite us are stronger than the things that divide us. conclusion and recommendations the paper took a cursory look at the nexus between the national question and restructuring. an in-depth content analysis of secondary data revealed that right igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 46 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) from the colonial era to the postcolonial era, nigeria has been battling with how to foster unity in diversity. the findings of the paper indicated that nigeria’s great diversity is not the problem. the problem is the attitude of the citizens of which there is sharp division along primordial sentiments. the political elites often exploit this great diversity by manipulating the majority poverty stricken citizens in order to satisfy their personal selfish economic interest. they are more often than not interested in occupying political officers in order to share the national cake than to bake it. the injustice perpetrated by the political elites over the years such as bad governance culminated to the current security challenges the country is facing which is threatening to tear the country apart. against this background the paper recommends the following: i. more credible elections devoid of electoral malpractices especially buying or selling of votes among others should be prioritised. ii. aggressive enlightenment programmes should be introduced across the country with a view to raising citizens’ awareness on burying their differences and embracing one another as one nation state. this will promote national integration and high sense of patriotism. iii. justice and equitable distribution of resources by political office holders and stamping out corruption among others will go a long way in reducing poverty induced conflicts to the barest minimum. iv. strict adherence to the tenets of democracy such as accountability, transparency, rule of law and being responsive to the citizens’ yearnings and aspirations, coupled with diversifying the economy will enhance socio-economic development and political stability in nigeria. v. the nigerian government should beef up protection of lives and property in order to promote peaceful coexistence in the country and national integration among others. references aghalino, s. o. (2011): “on the social consequences of oil and gas exploration and production in the niger delta, 1956-2001.” in: kaduna journal of historical studies, special edition, december, department of history, kaduna state university, kaduna, nigeria. alabi, a. and sakariyau, r. t. (2011): “democracy and politics of godfatherism in nigeria: the effects and way forward.” in: muhammad, t., ahmad, b. a. and yusuf, h. e. (eds.), issues in social in social and management science research. kaduna, nigeria: yehison nigeria limited, 2011. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 47 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) aliyu, (2017): “good governance and democratic consolidation in nigeria’s fourth republic.” being a paper delivered at the sixth international conference with the theme: issues in economic recession, recovery and governance, organised by faculty of social and management sciences, kaduna state university, kaduna, between 8th and 9th march. aule, o. (2015): “elections and the consolidation of democracy in nigeria: a study of 2007 general elections.” being a paper delivered at the fourth international conference on contemporary issues in development and information society, organised by the faculty of social and management sciences, kaduna state university, kaduna, nigeria, between 16th and 17th june. barongo, j. r. 1980): “understanding african politics: the political economy approach.” in: nigerian journal of political science, vol. 2, no. 2, department of political science, ahmadu bello university, zaria, nigeria. dance, a. m., habakuk, a. and john, r. (2017): “sustainable development: the challenges of ethno-religious crisis in nigeria.” in: kaduna journal of political science, vol. 4, no. 2, department of political science, kaduna state university, kaduna, nigeria. dunmoye, r. a. (2012): “complexity of ethno-religious conflicts in nigeria: interface of security and development.” in: the proceedings of the abu@50 humanities’ international conference on national security, integration and sustainable development in nigeria, held at ahmadu bello university, zaria, 19th – 20th november. kabir, k. u. (2018): “restructuring nigeria: convergence of diverse perspectives.” being a lead paper delivered at faculty of social and management sciences, kaduna state university, kaduna, on 30th january. kamal, b. and kamal, h. (2017): “nigeria: to be restructured or not to be restructured. in: kaduna journal of political science, vol. 4, no. 2, department of political science, kaduna state university, kaduna, nigeria. mohammed, y. a. (2011): the parameters of political science. lafia, nigeria: rafa printing and publishing. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 48 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) ntim, g. e. and abdulmalik, j. a. (2014): “electoral violence and democratic governance in nigeria: challenges and prospects.” in: kaduna journal of political science, vol. 1, no. 1, department of political science, kaduna state university, kaduna, nigeria. olasupo,f. a. (2005): “national question and politics at the local level.” in: warisu, o. a. (ed.), political reform conference, federalism and the national question in nigeria. nigeria: nigerian political science association. oyovbaire, s. e. (1980): “the responsibility of political science in nigeria.” in: nigerian journal of political science, vol. 2, no. 2, department of political science, ahmadu bello university, zaria, nigeria. patrick, p. (2009): “interrogating the role of nigeria in global peace support operations: the case of west africa.” being a paper delivered at the 1st national discourse on nigeria in global peace support operations, organized by nigerian defence academy, kaduna, between 19th and 23rd july. surajudeen, o. m. (2005): “national conference, federalism and the project of statehood in nigeria.” in: jega, a. and ibeanu, o. (eds.), elections and the future of democracy in nigeria. nigeria: npsa. tedheke, m. e. u. (2009): “security challenges affecting democracy in nigeria: an alternative view.” in: development review, journal of centre for development research and advocacy, vol. 1, no. 1. uche, n. (2007): “history of elections in nigeria.” in: jega, a. and ibeanu, o. (eds.), elections and the future of democracy in nigeria. nigeria: npsa. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 4.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 1 a critique of force in african worldview archibong, emmanuel iniobong faculty of arts, department of philosophy nnamdi azikiwe university, awka emmymark2jr@gmail.com abstract vital force is in hierarchical order in african worldview from god the supreme vital force through to the ancestors-the living dead, divinities, living humans, animals, plants and minerals. there are both material and non-material dimensions of force in african worldview which qualifies it to have a metaphysical (non-material) and scientific (material) basis simultaneously. factual or material knowledge among the people of africa is mainly restricted to matter of everyday living not really giving a place of prominence by way of in-depth reflection and analysis. it is also mostly the fundamental concerns of the artisans. but without any doubt, the work of artisans played a decisive role in establishing man’s knowledge of and mastery over the material universe which precedes western science as it is known today. africans therefore, are very conscious materially only in the sense that they use the material force in the universe to enhance their life-force, healing and magical powers. this is why sacred plants, places, hills, rivers, valleys, mountains and animals are used by africans to manipulate nature without any economic or infrastructural benefits accruing from such practices. the study employs the method of criticism and argues that focusing on the non-material aspect of reality wholly as the major preoccupation and explanation for every phenomenon in the african universe is the major reason why africa is still scientifically and technologically underdeveloped. thus, striking a balance in both the material and non-material aspect of force in african worldview or focusing more on research on the material aspect of reality devoid of non-material explanation will see to a new generation of africans who will overcome present economic and infrastructural deficit by coming up with indigenous african science and technology for the peoples economic emancipation and wellbeing. keywords: force, worldview, african, development, scientific, technological, material, non-material. introduction that the mineral which is nature’s material deposits whether solid, liquid or gaseous is at the lower wrung of the ladder of force in african worldview should be of great concern to contemplative africans. this is because it may serve as an explanation to why africa as a continent and her people are backward scientifically and technologically. force in african worldview is predominantly religious and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 2 metaphysical. hence though it has a material dimension, it is however subsumed under the non-material to the point that the material aspect is accepted on the basis of the metaphysical. for the bantu’s as well as other africans, it is a common belief that being is animated by force. this force has a supreme value which is life force, to live strong or vital force. this bantu ontology is contingent upon the worldview held by the people. tempels emphasized this point lucidly when he asserts that, anyone who wishes to study primitive people or evolues must give up all idea of attaining valid scientific conclusion so long as he has not been able to understand their metaphysic. to declare on apriori grounds that primitive peoples have no ideas on the nature of beings, that they have no ontology and that they are completely lacking in logic, is simply to turn one’s back to reality. force in african worldview can be understood from a firm logic of belief. this belief is centered on the supreme being or god. thus, “the bantu speak of god himself as “the strong one”, he who possesses force in himself. he is also the source of the force of every creature. in the minds of bantu, all beings in the universe possess vital force of their own: human, animal, vegetable, or inanimate. each being has been endowed by god with a certain force, capable of strengthening the vital energy of the strongest being of all creation: man”1 the unique thing about this force as subscribed by africans is that they are metaphysical but with evidence in the physical or material realm. this suggests that “life force” or “vital force” has been enshrined in everything in creation by the supreme creator, god. to this end, there is force in everything in creation animate or inanimate. the understanding of the workings of this force is essential to the survival of the bantu’s as well as their unique knowledge of manipulating mind over matter. tempels avers also that “the bantu say, in respect of a number of strange practices in which we see neither rime nor reason, that their purpose is to acquire life, strength or vital force, to live strongly, that they are to make life stronger, or to assure that force shall remain perpetually in one’s posterity”.2 the concept of force to traditional africans has a dimension to which it is correlated to the scientific term “energy”. energy in western science is uncreated and indestructible. similarly, force in african worldview has the same connotation as it can only diminish one’s being but it cannot be destroyed. tempels explains this point lucidly thus: those who think that, according to the bantu, one being can entirely annihilate another, to the point that he ceases to exist, conceive a false idea. doubtless one force that is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 3 greater than another can paralyze it, diminish it, or even cause its operation totally to cease, but for all that the force does not cease to exist. existence which comes from god cannot be taken from a creature by any created force.3 the bantu african has a rich and profound philosophy of reality which captures the very essence of the people’s worldviews, culture and logic. their idea of being has a lot of relationship in many ways with that of the westerners as can be implied, since being is a subject that has a lot of relevance to reality. since force is at the centre of being, it becomes very germane to examine africans understanding of force from her worldview and why it is not as systematized and utilized as that of the westerners. one of the outcomes of such an interrogation will reveal why african theory of vital force though very unique, has not helped africans fared well economically just like that of their western counterparts because of the over concentration of the non-material aspect of reality to the detriment of the material. the study shall now proceed to examine the concept of a worldview as imperative to viewing and understanding reality. what is a worldview? a worldview or weltanschauung in german, closely associated with the philosopher and historian, wilhelm dilthey is an overarching philosophy or that which defines the most consistent cherished beliefs of a people. a worldview can be religious, philosophical and scientific which reflects reality or truth. a people’s worldview is important because it determines beliefs and beliefs determine behavior invariably. a certain belief is accepted because it is believed that it produces a certain consequence. worldviews are therefore implicit by their nature as people are not usually aware of the ways their categories, systems of logic and basic assumptions affect the way they view the world. according to kraft: worldview, the deep level of culture, is the culturally structured set of assumptions (including values and commitments/allegiances) underlying how a people perceive and respond to reality. worldview is not separate from a culture. it is included in culture as the deepest level presuppositions upon which people based their lives.4 from the above, a worldview is a set of beliefs, a model that attempts to explain all of reality and not just some aspect of it. geisler and bocchino correspondingly aver that, “…a worldview is a philosophical system that attempts to explain how the facts of reality relate and fit together. in other words, a worldview shapes or colors the way we think and furnish the interpretative condition for understanding and explaining the facts of our experience”.5 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 4 worldview is from where a people make sense of the meaning of life, existence, reality, the universe, values, afterlife, and the supernatural. it could also relate to any ideology, philosophy, theology, movement or religion that provides an overarching approach to understanding god, the world, and the familiar and unfamiliar features of the universe. worldview is man’s construct clearly embedded in culture and culture is diverse and dynamic sometimes leading to a shift or shock. in all, definitions of worldview could contain: fundamental cognitive structures, systems of beliefs, explains all of reality (cosmology, metaphysics), philosophical system, assumptions about reality (conscious or unconscious, true or false), significance of life (teleology, ontology), culturally constructed, religion, ideologies, associated with a group or society, nature of knowledge (epistemology), personhood (ontology), nature of human history (philosophy of history), fundamental values (axiology) and cultural norms (ethics). that being the case, what is force in african worldview? force in african worldview the concept of force or “vital force” in african belief system as contained in her worldview is very primordial to the understanding of reality in its general form. the idea of force implies “being” as force is not different from being. according to tempels: force, the potent life, vital energy is the object of prayers and invocations to god, to the spirits and to the dead, as well as of all that is usually called magic, sorcery or magical remedies. the bantu will tell you that they go to a diviner to learn the words of life, so that he can teach them the way of making life stronger. in every bantu language it is easy to recognize the words or phrases denoting a force, which is not used in an exclusively bodily sense, but in the sense of the integrity of our whole being.6 the logic of explanation of africans with respect to force is hinged on her cultural worldview. africans do not isolate reality; they see reality from the whole and not in parts. this is very important if we must make sense of why africans conceive force as such. africans see reality in hierarchy, what we may call “hierarchy of being”. this is her own “…unique and peculiar way of viewing reality”.7 by hierarchy of being, the african builds a structure of reality according to primacy with god (the supreme being) at the apex from whom flow other existent realities such as (ancestors, spirit, deities), (man), (animals, plants and minerals). interestingly, god is the causeless cause of other forces. mbiti, in line with this view avers that: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 5 according to african peoples, man lives in a religious universe, so that natural phenomena and objects are intimately associated with god. they not only originate from him but also bear witness to him. man’s understanding of god is strongly colored by the universe of which man is himself a part. man sees in the universe not only the imprint but the reflection of god.8 in african worldview, it is difficult if not impossible to discuss being without beginning from god the supreme creator of the universe. though a spirit, the supreme being is force personified and has power over every creature “matter” inclusive. in fact the force emanating from god it is believed animates or gives life to other creatures. this is perhaps the reason why africans see ‘life force” in everything both in the natural and supernatural. affirming this point, nkemnkia asserts that “the african’s life is characterized by an organic whole within which it is difficult to distinguish clearly, as the western classical conception does, the boundaries of the different realities forming the whole universe of the living. it is very difficult to differentiate clearly between man and the world, man and god, god and the world.9 force in african worldview is not only reducible to the activities of the material but to the non-material as well. it means that non-material forces can also influence the material leading to active or passive causality. this is why there are certain herbs, roots and leaves that can be used to manipulate “mind” over “matter” and in the process used to influence humans positively or negatively. it is on this belief that the idea of sorcery, magic and even witchcraft finds expression in african worldview. it can be logical to infer that, if the force or energy emanating from the supreme being flows through to other beings, then there will be a replication of forces in everything created. ibeabuchi, following this point avers thus: there is a conception of the supreme being as he who gives life, or he who gives force to other beings that are subordinate… these beliefs teach that gods are responsible for the creation of the world and the continuation of life in it, and that they control important events such as birth, death, disease and success. god’s, unlike men, do not die; they live forever and restore force to created things that lost theirs.10 under the hierarchy of force or being in african worldview, plants, animals and minerals are at the lower wrung of the ladder. after god, there are spirits/ancestors, man before rocks, trees, plants and animals. the reason is because igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 6 man is at the centre of god’s creation and he is made in his image and likeness. in the hierarchy of force then, man is of more importance than nature consisting of rocks, plants and animals. these existing things are subservient to man. however, deities like spirits according to etim “are… localized in trees, rivers, hills etc. there is virtually a deity for everything of existential importance to the africans like thunder, war, fertility, agriculture, fishing, family, etc”.11 the point being made here is that africans have a belief system occasioned by naïve realism. by this, they see life forces as emanating from the supreme being which is god and animating every other form of reality. this is also to say that the life force of the creator is present in all creatures of his and in all things. force then is being and relates in common to all existing things. force in african worldview cannot be separated from being unlike in the western worldview where the transcendental notion of being is separated from its attribute of force. it becomes easier following african conception of force to understand why africans think the way they do and make sense of their universe as well. the study now proceeds to examine further dimension of force in african worldview. causes and interaction of force in african worldview in african worldview, events are caused; events and motion are a product of “force”. force has the same ontological status as being in african thought; nothing just happened to an african. this suggests that there is some kind of deterministic belief that the africans hold. interestingly, the non-material realm is more profound to the african and that is where reality to him is determined and understood. the material plane to the african is far lesser and real compared to the non-material where god dwells as well as the ancestors and spirits. before anything happens in the material plane, it must have happened in the non-material plane. teffo and roux assert that: since metaphysical discourse is generally about nonphysical aspects of phenomena that transcend space and time, the bulk of the subject matter of african metaphysics falls under the category that is traditionally described in western metaphysics as “supernatural”. two considerations are important here. on the one hand, as will be emphasized repeatedly, dualism which is the stockin-trade of western metaphysics, such as those between matter and mind/soul/spirit, do not appear in african metaphysics.12 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 7 that africans place a very high premium on the non-material plane should not be misunderstood. it does not in any way mean they do not exist in time and space. much of the african day to day lives are based on empirically verifiable facts. the only difference is that, the african reduces all of these facts to a non-material cause so that all the activities that takes place in the material plane is a direct consequence of what goes on in the non-material or supernatural realm through causal interaction. causality in african worldview is founded upon beliefs. this is different from how it is perceived in western worldview of science. for a statement to be considered causal in western worldview of science, it has to fulfill “three properties which mean that the cause must precede the effect, cause and effect must be materially related, and whenever the cause happens, the effect must take place”.13 explaining causality from cause can be non-materially or supernaturally determined by africans. for instance, a material cause can be informed by a non-material interaction or means. this view is predicated on the “being” of god. god or the supreme being in african worldview system is a “spirit being”. the nature of his being is such that can affect matter even by mere spoken words. for the africans, each reality whether material or non-material appears and disappears into and takes the nature of the opposite reality.14 this point seems to follow the principle of newton’s third law of motion in science. in other words, there is a constant interaction between these parallel universes. thus, “…reality is cyclical. the spiritual appears as a physical reality and goes back to the spiritual world and the cycle continues. this means that the physical has an inbuilt spirituality and the spiritual has an inbuilt physicality.15 the reality of this belief accounts for the explanation by an african of certain events that do not make meaning within the purview of western science. for instance, when a person is to be poisoned in africa, it is not necessary that the poison should have direct contact with say, the food or drink. just holding the bottle or glass is enough to transmit the poison into the content after the necessary incantations. just like there is the presence of radio waves everywhere in the material universe, there is also a web of interaction with regards to force in the african universe. as long as the force being talked about is fundamentally non-material, it is believed that it can affect the material aspect of reality. mbiti asserts here that: the whole psychic atmosphere of african village life is filled with belief in this mystical power. african peoples know that the universe has a power, force or whatever else one may call it, in addition to the items in the ontological categories. it is difficult to know exactly what it is or how igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 8 it functions. even where allowance is made for conjuring tricks, obvious cheating, superstition, manipulating of hidden means of communication and other skilled use of laws of nature, one is left and confronted with phenomena which as yet cannot be scientifically explain away.16 cause in african worldview works by interaction. the interaction is from the nonmaterial or supernatural to the material or natural and vice versa. the supreme being interacts with his creatures by infusing “life force” into them and all of creation exhibits this causal life force. it is in rocks, trees, flowers, birds, plants, animals, man and so on. it animates existence and forms the bedrock of everything living or has the possibility to being in existence. knowledge of the existence of these realities is important in harnessing their vital force. force can be used constructively or destructively in african worldview depending on the spirits behind it as there are good spirits and evil spirits. mbiti further avers that “there is mystical power which causes people to walk on fire, to lie on thorns or nails, to send curses or harm, including death, from a distance to change into animals (lycanthropy), to spit on snakes and cause them to split open and die…”17 the study now examine how material force is a consequence of non-material cause in african worldview. non-material force with a material effect in african worldview. the major reason why it seems weird or absurd for something non-material or spiritual to affect a material object is because of our outlook to reality via a worldview. when discussing the concept of cause from the western point of view for instance, it is expected that there must be material connection which in turn produces material effect. to say that something a is the cause of an effect b is to be understood from a material perspective. this kind of explanation is not really necessary when we shift our attention to african worldview. africans believe that every material effect has a non-material cause as “matter” itself is a product of the non-material or supernatural. tempels makes the point lucidly when he declares that: the fundamental notion under which being is conceived lies within the category of force. metaphysics studies this reality, existing in everything and in every being in the universe. it is in virtue of this reality that all beings have something in common, so that the definition of this reality may be applied to all existent forms of being. to arrive at this reality common to all beings, or rather which is identical in all beings, it is necessary to eliminate all forms igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 9 of reality which belong to one category only among beings. we pay attention to the elements, which are common to all beings. such elements are, e.g. the origin, the growth, the changes, the construction or the achievement of the beings, passive and active causality and particularly the nature of the being as such supporting those universal phenomena. these elements constitute the object of metaphysical knowledge, that is to say, of knowledge embracing all the physical or the real.18 in western worldview, there is a place for invincible forces of nature. but the difference is that, they are all reduced to material or natural processes. for instance most parts of the universe are just forces and its fields leading to the concepts of black holes and dark matter. these realities are not apprehensible by observation except through their effects. we know about the presence of the wind when we see the leaves shaking. there is a lot in the universe that also seems to be hidden from human consciousness with philosophical appendages as it was only in the 17th century that physics became an independent discipline; before that time, it was called natural philosophy. that said, the window through which the material is known by scientists is through the senses, majorly five. the non-material or supernatural realm has been a very contentious subject for the westerners because western science reduces all of the material including man to “matter” and their descriptions. man is therefore held to be just a composite of matter or atoms without a soul and spirit. thus, any claim to the non-material or supernatural realm in science would be described as hallucination or delusion something that is not real with regards to material reality. as mawere and mubaya will opine, “while we appreciate the universality of philosophy as a discipline anchored on rationality and critical inquiry, we examine the question in cultural and geographical frames in order to try to bring out to the surface that which distinguishes africa-philosophy from other philosophies such as western philosophy or chinese philosophy”.19 from a scientist’s angle, it will sound absurd to assert that a non-material or supernatural entity or force without form or shape can influence matter. but to doubt this possibility is to also be coming from another worldview. to dismiss the belief of mind over matter as utter balderdash is to be judgmental based on a supposed superior worldview. africans have often been berated by the westerners on account of their belief system with regards to the non-material or supernatural. thus it is a belief in african worldview well held that the non-material or supernatural is a plane more real than the material. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 10 consequently, the westerners have a worldview about reality that is material with a reductionists approach so that the mind is just a brain activity and not an independent entity as captured in the cartesian dualism. the scientist then is “someone who is prepared to say that every event can be described in microstructural terms, a description which mentions only elementary particles, and can be explained by reference to other events so described.20 furthermore, with regards to the mind, the scientists will say indifferently that we are dispensing with mental states and events in favour of a bodily ones or explaining mental states and events as bodily ones.21 safro kwame corroborating the thesis of physicalism, captures kwasi wiredu words, what he calls quasi-physicalism thus: quasi physicalism does for physicalism what physicalism did for materialism expressed exclusively in terms of atoms and other elementary particles. it stretches the limits of matter or materialism as far as is compatible with what we know or do not know, without embracing dualism. it admits the possibility of quasi-physical objects as belonging to a category between the realm of the obviously physical, i.e. those objects that obey the known laws of physics and the realm of the so-called spiritual or completely immaterial objects that do not obey any of the known laws of physics. these are the “fuzziest” objects that quasi-physicalism recognizes as being compatible with a limited version of physicalism. they, unlike outright spiritual or immaterial objects, are recognized as existing together with atoms, fields, energies, sets and numbers.22 when an african is talking about the non-material or spiritual affecting the physical or material, he is doing that from a face valued point of view. he is not referring to brain or mental processes but to a being outside of matter which can influence it. the influence in question is outside of the material; it is a supernatural influence over the material. the study will now examine briefly the purpose of man’s existence in a material universe and why he should maximize the potentials available to him to lived a fulfilling life. why do man and the universe exists? from the african worldview, man and the universe exists as god’s creation. god created the universe and placed man in it out of his own will or pleasure. thus “man is not the first or creative cause of life but he sustains and adds to the life of the forces which he finds below him within his “ontological” hierarchy”.23 this suggests that the material universe was created for man to aid his existence, which is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 11 why man co-habits with nature or the universe and this affects his activities in the environment in several ways either positively or negatively. man does not see his material life as all there is to his existence neither the material universe. he is in the material universe in order to prepare himself for the spiritual universe and that has an adverse effect on his preference on the non-material or spiritual reality. kanu declares that: man’s coming to the world cannot be understood within the western category which sees the human person in mechanistic terms. man in african worldview has a purpose and mission to fulfill; he comes into the world as a force amidst forces and interacting with forces. good status, good health and prosperity are signs of the wellbeing of a person’s lifeforce, and man struggles to preserve it through an appropriate relationship with the spiritual forces around him.24 when a man has lived a good life here on earth, he goes into the world beyond, a spiritual universe of the living-dead where he continues his life as an ancestor. the material universe came about as a result of god’s benevolence and magnanimity expressed to man his choice possession. this suggests that the universe has a moral purpose which is for the good of man. most works of african worldview are silent about what the ultimate fate of the material universe will be just as it is in the western worldview of science. this may be that way because there is a better spiritual universe which is more important and sustaining than this one which man should strive to get to. we shall now evaluate why africa with its vast knowledge of the workings of the non-material universe has not been able to develop a functional material science and by extension technology for the benefit and utility of its people and the world at large just as the westerners and orientals have done. evaluation african worldview makes no pretense in asserting that there is a hierarchy of force of which man and the material universe is one. man may be the wisest and most intelligent force compared to plants, animals and mineral resources but not to the ancestors, divinities or god who gives him divine inspiration and knowledge in general. thus man is not just a composite of matter alone; he has an immortal soul that lives on after the body dies. as such, african worldview does not confer such loose freedom on man to live his life any how he deems fit. there has to be some regulations that will bring about order in the society. if man still chooses to live a reckless life, he will have to bear the consequences for such a choice. etuk makes the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 12 point that “the first thing that the new humanism affirms therefore, is that the environment is god’s gift to man; secondly, the new humanism affirms that as important as science has been in human development, science is not everything”.25 however, while the western worldview of science makes room for only man, the material universe and everything in it, african worldview makes room for man, the universe and god. this is the reason why force as a concept is materially inclined to the westerners and they have invested heavily in research in that area with attendant economic and infrastructural gains. but it appears that the western worldview of science is now stretching its boundary as it is now moving towards the non-material and non-observable like dark matter and blackhole after having made so much progress in the material dimension of reality. hence, all the four fundamental forces in the material universe are all connected in the western worldview of science and none is held as non-material at face value. that made it easier for research to be made in that aspect using complex mathematical formulations and axioms. at the same time, they are all unobservable and metaphysically explained through causality. probing into what force is in itself, western worldview of science will simply assert that it is a material property which causes object’s motion whereas in african worldview, forces have a supernatural dimension intermingling with the material. africans can invoke a non-material or supernatural force that can suspend the laws of nature but have not been able to harness the same knowledge to solve her existential problems bedeviling them as a people especially economic poverty. since beliefs are held as being without substantive material evidence and different from knowledge which is evidenced based, it cannot be said one believes what is already known. african claims based on belief are usually discountenance by the westerners because belief does not translate to knowledge as one can believe just anything even a lie. however, for the africans, as contained in her worldview, beliefs are founded upon prior knowledge so that when the evidence cannot be repeated again or not immediately handy, belief would do. for instance, if a certain people had a deity visits them who performed certain wonders which defy the laws of physics, after that encounter, the event can be transmitted to a later generation who would then believe though without evidence of a repeated occurrence. beliefs also have some psychological satisfaction it gives to those who hold on to it and this is why the western worldview of science hold theories that do not have empirical evidence like the big bang, evolution, abiogenesis, superstring, quantum gravity and the four fundamental forces. the reason for emphasizing this dimension of belief is because of the dichotomy between belief and knowledge as pushed by the western worldview of science. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 13 science holds that knowledge is only gained from experience hence, belief doesn’t give demonstrable knowledge. accordingly, knowledge is knowledge because there is evidence to prove that a thing is the case, some kind of correspondence with an actual state of affair or event which can be established. since knowledge is divided into two types: basic and non-basic knowledge, ozumba opines that ‘the basic is different from the non-basic in being anchored on a justification that does not need further justification while the non-basic is anchored on justifications deriving their epistemic strength from other justifications culminating in a basic justification”.26 because beliefs are well enshrined in a worldview, it can affect a people’s outlook to life and determine their preferences in research and method of investigation. worldviews then becomes like a map that shows a people the way to go and what to focus on. clearly then, worldviews contain what has already been accepted to be worth pursing by a people; a kind of set of standards by which one evaluates human knowledge, the focus of that knowledge and judges it as having utility or not. worldviews then contains aspects of reality worth focusing on whether material or non-material. looking very closely from this understanding, it will be clear that every worldview whether the western or african contains principles that can determine human behavior, preferences and the attendant outcome from it. for example, since the western worldview of science holds the belief that man is just a composite of matter or a bundle of energy, that gives the impetus to researches leading to knowledge and understanding of the material universe since it is held as the only reality there is. this also accounts for why the western worldview of science is investing heavily in researches in the material universe which the world at large is enjoying today but at a price that is plough back to the westerners developmental advantage giving them the power, voice, comfort and wellbeing amongst the comity of nations. conclusion african has all it takes to be a continent and people of pride and envy going by the quantum of human and material resources she is blessed with. but it is a sad reality that that her belief system as contained in her worldview and the overwhelming emphasis of the non-material or supernatural aspect of reality over the material has adversely affected the prospect of engaging the material dimension of reality and getting the best out of it. this limitation has made the continent to be regarded as dark and impoverished because she does not have an indigenous science neither a technology hence without a voice in international circles. clearly, the african economic and infrastructural problem cannot be devoid of stemming from its worldview. despite this shocking reality, something can still be done to get africa out of her current economic woes and it is simply in striking a balance between the non-material and material aspect of reality with the latter gaining more place of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 14 prominence. it is also for its leaders to emphasize, invest and encourage indigenous research on the material aspect of reality as a policy statement so that africa can attain the same results as that of her asian counterparts who have an almost similar worldview. as we draw the curtain of this discourse, it is important to reiterate the point that worldviews are very subtle and salient in determining a peoples belief as well as what they hold to be of utmost concern to their survival. african worldview with its hierarchy of force is rich and unique; but its emphasis on the non-material aspect as determining everything including the material has not seen to the development and investments in knowledge and exploration of the material universe. this lopsidedness or outright disregard for material knowledge must be addressed and very timely so that we can have a generation of africans who would not suffer the deprivations their forebears suffered because of the lack or absence of african indigenous science and technology. endnotes and references 1 placide tempels, bantu philosophy, (paris: presence africaine, 1959), p.22 2 ibid; p. 22 3 ibid; p. 28 4 c h. kraft, “culture, worldview and contextualization” winter r d. and hawthorne, s. c. (eds), perspective on the world christian movement 3rd, (pasadena, ca: william carey library, 1999), p.385 5 n. geisler and p. brocchino, unshakable foundations, (minneapolis: bethany house, 2001), pp: 43, 55 6 placide tempels, bantu philosophy, (paris: presence african, 1959), p. 22 7 e. i. archibong, “african metaphysics: an overview” a. f. uduigwomen and c. o. akpan (eds), metaphysics: a book of readings, (calabar: ultimate index, 2012), p. 407. 8 j. s. mbiti, african religions and philosophy, (london: heinemann, 1969), p. 48. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 15 9 m. n. nkemnkia, african vitalogy: a step forward in african thinking, (nairobi: paulines publications, 1999), p.110. 10 o. m. ibeabuche, “the theory of forces as conceived by igbo africans” filosophia theoretical journal of african philosophy, culture and religious vol.2 no.1, (2013), p: 289. 11 francis etim, “african metaphysics” journal of the asian scientific research vol. 3 no. 1, (2013), pp.11-17. 12 lebisa. j. teffo and a. p. j. roux, “metaphysical thinking in africa” the african philosophy reader p. h. coetzel and a. p. j. roux (eds), (london: routledge, 1980), p. 196. 13 cristina puente agueda, “ casuality in science” revista. vol. 1. (2011), pp. 1-10. 14 chris o. ijiomah, harmonious monism: a philosophical logic of explanation for ontological issues in supernaturalism in african thought, (calabar: jochrisam publishers, 2014), p. 118. 15 ibid; p.18. 16 j. s. mbiti ibid; p. 197. 17 ibid; pp. 197-198. 18 placide tempels, ibid; pp.23-24. 19 munyaradzi mawere and tapuwa r. mubanya. african philosophy and thought systems: a search for a culture and philosophy of belonging, (mankon: langaa research publishing, 2016), p.28. 20 richard rorty “objectivity, relativism and truth” philosophical papers. vol.1 (cambridge: university press, 1991), p. 144. 21 w. v. o. quine. quiddities: intermittently philosophical dictionary, (cambridge: the belknap press, 1989), p. 133. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 16 22 safro kwame, “quasi – materialism: a contemporary african philosophy of mind” a companion to african philosophy (ed) kwasi wiredu, (oxford: blackwell publishing, 2004), pp. 345-346. 23 ikechukwu anthony kanu, “the dimensions of african cosmology” filosophia theoritica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol.2 no.2, (2013), pp. 550-551 24 ibid; pp.186-186 25 udo etuk, the new humanism, (uyo: jamae press, 2012), p. 2 26 g. o. ozumba, a concise introduction to epistemology, (calabar: ebenezer computer service, 2011), p.101 microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 2.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 135 the biblical perspective on marriage in the context of divorce and remarriage in africa: a panacea for peacful coexistence steve akullah dept. of philosophy and religious studies religious studies unit federal university,wukari. steveakullah@yahoo.com abstract marriage is an age long institution said to be established by the creator of the universe himself for the purpose of procreation, companionship, unity, love and pleasure. the marriage institution is the bedrock for every society as it helps in modelling and shaping individuals and communities for rapid growth and development. to this end, a divorced marriage certainly has its own repercussions on the family; husband, wife, children and even the community and society at large. to the african, marriage means more than husband and wife relationship as it extends beyond the extended family to the community. this is very much unlike the western concept of marriage where it is viewed as a husband and wife issue, tending to be more individualistic. the african worldview on the institution of marriage is therefore not in agreement with somewesterners’concept of marriage. the incursion of western foreign cultures on marriage has impacted adversely on the african marriage institution. this has resulted in many divorce cases, giving rise to many social vices such as prostitution, child pregnancy, baby mothers, state of insecurity and insurgency, kidnapping, and drug abuse among other societal problems. this paper attempts to briefly consider african worldview on marriage in prechristian era, that is, before the coming of missionaries. it will also consider the biblical perspective on marriage, divorce,the justification for remarriage or otherwise, and its impact on the coexistence in african societies. keywords: biblial, marriage, divorce, procreation, creator, companionship, love. introduction which ֗צֹון ֵמיְהָוֽה׃ ָצא ֑טֹוב ַוָּיֶ֥פק ָר֜ ָּׁשה ָמ֣ א ִא֭ it was king solomon who gave the hebrew adageָמָצ֣ translates to the biblical injunction that says “he who finds a wife, finds a good thing and obtains favor from the lord (pro 18:22 ). the phrase“he” who “finds” is denoted by the hebrew verb א the verb is qal perfect, 3rd person ָמָצ֣ masculine singular, meaning, “he finds,” but translated he who findsor “he found” for good english reading. solomon continues “he finds a wife”, ָּׁשה א ִא֭ ָמָצ֣ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 136 here, it simply means that the man who finds a wife. this sentence should be read, “he who marries a good wife, marries a good thing “for good grammatical construction. the hebrew word ָּׁשה ִא֭ is noun common feminine singular absolute, meaninga woman or wife. the point being established here is that marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman as god intended it from creation (gen 1:27; 2:24). marriage is not a relationship between a man and a man,even as it is not a relationship involving a woman and another woman.marriage here connotes a monogamous relationshipas opposed to polygamy. it is instructive that today marriage has taken many other forms to include same sex marriageand polygamy and these practicesare beginning to impact on the african negatively.if as solomon says “to find a wife is to find a good thing”, then the question here is why and at what time did man get the concept of marriage wrong? failure in many marriages oftentimes lead to divorce. in african societies, the chief aim of marriage is to procreate, and when marriage does not produce children, divorce is imminent.today, in many africacommunities, divorce cases are on the rise, issues concerning trial marriages are rampant.theattendant consequence on marriage failures is insecurity, insurgency, kidnapping, prostitution, armed robbery and all manner of evil unleashed on the society. conceptual framework scholars have agreed that most african cultures are more similar to the traditional semitic and greco-roman cultures in agricultural practices, marriage customs, linguistic and literary expressions and religious traditions (mccain 2009 p 2). marriage customs in africa is one of such issues that is similar to the biblical world view. marriage is said to be a “the legal relationship between a husband and wife” (oxford advanced learner’s dictionary 904). geisler (2010 p. 300) explains that the use of the terms husband and wife in the context of father and mother makes it clear that the reference is to the biological male and female.kunhiyop affirms that it is “the type of union of a man and woman that god established at creation (2008 p. 190). this means that the institution of marriage was ordained by god himself. the genesis 1:27 account reads“so god created man in his own image, in the image of god he created them, ה זָָכ֥ר ּונְֵקָב֖ “male and female”, he created them. the hebrew term זָָכ֥רzakar is noun common masculine singular absolute, meaningonemale, while the conjunction “and” ְוis prefixed to the female " ה ׅ◌ׅ◌ andfemaleּונְֵקָב֖ geisler (2010 pp. 299-300) alludes that god’s original plan for the nature of marriage is that marriage should be between a male and a female and he commanded them to be fruitful igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 137 in number (gen 1:28). this is suggestive of the natural reproduction of the female and male since same sex marriage cannot reproduce offspring. marriage therefore involves sexual union between the biological male and biological female for reproduction to take place. this union is said to be the reason “why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh (gen 2:24; matt. 19:15-6; mar. 10:8; eph. 5:31). paul warns strongly cautions against all forms of sexual abuses such as adultery, fornication, homosexuality and lesbianism etc. when he asks the corinthian christians “do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute (female or male) is one with her in body? for it is said, "the two will become one flesh."(1co 6:16 niv). paul explicitly talks about the need for monogamous marriage when he advised the corinthians that since there was so much ̟ορνείας, that is, sexual immorality, unchastity, prostitution, adultery, fornication, of various kinds of unlawful sexual intercourse (mt 5:32; 19:9; mk 7:21; j 8:41; ac 15:20; 1 cor. 6:13, 18; 7:2; 2 cor. 12:21; gal 5:19; col 3:5), each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband. he says “since sexual immorality is occurring, (διὰ δὲ τὰς ̟ορνείας ἕκαστος τὴν ἑαυτοῦ γυναῖκα ἐχέτω καὶ ἑκάστη τὸν ἴδιον ἄνδρα ἐχέτω) each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband (1co 7:2 niv). the word ἕκαστος is substantive adjective indefinite nominative masculine singular, meaning, each man, while γυναῖκα is noun accusative feminine singular, meaning one woman. similarly, the adjective ἑκάστη is a substantive adjective indefinite nominative feminine singular, meaning each woman. the adjectives ἕκαστος and ἑκάστη are all substantive adjectives meaning each man and each woman respectively. finally, the word ἄνδρα is noun accusative masculine singular, meaning one man or husband. the idea here is that marriage is monogamous and not polygamous or to be misconstrued in any other way as god designed it. god’s idea about a monogamous nature of marriage is questioned by some who try to explain polygamy at the behest of people like abraham who had two wives, david for marrying many wives and concubines, solomonfor his 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines etc.there was however, great punishment for all those were involved in polygamy. in the case of solomon, the act polygamy prompted “his wives turning his heartaway from god to foreign gods (1ki 11:3-4). david’s punishment was “calamity” (2 sam 11:2) and rebellion in his house. critiques of polygamy are quick to shed more light that on the concept explaining that “the bible does not approve of everything it records. they cite igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 138 satan’s lie to eve (gen. 3:4) and david’s adultery to the wife of uriah, bathsheba (2 sam 11), arguing that all these without god’s approval (geisler 2010 p. 302). two competing views on marriage have emerged:one view says that marriage arrangement involves a man and a woman as husband and wife, while the other view sees marriage as same sex arrangement. this dualist view on marriage is, according to some scholars, because people have now come to understand marriage differently in accordance with their worldviews, cultural customs, beliefs and core values (kunyohop 2008 p. 190). these world views are dichotomized between the proponents of polygamy and their opponents, who would rather opt for monogamy. to the africans, marriage is a societal affair that impacts not only the husband and wife, but also the whole community, that is, parents, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, grandparents, cousins, nieces, nephews, the whole extended family and village (kunyihop 2008 p. 191). others howeverview marriageas a unionbetween a man and a woman or same sex marriage as aptly captured by sheri stritofwho sees marriage as a formal union, a social and legal contract between two individuals that unite their lives legally, economically, and emotionally. the contractual marriage agreement usually implies that the couple has legal obligations to each other throughout their lives or until they decide to divorce. this view continues that marriage is the union of two people, whether of the same sex or opposite sexes, who commit to romantically loving and caring for each other and to sharing the burdens and benefits of domestic life. it is essentially a union of hearts and minds, enhanced by whatever forms of sexual intimacy both partners find agreeable (macedo 1995 p. 260-278). geisler (2010 p. 299) however disagrees with the view that marriage is a union between a man and a woman or same sex marriage…throughout their lives or until they decide to divorce. accordingly, he argues that marriage is a lifelong commitment between a male and a female which involves mutual sexual rights. pre-christian marriage in african societies this type of marriage was done traditionally. this is also known as traditional marriage. the procedures for traditional marriage vary from tribe to tribe in africa prior to the coming of the missionaries and even today. for instance, in tiv land rubbingh says to obtain a wife, “a tiv male will give his sister (in the sense that of unmarried female agnate) to the brother of his intended. this was known as exchange marriage before the advent of bride price marriage” (1969 p. 67). this practice was abolished in 1927. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 139 the bride price marriage was introduced initially using shell money as a medium of exchange. some marriages are by proxy, where a parent may marry on behalf of his son or as happened during the nigerian civil war where soldiers at the war front would send their photographs to members of their families to marry for them because they had no time to come home for marriage. some involve a dowry (bride's family giving money or presents to the groom or his family), some require a bride price (the groom or his family giving money or a present to the bride's family), few may have any sort of courtship or dating, but most have deep-rooted traditions. trial marriage in africa gwamna observes that the concept of “social sex found in some african societies was foreign to leviticus and the old testament” (2008 p. 172). in the same vein, cohabitation or trial marriage found in many african communities is not existent in the old testament. cohabitation also known as “abuja marriage”, “arrangement” or trial marriage is a situation where people of the opposite sex stay together in the hostel (student s) or alternative accommodation on their own without proper marriage. bryson arthur notes that “trial marriages have been accepted in many african societies” as legal marriages (1988 p. 64). forms of marriages in africa i. monogamy:this means marriage to one person at a time between a man and a woman. ii. polygamy: this form of marriage is profoundly practiced in in africa. it involves having more than one wife at the same time. iii. polyandry: this means having more than one husband at the same time. this form of marriage is not practiced in africa. iv. exogamy marriage:this is marriage outside the family, caste or society. v. common law marriage:this involves a person, that is, a man or woman who has lived with another for a long time, recognized as a husband or wife without a formal marriage arrangement. vi. cousin marriage: this form of marriage involves the child of an uncle or aunt. it is marriage practiced among the hausa/fulani of northern nigeria and many parts of africa. it was practiced by the jewish people in abraham’s day in the old testament. vii. same sex marriage: is the marriage of the same sex, also known as gay marriage or lesbianism is not practiced in african communities. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 140 where this is done it is completely against the law as those caught are severely sanctioned. viii. endogamy: this involves marrying only people of your community. ix. traditional marriage: this is marriage based on the peoples’ beliefs, customs, cultures and their ways of life. commenting traditional form of marriage, weitzman notes that traditional marriage created unity that transcended the party’s individual interests (1985 p. 367). it assumed that the spouses were engaged in a joint enterprise and were responsible to each other sharing the fruits of their united endevours. common features of african marriages african marriages share these common characteristics: -the community aspect: this means that marriage in africa is not just a two people affair but involves entire families and even communities.the dynamic process: marriages in africa are not a contract concluded at one point in time but in stages.the dimension of fatherhood-motherhood: this implies that being a man means a father and being a woman means to be a mother of children.indissolubility of african marriage: marriage in africa is a long time affair. there is only one son in law and one wife. a person who respects his parents marries only once.polygamy: polygamy does not endanger the position of the first wife, it rather puts her in a privileged position since she is regarded as the mother of all subsequent wives(benezet bujo (1988 p. 94-99). bujo’s view is corroborated by bryson arthur when he observes that for the african, marriage is not just arranged between the couples (1988 p. 64). it is rather a family affair as opposed to the western culture where only a couple gets wedded. a married couple with no children is like a dead tree in the eyes of the african community. african and biblical concept of sexual consummation the african worldview on marriage and the biblical concept on marriage share many commonalities. just as in the biblical times, in the african cultural milieu, the act of sexual intercourse between a man and a woman alone does not constitute marriage.for instance, abraham had a concubineramah (gen. 22:24), saul had his concubine rizpah(2sam. 3:7),david took more concubines (2 sam 5:13) and solomon had 300 concubines (1 kgs 11:3). all these concubines were not recognized as duly married wives but as mistresses. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 141 the permanence of marriage relationship: marriage is a lifelong commitment. the concept of indissolubility of marriage is appealed to by jesus in gen. 2:24 in answer to the pharisees in matt 19:4-6, when he says “what god has joined together, let not man separate”. paul also, incommenting on the same issue says “by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive but if the husband dies she is released from the law of marriage (rom. 7:2). these concepts in gen. 2:24, matt 19:6 and rom 7:2 underline the time honored phrase in the marriage ceremony “till death do us part” (geisler1990 p. 280). thus while marriage is intended to be a lifelong covenant, it is not meant to last into eternity. this much is made clear when jesus says “at the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given into marriage, they will be like angels in heaven” (matt. 22:30). what a wonderful glorious moment it will be for the children of god to be like angels. procreation and its two views among the many other purposes of marriage as ordained by god, procreation stands out tall to the african christians. africans emphasize the procreative intent in marriage more than any other aspect of marriage i.e. love, companionship, and sexual pleasure. africans often argue that the command to be “fruitful and multiply” (gen. 1:20) applies to all marriages. the argument on the nature of marriage has created two opposing views even in the church. these two views held by the church on the issue of procreation are majorly between the evangelical church and the pentecostal church. while the evangelical church does not emphasize the procreation aspect of marriage so long as there is love, companionship and mutual sexual relationship, the pentecostal and the independent church however place special emphasis on the necessity of having children in marriage. kunhiyo says that “it is their firm belief that barrenness and impotence is a curse that can be cured by special prayers of the man of god, evenas infertility is a curse and a stigma, because it is god’s will that every married person should have offspring” (2004 pp. 288-289). these extreme positions are to be avoided because, the biological urge to procreate is divine (gen. 1:28) childbearing is therefore normal and it is to be expected in marriage.all the aspects of marriage; love companionship, sexual; fulfillment etc. are important and none should be singled out at the expense of others.infertility could have both spiritual and or physical causes. this should be handled prayerfully by the church through prayers, counseling and seeking medical help. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 142 monogamy verses polygamy kunyihop (2008, p 226) posits that the bible has no clear-cut statements condemning or prohibiting polygamy as practiced in the old testament. there are therefore two contending views on which form of marriage is ideal. these two views are premised on which form of marriage is best for man. those who support polygamy cite examples of abraham who had many wives and concubines (gen16-17; 28-30), jacob and his two wives (gen 29:1-30), levirate marriage as a “mandated form of polygamy” (gen 38:6-10; ruth and boaz, deut 25:5-10), david’s wives and concubines (2 sam 3:2-5; 1 sam 25:44; 2 sam 12:24; 2 sam 5:13), and in 1 kings 11:3, solomon married many wives and took concubines (kunyihop 2008 p 229-235). the other view is the one supporting monogamy which points out the fact that without doubt monogamy is “god’s ideal for marriage, as evidenced in (gen 1:28; 2:24) where god created one wife for adam (kunyihop 2008 p 227). supporters of monogamous school of thought on marriage agree that at creation god instituted marriage as a cherished institution. in gen. 2:18,the lord god declared, “it is not good for a man to be alone; i will make a helper suitable for him. thus god formed eve out of adam, and because god felt that the man he created was lonely, he said “for that reason a man will leave his mother and father and be united to his wife and they will become one flesh” (gen 2:24). the lord jesus agrees with god the father on the issue of polygamy when he told the pharisees that “because of your hardness of heart moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so (mat 19:8 esv). the fact that polygamy was permitted did not mean god prescribed it, in the same manner divorce was not prescribed but the people adopted it. this goes back to the fall, when adam and eve lost out in the garden on account of willful disobedience, since then man has continued to break the commands of god, marriage rules inclusive. those who advance polygamy as the best form of marriage are quick to point to the law empowering levirate marriage, a form of polygamy drawn from deuteronomy 25:8-9 to defend their position.this law was invokedwhen er, judah's firstborn, was killed by god for wickedness, judah then said to onan, his second son to sleep with his brother's wife, tamar,to fulfill his duty to her as a brother-in-law to raise up offspring for his brother." but onan knew that the child would not be his; so whenever he slept with his brother's wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother. what onan did was wicked in the lord's sight; so the lord put him to death also (gen 38:7-10 niv). this implied that god acknowledged the need for import for igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 143 polygamy. leviratemarriage was also applied in the case of ruth and her “kinsman-redeemer” boaz from whose genealogy the lord jesus descended from (kunyihop 2004 pp. 231-232). again, the import of this acknowledgement is that polygamy is condoned and not in any way a nascent development. further, they cite david’s punishment for his marriage to bathsheba because of coveting, adultery and murder of uriah, the hittite and not because of polygamy.for, prior to this time, david had married so many wives and concubines, yet he was not sanctioned, until he coveted, committed adultery and killed uriah, offences that were forbidden in the ten commandments in exodus 20:13-13.this view agrees that it was as result of his murder and adultery, that david’s concubines sexually abused in broad daylight and there was constant bloodshed in his household (kunyihop 2008 p. 233). polygamy: biblical and the african perspectives the biblical old testament worldview and the african world have many things in common, one them being on the issue polygamy as was practiced in the old testament, with particular reference to levirate marriage. kunyihop (2008 p. 224), citing ralph d. winter, states that:polygamy as practiced in the (bible) and in africa ensures the bearing of many children so that the status and property may be passed on, and the family may become extended in space and time…polygamy serves the prosperity and growth of extended family and provides status and support for women in societies where they have no vocation other than marriage and the bearing of children to the husband’s lineage…it provides solution to a wife’s infertility. africans generally do not regard polygamy as being an adulterous act just as we have seen in the biblical passages about abraham, jacob, david and solomon. africans however, view adultery as disgrace and shame not only to those caught in it, but as sacrilege brought on the community and was punishable with serious sanctions. mbiti (1982 p. 147) agrees that when adultery is discovered, the man involved is whipped, stoned to death or made to pay compensation or have his head or other part of the body mutilated. kunyihop continues that special cleansing rituals were required so as to remove the shame and guilt of such behaviour. sometimes it involved forcing the culprit to drink excrements of a black dog and the hanging of a testicle of a goat on the neck of the adulterer (2008 p. 224). in the holy books, punishment for adultery was death (lev 20:14). geisler (2008 p. 299-301)says that the basic elements ofgodly marriage include: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 144 1. marriage is between a male and a female and there is no accommodation for homosexual marriage. 2. marriage involves sexual union and it is referred to as a “union of one flesh”. sexual union before marriage is fornication while sexual union after marriage is adultery. paul’s usage of the same phrase in icor.6:16 to condemn prostitution in understandable. god commanded that the male and female he created should propagate children, thus same sex marriage cannot procreate. 3. marriage is a companionship (mal. 2:14). marriage is more than a sexual union. it is also social and spiritual union of friendship between the couples. sexual union in marriage is anchored on propagation (genesis 1:28), unification (genesis 2:24), recreation (proverbs 5:18-19). 4. christian marriage involves a covenant before god. it is not a union between male and female involving sexual rights but it is a union based on covenantal mutual promises of a man leaving mother and father, cleaving to his wife. both mal. 2:14 and prov. 2:17 talk about the covenant relationship of husband and wife as that of god and israel. from these two passages it is evident that marriage is not only a covenant, but one of which god is a witness. consent and approval in marriage clark and rakestraw (2007 p. 232) observe that for any marriage to be effectual there must be consent and approval. he notes that the consent of the partners and of the parents must be obtained; hagar and ishmael (gen. 21:21), shechem and his father hamor in gen. 34:4-6. there must also be a public avowal which could include a marriage contract as well as legal and social customs (gen.29:25) such as where shechem discussed the bride price and gift items with dinah’s father (gen. 34:12). african perspective on divorce in the african worldview the main aim of marriage is to procreate. this underscores why divorce cases are high in africa when such marriages do not produce children. a woman who is married and cannot bear children is sent away packing. in extreme cases, even when she bears children and all are females, the husband is at liberty either to divorce and remarry or simply marry igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 145 another wife who will give him male children or at least one to continue with the family’s lineage upon the death of parentson divorce.childlessness is the single most important impediment affecting marriages in africa.according to kore, a husband will divorce his wife or marry additional wives in order to have children. a childless wife due to inability to conceive, abortion or miscarriage is looked down upon with shame and abuse (kore 1989 pp. 95-99).bujo adds that “a married couple with no children is like a dead tree in the eyes of the african community” (1998 pp. 94-99). those who are in agreement with this school of thought on divorce articulate that marriage should be done in stages i.e. trail marriage, also called provisional marriage, and until the wife is pregnant she should not be accepted fully as a legitimate wife. perspectives on christian divorce divorce continues to be a sour grape for christian ethicists as there is no common agreement for reasons for it. moralists observe that divorce was permitted in the old testament and jesus may have given a leeway about sexual immorality and there may be instances where divorce may seem ok! for the good of the children as well as for the spouses. denise carmodynotes that even roman catholicism which has been hardest hit on the divorced, forbidding remarriage under penalty of being banned from the sacraments, now does more pastorally to help the divorced people gain annulments and continue an active church membership (1993 p. 175). moses’ teaching in deuteronomy 24:1-4 is appealed to by proponents of divorce (kunyihop 2008 p. 250). other passages alludedto are god’s query to unfaithful israel where he asks israel "where is your mother's certificate of divorce with which i sent her away? (isa 50:1 niv). also in jer 3:8, the lord god gave faithless israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries. these passages seem to give credence to divorce on account of adultery in the old testament by the issuance of a certificate to annul the institution of marriage. thus the instrumentality of divorce was the certificate which legalized the nullity of the marriage contract. john wilkinson has summarized the essence of christian marriage thus:the purpose of an expression of human sexuality in the christian understanding is to be found in marriage relationship. for the christian sex means marriage, marriage means monogamy…… and love and fidelity within christian marriage (1988 p. 182). this therefore presupposes that in christian marriages divorce should be avoided at all cost. alternative ways of settling disputes between spouses should be sought for such as guidance and counseling from church counselors and other specialties on marriage issues. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 146 arguments for and against divorce christians are divided on the issue of divorce. there are three arguments put forth as follows: there are no grounds for divorce. there is only one ground for divorce.there are so many grounds for divorce. proponents of no divorce school of thought give the following reasons to support their claim: divorce contravenes god’s plan for marriage. in the new testament, jesus to echoesthe law when he told the inquisitive pharisees 'anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce. “but i tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery (mat 5:31-32 niv). when the pharisees asked further, "why did moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away in order to trap him, jesus replied that “moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. but it was not this way from the beginning (mat 19:8 niv). paul statements on divorce are a categorical no to divorce for married couples. he says, “a wife must not separate from her husband. (1co 7:10 niv) but if she does, she must not must remarry. here, paul is categorical that a divorced wife must not remarry, but he has not expressly stated whether a divorced husband could remarry. paul’s advice to the believer who marries an unbeliever is loaded with conditions of “if” and “willingness” on the part the spouses. he says, if any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. this applies also to the believing woman who has an unbelieving husband (1co 7:12-13 niv). in his final submission, paul states that a woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. but if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the lord (1co 7:39 niv). a church elder must not be a divorcee and he must be the husband of one wife (1tim. 3:2). divorce violates a sacred typology of the heavenly marriage between christ and his bride, the church. according to this view the “exception” given in matt 19:9 refers to fornication (premarital intercourse) and not adultery after marriage, therefore there is no ground for divorce what so ever. asecondview says that there is only one ground for divorce. and that ground is adultery. proponents of this view are however quick to point out that divorced persons are not to remarry (matt 5:32). they cite jesus and paul teaching to back igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 147 up their claim.the teaching of jesus in matt. 19:9 where he says “except for marital unfaithfulness” permits divorce, however it does not permit remarriage, even as this is considered adulterous (kunyihop 2008 p 253).one view holds that the greek word ̟ορνείᾳ “pornea”used includes all illicit sexual relationships of married and unmarried people such as unchastity, prostitution, fornication, and various kinds of unlawful sexual intercourse (mt 5:32; 19:9; mk 7:21; j 8:41; ac 15:20; 1 cor 6:13). therefore, on the ground of any these, divorce is permitted. another argument for this view holds that “pornea” refers to sexual unfaithfulness (adultery) after marriage by one of the partners and it should be the only ground for divorce (geisler 2010 p. 310).yet the other view submits that matthew’s usage of the word “pornea” is referring only to fornication and not adultery. this is supported by his usage of the terms µοιχεῖαι, adultery, and ̟ορνεῖαι, sexual immorality (fornincation) separately in mat 15:19 as one of the seven listed items that defile a person. the marcan list of thirteen things that defile (mark 7:21-22) is here reduced to seven by matthew, that partially cover the content of the decalogue in matthew 15:21-28.it is observed that in both mark 10:11 and luke 16:18, the authorsmade use of the verb µοιχεῖαι,moicheia and they did not use the verb ̟ορνεῖαι in their writing. so it is only matthew that mentions the ‘exception’ of porneawhich he refers to as fornication. this exception is explained by his jewish background to emphasize jewish exception to premarital fornication as led down in the mosaic law in deut. 22:13-21. in 1cor. 7:10,paul also sharesonhis thought on divorce issues.he legitimizes divorce in a situation where anunbeliever is marriedto a believer and the unbeliever decides to leave the marriage. in 1cor. 7:15 he says “if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so.” a believing man or woman is not bound by their marital vows in such circumstances. however, remarriage is forbidden. the last view is that there are many grounds for divorce. the act of adultery is a good reason for divorce (matt 19:9, matt 5:32). when an unbeliever deserts one of the believing partners in marriage, divorce may be allowed (1cor. 7:15). where there is spousal abuse or one of the partner’s contracts as infectious disease or neglect divorce could be effected (geisler 2010 pp. 306-307). this view is supported by the mosaic law indeut 24:1-4 which stipulates that the if the man “finds something indecent about her” he may divorce her in spite of the lord’s hatred of divorce as recorded in malachi 2:16. the hardness of hearts of the jews,it would appear was the reason why god permitted divorce but it igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 148 was not intended to be so from the beginning. god therefore understood that in a fallen world, the ideal cannot always be realized therefore he accommodated divorce in his plan. it is further noted that god even divorced israel and gave her a certificate of divorce sending her away as an adulteress (jer. 3:8). prophet isaiah concurs when he says “where is your mother’s certificate of divorce with which i sent her away” (isa. 50:1)? implying that divorce was permitted. supporters of this school of thought argue that marriage is not an unconditional vow but a mutual vow hence a conditional vow may be broken by the aggrieved party (1cor. 7:15). the view continues that marriage becomes legalistic when divorce is not allowed. they cite jesus saying to the pharisees “the sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath” (mar 2:27 niv) toback up their assertion that “likewise marriage was made for man; man was not made for marriage” (geisler2010 pp 306-307).this last view of divorce on many grounds apart from adultery allows remarriage.kunhiyop (2004 p. 306) asserts that those who hold this position also permit divorce for other reasons such as mental illness, desertion, abandoning the faith (such as becoming a witch or member of a secret society), conviction for a crime, and imprisonment for a serious crime such as murders. this position allows remarriage for the innocent party from the forgoing three schools of thought on divorce, it can be conjectured that god intends that marriage be a lifetime monogamous relationship and this is god’s standard for christian marriage. divorce therefore is breaking god’s command. god hates divorce and there are no scriptural grounds supporting divorce. divorce is failure to measure up to god’s standard destroying his plan for marriage. remarriage we have noted above that there may be many grounds for divorce besides adultery, such as mental illness, desertion, abandoning the faith, conviction of a crime, imprisonment for a serious crime like murder (kunyihop 2008 p 253). they argue that just because divorce is always wrong, this does not mean that remarriage is never right. the view continues that while lifetime marriage is god’s ideal, the ideal is not always possible because we do not live in an ideal world but a real world that is fallen. therefore, when the ideal is not achieved, then the next best thing should be done (geisler 2010 p.388). to buttress their point, they note that just as god allowed the children of israel to observe the passover on the second month (they could not observe it in the first month due to uncleanness) even so remarriage not being god’s ideal, should be a realistic igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 149 accommodation to a less than idealistic world (geisler 2010 p 308).other reasons given to support remarriage include forgiveness. this can change one’s status before god. god told his “divorced children” to repent and return to him (jer. 3:1-14). this meant that repentance out rightly voided their divorce. therefore, they argue that repentance cannot cancel the adulterous status of the divorced to remarry(geisler 2010 p 308). according to this view divorce was not an unpardonable sin as it is only blasphemy against the holy spirit that is unforgivable (matt. 12:32). the bible says if we confess our sins god is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (geisler 2010 p. 308). the other reason has to do with the fact that divorce laws were made to help couples, not to hurt them, citing jesus in luke 14:5 when he declared that the sabbath was made for man, not man for sabbath, (mk. 22:7). when marriage and divorce becomes legalistic at the expenses of showing mercy to the divorced then we are thrown neck deep into legalism which jesus talked against. the biblical texts as we have noted that deal with the issues of divorce and marriage include: the mosaic regulation (deut. 24:1:4), the prophetic protests (mal. 2:13-16), the teaching of jesus (matt. 5:32, 19:9, mark 10:11-12 and luke 16:18) andthe teaching of paul (1cor. 7:10-16). david clyde has observed that “the covenantal perspective on marriage is so much part of the old testament religion and culture that god’s covenant with israel is often pictured in such terms. sadly, however, the figure of the marriage covenant is exploited primarily in dealing with israel’s apostasy (188). the prophets hosea, jeremiah, and ezekiel represent israel’s infidelity to the sinaticcovenant as committing adultery and fornication”. the mosaic regulation of deut 24:1-4 tolerates divorce to the woman who finds no favour in the first husband and the second husband is said to divorce her simply because he dislikes her. moses said: when a man takes a wife and marries her, if then she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, and she departs out of his house, and if she goes and becomes another man's wife, and the latter man hates her and writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, or if the latter man dies, who took her to be his wife, then her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after she has been defiled, for that is an abomination before the lord. and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 150 you shall not bring sin upon the land that the lord your god is giving you for an inheritance) (deut 24:1-5). because of the patriarchal system of the jewish people, marriage laws never fovoured the women who could be at a disadvantage at any moment of being divorced without any rights to claim. the divorce practice witnessed under the mosaic regulation was however given knocks of protests by prophet malachi. malachi protested against two specific instances of covenant infidelity: entering into marriage with pagan wives and divorcing “the wife of your youth”. thus it can be seen in malachi protest in chapter 2 and particularly at verse 16 which says, he hates divorce because it covered “one’s garment with violence” (mal. 2:16 nkjv). the teaching of jesus and paul has so much been treated above vividly. but mention must be made that both jesus and paul did not tolerate divorce. christ condemned what moses accepted in the deuteronomy code about divorce saying it was because of the hardness of their hearts that moses allowed divorce. clyde jones (1998 p.201)howeverobserves that “scripture does not forbid remarriage in such cases as desertion” where one partner decides to abscond the marriage without any cogent reason. where genuine conversion is evidenced by sincere and heartfelt repentance and faith in christ the church after providing pastoral counseling and instruction in biblical teaching about marriage may approve remarriage in the lord. ethical implications of marriage and divorce it must be noted that christian marriage is for life. christian marriage is also monogamous and indissoluble. god’s intention for marriage is that it should be enjoyable, faithful and lifelong (gen1:24, matt 19:5-6 and rom7:2-3). divorce is against god’s law of marriage. divorce is breaking christian ethics on marriage. god says he hates divorce (mal 2:16). the aftermath of divorce is undesirable. its effect is traumatic, psychologically socially and even mentally destructive. divorce shatters hope and aspiration of families as its damage is irreparable. divorce frustrates gods purpose for marriage as the victims: husband and wife, the children, the family experience psychological pain, loses alienation, frustration, disillusionment, recrimination and guilt. the biblical example of marital unfaithfulness of king david with bathsheba is glaring for us to learn lessons from. the child of adultery died and there was rivalry between the line of bathsheba and david’s first wife. solomon himself igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 151 indulged in chronic polygamist life and this led him to spiritual apostasy as he turned to foreign gods after his foreign wives (2 sam 11).ethically they argue that some laws are higher than others. there are greater virtues like love and mercy and when these come in conflict there is an obligation to the higher moral law while not being held responsible for keeping lower one (geisler 1990). therefore, even when divorce is wrong, there may be occasions when a greater responsibility will override this law. conclusion/ recommendations the marriage institution is ordained by god himself,and it is intended to foster procreation, companionship, unity, love and pleasure among the spouses. while marriage is not eternal, it is meant to last till the death of one or both of the spouses with or without children as against the norm in african cultures where marriage is merely seen as a venture for producing children. this is against the backdrop of african worldview of marriage which sees procreation as the ultimate reason for marriage. divorce is not god’s ideal for solving marital problems. while the challenge of marriage, divorce and remarriage will continue to pose great concerns to the church and society, the church has to be cautious in dealing with these challenges prayerfully, while guidance and counseling is to be given to its members about the dangers of divorce and remarriage.the marriage institution regards the permanent characteristic of marriage as an essential ingredient and this must be taught to the society by the church. the spirit of give and take has to be put into use by the spouses for marriage to succeed. when problems arise in marriage, they must be dealt with immediately by the acknowledgement, confession and forgiveness. when marital issues are attended to, that could lead to failure in marriages and the ugly sad result is divorce. forgiveness is a virtue that must be practiced by the spouses who want the marriage to succeed. marriage that are collapsing must be salvaged through counseling, if such counsel fails, the causes that led to the break down must be recorded and kept for future references. divorce should be the last resort when all has failed. remarriage should not be rushed into and should be considered thoughtfully and approved where there is need. references bryson, a., (1988) trial marriages in africa: a theological study of sexuality and marriage, nairobi, lizima press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 152 bujo, benezet.,(1998) “common characteristics of african marriages” the ethical dimensions of community nairobi: pauline’s publications africa. carmody, d.i and carmody, j.t., (1993) roman catholicism on divorce, christian ethics: an introduction: through history and current issues: new jersey: prentice hall. clark, d. and rakestraw, r., (2007) the effectual marriage: reading in christian ethics vol. 1, grand rapids: baker books. finnis, j.,(2008) “marriage: a basic and exigent good,” the monist, july–oct. geisler, l. (1990) basic elements to christian marriage: christian ethics options and issues. london, baker books. geisler., n. l. (2010) christian ethics. contemporary issues and options: second edition. grand rapids michigan: baker academic. gwamna, j, d., (2008) social sex in africa; perspectives in african christian theology, bukuru: acts books. jones, d, c., (1988) covenantal perspectives on marriage: biblical christian ethics. grand rapids: baker books. kore, d., (1989) childlessness in african marriages: culture and the christian home. evaluating marriage in the light of scripture: bukuru: acts books. kunhiyop, s. w., (2004) “two views of procreation” african christian ethics. kaduna: baraka press. kunhiyop, s.w.,(2008)africa christian ethics. nairobi, kenya: hippo books. lee, p & george, r. p., (2008) “bodyself dualism” in: contemporary ethics and politics. mccain, danny., developing evangelical christian theology in africa: a presented to the theological education in africa (tea) conference at the nigerian bible translation trust (nbtt), jos on the 25th may 2009. macedo, s.,(1995)homosexuality and the conservative mind, 84 geo. l.j. 26 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 153 mbiti, j. s., (1982) african religions and philosophy. london: heinemann. oxford advanced learner’s dictionary (2005). international students edition, “the legal relationship between a husband and wife”, 7th edition. oxford university press, rubbing, e., (1967) traditional marriage in: sons of tiv, grand rapids: baker books. quoted in akiga sai: the trading of woman in tiv,1954. sai akiga.,(1969) the trading of a woman in tiv.quoted by eugene rubbingh in sons of tiv. grand rapids baker books. sheri stritof“a formal union, social, and legal contract between two individuals”. https://marriage.about.com/cs/generaslhistory.htm. cited on the 26/03/2018. weitzman, l., (1985) traditional marriage: the divorce revolution: new york free press. wikinson, john., (1988) christian ethics in health care, edinburg: the handsel press. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 5.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 176 a review of kanu ikechukwu anthony’s “igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in igbo-african ontology” peter okey ejikeme, ph.d department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university, umunya anambra state okeyejikeme12@gmail.com the paper is a quest to establish african individual autonomy, which according to the author the african is denied autonomy as a result of three factors: his relationships in the community, the african concept of destiny, and the interactive nature of the african universe. the author progressed by first establishing the true meaning of human autonomy. thereafter, the three fronts of denial of autonomy were systematically x-rayed by the author from the works of many african scholars. having examined the three arguments that have argued that the african has no autonomy, the author hermeneutically located the concept of african autonomy in the igbo concept of onwe – self. he opined that the original root of the word onwe can be traced back to nwe that means ‘to own’. thus through this he established the self-identity behind onwe in the igbo ontology. the author further asserts the universality of autonomy as beyond the frontiers of culture, time, race and colour. concluding the paper, the author employed phenomenological method to establish that africans are real human beings that enjoy the natural human freedom, have will which give them the space to choose and be responsible for their actions. hence the author collapsed the three arguments by establishing convincingly the autonomy of the individual person in african ontology. evaluation the african philosophy and indeed the african heritage is not a mere narrative by a disinterested observer, rather it is lived experience of the africans and nobody can express it better than the africans. it is time for the african scholars to rise and assert themselves in the global epistemic domain and tell their own story in their own way. kanu, has in this paper taken the bold step of presenting to the world the true african concept of autonomy and the clear fact of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 177 universality of humanity. it is devoid of relativity; africans are among humanity and should not be excluded a priori. in the words of kanu: human autonomy is an all-inclusive enterprise. it is not cultural or time bound. autonomy points to the human person as a rational entity. as a universal experience, it is not limited to whites or blacks. i totally subscribe to the excellent mélange of hermeneutic and phenomenological methods in collapsing the arguments against the african autonomy of the person in this paper and the hermeneutical location of the african human autonomy in the concept of onwe – self in igbo ontology. according to kanu: the original root of the word onwe can be traced back to nwe that means ‘to own’. thus, onwe gi, would mean he that owns himself, onwe ya, would mean he or she that owns himself or herself. the idea of ownership over the self introduces the idea of independence from the other and stamps the strong sense of autonomy. again the concept of igwubuike is made manifest in the african community spelling out the individuality of the person, but kanu argues that although the community defines the individual, this definition does not take away the individual freedom and autonomy of the person. kanu, in this context established a balance (worthy of reckoning) between the community and the individual in african ontology. however, kanu establishes the co-existence of freedom and determinism working together to make the human person. following the thought of buber (1970), he asserts that the two are counterparts in the human person. to this end, i do not totally accept the middle course created here and the extent each one operates was not established. finally, the methodology, the style of writing, the lucidity of thought and the consistency of the logical presentation seen in this paper is quite commendable. kanu has proved himself an iroko in african studies, thoughts, culture and religion. the present paper has a lot to contribute in african studies and in the academic world. references igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 178 kanu, ikechukwu anthony, “igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization,” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities 2 (2016), 3-4. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike and and logic (nka) of african philosophy”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.3 no1 january 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 35-44. 2016. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. 2017. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 84 ogbunu youth crisis and transformative pacifism: a panacea for intra-group conflict in awka, anambra state anakweze, peter ugochukwu department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe university, awka doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.16636.28806 abstract in every dispensation, the existence of human being is marked with conflict emerging from their co-existence. this inalienable characteristic of human coexistence sometimes results to violence and death. such is the case of ogbunu youth, one of the youth fora in awka, the capital city of anambra state. ogbunu is coined from the village name umuogbunu. the ogbunu people are seen as one family from one ancestral descent, hence the custom of exogamy. in this vein, it is considered a taboo in igbo tradition for a man to take his brother‟s life. the purpose of this research work is therefore to find out the causes of the crisis, the extent to which peaceful effort has been made and why the conflict still lingers. the researcher attempts to find a possible means of evading violent conflict between people of same blood line. the findings show that once violent conflict between people of same blood line leads to death, peace is very difficult to achieve. the researcher used theory of transformative pacifism and recommends that the theory should be imbibed by people of same blood line to ensure that in one‟s subconscious being, one knows the implication of murder in such a case, and avoids it. the fact that umuogbunu is considered as a family due to one ancestral descent makes the conflict more troubling. is it to be assumed that they do not know that they are brothers for them to have allowed intolerance to lead to the suspicious death of one of their brothers out of violent conflict? the need for a better integration of a sense of understanding on the sameness of their ancestral descent cannot be over emphasized, and the knowledge of the implication of the killing of one‟s own brother is definitely lacking and as such the need for transformative pacifism. introduction the existence of man in every community over time is embodied in communal living and relationship. this, by the process of involvement gives room for the interface of divergent ideas, reasoning and character. the relationship can result to better development or chaos. chaos being as a result of divergence of ideas and thought pattern. it is however, in the best interest of every community to strive towards peace that gives room for development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 85 umuogbunu being a community in awka, the capital of anambra state is one of such communities where human interaction with neighbours is inalienable. the elders have their social group, the women have their social group and the youth also have their social group. these three groups with similar functions, at one point or the other, tend to have some disagreement on common issues like marriage rites, burial rites and so on. these three groups that consist the crux of social interaction make peace and development within the community to be farfetched whenever conflict arises between them. since development is one of the reasons for communal relationship, unity would not be valued if there is no room for development. the ogbunu youths in the year 2013 had a terrible conflict with the elders of umuogbunu over issues bothering on financial accounts for the money gotten through the community‟s business outlets, the youth seeking in turn to take over the management of the outlets. this heated up the polity to the extent that there were series of disagreements and physical combats whenever there was a gathering for the periodic kindred and village meetings. the conflict resulted in the division of the youth forum into two factions, one in support of the elders; and the other in opposition to the rule of the elders. the conflict resulted in sanctions on the youths in opposition. this yielded no positive result. the conflict appears to be unending as it still lingers from the year 2013 to date. the conflict hindered the community from agreeing on what to do with the twenty million (#20,000000)naira community project initiative, provided by the governor of anambra state, chief dr. willie obiano, as well as other important issues. there is therefore a need to undergo a study of the conflicting situation, giving room for proper investigation of the issues and make possible recommendations for the resolution of the issues in order to create room for development. an overview of umuogbunu village every geographical nomenclature has its origin, ancestry, and geographical position. in the same way umuogbunu being a geographical nomenclature has its history and geographical position. okafor (1992) made an effort to show the importance of literary work on the origin of a state, town, village and community when he stated that the substance and the essence of the co-relation, co-existence, and sameness of nomenclature may be lost if the history of a people is only igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 86 transmitted orally. for this reason, it is imperative to research on the history of the people of umuogbunu community in order to ensure that the original history of the people is not lost in the course of time. dike (1975) made an assertion on the meaning of awka when he stated that awka is not a traditionally correct nomenclature of the oka people, he made it clear that “awka” is as a result of the british influence. this shows that there is a need for a further research into the history of the people of awka in order to ensure that western influence on our history does not wipe out our true history. okafor (1992) gave a correction on the nomenclature of the awka people when he said that oka (awka) means okacha (the greatest) before the advent of the white man, this is due to the defeat of all forces that came to challenge oka people. having established the importance of having a literary work on the origin of every community for the sake of posterity, we will now delve into the history of umuogbunu. the father figure in umuogbunu origin the origin of umuogbunu cannot be holistically analyzed without an x-ray of the town in which it exists; awka. anagbogu (1995) made series of hypothesis on the origin of awka (oka). he exhausted the possibility of awka being an offshoot from the migrant israelites from egypt, and explained that the theory has no evidence. he x-rayed the theory of awka coming from nnobi which was derived from the saying “awka-nnobi”, but flawed the theory by asserting that in nnobi‟s documented history, there is no mention of awka. again, anagbogu (1995) x-rayed the possibility of awka coming from awkaetiti but flawed it with no existence of awka in the history of awkaetiti. these hypotheses create enticing stories but their validation is not quite evident. anagbogu (1995) then referred to the statement of anthropologists like talbot and mulhall (1962) which states that the igbo have no tradition of migration from elsewhere and appear to have settled in the thickly populated parts of nri-awka and isuama areas for a very long period and to have spread from there. jones (1970) supported this view when he said that the igbo traditions of origin, when analyzed in conjunction with other geographical, structural and cultural features suggest an igbo centre or core in what is now the awkaorlu division. this creates the idea of awka among the forefathers of igbo land. afigbo (1986) reaffirmed this theory when he said that scholars have long come to the conclusion that the nriawka-orlu axis probably represents the earliest zone of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 87 igbo settlement and it was from there that other parts of igbo land came to be peopled over the centuries. afigbo (1995) gathered through oral communication that the original ancestor of awka is said to have been a man of that name who just appeared on earth. this creates the idea of autochthony. he further validated this theory by stating that the currently available evidence in history suggest that most of the towns in northern and western igbo sub-cultural groups claim that their ancestors at first resided in the nriawka area but subsequently moved out with their followers and families either in search of unoccupied land or to escape uncongenial obligations or even punishments. though this theory of autochthony in the origin of awka may seem unrealistic because it has been a norm for the history of most people to be traced to migration from other places, the theory may be as a result of non-evident source of the history of awka because there was no documentation as it were. notwithstanding, it is incumbent on us to go with the most valid theory of the origin of awka people as autochthony. having created an understanding about the origin of awka where umuogbunu is situated, it is best for us to now evaluate various views on this father figure in the origin of umuogbunu o. ndubuisi (personal communication, 27th july, 2019) said that awka (oka) was a man who got married to many wives, one of his wives gave birth to otele igbo who in turn gave birth to ezioka, amaenyi, and amikwo. they all resided in nkwele. when the three brothers grew up, amikwo and ezioka had to leave nkwele and came down to the valley since nkwele was the hilly part of awka. g. anakweze (personal communication, 27th july, 2019) reaffirmed the claim of ndubuisi when he said that ezioka had two brothers who were the off springs of awka (oka). they later got separated in order to avoid land dispute and other vices. nevertheless, he stressed that all awka villages are off springs of oka, apart from those who were later incorporated into awka like umudioka and agulu. ezioka later gave birth to five children: ogbunu, ogwali, ukwa, eri and omuko. they were tagged ezi-oka otele igbo which shows the name of their father and grandfather. it is worth noting however, that the current ezioka constitutes six villages instead of the original five: umuogbunu, umuogwali, umukwa, umueri, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 88 omuko, and umudioka being the village that was later incorporated. o ndubuisi (personal communication 27thjuly, 2019) affirmed this when he said that dioka was a native doctor from umudiokaogidi, who was invited by amikwo to heal his daughter of an unusual sickness. he came and resided in the premises of amikwo while administering treatment to amikwo‟s daughter. amikwo‟s daughter later recovered through the treatment but then dioka was already attracted to her. the two young people mated and amikwo‟s daughter got pregnant. dioka left amikwo‟s premises and resided with ogbunu. later, amikwo found out that his daughter was pregnant and informed ogbunu. ogbunu asked dioka to leave, he did and went to reside with ogwali who, as well was made to know of the incident. ogwali asked dioka if he was responsible for the pregnancy and he admitted, agreeing to marry amikwo‟s daughter. they got married and had children, still living with ogwali. due to their growing number, ogwali sought with his brothers a way to solve the stress of dioka‟s population, and they agreed that dioka would be given a piece of land where he would live with his children, with the condition that he would no longer leave awka but be an eternal indigene and resident of awka kingdom. he agreed and then was given the area where umudioka is currently situated. azuka (1975) affirmed this when he stated that “the people of agulu and umudioka villages are believed to have joined the autochthonous inhabitants later” (p.16). o ndubuisi (personal communication 27th july 2019) stated that ogbunu being one of the sons of ezioka grew and got married and bore three male children: nachi, orobu and aru. these are the three original kindreds that umuogbunu had right from time. he added that later, a war erupted between some villages in awka, and umuogbunu as it were, was a powerful people to reckon with, so a village in awka called umuzoghve sought protection from umuogbunu since she (umuzoghve) was a very small village. umuogbunu accepted them with the condition that they will no longer be a village of their own, but will bear the name umuogbunu, observing all the customs of umuogbunu. g. anakweze (personal communication 27th july, 2019) confirmed this narrative and added that this is why we currently have umuogbunu i and ii. umuzoghe which is incorporated as a kindred in umuogbunu are the ones called umuogbunu ii. in all occasions and sharing of pieces of land, revenue and so on, the umuogbunu i and ii are given two shares while other villages get one share igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 89 each. it is therefore needful to state clearly that ogbunu whom is one of the sons of ezioka is the father figure in umuogbunu origin. the law on exogamy n. nwachukwu (personal communication, 20th july, 2019) concurs with ndubuisi‟s account that ogbunu was one of the children of ezioka. he later gave birth to nachi, orogbu and aru. these three entities are by this implication brothers. it was later on that umuzoghve which was initially an independent village in ancient awka kingdom became incorporated into the family of ogbunu during a war that broke out within the awka community. ikenga (2010) created an idea of criminal offence in the igbo cosmological view when he stated that in the igbo cosmological view, there are two types of offences; the crime against the divine law and the crime against the human law. those against the divine laws are referred to as alu or nso-ala(abomination) the crimes include incest, suicide, poisoning someone with the intent of taking his or her life and so on. the crime against human laws includes theft of domestic animals, removal of boundary marks, being disrespectful to the elders, and so on. from ikenga‟s (2010) list about the crimes considered to be against divine laws, we can deduce that incest is one of the sins committed by man against the will of the divine, hence it is referred to as nsoala or alu. bittle (2012) made a clear explanation of incest when he stated that it is a human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. again, in referring to incest in relation to distant relatives like their cousins, bittle (2012) made use of the word consanguinity. this she defined as people related by blood or having close ancestral descent. thornhill (1993) made a clear indication of the causes of laws on exogamy when he stated that man takes note in almost all human cultural setting about the order of consanguinity, and as such hold better emotional attachment to blood relations. they tend to seek retaliation when one‟s family is hurt and create subconsciously laws on exogamy, endogamy and incest. these scholars above have created a clear understanding of the nature of man to create laws on issues thought to be criminal, bad and unpleasant. one of the laws is exogamy. this is one of the characteristics of some villages in awka village igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 90 like umuogbunu, umudioka and so on that do not allow the marriage between people of the same village. thornhill (1993) affirms that there are many people of different cultural setting that have made laws on exogamy which is the prohibition of marriage between people of the same tribe, group or clan. o. ndubuisi (personal communication, 27th july, 2019) affirms that umuogbunu falls under this category. we have the same ancestral descent traced to ogbunu who gave birth to three children aru, orobu and achi, of which umuzoghve was later adopted. it is as such a taboo (alu) for one to marry his blood relation. “anyi nine fvunwanne” he acclaimed. therefore umuogbunu do not marry umuogbunu. there are many other villages in awka to choose a very good wife from just in case one insists on marrying from awka, otherwise one can choose a wife from numerous towns around. u. offorah (personal communication, 7th july, 2019) asserts that despite the law, some indigenes of umuogbunu still either intentionally or unintentionally do have sexual encounter with other indigenes of umuogbunu. this he referred to as a taboo that requires cleansing for one to keep the wrath of aja ana (earth goddess) from him or herself and as well from the community. he went further to assert that in some cases, some indigenous girls get pregnant due to “the incest”. when noticed, inquiries are made to know who is responsible, if it is an indigene of umuogbunu then ikpualua (appeasement of the gods) must take place. this he referred to as spiritual cleansing that must be done in order to avert curses that can come as a result of the crime against the divine. surprisingly, the process of cleansing (ikpualu) is only done by the man who committed the taboo with the woman. according to g anakweze (personal communication, 27th july, 2019), the culprit with some of some of his kinsmen will go to the custodian of ajaana (the earth goddess) and explain the situation. then the custodian after consultation with the gods states the items that must be provided for the ritual to be performed, as well as the date in which the ritual must take place. o. ndubuisi (personal communication 27th july, 2019) stated that some of the items required are goat (mkpi), rooster (okuko igbo), the rooster can be up to four depending on the prescription, four kolanuts signifying the four market days in igbo land, preferably huge sizes of tubers of yam, a keg of palm wine and other brands of alcoholic drinks. the culprit is then required not to be seen outside his premises until the day the ritual is to be performed. on the said date, all the elders of his kindred will accompany the culprit to the shrine of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 91 ajaana located in nwamou‟s family compound with all the items listed. there the custodian of aja-ana inspect the items brought and then begins incantations notifying the goddess of the arrival of the culprit and his kinsmen. then the colanut is broken and libation is poured. the culprit is then required to kneel before ajaana after which the goat and roosters are killed and the blood spread on the statutes representing aja ana, on the ground and on the hands of the culprit. after this, the animals are taken away as they will be used to prepare food for the people‟s consumption. the custodian of aja ana (ezemmuo) then continues with series of incantations and appeasement of the goddess of the land to pardon both the culprit and the kingdom. when the ezemmuo confirms from the goddess that their plea has been accepted, the ezemmuo then admonishes the culprit with the word “ozoemene”, meaning let there be no reoccurrence. then everyone settle down and the food is served after which all disperse. o okafor (personal communication, 27th july, 2019) however stated that once the cleansing is accepted by aja ana, then the community and the culprit are free from the curse of the goddess. about the child that would be born as a result of the “incest”, he stated that the child would then become a member of umuogbunu, having equal right with every other indigenous son or daughter of umuogbunu. the kinships and co-relations umuogbunu village is among the thirty three villages found in awka, the capital of anambra state. as its origin has been treated, here we breakdown the village into kingship, establishing how they are co-related. umuogbunu is made up of four kindreds: umunachi, umuorobu, umuaru and umuzoghve. nachi, orobu and aru were the three sons of ogbunu, it was umuzoghve that was later incorporated into the umuogbunu community during a period of war in awka with the agreement that they would become part of umuogbunu. for this reason, they are referred to as umuogbunu ii. it is to be made clear that umuogbunu i comprises of umunachi, umuorobu and umuaru, umuogbunu ii comprising only of umuzoghe. this brings the total number of villages in awka to 33, one should not see umuogbunu i and ii as two distinct villages because during the time for village meetings, both umuogbunu i and ii have their meeting together as a singular unit. butumuogbunu i and ii also have two shares in the economic revenue of awka town during meetings igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 92 regarded to as izuawka. in the same manner, when there is a contribution to be made, umuogbunu i and ii are also to shoulder two contributions. it is therefore to be understood as stated by o mmaduonu (personal communication, 21st july, 2019) that the entire town of awka see umuogbunu i and ii as two villages but once there is an internal meeting within umuogbunu, umuogbunu ii which comprises only of ones kindred; umuzoghve is not seen as a village of its own but as a kindred in umuogbunu. in awka dialect, anagbogu (1995) made it clear that onuku refers to the village in awka where one comes from, umunna refers to this kindred one belongs to and imeunuor mkpachi refers to a smaller unit of the kindred (extended families) that are more closely related by paternal consanguinity. the divisions are as follows: umuorobu umudiobodo, igbaocha, obiananma umuaru umuadene, umudinaocha, umuogo umunachi umunwoji, olokpala, okpunoju, ezeoka, umelu umuzoghve igwebuike, ekwunife, nwafor, nwachukwu, adigwe it is to be understood that orobu, gave birth to diobodo, igbaocha, and obiananma. then just as umuorobu is a kindred, umudiobodo stands as extended family of its own, having nuclear families within it. this is applicable to other kindreds listed above. the genesis of ogbunu intra-group conflict nwolise (2006) states that conflict is not a bad thing as such but an avenue for positive growth and development. he added that all conflicts have their causes and how they began. this means that no conflict can ever just erupt without a cause. it is therefore of importance that we evaluate how the ogbunu youth crisis started. n. nwammadi (personal communication, 1st july, 2019) stated that between july and august 2013, new executives of ogbunu youth forum were elected in accordance to chapter 5, section 1 of the constitution of ogbunu youth forum. chukwukeluenwangwu was elected the chairman, emmanuel okeke was elected as vice chairman, emmanuel nwaonyibor was elected secretary, ekenemmaduonu was elected chief tax force and ifeanyinwammadu was elected provost. together, they attended the umuogbunu general meeting (izuobodo) held sometime in august 2013. there, the chairman of ogbunu youth igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 93 forum (chukwukelueifeme) sought for the elders of umuogbunu headed by nwabudenwachukwu (ekpeke), to allocate to the new executives of ogbunu youth forum some of the business outlets that they would be managing. this, according to c mmaduka (personal communication, 5th june, 2019) was the usual process right from time. the former executives before them led byobioraorogbu (ana-agwanti) was granted this. the business outlets being referred to here are; enugu electricity distribution company (e.e.d.c) premises, oji car park where 6:30 market is also located, nigeria postal service (nipost) business outlets, roadside business outlets located along ziks avenue within umuogbunu village, and so on. these business outlets pay some amount of money as rent to umuogbunu community. the funds were usually collected by the youths after which the financial proceeds allocated to the youth are paid into the account of the youth for projects and other expenses, the financial proceeds allocated to the village are paid into the village treasury. the new executives were elected in july, 2013 and they were making this demand in august 2013, e. oforah (personal communication, 3rd june, 2019) said that the elders turned down the request, saying that the executives were just recently elected and they are already asking for business outlets to manage. this, they said was too early. he went further to note that the elders complained that it seemed that the new executives were very much interested in money, and this, the elders frowned at. the executives of the youth forum decided to obey the elders (ndiichie) waiting six months later to reiterate their request. this was confirmed by o ndubuisi (personal communication, 27th june, 2019) when he said that if the youth had insisted at the instance of their first request, it would have been considered disrespectful and impatience. he went further to state that they waited patiently for about six months. in january 2014, the youth in another general meeting, through their chairman, chukwukeluoifeme reiterated their request reminding the elders of umuogbunu that they had told them not to rush the arrangement, as such, the youth had obediently waited for six months. to this, the elders concluded that they would put their request into consideration to know if it can be done. i. nwammadu (personal communication, 22nd july, 2019) stated that this was partial since it was not the way the same set of elders treated the former regime headed by obiorahorogbu (ana agwanti). this, the youth made known to the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 94 elders. they pointed out that the youth have projects that they are responsible for within the community as contained in their constitution. projects like putting up signposts, arranging announcements for emergency meetings, awarding scholarship to some unprivileged youths, reconstruction of spoilt roads within umuogbunu environs, and so on. the argument continued without any headway, after the long argument, as the elders wanted to bring the meeting to an end, chukwukeluoifeme indicated to say something, the elders turned him down, then the chief tax force officer, ekenemmaduonu insisted that the chairman of ogbunu youth must be allowed to talk but the elders still turned him down. then ekenemmaduonu turned violent and started breaking the glass windows in the meeting halls, and breaking some bottles of drinks, stating that since the chairman of ogbunu youth forum would not be allowed to talk, then there would not be any more discussion of any sort in that gathering. there and then, ekenemaduonu and chukwukeluoifeme were banned from umuogbunu village meeting and attending any event hosted or being attended in the identity of umuogbunu. the incident of how the second requests of some of the business outlets to manage was turned down and how it led to violence validates the assertion of burton (1990) which states that: fear are the situations and conditions which makes parties restless and anxious, and which create uncertainty and threat in them, in which individuals and groups become defensive against things that threatens their values, identity, security, priviledge and advantages they may enjoy (p.69). from the narrative above, we can deduce that the bone of contention was the management of the limited resources of umuogbunu village in awka. this is in line with the assertion of vogt (2000) that “resources” is one of the causes of conflict. the struggle over limited resources, inequitable resource distribution or other economic based factors. it is to be made clear that the youths interviewed as regards the cause of the conflict have very similar accounts. this is opposed to the account of some interviewed elders like o ndubuisi (personal communication, 27th june, 2019). who said thatndiichie (the elders) have been the elders of umuogbunu village right from time immemorial. the elders as such are the controllers of the business outlets of umuogbunu village. the youth are in no place to make demands for some share of the outlets for them to control, rather it is the elders who are to give some of the business outlets to the youth to manage if they so igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 95 wish. the youth can only hold the elders to be accountable for all the revenue gotten from the business outlets. it is to be noted that none of the interviewee(s) mentioned if the former executives headed byobiorahorogbu were allocated the outlets to control either at request or by the free will of the elders of umuogbunu. however, it is certain that the former regime headed by obioraorogbu before actually had some business outlets to manage, but the same opportunity was not given to the regime headed by chukwukeluoifeme. incidents of fights and death it is to be recalled that the attempt to obstruct chukwukeluoifeme from speaking at the umuogbunu general meeting by ndiichie (the elders) resulted to violence started by ekenemmaduonu; while the rest of the youth tried to restrain him, it lead to a fight that left some of the youths wounded. again, two meetings held subsequently in the kindred meeting of umuorobu where chukwukeluoifeme was asked to leave, resulted in a fight and struggle which left benjamin ezejiokoye bleeding from the nose as a result of a punch from chukwukeluoifeme, the fight also got chukwukeluoifeme into seizure. in the following month, umuorobu attempted to have another meeting in which ekenemmaduonu and chukwukeluoifeme were in attendance, a fight also ensued. this led to more injuries sustained by some members of umuorobu. s. onyibor (personal communication, 28th june, 2019) stated that after the last incident in the last meeting of umuorobu, there was an attack on obiorahorogbu (former chairman ogbunu youth forum) who was in support of the elders.obiorahorobu was reportedly walking along ichide street at night, and three young men surrounded him but he (obiorahorogbu) could not see their faces because it was dark. the struggle with these three men who had surrounded him resulted in his being hit at the back of the head with an axe, and he fell down. the three men left him probably thinking he was dead. after some time, the attacked individual regained consciousness and went home with blood dropping from his head. he was rushed to hospital by his family members at the sight of his condition where he received treatment. the following morning, obiorahorogbu sought to be discharged from the hospital which the doctors advised against, but at his insistence, he was released. it was reportedly said that sometimes blood used to drop from the patches of the wound at the back of his igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 96 head. later on, obiorahorogbu fell while walking along the road, he was rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead as a resulted of internal bleeding. c. ndubuisi (personal communication 21st june, 2019) stated that obiorahorogbu popularly known as ana-agwanti was reportedly walking along ichide road, in the afternoon of a faithful day, and fell to the ground, those around rushed and asked him what the problem was and he said that some people just hit him at the back of his head. the people reportedly did not see any one who hit him at that very moment when he fell down. he was later taken to the hospital for treatment after which he was discharged. it was later on reported that he died of internal bleeding. it is to be noted that the account of the death of obiorahorogbu by s onyibor and the account of c ndubuisi differed.(they were the only people who accepted knowing anything about the incident that led to the death of obiorahorobgu). the accounts differ in the following ways: i. the first account stated that obiorahorogbu fell at night while the second said he fell in the afternoon, they only said the same thing as regard the place ichidestreet. ii. the first account states that three men attacked obiorahorogbu while the second account states that no one was seen to have attacked him that afternoon. iii. the first account states how obiorahorogbu was discharged at his request while the second stated that he was discharged from the hospital after treatment. iv. the first account states that obiorahorogbu was advised to go back to the hospital which he turned down while the second account did not. it is to be noted that the main similarity between the two accounts is that the incident of obiorahorogbu‟s death took place not long after the two accounts of crises that took place in umuorobu meetings, and that he died of internal bleeding. the researcher had challenges in gathering information about this incident. is it because of how sensitive it is or for the avoidance of any chance for indictment in the report even after the researcher explained that the information was for academic purposes? it is however certain that a lot of suspicion arose from the reported attack of obiorahorogbu and his subsequent death. those that supported the elders suspect the supporters of chukwukeluoifeme to have been responsible for the attack. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 97 many questions come to the fore as regards this incident, could it be that the group of chukwukeluoifeme planned this attack that reportedly took place, or could it be that some other enemies that obiorahorogbu made previously, coincidentally launched an attack on obiorahorogbu at the same period of this serious crisis between the elders which he supported and some of his fellow youth of ogbunu youth forum? it could however be that this was the outcome of the conflict which birgit (2001) referred to as the crisis stage where the beastly instinct of man become unleashed, parties begin to move for territorial expansions and interest will be met with confrontation and explosion of violence (p.27). efforts on reconciliation, success and failure r. ifeme (personal communication, 22nd june, 2019) states that the conflict brought about so much enmity, most especially after the death of obiorahorogbu. he (r. ifeme) was not around during the incidents, but when he came back, he met stake holders in the issues of conflict, trying to use his influence as a seminarian and an indigene of umuogbunu and umuorobu aswell, to resolve the conflict. he did his best to set up a meeting between the conflicting parties in order to settle the issue. meeting the elders of umuorobu (ndiichie), they told him that they are not the problem, they were ready to make peace, but chukwukeluoifeme and ekenemmaduonu declined to come to the meeting that was organized by him. when the two individuals were asked by raphael ifeme the reason for their absence, they stated that unless the elders did what was right by allocating some of the business outlets to ogbunu youth forum to manage, there would be no peace. all efforts to settle the matter by raphael ifeme failed because both parties cannot work together unless they agreed. o. anakweze (personal communication. 28thjune, 2019) stated that he tried to create peace after the incident he witnessed at the town hall meeting where the fund from the community “choose your project initiative” were to be shared. he further states that the fund was given by the willie obiano administration to all communities in anambra state in order to foster development at the grass root level. umuogbunu received the sum of 20 million which was supposed to be used to execute a tangible project which will enable the state government to incorporate the community into the subsequent phase of the program. it was the conflict, enmity and mistrust that arose from the clash between the demand of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 98 the youth from the elders that gave rise to the conclusion to share the money among all registered members of umuogbunu (this constitutes the adult male of umuogbunu village in awka). on the day of the sharing of the fund some of the youth led by chukwukeluoifeme and ekenemmaduonu were observed to have rained insults on the elders, accusing them of having the intent to share the money among themselves without the inclusion of the youth. they also accused the elders of giving improper and over bloated accounts of previous projects they executed, using the fund of umuogbunu. though no fight ensued on that very day, one may say that it could be because any form of violence would have led to loss of finances by all parties. chief obiorah g anakweze tried to create peace but just as raphael ifeme experienced failure, so did he because the conflicting parties did not meet. after all these attempts to resolve the conflict, the elders of umuorobu, observing that the chairman of ogbunu youth forum (chukwukeluoifeme) did not want any way forward for the kindred, decided to exercise their authority as contained in the code of conduct for ogbunu youth forum. number 10 of this code states that ndiichie have the power to dissolve the executives of the youth forum if found wanting after one or two warnings in the village hall by ndiichie. the executives were dissolved by the elders of umuorobu with the permission of nwabudenwachukwu (chairman umuogbunu general meeting). at this instance ogbunu youth forum could not convene officially. the elders of umuorobu did not call for kindred meeting from then (around january, 2014) until four years later, in november, 2018. it could be observed that during the period of four years, there was relative peace in umuogbunu as there was no room for groups to meet, hence the tension was doused to a very minimal level. u nworah (personal communication. 5th july, 2019) stated that in the month of november 2018, chief obiorah g anakweze embarked on a second attempt to create peace by meeting with the youth one on one to discuss the issues of conflict, pointing out the need to reestablish peace in the community. this second effort yielded result as ekenemmaduonu agreed to make peace by apologizing to the elders. a date was fixed and ekenemmaduonu led by his brother obiorahmmaduonu came to the gathering with two crates of beer and four kolanuts (oji igbo), pleaded with the elders for forgiveness which was accepted whole heartedly. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 99 e. mmaduonu (personal communication, 7th june, 2019) stated that he tried his best to bring his friend chukwukeluoifeme along with him in order to make peace, all to no avail. after the said date, chief obiorah g anakweze asked the elders what needed to be done in order to let go of the friction between them and chukwukeluoifeme, and they said that he (chukwukeluo) must first withdraw the case he filed with the court on the issue, and then come and apologise to them just as ekenemmaduonu did. chukwukeluoifeme was told of the requirements, then he proceeded and withdrew the court case, then a date was fixed for peace to be made. on that day, the elders gathered with some youth and chukwukeluoifeme was also in attendance. he was requested to apologise to the elders, and in his exact words, he said “the community and kindred need me and i too need the community and kindred. after this statement, he left the premises. transformative pacifism as a panacea to intra group conflict in the world of scholars, pacifism stands to be a controversial term. some scholars have reasons to support its view while some believe that it is not a correct path towards the achievement of mutual relationship when view from the aspect of the nature of man. it is worth noting that pacifism has many types, we are to evaluate some of them before treating transformative pacifism proper. holmes (2013) relates pacifism to “non violentism”. by this he insinuates that pacifism goes beyond anti-war but is an opposition to violence in all its forms. may (2015) states that some scholars have derived another version of pacifism called contingent pacifism. this is drafted from the just war theory. it is this contingent pacifism that sterba (1998) termed just war pacifism. puyan (2017) is of the view that for long, pacifism has been marginalized as an outcast tradition. this thought is held basically because some scholars do no buy the idea of pacifism. dower (2009) created two ideas of pacifism. he is of the opinion that pacific-ism is a commitment to peace and peacefulness that is not strictly opposed to war while pacifism is a more principled or absolute rejection of violence. by this statement, dower (2009) seeks to find a soft ground to incorporate the views of those who advocate for pacifism and those who do not. yoder (1971) is of the view that instead of pacifism, pacification which is the usage of a violent process in suppressing violence is to be used. this is because at one point or the other violence is needed in order to suppress an enemy. george igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 100 (2002) negates this view when he said that pacification is a euphemistic description of violence, claiming that just war tradition does not hold that war can be a suitable means of bringing about peace. vorobej (1994) in his own view states that pacifism generally connotes a commitment to making peace, which rejects violent means of obtaining peace. this being because might does not make right. violence can destroy an enemy but victory does not mean justification. pinker (2011) in his view of the consequential need for war states that the judicious use of military power during the last several decades has produced good results. this thought was held due to the need to suppress tyranny and high handedness. bickerton (2011) opposed the opinion of pinker(2011) when he stated that wars of the past 200 years have produced ambiguous results: victory did not achieve its desired result, war sacrifices were largely in vain and the cost of war are rarely worthwhile. ruttan (2006) sighted an example of where pacifism would not have worked but just war did, when he said that the second world war in which the nazi were defeated in europe is a good reference, though the war had negative effect, the positive effect tends to outweigh the negative effect. ruttan (2006) went further to state that military action is one of the largest polluters of the planet, and pacifists argue that the resources that are squandered in war are always enormous. kant (1990) in developing the idea of deontological pacifism stated that one ought to act so that one treats humanity whether in your own person or in that of another, always as an end and not as a means only. to this statement, reader (2000) states that moral status of persons lead to pacifism and as such, respect for persons as an ends themselves requires us not to kill them. this means that deontological pacifism focuses on the safety and peace of all individuals. to this reader (2000) further states that morality properly speaking, focuses on individuals, while wars focuses on defending collectives which are not the proper focal point of morality. in objection to the idea of absolute pacifism luban (1980) states that human dignity or right are worth fighting for, not only by those to who they are denied but, if we take seriously the obligation which is indicated when we speak of human right, by the rest of us as well. in relation to the necessity of self-defense as a last resort during violence mate and in support to the view of luban (1980), nagel (1972) says that at the level of personal violence it is possible to say that an aggressor deserves the violence that is inflicted on him but, at the level of war, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 101 this personal element is lost and instead, we have killing en masse which is an assault on human dignity. ascombe (1981) states his support to the view against absolute pacifism when he said that absolute pacifists teach people to make no distinction between the shedding of innocent blood and the shedding of any human blood. hauer was (2006) initiated that pacifism came majorly from religious views. according to him, pacifism is a theological position because it is as much about eschatological faith as it is about ethics and politics. hanh (1987) deviated from the idea of pacifism being from religion when he stated that pacifism is a lifelong project that requires discipline and practice, by this means, it is a virtue, and being that no one is born virtuous, we cultivate a habit that helps us control and resist anger, hatred, pride, competitiveness and others emotions that can lead to violence. by this statement one can deduce that someone may learn to be a pacifist without attaching religious reasons to it. presbey (2017) linked the idea of pacifism to desmond tutu‟s „ubuntu‟ when he said that desmond tutu‟s use of the ubuntu shows a sense of humanity towards others, i am because we are, meaning the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity the thoughts expressed by scholars above have some observable flaws: if we are to adopt absolute pacifism, will it not amount to one being defenseless even at the instance of danger? what would one consider the modalities for validating a war or violence as just? if we are to consider partial pacifism as a solution to intra group conflict, how does one justify an act of self-defense as moral or proportionate? these are the reasons the researcher further studies transformative pacifism as a better means of resolving intra group conflict. the theory of transformative pacifism was propounded by andrew fiala in the year 2018. this theory portrays the changing of psychological, cultural, social, and moral sensibility of people away from violence and war. this insinuates a form of reform in educational and cultural practices that tend to support violence or war. the goal of transformative pacifism is therefore to create a world in which war and violence are seen or appear to be archaic remnants of less civilized past. reader (2000) links transformative pacifism to the restructuring of the perception of the jews about the law when he said that jesus articulated a reevaluation of values from the standpoint of a more pacific understanding of god‟s commandments, instead of retaliation, jesus claims we must evolve a new idea of not returning an eye for an eye. ruddick (1995) in his analysis of the effect igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 102 of war that led to the call for peace stated that the culture of manly just war which interlocks myths of masculinity, sacrifice and heroic death has been a norm for long. by this statement, it appears to be that male category undermine the safety of other humans and their environment in a bid to show off their ego and expertise in the art of war. it was to this effect that a feminist (jane addams) as further stated by ruddick (1995), created women‟s international league for peace and freedom. noddling (2010) further supports the view above when he said that the existing culture puts a high value on the aggressive tendencies of males, it is cogent to work towards devaluing aggression and provide support for love, nurturance, solidarity and care. transformative pacifism therefore seeks to change over time the culture and perception of violence and war as a characteristic of one who is powerful or one who is better than the others. rather, other means of resolving conflict such as negotiation, arbitration, litigation and so on would be adopted as a culture, and the ability of individuals or groups to resolve conflict without violence will be used to measure supremacy, power and strength of a people. the theory is most appropriate for this research work because it institutes the change of the culture of violence in conflict among people and most especially brothers. umuogbunu being a village with one ancestral descent is seen traditionally as brothers and sisters and as such, there ought not to be violence when conflict erupts. if the culture of violence is dropped and the culture of peace is imbibed there will definitely be no other choice when conflict erupts other than adopting alternative conflict resolution processes that abound. when this is done progress and development is bound to arise. conclusion the researcher has shown that conflict cannot be alienated from the existence of human being. this conflict can be triggered by a lot of factors like economic, land, behavior and so on. it is the duty of all and sundry to ensure that conflicts do not grow into violence. this can amount to the destabilization of the community, and at worse can lead to death. in cases where relatives are the ones that are having conflicting polices or ideas, greater measures are advised to be taken in order to avoid any escalation because the issue may lead to death which most likely will lead to even long term grudges and may eventually lead to more loss of lives. will it not be better if all forms of violence is shun based on the risk factor involved when violent conflict erupt among relatives. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 103 in the case of umuogbunu village awka, the deed has already been done, one soul has already been lost, relative peace has been established but the question now is how can actual peace be achieved, and how can future occurrence be avoided? the solution lies with the adoption of transformative pacifism. references afigbo, a. e. (1986). an outline of igbo history.owerri: blakes. anagbogu, i. (1995). a history of awka.awka: christon. azuka, d. (1975). the resilience of igbo culture: a case study of awka town.ph.d thesis, new school for social research, new york. okafor, a. (1992). the awka people. onitsha: marks. dike, a. (1975). the resilience of igbo culture: a case study of awka town: ph.d thesis new school for social research. new york: yale jones, g. (1970). the trading states of oil rivers: a study of political development in eastern nigeria. london: marks. ikenga, k. e. o. (2010). igbo customary law: the challenge of nigeria criminal jurisprudence. a new journal of african studies, 7, 1, 1-31. bittle, a. h. (2012). consanguinity in context. new york: cambridge university press. thornhill, n. (1993). the natural histories of inbreeding and outbreeding: theoretical and empirical perspectives: chicago: university of chicago press. nwolise, o.b.c. (2006). traditional models in bargaining and conflict resolution in africa. ibadan: h. g. a. burton, j. (1990). conflict resolution and prevention. london: macmillan. vogt, m. t. (2000). an assessment of the african union mechanism for conflict prevention and resolution. new york: ipa. birgit, b. u. (2001). indigenous conflict resolution in africa. oslo: i.e.r. reader, s. (2000).making pacifism plausible.journal of applied philosophy 17: 169180. ruddick, s. (1995).maternal thinking: towards politics of peace. boston: beacon. noddlings, n. (2010). the maternal factors.berkely: university of california press. holmes, t. (2013).on war and morality. princeton: princeton university press. may, l. (2015).contingent pacifism: revisiting war theory. oxford: oxford university press. sterba, j. (1998). justice for here and now. cambridge: cambridge university press. dower, n. (2009).the ethics of war and peace. cambridge: polity. vorobej, m. (1994).pacifism and war time innocence. new york: basic. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 104 pinker, s. (2011).the better angels of our nature. new york: viking. kant, i. (1990). foundation of the metaphysics of morals. new york: mac milan. ruttan, v. (2006).is war necessary for economic growth? new york: oxford university press. luban, d. (1980).just war and human right. 9(2) 160-181. nagel, t. (1972).war and massacre.philosophy of public affairs, 1(2) 123-144. ascombe, g. (1981). war and murder in ethics religion and politics. minneapolis: university of minneapolis press. hauerwas, s. (2006). pacifism: some philosophical consideration. london: prentice. hanh, t. n. (1987). being peace. berkeley: paralax. presbey, g. (2017). philosophy of non-violence in africa. new york: routledge. i. the problem of identity and alterity with rene descartes (1596-1650 ad), philosophy started a new way, that of gnoseology. he defines a person in relation to self-consciousness. descartes (1637), through his methodical doubt, discovers that something resists doubt. that is, the fact that it is he who doubts, and who can be deceived. he thus, arrives at cogito ergo sum (i think, therefore, i am). to the question, who am i? descartes answers, a “thinking thing”. his transformation of the person from an ontological to a psychological fact, opened the door to a series of either great diminutions or of enormous exaggerations of the concept of person (kanu 2012 and 2015). since the time of descartes, individual consciousness has been taken as the privileged centre of identity, while 'the other' is seen as an epistemological problem, or as an inferior, reduced or negated form of the same (kanu 2013). ii. igwebuike and the other contrary to descartes' position, igwebuike provides an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations (kanu 2016a). 'to be' is 'to be with the other', in a community of beings. (kanu 2015a). igwebuike understands life as a shared reality. and it is only within the context of complementarity that life makes meaning. life is a life of sharedness; one in which another is part thereof. a relationship, though of separate and separated entities or individuals but with a joining of the same whole (kanu 2017a). a relationship in which case the two or more coming together make each of them a complete whole; it is a diversity of being one with each other. thus, to put the other away removes the balance of being. kanu (2018) avers that this presupposes a tailor-made-cloth, measured, cut and sewn to fit into the curves, contours, shape and size, peculiarities and particularities of a being. therefore, every being has a missing part and is at the same time, a missing part. ewulu (2010), writes that: if the other is my part or a piece of me, it means that i need him for me to be complete, for me to be what i really am. the other completes rather than diminishes me. his language and culture make my own stand out and at the same time, they enrich and complement my own. (p.189). from the foregoing perspective, the self is not only completed in relating with the other, but attains self-realization through the other. ewulu (2010) writes further: 8. “igwebuike”, identity and alterity 39 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya i realize myself in the other because it is in the 'thou-ness' of the thou that my 'isness' is realized. i am 'i' because you are 'you'. without thou there is no i. we are 'we' because they are 'they', and without 'they', there is no 'we'. (p. 189). as a result of the dynamics of the relationship between the i and the thou, the igbo would refer to the 'other' as ibe, which means 'a piece of' or 'a part of', as in ibe anu (a piece of meat) or ibe ede (a piece of cocoyam). the igbo would, therefore, refer to the 'other person' as ibe m which means 'my piece' or mmadu ibe m (my fellow human being). this is the concept employed in reference to relationships and reciprocity: love one another (hunu ibe unu n'anya), help one another (nyere nu ibe unu aka), respect one another (sopuru nu ibe unu), etc. since the 'other' refers to my own piece, it would mean that to love the other is to love oneself, to help the other is to help oneself and to respect the other is to respect oneself. put the other way round, to hate the other is to hate oneself, to refuse help to the other is to refuse help to oneself and to disrespect the other is to disrespect oneself. from the african perspective, there is a link between the self and the other. this is because the self carries with it the mark of otherness. if reality is one with itself and consistent with itself, that is, different from others, then its uniqueness is always in reference to the other. in the i and the other relation, both participants exist as polarities of relation. iii. chi as the ontological basis for the other as ibem the concept chi has been used in various capacities by the igbo; first, in the capacity of the supreme being, and second, as a guardian angel or a spiritual being or force which every person possess. its essence lies in the commonest everyday expression of the word chi; verbally, in possessive singular adjectival form: chim (my chi), chigi (your chi), chiya (his or her chi), chi anyi (our chi) an igbo interjection for surprise chim o (my god) or a common curse among the igbo chi ne'ke kpo gi oku (may god burn you) (chukwukere 1980). plate 2: ibe ji 40 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. however, the nuance employed here is the later in which chi is understood as the divinity in every human person or the spark of the divine in created things. chi has been represented by the igbo in different ways: for some it is a special tree planted in the person's compound like the ogilisi or oha; for others, it could be a small clay pot and filled with sand with three sticks cut from a special plant thrust jointly into the sand. these representations are usually kept in a special place and an altar built around it for the offering of sacrifice. it is this chi, which is a thumb print or mark of chukwu in each and every one of us that places the other in a special place in relation to the self. if i and the other have the thumb print of the same chukwu, the spark of the supreme being, it then means that we relate in a special way that goes deeper than our individualities. our rootedness in chukwu is what makes the other a part of me. to treat the other in a way that is undeserving of the divine mark in him or her not only affects the person but the ontological order we are all part of. 41 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya microsoft word igwebuike jounals vol. 5. no. 1.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 14 poverty in nigeria: its effects on moral and spiritual life of the people nmah, p. e. department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe university, awka anambra state-nigeria e-mail-patricknmah@yahoo.com abstract my efforts in this research work have been geared towards examining poverty in nigeria: its effects on moral and spiritual life of the people. the study revealed that poverty had adverse effects on the health, moral, spiritual, political and cultural lives of many nigerians. the objective of this research work is to present a way forward against poverty. the work recommended that the government at all levels of governance in nigeria, and the church should engage in policies and business ventures that will be of immense benefits to the citizenry that will set them free from poverty. methods of approach are historical, phenomenological, and analytical methods coupled with the review of related extant material. keywords: poverty, moral, spiritual, economic, cultural, political, health introduction sin ultimately blinds people to the truth about their own nature. poverty can be god’s judgment on corrupt societies, which turn their back on him. and yet the bible makes it abundantly clear that the poor are also the object of god’s special love. jesus said, “blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of god” (mtt.5:3). god, as jesus described him, has a soft spot for the poor, because they are helpless victims of forces over which they have little control. god created man and made him the crown of his creation so that man would not experience suffering, death or depression. but man decided otherwise for himself. the above comment may not be limited to nigeria as well as africa per se, but may likely be useful to other political, economic, spiritual and culturalgeographical areas of the world where substantially similar phenomena may be found. individualism is not relevant to the development of humanity. sense of community spirit helps to eradicate poverty. therefore, the aim of this research work is to unravel the situation surrounding poverty in nigeria. to achieve this, i shall be x-raying some causal factors that are involved in the issue. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 15 conceptual framework to olubayo-fatiregun and aderonmu (2010), poverty is not simply a lack of adequate income. the eradication of poverty is a moral, ethical, political and economical imperative, rooted in the principles governing the united nations. to live a life free from poverty and hunger is one of the human rights and fundamental freedom enshrined in the universal declaration of human rights (1948). article 25 (1) of the declaration states that “everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social service.” the united nations (2006) characterized poverty as follows “poverty has various manifestations including lack of income and productive resources sufficient to ensure sustainable livelihoods; hunger, and malnutrition; illhealth; limited or lack of access to education and other basic services” increased morbidity and mortality from illness, homelessness and inadequate housing, unsafe environments; and social discrimination and exclusion. it is also characterized by a lack of participation in decision making and civic, social and cultural life. poverty is always characterized by a degrading state of pity and powerlessness. food and agriculture organ of united nation (2008-2009) started that, children, especially girls, are expected to suffer major health and educational setbacks as a result of the crisis, shrinking household budget forces families to pull children out of school with girls more likely than boys affected (world bank, 2009b). poor women are more likely to die in child bearing than rich, water and sanitation related diseases are a major cause of ill health particularly among children. to olubayo-fatiregun and aderonmu (2010), poverty has a strong link with environmental health and healthful living of individual. poverty makes people more vulnerable to ill-health and poor living, hence as the common saying “health is wealth and wealth is health”. among others the poor are more likely to experience poor healthful living as a result of several variables such as poor feeding diet, and poor living conditions. the poor in nigeria are more likely to be found in the relatively deprived rural areas and urban slums where high quality health services and where environmental condition/sanitation are at lowest ebb. poor health and poor living affects productivity and thereby reduces income and tends to diminish quality life and longevity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 16 according hornsby-smith (2006), poverty is a relative concept and is measured in terms of indicators of deprivation of ‘what the general public perceives as acceptable minimum standards of living’ and income poverty is defined in terms of resources which are insufficient to enable on individual to participate in the mainstream of his or her society’. the phrase “the poor” shall be taken to mean persons, families and groups of persons whose resources (material, cultural and social) are so limited as to exclude them from the minimum acceptable way of life in the member states in which they live. the unemployed were more at-risk of poverty than any other group. many families only avoid hardship through the joint contribution of two breadwinners, and the evidence suggests that the numbers in poverty would rise considerably were it not for the contribution of married women…the extra wage often does no more than bring the joint household income up to an acceptable level in compensation for the low wages of the partner’ (hornsbysmith, 2006,p.213). people who are poor often have multiple disadvantages of low or inadequate income, wealth, education, qualifications and skills, poor housing and health, all of which effectively exclude them from full participation in the everyday life of society and in its decision-making processes. social exclusion from society is effectively a denial of the human rights and dignity of those who are excluded and is, therefore, a matter of social injustice. it is suggested that a christian vision of the dignity of each individual human person, the need to promote the common good of all god’s people and solidarity between them, the recognition of the principle of subsidiary which ensures that social policies properly respect the rights and competencies of individuals, families, and local communities, and the need to take particular account of the needs of the poor, disadvantaged, weak, disabled and marginalized in society, is essential for the full flourishing and development of people in society. research objectives the objectives of the study include: � to carefully x-ray the causal factors of poverty in nigeria. � to investigate the effects of poverty on the citizenry. � to arouse the consciousness of the remedies to poverty in nigeria. � to study the role of the early missionaries in ameliorating poverty in nigeria. � to examine the implications of the government policies towards eradication of poverty in nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 17 significance of the study the significance of this research work basically stems from the fact that it addresses the issue that threatened the collective existence of nigeria as a country, and offers a valid and insightful resource related extant material for further studies on poverty in nigeria for future religious, sociological, and anthropological scholars especially church historiographers who can consult such documents in order to gain useful information on the topic. literature review and hypotheses causal factors of poverty in modern nigeria united nations development programme (undp) averred that 53.7% of nigerian population are poor. government policies in nigeria do not always improve the living conditions of the poor but of the rich. this is because the poor do not have access to influence policies and their makers. the net effect of government policies is the further intensification of the impoverished population. in nigeria, the liberalization of the economy especially in the withdrawal of subsidies on a wide range of public provided or subsidized goods and services. thus part of the strategies the poor explore to survive include early marriage, sexual harassment, trafficking in women for sexual exploitation, child abuse, child abandonment, pornography and force labour. nigeria is a leading oilproducing nation and highly endowed in terms of various natural resources, the majority of her people are economically, politically, morally, spiritually and educationally poor. education and good health encourage productive human resource attracts high income. poverty eradication is the ultimate to attain sustainable healthful living. the problem of poverty in sub-saharan africa is an overall development problem that should be analyzed from the perspective of sustainable human development paradigm. the relevant indicators in the context are therefore the human poverty index (hpi) and the related measure of human development, the human development index (hid). these have always been taken into account in the undp’s design of national reduction strategies in such countries as benin, botswana, lesotho, namibia, and south africa. this has not been the case in nigerian which shares virtually the same development challenges as these countries. the statistical information on profit profiles in nigeria have all along been compiled based on the notion of income rather than human poverty. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 18 according to nmah (2012), as regards political processes, the political structures of any nation determine the level of conflicts that are within it and the abuse of conflicts that are within it and the abuse of power by those in authority. the relegation of the rule of law and the bastardisation of the legal structure produce banditry, and general lawlessness. when ‘cowboys’ (or immoral, ungodly and school drop outs) become operator of a legal system and governance they do not understand the tendency is that authority is no longer democratic. when honesty, transparency and accountability are sacrificed on the altar of “power at all cost” (as in nigeria especially during elections) there is bound to be conflict which will have all the ingredients to turn violent. this will result to influx of refugees or internal displaced persons (idps). this in turn will result to malnutrition and abject poverty among the idps. in respect of religious institutions, we have to realize that religion in nigeria forms the centre point of the life of any individual. men and women have always believed in the only god. in some cases in multiple gods for multiple needs of everyday life. religion has always played that meeting point between body and soul. religion is one of the reference points that bind a group of people together. it created a situation of “them and us”. a sense of belonging that transcends ethnicity, religious belief builds on the innermost feelings of an individual and the fraternal feelings of collective identity. the same religion sows also a seed of discord, bigotry, segregation or discrimination in the nigerian society. religious faith has too often been the language of the powerful, the excuse for oppression, and the alibi for atrocity thereby engendering poverty among spiritually barren nigerians. religious extremism has caused the alienation of people from their ancestral home and turning them into idps or strangers in their country. this is because such victims could no longer have access to their ancestral land and economic crops. nigerian economic systems and structures are in a terrible shape. some people say that a hungry man is an angry man. the holy bible goes further to say that a man must provide for his family (1 tim. 5:8). therefore a weak or strong economy determines the level of conflict that may arise. the provision of an equitable economic structure and an enabling environment with the supply of basic needs enrich the growth of the society. a buoyant economy that boasts of investment capital, employment opportunities and adequate supply of goods and services promote equitable distribution of resources among the generality of the people. cracks begin to appear when there is exploitation of both human and mineral resources to the detriment of the economic infrastructure. unemployment, food scarcity, fraud and mismanagement becomes seeds for conflict and poverty. inevitably, as soon as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 19 such seeds are planted, there is a perceived atmosphere of apprehension. insecurity becomes an issue, an unusual human behaviour as characterized by brigandage, crime and prostitution culminate in conflict which in turn aggravate malnutrition and poverty in the society. socio-cultural process determines who we are, the way we live and the manner in which we socially relate to one another. the quality of life of a community is determined by the level of group identity, collective agreement on participatory roles, tolerance of differences and respect for individual space, health-care systems and social services improve on the quality of life and generate a sense of belonging. this feeling of inclusiveness starts to erode when there is an apparent lack of honesty, and mistrust begin to take the place of group interest. at this point where there the very elements that hold together the fabric of the society begin to tear there is cause for concern. with regard to human security, survival is one of the basic instincts that man has. when people feel threatened the need for defense arises. in a typical peaceful community setting, children are allowed to run around freely going in and out of each other’s homes with little or no fear of impending danger. herdsmen, politicians, political thugs and religious extremists have made human security in nigerian unrealistic dream. in a society like nigeria where there is insecurity and huge youth unemployment, there is an increase in the dynamics of violence. to reduce the incidence of insecurity a workable policy for security has to be put in place. to remedy a bad situation, there has to be some reintegration, reform, disarmament of warring parties and a retraining of security forces to be able to operate within the confinement of international standard and best practices in a post-conflict era. this will also make them to be relevant for the modern security needs of the society. sin is another factor that engenders poverty. sin ultimately blinds people to the truth about their own nature. we forget that because we are made in the image of a creator, we can find fulfillment only when we engage in creative and productive work. laziness, as the book of proverbs tells us (prov. 6:6-11, 20:13; 10:4), means poverty. there are many other factors namely geographical, historical, cultural, moral and ideological, which contribute to poverty or affluence. but generally the societies where poverty has been the norm for centuries are those which have not had the biblical attitudes towards god, the created order, man and work ( keeley, 1988). poverty can be god’s judgment on societies which turn their back on him. and yet the bible makes it abundantly clear that the poor are also the object of god’s special love. jesus said, “blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of god” (mtt 5:3). god, as jesus described him, has a soft spot for the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 20 poor, because they are helpless victims of forces over which they have little control viz external forces such as powerful oppressors or natural calamities (on any of which, such as floods caused by deforestation, landslides, drought may be the result of the thoughtlessness and greed of their own ancestors or climate change). again, internal attitudes such as fear, fatalism, laziness, spiritual barrenness, and immorality, developing over generations and robbing individuals, and societies of the initiative, creativity, confidence and thrift which are necessary for economic enterprise. abject poverty in the final analysis is the powerlessness of individuals or societies to help themselves. they need a saviour. poverty and its effects on the populace god meant mankind to like in a garden, sin has sent him to the slums. the gospel is the power of god to save us from sin, therefore from poverty as well. jesus often interpreted his ministry as “bringing good news to the poor” (mt. 11:5; lk. 4:18). there are three major ways in which sin produces poverty. sin separates people from the true god. but because humanity cannot live without god, we invent false gods. often people worship creation rather than the creator. societies that worship creation lose that ability to subdue and manage it which is essential for economic prosperity. sin sets brother against brother. people begin to exploit each other. in previous generations for example, it was direct exploitation, through unjust trade terms, maladministration, terrorism, herdsmen killings, corruption, injustice, and poor workers’ wages, through which people perpetuate the poverty of the poorer countries, communities and societies alongside the downtrodden people. one of the most devastating results of sin in the system is its subtlety. the wealthy women of amos’ day urged their husbands to earn what they needed for their affluent life-style. it did not bother them that their affluence depended on legal oppression of the poor. god saw the sin in the system and sent his prophet to condemn it: “hear this word, you cows of bashan… who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to your husbands, ‘bring that we may drink” (am. 4:1). according to the scripture, to participate uncritically in unjust systems is displeasing to god. this amount also in sharing the guilt. poverty leads to drug addiction, poor health, slums and mal-nutrition. some selected remedies of poverty in nigerian society christians need to respond by practical concern, giving money, time and resources for relief work, missions, and for building up local economies. the government should make policies that are human-oriented geared towards provision of affordable shelter, food, water, health, education, accessible information technology centre, and social development such as civic centre, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 21 viewing centre, recreation facilities, parks among others. it should also provide adequate physical security for various communities against external and internal aggressions, while the church should provide spiritual security against witchcraft and angry deities and spirits. services aimed at continuously securing and maintaining community-owned essential means of production and distribution for purposes of socializing members into age-sex based division of labour; to periodize farming activities and to intersperse market and farm days judiciously; to provide security for and encouragement of specialized craftsmen and other occupational groups of weavers, blacksmiths, potters, carvers, hunters among others. according to nwosu (1998), while it is legitimate to decry the factors that have produced the economic disasters in which many nigerians find themselves, it is equally appropriate to identify with the various programmes intended to alleviate the economic hardship including a participation in economic ventures. the church’s participation in economic ventures would fulfill an important deuteronomist legislation which formed the basis of the communal life organization of the early church none among you shall be poor (deut. 15:4). the modern church could achieve it by engaging in economic ventures that would produce the required wealth and eliminate poverty. the gospel of salvation must radically take a spiritual and material turn, a turn towards the evolution of the theology of economic liberation. the church’s engagement in business ventures would, if managed by christians in true spirit of christianity, mean more money accruing to the church for the purpose of maintaining itself in spirituality, commerce and civilization and carrying out the mandate to feed the hungry and clothe the naked (is. 58:7). it would also lead to less financial burden on the average poor church goers. secondly, the mission to make disciples of all nations (mt. 28:18-20) or the church to evangelize the world-would be possible in a spiritually and economically dynamic and viable society (nmah, 2010). the foundation of american and european civilization is centred in the faith in christ. american and european missionaries would not have come to africa at the time they did if the church and states of europe and america were then as poor as african states are today. no wonder american motto is, “in god we trust”. ultimately the production of wealth must be seen within the plan of the creator who never decreed poverty but promised unending prosperity (deut. 5:33, 28:63, 29:9; 1kgs. 2:3; prov. 28:25; gal. 39:2; 2chro.14:7; 31:21; josh. 1:7-8) inclusive of economic well-being to those who obey his law in all things. just as the conquest of national poverty was the social question of the 19th century, so the conquest of international poverty with its intolerable gap in prosperity is the challenge of the third millennium. from the outset it should be noted that “the poverty of the developing nations has many causes. every monocasual explanation and any attempt at solutions based there on would igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 22 sidestep the real problems” (sautter, 1983, p.131). at the same time, in an economy which has grown world-wide and where nations are interdependent to a greater or lesser degree, nobody can exempt himself from responsibility for the developing nations. “interdependent must be transformed into solidarity” between the rich nations and the poor, but also between the developing nations themselves. it is economic development and global solidarity. the threats to the environment, which build up on an ever growing scale through the ruinous depletion of the natural resources in the developing countries, are a source of serious apprehension for all nations of the world. a decisive change in the environmental policy of the developing nations cannot be expected, unless alternative sources of income open up for them. here ecological requirements and development aid intersect. moreover poverty is one of the principal causes of the world-wide migration and refugee drift in recent time, which can likewise be countered only through development; provision of shelter, and food, employment, and greater security stability in the nations of origin (peschke, 1999). the cause of superior power of the industrialized nations and the powerlessness of the developing countries is, at least directly, not so much the wealth of the ones and the poverty of the others, but rather the social and civilisatory backlog such as illiteracy, lack in proficiency, group allegiances of the latter, which hinders them from using their potential in manpower and natural resources to the full. the developed nations must help the underdeveloped. the main thrust of the economic progress of a nation comes from its small family businesses. according to ukpong (1990), the sustainable national development should include (a) to raise the standard of living of people by generating and distributing equitably wealth and resources through improved techniques, agriculture, strong institutions, qualitative employment and technology; (b) to achieve strong political and economic independence by taking direct control of productive forces of the economy and to raise effectiveness; (c) attainment of self-reliance, self-supporting and self-propagation through sustained bible and plough (that is agriculture) programme; (d) to gain international recognition and respect through honest fighting of corruption and service to the people; (e) to attain human dignity and freedom by developing the huge human resources in nigeria and by provision of qualitative employment for the teeming unemployed and under-employed youths. it is reasonable to believe that the attainment of such objectives can boost the dignity of any country as well as engender pride in the citizenry. the greatness of a country is not measured by the large number of people as in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 23 nigeria, but the quality of human beings and quality of leaders that are found in nigeria. this depends also on their faith in god. national development must be human-oriented in nature. growth is not a special preserve of any particular discipline. it may be reflected in educational growth, human growth, and economic growth and so on. economic growth usually means an appreciable in the output of goods and services per head (okeke, 1990). what will encourage sustainable national development includes acquisition of modern capital equipment necessary for production; the availability and development of natural resources, and responsible human resources. in order to eliminate poverty in nigeria, first and most important is the christian gospel. this is the foundation for everything else. the second means is agriculture because it contributed to the necessities of life and provided a constructive occupation. in the third place is commerce that should stimulate local production and create demand for imports (nmah, 2011), and fourthly “education”, according to fafunwa (1974), “is to develop the person’s latent physical skills, character, to inculcate respect for elders, and those in position of authority, to develop intellectual skills, to acquire specific vocational training and to develop a healthy attitude towards honest labour; and sense of belonging” (p.20). in spite of their piestic theology, the early missionaries came from a culture which kept only one eye fixed on heaven, while the other was focused quite firmly on the earth. the advanced technology and high standard of living which were beginning to emerge as beneficial effects of the industrial revolution in the united kingdom, were regarded as benefits which god bestowed upon his christian people. therefore, to ogbu (1978), in the first human relations between british and nigeria, the sharp distinction between missions, spiritual and economic empowerment was not strictly observed. at this era criminalities were not so much. people fear god, work hard to survive and the leaders were interested in the welfare of their people. the respective government of nigeria can harness national security by the provision of jobs and food to the people through agriculture and investment in industries. for the church and government in nigeria to be relevant and to make a realistic positive impact on the lives of the people they must concern themselves with their spiritual and economic well-being. this will go a long way in curtailing insecurity in the land. the current mass unemployment, underemployment, corruption, militancy, economic mismanagement, religiopolitical riots and poverty stricken situation of nigerian society call not only for the voices of god’s people to redress the ill-the cause of the economic igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 24 quagmire-but also for a direct contribution from every quarter to improve the economic conditions of the poverty stricken youths. to put it differently, to nwosu (1998), while it is legitimate to decry the factors that have produced the economic calamities in which many nigerians find themselves, it is equally appropriate to identify with various programmes intended to alleviate the economic hardship including participation in economic ventures. the mission to make disciples of all nations (mtt. 28:18-20) or the church to evangelize the nigerians would be possible in spiritually, politically and economically dynamic and viable society. recommendations the moral, political, cultural and spiritual presuppositions and realities of poverty normally provide the ground upon which scholars will research on. in view of the lessons learnt from this, the following recommendations are put forward as the contributions of this research work. 1. security is the bedrock of real freedom or independence. nigerian government should be serious with security issues in respective of clan, language, tribe or creed. the emancipation of people from poverty depends solely on security of lives and property. every nigerian should also be interested in security matters. the security agents should not be used for political thuggery, or domestic servants or for economic or political gains by political office holders. security agents should be independent, impartial apolitical and responsible group. 2. we are, as nigerians, to stand up for the politics that unites us. 3. opportunity in nigeria should not be for selected few or for many, but for every person. 4. government policies at all levels should target the able youths and human development through employment, skill acquisition and soft loan rather than spreading n5,000 or n10,000 to selected few. the policy makers should also aim at developing humanity through education. 5. poverty is enhanced in nigeria by low standard of education, by tuition, inflation, unemployment and corruption. therefore, there should be free education, honest fight against corruption and devaluation of nigerian currency. 6. housing crisis by high cost of building materials. the government should reduce the cost of building materials and make them affordable to low income earners. it should also get a housing ladder. 7. workers’ welfare is non negotiable. minimum wage is not a luxury, but a necessity. money in the pocket of hardworking workers is needful and imperative. the workers in nigeria endure so much hardtimes without remonstrating whereas they make great sacrifices for the growth of the nation. to be a worker in nigeria is to be a perpetual igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 25 slave to the employer. this is one of the determining factors responsible for corruption in nigeria. hence there should be adequate remuneration for nigerian workers that will serve as incentive and motivation of workers for greater productivity. 8. as regards economy, it needs technology. many of the communities are left behind in the issue of globalization. therefore, the government needs to connect such communities in ideological globalization and patriotism and to tackle injustices that hold the people back from forging ahead economically, socially, culturally, polically and religiously. methodology this research work employed the use of primary and secondary sources to obtain data. the primary sources involved oral interviews while secondary sources entail books, journals, artifacts, diaries, primate and public brochures, homilies, archives, archaeological data and so on. the research work is also based on historical, phenomenological and analytical approaches. conclusion christians believe in the essential equality of dignity of all human beings. it follows that their social concern is with the elimination of those inequalities or conditions which inhibit or detract from the capability of realizing fully that equal dignity. in concrete terms this means that, in spite of inevitable human diversity, some measure of the capability of participating equally in the social, economic, political and cultural dimensions of life in society is necessary in the interest of social justice. the ethical case for equality is that present economic and social structures of inequality inhibit the achievement of that equality of dignity and full participation in society, legally, politically and socially. in sum, this research work presents, “poverty in nigeria: its effects on moral and spiritual life of the society” on the level of poverty, its effects on the masses, its causal factors, its effects on the nigerian morality, spirituality, politics, economic, and culture among others. furthermore, as i pointed out in this paper, the nigerian government and the church have to enhance the living standard of the populace through quality leadership, agriculture, skill acquisition, employment of abled youths, enhancing the value of nigerian currency and adequate security. if nigerian government will be serious with the fighting of corruption, provision of adequate security, human development, better remuneration of workers, and quality education, poverty will be a history in the nigerian society. the poor masses status and identity will be improved. despair and depression among the 53.7% that are poor nigerians will be things of the past. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 26 references fafunwa, a.b. (1974). history of education in nigeria. london: allen & unwin. hornsby-smith, m.p. (2006). in introduction to catholic social thought. cambridge: cambridge university press. keeley, r. etal (eds.).(1988). the lion handbook of christian belief. london: lion publishing. nmah, p.e. (2010). “christian missions and socio-economic development in colonial west africa, 1841-1960: a challenge to global evangelism in the millennium.” in a.b.c. chiegboka etal (eds.), the humanities & globalization in the millennium, 240-247. nimo: rex charles & patrick. nmah, p.e. (2011): “faith and employment: a panacea for sustainable national security development in nigeria. in a.b.c. chiegboka etal (eds.), the humanities & sustainable development, 439-446. nimo: rex charles & patrick. namh, p.e. (2012). basic & applied christian ethics: an african perspective. onitsha: gucks systems int’l. nwosu, l. u. (1998). the religious factor in the history of west africa. owerri: vivian vivian and vivians publishers. ogbu, k. (ed.). (1978). christianity in west africa: the nigerian story. ibadan: daystar press. okeke, c.c.s. (1990). conceptual problems of defence expenditure estimation in nigeria. in c.c.s. okeke (ed.), defence, patriotism and national development, 16-43. onitsha: veritas press. olubayo-fatiregun, m.a. & aderonmu, k. (2010). “poverty eradication and sustainability of healthful living in nigeria” in african research review: an international multi-disciplinary journal, vol. 4 (4), no. 17 (october), 59-75. peschke, k.h. (1999). christian ethics: moral theology in the light of vatican ii. bangalore: theological publications in india. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 27 sautter, h. (1983). armut und reichtum auf weltebene. wuppertal: brockhaus. united nations (2006). human department report 2005. united nations (2009b). world economic situation and prospect 2009: soles no. e. 09.11.c. 2. ukpong, e. a. (1990). the relevance of national development to the promotion of patriotism in nigeria. in c.c.s. okeke (ed.), defence, patriotism and national development, 105-134. onitsha: veritas press. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 3 ---.doc igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 219 tutoring the accused person from islamic perspective imaam isa abdulkareem phd department of islamic studies faculty of arts kaduna state university, kaduna abstract crime has been one of the major problems man suffers from on earth as it affects everyone in every society including the perpetrators themselves and their families. the punishments given for various types of crime are nothing but efforts meant to help in reducing its rate in the society. whenever a crime is committed and we have a suspect accused of being the perpetrator, it is normal that in the first instance he denies involvement and responsibility for the crime most especially if the accusation is not supported with clear and strong evidences as such if he is the real criminal he might go free of charge for a crime he committed especially if he had planned the crime well as seen nowadays. this paper is an attempt to explore the precautionary measures taken against the accused on investigation from islamic perspective, it discuses the position of islam on detention, threats and physical torture. the methodology applied is deductive from the tradition of the prophet peace be upon him and the opinion of our great scholars of the four major sunni schools of law. the paper reveals that detention of the accused and use of threats are recognized in islam as means that may lead to confession if administered carefully, and that physical torture is rejected according to the preponderant opinion of the scholars as such any judgment that rest on that is considered null and invalid. the paper recommends careful treatment of such cases to avoid punishing the innocent. يتعذيب المتھم في المفقه ا�س�م مقدمة ا2صل في القوانين الجنائية في العصر الحاضر أن المتھم بريء حتى تثبت إدانته وذلك من الضمانات التي يقاس بھا التحضر ا7نساني اليوم والتي تكشف عن مدى احترام إنسانية ا7نسان، فالقوانين المعاصرة إذ تقضي بھذا اتھا احترام إنسانية ا7نسان حتى ولو كان المنفذين لھا يفتقرون إلى الشعور با7نسانية، وقد كان الحكم لتحمل في طي القانون الروماني القديم يجيز اjلتجاء إلى التعذيب للحصول على اjعتراف، وكان المتھم في عھود ا7سبتداد يؤخذ د. والجدير بالذكر أن القوانين المعاصرة لم تصل إلى ھذا بالشبھة ثم ينكل به تنكيp دون مبرر حقيقي إj شھوة اjستبدا . وھذا الموضوع من الموضوعات المھمة في عصرنا الحاضر وھو من (i)الحكم إj حديثا بعد الثورة الفرنسية الموضوعات التي يختلف الواقع العملي فيه عن النظام القانوني فكثير من ا2نظمة والقوانين تنص على ذلك لكن ع العملي يكشف غير ذلك حيث يقع التعذيب للمتھم من أجل حمله على اjعتراف بالجريمة. الواق المبحث ا�ول: تعريف المتھم وتعذيبه igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 220 المتھم اسم مفعول من التُّھمة، والتھمة لغة: الظن، تقول: اتَّھَْمتُهُ بكذا إذا َظنَْنتُهُ به، فھو تَِھيٌم وُمتَّھم، المتھم لغة: . فالمتھم (ii)ي قوله إذا شككت في صدقه. وأصل التُّھمة الوھمة على وزن فُعلة من الوھم وأصل التاء فيه واوواتّھَْمتُهُ ف ھو من يظن فيه ما ينسب إليه مما ھو غير محمود. يستغني الفقھاء بالمعنى اللغوي للمتھم عن تعريفه اjصطpحي نظرا لعدم الفرق بينھما من المتھم اصط�حا: ، فھو من يظن فيه ارتكاب جريمة ما. وما يتبع ذلك من إقامة دعوى تھمة ضده وھي دعوى الجناية حيث الحقيقة .(iii)وا2فعال المحرمة مثل دعوى القتل، وقطع الطريق، والسرقة، والعدوان على الخلق بالضرب ونحو ذلك معنى تعذيب المتھم: ، وقيل: ا7يجاع الشديد، تقول: عذبه تعذيبا أي (iv)ذابا: النكال والعقوبة، يقال: عذبته تعذيبا وعالتعذيب في اللغة . قال الراغب: "واختلف في أصله، فقال بعضھم: ھو من قولھم: عذب الرجل إذا ترك المأكل (v)أكثر حبسه في العذاب والنوم فھو عاذب وعذوب، فالتعذيب في ا2صل ھو حمل ا7نسان أن يعذب، أي يجوع ويسھر، وقيل: أصله من فعذبته أي أزلت عذب حياته على بناء مرضته وقذيته، وقيل: أصل التعذيب إكثار الضرب بعذبة السوط، أي العذب، طرفھا، وقد قال بعض أھل اللغة: التعذيب ھو الضرب، وقيل: ھو من قولھم: ماء عذب إذا كان فيه قذى وكدر، فيكون .(vi)لشجر: أطرافھا"عذبته كقولك: كدرت عيشه، وزلقت حياته، وعذبة السوط واللسان وا يتبين لنا مما تقدم ان المراد بتعذيب المتھم ھو مسه بشيء من العذاب كحبسه وتجويعه مدة ما، وضربه، ونحو ذلك لغرض اكتشاف حقيقة الجريمة المرتكبة. المبحث الثاني: ا�صل في التعامل مع المتھم صل براءة الذمة" وھي قاعدة مفادھا أن ذمة المرء ا2صل في التعامل مع المتھم في الفقه ا7سpمي قاعدة "ا2 خالية من أية مسؤولية مدنية كانت أو جنائية في الفقه ا7سpمي، وj يجوز شغلھا إj بدليل ظاھر، فالمتھم مكفول البينة باjحترام الpزم لمثله وj يجوز المساس به وj عقوبته وj شتمه ونحو ذلك حتى يتبين ثبوت ارتكابه للجريمة ب وا2دلة، فلو ادعى أحد على آخر ماj كثمن مبيع ونحو ذلك فp يجوز شغل ذمته بھذا الحق ما لم يثبت المدعي ذلك ببينة مقبوله كالشھود أو إقرار المدعى عليه أ, وثيقة عقد ونحو ذلك، ولو ادعى أحد على غيره أنه فقع عينه أو قطع منه إj ببينة jسيما مع إنكار المدعى عليه وھكذا، فp تجوز مؤاخذة ا7نسان يده أو سرق ماله ونحو ذلك فp يقبل ذلك على جريمة أنكر ارتكابھا إj ببينة كالشھادة ونحو ذلك. وھذه القاعدة ھي المعروفة في القانون بقولھم المتھم بريء نة النبوية، وا7جماع، والمعقول، حتى تثبت إدانته. وا2صل في اعتبار ھذه القاعدة في الفقه ا7سpمي أدلة من الس وفيما يأتي بيان ذلك: روى ابن أبي مليكة أن امرأتين كانتا تخرزان في بيت أو في الحجرة فخرجت إحداھما وقد أنفذ بإشفى في -1 كفھا فادعت على ا2خرى فرفع أمرھما إلى ابن عباس فقال: ابن عباس قال رسول هللا صلى هللا عليه وسلم: (لو يعطى ). ٧٧(آل عمران: چ � � � � �چ لناس بدعواھم لذھب دماء قوم وأموالھم). ذكروھا باz واقرؤوا عليھا ا . (vii)فذكروھا فاعترفت فقال ابن عباس قال النبي صلى هللا عليه وسلم: (اليمين على المدعى عليه) رواه البخاري م قال: (لو يعطى الناس بدعواھم ادعى ناس دماء وفي لفظ عند ابن ماجة ومثله أن رسول هللا صلى هللا عليه وسل قال ا7مام النووي: "وھذا الحديث قاعدة كبيرة .(viii)رجال وأموالھم، ولكن اليمين على المدعى عليه)رواه ابن ماجة من قواعد أحكام الشرع ففيه أنه j يقبل قول ا7نسان فيما يدعيه بمجرد دعواه بل يحتاج إلى بينة أو تصديق المدعى عليه فإن طلب يمين المدعى عليه فله ذلك وقد بين صلى هللا عليه و سلم الحكمة في كونه j يعطى بمجرد دعواه 2نه لو كان أعطى بمجردھا jدعى قوم دماء قوم وأموالھم واستبيح وj يمكن المدعى عليه أن يصون ماله ودمه وأما .(ix)المدعى فيمكنه صيانتھما بالبينة" ن وائل بن حجر عن أبيه قال: جاء رجل من حضرموت ورجل من كندة إلى النبي صلى هللا وعن علقمة ب -2 عليه وسلم فقال الحضرمي: يا رسول هللا! إن ھذا غلبني على أرض لي، فقال الكندي: ھي أرضي وفي يدي، ليس فيھا igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 221 قال: يا رسول هللا! إن الرجل فاجر حق، فقال النبي صلى هللا عليه وسلم للحضرمي: ألك بينة؟ قال: j. قال: فلك يمينه. j يبالي على ما حلف عليه، وليس يتورع من شيء. قال: ليس لك منه إj ذلك. قال: فانطلق الرجل ليحلف له. فقال . (x)رسول هللا صلى هللا عليه وسلم لما أدبر: لئن حلف على مالك ليأكله ظلما ليلقين هللا وھو معرض) رواه الترمذي هللا صلى هللا عليه وسلم بعدم شغل ذمة المدعى عليه بمجرد الدعوى من غير بينة فثبت أن ھذا ھو فقد حكم رسول ا2صل عند اjختpف والنزاع في اjستحقاقات. وروى عمرو بن شعيب عن أبيه عن جده أن النبي صلى هللا عليه وسلم قال في خطبته: (البينة على -3 . أي أن كل من ادعى حقا على غيره فعليه أن يأتي بدليل يثبت (xi)رواه الترمذي المدعي، واليمين على المدعى عليه) ذلك. وعن أنس رضي هللا عنه أنه قيل له: إن ھاھنا رجp يقع في ا2نصار، فقال: (كان رسول هللا صلى هللا عليه -4 أي أنه (xiii)ومعنى القرف التھمة .(xii)وسلم j يأخذ بالقََرِف أو القرص، وj يقبل قول أحد على أحد) رواه أبو نعيم وأكد ذلك بما بعده وقوله: "وj يقبل قول أحد على أحد" أي أنه j يقبل قول صلى هللا عليه وسلم كان j يأخذ بالتھمة، أحد على أحد إj بالبينة والبرھان. ما يستثنى من ھذه القاعدة: ة حالة القسامة وھي أن يوجد قتيل بين قوم بينھم يستثنى من قاعدة ا2صل براءة الذمة وعدم المؤاخذة بالتھم وبينه عداوة، وj تكون ھناك بينة على القاتل. ففي ھذه الحالة j يقال إن ا2صل براءة ذمة المتھم بل جاء الشرع بحكم 2صل آخر مبناه أن يحلف جماعة القتيل خمسين يمينا ويستحقون من يتھمونه من الجماعة التي وجد القتيل بينھم. وا في ذلك حديث سھل بن أبي حثمة ورافع بن خديج: (أن محيصة بن مسعود وعبد هللا بن سھل انطلقا إلى خيبر فتفرقا في النخيل، فقتل عبد هللا بن سھل، فاتھموا اليھود، فجاء أخوه عبد الرحمن وابنا عمه حويصة ومحيصة إلى النبي ه وھو أصغرھم فقال النبي صى هللا عليه وسلم: كبر، كبر، أو قال: صلى هللا عليه وسلم فتكلم عبد الرحمن في أمر أخي ليبدأ ا2كبر فتكلما في أمر صاحبھما، فقال النبي صلى هللا عليه وسلم: يقسم خمسون منكم على رجل منھم فيدفع اليكم ول هللا قوم كفار ضpل، برمته، فقالوا: أمر لم نشھده كيف نحلف؟ قال: فتبرئكم يھود بأيمان خمسين منھم، قالوا: يا رس قال: فوداه رسول هللا صلى هللا عليه وسلم من قبله، قال سھل: فدخلت مربدا لھم فركضتني ناقة من تلك ا7بل) رواه .(xiv)البخاري ومسلم المبحث الثالث: التعذيب في التھمة ادعى على غيره فليس له تقدم من أن ا2صل براءة الذمة وj تجوز مؤاخذة ا7نسان من غير بينة، وأن كل من سوى إثبات ما يدعيه ببينة. ھذه القاعدة ليست على إطpقھا، فقد ذكر الفقھاء حاjت يجوز فيھا تعذيب المتھم من أجل استكشاف حقيقة أمر الدعوى، وھي حاjت وجود قرائن تقوي التھمة ضده، وتبعا لذلك يمكن تقسيم التعذيب إلى ى النحو ا�تي:قسمين ومن ثم بحث الموضوع عل التعذيب بالحبس في تھمة: الحبس نوع من التعذيب وj يختلف الفقھاء في جواز حبس المتھم في تھمته، وا2صل في مشروعية ذلك حديث حبس رجp فى تھمة ثم خلى عنه) رواه أبو داود، -صلى هللا عليه وسلم-بھز بن حكيم عن أبيه عن جده: (أن النبى . (xv)والحاكم والترمذي، والنسائي :(xvi)ويقسم الفقھاء الحبس في التھمة تبعا لحال المتھم وما يعرف عنه على النحو ا�تي المتھم المعروف بالص�ح وا6ستقامة: -1 ذكر الفقھاء أن ھذا النوع من المتھمين ھم الذين يجري حكم ا2صل براءة الذمة في حقھم فp يجوز حبسھم ترجح ا2صل في حقھم على ما ھو طارئ مثل أن يوجد فى يد رجل عدل مال jستقامة حالھم وصpحھم، فھؤjء مسروق ويقول ذو اليد ابتعته من السوق j أدري. فليس لمن اتھمھم سوى إقامة البينة في إثبات ما يدعيه ضدھم؛ إذ لو لصالحين لمجرد فتح الباب في جواز قبول اعتبار التھمة وتعذيبھم jتخذھا المفسدون طريقا في تلويث سمعة ا الدعوى؛ فھذا القسم ھو الذي يتحقق فيه ما تقدم، ويكفي في حقه التخويف باz من مغبة الحلف على الكذف ففي حديث igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 222 ابن عباس المتقدم ذكره قريبا: (لو يعطى الناس بدعواھم لذھب دماء قوم وأموالھم). ذكروھا باz واقرؤوا عليھا ((إِنَّ ُ َوjَ الَِّذيَن يَْشتَُروَن بِ ِ َوأَْيَمانِِھْم ثََمنًا قَلِيpً أُولَئَِك jَ َخpََق لَھُْم فِي اْ�ِخَرِة َوjَ يَُكلُِّمھُُم هللاَّ يَْنظُُر إِلَْيِھْم يَْوَم اْلقِيَاَمِة َوjَ َعْھِد هللاَّ يِھْم َولَھُْم َعَذاٌب أَلِيٌم)) (آل عمران: المدعى عليھا لما ذكرت باz وخوفت . ففيه أن(xvii)). فذكروھا فاعترفت)٧٧يَُزكِّ من مغبة الحلف على الكذب اعترفت وأقرت على نفسھا. ويرى بعض الفقھاء عقوبة من يتھم ھذا الصنف. وحديث عدي بن عميرة الكندي أن امرئ القيس بن عابس الكندي خاصم إلى رسول هللا صلى هللا عليه وسلم لى هللا عليه وسلم الحضرمي البينة فلم تكن له بينة فقضى على رجp من حضرموت في أرض فسأل رسول هللا ص امرئ القيس باليمين، فقال الحضرمي: أمكنته يا رسول هللا من اليمين ذھبت وهللا أرضي، فقال رسول هللا صلى هللا ن) قال: وقال عليه وسلم: (من حلف على يمين كاذبة ليقتطع بھا مال أخيه لقي هللا عز وجل يوم يلقاه وھو عليه غضبا ِ َوأَْيَمانِِھْم ثََمنًا قَلِيpً أُوَل ئَِك jَ َخpََق لَھُْم فِي رجل: وتp رسول هللا صلى هللا عليه وسلم: ((إِنَّ الَِّذيَن يَْشتَُروَن بَِعْھِد هللاَّ jَيَْنظُُر إِلَْيِھْم يَْوَم اْلقِيَاَمِة َو jََو ُ يِھْم َولَھُْم َعَذاٌب أَِليٌم)) (آل عمران: اْ�ِخَرِة َوjَ يَُكلُِّمھُُم هللاَّ ). قال: فقال امرؤ ٧٧يَُزكِّ .(xviii)القيس: يا رسول هللا فماذا لمن تركھا؟ قال: له الجنة. قال: فإني أشھدك أني قد تركتھا) رواه أحمد والطبراني اعه إلى عدم معاقبة من والفقھاء اختلفوا في معاقبة من يتھم أمثال ھؤjء، فذھب ا7مام مالك وأشھب من أتب يتھم ھذا الصنف إj أن يقصد أذيتھم وعيبھم وشتمھم فيؤدب. وذھب ا7مام أصبغ إلى القول بتأديب متھمھم قصد j أذيتھم أو(xix) . المتھم المجھول الحال: -2 د عامة ذكر الفقھاء أن المتھم إن كان مجھول الحال j يعرف ببر أو فجور، فإنه يحبس حتى تنكشف حاله عن علماء ا7سpم دليله ما تقدم من حديث بھز بن حكيم. المتھم المعروف بالفجور -3 ھذا القسم ھو المعروف با7جرام كالسرقة وقطع الطريق وشرب المسكرات والمخدرات ونحو ذلك، فيقول المعروف بالفجور الفقھاء في حق ھذا النوع من المتھمين بحواز حبسھم؛ 2نه إذا جاز حبس المجھول الحال فحبس أولى، قال ابن قيم الجوزية: "إذا كان المتھم معروفا بالفجور كالسرقة وقطع الطريق والقتل ونحو ذلك، فإذا جاز حبس المجھول فحبس ھذا أولى. قال شيخنا ابن تيمية رحمه هللا: وما علمت أحدا من أئمة المسلمين يقول: إن المدعى عليه ويرسل بp حبس وj غيره فليس ھذا على إطpقه مذھبا 2حد من ا2ئمة ا2ربعة، وj في جميع ھذه الدعاوى يحلف غيرھم من ا2ئمة، ومن زعم أن ھذا على إطpقه وعمومه ھو الشرع، فقد غلط غلطا فاحشا مخالفا لنصوص رسول .(xx)هللا صلى هللا عليه وسلم و7جماع ا2مة" طبيعة الحبس: نا ليس ھو الحبس في السجن في مكان ضيق، بل ھو تعويق للمتھم عن التحرك ذكر بعض الفقھاء أن الحبس ھ بحرية كاملة، ومنعه من التصرف سواء كان في بيت أو مسجد أو كان بتوكيل نفس الخصم أو وكيله عليه ومpزمته ظر القضية له ونحو ذلك، وھو شبيه بالحبس بسبب انشغال الحاكم بقضايا أخرى إلى أن ينتھي منھا ويتيسر له ن الجديدة المعروضة أمامه. وفي ھذا يقول ابن القيم رحمه هللا: "ثم إن الحاكم قد يكون مشغوj عن تعجيل الفصل وقد تكون عنده حكومات سابقة فيكون المطلوب محبوسا معوقا من حين يطلب إلى أن يفصل بينه وبين خصمه وھذا حبس عي ليس ھو السجن في مكان ضيق وإنما ھو تعويق الشخص ومنعه من بدون التھمة ففي التھمة أولى فإن الحبس الشر التصرف بنفسه سواء كان في بيت أو مسجد أو كان بتوكيل نفس الخصم أو وكيله عليه ومpزمته له ولھذا سماه النبي يق في . والعمل يجري في ھذا العصر على حبس المتھم لدى الشرط على ذمة التحق(xxi)صلى هللا عليه و سلم أسيرا" القضية أي حتى ينتھي ويصدر الحكم. من يملك سلطة الحبس: ليس الحبس في الفقه ا7سpمي متروكا لكل واحد يقوم به من نفسه، بل الذي يملك سلطة الحبس ھو الحاكم igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 223 ومن ينيبه أو يوكله كالقضاة وغيرھم؛ لحديث بھز بن حكيم ففيه أنه صلى هللا عليه وسلم ھو الذي حبس أي أمر بالحبس. مدة الحبس: اختلف أقوال الفقھاء في مدة الحبس في التھمة فقيل شھرا وقيل: بل يترك jجتھاد الحاكم أو القاضي حسب ، وھو الراجح إذ ليس في الشرع دليل يقيد ذلك، فقد تستدعي الحاجة الحبس اليسير كما جاء في حديث (xxii)الحاجة صلى هللا عليه وسلم حبس في تھمة حبسا يسيرا حتى استبرأ) رواه أبو نعيم أبي ھريرة رضي هللا عنه: (أن رسول هللا . وقد يستدعي ا2مر الحبس يوما وليلة كما في حديث أبي ھريرة رضي هللا عنه: (أن النبي صلى هللا (xxiii)والبزار ك حسب الحاجة . وقد يزيد على ذل(xxiv)عليه وسلم حبس رجp في تھمة يوما وليلة استظھارا واحتياطا)رواه الحاكم فليس اليوم والليلة حدا j يجوز تجاوزه j سيما في عصرنا الحاضر. ثانيا: التعذيب بالضرب وما فوقه في التھمة أو6: ضرب المتھم لحمله على ا�قرار j يختلف الفقھاء أن المتھم j يجوز ضربه من أجل أن يقر بالتھمة ويعترف بارتكاب الجريمة ونحو ذلك 2نه ضرب ليقر كان مكرھا وإقرار المكره باطل j يصح يغير خpف بين الفقھاء. قال ابن قدامة: "وj يصح اjقرار إذا من المكره فلو ضرب الرجل ليقر بالزنا لم يجب عليه الحد ولم يثبت عليه الزنا وj نعلم من أھل العلم خpفا في أن ِ ِمْن بَْعِد إِيَمانِِه إjَِّ َمْن أُْكِرهَ َوقَْلبُهُ ُمْطَمئِنٌّ (xxv)إقرار المكره j يجب به حد" َّzوذلك لعموم قوله تعالى: ((َمْن َكفََر بِا . ِ َولَھُْم َعَذاٌب َعِظيٌم)) (سورة النح يَماِن َولَِكْن َمْن َشَرَح بِاْلُكْفِر َصْدًرا فََعلَْيِھْم َغَضٌب ِمَن هللاَّ تثنى ). حيث اس106ل: بِا7ِْ هللا من استحقاق الغضب والعذاب العظيم بالكفر ما كان با7كراه فدل على أن ا7كراه من ا2عذار المقبولة في نفي المؤاخذة في الفقه ا7سpمي، وحديث ابن عباس رضي هللا عنھما عن النبي صلى هللا عليه وسلم قال: (إن هللا وضع . وھو صريح في نفي المؤاخذة با7كراه، وروي (xxvi)رواه ابن ماجة عن أمتي الخطأ والنسيان وما استكرھوا عليه) عن عمر رضي هللا عنه أنه قال: "ليس الرجل بأمين على نفسه إذا جوعته أو ضربته أو أوثقته" رواه ابن أبي شيبة، رجه . وما رواه ابن جريج قال: قال بن شھاب في رجل اعترف بعد ما جلد قال: "ليس عليه حد" أخ(xxvii)والبيھقي . و2ن ا7قرار إنما ثبت به المقر به لوجود الداعي إلى الصدق وانتفاء التھمة عنه فإن العاقل j (xxviii)ابن أبي شيبة يتھم بقصد ا7ضرار بنفسه ومع ا7كراه يغلب على الظن أنه قصد بإقراره دفع ضرر ا7كراه فانتفى ظن الصدق عنه بن زياد رحمه هللا أن بعض ا2مراء بعث إليه وسأله عن ضرب . وذكر السرخسي أنه روي عن الحسن (xxix)فلم يقبل السارق ليقر فقال: ما لم يقطع اللحم أو يبين العظم ثم ندم على مقالته وجاء بنفسه إلى مجلس ا2مير ليمنعه من ذلك به بالحق فوجده قد ضربه حتى اعترف وجاء بالمال فلما رأى المال موضوعا بين يدي ا2مير قال: ما رأيت ظلما أش .(xxx)من ھذا ثانيا: ضرب المتھم لحمله على أن يصدق ويقول الحقيقة فرق الفقھاء بين الضرب حمp على ا7قرار والضربا حمp على الصدق وإحبار الحقيقة بأن المكره إنما يكره ضرب على شيء واحد، وھنا إنما ضرب ليصدق وj ينحصر الصدق في ا7قرار، وقد اختلف الفقھاء في جواز المتھم وعدمه من أجل أن يصدق ويقول الحق في القضية على قولين: j يجوز تعذيب المتھم بأكثر من الحبس فp يجوز ضربه ونحو ذلك، وھو مذھب جمھور القول ا�ول: ويؤيد ھذا ھذا القول حديث أزھر بن عبد هللا الحرازى أن قوما من الكpعيين سرق لھم متاع فاتھموا. (xxxi)الفقھاء فحبسھم أياما ثم خلى سبيلھم فأتوا النعمان -صلى هللا عليه وسلم-أناسا من الحاكة فأتوا النعمان بن بشير صاحب النبى فقالوا: خليت سبيلھم بغير ضرب وj امتحان؟ فقال النعمان: ما شئتم، إن شئتم أن أضربھم فإن خرج متاعكم فذاك، صلى هللا -، فقالوا: ھذا حكمك؟ فقال: ھذا حكم هللا وحكم رسوله وإj أخذت من ظھوركم مثل ما أخذت من ظھورھم . قال أبو داود عقبه: "إنما أرھبھم بھذا القول: أى j يجب الضرب إj بعد اjعتراف" (xxxii)عليه وسلم) رواه أبو داود igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 224 أي على سبيل التعزير إن لم يكن حدا. ويقول الحقيقة في ما اتھم به وھو مذھب يرى جواز تعذيب المتھم بالضرب ونحوه ليصدق القول الثاني: بعض المالكية والحنابلة. واستدلوا في ذلك بما يأتي: أن رسول هللا صلى هللا عليه وسلم اشترط على اليھود في غزوة خيبر أن لھم العھد على أن j يغيبوا شيئا فإن له معه إلى خيبر حين أجليت النضير، فقال فعلوا فp ذمة لھم فغيبوا مسكا فيه مال وحلي لحيى بن أخطب، وكان احتم رسول هللا صلى هللا عليه وسلم لعم حيي بت أخطب: (ما فعل مسك حيى الذي جاء به من النضير؟) فقال: أذھبته النفقات والحروب. فقال: (العھد قريب والمال أكثر من ذلك)، فدفعه رسول هللا صلى هللا عليه وسلم إلى الزبير فمسه كان حيى قبل ذلك دخل خربة، فقال: قد رأيت حييا يطوف في خربة ھاھنا، فذھبوا فطافوا فوجدوا المسك بعذاب، وقد .(xxxiii) في الخربة ندب أصحابه فانطلقوا إلى بدر فإذا -صلى هللا عليه وسلم-وحديث أنس بن مالك رضي هللا عنه أن رسول هللا فجعلوا يسألونه أين أبو -صلى هللا عليه وسلم-ب رسول هللا ھم بروايا قريش فيھا عبد أسود لبنى الحجاج فأخذه أصحا سفيان فيقول: وهللا ما لى بشىء من أمره علم، ولكن ھذه قريش قد جاءت فيھم أبو جھل، وعتبة، وشيبة ابنا ربيعة، سفيان من وأمية بن خلف. فإذا قال لھم ذلك ضربوه فيقول: دعونى دعونى أخبركم، فإذا تركوه قال: وهللا ما لى بأبى صلى هللا -علم ولكن ھذه قريش قد أقبلت فيھم أبو جھل، وعتبة، وشيبة ابنا ربيعة، وأمية بن خلف قد أقبلوا. والنبى يصلى وھو يسمع ذلك فلما انصرف قال: (والذى نفسى بيده إنكم لتضربونه إذا صدقكم وتدعونه إذا -عليه وسلم .قال القاضي عياض: "وفى ضرب أصحاب النبى (xxxiv)رواه أبو داود كذبكم، ھذه قريش قد أقبلت لتمنع أبا سفيان) صلى هللا عليه وسلم غpم قريش ليسألوه، جواز تھديد المتھم وتخويفه ليصدق، وجواز ضرب ا2سير من العدو لمعنى لھم يوجب ذلك، ويستخبر ما عنده من سر العدو يحتج به فى تھديد الحكام للمتھمين ليصدقوا عن أحوالھم، وينكشف . (xxxv)تھمتھم" وحديث على بن أبي طالب رضي هللا عنه قال: بعثني رسول هللا صلى هللا عليه وسلم أنا والزبير والمقداد بن ا2سود قال: (انطلقوا حتى تأتوا روضة خاخ فإن بھا ظعينة ومعھا كتاب فخذوه منھا)، فانطلقنا تعادي بنا خيلنا حتى عينة فقلنا أخرجي الكتاب، فقالت: ما معي من كتاب، فقلنا: لتخرجن الكتاب أو لنلقين انتھينا إلى الروضة فإذا نحن بالظ الثياب، فأجرجته من عقاصھا، فأتينا به رسول هللا صلى هللا عليه وسلم، فإذا فيه من حاطب بن أبي بلتعة إلى أناس من . استدلوا بتھديد علي (xxxvi)اه البخاريالمشركين من أھل مكة يخبرھم ببعض أمر رسول هللا صلى هللا عليه وسلم) رو بن أبي طالب للمرأة وما قاله لھا على أنه يجوز ل�مام أو نائبه أن يسلك من الوسائل ما يراه كفيp بكشف الجريمة وإظھارھا بما في ذلك الضرب. دودة جدا.لعل الراجح ھو القول بأن الضرب j يلجأ إليه إj في حالة الضرورة القصوى، ولمدة مح الترجيح: للفقھاء فيمن يقوم بضرب المتھم قوjن: من يقوم بالضرب: يقضي بجواز أن يقوم بذلك الوالي والقاضي وھو مذھب طائفة من أصحاب مالك وأحمد وغيرھم. أولھما يقضي باقتصار ذلك على الوالي دون القاضي، وھو قول بعض أصحاب الشافعي وأحمد؛ ووجه ھذا واmخر: شروع ھو ضرب الحدود والتعزيرات وذلك إنما يكون بعد ثبوت أسبابھا وتحققھا وذلك إليھما دون أن الضرب الم غيرھما. ونظرا 2ن ا2نظمة والقوانين في ھذا العصر تصدر بأمر الرئيس وتفوض السلطة القضائية قيام بمثل ذلك يمكن أن نقول إن الوالي أو القاضي ھم الذين لھم اختصاص القيام بذلك. وقد جحده فمتفق عليھا بين العلماء j نزاع بينھم أن من وجب عليه حق وأما عقوبة من عرف أن الحق عنده من عين أو دين وھو قادر على أدائه وامتنع منه أنه يعاقب حتى يؤديه ونصوا على عقوبته بالضرب ذكر ذلك الفقھاء igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 225 . (xxxvii)من الطوائف ا2ربعة عذيب: حكم ا�قرار المنتزع من جراء الت :(xxxviii)اختلف الفقھاء في حكم ا7قرار الحاصل نتيجة للتعذيب بالضرب ونحو ذلك على أربعة أقوال j يقبل ھذا ا7قرار حتى يستمر عليه بعد انتھاء التعذيب، وسواء عين ما أقر به من سرقة أو قتل القول ا�ول: أم j، وھو مذھب الحنفية والشافعية وكثير من المالكية. المبسوط للسرخسي: "ولو أن قاضيا أكره رجp بتھديد ضرب أو حبس أو قيد حتى يقر على نفسه بحد جاء في أو قصاص كان ا7قرار باطp 2ن ا7قرار متمثل بين الصدق والكذب وإنما يكون حجة إذا ترجح جانب الصدق على ليس الرجل رضي هللا عنه -ر جانب الكذب والتھديد بالضرب والحبس يمنع رجحان جانب الصدق على ما قال عم على نفسه بأمير إذا ضربت أو أوثقت... فإن خلى سبيله بعد ما أقر مكرھا ثم أخذ بعد ذلك فجيء به فأقر بما كان تھدد عليه بغير إكراه مستقل أخذ بذلك كله 2ن إقراره ا2ول كان باطp ولما خلى سبيله فقد انتھى حكم ذلك ا2خذ والتھديد . (xxxix)لم يوجد أصp حتى أخذ ا�ن فأقر بغير إكراه"فصار كأن وجاء في المدونة: "قلت: أرأيت إن أقر بشيء من الحدود بعد التھديد أو القيد أو الوعيد أو السجن أو الضرب، أن أيقام عليه الحد أم j ؟ قال: قال مالك: من أقر بعد التھديد أقيل، فالوعيد والقيد والسجن والضرب تھديد كله وأرى .(xl)يقال" وفي روضة الطالبين: (قلت: ولو ضرب ليقر، فأقر في حال الضرب، لم يصح. وإن ضرب ليصدق في القضية، قال الماوردي في اjحكام السلطانية: إن أقر في حال الضرب، ترك ضربه واستعيد إقراره، فإن أقر بعد مع الكراھة، ھذا كpم الماوردي. وقبول إقراره الضرب، عمل به، ولو لم يستعده وعمل باjقرار حال الضرب، جاز حال الضرب مشكل، jنه قريب من المكره ولكنه ليس مكرھا، فإن المكره ھو من أكره على شئ واحد، وھنا إنما ضرب ليصدق، وj ينحصر الصدق في اjقرار. وقبول إقراره بعد الضرب، فيه نظر إن غلب على ظنه إعادة .(xli)الضرب إن لم يقر) في مجموع الفتاوى: (واختلف العلماء إذا أقر حال اjمتحان بالحبس أو الضرب: ھل يسوغ ذلك ؟ فمنھم من و قال : يؤخذ بذلك ا7قرار إذا ظھر صدقه: مثل أن يخرج السرقة بعينھا ولو رجع عن ذلك بعد الضرب لم يقبل؛ بل ان الماوردي وأبو يعلى في الوالي. ومنھم من يؤخذ به وھذا قول أشھب في القاضي والوالي وھو الذي ذكره القاضي قال: j بد من إقرار آخر بعدد الضرب وإذا رجع عن ا7قرار لم يؤخذ به . وھذا قول ابن القاسم وكثير من الشافعية .(xlii)والحنبلية وغيرھم) عض المالكية. جاء يقبل إقراره ويعمل به إذا عين المقر به، وإن رجع عن إقراره فيما بعد وھو لب القول الثاني: في مواھب الجليل في شرح مختصر خليل : "وأما المحبوس والمتھدد فاختلف في أخذه بإقراره واضطرب المذھب في إقراره بعد الحبس والتھديد ھل يقبل جملة أو j يقبل جملة أو الفرق فيقبل إذا عين ما اعترف به من قتل وسرقة أو .(xliii)تھى"j يقبل إذا لم يعين ثpثة أقوال ان .(xliv)يقبل إقراره مطلقا وإن لم يعين المرقر به وھو لبعض المالكية القول الثالث: j يقبل إقراره حتى وإن استمر عليه ولم يرجع عنه بعد التعذيب، وھو لبعض الحنفية والمالكية القول الرابع: باق. واختاره النووي والزركشي من الشافعية. وذلك 2ن خوفه أن يعاد عليه العقاب الترجيح: الراجح وهللا أعلم القول الرابع القاضي بعدم قبول ا7قرار في ھذه الحال أيضا؛ لما ذكروه jسيما في ھذا العصر الذي يكثر فيه تلفيق التھم ظلما وتعذيب المتھم فيقر خوفا على نفسه. قال الزركشي والظاھر ما اختاره النووي الذي يجب اعتماده في ھذه ا2مصار مع ظلم الوjة وشدة جراءتھم على من عدم قبول إقراره في الحالين وھو igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 226 .(xlv)العقوبات وسبقه إليه ا2ذرعي وبالغ فقال والصواب أن ھذا إكراه لو حكم القاضي با�قرار المنتزع في ھذه الحال ونفذت العقوبة فما الحكم؟ زنا أو شرب خمر أو قتل فأقر بذلك يقول الحنفية أنه لو أكرھه قاض بضرب أو حبس حتى يقر بسرقة أو فأقامه عليه فإن كان رجp معروفا بما أقر له به إj أنه j بينة عليه فالقياس أن يقتص من المكره فيما أمكن القصاص فيه ويضمن من ماله ما j يستطاع القصاص فيه 2ن إقراره كان باطp وا7قرار الباطل وجوده كعدمه فبقي ھو بغير حق فيلزمه القصاص فيما يستطاع فيه القصاص ولكن يستحسن أن يلزمه ضمان جميع ذلك في مباشرا للجناية ماله ويدرأ القصاص 2ن الرجل إذا كان معروفا بما أقر به على نفسه فالذي يقع في قلب كل سامع أنه صادق في ل�مام -رحمھم هللا -أھل المدينة إقراره لما أقر به وذلك يورث شبھة والقصاص مما يندرئ بالشبھات و2ن على قول أن يجبر المعروف بذلك الفعل على ا7قرار بالضرب والحبس فإن مرتكب الكبيرة قل ما يقر على نفسه طائعا وإذا أقر شبھة والقاضي مجتھد في ما -رحمھم هللا -به مكرھا عندھم يصح إقراره وتقام عليه العقوبة فيصير اختpف العلماء تھاد في موضعه من وجه فيكون مسقطا للقود عنه ولكن يلزمه المال 2ن المال مما يثبت مع الشبھات صنع فھذا اج وبا7قرار الباطل لم تسقط حرمة نفسه وأطرافه فيصير ضامنا له مراعاة لحرمة نفسه وطرفة في ما وإن كان المكره غير معروف بشيء مما رمي به أخذت فيه بالقياس وأوجبت القصاص على القاضي يستطاع فيه القصاص 2نه إذا كان معروفا بالصpح فالذي يسبق إليه أوھام الناس أنه بريء الساحة مما رمي به وإنما .(xlvi)أقر على نفسه كاذبا بسبب ا7كراه الخاتمة من ضمانات القضاء وعدالته في ا7سpم أن ا2صل براءة الذمة والمتھم بريء حتى تثبت إدانته بالطرق يعية والعادةية كالشھادة وا7قرار ونحو ذلك، فp يجوز في ا7سpم أن يسلك مسلك التخويف أو التعذيب من أجل الطب انتزاع ا7قرار والقضاء على المتھم بذلك، ولو حصل ذلك اعتبر ذلك جورا وظلما وكان الحكم باطp، ولو نفذ ضمن كن نظرا لفاسد الزمن قد أقر الشرع الحبس في التھمة القاضي والمكره وھذا من عدل ا7سpم. ھذا ھو ا2صل ول للوصول إلى الحقيقة، وإذا تأيدت التھمة بالقرائن أجيز التعذيب بالضرب غير أن ھذا الضرب مقيد بالحاجة وj يقوم ب به إj من أذن له، وj يقر الفقھاء الضرب الشديد المبرح الذي نسمع به عند التحقيق في عصرنا اليوم حيث يضر المتھم ضربا تكسر به عظامه ويتشقق جلده وھكذا. وقد تستخدم أساليب أشد من الضرب. وبھذا يتبين لنا أن الفقه ا7سpمي وسط بين التفريط وا7فراط. ولو ييعاقب من يقوم بتعذيب المتھم من غير ضابط كما قالكان من شأنه أن يخفف ھذا الظلم. الھوامش ومعھا المصادر والمراجع )i( ھـ 1408لوليام جيمس ديورانت، ترجمة د. زكي نجيب محمود وآخرون، نشر دار الجيل بيروت، سنة قصة الحضار .)16/100( م1988 )iiصباح المنير 2حمد بن محمد بن علي الفيومي بتحقيق يوسف الشيخ محمد، نشر المكتبة العصرية، بدون تاريخ، (ص: ) الم ، بدون تاريخ، 1) لسان العرب لمحمد بن مكرم بن منظور ا2فريقي المصري، نشر دار صادر، بيروت، ط/347 ادات المبارك بن محمد الجزري، بتحقيق طاھر أحمد ) مادة "وھم"، النھاية في غريب الحديث وا2ثر 2بي السع12/643( م.1979 ھـ 1399الزاوى ومحمود محمد الطناحي، نشر المكتبة العلمية، بيروت، سنة )iii( :م أحمد بن عبدالحليم ابن تيمية بتحقيق مجموع الفتاوىانظرpدار الوفاء، نشر عامر الجزارو أنور البازلشيخ ا7س .)35/396(م 2005ھـ/1426، سنة3ط/ )iv) بن منظور، المرجع السابقj 1/583) لسان العرب.( igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 227 )v ،المفردات في غريب القرآن للحسين بن محمد بن المفضل المعروف بالراغب ا2صفھاني، بتحقيق صفوان عدنان داودى ( ).555 -554ھـ (ص: 1412نشر دار العلم الدار، دمشق، سنة )vi 555(ص: ا2صفھاني، المرجع السابقالقرآن للراغب في غريب ) مفردات.( )vii( ،الجامع الصحيح المختصر للحافظ محمد بن إسماعيل البخاري بتحقيق د. مصطفى ديب البغا، نشر دار ابن كثير )، صحيح مسلم، ل�مام مسلم بن الحجاج القشيري، 4277) برقم (4/1656م (1987 ھـ 1407، سنة 3بيروت، ط/ ).1711(-1) برقم (3/1336الباقي، نشر دار إحياء التراث العربي، بيروت، بدون تاريخ (بتحقيق محمد فؤاد عبد )viii778/ 2لمحمد بن يزيد أبو عبدهللا القزويني، بتحقيق محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي، نشر دار الفكر، بيروت، ( ) سنن ابن ماجه( ) قال الشيخ ا2لباني: صحيح.2321برقم ( )ix النووي زكريا يحيى بن شرف يب2 المنھاج شرح صحيح مسلم بن الحجاجالمسمى ب مسلمح صحي) شرح النووي على ، ).12/3( ھـ 1392، سنة 2، ط/بيروت، دار إحياء التراث العربينشر )xالجامع الصحيح للحافظ أبي عيسى محمد بن عيسى الترمذي، بتحقيق أحمد محمد شاكر وآخرون، المسمى ) سنن الترمذي ) وقال: "حسن، صحيح". وقال الشيخ ا2لباني: "صحيح".1340) برقم (3/625اء التراث العربي، بيروت (نشر دار إحي )xiقال الشيخ ا2لباني: صحيح.1341) برقم (626/ 3(، المرجع السابق ) سنن الترمذي ( )xii( سنة 4، ط/بيروت، اب العربيدار الكت، نشر نعيم أحمد بن عبد هللا ا2صبھاني 2بي حلية ا2ولياء وطبقات ا2صفياء ، ). 6/310( ھـ 1405 )xiii( تحقيق طاھر ، بالسعادات المبارك بن محمد الجزري 2بي النھاية في غريب ا2ثر النھاية في غريب الحديث وا2ثر ).4/70( م1979 ھـ1399سنة بيروت، المكتبة العلمية ، نشرمحمود محمد الطناحيوأحمد الزاوى )xiv( المرجع السابق ،صحيح البخاري )2برقم ( )3/1291( ، المرجع السابقصحيح مسلم)، 5791برقم ( )5/2275 )1669(. )xv( سنن أبى داود 2بي داود سليمان بن ا2شعث السجستاني، نشر دار الكتاب العربي، بيروت )3632برقم ( )3/350،( جتبى من السنن 2حمد بن شعيب أبو عبد الرحمن سنن النسائي الم )،1417) برقم (28/ 4( ، المرجع السابقسنن الترمذي ) برقم 8/67م (1986-ھـ 1406، سنة 2النسائي، بتحقيق عبدالفتاح أبو غدة، نشر مكتب المطبوعات ا7سpمية، حلب، ط/ دار ، نشر مصطفى عبد القادر عطابتحقيق محمد بن عبدهللا الحاكم 2بي عبدهللا المستدرك على الصحيحين)، 4876( قال ، وحديث حسنالترمذي عقبه: قال ) 7063) برقم (4/114(م 1990-ھـ1411 سنة ،1، ط/بيروت، العلمية الكتب .الذھبي قي التلخيص، وأقره م يخرجاهلصحيح ا7سناد و. وقال الحاكم عقبه: الشيخ ا2لباني: حسن )xvi( :بن تيمية، المرجع السابق مجموع الفتاوىانظرj )35/396(. )xvii( ا.تقدم قريب )xviii( /م 1999 -ھــ2،1420مسند ا7مام أحمد بن حنبل بتحقيق شعيب ا2رنؤوط وآخرون، نشر مؤسسة الرسالة، ط حمدي بن عبدالمجيد تحقيق، بسليمان بن أحمد بن أيوب أبو القاسم الطبرانيلالمعجم الكبير)، 17716) برقم (29/254( م 1983-ھـ 1404 ، سنة2، ط/الموصل، مكتبة العلوم والحكم، نشر السلفي انظر: ."رواه أحمد والطبراني في الكبير ورجالھما ثقاتوقال: "مجمع الزوائد ). وذكره الھيثمي في 265) برقم (108/ 17( دار ، نشر بتحرير الحافظين الجليلين العراقي وابن جحر، نور الدين علي بن أبي بكر الھيثميل ومنبع الفوائدمجمع الزوائد ).6903) برقم (178/ 4(، وذكره الھيثمي في م1988 -ھـ1408، سنة بيروت، الكتب العلمية )xix( م ابن تيمية، المرجع السابقمجموع الفتاوىpلشيخ ا7س)35/397(. )xx( د. محمد المعروف بابن قيم الجوزية، بتحقيق محمد بن أبي بكر أيوب الزرعي ل الطرق الحكمية في السياسة الشرعية ).151-150(ص ، بدون تاريخالقاھرة، بعة المدنيمط، نشر جميل غازي )xxi( ص) بن القيم، المرجع السابقj 149الطرق الحكمية.( )xxii( بن تيمية، المرجع السابقj انظر: مجموع الفتاوى)35/398.( )xxiii( المرجع السابق حلية ا2ولياء ،)عمرو بن عبد بكر أحمد بن يب2المطبوع باسم البحر الزخار مسند البزار)، 10/114 م2009إلى م 1988 ، من1، ط/المدينة المنورة، بمكتبة العلوم والحكمبتحقيق مجموعة من المحققين، نشر الخالق البزار وھذا الحديث j نعلمه يروى عن أبي ھريرة إj من ھذا الوجه.) وقال 8144) برقم (14/398( )xxiv( م 1990-ھـ1411 ةللحاكم، المرجع السابق سن المستدرك على الصحيحين)تعليق الذھبي قي ). 7064) برقم (4/114 .التلخيص: إبراھيم بن خثيم متروك igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 228 )xxv( /سنة 1المغني في فقه ا7مام أحمد بن حنبل الشيباني لعبد هللا بن أحمد بن قدامة المقدسي نشر دار الفكر، بيروت، ط ، ، يْحيَى إِْسَماِعيلبتحقيق د. عياض بن موسى بن عياضقاضي ، للبفََوائِِد ُمْسلِم إكمال المعلمانظر: ).10/166ھـ (1405 المفھم لما أشكل من تلخيص )، 6/137( م1998-ـھ1419، سنة 1، ط/دار الوفاء للطباعة والنشر والتوزيع، مصرنشر ).34/154)، مجموع الفتاوى jبن تيمية، المرجع السابق (5/300كتاب مسلم ( )xxvi( بق، المرجع الساسنن ابن ماجه )إسناده صحيح إن سلم من الزوائد: في). قال البوصيري 2045) برقم (1/659 .قال الشيخ ا2لباني: صحيح. اjنقطاع )xxvii( مكتبة ، نشر كمال يوسف الحوت تحقيقببكر عبد هللا بن محمد بن أبي شيبة يب2 المصنف في ا2حاديث وا�ثار برقم )358/ 7السنن الكبرى ت:محمد عبد القادر عطا ()، 28303برقم ( )5/493(ھـ 1409، سنة 1، ط/الرياض، الرشد )14884.( )xxviii( المرجع السابقمصنف ابن أبي شيبة ، )28304برقم ( )5/493.( )xxix( بن قدامة، المرجع السابقj انظر: المغني)10/166.( )xxx( بدون تاريخ 2بيروت، ط/لشمس الدين محمد بن أحمد السرخسي نشر دار المعرفة للطباعة والنشر، المبسوط )7/275(. )xxxi( :ص) 152الطرق الحكمية(، )xxxii( المرجع السابقسنن أبى داود ، )قال ا2لباني: حسن.). 4384) برقبم (4/235 )xxxiii( :ئل النبوة للانظرjـ ھـ 1408، سنة 1، ط/دار الكتب العلمية، نشر عبد المعطى قلعجى. د تحقيقب بيھقىحافظ الد .)3/377النبوية jبن كثير ( السيرة، م1988 )xxxiv( المرجع السابق سنن أبى داود ،)قال ا2لباني : صحيح. )2683برقم ( )3/10 )xxxv( المرجع السابقللقاضي عياضبقوائد مسلم إكمال المعلم ،)6/137.،( )xxxvi( المرجع السابق صحيح البخاري ،)2845) برقم (3/1095.( )xxxvii( بن تيمية، المj رجع السابق مجموع الفتاوى)35/402( ،بن القيم، المرجع السابق الطرق الحكميةj :ص)153 ، 158.( )xxxviii( بيروت، بدون تاريخ دار المعرفة، نشر زين الدين ابن نجيم الحنفيل شرح كنز الدقائق البحر الرائق ،)8/80( ، ھـ1313، القاھرة، سنة ب ا7سpميدار الكت، نشر فخر الدين عثمان بن علي الزيلعيل شرح كنز الدقائق تبيين الحقائق . )35/404(jبن تيمية، المرجع السابق مجموع الفتاوى). 5/300المفھم لما أشكل من تلخيص كتاب مسلم ()، 5/182( )xxxix( لشمس الدين السرخسي، المرجع السابق المبسوط)7/275(. )xl( مية المدونة الكبرى ل�مام مالك بن أنس بن مالك ا2صبحي رواية سحنpون عن ابن القاسم، نشر وزارة الشؤون ا7س .16/93وا2وقاف والدعوة وا7رشاد بالمملكة العربية السعودية، )xli( دار ، نشر على محمد معوضو عادل أحمد عبد الموجودبتحقيق محي الدين النووي، لروضة الطالبين وعمدة المفتين .)4/10(، بيروت، بدون تاريخ الكتب العلمية )xlii( بن تيمية، المرجع السابق جموع الفتاوىمj)35/404(. )xliii( شمس الدين محمد بن محمد بن عبد الرحمن الطرابلسي ، المعروف بالحطابل مواھب الجليل في شرح مختصر خليل ، .)5/216( م1992 -ھـ 1412، سنة 3، ط/دار الفكرنشر )xliv( .انظر: المرجع السابق )xlv( م / زكريا ا2نصاريل طالبأسنى المطالب في شرح روض الpدار الكتب ، نشر د.محمد محمد تامر، بتحقيق شيخ ا7س ). 291-2/290(م 2000 -ھـ 1422، سنة 1، ط/بيروت، العلمية )xlvi( لشمس الدين السرخسي المبسوط)7/275(. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 5.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 98 ike igwebuike: reflecting on kanu anthony’s philosophy of intersubjectivity mokwenye ekene michael, ph.d department of religion and cultural studies university of nigeria nsukka ekene.mokwenye@unn.edu.ng abstract this piece has studied the power of igwebuike philosophy developed by knau ikechukwu anthony. it was this philosophy that made africans what they were, a people united for the sake of the collective good. the current prevalence of selfish divisions and continuous waste of blood powered by selfish interests across global religions, economies and politics must be conquered by ike igwebuike. the only consistency and time tested phenomenon amidst divergent views lies in the unity of any situation. the tripartite religion of christianity, judaism and islam all agree in the unity of god as one and all powerful creator of the best universe ever created; thus the fermenters of all left descending ideologies are working against the unity of the human species. man in his deceptive cleverness has deviated from the principle of igwebuike and built a money triggering wall around them. egocentricism breeds selfishness and destruction but the power of unity dispels all thought of evil. for the purpose of this study the igwebuike method of research was employed. keywords: ike, igwebuike, african, philosophy, intersubjectivity, kanu anthony. introduction the information that prompted this reflection on the philosophy of igwebuike was cheering and thought provoking. fr ikechukwu kanu no doubt is a post contemporary african philosopher as a living philosopher he has championed a fast growing association for the promotion of african studies (apas). like the african proverb goes “it is during the washing of hands that one can tell the man who will rush the food”: the one that washes faster without cleansing the hands is a bad glutton but the one that washes his hands clean will eat with elders. kanu a promoter of igwebuike philosophy has not only washed his hands clean but did that faster not to be a bad eater but to be able to eat with elders, eat faster in order to attend to other issues that the elders spend their evening on. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 99 the african elders spend their evening discussing the issues that plague their society. nigeria today is faced with so many difficulties, ranging from insecurity, poverty and poor health challenges. in discussing ike –igwebuike in the light of ikechukwu kanu’s renewed igwebuike philosophy; we shall adopt the phenomenological methodology. this is because it allows information to flow and manifest their true nature without imposing one’s own thoughts. hornby (2015) defined the term phenomenology as a branch of philosophy that deals with what we see, hear, feel etc. in contrast to what may actually be real or true about the world (p.1150). according to ejizu (2013) phenomenology as a composite word is from two greek nouns: phenomenon meaning “something seen” and logos meaning words/study or inquiry, literally the words refers to the study of that which is seen”. madu (1997) define the term of phenomenology of religion as one that accepts as the subject matter of its enquiry all data presented by religion in beliefs, cults and morals. he went further to describe the business of phenomenology of religion as one that makes an analytic description of these data presented by different religious tradition in order to find out where they converge or separate. essein (1975) in madu (1997) explained that phenomenology is a careful, analytic description it lets one to see that which shows itself (namely the phenomenon) by removing as far as possible concealments, distractions and whatever else might prevent us from seeing the phenomenon as it actually gives itself. (p. 59) the igbo term (ike) means power this term is used to describe strength. the term igwebuike is synonymous to the east african term mbutu. the religion and government of the colonized africa has its centrality and confirmation in the ideology. in all an african does, the interest of the objective generality come up primus before any personal interest. every individual success is geared towards the extended needs of all in the community. the individual chi ‘personal god’ (achebe 1975) helps one to think of issues that will better the society. an african proverb has it that when an individual prepares a meal for the community, the entire community can finish the food but when it’s a case of the community cooking for the individual then the said egocentric man or woman cannot contain the prepared meal. this proverb entails that individual’s will, success and totality of achievement should be for the good of the society. however if the community finds such an individual as dubious and antiigwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 100 community then there is a problem brewing. this igwebuike spirit is part of the positive aspects of african culture that have been waned down as been primitive. it was within the territorial boundaries of africa that some of the key elements of the present western civilization were developed. paradoxically, africa still maintains some of the most traditional and primitive cultures. the religion of igwebuike: the ideology of igwebuike has a strong root in african culture and religion. african traditional religion is a religion that advocated unity in the community. religion as already expressed by many african classics permeates every aspects of man’s existence in the universe, be it politics, social, cultural or economic life of the people (mbiti 1975). during festivals in africa everybody is called upon to participate except for the ostracized. ostracization is the fate of anyone who commits atrocity against the spirituality or religion of igwebuike. certain values like chastity, truth, respect for elders, communalism etc express the bound of igwebuike. as mbiti (1975) had earlier noted these values are also seen as the religious values of the african people, thus religion permeates the life of every african. igwebuike and security: in african societies were traditional community policing is still effective, one hardly finds a criminal as everyone is known in the community and none will be ready to defy the igwebuike spirit. as noted by offiong (1980:32) in his imperialism and dependency, religious leaders in some cases make statements to specifically appeals for peace in particular circumstances, however, on other occasions they have also published more comprehensive statements on the need for peace and the means of achieving it. as people do struggle with life of uncertainties, powerlessness and insecurity, african religion in the spirit of igwebuike provides answer to the things that threaten people’s life and survival. igwebuike and poverty: in the spirit of igwebuike, people farm together to ensure that they provide enough food to meet the needs of everybody in the community. the igwebuike philosophy/religion fights against poverty. religion bounded people together to wade off poverty. as noted by johnson (1996:232) religion not only provides responses to enduring human problems and questions but also forms the basis for social cohesion and solidarity. a major role of religious bodies is to hold the society together as a form of “social glue”. in the opinion of rodney (1972), africans were religiously strong and had a better piloted society before the advent of europeans. african religious leaders serve as a social bond that held the society together. it strengthened the basis belief and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 101 values of the society. okafor (2004) had earlier observed that africans are no longer unity thus the reason for increased poverty. igwebuike and health: every traditional african society had men and women who are gifted with healing powers. when a member falls sick, he is usually cured free of charge from african bio-diversity since it is a free gift. african healing is influenced by natural cycles of days, seasons and natural occurrences and the accepted realities of the physician. african culture acknowledges that real healing lies, not in a synthetic pill but in recognition of our true position on earth and in bringing our actions into respectful balance with the natural world intent upon god and his pantheon of divinities. recommendation in the midst of political rivalry facing our society today, the world needs to be united against all forms of evil in the society. the spirit of igwebuike is made manifest in moments of individual weaknesses, when an individual is weak the ike-igwebuike manifests. years gone when it is time for farming the community gather to help the weak or sick among them to farm. in a period such as this in our national life, we are called to look beyond what divides us of which religion is the utmost and seek after what unites us in the spirit of igwebuike. conclusion this little discourse on the power of unity (ike-igwebuike) has brought out the force that made africans what they were, a people united in thought for the sake of the collective good. the current prevalence of selfish divisions and continuous waste of blood powered by selfish interests across global religions, economies and politics must be conquered by ike igwebuike. the only consistency and time tested phenomenon amidst divergent views lies in the unity of any situation. the tripartite religion f christianity, judaism and islam all agree in the unity of god as one and all powerful creator of the best universe ever created; thus the fermenters of all left descending ideologies are working against the unity of the human species. man in his deceptive cleverness has deviated from the principle of igwebuike and built a money triggering wall igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 102 around them. egocentricism breeds selfishness and destruction but the power of unity dispels all thought of evil. reference achebe, c. (1975). chi in igbo cosmology, in morning yet on creation day. new york: heinemann. hornby, s.a (2006) oxford advanced learners’ dictionary, new 8th edition, new oxford university press johnson, a.g (1996) the blackwell dictionary of sociological language. cambridge, massachusetts: blackwell publishers inc. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and and logic (nka) of african philosophy”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2015a). a hermeutic approach to the study of african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015b). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no. 1.[ 97-101]. madu, j. e. (1997). honest to african cultural heritage.onitcha:costan igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 103 mbiti, j.s, (1975). the prayers of african religion. new york; orbis books. offiong d a. (1980).imperialism and dependency: obstacles to african development enugu: fourth dimension publishers. okafor, a.a (2004) poverty and human development in nigeria. nsukka: great ap press. rodney (1972): rodney w. (1972) how europe underdeveloped africa. london: bogle l'ouverture publications. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 7.doc igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 113 igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa kanu ikechukwu anthony department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university, umunya anambra state ikee_maio@yahoo.com abstract human rights are moral principles which describe certain standards of human behaviour, and are regularly protected as legal rights in municipal and international law. they are commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being, and which are inherent in all human beings regardless of their nation, location, language, religion, ethnic origin or any other status. they are applicable everywhere and at every time in the sense of being universal, and they are egalitarian in the sense of being the same for everyone. this piece studies the anthropological consequences of the violation of human rights from an african perspective. this study is based on the igbo-african philosophy of identity and alterity captured by igwebuike philosophy, which sees the other, not in terms of the ‘i and the not i’ but in terms of the ‘i and thou’. this philosophy understands the other as a complement of the self, and to violate the human rights of the other who is a complement to you is to violate your own fundamental human rights. for the purpose of this research, the hermeneutic method of inquiry and indigenous wholistic theory would be employed. this research anticipates to re-awaken the need for a more sympathetic approach towards the human rights of the other. keywords: human rights, igwebuike, violation, fundamental, complementary, alterity introduction human rights are moral principles51 which describe certain standards of human behaviour, and are supposed to be protected as legal rights in law, both 51james nickel, december 13, 2013, human rights. stanford encyclopedia of philosophy, retrieved 8/5/17. from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/rights-human/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 114 nationally, regionally and internationally. they are commonly understood as inalienable52 fundamental rights "to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being,"53. these rights are inherent in all human beings54 regardless of their nation, location, language, religion, ethnic origin or any other status. they are applicable everywhere and are the same for everyone55. the doctrine of human rights has been highly influential within international and regional institutions. however, as a result of a community of events happening all over the globe, a chain of debates has been provoked, questioning the content, nature and universality of fundamental human rights. such events include the many involvements of the developed nations in africa, especially as regards biomedical research“is human rights the prerogative of africans too or only of the west?”; the religious practices of some religious like islam, precisely the islamic law which allows for practices such as stoning to death, beheading a person, cutting a person’s member, etc.; there is also the issue of the dehumanizing activities of the military among civilians. these issues, among others, raise questions as regards the authenticity of the universality of fundamental human rights: “are there people with more human rights than the others?” events of this kind are an indication that circumstances have arisen for an interpretation of the ‘universality of fundamental human rights’. this is precisely what igwebuike philosophy undertakes in this piece: an attempt to give an interpretation of the consequences of the violation of fundamental human rights. igwebuike philosophy springs from the african socio-cultural background which understands life as a participation in the life of the other or the community. for africans, to be human is to participate in life and respect the conditions that make life possible. to participate in life means ultimately to participate in the fellowship of the community. african community 52 the united nations, office of the high commissioner of human rights, what are human rights?, retrieved 8/5/17. from http://www.ohchr.org/en/issues/pages/whatarehumanrights.aspx 53 sepúlveda, magdalena, et al,.. human rights reference handbook (3rd ed. rev. ed.). ciudad colon, costa rica: university of peace.2004, p.3. 54 burns h. weston, march 20, 2014, encyclopædia britannica, human rights, retrieved 8/5/17 from https://www.britannica.com/topic/human-rights 55 ndubuisi, f.n. issues in jurisprudence and principles of human right. lagos: dmodus publishers, 2002, p. 176. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 115 based society does not designate a communal or collectivist society, but rather one reminiscent of an organism. the collectivist society inevitably places the emphasis on the individual and his or her needs. african society emphasises solidarity rather than activity, and the communion of persons rather than their autonomy … that personhood is identified by an individual’s interaction with other persons does not eliminate personal identity … it simply says that my personal identity comes to the fore in my interaction with, and place in, my community56. it is from this perspective, therefore, that this work attempts at understanding the violation of the rights of the other as carrying resounding consequences on the humanity of all. this is because the being of one is ontologically linked to the being of the other. it is from this ontological relation that this piece, using the hermeneutic method of inquiry and indigenous wholistic theory, establishes the need for a more sympathetic approach towards the human rights of the other, since the other’s human rights is my own human rights, thus, the violation of the human rights of the other is the violation of my human rights. the linguistic formation the concept “igwebuike” igwebuike is the heart of african thought, and in fact, the modality of being in african philosophy57. it is taken from the igbo language, which is a composite word made up of three dimensions58. therefore, it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space59. the three words involved: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power60. thus, put together, 56 du toit, c.w., 2004, ‘technoscience and the integrity of personhood in africa and the west: facing our technoscientific environment’, in c.w. du toit (ed.), the integrity of the human person in an african context: perspectives from science and religion, pp. 1"46, research institute for theology and religion, university of south africa, pretoria, p. 33. 57 kanu ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp. 59-69. 58 kanu ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as an igbo-african wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. 2017, p.52 59 kanu ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. 2017, p.127 60 kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education”. published in nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 116 it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force61. its english equivalent is ‘complementarity’. at this level, no task is beyond their collective capability. it is a concept that was employed by african traditional philosophers of the complementary school of thought to discuss the nature of the observed african reality62. igwebuike is anchored on the african worldview, which, according to iroegbu is characterized by a common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny63. it is a complementary philosophy which understands life as a shared reality. life is a life of sharedness; one in which another is part thereof. it is a relationship, though of separate and separated entities or individuals but with a joining of the same whole64. it is a relationship in which case the two or more coming together makes each of them a complete whole; it is a diversity of being one with each other. thus, mbiti classically proverbializes the community determining role of the individual when he writes, “i am because we are and since we are, therefore i am”65. this notwithstanding, igwebuike is an african philosophy of complementarity. the underlying principle of igwebuike philosophy the underlying principle of igwebuike philosophy is the principle of complementarity. to complement means to bring together or to sum up distinct or similar things or words to make a new meaning or to form or produce a new outlook or phenomenon. according to oxford advanced learners’ dictionary, complementary is all about “combining well to form a balance or attractive no. 6. pp. 11-17. cf. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment”. published in nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. 61 kanu ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike and the logic of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. 2017, p.9 62 kanu ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike and the question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. 2017, p.78 63 iroegbu, p. (1995). metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: international universities press. 64 kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as the consumate foundation of african bioethical principles. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 2. 2016, p.41. 65 mbiti, j. (1970). african religions and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 117 group or whole,”66 while to complement is simply “to add new or contrasting feature which show the best qualities of something or which improve it67. what this means is that complementarily is simply the act of summing up fragments to make up a whole which become more attracting and meaningful than its former fragments68. it understands reality as being interrelated in all its segments, which works in mutual complementation and eventually lead to general well being of common good. igwebuike is a school of thought that argues that a whole is greater, than any it’s corresponding parts. it is also a view that maintains that by the coming together of the individual or parts, a viable and sustainable whole will emerge, and by this, the parts will get to the brim purpose of their existence. finally, it is the view that holds that individualized views and individualized goals and desires will be attained fully if there is a mutual collectivity existing amongst them. thus, to be is to be in mutual complementary relationship. as the modality of being, complementary relations to the other, therefore, becomes the point of fulfillment for being, for it is in relation to the other that a being realizes itself. every being needs the other for self realizationthe self is not realized in isolation. it is said that “all fingers are not equal”, however, when they different fingers come together, they can achieve a lot. some fingers are shorter, but they have their use; some fingers are taller, they have their use; some fingers are slimmer, they also have their use; the importance of each emerges when the time for application arrives. the other is needed others to complement our efforts and works. there is an african saying that says: “one finger does not carry a load on the head”, which means that we need others. some work great jobs while some small, otherwise how do we exist? the idea of corporate existence was communicated in plato’s political/ethical theory in relation to the realization of justice. plato argues that for justice to reign in the state, the three parts that makes up the state, that is, the rulers (the philosophers) the guardians (the soldiers) and the artisans (the labourers) must work together in one accord with each person doing his or her work efficiently to ensure a peaceful co-existence in the state. this is also evident in hegel’s 66 jonathan, c., kathryn k., michael, a., oxford advanced learners’ dictionary, oxford university press. 1995, p. 232 67 udoh, godwin udoh, some important ideas in asouzu’s philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2. no. 4, 2016. p.2 68 jonathan, c., kathryn k., michael, a., oxford advanced learners’ dictionary, oxford university press. 1995, p. 232 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 118 philosophy which sees the conflict between thesis and anti-thesis as fundamental for the emergence of a thesis. thus, everything that exists whether good or bad, positive or negative is in one way or the other part of an ultimate end. the concept also connotes that a whole will never be possible without its relative parts and on the other hand parts can only be known to exist if viewed in relation to its whole. asouzu speaking on this note said that “all existent realities relates to each other in the manner of mutual service”69. indices of the violation of fundamental human rights three indices of the violation of human rights have been chosen for the purpose of this work. this is not to say that these are the only or the major violations of human rights in africa. they are chosen at the researcher’s discretion. and these areas include: the violation of human rights by the state, the violation of human rights in religious practices and the violation of human rights during biomedical research in africa. however, while the main theme points to the violation of human rights in africa, the indices dealt with here are major nigerian situations, with little reference to other african experiences; this is done on the basis that to collect the whole experiences in africa would be tedious and nearly impossible; more so, experiences in africa are strongly related, and thus an experience could be discussed as an african problem. 1. state violations of human rights it can be rightly asserted that one of the greatest objectives of the post independence nigerian constitutions is the protection and promotion of human rights. the preamble to the 1999 constitution unmistakably set the tone70 by dedicating itself to promote “good government and welfare of all persons on the principles of freedom, equality and justice”71. apart from the preamble, chapters two and four of the constitution extensively deal with human rights issues. while chapter two is captioned, fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy, chapter four is entitled, “fundamental rights”. in writing, these rights are well detailed in the nigerian constitution: 69 innocent asouzu, the methods and principles of complementary refelction in and beyond african philosophy. cheedal global prints, uyo. 70 jacob abiodun dada, human rights under the nigerian constitution: issues and problems. international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 2. no. 12. p. 36 71 introduction, 1999 constitution. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 119 1. right to life72, 2. right to dignity of the human person73, 3. right to personal liberty74 4. right to fair hearing75; 5. right to private and family life76; 6. right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion77; 7. right to freedom of expression and the press78; 8. right to peaceful assembly and association79 9. right to freedom of movement80 10. right to freedom from discrimination81 11. right to acquire and own immovable property anywhere in nigeria82 12. and right to receive prompt compensation for compulsory acquisition of property83. these rights enshrined in the nigerian constitution notwithstanding, events in the history of nigeria, as is in many african countries are worrisome. presidents leave the country without constitutionally informing their people, a right that they possess. the court grants bail to people and the government sits on the bail. the president sends troops to wipe out a whole village84. in 2001, the president of nigeria invoked the emergency powers of the military against the town of odi. within forty-eight hours, the rural town of odi was levelled. only a church and a bank building survived the operation. over 300 were reported killed in the most widely condemned military action since the general sani abacha pacifist troops overran ogoniland. the action of the military as genocidal, brutish, reckless and a gross violation of the rights of the victims to life and to property. 72 section 33, 1999 constitution 73 section 34 1999 constitution 74 section 35 1999 constitution 75 section 36 1999 constitution 76 section 37, 1999 constitution 77 section 38, 1999 constitution 78 section 39, 1999 constitution 79 section 40, 1999 constitution 80 section 41, 1999 constitution 81 section 42, 1999 constitution 82 section 43, 1999 constitution 83 section 44, 1999 constitution 84sahara reporters, the supremacy of the constitution , good governance and the doctrine of necessity: a critical appraisal. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 120 describing the condition of odi after the military invasion, the national daily newspaper reported that: the destruction of odi was comprehensive and complete; no aspect of the community was spared by what i saw in the pictures showed here. the respondents violated the fundamental human rights of the people of odi, by the massacre. the people are entitled to fundamental rights to life, dignity and fair play, the destruction of odi was not as a result of gun battle but clear bombardment, the destruction was malicious,” justice akanbi declared. the judge also quoted president goodluck jonathan as saying in a media chat on the national television authority (nta), on november 18, 2010, that “only innocent people, including women, children and the very weak that could not run to escape were killed in odi85. in 2001, the federal government also ordered a military invasion of zaki-biam. the military operation began on monday, october 22, when soldiers from the 23rd armored brigade of the 3rd armored division of the nigerian army rounded up residents in gbeji village for a “meeting,” made them sit on the ground, separated the men from the others, and then opened fire upon the men indiscriminately. witnesses reported that some of the victims’ bodies were then set ablaze. further killings took place as soldiers invaded the villages of vasae, anyiin iorja, ugba, sankera and zaki-biam, all located in the two local government areas of logo and zaki-biam. in the following two days, there was widespread destruction of property and buildings in these villages, after terrified residents had abandoned their homes. while the total number of victims has not yet been established, survivors and eyewitnesses have reported that at least 100 and possibly more than 200 people died at the hands of the soldiers86. these raises questions as regards the universality of fundamental human rights: are 85 nwadike ogochukwy, how soldiers killed 2,483 persons in odi massacre. 25th february 2013. national daily newspaper. culled from http://old.nationaldailyng.com/news/politics/7010-how-soldiers-killed-2483-persons-inodi-massacre. 86human rights watch. nigeria: soldiers massacre civilians in revenge attack in benue state. https://www.hrw.org/news/2001/10/25/nigeria-soldiers-massacre-civilians-revenge-attack-benuestate igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 121 there people who have it more than others? are there times when it should be respected and at others disrespected? 2. religion and the violation of human rights religion, especially the islamic religion has been accused of standing for class society and patriarchy, and thus undermining the fundamental human rights of women87. thus, religion has been accused of being an instrument of oppression rather than redemption. the introduction of the sharia law in northern nigeria in the perspective of titi salaam does not in any way advance the rights of women88. in the contention of abiola akiyode-afolabi, the implementation of sharia penal codes in northern nigeria is flawed in several respects. firstly, it does not adequately protect the rights of women. therefore abuse, violence and discrimination against women go unpunished as they are wrongly considered to be socially acceptable. in addition, the testimony of women is devalued and treated as that of a minor or person without necessary legal capacity. often, these biases and attitudes also affect judges and therefore the judgment of the sharia courts. as a result the implementation of sharia in nigeria has placed some restrictions on the rights of women in northern nigeria89. the sharia law considers sex out of wedlock a crime punishable by death, and under this law, pregnancy is a sufficient evidence to convict an unmarried woman of the crime. however, if a man takes an oath denying of having had sex with a woman out of wedlock, is often considered sufficient proof of "innocence" 87cf, rose uchem, “violence against women in marriage rituals, a prelude to domestic violence”, in the proceedings of the 22nd conference of the catholic theological association of nigeria, ed cyril obanure, abuja: aboki publishers, 2008,p. 124; cf mercy amba oduyoye, hearing is knowing: theological reflections on christianity in africa,new york: orbis books, 1986; cf mary daly, the church and the second sex, london: geoffrey chapman, 1968; rosemary r. ruether, “feminism and patriarchal religion: principles of ideological critique of the bible.” journal study of the old testament, 22 (1982). rose uchem, overcoming women subordination: an igbo african and christian perspective, enugu: snaap press, 2001; titi salaam, “a brief analysis on the situation of women in nigeria today”, http://www.socialistnigeria.org/women/1-3-03.htm, march 1, 2003. 88 titi salaam, a brief analysis on the situation of women in nigeria today. retrieved 8/5/17 from http://www.socialistnigeria.org/women/1-3-03.htm. 89 abiola akiyode-afolabi, democracy and women’s rights in northern nigeira, http://www.peacewomen.org/news/nigeria/newsarchive03/shariawomen.html. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 122 unless four independent and reputable witnesses testify to seeing him take part in the act. unfortunately, most of the culprits of the sharia law have been women90. it is from this perspective that abiola akiyode-afolabi further observes that, these … suggest that the thinking of the court and supporters of sharia is that only women can be guilty of the 'offences' of adultery or fornication. what happens then, in the case of seduction of minors, or rape? this suggests that men living under sharia have been given a license to rape women and seduce or assault minors, or even impregnate them in the course of a relationship and then deny responsibility and watch them face a death sentence91. in october 2001, court in sokoto state convicted safiya hussaini of adultery, she was sentenced to death by stoning, because she became pregnant out of wedlock, even though the 35-year-old mother cried out that her daughter was raped by a neighbor. in the case of safiya, abiola akiyode-afolabi, raises questions of gender bias on the following grounds: “her pregnancy constituted the main evidence against her, but no scientific efforts were made to establish or disprove the paternity of the child. the onus of adultery was just pregnancy. the man named in the case was allowed to go free after denying responsibility for the pregnancy”92. in katsina, during the month of march, in 2002, amina lawal kurami was sentenced to death by stoning for bearing a child out of wedlock. the man she identified as the child's father denied the accusation and was acquitted for lack of evidence last. however, she was later set free. in zamfara, there was a time women were for a period prevented from travelling in public transport, the reason being that women are not supposed to be seen in the public spheres of life, it is worst when found in the company of a man not 90 fact sheet: women's rights under sharia in northern nigeria, august 22, 2002, http://www.now.org/issues/global/082202sharia.html. 91 abiola akiyode-afolabi, democracy and women’s rights in northern nigeria. 92 abiola akiyode-afolabi, democracy and women’s rights in northern nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 123 related to you. this led to a protest from women, and the law was amended, however in practice it is evident that women are still discriminated against93. in an attempt to express the fact of women oppression under the sharia law, abiola akiyode-afolabi, cites an instance in tarata mafara local government, where single women were given a three month ultimatum to get married or face being sacked from jobs in the civil service. some financial inducements were provided to encourage women to become married. these example, argues abiola akiyode-afolabi, constitute rights violations under nigerian law. the criminalization of women and their rights diverts attention from the real causes of crime, lack of adequate transport and housing and so forth94. in december 2008, thisday newspaper reported that the kwara state sharia council faulted the purported plan by some members of the ruling peoples democratic party (pdp) in the state to present a woman as the 2011 governorship candidate. it said that such a plan was contrary to the sharia law which forbids leadership by women. according to the statement signed by the vice chairman of the council in the state, sheikh moshood ibrahim, “we therefore vehemently oppose this plan in kwara state where over 80% are muslims come 2011 as being contemplated and bandied about by some members of the ruling party in the state”95. events of this kind, once again raises questions as regards the universality of fundamental human rights: do men have more human rights than women? or are men more human than women? 3. biomedical research and the violation of human rights the challenges of underdevelopment, poverty, disease, inadequate health infrastructure, etc., have made africa to become a vulnerable group for the conduct of biomedical research96. there is an increased migration of research companies (unethical researchers) to developing countries where there is a 93 abiola akiyode-afolabi, democracy and women’s rights in northern nigeria. 94 abiola akiyode-afolabi, democracy and women’s rights in northern nigeria. 95 thisday newspaper, vol.13, no.4979, monday, december 8, 2008, p.10. 96chima, c. s. (2008a). overriding patient autonomy in medical practice: best interests, necessity, therapeutic privilege and public policy. a paper presented at the international conference on bioethics organized by the unesco regional centre for documentation and research on bioethics at egerton university, 12-14 august. chima, c. s. (2008b). towards a more effective regulation of huma biomedical research in african communities. a paper presented at the international conference on bioethics organized by the unesco regional centre for documentation and research on bioethics at egerton university, 12-14 august. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 124 loosed regulatory framework, where inhabitants have no knowledge of their rights to compensation, etc97. in 1996, united states physicians and the university of zimbabwe, funded by the centre for disease control (cdc), world health organization (who) and the national institute of health (nih), made azt trials on hiv-positive african patients in zimbabwe. the trial was done on about 1700 women for a medication that prevents mother-to-child transmission of hiv/aids. the subjects were not duly informed about the procedures and onsequences of the trial, and in fact were told about the trial under duress. the result was an estimated 1000 babies contracting hiv/aids98. during an outbreak of cerebro-spinal meningitis in 1996 in tudun wada in kano state, nigeria, where children were predominantly the victims. at this point, pfizer brought in a team to conduct a research on its test drug trovafloxacin (trovan) a quinolone antibiotic. pfizer recruited a total of 200 children into the study in two armsone arm had the test drug trovan orally and the control arm was given ceftriaxone or chloramphenicol. pfizer did obtain ethical clearance before recruiting participants and administering the drugs conducting the study. pfizer capitalised on the poor, illiterate and desperate situation of the people99 and administered an unregistered drug; a clear case of the exploitation of the ignorant100. during the research, about five children died101. there was the case of clinical trials in uganda between 1997 and 2003, when women taking the anti-transmission drug nevirapine experienced thousands of serious adverse effects (saes). these symptoms went unreported and testing was allowed to continue, resulting in the (also unreported) deaths of 14 women. in hyperabad, india in 2003, eight test subjects died during the testing of the anti-clotting drug streptokinase. the worst part, though, was that 97 kanu, ikechukwu anthony, african bioethics: an indigenous humanistic perspective for integrative global bioethics discourse. lambert academic publishing, germany. 2016. 98 kanu, ikechukwu anthony, the ethic of reciprocity and the issue of human biomedical research. a paper presented at the harvard fifth academic conference held at the seminar hall, centre for open and distance learning, nairobi, kenya, 20-21 july 2017, p. 4. 99nyika a. trovan trial case study: after profits or to save lives? [last accessed on 2013 oct 15]. available from: http://www.amanet-trust.org/discuss/viewtopic.php. 100 stephens j. panel faults pfizer in ‘96 clinical trials in nigeria. [last accessed on 2010 march 2]. available from: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp_dyn/content/article/2006/05/06ar . [pubmed] 101 kanu, ikechukwu anthony, the ethic of reciprocity and the issue of human biomedical research. a paper presented at the harvard fifth academic conference held at the seminar hall, centre for open and distance learning, nairobi, kenya, 20-21 july 2017, p. 4. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 125 the subjects did not even know that they were part of a trial102. one would have expected that researchers from the west would have known that local people in africa have fundamental human rights which needs to be respected. this also raises the question as to the fundamentality and universality of human rights. igwebuike and the hermeneutic of the violation of human rights the question that igwebuike philosophy intends to attend to in this section of this research is on the interpretation of the violation of fundamental human rights is: how does the violation of another person’s fundamental human rights affect me as a separate individual? when the issue of the violation of fundamental human rights arose at the heat of the boko-haram insurgency in the northern part of nigeria, some of those from the south were quiet, or simply thought, it’s a northern issue, let them sort themselves out. during the military invasion of the eastern part of nigeria, predominantly igbo, opinions were widely different, while those from the south condemned it, most of those from the north saw it as the most appropriate thing to be done, and only a one-sided attention was paid to the tale of terror, bloodshed and tears as the helpless and armless ipob members were crushed by the nigerian military. much has been said about the need to defend people’s fundamental human rights in the united nations, but these voices seem quiet and less aggressive when it comes to biomedical research in africa which violates local people’s fundamental human rights. if the west keeps quiet at the violation of the fundamental human rights of the african people, the northern part of nigeria keeps quiet at the violation of the human rights of the people from the south and the south keeps quiet at the violation of the fundamental rights of northerners, how does this affect or affect the humanity of the one who is quiet? igwebuike philosophy sees the other as a part of me, and together, in our peculiarities, we make up the whole. and if together we make up the whole, it then means that the other is a part of me and what affects the other affects me. to alienate the other is to alienate myself. ewulu, therefore, writes that: if the other is my part or a piece of me, it means that i need him for me to be complete, for me to be what i really am. the other completes rather 102 kanu, ikechukwu anthony, the ethic of reciprocity and the issue of human biomedical research. a paper presented at the harvard fifth academic conference held at the seminar hall, centre for open and distance learning, nairobi, kenya, 20-21 july 2017, p. 4. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 126 than diminishes me. his language and culture make my own stand out and at the same time, they enrich and complement my own. in the presence of his language and culture, the riches and poverty of my language and culture become clear and i see that his own and my own when put together form a richer whole when compared to any of them in isolation103. ekwulu (2010) further opines that the self is not only completed in relating with the other, but that it attains self-realization in the other: “i realize myself in the other because it is in the ‘thou-ness’ of the thou that my ‘is-ness’ is realized. i am ‘i’ because you are ‘you’. without thou there is no i. we are ‘we’ because they are ‘they’, and without ‘they’, there is no ‘we’”104. thus, the igbo would refer to the ‘other’ as ibe, which means ‘a piece of’ or ‘a part of’, as in ibe anu (a piece of meat) or ibe ede (a piece of cocoyam). the igbo would, therefore, refer to the ‘other person’ as ibe m which means ‘my piece’ or mmadu ibe m (my fellow human being). this is the concept also employed in reference to relationships and reciprocity: love one another (hunu ibe unu n’anya), help one another (nyere nu ibe unu aka), respect one another (sopuru nu ibe unu), etc. since the ‘other’ refers to my own piece, it would, therefore, mean that to love the other is to love oneself, to help the other is to help oneself and to respect the other is to respect oneself. put the other way round, to hate the other is to hate oneself, to refuse help to the other is to refuse help to oneself and to disrespect the other is to disrespect oneself105. relating the principle of igwebuike philosophy to the interpretation of the violation of human rights shows that silence at the face of the violation of human rights is the greatest disservice to humanity and yourself. to be quiet, is to be quiet about what affects you indirectlyfundamental human rights. if a person keeps quiet at the violation of another’s human rights, instead of being the voice of the oppressed, he is quiet at the violation of his own human rights. in 103 ekwulu, b. i. (2010). igbo concept of ibe (the other) as a philosophical solution to the ethnic conflicts in african countries. in b. i. ekwulu (ed.). philosophical reflections on african issues (pp. 183-192). enugu: delta. p. 189. 104 ekwulu, b. i. (2010). igbo concept of ibe (the other) as a philosophical solution to the ethnic conflicts in african countries. in b. i. ekwulu (ed.). philosophical reflections on african issues (pp. 183-192). enugu: delta. 189. 105 kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as an igbo-african response to the problem of personal identity and alterity. a paper presented at the 14th annual conference of the igbo studies association, held at the dominican university, river forest, illinois, usa, from may 12th to 14th, 2016. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 127 igwebuike philosophy, the person who speaks for the other, speaks for humanity of which he is a part; for if humanity is destroyed, the individual is also destroyed. since every part plays a fundamental role in the universal human scheme, it then means that every part, no matter the colour or tribe, needs to be protected for the preservation of the whole. conclusion the foregoing has studied the consequences of the violation of the fundamental human rights of the other from the perspective of igwebuike philosophy. it first established the linguistic formation of igwebuike as a concept and underpinned complementarity and solidarity as the underlying principles of igwebuike philosophy. it also studied the indices of violation of human rights in africa, with more focus on the nigerian nation of africa. this initial study created the background for an interpretation of the violation of human rights with the principles of igwebuike philosophy. in igwebuike philosophy, the dynamics between identity and alterity is different and unique. the other is understood, not in terms of the ‘i and the not i’ but in terms of the ‘i and thou’. the other is seen as a complement of the self, and to violate the human rights of the other who is a complement to you is to violate your own fundamental human rights. this work traces the ontological link between and among humanity, which makes human rights universal, whether rich or poor, developed or developing, poor or rich, etc., and within the context of the same ontological cord, establishes that the violation of the human rights of the other is a violation of your own human rights and thus, sees the fight for the preservation of human rights as a responsibility for all. bibliography abiola akiyode-afolabi, democracy and women’s rights in northern nigeira, http://www.peacewomen.org/news/nigeria/newsarchive03/shariaw omen.html. 2009. burns h. weston, march 20, 2014, encyclopædia britannica, human rights https://www.britannica.com/topic/human-rights. 2017. chima, c. s. overriding patient autonomy in medical practice: best interests, necessity, therapeutic privilege and public policy. a paper presented at the international conference on bioethics organized by the unesco igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 128 regional centre for documentation and research on bioethics at egerton university, 12-14 august. 2008. chima, c. s. towards a more effective regulation of huma biomedical research in african communities. a paper presented at the international conference on bioethics organized by the unesco regional centre for documentation and research on bioethics at egerton university, 12-14 august. 2008. du toit, c.w. ‘technoscience and the integrity of personhood in africa and the west: facing our technoscientific environment’, in c.w. du toit (ed.), the integrity of the human person in an african context: perspectives from science and religion, pp. 1"46, research institute for theology and religion, university of south africa, pretoria, 2004. ekwulu, b. i. igbo concept of ibe (the other) as a philosophical solution to the ethnic conflicts in african countries. in b. i. ekwulu (ed.). philosophical reflections on african issues (pp. 183-192). enugu: delta. 2010. fact sheet: women's rights under sharia in northern nigeria. http://www.now.org/issues/global/082202sharia.html. 2002. human rights watch. nigeria: soldiers massacre civilians in revenge attack in benue state. https://www.hrw.org/news/2001/10/25/nigeriasoldiers-massacre-civilians-revenge-attack-benue-state. 2001. innocent asouzu, the methods and principles of complementary refelction in and beyond african philosophy. cheedal global prints, uyo. 2004. iroegbu, p. metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: international universities press. 2005. jacob abiodun dada, human rights under the nigerian constitution: issues and problems. international journal of humanities and social sciences. 2. 12. 2014. james nickel, human rights. stanford encyclopedia of philosophy, retrieved 8/5/17. from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/rights-human. 2013. jonathan, c., kathryn k., michael, a., oxford advanced learners’ dictionary, oxford university press. 1995. kanu ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike and the logic of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. 2017. kanu ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike and the question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. 2017. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 129 kanu ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. 59-69. 2017. kanu ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. 2017. kanu ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as an igbo-african wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, african bioethics: an indigenous humanistic perspective for integrative global bioethics discourse. lambert academic publishing, germany. 2016. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as an igbo-african response to the problem of personal identity and alterity. a paper presented at the 14th annual conference of the igbo studies association, held at the dominican university, river forest, illinois, usa, from may 12th to 14th, 2016. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as the consumate foundation of african bioethical principles. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 2. 2016. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, the ethic of reciprocity and the issue of human biomedical research. a paper presented at the harvard fifth academic conference held at the seminar hall, centre for open and distance learning, nairobi, kenya, 20-21 july 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, the ethic of reciprocity and the issue of human biomedical research. a paper presented at the harvard fifth academic conference held at the seminar hall, centre for open and distance learning, nairobi, kenya, 20-21 july 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, the ethic of reciprocity and the issue of human biomedical research. a paper presented at the harvard fifth academic conference held at the seminar hall, centre for open and distance learning, nairobi, kenya, 20-21 july 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. published in nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. 3. 6. 11-17. 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. published in nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. 3. 4. 28-38. 2017. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 130 mary daly, the church and the second sex, london: geoffrey chapman, 1968 mbiti, j. african religions and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational. 1970. mercy amba oduyoye, hearing is knowing: theological reflections on christianity in africa,new york: orbis books, 1986. ndubuisi, f.n. issues in jurisprudence and principles of human right. lagos: dmodus publishers, 2002. nwadike ogochukwy, how soldiers killed 2,483 persons in odi massacre. national daily newspaper. culled from http://old.nationaldailyng.com/news/politics/7010-how-soldiers-killed-2483persons-in-odi-massacre. 2013. nyika a. trovan trial case study: after profits or to save lives? http://www.amanet-trust.org/discuss/viewtopic.php. 2013. rose uchem, overcoming women subordination: an igbo african and christian perspective, enugu: snaap press, 2001. rose uchem, violence against women in marriage rituals, a prelude to domestic violence. the proceedings of the 22nd conference of the catholic theological association of nigeria, ed cyril obanure, abuja: aboki publishers, 2008. rosemary r. ruether, “feminism and patriarchal religion: principles of ideological critique of the bible.” journal study of the old testament, 22. 1982. sahara reporters, the supremacy of the constitution , good governance and the doctrine of necessity: a critical appraisal. 2012. sepúlveda, magdalena, et al, human rights reference handbook (3rd ed. rev. ed.). ciudad colon, costa rica: university of peace, 2004. stephens j. panel faults pfizer in ‘96 clinical trials in nigeria. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp_dyn/content/article/2006/05/0 6ar. 2010. the 1999 nigerian constitution. federal republic of nigeria, nigeria, abuja, 1999. the united nations, office of the high commissioner of human rights, what are human rights? from http://www.ohchr.org/en/issues/pages/whatarehumanrights.aspx. 2017 thisday newspaper, vol.13, no.4979, monday, december 8, 2008. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 131 titi salaam, “a brief analysis on the situation of women in nigeria today”, http://www.socialistnigeria.org/women/1-3-03.htm, march 1, 2003. udoh, godwin udoh, some important ideas in asouzu’s philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 4, 2016. microsoft word igwebuike jounals vol. 5. no. 1.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 133 a review of methodology: a fundamental problem in african philosophy by dr jude ifeanyi onebunne kanu ikechukwu anthony department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university, umunya ikee_mario@yahoo.com this piece published in 2018, is a work of nine chapters and 48 pages. in it, the authordr. jude ifeanyi onebunne discusses extensively the problem of methodology in african philosophy. he began by defining what he considers the moments, and then, method itself. he considers method as definitive demand of philosophy and distinguishes the different methods evident in the historical evolution of philosophy. shifting from universal concerns, he delves into the issue of methodology in african philosophy, beginning however, with consideration of the value of african philosophy and then, the methodological moments in african philosophy. the author addresses the problem of methodology in african philosophy, which like the issue of trends, dates back to the period when some african thinkers began to question the perspective that traditional african beliefs and worldviews, as embedded in pre-colonial african cultures, constituted african philosophy. it is, therefore, not surprising that the classification of the developments in african philosophy by scholars as ethno-philosophy, universalist, eclectic, hermeneutic, nationalistic trends or schools, etc., are largely based on the methodologies that were employed by their proponents. so also the denial of philosophy to africans by some africans and western thinkers is also based on the issue of methodology, precisely on the belief that philosophy everywhere should have a universal methodology. from the author’s specification of methodological moments in both african and western philosophy, he agrees with prof. ozumba that methodology cannot be the same because of the varied nature of opportunities among peoples. for the gift of nature varies from person to person, from locality to locality, from continent to continent. this being so, people can only use their naturally endowed gifts to meet their needs. to the extent that these gifts differ, the approach to the provision of solutions to these problems or need will differ as well. in essence, the argument is that our thoughts are fashioned along certain lines depending not only on our needs, but on our abilities. and as time goes on, depending on the path we have charted and followed, the divergence in terms of approach to meeting our needs will continue to widen.... we must not lose sight of the fact that a lot has happened in the world. ranging from cross-cultural borrowing, wars, slavery, colonization igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 134 involving deprivations, subjugation and necessarily the change of destinies of peoples of different localities. thus, the cultural differences found among human beings accounts for the differences found in their methodology, and thus, the methodological moments in african philosophy. to deny the differences in methodology is to deny the differences in worldview and culture. this is true, at least to the extent that we are not homogenous in many things that have determinant powers; thus, it would be impractical to think that we can solve our problems the same way. all philosophies, according to afolayan, are the natural products of cultures. that is, there is no escaping the “philosophical” in a people’s experience once they begin to confront their environments. philosophy, therefore, becomes a means of interrogating their relationship with their surroundings together with the various fundamental issues and problems they throw up for them. not minding the differences in methodology in philosophy, there are particular elements that must be present in that which is philosophical, no matter where it is done or how it is done. the greatness and power of a written work is attained when the writer achieves union and trust with the reader who then becomes ready to be drawn deep into an unfamiliar territory, walking in borrowed literary shoes so to speak, towards a deeper understanding of the new and revealing. in this and so many other respects, rev. fr. dr. jude ifeanyi onebunne’s: methodology: a fundamental problem in african philosophy, has succeeded marvelously as a welcome addition to the growing library of serious critical analysis of the issue of methodology in african philosophy igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 11 a critique of asouzu’s concept of ibuanyidanda philosophy examined in the light of contemporary nigerian society victor ogheneochuko jeko., ph. d department of philosophy, university of benin, victor_oghene@yahoo.com & amaka patricia nwana, phd general studies unit, igbinedion university, okada, benin city doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29105.45929 abstract this paper examines asouzu’s conceptualization of ibuanyidanda philosophy as an integrative philosophy of social movement and cultural rebirth. it is aimed at addressing the contemporary nigerian challenges of socio-political and economic development. nigeria as a country has been bedeviled by myriad of fundamental problems such as corruption, abject poverty, hunger, food crises, ethno-religious crises, herdsmen-farmers’ clashes, religious fundamentalism, socio-cultural chauvinism, poor economic growth and political instability. rousseau’s views influenced asouzu’s standpoint of complementary reflections. this paper is analytic in explaining the conceptual frameworks of asouzu’s ibuanyidanda philosophy. asouzu’s concept of ibuanyidanda philosophy is a theoretical framework for african communalistic experience. the african communalistic experience reveals african democratic setting. it is the philosophy of culture, “belongingness principle”and fundamental wholeness. it represents the need for ethical objectivity and universal dialogue. ibuanyidanda philosophy represents the fact that human beings are major drivers of their immediate environment and they are masters of their socio-political, ethical, cultural and physicoexistential world. it reflects the need for cultural rebirth, moral answerability and the normative expectation of human relationship. it demands the need for authentic human existence. ibunayidanda philosophy represents universal humanism. it is an integrative philosophy that calls for good will, good governance, purity of intention and a good sense of social justice. finally, it calls for the beneficial scheme of social cooperation and mutual understanding among rational persons. it is an existential reflection of positive social integration of african society. keywords: ibuanyidanda, philosophy, politics, society, common good, communalism igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 12 introduction this paper attempts to critically examine asouzu’s conceptualization of ibuanyidanda philosophy as an integrative philosophy of social movement and cultural rebirth. the problem of human existential relationship and “african predicament” has been a source of concern to african scholarship. african continent is one of the richest continents in the world, but it is bedeviled by myriad of fundamental problems. these fundamental problems include abject poverty, hunger, food crises, sickness and diseases, bribery and corruption, godfatherism, ethno-religious crises, herdsmen/farmers clashes, religious fundamentalism, socio-cultural chauvinism, poor economic growth and political instability. asouzu’s conceptualization of ibuanyidanda philosophy as an integrative philosophy reflects these fundamental challenges; it calls for fundamental wholeness. ibuanyidanda philosophy reflects african ideology of communalistic experience; it reveals the need for african democratic citizenship or good governance, human existential relationship and african development. this paper analyzes the conceptual framework of asouzu’sibuanyidanda philosophy as a “positive integration” of human existential relationship. the term “ibuanyidanda” is derived from the observational experiences of the igbo speaking peoples of nigeria. it depicts mutual understanding or positive social integration. it is an integrative philosophy of mutual trust. it is a philosophy of social movement. ibuanyidanda philosophy simply means working in mutual unison. it means mutual cooperation in a typical african setting. it depicts the african way of life. asouzu, however, asserts that: generally, “ibuanyidanda” is one of the most important observational statements in the language of igbos of nigeria and is constituted for the following words: ibu-load; anyi-not insurmountable for; dandaa species of ant. hence, the expression translates to: “no task is insurmountable for dandathe ant”. igbos derive the statement by observing a colony of the ants “danda” which have the capacity to carry successfully loads that appear bigger and heavier than them when they work in mutual unison. ibuanyidanda philosophy, the new integrative philosophy of mutual complementation in africa, is a reaction to what this statement seeks to claim.1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 13 asouzu’s concept of ibuanyidanda philosophy and it contemporary significance to the nigerian democratic society is quite apt and imperative. there is so much abject poverty among nigerian citizens. the ibuanyidanda philosophy is aimed at addressing the agonies of nigerians in the midst of abundant natural and human resources. this paper is compartmentalized into various subsections. it discusses the conceptual framework of ibuanyidanda philosophy as an existential reflection. asouzu’s conceptualization of ibuanyindanda philosophy represents universal humanism. it also discusses ibuanyidandaphilosophy as the legitimizing foundation of the common good, ibuanyidanda philosophy and the nigerian democratic experience, rousseau’s idea of the common good examined in the light of asouzu’s concept of ibuanyidanda philosophy, understanding asouzu’s conceptualization of ibuanyidanda philosophy have great implications for nigerian contemporary society. this paper therefore, concludeswith a critical evaluation and concluding considerations on asouzu’s theoretical approach. a conceptual framework of ibuanyidandaas an existential reflection the concept of ibuanyidanda philosophy has failed to address the leadership problem facing nigeria as a nation-state. nigeria as a country is bedeviled by corruption, greed and self-interest. the notion of the common good which reflects equal access to natural resources has eluded the nigerian contemporary state. the idea of the common good is quite fundamental to human existential relationship. consequently, it is believed that the problem of human interest is the root of all forms of corruption, ruthlessness, thoughtlessness, murder, godfatherism, lawlessness, confusion, mutual suspicion and injustice. what is most prevalent in the nigerian system is that the common good is opposed by many nigerian politicians. self-interest has become one dominant factor in nigerian politics and public service. there is the urgent need to redefine ourselves on the legitimate foundation of the common good. the legitimizing foundation of the common good defines who we are as people. ibuanyidanda philosophy reflects in the missing links of this existential reality. it showcases the thought pattern of mutual enrichment and mutual understanding. furthermore, a critique of asouzu’s concept of ibuanyidanda philosophy as the philosophy of culture and its contemporary relevance to the nigerian democratic experiencereveals the fact that the concept of ibuanyidanda is more theoretical igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 14 than practical. it is a conceptual framework that is aimed at addressing the idea of the common good in contemporary society. it aims at addressing the human pseudo-interest that tends to negate the proclivity for normative peace and progress in human society. asouzu’sibuanyidanda philosophy reflects in the normative and legitimate expectation of human existential condition in their immediate society. ibuanyidanda philosophy demands absolute commitment to the purity of intention and the need for the honesty of purpose. ibuanyidandaphilosophy does not just focus on the mere empirical conditions of human beings, but it addresses the model of categorical demands that tends to suggest that human relative condition is an existential burden that must be linked to the concept of reality. ibuanyidanda philosophy is not only relevant to african philosophy alone but its great contemporary relevance could be traced to address more fundamentally the existential question of human ambivalent situations. ibuanyidanda philosophy is a cultural philosophy that reveals that human beings are bundles of confusion or an embodiment of paradoxes; and that of the good and evil. it has a great relevance in the area of african politics and african democracy and it could be seen as a form of holistic humanism. its theoretical foundation is founded on confidence-building and the absolute negation of this confidence-building among african leaders and their peoples has been the major bane of african democracy and african development. ibuanyidanda philosophy reveals the importance of a harmonious whole. it reveals a system and method that is crafted as a theoretical tool designed to penetrate reality as a whole. ibuanyidanda philosophy as a theoretical tool reflects in a system and method or a problem solving mechanism. ibuanyidanda philosophy centers on the idea of the good and the issues of africa’s democratic sustainability. ibuanyidanda philosophy as a cultural philosophy or a complementary reflection is not only adaptable to the african society alone but it is a universal phenomenon that seems to address human pseudo-interest in the socio-political and economic community in a globalized world. it reveals the regulation of the deliberate choices and actions of human beings in their immediate society. ibuanyidanda philosophy has become a more relevant, necessary and useful philosophical tool for governing the cooperative affairs of the african people; it has become relevant in the sense that, as a complementary reflection, it has portrayed both a theoretical re-orientation and a practical demonstration for any forms of democratic setting in global society. ibuanyidanda philosophy as a complementary reflection reveals specific african existential or ontological condition, and it is a rational practice directed towards solving human fundamental problems. as a complementary reflection, it attempts to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 15 investigate the fundamental character of democratic governance and african leadership structure. moreover, the political significance of ibuanyidanda philosophy becomes more fundamental and glaring when its relevance is grounded in a wider universal framework both theoretically and practically. ibuanyidanda philosophy as a cultural philosophy provides a normative criterion or credible horizon for the existential analysis of human inter-relationship. the idea of ibuanyidanda philosophy as a complementary reflection establishes a credible horizon of the existential framework of the fundamental issues of african politics. the existential dimension of mutual compatibility is explored through the normativeexpectation of ibuanyidanda philosophy. its philosophy involves a thematic or synthetic analysis and systems of democratic affairs of human beings. the idea of ibuanyidanda philosophy as a normative context entails a praxiological implication. the issue of democratic governance is situated or circumscribed within the credible horizon or the given normative context of the idea of ibuanyidanda philosophy. most fundamental to some of the features of ibuanyidanda philosophy is that those african leaders entrusted with the act of governance are adhering negatively to the dictates of their ego. the human fundamental instinct of self-preservation is to always seek their personal or egoistic interests at the expense of the african peoples. in addition, ibuanyidanda philosophy is the necessary pre-condition for any form of meaningful interpersonal human relationship. it reflects in normative foundation in which any form of moral reciprocity is reflected. ibuanyidanda philosophy reveals the normative possibility of the common good. the common good helps to reduce the tension arising from the ambivalence of human pseudo interests. the idea of the common good reflects in the common source of collective legitimization beyond the dictates of the human egoistic tendencies. asouzu argues that ibuanyidanda philosophy entails seeking harmony in complementarity; even in a symmetrical situation of power imbalance because bad governance connotes the excessive exploitation of asymmetrical situation of power-imbalance towards fostering egoistical interest. ibuanyidanda philosophy reveals that even in the midst of our human pseudo interests or asymmetrical relationships, all human beings are stakeholders who undertake measures to steer the course of their socio-political, existential and corporate world. it presupposes an existential condition of normative possibility of all signifying signification. it reveals essentially a philosophy of the ontology of our being. ibuanyidanda philosophy is an affirmation of our most dynamic interplay of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 16 human relations which is essentially characterized by the notion of reality as a ‘missing link’. it frowns at the perpetuity of social vices in human beings and guarantees the principle of collectivism and social integration. moreover, human interest has lost its strength and significance and it is opposed to the idea of the common good. contemporary nigerian society has degenerated into a level where the majority of peoples have been sidelined and this nigerian situation has led to a senseless mismanagement of the country’s natural and human resources. moreover, human relation has been characterized by injustice and fear or lack of trust among african leaders and those they governed. ibuanyidanda philosophy brings to the fore the need for human attitudinal change. it is a theoretical reconstruction that attempts to solve the fundamental problems in contemporary nigerian society. human problems ought to be addressed more fundamentally. ibuanyidanda philosophy as a social movement is merely explanatory and not systematic, rigorous or methodical enough in solving the plethora of fundamental human predicament. ibuanyidanda philosophy only seems to address just a fragment of human issues. human beings are major drivers of their socio-political, existential, practical, religious and economic environment. ibuanyidanda philosophy accommodates a higher logical legitimizing force that can bind human beings as stakeholders together or disintegrate them. it is deeply rooted in african socialism and it is invariably a holistic humanism. asouzu argues that ibuanyindanda philosophy is a philosophy of the ontology of being, holistic/universal humanism, philosophy of culture and social integration. ibuanyindanda philosophy is a philosophy of socio-cultural integration. ibuanyindanda philosophy as socio-philosophical movement serves as a system and method that helps to curtail the fundamental primitive drive of selfpreservation among human beings. human beings have the innate natural tendency to selfpreservation or self-determination. ibuanyidanda philosophy aims at ensuring mutual control among potentially dangerous rational beingsor persons in their egotistical tendency and deception. it is a social movement that tends to address the fundamental goodness of the human nature. in this human nature, ibuanyidanda philosophy as a philosophy of cultural integration and a social movement reveals that the human person is not totally bad and at the same time, he is not totally good. it guarantees the advancement of human freedom, human rights, the concept of the good and human deliberate choices and actions. ibuanyidanda philosophy as cultural pluralism reflects the philosophy of “weconsciousness”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 17 nevertheless, ibuanyindanda philosophy remains a veritable platform in addressing the anomalies bedeviling the contemporary nigerian democratic experience where corruption reigns supreme. one of the paradoxes facing nigeria as a country is the issue of widespread corruption. the concept of the common good has eluded contemporary nigerian society. what characterizes the contemporary nigerian society includes high profile corruption, bad road network, poor health care system, poor power supply, low life expectancy, poor educational system, lack of portable water supply, poor tax system, poor democratic system, terrorism, ethno-religious crises, herders-farmers clashes, kidnapping, rape, ritual killings, food shortages, hunger and other forms of social vices. all these are as a result of greed, corruption and poor leadership structure facing contemporary nigerian society in particular and the african continent in general. the notion of the common good is most fundamental or essential to the normative ethics of human flourishing. human beings are fully conscious of their existential nature and the common good is fundamental to human society. the common good remains the guiding tread of contemporary human society. ibuanyindanda philosophy is a systematic philosophy that is not grounded in selfish interest but in common interest of all in society. selfinterest connotes the tendency to always seek one’s interest at any given opportunity at the expense of other people. the idea of communalism has been misrepresented or misconstrued. it has been misunderstood as an idea that is characterized by negative connotation. the hallmark of communalism is the sense of belongingness, and it represents we-consciousness. communalism is not targeted at tribal discrimination or tribal affiliation. tribalism and communalism share certain things in common. tribal discrimination is an existential human tragedy. tribalism has deteriorated to the level of nationalism or racial discrimination, even among african descents.2however, the xenophobic attack by south africans against other african nationalities is a case in point. the african continent is disintegrating. ibuanyidanda philosophy is simply an existential praxis. it is an existential imperative that stipulates that rules and regulations that are meant to guide human conduct and the optimization of these human conducts is the most paramount and fundamental. ibuanyidanda philosophy thrives to go beyond the preservation of private human interests. it is a conceptual scheme that guarantees the need for mutual understanding. differences are part and parcel of our humanity. broadly speaking, the recourse to ibuanyidanda philosophy as a social movement is a logical analysis of human relations towards validating their deliberate actions as an attempt to seek existential authenticity. ibuanyidanda philosophy reveals a practical-political igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 18 correctness.3it reflects an existential and objective truth that is geared towards the principle of social integration. philosophy is a rational discipline and it is all about systematic thinking. society is conceived as a social system. ibuanyidanda philosophy has its explanatory model. society is geared towards a teleological system. as a teleological system, society is rested on the dynamic inter play of the common good. it is obvious that every government seeks to attain the common good of all the member of a society. ibuanyidanda philosophy as the legitimizing foundation of the common good ibuanyidanda philosophy as the legitimizing foundation of the common good can be seen as a practical philosophy. african leadership structure is anchored on the legitimizing foundation of the common good. the common good always serves as the litmustest for the success and effectiveness of african leadership structure. the african leadership structure is deeply rooted in poverty and corruption. the collective interest of the people is reflected in the common good. we become a group of people brought together by personal interests towards the formation of a coalition of interests. however, the idea of the common good, however, rests on the binding force of communalistic existence. ibuanyidanda philosophy reflects “community based pedagogy” and the purity of intention, honesty of purpose and a sense of goodwill. as a social movement, it rests on the principle of harmonious complementation; the principle of harmonious complementation states that: anything that exists serves as a missing link of reality; and it is this principle that compels us in all we do as human beings.4nonetheless, the principle of harmonious complementation demands the need for an authentic human existence. the process that enters into the formation of a system cannot make harmonious whole where each link does not perform their function for which it is ordained. the principle of ibuanyidanda philosophy is aimed at the idea of goodwill, social justice and communication. it, however, reflects in a philosophical foundation of holistic humanism in african politics. ibuanyidanda has been regarded as a theoretical re-orientation that is geared towards ensuring human flourishing; and good democratic governance in african politics. african politics has been bedeviled by the violation of confidence building or mutual trust. however, asouzu argues that ibuanyidanda philosophy reflects a philosophical foundation which provides a method and some basic principles in view of penetrating reality in a consistent systematic way. ibuanyidanda philosophy forms a harmonious whole such that theory and praxis are igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 19 interrelated. it indeed reflects a social system. thus, systems and methods are theoretical tools devised to penetrate human reality. ibuanyidanda philosophy as a complementary reflection centers on african contemporary political philosophy. as a philosophy of culture, it centers on the issues of african democratic sustainability. asouzu argues that one of the central issues of democratic governance is to determine the ideal of democratic governance. african people ought to be adaptable to the act of good governance. the philosophy of ibuanyidanda is the regulation of the actions of human beings in society. ibuanyidanda philosophy becomes more relevant in the sense that as a harmonious complementation, it portrays both a theoretical re-orientation and a practical demonstration for any form of african government. forms of government become necessary as situations demand.5ibuayindanda philosophy as a complementary reflection serves as a rational theory and praxis. theory and praxis does not just reflect in specific african existential conditions but it is a rational praxis directed towards solving human problems. ibuanyidanda philosophy is an african philosophy that is deeply rooted in cultural rebirth. ibuanyidanda philosophy as a principle of harmonious complementation investigates the fundamental character of democratic governance as a rational praxis directed at the overall welfare of individuals and community as a whole. the issue of good governance has turned out not to be a specific african problem, as many would be misled to assume but it is a global problem. ibuanyidanda philosophy as a complementary reflection concerns good governance in africa; and its contemporary significance becomes more fundamental and clearer when its relevance is grounded in a wider universal framework. it has a wider universal relevance both theoretically and practically. ibuanyidanda philosophy provides a credible horizon and normative criterion for the existential socio-political analysis of human inter-relationship. moreover, the idea of ibuanyidanda philosophy establishes a credible horizon of this existential reflection and normative framework of the issue of good governance in africa. in africa, there is the need to establish a credible horizon for this existential analysis of human cooperation. asouzu, however, argues that: this credible horizon is provided by the idea of ibuanyidanda philosophy as a complementary reflection of human existence and it is one within which to articulate the issue of good governance and the ethics of an emancipated global society. with this, we can say that the act of good governance loses its democratic legitimacy, either as things involving systems or as democratic affairs of human igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 20 beings. in other words, within this horizon, the issue of good governance can be articulated as the capacity for units to build a mutual complementary harmony within any given normative framework in the evident insight that anything that exists served as a missing link of reality.6 good governance brings about an emancipated global order. the concept of ibuanyidanda philosophy is deeply rooted in good governance. the issue of good governance is situated within the credible horizon or the given normative context of the idea of ibuanyidanda philosophy. accordingly, asouzu, therefore, argues that if good governance is deeply rooted in the capacity to build a mutual complementary harmonious-whole or framework, bad governance would subsist in those measures that undermine this harmony. most fundamental to some of those measures is when those entrusted with the act of governance adhere negatively to the dictates of the human fundamental instinct of self-preservation to the extent that they always seek to put their interests first at the expense of the common good of all. the common good, for instance, ought to be the legitimizing foundation for the act of good governance in africa in particular and the world at large. it is one thing to refer to the common good as the legitimizing foundation of our human interests and another thing for it to be really so. it is within this normative context of reciprocity as we encounter it in every situation of interaction that the idea of the common good shows itself as the necessary condition for any form of meaningful interpersonal relationship.7 the common good reflects in the normative foundation on which any form of reciprocity is erected. the common good helps to reduce the tension arising from human pseudo-interests. the idea of the common good refers to a common source of collective legitimization beyond the dictates of the ego.8the idea of ibuanyidanda philosophy becomes very relevant to human community as a whole and which is fundamentally good to the contracting individuals in democratic society. ibuanyidanda philosophy as a normative context addresses the need to seek mutual harmony among african peoples and the globalized world at large. good governance entails seeking harmony even in a symmetrical situation of power imbalance, bad governance connotes the exploitation of a symmetrical situation of power imbalance towards fostering personal interest. moreover, the practical relevance of ibuanyidanda philosophy to good governance reflects the fact that any form of government is measured good, as stakeholders undertake measures to steer the human instinct for self-preservation for the good of all stakeholders.9asouzu argues that we have seen that being in its most dynamic relational essentiality is fully affirmed and takes full force to render each other in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 21 mutual complementary dependence. in other words, missing links are bound to each other. such rights turn out to be moral obligations we owe to each other, at the same time. in this case, one can say that we claim the right to be served mutually. ibuanyidanda philosophy reflects positive integration. as a philosophy of being and as a complementary reflection it helps to put human excesses in check, because, ibuanyidanda philosophy as a philosophical movement and african ideology serves as a system and a method to curb the fundamental human primitive drive of self-preservation in a negative sense and human tendency for corruption.10alluding to the hobbesean sense, asouzuthat argues human beings are innately corrupt. it is this innate corruption that necessitates organized forms of democratic governance, which subsists in a union of contracting individuals in view of checking excesses and abuses. it is based on this form of mutual control among potentiallydangerous individuals, that the human innate natural tendency to be selfish can be put in check. on the other hand, alluding to the rousseauian conception of human nature, ibuanyidanda philosophy is deeply rooted in the fundamental goodness of the human nature. asouzu argues that rousseau calls our attention to the fundamental goodness of the human nature. he demonstrates that the issue of corruption of human nature is as a result of the devastating influence of history and civilization. asouzu argues that rousseau sets out to show how this fundamental innate human disposition to goodness can be developed under the natural conditions devoid of artificial methods of education. in his classic, the “social contract”, he sets out to demonstrate how human innate goodness can be explored for a democratic form of government. thus, for him, the state is a union of free and fundamentally good contracting individuals. the practical relevance of good governance is a difficult task in africa due to the evils of corruption and god-fatherism. in other words, unless drastic measures are taken to reverse a precarious human condition, we can never think of human beings governing themselves. the idea of ibuanyidanda philosophy as a complementary reflection and its relevance to good governance does not just permit a free-rider system where there is no restriction to human freedom in their process of mutual complementary relationship or social interaction. governance and with it good governance ensues when human beings are forced to be something other than what is natural to their nature.11ibuanyidandaphilosophy reveals that the human person is not totally bad and he is not totally good. he must abide by the rules and regulations guiding his immediate society in terms of his socio-political and existential relations with other human persons. we all know that the human person is neither a devil nor igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 22 an angel, but a being caught in the tension created by his existential situations. the idea of ibuanyidanda philosophy as a philosophy of culture reflects in the philosophy of universal human reason, this cannot thrive in an atmosphere of bad governance, and it can impinge on the normative peace and human progress of such a democratic society. the causes of bad governments are those negative factors that impinge on peace and progress in human society. the issue of good governance is made dependable on the realization of sociological, economic, psychological and political conditions which are categorically demanded. for kant, good governance has to do with the ethical character of the acting subjects who have to act categorically for higher motives beyond mere empirical conditions. if we transfer the demands of kant’s approach to the issue of governance, we can say that good governance subsists not in those acts that focus on mere empirical conditions, but on those that go beyond these as to demand absolute commitment.12however, ibuanyidanda philosophy reflects kant’s categorical imperative. ibuanyidandaphilosophy and the contemporary issues in nigerian society the idea of ibuanyidanda philosophy as an integrative philosophy has eluded the contemporary nigerian society. today, nigeria as a country is battling with myriad of fundamental human problems such as: bribery, corruption and greed, poor road networks, low life expectancy, poor power supply, weak government institutions (e.g. the police, the judiciary, and the correctional service), high infant mortality, poor infrastructural facilities, poor health care system, poor educational system, poor economic programmes, poor water supply, the menace of cybercrimes. violation of human rights, poor electoral system i.e vote buying and vote selling, abject poverty, ethno-religious crises and boko haram insurgency or islamic fundamentalism, social vices such as kidnapping, rape and ritual killings, sicknesses and diseases, food shortages and hunger. nigeria as a country is bedeviled by corruption, greed and self-interest. self-interest is the negative disposition, always, in all situations to take undue advantage of other human persons. when a person seeks his personal interest within the common good he is being selfish. broadly speaking, the notion of the common good reflects in the equal access to those common resources that are fundamental to human existence. we appear to be mismanaging the natural resources we are endowed with due to the inherent human pseudo-interest in many things we do in nigeria as a country. human selfish-interest is the root of all forms of corruption, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 23 ruthlessness, thoughtlessness, murder, god-fatherism, politics, confusion, mutual suspicion and injustice.13 self-interest has become prevalent. this notion of selfinterest connotes the perpetuation of interest. for asouzu, self-interest goes beyond taking what is one’s due in all fairness and justice. it connotes the tendency, always, to seek one’s interest at any given opportunity and in the event of doing so, injustice ensues. whenever we pursue our mundane interests and thereby commit acts of injustice, we are always entangled in contradictions when we are pursuing self-interest. here, our interest has lost its focus and is now opposed to the common good.14a person who pursues self-interest is thus on the path of error; nigerian societies have degenerated to a level where the majority of human interests have undergone senseless mismanagement of nigerian natural and human resources. the success or failure of any social order largely depends on the ability of individuals whose interest are at stake and who also suffer injustice and fear for their lives. for asouzu, the legitimizing foundation of the common good defines who we are as a people and as moral and rational human beings. the sooner we learn to define our actions on the legitimacy provided by the common good, the sooner also would we be in a position to emancipate ourselves from the worst forms of self-inflated problems.15the common good defines nigeria’s democratic legitimacy. ibuayidanda philosophy and the millennium development goals (mdgs) ibuanyidanda philosophy as a social movement has become a mere theoretical exercise because its pragmatic context is yet to be realized. it has a contemporary political significance towards the nigerian predicament. many nigerians are groaning and are experiencing agony in the midst of abundant natural and human resources. ibuanyidanda philosophy is closely linked with the millennium development goals. the contemporary nigerian society is still groping in the dark and the millennium development goals are yet to be realized. these millennium development goals are: poverty, zero hunger, good health and well-being, quality education, gender equality, clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, decent working environment, reduction of child mortality, combating hiv/aids, malaria and other diseases, ensuring environmental sustainability, and developing global partnership. moreover, ibuayidanda philosophy is a normative philosophy of mutual complementation. it brings to the fore the need for a cultural philosophy. it brings to the fore the need for an attitudinal change of human behaviours. asouzu’s concept of ibuanyidanda philosophy as a system and a method sounds theoretically plausible igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 24 but it is not rigorous enough to be accrued such a status. it is just a theoretical reconstruction that if it is well nurtured, it could stand the test of time in terms of its attempts to solve fundamental human problems. it reflects problem solving mechanism. the idea of human problems is more fundamental to the extent that mere theoretical or academic exercise can never be in the good interest of fundamental human problems, like lawlessness, murder, social disorders, corruption, god-fatherism, greed, hatred, wars, global terrorism, ethno-religious crises, religious fanaticism or islamic fundamentalism, hunger, man’s crave for wealth, fame, recognition and power politics. for habermas, politics has to be understood as a sphere of decision and power and not of reason.16the idea of ibuanyidanda philosophy is just a fragment of all other philosophies which can be used as a re-direction to solving fundamental human problems.17accordingly, asouzu succinctly argues thatwhen we talk about good governance, the notion of ibuanyidanda philosophy should be able to address more fundamentally the contemporary issues facing nigerian society. he asserts that: those entrusted with leadership betray the trust vested on them and follow personal interests even the risk of negating the interests of the nigerian masses. the notion of ibuanyidanda philosophy should be able to address more fundamentally at any given opportunity the fundamental question of human situation from an objective perspective rather than on a subjective dimension because human beings are actually an embodiment of paradoxesgood and evil. and the most radical form of expression of this ambivalence is in the paradox it generates in all existential situations.18 consequently, the issues of good governance become problematic due to human problems and errors. asouzu observes that some of the intricate problems connected with government are human problems. however, the idea of ibuanyidanda only addresses just a fragment of human problems and it focuses more on african social system or traditional african society. rousseau’s idea of the common good examined in the light of asouzu’s concept of ibuanyidanda philosophy rousseau was a political philosopher and writer whose works has influenced many enlightenment thinkers. his political thought has influenced the progress of the enlightenment period of 17th century as well as aspects of the period of the french revolution of 1789. his work influenced many philosophers such as kant, marx, hegel, locke, voltaire, and montesquieu and some african writers. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 25 he theorizes that people give consent to join a rational society. this consent by the people is what gives political legitimacy to such legitimate government. the role of the social contract is to guarantee the fact that members of such rational society have good conscience or reason to endorse such a political legitimacy. his idea of the social contract is deeply rooted in fundamental problem of human nature. for him, the social contract was relatively peaceful and rustic. the social contract becomes necessary to overcome the boot-traps of human conflicts that will impede the socio-economic growth and the political stability of the political state. his political theory is a social construct that is solely grounded in the normative possibility and the legitimate expectations of civil society. for rousseau, the individual will is subjected to the general wills of all in civil society. a social contract implies a rational agreement of human persons by which they agree on the rules and regulations or laws governing such rational human society. he believes that legitimate society exists by which the rational consent of the people in such a society is recognized. furthermore, it is germane to assert that rousseau’s concept of human nature and his idea of the common good cuts across western and african culture. rousseau’s idea represents the principle of collectivity. he also argues that man is corrupted by society. the main objective of rousseau’s theory of the social contract is to guarantee the normative possibility and the legitimate expectations of the common good in human society. rousseaus’s idea of the general will indicates that the individual will is subservient to the collective will of all individuals in society. rousseau’s political philosophy is in tandem with the contemporary african philosophy of asouzu’s notion of ibuanyindanda philosophy as an integrative philosophy and the philosophy of culture or social movement. rousseau believes that civilization has made man more selfish and corrupt. the main objective of the formation or establishment of the political state is to guarantee the general happiness of all citizens. asouzu draws his inspiration from this rousseauian perspective and the kantian template of the normative context of the good as it affects the contemporary nigerian society. one weakness with asouzu’s notion of ibuanyindanda philosophy is that his theoretical cum african philosophy has not been able to grasp the present complexities facing the contemporary nigerian society. modern societies have become very complex and theory is not just enough but practice remains the key to ensuring human socio-economic growth and political development. rousseau’s social contract theory has theoretical affinity with asouzu’s conceptualization of ibuanyindanda philosophy as a contemporary african philosophy which is deeply rooted in african communalism. rousseau and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 26 asouzu’s conceptualization of the common good reflects the normative foundation of contemporary society. the common good as the normative foundation of society represents the formation and the transformation of character.19moreover, the conceptual framework of the common good is grounded in the beneficial scheme of social cooperation. rousseau’s version of the common good has a great influence on the humean and kantian template of the good in civil society. kant’s idea of political theory is deeply rooted in the rousseauian notion of the general will. kant and rousseau strongly believe that human society is grounded in the universalization of reason and moral principles. society is governed by moral precepts. society is not only characterized by the normative possibility of the good but it represents the legitimate expectation of the network of social relationship. for ferrante, society is a large complex of human relationships: a system of interactions.20society is described as a permanent battleground between rival systems of beliefs.21asouzu’sibuanyindandaphilosophy as a complementary reflection represents a sort of african communalism. it has a lot in common with rousseau and kant’s contemporary political philosophy. kant’s argument of the philosophy of right is understood from the influence of rousseau’s idea of the general will. kant’s political thought illustrates the ideal fundamental, compositional, foundational, and the normative structure of the good in the social world. kant, hume, rousseau’s idea of the good and asouzu’s notion of ibuanyindanda as a variant of african communalism or african philosophy reveals the conception of the good. in every human society, the normative possibility of the good can bring about the principle of social order. however, asouzu’s version of ibuanyindanda philosophy as a complementary reflection represents an expression of a sort of universal humanism fundamentally designed to make the world a better place for all based on equal opportunities, rights and privileges.22his philosophy is holistic humanism and the philosophy of culture. evaluation the concept of ibuanyidanda represents an integrative philosophy and a social movement. it represents the means for dialogical engagement in human community. the community constitutes the point of orientation for almost all human activities and determines human life. the idea of the community can also have a disintegrating dimension that can impinge on good governance. however, the concept of ibuanyidanda philosophy connotes the concepts of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 27 african socialism and communalism. it reflects the need for mutual enrichment and dialogical engagement of human persons. this mutual enrichment and mutual dependence arising from the african ideological construct reflects pedagogical freedom and a practical-political perspective.23 the notion of ibuanyidanda philosophy does not seem to grasp the present complexities facing the contemporary nigerian society and our humanity at large. our humanity is at crossroads. ibuanyidanda philosophy represents an overlapping consensus and a global interpretation of fundamental wholeness. however, from the asouzuian perspective, it reflects the political system of society and the democracy of everyday speech. ibuanyidanda philosophy as a social movement, african communalism, cultural philosophy and a holistic humanism reflects the philosophy of public affairs. the philosophy of public affairs relates to democratic issues. a democracy may, then, appear as political system by which the society can achieve a consciousness of itself in its purest form. the state is a special organ whose responsibility is to work out certain representations which hold good for the collectivity. it represents a continuous learning process or the pedagogical process of teaching.24it is a philosophy that teaches us how to become better citizens. the concept of ibuanyindanda philosophy as an african communalistic idea reveals the need for democratic citizenship and sense of belongingness. it is a philosophy for “communicative actors” and “communicative actors” play a social role. for habermas, communicative actors are role players.25ibuanyidandaphilosophy demonstrates the call for moral accountability. accountability is at bottom a moral-practical category. for asouzu, even if human beings have localized conceptual schemes that determine the way they use certain words and ideas these differences can only be thought of within a normative framework of mutual enrichment and mutual dependence in the genesis of ideas and thought patterns. we can hardly grow through distancing ourselves from each other unduly. ideas and conceptual schemes stay to each other in an existential relationship of mutual complementary enrichment beyond ethnocentric and egoistic dimensions. asouzu therefore, argues that we aspire towards validating all actions seeking authenticity both materially and formally. this we do, the moment we comply to the demands of that method that sustains all acts of intending, willing, judging and knowing. what this indicates is that logic either as an act of the mind or as a discipline can hardly achieve its set objectives if it fails to comply with the demands of a whole.26ibuanyidanda philosophy incorporates all the theoretical tools needed to achieve what we may call socio-economic order and political accountability. it represents an objective validity and truth expected by all and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 28 sundry in democratic society. asouzu holds that there is need for ibuanyidanda philosophy to comply fully with the universal principle of social integration.27ibuanyidanda philosophy as a theoretical construct reflects the new integrative philosophy of mutual complementation in african milieu. it reflects a normative assumption of some existential challenges within a global context. ibuanyidanda philosophy is a philosophy of african culture and african communalism. it is a community-based pedagogy.28 however, it represents the principle of collectivity. ibuanyidanda philosophy reflects the need for universal dialogue and african communalistic experience. asouzu’s conceptualization of ibuanyindanda philosophy as a complementary reflection is deeply rooted in contemporary african philosophy and it represents a self-transformative moments of existential reflections.29asouzu’s theoretical approach is a social construct and it is an attempt to solve human fundamental problems. for odimegwu, fundamental problems require fundamental solutions.30his philosophy reflects what he calls a fundamentingwholeness.31 moreover, it is germane to assert that asouzu’s philosophy represents ethico-political realism. it reflects the fact that african politics is grounded in virtue ethics and the pursuit of the common good.for mackenzie, politics is best thought of as the pursuit of the common good.32asouzu’s theoretical approach is fundamentally designed for the betterment of an emancipated global world and it reflects human emancipation.the conceptualization of ibuanyidanda philosophy designates the form of interpersonal relations which is made possible by an ethical objectification of the world.33according to asouzu,ibuanyidanda philosophy is an indication of the philosophy of culture.34his philosophy represents the call for the african family.35the “african family”represents african brotherhood. asouzu’s ibuanyidanda philosophy represents the idea of the common good. for chuka, the common good of society determines and defines the right order of relation between persons as social entities and the society itself is understood as a relation of order.36 the common good is possible by moral obligation. the common good implies great moral obligations for human persons and society.37the common good indicates a consciousness of openness to others, of acceptance of others and of selfgiving.38 according to mauritan, the common good is not a set of advantages and utilities, but also integrity of life, and end good in itself…a bonum honestum.39asouzu’s theoretical approach is in tandem with mauritan assertion that the common good should be in accordance to justice and moral goodness; it is the good of a people, and the body politics, and not the good of a mob of gangsters and murderers.40 for carden, people have desires for igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 29 the good, however, those goods are classified or ordered; people also have respect for duty and for obligations imposed by law.41 concluding reflections we have attempted and critically examined asouzu’s conceptualization of ibuanyidanda philosophy as an integrative philosophy of social movement and cultural rebirth. his philosophy tends to address the contemporary nigerian society. the contemporary nigerian society has been bedeviled by myriad of fundamental problems. these fundamental problems are hunger, food crises, herdsmen-farmers clashes, terrorist attacks, socio-cultural chauvinism, poor economic growth, poor political development national identity problem, poverty of the nigerian population, corruption among influential nigerians, inequality between wealthy and poor nigerians, child mortality, high rate of unemployment, ethno-religious crises, low level of education, poor road network, poor electricity supply, poor water supply, low life expectancy, drug abuse and juvenile delinquency. contemporary issues in nigerian society are all serious issues that require fundamental solutions and one of those solutions are the ones championed by asouzu’s theoretical framework. ibuanyidanda philosophy represents the beneficial scheme of social cooperation and community based pedagogical framework. it demands the need for an existential reflection, selftransformation and african communalistic experience. it is a reflection of positive integration. asouzu’s african philosophy reveals a culture of sharing, open-mindedness, mutual dependence, universal dialogue and interpersonal encounter. asouzu’s concept of ibuanyidanda philosophy should be able to address the myriad of fundamental challenges facing the contemporary nigerian society today but it has not been able to grasp with the present complexities of the contemporary nigerian society. he presents an invigorating new approach to african philosophy in the normative context of the good. endnotes 1. asouzu., inoncent., ibuanyidanda (special edition) (calabar: university of calabar press, 2013), p.2 2. asouzu., inoncent., ibuanyidanda, special edition, pp.61-62 3. korsgaard christine., m., introduction to the groundwork of the metaphysics of morals, in trans. mary gregory (ed.) history of philosophy, (cambridge: cambridge university press, 1998), p.127 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 30 4. asouzu., inoncent., ibuanyidanda, special edition, p.53 5. asouzu innocent., ikwaogwe: essentialreadings in complementary reflection; a systematic methodical approach, (calabar: saeprint publishers, 2007), pp.189-190 6. asouzu., inoncent., effective leadership and the ambivalence of human interest: the nigerian paradox in a complementary perspective, (calabar: calabar university press, 2003), pp.190-192 7. ibid., pp.79-80 8. asouzu., inoncent., effective leadership and the ambivalence of human interest: the nigerian paradox in a complementary perspective, pp.79-81 9. ibid., pp.190-192 10. asouzu., innocent., ibuaru: the heavy burden of philosophy beyond african philosophy, (lit verlag gtmbh & co. kgwien, 2007), pp.274-275. 11. asouzu, innocent, the methods and principles of complementary reflection, in and beyond african philosphy, (calabar: university of calabarpress, 2004), p.391 12. asouzu., inoncent., effective leadership and the ambivalence of human interest: the nigerian paradox in a complementary perspective, pp.193-197 13. asouzu., innocent., (2003), effective leadership and the ambivalence of human interest: the nigerian paradox in a complementary perspective, pp.20-21 14. asouzu, innocent, the methods and principles of complementary reflection in and beyond african philosophy, pp.31-32 15. asouzu., innocent., ibuanyinanda: new complementary ontology; beyond world-immanentism, ethnocentric reduction and impositions, (lit verlag gtmbh & co. kgwien, 2007), p.33 16. habermas., jurgen., the theory of communicative action: life-world and system: a critique of functionalist reason, trans. thomas mccarthy, (boston: beacon press, 1989), p. xviii 17. asouzu., innocent.,ibuanyinanda: new complementary ontology; beyond world-immanentism, ethnocentric reduction and impositions, pp.196-197 18. asouzu., innocent., ibuanyidanda (complementary reflection) and some basic philosophical problems in africa today, (lit verlag gtmbh & co. kgwien, 2007), p.92 19. wisnewski, jeremy, wittgenstein and ethical inquiry: a defense of ethics as clarification, (london and new york: continuum international publishing group, 2007), p.61 20. ferrante, joan, sociology: a global perspective, fifth edition, (usa: wadsworth/thomson learning, 2003), 545 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 31 21. eccleshall robert, et al., political ideologies: an introduction, second edition, (london and new york: routledge, 1992), pp.7-8 22. asouzu, innocent, the methods and principles of complementary reflection in and beyond african philosophy, pp.24-27 23. habermas., jurgen., the theory of communicative action: life-world and system: a critique of functionalist reason, p. 371 24. habermas., jurgen., the theory of communicative action: life-world and system: a critique of functionalist reason, pp.354-359 25. ibid., pp.207, 76 26. asouzu., innocent, effective leadership and the ambivalence of human interest: the nigerian paradox in a complementary perspective, pp. 51-58 27. asouzu., innocent., ibuanyidanda (complementary reflection) and some basic philosophical problems in africa today, pp.92-93 28. edelglass., william., (2009), “philosophy and place-based pedagogies” in andrea kenkmann (ed.) teaching philosophy, (london and new york: continuum international publishing group, 2009), p.97 29. thorbjorn., finn. hassen., “philosophical praxis as a community of wonders in education and professional guidance” in andrea kenkmann (ed.) (2009), teaching philosophy, (london and new york: continuum international publishing group), p.97 30. odimegwu, ike.,philosophic foundation of politics, (amawbia: lumos publishing limited, 2008), pp.6-7 31. ibid., p.7 32. iain., mackenzie., politics: key concept in philosophy, (london and new york: continuum international publishing group, 2006), p.5 33. habermas., jurgen., the theory of communicative action: life-world and system: a critique of functionalist reason, p.434 34. asouzu, innocent, the methods and principles of complementary reflection in and beyond african philosophy, p.382 35. maathai., wangari., the challenge for africa: anew vision, (london: heinemann publishing group, 2009), pp.274-275 36. 36. chuka, f. aghamelu., the human person and social order: amoral perspective, in maduabuchi dukor(ed.) journal of the department of philosophy, nnamdi azikiweuniversity, awka, nigeria, volume 2 no.1, (2009): pp. 35-49 37. 37.ibid., p.45 38. 38. ibid., p.46 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 32 39. 39. jacques, mauritan, scholasticism and politics, (london: macmillan, 1967), p.42 40. 40.ibid., pp.42-43 41. 41.carden., stephen, virtue ethics: dewey and maclntyre, (london and new york: continuum international publishing group, 2006), p.140 microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no.4.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 23 divorce and the christian church in nigeria: issues and challenges vitalis terhemba anaana department of religion and cultural studies benue state university, makurdi email: anaanavt@yahoo.com & boniface msugh ahura department of religion and cultural studies benue state university, makurdi mail: ahuraboniface@gmail.com & mary mnena tyoakaa department of religion and cultural studies benue state university, makurdi abstract the phenomenon of divorce and its effects is one of the contending issues that are affecting the nigeria contemporary christian church and the general society. divorce goes against the biblical injunction that “what god has joined together, let no one put asunder” (mark 10: 9). this study which is descriptive, expository and historical in nature examined the phenomenon of divorce and its effects in contemporary christian church in nigeria. the data is drawn from both primary and secondary sources from married couples, divorcees, priest, pastors, evangelists, lawyers, church elders and children from divorced families. this was done to ascertain possible factors which predispose couples to divorce and the effects on the christian church in nigeria. it is found that witch craft and mystic powers, introduction of money into marriage, wrong choice of a partner, alcoholism, mixed marriages, childlessness, adultery, quarrels, and inadequate/poor financial management predispose christian couples towards divorce. the work revealed that when divorce occurs, the effects are always negative especially upon children and the church. christians believed that christ's teaching on marriage and divorce is unquestionable, and therefore all christians should embrace the teachings of jesus christ on marriage and divorce and use it as a model. christ disapproved divorce and therefore all christians should follow the footsteps of their master and embrace the institution of marriage with sacrificial love and total commitment with one another thereby avoiding divorce at all cost. the study also recommended that training of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 24 personnel’s be made compulsory by the church in order to counsel intending couples before marriage and after marriage. introduction divorce is one of the core vices that have posed a lot of challenges to human kind in different dimensions. this is true in that, the problem of divorce is not just to christians alone but people from all works of life. according to jay, there is hardly a christian family or society that does not know the pains of divorce directly or indirectly. he said, in medieval era, homes were held in high esteem where the husband and wife stayed together to fulfill the plans and purpose of god for their lives (140). in recent times, divorce has become one of the greatest threats to society, for it destroys one of the most basic societal institutions, the family. the threat is even greater to christians today because of its numerous problems associated with it. since there cannot be divorce without marriage, scott defined marriage as an institution ordained by god to be a permanent, indissoluble life-long covenant relationship and union between a man and a woman for the purpose of fulfilling an innate need for community and procreation (14). procreation and companionship are the basic twin purposes for marriage. however, companionship seems to be superior because it is possible to have a real marriage without children, but without companionship the production of children does not fulfill the purpose of marriage. in recent times, the ever-increasing number of divorce have been posing a serious threat to the marriage institution which is valued very highly by all human cultures and religious traditions. dominion explained that a careful examination of the contemporary nature of marriage will reveal the exact change. hence, a healthy family is imperative for a healthy society and the church at large (14).christian, traditional and islamic religions generally have certain ways of conducting marriages and how such marriages are expected to be guided by certain rules and regulations of such faiths. it is therefore true that people in all cultures and in all ages have considered marriage as a natural gift to humanity. it can therefore be said with certainty that the institution of marriage is one that is natural and common to all human kind. in most cultures, neither man nor woman is considered incomplete after reaching a certain age without a spouse (nwoye and nnena71). though, all religious igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 25 traditions highly value the institution of marriage, christianity holds the institution of marriage in a more exalted position in comparison to all other religions. it is, however, not surprising that, the sublimity of christian teachings has not deterred some of its followers from seeking civil divorce. christians in nigeria are also experiencing the effects of divorce in different ways, for the inability of a couple to understand what marriage leery is, marks the beginning of conflicts between a husband and a wife which sometimes results into divorce. it is upon this fact then that this write up undertake to investigate the various factors which predispose people to divorce and possible effects of divorce among christians in contemporary nigeria with the view of suggesting ways of reducing those factors which predispose people to divorce and also to point out how the church can assist in solving the problem of divorce in our societies today. marriage marriage is one of the fundamental institutions of the society that guarantees the stability of the home and the society at large. in tiv society for example, marriage is referred to as ivese kwase or kwase eren. marriage is expected to be between a matured man and a matured woman as could be agreed by the community concerned. relatively, baker states that marriage is a legally and socially sanctioned union, usually between a man and a woman, that is regulated by laws, rules, customs, beliefs, and attitudes that prescribe the rights and duties of the partners and accords status to their offspring (if any). the universality of marriage is attributed to the many basic social and personal functions it performs, such as procreation, regulation of sexual behaviour, care of children and their education and socialization, regulation of lines of descent, division of labour between the sexes, economic production, consumption, and satisfaction of personal needs for social status, affection, and companionship (74). supporting the above view, clerk sees marriage as a social relationship between a man and a woman potentially enjoying beyond the birth of children (28). nwoye and nnena on the other hand describes marriage as a life-long, universal, sacred and highly respected solemnized human institution characterized by happy living in home devoid of conflict. maturity is required of those willing to be joined together in order to persuade and dialogue with each other for peaceful co-existence (15). thus, a christian marriage can be describes as a union between a christian man and a woman for the mutual well-being of the spouses and for the procreation and upbringing of children as originally ordained by god. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 26 divorce different scholars have defined divorce the way it suite them. according to wegh, divorce in tiv means ivaa paven, that is, total separation between a man and a woman who are legitimately allowed to perform conjugal functions. he also defined it as the total breakdown of the agreement between the husband and wife either in the court of law or ordinarily (45). divorce as used in the context here would therefore refers to annulment, disunion, separation, split up and so on not necessarily a legal termination of marriage since the population of people who legally end their marriages are few in churches. robin on his part describes divorce as any home by which parents are not living together with their children as the normal family relationship. he also said that, divorce is an abnormal home relationship which has permanent effects upon the children's ability to do their works in the school normally responsible for their low grade in class and other difficulties in life (30). the new illustrated bible dictionary describes divorce as the legal dissolution of a marriage (74). the concept is therefore, viewed as the official ending of marriage, especially when married couple is estranged beyond reconciliation, even after thoughtful consideration and counseling. church the word church is relieved from the greek term ekklesia, meaning, an assembly of those who are called out from the world by god to live as his people under the authority of jesus christ. (encyclopedia biblical christianity 71). it is from this perspective it is understood why the church is spoken of as ‘the elect’, ‘the saints’ and why jesus asked peter to ‘build my church’ (mt 16:18). in the wake of greek neo-platonism, the church was seen as ‘the school of truth and the fellowship of adepts’ (kanu 2012). to roman stoicism, the church is principally seen as ‘a well ordered community governed by laws’. in the early church, they were referred to as ‘the people of god’ or ‘the church of god ’. st paul speaks of the church as “the fullness of christ and of fellowship” (ephesians 3:19). he also speaks of the church as “a mystery and sacrament of salvation” (eph 3:4) (kanu & obiefuna 2014). according to opedia, various problems have risen as a result of multiple usage of the term church. he however defines the church as a gathering of citizens called out of their homes into public places (47). in other words, it is a group of believers gathering together in a specific city usually for the worship of christ. in tiv land, church is usually referred to as iyough adua, iyough i msen, l jir icivir aondo(a place of prayer/ worshiping god). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 27 causes of divorce in nigeria the following are some of the causes of divorce in nigerian christian societies. these include: (1). childlessness: till today, many people believe that the essence of marriage is to procreate in order to prolong the family lineage. describing the importance of children to tiv people in particular, tarbo asserted that, procreation is the main purposes of marriage among the tiv. every normal tiv man desires children above other things. to a tiv man, all other devices for having children such as adoption are considered unnatural. having children to a tiv man means eternal life (56). this shows that many people considered children as the consummation of the matrimonial union. it is only when children are born to marriage that they believes god has blessed it for the happy and perpetual survival of the spouse. corroborating the above veiw, torkula asserts that, expression of love between couple is a secondary reason for marriage in tiv land and as such, is not considered very necessary in the union if children are not produced. he further stated that, the essence of marriage is to bear children and also to supply labour on the farm for feeding of the family. this explains to a large extent, why tiv marriage invariably becomes terminated in the event of childlessness (14-15). the persistent disunity between couples can eventually leads to divorce. until a woman begot a child in marriage, she is considered a visitor (orvanya). this is because no matter how long she lives with the man, sooner or later, she will leave as a visitor would do. (2). choosing of wrong marriage partner: since it has become easy for young men to marry, many of them just choose their marriage partners without proper examination. it is however amazing that their refusal to consult neither church leaders nor traditional elders has paved way for continuous conflict in the family. nicholas says that naturally, marriage unites people but it also inevitably breeds conflicts. conflict between husband and wife are common all over the world and when they are creatively resolved, the marital relationship is strengthened (ela 13). tiv, like many societies or traditions in the world, do not marry with the intention of divorcing each other. (3). adultery and quarrelling: in any society (whether early, modern or contemporary), adultery represents a vexing problem in marriages. adultery is defined by moral theologians as the “act of sexual intercourse between a married igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 28 man and a woman not his wife or between a married woman and a man not her husband” (miller 151). one of the essential features of adultery is that one of the parties involved must be married. however, when both adulterers are married, the guilt becomes compounded. adultery is considered a serious crime to society. it is such a serious crime that even the mosaic law forbids it. the law of moses prescribes penalties against those committing adultery. in the covenant, he made with the israelites that god includes adultery among the sins that must be avoided. the book of exodus states that followers of god must not commit adultery (hagin 31). couples must make efforts to be faithful to one another. this will then help them to consolidate their relationship. many do says that, is not easy for one to remain faithful to one's spouse when the world is applauding faithless spouse. as a result, adultery may lead to divorce of a valid marriage among christians when the couple does not accept the situation to forgive the guilty and adulterous partner peradventure, it occurs. as regards quarreling as one of the causes of divorces, one can be bold to say that in many societies, some couple has failed to achieve the ideal marriage, meaning that, some couple does not live in harmony with one another. such couples need to be pitied, because they are missing the blessings and joys of married couple. some couple may also have conflict with one another, such that it does not encourage good relationship in the family. quarrels, strife, rifts, and disharmony are incompatible with peace and may leads to friction between husband and wife. quarrelling is unhealthy in a relationship and poses a big problem for married life. it is natural for couples to have misunderstandings but the couple should not allow these disputes to be prolonged. in family life, incompatibility, hot temper, poverty, or negligence may be the root cause of quarrels. furthermore, many husbands and wives might engage in the misguided pursuit of wealth. (4). polygamy: marrying more than one wife, which is a common life style of a tiv man in our society, has no doubt increased divorce among christians in tiv land. there hardly remains the expectation a marriage will last for a life time. fred who is a close associate of scott, in his book the global acceptance of no fault divorce and its effects on marriages captures that polygamy and its effects explained the devastating effects on marriages as quite embarrassing, giving no fault divorce and polygamy as a major factor of divorce among christians and the entire society (1). what god has joined together, nothing shall put asunder. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 29 as a result no man should at any point divorce his wife for any reason and no woman should at any point divorce his husband for any reason for their union is forever, only death can separate them. (5). alcoholism and financial challenges: some husbands, as well as wives, are addicts to alcohol. they expend much of their time, resources and energy on drinks. they spend less time to train and direct their children. as a result, husbands leave their domestic affairs to their wives or vice versa, who have little or no money for this purpose. husbands and wives should guard against this, because excessive drinking is detrimental to the maintenance of the family. according to rev. fr. igbangohol, alcohol has ruined some christian’s homes in many societies. an alcoholic husband, for example, can hardly make a reasonable and constructive decision regarding the running of his family. he is only interested in spending his money on drinks. the effects of alcohol are harmful. when a man gets drunk, he neglects the affairs of his house. he will no longer support his family as he ought, and he may even beat his wife. in the face of alcoholic abuse, the family falls into danger (oral interview). something has to be done in such situations; otherwise, alcoholism may leads to marriage disintegration. as regards financial difficulties as one of the causes of divorce, it is a statement of fact that money is very powerful to every society and it has been also said that the love of it is the root of all evil (1 timothy 6: 10). aga observes that money can often be a troublemaker therefore, couples should be very careful in dealing with money (oral interview). financial difficulty is today considered as one of the leading causes of divorce among the christian families. (6). changes in socio-economic structure of our society: economic dissimilarities between the spouses are another contributing phenomenon on divorce. the change in socio-economic structure has brought tension between the expectations of family life coming from traditional cultural values and what is desirable, possible or affordable for the young family today. in the traditional sense of family, the husband was the income earner and the wife was to be in charge of the home and children but in the modern christian society women are also allowed to pursue careers to support the economic needs of the family. fanner explains that the change in the structure of the family has put young married couple in a position of disadvantage as they have lost out on the wisdom of god's initial plan for marriage, because of that, can send their spouse away without any rethink of what god actually meant for two to come together as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 30 husband and wife (33). in the concept of the traditional family, elders were part of the household; the wife is responsible for managing the home and the children, while the husband is seen as the income earner. the sudden change in family structure which does not mandate women to work has made a lot of men to restrict their wives from working in public sectors as such it has discouraged a lot of couples who feel are in bondage therefore resulting into divorce as an alternative means for freedom, but has greatly influenced the permanency of marriage negatively (277). (7). modern social structure: john and sanford have emphasized that, the increasing number of annulments in the church and divorces in the civil courts can to a large extent be traced to modern social structure (295). it is a structure in which young couples are deprived of the witness elements of unity and fidelity that give rise to the joy of living. before, marriages were kept for long because couples were allowed to stay together unlike the present situation. jack associates himself with john in explaining social factors in his book dynamics of marriage: love, sex, and growth from a christian perspective describes social factor that; within the overall global transformation, sociologist and psychologist have identified factors responsible such as age, premarital pregnancy, early marriage, lack of assortative mating, and social class. the changed outlook on marriage and divorce is another contributing factor as such, divorce is more socially and personally acceptable today than they were in the past due to unwillingness to endure unhappiness in marriage, the liberation of women and the rise of women's movement (143). (8). technological factor: no one can deny the immense good of modern technology. at the same time, the evil it has brought into the family life cannot be over looked especially on television and internet which have greatly invaded on our christian homes and the society as a whole. appathurai asserted that, the twentieth century initiated the disintegration of the extended family. the faster modes of transportation and better tools of communication have made the world-smaller and smaller but the distance between the members of family grows wider and wider since communication can be done in any part of the world through telephones and laptops (99). these modern electronic instruments instead of facilitating the strengthening of relationships often times keep couples apart, thus contributing to the growth of divorce, a clear example is the use of internet (106). day by day more and more children, youth and adult are becoming addicted to internet. priyamko who has a similar view with appathurai describes the sad effects of technology says that, it is hard to believe igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 31 that even on friendship day, people do not want to visit and greet their friends personally, but prefer doing it through the net (10). many who are addicted to net pornography are not able to maintain satisfactory sexual relationships in their married life thereby contributing greatly to the growth of divorce cases among christians in the world. (9). psychological factor: concerning psychological factor as a cause for divorce, jack in his book dynamics of marriage has clearly given detail on how marriage came to be bitter within few years. he also explains how psychological maturity is expected to be experienced in one's life before going into marriage since it is a life affair. he asserts that, psychological factor play a very important role in the making of success or a fracture in any marriage (143). also, those who because of psychological nature are unable to assume essential obligations of marriage are incapable of contracting marriage. however, there is the personality disorder that plays havoc in marriage relationships which includes the availability of contraceptive and the emergence of feminism. explaining more on psychological factor alana posits that, the psychological factor is not vulnerable to tensions over sexual fidelity and jealousy, most important, however is the fact that, when these relationships terminates, they leaves emotional wounds and the need to express great is always seen whenever they meet. people who experience these in relationship usually begin to develop a companion attitude. such behavior clearly reveals their lack of psychological maturity therefore enter into unstable relationships for life, psychological maturity is required between both. (10). lack of proper orientation: kerby comprehensively examined the epidemic of divorce from a christian perspective. he presented the data on its impacts on families and society and compared the trend with biblical teaching on the subject in his book, divorce: a biblical christian perspective. he opined that families are experiencing many problems today. the divorce rate increased in the 1960s due to government and religious leaders' inability to checkmate divorce factors with the aim of providing lasting solution upon. he states that until 1960s, divorce has been a relatively rare phenomenon. certainly, there have always been some couples who have considered divorce as an option. it is worth to know that, the fundamental changes in our society and christianity in the last few decades have changed divorce from being rare to routine (1). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 32 scott in his book “reducing the divorce rate among christians in america” explains that divorce rate is on increase due to little or no attention given to premarital counseling by church leaders. it is estimated that majority of first wedding approximately seventy five percent occur in a church setting (4). while some churches require premarital preparation, many do not. of those that do not, all of them have a formal programme designed to train and equip couples on how to effectively deal with the issue that can become catalyst for disharmony, disunity and eventual dissolution of their marriages (5). as a result, many couples enter marriage ill-equipped and overly idealistic with regard to hold harmony between one another. couple should be exposed to potential areas of incompatibility regarding goals, values and ways of dealing with conflict. the inability of pastors and church leaders to bring trained facilitations to help educate intending couples is promoting divorce among christians. (11). the adoption of no fault divorce law: the laws governing marriage historically were based upon the christian belief that marriage was for life (kerby 11). that is, marriage was intended to be a permanent institution but divorce came into being as a result of self-justification because it have legally been approved for circumstances that were known to be exceptional cases, such exceptional cases have to be proved by the parties concern, shifting the greater portion of fault to one person. the person found faulty recognized as justifying the dissolution of the marriage mostly, it lingered on adultery, fornication and sometimes unfaithfulness. the adoption of no fault divorce law by state legislatures has encouraged divorce to move on jet speed. the current no fault provisions changes the original perspective of god's plan on marriage. marriage is no longer viewed as a covenant but as a local contract, a less reliable contract than a standard business contract (kerby 14). with no fault divorce, the institution of marriage is devastated. thus, all marriages are at risk both those officiated by the christian ministers and those handled by the traditionalist. this is because marriages at present only assume marital responsibilities during honeymoon. (12). witchcraft and mystical powers: there is a general belief among tiv people that every event including marriage, divorce, sudden deaths, prosperity and soon have causality. many hold that one cannot just die or live happily unless there is connection with witchcraft or mystical powers (tsav or akombo). good events are associated with benevolent while evils such as death, breaking of marriages and so on, are connected with bad witchcraft. according to torkula, a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 33 good marriage can change overnight for bad through the application of witchcraft (tsav) for such people; both christians and traditionalist are affected alike. the couple could be struck with magical-religious correction called ashwe (red sole) (11). in cases of defeat during courtship by another girl or man, the defeated may vows to end such marriage. it can be used through another magicalreligious substance called agina. when such eventually happened the lady would be rendered sick periodically (agba agina), such a lady becomes a sicklier and matrimonial burden which may demand propitiation of relevant deities. effects of divorce on christian families and the church several effects of divorce have been experienced in different societies with its gravity on children, parents, the church and the whole society at large. thus, these effects could be seen in the area of ethics and social-orientation. (a). divorce leads to massive dissolution of families: hardon observes that the effects of divorce on society are drastic. he argues that the children of divorced parents suffer the worst effects of divorce. he adds that divorce leads massive dissolution of families which in turn hurts children (33). in this situation, sons are likely to stay with their father and daughters are more likely to stay with their mother. the aim of marriage is the creation of a family is therefore defeated by divorce. he also argues that the implication of this tendency is that the fatherchild relationship assumes a greater emphasis in society than the mother-child relationship. according to this researcher, this implication is reinforced by the pattern of custody in the wake of divorce, where sons are likely to remain with their father and the daughters with their mother. similarly, the effects of parental misjudgments descend heavily on the children. for this reason, divorce is harmful and challenges on the very notion of marriage. in ideal marriage, the training of children solely rests on the parents and should be performed jointly. however, in a divorced family, this cannot be the case, there by leaving numerous consequences upon children. (b). insecurity: it has also been found that children from divorced families do not feel secured. joseph jov confirmed this view that children of divorced parents are without adequate security. unfortunately, these children carry these distorted feelings to married life; as a result, marital instability becomes hereditary, the family is the bedrock of any community and must be respected (oral interview). families are of paramount importance to the nigerian society and tiv in particular, because it is considered to be the basic unit of society. the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 34 future of this country depends so much on successful parenting and marriages. parents must therefore raise children according to prevailing societal norms and ways of life. (c). poor/inadequate training and education of children: children in divorced families may not receive necessary and adequate training and education as required. he noted that children need both parents because each plays a complementary role in the children's life. the children of divorced parents often attempt to adjust and adapt to the new situation in which they find themselves; these children run the risk of discontinuity in their emotional and intellectual development. on the other hand, in a family where parents have decided to divorce each other, the children suffer. in most cases, the children of divorced families do not acquire adequate and sound life training. when they grow up, some of them may become societal detriments. the children of divorced parents may be morally defective, failing to fear neither god nor man. hardon again observes that the immediate consequence of divorce is often a moral and social aberration. many divorced offspring are lawless and irresponsible (6). (d). lacks of parental love, unity and affection on the family: in a united home, the parent-child relationship takes a certain form. a child is a gift from the giver of life, god. as a result, parents are happy when their relationship produces a child and the child is an indication of their love. this helps them to establish a permanent bond of affection between parents and children. however, in a divorced family, unity is lacking, children lacks parental love and affection. this also affects the behavior of the children when they grow up. their relationships to other people may be affected too. since it is a joint responsibility of parents to train and discipline their children, they should be mindful enough to care for and love their children without limit. a relationship between a parent and child is reciprocal. as it is the duty of parents to provide for the needs of their children, so also are children's duty bound to look after their parents in their old age. but when the marriage bond is dissolved, this service will be lacking. (e). psychological effects: it is not only the children that suffer the effects of divorce. it has been discovered that parents also suffer from the injury done by divorce. in the tiv society, divorce is regarded as a stigma. it may be difficult for both husband and wife to cope from the emotional and psychological effects of divorce. hardon again has observed that both husband and wife may be crushed by a sense of shame, fear and hatred. therefore, it becomes difficult for them to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 35 live a secured and meaningful life. sometimes, divorced parents may go to the extreme and seek an unfulfilling life through drinking and adultery. women also suffer especially when divorce becomes inevitable. it is difficult for them to get financial support (8). a divorced wife may depend on relatives or be forced to lower her standard of living in a situation where the woman gets no job to support herself and her children. again, the church never permits divorce and cannot allow it except on certain grounds. (f). loss of membership: as a result of divorce, strong members of the church are now afraid of getting married, thus the church suffers a shortfall of membership. in this regard, tersee kuhwa asserts that, certain members who were fervent, some are even leaders in their various denominations, are no more because of divorce (oral interview). it is therefore, true that, the loss of membership has actually promoted the proliferation of many denominations among christianity because those who refuse discipline or excommunication result in leaving such churches for others; others change religion where they could be accommodated. esther anaana also posits that, divorce creates a number of problems for family members. couples do finds it uneasy to adjust to the new situation thus, there is loss of friendship, increase in domestic work load for the remaining partner especially in handing of children and redistribution of household task and responsibilities (oral interview). this is true in that, the possibility of finding school fees, clothing and so on becomes burdensome when left for one member. collins concludes by saying, families who experience divorce suffers many things such as hopelessness, loneliness, confusion, and decline in family and spiritual growth. ways of preventing divorce in the society it is clear and more emphatic that the church must make concrete policies and suggestions to reduce the present rate of divorce within the christian community and the whole society at large, for divorce is unhealthy for the christian faithful and these effects of divorce extend to all levels of human lives. the church should therefore pay attention to the following principles which will help to guard against marriage and divorce. however, these are not the only ways to reduce and solve the problem of marriage and divorce among christians. other ways includes the following; (1). forgiveness: forgiveness is another important method and quality that promotes christian marriage. marriage is ordained by god, sacred and indissoluble. therefore, christian’s couples should be careful in their igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 36 relationship with one another, living must be based on forgiveness of one another. although, marriage on earth will never be perfect; it still demands a continual effort toward perfection. god is the one that have ordained the institution of marriage and he is faithful to forgive us if we confess our sins (1 john 1:9) and love covers all sins (proverbs 10: 12). forgiveness is needed in all christian families. when the wife hurts the husband, she has to apologies to him and vise visa. it is also important that, couple should jointly endeavour to build a good and solid family life, husband and wife must exist as one and therefore, they must make this effort together. no partner should see himself or herself as a perfect partner in marriage. every partner has weaknesses and idiosyncrasies. a true and mature christian couple should learn how to forgive each other whole heartedly. unless couples must learn how to forgive in their married life, if not, their relationship will suffer; the spirit of forgiveness is a virtue that is needed in the lives of all couples. couples should also learn to accommodate each other's unique qualities. peter emphasized the value of forgiveness when he asked the lord, how often must i forgive him who sins against me? seven times? (matt. 18:21-22). jesus immediately answered him and said, “no, not seven times, but i say, seventy times seven (oforchukwu 240). this therefore means that, we need to forgive uncountable. (2). maturity in marriage: today, some christian couples married at a tender age. joseph tsehemba attributed divorce to immaturity. immaturity could make marriage a miserable union. this is because; young people do not understand the meaning of marriage before engaging into it, some feels it is just for pleasure (oral interview). based on this, it would be better for christians in nigeria to marry when they have fully understood the true meaning and challenges of married life. the researcher therefore advocates twenty five years old and above as a mature age for marriage. the church could refuse to wed couple who are below the age of twenty five years. marriage requires maturity, for maturity will help our christian marriages to grow and succeed. (3). finances or proper financial management: the result of the study indicates that marital disagreements lead to divorce even in christian families. according to ajiki, finances are great indicators that have brought disagreements among the couple. to be on the safer side, both husband and wife should all work in order to keep the families stable. the church should make full marriage classes and instructions compulsory for all couples. marriage classes and instruction should be taught by the priests and other well experienced ministers thereby exposing couples to the effects of money in marriage. it will be good for couples igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 37 to keep a joint account to avoid cheating on one another (oral interview). the husband should be able to explain the nature of finance to the family members. it will be wise for christian couples to plan their family budget in a week or monthly basis to avoid spending unnecessary. if these methods are adopted, it will help to safeguard christian marriages in nigeria and will be respected greatly. (4). dialogue between couples: divorce is unhealthy for family, children, husbands, wives, the church, and indeed, every society. because of this, it has become necessary for the church and our traditional society to do something quickly to reduce the increasing rate of divorce in the country today. the church and tiv society should set up a standard to guide married couple. it is believed that the church has the power to resolve some of the problems that tiv traditional society and christians face in their marriages and religious faith. thus, dialogue between couples, christian church and the traditional culture is important to appreciate marriage and avoid divorce among christians. this will surely reduce the rate of divorce in our societies. acknowledging the importance of dialogue in the society, pope john paul ii called for the synod of bishops for africa in 1994. he tasked all bishops to make a meaningful dialogue between churches and traditional societies in africa for the rapid growth and expansion of the gospel across africa (45). metuh defined dialogue as a “frank discussion between two or more parties, aimed at reaching a better understanding of each other's point of view and working out a compromise acceptable to all sides” (441). in dialogue, all parties involved must respect the feelings and faiths of other parties. there is need for openness and prejudice must be reduced. he maintained dialogue seeks to eliminate every prejudice, intolerance and unnecessary misunderstanding. (5). teaching and counseling: the church can help prevent divorce by teaching or counseling that divorce should not be considered by christians as options for resolving their marital problems. if a christian couple finds it intolerable to live together, they may choose to separate for a time or to file for legal separation. in such instances, the church must make it clear that the only two scriptural options are (i) to remain single, or (2) to work toward a possible reconciliation. when confronted with the stark reality of choosing between remaining single or being reconciled, chances are that more couples will opt for the latter (okplogidi oral interview). unfortunately, this biblical teaching is seldom implemented. most churches have come to accept, in practice if not in principle, divorce as a guiltless igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 38 and normal procedure. by so doing, they are facilitating rather than preventing marriage breakup or divorce. (6). disciplinary actions: the church can help prevent divorce by taking disciplinary actions against spouses who choose to divorce. such actions could involve placing the transgressors under censure for a time by not giving them leadership responsibilities. if during such a time there are no indications of repentance, the church should ex-communicate those people in order to express her abhorrence of such evil. addressing a case of sexual immorality in the church of corinth, paul explicitly enjoins, “let him who has done this be removed from among you” (l cor. 5:2). such an action is necessary in order for the church to uphold its high standard and to sound a clear warning to anyone contemplating divorce. when church members know that their church does not condone but resolutely condemns any unbiblical divorce by punishing them with censure or even ex-communication, they will be less prone to consider divorce as a way out of their marital problems. what encourages many christians to divorce is the social acceptance of such practices both outside and inside their own church. conclusion and recommendations originally, marriage is an institution that was ordained by god right from creation for an ultimate intended purpose. this work presupposes that, there are many cases of divorce in christianity today and many factors account for a marriage to end in divorce. some of such factors includes: childlessness, wrong choice of marriage partner, adultery and quarreling, polygamy, alcoholism, poor financial management, change in social-economic structure, psychological factor, poor orientation, witchcrafts and mystical powers, adoption of no fault divorce and so on. these problems are affecting the development and progress of christianity in many parts of nigeria and the general society. one of such problems is that children who come from divorce families seem to find life difficult and uneasy and the society at large is affected. it is against this background that the researcher is concerned about the alarming rate of divorce cases among christian’s families in nigeria today thereby according the following recommendations. (1). it is point also to note that the marriage contract is for life. the man or the woman is obliged to keep his or her marriage bond intact. there is a clear understanding that christianity is different from other religious stands on marriage and divorce. christians are encouraged not to take tradition or cultural values above the bible as others have done. christians must however, not allow igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 39 the extremes of radicalism or liberalism to impede their progress in understanding and applying what the bible teaches on the subject of divorce which affect so many lives. the bible must be considered as the main authority on marriage and divorce and therefore follow the teachings of the bible accordingly. also, culture as part of the people must be extensively investigated to address its negative influence on marriage which in turn results to divorce. therefore, there should be special laws set on ground prohibiting divorce in all places both to christians and to all traditional societies. (2). it should be noted that, the abolishment of yamshe (exchange marriage) was not actually for hatred but biblical. many only looked at this in a cultural perspective. this work therefore enables the society to comprehend that christianity is based on christ teaching and not actually traditional values. cultural values that violate new testament ethics are denounced without any apology, where the two conflicts, the message of christ on such issue supersede. (3). it should also be comprehended that, god created not just individual person in his own image and likeness, but made them male and female to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth, hence, marriage and family are intrinsic to human and must not be tempered with in the name of divorce for whatever reasons. (4). it should be noted that money is one of the motivating force in every marriage that if not well handles, could separates couples, for it has incredible power. couples must be careful with money otherwise, money will hold the sole power to either unify or divide the couple. money may arouse contempt in the family. peterson argues that money, like fire, can be a faithful servant but a tyrannical master. we must either master our money or be forever intimidated and dominated by it in such a way that making peace with money is not easy (5). no one should be allowed to get married without premarital counseling. married couple should also be taught from time to time about cultural values since there is no culture that is perfect. the church should teach, preach and live faithfully. it must begin from the top; pastors should set the standard to its members. they should be role models to their members and members be compared to live faithfully at all times both married and unmarried ones. (6). the role of forgiveness is extremely important in married life. couples must forgive one another in order to promote the institution of marriage. ultimately, this study concludes that marriage is sacred and indivisible, and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 40 there are numerous steps that couples must take in order to ensure that what god has joined together, let no man separate. (7). the time has come for the christian leaders to re-evaluate its teaching on divorce. it is a fact to note that love should be adopted by marriage partners because it has the ability to strengthen and unite all christian families irrespective of their background. when love, peace, and joy prevail in our churches, divorce will be reduced to the beeriest minimum. works cited appathurai, s. marriage is forever. mumbai: st. paul press training school, 2012. print. ela, k. k. divorce and second marriage; family the challenge. new york: geoffrey chapman, 1996. print. freeman, d. v and bromiley, a. d. ‘divorce’. international standard encyclopedia (revised), vol. a.2 grand rapid: eerndamns, 1988.print. hagin, k. marriage, divorce and remarriage. usa: faith library publications, 2006. print. henry, w. divorce and remarriage: a christian perspective. new york: master press, 2014. print dominion, j. dynamics of marriage: love, sex and growth from a christian perspective. usa: marriage institute. 2004. print. jay, e. a. marriage, divorce and remarriage. phillipsburg: new jersey, 2001. print. john and sanford. "probability of poverty across the formative years" journal of marriage and family 4 (1999); 1058-1067nov. 4, 2014. print. john, a. gration's notion of marital consummation. new york: oxford university press, 1998. print. kanu, i. a. (2012). “the church and national development: towards a philosophy of collaboration”. african research review: an international multi-disciplinary journal. vol.6. no.2. april. pp. 113-122. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 41 kanu, i. a. and b. a. c obiefuna (2014). “church and politics in nigeria: towards a philosophy of collaboration”. in religious faith and public service in nigeria: ambiguities and paradoxes (pp. 268-379). nigeria: catholic theological association of nigeria (cathan). kelvin, t. k divorce and second marriage: facing the challenge. london: geoffrey chapman. 1996. print. kerby, a. prevalence and implications of divorce. london: collins press, 2004. print. linda, w. et al. the case for marriage: why married people are happier, healthier and belter off financially. new york: broad way, 2000. print. manasseh, a. t. divorce in n.k.s.t: a study of sai and agaavule churches. postgraduate dissertation, benue state university makurdi; unpublished, 20 i 2. print. metuh, e.l.african religious in western conceptual schemes: the problem of interpretation studies in igbo religions. ibadan: university press, 1985. print. miller, m. the pastoral companion: a common law handbook for catholic ministry. ilinois: franciscan press, 2002. print. mwoye and nnena. a biblical theology of marriage, divorce and remarriage in south africa. johannesburg: baptist theology seminary publisher, 2002. print. murray, j. a good wife. london: zondervan publishers, 1994. print oforchukwu, j. 1. improving the christian marriage-relationship in our society; the light of scripture. plateau: an african christian textbooks publication, 1995. print. opedia, j. encyclopedia of biblical christianity. new york: sage publishers, 2000. robinson, p. and margaret m. family transformation through divorce and remarriage: a systematic approach. new york: rout ledge, 1993. print. rubing, e. sons of tiv: a study of the rise of the church among the tiv of central nigeria. grand rapids: michigan bakers house, 1969. print. scott, a. divorce prevalence and implications of divorce in early america. new york. library net, 2012. print. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no.4.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 115 universal basic income as a moral alternative to the challenge of migration charles nkem okolie, phd department of philosophy alex ekwueme federal university, ndufu-alike ikwo (ae-funai), nigeria okoliecharlesnkem@gmail.com abstract i address three basic questions: what is responsible for the rise of migration and brain drain in africa? is it moral and humane for leading european and north-american countries to close their borders against africans? is universal basic income a more plausible option to close borders? i employ the method of critical analysis and evaluation to address these three questions. i argue that the ultimate factor for the current tide of brain drain and migration from africa is socioeconomic in nature. my response to the second question is negative. i maintain that anti-immigration policies are inherently immoral because they restrict the free movement of human beings based on social categorization such as their race, nationality, and socioeconomic value. in relation to the third question, i submit that the wellbeing of all humans in the contemporary world is in a sense interconnected because what affects humans in a given part of the world also affect the wellbeing of humans in another part of the world to a certain degree. therefore, the quest for human wellbeing in any part of the world is a mutual responsibility of all countries. i argue that this is fundamental in the case of africa and the champions of close borders because of their past and present contributions to the socioeconomic condition in many african countries. my contention is that the adoption of antiimmigration policies and closed-borders by leading european and north-american countries as a political tool for curtailing the rise of migration from african countries is morally problematic. i argue for a universal basic income that will be mutually funded by all countries as a humane and moral option for dealing with economic induced migration in the 21st century. introduction it is a generally assumed that the more global the world becomes there should be an ever-increasing borderless world, wherein individuals irrespective of nationality, language, tongue, race, colour, religion, and socio-economic status can freely migrate from one nation to another. this appears to be far from the case, as there are visible anti-immigration policies and laws being enacted by more economically viable european and north american nations against less economically viable nations. some of these policies are directly geared towards forestalling the immigration of people of some particular race, religion or socioigwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 116 economic status. for instance, the united states of american anti-immigration policy is mainly directed against immigrants with islamic background, africans and mexicans. the closing of borders against muslims is on religious ground; while that against africans is on two grounds – race and socio-economic reason and; that against mexicans and other neighbouring north american countries is based on solely socio-economic factor. the fact is that these anti-immigration policies and laws enacted today are meant to forestall the immigration of individuals from the socio-economically disadvantaged countries to emigrate from their home countries to become immigrants in other countries that are more socio-economically advantaged. this act of closing of borders by these socio-economically viable nations constitutes a global challenge, hence the need to propose a way forward to this problem. the questions are: should there be a universal call for the abolition of these antiimmigration policies? or should there really be a need for an alternative way round this challenge? in this paper, i am not in support of the first option of the abolition of the anti-immigration of laws or policies meant to bar africans and other individuals of socio-economically disadvantaged nations from immigrating into more socio-economically viable countries. my take is that if the laws or policies are abolished it will lead to and encourage brain-drain from these socioeconomically disadvantaged nations hence, those who could have helped to improve the socio-economic status of these nations through their ingenuity and innovative insights are but given the leeway out of their countries. these people will immigrate into those economically viable nations who could easily pay for their innovative ideas and services with higher currency. the position that i pursue is that there is the need for this anti-immigration laws or policies to be maintained and, that there is the need to propose another option to resolving the problem that socio-economically disadvantaged nations are facing. i shall argue here that universal basic income (ubi) can function as a viable alternative to this challenge of anti-immigration laws and policies enacted by some nations in europe and north america. i shall go about this task by first looking at the rationale behind the anti-immigration policies that are continually being enacted in some european and north american countries. thereafter, i shall also consider the meaning of universal basic income and its characteristic features. and in the final note i shall delve into the core issue, which is to discuss universal basic income as a moral alternative to the challenge of migration. i shall kick start this paper with considering the reason behind the instituting of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 117 anti-immigration policies by some of these european and north american countries that are seen as socio-economically advantaged or viable. the question of anti-migration policies (in some european and north american countries) this section does two things: first, it seeks to answer the question why migration from africa? and the second concerns explaining the basis for the enacting of anti-immigration laws or policies in some these european and north american nations. the fact is that migration which is the movement of people, goods and services from one geographical location or region to another, is an age-old phenomenon, which has been influenced or motivated by one reason or the other, is today having a telling effect on a global scale. this is because there is a rapid large scale movement of people from less socio-economic regions to regions of high socio-economic power. this is as a result of lack, or increase loss, of job by individuals within the emigrating nations or regions. it is germane to note that emigration is usually from nations or regions that are mainly underdeveloped and still developing. and in such nations, like in other nations of the world, the leading cause of joblessness is increase in automation. according to yannick fischer, “the decisive variable is the effect of labour automation, which increases economic insecurities globally, leaving some nation states in a position to cope with this and others not” (2018: ii). the fact is that labour automation which is the leading cause of lack of job (joblessness) has led to internal domination in underdeveloped and developing nations, especially african nations, such that there is increasing pressure for individuals to relocate to nations or regions that guarantee economic security. this is to say that joblessness and labour automation are the leading causes of migration from socio-economically disadvantaged nations or regions to socioeconomically advantaged ones. this kind of migration that is rooted in labour automation and lack of job can also be influenced by the fact that the socio-economically disadvantaged nations have failed to provide economic security for her citizens, by introducing universal basic income (ubi) or other welfare packages. this has made their citizenry to fair bad economically and therefore made individuals to look for greener pasture elsewhere. and they do so by moving to other nations that have introduced economic securities such as universal basic income, health insurance, etc. today, this is having a telling effect on the socio-economically advantaged nations. it is pertinent to note that socio-economically advantaged and viable igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 118 nations such as the usa, britain, germany, etc. have long introduced this practice, and it is very functional. and these places are where most individuals form the socio-economically disadvantage nations majorly african nations moves to for economic security. this is resulting to migratory pressure on these developed nations that have being providing economic security for their citizens. the migration of individuals from the socio-economically disadvantaged or underdeveloped and developing nations does not only lead to migratory pressure on the developed or socio-economically viable nations, it also brings about the challenge of sustaining the introduced and working universal basic income as well as the challenge of managing and maintaining the economic viability of their nations. it is on this note that the socio-economically advantaged and viable nations with functional universal basic income have to seek a way forward to the migratory pressure that comes with immigration into their territories. writing on this, fischer notes that “the imposition of borders in order to keep a basic income (ubi) sustainable as well as labour automation itself, establish a form of domination over less developed and thus demand international regulation” (2018: ii). this entails that the introduction of migration policies and in particular anti-immigratory policies by these socio-economically viable nations is for two basic reasons. the first is that it enables them to sustain the introduced universal basic income which is meant to serve their citizenry and those taking resident within their nations. and the second is to perpetuate domination of the-not-yet-developed nations by the developed nations hence, the continual widening socio-economic gap between the developed and the yetto-be-developed nations of the world. in this is dehumanizing and immoral since it places restriction on the free movement of humans from nations and regions to any nation or region of their choice, due to the fact that their home nation or region is socio-economically not viable. what i am saying is that anti-migration laws and policies are engineered and instituted to checkmate migratory pressure as well as sustain the socio-economic domination of the developed nations. this anti-migration policy is also known as border restriction law or policy against immigrants. this is a way of enforcing border closure against those from socio-economically backward and disadvantages countries. this practice is in a way having telling negative effects on individuals within and from the economically disadvantaged individuals. the worst is that it keeps african nations economically and politically subjected and subordinated by those socio-economically viable nations of europe and north igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 119 america. this, for more me, is immoral and dehumanizing and needs to be redeemed. what is universal basic income? the concept ‘universal basic income’ is an ideology that is speedily gaining grounds among committee of nations most especially with rapidly increasing poverty and unemployment rate. according to basic income earth network (bien), universal basic income is “a periodic cash payment unconditionally delivered to all on an individual basis, without means-test or work requirement” (2017). what this entails is that universal basic income, which is also known as global basic income or global guaranteed income (murray 2), is an unconditional cash payment made available to all citizens. this regular fixed payment is sometimes and in some cases made available by the government or any other public organization in the public sphere. this is the idea that zheng, guerriero, lopez and haverman have in mind when they aver that a universal basic income (ubi) is a regular fixed cash transfer payment provided by the government – or any other in situation in the public sphere – to every citizen or resident, regardless of whether he or she is rich or poor and/or wishing to be engaged in paid employment. (2016: 9) universal basic income has some defining distinguishing characteristics or features. these characteristics are that it is: periodic, paid in cash, paid to individuals, universal and unconditional (de wispelaere and stirton 2004; van parijs 2004). in what follows, i am going to discuss each of these characteristics or features of universal basic income. i. periodic: by this, one is saying that universal basic income is a payment that is made over a period of time; it is not a onetime grant or payment. it is germane to note that this regular payment varies from one version to another (eidem 2017: 8). for some proponents, the payment should be given solely to adults and particularly to those have reached the age of 21 (paine 2004). that is to say that universal basic income has two dimensions to its periodicity or periodicness. first, it is periodic in that the payment is made to citizens at interval and not once and for all and; second is that it is to be given to adults only. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 120 ii. paid in cash: the proponents and supporters of universal basic income were of the view that the payment be made for a particular purpose such as for food, shelter, or for specific goods or services. but today the argument and case have taken a different dimension – it is that the payment should be made in cash to the individual. this cash payment grants individuals the freedom to make choices over how best to use the money paid to them and for what purpose that best satisfies their respective need. stressing this point, stian eidem posits that “it is paid in cash, so that the people themselves can decide how to best use it” (2017: 3). it also helps local businesses instead of to impose foreign goods and services on the people (van parijs and vanderborght 2017). iii. individuality: in the case of individuality, the payment is made only to individuals and not to couples or households. the reason is that it is the individual’s right which he/she deserves. hence, it is “a basic income (that) should be designed to cater (for) individuals, not households, since it is considered truly individual right” (zheng, guerriero, lopez and haverman 2017: 9). this payment is made to individuals in the household for two reasons: it is more efficient means of payment since it might be easy to determine and control the number of people (in particular adults) in the household and; it makes the system more efficient as well as enhance cohabitation and empower women in the household as they come to see themselves as those who have say in the family and household (eidem 2017: 5-6). in all, it fosters cooperation and equality among citizens and gender. iv. universality: universal basic income is said to be universal. it is universal in that there is “no means-test” (eidem 2017: 6). it is not restricted to some individuals or a particular gender for any reason. rather, it is available to all citizens irrespective of gender or social status or contributions. it is made to all the people population. but it could start from a particular domain and then be gradually universalized with time. v. unconditionality: this payment is unconditional. writing on this, zheng, guerriero, lopez and haverman quip that by unconditionality “a basic income should be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 121 unconditional (or it should employ conditions that do not violate inclusiveness)” (2017: 9). it does not place limit or restriction based on gender, religion, ethnicity or any other factor. it is an all inclusive economic scheme. one does not need to be a worker or would be worker before he/she can be given such cash. it is meant for all who have the basic requirements of being an adult, a citizen and residing in the country or region. universal basic income as a plausible option to closed border as stated earlier on, there is the practice of border closing by some european and north american countries that are socio-economic advantaged. this is apparent in their anti-immigration policies. the essence of these policies is to keep immigrants away from their countries, whose presence could upset their national economy. hence, what i am saying is that closure of borders by these socioeconomically advantaged countries is to help have a smooth running economy that is not over stretched by external influence or intruders. this act and practice of border closure against immigrants is mainly targeted against africans and latin american countries that are economically disadvantaged, whose citizens always have the desire to seek greener pasture in europe and north america. this is an immoral and dehumanizing practice against africans. therefore, there is the need to look for an alternative way of addressing the challenge of meeting up their economic need of their teeming citizens. it is here that this section becomes pertinent. this section argues that universal basic income could act as an option for closed border against individuals from african nations. also, as noted in the previous section, universal basic income which is a minimum amount paid to every individual in a nation-state, is distributed to all the citizens of the country without any form of restriction or limiting criteria/on or condition. all the citizens through this act are treated equally since none is regarded as superior or inferior; all are equal as they are given and receive the same amount irrespective of socio-political status. this cash gives all equal leverage to participate in the society with no form of marginalization or subjugation. the reason why african nations should go for universal basic income is because there is a raising use of automation and unemployment (autor and dorn 2013: 1558-1559; world bank 2016: 22; frey and osborne 2017: 268). this is a sign of technological progress that is leading to a great loss of job by many citizens who are not educated and skilled to handle this complex technology that is taking over the place of humans (smicek and williams 2015). not only is there the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 122 challenge of unemployment, there is also a rapid and widespread economic recession that has left citizens in a state of socio-economic devastation. this in turn “increases the insecurity that individuals feel towards work as a social protection” (fischer 2018: 5). it is in this context that it could be argued that universal basic income is a possible remedy to harsh conditions such as unemployment, high level of poverty and increasing inequality in african societies and the world in entirety (raventos 2007; boffey 2015; chapman 2017). it does this by creating economic security as well as gives everyone the capacity to participate in political discussion on any issue burdening the society. it also challenges the people’s conception of work or occupation – it gives individuals the idea that work is not a basic necessity for subsistence. on the contrary, via universal basic income, work becomes understood as one’s contribution towards human well-being. in the world today, diverse forms of inequalities exist that somehow place limitations on individual’s freedom. this scenario needs also to be redeemed. individuals need to regain their freedom, which socio-economic and political inequality has created. this can be made possible through universal basic income (van parijs 1997: 1; raventos 2007: 74; white 2011: 73). phillipe van parijs makes this point clearer as he posits that real freedom is possible for each individual if each of these individuals enjoys the privilege or right “to do whatever what one might want to do” (1997: 23). this is to say that universal basic income reduces economic insecurities as well as enhances the distribution of freedom within a society in order to create equality (van parijs 1997: 24; fischer 2018: 6). freedom and equality, therefore, are what the society can offer the individual via the instrumentality of universal basic income. there can be no freedom unless it is freedom from domination and inequality as well as arbitrary interference in exercise of their power (honohan and havdalmoan 2014: 2; ronzoni 2017: 189-190). the fact is that there can be no actual freedom where there is domination and regulations which bring about interference in the right of individuals. however, there could also be laws and regulations which could bring about interference but does not lead to a kind of domination that limits individual freedom; it guarantees that individuals can live together within a political community (pettit 1999; 2007: 4; casassas and de wispelaere 2012: 172; dagger 2005: 185; laborde and ranzoni 2016: 281). the kind of domination that universal basic income ought is to liberate individuals from is one in which the rich are made richer and the poor poorer. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 123 this leads to loss of self-dignity and self-respect. this kind of domination is due to economic insecurity. writing on this, fischer quips that domination is highly likely to occur when there is high socio-economic inequality amongst a political community, making it easy for the rich to be in control of the poor. furthermore, there inequalities create feelings of humiliation and, more specifically, a loss of self-respect as one is vulnerable to abuses of power by the dominators… given the high level of economic insecurity that are induced by labour automation, as well as the restrictions imposed by contemporary welfare systems, such as means-testing, individuals are very vulnerable to domination by either their employer or the state’s social service agencies. (2018: 7) what this implies is that socio-economic insecurity, domination and inequality can be overcome and, its unconditionality and universality (could) help provide an egalitarian socio-economic order wherein there is independent, material existence as well as an autonomous base (ronzoni 2017: 191; raventos 2017: 69) for every individual in the society. this is what universal basic income can bring about as it can alleviate poverty level and guarantees a “substantial economic floor” (casassas and widerquist 2016: 288). in this way, universal basic income decreases the economic insecurity that exists between individuals and dominating structures or systems between earners and non-earners or employers and employees, or employed and unemployed. consequently, universal basic income instigates individuals to reflect on and interrogate systematic domination that exists within the political and social structure in a country, region or globe. this is based on the fact that universal basic income gives each individual the basic minimum with which to take care of their fundamental needs like anyone else in the same society. this influences the individual’s relationship with each other within the society as well as enhances human freedom. this is substantiated by fischer thus: freedom as non-domination thus provides a moral justification for why one should support bi (universal basic income). additionally, it should be used as an analytic tool to reflect on structures and relationships in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 124 order to detect and minimize domination, occurring either within a state or on the global level. (2018: 8) what this entails is that universal basic income could bring about an equitable society that humanity longs for. with such a society of equity, fairness and socioeconomic equality, non-domination and freedom of every individual, there would be no need for individuals from socio-economic disadvantaged countries in africa who desires to migrate to socio-economically advantaged nations in europe and north america. the reason is that every individual via universal basic income is provided with the basic income required to take care of the fundamental needs. the problem with universal basic income is; what kind of universal basic income will be useful and relevant among african nations? there are basically four possible levels of universal basic income, namely, global, regional, subnational and national. each of these levels has their respective witnesses. for instance, global level of universal basic income, which is financed by global dividends, global imposed taxes (jordan and duvell 2003: 140) and redistributed to each individual on a global scale, has the challenge of how can the fund or income generated be redistributed from the global purse to every individuals without misappropriation and mismanagement? this makes it difficult to accept universal basic income at the global level. also, universal basic income at the global level is impossibility because of the heterogeneity of the identities, population and plurality of public opinion as well as a weaker set of political institutions when placed side by side with nation-states (van parijs and vanderborght 2017: 241; fischer 2018: 9). it is because of these factors that regional universal basic income has not worked in europe. another factor that hinders regional universal basic income in europe includes euro-crisis of creditor and debtor, which influences political integration and universal basic income (laffan 2016: 915-917; fischer 2018: 9). it is this solidarity problems among eu member nations that makes universal basic income political unacceptable and not workable in europe (mencinger 2015: 915-917; fischer 2018: 9). these factors could also hinder the practice of universal basic income in africa (african union – au). furthermore, universal basic income at the subnational level has some challenges such as internal migration within a nation, most especially when universal basic income is introduced and implemented in some region of and not in other regions of the nation. this internal migration could lead to economic and political crisis and instability, which is not healthy for the sub-region of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 125 nation and the nation as a whole. the kind of universal basic income that is recommended here for african nations is national universal basic income (nubi). this kind of universal basic income makes for the introduction and implementation of universal basic income in every part of the country such that no individual or subnational region is left out for either social, ethnic, religious reasons, etc. this practice of universal basic income at the national level provides for efficiency and makes all citizens economically efficient, independent and viable since all benefit from the income. but the question that begs for an answer is: how can the funds for universal basic income be generated for poor african nations are incapable to provide for their citizens? this is really a difficult challenge that many african nations will face if there are to implement universal basic income. countries like usa, germany, britain, israel, china, india, etc. that have implemented it have a very strong, stable and viable economy that can take care of their citizens basic needs and they are still working to maintain this viable economy. but most of the african countries and especially those countries south of the saharan do not have such viable economy. what this implies is that universal basic income is bound to fail here. other challenges apart from financial pressure that could act as disadvantage to the practice of universal basic income include: administrative challenges such as lack of functioning tax system, imperfect information and ineffective implementation; act as negative incentive as it could lead to people doing nothing; it could lead to people who do not need this fund – the non-poor or rich in the society gaining from this fund; it could lower wages of workers in the labour market and; it could attract influx of migrants that might jeopardize the sustenance of the scheme (malul, gal and greenstein 2009: 1-8; zheng, gerroriero, lopez and haverman 2017: 14-16). with these challenges and disadvantages, one could argue that there is absolutely no need for african nations to get involved in the practice of universal basic income. this is not true. some of these challenges and disadvantages do not have hold water. for the challenge of negative incentive, it could be argued that universal basic income does not provide negative incentive in its entirety but can motivate citizens to put in their best in working for the development of their countries and seeing to it that their economy become stronger and more viable. this also addresses the issue of economic pressure on the nation. with respect to the challenge of this income getting to the hands of the rich who may not need it, the respond is that it is right for all citizens to gain equal access to this fund since they are all members of the society and bound to contribute to the efficient and effective running of the socio-political and socio-economic life of the society. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 126 however, there are other advantages that make universal basic income a viable option for anti-migration policy. these include: it could lead to freedom and justice for all citizens, poverty reduction, promotes gender equality, reduces income inequality. in all, i am saying that universal basic income is the an economically efficient welfare solution that can help africans cope with the challenge anti-migration laws and policies enacted by some european and north american countries since it will make each individual adult within african economically independent and viable. at this point, it is germane to return the question of; how can the fund for universal basic income by raised? this fund can be raised through global funding a well as free-will donation from socio-economically advantaged nations. my argument is that the wellbeing of all humans in the contemporary world is in a sense interconnected because what affects humans in a given part of the world also affect the wellbeing of humans in another part of the world to a certain degree. therefore, the search for human wellbeing in any part of the world is a mutual responsibility of all countries. conclusion in this paper, i have noted that there is the reality of some european and north american countries closing their borders against africans, who are moving over to these countries for greener pasture. this is apparent in their anti-migratory policies. this policy is meant help them sustain their economy for their good and to help them maintain the economic needs of their citizens. this closure of border could also lead to economic strain in africa. it is on this note that i argued that universal basic income can act as a morally viable option for anti-migration that is meant to keep africans back from migrating from africa to some of these european and north american countries. the reason given is that it could lead to freedom and financial autonomy of each individual in the society as it given all individual in the society irrespective of financial or social status. this will make africans and african nations economically viable like other nations of the world. bibliography atkinson, a. b. (1995). public economics in action: the basic income/flat tax proposal. clarendon press, oxford. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 127 autor, d. h. & dorn, d. (2013): the growth of low-skill service jobs and the polarization of the us labor market, american economic review. 103. 5. 1553–1597. basic income earth network. (2017). basic income. retrieved from http://basicincome.org/basic-income/. boffey, d. (2015). “dutch city plans to pay citizens a ‘basic income’, and greens say it could work in the uk”. the guardian [online]. 26.12.2015. [last access: 14.06.2017]. available from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/26/dutch-city-utrechtbasic-income-ukgreens. casassas, d. & de wispelaere, j. (2012). the alaska model: a republican perspective. in: k. widerquist & m. howard (eds.): alaska’s permanent fund dividend. examining its suitability as a model. new york: palgrave macmillan. 169-188. casassas, d. & de wispelaere, j. (2016). “republicanism and the political economy of democracy”. european journal of social theory. 19. 2. 283-300. chapman, b. (2017). finnish citizens given universal basic income report lower stress levels and greater incentive to work. independent [online]. 21.06.2017. available from: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/finlanduniversalbasic-income-lower-stress-better-motivation-work-wages-salarya7800741.html. dagger, r. (2005): autonomy, domination, and the republican challenge to liberalism. in: j. christman & j. anderson (eds.): autonomy and the challenges to liberalism: new essays. new york: cambridge university press. 177-203. de wispelaere, j., & stirton, l. (2004). the many faces of universal basic income. the political quarterly. 266-274. eidem, stian. (2017). “basic income and the universal basic share a discussion of the challenges of income inequality and automation”. thesis submitted igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 128 for the degree of master of economic theory and econometrics, department of economics university of oslo november 2017. fabre, alice, stéphane pallage and christian zimmermann. (2014). “universal basic income versus unemployment insurance”. research division federal reserve bank of st. louis working paper series. 1-24. fischer, yannick (2018). “basic income, labour automation and migration an approach from a republican perspective”. ucl global governance institute working paper series. 1-39. frey, c. b., & osborne, m. a. (2017). the future of employment: how susceptible are jobs to computerisation? technological forecasting and social change. 254-280. jordan, b. & düvell, f. (2003). migration: the boundaries of equality and justice. cambridge, uk: blackwell. king, jr., m. l. (1967). where do we go from here: chaos or community? new york: harper and row. laborde, c. & ronzoni, m. (2016). “what is a free state? republican internationalism and globalisation” political studies, 64. 2. 279-296. laffan, b. (2016): europe’s union in crisis: tested and contested, west european politics. 39. 5. 915-932. malul, miki, john gal and miriam greenstein (2009). “a universal basic income: theory and practice in the israeli case”. basic income studies: an international journal of basic income research. 4. 1. mencinger, j. (2015). the revenue side of a universal basic income in the eu and euro area, danube: law and economics review. 6. 3. 159-174. murray, charles. “social contract revisited: guaranteed income as a replacement for the welfare state”. www.fljs.org paine, t. (2004). “agrarian justice”. in the origins of universal grants. 3-16. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 129 pettit, p. (1999). republicanism: a theory of freedom and government. oxford: oxford university press. pettit, p. (2007). a republican right to basic income? basic income studies. 2. 2.18. raventós d. (2007). basic income: the material conditions of freedom. london: pluto press. ronzoni, m. (2017). “republicanism and global institutions: three desiderata in tension”. social philosophy and policy. 34. 1. 186-208. simon, h. a. (2000). “ubi and the at tax”. boston review. srnicek, n. & williams, a. (2015). inventing the future: postcapitalism and a world without work [apple ibooks e-book]. new york: verso. van der linden, b. (2002). “is basic income a cure for unemployment in unionized economies? a general equilibrium analysis”. annales d'_economie et de statistique. 66. 81-105. van der linden, b. (2004). “active citizen's income, unconditional income and participation under imperfect competition: a welfare analysis”. oxford economic papers. 56. 1. 98-117. van parijs, p. & vanderborght, y. (2017). basic income basic income: a radical proposal for a free society and a sane economy. cambridge, ma: harvard university press. van parijs, p. (1991). “why surfers should be fed: the liberal case for an unconditional basic income”. philosophy & public affairs. 20. 2. 101-131. van parijs, p. (1997): real freedom for all: what (if anything) can justify capitalism. oxford: oxford university press. van parijs, p. (2000). a basic income for all. boston review. 25. 5. 4-8. van parijs, p. (2004). “basic income: a simple and powerful idea for the twentyfirst century”. politics and society. 32. 1. 7-39. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 130 van parijs, p. and vanderborght, y. (2017). basic income: a radical proposal for a free society and a sane economy. harvard university press. vanderborght, y. (2013). “basic income, social justice and poverty”. in sciurba, a. (ed.). trends in social cohesion #25: redeeming and combating poverty: human rights, democracy and common goods in today's europe. 267-283. council of europe publishing, strasbourg. white, s. (2011). “basic income versus basic capital: can we resolve the disagreement?”. policy & politics, 39. 1. 67-81. widerquist, k. (2005). a failure to communicate: what (if anything) can we learn from the negative income tax experiments? the journal of socioeconomics, 34(1):49_81. zheng, yuan, marta guerriero, enrique valencia lopez and patrick haverman. universal basic income (ubi): a policy option for china beyond 2020? microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 6.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 84 implications of igwebuike philosophy in pursuit for shalom in the context of national and ethnic particularisms in african raphael akhijemen idialu, ph.d b.a (hons) (ibadan), m.a (birmingham, uk), m.a (oyo), phd (ibadan) registrar methodist theological institute, sagamu, ogun state nigeria. idialuraphael@gmail.com idialu.raphael@yahoo.com +234 808 354 2941 abstract this paper examines an african current reality, with emphasis on nigeria, of the different tensions and conflicts which have become a leitmotif and serious concern for most nations in the continent. while not limiting itself to the rising nationalism in nigeria and the factors that lead to this situation, the paper also looks at the ethnic particularism part of this situation. this work has an igwebuike perspective to the situation in the sense that it uses its philosophy as model in an attempt to foster peace building and conflict transformation in the society. the paper adopted phenomenological and socio-descriptive methods; and bibliographic tool was used in eliciting data for this study. the work reveals that there is untold and unnecessary hardship and pain that nationalism and ethnic particularism bring on the people of nigeria, and therefore recommends that the african values enshrined in igwebuike philosophy be adopted in fostering shalom in the face of rising national and ethnic particularisms in the face of conflict decimated nigeria and the world at large. keywords: igwebuike philosophy, nationalism, peace building, conflict, ethnic, particularism introduction a cursory look at the world of today from asia to europe to america to the caribbean, and to africa, the smoke that emits from these places is the smoke of conflict and war, a smoke of tension and displacement. a huge percentage of the news that emanates from news rooms all over the world is that of displacement and insecurity, news of maiming and killings, news that is devoid of peace and peaceful coexistence. this sad reality is not strange or new to africa and nigeria in particular. this is especially obvious in the number of killings and other cognate realities that are recorded in the country on daily basis. many causes have been identified for this ugly reality and the igwebuike, as a transcendental igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 85 organisation or body, is invited to render her prophetic voice in dousing this trend. the history of nationalism and ethnic tensions in nigeria and most post-colonial african states has been more of negative reports and complaints about civil strife resulting from difficulties in inter-ethnic relations than of a growth of the spirit of unity which appeared to have characterised the nigerian/african nationalist struggles.61 this is not surprising as duruji painfully avers that before the intrusion of the british into what is now known as nigeria, that the various ethnic and cultural groups that make up the area called nigeria today existed as autonomous political entities.62 he posits that these entities had their own political systems, social and religious values distinct from one another. the aim of the colonialists in bringing these entities together was purely for exploitation of capital. to facilitate this, they employed divide and rule tactics so as to consolidate and preserve british foothold with little interest in the socioeconomic or political development of the country, or its people. consequently, the british colonial policies, were not tailored to foster unity and peaceful coexistence among the disparate groups that constitute nigeria, rather it was intended to exploit the varied differences, create distrusts, suspicions and cleavages among them. ultimately, these unsavoury developments have degenerated to conflicts and unhealthy coexistence in most nigerian communities, hence the rise in nationalism and ethnic particularism. some african ideologies, philosophies, worldviews and dispositions to life are pro life and peace in the society, and have been very helpful in coexisting peacefully, fostering a holistic development. a few examples of this are the esan ideology, which has become a saying, of akoamen, meaning, may it be well or good with all of us. another is the ubuntu philosophy of i am because you are. ubuntu can be described as the capacity in an african culture to express compassion, reciprocity, dignity, humanity and mutuality in the interests of building and maintaining communities with justice and mutual caring. there is not much difference of this from the esan akoamen philosophy. the last one and the one we will consider in this paper is the igwebuike philosophy. kanu is a 61 i. odimegwu, “nigerian nationalism and the crisis of patriotism: a conceptual dialogics in philosophy and africa” in ike odimegwu, (ed) unesco 2006 world philosophy, 2006, vol. 1, 203 62 m.m. duruji, “ethnic militia and sub-nationalism in nigeria: a comparative study of massop and opc,” department of political science and international relations, covenant university, 2010. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 86 promoter of igwebuike philosophy, and has done considerable work on the ideology.63 conceptual clarifications a. igwebuike philosophy in understanding the concept and worldview of igwebuike philosophy, one does not have to travel far to get what this african philosophy is all about. professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, a professor of african philosophy from the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya, anabra state, nigeria has the following to say about the igwebuike philosophy: in more recent times, igwebuike has been employed as a lens for the interpretation of reality. igwebuike is an igbo word that expresses the heart of african thought, logic and the modality of being in african philosophy64. although it is a word, it is not just a word; it carries within it an entire structure: the structure of african philosophy, traditional religion and culture. it is taken from the igbo language, and is a composite word made up of three words65. therefore, it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space66. the three words involved: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power67. thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in 63 i. a. kanu, “igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development,” a paper presented at the national conference on peace and national development organized by the centre for peace development, veritas university, abuja, 20-22 november, 2017, 3 64 i. a. kanu, igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp. 59-69. 65 i. a. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. 2017, p.52 66 i. a. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. 2017, p.127 67 i. a. kanu, “igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education”. published in nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. 2017, pp. 11-17. also see kanu, ikechukwu anthony, “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment”. published in nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. 2017, pp. 28-38. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 87 solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful and can constitute an insurmountable force68. its english equivalents are solidarity and complementarity69. it is anchored on the african worldview, which is characterized by a common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny70. life is a life of sharedness71. from the submission of kanu, it is clear that the crux of the message of igwebuike is the message of unity, not division; a unity that is enshrined in solidarity and complementarity; a message that transcends any kind of barrier, be it race, colour, social, culture, economic; a message that engenders peace etc. i particularly submit that this worldview is what is needed in the world of today; a world full of all forms of divisions and strife. b. nationalism the term nationalism is as controversial as its etymological and historical roots. according to odimegwu, nationalism is a theory, an ideology, a movement, a consciousness and a creed; but it is also a disease, an expression of mania or desire. its meaning in each of these categories is not less diverse nor is the categories explicitly defined.72 nationalism is seen as the sense of political togetherness that makes people feel patriotic about a country, connected to a ‘wegroup’, and distinct from ‘they-group.’ as an ideology, nationalism holds that the nation should be the primary political identity of individuals. eteete posits that nationalist ideology maintains that the paramount political loyalty of individuals should be patriotically extended to the nation-state, the political vehicle of the nation’s self-governance. most people have more than one political vehicle of the nation’s self-governance, some have more than one political identity, and nationalism almost always is their primary political orientation. for example, i can say that, i am a nigerian, an esan man by tribe, 68 i. a. kanu, “igwebuike and the logic of african philosophy.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. 2017, p.9 69 i. a. kanu, “igwebuike and the question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. 2017, p.78 70 iroegbu, p., metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: international universities press. 1995, p. 24 71 i. a. kanu, “igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 2. 2016, p.41. 72 i. odimegwu, 204 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 88 and a democrat or progressive in that order. we emotionally rank our identities; while some of us put our country first, some see themselves first on a religious basis and so on. thus, you probably see yourself first and foremost politically as a citizen of nigeria or some other country. in this kind of identification, one might even be willing to fight and die for his country.73 however, nationalistic fanaticism leaves us with a perjured idea that leaves more to be desired in the era of organicism and homogenisation that drives the global politics. nationalism in this form beclouds the moral sense and the rational judgment of the true nationalist. at its worst, it is a possession with the absolute worth of my nation and the absolute worthlessness of any other besides it. proponents of this form of ideology pay less attention to cosmopolitanism, since it argues that it is possible to be a citizen of the world in general. this diseased version of reality finds expression in some of the innocuous distinction made popular from nation to nation. for instance, the igbo describes the hausa as ‘not intelligent’, or the yoruba describes the igbo as greedy or money-conscious; or the hausa describes the yoruba as cowardly and noisy, and other such ethnic categorization; these statements according to negedu and atabor, are mostly not mere objective description of facts, but prejudicial declaration of nationalistic positions and orientations.74 it has also been seen as the movement to defend the identity and interests of a nation with the aim of primarily securing her political independence. according to beswick, this may comprise the actions of members to secure or maintain the right to self-determination, as well as their desire to be perceived as a nation. the conceptual content of nationalism remains the attribute that members of a nation have when they care about their national identity and the actions that the members of a nation take when seeking to achieve or sustain some form of political sovereignty.75 nationalism is the movement of people to exit their original state or nation to pursue independent statehood or regional autonomy within a multi-ethnic, multi-religious state. we also refer to sub-nationalism as a movement or revolt of peoples against the unitary nature of state, reinforced by indigenous rights and 73 a.m. eteete, “ethnic nationalism, statism, citizenship and the right to non-discrimination under the nigerian constitution,” department of international law and diplomacy, babcock university, ilisan remo, nigeria, 5, 2013 74 i. negedu, and a. atabor, “nationalism in nigeria: a case for patriotic citizenship” american international journal of contemporary research, vol. 5, no. 3, 2015, 75 75 j. beswick, regional nationalism in spain, (clevedon: multilingual matters ltd, 2008), 25 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 89 contention of power. it leans to mobilization and ethnocentrism for political and economic advantage of one ethnic group against another. c. ethnic particularism for a proper understanding of particularism of an ethnic group, it is important to have an understanding of what particularism is all about. the word has been used in different fields to express opinions. in the field of theology, particularism is understood to mean the principle that only certain people are chosen by god for salvation. this is an aspect of calvin’s theology of salvation, that certain people have already be set aside to be saved by god at the end. in the sociopolitical sphere, particularism is the principle that individual states, races, or groups of a federation may act independently of the central government or authority. it is the principle of leaving each state in an empire or federation or a nation free to govern itself and promote its own interests, without reference to those of the whole. ethnic particularism could therefore be seen as organised violence-oriented groups populated by diverse elements, cutting across different age strata, but drawing membership exclusively from an ethnic group and established to promote and protect the interests of an ethnic group. nigeria is a nation with not less than 250 ethnic groups and one can only but expect that there will be some form of ethnic struggle for relevance and claiming of right. this ethnic awareness, identity politics, particularism, and localism against the uniformity of abstract universalism are common features of the postmodern and post colonial milieus. these identities have given rise to groups agitating for their rights and seeking attention which have most times led to conflict and unwanted situations as can be seen and heard in every part of the world. understanding of contemporary national and ethnic particularisms in the nigerian context africa, just like other continents of the world, and nigeria, just like most other nations are bedevilled with twin enemies of nationalism and ethnic particularism. anuforo succinctly quipped in his reference to governor general of nigeria, (1920 1931) on the vastness of nigeria. the governor described nigeria as a collection of independent native states, separated from one another by great distances, by differences of history and traditions and by ethnological, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 90 racial, tribal, political, social and religious barriers.76 in the same line, negedu and atabo posit that this multiplicity of content, that is, the myriads of ethnic groups that make up nigeria has perpetually posed a problem for the nationstate called nigeria; they lamented that the infrastructure on which nigeria stands cannot hold a superstructure because of its shaky nature. when a foundation is shaky; it will be absurd to put on its top an imposing superstructure. there is fundamental problem that must be tackled before nigeria can stand on its feet.77 national and ethnic particularism did not start recently; it is rather a long time phenomenon. this challenge of nationalism ethnic particularity can be traced to the earlier days of nigerian state when the leaders of nigerian nationalist struggles graduated into the leaders of post independence nigerian government, they seemed also to have transformed instantaneously from nigerian nationalist freedom fighters to ethnic nationalist leaders. and so in the first republic nigerian political experience, the leaders of the three major ethnic groups – nnamdi azikiwe (igbo), ahmadu bello (hausa) and obafemi awolowo (yoruba) showed themselves, in moment of personal crisis to be more of ethnic champions than nationalist leaders. while awolowo and bello were more open and direct, the vacillation of azikiwe did not help the nigerian people or the igbo people. many believe that this trend historically prepared the grounds for the agitations that we experience these days in the name of ethnic loyalties that abound in different forms. to discuss how nationalism and ethnic particularism militate against peace building and conflict transformation, a working definition for ethnic militia will be appropriate. ethnic militia is a tool or avenue for the disturbance of peace in any society. duruji posits that ethnic militia is an extreme form of ethnic agitation for self-determination. this agitation usually manifest when an ethnic group assumes militant posture. they serve as a social pressure group designed to influence the structure of power to the advantage of an ethnic group, and call attention to the deteriorating material condition or political deprivation, and perceived marginalisation of their group or social environment.78 from the 76 b. anurofo, “the breakup of nigeria: unthinkable, a remote possibility or the only solution?” 2013. www.openmindfoundation.com, accessed 17 th may, 2019. 77 negedu and atabo, 76 78 m. m. duruji, “ethnic militias and sub-nationalism in nigeria: a comparative study of massob and opc,” department of political science and international relations, covenant university, ota, nigeria, 14-15, 2010 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 91 above, it is safe to posit that the insurgence of nationalist tendencies which eventually culminates to ethnic militia is a flow-out of the tension that has always been between civic and ethnic nationalism. according to odimegwu, these conflicts of ethnic and civic nationalisms in nigeria constitute for the average nigerian citizen, a conflict and dislocation of loyalties between the nigerian state and the various ethnic nationalities in the state.79 conflict brings about all manner of outcomes such as poverty, death, destruction, food shortage and disease, etc. the first major sign of conflict which brought tension among nigerians came on the 15th january 1966. as a result of the coup, the eastern region made up of majority of igbo people declared a republic known as biafra. the rest of nigerians led by northern nigeria declared war on the igbo in july 1967. however, the war ended in january 1970. since then, peace has eluded the regions. from 1999 till date, nigeria has experienced critical events that undermined her co-existence. the crisis reached its peak according to okwueze during the military regimes of under babangida and abacha as nigeria was already facing serious economic and political problems.80 the nigerian crises in different shades are highlighted below. sharia crisis: in november 1999, the introduction of sharia law (islamic civil and criminal code) in the twelve northern states of nigeria met aggressive resistance that caused the religious crisis of february 2000. the implementation of sharia law, in the opinion of harnischfeger, sparked national controversies since the days of its proposal in 1999 by zamfara governor, sani ahmad yerima. the government of the federation or of a state shall not adopt any religion as “a state of religion” and should also make her position known on sharia law in the constitution.81 niger delta crisis (militancy): this is mainly carried out by the ethnic militia in the nigerian niger delta. these groups include movement for the emancipation of the niger delta (mend), the movement for the survival of ogoni people (mosop), and niger delta people’s volunteer force (ndpvf) are some of the major ones. restiveness of the niger delta region where youths of the region unable to reconcile the wealth the region gives the nation with the extremely poor condition in which the region lives with has taken to actions which create 79 i. odimegwu, 207 80 m.i okwueze, ethics, religion and society. nsukka, nigeria, 2003, 99-117. 81 j. harinischfeger, democratization and islamic law: the sharia conflict in nigeria. (frankfurt: campus verlag, 2008), 35-56. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 92 anxiety, tension and conflict. this has necessitated the formation of ethnic militia like the ones mentioned above whose goal appears to be to effect violent changes where peaceful changes are impossible. since then, ethnic militants have taken over the niger delta region making it a peace less and unpeaceable environment. other militant groups: the movement for the actualization of sovereign state of biafra (massob) founded in 1999 by ralph uwazuruike, is an igbo dominated ethnic movement. massob agitates for a republic of biafra comprising the south-east and south-south regions of nigeria. the oodua people’s congress (opc) founded by dr. fredrick faseun, is predominant in the yoruba area and predates the return to democracy in 1999, but became more visible thereafter in their quest for a repositioned yoruba nation in the politics of nigeria. in the north, the story remains the same, as various ethnic movements were established; among these organizations in the north are the arewa people’s congress (apc) which emerged to counter the opc; the hambada and hisbah to enforce sharia compliance in northern states. in recent years, there has been renewed rush to join in the race through the militant islamic body (boko haram) that pervades the area and these developments stem from the perception of marginalisation and non-accommodation of pure islamic principles/way of life by the nigerian political system. the reason for these acts perpetrated by different sub-groups to gain recognition is essentially because nigerian political workers/office holders have made little remarkable difference compared with the struggles, which our foremost nationalists undertook to make nigeria a reality. this dialectical reversal paves way for people to vent anger on the government. kidnapping: the crisis in nigeria has been variously reported by various scholars. whitney young lamented that armed youths occupied shell oil company buildings in lagos and held hostage 30 nigerian employees and four guards of the anglo-dutch-owned company. the nigerian army overcame the group releasing 34 hostages.82 agbuegbu, reported how the niger delta armed militants kidnapped 22 nigerian citizens and two unidentified foreign nationals working for chevron, a u.s oil company.83 the problem of ethnic militia and 82 y. whitney, “patterns of global terrorism” public affairs section of u.s. consulate the u.s. department of state, 2001. 83 t. agbuegbu, “crack down on militias” newswatch october 17th, 2005, 18. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 93 their activities has brought numerous crises in nigeria. in fact, story of kidnapping is daily on the news. political crisis: in benue state, central nigeria in 2001 experienced a military assault as affirmed by terwase that a planned military operation was carried out in revenge for the killing of 19 soldiers, over 200 unarmed civilians were killed.84 he lamented that the government failed to condemn any of the attacks. there had been continuous series of assassinations in nigeria. on the 23rd of december 2001, according to edemodu, the former attorney-general of the federation chief bola ige was assassinated in his residence.85 the list is endless and beyond the scope of this presentation. religious crisis: in november 2002, nigeria witnessed a religious crisis motivated by miss world pageant. because nigeria won the 2001 miss world contest by agbani darego, it was to host the 2002 miss world in nigeria but the timing coincided with the muslim ramadan festival and it met stumbling block from the islamic clerics. the massive public protest and riots that followed caused loss of lives, many injured and properties worth millions of naira damaged. there is also the problem of sectarian religious killings perpetuated by boko haram in many parts of the northern nigeria. according to akah, boko haram was founded in maiduguri, northern nigeria in 2002 by mohammed yusuf and has its political goal to create an islamic state.86 the organization sees western style education as a sin. they have been on rampage since then and the nation seems not to have any meaningful solution to the menace. to this end, many countries of the world, nigeria in particular have not known peace over the years. it is this reason that necessitated the formation of many international organizations and igwebuike whose objectives were and are still the maintenance of world peace and security. land disputes: there are also land disputes which have caused conflicts across the country. examples are the communities of aguleri and umuleri in anambra state, the brass and nembe communities of bayelsa and rivers states are typical examples of conflicts emanating from prolonged boundary disputes. even the bakassi peninsula internal boundary dispute between nigeria and cameroun almost evolved into war when cameroonian soldiers opened fire and killed 84 i.s. terwase, “religious violence in nigeria: causal diagnoses and strategic recommendations to the state and religious communities”, african journal on conflict resolution. 2012, 107-112. 85 a. edemodu, “year of assassins and political violence. the guardian, 29 th december, 2002, 20. 86 josephine ngozi akah, “the role of christianity in nigeria’s quest for peaceful coexistence” bassey andah journal, vol. 9, 2016, 178. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 94 nigerian soldiers patrolling the river apka yafi on 16h may 1981. cameroun apologized and later won the dispute at the international court of justice at hague in 2001. currently, nigeria is facing ethnic diversity conflicts involving the farmers and fulani herdsmen in nasarawa, benue, abia, enugu and other some states. the herdsmen attacked these states, killing hundreds of people and destroying properties worth millions of naira. trade disputes: trade related disputes are other areas of conflict in nigeria. a crisis in this area was the removal of fuel subsidy. nigeria is a country where the majority of the population live below poverty level. removal of subsidy on fuel will no doubt worsen an already existing difficult situation for the people. the government has failed to provide amenities for the people, education is not well funded, the roads are dilapidated, railways have packed up and healthcare deteriorated. there is the issue of tribalism as a crises situation in nigeria whereby people favour their wards when it comes to appointments and contracts. favouritism is the order of the day and the game of jungle justice exists. during the crises situation, lives were lost, properties worth millions of naira are destroyed, economic activities are grounded to a halt, some people even become refugees in their own land, foreign investors are afraid to come in, government attention will be diverted to providing security rather than focusing on sustainable development. all these do not ensure peaceful co-existence. some causes of conflict some causes of agitations and conflict have been identified in most of african nations, nigeria inclusive. they are classified into three simple basic categories: primary, secondary, and tertiary causes. the primary or root causes are inequality, state collapse, economic decline, a bad history of resolving problems, and inequity in dispensing the national resource wealth. the secondary causes have to do with unemployment, lack of good and effective education, population pressure, abuse of ethnicity, and availability of arms. the tertiary causes are regional and interlocking conflicts, lack of guarantors, inadequate and inappropriate mediation, and misplaced humanitarian assistance.87 the scope of this paper will not be able to cover the details of these causes as they happen in nigeria and other nations of the world. from the foregoing the ultimate victim is the nigerian state, she suffers in virtually all perspectives; ranging from service she should render to her citizens, 87 department for international development, “the causes of conflict in africa” 13-14, 2001. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 95 she fails because she is incapacitated; from the perspective of the ethnic nationalist who benefits, his loyalty is to his ethnicity and not to the nigerian state; from the perspective of the ethnic-nationalist who is not gaining immediately; there are two possible attitudes; to claim to be a nigerian nationalist and accuse others of ethnicism; or to accuse nigeria of being a failed state and to call for dissolution of the nigerian state which is a hallmark of the nationalism and ethnic particularism being discussed here. all these point to how we have nurtured the seed of discord that was sown by the colonial masters to their own advantage. the question remains: how can the igwebuike contribute her quota in stemming conflict and fostering peace building in a conflict decimated nigeria? implications for igwebuike philosophy in fostering peace in the face of rising national and ethnic particularisms in nigeria there are myriads of ways the igwebuike can step up in the campaign for peace building and conflict transformation in nigeria. campaign for peace: peace, according to the dictionary, is the absence of war or other hostilities or freedom from quarrels and disagreements. it also speaks of harmonious relation; public security and order; inner contentment; serenity.88 from a biblical perspective, the normal definition of peace would be absence of civil disturbance or hostilities, or freedom from internal and external strife. however the biblical concept of peace is wider than that, and rests heavily on the hebrew root slm, (shalom) which means "to be complete" or "to be sound." the verb conveys both a dynamic and a static meaning: "to be complete or whole" or "to live well."89 the noun has many nuances, but they can be grouped into four categories: (1) shalom as wholeness of life or body (i.e., health); (2) shalom as right relationship or harmony between two parties or people, often established by a covenant and, when related to god (whom they referred to as yahweh), the covenant was renewed or maintained with a "peace offering"; (3) shalom as prosperity, success, or fulfilment (lev 26:3-9); and (4) shalom as victory over one's enemies or absence of war. shalom was used in both greetings and farewells. 88 peace, http://www.thefreedictionary.com/peace, accessed 23 rd may, 2019 89 dictionaries baker's evangelical dictionary of biblical theology – peace, http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/peace, accessed 23 rd may, 2019 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 96 all religions have the concept of peace and prayers for peace in their scriptures; they preach peace, focusing on the goodness in society. therefore they ought to involve themselves in peace building process and develop structures to protect it. religion, thus, tries to give hopes of maintaining peace. hence, the adoption of igwebuike philosophy will be a potent tool for initiating and maintaining peace in a society and engendering conflict transformation. reconciliation and justice are models of peace building. this is important as absence of them will never allow peace building to succeed. biblical peace, as i have just stated, is a holistic peace and is not merely absence of strife. holistic peace is possible when there is respect for human life and dignity, upholding of human and fundamental rights of all sorts with socio-economic and political justice through reconciliation as means to achieve the goal, namely peace. it is imperative that stakeholders of the various communities fall back on these core aspects of igwebuike’s philosophy and apply them for shalom that has become so elusive in recent times. before peace can be said to exist anywhere, the citizens must be free from all forms of violence, be it political, economic, social, or religious. gaiya is of the opinion that religion infuses every aspect of nigerian life, from fundamental greetings to name of businesses.90 engaging this in conflict settings can provide unique opportunities to intervene in ongoing conflicts or to reduce the risk that violence will erupt. igwebuike teachings can provide values, norms, and motivations that support non-violent approaches to raising and confronting differences among people and communities. it can also provide empathy and compassion that can sustain reconciliation and problem solving across divisions. one of the ways christianity has helped in securing peace in nigeria is by appealing to the conscience of the people through ethical teachings. conscience is a judge or guide. according to abogunrin, it is seen as “the science of moral conduct.91 this can also be pursued with more vigour by conscientising the minds and worldviews of the people on the igwebuike ideology for a peaceful community. 90 m.a.b. gaiya, religion after 9/11: implications for the study of religion in nigerian universities. university of jos. inaugural lecture series (no. 50). jos, nigeria, 2011, 91 s.o. abogunrin, (ed.) religion and ethics in nigeria. (ibadan. daystar press, 1986), 2 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 97 in the light of the above, what perspectives should people take in adopting the igwebuike philosophy in tackling national and ethnic particularisms in order for peace to reign? what are the expectations of god, the world, the people of nigeria to bring about peace? i will highlight a few approaches as suggested by cunningham on how peace can be enjoyed in a community, in which igwebuike philosophy can be adopted. 1. spiritual approach: nigeria needs mercy from god. i strongly believe that a resort to the religious aspect of igwebuike philosophy of religion will go a long way in fostering peace in nigeria and other nations. the bible says “if my people that are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray and turn from their wicked ways... god says he will turn to them and heal them and their land.” the healing of nigeria must start with a cry for god’s mercy which this work believes can better be handled only by looking at igwebuike philosophy of religion and culture. part of spiritual contribution is prayer. we are to pray for the peace of our jerusalem. the first thing god did was to speak his word to the chaotic situation. religious adherents should use every opportunity to introduce god’s word to the situation of nigeria, and for other african nations like south sudan to emulate. the word of god which talks about peace and unity, which is a core aspect of igwebuike’ philosophy must be entrenched and applied into personal, family and communal living. 2. academic approach: the igwebuike philosophy, apart from having cultural nuances, it is also an academic ideology. there are considerable numbers of nigerians that are igwebuike adherents that see igwebuike from an academic perspective. if half of these are properly educated on the methods and ways to achieve peace in nigeria the situation will definitely change for good. with such opportunity and access to such vast minds, igwebuike’s tenets should be promoted in seminars, lectures, and further research to proffer solutions to these ugly realities. awareness must be created, the media should be used to promote peace, print of flyers to educate believers on their roles in peace making in nigeria. igwebuike ideology should be encouraged and used in various platforms to preach peace. 3. moral approach: as an ideology that has beliefs of peace, unity and strength enshrined in it, igwebuike philosophy must be dispensed to the citizens of the nation for a revolutionary stand for peace and passed on same to incoming generations. igwebuike must be continued by being taught to nigerians to live a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 98 life of honesty, integrity, purity, and peaceful coexistence which foster peace building. intrapersonal, interpersonal, intra-group or inter-group conflict is caused by sin. the morality of peace and unity, which is the fulcrum of igwebuike ideology, must be part of the lives of all african people. some methods to be adopted in effectuating igwebuike philosophy for peace building and conflict transformation in nigeria the methods of performing peace building and conflict resolution in most african societies are many. ajayi and buhari suggest the following: mediation, adjudication, reconciliation, arbitration and negotiation.92 it also includes employing extra-judicial devices and usage of legal maxims to persuade or convince the disputants about the implication or otherwise of their behaviour. these methods, which are akin to the igwebuike philosophy, have been effective in traditional african society and are still relevant in contemporary times. mediation this is an old method of conflict management. it involves non-coercive intervention of the mediators, called third party either to reduce or go beyond or bring conflict to peaceful settlement. it is described as a method of conflict resolution that had been so critical to traditional society. the mediators usually endeavoured that peace and harmony reigned supreme in the society at whatever level of mediation. this is also usually couched with the dictum of no victor no vanquished as buttressed by the maxim. adopting igwebuike’s ideology of peace and unity can act as mediation in conflicting situations. this mediation can be between the government and citizens in a non-violent manner. adjudication in traditional african society, adjudication involves bringing all disputants in the conflict to a meeting usually in the chambers or compounds of family heads, quarter heads and palace court as the case maybe. dialogue was linked with the adjudicatory processes in traditional way of solving conflicts. nigeria’s traditional, political and sociocultural structure should provide an easy platform for adopting the igwebuike philosophy in such settling of disputes. negotiation in traditional igbo and other ethnic societies of nigeria, peace is negotiated in times of conflict. apology for wrongs done to individuals and the entire 92 adeyinka theresa ajayi and lateef oluwafemi buhari, “methods of conflict resolution in traditional african society” an international multidisciplinary journal, ethiopia vol. 8 (2), serial no. 33, april, 2014, 149-151 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 99 community was a feature of negotiation. such apology was channelled through the elders, compound heads and chiefs of high calibre in the society. the igwebuike philosophy of peace and unity can be achieved through negotiation in most cases. so, the adoption of this philosophy can foster peace building too and thus, enshrine conflict transformation in her context. reconciliation the igwebuike philosophy can also be adopted as a reconciliatory method of fostering peace and quelling conflicts. this is one of the most significant aspects of conflict resolution and transformation. it is the end product of adjudication. after the disputants had been persuaded to end the dispute, peace was usually restored. this restoration of peace and harmony was always anchored on the principle of give a little and get a little. this approach buttresses the idea of the disputing parties to give concessions. a feast was usually organized to confirm the readiness of the conflicting parties towards reaching points of compromise. at least, as characteristic of african traditional society, conflict resolution method is the use of arbitration. the reconciliation function is practiced by an authority figure that mediates between conflicting parties but is empowered to make binding judgments. the purpose is not to render a judgment in law but to reconcile the conflicting parties and its norms. the relationship between the authority and the community is cushioned by community representatives who advise authority.93 characteristics that are expected of igwebuike philosophers in propagating their ideals for national and ethnic particularisms the igwebuike followers that can be efficient stakeholders in the stemming of national and ethnic particularisms by adopting miroslav volf’s template for ensuring peace in a society: humility, hospitality, courage, imagination, and comfort with complexity.94 these attitudes are some of the characteristics that all proponents of igwebuike philosophy should be looking at to grow in as they seek an end to national and ethnic particularisms in the nigerian context, and wright posits that all other people should possess these characteristics too.95 93 z. i. williams, (ed.) “traditional cures for modern conflict,” african conflict medicine 2000, lynne reiner publisher inc, 2000, 22-23 94 m. volf, exclusion & embrace. (oxford: abingdon press, 2010), 157-165 95 n. t. wright, after you believe (harper collins, 2010). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 100 humility: the clearest statement of humility as a part of peace building is in paul’s description of christ’s laying aside of his own power in order to make peace between humanity and god possible (phil. 2:5-8). it acknowledges that i am not more important than you or us. however, humility is not about selfabasement, but to choose to put aside the pride and power that jeopardise unity, a unity that igwebuike stands for. so, that aspect of humility in the igwebuike ideology, that makes people put aside pride and power for the sake of shalom of the brethren, should be exploited as an important tool in addressing the chaos that has become our modern day reality. hospitality: this is an attitude as much as an act, an approach to the world and to other people. it welcomes, listens, and responds. the concept of hospitality is biblical. hospitality was an ethic and law of israel (ex. 22:21). it is important that the igwebuike ideology is spread far and wide as generosity to one another in the form of hospitality is a sure way of achieving shalom in today’s world. the immigration situation in the world today is partly as a result of people forgetting the general teaching on hospitality, a value for which africans were known for. courage: often humility and hospitality involve the willingness to take a risk, especially in conflict situations. this risk-taking is not stupidity, rather, it is courage in the face of uncertain situations or to stand with people or speak out on particular situations in pursuit of peace. this was normal for the earliest christians and even africans. the igwebuike philosophy must be used today as a cue from our ancestors who used it to garner the courage to achieve shalom in nigeria and in other parts of africa. courage is important because peace builders operate within great complexity, where no one is wholly innocent of being part of conflict. the igwebuike needs to be able to move forward in a situation knowing that no one step will solve everything and that no one rule, beyond love, should be applied unilaterally. in reading the story of the prodigal son (luke 15), volf points out that the father breaks the normal rules in order to restore his relationship with his son because of his love for his son. imagination: finally, in ensuring the igwebuike philosophy simmers down to the very ends of the society, there is needs to be optimistic and hopeful, and this can be achieved by the power of imagination, the ability to imagine a different future than currently seems possible, and to imagine ways of getting there. this is an imagination driven by the hope, vision and promise of a different future, a future of shalom. this is optimism in the face of daunting and seemingly igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 101 hopeless situation. it is the imagination of moses, rooted in the vision given to him by god, to see israel freed from slavery. this imagination is part of what igwebuike philosophy stands for conclusion/recommendations as we have seen, national and ethnic particularisms are rife in nigeria. their history, causes and reality in the troubled nation were identified. however, the process of handling them and peace building is complex and interconnected. the generality of africans and nigerians in general, and the igbo in particular are called upon to reengineer and republish the igwebuike philosophy until it becomes part of the life and culture of the modern world. they must take up this responsibility as part of their holistic mandate and duty to the society. a few recommendations for ensuring of igwebuike philosophy will suffice here: a. the proponents of igwebuike philosophy should together schools and encourage students to engage in meaningful activities such as dramatization, miming, poetry, singing, projects. the more children are exposed to reading materials that promote images of other people’s culture, religion, uniqueness, social identity, among others, the less likely they are to find faults with one another and the more they are able to live among and work together for the benefit of mankind and for the good of the society. leaders should re-orientate members of the society towards peace and tolerance with igwebuike philosophy rather than incite them for violence. they should liaise with curriculum planners, to ensure that the tenets of promoting peaceful co-existence such as kindness, loyalty, honesty, love, optimism, compassion, etc. are included in reading comprehension passages of the english language curriculum. b. the igwebuike ideology of good governance must be the hallmark of political leaders. these leaders must be encouraged to avoid discrimination and marginalization of the people when dealing with developmental projects and religious matters in the country. c. the igwebuike mantra of tolerance, as a matter of fact, must be preached and promoted. ethno-religious tolerance and accommodation of opposing views as part of deepening peace building and harmony in the country should be instilled in the hearts of people. in nigeria, intolerance of opposing views by adherents of the major religions has heated the polity and caused tension. political leaders should embrace igwebuike philosophy in promoting conflict management and peaceful coexistence. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 102 d. the protection of freedom of the citizens as enshrined in the nigerian constitution is sacrosanct. this is necessary as one observes that the constitutional provisions for freedom of worship, religious expression and obligation as entrenched in section 38 (1) and (2) of the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria are weak. most of the tensions and conflicts between different religious adherents in nigeria are because of the flagrant abuse of the fundamental individual and group rights in the country. the adoption of igwebuike philosophy of unity and strength will be a round peg in a round hole in ensuring protection for the citizens of any nation that embraces this ideology. references abogunrin, s.o. (ed.) religion and ethics in nigeria. ibadan. daystar press, 1986. agbuegbu, t. “crack down on militias” newswatch october 17th, 2005. ajayi, adeyinka. theresa and buhari, lateef oluwafemi “methods of conflict resolution in traditional african society” an international multidisciplinary journal, ethiopia vol. 8 (2), serial no. 33, april, 2014. akah, josephine ngozi. “the role of christianity in nigeria’s quest for peaceful coexistence” bassey andah journal, vol. 9, 2016. anurofo, b. “the breakup of nigeria: unthinkable, a remote possibility or the only solution?” 2013. www.openmindfoundation.com, accessed 17th may, 2019. beswick, j. regional nationalism in spain, clevedon: multilingual matters ltd, 2008. cunningham, t. f. “conflict resolution strategies and the igwebuike: the igwebuike's role as an agent of social change in the political conflict in south africa,” a doctor of theology thesis submitted to the university of south africa, 1996. department for international development, “the causes of conflict in africa,” 2001. dictionaries baker's evangelical dictionary of biblical theology – peace, http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/peace, accessed 23rd may, 2019 duruji, m.m. “ethnic militia and sub-nationalism in nigeria: a comparative study of massop and opc,” department of political science and international relations, covenant university, ota, 2010. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 103 edemodu, a. “year of assassins and political violence. the guardian, 29th december, 2002. eteete, a.m. “ethnic nationalism, statism, citizenship and the right to nondiscrimination under the nigerian constitution,” department of international law and diplomacy, babcock university, ilisan remo, nigeria, 2013 gaiya, m.a.b. “religion after 9/11: implications for the study of religion in nigerian universities.” university of jos. inaugural lecture series (no. 50). jos, nigeria, 2011 harinischfeger, j. democratization and islamic law: the sharia conflict in nigeria. frankfurt: campus verlag, 2008. iroegbu, p. metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: international universities press. 1995. kanu, ikechukwu anthony. “igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development,”a paper presented at the national conference on peace and national development organized by the centre for peace development, veritas university, abuja, 20-22 november, 2017 kanu, ikechukwu anthony. “igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology.” journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3, 2016. kanu, ikechukwu anthony. “igwebuike as an igbo-african wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony. “igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony. “igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education.” nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony. “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment”. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony. “igwebuike and the logic of african philosophy.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony. “igwebuike and the question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony. “igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 2. 2016. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 104 negedu, isaiah and atabor, augustine “nationalism in nigeria: a case for patriotic citizenship” american international journal of contemporary research, vol. 5, no. 3, 2015. odimegwu, ike “nigerian nationalism and the crisis of patriotism: a conceptual dialogics in philosophy and africa” in ike odimegwu, (ed) unesco 2006 world philosophy, 2006, vol. 1 okwueze, m.i. ethics, religion and society. nsukka, nigeria, 2003. terwase, i.s. “religious violence in nigeria: causal diagnoses and strategic recommendations to the state and religious communities”, african journal on conflict resolution. 2012. volf, miroslav. exclusion & embrace. oxford: abingdon press, 2010. williams, z.i. (ed.) “traditional cures for modern conflict,” african conflict medicine 2000, lynne reiner publisher inc, 2000. wright, nicolas t. after you believe. harper collins, 2010. young whitney, “patterns of global terrorism” public affairs section of u.s. consulate the u.s. department of state, 2001. http://mbkinc.org/about-us/, accessed 17th may, 2019. http://www.mybrotherskeeper.org/about-us/who-we-are/, accessed 17th may, 2019. https://mybrotherskeeperinc.net/, accessed 17th may, 2019. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/peace, accessed 23rd may, 2019. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 130 social media and marital choices: its implications on contemporary marriage adebayo ola afolaranmi lead city university, ibadan oyo state, nigeria spiritualdigest@hotmail.com; +2348055159591 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.36109.97768 abstract human beings are faced with numerous choices every day. these choices vary from the most trivial ones to the most important ones. one important choice (probably after the choice of becoming born again) is the marital choice, especially the choice of whom to marry. one phenomenon that is influencing people’s choices in this modern age is the social media in particular and the internet in general. the social media and the internet have influenced many facets of human endeavours. the contemporary marriage is not exempted from this influence. as a matter of fact, many people are now using social media to meet and connect with others and some of such connections have led to marital choice and marriage. this article aims at looking at social media and the internet and how they are affecting the contemporary marriages both positively and adversely. key words: social media, marital choices, family life, contemporary marriage, social network introduction human beings are faced with numerous choices every day. these choices vary from the most trivial ones to the most important ones. one important choice (probably after the choice of becoming born again) is the marital choice, especially the choice of whom to marry. one phenomenon that is influencing people’s choices in this modern age is the social media in particular and the internet in general. the social media and the internet have influenced many facets of human endeavours. the contemporary marriage is not exempted from this influence. as a matter of fact, many people are now using social media to meet and connect with others and some of such connections have led to marital choice and marriage. this article aims at looking at social media and the internet and how they are affecting the contemporary marriages both positively and adversely. mailto:spiritualdigest@hotmail.com https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.36109.97768?_sg%5b0%5d=nnomtxdh21aedi_xepodbdtdyfkgcgjz92h6gxugydugdzovqitdq0pcheewm3c91ikjsktkwkibfqv-ovb61lja3g.nrnjh2azuf6mbn5gagyqih9aoyytuztqiwqfs8f-f2zwgv4ct-fhi_pt3lkrrrodug9jauewq4koh3fqi4ymaq igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 131 the internet and social media the internet came in to existence because of advancement in information and communication technologies and the need to share information globally. it has become a powerful means of communication because it is broad, fast, and grows quickly. it has turned the world into global village with more connection to transmit information at speeds almost instantaneously.1 people are using the internet through many ways. these ways include: e-mail, instant messaging (im) or online chatting, online discussion forums, blogs, websites, social media, and web-based sms. the internet as an international network is used for research, commerce, education, entertainment, and so on. it is indeed a ―place‖ where people come together to buy and sell; exchange ideas and philosophies; discuss political and social issues; and, access a wide range of information.2 this information revolution has been seen as both ―a blessing and a vice to the modern man and woman alike.‖ 3 it is a blessing because it has not only transformed how people work, play, search, shop, study, and communicate4, but it has also transformed how people think and act, and this has affected the choices and decisions of many people in life. it is a vice because many people have been addicted to it. these addictions include: undue preoccupation with the internet, loss of control of time spent on the internet, inexplicable sadness or moodiness when not online, dishonesty in regard to internet use, creation of virtual intimate relationships with other internet users, loss of a significant relationship due to internet use, lack of sleep, and the likes. the use of the 1 see adebayo ola afolaranmi (2009). ministering through the internet: an essential guide. (ibadan: charisa books & publishing). 2 aemen khalid (2017). impact of internet on social connections in family system: a survey study of residents in lahore. arts and social sciences journal. volume 8 • issue 3 • 1000270. retrieved november 20, 2018, from https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/impact-of-internet-on-social-connections-infamily-system-a-surveystudy-of-residents-in-lahore-2151-6200-1000270.pdf, 1. 3 m. saleh and j. i. mukhtar (2015). social media and divorce case study of dutse l.g.a. jigawa state. iosr journal of humanities and social science (iosr-jhss). volume 20, issue 5, ver. ii (may. 2015). retrieved november 27, 2018, from http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jhss/papers/vol20issue5/version-2/i020525459.pdf, 54. 4 john t. cacioppo, et al (2012). marital satisfaction and break-ups differ across on-line and off-line meeting venues. pnas. june 18, 2013. vol. 110. no. 25. retrieved november 20, 2018, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc3690854/pdf/pnas.201222447.pdf, 10135 https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/impact-of-internet-on-social-connections-in-family-system-a-surveystudy-of-residents-in-lahore-2151-6200-1000270.pdf https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/impact-of-internet-on-social-connections-in-family-system-a-surveystudy-of-residents-in-lahore-2151-6200-1000270.pdf http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jhss/papers/vol20-issue5/version-2/i020525459.pdf http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jhss/papers/vol20-issue5/version-2/i020525459.pdf https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc3690854/pdf/pnas.201222447.pdf igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 132 internet in accessing the scriptures and other biblical and christian materials, even during worship experiences, has been seen as a blessing and a distraction.5 social media or online social network services focus on building online communities of people who share interests and/or activities, or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others.6 some online services offer the opportunity of having social networks with other people of similar interests. this has encouraged new ways to communicate and share information. one can sign up and have a sort of quasi-website where one can create a network of friends. these quasi-websites are in form of forums, groups, blogs and the likes. they are the tool that have been created to engage people, motivate and encourage them to be better people and create better livelihoods for themselves.7 this has made the present generation to have easy access to any kind of information they want through the internet and especially social media.8 in fact, the emergence of social media has tremendously changed the face of communication throughout the world.9 in the world today, ―four out of five people who have access to the internet use social media.‖10 online social network services (sns) social media can be grouped into online social network services (sns) and instant messaging (im) apps. "geocities" was one of the first social media sites created in 1994, 11 but the first recognizable social network site (sns) was 5 chris stokel-walker (2017). how smartphones and social media are changing christianity. retrieved november 27, 2018, from http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170222-how-smartphones-and-socialmedia-are-changing-religion 6 emmanuel akanni olasinde (2014). an analysis of the influence of social media sites on nigerian undergraduates. education and science journal of policy review and curriculum development. vol. 4 no 1. pp. 53-65 http://www.internationalpolicybrief.org/images/journals/edu4.1/edu5b.pdf, 54. 7 chiemela queen adaugo, ovute a.o., obochi charles i. (2015). the influence of the social media on the nigerian youths: aba residents experience. journal of research in humanities and social science. volume 3, issue 3 (2015). retrieved november 27, 2018, from http://www.questjournals.org/jrhss/papers/vol3issue3/c331220.pdf, 12. 8 olasinde, 56. 9 p. white, tella, f. & ampofo, m.d. (2016). "a missional study of the use of social media (facebook) by some ghanaian pentecostal pastors". koers — bulletin for christian scholarship, 81(2). retrieved november 27, 2018, from http://www.scielo.org.za/pdf/koers/v81n2/01.pdf, 3. 10 audrey lim (2017). effective ways of using social media: an investigation of christian churches in south australia. cej: series 3, vol. 14, no. 1. retrieved november 27, 2018, from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/073989131701400103, 23. 11 adaugo, 13. http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170222-how-smartphones-and-social-media-are-changing-religion http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170222-how-smartphones-and-social-media-are-changing-religion http://www.internationalpolicybrief.org/images/journals/edu4.1/edu5b.pdf http://www.questjournals.org/jrhss/papers/vol3-issue3/c331220.pdf http://www.questjournals.org/jrhss/papers/vol3-issue3/c331220.pdf http://www.scielo.org.za/pdf/koers/v81n2/01.pdf https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/073989131701400103 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 133 sixdegrees.com.12 it was launched in 1997 and allowed users to create profiles and list their friends. however, in spite of the fact that this sns attracted millions of users, it failed to become a sustainable business, so, in 2000, the service closed down.13 amongst other examples of social network services online are: 1) facebook: mark zuckerberg and a group of fellow harvard university students founded facebook as a social network service in 2004, primarily, to get to know their classmates.14 it has since evolved dramatically and grown to over a billion users worldwide.15 in fact, it has become the mostly widely used social media today.16 2) twitter: twitter is a social network and micro-blogging service created by jack dorsey in 2006.17 users can send and receive messages (called tweets) of up to 140 characters. pictures and videos can also be sent through twitter. twitter members can broadcast tweets and follow other users' tweets by using multiple platforms and devices. 3) youtube: this is a video-sharing website created jawed karim, steve chen, and chad hurley who were employees of paypal in 2005 before google bought it was over in 2006.18 users can upload and share videos on youtube. while unregistered users can view the videos, only registered users can upload as many videos as possible. 4) google+ (or google plus): this is a social networking project designed by google to replicate the way people interact offline more closely than is the 12 for more, visit http://www.sixdegrees.com/. 13 adebiyi marion and ogunlade omotayo (2011). development of a social networking site with a networked library and conference chat. journal of emerging trends in computing and information sciences. volume 2 no.8, august 2011. retrieved december 1, 2018, from http://eprints.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/7864/1/10.1.1.302.760.pdf, 396. 14 timeline: key dates in facebook's 10-year history (2014, february 4). retrieved november 28, 2018 from https://phys.org/news/2014-02-timeline-key-dates-facebook-year.html. 15 e. kross, verduyn p, demiralp e, park j, lee ds, lin n, et al. (2013). facebook use predicts declines in subjective well-being in young adults. plos one 8(8): e69841. retrieved november 28, 2018, from https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0069841&type=printable, 1. 16 ayala arad, ohad barzilay and maayan perchik (2018). the impact of facebook on social comparison and happiness: evidence from a natural experiment. retrieved november 28, 2018, from https://m.tau.ac.il/~aradayal/facebook.pdf. 17 amanda macarthur (2018). the real history of twitter, in brief. retrieved november 28, 2018, from https://www.lifewire.com/history-of-twitter-3288854 18 the brief but impactful history of youtube. retrieved november 28, 2018, from https://www.fastcompany.com/1514469/brief-impactful-history-youtube. http://www.sixdegrees.com/ http://eprints.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/7864/1/10.1.1.302.760.pdf https://phys.org/news/2014-02-timeline-key-dates-facebook-year.html https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0069841&type=printable https://m.tau.ac.il/~aradayal/facebook.pdf https://www.lifewire.com/history-of-twitter-3288854 https://www.fastcompany.com/1514469/brief-impactful-history-youtube igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 134 case in other social networking services.19 this service will be shut down on april 2, 2019.20 5) linkedin: linkedin is a social network service that focuses on building business or professional relationships. it was founded in 2002. the goal of the service is to allow registered members to establish and document networks of people they know and trust professionally.21 6) instagram: instagram is an online mobile photo sharing, video-sharing and social networking service that enables its users to take pictures and videos, and share them on other social networking platforms.22 7) ning: ning makes it easy to launch your own social network in a matter of minutes. it gives you the tools and expertise to nurture and engage your own community on the largest, most scalable, and integrated social platform of its kind.23 8) wikipedia: this is a free, open content online encyclopaedia created in 2001 through the collaborative effort of a community of users known as wikipedians. anyone registered on the site can create an article for publication. registration is not required to edit articles.24 this list is not exhaustive as there are other social network services like hi5.com, pinterest.com, and multiply.com. there are also numerous dating sites like match.com, ourttme.com, hinge, hitch, howaboutwe.com, okcupid.com, grindr.com, down dating (downapp.com), bumble.com and others. instant messaging (im) apps there are other forms of social media that have unique ways of sharing information in form of text messages, pictures, audio and video clips. some of them even over free calls! examples of these are 19 read more here: http://www.t5a.com/social-media/beginners-guide-google-plus/. 20 see https://support.google.com/plus/answer/9195133 (retrieved february 1, 2019). 21 read more here: daniel nations (2018). what is linkedin and why should you be on it? retrieved november 28, 2018, from https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-linkedin-3486382. 22 fore more, visit jenn herman (2014). the ultimate beginner’s guide to instagram. retrieved november 28, 2018, from https://jennstrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/the-ultimatebeginners-guide-to-instagram.pdf. 23 for more, visit goran buba, ana cori¢, tihomir orehova£ki (n.d.). evaluation of the use of the online community tool ning for support of student interaction and learning. retrieved november 28, 2018, from https://jennstrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/the-ultimate-beginners-guide-toinstagram.pdf. 24 for more, visit what is wikipedia? retrieved november 28, 2018, from https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/wikipedia-leaflet-en.pdf. http://www.t5a.com/social-media/beginners-guide-google-plus/ https://support.google.com/plus/answer/9195133 https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-linkedin-3486382 https://jennstrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/the-ultimate-beginners-guide-to-instagram.pdf https://jennstrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/the-ultimate-beginners-guide-to-instagram.pdf https://jennstrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/the-ultimate-beginners-guide-to-instagram.pdf https://jennstrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/the-ultimate-beginners-guide-to-instagram.pdf https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/wikipedia-leaflet-en.pdf igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 135 1) yahoo messenger: this was an advertisement-supported instant messaging client and associated protocol provided by yahoo!. it was no longer supported after july 17, 2018,25 but has been replaced with other instant messaging apps. 2) blackberry messenger (bbm): this is a branded data-based instant messenger and videotelephony application that allows messaging (and videocalls for some smartphones) between bbm users. the manufacturer of the blackberry, that is, blackberry limited (formerly known as research in motion limited [rim]) developed it. bbm used to be the best way to connect and share instant messages, pictures and more for free, in real time. until recently, only people that own blackberry smart phones could exclusively use bbm. however, as announced during blackberry live 2013, bbm officially has gone cross-platform on android and ios since october 21, 2013. with this, people with android phones, galaxy tabs, iphones and even ipads can now use bbm application on their devices. unlike other instant messaging apps that use one’s phone number or email addresses as one’s identifier, bbm uses a pin (personal identification number) so that one is always in control of who can contact him/her. this means that one can share one’s pin while maintaining one’s privacy and always being in control of who can contact him/her. bbm automatically comes with every blackberry smartphone with a unique pin. when one installs bbm on android or iphone, one will be assigned a new pin. one’s pin is unique to one’s device.26 3) whatsapp messenger: whatsapp messenger is a cross-platform mobile messaging app that allows you to exchange messages, images, audio or video without having to pay for sms but using the internet. whatsapp messenger is available for iphone, blackberry, android, windows phone and nokia.27 it can also be used on computer by simply going to the whatsapp website and download it to mac or windows. it is becoming the most popular im app. 4) telegram messenger: this is similar to whatsapp messenger. it is superfast, simple and free, and it can be used on any internet-enabled device.28 25 yahoo messenger will be discontinued. retrieved december 1, 2018, from https://help.yahoo.com/kb/sln28776.html. 26 for more, visit https://www.bbm.com/en/ and https://www.webwise.ie/parents/explainerwhat-is-bbm/. 27 for more, visit https://www.whatsacom/ and https://www.webwise.ie/parents/explainerwhatsapp/. 28 for more, visit https://telegram.org/faq#q-what-is-telegram-what-do-i-do-here. https://help.yahoo.com/kb/sln28776.html https://www.bbm.com/en/ https://www.webwise.ie/parents/explainer-what-is-bbm/ https://www.webwise.ie/parents/explainer-what-is-bbm/ https://www.whatsapp.com/ https://www.webwise.ie/parents/explainer-whatsapp/ https://www.webwise.ie/parents/explainer-whatsapp/ https://telegram.org/faq#q-what-is-telegram-what-do-i-do-here igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 136 5) skype: this is a telecommunications application software product that specializes in providing video chat and voice calls between computers, tablets, mobile devices, and smartwatches via the internet and to regular telephones. skype additionally provides instant messaging services.29 6) facetime: this is a video-calling application designed by apple for use on the iphone, ipad, and mac. it exclusively supports one-on-one calling (i.e., no group calling) and can only be used to call someone with a compatible apple device. unlike other similar video-calling applications, it will not work on windows or android phones.30 its im app is known as imessage and it replaces text message features on iphones. 7) zoom: this is video communications platform with an easy, reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, chat, and webinars.31 8) imo messenger: this is another instant messenger app and communication tool developed by imo.im for computers and mobile devices.32 9) 2go: 2go is a mobile messenger that allows you to communicate for free with your friends. it is a network of millions of people where you can setup your profile, talk to friends, share files and pictures, and meet new people.33 10) viber: viber is a mobile application that allows you to make phone calls and send text messages to all other viber users for free! viber is available over wifi or 3g. once you and your friends install viber, you can use it to talk and message as much as you want.34 uses of social media (especially facebook) because facebook has become the most popular online social network service in nigeria, if not in the whole world, it will not be unfair if more attention is given to it than the other social network websites. facebook has affected the social life and activity of people in various ways. it can be used in many ways. 29 for more, visit https://www.skype.com/en/. 30 for more, visit https://support.apple.com/en-ng/ht204380 and https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/what-is-facetime/. 31 for more, visit https://zoom.us/. 32 for more, visit https://www.lifewire.com/imo-instant-messenger-review-3426876. 33 for more, visit http://www.2go.im/about. 34 for more, visit https://www.viber.com/. https://www.skype.com/en/ https://support.apple.com/en-ng/ht204380 https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/what-is-facetime/ https://zoom.us/ https://www.lifewire.com/imo-instant-messenger-review-3426876 http://www.2go.im/about https://www.viber.com/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 137 these are some of the uses of facebook35 (most of these highlighted ways can also be explored through other social media apart from facebook): 1) one can have a personal page where one’s personal information like email address, phone number, birthday, and the likes can be found. the homepage of this website is called wall page. there are other pages like the info page, photo page and friends’ page in this personal page. 2) one can have a group page for group of people that share similar interest, or that are pursuing the same goal. one can add other people that are on facebook to the group. people on facebook can join or request to join the group. members of the group will have access to the activities on the group through their email boxes and facebook mailboxes. depending on the settings of the group, the owner and moderators of the group as well as other members of the group can send messages to the group or post messages directly on the wall page of the group. the group will have a wall page as its homepage and other pages like the info page, message page, photo page and members’ page. 3) one can have a page for a celebrity, cause, etc. created for a celebrity, cause, etc. that one wants to promote. people can join this page by ―liking‖ the page. the page will have a wall page as its homepage and other pages like the info page, message page, photo page and members’ page. 4) one can add other people on facebook as friends to one’s page. one can do this by inviting such people, and the people will have to accept the invitation. one automatically becomes a friend of such people that have accepted one’s friendship invitation on their facebook pages. 5) one can write or post messages on one’s page. these posted messages will appear on the homepages of one’s facebook’s friends. people on facebook, especially one’s facebook friends can comment on and/or ―like‖ the posted message through their homepage or one’s wall page. 6) one can write or post notes on one’s page. a note on facebook is a longer message that is more than 500 words posted on one’s page through a special page – note page. one can tag other friends, celebrities or causes that have facebook pages on this note and the note will appear on the wall pages of such people/causes. 7) one can write or post on friends’ pages. if a facebook friend permits, one can write or post messages on his/her page. these messages will appear 35 this an adaptation of the ebook, uses of facebook (adebayo ola afolaranmi [2012]. uses of facebook. [raleigh, lulu press, inc.]). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 138 with one’s name and picture on the friend’s page and the homepages of his/her friends. there will be a notification on one’s page about this action. 8) one can send personal messages to people. like ordinary email, one can send messages to people’s facebook message boxes that they will also get through their email boxes. 9) one can chat/communicate instantaneously and simultaneously with other facebook friends that are online. if the friend goes offline, the chat will be delivered as a message to the friend in his/her message box. one can also chat/discuss with people in a facebook group. this affords people in a facebook group to have a sort of online conference. 10) one can post as many memorable photos and video clips as possible on one’s facebook page. these will be stored in one’s photo page. one can tag one’s facebook friends on these photos and the photos will automatically be placed on the wall page and photo page of such friends. one can create as many albums as possible and organize these photos on one’s photo page. one can also give description and comments to each of the photos, and one’s facebook friends can also comment on the photos. instagram in particular is devoted to posting of memorable pictures and video. 11) one can broadcast live through facebook. one can record live broadcast through facebook and one’s friends on facebook that are online will be viewing live this as one records it. these recorded events will be stored on one’s page and can be viewed later. 12) since facebook is a sort of search engine like google and other online search engines, one can find people and other relevant information through facebok. facebook will firstly list people and groups, institutions or/and causes that are associated with what one is trying to find before facebook links one with another search engine like bing.com that will give other internet findings. use of instant messaging apps now that more and more people are joining millions of people throughout the world that are making use of instant messaging applications, how are they making use of these instant messaging apps? 1) one can chat individually with any person in one’s contact list. this chat will be left as a message for a contact that is not online. 2) there is opportunity of creating groups or joining existing ones. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 139 3) there is opportunity of creating broadcast list also where one can send a message to all the people in the list at the same time. 4) one can have a display name that can be one’s real name, nickname, or combination of characters or even smiley. one can use this to give a specific info like phone number, website address, and so on. there is even an opportunity to use a short profile as one’s display name. undoubtedly, this will give one’s contacts or anyone that sees one’s display name in one’s contacts’ lists a message about him/her. 5) one can have a display picture that can be the image that is placed beside one’s display name. it can be one’s picture or any other image. 6) one can use emoticons/smiley to communicate expression on social media. the word ―emoticon‖ is derived from two words: emotions and icons. emoticons are a shorthand method of explaining a feeling (smiles, frowns, winks, and the like) on the internet. emoticons can be used in any communication over the internet but are particularly popular with chat rooms and instant messaging. they can be used in email also. they grew from clever combinations of punctuation marks that now are usually translated by a software into an actual face. 7) one can send information/images through other means like pictures, voice notes, files, locations, contacts, and appointments. 8) there is opportunity of creating channels, a new social networking feature that extends the sharing experience beyond one’s friendship circle. it allows channel creators to amass an unlimited number of followers. marital choices in spite of the fact that marital choices vary from one couple/family to the other, it is certain that every couple/family will have to make choices and decisions on daily, if not hourly, basis. these choices and decisions will have to do with their relationships, children, extended family members, religious activities, and the society in general. making good and right choices is one of the god-given responsibilities of every human being and a primary ingredient for a good and healthy marriage. implications of social media on contemporary marriage marital choices are influenced by a variety of factors. 36 however, the social media indeed has many implications on the contemporary marriage. these 36 cacioppo, 10139. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 140 implications are both positive and negative. among them are explained briefly below: 1) access to information and communication: since ―communication is a veritable instrument that helps in creating and sustaining a conducive atmosphere in any society… [and] information is an essential ingredient that makes human beings survive and interact meaningfully with one another‖ 37 , information and communication are not only essential in marital relationships but in any other human relationship. undoubtedly, social media and the internet have given more access to information and communication. people now have access to what they do not and/or cannot easily have access to in the past or through other means. social media and the internet are readily available to provide needed information before any choice can be made. likewise, communication has been made easier as people can easily communicate with others regardless of distance between them. 38 this has had positive impact on the contemporary marriage. 2) reliance on social media: access to information and communication online has made more people to rely on social media for many things ranging from news to other necessities of life.39 it is just unfortunate that the more people rely on social media and other online platforms, the less they trust other conventional means and even real-time people. 3) learning opportunities: access to more information online has given people many learning opportunities.40 this is a good development, but it also has its disadvantages as people, even married couples, learn bad things through social media and other online platforms. 4) change in worldview and way of life: social media has tremendously changed the worldview and way of life of many people as it has exposed people to the worldview and way of life of people of different culture and 37 olasinde, 53-54. 38 siobhan mcgrath (2012). the impact of new media technologies on social interaction in the household. retrieved november 27, 2018, from https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/sites/default/files/assets/document/siobhanmcgrath.pdf, 8-9. 39 tang-mui joo and chan-eang teng (2017). impacts of social media (facebook) on human communication and relationships: a view on behavioral change and social unity. international journal of knowledge content development & technology. vol.7, no.4, (december, 2017). retrieved december 1, 2018, http://ijkcdt.net/xml/12711/12711.pdf, 41. 40 olasinde, 57-58. https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/sites/default/files/assets/document/siobhanmcgrath.pdf http://ijkcdt.net/xml/12711/12711.pdf igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 141 backgrounds.41 in a country that has relegated the views of women to the background, ―because of social media, females [in saudi arabia] have become more open minded and more aware of the wider characteristics of men within their society.‖42 in fact, ―social media has given saudi families the confidence to express themselves online and stand [to] respect others' opinions.‖43 this has affected how people think and behave, and it has had great impact in people’s choices as well. this impact is both positive and negative.44 5) socialization: another positive impact of social media is the fact that it helps people to socialize with others.45 this has enable people to meet new people and/or old contacts. it also enable them to communicate, share and/or exchange ideas and feelings online.46 it is noteworthy that while there is a significant limit on the number of people one can talk to or interact with at any given time in the real world, 47 social media has provided platforms to interact with more people, people that one may never meet face-to-face in one’s life time.48 this has encouraged ―longdistance relationships‖.49 however, this access to huge network of people from diverse backgrounds has exposed users of social media to new habits 41 joshua ebere chukwuere and precious chibuike chukwuere (2017). the impact of social media on social lifestyle: a case study of university female students. gender & behaviour 2017. pp. 9928-9940. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/joshua_chukwuere/publication/323014365_the_impact_of_soci al_media_on_social_lifestyle_a_case_study_of_university_female_students/links/5ad468f5aca272fdaf7b a61e/the-impact-of-social-media-on-social-lifestyle-a-case-study-of-university-female-students.pdf, 9937. 42 norah alanazi (2015). "a study of the influence of social media communication technologies on family relationships in the kingdom of saudi arabia". etd collection for auc robert w. woodruff library. paper 3133. retrieved november 20, 2018, from http://digitalcommons.auctr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4066&context=dissertations, 10. 43 alanazi, 10. 44 chukwuere, 9938. 45 dunbar rim (2016). do online social media cut through the constraints that limit the size of offline social networks? r. soc. open sci. 3: 150292. retrieved november 28, 2018, from http://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/royopensci/3/1/150292.full.pdf, 2. 46 kehinde oyesomi, et al (2014). how sociable are women on social media? an experiential study on nigerian women. international journal of research in social sciences. volume 4, issue 2. retrieved november 27, 2018, from http://eprints.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/2660/1/paper%20on%20social%20media%20and%20nigerian %20women.pdf, 2, 6. 47 dunbar, 2-3. 48 olasinde, 57. 49 joo, 34. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/joshua_chukwuere/publication/323014365_the_impact_of_social_media_on_social_lifestyle_a_case_study_of_university_female_students/links/5ad468f5aca272fdaf7ba61e/the-impact-of-social-media-on-social-lifestyle-a-case-study-of-university-female-students.pdf https://www.researchgate.net/profile/joshua_chukwuere/publication/323014365_the_impact_of_social_media_on_social_lifestyle_a_case_study_of_university_female_students/links/5ad468f5aca272fdaf7ba61e/the-impact-of-social-media-on-social-lifestyle-a-case-study-of-university-female-students.pdf https://www.researchgate.net/profile/joshua_chukwuere/publication/323014365_the_impact_of_social_media_on_social_lifestyle_a_case_study_of_university_female_students/links/5ad468f5aca272fdaf7ba61e/the-impact-of-social-media-on-social-lifestyle-a-case-study-of-university-female-students.pdf http://digitalcommons.auctr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4066&context=dissertations http://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/royopensci/3/1/150292.full.pdf http://eprints.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/2660/1/paper%20on%20social%20media%20and%20nigerian%20women.pdf http://eprints.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/2660/1/paper%20on%20social%20media%20and%20nigerian%20women.pdf igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 142 that can have negative consequences on their behaviour.50 furthermore, having more friends on social media does not necessarily mean one has a better social life.51 in fact, ―social media is in effect turning us into one of the most antisocial generations.‖52 6) change in the familial relationship: social media in particular and the modern civilization in general have changed the understanding of familial relationship from communal life to individualistic life. people tend to see themselves more from individualistic point of view than the communal point of view, and they tend to treat other people in this regard. 53 likewise, studies have now shown that the internet is reducing family influences over young people in searching for their partners.54 this is an adverse implication on the contemporary marriage. 7) entertainment: social media has been a source and means of entertainment as it has helped people to escape from emotional problems, find ways to relax, and enjoy oneself.55 8) empowerment: a study has shown that ―social media have the possibility of empowering individuals who adequately engage in it and judiciously use the medium for that purpose.‖ 56 it has also helped in knowledge acquisition and connection with professionals. 9) spending less time in real-time relationship: since more and more time is being devoted to the use of social media these days, couples are having less time to be together.57 this has led to decline in marital relationship. a study shows that ―over use of social networking sites leads to the decline 50 white, 5. 51 alice g. walton (2017). 6 ways social media affects our mental health. retrieved november 28, 2018, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2017/06/30/a-run-down-of-social-mediaseffects-on-our-mental-health/#51e099b62e5a 52 jacob amedie (2015). the impact of social media on society. advanced writing: pop culture intersections. retrieved december 1, 2018, from https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=engl_176, 3. 53 mcgrath, 6-7. 54 sajid a. noor et al (2016). the role of social networking websites: do they connect people through marriage or are they responsible for divorce? journal of international social issues (november 2016) volume 4 number 1 page 40-49. retrieved november 20, 2018, from https://www.winona.edu/socialwork/media/noor%20etal%20the%20role%20of%20social%20networ king%20websites.pdf, 42. 55 oyesomi, 6. 56 oyesomi, 13. 57 adanma c. eberendu (2015). negative impacts of technology in nigerian society. international journal of business and management review vol.3, no.2, december 2015. http://www.eajournals.org/wp-content/uploads/negative-impacts-of-technology-in-nigeriansociety.pdf, 23, 28. https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2017/06/30/a-run-down-of-social-medias-effects-on-our-mental-health/#51e099b62e5a https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2017/06/30/a-run-down-of-social-medias-effects-on-our-mental-health/#51e099b62e5a https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=engl_176 https://www.winona.edu/socialwork/media/noor%20etal%20the%20role%20of%20social%20networking%20websites.pdf https://www.winona.edu/socialwork/media/noor%20etal%20the%20role%20of%20social%20networking%20websites.pdf http://www.eajournals.org/wp-content/uploads/negative-impacts-of-technology-in-nigerian-society.pdf http://www.eajournals.org/wp-content/uploads/negative-impacts-of-technology-in-nigerian-society.pdf igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 143 of family relationship by decreasing the time youth spend with their parents, by decreasing their social circle and by weakening of their cohesion with their parents.‖58 this is applicable to married couples also. even when some couples are in the same room, and at times on the same bed, they may be engrossed in social media neglecting their spouses. this choice to be online or be on social media has affected the communication sphere of many marriages.59 in fact, a concern has been raised about social media ―that people may be spending too much time on these [social media] sites, creating problems in their family life and making it difficult to maintain good relationships with their spouses.‖60 10) lack of privacy: because of its lack of privacy, social media has exposed many people unduly to the world that is not secured. this has led to identity theft, fraud, blackmail, and at times death of some people.61 many marriages have collapsed because of this. 11) free expression: social media allows people to say anything without suffering the consequences as expressions that are difficult to make during face-to-face communication can easily be said online. 62 this on many occasions has led to cyber bully (to be discussed below). 12) limitation to express non-verbal signs and social presence: in spite of many emoticons available online, social media has a limitation in expressing non-verbal signs. it also deprives many people of face-to-face social connections. 63 in fact, many people that involved themselves in social media live fake lives and many people are deceived into believing them or aspiring to be like them. this, at times, has led to jealousy, rivalry and/or depression. 13) meeting future partner online: many people have met their future partners online or through social media. these people met online may be total strangers or people/childhood contacts that one has lost contact with. this has led to online dating/courtship and some eventually ―long-term, healthy, marital relationship… [but this has also] increased the possibility 58 saida sultana (2017). social networking sites (sns) and family relationship. iosr journal of humanities and social science (iosr-jhss). volume 22, issue 4, ver. ii (april. 2017). retrieved november 20, 2018, from http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jhss/papers/vol.%2022%20issue4/version2/g2204024652.pdf, 52. 59 mcgrath, 4, 8. 60 noor, 41 61 eberendu, 24. 62 eberendu, 25. 63 lim, 37. http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jhss/papers/vol.%2022%20issue4/version-2/g2204024652.pdf http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jhss/papers/vol.%2022%20issue4/version-2/g2204024652.pdf igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 144 of physical and emotional cheating, dissatisfaction, lower commitments and conflicts between couples.‖64 14) political awareness and participation: social media is taking a prominent role is creating awareness about politics, and it is enabling people to make choices of what and who to follow politically.65 15) online dating: this was a strange phenomenon before. however, with the advent of the internet and social media, many young ones are now getting involved in online dating.66 it is a pity that most of the relationships built out of online dating end in frustrations and catastrophes.67 16) online sex or cyber sex and sextexting: this is when two people text each other through their cellphones, saying dirty things or sending sexually explicit messages to each other. it is similar to online sex, but through texting instead. this can also be done through instant messaging social media like whatsapp, telegram, imo, and even in private messages through facebook, twitter, linkedin and the likes. this could be done with one’s spouse or any other person met online/offline. it can lead to masturbation. some people only use text, while others will take pictures or videos of themselves using webcams.68 17) sextape: cambridge advanced learner's dictionary & thesaurus defines this as ―a video recording of sexual activity, often one that is intended to be private but is made available for other people to see, for example on the internet.‖ 69 this is a sort of pornography. in most cases, people that involve themselves in this activity did not have the intention of allowing others to see the sextape, but, occurrences have shown that on many 64 noor, 43. 65 olasinde, 58, 61. 66 aaron smith and maeve duggan (2013). online dating & relationships. pew research center’s internet & american life project. retrieved november 28, 2018, from http://www.pewinternet.org/wpcontent/uploads/sites/9/media/files/reports/2013/pip_online-dating-2013.pdf, 2. 67 christina masden and w. keith edwards (2015). understanding the role of community in online dating. retrieved november 28, 2018, from https://www.cc.gatech.edu/fac/keith/pubs/chi2015-onlinedating.pdf, 9. 68 read more about this at sexting and online sex. retrieved november 28, 2018, from https://www.sexualhealthscotland.co.uk/sex-relationships/types-of-sex/sexting-and-online-sex and elsewhere online. 69 sex tape. retrieved november 28, 2018, from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/sex-tape http://www.pewinternet.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/media/files/reports/2013/pip_online-dating-2013.pdf http://www.pewinternet.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/media/files/reports/2013/pip_online-dating-2013.pdf https://www.cc.gatech.edu/fac/keith/pubs/chi2015-online-dating.pdf https://www.cc.gatech.edu/fac/keith/pubs/chi2015-online-dating.pdf https://www.sexualhealthscotland.co.uk/sex-relationships/types-of-sex/sexting-and-online-sex https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/sex-tape igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 145 occasions, one of the parties involved usually use the sextapes to blackmail the other when there is disagreement between them.70 18) cyber-cheating: also known as online cheating is a situation whereby a husband/wife is having a romantic and/or sexual affair online with another person other than his/her spouse through social media, email, instant messaging, or other internet platforms.71 it is related to cyber sex. the difference between the two is that cyber sex can be done with one’s spouse while cyber cheating is done with someone other than one’s spouse. this will definitely lead to lack of trust in the relationship. 19) perversion: social media has encouraged all sorts of sexual perversion like oral sex and anal sex even between married couples. another sexual perversion is multiple sex. incest has become a rampart occurrence in our society.72 masturbation – the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure – has become a controversial issue with some people claiming that it has some health benefits!73 using of sex toys is another sexual pervasion that is gaining prominence through social media. another sexual perversion is homosexuality (gay and lesbianism). 20) cyber bully and online harassment: this is an act of using social media to harass, abuse, embarrass, and/or cause disaffection to other people.74 this can lead to depression, anxiety and/or isolation on the part of the person(s) at the receiving end.75 unfortunately, cyber bully is gradually generating into cyber terrorism!76 21) infidelity and divorce: experiences and studies have shown that social media is causing a lot of infidelity in marriage and eventual divorce in the present-day society.77 examples of such infidelities are cyber sex and cyber 70 for a recent case, visit ―lekki pastor, ex lover at war over leaked sex tape.‖ retrieved december 1, 2018, from https://news.fashionstyle.ng/2018/11/01/lekki-pastor-ex-lover-at-war-over-leaked-sextape/. 71 betül aydın, serkan volkan sarı, mustafa şahin (2018). the effect of social networking on the divorce process. universal journal of psychology. 6(1): 1-8, 2018. retrieved december 1, 2018, from http://www.hrpub.org/download/20180228/ujp1-19410224.pdf, 1. 72 see ―incest, offence against morality.‖ retrieved december 1, 2018, from https://leadership.ng/2018/04/28/incest-offence-against-morality/. 73 see ―is masturbation good for you?‖ retrieved december 1, 2018, from https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/teens/sex/masturbation/masturbation-good-you. 74 amedie, 12. 75 olasinde, 58. 76 anedie, 14. 77 saleh, 58; noor, 48; alanazi, 10; sebastián valenzuela, danielhalpern, and james e.katzb (2014). social network sites, marriage well-being and divorce: survey and state-level evidence from the united https://news.fashionstyle.ng/2018/11/01/lekki-pastor-ex-lover-at-war-over-leaked-sex-tape/ https://news.fashionstyle.ng/2018/11/01/lekki-pastor-ex-lover-at-war-over-leaked-sex-tape/ http://www.hrpub.org/download/20180228/ujp1-19410224.pdf https://leadership.ng/2018/04/28/incest-offence-against-morality/ https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/teens/sex/masturbation/masturbation-good-you igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 146 cheating mentioned above. many marriages have not hit the rock, but all is not well with them as couples are living as strangers in the same home because of the bad influence of social media. 22) lack of trust: closely related to infidelity is lack of trust among couples caused by the use of social media. this can also cause jealousy and rivalry in marital relationship. a couple may be suspecting his/her partner due to the partner’s activities on social media. conclusion social media has been likened to food that any living organism cannot live without. ―the right choices of food in the right amounts keep people healthy and satisfied, while poor choices and excess consumption can lead to significant, potentially life-threatening health conditions.‖78 likewise, the right or wrong uses of the social media can lead to right or wrong marital choices. therefore, the church in particular and the society must orientate young people and adults on proper use of the social media. by this, the church will be able to prevent the bad impacts the social media is having on people’s choices. references adanma c. eberendu (2015). negative impacts of technology in nigerian society. international journal of business and management review. vol.3, no.2, december 2015. pp.23-29. retrieved november 27, 2018, from http://www.eajournals.org/wp-content/uploads/negative-impactsof-technology-in-nigerian-society.pdf adaugo, chiemela queen, ovute a.o., obochi charles i. (2015). the influence of the social media on the nigerian youths: aba residents experience. journal of research in humanities and social science. volume 3, issue 3 (2015). retrieved november 27, 2018, from http://www.questjournals.org/jrhss/papers/vol3-issue3/c331220.pdf afolaranmi, adebayo ola (2009). ministering through the internet: an essential guide. ibadan: charisa books & publishing afolaranmi, adebayo ola (2012). uses of facebook. raleigh: lulu press, inc. states. computers in human behavior. volume 36, july 2014. retrieved december 1, 2018, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/s0747563214001563, 94. 78 the good, bad, and in-between of social media. retrieved november 20, 2018, from https://carrierclinic.org/resources/good-bad-in-between-of-social-media/. http://www.eajournals.org/wp-content/uploads/negative-impacts-of-technology-in-nigerian-society.pdf http://www.eajournals.org/wp-content/uploads/negative-impacts-of-technology-in-nigerian-society.pdf http://www.questjournals.org/jrhss/papers/vol3-issue3/c331220.pdf https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/s0747563214001563 https://carrierclinic.org/resources/good-bad-in-between-of-social-media/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 147 alanazi, norah (2015). "a study of the influence of social media communication technologies on family relationships in the kingdom of saudi arabia". etd collection for auc robert w. woodruff library. paper 3133. retrieved november 20, 2018, from http://digitalcommons.auctr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4066&conte xt=dissertations alanazi, norah (2015). "a study of the influence of social media communication technologies on family relationships in the kingdom of saudi arabia". etd collection for auc robert w. woodruff library. paper 3133. retrieved november 20, 2018, from http://digitalcommons.auctr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4066&conte xt=dissertations amedie, jacob (2015). the impact of social media on society. advanced writing: pop culture intersections. retrieved december 1, 2018, from https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&contex t=engl_176 an experiential study on nigerian women. international journal of research in social sciences. volume 4, issue 2. retrieved november 27, 2018, from http://eprints.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/2660/1/paper%20on%20social% 20media%20and%20nigerian%20women.pdf bellou, andriana (2013). the impact of internet diffusion on marriage rates. iza discussion paper no. 7316. march 2013. retrieved november 20, 2018, from http://ftp.iza.org/dp7316.pdf arad, ayala, ohad barzilay and maayan perchik (2018). the impact of facebook on social comparison and happiness: evidence from a natural experiment. retrieved november 28, 2018, from https://m.tau.ac.il/~aradayal/facebook.pdf. aydın, betül, serkan volkan sarı, mustafa şahin (2018). the effect of social networking on the divorce process. universal journal of psychology. 6(1): 1-8, 2018. retrieved december 1, 2018, from http://www.hrpub.org/download/20180228/ujp1-19410224.pdf buba, goran, ana cori¢, tihomir orehova£ki (n.d.). evaluation of the use of the online community tool ning for support of student interaction and learning. retrieved november 28, 2018, from https://jennstrends.com/wpcontent/uploads/2014/05/the-ultimate-beginners-guide-toinstagram.pdf. http://digitalcommons.auctr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4066&context=dissertations http://digitalcommons.auctr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4066&context=dissertations http://digitalcommons.auctr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4066&context=dissertations http://digitalcommons.auctr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4066&context=dissertations https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=engl_176 https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=engl_176 http://eprints.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/2660/1/paper%20on%20social%20media%20and%20nigerian%20women.pdf http://eprints.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/2660/1/paper%20on%20social%20media%20and%20nigerian%20women.pdf http://ftp.iza.org/dp7316.pdf https://m.tau.ac.il/~aradayal/facebook.pdf http://www.hrpub.org/download/20180228/ujp1-19410224.pdf https://jennstrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/the-ultimate-beginners-guide-to-instagram.pdf https://jennstrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/the-ultimate-beginners-guide-to-instagram.pdf https://jennstrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/the-ultimate-beginners-guide-to-instagram.pdf igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 148 cacioppo, john t., et al (2012). marital satisfaction and break-ups differ across on-line and off-line meeting venues. pnas. june 18, 2013. vol. 110. no. 25. retrieved november 20, 2018, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc3690854/pdf/pnas.2012 22447.pdf tolorunleke, caroline aduke (2014). causes of marital conflicts amongst couples in nigeria causes of marital conflicts amongst couples in nigeria. procedia social and behavioral sciences. 140 (2014) pp. 21–26. retrieved november 20, 2018, from https://ac.elscdn.com/s1877042814033072/1-s2.0-s1877042814033072main.pdf?_tid=838ad8aa-6c45-4091-98eca2bf17c80e67&acdnat=1543301453_1aa7c1c11277e7cf91f2dcaa0cd8400d chukwuere, joshua ebere and precious chibuike chukwuere (2017). the impact of social media on social lifestyle: a case study of university female students. gender & behaviour 2017. pp. 9928-9940. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/joshua_chukwuere/publication/32 3014365_the_impact_of_social_media_on_social_lifestyle_a_case_study_of _university_female_students/links/5ad468f5aca272fdaf7ba61e/the-impactof-social-media-on-social-lifestyle-a-case-study-of-university-femalestudents.pdf page, danielle (2017). 5 ways marriage is harder in 2017 (and what you can do about it). retrieved november 20, 2018, from https://www.nbcnews.com/better/relationships/5-ways-marriage-harder2017-n768876 eberendu, adanma c. (2015). negative impacts of technology in nigerian society. international journal of business and management review vol.3, no.2, december 2015. http://www.eajournals.org/wpcontent/uploads/negative-impacts-of-technology-in-nigerian-society.pdf harleena singh (2015). family problems due to social networking. retrieved november 20, 2018, from https://www.aha-now.com/family-problemsdue-to-social-networking/ herman, jenn (2014). the ultimate beginner’s guide to instagram. retrieved november 28, 2018, from https://jennstrends.com/wpcontent/uploads/2014/05/the-ultimate-beginners-guide-toinstagram.pdf https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc3690854/pdf/pnas.201222447.pdf https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc3690854/pdf/pnas.201222447.pdf https://ac.els-cdn.com/s1877042814033072/1-s2.0-s1877042814033072-main.pdf?_tid=838ad8aa-6c45-4091-98ec-a2bf17c80e67&acdnat=1543301453_1aa7c1c11277e7cf91f2dcaa0cd8400d https://ac.els-cdn.com/s1877042814033072/1-s2.0-s1877042814033072-main.pdf?_tid=838ad8aa-6c45-4091-98ec-a2bf17c80e67&acdnat=1543301453_1aa7c1c11277e7cf91f2dcaa0cd8400d https://ac.els-cdn.com/s1877042814033072/1-s2.0-s1877042814033072-main.pdf?_tid=838ad8aa-6c45-4091-98ec-a2bf17c80e67&acdnat=1543301453_1aa7c1c11277e7cf91f2dcaa0cd8400d https://ac.els-cdn.com/s1877042814033072/1-s2.0-s1877042814033072-main.pdf?_tid=838ad8aa-6c45-4091-98ec-a2bf17c80e67&acdnat=1543301453_1aa7c1c11277e7cf91f2dcaa0cd8400d https://www.researchgate.net/profile/joshua_chukwuere/publication/323014365_the_impact_of_social_media_on_social_lifestyle_a_case_study_of_university_female_students/links/5ad468f5aca272fdaf7ba61e/the-impact-of-social-media-on-social-lifestyle-a-case-study-of-university-female-students.pdf https://www.researchgate.net/profile/joshua_chukwuere/publication/323014365_the_impact_of_social_media_on_social_lifestyle_a_case_study_of_university_female_students/links/5ad468f5aca272fdaf7ba61e/the-impact-of-social-media-on-social-lifestyle-a-case-study-of-university-female-students.pdf https://www.researchgate.net/profile/joshua_chukwuere/publication/323014365_the_impact_of_social_media_on_social_lifestyle_a_case_study_of_university_female_students/links/5ad468f5aca272fdaf7ba61e/the-impact-of-social-media-on-social-lifestyle-a-case-study-of-university-female-students.pdf https://www.researchgate.net/profile/joshua_chukwuere/publication/323014365_the_impact_of_social_media_on_social_lifestyle_a_case_study_of_university_female_students/links/5ad468f5aca272fdaf7ba61e/the-impact-of-social-media-on-social-lifestyle-a-case-study-of-university-female-students.pdf https://www.researchgate.net/profile/joshua_chukwuere/publication/323014365_the_impact_of_social_media_on_social_lifestyle_a_case_study_of_university_female_students/links/5ad468f5aca272fdaf7ba61e/the-impact-of-social-media-on-social-lifestyle-a-case-study-of-university-female-students.pdf https://www.nbcnews.com/better/relationships/5-ways-marriage-harder-2017-n768876 https://www.nbcnews.com/better/relationships/5-ways-marriage-harder-2017-n768876 http://www.eajournals.org/wp-content/uploads/negative-impacts-of-technology-in-nigerian-society.pdf http://www.eajournals.org/wp-content/uploads/negative-impacts-of-technology-in-nigerian-society.pdf https://www.aha-now.com/family-problems-due-to-social-networking/ https://www.aha-now.com/family-problems-due-to-social-networking/ https://jennstrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/the-ultimate-beginners-guide-to-instagram.pdf https://jennstrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/the-ultimate-beginners-guide-to-instagram.pdf https://jennstrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/the-ultimate-beginners-guide-to-instagram.pdf igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 149 halfens, jim (2015). is social media killing your marriage. retrieved november 20, 2018, from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/is-social-media-killingyour-marriage_b_6752960 taylor, jim (2013). is technology creating a family divide. retrieved november 20, 2018, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-powerprime/201303/is-technology-creating-family-divide john t. cacioppoa et al (2012). marital satisfaction and break-ups differ across on-line and off-line meeting venues. pnas. june 18, 2013. vol. 110. no. 25. pp. 10135–10140. retrieved november 20, 2018, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc3690854/pdf/pnas.2012 22447.pdf joo, tang-mui and chan-eang teng (2017). impacts of social media (facebook) on human communication and relationships: a view on behavioral change and social unity. international journal of knowledge content development & technology. vol.7, no.4, (december, 2017). retrieved december 1, 2018, http://ijkcdt.net/xml/12711/12711.pdf kathrin boerner (2014). ―his‖ and ―her‖ marriage_ the role of positive and negative marital characteristics in global marital satisfaction among older adults _ the journals of gerontology_ series b _ oxford academic. retrieved november 20, 2018, from https://academic.oup.com/psychsocgerontology/article/69/4/579/294008 0 kelmer, gretchen (2013). "social media and relationship development". electronic theses and dissertations. 332. retrieved november 20, 2018, from https://digitalcommons.du.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1331&context =etd khalid, aemen (2017). impact of internet on social connections in family system: a survey study of residents in lahore. arts and social sciences journal. volume 8 • issue 3 • 1000270. retrieved november 20, 2018, from https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/impact-of-internet-on-socialconnections-in-family-system-a-surveystudy-of-residents-in-lahore-21516200-1000270.pdf kross, e., verduyn p, demiralp e, park j, lee ds, lin n, et al. (2013). facebook use predicts declines in subjective well-being in young adults. plos one 8(8): e69841. retrieved november 28, 2018, from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/is-social-media-killing-your-marriage_b_6752960 https://www.huffpost.com/entry/is-social-media-killing-your-marriage_b_6752960 https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-power-prime/201303/is-technology-creating-family-divide https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-power-prime/201303/is-technology-creating-family-divide https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc3690854/pdf/pnas.201222447.pdf https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc3690854/pdf/pnas.201222447.pdf http://ijkcdt.net/xml/12711/12711.pdf https://academic.oup.com/psychsocgerontology/article/69/4/579/2940080 https://academic.oup.com/psychsocgerontology/article/69/4/579/2940080 https://digitalcommons.du.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1331&context=etd https://digitalcommons.du.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1331&context=etd https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/impact-of-internet-on-social-connections-in-family-system-a-surveystudy-of-residents-in-lahore-2151-6200-1000270.pdf https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/impact-of-internet-on-social-connections-in-family-system-a-surveystudy-of-residents-in-lahore-2151-6200-1000270.pdf https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/impact-of-internet-on-social-connections-in-family-system-a-surveystudy-of-residents-in-lahore-2151-6200-1000270.pdf igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 150 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.006 9841&type=printable laskowski, amy (2014). could facebook use end a marriage? retrieved december 1, 2018, from http://www.bu.edu/today/2014/could-facebookuse-end-a-marriage/ lim, audrey (2017). effective ways of using social media: an investigation of christian churches in south australia. cej: series 3, vol. 14, no. 1. retrieved november 27, 2018, from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/073989131701400103 macarthur, amanda (2018). the real history of twitter, in brief. retrieved november 28, 2018, from https://www.lifewire.com/history-of-twitter3288854 marion, adebiyi and ogunlade omotayo (2011). development of a social networking site with a networked library and conference chat. journal of emerging trends in computing and information sciences. volume 2 no.8, august 2011. retrieved december 1, 2018, from http://eprints.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/7864/1/10.1.1.302.760.pdf, 396. masden, christina, and w. keith edwards (2015). understanding the role of community in online dating. retrieved november 28, 2018, from https://www.cc.gatech.edu/fac/keith/pubs/chi2015-online-dating.pdf mcgrath, siobhan (2012). the impact of new media technologies on social interaction in the household. retrieved november 27, 2018, from https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/sites/default/files/assets/document /siobhanmcgrath.pdf nations, daniel (2018). what is linkedin and why should you be on it? retrieved november 28, 2018, from https://www.lifewire.com/what-islinkedin-3486382 noor, sajid a. et al (2016). the role of social networking websites: do they connect people through marriage or are they responsible for divorce? journal of international social issues (november 2016) volume 4 number 1 page 40-49. retrieved november 20, 2018, from https://www.winona.edu/socialwork/media/noor%20etal%20the%20ro le%20of%20social%20networking%20websites.pdf olasinde, emmanuel akanni (2014). an analysis of the influence of social media sites on nigerian undergraduates. education and science journal of policy review and curriculum development. vol. 4 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0069841&type=printable https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0069841&type=printable http://www.bu.edu/today/2014/could-facebook-use-end-a-marriage/ http://www.bu.edu/today/2014/could-facebook-use-end-a-marriage/ https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/073989131701400103 https://www.lifewire.com/history-of-twitter-3288854 https://www.lifewire.com/history-of-twitter-3288854 http://eprints.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/7864/1/10.1.1.302.760.pdf https://www.cc.gatech.edu/fac/keith/pubs/chi2015-online-dating.pdf https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/sites/default/files/assets/document/siobhanmcgrath.pdf https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/sites/default/files/assets/document/siobhanmcgrath.pdf https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-linkedin-3486382 https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-linkedin-3486382 https://www.winona.edu/socialwork/media/noor%20etal%20the%20role%20of%20social%20networking%20websites.pdf https://www.winona.edu/socialwork/media/noor%20etal%20the%20role%20of%20social%20networking%20websites.pdf igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 151 no 1. pp. 53-65. retrieved november 27, 2018, from http://www.internationalpolicybrief.org/images/journals/edu4.1/edu5b. pdf oyesomi, kehinde, et al (2014). how sociable are women on social media? an experiential study on nigerian women. international journal of research in social sciences. volume 4, issue 2. retrieved november 27, 2018, from http://eprints.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/2660/1/paper%20on%20social% 20media%20and%20nigerian%20women.pdf rachna jain (2010). 4 ways social media is changing your relationships _ social media examiner. retrieved november 20, 2018, from https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/4-ways-social-media-is-changingyour-relationships/ rim, dunbar (2016). do online social media cut through the constraints that limit the size of offline social networks? r. soc. open sci. 3: 150292. retrieved november 28, 2018, from http://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/royopensci/3/1/150292.fu ll.pdf, 2. sajid a. noor et al (2016). the role of social networking websites: do they connect people through marriage or are they responsible for divorce? journal of international social issues (november 2016) volume 4 number 1 page 40-49. retrieved november 20, 2018, from https://www.winona.edu/socialwork/media/noor%20etal%20the%20ro le%20of%20social%20networking%20websites.pdf saleh, m., and j. i. mukhtar (2015). social media and divorce case study of dutse l.g.a. jigawa state. iosr journal of humanities and social science (iosr-jhss). volume 20, issue 5, ver. ii (may. 2015). retrieved november 27, 2018, from http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jhss/papers/vol20issue5/version-2/i020525459.pdf siobhan mcgrath (20120. the impact of new media technologies on social interaction in the household. retrieved november 27, 2018, from https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/sites/default/files/assets/document /siobhanmcgrath.pdf smith, aaron and maeve duggan (2013). online dating & relationships. pew research center’s internet & american life project. retrieved november 28, 2018, from http://www.pewinternet.org/wphttp://www.internationalpolicybrief.org/images/journals/edu4.1/edu5b.pdf http://www.internationalpolicybrief.org/images/journals/edu4.1/edu5b.pdf http://eprints.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/2660/1/paper%20on%20social%20media%20and%20nigerian%20women.pdf http://eprints.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/2660/1/paper%20on%20social%20media%20and%20nigerian%20women.pdf https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/4-ways-social-media-is-changing-your-relationships/ https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/4-ways-social-media-is-changing-your-relationships/ http://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/royopensci/3/1/150292.full.pdf http://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/royopensci/3/1/150292.full.pdf https://www.winona.edu/socialwork/media/noor%20etal%20the%20role%20of%20social%20networking%20websites.pdf https://www.winona.edu/socialwork/media/noor%20etal%20the%20role%20of%20social%20networking%20websites.pdf http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jhss/papers/vol20-issue5/version-2/i020525459.pdf http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jhss/papers/vol20-issue5/version-2/i020525459.pdf https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/sites/default/files/assets/document/siobhanmcgrath.pdf https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/sites/default/files/assets/document/siobhanmcgrath.pdf http://www.pewinternet.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/media/files/reports/2013/pip_online-dating-2013.pdf igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 152 content/uploads/sites/9/media/files/reports/2013/pip_online-dating2013.pdf stokel-walker, chris (2017). how smartphones and social media are changing christianity. retrieved november 27, 2018, from http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170222-how-smartphones-andsocial-media-are-changing-religion sultana, saida (2017). social networking sites (sns) and family relationship. iosr journal of humanities and social science (iosr-jhss). volume 22, issue 4, ver. ii (april. 2017). retrieved november 20, 2018, from http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosrjhss/papers/vol.%2022%20issue4/version-2/g2204024652.pdf tang-mui joo and chan-eang teng (2017). impacts of social media (facebook) on human communication and relationships. international journal of knowledge content development & technology. vol.7, no.4, pp. 27-50 (december, 2017). retrieved november 20, 2018, from http://ijkcdt.net/xml/12711/12711.pdf the dangers of social media on marriage and family. retrieved november 20, 2018, from https://www.ncu.edu/blog/dangers-social-media-marriageand-family#gref the good, bad, and in-between of social media. retrieved november 20, 2018, from https://carrierclinic.org/resources/good-bad-in-between-of-socialmedia/ the good, bad, and in-between of social media. retrieved november 20, 2018, from https://carrierclinic.org/resources/good-bad-in-between-of-socialmedia/ toluwani eniola (2017). protecting your marriage from social media. punch newspapers. december 17, 2017. retrieved november 20, 2018, from https://punchng.com/protecting-your-marriage-from-social-media/ valenzuela, sebastián, danielhalpern, and james e.katzb (2014). social network sites, marriage well-being and divorce: survey and state-level evidence from the united states. computers in human behavior. volume 36, july 2014. retrieved december 1, 2018, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/s0747563214001563 walton, alice g. (2017). 6 ways social media affects our mental health. retrieved november 28, 2018, from http://www.pewinternet.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/media/files/reports/2013/pip_online-dating-2013.pdf http://www.pewinternet.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/media/files/reports/2013/pip_online-dating-2013.pdf http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170222-how-smartphones-and-social-media-are-changing-religion http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170222-how-smartphones-and-social-media-are-changing-religion http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jhss/papers/vol.%2022%20issue4/version-2/g2204024652.pdf http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jhss/papers/vol.%2022%20issue4/version-2/g2204024652.pdf http://ijkcdt.net/xml/12711/12711.pdf https://www.ncu.edu/blog/dangers-social-media-marriage-and-family#gref https://www.ncu.edu/blog/dangers-social-media-marriage-and-family#gref https://carrierclinic.org/resources/good-bad-in-between-of-social-media/ https://carrierclinic.org/resources/good-bad-in-between-of-social-media/ https://carrierclinic.org/resources/good-bad-in-between-of-social-media/ https://carrierclinic.org/resources/good-bad-in-between-of-social-media/ https://punchng.com/protecting-your-marriage-from-social-media/ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/s0747563214001563 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 153 https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2017/06/30/a-run-down-ofsocial-medias-effects-on-our-mental-health/#51e099b62e5a white, p., tella, f. & ampofo, m.d. (2016). "a missional study of the use of social media (facebook) by some ghanaian pentecostal pastors". koers — bulletin for christian scholarship, 81(2). retrieved november 27, 2018, from http://www.scielo.org.za/pdf/koers/v81n2/01.pdf timeline: key dates in facebook's 10-year history (2014, february 4). retrieved november 28, 2018 from https://phys.org/news/2014-02-timeline-keydates-facebook-year.html from family to friend. retrieved november 20, 2018, from https://media.proquest.com/media/pq/classic/doc/4114348591/fmt/ai/r ep/npdf?_s=cfcuniwkowkdjy7x4ast%2fqyy%2bc4%3d the brief but impactful history of youtube. retrieved november 28, 2018, from https://www.fastcompany.com/1514469/brief-impactful-history-youtube. incest, offence against morality. retrieved december 1, 2018, from https://leadership.ng/2018/04/28/incest-offence-against-morality/ is masturbation good for you? retrieved december 1, 2018, from https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/teens/sex/masturbation/mas turbation-good-you https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2017/06/30/a-run-down-of-social-medias-effects-on-our-mental-health/#51e099b62e5a https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2017/06/30/a-run-down-of-social-medias-effects-on-our-mental-health/#51e099b62e5a http://www.scielo.org.za/pdf/koers/v81n2/01.pdf https://phys.org/news/2014-02-timeline-key-dates-facebook-year.html https://phys.org/news/2014-02-timeline-key-dates-facebook-year.html https://media.proquest.com/media/pq/classic/doc/4114348591/fmt/ai/rep/npdf?_s=cfcuniwkowkdjy7x4ast%2fqyy%2bc4%3d https://media.proquest.com/media/pq/classic/doc/4114348591/fmt/ai/rep/npdf?_s=cfcuniwkowkdjy7x4ast%2fqyy%2bc4%3d https://www.fastcompany.com/1514469/brief-impactful-history-youtube https://leadership.ng/2018/04/28/incest-offence-against-morality/ https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/teens/sex/masturbation/masturbation-good-you https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/teens/sex/masturbation/masturbation-good-you igwebuike_6_7_11.cdr 123 the culture of death and the crises of modernity columbus nnamdi ogbujah, ph.d. associate professor, department of philosophy rivers state university, port harcourt. ogbujah.columbus@ust.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29305.49761 abstract the vast majority of reality seems enmeshed in cyclic elements of bifurcation: day and night, good and evil, heaven and hell, black and white, life and death, etc. often, an element is projected not just as a contrary within the gamut of opposing options, but as the inescapable adversative alternative, precluding the possibility of a midcourse or ‘third force.’ that is, the presence of an element portends not only the absence of its alternative, but a somewhat contrived force working to dismantle the alternative. in this sense, cultivating the “culture of death,” which is deemed as the base of the crises that humanity is currently forced to endure, is antithetical to cultivating the “culture of life”. life cannot be protably sustained in the midst of forces that pull it apart. admitting this adversative relationship as a universal rule among bifurcating elements, though awed in many respects, explains the persistence of racial bigotry in modern societies. in this essay, the mistreatment of blacks by whites was underlined as one of the crises of modernity. the modern penchant for abortion, euthanasia, homicide, capital punishment, unsustainable exploitation of nature, wars and violent conicts, among others, was recognized as obvious means of promoting the culture of death. in the end, various blips currently bedeviling societies were identied as watersheds ensuing from the culture of death. keywords: culture of death, crises of modernity, bifurcation, abortion, racial bigotry. introduction life and death are the highest properties of being. following ancient wisdom, being is that which is; that which exists; that which has the capacity to exist. to exist is to be, and to be is to have life or non-life. animals, plants, bacteria, and other organisms with innate capacity to instantiate properties exist in the sense of being alive; they are living beings (things). they can engage in biological processes, and as such are naturally given to generation and decay. rocks, water, books, tables, and similar others, because they lack internal mechanism to instantiate movement, growth, and reproduction are insentient (lifeless) beings. being insentient means the whole gamut of entities within this category are igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 124 negatively logical. negative logicality denotes the absence of life in a being that shouldn’t possess it; it represents a mere absence of being. for example, when we say the table is lifeless, we merely restate the absence of a property in a being that is not supposed to have it. “the table is lifeless” is a logically true proposition which, in combination with others, can form a sound argument. but this cannot be true for statements as: “the table is dead”; “the stone is tired”, etc. even though insentient entities, being nonliving existents, are subject to some form of decay associated with all materiality, they are not open to generation, growth and death. insentient beings have no ontological relationship with death. death is an essential property of life; a process by which every living being progresses to their nality. ontically, there is no escaping to death by all that possess life. ontologically, death is a privative logical being, as it signies the privation of life in a being that previously possessed it. for example, humans and other animals are adjudged dead when they lack life which they hitherto possessed. unlike in the case of a stone or iron, the existence of a corpse is a grim pointer to the loss of a fundamental property – life. not only is every material life subject to death, only material lives can die. nonliving beings do not die. death, being an essential property of life, certainly cannot superintend life in relation to being, since the property of a thing cannot be more signicant than the thing itself. hence, within the continuum of ‘life and death,’ life is of supreme value. but within the hierarchical ladder of living beings, human life tops others in value not just because of its capacity for self-consciousness and volition, but because, in some way, it “transcends” space and time.1 human life is at the centre of reality―of history. the manifestation of being is generally reckoned in time and space. events of the past, whether properly recorded or not, are factual, time-bound, and are irreversibly cast on the sands of time. they can be natural occurrences like earthquakes, tsunami, thunderstorm, etc., or human activities such as the bombing of hiroshima, world wars, etc. every past event remains an irrelevant datum of history that quickly zzles into obscurity unless arranged in temporal succession by, and is interpreted in relation to man. plants, lower animals and other living beings can neither arrange past events in sequences nor 1 ogbujah, c. n. 2020. “cultivating the culture of life: challenges in the 21st century globalized world,” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6. no. 5, pp. 48-63. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 125 ascertain their historicity. ‘it is man that creates, transmits and validates history.’2 every event, every meaning has value only in relation to human life. to live is to have the capacity to die. when heidegger notes that “as soon as man is born, he is at once old enough to die,”3 he is simply restating the primeval wisdom that mortality is an essential property of life. whether understood in the sense of shakespearean ‘necessary end which will come when it will come,’4 or bohannan’s inevitable debt which we owe life,5 death is inescapable to all mortal lives. so, when we decry the spate of death in modern life, it is not for the inevitable natural process of dissolution resulting from life’s essential property, but for the numerous and reckless means by which it occurs in contemporary cultures. going by the human carnage in the two world wars and other atrocious civil / interstate conicts; going by the rate of homicide, annihilation of entire ethnic groups, and the support of strategies for easy procurement of abortion, infanticide and euthanasia; and going by the speed at which nature is unsustainably exploited―causing natural disasters, it is inevitable that the survival of humanity hangs on a precipice. modernity revels in the “culture of death” and the ensuing crises are threatening to engulf everyone. in the following paragraphs, we shall look at the insidious ways by which the “culture of death” is cultivated as the new norm; the crises it portents to humanity; and the imperative on countering it with cultivating the “culture of life.” cultivating the culture of death culture and death are inextricable properties of human life, regardless of one’s status or location. everyone is born into a preexistent mode of life, into a culture. e.b. tylor’s depiction of culture as entailing ‘man’s capabilities and habits acquired as a member of society,’6 indicates that culture is a human affair. other living beings, depending on their degree of awareness, might display some features suggestive of habits and capabilities. but these features, suggestive as they may be, lack systematization, and cannot be adjudged as elements of 2 ogbujah, c. n. 2020. “conceptual frame of history, science and technology”, in c. ogbujah (ed.). history and philosophy of science and technology, a reader, port harcourt: pearl pubs. int. ltd., pp. 13-58. 3 heidegger, m. 1962 [1927]. being and time. new york: harper and row, p. 289. 4 shakespeare, w. 2004. julius caesar (illustrated edition). edited by b. a. mowat and p. werstine. new york: simon & schuster, act 2 scene 2, 35. 5 bohannan, laura. azquotes.com. wind and fly ltd, 2020. 15 august 2020, https://www.azquotes.com/author/73920-laura_bohannan 6 tylor, e. b. [1871], 2010. primitive culture. cambridge: cambridge university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 126 culture. only humans, by reason of volition and choice, can form a people, and thus, can create culture. culture, in its basic signication, connotes the aggregation of people. it is the way of life of a group of people. much as societies are distinct from each other, so do their cultures vary in the conceptualization of death. these varying conceptions, for the most part, noticeably inuence their lifestyles, willingness to die for a cause, the degree to which they welcome or fear death, their expressions of grief and mourning, and the nature of funeral rites performed at death. whereas some cultures, acknowledging death’s inevitability, regard it as transition and gateway to suprasensible mode of existence (e.g. christian culture); others, of nihilistic type, conceive it as futility―an entrance into nothingness. jean-paul sartre, in being and nothingness, excels in this latter view. each of these conceptions elicits behaviours with obvious implications. in one, the acknowledgement of death as a transition to a higher life imposes values which promote the inviolability of human life, the sacredness of certain rights, and virtues that mitigate behaviour in view of eschatological concerns. since ‘life is not ended, but changed’, the reality of death and possibility of judgment afterwards impose on the living a certain level of responsiveness to care, love and justice. on the other hand, the acceptance of death as nihilism comes with a rejection of divinely ordained moral standards, dismissal of absolute values, and a denial of independent and generally binding ethical rules.7 the former admission leads to circumspection in thoughts and actions; the latter is a recipe for rudderless behaviour that imperils human lives. the culture of death is the systemic acquiescence within societies, of actions and practices inimical to the preservation of human life. it is a sustained campaign by liberal media that blurs human sensitivity to the logic of right and wrong, destroys society’s moral bre, and fosters in its wake, behaviours that are hostile to life. there is no doubt, as pope john paul ii noted, that “we are today confronted by a structure of evil, which takes the form of a ‘culture of death.’ this culture denies human solidarity and is fostered by currents that encourage excessive concern for efciency. it is in a certain sense, a war of the powerful against the poor.”8 7 ogbujah, c. (ed.). 2020. history and philosophy of science and technology: a reader. port harcourt: pearl publishers, preface, p. vi. 8 john paul ii. 1995. evangelium vitae, 12, vatican: libreria editrice vaticana. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 127 at the base of this culture is the dismissal of absolute values. the notion of absolute value imposes a universal standard with respect to, at least, certain behaviours pertaining to the “rights”: the right to life, to freedom of religion and worship, to association, etc. none of these rights can be suppressed without inicting harm to universal standards. in its embrace of left-liberal ideologies, postmodernism relativizes reality, and accepts as true and valuable only that which suits the whims of the individual. the individual, rather than the society, becomes the arbiter of taste. instead of being treated as a microcosm whose paths must agree to societal norms for validation, an individual is considered as a macrocosm with seemingly unlimited rights that often diminish the value of general norms. in the end, postmodernism removes objective restraints to character, and instead, imposes a somewhat relativistic blueprint that affords individuals unfettered license to the pursuit of particular and personalized interests and goals. having construed liberty for license, there is no barrier to the exploration of the ‘man of the new age’, including exploring more than a thousand ways of extinguishing life. the upswing in cultivating the “culture of death” has its roots in modernity’s penchant for ethical relativism. death is a universal phenomenon for all humans, but its time and manner are sacred to cultures and traditions. in some cultures, there are certain conditions under which the loss of life is termed taboo. in achebe’s things fall apart for instance, reading through what befell okonkwo for inadvertently killing the sixteen year old son of ezeudu at the latter’s funeral, one comes off with the glowing idea that even pre-scientic africa unmistakably condemned homicide.9 whether deliberate or accidental, shedding of innocent blood polluted the land and must be met with serious punishment. the age-long universal acceptance of the sanctity of life impels many cultures to denounce deliberate actions that result in its abrupt termination. such actions as abortion, murder, suicide, etc., have long been regarded as taboos, and culprits treated with disdain. depending on cultures, their occurrences are rebuffed either in kind (in the sense of ‘an eye for an eye’), or by banishment from society (see okonkwo’s experience), or by being subjected to rigorous ordeal for ‘ritual cleansing’, or by discarding their bodies irreverently (in case of suicide). but in recent times, due to modern inuence undercutting human transcendence associated with death, cultural values and heritage have undergone modications, leading to considerable changes on how people approach the subject of death and dying. it is difcult for 9 achebe, c. 1958. things fall apart. new hampshire: heinemann ltd., p. 87. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 128 society that discards “essential” realities to structure arguments in defence of life, or not to promote the “culture of death.” dimensions and corollaries of death culture conict is an intrinsic and inexorable part of human nature. individuals and groups experience it in their day-to-day living without qualms. but the resort to violence is a major cause of death in conicts. right from the rst battle in recorded history (between sumer and elam in c. 2700 bce), contending armies of opposing groups have generally resolved political disputes on the battleeld.10 the history of mesopotamia, the early dynastic period of egypt, the zhou dynasty in china, the rise of carthage, the ascendancy of rome, or that of any other nation show that individuals, states, or political factions have gained sovereignty over regions by war and bloodshed. thus, the preponderance of war deaths, by no means, is a modern phenomenon. what is novel is that modernity, through scientic-technological innovations, has not only equipped humans with weapons of mass destruction, but has simplied diverse means by which death can happen. if this were combined with the penchant for abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment, arms (especially nuclear) race, unsustainable exploitation of nature, gene modications (especially in plants that have the potential to cause disease and harm), and the glamorization of suicide by faith groups, then even sceptics will shudder at the dangers that lie ahead. in a time when inviolable rights of the individual are championed by liberal governments and media, the right to life, especially at its very vulnerable moments (birth and death) is under siege. admittedly, the rst major element of the culture of death in modern society is war. war is the resort to the use of force or armed violence by nations or groups, in the pursuit of opposing interests. from ancient times till the present, wars and violent conicts have claimed incredible number of lives. it has led to deaths of combatants, and mass murder of unarmed civilians, displacement of entire populations, and the formation of refugees. the carnage of war in modern times, epitomized in the two world wars, the nigerian civil war, the rwandan genocide, the rohingya massacre, the somali civil war, the drc atrocious conicts, the iran-iraq war, the afghan war, the ongoing civil wars in yemen and syria, the war on terrorism, etc., makes a child’s play of wars in ancient and 10 mark, j. j. 2009. “war in ancient times”, 2 september 2009, [website], https://www.ancient.eu/war/, (accessed 21 august 2020). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 129 medieval times. conservative estimate puts the number of lives lost to wars in the 20th century alone above 160 million.11 while the number of war fatalities in the americas is relatively low in comparison to other places, the cold war between the us and russia / china led to unprecedented arms race. today, the quantity of conventional and nonconventional arms stockpile by these nations is capable of destroying the whole world multiple times over. the availability of rearms and lights weapons has greatly eased the process of mass shootings, homicide, and suicide. according to shields, between 1968 and 2011, nearly 1.4 million people died from rearms or ‘one-sided’ conict in the united states of america.12 by my analysis of recent data covering from 1990 to 2019 released by gun violence archive (gva), the us cumulatively lost about 1.08 million lives to ‘non-state’ violent conicts within the thirty year period.13 this excludes death counts from neighboring countries like brazil, mexico and colombia which are well versed in drug cartels and gun violence. indeed, there is no gainsaying that wars and gun violence have caused staggering economic disruptions, deprivations, dislocations, and human misery. they are prime architects in modernity’s cultivation of the culture of death. added to the carnage of wars and violent conicts is the threat from modern rejection of traditional objective values. traditional values uphold the sanctity of human life from conception to death, and prohibit all forms of interference in its natural progression. actions are considered moral if and only when they conform to some independent objective norm or standard imposed by nature. this was the sense captured in kant’s deontological ethics. but the claim to individual liberty and choice in modernity’s neoliberal projects manifestly rejects all forms of standards from the “external world.” with individual subjectivity, scientic rationalization, and a waning emphasis on religious worldviews as key features of modernity, neoliberalism couldn’t go beyond subjective views in its search for values. in contrast to medieval thinking, individuals, not god or being are the centers of reality, and reserve the rights to determine the course of their 11 mcnamara, r.s. and blight, j.g. 2001. wilson’s ghost: reducing the risk of conict, killing, and catastrophe in the 21st century, new york: public affairs. 12 shields, m. 2012, cited by louis jacobson, 2013. politifact, the poynter institute, [website], january 18, 2013, https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2013/jan/18/mark-shields/pbs-commentator-markshields-says-more-killed-guns/, (accessed august 21, 2020). 13 ogbujah, c. n. 2020. “wasted resources, towards an assessment of the human and social costs of conicts”, in c. n. ogbujah & a. egobueze (eds.). peace and conict studies: an anthology, in press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 132 group or social class is immune. although psychologists may, through description of mental states of agents of self-harm, give clues to explain the upsurge of this malady, the overriding risk factors for suicide attempt and suicide ideation are rooted in: a) the rejection of eschatology, and b) strong belief in personal autonomy and choice. by ignoring the feelings of loved ones, suicidal behaviours are utterly selsh acts with strong roots in relativism that usually views death as gateway to nihilism. in contrast, research shows that people, who participate in religious services once a week, with strong eschatological feelings, are ve times less likely to commit suicide than those who do not.18 in other words, religious convictions and practices do help people foster a sense of hope, meaning, and purpose even in the midst of adversity, and in consequence, have reduced the rate of suicide in societies. prominent also, in the promotion of the culture of death are the unsustainable exploitation of natural habitat and the unguarded exploits in “genetic carpentry.” within the class of resources, mother nature tops everything. whether in providing land, which is the base for all economic resources, or in providing essentials for living organisms to grow and thrive (ecological resources), modernity has maximized nature’s invaluable goods for human sustenance. but because of greed, power grab, and aws in the hypothesized capitalist perfect world of competitions, there is growing unsustainable exploitation of nature, as can be seen in ‘fracking’ and other forms of drilling that generate pollutants, logging, deforestation and sundry activities that decrease biodiversity and cause climate change, as well as the recurrent test of atomic bombs by “rogue” nations. all these have the potential to destroy world drinking water supplies, pollute the environment, contribute to greenhouse gases that are responsible for global warming, and activate earthquakes that trigger tsunami. the recent spike in “natural disasters” and the wreck humanity is forced to endure, are testaments to modernity’s tangle with this culture. to reduce or mitigate these disasters, eboh pointed at the need for scientists to enhance nature without suppressing, dominating, and harming it, in the sense of ecofeminism. for her, since ecosystems provide tremendous services to humanity, we must, in dealing with them, use an ethic of care to replace that of domination, if we hope to get reprieve from nature.19 18 vanderweele, t. j.; li, s.; tsai, a. c. and kawachi, i. 2016. “association between religious service attendance and lower suicide rates among us women,” jama psychiatry, 73 (8): 845-851. 19 eboh, m. p. 2001. “ecofeminism: a politico-revolutionary discourse,” journal of gender studies, vol. 1. no. 3, pp. 22-30. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 130 personal lives. actions and events must be interpreted not from “impractical universal standards” foisted by traditional philosophy, but from the free choice of individual agents. as with heraclitus’ “man is the measure of all things” mantra, the individual is given the sole power of ascription: of the things he says that are, that they are; of the things he says are not, that they are not. the thinking is that within the gamut of values in personal lives, nothing trumps individual feelings. this form of ethical relativism is the basis for much of modern support for abortion, euthanasia, suicide, willful homicide and other queer behaviours that promote the culture of death. in medieval culture as in african traditional life, the willful removal of the fetus from the womb was considered an abominable crime. culprits were severely penalized not just to deter others, but to unmistakably afx society’s stamp on the inviolability of life. life, being entrusted to us sacred, must be preserved with every sense of responsibility. through the light of reason, everyone open to goodness can grasp from natural law, the sacred value of human life from conception to death, and can afrm the right of every person to have this sacred value respected with utmost care.14 but with the landmark u.s. supreme court judgment in january 22, 1973, on roe v. wade case,15 in which a pregnant woman’s liberty to choose to have abortion was afrmed, the balance of the trajectory began to tilt in favour of pro-choice. a woman, by law, was permitted to procure abortion both for medical and “cosmetic” reasons. this judgment reshaped not only american politics, values, and lifestyle, but those of the whole world, prompting an avalanche of decisions legalizing abortion across the globe. at the moment, the problem is no longer how to grant women near unlimited right to choose abortion, as this is apparently settled by most positive laws. the burning issue is rather how to strongly criminalize and shame any one that musters courage to challenge this machine of death. those who ght for life (prolifers) have become objects of ridicule, enduring shaming campaigns from liberal media, and being regarded as misogynists and bigots by academics. under the garb of inclusivity, pro-lifers’ business outts are facing threats of shutdown for refusing to violate their consciences in not providing abortion insurance for staff. but more disheartening is that the foot soldiers in this ght do not always receive enough cover from their supposed generals. in an interview to the crux released 14 john paul ii. 1995. evangelium vitae, 2, vatican: libreria editrice vaticana. 15 roe v. wade, 410 u.s. 113 (1973). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 131 on august 28, 2020, archbishop vincenzo paglia―president of the pontical academy for life, perhaps, in display of political correctness, did not have qualms warning faith-groups against turning the pro-life cause into an ideological weapon in the run-up to the us elections. one wonders, as mirus queries, how a struggle against a “virus” that ‘snuffs out the lives of people, in addition to defying the natural law in ways that seriously undermine the family and, therefore, the entire social order,’ can be accused of being tangled with ideology.16 meanwhile, as the internal squabble continues, governments are investing heavily on the production of drugs that can help pregnant women eliminate fetuses without recourse to hospitals. in the end, if we align this with the current practice of vaccine production with fetal tissue, it becomes clearer that modernity forcefully validates the “culture of death”. within the course of history, while postmodernism trivializes life, ethical relativism privatizes death. this privatization undermines the culture of transcendence and social responsibility, where death signies the gateway to eternal bliss or damnation. as thus privatized, death no longer acquires social character that hitherto produced communal responses through collective signs and rituals practices.17 it becomes a personalized affair, instigated often at individual whims. thus, besides support for abortion, the privatization of death gives impetus to sundry decisions that are hostile to life, as in suicide and euthanasia, or actions that dishonour the dead, as in “delement” and/or “mutilation” of dead bodies. it has never been easier and seemingly “fashionable” to commit suicide than it is in modern times. in late march 1997, 39 members of the heaven’s gate church, california, following bizarre teachings of their founder applewhite, engaged in the infamous mass suicide that shook the whole world. being glamourized as heroic response to debilitating conditions, many in this generation embrace suicide as the new norm. from america to africa, and to all the continents of the world, there is growing penchant to snuff out one’s life at the slightest provocation, or assist others in doing so, if they so request. in this epidemic of suicide, no age 16 mirus, j. 2020. “archbishop paglia buries the abortion issue…again”, [website], aug 28, 2020 https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/archbishop-paglia-buries-abortion-issueagain/, (accessed 30 august 2020). here, mirus was livid with paglia president of the pontical academy for life, for using the “seamless garment” rhetoric to deect the zeal of those ghting for the sacredness of life. 17 mellor, p. a. and shilling, c. 1993. “modernity, self-identity and the sequestration of death”. sociology. vol. 27, no.3, pp.411-431. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 133 at the moment, there is crazy potential in gene editing and the acquisitive drive for ecological resources such as food, water, sunlight, and space. for instance, the unethical change of embryos by a team of scientists in china led by he jiankui in 2018, has left the children it begat to identity crisis and other psychological problems in future. again, to increase nutrition and gain competitive edge in production, researchers exploit discoveries in biotechnology and genetic engineering. admittedly, these have improved the quantity of food production and reduced commodity prices, following the law of demand and supply. but compared to the humungous hazards created along the way, the assumed gains from the quantum of food production are trivial. gene modications, especially in plants, have given rise to often oversize and tasteless gmo products with potentials to cause diseases and harm. the prevalence of cancers, viruses and bacteria in modern lives is a testament to the downside of “genetic carpentry.” even if brushed aside as a conspiracy theory, experts are keen at unraveling the role of a virology lab at wuhan, china, in the emergence of covid-19 pandemic that has recently taken nearly a million lives. modernity’s crises: any hope for survival? the early usage of the term modern which dates back to the 5th century was for something that “belongs to the present-day”, with no causal positive inference. to be modern simply, was to be current. by the 1700s, its meaning came to be linked with development at different historical epochs, especially with the one following the renaissance, in which the achievements of antiquity were surpassed.20 thus, whether taken in the sense of post-medieval history of the world, or the euro-american culture arising from the enlightenment, modernity refers to the socio-cultural and intellectual condition that helps the development of new formats for new thoughts, giving rise to innovative ways of thinking, writing, and behaving. its dening characteristics include, among others, disenchantment with sacred and metaphysical underpinnings in life and culture; secularization; alienation―isolation of the individual from systems of meaning; individualism; subjectivism―turning inward for denitions and evaluations of 20 delanty, g.. 2007. "modernity," in g. ritzer (ed.). blackwell encyclopedia of sociology, 11 vols. malden, mass.: blackwell publishing. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 134 truth and meaning; democratization; and mechanization of means of production arising from developments in science and technology.21 granted that modernity has brought apparently magnicent benets to humanity, especially in the areas of healthcare, education, communication, transportation, nourishment, habitation, security, sanitation, and electricity, the attendant watersheds are too signicant to be ignored. beginning with the atomic bombs dropped at hiroshima and nagasaki, and the ensuing nuclear armament; to the holocaust, terrorism and various genocidal events; from ecological degradation, to the hazards of gene modications, there are indications that modernity’s ‘weapons of success’ are fraught with devastating blips. in her work, history and philosophy of science and technology, eboh railed on modernity’s technological excesses, pointing at widespread environmental crises and ethical banality of genetic engineering, identity crises of clonal offspring, and the futility of nuclear armament. for her, water pollution, for example, threatens aquatic life, and when aquatic life is threatened, man’s life is equally threatened because of life’s dependence on it. “by his unbridled technological search for creature comforts and military might, man became a spoiler.”22 beyond the physical hazards of modern life, there are psychological and moral blips which perhaps, are more insidious and deeply seeped in the cultivation of the culture of death. the penchant for individualistic ideals often results in alienation―isolation of the individual from systems of meaning. isolation leads to feeling of rootlessness, loss of familial bonds and common values, and an inward turning for evaluation of meaning, truth and virtue. in the end, modernity is inhabited by individuals bereft of all vestiges of generally acceptable denitions of human dignity, human nature and marriage, resulting in the loss of value for human life. this is somewhat a revival of discredited epicurean attitude that spurns values, order, and nality. modernity, by these inherent frictions, is apparently caught up at crossroads: to accept and work with long standing cultural and religious prescriptions that have guarded humanity over millennia, or to jettison these as fantasies inhibiting innovative exploits of science and technology. the choice for the latter was 21 snyder, s. l. 2020. “modernity,” in britannica. [website], https://www.britannica.com/topic/modernity, (accessed 25 august 2020); see also “modernity characteristics,” https://www.3.dbu.edu/mitchell/modernit.htm 22 eboh, m. p. 1999. history and philosophy of science and technology, enugu: snaap press ltd., p. 95. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 135 inevitable, because being associated with individual subjectivity and scientic rationalization, it was a matter of time to discard traditional values, especially those with folkloric hints. indeed, it is recommended to discard obsolete values that clog the wheel of progress, but the crises in modernity stem not from dumping supposedly useless folktales, but from the insipient diffusion of a falsely propagated clash vis-à-vis the old and the new. the idea of bifurcating reality into an “either – or” choice continuum between culture and science, tradition and modernity grossly misleads by deceitfully injecting void as a midcourse. the absence of conciliatory midcourse(s) indicates a rejection of interaction between the old (culture) and the new (science), which effectively forecloses the possibility of structuring a symbiotic or eclectic view of reality. this perhaps, explains why, for husserl, modernity’s crises are epitomized in the disproportional reliance on natural sciences over human sciences. this modern ideal of bifurcation created the atmosphere for such works as david strauss’ the old and new faith to ourish. in it, strauss argues that the old faith in christian god should be substituted with a new faith in scientic powers to guide humanity, and that civilization is imperiled by any ethical or metaphysical standards that are not rooted in scientic research.23 having thus, consigned religious ethics to the dustbin of myth and history, the coast was clear for the ourishing of hobbes’ political hedonism that relied on enlightened self-interest for the foundation of civil society. at the heels of enlightened self-interest, civilization suffers the loss of human affection leading to mechanization of life; loss of respect for human rights; disrespect for the dead; and sundry exploitative behaviours which have elicited revolt in nature. it is crucial that while science may have given people more control over their lives, it has neither conquered death, nor been able to provide values to guide lives. ontologically, scientic contributions to human growth and survival are grossly inadequate. no doubt, in recurrent hazards as earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, landslides, and other cataclysmic events, humanity reaps the fruits of individualism, subjectivism, and a disdain for otherwise resplendent faith-based values. besides the axis of natural disasters, modern racial bifurcation boxes a chunk of humanity into a precarious corner. rooted in the same adversative structure that inames the struggle for supremacy between the cultures of death and life, caucasians seem to constitute a somewhat contrived force working to dismantle 23 strauss, d. f. 1991, (1872). the old faith & the new. new york: prometheus. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 136 their alternate―negroids. it is hard to fathom that, in this age and time, when positive laws and the media overtly defend human freedom and equality, people have to demonstrate with banners to remind the public that “black lives matter.” the historical racism against blacks manifesting now and again in police brutality, is again brought to limelight by the recent gruesome slaying of africanamericans―george floyd, breonna taylor, atatiana jefferson, eric garner, trayvon martin, etc. regardless of protests and public outcry that trailed these and similar murders, a white ofcer at kenosha, wisconsin (august 23, 2020) had the impudence to shoot an unarmed black man―jacob blake seven times in front of his three kids. whether viewed as an act of a white supremacist, hellbent on igniting a race war, or that of an overzealous ofcer in the line of duty, the whole scenario betrays the persistence of systemic racism in our modern world. the modern systems of law enforcement are subterfuges for consigning black lives to inhuman treatments. and if these are linked to the current ethnic cleansing in nigeria, and other atrocities committed around the globe, it becomes clearer that monstrosity is ineluctably framed to modernism. conclusion modern societies are characterized by increase in the role of science and technology, urbanization, mass literacy, rise in representative democracy, proliferation of mass media, rise of mercantilism and capitalism, among others. with these came a fundamental shift in attitudes and behaviours. by his cogito, descartes set the stage for the substitution of god and divine values with those of the human. being now at the center of the universe, humans began to see meaning and value only in the physical and the sensual. this seeming elevation ushered in somewhat hedonistic and relativistic attitudes reminiscent of “man is the measure” platitude of antiquity. the renaissance of heraclitus’ mantra implied the dismantling of objective reality and the “grandiose” elevation of subjective relativism. as thus relativized, the ethical values of actions are judged not in relation to some neutral norms, but only in line with individual fancies. the culture of death pervades modern societies. nietzsche thinks that this degeneration springs from modern natural science and the scientic study of history. these, for him, erode moral foundations by teaching relativism that promotes uidity of all concepts, types, and species, blurring at its wake, the ontological essences differentiating humans from brutes.24 he believes this trend, 24 nietzsche, f. , tr. richard t. grey. 1995. unfashionable observations, stanford: stanford university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 137 though inevitable and factual, has ruinous effects that manifest now and again in “frigidity and selshness.” nietzsche’s views, somewhat resonate rousseau’s earlier rejection of “enlightened self-interest” as the base for civic life, since what it does is to liberalize acquisitiveness and greed. for the city to be protected, according to rousseau, she needs citizens with old-style virtues of courage, selfrestraint, steadfastness and loyalty. selsh / self-interested people, no matter how enlightened, are incapable of courageous acts of self-sacrice.25 thus, to rescue modernity from the culture of death, and other issues that imperil life, we must return to ancient virtue of sobriety. indeed, there is no shortcut to reversal of fortunes. leaders and the led―everyone must championed this return to ancient sobriety, by insisting on the inadmissibility of wars, much less nuclear war, as a way of resolving present and future conicts; and bemoaning self-damaging consequences of ecological exploitation by instantiating restraint measures. we must reject and condemn induced abortion, willful murder, suicide and euthanasia as depraved agents of death; and emphasize the indispensability of morality for the survival of humanity. modernity must be mediated by ethics, much as science must be moderated by conscience. to echo much of the items in the seven blunders of the world, “science without humanity or conscience can only lead to ruin.”26 truly, humanity needs a reset in order to be salvaged from the crises of diffusing “culture of death.” we must step back into the horizon of “metaphysical meaningfulness” so as to experience, once again, the best temperament with which to engage in the cultivation of the “culture of life.” 25 rousseau, j. j. 1997. the discourses and other early political writings, victor gourevitch (ed. and trans.), cambridge: cambridge university press. 26 seven blunders of the world, originally referred to as the “7 deadly social evils,” is a list that was rst released by frederick lewis donaldson in his sermon at westminster abbey on march 20, 1925. later, on october 22 of the same year, mohandas gandhi published same in young india, with a commentary that the list was sent by a “fair friend.” it has often been inappropriately attributed to gandhi as the originator. see “seven social sins,” urp= https://en.m.wikipedia.org/seven_social_sins; cf. also congregation for the doctrine of faith. 1987. instruction on respect for human life in its origin and of the dignity of procreation. boston: st. paul’s editions, p. 7. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 6.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 183 political implications of hannah arendt's stand on multiculturalism: a case with kymlicka eugene anowai (ph.d) philosophy department chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu, university, igbariam e-mail: chukwueloka@yahoo.co.uk abstract the states that result out of this dissolution like poland, austria, hungary, czechoslovakia, bulgaria, yugoslavia, lithuania, latvia, estonia, the greek and the turkish republics, have territories in which large numbers of national minorities reside. also the scramble for, the colonization and partition of africa resulted in the many countries with the conglomeration of many ethnic and national minorities living together. a case in point is nigeria, a multiethnic and multicultural nation. this work beats drums with kymlicka by submitting that his philosophy of political could be evoked to address multicultural and multiethnic nature of our societies and their complex problems. with it we can enter into multinational multicultural and multiethnic dialogue aimed at willful respect for indigenous people and their inalienable human right as it is to be the owners of their own destiny. keywords: political, hannah arendt, multiculturalism, africa, kymlicka. introduction as it is today, as a result of global political situation, most countries are culturally diverse. the world democracies are becoming more complex and increasingly multi-cultural and multi-national. "the formation of the democratic people with a particular history and culture could be seen as an ongoing reflexive transformation and experimentation with collective identity"i. according to recent estimate, the world's 184 independent states contain over 600 living language groups, and 5,000 ethnic groups. in very few countries, can the citizens be said to share the same language or belong to the same ethno-national group. the most recent unesco report of the world commission on culture and development igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 184 suggest that the minority issue is indeed a kind of global citizenship. actually, the last two or three decades have seen more people living across or between national borders than ever before. open society being adopted by many western countries is also a major contributing factor, a minority within a majority culture turns us to hannah arendt's celebrated phrase "from being engages into becoming enrages"ii. with this situation the problem in many contemporary societies is that of equality and right. equality, righty and identity arendt believes that human beings are members of the same species, to whom life on earth is given under the conditions of natality, plurality, labour, work and action. and from "standpoint of arendt's philosophical anthropology, all forms of cultural, social and historical differentiations are secondary when measured up against the fundamentals of this condition"iii. she rejects the notion of shared identity if that identity is understood as resting on an inherent sameness, be it a shared essence, a shared experience of oppression, or what have you. she removes identity from the realm of political proper to that of social. it remains a question of private affairs rather than that of public. in the light of this, elizabeth young-bruehl has this to say: "she felt that the european jews of her parents and her own generation, being politically inexperienced and failing to distinguish between their social lives and their political lives, had misestimated the threat of political anti-semitism. specifically, they had sought social acceptance, assimilation not realizing that this would be worth nothing unless their rights were politically and legally secured”.iv as it is "by marking as inherent qualities the effects of shared historical circumstances radicalized identities serve to naturalize subordination of marginal groups, subjecting them to continuing social control as distinct, transparent and permanent minorities".v she insists that identity is not given but it is rather an achievement, the product of action. it is only through entry into the public realm that enables this achievement. indeed for her, sameness cannot be the basis for any political action because the "unitedness of many into one is basically antipolitical; it is the very opposite of the togetherness prevailing in political...communities...from the view point of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 185 world and the public realm, life and death and everything attesting to sameness are non-worldly, antipolitical, truly transcendent experience".vi arendt believes strongly that all communication and action in concert would be unnecessary, even superfluous, if we were all the same; because if we are all the same, everyone would immediately intuit the needs, wants, hopes, aspirations and dreams of others, for they would be the same as one's own needs, wants, hopes and dreams. hence "the very fact that communication and concerted action are necessary in political life indicates the truth of the claim that sameness and, thus, any notion of group identity and/or solidarity that is predicated on an appeal to an inherent sameness is antipolitical"vii. but another side of this issue is that communication and action in concert would be totally impossible if we were all radically different. that is to say if we have no commonalities whatsoever. so communication and action in concert depend on some sort of commonality between individuals; without that commonality, i would be impossible to formulate political goals and/or achieve them".viii dialectical relation between identity, equality and distinction arendt makes a statement, which seems to place her at the middle position on the issue of identity when she asserts: "human plurality, the basic condition of both action and speech, has the twofold character of equality and distinction. if men were not equal, they could neither understand each other and those who came before them nor plan for the future and foresee the needs of those who will come after them. if men were not distinct, each human being distinguished from any other who is, was, or will ever be, they would need neither speech nor action to make themselves understood. signs and sounds to communicate immediate, identical needs and wants would be enough".ix here we see that arendt rejects the idea that bases political action on an appeal to sameness, while at the same time she insists that we cannot understand political action at all if we abandon any and all notions of commonality among actors. in this manner, she highlights the dialectical relationship between equality and distinction, commonality within difference. for her all action involves this dialectical relationship because it is an unchangeable aspect of the human condition in that "we are all the same, that is, human, in such a way that nobody is ever the same as anyone else who ever lived, lives, or will live".x therefore, according to arendt's igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 186 train of thought, action in the political sphere always involves both appearing before our equals and revealing ourselves as unique, distinct persons. it both individuates and establishes relationships that sets us apart and binds us together. for this reason, it seems clear that arendt would refuse to accept the terms of the identity-politics debate, opting instead for an account that stresses the dialectical relationship between identity/non-identity, commonality/difference, and equality/distinction. so far, we have concentrated our efforts in dealing with arendt's discussion of the human condition. the essence of the human condition of freedom and action is plurality. it is a characteristic of the human condition of plurality that we are both set apart and at the same time bound together through action. identity politics/ intermediate zone of group identity let us now focus our attention to identity politics; what we may call politics of difference, or what nancy fraser calls "the intermediate zone of group identity".xi this zone is the intermediate between the universal level of the human condition and the particular level of the unique individual. in this zone, we deal with, "people as members of collectivities or social groups with specific cultures, histories, social practices, values, habits, forms of life, vocabularies of self-interpretation and narrative traditions".xii it is actually in this zone that we discuss arendt and kymlicka's position on the issue of multi-national and poly-ethnic society. the dialectic of commonality and difference present in arendt's account of the human condition plays major role in her reflections on ethnic/group identity. for example, in her address on accepting the lessing prize of the free city of hamburg she illuminates some of the implications of her account of plurality and action for her conception of group identity. there, arendt claims, "the basically simple principle in question here is one that is particularly hard to understand in times of defamation and persecution: the principle that one can resist only in terms of the identity that is under attack. those who reject such identifications on the part of a hostile world may feel wonderfully superior to the world, but their superiority is then truly no longer of this world; it is the superiority of more or less well-equipped cloudcuckoo-land".xiii igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 187 arendt believes that to "accept some people for their humanity by over looking their social identity, is not to respect difference".xiv one can be respected as a human being and still be hated as a jew. hence the principle that one can resist only in terms of the identity that is under attack. she maintains the same position in a 1964 interview in a german television. she says "if one is attacked as a jew, one must defend oneself as a jew. not as a german, not as a world-citizen, not as an upholder of the rights of man, or whatever".xv when she speaks of "a jew", she does not mean "a special kind of human being but rather a political fact"xvi. moreover, responding "in terms of identity under attack" means challenging interpretations of that fact, not denying its worldly reality".xvii at this juncture what we regard as susan bickford's classic description is apt. referring to arendt's thought on identity under attack she says:. "although she defended a conception of the world in which there were firm distinctions between what should be private and what public, arendt recognized that worldly conditions may require actions that are perverse in those terms; the political importance of social identities may vary with the conditions under which one lives. speaking as "a jew" was a necessity brought about by the existence of totalitarian regimes who used social identities to determine not only who could be citizens, but who could live as human beings on earth. under such conditions, arendt could only resist "in terms of identity under attack". not surprisingly, she could only regard the necessity of such resistance with something like regret".xviii however, for her, identity is not something internal. she conceives identity as something created through being present in the public sphere. this identity "takes seriously the political significance of the connection between "what" and "who" we are; it obscures neither our distinctiveness, nor our location in the world".xix that means, as "a political actor, i do not require a mask that conceals these givens; i require from others an attentiveness to what i do with them, a listening and a looking flexible enough to perceive my activity. indeed, political equality for arendt is the very opposite of social homogeneity and it is the latter that she fears is being manifested in demands of integration in multicultural society. it undermines the conditions of plurality that makes citizenship possible. moreover, it makes common world of plurality, the condition for political life of citizens impossible. also, it tries to create a common will rather than a common world. in multicultural society, "one reason not to abolish social discrimination arendt argues is that it is an important factor in preserving group formation in large-scale societies".xx in mass society all group distinctions and interests have disappeared, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 188 and thus distinction is an important mechanism for preserving plurality, even when it inevitably entails social discrimination. hence for arendt, social equality undermines plurality and produces sameness. this being the case, demands for equality lead to the loss of plurality that is typical of the modern public world. in this respect, she saw social exclusion not only as an inevitable result of spontaneous, free association, but also as a positive mechanism for preserving diversity in large-scale, mass society. but more than in terms of the positive and intrinsic value of diversity, arendt argues that sameness undermines the conditions of genuine plurality that is manifested most completely in politics. according to james bohman: "arendt opposed all political theories and philosophical ideas that she thought undermined such politics of plurality, and here she included not only the traditions emphasis on "rulership" but more important the theories of marx and rousseau who dangerously advocated norms of unanimity and equality and replaced politics with social concerns of household management in the form of bureaucratic institutions” xxi for the same political reason, arendt opposed all historical trend to produce homogeneity rather than plurality including demands for natural communities of race and ethnicity, as well as the communities of religion and other authorities that demand creedal unanimity and a united will. according to her vision of politics, "citizens are held together not by a common will but by a common world, by sharing a set of worldly institutions". xxiiso citizenship is not a matter of people having enough similar beliefs and desires, or even some minimal "overlapping consensus", but of the plurality of different persons inhabiting a common public space together. people can act in concert only by maintaining their plurality in their common action. the political mechanism here is the free and plural consent of all citizens who both generate, share and limit power by acting together. joanne cutting-gray supports arendt by emphasising the aspects of her that "focus on difference, and attempts to draw out of these aspects a 'politics of alterity"xxiii. hence, she "praises arendt for realising that 'difference is our human condition', and claims that arendt's "alterity" reconceived in terms of multiplicity opens the possibility for the community of plurality, a coalitional politics based on difference"xxiv. cutting-gray bases much of her argument for supporting nonidentitarian view of arendt from her analysis of the following passage from the human condition which we have quoted before: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 189 "while all human condition are somehow related to politics, this plurality is specifically the condition not only the conditio sine qua non, but the conditio per quam of all political life.... plurality is the condition of human action because we are all the same, that is human, in such a way that nobody is ever the same as anyone else who ever lived, lives, or will live " .xxv cutting-gray gives a striking interpretation of the above citation as meaning: "we are both infinite and yet particular, possessing 'the paradoxical plurality of unique human beings'. it is paradoxical because we are indefinable unrepresentable, contingent yet particular; unique but not self-made because we are shape in concert with others".xxvi furthermore she contrasts her interpretation of the above passage with what she calls an 'essentialist concept of our being', which she takes as being really a form of identity. "the arendtian account of our being is to be preferred over the essentialist one, according to cutting-gray, because identity reduces all to a false unity, the projecting and controlling self; plurality multiplies our sense of the great variety of the world and in exchange grants us our own uniqueness " xxvii. over and above all, we think that what arendt means by plurality is that we are all the same, that is human, in such a way that nobody is ever the same as anyone else who ever lived, lives, or will live. put in other words, there is a dialectical tension between identity and non-identity, between sameness and difference, at the heart of arendt's definition of plurality. in any case, for her identity based on sameness, shared fix essence is antipolitical. identity is achieved in the public space of action and speech not assumed in advance. again in a multicultural society, a question of the right of participation is always in the fore. arendt vehemently insists that "rights are tied to specifically political goods and action and therefore could never be natural" xxviii. "we become aware of the existence of a right to have rights (and that means to live in a framework where one is judged by one's actions and opinions) and a right to belong to some kind of organized community, only when millions of people emerge who had lost and could not regain these rights because of new global political situation.... the right that corresponds to this loss and that was never even mentioned among the human rights cannot be expressed in the categories of the eighteenth century because they presume that rights spring immediately from 'nature' of man".xxix igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 190 we recall to mind that for her the political is specifically human creation and rights are human-made, just like everything political. her understanding of rights entails that they cannot be universal. for her, we do not have rights simply by the virtue of our being human. she speaks of equal rights of access to the public world, her "right to have rights"xxx. or better the right of individual to belong to humanity, which she maintains should be guaranteed by humanity itself. frank michelrnan observes that: "as matters have actually developed the having of rights depends on receipt of a special sort of social recognition and acceptance that is, of one's juridical status within some particular concrete political community. the notion of a right to have rights arises out of modern-statist conditions and is equivalent to the moral claim of a refugee or other stateless person to citizenship, or at least juridical personhood, within the social confines of some law-dispensing state" xxxi. from the above illuminating observation of frank michelman we may in line with seyla benhabib, ask: but what kind of a moral claim is the one advanced by the refugee and the asylant, the guest worker and the immigrant to be "recognised" as a member? what kind of a right is entail in the "right" to have rights? as a matter of fact, arendt's famous thesis of "right to have rights" can be interpreted as supporting the argument that specific rights are to be decided publicly and politically. against "natural rights" theorists, whose presuppositions illustrate another instance of determining the political from a ground outside itself, arendt maintains that "rights" are themselves a topic of political debate and hence the primacy of freedom in her conception of the political. it follows therefore that without being able to participate in the common world and to have equal footing and standing within it, the abstract "right of man" have no reality. without this right to have rights, we are deprived of a place in the world that makes opinions significant and actions effective. the crucial question remains whether exclusion rather than mutual recognition is more effective mechanism for maintaining diversity and plurality? we shall come back to this question after we have examined the position of kymlicka on multicultural citizenship. politics and cultural difference as a result of the immigration in late twentieth century, many countries are being challenged by politics of cultural difference. many people see the new trend in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 191 politics as a threat to liberal democracy. in his view, many western democracies are presently 'multinational' and 'polyethnic' states. in usa for example, national minorities include "the american indians, puerto ricans, the descendants of mexicans (chicanos) living in the southwest when the united states annexed texas, new mexico, and california after the mexican war of 1846-48, native hawaiians, the chamorros of guam, and various other pacific islanders".xxxii canada involves "the federation of three distinct national groups (english, french and aboriginals)".xxxiii obviously a nation-state can be both multinational and polytechnic. for example, apart from containing the aforementioned national minorities, the usa contains many immigrant ethnic groups such as japaneseamericans, mexican-americans, israeli-americans etc."xxxiv kymlicka tries to show that many but not all the demands of ethnic and national groups are consistent with liberal principle of individual freedom and social justice. the increasingly multicultural nature of modern societies has given rise to many new issues and conflicts, as ethnic and national minorities demand recognition and support for their identity. the term ‘‘minority’’ here refers not to a group’s numerical strength in the population but to groups that are marginalized or disadvantaged in some way he sees the groups as being motivated by hatred, intolerant not justice, and have no interest in treating others with good will. yugoslavia, rwanda and biafrans of eastern nigeria are reminders of the injustices, which have being committed in the name of ethnic and national differences; from "racial segregation and religious pogroms to ethnic cleansing and genocide".xxxv kymlicka notes that disputes over local autonomy, the drawing of boundaries, language rights, and naturalisation policy have engulfed much of the regions in violent conflict. thus modern liberal-democratic nationstates have developed in the context of the struggle of various subordinate groups to overcome domination by other groups based on differences of religion, class, nationality, race, ethnicity and gender. today the liberal creed claims to possess the entire moral, epistemological, and political resources required to expose and eliminate inter-group domination, intolerance, and injustice. liberalism's egalitarian doctrine of human dignity and universal rights of citizenship seems to suffice for this purpose. it promises to treat all groups in society as equal before the law while freeing individuals to affirm their own particular cultural, religious, or ethnic needs and identities in the private sphere, without prejudice or disadvantage. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 192 yet contemporary liberal-democratic societies remain torn by persistent division and conflicts between racial, ethnic, and national groups. these divisions raise doubts about the link between liberal individualism and the promise of social justice. how are we to understand this phenomenon? does the persistence of disenfranchised and marginalized groups simply embody the chasm between ideals and reality to be closed by a more consistent practice of liberalism? or does it reflect a more fundamental chasm within liberal ideals themselves to be closed by a revision of liberalism, or some new post-modern political conception? the persistence of this question, and the new discourse of multiculturalism it has inspired, mark a crises in contemporary political understanding. multicultural politics in his book on multicultural citizenship published in 1995, kymlicka discusses these central issues in multicultural politics. he tries to show that certain sorts of collective rights for minority cultures are consistent with liberal-democratic principles. that standard liberal objection to recognising such rights on grounds of individual freedom, social justice, and national unity can be answered. in the light of this, no single formula could be applied to all groups. moreover, that needs and aspirations of the immigrants are very different from those of the indigenous peoples and national minorities. he advances a clear, powerful, rigorous, and plausible argument concerning how we should understand and resolve this troubling historical predicament. this is a crucial move to demonstrate the inextricable link between cultural membership and the freedom of citizenship, which suggests that culture is crucial to and necessary for individual freedom. he argues (1) that liberalism needs to be revised to make room for various group rights, alongside individual rights, and (2) that liberalism can be revised in this way without jeopardising either individual rights or fundamental liberal ideals of freedom, equality, and justice. indeed, kymlicka contends that for all liberal democratic states, that contain national and ethnic minorities , these liberal ideals can be actualised only if various 'group-differentiated1 rights are properly recognised and protected. this argument favours minority protection (in form of special rights) within the liberal philosophical doctrine. according to him, special rights are sometimes needed in order to preserve the threatened identities of minority groups (such as national and ethnic minorities). within the liberal tradition, justice requires political guarantees of individual freedom and equality. kymlicka argues that in nation-states that contain national igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 193 and ethnic minorities so-called 'multinational and 'polyethnic' states, our freedom and equality require and therefore justify group rights. kymlicka's key move is to reread the liberal ideal of individual freedom to show that it requires persons' access to a culture which provides them with options that are meaningful and valuable to them, given who they are and how they identify themaselves. liberals grant "certain basic rights and freedoms to individuals in order to enable them to lead lives of their own choosing, in accordance with their own beliefs and values, which they are free to question and revise as they see fit"xxxvi. the liberal ideal is classically read to require the absence of coercive impediments oppressive laws and others' interference. with the democratic and welfare state tradition, the ideal is reread to require the additional presence of certain enabling resources and policies education, health-care, income, employment, and etc. his argument is based on a specific view of cultures. in his opinion, cultures should be seen as contexts of choice for individual human beings. that is, one's embeddedness within a culture is a precondition for individual autonomy. for kymlicka, " freedom further requires the access of persons to a framework of options or choices which are meaningful and valuable to them, and that in turn requires persons' access to an appropriate societal culture"105. by 'societal culture' he means common language, institutions, customs, practices, and traditions a shared way of life for people living within certain territorial boundaries, which reaches "across the full range of human activities"106. access to such a culture provides persons with cultural identity, a sense of who they, and others they identify with are, and thus a framework of shared meanings, values, and projects sufficient for meaningful options and choices. someone standing outside any such societal culture permanent stranger in a strange land might be formally and materially free yet be unfree to do anything, or much of anything, that mattered to him or her, or anyone else, which is precisely to lack meaningful options. but if kymlicka reasonably insists that freedom require access to a societal culture, will any such culture do? kymlicka argues that "national and, to a lesser degree, ethnic minorities acquire access to their own societal cultures".xxxvii for contemporary liberalism, the importance of societal culture to freedom is nonproblematic, a taken-for-granted background condition. this rests on the assumption that there is but one important dominant societal culture in each liberal nation-state that is both accessible and appropriate to all individuals who will but embrace it and learn its ways. more accurately, liberalism can recognise igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 194 problems of access, rooted in prejudice and discrimination which it hopes to eliminate, on the assumption that 'the' societal culture, once accessible to all, is appropriate for all majorities and minorities alike. liberalism can thus acknowledge the importance of societal culture as a background condition of individual freedom. but with one dominant societal culture, and one national identity, doing all the necessary work for freedom, 'culture' understandably falls by wayside, outside the equation of freedom for liberalism. this is the picture kymlick's work seeks to discredit. for him, national minorities, as he has defined them, possess their own societal cultures distinct from the dominant societal culture of the nation-state as a whole. let us note that on his definition, a national minority is a group where members presently embrace a distinct cultural identity an identification of self with separate societal culture (language, institutions, customs, etc.) inherent in its historical origins as an independent people and nation. while this separate cultural identity can change and indeed dissolve over time, it is a slow, painful process; and not one that should be reasonably expected of or forced on, a national minority, through a politics of assimilation, discrimination, or benign neglect. kymlicka maintains that the "nation groupings provide a domain of freedom and equality, and a source of mutual recognition and trust, which can accommodate inevitable disagreement and dissent about conception of the good in modern society".xxxviii for him each ethnic group should be included in the mainstream of economic, academic and political life of the society. talking about the case of africans in multicultural american nation he says: "the situation of african-americans, therefore is unusual. they were not allowed to integrate into the mainstream culture; nor were they allowed to maintain their earlier languages and cultures, or to create new cultural associations and institutions. they did not have their homeland or territory, yet they were physically segregated"xxxix. we can see now that kymlicka holds the view that "freedom is intimately linked with and is dependent on culture"xl in a multination state. he means that giving the close relationship between culture and freedom, measures of cultural protection can be allowed without necessarily restricting freedom. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 195 in his view, kymlicka, established societal cultures are the source of meaningful options, freedom and identity all to the good. in reality, societal cultures are also the source of prejudice, discrimination, exclusion, hatred, and violence not just between groups, but within them as well all to the bad. societal cultures can be enemies of the very freedom and justice to which kymlicka appeals in his defence of the need to protect such cultures. after all, this is why liberals are typically suspicious of groups, with their local, particularistic cultures, loyalties, and identities. the question that follows from the above is, can kymlicka really succeed in providing a liberal justification of special protections for non-liberal cultures that restrict or undermine the very freedom and equality to which his justification appeals? this crucial question makes us not to endorse completely kymlick's proposals for differentiation "since the strength of his proposal is also its weakness". we can say that kymlicka's idea articulates the theoretical conception of multicultural public sphere, which encourages discoursive approach to democratic cultural pluralism that involves language rights, education, recreation, identity and other socio-economic issues. this is the type of public sphere that takes care of recent contemporary countries that have "adopted more tolerant and pluralistic policy which allows and indeed encourages groups to maintain various aspects of their ethnic heritage".xli for this, kymlicka deserves our compliment. his idea is an important tool for addressing many multicultural societies characterized by internal conflicts and disagreements. for example, my country nigeria is a multinational and multiethnic nation brought together under the british colonial rule in 1914. about two hundred and fifty different ethnic and cultural groups make up this country with a population of about 122,000,000 people. the hausa/fulani, yoruba and igbo are the three major dominant ethnic groups. others like the ogonis, efiks, and the ijaws belong to the numerous minority ethnic groups. the ogonis in particular have been waging a fierce struggle for some years now to assert their minority right and a separate entity within nigeria nation, "while the igbos"113 are demanding for autonomy and selfdetermination. so kymlicka's theory of group rights and identity can be explored and appropriated in solving our problems of group identity in nigeria. it can therefore help to shed more light on how to restructure and build the foundation for stable and prosperous multicultural and multiethnic federalism in nigeria. on the other hand, arendt's theory appears to have too little or nothing to offer in case of identity laden conflict that we witness today in many multination democratic societies. so we can say that for her, to "saddle politics with welfare igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 196 issues is utterly futile, because politics and political institutions cannot successfully address such issues".xlii her notion of purified praxis and rigorous distinction between the social and the political, the private and the public, the instrumental and communicative or deliberative has a fatal weakness. indeed, richard bernstein states, "the distinction between the social and the political engenders self-contradiction at the heart of her theory. for how are we to take serious a political theorist who insist that each person must be given opportunity to participate, but who turns a blind eye to the problem of how to create, through political means, the condition that would help guarantees this opportunity?"115. unlike kymlicka, arendt's idea of freedom fails to address the issue of persistent social inequalities and deep conflicts with majority culture that face the minorities. so giving the fact that the increasingly multicultural fabric of modern societies has given rise to many new issues and conflicts, as ethnic and national minorities demand recognition and support for their cultural identity, she fails to capture the central issues in multicultural public sphere. for example, during the early sixties arendt found herself embroiled in the dispute over racial segregation especially in little rock, arkansas. she felt that there was need to carefully distinguish between the political and the social dimensions of the situation in order to tackle that contemporary problem. clearly on constitutional grounds blacks deserved equal treatment under law, and they should not be denied equal access to public institutions. social groups organised in america along lines of profession, income and ethnic origin were discriminatory by nature. arendt holds that social discrimination, manifest in social groupings, is an important barrier against mass society; that is a society in which group distinctions and interests have disappeared. commenting on her idea on the little rock, james bohman says: “arendt's narrow version of political equality ignored the fact that segregation also produced a situation in which african americans could initiate political action and deliberation.... for this reason her arguments in favour of maintaining social discrimination as a bulwark against mass society ring false in a racist society, because there is no common sphere of citizenship and plurality that is needed to be preserved and protected from inroads of social equality"xliii arendt is not sensitive to minority rights in modern multicultural democratic states as we have them today in many countries of the world. thus her igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 197 "reflections on little rock" published in dissent in 1959, met with serious opposition and rejection from the minority jews. this controversy is merely a prelude to one to come over her book on the trial of "adolph eichmann". in the same line of thought, dana r. villa observes that the "insistence upon selfcontainedness of action results in an apparently untenable and misguided attempt to sever the public from the private, political from the social".xliv even if one could possibly separate these complexly intertwined strands, what would be left for citizens to talk about once such "extrapolitical" topics as wage, justice, racial and gender inequalities, language rights, cultural and group identities, social welfare and environmental issues are excluded from the public. also, hanna pitkin expresses the frustration of many readers of arendt's concept of political freedom when she asks, "what keeps these citizens together as a body? what is it that they talk about in the endless palaver of the agora?xlv so we contend that any concept of freedom that will fit the contemporary man has to be aware of the prevalent and disturbing dilemmas of difference in modern politics of pluralism and multiculturalism. democratic pluralism is difficult to achieve and even hard to maintain, ft means coming in terms with and more important, even compromising with people not only with whom we "reasonably disagree", but also with the very groups we may even morally abhor. if the public world has truly many-sided opinions, and the society contains citizens in democratic and pluralistic politics within these vibrant spheres, then members of plural groups with different points of view and cultural backgrounds should be given opportunity to be involved in the public sphere and also to engage in a shared political life of common citizenship. what it means is a situation of nondiscrimination based on ethnicity, colour, gender etc; and when this situation fails to obtain in a politic then it brings political unrest. a case in point is the situation in the middle east. badi hasisi and ami pedahzur made a point that is worth mentioning in this context. according to them, "arab israelis, similar to other ethnic minorities in countries all over the -world, are subject to the centralist effect of the state. violence committed by a minority group often finds its roots in the strong feelings of discrimination springing from policies of exclusion practiced by the state...the state can regulate levels of violence by adjusting its policies and principally by adopting a more inclusive policy towards the minority". igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 198 we can deduce from the above citation that a policy that supports the exclusion of the variety of groups be it ethnic, religious, gender-based from the public sphere intensifies the minority's feels of discrimination by so doing. in our contemporary multi-ethnic, multi-national and multi-religious society the policy of inclusion should be a more moderate and acceptable political strategy. politically speaking, "it appears that a dominant factor in the transition of political systems, to a genuine democracy is indeed the inclusion of peripheral minority, and especially ethnic groups, whom are structurally prevented from political engagement both symbolically and practically".xlvi it is evident that many conflicts between ethnic and religious groups may be traceable to discrimination policy. the most recent examples are civil wars and/or disturbances in the middle east, kosovo, macedonia, sudan and northern ireland. according to j. yishai, "the source of violence in a minority group often finds its roots in strong feelings of discrimination owing to policies of exclusion practiced by the state. therefore, the formula for preventing the outbreak of political violence among the minority can at least be partially found in the expansion of practices of inclusion and the diminishment of strategies of exclusion”. this supports our argument that in the modern society of ours, inclusion rather man exclusion as arendt maintains in little rock issue in pretence that it destroys plurality is a more acceptable mechanism. to ignore this phenomenon would tantamount to a disregard of contemporary political fact. bonnie honig throws her support on our view by remarking: "i endorse arendt's concern about the homogenizing effects of an identity-politics. but i depart from her in arguing that since political action is always imbricated in identitarian issues and assumptions, it is more effective to engage and interrupt established identities agonistically than to insist in a separatist way, as arendt does, on their fixity or privacy".xlvii by and large, her conception of the content of politics is highly exclusive. her idea of political exclusion leaves an important lacuna in contemporary political set-up unfilled. for in a discriminatory polity, not all voices will be given opportunity to be heard and not all people will be allowed to enter the political arena. but facts do not support this view. to be sure, western experiences suggest that inclusion rather than exclusion policies can help build the foundation for stable and prosperous multi-cultural and multi-ethnic democracies. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 199 conclusion so for arendt, identity politics is antipolitical and cannot produce proper political freedom. but according to kymlicka identity politics is not a stumbling block to freedom, for liberal democratic principles can still obtain in a multicultural arrangement. consequently, "arendt's conceptualization of identity politics (politics of difference) does not capture the way modern multicultural public sphere is structured"124. on pragmatic political grounds, it shows that it is not suitable for our complex plural societies. in fact her view does not fit into modern national and international political realities. hence, if her conception of political freedom is to be critically useful to the challenges of our time, it must be expanded to take into account the multinational citizenship which is, an irreducible dimension of politics in the modern world. therefore, i beat drums with kymlicka by submitting that his philosophy of political could be evoked to address multicultural and multiethnic nature of our societies and their complex problems. with it we can enter into multinational multicultural and multiethnic dialogue aimed at willful respect for indigenous people and their inalienable human right as it is to be the owners of their own destiny. endnote i bebhabib, s.10 ii arendt h, on violence, (new york: harcourt,brace & world , 1969) , 65 iii benhabib, s,. 8 iv young-bruehl, e, “hannah arendt for the love of the worl (new haven, ct: yale university press, 1982), 319 v hong, b (ed). “introduction: the arendt question in feminism in “feminist interpretation of hannah arendt”, ( pennsylvania state press, 1995). 6 vi arendt h the human condition, ( university of chicago press, 1958), 214-215 vii allen a, “arendt and feminist theory”, philosophy and social criticism, vol. 25. no. 1,. 107 viii allen a, “arendt and feminist theory ix arendt h the human condition, ,175-176 x arendt h the human condition, 8 xi allen, a, allen a, arendt and feminist theory, 108 xii fraser, n. “towards a discourse ethic of solidarity”, praxis international, vol. 5, no. 4, 1986, pp. 425-429 xiii arendt h, men in dark times, ( a harvest book, harcourt brace & company, 1968), 18 xiv bernasconi, r, “the jewish question” (review), continental philosophy, (kluwer academic publications, vol. 32, no. 4, 1999), 476 xv kihn, j, (ed.) essays in understanding, (new-york: harcourt brace, 1994), 11-12 xvi arendt h, men in dark times,17-23 xvii arendt h. men in dark times 23. ) xviii bickford, s. “in the presence of others: arendt and anzaldua on the paradox of public appearance” in: feminists interpretation of hannah arendt, 326 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 200 xix for hannah arendt, “man has no substance (substanz); he consists in the fact that he is. we cannot inquire into the what of man the way we can into the what of a thing. we can only inquire into the who of man xx arendt h the human condition xxi arendt h. the human condition 60 xxii canovan m, hannah arendt: a reinterpretation of her political thought, (cambridge university press, 1995),. 226 xxiii allen, a, arendt and feminist theory 104 xxiv ibid. see also j. cutting-gray, “hannah arendt, feminism, and the politics of alterity: what will we lose if we win”? (hypatia, vol. 8, no. i 1993,), 41 xxv arendt h the human condition, 7-8 xxvi cutting grry, j., 47 xxvii cutting grry xxviii mcgowan, j., hannah arendt: an introduction(university of minnesota press, 1998). 25 xxix arendt h the origins of totalitarianism. (new york: harcourt, brace & world, 1966.), 176-177 xxx arendt h the origins of totalitarianism, 298 xxxi michelman, f. “praising ‘the rights’,” in: constellations. an international journal of critical and democratic theory, vol. 3, no 2, 1996, pp. 200-209 xxxii kymlicka, w, multicultural citizenship, (claredon, oxford press),. 11 xxxiii kymlicka, w, 12 xxxiv kymlicka, w 13-17 xxxv kymlicka, w, 93. cf. ojukwu, e. the ahiara declaration, (the principles of the biafran revolution) mark press, geneva, switzerland, 1969, p. 28. here emeka ojukwu says, “the biafran revolution stands firmly against genocide – against any attempt to destroy a people, its security, its right to life, property and progress. any attempt to deprive a community of its identity is abhorrent to the biafran people. having ourselves suffered genocide, we are all the more determined to take a clear stand now and at all times against this crime”. xxxvi kymlicka, w 80-82 xxxvii kymlicka, w. 84-90 xxxviii . kymlicka 105-106 xxxix . kymlicka, w 24 xl . kymlicka, w 75 xli kymlicka, w 14 xlii kymlicka, w xliii anowai e., the concept of political freedom: hannah arendt and the dilemma of non polical world of socioeconomic realm (doctoral dissertation, catholique universite de louvain-la-neuve, belgium) xliv villa d. r, arendt and heidegger, the fate of the political ( princeton university press, 1996),76 xlv villa d, 36 xlvi villa d, 69 xlvii bonnie, b, “feminist interpretation of hannah arendt, 7 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 82 efficacy of conflict resolving mechanism among the zuru people of kebbi state: a traditonal style 1830 2010 korinya, moses tivlumun1 department of history and international relations veritas university, abuja mosestivlumun@gmail.com doi:10.13140/rg.2.2.21005.15840 & gwimi, neska sebastine2 department of history and international relations veritas university, abuja neskasabastian@gmail.com doi:10.13140/rg.2.2.21005.15840 abstract the study examines the potency of conflict resolving architecture, employed by the zurus of kebbi state; a typical traditional african society. worthy of note is the fact that, their dispute settlement machinery is imbedded in the lelna traditional structures. the paper situates efficacy of the settlement style as revolving around the m’gilo sacred institution. using mainly oral interviews and archival sources, the study dwells more, on conflicts arising from allegations of witchcraft, rape, poisoning, land disputes and murder cases. the paper posits that although british colonialists eventually succeeded in imposing islamic judicial system, which was not as effective as that of the zuru land, the traditional machinery could not be abolished since it has proved to be the last resort in quelling crises in the emirate. the paper submits that, the rich cultural heritage of the zuru people is a veritable tool for nation building and as such, should not be allowed to go extinct. keywords: conflict resolution, zuru, kebbi state, traditional introduction experience has shown that in every known human society, misunderstanding and disputes generally ensue in the course of their day to day interactions. in an attempt to grapple with this and other challenges of harmonious coexistence, people carefully fashion out ways of resolving differences, so as not to degenerate into full blown war. over time, it becomes a tradition that is handed down to generations. the zuru tribe, whose language is c‟lela, otherwise known as lelna of south kebbi state, is not an exception. though the population census mailto:mosestivlumun@gmail.com https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.21005.15840?_sg%5b0%5d=6_ylcsnh_8r3yjcpn_t640cqgldtezp5cexkmgumuw1rg5zmc6uw0e8wekfeqna3bpncjtukbihc18ovmx1pwq19vq.ihxj5yl2yzdrnn8e21kxp5grh-bynu2j_-pwh42adtwoin_o42bv4n2y-cxfrjjtnzbhm4yriikou-xr8ezmvq mailto:neskasabastian@gmail.com https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.21005.15840?_sg%5b0%5d=6_ylcsnh_8r3yjcpn_t640cqgldtezp5cexkmgumuw1rg5zmc6uw0e8wekfeqna3bpncjtukbihc18ovmx1pwq19vq.ihxj5yl2yzdrnn8e21kxp5grh-bynu2j_-pwh42adtwoin_o42bv4n2y-cxfrjjtnzbhm4yriikou-xr8ezmvq igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 83 of 2006 is still being disputed, the lelna people are running into millions with twenty-nine (29) dialects as well as three hundred and nineteen (319) clans.1 zuru has various kinds of traditional festivals and cherished customs which are celebrated throughout the year. however, the evolving cutting age technology and modern civilization have somehow taken most people, especially the young away from their history and heritage. some schools of thought believe that, some african languages and cultural heritage may become dead and extinct, if steps are not taken to document or transmit them to the younger ones.2 this is more worrisome given that, history as a subject has been removed from nigerian school curriculum and is no longer taught as a subject. the intention of this work is to attempt an investigation in to the potency of the customs and traditions of the zuru people (lelna) in kebbi state of nigeria, particularly as it relates to conflict resolution segment. conceptual clarifications zuru: in the context of this work, the name zuru will mean all the other towns within the zuru emirate that speaks and practice the traditions and customs of the lelna people. lelna: this is the proper name of the zuru natives in plural form. klela stands for the singular form and is same for masculine and feminine. in this context therefore, zuru and lelna will be used interchangeably. customs:this is a traditional way of behaving or doing something that is specific to a particular society. culture: is the characteristic and knowledge of a particular group of people, encompassing language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts. tradition: a tradition is a belief or behavior passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. conflict resolution among the zuru people the use of m‟gilo institution in resolving conflict among zuru people has proved to be a very potent system of resolving conflict because of the manner in which zuru people revere the institution. it is very difficult to tell exactly what m‟gilo is because of its metaphysics which is highly secretive and never talked about even among the initiated male folks. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 84 male parents must never discuss m‟gilo with their children; initiated members must only hierarchically advance to discover for themselves the aura of m‟gilo. it is a great taboo to mention m‟gilo among women. this makes idris umar to conclude that, is men‟s secret cult among the people of zuru.3 they are partially right to the extent that only males can get initiated into m‟gilo.4 some scholars have reduced m‟gilo to the religion of the lelna people of zuru emirate.5 although it is difficult to isolate religion from the culture of most african society, some cultural practices cannot be reduced to mere religious phenomena. for example there is no religion that isolates women completely; rather they may be restricted. in judaism, (religion of the jews), for example, women are highly restricted from participating in religious activities. this was what influenced apostle paul in the early christendom to insist that woman must not preach in the public. 6 up to the present, islam is very fundamental on this.7 the institution of m‟gilo as one meant to subjugate and perpetually make women submissive to their husbands or men in general.8 this assertion derives from the fact that when a woman offends her husband, he could report her to m‟gilo cult, which would send invincible men in the dark to frighten her by thrusting spears and lances from the top of the woman‟s thatched hut and making all kinds of coarse and frightening noises. m‟gilo will not depart until the woman promises obedience and submissiveness to her husband. sometimes the young initiated boys are asked to way-lay the women coming from the markets in the dark and frighten them by blowing m‟gilo flutes and calling on the names of the nagging women and warning them to desist from their unaccepted behavior. the women generally believe they are confronted by witches and wizards or by spirits of the deceased ancestors (eeknu). they usually will have to seek the intervention of an initiated elder who would then plead on their behalf and dismiss the masquerades. m „gilo is believed to be an almighty spirit representing god among men. he is also believed to be an intermediary between god and men. women and the uninitiated men have the belief that the almighty spirit is only visible to the initiated men.9 for both the initiated and the uninitiated, no one can dare m‟gilo. he is not to be talked about; he is not to be mentioned. he could only be addressed in his normal attributesbaba (father) or kan‟ile, that is the owner of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 85 the town. the relationship between the zuru people and m‟gilo calls to mind the relationship between yahweh and the jewish people in early judaism. m‟gilo makes his presence felt in four occasions; on the celebration of the annual wine festival (m‟kya), on the day an initiated male adult dies, on the death anniversary of such deceased (wo) commonly referred to as second burial and on the sabbatical celebration of the feast of the almighty wine (kyam sodke). it is only during these occasions that the spirit of m‟gilo is invoked and his presence felt in the community. although m‟gilo is the custodian of the whole society, the dayto-day running of the society is the responsibility of the elders of m‟gilo referred to as ani‟le.10 analyzing the m,gilo institution suggests some great similarities of the great pristine cultures commonly found in the middle east, especially the jews. for example, if we take into account the scriptural events in the books of exodus and deuteronomy, the whole idea about yahweh manifesting himself in thunderous storms and lightening to the jews and the dreaded circumstances by which is portrayed in the relationship between the people of zuru and the m‟gilo institution. this will enable us to fathom the sacredness with which the people revere m‟gilo; so much that once a directive is said to have emanated from m‟gilo, it commands an instantaneous obedience. practical methods of resolving conflicts using m’gilo institution in zuru land, conflicts are resolved depending on its nature. however every conflict is resolved through the intermediary of the elders of m‟gilo (ani‟le), which is to say that people could not approach m‟gilo directly whenever there is the need to resolve one form of conflict or the other. witchcraft cases (imole) if families or a person frequently loses his or her children or relations, the person seeks the intervention of a sorcerer. if the cause of deaths is attributed to witchcraft, the sorcerer does not usually disclose the identity of the witch or wizard, but describes the identity of the witch or wizard in such a way that the complainant is not left in doubt, who that person is. if the complainant wants mediation through m‟gilo, the case is then reported to the court (bad ani‟le). both the accused and the accuser are summoned to the court, comprising the chief of the town (gomo), the four clan chiefs (gom-gom no), the two high priests (magazi ni) and the four chief priests (gom-gom na c‟keebee).11 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 86 the persons come to the court usually in the company of their older relations. the case is then presented before the council and the accused is asked to respond to the charges. if the accused does not admit to accusation, the accuser is asked to substantiate how he came with the allegation with facts. the accuser then comes with facts as told by the sorcerer. since witchcraft is not a scientific case, the gomo then throws the case to the open court seeking for suggestions on how to deal with the situation. if logical approaches fail to certify the case, the gomo will then order the chief priest of m‟gilo to brew the m‟gilo concoction known as igeedu. before brewing the concoction, the chief priest invokes the spirit of m‟gilo to expose the sincerity of the case by revealing the truth. the concoction is administered to the accused person to drink. in most cases, if the accused is guilty, he or she is struck dead by m‟gilo. the m‟gilo can also decide to cause some delay until the accused confesses all his atrocities but must die within seven days. the victim of such cannot be buried in the ancestral home (ile).12 cases of rape (c’uvlu) among lelna, rape is considered a very grievous offence. this is because it is a taboo for a young girl to go to her husband‟s house defiled by someone other than her husband. it is even more sacrilegious if the victim is a married woman. once the crime is reported to the ani‟le, the victim and the criminal are both summoned to the court. in the pre-colonial society, the culprit faced execution or ransomed by his family by giving out a boy and a girl in reparation for the crime. in this modern era however, ani‟le plays the meditative role of handing over the culprit to the police. however some ethnic groups in zuru land still retain the traditional judicial practice. resolving cases of poisoning the case of death resulting from poisoning is a technical one. in most cases, the culprit is not apprehended or caught red handed. it is difficult to determine who the offender is. if the case reaches the m‟gilo court, everybody within the neighborhood becomes a suspect. family members are asked what they know about the case. if no one admits the crime, the chief priest of m‟gilo is asked to administer an oath to every person present. if someone refuses to take the oath, the person becomes the prime suspect or rather as it is in law, silence connotes tacit submission. before the advent of colonialism, crime of poisoning attracted such punishment as execution, slavery or outright banishment, depending on the degree of culpability or otherwise. for example, if a man poisoned another man igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 87 because he suspected the latter dating his wife, and if the purpose was ascertained as true, the prisoner was fined rather than executed. if someone poisoned a person because the victim was a witch or wizard, the offender did not face execution instead he is left alone if ascertained to be true. on the other hand, if someone poisoned another out of sheer envy or malice, or covetousness, his punishment was outright execution. the igeedu approach could also be adopted, where the suspect would be asked to drink the concoction.13 resolving land and inheritance conflict it is interesting to note that conflicts resulting from land and inheritance are very uncommon among the lelna of zuruland. land could be owned either in common or individually. in the case of land, for instance, if a man has, say, five sons (women are generally excluded from inheritance), all of them work in the same farmland. but as soon as the first son gets married, the father takes him out to the field in the company of the other sons and shows him a portion of the farm land that he would inherit. the boy moves out from his father‟s compound and builds himself a house on his inherited farmland. the same applies to the rest of the sons. however, the last boy of the house remains in the father's house until the father dies. when the father eventually dies, the last boy automatically inherits both the father's compound and the last piece of land. one thing interesting to note is that, if the father had whatever number of wives, they all stay with the last boy in the father's house and work together on the farm with him. they could, on the death of their husbands, decide to either stay with their respective sons or even choose with which son they would like to live with. if the man is also wealthy, (usually not monetary but the number of herds) he gives each son his portion alongside his land inheritance. if on the other hand the man dies before each son gets his inheritance, the sons share both the land and the wealth equally, yet leaving the father‟s house to the last boy. this system has helped to avert family conflicts regarding land and inheritance. most land related conflicts have to do with land leasing. if a family has a large expanse of land, it can decide to lease the land to another but with the instructions that the fruit bearing trees in the land remain untouched except by members of the family that is leasing the land out. usually, before a family leases the land, witnesses from the neighborhood are invited to partake of the terms of contract. it is expected that each family, including the witnesses pass the terms of contract to their respective succeeding generations. if for a long time the land is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 88 not reclaimed, the children or grandchildren of the loaning family may want to claim inheritance. this can result into conflict. elders of m ’gilo resolve this form of conflict by making reference to chronology. they invite very old people leaving in the neighborhood of the land in question, put them under oath and inquire from them who it was that first inhabited the land. once it is confirmed that the owners are the leasing family members, the loaning family is asked to vacate the land immediately. recently, there was an intra-family land case between a middle aged woman, emame and her sons on the one hand and kiyaya heendu on the other. emame‟s late husband was a cousin to kiyaya. he died in the early 1970s leaving behind four children, three boys and one girl. kiyaya‟s father decided to keep emame and her children with him. but as there was the need to build an army barracks in zuru in the 1970s and their farmlands were bought over by the federal government for that purpose. kiyaya's father had to migrate to another family land, which was quite a forest distance from zuru town. he did not take emame and the children with him but instructed his grandson, ganga to clear a virgin land for emame and her children opposite the sold location. he left emame in the custody of baba dangwaya, a chief priest who also has a farmland close to the land cleared for emame and the children. in 1979, emame got married to a hausa man. na' allah, and they begot other children, a boy and a girl. the older children got married and migrated to different locations leaving emame with the latter children. recently, emame sold part of the farm land claiming the need to buy some foodstuff. she again sold another portion and bought a motor bike for dan-asibi. the son she had for the hausa man. this did not go down well with kiyaya and some of his cousins, especially with the fact that a nephew of kiyaya. huche, wanted a piece of land from that farmland to build a house and was denied by emame who claimed her children wanted to do the same. kiyaya and his cousins instructed emame not to further sell any portion of the land. but emame decided to take the case to the district head of umanga. the case could not be substantiated until baba dangwaya. the chief priest, who was a principal witness to the case, was summoned. baba dangwaya confirmed that the land belonged to heendu, kiyaya's father, and that it was heendu who placed emame and the older children in his custody. the resolution of the ani le was that emame should vacate the land immediately.14 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 89 resolving minor conflicts such conflicts involving husbands and wives, parents and children, family members and neighbours are settled at the base level. such conflicts are encouraged to be settled using family and clan elders. but in the event that they are not settled at this level, they are referred to the clan chiefs. and if at this level they are not still settled, the clan chief refers the case to the chief of the entire town {gomo v'nile) who himself is a clan chief. if the overall chief is unable to broker peace or settle the dispute, he summons the elders of m'gilo who are the administrative mid judicial council members (ani’le). the verdict of ani’le remains final and binding. in most cases only very grave cases get to the court of ani’le. verdicts are most often very punitive not in the sense of punishing the culprit, but deterring others from offending the entire community. punishments range from fining of goats, dogs, and chicken, to execution, depending on the gravity of the crime committed. the council of ani ’le comprises people of proven integrity who are not influenced by position or material wealth in the dispensation of justice. such a thing as buying over the council members through bribeiy does not even arise for the reason that, because ani 'le see themselves as representing m gilo, they have a supreme price to pay if they act contrary to the dictates of m’gilo or contrary to the truth. in any case, members of the council take an oath to always stand by the truth in the process of arbitration and adjudication.15 resolution of undetermined cases there are cases, which by their very nature are undetermined and difficult to solve by the judicial council. such cases as lacking witnesses and those that involve high level of deceit fall under this category. such complex cases are simply resolved by either oath taking or the administration of igeedu. if the case invol ves men, they are made to swear by m 'gilo. the oath takes the form of gil 'in hwame, that is. may m’gilo strike me dead: or gil ’in ya me, that is. may m 'gilo drown me. because of the reverence attached to the name m’gilo. the noun is substituted with baba which means 'father'. in this case the oath is pronounced thus: baba so bib 'in ri, that is; may baba drain my blood. after oath taking, m’gilo is expected to strike justly and timely. women are generally forbidden to swear by the name m'gilo but can use the substitute kani'le, that is "the owner of the land” baba. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 90 the other form of conflict resolution involves the conflicting parties drinking a brewed concoction known as igeedu .in this sense, the conflicting parties present themselves to the judicial council and after taking an oath with the words geedu i hwa me; that is, 'may i die of this concoction', the chief priest of m 'gilo brews the igeedu and the persons involved are made to drink of it; which after being taken, exposes the culprit sometimes to instant death or through a gradual but severe, sickness still resulting into death eventually. the process of exposure takes between one and seven days. in 1920, j.c.o. clarke who was the colonial political officer among the dukkawa reported how this traditional mechanism was very effective in resolving conflicts.16 among the dukkawa, m’gilo is known as bakin dodo translated to mean "the mouth of the monster”. major conflicts under this category are such cases as intra-clannish conflict, inter-communal clashes, and intra-ethnic conflicts. resolving intra-clannish conflicts among the zuru ethnic groups, societies are organized into clans. each clan has a feeling of separate identity because each clan believes that it descended from a common ancestor, which also depicts a common period of migration and settlement pattern. there is a strong bond of brotherliness and sisterliness by members of the same clan. the most common intra-clannish clashes result from, say. d'himee, which literarily translate as „sin‟ of sexual romance committed against betrothal, and during intra-clannish hunting expedition. intra-clannish fracas usually occur during celebrations as uhola, d ’bin and swee. young teenage boys and girls usually sing and dance together. during this process, it is normal for young boys to make advances to young betrothed girls. this process is known as c'tono. if a girl succumbs to such advances, she is wooed by the boy to spend the night with him, during which she would provide romance but not sex. however, unknown to the girl, people are usually planted to spy on her. the spies trail both the boy and the girl to the house and particular hut they enter to make romance. the spies lay siege to the house while an emissary is sent to fetch either the girl's betrothed or any member of his golmo team. in some cases, the girl would be forced under duress, declare her keetnpa (boyfriend) either by arm-twisting or by inflicting some form of pain on her not by the husband to be but by any member of his golmo team. whoever she igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 91 mentions becomes a wanted personality. what the girl says is taken to be evidence enough for this course. however, private declaration is not accepted as enough evidence, the girl has to publicly voice out her seducer publicly. this is to make sure that even if the matter gets to the elders of m’gilo there are enough witnesses to the case. upon getting this information, the golmo and members of the betrothed surround the compound while others enter to force the duo out of the hut. the boy is beaten sometimes to unconsciousness while his loin skin is taken off his waist in evidence. this is known as d 'bimee. it is during this time that the boy's clan members rise in his defense to prevent his loin skin from being taken as evidence. once the loin skin is taken, the boy is forbidden to move about freely until a fine is paid to redeem the skin. the loin skin is presented as evidence to the elders of m ’gilo by the prefect of golmo of the betrothed's clan team. the fine is usually harsh. sometimes the boy is asked to pay between 20 to 40 cocks or a good number of puppies. until the loin skin is redeemed, the boy cannot move about freely. if he does, he risks being beaten by members of the offended clan. but even if the skin is not redeemed the boy has the support of his clan members who would usually fight to protect the boy from molestation. the fights are often very bloody. such a conflict is resolved only when the fine is paid and the loin skin redeemed.17 the second type of intra-clannish conflict results from hunting expedition known as beergu or hobo. conflict usually arises when, say, a dog catches a game and other dogs converge. even when it is clear which dog owns the game, it becomes a bone of contention who would take the game. again, a situation where a hunter shoots at a wild, either with his gun or with his poisonous arrow and the game is picked by someone else who refuses to submit the animal to the real owner invites bloody clashes between separate clan members. such conflicts are resolved through the mediation of the chief of the forest who asks the conflicting parties to either swear by the forest kad d’vame, that is, "may the forest devour me”, or by a poisonous arrow. in either case, it is believed that the liar would die miserably, and when he dies he is not accorded a befitting burial. in fact, such persons are buried in the forest and their graves are declared evil. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 92 resolving inter-ethnic conflicts among lelna, inter-ethnic conflict occurs mostly during wresting seasons. wrestling competition occurs interchangeably during the celebration of d ’biti festival. every ethnic group has a wrestling square or ring where the invited neighbouring groups converge. able-bodied young men who are between the ages of 18 and 25 years engage themselves in wrestling competition (c'ineech). although the rules of the game are clear enough for a clean competition.18 the competition is not devoid of conflict. this is because the losing side is teased with all kinds of derogatory songs that are provocative and this often leads to serious fights of bloodletting. this kind of conflict is often expected and tolerated because individuals use such occasions to test the strength of their charms and juju. moreover, injured individuals take pride in nursing their wounds. however, if the conflicting situation turns into an escalation of uncontrollable violence, it would warrant the intervention of m'gilo elders to quell the crisis. if however the crisis becomes uncontrollable, the m 'gilo drum is sounded and the town crier announces thus: kcmi 'le zeka kowe sak k ’lev' ugye, that is. “the ultimate has ordered that everyone must depart the wrestling scene". in fact, the people disappear from the scene once the drum is sounded even before the crier makes the announcement, so as to avoid confronting the presence of m 'gilo and thereby inviting his wrath.19 other forms of inter-ethnic violence among lelna are settled by a joint session of the judicial councils of the groups involved: and the joint session holds at the judicial square of the senior group chaired by the chief of that group. for example, if there is a fight between umanga ethnic group and senche ethnic group, the joint judicial council whose membership comprises ipso facto, the elders of m'gilo of each group, holds in umanga. this is because umanga is superior to senche hierarchically. if the conflict is resolved and punitive measures are meted, the offending group is asked to compensate or pay a fine to the offended group. if however the joint judicial council could not resolve the conflict, the case is then referred to the highest council, in this case at udabi where the final verdict is decided. the offended group is asked to charge some form of compensation and with a compromise, the offending group is obliged to redeem. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 93 the most common inter-ethnic conflict is that between lelna in general and the fulani. all lelna are farmers while the fulani are herdsmen some fulani shepherds are very careless about allowing their flock to encroach into the farms of lelna. other fulani shepherds deliberately push their flock into farms to 'feed well'. in either case, the matter is reported to the local chief who then summons the fulani chief within the territory. the case is adjudicated in his presence and the fulani shepherd is asked to pay a fine commensurate to the damage done. sometimes, the animals are held hostage until the fine is redeemed. when, however, the fulani becomes smart schemers by treacherously pushing their flocks into the farms by night time and it becomes difficult to know which shepherd was responsible, some lelna resort to poisoning the crops leading to the death of animals while others take a hard line by resorting to mass action against any available fulani shepherd in the neighborhood. in fact, what now obtains is that as soon as the wet season approaches, the sarkin fulanis are summoned and asked to go and give a stem warning to their shepherds against encroaching into farmlands or else they would be held accountable for any shepherd's misdeed. this has paid off. m’gilo and the containment of violence two cases have occurred in the history of zuruland to illustrate the effectiveness of the m’gilo institution in the containment of conflict. the first incident was reported by the colonial anthropologist, a. b. matthews in the year 1926. mathews recalled a situation where there were serious crises in parts of zuru land between the people and colonial tax agents. the crises could not be controlled by the colonial administration despite punitive measures. to bring the crises under control, colonial administration had to implore the mediation of the elders of m’gilo. as soon as the elders issued a pronouncement that m’gilo had directed that further crisis be halted, colonialists were amazed at how instantly the rule was obeyed.20 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 94 another instance recently occurred in the year 2002. there was the bloating of internecine crisis, more or less like genocide between the fulani and penni ethnic group. the zuru town market day is celebrated every saturday. it is only on this particular day that people from the farm and village settlement cease the opportunity to go to the town for weekly, sometimes, monthly shopping. they bring along their produce to sell so as to raise some money for their purchases. on this fateful saturday in the month of september 2002, two women of the penni ethnic group were coming from the market and were waylaid by some fulani youths. one of the women escaped while the other fell a victim and was eventually murdered. the one who escaped drew the attention of some penni men who besieged the scene. they combed round and eventually found the corpse of the victim. news pervaded and penni men and youths ganged up and started attacking and burning down even fulani hamlets in the neighborhood. many fulani people were killed in the attacks that went on for more than a week. unfortunately, the geography of the place did not help matters. penni village is about 20 kilometres to the southwest of zuru and 40 kilometres to the northwest. mountains and valleys surround the whole place, which makes it inaccessible to vehicles. the police in zuru town could not effectively contain the crisis owing to these natural factors. when the killings were getting out of hand, the emir, gen. sam sami, had to appeal to the elders of m’gilo of penni to help bring the situation under control. this was what eventually brought the crisis under control and relative peace was restored. what the elders of m’gilo of penni simply did was to make a public announcement saying that kani ’le forbade further hostilities. conclusion though without success, colonialism tried vociferously to not only impose its judicial system but sought to abolish the traditional judicial system. first and foremost what colonialism did was to introduce the indirect rule system by imposing the emirate type of judicial apparatuses, the native alkali courts and the native police (yan dogari). the alkali courts were purely hinged on the islamic customary laws. when the people of zuru revolted and resisted the emirate form of administration for about a decade (1903-1913), colonialism abolished the emirate system. and as a result of continued uprising against colonial igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 95 administration, colonialism established other colonial to post colonial times, the efficacy of the traditional style of conflict resolution among the zurus is unequalled. apparently, the rich lelna cultural heritage is indeed an asset to africa that translates to nation building and should be guarded jealously. endnotes 1 gwimi sebastine peter, aged 55, civil servant, abuja, 22nd june, 2019 2ogali ogaba, aged 74, farmer, zuru, 13th march, 2019 3 idris umar, aged 64, farmer, kaduna, 16th april, 2019 4 augi, a.r & lawal s.u. eds. studies in the history of zuru emirate, enugu, nigeria: fourth dimension, 1990 5eriba christopher, aged 53, civil servant, phone, 20th april, 2019 6 suzana peter, aged 34, farmer, kaduna, 5th march, 2019 7 joseph gosa, aged 44, civil servant,kebbi, 4th march, 2019 8 augustine bagna, aged 76, retired , kebbi, 15th september, 2019 9 anlaini daniel chonoko, aged 33, civil servant, dabai, 5th september, 2019 10 marry sule penni, civil servant, kaduna, 7th april, 2019 11james sakaba, aged 51, civil servant, zuru, 14th april, 2019 12 ibrahim kachi penny, aged 40, civil servant, dabai, 23rd may, 2019 13 gauza chonoko, aged 80, retired, kebbi, 8th march, 2019 14 ladi malaki dikki, aged 55, civil servant, zuru, 14th april, 2019 15 alh. dantani ribah, aged 56, civil servant, phone, 23rd may, 2019 16 the gazetteer of northern nigerian: the central kingdoms. london: frank cass. 1970 17 “abinsi-zuru divisional boundary” nak/mak/prof/416b. 31st january, 1934 18 “zuru-fakai divisional boundary; agatu-hare west” nak/mak/prof/416c/33. 4th september, 1948 19 “dabai –zuru” from the divisional officer i/c zuru division; to the district officer i/c dabai gboko. nak/mak/prof/17/1926/81. 7th october, 1936 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 96 20 “achifawa: historical and anthropological report”, provincial correspondence jacket.nak. min. prof., 1926). microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no 3.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 94 the adverse effects of language diversity on development: a case study of kogi state attabor, ocheja theophilus department of english and literary studies, kogi state university, anyigba 08037849871 attabor2013@gmail.com & moses, gideon odibah department of general studies kogi state college of education (technical) kabba gideonodibah@gmail.com & augustine, uche ekwe abuja international school, maraba attabor2013@gmail.com abstract language plays a key role in the development of every state. the way and manner in which speakers of another language regard speakers of other languages could impede development. language loyalty and refusal to accept and tolerate languages other than one’s own language has continued to cause inter-ethnic crisis and other language related problems which retard development. this paper is hinged on social identity theory. in the methodology, questionnaire method was adopted for collection of data. a total of 150 questionnaires were distributed to respondents around kogi state and the data collected was analysed using a simple frequency table. in the findings, it was observed that a language difference is a major cause of underdevelopment in kogi state. the paper recommends that language tolerance and acceptance should be encouraged in the interest of the state. introduction human beings are social animals and language is the instrument through which they interact. it is a symbol of unification and a mark of identity. language is a very important and indispensable tool available to man for the facilitation of his day to day activities. whatever language we speak helps to define us as humans and identify the community we belong to. the ability to use language in speech igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 95 makes us human. language is a community property. this means that it is the common agreement of community that gives meaning to our sounds, signs and marks. community here refers to users. thus, anybody who can speak a language, who can converse meaningfully and coherently in any language, is part of the ownership of that language. it is the community of language users that assign every word of a language the meaning it bears. in spite of these important aspects of language, the problem of man’s development and growth become increasingly complex and intricate when the individual is not monolingual or monocultural or when one’s language has to co -exist with several other languages (diverse languages) within a speech community. language diversity refers to the number of different languages spoken in a given area. it deals with multiplicity of language within a society. the problem of language diversity in a multicultural setting is how to manage the tensions that accompany language contact. most of such contacts entail struggle for exclusive domination and supremacy between the languages. however, multilingualism entails that the language are encouraged to accommodate one another. another problem associated with multilingualism remains how to maintain social relation and communication in such an environment of multiplicity of languages. a multicultural community in its simplest form is a society where many cultures exist. culture is a people’s way of doing things. hence, a multicultural context is about a society which has many ways of doing things. multicultural again refers to the existence of many distinct human groups in a society. the distinctive qualities here are skin colour, language, moral, belief system, ideology, ethnicity and so on. the most visible arena of multicultural is the urban centre. urbanization opens up a place for people with different backgrounds and cultures. in most cases, these people arrive the urban areas with the cultural practices, ethos and prejudices of the groups they left behind. in a multicultural context, everyone is allowed to practice their culture without let or hindrance. the use of language in a multicultural context is a careful activity. it’s mediated with caution and reason as people are passionate with their culture. they see culture as proof of their achievements as human beings. they feel that any denigration of their culture is tantamount to the denigration of their humanity. thus, the jealous protection which individuals accord to their cultures exists because they see their cultures as extension of themselves. thus, to disparage a culture entails disparaging the owners of that culture. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 96 in spite of all efforts to unite and develop kogi state politically, economically and socially, the state remains an underdeveloped one. this is as a result of the challenges facing the state due to her multi-lingual and multi-cultural nature. language diversity has generated a lot of problems in the state such as aggravating political sectionalism, hindrance of inter-group cooperation, unity, impedes political participation, political support for the authorities and the regime, and holds down government effectiveness and political stability. similarly, language diversity slows economic development, by for example, braking occupational mobility, reducing the number of people available for mobilization into the modern sector of the economy, decreasing efficiency, and preventing the diffusion of innovative techniques. this research intends to address these problems caused by language diversity so as to enhance even development in the state. a brief background of linguistic composition in kogi state kogi is a state located in the north central nigeria created in august, 1991. it is bordered by ten states namely; abuja, anambra, nassarawa, benue, enugu, ondo, edo, ekiti, kwara and niger. it is popularly called the confluence state because the river niger and benue respectively meet at lokoja, its state capital. according to adegbija (2004), kogi state is made up of the following languages: “agwara-kamberi; baruba; baatonun, bassange; barutun; bisanya; boko; busa; ebira; ebira-koto, eganyin; fulani; hausa; igala; kambari: auna, agara’iwa, kupa; nupe (kakanda); oko-osanyin (ogori-magongo), okun: bunu, ijumu, owe, yagba” (p.44). however, three notable languages are spoken in kogi state: igala, okun and ebira languages. adegbija went further to say that “the igalas, dominated by the tivs in their former benue state, became, in kwara, a predominant language group that now constitute a political and linguistic threat to other language groups in the newly created kogi state” (p.33). this is because “owing to the creation of new states from time to time, some neglected languages have gained sudden significance. igala, for instance, has become a major language in kogi state”(48). thus, “in kogi state, igala and ebira have become major languages because their speakers are numerically and politically buoyant” (49) the co-existence of these different languages in the state has led to a lot of developmental issues. development here applies to all facets of human endeavourshealth, medicine, information, communication, education, justice, politics, trade, transport. it also implies the extent of mutual participation of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 97 individuals, male or female, high or low, rich or poor in all these social and political endeavours of one’s land. according to adegbite (2003), “development is the ultimate goal of national aspirations and individual efforts but it is most apparent that the nations of the world and individual persons either attain or fail to attain this goal in varying degrees” (p.156). it is these developmental problems which the state encounters as a result of her multi lingual and multicultural composition that this research intends to address. theoretical frame work this paper is hinged on social identity theory. social identity theory was developed by tajfel and turner (1979) to understand the psychological basis of intergroup discrimination. it has a considerable impact on social psychology. it has also been tested in a wide range of fields and settings including prejudice, stereotyping, and language use. tajfel & turner (1979) proposed that the groups (eg. social class, family, dialect groups, etc.) which people belonged to were an important source of pride and self esteem. as a result, it gives us a sense of social identity as well as a sense of belonging to the social world. therefore in order to increase our self-image, we either enhance the status of the group we belong or discriminate and hold prejudice views against the “out-group”. consequently, we divide the world into “them” and “us” based through a process of social categorization which implies putting people into social groups known as ingroup (us) and out-group (them). the basic assumption of the theory is that group members of an in-group will seek negative aspects of an out-group through discrimination and prejudiced remarks in order to enhance their self image. such prejudiced views between cultures could result in racism (anti-semitism and xenophobic tendency) and the extreme form of racism has resulted in genocide in germany with the jews, in rwanda between the hutus and tutsis, in the former yugoslavia between the bosnians and serbs, in nigeria between modakeke and ife, ijaw and itshekiri. following tajfel and turner (1979), stereotyping is based on a normal cognitive process. we have the tendency to group things together and while doing this, we exaggerate the differences between groups and the similarities of things in the group. according to them, three cognitive processes are involved in evaluating others as “us” or “them’ (i.e. “in-group” and “out-group”). these are social categorization, social identification and social comparison. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 98 in stage one, we categorize people, including ourselves, in order to comprehend the social environment be it christian/muslim, migrants/landowners, central language/dialects, blacks/whites, etc. if we can assign people to a category, then we can tell things about them. in the second stage, we adopt the identity of the category we have categorized ourselves to belong. for instance, if we categorize ourselves as muslims, we begin to adopt the identity of a muslim and start to act in the ways we believe muslims act and conform to the norms of the group. we also lace our emotions to the identified group as our self-esteem is bound up with the group membership. finally, having categorized and identified ourselves with a group, we then tend to compare that group with other groups. our own group must compete favourably with other groups if we must maintain our selfesteem. competition and hostility between two rival groups is not only an issue of competing for resources but also of competing identities. methodology the method used for the collection of data for this study was through the administration of questionnaires to respectively selected respondents within an area of the state being kogi state university, anyigba. this is because the university environment is representative of speakers of diverse languages, including the three major languages: igala, ebira and okun which are relevant to this study. concerning the data collected for the work, a total number of 150 questionnaires were distributed to the selected respondents around the university, 50 speakers of igala, 50 speakers of ebira and 50 okun speakers. in terms of the nature of questions, they were designed to elicit from the respondents issues linked to the sociolinguistics of language in relation to the ideal thrust of the research. a total of 150 questionnaires were given out and collected, the respondents were chosen from the three major linguistic and ethnic groups in kogi state, 50 igalas, 50 ebiras and 50 okuns. the selection was to avoid a kind of duplication of ideas, since people of the same ethnic group seem to think and see issues alike. items on the questionnaire ranged from information like names, sex, age, occupation, language, to marital status. all respondents are proficient in one or two indigenous languages besides english and pidgin. for the purpose of analysing data for this research work, a simple frequency table is used based on the respondents’ answers to questions on the questionnaires. the frequency distribution and analyses of responses of the 150 respondents are presented below. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 99 presentation of data and analyses question 1: is language an instrument for development? table 1: summary of responses to question 1. responses frequency percentage (%) yes no not sure 85 55 10 56.7 36.7 6.6 total 150 100.0 table 1 above indicates that 56.7% of respondents said yes, 36.7% said no while 6.6% are not sure. this shows that language is an instrument for development. question 2: do you think the coexistence of many languages in kogi state is a hindrance to her ethnic unity? table 2: summary of responses to question 2 responses frequency percentage (%) yes no no response 120 25 5 80 16.7 3.3 total 150 100.0 the result in table 2 above indicates that 80% of respondents said yes, 16.7% said no while 3.3% are not sure. this means that the co-existence of many languages in kogi state is a hindrance to her ethnic unity. question 3: do you think multiple languages have any adverse effect on efficient communication in the state? table 3: summary of responses to question 3 responses frequency percentage (%) yes no no response 80 68 2 53.3 45.3 1.4 total 150 100.0 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 100 table 3 above shows that 53.3% of respondents think the existence of multiple languages in the state have adverse effects on efficient communication, 45.3% think it does not while 1.4% gave no response. this means that the existence of many languages have adverse effects on efficient communication in the state. question 4: do indigenes of kogi state who are native speakers of different languages live in peaceful harmony with one another? table 4: summary of responses to question 4. responses frequency percentage (%) yes no not sure 40 100 10 26.7 66.7 6.6 total 150 100.0 table 4 above shows that 26.7% indigenes think members of the state live in peaceful harmony with one another, 66.7% think they do not while 6.6% are not sure. this shows that indigenes of kogi state do not live in peaceful harmony with one another. question 5: is multilingualism more of a blessing than a curse in kogi state? table 5: summary of responses to question 5 responses frequency percentage (%) yes no not sure 55 90 5 36.7 60 3.3 total 150 100.0 the result in table 5 above shows that 36.7% of indigenous think multilingualism is more of a blessing than a curse in the state, 60% do not think so while 3.3% are not sure. this shows that multilingualism is more of a curse than a blessing in kogi state. question 6: does language diversity hinder scientific and technological invention in the state? igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 101 table 6: summary of responses to question 6 responses frequency percentage (%) yes no not sure 110 25 15 73.3 16.7 10 total 150 100.0 the result in table 6 above show that 73.3% of respondents said yes, 16.7% said no, while 10% are not sure. this means that language diversity hinders scientific and technological invention in kogi state. question 7: do you think multiple languages in kogi state is a threat to your own progress? table 7: summary of responses to question 7 responses frequency percentage (%) yes no no response 80 60 10 53.3 40 6.7 total 150 100 the table above shows that 53.3% said yes, 40% said no, 6.7% gave no response. this means that the co-existence multiple languages in kogi state threatens the progress of indigenes of the state. question 8: do you think picking a common language in a multilingual place like kogi state is easy? table 8: summary of responses to question 8 responses frequency percentage (%) yes no not sure 25 115 10 16.7 76.7 6.6 total 150 100.0 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 102 table 8 above shows that 16.7% of respondents said yes, 76.7% said no, while 6.6% are not sure. this shows that picking a common language in a multilingual society like kogi state is not easy. question 9: do you think kogi state would be better off with one common language? table 9: summary of responses to question 9 responses frequency percentage (%) yes no undecided 130 18 2 86.7 12 1.3 total 150 100.0 the table 9 is that 86.7% tilts toward a better kogi state if composed of a common language while 12% tilts toward a worse condition if kogi state is made up of a common language as 1.3% is undecided on the issue. question 10: do you think there are possible solutions to the problems of language diversity in the state? table 10: summary of responses to question 10 responses frequency percentage (%) yes no not sure 82 60 8 54.7 40 5.3 total 150 100.0 the result in table 10 above indicates that 54.7% of indigenes think the problems of language diversity in the state can be solved, 40% think it cannot be solved, while 5.3% are not sure. this shows that the problems of language diversity in the state can be tackled. research findings based on the analyses carried out above, it is obvious that multilingualism or language diversity poses a great threat to the development of kogi state, as well igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 103 as to the peaceful co-existence of indigenes within the state. members of the state harbour suspicion about others who speak different languages from them, the result of this reflects in every sector of the state, hence, language diversity hinders political, economic, social and technological development in kogi state. summary by and large, this study has been specifically concerned with the issue of language diversity as it affects development in kogi state. concepts relating to language diversity such as language and its functions, multilingualism as well as development have been reviewed. data used for the analyses of this study was collected through distribution of questionnaires to selected respondents within an area of the state being kogi state university and the analyses of data was carried out using a simple frequency table, leading to the findings that language diversity actually affects development in kogi state. recommendations multilingualism, if properly harnessed, is more of a blessing than a curse. kogi state is everybody’s own, igala, ebira, okun and others, we should consider one another as citizens of a single state and family. government policy that promotes one language above the other should be stopped. this will reduce the level of hatred among our competing linguistic groups. a multilingual and multicultural approach should be adopted concerning language policy in the state. where there is a state function, it is better to use all languages in the state side by side for conducting the affairs of the state. thus, all citizens should be encouraged to use all languages in the state, this does not tamper with the fact that the english language remains the official language of the state, since no acceptable indigenous language has emerged. language and ethnic feelings should be relegated to the background in deciding positions for political leaders; employment should be based on merit rather than tribal affiliations, only then can development or even development be ensured. natural and man-made resources should be equitably distributed across the state without any bias; this will reduce the problems of ethnic disunity in the state. monolingualism alone will not solve all our economic, political and social woes; there are monolingual societies around the globe where there is lack of peace due igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 104 to one problem or another. an example is the conflict between the ooni of ife and the alaafin of oyo over the egba monopoly of political power in western nigeria. there is bickering between anambra north and south, there are conflicts between the turks and greeks in cyprus , iraq versus kuwait, the collapsed soviet union, etc. are all examples of societies that have or had common language yet eroded by crisis. therefore, the masses should be adequately sensitized on the need to tolerate one another and accept languages other than their own. there should be no dichotomy between major and minor languages; every language should be treated with as much respect as possible. the interest and development of kogi state as a whole should be at the forefront of every indigene’s heart irrespective of other factors such as tribal or language differences, only then can we have a peaceful and well developed kogi state. conclusion having carried out the analyses of data collected for this study, it is safe to assert that language diversity or differences in language threatens even development in a multilingual society. members of the state harbour suspicion and fail to unite with others who speak different languages from them. this tribalism is more noticeable in the political and economic sectors, incompetent leaders are voted into power simply because majority of voters are from the same ethnic group as them and these leaders in power tend to channel development plans towards certain areas of the state as against other areas. similarly, incompetent persons are given employment not based on merit, but tribal reasons and this slows down the rate of development in the state. references adegbija, e. (2004). multilingualism: a nigerian case study. asmara: africa world press inc. tajfel, h., & turner, j.c. (1979). an integrative theory of intergroup conflict. in w.g. austin & s. worchel (eds) the social psychology of intergroup relations, (33-47). monterey, ca: books/cole. tajfel, h., & turner, j.c. 1986. the social identity theory of intergroup behavior. in s. worchel & w.g. austin (eds.) psychology of intergroup relations. (pp.724). chicago, il: nelson-hall. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 105 igboanusi, h. & ohia, i. (2001). language conflict in nigeria: the perspective of linguistic minorities. in h. igboanusi(ed.) language attitude and language conflict in west africa. (pp. 125-142). ibadan: enicrownfit publishers. abioye, t. et al. (2013) multilingualism. a course guide for the department of english, national open university of nigeria. adegbite, w. (2003) multilingualism and national development. in lekan oyeleye and moji olateju (eds) readings in language and literature. ile-ife: obafemi awolowo university press, 153-168 adejo, a. (2002) ethnic communal violence in a plural polity: the nigerian experience. in journal of faculty of arts, seminar series, benue state university markurdi, vol. 1. akinola, a.a (2016) ‘the role of mother tongue and second language in the socio-political and economic development of nigeria’. in akin odebunmi and kehinde a. ayoola (eds). language, context and society: a festschrift for wale adegbite. ile-ife: obafemi awolowo university press, 113-128. akinyemi, k. (2016, march 19). nigeria: oba vs obastory of yoruba land’s epic royal rumble. daily trust abuja bamgbose a. (1991) language and the nation.the language question in subsaharan africa edinburgh university press. blom & gumperz, j.: 19986 (1972), ‘social meaning in linguistic structures in j. gumperz & d. hymes (eds), direction in sociolinguistics: the ethnography of communication, basil blackwell, new york. durk, g.f. et al. (2005). “benefits of linguistic diversity and multilingualism”. position paper of research task 1.2 “cultural diversity as an asset for human welfare and development”. retrieved from http//www.susdiv.org/uploadfiles/rt1.2_p_durk. pdf microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 2.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 110 an analysis of illocutionary acts in ernest-samuel’s epistolary novels: dear kelechi and its sequel emmanuel chukwudi ugwu department of english language and literature nnamdi azikiwe university, awka ec.ugwu@unizik.edu.ng abstract pragmatic illocution deals with communication in well-formed utterances, whereby the language users must understand one another in other to encode and decode locutions and once the speaker or the writer performs with the words, it sends signals to the hearer or the reader with appropriate meaning, especially in solving the issues on negative response from the hearer or the reader. the novel analysed with this work was dear kelechi, an epistolary written by a friend iheoma to her bosom friend kelechi. the work extensively used the four grice’s cooperative principles as the theory applied in analysing the research questions raised and the data were analysed based on textual analysis guided by the research questions with its finding of the writer used the illocutionary effects in creating a new raised world to the receiver. finally, well-articulated illocution must produce a positive thought especially in return. keywords: illocution, locution, speaker, writer, reader, hearer, epistolary, cooperative principle. introduction it is of great importance to note that language when well utilised, sends a powerful message to the receiver through the sender by a well-coordinated locution and every locution carries its force and interpretation peculiar to the receiver. at times, the encoding of the message between the sender and the receiver must be effective by a special code the duo shares in common. in sending any locution, that is utterance or word it always brings about an illocution especially what the sender has in mind via a micropragmatic sequence. piotr cap states that “micropragmatics can be defined as the study of illocutionary force at the utterance level.” (54) although these utterances take effective meaning through the discourse and global intention of the sender of a message which he captures also as the intentionality resulting from different speech act configurations, often referred to as speech events and as initiators of complex effects in projecting illocutionary act. there are deictic in projections and are analysed especially from the point of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 111 views of the hearer and what the hearer decodes the message as he receives them from the initiator as ernest-samuel states and discusses on the issue of marriage an how people understand it: this is where you come in. only you understand and see the world from the same perspective as i. you always tried to be objective even when presented with a subjective viewpoint. only you understand the woman that is iheoma. you are the only one who has always laughed and cried with me. simply put, you are my kindred spirit (8). in understanding the perspective of iheoma’s point of view there must be a shared assumption deixis between her and kelechi. there is a clear understanding in the concept of you at the lexicalised point of view of the speaker and the hearer, and the grammatical view in the expression of my kindred spirit. my kindred spirit must have an illocutionary force over kelechi to understand the locution from the speaker and effectively encode the latter messages. the speaker here might be interested in an implicit illocutionary act reminding the hearer to perfectly move into spiritual realms of encoding her message or be in the right thinking mood in other to follow in the thoughts of their deliberations. she further states that, “your situation has turned me into a storyteller. and i have no attention of stopping my storytelling, if only it will pass my message across” (90). yule expresses that “mostly we don’t just produce well-formed utterances with no purpose. we form an utterance with some kind of function in mind. this is the second dimension, or the illocutionary act. the illocutionary act is performed via the communicative force of an utterance. (48) sadock submits that in illocutionary acts, austin’s central innovations are acts done in speaking … especially that sort of act that is the apparent purpose for using a performative sentence: christening like i named you claribel during such rites and from there, the child start bearing that name, marrying – i pronounced them husband and wife which yield greater effect on the couple than the priest who made the pronouncement. austin called an attention to the fact that acts of stating or asserting which are presumably illocutionary acts are characteristic of the use of canonical constatives and such sentences are, by assumption, not performatives furthermore, acts of ordering like “get out!” has its special illocution on the hearer whether to leave an environment or a mere utterance to just bark at one; also in requesting “salt please” the hearer might encode the construction as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 112 whether to pass the salt across or that the taste of the soup in question is so salty are typically accomplished by using imperative sentences, and acts of asking whether something is the case are properly accomplished by using interrogative sentences, though such forms are at best very dubious examples of performative sentences .… the conclusion was drawn that the locutionary aspect of speaking is what we attend to most in the case of the standard examples of performative sentences, attend as much as possible to the illocution,. van dijk in his acts of language explicitly states that: a first issue requiring attention is the action character of speech communication. it has been assumed that realising a sentence or discourse of a language is an act, but that statement encompasses a great deal of theoretical complexity of which only some partial aspects can be dealt with here. what is usually meant by saying that we do something when we make an utterance is that we accomplish some specific social act, eg making a promise, a request, giving advice, etc. usually called speech acts, or more specifically illocutionary acts. (195) so, for illocutionary act to be effective and successful, when the result is in line with the utterance are perfectly understood at these two levels: the intentionalsuccessful stage, if the speaker’s intention actually had a successful execution to the perceived hearer if not illocutionary act are a kind of imposition on the hearer because the meanings of the utterance are interpreted differently. nolke states that “with the help of the modalities of enunciation the speaker can in fact make commentaries which directly concern illocutionary acts or the act of enunciation in which he is engaged” (85). statement of the problem illocutionary act is a principle in pragmatics that occur “here and there” in peoples’ utterances and writings, and to effectively achieve this both the sender and receiver must have the locutionary standpoint in their relationship. language users at times need to dig deep into certain utterances with which they might encode the outcome of the messages and various signs wrongly. when people speak, write or do thing with words in the form of speech or written acts, their expression is always with the outcome of an illocution either positive or negative, and to solve the problem of impoliteness in our speech or writing; leech directs employing general principle of indirect kind of illocution in order igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 113 to be more polite and more indirect an illocution is more reduced when its force have a tendency to be. research questions the research questions were formulated to address the issues raised in the novel that are related to illocution effects and some of the questions are as follows: 1. to what degree was the locution used by iheoma to address the issues of marriage in our society? 2. in what ways were illocution of child bearing in africa addressed? 3. to what extent did the gricean cooperation principle applied in the novel to pass the following message to the reader such as: a. how was the issue of quality applied in the novel; b. where there enough information on quantity of maxim used; c. in what manner was the advice achieved and the aim of its use; d. what are the relevance to the present marriages around us? review of the related literature … ‘the daughter of idi amin,’ a name that changed after i proved myself a true daughter of idi amin (gloria ernest-samuel; dr, 14). the writer equates her father’s highhandedness prevalent to a former tyrant leader of tanzania as people assumed that the father was, because of his disciplinary attitude in making things and people yield to their actual duty especially at the laissez-faire attitude of some of his subordinate. illocutionary force indicating devices jef verschueren upholds that: it is usually assumed that the major sentence types – serving as ifids have a typically associated literal force: an assertive force for declarative sentence, a question force for interrogative sentences and a directive for imperative sentences. when this pattern is broken, as in can you call me a taxi?, which is literally a question about the addressee’s ability to call a taxi but which functions as request to do so, the label indirect speech act is used. (25) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 114 the force obtained from the above sequence is more primarily an illocutionary effect at the point of request while the effect on the hearer towards the utterance is more of the secondary illocutionary act which results in producing confirmation of the capability in getting the taxi. searle as qtd in sadock, (68) distinguishes between effects that are achieved by getting the hearer to recognise that the rules governing the use of an illocutionary force indicating device are in effect, which he called illocutionary effects, and those effects that are achieved indirectly as by-products of the total speech act, for which he reserved the term perlocutionary effects. elena collavin, is of the opinion that “the illocutionary force of an utterance can be isolated by asking in which sense we were using a given utterance, (380). such, taking for example in describing metapragmatically as an illocutionary force such as: utterance to issue order, make a request, statement, suggestion promise, warning. as iheoma states in ernest-samuel, (70) “when i think that, the still small voice in me keeps reminding me, “flee from adultery and fornication, flee from all appearances of evil.” each time this happens, that seed of god in me warns me and i realise that i am not of capable of doing it.” we can equally recognise a warning, an order, promise etc. once we read, hear or see any. also, some of the verbs of the english are made up of force of illocution when used with the first person present indicative like in the above, ‘i realise', i think’, ‘i am not capable’ provide an explicit performative while some do not act in an explicit performative as austin exemplifies thus: i want to discuss a kind of utterance which looks like a statement … and yet is not true or false – in the first person singular present indicative active – if a person makes an utterance of this sort we would say that he is doing something rather than merely saying something. (20) illocutionary utterances and utterances cluster searle states that “a speaker’s utterance meaning and the sentence meaning frequently diverge, (59). such that in novel utterances like: idiomatic expression, proverbs, metaphors, irony and insinuations do cluster in their meanings. that at times the three major english sentence forms declarative, imperative and interrogative have no correspondence but the forces that prototypically correspond to them as in stating, ordering and requesting. “ah, mama, i thought you’re here for the weekend, (ernest-samuel, 50), which is an interrogative igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 115 although with the declarative form of a statement. collavin corroborates that it is a common occurrence in english … “utterances that have the illocutionary force indicators for one kind of illocutionary act can then be used to perform another kind of illocutionary act.” (385) verschueren opines in his submission that: utterance for any stretch of language, no matter how long or short and no matter how many voices it may contain, with a clear beginning and end, produced by the same person(s). examples range from one-word sentences, over speech acts constituting a turn in a conversation, to multi-volume novels. utterance clusters are organised conglomerates of utterances …, many of the more complex utterances may contain various kinds or layers of embedded utterances (or utterancee), as when quotations are used in newspaper reports or even embedded utterance clusters (or utterance clustere), as when a novel contains conversation between some of the characters. (131) also, this particular work was hinged in the novel dear kelechi with embedded utterances attributed to the various characters emerged in the work by the writer. illocutionary acts as communicative acts clark states that “language seems orderly when it is found in novels, plays, and news broadcast, but much less so when it is heard in cafes, classrooms, and offices” (365). this in his previous work of 1996, he supported that in spontaneous language it has its root in joint activities. more especially when people use words in communicating at cafes, classroom, stadium etc. they also try to communicate effectively in that given action with various illocutionary acts that will suit the situation. such as primary system of communication and the collateral system of communication; the former deals with the official course in their discourse while the latter rely on the system in which the principles will work effectively especially on how to deliver the discourse and pattern to adopt to effect communication. van dijk thus supports that “illocutionary acts typically do not come alone. they are part of sequences of action in general or of sequences of speech acts in particular. these sequences must satisfy the usual conditions for action sequences.” (202) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 116 in exchanging illocutionary acts in communication at times when the speaker has the intention of delivering a particular knowledge to the hearer and the hearer has the instinct knowledge of the speaker’s intention in the delivery, there is less and minute strength in exercising the full delivery of the message. he thus agrees that to have an accomplished and successful communicative act that the speaker must have to add some proportional information to the knowledge of the hearer. thus: my semantics acts acquire a pragmatic function only if i have the additional assumption that the hearer does not possess certain knowledge (about the world, about my internal states) and the purpose to change the knowledge of my hearer as a consequence of the interpretation of my semantic (meaning, referential) act, by which i express my knowledge or other internal state. (219) summary illocutionary force can be obtainable anywhere, at any time depending on the occasion and there must be actual contextual variables to consider in determining the essential suitable principle for using an illocution as peter grundy is of the view that: because speech acts are to some extent formulaic. for example, if my neighbour at dinner is an overseas student studying in britain, she may turn to me and say … can you give me the salt, i notice the slight difference between this and the uk formula … can you pass the salt. because speech acts are to some degree culturally institutionalised, we have expectations about preferred and dispreferred formulas. and as we cross cultures, we sometimes notice slight (and even not so slight) differences in the way that illocutionary force is conveyed. (82) the illocutionary force at the breakfast at home will definitely differ from the lunch had at the university canteen especially if the same student was involved in these two places with different sets of people. the effect and the meaning of words and utterances in dear kelechi, the receiver and the writer iheoma will definitely be decoded by the duo same to iheoma my dear, been an epistolary, written to kelechi. research methodology igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 117 this paper hinges on gricean’s cooperative theory to describe and analyse the texts of this research, iheoma’s usage in the four maxims adopted in the novel dear kelechi and also in its sequel. the textual analysis of illocutionary utterances of the writers helped in analysing the texts, with the framed research questions which guided the analysis. the analysis was based on these four grice’s maxim: quantity, quality, relation and manner including the illocutionary effects on the reader, the receiver and the writer of the works as well. theoretical framework the work is under a pragmatic approach well restricted to the illocutionary act and that is, what the locution acted upon the hearer of the utterance or during the reading. the grice’s cooperative principle was employed to account for the locutor and locution; the illocutor and its illocution. grice in his observation projects that when we talk or write we try to be cooperative by incorporating those attributes into what he termed the “cooperative principle” which he states that “make your conversational contribution such as is required, at the stage at which it occurs, by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange in which you are engaged” (45). the grice’s cooperative principle is discussed under four conversational maxims: maxim of quality: making one’s contribution one that is true – do not say what you believe is false and do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence; maxim of quantity: making one’s contribution as informative as required for the current purposes of the exchange and do not make your contribution more informative than as required that is not more or less informative; maxim of relation: making one’s contribution to be relevant; maxim of manner: one’s contribution to be perspicuous and specific in nature, thus avoiding obscurity of expression, ambiguity, unnecessary prolixity, rather be brief and orderly. although these maxims were flouted to an extent in the texts but focus was on achieving the maxims on the texts where they were properly guided and used. grundy (2008), saeed (2011), fetzer (2011). data analysis igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 118 the data for this paper were analysed based on research questions that guide the work especially bringing illocutionary effects to the limelight in places that it affected the work using also the grice’s cooperative maxim theory in the textual analysis. 1. to what degree was the locution used by iheoma in addressing the issues of marriage in our society? she pressed in reminding her friend kelechi in understanding what marriage is all about especially from the point of views of christian marriages since the environment of the novel centred on the south-eastern part of nigerian that predominantly practise christian religion and also in line of how africans respect the sacredness in the marriage institution: i hope you know the early european recognised the great loving, tolerable and persevering spirit of the african woman in her marriage. that necessitated the marriage vows of ‘for better, for worse; in sickness and in health, till death do us part.’ believe me, that coinage is clearly african. the europeans themselves, including the americans, do not believe in, nor conform to, that oath. that explains why they indulge in divorces and serial adultery. in the face of domestic crises, we hurt, learn to forgive and accept the situations we cannot change. that is why i still maintain my title in my marital home against all odds. (88) iheoma also responds what an african marriage looks like especially from the home front and illocutionary effect on the side of the woman how to uphold the marriage in other to secure a brighter and happy future on the woman in securing the african marriages: in our culture, your major marital problem begins when your in-laws are at war with you. yet, notwithstanding your husband’s misadventure and neglect, your in-laws are in solidarity with you. they have failed to see the loss of your only son, which would have normally placed you in a disadvantaged position, as a problem; they have disregarded your husband. you are a very lucky woman. kaycee, one of the things that i admired so much about you throughout our childhood and youthful days was your wisdom. i guess that wisdom is still there to remind you that mourning, grieving or crying over situation like yours may be healthy initially, but detrimental in the long run. (91-2) the locutions on comparison of their different families will play another major role on illocutionary effects on african marriages, she brings the comparison to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 119 soothe the agonising soul of her friend kelechi: in which the writer’s marital and parent’s home could not afford to stand with her as in her friend’s own: you have a doting mother and loving parents-in-law, who worry stiff about you, but i am blessed with an egocentric clan of in-laws who are demented by what they failed to understood was their son’s inability to father a child. my highly opinionated family members are too rigid to welcome me back to what used to be my home. we have both been abandoned by our husbands. while your husband had the decency of sticking to one woman, mine has become the fleeting honeybee moving from blossom to blossom, mixing injury and proxy pleasure. (97) in conclusion she reminded her reader that: i have come to appreciate the problems and difficulties i have encountered in my marriage as the price i must pay for first being female, then an igbo, a nigerian and particularly for being an african woman. every african woman should see it as such. if not, nothing stops me from walking out of my marriage as our european counterparts do, or divorcing my unfaithful husband as most american women would prefer to do. (87) 2. in what ways were illocution of child bearing in african addressed? the question of how african society views women that do not have children arose and the ideas of what they used their wealth and earnings for, iheoma stated thus: to the society, a childless woman has no problem, no child to feed, no fees to pay. they fail to realise that some medical examination fees are enough to buy a tokunbo car. my colleague, like others, didn’t know that a set of fertility treatment at premier hospital, abuja, is enough to buy a plot of land at the world bank estate. they fail to know that ordinary hormonal enhancement at dr. ojei’s can pay for a dubai return ticket. (5960) the work made an illocutionary points on what some african can do and where they can go in search of a child, what women folk can contribute at the period of childlessness more especially contributions of some mother-in-law. iheoma brought these techniques to calm the spirit of kelechi down and make her to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 120 rethink in opening up to whatever trauma she is passing through since she returned from kenya to nigeria, with these locutions: mother-in-law was told by some spiritualists again that i needed to undergo some cleansing, so that my spirit husband would allow me produce children for my husband. ikem agreed that it was necessary for me to embark on the ritual cleansing so that we could have children. when i mentioned same, my mother did not mince words. “iheoma, please, anything they tell you to do, don’t ask questions. nwabugwu” my brothers equally supported the prescription. “prevention is better than cure. and a stitch in time saves nine,” they remarked. (62) she further advises on the woman’s stand in the midst of all these aspects of childlessness no matter all odds: unfortunately, not having children of my own does not give me the credibility or confidence to face the society to say, “i am a fulfilled woman, i know what is going on and this is what i want to do.” i feel ridiculous amongst other women. the end result is that my most noble thoughts end up in mental shelves, gathering dust. do i feel like a failure? oh kaycee, yes i do. i’ve watched the numerous women i got married in the same year with get pregnant and have their babies. i’ve watched them, taciturn, as they discuss the mischievous things their children do. … i’ve watched as many a woman stands before the altar to give testimonies of their conceptual miracles. it seems my case is irredeemable. it seems mine is a problem without solution. as a child, i had promised myself that nothing would break my marriage. way back in high school, i had debated against infidelity – whether justified or unjustifiable. do you remember? i believe in the power of god to do miracles. i also believe altogether that god is the same, yesterday, today and forever. hence, he is capable of intervening in my case. (71-72) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 121 3. to what extent did the gricean cooperation principle applied in the novel to pass the following message to the reader such as: a. how was the issue of quality applied in the novel; although the novel is a fictitious story written in nigerian environment but the storyteller put up some places that are well known to nigerians, and even names peculiar to the easterners and some other nomenclature of nigerian peculiarity like: nysc etc. but my father was a fair man. at oguta community, where we lived before we came to orlu as a result of a transfer, he was passionately hated. (10) a couple of days later, papa was summoned by the state primary education board. he was accused of instigating the local community to write a petition against his removal. papa’s surprise, which was as clear as the furrows on his brows bailed him out. … my father explained this to the zonal education commissioner and insisted that his transfer be sustained. this was how papa was posted to st. mary’s primary school, ezennachi. (12) our performance in the final examination in which i came first and you came second with an overall difference of only seven marks, marked the watershed. your parents designed a twin-locker for us. during the holidays, with your parents’ permission, you joined us to spend the easter break in the remote former biafran command headquarters of ihitte uboma, my humble hometown. (15) you were there with me two years later, during the christmas holiday, when i first met his parents. we paid them a visit in their ehime hometown. i still remember it was a dry boxing day, a couple of days after he returned finally from sokoto, having concluded his national assignment as a youth corps member. (20) the wedding took place at the assumpta cathedral. (22) b. where there enough information on quantity of maxim used; igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 122 iheoma in her writings were so explicit in providing information which her reader kelechi is also aware of in other to bring locutionary points that will affect her illocutionary state of affairs, such was so common when she cited example of notable ladies kelechi has known even in their school, the deaths she might be aware of to buttress some points: she brought the story of one pastor jovita who was their classmate in their secondary school days that passed series of ordeal for child bearing issues and later got pregnant after years of waiting. (80-5) after all, good news did spread for madam ogboru also. you know her, our home economics teacher at st margaret’s. …. kaycee, my dear, last year august was madam ogboru’s twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. in october of that same year, she turned forty-three. but the good news is that that same october, precisely on the twentyninth, mrs theresa ogboru was blessed with a healthy baby boy, and not an adopted child. (85-6) i know that losing tony was difficult for you, then junior’s death made it worse. the question of rescuing junior is out of the question but not tony’s case. it’s possible he may fall out of his new found love and come back to you. it’s possible that your children may bring you both together. it is also possible that your in-laws or the death of any of the parents may bring you back together. there are lots of possibilities as far as there is life. (94) c. in what manner was the advice achieved and the aim of its use; iheoma purposely delves into her stories with enough illocutionary perspicuous and specificity, in other to avoid lies and ambiguity in her letter pointing out these examples with biblical injunction too to drive home some points: you were there at the very beginning, kelly, when the problem of childlessness began to rear out slow tentacles like a snail’s feelers around me. today, after twelve years of marriage, the ugly tentacles have grown accustomed to their environment. i am wrapped completely. there is just slow death or insanity. am i speaking in tongues? (50) childlessness is a touchy situation. no wonder king solomon, in all his wisdom in proverbs, noted that among four things that are never satisfied is the childless woman. childlessness makes one perpetually igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 123 suspicious of people and their intentions. it makes one hyper-sensitive and emotional. it is simply a crazy condition, an insane sanity. yet, in this situation i have triumphed. (77) knowing the bible as i do, nobody needs to advise me on this. i know it’s morally wrong. i’m married. on second thought, the question comes up: how does one screen one’s lover of the dreaded hiv or any other sexually transmitted infection? you also know that i am as, how do i ask an intending lover for his genotype? each time i think of these, i rule out another relationship. (96-7) d. what are the relevances to the present marriage around us? the story writer employs other illocutionary effect through her reader’s views especially on kelechi’s previous outstanding locution and other relevant marital stories in the past: and those days, i prayed that you meet someone as nice and loving as ikem, to make our dreams complete. that prayer was not far in materialising as the first letter i received later from you, from your place of primary assignment in benin, was that you had met your dream man. part of the letter read: “i want you to thank god for me. at last, i believe i’ve met my mr. right. he is one simple guy that happened to be our parade commander in camp. he is so mischievous, so very humorous and, above all, so very loving to me. although i told him that his proposal is rash, i think i want to share my life with him. are you happy for me, or will you wait till you see him?” (25) do you want to be another of charles dicken’s miss havisham? even miss havisham takes delight in estelle. so, what am i saying? come out from that torpor! we’ve both experienced the ups and downs of life, its joys and accompanying sadness. yours is even better. you have three beautiful daughters, who send you pictures of every summer holiday they spent abroad, i have none. (97) conclusion the work tries investigating illocutionary effect, on what and how peoples’ words go a long way to achieve a positive or negative effect upon the hearer. the novel used in achieving this purpose is on how iheoma’s locutions succeeded in bringing out the achieved purpose from the torpid and miserable life and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 124 situation of her friend kelechi who has been in a state of absolute confusion and dejection. and for a locution to yield meaningful evidence, an illocutionary act must follow up to achieve that desirable principle on the hearer or receiver of the message. as kent bach states thus: conventional illocutionary acts, the model for austin’s theory, succeed not by recognition of intention, but by conformity to convention. that is, an utterance counts as an act of a certain sort by virtue of meeting certain socially or institutionally recognized conditions for being an act of that sort. they fall into two categories, effectives and verdictives, depending on whether they effect an institutional state of affairs or merely make an official judgment as to an institutionally relevant state of affairs. (467) works cited akmajian, adrian et al. linguistics: an introduction to language and communication. 5th ed. new delhi: prentice-hall of india private ltd., 2008. print. austin, john l. philosophical papers. 3rd ed. oxford: oup, 1979. print. bach, kent. “pragmatics and philosophy of language” the handbook of pragmatics. eds. horn, laurence r. and gregory ward. london: blackwell publishing, 2006. 463-87. print. cap, piotr. “micropragmatics and macropragmatics.” foundations of pragmatics. eds. bublitz, wolfram, neal r. norrick and klaus p. schneider. vol.1. berlin: de gruyter mouton, 2011. 51-76. print. clark, herbert h. using language. cambridge: cup. 1996. print. _____________. “pragmatics of language performance.” the handbook of pragmatics. eds. horn, laurence r. and gregory ward. london: blackwell publishing, 2006. 365-82. print. collavin, elena. “speech acts.” foundations of pragmatics. eds. bublitz, wolfram, neal r. norrick and klaus p. schneider. vol.1. berlin: de gruyter mouton, 2011. 373-96. print. ernestsamuel, gloria. dear kelechi. lagos: orgami press, 2014. print __________________. iheoma my dear. ibadan: kraft books limited. 2016. print. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 125 fetzer, anita. “pragmatics as a linguistic concept.” foundations of pragmatics. eds. bublitz, wolfram, neal r. norrick and klaus p. schneider. vol.1. berlin: de gruyter mouton, 2011. 23-50. print. grice, herbert paul. “logic and conversation” syntax and semantics. eds. cole, peter and jerrold morgan. london. academic press, 1975. 41-58. print. sadock, jerrold. “speech acts.” the handbook of pragmatics. eds. horn, laurence r. and gregory ward. london: blackwell publishing, 2006. 53-73. print. saeed, john. “pragmatics and semantic.” foundations of pragmatics. eds. bublitz, wolfram, neal r. norrick and klaus p. schneider. vol.1. berlin: de gruyter mouton, 2011. 461-90. print. searle, john r. “indirect speech acts.” syntax and semantics. eds. cole, peter and jerrold morgan. london. academic press, 1975. 59-82. print. van dijk, teun a. text and context: exploration in the semantics and pragmatics of discourse. singapore: longman, 1992. print. verschueren, jef. understanding pragmatics. london: hodder arnold, 2003. print. yule, george. pragmatics. oxford: oup, 2011. print. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 4.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 67 pan-africanism and african sovereignty in a world of change matthew ikechukwu obijekwu, phd school of general studies anambra state polytechnic, mgbakwu, anambra state mathewobijekwu@gmail.com & romanus ikechukwu muomah, phd department of philosophy, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state & charles k. onebunne department of philosophy nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state charlesonebunne@gmail.com abstract applying an analytic approach, this paper explores the problems that led to the emergence of pan-africanism so as to find out if those problems have been completely eradicated in africa. among the problems include: colonialism, slavery and bereft african sovereignty. african sovereignty essentially comprises political, economic and socio-cultural sovereignty; even science and technology where africa is yet to establish its footnote, is also among the problems. if till date, africa is still being sociopolitically, economically and culturally dominated and controlled by the western world through their financial institutions such as the international monetary fund (imf) and the world bank, it shows that africa, as a continent, is still glorying on a bereft sovereignty. the paper argues that despite the efforts of the african nationalists to reposition african continent from the colonial domination, the contemporary africa is more a sufferer than the old africa that was physically violated, brutalized and dominated. the work advocates that contemporary african leaders should live by the liberation spirit of the african forefathers so as to set africa free from the shackles of the developed nations, and at the same time, have a place in a world of change. key words: pan-africanism, sovereignty, african sovereignty, world and change introduction heraclitus, an ionian philosopher from the city of ephesus, once said that “all things are in a state of flux…no one steps twice into the same river” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 68 (nwanegbo-ben, 2009: 25). a river, as we know, is not stagnant, rather it is always in motion. regarding this, heraclitus went further to portray his famous theory of conflict of opposites. this analogy, as well remain typical to the changes we observe everyday in the world. the fact remains that as the world changes so also is the change in relation to the modification of ideologies or beliefs held over the years by the individuals, or a group of people. in the past, even till date, different ideologies like socialism, capitalism, liberalism, republicanism, communalism, egalitarianism, communism, to mention a few, have been held. oftentimes, one doubts whether some of these ideologies are still relevant in today’s society, or whether they have outlived their contemporary usefulness or relevance. the theme of the conference, “african ideologies in the world of change” seems appropriate because of continuously “natural flow”(obijekwu, 2017) of things in the world as well as god’s command: “increase and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it” (gen.1: 28 kjv). this biblical injunction seems to have led different scientific and technological innovations and inventions, which gear towards making the world a better place. other factors in realizing this mandate involves human creativity, technological skills, intelligence and knowledge. the phrase, “in the world of change” remains outstanding or peculiar as one, even nations, interprets their environments, and other circumstances around them. coupled with the changes seen in areas like science and technology, politics, economic, social and cultural activities of some nations, some of the previous ideologies tenaciously held by some individual nations or continents like africa, have been questioned, and their authenticity, or relevance have been doubted. furtherance, some of these ideologies seem to have outlived their usefulness, even meaningfulness if we are to toe the position of logical positivist that considered the usefulness or meaningfulness of concept based on its concrete effect. for example, scientific and technological innovations, biological experiments, human experiments and other areas like medicine, communication, politics, economy, and socio-cultural dominations, have questioned the reality of some nation-states’ sovereignty of which african is among them. within the period of nineteenth century, cutting across, the period of twentieth century, in the mouth of african-americans and africans in diaspora, was the rhythm of freedom for self-determination, independence and african unity as well as african sovereignty. this is also made explicit in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 69 nkrumah’s book entitled, “africa must unite”. here, nkrumah calls for the promotion of african unity. he states: “…the aim of pan-africanism is to establish fraternal relation with, and offer guidance and support to all nationalist democratic and socialist movement, in africa and elsewhere, for national independence” (221). looking at the transition from the organization of african union (o.a.u), which was considered as the pan african “identity and destiny”(sturman, 2007), then, to african unity (au), and the intended united state of africa (usa), one may asks, has pan-africanism achieved its lofty dream? it is necessary to note that the unending desire from the organization for african unity (oau) to african union (au), and now a new stage, the united states of africa (usa) is a crisis of identity and substance. one may still ask, what is the usefulness of pan-africanism in this contemporary africa and in the world of change? has africa, so to speak, outlived the factors that led to the emergence of pan-africanism? differently put, how possible is the unity of africa in the midst of conflict and bad leadership? there is no doubt that from the period of emergence of panafricanism till date, that contemporary africa is still a sufferer despite the lofty ambitions of the founding fathers, both within the african continent and in diaspora. it is on this background that this paper tries to find out if the factors that led to the emergence of pan-africanism have been completely eradicated in africa. to achieve this, this paper embarks on conceptual clarification. some of the concepts used are explained for easy understanding. furthermore, the historical trend of pan-africanism is traced as well as its objective. again, th examines the impact of pan-africanism in the restoration of african sovereignty in the changing world of globalization and digitalization. this section tries to find out if pan-africanism has outlived its relevance in contemporary world in relation to african unity. finally is the conclusion of the work. now, let us turn to the historical trends of pan-africanism. historical trends of pan africanism the most common principle among the individuals, city-states, or among the nations of the world, is the principle of self-preservation. with this principle, no individual, no city-states or nation, wishes to go into extinction. everyone of them wishes to preserve itself or generations this is also made explicit in huntington’s work titled, “the clashes of civilization and the remaking of world order” (huntington, 1996). according to him, most of the conflicts among cultures, city-states or nations were as a result of superiority and inferiority that have been existed among human beings. each culture wants to exists, and by so doing, tries to outweigh others. some claim superior over igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 70 others, and at the same time, try to destroy the cultural heritage of those cultures, even to the extent of destroying the habitants of those cultures. this was exactly the condition africa continent and its inhabitants found themselves after the partitioning of african continent in 1884/5 in berlin conference. africa’s coming in contact with europe and america led to serious cultural conflict, strangulation, and imposition, which was later extended to socio-economic exploitation and political domination. slavery, colonization and racism were highly instrumental in the hands of the colonizers to perpetually subjugate and dominate african continent, and thereby leaving her with a bereft sovereignty. therefore, the emergence of pan africanism is rooted on the above historical trends. pan africanism emerged as an ideology and later as a movement. as an ideology, it is conceived and propounded for a purpose, while as a movement; it began around the 19th century in the united states of america. it was framed within the confines and/or aspirations of africa and africans in diaspora. it was also formed towards redefining, reshaping and regaining of the african sovereignty, identity, personhood and integrity. the concept, ideology was coined by antoine destutt de tracy in his work, science of ideas in 1796 (mannhein, 1929). the concept is considered as the most generic term due to the fact that science of ideas contains the study of their expression and deduction (althusser, 1971). from this perspective, ideology is defined as a set of conscious and/or unconscious ideas that constitute one’s goals, aspirations, actions, desires and expectations. in steger’s and james’ view, as cited in althusser (1971) ideologies are organized clusters of morally imbued ideas and concepts, which help people to navigate the complexity of their political universe and carry claims to social truth (127-188). the things associate with the concept of ideology is that, it has a content, which is often normative; it also has internal local structure, which has to do with the role the ideas play in human social life or interaction. this involves the area of socialization within the framework of the society. fourth is the impact of ideas within the structure of an organization, and finally is the persuasive nature of the driving idea(s) within the locus of the social interaction. pan-african, as an ideology, could be understood within the above structures. it has normative impact, applied within an internal local structure when its role is considered, as well, persuasive if one considers its purpose or intent. on the other hand, as a movement, it becomes a trend in human affairs and society at large; a movement towards freedom or total independence. pan igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 71 africanism was championed by african descendants, or african-americans, who had like minds towards liberation of africa and securing freedom, justice and equality for themselves in their sojourn land. its thrust was to fight against racism, colonialism, slavery, discrimination, segregation, social injustice, inequality, exploitation, dehumanization and all other sorts of social evils that came with the colonizers. the reason for the formation of pan african movement in america seemed to be different from the one it served within the geographical constituents of africa. in america, and other european nations, it was a movement to belong; that is, to ‘fit-in’ among the nationals or citizens of that particular nation so as to embrace social justice, equality, and at the same time, be set free from segregation and discrimination. it was under this condition that martin luther king, jr., and other african-americans like, w.e.b. du bois, were noted today as freedom fighters, liberators or human rights activist. it was a call to revive the famous voices of the american forefathers; that is, to remind the then, and, even the present american society and the entire world, the foundation upon which the american society was laid. the former american president, jefferson, in his proclamation in 1776, states that “all men are created equality…both in liberty and pursuit of happiness” (dupre, 2010). with the spirit of survival, african descendants during period in america were able to persuade the racist americans to bend the hand of unjust laws, which led to unjust society. on april 9, 1866, the civil rights bill passed by the american congress, gave hope to the african-americans. the bill, as it was, conferred citizenship on them, and at the same time, gave them right in every state and territory as enjoyed by other americans (odey, 2005: 39). another remarkable amendment was the ratification of the fourteenth amendment of the constitution by the congress on july 21, 1868, which states that: no state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the united states, nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of laws (39). on march 30, 1870, the fifteen amendment of the constitution geared towards recognizing the voting rights of the african descendants in america. it reads that the rights of the citizens of the united states to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the united states or by states on account of race, colour, or previous condition of servitude”( 39). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 72 from the foregoing, one would understand the background and activities of pan african movement. it was an offshoot of pan-negros movement in america. the point we are making here that what started as the desire for individual autonomy or freedom, which later extended to general or community freedom (community of african-americans), later went beyond america to incorporate all other african nations. the argument was, if african-americans could, with their ideology or aspirations, influenced american government to recognize and accept them, why would african continent not be liberated from the shackles of colonialism? this led to the utmost fight for african independence, or rather, the reposition of african sovereignty. so, within africa, pan africanism was a movement for african liberation and independence. this desire led to the unification of all the african descendants towards repositioning of africa. pan-africanism towards repositioning africa the concept, reposition or repositioning, simply means “to change or to bring something back to its originality”. pan african, as an ideology and a movement, was meant to achieve three things, namely; (a) to achieve african independence (b) to achieve african unity, and (c) to restore african sovereignty. we shall examine the three objectives of pan-africanism. but before that, it is proper to note that before the emergence of pan african movement, the integrity of african as well as her contributions to the world’s civilization, over the years, has been denied. therefore, there is no doubt to say that pan african movement was formed to reposition african continent. according to sturman (2007), “pan-africanism is a philosophy in which africa is regarded as the spiritual home of a united african people, with the emphasis on solidarity and brotherhood between all people of african origin.” being aware of this fact, we shall turn to the three main objectives of panafricanism as stated above. for some african scholars, it may be more than these three objectives. but, this paper concentrates on the above mentioned three as its main objectives. …towards african independence notably among africans in diaspora was the fact of developing geographical consciousness; that is, the sense of having a root. as a result, du bois and other historians went into research to discover africa’s contributions in the world civilization. for them, the quest for freedom must begin from home not in diaspora. but, the general contention was that africa must be freed from all igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 73 sorts of dominations, be it internal and external dominations. the internal domination or enslavement has to do with colonialism, slavery and racialism within the african environment. so what started as an individual-national consciousness, seemed to have extended to community-national or continental consciousness. the fight for independence took different dimensions, namely; mental, political, economic, social, and cultural dimensions. this is clearly seen in the works and speeches of most african scholars and liberators like dubois, an african-american, kwame nkrumah of ghana, nnamdi azikiwe of nigeria, julius nyerere of tanzania, jomo kenyatta, etc. the primary aim of these scholars was first meant to react to the denigratory or racist works of hegel, who said that africa should not be mentioned in the history of the world’s civilization. for him, africa has “…no history, no culture, and has never contributed to the world’s civilization”. in line with this, lucien levy-bruhl’s primitive mentalite (primitive mentality published in 1923) reduced the cognitive component of african to zero level. the position of david hume, who denied ingenuity for an african person, opened up the fight for the intellectual racism, “epistemic injustice” (chimakonam, 2017) as well as mental freedom. aime cesaire’s return to native my land written in 1941 was a critique of french colonization, and later, the book became a liberatory tool in the hands of negritude movement (berger and bostock, 2014). blaydon’s radical proposal for individually and collectively “defensive identity” was outstanding. other related works on african civilization, identity and personhood, were meant to debunk some of the denigatory or misconceptions of africa. in fact, these work fast-tracked, or better put, promoted the collective consciousness of africans in diaspora towards common independence. so, the foundation for african independence as observed in the spirit of panafricanism was laid within the framework of individual consciousness, which later metamorphosed into collective consciousness. this was the reason the agenda of the first congress of pan-african movement organized by h. sylvester williams, a trinidadian negro in 1900 in london, was different from the fifth congress of the movement in 1958. the sole objective of the conference was to unite the negroes of africa and america and to articulate a common front for all african nations and africans within and outside the four walls of africa. subsequent pan african movement conferences were championed by du bois between 1919 and 1927 (and between 1919 and 1927 were four pan-african congresses). these congresses watered the ground for african independence. although at this period, it was at infant stage, but with igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 74 a persuasive zeal and desire for african independence cumulated into a nationalist spirit (anti-colonial and anti-imperialist). furthermore, the fifth congress held in manchester in 1945, which was superheaded by du bois, clearly spelt out the objective of pan-african movement. for him, pan-african movement is a conscientious and/or an obligatory call on all africans to be committed towards african salvation. it was an awakening call of all the african intellectuals, farmers, workers, etc., to come together, with one mind, heart and spirit, to fight for abolition of colonialism and work for the attainment of political independence (potekhin, 1964). having made this call, therefore, the quest for african unity began. …towards the african unity in this section, we shall examine the in-road towards african unity. this is another move made by pan-african movement towards repositioning africa. the concept of reposition in relation to africa, as we said earlier, simply means to change, to regain, sustain, or to consolidate the independence of african states. it is proper to know that despite the effort of pan-african movement to eradicate racism completely; today racism is among the problems of contemporary society. the difference when compared to the conditions of nineteenth century african-americans or africans in diaspora is not the same. so many institutions such as legal institutions, or legislative institutions, and others like, non-governmental organizations, seem to have been working for unity and integration among people as well as nations. the question remains, how effective and efficient are some of these institutions? organization of african union remains one of these institutions. we do not need to ask, how effective o.a.u was in promoting african unity. the truth is that if o.a.u was effective in its unification of african nations, the emergence of the african union might not have been possible. the fact is that the african unity is inevitable in all ramifications. in nkrumah’s view, which was expressed in his work, africa must unite” (nkrumah, 1963), stands as a point of reference. even murmmar gaddafi once said that, “africa must unite” or “die” (gaddafi, 2009). therefore, the quest for unity started as the pan-negro unity in america, later as pan-africanism, to the organization for african union (oau); and currently to african union. the current debate on the “united states of africa” remains a paramount issue. today, with the establishment of oau, and later au, the panafricanism is institutionalized. now, it looks as if it is no longer considered a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 75 reactionary movement. it is! looking at the present condition of africa, one would not doubt that africa is still floating. the age-longed efforts to regain and to redefine africa remain the underlying factors in most of these debates. like the previous efforts, the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries’ african scholars’ efforts were to re-establish that africa has its personality, its own history, its culture, and has contributed to the world civilization. but, the postindependence african scholars seemed not to have interest in this anymore. the age-longed discourse with regards to the history and african contribution to the world civilization seemed to have been shifted to other areas like issues of development, good governance as against bad leadership, etc. it is believed by some africans that the issues of history, culture, and sovereignty of africa have been established by the african intellectuals. but, this paper doubts the assumption that african personality, culture, history and africa’s contributions to the world civilization have been proved to its logical conclusion. the reason for doubting this assumption is not farfetched. it is based on the current acceptance of african cultures among africans as well as her contributions to the modern world, especially in the areas of science and technology and communication. what is at stake now is the new africa not the old africa, julius nyerere as cited in sturman (2007: 1), said: what we want is unity of action together with the greatest possible degree of local self-expression on things which affect only that locality. this will be in accordance with the oldest traditions of africa; it will be a new growth on the deep roots of our life. in the above excerpt, nyerere was projecting africa that is to be rebuilt using the traditional materials like common labour, equality, participation, sharing and caring. these, as well, provide a ground for african unity as conceptualized in pan-africanism. further on african unity, we shall consider other aspects like, political and economic unity of african nations as championed by pan-african movement. this political and economic unity remains the epicenter of o.a.u; and au as its later development. with regards to economic unity, pan african movement sought for economic unity by formulating common economic policies and to establish common economic links so as to bring african nations under one umbrella. such links like, the formation of african economic community(aec), economic community of west african states(ecowas), which was established in 1975, common market for eastern and southern africa(comesa) in 1990s, etc. in the spirit of pan-africanism, the african economic community (aec) was meant to create a single common currency, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 76 free trade areas and a united market for the majority of african states (pardos, 2016). likewise ecowas, which aims at promoting cooperation and integration of the continent. to this end, ecowas has signed numerous treaties that promote the pan-african economic patterns that seem to have unified african countries. to this end also, ecowas signed an agreement with the economic and money union of west africa, and this agreement geared towards creating trade liberation policies as well as macroeconomic policies, which was intended to unite african countries. the tripartite free trade areas (tfta), a new form of economic policy, is also in line with the aspirations of panafricanism. tfta is formulated to link and to unify the operations of comesa, sadc and aec. it is also meant to ease movement of goods and services across different african countries, which are members and part of the agreement. it takes account of more than half of the continent’s gross domestic product (gdp), and as maintain a common front for preferential tariffs among the member states (pardos, 2016). in politics, series of efforts have been made, and still being making to reposition contemporary africa. this paper is never in doubt of these efforts. like we said earlier, we are no longer talking about oau today, but rather, au, and further debate on the “united african states”. the question remains; was oau successful in its bid for african unity and development? to what extent did oau actualize and realize the lofty dreams of pan-africanism? as we discuss the contemporary impact of au, it is, as well necessary to pounder on the paradigm shift from the early pan africanism to african union with regard to political structure of african nations. au, as it stands now, is still reactionary movement just as the pan africanism. and as a reactionary movement, it indicates that africa is still seeking for independence despite her claimed years of independence, which most african countries seemed to have been parading. the fact remains that the contemporary african union, with its members of about fifty-four united countries, is still having a floating territorial integration. though, africa is geographically located, but whether it maintains its sovereignty remains an issue. the map of africa and most of its boundaries, after many years of independence, are still as they were given by the colonial masters (europe and america). and this has led to tribal conflicts, genocide like rwanda genocide in 1994; nigerian-biafran war from 19671970; and other places in africa. this, as well, has created much hatred among african nations. with this, african sovereignty remains “a wishful thinking”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 77 shortly after the formation of au in 2007, was the formation of pan african coalition (pac) in 2008. the main reason for the pac is to recognize the sovereignty for each country, to seek for non-aggression and at the same time, work towards peaceful practices; to promote mutual defense membership and equal representation in the union; others include setting up a democratic participation, which involves the election of the president of the coalition. another effort made by au towards african unity is the formation of the new partnership for african development (nepad). according to pardos, nepad is directed towards “the achievement of self-rule and the decolonization of the continent” (pardos, 2016). commenting on the goals of nepad, pardos asserts thus: its political and economic perspectives add tremendous importance to the guarantee of peace, security and global integrity…the treaty fosters the commitment of african leaders to the african people and the world by positively impacting the living conditions and success of treaties. the trading question remains whether the nepad main accord has been achieved in africa. it is obvious today in africa that the issue of peace and security in relation to both internal and external (or global) integrity has eluded africa. and this, as well has questioned the possibility of african unity as being projected over the years both by the pan africanism and the organization of african unity (oau). another clause of pac talks about the commitment or obligations of the african leaders towards the betterment of the living conditions of african people in areas of abject poverty, diseases and ignorance. at present, this seems to be a wishful thinking in most african countries, moving from nigeria, congo, republic of tanzania, even ghana and others. the most pathetic of it all is that this is happening among the countries projecting african unity. having gone thus far, let us further reflect on the waves of african sovereignty. …towards the african sovereignty in this section, we shall examine the implicit idea of african sovereignty as seen among pan-african intellectuals during colonialism and slave trade, and after which we shall consider the post-independence “african sovereignty” explicitly sought by oau, and late taken up by au. the most pronounced effort of pan african movement was to redefine african identity and personhood, not ultimately african sovereignty. this seemed to be made manifest through african independence. the idea of african sovereignty was a later evolution. sovereignty, as it were, is the resultant effect of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 78 independence. a country most first and foremost become independence before it begins to talk of sovereignty, without minding the fact that it could be projecting the two concepts at the same time. this is the reason why, after the years of so-called african independence, africa is still battling for sovereignty; that is, to be emancipated from the shackles of political and economic control of europe and america. thus, we shall examine the concept, sovereignty to see if the concept, as it is used today, should be ascribed to contemporary africa, or not. the bbc english dictionary (1992: 1119) defines “sovereignty” as the power that a country has to govern itself or to govern other countries. mclean and mcmillan (2003: 502) conceive “sovereignty” as: “…the claim to be the ultimate political authority, and be subject to no higher power outside oneself, or outside any nation with regards to making and enforcing decision. it is also the claim by the state to full self-government, and the mutual recognition of claims to sovereignty is the basis of international society. the concept could be also applied to individual when considering the individual autonomy as regards one’s control of his property, without being influenced by any external force other than himself. in the international level, sovereignty is considered as the basis for mutual exchange or recognition, and as well remains the foundation of international law, and the basis for legal equality. from the above definition, african sovereignty is completely ruled out during colonialism, as pan-african movement sought for emancipation. though, it was proposed, but not in existence. this was also the case during and after the formation of oau. we doubt if the concept sovereignty was used at all during anti-colonialist and anti-imperialist. we still doubt if africa has actualized her sovereignty despite the claimed of independence. even the reality of african independence is still doubted. as it stands now, african sovereignty is an issue, and it is an urgent issue indeed. african sovereignty in the world of change at present, the world of change, so to speak, is more of the world of scientific and technological innovations, intercultural, political and economic exhibitions, which has led to the interdependence of nations. in this context, one wonders the place of african sovereignty. little wonder the idea of globalization and digitalization have remain the central discourse in contemporary african society. so, as talk of african sovereignty, we also igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 79 consider african position in the world of science and technology, or better still, in the areas of globalization and digitalization. other changes in the world are circumventing on the stated areas. litter wonder jake bright, akam and kanza (2016), explored the seven trends that step up the continent’s digital future. bright asserts that, “as african continent transitions from the margins to the mainstream of the global economy, technology is playing an increasingly significant role”. thus, the concept of change is all encompassing. the term denotes either the negative or positive change. as said earlier in the introduction, the universe is always in the state of flux. the events of nineteenth and twentieth century’s, when pan africanism as an ideology flourished, is not the same today. the contemporary world has become a world of competition, and many nations seemed to have been left behind, and africa continent is among them. the old concept of globalization has been followed up by a modern concept of digitalization. globalization, though sounds as a new concept, is as old as its operations as observed in the activities of early political dictators or tyrants. so, the world of change, as it is sound today, is the world of globalization and digitalization, the world technological innovations and inventions, and the world of new ideologies. even, it is the world of the survival of the fittest, which is championed by the waves of globalization and digitalization. wang and francisca, cited in obijekwu (2017) assert that, though it is difficult to trace the origin of globalization, but as a political, cultural, economic, and social reality, could be traced to the month of may of the year 34 b.c.e, during the time of alexander the great (336-323). as a macedonian war lord, he used his array of soldiers to unify macedonians and persians into one kingdom with the aim of spreading greek language and culture, which he believed was more superior to all others. so, this desire did not end there. it took another form around 1880s in the name of globalization. this desire to control the whole world cumulated to the partitioning of african countries by the europe and america. this shows why the globalization of africa took the form of colonialism with the intention of economic and political domination as well as the extermination of african personhood and identity. regarding the current change in the world, it is preferable here to use the most current word like digitalization in relation to african dominance, rather than globalization as the case maybe. the fact remains that globalization is made applicable through digitalization. it is the digitalization of universe that makes the operations of globalization possible through the space satellites, etc. information or rather, data digitalized in africa, especially in nigeria could be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 80 accessed in america or any part of europe without the consent of owner of information. we shall come to this later. to avoid ambiguity and confusion in the use of the terms, let us define the concepts. as we try to define the term, it is proper to note that globalization has no general definition. it is a multifaceted concept as it has politics, social, economic, and cultural undertone or components; it also extends to communication, science and technology, etc. as a result, globalization, till date, is still a confusing word, and could only be understood if one understands the operations of the world power as they make use of multinational institutions, to achieve their aims and objectives in the name of globalization. this is why till date africa is still a sufferer. fisher, cited in wang and francisca (2008: 49-61) conceive globalization as a process by which nationality become increasingly irrelevant in global production and consumption. from definition given by the international monetary fund (imf), globalization involves: increasing integration of economic around the world, particularly through trade and financial flows, movement of people in form of labour, and knowledge as regards technology across international boards, thereby turning the world into a global village (51). the truth remains that beneficiaries of globalization are those nations that have something new to contribute to it, while those that have nothing to contribute to the flow of globalization will ever remain perpetually slaves and continued to be dominated politically, economically, socially, and culturally. if a nation is suffering this fate, then, where lies its sovereignty? definitely, other powerful nations will be determining both her political, social, economic and cultural decisions. despite the situation of african sovereignty within the framework of globalization, the idea of digitalization in africa becomes another issue in the world of change. digital is an opposite of analogue (manual), and digital operations has to do with the numbers 0 to 9, and in the usage of “1 and 0” or “on and off” buttons for operation. these buttons are used to control the devices that make the activities of globalization possible and easy. it makes accessible all information, data, etc., stored into the system or devices used in making the world a global village. digital systems record or transmit information in the form of thousands of very small signals (bbc dictionary). and most of these devices are not manufactured in africa and installed by africans, especially the sophisticated ones. as a result, they are not under the control of africa and africans. often, they are installed by the expatriates igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 81 from europe and america, who are meant to protect their individual interests, and that of their countries of origin. through this means, they directly or indirectly manipulate their host countries, and secretly tap information from them. the argument is that when a nation loss its vital information, and has no political and economic power to control it due to over dependent, obviously there is clear indication that the country has lost her sovereignty. currently, technological revolution (digitalization revolution) is the most recent invention in the scientific and technological world. professor klaus schwab cited in akam and kanza (2016) once states that digitalization is “a transformation unlike anything humankind has experienced before”. he states that, while the theme of technology dominates any discussion on the digital revolution and the way it could transform africa, we must not lose sight of its cultural aspects. to this end, iyanda, in akam and kanza (2016), express that “africa doesn’t just need a digital revolution – it needs a cultural one, too”. in is quite interesting to note that this same digital revolution could also resurrect cultural renaissance. the fact remain a pan-africanism has existed even before the emergence of digital revolution, and its use in business transaction across the border, but this was seriously hampered “unimaginative and rigid archaic laws”. the question remains, how does it affect african sovereignty? with globalization and digitalization, enemies are made, and rivals or competitors are no longer distanced from each other. with this, enemies are brought together or very close. this strengthens domination of other nations. as a result, the weaker nations and the vulnerable countries are still under the shackles of colonial control. the question, “where is african sovereignty?” still remain unanswered. all these are what au as well as the proposed united state of africa (usa) should be looking at. they should to see that africa fit-in in this world of change. africa needs to reposition its sovereignty in all ramifications. conclusion in this paper, we made effort to examine some of the objectives of pan africanism, and at the same time to find out if these objectives (like achieving african independence, unity and sovereignty) have been actualized in africa. to this end, this work began with conceptual clarification, by which some of the words like, pan africanism, sovereignty and change are examined. it also examines the impact of pan-africanism (or pan-african movement) towards african independence, unity and sovereignty. the question of globalization and digitalization as they affect african sovereignty are also analyzed. it is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 82 clear from the foregoing that african continent is still a sufferer till date. this work argues that the objective(s) of the african intellectuals in the formation of pan africanism, which led to the formation of oau, and later au is yet to be achieved. it concludes by calling on all africans and african leaders to revive and work for common good so as to realize the lofty dreams of african liberators for a better africa, especially in the present scientific and technological advancement. africa is our continent, and we must be proud to be africans. reference althusser, l. (1971). ideology and ideological state apparatuses (notes towards an investigation). https://en.wikipedia.org/.../ideology_and_ideological_states_appa ratuses. accessed 14/06/2018 akam, s. and kanza, e. s. (2016). “africa’s digital revolution: a look at the technologies, trends and people driving it africa is undergoing a digital revolution”. reuters: https://www.weforu.org/agend/2016. accessed 18/06/2016. bbc english dictionary. (1992). london: harper-collins publisher. dupre, b. (2010). 50 political ideas you really need to know. oxford: quercus. gaddafi, m. “africa must unite or die”. www.jpanafrican.org./docs/vol4no10/4.10sovereignty.pdf. accessed 14/06/2018 huntington, p. s., (1996). the clashes of civilization and the remaking of world order. new york: simon and schuster. kwame, n. (1963). africa must unite. new world paperback. https://www.amazon.com/africa-must-uniteeworld.../0717802965. accessed 14/06/2018 mannhein, k. ideology and utopia. london: routledge. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/karl_mannheim. access 14/06/2018 mclean, i. and mcmillan, a. (2003). concise dictionary of politics. new york: oxford university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 83 nwanegbo-ben, j. (2009). the mind of philosophy. owerri: advanced graphic. obijekwu, m. i. (2017). the natural flow. awka: unpublished article. obijekwu, m. i., onebune, c., and muomah, r. i. (2017). the struggle for control of african: challenges facing african intellectuals in the restoration of african identity in the globe. awka: unpublished paper. odey, j. (2005). racial oppression in america and the nonviolent revolution of martin luther king, jr. enugu: snaap press ltd. pardos, a. (2016). pan africanism and the road to an african renaissance. potekhin, i. (1964). pan-africanism and the struggle of two ideologies. south africa: south african communist party. http://www.sahistory.org.za/archive/pan-africanism-andthe struggle of two ideologies. accessed 14/06/2018 wang, a. m. and francisca, j. (2008). “preserving african identity in the globalization process”. essence interdisciplinary international journal of philosophy, vol.5. lagos: essence library. pp.49-61. microsoft word igwebuike journals vol. 5. no. 7.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 33 igwebuike and the right of inheritance of igbo women mary winifred gloria eche, dmmm, ph.d department of philosophy saint thomas aquinas major seminary abstract rights or human rights are known to be legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; which means that rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people, according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical theory. on the other hand, inheritance is the common term used for property or any possession; that property comes to an individual mostly through his or her parents. it also indicates something that is bequeathed to a subsequent generation by an individual or by society. governments in many parts of the world have established laws guiding the rights of man. for example, the international bill of rights and other international legal instruments, including the constitution of the federal republic of nigeria, 1999. these have been made to truly liberate every human being by the recognition of the equality and inalienable rights of all persons on the face of the earth as the foundation for peace, justice and freedom. even when the customary law has given the female child its right of inheritance, they are still being denied access to this justice and freedom. this paper, therefore, using the critical and analytical methods creates more awareness of the above fact and proposes the importance of maximizing the potentials of everyone, which is where the strength of the culture lies following the principles of igwebuike. introduction today, one can say that this generation is experiencing a great difference as concerns the sufferings of women and the discrimination against them in the society, very specifically in our own country nigeria and specifically in igbo land. there is little progress, but not felt much. it is still crawling, especially with regard to the aspect of women inheritance. indeed, studies on nature, human beings’ inclusive shows that, the hobbesian nature is the standard, where the weak are crushed by the strong. the strong here refers to physical strength. when we look carefully at the lives of women, we discover that women suffer right before they are born. for example, there are cases where after fertilization, through the use of scientific techniques, the sex of the foetus is ascertained, if it is a female, the man may request it will be aborted. in cases where a woman is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 34 desperate to get a female child, even if they discover that the sex of the foetus is a male, there is no bitterness but cases where they are in need of a boy and the woman has a girl, she is encouraged or forced to abort. she has been seen by the society as a weaker sex. this impression is controlling the world. this has led to depriving her of her fundamental rights as a human being, the right to inheritance being one of such. thus, the universal declaration of human rights, for example, recognizes the fact that ‘all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights’ (article 1) …. furtherance of ensuring the enjoyment of these rights by women, the united nations adopted and ratified convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women (cedaw). it enshrines this right in it and also defines what constitute discrimination as:...any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field (article 1). 1 some philosophers believe that natural law and natural justice are anterior and superior to positive or man-made law. in filmer’s claim that property rights come from god to adam and to rulers and kings through inheritance, locke responded thus, god planted in men a strong desire also of propagating their kind and continuing themselves in their posterity; and this gives children a title to share in the property of their parents, and a right to inherit their possessions. men are not proprietors of what they have, merely for themselves; their children have a title to part of it, and have their kind of right joined with their parents, in the possession which comes to be wholly theirs, when death, having put an end to their parents’ 1 florence o. orabueze&ifeyinwaogbazi, 2016. “the inscription of fundamental human rights and the liberation of the igbo woman from customary and administrative burdens”. ujah: unizik journal of arts and humanities, vol.14, pg6. available athttp://www.researchgate.net/…/269982173-....accessed july 13, 2019. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 35 use of it, hath taken them from their possessions; and this we call inheritance.2 death being inevitable comes with its challenges for the family of the deceased especially when a man or father or husband dies; apart from the burial rites and ceremonies that the woman goes through, the worst among other challenges is what to do with the property of the man, especially if he was wealthy. among the igbos, when a man dies, and leaves his property, his property is inherited by the male children through the first son. if he had no male children and has brothers, it will be shared among his brothers. a woman in the past has no right of inheritance. customary law is often used to determine who inherits such property. customary law and inheritance in igbo culture customary laws are known as those rules that govern a particular group of people, which involves their beliefs, social institutions, religion etc., recognized by the community. oyewumi v. ogunesan defined customary law as: “the organic and living law of the indigenous people of nigeria regulating their lives and transactions. it is organic in that it is not static; is regulatory in that it controls the lives and transactions of the community subject to it. it is said that custom is the mirror of the culture of the people”.3 for example, nobody owns certificates of occupancy in the villages, but it is legally and generally accepted that the place given to you to build by the law makers of the community belongs to you and nobody has the right to deprive you of it. they are “customs that are acceptable as legal requirements or obligatory rules of conduct, practices and beliefs that are so vital and intrinsic a part of a social and economic system that they are treated as if they are laws”.4 2 john locke, the two treatise of government, ed. by peter laslett (cambridge: cambridge university press, 1960),206 3 bright e. oniha, 2017. “dissolution of marriage and custody of children under customary law in nigeria”. available at http://www.edojudiciary.gov.ng/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/..accessed on july 29, 2019 4 iproject, available at https://iproject.com.ng/law/customary-succession-law-in-modern-ibo.../indext.html. accessed on july 15, 2019. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 36 business dictionary also defined it as “traditional common rule or practice that has become an intrinsic part of the accepted conduct in a community, profession, or trade and is treated as a legal requirement”5 according to richard, the word 'customary' means pertaining to a custom, a way of life, a tradition, a generally accepted behaviour or way of doing things. the evidence act defines custom as a rule which in a particular district, has, from long usage obtained the force of law. customary law, therefore, is the law which evolves from the established practices, customs and way of life of a people. a custom is a rule of conduct, obligatory on those within its scope, established by long usage.6 there are many local variations or rules that exist under igbo customary law, which means that there is no uniformity. even though the rules vary, there are also similarities. the cardinal principle of customary law of succession among the igbos is primogeniture, part of the reason is because the igbo culture is patriarchal. this means succession by the first born of the family. this law of succession, which has to do with the transfer of property often takes place on the death of the owner. on rare occasions will the owner do that before his death. succession can thus be defined as “the order in which or the condition under which one person after another succeeds to a property, dignity, title or throne; the act or process of a person becoming beneficially entitled to a property or property interest of a 5 businessdictionary, available at https:/www. businessdictionary.com/definition/customary-law.html. accessed on july 29, 2019 6 richard mordi, “an aprraisal of inheritance rights of women in nigeria” available at http ://www .academia .edu /7187814/ an _appraisal_ of _inheritance _rights _of_ women_ in_ nigeria. accessed july 26, 2019. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 37 deceased person”.7 while inheritance is defined as “hereditary succession to a property, title, office ,etc. a continual right to an estate invested in a person and his or her heirs”.8it can be either testate that is, having left a valid will or intestate, which implies the absence of any will. the latter case is the focus of this paper. according to oni, under the principle of primogeniture, succession is through the eldest male in the family who is known as ‘okpala, diokpala or diokpa. in the case of a nuclear family, succession is through the eldest male child of the deceased. with regard to the extended family, succession is through the eldest son of the ancestor and so on in that line irrespective of the fact that the okpala may in fact be junior in age to other members of the extended family.9 oni went further to establish that on the death of the founder of a family, his eldest son succeeds him as the head of the family. the eldest son is entitled to special property by virtue of his status in the family. he enjoys this property during his life time to the exclusion of his brothers. he is entitled to reside in his father’s dwelling house. subject to accommodation required by his own family, he may allow his younger brother and sisters to live in this house with him. he is also entitled to the use of the piece of land within or surrounding the father’s compound and to harvest the economic trees in it such as palm, coconut, kolatrees and other immovable properties which are allocated to the eldest son in addition to his father’s dwelling house and compound. under igbo customary law, females do not possess the rights to inherit land, that is, neither the 7 iproject, available at https://iproject.com.ng/law/customary-succession-law-in-modern-ibo.../indext.html. accessed on july 15, 2019. 8 iproject, available at https://iproject.writers.comng/.../appraisal of -succession-under-igbo-customary-law.accessed on july 15, 2019. 9 babatunde a. oni, 2014. “discriminatory property inheritance rights under the yoruba and igbo customary law in nigeria: the need for reforms” iosr journal of humanities and social science (iosr-jhss) vol. 19, pg. 34. available at www.iosrjournals.org. accessed july 14, 2019. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 38 daughters nor the widows of the deceased have the right in the intestate estate of the deceased. 10 as explained by oni, customary law has no place for the female child, whether they are daughters or wives. they have no right of inheritance under igbo customary law. to this effect many widows and orphans are left homeless and destitute after the death of their husband or father. in fact, what the woman goes through is ridiculous. under normal circumstances, a woman that lost her husband to the cold hands of death should be empathized with and helped out of the psychological trauma into which the death of her husband has put her. unfortunately, this is often not the case. in most igbo societies, she passes through psychological and emotional torture. she is oppressed, suppressed, afflicted, neglected and stigmatized as the killer of her husband. she is often openly insulted and made to succumb to widowhood rites on account of customs and traditions. usually, the widow’s ordeal begins the very moment her husband breathes his last. this level of insensitivity is still found in some parts of igbo land. this therefore makes the realization of women’s right to inheritance very difficult in igbo land, even when the supreme law has reformed the law. nigeria supreme court and the invalidation of igbo customary law the long existing customary law that has subjected and tortured women in nigeria especially in igbo land has been abolished by the nigerian supreme court. the case which brought this positive effect originated at the lagos high court. when lazarus ogbonna ukeje, a member of the igbo ethnic group, died intestate in lagos in 1981, gladys ada ukeje (his daughter) sued lois chituru ukeje (the deceased’s wife and the plaintiff’s stepmother) and enyinnaya lazarus ukeje (the deceased’s son and the plaintiff’s half-brother) before the lagos high court, seeking that she be included among the persons eligible to administer the deceased’s estate. the high court sided with the plaintiff and voided the igbo customary law excluding female descendants from inheritance. dissatisfied with the high court’s ruling, chituru and lazarus appealed the decision 10 babatunde a. oni, 2014. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 39 to the court of appeal. when the court ofappeal upheld the high court’s decision, chituru and lazarus availed themselves of their right to appeal the decision to the supreme court.11 it was after the supreme court decision that the guardian reported on april 15, 2014, that on april 14, 2014, the nigerian supreme court, “in a unanimous decision, confirmed the decisions of two lower courts, which had found unconstitutional an igbo customary law of succession excluding female offspring from eligibility to inherit the property of their fathers.”12 the supreme court agreed that the igbo inheritance rules which excludes women from inheritance indeed violates the country’s 1999 constitution. justice bode rhodes-vivour, one of the five justices who heard the case, delivered the court’s opinion in which he stated that no matter the circumstances of the birth of a female child, such a child is entitled to an inheritance from her late father’s estate. consequently, the igbo customary law, which disentitles a female child from partaking in the sharing of her deceased father’s estate is in breach of section 42(1) and (2) of the constitution, a fundamental rights provision guaranteed to every nigerian.13 even though this gender-based discrimination by customary rights has been banned, the problem still remains. this is where the principle of ‘igwebuike’ comes into play. what can this principle do? in order to apply the principle of ‘igwebuike, a little clarification on it is necessary. the meaning of igwebuike the word ‘igwebuike’ could be a spoken word or a person’s name. as noted by kanu, 11 hanibalgoitom, 2014. “nigeria: supreme court invalidates igbo customary law denying female descendants the right to inherit”. available athttps://www.loc.gov/law/foreign-news/article/nigeria-supreme-court-invalidatesigbo-customary-law-denying-female-descendants. accessed july 14,2019. 12 hanibalgoitom, 2014. “nigeria: supreme court invalidates igbo customary law denying female descendants the right to inherit”. available athttps://www.loc.gov/law/foreign-news/article/nigeria-supreme-court-invalidatesigbo-customary-law-denying-female-descendants. accessed july 14,2019. 13 hanibalgoitom, 2014. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 40 it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. the three words involved: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power. thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force.14 kanu described it further as a school of thought that argues that a whole is greater, than any of it’s corresponding parts. it is also a view that maintains that by the coming together of the individual or parts, a viable and sustainable whole will emerge, and by this, the parts will get to the brim purpose of their existence. finally, it is the view that holds that individualized views and individualized goals and desires will be attained fully if there is a mutual collectivity existing amongst them. thus, to be is to be in mutual complementary relationship.15 following the words of kanu, it therefore means that there is power in unity and complementarity. this also means that goals such as the realization of women inheritance cannot function peacefully if the men continue to reject the basic equality between them and the women in igbo land. application of igwebuike’s principle to the problem of inheritance of igbo women 14 kanuikechukwu anthony, 2018. “igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa”. conference paper presented held at the university of calabar, cross rivers state, department of philosophy, conversational school of philosophy”. available at https: //www. researchgate. net/.../ 329024175_ igwebuike_ philosophy_and_hum...accessed july 13, 2019. 15 kanu ikechukwu anthony igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 41 as indicated in this paper, even though the nigerian constitution clearly stated in section 42 (2) “no citizen of nigeria shall be subjected to circumstances of his birth, but female children and widows are discriminated against and treated cruelly. this group of people suffer physical, social and psychological violence at the death of their husbands and fathers. in section 43 of the nigerian constitution both male and female are permitted to own and acquire moveable and immovable property. in spite of this, a large proportion of nigerian women are barred from owning land by customary law of inheritance. apart from the nigerian constitution, this paper mentioned other bodies that are against the discrimination of women’s right of inheritance and rights as human beings. one example is the convention for the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women (cedaw), an international document that establishes standards of equality between women and men. the convention was adopted by the united general assembly on 18 december 1979 and was made binding on ratifying states on 3 september 1981. cedaw provides a framework for developing and applying equality norms to specific conditions in different countries and legal systems. this international bill of rights for women also stands as an agenda for action to guarantee these rights. in its preamble, the convention states that extensive discrimination against women continues to exist, and it emphasizes that such discrimination violates the principles of equality of rights and respect for human dignity. article i of the convention defines discrimination against women as “any distinction, exclusion, or restriction made on the basis of sex in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field.16 therefore, the principle of ‘igwebuike’ becomes very necessary to combat this endemic disease that has eaten deep into the igbo culture. the gender discrimination as it pertains to customary law is a serious issue. in spite of the constitutional provision for the protection of women’s rights, violence against them has continued. they are being discriminated against, degraded and humiliated. for this reason, the principle of ‘igwebuike’ becomes relevant to the 16 onuoha, reginald akujobi, 2008. “discriminatory property inheritance under customary law in nigeria: ngos to the rescue”. the international journal of not-for-profit law vol. 10, issue 2. available at edojudiciary.gov.ng/…/discriminatory-property-inheritance-under-the-customary-law…accessed july 21, 2019 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 42 igbo society and the world at large. the principle asserts that women are not to be used, controlled or oppressed, but affirms that when you oppress a woman, you oppress a nation, when you beat down a woman, you beat down a nation and when you uplift a woman, you uplift yourself and the entire people. the principle of ‘igwebuike’ asserts the importance of everybody. just as the body has many parts and different functions and remains a whole, that is the nature of every human being. ‘igwebuike’ as presented by kanu, “is a complementary philosophy which understands life as a shared reality…, one in which another is part thereof. it is a relationship, though of separate and separated entities or individuals but with a joining of the same whole. it is a relationship in which case the two or more coming together makes each of them a complete whole; it is a diversity of being one with each other”.17 following the principle of ‘igwebuike’, it then means that when one person is crying, others are crying with the individual and when an individual is rejoicing, others follow suit, which means that the principle of ‘igwebuike encourages unity, peace and love in the society. where this is the case, the paper makes a clarion call asking that every hand should be on deck towards making the new law, which the supreme court has enacted, which permits female children to participate in the sharing of the family property after the death of their father to function. the principle of ‘igwebuike’ advocates for changes in men’s mind set, attitude and behavior. this is a necessary condition for achieving a harmonious relationship between men and women. the culture, which our ancestors lived has conditioned our minds to the extent that we see wrong ideas as being right. our mentality needs to be changed. the mentality that a woman is less human than man, that she is inferior to man, that she is weaker etc. needs to be overhauled. the woman who brought the man into the world through the collaboration of the man, who nurtures the man, cannot not be either inferior, weaker or less human than the man. the woman possesses things in her nature which the man does not have and vice versa. so, the two are meant to complement each other with what nature has bestowed us with, that way we have a better life. this is what ‘igwebuike’ is presenting to us. for us to have a good life, we have to accept and accommodate one other without discrimination. conclusion 17 kanu ikechukwu anthony, 2018. “igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 43 no matter the level of wrong mentality, understanding, ignorance etc. that has enrobed the world, one thing that cannot be denied is the fact that women are part and parcel of every society and its order. therefore, women’s rights are indeed fundamental to the growth of any society and to the well -being of its members, as mentioned above in this work. therefore, discrimination and violence against women remains part of the evils that is destroying our land and indeed the world at large and need to be eradicated in other to embrace peace, harmony and healthy living in the society. as concerns the invalidation of the law against women’s right of inheritance in igbo land, many people, including women themselves are still living in ignorance. they are still not aware that this law has been abolished. the men including those of them that are aware of the abolishment of the law are still perpetrating this evil in different parts of igbo land. part of the reason being that many women are still ignorant of the new development. ignorance, therefore, becomes a major contributing factor of gender discrimination. part of the ignorance is also because many of those concerned are not educated and exposed. believing that ‘igwebuike’ (that is, there is strength in number), the paper suggests that those who are aware of this new law should help to create the awareness among the ignorant. igbo female lawyers and other female elites have a responsibility to this effect. bibliography babatunde a. oni, 2014. “discriminatory property inheritance rights under the yoruba and igbo customary law in nigeria: the need for reforms” iosr journal of humanities and social science (iosr-jhss) vol. 19. available at www.iosrjournals.org. businessdictionary, available at https:/www. businessdictionary.com/definition/customary-law.html. florence o. orabueze&ifeyinwaogbazi, 2016. “the inscription of fundamental human rights and the liberation of the igbo woman from customary and administrative burdens”. ujah: unizik journal of arts and humanities, vol.14. available athttp://www.researchgate.net/... /269982173 hanibalgoitom, 2014. “nigeria: supreme court invalidates igbo customary law denying female descendants the right to inherit”. available igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 44 athttps://www.loc.gov/law/foreign-news /article/nigeria-supremecourt-invalidates-igbo-customary-law-denying-female-descendants. iproject, available at https://iproject.com.ng/law/customary-succession-law-inmodern-ibo.../indext.html locke john, the two treatise of government, ed. by peter laslett (cambridge: cambridge university press, 1960. kanu ikechukwu anthony, 2018. “igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa”. conference paper presented held at the university of calabar, cross rivers state, department of philosophy, conversational school of philosophy”. available at https: //www. researchgate. net/.../ 329024175_ igwebuike_ philosophy_and_hum... kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and and logic (nka) of african philosophy”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2015a). a hermeutic approach to the study of african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015b). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 45 kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no. 1.[ 97-101]. kanu, i. a. (2016b). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no.1. [1-7]. oniha, e. bright 2017. “dissolution of marriage and custody of children under customary law in nigeria”. available at http://www.edojudiciary.gov.ng/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/.. onuoha, reginald akujobi, 2008. “discriminatory property inheritance under customary law in nigeria. ngos to the rescue.”the international journal of not-for-profit law vol. 10,issue 2. richard mordi, “an aprraisal of inheritance rights of women in nigeria” available at an _appraisal_ of _inheritance _rights _of_ women_ in_ nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 153 innovation in technical vocational education and training (tvet) instructional delivery: problems and prospects obe, pauline ijeoma ph.d1 department of industrial technical education university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu state. pauline.obe@unn.edu.ng & madu, maureen anayo, ph.d2 department of business education university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu state. maureen.madu@unn.edu.ng & onah, eunice n. ph.d3 department of computer & robotics education, university of nigeria nsukka, enugu state. eunice.onah@unn.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29332.65925 abstract this study investigated problems and prospects of innovation in (tvet) instructional delivery in technical vocational education and training (tvet) programmes in public universities in enugu state, nigeria. two research questions and one hypothesis guided the study. the study used survey research design and was carried out in enugu states, nigeria. the population of the study was 303 tvet educators comprising of 138 lecturers and 165 instructors of tvet drawn from public universities with tvet programmes in enugu state. questionnaire was used for data collection by the researchers with the help of one research assistant. the instrument was validated by three experts from tvet programmes in university of nigeria nsukka. cronbach alpha reliability method was used and an overall reliability coefficient of 0.87 was obtained. data generated were analyzed using mean, standard deviation and t-test which was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significant. generally, the study found out that innovation in instructional delivery of technical vocational education and training (tvet) programme in public universities in enugu state is a welcome development and will be of great help in improving skills acquisition techniques, if the challenges associated with innovation are handled appropriately. the paper recommended among others the need for tvet educators to employ innovation in instructional delivery in tvet programmes despite its challenges; also, stakeholders should collaboratively ensure igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 154 that innovative equipment and facilities that will aid in instructional delivery in tvet programmes are provided in public universities in enugu state. keywords: tvet, innovation, innovation in tvet instructional delivery, problems and prospects of innovation in tvet instructional delivery introduction the development of new digital technology has effected so many areas of education including the instructional delivery of technical vocational education and training (tvet). technical, vocational education and training (tvet) is a programme offered at different institutions that is aimed at acquisition of scientific knowledge and practical skills for economic and technical growth of a country. audu, kamin& balash, (2013) defined tvet as the education for work or occupation that is geared towards the needs of the industries and work force. tvet is understood as comprising of education, training and skills development relating to a wide range of occupational fields, production processes, services and livelihoods (ilo, 2020). tvet thus is considered as a key instrument for equipping the workforce with the skills required for the ‘jobs of tomorrow’ (tether et al., 2005). technical, vocational education and training is offered at secondary, post-secondary and tertiary levels and has the greatest potential to generate employment, sustain employment and reduce poverty in a society. tvet programme in the tertiary institution offer some programmes including agricultural education, business education, computer education and industrial technical education based on the capability each institution can carry. this study considered the tvet programmes as a whole since their instructional delivery are the same. (unesco, 2015) enumerated the component of tvet to include: the development of literacy and numeracy skills, transvers skills, citizenship skills among others. the development of new digital technology has in many ways transformed tvet skills to embrace the innovation in education, work and society. innovation is described as a new or improved product that differs significantly from the previous products and that has been made available to potential users. (oecd/eurostat, 2018). innovation is capable of introducing new skills demands that impact education, training and employment. european commission, (2011) and oecd, (2015) maintained that innovation is the main driver of future social and economic development. innovation and technical changes are said to be associated with an increasing demand for high-skilled igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 155 workers, and a declining demand for low-skilled workers in modern economies (arundel et al., 2006; edquist, 2005). innovation therefore is perceived as a ‘solution’ to different types of social, economic and environmental problems, with a specific focus on skill demand. tvet institutions innovate in different dimensions (organizational practices, ecosystem, teaching and learning processes, and products services). this study concentrated in the innovations in the teaching and learning processes (instructional delivery) of technical vocational education and training programmes. instructional delivery is the art of teaching that create impact in the intellectual, economic and social development of a learner. chapuis (2003) defines instructional delivery as a combination of knowledge and skills required for effective teaching. logan and logan in agina-obu & onwugbuta-enyi, (2017) described instructional delivery as a creative process which involves an imaginative person, who utilizes prior experiences, combines material, methods, ideas, and media in new and existing ways which help learners integrate learning and reinforce concepts. chika and ebeke (2007) observed that among many factors that influence learners’ achievement in schools, teacher’s instructional delivery seems to be the most critical intervening factor. a good instructional delivery therefor is the door way through which individuals could be imparted with skills and knowledge leading to reduction of unemployment, increase in economic development, poverty reduction and transformation of people’s attitude in their occupations. innovations in tvet instructional delivery approaches and techniques refer to the development and implementation of new and relevant teaching and learning processes that aim to improve effectiveness, equity and delivery of tvet programs. innovations in tvet teaching and learning is mostly seen in the use of information and communications technology (ict). ict can be seen as any device, networking components, applications and systems that allow people to interact in the digital world. it is also considered as the use of technological tools for exploring knowledge, supporting learning by construction to improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning (januszewski, 2001). the use of icts in instructional delivery of tvet will help learners to familiarize themselves with new technology being used in different economic sector and to develop the technical skills necessary in modern processes and implementation. ict applications according to adaka (2010), provides assistive technology and bring to mind high-technology (hi-tech) devices that enhance meeting the needs of all categories of learners. some of the ict applications that should be used in tvet instructional delivery include; distant learning, open learning, fixable learning, blended learning, mobile igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 156 learning, virtual reality among others. these applications can only be successful if the ict tools and resources such as computers, smart board, projectors and other projected materials that facilitate learning and improve performance are available. bukhari, 2010; singh and hardaker, 2014; ahmed, 2010; hu and hui, 2012; fu et al., 2007) are of the view that non or poor availability of infrastructures, awareness and abysmal management of innovation tools have been hindering most teachers from using innovative instructional delivery in tvet programs. drent & meeliseen (2008) maintained that some challenges in the use of innovative facilities are seen in the installation, operation, maintenance of facilities, and staff among others. other barriers according to unescounevoc (2019) include internal resistance to change teaching methods, pedagogical practices, the lack of access to new pedagogical equipment and others. cedefop (2015) in his study indicated that some of the barriers that may hinder the innovation in tvet instructional delivery are the culture of teachers and schools such as pressure of work, habit and lack of confidence among others. university must therefore seek for effective ways of ameliorating the challenges facing the innovation in tvet instructional delivery. tinio (2002) is of the view that issues like digital culture & literacy, ict and teacher professional development, global awareness, investment benefits in ict, resource constrain context, effectiveness, cost, equity, and sustainability should be looked into also, the acquisition of innovation skills in tvet instructional delivery should be addressed in pre-service teacher training and built on and enhanced in-service. some prospects of using innovations in tvet instructional delivery according to frederick, (2015) should include: empowerment of learners, enhancement of creativity and flexibility to instructional delivery, achievement of better value, development of professional workforce and fulfilled and curious citizens. teachers and trainers will also need support through professional development programmes. more so, there should be monitoring, evaluation and quality assurance systems as it concerns innovation in tvet instructional delivery in the universities. lack of innovation in tvet instructional delivery in universities has contributed much in lack of student engagement, satisfaction, perceptions, achievement, progression and motivation evidence in unemployment rate of tvet graduates (cedefop, 2015). seatter and ceulemans, 2017 maintained that traditional methods of tvet instruction, such as lecturedriven delivery, have inadequately equipped students with the required competencies to make the transition from the classroom to today’s real world work. this can be attributed to the challenges encounter in use of innovation instructional delivery in tvet programs. this study therefore aimed at igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 157 investigating the challenges that hinder the application of innovations in tvet instructional delivery and ways of emolliating them. purpose of the study the general purpose of this study is to investigate innovation in tvet instructional delivery with its problems and prospects in technical vocational education and training programmes in enugu state, nigeria. specifically, the study determined: 1. to investigate the challenges of innovation in instructional delivery of tvet programmes in public universities of enugu state. 2. to investigate the prospects to the challenges of innovation in instructional delivery of tvet programmes in public universities of enugu state. research questions the following research questions guided the study: 1. what are the challenges of innovation in instructional delivery of tvet programmes in public universities of enugu state? 2. what are the prospects to the challenges of innovation in instructional delivery of tvet programmes in public universities of enugu state? research hypothesis there is no significant different on the mean response of lectures and instructors on the challenges of innovation in instructional delivery of tvet programmes in public universities of enugu state. methodology the study adopted survey research design and was carried out in enugu state, nigeria. two research questions and one hypothesis guided the study. the population of the study was 303 tvet educators comprising of 138 lecturers and 165 instructors of tvet drawn from public universities with tvet programmes in enugu state. there was no sampling since the population is of manageable size. a structured questionnaire was used for data collection. the instrument was validated by three experts. cronbach alpha reliability was used and an igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 158 overall reliability coefficient of 0.87 was obtained. the data was collected by the researchers with the help of one research assistant. out of 303 copies of the questionnaire administered, only 288 copies were retrieved giving a 95% return rate. data collected were analysed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions and t-test was used to test the hypothesis at 0.05 level of significant. any mean value that is greater than or equal to 2.50 was accepted while mean values less than 2.50 were rejected. however, the null hypothesis was accepted if the p-value (t-calculated) is greater than 0.05 level (t-critical) but the null hypotheses was rejected if the p-value (t-calculated is less than 0.05 level value of the t-critical. results table 1 1. mean and standard deviation of the response of lecturers and instructors on the challenges of innovation in instructional delivery of tvet programmes in public universities of enugu state. s/ n item statements mea n s. d p-values rema rks sig 1 unavailability of ict tools in the universities. 2.73 0.7 1 0.17 agree ns 2 poor awareness, poor infrastructures and poor management of innovation in tvet instructional delivery, 2.61 0.7 7 0.16 agree ns 3 lack of skill for installation of innovation equipment 2.35 0.7 6 0.19 agree ns 4 lack of skill for operation and maintenance of innovation facilities. 2.57 0.6 7 0.31 agree ns 5 lack of time, resources and experienced staff 2.51 0.7 9 0.19 agree ns 6 resistance to changes in teaching method 2.75 0.6 9 0.09 agree ns igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 159 s/ n item statements mea n s. d p-values rema rks sig 7 resistance to change pedagogical practices 2.63 0.7 2 0.1 31 agree ns 8 lack of access to new pedagogical equipment 2.54 0.6 6 0.11 agree ns 9 influence of teachers culture and school culture 2.66 0.7 7 0.18 agree ns 10 pressure of work and habit to work 2.57 0.6 4 0.16 agree ns 11 lack of confident on teachers 2.60 0.14 agree ns 12 lack of investment on the part of government 2.51 0.6 0 0.06 agree ns keys: sdstandard deviation; rem-remark; ns-not significant. the data in table 1 revealed that all the 12 items have their mean values above the cut-off point of 2.50 indicating that the 12 items pointed out the challenges militating innovation in tvet instructional delivery of public universities in enugu state. in other hand, the standard deviations of all the 12 items in table 1 range from 0.79-0.60 showing that the respondents were not far from each other in their responses. on the other hand, the hypothesis showed that all the 12 items in table 1 have their p-values greater than 0.05 level of significance. the null hypothesis was therefore accepted. this means that there is no significance difference in the mean responses of the tvet lecturers and the instructors on the items suggested hindering innovations in tvet instructional delivery in public universities in enugu state. table 2 2. mean and standard deviation of the response of tvet lecturers and instructors on the prospects to the challenges of innovation in instructional delivery of tvet programmes in public universities of enugu state. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 160 s/n item statements mean s.d remarks 1 tvet teachers should incorporate digital culture and literacy 2.64 0.64 agree 2 there should be teacher professional development on innovative instructional delivery 2.59 0.71 agree 3 there should be awareness of innovation instructional delivery of tvet 2.67 0.66 agree 4 tvet stakeholders should invest into innovation of tevt instructional delivery 2.55 0.67 agree 5 there should be equity in the distribution of innovation equipment in universities 2.63 0.79 agree 6 acquisition of innovation skills in tvet instructional delivery should be addressed in pre-service and in-services training of tvet teachers 2.77 0.65 agree 7 there should be empowerment of learners 2.52 0.72 agree 8 there should be enhancement of creativity 2.57 0.66 agree 9 there should be flexibility in tvet instructional delivery 2.56 0.77 agree 10 there should be support for tvet professional development 2.73 0.71 agree 11 there should be monitoring and evaluation as it concerns tvet innovative instructional delivery 2.35 0.77 agree 12 there should be quality assurance system as it concerns tvet innovative instructional delivery 2.73 0.64 agree igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 161 keys: sdstandard deviation; rem-remark. the data in table 2 revealed that the 12 items listed as the prospects to the challenges of innovation in instructional delivery of tvet programmes in public universities of enugu state, have their mean values all above the cut-off point of 2.50 indicating that the items suggested are necessary prospects to the challenges of innovation in instructional delivery of tvet programmes in public universities in enugu state. the standard deviation of the 12 items ranges from 0.79-0.64 showing that the respondents were not far from each other in their responses. discussion the finding of the study in table 1 revealed that the 12 items that were pointed out as the challenges hindering the innovation of tvet instructional delivery were all accepted by the respondents. the implication of this finding is that the innovation in tvet instructional delivery of public universities in enugu state is being hindered by many factor which in turn effects student’s acquisition of the innovative skills and employment after graduation. this is in line with cedefop, (2015) who noted that lack of innovation in tvet instructional delivery in universities has contributed much in lack of student engagement, satisfaction, perceptions, achievement, progression and motivation evidence in unemployment rate of tvet graduates. drent & meeliseen (2008) also maintained that challenges of innovation in tvet instructional delivery are seen in the installation, operation, maintenance of facilities, among others. supporting this, unesco-unevoc (2019) indicated some challenges to tvet instructional delivery to include; internal resistance to change teaching methods, pedagogical practices, the lack of access to new pedagogical equipment and others. there is need therefore to look into ways of eradicating these challenges for proper innovation in tvet instructional delivery in public universities in enugu state. the finding of the study in table 2 revealed that the 12 items that were suggested as prospects to the challenges to the innovation of tvet instructional delivery in public universities in enugu state were all accepted as ways to eradicate the challenges for proper innovation to tvet instructional delivery. the implication of these findings is that the effectiveness of using innovation in tvet instructional delivery is based on following the above suggested prospects to the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 162 challenges. this is in line with tinio (2002) who is of the view that issues like digital culture & literacy, teacher professional development among others should be looked into for proper innovation in instructional delivery also tvet instructional delivery should be addressed in pre-service teacher training and built on in-service training of teachers. more so, frederick, (2015) suggested some prospects to challenges of using innovations in instructional delivery to include: empowerment of learners, enhancement of creativity and flexibility to instructional delivery. it is therefore necessary that these prospects should be used to address the challenges of using innovation in tvet instructional delivery in public universities in enugu. conclusion the importance of tvet instructional delivery in universities cannot be over emphasized. the digital age has brought in the growing need for innovation into tvet instructional delivery in the universities. however, much need to be done on the challenges hindering the implementation of innovations in tvet instructional delivery. tvet programs in the universities should therefor incorporate the way out of these challenges to enhance for the production of high-level skills graduates needed in the digital world of work. recommendations based on the findings of the study, the following recommendations were made: 1. tvet educators should employ innovation in instructional delivery in tvet programmes despite its challenges. 2. stakeholders should collaboratively ensure that innovative equipment and facilities that will aid in instructional delivery in tvet programmes are provided in public universities in enugu state. 3. tvet stakeholders should organize training inform of in service, conference and workshop for update of tvet teacher’s skills and knowledge in innovative instructional delivery. 4. tvet stakeholders should ensure adequate funding to facilitate innovation in instructional delivery that will aid youth employment. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 163 references adaka, t.a. (2010). the need for training teachers in the use of digital assistive technology for effective teaching of pupils with learning disabilities at the primary school level. in nkadi & uchenna (eds). teacher preparation and the vision 20-20-20 in nigeria. enugu: timex. agino-obu, t.n & onwugbuta-enyi, j. (2017). teaching and measuring teaching performance in science. journal of education and science, 7(1), 178-188. arundel a., lorenz e., lundvall b-a. and valeyre a. 2006. the organization of work and innovative performance: a comparison of the eu-15. druid working paper no. 06-14. audu, r., kamim y. b. & balash, f. (2013) technical vocational education: as a veritable tool for eradicating youth unemployment. journal of humanities and social sciences (2). 10-17. bukhari, r. a. (2010). information technology for e-learning in developing countries, (pp. 1–85). school of business and informatics: university of boras. cedefop, (2015). vocational pedagogies and benefits for learners: practices and challenges in europe (research paper, no 47). luxembourg, publications office of the european union. chapuis, l. (2003). pedagogy: embedding learning technologies. australian capital territory education and training. retrieved on 21/7/2020 from http://www.principals.in/uploads/pdf/pedagogy.pdf chika, p.e. and ebeke, j.e. (2007). role of principals professional qualification on principals’ instructional leadership and effect on teachers job performance. retrieved august 5, 2010 from http://www.ed principals role on instructional leadership and effect on teachers job performance.html. drent, m. & meeliseen, m. (2008). which factors obstruct or stimulate teacher educators to use ict innovatively, journal of computers & education, 51, 187-199. edquist, c. 2005. systems of innovation: perspectives and challenges. in agerberg j., mowery d. c. and nelson r. r. the oxford handbook of innovation. oxford, oxford university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 164 european commission. 2011. europe 2020 flagship initiative innovation union. luxembourg, publications office of the european union. frederick, t. f. (2015). prospects and challenges of e-learning in nigerian university education using national open university of nigeria akure study centre. unpublished bachelors’ degree project, department of science & technical education, (computer education unit), adekunle ajasin university akungba akoko, kogi state, nigeria. januszewski, a. (2001). educational technology: the development of a concept. englewood, co: libraries unlimited inc. oecd. 2015. oecd innovation strategy 2015: an agenda for policy action. paris, oecd publishing. oecd/eurostat. 2005. guidelines for collecting and interpreting innovation data — the oslo manual. paris, oecd publishing. tinio, v.l. (2002). information and communication technology in education. retrieved on 20/4/2019 from https://learningportal.iiep.unesco.org/en/issue-briefs/improvelearning/curriculum-and-material/information-and-communicationtechnology-ict tether, b., mina, a., consoli, d. and gagliardi, d. 2005. a literature review on skills and innovation. how does successful innovation impact on the demand for skills and how do skills drive innovation? esrc centre on innovation and competition, university of manchester. seatter, c. s., and ceulemans, k. 2017. teaching sustainability in higher education: pedagogical styles that make a difference. canadian journal of higher education, 47(2), pp. 47-70. unesco. 2015. qindao declaration – international conference on ict and post2015 education. paris, unesco publishing. unesco-unevoc (2019) trends mapping studies unesco-unevoc international centre for technical and vocational education and training. microsoft word igwebuike journals vol. 5. no. 7.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 15 igwebuike and the resolution of the polarity of the philosophy of law paul t. haaga, phd department of philosophy, federal university of lafia, email: haaga.terngu@fulafia.edu.ng & paulohaaga@gmail.com. phone: +2340867666445 & +2348020540454 abstract this paper attempt a resolution of the apparent polarity occasioned by naturalism and positivism in the philosophy of law and this i intend to achieve using the instrumentality of the complimentary temper of the philosophy of igwebuike. consequently, this paper is divided into five sections: the first section concerns itself with the question of the polarity of positivism and naturalism in the philosophy of law; the second section deals with complimentarity as the essence of igwebuike philosophy; the third section attempts a resolution of the polarity of the philosophy of law using the philosophy of igwebuike. the fourth and the final section evaluate and bring the discourse to a close. an attempt at resolving this polarity has taken this paper through the philosophy of igwebuike which argues for the harmonization of opposites and the treatment of the same in complementary terms. following from the submission of igwebuike philosophy which holds that there is power in numbers and that there is no task that can defile the collective capacity of the a people working within the dictates of igwebuike, this paper argues that the fusion of the apparent contraries to form a continuum is imperative. the conclusion that is reached in the paper therefore is that, for law and the philosophy of law to achieve one of its major tasks which is social change and development, the connection or affiliation in solidarity and complementarity by both the naturalists and the positivists schools of thought in legal philosophy on the one hand and the conception of morality and law as two sides of the coin of social change and control is both imperative and timely. keywords: igwebuike, phillosophy, kanu, polarity, philosophy of law, jurisprudence, resolution introduction the philosophy of law or jurisprudence seeks to answer basic questions about law and legal systems, such as ‘what is law?’, ‘what are the criteria for legal validity?’, what is the relationship between law and morality?’, and many other similar questions. more often it aims to distinguish law from other systems of norms and this bothers around morality, ethics and other social convention. regarding law and morality, legal positivists have insisted on a morally neutral igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 16 concept of law, wherein a legal system consists of posited rules ascertainable by reference to factual criteria. the natural law tradition, by contrast, draws attention to law’s rootedness in notions of justice and the common good. modern debates have often centred on the process of adjudication, in particular upon the question of the extent to which judges may properly rely upon their personal moral judgement, and how far they are limited to the application of technical legal rules (simmonds 403). the above is the background to the ambivalence nature of the philosophy of law as well as what this paper conceives as the polarity of the philosophy of law. this paper attempt a resolution of the apparent polarity occasioned by naturalism and positivism in the philosophy of law and this i intend to achieve using the instrumentality of the complimentary temper of the philosophy of igwebuike. consequently, this paper is divided into five sections: the first section concerns itself with the question of the polarity of positivism and naturalism in the philosophy of law; the second section deals with complimentarity as the essence of igwebuike philosophy; the third section attempts a resolution of the polarity of the philosophy of law using the philosophy of igwebuike. the fourth and the final section evaluate and bring the discourse to a close. now let us briefly x-ray polarity of naturalism and positivism perspective in jurisprudence. polarity of naturalism and positivism in the philosophy of law at one end of the pole is naturalism (henceforth referred to as the natural law or natural theory), the proponents are namely, cicero, aristotle aquinas and finnis. the most influential writer within the traditional approach to natural law after cicero is aquinas, and he (aquinas) is undoubtedly one of the most celebrated proponents of natural law with his writings in the thirteenth century. he identified four different kinds of law: the eternal law, the natural law, the divine law, and human (positive) law. for him, the important categories are natural law and positive law. according to him, genuine or just positive law is derived from natural law. this term “natural law” has been interpreted differently by different people at different times. it connotes ideals which guide legal development and administration. it could also pass as a basic moral quality in law which prevents a total separation of the ‘is’ from the ‘ought’, or a method of discovering perfect law, the content of which is deducible by reason. the natural law theorists holds the view that, any human law that violates the universal principles or moral codes of a person should not be considered valid considering the fact that different aspects of moral reason are brought igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 17 immediately to his awareness by the voice of his conscience, which approves or disapproves, advises, warns, urges, impedes, praises, blames, and summons our retrospective judgments on a decision regarding conduct in the sphere of good and evil. (njoku 98). the natural law is based on value judgments which emanate from some absolute source and which are in accordance with man’s rational nature, the principles of natural are immutable, eternally valid and can be grasped by the proper employment of human reason. these principles are universal and when grasped they must overrule all positive law, which will not truly be law unless it conforms to natural law’. in sum, legal naturalism or the natural law theorists blended morality and law. there is no clear difference between law and morality, law and justice etc. they claim that every human law shall have moral background. this is because morality is one expression of natural law (102). at the other side of the divide is positivism (henceforth referred to as legal positivism), the term ‘positivism’ derives from the latin positum, which refers to the law as it is laid down or posited (wacks 18). legal positivism is a school of thought mainly developed by 19th and 20th century legal thinkers such as jeremy bentham, john austin, hans kelsen, h.l.a hart and joseph raz (228). legal positivism is often defined as a doctrine that is in radical and polemical contradiction to natural law theories. legal positivism, as opposed to natural law theories, assumes that “there is no other law but positive law”: the argument is that the existence and validity of law rests upon the mere fact of its being enacted by a historically determined human legislator (or norm-issuer in a broad sense). laws are sanctions backed by threat or command laws are commands of human beings and there is no necessary and logically connection between law and morals—that is, between law as it is and as it ought to be. broadly speaking, “the core of legal positivism is the view that the validity of any law can be traced to an objectively verifiable source. put simply, legal positivism, like scientific positivism, rejects the view held by natural lawyers that law exists independently from human enactment. the highest common factor among legal positivists is that the law as laid down should be kept separate for the purpose of study and analysis from the law as it ought morally to be. in other words, that a clear distinction must be drawn between ‘ought’ (that which is morally desirable) and ‘is’ (that which actually exists)” (19). this theory distinguishes the question whether a rule is a legal rule from the question whether it is a just rule, and seeks to define law, not by reference to its content but according to the formal criteria which differentiate legal rules from other rules such as those of morals, etiquette, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 18 and so on. the positivists opines, there is no necessary connection between law and morality and force of law comes from some basic social facts. as far as positivism within the context of the legal science is concerned, law is something which is posited and stipulated and it is made in accordance with socially accepted rules. both law and morality are normative disciplines; as normative disciplines, they attempt to prescribe and control behavior in a certain direction. normative statements state what one has or may not have obligation to do. law and morality are aspects of social phenomenon or social control of behavior in a society for harmonization or peaceful co-existence. to this end, plato and aristotle merged law and morality. in their theses, both man and state seek perfection. and the highest perfection can be achieved in the state. personal virtues are the business of the individual as well as the state or social body. laws are enacted to bring about the best moral life in the individual and in the state. aquinas claims that there is a necessary connection between law and morality. this simply means that there is a connection between what is good, what is morally right and just, and what comes naturally; hence there is something universally available out there to guide human conduct, the requirements of which can be deduced by reason (20). the view stresses that there is a necessary connection between such that a law flouts the higher principles of moralitythe natural law principles is not law, since the end of law is to be good and make citizens good. a law that is just is simply good, and an unjust law is an aberration of law, though it may be good in some particular respect. furthermore, lon l. fuller concurs with the view that there is a necessary connection between law and morality (89). law must contain what he calls the ‘inner morality’, which, according to him, are the principles of natural law. he opines that human activity should not be evaluated from the point of view of social fact but against the background of the purpose it seeks to accomplish. law is certainly a system of rules, but the element of purpose should criticize the rule want to enact. there is a purpose in enacting a rule using it to guide action (90). as i draw to the conclusion of this section which most part basically concerned itself with a discourse on the polarity of naturalism and positivism legal philosophy or philosophy of law, it must be noted that the polarity as well as the ambivalent nature of the philosophy of law ramifies the two points: the first is the source factor where the natural law theorist have argue that nature and reason are at the background of law while the positivist argue that law is either a command of the sovereign (jeremy bentham), order backed by threat (austin), igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 19 social rules put in place to control the behaviours of citizens in the society (h.l.a hart), social facts (joseph raz) amongst others. the second point of disagreement which is central to this paper is the fact of whether morality and law are intrinsically connected to each. in this regard, while naturalism argues that the law and morality are interwoven and intrinsically connected to each other, positivism on the contrary denies any connection between the two of them. it is this polarity that this paper seeks to resolve within the prism of the igwebuike philosophy. understanding complimentarity as the essence of igwebuike philosophy complimentarity is the thesis that opposites complement each other in the final third. the philosophy of igwebuike was developed and championed by anthony ikechukwu kanu, a professor at the tansian university, umunyanigeria. it is a philosophy of harmonisation that emphasizes and elevates the imperativeness of a mutual dependence and complementation of reality. kanu asserts: igwebuike is the modality of being in african philosophy. it is from the igbo composite word and metaphor igwebuike, a combination of three words. therefore, it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. the three words involved: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power. thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force or strength, and at this level, no task is beyond their collective capability. igwebuike is, therefore, a philosophy of harmonization, and complementation. it understands the world immanent realities to be related to one another in the most natural, mutual, harmonious and compatible ways possible (13-14). from the above, one can decipher the fact is a philosophy of complementarity. it is also a philosophy that seeks to elevate mutual relations and togetherness. to quote kanu, “igwebuike provides an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations” (14). as an ideology, he noted that igwebuike rests on the african principles of solidarity and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 20 complementarity. it argues that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is ‘to be with the other’, in a community of being. he based the philosophy of igwebuike on the african worldview, which emphasizes togetherness and oneness. quoting iroegbu, he averred that the african world view is characterized by a common origin, worldview, language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny (14). the african worldview, therefore, as he further argues, is ruled by the spirit of complementarity which seeks the conglomeration, the unification, the summation of fragmented thoughts, opinions and other individualized and fragmented thoughts and ideas. it believes essentially that the whole is greater than the corresponding parts. it is also a view that maintains that by the coming together of the individual or parts, a viable and sustainable whole will emerge, and by this, the parts will get to the brim purpose of their existence (14). the philosophy of igwebuike is an ideology that is postulated on the principle of solidarity and complementarity; against the conception that there is a unified african worldview; complementary reflection maintains that traditional african societies are characterized by the dominance of diversities of thought system of which the complementary trend is one of the most pronounced. thus the idea that the universe is constituted of units of mutual complementary interacting forces within the framework of the whole and in a future referential dimension constitutes one of the central insights of traditional africans. most african philosophers maintain that the universe in general is constituted of units of dynamic mutual interacting forces at all levels of determination. these units relate to themselves in an infinite complementary harmonious mode. this is the case with human experience and action in general and with regard to numerous issues of general philosophical interest as can be articulated in such equivalent concepts as; human personality, causality, freedom, necessity, truth, good and evil, space and time, ethics and morality, religion and meaning, the idea of living and dead, law and morality etc. kaboha asserts: “a common characteristic of traditional african societies is that they did not separate consciously the various aspects of life and social behavior into discrete compartments or treat them as possible areas of study or contemplation. all areas of life were seen and treated as part of an integrated whole which also include all nature. in a traditional african mind this does not lead to confusion, but shows igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 21 how the african derives his ideas and way of life from the integration that he sees in the diversity of nature around him” (kboha, 1992). the complementary character of reality from the igbo philosophy of igwebuike can be compared to plato’s ideal state where there are three major classes, corresponding to the three parts of the soul. the guardians, who are philosophers, govern the city; the auxiliaries are soldiers who defend it (a military class, having courage and physical strength, is to defend the state); and the lowest class comprises the producers (farmers, artisans, etc). the guardians and auxiliaries have the same education, which begins with music and literature and ends with gymnastics. furthermore, the rulers (the philosophers) the guardians (the soldiers) and the artisans (the labourers) should often work together in one accord with each person doing his or her work efficiently to ensure a peaceful coexistence in the state. according to plato, if any part refuses to do what he/she is ought to do, there is bound to be a problem in the society (14). real potentials of individuals and society are actualized in complementarity than as individuals. igwebuike: resolving the polarity of the philosophy of law in the opening paragraphs of this paper, it was mentioned that the polarity of the philosophy of law, or the ambivalent nature of the philosophy of law revolves round the face up between the natural law theory (here referred to as naturalism) and the legal positivism (here referred to as positivism). this high point of the face up is their respective thesis on the kind of relationship that exists between morality and law. while legal naturalism as well as all its proponents holds and defend the blend of morality and law, the positivists in radical and polemical contradiction to the natural law theory are unanimous in arguing that there exist no necessary connection as it were, between law and morality and that the forces of law come from certain basic social facts, they are commands of the sovereign and are devoid of elements of morality in its entirety. while the positions of these groups are merited in themselves and also have flaw inherently in the logic that defines them, it remains to argue for a complementary and eclectic position the fuses the element of both schools. it must be noted at the onset of this argument that naturalism and positivism are contraries which within the context of two value aristotelian logic cannot be both true. in this sense, one can infer that if one is true the other must be force. be that as it may, this paper argues that conversely, contraries fuse together to form a continuum. at the background of this argument for an eclectic and complementary igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 22 philosophy of law that resolves the polarity of the naturalistic and the positivist school is the philosophy of igwebuike. as we have argued in the preceding section, igwebuike emphasis the strength and power of number. igwebuike as kanu puts it translates into “number is strength or number is power”. it also emphasizes solidarity and complementarity based on the thinking that, when human beings or in this case, working ideologies come together in harmony, there are as powerful and exerts so much influence and strength that no task or aspiration is beyond their collective capacity. now, law has been recognized as a vehicle for social change. in fact, only few doubt the central role of law in our social, political, moral, and economic life (wacks, xii). and if law is a vehicle of social change as wacks have argued above, it remains true that the task of changing the trajectory of the society is both massive and demanding. while it is true that the philosophy of law is useful if it aids and provide robust investigations explaining valid law, solve problems concerning the application of law, and, eventually, seeks to answer basic questions about law and legal systems, such as ‘what is law?’, ‘what are the criteria for legal validity?’, what is the relationship between law and morality?’, it also provide suggestions concerning the development of the same. it remains to say operating at the second order is quite tasking and hectic. hence, to do so successfully, a complementary temper within the context of the philosophy of igwebuike is imperative. the fact that law is right reason in agreement with nature, the fact that it is of universal application, it is unchanging and everlasting; it summons to duty by its commands, and averts from wrongdoing by its prohibitions as cicero will argue does not negate the fact that laws can also with the passing of time, be commands of the sovereign, social rules to control the behaviours of people according to h.l.a hart or orders backed by sovereign as defined by john austin. one can argue that in whatever way naturalism and positivism conceives of law, it is geared towards the change of the society and the alteration of the status quo for good and as such should be view within the prism of complementarity which is at the background of the philosophy of igwebuike. now, regarding the major area of divergence between naturalism and positivism in the philosophy of law which as we have earlier stated, is the question of the relationship between morality and law, it must be stated within the ambit of the philosophy of igwebuike that the existence of morality and law is pivotal to the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 23 task of societal change and development which the philosophy of law seek to foster. hence, rather than argue for the separation or disarticulation of morality from law and the promulgation of laws that are devoid of moral inclinations, a harmonization of the twin concepts in view of their importance for societal change is timely. with this harmonization, both morality and law will be viewed from the perspective complementarity and the fact that they both serve the same purpose, since both concepts that is ‘law and morality’ are normative terms. the above position is hinged on the fact that morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from the code of conduct which can also be codified as laws concerning right or good or bad, within the context of the human person while laws are set of rules that reflects the social condition of the community and implies coercion more physical than morality. consequently, the position that law is devoid of morality in a complete sense is reductionist. the point that is reached in this paper is that in whatever way the relationship between morality and law is construed, it feels safer to argue for their complementarity and their harmonization for the social change and development than to do otherwise. in the sense, despite being contraries, the fusion of morality and law serves as a missing link of reality within the context of the philosophy of law and forms a continuum. morality in whatever form it is learned or acquired; law, no matter the source, be it a command of a sovereign or an order backed with force are geared towards the betterment of the social and for social change. hence this paper calls for the relegation of this dichotomy and conversely, calls for the harmonization of law and morality for societal change and development. conclusion as i draw to the conclusion of this attempt at resolving the polarity as well as the ambivalent nature of the philosophy of law using the instrumentality of the philosophy of igwebuike, a number of positions have been raised and argued in this paper and a rehearsal of a few of them is here considered necessary. one, the philosophy of law is polarize along the lines of naturalism and positivism and the major area of discord between these schools hinge on the fact of whether there exist some form of relationship between law and morality. two, while the naturalism holds and argue that there is an intrinsic relationship between the law and morality, the positivist argue that there is no link as it were between the morality and law. an attempt at resolving this polarity has taken this paper through the philosophy of igwebuike which argues for the harmonization of opposites and the treatment of the same in complementary terms. following from the submission of igwebuike philosophy which holds that there is power in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 24 numbers and that there is no task that can defile the collective capacity of the a people working within the dictates of igwebuike, this paper argues that the fusion of the apparent contraries to form a continuum is imperative. the conclusion that is reached in the paper therefore is that, for law and the philosophy of law to achieve one of its major tasks which is social change and development, the connection or affiliation in solidarity and complementarity by both the naturalists and the positivists schools of thought in legal philosophy on the one hand and the conception of morality and law as two sides of the coin of social change and control is both imperative and timely. works cited brian, h. b. “natural law theory” in patterson, d (ed.) a companion to philosophy of law and legal theory. oxford: blackwell, 2010. print. cicero, the republic, trans. walter miller, cambridge: harvard university press, 1930. print. coleman, j. l, and brian, l. “legal positivism” in patterson, d (ed.) a companion to philosophy of law and legal theory. oxford: blackwell, 2010. print. kanu, ikechukwu anthony “igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. print. leslie, "legal positivism", in edward n. zalta (ed.), the stanford encyclopedia of philosophy url = http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2003/entries/legal-positivism/ retrieved on 6/7/2019. web. fuller, l. l., the morality of law, rev. ed. london: yale university press, 1969. print. simmonds, n. e. “philosophy of law” in nicholas b, and e. p. tsui-james (ed) the blackwell companion to philosophy, 2nd edition. oxford: blackwell publishers ltd, 2003. print. njoku, f.o.c, studies in jurisprudence: a fundamental approach to the philosophy of law, lagos: claretian publications. 2007. print. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 25 raz, j. authority of law (2nd edition ed.). oxford: oxford university press, 2009. print. ______. “authority, law, and morality” j. raz, ethics in the public domain. oxford: clarendon press, 2001. print. wacks, r. philosophy of law: a very short introduction. oxford: oxford university press, 2006. print. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 3 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 79 religious pluralism and its psycho-philosophical approach and relevance by philip osarobu isanbor st albert institute for higher education fayit-fadan, kagoma. pmb 1006, kafanchan, kaduna state, nigeria. email: osarobuisanbor@yahoo.com abstract with the upsurge of religious intolerance, violence and conflict, and coping with conflicting and disharmony of religious beliefs and imposition of false or faulty doctrines and foreign faiths, there is an urgent need to check or re-evaluate the modes, practice and absurdity of religious convictions which are plausibly evidenced in the domain of religious fanaticism and fundamentalism. with conflicts, peace and justice are denied, and if these are not realised, meaningful development is utopic, even when god is called upon. hence, the paper explicated the valuation of religious pluralism which seems to suggest the accommodation of religious freedom and tolerance of beliefs or convictions that are situated in the respect of human rights and dignity. in religious freedom, god is expressed in faith and worship in accordance with individual conviction and understanding of the “beingness” and personhood of god. the paper concluded that adherents of religions should allow the thriving of religious pluralism with its ingredients of religious freedom and respect for human rights and dignity against the weighty negative effects of religious fanaticism and fundamentalism, all for the attainment of integral human development that promotes the religiosity of the wholeness of human person. 1.0 background: considering the value of religion the study of religion shows the nature and attitude of humanity toward the worship of the supreme deity, object or a particular ideology that it believes on. this has brought us to the understanding of our interest, purpose and closeness to certainty on that particular reverential entity which we believe in and willing to convince others to follow by our outward and inward enthusiastic mentality in the light of salvation and earthly wellbeing. we discuss the weights of religion on human development have been vast because there are a lot of violence of human rights, freedom and dignity, even as a result of the practice of religion. as kimball (2008) asserts that; the record of human history shows that noble acts of love, self-sacrifice, and service to others are frequently rooted in deeply held religious worldviews. at the same time, history clearly shows that religion has often been linked to the worst examples of human behaviour. it is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 80 somewhat trite, but nevertheless sadly true that more wars have been waged, more people killed, and these days more evil perpetuated in the name of religion than by any other institutional force in human history (p. 87). many interests have being invested to monitor these development and to wright the aberrations, so that there will be meaningful integral development. it is contemporarily certain now that we recognising that our destructive behaviour is always an outgrowth of incongruence. that is, we do destructive things when we are out of touch, rather than in touch, with our authentic self (kimball 2008, 50). that is, a communal humanity. on this course of action and interest for integral human development through proper internalization of religion, benedict xvi (2011, no. 13) explicates that; despite the lessons of history and the efforts of states, international and regional organizations, non-governmental organizations and the many men and women of good will who daily work to protect fundamental rights and freedoms, today’s world also witnesses cases of persecution, discrimination, acts of violence and intolerance based on religion. this is emphatically about the faulty promotion of religious fanaticism and fundamentalism. on the contrary, it should be taken that man is fundamentally religious. but human religiosity should be aimed at promoting a sound spiritual relationship with its creator and fellow creatures. to achieve this feat is by upholding some values of justice, love and fairness in his dealing with them. the constant effort to achieve this situation leads to mutual understanding and tolerance, especially in a multi-cultural and pluri-religious society like nigeria (ukaonu 2013, 35). this is about wrong internalization of religious conviction, vesting it imposingly, as an act of indoctrination upon others. and then, campbell (1971, 27) observes that; those who come to believe that their own radical beliefs are so unacceptable as to constitute irreligion may in fact be mistaken, and a wider knowledge of their own religious tradition may later lead them to the realisation that they have been espousing an acceptable, if unorthodox, interpretation of the faith. the aim of the paper is to understand the effectual reality of religious fanaticism, fundamentalism and pluralism. this is to relate these concepts in understanding religion itself more properly. one needs the proper assessment on the causes of the multiplicity of religious groups or sects and their assessable igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 81 investigation of their system in relation to societal peace and harmony. in the history of man, religion has been a very part of his life, so man cannot do without religion or been religious. man is at the middle of god and nature. all religions of the world are in one way or the other pointing to the fact that human beings do not, and cannot, stand alone, that they are related to and dependent on powers external and beyond them. broadly put therefore, religion is a belief based on a person’s ultimate relation to the universe, to a god or gods (okelezo and nwosu 2008). the religious quality of man is highly needed to maintain this relationship, which everything is channel to reverence the supreme being and for the wellbeing of the existing realities, including man. now, the psycho-philosophical study of religious fanaticism and fundamentalism will make us to understand the propelling force of interest in humanity, which makes him/her behaves in certain ways which classified him/her to be a religious fanatic, and why he adopts the belief system and conviction with great enthusiastic spirit. psychology is the science for the study of mind and behaviour of the human person will lead us to accept the facts that there are always propelling forces and interests for such developments. the relevance of this discipline cut across all works of life, and which religion is not an exception. using philosophical coloration, this paper will necessarily lead us to assess the understanding of human person in relation to the outcomes of its religious conviction, especially conflicts that ensue from its fanaticism and fundamentalism. we remembered that benedict xvi has aligned his interest for global harmony with the thrust of religious freedom, and he said that, “in a particular way, in asia and in africa, the chief victims are the members of religious minorities, who are prevented from freely professing or changing their religion by forms of intimidation and the violation of their rights, basic freedoms and essential goods, including the loss of personal freedom and life itself” (2011, no. 13). benedict xvi believes that the easiest way to achieve global harmony is mainly through the workability of religious tolerance and the positive exactness of religious freedom. it is obvious that there are negative results of religious fanaticism and fundamentalism in the face of religious conflicts. but there is need to understand the effects of religious fundamentalism and fanaticism, and in relation to pluralism 2.0 clarifying terms and their explanatory objective notations here, for the purpose of the comprehensive grasping to the tenet of the discourse, we clarify some concepts in some details. they are: religious fanaticism, religious fundamentalism and religious pluralism. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 82 2.1 religious fundamentalism: the word “fundamentalism” is derived from the word ‘fundamental’ which means the basic, serious and important parts of something. but fundamental in relation to religion is defined as “the practice of following very strictly the basic rules and teachings of any religion, most especially, as in, dogmatically.” religious fundamentalism and dogmatism are seen to be the same. both are centred on the teachings and doctrines of a particular sect or religion in which an individual belongs and hopes to uphold the teachings and doctrines strictly. with the words for the advocacy and solicitation of peace, benedict xvi affirms that; it should be clear that religious fundamentalism and secularism are alike in that both represent extreme forms of a rejection of legitimate pluralism and the principle of secularity. both absolutize a reductive and partial vision of the human person, favouring in the one case forms of religious integralism and, in the other, of rationalism. a society that would violently impose or, on the contrary, reject religion is not only unjust to individuals and to god, but also to itself. god beckons humanity with a loving plan that, while engaging the whole person in his or her natural and spiritual dimensions, calls for a free and responsible answer which engages the whole heart and being, individual and communitarian. also, the views of peter clarks (1982) on the issues of religious fundamentalism is understood as a long term religious methodology of interest, which although very selfish or sectional, when he asserts that; with the expansion and development of islamic education system, of literary in arabic, and the more frequent contacts with the muslim world of north africa and the middle east brought about by the pilgrimage, study abroad and increasing supply of book and writing on islam, an increasing number of muslims in west africa in areas with a long tradition of islam. the above assertion or observation was on islamic religion, and which could be likening to other religions as well. religion fundamentalism lies on the placidity of belief of an individual, which other religious are not excluded. this is basically on the attitude of the religious participants, when we limit god by our own restricted understanding we often are conformed to this world. we are trying to force the lord into the mould of our limited knowledge whether it is based upon our education and science or our interpretation of the scriptures. this is the problem of dogmatic perception of god, limiting the freedom of human intellect in the perceptive multiplicity of realities. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 83 2.2 religious fanaticism: fanaticism is the belief in politics, religion, or other areas that greatly exceeds the norm in enthusiasm and includes a willingness to sacrifice all else to realise its ends. religious fanaticism is a state of “wild and excessive religious” mentality with great enthusiasm. fanatics in the context of this discourse too, are the religious adherents who hold tenaciously to the absolute truth claims of the founder of their religions and ensure that such claims are maintained and never diluted (atoi 2013). according to psychologists; religious fanaticism is a psychological deviant behaviour since it is always tends as negative factor against peaceful environment of the people. the notion of religious fanaticism is on the nature of the relationship between god and man, and how man has interpreted it. reiterating the thought of mala, ubruvhre affirms the propelling conviction of religious fanatics, that; to them, the belief in a religion other than theirs runs foul of the injunctions handed down through a messenger or prophet as the case may be. the fanatics see other “believers” as those who have gone astray and who need some sermon or preaching to make them fall in line with their doctrine, which to them is always the best and most reliable basis for redemption on the judgment day…. they believe rather wrongly that those who do not share their mode of worship or the doctrine of their religion were better dead than alive. more succinctly, on the same platform, omoregbe (2002) points that; “religious fanaticism is the product of ethnocentricity and narrow-mindedness which prevents the fanatic from ‘seeing that there is no essential difference between what he is doing and what the other person is doing, no essential difference between his own religion and of the other person.” so, he is psychologically stereotype and philosophically and sociologically limited and imbalance in accessing his religious sentiment. this was in the line of thought with baum (1975) that; even classical theology was well that despite its highly conceptual understanding of revelation and faith, what really counted was the vital assimilation of religious truth. in scholasticism this was expressed by insisted that faith must be alive with hope and love before it mediate divine justification. consolidating this psychological conviction of position, fredrick feuerbach expounded that; this conviction on the assimilation of religious truth was that it was not god who created man; rather man has succeeded in creating god in his mind in images he likes god to be seen, for there was no such god. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 84 and he said that; the reason why god has always been seen to be the superior is that man himself as incapacitated in the light of natural forces and human power. and man in that estranged state turned all his wishes/ desires to god. it was man who created god in man’s image. so, the object of religion is dictated by man in his psychological conviction on whom or what he considers god to be. now it is time to dismantle that oppressive fabrication of man, for man to be liberated, has created psychic fixation to be fanatic in his conviction. 2.3 religious pluralism: with the development of human mentality towards the transcendent, there is simultaneous polarisation of other religions, on which background, david moberg in his book wholistic christianity, published in 1985; associated polarisation of religion with: accompanied by selective church membership as people gravitate towards the religious groups that stress whatever they believe to be the ‘correct’ position on issues that they believe are crucial. before now, just like the trends of humanism, it was a revolt against the monopoly of theology and church dogma in the theory and practice of medieval life. it was not directed not directed against christianity, on the contrary. humanism accepted its close connection with the christian tradition and christian morality. the universal validity of christian teaching and its international character was taken by humanists as the foundation of their ideas. in its original setting humanism meant the liberation of reason form the shackles of dogma and a critical study of nature and humanity through and observation of actual facts (mistra, sharma and bernsal 2007, 5). religious plurality is the situation in a globalising world that helps to create, brings together traditions with irreconcilable differences. understandably, the modern mind is bemused with this unsettling politico-religious diversity, hence the growing suspicion with institutionalised religion (selmanovic, 2009). religious pluralism presupposes or suggests religious freedom. only in freedom can man direct himself toward goodness (vatican ii council, gaudium et spes, 17). even nature respect the freedom of man and it expects him to be responsive. to be responsive means that he has to manage his freedom in order to maintain the person’s freedom. men can understand themselves properly only in reference to the relationship established between them at the time of his creation. being created in his image, god places man in that special relationship with him; and enters into a partnership with man by entrusting the whole created world to his care. man effectively becomes the presence of the creator in the world (kusumalayam 2008, 195). it behoves on man to make good use of his reason and associates it with the application of freedom. at the same time, two categories become increasingly central to the idea of progress: reason and freedom. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 85 for benedict xvi, progress is primarily associated with the growing dominion of reason, and this reason is obviously considered to be a force of good and a force for good. progress is the overcoming of all forms of dependency—it is progress towards perfect freedom. likewise freedom is seen purely as a promise, in which man becomes more and more fully himself. in both concepts— freedom and reason—there is a political aspect (2007, no.18). in another occasion, benedict xvi (2009, no. 56) goes further to assert; denying the right to profess one's religion in public and the right to bring the truths of faith to bear upon public life has negative consequences for true development. the exclusion of religion from the public square — and, at the other extreme, religious fundamentalism — hinders an encounter between persons and their collaboration for the progress of humanity. public life is sapped of its motivation and politics takes on a domineering and aggressive character. human rights risk being ignored either because they are robbed of their transcendent foundation or because personal freedom is not acknowledged. secularism and fundamentalism exclude the possibility of fruitful dialogue and effective cooperation between reason and religious faith. this act of stewardship demands that man should not be violent to what entrusted to him, including himself, because the creator does not intend him to mismanage anything, but to be humane with nature and explore, not to exploit, the gifts in/of nature for his comfort and development. this is the bedroom of developmental peace which humanity cannot but do with. yet it should be added that, as well as religious fanaticism that in some contexts impedes the exercise of the right to religious freedom, so too the deliberate promotion of religious indifference or practical atheism on the part of many countries obstructs the requirements for the development of peoples, depriving them of spiritual and human resources. 3.0 psychology of religious fundamentalism and fanaticism there will be always the connection of human’ psychological state of mind or his mental conviction to his level of religious development, rather than its religiosity. the question about god’s existence and the internalization of his attributes can also contribute to such psychological development, and if not properly channelled to respect other people’s conviction; may be lead to mental and social debasement, which may be classified as religious fanaticism and fundamentalism, even the culture of religious bigotry and particularism. on this, carl jung observes that; “they offer their soul to god, but do not know what they igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 86 are doing and never have known. they do it, motivated by the same preconscious archetype which the ancient egyptians, on their monuments, who to the sun worshipping dog-headed baboon, albert in full knowledge that this ritual gesture was in honour of god” (jung 1997, 471-452). from the assertion by carl jung, who based his observation on human behaviour towards religions and its involvement, and which support the notion of sigmund freud in his psychoanalytic theory, he is of the opinion with great conviction that religious behaviour of a man is traceable to the personality development at the phallic stages in personality formation as a result of oedipus and electra complex as the case may be. as baum (1975, 244) explicates; for vast numbers of people in western culture, the oedipal story is still a central model of self-knowledge and personal deliverance, nevertheless by investing the story with universal validity, orthodox freudian psychoanalysis become an ideology that subjects people to a preconceived image and possibly imprisons then in a false imagination. so the tendency to rectify the failure has crated in the psyche of man a patriarchal reverence of god whom he claimed to be his supreme being and develop the fanatic mentality to be faithful to him and never to fail him again, which he had done in his phallic stage. in this, sheen affirmed that; “your false sense of guilt is due to an oedipus complex if you are a man and an electra complex if you are a woman.” thus, many of the psychologists supported this viewpoint which was developed from freudian theory of psychoanalysis, and believed that religious fanaticism is bore out of it and the freedom of man to believe anything and holds on to it brings the religious complexity and psyche mentality to religiously faithful to his belief system, and ever ready to convince others to do and behave the same way. in the light of this, maurus (2007, 136) supported the works of john w. young and rene descartes, on the religion and its psychological mentality, and the human consciousness towards it, and he said; yet our experience of everything is partial. it means the reality of human limits and human brokenness. we have a taste for the infinite and the hole. we are finite with a limitless openness that can be filed only by our surrender to god. the mind-set is out of the hope which resides in man on his god, whether the hope is faulty or not, deceptive or realistic, man believes the end period of the earthly events will be positive if he is faithful to the end of time, or suddenly igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 87 when he died. so the fear not to miss hopeful end, brings about his animalistic nature of him to be dogmatic in his religious thinking and be fanatic in his religious actions and participation. carl jung (p. 449) vehemently stated that; “it remains blissfully unaware of the philosophically surmise, and is convinced that with this opinion it has established the essential instinctuality of all psychic processes.” this philosophical assertion in the study of human religious mentality was supported by sheen, who approached it from a theological angle, and believes that; the supreme adventure is religion. by religion is not meant the sterile sitting in comfortable pew, but the response to the promise of the godman, i have come that you may have life and have it more abundantly. that is the pointmore abundantly; it challenges us to liquidate our unruly wills, our egocentrism, our petty search for aloneness, and our selling a field to buy the pearl of great price. this adventure loves not the spark but the flame. since man is hopeful creature and he believed that he does have power to save himself form any predicaments and he cannot derive peace all by himself, he seems to be religiously fixated, on which karl marx asserted that: “religion is the sigh of the oppressed, and religion is the opium of the people.” this disposition is on human conviction that all hopes should be based on the supremacy of god and less to his own ability. again in an abortive protest, marx has it that the crime of religion and god is that they have canonised man’s suffering which could have been avoided. he was not trying to condemn religion totally but the attitude of man in which he has resign his fate to his god to be of help and dispensable solution to his problems; and ever ready to worship and reverence him as long he believes his solutions come. this was the background for his dictum: religion is the opium of the people. 4.0 the check on religious fundamentalism and fanaticism the check is based on what we conceived religions to be, especially in the social, ethical and spiritual development of humanity. it should be taken in line with thoughts of cooper and epperson (2008) that; unlike freud ad marx, we do not believe that religion is intrinsically destructive, neurotic or a distraction from social change. yet like freud and marx, we believe that religion should be asked rigorous questions concerning its own healthiness. we do not believe that simply because persons claim to be religious that they are necessarily more ethical, more igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 88 righteous, or more holy than their secular counterparts. healthy religious commitment will manifest itself in healthy attitudes and behaviour towards others. for the reason that there are structures which at least implicitly open up the range of meaning beyond the confines of a closed religious system (robley 1971, 151) and since anything can be questioned with contemporary inquisitive mindset that guarantees private or individualistic conviction, there is need for checks of such development. according to relativist culture, the individuals acquire their own “truth” and “reality” solely from their specific culture. simply disagreeing with someone else’s point of view or questioning their moral values are seen as judgmental and intolerant. those who evangelize on behalf of a particular religion are said to be ‘imposing their narrow beliefs on others. this is basically the primary of religious pluralism. according to the fathers of the vatican ii council in the document for the declaration of religious liberty (dignitatis humanae), it should be accepted that; contemporary man is becoming increasingly conscious of the dignity of the human person; more and more people are demanding that men should exercise fully their own judgment and a responsible freedom in their action and should not be subject to the pressure of coercion but inspired by a sense of duty. from the very before, contemporary developmental conditions posit that we should understand that the cause of religious pluralism are traceable to the: struggle for leadership; involvement in competition between the ideas by false and true teachings; question of conducts and ideological supremacy; issue of personnel appointments; scruples over convictions about diet or other details of personal morality; elements of religious systems of little religious understanding and agreeable explanation; and linkage of religious and political ideas. on these grounds, religious pluralism is constantly ne dynamic, that is on-going especially in the generation of individuals who are very sensitive to the quest of power, liberation , individualism, supremacy, acquisition of wealth and of recognition and possessed by the spirit of the talked-dog syndrome. religious pluralism is mostly and recently seen in this modern society as the manifestation of churches especially under christianity and been classified as pentecostalism, which are prominent in western europe and africa. the other phase of religious pluralism is the development of distinctive religious sects or groups. the manifestation of religious is outcome from the individualistic igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 89 spirituality and in most recent cases as a result of social interest among the reason of religious pluralism given initially. the check will be on the decentralization of a particular belief system as claimed by particular set of individuals of the same mind-set of religiosity, on the attainment of salvation and blessings form the supreme deity. so, “religious pluralist’s check is very much evident in the redundancy of the speed of religious fundamentalism on the part of diehard religious individual who believed their faith and religion only possess the truth of salvation and liberation” (wilson, ibid). all religions are directed to achieve the same goal which is to worship the supreme being, in peaceful and loving conviction, the effect of religious pluralism has checkmated the excessiveness of religious fundamentalism and fanaticism in general aspect of religious feeling, when the human religious freedom is respected. in this bryan wilson asserted that each religion has becomes a continual check to others, he posits that; the jealous god of judaism, and subsequently of christianity and islam, provided directives for the prescription for social order…. in comparison, eastern religions provided no such social dynamic. the passivity of buddhism and the indeterminacy and tolerance of hinduism, and the lack of sustained zeal in proselytizing, appear to bear a relationship to the absence of that rigour which monotheism has encouraged in western religion. more straightforwardly, there is a great need for proper religious pluralism on the ground on the increase of existing religions of different belief systems and approaches in relationships to the convinced supreme deity. on this, the vatican ii council fathers (1965) posit that; “it is largely because of more frequent contacts with each other; men have become aware of pluralism and indeed have come to see it as the hallmark of our age. true pluralism, however, is impossible unless men and communities of different origins and culture undertake dialogue.” for the purpose of ecclesiological emphasis, the vatican ii council fathers go further to assert that: “it is demanded by the dynamic course of action which is changing the face of modern society. it is demanded by the pluralism of society, and by the maturity man has reached in this day and age…, and to conduct a dialogue with dignity.” it could be ascertained that amidst the growing numbers of religions, there is a necessity of distinctive qualities of any religions to show its uniqueness, and channel them towards attaining the needed understanding of other religions. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 90 5.0 psycho-philosophical consideration of religious pluralism on present humanity the whole process of human socialisation must be properly internalised and ordered. it must involve the avoidance of religious fanaticism and fundamentalism. religious tenets must be fully integrated to avoid religious, social and environmental frictions. religion has been the product of man’s existence, and it has been one of his major tools of social and spiritual integrations, if and when properly adopted (see, wankar 2015 and otonko 2015). the central message of any religion is on peace, love and the avoidance of conflicts among humans which the founder of any religion had taught his/ her followers for the attainment for happy end. the goal of every religion should be permanently ordered along the respect of natural law with universal morality which is to “do good and avoid evil”. with this, peace and justice have become stills that must be acquired by every individual who desires the symbiotic living, limiting the culture of conflicts and violence, even in the name of faulty religious convictions (fasuyi and isanbor 2014). the patrimony of principles and values expressed by an authentic religiosity is a source of enrichment for peoples and their ethos. it speaks directly to the conscience and mind of men and women, it recalls the need for moral conversion, and it encourages the practice of the virtues and a loving approach to others as brothers and sisters, as members of the larger human family (benedict xvi 2011, no. 9). the concern of man is the concern of the human family. the development of humanness of man is the presupposition of the development of the human family, and this development must be sustained for integral growth of human society, even in the domain of religion. here, the enduring words of shakespeare come to mind: “strong reasons make strong actions.” this is about man’s behavioural tendency. now that the nature of man is understood to be hopeful being, which has sharpen his thinking and to be religiously rigorous in finding solutions to his problems and most of the time relying on god for his pitiable state of living, his religious mentality will remain fanatic always. the fanatic approach to god is based on his hopeless state of his life, so he tends to please the belief that will help to achieve that which he cannot get on his own. so he places every necessary apparatus to worship that the figure irrespectively what people interpret his action to be, and try to coarse to embrace the same methodology. in modern times phenomenology and hermeneutics have proposed a radically new philosophical approach to the phenomenon of religion, which refuses to philosophically “surmount” it; this igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 91 trend attempts to interpret religion by tracing its inner logic, its specific invariants and language, its attitude to humanity. researchers so far have found shortcomings in these new approaches, in which they believe the philosophical horizon is lost. these authors stress the imperative need for a multi-dimensional approach to the complexity of religion; that the principle of religious pluralism should be grounded through a philosophical approach that transcends specific religions; and that, on this basis, an “ethics of dialogue” between religions should be built, of the kind that could hardly be achieved in the framework of the separate branches of specialized study of religion, nor within the limits of theology, which is usually connected with a specific religion (bogomilova 2007, 60). obviously, the changes and varieties in religion due to pluralism are very pronounced. religious fundamentalism should be seen as been decentralised and put in check by the approaches developed and yet to actualise the needed principles in religions. 6.0 evaluative conclusion from the foregoing, it should be understood or adopted that religious pluralism is a necessary or better “evil” for the check of the negative effects of religious fanaticism and fundamentalism. it is when the adherents of religions understand the importance of religious freedom that we will understand the true tenets of religionswhich are peace, justice and love (charity), all cumulate ultimately to the attainment of salvation. the psychicphilosophical consideration of human religiosity sought that the true religiosity should accommodate the psychological and spiritual growth and conviction of others, in freedom, common good and love. more straightforwardly, religious pluralism presupposes the adaptation of religious freedom. it is the willingness to express one’s conviction without coercion. it should be understood that no single model of religion can accommodate the multiplicity of human intellectual veracity of interest and human religious vitality of transcendental projection, all towards the knowledgeable relationship with their creatorgod. this is due to vast population of humanity and it will be monotonous if everyone is under singular religious modelling. this is because, it is in variety of purpose and conviction that the beingness of god is universally expressed or known, and even these varieties, god remain fully unknown. that is he is god, not any other referential being. with religious pluralism or plurality, the perceptive varieties of the beingness of god are envisaged, and the beauty of such development should be expressed in purposeful freedom. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 92 references akomolafe, a. c. & usifoh, e. e. (2014). pluralism of spiritual transformation and moral change: heralds of a new opportunity for social action. enwisdomization journal, 6(1), 46-78. atoi, n. e. (2013). the philosophy of religious pluralism and the security question in nigeria. department of religious studies: biannual international religious studies conference. university of ibadan, ibadan, 14-17th may. benedict xvi (2005). spe salvi. vc: libreria editrice vaticana benedict xvi (2007). message for the world day of peace. vc: libreria editrice vaticana. benedict xvi (2009). caritas in veritate. vc: libreria editrice vaticana. benedict xvi (2011). message for the world day of peace. vc: libreria editrice vaticana. baum, g. (1975). religion and alienation: a theological reading of sociology. new york: paulist press. bogomilova, n. (2012). philosophical approaches to religion in the perspective of the concept of human essence. postmodernism problems, 2(1), 54-60. campbell, c. (1971). towards a sociology of irreligion. london: the macmillan press comblin, j. (1989). the holy spirit and liberation. ny: burns & oates. cooper, t. d. and epperson, c. k. (2008). evil: satan, sin and psychology. mumbai: st paul press. ekstrom, r. r. (2002). the new concise catholic dictionary. mumbai: st paul press. feuerbach, l. (1957). the essence of christianity. ny: harper torch books. fasuyi, a. o. and isanbor, p. o. (2014). educating socio-philosophical nature of religion for national symbiotic living, enwisdomization journal, 6(1), pp. 2345. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 93 isanbor, p. o. (2012). evaluation of the meaning and working of religion. the social scientist, 2(1), 78-86. flannery, a. (ed, 2004). vatican ii council documents. mumbai: st paul. jung, c. g. (1997). selected writings. ny: bollingen foundation. kimball, c. (2002). when religion becomes evil. san francisco: harper san francisco. maurus, j. (2007). make the most of your potential. mumbai: better yourself books mistra, r. c., sharma, p. and bernsal, h. (2007). international encyclopaedia of education, vol. 2. new delhi: aph publication. moberg, o. d. (1985). wholistic christianity. elgin: brethren press. okelezo, s. and nwosu, w. (2008). religion and the human quest for pleasure. apostolos magazine, vol. 6, pp. 6-8. otonko, j. o. (2015). rethinking our togetherness as nigerians in the face of crises: towards nation building. the aquinas journal, vol. 7, pp. 67-89. peter, c. b. (1982). west africa and islam. london: edward arnold ltd. robley, w. e. (1971). the coming convergence of world religion. ny: newman press. selmanovic, s. (2009). it’s all really about god: reflections of a muslim atheist jewish christian. san francisco, ca: jossey-bass. sheen, f. j. (2004). guide to contentment. mumbai: st paul press. ubrurhe, j. o. (2000). the integrative and disintegrative functions of religion: the nigerian experience. in s. u. erivwo and m. p. adogbo (eds). contemporary essays in the study of religions. lagos: fairs and exhibitions. ukaonu, a. e. (2013). nostra aetate and the necessity of dialogue in nigeria’s unending religious crisis. west african journal of ecclesial studies, vol. 10, pp. 22-37. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 94 ukwamadua, n. (2005). god and the question of his existence: the panacea of pantaleon iroegbu. in g. ukagba (ed). philosophy and theology of pantaleon iroegbu. ibadan: hope. wilson, b. (1983). religion in sociological perspective. new york: oxford university press. wankar, g. t. (2015). “the one who handed me over to you is guilty of greater sin” (john 19:11): examining the violence of the tiv/fulani crisis. the aquinas journal, vol. 7, pp. 90-109. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 5.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 179 a review of prof. ikechukwu anthony kanu’s “the igboafrican kola nut as a ‘type’ of holy communion: igwebuike and the missionary missing link” kanayo nwadialor, ph.d department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe university, awka anambra state kl.nwadialor@unizik.edu.ng the title of this article naturally commands widespread interest from scholars in the area of comparative religion and missiology. this is particularly so especially in africa where christianity is still struggling to settle itself as the authentic religion of the people, just like it did in some parts of europe and the middle east. christianity’s encounter with the indigenous religion of the africans has provoked divergent reactions and interpretations from scholars of various hues. according to nwadialor (2018), “ever since christianity made its first attempt to be established in african soil, there have been varieties of indigenous response ranging from resistance at the early stages; acceptance through colonial imposition and social evangelism; through the breakaway movements in the 19th centuries coinciding with political and cultural nationalism; to the development in the late 19th century and early 20th century of prophetic movements; and the recent emergence of neo-pentecostal christianity” (p. 1). missiologists have also echoed this trend in time perspective, prof kanu has added his voice to this range of analyses. his paper examined kola nut as an igbo tradition ritual and compared it with the ritual of the eucharist in christian religion. the paper echoes njiku (2005) argument that the dominant adoption of the oral techniques and forms of storage for the theology of the traditional religions was partly responsible for the reduced visibility of the theology of the traditional religions. the paper further argues that the white missionaries who pioneered missionary enterprise in africa were overwhelmed by the prevailing superiority complex of europeans of the time, which informed their inability to understudy the theology of african traditional religion with the view to finding its usefulness for a better understanding and acceptance of christianity. this sentiment, the paper argues, manifested in the missionaries’ view of african people and their culture, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 180 reducing everything to be the extension of satanic kingdom that needed a redemption that must come in form of imposition of euro-christian worldview. kanu gave a detailed analysis of kola nut and its pride of place in igbo ritual of everyday life. for him, it is very important and central to the life and ceremonies of the igbo. he highlighted the metaphysical significance of kola nut as a ritual that bonds the living and the living dead in african world. in a nut shell, he described kola nut in its eucharistic significance that if well understudied and understood by the early missionaries, would have given christianity an indigenous shape in africa. agreeing that theology often develops when faith encounters philosophy, kanu traces the development of christian theology to series of philosophical encounters that challenged the intellect of the christians of the early centuries into an enterprise that produced what today can be called christian theology. he argues that the enterprise produced typologies of theology arising from different cultural encounters with the christian faith. it, therefore, follows, kanu argue, that this development could be endless as christianity continues to encounter new cultures in its expansionist pgrogramme. in a tabular form, kanu made eloquent and convincing expositions of how the christian eucharist could be likened to igbo ritual of kala nut celebration. the paper concludes with a recommendation that further missiological efforts should attempt to forge a synthesis between igbo ritual of kola nut celebration and the christian eucharistic ritual. however, the paper described igbo ritual of kola nut celebration as a photocopy of the christian eucharistic practice which was only undertaken unwittingly by the africans as a preparation for the reception of the christian eucharist. this is clear in kanu’s unwillingness to equate the igbo ritual of kola nut celebration with the christian eucharistic ritual. this position seems to reduce igbo ritual of kola nut celebration to an inferior position vis a vis the christian eucharist, leaving an impression that christianity should have been welcomed by africans as a movement that has come to put african traditional religious practices in their proper perspective. this notion should be corrected because no religion should be seen as an inclusive enterprise that absorbs the other to make it better. religious traditions encounter each other on equal basis and have an interaction igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 181 that would forge a synthesis that will serve the adherents in their spiritual and mundane goals and not a fruitless engagement of superiority contest. there is no reason, therefore, why the igbo ritual of kola nut celebration should not be equated with the christian eucharistic ritual since they both serve as channel through which there is communion between the living and the dead in both worldviews. references kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and and logic (nka) of african philosophy”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2015a). a hermeutic approach to the study of african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015b). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no. 1.[ 97-101]. njoku, c. a. (2005). the missionary factor in african christianity, 1884 – 1914. in o. u. kalu (ed.). african christianity: an african story (pp. 218 257). pretoria. university of pretoria press. nwadialor, k. (2018). an enduring covenant: echoes of the “gods” in african christian spirituality. in b.a.c. obiefuna, p.e. nmah & i.l. umeanolue (eds.). the return of the gods: festchrift in honour of professor jude emeka madu (pp.433-447). onitsha: coskan. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 7.doc igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 147 an evaluation of immanuel kant’s critique of the traditional rational proofs for god’s existence anetoh, bonaventure chike, ph.d department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university umunya anetohbonaventure@yahoo.com abstract in the medieval period of philosophy, some philosophers and theologians like boethius, augustine, anselm, aquinas etc., offered what could be said to be rational proofs for god’s existence. aquinas tried to demonstrate the existence of god using the cosmological arguments in which he argued from what we observe to the existence of that being which is invisible and transcendent. anselm came up with the ‘ontological argument’ in which he described god as ‘that than which nothing greater can be conceived’. obviously, anselm’s ontological argument for god’s existence is purely rationalistic and centres basically on the power of reason. in the modern period of philosophy, rene descartes articulated a newer version of the ontological argument for god’s existence, basing completely on unaided power of human reason. descartes distrusted the senses, and saw reason as the true source of objective knowledge. g. w. leibniz has also similar view about human reason. however, immanuel kant criticized all efforts made by philosophers to rationally demonstrate the existence of god, and insists that human reason cannot offer us certain knowledge beyond the domain of possible experience. thus, this write-up focuses on an evaluation of kant’s critique of the traditional proofs for god’s existence. it submits that human reason cannot certainly delve into the domain of divinity without involving itself in one error or the other. human reason can guarantee certain knowledge only within the domain of possible experience. god and other supra-sensible entities are not within the domain of possible experience. it is obvious that the domain of belief is quite different from the domain of reason. human reason can err if it is extended beyond its limits. the implication of this is that god ought to be approached with belief (faith) and not with reason. hence, traditional speculative metaphysicians must acknowledge the limit of human reason as a cognitive faculty. keywords: emmanuel kant, religion, proofs, traditional, rational. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 148 introduction the issue of the extent of the cognitive ability of human reason is a very controversial issue among philosophers. some rationalists such as rene descartes, wilheim leibniz, baruch spinoza etc. argue that the knowledge of transcendent entities can be attained through unaided power of human reason, while some empiricist philosophers like john locke, george berkeley, david hume etc. claim that experience is the basic source of knowledge, and assign subservient role to reason in the acquisition of knowledge. the basic questions are: ‘what actually can human reason know with certainty? how can we actually be certain of what we claim to know? what is the limit of human reason as a cognitive faculty? can human reason attain the knowledge of transcendent entities with certainty? is human reason limited to the knowledge of empirical realities. the responses to these controversial questions are very essential in assessing the role and limit of human reason as a cognitive faculty. it is obvious from the history of philosophy that some philosophers believe that human reason can attain the knowledge of god. in the medieval period of philosophy, some philosophers and theologians like boethius, augustine, anselm, aquinas etc. offered what could be said to be rational proofs for god’s existence. aquinas tried to demonstrate the existence of god using the cosmological arguments in which he argued from what we observe to the existence of that being which is invisible and transcendent. anselm came up with the ‘ontological argument’ in which he described god as ‘that than which nothing greater can be conceived’. obviously, anselm’s ontological argument for god’s existence is purely rationalistic and centres basically on the power of reason. in the modern period of philosophy, rene descartes articulated a newer version of the ontological argument for god’s existence, basing completely on unaided power of human reason. descartes distrusted the senses, and saw reason as the true source of objective knowledge. g. w. leibniz has also similar view about human reason. he argues that the knowledge of god can be attained through human reason. according to leibniz, as cited in scruton (1985:16) “...reality is accessible to reason alone, since it is only reason can rise above the individual point of view and participate in the vision of ultimate necessities, which is also god’s.” however, immanuel kant criticized all efforts made by philosophers to rationally demonstrate the existence of god, and insists that human reason cannot offer us certain knowledge beyond the domain of possible igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 149 experience. thus, this write-up focuses on an evaluation of kant’s critique of the traditional proofs for god’s existence. conceptual clarifications the concepts of ‘human reason’ and ‘god’ are the basic concepts in the topic of our discussion. it seems to the researcher that a brief conceptual clarifications of these two basic concepts would enable us understand and appreciate the discussions in this write-up better. human reason there seems to be basically two sources of knowledge in philosophy: the senses and reason. there was a great controversy in the modern period of philosophy between empiricists and rationalists on the source and justification of human knowledge. empiricists like john locke, george berkeley, david hume etc. argue that sense perception guarantees certain knowledge, while the rationalists like rene descartes, baruch spinoza, wilheim leibniz etc. argue on the contrary, insisting that it is reason that guarantees certain knowledge. it is easier to explain the senses and their operations than the faculty of reason because they are empirical; and we can easily locate them. on the contrary, it is difficult to explain human reason and its operations. however, let us at this juncture attempt explaining this complex faculty of cognition. reason is the distinctive characteristic of human beings. it distinguishes human beings as rational beings. it enables man to think rationally, form ideas and make inferences. analysing the nature of human reason, macmurray (2010:1) states: in the first place, there is that usage which makes reason the differential characteristic of human or, perhaps better, of personal nature. i prefer the term “personal” because it includes the possibility of the existence of rational beings other than human beings. this usage of the term is enshrined in the classical definition of man as a rational animal. the second main use of the term “reason” and “rational” is that which refers them to the capacity for logical understanding. we talk of reason in a way which refers the term to our capacity for knowledge in a limited sense, in that sense in which it is based upon the capacity for forming and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 150 entertaining general ideas and on inferring correctly by means of them. it becomes obvious from macmurray’s specification that reason enables us to attain knowledge of realities. for immanuel kant, reason is the highest cognitive faculty since human knowledge ends with reason. according to kant (1990:189) all our knowledge begins with sense, proceeds thence to understanding, and ends with reason, beyond which nothing higher can be discovered in the human mind for elaborating the matter of intuition and subjecting it to the highest unity of thought. at this stage of our inquiry it is my duty to give an explanation of this, the highest faculty of cognition,.. kant argues that the faculty of reason functions inseparably with the faculty of ‘understanding’ which in turn works in connection with the faculty of ‘sensibility’. human reason is the faculty of abstractions. this is done by borrowing some principles from the faculty of ‘understanding’, though some principles are contained in the faculty of reason. kant claims that reason is the faculty of principles which gives a priori unity to the cognitions of ‘understanding’ by means of conceptions. from the foregoing, it is obvious that reason does not apply directly to experiential objects. it relates directly to the ‘understanding’ and gives rational unity to the cognitions of ‘understanding’ by means of conceptions. it relates immediately to the ‘understanding’ and it is through ‘understanding’ that it can be employed to the domain of experience. however, in this discourse, serious attention would be given to the issue of whether human reason can demonstrate with certainty the existence of the supreme being. god it must be stated ‘ab initio’ that the clarification of the concept ‘god’ is on purely philosophical basis. god is the supreme being. the question of god was given a very serious attention in the medieval period of philosophy. this is as a result of the fact that most philosophers of the period in question were also great theologians. philosophy in this era was made the handmaid of theology. augustine, one of the early medieval philosophers, saw god as the highest being. analyzing augustine’s idea of god, stumpf (1994:141) states: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 151 actually, augustine found it easier to say what god is not than to define what he is. still, to say that god is superior to finite things was a major step. taking the scriptural name for god given to moses, namely, “i am that i am,” augustine transposed this to mean that god is being itself. as such he is the highest being, not the beingless one of plotinus but the “something than which nothing more excellent or more sublime exists,” a phrase that influenced anselm to formulate his famous ontological argument. as the highest being, god is perfect being, which means that he is self-existent, immutable, and eternal being. as perfect, he is also “simple,” in that whatever plural attributes are assigned to him turn out to be identical; his knowledge, wisdom, goodness, and power are all one and constitute his essence. thus, god, for augustine, is a pure being, in which there is no change. god is the one eternal reality, which is the source of being and truth. on his own part, boethius, sees god as the greatest and most perfect being. as such, he tried to prove god’s existence using the argument from the ‘grades of perfection’, insisting that there must be a being which is the highest in the degree of perfection. this highest being, for boethius, is the source of unity in the world. for anselm, god is ‘that than which nothing greater can be thought’ which cannot but have existence as a necessary attribute. anselm approached god from ontological point of view. his notion of god had already been anticipated by augustine because augustine described god as something than which nothing more excellent exists. this being ‘than which nothing greater can be thought’, for anselm, exists both in understanding and in reality. an arabian philosopher, avicenna seems to have similar conception of god. he sees god as the first cause, whose being is necessary, having its existence in itself. thomas aquinas’ view of god is not very different from those of his predecessors. for him, god is the first cause, powerful creator of all things, a necessary being and a pure actuality. hence, god is the ultimate truth, goodness and perfection itself. god, for aquinas, is simple, eternal and perfect. he brought out very clearly god’s attributes such as simplicity, perfection, goodness, limitlessness, unity etc (aquinas in timothy mcdermott (ed.) (1989:14-25). aquinas is well known for his cosmological arguments for god’s existence. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 152 obviously, we do not intend, in this section, to exhaust the views of all philosophers on god. however, from the foregoing, it is obvious that god is generally seen as the ‘first cause’ and the ‘supreme being’ whose existence is necessary. analysis of kant’s critical philosophy in order to appreciate immanuel kant’s critique of the traditional proofs for god’s existence, there is need to understand his critical philosophy. the era of critical philosophy could be said to have started with kant. obviously, kant turned the attention of philosophical enquiry from speculative metaphysical investigation about the nature of reality to a critical investigation of the structure of human reason. kant’s critical philosophy centres on the analysis of the structure of human reason as a cognitive faculty in order to ascertain the limit within which it can attain certain knowledge. kant insists that human reason ought to be subjected to severe criticism because the dogmatic use of reason without criticism can only lead human reason to meaningless and groundless claims. for kant, human reason is limited and can only guarantee genuine knowledge within the bounds of possible experience. in the words of kant (1950:110): reason by all its a priori principles never teaches us anything more than objects of possible experience, and even of these nothing more than objects of possible experience, and even of these nothing more than can be known in experience. but this limitation does not prevent reason from leading us to the objective boundary of experience, namely, to the relation to something which is not itself an object of experience but is the ground of all experience. reason does not, however, teach us anything concerning the thing in itself; it only instructs us as regards its own complete and highest use in the field of possible experience. but this is all that can be reasonably desired in the present case, and with it we have cause to be satisfied. prior to kant, some speculative metaphysicians such as rene descartes, baruch spinoza, wilheim leibniz etc. claimed that human reason can attain objective knowledge of all realities. one of the afore-mentioned metaphysicians igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 153 and rationalists, rene descartes tried to establish an indubitable foundation for knowledge basing on unaided power of reason. he doubted the existence of everything until he arrived at ‘cogito ergo sum’ (i think, therefore i am) which he took as the unshakable foundation of knowledge. from such foundation, he tried to prove the existence of other things and god. in line with descartes, leibniz also claimed that human reason can attain the knowledge of all realities including god. thus, he argues that “...reality is accessible to reason alone, since it is only reason can rise above the individual point of view and participate in the vision of ultimate necessities, which is god’s.” ( leibniz, cited in scruton (1985:16). david hume criticized the claims of speculative metaphysicians, and denied the knowledge of anything that is not empirically verifiable, especially the idea of causality. thus, he criticized metaphysical propositions describing them as ‘sophistry and illussion’ because they are not empirically verifiable. obviously, it was hume’s ideas that woke kant from his dogmatic slumber, and enkindled his desire to embrace critical philosophy. in prolegomena to any future metaphysics, kant clearly confessed thus: i openly confess my recollection of david hume was the very thing which many years ago first interrupted my dogmatic slumber and gave my investigations in the field of speculative philosophy a quite new direction. i was far from following him in the conclusions at which he arrived by regarding, not the whole of his problem, but a part, which by itself can give us no information. if we start from a well-founded, but undeveloped, thought which another has bequeathed to us, we may well hope by continued reflection to advance farther than the acute man to whom we owe the first spark of light. (kant, 1950:8) having woken up from his dogmatic slumber, kant embarked on critical philosophy. in his critical philosophy articulated in his very influential book, critique of pure reason, kant analyses the faculty of reason and confines speculative and pure reason to it’s limit. according to bonevac (1993:41) “the critical method requires reason to critique itself, to determine its own limits, and then to devise rules for staying within them.” critical philosophy made kant to ascertain the limits of reason as a cognitive faculty. he argues and insists that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 154 human reason can guarantee certain knowledge only within the bounds of possible experience. in his prolegomena to any future metaphysics, kant states: having adduced the clearest argument, it would be absurd for us to hope that we can know more of any object than belongs to the possible experience of it or lay claim to the least knowledge of anything not assumed to be an object of possible experience which would determine it according to the constitution it has in itself. for how could we determine anything in this way, since time, space, and all the concepts of the understanding, and still more all the concepts formed by empirical intuition (perception) in the sensible world, have and can have no other use than to make experience possible? and if this condition is omitted from the pure concepts of the understanding, they do not determine any object and have no meaning whatever.(kant, 1950:99) kant further elaborated this point of argument. thus, he further argues that: reason by all it’s a priori principles never teaches us anything more than objects of possible experience, and even of these nothing more than can be known in experience. but this limitation does not prevent reason from leading us to the objective boundary of experience, namely, to the relation of something which is not itself an object of experience but is the ground of all experience. reason does not, however, teach us anything concerning the thing in itself...(kant, 1950:110) it becomes very obvious from kant’s specification that human reason, which is the highest cognitive faculty, can only guarantee certain and objective knowledge of the phenomenal world, but cannot attain objective knowledge of the noumenal and transcendent entities, which are not within the sphere of possible experience. this explained why kant criticized the traditional rational arguments for god’s existence because such arguments went into the areas human reason cannot guarantee certain and objective knowledge. kant insists that human knowledge is limited to the phenomenal world while the noumenal world remains unknowable. thus, attempt to extend human reason to transcendent and noumenal entities leads reason to illusions. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 155 human reason versus the existence of the supreme being: an examination as was earlier stated in this work, kant argues that human reason can only guarantee certain knowledge only within the bounds of possible experience. the basic question is this: can human reason offer us certain knowledge of the supreme being? this is a very controversial issue among philosophers. as was demonstrated in the earlier part of this work, some metaphysicians claim that human reason can guarantee certain knowledge of the supreme being. however, as it is obvious from kant’s specification, the supreme being is not within the bounds of possible experience, and thus human reason cannot attain certain knowledge of its nature. this entails that human reason cannot even demonstrate its existence or non-existence. according to reardon (1988:43) clearly, on what we have seen to be kant’s premises, no proof of divine existence is possible; the very nature of human knowledge precludes it, as kant’s fourth antinomy purports to show. but he is not content with such a blanket exclusion. he wishes, rather, to exhibit how the entire chain of reasoning which constitutes these allegedly rational demonstrations is at point weakened by fallacies. attempt to extend human reason to such area leads reason to illusions. it ought to be noted that kant observed that human reason has irresistible tendency to go beyond its limits towards the transcendent entities. he described this as ‘dialectics of pure reason’ which can only lead to illusion. this explained why kant criticized the traditional rational arguments for god’s existence such as the cosmological arguments, ontological arguments and physico-theological arguments. let us at this juncture examine kant’s critique of such arguments. kant’s critique of the traditional rational proofs for god’s existence kant criticized the traditional rational proofs for god’s existence. some philosophers have tried to demonstrate rationally the existence of god in varied ways. the arguments advanced by philosophers to rationally demonstrate the existence of god can be classified under ontological argument, cosmological argument and physico-theological argument. kant argues that these traditional speculative arguments for god’s existence is unsuccessful as a result of the fact that human reason is extended to the realm in which it cannot attain certain knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 156 in his book, the critique of pure reason, kant dwelt first with the ontological argument. the ontological argument for god’s existence was initially articulated by anselm in the medieval period of philosophy in which god was said to be ‘that than which nothing greater can be conceived’ which has existence as its necessary attribute. descartes also articulated another version of the ontological argument. the cartesian argument for god’s existence is an attempt to establish the existence of the supreme being from a mere ‘idea’. the argument is rooted on the idea of god as the subject of all perfect predicates, and as the absolutely perfect and necessary being. hence, the absolutely perfect and necessary being cannot but have existence as its attribute since existence is a perfection. the ontological argument states that god, which is the absolutely perfect being cannot but have existence as its essential attribute. kant is not comfortable with the ontological argument, and thus, he criticises it. he insists that the ontological argument does not offer a sufficient proof for the existence of the supreme being. this is as a result of the fact that the conception of an absolutely necessary being is a mere idea. thus, existence cannot be said to be a necessary predicate of such a being. kant argues that being is not a real predicate. according to kant, being is evidently not a real predicate, that is, a conception of something which is added to the conception of some other thing. it is merely the positing of a thing, or of certain determinations in it. logically, it is merely the copula of a judgment. (kant, 1990:335) for kant, the notion of the supreme being, as articulated in the ontological argument, is merely an idea, and as such, it is incapable of enlarging our cognition with regard to its existence. analyzing kant’s critique of the ontological argument, reardom (1988) states: in the critique, accordingly, the ontological argument is dealt with first. in the ‘only possible ground’ kant disclosed the fatal flaw in it to be its treatment of existence as itself a predicate or attribute, which it is not, inasmuch as existence is no part of the content of a defining idea. what the argument involves, he now points out, is that the concept of a perfect being implies of necessity the actual igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 157 existence of such a being. reasoning starts, that is, with a definition of ‘ens perfectissimum’, and just as the mathematician draws from a mathematical definition all the consequences which are entailed by it, so, by the terms of the ontological argument, the very definition of a perfect being requires the latter’s existence, existence being regarded as one of the perfections without which the being thus defined could not be the sum of all perfections. kant agrees that to assume the existence of a triangle and at the same time to deny that it has three angles is contradictory, but there is no contradiction at all, in denying both the triangle and its three angles. and it is exactly the same with the concept of an absolutely necessary being: if the existence of that being is denied, then the entity itself, with all its predicates, is likewise denied and no contradiction is incurred. for what does the idea of a perfect (i.e. unconditioned) being consist in? that simply of a being which cannot but exist, whose non-existence is an impossibility. yet how does one pass from the idea of such a being to its actuality? the concept in itself affords us no certainty that there is in this necessary being something that renders its non-existence impossible. all it states, in effect, is that if the non-existence of a being is impossible such a being is necessary. the concept itself is only a logical determination; merely to suppose something to be the case will not of itself do anything to establish its reality.(reardon,1988:43-44) from the foregoing, it is obvious that kant is not comfortable with the ontological argument for god’s existence. having criticized the ontological argument, kant examined the cosmological argument, and discovered that it also fails in its venture. i do not intend here to give a detailed analysis of the cosmological argument. however, a brief exposition of the basic thrust of the argument suffices for our investigation in this research work. aquinas offered arguments from motion, efficient cause, necessary versus possible being, degrees of perfection, order in the universe etc. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 158 to demonstrate the existence of god. the cosmological argument as articulated by aquinas begins from the sensible world and rise by laws of causality to the existence of the highest cause existing apart from the world. the cosmological argument attempts to demonstrate the existence of the supreme being arguing that every contingent being has a cause. hence, since there cannot be infinite regress in the series of causes, there must be a necessary being that is uncaused. it presumes that a necessary being cannot but exist since there are contingent beings. kant is not comfortable with the cosmological argument. he argues that the cosmological argument applies the concept of causality outside the phenomenal world. in kant’s view, causality is one of the categories of understanding which cannot be applied validly beyond the sphere of possible experience. he argues that the cosmological argument does not actually ground itself upon the constitution of experience, but rather it grounds itself upon pure principles of reason. according to kant (1990:344) ...,although the cosmological argument professed to lay a basis of experience for its edifice of reasoning, it did not ground its procedure upon the perculiar constitution of experience, but upon pure principles of reason—in relation to an existence given by empirical consciousness; utterly abandoning its guidance, however, for the purpose of supporting its assertions entirely upon pure conceptions. now what is the cause, in these transcendental arguments, of the dialectical, but natural, illusion, which connects the conceptions of necessity and supreme reality, and hypostatizes that which cannot be anything but an idea? what is the cause of this unavoidable step on the part of reason, of admitting that someone among all existing things must be necessary, while it falls back from the assertion of the existence of such a being as from an abyss?... it is something very remarkable that, on the supposition that something exists, i cannot avoid the inference, that something exists necessarily. upon this perfectly natural—but not on that account reliable –inference does the cosmological argument rest. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 159 from the foregoing, it is obvious that kant sees in the cosmological argument a fundamental mistake, and thus, the argument is fallacious. reardon (1988:45-46) articulates kant’s critique of the cosmological argument for god’s existence thus: kant turns next to the cosmological argument, which from contingent existence infers necessary existence. ‘if anything exists’, it runs, an absolutely necessary being must also exist. now i at least exist. therefore there also exists an absolutely necessary being. the minor premiss(sic) contains an experience; the major premiss(sic) reasons from an experience in general to the existence of a necessary being. kant’s primary objection to this line of argument though he discovers in it a whole nest of fallacies can be anticipated: that it attempts to pass from an idea of causation which is applicable only within the sensible world to one of causation whereby something altogether transcending the sensible world is causally operative upon and within that same world. but this is not legitimate. the principle of causality is valid only for the conditions of sense-experience, where it plainly is meaningful; we cannot use it when we try to go beyond those conditions... in any case, to maintain that the most real or perfect being exists necessarily is to reintroduce the fundamental mistake of the ontological argument, that there is a logical transition from concept to reality... but even so, the essential fault of the cosmological argument remains: namely, that its appeal to the efficacy of ‘god’ as the world’s ultimate cause fails because we can have no knowledge either of the existence of such a being or of the way in which ultimate causality would operate even if we did. theologically, once more, the notion lacks content. let us at this juncture examine kant’s critique of physico-theological argument for the existence of the supreme being. kant criticized physico-theological argument for god’s existence. physicotheological argument is also known as the argument from design. it seems to be the simplest proof of all. kant commends this argument for being the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 160 one that most conforms with the common reason of humanity. in the words of kant, this argument always deserves to be mentioned with respect. it is the oldest, the clearest, and that most in conformity with the common reason of humanity. it animates the study of nature, as it itself derives its existence and draws ever new strength from that source. it introduces aims and ends into a sphere in which our observation could not itself have discovered them, and extends our knowledge of nature, by directing our intention to a unity, the principle of which lies beyond nature.(kant,1990:349) physico-theological proof for god’s existence argues from the point of view of order and harmony in the universe. this argument claims that the different things in the universe were designed for their different purposes by an ordering rational and intelligent being. this being is said to be the supreme being. it presumes the existence of an orderer from the experience of order in the universe. despite the fact that kant commended this argument as demonstrated above, he insists that it is insufficient to demonstrate the existence of the supreme being. kant argues that physico-theological argument only proves the existence of a designer of the world, but does not prove the existence of god or the creator of the world. hence, the argument, for kant, is incapable of demonstrating the conception of the supreme being. analysing kant’s critique of physico-theological argument, reardom (1988:47) states: the most it can do, kant thinks, is to prove an architect of the world, whose activity is very largely limited by the adaptability of the material in which he works. it cannot prove an omnipotent creator of the world, as a fully theistic doctrine would demand. if we expect the argument to take us further than this we have to reinforce it with the cosmological proof, which in turn must lean on the ontological. but, as we have seen, any form of argument which thus relies, whether directly or indirectly, on an appeal to a concept alone to establish existence is fallacious. hence, all attempt to prove divine existence by igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 161 speculative reasoning collapses, and no transcendental theology can be based upon it. at this point of our discussion, it is obvious that kant is of the view that human reason cannot prove the existence or non-existence of the supreme being. this is as a result of the fact that human reason cannot validly be applied beyond the phenomenal world to establish any reality beyond the phenomenal world. kant insists that the issue of the existence of the supreme being belongs to the domain of belief and not to the domain of knowledge. the question of god’s existence: the issue of belief/faith having demonstrated that human reason cannot adequately prove the existence of the supreme being, and that such is beyond the limit within which human reason can guarantee certain knowledge. it becomes obvious that the issue of the existence of the supreme being belongs to the domain of belief. kant emphasized on the importance of belief in god. according to reardon (1988:47): but although kant is emphatic that reason in its purely speculative use is incapable of proving the existence of a supreme being it is certainly not true that he turns his back on philosophical theology altogether. belief in god, as he stated at the close of the only possible ground, may not be in the strict sense rationally demonstrable, but it is nonetheless of the highest importance actually to believe in god, and to show that belief can be rationally supported is a major part of his endeavour when he comes to study the capacity of reason not only in its theoretical but in its practical aspect. for he is convinced that it can be sustained by what he describes as ‘moral theology.’ he will demonstrate later, he says, how the laws of morality do not merely presuppose the existence of a supreme being but rightly postulate italthough only of course from a practical point of view‘as these laws are themselves absolutely necessary in another relation.’ for it is in the realm of our moral experience that the idea of god assumes its true significance. if we cannot rank it among the certitudes of the scientific reason yet it can become the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 162 centre of a ‘faith’ that is not simply an emotional gesture but a matter of reasoned conviction. kant denies any rational demonstration of the existence or non-existence of god in order to establish the necessity of faith. articulating further kant’s idea, reardon (1988:48) states: i have, therefore, found it necessary to deny knowledge of god, freedom and immortality, in order to find a place for faith (glaude).’29 such a faith, for kant is, notwithstanding, a rational attitude, not a mere ‘hunch’, nor an arbitrary ‘will-to-believe’ overriding non-belief. for if divine existence cannot be proved neither can it be disproved. and when this is recognized reason is free to engage in a very salutary work of constructive thought: able, that is, to correct our ‘knowledge’ of godshould it be possible to obtain such knowledge in some other wayto bring it into harmony both with itself and with all our other intelligible aims, purifying it from all that is inconsistent with the concept of a supreme being and any admixture of empirical limitation.30 although such a concept, kant adds, is for purely speculative reason a sheer ideal,... it ought to be noted that despite kant’s rejection of rational demonstration of god’s existence, he still believed in god. he was only quarrelling with rational demonstration of god’s existence because such is beyond the domain within which human reason can guarantee certain knowledge. kant condemned the attempt to secure religious belief on logical grounds. however, he still preserved his faith in god and never resigned completely to an agnostic position. evaluation and conclusion serious attention has been given to kant’s critique of the traditional rational arguments for god’s existence in this work. it ought to be noted that kant’s critique of the traditional arguments for god’s existence does not imply that kant is questioning the existence of god. many scholars have misunderstood and misinterpreted kant. such scholars accused kant of denying the existence of god. obviously, kant never denies the existence of god. he is only trying to establish the fact that the existence or non-existence of god cannot be established igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 163 by human reason. thus, he wishes to demonstrate that the sphere of god is not within the domain of reason, but of belief (faith). the fact that human reason cannot demonstrate the existence or non-existence of the supreme being does not in any way imply the non-existence of such being. it is obvious that there is a supreme being that controls the universe. no one can doubt the existence of such supreme being without involving himself or herself in a contradiction. kant argues that god, which is the supreme being, is not within the scope in which human reason can guarantee certain and objective knowledge. hence, any attempt to rationally demonstrate the existence or non-existence of the supreme being is a futile effort. kant sees such attempt as one of the areas in which traditional speculative metaphysicians have wrongly employed human reason beyond the scope within which it can attain certain knowledge. kant’s argument appears plausible from philosophical perspective. human reason can make speculations on the nature of god, but may not claim certainty and objectivity of such speculations. things about god properly belong to the domain of faith (belief), and not that of reason. it is necessary to draw this distinction because god is a supra-sensible entity. human reason cannot certainly delve into the domain of divinity without involving itself in one error or the other. human reason can guarantee certain knowledge only within the domain of possible experience. god and other supra-sensible entities are not within the domain of possible experience. it is obvious that the domain of belief is quite different from the domain of reason. human reason can err if it is extended beyond its limits. the implication of this is that god ought to be approached with belief (faith) and not with reason. hence, traditional speculative metaphysicians must acknowledge the limit of human reason as a cognitive faculty. references bonevac, d. (1993) ‘kant’s copernican revolution’, in r. solomon and k. m. higgins (eds.) routledge history of philosophy (vi), 40-65. kant, i. (1990) critique of pure reason, j.m.d. meiklejohn, (trans.), new york: prometheus books. kant, i. (1950) prolegomena to any future metaphysics. new york: the bobs merrill company, inc. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 164 macmurray, j. (2010) the nature of reason, http://www.jstor.org/pss/4544254, (o4/08/2010). mcdermott, t. (ed.) (1989) thomas aquinas’ summa theologiae, notre dame: ave maria press. reardon, b.m.g. (1988) kant as philosophical theologian, london: the macmillan press ltd. scruton, r. (1985) kant. new york: oxford university press. stumpf, s.e. (1994) philosophy: history and problems, 5th ed. new york: mcgraw-hill, inc. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no 3.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 41 fleshing out memory through feminist consciousness: psychoanalyzing violent girlhood experiences in buchi emecheta’s the bride price ifeoma ezinne odinye department of language and literature nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, nigeria ifeomaodinye@gmail.com ie.odinye@unizik.edu.ng abstract african feminist writing includes narratives primarily energized by oppressive female experiences. in the bride price, emecheta is preoccupied with exposing culturally induced violence, consciously expressed in her reconstruction of gender roles in the ibuza community. this research examines emecheta’s fictive portrayal of the girl-child who is discriminated, abducted, stereotyped or forced into marriage and her efforts to escape not only from her oppressors but also from the psychosocial trauma of her violent experiences. this paper adopts feminism and psychoanalysis to capture how violent experiences inhibit the physical and emotional growth of the girl-child by causing mental disturbances such as fear, anxiety, depression or neurosis. the study shows that violent experiences affect the physical and psychological development of the girl-child which often leaves her frustrated, depressed, unfulfilled or dead. in the bride price, aku-nna tries to reject oppressive cultural subjection to men through self-assertion, but becomes totally overwhelmed and unable to escape the neurotic consequences of her experiences. keywords: feminist consciousness, psychoanalysis, girlhood, violence. introduction a significant feature of depicting female experiences by african writers is the call for change. this is expressed in fictional works in the form of “protest against various sociocultural and traditional obstacles that hinder the growth and selfactualization of the girl-child” (shodipe, 174). emecheta, as an african woman writer has the consciousness to situate the struggle of her girl protagonist within african cultural realities by depicting her struggle against patriarchy and cultural subjugation (kolawole 1999, 34). however, emecheta’s efforts to create a female character with strong, positive and courageous disposition have created the problem of doubtful psychological state of mind. in fact, her female character ends up projecting a “psychological disorientative behaviour driven by predilection to resist male chauvinism” (nweke, 197). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 42 significantly, the bride price as a novel that ends with a psychological disorientative behaviour or signs of neurosis in the female character is indicative of the unsureness of a steady life for the girl-child in patriarchal african society. but the fact remains that the plight of the female gender would have been more disastrous in many african cultural milieux without the efforts of feminists, critics and literary artists in exposing and condemning gender discrimination, stereotype and inequality (ibid). emecheta, just like adimora-ezeigbo, explores and exposes the structural systems of sexual violation, oppression, harassment and rape inherent in societies (chiluwa 2014, 129). this has led to diverse concepts that have been employed to capture african female experiences within african contexts. in this study, the principles of feminism and psychoanalysis are employed in interpreting the girl character’s actions to see the negative physical and psychological effects of cultural stereotype, inequality, discrimination, abduction and early marriage on her. significantly, buchi emecheta engages the past as the ridge to her creative effort in order to satisfy her psychological fulfillment. emecheta’s feminist consciousness enables the readers to contextualize authorial thoughts and feelings, while allowing them to see how the discourse of girlhood in african fiction is partially the product of a return to the author’s childhood memory – a process that defines the selected novels’ engagement with the ideas of time, space and past events. the ideational metafunction of this paper is hinged on gender-based violence to construct the consciousness, choices and responses of the girl characters in the selected novel. this is aimed at highlighting and analyzing the strategies employed by the girl characters to resist different patriarchal powers that inhibit their freedom and childhood. the analysis is thematically, stylistically and theoretically explored. psychoanalytical focus in buchi emecheta’s the bride price in the bride price, buchi emecheta’s semi-autobiographical novel, gender stereotype and the violation of girl-child’s rights are investigated. in writing the novel, emecheta juxtaposes her real life experiences with aku-nna’s fictional plight. to support the above statement, marie umeh observes that “art and reality collided in buchi emecheta’s life” (3). this submits emecheta’s selected novel to psychoanalytical criticism. psychoanalytical literary criticism is categorized into four broad types based on its object of study. it significantly igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 43 explores the author of the work; the contents of the work; its formal construction; or the reader of the work (eagleton, 155). psychoanalytical criticism of emecheta’s the bride price is based on exploring the author and the contents of the author’s work. eagleton observes that, “it is the most limited and problematical because psychoanalyzing the author is a speculative business, and runs into the problem of discussing authorial intention to the work of literature” (155). in this study, the psychoanalysis of ‘content’ – commenting on the unconscious motivations of characters, or on the psychoanalytical significance of objects or events in the text is achieved through the complexity of reductive actions or relationships linked to the author’s experiences in the real world (ibid). therefore, in this study, the researcher offers a psychoanalytical account of emecheta as she reveals herself in her novel, or examines the symptoms of the unconscious in her text as seen in reality. in the bride price, there is a confrontation between the troubled mind of the girl protagonist and the consequences of her action; there is conflict between human agents (patriarchal figures) and her destiny. as a theory, psychoanalysis seeks to explain the complex relationships or conflicts between aku-nna and others by giving insights to the role of traumatic experiences in heightening emotions (fear or anxiety). in the novel, emecheta seems to have been stimulated to raise burning questions about the condition of the girl-child – ‘for was she not a girl? a girl belonged to you today as your daughter, and tomorrow, before your very eyes, would go to another man in marriage. to such creatures, one should be wary of showing too much love and care, otherwise people would ask, ‘look, man, are you going to be your daughter’s husband as well?’ (the bride price, 17). psychoanalysis would interpret the above submissions by emecheta as a form of castration. the girlchild is physically and emotionally castrated (eagleton, 134) from birth. she has no real ownership of herself. this thus results to feelings of inadequacy and dependency on men for survival. we become intensely aware of aku-nna’s inner conflicts through the above rhetorical questions. throughout the novel, aku-nna becomes entangled in finding a solution to her inner conflicts and her allpervasive feelings of powerlessness over her gender and cultural norms. this suggests that girls are trapped in a culturally instituted patriarchal ideology which limits their full rights as members of a given society. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 44 psychoanalytic criticism of the bride price adopts the methods of interpreting literary texts by freud and other theorists. freud asserts that fictional texts, like dreams, express the secret unconscious desires and anxieties of the author; hence, a given text is a manifestation of the author’s own neuroses (freud 1993, 26). this research therefore, psychoanalyzes aku-nna as the projection of emecheta’s psyche. aku-nna’s frustration in the novel has strong connection with authorial consciousness. in reality, emecheta has struggled to train her children alone. also, like aku-nna, she fears a permanent castration from her children. in her autobiography, she confesses this fear of castration – “this was going to be my lot. i was going to give all i had to my children, only for them to spit in my face and tell me that i was a bad mother and then leave and run to a father who had never in all his life bought them a pair of pants” (head above water, 238). in the novel, aku-nna never recovers from her deep consciousness of physical and emotional castration – permanent castration from the support of her biological father and dreams. as a result of her father’s death, aku-nna becomes depressed and disillusioned as she awaits fate to direct her life. the bond between aku-nna and her father suggests freud’s account of the girl’s process of oedipalization which is not separable from sexism (eagleton, 134). according to eagleton, the little girl, perceiving that she is inferior because ‘castrated’, turns in disillusionment from similarly ‘castrated’ mother to the project of seducing her father; but since this project is doomed, she must finally turn back reluctantly to the mother, effect an identification with her, assume feminine gender role, and unconsciously substitute for the penis which she envies but can never posses a baby, which she desires to receive from the father. (135) eagleton observes that for the girl-child to enter into oedipus complex, she must change her ‘love-object’ from mother to father (ibid). in this situation, the girl cannot be threatened with castration since she has been castrated already. akunna, like other girls and women in ibuza community is castrated by ibuza patriarchal tradition and figureheads. she is relegated to the background and only valuable in the issues of bride price and marriage. this explains why akunna turns her object of love, from her mother to her father and finally to her prospective husband. by this, she assumes the same role like her mother, doing house chores, giving birth and nurturing both the man and the children. the above process of freud’s oedipalization stipulates the structure of relations by igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 45 which we come to be men and women we are. it also signals transition from pleasure principle to reality principle; from the enclosure of the family to the society at large (eagleton, 135). in fact, this process of oedipalization is a deliberate way of subjugating the female gender as well as creating a dominant class. the term, ‘castration’ is very important in understanding the process of oedipalization. castration denotes the act of removing power from a person. freud’s idea of castration places the girl-child as an inferior personality that has no rightful ownership to herself and others (eagleton, 134). the above thoughts capture the oedipal family and cultural patriarchal figurehead that emecheta wants to project about her ibuza igbo community. in her common knowledge about the igbo worldview, she acknowledges that, ‘when a child grows, he must return to his roots – his father. aku-nna, like emecheta has adopted this belief that she ends up desiring the repression of her dream of acquiring education after the death of her father. the bond between aku-nna and her father is seen as a manifestation of cultural relation which is strongly tied to gender roles and marriage. this is seen in the choice of name given to the protagonist of the novel, aku-nna. emecheta in the bride price clearly depicts that the name, aku-nna which literally means ‘father’s wealth’ is given to the girl character as a treasure to be valued through bride price (the bride price, 10). indeed, emecheta’s title, the bride price reflects just one phase in the condition and oppression of the girl-child in a patriarchal society. from the title, it is deduced that a girl’s bride price is a valuable desired asset to ibuza men. this explains why ezekiel odia trains aku-nna in school with his little income. aku-nna in return resolves to make a good marriage so that her bride price, that is, the money usually paid to the family of the bride by that of the groom will compensate her father’s diligence in training her (the bride price, 10). aku-nna’s hard luck is subtly hinted amidst all her excitement to make her father happy through her bride price. a deep-down feeling of disappointment and worthlessness that is the lot of a person whose father is dead quickly envelops aku-nna. psychoanalysis as a theory that observes the mind and human behaviour captures emecheta’s thoughts through her girl protagonist, aku-nna (colby, vii). the psychological origin of aku-nna’s depression is traced to her father’s death. in emecheta’s perspective, the ibuza cultural milieu recognizes the patriarchal father, family and cultural norms as agents of fascism (mezu, 133). like her character, aku-nna, emecheta believes that her biological father is a shelter to her igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 46 family. in the novel, we become aware of aku-nna’s inner thoughts and fears through her soliloquy, which externalizes and dramatizes her inner conflicts so powerfully – “aku-nna said to herself. it is not that we have no father anymore, we have no parents anymore” (the bride price, 28). in fact, emecheta seems to suggest that the death of aku-nna’s father forcefully subjects her to the level of an orphan even though her mother lives. aku-nna’s contemplative thought evokes a feeling of pity as she laments: “father is the shelter”. so not only have we lost a father, we have lost our life, our shelter” (the bride price, 28). emecheta, in her autobiography, head above water nostalgically recalls her private thoughts about the symbolic role of her biological father as the shelter of the family. she confesses and acknowledges the need for a father figure just like her girl protagonist, aku-nna: “as a child, i was brought up thinking that a happy home must be headed by a man.... a home without him, “nna anyi, our father,” at the top is incomplete, and all those from such a home should go about with a chip on their shoulders” (242). to denote these inner tensions, emecheta seems to emphasize that in ibuza igbo community, a fatherless family is headless and porous. generally, this research analyzes other characters by assuming that all such characters are also part of the projections. the significance of this approach in analyzing the selected text is that – it validates the usefulness of literature in interpreting reality. the focus on the physical and psychological well-being of the girl protagonist helps to rediscover the relevance of psychoanalysis in the selected novel for study. in essence, this study seeks to find evidence of unresolved emotions, psychological conflicts, guilt and ambivalences in the text. therefore, the behaviour and reactions of the girl protagonist or that of other characters are traceable to the author’s childhood traumas, family life, sexual conflicts and fixations in the novel. also, in this work, the evidence of psychoanalysis in the literary text is expressed indirectly as disguised or encoded in dreams or through psychological features such as symbolism (repressed objects), condensation (ideas, thought or persons represented using images), and displacement (fear or anxiety perceived and associated with an image) (abrams 1999, 247). in the bride price, emecheta deals with the theme of girl-child oppression, forced early marriage, discrimination and sexual abuse. psychoanalysis is thus employed to understand the mental functioning and the stages of growth, and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 47 development of aku-nna as the protagonist of the novel. the bride price is an imaginative construction of ibuza community (delta region), in mid-west nigeria. in the novel, the girl character, aku-nna forms the focus of this research. the ibuza community, ma blackie (aku-nna’s mother) and okonkwo (aku-nna’s stepfather) represent the people who owe the girl-child (aku-nna) support and protection during her stages of growth and development; but have failed woefully. emecheta’s characters serve as good models for the application of psychoanalysis because they possess dominant symbols in freud’s principles. aku-nna exhibits an internal conflict borne out of the loss of her father and oppressive patriarchal cultural mores. in emecheta’s fictional world, okonkwo and okoboshi are metaphoric symbols of patriarchy, which bind the female gender to cultural myths and superstitions. the psychological origin of aku-nna’s rebellion is hinged on the concept of the superego which presents a conflict between her and her cultural agency. akunna, as a rebellious non-conformist struggling with internal and external conflicts – loss of a father figure, oppressive patriarchal customs and eros, is trapped within a world of physical and emotional isolation. the ibuza myths and superstition have secretly injected in her a feeling of guilt, fear and anxiety. the rejection of oppressive tradition by aku-nna in the novel results in the release of superego aggression that consumes her, her family and the ibuza community. significantly, aku-nna ends up as a neurotic before her death. in fact, the concept of superego, both at individual and cultural level, is vital in understanding the dynamics of aku-nna’s rebellion against cultural mores. freudian superego is perceived as a successor to oedipus complex, the internalization of parental and cultural values, or the source for inflicting punishment towards the self. male child syndrome: a precursor to girl-child’s psychological problems in ibuza community in ibuza cultural milieu an unusually high value is placed on male children. emecheta in the bride price shows that sons are the most valued possession than daughters. grace eche okereke and itang ede egbung observe that “in africa, especially the traditional context, children are of great value and constitute the primary reason for marriage. but male children are valued more highly than female children because they secure the lineage through procreation, while the female children marry and leave their natal homes and are, therefore, seen as a loss to their families”(2059). for ezekiel odia’s, nna-nndo his son, is the child recognized in the family. this is seen in ezekiel’s quarrelling attitude towards his igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 48 wife, ma blackie. he often reminds his wife that after “paying heavy bride price on her head; he has only a son to show for it (the bride price, 9). aku-nna on her own knows that she is “too insignificant to be regarded as a blessing to her parents’ marriage. not only that she is a girl, but she is much too thin for the approval of her parents” (the bride price, 9). the above statement by ezekiel is discriminative and demeaning to aku-nna. this is indeed gender stereotype. in the novel, the psychological and emotional torture that aku-nna experiences are based on her sexuality – she is not valued because she is a girl. therefore, in exploring the above quotation from the angle of feminism, feminists must insist on equal regard and treatment for both sexes. the distorted image of aku-nna painted by auntie matilda is indeed a stereotyped image of the girl-child in african society. auntie matilda, a relative to aku-nna’s father represents one of the agents that suppresses the girl-child. during her condolence visit to aku-nna in their one-room apartment in lagos after the death of their, auntie matilda articulates her feelings to aku-nna: can’t you see that you have no father anymore? you are an orphan now, and you have to learn to take care of whatever clothes you have. nobody is going to take care of whatever clothes you have. nobody is going to buy you any more, until you marry. then your husband will take care of you. “the pity of it all,” put in auntie matilda, “is that they will marry her off very quickly in order to get enough money to pay nna-nndo’s school fees.” (the bride price, 38) the above quotation depicts the oppression and discrimination of the girl-child in the hands of relatives as a result of her sexuality. walking in line with auntie matilda’s ideological stance, aku-nna cannot enjoy a certain degree of freedom after her father’s death because, she is a girl who must rely on a man for survival. the above ideological stance indeed includes the existence of patriarchal realities which is psychologically oppressive to aku-nna. mohammed rightly points out that aku-nna’s emotional plight is “not self-imposed psychological torture rather, the activities of other women have been examined as the root causes of such mental pains” (465). as a feminist, emecheta exposes and repudiates the traditional conventional practice of female subjugation in the novel. during ezekiel odia’s burial ceremony in lagos, aku-nna and nna-nndo are the chief mourners. their cries igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 49 of grief are expected to be more than the other mourners, but nna-nndo as a male child is singled out for special treatment. grown-up men hold him to discourage him from crying to avoid hurting himself. aku-nna is encouraged to continue crying because, culturally women are supposed to exhibit more emotions (the bride price, 30). the above treatment indicates favouritism. boys are culturally superior to girls regardless of their age. this treatment by aku-nna’s relatives and ibuza kinsmen imposes on aku-nna a feeling of being oppressed as a girl-child. the above act inflicts psychological pain on aku-nna and it is called gender-based violence. also in the novel, aku-nna’s right to education is challenged because she is a girl. after the marriage between aku-nna’s mother and okonkwo (her stepfather), aku-nna’s education is not considered a priority anymore by okonkwo’s children and wives. emecheta in depicting the above scene suggests that denying the girl-child rights to education because of her gender is psychologically harmful. even though, the article 26 of the universal declaration of human rights (qtd in offorma, 4), which is adopted by the united nations general assembly in december, 1949 stipulates that “everyone has the right to education”, yet “parents tend to treat boys specially and care-givers tend to prefer that the girls take up routine environmental sanitation activities more that the boys who often are left to play as the girls work” (amadi, 151). okereke et al further observe that “there is a tacit cultural assumption in africa that, in the face of lean resources, the girl child’s education is sacrificed on the altar of her brother’s” (2060). this is exactly what happens when aku-nna’s father dies leaving his family with no source of income. auntie matilda knows that ma blackie has no job in lagos and cannot pay aku-nna’s school fees; therefore, she quickly adopts the ibuza cultural mentality of using marriage as an escape route for the girl-child in difficult situations. iloba, okonkwo’s first son also refuses to see the need of educating the girl-child. iloba does not support ma blackie’s decision of sending aku-nna to school. this is evident in his statement: “why waste money on her? thundered iloba. i would never do such a foolish thing as to pay for her schooling” (the bride price, 74). this depicts the neglect of the girl-child and consequent abuse of her rights to education and overall development during childhood. iloba, okonkwo’s first son also refuses to see the need of educating the girl-child. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 50 the categorization between boys and girls creates social differences in society which results in inequalities. showalter vividly points out that in patriarchal societies low premium is placed on women and female children, whereas to sell a son would constitute a drastic violation of patriarchal culture (146). showalter’s view reflects in auntie uzo’s statement concerning aku-nna’s marriage: “she will gladden the heart of an educated man, you mark my words. most girls from lagos are very quickly married away to rich and educated men because of their smooth bodies and their schooling” (the bride price, 38). indeed, aku-nna’s mind has been prepared to accept her fate as a girl. rose ure mezu notes that as “a child, aku-nna does not mind belonging to the father to whom she feels bound by, a kind of closeness to which she could not give name” (134). mezu goes further to suggest that “in emecheta's worldview, all men — husbands, fathers, and brothers — are slave masters and tyrannical oppressors; the only option open to women is to choose the lesser of all these evils” (143). the above stipulated views are indeed a true reflection of aku-nna’s situation. after her father’s death, “aku-nna knows that she has to marry, and that her bride price will help in settling nna-nndo’s school fees. according to the narrator, “aku-nna did not mind that: at least it would mean that she would be well fed. what she fears is the type of man who would be chosen for her” (the bride price, 52). psychoanalysis would interpret aku-nna’s feelings of inadequacy and dependency on men as emotional castration from personal ambition to be educated. aku-nna discovers that marriage would rob her of her dreams; she also knows that the oppressive forces from her new household (okonkwo’s family) have contributed to her lack of mental stability. marriage therefore becomes an escape route injected into aku-nna’s unconscious so powerfully that she ends up desiring her own repression of her father’s dream to train her in school. violent cultural experiences of girls in ibuza community: a psychoanalytical perspective to emecheta, culture and tradition are oftentimes agencies of gender inequality. instances of female subordination as a result of tradition and culture feature prominently in the bride price. this concern is buttressed by omolara ogundipe leslie (1994) who identifies “traditional structures as one of the mountains on the back of the african girl-child” (11). in the novel, the girl-child is helpless in the face of cultural subjugation. girls experience a great deal of oppression under tradition. they are subjected to situations that have emotional and psychological igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 51 implications. indeed, these oppressive principles are insulting to the female gender and hang on their necks like an albatross. aku-nna like other ibuza girls is a victim of early forced marriage and sexual exploitation. charles c. fonchingong in analyzing aku-nna’s fictional plight observes that emecheta “traces gender inequality in the igbo society as hinging on the tenets of gender socialization process, customary and traditional practices” (139). this explains why emecheta imbues her major character with radical rebellious traits to confront and rebel ibuza taboos, norms and superstitious beliefs that bind the female gender in chains. there is the inability of the ibuza traditional society to treat all the citizens equally. girls are forced into marriage, while boys are given the freedom to live their lives. worguji rightly points out that “one cannot expect any remarkable improvement if relations of gender in the family remain unchanged” (142). in the bride price, the culture of allowing boys to fiddle with, romance and squeeze a girl’s breast once she starts experiencing her monthly menstrual cycle whether she approves it or not is indeed an act of violence which violates her human rights. according to the omniscient narrator, “their custom allowed this. boys would come into your mother’s hut and play at squeezing a girl’s breasts until they hurt; the girl was supposed to try as much as possible to ward them off and not be bad tempered about it. so long as it was done inside the hut where an adult was near, and so long as the girl did not let the boy go too far, it was not frowned on”(the bride price, 97). okoboshi’s dehumanizing behaviour towards aku-nna offers a good example to cultural oppression of the girl-child. the narrator explains that ma blackie waved aside her pleas and cautions: “you mean you have nice breasts and don’t want men to touch? girls like you tend to end up having babies in their father’s houses, because they cannot endure open play, so they go to secret places and have themselves disvirgined” (… (the bride price, 121). the story of aku-nna in no way depicts an ideal childhood. childhood is that stage in life where freedom exists under the guidance of adults; yet in aku-nna’s situation, childhood experiences become a tunnel which channels emotional and psychological pain, especially the pain of being forced into early marriage that will impinge on her development. thus, in depicting aku-nna’s experiences, a strong tension exists between childhood and forced adulthood; the abrupt changes that aku-nna experiences, obscure the reality of her childhood to the extent that she cannot maintain a critical stance in her life. for aku-nna, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 52 childhood harbours a painful memory of exploitation and abuse that could follow her in adulthood. in depicting the assertive nature of aku-nna’s struggle, emecheta suggests that some cultural societies prey on childhood innocence as they prey on the unsuspecting innocence of girl-children. hence, girls become unprotected and vulnerable under the care of those who should have protected them. chunga resents girls’ “oppression and maintains that the notion of childhood and protection stems out the belief that children are vulnerable” (7980). the girl-child experiences a great deal of oppression in society; if she is not asked to go through the tradition of forced marriage, she is kidnapped or subjected to the obnoxious tradition of ‘isi muo’, a tradition which supports young men “who have no money to pay for a bride to sneak out of the bush to cut a curl from a girl’s head so that she would belong to him for life (the bride price, 103). chitando (2008) quoted in timothy chunga maintains that “patriarchal oppression results in the suffering of the girl-child”(26). t. ngoshi (2010) goes further to observe that “girls are married off too early in their lives such that they are robbed of the pleasures of youthful femininity” (245). in the novel, aku-nna is kidnapped one night during a dance rehearsal by the okoboshi obidi family. twelve men rush into the room where her sisters and cousins are practicing for a community festival; after finding aku-nna, the obidi men throw her over their shoulders and take her into the forest. according to the narrator, “what was a girl to do in a predicament of this sort? there was no use in struggling. there must be at least twelve of these men, all running, running and breathing hard. so this was to be the end of her dreams. after everything, she was nothing but a common native girl kidnapped into being a bride. the realization was so painful…” (the bride price, 126) in the novel, emecheta cannot deny the encroachment of traditional culture into the freedom of the girl-child. her visionary perception in exposing the problem of abduction or early forced marriage shows that she is not silent on the issue. through the character of iloba, emecheta stresses that the structural system of female harassment underpinned by patriarchy should be abolished because it is outmoded. iloba confesses: ‘one would have believed that we were all civilized now, and that this kind of thing had stopped happening,” … (the bride price, 132). disagreement and hostility are the result of this kind of man’s inhumanity against the girl-child since minimal pride price is offered to the parents of the girl igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 53 after abduction (the bride price, 133). anger swells up in the raging hearts of okonkwo’s family that okonkwo’s sons plan to kidnap and cut the locks of hair from the heads of all the girls in the family that is responsible for this outrage against their half-sister. rape or forced sexual intercourse is one of the observed cultural practices emecheta explores in the novel. according to the ibuza tradition, once a girl is disvirgined by any man, the girl automatically becomes a bride to the man without punishing the man who commits the crime of rape. the family of the girl has no power over what has befallen their daughter and is compelled to accept her fate without agitating. when aku-nna is kidnapped by the okoboshi’s family, her family searches for her and bemoans her fate. the narrator explains that “even as they were doing all this, they knew it was useless. aku-nna had gone. all the man responsible had to do was cut a curl of her hair-“isi nmo” – and she would belong to him for life. or he could force her into sleeping with him, and if she refused his people would assist him by holding her down until she was disvirgined. and when that had been done, no other person would want her anymore. it was a shame…” (the bride price, 132). okoboshi’s sister also confirms the above cultural practice by warning aku-nna to willingly sleep with her brother without being stubborn, because “okoboshi would only have to call for help and all those drunken men would come in and help him hold her legs apart so that he could enter her with no further trouble. the men would not be blamed at all, because it was their custom and also because okoboshi had a bad foot” (the bride price, 135). the bride price: a projection of radical feminism and reality emecheta brings aku-nna’s assertive nature to the fore as she fights against patriarchal ibuza tenets which support rape as a way of forcefully having the consent of the girl-child. the protagonist, aku-nna devices a new plan to free herself from the humiliating experience that is capable of giving her perpetual trauma. she is a girl pushed to the wall and on the slippery path of revolution against her oppressors. she is thus forced to assume a feminist fight since her fundamental rights have been violated. aku-nna is not ready to face frustration, debasement, physical and emotional pain arising from forced sexual intercourse as okoboshi violently pushes her on the bed. according to the narrator, “she igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 54 kicked him in the chest, he slapped her very hard, and she could smell the gin on his breath” (the bride price, 138). emecheta equips her protagonist with oratorical skills. these skills are feminist tools that give aku-nna the freedom to decide her destiny and obtain freedom from society’s oppressive restrictions. to stop okoboshi from committing the inhuman act of rape, aku-nna lies that she has been disvirgined by her teacher and best friend, chike ofulue. aku-nna insults okoboshi: “look at you, and shame on you. okoboshi the son of obidi! you say your father is a chief--dog chief, that is what he is, if the best he can manage to steal for his son is a girl who has been taught what men taste like by a slave”( the bride price, 138). aku-nna’s confession however infuriates okoboshi who refuses to touch her calling her names. aku-nna’s feminist oratorical skill achieves a desired result because, it helps to ignite okoboshi’s hatred for her. aku-nna is further humiliated when okoboshi spreads lies that she had been defiled by a common slave, chike ofulue. this further demoralizes aku-nna and her family. in okoboshi’s family, aku-nna is humiliated and ostracized as if she has committed a sacrilege. amidst the raging rumour, aku-nna is given an old lappa like a young widow by okoboshi’s family to scorn and humiliate her before the villagers. the above act by okoboshi’s family appears to be a strategy to oppress the girl-child and frustrate her emotionally. the utopian romanticizing of emancipation pushes aku-nna to take a drastic action. she escapes from okoboshi’s house and elopes with the love of her life, chike to asaba and marries him without the official bride price on her head. aku-nna chooses total rebellion because she has been so oppressed. she rebels against okoboshi and the ibuza cultural mores because she wants to fight for her honour. in psychoanalysis, the ego is the most central part of the mind that mediates with one’s environment. the ego is ever under the control of the id in order to expose the reality of human experiences. aku-nna’s ego operates according to the pleasure principle which focuses on her instinctual drive and desire for eros. in this act of rebellion, eros signifies the life instinct that pushes aku-nna to engage in life sustaining decisions. this also explains why aku-nna adopts revolutionary superego aggressiveness as the only way to escape oedipal tyrannical powers and achieve her freedom. this superego is what eagleton calls ‘the unruly, insubordinate unconscious’ (eagleton, 136). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 55 aku-nna’s rebellion points to a respectable road where feminist ideology must be allowed to fuel her struggle for freedom. emecheta’s concept of feminism is radical and very necessary in achieving total freedom for the girl-child. the reason for the fight points to the fact that emecheta understands that african girls and women enjoy a low degree of freedom in the pre-colonial igbo society. indeed, emecheta projects a feminist stance which spurns compromise and complementarity between sexes. in essence, aku-nna’s refusal to remain caged by the patriarchal traits spells true radicalism. to emecheta, it is very difficult not to become hostile in the face of oppressive situation. consequently, aku-nna uses all the aggressiveness in her psyche to fight against patriarchal oppression, thus moving beyond the level of ego and superego. in fact, her hatred for patriarchal oppression does not allow the guilt-producing superego to deliberate on the consequences of her quest for self-pleasure; but one thing is clear – the unconsciousness can always return to plague her (ibid). eagleton observes that in the midst of patriarchial laws, the girl-child begins to form what freud calls ‘superego’, the awesome, punitive voice of conscience… (136). aku-nna consciously rebels oedipal guilt (depression), patriarchal tradition and castrations to escape from family and traditional forces that hinder her happiness. she decides to follow her heart in direct opposition to the ibuza social and cultural norms. aku-nna aggressively challenges the oedipal guilt, ibuza cultural norms, and the constant castration of her dreams that she is left with the option of making a total disconnection from her family and ibuza tyrannical customs. emecheta represents aku-nna’s rebellion as an inward tragic event, reinforced by her family’s hostility towards her choice of man and the oppressive patriarchal norms of ibuza community. in fact, the psychic energies of ibuza superstitious norms violate and destroy aku-nna’s psychic wholeness, fragmenting and ultimately dissolving her personality that she dies while giving birth to her daughter. towards the end of the novel, there is a deathly instinct in aku-nna in which her aggression is resolved and guilt displayed. this assertion proves aku-nna’s plight; ultimately, she lacks the needed courage to resist the mythical cultural beliefs or taboos of the ibuza community. therefore, emotional torture as a result of unpaid bride price and okonkwo’s fetish behaviour towards her heighten the oedipal guilt that makes aku-nna psychologically depressed. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 56 the authorial third-person point of view links the protagonist’s neurotic state to the societal pressure which revolves around the negative consequences of unpaid bride price during childbirth. according to the narrator, ‘anyone who contravened was better dead. if you tried to hang on to life, you would gradually be helped towards death by psychological pressures’ (the bride price, 141). but then, aku-nna’s fears, unfortunately, come to be realized – especially her fear of dying during childbirth. aku-nna suffers a lot of mental anguish and dies in her knowledge of the patriarchal myth that punishes female offenders for flouting traditional custom. aku-nna’s rebellion is radical and western in ideology. this act of rebellion is directly linked to emecheta’s real life experience when she defied her family tradition and rejected the man chosen for her by elders in her family (umeh, 2). like aku-nna, emecheta too eloped with her classmate, nduka onwordi and did not have a traditional igbo marriage ceremony with all the blessings from family members and friends in their village (ibid). the bride price has an unhappy ending like emecheta’s love story. emecheta’s bride price was not paid because her husband could not afford the money her family demanded. her husband, sylvester, felt humiliated that she likened him to an outcast because he had been unable to pay her family bride price. marie umeh explains that ‘sylvester destroyed the only copy of emecheta’s novel to prevent public exposure of their marital affair’ (3). her husband’s mean act forces her to give the novel an unhappy ending. umeh further explains that “aku-nna’s guilty conscience, poor health, and anxiety from traumatic village experiences precipate a nervous breakdown which ultimately leads to her premature death” (ibid). aku-nna’s mental breakdown also mirrors emecheta’s depression caused by her failed marriage, which ends in divorce (umeh, 3). despite life challenges, emecheta has remained courageous and more mature in handling her problems, but in the bride price, aku-nna’s immaturity exposes her to oedipal destructive powers of guilt (head above water, 4). emecheta accepts that the tragic ending of the novel is a result of her failed marriage and rebellion against the patriarchal figureheads in her family. emecheta seems to have noticed the huge consequences of the oedipal guilt she has imbued her protagonist with. in her auto biography, head above waters, she emphatically states her opinion about her stance on cultural norms, feminist radicalism and consciousness. she confesses: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 57 i had grown wiser since that manuscript. i had realized that what makes all of us human is belonging to a group. and if one belongs to a group, one should try and abide by its laws. if one could not abide by the group's law, then one is an outsider, a radical, someone different who had found a way of living and being happy outside the group. aku-nna was too young to do all that. she had to die. (166) conclusion in concluding this paper, it would be apt to buttress that hate for oppressive cultural norms and forces are consuming passions that fuelled aku-nna’s rebellion. her choice of a man is indeed a challenge to the oedipal figure heads; an attempt to defy oedipal norms that militate against her pleasure principles. in fact, aku-nna’s mission of rebelling against ‘oedipus figureheads and symbols— okonkwo, okoboshi, the ibuza customs or belief leads to a total breakdown of her psyche and body. aku-nna’s rebellion fails because she is incapable of completing her struggle for life instinct. she succumbs to oedipal guilt and becomes subjugated. she moves into the level of preconscious and is unable to fight her death instinct. indeed, the desire to resist patriarchal forces completely eludes her. deleuze et al see aku-nna’s pathologic condition as a process of deterritorialization (363) because she cannot control her mind and actions again. she dies as a psychological victim of ibuza cultural myths and superstitious beliefs. the omniscient narrator acknowledges the fact that “every girl in ibuza after aku-nna’s death was told her story, to reinforce the old taboos of the land” (the bride price, 168). this is indeed, the way patriarchal hegemony has psychological hold on the girl-child to perpetually oppress and subjugate her. references abrams, m. h. a glossary of literary terms. new york: holt, rinehart and winston, inc., 1971. ... “psychological and psychoanalytic criticism”. a glossory of literary terms. 7th ed. fort worth: harcourt brace college publishers, 1999. 247-253. amadi, felicia ngozi .c. “challenges of early childhood care education in sustaining girl-child development in nigeria”. mediterranean journal of social sciences. 2013; 5(4): 151-156. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 58 chiluwa, molly. “patriarchy versus womanism in nigeria: rethinking womanist theorization.” emmanuel a. adedun and onuora benedict nweke (eds.) new perspectives on a literary enigma. a festschrift in honour of professor theodora akachi adimora-ezeigbo. ibadan: university press plc, 2014. 102135. ...“reconciling opposites: an evolution of a hybrid culture in ezigbo’s children of the eagle and house of symbols.” unpublished m.a. dissertation, department of english, university of lagos, 2005. chitando, a. imagining a peaceful society: a vision of children’s literature in postconflict zimbabwe. uppsala, sweden: the nordic africa institute, 2008. chunga, timothy mwilima. “ an exploration of the portrayal of the girlchild in erna muller’s it all goes wrong and when you dance with the crocodile.” a master of arts thesis submitted in the department of english studies, university of namibia, january 2015. colby, kenneth mark. introduction to psychoanalytic research. new york: basic books, 1 9 6 0. deleuze, gilles and felix guattari. anti-oedipus: capitalism and schizophrenia. minneapolis: u of minnesota p, 1983. eagleton, terry. literary theory: an introduction. oxford: blackwell publishing, 2008. emecheta , buchi. the bride price. new york: george braziller, inc., 1976. ... head above water. london: fontana, 1986. fongchingong, charles. “unbending gender narratives in african literature”. journal of international women’s studies. 2006; 8(1):135-147. foucault, michel. “introduction”. deleuze, gilles, and felix guattari. antioedipus: capitalism and schizophrenia. minneapolis: u of minnesota p, 1983. xi-xxiv igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 59 freud, sigmund. an outline of psychoanalysis. new york: norton, 1949. kolawole, mary e.m. womanism and african consciousness. trenton: african world press, inc., 1999. mezu, rose ure. “buchi emecheta’s the bride price and the slave girl: a schizoanalytic perspective”. ariel: a review of international english literature. 1997; 28(1): 131-146. mohammed, razinatu t. “maternal oppression of the girl-child in selected novels by buchi emecheta”. an international multi-disciplinary journal, ethiopia. 2010; 4(3): 462-470. ngoshi, t. “erasure of girlhoods, inscriptions of womanhood: a study of erased girlhoods in selected zimbabwean fiction.” nawa journal of languages and communication. 2010; 4(2): 241-249. nweke, onuora benedict. “deconstructing womanism and denigrating the male sex in akachiadimora-ezeigbo’s children of the eagle”. emmanuel a. adedun and onuora benedict nweke (eds.) new perspectives on a literary enigma. a festschrift in honour of professor theodora akachi adimora-ezeigbo. ibadan: university press plc, 2014. 196-211. offorma, grace chibiko. “girl-child education in africa”. keynote address presented at the conference of the federation of the university womwne of africa in lagos, nigeria. 16th -19th july, 2009. web. https//www.resesearchgate.net/publication/280554452 ogundipe-leslie, molara. re-creaiting ourselves: african women and critical transformations.trenton: nj: africa world press, 1994. ... “stiwanism: feminism in african context”. african literature: an anthology of criticism and theory. eds. tejumola olaniyan and ato quayson. usa: blackwell publishing. 2009. 542-550. okereke, grace eche. “patriarchal reading of selected african novels”. gender perceptions and gender development in africa: a socio-cultural approach. (ed) m.e.m kolawole. lagos: arrabon academic publishers, 1998. 112-120. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 60 okereke, grace eche and egbung, itang ede. “significant others, family responsibility and the freedom of the african child in tsitsi dangarembga’s nervous conditions”. mediterranean journal of social sciences. 2014; 20(5): 2059-2066. schmid, michael. “narrative memory and the impact of trauma on individuals with reference to one short sequence from memento”. abgabetermin. 2004; 28(5):1-11. https//www.grin.com/document/66502 shodipe, mojisola. “language, gender and the negotiation of meaning in akachi adimora-ezeigbo’s the last of the strong ones”. emmanuel a. adedun and onuora benedict nweke (eds.) new perspectives on a literary enigma. a festschrift in honour of professor theodora akachi adimora-ezeigbo. ibadan: university press plc, 2014. 173-195. showalter, elaine. “the unmanning of the mayor of casterbridge.” thomas hardy: the tragic novels. ed. r. p. draper. london: macmillan, 1991. 14457. ... “feminist criticism in the wilderness.” writing and sexual difference. 8.2. 1981; 8(2): 260-72. umeh, marie. “introduction”. the bride price. new york: george braziller, inc., 2013. print. worugji, gloria eme. “male child syndrome in selected fiction of akachi adimorah-ezeigbo”. emmanuel a. adedun and onuora benedict nweke (eds.) new perspectives on a literary enigma. a festschrift in honour of professor theodora akachi adimora-ezeigbo. ibadan: university press plc, 2014. 136-146. igwebuike philosophy and solidarity during the era of covid-19 pandemic themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 303 igwebuike philosophy and solidarity during the era of covid-19 pandemic mary winifred gloria eche, dmmm, phd saint thomas aquinas major seminary makurdi, benue state winieoge@yahoo.com abstract igwebuike is an igbo word which means strength in number. solidarity, on the other hand, is a bond of unity or agreement between individuals who are united around a common goal. as the saying goes "united we stand, divided we fall". as it is today, covid-19 is a pandemic that has traumatized people, and isolated them from their loved ones, brought untold hardship to many people, taken away the lives of many and is still killing many people today. therefore, using the principle of igwebuike and solidarity with oneself, family, neighbour, state, country, world, etc., we would go a long way to save the world. the analytical method is used in this work and the aim of this paper is to portray how the igwebuike principle can go a long way to salvaging the situation at hand. keywords: igwebuike, philosophy, solidarity, covid-19 pandemic, principle introduction oxford advanced learner’s dictionary describes pandemic as “a disease that spreads over a whole country or the whole world.” it is a global outbreak of disease. it happens whenever a new virus emerges to infect people and its spread is sustained. its long period of spread is caused by the fact that there is “little or no pre-existing immunity mary winifred gloria eche, dmmm, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 304 against the new virus.” 1 this covid-19 outbreak was “characterized as pandemic on march 11 by the who external icon.” 2 it is also rapidly spreading from person to person. the national center for disease control in nigeria (ncdc) maintains that this is the first pandemic known to be caused by a new coronavirus, even though “in the past century, there have been four pandemics caused by the emergence of new influenza viruses. as a result, most research and guidance around pandemics is specific to influenza, but the same premises can be applied to the current covid-19 pandemic.” 3 it also explains the nature of such pandemics thus, pandemics of respiratory disease follow a certain progression outlined in a pandemic intervals framework. pandemics begin with an investigation phase, followed by recognition, initiation, and acceleration phases. the peak of illnesses occurs at the end of the acceleration phase, which is followed by a deceleration phase, during which there is a decrease in illnesses. different countries can be in different phases of the pandemic at any point in time and different parts of the same country can also be in different phases of a pandemic. 4 the world health organization (who) has also affirmed that this coronavirus disease (covid-19) is an infectious one caused by a newly discovered coronavirus as mentioned above. coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are common in people and many different species of animals, including camels, cattle, cats and bats. it mostly spreads through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes. it is a respiratory disease, 1 centers for disease control and prevention (2019). coronavirus disease 2019, (covid-19). available at https//www.cdc.gov/coronavirus2019ncov/index.html 2 centers for disease control and prevention (2019). 3 centers for disease control and prevention (2019). 4 centers for disease control and prevention (2019). igwebuike philosophy and solidarity during the era of covid-19 pandemic themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 305 which can affect anyone but in different ways. however, people with pre-existing health conditions or problems and older people are more at risk of developing complications, or even death, should they catch the virus. most infected people will develop mild to moderate symptoms and recover without requiring special treatment. the most common symptoms include fever, tiredness and dry cough. while other symptoms include shortness of breath, aches and pains, sore throat, and very few people will report diarrhoea, nausea or a runny nose. 5 brief analysis of covid-19 even though little has been said about the coronavirus pandemic in the introduction, it is also good to elaborate more on this virus by tracing its origin and spread in order to widen our knowledge. according to shereen, coronaviruses belong to the coronaviridae family in the nidovirales order. 6 viruses, and the diseases they cause, are often given different names. in fact, majority of persons know the name of a disease without having the knowledge of the virus that causes the disease. for example, hiv is the virus that causes aids. “viruses are named based on their genetic structure to facilitate the development of diagnostic tests, vaccines and medicines. virologists and the wider scientific community do this work, so viruses are named by the international committee on taxonomy of viruses (ictv).” 7 5 world health organization (who), 2019. coronavirus disease (covid-19) outbreak. available at http://www.who.int/healthtopics/coronavirus/emergencies-redirect. 6 shereen, m.a., (2019). “covid-19 infection: origin, transmission, and characteristics of human coronaviruses” in journal of advanced research, vol. 24, p.91. 7 world health organization (who), 2019 mary winifred gloria eche, dmmm, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 306 shereen describes this coronavirus as being in form of crown-like spikes on the outer surface; under the microscope, the viruses look like they are covered with pointed structures that surround them like a crown. since they are named by their appearance, thus, it was named as a coronavirus. they are minute in size, like 65–125 mm in diameter, and contain a single-stranded rna as a nucleic material, its size ranging from 26 to 32kbs in length. there are also other types of ccoronaviruses found to be in the family. they are alpha (α), beta (β), gamma (γ) and delta (δ) coronavirus. the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (sars-cov), h5n1 influenza a, h1n1 2009 and middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus (mers-cov) cause acute lung injury (ali) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ards) which leads to pulmonary failure and result in fatality. these viruses were actually thought to infect only animals, until humans witnessed a severe acute respiratory syndrome (sars) outbreak caused by sars-cov, 2002 in guangdong, china. a decade later, another pathogenic coronavirus emerged, known as middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus (mers-cov). this caused an endemic in middle eastern countries. and now, just at the end of 2019, wuhan, an emerging business hub of china, experienced an outbreak of a novel coronavirus that killed more than eighteen hundred and infected over seventy thousand individuals within the first fifty days of the epidemic. this coronavirus has been reported to be a member of the β group of coronaviruses. this new virus was named as wuhan coronavirus or 2019 novel coronavirus (2019ncov) by the chinese researchers. the international committee on taxonomy of viruses (ictv) named the virus as sars-cov-2 and the disease as covid-19. in the history, sars-cov (2003) infected 8098 individuals, with mortality rate of 9%, across 26 countries in the world. on the other hand, the new corona virus (2019) infected 3,301,219 individuals, with 233,716 deaths across 213 countries, till the date of this writing, that is, 30 th of april, 2020. it shows that the transmission rate of sars-cov-2 is higher than sars-cov, and the reason could be genetic recombination event at s protein in the rbd igwebuike philosophy and solidarity during the era of covid-19 pandemic themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 307 region of sars-cov-2, which may have enhanced its transmission ability. 8 covid-19 modes of transmission coronavirus was defined by david 9 as “illness caused by a novel coronavirus now called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (sars-cov-2; formerly called 2019-ncov. the name was chosen to avoid stigmatizing the virus's origins in terms of populations, geography, or animal associations.” 10 the most dangerous part of this virus is its mode of transmission, even though based on the available information through the mass media and other sources of information, one is not clear enough of the transmission routes. although we currently understand that the respiratory transmission from human to human is the major transmission route, “other ways for transmission, such as gastrointenstinal transmission or aerosol propagation, is not so 8 c/f shereen, m.a., (2019). “covid-19 infection: origin, transmission, and characteristics of human coronaviruses” in journal of advanced research, vol. 24, p.91. 9 david j cennimo, md, faap, facp, aahivs assistant professor of medicine and pediatrics, adult and pediatric infectious diseases, rutgers new jersey medical school is a member of the following medical societies: american academy of hiv medicine, american academy of pediatrics, american college of physicians, american medical association, hiv medicine association, infectious disease society of america, medical society of new jersey, pediatric infectious diseases society. 10 david j. cennimo, (2020). “coronavirus disease 2019 (covid19), practice essentials, background, route of transmission”, medscape. available on https // emedicine .medscape . com/article/2500114-overview. accessed 04/05/2020. mary winifred gloria eche, dmmm, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 308 clear.” 11 according to ‘africanews,’ which is distributed by apo 12 group on behalf of world health organization (who), the transmission from person to person is through respiratory droplets and contact routes. droplet transmission occurs when a person is in in close contact (within 1 m) with someone who has respiratory symptoms (e.g. coughing or sneezing,) and is therefore at risk of having his/her mucosae (mouth and nose) or conjunctiva (eyes) exposed to potentially infective respiratory droplets (which are generally considered to be > 5-10 μm in diameter). droplet transmission may also occur through fomites in the immediate environment around the infected person. therefore, transmission of the covid-19 virus can occur by direct contact with infected people and indirect contact with surfaces in the immediate 11qian, x., ren, r., wang, y. et al.(2020) “fighting against the common enemy of covid-19: a practice of building a community with a shared future for mankind/ infectious disease of poverty” available at https ://idpjournal. biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40249-020-00650-1. accessed on 05/05/2020 12alpha phi omega-omicron(apo) is a national co-educational service fraternity founded on december 16, 1925. it is organized to provide community service, leadership development, and social opportunities for college students. the purpose of the fraternity is to develop leadership, to promote friendship, and to provide service to humanity; and to further the freedom that is our national, educational, and intellectual heritage. alpha phi omega's primary focus is to provide volunteer service within four areas: service to the community, service to the campus, service to the fraternity, and service to the nation and world.c/f. https://apo.org.uiowa.edu/aboutus. igwebuike philosophy and solidarity during the era of covid-19 pandemic themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 309 environment or with objects used on the infected person (e.g. stethoscope or thermometer). 13 brief explanation of igwebuike and solidarity igwebuike, as noted above, means “number is strength... that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force,” 14 while solidarity is “a bond of unity or agreement between individuals united around a common goal or against a common enemy, such as the unifying principle that defines the labor movement; mutual support within a group” 15 etc. solidarity is that virtue which enables the human family to share fully both the treasures of material and spiritual goods. the strength attributed to "igwebuike," that is, with number, is founded on the interdependence, mutual support and reliance on each other in difficult times, or a pursuit of a particular goal. it is this "organic" interdependence of the components parts, that is, "the number, the many" that is called solidarity 16 . the number is, therefore, 13 apo, (2020). “modes of transmission of virus causing covid-19: implications for ipc precaution recommendations”. africanews. accessed 05/05/2020. 14 eche, mary winifred g., (2019). “igwebuike and the right of inheritance of igbo women” in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, p. 40. issn: 2488-9210(online) 15 the american heritage dictionary of the english language, fifth edition (2016). houghton mifflin harcourt publishing company. 16 kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of mary winifred gloria eche, dmmm, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 310 seen as strength only and only if there is solidarity. in african philosophy and religion, we identify this number and support through the extended family. africans have an extended family structure. hence, for the traditional africans, the family does not stop with the immediate brothers and sisters and parents (nuclear family), but also includes grandparents, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces, cousins, etc. this accounts for why the african notion of family is extended and wider than the nuclear family. family within the african context is usually the major source of the basic necessities of life, health, love and tenderness, food, water, clothing, shelter and sanitation. the extended family ideally provides economic, social and psychological security to all its members. this family system defines social and moral norms and safeguards both material and spiritual customs and traditions as well as provides a variety of role models preparing the way for adulthood. 17 the strength of this extended family is to support one another. in this pandemic period, for example, the nigerian government, in compliance with the advice of the who, has asked her citizens to stayathome, as a necessary precaution to stop the spread of the virus. it is almost unimaginable, but this is the case, that these people are superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. 17 patricia m. amos, (2013). “parenting and culture – evidence from some african communities”. available at http://www.intechopen.com>books>parenting-andculture-... accessed 05/05/2020. igwebuike philosophy and solidarity during the era of covid-19 pandemic themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 311 asked to stay at home without adequate provision of palliatives or means of survival for a people who depend on their daily outdoor work and petty businesses to feed themselves. though this situation has been very challenging for most nigerians, the exchange and support mechanism of solidarity in extended families have been the saving grace for many. the strength and unity of the number, "igwebuike," 18 have become the source of relief and hope for the suffering "parts" of the family. it is in this sense, that the solidarity and unity of the number, ‘igwebuike,’ ultimately become their strength. hence, this sense of solidarity becomes the bond of love and force of victory over challenges and needs. solidarity is, therefore, the acceptance of our social nature and the affirmation of the bonds we share with all our brothers and sisters. solidarity creates an environment in which mutual service is encouraged. it is also the social conditions in which human rights can 18 kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. mary winifred gloria eche, dmmm, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 312 be respected and nurtured. the ability to recognize and accept the whole range of corresponding duties and obligations that are embedded in our social nature can occur only in an atmosphere enlivened by solidarity. 19 the role of igwebuike in the era of covid-19 in the midst of the hopelessness that has taken over the whole world, what can the principle of igwebuike offer to the world to assist during this pandemic. medical personnel and other experts have advised that we take basic precautions such as regular washing of hands with soap, the use of hand sanitizers, keeping of our environments clean, wearing of face masks, maintaining of social distance and most importantly staying at home, etc. we obtain such information through the mass media and social media of different types, such; as television, radio, newspapers, internet, whatsapp, twitter, telegram, facebook, etc. but many nigerians who live in the villages and some that live in the cities have no phones or televisions, or even radios to listen to news, and to have access to such information. more so, many of them are not educated (that is, they have not acquired formal education). most of them still doubt the existence of covid-19. someone from the village called me and said that the sickness is made for rich men and women who travel abroad, and not for poor people like them. i began to explain to him more about the covid-19. this is one of the major areas where the principle of igwebuike comes into play. because of the large size of the extended family, there must be some members that are more enlightened and richer. such members may, therefore, have access to the social media; in that case, they should not hesitate to communicate to other less-privileged 19 rev. robert a. s., (2010). “solidarity: the fundamental social virtue”, in religion &liberty: vol 11, no.5 igwebuike philosophy and solidarity during the era of covid-19 pandemic themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 313 family members about the dangers of covid-19, and also encourage them to take the necessary precautions as stipulated by the world health organization (who) and the ncdc. furthermore, the solidarity principle and support mechanism also are forces that encourage the rich or fairly rich members of the family to provide food and other material needs for the less-privileged members of the family. as the case is today, when government is emphasizing that citizens should stay at home, while many nigerians survive solely on a day-to-day hawking, they have neither savings account nor reservoir; how will they survive, if there is no one to assist them? the principle of igwebuike, manifesting through love of the other, gives life to the hopeless. outside the members of the family, the igwebuike principle advocates for universal unity, love and care. this is because, even though the word is an igbo word, it has a universal relevance. every language possesses the words ‘unity,’ ‘solidarity,’ ‘complementarity,’ ‘love,’ etc. apart from family members supporting their relations, the igwebuike principle invites the rich members of our communities, states and countries to support the poor by donating money, drugs, buildings for isolation centers and provision of medical personnel. retired medical personnel should volunteer to assist with their wealth of experience, which many have done and many are expected to follow suit. this is the time to help the poor and needy. if this is not done, the poor may contract the virus and transmit it to every member of the community. so the rich need to help them so that they can stay at home. on the hand, the principle of igwebuike requires the poor and needy to obey the instructions that have been given. it is very necessary and obligatory that all residents in the potential risk areas should accept to stay at home. this is an effective way to block the transmission routes. for example, i met an electrician who went about working for people, and i observed that he had been doing his normal routine work mary winifred gloria eche, dmmm, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 314 without qualms, as if everything was normal. when i tried to tell him to stay at home, explaining the implications of refusing to stay safe at home, his response was: “whether corolla kills me or hunger kills me, death is death.” he further said that the government did not give them anything to eat and they were asking him to stay at home. i went further to ask him: ”what of if this is war, will you not run after your life? will you be waiting for the government to provide food for you, or do you care to save your life first?” i advised him to see this covid19 as a war and do everything possible to save his life. instead of making empty arguments, people should make effort to stay at home to avoid spreading this virus or to avoid contracting it. it has been observed through some video clips that some mischievous infected persons do everything possible to make sure that many people suffer along with them, thereby trying to spit on objects, touch them, sneeze without protection etc. igwebuike principle speaks against such attitudes. it encourages protection of one another in love and unity. it confirms the “universal relevance of solidarity and complementarity.” 20 this is expressed through proverbs such as: “a person is a person because of other people.” “sticks in a bundle cannot be broken.” “when spiders unite, they can tie up a lion.” “behind an able man there are always other able men.” “it takes a village to raise a child.” “i am because we are,and since we are, therefore, i am.” 21 way forward 20 ikechukwu a. kanu., (2019) “on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy” journal of religion and human relations, vol. 11 no. 1, pg. 160 21 ikechukwu a. kanu., (2019) “on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy” pg. 176 igwebuike philosophy and solidarity during the era of covid-19 pandemic themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 315 based on the igwebuike principle, as individuals we can reduce our chances of being infected or of spreading covid-19, by taking simple precautions in our mode of living (e. g. washing and sanitizing of hands, social distancing, avoiding of crowded places, staying at home and going out only when necessary, etc.), aware that what affects us affects our families and the entire community. the leaders and those in authority have to do their best to discharge their duties diligently and to find ways of cushioning the effects of the restriction of movement and the economic hardship that have ensued. in disbursing palliatives, all forms of discriminations should be avoided. also, the security personnel that are guarding our boarders and road checkpoints should be honest in discharging their duties and avoid taking bribes from people who contravene the restriction of movement. selfishness and greed on their part can lead to the destruction of so many lives. they are on the roads to protect lives not to eliminate. conclusion the covid 19 pandemic has unleashed destruction of lives, suffering and untold hardship upon the world. however, a number of lessons are being learnt. one of such lessons is that love is the greatest force available to us for overcoming obstacles, and indeed, it is the fundamental element that makes life meaningful. according to einstein; “love is light, that enlightens those who give and receive it. love is gravity, because it makes some people feel attracted to others. love is power, because it multiplies the best we have, and allows humanity not to be extinguished in their blind selfishness. love unfolds and reveals”. 22 22 einstein a., (1938). “a letter from albert einstein to his daughter: on the universal force of love”. available at https://monoset.com/blog/journal/a-letter-from-albert-einstein-to-hisdaughter-on-the-universal-force-of-love. accessed on 06/05/2020 mary winifred gloria eche, dmmm, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 316 in this era of the pandemic, people have become more conscious of the fragility of human life and the relevance of family relationship, friendship and solidarity among individuals, states and nations. the need for interdependence, cooperation and solidarity among peoples and nations has become more apparent. these values are at the basis of the igwebuike principle. this paper makes a clarion call to everybody living today to look around and see what help we can give to our neighbours, someone that is hungry, thirsty, naked and homeless. let us try and extend a helping hand, no matter how little; in this way, we shall be participating in the fight against covid 19 and other conditions that endanger human life. bibliography apo, (2020). “modes of transmission of virus causing covid-19: implications for ipc precaution recommendations”. africanews. apo, (2020). “modes of transmission of virus causing covid-19: implications for ipc precaution recommendations”. africanews. centers for disease control and prevention (2019). coronavirus disease 2019, (covid-19). available at https//www.cdc.gov/coronavirus2019-ncov/index.html david j. cennimo, (2020). “coronavirus disease 2019 (covid19), practice essentials, background, route of transmission”, medscape. available on https // emedicine .medscape. com/article/2500114-overview. eche, mary winifred g., (2019). “igwebuike and the right of inheritance of igbo women” in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, (p.40) issn: 2488-9210 (online) einstein a., (1938). “a letter from albert einstein to his daughter: on the universal force of love”. available at igwebuike philosophy and solidarity during the era of covid-19 pandemic themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 317 https://monoset.com/blog/journal/a-letter-from-alberteinstein-to-his-daughter-on-the-universal-force-of-love. kanu, i a. (2019). on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. journal of religion and human relations, vol. 11 no. 1. (p.160) kanu, i. a. (2014). igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholic-pentecostal relations. jos studies. 22. pp.8798. kanu, i. a. (2015b). igwebuike as an ontological precondition for african ethics. international conference of the society for research and academic excellence. university of nigeria, nsukka. 14 th -16 th september. kanu, i. a. (2015c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25 th -26 th november 2015 university of paris, france. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. mary winifred gloria eche, dmmm, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 318 kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 5983. igwebuike philosophy and solidarity during the era of covid-19 pandemic themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 319 kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2020). covid-19 and the economy: an african perspective. published in journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 3. no. 2. pp. 29-36. a publication of the association for the promotion of african studies. kanu, i. a. (2020). covid-19 pandemic and the health of african migrants. amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 18. no. 2. pp. 56-64. kanu, i. a. (2020). saint augustine and covid-19 pandemic: the future and divine providence. tansian university journal of arts, management and social sciences. vol. 7. pp. 151162. patricia m. amos, (2013). “parenting and culture – evidence from some african communities”. available at http://www.intechopen.com>books>parenting-andculture qian, x., ren, r., wang, y. et al.(2020) “fighting against the common enemy of covid-19: a practice of building a community with a shared future for mankind/ infectious disease of poverty” available at https ://idpjournal. biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40249-020-00650-1 robert a. s., (2010). “solidarity: the fundamental social virtue”, in religion &liberty: vol 11, no.5 shereen, m.a., (2019). “covid-19 infection: origin, transmission, and characteristics of human coronaviruses” in journal of advanced research, vol. 24 the american heritage dictionary of the english language, fifth edition (2016). houghton mifflin harcourt publishing company. mary winifred gloria eche, dmmm, phd themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology 320 world health organization (who), 2019. coronavirus disease (covid-19) outbreak. available at http://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus/emergenciesredirect. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.1 no. 3 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 1 augustine as a luminary among ecclesiastical teachers: reflections on pope pius xi’s ad salutem by kanu, ikechukwu anthony, o.s.a., ph.d augustinian institute, makurdi, nigeria ikee_mario@yahoo.com abstract on the twentieth day of april 1930, the feast of the resurrection of our lord jesus christ and the year of the fifteenth centenary anniversary of the death of st augustine, the ninth year of the pontificate of pius xi, joining his predecessors in the praise of augustine, for his gift of the cognition of the divine and hoping that humanity may again attain the image of divine revelation through his cognition, issued the apostolic letter ad salutem in saint peter's basilica rome. this piece studies pope pius xi’s ecclesiastical document, which begins by focussing on the rich perspectives of the roman pontiffs who had gone before him, in relation to augustine. taking this as a basis for reflection, this paper further discusses the chief end of human existence in augustine, the roman pontif’s perspective on the church, the trinity and divine grace. keywords: augustine, ecclesiastical, teachers, pope pius xi, ad salutem introduction no one can be unaware of how thoroughly familiar with the doctrine of saint augustine where the roman pontiffs, during the ages that followed close upon his death and to the present time. this is based on the fact that he occupies a central place in the development of theology and the evolution of philosophical thought. during the transition from paganism to the new religion (christianity), the weight of the conflict which pressed upon the souls of christian believers is profoundly expressed in the person and writings of augustine. in fact, to have understood the spirit in which augustine wrote and resolved conflicts is to penetrate in a mysterious way the struggles of origin, clement of alexandria, gregory of nazianzus, jerome among others. it is thus not surprising that on the twentieth day of april 1930, the feast of the resurrection of our lord jesus igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 2 christ and the year of the fifteenth centenary anniversary of the death of st augustine, the ninth year of the pontificate of pius xi, joining his predecessors in the praise of augustine, for his gift of the cognition of the divine and hoping that humanity may again attain the image of divine revelation through his cognition, issued the apostolic letter ad salutem in saint peter's basilica rome. he described augustine thus: he was the light set upon the candlestick; he was the vanquisher of every heresy and a guide to eternal salvation for his contemporaries. what is more, he continued to teach and console christians as age succeeded age. nay, even in our time we owe it to him in large measure that among believers the truth of faith maintains its luster, while love for god has not ceased to burn. indeed, it is a matter of common knowledge that the writings of augustine, by their exceptional sublimity and charm, cast a spell over many who are at variance with us or who seem utter strangers to the faith. hence it is, that since the current year brings in its course with happy auspices the fifteenth centennial anniversary of the death of this peerless bishop and doctor, christians the world over are eager to hold his memory in honor and are preparing to give public proof of their admiration and devotion. it beseems us all today not merely to exult that by a miracle, so to speak, was once united to the mystical body of christ a genius so great and lofty, that in the judgment of history his superior can hardly be found anywhere in any age, but rather to steep and nourish ourselves with his learning and copy the model of his holy life (no. 1). pope pius xi in this document first studied the rich perspectives of the roman pontiffs who had gone before him, in relation to augustine. taking this as a basis for his reflection, he went on to discuss the chief end of human existence in augustine, his perspective on the church, the trinity and divine grace. the roman pontiffs on augustine a cursory glance at the historical development for the church reveals that the praise of augustine has never ceased to be proclaimed in the church of god, even by the roman pontiffs. when augustine was still alive pope innocent i greeted him as a beloved friend and extolled the letter which he had received from the saint and from four bishops, his friends: "a letter instinct with faith and staunch with all the vigor of the catholic religion."1 shortly after the death of 1 innocent to aurelius, alypius, augustine, evodius, and possidius bishops: epist. 183, n. 1, among the augustinian letters. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 3 augustine, celestine i defends him against his opponents in the following noble words: we have ever deemed augustine a man to be remembered for his sanctity, because of his life and services in our communion, nor has rumor at any time darkened his name with the suspicion of evil. so great was his knowledge, as we recall, that he was always reckoned by my predecessors also among our foremost teachers. all alike, therefore, thought highly of him as a man held in affection and honor by all.2 gelasius i hailed jerome and augustine as "luminaries among ecclesiastical teachers."3 hormisdas wrote in answer to bishop possessor's request for direction; these weighty words: "what the roman, that is, the catholic church follows and maintains touching free will and the grace of god, can be learned from the different works of blessed augustine, those especially which he addressed to hilary and prosper, though the formal chapters are contained in the ecclesiastical records."4 a like testimony was uttered by john ii, when in refutation of heretics he appealed to the works of augustine: "whose teaching," he said, "according to the enactments of my predecessors, the roman church follows and maintains."5 saint gregory, thinking as highly of augustine as he thought humbly of himself, wrote to innocentius, prefect of africa: "if you wish to feast on choice food, read the works of blessed augustine, your fellow countryman. his writings are as fine wheat. seek not for our bran."6 it is well known that adrian i was in the habit of quoting passages from augustine, whom he styled "an eminent doctor."7 again, clement viii, to throw light on the obscure features of abstruse debates, and pius vi, in his apostolic constitution "auctorem fidei," to unmask the evasions of the condemned synod of pistoia, availed themselves of the support of augustine's authority. leo xiii, after mentioning writers earlier than augustine, lauded the help afforded by him to christian philosophy: 2 celestine to venerius, marinus, leotius, auxonius, arcadius, filtanius, and the rest of the bishops of gaul: epist. 21, c. 2, n. 3. 3 gelasius to all the bishops of picenum (circa finern). 4 hormisdas, epist. 70, to bishop possessor. 5 john ii, epist. olim 3, to certain senators. 6 registrum epistolarum, lib. x, epist. 37, to innocentius, prefect of africa. 7 hadrian 1, epist. 83, to the bishops throughout spain. cf. letter to king charles on images, passim. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 4 but it is augustine who seems to have borne off the palm from all. of towering genius and thoroughly versed in sacred and profane knowledge, he waged relentless war on all the errors of his age with matchless faith and equal learning. what part of philosophy did he have untouched? nay rather into what part did he not make thorough search as when he unfolded to the faithful the deepest mysteries of the faith or defended them against the mad attacks of foes; or again when, brushing away the false theories of academics and manicheans, he laid a sure and solid foundation for human knowledge, or studied in detail the nature and source and causes of the evils which harass mankind?8 the different perspectives expressed by the different roman pontiffs reflect the central place augustine occupies in ecclesiastical circles. the chief end of human existence pope pius xi’s also explored augustine’s idea on the chief end of human existence. he avers that augustine made it the object of his strenuous endeavor that all men[women] should thoroughly learn and with conviction what was the chief end of their existence, what was the only way that led to true happiness. augustine writes: "thou hast created us for thyself, and our heart is restless till it rest in thee"?9 these words, in the mind of pope pius xi, asserts that augustine while stating in sum the whole of wisdom, at the same time fittingly portrays god's love for us, the peerless dignity of mankind, and the unhappy plight of those who live estranged from their maker. in our own time, when the creations of art and industry, products of mind or mechanical toil are being multiplied and with incredible speed are carried to every corner of the earth, our spirit, absorbed in creatures, grows too forgetful of its creator, makes fleeting goods its goal to the neglect of eternal ones, and turns to personal and public harm, aye, to its own ruin, those gifts which it has received from a bountiful god for the purpose of extending the kingdom of christ and of promoting its own salvation. when augustine addressed himself to discussing the last end appointed for manity, he makes haste to lay down the principle that those who wish to arrive thereto will make a fruitless endeavor, unless they submit themselves with docile 8 encyclical "aeterni patris." 9 confessions, bk. 1, c. 1, n. 1. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 5 obedience to the catholic church, since it alone is destined by god to enrich souls with the light of virtue, without which one of necessity strays from the right path and is driven headlong to imperiling his eternal salvation. after god had granted the gift of inspiration to the sacred writers, he entrusted the bible to the church, which his only begotten son founded, for its safekeeping and authentic interpretation. by appealing to the miracles wrought by christ the founder, augustine proved the divine origin of the church for its very inception. the church pope pius xi observes that augustine had emphatically asserted that this unity of the universal church and her absolute inerrancy as a teacher, is derived not only from her invisible head, christ jesus, who from heaven "rules his body"10 and speaks by the lips of his teaching church11, but also for her visible head on earth, the roman pontiff, to whom the chair of peter belongs by the lawful right of succession. for this line of peter's successors "is that rock against which the haughty gates of hell do not prevail."12 by incontestable right we "are kept within the bosom of the church by a succession of priests from the chair of peter the apostle, to whom our lord after his resurrection gave the charge of feeding his sheep, down to the episcopate of today."13 now the church has received from her divine spouse the treasures of heavenly grace conveyed mainly through the channel of the sacraments. hence, every loyal son of that church, like the good samaritan, pours oil and wine into the wounds of the sons of adam, to free the guilty from sin, to strengthen the weak and feeble, to mould the lives of the virtuous nearer to the ideal of holiness. even granting that some minister of christ may at times fail in his duty, does it therefore follow that the power was rendered helpless and void of efficacy? let us listen to the words of the bishop of hippo: "i assert [he writes] and we all assert, that the ministers of so great a judge should be just men. let the ministers be just, if they will. if, however, they who sit on the chair of moses refuse to be just i find my warrant of security in my master, of whom his spirit said: "he it is who baptizes."14 10 enarrat. in ps. ivi, n. i. 11 enarrat. in ps. ivi, n. i. 12 psalmus contra partem donati. 13 contra epist. manichaei quam vocant fundamenti, c. 4, n. 5. 14 in johannis evang., tract. 5, n. 15. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 6 the trinity augustine bent the powers of his lofty genius to a study of the greatest of all mysteries, one which so many fathers who had gone before him, with well-nigh infinite perseverance and unexampled enthusiasm had maintained against the wicked assaults of heretics. we meant the adorable trinity of father and son and holy ghost in the unity of the divine nature. aided by light from on high, he treated this central, this fundamental truth of the catholic faith with such depth and acuteness, that the doctors who came after him had only to draw from augustine's contributions their materials. from these they reared a staunch rampart of theological science to repel the missiles vainly aimed in every age by a perverse human reason that opposed this mystery, the most baffling of all to the mind of man. let us hear the bishop and doctor of hippo in his own words: "in the trinity we predicate as distinctive of the several persons the relations that exist among them, as father and son, and holy spirit, the gift of both. for the father is not the trinity, nor is the son the trinity, nor is the gift the trinity. but this distinction of persons with respect to one another, is not to speak to them in the plural as three (in nature), but as one, namely, the trinity itself. thus the father is god, the son is god, the holy ghost is god. so too the father is good, the son is good, the holy ghost is good. again, the father is almighty, the son is almighty, the holy ghost is almighty. but that does not mean that there are three gods, three good natures, three almighty natures; but one god, who is good, almighty, the trinity. the same form is to be followed, when there is question not of their relations to one another, but of any attribute shared by each and all in common. for in this way they are described according to their essence. in the trinity the essence, greatness, goodness, wisdom is without difference, and so of every absolute attribute predictable of a person in himself or of the whole trinity."15 elsewhere he makes use of well-chosen illustrations to enable us to arrive at some understanding to the mystery. thus, for example, he dwells on the image of the trinity reflected in the human soul, when it advances towards holiness; for, being mindful of god, it both thinks of him and loves him. in this way we catch a faint glimpse of the manner in which the word is begotten by the father, 15 de trinitate, bk. viii, proem., n. i. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 7 "who in some sort has spoken in his coeternal word all that belongs to him substantially"16. in the de civitate dei, augustine traces with surpassing skill the god's guiding and ruling hand in the march of human history. in the successive steps that marked the growth of human society, his keen vision discerns and identifies two cities, which "two loves" had founded, "namely, the earthly city, built by love of self even to contempt of god, the heavenly city, by love of god even to contempt of self."17 babylon is one, jerusalem the other. the two "are intermingled and hold a mingled course from the beginning of the human race to the end of time."18 but the issue of both is not one and the same, since at long last the citizens of jerusalem will reign with god forever, while the subjects of babylon in company with demons will eternally expiate their crimes. accordingly, to the mind of augustine the history of human society is nothing else than a portrayal of the uninterrupted outpouring of god's love upon us. there can be no salvation in the ideal of the earthly city, as it sets before its eyes a vain picture of completeness and perfection. for scarcely anyone will take such an ideal seriously or, if he does, the prize he wins will be only the satisfaction of empty and fleeting glory. divine grace augustine’s keen mind analyzes and surveys how the grace of god, by an inward and hidden action, moves the human mind and will. the efficacy of this divine grace, he had himself experienced, when he saw the darkness of doubt in the sudden change of mind he so wonderfully underwent at milan. "how sweet it became for me of a sudden [he writes] to lack the sweetness of vain pleasures! it was now a joy to renounce what i had dreaded losing. thou, sweetness true and perfect, didst set me free from them. as thou wast ridding my heart of them, so didst thou enter in their stead, more delightful than any pleasure—though not to flesh and blood; brighter than any light, but deeper than any secret; loftier than any honor, but not to men lofty in their own conceit."19 so closely did he study the subject and with such happy results, that he was 16 de trinitate bk. xv, c. 21, n. 40. 17 de civitate dei, bk. xiv, c. 28. 18 enarrat. in ps. ixiv, n. 2. 19 confessions, bk. ix, c. i. n. i. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 8 deemed the doctor of grace and was so entitled. he led the way for all other catholic writers of later ages, to whom he reached a helping and a restraining hand, lest in their discussion of these intricate problems they err one way or the other: either by teaching that free will in man[woman], once his/her original justice was lost, is but a name and no more, as the early protestants and the jansenists held; or that divine grace was not a free gift and was not all-powerful, as the pelagians kept repeating. augustine teaches that, ever since our first parents sinned, man has lost the perfection with which he was created; for when he possessed it, he was borne easily and smoothly along the path of virtuous conduct. on the contrary, in the present condition of our mortal life, he must resist evil and master the desires that lead and lure him astray in the way described by the apostle: "but i see another law in my members, fighting against the law20 of my mind, and captivating me in the law of sin, that is in my members."21 once we begin to refrain from sinning, we shall little by little blunt the edge of the enemy's attack and sap his strength; until at length we shall win our flight to that place of repose, where triumph and boundless joy will be ours. the credit of the victory is to be ascribed solely to the grace of god, which within us gives light to the mind and strength to the will, when we rise superior to so many hindrances and contests. it is the grace of god, we say. for as he created us, so is he able, through the treasures of his wisdom and power, to set aflame and fill our hearts wholly with his love. hence the church, which from the fountains of the sacraments turns the stream of grace into our souls, is rightly entitled holy. christ jesus, our kind master, inspires us to implore the gifts of his grace, when he says: "ask, and it shall be given to you: seek, and you shall find: knock, and it shall be opened to you. for everyone that asks, receives: and he that seeks, finds: and to him that knocks, it shall be opened."22 the very gift of perseverance "can be won by humble petition." for that reason, public and private prayer never fails in god's churches. conclusion the foregoing has studied the major ideas in pope pius xi’s encyclical letter, ad salutem, focussing on the pontiff’s reflection on the perspectives of his 20 matt. vii. 7-8. 21 enarr. in ps. cxviii, sermo 31, n. 1. 22 i cor. iv, 7. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 9 predecessors on augustine, the position of saint augustine on the chief end of human existence, the church, the trinity and divine grace. a cursory glance at the work put together and their continuous relevance, reveals that truly, augustine is a luminary among ecclesiatical teachers. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 1.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 52 visual communication design and public health: towards containing the outbreak of ebola virus disease in nigeria onwuekwe, c. o. department of fine and applied arts, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. co.onwuekwe@unizik.edu.ng abstract sometime in 2014, the menace of ebola virus disease (evd) surfaced in nigeria, following the death of patrick sawyer, a liberian-american, an ebola patient in lagos, and a nurse who treated him. the entire citizenry were bewildered at the development. with this, the nigerian government at all levels made conscious effort to contain evd, to avoid an epidemic. consequently, people were compelled to resort to desperate, delusional measures which included bathing and drinking of salted hot water, excessive consumption of bitter kola, among others. these revealed the level ignorance of the populace on the facts of ebola virus disease. in order to bridge the gap, this study presented visual communication as an avenue for mass education of the nigerian populace through outdoor poster medium. model a2 sized posters with digital illustrations and detailed information concerning evd were designed and visualized using adobe photoshop and coreldraw applications. each poster had english titles. the visual messages would no doubt educate the literates and illiterates in the streets of nigeria, on the facts of ebola virus disease. the information will undoubtedly help to inform the populace on how to prepare themselves in case of future outbreak of evd hence it could reoccur. keywords: ebola virus disease, visual communication, public awareness, poster, inform introduction according to world health organisation report on ebola virus disease (2014), “it formerly appeared in 1976 in two simultaneous outbreaks, one in a village near the ebola river in the democratic republic of congo, and the other in a remote area of sudan…formerly known as ebola hemorrhagic fever, it is a severe, often fatal illness, with a death rate of up to 90%. it affects humans and non-human igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 53 primates.” the menace of ebola virus has raised concern in west african countries such as liberia, guinea and sierra leone. since the entry of ebola virus to nigeria via late patrick sawyer on july 20, 2014, the ebola affair has become one nightmare from which many nigerians wish they could awake and discover that it was all just a dream (sokunbi, 2014; 21). out of desperation, people resorted to various un-called for actions such as drinking of warm salted water, bathing of warm salted water, restraining from regular handshakes, avoiding hugs, all in the name of quelling ebola emergency. all these reveal lack in adequate, basic information on ebola virus and its proper management. however, since the entry of ebola in nigeria, the government at all levels including the health sector had swung into action to take the rampaging challenge by all possible means to avoid its transference to pandemic. the mass media in nigeria, both prints and electronics contributed immensely towards updating the general populace on issues, cases and management of ebola virus disease. the question that arose in this frenzy situation is thus: what is the contribution of the field of visual arts towards the management, control and prevention of the scourge of ebola virus disease in nigeria? thus mass sensitization and publicity remains the greatest paradigm which visual communication should employ through visual metaphors, to contribute in quelling ebola emergency in nigeria as a whole. this paper attempts to review historical overview of ebola, symptoms and effects through information sourced via world health organization (who) documentation, north dakota department of health and european centre for disease prevention and control (ecdc) and also, to develop digital illustrations made with adobe photoshop cs6 for outdoor posters, designed on coreldraw x5 application, which carry basic information on origins, causes, symptoms, prevention, and control of ebola virus disease. this to a large extent should provide campaign aid to government agencies such as national orientation agency, ministry of information or ministry of health of state or federal level for the purpose of mass sensitization on evd. outbreak of ebola disease and the nigerian experience the first human case of ebola virus disease, leading to the 2014 outbreak was a 2-year old boy who died 6 december, 2013 in the village of meliandou, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 54 gueckedon perfecture, guinea. his mother, sister, grandmother then became ill with symptoms consistent with ebola infection and died. people infected by those victims spread the disease to other villagers. “the disease hemorrhagic viral fever spread to other countries subsequently. in liberia, the disease was reported in lofa and nimba counties in late march” (liberian ministry of health and social welfare report, 13 april, 2014). sierra leone had the worst blow of the outbreak which was twice the number of cases in guinea and liberia. “the first reported case in nigeria was an imported case of a liberian-american patrick sawyer, who travelled by air from liberia and became violently ill upon arriving in the city of lagos. he died five days later, on july 25, 2014” (ynaija.com, 2014). the government quickly mobilized health and security personnel to locate the entire late sawyer’s contact, quarantined some of them and placed the others under surveillance, including the doctors and nurses who treated him. subsequently, two doctors and a nurse who treated late patrick sawyer got infected and died of ebola. on this, mark (2014) reported that dr. ameyo adedovoh who treated late patrick sawyer gave up to eloba virus infection. similarly, a report was made that a nurse who treated patrick sawyer died. confirming this report, a documentation on vanguardngr.com (2014) articulates that “on august 6, 2014, the federal government confirmed five new cases of ebola in lagos and a second death from the virus, bringing the total number of infections in sub-saharan africa’s largest city to seven…those who have died include the “index patient”, a liberian who brought the virus to lagos and a nurse who treated him.” containment efforts of nigerian government since the outbreak of ebola virus on 20th july, 2014, the federal government has been making tireless efforts through the ministry of health and law enforcement agencies towards containing ebola virus disease. many international organizations including ecowas, us centre for disease control and prevention (cdc) and european community donated funds and summoned personnel to help stop the outbreak in the affected areas of west africa. “the ebola disease that has caused so much panic in nigeria in the last one month did not evolve from among nigerians. it was imported from liberia thereby sentencing nigeria once again to the burden of carrying liberia’s cross” (iredia, 2014: 11). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 55 “president goodluck jonathan declared the control and containment of the ebola virus in nigeria a national emergency. accordingly, he has directed the federal ministry of health to work in collaboration with the state ministries of health, the national centre for disease control (ncdc), the national emergency management (nema) and other relevant agencies to ensure that all possible steps are taken to effectively contain the threat of the ebola virus in line with international protocols and best practices” mohammed (2014:1). the nigerian government knew full well the consequences of treating ebola outbreak with kid-glove. that was why they increased surveillance at the country’s borders and attempted to control the disease through tracking and provision of mass education through the print and electronic media. by 27th of august 2014 the minister of health, professor onyebuchi chukwu made an announcement. aborishade (2014:13-14) reported thus: “nigeria has only one confirmed case of evd, a secondary contact of patrick sawyer, and she is the spouse of one of the physicians who participated in the management of the “index case”. on september 11, nigeria announced that it no longer has even a single case of ebola, but will indeed wait for about a week before declaring itself completely ebola-free (thecable.ng, 2014). who are most at risk? the people who are most at risk of contracting ebola virus are health workers, because they are the ones who treat ebola patients of ebola in isolation. some nigerian health workers in the frontline of quelling ebola outbreak fell. on this, chikwe and yusufu (2014;6) report that “dr. stella ameyo adedovoh was said to be the most senior and first doctor to attend to the liberian patrick sawyer, who died in her hospital in lagos. the four previous deaths in nigeria were the index case, sawyer, two workers, and ecowas protocol officer. the spouses of health workers are the next people at risk. dennis akagha, the spouse of late justina ejelonu, the nurse who treated late patrick sawyer narrated his experiences and on how he survived ebola to amagiya (2014: 12), a reporter on saturday edition of vanguard, 30th august 2014. according to him, stigmatization and fear of being infected made health workers refrain from treating late justina in the ward she was. helpless, she gradually ebbed away in her ward. he also hinted that she could have survived with adequate care. for now, there is no cure for ebola virus disease, “there is also no standard treatment for ebola virus disease; patients receive supportive therapy. this igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 56 consists of balancing patient’s fluids and electrolytes maintaining their oxygen status and blood pressure, and treating them of any complicating infections (uscdc, 2010: 2). however, there are some experimental drugs that vary from patients to other. some of the drugs are zmapp, tkm-ebola, rna interference and other vaccines. “subsequently, the who assistant director-general for health system and innovation said on 5th september that transfusion of whole blood or purified serum from ebola survivors is the therapy with the greatest potential to be implemented immediately on a large scale in west africa, although there is little information on the efficacy of such treatment” briggs (2014). posters as medium of mass sensitization on ebola outbreak posters and billboards remain indispensable tools for outdoor communication because they reach a vast audience. they are “mass-produced advertisements or announcements, usually printed on large sheets of paper, for public display, (microsoft encarta, 2009). modern posters are made up of colourful images or illustration, accompanied by texts and are for commercial purposes, entertainment and some occasions for education. in a poster, word and images are indispensable …. an illustration in posters is an image created separately to accompany words (getlein, 2008, 259). similarly, okonkwo (2011:9) describes posters and its functions. he avers that “posters include both textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or wholly text---they are designed to be both eye-catching and informative.” he goes further to state that posters can be employed to create notification on new products, events, films, propaganda, political campaign and educational purposes, etc. presentation of informative poster on ebola virus disease during the research, eight sample posters were designed and their titles were as follows: origin of ebola virus disease, people most at risk, symptoms, acute symptoms, prevention and control, control measures for medical workers and does ebola have treatment? igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 57 the researcher used adobe photoshop software application in making the illustrations digitally and coreldraw for the layout design of the posters. “digital illustration is the use of tools from computer software to create illustrations (onwuekwe, 2011: 220). a simple draw and paint digital technique was employed. it involved making sketches on paper, tracing with ink and scanning onto photoshop which was the application employed for painting. after rendering the illustrations, considering chiaroscuro effects and other principles of composition, the illustrations were exported to coreldraw application for final composition into posters, considering the themes earlier mentioned. plate 1: “facts on ebola” medium: digital layout design dimension: 23x17inches artist: chidiebere onwuekwe; date: 2014 yellow colour was used on the background of the caption “facts on ebola virus disease”. yellow predominantly calls attention to the theme. johnson (2010) believes that cheerful sunny yellow is an attention getter. in this poster, the female doctor introduces ebola disease and its origin to the viewers. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 58 plate 2: “causes of ebola disease” medium:digital layout design; dimension: 23x17inches; artist: chidiebere onwuekwe date: 2014 plate 2 highlights how one could be infected with ebola virus. like the other poster the caption is highlighted in yellow background and red text in order to draw attention to it. the same effect has been applied in other posters for the purpose of unifying them as one project. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 59 plate 3: “who is most at risk…?” medium:digital layout design; dimension: 23x17inches; artist: chidiebere onwuekwe; date: 2014 the third poster “who most is at risk?” portrays the people who are easily and mostly exposed to contracting ebola virus disease as health workers because they deal directly with patients. workers such as doctors, nurses and lab scientists are illustrated here against a white background which projects them vividly. the layout arrangement is formal when an imaginary line of symmetry is drawn along the centre of the poster. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 60 plate 4: “primary symptoms…” medium: digital layout design; dimension: 23x17inches; artist: chidiebere onwuekwe; date: 2014 plate four is titled “primary symptoms of ebola virus disease”. here all the primary signs of the deadly disease such as high fever, headache, muscle pains, diarrhea, acute fatigue, vomiting and red eyes, are portrayed herein. a visual flow of “c” of “g” shape is formed here from “muscle pain” to “acute fatigue”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 61 plate 5: “severe symptoms…” medium: digital layout design; dimension: 23x17inches; artist: chidiebere onwuekwe; date: 2014 illustrated in pictures are the severe symptoms of ebola virus disease such as skin rashes, bleeding, impaired kidney and livers, shock and death. the figure in the center of the image was done in silhouette with the intention of projecting how badly damaged the liver inside his body is. his liver is painted in green to picture the negative psychological effect of green as sickness. the entire layout is symmetrically arranged. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 62 plate 6: “prevention…” medium: digital layout design dimension: 23x17inches artist: chidiebere onwuekwe date: 2014 here a medical doctor briefs the viewers on how the spread of ebola can be controlled. most facts on his speech balloon were pictured inset on the poster. the entire arrangement is formal. plate 7: “preventive measures for health workers…” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 63 medium: digital layout design; dimension: 23x17inches; artist: chidiebere onwuekwe; date: 2014 this poster is designed specifically for health workers. it addresses them on how they should protect themselves adequately while treating ebola patients in isolation wards. here, lists of items that make up the protective gear are pictured and written down on this poster. inset are pictures on how they should take precautions in the wards. red was used specifically on the background to throw more attention on the caption. plate 8: “any treatments…?” medium: digital layout design; dimension: 23x17inches; artist: chidiebere onwuekwe; date: 2014 the caption section is highlighted in red. the doctor clarifies that ebola has no cure except for supportive care and experimental drugs. inset is pictures of experimental drugs such as z-mapp, which are used in isolation wards for test treatments on the patients. the balance of the entire layout design is asymmetrical conclusion the contribution of visual artist towards containing the outbreak of future occurrence of ebola virus disease (evd) in nigeria using outdoor posters design models were researched in this paper. it is simply sensitizing and educating the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 64 general populace on origins, causes, symptoms, prevention and control of ebola virus through the use of outdoor posters as a medium. visual metaphor is the language to which the visual artist employed visualizing model posters which can be employed by organizations as a medium of sending message to the general public on ebola virus disease. the research presented eight posters illustrated with photoshop application and designed in coreldraw. themes in the posters include: origin of ebola, causes of ebola virus, prevention and control of ebola virus. if the government agencies and some ngos contacted by the researcher respond to partnership towards mass production and distribution of the posters to various zones of the country, it will undoubtedly contribute in educating people on ebola virus disease outbreak and how they should protect themselves in future from the scourge of the 21st century viral outbreak in subsaharan west africa. references “dr. ameyo adedovoh dies from ebola virus infection” (2014). ynaija.com. the internet newspaper for young nigerians. assessed 5 september 2014. “nigerian nurse died of ebola virus” (2014). www.vanguardnewsngr.com/2014/08 “no single ebola case in nigeria” (2014). thecable.ng. retrieved september 5, 2014. “posters” (2009). microsoft encarta. redmond wa: microsoft corporation. aborisade, sunday (2014) “nigeria has overcome evd, only case stable”. the punch 27/8/2014. 38(20) p.13. amagiya, florence (2014). “how i survived ebola.” the saturday vanguard. 17(916). august 30, 2014, pp 10-13. azoma, chikwe & kemi yusuf (2014). “ebola: nigeria records fifth death.” daily sun. 10. (2950). pp 6-7. briggs, helen (2014). “ebola: experimental drugs and vaccines.” bbc news health. assessed august 5, 2014. getlein, mark (2008). living with art. new york: mcgraw hill publishing co. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 65 iredia, tony (2014). “ebola confirms liberia as nigeria’s cross. the guardian. 2/9/2014. 31, (13, 031) p11. mark, monica (2014). “ebola outbreak: nurse who treated first victim in nigeria dies.” the guardian. assessed september 3 2014 mohammed, abubakar (2014). “jonathan declares national emergency on ebola. the guardian 9/8/2014. p.1-2 31(13, 007) okonkwo, ivan (2011). “using posters and billboards for political campaigns and rallies; the artist involvement.” fine and applied art chronicles. (2) pp 8-16. onwuekwe, chidi (2011). “a digital draw and paint approach to illustration with adobe photoshop.” awka journal of research in music and the arts (8th ed.) pp 220-231. sokunbi, wale (2014). “managing the ebola emergence”. daily sun. 20-8-2014, p 21. united states centre for disease control and prevention (2010). ebola hemorrhagic fever information packet. u.s. department of health and human services. world health organization (2014). “frequently asked questions on ebola virus disease.” www.who.org. assessed 10-8-2014. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 45 the effect of insecurity on socio-economic development in mayo-belwa rhoda gibson lesmore veritas university abuja, nigeria rhodalesmore1402@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29105.45929 abstract the article presents the socio-economic effects of insecurity on the residents of mayobelwa local government area of adamawa state, nigeria and indeed the entire northeastern region. it demonstrates the effect of insecurity in the region as experienced from 2010 to 2020, in which the lga was underpinned with marks of peace and peaceful coexistence among residents of diverse religious, cultural backgrounds and political affiliations. mayo-belwa lga was also known for its above average socio-economic activities, which served as the main source of livelihood for residents before the rampant cases of attacks on innocent residents, especially those in the rural areas. sadly, insecurity has hindered food production and crippled socio-economic activities, thus increasing the rate of unemployment in the country as a whole. the article argues that if insecurity is not urgently addressed in mayo-belwa and nigeria as a whole, it could result in massive starvation which could lead to citizens’ revolt, resulting in a monumental impact. the article also presents the gravity of insecurity in mayo-belwa and other parts of the northern region and country as a whole, caused by boko haram and bandits commonly referred to as killer-herdsmen. as part of the discoveries, the farmers can no longer go to their farms to cultivate crops for fear of possible attacks while cultivating their farmlands. finally, the article research contributes towards bridging gaps in the existing body of knowledge on the reality of insecurity in nigeria. keywords: insecurity, socio-economic activities, farmers, killer herdsmen introduction adamawa is a state in north-eastern nigeria, whose capital and largest city is yola. in 1991, when taraba state was carved out from gongola state, the geographical entity of gongola state was renamed adamawa state, with five administrative divisions: adamawa, michika, ganye, mubi and numan. it is one of the thirty-six states that constitute the federal republic of nigeria. adamawa is one of the largest states of nigeria and occupies about 36,917 square kilometers. it is bordered by the states of borno to the north-west, gombe to the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 46 west and taraba to the south-west. its eastern border forms the national eastern border with cameroon. topographically, it is a mountainous land crossed by the large river valleys – benue, gongola and yedsarem. the valleys of the mount cameroon, mandara mountains and adamawa plateau form part of the landscape. the major occupation of the people is farming as reflected in their two notable vegetation zones, the sub-sudan and northern guinea savannah zones. their cash crops are cotton and groundnuts while food crops include maize, yam, cassava, guinea corn, millet and rice. the communities living on the banks of the rivers engage in fishing while the fulanis are cattle rearers. the state has a network of roads linking other parts of the country. before it became a state in nigeria, adamawa was a subordinate kingdom of the sultanate of sokoto which also included much of northern cameroon. the rulers bear the title of emir (lamido in the local language, fulfulde). the name adamawa came from the founder of the kingdom, modibo adama, a regional leader of the fulani jihad organized by usman dan fodio of sokoto in 1804. modibo adama came from the region of gurin (a small village still in existence) and in 1806, received a green flag for leading the jihad in his native country. in the following years, adama conquered many lands and tribes. in 1838, he moved his capital to ribadu, and in 1839, to joboliwo. he founded yola in 1841 and subsequently died in 1848. after the european colonization, the rulers remained as emirs and the line of succession has continued till date. on may 14, 2013, president goodluck jonathan declared a state of emergency in adamawa state due to the boko haram insurgency, due to the insurgency most rural societies are not able to achieve development because they lack the basic resources that would bring about development or they are not able to harness and utilize the existing resources that would enable them develop their society. in nigeria, this has been serious social issue in recent times. socio-economic, infrastructure and basic amenities like good roads, quality water supply, electricity, health care, markets, transportation, telecommunication, sports centers, and so on, play a large role on development. and when all these essential and basic amenities are lacking, development can hardly take place. on the other hand, negligence on the part of the government can also affect the developmental process that should take place in the rural areas. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 47 adamawa state has so far been badly affected by the boko haram insurgency. in january 2012, boko haram insurgents attacked gombi, mubi, and yola. by 2014, the state had become home to camps housing internally displaced people fleeing boko haram attacks in locations including mubi, madagali, askira uba, bama, and gwoza in adamawa, borno, and yobe states respectively. simultaneously, mayo-belwa has the following tribes: fulfulde, dong, gengle, lamja-dengsa-tola, mumuye, nyong, chamba daka, teme, satte and yandang. now according to olabanji, olukayode and ese urhie “insecurity affects socioeconomic development in nigeria” (olabanji, 2014). available data on the level and dimensions of insecurity in nigeria reveals an increase over time, which constitutes serious threats to lives and properties, hinders business activities, and discourages local and foreign investors, which in turn stifles and retards socioeconomic development. this rising wave of insecurity has not abated but rather assumed a dangerous dimension which threatens the corporate existence of the country as one geographical entity. this further buttresses the fact that socio-economic development is the primary goal of every well-meaning government, and is essentially dependent on the level of economic activities in a society; the level of economic activities is in turn enhanced by the peaceful co-existence of people. in the absence of security, socioeconomic development cannot be sustained as it destroys economic, political, human, and social capital. statement of the research problem mayo-belwa lga is an agrarian economy. the area is blessed with arable land for farming and animal rearing. mayo-belwa is responsible for about one quarter of the total food production of adamawa state. (fao, united nations: nd) this contributes greatly to the internally generated revenue (igr) of the state, and by extension, a good proportion of food production in nigeria. this led to an increased socio-economic activity in the area. however, with the advent of heightened insecurity problems in the area, especially boko haram and banditry, farmers could no longer go to their various farms to cultivate crops. this has led to a serious drop in food production in mayo-belwa, adamawa state, and nigeria as a whole with a consequent increase in the prices of food items across the federation (samuel tetteh partley et.al, climate-smart agriculture in adamawa state of nigeria, food and agricultural organizations of united nations, (www.cgspace.cgiar.org accessed 22/11/2021). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 48 most literature on insecurity in nigeria is focused on other parts of nigeria, this has led to paucity of well scholarly work on the effect of insecurity in mayobelwa, in spite of its economic importance to adamawa state in particular and nigeria as a whole, thus creating a gap in the existing body of knowledge of insecurity in the country. this work is therefore aimed at bridging this gap in the existing body of knowledge on insecurity in mayo-belwa. what is insecurity? insecurity is defined as a breach of peace and security; whether historical, religious, ethnic, regional, civil, social, economic, and political, that contributes to recurring conflicts, and leads to wanton destruction of lives and property. insecurity is a critical issue that has hampered industrialization and sustainable development in nigeria in particular and africa at large. nigeria which is perceived as the giant of africa has witnessed an unprecedented incidences of insecurity ranging from the activities of fulani herdsmen; boko haram insurgencies, armed robber attacks, kidnapping, political/religious crisis, murder, destruction of oil facilities by niger delta militants, child abduction/ trafficking etc. other crimes committed by this islamic sect include; destruction of vehicles; burning of churches, police stations, schools, hospitals, clinics, shops, army barracks and residential houses; abduction of expatriates. (ndubuisiokolo purity et.al., 2019:7). causes of insecurity in nigeria therefore, it is crystal clear that the state of insecurity in nigeria is largely a function of government failure and lackadaisical attitude towards the poor masses (ndubuisi-okolo purity et.al., 2019:7). there are several causes of insecurity in nigeria, they include: 1. manipulation of ethnic and religious differences ethnic and religious conflicts arise from mutual suspicion and distrust among various ethnic groups and among the major religions in the country. the different ethnic groups across nigeria often allege neglect, oppression, domination, exploitation, victimization, discrimination, marginalization, nepotism and bigotry. this often brings about ethnic clashes and religious conflicts. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 49 2. widespread systemic and political corruption corruption is responsible for governance failure in nigeria; and insecurity in nigeria is mainly a function of government failure. corruption has created massive unemployment in the country, which has in turn worsened the insecurity situation in nigeria. mismanagement of resources has brought about massive poverty and lack which is also a factor in the insecurity challenge facing the country. 3. struggle for resources the niger-delta crisis in nigeria for instance, and the herdsmen-farmers conflicts are classic examples of violent resource struggle in nigeria. 4. pervasive material inequalities a major factor that contributes to insecurity in nigeria is the growing awareness of inequalities in life chances leading to violent reactions by a large number of people. 6. unemployment and poverty unemployment and consequent poverty among nigerians, especially the youths are a major cause of insecurity and violent crimes in nigeria. youth’s unemployment has contributed to the rising cases of violent conflict in nigeria. without job creation, how does the government address poverty, and inequitable distribution of wealth among citizens? 7. weak security system this is a major factor responsible for the level of insecurity in nigeria, and this can be attributed to a number of factors which include inadequate funding of the police and other security agencies, lack of modern equipment, poor welfare of security personnel, and inadequate personnel. 8. porous borders the porous frontiers of the country, where individual movements are largely untracked have contributed to the level of insecurity in nigeria. as a result of the porous borders there is an unchecked inflow of small arms and light weapons into the country which has aided militancy and criminality in nigeria. the porous nature of our borders has aided the uncontrollable influx of migrants, mainly young men, from neighboring countries such as republic of niger, chad and republic of benin responsible for some of the criminal acts. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 50 9. terrorism one of the most fundamental sources of insecurity in nigeria today is terrorism. in nigeria, terrorism is traceable to religious fanaticism particularly in islam dominated states of nigeria. terrorism in nigeria started with the notorious islamic sect in the northern part of nigeria called mataisine during shagari civilian regime which was aborted by a military coup in december 1983 led by general muhammadu buhari. in recent times terrorism has assumed a political undertone and is been spearheaded by a faceless islamic insurgents based in the northern region of nigeria called boko haram. although terrorism has its root in islamic fanaticism, it is now driven by factors such as inequality, poverty, unemployment, and illiteracy. 10. corona virus and other health challenges corona virus pandemic which took the whole world unaware as early as february 2020 and shutdown the socio-economic activities of mayo-belwa and the world at large. effects of insecurity in nigeria social, economic, and political development is the aim of every responsible government. however, all this depends on the peaceful co-existence by people. in the absence of security, development is untenable because insecurity destroys economic, human and social capital. for instance, the insurgency in northern nigeria has almost crippled economic activities in the region. similarly, activities, of niger delta militants in the oil-producing southern part of the country poses serious threats to the economic health of the region in particular, and nigeria in general. the security crises in different parts of nigeria is destroying existing infrastructure and preventing a peaceful environment for the development of further infrastructure, and a safe environment for economic activities by individuals. indeed, no nation can achieve sustainable development in an environment of insecurity. one of the major setbacks we are faced with in nigeria is that there has been a rising wave of insecurity since 1960 and this situation has hindered socioeconomic activities by discouraging local and foreign investors who would have contributed to national development. the only solution for insecurity challenge in nigeria is for the nigerian government to govern in a way that fosters development. development in this igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 51 context consists of creating an economy with relevant social, economic and physical infrastructure for business operations and industrial growth, to provide gainful employment, functional and useful education, and quality health care system for the people. furthermore, there is the need for government at all levels to ensure that rising poverty indices are reversed to ensure that nigerians meet their basic needs (onifade et.al.,2013) according to bavier, a writer who frequently visits the northern region, the federal government has completely lost control of the north-east, despite deploying thousands of troops and establishing a joint task force. he said, it looks like this insurgency has broken out of the north-east. and what is more worrying is that there’s not a whole lot of visible efforts from the federal government to calm things down (2011:35). from the foregoing, one can see that nigeria has witnessed an unprecedented level of insecurity. inter, intra-communal and ethnic clashes, ethno-religious violence, armed robbery, assassination, murder, gender-based violence, bomb explosions have been on the increase led to a general atmosphere of siege and social tension for the populace. furthermore, between 2009 to date over 3,000 souls both military and civilians have been lost in the purported holy crusade; this has greatly paralyzed government plans in mapping out an efficient strategy in combating insecurity. despite soaring security budget, insecurity still pervades the country. consequently, insecurity has taken various forms in different parts of the country. in the south-west, armed robbers have taken over, while in the north, cross-border bandits operate with ease. likewise, in the south-south region, there are rampant cases of kidnapping. also the incessant wave of crime and armed robbery attacks, all point to the fact that insecurity is fast becoming a norm in nigeria and has suddenly become attractive to certain individuals in seeking to resolve issues that could have ordinarily been settled through due process. today the incidence of police brutality, corruption, violence, murder, and abuse of power has punctuated almost every aspect of society. armed robbers in nigeria operate almost freely, using deadly weapons without being challenged and detected by the police and where the police are informed, they give excuses for lack of weapons to fight back. it sometimes seems as though a massive mutual aid is being granted to criminals by some police. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 52 apart from the aforementioned, incidences of shooting of innocent people in retaliation to policing policies has also constituted a serious problem that has impedes police efforts to curb crime in the nigerian society. nigeria as a nation-state is under a severe internal socio-economic and security threat. as a more general level, the threat has social, economic, political, and environmental dimensions. each of these dimensions has greatly affected the nation’s stability, and can be traced to the ethnic militia armies, ethnic and religious conflicts, poverty, terrorism, armed robbery, corruption, economic sabotage, and environmental degradation. problems of insecurity in nigeria 1. fear among citizens every one who hears of terrorism, is first of all concerned for their own safety, and then the safety of family and properties. fear among citizens can hamper economic growth and development since the economy cannot improve if all citizens stay locked within the four corners of their houses while trembling in fear. 2. loss of lives not only is the killing of people an infringement on human rights, it is also a violation of god’s commandment. humans are not allowed to murder fellow humans but in the absence of efficient security, innocent lives get lost. people get killed in bomb blast following terrorist attack, some fall victims to cultist clash while others get hit by bullets from armed robbers robbing places. countless number of students have fallen victim to stray bullets all because of our faulty security systems. 3. loss of properties in the past, we have heard of cases of vandalisation of properties by militant groups until amnesty was granted to them. back then, they blew up pipelines and caused oil spillage which disrupted the order of the ecosystem, leading to death of fishes in rivers, death of crops, destruction of farmlands and land pollution. 4. discouragement of industrialization industrialization is a prerequisite for economic growth and development. highly developed countries are in fact, highly industrialized and technologically igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 53 advanced countries. industrialization is also necessary for curbing unemployment and reduction of crime rates. now, for an industry to thrive properly and efficiently, the working and environmental conditions must be favorable, people must be free to walk and talk without harboring fear of getting bombed or shot at, at any time. no investor would want to risk his life and money by coming to invest in a country where the security level is apologetic. hence, insecurity in all respect hinders industrialization. 5. high emigration and migration rate attacks by boko haram have displaced about 2.3million nigerians from their homes. in 2012, two days after the declaration of a state of emergency in nigeria, boko haram released an ultimatum to southern nigerians living in the north, where they were given three days to leave. three days later, they began a series of small-scale attacks on christians and members of the igbo ethnic group, causing hundreds to flee. the problem of insecurity here, was the increase in migration and emigration rate. those who can afford to fly out of the country will do so while those who cannot, will migrate to safer states. 6. discouragement of immigration people who travel also take their safety into consideration. how safe a country is, determines how often foreigners will come. this can affect industrialization and economic growth and development. a sensible foreign investor considers his life first before money; the outcome here will be the paralysis of investment by foreigners in nigerian industries. 7. increased crime rates and social vices insecurity has a direct relationship with crime rates and social vices. the more insecure a place is, the more people will have access to it and the more criminal acts people will commit. there will be increased cases of extortion, murder, robbery, rape, drug dealing and abduction etc. 8. overpopulation and environmental pollution in the quest for safety, people tend to migrate from the endangered area to the safer ones. increased migration overtime, will lead to overpopulation and one of the issues associated with overpopulation is environmental pollution. gutters turn to incinerators and dump trucks, bridges and flyovers become a home for the homeless etc. (adagba, o, ugwu, 2012:77). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 54 conclusion factors affecting economic growth in nigeria are social and economic issues which include corruption, poor infrastructure, inflation, and worth of the naira, etc. therefore, to ensure sustainable economic growth, the government should watch and manage those factors, create price stability and an enabling environment for the private sector which is the engine of growth to thrive. this article gives us a situational reality of the nigeria socio-economic dilemma, which forms part of the crux of the matter this thesis seeks to address. nigeria no doubt is the giant of africa, blessed with lots of human and natural resources, the fourth largest producer of oil in the world, famous for many initiatives and endeavors. blessed and considered the most prosperous in the african continent in terms of skills and many learned individual, yet her socio-economic growth is hampered by these catalogues traumatic and horrific issues. the boko haram insurgence in northern nigeria and activities of other militia groups in other parts of the country pose serious threat to the economic growth of these regions. the security crises in different parts of nigeria is destroying existing infrastructure and preventing a peaceful environment for the development of further infrastructure, and a safe environment for economic activities to be carried out by individuals to give them an economic empowerment that will enable households not only to cater for their present generations, create wealth, but also to provide for future generations. any environment inundated with crime and insecurity is always accompanied with tensions and abundant anxiety. the elimination of these threats and enemies of man should be the number one program of the governments in nigeria. this will give rise to human development and a habitable environment for us all. apart from the government’s role, all hands should also be on deck to eliminate this monster of insecurity in nigeria. works cited adagba, o, ugwu, s.c., & eme, o.i. (2012). activities of boko haram and insecurity question in nigeria arabian journal of business and management review, 1(19), 77-99. aga, chiegeonu (2009). nigeria: state by state. nigeria: lulucom. isbn 9781105864322. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 55 akindiyo, o (2014), security challenge and development in nigeria: leadership to the rescue? international journal of academic research in public policy and government 1(1): 49-58 canback global income distribution database (c-gidd). canback dangel. archived from the original on february 16, 2012. retrieved august 20, 2008. food and agricultural organization, climate-smart agriculture in adamawa state of nigeria kanu, i. a. (2016). christian-muslim relations in nigeria as a religio-political locus theologicus for misericordia vultus. harvard journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 117-128. kanu, i. a. (2016). the culture of political corruption and the emergence of terrorism in nigeria. sub-saharan journal of african sustainable development. 3. 7. pp. 127-149. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. ndubuisi-okolo purity .u., ph.d1* , theresa anigbuogu., ph.d2. insecurity in nigeria: the implications for industrialization and sustainable development international journal of research in business studies and management volume 6, issue 5, 2019, pp 7-16 issn 2394-5923 (print) & issn 2394-5931 (online) ogunyemi, b. (2011), "our sense of security", thisday, friday september 30, p35. onifade comfort, imhonopi david & urim ugochukwu moses (2013). addressing the insecurity challenge in nigeria: the imperative of moral values and virtue ethics. global journal of human social science political science volume 13 issue 2 version 1.0 year 2013. samuel, tetteh partley et.al, climate-smart agriculture in adamawa state of nigeria, food and agricultural organizations of united nations,www.cgspace.cgiar.org accessed 22/11/2022 tim lister, 2012. nigeria on edge as islamist group extends campaign of violence. cnn, updated 8:50 am est, mon., january 30, 2012. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 2.doc igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 49 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) a sociolinguistic analysis of come and see my moda by mz vee and yemi alade ocheja theophilus attabor department of english and literary studies, kogi state university, anyigba attabor2013@gmail.com; 08037849871 abstract this paper is a sociolinguistic analysis of the lyrics of come and see my moda by mz vee and yemi alade and the aim is to explicate the lyrics of the song toward identifying some sociolinguistic features used in the text to indicate social identity. the paper is anchored on social identity theory. the lyrics of the song served as primary source of data and the linguistic features which the artistes called together to express aspect of social identity were identified and analysed one after the other. the paper observed that the various linguistic variables in come and see my moda, used to indicate the speakers’ social factors are; discourse particles, dislocations of words, repetition of words, pidgin and code mixing and the artistes have creatively used them to demarcate and to show the interplay of gender identity. besides, gender is an important social variable for a better understanding of the structure of language because it improves language through choice of codes, discourse particles, repetition and other linguistic communicative features. the paper concluded that sociolinguistics investigates the relationship between language and society, and within any given society, there are social variables like family, age, gender, occupation, class and so on. being that no society exists without a language; certain linguistic variables are used in discourse to reflect these social variables. mz vee and yemi alade have exploited these linguistic features through the medium of song in order to indicate their social identity. keywords: sociolinguistics, identity, lyrics, and language introduction lyrics of songs by most contemporary african musicians contain registers which denigrate the female folks in relationships. for example, dagrin’s use of kondo, timaya and machel montano’s use of all my ladies shake yuh bum bum, and dareystel’s use of shake ya booty have shown that the lyrics of contemporary artistes are characterised by amorous registers which under-represent the female folks. just as no writer writes in a vacuum, no artiste sings in a vacuum too. it is the practical social life that influence and manifest in their lyrics in order to satisfy societal demands. however, using the same sociolinguistic features, ghanaian mz vee and nigerian yemi alade (2018) have rebutted in come and see my moda by implying that although women possess qualitative and scintillating igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 50 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) structures to the admiration of men who in turn desire to have a feel, this can only be achieved by first seeking the consent of their parents. furthermore, this paper examines how language use and features of language such as code mixing, pidgin, dislocation of words, discourse particles and repetition of words reflect social identity using the lyrics of come and see my moda. according to dunbar (1996), music and language help humans knit together in social groups. music has an extraordinary power not only to evoke emotion, but also to bind people into a social group. when we think of our feelings at times of group singing such as the national anthem, singing in church, mosques, campfire, carol, etc., it is not the music that we sing, it is the words –lyrics that we voice and the message they convey that propel us to become patriotic, repentant, and happy. this means that music contain socio-political, socioreligious as well as sociolinguistic contents. it is against this background that this paper explicates the use of language in come and see my moda in order to examine the interplay of gender as a social variable. a brief background of come and see my moda come and see my moda is a song by ghanaian mz vee and nigerian yemi alade, produced in ghana in 2018 by kuami eugene and richie mensah. the lyrics address the theme of love affair generally alongside other social issues which characterise the ghanaian and nigerian contemporary societies. these are issues that have negative impact on these societies whereby the male folks are desirous of the female folks yet not willing to observe the necessary traditional obligations rather, they prefer to offer money to ladies in exchange of their bodies only to dismiss them afterwards. sometimes the outcome is unwanted pregnancy leading to abortion and death, or projection of unwanted babies who later constitute social problems like kidnapping, armed robbery as well as other social vices. the lyricists advise the male folks to always make relationships official by meeting the parents of any lady they profess love to as money is not everything. the second important concern of the lyrics is the virtues of mothers as well as the underlying supremacy of wives over their husbands in choice of partners for their children. in addition, the text emphasises the religious degree with which daughters uphold their mothers’ instructions toward relationships and marriage as women of quality. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 51 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) methodology data were drawn from the lyrics of come and see my moda which was downloaded from the internet and the framework for analysis centred on the explication of linguistic features such as code-mixing, pidgin, discourse particles, repetition and dislocation of words to indicate social identity among the various social variables in ghana and nigeria. the song, come and see my moda exists in musical and lyrical forms. the musical form is rendered through the medium of organised sound with such common elements as pitch, melody, harmony, rhythm, tempo, meter, and articulation performed with instruments and vocal techniques; while the lyrical form is textual. songs could be analysed either musically or lyrically. this study is not about the sound pattern of the song; therefore the musical aspect which includes pitch and articulation is not the concern of this paper. this paper is delimited to the lyrical aspect of the song. review of related literature sociolinguistics is the interface between language and society since it studies the sociological aspects of language. it is concerned with the part language plays in maintaining the social roles in a community. influences on the choice of words, sounds, grammatical elements, and vocabulary items may include such factors as age, sex, education, occupation, race, and peer-group identification, among others. holmes (2008) avers that sociolinguists are interested in explaining why we speak in different social contexts, and they are concerned with the social functions of language and the ways it is used to convey social meaning. examining the way people use language in different social contexts provides a wealth of information about the way language works, as well as about the social relationships in a community, and all the way people signal aspects of their social identity through their language. certain social factors are important in accounting for language choice in many speech communities. these social factors in code choice include participants, setting, and function. for example, an american english speaker may use such forms as “he don’t know nothing” or “he doesn’t know anything,” depending on such considerations as his level of education, race, social class or consciousness, or the effect he wishes to produce on the person he is addressing. the particular dialect or language that a person chooses to use on any occasion is a code, a system used for communication between two or more parties. it is usual for a speaker to have command of, or use, only one such code or system. command of only a single variety of language, whether it is a dialect, style, or register, would appear to be an extremely rare phenomenon, one likely to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 52 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) occasion comment. most speakers command several varieties of any language they speak, and bilingualism, even multilingualism, is the norm for many people throughout the world rather than unilingualism. people are required to choose a particular code whenever they decide to speak, and they may also decide to switch from one code to another or to mix codes even within sometimes very short utterances and thereby create a new code called code-switching. codeswitching, also known as code-mixing can occur in conversation between speakers’ turns or within a single speaker’s turn. in the latter case, it can occur inter-sententially or intra-sententially. to alternate codes can arise from individuals’ choice or be used as a major identity marker for a group of speakers who must deal with more than one language in their common pursuits. gal (1998, p.247) says “codeswitching is a conversational strategy used to establish, cross or destroy group boundaries; to create, evoke or change interpersonal relations with their rights and obligation.” in multilingual countries like nigeria and ghana, the ability to shift from one language to another is accepted as quite normal even in music. in linguistics, code-switching occurs when a speaker alternates between two or more languages, or language varieties, in the context of a single conversation. multilingual, speakers of more than one language, sometimes use elements of multiple languages when conversing with each other. thus, code-switching is the use of more than one linguistic variety in a manner consistent with the syntax and phonology of each variety. code-switching is distinct from other language contact phenomena, such as borrowing, pidgins and creoles, loan translation (calques), and language transfer (language interference). borrowing affects the lexicon, the words that make up a language, while code-switching takes place in individual utterances. speakers form and establish a pidgin language when two or more speakers who do not speak a common language form an intermediate, third language. on the other hand, speakers practice code-switching when they are each fluent in both languages. code mixing is a thematically related term, but the usage of the terms codeswitching and code-mixing varies. some scholars use either term to denote the same practice, while others apply code-mixing to denote the formal linguistic properties of language-contact phenomena and code-switching to denote the actual, spoken usages by multilingual persons. code-mixing is similar to the use or creation of pidgins; but while a pidgin is created across groups that do not share a common language, code-mixing may occur within a multilingual setting where speakers share more than one language. consequently code-mixing is a compulsory consequence of bilingualism and multilingualism. it is the placing or igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 53 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) mixing of various linguistic units (affixes, words, phrases, clauses) from two different grammatical systems within the same sentence and speech context. in the words of prasad (2008), the purpose of code mixing seems to be to symbolise a somewhat ambiguous situation for which neither of the languages can be quite right. it is a kind of linguistic cocktail in which few words of one language and a few from others, and again a few from the former and a few from the later and so on, mix up. the changes generally take place more or less randomly. theoretical framework this paper is hinged on social identity theory. social identity theory was developed by tajfel and turner (1979) to understand the psychological basis of intergroup discrimination. it has a considerable impact on social psychology. it has also been tested in a wide range of fields and settings including prejudice, stereotyping, and language use. tajfel & turner (1979) proposed that the groups (eg. social class, family, dialect groups, etc.) which people belonged to were an important source of pride and self esteem. as a result, it gives us a sense of social identity as well as a sense of belonging to the social world. therefore in order to increase our self-image, we either enhance the status of the group we belong or discriminate and hold prejudice views against the “out-group”. consequently, we divide the world into “them” and “us” based through a process of social categorization which implies putting people into social groups known as ingroup (us) and out-group (them). the basic assumption of the theory is that group members of an in-group will seek negative aspects of an out-group through discrimination and prejudiced remarks in order to enhance their self image. such prejudiced views between cultures could result in racism (anti-semitism and xenophobic tendency) and the extreme form of racism has resulted in genocide in germany with the jews, in rwanda between the hutus and tutsis, in the former yugoslavia between the bosnians and serbs, in nigeria between modakeke and ife, ijaw and itshekiri. following tajfel and turner (1979), stereotyping is based on a normal cognitive process. we have the tendency to group things together and while doing this, we exaggerate the differences between groups and the similarities of things in the group. according to them, three cognitive processes are involved in evaluating others as “us” or “them’ (i.e. “in-group” and “out-group”). these are social categorization, social identification and social comparison. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 54 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) in stage one, we categorize people, including ourselves, in order to comprehend the social environment be it christian/muslim, migrants/landowners, central language/dialects, blacks/whites, etc. if we can assign people to a category, then we can tell things about them. in the second stage, we adopt the identity of the category we have categorized ourselves to belong. for instance, if we categorize ourselves as muslims, we begin to adopt the identity of a muslim and start to act in the ways we believe muslims act and conform to the norms of the group. we also lace our emotions to the identified group as our self-esteem is bound up with the group membership. finally, having categorized and identified ourselves with a group, we then tend to compare that group with other groups. our own group must compete favourably with other groups if we must maintain our selfesteem. competition and hostility between two rival groups is not only an issue of competing for resources but also of competing identities. presentation of data and analysis in come and see my moda, various linguistic variables have been used to reflect social factors such as ethnicity, social background, age and gender. these linguistic variables which indicate aspect of the artistes’ social identity are: dislocation of words, pidgin, repetition of words, code mixing and discourse particles. dislocation is the displacement of something from its usual or proper position. the use of the words like “mr chairman”, “oga land lord”, “maradona”, and “local official” in come and see my moda is a good example of dislocation of words. the use of the phrases “mr chairman” and “oga landlord” to refer to the suitor signifies the conduct of nigerian politicians to the female folks in the 21st century political power play. this is a form of dislocation of words from politics to love affair. the word maradona is dislocated from the field of football as the best world number ten (10) footballer known for dribbling, to love affair denoting treachery. it refers to the male folks in society flirts who ogle ladies around. it describes how politicians deceive different young ladies in town; “everyday na so so sisi o”, “everyday na different specie o of different sisi o”. these phrases have been dislocated in line with the basic assumption of social identity theory that group members of an in-group will seek negative aspects of an out-group through discrimination and prejudiced remarks in order to enhance their self image. in multilingual countries like nigeria and ghana with many varieties of codes to choose from, the choice of pidgin signals the sociolinguistic background of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 55 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) artistes, that is why vee and alade’s choice of pidgin in expressing social realities is an indicator that they product of similar linguistic background in which pidgin is the most comfortable vehicle of communication. pidgin conveys sociocultural information to listeners who share similar sociolinguistic background as the artistes. apart from being the most comfortable code used by a larger population, pidgin is one of the preferred codes for african singers when they intend to extol the virtues of mothers. a landmark example is “sweet mother” by prince nico mbarga produced in 1974. prince nico mbarga selected pidgin as the best code in which he could pass information to his listeners. since mother figure, being a social variable, occupies the hearts of most nigerian and cameroonian populace, the half nigerian and cameroonian chose to eulogise the virtues of mothers in pidgin. the continuous use of “come and see my mother” (not father), is a manifestation of in-group and out-group disparity between the male and the female genders in society. it shows the importance of a mother in the family in certain social activity. it is only the mother that can devote her time into finding out the personality and background of the man in question and she knows what is best for her daughter. once the mother’s approval is obtained, the father’s follows soon afterward because women know how to manipulate their husband and other situations in the house to suit them. therefore, the constant repetition of “come and see my mother” and “you must to see my mother” is a pointer to the social rating or elevation of women in africa as emphases are placed on the superior role of mothers over fathers in bringing up their children. consequently, vee and alade have used repetition to foreground and to express the shared background knowledge held in nigeria and ghana where mothers are the first to approve eligible suitors for their children or play the role of coaxing their husbands to approve their choice. vee and alade’s use of code-mixing provides clues to listeners about their sociolinguistic background. this shows that code-mixing is a consequence of bilingualism. with constant alternating of codes from nigerian english to pidgin, the artistes have communicated to the african society that relationships should not be unofficial, ladies should not be fooled by unserious men with their vain promises, stressing that a lady’s body is not for sale, however, it could be assessed by men only when they “make it official, if they “… really mean am” “make you follow me, all the way to nigeria o”. this implies that women have social identity which should be protected. in line with social identity theory, the groups (eg. social class, family, dialect groups, etc.) in which people belong to is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 56 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) an important source of pride and self esteem. as a result, it gives them a sense of social identity as well as a sense of belonging to the social world. other instances of code-mixing in the lyrics are: “ha le le le body” (ie. sophisticated or sexy body) and “i no like your money but i know you want my body”. with those code-mixed words, the artistes have a sense of social identity as well as a sense of belonging to a social world. therefore, to increase their selfimage, they either enhance the status of the group they belong or discriminate and hold prejudice views against the “out-group” by saying “i no like your money…” yet you like my “ha le le le body”. consequently, they divide the world into “them” and “us” based on a process of social categorization which implies putting people into social groups known as in-group (us) and out-group (them). discourse particles discourse particles are short linguistic elements that are not normally assigned to a class of words. examples of discourse particles are shoo, ah, ee, eh, sha, and so on. discourse particles have been used in the song to criticise and advise those men who run after different kinds of women, promising to give them everything they want and making each one feel she is the only special one while others are ‘photocopy’. everyday na so so sisi o (na so so sisi o) everyday na different specie o (of different sisi o) come and see my mother ah come and see my mother eh make it official, if you really mean am (aha) come and follow me all the way to ghana o make you follow me, all the way to nigeria o in linguistics, a discourse particle is a lexeme or particle which has no direct semantic meaning in the context of a sentence, having rather a pragmatic function: it serves to indicate the speaker's attitude, or to structure their relationship to other participants in a conversation. by implication, the use of discourse particles in the text is to show the otherness of the male folks. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 57 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) findings the paper observed that the various linguistic variables in come and see my moda, used to indicate the speakers’ social factors are; discourse particles, dislocations of words, repetition of words, pidgin and code mixing. the artistes have creatively used these linguistic variables to demarcate and to show the interplay of gender identity. gender is an important social variable for a better understanding of the structure of language because it improves language through choice of codes, discourse particles, repetition and other linguistic communicative features conclusion in conclusion, sociolinguistics investigates the relationship between language and society, and within any given society, there are social variables like family, age, gender, occupation, class and so on. being that no society exists without a language; certain linguistic variables are used in discourse to reflect these social variables. mz vee and yemi alade have exploited these linguistic features through the medium of song in order to indicate their social identity. references dunbar, r. (1996). grooming, gossip, and the evolution of language. cambridge, mass.: harvard university press holmes, j. (2008) an introduction to sociolinguistics (third edition) uk: pearson education limited. http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/05/prince-nico-mbarga-sweet-mothersound.html http://thenet.ng/lyrics-dagrin-kondo/ http://zimmer.csufresno.edu/~johnca/spch100/3-3-bernstein.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/mzvee https://www.musixmatch.com/lyrics/machel-montano-feat.../shake-yuhbum-2 jason vasche music, language and communication http://besser.tsoa.nyu.edu/impact/f01/papers/vasche/is209paper.htm igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 58 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) mz vee and yemi alade (2018) come and see my moda. ghana: kuami eugene and richie mensah prasad t.. a course in linguistics. new delhi: prenice-hall of india private limited, 2008. syal p.& jindal d.v. an introduction to linguistics. language, grammar and semantics. new delhi: prenice-hall of india private limited, 2007. tajfel, h., & turner, j.c. (1979). an integrative theory of intergroup conflict. in w.g. austin & s. worchel (eds) the social psychology of intergroup relations, (33-47). monterey, ca: books/cole. tajfel, h., & turner, j.c. 1986. the social identity theory of intergroup behavior. in s. worchel & w.g. austin (eds.) psychology of intergroup relations. (pp.7-24). chicago, il: nelson-hall. wardhaugh, r. (2006). an introduction to sociolinguistics(fifth edition). usa: blackwell publishing. appendix 1 the lyrics of come and see my mother a woman of quality knows what she wants if you want to tarry me and do what you want then hurry hurry come carry your baby go [chorus] come and see my mother ah (my mother ah) you must to see my mother ah (my mother ah) come and see my mother eh (my mother ah) you must to see my mother ah (my mother ah) [hook] if you want, come and carry on your marks, come and carry if you want, come and carry come and carry if you want, come and carry on your marks, come and carry igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 59 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) if you want, come and carry come and carry [mzvee] if you want my body, then come see my mummy i no like your money but i know you want my body my body, my body ha le le le body come see my mummy make it official, if you really mean am come and follow me, all the way to ghana o hurry hurry come carry your baby go [chorus] come and see my mother ah (my mother ah) you must to see my mother ah (my mother ah) come and see my mother eh (my mother ah) you must to see my mother ah (my mother ah) [hook] if you want, come and carry on your marks, come and carry if you want, come and carry come and carry if you want, come and carry on your marks, come and carry if you want, come and carry come and carry [yemi alade] yemi alade mr chairman, oga landlord maradona, local official everyday na so so sisi o (na so so sisi o) everyday na different specie o (of different sisi o) say you love me, talk ya own anything i want you gat it i’m the one you really want all the others photocopy make it official, if you really mean am (aha) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 60 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) make you follow me, all the way to nigeria o hurry hurry come carry your baby go [chorus] come and see my mother (my mother) you must to see my mother (my mother) come and see my mother eh (my mother) you must to see my mother (my mother) if you want, come and carry on your marks, come and carry if you want, come and carry come and carry if you want, come and carry on your marks, come and carry if you want, come and carry come and carry [outro] a woman of quality knows what she wants if you want to carry me and do what you want then hurry hurry come carry your baby go come and see my mother (my mother) you must to see my mother (my mother) come and see my mother eh (my mother) you must to see my mother (my mother) appendix 2 the lyrics of sweet mother sweet mother i no go forget you for dey suffer we you suffer for me yeah [2x] when i dey crry my mother go carry me she go say my pikin wetin you dey cry yeah yeah stop stop! stop stop!! stop stop!!! make you no cry again oo when i wan sleep my mother go pet me igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 61 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) she go lie me well-well for bed she go cover me cloth say make you sleep sleep sleep my pikin oooo when i dey hungry my mom go run up and down she dey find me somthing we i go chop sweet mother eeeeee..sweet mother oooo..eee when i dey sick my mother go cry cry cry she go say instead wey i go die make she die she go beg god, god help me, god help me, my pikin oo if i no sleep, my mother no go sleep if i no chop, my mother no go chop she no dey tire ooo sweet mother i no go forget dey suffer wey you suffer for me yeah yeah sweet mother eeeeeeeeeeee sweet mother oooo....eeeee you fit get another wife you fit get another husband but you fit get another mother? no! when i dey hungry my mom go run up and down she dey find me somthing we i go chop sweet mother aaaaaa...sweet mother oooo..eee when i dey sick my mother go cry cry cry she go say instead wey i go die make she die she go beg god, god help me, god help me, my pikin oo if i no sleep, my mother no go sleep if i no chop, my mother no go chop she no dey tire ooo sweet mother i no go forget dey suffer wey you suffer for me yeah yeah sweet mother aaaaaaaaaaaaa sweet mother eeee..ooooooo sweet mother aaaaaaaaaaaaa sweet mother eeee..ooooooo microsoft word igwebuike journals vol. 4. no. 5..docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 86 religion and economy: a study of pentecostal churches and smalland medium-scale enterprises (smes) in port harcourt, nigeria jones ugochukwu odili, ph.d department of religious and cultural studies university of port harcourt, nigeria jonesuodili@gmail.com abstract much literature on the church and national development focus on the place of the church on nigerian politics and the roles of different christian denominations towards the development of education in nigeria. not much light is shed on the roles of the church in the development of myriad sectors of nigeria’s economy. this paper directs our attention to the roles the church towards the development of smalland medium-scale enterprises (smes) in port harcourt city and its environs. a number of smes examined include the textile, paper, music, electronics, manufacturing, transport and automobile, timber mill and building industries. the paper observes that the church through it inter-face with the above industries contributes immensely the gross domestic product of nigeria. it the recommends that greater attention be given to show how religious ideologies could contribute to the making of nigeria an industrialised country. keywords: religion and economy, pentecostal churches, smes, port harcourt, industry introduction small and medium-scale enterprises (smes) play significant role not only on improving a country’s gross domestic product, but on also improving the people’s living conditions. the smes are major employers of labour in nigeria. some sociologists of religion has questioned the place of religion on the gdp of a state such as nigeria, the much that scholars have written to explain the relevance of christianity on the economic development of nigeria highlighted the role or mainline churches. those who attempted a study of other streams of christianity, such as pentecostal churches, and the economic development of a nation, laid emphasis of the negative impacts of the latter’s theology of prosperity on the economy. it is the concern of this study to examine the positive role of pentecostal churches on the economic development of a society by focusing on the interface between pentecostal churches and smes in port harcourt city and its environs. the nature of smalland medium-scale enterprises (smes) in nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 87 smalland medium-scale enterprises (smes) has a long history in nigeria; it was the means of survival for the people since ages. there is no straight-line definition of small and medium-scale enterprises. the central bank of nigeria agrees with the small and medium industries and equity investment scheme (smieis) in their definition of a sme as any enterprise with a maximum asset base less than n200 million (equivalent of about $1.43 million) excluding land and working capital, and with the number of staff employed not less than 10 (otherwise will be a cottage or micro-enterprise) and not more than 300 (babatope & akintunde, 2010). the central bank of nigeria, in its monetary policy circular no. 22 of 1988, defined small-scale enterprises as having an annual turnover not exceeding 500,000 naira. in the 1990 budget, the federal government of nigeria defined small-scale enterprises for purposes of commercial bank loans as those with an annual turnover not exceeding 500,000 naira, and for merchant bank loans, those enterprises with capital investments not exceeding 2 million naira (excluding cost of land) or a maximum of 5 million naira. the national economic reconstruction fund (nerfund) put the ceiling for small-scale industries at 10 million naira. section 37b(2) of the companies and allied matters decree of 1990 defines a small company as one with an annual turnover of not more than 2 million naira and net asset value of not more than 1 million naira (ekpenyong & nyong, 1992). taking into consideration the reality of nigeria situation onukwuli, akam, onwuka (2014) is of the view that smalland medium-scale enterprises include all business venture which are set up to provide one satisfaction (utility) or the other for a defined market target and with capital and asset base as low as n5,000 and as high as n1,000,000. according to ngwuonugu (2005) a major characteristic of nigeria’s smes relates to ownership structure or base, which largely revolves around a key man or family. hence, a preponderance of the smes is either sole proprietorships or partnerships. even where the registration status is thus that of a limited liability company, the true ownership structure is that of a one-man, family or partnership business. few of the sme owners had tertiary education while the majority had primary and secondary education. most of these business operators do not have prior experience before establishing their enterprises. those who had experience acquired such experiences through apprenticeship which sometimes take three to seven years. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 88 common features of nigeria’s smes include the following among others labour–intensive production processes, concentration of management on the key man poor inter and intra-sectoral linkages hence they hardly enjoy economies of scale benefits, poor product quality output, absence of research and development, little or no training and development for their staff, lack of adequate financial record keeping, use of rather outdated and inefficient technology especially as it relates to processing, preservation and storage, and lack of succession plan. some of the challenges of smes in port harcourt include lack of planning, inimical government rules and regulations, poor marketing strategy, lack of technical know-how, and higher interest rates (aftab and rahim, 1989). other challenges and problems, which frustrate smes in nigeria and make some of them to either die within their first two years of existence or perform below standard even after surviving in their early years abound. the key ones include inadequate infrastructural facilities (road water electricity etc), insecurity of lives and property, inconsistent monetary, fiscal and industrial policies, limited access to markets, multiple taxation and levies, lack of modern technology for processing and preserving products, policy reversals, capacity limitations, data inadequacies, harsh operating environment, fragile ownership base, fragile capital base. sanni (2009) avers that smalland medium-scale enterprises have shown their importance in the society, policy makers recognize them as an important reservoir for growth. the african development bank regards them as representing over 90% of business, providing employment in africa and representing gdp of approximately 50% in africa. smalland medium-scale enterprises sector has been recognized as an integral component of economic development and a crucial element in the effort to lift countries out of poverty. the total aggregate of small and medium-scale enterprises has the potential for accelerating the pace of economic development of the country. they successfully play positive role in the economic life of nigerian in rural and urban areas. smes not only contribute significantly to improving living standards, they also bring about local capital formation and achieve high levels of production. for these reasons, the presence and development of smes are desirable at the various tiers of governments. the nature of pentecostalism in nigeria when we talk of pentecostals, we are referring specifically to classical pentecostals. classical pentecostals are those that trace their roots to the turn of the century, and the azusa street revival. essentially, pentecostals believe that the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 89 outpouring of the holy spirit on the 120 at pentecost as is recorded in acts 2 should be normative for all christians. further, the key sign associated with this spirit-baptism is glossolalia, as it was in acts. “classical” was added in about 1970 to distinguish classical pentecostals from charismatics (noel 2007:15). it has been argued by some scholars like wonsuk, m., v. karkkainen and j. k. asamoah-gyadu (2014:1) that pentecostalism is not a monolithic movement. thus any attempt to define pentecostalism at the global level faces insurmountable challenges. reasons for the multiplicity and diversity of movements and traditions that can be grouped under the inclusive category or pentecostalism are many and varied. first, unlike established christian traditions such as roman catholicism, pentecostalism cannot build on ecclesiastical tradition for the simple reason that it came to existence only a century ago. second, until recent years, pentecostalism has not produced much theological literature; its contribution to christian faith has been in the form of occasional pastoral and missional writings, testimonies, dreams, prophecies and the likes that do not easily translate into an analytic, discursive theology. third, because pentecostalism was birthed out of dynamic experience rather than a theological discovery, it has liberally incorporated elements from a number of theological traditions and sources such as methodist-holiness movements (clerk, 1997), the protestant reformation, mystical-charismatic movements in the roman catholic and eastern orthodox church, as well as ‘black’ or african american spirituality. scholars now recognize the pentecostal tradition’s multiple points of origin (bruner, 1970). this movement has become a global force in christianity with significant representations on every continent (stephenson, 2009:1), global pentecostalism was introduced in the early dawn of the twentieth century by holiness evangelist charles fox parham (1873-1929) who advocated that xenolalic tongues are the proof of spirit baptism. this doctrine gave birth to the azusa revival (1906) through his student william joseph seymour (1870-1922) and further to the organization of the american assemblies of god (1914). korean classical pentecostalism is related to this lineage. according to the view of walter j. hollenweger, there are five historical roots for the pentecostal movement: black oral tradition; roman catholicism; evangelicalism; critical theology; and ecumenism (kim, 2013:47). although the foundations for pentecostalism in nigeria were laid as far back as the early 20th century, the phenomenal growth and development of pentecostal igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 90 churches in the country is generally associated with the country’s social, economic and political dynamics from the late 1980s up to the present day (synan, 175; ojo, 1988; ishaya 2011). the rise of pentecostalism thus coincides with a period of severe economic crisis and political upheavals in nigeria, accompanied by social tensions resulting from the adoption of “structural adjustment‟ policies, massive corruption and unemployment. pentecostal churches through their messages of material prosperity, career success, healing, good health and freedom from oppression, provided a platform for people to deal with their misery, encouraging their aspirations toward self-actualization. (ishaya, 2011:2). pentecostal churches have impacted certain aspects of the domestic domain. they provide inner power to survive the anxieties, unease, destabilization, and crises of modern africa, replacing the loss of efficacy of other religious options. they aid the satisfaction of new needs and developing an existential theology that engenders upward mobility in life activities because prosperity is predicated on the quality of inner life (kalu, 2009: 76-79). indeed, pentecostalism’s tremendous growth can be attributed in no small part to its common touch. the pentecostal message has been taken to the most common folk of society, and has spoken a word of truth sorely needed among the outcast and oppressed. the many histories of pentecostalism testify to the fact that from its beginnings, the pentecostal movement has thrived where other representations of christianity have struggled, simply by meeting the everyday spiritual needs of the world’s most ordinary people (noel, 2007:14). pentecostalism is a spiritual movement of the people. kalu (1998) identified a number of pentecostal movements that are peculiar to africa: inter-denominational fellowships (e.g., full gospel business men‟s fellowship international and women‟s aglow); evangelistic ministries (e.g. deeper life bible church); deliverance ministries (specializing in exorcism); prosperity or faith ministries (tending toward positive thinking‟); intercessors – part of intercessors africa; bible distribution agencies (e.g. gideons bible international, accepting only born-again members); and classical pentecostals (e.g., four square gospel church and assemblies of god church). in another vein kalu (2008) submits a seven strand typology of charismatic movements in africa: i. a diviner or religious leader from the traditional religion who suddenly accepts the power of christianity and urges the community to yield to it; igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 91 ii. a strand of prophets, who would emerge from the ranks of a christian praying band, sometimes the tendency was to pose like an old testament prophet sporting a luxurious beard, a staff, and a flowing gown. the prophet would call for a holiness ethic and manifest the gift of healing like william wade harris, whose ministry started in 1910; iii. a wave of african indigenous churches arose all over africa at different times before the first world war and especially during the influenza epidemic of 1918. some were messianic and others revivalistic. iv. sometimes a puritan and charismatic expression of christianity would occur within the boundaries of mainline denominations. v. external input. a range of external agents featured white holiness and classical pentecostal groups that did mission in various parts of africa. people received holy spirit baptism before inviting outsiders. vi. african charismatic agency, apostolic faith mission (afm) agents in southern africa, the role of migrant workers must not be ignored. vii. the period since 1970. the face of pentecostalism in africa was catalysed by charismatic movements led by young people from mainline churches from the late 1960s in some parts of the continent, but more especially in the 1970s. basic features, beliefs and identified reasons for the growth of african pentecostalism include: beliefs in the indwelling of the holy spirit as a sign of born again, new birth, repentance, or faith in jesus christ; the gift of the holy spirit as an important requirement for appointment in the church; the gift of holy spirit manifests in glossolalia (speaking in tongues) as an evidence of sanctified life, or holiness; the second coming of jesus christ to redeem believers; the great commission as exemplified in mathew 28;the priesthood of all believers as taught in 2 peter; the inner worldliness and the power or christians to overcome all forces of evil; power encounter, the belief that the power in the blood of jesus of christ will annihilate all demonic evil manipulating; emotional worship exhibited in yelling, shouting and clapping and dancing; faith healing and casting out of demons; slaying in the spirita sign that one is filled with the holy spirit as members fall prostrate on the floor; human problems are believed to be caused by the devil and evil forces; claims of dreams, visions and revelations common, especially in response to untoward happenings; fasting, prayer, night vigils, and open crusades are regularly observed; use of media in worship and liturgy, prosperity gospel-salvation in not only spiritual but materials; holy living; emphasis in tithing and sowing of seeds; preponderance of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 92 youths and women; rejection of orthodox medicines; and an apocalyptic vision of the world and most of them do not take part in politics, they are apolitical (grudem, 1996; martin, 2002; obiora 2004; ishaya 2011). the main modus operandi of pentecostal mission has been straightforward evangelism and church planting from its inception. it takes almost every conceivable method, demonstrable of its creativity and zealousness. it also accompanies claims of the demonstration of supernatural power. the most common of them is divine healing, and it provides an outstanding inroad for the gospel (ma, 2014:87). the character of african pentecostalism is, according to kalu (2007), diverse and amoebic, creating a movement that is complex and full of ironies, solving old problems while creating new ones. african pentecostalism has africanised christian liturgy in a free and spontaneous way that does not betray its essential christian character, and liberates it from the foreignness of european forms. african pentecostals are among the most committed churchgoers in the townships. they have experienced the living christ through the power of the holy spirit; and their lives have been radically changed as a result. this conversion, or 'born again' experience as the bazalwane call it, has so transformed their lives that they do not have time for traditional practices. unlike any other church group they have almost unanimously rejected the ancestor cult and traditional divination; and they also spurn the use of beer and tobacco. this indicates the radical break from their past that their conversion represents. they are aggressive evangelists, adding members to their churches at a rapid rate, often at the expense of other churches, especially the mission churches (anderson 1992:119-120). methodology the area of study, port-harcourt, the capital city of rivers state, is located in the niger delta region of nigeria with more than five ethnic groups or nationalities. what is literally known as port-harcourt today include obio/akpor – a sister local government area. the city serves as the commercial nerve centre of the state and has over the years witnessed an influx of migrants from the rural communities in rivers state and other parts of the country in search of greener pasture resulting in decrepit urban slums with massive numbers of unemployed. the city is highly congested. from an area of 15.54km2 in 1914, it grew uncontrolled to an area of 360km2 in the 1980s (www.wikipedia.org). the population of the city based on the 2006 census figure is 1,005,904 (nna and pabon, 2012:1). port harcourt city is a metropolitan society with a proportionately larger population of christians. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 93 this qualitative study is analytical. to achieve the objectives of this study, an indepth discussions were held with about twenty-five (30) people, most of whom pleaded anonymity. 25 of these are males and the remaining 5 were females. this gender disparity in the male-female ratio of interviewees is because most of the industries examined are male-dominated. ten of the males interviewed are executive members of their trade unions, 5 are direct owners of business enterprises, five are pentecostal clergymen, while the remaining five males are craftsmen such as carpenters, masons, and contractors. two of the five females interviewed were general overseers (gos) of pentecostal churches and the other three own shops. those who demanded anonymity often insisted that the discussion be not recorded. while these discussions were not tape-recorded, hand-written notes were taken during such events and fuller reconstructions made immediately after. another group of respondents who provided information is made of individuals selected through purposive random sampling techniques. these were so selected to obtain neutral information on the issues discussed. the information so obtained is used as a check to ascertain the objectivity of those in the first class of respondents, and to obtain the general opinion of the masses on the effects of pentecostal churches on small-scale business enterprises in port harcourt. finally, discussions were held with some colleagues and post graduate students. information from these discussions was used in much the same way as information from other interview sessions. the discussions served to provide insights into the various descriptions of the activities and involvement of pentecostal churches in the development of smallscale industries in port harcourt and its environs. the age bracket of those interviewed is 35 to 60 years. pentecostal churches and the development of smes in port harcourt several volumes have been written on pentecostal churches. a good number of the literature on pentecostalism focuses on the adverse effects of the proliferation of pentecostal churches and their prosperity gospels. little attention is given to the contributions of pentecostal churches on the development of the industrial sector of the economy of a state or country. in this section of this paper, we shall bring to limelight the roles of pentecostal churches to the development of some industries in port harcourt, and its environs. we shall first turn to the inter-play between pentecostal churches and the electronic market in port harcourt. by the electronics market here, we mean the sales of musical instruments and other electronic gadgets and public address systems used in the church. the biggest electronics market in port harcourt is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 94 situated on ilabuchi street and its adjoining streets stretching from parts of mile iii through mile ii to mile i. the total number of shops dealing on public address systems and musical instruments in the ilabuchi street market is over three thousand shops. the total market value of the goods and services there is worth billions of naira. it is the electronics sector of the economy of the city that the relevance of pentecostal churches towards the industrial development of a society is most glaring. it has been observed by scholars that pentecostal churches and charismatic churches are reshaping the religious landscape of nigeria (xzy). these genres of christianity are springing up at a geometric ratio at every nook and cranny of the country, especially in the southern part of the country. an average street in port harcourt could play host to at least five pentecostal and charismatic churches each employing sophiscated electronic gadgets and musical instruments such as loud speakers, jazz bands, pianos and organs, guitars, amplifiers, speakers, horn speakers and so on. a survey of a number of smaller mushroom pentecostal churches in port harcourt reveals that the least electronic gadget a church could acquire are microphones, amplifiers and speakers, which at costs a minimum sum of one hundred and fifty thousand naira (n150,000.00). in a bid to produce higher sound quality and perhaps to outwit a neighbouring pentecostal church, most pentecostal churches go on fund drives to buy electronics of higher quality. some pianos cost a whooping sum of four hundred to five hundred thousand naira. beside the emergence of new and newer names of the scene, most pentecotal churches see it as a point of duty to have branches all over the town. denominations that quickly come to mind here, with respect to port harcourt are salvation ministries, omega power ministries, (opm), the winners chapel, redeemed christian church of god, gate way international church, deeper life bible church, assemblies of god church, to mention but a few. each of these branches is usually fully equipped with sophiscated electronic gadgets, sometimes totalling over a million naira. we have noted that there is the emergence of new and newer forms of pentecostal churches springing up on daily bases. these churches equally compete with the mega pentecostal churches in the purchase and use of sophiscated electronic gadgets in worship. the point being raised here is that pentecostal churches provide a ready and viable market for tor importers of electronic gadgets and spare parts in nigeria, most of the electronic gadgets, with particular reference ot public address igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 95 systems imported form the united states, japan and china, are consumed by pentecostal churches. in a survey carried out at alabuchi street on the mile ii axis of diobu, port harcourt, reveals that most of the traders there are patronised by churches, especially pentecostal churches. as noted above, the bulk of these products are pentecostal churches. quite a minimal of it is bought by djs and politicians for political rallies. thus far we have been able to highlight the effects of the proliferation of pentecostal and charismatic churches on the electronics industry in port harcourt. recently, is has been observed that pentecostal churches rank high in the purchase and use of podcasts. podcasts are used to give a video coverage of the service and to enable the worshippers who might not have a direct view of the preacher to see her from any part of the auditorium. the podcast are not used by mega pentecostal churches alone. they are equally used by smaller pentecostal churches which could afford it. some use it because of space challenges. a small hall implies that a good number of worshippers will sit in adjoined halls. so with the help of the podcast those in the adjoined hall could equally participate fully in the worship. there are, however, some pentecostal churches which buy and make use of podcasts so because of space challenges but for the sole purpose of recording the service sections. given the number of pentecostal churches in port harcourt and the ever increase rate at which they spring up and open new branches, pentecostal churches provide veritable markets for dealers of podcasts in port harcourt city and its environs. most sales agents call on the door posts of pentecostal churches for the sales of their products we shall now turn to the positive impact of the proliferation of pentecoal churches on the building industry. with proliferation of pentecostal and charismatic churches in port harcourt comes the composite demand for accommodations for the places of worship and parsonage. the demand for accommodation for places of worships creates the need for erection of more buildings. most pentecostal churches, especially the mushroom ones usually go on renting of one or two rooms which they break the partition to create more spaces for the congregants. some rent town halls. others rent hotels halls. there are those which lease land, sometimes a piece of land measuring 50ft by 50ft, for the sole purpose of erecting temporary structures. there are equally those which buy large expanse of land to erect magnificent edifies and camp grounds. whatever the nature of the structure erected, there is a comparative effect of these churches on the building industry in port harcourt. firstlt, the erection of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 96 any structure implies the purchase of building materials such as nails, woods, roofing sheets of various sheds, and the like. what actually does it cost to erect a small batcher in port harcourt? an interview conducted across a group of carpenters reveals that the construction of small sizeable batcher would involve the nails of different sizes, woods of different lengths and widths, some bundles od roofing sheets, some lengths of tapoline, a number of blocks for covering the lower parts of the structure to prevent rain water from flowing into the church hall. the minimum amount required to purchase the above materials and the cost workmanship (labour) is put at two hundred thousand naira (n200,000.00). giving that there are myriads of pentecostal churches cropping up daily in geometric ratio in port harcourt city and its environs, we could see the real cost implication of the proliferation of these smaller pentecostal churches on the building industry in the city. the cost of constructing more solid structures by these churches for a place of worship has higher implications for the building industry. the construction of such structures would require the services of block moulders, masons, carpenters, electricians, aluminium craftsmen, iron wielders, painters et cetera.the services of block moulders are required because most of these churches prefer to use direct labour for constructing the structures to contracting same out to civil engineers. so, the services of block moulders are required to mould the quanitity of blocks needed for the building. the wielders construct burglary proofs for the windows of the building and iron doors which serve the dual purpose of a door and a burglary proof. in other to ascertain the actual cost of constructing a given size of a hall, survey of quotation from ten contractors for erecting a hall of 50ft by 50ft leaves one with a minimum price range of five million naira upwards. a most far reaching implication of pentecostal churches on the building industry is glarinf in the constructing of magnificent edifices such as those of winners chapel at kaduna street port harcourt, dominion city, nta road, close to nta station in port harourt, or that of the carpenters church on ada george road. the construction of such edifices is not mere simple tasks and as such are usually contracted out to high profile construction companies such as julius berger and michelin. the construction of such buildings require machines and earth moving equipment and as such, such structures are multi-million dollar projects. there a good number of such multimillion dollar church auditoriums littered all of the port harcourt city and its environs. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 97 another covert but equally important effects of pentecostal and charismatic churches on the building industry is on the area of renting of halls, either town halls and those in hotels. an increase in the demand on halls for rent implies a need to match such demands with supplies. as noted above, a good number of churches in port harcourt make use of rented halls this has led to the construction of more town halls, especially in the suburbs of port harcourt city. those which could not afford the rents for halls, go for simple rooms. some opt for single rooms, while others make rent two or more rooms which they eventually merge into halls. the quest for more single rooms by these churches for the aforementioned purpose in port harcourt and its environs has led to the scarcity of single rooms in the city and its suburbs. this scarcity of single rooms in not without some economic consequences: it has led to the hike in the price of rents for single rooms. another effect, an adverse one, is that most landlords and landladies issue quit notices to tenants in other to receive more rents for their single rooms. tenants mostly hit by this are those who have rented single rooms close to the front view of the house. it pertinent to explain at this point that church buildings, whether small or a multi-million dollar edifice require that they be filled up with chairs for the worshippers to seat on. a common feature of chairs found in most of the churches are plastic chairs. the preponderance of worshippers in pentecostal churches are within the range of ten adults to fifty thousand adults, with and mid-range put at one hundred adults. to each of thses estimates, we would record a ratio of 1 adult to 5 teens to 10 children. all these sit on plastic chairs of different shades of colour and sizes. the average cost of a plastic chair in port harcourt city is one thousand five hundred naira (n1,500.00). with these figures in mind, one could easily see the overarching impact of pentecostal churches on the manufacuring industries, especially, the plastic industry. a trader explains that most of her customers are churches one more industry to be considered is the printing industry. most printing presses in port harcourt city cluster within the mile diobu axis of the city. starting from education bus stop area down towards ojoto street, span over more than ten streets. some of these presses are small scale businesses with total number of employees ranging from a minimum of three to ten. others are quite big enough to have over employees working there. an interview with a number of operators of printing press in mile 1 reveal that their clients are usually schools, especially private schools, political parties, individual and churches. school owners print their office documents, customized exercise books and so on igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 98 there. politicians patronizes these small scale printing presses mainly during election periods. so their patronage is periodical. individual patronise them for the printing of almanacs, wedding invitation cards and programmes, burial programmes and other personal printable items. those interviewed categorically stated that more than 50% of their printing jobs come from churches. some of the items printed for the churches are adverts (usually weekly), handbills, posters, bulletins, order of service booklets, magazines, books written by the clergy, evenlops for tithes and harvests, tracts, an so on. most of the above items are printed in large quantities and on a regular basis. the economic relevance of this is that patronage of pentecostal churches to these small scale printing presses entails the consumption of large quantities of papers, printing inks and other printing materials. there is also the provision of jobs for the staffing of the enterprises. so, the pentecostal churches are key players in the promotion of the printing industry in port harcourt. pentecostal churches in port harcourt are in close contact with the business community. the church leaders associate with bankers and bank executives, marketing agents, manufacturers, importers and exporters, most of are the members. some leaders in pentecostal churches in port harcourt are businessmen and women themselves and they bring in their enterprises to the church. due to the support that pentecostal churches in port harcourt give to business, business in return supports the churches’ programmes with large sums of money. some banks open special loan facilities for pentecostal churches in port harcourt (some bank executives are members of pentecostal churches). pentecostal churches’ conventions and crusade grounds are for big and small enterprises good places to do brisk business. many businesses take advantage of such gatherings to sell their products. the organizers of crusades and conventions charge fees for stalls and shops in the grounds. in that way commerce is encouraged and income is raised for small scale businessmen and women. in addition to paying rent for spaces and shops, businesses have to register and contribute a fee to be allowed into the grounds. it should also be stated that small stalls and sheds are usually erected on the convention/ camp grounds. this provides employment and income to carpenters and wood dealers. conclusion so far, we have examined some sectors of the industry that pentecostal churches are catalysts of progress. these concomitant effects of this on the economy of port harcourt city and and eventually the gross domestic product (gdp) of nigeria were highlighted. much of the literature on pentecostal churches in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 99 nigeria are silent on these issues discussed above. looking at the relevance of pentecostal churches to the economic growth of the society as evidenced in this study, it would be inappropriate to condemn the proliferation of pentecostal churches and the multiplicity of their branches. governments and policy makers, at all level, should look for more inclusive approach to the challenges of the proliferation of these churches. scholars to examine other roles pentecostal churches have effected society positively such as their involvement in social justices. references anderson, a h. 1992. baza/wane: african pentecostals in south africa. pretoria: unisa. babatope, a. s. and d. o. akintunde (2010). a study of smalland medium-scale industrial development in ondo state, nigeria. au j.t. 13(3): 186-192 bruner, fd 1970. a theology of the holy spiril. grand rapids: eerdmans. clark, m. s. (1997). an investigation into the nature of a viable pentecostal hermeneutic. phd dissertation, university of south africa. ekpenyong, d. b. and m. o. nyong (1992). smalland medium-scale enterprises in nigeria: their characteristics, problems and sources of finance. a publication of african economic research consortium, research paper sixteen. grudem, wayne a.1996. are miraculous gifts for today? grand rapids, michigan: zondervan publishing house, p11. ishaya , e. r. a historical analysis of the emergence of newer pentecostal churches in adamawa state, nigeria from 1975 to 2008. a phd thesis university of kwazulu-natal kalu, o. u. 2008. african pentecostalism, oxford university press, new york. kalu, ogbu u. 1998. “the third response pentecostalism and the reconstruction of christian experience in africa 1970-1995” journal of african christian thought vol. 1, no.2. kim, i. (2013) history and theology of korean pentecostalism: sunbogeum (pure gospel) pentecostalism. zoetermeer, the netherlands: uitgeverij boekencentrum igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 5, november 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 100 ma, j. c. (2014) pentecostal evangelism, church planting, and church growth. pentecostal mission and global christianity. wonsuk, m., v. karkkainen and j. k. asamoah-gyadu (eds) edinburgh centenary series. book 20. http://scholar.csl.edu/edinburghcentenary/20 martin, d., 2002. pentecostalism: the world their parish, oxford, blackwell publishers. ngwuonugu, b. a. (2015). small and medium enterprises (smes) in nigeria: problems nd prospects. dissertation, st. clements university. nna, j. and b. g. pabon (2012). population, environment and security in port harcourt. isor journal of humanities and social sciences, 2.1:1-7 noel, b. t. (2007) pentecostal and postmodern hermeneutics: comparisons and contemporary impact. phd dissertation, university of south africa. obiora, n. 2004. “pentecostalism and public life,” http://www.boellnigeria.org/pentecostal.html accessed 5th september 2005. ojo, m.a.(1988). the contextual significance of charismatic movements in independent nigeria.” africa, 58/2: pp.175 – 192. onukwuli, a. g., u. g. akam and e. m. onwuka (2014). challenges of smallscale industries in sustainable development in nigeria. iosr journal of business and management (iosr-jbm) volume 16 (5):19-25 sanni, o. o. (2009). small-scale industry: problems of establishing small business enterprise in nigeria. n.p.: alahteef nigeria limited. stephenson, c. a. (2009). pentecostal theology according to the theologians: an introduction to the theological methods of pentecostal systematic theologians. phd dissertation, marquette university synan, v. 1975. aspects of pentecostal-charismatic origins. plainfield plainfield, nj: logos international. wonsuk, m., v. karkkainen and j. k. asamoah-gyadu (eds) (2014) pentecostal mission and global christianity. edinburgh centenary series. book 20. http://scholar.csl.edu/edinburghcentenary/20 microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 4.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 129 the sources of augustine’s educational insight prof. kanu ikechukwu anthony, o.s.a. department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university, umunya anambra state ikee_mario@yahoo.com abstract augustine wrote many articles and books, and from these works, insights could be gotten as it concerns education. however, there are three books that augustine wrote on education. the works include: the teacher (de magistro), christian teaching (de doctrina christiana) and the catechesis of beginners (de catechizandis rudibus). these three major works of his on education would be the focus of this piece. this study reveals that augustine had a profound influence on the subsequent development of western thought and culture and, more than any other thinker, shaped the themes and defined the problems that have characterized western traditions. the hermeneutic method of inquiry would be employed. keywords: augustine, educational, insight, sources, de magistro, doctrina christiana, catechizandis rudibus introduction the major sources of augustine’s insight on education include: the teacher (de magistro), christian teaching (de doctrina christiana) and the catechesis of beginners (de catechizandis rudibus). these works were not written during the time of his career as a teacher. he wrote them after his baptism in 387 which marked the end of his teaching career. he returned to africa to fulfill his dream of organizing a common philosophical life with his friends in his home town thagaste. from thagaste, providence brought him to hippo where he was ordained a priest and later a bishop. it was during these periods that he wrote these works. although augustine had written so many works, and his educational ideas are scattered from his books to his letters, there were only three works that augustine dedicated to discourses on education. these three major works of his on education would be the focus of this piece. 1. the teacher (de magistro) this was one of the early works of saint augustine. he wrote it at the age of 35 after his conversion, one year after he returned to thagaste with his son adeodatus. the work is a dialogue between a father (augustine) and his son (adeodatus), a son who is talented, beloved, and around eighteen years old at the time and who died shortly before the work was completed. while other igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 130 works better introduce augustine’s theological thoughts or his public life as priest and bishop or his personal life, the teacher reveals augustine the philosopher. the major theme in the work is communication: between the student, the interior teacher and the external teacher. in this piece, augustine christianizes greek pedagogy, and employed the method of questions and answers which was used in schools at the time. in fact, this piece shows augustine doing what christian philosophers typically do. they attempt to integrate their christian beliefs and philosophical reflections1. according to augustine, the external teacher, i.e., the parent or the professional teacher, is not really a teacher at all but one who serves. this role of the external teacher is to facilitate the dialogue between the student and truth. the true teacher is the interior teacher, the god who is within. augustine writes that: we have jesus our teacher inside each one of us. if you can’t understand what i am saying, listen to the christ who is in your hearts. it is this christ who gives me the words to say and it is this christ who will reveal deep inside your own self the message he wants you to get through hearing my words2. the external teacher’s basic function is to facilitate and remove obstacles to the encounter between the student and truth. this perspective is based on augustine’s method which proceeds from the outside to the inside and from the inside upwards. for augustine, education requires two dimensions to be realized: a. to open up the truth to the student this demands competence and professionalism – and; b. to open up the student to the truth this demands witness and the infectiousness of enthusiasm and love for the truth on the part of the teacher. this also implies: a. that the teacher also encounters the truth this makes the teacher a fellow student with his or her student. he wrote: “my friends, all of us stand before the same divine teacher as fellow pupils. the fact that we 1 anderson, r. d. (2015). teaching augustine’s on the teacher. religions. 6. 404-408 2augustine, st., commentary on the gospel of john, 20.3 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 131 bishops speak to you from this high podium does not make us your teachers. the divine one who lives in each of us is the teacher for us all3. b. that the teacher needs to have a personal relationship with the student to whom he or she is committed to helping, rather than merely to instruct or train. therefore, the success of education is not to be measured by the degree to which students become a copier or recorder in attitude and beliefs of the external teacher. augustine writes: teachers do not claim, do they, that their own thought are preserved and grasped by the pupils, but rather the branches of learning that they teach, they transmit by teaching? for who would be so absurdly curious as to send his child to school to learn what the teachers think? but when they have explained, by means of words, all those subjects, which they profess to teach and even the science of virtue and of wisdom, then those who are called pupils consider within themselves whether what has been said is truth4. the goal is clearly an unfinished project, since each one is on a journey of ongoing discovery and on a path to maturity which involves the uniqueness of each individual and their ongoing dialogue with the interior teacher5. it is in this regard that we can say that education never finishes, thus making the world a great classroom. 2. the catechesis of beginners (de catechizandis rudibus) augustine’s second work on education emerged between 400 and 405, when augustine was between 46 and 51. it was written as a result of a request from deogracias, a deacon at carthage who was asking for practical rules from augustine on how to carry out his responsibility of catechesis. augustine, therefore, responded to him with this work which has become a unique model of educational pedagogy. it is made up of two parts. the first borders on how to deal with the various problems that a catechist could encounter while teaching. it touches on the relationship between the teacher and the student which augustine considers fundamental in the learning process. he outlined these points for deogracias: 1. the importance and the limitations of language used by the teacher, 3augustine, st., sermon 134, 1 4augustine, st., the teacher 14, 45 5 morahan m. (2001). education: an augustine approach. villanova college: australia. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 132 2. the long term preparation of the teacher, as well as the teacher’s immediate preparation for classes, 3. balance in the developing topics, 4. the pressing need to adapt one’s teaching to the individual realities of particular students, 5. the trilogy of hear-listen-understand as the backbone of learning, 6. the need for love in the encounter with students and their particular needs. in relation to the need for love, augustine writes: and if we pass through streets that are most familiar to us with all the cheerfulness that springs from well doing, when we happen to be pointing out the way to one who had been in trouble through losing his way, with how much more alacrity and with how much greater joy, in the matter of salutary doctrine, ought we to go over those things which, as far as we are concerned, need not be repeated, when we are escorting through the paths of peace a soul to be pitied, and one wearied with the wanderings of this world, at the bidding of him who has given that peace to us6. he teaches further: again, if it be distasteful to us to be repeating over and over things that are familiar and suitable for little children, let us suit ourselves to them with a brother's, a father's, and a mother's love, and when once we are linked to them thus in heart these things will seem new even to us. for so great is the power of sympathy, that when people are affected by us as we speak and we by them as they learn, we dwell each in the other and thus both they, as it were, speak in us what they hear, while we, after a fashion, learn in them what we teach. is it not a common occurrence, that when we are showing to those who have never seen them before certain lovely expanses, whether of town or countryside, which we through often seeing already have been in the habit of passing by without any pleasure, our own delight is renewed by their delight at the novelty of the scene? and the more so, the closer the friendship between them and us; for in proportion as we dwell in them through the bond of love, so do things which were old become new to us also7. 6augustine, st., on catechizing the uninstructed, 12, 17 7 augustine, st., on catechizing the uninstructed, 12, 17 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 133 the second concerns christian doctrines for the specialized world of beginners. it, therefore, concerns both the teacher and the student. the context within which these techniques are dealt with is the sacred stories of christianity and the history of salvation. however, its insight into the nature of teaching and learning and techniques transcend the subject matter and can be applied to other contexts, especially where beginners are involved. 3. christian teaching (de doctrina christiana) this work was written by augustine after 395, that is, after he was made a bishop. he was about 43 years old then, however, the work was not completed immediately; it was finished about thirty years later, around 440. as bishop, augustine had a clerical community that he had formed, and this work was most probably meant for the formation of priests at hippo. de doctrina christiana makes an explanation of the christian doctrine, using the scripture as a basis. however, interesting is the method of communicating knowledge that he proposes. he posits that educators need to offer an academic curriculum that responds to our diverse needs as human beings. these needs are revealed in our underlying restlessness and range from knowledge about our external world to the more deeply spiritual and religious knowledge. he reflected on the relationship between the student and truth. this relationship has three foundations: 1. faith in the human thirst for knowledge as the starting point, 2. hope creating desire to achieve objectives as motivation for effort, and 3. a passionate love of truth like the force of gravity that attracts and energizes. true educators, be they class teachers or the father or mother of a family, should keep in the forefront of their minds the students’ internal dynamism and focus entirely upon it: stimulating the students in their capacity for wonder in front of mystery, promoting and encouraging their enthusiasm and accompanying them closely on the challenging path of discovering knowledge and wisdom while nurturing in this search a great love of truth. according to augustine, good example rather than great speeches, authenticity of life rather than formal commands, are decisive in this context8. 8 mendelson, m. (2010). saint augustine. stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/augustine igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 134 conclusion the foregoing has studied three works of saint augustine of hippo, who remains one of the foremost philosophers and theologians of early christianity. he had a profound influence on the subsequent development of western thought and culture and, more than any other thinker, shaped the themes and defined the problems that have characterized western traditions of christian theology and philosophy9. augustine received a classical education that both schooled him in latin literature and enabled him to escape from his provincial upbringing, creating a confident background for the importance of his works on education. his contribution to western civilization is evident in his philosophy of education which holds that: the teacher should help the student experience god; the teacher should take into account the unique characteristics of each student and relate to the students as unique individuals; christian education should include the study of plato, for most christian doctrines were contained in his writings; teachers must recognize the image of god in persons as their rational nature, thus it is to be used as a tool to relate them to god; teachers should distrust the senses as a means to knowledge and use reason instead; in the tension between faith and reason, faith must predominate. the sources of his educational insights have been the concern of this piece, and it has studied three major works of augustine, not disregarding the possibility of obtaining educational ideas from other works of saint augustine. bibliography anderson, r. d., teaching augustine’s on the teacher. religions. 6. 404-408, 2015. augustine, st. on christian teaching (426), trans. r. p. h. green. new york: oxford university press, 1997. augustine, st. epistulae are translated by w. parsons in the fathers of the church series: letters 1–82, vol 12; letters 83–130, vol. 18; letters 131– 64, vol. 20; letters 165–203, vol. 30; letters 204–70, vol. 32; recently discovered letters *1–*29 are translated by r. eno in vol. 81. augustine, st. sermons, sermons, volume 1 (1–80) (the fathers of the church, volume 31). translated by sister mary magdeleine mueller. catholic university of america press. 1956. 9 israel galindo, sex educational principles from augustine of hippo. retrieved 29/6/18 from http://www.ctsnet.edu/six-educational-principles-from-augustine-ofhippo/2014. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 135 augustine, st., against lying, ranslated by h. browne. from nicene and post-nicene fathers, first series, vol. 3. edited by philip schaff. (buffalo, ny: christian literature publishing co., 1887. augustine, st., commentary on the gospel of john, 20.3. new york: oxford university press. augustine, st., commentary on the psalms, translated by j.e. tweed. from nicene and post-nicene fathers, first series, vol. 8. edited by philip schaff. (buffalo, ny: christian literature publishing co., 1888.) augustine, st., order, south bend, ind.: st. augustine's press 2007. augustine. “de musica.” in the fathers of the church. translated by robert taliaferro. washington: catholic university of america press, 1947, vol. 4. augustine. aurelius augustinus: de musica liber vi. translated by martin jacobsson. stockholm: almqvist and wiksell, 2002. israel galindo, sex educational principles from augustine of hippo. retrieved 29/6/18 from http://www.ctsnet.edu/six-educationalprinciples-from-augustine-of-hippo/2014. leonard, t., st. augustine (354–430) augustine and teaching, influence teacher, god, students, and student. retrieved 12th june 2018 from http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1778/augustine-st354-430, 2006. mendelson, m., saint augustine. stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/augustine, 2010. morahan m., education: an augustine approach. villanova college: australia, 2001. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 4.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 17 the place of women in the contemporary church: a theological reflection on 1 corinthians 14:26-40 mercy uwaezuoke chukwuedo trinity theological college, umuahia, abia state. mercychukwuedo@gmail.com abstract this paper is motivated by the treatment being given to women in the church. second class status has often been the lot of women in judaism which has also crept into christianity. it is, however, complicating when the new testament gives evidence of texts that describe women as active participants in christian ministry and the same time advocate the complete silence of women in ministry. this paper is provoked by paul’s injunction in 1 corinthians 14:26-40 which has been used today in some religious circles to relegate women to the background. this study examines the intention of the writer of the text (1 cor. 14:26-40). the hermeneutical approach is adopted to interpret 1 corinthians 14:26-40 and apply the perspectives on the place of women in the church. the findings reveal that the text has been used to prop up restrictive measures on women’s full participation in the ministry of the church. the study reveals that the text is centered on paul’s argument against disorderliness in the church. paul is more concerned that order and propriety be preserved in the worship assembly. this text is not a blanket prohibition on women generally rather the text should be understood in its proper context. therefore this may not be taken as a status quo for a contemporary church without any similar situation. this work recommends that adequate opportunity be given to women to exercise their spiritual gifts. introduction women are relegated to the background in various cultures and societies. second class status has often been the lot of wives and women in general in both judaism and christianity. this has been due mainly to the influence of other cultures, religious and social, which have given women a position of social inferiority to men. while certain restrictions were placed upon the female sex by the old testament order, there were also conferred on them certain honors, rights and privileges not known in the contemporary world. it was the traditional teachings of the rabbis outside the scriptures that tended to degrade them. the restrictions found in the new testament on the ministry of women in the church pose a problem to many different contemporary groups. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 18 various cultures and religions have marginalized women and wrongly interpreted the biblical terms, “weaker vessel” to mean inferior or something of lesser value. genesis sees creation of man and woman as the crown of god’s plan for making a world which he sees as very good. both are created to belong to god and to one another. on the other hand, batchelor (2008) considers men and women equal as humans but entirely unique as creatures. there abound a lot of biblical examples of women in ministry. obielosi (2015) notes: despite the partriachal and androcentric nature of the old testament times, many passages still view women at a very high esteem. old testament history includes accounts of strong female leadership in many roles. the following are striking examples: miriam was a prophetess to israel during the exodus, alongside her brothers, moses and aaron (exodus 15:20). deborah was a prophetess and a judge who directed barak to lead the army of israel into successful combat against israel’s oppressors (judges 4-5), huldah, also a prophetess authenticated the scroll of the law found in the temple and helped spark religious reform in the days of josiah (2kings 22:14-2; 2 chronicles 34: 22-28). a thorough study of the scriptures shows that women played active roles especially in the new testament. in the gospels, christ recognized their active participation in his ministry and so did not relegate them to the background. in matthew 28:1ff, mary magdalene and the other mary witnessed the risen christ and worshipped him. in luke 8:1-3, women who were delivered by christ of evil spirits, mary magdalene and others ministered to him with their substance. mary magdalene saw the risen christ who also communicated with her in john 20. in john 12, martha ministered to jesus and her sister mary anointed jesus’ feet with costly ointment. the early church recognized tabitha’s effective benevolence ministry in acts 9:36. philip’s four unmarried daughters were recognized prophets in acts 21:8, 9. paul singled out two women eurodia and syntyche, as “women who have contended at my side in the course of the gospel, along with clement and the rest of my fellow workers” (philippians 4:2, 3). the treatment of women as second class worshippers is practiced in judaism which influenced paul’s writing in 1 corinthians 11:34 “women should remain silent in the churches. they are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says.” this idea has also crept into modern christianity. the question of women’s role in church and whether or not they ought to be pastors is under serious debate within many churches. today, some denominations do not have any place for women. they seem to adopt paul’s igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 19 position. not much importance was attached to women and their activities in the service of god, hence the gender difference which makes the position of women as well as their contributions less significant. however, it is necessary to discover why paul had to make this statement. this paper will help deepen the understanding of the vital roles women play and will also bring a change of attitude towards their ministry. it will project women as inevitable force or group which is inseparable in the contemporary churches. kittel, bromiley, and friedrich (1976) reveal that the traditional position and estimation of woman is a saying current in different forms among the persians, greeks and jews in which man gives thanks that he is not an unbeliever or uncivilized, that he is not a woman and that he is not a slave. woman is seen in greek world and hellenism in the following light: fickle and contentious, with no claim to culture. “to instruct a woman is simply to increase the poison of a dangerous serpent. a house in which woman has the final say will inevitably perish. the normal fate of a woman is to be oppressed and despised, especially if she did not enjoy male protection” (pp.777-778). woman in this context is treated as inferior being. the inferior status of women is indicated in economic terms by the valuation for the purpose of vows of women at thirty shekels and of men at fifty (lev. 27:3-4). women were to be isolated during the ritual impurity of their menstrual period (lev. 15:19-24) and after childbirth (lev. 12:1-8), when the period of impurity was double if the child was female. the concept of woman attempts to unify white and black women by appealing to something that they all share because they are women. this concept focuses on women and how they are oppressed as women. sowummi (1996) in kemdirim and oduyeye (1996) in a key note address exposed the unfairness of chambers twentieth century dictionary in its definition of woman. she says the definitions reflect some of the fundamental and virtually universal prejudices, misconceptions and discriminations against women. woman, here, is defined as an adult female of the human race; womanhood; the state; character; or qualities of a woman (but no qualities are specified), contrarily; man: a human being, manly, bold, courageous, vigorous, stout, noble minded, manly, brave, dignified, noble…not childish or womanish. to call a person woman connotes: to give way to weakness. these definitions are clear evidences to the ill treatment and debasement of the women folk. historical and contextual background of 1 corinthians spence-jones (2004) writes in his commentary on 1 corinthians that paul left athens after his memorable address in the areopagus, and sailed to corinth. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 20 his vessel dropped anchor in the bright waters of the saronic bay, under the pine woods and low green hills of cenchreae. according to mccain (1996), the city of corinth was located on a narrow strip of land called an isthmus. it was the capital of the province of achaia with a population of about 500,000. corinth was a commercial city having two sea ports. corinth was a city of low morals with a lot of money. throughout the roman world, the term “corinthian” became associated with a person of low morals. with the advantage of its two harbours, over which ships were dragged to avoid the circumnavigation of cape malea, the town flourished. people from different places flocked to it for trade and commerce, such as the jews, phoenicians, and romans. men of pleasure availed themselves of its immorality. greeks were attracted in large numbers by the isthmian games. it was the greeks who stamped their own character upon the majority of the inhabitants. they became proverbial for litigious shrewdness, intellectual restlessness, and, above all, sensual indulgence. paul found his way into this city of about six hundred thousand inhabitants which included jews, merchants, philosophers, ex-soldiers, retailers, and agents of vice, the lonely and suffering. evidently his stay in corinth impressed his imagination. he drew many illustrations from their stadium, their races, their boxing matches, their courts of justice, their theatres, their garlands of isthmian pine (ch. 9:24, 27; 4:9; 9:25; 2 cor. 2:14–16; 5:10; 9:25). he learnt to love the corinthians with intense affection, though he never had to deal with any church so inflated and so immoral, so indifferent to his sufferings, so contemptuous towards his teaching, or so tolerant of the opposition and the misrepresentation of his personal enemies and rivals. the worst moral sins of the city were dishonesty, drunkenness, and above all, sensuality, which were directly due to the worship of aphrodite pandemos, and to the thousand goddesses, who were consecrated to her service. apostle paul lifted up his voice against these sins (ch. 5:10; 6:9–20; 10:7, 8; 11:21; 2 cor. 6:14; 7:1; 12:21, etc.). theological reflection on 1 corinthians 14:26-40 apparently some people in corinth were extolling the gift of tongues as a mark of superior spirituality. paul did not tell them to stop speaking in tongues. paul is apparently trying to give some organization to what had been a rather chaotic worship meeting—several people speaking at once, speaking words that no one could understand. however, hurley (1981) posits that he igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 21 did put some restrictions on how tongues should be used in the worship service: 1) there should be two or three speakers (14:27). 2) they should speak one at a time (v. 27). 3) there should be an interpretation (v. 27b). 4) if no one can interpret the tongues, “the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and god” (v. 28). however, this requirement should not be lifted out of its context to create a complete prohibition on the person ever speaking. two statements in this section go together: “let all things be done unto edifying” (1 corinthians 14:26), and, “let all things be done decently and in order” (1 corinthians 14:40). when a building is constructed, there must be a plan, or everything will be in chaos. the corinthian church was having special problems with disorders in their public meetings (1 corinthians 11:17–23). wiersbe (1996) laments that the reason is not difficult to determine: they were using their spiritual gifts to please themselves and not to help their brethren. they were using their spiritual gifts for exhibition instead of for edification. add to this problem the “liberated women” caused some difficulties in the assembly. first corinthians 14:26 gives us a picture of worship in the early church. each member was invited to participate as the lord directed. one would want to sing a psalm (ephesians 5:19; col. 3:16). another would be led to share a doctrine. someone might have a revelation that would be given in a tongue and then interpreted. henry (1996) asks: is not this perfect uproar? can this be edifying? all religious exercises in public assemblies should have this view, “let all things be done for edifying’’ (1corinthians 14:26). apart from some kind of god-given order, there could never be edification. it is pertinent to note that the tongues speakers were the ones causing the most trouble, so paul addressed himself to them and gave several instructions for the church to obey in their public meetings. first, speaking and interpreting, along with judging (evaluating the message) must be done in an orderly manner (1 corinthians 14:27–33). there must not be more than three speakers at any one meeting, and each message must be interpreted and evaluated in order. if no interpreter was present, then the tongues speaker must keep silent. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 22 why were the messages evaluated? to determine whether the speaker had truly communicated the word of god through the holy spirit. it was possible for a speaker, under the control of his own emotions, to imagine that god was speaking to him and through him. as wiersbe (1996) noted, it was even possible for satan to counterfeit a prophetic message (2 corinthians 11:13–14). therefore, in order to avoid this, listeners would test the message by old testament scriptures, apostolic tradition, and the personal guidance of the spirit, which is “discerning of spirits,” according to 1 corinthians 12:10. if while a person is speaking, god gives a revelation to another person, the speaker must be silent while the new revelation is shared. wiersbe (1996) asserts; if god is in charge, there can be no competition or contradiction in the messages. if, however, the various speakers are “manufacturing” their messages, there will be confusion and contradiction. when the holy spirit is in charge, the various ministers will have self-control; for self-control is one fruit of the spirit (gal. 5:23). paul instructs, concerning prophesy that two or three only should speak at one meeting (v. 20), and this successively, not all at once; and that the other should examine and judge what he delivered, that is, discern and determine concerning it, whether it were of divine inspiration or not. there might be false prophets, mere pretenders to divine inspiration; and the true prophets were to judge of these, and discern and discover who was divinely inspired, and by such inspiration interpreted scripture, and taught the church. secondly, paul enjoins that, if any assistant prophet had a revelation, while another was prophesying, the other should hold his peace, be silent (v. 30), before the inspired assistant uttered his revelation. indeed, it is by many understood that the former speaker should immediately hold his peace. paul wrote: “as in all the congregations of the saints, women should remain silent in the churches. they are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says, v.34. mac-arthur (1996) observes that some have tried to evade the plain meaning of the text by arguing that “silently” refers to a woman’s meek and quiet spirit. women, they argue, can preach or teach as long as they do it with the proper attitude. others go to the opposite extreme and use the text to prohibit women from ever talking in church under any circumstance, even to the person sitting next to her. 1 corinthians 11:5 indicates women are permitted to speak the word at many times and places. if we take 1 cor. 11:34 literally, it would also mean that women are not allowed to sing in church nor respond when the pastor asks for comments or igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 23 questions from the audience. moreover, it would contradict what paul said in chapter 11, where he said that women could pray and prophesy in church if they had the appropriate attire says tkach (2015). women are not the only people paul tells to be “silent.” he uses the same word in verses 28 and 30 to tell tongue-speakers and prophets to be silent when others speak. in both of those verses, he is calling for a temporary silence, not a complete and permanent prohibition. the silence he commanded for women was a temporary silence, just as it was for prophets and tongues-speakers; the goal of all these commands was an orderly worship service. warren (1996) says the context of this prohibition would indicate that some of the women in the assembly were creating problems by asking questions and perhaps even generating arguments. paul reminded the married women to be submitted to their husbands and to get their questions answered at home. while addressing the topic of church order, paul briefly digresses from his contrast of prophecy and tongues and regulations concerning them to address the interruptions of some women occurring during the teaching period of the church service. robertson (1997) opines that (ἐν ταις ἐκκλησιαις σιγατωσαν [en tais ekklēsiais sigatōsan]) that is keep silent in the churches is the same verb used about the disorders caused by those who speak in tongues (verse 28) and prophets (30). for some reason some of the women were creating disturbance in the public worship by their dress (11:2–16) and now by their speech. in church the women are not allowed to speak (λαλειν [lalein] or even to ask questions. they are to do that at home (ἐν οἰκῳ [en oikōi]). he calls it a shame (αἰσχρον [aischron]) as in 11:6 (cf. eph. 5:12; tit. 1:11). certainly women are still in subjection (ὑ̟οτασσεσθωσαν [hupotassesthōsan]) to their husbands. but somehow modern christians have concluded that paul’s commands on this subject, even i tim. 2:12, were meant for specific conditions that do not apply wholly now. schloer (2016) comments that the silence enjoined in 1 corinthians 14:34–35 must be a specific, limited silence. numerous suggestions have been offered, but only the major alternatives can be reviewed here. some scholars have suggested either that 1 corinthians 14:34–35 was not written by paul but was inserted by a copyist or that it is a question from paul’s opponents in corinth which paul denounces in 1 corinthians 14:36. one view is that the speaking prohibited here is mere babbling. there is, however, nothing specific in the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 24 context to support this meaning of “speak,” and such misconduct would certainly have been prohibited to all persons in the worship, paul described. another view suggests that the speaking prohibited is speaking in tongues (glossolalia) since that is frequently mentioned in the preceding context (1 corinthians 14). however, glossolalia is always referred to as “tongues” or “speaking in tongues” and never simply as speaking. secondly, paul orders that, if any assistant prophet had a revelation, while another was prophesying, the other should hold his peace, be silent (v. 30), before the inspired assistant uttered his revelation. indeed, it is by many understood that the former speaker should immediately hold his peace. the place of 1 corinthians 14:34-35 to contemporary women ministry culture has a great influence on people’s religious beliefs and in the interpretation of the bible. most cultures and traditions in nigeria depict male dominance in all situations and as such females are inferior. this unfortunate belief system has been a major obstacle to women’s position in the nigerian church. in the igbo culture, women are not to lead men. they have their boundaries. they are restricted from performing certain rituals and entering some sacred places. this notion has affected the church which exists within a culture in the interpretation of the biblical texts which have been used as a cover to subordinate women. according to kemdirim and oduyoye (1996), people have used the fact that references of god and jesus in the bible are predominantly masculine and male, and jesus chose only twelve male apostles to degrade women. the writings of paul have often been used to subordinate women. in the same vein, kemdirim and oduyoye (1996) analyzed the book, did i betray the gospel? paul’s letter and the place of women by arajah (1996) as brilliantly arguing that paul has been grossly misunderstood and quoted out of context by those who use him to support and legitimize the denigration, oppression and discrimination of and against women. women are regarded as home makers and should not be engaged in anything that takes them out of the home. on the other hand, women are regarded as weak and easily taken by emotions. consequently, they should not be given leadership roles or positions in the church. women are often unjustly treated in the igbo traditional court. if there is a case between a man and his wife, it was always the woman that is declared guilty. men are not reprimanded before their wives if they are found guilty to avoid humiliating them before their wives. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 25 women’s status are been upgraded in recent times as a result of enlightenment, civilization and feminist theology. culture is dynamic. this has reflected in some areas of the igbo culture. we now have female chiefs and even priestesses. with the rise of women liberation, feminist theology and gender related interpretive theories; women’s position in the church is gradually changing. this is a clarion call for the reinterpretation of 1 corinthians 14:26-40 because people have been conditioned to silence women in the church. paul allowed women to pray and prophesy in public worship in corinth (1cor.11:5). his injunction for women to keep silent has been interpreted in various ways within different circles. in some pentecostal churches, it is believed that a woman who is married to a pastor is called alongside her husband. she assumes leadership offices without restrictions. courageous women serve on mission frontiers at home and abroad as missionaries, evangelists, church planters, pastors, educators, and in other roles. in other circles women are generally not allowed to minister or take up leadership positions. they literally interpret paul’s statement in 1corinthians 11:34 to mean outright prohibition on female leadership. rather than restricting women in any way, paul’s letters contain the sharpest calls for women’s full participation in the church. paul rebukes those who would arbitrarily limit the participants by sex in gal. 3:28-29. he reveals a new view of the body of christ in which gifts are not apportioned by worldly measures. when the church gathers, all are to participate and all are to learn and be encouraged. the real work of evangelism in the churches today is being shouldered by the women. they perform various acts of mercy and charity, visit the sick and less-privileged, comfort the distressed especially the bereaved. the modern church should emulate christ who did not marginalize women but treated them as friends and models of discipleship. women should be encouraged to bring out the best in them and use it for the edification of the body of christ. this is because according to nmah, (2008), women are equally children of god, equally part of the body of christ and equally the recipients of the spirit. conclusion considering the immense contributions of women in god’s salvation plans, right from the old testament periods, it is pertinent that the church should at this time reconsider her stand on the position of women in the church. churches have continued to enjoy the benefits from their efforts and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 26 contributions, but still neglect to recognize and honor them for their good works. in 1 corinthians 14:26-40, paul was addressing a specific situation rather than making a blanket prohibition on women speaking in church. paul intends to prohibit disruptive and disrespectful questions and comments coming from the women in the corinthian church. just as he told the disorderly tongue speakers and prophets to control themselves because god is not a god of disorder, he also told the women to control themselves because the law teaches self control. if they want to learn, they can ask their husbands at home. only one person should speak at a time. others should keep silent while someone else is speaking in the assembly. just as paul’s call for tongue speakers or prophets to be silent should not be turned into a demand that they never give messages of spiritual value, women should not be discouraged from using their spiritual gifts. paul admonishes that “everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way” (1 corinthians 14:40). recommendations this paper finds it disturbing that the passage is used to prop up restrictive views on women’s participation, even after the plain meaning of the passage has been rejected. in many churches, women take care of sunday school and children ministry. they even embark on major development projects. despite the fact that the good efforts of these women have often been neglected and considered housewifely task, yet the women have not relented in their commitment to the formation of the church and ecumenical movement. they have maintained an incalculable influence on the church and society. they, therefore, need the respect, liberty, and recognition to allow them use their god-given talents, and spiritual gifts. the paper is of the view that the church should provide opportunities of training and higher education for the women leaders. regular refreshers courses, seminars and workshops should be organized to update the women’s knowledge. a baby may be born with good intelligence but show a significant lag in mental development from living in an environment where learning is not stimulated. so, a christian may have an aptitude for ministry (a spiritual gift) that has not been encouraged to grow. spiritual gifts need to be discovered and developed. a number of tools are available to help christians discover their spiritual gifts. many books on spiritual gifts are available for study. do not overlook secular sources for learning how to express spiritual gifts with greater effectiveness. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 27 references adudu, j.o.c. (2015). the ambivalence of ecclesiastical politics in the creation of anglican dioceses in nigeria, 1979-2009. phd dissertation. nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. batchelor, d. (2008). god’s role for women in ministry. usa: amazing facts inc. fulfer, k. n. (2008). the concept of “woman”: feminism after the essentialism critique. thesis, georgia state university. http://scholarworks.gsu.edu/philosophy_theses/36. henry, m. (1996). matthew henry's commentary on the whole bible: complete and unabridged in one volume. peabody: hendrickson. hurley (1973). “did paul require veils or the silence of women? a consideration of 1 corinthians 11:2–16 and 1 corinthians 14:33b–36,”westminster theological journal 35:pp. 217-18. kemdirim, p. o. and oduyoye, m. a. (1996). women, culture and theological education. enugu, nigeria: snaap press. kittel, g., bromiley g.w., and friedrich, g. (1976). theological dictionary of the new testament. electronic ed. grand rapids, mi: eerdman. mac-arthur, j. (1996). different by design. electronic ed. wheaton, illinois, victor books. nmah, p.e. (2008). religion and philosophy. religion and society in africa. enugu: rabboni publishers. obielosi, d. (2015). …for the husband is the head of the wife” a theological study of ephesians www.eajournals.org/journals/global-journal-ofarts-humanities-and-social-sciences-gjahss/vol-3issue-3-march-2015/. hornsby, a.s. oxford advanced learner’s dictionary. (2010). oxford: university press robertson, a.t. (1997). word pictures in the new testament. oak harbor: logos research systems. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 28 schloer, d. (2016). women in ministry .accessed, 26th january, 2016 at http: fuller.edu/about/women-in-ministry—the basis-in-paul. spence-jones, h. d. m. (2004): the pulpit commentary: 1 corinthians. bellingham, wa : logos research systems, inc. tkach j. “women should remain silent” – a study of 1 corinthians. retrieved from http://www.gci.org/church/ministry/women9 on 25th january, 2016. warren, w. (1996). the bible exposition commentary. wheaton, ill. : victor books. wiersbe, w.w. (1996): the bible exposition commentary. wheaton, ill.: victor books igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 69 relevance theory and its application in pragmatic analysis of language bagayang, linda abakasa department of english and literary studies ahmadu bello university, zaria srlili.lee@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29105.45929 abstract there is a general assumption that what is relevant to one might be irrelevant to another. this is so because relevance is dependent on how the human mind selects and interprets transmitted stimuli. this paper provides a general insight into the relevance theory in pragmatics and its applications in language. the explication of the theory offered here is in accordance with the aim of pragmatic theory which is the explanation of how the hearer apprehends the intended interpretation of an utterance. consequently, the paper asserts that interpretation is not decoded, rather it is inferred by a non-demonstrative inference process in which considerations of relevance play a central role. a description of relevance is given, while asserting that an utterance creates an expectation of relevance in the hearer, with the preferred interpretation being the one that best meets that expectation of relevance. the theory can be demonstrated by applying it to a wide range of examples and in this case language. keywords: relevance theory, pragmatics, language, interpretation introduction according to allott (2013) “relevance theory is a rather wide-ranging framework (or ‘research programme’ – see below or the study of cognition, devised primarily to provide an account of communication that is psychologically realistic and empirically plausible.” in the first part of this paper, the conception of relevance theory is defined and explained as an inferential approach to pragmatics. relevance theory is based on a definition of relevanceas a comparative feature (the more positive cognitive effects and the less processing effort, the more significant the utterance) and two principles of relevance: a cognitive principle which says that human cognition is geared to the maximisation of relevance and a communicative principle that asserts that utterances create expectations of optimal relevance. going further, the paper igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 70 explains the motivation for these principles and shows their application to a range of pragmatic cases/questions. the last segment of the paper considers the applications of relevance theory approach to language. the concept of relevance theory relevance theory as a cognitive theory of communication is relatively new. it was first developed by dan sperber and deirdre wilson but the conception of relevance theory is not entirely original to sperber and wilson. its seeds are found in paul grice’s work from whom sperber and wilson drew their inspiration. “building on insights arising from their critique of grice, sperber and wilson developed their suggestion that considerations of relevance guide the processes of utterance interpretation. the view that emerged follows grice in seeing utterance interpretation as being about recognising the intentions of communicators but differs from his approach in several ways” (clark 2013, p.77). in this sense, relevance theory is the development of grice’s insights but it is different from grice’s approach to pragmatics. as a theory, it was formulated only in the late 1970s and early 1980s as an alternate theory to grice’s cooperation-ruled explanation of human communication (yus, 2016). relevance theory is built on the principle that the human communication process includes among others encoding, transfer, decoding of messages and more importantly also reference and context. relevance theory assumes that human communication is intentional and creates an expectation that helps an audience or an addressee to decide what message the communicator wishes to put across. in relevance theory, it is further assumed that “the act of communicating makes clear to the addressee that the communicator must think that what they are communicating is relevant to the addressee. … relevance theory can be understood as an elaboration of, and an attempt to account for, this intuition” (clark 2013:4) communication can be achieved through language or actions that point clearly to the audience or person that the communicator intends to communicate something he/she presumes relevant which triggers specific types of expectations in the addressee. the general expectation can be roughly characterised as the assumption that there is an interpretation of the communicator’s behaviour which the addressee will find worthwhile to recover. this generalisation is the central insight behind the relevance-theoretic account of intentional communication. understanding the way that acts of communication igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 71 create this expectation is seen as the key to understanding how we interpret each other’s utterances and also why we sometimes misunderstand each other (clark 2013, p. 6). from the foregoing, we may say that relevance theory is concerned mainly with the manner we come to comprehend what others mean when they communicate with us. thus, according to sperber and wilson (2004, p. 1); relevance theory may be seen as an attempt to work out in detail one of grice’s central claims: that an essential feature of most human communication, both verbal and non-verbal, is the expression and recognition of intentions (grice 1989: essays 1-7, 14, 18; retrospective epilogue). in developing this claim, grice laid the foundations for an inferential model of communication, an alternative to the classical code model. according to the code model, a communicator encodes her intended message into a signal, which is decoded by the audience using an identical copy of the code. according to the inferential model, a communicator provides evidence of her intention to convey a certain meaning, which is inferred by the audience on the basis of the evidence provided. an utterance is, of course, a linguistically coded piece of evidence, so that verbal comprehension involves an element of decoding. however, the linguistic meaning recovered by decoding is just one of the inputs to a non-demonstrative inference process which yields an interpretation of the speaker's meaning. in grice’s approach to pragmatics, the role of context in communication and understanding was neglected. relevance theory emphasizes the role of context in communication and understanding by raising such questions as: how is the right context chosen? how is it that from the several assumptions available at the time of utterance, an audience or addressees restrict themselves to the intended ones? to make sense of these questions it is important to understand what is relevance? relevance is a comparative property: the high positive cognitive effects and the less processing effort, the more relevant the utterance (sperber and wilson 1994, p. 145). relevance is a characteristic of not only external stimuli (such as utterances) but also internal representations and thoughts, which can both be used as inputs for cognitive processing. humans’ mental behaviour is characterized by the pursuit of relevance, which is often oriented toward receiving the highest reward from the stimuli they process.this propensity to optimize relevance, when combined with another distinctly human cognitive endowment, the capacity to meta-represent one's own and other people's igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 72 thoughts and intentions, helps us to anticipate what knowledge will be relevant to other people and what interpretive measures will be involved in its processing, allowing us to manipulate other people's thoughts. the idea of relevance may be demonstrated with an example. let us assume that ann and eddy are planning to spend the next weekend in their village for it will be a long weekend because of the workers’ day holiday. midway through the week, ann tells eddy: (a) it will rain throughout next weekend. thus, life in the village will be boring. this is very relevant to eddy. he promptly draws a few important conclusions, affecting his cognitive environment/context. ann wants them to reconsider their plans and wants to let eddy acknowledge her desires. eddy consents or disagrees and decides to bring with him a pair of raincoats and an umbrella. now, ann desires to know eddy’s view on that issue and so on. consequently, she says: (b) it rained heavily last year beginning from 1 may 2020 and the weather was awful in the village. this adds just one piece of new but unrelated information manifest to eddy, and is thus scarcely relevant; and (c) it is actual raining heavily right now and the weather is not favourable at the moment. this too is not relevant because it does not tell eddy anything new. he can see and affirm this situation for himself. lastly, the sentence; (d) on the weekend 53 weeks after 1 may2020 the rain will be heavy and the weather will be awful; contains the same information as (a) but requires more effort to process, and is thus less relevant under this definition. thus, to fully grasp the meaning of relevance, it is important to comprehend that things have a degree of relevance based on the kind and degree of effects they produce that we determine how relevant they are. the relevant things are the kind of things that have effects. they include; sound, sight, utterances, thoughts, memories and interpretations; and since they produce relevant stimuli that are technically refer to as cognitive effects. when is an input relevant? intuitively, an input (a sight, a sound, an utterance, a memory) is relevant to an individual when it connects with background information he has available to yield conclusions that matter to him: say, by answering a question he had in mind, improving his igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 73 knowledge on a certain topic, settling a doubt, confirming a suspicion, or correcting a mistaken impression. in relevance-theoretic terms, an input is relevant to an individual when it’s processing in a context of available assumptions yields a positive cognitive effect. a positive cognitive effect is a worthwhile difference to the individual’s representation of the world – a true conclusion, for example. false conclusions are not worth having. they are cognitive effects, but not positive ones (sperber & wilson 2004, p. 12). cognitive effects may be described as an individual’s adjustments to the manner he/she represents the world. looking through the window and seeing the rain falling means ann now knows that there is rain outside so she changeshow she represents the world. relevance theory claims that the more cognitive effects a stimulus have, the more relevant it is. but looking outside and seeing a rain ofice creates more cognitive effects than seeing just rain so this is a more relevant stimulus. however, relevance is not defined and understood only in terms of cognitive effects. according to sperber and wilson (as cited in clark 2013, p. 104) the more mental effort involved in processing a stimulus the less relevant that stimulus is. let further illustrate this with an example. supposing eddy asked; (e) is it raining? and ann replied; (f) yes, it is. this response is relevant because it confirms eddy’s assumption and accounts for a (positive) cognitive effect. now imagine ann replied instead to say: (g) yes, it is raining and it rained in the village on the first of may 2020. if nothing follows from knowing whether it rained in the village on the 1stof may 2020, then (g) is less relevant than (f). this follows because (f) requires more processing effort but does not lead to any extra cognitive effects. clark further explains: with this balancing between effects and effort in mind, sperber and wilson propose the following classificatory and comparative definitions of relevance: relevance to an individual (classificatory definition): an assumption is relevant to an individual at a given time if and if it has some positive cognitive effect in one or more of the contexts accessible to him at the time. relevance to an individual (comparative definition): extent condition i: an igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 74 assumption is relevant to an individual to the extent that the positive cognitive effects achieved when it is optimally processed are large. extent condition 2: an assumption is relevant to an individual to the extent that the effort required to achieve these positive cognitive effects is small. what this means is that the more positive cognitive effects a phenomenon has the more relevant it is and the more effort involved in achieving those effects the less relevant it is. this is fairly a description of what we do when we try to understand each other and relevance theory seeks to explain this complex sequence or phenomena terms of what has been referred to as the principles of relevance which consist of two generalisations concerning human behaviour about cognition and communication. the two principles of relevance first, the cognitive principle of relevance asserts that human cognition naturally tends to be geared to the maximisation of relevance. the principle assumes that humans have an innate or ingrained capacity to optimize the relevance of incoming stimuli which has been attended by evolutionary pressure that has further resulted in cognitive systems that recognise potentially relevant stimuli and try to draw relevant conclusions (clark 2013, p. 78). according to sperber and wilson (2004), “it is against this cognitive background that inferential communication takes place”. the second, communicative principle of relevance asserts that an utterance relates or conveys the information that is first, not only relevant but worth the effort of the hearer to process it. the second aspect of the communicative principle of relevance states that an utterance relates the information that is not only the most relevant but also compatible with the communicator's abilities and preferences (clark 2013, p. 78). this principle may be merged to assert that each utterance relates or communicates a presumption of its optimal relevance. if ann tells eddy something, he has every right to expect that ann wanted her utterance to be consistent with the communicative principle of relevance. as a result, if alice tells eddy something that does not seem to be worth his processing effort, such igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 75 as sentences (b) or (c) above, or something that appears to be less relevant than ann might have stated it, such as (d), eddy will naturally seek for an alternate interpretation. the commonest and easily accessible interpretation that is consistent with the communicative principle of relevance is the one eddy accepts as the right one, and then he quits or stops processing. the restriction or limitation that an utterance is only compatible with the communicator's abilities and preferences accounts for suboptimal communication, such as when the communicator is unable to think of a better phrasing at the moment, as well as for stylistic and cultural preferences (e.g. politeness considerations), withholding information, and lying. application of relevance theory in language 1. grammar. the study of how grammatical attributes constrain the choice of a candidate interpretation is of interest to relevance theory. for example, james fenton in his poem a german requiem states thus, “how comforting it is, once or twice a year, to get together and forget the old times” (fenton 1980) the choice of the verb “forget” instead of “remember” is odd in the context which it is used in the poem because it is unusual for people to gather to collectively forget, after all, the act of forgetting isnot normally a conscious activity, thus the grammatical attribute “forget” in this context may constrain a candidate’s interpretation while the cognitive processing effort becomes high. in this way, the grammatical structure of utterances plays a crucial role in cognitive contextualization. several aspects of grammar, such as connectives (often within a conceptual/procedural account), conditionals, modals and modality, adverbs and adverbials, mood(s), tense(s), the post, and so on, have been discussed from this perspective (yus 2010, p. 654). 2. humour: humour is no longer a property of texts in a relevance-theoretic method; rather, we must describe the audience's cognitive processes in the representation of humorous texts. for example, a speaker says; (a) “when i finally get my phd, (b) not even my husband is allowed to call me sweetheart. (c) it must be dr. mrs. sweetheart.”. the audience cognitive process begins in the (a) part of the sentenceand gets high in (b) because (b)creates a thought process of surprise which enables the humour in the (c) part of the sentence otherwise the relevance of the sentence is defeated. the idea that communicators can predict and exploit the mental states of others underpins this method of humour. knowing that the hearer may choose the most relevant interpretation of the joke igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 76 (or a portion of it), the humorist will be able to create a text that will contribute to the choice of an accessible interpretation, which will then be negated at some stage. according to yus (2003), the initial component of several jokes has various meanings, which are rated according to their accessibility. the listener is prompted to choose an implicit (i.e., appropriate) interpretation of this part of the joke. suddenly, the listener discovers that the next section has a single covert interpretation, which is later discovered to be the right one (and the only one that provides a consistent interpretation of the entire text), and which amuses the listener (yus 2010, p. 654). 3. media discourses: films, newspaper headlines, comics, internet discourse, and advertisements have all been effectively interpreted using relevant theory. advertising is possibly one of the theory’s most widespread implementations. a relevance–theoretical approach can easily analyze the control over the amount of information produced, the predictability of consumers' responses, and the estimation of the effort needed to process information, all common features of advertising makers' strategies (see tanaka, 1994 as cited by yus 2010, p. 654). 4. literature: relevance theory has been applied to literary discourse in a number of studies (pilkington, 2000 is an example). literacy must be analyzed as cognitive effects caused by textual stimuli, involving special mental processes that result in the slightly increased salience of a broad variety of assumptions through a relevance-driven cognitive exploration, according to a relevance theory approach (pilkington, 2000: 189). for example: s: hi, ray. how is your girlfriend feeling? e: what do you mean, how is she feeling? do you mean physical or mental? s: i mean how is she feeling? what’s the matter with you? (he looked peeved.) e: nothing. just explain a little clearer what do you mean? s: skip it. how are your med school applications coming? e: what do you mean. how are they? s: you know what i mean. e: i really don’t. s: what’s the matter with you? are you sick? (wardhaugh 2010: 270) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 77 from the conversation above it is clear that there is vagueness that must be filled by certain assumption which are not literarily expressed in the conversation but must be made by the reader. this is relevant for the process of comprehension. the “ conversation proceeds on the assumption that a certain vagueness is normal, that ordinary talk does not require precision, and that many expressions that are used in conversation are not to be taken literally” (wardhaugh 2010: 271).since it is more difficult to make conclusions mutually manifest in literature, the reader bears a greater burden of responsibility for extracting the intended meaning of the text, as well as any feelings and emotions associated with its comprehension (yus 2010, p. 654). 5. politeness: this is a common social aspect of communication that does not seem to fit with relevance theory ofthe individual-centred approach. for example: peter: i was last here seven years ago restaurant owner: you were young then. peter: younger. (grundy 2008:143) this example can be seen as a polite, modest and subtle, yet relevant manner of making correction. several studies, however, have attempted to explain politeness in terms of relevance theory. for example, politeness has been defined in relevance theory as a verbal technique that is compatible or incompatible with context expectations about the present relationship between speaker and listener, resulting in a variety of relevance-oriented interpretive paths (jary 1998 as yus 2010, p.). conclusion sperber and wilson suggest relevance theory as a coherent cognitive account of how the human mind selects a plausible interpretation of ostensibly transmitted stimuli. they are based on the idea that a biologically rooted quest for relevance helps humans in inferential enrichment of usually underdetermined coded texts and utterances, resulting in fully propositional interpretations. the application of relevance theory in language using copious examples ranging from grammar, literature, humour, media and advertisement shows that, the grammatical structures of utterances play important role in cognitive contextualization of a grammatical text. that the components of humour have various meanings which are connected to the accessible information communicated, of which the listener igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 78 chooses an implicit interpretation to be able to have humour. that to make relevance in media and advertisement, a control over the amount of information, prediction of consumer’s response and the estimation of the effort needed to process information is needed. the application of relevance theory to literature shows that the reader bears the burden of responsibility for extracting the intended meaning of the text and its mood. the theory has been extended to a wide range of research fields and has provided insights into many controversies in pragmatics and cognitive science. relevance theory will definitely continue to elicit fruitful academic discussions on how to explain human communication. on the other hand, relevance theory has been criticised for being too individualistic and ignoring the social elements of communication (mey and talbot, 1988). second, one common criticism of relevance theory is that it is pure conjecture, predicting the mental procedures and interpretive measures that the human mind goes through in human communication without empirical proof. obviously, we are dealing with a highly nuanced and mostly unknown topic of research, the human mind. references allott, n. (2013). relevance theory. dol: 10.1007/978-3-319-01014-4_3. clark, b. (2013). relevance theory. cambridge: cambridge university press. grundy, p. (2008). doing pragmatics. britain: hodder education. pilkington a (2000). poetic effects. a relevance theory perspective. amsterdam: john benjamins. wardhaugh, r. (2010) an introduction to sociolinguistics (6th ed) united kingdom: wiley-blackwell. wilson, d and sperber, d. (1986). relevance: communication and cognition. (2nd ed., 1995). oxford: blackwell. ____________. (1994). “understanding verbal understanding”, in j. khalfa (ed.) what is intelligence? pp179-198 cambridge university press, cambridge. ___________. (1995). “postface to the second edition of relevance.” communication and cognition blackwell, oxford. ___________. (2004). relevance theory. 10.1002/9780470756959.ch27. yus, f. (2003). “humour and the search for relevance”.in: journal of pragmatics 35, 1295–1331. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 5 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 103 descriptive statements and the super-maxim by ntui, douglas andrew; bassey, owoidigheabasi e.; obojor-ogar, owobiotu f.; iloegbunam, livinus d.; obeten, sunday godswill; nkwokoma, christian chinedu; okorn, ayuk samuel; nkwam, sandra oti; ekanem, bassey ita department of philosophy faculty of arts university of calabar, calabar abstract humans or man in his society must necessarily possess sets of belief that he must depend on to remain sane. he learns to hold trustworthy factual statements and also to abide by them as universal imperatives. such judgments includes facts such as feeling secure among families and close friends in the typical african community, feeling a sense of oneness in times of conflict, having a totem to run to in time of strife. this research work shall take time to evaluate asouzu’s concept of the super-maxim, as to create a clearer perception of what judgment should be held as error free. keywords: descriptive, statements, super-maxim introduction the concept of the descriptive statement and the super-maxim is firmly anchored on asouzu’s philosophy of complementary reflection (ibuanyidanda). this background seeks to expose the very commonsensical judgments we have always been led to make per incurian. humans or man in his society must necessarily possess sets of belief that he must depend on to remain sane. he learns to hold trustworthy factual statements and also to abide by them as universal imperatives. such judgments includes facts such as feeling secure among families and close friends in the typical african community, feeling a sense of oneness in times of conflict, having a totem to run to in time of strife. descriptive statements in this context refers to the statements of facts that are self-evident in reality. the above examples are also examples of descriptive statements. in other words, we can see descriptive statement to be a kind of imperative that is conceive either naturally or culturally, based on one’s origin; igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 104 with attributes of being held in high esteem. examples of such are: statements that report, sentiments, statements that portray negativity and also ideas held by group of individuals who share a common goal. the concept of the super-maxim is anchored on the quest for self-preservation. in this sense, when one acts on a super-maxim, one may always mistake its hypothetical nature for an imperative. here, asouzu (pg 22) reduces all forms of super-maxim to a single concept thus: the nearer, the better, and the safer. in a broader sense, these concepts connote a sense of self-preservation one has for his or herself and his or her immediate neighbours. he or she feels more secure in the hands of his neighbours than that of a stranger. he feels if he were to cheat one, he would be morally justified if he does that to a stranger. this research work shall take time to evaluate asouzu’s concept of the supermaxim, as to create a clearer perception of what judgment should be held as error free. clarification of concepts a. descriptive statements according to the online dictionary, descriptive statements can be referred to as statements of facts that pertain to what is real. in this sense, all human endeavours are centred on some basic principles or statements of facts. for example we say “all ladies love pink colour”. it is actually held as a fact that pink is a female attributed colour and anyone who wears it is either a lady or a man who feels like associating with ladies. it is worthy of note that descriptive statements may be statements of facts but not valid in all cases. in other words, what man may think is actually the case or what he or she has held to be a fact or principle by which he or she lives by may at the end, turn out to be false. b. super-maxim the concept of the super-maxim is a coinage by asouzu in his ibuanyidanda philosophy to connote codes of conducts by which individuals exist common to the typical african society. in most instances, one may likely mistake the supermaxim to be the same as kant’s maxim. to this extent, we think it worthy to make a distinction. kant’s maxims are enshrined in his categorical imperatives. to be simplistic, here, kant argues that maxims are codes of our own origins by which we must necessarily abide with. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 105 will durant (pg 209) quotes kant thus: a maxim is the categorical imperative in us, the unconditional command of our conscience, to act as if the maxim of our action were to become by our will a universal law of nature. the above illustration of a maxim is different from asouzu’s conception of the super-maxim. for asouzu, the super-maxim is a; law-like dictate, which is anchored on our fundamental natural instinct of self-preservation, following which clear and distinct judgment, committed unbiased action, over matters become difficult, if not impossible (pg 02). here, asouzu conceives it as a dictate of an hypothetical background which we are most likely to refer to as a universal imperative, as that of kant. in a strict sense, the super-maxim can be concocted with the phrase of “the nearer, the better and the safer”. descriptive statements and the super-maxim; a philosophical exposition what is the connection between descriptive statements and the super-maxim? how can we resolve the issue of negativity in the above concepts. these are the issues we seek to address under this heading. as noted earlier, descriptive statements are statements of facts pertaining to reality. facts, in the sense that, humans or individuals in a given society hold them as bodies of knowledge or instantiations by which one is compelled to abide with. descriptive statements here is like a principle stating how one ought to live. on the other hand, a supermaxim is a hypothetical injunction that directs the conscience of a given society. asouzu seeks to rid the super-maxim of its negativity. the super-maxim here influences our day to day judgments and actions. to be simplistic, we can assume that if a thing is nearer to us, it possesses a sense of security and we can trust it, hence, the concept of the super-maxim. for asouzu, we can formulate a super-maxim descriptively thus: the more removed a thing is from our intimate region of belongingness, our immediate neighbourhood, our ethic, clannish and tribal world of reference, the less are we igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 106 obliged to it and the more can we exploit it freely with impunity for our own survival, and in this case even without remorse. here, negatively, the super-maxim is a tendency to exploit strangers with a free conscience, i.e. we make gains on the pains of others without our conscience pricking us. this is because we have mistaken such maxim to be moral in all aspects. in this situation, one behaves unjustly to another, not intimate to him as though it is just to do so. such things are occasionally noticed in our african background and are even universal. in this case, one is guided by the sentiments of his own ethnic origin rather than by the sense of doing what is right as right. following the concept of the super-maxim, individuals regard those closer to them safer. by so doing, one is cultured into believing that he is quite unsafe if in the hands of strangers. it is in the midst of families and friends that he must seek solitude. their lives and security strongly depend on the bonds they share. such actions are shared in our communities. by so doing, they will regard one another as a key to achieving their common goals. here, they equate statements in the semblance of their super-maxim as being true. since this descriptive statements are mere hypothetical rules, they are led into believing that it is always true because it conforms to their super maxim. but is it always the case that people nearer to you are safer. in our different life experiences, we come to realize that there are situations where people we thought are our families and friends, which appeals a sense of security, betray us. in the issue of land dispute your brother may kill you so as to posses your land. here, we notice it is illogical to believe that those closer to us are safer. according to asouzu, what this implies is that the super-maxim that guides us in our decision making and judgments can always lead us to fallacious conclusions, which would have been avoided if we were to act the other way round. here, we tend to draw valid conclusions from fallacious premises which appear to be valid. by doing this, we equate this false judgments to universal imperatives and at the end, accept it as a necessary condition for one to be just. by accepting the super-maxim (as an hypothesis) as the bedrock of our judgments, we are confined into a crucible of fallacies. in our various decisions, we are cultured to think that any other person apart from those nearer to us does not have our interest at heart. we always suspect the next person. here, we tend to make decisions binding on all that anybody outside our community are igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 107 instrumental to our failures and shortcomings. asouzu in his philosophy of complementary reflection advocates for a radical change of the conception of the super-maxim by; first, evolving principles and an imperative similar to human ambivalent challenges; and second, by engaging in a noetic propaedeutic. from asouzu’s assumption of the ambivalent tension of constraining mechanism and phenomena, the world or reality present itself to us in double capacity (in the words of peter bisong) in which we are faced with the crisis and tension by expressing our rationality or subjective self preservation. now, do these constraining mechanism gives us the impetus to accept most descriptive statements as super-maxims given that in most cases its potency is untrue or invalid. if we completely accept it, we will then be dealing with what asouzu describes as errors of transposition. on the other hand, what ibuanyidanda presupposes is that there is no complete divisiveness in reality as intellectually ordained by western pedagogy, rather there is beneath these two spheres of reality a missing link, in which exist complementarity. the theory of complementary reflection (ibuanyidanda) asserts that though there exist separate realities, the essence of their existence is the collaboration and “complementation” (missing link) that exist among. the phrase ibuanyidanda (no load is insurmountable for danda) in its analogy expresses the strength in unity or the essence of unity of purpose. it normative strength may be questionable in the case where it is universally observed or applied given that we may be dealing with error of transposition if we uncritically assumes that what is valid for danda (one group, society, phase, reality) is also valid for the other (human). in the words of asouzu, error of transposition ensures the moment we transpose contents; from one context to the other quite arbitrary and thereby assumes that they uphold identical meaning within the new context. ibuanyidanda evolves these associations where actors may erroneously see the world in a unilateral mode where one context will be uncritically assumed upon or given same identical meaning to another context not minding their socio-biological difference. this most times makes actors prey to irrational judgment. such descriptive statement often contain premises we may presume are true but may be flawed because they contain the phenomenon of concealment which have prized the actors interest, choices and experience, ignoring the ambivalent side of this action to themselves. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 108 thus these ihe mkpuchi anya phenomena constraining mechanism, which conceals our rationality prevents us from seeing the world in its dual capacity, give the reason why we accept most descriptive statements as true, even when all are not true or valid. this error of reasoning according to asouzu leads us to turn to the hypothetical maxim “the nearer, the better and safer” to a categorical statement. because the actor assumes that if the theory of ibuanyidanda could be true, then it can be universalized and related to the human society. this may lead us to what asouzu calls existential fallacy because the nearer may not always be the better rather asouzu noted that this will only spur ethnocentric or discriminative commitments. however, given the perceived security an actor assumes in the descriptive statement and the nearer the safer maxim; that he is more safer sharing bonds of intimacy with those nearer the actor will erroneously turn this hypothetical injunctions into categorical command. he also abandons the other side which he sees as important, even though it may still have an impact upon him. though the hypothetical injunctions seeks to help actor uphold an intimate bond, it may also end up deceiving them to believing that only those nearer to them are better and safer always, because of this sense of intimacy there evolve a commitment to one another and dependence of function and existence they believed that their personal interest would only be achieved through group interest or co-existence. thus, the realization of this only spur them to accept completely any statement that have the character of the super-maxim as true and valid. however, according to asouzu, since this statement enshrines mere hypothetical injunctions that are mistaken for categorical statements, acting in tune with them always uncritically, is bound to lead to error of judgment. this is because the constraints imposed by the ihe mkpuchi anya (phenomenon of concealment) and phenomena, may “delimit our perceptions of reality, at these moments” which easily makes us indispensable to existential fallacies; drawing what may be seemingly valid conclusion upon existential premises which are inherently flawed. what then happens is that we conclude upon irrational or illogical commands and using such conclusion or injunctions as necessarily conditions for realization of our set goals or action becomes a ridiculous error. by adhering to super-maxims of this kind actors may erroneously commit themselves to existential fallacy especially when it is applied as a governing universal laws, negating other values which consciously or unconsciously have igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 109 impact on them, believing that they are acting on a most authentic mode, whereas they are delimited in perception by ihe mkpuchi anya’s phenomenon which works against human consciousness, allowing them to act beyond extremity which is erroneous. this character of the descriptive statement which allows the tendency to exalt ones own perception of reality to an absolute stance, negating the other viewpoints making us over sensitive about our most cherished interest, while becoming less circumspect, allowing us to run into avoidable conceptual difficulties where we have made such commitment consciously or unconsciously, believing that such statements are true, we may not even bother much any longer about it negative impacts on us or grievous implications such commitments may have on our action and decisions. it becomes much problematic if we carry such mindset into our relationship with others which only make us more stubborn to our own goals forgetting the consequences or implication that may arise in-between. it is also the cause for ethnocentric divides, sentimentalism and sectional decision, where the actor considers only safer those things of value that are safer and nearer. according to asouzu, it is the foundation of all types of ambivalent behaviours and extremist acts, something that can distort meaning to the point of actors contradicting themselves without knowing that they are actually doing so. furthermore, this has been the foundation for irreconcilable difference, where actors are so blinded by their beliefs, interest and position that they cannot see reason with the other party, they stick to their position without realizing the mistake or how flawed it could be. however, asouzu asserts that such hypothetical injunction have been relied upon to justify african experience of reality. such statement or construct are applied to validate the communal african experience of reality accordingly in the words of asouzu, this is the case with such ideals and values as compassion, fraternal care, hospital, sincerity, thoughtfulness, the much acclaimed african religiosity and sense of the sacred, etc. however, insisting on this legitimizing authentic african experience of the world based on this consciousness of intimacy, we are bound to face the forces of the constraints and phenomena of ihe mkpuchi anya and we act selfishly and stubbornly. furthermore, we believe that because nearer is better and safer we igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 110 tend to relate more within the intimacy region and avoid “the other side”. the resultant effect is that we become ethnocentric, selfish, sentimental and divisive. evaluation/conclusion descriptive statements present to us with a foggy idea of an imperative when we are confused or beclouded by our judgments with our ignorance. asouzu’s philosophy seeks to identify these issues and seeks to position it in a positive direction. the super-maxim as commonly perceived should be radicalized into a better background for our beliefs and judgments. we should reconsider our judgment of “the nearer, the better and the safer”. in other for us to complement our different existence for growth, we must necessarily let go of our ethnic sentiments and subscribe to a more accommodating maxim. one should not be misled into assumptions that one is totally insecure in the midst of strangers and very secure in the midst of those intimate to him. by letting go of this belief, we are one step ahead of rescuing our day to day judgments and getting rid of fallacious contents in them. references innocent i. asouzu; ibuanyidanda (complementary reflection) and some basic philosophical problems in africa today. berlin: litverlag dr.w hopf, 2013. innocent, i. asouzu; ibuanyidanda; new complementary ontology: beyond worldimmanetism, ethnocentric reduction and impositions. berlin: litverlag dr.w hopf, 2007. innocent, i. asouzu; the challenges of super-maxim to judgment and actions. unpublished address of welcome at the 2008 biennial general meeting and conference of the nigerian philosophical association, university of calabar. innocent, i. asouzu; ibuanyidanda excerpts from online dictionary of intercultural philosophy (odip) (special edition). calabar: university of calabar press, , 2013. will durant; the story of philosophy; the lives and opinions of the greater philosophers. new york: simon and schuster rockefeller centre, 1961. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 1.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 110 tughhemba, terfa nicholas, ph.d department of philosophy federal university wukari, taraba state, nigeria email: tughhemba@gmail.com abstract a person is a rational being that consciously behaves in a unique manner, projecting the qualities of rationality, altruism and responsibility. this paper demonstrated that the human person is made up of certain basic features, like rationality and consciousness, which makes him to behave morally and sometimes amorally. in addition, man’s social nature is an integral dimension and expression of his rationality and freedom, which are critical to the actualization of his existential end. the paper also established that the criteria based definition of person as a rational and conscious being is not totally acceptable, but is indispensable in the projection of the true qualities that make a person. keywords: ethical, person, altruism, responsibility, rationality, consciousness. introduction the term person is derived from the latin persona and greek propopon. etymologically, the term was used to denote the mask won by a factor and then was later applied to the role he played. as formulated by boethius and later adapted by aquinas, person is a state of being a human individual on the basis of a certain criterion. to be a person therefore, the human being must function or behave in a certain way. according to boethius, a person is an “individual substance of a rational nature.” in addition, aquinas (1485) held that the person is an “individual substance, complete, self-subsisting and separated from others.” omoregbe (1996), like boethius and aquinas, explained the criterion that qualifies a human being as a person. he explained rationality to mean consciousness even of consciousness itself. this means a person must be conscious of the fact that he is conscious. rationality in this case also means awareness. so, a person is a rational being that consciously behaves in a unique manner, projecting the true human qualities of rationality, altruism and responsibility. this paper seeks to demonstrate that the person is made up of certain basic features, like rationality and consciousness, which makes him to behave morally and sometimes amorally. also, it tries to establish that the criteria based definition of person as a rational and conscious being is not totally igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 111 acceptable since, a human being can be in coma or become very old and sick but not cease to be a person. personhood and man’s social nature man’s social nature is an integral dimension and expression of his rationality and freedom, which is critical to actualization of his existential end. human sociality therefore presupposes personhood and personhood presupposes sociality. according to aghamelu (2013), “personhood is the specific character of human nature that is ordained towards sociality. specifically, it constitutes the social nature of man and the gateway to his proper understanding and realization, perfections and fulfillment.” thus personhood is indispensable to man’s actualization of his full potentials as a rational being. personhood is the ultimate end of the sociality of man. this aspiration constitutes the basis for his realization of happiness. happiness is realized in the society which is the home for the manifestation of his personhood. human sociality therefore is significant only in the context of the attainment of personhood. and that is critical to building a stable, just, progressive and peaceful society. the person and common good common good is the good of all persons and the essence for which society exist. better put, common good are the social infrastructure and amenities that bind a people together in the society. it is the responsibility of persons to provide all that is needed by the community, maintain and sustain it for the good of everyone. the right attitude to things that bind a people en masse is taught and championed by persons to the glory of the good of all. it defines the right order of relation between persons and entities and the society as the relation of order. there is no common good without the person and no person without common good initiatives. both go together in building an egalitarian society. in traditional tiv metaphysics, much emphasis is placed on good conduct, ieren i mimi, as a way to sustain the ontological order of the society. by good conduct, it means engaging in worthwhile ventures, like respect for elders, humility, diligence, hard work, selflessness and obedience that will promote the peace, unity, progress and development of the society, hanma ieren i lu i mimi, ia fatyo u van a’ mzehemen hen tyo yo. in order to protect the interest of the society against plague from spirits, adzov, the tiv have sanctions they place on individuals that challenge this lofty interest of the community. for instance, anyone caught igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 112 stealing in tiv society, is publicly disgraced. his cloths are torn (i.e. he becomes naked) and he is beaten publicly by youths to serve as deterrent to others. personhood and moral responsibility to be a person is to be morally responsible; taking responsibility for one’s action and inaction. there are things that a person does that one wonder if the person in question is a rational being, with a sense of moral responsibility! for instance, to have sex with one’s daughter is a taboo in tiv tradition. it is believed that when close relations have sex, they are bound together and only the first person that gets married will be able to have children. where such a thing happens, the elders, mbaganden, will seek to know if they are in their right senses or they acted under the influence of cultic emblems called akombo a’ ikyo gbenda. it is believed that no tivman will do such if not influenced by akombo. a normal person cannot look at his daughter and rape her. where found normal by the elders, both of them are burnt naked inside a hut, timbe. while they enter the hut, timbe, youths wait outside with sticks and when the hut is set ablaze and they run to escape, the youths run after them, whipping them to serve as deterrent to others. the essence of burning them inside the hurt is fundamentally, to separate them from each other and witnesses are believed to take precaution. meaning, they have been cleansed of the consequences of the sexual act by the community. therefore, both of them can get married and have children. irresponsibility does not make a man a person; instead it makes him a coward. a right thinking person behaves in the most acceptable manner. they know the tradition and culture of their people, prevailing religious teachings and the judicial ethics of the society they live in and adhere to them in sustenance of law and order. this mannered behaviour builds an egalitarian society. it destroys ignorance and dispels the darkness of wickedness, charting the way forward for man’s attainment of his existential end. hence exupery (2008), concludes thus, “being a man means precisely to be responsible. it means to feel ashamed of some misery that may not have come from you. it means to be proud of a victory that colleagues have won. it means to feel that placing one’s own stone, one is contributing to build the world”. morality in doubt igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 113 morality is an ‘innate potential’ that all humans enjoy from birth. even though, according to locke, the human heart is a tabula rasa from birth, every human being enjoys the ‘potential’ to know what is right and wrong through conscience and experience. the person, for aquinas, has the innate natural disposition to grasp the fundamental principles of morality. these moral principles are evident and the disposition to know them spontaneous. better put, he referred to this potential as synderesis, a habit, a natural tendency imparted on us from nature and by which we naturally and spontaneously grasp the principles of morality. it is infallible and found in all men. augustine referred to synderesis as the seeds and rules of virtue which are unchangeably true and are found in our power of natural judgment. by synderesis we know that certain actions are right or wrong while by conscience such principles are applied to particular cases to see whether the proposed action, given the situation in which it is to be performed, falls within the category of right or wrong, whether it should be performed or not. this potential develops by experience of custom and tradition or educational training. often times, persons seek to know why certain actions are permissible while others are not. the fact is that the formal promotes the development of the society while the latter destroys it. one good thing is that the society has evolved to a point that almost all humans are aware of the ethics of good behavior, either through tradition, law or religion. however, there are human beings that are enlightened but seem to perpetually down play morality in their daily lives by acts of corruption. the question is, why do they persist in doing that which is immoral? in line, with the socratic dictum, “know thyself”, it can be said that having known themselves that there are two moral paths in the society, the path of light and darkness, good and evil, right and wrong, they decided to fall the path of darkness, evil and wrong. it seems such persons have been consumed by crime which has ruined their sense of morality. despite the fact that they are members of a moral community, they have assumed the position of amorality and feel insubordinate to the law. etuk (2010:11) captured this aptly, “…after a person might have committed crimes or done something evil for so many times, he loses the sharper edge of his moral sense; and this is reflected in common thought and ordinary parlance when someone is accused of having silenced the voice of conscience.” this could be seen in habitual criminals in the society who have become morally insensitive. such people hardly have sympathy on their fellowmen, for them ‘no means’ of acquiring money is wrong, even when it cost another man’s life. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 114 for such human beings, can we say they have ceased to be moral beings? no! criminals and brigands still show love to their girl friends, families and siblings etc. they even disagree among themselves when one feel cheated upon by a member of the gang. so, they have not totally lost sense of affection and ‘love’ for other humans but have found justification for their actions. one good thing about the presence of such persons in the society is that they are in the minority. if criminals were not in the minority, no society would have been stable. in the words of thomas hobbes, man would have become a wolf to his fellowman. even though, many individuals are termed corrupt in our society today, obvious criminality that brings obvious insecurity of life and property is still a mirage. criminals and robbers have not taken over the world. the threat of terrorism looms on the international seen but it is only a major challenge in certain parts of the world like eastern nigeria, syria, pakistan and libya etc. majority of humanity live in touch with moral principles, hence, the outright condemnation of ideologies, policies and behaviours that threaten peaceful coexistence of man. apart from parents and guardians taking the ethical behavior of their children direly, religious institutions and organizations ought to take the practicability of their messages as significant as their existence. also, law enforcement agents have to perfect their crime tracking methods and the general public too have to cooperate with law enforcement agents to curb all forms of vices and crimes in the society. this influence in the environment has a huge role to play in inhibiting unethical tendencies. finally, the judiciary must be willing to discharge their duties with utmost fairness, transparency and justice. in these ways, just values that bind the society together are embraced and imbibed, leaving little or no room for amorality and irresponsibility in our societies. implications of criteria based idea of person the criteria based idea of person compounds the challenge of who a person is. okon (2010) observed that it “narrows down the domain of human person.” it ties down the criteria for personhood therefore excluding humans who are incapable of certain functions from the class of human persons. accordingly, okon (2010) argued that “rationality, for instance, does not seem a worthy yardstick to measure personhood. this is so because we have some human beings who are either incapable of rational activity on account of age or certain dysfunction of some organs and sickness. to anchor on rationality and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 115 consciousness is to exclude the unborn, the infants, the mentally retarded, the comatose and even the aged turned senile from the category of human persons”. this implies that a person in coma ceases to be human until he regains consciousness. also, the potential of an infant to be rational and conscious only does not make him a person until fully grown and attains the age of discretion. demonstrating the weaknesses of this position, beckwith lamented that “where exercise of rational thought alone makes a human being a person, then she/he who is asleep, unconscious and temporarily comatose is not a person.” so, in line with okon and beckwith’, the criteria based idea of personhood narrows the understanding of persons. conclusion from the foregoing, we can say that it is in the nature of the human person, by virtue of his rationality, consciousness and conscience, to behave morally. the society provides the enabling environment for the manifestation of the true potentials of personhood. and every individual ought to function in line with his or her custom and tradition, religious disposition and the law in upholding the fundamental moral principles that promote common good in the society. the criteria based understanding of person, in terms of rationality and consciousness, even though not totally acceptable, is indispensable in the projection of the true qualities that make a person. references aghamelu, f.c. (2010) “the human person and social order: a moral perspective” in udokang,e.j. & ojong, k.a. (ed) introduction to philosophy and logic. owerri: goldline & jacobs publishers. aquinas, t. (1485) summa theologica. rome: benzinger brothers printers to the holy apostolic see. boethius in new catholic encyclopedia vol.14.166 etuk, u. (2010) “moral personhood” in asiegbu, m.f. & chukhuokolo, j.c. (ed) personhood and personal identity: a philosophical study. enugu: snaap press ltd. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 116 exupery in obinaju, n.j. (2008) literature: the gateway to a fulfilled human experience. uyo: university of uyo press. maritain, j. (1967) scholasticism and politics. london: macmillian okon, j.a. (2010) “rethinking the idea of human personhood” in udokang,e.j. & ojong, k.a. (ed) introduction to philosophy and logic. owerri: goldline & jacobs publishers. omoregbe, j. (1993) ethics, a systematic and historical study. ikeja: joja educational research and publishers ltd. omoregbe, j. (1996) metaphysics without tears: a systematic and historical approach. ikeja: joja educational research and publishers ltd. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 1.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 1 the economic importance of forests: the biblical role andchurch responsein forests conservation steve orseer akullah department of philosophy and religious studies federal university wukari pmb 200 wukari steveakullah@yahoo.com abstract the great danger that stares man in the face consequent upon forest destruction can better be imagined than felt in the real sense of the word. forest and forest products provide so much for the benefit of humanity and yet all that man does is to destroy this natural resource freely given to him by his creator. today in nigeria and most countries of the africa and the world, the vegetation cover and forests have been deeply depleted posing serious climate conditions on the people. two key words in the hebraic genesis account; ָרָדהradah, raw-daw, gen 1:26 is rendered “to rule, have dominion, and ָּכַבׁש, kabash, meaning: to subject, subdue, in gen 1:28 have either been read out of context or may not been understood and therefore misinterpreted and misapplied by humanity to warrant the destruction of forests and forests products. it is in regard to this wrong notion and conception that this work seeks to closelyexamineto find out what god really meant when he said that man should rule over his created world and source from “every tree that has fruit with seed in it, his for food” (niv,gen 1:29). keywords: forests, deforestation, afforestation, desertification, global warming introduction forests and forest products have been of great value to humanity since creation. there is a symbiotic relationship between forests and humanity as none can exists without the other. as forest trees give oxygen to humanity so does man give to forests carbondioxide for survival. however, in recent years there has been a gradual depletion of forests by mankind and this has given birth to consequential results. humanity, contrary to tending this cherished natural resource for sustenance has turned forests into a pitiable object that must be depleted by all means. the rapid growth in population has not helped matters. this is because while population grows exponentially, there has been no corresponding igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 2 growth in forest trees. on the contrary there is an inverse growth relationship between forests and mankind. as a consequence, to this ugly scenario, today the world over, there has been a gradual rise in temperatures causing global warming, depletion of ice in the artic zone of the world with resulting high water levels causing massive floods in many countries of the world including nigeria. in this paper, the causative factors for forests depletion will be examined, the consequential effects of such monumental destruction will be analyzed and the economic importance of forests will be x-rayed with a view to forestalling the wanton destruction of this prized natural resource. highlight will be given on the economic contribution of forests to the wellbeing of man and on the need to conserve forests. finally, biblical and church response in stemming the dreaded scourge of forests destruction will be given so that forests and forest products will be conserved for the well-being of humanity. conceptual framework the advanced learner’s dictionary defines forest as a large area of land that is thickly covered with trees. forest can also be defined as renewable of natural resources with timber or wood and other forest products for homes and industrial uses, food, shelter for animals and aesthetic values (orji, 15-18). forest products include wood and wood materials such as water, fauna and flora species used for medicinal, ornamental and religious purposes, wild edible mushrooms (pegler and pearce,475). other forest products include gum arabic kola and honey (seif el dim and zarragoug, 176-180). biblical scholars agree on the fact that forests are a creation of god. in his creative work, god commanded the land to produce the vegetation, seed bearing plants and trees that bear fruit with seed in them on the third day of creation. after this great act of creation god declared that this was good. god intended that the seed bearing plants and the trees that had seed in them be food for the man he had made in his image on the sixth day (gen 1:29). as god’s steward on earth man was instructed to subdue the earth and to rule over it in a manner that would give glory to god and also manage it for his sustenance for food. the natural vegetation is part of god’s creation given to man wherefrom he derives his food. today igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 3 however, most of the natural forests across the globe have been depleted and are on verge of extinction with attendant consequences on the environment and on man. writing in his article, egbogah argues that effective spirituality should be holistic i.e. the african christian should not only aim at what pleases god, but also what provides the ultimate good of man to his neighbor and the conscious promotion of ecological balance in the whole creation(3). in other words, man while maintaining the vertical relationship with god must as well have a horizontal relationship with both man and god’s creation. this means that the traditional approach to spirituality of prayer, bible study, meditation, contemplation and retreat without regard to humanity and vegetation has to be discarded for holistic spirituality. some facts about nigeria forests i. forest cover thins out as one moves from the south to the north; ii. there are two broad types (forests and savanna); iii. plant diversity: over 4,600 plant species identified (ranked 11th in africa); iv. the forests have over 560 tree species with a range of 30 to 70 species per hectare. deforestation deforestation is the process of cutting down or burning the trees. it is also defined as the removal or destruction forest vegetation unaccompanied by deliberate effort at is replacement (oguntala, 262-272). deforestation involves not only the cutting of trees but also the removal of plants and shrubs. oguntala gives the reasons for deforestation to include the conversion of forest lands for agricultural practices, indiscriminate bush burning, and unsustainable logging (262-272). sobowale et al add that infiltration of forests by fulani cattle herdsmen for grazing, farming activities within forests and fuel wood for cooking and heating as reasons for deforestation (51-56). it is reported that fulani herdsmen usually set bush fires to encourage regrowth of fresh grasses for grazing of cattle and because of scarcity of kerosene and its high cost when available makes peasants to rely on fuel wood for cooking. of recent nigeria’s forests and savannah wood have witnessed a monumental pressure due largely to population growth, thus the demand for agricultural land, timber, fuel wood, bushfires and overgrazing have been on the increase. esuene igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 4 corroborates these claims by adding that these illegal activities have led to the fall in productive capacity of arable lands with the result that the vegetation structure and composition of forest lands have altered from what they used to be(9-10)). the causes of deforestation the management of forests in africa and nigeria in particular has been poorly given attention to by the governments of the various countries. this has given rise to land degradation in many forests across the continent leading to destruction of forests species. it is widely known that government funding of forests has been on a steady decrease especially in states where large sums of revenue are derived from forests products with little plough back into the management of forests (akindele, 7079).this lackluster attitude by government has heightened the destruction of forests. the causes of forests depletion include the upsurge in population growth thus putting enormous pressure on forests reserves, logging timber, farming, forest fires, and fuel wood. this fact is corroborated by kio who agrees that 86% of the respondents in a sample population of 100 interviewed in six states of nigeria said that agriculture was the major cause of deforestation. this is followed by shifting cultivation with 59% of the respondents fuel wood has 55% of the respondents while bushfires have 41% as the cause of forest depletion (3543).serious forest depletion has taken place in the last ten years in nigeria due largely to lack of monitoring by forestry staff as aresult of poor funding from government. forestry staff are alleged to connive with loggers and poachers who carry out these nefarious activities for small tips. the effects of deforestation deforestation of forests in the northern guinea and sahelian savannah of nigeria whose states include sokoto, kebbi, jigawa, katsina, kano and bauchi has caused severe wind erosion with attendant large sand dunes. these sand dunes have in turn destroyed houses and covered farmlands stretching kilometers of surface lands making them unproductive wastelands. in the rainy season water erosion silts the rivers and streams thus again covering water bodies, destroying aquatic life and fish etc. the destruction of farmlands by sand dunes and the siltation of sources of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 5 water for human and animal consumption has caused the migration of fulani herdsmen into the hinterland of the country thus causing the skirmishes between indigenous famers and the herdsmen. at present fulani herdsmen are causing havoc in the entire length and breadth of nigeria. there have been constant killings in the states of benue, plateau, taraba, southern kaduna, oyo, ogun, enugu, anambra, oshun, ekiti, kwara, etc. by the herdsmen who arm themselves with sophisticated weapons, killing thousands of innocent farmers, burning their houses, eating up crops while destroying farmlands while the government watches helplessly. indeed, the herdsmen scourge has assumed a disturbing trend such that some people are beginning to think that another boko haram is in the making particularly with the seeming helpless action of the buhari government to stem the tide of wanton killings and destruction of property running into billions of naira. in the dry season, the poor vegetation cover owing to deforestation leads to harsh hot weather whose excessive heat waves cause diseases like meningitis, smallpox, chicken pox, measles, conjunctivitis and malaria (igboanugu, 34-38).scholars say that deforestation leads to a decline in rainfall, increase surface temperature and alters the local hydrology (adedire, 270-271).deforestation increases the amount of co2 in the atmosphere. this is because the trees that would have converted the co2 emitted into the atmosphere into their food through photosynthesis have been destroyed thus promoting excessive heat waves. okojie posits that global warming is a result emission of fossil fuels in the atmosphere and deforestation. according to ausceanac, greenhouse is associated with forest degradation. this has a direct consequence to the depletion of the ozone layer that shields the earth from direct heat waves from the sun. fierce winds as a result of deforestation increases the loss of moisture and water requirements for human and animals. this causes animal blindness and even death when the winds are dusty and sandy hot (baumer,250). forest depletion has led to the extinction of many animal species such as elephants, lions, tigers, and hyenas as corroborated by (oloyede, 12-13). the economic importance of forests humanity benefits immensely from forest products and services. the measure of economic value of forest products and services is relevant to individual’s willingness to pay for such benefits. these values can be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 6 classified into direct usage values and indirect usage values. the direct usage values include timber, fuel wood and tourism, while the indirect usage values include the protection of watersheds, and the storage of carbon. 1. timber values. this has to do with the felling of trees for timber products such as poles for domestic consumption and for export to attract foreign exchange. kio (2000) reports that timber contributes to the income of individuals and even governments. timber extraction was a major source of revenue earner in nigeria for domestic use such as roofing, furniture, motor vehicle bodies and canoes and export. 2. fuel wood and charcoal. fuel wood is the primary source for cooking and heating among the poorer countries of the world. large percentage of this fuel wood comes from the forests. kio says that 55% of the respondents in his survey agreed that fuel wood is a major contributor for cooking and heating in nigeria (35-43). 3. agriculture. with the increasing growth in population in many african countries the demand for land for agricultural activities is overwhelmingly on the increase. land situated in the forests is usually very fertile for farming as there are proven cases of product high yields. other benefits include; 4. poaching of animals for bush meat for local consumption and for export 5. sourcing of fish, crustaceans such as crabs etc., birds for local use and for export. 6. taking tree products such as roots, bark of trees, leaves for medicinal use. 7. taking latex from rubber trees, wild cocoa, honey, gum arabic, nuts, fruits, flowers, seeds, spices etc. for subsistence. 8. forests help in maintaining soil quality. 9. forests help in controlling water and wind erosion. 10. they modulate siltation and flooding. 11. they protect waterways and marine resources from accelerated siltation. 12. forests protect watersheds. omiyale adds that the economic importance of forests to farmers include; igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 7 • the increase in land productivity due to improved soil fertility. • the contribution of income among small scale farmers from the sale of forest products such as fruits, nuts, seedlings, poles, fuel wood and charcoal. • the protection of productive potential of a given site and the improvement of the environment (1-8). plotkin argues further that forests offer a range of benefits to humanity and these range from medicines against incurable diseases to varieties of economically important plants whose resistance to disease or productivity may be incorporated into crop varieties (108-110). biblical response to forest conservation. in the genesis account of creation, we observe that god after creation handed his created work to man to “rule” over it (niv, gen 1:26) and to “subdue” creation (gen 1:28). it must be understood that god’s created work was declared good so the whole creation was without sin until the fall of man in the garden. however, since the fall, man has continually disobeyed the instruction of god to rule and to subdue the earth to mean total destruction of the creator’s work. this is seen in the destruction of nature’s beautiful forests. as god’s stewards on the earth the command to rule or have dominion and to subdue the earth did not mean to destroy god’s creation. it is senseless to imagine that a holy and righteous god would after creating a world which he himself would declare to be good, hand it over to man to destroy as being misunderstood in the usage of the verbs to rule or have dominion and to subdue it. this is more so when man is told that his food would come from “seed bearing plants…and every tree that has fruit in it” (gen 1:29). the hebrew verb radah {raw-daw’} in gen 1:26 is rendered “to rule, have ָרָדה dominion’’ dominate, tread down, to have dominion, rule, or to subjugate. it is pertinent to observe here that the right to rule is not a right to tyrannize or destroy the beautiful creation of god as enshrined in the vegetation. it is a right to service and to tend the vegetation as commanded by the creator for the benefit of man which includes his source for food. this right extends only to such duties as are consistent with the powers of the servants, and with the place which is assigned to them. all power is of god, and can only be lawfully exercised when igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 8 exercised according to his designs. that likeness to god in which we were originally created, should remind us that justice, and goodness, and mercy, are the chief distinctions after which we should aspire; and that our dominion was designed, like that of him who designed it, to be exercised with wisdom, rectitude, and compassion. in the same vein, the hebrew verb ָּכַבׁש, kabash, meaning: to subject, subdue, force, keep under, bring into bondage in being misunderstood and misinterpreted to mean to annihilate, to destroy and to deforest. this can only be far from the truth as god would not just create and hand over to man to destroy, then there would no justifiable reason for creation in the first place. god’s creation is for the benefit of humanity. the verb ָּכַבׁש, kabash, simply means to have control over god’s creation as stewards. this verb is used in joshua 18:1 with the sense of the land being "conquered, overcome, overpowered." tev translates "bring it [the earth] under control"; spcl says "fill the earth and govern it." subdue and have dominion over are parallel expressions with reference to the plants and animals that god has put on the earth. this is not a command to go to war, but for the first people and their offspring to "take control, be in charge, have direction over." have dominion over... is translated by frcl "be masters over...," and by tev "i am putting you in charge of...." in some languages subdue is expressed idiomatically as "make everything in the world come underneath your hands," and have dominion as "you will be boss...." the making of man in the image of god was so that he would carry the image of god in his assignment on earth as his ambassador protecting the forests which are part of his created work. as god’s stewards over god’s creation man is like a business manager in an organizational setting whose functions include those of planning, directing, organizing, supervising and controlling the assets and liabilities of the organization for growth and profitability. it would therefore be absurd and meaningless for the shareholders of the organization after setting up their business concern to now hire people who would come and mismanage the business let alone destroy it. man was therefore created to have dominion over god’s creation (gen 2:26, 28). adam and eve were the first regents over god's creation (ps 8:6-8). "the heaven, even the heavens, are the lord's; but the earth he has given to the children of men" (nkjv, ps 115:16). sadly, though, when adam and his wife believed satan's lie and ate of the forbidden fruit, man lost this dominion over the earth and began to destroy igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 9 god’s creation; and now sin and death reign over the earth (rom 5:12-21). the good news is that the coming of god’s son, jesus christ, the last adam (1 cor. 15:45), to earth, the lord jesus restored the dominion that the first adam had lost. he did by demonstrating that he had authority over the fish (luke 5:1-7; john 21:1-6; matt 17:24-27), the fowl (26:69-75), and the animals (mark 1:13; 11:3-7). when he died on the cross, he conquered sin and death, so that now grace can reign (rom 5:21) and god's people can "reign in life" through jesus christ (v. 17). one day, when he returns, jesus will restore to his own the dominion that was lost because of adam (heb 2:5 ff). we must observe that adam and the animal creation were vegetarians until after the flood (gen 1:29-30; 9:1-4). isa 11:7 indicates that the carnivorous beasts will return to this diet when jesus christ returns and establishes his kingdom on earth. the following passages show the high premium god places on his creation and forests inclusive and the literary figures of speech; personification and metaphors, etc., that have been employed to sing, exalt, praise and to adore god: i. sing, o heavens, for the lord has done it; shout, o depths of the earth; break forth into singing, o mountains, o forest, and every tree in it! for the lord has redeemed jacob, and will be glorified in israel. (isa 44:23). ii. let the field exult, and everything in it! then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy iii. (psa 96:12). iv. then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy before the lord, for he comes to judge the earth. (1ch 16:33). v. i made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees (ecc 2:6). vi. as an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the young men. with great delight i sat in his shadow, and his fruit was sweet to my taste (sol 2:3). indeed, not only does the lord love his forests but he loves all that he has made as the psalmist declares “the lord is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made” (ps 145:17). so then how can a righteous and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 10 loving god who loves all that he has made give out his forests for total destruction? the role of the church in the preservation forests the response of the church in the preservation of forests has to be an urgent concern not only to church leaders but the entire christendom. for god’s original mandate for the care and tending of the natural forests and vegetation has been disobeyed and misconstrued for total destruction. god never intended that his natural and beautiful forests be raped but rather man is even to source his food from the forests. the church therefore has to rise up and protect these natural resources as this would be seen as pleasing the creator of the universe. there has to be a vertical, loving relationship between man and god, horizontal loving relationship between man and man and between man and his environment. the effects of forest depletion are what we are witnessing in global warming, fulani herdsmen attack on peasant farmers, el niño, i.e. lack rainfall, crop failures and so many other devastating effects. this is because of sin against god, sin against humanity and sin against the environment. the church leaders should therefore preach: i. correctly and interpret the hebrew verb ָרָדהradah in gen 1:26 rendered “to rule, have dominion’’ dominate, tread down, to have dominion, or to subjugate, and the hebrew verb ָּכַבׁש, kabash, meaning: to subject, subdue, in gen 1:28 in its appropriate context as meaning to control, to tend, to govern, to look after as contrary to what is happening now in the total destruction of forests and forest products. ii. the message of repentance to its members informing them of god’s original mandate for the care and tending of the forests and not to subdue forests in the sense of destruction. god told his obstinate children the israelites saying “when i close up the sky so that it doesn't rain, or command locusts to devour the land's vegetation, or send a plague among my people, if my people, who belong to me, humble themselves, pray, seek to please me, and repudiate their sinful practices, then i will respond from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land(2 chr. 7:13-14). iii. the message of god’s love not only to humanity but to also to god’s vegetation. iv. the message that deforestation is sin against god and humanity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 11 v. the message that deforestation leads to many side effects such as global warming, lack of rainfall, poor harvest yield, and massive floods etc. vi. the message that increasing heat waves as a result of deforestation causes diseases to humans (meningitis, small pox, conjunctivitis and malaria etc.) and animals (blindness and even death). vii. the church leaders should lead in tree planting campaigns liaising with local, state and federal government to get plant seedlings, fast growing and economic trees for planting. viii. a standing policy that for every tree cut down there must be a replacement. ix. alternative usage of gas and kerosene stove instead of firewood fuel for cooking. conclusion forests and forest products are a creation of god and handed over to man in his ambassadorial capacity as steward to tend it for food and for his economic use. forests when destroyed without replacement of trees give rise to hazardous consequences. these hazards may include rise in temperatures, global warming, rise in water levels causing floods, irregular weather cycles, desertification, short and distorted rainfall cycles causing crop failures which leads to famine, extinction forest wild life and so on. therefore, for humanity to have maximum benefit of the eco system, there must be a reciprocal respect and value re-orientation placed on forests and forest products without wantonly destroying the good work of the creator as forests destruction will ultimately lead to human destruction. works cited adedire, m.o. “environmental implications of tropical deforestation.” international journal of sustainable development and world ecology. (ed)j.deffers(2000) 270-271. print. akindele, s.o.“review in management requirement for forestry management for nigerian forestry.” proceedings of the 27th annual conference of the forestry association of nigeria. (eds) a.popoola et al.abuja.(2001) 70-79. print. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 12 ausenac, g.“interactions between forests and climates.”journal ofsustainable forestry management.1997. baumer, m.agroforestry and desertification.(1990)p 250. egbogah, dennis.“holistic spirituality.”african understanding of christian spirituality. tcnn research bulletin no 35. (2001) 3-5.print. essuene, h.“goodwill message to the minister of environment: workshop on geoconfirmation in nigeria. imperatives of space technology for sustainable forest management in nigeria. march 4-6 abuja,(2006) 9-10. print. http://www.greenfacts.org/en/forests/indep108-110. igboanugo, a.b.“deforestation and environmental quality. a case study of some states in the northern guinea and sudanosahelian savannah zones of nigeria.” journal of forestry research and management5,(2008) 34-38. print. kio, p.r.o.forestry and sustainable agricultural development in nigeria.(2000) 35-43. print oguntala, a.b.“effect of fire wood collection and logging on the environment”unesco mab regional training workshop.(ed) a.afolayin. akure, nigeria,(1995)262-272. print. okojie, j.a.“misuse of renewable and natural resources” africa year of the environment. abeokuta, 25th june 1991. print. oloyede, i.o. “afforestation and reforestation.” a paper presented at unilorin.dec 15-17. (2008)12-13. print. omiyale, o.“importance of forests: historical perspectives to agroforestry in sierra leone.” benin city 29th oct vol 1 (2009) 1-8. print orji, e.utilization of resources.1982. pp 15-18. pegler, d. a. and g.d. pearce.“the edible mushrooms of zambia.” kew bulletin no 35 (1980)475. plotkin, m.j.“the outlook for new agriculture and industrial products from the tropics.” e.o. wilson (ed) biodiversity, national academy press. washington 1998. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 13 siefel, a.g. and m zarroug. “production and commercialization of gum arabic in sudan.” r.b.k. lekay et al (eds) domestication and commercialization of gum arabic. nairobi,kenya. (1996),176-180. print. sobowale, a.et al “forest depletion” land degradation and forest depletion in forest plantations of guinea savannah zone of nigeria. journal forestry research and management4,2007.print. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.3. no.2 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 76 african logic ejikemeuwa j. o. ndubisi, ph.d. department of philosophy & religious studies tansian university, umunya, anambra state, nigeria ejikon4u@yahoo.com abstract as a major branch of philosophy, logic deals with the basic principles, techniques and methods for distinguishing good arguments from bad arguments. it focuses on the validity and/or the soundness of our reasoning processes. it is through the instrumentality of logic that we can distinguish between truth and falsity, consistency and inconsistency, validity and invalidity, etc. in our daily usage of language. logic is a prerogative of the human person as a rational being. however, some scholars have argued for the non-existence of african logic. this position has troubled the mind of the researcher. the pertinent questions now are: is there anything like african logic? if yes, what is the nature of african logic? therefore, employing the philosophical method of analysis, this study strongly argues that there is african logic. it maintains that an organized life, like that of the african people, cannot be possible without the tool of logic that is anchored on the culture of the people. this study finally submits that african logic is a major branch of african philosophy which deals with the thought-pattern, language and worldviews of the african in the african world. keywords: logic, philosophy, african logic, african philosophy, rationality introduction the word logic is not new to many of us. we have heard of it before and many of us have used it severally in our speeches and writings. but despite its familiarity, it is a word that most people find difficult to define in clear terms. this is because the word ‘logic’ can be used in several senses. francis offor identifies three major ways in which one can look at the term ‘logic’ all of which are equally correct. in the first sense, the term logic is used to describe the totality of all laws guiding the human thought (offor, 2010, p.3). it is a truism that humans are rational beings whose thinking processes are based on certain principles. the totality of these principles can be described using the word ‘logic.’ in another sense, the word ‘logic’ can be used to describe the principles guiding the operation of a mechanism. every gadget or thing has its own inner logic which describes the way such a gadget or a particular thing operates. for igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 77 instance, when we operate our gsm handset, it follows a given procedure. when a call comes in, we have to press the ‘receive’ button and the call is received, and to end the call, we have to press the ‘end’ button. if we press the ‘end’ button and the handset starts sending messages indiscriminately, then something is wrong and the set will be said not to be operating the way it ought to, that is, according to its inner logic. therefore, the operation of a mechanism is guided by certain principles which can be referred to as the inner ‘logic’ of that mechanism. the foregoing conceptions of logic are all correct in their own right, but these are not usually the ways in which professional logicians speak of logic. they often speak of logic in its strict and technical sense as an academic discipline. in this sense, logic is therefore seen as that branch of philosophy that deals with the study of the basic principles, techniques, or methods for evaluating arguments (bello, 2000, p. 1; offor, 2012, p.3; ndubisi, 2014, p. 32). understood in this sense, logic reflects upon the nature of thinking itself; it attempts to answer such questions as: what is correct reasoning? what distinguishes a good argument from a bad one? are there methods or ways to detect fallacies in reasoning, and if so, what are they? indeed, this project of discerning between correct and incorrect reasoning is the central problem with which logic deals and all the principles and techniques in the logic of any people are developed primarily for the purpose of this discernment. now we have seen that logic can be used in more than one sense when it is looked at in its loose, technical, professional and academic senses. offor, (2010, p.2) describes logic as a branch of philosophy that teaches us the basic principles, techniques and procedures for distinguishing good arguments from bad ones. this is in line with copi who defines logic as the study of the methods and principles used to distinguish good (correct) from bad (incorrect) reasoning (copi 1994, cited in jaja&badey, 2012, p.96). by correct reasoning, we mean the art of finding reasons and/or evidence which do, in fact, support and /or prove our conclusion (ndubisi, 2014, p.32). echukwube provides a rather instructive definition of logic when he states that logic is concerned with the process of thinking and reasoning as well as the symbolic expression of such process in verbal or written form (echukwubeas cited in jaja&badey, 2012, p.96).from here, one can understand logic to be science of reasoning by which problems are solved and conclusions drawn from premises. in fact, one is said to be engaged in logic when one reflects on and examines the principles in terms of which understanding and right judgment must be achieved. hence, aja (2008) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 78 maintains that logic is interested in justification of ideas and assertions (p. 3). copi (1982) emphatically averred that logic studies the method and principles by which we differentiate good reasoning from bad reasoning and correct reasoning from incorrect reasoning (p. 21). logic concerns itself with the proper method of reasoning, for the art of sound, correct and critical reasoning is in the domain of logic (ndubisi, 2014, p.32). logic distinguishes between truth and falsity, consistency and inconsistency, orderliness and disorderliness, validity and invalidity in our daily approach to reality by use of language. as i have noted elsewhere, it is the function of logic to dispel the confusion that often arises in our everyday discourse and, indeed, the human person is called rational on the ground of his natural ability to engage in logic (ndubisi, 2014, p. 32). logic: universal and cultural logic is a branch, a tool, and the most rigorous aspect of philosophy. as ogugua and ogugua (2015, p.244) observe, and rightly too, it lies at the core of philosophy. as a tool of philosophy, logic looks like philosophy in so many ways and we cannot truly engage in philosophy without it. like philosophy, logic is both bound and boundless; both universal and cultural. let us first highlight the fact that philosophy has these characteristics.philosophy could be viewed from different perspectives. etymologically, its definition stands to be love of wisdom. it can also be seen as a people’s worldview or an attitude towards life. all these point to the fact that philosophy is both a universal enterprise as well as an enterprise within the bounds of culture. philosophy as an enterprise is not necessarily academic. thus, ogugua and ogugua (2015) aver that it is a many sided enterprise with degrees of ascension and acceleration in the journey of thought, wonder and meditation (p.244). this is not particular to philosophy alone. the academic and non-academic aspects abound in other disciplines and human enterprises including religion, mathematics, science, etc. we do find people ordinarily called illiterates doing well in mathematics and medicine. these are not ‘academic’ mathematics or medicine, nevertheless they are mathematics and medicine and there is no need to tag them ‘debased’ as most purists of our time do. therefore, it will be expecting too much from every people to have at once philosophy that is purely academic or theoretic. this is because philosophy has always grown out of a people’s understanding of the meaning of realities in their worldview. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 79 without the culture of a people, therefore, philosophy is almost impossible. philosophy results in a place only when people of/in a place attempts to arrest the challenges and problems of that milieu through critical thinking. what we know today as african philosophy is a product of african trying to understand the realities in the african world through rational means. understood in this sense, philosophy inasmuch as it is boundless by reason of its universality, is equally bounded by cultural influence, and this is why we can rightly speak of african, chinese, indian, british or american philosophy. what this suggests is that although philosophy is universal, it is not boundless. there are boundaries, because every people will undertake the quest for understanding the meaning of realities and human existence differently in accordance with their different worldviews. but if philosophy is truly relative in this sense, as we have already made clear, then logic too is affected notwithstanding that logic is, as ogugua and ogugua puts it, a science of pure form. logic too has universal and cultural elements. its universality lies in its form (artificial logic), while natural logic is culturally bound. this point is well highlighted by ogugua and ogugua (2015) when they observed: logic does not pay attention to either truth or matter or declarative sentences as such but one would expect the difference to lie in and with natural logic and not with artificial logic. it will be out of place for one to expect igbo-african logic to be at the level of sophistication as the formalization and abstraction of thoughts, making the study of forms in logic removed from the realities of thought and language; that is, being myopic as to suffer from mania for symbols. (p.244) the fact is that knowledge of artificial logic is only acquired in the class room. but it is absurd to say that uneducated people or even those who have not taken any course in neither philosophy nor logic does not apply logic in their life experiences. this means that the universal, abstract or artificial logic, that is, thestudy of forms, is not all there is to logic. yes, logic can be universalized because it has to do with symbolization, but there is more to logic than symbols. the idea of logic shows that it is not out of place to have african logic – a sound logic concerning itself to matters of practical import – a logic serving the purpose igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 80 of language, law, morality, habit etc – a tool for articulation, appreciation, and understanding realities in africa (ogugua&ogugua, 2015, p.244). there is western logic and there is african logic. there is logic in all cultures inasmuch as there is language through which they attempt to understand and explain reality. is there an african logic? from the discussion above, it is clear that an organized life, a way of life cannot be possible among a people without the tool of logic. how could a people deprived of logic have a culture including language? how could they achieve right reasoning as rational beings? in fact, how could their lives be meaningful? logic is concerned with the clarification of language and it facilitates correct reasoning. generally, it ensures that one has an ordered facility. it is clear that without logic, it is practically impossible for one to perform basic human functions including linguistic functions. this is premised on the fact that the capacity to organize reality intelligibly by means of language is made possible by logic. the truth is that without language, life itself will be meaningless. logic is central to any culture because every culture has a language and language is only made possible by logic. every language belongs to a culture and every culture belongs to a people. logic makes language possible, and language expresses culture. it follows therefore that culture presupposes the existence of logic. on account of this connection, one would discover without much ado that logic is fundamental to african worldview. this is why we make bold to assert that logic is an element of culture. africa as a whole has a culture, and all of its parts are embellished with cultures, all of which can only be possible with logic. the logic inherent in any given culture is made more manifest by the language of the people. for this reason,ogugua&ogugua (2015, p.247) aver that the logic of a people is not only discernible but discoverable in their language. and it is in respect with the logic found in a people’s language and behavior that we postulate the existence of african logic. logic can have no content and form without language, and language is used to express or picture reality. therefore, logic has to do with the way we speak about things, about what is. but a discourse of what is, is a metaphysical discourse. metaphysics is the study of whatever is insofar as it is – the study of being. the study of being, however, is not exclusive to metaphysics. epistemology, properly igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 81 understood, is also a study of being from quite a different perspective. metaphysics studies being from the point of view of existence while epistemology studies being from the point of view of cognition. the study of being, however, primarily belongs to metaphysics because epistemology does not enjoy unlimited scope that metaphysics enjoys: what is may not be known or even knowable. but we do not have the logic to speak of what is not known to us. logic as an epistemological tool only furnishes us with wherewithal to talk about reality as we encounter them. it is right then to say that epistemology is an instrument of metaphysics itself mainly concerned with ontology, while logic is that of epistemology. i have highlighted this inevitable connection between logic and epistemology elsewhere when i noted that: epistemology inquires into the nature, possibility and veracity of human knowledge. it deals with the object and problems of human knowledge. logic, on its part, distinguishes correct reasoning from incorrect reasoning. it borders on the criteria or the yardstick for our acclaimed knowledge…logic provides the necessary ‘instruments’ for proper presentation of what we claim to know. (ndubisi, 2014, p.32) now the objects of our knowledge are beings, things, what is, and not no-thing. epistemology makes use of logic to venture into reality and experience has shown that the whole of the human race does not view reality from a common perspective. we often do not fix attention in the same object during cognition and even if it so happens that we do, each of us looks at it from his or her perspective. so, the answer to the question of the existence of african logic is very clear. without going into the great debate on the existence question of african philosophy, we note that the fact that there exists african philosophy, presupposes the existence of african logic. thus, kanu (2017) avers that, having established the existence of african philosophy, it would be illogical and contradictory to ask the question: is there an african logic. uduma (2015) observed that: the existence of african philosophy is supposed to dovetail the existence of an african logic. so even if we cannot currently present one, the possibility should exist. after all, african igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 82 philosophy itself is relatively very recent and to overcome the tension that governed its emergency its corollary african logic should be accepted even if it is only conceptually (pp. 59 – 60). indeed, no group could have existed for any length of time without the ability to reason and think, that is, without philosophy. furthermore, man’s ability to make use of language undoubtedly presupposes the presence of a fundamental logical disposition. in this regard, africa is not an exception. the concept and nature of african logic jaja and badey (2012) define african logic as “the application of the thinking process on the african world, language, culture and objects” (p.96) . for them, although the african logic is natural, it allows the artificial symbolic logic of the west to influence it. by natural logic is meant critical, discriminating, rational and reasonable discussion and discourse in natural language, and by artificial logic is meant the setting up of constants, variables, sentence connectives and deduction and transformation of rules, for deriving the formal validity of arguments and symbolic logic (momoh, 1989, p.167). logic precisely is that pattern of thought found in everyday discourse of a people (jaja&badey, 2012, p.96). it is concerned with the clarity of expression, the avoidance of fallacies, vagueness, ambiguity and contradictions in language. thinking and reasoning is not peculiar to any particular people even if we grant, and we think this is true, that, not every thinking is reasoning. we may think of so many things even as we carry out our daily tasks or listening to a speaker in a gathering without really applying our reasoning to them. this attitude in human cognition also applies to all humans as does the application of logic to facts of life. reasoning is the activity or process of adducing, collecting evidence, weighing them, and drawing conclusions based upon these evidences (ndubisi, 2014, p.32). african logic is a major branch of african philosophy and it deals precisely with the application of reasoning to the world and culture of the african, to his language and object of his reference. thus, jaja and badey (2012, p.96) observe that african logic deals with thinking [understood as reflection, assessment or reasoning], language or inference all of which are usually with reference to one’s world and culture. since language is the tool of the philosopher, african language becomes the vehicle of african logic. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 83 african logic is shaped therefore by the way the africans view reality. it is a natural logic encompassing the entire worldview of the african peoples and culture. african logic thus concerns itself not so much with abstract reasoning as with difficulties and problems of real life. this is why jaja and badey (2012) are of the view that african logic is that natural logic which applies to juridical, pragmatic and concrete problems in the african existential world (p.101). thus, the african logic is not satisfied with mere validity of arguments. emphasis is laid on the truthfulness of each claim. the african logic from what we have said above is connected to their ordinary language. as already noted, language would be an unrealistic dream without logic. nevertheless, the rules, principles and laws of logic are quite evident in african mode of thought. indeed, there is no doubt that the ordinary language may not be able to be used in making subtle analysis and distinctions. this reason, observed, ogugua and ogugua (2015, p.248), compels some thinkers to hold that symbolic logic with its artificial logic is of prime importance. the artificial language of symbolic logic appears more perfect than the natural language to some philosophers. hence, some philosophers try to formulate their theories in such artificially regulated logistic language (unah, 1998). we do not attempt to deny the scientific nature and value of the artificial or symbolic logic, but we do not think that it is a condition sine qua non to logical thinking nor is it the very essence of logic generally. as a matter of fact, the essential characteristics of logic can be realized by the use of natural language, symbolism standing only for elegance and precision. it is true that natural language has the tendency to accommodate vagueness. this point notwithstanding, logic in its natural language is nonetheless logic, also embodying completeness of thought. the african logic does not have to be subject to logical calculi to be called logic. this is not to say that our thoughts cannot be formalized or symbolized painstakingly. of course that is possible. but there is nowhere that an individual is subjected to logical calculi to show that he/she is logical; not even in europe. actually, one has to be a logician in the academic sense or a philosopher to truly understand the mathematical logic. the fact is that the traditional european cannot understand mathematical logic without proper training. logical ability igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 84 restricted to formal truth in logic is, without doubt, a monopoly of trained logicians, not even trained philosophers (ogugua&ogugua, 2015, p.249). therefore, the african logic is essentially logic in natural language and no one would dare to deny without contradictions that this is logic. it is a logic observing the syntactical and semantical rules and the rule of right inference and of valid argument though the africans did not set out these rules in form of mathematical symbols. the fact, then, that the africans have logic is clear from the fact that they have always made inferences in life and have always seen nature or reality as something intelligible, and indeed, they have organized reality in history. this is what levy bruhl failed to understand when engulfed in the darkness of prejudice and the desire for white superiority he asserts that the africans are pre-logical, primitive and lacking in logic. holding this sort of view is the very height of ignorance (of the nature and dimension of logic), for logic remains the intellectual sheet anchor of a people’s appreciation of life. conclusion history, learning and experience show that the africans are logical in their thought and behavior. this could not be possible if there is not in africa the existence of logic. there is no gainsaying the fact that the africans know and recognize what is now known as the laws of thought namely, law of identity, law of non-contradiction, and law of excluded middle. these laws are seen in operation when the africans make attempts to resolve their day-to-day problems. here, one finds out that the african knows that what is is, and what is not is not; and that something cannotbe and not be at the same time for this entails inconsistencies. they do this without necessarily having to pattern their thought in the formal structure of syllogistic logic or engage in prepositional logic – and we do not think we learnt from any other people to do this even if any other people does so. african logic is therefore an existential reality. logic as we have elaborated is a concern with correctness of argumentation. once we identify the subject matter of logic as arguments, it becomes clear that logic lies at the heart of human existence; human life is directed by argumentation. this applies to the african as it applies to all cultures. arguments thus mean reasoning and the african’s ability to conduct his daily affairs ordinarily means that he is eminently logical (uduma, 2015, p. 67). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 85 in sum, there is african logic which deals with the thought-pattern, language and worldviews of the african in the african world. the works of many african philosophers, in this regard, attest to the existence of african logic. references aja, e. (2008). logic and clear thought: an invitation to good reasoning, 2nd ed. enugu: university of nigeria press. bello, a. (2000). introduction to logic. ibadan: university press. copi, i, m. (1982). introduction to symbolic logic. new york: macmillan jaja, j.m. and badey, p. p. (2012). “logic in african philosophy: examples from two niger-delta societies” international journal of academic research in business and social sciences, 2(4). pp. 95-102. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. 9-18. momoh, c.s. (1989). the substance of african philosophy. auchi: african philosophy projects’ publications. ndubisi, e. j.o. (2014). “nature and function of logic in african epistemology” international organization for scientific research journal of humanities and social science, 19 (11) pp. 32 – 36. offor, f. (2010). essentials of logic. ibadan: book wright nigeria publishers. ogugua, p.i. and ogugua, i.c. (2015). “is there an igbo african logic?” open journal of philosophy, 5, pp. 243-251. uduma, u. o. (2015). “beyond irredentism and jingoism: reflections on the nature of logic and the quest for (an) african logic”. [7thebonyi state university inaugural lecture]. unah, o. (1998). “logic as an element of culture”. in unah, j. (ed.) metaphysics, phenomenology and african philosophy. ibadan: hope publications. pp. 374 – 391. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 6.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 36 african traditional method of conflict resolution vis-avis the sacrament of reconciliation: an igwebuike perspective francis iwuh, osa modibbo adama university of technology, yola adamawa state nduemerem16@yahoo.com abstract this article studied reconciliation as practice in african traditional religion and christian religion (catholic), from the spectrum of the igwebuike igbo-african philosophy of conflict resolution. reason being that both religions still co-exist mutually in igbo society today, promoting and sustaining their values can be of help in ameliorating conflict and create the conditions for peaceful coexistence. it aims at finding some essential elements of reconciliation common to both religions, drawing connection from the basic features of igwebuike philosophy of peace and conflict resolution. to achieve this, the study will x-ray igbo traditional conflict resolution method and the sacrament of reconciliation in the catholic church, in order to facilitate and restore broken relationships in the religious pluralistic igbo society. keywords: igwebuike, philosophy, conflict resolution, sacrament of reconciliation introduction reconciliation and peace is the heart of all religions of the world. all religions strive to restore a broken relationship between human beings and god, between human beings and the natural world, or among human beings themselves (meiring, 2005). this is true because disputes are an integral part of human nature which dates back to the origin of human beings. however, one of the tasks of religion and religious tenets is to re-establish the energy flow within individuals, families and communities so as to re-build social harmony. african traditional religion and christian religion are part of world religions that promotes peace, love and reconciliation. the ultimate goal of a traditional justice system in most african communities is reconciliation. african traditional culture and christian value systems have much to offer to the world – a sense of direction in conflict resolution and in peace-building mechanisms. it is believed that christian message is not entirely new for africa, african culture and tradition has a certain resemblance to the worldview of the bible. mbiti in meiring agrees with this assertion when he said, “the bible is very much an igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 37 african book, in which african christians and theologians see themselves and their people reflected and in which they find a personal place of dignity and acceptance before god (2005, pp. 68-69).” this article therefore seeks to study reconciliation as practice in african traditional religion and christian religion (catholic), from the spectrum of the igwebuike igbo-african philosophy of conflict resolution. reason being that both religions still co-exist mutually in igbo society today, promoting and sustaining their values can be of help in ameliorating conflict and create the conditions for peaceful coexistence. it aims at finding some essential elements of reconciliation common to both religions, drawing connection from the basic features of igwebuike philosophy of peace and conflict resolution. to achieve this, the study will x-ray igbo traditional conflict resolution method and the sacrament of reconciliation in the catholic church, in order to facilitate and restore broken relationships in the religious pluralistic igbo society. conceptualizing reconciliation the term “reconciliation” is derived from the latin “reconciliare” or latin expression “conciliatus” which means coming together or united. “conciliatus” has the same connotation with “conciliate” which also means above all, to restore to friendship. it is the coming together for a friendly purpose. to this end, every definition of reconciliation must be geared toward building some sort of positive relationship. “reconciliation refers to the processes by which parties that have experienced an oppressive relationship or a destructive conflict with each other move to attain or to restore a relationship that they believe to be minimally acceptable (kriesberg, 2001, p. 48)”. according to galtung (2001), reconciliation is the process of healing traumas of both victims and perpetrators after violence, providing a closure of the bad relation. commenting on these definitions above, molenaar opines that, although galtung’s definition covers most of the elements kriesberg provided, it leaves out any reference to the goal of the reconciliation process, i.e. the building of some sort of positive relationship which is supposed to be the end result of reconciliation (2005). igbokwe argues that, “reconciliation is a process and a goal and cannot be restricted to reflecting the final state of peace and therefore not an end on itself but a process to an end (2018, p.85-86).” here, reconciliation is seen as a step by step process whose eventual end is in the restoration of peace and harmony to a situation that is hitherto conflictual. for lambourne, “reconciliation between individuals or groups requires the involvement of two or more parties in an interaction of apology and forgiveness igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 38 and the willingness to embark on a new relationship based on acceptance and trust” (2001, p. 314). following from this, molenaar (2005) sees reconciliation as the way to overcome a history of conflict and to rebuild better social relations in which people can cooperate, share meals and drink beer together. huyse describes reconciliation in these words: “ideally reconciliation prevents, once and for all, the use of the past as the seed of renewed conflict. it consolidates peace, breaks the cycle of violence and strengthens newly established or reintroduced democratic institutions. as a backward-looking operation, reconciliation brings about the personal healing of survivors, the reparation of past injustices, the building or rebuilding of non-violent relationships between individuals and communities, and the acceptance by the former parties to a conflict of a common vision and understanding of the past. in its forward-looking dimension, reconciliation means enabling victims and perpetrators to get on with life and, at the level of society, the establishment of a civilized political dialogue and an adequate sharing of power (2003, p. 19). reconciliation means different things to different people. what it means is, among others, dependent on culture or religion. hence, meiring, (2005) gave two dimensions of reconciliation; vertical and horizontal dimensions. the reconciliation between human beings and god is often referred to as the vertical dimension of reconciliation while the reconciliation between human beings as the horizontal dimension. horizontal reconciliation can in turn take place between quarrelling individuals or conflicting groups. igbokwe agrees totally with this, when he said, “reconciliation with one another: the significant of this kind of reconciliation is that it is a horizontal one where the peace building process is done between humans (2018, p. 86).” they are both intertwined, one relating to the other. thus, according to traditional christian thought, all strife and brokenness stems from human disobedience to god. similarly, the solution for conflict lies in first restoring human relationship with god. reconciliation to fellow human beings is as important for christians as their reconciliation with god, and is a central tenet in the teachings of christ. because, god is, for instance, thought to require sincere confession before he forgives human beings, this requirement also stands for reconciliation among human beings. meiring concludes that, african religion being a practical religion falls squarely on the horizontal side of affairs, as it is thought to influence the vertical as well (2005, p. 90). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 39 igwebuike and igbo-african conflict resolution the theme of peace and reconciliation is not a foreign notion to the african people, and its intensity has accelerated, whether we look at it from secular or religious considerations. it is deeply integrated into the total life and worldview of the people, without delineating life into religious and secular components, because religion is part and parcel of traditional life. thus, mbiti (2010) opines that, while each people has particular ways of expressing its religious life, there are many similar features that make it meaningful to speak collectively of african religion in the singular, albeit without uniformity or centralized institutions. in african religion there is more action on peace and less speculation about it. a lot of institutions and established processes are involved in conflict resolutions in africa. this function all the time at many levels of life, which may take place in person-to-person relations, in the family, in the neighborhood, in the community, and among peoples (tribes) that, may have disputes or fights with one another. in africa, peace and reconciliation is not taken for granted; the fact that people quarrel, have disputes and serious differences, fight and even injure or kill one another is a tragic reality of life, makes it a necessity for people to develop concepts and methods of bringing about reconciliation and peace where and when such fights ensue in the community. reconciliation here will be presented from the lens of igwebuike igbo-african peace and conflict resolution. according to kanu, “igwebuike is an igbo word; one of the major dialects in africa. it is a principle that is at the heart of african thought, and in fact, the modality of being in african ontology (2017, p. 6).” he went on to say that it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. the three words involved: ‘igwe’ is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. ‘bu’ is a verb, which means is. ‘ike’ is another verb, which means strength or power (kanu, 2016). thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force. its english equivalents are ‘complementarity’, ‘solidarity’ and ‘harmony’. the preferred concept, however, is ‘complementarity’ (kanu, 2015a&b). however, applied to african traditional conflict resolution, kanu writes that: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 40 igwebuike, an igbo-african philosophy is, therefore, employed as a system of conflict resolution which would help africans to incorporate african traditional categories in the resolution of conflicts, promotion of peace, justice, freedom, human dignity, sustainable development and better quality of life. igwebuike as an indigenous wholistic igbo philosophy is generated to emphasize that indigenous peoples have worldviews and means of relating to the world. this worldview is rooted within indigenous epistemologies, cultures and traditions with the understanding that we are all relatedeach aspect relates with the whole: the dynamics of realty are based on the relationships and experiences of interrelationships and interconnections (2017, p.2). from the foregoing, igwebuike as an igbo-african concept has community living at the base of it philosophy, the nucleus of traditional african society as can be seen in julius nyerere’s ujamaa. ujamaa is a swahili word meaning 'extended family', 'brotherhood' or 'socialism'; as a political concept it asserts that a person becomes a person through the people or community. mbiti (2010) explained that community life is very important in africa, and that an injury to one is an injury to all. that is why people would say “we have been killed” if one member of their community was killed. if this corporate community is thus injured, the whole corporate community must be reconciled and is therefore involved in the reconciliation between (seemingly) only two members of the community. this is so because as shedrack (2014) observed, african traditional dispute resolution (atdr) attaches more premium to community interests than individual needs and interests. the truth of this matter is traditional african dispute resolution (tadr) is predominantly a community responsibility. the chief presides over the resolution process alongside other elders and the people. the chief only facilitates the process, but the community owns the process. in igwebuike igbo-african philosophy, the process of reconciliation is the reserve of elders, diviners, healers and other respected members of the society. conflict resolution aimed at restoring social harmony, mending breached social ties, performance of rituals and offering apologies or compensation to ensure that the status quo before the dispute is restored. the process involved getting the parties and their families together, and getting to the root of the conflict to ensure underlying causes of conflict were resolved and the parties reconciled. charles lists these as some of the institutions that manage conflict in igbo land: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 41 ezi (family), okpala (eldest man holding ancestral spear), umunna (clan), umuada or umookpu (females born in a clan), amala (council of elders), nzuko obodo (village/town assembly), oha-na-eze (meeting of the king and the people), ndi-isi obodo (village heads), ndimmanwu (masquerade group), out-ogbo/ebiri (ag grades), out-ndi nta (hunters association), ndi chili echichi (titled men like ozo title-holders) and agbara (oracles/deities) (2016, p. 27). whenever conflict ensues, the leader of any of these groups calls together those who are involved and the people-who serve dual purpose as audience and as witnesses. reconciliation is never complete in tradition igbo society without gestures, a public show of reconciliation. sacrament of reconciliation the sacrament of reconciliation also known as penance or confession is one of the seven sacraments of the catholic church in which the faithful obtain absolution for the sins committed against god and neighbour and are reconciled with the community of the church. when you use the word reconciliation, you are referring to the restoration of friendship destroyed by sin. ossai avers that, “both “penance” and “confession” describe the action of the penitent. “reconciliation” describes the new state of life achieved by the penitent through this sacrament (2013, p. 64).” thus, the sacrament of reconciliation refers to healing the rift (conflict) between a sinful human being, god and other human beings. it is called the sacrament of reconciliation, because it imparts to the sinner the life of god who reconciles: "be reconciled to god" says the scripture (2 cor. 5:20). he who lives by god’s merciful love are ready to respond to the lord's call in matthew 5:24: "go; first be reconciled to your brother.” “those who approach the sacrament of penance obtain pardon from god's mercy for the offense committed against him, and are, at the same time, reconciled with the church which they have wounded by their sins and which by charity, by example, and by prayer labors for their conversion (ccc1422)." during his public life jesus not only forgave sins, but also made plain the effect of this forgiveness: he reintegrated forgiven sinners into the community of the people of god from which sin had alienated or even excluded them. a remarkable sign of this is the fact that jesus receives sinners at his table, a gesture that expresses in an astonishing way both god's forgiveness and the return to the bosom of the people of god (ccc 1443). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 42 through the sacrament of reconciliation, sinful persons express their sorrow and contrition for personal wrongdoing after baptism in order to be reconciled to; restored to full and healthy friendship or relationship with the loving and merciful god and the christian community. to receive forgiveness for sinful wrongdoing through this sacrament, ekstrom (2010) opines that, one must have true sorrow, be willing to confess one’s sin to a catholic priest, make reparation for sin and receive absolution. for ossai, “the catholic church teaches and believes that the sacrament of penance was instituted by christ himself. jesus gave the apostles and their successors the spiritual power to forgive sins (cf. matthew 16:19, john 20:21-23) (2013, p. 65).” he continued by saying that this power was not a personal gift, but transferred through them to the church as a permanent institution. the elements of reconciliation africans had an existing structure, institutions and process of reconciliation before the arrival of christianity to african soil, which correspond to that brought by the missionaries. a critical look into the beliefs of christianity and african traditional practices reviews that there are some similarities in concepts which allows them to coexist harmoniously. for example, the believe that god is the creator of everything including society. society, according to their belief systems, is a moral entity since the creator provided a moral code which directs individual behaviour patterns. however, this moral code can be violated, and any infraction of it is regarded as sin, which earns the displeasure of god. such sinful acts according to mbiti (2010) includes; immoral behaviour, breaking covenant, ritual mistakes, breaking of taboos, committing an abominable act, offence against god or man and pollution. reconciliation is then the restoration of life force whenever or wherever it is diminished. whenever there is a breach of order in the universe as established by god through the ancestors, humanity must see to it that the harmony is restored. it is important to note that, given this view of sin, reconciliation aims to remedy a broken relationship and restore harmony, rather than to punish the guilty. in addition to this, kanu says: this explains why the african approach always entails a spiritual dimension, for creating and restoring damaged relationship with god, the deities, the ancestors, family, neighbours, etc. this is done in a way, sometimes through rituals that link the people with their past, the present and their futureit is a holistic approach. thus, it is not just about justifying the one and condemning the other, it works towards a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 43 compromise for the reconciliation of the both parties and the restoration of balance or the harmony of reality (2017, p. 9). reconciliation process is anchored by an authority figure in igbo tradition society, who mediates between conflicting parties but is empowered to make binding judgments. the purpose is not to render a judgment in law but to reconcile the conflicting parties and its norms. therefore, reconciliation is not an isolated act, but a constant readiness to leave the tyranny of violence and fear behind. it is not an event but a process, and as such usually a difficult, long and unpredictable one, involving various steps and stages. these steps and stages huyse (2003), identifies as healing, truth-seeking, justice and reparation, which correspond to the four elements of the sacrament of reconciliation-contrition, confession, satisfaction and absolution-in the catholic church. a. truth-telling conflict resolution in igwebuike philosophy is a community affair. the first basic features of igwebuike philosophy of peace and conflict resolution, says that, “conflict is not viewed as a problem between the disputants but as a problem of the entire community (kanu 2017, p. 9)”, this is captured beautifully in the igbo adage, anya beewe imi e beewe, “when the eyes begin to cry, the nose cry also.” igwebuike sees conflict as a thorn on the fresh that must be carefully removed. in traditional igbo society, the two parties in conflict never closed their eyes or fold their hands against the restoration of order, relationship and reasonability. at least, one of the quarreling parties was reasonable enough to associate with the wisdom of reconciliation. kanu had this mind when saying, “in relation to conflict, igwebuike philosophy does not understand conflict merely as a fracas between two persons, or two groups, it rather understands conflict as a fracas touching on the harmony of reality (2017, p. 9)”. the first step to conflict resolution is truth-telling. the conflicting party is required to make a statement or narrate the issue at stake to the authority handling the reconciliation process. they are to tell the whole truth in their statement without hiding anything. this is the major and most significant aspect of conflict resolution, because without knowing the real cause of the conflict, the mediator will not be able to resolve the conflict. this is why in some cases; the parties in conflict are made to swear an oath before an oracle before proceeding to truth-telling. the mediator, judge and arbitrator must be well prepared because truth is not static. truth is also a covenant logo disputant or parties in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 44 conflict must not miss. for one of the conflicting parties to have come to the reconciliation table means that person is ready to settle or resolve the dispute, although, this is not always the case. we find truth-telling also in the sacrament of reconciliation. ossai assert that, confession means “telling of our sins to an authorized priest for the purpose of obtaining forgiveness (2013, p. 66).” it entails the acknowledgement and acceptance or admitting and naming one's sin. it is in this act that the penitent names his or her sins, acknowledging the judgment of god over his or her actions. generally, there is an expectation that confession of sin be integral and thorough, and the priest can be of assistance in guiding the penitent through such a process. the function of a priest in sacramental confession is the same with an elder in igwebuike igbo conflict resolution process. the usual minister of the sacrament of reconciliation is a presbyter (priest). the word “presbyter” is a latin word which means an elder. so a priest is an elder in the catholic church, who represents god during the sacrament of reconciliation just as an elder does in igbo traditional society. an elder bolster/persuade the parties in conflict into telling the truth, and by guiding them through the process, helps them bring about peace. truth-telling is one of the most important steps used by elders in the igwebuike igbo-african traditional society in the reconciliation process. a fruitful reconciliation begins with truth telling. the process of reconciliation can be established only when there is openness and transparency. b. forgiveness after listening to the parties in conflict, elders acting as judge give verdict and apportion blames to whoever is at fault. when this is done, the defaulter renders apology to the community through the victim, who is expected to accept the apology and forgive. this is based on the igbo adage, ma mmehie adighi, mgbaghara agaghi a di, “if there is no sin, there will be no forgiveness.” according to igbokwe, “forgiveness among disputants is generally understood as the giving up of the feelings of resentment that the victims have against the offenders, which results in the restoration of a social bond between them (2018, p. 88).” it does not mean forgetting but giving up the conflict or feelings of pain for peace. igwebuike understands peace within the context of good health, well-being, order and freshness (kanu 2017, p.8). a community can be said to be healthy, when there is no conflict, when people are living harmoniously and when there is no feeling of suspicion. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 45 in the sacrament of reconciliation, forgiveness can be compared to contrition. contrition is one's expression of sorrow for sin. contrition occupies first place in the work of the sacrament, but the expression of the "act of contrition" usually follows after the confession of sin. the way of contrition may defer in people. for instance, in some people, it is contrite of heart that moves them to go for confession, while in others, it is after they must have confess their sins during the admonition of the priest. but in igwebuike igbo traditional conflict resolution, contrition comes after truth-telling, when the elder who is mediating the reconciliation process has pronounced the guilty party. in traditional igbo society, one is not guilty until pronounced by the elders who are responsible for conflict resolution. contrition is that remorse, that comes about through understanding the nature of one's relationship with god as an invitation and a call to discipleship, and an awareness of the ways in which one has not lived up to that call. remorse is expressed in the form of apologies and articulations of regret and guilt, conveyed privately or publicly. mercy and forgiveness are also variously expressed (kriesberg, 2007). “the council of florence noted that to be sacramentally forgiven one must express contrition for personal sinfulness, confess to a priest, and make amends, also known as “reparation, by doing penance” (ekstrom 2010, p.227).” forgiveness in both cultures is not an option but a necessity for reconciliation. c. reparation reparation is a key element of any true reconciliation process. reconciliation and justice are almost twin notions. many people argue that the search for peaceful coexistence, trust, and empathy demands that “justice be done” that in one way or another, the crimes of the past are acknowledged and punished. reparation is sought because of a breakdown in relationships often require restitution before the reconciliation can be established. the sixth basic features of igwebuike philosophy of peace and conflict resolution says that, there is an emphasis on restorative penalty. this penalty has human face, not “a winner takes it all” affair but that of no winner no vanquished. “igwebuike works towards a situation that acknowledges a mutually beneficial condition rather just condemning one and exalting the other. this is because the emphasis is on co-operation with one another for the common good as opposed to competition that could lead to grave instability within the community (kanu 2017, p. 9).” however, reparation can either be restorative, compensatory or expiatory in nature; this is so because every crime committed offends the human and the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 46 divine worlds. restorative and compensatory reparation to the human world is necessary because in the first place, one has offended the community and one’s neighbour. one must do what is possible in order to repair the harm to the human world. restorative and compensatory can take the form of returning a stolen goods, restore the reputation of someone slandered, and pay compensation for injuries. for instance, in the case of stealing in igbo society, the culprit will be sternly warned and rebuked if the stolen property is of low value, but if the property involved is of high value, the culprit is tied up for days without food and if he was caught red-handed, he is carried about the village especially round the market square with the stolen property conspicuously tied around his neck while passers-by jeer, curse and spit on him. later, the culprit would be expected to make restitution. the penalty will be more severe if the stolen property is symbolic such as yams, hen and so on or if the culprits is of high ranking such as titled men, elders, etc. stealing from an outsider is even much more serious, for the culprit is detained until a substantial ransom is paid by his relatives apart from which in the former times, the culprit would be sold into slavery. but some crimes also injure and weaken the culprit’s relationships with the gods. to this effect, expiation is needed. expiation is often done through sacrifice to the gods of the land, to appease the gods. the items for this sacrifice are provided mostly by the culprit as reparation. in the sacrament of reconciliation, there is also that aspect of reparation, which may come in form of prayer, restoration or compensation depend on the kind of sin one have committed, as judged right by the priest. thus, the catechism of catholic church states that, “raised up from sin, the sinner must still recover his full spiritual health by doing something more to make amends for the sin: he must "make satisfaction for" or "expiate" his sins. this satisfaction is also called "penance” (ccc 1459)." by satisfaction, ossai says, the priest has to impose some penance on the penitent after confession and that satisfaction can also be called atonement because it can require some act of restitution (2013). satisfaction for sin is the way in which the sinner shows his or her "firm purpose of amendment," which means that the sinner demonstrates by action the intention to heal the harm done by sin. when someone harms another, the process of reconciliation in that relationship entails making restitution, and that gesture in itself is a healing remedy. d. celebration igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 47 reconciliation in igbo traditional society is incomplete without celebration. first, you don’t invite the elders for conflict resolution without some piece of kola-nuts and a gourd of palm-wine. after the kola-nuts are broken and shared, the convener presents the issue at stake. when conflict had been resolved, the parties to conflict were expected to show publicly the sign of reconciliation. the fifth basic features of igwebuike philosophy of peace and conflict resolution says that, “there is a high degree of public participation. there are no secret trails in african traditional legal system. since the problem between the disputants is seen as a community problem, in restoring harmony, there must be a general satisfaction among the public regarding the procedure and outcome of the case (kanu 2017, p. 9).” at the end of reconciliation process, the reconciled party show any of these gestures as a sign of true reconciliation; clasping/shaking of hands, washing the real or symbolic wounds of his or her victim with water from a nearby river, dancing together as an expression of rejecting anger and embracing communion, enemies could be told to speak to one another of potential good days (parties or meetings) that were lost due to the animosity and sacrifices and offerings can be made to reconstruct a relationship between human beings, god, and creation. closely related to the sacrifices and offerings of reconciliation, are the rituals intended as communion. sacrifices may consist of libations of water, palm wine or beer, small quantities of food or the flesh of a sacrificed animal. meiring opines that, “when meat is burned, for example, it symbolizes communion with the ancestors (2005, p. 111).” mbiti commented on the importance of rituals for reconciliation saying, cleansing ritual would for example be used to cleanse a broken relationship so that a fresh relationship could be built. these rituals remove both psychological and spiritual injuries (2010). the whole idea is that a communion is established between two parties (one of which may be the ancestors) through eating and drinking together. in fact, the whole of person-to-person, and divinity-to-person, relations have their basis largely in celebration. their intention is to cultivate peace, good relations, ties, mutuality, friendship, respect, and love between people, between people and nature, and between people and spiritual realities (god, divinities and spirits, as the case may be). conflict affects the entire community and is witnessed and endorsed by the community, the living-dead, and often by god as well. the celebration attempts to affirm and recreate the person's original ontological unity with god and humanity. it is a quest for and a sign of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 48 primal harmony of life and community. reconciliation is celebrated by feasting together. the eating is a communion, a celebration of life in a community. the sacrament of reconciliation is a celebration of its own. nevertheless, at the end of the sacrament, the prayer of absolution is offered. absolution from sin is offered by the priest acting in persona christi, "in the person of christ." the real power of the sacrament is this incarnational moment, as the healing power of christ in his forgiveness is given a real face and a real voice in the person of the priest. one can pray to god to ask for forgiveness anytime, and all are encouraged to do so as a means of seeking and finding forgiveness for minor everyday faults (i.e., venial sins), but only in the sacramental celebration is that gift of forgiveness offered in such concrete form. with the words of absolution, the penitent finds peace once more with god. thus, reconciliation aims at restoring peace and communal living with the igbo principle of egbe bere ugo bere; ‘let the kit perch, let the eagle perch.’ conclusion igwebuike proposes complementarity, which the sacrament of reconciliation set out to do. with regards to reconciliation, the catholic church’s sacrament of reconciliation seeks to complement igwebuike igbo conflict resolution especially at a time when modernity is trying to super-impose itself on the traditional method of conflict resolution. in an effort to overshadow completely the traditional method, modern method has gradually flushed out the use of chief priest and shrine in resolving conflicts in igbo traditional society. so, where the igwebuike method stops in conflict resolution, the sacrament of reconciliation continues. it takes care of the spiritual or vertical dimension of reconciliation which is being swept away by modernity. however, this work has revealed that these two religions can contribute something towards peace and reconciliation, to ameliorate conflict and foster peace. we have seen that potentially igwebuike igbo-african philosophy of peace and conflict resolution is clearly committed to peace, and in various ways it undertakes methods that teach, encourage, and promote peace. neither igwebuike igbo-african philosophy of peace and conflict resolution nor the sacrament of reconciliation in the catholic church is innocent of engaging, aggravating, or promoting conflicts and wars. but their teachings can challenge people to make and practice peace at all levels: peace among people, peace between people and nature, and peace between people and god. their synergy will in a great way igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 49 help to reduce conflict in igbo traditional society, thereby bringing about reconciliation. references charles, m.o. (2016). tiv and igbo conflict management machanism: a comparative study, portharcourt, centre for conflict and gender studies (ccgs), 5(7). ekstrom, r.r. (2010). “reconciliation,” in the concise catholic dictionary, bangalore: pauline publication. galtung, j. (2001). ‘after violence, reconciliation, and resolution: coping with visible and invisible effects of war and violence’, in reconciliation, justice, and coexistence: theory and practice, mohammed abu-nimer ed., lanham, maryland: lexington books, pp. 3-23. huyse, l. (2003). reconciliation after violent conflict a handbook, david bloomfield, teresa barnes and luc huyse (eds), international institute for democracy and electoral assistance (idea), pp. 19-34. igbokwe, c.c. (2018). “christianity and peace building,” kanu, i.a, and ndubisi, j.o.e (eds.), in religion, morality and peace-building in africa. mauritius, lambert academic publishing, pp. 77-93. kriesberg, l. (2001). ‘changing forms of coexistence’ in reconciliation, justice, and coexistence: theory and practice, mohammed abu-nimer ed., lanham, maryland: lexington books, pp.47-64. kriesberg, l. (2007). reconciliation: aspects, growth, and sequences, international journal of peace studies, vol. 12, no 1, spring/summer. kanu, i. a. (2015). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. augustinian publications. kanu i. a. (2015). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. augustinian publications. kanu i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march, 153-160. kanu, i. a. (2016). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, 2. 1. 97-101. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 50 kanu, a. i. (2016). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1.pp. 1-7. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117136. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and and logic (nka) of african philosophy”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.3 no1 january 2017. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1 2017. lambourne, w. (2001). ‘justice and reconciliation: postconflict peace building in cambodia and rwanda’, in: abu-nimer (ed.), reconciliation, justice, and coexistence, pp.311-337. mbiti, j.s (2010). peace and reconciliation in african religion, burgdorf, switzerland, published in dialogue & alliance, spring/summer. meiring, a.m. (2005). “african views on reconciliation,” in heart of darkness, m. mawere & t. mwanaka (eds.), university of pretoria etd, pp. 67–130. molenaar, a. (2005). gacaca: grassroots justice after genocide: the key to reconciliation in rwanda? leiden, african studies centre. ossai, j.a (2013). some features of the catholic faith, benin city: mindex publishing company limited. shedrack, g. b. (2014). “the methods of conflict resolution and transformation.” in shedrack g. b. (ed.), introduction to peace and conflict studies in west africa. ibadan, spectrum books limited. the catechism of the catholic church, paulines publications africa, kenya, 2005. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 110 values and growth: insights from the phenomenal igbo apprenticeship system columbus n. ogbujah, phd associate professor of philosophy department of philosophy rivers state university, port harcourt nogbujah@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29105.45929 abstract values―the individual’s or group’s general predilections regarding results or courses of actions deemed appropriated or otherwise, are not only positively correlated with growth, but do show some form of causation to it: while the right values lead to positive growth; the wrong ones elicit growth deficits. undeniably, a person’s sense of what is right or wrong, good or bad, useful or useless/unimportant, etc., would determine their level of aspiration and progress. hence, people’s values elicit certain types of attitudes which generate specific kinds of behaviours that engender definite sorts of growth. the trajectory of growth is hinged on the undulations of values. in this sense, values and growth could be likened to be two sides of the same coin. this essay highlighted specific historical instances to situate this symbiotic relationship between values and growth. it identified the transformational influence of the phenomenal igbo apprenticeship system as a cynosure of this relationship amidst the current economic woes of nigeria. in the end, it recommended the adoption of this ‘prodigious system’ by other ethnic groups in the nation as a viable means of engendering inclusive growth and peace. keywords: values, growth, igbo apprecnticeship system, development introduction in some academic forum, i had once noted that clarity of mind begets clarity of thoughts, and clarity of thoughts begets clarity of expression. when the mind is bereft of conceptual encumbrances, it often utilizes the liberty to analyse reality in as dispassionate and clearly objective manner as is wont in basic arithmetic summations. in this way, clear and concise expressions are but external signals of internal lucidity―of harmony amongst the often discordant pitches of the internal senses. baring the anomaly of being plagued by speech defect, persistent manifest of imprecise or ambiguous communicative skill is telltale of a muddled mind. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 111 in similar vein, one can likewise analyse the relationship between values and growth, with the latter being an index for measuring the trajectory of the former. following aquinas’ classifications, all humans, to fulfill their roles as social animals, are equipped with the capacity for intellection and will. by intellection, we grasp reality as being presented in its pluriformity; and through the will, we are able to make choices amidst the vast options in life. the intellect and will are constantly engaged in a dynamic, complex interaction that enable humans fulfil their social roles. while the intellect apprehends reality, determines the appropriateness of ends, as well as the best options (amongst various alternatives) available for the attainment of the ends; the will, as blind faculty, makes volitions, only to the extent it is enlightened by the radiance of the intellect.1 if we give credence to the ‘tabula rasa’ thesis in john locke’s epistemology, the intellect thus, does not operate in a vacuum, in an ‘unsituated’ ambience. rather, the capacity to perceive and determine appropriate courses of actions is always influenced empirically by specific societal norms which, themselves are structured by overarching values. norms and values, for the most part, shape the recommendations of the intellect and the volitions of the will. this is perhaps, the galvanizing force in the claim to perspective relativity of knowledge by feminist epistemologists and postmodernist anti-realist publicists like derrida, lyotard, among others. ‘situatedness’ in this context means that every choice of the will stems from specific illumination of the intellect that is often encumbered by societal norms and values. the communal or societal will thus, encapsulates extant acceptable norms and values. as codes that elicit multi-directional conducts, values are responsible for the actions and inactions of individuals, and are strongly connected with the path to which a society flounders. as determinants of norms that impel actions, values are not only necessary for the sustenance of societies, but are prime determinants of societal evolution or regression: right values lead to positive growth; wrong ones elicit growth deficits. the values a set of people cherish elicit specific types of attitudes which generate certain kinds of behaviours that engender definite sorts of growth. generally, the trajectory of societal growth is hinged on the undulations of values. oftentimes, and to their chagrin, this is glossed over by african leaders who set out to achieve reforms merely through the barrel of the gun, or by executive fiat. the worsening security imbroglio in buhari’s nigeria is a testament to this. 1 t. aquinas, summa theologiae. tr. fathers of the english dominican province, (allen, tx: christian classics, [1485] 1981), prima pars, qs. 79, 82. here, aquinas elaborately discusses, among other things, the interaction between intellect and will in bringing about human actions. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 112 in the main, scholars are able to identify differences in people’s preferences and beliefs, and have related them to various measures of socio-economic and political growth. the recent applause of the phenomenal igbo apprenticeship system by the harvard business review, is insightful to this paper: in spite of socio-economic and political challenges of the region, the igbos are still able to thrive on many indices. landes could not have been more apt when he noted that “if we learn anything from the history of economic development, it is that culture makes almost all the difference.”2 yes, culture is pivotal to socioeconomic growth. the significance of cultural values to human development is underscored in recent researches, which have created valuable datasets, like the world values survey (wvs – inglehart 1997); the hofstede dataset (hofstede 1980, 2001); the schwartz value survey (svs – schwartz 1994, 2006); and the global leadership and organizational behavior effectiveness research program (globe) dataset.3 the invention of these datasets highlights the introduction of culturally based explanations to socio-economic growths. in this paper, we shall highlight the causational connection between values and growth, by means of exploring past chronicles of specific individual nations. we shall recognize the revolutionary influence of this remarkable igbo apprenticeship system (ias) on the economic, social and human security profile of the southeast communities of nigeria, and in so doing, domesticate this causational relationship between values and growth. finally, we shall recommend the adoption of this wonderful scheme by other contiguous ethnic groups, as it seems, under the prevailing circumstances, to be the most feasible way by which we can stimulate inclusive growth and peace in nigeria. probing the dynamics of values and growth the literary world is awash with undulations of the connotations of the notion of value. scholars of different disciplines use the term to connote seemingly different things. for instance, the economist uses the term to refer to benefits derived from goods and services (monetary value). to the scientist, it is the usefulness of a scientific-technological produce (functional value). to the philosopher, values are desirable qualities that enhance group interactions (social 2 d. landes, culture makes almost all the difference, in l.e. harrison & s.p. huntington, eds., culture matters. (new york, ny: basic books, 2000), 2. 3 r.j. house, p.j. hanges, m. javidan, p.w. dorfman, & v. gupta, culture, leadership and organizations: the globe study of 62 societies. (thousand oaks, ca: sage publications, 2014). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 113 value). the fourth strand that yields psychological value pertains to emotional attachment individuals or groups have regarding an object, person or situation. unlike the others, objects with psychological value have the capacity to attract or repulse irrespective of monetary, functional or social imports. dasein (man), as heidegger explains, is a ‘being-in-the-world’, which proximally, so to speak, is never free from ‘being-in.’4 our experience with the world is that of dwelling. dwelling is the experience of being situated in a certain relationship with existence. because the manner in which we dwell is the manner in which we are, we exist on earth, dwelling then is an extension of our identity, of who we are. dwelling and being are one and the same.5 we are thrown to dwell within the inescapable contingencies of the world, though with some capacity to appropriate worldly goods. about worldly goods, aristotle insists that to live in a worthwhile and personally flourishing way, that is to achieve eudemonia (happiness), one needs such things as honour, wealth, friends, political power, and contemplation.6 these are external and internal goods to which people almost always attach value. hence, it is germane to say that values are inextricably tied to objects of utility. whatever satisfies some need or utility whether material or psychological or intellective, is attached with some form of value. in social engineering, values are implicit and explicit assumptions or beliefs that constitute the foundation of ethical actions.7 the values a person or group of persons cherish will reflect on their accepted norms and rules that guide their realization within a society. in other words, while values constitute the framework for establishing what is right or wrong, worthwhile or worthless, important or unimportant, norms provide guides or standards with which to navigate through what ought to be done within specific situations. asking one’s relative for assistance when in need, is a norm, which, reflects the value of communality; telling lies is a norm which, reflects the value of dishonesty. to the extent that values structure norms of behaviour, to that extent they are central to human choices. like a rudder that determines the path onto which a ship navigates, human choices define and sustain the trajectory of societal progress. given that every rational choice springs from an underlying value, and owing 4 m. heidegger, being and time, tr. j. macquarie and r. robinson. (oxford: basil blackwell, [1927] 1962), 12: 84. 5 m. heidegger, poetry, language, thought, trans. by albert hofstadter (new york: harper colophon books, 1971), 150-151. 6 aristotle, nicomachean ethics, bk. i, ch. 6, 1097b 1-4; see also bk. iv, ch. 1. 7 c. ogbujah, african cultural values and inter-communal relations: the case with nigeria, developing country studies, 4/24 (2014), 208. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 114 that norms―being reflective of values, determine what ought to be done in specific situations, values are thus, indispensable tools for the sustenance of societies. they constitute the groundworks for growth or diminution of peoples. humans, for the most part, are conscious, value pursuing animals. the values we ‘chase’ give rise to overall standards and ideals by which we judge our own and others’ conducts, with attendant specific obligations.8 sometimes, these obligations impel us to persuade or coerce those with divergent values to drop theirs and accept ours. for instance, the current exportation of capitalism across the globe is borne out of the perceived obligation imposed by the dominant american cultural value of individualism. individualism, as opposed to collectivism, is here seen as the catalyst for growth and prosperity. this then makes its adoption as societal guiding socio-economic system a responsibility judgment that carries with it the imperative to pressure countries with opposing cultural values to discard their values or face dire consequences. values, although significant as all archetypes are in social engineering, do not elicit automatic compliance. there is always the element of choice. much as nations could reject specific values of dominant cultures, irrespective of pressures and threats of sanctions, every human being is availed the autonomy to choose to live in conformity with specific societal values or not. society, in turn, reserves the rights to device means of enforcing her values on residents. for instance, honesty is a value held in high esteem in the igbo traditional society. if one is dishonest, an immediate physical punishment might be necessary to serve as both retribution and deterrence in the short term. but in the long run, the individual will realize that their subsequent views and contentions would not be taken seriously within the society. through written or unwritten codes, every society enforces her values, not only because of their functional value as ends to which all should aspire, but because they are often means without which specific ends cannot be reached. for instance, the value of honesty is encouraged not just because it is virtuous to be honest, but because it the means to eliciting trust and confidence. without trust, interrelationships are impossible and communications become an empty verbiage. trust is the psycho-social grease that lubricates the chain of human relationships. an organization that exudes trust by its elevation of the value of honesty is likely to achieve longevity in profitability. this is why ethics in business which was once seen as an oxymoron, has gained traction in modern scholarship. for this same reason, in probing the crises of development, 8 b. chris & m. andrew, values and ethics in social work, an introduction (london: sage publications, 2005), 11. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 115 it has become imperative for scholars to pay close attention to the nexus between values and growth. the term growth is used here in inclusive and functional senses to designate genuine, factual (that is verifiable), original (in the sense of ushering in a departure from the previous), and reliable progress. it is inclusive because it entails a person’s integral evolution―body and spirit; a complete growth of society which consists of human capacity development, socio-economic progress, and political (including foreign policy) stability. it is functional in the sense that it uplifts the values that enhance the sociality and happiness of humankind.9 integral growth entails an increase in all sectors of society with direct or indirect bearing on individuals. as we have observed earlier, individual or communal values elicit definite types of outlooks which generate peculiar kinds of behaviours that produce definite sorts of growth. perhaps, an excursus of this synergy in a few nations’ history, will help elucidate this claim. the symbiotic relationship between values and growth in world history evidently, cultural relativism is a prominent feature of the 21st century. without conceding to some weird system of autonomy which, under the pretext of promoting tolerance, ends up atomizing societies, it is pertinent to align the trajectory of a society’s growth with her cultural proclivities. recurrent events seem to contradict the old-fashioned finance experts’ view that ‘people are the same everywhere and will respond to the right economic opportunities and incentives alike.’10 instances abound in multicultural societies where some ethnic minorities often excel more than others, even though all are exposed to the same or similar economic opportunities and incentives. historically, the case of chinese’ economic ascendency in thailand, indonesia and the philippines is very instructive. indeed, multiple datasets highlight the significance of cultural values over and against most other indices in econometrics. ntibagirirwa observes: …the economic success of south east asia on the one hand and the failure of economic development in sub-saharan africa on the other, are increasingly proving that the ‘economic’ argument cannot be taken dogmatically: self-interest and rationality do not seem to be the sufficient explanations for economic development. one other avenue to be taken 9 c. ogbujah, & c. opara, the idea of human personhood in nigeria: implications for national development (port harcourt: pearl publishers, 2014), 53-54. 10 the world bank and the imf, finance and development, (march 1994), 51. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 116 seriously is the link between cultural values and economic development. after viewing the principle of self-interest against its historico-cultural background, i consider this link in the african context, and argue that, although they cannot be taken as the sole factor, people's cultural beliefs and values are crucial for economic development. economic growth and development need to be a substantiation of a people’s beliefs and values.11 in other words, given the right socio-political conditions, the economic path of a polity authenticates the norms and values of the people; or put differently, the espoused values of a set of people always reflect on the direction of their overall growth. like the chinese, the igbos of southeast nigeria have experienced tremendous economic growth within and outside their native land, and beyond the imaginations of other contiguous ethnic groups. but unlike the chinese, and against a harsh socio-political ambience, they have withstood adversity in their own country to outclass others. being technically ‘vanquished’ by the nigerian forces at the end of the 1967-70 civil war, and having their fiscal assets restricted to only twenty nigerian pounds (£20) irrespective of their financial standing before and during the war, the igbos have, within half of a century, established the most thriving business empires in all nooks and crannies of nigeria and beyond. currently, they constitute a big chunk of the cultural group that has higher levels of educational attainment than are found in any other community in the united states. in analyzing data from the 2006 american community survey (acs) by the u.s. census bureau, leslie shows that nigerian immigrants (who are mostly igbos) have the highest levels of education in the nation, surpassing whites and asians. although constituting a tiny portion of the entire u.s. population, they disproportionally tower ahead of whites and asians, with 37% (bachelor’s degrees), 17% (master’s degrees) and 4% (doctorate), as against the whites’ 19%, 8% & 1% in respective categories.12 without discounting other causative factors, it is obvious that igbo cultural values are strongly implicated in this level of success story. 11 s. ntibagirirwa, cultural values, economic growth and development, journal of business ethics 84 (2009), 297311 12 c. leslie, ‘data show nigerians the most educated in the u.s.’, houston chronicle, ([2008] 2018), https://www.chron.com/news/article/data-show-nigerians-the-most-educated-in-the-u-s-1600808.php, accessed may 2021. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 117 when one analyzes david landes’ remarks, that some cultures are ‘toxic’, and as such handicap the people who cling to them,13 not only do the images of ravaged northern nigeria, afghanistan, yamen, rwanda, etc., come to mind, but the acuity of its counterpoise: ‘some cultural values are sublime, and as such uplift the people who hold onto them’, becomes germane. values and growth are ineluctable sides of the same coin. in all history, their correlation coefficient has remained constant, showing that it is easy to use the experience of a group of people to project the growth trajectory of others in diverse societies, having similar cultural values. in this wise, we don’t need to draw up multiple samples from all cultures to substantiate the claim. the following paragraphs will show that besides self-interest and rationality, the link between a group’s cultural values and development can be extrapolated to other groups. to illustrate a group’s struggle with values and growth, we shall examine the experience of the māori―the indigenous people of new zealand. with a plethora of extant researches, it is easy to harvest scholars’ portrayal of the māori tribe: while some depict them as viewing the world through mainly traditional lenses,14 others see them as simply being more collectivistic than their european counterparts.15 for john reid and matthew rout, the māori embody communal values, esoteric wisdom and environmental spiritualism, which seem to utterly contrast with the western values of individualism, technology and commerce,16 that generate strong economic growth. after eliminating other intervening factors, scholars seem to agree that the non-absorption of western values of individuality, autonomy, freedom, self-interest, and competition among the māoris, was largely accountable for their slack in growth and productivity. for as long as their ethnic individuality was entwined with the values of collectivism, reciprocity, relationality and connectivity to prior generations,17 it was bound to compel bizarre social identity, and impede their overall growth. in their insightful quantitative study of the māori attitudes, houkamau and sibley acknowledged that in line with the key tenets of identity economics, attachment to traditional values could constitute a barrier to employment and upward social mobility, as in this case, “strong allegiance to being māori might be a ‘poor 13 the world bank, culture counts: financing, resources, and the economics of culture in sustainable development (washington dc, 2000), 30. 14 g. hook, t. waaka, & l. raumati, mentoring māori within a pākehā framework. mai rev. 3(1) (2007), 6 15 j.m. haar, & d.m. brougham, an indigenous model of career satisfaction: exploring the role of workplace cultural wellbeing. soc indic res. 110/3 (2013), 878. 16 j. reid, & m. rout, ‘māori tribal economy: rethinking the original economic institutions’, in t.l. anderson, ed., unlocking the wealth of indian nations (lanham, md: lexington books, 2016), 84–103 17 g. hook, t. waaka, & l. raumati, ‘mentoring māori within a pākehā framework’, mai rev. 3/1 (2007), 5. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 118 economic decision’….”18 despite all efforts at endorsing the intrinsic worth of the māori values, houkamau and sibley’s findings ultimately acquiesced with this time-tested instructive wisdom: “because identity is fundamental to behaviour, choice of identity may be the most important ‘economic’ decision people make.”19 the connection between espousing collectivist values and the māori tardiness to economic prosperity relative to her contiguous european counterparts, is emblematic of the experiences of other ethnic societies espousing similar cultural values. from the west to the horn of africa, cairo to the middle east, pradesh to gujarat (india), pakistan to mexico, the story is the same. the success stories of japan and perhaps, portugal, which nonetheless, incorporated much of individualistic values, cannot still be equated with those of the united states and the western europe. the overriding commitment to ‘group membership’ (be it family, extended family or clan) over individual aspirations is a bane to economic prosperity. in his attempt to demonstrate the importance of cultural values for outcomes, greif contrasted the genovese merchants (with individualistic values), with the jewish maghrebi merchants (with collectivist values). using historical evidence, he exposed how the genovese merchants reaped larger-scale economies that outcompeted their maghrebi counterparts.20 values, indeed matter for economic growth. igbo apprenticeship: a cynosure of the influence of values on growth in its bid to account for the complex phenomenon of uneven growth amongst diverse peoples, neo-liberal economics supports the model that the liberty to pursue one’s self-interest and rational choice leads to economic prosperity, while the converse leads to poverty. this seems to agree with the thesis we espoused earlier which situates the difference between rich and poor nations on the promotion of the values of individuality (in the sense of individual liberty) as against communality. however, empirical studies in the last couple decades21 18 a.c. houkamau & c.g. sibley, ‘the role of culture and identity for economic values: a quantitative study of māori attitudes, journal of the royal society of new zealand, 49 (sup1), (2019), 118-136 19 g.a. akerlof, & r.e. kranton, ‘economics and identity’ q j econ. 115/3 (2000), 717. 20 a. greif, ‘cultural beliefs and the organization of society: a historical and theoretical reflection on collectivist and individualist societies’, j. polit. econ. 102/5 (1994), 912–50 21 see ntibagirirwa, 2009; collier, 2017; houkamau & sibley, 2019. the works of these scholars acknowledge that the culture of a society can trap an entire nation into poverty or prosperity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 119 show that though significant in its own rights, this principle of rational selfinterest alone is insufficient to boost tangible economic growth, especially in a multicultural society. there is a growing emphasis on the imports of the historico-cultural ambience. this is where we situate the igbo apprenticeship system in the overall economic growth of igbo nation. the igbos, although situated in the south-eastern region of nigeria, are found in all parts of the country because of their business prowess. unlike other major tribes of nigeria, traditional igbo society is an acephalous nation without supreme power-wielding monarchs. this accounts for the popular cliché: igbo enwe eze―igbos have no kings. it is a decentralized and egalitarian society, with varying layers of authority bestowed on the family, the kindred, the village and the town units. governance was by the council of elders (gerontocracy), in conjunction with the age grades, titled people, umu ada (first born daughters) and ritual priests. their decisions, which generally were not subject to appellate procedures, were religiously implemented for the good of society. without institutionalized military or police force, traditional igbo society enjoyed relative peace and order. thanks to her rich cultural heritage, she also enjoys economic growth. the major part of this cultural heritage is manifest in values. though unwritten in any shape or form, igbo values are enshrined in the hearts and minds of the people, and are passed down the generations through myth, folklores, legends and proverbs. as ukeje observed, it is a sacred trust for parents, guardians, relatives and a wider circle of kinsmen in igboland to discharge their obligations as it concerns the socialization of the igbo child.22 the training of a child in igboland is not solely the duty of the nuclear family. the larger community is always involved. this practice is borne out of the communalistic system that sees individual lives as organically entwined with those of others within the community. unlike the western adjudicatory system, individual lives, for the most part, regulate and are regulated by others. the ideology behind this is couched in the aphorism: otu aka ruta manu, ozuo oha (when a finger touches oil, it soils the others). the belief is that if a child is good the community benefits and if the child is bad, the community also suffers the brunt. this community-based structure of igbo society, as i explained in the idea of personhood,23 engenders a communal spirit that is expressed per excellence, in the 22 b.o. ukeje, education for social reconstruction, (london and basingstoke: macmillan education, 1976), 54. 23 c. ogbujah, the idea of personhood, (enugu: snaap press ltd., 2006), 98-101. in this text, i laid out the foundation upon which the basic structure of igbo personhood rests, namely: communality. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 120 extended family system. the ‘extended family’ as the umunna (literally children of the same father), seeing that they descended from the same stock, ensure that the love and care due to each are never denied. an individual’s success is measured by the number of his townspeople he has set up to succeed, since the glory of the community is in the merry of all. everyone is carried along and catered for, to eliminate or minimally reduce the phenomena of abandoned orphans, roaming beggars or solitary aged, not by dolling out handouts, but through a system of economic empowerment in apprenticeship. the igbo apprenticeship system (ias) is a business philosophy of shared prosperity in which members competitively participate to attain organic economic equilibrium, where market shares are voluntarily surrendered to fund competitors, and success is measured in terms of stakeholders’ support rather than on market dominance.24 usually denoted as imu-ahia, igba-odibo, igba-boi or imu-oru, the system is an informal economic model that utilizes the induction strategy to initiate young igbos into entrepreneurial projects by already established entrepreneurs who, often are drawn from their immediate vicinity. the projects range from as lowly conceived as domestic help, to as highly valued as a vocation, trade or enterprise.25 the structure of the internship is fluid, and its duration period is arbitrarily fixed, depending on the type and / or prevailing circumstances and agreements. the overall motif is for the apprentice to learn and master skills essential for embarking on their own enterprise. in the domestic scenario, a family might engage the services of a ‘house-help’ (nwa-boi) who takes care of all domestic chores, in exchange for upkeep and vocational training. at the end of agreed period, the nwa-boi is released with some resources to establish their own businesses. at other instances, someone who has established himself in some skill, or gained some market share in a particular business could decide to recruit apprentices. through practical experiences, he instructs them on the skill or the tricks of the business, while they work for him. after some agreed period when the apprentice is expected to have garnered sufficient skills/experience, he settles them by either giving them cash to fend for themselves, or by renting and equipping stores for them. with time, these novo entrepreneurs, in deploying the acquired skills, begin to gain their own market shares, and subsequently recruit their own apprentices. thus, within 24 n. ekekwe, ‘the igbo apprenticeship system article’, (february 23, 2021), https://www.tekedia.com/the-igboapprenticeship-system-article/, accessed june 2021. 25 m. alike, & i.o. umunze, socio-economic philosophy of contemporary igbo apprenticeship system. nnadiebube journal of philosophy. 3 /1, (2019), 35-48. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 121 a short period, there is an exponential growth in the number of people empowered, leading to meaningful engagement of the youth, economic prosperity and relative peace for the region. the igbo apprenticeship system is phenomenal because it has facilitated burgeoning entrepreneurial communities in igboland. its aims are ‘to spur economic growth and stability, and sustainable livelihood by financing and investing in human resources through vocational training.’26 in the spirit of igbo onye aghala nwanne ya (do not leave your brethren behind), everyone gains something and no one is left behind. no one is super-rich or super-poor. the oga (entrepreneur) recruits and trains apprentices to help build his business empire. in the end, he proportionally shares out his fortune to the apprentices, thereby empowering them to be entrepreneurs in their own rights. this continuous scheme of recruiting, training and settling of apprentices is a phenomenal economic empowerment system that has positively impacted all the nooks and crannies of igboland. in the absence of federal government’s economic establishments in the southeast, and due to their inability to buy into corporations during indigenization period (as all their assets were reduced to twenty pounds [£20] after the civil war), the igbos understood that the path to survival and prosperity is that of hard-work―igba mbo. even before the ruins of the civil war, and propelled by their age-long cliché that aka aja aja na ebute onu mmanu mmanu (soiled hands bring about oily mouth), the igbo sense of igba mbo (hard-work) was resilient in the face of adversities that ordinarily would discourage other competitors. basden aptly captures this when he notes that wherever the igbo are and whatever be the conditions, it will not be long before they adapt themselves and make their socio-economic presence impactful.27 hence, besides the communalistic spirit, hard-work is a value propagated and embraced in igbo culture. individuals who succeed through hard-work are exemplars. society usually regards their views highly, and often bestows them accolades in form of chieftaincy titles. this was why okonkwo―the central character in achebe’s things fall apart, worked so hard to achieve honour and fame. he was hunted by the specter of his father – unoka, who was described as ‘worthless’ because of his lack of entrepreneurial spirit.28 barely half a century 26 b. agozino & i. anyanike, "imu ahia: traditional igbo business school and global commerce culture". dialectical anthropology. 31 /1 (1 november 2007), 233–252. 27 g.t. basden, niger ibos (london: frank cass, 1966). 28 c. achebe, things fall apart, (new hampshire: heinemann ltd., 1958), 13. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 122 after being decimated at the civil war, the igbos today, in maliga’s findings, owe 74% of investments in lagos, while hausa/fulani owes 5%, foreigners (nonnigerians) owe 15%; other nigerians (non-igbo, hausa and yoruba) owe 5%; and the yorubas which include mike adenuga, owe a paltry 1%.29 the statistics is much the same in other big nigerian cities like port harcourt, kano, kaduna, abuja, etc. in his essay: “the igbo entrepreneur in the political economy of nigeria,” olutayo argues that “the igbo, when compared to the other major ethnic groups in nigeria, are in the forefront of entrepreneurial activities, especially in the informal sector.”30 indeed, for want of verifiable statistics, the mind-blowing figures arising from udegbe’s unaided estimates,31 could only be achieved through hard work, courage, determination, and the sheer will to help each other grow. in the main, it seems evident that at some level, these twin values of communality and hard-work coalesce in the use of the apprenticeship system in furthering economic growth and prosperity. in its recurrent chain of wealth incubation, today’s ogas are yesterday’s apprentices that had served and were handed resources to begin their own enterprises. the system, as ekekwe testifies, engineers an efficient economic equilibrium, reduces inequality to the barest minimum, erodes selfishness and greed, and consequently, reduces insecurity significantly.32 this, perhaps, explains why the united nations’ national human development report, 2015 was unambiguous in confirming the southeast geopolitical zone as not just the most balanced and economically stable part of nigeria with the least hunger and economic stress on the citizens, but as the most human security secure zone, with the highest level of human wellbeing.33 notwithstanding the current state-induced crisis in the region, the onye aghala 29 s. maliga, 2013. ‘igbos dominate economically in lagos because yorubas are lazy,’ cited in j.j. orugun & a.t. nafiu, ‘an exploratory study of igbo entrepreneurial activity and business success in nigeria as the panacea for economic growth and development’, international journal of scientific & technology research, vol. 3/9 (2014), 158-165. 30o. a. olutayo, ‘the igbo entrepreneur in the political economy of nigeria’, african study monographs, 20/3 (september 1999), 147-174. 31 c. udegbe, ‘the igbos have more at stake in nigeria’, vanguard (july 26, 2013), https://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/07/the-igbos-have-more-at-stake-in-nigeria/, accessed june 2021. here, udegbe postulates that igbos investment in lagos is not less than n300 trillion; it is double of that in abuja at about n600 trillion; in kano and kaduna, it runs up to n10 trillion respectively, etc. 32 n. ekekwe, ‘the platform – why i said the igbo apprenticeship system is the world’s best business framework’ (2019), https://www.tekedia.com/the-platform-why-i-said-the-igbo-apprenticeship-system-is-the-worlds-bestbusiness-framework/, accessed june 2021. 33 undp, national human development report, human security and human development in nigeria (2015), file:///c:/users/hp/downloads/2016%2520national%2520human%2520development%2520report%2520for%252 0nigeria.pdf, accessed june 2021. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 123 nwanne ya (do not leave your brethren behind) value in igbo apprenticeship system, is a testament that besides rational self-interests, values command a phenomenal influence on societal growth. conclusion by deploying the historico-analytic apparatus, the foregoing investigations have established the link between values and growth. from germany to cuba, russia to the united states, nations that practice western individualistic capitalism have experienced economic prosperity and stability much more than those practicing eastern communalistic socialism. in each of these instances, the value that led to the specific choice of a broad economic system is the key. while some cultural values are ‘toxic’, and as such handicap the people who cling to them, some are ‘sublime’, and as such uplift the people that hold onto them. the igbo apprenticeship system is a phenome that feeds off the values of hardwork and communality. given the absence of a lineage of monarchs with accrued wealth from societal tax payments, and owing to non-rehabilitation of her infrastructure after the devastation of the nigerian-biafran war, the igbos understood that the only path to survival is that of hard-work. this explains why they are found in all parts of the country doing all sorts of jobs. impelled by communality, societal exemplars of success initiate these hard-working youths into entrepreneurial structure through apprenticeship. in spite of the dwindling economic fortunes of the nation, the multiplying effect of this system is what gives the igbos a cutting edge over contiguous ethnic groups in terms of economic stability, security and overall wellbeing. today, igbos are recognized across the world for their entrepreneurial and business prowess. only recently, the harvard business review approved the work on the igbo apprenticeship system (ias) as a veritable tool for ‘stakeholder’ capitalism that has the potential to curb the excesses of traditional ‘shareholder’ capitalism.34 this feat is worth emulating by other contiguous ethnic groups. the igbo drive, determination and apprenticeship system are what the nigerian state needs to push her to a better footing in the globalized world. 34 n. ekekwe, ‘harvard business review has approve the work on the igbo apprenticeship system’, https://www.tekedia.com/harvard-business-review-has-approved-the-work-on-the-igbo-apprenticeship-system/, accessed june 2021. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 124 on the surface, this phenomenal apprenticeship system as thus elucidated, might pass off as invulnerable to infractions attendant to human interactions. to the contrary, people, regrettably, have sometimes taken advantage of its informal and unstructured nature to satiate their selfish interests. in the absence of written contracts to enable legal enforcement of agreements and government regulations, some unscrupulous masters (ogas) do falsely accuse their apprentices penultimate to their graduation years, in order to renege from providing start-up funds after apprenticeship completion. at other instances, some interns have reportedly swindled their mentors, leading to serious financial losses, and sometimes, collapse of business empires. terrible as these may seem, they are isolated and insignificant cases compared to success stories, and as such, do not detract the phenomenal contributions of this apprenticeship scheme to the development of igbo region. the reality is, if properly honed, the igbo apprenticeship framework has the potential to easily stimulate efficient economic equilibrium, which is much needed for national and global peace. references agozino, b. & anyanike, i. “imu ahia: traditional igbo business school and global commerce culture.” dialectical anthropology. 31 (1), (1 november 2007), 233–252. akerlof, g.a. & kranton, r.e. “economics and identity.” q j econ. 115(3): (2000), 715–753. alike, m. & umunze, i. o. “socio-economic philosophy of contemporary igbo apprenticeship system.” nnadiebube journal of philosophy, 3 (1), (2019), 35-48. aquinas, t. summa theologiae. tr. fathers of the english dominican province, (allen, tx: christian classics, [1485] 1981). aristotle, nicomachean ethics, (oxford: oxford university press, new ed., 2009). collier, p. “culture, politics, and economic development.” annual review of political science, 20 (may 2017), 111-125. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurevpolisci-051215-024720 chris, b. & andrew, m. values and ethics in social work, an introduction. (london: sage publications, (2005). ekekwe, n. “the platform – why i said the igbo apprenticeship system is the world’s best business framework,” (2019). https://www.tekedia.com/theplatform-why-i-said-the-igbo-apprenticeship-system-is-the-worlds-bestbusiness-framework/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 125 greif, a. cultural beliefs and the organization of society: a historical and theoretical reflection on collectivist and individualist societies. j. polit. econ. 102(5), (1994), 912–950. haar, j.m. & brougham, d.m. “an indigenous model of career satisfaction: exploring the role of workplace cultural wellbeing.” soc indic res. 110(3), (2013), 873–890. heidegger, m. being and time, tr. j. macquarie and r. robinson. (oxford: basil blackwell, [1927] 1962). hook, g., waaka, t., & raumati, l. mentoring māori within a pākehā framework. mai rev. 3(1), (2007), 1–5. houkamau, c. a. & sibley, c. g. “the role of culture and identity for economic values: a quantitative study of māori attitudes.” journal of the royal society of new zealand, 49, sup 1, (2019), 118-136. house, r. j., hanges, p.j., javidan, m., dorfman, p.w., & gupta, v. culture, leadership and organizations: the globe study of 62 societies, (thousand oaks, ca: sage publications, 2014). landes, d. culture makes almost all the difference. in: harrison, l. e. & huntington, s. p. (eds.), culture matters. (new york, ny: basic books, 2000). leslie, c. “data show nigerians the most educated in the u.s.” houston chronicle, (2008 [2018]), https://www.chron.com/news/article/data-shownigerians-the-most-educated-in-the-u-s-1600808.php ntibagirirwa, s. “cultural values, economic growth and development.” journal of business ethics 84: (feb. 2009), 297-311. ogbujah, c. the idea of personhood. (enugu: snaap press ltd., 2006). ogbujah, c. “african cultural values and inter-communal relations: the case with nigeria,” developing country studies, 4, (24), (2014), 208-217. ogbujah, c. and opara, c. the idea of human personhood in nigeria: implications for national development. (port harcourt: pearl publishers, 2014). olutayo, o.a. “the igbo entrepreneur in the political economy of nigeria.” african study monographs, 20(3), (september 1999), 147-174. orugun, j. j. & nafiu, a. t. an exploratory study of igbo entrepreneurial activity and business success in nigeria as the panacea for economic growth and development. international journal of scientific & technology research, vol. 3(9), (2014), 158-165. the world bank and the imf. finance and development, (march 1994). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 126 the world bank, culture counts: financing, resources, and the economics of culture in sustainable development (washington dc, 2000). udegbe, c. “the igbos have more at stake in nigeria,” vanguard, (july 26, 2013), https://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/07/the-igbos-have-more-at-stake-innigeria/ ukeje, b.o. education for social reconstruction. (london and basingstoke: macmillan education, 1976). undp. national human development report, human security and human development in nigeria. 2015. file:///c:/users/hp/downloads/2016%2520national%2520human%2520 development%2520report%2520for%2520nigeria.pdf reid, j. & rout, m. māori tribal economy: rethinking the original economic institutions. in: anderson t.l. (ed.) unlocking the wealth of indian nations. (lanham, md: lexington books, 2016), 84–103. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 73 aspects of compounding in tiv mbapuun, tordue festus department of linguistics and communication studies university of port harcourt, choba, rivers state, nigeria festus.sixtus@gmail.com;+2347062627620 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.19482.59846 abstract the present study investigates compounding in tiv, a west-benue-congo language spoken mostly in benue and nasarawa states in north central nigeria and taraba state in north eastern nigeria. this study, defines compounding, identified compound words as well as identified the derivational techniques/processes deployed for compounding in the tiv language. findings revealed that compounding in all its ramifications is richly employed in the tiv language, in that, most of the formations could not happen without recourse to these other language levels. the analysis further confirms that all the aspects of lexical compounding obtainable in other languages such as english, bantu, nizaa and a host of other languages are also obtained in the tiv language. compounding generally has been found to be a highly productive word formation process in the tiv language. introduction compounding is a morphological phenomenon, one of the two basic types of word formation, the other being derivation. plag (2003), warns that “compounding is a field of study where intricate problems abound, numerous issues remain unresolved, and convincing solutions are generally not easy to find. bauer (2001) also maintained that a compound is a lexical unit made up of two or more elements, each of which can function as a lexeme independently of the other(s) in other contexts, and which shows some phonological and/or grammatical isolation from normal syntactic usage. compounding can be characterized as the formation of new lexical items through the syntagmatic arrangement of existing lexical items, because compounding lies “on the cusp between grammar and lexicon” jackendoff (2010). it has ramifications for our understanding of language that go far beyond its own intrinsic interest. it poses a particular challenge for theories of language that operate with a strict separation between lexicon and grammar (pepper, 2010). mailto:festus.sixtus@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 74 ziering and van der plas (2014) state that, compounding represents one of the most productive word formation types in many languages. what constitutes a compound and where compounding takes place in grammar have interested many linguists. one obvious question concerns the number of elements in a compound. selkirk (1982) and anderson (1985) limit compounding to two elements. asher (1994) says a compound is “a new lexical item created by putting together two free standing stems or words.” many authors accept that compounds can be formed with a word and a stem (bloomfield (1939, selkirk (1982), di scioullo and williams (1987) and spencer (1991). booij (2002) states that, “the defining criterion for compounding is that in compounding two lexemes are combined into a new lexeme.” spencer (1991) does not limit compounding to two words, but categorically states that, “compounding is prototypically the concatenation of words to form other words.” similarly, motsch (in asher, 1994) avers that: “compounds are complex words which have words as constituents.” benue-congo languages are highly productive in compounding as seen in the works of omachonu & abraham (2015)-igala, dimendal (2009)-jukun, nurse, rose, hewson & beaudoin-lietz (2002),-narrow bantu, fura & nyang, & pepper (2010)-nizaa etc. the motivation for this study arose from the above forgoing where a lot has been studied on word formation in other languages with little done on the same subject matter in tiv language with preliminary reports on tiv language such as the ones conducted by orjime (1998), angitso (2000) and ortese (2012) only making mention of compounding as one of the types of work formation in tiv language. these studies did not focus on the subject matter of linguistic compounding in tiv language, but dwelt generally on the types of word formation processes that are obtainable in tiv language; omachonu & abraham (2015) there has been an outcry for a comprehensive study of tiv language. it was as a result of some of these assertions that omachonu & abraham (2015) while conducting a comprehension research on compounding in igala, averred that preliminary igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 75 reports on a language do not focus on subject matters in that language such as compounding, just as was the case with igala. in addition, even with those languages in nigeria, for instance, in which a fair amount of attention has been devoted to the description of compounding: yorùba (bamgbose 1967, owolabi 1995, awobuluyi 2005, oyebade 2007 and taiwo 2008, 2009), ìgbo (anagbogu 1990, 1995, 2000, nwaozuzu 1991, oluikpe & nwaozuzu 1995 and iloene 2007), urhobo (aziza 2007) and koríing (anagbogu 2003, 2011). a critical look at the extant literature on compounding in the languages and even in african linguistics in general, would reveal that providing satisfactory criteria for patterning compounding still requires both language specific and cross-linguistic investigations for dependable linguistic generalizations. it is in the above light that we have set out to critically study compounding in tiv language with a view of identifying the patterns of such compounding coupled with cross-linguistic investigations which we hope shall give some dependable linguistic generalizations which could be a standing point for further studies into compounding in tiv language or any benue-congo language within the benue valley. aim of the study the study aims at discovering the different morphological patterns involved in the formation of compounds in tiv. in other words, it aims to bring out the patterns of word formation through compounding in tiv. we intend to explore the class of the possible compound words of tiv in this analysis. in a nut shell, this study intends to capture the possible morphological compounding patterns existing in the tiv language. defining compounding in tiv: an overview according to omachonu and abraham (2015), the two major means of creating new words especially lexical categories such as nouns, verbs and adjectives in language are compounding and derivation. compounding is a prominent word formation process which is attested when in a language two or more words are put together to form another. compounding or composition which is the most frequently used means of producing new lexemes has its overall defining igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 76 property as ‘consisting of the combination of lexemes into larger words’ (booij 2007). attempts at documenting tiv compound words in the past were almost absent except with the mention of some tiv compound names by bohanan & bohanan (1963) and a similar mention of some compound words in orjime (1998); many of these preliminary studies on tiv grammar will help this research work in situating it within the scholarship on tiv morphology. thus, the present study does not cover a general ground as many of these past studies. rather, the focus is restricted to compounding in tiv language in all its ramifications. even though this may not be a universally applicable distinction, the crucial demarcation between compounds and derived words in most languages is that compounds consist of free-standing lexemes whereas derived words, in most cases, contain affixes in the form of non-lexemic morphemes (lieber & štekauer 2009). the distinction is not always so clear-cut because (1) ‘a lexeme may develop into a derivational morpheme’ (booij 2007), and (2) the elements that make up compounds in some languages may not be free-standing words, but rather stems or roots (lieber & štekauer 2009). however, the use of the term lexeme, lieber & štekauer (2009) argue, is ‘specific enough to exclude affixes but broad enough to encompass the roots, stems and free words that make up compounds in typologically diverse languages’(p.2). in tiv, while we take examples (1a-c) below as typical (nominal) compounds, the examples in (2a-c) are considered as derived words with obvious presence of affixes (bound morphemes, prefixes) in the derivations. 1a. ór + kpén órkpén 2a. mbá + hénén mbáhénén person dead ‘corpse’ pl affix learning ‘learners/disciples’ b, ór + tésén ortésén b. mbá + vésén mbavésén person + teach ‘teacher’ pl affix elder ‘elders’ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 77 c. ór + hénén orhénén c. mbá + yév mbáyév person learn ‘learner’ pl affix young ‘children’ nominalisation or noun formation through the use of plural nominal prefixes attached to nouns (affixation) and the vowel the comes after the consonant in the nouns is always high as exemplified in 2 (a-c) and also through attachment of nouns in the prefixal position to verbs as in 1 (a-c) above is a very productive derivational process in tiv morphology; in this case too, the vowel sound after the consonant at the beginning of the verb is always high. the vowels (ó, é and á) that are obtainable in the compounds above in examples 1 (a-c) and 2 (a-c) are all high, even if you change the pitch of the vowels from high to low, he words will still be compounds, but with different meanings. there are also significant instances of suffixation attested in the derivational morphology of tiv, but we shall look at the possible patterns of compounding in tiv as this will cover compounding through suffixation. patterns of compounding in tiv 1. n + n n this pattern of compounding is found in most languages of the world, tiv language is also not an exception to this type of morphological process, we shall under this section, exemplify and discus this pattern of compounding in tiv language. a. tór + tiv tórtiv king tiv king of tiv b. ór + yá óryá person house house head c. wán + kwásé wánkwásé child woman ‘spinster’ d. ijiir + tóm ijiirtóm place work ‘office’ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 78 e. tár + tór tártór world king ‘world of the king (heaven)’ f. ór + utyá órutyá person war ‘soldier’ g. nór + mngér nórmngér elephant water ‘hippopotamus’ h. ór + nyár órnyár person money ‘richman’ i. nór + tár nórtár elephant world ‘elephant’ j. wán + iywá wániywá child dog ‘puppy’ the derivative history of the above compounds is as represented in the following tree diagram: figure 1 compound n n n tór tiv from the forgoing, it is glaring that when a nominal is added to another nominal in tiv language, we will produce compounds, some of these compounds when translated to english, would become phrases or clauses as seen from example (e) above. there is no form of elision of any kind in the compounding of nominals to form nominals in tiv language. this is somewhat different in some other igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 79 languages such as igbo and yoruba where elision is obtainable in some of the nominalizations, dada (2015). n + v nominal-verb compound in tiv whenever a noun gets fused with a verb, a nominal-verb compound is derived as follows: a. kwágh + yán kwághyán something eat ‘food’ b. ór + kpén órkpén person dead ‘corpse’ c. áondó + ná áondóná god give ‘god given’ e. shimá + vihin shimávihin heart spoil ‘anger’ f. tér + yilá téryilá father call ‘god called’ g. yán + kyáá yánkyáá day happening ‘day of reckoning’ h. ityô + yilá ityôyilá kinsmen + called ‘the calling of kinsmen’ the derivative history of the above compounds is as represented in the following tree diagram: figure 2 nominal-verb compounds np n v igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 80 ór kpén from the above examples, we can deduce that in tiv language, nominal verb compounds are formed by attaching a tiv verb at the end of a noun and the resultant compound which becomes a two syllable compound has a combination of stressedunstressed syllables, with high tone vowels and a change in such a stress pattern renders some of the compounds meaningless, as we can find in example (a) above. if the stress is moved to the second syllable, the compound will no longer have its semantic import rooted in tiv language. the tree diagram above explains the syntactic representation of the nominal verb compound in tiv language. syllable stress is a major player in meaningfulness in tiv. reduplicated adverbs adjective a. félé + félé féléfélé fast fast faster b. nungwá + nungwá nungwánungwá scatter scatter scattered the derivative history of the above compounds is as represented in the following tree diagram figure 3: adv + adv adjectival compound adv adv félé félé the above are good examples of compounding in tiv, when adverbs are reduplicated as seen in examples (a-b) above. there is also no form of elission in the deverbals above because, tiv language do not permit vowel elision, the town igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 81 'áliádé ' is pronounced as the word is written even though there is a diphthong /ia/ in between two consonants in the lexeme. so coupled with the situation where there are no two vowels in the examples (a-b) above, all the deverbals are in high tone and therefore vowel elision cannot take place at any point, and the reverse in the tone from high to low shall make example (a) meaningless. 4. reduplicated adj adj compound a. gbáng + gbáng gbánggbáng strong strong very stronger c. kéng + kéng kéngkéng must must very necessary d. dôúgh + dôúgh dôúghdôúgh loose loose very loose e. kúndú + kúndú kúndúkúndú cool cool very gentle’ the derivative history of the above compounds is as represented in the following tree diagram below: figure 4: adj + adj = adjectival compound adj adj kúndú kúndú in tiv language, when you join two adjectives, they form and adjectival deverbal compound. this is usually done through the process of reduplication. the examples above are those that were found to be meaningful but there are those that it is only when they are reduplicated that become meaningful for example, worls like 'gyanggyang' mean 'loud', but you can only realise that meaning only when the 'gyang' is reduplicated, but a single 'gyang' has no meaning in it at all. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 82 the tree diagram above is a syntactic representation of adjectival compound of one of the compounding processes in tiv language. other compounding processes in tiv language lastly, compounding has generally been recognized as an important means of extending the lexicon of a language through the creation of new lexical categories such as nouns, adjectives and verbs mainly (in tiv for example). as altmann (1988) has argued, “the basic motivation for forming compounds is naturally the need to express a concept not having as yet a sound form”, which a speaker can use to express himself. it becomes obvious therefore that so many concepts in so many languages “may only find expression in compounds as there are needs to express these new concepts with new words” oluikpe & nwaozuzu (1995). therefore, in addition to the variety of compounds discussed so far, there are two major areas in which the function of lexical expansion or extension through compounding is found very robust and highly productive in tiv. it is in the representation of foreign concepts, ideas and institutions that were hitherto nonexistent in the tiv kingdom and culture, and the use of reduplicative nominal compounding for creating new lexemes especially kinship terms in the language. in tiv, compounding has been used copiously in naming concepts, particularly foreign institutions, ideas, items/objects and concepts which have been adopted within the host culture and system. the following examples, 5a. b & c) will suffice. a) iyôú + ádúá iyoúádúá house prayer ‘church’ b) iyôú + ci iyôúci house medicine ‘hospital’ c) iyôú + nyár iyôúnyár house money ‘bank’ in addition, adjectival nominal compounds have been used to derive kinship or family tree terms in the language as shown in (6a-e). 6 a) ngô + támén ngôtámén mother eldest ‘grand mother’ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 83 b) tér + támén tértámén father eldest ‘grand father’ c) tér + kém térkém father dowry ‘father in law’ d. tér + támén + támén tértáméntámén father eldest eldest ‘great grand father’ e) ngô + támén + támén ngôtáméntámén mother eldest eldest ‘great grant mother’ conclusion compounding, although a morphological process, touches every level of language – phonology, syntax and semantics – either directly or indirectly. this study examines compounding and compound word formation processes in tiv. besides, compounding generally has been found to be a highly productive word formation process in tiv in terms of varieties (forms) and functions. apart from noun + noun compounds, other compound types such as synthetic, deverbal and verbal compounds which could equally be accounted for using semantic criteria have been attested in tiv. even though endocentric nominal compounds in tiv generally obey left-hand head rule (n1 as head), synthetic compounds in tiv, it has been observed, exhibit the possibility for either left-hand head position or right-hand head position. however, the right-hand head rule is not and even found may not be very productive in the language. it is adjudged as an exception rather than the rule. lastly, in addition to the general function of lexical expansion through creation of new lexical categories or lexemes, compounding has been used copiously in naming concepts, particularly foreign institutions, ideas, items or objects and concepts that were hitherto non-existent in tiv. references adeniyi, h. (2000) ‘mofoloji ede yoruba’ in adeniyi, h. (ed.) ilo ede ati eda-ede yoruba (apa kinni) lagos: harade and associates. pp. 71-100. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 84 akindele, f. and w. adegbite (2005). the sociology and politics of english in nigeria: an introduction. ile-ife: obafemi awolowo university, press altman, g. (1988). ‘hypothesis about compounds’. glottometrika, vol. x. anagbogu, p. n (1995). ‘the strong boundary condition for compounds: the igbo perspective’. in e.n. emenanjo & o-m. ndimele (eds.). issues in african languages and linguistics: essays in honour of kay williamson. aba: ninlan books, 246-257 aziza, r.o. (2007). ‘urhobo morphology’. in ore yusuf (ed.). basic linguistics for nigerian languages teachers. port harcourt: m & j grand orbit communications ltd, 291-304. bamgbose, a. (1965). yoruba orthography: a linguistic appraisal with suggestions for reforms. ibadan: university of ibadan press bohannan p & bohannan l (1963). social anthropology. new york: holt, rinehart & winston, inc dada s. a. (2015). aspects of compounding in yoruba: journal of west african languages. 42-2 pp 1-13 greenberg, j. h. (1963). some universals of grammar with particular reference to the order of meaningful elements. in j. h. greenberg (ed.). universals of language, 73-113. cambridge mass: mit. jackendoff, r. (2010). preference rules in patrick hogan, ed., cambridge encyclopaedia of language sciences. cambridge university press lieber, r. & štekauer, p. (2009). ‘introduction: status and definition of compounding’. in r. lieber & p. štekauer (eds.) the oxford handbook of compounding. 3-18. oup. oluikpe, b. & nwaozuzu, g.i. (1995). igbo nominal compounds: fact or fiction? in e. n. emenanjo & o-m. ndimele (eds.). issues in african languages and linguistics: essays in honour of kay williamson. aba: ninlan books.229-237. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 85 omachonu g. s. & david a. a (2012). compounding in igala: defining criteria, forms and functions. ajol, vol. 13,: pp184-206 pepper, s. c, (2010). nominal compounding in nizaa. london: soas, unpublished m.a. project plag i., (2003). word formation in english. cambridge: cambridge university press taiwo, o. (2008). ‘compound verbs in yorùbá’. studilinguistici e filologici online 6: 345-370. microsoft word igwebuike journals vol. 5. no. 7.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 174 a review of igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosphy by prof. anthony ikechukwu kanu, o.s.a jude i. onebunne, phd department of philosophy faculty of arts nnamdi azikiwe university, awka ji.onebunne@unizik.edu.ng this piece, published in 2017 is a work of great attempt on one of the most dreaded areas of philosophy, the logic and in particular the african logic. it is noteworthy that, while some promising african scholars were still at large on the possibility of african philosophy, kanu has started discussing the logic that is the nka of african philosophy. in this paper, kanu painstakingly dwelt comprehensively on the logic of african philosophy. logic as a major branch of philosophical discourse is the science of unaided correct reasoning knowing full well that correct or good-exact ideas do not fall from heaven. logic, from the greek word, logos, therefore, is an art of right and sound reasoning. according to aristotle, logic is the new and necessary reasoning. logic as an organon of knowledge is the product of human mind as well as that of a man as an animal cogitans, thinking animal and animal rationalis, rational animal relating it with the concept of igwebuike, the african philosophy of complementarity and solidarity which sees power as belonging to the multitude. the author sees philosophy as very fundamental, addressing reality with regard to the welfare of man that rationalizes. making a cursory attempt at the dawn of philosophical enterprise, from ancient period, through the medieval times and unto the modern and contemporary, philosophical reflections were all about the value of knowledge for humanity. kanu succinctly admits that as an academic discipline, philosophy basically exercises the principle of reason and logic in an attempt to understand reality and answer fundamental questions about knowledge, life, morality, and human nature. african philosophy has become a part of the world philosophic heritage that can no longer be neglected. obi j. oguejiofor in his paper problems and prospects of the history of african philosophy, published in american catholic philosophical quarterly, vol. 77, fall 003, no. 4. sees logic as an indispensable ingredient in any discourse to merit philosophy. if african philosophy is to be distinguished from the derogatory-disregard as ethnophilosophy, sage or folk philosophy and the likes, it must have the needed logic. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 175 kanu continued to show in this paper indebt knowledge and mastery of the unknown and yet to be acknowledged history of african philosophy by the references he made of the works of innocent onyewuenyi’s the african origin of greek philosophy: an exercise in afrocenticism, and makinde’s afican philosophy: the demise of a controversy. other african philosophical works that demonstrated the existence of philosophy in african continent centuries past are: theophile obenga’s african philosophy: the pharaonic period 2780-330bc, george g.m. james’ greek philosophy is stolen egyptian philosophy, theophile obenga’s ancient egypt and black africa and george quest’s the march of civilization. these literary works presupposes great scholarship on philosophy in africa continent centuries past. nka or african logic in african philosophy remains a theory of reasoning or the study of the consistency of statement-thoughts and valid consequences of an argument. as long as africans are homo loquens and interacts, there is need for nka. logic is needed to prove us rationally consistent. if african philosophy is to maintain the expected philosophicality there should be an operational logic. if it must maintain its africanity, such philosophical enterprise must be on african context, reality or worldview, done by scholars within or outside the geography of african continent. kanu authoritatively doubted if there can be african philosophy without proper nka, african logic. he nevertheless admits that for any philosophy to retain the identity of philosophy, it must have basic elements of logic to maintain the philosophical structure. by extension, african philosophy must have african logic, properly referred as nka to worth the name. having established african philosophy, it is illogical to question the existence of african logic knowing that no logic, no philosophy. maritain jacques underscores this when he enumerated the great division of philosophy thus: logic, speculative philosophy and practical philosophy. prof. kanu appreciating logic as the foundation of sound structures of valid arguments and correct statements was passionately vehement in the appreciation of african logic, that is, nka, as such. for him, in african logic, the focus is on the structure of african pattern of thought and reasoning as it is related to traditional african language. he emphasized that the adjective african in african logic shows the locus of the logicality. african logic while exercising the general principles of logic is contextualized within the african reality as every good culture is expressed within the frame of language and thought. the relationship of igwebuike as the modality of being in african philosophy provides the relational igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 176 connectedness of solidarity and complementarity within the african society. kanu aptly observes that african worldview is ruled by the spirit of complementarity which seeks the conglomeration, the unification, the summation of fragmented thoughts, opinions and ideas with this understanding that parts can never be greater than the whole. igbo reality as such has a complementary as well as distinctive character corresponding to the universality and particularity of logic as logic. since the branches of philosophy are interrelated, igwebuike being the modality of being, and african ontology having been understood as the strength is power or power of the multitude, then african logic flowing from the african ontology is complementary. here lies igwebuike as the ontological foundation of an african logic. african man in his worldview must think correctly and reason validly within the bounds and limits of his reality. african logic or nka is a great attempt at solving one of the greatest problems of contemporary african philosophy after method. other attempts have been made with regard to the proper igbo nomenclatural and the actual igbo fitting translation of logic. we have seen kanu’s nka which has something to do with scientificity or sytematicity as it concerns techne. recently chimakonam proposed ezumezu logic as african logic in african philosophy. the concept of ezumezu as ezu m ezu connotes a kind of coming together which in a very strict and large sense is related to igwebuike. bibliography kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and and logic (nka) of african philosophy”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 177 kanu, i. a. (2015a). a hermeutic approach to the study of african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015b). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no. 1.[ 97-101]. kanu, i. a. (2016b). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no.1. [1-7]. article 8 igwebuike 6. no7.cdr igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.6 no.7, 2020 www.igwebuikejournals.com a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 78 national security and crime in era of covid-19 in nigerian major cities: beyond a lockdown amara egboh f. nnamdi azikiwe university awka, anambra state, nigeria. amyfrances2000@yahoo.co.uk & nweke george igboanugo chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu university igbariam, anambra state, nigeria. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract security is the responsibility of every citizen of every country but security agencies are established by law to handle the security affairs of the country. security becomes a problem and very precarious if an unplanned and unexpected threat occurs when there are no laid down laws to tackle them. when such events occur in a country like nigeria without adequate procedures put in place to checkmate it, the nation suffers from different criminal activities which pose serious security issues. nigeria is a nation populated with over 200 million residents with different multi-religious, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds affected by the ongoing global pandemic known as the coronavirus. covid-19 as abbreviated by world health organization (who) is a highly infectious disease with a high mortality rate ravaging the population of the country of which the government-mandated a lockdown in the country to slow the spread of the disease. the pandemic and forced dependence on nothing due to the lockdown further exacerbated people's already fragile egos and pushed them into an abyss of despair. analysis of secondary data on the effect of the virus due to forced lockdown by the government showed that there was a considerable spike in crimes committed by both citizens and security operatives within major cities. the increase in such crimes like armed robbery, extrajudicial killings, and kidnapping, was propelled by a lack of governmental intervention to the plight of the majority of citizens of the country. the resultant effect was that it created a strain on the national security of the country. this work recommended for increased governmental intervention both for citizens and security operatives in the country. also to implement relevant policies geared towards the future occurrence of a pandemic and checkmate the activities of security personnel. keywords: covid-19, crime, security, government, strain. introduction a society ill-prepared and ill-equipped for unforeseen and unprecedented attacks both from man-made and natural sources suffers devastating effects through such debilitating consequences as crime and crime-related activities. the effects are devastating especially as it leads to such consequences as criminal activities which affect national security of a country. crime becomes synonymous with national security and citizens of a country live in fear of their lives and properties. nigeria is a country that has witnessed a lot of instabilities starting from its independence in 1960 to the present pandemic. the country has been besieged by different political, economic, social, and religious uprisings both planned and unplanned. these insecurities have been caused by the different and unstable political and economic systems found within the country. one factor remains constant within all these and that is the prevalence of crime which instead of abating with new political power always increases. the present political administration in nigeria has been besieged by different criminal activities ranging from the nefarious activities of the bokoharam sect to fulani herdsmen, kidnapping, armed robbery, rape, arson, pedophilia which are undertaken by the criminally minded in the society. the activities have been caused by corruption, unstable economy, illiteracy, failure of the government to provide basic amenities for its citizens. crime has now become the order of the day in nigeria. in modern times, crime is socially and legally constructed but for this paper, the legal construction will be used. in modern criminal law, the term crime does not have any simple or universally accepted definition because different societies view crime from different perspectives. for certain purposes, the statutory definition of crime is used which has both social and legal meaning. crime is viewed as an intentional act or omission that is committed by an individual with no justification or defense which violates the criminal statutes of a given state, characterized as either a felony or misdemeanor and punishment ascribed for the act. crime is viewed as a socio-political-economic act that is subject to the society that it is found in whether modern or ancient. so invariably crime is a byproduct of civilization because according to emile durkheim (1938) a little bit of crime is good for the advancement of society. the punishment which is adopted for crime is seen as a form of social response that has economic and political implications that is subjective to how developed or underdeveloped that society is. this is attributed to the wealth and impact of a nation because the wealthier the society, the higher the crime rates and vice versa, and the level of sophistication attributed to the crime and criminals. crime is one of the sole contributors to the national insecurity of any country because it is a major security threat in whatever form it manifests. the security threat to any nation or society comprises not only those conventional foes such as nation-states but is inclusive also of non-state actions, narcotics cartels, multinational corporations, and nongovernmental organizations; some authorities include natural disasters and events causing severe environmental decay (fjader, 2014). these security threats can also include manmade disasters of which the coronavirus (covid-19) belongs to. national security becomes imperative with these security threats in the country. national security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the state through the use of economic power, diplomacy power projection, and political power (fjader, 2014). covid-19 as it is popularly known is a virus that originated from wuhan, china in 2019 december with no known cure for now and imported into nigeria by an unnamed italian in march 2020 and after its inception into the country, the tide changed in so many ways in the country. in the wake of the infectious deadly virus which had caused a pandemic in the whole world, individuals began responding contrastingly to it. the nigerian society which was used to 'suffering and smiling' a popular adage by the late fela kuti became significantly affected negatively. the vivacious and energetic social orders in the nation albeit 79amara egboh f. & nweke george igboanugo confronting a great deal of hardship due to the lingering of other financial and political factors found within the nation turned into a sad remnant of themselves. the situational changes became more poignant when the federal government mandated a lockdown in the whole country and limited social interaction by advocating for 'social distancing', 'stay home and stay safe' with no provision of palliatives for the majority of the country living below the poverty line. it amounted to a sense of obscure dread and trepidation in the populace because individuals who were characterized by daily interactions, visitation both at workplaces, market, and social avenues were now compelled to suffer in private their insecurities about the unknown. resultantly, fear became exacerbated due to economic instability, job loss especially for a great number of the populace and those with menial jobs, and the worst of the fear was that of contracting the dreaded deadly virus. the virus in its inception into the country created previously unthinkable levels of desperation, suffering, and panic (charles & mckinley, 2020) and invariably contributed to the increase in criminal activities by both the governed and the governors. research methods this research paper adopts different approaches which included analyzing the statute of law regarding pandemic in nigerian society (of which there is none but in paper). the presence of such a case was looked at in trying to find ways of approaching it; unfortunately, nigeria has not had similar cases of this magnitude before. therefore, this work adopted secondary sources of data collection as a result of the risk of contracting covid-19 and insecurity involved in seeking primary sources of data collection. other rationales that necessitated the adoption of secondary sources were because of the high rate of crime and deviant behaviors associated with the lockdown in the country. these had lead to the loss of lives and properties of the citizens without any hope of getting succor from the government. sources of secondary data used include; books, unpublished books, journals, newspapers, websites, blogs, and government records. conceptual review crime crime is a social problem, a social phenomenon that affects society in general. it varies according to the social milieu or context it is found in. it is a word that invokes trepidation and demands an expedited action whenever it is heard in society. the definition of crime varies in particular and different periods in society as well as in different countries of the world. “crime is only assessed through criminal law, the fact that criminal law varies from country to country makes it known that crime is relative in nature” (schur, 1969, p. 10). the reason stems from the fact that what one country posits to be a crime cannot be called so in another country. for example, having twins in nigeria years ago was considered a crime while it was not so in england, also gays and lesbians are considered criminals in nigeria in the 21st century while they are not in england. accordingly, 'crime does not exist, only acts exist, acts often given different meanings within various social frameworks' (christie, 2004) criminologists have a consensus agreement that, crime be viewed as what societies by its laws posits to be a conduct that breaches the norms, social equilibrium, moral compass, of that society. in other to express censure, resentment, or criticism of the said act or conduct, the society exerts punishment on the offender and this is derived from the criminal laws guiding the society. accordingly “crime is an intentional act in violation of 80 national security and crime in era of covid-19 in nigerian major cities: beyond a lockdown the criminal code committed without defense or excuse and penalized by the state as a 'felony or misdemeanor' (more or less serious criminal acts)” (tappan, 1947, p.100). in other words “the essential characteristics of crime is that it is behavior which is prohibited by the state as an injury to the state and against which the state may react at least as a last resort, by punishment” (sutherland, 1949, p. 39). crimes are defined by two components which are act (actus reas), are the acts itself and circumstances that prompted such acts) and criminal intent (men's rea), relates to the mental state of the person that commits the act). the crime involves criminal intent which is defined by elements of purpose, knowledge, negligence, and recklessness as well as being classified into two different ways. acts committed by individuals commit are divided into two: those that are considered to be evil acts themselves (mala in se) and those acts that are wrong because they are prohibited by law (mala prohibita) or grouped according to the seriousness of the act committed, (felonies) or as a petty act (misdemeanors). crimes then are those acts which 'shocks the conscience collective' of people living in the society (durkheim, 1960). an act is deemed criminal when society condemns, determines, and labels it as so and makes its law as it pertains to that society. security “there will be no development without security and no security without development” (annan, 1995). security is viewed from the above statement as freedom for states to develop to full potential without having any activities both natural and man-made deterring from achieving the goal of freedom for all. this has led to the emergence of human security in the early 1990s brought about by the devastating effects of both natural and manmade disasters like hiv, tsunami. human security came to the limelight through the 1994 united nations development project (undp) human development report which posits that 'security has been relocated more to a nation-state than the citizens and the legitimate concerns of ordinary people forgotten, for many of them, security symbolized protection, from the threat of diseases, hunger, unemployment, crime, social conflict, political repression and environmental hazard' (undp human development report 1994). this approach to security advocates for a shift from a state-centered approach to individualization of security in any country. the reason for this shift is on the assumption that individuals who constitute the state are better equipped in knowing the nuances of security breaches and how best to tackle it. the types of security in nigeria are; environmental security which aims to protect people from ravages of natural disasters, food security aims to provide access to food both physically and economically to citizens, economic security ensures equal employability and wages to all citizens, personal security works at protecting people from both external and internal factors that endanger life's and properties, political security aims to protect the basic human rights and social justice of everybody living in the society and finally health security which involves maximum protection from pandemics and diseases. in a pandemic situation in nigeria due to covid-19, all these types of security are constantly violated. definition of a security warrants comprehensive analysis of the term especially as it relates to whom the security is meant for, how much security is needed, by what means is it to be achieved, what are the values aimed at, at what cost is it to the society and finally what is the time frame for achieving this security (baldwin, 1997). accordingly, a concept of security that fails to specify a 'referent object' such as 'the state' or 'the individual' does not suffice because there are many states and individuals and their security interdependent 81amara egboh f. & nweke george igboanugo (buzan, 1984). specifically, a better understanding of security can be deduced from the different theoretical schools in security and the tenets found in them. the idealist approach of security adopts and advocates for democracy in dealing with issues relating to security. it is based on the fact that security is achievable through non-violent and non-coercive means and this guarantees world peace. realist approach advocates for the use of force, control, or threat to achieve maximum security. the pluralist advocates for the discountenance of state self-interest policies that are capable of undermining international security but for states to come together as one and have uniform security. marxist is of the view that the state should be in control of the economy whereby private ownership of the property abolished. the reason for state ownership relates to the fact that it limits the selfish pursuits of individuals which will undermine security. social constructivism looks at the ways to overcome fears related to security threats. security means a system whereby the lives and properties of individuals in a given state are guaranteed by those in the helm of affairs. the security of any state should advocate for order, protection, and stability as well as making provisions for a better society through effective policies geared towards the actual realization of such. this culminates in national security which is synonymous with the national interest, which emphasizes how the security policy subordinates any other interests to those of the nation (wolfers, 1952). it then goes that the stability of both state and international security is hinged on the premise that in the maintenance of state security, citizens will be secured which invariably goes to maintain national security. it is understood that national security is shared freedom from fear and want, and the freedom to live in dignity (prabhakaran, 2008). national security is best described as a capacity to control those domestic and foreign conditions that the public opinion of a given community believes necessary to enjoy its self-determination or autonomy, prosperity, and wellbeing (maier, 1990). concept of covid-19 coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) is a novel strain infectious disease which is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (sars-cov-2) (han & yang, 2019). it first manifested in wuhan china in december 2019 and has since spread globally, resulting in the ongoing 2019-2020 coronavirus pandemic disease (chen, 2019). according to the world health organization (who) 2019, the virus initially spread through bats to humans through consumption and later spread between people through close contact often via droplets produced by coughing, sneezing, or talking. the standard method of diagnosis according to who 2020, is by real-time reverses transcription polymerase reaction (rt-pcr) from a nasopharyngeal swab. also, chest ct imaging may be used for diagnosis in individuals where there is a high suspicion of infection based on symptoms and risk factors; however, it is not recommended for routine screening. the common symptoms include fever, cough, tiredness, aches and pains, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat or diarrhea, and experience shortness of breath. the time from exposure to onset of symptoms is typically around five days but may range from two to fourteen days. some people become infected but do not develop symptoms, the majority of the cases progress from mild to viral pneumonia and multi-organ failure though 80% of sufferers recover from the disease without needing special treatment (who, 2020). the who declared the 2019-2020 coronavirus outbreaks a public health emergency of international concern (pheic) on 30 january 2020 and a pandemic on 11 march 2020. more than 2.5million are suffering from the coronavirus with over 160 million deaths in many countries across the six who regions of the world. as of the time 82 national security and crime in era of covid-19 in nigerian major cities: beyond a lockdown of writing this paper nigeria had tested 214,228, out of which 37,225 were confirmed positive, while the active cases were 21,091. however, on tuesday 21st of july, 2020 ncdc recorded the number of discharged cases is 15,333 with 801 deaths. theoretical framework in criminology, different theories can be used to understand crime and the contributing factors to high levels of crime in society. these theories are classified by their level of analysis. some theories operate on micro levels-biological and psychological theories, while others on macro levels-sociological theories of crime. conflict theory posits that due to the conflict found in the society due to class inequality, crime is bound to be used by those who feel that they have been marginalized by the elites of the society (sellin, 1938). in nigeria, this theory holds because the underclass feels that the government does not care about them especially in this covid-19 by not providing adequate amenities to look after their welfare resorts to crime to achieve their aim. social disorganization theory is based on the belief that a society with decaying social structure has the highest likelihood of high crime levels especially if it has poor schools, vacant and vandalized buildings, high unemployment, and a mixture of commercial and residential buildings (shaw & mckay, 1942). the individuals residing in such an environment when they look at the affluent sections of the society, they feel marginalized and thereby resort to crime to equalize. the covid-19 has brought this to the forefront, because the wealthy made provisions before the lockdown of which the lower classes were not able to do so, and this creates fracas in the society. strain theory this paper used strain theory to understand the high levels of crime during the pandemic (covid-19). it does not only describe the behaviors of those involved in the criminal activities of the present but can be used to analyze certain criminal behaviors in other aspects of life. it can also be utilized for better it explains better especially in detail the reasons why individuals who commit a crime in the pandemic resort to so doing. this theory is attributed to robert k. merton in his 1938 article 'social structure and anomie'. the argument was that anomie manifests when individuals have faulty relationships between their cultural goals and the legitimate means of acquiring or achieving it. it is also used to examine group differences in crime rates as it relates to inequality and 'relative deprivation'. the suggestion of this is that social and economic as well as political inequality has a direct link to societal crime rates. this is noticeable in the crime rates found in different communities in this pandemic era in nigeria. the level of criminal activities found in lagos does not tally with the neighboring community of ogun or delta or anambra communities. one of the major reasons stems from the fact that lagos is very populated with different ethnic groups and cultures residing there with different perspectives, upbringing, educational qualifications, religious beliefs, and outlook in life. the nigerian society fosters an 'anything goes' mentality (messner and rosenfield, 2007) when individuals are pursuing the goals and aspirations. for these individuals, failure to achieve success is deemed unacceptable as well as failure to be meaningful and represented in life and this has led them to crime. the cultural goals which individuals aspire to are numerous and widespread but the problem of actualizing them depends on the social structure of the society. the social structure to those who belong to the underclass “restricts or eliminates access to approved 83amara egboh f. & nweke george igboanugo modes of acquiring these symbols” (merton, 1968 p. 680). this leads to what he called 'structural impediments or obstacles' which for him exists to make it virtually impossible to achieve legitimate means of wealth for those middle and underclasses which invariably makes it possible to achieve the wealth illegitimately through crime though it was sought for before legitimately. this is conversant with the middle-class and underclass who share the same cultural goals with the upper class for success but lack or have limited means of attaining them due to poverty, lack of education, inequality, bias, religious bigotry, and political subjugation. this creates what merton called strain in the society towards creating anomie which is a state of 'normlessness' or chaos which translates to crime. strain theory uses five principles of adaptation of which three relates to the present situation found in nigeria with the pandemic. the key to the manifestation relates to acceptance or rejection of cultural goals of success which is wealth through legitimate means. people who are committing these crimes during the pandemic in nigeria are mostly the middle-class and the underclass who are trying to achieve wealth through illegitimate means because though they have accepted the cultural goal of success, but have no legitimate means of acquiring it. they can be classified as innovators because they are looking for new ways to acquire wealth and these are the armed robbers, thieves, drug dealers, and financial criminals. some of the criminals found in these cities are those merton sees as being the true aliens (because they have rejected the cultural goals and the legitimate means of obtaining wealth (merton, 1968, p. 153). they are the homeless and the serious drug dealers found in every street corner in nigeria. also inclusive are the rebellious groups who are the political deviants trying to change the society to their liking. they adopt whatever means necessary to reach their chosen goal and they are the terrorist groups (bokoharam and fulani herdsmen) who use violence in an attempt to achieve their political goal. individuals who are committing these heinous crimes in the pandemic do so because they have been denied the legitimate means of acquiring wealth especially through the imposition of the lockdown by the federal government. other factors that contributed to them resorting to crime and the break down in law and order are massive corruption in the society, poverty, bias, religious bigotry, favoritism, ethnicity, political thuggery, and most important covid-19 which brought about a host of uncertainties for the underclass. their current criminal behavior stems from the government's inability to cater to their basic needs despite administering lockdown in the whole society. the resultant effect which is a crime and crime-related activities shows how the middle-class and underclass who are denied the legitimate means of acquiring wealth daily resort to criminal activities to survive. for the present study, strain theory has been adopted because it is the best suited as well as having the relevant perspectives required for the paper. problem formulation there were already existing social problems witnessed in the country due to the economic deprivation situation but these were exacerbated by the covid-19 anomaly. the social problems created by covid_19 relate to the magnitude of the crime and crime-related activities that were manifested in different cities across the country which had become commonplace. the federal government did not and was unable to put factors in place to checkmate the excesses of certain groups of people in society. measures like palliatives ranging from relief materials like food, shelter, and other basic amenities were not put in place for those people who had no other means of survival due to their daily living existence. 84 national security and crime in era of covid-19 in nigerian major cities: beyond a lockdown the fear of contracting the disease further moved for individuals to become limited around the country for the fact that the virus had no cure presently. this brought about the rising, unprecedented, and brazen attacks by criminals of different guise who were determined to succeed by all means. armed robbers with bold attitudes began to post messages to households and cities 'advertising' the day, time and manner of their visitations and what was required of the citizens to produce in other to make life easier for the two parties involved (1 million gangs). other crime incidences like police brutality, extrajudicial killings, rape, kidnapping, insurgency, communal clashes increased, and made citizens of different communities begin to live in fear and trepidation. findings nigeria is one of the most populated countries in the world with an estimated population of 200 million. the figure consists of citizens with diverse cultures, ethnic backgrounds, and religious upbringings. major cities like lagos, ogun, anambra, abuja, delta, edo, and borno witnessed unprecedented criminal activities during the lockdown caused by the pandemic covid-19. the pandemic had wreaked untold havoc on the fragile state of nigeria and this triggered a lot of unrest and conflict in the country and the resultant effect was the increase in crime rates. after the initial furor of the pandemic in the nigerian cities, the rate of criminal activities declined due to the fear of the unknown but the lockdown contributed to the increase in criminal activities despite the fear of contracting the virus. the major reason for the lockdown was because the world health organization advocated for social distancing in other to minimize the transmission of the coronavirus. the pandemic brought about the closure of almost all infrastructure and businesses in society except for essential services like hospitals, pharmacies, and basic food markets. when people did eventually venture into the not-so-free world, it was solely for basic survival essentials like food and medicine and exercise (marra, 2020). the pandemic which covid-19 is referred to became classified as a national security risk and was given the highest priority in the country. the problem with making the pandemic a top priority in nigeria was that not enough resources were allocated to it in other to help the citizens. subsequently, the minimal resources available were overstretched which led to crime agencies' inability to handle the unprecedented surge in the crime rates. most of the agencies under the aegis of crime control like the police, army, navy, and corrections found it difficult to train and equip their staff for such emergencies. this brought a paradigm shift in the way the different criminal cases were brought and handled by the police. the level of criminal activities had increased because poverty which is the main social milieu that prompts people to commit the crime had been exacerbated by the lockdown. although violent crimes such as shootings, armed robbery, and kidnapping had been occurring at a slower rate, they still drove the waves of social dysfunction during the pandemic crisis (martha, 2020). there were palpable increases in such nefarious activities as: armed robbery in the wake of the pandemic, after the lockdown began in the country, armed robbery instances became a daily occurrence in so many major cities in nigeria. armed robbers became a menace to the citizens of the country in their different homes and those in the streets for essential services. densely overpopulated lagos was the highest hit with daily 85amara egboh f. & nweke george igboanugo news filtering the airwaves of the fear and problems created by the dissidents. 'one million gang' as they were popularly called were one of those gangs terrorizing the residents and they achieved this by creating fear with the posters of visitation and their numbers in carrying out the attacks. different headline news related to increasing criminal activities in the country. for example vanguard news of 12 april 2020, 'covid-19 lockdown: armed robbers, miscreants on the rampage in the suburbs' draws the vivid picture of the mayhem caused by the criminals around the country during the lockdown. cybercrime according to the bbc news report of 7 april 2020, cybercriminals were taking advantage of the covid-19 pandemic to reap citizens off their hard-earned currency. the cybercriminals steal sensitive materials from individuals through their mobile devices or computers to perpetrate the act. they use different methods like phishing campaigns, relief packages, and impersonation of the victim's friend or family. they send messages through social media like facebook, twitter, instagram, or emails whereby the victim is required to register, claim to be calling from their bank to for irregularities in their account or by them telling them to download an app to make transactions easier in the comfort of the homes. sometimes they send messages to the victim claiming to be from who or nigeria centre for disease control (ncdc) and once the victim clicks on any of the links sent, they will steal the person's money or identity to further their nefarious activities. kidnapping kidnapping is described as a forceful abduction of an individual by another or a group for the ransom which can vary depending on the aim or for death purposes. the rate of kidnapping increased in the wake of the pandemic according to reports from different news agencies in nigeria. according to punch news of 2 may 2020, kidnappers of three uniport students apprehended. the three university students were kidnapped on 7 april 2020 but were later killed by their abductors. the kidnappers who were later apprehended led the police to the burial site of the kidnapped victims after the families had already paid their ransom. the female kidnapped victim was gang-raped by the assailants before being killed with the other two and buried in a shallow grave. in another news, in cross river state, mrs. ekanem, a staff, and wife of one of the doctors of the university of calabar teaching hospital in the state was kidnapped on march 10 2020 at the hospital's car park. also in the news, two nigerian professional football players ekundayoojo and benjamin iluyomade of abia comets club were kidnapped for ransom on 22 march 2020 and were later released with the help of the nigerian police (bbc news 25 march 2020). these and many more reported and unreported news of kidnapping has littered the airwaves. terrorism terrorism is the use of threats and violence to destabilize and create fear in the populace to achieve political gains. boko haram is one of the terrorist groups found in the world and residents in the nigerian borders. according to the global terrorism index, it had named the group as the world's deadliest terror group in 2013 and was designated a terrorist group by the united states of america in the same year. the group has been terrorizing the whole country since its inception in 2012, more so now that the pandemic has been ravaging the country. according to aljazeera news of 10, june 2020, at least 81 people were killed at the felo herding village in borno state likewise on the 13th of june (three days later) 20 86 national security and crime in era of covid-19 in nigerian major cities: beyond a lockdown soldiers, and 40 civilians were equally killed in the same borno state. these are some of the reported cases through group had become more daring because of the lockdown in the country. extrajudicial killings an extrajudicial killing is viewed as an unauthorized and legal killing of people by government authorities. the police through the constitution of nigerian has the responsibility of protecting lives and property. their duties are the exact opposite of that proscribed by the law. the nigerian police commits all levels of atrocities like bribery, extortion, brutality, in their bid to carry out their duties. extrajudicial violence and killings with total disregard for the sanctity of lives are now synonymous with the nigerian police. they summarily execute and torture people at random or those accused of committing a crime albeit more so in the era of the pandemic lockdown in the country. according to vanguard news of 11 march 2020, lagos state accounts for 38% of extrajudicial killings in nigeria. during the curfew enforcement, according to the bbc news report of 24 april 2020, 'security forces in the country had killed more nigerians than the covid-19'. the killings started with the murder of joseph pessu in warri, delta state which was because he flouted a stop and search order during the lockdown. the trend has become worrisome with different news highlighting the level of atrocious behaviors and inhumane treatment perpetrated daily by the police. in different cities of nigeria, victims of police brutality recount their ordeals which ranged from flogging with hard objects to rape, sodomy, and molestation. other crimes like domestic violence, banditry, rape, and pedophilia were on the increase and became daily occurrences on the news during the lockdown. the high rise in crime rates witnessed by different communities put a strain on the maintenance of law and order in the country. police stations became overcrowded and cases piled up with the stations most often refusing to handle new cases. in the wake of these problems, police brutality increased indiscriminately which made residents take up arms against those who had the duty of taking care of their safety. police and civilian confrontation became almost a daily occurrence with incidents reported from cities like onitsha, lagos, warri, and the rest of the cities clustered around the country. the high rise in such crimes can be attributed to people confined in the same place for long periods with no escape and no means of acquiring the necessities to make life worthwhile. individuals dwelling in the different cities and suburbs of the nation whose daily survival was not guaranteed became unduly constrained and lacked survival instincts. the government of the country whose duty was to sustain the populace failed in carrying out their duties diligently. consequently, the resultant effect was that some people took laws into their own hands to survive. mass delinquency of the citizens can become a trigger towards the higher level of crime witnessed during the pandemic. mass delinquency triggers an inclination to aggressive behavior when the individuals assemble. the assembly of these individuals in the pandemic in anger and with entitlement mentality pushes for a revolutionary change in the affairs of their lives. they lose their sense of individuality in their bid for self-righteous acts in what is called 'deindividuation' (zimbardo, 1969). these people, who have lost their individuality, commit crime at random and at will in the sense that they are trying to assuage their sensibility of righteousness against the atrocities committed against them by the ruling elite. they feel invisible because of the presence of crowds while they are committing crimes and they work as an entity. this is what makes them successful especially in the pandemic in carrying out successfully their nefarious activities. 87amara egboh f. & nweke george igboanugo the increase in crime is equally attributed to the attitudes of those imbibed with keeping and maintaining the law, which are the security forces in the nation. security agents became laws themselves and unleashed their menace on the unsuspecting populace. the reason can be attributed to unchecked corruptive practices practiced by them which amount to the commission of different atrocities ranging from brutality, bribery, extortion, intimidation as well as the harassment of members of the public. the nigerian public had somewhat become adaptive and immune to these deficiencies of the security forces but the increase in their activities during the pandemic led to retaliation by the masses. in ohafia, abia state and onitsha, anambra state, for example, policemen who were drunk killed indigenes of the mentioned communities and the indigenes retaliated by pouring acid, burning of cars, and police station which belonged to the security forces. the result amounted to more brutality and deaths unleashed on the masses by the police. when cases of injustices are reported, the perpetrators of the crime were let off due to bribery and corruption found in the environment and this makes the society angry and apprehensive especially being denied their rights in the society. these can be explained with strain theory because people who have denied their rightful way of acquiring wealth and sustaining themselves during the pandemic, do so through illegitimate. summary in times of old, the government had the sole responsibility of sustaining individuals residing in different communities through the welfare system. basic amenities like jobs, food, shelter, water were the sole responsibility of the government without the application of bias or ethnicities. the reverse is the case in modern times because corruption, tribalism, nepotism, had taken over the system to corrode it. citizens of the country except the elites feel and bear the brunt of government's insensitivity to modern societal problems and some have become outcasts in their societies. this has led to an increase in criminal activities found in the country and has equally put a strain on the national security of the country. initially, national security in nigeria had greatly been affected by issues of boko haram attacks, fulani herdsmen, kidnapping, armed robbery, arson attacks on different sectors of human life, and the economy but 2020 brought another wakeup call in form of coronavirus (covid-19). over the years, in the country, there had been serious advocacy for the improvement of measures through policies to tackle both the foreseen and unforeseen actions of man and nature but nothing has been done about it. the pandemic had brought to the forefront that the country had failed in the basic needs of protection of the lives and property of citizens. the fact that there are no laid down policies and procedures to it, though it had been made a top priority in a paper, unfortunately, there is no concrete evidence to show the feasibility of it. all these issues had made it almost impossible for security operatives to be trained in ways of tackling the resultant issues of such an outbreak especially the increase in crime and criminals. it then calls for changes in the country on ways to handle such acts when they occur in the future to reduce the effects it imposes on citizens barely surviving due to bad economic situations. recommendations the recommendations are that implementable policies be made which reflects on ways to tackle such outbreaks in the future. these policies should be reflective of the plight of masses in such cases to provide adequately for needs that will accrue in such situations. religiosity and ethnicity should not be put into consideration in issues relating to the 88 national security and crime in era of covid-19 in nigerian major cities: beyond a lockdown masses. there must be a humane face to those dealing with security in the country especially as regards their encounter with the masses. dissemination of information relating to issues of such magnitude should be public knowledge on the procedures to follow. the welfare state should be revived and brought back to alleviate the suffering of the masses. mass delinquency should be eradicated through the provision of basic education for all. the psychological evaluation should be mandatory in the recruitment of officers in the force as well as to the criminals themselves in ascertaining the reasons behind their behaviors. the objectives of law enforcement agencies and the criminal justice system should be in the rule of law not in bias and bigotry. security should both the responsibility of the state and the people residing in the state to ensure. security personnel should be trained adequately to tackle such situations and should be proactive and diligent in carrying out their duties both in and out of season. all these are achieved through the collective efforts of both the masses and the leaders. a better understanding of all these can especially as it relates to crime and deviant behavior in the pandemic can lead to a better productive society fit for all and sundry. a better understanding of the masses and the political leaders who work together for the betterment of the society can bring crime to the minimal which will become tolerable to all. the safety of the masses should be a top priority both from the ravaging effects of the pandemic, the criminals, and the security agents. and finally, there is an urgent need for the strengthening of different institutions most importantly the criminal justice system and health care services to discourage foreign medical tourism. references akasike, chukwudi. (2020, may 2). updated: why we kidnapped killed three uniport studentssuspects. punch newspaper. retrieved from https://punchng.com/updated-why-we-kidnappedkilled-three-uniport-students-suspect/ akoni, olasunkanmi. (2020, april, 12). covid-19 lockdown: armed robbers, miscreants on rampage i n l a g o s s u b u r b s . v a n g u a r d n e w s p a p e r . r e t r i e v e d f r o m https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/04/armed-robbers-miscreants-on-rampage-in-lagossuburb/amp/ retrieved 20/04/2020. aljazeera news (2020, june 10). 'fighters kill dozens, raze village in nigeria's borno state. retrieved from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/06fighters-kill-dozens-raze-village-in-nigeriaborno-state 20061005549580.html annan, kofi. (2005). 'larger freedom: towards development, security and human rights for all. r e p o r t o f t h e s e c r e t a r y g e n e r a l , 2 0 0 5 . r e t r i e v e d f r o m http://www.ohchr.org/documents/publications/a.59.2005.add.3.pdf.\ baldwin, david. a. (1997). 'the concept of security' review of international studies, 23, p. 5-26. bbc news. (2020, april 25). security forces kill more nigerians than covid-19. retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-52317196. bc news. (2020, march 25). kidnapped nigerian footballers freed. retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/sport/amp/africa/52044193. bbc news (2020, april 7). crime during coronavirus: see how cyber-criminals they take advantage of covid-19 to tiff from nigerians. retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/pidgin/tori-52196311 buzan, barry. (1984). 'peace, power and security: contending concepts in the study of international relations'. journal of peace research, 21, p. 109-125. charles, c. &mckinley, j. (2020). tide of violent crime that consistently caused chaos in nigeria. retrieved from https://www:nytimes:com/2020/03/13/nyregion/alex-jones-coronaviruscure:html. chen, u. (2020). covid-19: why it matters that scientists continue their search for source of ' p a t i e n t zero's' infection. retrieved from https://www:up:ac:za/news/post 2880755-covid-19-why-itmatters-that-scientists-continue-their-search-for-source-of-patient-zeros-infection/ 89amara egboh f. & nweke george igboanugo chritie, nils. (2004). a suitable amount of crime. london: routledge durkheim, emile. (1938). the rules of sociological method. new york: free press. fjader, christian. (2014). the nation-state, national security and resilience in the age of globalisation. journal of resilience, international policies, practices and discourses, vol. 2, p. 114-129. retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1080/21693293.2014.914771. han,yu, & yang, hailan. (2020). the transmission and diagnosis of 2019 novel coronavirus infection disease (covid-19): a chinese perspective. journal of medical virology, vol. 92, issue 6. retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1002/jmv.25749. kanu, i. a. (2020). covid-19 pandemic and the health of african migrants. amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 18. no. 2. pp. 56-64. kanu, i. a. (2020). covid-19 and the economy: an african perspective. journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 3. no. 2. pp. 29-36. kanu, i. a. (2020). saint augustine and covid-19 pandemic: the future and divine providence. tansian university journal of arts, management and social sciences. vol. 7. pp. 151-162. maier, charles . (1990). peace and security for the 1990's. paper for the mac arthur fellowship program, social science research council. environmental change and security project report, issue 4. washington: the woodrow wilson center. marra, s. (2020). this is what bill gates had to say about epidemics, back in 2015. accessed: 20 march 2020. url: https://www:weforum:org/agenda/2020/03/bill-gates-epidemic-pandemicpreparedness-ebola-covid-19/. martha, hand k henry. (2020). coronavirus lies | debunking the hoaxes around covid-19. retrieved fromhttps://www:news24:com/africa/news/dettol-garlic-and-fake-cases-in-north-west-capedebunking-the-hoaxes-lies-around-coronavirus-20200306 merton, robert, k. (1938). social structure and anomie. american sociological review, vol. 3, no. 5. (oct) pp. 672-682). merton, robert, k. (1968). social theory and social structure. new york: free press. thmessner, s. f., & rosenfeld, r. (2007). crime and the american dream (4 ed). belmont, ca: thomson wadsworth. onyegbule, esther. (2020, march 11). lagos accounts for 38% of extra-judicial killings in nigerianoprin. vanguard newspaper. retrieved from https:www.vanguardngr.com/2020/03/lagosaccounts-for-38%-extra-judicial-killings-in-nigeria-noprin./amp/. prabhakaran, paleri. (2008) national security; imperatives and challenges. new delhi: tata mcgrawhill publishing company. schur, edwin. (1969). our criminal society: the social and legal sources of crime in america. engelwood cliffs, n.j: prentice-hall. sellin, t. (1938). culture, conflict and crime. new york: social science research council. shaw, clifford r. & mckay, henry d. (1942). juvenile delinquency in urban areas. chicago: university of chicago press. sutherland, edwin. (1949) white collar crime. new york: the dryden press. tappan, paul. (1947). who is a criminal?.american sociological review 12.10:96-102. undp. (1994). human development report 1994: new dimensions in human security. retrieved from http://www.hdr.undp.org/en/content/human-development-report-1996 wolfers, arnold. (1952). “national security” an ambiguous symbol. political science quarterly, 67, p. 483-485. world health organization. (2020). who director-general's opening remarks at the media briefing on covid-19. retrieved from https://www:who:int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-generalsopening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19/ world health organization. (2020). sars (severe acute respiratory syndrome). retrieved fromhttps://www:who:int/ith/diseases/sars/en/ zimbardo, philip, g. (1969). the human choice: individuation, reason, and order vs. deindividuation, impulse and chaos. in arnold, w.j. & levine, d. (eds) nebraska symposium motivation (pp. 237-307). lincoln: university of nebraska press. 90 national security and crime in era of covid-19 in nigerian major cities: beyond a lockdown microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 1.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 134 the role of language in communicating thought: towards a balanced education for human development okoye, chiamaka obioma department of languages federal polytechnic oko email: ojokoye@gmail.com +2347037735576 abstract learning, via the instrumentality of language, is the essence of education. education itself is the bedrock of development which anchors nonetheless on human development. the global structure of the contemporary world fraught with multiplicity of languages makes learning stagnant in which case, limited education makes holistic human development virtually a mirage. thus, the global community makes individuals isolated in mind and expression, more or less positioned in an imbalanced state. this crisis spirals around human interaction with the environment which anchors on the ability to understand, interpret and relate to the environment in most objective way. that is to say, to the extent of clarity of man’s understanding and lucid interpretation, that evokes suitable relation to the positive demands of his environment. being pivotal in human relation, language becomes of necessity, the instrument of education, where the positive development expected from education depends on the proper use and ability to speak many languages. such diverse language exposure brings cultures close for human development. this work applies conceptual analytic method in unveiling the target of language both in understanding and learning, where meaning becomes an aid; aid in terms of proper thought representation and communication in the task of education for human development. key words: language, thought, communication, development, education introduction chomsky (1978) notes that, “it is quite natural to expect that a concern for language will remain central to the study of human nature..” where man’s ability to speak informs his possession of memory and thought. with language, he exposes his thought pattern irrespective of the vergueness of the though pattern, as the case may be. for ladusaw (2017); “meaning seems at once the most obvious feature of language and the most obscure aspect to study. it is obvious because it is what we use language for – to communicate with each other to convey ‘what we mean’ effectively. but the steps in understanding something said to us in language in which we are fluent are so rapid, so transparent, that we igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 135 have little conscious feel for the principles and knowledge which underlie this communicative ability”. it is this expansive structure of language that originated the questions of semantics which encompass several different investigations, namely • how each language provides words and idioms for fundamental concepts and ideas (lexical semantics) • how the parts of a sentence are integrated into the basis for understanding its meaning (compositional semantics) • how our assessment of what someone means on a particular occasion depends only on what is actually said but also an aspects of the context of its saying and an assessment of the information and beliefs we share with the speaker. however, this work does not solely dwell on semantics, but focuses on the problem of understanding is learning. close examination of most words reveals that they have many different contexts and the rules which combine them into sentence meanings will frequently yield several possibility for interpretation. interpretation informs response of an individual either in action, speech or understanding, towards meaning. in the educational sector, when information is not properly represented in the mind of the learner, the learning process becomes problematic and misrepresentation of information becomes a clog to proper education and proper human development. towards resolving the problem, the work studies language and habit of thought enquiring on how representative, language is to thought pattern. the clarity of thought advances learning which is the essence of education. the ability to communicate properly with language promotes education of the society on human development and interpersonal relationship, sharing sameness of meaning and understanding. furthering the study, the work advocates for multiplicity of language in nigeria for higher and better understanding of different cultures in today’s global world for better human development. language and habit of thought in wikipedia’s explication, language “consists of development, acquisition, maintenance and use of complex systems of communication, particularly the human ability to do so; and a language is a specific example of such a system” (httw.wikipedia/language). the explanation implies two specific facts, namely; igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 136 language is an exclusive product of human beings and language usage is conventional amongst humans. the first fact which is peculiarity of language to human quality informs the coinage of the latin word ‘lingua’ which mean ‘tongue’ and its ‘usage’. literally put, it is the usage of tongue to unearth the mind. for chomsky (1968), “it is fair to suppose that the major contribution of the study of language will lie in the understanding it can provide as to the character of mental processes and the structures they form and manipulate”. the second fact addresses the differences in human mind apprehension of reality as well as natural environmental differences in human society. chomsky notes also that anyone concerned with the study of human nature and human capacities must somehow come to grips with the fact that all normal humans acquire language. for lyons (1981), the differences in reality bring about the differences in language resulting to an estimated number of 5000 and 7000 languages in the world. fundamental in these facts of language is the cognitive ability of humans to learn and describe the patterns in reality and use of systems of complex communication in terms of utterances to represent thought. thus, trask (2007) maintains that the definition of language entails different approaches and understanding of language. they also inform different and often incompatible schools of linguistic theory. aside linguistics, it is paramount to ascertain the influence of the habit of thought on language as it informs the process of learning in education. the relationship between language, thought and reality has occupied philosophers, linguist, anthropologists and psychologists for centuries. for john locke, the english philosopher; “our senses, conversant about particular sensible object, do convey into the mind several distinct perception of things according to those various ways wherein those objects affect them. and thus, we come by those ideas we have of yellow, white, heat, cold, soft, hard, bitter, sweet and all those which we call sensible qualities”. (essay concerning human understanding, book 2, chapter 1) locke exemplifies in the statements what many philosophers and psychologists felt about how we think, how we perceive reality as well as how reality reflects in our language. 18th century german scholar and diplomat wilhelm von humbolt in his approach equates language and thought as inseparable, as language completely determines thought (brown, 1968). in clearer analysis, phipps (2001), opines that language and society are so intertwined that it is impossible to understand one without the other. there is no human society that does not depend on, is not shaped by, and does itself shape language. this statement best igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 137 defines the relationship between language, thought and reality, for language not only shapes the way reality is perceived, reality also shape language. hence, conventionality of language structure and content. concerning the relationship between language and thought, two schools emerged in debate for and against the precedence of thought or language, namely, lingualism and language of thought’ lingualism lingualism affirms the belief that the absence of language is the absence of thought. this is to say, to think is to think language. advocating this view, davidson (1996) opines that while the mental is not reducible to the physical, every mental event can be paired with some physical event – that is, every mental description of an event can be paired with a physical description of the very same event. taking language as physical reality, he speaks of the mental as supervening on the physical in a way that implies a certain dependence of mental predicates on physical predicates. succinctly put, events that cannot be distinguished under some physical description cannot be distinguished under a mental description either. thus, this approach questions the possibility of developing language outside the mind where the mind learns reality through language. however, since separability of mind and language seem almost impossible, the second school language of thought emanated. language of thought this is a hypothesis that describes the nature of thought as possessing “languagelike” or compositional structure which is also known as “thought ordered mental expression” (tome). for tillas (2015-08-2016), simple concepts combine in systematic ways (akin to the rules of grammar in language) to build thoughts. that is to say, in its most basic form, thought, like language, has syntax. this theory was propagated by american philosopher jerry fodor. the theory asserts that thinking takes place in a language of thought (lot). for fodor (1975); “cognition and cognitive processes are only ‘remotely plausible’ when expressed in a system of representations that is ‘tokened’ by a linguistic or semantic structure and are operated upon by means of a combinational syntax”. simply put, syntax as well as semantics has a causal effect on the properties of the system of mental representatives. these mental representations are not present in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 138 the brain in the same way as symbols are present on paper; rather, the lot is supposed to exist at the cognitive level, the level of thoughts and concepts. thus, the theory implies a strongly rationalist model of cognition in which many of the fundamentals of cognition are innate. not derailing to the field of cognitive science as language of thought led fodor to, the essence of recognition of this theory is to infer the import of the mental structure on the spoken words about reality as well as human actions. the order of the mind is seen from its expressions in language and action. that is to say, the mental structure informs the human apprehension of reality and how he orders reality. for instance, the thought “john is tall” is clearly composed of two subparts, the concept of john and the concepts of tallness, combined in a manner that may be expressed in first-order predicate calculus as a predicate; ‘t’ (“is tall”) that holds of the entity “j” (john). a fully articulated proposal for what a lot would have to take into account greater complexities such as quantification and propositional attitudes (the various attitudes people can have towards statements; like i might believe or see or merely suspect that john is tall). the above analysis informs a correlation of the mind and perception cum action. there is causal relationship between our intentions and our actions. because mental states are structured in a way that causes our intentions to manifest them by what we do, there is a connection between how we view the world and ourselves and what we do. that is why the popular adage states that ‘when you go to rome, behave like romans’. also, allusions of people’s behavior like addressing someone as frenchman, italian man, english man, has not only to do with ascription of language but also a pattern of thought and behavior. noting this fact, it becomes of utmost importance to analyze the import of language in learning process which is the essence of education. import of language in learning and communication process: having identified the relationship between language and our thought pattern, this section of the work enquires the effect of language in the process of learning. the essence of education is for people to learn about something, be it scientific enquiries or any form of artistry. language becomes the vehicle that conveys a thought pattern that could be novel to the student, for the corollary effect of behavioral change. for mudenda (2017); “the primary medium in the learning process is language. all that a learner at any level of the education system is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 139 expected to grasp is either heard or read.” at every level of one’s life or career path, one’s knowledge can only be expressed through words or written language. however, the fact is that language development can either negatively or positively affect one’s learning process. the limitedness of one’s language vocabulary limits one’s exposition and acquaintance with learning especially in a world of lots of innovations and discoveries. when we consider language as being a common item in the process of education, we bear in mind a child growing up. whatever he or she hears has a greater effect than what he/she sees. then he/she begins to learn to speak through listening to sounds created by people around them. eventually they start attaching meanings to those sounds which is later related to written text. this process is informed from the predisposition that human beings are born tabularaza, being exposed only to mother tongue. however, at higher level of learning, the ability of an individual to speak multiple languages suppresses the limitedness of particular languages to the expositions of learning. as mudenda notes that as an individual increases one’s ability and use of language, they eventually increase their ability not only to learn, but also to share knowledge with others around them. it is fascinating to see how in recent years educational experts around the globe have started to focus on the language dimension when it calls for schools to meet the demands of modern knowledge societies. to understand the cognitive and language challenges of modern competencebased school education, thurmann (2013), categorized the manifold functions of language in learning as follows; • language as a constituent component of higher-order thinking skills and a necessary precondition for successful content learning • language as a tool for making meaning • language as a filter for assessing learning outcome. when language is functionally addressed as above in the process of learning, the learner is expected the following; • to comprehend and fully understand the meaning of an utterance, a passage, a text • to negotiate meaning and communicate knowledge • to reflect on the learning process and the learning outcomes igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 140 • to transfer information from one representational system to another (e.g translating facts from a topographic map into a coherent spoken expository text) • to partake in socio-scientific discourse • to make use of generalisable knowledge and skills for solving problems and tasks in private and public life beyond the context of formal education. arriving at the above expectations of learning situates the direction of education which is the end point of learning. be it academic or social education, the intention is nonetheless, achievement of human development. human development through education king (2011), at the education world forum in london, asserts; “education is fundamental to development and growth. the human mind makes possible all development achievements from health advances and agricultural innovations to efficient public administration and private sector growth. for countries to reap these benefits fully, they need to unleash the potential of human mind. and there is no better tool for doing so than education.” although formal education is supposed to start from primary education, it has been found that the science of brain development shows that learning needs to be encouraged and often, both inside and outside of the formal schooling system. pre-natal health and early childhood development programs that include education and health are consequently important to realize this potential. in the primary years, quality teaching is essential to give students the foundational literacy and numeracy on which life long learning depends. adolescence is also a period of high potential for learning, but many teenagers leave school at this point, lured by the prospects of a job, the need to help their families, or turned away by the cost of schooling. the cost of schooling and priorities in terms of preference of a society informs level of investment of a nation on education towards human development. mostly the case, education is not learning for all. learning for all means ensuring that all students, and not just the most privileged or gifted, acquire the knowledge and skills they need for human development. major challenges of access remain for disadvantage populations at primary, secondary and tertiary levels. learning for all promotes the equity goals that underlie education of all and without confronting equity issues, it will be impossible to achieve the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 141 objective of learning for all. although achieving this goal will be challenging, consciousness of the fact that the project will drive the youth’s employability, productivity, health, and well-being in times to come, will help ensure that their communities and nations thrive. but how can a society (like nigeria) give a high priority to education when all considerations are geared towards the economy? such a society has no balanced knowledge of assignment of roles towards development. thus, in the words of wellstone (2016); “education and democracy have the same goal; the fullest possible development of human capabilities. the literacy rate of a country determines its prosperity and economic health. relating to educational roles of human development, certain prospects needs to be considered; • overcome social prejudice: probably, this is the most crucial benefit of education. social evils and beliefs can really hold back the growth and development of a society and a country. so to overcome this and understand and explain things with logic and reasoning, educated minds are very essential. an enlightened mind can lit up a thousand more. education used in proper way also helps to reduce crime and restore law and order. • nuture talent and pursue dreams: every human being has dreams and aspirations. so, education is a medium to pursue and fulfill them. it increases the knowledge of a person in different fields of studies. it helps to determine a path to follow and express ones talent to the world. • enhance creativity and imagination: education opens up new ways and ideas to ponder. it cultivates a young mind to think out-ofthe box and explore different things in life. education also helps to know about things and stay healthy, fit and follow a productive lifestyle. • contribute to a bigger growth: education is a way of academic excellence and paves the path for economic growth of the country. research and development in sectors like technology, medicine and others, breakthrough innovation and progressive mindsetall of these are fruits of education which takes a nation and its people forward. educated people contribute towards advancement in every sector. • knowledge, wisdom and exposure: education opens up every channel of knowledge and wisdom. it exposes us to a whole new world of information, invent new things and know how we can make our igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 142 surroundings a better place to live and get our lives to a greater and better height. it is very important to understand that education is the real asset that can develop an individual as well as a nation. people and leaders should join hands to make education, not only a fundamental right for all, but also the guiding light, which can take mankind ahead through any phase of darkness. in the words of nelson mandela; “education is the most powerful weapon, which you can use to change the world.” but how can one be educated in a multi-cultural world with a limited language? this is an education problem in a country like nigeria. limited education in a limited language country: nigerian case: since language has been identified with thought pattern of a people, it is consequent to deduce multiplicity of thought patterns from multiplicity of languages. that is to say, differences in languages informs differences in weltansuaum(worldview). as people differ in their worldviews, so are their approaches to reality and thus, development. the implication is that contemporary education demands ability to know, speak and understand as many languages as possible. that is project known as multilingualism. in rao’s (2018) explication; “multilingualism is a social environment in which people speak more than one language. it is not uncommon to find multilingualism across the globe. there are only a few countries in the world which have monoligualism.” his submission informs the rudiment of education which the modern world of today demands. multilingualism affects the cognitive domain of the learners in a positive manner as it has been proven that a multilingual thinks more analytical than the monolingual given exposure of two worldviews. dealing with another culture enables people to gain a more profound understanding of their own culture in which case creativity is increased. but what is the nigerian disposition and condition to issue of languages. the rigid disposition of nigeria towards language learning stems from ethnic intolerance in nigerian political sector. ethnical superiority struggle has relegated the effort of learning the regarded inferior monitories cultures including their languages. as nigeria has more than 200 ethic groups with different languages, it becomes problematic to coordinate these languages not to talk of introduction of the external world languages. thus, education in nigeria suffers. ibrahim & gwandu (2016) observe; “despite the fact that the government igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 143 through the national policy on education can be said to favor the use of two or more languages in the educational system, implementation of the multilingual provisions has been a serious issue.” olagbaju (2014) articulated the factors responsible for the poor implementation of the polices as follows: • multi-lingual challenge, • negative attitudes of students • lack of circulation materials • ambiguities in the policy • parental factors • teacher quality of essence is emphasis on individual and collective disposition of nigerians to multilingualism. for example, in nigeria, an english speaking country, president muhammadu buhari went to dapchi secondary school to commiserate with them on the abducted school girls by bokoharam terrorist group. in public media he succeeded in communicating in hausa language to the students in secondary school who expectedly should be eloquent in speaking english language. this action informs the nigeria executive government’s level of discouragement to multiplicity of language even to the said ‘lingua franca’. at this dismal state the ability to have consideration of other foreign languages becomes inconsiderate. thus, the level of educational performance of nigerians within and outside the country becomes adequately poor with regards to development. in moja’s (2000) observation; “concern has been raised about the decline in the quality of the nigerian high education system. the quality of education offered by higher education institutions at the present time has deteriorated substantially. the poor quality of many nigerian university graduates has accelerated. as a result, there is high unemployment amongst graduates especially in fields such as engineering. there is also concern about the lack of recognition of nigerian degrees by overseas universities”. when failed policies have failed the people in terms of education, the result is poor human development. but what can be done to solve these problems of human underdevelopment in nigeria? enhancing multiplicity of languages in education sector: recommendation for human development in nigeria to read and write in more than one language especially foreign languages is simply a citizenship certificate in today’s global village. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 144 in agbedo’s (2013) indication; “for those serious minded-nations that have recorded significant progress in this delicate balancing act, multilingualism is more of an asset than a liability. however, the reverse seems to be the case in such countries like nigeria that appear roundly confounded by the realities of multiplicity of languages to the sorry point of surrendering to the centrifugal forces that gnaw at the soul of the nigerian nation.” this problem has distrusted the very tool of education towards whole and entire project of human development. however, to proffer solution to the problem, there is need to consider the benefits of multilingualism from three approaches, namely: child benefit, brain benefit and social benefit. child benefit: in recent years, the centre for imagination studies (cis) reports that nearly 30 percent of arizona children and teens speak a language other than english at home. many children navigate language fluidity as they communicate with individuals in and out of their home (www.swhd.org). children who learn multiple languages simultaneously are known as duallanguage learners. while learning new languages is an achievable skill at any age, mastering multiple languages is a skill best learned from birth. it is during the earliest years of life that rapid developing brain connections form a child’s foundation for successful language, thinking and social skills. in southwest human development (2018) recommendation; “children who learn multiple languages during the most critical years of brain development are more likely to later slow proficiency in varying areas.” research shows that children who are exposed to more than one language are more likely to be able to take on the perspective of a speakers intended meaning (as explained prior on language and meaning). meaning leading to cognitive power, bilingualism and multilingualism in young children have long been observed, but have not scientifically tested until recent years. proceedings of the national academy of sciences study (nass) give a glimpse into the minds of 7month-old infants raised learning two languages. with combination of neuroimaging techniques and scientific studies into language proceeding of infants, it was found that bilingual infants improve cognitive skills higher than monolingual counterparts. in the study, kovacs and mehler (2009), exemplified that: “whereas both monolinguals and bilinguals learned to responds to a speech or visual cue to anticipate a reward on one side of a screen, only bilinguals succeeded in redirecting their anticipatory looks when the cue began signaling the reward on the other side. bilingual infants rapidly suppressed their looks to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 145 the first location and learned the new response.” this scientific study leads to the brain benefit of multilingualism. brain benefits: there have been a number of international studies on the subject, which indicate that the ability to use more than one language brings an individual a considerable advantage. the report of the research team appointed by the european commission, the contribution of multilingualism to creativity, presents the firsts known macro analysis based on the available evidence, which has been conducted by searching through several studies and giving particular attention to recent research on the brain. from the analysis, marsh (2006) informs; “the research report brings forth six main areas where multilingualism and hence the mastery of complex processes of thought seem to put people in advantage. these include learning in general, complex thinking and creativity, mental flexibility, interpersonal and communication mental diminishment later in life”. one of the central cerebral areas highlighted in the research report is the one responsible for memory function. people rely especially on the short-term memory when thinking, learning and making decisions. multilinguals seem to be able to have an advantage in handling certain thinking processes since it is obvious that enhanced memory have a profound impact on cognitive functions. learning from the study, one can conclude that the recently published study shows that even though it could be difficult to prove the existence of a direct causal link, it is likely that multilingualism produces a special advantage in utilizing a person’s brain capacity as creatively as possible. such positive creativity creates social benefit. social benefits: apart from the individual benefits, there are also social benefits of multilingualism. the ability to speak more than one language would give an edge, interculturally. in addition to cognitive advantages, dual-language learners have a special opportunity to forge a relationship with their family’s heritage. language fluidity allows family interaction to transcend the surface, diving deeper into meaning and understanding. because of this connection and appreciation, dual language learners are better able to maintain strong ties with their family, culture and community. expressing the cordially in exchange of languages, sachdev (2016) explains; “when people are expressing their inner emotions; be it love, anger, hate; they do so in their own language. one would be amazed to see the changes in them at this point if only we knew their language, and be able to understand them.” the observation informs the crisis the contemporary people deal with in the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 146 challenges of social media. misunderstandings in context of statements, allusions, idiomatic expressions, and worst of it, not been able to read a language, limits our communication with the global world. we live in a world which promotes thousands of cultures, each having a different language and thus, it is extremely critical that we should be acquainted with languages more than just our mother tongue. to really understand the true meaning of someone’s existence, one need to understand their thoughts and their culture which begins with understanding the language. apart from social communication benefits the creativity in multilingualism could manifest in technological development and professional career path. multilingualism creates job opportunities both within and outside the learner’s country. in the same vein, as the world advances in technology, it accommodates those who are conversant with technological nations languages. in draxler’s (2015) observation; “today, new forces are at play. languages are transformed by technological advances that transcend borders and redefine how we communicateand with whom.” since technology is constantly advanced, knowledge of the language of the nations that originated a particular technology is beneficial to a multilingual which can be advanced to develop a native technology. for instance, qatar as a country was able to survive the blockage imposed on them by the emiratis due to their industrialized openness to wider world for a larger business development. conversant with western technology, they are now able to develop technologies that will aid their production system like agriculture, recycling and air space travels. in any case, it is said that two good heads a better than one. hence, more than one language is best in any form of development. nigeria is till battling to write and speak eloquently the english language they made their lingua franca. french language which is added to it, spoken in our neighboring country is another language hurdle to jump. but the education ministry in the country claims they are working hard. it is really a human developmental sorry state; if the reverse is not the case. conclusion crises erupt in nigerian and many other countries due to personality disorder created by lack of education. the disorder in personality informs absence of balanced education which creates an enabling society where people are not free igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 147 from hobbessian state of nature. balanced education involves the inculcation of rationality,where consideration of every side of issues towards judgment is sacrosanct. it is within the consideration that individual and cultural differences are taken note of towards action. but how can these differences be learnt? it is from the knowledge of the mind, background and worldview of people towards their actions and belief system. such are encoded and expressed in their language. therefore, to be balanced in person is to know more than oneself and one knows more than oneself when he or she knows the language of the other. references agbedo, c (2013) multilingualism in nigeria: issues and challenges, lambert academic publishing. brown, r (1968) readings in the sociology of language, the hague, paris. chomsky, n (1968) language and mind, linguistic contributions to the study of mind (future), harcourt brace jevanovich, inc. davidson, d (2014) action and mind, standford encyclopedia of philosophy, https://plato.standford .edu may, 5. draxler, b. (2015) how technology in shaping the future of language. popsci.com fodor, j (1975) the language of thought, havard university press. ibrahim, j & gwandu, s language policy on education in nigeria challenges of multilingual education and future of english language, american research journal of english and literature, vol. 2. king, e (2011) education is fundamental to development and growth. blogs.worldbank.org. kovacs, a and mehler, j (2009) cognitive gains in 7 month – old bilingual infants, havard university cambridge. ladusaw, w (1982) meaning (semantics and pragmatics), advancing the scientific study of language, linguistic society of america. locke j. essay concerning human understanding, book 2, chapter 1. lyons, j (1981) language and linguistics, https://bookas .google.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 148 marsh, d (2006) content and language integrated learning ihjournal.com. moja. t, (2000) nigerian education sector analysis: an analytical synthesis of performance and main issues. siteresources .worldbank.org. mudenda, e (2017) importance of language in learning process, zambia daily mail limited. https://www.daily-mail.co.zm olagbaju, o (2014) multilingual education in nigeria: policy, practice challenges and solutions. journal of education & practice vol. 5, no. 6 phipps, r. (2001) intercultural ethics: questions of methods in language. scholar.google.com raw, j (2018) the advantages of multilingualism, www.teachinegnlish.org. sachdev, a. (2016) importance of being a multilingual, blog.pedagoge.com. thirmann (2013) the role of languages in learning and teaching school subjects. tillas, a (2015) language as grist to the mill of cognition, cogn process https://en.wikipedi.org. trask (2007) language and linguistic: the key concepts, london: routledge. wellstone, p (2016) role of education in human development, silas international school, silas international school. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 38 an application of non-violent approach to insurgency in niger delta region, nigeria abalogu, divine maduka, ph. d nnamdi azikiwe university, awka anambra state dm.abalogu@unizik.edu.ng; 08066672095 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.36109.97768 & okolo, ekenedilichukwu. a university of port harcourt port harcourt, rivers state ekeneokolo6@gmail.com; 08063344381 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.36109.97768 abstract the problem of insurgency has been an aged long issue in the nation. this is because the nigerian government thinks that the issue in contention will be solved and agitation handled with force and intimidation. despite all the previous efforts implored by the government which is more or less violent, the issue of insurgency has continued to resurface with its attendant damages on the income of the nation. this is because the niger deltans are seen as the hen that lays the golden egg which has no benefit from it. instead they are inhumanly and unfavourably treated due to exploration and exploitation. it is against this background that this work proposes a nonviolent approach as a possible remedy to the long devastating issue. this study will be done using sociological approach and be framed with marxian model of conflict theory. the paper finds that there has been insurgency by the niger deltans which is because of the negligence of the people by the government. it also observes that the negligence has been long winding due to the uncaring attitude of the government. the paper finally observes that the non-violent approach could help solve the problem if the federal government can adopt that as a measure in handling the issue. it is the interest of this paper to conclude that if the government will reconsider the sufferings that are imminent in niger delta and allow them some right in the oil exploitation and exploration, the insurgency will be a thing of the past. the paper therefore recommends that the government should give trial to non-violent approach which the paper is optimistic that it will yield a lasting result. it also recommends that the leaders should look at the condition of the niger deltans and listen to their issue for agitation which will give room for peace and harmony in the entire society. mailto:dm.abalogu@unizik.edu.ng https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.36109.97768?_sg%5b0%5d=nnomtxdh21aedi_xepodbdtdyfkgcgjz92h6gxugydugdzovqitdq0pcheewm3c91ikjsktkwkibfqv-ovb61lja3g.nrnjh2azuf6mbn5gagyqih9aoyytuztqiwqfs8f-f2zwgv4ct-fhi_pt3lkrrrodug9jauewq4koh3fqi4ymaq mailto:ekeneokolo6@gmail.com https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.36109.97768?_sg%5b0%5d=nnomtxdh21aedi_xepodbdtdyfkgcgjz92h6gxugydugdzovqitdq0pcheewm3c91ikjsktkwkibfqv-ovb61lja3g.nrnjh2azuf6mbn5gagyqih9aoyytuztqiwqfs8f-f2zwgv4ct-fhi_pt3lkrrrodug9jauewq4koh3fqi4ymaq igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 39 keywords: application, non-violent, approach, insurgency, niger delta, region, nigeria introduction nigeria, the world‟s most populated african nation is also the largest producer of oil and gas in africa. whereas the oil produced in the niger delta according to kimiebi (2010) is the life blood of the nigerian economy, oil has failed to translate to regional prosperity and development in the niger delta. instead, the region has been rewarded with massive environmental degradation, political and economic marginalization. the violent repression of peaceful dissent exemplified by ken saro-wiwa and the ogoni eight saga, has been the preferred method of the federal government in addressing agitations from the niger delta over the years. this created an environment filled with anger, desperation and organized violence. the combination of the activities of the oil companies and the mute indifferences of government led to emergence of various armed groups operating under such names as egbesu boys, movement for the survival of the ijaw ethic nationality (mosein), joint revolutionary council, menbutu, arogbo freedom fighters, niger delta volunteer force, niger delta avengers and movement for the emancipation of the niger delta (mend). the activities of these groups which includes kidnapping of foreign nationals working with the oil companies have created a state of general insecurity, worry and concern to people, institutions and relationship in the region in particular and nigeria in general. in spite of these conflicting situations in the niger delta, the government has not really strived to ascertain the remote courses of these conflicts and the proper solution to them. this uncomplimentary attitude has led to the increased insurgents activities in niger delta region which has resorted to insurgency. the increased rate of insurgency according to okolie (2012:256), has really threatened state stability and human security. it has been deduced to be the worst form of violence as it has to do with a faceless people. sequel to the above, it is evident that individuals and groups in niger delta region in particular and nigeria in general more often than not resort to acts of insurgency in pursuing their course. as the menace of insurgency increases as a result of the unbalanced method, the prevention and elimination require a host of traditional means (policing, military, economic sanctions, intelligence) and non-traditional means (cultural, social and development initiative including non-violent resolution options). the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 40 nigerian government is currently applying some of the above mentioned strategies, but non-violent option is yet to be adequately explored, hence there is need to use a modern non-violent approach to issues associated with insurgency in niger delta region. this is because violence begets violence and peaceful approach calls for collaborative efforts of man and woman of goodwill to reassess the prevailing issues associated with insurgency with a view to getting to the root of the matter. this will guarantee peaceful co-existence, harmony, love, and sustainable development in niger delta region in particular and nigeria in general. theoretical framework this study adopts marxian model of conflict theory with emphases on class conflict as a theoretical framework. marx and engels (1977) posit that, the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggle. thus, the class analysis best explained the endemic struggle between the exploiters (the multinational oil companies and government) and exploited (the niger delta people, including the militant groups). marxists according to luckac (1968) held that the dominated, exploited and marginalized groups, which paradoxically generated the burden of creating resources which sought to change the status quo when it became conscious. furthermore, conflict theory argues that society is not best understood as a complex system striving for equilibrium but rather as a composition, hence the society is made up of individuals competing for limited resources. this theory is appropriate in this work because there is a struggle between the federal government and the niger deltans on the control of limited resources which has given way to insurgency. understanding non-violence and insurgency non-violence has been defined by many scholars. according to sharp (2012), he defines nonviolence as the personal practice of being harmless to self and others under every condition. it comes from the belief that hurting people, animals, or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and refers to a general philosophy of abstention from violence based on moral, religious or spiritual principles. odey (2005) in his view sees it as not violent, free of violence, peacefully resistant, as in response to or protest against injustice, especially on moral or philosophical grounds. insurgency on the other hand has been seen and observed by several sociological scholars. in the word of peter (2004), insurgency is seen as a rebellion against authority when those taking part in the rebellion are not recognized as belligerents. gray (2000) defines it as a deliberate creation of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 41 terror by killing people, maiming others and injecting fear into the rest, in order to force and effect a change in the society to the tone or favour of the insurgent or their benefactors. the federal bureau of investigation (fbi), cited by valeria (2002:31) sees insurgency as the unlawful use or threatened use of violence by a group or individual committed against person or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives. furthermore, victoroff (2005) maintains that insurgency is aggression against innocents, aimed largely at influencing a target audience to achieve essentially political goals. insurgency therefore is a tactic or technique by means of which a violent act or the threat thereof is used for the prime purpose of creating overwhelming fear for coercive purposes. historical perspective of niger delta region in nigeria: the niger delta covers an area of well over 70,000 square kilometers, covering the greater part of the southsouth region and some part of the south east region of nigeria. azaiki (2007) asserts that it derives its name from the river niger and is one of the world‟s largest wetlands and africa‟s largest delta. the niger delta is one of the largest deltas in the world, probably the third largest on earth. the region is regarded as one of the nine most difficult deltas of the world comparable to the mekong, the amazon and the ganges. it is situated in the central part of southern nigeria. it lies within latitudes 4 degrees north to 6 degrees north, and longitude 5 degrees east to 8 degrees east. the area has a population of about twenty five million people, according to the 2006 national census figures (national bureau of statistics, 2006) and more than forty ethnic groups with links to the linguistic groups of ijaw, edo, igbo, efik, ibibio and oron. brisibie (2001) asserts that it is rich in both renewable and non renewable natural resources such as oil, gas, bitumen, etc, accounting for 95% of the total revenue for the nigerian government, generated from oil and gas exploration and 80% of national wealth. according to kimiebi (2010), the nddc act (2000) recognizes nine states, namely; abia, akwa-ibom, bayelsa, cross river, delta, edo, imo, ondo and rivers as comprising the niger delta, but the focus of this paper shall be core niger delta states that is bayelsa, delta, and rivers states. these are the „states geographically characterized predominantly to an extent with deltaic features‟. prior to the discovery and exploration of oil and gas resources in the niger delta region, the primary occupation of the people was igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 42 fishing and farming. unfortunately, years of oil exploration and exploitation by the oil companies, according to okonta and oronto (2001), has destroyed the subsistence economy of the people. reports from various quarters lend credence to the claim that environmental degradation occasioned by oil spillage has made life extremely difficult for the local people. the destruction of farmland, fishponds and rivers had radically altered the economic life of the once self reliant and productive region for the worst. causes of insurgency in the niger delta region there has been a high rate of insurgency in the niger delta starting from 2006. this can be attributable to several factors including the marginalization of the peoples of the niger delta, environmental degradation, bad governance and inconsistent policy framework, and the divide and rule policy of the oil companies. in the following, we are going to examine these causes. a. marginalization, abject poverty and massive unemployment: the niger delta communities have remained grossly socio-economically underdeveloped and pauperized amidst the immense oil wealth owing to systematic dis-equilibrium in the production exchange relationship between the state, the trans-national companies and the people. according to pegg (1999), enormous money had been derived from oil export but the area has been subjected to severe land degradation, socio-economic disorganization, increasing poverty, misery, military occupation and bloody violence. oil extraction has impacted most disastrously on the socio-physical environment of the niger delta oil bearing communities massively threatening the fragile subsistent peasant economy and bio-diversity and hence their entire social livelihood and very survival. the oil producing communities have basically remained dependent and underdeveloped, persistently dis-empowered, socio-culturally marginalized and psychologically alienated. according to owabukeruyele (2000), the wealth derived from oil resource exploitation and exports benefit directly only the operators of the oil industry and the bureaucrats in government. ejibunu (2007) posits that the discovery of oil in the niger delta region in 1957 triggered a chain of events that has led to the political and economic marginalization of the inhabitants. despite over forty years of oil production in nigeria and hundreds of billions of dollars of oil revenue, oronto, kemedt, okonta and walts (2003) assert that the inhabitants of the niger delta region especially the riverine (creeks) remains in abject poverty. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 43 poverty level is about 80% while unemployment level is about 70%. ibaba (2005) asserts that, they live without even the most basic amenities such as pipe-borne water and electricity. purportedly, mukagbo (2004) opines that in the niger delta, scenes of abject poverty pervade the area, very similar to what you find in a refugee camp. unemployment is very high among the people of the niger delta. the youth from the niger delta do not benefit from the presence of the transnational corporations especially the oil companies operating in their communities. ejibunu (2007) presents that, less than 5% of the people from the niger delta work in the companies, while women from the region working with the oil companies are less than 1%. those who benefit through employment by the oil companies are from the non oil producing parts of nigeria. b. environmental degradation: according to the world bank, there are five great plagues of mankind: war, famine, pestilence, environmental pollution and death. the niger delta is at the verge of becoming an environmental wastebasket. from the oil spills to the round-the-clock gas flares and effluents from industrial wastes, the fragile ecosystem of the niger delta is under constant assault. however, ile and akukwe (2001) observe that it is still a mystery that no comprehensive study of oil exploration in niger delta and its effect on the environment exists. according to azaiki (2003), the unbridled exploitation of crude oil and natural gas beneath the lands of the niger delta has caused indescribable and irredeemable ecological devastation of the niger delta land. okaba (2005) sums up the environmental impact of the oil industry in the niger delta of nigeria as land deprivation, soil quality alteration, destruction of aquatic ecosystem and air pollution. c. destruction of aquatic life and ecosystem: a major environmental tragedy in the niger delta is the waste of aquatic ecosystem. this aspect is quite significant to the people, being that it constitutes a grave threat to a hitherto economic hub of their lives-fishing. nwaomah (2009) asserts that, it is a common sight that in the process of oil exploration and production, materials such as drill cuttings, drill mud and other fluids that are used to stimulate production are discharge into the environment and most end up in the streams and rivers. okaba (2005) presents that these chemicals are not easily degradable and the skimming of oil on the water surface hardly solve the problem since most of the oil might have sunk to the bottom of the water surface leaving grave consequences such as: (a) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 44 surface and ground water quality deterioration in terms of portability, aesthetic and recreation, (b) destruction and reduction of fish life and fisheries production of the waters, (c) destruction by acute and sublegal toxicity of aquatic flora and fauna of spills on water and benthic macro. d. soil quality alteration: soil quality alteration is another environmental problem that niger deltans contend with as a result of the oil industry. nwaomah (2009) asserts that it is an environmental condition that is caused by a collection of oil exploration and exploitation activities such as construction of flow lines and trunk line networks, terminals, digging of location waste pits and barrow pits, oil spillage either from equipment failure, human error, corrosion of pipes due to age and sabotag. okaba (2005) says that it is estimated that as at 2002 about 8581 oil spills, involving nearly 28 million barrels of oil have occurred in the niger delta. nwaomah (2009) asserts that other factors responsible for the soil quality alteration is the unceasing gas flares, drill cuttings, drill mud and refinery waste. the harmful effects of these elements on the soil are unquestionable. owabukeruyele (2000) argues that the compounds from the numerous petroleum wastes contain organic chemicals such as phenol cyanide, sulpheidesuspended solids, chromium and biological oxygen that leave destructive effects on the land and water. e. air pollution: gas flaring is a primary source of air pollution in the niger delta. the oil companies are wrecking the ecosystem of the niger delta through uncontrollable gas flaring. gases flaring takes place twenty four hours and some are believed to be burning for over thirty years, thereby resulting in the release of hydrogen sulphide. the oil companies are not only destroying the niger delta, but they are also contributing to global warming. the pollutions released and the noises from the vibration are injurious to human health. this is why okaba (2005) posits that, it is argued that the chemical emissions from the flaring contribute to acid rain, trigger skin diseases and the quick corrosion of roofing sheets in the niger delta area, a common sight in this region. a secondary source of air pollution in the niger delta according to nwaomah (2009) is the incidents of fire resulting from leakages from the exposed and corroded oil pipes that are scattered all over the region. doran (1995) presents that the environmental degradation being carried out by the oil companies in the niger delta as a result of their non compliance with internationally recognized environmental standards are damages that their consequences cannot be limited by time. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 45 unfortunately, ojomu (2002) views that available evidence shows that the trend is worsening as the government lack the political will to ensure compliance to rules by the oil companies. the nature of insurgency the goal of insurgency is to overturn real or perceived maladies endemic to particular conditions and situations by employing a wide range of violent, political, social, and economic means to achieve that goal. each insurgency reflects unique conditions, characteristics and dynamics setting it apart and making simple solutions based on doctrinal formulas difficult if not impossible. insurgencies are largely internal conflicts waged by indigenous movements for political, economic or social control of a particular state or region. while other states may support insurgents, the impetuous for change lies not with invasion from without, but uprising from within. in fact, able to draw from loosely connected networks often located outside the conflict zones, for expertise, clandestine funding and ideological support they have thus grown far less reliant on external states for material assistance than in the past. additionally, insurgent movements motivated by radical ethno-nationalist and religious beliefs and sure of the righteousness of their causes, increasingly turn to subversion, violence and terrorism to intimidate highly vulnerable populations and gain a level of support more akin to that normally associated with local criminal gangs than populist movements. as the 21st century progresses, tightly controlled insurgencies based on rural unrest are giving way to loosely organized networks of extremists hiding in ethnic and religious enclaves. like those of the past, today‟s insurgencies must employ asymmetric methods to achieve their goals. the existing regime or intervening power possesses the military, political, economic and social resources normally held by a state, even a weak one. the insurgency must form and grow, systematically weakening the state‟s grip on power. in contrast to interstate warfare, with its clear conceptual and legal separations (even if not always observed in practice) between military forces and civilian populations, insurgency makes few such distinctions. insurgents survive by not being seen and by fighting in subversive and shadowy groups that only show themselves momentarily and then blend back into the surrounding physical or human terrain. notably, however, if once insurgents took refuge in remote areas and relied on external support, they now hide virtually in plain sight in populated and urban areas. remaining in the urban igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 46 shadows, operating in dispersed and compartmented cells, drawing sustenance and protection through the support, acquiescence or intimidation of the populace, and carefully, but visibly, directing violence at civil and military targets, they gain strength and wear down their enemies. insurgencies need not gain decisive battlefield advantage for more than few seconds; they need only keep from being tactically overwhelmed. the longer they remain a threat, the greater their chance for success. previous approaches to insurgency in niger delta region and the outcome the escalation of the insurgency caught the government flat-footed. it initially believed the violence would help out. sustained attacks however ushered in more sober responses. since 2012, according to daily trust, 8th august, 2014, it has tried to address the challenge on multiple tracts but especially by increasing the defense budget from 100 billion naira in 2011 and 1trillion naira in 2012, 2013 and 2014. much of these increases were to combat insurgency. other measures includes strengthening anti-terrorism legislation, boosting the capacities of the military and other security agencies, exploring dialogue with the insurgents, and launching military offensives against the insurgents. the outcomes of these approaches have been limited. a. boosting the capacities of military and other security agencies: the military had not anticipated the insurgency and was not prepared for its bombing campaign, as the late national security adviser owoeye azazi admitted in august 2011 (punch, 7th september, 2011). over the last few years, the government has sought to improve the capacities of the military and security services to respond to the challenge, particularly by improving training, equipment and coordination. the government employed military might against insurgency with the use of sophisticated ammunitions. this led to the death of many person both military and insurgents. sequel to this, it is obvious that the approach has tried but is still limited as it has not totally curbed out insurgency in niger delta. b. implementation of amnesty programme for ex-militants: in 2009, the federal government introduced a programme of amnesty for all the militants in the niger delta, in which they were to return their arms and enter into the amnesty programme. this was adopted in order to ensure that the activities of the militants which had defied military action in the region did not lead to the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 47 eventual collapse of the economy. the ex-militants were to receive n65, 000 each as monthly stipend while they were trained on various skills both at home and abroad, to enable them gain employment and become re-integrated into the society. c. divide and rule policy: over the years, the oil producing companies operating in the niger delta have adopted a divide and rule method in which they identify for compensating people in the host communities they believe that they have the capability to influence the indigenes to ensure that they have a peaceful environment to operate in, at minimal cost. a minute part of the money that should have been spent on corporate social responsibility (csr) in the development of the host communities are paid to such individuals and groups. as such in some communities, kemedi (2003) reveals that traditional rulers and local community leaders have become corrupt as they have become recipients of various contract awards and cash payments at the detriment of the communities they represent. iie and akukwe (2001) observe that the shell petroleum development company (spdc) ignored the traditional rulers and elders and accorded recognition, partnered and related with the youths, simply because the youths had more disruptive power on oil production. therefore the youths emerged as community leaders. these youths became the power brokers, the liaison with the mncs, and the object of mncs patronage. impact of niger delta insurgency on nigeria the crises in the niger delta region according to ejibunu (2007) arising from the activities of the different militant groups operating in the region has brought about some negative implications, not only on oil production and other economic activities, but also on governance in general. the activities of the militants have impacted the nigerian economy in various ways. a. kidnapping and hostage taking: kidnapping and hostage taking has been a major tactic of the militant groups with foreign nationals working in oil companies as primary targets. in january 2006, hostage taking of oil workers started in bayelsa after the declaration of „operation orido danger‟ by mend with the kidnapping of four set of hostages. according to amanyie (2006) over two hundred expatriates had been kidnapped, although most were released within weeks in exchange for ransoms, typically hundreds of thousands of dollars. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 48 though casualty figures from kidnapping by militants operating in the niger delta has been low. however, the implication of the kidnappings which involved mainly foreign workers and development partner on nigeria‟s economic development has been enormous. it succeeded in scaring away potential development partners and robbed the nigerian state of the benefit of such development alliances and opportunities. the state of insecurity according to akpan (2010) has led to a reduced volume of investments and capital flow to the region. b. illegal oil breakage: the operation of militants in the niger delta and the insecurity has made it impossible for security agencies to adequately cover locations of various oil facilities. this has created a veritable ground according to oudeman (2006) for illegal oil bunkering to thrive in the region. illegal oil bunkering, an euphemism for oil theft, has assumed considerable dimensions in niger delta, estimates range from 30,000 to 200,000 bbl/day. several of the militant groups are also believed to have been involved in illegal oil bunkering. it is believed that illegal oil bunkering has become a major source of funding for the operations of the militants in the niger delta. militant warlords who engage in illegal oil bunkering justify their actions by claiming that it is a means of providing income for the impoverished residents of the oil producing communities. it is reported that one days worth of illegal oil bunkering in the niger delta (at 100, 000 bbl at $15bbl) will buy quality weapons to sustain a group of 1,500 youths for two months. c. downsizing oil companies employees and disruption of business activities: as a result of the activities of militants in the niger delta region, spdc retrenched 3,500 workers in september 2007. indoroma petrochemical company shut down its operations thereby rendering over 3,000 youths jobless and aggravating the unemployment situation. restiveness has reduced growth in the business sector. as a consequence of militant activity, royal dutch shell has seen its production dropping from one million bpd to about 380,000 bpd at its bonny terminal in the south of the delta. exxon has also experienced increased insurgent activity in its nigerian operations. according to harper (2009), nigeria is already suffering from production slow down due to militancy, currently the niger delta is only exporting 1.8 million bpd, compared with a targeted 2.2 million bpd. in rivers state, ejibunu (2007), posits that over 80% of the companies have stopped operations, as expatriates have either gone to their home countries or relocated to safer environments. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 49 suggested approaches to insurgency in niger delta region, nigeria a. the non-violent approach to insurgency in niger delta region: sequel to the investigation into the various approaches utilized by the federal government to curb insurgency in niger delta region which are mainly violent in nature and a little peaceful approach, it has been discovered that violent approach has not done any good toward solving insurgency rather it has increased the rate of killing of innocent citizens and destroying of properties worth billions of naira. in respect to this, it is obvious that a better and result oriented approach is needed. to achieve this, gandhi‟s ideology of applying non-violence is required. this is why hayes (2003) contends that those who oppose insurgency should endeavor to engage in a broader set of dispute resolution strategies to ascertain the one workable and thus use it. furthermore, harik (2004) observes that there have been many occasions in which government and others engaged in conflict resolution strategies with insurgents including amnesties, treatment of arrested insurgents, and negotiations during insurgency event and campaigns. gandhi in his own concept of nonviolence propounded the use of “ahimsa” and satyagraha as a viable approach in curbing insurgency. ahimsa is an indian word which mayton and burrows (2012:713) defined as a term meaning “to not injure”. the word is derived from the samkrit root “hims” which means to strike; “himsa” is to injure or harm and the opposite of this is cause no injury or do no harm”. john (1997:392) explain ahmisa as a multidimensional concept, inspired by the premise that all living being have the spark of the divine spiritual energy, to hurt another being is to hurt oneself. to gandhi as presented by williams (1986:11), ahimsa is to preclude not only the act of inflicting a physical injury, but also harsh words, dishonesty and lying, all of which he saw as manifestation of violence incompatible with ahimsa. ahimsa therefore is a rule of conduct that bars the killing or the cause of injury to living beings. however, in its comprehensive meaning, ahimsa connotes entire abstinence from causing any pain; harm whatever to any living creature, by thought, word or deed. it therefore, requires harmless mind, harmless mouth and harmless hand. okoro (2008) asserts that it does not only mean negative non-injury but also cosmic love. it is the development of mental attitude in which hatred is replaced by love. ahimsa is true sacrifice, it is true forgiveness. ahisma is power, it is true strength. in practicing ahimsa, gandhi in bhargave (1968:100) says that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 50 if you practice ahimsa, you should put up with insult, rebukes and assault; you never retaliate nor wish to offend anybody even under extreme provocation. you should not entertain any evil thought against anybody. you should not curse, should be prepared to lose joyfully even your life in the cause of truth. by implication, ahimsa by practice is living selflessly in a selfish world. the government in applying this principle should in totality access the extent to which she has caused injury before insurgency and during insurgency. before sincere peace can be achieved, wrongs must be corrected. satyagraha on the other hand is also an indian word use by gandhi to portray the root meaning of his nonviolence concept. uma (2005:138) observes that it is loosely translated as „insistence on truth‟ or „truth force‟. it is a particular philosophy and practice within the broader overall category generally known as nonviolence or civil resistance. satyagraha is a philosophy coined by gandhi to describe the form of nonviolent technique he used and practiced. it is a philosophy and practice of absolute nonviolent resistance of injustice, oppression and dehumanization. this concept of satyyagraha was conceived, developed and used by mahatma gandhi alongside ahimsa to fight for the liberation and reformation of indian society. it is a weapon of social change. satyagraha is derived according to gregg (2014:6) from two sanskrit words“satya” which means “truth” and agraha” which means to “grasp” or “holding fast”. in the struggle for india independence, hardman (2003) describes the concept thus; its root meaning is holding unto truth, hence “truth force” or “soul-force”. in the application of satyagraha, we discovered in the earliest stage that the pursuit of truth did not admit violence being inflicted on one‟s opponent but patience and sympathy, for what appears to be truth to one may appear to be error to others. here patience means self-suffering. therefore, the doctrine came to mean vindication of truth, not by inflicting of suffering on the opponent but on oneself. satyagraha is a two-sided coin; the non-violent side and the non-cooperation side. against the background of foregoing, peace and conflict resolution strategies advocated, as well as their weakness as identified, the strategy of nonviolence is strongly canvassed as an option that will complement that peace and conflict approaches already tried in solving the violence of insurgency in niger delta. this nonviolence approach constitutes a most feasible means to end conflict situation in niger delta. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 51 b. prayer and peace building: the term peace refers to occurrence of harmony characterized by lack of violence, conflict behaviours and freedom from fear of violence. it is commonly understood as the absence of hostility, retribution and suggest sincere attempt at reconciliation, the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal relationship. peace building is an approach or asset of interrelated efforts that support peace. it addresses the underlying causes of violence and work to create societal change. peace building includes pre-conflict interventions in practice; most peace building includes pre-conflict interventions. the un secretary-generals policy committee (2007) explains peace-building as a range of measures targeted to reduce the risk of lapsing or relapsing into conflict by strengthening national capacities at all level for conflict management, and to lay the foundations for sustainable peace and development. it is an intervention that is designed to prevent the start or resumption of violence by creating a sustainable peace. peace-building includes a wide range of efforts by diverse actors in government and civil society at the community, national and international levels to address the root causes of violence and ensure civilians have freedom from fear, freedom from war and freedom from humiliation before, during and after violent conflict. the process of peace building stabilizes society politically and socio economically. peace building refers to direct work that intentionally focuses on addressing the factors driving or mitigating conflict. here the root cause of the insurgency in niger delta is address. again peace building efforts aim to manage, mitigate, resolve and transform central aspects of the conflict through official diplomacy as well as through civil society, peace processes and informal dialogue, negotiation and mediation. this will address economic, social and political root causes of niger delta insurgency and foster reconciliation to prevent the return of structural and direct violence. prayer in its own has a splendid role to play in changing beliefs, attitudes and behaviours to transform the short and long term dynamics between individuals and groups towards a more stable, peaceful coexistence. c. dialogue: dialogue is one of the primary components within the broader definition of peace building. the goal of dialogue is to develop joint approach to conflict resolution, as well as improve relationships, understanding and trust between individuals or groups in conflict with one another. this process according to harold (1999) consist of bringing together actors from across the conflict divide with, in order to develop an improved understanding of the concerns, interests, and needs of the other side. this he stated must be done in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 52 sincerity. according to harold (1999), dialogue is the art of active listening and the ability to respectfully articulate one‟s own perspective without increasing the acrimony as key elements of a dialogue process. dialogue involves a process of genuine interaction through which human beings listen to each other deeply enough to be changed by what they learn. each makes a serious effort to take the others‟ concern into his or her own picture, even when disagreement persists. no participant gives up his or her identity, but each recognizes enough of the others valid human claims that he or she will act differently towards the other. dialogue implies that the two parties or group must have a common ground to meet and assess their grievances. in view of this, there is sincere need for the federal government to meet with the insurgent groups in niger delta region to dialogue genuinely for peace to return in the region. it is important to note that in this process, dialogue issues agreed on must be implemented for peace to reign. therefore, dialogue in this context must be done sincerely and with total commitment to achieving lasting peace in the region. conclusion the war against insurgency in niger delta region is more than just the prevention of insurgent activities. it is usually comprehensive in nature, attacking the premises of insurgency itself, addressing the root course. in combating insurgency in niger delta region, it has usually taken a violent approach and has not yielded any meaningful success. sequel to the edict of this work, non-violent approach has been pronounced through this work to be the most successful approach in curbing insurgency as violence has never been a best option to achieve peace. nonviolent approach as propounded by gandhi encourages pacifism which involves reliance on peacemaking and peace building. this will help in achieving a more permanent peace in the niger delta region in particular and nigeria in general. no meaningful progress will be made in any aspect of our socio-economic and political life while insurgency rages on like hammattern fire. similarly, no developmental project or investment can thrive in an atmosphere of conflict. insurgency calls for collaborative nonviolent approaches to curb the excesses. though it may tarry but the end will justify the means. the government should have a listening ear to appreciate that violence begets violence; hence a non-violent approach is imperative. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 53 recommendations after carrying out this work, the researchers deemed it necessary to make the following recommendations; the government should give trial to non-violent approach which the paper is optimistic that it will yield a lasting result to the struggle in the niger delta regions which is leading to insurgency. it recommends that the leaders should look at the condition of the niger deltans and listen to their issue for agitation which will give room for peace and harmony in the entire society. the paper also recommends that violence approach has not been of a helping hand in addressing this issue and as such the suggestions of this paper are necessary. also the political elements from the region should be active and alive in living up to their expectation. this is by using the available resources to better the lives of the masses. the paper finally recommends that there is need for a visionary and sincere leader who will be ready to tackle this issue of agitation once by listening to the demand of the people and giving them what is due them. references akpan, n. s. (2010). kidnapping in nigeria‟s niger delta: an exploratory study. journal of social science, 24(1): 33-42. retrieved on 03/11/2016 from http://www.krepublishers.com/02-journals/jss-24-1-33-10-976-akpan-n-stt.pdf. azaiki, s. (2007). inequities in nigerian politics. ibadan: y-books. amanyie, v (2006). the struggle of the niger delta, owerri: springfield. bhargawa, d. (1968). jaina ethics. delhi : motilal banasida. http://www.krepublishers.com/02-journals/jss-24-1-33-10-976-akpan-n-s-tt.pdf http://www.krepublishers.com/02-journals/jss-24-1-33-10-976-akpan-n-s-tt.pdf igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 54 ejibunu, h.t. (2007). nigeria‟s niger delta crisis: root causes of peacelessness. epu research papers, issue 07/07. retrieved on 25/01/2017 from http://www.aspr.ac.at/epu/research/rp-0707.pdf. gray, j. (2000). false dawn; the delusion of global capitalism. new york. new press. gregg, r (2014). the power of nonviolence, new york: schocken. ghana. retrieved on 25/01/2017 from http://mystockvoice.wordpress.com/2009/02/17/ militants-in-niger-delta-bad-for-nigeria-could-be-good-for-angolaghana/ hardman, d. (2003). grandhi in his time and ours: the global legacy of his idea. columbia: university press. harper, p. (2009). militants in niger delta, bad for nigeria, could be good for angola and harold, s. (1999), a public peace process. new york: palgrave. ibaba, s. (2005). understanding the niger delta crisis. port harcourt: amethyst and colleagues publishers ile, c. & akukwe, c. (2001). niger delta, nigeria, issues, challenges and opportunities john, a, (1997). hindy spirituality: post classical and modern. usa: himalayam. kemedi, d. (2003). community conflicts in the niger delta: petro-weapon or policy failure? berkeley environmental politics working paper, 12. kimiebi, i.e. (2010). oil, militancy and political opportunities in niger delta. retrieved on 22/01/2017 from http://kimiebi.blogspot.com http://www.aspr.ac.at/epu/research/rp-0707.pdf http://mystockvoice.wordpress.com/2009/02/17/ http://kimiebi.blogspot.com/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 55 luckac, g. (1968). history and class consciousness: studies in rodney and livingstone marxist dialectics, london: merlin. mayton, d & burrows, c. (2012). psychology of nonviolence, the encyclopedia of peace psychology. wiley: blackwell. marx, k & engels, f. (1977). communist manifesto, moscow: progress publishers. mukagbo, t. (2004). cnn inside africa aired on 2nd october 2004, accessed 8/02/2017 from http://transcript.cnn.com nwaomah, s. m. (2009). eschatology of environmental bliss in romans 8: 1822 and the imperative of present environmental sustainability from nigerian perspective. being a paper presented at the international conference on “recreate, replace, restore: exploring the intersections between meanings and environments,” ohio northern university, ada, ohio, u.s.a, april 17-19, 2009. nwaomah, s.m. (2009). eco justice and the niger delta environmental challenges: reflections on matthew 7:12. being a paper presented at 22nd annual conference for the nigerian association for biblical studies, institute of church and society, ibadan, oyo state, nigeria, november 17-20, 2009. okoro, k. (2008). the application of gandhi’s philosophy of social reforms to the nigeriansocio-political situation; a paper presented at the national conference on theological education of nigeria (narcte) at owerrinigeria: august 27-30. okolie, o. (2012). the nature terrorism report on social network. in journal culture, politics and innovation. milan: globus et locus. odey, o. (2005). racial oppression in america and the non-violent revolution of martin luther jr. enugu: snaap. http://transcript.cnn.com/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 56 okaba, b.o. (2005). petroleum industry and the paradox of rural poverty in the niger delta (benin city: ethiope publishing. in nwaomah s.m. (2009). eschatology of environmental bliss in romans 8:18-22 and the imperative of present environmental sustainability from a nigerian perspective. being a paper presented at the international conference on “recreate, replace, and restore: exploring the intersections between meanings and environments,” ohio northern university, ada, ohio, u.s.a, april 17-19, 2009. okonta, i. & oronto, d. (2001). where vultures feast, forty years of oil in the niger delta, ibadan: kraft books limited. oronto, d., kemedt, v. okonta, i, & watts, m. (2003). alienation and militancy in the niger delta: a response to csi on petroleum, politics and democracy in nigeria. retrieved on 30/01/2017 from http://www.fpil.org/articles/alienation-and-militancy-in-the-nigerdelta-a-response-to-csis-on-petroleum-politics-and-democracy-innigeria. oudeman, p. (2006). killing blowout caused by illegal oil bunkering involves more unknowns, special challenges, paper presented at the 2006 iadc european well control conference & exhibition, 4-5 april 2006, amsterdam retrieved on 03/02/2017 from http://drillingcontractor.org/dcpi/dc-marapr07/dc-mar07oudeman.pdf owabukeruyele, s.w. (2000). “hydrocarbon exploitation, environmental degradation and poverty in the niger delta of nigeria” a paper presented the lund university lumes program, lund sweden in 2000. retrieved on 7/02/2017 from www.waado.org/environment/petrolpolution/enveconomics.htm. peter, p. (2004). the analysis of a political and military doctrine. london: pall mall. equitable development. retrieved on 27/01/2017 from http://nigeriaworld.com/feature/article/niger-delta.html http://www.fpil.org/articles/alienation-and-militancy-in-the-niger-deltahttp://www.fpil.org/articles/alienation-and-militancy-in-the-niger-deltahttp://drillingcontractor.org/dcpi/dc-marapr07/dc-mar07-oudeman.pdf http://drillingcontractor.org/dcpi/dc-marapr07/dc-mar07-oudeman.pdf http://www.waado.org/environment/petrolpolution/enveconomics.htm http://nigeriaworld.com/feature/article/niger-delta.html igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 57 pegg, s. (1999). “the cost of doing business: transnational corporations and violence in nigeria”. in owabukeruyele, s.w. (2000). “hydrocarbon exploitation, environmental degradation and poverty in the niger delta of nigeria” a paper presented at the lund university lumes program, lund sweden in 2000. retrieved on 7/02/2017 from www.waado.org/environment/petrolpolution/enveconomics.htm, punch newspapers (2011, august 21). stemming resurgence of militancy in niger delta, editorial comment. retrieved on 7/02/2017 from http://www.punchng.com/editorial/stemming-resurgence-ofmilitancy-in-niger-delta/ sharp g. (2012). sharps dictionary of power and struggle: language of civil resistance in conflict. new york: oxford university press. tamuno, t. (2012, february 12). niger delta militants threaten fresh hostilities. daily times nigeria. retrieved on 27/08/2012 from http://dailytimes.com.ng/article/niger-delta-militants-threaten-freshhostilities. william, b. (1986). gandhi and non-violence. albany: dundas. http://www.waado.org/environment/petrolpolution/enveconomics.htm http://www.punchng.com/editorial/stemming-resurgence-of-militancy-in-niger-delta/ http://www.punchng.com/editorial/stemming-resurgence-of-militancy-in-niger-delta/ microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 3 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 109 complementary ethics by innocent i. asouzu department of philosophy university of calabar asouzu@yahoo.com abstract a basic idea of complementary reflection is that ethics and morality do not concern themselves solely with right and wrong actions or with good and bad conducts but primarily also with the joy and sadness of human action. it is therefore not enough to state that an action is good or right. such an action must also be a source of joy for the actor. hence, a morally good act is one, which is performed in the consciousness that it has a comprehensive and total outreach and with a view of being a source of joy to the actor and is capable of radiating such a joy in a dynamic complementary future referential manner. to act is to act for the joy of being and to act is to have the imperative of complementarism fully realised in all existential situations. it is under this condition that missing links of reality function as modes of expression of being in history. keywords: complementary, ethics, morality, human, action. introduction one of the central ideas of complementary reflection is that ethics and morality do not concern themselves solely with right and wrong actions or with good and bad conducts but primarily also with the joy and sadness of human action. it is therefore not enough to state that an action is good or right. such an action must also be a source of joy for the actor. hence, a morally good act is one, which is performed in the consciousness that it has a comprehensive and total outreach and with a view of being a source of joy to the actor and is capable of radiating such a joy in a dynamic complementary future referential manner. to act is to act for the joy of being and to act is to have the imperative of complementarism fully realised in all existential situations. it is under this condition that missing links of reality function as modes of expression of being in history. therefore, an action is performed not only because of the goodness that sustains it but more so for the authentic joy that animates and upholds it. a joy is authentic if it offers the actor reasons to believe that the criterion of truth and authenticity is upheld in his action. in this way, acting out of joy and acting out of goodness find one indivisible and total legitimacy in the one ultimate foundation of being. it is only in this way that this joy gives special character to ethical conduct. it does this in a manner that enhances and sustains authentic existence such that individuals and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 110 social institutions attain their autonomy fully and completely by acting under the impelling force of the joy of being. in acting, therefore, the mind is not only drawn by the good that sustains it but also in evident insight of the joy, that drives it. this fact notwithstanding, we notice that human beings do not always act in response to those things that bring joy to their lives but often insist on doing those things that leave them sad and broke. one of the most difficult tasks of ethics is to unravel the root cause of this paradox. this is the paradox of the ambivalence of human interest. this paradox subsists in the fact that a person, in given existential life situations, insists on doing those things that he would ordinarily not like to do believing this to be the wisest thing to do. if in performing an act a person experiences sadness instead of the joy of being, this is indicative of the fact that such an action is not comprehensive enough in its conceptualisation and execution. the duty of ethics and morality then is to show that for an action to be considered human it must be comprehensive enough. hence, one of the necessary conditions for considering something an authentic human action is its ability to be articulated within a wider framework of meaning as to be as universal as possible. where our knowledge and volition are not comprehensive and universal enough, the dangers are always given that we choose in apparent clear and full insight those things that invariably bring sadness into our lives. in this way, ethics seeks to show how and why we should replace our fragmented and world immanent structured interests with those that have their legitimacy in the authenticating foundation of all missing links of reality in a non-contradictory future oriented manner. similarly, it seeks to show how those ethical and moral laws that bind the ego unconditionally must be made evident in a way that provides us clear insight into the nature of our authentic interests. whereas ordinarily we approach the issue of morality and ethics from the point of view of the aim establishing human action, complementary reflection achieves the same thing by pointing out the implications of erecting our actions on contradictory non-complementary foundation. instead of asking the question what is the good in its ultimate and universal form, complementary reflection asks the question what would be the case if what we claim as the interest guiding our action turns out to be false. it is the same question concerning what would be the case if an actor insists living in a contradictory manner. the answer is clear: the actor automatically ceases to make claims that he is actually acting because his claims obviously do not tally with his action. this is the moment where a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 111 person chooses non-being to being in this process of self-negation. now, living entails commitment to existence in the most joyous comprehensive, total, and complementary manner. it further entails comprehensive commitment to all those things that help this joy materialise and enable it be sustained. if it turns out that we are committed to existence and do those things that negate this existence, it means that we wish to live and not to live at the same time. this is a contradiction. contradictory existence subsists in the negation of the ontological imperative establishing our action. it also means a negation of the joy of being in a way that one affirms and negates existence at the same time. to be entails those measures we take concretely to show the joy of being in our action. a situation where we negate consciously and willingly, but in implicit ignorance, the legitimacy conveyed by the principle of contradiction to our action and the truth and authenticity criterion, we run the risk also of depriving our action of the foundation on which it is erected even if only erroneously. this is the moment when we commit ourselves to the dictates of the ego in a way that makes the ego absolute in total negation of its relative constitution. a person, who lives in a contradictory way, as to negate the relativity of his existence does so only in the illusion that he is living authentically. a person shows therefore that he is human, the moment this person seeks to be conscious of the forcefulness of ethical and moral laws as these find expression in the imperative of the principle of complementarity. to act ethically reasonable therefore, is to uphold the imperative establishing our actions. this imperative subsists in the harmonisation of our actions, in joy, with the authentic objective establishing them. it is the consciousness that all fragmented moments of our existence are moments of missing link of reality that seek unity in the foundation of our being. a deontological ethics, as has been pointed out, overlooks this fact and seeks this imperative in a way that negates the important role, which fragmented relative moments of historical experiences play in the execution of human action. these fragmented relative dimensions of history are aspects of the totality of the joy that gives meaning and justification to human action. hence, to act in consideration of the authentic joy we derive from our action is equivalent to acting in accordance to the dictates of the being that is the cause of our joy. this is why to act from duty must take seriously the joy we derive from acting from the joy of being to be ethically meaningful. in this way, the fragmented igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 112 moments of historical existence show themselves as the only condition for ethical conduct. now, an issue deserves particular attention within the context of complementary reflection. every human action is subject to the dictates of human ambivalent situation. to act ethically or morally responsible entails acting in view of overcoming this ambivalence. to overcome this ambivalence means choosing the positive side of our ambivalent situation. if one states that human actions are under the dictate of our ambivalent situation, does this leave the individual with the freedom to choose? that is to say, a person might argue that a person who is acting under the dictates of his ambivalent situation is under no obligations since the individual is not free after all. replying to this objection, i would say that the contrary is the case because the fact speaks for itself. our ambivalent situations are situations of choice, where a person is free to choose or not to choose the negative side of this ambivalent interest. what is decisive is his manner of choice. in most cases, it is a choice made in very clear and evident insight of what is required of him but a choice made in error. the error is with regard to what one genuinely desires and wills insightfully. we can illustrate the damages resulting from such free choices by reference to the following four examples that give us insight into the nature and level of culpability that is involved. a. a person can suffer injury unintentionally and here we say that this person is not directly the cause of his misfortune. this is the case where the requisite knowledge concerning a type of agent that can cause some effects is not in place. example is when a person does not know that germs cause sickness and does not take the necessary precautions to protect himself from damages resulting from exposure to contamination with dangerous viruses. due to his type of ignorance of the cause, his culpability is conditional. b. another case is the situation where a person suffers injury out of his desire to take possession of something, which he willingly and insightfully identified as good. however, this thing is injurious to his health. his knowledge notwithstanding, he insightfully and willingly chooses the agent as to suffer some damage. here he knows the cause of his problems and choose it. c. another case is similar to the second, this is where the person, insightfully, willingly identifies something as good, but is ignorant of the fact that he as the actor is the cause of his problems. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 113 while a may be blamed conditionally for his problem, b and c should be blamed grievously for their problems because of the level of insight and freedom involved in their choices. in the case of c, something peculiar is involved, here although the actor chooses his problems freely and insightfully, he is not aware of the fact that he is the cause of his problem. for this reason, he may not understand why he should be blamed for his action. this is why he would complain and blame external factors for his predicament and problems. c is the type of situation we are dealing with in most ambivalent situations. here, the agent suffers so much illusion due to his inability to come to terms with this ambivalence that he can be the cause of his predicaments without knowing it. in such situations, a person chooses a thing insightfully and willingly but is ignorant of the fact that his choice is the cause of his problem. the fact that his choice and the object of his cognition turns out later on to be the wrong thing does not matter much. this is where the error reverts to culpability because he has not taken the necessary precautions to forestall a problem that he would have been in a position to avert. this is why this person starts to regret his choice and action but may not be fully aware that he was the one who caused the problem due to his inability to be conscious of the ambivalence of his situation. the tragedy of his situation becomes very evident when this person imagines that his problems are caused by an external agent other than himself. in this case, he starts looking for scapegoats and for sacrificial lambs. that is to say, a person desires the wrong thing insightfully and willfully believing it to be the correct thing to do. at the initial stage of his action, his intention is clear, that is, he wishes to take possession of something he identifies as desirable, but which turns out to be wrong. the problem is that one exercises an act of the will in full insight of what one wants but his choice is directed towards the wrong side of what he wants. whether he desires the correct thing or the wrong thing afterwards does not actually matter, the issue is that he initially desires it wilfully and insightfully. we are witnesses to those situations where people act wrongly in apparent insight into what they know and will. what this shows is that individuals can be committed wilfully and insightfully to those things that can undermine their interests believing this to be right. it does not show that infull insight and volition they do actually follow their inauthentic interests. complementary reflection aims at creating awareness concerning such wrong choices that can be averted through creating consciousness concerning the ambivalent nature of our interests in all existential situations. it further calls attention to the phenomenon of concealment, which can render all good will null igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 114 and void. the main objective of such critical awareness is to be able to recognise our interests for what they stand for in their capacity as the motor driving our actions. knowing a priori the authentic nature of our ambivalent interests is not easy but it can be achieved through the rigorous process of learning that makes conversion of ontological categories of comprehensiveness, totality, and universality a habitual assumption in all our actions. the mind converts the transcendent categories of being into existential categories through this process. in this process, the mind is enabled to act within the confines of its legitimacy in a habitual manner. inability of the mind to act under this form of habitual assumption can result not only in its getting entangled in all manners of ambivalence, but worst still is the fact that the actor easily suffers a double tragedy which subsists in the fact of his being both culpable and a loser. an example suffices: a person sees a piece of land and believes that it contains gold. now, in his greed, he sells everything he has and takes possession of the land. if the land actually contains gold, and if this gold is comprehensive enough to give him the satisfaction he wants he is a winner. if it contains less precious minerals than he had earlier on anticipated he is a loser. now, if due to his greed, he has not given full thought of the possibility of the land containing lesser minerals and he commits all his resources, both human and material, acquiring the piece of land, he may be very disappointed if his expectations do not materialise. the fact that his expectations did not materialise has nothing to do with the fact that he committed himself to this act insightfully and willingly. furthermore, whether the land contains gold or not does not invalidate his greed. if now he had known that the land could have contained less precious minerals from the outset, he would be more cautions in his action. that is to say, he would be more careful in making his choice. in this case, this person would definitely harmonise his desire with the content of his expectations. this care and awareness concerning the content of our desires and the object of our knowledge is what is often lacking in our relationship with the world that is often ambivalent. in most cases, we approach our interests in a noncomprehensive absolute manner that they make us losers and culpable at the same time. in most cases, we are not circumspect enough such that we are caught off guard in the wrong side of what we desire. we often have a one way approach to the world and this is why we often make ourselves appear strange to the world and victims of our ambivalent interests. this is the paradox of ambivalent existence. thus, ambivalent existence entails an existential ignorance of enormous igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 115 proportion and consequences where a person acts in limited insight into his possibilities and thereby negates the comprehensiveness, totality, and universality that gives authenticity to human life. this is one of the highest forms of ignorance. the reason is that a person thereby employs his energies in those fragmented and relative moments of existence that turn out to be complete waste of energies and resources. it is like learning the wrong stuff all your life. a person puts all his energies learning the wrong thing. if he later finds out what the case is, we know how frustrating the experience can be. the person knows and wills the outcome indirectly. it is the error implicitly resulting from this insightful, willful, but wrong choice that attracts our attention. one can say that the actor wills his interest wrongly and knows it negatively and it is this wrong and negative knowledge and act of volition that is disturbing in all situations. if the being of a man of goodwill is the ability to do good, bad-will is a sign of negative ambivalent existence. hence, we can say that the inability to manage the ambivalence of human interest well is a fundamental sign of bad-will. where there is goodwill there is a way and where there is bad-will, human existence turns to excruciating torment and there is virtually no way at all. the most concrete form of expression of badwill as negative existence is in contradictory actions. therefore, contradictions and inconsistencies are the endemic forms of bad-will. when complementary reflection seeks to create awareness in this regard, it does this with the intent of calling our attention to the fact that bad-will does not pay. hence, it targets the illusion or fallacy that a person can gain from negating the legitimising foundation of his action. that is to say, all moral and ethical bad conducts are self-defeating actions because they are fundamentally contradictory and as such negate indirectly what the actor intends. in the final analysis, all attempts at gearing ourselves towards the positive side of our ambivalent interest brings with it double dividend. first, it guarantees our ethical autonomy and responsibility in a positive sense. second, it guarantees that we get what we want, that is to say, it helps us to choose correctly the positive side of our ambivalent interests and thereby be winners at the same time. nature of authentic human action: the joy of being – jide ka iji the question that is to be handled here is to state under what conditions human actions are true and authentic. we can state that a human action is authentic if by acting a subject rejects its absoluteness and concedes to its relativity. a person is in a position to act in this way, if the actor is able to acquire a mind-set that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 116 knows no other alternative than that conferred by the principle of noncontradiction as the legitimising foundation of all human actions and desires. where this type of mind-set is operational, it is then possible for an individual to state categorically, in all given situations, that something is evil or that something is good. it is a question of "either or". here, there is no alternative. the mind can achieve this because this is the point where complementarity gives place to absolute convergence in a way that gives forcefulness to the idea of transcendent complementary unity of consciousness. here the mind sees very clearly between alternatives and can make categorical distinctions between states of affairs. it is only under such a condition that we can identify something as good and stand by it. in this case, we can affirm its goodness categorically in a way that does not leave anyone in doubt and in a way that does not admit of an alternative because its negation would imply a negation of the foundation on which the reality of our being is erected. in the same way, if we identify something as evil, we reject it in its entirety since it is incompatible with the foundation on which the unity of our being is erected in a non-contradictory manner. when this happens, evil takes the form of absolute non-reciprocity or nonbeing, which in its rejection is the affirmation of absolute reality. in the same manner, we affirm goodness in its totality as absolute reciprocity or being. it is in the unequivocal affirmation of the good and the negation of evil, for example, that we concretely witness the bridging of the subject-object dichotomy in a way that gives legitimacy to transcendent complementary unity of consciousness underlying all authentic human actions. this is the moment where complementary reflection turns to metaphysical commitment. due to the limitations that characterise our being, we are not always in a position to respond and concede to this critical demand. these are those ambivalent moments when we tend to overstep, to overreact, or when we fail to meet certain expectations directed towards us because we have the natural inclination to protect our interests. in such situations, we may also be inclined to use all means at our disposal to get what we want. such situations present themselves as very critical moments of decision between being and non-being, between the authentic and the inauthentic, between morality and immorality, between law and disorder, between good and evil etc. these are the ambivalent existential moments of our lives that must be confronted with all the awareness, energy, and insight we can afford. we show who we are in the way we confront these situations and the type of measures we adopt in addressing them. in all those situations where we seek to define our interests referentially within the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 117 ambit of the common good, we seek to respond positively to the demands of the criterion establishing our action. on the other hand, we fail the test of this criterion of truth and authenticity in all those situations where we substitute the ego as the absolute norm of our action. this is the case in those conditions where we seek to define the rules of human co-habitation arbitrarily such that those who have the advantages over others can always exploit such. typical examples of this type of situation abound in all human societies were what it takes to uphold ones interest is commensurate to those measures needed to subvert it. this subversion is most pronounced in those measures the subjects embarks upon towards eliminating competitors arbitrarily in the erroneous belief that he can secure his interests without taking the interests of others into account. the tension between the ego and the world reaches its peak in those circumstances where we equate what it takes to conserve private interest erroneously, and in some cases, unequivocally with the common good. this misidentification does not legitimise an action positively but highlights that we can in the best intentions err. hence, all those measures needed towards self-preservation, even if they are performed for the common good, have no legitimacy if they are exclusive of the interests of others and seek their legitimacy on their own terms. hence, the conditions that favour personal autonomy are the same conditions that are necessary towards upholding complementary harmonious existence in society. the imperative guiding both actions belong to the same sphere. hence, all laws that appear to guarantee personal autonomy to individuals and societies in utter disregard of the universal outreach of such autonomy are overhaul worthy. since the line of demarcation between the laws originating from within the self and the legitimacy conferred by the absolute future foundation of all missing links of reality is not always easy to draw, due to the type of close relationship between the self and foundation of our being, individuals and groups can easily indulge in excesses believing them to be legitimate. when we seek to act from this background of selfishness and in our eagerness to preserve ourselves, we can unwittingly even embark on those things that lead to our destruction. hence, the unification of all missing links becomes a challenge that we carry into all spheres of life. this becomes most evident in the type of services we render to people in the areas of management of resources, in the production and distribution of goods and services, in the harnessing of talents, in the ordering of peoples’ lives, in the administration and control of people etc. within this context igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 118 therefore, one can say that the goodwill to excel in the face of our diversities is a visible expression of our commitment to the ultimate absolute foundation of all missing links of reality. this is at the same time the surest step towards overcome the ambivalence of our situation as human beings. this goodwill subsists in that urge, in all circumstance and at all times, always to seek the highest forms of legitimacy. it subsists in the urge, in all circumstances, to expunge all that would compromise those values on which human life, healthy interpersonal relations, social institutions, and indeed all common goods are erected. it is the urge to replicate nature in its beauty and to conserve it while exploring it. where this type of goodwill is cultivated, it sees all relative values as means to an ultimate end of all missing links of reality. this notwithstanding, it considers these relative values as moments of joy that must be upheld in the most sacred and comprehensive manner. this approach is quite in consonance with the idea of anonymous traditional african thinkers who conceptualise the experience of transcendent complementary unity of consciousness as service in complementarity. this is why where there is no goodwill, most especially goodwill in service, all resources remain a waste; all laws have no focus, all rules ineffective; all meanings become distorted and ambiguous. it is because of the possession of a goodwill that we can find the good side of our ambivalent interests and employ it ultimately to its desired end. the reason for this is that the same law, which establishes the goodwill, is the same law that controls the fragmented and relative moments of all missing links of reality. where the will is bad, it seeks to establish its own laws such that its own laws contradict the law on which all missing links of reality are founded. by so doing, it easily negates also the raison d'être that establishes all relative values. since the law that gives the goodwill its legitimacy is the same law that sustains all missing links of reality, any conflict between both laws has untold consequences since it throws individuals and societies into irreconcilable differences and confusion. deviation from this law is possible because individuals have the natural capacity to enthrone themselves as supreme arbiters in all matters relating to their interests. this is one of the gravest dangers to any human institution and human societies in general. it is that moment where individuals and societies confuse their relativity with absoluteness. since man’s destiny is good, any individual is capable of choosing and discovering those things that would enable a person attain this destiny. in this connection therefore, the goodwill is something that has its foundation in goodness per se, it is something that is within reach of anyone who earnestly seeks it. it is because of the goodwill igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 119 that a person can, in anticipation and in the proleptic actualisation of his future hopes, experience contentment, and happiness in his actions. since the ultimate common good, the unconditioned basis of human happiness is not identical with any world immanent value, the ability, therefore, to desire it as an end in itself, can only be the property of something that has the unconditioned character belonging to the imperative establishing this end. here the postulation of an absolute goodwill, as an integral part of our finitude in anticipation of the foundation of our being, becomes a practical meaningful and necessary assumption. if an ultimate transcendent foundation of all missing links of reality is anything to go by, it must have the same character as impels me to take possession of it; this character is its fundamental absoluteness and goodness. the will is naturally impelled by this goodness and has a premonition of it in anticipation. hence, it is only on the condition of our upholding, in all circumstances, a fundamentally goodwill that we can desire that which is the legitimising foundation of society. this fundamental goodwill is natural to our being in anticipation and characterises us in our finitude. kant devoted a greater part of his work “foundation of the metaphysics of morals” to investigate the nature of the will. he insightfully came to the conclusion that “ nothing can possibly be conceived in the world, or even out of it, which can be called good without qualification, except a good will” (kant, 166).[1][1][1] he thus identified an absolute goodwill as belonging to the law, which conditions it in a way that it absolutely acts without any form of inclination. for kant therefore the absolute goodwill belongs to the law which demands “i am never to act otherwise than so that i could also will that my maxim should become universal law (kant, 172).[1][1][2] for kant, real human happiness subsists in possessing an absolute good will that concurs to the demands of this absolute law unconditionally and without any form of inclination whatsoever. in this case, it is something that must be attained through duty and duty alone. if by inclination kant means renunciation of personal interest as opposed to the common good as the foundation of human action, kant’s approach would have consonance with the demands of the principle and imperative of complementarity. kant’s understanding of inclination gives the impression that missing links are not constitutive of the processes needed to attain human happiness. for this reason, the method he advocates in arriving at the imperative establishing the goodwill is not totally in harmony with the objectivepursued by complementary reflection. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 120 for complementary reflection, every proclivity of duty is intricately related to the joy that gives legitimacy to all human actions. what this means is that for complementary reflection there is need to act due to inclination as opposed to kant’s deontological ethics which dispenses with inclinations as a part of ethical good conduct. this is important because complementary reflection lays much emphasis on the need to take all missing links of reality into our equation of action. what this means is that for human action to be moral or ethical it must take into account the comprehensive outreach of any action we perform. that is to say, duties are no longer performed for their own sake but are tied to human interests in a way that defines their realisation within a more universal, total and comprehensive framework. here, our interests and all missing links of reality are seen as opportunities for a higher form of legitimisation and for the joy of being. this is duty in complementarity and any duties we perform in a complementary sense is duty performed, directly or indirectly, for the common good and for the wellbeing of the actor. for this reason therefore, we may not be doing what we want to do for duty’s sake or from duty as immanuel kant advocates (kant, metaphysics of morals, 168-175),[1][1][3] but we do so because we know that this is the natural joyous human way of doing things. that is to say, whereas kant sought human happiness through duty and renunciation of all forms of inclination, the principle of harmonious complementarity does not consider it a disadvantage for one to act out of inclination in the process of seeking human happiness. the reason for this is that complementary reflection considers inclination a necessary condition for allowing the limitations of being to be the cause of our joy. as long as anything that exists serves a missing link of reality, all missing links of reality are integral parts of the goodwill in its attempt to attain the joy of being. we cannot say hold firmly to the joy of being, always seek to retain it, now and in all future cases (jide k’ iji) if we do not make all missing links of reality the realm of our action. hence, all missing links of reality are very important moments and dimensions of our overall quest for happiness. for this reason, acting out of inclination is an expression of serving a missing link of reality. in service for example, we experience concretely the transcendent complementary unity of consciousness, as this constitutes the foundation of our joy, which we must seek consciously, conscientiously and energetically. the task is to establish how acting out of inclination as a missing link of reality can become a meaningful source of our joy. to start with, in spite of all our efforts to maintain a goodwill, and an absolute goodwill for that matter, we are igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 121 still subject to the constraints and limitations, which the realities of human existence impose. we can never wish this fact away and we have to accept it as an integral part of our finite existence in future referentiality. we must carry this burden of our finitude with all the dignity, honesty, and courage we can afford. it is in surmounting these difficulties with wisdom that we can hold tenaciously to that which gives meaning to our life and as such, we can mutually affirm in a future referential manner: hold firmly to the joy of being, always seek to retain it, now and in all future cases (jide ka iji). the insinuations that our limitations are merely handicaps would immediately change, if we see ourselves as subjects of the transforming insight of the imperative of complementarity. this is the case when this imperative demands that we allow the limitations of being to be the cause of our joy. here we discover our mutual involvement in the experience of this joy in our mutual joyous affirmation of jide ka iji. the imperative of complementarity imbues our actions with an inbuilt regulative mechanism that seeks to confer a more positive meaning to our limitations; insofar it considers these limitations as deriving their meaning from the proleptic source of all meanings. in view of this proleptic source of their being, our limitations do not discourage and hold us back in our efforts to maintain a perfect goodwill. on the contrary, they give us a positive inspirations, since we see them as possibilities for the joy embedded in the anticipated end of our desire. in difficult human situations therefore, in situations of challenges and even of failure, for example, we are not discouraged, by the momentary setback, we rather know that there is always the possibility for a new beginning in view of the future referential source of our being. in this case, we would always see failures and success, good and evil, hardship and joy as different sides of the same coin that seek authentic complementarity. in this case, they become veritable opportunities always to excel and to seek better alternatives. it is this imperative that makes it possible to know that there are diverse and inexhaustible possibilities at our disposal towards arriving at the authenticating foundation of our desires and actions. within this context, it is not the negative side of failure that is decisive, neither is it the limitations of our mistakes that are crucial, it is rather the natural insight into the nature of the ultimate good, which energises and sustains us whenever it matters most. the stringent perfectionist kantian approach to the issue of goodwill appears to overlook, not only the limitation of human existence, but also the dynamic dimension of imperative of complementarity, which is invigorating, therapeutic, cathartic and cleansing. the liberating nature of any theory of action that seeks to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 122 use the will to establish true human happiness subsists in the dynamic constitution of this faculty. since all things constituting the missing link of reality have their completion in the joy of the being that removes all ambivalences, the will owes its existence to this being. the will is ever attuned and dependent on this being for its direction. where the will is attuned to this all determining reality, it can never err, since what appears as error is legitimized in an intention that is pure. where the intention is pure, it is capable of acting according to the dictates of this all-determining being. when one is acting from purity of intention sustained in the reality of this absolute foundation of all missing links of reality, what we call error in such contexts would be nothing other than a moment of missing link of reality that seeks completion in the foundation of its being. even in such cases, our goodwill remains the source of inspiration, our mistakes, and failings notwithstanding. even if the goodwill can be misused, the decision about its origin can never be an affair of the limited individual subjective consciousness. such goodwill can only be something received and sustained by a higher principle of the character of the principle of non-contradiction. this is the only principle that can give legitimacy to all expressions of goodwill. it is only as received goodwill that any form of pure goodwill, as the basis of our action as individuals, makes any sense. it is received in as much as we are dependent on the all-good, absolute, and infinite being to do good. this absolute infinite being can confer a goodwill whose operations are characterised by the purity of intention. we can consider the reality of this absolute being the necessary assumption of any philosophy that sees complementarity as a foundation of human joy and happiness. in such a situation the fact of a being that confers a goodwill, on which the actions of all individuals, in a complementary relationship rest, is something that has to be taken for granted. the reason for this is obvious. the condition for complementarity is the inescapable common bond, the common good, which sustains such a relationship. the reality of this bond is tacitly implied both practically and theoretically in all human actions both positive and negative and we intuit it as that force that impels us in all situations of life to ask questions in a transcendent manner and seek ultimate answers. this being that gives all missing links of reality their legitimacy sustains this unending questioning and search for ultimate answers in future referentiality. where goodwill in future referentiality is lacking nothing can substitute for its absence. not even religion, for example, can fill up its place. in this way, one can even shed some light to the ubiquitous avoidable failures in human society in spite of human passionate igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 123 religious commitment. as received goodwill, the goodwill can become a common property and bond for all who seek to do good in whatsoever capacity they find themselves. a life style borne by this consciousness is characterised by the unified expression of actions and meaning as they seek to realise the absolute in the most authentic and clear manner. in a situation of this nature, a universe of discourse and meaning is achieved which authenticates the convergence of all experiences and action in all fundamental issues, most especially those that guarantee a higher we-consciousness. where this level of consciousness is achieved, one can hardly differentiate the feelings and aspirations of individual subjects from their foundation of legitimacy in moments of intimate relationship. it is this ability to objectify and conceptualise reality as mutually shared meaning in a comprehensive, universal, total, and future referential manner that makes authentic mutual participation and experience of a transcendent complementary unity of consciousness possible. this objectification has as its dynamic moment in the goodwill we bring to bear on concrete situations of life. a natural intuition into the idea of an absolute in a future referential manner sustains such goodwill. this type of goodwill enables individuals and societies to eradicate all forms of contradictions in a manner that enables them to transform the limitations of being to the cause of their joy. one can then say that the level of humanity and civility within any given society depends on the level of goodwill in complementarity that is present. it further depends on the ability of all concerned to transcend themselves in the experience of transcendent complementary unity of consciousness in a universal, total, comprehensive, and future referential manner. this goodwill has its natural expression in service, in the spirit of mutual dependence and care, in the spirit of fairness and justice, in the spirit of give and take and in the unflinching desire to excel and to goodness. it subsists in recognising that the varieties obtainable in nature are not purely accidental but are necessary conditions for the attainment of our ultimate joy and destiny. this realisation is the foundation of civilised societies wherever this is practices authentically. this is still the case even if the aim sustaining this practice is not immediately evident to every individual in all circumstances. generally, one can say that the aim driving all ethically and morally good conducts is the joy of being as the ultimate legitimising foundation of all missing links of reality. we are provided with an instance of the experience of this joy of being in the content driving the igbo aphorism hold firmly to the joy of being, always seek to retain it, now and in all future cases (jide k’ iji), as the mutual experience, in joy, of tasks well accomplished. in the mutual experience of jide k’ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 124 iji human action shows its tendency towards the highest form of legitimacy. in this experience, within the contexts of mutual interaction, the actors intuiting the foundation, which gives completion to all human actions, urge themselves mutually to hold firmly to this foundation now and in all future cases. in this way they enthuse mutually jide k’ iji i.e. hold firmly to the joy of being, always seek to retain it, now and in all future cases. they do this in the evident insight that this goodness, worth adhering to, is the source of their being and joy. this is an instance where we come to the insight that being is communicable only in authentic mutual action and in service as this is possible between individuals and communities. in the mutual affirmation and grasping into the foundation of all missing links of reality, as is made evident in this mutual experience, the mind is challenged to hold tenaciously to the goodness that is the authentication foundation of all missing links of reality, now, and in all future occurrences in a certain, absolute, universal and comprehensive manner. in response to the insight arising from intuition of goodness in this mutual act, the mind experiences being authentically in those legitimising moments of authentic action in history. since such actions are subject to spatiotemporal vicissitudes, the mind anchors its hope in the veracity of the content expressed and held firmly in this aphorism as future experience. the certitude thereby derived, becomes evident in the joy accompanying human action in anticipation of this content. in the authentic experience of being implicit in its joyous expression in jide ka iji, therefore, the mind, in anticipation, grasps at the fullness that makes this experience possible and for this reason can share it with others as lived experience. in the mutual experience of the determining content of jide ka iji, no one is left in doubt as to the certainty of the being that gives authenticity to human action in the past, in present and in all future occurrences. whenever human beings live from the mutual imperative driving the experience of jide ka iji their actions are geared towards the future in a joyous proleptic manner since they live from the certitude of the being that gives completion to their action. in this way, their present state anticipates the future in joyous expectation of its actual realisation. this joyous hope energises and sustains their efforts and impels them to prove that they are right in view of the totality that gives them hope about their present joyous state. here the anonymous traditional igbo philosopher has a premonition into the nature of this ultimate content as something positive, hence, he affirms and urges in all successful and positive situations of life jide ka iji i.e. hold firmly to the good, to the joy that gives completion to all human actions in a future referential manner. this is why igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 125 when the igbo says to a person jide k’ iji no one is left in doubt that the person is doing well and everyone wishes this person to hold firmly to it i.e. to the being that gives ultimate meaning and joy to a person’s existence. even if the content that impels us in our experience of jide ka iji is not completely evident to us here and now, we, nonetheless, anticipate it as the fullness of all fullness, the goodness of goodness, the truth of all truths in a universal, total, and comprehensive manner. it is for this reason that in the spirit of jide ka iji the content of the future in referentiality must be transcendent but complementarily communicated to have any meaning at all. the joy of being in the experience of jide k’ iji subsists in the experience of the existential categories of being in day-today encounter with reality as missing links. it is the capacity of the mind to give meaning to all missing links of reality as moments of expression of being. here, the mind seeks to place all fragmented moments of existence in their authentic contexts as aspects of the joy that is constitutive of the authenticating foundation of all existent things. in other word, in the experience of the joy of being, the mind seeks full realisation of fragmented missing links of reality in a universal, total, absolute, unified, and future referential manner. this experience of joy of being becomes a complementary reality the moment we can communicate it mutually in action. in this way, the content expressed in the aphorism jide k’ iji recasts the transcendent complementary unity of consciousness as the mutual conscious experience of being as the authentic foundation of human action. whenever the mind is not able to transcend fragmented existence in a universal, total, and future referential perspective, it negates the joy of being as the foundation of the transcendent complementary unity of consciousness. at this moment, it gets itself entangled in all forms of low-level comprehensiveness in view of its determination. at such moments, we would hardly say jide k’ iji and mean it, this is the moment of mismanaged ambivalence. for this reason, complementary reflection does not consider the fragmentation of historical existence a big disadvantage to our selfactualisation and authentication. on the contrary, it views it as the condition of possibility of all forms of human selfauthentication and actualisation. it is only due to and in the fragmentation of our existence that we can meaningfully and joyously affirm “jide ka iji.” hence, this fragmentation is the condition for our encounter with the world and as such, the only condition for the realisation of ultimate joy that is characteristic of being. in this fragmentation, we experience being in the most natural and yet authentic way. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 126 the principle of harmonious complementarity enables us therefore to come to the insight that although we are finite, we are not condemned to our finitude but we are beings aiming towards ultimate completion in joy. this joy is not something that we can identify with the diverse moments of missing link of reality but is the property of a being that transcends the fragmented moments of historical existence and gives legitimacy to this. for this reason, complementarism makes recourse to truth and authenticity criterion as that criterion which grants autonomy to all missing links of reality in a manner that guarantees the authenticity of their being. we can then understand why those human societies, which see the fragmentary moments of all missing links of reality as opportunities for authentic joy, are more likely to meet this criterion than those others who view the historical moments of existence as absolute constitutive determinants. hence, the traditional african society, for example, in its fundamental complementary orientation, is more likely to meet this criterion more than the paradoxical individualism of the contemporary african society. in the same way, all forms of authentic conjunctive reasoning are more likely to satisfy its demands more than all forms of disjunctive articulation of world immanent realities. a philosophy is in a position to meet the postulations of complementarism as it concedes to the fact that anything that exists serves a missing link of reality and seeks to conceptualise all existing realities in a manner that leads them to their joyous, common absolute future referent. references asouzu, i., ibuanyidanda and some basic philosophical problems in africa today. germany: lit verlag, 2003. asouzu, i. i., the methods and principles of complementary reflection in and beyond african philosophy. calabar: university of calabar press, 2004. asouzu, i. i., ibuanyidanda: new complementary ontology. beyond world immanentism, ethnocentric reduction and impositions. munster: lit verlag, 2007. asouzu, i. i., ibuaru: the heavy burden of philosophy, beyond african philosophy. studies in african philosophy series. munster: lit verlag, 2007. kant, immanuel. practical philosophy, translated by mary gregor, 1996. includes: “an answer to the question: what is enlightenment?,” groundwork of the metaphysics of morals, critique of practical reason, and the metaphysics of morals. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 127 kant, immanuel. religion and rational theology, translated by allen wood and george di giovanni, 1996. includes: religion within the boundaries of mere reason kant, immanuel. anthropology, history, and education, translated by robert louden and guenther zoeller, 2008. includes: “idea for a universal history with a cosmopolitan aim,” anthropology from a pragmatic point of view, and “lectures on pedagogy” kant, immanuel. lectures on ethics, translated by peter heath and j.b. schneewind, 2001. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 3.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 126 torturing the accused person from islamic perspective imaam isa abdulkareem phd department of islamic studies faculty of arts kaduna state university, kaduna abstract crime has been one of the major problems man suffers from on earth as it affects everyone in every society including the perpetrators themselves and their families. the punishments given for various types of crime are nothing but efforts meant to help in reducing its rate in the society. whenever a crime is committed and we have a suspect accused of being the perpetrator, it is normal that in the first instance he denies involvement and responsibility for the crime most especially if the accusation is not supported with clear and strong evidences as such if he is the real criminal he might go free of charge for a crime he committed especially if he had planned the crime well as seen nowadays. this paper is an attempt to explore the precautionary measures taken against the accused on investigation from islamic perspective, it discuses the position of islam on detention, threats and physical torture. the methodology applied is deductive from the tradition of the prophet peace be upon him and the opinion of our great scholars of the four major sunni schools of law. the paper reveals that detention of the accused and use of threats are recognized in islam as means that may lead to confession if administered carefully, and that physical torture is rejected according to the preponderant opinion of the scholars as such any judgment that rest on that is considered null and invalid. the paper recommends careful treatment of such cases to avoid punishing the innocent. يتعذيب المتھم في المفقه ا�س�م مقدمة ا2صل في القوانين الجنائية في العصر الحاضر أن المتھم بريء حتى تثبت إدانته وذلك من الضمانات التي التحضر ا9نساني اليوم والتي تكشف عن مدى احترام إنسانية ا9نسان، فالقوانين المعاصرة إذ تقضي بھذا يقاس بھا الحكم لتحمل في طياتھا احترام إنسانية ا9نسان حتى ولو كان المنفذين لھا يفتقرون إلى الشعور با9نسانية، وقد كان لحصول على اgعتراف، وكان المتھم في عھود ا9سبتداد يؤخذ القانون الروماني القديم يجيز اgلتجاء إلى التعذيب ل بالشبھة ثم ينكل به تنكيr دون مبرر حقيقي إg شھوة اgستبداد. والجدير بالذكر أن القوانين المعاصرة لم تصل إلى ھذا وھو من . وھذا الموضوع من الموضوعات المھمة في عصرنا الحاضر (i)الحكم إg حديثا بعد الثورة الفرنسية الموضوعات التي يختلف الواقع العملي فيه عن النظام القانوني فكثير من ا2نظمة والقوانين تنص على ذلك لكن الواقع العملي يكشف غير ذلك حيث يقع التعذيب للمتھم من أجل حمله على اgعتراف بالجريمة. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 127 المبحث ا�ول: تعريف المتھم وتعذيبه ل من التُّھمة، والتھمة لغة: الظن، تقول: اتَّھَْمتُهُ بكذا إذا َظنَْنتُهُ به، فھو تَِھيٌم وُمتَّھم، المتھم اسم مفعوالمتھم لغة: . فالمتھم (ii)واتّھَْمتُهُ في قوله إذا شككت في صدقه. وأصل التُّھمة الوھمة على وزن فُعلة من الوھم وأصل التاء فيه واو . ھو من يظن فيه ما ينسب إليه مما ھو غير محمود يستغني الفقھاء بالمعنى اللغوي للمتھم عن تعريفه اgصطrحي نظرا لعدم الفرق بينھما من المتھم اصط�حا: حيث الحقيقة، فھو من يظن فيه ارتكاب جريمة ما. وما يتبع ذلك من إقامة دعوى تھمة ضده وھي دعوى الجناية .(iii)العدوان على الخلق بالضرب ونحو ذلكوا2فعال المحرمة مثل دعوى القتل، وقطع الطريق، والسرقة، و معنى تعذيب المتھم: ، وقيل: ا9يجاع الشديد، تقول: عذبه تعذيبا أي (iv): النكال والعقوبة، يقال: عذبته تعذيبا وعذاباالتعذيب في اللغة ترك المأكل . قال الراغب: "واختلف في أصله، فقال بعضھم: ھو من قولھم: عذب الرجل إذا(v)أكثر حبسه في العذاب والنوم فھو عاذب وعذوب، فالتعذيب في ا2صل ھو حمل ا9نسان أن يعذب، أي يجوع ويسھر، وقيل: أصله من العذب، فعذبته أي أزلت عذب حياته على بناء مرضته وقذيته، وقيل: أصل التعذيب إكثار الضرب بعذبة السوط، أي قيل: ھو من قولھم: ماء عذب إذا كان فيه قذى وكدر، فيكون طرفھا، وقد قال بعض أھل اللغة: التعذيب ھو الضرب، و .(vi)عذبته كقولك: كدرت عيشه، وزلقت حياته، وعذبة السوط واللسان والشجر: أطرافھا" يتبين لنا مما تقدم ان المراد بتعذيب المتھم ھو مسه بشيء من العذاب كحبسه وتجويعه مدة ما، وضربه، ونحو جريمة المرتكبة.ذلك لغرض اكتشاف حقيقة ال المبحث الثاني: ا�صل في التعامل مع المتھم ا2صل في التعامل مع المتھم في الفقه ا9سrمي قاعدة "ا2صل براءة الذمة" وھي قاعدة مفادھا أن ذمة المرء فالمتھم مكفول خالية من أية مسؤولية مدنية كانت أو جنائية في الفقه ا9سrمي، وg يجوز شغلھا إg بدليل ظاھر، باgحترام الrزم لمثله وg يجوز المساس به وg عقوبته وg شتمه ونحو ذلك حتى يتبين ثبوت ارتكابه للجريمة بالبينة وا2دلة، فلو ادعى أحد على آخر ماg كثمن مبيع ونحو ذلك فr يجوز شغل ذمته بھذا الحق ما لم يثبت المدعي ذلك ر المدعى عليه أ, وثيقة عقد ونحو ذلك، ولو ادعى أحد على غيره أنه فقع عينه أو قطع ببينة مقبوله كالشھود أو إقرا يده أو سرق ماله ونحو ذلك فr يقبل ذلك منه إg ببينة gسيما مع إنكار المدعى عليه وھكذا، فr تجوز مؤاخذة ا9نسان ھي المعروفة في القانون بقولھم المتھم بريء على جريمة أنكر ارتكابھا إg ببينة كالشھادة ونحو ذلك. وھذه القاعدة حتى تثبت إدانته. وا2صل في اعتبار ھذه القاعدة في الفقه ا9سrمي أدلة من السنة النبوية، وا9جماع، والمعقول، وفيما يأتي بيان ذلك: ذ بإشفى في روى ابن أبي مليكة أن امرأتين كانتا تخرزان في بيت أو في الحجرة فخرجت إحداھما وقد أنف -1 كفھا فادعت على ا2خرى فرفع أمرھما إلى ابن عباس فقال: ابن عباس قال رسول هللا صلى هللا عليه وسلم: (لو يعطى ). ٧٧(آل عمران: چ � � � � �چ الناس بدعواھم لذھب دماء قوم وأموالھم). ذكروھا باz واقرؤوا عليھا . (vii)ى هللا عليه وسلم: (اليمين على المدعى عليه) رواه البخاريفذكروھا فاعترفت فقال ابن عباس قال النبي صل وفي لفظ عند ابن ماجة ومثله أن رسول هللا صلى هللا عليه وسلم قال: (لو يعطى الناس بدعواھم ادعى ناس دماء عدة كبيرة قال ا9مام النووي: "وھذا الحديث قا .(viii)رجال وأموالھم، ولكن اليمين على المدعى عليه)رواه ابن ماجة من قواعد أحكام الشرع ففيه أنه g يقبل قول ا9نسان فيما يدعيه بمجرد دعواه بل يحتاج إلى بينة أو تصديق المدعى عليه فإن طلب يمين المدعى عليه فله ذلك وقد بين صلى هللا عليه و سلم الحكمة في كونه g يعطى بمجرد دعواه 2نه ء قوم وأموالھم واستبيح وg يمكن المدعى عليه أن يصون ماله ودمه وأما لو كان أعطى بمجردھا gدعى قوم دما .(ix)المدعى فيمكنه صيانتھما بالبينة" وعن علقمة بن وائل بن حجر عن أبيه قال: جاء رجل من حضرموت ورجل من كندة إلى النبي صلى هللا -2 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 128 فقال الكندي: ھي أرضي وفي يدي، ليس فيھا عليه وسلم فقال الحضرمي: يا رسول هللا! إن ھذا غلبني على أرض لي، حق، فقال النبي صلى هللا عليه وسلم للحضرمي: ألك بينة؟ قال: g. قال: فلك يمينه. قال: يا رسول هللا! إن الرجل فاجر g يبالي على ما حلف عليه، وليس يتورع من شيء. قال: ليس لك منه إg ذلك. قال: فانطلق الرجل ليحلف له. فقال . (x)ول هللا صلى هللا عليه وسلم لما أدبر: لئن حلف على مالك ليأكله ظلما ليلقين هللا وھو معرض) رواه الترمذيرس فقد حكم رسول هللا صلى هللا عليه وسلم بعدم شغل ذمة المدعى عليه بمجرد الدعوى من غير بينة فثبت أن ھذا ھو ا2صل عند اgختrف والنزاع في اgستحقاقات. وى عمرو بن شعيب عن أبيه عن جده أن النبي صلى هللا عليه وسلم قال في خطبته: (البينة على ور -3 . أي أن كل من ادعى حقا على غيره فعليه أن يأتي بدليل يثبت (xi)المدعي، واليمين على المدعى عليه) رواه الترمذي ذلك. نصار، فقال: (كان رسول هللا صلى هللا عليه وعن أنس رضي هللا عنه أنه قيل له: إن ھاھنا رجr يقع في ا2 -4 أي أنه (xiii). ومعنى القرف التھمة(xii)وسلم g يأخذ بالقََرِف أو القرص، وg يقبل قول أحد على أحد) رواه أبو نعيم قول وأكد ذلك بما بعده وقوله: "وg يقبل قول أحد على أحد" أي أنه g يقبل صلى هللا عليه وسلم كان g يأخذ بالتھمة، أحد على أحد إg بالبينة والبرھان. ما يستثنى من ھذه القاعدة: يستثنى من قاعدة ا2صل براءة الذمة وعدم المؤاخذة بالتھمة حالة القسامة وھي أن يوجد قتيل بين قوم بينھم م بل جاء الشرع بحكم وبينه عداوة، وg تكون ھناك بينة على القاتل. ففي ھذه الحالة g يقال إن ا2صل براءة ذمة المتھ آخر مبناه أن يحلف جماعة القتيل خمسين يمينا ويستحقون من يتھمونه من الجماعة التي وجد القتيل بينھم. وا2صل في ذلك حديث سھل بن أبي حثمة ورافع بن خديج: (أن محيصة بن مسعود وعبد هللا بن سھل انطلقا إلى خيبر فتفرقا ل، فاتھموا اليھود، فجاء أخوه عبد الرحمن وابنا عمه حويصة ومحيصة إلى النبي في النخيل، فقتل عبد هللا بن سھ صلى هللا عليه وسلم فتكلم عبد الرحمن في أمر أخيه وھو أصغرھم فقال النبي صى هللا عليه وسلم: كبر، كبر، أو قال: ن منكم على رجل منھم فيدفع اليكم ليبدأ ا2كبر فتكلما في أمر صاحبھما، فقال النبي صلى هللا عليه وسلم: يقسم خمسو برمته، فقالوا: أمر لم نشھده كيف نحلف؟ قال: فتبرئكم يھود بأيمان خمسين منھم، قالوا: يا رسول هللا قوم كفار ضrل، قال: فوداه رسول هللا صلى هللا عليه وسلم من قبله، قال سھل: فدخلت مربدا لھم فركضتني ناقة من تلك ا9بل) رواه .(xiv)ومسلمالبخاري المبحث الثالث: التعذيب في التھمة تقدم من أن ا2صل براءة الذمة وg تجوز مؤاخذة ا9نسان من غير بينة، وأن كل من ادعى على غيره فليس له سوى إثبات ما يدعيه ببينة. ھذه القاعدة ليست على إطrقھا، فقد ذكر الفقھاء حاgت يجوز فيھا تعذيب المتھم من أجل ف حقيقة أمر الدعوى، وھي حاgت وجود قرائن تقوي التھمة ضده، وتبعا لذلك يمكن تقسيم التعذيب إلى استكشا قسمين ومن ثم بحث الموضوع على النحو ا�تي: التعذيب بالحبس في تھمة: الحبس نوع من التعذيب وg يختلف الفقھاء في جواز حبس المتھم في تھمته، وا2صل في مشروعية ذلك حديث حبس رجr فى تھمة ثم خلى عنه) رواه أبو داود، -صلى هللا عليه وسلم-ز بن حكيم عن أبيه عن جده: (أن النبى بھ . (xv)والترمذي، والنسائي والحاكم :(xvi)ويقسم الفقھاء الحبس في التھمة تبعا لحال المتھم وما يعرف عنه على النحو ا�تي المتھم المعروف بالص�ح وا6ستقامة: -1 ھاء أن ھذا النوع من المتھمين ھم الذين يجري حكم ا2صل براءة الذمة في حقھم فr يجوز حبسھم ذكر الفق gستقامة حالھم وصrحھم، فھؤgء ترجح ا2صل في حقھم على ما ھو طارئ مثل أن يوجد فى يد رجل عدل مال بينة في إثبات ما يدعيه ضدھم؛ إذ لو مسروق ويقول ذو اليد ابتعته من السوق g أدري. فليس لمن اتھمھم سوى إقامة ال فتح الباب في جواز قبول اعتبار التھمة وتعذيبھم gتخذھا المفسدون طريقا في تلويث سمعة الصالحين لمجرد الدعوى؛ فھذا القسم ھو الذي يتحقق فيه ما تقدم، ويكفي في حقه التخويف باz من مغبة الحلف على الكذف ففي حديث igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 129 ذكره قريبا: (لو يعطى الناس بدعواھم لذھب دماء قوم وأموالھم). ذكروھا باz واقرؤوا عليھا ((إِنَّ ابن عباس المتقدم ِ َوأَْيَمانِِھْم ثََمنًا قَلِيrً أُولَئَِك gَ َخrََق لَھُْم فِي اْ�ِخَرِة َوgَ يُكَ ُ َوgَ يَْنظُُر إِ الَِّذيَن يَْشتَُروَن بَِعْھِد هللاَّ لَْيِھْم يَْوَم اْلقِيَاَمِة َوgَ لُِّمھُُم هللاَّ يِھْم َولَھُْم َعَذاٌب أَلِيٌم)) (آل عمران: . ففيه أن المدعى عليھا لما ذكرت باz وخوفت (xvii)). فذكروھا فاعترفت)٧٧يَُزكِّ من مغبة الحلف على الكذب اعترفت وأقرت على نفسھا. ويرى بعض الفقھاء عقوبة من يتھم ھذا الصنف. عميرة الكندي أن امرئ القيس بن عابس الكندي خاصم إلى رسول هللا صلى هللا عليه وسلم وحديث عدي بن رجr من حضرموت في أرض فسأل رسول هللا صلى هللا عليه وسلم الحضرمي البينة فلم تكن له بينة فقضى على ، فقال رسول هللا صلى هللا امرئ القيس باليمين، فقال الحضرمي: أمكنته يا رسول هللا من اليمين ذھبت وهللا أرضي عليه وسلم: (من حلف على يمين كاذبة ليقتطع بھا مال أخيه لقي هللا عز وجل يوم يلقاه وھو عليه غضبان) قال: وقال ِ َوأَْيَمانِِھْم ثََمنًا قَلِيrً أُوَل ئَِك gَ َخrََق لَھُْم فِي رجل: وتr رسول هللا صلى هللا عليه وسلم: ((إِنَّ الَِّذيَن يَْشتَُروَن بَِعْھِد هللاَّ يِھْم َولَھُْم َعَذاٌب أَِل ُ َوgَ يَْنظُُر إِلَْيِھْم يَْوَم اْلقِيَاَمِة َوgَ يَُزكِّ ). قال: فقال امرؤ ٧٧يٌم)) (آل عمران: اْ�ِخَرِة َوgَ يَُكلُِّمھُُم هللاَّ .(xviii)دك أني قد تركتھا) رواه أحمد والطبرانيالقيس: يا رسول هللا فماذا لمن تركھا؟ قال: له الجنة. قال: فإني أشھ والفقھاء اختلفوا في معاقبة من يتھم أمثال ھؤgء، فذھب ا9مام مالك وأشھب من أتباعه إلى عدم معاقبة من يتھم ھذا الصنف إg أن يقصد أذيتھم وعيبھم وشتمھم فيؤدب. وذھب ا9مام أصبغ إلى القول بتأديب متھمھم قصد g أذيتھم أو(xix) . المتھم المجھول الحال: -2 ذكر الفقھاء أن المتھم إن كان مجھول الحال g يعرف ببر أو فجور، فإنه يحبس حتى تنكشف حاله عند عامة علماء ا9سrم دليله ما تقدم من حديث بھز بن حكيم. المتھم المعروف بالفجور -3 المسكرات والمخدرات ونحو ذلك، فيقول ھذا القسم ھو المعروف با9جرام كالسرقة وقطع الطريق وشرب الفقھاء في حق ھذا النوع من المتھمين بحواز حبسھم؛ 2نه إذا جاز حبس المجھول الحال فحبس المعروف بالفجور أولى، قال ابن قيم الجوزية: "إذا كان المتھم معروفا بالفجور كالسرقة وقطع الطريق والقتل ونحو ذلك، فإذا جاز حبس ھذا أولى. قال شيخنا ابن تيمية رحمه هللا: وما علمت أحدا من أئمة المسلمين يقول: إن المدعى عليه المجھول فحبس gقه مذھبا 2حد من ا2ئمة ا2ربعة، وrغيره فليس ھذا على إط gحبس و rفي جميع ھذه الدعاوى يحلف ويرسل ب فقد غلط غلطا فاحشا مخالفا لنصوص رسول غيرھم من ا2ئمة، ومن زعم أن ھذا على إطrقه وعمومه ھو الشرع، .(xx)هللا صلى هللا عليه وسلم و9جماع ا2مة" طبيعة الحبس: ذكر بعض الفقھاء أن الحبس ھنا ليس ھو الحبس في السجن في مكان ضيق، بل ھو تعويق للمتھم عن التحرك الخصم أو وكيله عليه ومrزمته بحرية كاملة، ومنعه من التصرف سواء كان في بيت أو مسجد أو كان بتوكيل نفس له ونحو ذلك، وھو شبيه بالحبس بسبب انشغال الحاكم بقضايا أخرى إلى أن ينتھي منھا ويتيسر له نظر القضية الجديدة المعروضة أمامه. وفي ھذا يقول ابن القيم رحمه هللا: "ثم إن الحاكم قد يكون مشغوg عن تعجيل الفصل وقد ة فيكون المطلوب محبوسا معوقا من حين يطلب إلى أن يفصل بينه وبين خصمه وھذا حبس تكون عنده حكومات سابق بدون التھمة ففي التھمة أولى فإن الحبس الشرعي ليس ھو السجن في مكان ضيق وإنما ھو تعويق الشخص ومنعه من rزمته له ولھذا سماه النبي التصرف بنفسه سواء كان في بيت أو مسجد أو كان بتوكيل نفس الخصم أو وكيله عليه وم . والعمل يجري في ھذا العصر على حبس المتھم لدى الشرط على ذمة التحقيق في (xxi)صلى هللا عليه و سلم أسيرا" القضية أي حتى ينتھي ويصدر الحكم. من يملك سلطة الحبس: لطة الحبس ھو الحاكم ليس الحبس في الفقه ا9سrمي متروكا لكل واحد يقوم به من نفسه، بل الذي يملك س ومن ينيبه أو يوكله كالقضاة وغيرھم؛ لحديث بھز بن حكيم ففيه أنه صلى هللا عليه وسلم ھو الذي حبس أي أمر igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 130 بالحبس. مدة الحبس: اختلف أقوال الفقھاء في مدة الحبس في التھمة فقيل شھرا وقيل: بل يترك gجتھاد الحاكم أو القاضي حسب جح إذ ليس في الشرع دليل يقيد ذلك، فقد تستدعي الحاجة الحبس اليسير كما جاء في حديث ، وھو الرا(xxii)الحاجة أبي ھريرة رضي هللا عنه: (أن رسول هللا صلى هللا عليه وسلم حبس في تھمة حبسا يسيرا حتى استبرأ) رواه أبو نعيم ضي هللا عنه: (أن النبي صلى هللا . وقد يستدعي ا2مر الحبس يوما وليلة كما في حديث أبي ھريرة ر(xxiii)والبزار . وقد يزيد على ذلك حسب الحاجة (xxiv)عليه وسلم حبس رجr في تھمة يوما وليلة استظھارا واحتياطا)رواه الحاكم فليس اليوم والليلة حدا g يجوز تجاوزه g سيما في عصرنا الحاضر. ثانيا: التعذيب بالضرب وما فوقه في التھمة لحمله على ا�قرارأو6: ضرب المتھم g يختلف الفقھاء أن المتھم g يجوز ضربه من أجل أن يقر بالتھمة ويعترف بارتكاب الجريمة ونحو ذلك 2نه إذا ضرب ليقر كان مكرھا وإقرار المكره باطل g يصح يغير خrف بين الفقھاء. قال ابن قدامة: "وg يصح اgقرار لم يجب عليه الحد ولم يثبت عليه الزنا وg نعلم من أھل العلم خrفا في أن من المكره فلو ضرب الرجل ليقر بالزنا ِ ِمْن بَْعِد إِيَمانِِه إgَِّ َمْن أُْكِرهَ َوقَْلبُهُ ُمْطَمئِنٌّ (xxv)إقرار المكره g يجب به حد" َّzوذلك لعموم قوله تعالى: ((َمْن َكفََر بِا . يَماِن َولَِكْن َمْن َشَرَح بِالْ ِ َولَھُْم َعَذاٌب َعِظيٌم)) (سورة النحل: بِا9ِْ ). حيث استثنى 106ُكْفِر َصْدًرا فََعلَْيِھْم َغَضٌب ِمَن هللاَّ هللا من استحقاق الغضب والعذاب العظيم بالكفر ما كان با9كراه فدل على أن ا9كراه من ا2عذار المقبولة في نفي ضي هللا عنھما عن النبي صلى هللا عليه وسلم قال: (إن هللا وضع المؤاخذة في الفقه ا9سrمي، وحديث ابن عباس ر . وھو صريح في نفي المؤاخذة با9كراه، وروي (xxvi)عن أمتي الخطأ والنسيان وما استكرھوا عليه) رواه ابن ماجة ي شيبة، عن عمر رضي هللا عنه أنه قال: "ليس الرجل بأمين على نفسه إذا جوعته أو ضربته أو أوثقته" رواه ابن أب . وما رواه ابن جريج قال: قال بن شھاب في رجل اعترف بعد ما جلد قال: "ليس عليه حد" أخرجه (xxvii)والبيھقي . و2ن ا9قرار إنما ثبت به المقر به لوجود الداعي إلى الصدق وانتفاء التھمة عنه فإن العاقل g (xxviii)ابن أبي شيبة الظن أنه قصد بإقراره دفع ضرر ا9كراه فانتفى ظن الصدق عنه يتھم بقصد ا9ضرار بنفسه ومع ا9كراه يغلب على . وذكر السرخسي أنه روي عن الحسن بن زياد رحمه هللا أن بعض ا2مراء بعث إليه وسأله عن ضرب (xxix)فلم يقبل من ذلك السارق ليقر فقال: ما لم يقطع اللحم أو يبين العظم ثم ندم على مقالته وجاء بنفسه إلى مجلس ا2مير ليمنعه فوجده قد ضربه حتى اعترف وجاء بالمال فلما رأى المال موضوعا بين يدي ا2مير قال: ما رأيت ظلما أشبه بالحق .(xxx)من ھذا ثانيا: ضرب المتھم لحمله على أن يصدق ويقول الحقيقة ره إنما يكره فرق الفقھاء بين الضرب حمr على ا9قرار والضربا حمr على الصدق وإحبار الحقيقة بأن المك على شيء واحد، وھنا إنما ضرب ليصدق وg ينحصر الصدق في ا9قرار، وقد اختلف الفقھاء في جواز ضرب المتھم وعدمه من أجل أن يصدق ويقول الحق في القضية على قولين: g يجوز تعذيب المتھم بأكثر من الحبس فr يجوز ضربه ونحو ذلك، وھو مذھب جمھور القول ا�ول: ويؤيد ھذا ھذا القول حديث أزھر بن عبد هللا الحرازى أن قوما من الكrعيين سرق لھم متاع فاتھموا . (xxxi)فقھاءال فحبسھم أياما ثم خلى سبيلھم فأتوا النعمان -صلى هللا عليه وسلم-أناسا من الحاكة فأتوا النعمان بن بشير صاحب النبى ال النعمان: ما شئتم، إن شئتم أن أضربھم فإن خرج متاعكم فذاك، فقالوا: خليت سبيلھم بغير ضرب وg امتحان؟ فق صلى هللا -وإg أخذت من ظھوركم مثل ما أخذت من ظھورھم، فقالوا: ھذا حكمك؟ فقال: ھذا حكم هللا وحكم رسوله د اgعتراف" . قال أبو داود عقبه: "إنما أرھبھم بھذا القول: أى g يجب الضرب إg بع(xxxii)عليه وسلم) رواه أبو داود أي على سبيل التعزير إن لم يكن حدا. يرى جواز تعذيب المتھم بالضرب ونحوه ليصدق ويقول الحقيقة في ما اتھم به وھو مذھب القول الثاني: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 131 بعض المالكية والحنابلة. واستدلوا في ذلك بما يأتي: ھم العھد على أن g يغيبوا شيئا فإن أن رسول هللا صلى هللا عليه وسلم اشترط على اليھود في غزوة خيبر أن ل فعلوا فr ذمة لھم فغيبوا مسكا فيه مال وحلي لحيى بن أخطب، وكان احتمله معه إلى خيبر حين أجليت النضير، فقال رسول هللا صلى هللا عليه وسلم لعم حيي بت أخطب: (ما فعل مسك حيى الذي جاء به من النضير؟) فقال: أذھبته فقال: (العھد قريب والمال أكثر من ذلك)، فدفعه رسول هللا صلى هللا عليه وسلم إلى الزبير فمسه النفقات والحروب. بعذاب، وقد كان حيى قبل ذلك دخل خربة، فقال: قد رأيت حييا يطوف في خربة ھاھنا، فذھبوا فطافوا فوجدوا المسك .(xxxiii) في الخربة ندب أصحابه فانطلقوا إلى بدر فإذا -هللا عليه وسلم صلى-وحديث أنس بن مالك رضي هللا عنه أن رسول هللا فجعلوا يسألونه أين أبو -صلى هللا عليه وسلم-ھم بروايا قريش فيھا عبد أسود لبنى الحجاج فأخذه أصحاب رسول هللا يعة، سفيان فيقول: وهللا ما لى بشىء من أمره علم، ولكن ھذه قريش قد جاءت فيھم أبو جھل، وعتبة، وشيبة ابنا رب وأمية بن خلف. فإذا قال لھم ذلك ضربوه فيقول: دعونى دعونى أخبركم، فإذا تركوه قال: وهللا ما لى بأبى سفيان من صلى هللا -علم ولكن ھذه قريش قد أقبلت فيھم أبو جھل، وعتبة، وشيبة ابنا ربيعة، وأمية بن خلف قد أقبلوا. والنبى ف قال: (والذى نفسى بيده إنكم لتضربونه إذا صدقكم وتدعونه إذا يصلى وھو يسمع ذلك فلما انصر -عليه وسلم .قال القاضي عياض: "وفى ضرب أصحاب النبى (xxxiv)كذبكم، ھذه قريش قد أقبلت لتمنع أبا سفيان) رواه أبو داود لمعنى صلى هللا عليه وسلم غrم قريش ليسألوه، جواز تھديد المتھم وتخويفه ليصدق، وجواز ضرب ا2سير من العدو يوجب ذلك، ويستخبر ما عنده من سر العدو يحتج به فى تھديد الحكام للمتھمين ليصدقوا عن أحوالھم، وينكشف لھم . (xxxv)تھمتھم" وحديث على بن أبي طالب رضي هللا عنه قال: بعثني رسول هللا صلى هللا عليه وسلم أنا والزبير والمقداد بن خاخ فإن بھا ظعينة ومعھا كتاب فخذوه منھا)، فانطلقنا تعادي بنا خيلنا حتى ا2سود قال: (انطلقوا حتى تأتوا روضة انتھينا إلى الروضة فإذا نحن بالظعينة فقلنا أخرجي الكتاب، فقالت: ما معي من كتاب، فقلنا: لتخرجن الكتاب أو لنلقين ه من حاطب بن أبي بلتعة إلى أناس من الثياب، فأجرجته من عقاصھا، فأتينا به رسول هللا صلى هللا عليه وسلم، فإذا في . استدلوا بتھديد علي (xxxvi)المشركين من أھل مكة يخبرھم ببعض أمر رسول هللا صلى هللا عليه وسلم) رواه البخاري بن أبي طالب للمرأة وما قاله لھا على أنه يجوز ل�مام أو نائبه أن يسلك من الوسائل ما يراه كفيr بكشف الجريمة في ذلك الضرب. وإظھارھا بما لعل الراجح ھو القول بأن الضرب g يلجأ إليه إg في حالة الضرورة القصوى، ولمدة محدودة جدا. الترجيح: للفقھاء فيمن يقوم بضرب المتھم قوgن: من يقوم بالضرب: يقضي بجواز أن يقوم بذلك الوالي والقاضي وھو مذھب طائفة من أصحاب مالك وأحمد وغيرھم. أولھما يقضي باقتصار ذلك على الوالي دون القاضي، وھو قول بعض أصحاب الشافعي وأحمد؛ ووجه ھذا واmخر: أن الضرب المشروع ھو ضرب الحدود والتعزيرات وذلك إنما يكون بعد ثبوت أسبابھا وتحققھا وذلك إليھما دون غيرھما. تفوض السلطة القضائية قيام بمثل ذلك ونظرا 2ن ا2نظمة والقوانين في ھذا العصر تصدر بأمر الرئيس و يمكن أن نقول إن الوالي أو القاضي ھم الذين لھم اختصاص القيام بذلك. وقد جحده فمتفق عليھا بين العلماء g نزاع بينھم أن من وجب عليه حق وأما عقوبة من عرف أن الحق عنده يؤديه ونصوا على عقوبته بالضرب ذكر ذلك الفقھاء من عين أو دين وھو قادر على أدائه وامتنع منه أنه يعاقب حتى . (xxxvii)من الطوائف ا2ربعة حكم ا�قرار المنتزع من جراء التعذيب: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 132 :(xxxviii)اختلف الفقھاء في حكم ا9قرار الحاصل نتيجة للتعذيب بالضرب ونحو ذلك على أربعة أقوال g يقبل ھذا ا9قرار حتى يستمر عليه بعد انتھاء التعذيب، وسواء عين ما أقر به من سرقة أو قتل القول ا�ول: أم g، وھو مذھب الحنفية والشافعية وكثير من المالكية. جاء في المبسوط للسرخسي: "ولو أن قاضيا أكره رجr بتھديد ضرب أو حبس أو قيد حتى يقر على نفسه بحد ر باطr 2ن ا9قرار متمثل بين الصدق والكذب وإنما يكون حجة إذا ترجح جانب الصدق على أو قصاص كان ا9قرا ليس الرجل رضي هللا عنه -جانب الكذب والتھديد بالضرب والحبس يمنع رجحان جانب الصدق على ما قال عمر د ذلك فجيء به فأقر بما كان تھدد على نفسه بأمير إذا ضربت أو أوثقت... فإن خلى سبيله بعد ما أقر مكرھا ثم أخذ بع عليه بغير إكراه مستقل أخذ بذلك كله 2ن إقراره ا2ول كان باطr ولما خلى سبيله فقد انتھى حكم ذلك ا2خذ والتھديد . (xxxix)فصار كأن لم يوجد أصr حتى أخذ ا�ن فأقر بغير إكراه" تھديد أو القيد أو الوعيد أو السجن أو الضرب، وجاء في المدونة: "قلت: أرأيت إن أقر بشيء من الحدود بعد ال أيقام عليه الحد أم g ؟ قال: قال مالك: من أقر بعد التھديد أقيل، فالوعيد والقيد والسجن والضرب تھديد كله وأرى أن .(xl)يقال" وفي روضة الطالبين: (قلت: ولو ضرب ليقر، فأقر في حال الضرب، لم يصح. وإن ضرب ليصدق في قال الماوردي في اgحكام السلطانية: إن أقر في حال الضرب، ترك ضربه واستعيد إقراره، فإن أقر بعد القضية، الضرب، عمل به، ولو لم يستعده وعمل باgقرار حال الضرب، جاز مع الكراھة، ھذا كrم الماوردي. وقبول إقراره ره ھو من أكره على شئ واحد، وھنا إنما حال الضرب مشكل، gنه قريب من المكره ولكنه ليس مكرھا، فإن المك ضرب ليصدق، وg ينحصر الصدق في اgقرار. وقبول إقراره بعد الضرب، فيه نظر إن غلب على ظنه إعادة .(xli)الضرب إن لم يقر) وفي مجموع الفتاوى: (واختلف العلماء إذا أقر حال اgمتحان بالحبس أو الضرب: ھل يسوغ ذلك ؟ فمنھم من بذلك ا9قرار إذا ظھر صدقه: مثل أن يخرج السرقة بعينھا ولو رجع عن ذلك بعد الضرب لم يقبل؛ بل قال : يؤخذ يؤخذ به وھذا قول أشھب في القاضي والوالي وھو الذي ذكره القاضيان الماوردي وأبو يعلى في الوالي. ومنھم من به . وھذا قول ابن القاسم وكثير من الشافعية قال: g بد من إقرار آخر بعدد الضرب وإذا رجع عن ا9قرار لم يؤخذ .(xlii)والحنبلية وغيرھم) يقبل إقراره ويعمل به إذا عين المقر به، وإن رجع عن إقراره فيما بعد وھو لبعض المالكية. جاء القول الثاني: المذھب في مواھب الجليل في شرح مختصر خليل : "وأما المحبوس والمتھدد فاختلف في أخذه بإقراره واضطرب في إقراره بعد الحبس والتھديد ھل يقبل جملة أو g يقبل جملة أو الفرق فيقبل إذا عين ما اعترف به من قتل وسرقة أو .g(xliii) يقبل إذا لم يعين ثrثة أقوال انتھى" .(xliv)يقبل إقراره مطلقا وإن لم يعين المرقر به وھو لبعض المالكية القول الثالث: ل إقراره حتى وإن استمر عليه ولم يرجع عنه بعد التعذيب، وھو لبعض الحنفية والمالكية g يقب القول الرابع: واختاره النووي والزركشي من الشافعية. وذلك 2ن خوفه أن يعاد عليه العقاب باق. الترجيح: ما في ھذا الراجح وهللا أعلم القول الرابع القاضي بعدم قبول ا9قرار في ھذه الحال أيضا؛ لما ذكروه gسي العصر الذي يكثر فيه تلفيق التھم ظلما وتعذيب المتھم فيقر خوفا على نفسه. قال الزركشي والظاھر ما اختاره النووي من عدم قبول إقراره في الحالين وھو الذي يجب اعتماده في ھذه ا2مصار مع ظلم الوgة وشدة جراءتھم على .(xlv)لصواب أن ھذا إكراهالعقوبات وسبقه إليه ا2ذرعي وبالغ فقال وا لو حكم القاضي با�قرار المنتزع في ھذه الحال ونفذت العقوبة فما الحكم؟ يقول الحنفية أنه لو أكرھه قاض بضرب أو حبس حتى يقر بسرقة أو زنا أو شرب خمر أو قتل فأقر بذلك igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 133 س أن يقتص من المكره فيما أمكن القصاص فأقامه عليه فإن كان رجr معروفا بما أقر له به إg أنه g بينة عليه فالقيا فيه ويضمن من ماله ما g يستطاع القصاص فيه 2ن إقراره كان باطr وا9قرار الباطل وجوده كعدمه فبقي ھو مباشرا للجناية بغير حق فيلزمه القصاص فيما يستطاع فيه القصاص ولكن يستحسن أن يلزمه ضمان جميع ذلك في الرجل إذا كان معروفا بما أقر به على نفسه فالذي يقع في قلب كل سامع أنه صادق في ماله ويدرأ القصاص 2ن ل�مام -رحمھم هللا -إقراره لما أقر به وذلك يورث شبھة والقصاص مما يندرئ بالشبھات و2ن على قول أھل المدينة قل ما يقر على نفسه طائعا وإذا أقر أن يجبر المعروف بذلك الفعل على ا9قرار بالضرب والحبس فإن مرتكب الكبيرة شبھة والقاضي مجتھد في ما -رحمھم هللا -به مكرھا عندھم يصح إقراره وتقام عليه العقوبة فيصير اختrف العلماء صنع فھذا اجتھاد في موضعه من وجه فيكون مسقطا للقود عنه ولكن يلزمه المال 2ن المال مما يثبت مع الشبھات ل لم تسقط حرمة نفسه وأطرافه فيصير ضامنا له مراعاة لحرمة نفسه وطرفة وبا9قرار الباط وإن كان المكره غير معروف بشيء مما رمي به أخذت فيه بالقياس وأوجبت القصاص على القاضي في ما به وإنما يستطاع فيه القصاص 2نه إذا كان معروفا بالصrح فالذي يسبق إليه أوھام الناس أنه بريء الساحة مما رمي .(xlvi)أقر على نفسه كاذبا بسبب ا9كراه الخاتمة من ضمانات القضاء وعدالته في ا9سrم أن ا2صل براءة الذمة والمتھم بريء حتى تثبت إدانته بالطرق الطبيعية والعادةية كالشھادة وا9قرار ونحو ذلك، فr يجوز في ا9سrم أن يسلك مسلك التخويف أو التعذيب من أجل ذلك جورا وظلما وكان الحكم باطr، ولو نفذ ضمن انتزاع ا9قرار والقضاء على المتھم بذلك، ولو حصل ذلك اعتبر القاضي والمكره وھذا من عدل ا9سrم. ھذا ھو ا2صل ولكن نظرا لفاسد الزمن قد أقر الشرع الحبس في التھمة للوصول إلى الحقيقة، وإذا تأيدت التھمة بالقرائن أجيز التعذيب بالضرب غير أن ھذا الضرب مقيد بالحاجة وg يقوم g من أذن له، وg يقر الفقھاء الضرب الشديد المبرح الذي نسمع به عند التحقيق في عصرنا اليوم حيث يضرب به إ المتھم ضربا تكسر به عظامه ويتشقق جلده وھكذا. وقد تستخدم أساليب أشد من الضرب. وبھذا يتبين لنا أن الفقه تعذيب المتھم من غير ضابط كما قالكان من شأنه أن ا9سrمي وسط بين التفريط وا9فراط. ولو ييعاقب من يقوم ب يخفف ھذا الظلم. الھوامش ومعھا المصادر والمراجع )i( ھـ 1408لوليام جيمس ديورانت، ترجمة د. زكي نجيب محمود وآخرون، نشر دار الجيل بيروت، سنة الحضارقصة .)16/100( م1988 )ii :المصباح المنير 2حمد بن محمد بن علي الفيومي بتحقيق يوسف الشيخ محمد، نشر المكتبة العصرية، بدون تاريخ، (ص ( ، بدون تاريخ، 1ا2فريقي المصري، نشر دار صادر، بيروت، ط/) لسان العرب لمحمد بن مكرم بن منظور 347 ) مادة "وھم"، النھاية في غريب الحديث وا2ثر 2بي السعادات المبارك بن محمد الجزري، بتحقيق طاھر أحمد 12/643( م.1979 ھـ 1399الزاوى ومحمود محمد الطناحي، نشر المكتبة العلمية، بيروت، سنة )iii( :م أحمد بن عبدالحليم ابن تيمية بتحقيق فتاوىمجموع الانظرrدار الوفاء، نشر عامر الجزارو أنور البازلشيخ ا9س .)35/396م (2005ھـ/1426، سنة3ط/ )iv) بن منظور، المرجع السابقg 1/583) لسان العرب.( )v،بتحقيق صفوان عدنان داودى، ) المفردات في غريب القرآن للحسين بن محمد بن المفضل المعروف بالراغب ا2صفھاني ).555 -554ھـ (ص: 1412نشر دار العلم الدار، دمشق، سنة )vi 555(ص: ا2صفھاني، المرجع السابقالقرآن للراغب في غريب ) مفردات.( igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 134 )vii( ،الجامع الصحيح المختصر للحافظ محمد بن إسماعيل البخاري بتحقيق د. مصطفى ديب البغا، نشر دار ابن كثير )، صحيح مسلم، ل�مام مسلم بن الحجاج القشيري، 4277) برقم (4/1656م (1987 ھـ 1407، سنة 3بيروت، ط/ ).1711(-1) برقم (3/1336بتحقيق محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي، نشر دار إحياء التراث العربي، بيروت، بدون تاريخ ( )viii778/ 2ق محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي، نشر دار الفكر، بيروت، (لمحمد بن يزيد أبو عبدهللا القزويني، بتحقي ) سنن ابن ماجه( ) قال الشيخ ا2لباني: صحيح.2321برقم ( )ix النووي زكريا يحيى بن شرف يب2 المنھاج شرح صحيح مسلم بن الحجاجالمسمى ب مسلمصحيح ) شرح النووي على ، ).12/3( ھـ 1392، سنة 2، ط/بيروت، دار إحياء التراث العربينشر )xالجامع الصحيح للحافظ أبي عيسى محمد بن عيسى الترمذي، بتحقيق أحمد محمد شاكر وآخرون، المسمى ) سنن الترمذي ) وقال: "حسن، صحيح". وقال الشيخ ا2لباني: "صحيح".1340) برقم (3/625نشر دار إحياء التراث العربي، بيروت ( )xiقال الشيخ ا2لباني: صحيح.1341) برقم (626/ 3(، المرجع السابق ) سنن الترمذي ( )xii( سنة 4، ط/بيروت، دار الكتاب العربي، نشر نعيم أحمد بن عبد هللا ا2صبھاني 2بي حلية ا2ولياء وطبقات ا2صفياء ، ). 6/310( ھـ 1405 )xiii( تحقيق طاھر ب ،السعادات المبارك بن محمد الجزري 2بي النھاية في غريب ا2ثر النھاية في غريب الحديث وا2ثر ).4/70( م1979 ھـ1399سنة بيروت، المكتبة العلمية ، نشرمحمود محمد الطناحيوأحمد الزاوى )xiv( المرجع السابقصحيح البخاري ، )2برقم ( )3/1291( ، المرجع السابقصحيح مسلم)، 5791برقم ( )5/2275 )1669(. )xv( السجستاني، نشر دار الكتاب العربي، بيروتسنن أبى داود 2بي داود سليمان بن ا2شعث )3632برقم ( )3/350،( سنن النسائي المجتبى من السنن 2حمد بن شعيب أبو عبد الرحمن )،1417) برقم (28/ 4( ، المرجع السابقسنن الترمذي ) برقم 8/67م (1986-ھـ 1406، سنة 2النسائي، بتحقيق عبدالفتاح أبو غدة، نشر مكتب المطبوعات ا9سrمية، حلب، ط/ دار ، نشر مصطفى عبد القادر عطابتحقيق محمد بن عبدهللا الحاكم 2بي عبدهللا المستدرك على الصحيحين)، 4876( قال ، وحديث حسنالترمذي عقبه: قال ) 7063) برقم (4/114(م 1990-ھـ1411 سنة ،1، ط/بيروت، الكتب العلمية .الذھبي قي التلخيص، وأقره م يخرجاهلحيح ا9سناد وص. وقال الحاكم عقبه: الشيخ ا2لباني: حسن )xvi( :بن تيمية، المرجع السابق مجموع الفتاوىانظرg )35/396(. )xvii( .تقدم قريبا )xviii( /م 1999 -ھــ2،1420مسند ا9مام أحمد بن حنبل بتحقيق شعيب ا2رنؤوط وآخرون، نشر مؤسسة الرسالة، ط حمدي بن عبدالمجيد تحقيق، بسليمان بن أحمد بن أيوب أبو القاسم الطبرانيلالكبيرالمعجم )، 17716) برقم (29/254( م 1983-ھـ 1404، سنة 2، ط/الموصل، مكتبة العلوم والحكم، نشر السلفي انظر: ."رواه أحمد والطبراني في الكبير ورجالھما ثقاتوقال: "مجمع الزوائد ). وذكره الھيثمي في 265) برقم (108/ 17( دار ، نشر بتحرير الحافظين الجليلين العراقي وابن جحر، نور الدين علي بن أبي بكر الھيثميل ومنبع الفوائدع الزوائد مجم ).6903) برقم (178/ 4(، وذكره الھيثمي في م1988 -ھـ1408، سنة بيروت، الكتب العلمية )xix( م ابن تيمية، المرجع السابقمجموع الفتاوىrلشيخ ا9س)35/397(. )xx( د. محمد المعروف بابن قيم الجوزية، بتحقيق محمد بن أبي بكر أيوب الزرعي ل الطرق الحكمية في السياسة الشرعية ).151-150(ص ، بدون تاريخالقاھرة، مطبعة المدني، نشر جميل غازي )xxi( ص) بن القيم، المرجع السابقg 149الطرق الحكمية.( )xxii( بن تيميg ة، المرجع السابق انظر: مجموع الفتاوى)35/398.( )xxiii( المرجع السابق حلية ا2ولياء ،)بكر أحمد بن عمرو بن عبد يب2المطبوع باسم البحر الزخار مسند البزار)، 10/114 م2009إلى م 1988 ، من1، ط/المدينة المنورة، بمكتبة العلوم والحكمبتحقيق مجموعة من المحققين، نشر الخالق البزار وھذا الحديث g نعلمه يروى عن أبي ھريرة إg من ھذا الوجه.) وقال 8144برقم () 14/398( )xxiv( م 1990-ھـ1411 للحاكم، المرجع السابق سنة المستدرك على الصحيحين)تعليق الذھبي قي ). 7064) برقم (4/114 .التلخيص: إبراھيم بن خثيم متروك )xxv( سنة 1لعبد هللا بن أحمد بن قدامة المقدسي نشر دار الفكر، بيروت، ط/ المغني في فقه ا9مام أحمد بن حنبل الشيباني ، ، يْحيَى إِْسَماِعيلبتحقيق د. عياض بن موسى بن عياض، للقاضي بفََوائِِد ُمْسلِم إكمال المعلمانظر: ).10/166ھـ (1405 المفھم لما أشكل من تلخيص )،6/137( م1998-ـھ1419، سنة 1، ط/دار الوفاء للطباعة والنشر والتوزيع، مصرنشر ).34/154)، مجموع الفتاوى gبن تيمية، المرجع السابق (5/300كتاب مسلم ( igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 135 )xxvi( المرجع السابقسنن ابن ماجه ، )إسناده صحيح إن سلم من الزوائد: في). قال البوصيري 2045) برقم (1/659 .قال الشيخ ا2لباني: صحيح. اgنقطاع )xxvii( مكتبة ، نشر كمال يوسف الحوت تحقيقببكر عبد هللا بن محمد بن أبي شيبة يب2 ا�ثارالمصنف في ا2حاديث و برقم )358/ 7السنن الكبرى ت:محمد عبد القادر عطا ()، 28303برقم ( )5/493(ھـ 1409، سنة 1، ط/الرياض، الرشد )14884.( )xxviii( المرجع السابقمصنف ابن أبي شيبة ، )28304برقم ( )5/493.( )xxix( بن قدامة، المرجع السابقg انظر: المغني)10/166.( )xxx( بدون تاريخ 2لشمس الدين محمد بن أحمد السرخسي نشر دار المعرفة للطباعة والنشر، بيروت، ط/المبسوط )7/275(. )xxxi( :ص) 152الطرق الحكمية(، )xxxii( المرجع السابقسنن أبى داود ، )حسن. قال ا2لباني:). 4384) برقبم (4/235 )xxxiii( :ئل النبوة للانظرgـ ھـ 1408، سنة 1، ط/دار الكتب العلمية، نشر عبد المعطى قلعجى. د تحقيقب بيھقىحافظ الد .)3/377السيرة النبوية gبن كثير (، م1988 )xxxiv( المرجع السابق سنن أبى داود ،)قال ا2لباني : صحيح. )2683برقم ( )3/10 )xxxv( المرجع السابقللقاضي عياضبقوائد مسلم إكمال المعلم ،)6/137.،( )xxxvi( المرجع السابق صحيح البخاري ،)2845) برقم (3/1095.( )xxxvii( بن تيمية، المرجع السابقg مجموع الفتاوى)35/402( ،بن القيم، المرجع السابق الطرق الحكميةg :ص)153 ، 158.( )xxxviii( بيروت، بدون تاريخ دار المعرفة، نشر ن ابن نجيم الحنفيزين الديل شرح كنز الدقائق البحر الرائق ،)8/80( ، ھـ1313، القاھرة، سنة دار الكتب ا9سrمي، نشر فخر الدين عثمان بن علي الزيلعيل شرح كنز الدقائق تبيين الحقائق . )35/404(gبن تيمية، المرجع السابق مجموع الفتاوى). 5/300المفھم لما أشكل من تلخيص كتاب مسلم ()، 5/182( )xxxix( لشمس الدين السرخسي، المرجع السابق المبسوط)7/275(. )xl( ميةrالمدونة الكبرى ل�مام مالك بن أنس بن مالك ا2صبحي رواية سحنون عن ابن القاسم، نشر وزارة الشؤون ا9س .16/93وا2وقاف والدعوة وا9رشاد بالمملكة العربية السعودية، )xli( دار ، نشر على محمد معوضو عادل أحمد عبد الموجودبتحقيق محي الدين النووي، لروضة الطالبين وعمدة المفتين .)4/10(، بيروت، بدون تاريخ الكتب العلمية )xlii( بن تيمية، المرجع السابق مجموع الفتاوىg)35/404(. )xliii( مد بن محمد بن عبد الرحمن الطرابلسي ، المعروف بالحطابشمس الدين محل مواھب الجليل في شرح مختصر خليل ، .)5/216( م1992 -ھـ 1412، سنة 3، ط/دار الفكرنشر )xliv( .انظر: المرجع السابق )xlv( م / زكريا ا2نصاريل أسنى المطالب في شرح روض الطالبrدار الكتب ، نشر د.محمد محمد تامر، بتحقيق شيخ ا9س ). 291-2/290(م 2000 -ھـ 1422، سنة 1، ط/بيروت، العلمية )xlvi( لشمس الدين السرخسي المبسوط)7/275(. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 4 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 11 asouzu and theory formulation in african philosophy by ekeng, charles clement department of philosophy faculty of arts university of calabar, calabar abstract this paper x-rays asouzu’s efforts in exploring the challenges therein, in formulating viable theories in african philosophy. theory formulation is marred by ethnocentric intrusions and this is described by asouzu as unintended ethnocentric commitment. some of the african socio-political theories have been sampled to identify this commitment. this is basically orchestrated by over-dependence on observational experiences. any attempt at formulating theory of universal appeal, asouzu believes, the theoreticians have to contain the difficulties that sense-experience presents. this paper argues that a resort to ibuanyidanda philosophy could salvage the quagmire faced by the scholars in theory formulation in african philosophy and it would help african theories to attain universal relevance. introduction in most cases, for one to have a firm grasp of the philosophy of any philosopher, it is pertinent to understand the socio-political situation of that society. this is due to the fact that generally it is the socio-political situations of a place that usually present philosopher with materials for philosophizing. contemporary african philosophy is a case in point. it is predominantly a political philosophy, due to the prevalent situations that gave birth to it. it was the socio-political situation in africa that gave room for questions to be raised in the minds of african thinkers and this invariably was the core focus of the theory formulation in contemporary african philosophy. the background to theory formulation in african philosophy derived its strength particularly from the scrambling and partitioning of africa by the europeans – africa was divided among the european nations for the sole purpose of exploitation, subjugation and domination. the europeans lorded it over the africans and became masters while africans became slaves in their own land. the french colonies even adopted the policy of ‘’assimilation’’ which means africans were forced to abandon their cultural practices and french culture was igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 12 forced on them. anything of value in africa was taken or rather stolen to europe. hence, africa was exploited to develop europe. however, this situation was later to be changed with the advent of scholars who came back from oversea training and education. with this new force in place, european exploitation, subjugation and domination met its match. the first half of twentieth century witnessed the biting wind of nationalism that blew across the african landscape. thinkers like nnamdi azikiwe, kwame nkrumah, julius nyerere, obafemi awolowo and others having completed their studies abroad came back home and began nationalist movements that was aimed at putting a stop to the physical occupation of african nations by the europeans – colonialism in africa. in order for this movement to gain momentum, the african scholars began with endeavour to reclaim the original consciousness of the african identity. they packaged this idea in the formulation of various theories. some of these theories are discussed hereunder: nkrumah and socialism (philosophical consciencism) – ideology of decolonization kwame nkrumah was a socialist revolutionary philosopher. he was very critical of capitalism. according to nkrumah in (omoregbe 31) capitalism “is a refined form of feudalism, which in turn is a refined form of slavery” capitalism is therefore a developed and refined form of slavery. for nkrumah original men lived communalistic lives, all land belonged to the community, everything was owned by the community, including all means of production, and everyone worked for the common good of the community (kanu, 112). but gradually people began to claim ownership of property and hence, inequality, slavery, feudalism, capitalism and class struggle crept in. the bourgeois then came up with a theory to support their stand. in reaction therefore, nkrumah believes that the traditional african society is not capitalist in nature, but egalitarian and communal. nkrumah then calls on african nations to reject capitalism and then embrace socialism, which gets its strength from the egalitarian and communal living in african society. he amplified the call to reject inequality, individualism, capitalism and imperialism forcefully brought into africa by the european imperialists by adopting socialism for the africans to go back to their root. consciencism is the philosophical and ideological system of nkrumah for the docolonization of the african continent. the basis of this philosophy is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 13 materialism, in this sense, materialism does not preclude the existence of immaterial or spiritual realities, it only affirms the primacy of matter, and maintains that spiritual realities developed from matter through a dialectical tension inherent in matter. from this dialectical tension, new factors, such as spiritual entities emerge and radical changes take place. this process is known as “categorical conversion”. in human society, it is this process of categorical conversion that radical revolution takes place and it is in this way capitalism can give way to socialism. nkrumah’s philosophical consciencism was seen by many as answer to the problems posed by three dominant identities – the traditional indigenous identity, the islamic element and the euro-christian element. hence, nkrumah’s consciencism was regarded as a philosophical synthesis. senghor’s negritude leopold senghor was a renowned poet and philosopher. his philosophy of negritude is well understood when the policy of assimilation, by the french government is in focus. assimilation policy was aimed at assimilating africans into french culture and citizenship. this therefore implies the rejection of african culture, african values, african identify, african personality and african attitude as worthless. africans were expected to consider it an honour to be allowed to adopt the french culture and become french citizens at the expense of their african culture and identity. senghor’s negritude is the rejection of this policy of assimilation and exaltation of the african culture, values and identity (kanu, 522). senghor found solidarity in a common black identity. he believed that a change could be achieved through a shared black heritage. senghor believes africans have a distinctive outlook toward life and a distinctive cultural identify. as such, like nkrumah he believes individualism and capitalism are foreign to traditional african society and culture. for example senghor in (omoregbe 34) believes “feelings and sentiments take precedence over abstraction in the african way of life. the african is deeply religious and gives prominence to the spiritual dimension in his outlook on life. he has no individualistic mentality since the society in which he lives is structured on communalism and not individualism or capitalism”. negritude is therefore a philosophical theory of re-discovery, re-awakening, redirection, a philosophy of emancipation and mental decolonization in order to give the pride of place to african culture and identity. what asouzu in the 50th inaugural lecture of the university of calabar may view as the product of error of judgement in the maxim; “the nearer the better and safer” (30). his endeavour igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 14 was to make the africans see their unique identity and culture as distinct from their european counterpart. nyerere’s ujamaa this is the philosophy of the former president of tanzania, julius nyerere, he believes that capitalism and individualism is foreign to african and therefore his philosophy is based on the communal nature of african society. nyerere also still believes that socialism based on class struggle, conflict and tension is just as foreign to african traditional society as capitalism, and therefore should be jettisoned (kanu, 48). at this point nyerere is different from senghor, who believes that class struggle, tension and conflict is part of universal law of progress. for nyerere traditional african society is not based on tension and class struggle but on “familyhood”, that means family relationship. nyerere believes that is the root of authentic african socialism. for this to be applied to the whole african society in this modern times, nyerere believes that the familyhood has to be extended beyond the extended family, beyond tribe, beyond the immediate society, beyond one african nation, it must be made to extend to reach the whole of african countries and for him african socialism has to based on this. according to (omoregbe 34). nyerere envisages a society made up of atomic family units, a country made up of ujamaa villages, a kind of “family villages” with mutual co-operation and collaboration. such a nation would be basically family units extended to embrace the whole society. the capitalistic spirit of acquisition, individualism, the exploitation of man by man, class struggle and conflicts will all be excluded from society. inequality will be eliminated and everybody will be prepared to work for the good of the community in any capacity. for nyerere, when exploitation, colonialism and inequality is removed from the society, the individual feels liberated and liberation, for him, is development. azikiwe’s neo-welfarism after examining different political systems such as capitalism, socialism, communism, welfarism etc. azikiwe discovered that they all appear attractive at the level of theory, but in practical terms, there lies untold challenges (kanu, 145). zik therefore decided to harmonize all the positive qualities in capitalism, socialism, and welfarism. the outcome of this ecclectic “harmonization of opposite” is what “zik calls neo-welfarism. according to (omeregbe 43) “zik describe his political philosophy as pragmatic and ecclectic”. ecclecticism is a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 15 term used in philosophy to identify a composite system of thought which incorporates ideas selected from other systems” (43). this ecclectic method does not modify but it blends opposite views. this is not syncretism because it does not attempt to reconcile or combine irreconcilables. zik wonders why some people have been calling for an ideology that is specially nigeria, thereby giving wrong impression that nigeria has no ideology. for him, there is no people or culture without its own ideology. if our father had no ideology how were they able to govern themselves, he questions. according to zik in (omoregbe 44) “politically, they were democratic in their institutions, economically, they were welfarist due to the fact that they owned and shared land in common and regarded themselves as their brother’s keepers. a neowelfarist society, according to zik, in omoregbe; the master workers in each craft are more honourable and know in a truer sense and are wiser than the manual workers, because they know the causes of the things that are done...the man of experience is thought to be wiser than the possessors of any sense perception whatever, the artist wiser than the man of experience, the master worker than the mechanical and the theoretical kinds of knowledge to be more of the nature of wisdom than the productive. (aristotle metaphysica bk a) from the above quotation, the polarizing mind-set of aristotle is obvious, and it seems to indicate that the wise are destined to rule the unwise. when this principle is applied to society, it massages the mind into accepting and adopting some ethnocentric tendencies. this polarizing mind-set of aristotle has made many people to veer off justice. with a mind-set impacted by aristotle’s categorization and polarization, the mind forms a picture of interpersonal relationship where some human begins are perceived by the mind as more important than others, or a situation whereby some societies are essential while others are inconsequential. this aristotelian ambience influenced to a larger extent how philosophy and science is done in the western world and this also extended to africa. the effects of ethnocentric commitment according to online free encyclopedia (wikipedia) ethno-centric bias is “the tendency to perceive the world from your own cultural group, such as your ethnic group, national group and so on. a consequence of this is that there can also be a tendency to view your own group as superior to other groups”. while this could be considered natural to human psychology, it has however generally igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 16 developed into negative manifestations, affecting almost all areas of human existence and also contributing to the skewed nature of human intellectual output. in his online paper, umezurike posits; “ethnocentric bias is the tendency of the mind to cling to those nearest to it, and seeks to protect their interest, against what is perceived as the external order” when this is done, group identity is established, and it is this group identity that is always the subject of contention, the source of bifurcation and at the base of polarization. when this is imbued through education, socialization and indoctrination, it makes us consider ourselves as more important than others. this tendency makes us to seek to protect and project interest in whatever we undertake. asouzu in his ibuanyidanda – new complementary ontology encapsulate this idea when he writes; since we tend to act under this impulse of our primitive instinct of self preservation always and often unintentionally one can say that in most multicultural and multiethnic contexts, there is often the tendency for the mind to act in an unintended ethnocentric fashion, in view of securing certain interests and privileges it defines as very important for the inner circle (130). this clearly indicates that what causes this ethnocentric bias, is the instinct of self preservation. asouzu believes that this instinct to act from the angle of selfpreservation is one of the major conflicts in our society and it is this ambience that influences philosophy and science. ethnocentric bias or commitment is rooted in self preservation and has a negative manifestations of exclusiveness, divisiveness and bifurcation. this attitude pervades in almost all sectors of human endeavour “ours is the best, theirs is not important”. the attitude is observed in the market, in the offices, in the church and mosques, in the state in the nation and in the world. this is what asouzu describes as “the nearer the better, the safer” and it is the bane of development and progress in almost all sectors of human endeavour. theory formulation in african philosophy developing theories based wholly on observation is fraught with disastrous consequences. looking at the above theories by african nationalists and scholars, one will easily observe some traits that run across those theories for instance, we see in nyerere’s uyamaa the trait of familyhood, we see african –brother-hood igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 17 in nkrumah’s consciencism, senghor’s negritude, azikiwe’s neo-welfarism, kenyata’s universal brotherhood etc. all these theories are founded on observational statements, that means they are synthetic in nature. at a close look , we observe that indicators such as “intimate belongingness”, “togetherness”, “communal intimacy” and “closeness” are what the african philosophers use to validate the claims of their theories. it should be noted that formulating a theory based only on observation or any theory that is synthetically oriented is always inadequate in terms of universal applicability. in order to remedy this situation we turn to the principle of ibuanyidanda philosophy. in ibuanyidanda philosophy, asouzu tries to remedy some of the hindrances caused by the experience induced methods of doing philosophy in africa. theory formulation in africa and its synthetic base many theoreticians in africa get the strength of their formulation from synthetic observational statements designed to reproduce exactly the given existential conditions. this means that what is expressed in theories can be validated only by making reference to certain indicators that sustain them, they however fail in their bid to make a comprehensive inquiry or expert investigation into the raw data of their experience in order to ascertain objectively the truth value of their theory claim. this is the position of asouzu in the journal of the philosophical association of kenya. asouzu was apt to point out the weakness of this position when he write that “iroegbu coined what he calls the principle of “belongingness”. this idea of “belongingness” is for iroegbu so constitutive that he elevates it to a principle with very high ontological significance such that, for him, to be is to belong” asouzu complains that the problem with this type of coinage is their pure synthetic foundation, which is not always manifest to the formulators of such theories. in pointing out the weakness of this formulation (asouzu) continues; “for iroegbu, “belongingness is umunna (kindred) concretized: if belongingness is umunna concretized, then the concept of “belongingness” does nothing other than to reproduce umunna (kindred), a social group, as we have this in everyday experience – a matter that escape iroegbu’s attention. as a further prove of the weakness of this position asouzu continues with the weakness of another african thinker, nwala. according to (asouzu) in the same journal; on his part, communalism is for nwala validated due to the validated of indicators that enhance the “collective and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 18 communal spirit, respect for the human persons, collective security owing to collective ownership and enjoyment of social wealth, social control and social wealth, social control and discipline, honesty and dedication to common cause (nwala 257 – 258). this means that for the communalist, formulation of theories requires empirical inferences or synthetic observational statements which explicate a given existential situation. according to (asouzu) “in following this route, they fail to realize that all human existential situations are ambivalent – a factor that can invalidate the claims enshrined in theories” this by implication indicate that theoreticians have to understand the nature of human situation which is ambivalent and which consequently render their theories invalid. therefore in matters of theory formulation asouzu is of the position that, theoreticians should, apart from describing what is the case, “be able to show clear evidence of penetrating the immediate data of experience and accounting for some of the fundamental mechanisms and phenomena that have the capacity to determine the structure and dynamics of human consciousness in the process of cognition and action”. this means investigating into the nature of the case in point in order to understand and access the hidden and unintended nuances therein so as to attain universal relevance. challenges of theory formulation in african philosophy there is a common denominator in theory formulation in african philosophy and that is the forceful influence of experience – induced ambience. the major reason that can be advanced for this scenario according to asouzu is found in the phenomena of “unintended ethnocentric commitment”, a situation where a person, often quite unintentionally, seeks to reclaim, by all means, and at all cost, what he thinks is his own” (asouzu 40 – 47) this situation is made complicated by endeavour to posit contrary theories, and in order to proffer solution or to correct the impression, many theoreticians, according to (asouzu) “cling to what they think is their own, and go about describing the same most accurately even at the risk of sounding absurd”. a good example is a situation whereby african scholars who want to advance the african communal spirit in aid of their theory formulation, project communalism over individualism as if they are contraries instead of being complementary. they also fall into the error of condemning individualism and those who practice it. in effect, they equate theory formulation with specific raw data of african experience of reality. this idea of looking at igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 19 reality by presenting them in theory form smacks of divisive and polarizing tendency. furthermore, another compelling force that set the mind on an exclusivist type of reasoning is the phenomenon of tempelsian damage” (a corruption of the minds of many african scholars due to the influence of placid tempels) asouzu believes in his book ibuaru that this is one of the heaviest burdens of contemporary african philosophy (asouzu 74) a situation whereby placid tempels “vital force” theory influences intellectual products of the africans in terms of theory formulation and they feel african theories have to be different. instead of this divisive tendency that is being promoted by these scholars, asouzu believes that theoreticians should seek for ways of reconciling conflicting interests. in his on line paper; ibuanyidanda (complementary reflection), communalism and theory formulation in african philosophy. he asserts; “here, theory formulation must concentrate on exploring ways of deriving credible principles needed to reconcile conflicting interests”. when theoreticians do not consider complementing ideas in their effort at formulating theories they end up in desperation and satisfying their over-bloated egos. in his online paper “ibuanyidanda (complementary reflection) communalism and theory formulation in african philosophy”. asouzu asserts; “when researchers approach the issue of theory formulation with an unrealistic, reclusive, defensive and non-complementary mind-set, efforts at constructing theories easily degenerate into matters of desperation and satisfaction of ideological needs, to the detriment of genuine scientific concerns”. another big challenge that theory formulation is faced with in african philosophy is the phenomenon of encryptic rationality as noted by asouzu. this perception if fired up by the “vital force” of placid tempel. the theoreticians rest secured with the idea that the existence of these phenomena is proven when once the objectives they serve have been established. for asouzu, it is in the realization of these objectives that “the reasonableness of these phenomena can be demonstrated beyond shades of doubt”. (asouzu 199) this means, an inquiry into extrasensory experience attain acceptance and validation immediately its functionality is ascertained. here asouzu avers that the african theoreticians rest content with this encryptic rationality which is evident in their theory formulations, he argues that it is not only africans that have this experience, but that in other cultures, other modes of rational solutions have been sought for and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 20 used for solution to their respective cultural problems. in his ibuaru, asouzu asserts; here, protagonists of this view tend to forget that africans are not alone in relating to encrypted phenomena in this fashion. the difference is that within some other cultural milieus, effective means that are workable have been put to address some of the problems these phenomena present. (199 – 120). ibuanyidanda and synthetic foundations of theories when the focus of our existential reality is wholly imbued with experienceimbued ambience, human consciousness is seriously skewed due to certain constraints provided by ambivalent nature of human experiences. this is why according to (asouzu) in his on-line paper ibuanyidanda “all matters of theory formulation should strive towards a method adequate to provide keen insight into the type of relationship existing between such activities of the mind as thinking (echiche), kernel of thought (uche), cognition (amamche), sense experience (ihe ahu na anya ekwe), intellectual intuition (amumauche) sensory intuition (onynyouche) etc, as these constitute the content of our consciousness.” due to the complex nature of our experience, asouzu feels compelled that there is need for reorientation and reconceptualisation of epistemology in order to allow for a method that would explore fully the dynamic character and the integral nature of the mind. “this is why i am of the opinion that a philosophy that has the capacity to achieve this lofty objectives must not be a type whose assumptions are based on any type of overhaul worthy anthologies. it has to be a philosophy which seeks to transcend all the constraints ensuring from ethnocentric impositions. such a philosophy has to be based on an anthology that seeks to address reality from a perspective.” (asonzu, 245) for asousu, it means we need a method that would radically change human approach to reality and this is what ibuanyidanda philosophy does. in ibuanyidanda philosophy therefore, the method is that of dispositional change that is, “the disposition to approach sensation and reality generally with a complementary comprehensive type of mind-set beyond the impositions arising from sense experience (ihe ahu na anya ekwe) (asouzu 140-159) this is an endeavour to understand reality by grasping the subject from the depth of its completeness. in his ibuanyidanda : new complementary onthology, (asouzu 323) asserts: here, complementary reflection aims at grasping the subject from the depth of its completeness devoid of ambivalence and polarization. in this case, we are igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 21 delving into the question of the anthological disposition pre-conditions for all forms of authentic rational human actions as these are captured by the transcendent categories of unity of consciousness. ibuanyidanda philosophy tries to penetrate in a complementary comprehensive manner, into the structure and dynamics of human consciousness, “and to penetrate reality generally, as to determine the nature of the mechanisms and phenomena responsible for the subject object divide we often sense in human consciousness, and which have the capacity to impact variously on our judgments about the world. (azouzu, 38) opines this in his ibuanyidanda the philosophy of essence. ibuanyindanda and the extension of the scope of synthetic statements whereas the theoreticians in african philosophy rest secured with observational statement as representing statements of fact about the world, ibuanyidanda philosophy helps to dig deep and widen the scope of their applicability. in doing this ibuanyindanda philosophy seeks to surmount the constraints posed by ambivalent human experience of reality. it extends the application of what is intended in the observational statement. it is this process of extended applicability that ibuanyidanda philosophy derives it metaphysical variant of its principle known as the principle of integration, which state that, according to asouzu in his the method and principles of complementary reflection, “anything that exists serves a missing link of reality” (273). this principle is complemented by the principle of progressive transformation which is the practical variant of it and it states that “all human actions are geared towards the joy of being” it is by acting in this mode that “human subject can translate the transcendent categories of unity of consciousness of ibuanyindanda philosophy into action” (asouzu 323) as stated in his ibuanyindanda: new complementary ontology. it is by the same token that asouzu arrives at the imperative of ibuanyindanda philosophy and this demands that we should “allow the limitation of being to be the cause of our joy” it is on this note that theoreticians can allow for universal applicability of their position. in doing this the theoreticians are cautioned by asouzu not to allow their position to make them to lose sight of their human insufficiency and at the same time to be conscious of the human determination to absoluteness and comprehensive in his future reference, and that is what asouzu refers to truth and authenticity criterion. by so doing the philosophy of ibuanyindanda tries to show how the essential and accidental, primary and secondary and how being in its various forms can be integrated into a comprehensive whole. his truth and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 22 authenticity criterion states: “never elevate a world-immanent missing link to an absolute instance” it therefore means that philosophy should be done in a complementary comprehensive manner. his philosophy directs that existential statement about the world could be validated adequately only in a complementary comprehensive way in relation to all missing links of reality. this is how asouzu bridge the yawning gap between the universal and particular, between the necessary and the contingent, the essential and the accidental, the consequential and inconsequential, between the individual and the community etc. conclusion the philosophy of ibuanyindanda is an alternative endeavour in understanding human reality in its entirely. it is a way of liberating the mind from the constraints posed by ambivalent – invaded mode of reasoning which has for a long time influenced the formulation of theories in african philosophy. putting ibuanyindanda’s ambience in perspective theoreticians would better capture their theories and such would be meaningful beyond the shore of africa. this means, theories in african philosophy will have a universal application. references aristotle metaphysica. vol, viii, 2nd ed. translated by w. o. ross oxford: clarendon press, 1926. asouzu, innocent i. the method and principles of complement reflection in and beyond african philosophy. munster: lit publishers, 2004. asouzu, innocent i.ibuanyidanda (complementary reflection) and some basic philosophical problems in africa today. sense experience, “ihe mkpuchi anya” and the super maxim. miinster: lit publishers, 2013. asouzu, innocent i. ibuanyidanda (complementary reflection), communalism and theory formulation in african philosophy’’. <http://ajol.info/index.php/tp/index>. asouzu, innocent i. ibuanyidanda and the philosophy of essence (philosophy the science of missing links of reality). 50th inaugural lecture. calabar: calabar university press, 2011. asouzu, innocent i. ibuanyidanda: new complementary ontology: beyond world immanentism, ethnocintric reduction and impositions. munster: lit publishers, 2007. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 23 asouzu, innocent i. ibuaru: the heavy burden of philosophy beyond african philosophy. munster: lit publishers, 2007. asouzu, innocent i. “method as disposition: challenges of philosophy in a world of relativity” in ikwa ogwe. essential readings in complementary reflection – a systematic mythological approach. calabar: saesprint, 2007. azikiwe, nnamdi. ideology for nigeria: capitalism, socialism or welfarism?. lagos: macmillan nigeria publishers, 1979. “ethnocentrism wikipedia, therefore encyclopedia”. <http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ethnocentrism> gyekye, kwame. an essay on african philosophical thought: the akan conceptual scheme. philadelphia: temple university press, 1995. kanu, ikechukwu anthony. (2013). nkrumah and the quest for african unity. american international journal of contemporary research. vol. 3. no. 6. 111114. kanu, ikechukwu, anthony. (2014). negritude and the quest for an african identity. indian journal of applied research. volume. 4. issue. 8. pp. 523-525. kanu, ikechukwu anthony. (2010). the political philosophy of nnamdi azikiwe as an ideology for political regeneration for nigeria. professor bassey andah journal of cultural studies. volume 3, pp. 146-155. kanu, ikechukwu anthony. (2013). african identity and the emergence of globalization. american international journal of contemporary research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 34-42. nwalu, uzodinma i. igbo philosophy. lagos: lantern books, 1985. nyerere, julius. ujamaa: essays on socialism. london: oxford university press, 1974. omoregbe, joseph. knowing philosophy lagos: joga press limited, 2001. tempels, placide. bantu philosophy. parish: presence africaine, 1959. umezurike, john. “ethnocentric bias in african philosophy vi-a-vis asouzu’s ibuanyidanda ontology”www.ajol.info/index.php/ft/article/view/109944 microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 3 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 17 nehemiah’s leadership strategies in rebuilding jerusalem: lessons for sustainable development in nigeria ikenna l. umeanolue, ph.d department of religion and human relations nnamdiazikiwe university, awka il.umeanolue@unizik.edu.ng abstract the old testament book of nehemiah provides a remarkable example of a leader motivated by, and acting for, good of the people. it also provides an example of the use of effective means in leadership: the pursuit of excellence in leadership and a passionate focus upon achieving desirable results. nehemiah was actively involved in projects from start to finish. one of the distinctive features of nehemiah’s leadership was the way he involved others. he motivated people and mobilized them to carry out his plan. everyone, from the high priest to the goldsmiths, and merchants to the common citizens got involved. throughout the entire process, nehemiah was a participatory leader. he led his followers from a position alongside them, rather than being out in front or trying to push them from behind. hence it is the aim of this paper to x-ray the leadership strategies of nehemiah as recorded in his memoir and the lessons for achieving sustainable development in nigeria. this is because many political leaders in contemporary nigeria have tended to invert or subvert leadership and continue to deny its positive principles. thus the concept of leadership as exemplified by nehemiah is helpful to the extent that it helps to emphasize the essence of leadership. the paper therefore concludes that for the attainment of sustainable development in nigeria, political leaders should be conscious of the fact that leadership bears the clarification which nehemiah’s strategies in rebuilding jerusalem represent. keywords: nehemiah, leadership, jerusalem, sustainable development, nigeria introduction one of the most compelling examples of leadership in the old testament is nehemiah. the book of nehemiah involves the story of the rebuilding of jerusalem’s walls following raids by the babylonian empire. nehemiah revealed an incredible ability not only to lead but to plan, strategize and execute major projects. this is why macdonald (1995) says: if you are having any sort of a building program and are having trouble getting people involved, nehemiah is the book to read. the leadership igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 18 questions needed to get a nearly impossible job done are wonderfully exemplified in this 5th century bc hebrew leader, (p. 481). nehemiah organized the political administration and defence of jerusalem (comay, 1978). we have a listing of those who supported nehemiah in his vision of rebuilding jerusalem. at the head of the list stands the high priest eliashib he was the grandson of jeshua (neh. 12:10), who himself was the high priest during the period of zerubbabel’s activity (ezra 2:2; 5:2). people are important for him; he values contacts and spends himself for them (neh. 5:16). his eloquence is brief and succeeds always in gaining the hearer’s reaction (neh. 2:17; 5:7; 13:25). his optimism refuses to notice pockets of reserve or resistance in public opinion (north, 1995). all these made nehemiah outstanding in development of jeremiah. development is a relative term meaning different things to different people. according to uche (2007), what seems common to the different meanings of development is their common features which include striving towards national interest, a stable economy, the quest for unity, greatness and prosperity. others may include striving towards justice, equity and promoting academic curiosity and opening new frontiers in job creation, scholarship and moral transformation.sustainable development refers to a definite growth in every sphere of the structure of the society; the putting in place of functional measures such as education, respect for rule of law, democratic ideals, hard work, and social justice. others include offering hope to the weak and growth in individual and socio-economic levels of progress in national life. these show that nehemiah, as a leader, contributed to the development of jerusalem. leadership is one of the greatest challenges of mankind, and in recent times in nigeria, issues that pertain to leadership have vociferously brought to the fore in national discourse several other vexing topical issues in the country. some have said that chief, among the several debates that have characterized our sad and sorry plight as a nation, is the question of leadership or apparent lack of leadership. it is, therefore, the aim of this paper to study the leadership strategies of nehemiah and their lessons for ensuring sustainable development in nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 19 the situation of jerusalem in nehemiah’s time king nebuchadnezzar of babylon pillaged the city of jerusalem, the temple and took thousands of the jews captive. however, the city was spared to a vassal state to babylonian empire. regardless of the strong remonstrances of prophet jeremiah and other prophets, zedekiah revolted against nebuchadnezzar, ceasing to pay tribute to babylon. king zedekiah entered into alliance with pharaoh hopra of egypt and in such disobedience, nebuchadnezzar in 586 bc besieged jerusalem and after eighteen months of siege destroyed the temple and the city walls of jerusalem. according to nichol (1976), the babylonian inversion into judah in 586 bc consequently led to the destruction of the temple and the city walls of jerusalem. this undoubtedly exposed the jews to the problem of insecurity and lack of a place of worship. the invasion and captivity resulted to moral decay and severe religious compromise contrary to yahweh’s instruction in the torah. exploitation of the poor by the rich and leadership oppression and injustice climax the period. after the babylonians were defeated, the jews in babylonian exile were liberated by cyrus in 539 bc. at this point in time, institutions were in shambles. the initial returnees could not do much. in such catastrophic circumstances, nehemiah the son of hachaliah gained prominence in persia (neh. 1:1; 8:9). he attained to a very strategic and influential position of personal cupbearer to the then persian king artaxerxes i longimanus (465-424 bc). according to drane (1978), nehemiah wrote a first-hand account that is preserved in the biblical book named after him. the memoir starts with nehemiah at the winter place in susa with the royal entourage. his kinsman hanani from jerusalem came to visit him with a group of fellow jews. nehemiah, a devout jew, was deeply upset by their report of the conditions in the holy city, where the people were in great trouble and shame; the wall of jerusalem is broken down, gates are destroyed by fire’ (neh. 1:3). the description of the defenceless city and the pathetic situation of the jews nehemiah heard from his jerusalem relatives filled him with a desire to go to jerusalem and remedy the situation. nehemiah waited for a suitable moment to broach the subject with his master. some four months later, he was serving wine to the king and queen at dinner. the king asked him why he was looking so sad; since he was not ill there must igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 20 be something else troubling him. startled at this show of concern, nehemiah blurted out that he was unhappy because the city where his ancestors were buried was in ruins. the emperor asked him in a kindly tone what it was that he wanted. nehemiah sent up a hurried prayer to the lord, and plucked up the courage to make a bold request. since he was an advisor of the king, he had no difficulty in getting the king’s ear. nehemiah took permission from the king to restore the dignity of his ancestral home, jerusalem. he persuaded king artaxerxes i to make judah an independent province, name him its governor, and allow him to rebuild the city walls of jerusalem. in regard of this request, nehemiah was appointed as the governor of the province surrounding jerusalem and permitted to go and contribute his quota in rebuilding jerusalem. the king also agreed to provide nehemiah with a letter of safe conduct addressed to the authorities in the ‘beyond the river’ province. the chief royal forester was instructed to supply him with all the timber he might require for the work. nehemiah and his leadership strategies in rebuilding jerusalem nehemiah arrived jerusalem in 444bc and started the work of rehabilitation and restoration. he was skillful enough in political matters to foresee that he would face great obstacles from local officials who did not want any change in the power structure. when he came to jerusalem, he saw that the level of corruption in the land was more than he imagined. the people had disintegrated themselves into the rest of palestinian politics. the business men in samaria had established link with jerusalem and to stop this nehemiah had to stop free thoroughfare to jerusalem. in this regard, nehemiah mobilized his fellow jews on the task of rebuilding the damaged walls. he called together a meeting of leading men from the city and the surrounding towns: priests, officials, notables, and heads of artisan guilds. he called on them to co-operate in rebuilding the walls: ‘let us rise up and build’ (neh. 2:17). they responded with enthusiasm. reconstruction work was carried out amidst stiff opposition from the samaritans, sanballat and tobiah (neh. 4). in other words, opposition could not prevent nehemiah’s vision; rather it was a stepping stone towards the actualization of his vision. the samaritans had maintained some level of jurisdiction over jerusalem before the return from exile and thought themselves original descendants of abraham. to just sideline them as nehemiah wanted was incomprehensible. in order to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 21 maintain original jewish stock, nehemiah had no option than what he was doing. it was said that workers who rebuilt the walls built with one hand and held arms with the other hand and in an amazingly short time of fifty two days they finished the job. even though those of them who knew what the original wall looked like wept because the present one was nothing to be compared with the former; the new one nevertheless acted as a moral booster to the people. at least jerusalem felt secured from outside negative influences. this to some extent reminded them of the good olden days. nehemiah came back after twelve years to find out that things had deteriorated much. in his absence, dissident elements asserted themselves (holmgren, 1987). during this time, things had returned to what they were before. foreigners had come to live in jerusalem, and the people were not observing the sabbath day. on top of that, the worship at the temple was not as strict as nehemiah would have liked it to be. some of the priests had been forced to leave their posts to go work on the farms, just to make a living. at the same time, eliashib the high priest had given suite of rooms in the temple to nehemiah’s enemy tobiah (neh. 6:10, 4:3). many jewish people were again marrying foreigners and even the high priest’s own grandson had married daughter of sanballat. nehemiah was determined to change all this. this time, he took very strong action. he prevented people by force from doing business on the sabbath, broke up marriages with foreigners, arranged permanent sources for the support of the levites, and even threw out all the furniture of the ammonite governor tobiah from an apartment in the temple which the high priest had let the governor use (boadt, 1984). as at the time of nehemiah’s leadership, injustices and oppression prevailed as the poor were continually oppressed by the rich. the poor mortgaged their lands, vineyard and houses for food while usury prevails in the land contrary to yahweh’s injunction in the torah. however, nehemiah’s remedied these injustices by urging the people to return the properties of the poor. his administration was in no way exploitative because he was sensitive to the welfare of the people. he completely denied self for the interest of the nation. nehemiah organized his voluntary labour force in a methodical fashion. each gate and each section of the wall was allocated to a separate group: the priesthood, the levitical orders, merchants, guilds such as the goldsmiths and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 22 perfume-makers, and contingents from jericho, tekoa, gibeon, mizpah, beth-zur and other towns in judah. some of the well-to-do merchants were made responsible for the sections adjoining their homes. a district official called shallum is on record as having drafted his daughters to work with him on his section. nehemiah’s detailed work schedule lists ten gates that had to be reconstructed: the sheep, fish, old, valley, dung, fountain, water, horse, east, and watch gates. in the districts adjacent to judah, there were men in official positions who were opposed to restoring the fortifications of jerusalem. they resented the arrival of nehemiah and did their best to frustrate his plans. nehemiah’s memoir identifies them as sanballat the horonite, tobiah the ammonite and geshem the arab. before the work commenced, sanballat, tobiah and geshem appeared together in jerusalem and derided the whole undertaking, asking in jest whether nehemiah was making preparations to rebel against the emperor. nehemiah dismissed them curtly, pointing out that they had no standing in the city and did not share in its traditions: ‘you have no portion or right or memorial in jerusalem’ (nehemiah 2:20). come what may, he told them the people would ‘arise and build’. despite the oppositions, nehemiah completed the project of rebuilding jerusalem successfully. the story of nehemiah and his work is one of great faith and perseverance (ogba, 2011). in the face of great hardship and much opposition nehemiah manifested the qualities of outstanding leader and successfully completed the task of rebuilding the walls of jerusalem and making it a protected and defensible city once again. his reformation on the cultural and moral life of the jews was a continuation and completion of what was begun by ezra, his contemporary. he and ezra joined in reading the torah (law of moses) to the people, observing the feast of tabernacles, and in making a public confession of sin, with the people making a covenant to keep the law. okwueze (2001) notes that nehemiah reawakened the cultural and moral consciousness of the people through renewing of the covenant they had with god and the restoration of the true worship of yahweh which the people had abandoned as a result of their result. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 23 jerusalem of nehemiah’s time and nigeria of today the state of nigeria has not fared better than that of israel. as israel has passed through many vicissitudes so has nigeria done in many respects but the period that properly reflects that of nehemiah in jerusalem could be likened to the democratic practice presently in the country. military era in nigeria was so much blamed for ineptitude in governance the same way the jews pointed at the sins of their fathers as the cause of jews’ problem. today many nigerians blame the immediate administration of goodluck jonathan as the cause of the present economic crisis in nigeria. the jews in exile frequently blamed their past. this sentiment is encapsulated in the saying in ezekiel 18:1-2 this way: “the fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children’s teeth are set on the edge”. nigerians the same way blamed their problems on long time of military rule. when the jews came back from exile they started living the same way that precipitated the exile nigeria has long abandoned military rule, yet the democratic regimes seem to be worse off. the community of returned exiles never saw anything wrong in repeating a decadent life that condemned them to exile before. nigerians, especially their leadership, are at the same level in corruption and mismanagement with their military counterparts. it was at this stage and condition in jerusalem that nehemiah had to come. he had risen to some eminent position in persian court but still had the welfare of his people at heart. the disorderliness and religiocultural insecurity in his ancestral home forced him to intervene. his concern for his people as a statesman was genuine enough to attract the attention of the persian government who sponsored his projects in jerusalem. the attitudinal cum behavioural antecedent of a man that could guarantee him express permission to travel for years in pursuit of ancestral business cannot be clothed under the garb of pretence. the enviable career image and occupation trust that could guarantee a man rebuilding his home at the expense of foreign government must not be fake. nehemiah was special to have possessed these qualities. nehemiah also possessed a charisma that enabled him gain not only audience but tacit followership in his home jerusalem where he was scarcely known before them. the work of mobilizing the populace for the work of rebuilding was igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 24 not a mean one and no doubt a great attribute of sane leadership. he set to work and promptly delivered at a shot interval. to deliver is to lead and to be followed. nehemiah successfully resisted the agents of negativity, not in a brutal form but a very diplomatic way. he addressed mixed marriage also in a diplomatic form. challenges of sustainable development in nigeria there are observable challenges of sustainable development in nigeria. they are discussed under misplaced priority, corruption, ignorance, lack of close monitoring, poor funding and implementation of development projects. inability to set priorities right as a nation poses a serious challenge that explains retrogression in nigeria. for instance, nigeria is one of the world leaders in crude oil. exporting it and importing the refined product is one of those noted misplaced priority. the inability in having functional refineries in nigeria has cast doubt in the minds of observers as to federal government sincerity in tackling fuel crises in nigeria. corruption is another cankerworm that has eaten deep into the psyche of nigerians. corruption has negatively affected every sphere of life in nigeria. definition of corruption will bring out the danger that it has posed as a challenge to sustainable development in nigeria. hornby (1995) defines it as a “dishonest or wicked behaviour”. mish (2002) says that to be corrupt is to be morally degenerate and pervert. corruption is so alarming in nigeria that transparency international rates nigeria as the second most corrupt nation in the whole world. corruption in nigeria is exemplified in bribery, smuggling, embezzlement, arson, extortion, reposition, and oppression. okodo (2008) adds that selfperpetuation of an administration in power is a corrupt practice in nigeria. another challenge affecting sustainable development in nigeria is parochial glorification. many people in nigeria hold high to their parochial glorification. most nigerians consider themselves first. okodo (2008) sees parochial glorification and selfishness as unpatriotic tendencies which have given rise to a lot of crimes against society. ignorance is another challenge to sustainable development in nigeria. maira (1998) sees ignorance as lack of knowledge or awareness. having little or no knowledge is no excuse for not adding to the dignity of man and society. a prior igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 25 decision to deny the struggle aimed at making both ends meet by contributing positively in developing nigeria’s natural, material and human resources has questioned the sincerity of purpose of such nigerians. illiteracy is another challenge to sustainable development in nigeria. illiteracy is inability to read and write; uneducated or ignorant especially in a particular field or subject. lack of monitoring remains another challenge to sustainable development in nigeria. white elephant projects are pursued for the sake of material gains. some are abandoned after billions of dollars have been sunk into them. one would have thought that the essence of feasibility study would have been to forestall any short fall in the expectation from the economic venture. corruption seems to becloud nigerian leaders’ sense of accountability, fairness and probity. many projects have been abandoned after collecting mobilization fees with a trip of sand dropped at the construction site. such impunity results because there is no thorough supervision and monitoring of project. leadership role of nehemiah as a model for sustainable development in nigeria there are a lot to learn about leadership from nehemiah’s example. one of the first tasks of a good leader is to determine a goal, and create an environment in which the goal can be accomplished. nehemiah’s first objective was to enlist the support of the king. when he approached the king and was asked why he looked so sad, he told him that if the king found favour with him, it was his desire to be dispatched to jerusalem where his fortunes were buried, to rebuild the city. with these simple words, he established a dear and unambiguous goal, and facilitated the king’s decision to support that goal neh. 2:7-8. nigerian leaders should not only be determining goals for development of the nation, they should as well create enabling environment in which the goal can be achieved. a good leader always communicates goals to coworkers and subordinates. after receiving the king’s approval and support, nehemiah travelled to jerusalem and set about the task of rebuilding. this was not a task within the capability of one man, however, and he had to gain the confidence and support of people in the area to achieve it. before he did anything else, however, he first inspected the city walls to determine the magnitude of the task. he then returned to the city and communicated his findings to the priest, nobles, officials and others who would actual work. he informed them that the walls and gates must be restored in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 26 order for them no longer live in disgrace. again, nehemiah established clear goals and why it was in there interest to support those goals, another essential trait of effective leadership. one of nehemiah’s leadership strategies is his ability to develop people. the natural tendency for most contemporary leaders is to want to handle everything themselves, because then they can be sure that it is handled the way it should be. the problem with this is that there is only so much a person can do and even if you manage to do everything yourself, you run the risk of burning out and causing yourself some serious damage. the most important thing nigerian leaders can learn nehemiah as leaders is to develop people under their authority, into capable leaders and delegate responsibilities to them. this gives people sense of belonging and opportunity to contribute their quota in societal development. nehemiah was a great mobilizer and motivator who was passionate about his work. he was a great administrator and he delegated duties effectively based on people’s skills and talents. he was a strong leader who focused on his work despite being under heavy criticism. he was despised but he never gave up, rather he kept on pressing on the people to accomplish their mission. he knew how to establish a great relationship with the people. he worked together with the people. he also cared about the people for he helped the poor and upheld justice and truth. he had no favouritism for he rebuked his officials and nobles for exacting usury on their own people. a good leader determines the proper strategies to dealing with change and opposition to change as exemplified in nehemiah. nehemiah was not without opposition for his plans for jerusalem. many of the local tribes were angered by the rebuilding of the walls, and threatened to attack jerusalem and spread trouble. in addition to praying to god for guidance and aid, nehemiah had guards posted day and night to meet the threat. here, nehemiah demonstrated the importance of determining the obstacles to achieving goals and developing strategies to mitigate them. nigeria is battling with problem of insecurity and the government has not done enough to forestall that. until the problem of insecurity is solved in nigeria, there cannot be effective development in the nation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 27 nehemiah also finished and completed his project by being persistent and consistent. through his courage, he and jerusalem gained respect from their neighbouring countries because he never relented in his work. nehemiah also understood the need of quality leadership with integrity and fear of god. he appointed men of character to be in charge of jerusalem affairs. nigerian political leaders should therefore internalize these leadership strategies of nehemiah for achievement of good leadership and sustainable development in nigeria today. conclusion the old testament book of nehemiah provides a remarkable example of a leader motivated by, and acting for, good of the people. nehemiah’s leadership is one of great faith and perseverance. in the face of great hardship and much opposition, he manifested the qualities of an aiding leader and successfully completed the task of rebuilding jerusalem. there are three kinds of people in the world: those who know what is happening, those who watch what is happening, and those who make things happen. nehemiah was a man who made things happen. he applied positive leadership strategies that aided him in actualization of his plan. hence, for the attainment of good leadership and sustainable development in nigerian, political leaders should be conscious of the fact that leadership bears the clarification which the qualities and strategies of nehemiah represent. references boodt, l. (1984). reading the old testament: an introduction. new york: paulist. calle, g.a. (1996). management theory and practice (5thed.) dubblin: dp. comay, j. (1978).the world’s greatest story: the epic of the jewish people in biblical times. new york: holt, rinehart and winston. drane, j. (1987). introducing the old testament. san franscico. harper & row. holmgren, f.c. (1987). ezra & nehemiah: israel alive again. edinburgh: the handsel. hornby, s. (1995). oxford advanced learner’s dictionary of current english. oxford: oxford university. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 28 macdonald, w. (1995). nehemiah. in. a. farstad (ed.). believer’s bible commentary (pp. 481-494).nasville dallas: thomas nelson. mairi, r. (1998). chambers 21st century dictionary. india: allied chambers. mish, f. c. (2002). merriam-webster’s collegiate dictionary. springfield: merriamwebster. nichole, j. (1976). thinking through the bible. london: kregel. north r. (1995). nehemiah.in r. e. brown, j.a. fitzymer and r. e. murphy (eds.).the new jerome biblical commentary (pp. 391-398). london: burns and oats. ogba, o. (2011). understanding the old testament. enugu: okenkem. okodo, i. (2008). the culture of good moral principles: a solution to the problems of corruption in nigeria. unizik journal of humanities. 1. 1. 1-10. okwueze, m. i. (2008). the old testament as history, religion and literature. onitsha: africana first. uche, o. o. c. (2011). religion and sustainable development in nigeria: a functionalist approach. in a. b. c. chiegboka, t. c. utoh-ezeajugh& m. s. ogene (eds.).the humanities and sustainable development (pp. 350-359).nimo: rex charles & patrick. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 4 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 24 authentic experience of being through the process of neotic propaedeutic by umera joseph bassey department of philosophy faculty of arts university of calabar, calabar abstract according to asouzu i. innocent, "...the way people see the world are subject to diverse conditions, mechanisms and circumstances that determine them(ibuanyindanda,70)". from his inaugural lecture, part of these conditions, mechanisms and circumstances seems to come from education, socialisation and indoctrination, which are very "sharp", in that, they form the basis upon which we investigate and relate with the world either scientifically or socially; which is evident in the way we approach truth,relate with one another, view the opposite sex, share societal roles and responsibility,lead in organisations, etc. consequently, this can prevent us from enjoying an authentic experience of being, if the mind does not have the spirit of ibuanyindanda or is not train in a way that makes it to be intan dem with a complementary comprehensive disposition that views anything that exist as that which serves a missing link of reality. therefore, the process of neotic propaedeutic becomes a veritable tool for aiding us penetrate the savour of authentic experience of being, because already, as asouzu makes it seems, the western education is caught in the web of aristotle's bifurcation of reality in his metaphysics, which i vehemently agree. this paper attempts to show how we can we can enjoy authentic experience of being, through the process of neotic propaedeutic. introduction to underscore the topic of this paper judiciously will entail a systematic approach. thus, i will start with the metaphysical problem of being and the aspect in which ibuanyindanda's philosophy tries to address, aristotle's bifurcation of of being into substance and essence, it underlining mindset, it ontological adverse effects on humanity and the need for an authentic experience of being, before going to the crux of the paper: authentic experience of being through the process of neotic propaedeutic. this paper is written in this order. before then, let us clarify some of the major concepts upon which the message of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 25 this paper has it pivot. they are: ontology, ibuanyindada, philosophy of essence, ibuaru, ethnocentric commitment, etc. ontology thomas hofweber defines it as "the study of what there is". from the forgoing, it is safe to deduce that ontology is the critical study of anything that exist, so as to determine the underlining principles of things, what it means for something to be in existence or the criterion for determining that which exist. it asks questions like: what is being? what does it mean for something to exist? does god exist? etc, and tries to proffer solutions to the questions it raises. thus, aside from asking questions concerning the origin, nature and constituents of reality, ontology also seeks to provide an enabling horizon within which the idea of being can be articulated and grasp. ibuanyindanda ibuanyindanda is a new ontological horizon provided by the idea of comprehensive complimentarism which seeks to eradicate the difficulties pose by aristotle's bifurcation of reality into substance and accidents, which has coloured our minds with the belief that substance and accident lie in diverse regions and that substance does not need accidents to exist because it has the capacity to exist on it own. on the other hand, accidents cannot exist on their own but rather rely on substance for their own existence. in this sense, the new complementary ontology, ibuanyindanda, states that anything that is such that serves a missing link of reality or that which has the capacity to be in a mutual complementary relationship with all things that exist. ibuanyindanda's philosophy is propounded by asouzu i. innocent and he defines it as thus; ibuanyindanda philosophy is a transcendent complementary comprehensive systematic inquiry into the structure and denamics of human consciousness as to determine the reason for the subject object tension and dichotomy by reason of which the ego always seeks it autonomy outside the foundation of it unity. it is an attempt at addressing this tension with a view to providing workable solutions towards it containment in a complementary comprehensive mutually harmonised fashion( inauguaral lecture, 38). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 26 the concept ibuanyindanda, according to asouzu is derived from the ibgo vocabulary. it is a composite word made up of the following three parts: ibu = load or task anyi = not insurmountable for danda = danda( a species of ants) when these three words are added together, the mean thus: no load or task is not insurmountable for danda. the concept ibuanyindanda is draws it inspiration from the teachings from the traditional igbo philosophers of the complementary system of thought... this is inferred from observing a species of ants called danda. these ants have the capacity to carry heavy loads that rapper bigger and heavier than themselves. what this implies is that the can surmount very difficult task when they are mutually dependent on each other in the complentation of their efforts, not in an isolated manner as the mindset of aristotle's bifurcation would have us believe( emphasis mine. ibuanyindanda, pg 11). missing link according to oxford dictionaries (online) missing link is defines as "a thing that is needed in order to complete a series, provide continuity, or gain complete knowledge" philosophy of essence to understand the expression "philosophy of essence", it is pertinent to first of all, understand aristotle's bifurcation of reality into substance and accident, which is the crux of his metaphysics( however, the expression: "philosophy of essence" is asouzu's coinage). according to asouzu, aristotle had bifurcated reality into two: substance or essence and accident in his metaphysics. quoting from aristotle's metaphysics to support his point, he writes: thus, for aristotle, all beings are constituted of substance and accidents. (metaphysica book a, 2, 6, 8). on their part the substance or essence, belongs to real character of being, because: if these are not substance, there is no substance igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 27 and no being at all; for the accidents of these it cannot be right to call beings(inaugural lecture,pg 15). abstracting from this, we can infer that for asouzu, according to aristotle, essence is the immutable, incorrigible being that is the real character of being, and largly, it can exist without the accident. the accident is the mutable, imperfect and corrigible beings that appear in the physical world, which cannot exist on it own without the essence. hence, asouzu argues that one of the things most striking about aristotle metaphysical teaching is that it is conceptualised with a mindset that sees reality, human interpersonal relationship and science in a polarised, exclusivist, non-complementary mode(inaugural lecture, pg 15 and 16). consequently, the expression “philosophy of essence” as postulated by asouzu, designate any attempt to understand and relate to reality after the mindset of aristotle’s metaphysics. it is the attempt to relate to the world in a disjointed, disharmonious, exclusivist, polarising mode as to negate the mutual complementary interrelatedness between all existent realities(inaugural lecture, 16). unintended enthocentric commitment this is another coinage invented by asouzu. i wish to quote directly from him for the purpose of clarity: by unintended ethnocentricism or unintended ethnocentric commitment... i refer to that tendency for philosophers or scientist to go about their subject matter with ethnocentric frame of the mind but unintentionally. here, inquirers allow the basic assumption of their inquiry to be controlled by e dictates of what i call their raw primary cognitive ambience. it is an attempt to project and protect the legacies of one's cultural affiliation, at the risk of being exclusivist, though unintentionally(ibuaru, pg 36). however, it has to be emphasised that asouzu believes that this ethnocentric commitment is not intentional. thus, he gives the following as his reason for reasoning so: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 28 i call the phenomenon an “unintended intrusion” “because there is every indication that in spite of the declared goodwill of many researchers and thinkers to steer the course of scientific objectivity in their philosophical endeavours, there are often worrisome traces of unintended ethnocentric commitment in their minds and thinking. these are some of those biases arising from our value commitments; most especially because of the excessive importance we attach to matters that concern us most, and matters relating to our ethnic and tribal affiliations. in most cases, in doing philosophy, we often wish to uphold and defend our ethnic and tribal identities and values no matter how hard we try to steer an objective course” (asouzu, ibuanyidanda 13). the metaphysical problem of being metaphysics is one of the traditional branches of philosophy that probes into the fundamental cause of all existent being (kanu). to do this successfully, it investigate into the nature and origin of being and what it means for something to exist. it asks questions such as; what is being? is being limited to sensible reality or does it have a supra-sensible dimension. if it has, which one comes first? which one is the substratum, which one should we trust? which one is more important? can they survive on their own independently or do they need each other to survive or can one survive even without they existence of the other, if so, which one? does god exist? if he does, why is there evil in the world? why are they ungodly progressing and they good ones perishing? where does evil come from if god is the creator of all things. these and many more questions alike are what preoccupy the mind of the philosopher of metaphysics or metaphysician. however, he does not stop by pondering on them as ends in themselves, but uses them as a means to proffering solutions to some of the major challenges of humanity. aristotle was the first to systematically approach the metaphysical problem of being. this is evident in his metaphysical system. s. marc cohen adumbrates this point aptly in the following statements: the first major work in the history of philosophy to bear the title “metaphysics” was the treatise by aristotle that we have come to know by that name. but aristotle himself did not use that title or even describe his igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 29 field of study as ‘metaphysics’; the name was evidently coined by the first century c.e. editor who assembled the treatise we know as aristotle's metaphysics out of various smaller selections of aristotle's works. the title ‘metaphysics’— literally, ‘after the physics ’—very likely indicated the place the topics discussed therein were intended to occupy in the philosophical curriculum. they were to be studied after the treatises dealing with nature ( ta phusika). in this entry, we discuss the ideas that are developed in aristotle's treatise (s. marc cohen, aristotle's metaphysics) aristotle concieved his metaphysics as the study of "being qua being" , "wisdom", "theology", "first cause", but did not give it the name "metaphysics as we have seen above. therefore, we can say that the subject matter of aristotle's study in his metaphysics was being. commenting on aristotle's metaphysics, asouzo opines that aristotle bifurcated being into substance and accident, and gave more credence to substance as that which can live alone without the support of "accidents": thus, for aristotle, all beings are constituted of substance and accidents. (metaphysica book a, 2, 6, 8). on their part the substance or essence, belongs to real character of being, because: if these are not substance, there is no substance and no being at all; for the accidents of these it cannot be right to call beings(inaugural lecture,pg 15). s. marc cohen seems to agree with asouzu when he made the same point that aristotle argues in a new way for the ontological priority of substance...[and] proposes a new point of departure in his effort to say what sort of a thing substance is. the new idea is that a substance is a “principle and a cause" of being(s. marc cohen, aristotle's metaphysics). if we follow asouzu's position so far in this work, we will see that aristotle's conception of being has penetrated western education and the world at large and has caused a disjointed form of viewing reality which has affected the academia, leadership, and even our interpersonal relationship. evidences abounds in the unintended ethnocentric commitment which is stamppeding scientific igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 30 objectivity, growth and development in the body of knowledge, and the way some political leaders in nigeria discharge their responsibilities. aristotle's polarisation of being can be said to have, largely, had enormous influence on the way we view the world. quoting from sahakian, asouzu traced the origin of this influence to the arabian scholars who preserved the work of aristotle, and tried to show how it even affected the church. "aristotle's works, which had been preserved by arabian scholars, were acclaimed by the church as criteria of truth which were to be accepted by all christians just as they accepted the traditional dogma of the church. anyone who contradicted aristotle was to be adjudged guilty of heresy" (sahakian 103). from the above quotation, one can only imagine and understand the enormity of such an influence if we cast take our minds back to the medieval period and try to remember what it meant to stand against the position of the church in view of what happened to galileo galilee. it is only when we do this that we will have a good grasp of the fact that till date, we are still victims of aristotle's bifurcation of being. the logic is this: since it was an aberration to stand against the position of the church during this period and aristotle's metaphysics was adopted by the church as the criateria for truth which was to be accepted by all christians as they accepted the traditional dogma of the church, then church must have adopted measures for this dogma to be taught in schools, diverse church congregations, the media,social clubs and otherwise. this becomes more evident when we think of aristotle's supremacy of substance over accidents, put it side by side in comparison with the way husbands claim unnecessary lordship over wife and children, leaders disrespect "the principle of rule of law", people do inhumane things to remain in power, even in the way many philosophies are done till date. if this is done, we will see how aristotle's metaphysics has largely affected us. this seems to be the cause of tension in the world today which has in no little way affect the realisation of authentic experience of being. the next section discusses how philosophy of essence, and the logic of kasom di adina(that i maybe alone) has affected growth and development, both in academic researches and interpersonal relationship. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 31 philosophy of essence, the logic of kasom di adina and their adverse effects whereas philosophy of essence designates any attempt to understand that relate to reality after the mindset of aristotle’s metaphysics..[which] is the attempt to relate to the world in a disjointed, disharmonious, exclusivist, polarising mode as to negate the mutual complementary interrelatedness between all existent realities(inaugural lecture, 16), the logic of "kasom di adina", that i maybe alone, is the cap that suits the head of that person who thinks he can maximise his existence all by himself, in contrast to the spirit of ibuanyindanda. in the words of asouzu, that person is to be pitied who thinks that a subject can afford to live alone, outside of the legitimacy provided by the mutual complimentary relationship between all missing links, and calls this existence (ibuanyindanda, pg 10). this is not a twin concept, since one of it is the mother of the other. philosophy of essence is the mother of kasom di adina. this is so because, the spirit of philosophy of essence is what produces kasom di adina's mindset. when this sort of mindset is in place, there is a high tendency to view reality from a polarised lense, which is capable of blurring perception, pulling us into the chains of unintented ethnocentric commitment and amplify our self interest, no matter how good our intension is. i dare say that it is this sort of mindset that lays [undue] emphasis on or encourage the suremacy of one discipline over the other, sees one's self as being better than the other,makes a leader sees his/her self as being above the law, etc. for example, here in nigeria, the disproportionate attention that is accorded the natural sciences speaks volumes of the mindset with which we approach reality. this is all the more the case when our admis sion quota favours the natural sciences, which by implication are rated higher than other disciplines(inaugural lecture, 20). to unburden or avoid the adverse effect of the philosophy of essence and the logic of kasom di adina, entails the acquisition of the ibuanyindada's spirit or mindset. ibuanyindanda as a new ontology provides an horizon for viewing reality in a comprehensive complimentary way, which seeks to eradicate the difficulties pose by aristotle's bifurcation of reality into substance and accidents, which has coloured our minds with the belief that substance and accident lies in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 32 diverse regions and that substance does not need accidents to exist because it has the capacity to exist on it own, but accidents cannot exist on their own but rather rely on substance for their own existence. the new complimentary ontology, ibuanyindanda, seeks to eradicate this type of mindset and upholds that anything that exist is such that serves a missing link of reality or that which has the capacity to be in a mutual complementary relationship with all things that exist. the need for authentic experience of being most human actions are dictated by our primitive instinct of self-preservation...of all the things that determine our action, this primitive drive can be seen as the most fundamental. this passion for self-preservation is at the root of our desire to excel and to be different, even to the point of sounding absurd. this we can do either within a universal context or within a circumscribed location. when this drive takes the character of securing those private interests that we desire most, in total exclusion of other stakeholders, it can make us unduly competitive, jealous of the achievements of the others. likewise, it can inject undue fear into us, lest we are over taken by others (ibuanyindanda, 24). it is pertinent to note at this juncture that the drive for self preservation is an immanent existential situation of man. this means that it is not a product of a particular cultural background, it is something universal. in the face of many competing interest searching for supremacy, man is often driven by this primitive instinct to want to protect his own interest first. thus, there is a need for us to remind ourselves of this point because; forgetting it may led to a tragic end, because it can prevent us from having an authentic experience of being. what does it mean to have an authentic experience of being? authentic existence... entails therefore the capacity to equilibrate the tension arising from the inner recesses of our being in a way that guarantees mutual coexistence of all units within the framework of the whole (inaugural lecture,29). in view of this, one can say that all matters of authentic philosophising [as well as authentic experience of being] starts with the mind; and a transcendent type of mindset for that matter. this is the type of mindset that reveal to it subject that in considering any given situation, one has to take into account all the factors and actors that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 33 entered into it genesis, no matter how insignificant (ibuanyindanda,42). thus, we can only enjoy an authentic experience of being when all the actors possess the type of mindset that is driven by the spirit of ibuanyindanda. it is these particular mindsets that will enable us manage and control our ambivalent nature and the primitive drive of self interest when it wants to show up in the negation of the interest and contributions of all the other factors and actors. hence, we can be said to have an authentic experience of being when we are able to manage and control our idiosyncrasies inview of the ambivalent nature of man in a way that guarantees mutual complementary relationship. since, according to asouzu, all matter of authentic philosophising as well as authentic experience of being start with the mind(ibaunyindanda, emphasis mine, 42), one cannot easily throw overboard, over night, the long legacies of a polarising antagonistic type of thinking in which most people that have imbibed western type of education, socialisation and indoctrination have been raised. it is therefore necessary for us to think about a kind of neotic propaedeutic that will enable us possess the kind of mind that will help us attend the level of authentic existence or authentic experience of being. thus, there is a need for a neotic propaedeutic for an authentic experience of being because the world seems to be caught in the web of aristotle's bifurcation of reality. neotic propaedeutic: a necessity for the authentic experience of being since aristotle's bifurcation of being and it adverse effect has affected and polarised the way we view reality, pursue truth, relate with one another,etc, we have been prevented from enjoying the savour of an authentic experience of being. as we have noted in the previouse chapter, asouzu argues that we can only attain the joy of authentic experience of being, only when we manage the ambivalence of our nature in such a way that enables us recognise that we are all missing link of reality, which is spirit of ibuanyindada's ontology. what this implies is the fact that there is a particular type of mindset that is needed to fulfil the necessary requirement for attainding the joy of authentic experience of being and this type of mindset is one that has ibuanyindanda's disposition. asouzu defines neotic propaedeutic in the following way: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 34 by noetic propaedeutic, i mean a pre-education of the mind and human reason with a view to overcoming the broken unity in human consciousness caused by the challenges of the tensionladen human ambivalent existential situations and ihe mkpuchi anya (phenomenon of concealment). through such a rigorous propaedeutic, actors are enabled to define their interests within the ambit of all missing links and to know reality in its true and authentic constitution. thus, the major task of a noetic propaedeutic is to help the ego eliminate this broken unity and to help restore the subject to true self such that it can affirm sightfully that to be is to be in mutual complementary relation-ship with all missing links of reality ((ka sọ mụ adina). it is the moment actors succeed in affirming their being in this way, that we can say that they are living in the true sense of the word. it is the moment actors succeed in affirming their being within the framework of all missing links that it becomes evident to them also that to be is not to be alone (ka sọ mụ di). on the contrary, they become conscious of the fact that to be entails all the processes needed to overcome the demands of uche/obi akọlọ, uche aghụghọ or uche ka sọ mụ di (negative wisdom or intelligence, hegemonic or exclusivist type of mindset), which is the seat of all negative acts and exclusivist tendencies. it is by reason of the same insight that they strive always to act from the promptings of a complementary comprehensive type of mindset (obi/uche ka sọ mụ adina) (inaugural lecture, 48 and 49). what this implies is that the pedagogy of neotic propaedeutic and it necessary conditions for the actualisation of the joy of our being or the authentic experience of our being, is inherent in ibuanyindanda's ontology. therefore, for one to really claim authentic existence, he or she must have the mind or spirit of ibuanyindanda's ontology and must operate within it frame work, or must at least, fulfil the minimum requirement of working in a mutual relationship with other actors of existence and recognise them as missing links of reality. therefore, neotic propaedeutic is a precondition (which is the acquisition of ibuanyindada's mindset) for any meaningful discourse in philosophy, science, interpersonal relationship, approach to truth, leadership and administration, without which we stand the chance of having an exclusivist, clannish, disjointed, polarized view of reality which is rifed with serious dangers, among which we have noted some in the chapter two of this work. conclusion igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 35 the mind only responds in the way in which it is tuned and conditioned by the ontology pervading the education, socialisation and indoctrination through which it is trained with. according to asouzu, aristotle's metaphysics is polarising and bifurcating. hence, it breeds an hegemonic mindset with polarising perception of reality which is capable of and has created an unhealthy divide in humans relationship, leadership, politics, etc. thus, there is a need for a mindset that perceives reality in a complementary mood that gives regard to anything that exist as a "missing link". this is ibuanyindada's type of mindset. without this type of mindset, authentic experience of being will be impossible. references asouzu i. innocent. ibuarụ: the heavy burden of philosophy beyond african philosophy. litverlag, münster, zurich, new brunswick, london, 2007 asouzu i. innocent. ibuanyidanda. new complementary ontology. beyond world-immanentism, ethnocentric reduction and impositions. litverlag, münster, zurich, new brunswick, london, 2007. asouzu i. innocent. 50th inaugural lecture “ibuanyidanda”and the philosophy of essence (philosophy the science of missing links of reality),university of calabar press university of calabar calabar, nigeria, 2011. kanu, ikechukwu anthony. (2012). the problem of being in metaphysics. african research review: an international multi-disciplinary journal. 6. 2. 113-122. thomas hofweber: "logic and ontology" stanford encyclopedia of philosophy,july 2014,web. s. marc cohen, aristotle metaphysics, stanford encyclopedia of philosophy, july 2014, web. microsoft word igwebuike journals vol. 5. no. 7.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 46 aristotle’s concept of friendship and the igwebuike philosophy dozie iwuh, osa augustinian institute of philosophy, makurdi benue state registered501@gmail.com abstract friendship as a term, as a concept is the foundational, it should be said, fundamental reality behind every human interaction, whether formal and professional, as in doctor to patient relationship, lawyer to client relationship and the likes, or informal as seen in relationships that are of a familial type. what is being said here is that friendship underlines every human relationship. the early greek poets and philosophers understood the important place friendship held in the lives of the human person, and in the functioning of his society. thus they spoke brilliantly about this, using target words and punchlines to drive home one fact, which sought to praise the beauty of this reality. friendship was necessary not only for a strong and prosperous society, but also for a well defended and progress minded country. in the greek system of thought, friendship was for the human being, which in the roman political system was only for the human person. what the romans referred to as the human person, was anyone who was a free citizen of the state, and this was a tradition that was seen in the greek political system. friendship thus was for the free citizen of the state, it was for the human person. it was for that set of animals who are imbued with a certain type of consciousness called rational. of all the poets and philosophers who devoted time to the praise of friendship, none came close to the full elaboration provided by aristotle in his nichomachean ethics, where he adumbrated explicitly the meaning and reality of the term. the igwebuike thesis arises from the igwebuike reality, which says that in number there is strength, there is power. the igwebuike reality is positively enmeshed in the concept of friendship. the belief here is that persons cannot total to a “numberful” force without the accord and concord that friendship gives. the implication is that we cannot be a united force without a united goal, and intention, and we cannot have a united goal and intention, without a united mind and soul, and there can be no united mind or soul, without friendship. the famed saying, whose origin is still not certified, that “friendship is one soul in two bodies” (some attribute this to aristotle, others cicero, others to augustine), defines in clear terms what the igwebuike stands for, and what it hopes to achieve as an african philosophy, for africans in a world where unfriendliness and selfishness seems to be becoming more of the norm. the aristotelian concept of friendship is a broad project, whose concerns are elaborate, much of which would not be considered here, for we intend to indicate that the igwebuike philosophy is one that enshrines and crowns the beauty of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 47 friendship in human interaction. igwebuike is the priceless fruit of true friendship. what is true friendship? aristotle’s classification of friendship, will shed more light and provide an answer to the aforementioned question. the heart of this paper is to indicate that there can be no strength in number, no igwebuike, without friendship, and that friendship is what makes for a well-defined igwebuike. keywords: aristotle, friendship, igwebuike, philosophy, igbo, nichomachean ethics. introduction human beings are social creatures, and making friends is one of most fundamental experience we will have as social creatures, but despite that, friendship has just recently been addressed as a research topic. friendship is something that is part of the private as well as the public. it can be analyzed both philosophically and ethically, as an individual condition or a social reality.18 friendship was a great subject of stories and of philosophical reflection in classical antiquity. friendship was associated in the popular mind with courage, with republicanism, and with the spirited resistance to injustice and tyranny. the greek poets celebrated the stories of such famous pairs of friends as heracles and iolaus, theseus and pirithous, and orestes and pylades. festivals were held in honor of harmodius and aristogeiton, who were stubbornly credited in folklore with unseating the athenian tyrant peisistratus, despite the efforts of herodotus, thucydides, and aristotle to prove that popular memory had gotten the story wrong.19 the phenomenon of friendship, with its richness and complexity, its ability to support but also at times to undercut virtue, and the promise it holds out of bringing together in one happy union so much of what is highest and so much of what is sweetest in life, formed a fruitful topic of philosophic inquiry for the ancients. plato and cicero both wrote dialogues about friendship, and a number of others, including plutarch and theophrastus, wrote treatises on it, most of which have now been lost. epicurus devoted much of his life to cultivating friendship and counted it as one of life’s chief goods; he and seneca both expounded their teachings on friendship in epistles to friends. 20 18 m. yusuf, the meaning of friendship. an investigation of what it entails to be a friend among young men and women, lund university press, sweden, 2015, 1. 19 l.s. pangle, aristotle and the philosophy of friendship, cambridge university press, cambridge, 2003, 12 20 ibid. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 48 friendship, for epicurus, fits into the category of the natural and necessary desires. according to mitchell, channeling the epicureans: "a life without friends is a life diseased, pained, and in need of succor." 21 solitude is not conducive to happiness. friendship for the epicureans is necessary for achieving ataraxia, or a state of lucid tranquility. however, it is not the same as the need for water or shelter or food, other natural and necessary desires.22 nonetheless, the fullest and most probing classical study of friendship is to be found in aristotle’s nicomachean ethics, which devotes more space to it than to any of the moral virtues and which presents friendship as a bridge between the moral virtues and the highest life of philosophy. the study of friendship in the classical authors is in many ways a study of human love altogether, and the greek word philia can cover all bonds of affection, from the closest erotic and familial ties to political loyalties, humanitarian sympathies, business partnerships, and even love for inanimate things. but philia means first and foremost friendship, and it is the contention of aristotle and all of the classical authors who follow him that precisely in the friendships of mature and virtuous individuals do we see human love not only at its most revealing but also at its richest and highest.23 a friend is a person capable of loving irrespective of whether he is being loved or not.24 friendship can exist between the same sex: man-man, woman-woman, or opposite sex: man-woman. it transcends age and could subsist between even an old man and a small boy. friendship can also be felt in familial relationships between father and son, mother and daughter, husband and wife, brother and sister, elder brother and younger brother. yet, more than friendship, love is the binding force in familial relationships.25 that which underlines friendship is a reciprocity that which cicero refers to as a mirror representation, for “he, indeed, who looks into the face of a friend beholds, as it were, a copy of himself”.26 st augustine considers friendship as “the disinterested desire for good for that person whom one loves, together with a reciprocal desire on his part.”27 this 21 a. mitchell, friendship amongst the self-sufficent. epicurus, in essays in philosophy, vol. 2, iss. 2 (humboldt state university), 1-2. 22 r. kreitner, the stoics and the epicureans on friendship, sex, and love, in the montréal review, january 2012, http://www.themontrealreview.com/2009/the-stoics-and-the-epicureans-on-friendship-sex-andlove.php 23 l.s. pangle, aristotle and the philosophy of friendship, 2 24 this definition is the ideal, but as we will see in the course of the work, that is not all about friendship. we will get to see this in aristotle’s categorization of friendship. 25 t. ravichandran, on friendship, in college english review, vol. 3: no. 2, april-june 1999, pp.23-25 26 cicero, de amicitia, vii. 27 st augustine, de diversis quaestionibus 83 (388/396) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 49 reciprocity is always beneficial but is being beneficial can either be on the side of a symbiotic kind or a parasitic (in which the giver gives because of what he is to receive; also in which the giver gives less than he receives). this categorization of friendship is well defined in aristotle’s notion of friendship aristotle’s notion of friendship according to aristotle, friendship is a beneficial relationship that cuts across every sect and walk of life, without any age-discrimination. he states that friendship benefits the young by keeping them from making mistakes, and the old by caring for them and helping them to finish jobs they are unable to finish themselves because of their weakness. and it benefits those in their prime by helping them to do noble actions `two going together' since with friends they are more capable of thinking and acting.28 the bond of friendship is the source of every successful nation and people. for it binds people together in justice, weaving them as one and creating a harmonious existence, which sees every party coordinating itself in sync. thus “without friends,” aristotle says, “no one would choose to live, though he possessed all the other goods”29. friendship is an essential safeguard for the life, property, and political freedom or power that virtue requires as equipment for its full exercise, and it provides the worthiest objects of virtuous action.30 according to aristotle, nature has imbedded in man, the desire to be grafted towards engaging in a friendly relations with those that one is related to, as seen in familial relations, that is the friendship of children and parents above all, but also of fellow tribesmen and even of the whole human race.31 yet, friendship is indispensable to the political community: “friendship also seems to hold the polis together, and lawgivers seem to be more seriously concerned with it than with justice. for concord seems to be something similar to friendship, and they strive most to attain concord and to drive out faction, its enemy”.32 without the concord that comes from a common purpose and the faith in a common good, without the sympathetic interest in one’s fellows that makes one want to treat them equitably and to pursue their good along with one’s own, no political community can exist 28 aristotle, nicomachean ethics, viii, 1. 1155a10-14 29 ibid, 1155a5-6 30 ibid, 1155a6-10 31 ibid, 1155a16-22 32 ibid, 1155a22–26 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 50 in aristotle’s view; he considers it naive to think that a true community can ever be secured by a mere compact. various combinations of self-interest and fear may hold alliances and empires together, but a political community that seeks to promote the good life for human beings requires something more. aristotle’s stress on the need for friendship suggests that even good laws, even when supported by a dedication to justice among the citizenry, are not sufficient to maintain order and harmony.33 friendship for aristotle is entwined to the reality of love. the spark of friendship is directly proportionate to the fire of love. that which the human person befriends, must be that which he loves. he classifies this as the love for what is good, or what is pleasant or useful. it is from these that his threefold classification of friendship is borne (we would consider that a little later). aristotle seems to strike at a point that later thinkers, like augustine, would capitalize upon, namely that for any bonafide friendship to exist, for any friendship to be worth its salt, it has to be founded on love. the question that would be raised at this point is, what kind of love are we speaking of? is it the one that is directed to the other or that which is directed to the self? is it the love that is aimed towards the animate or the inanimate? to the second question, aristotle holds that there can be no love directed to the inanimate, since love in its build, calls for a reciprocal action or at least a recognition. love is for the animate, on this sphere, it can either be other directed or self-directed. in any case, the categorization of friendship, in its types, can be seen arising from the love for the animate, whether it be self or other-directed. the types of friendship aristotle divides friendship into three types namely: friendship based on utility, friendship based on pleasure and friendship based on virtue/goodness. friendship of utility: in this is the first type of friendship, people are attached to the other, not for the sake of the other, but for their own sakes, that is to say that the other person merely is an object of utility serving the needs of the subject. he notes that those who love one another for utility love the other not in himself, but only in so far as they will obtain some good for themselves from him.34 friendships of utility are commonly found between opposites, aristotle says, such as the pairing of rich and poor, or ignorant and learned – or perhaps we 33 l.s. pangle, aristotle and the philosophy of friendship, 17 34 aristotle, nicomachean ethics, 1156a12-14 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 51 should say rich ignorant and poor learned, since each must find in the other something that he needs.35 they are also found between those who have similar things to offer at different times, as do guest and host in traditional greek guestfriendships,36 and in general between allies. aristotle suggests repeatedly that friendships of utility are most characteristic of old, crabbed men, who are incapable of giving anyone pleasure and narrowly intent on gain. the overwhelming impression he gives is that friendships of utility turn upon the desire for external goods or goods of fortune.37 this is a parasitic and selfish kind of friendship. friendship of pleasure: this is not so different from the first kind, in that it also reeks of selfishness, for one engages in this kind of friendship for the sake of the pleasure that one derives from the other. thus the other, as in the friendship of utility becomes an object of use. accordingly, like the desires that spawn them, such friendships are transient, but as long as they last they are warm and heartfelt, and the friends do cherish one another’s company.38 in part simply because pleasures are increased while being shared, whereas useful goods are in general decreased, friendships of pleasure seem more generous and suited to free men than are friendships that consist in exchanges of goods and services.39 more importantly, friendships of pleasure are sought for their own sakes. every friendship of utility would become superfluous if the partners had direct access to the goods that they seek through it, but the sharing of pleasures gives life a sweetness that can be attained no other way. in enjoying one another’s companionship for its own sake, then, friends of pleasure come closer than friends of utility to loving one another for their own sakes: the presence of the friend is cherished as an end in itself, even if the friend’s complete good is not actively sought as an end in itself. among friendships of pleasure, aristotle classes attachments of erotic love. in keeping with his customary denigration of eros and his elevation of sober, gentlemanly virtue, aristotle here portrays eros as based only on emotion and impulse and the pleasures of the senses, in contrast to the finest friendships, which rest on virtue and rational choice.40 35 l.s. pangle, aristotle and the philosophy of friendship 36 aristotle, nicomachean ethics, 1156a30–31 37 l.s. pangle, aristotle and the philosophy of friendship, 40 38 aristotle, nicomachean ethics, 1156a31-b6 39 aristotle, nicomachean ethics, 1158a18-21 40 l.s. pangle, aristotle and the philosophy of friendship, 40-41. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 52 that which differentiates friendship of utility from that of pleasure is that, in the first the aim is to what one is going to achieve, while in the second, the aim is just for the sake of a pleasurable time or moment. in that of utility, one is trying to get some benefit out of the relationship, while in the second, all one wants is to have a good time. friendship of virtue: this is for aristotle, the most perfect of all friendships, one that considers the other more than the self. this type of friendship stands in sharp contrast to the other two because it is other directed. in the friendship of virtue, the value of the other appreciated not for the sake of the self, who is appreciating, but for the sake of the other, who is being appreciated. in this best form of friendship, aristotle says that the partners love each other for themselves, cherishing each other for their characters and not for some incidental benefit that they provide each other.41 according to aristotle, this is a complete friendship, for complete friendship is that of good people, those who are alike in their virtue: they each alike wish good things to each other in so far as they are good, and they are good in themselves. those who wish good things to a friend for his own sake are friends most of all, since they are disposed in this way towards each other because of what they are, not for any incidental reason. so their friendship lasts as long as they are good, and virtue is an enduring thing.42 it should be noted that friendship in its truest form is the friendship of virtue. friends together, igwebuike forever the igwebuike existential-ness is founded on the solid base of friendship, that which knits a group of people, a race together as one. according to kanu, igwebuike, “put together, means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force”.43 igwebuike rests on the african principles of solidarity and complementarity. it argues that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ 41 ibid, 43. 42 aristotle, nicomachean ethics, 1156b10-15 43 a.i. kanu, igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy, in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016, 108-113. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 53 is ‘to be with the other’, in a community of beings.44 igwebuike bespeaks of a communality that thrives amongst individuals and has been aptly termed by kanu as a communal-individual reality, which is expressed in the igbo-african proverb: ngwere ghara ukwu osisi, aka akpara ya (if a lizard stays off from the foot of a tree, it would be caught by man); ntugwa bu uto ndu (variety is the spice of life); otu asisi anaghi eme ohia (a tree does not make a forest); gidigidi bu ugwu eze (the dignity of a king is the number of his followers); mmetuko ahu bu uto ndu (the beauty of life is in mixing up with others).45 mbiti has classically proverbializes the community determining role of the individual when he wrote, “i am because we are and since we are, therefore i am”.46 this would mean that the confidence of being is because others are in being. the existence of others assures me of their solidarity and complementarity without which i cannot be. achebe brings the essential nature of the igbo-african communal relationship to a higher and more fundamental focus when he wrote: a man who calls his kinsmen to a feast does not do so to save them from starving. they all have food in their own homes. when we gather together in the moonlit village ground it is not because of the moon. everyman can see it in his own compound. we come together because it is good for kinsmen to do so.47 this communal-ness of the igwebuike does not delete nor deny the individuality of the human person. that is to say that the igbo-verse, and the african worldview does not pay little attention to the individuality of the human person, but rather insists that the richness of such individuality is found in communality. how can the individual meet the communal? friendship. this meeting point between the individual and the communal that is occasioned by friendship is conducted towards the reality of complementarity, that which is an intrinsic part of the igwebuike. according to the igbo tradition, the other is referred to as ibe, which means ‘a piece of’ or ‘a part of’, as in ibe anu (a piece of meat) or ibe ede (a piece of 44 ibid. 45 a.i. kanu, igwebuike and the unity of the african philosophy, in igwebuikepedia. internet encyclopedia of african philosophy, a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies, url: http://igwebuikepedia.info/intricate.asp 46 j. mbiti, african religions and philosophy, east african educational, nairobi, 1970, 108. 47 c. achebe, the things fall apart, heinemann, england, 1958, 133. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 54 cocoyam). the igbo would, therefore, refer to the ‘other person’ as ibe m which means ‘my piece’ or mmadu ibe m (my fellow human being).48 this notion is very well employed when referring to relationships and shows forth the relational aspect that is seen in complementarity. the igbo language boasts of phrases like love one another (hunu ibe unu n’anya), help one another (nyere nu ibe unu aka), respect one another (sopuru nu ibe unu), etc49 which depicts how much of the ibe, is contained in the “onwe m”.50 according to kanu, since the ‘other’ refers to my own piece, it would, therefore, mean that to love the other is to love oneself, to help the other is to help oneself and to respect the other is to respect oneself. put the other way round, to hate the other is to hate oneself, to refuse help to the other is to refuse help to oneself and to disrespect the other is to disrespect oneself.51 the love that is buttressed in the above quotation is the love that is intimately knit to friendship. recall that it was earlier asserted that the spark of friendship is proportionate to the fire of love, as pertaining to the igwebuike, the love is what unites persons of different orientations together, holding them into one piece. this love is directly proportionate to friendship. thus we can affirmatively say that it is in friendship that the complementarity of the igwebuike lies. aristotle names the three kinds of friendship and goes on to add that it is the friendship of virtue that is the best of them all. thus when we say that the complementarity and the solidarity of the igwebuike hinges on friendship, we do not make reference to the friendship of utility or pleasure because as aristotle puts it, such friendships are incidental, bearing no essence, and to this the person who is loved, is loved not in so far as he is who he is, but in so far as he provides some good or pleasure. such friendships are thus easily dissolved, when the parties to them do not remain unchanged; for if one party is no longer pleasant or useful, the other stops loving him.52 the igwebuike is bound to dissolve if it is founded upon the friendship of utility or pleasure; these types of friendship are shallow. the igwebuike existentiality is founded on a well solidified base, a deep rooted friendship of virtue. it is one in which the persons involved are willing to 48 a.i. kanu osa, african philosophy, globalization and the priority of otherness. 49 ibid. 50 this refers to myself, and can be well construed as referring to the self. 51 a.i. kanu osa, african philosophy, globalization and the priority of otherness. 52 aristotle, nicomachean ethics 1156a20-25 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 55 give more than to receive. in such wise, there is a reciprocity of giving such that justice and equity is easily seen, and the tightness of the bond is forever maintained. in the friendship of virtue, there is no need for the demands of justice, because each party lives for the other, as the other returns the gesture received freely without compulsion. some recommendations the igwebuike existentiality speaks to the african contemporary situation whose ethos is gradually fading with the massive incursion of western trends of thoughts and systems of operation. the confusion that is presently being witnesses in the african society pays tribute to this unfortunate divorce of the african people from her culture. the igwebuike existential-ness bespeaks of trust, it speaks of confidence in the other, it speaks of complementarity and solidarity, in a word, it speaks of friendship. all these ideals that should be natural to the african, are begged for when it comes to the reality of the african society. the friendship of virtue, according to aristotle is rare, because people of this kind are few.53 as rare as it might seem to be, the friendship of virtue, was never rare to the african, this is because it has always been a part of the african. we might allude here that this friendship in the present time for the african is rare, igwebuike calls out to us all, telling us to retrace our steps, to find out who we truly are. in igwebuike, the strength of the other is my strength, the glory of the other is my glory, the positives of the other and her concomitant negatives is mine, i live for the other, just as the other lives for me. it is a reality founded on the friendship of virtue, thus making it an existential reality that ought to stand the test of time. bibliography achebe c, the things fall apart, heinemann, england, 1958. aristotle, nicomachean ethics, viii. augustine, de diversis quaestionibus 83. cicero, de amicitia, vii. kanu a.i, igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy, in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. kanu a.i, igwebuike and the unity of the african philosophy, in igwebuikepedia. internet encyclopedia of african philosophy, a publication of tansian 53 aristotle, nicomachean ethics 1156b31-32 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 56 university, department of philosophy and religious studies, url: http://igwebuikepedia.info/intricate.asp kanu, ikechukwu anthony. “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no.2. 24488-9210 (june 2016). kanu, ikechukwu anthony. “igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholic-pentecostal relations.”jos studies vol.22. 978-2023-36-1 (2014): 8798. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 35-44. 2016. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike and and logic (nka) of african philosophy”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.3 no1 january 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. augustinian publications, 2015. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igbo proverbs as depositum of igbo-african philosophy. international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 4. no. 1. pp. 164-168. 2014. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. nnamdi azikiwe journal of philosophy vol. 10. no. 2. pp. 61-66. 2018. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 7, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 57 kreitner r, the stoics and the epicureans on friendship, sex, and love, in the montréal review, january 2012, http://www.themontrealreview.com/2009/the-stoics-and-theepicureans-on-friendship-sex-and-love.php mbiti j, african religions and philosophy, east african educational, nairobi, 1970. mitchell a, friendship amongst the self-sufficent. epicurus, in essays in philosophy, vol. 2, iss. 2 (humboldt state university). pangle l.s, aristotle and the philosophy of friendship, cambridge university press, cambridge, 2003. ravichandran t, on friendship, in college english review, vol. 3: no. 2, apriljune 1999. yusuf m, the meaning of friendship. an investigation of what it entails to be a friend among young men and women, lund university press, sweden, 2015. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 127 the re-awakening of the worship and veneration of a misinterpreted deity ekwensu amid thriving christianity in obollo, enugu state, nigeria tobias chibuike onah, phd department of religion, university of nigeria, nsukka chibuike.onah@unn.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29105.45929 abstract the worship and veneration of ekwensu deity is normally a yearly ritual among obollo people of the northern igbo sphere. formally the intrusion of christianity in obollo made the deity to become infamous as against how it was extolled in the primordial culture of the obollo people. succinctly there became a sudden re-awakening of the worship and veneration of this deity which formally suffered extinction amid thriving christianity in the area. it is this sudden re-awakening of the people’s culture amid christian dominated group such as obollo that this work is out to investigate. many christians of obollo extraction claim that the deity ekwensu, in their understanding, is the same with the christian devil or satan and should not be reckoned with. those who embrace these views are mainly christians. even among academics of religion, one can still observe this deportment. the study adopted the phenomenological research approach and made use of descriptive research design which also involved the use of data from primary and secondary sources, in its method of data analysis. the study reveals that ekwensu, represents a deity in obollo and it is not the biblical devil, it reveals the worship and veneration of the deity among the people, among other things it reveals the spots where ekwensu was worshiped during onwa-assa festival and masquerade and forest dedicated to ekwensu. it is also evident that christianity had somewhat a tremendous impact on the people’s culture which formally engendered the extinction of ekwensu deity. keywords: re-awakening, veneration, igbo deity, ekwensu, obollo introduction unsurprisingly, some people from obollo having embraced christianity through the effort of the western missionaries may have been inducted to misconceive ekwensu a deity among the people as the devil. the words satan and ekwensu are often used interchangeably by obollo people be they christians or traditionalists of the area. exponent of the above assertion are by and large christians. they igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 128 understand ekwensu as the devil and attribute all forms of malice to it. even among intellectuals of religion, one can still observe this predisposition. this is clearly evidenced in nwala (2010:171) who posits that “ekwensu the devil is purely a malevolent spirit”. nwala’s position was further disputed by opata (2005:9), who holds that “ekwensu is not a conceptual equivalence of the christian devil”. while opata, held that “ekwensu is a spirit and spirits are non-corporeal and are disembodied beings”. onoyima (2013:12) states that “ekwensu (satan) is an angelic being who out of pride and rebellion was chased down to earth”. in a contrary view, ndiokwere (1990:26) sees ekwensu from exclusively uncomplimentary point of view and affirms that, “in the traditional african society suffering and death, as well as various type of misfortune, are attributed to the evil one, ekwensu, ajo mmuo”. he is responsible for all malicious acts”. succinctly arinze (1970:56) agrees that ekwensu is the devil and thus describes ekwensu; “as the spirit of the dead people, called akalogoli that is reckless individuals, ndi ajo mmuo (bad spirits) or umu ekwensu (devil’s children)”. in like manner, the views of oguejiofor (1996:83) are also in sharp contrast to the above opinion, he claims that, “ekwensu guides the igbo community and is invoked during warfare”. the views of arinze about ekwensu suggest that it is evil and if one should go by such assertion then, the numerous references to ekwensu as a warlord and god of fertility which is venerated among different igbo group should be thrown overboard. arinze’s position is not in conformity with the views of those who affirm that “ekwensu is not evil and ascribe good qualities to ekwensu. ebelebe (2009: par. 14) affirms that; “ekwensu is an igbo deity with a convoluted modern identity. among the christian igbo, this deity is misrepresented as the christian “devil” or satan and is seen as a force which places itself opposite to that of chukwu”. udoye, (2011) in turn avers that ekwensu represented the spirit of war among the igbo, invoked during times of war and banished during peace time to avoid its influence in inciting bloodshed in the community, warriors set up shrines to ekwensu to help war efforts. it therefore follows that if ekwensu is invoked during wars and it has shrines in some places in igbo land, then the reference to ekwensu as opposing god (chukwu in igbo) is adjudged to be erroneous. according to agozino (2010) as quoted by opata (2005), “the credibility of this statement, is based upon the finding of old shrines dedicated to the worship of ekwensu’s spirit as well as the recounting of old oral stories which depicts the character of ekwensu”. the views of ezeanaji ugwu (interview 2020) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 129 lay more credence to the opinion of agozino as he helped the researchers to explore shrines and forests dedicated to the adulation of ekwensu. it is against this backdrop of mix-up that one can observe the interplay between christianity and african traditional religion and the problem of misrepresentation of the two terms in the different religion which led to the extinction of the worship and veneration of the deity in the area under study. this work therefore, is motivated by the observed re-awakening of the worship and veneration of ekwensu deity amid thriving christianity in obollo. many people of obollo origin recently resorted to the worship and veneration of ekwensu held resolutely to their understanding of ekwensu as warlord and a superhuman deity while many others, believe that ekwensu is a matching of the christian devil/satan. the study adopted phenomenological research approach and made use of descriptive research design which also involved the use of data from primary and secondary sources, in its method of data analysis. the research will further help to unveil the real concept of ekwensu in obollo. the study will critically discuss shrines, names, ceremonies and festivals dedicated to ekwensu and also look at the impact of christianity in the culture of the obollo people. the work will help reverse the impression of christians and nonchristian about ekwensu. activities and perception of ekwensu in the tradition of obollo in the area understudy, people have a contradictory view of ekwensu some people perceive the deity ekwensu to be entirely evil but in spite of this, many writers also see ekwensu as a deity who should be adjudged of playing a double standard of good and evil. it is with regards to this, that ekwunife (1995) adds that: for an outsider the dual and complementary role of ekwensu may seem meaningless but not for the traditional igbo people, this complementary dualistic conception has implications at the cosmological level of igbo thought with this perception, good and bad are seen as co-existing in the same realities, creativity and destructiveness may be achieved by the same agencies. with the position of ekwunife the dual nature of ekwensu is obvious because it wields the powers to do good and evil depending on the occasion of its duty. egharevba (1971:23) affirms that, “ekwensu is however, known to act as the spirit igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 130 of violence, the patron and god of warriors. the views of isichie (1997) compliments the above clarification, he rightly posits that “the primary aim of ekwensu is to aid the acquisition of wealth and its ceremony is characterized by the display of wealth and people enjoy the result of their hard work and military success and victories”. metuh (1981:222) proffers an elucidation to re-establish ekwensu’s original meaning in dual perspective that is, in time of war and in time of peace. he explains that ekwensu is capable of causing disaster in the community during peace time, its activities bring misfortune, and in this circumstance, he is regarded as an evil spirit, however at wartime, his activities are propitious and he is invoked as a superior spirit. nevertheless, the potency of ekwensu to coalesce forces is a reality in obollo. for ugwuoke godwin (interview 2020) ekwensu is a most venerated deity in obollo and its high merit exceedingly renowned as percieved by the people. ugwuoke further holds that some indigenes of obollo are known to resort to shrines committed to ekwensu in time of adversity for supplication but due to the incursion of missionaries to obollo the knowledge and influence of ekwensu became shallow as it is now juxtaposed with the biblical satan. despite westernization, recently there has been upsurge in the people’s interest to awaken ceremonies attached to the ekwensu deity. the festival of ekwensu is still celebrated in obollo every year in a ceremony designated as onwa asaa usually held between the months of july and august though this dating may vary according to the communities in obollo. this is clearly evidenced in the word of eze raphael who supports that umu-itodo obollo and other obollo communities do not celebrate ekwensu deity on the same date because of the message of the threat of inversion by benue people they umu-itodo people postponed their date of the ceremony in order to be battle ready for the threat of inversion while the other clans of obollo celebrated the deity. this difference is still observed till date. according to eze benard (interview 2018) ekwensu spirit still oversees the affairs of the people who are committed to it, irrespective of their religious affiliations or modern day life as christians”. it is pertinent to note that ekwensu to the people of obollo is seen as a spirit that possesses dual characteristics of doing good and evil. this is evidenced in the various opinions of some authors as stated above. below is a pictorial evidence of the forest where ekwensu is worshiped in obollo. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 131 woods and spots dedicated to ekwensu at obollo. photo credict: author the worship and veneration of ekwensu in obollo although many negative thoughts and allusion have defined ekwensu among the obollo people, one thing that stands thought through is that the positive activities of the traditional deity (ekwensu) according to the people knows no bound. ezeme anthony (interview 2016) submits that in the primeval history of the people of obollo, there is ubiquitous belief in ekwensu and the worship of ekwensu is predominant among the people. onah augustine (interview 2016) aligns himself with the views of opata (2005) and agrees that ekwensu is a good spirit of war for obollo people; the worship of ekwensu is mainly during the new yam festivities. this may juxtapose ekwensu with baal the fertility god of the canaanites. ekwensu is seen as a warlord and a god of fertility normally worshiped during new yam festivals. the views of umeh (1999:200) corroborates this opinion when he avers that; “ekwensu the eagle spirit of war victory glides down the earth with its countless victories at war”. going by umeh’s opinion, augustine odo (interview 2018) agrees that ekwensu is a spirit in charge of war and it is celebrated during onwa asaa (seventh native month) festival in obollo. if this is true, then the reverse of semantic and the juxtaposition of ekwensu with the devil is elusive. the biblical narratives which ascribe war qualities to lucifer according to douglas (2009) is in the bible where the angels of god engaged satan in a fierce battle and expelled him from heaven. but the ekwensu in this context as conceived by the obollo people and supported by okpe emmanuel (interview 2018) is a deity of war appeased by the people and revered in the area under study. to buttress the fact that ekwensu is a venerated deity known among the igbo land, opata (2005:36) submits that, “during the era of active inter group war between obukpa and some neighbouring communities; obukpa had made igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 132 for themselves a potent ogwu (juju) which helped the people to be victorious at wars fought”. also eze elias (interview 2021) holds that, “ekwensu was used by obukpa in their fight against orba people of udenu local government area over a land dispute at obukpa hill”. it can be observed that for some people of obollo origin, to be victorious at war; they must worship and appease the deity in charge of war (ekwensu) this happened during the war between ikem and obollo people and through the veneration and worship of ekwensu the people of obollo emerged victorious. mba godwin (interview 2017) further states that the obollo people of udenu local government area are said to have fought wars with the people of benue state as a result of boundary dispute. the obollo people became victorious because of the company of the traditional deity ekwensu and awoma a female deity in obollo. the worship and veneration of ekwensu before any war is a sacrosanct event. the worship and veneration of ekwensu is predominant in obollo. obollo comprises of obollo-afor, obollo-eke, and obollo-etiti. ekwensu is predominantly adored during onwa asaa (seventh month). this is in conformity with the views of achebe (1958), basden, (1982), mbiti (1969), and ugwu (2014) who agrees that some festivals held in commemoration of ancestors are still in vogue in some part of igbo land. for eze john (interview 2018) the igo ekwensu (worship of ekwensu) was normally performed at the shrine of ancestors this is usually championed by the family head and the rituals were performed to streghten the god of fertility, god of war (ekwensu) and the god that guards against infidelity (nna) within the female folk. ugwu augustine (interview 2017) avers that rituals and sacrifice were made to ekwensu the god of war and fertility gods of obollo people. the claim beyond is indicative that ekwensu has shrines and is worship as a deity and not satan/devil as most proponents of the igbo bible suggests. below is a pictorial representation of ekwensu’s shrine at obollo afor. ekwensu’s shrine at umu-ezejor obollo afor: photo credit: field assistant igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 133 the above pictorial evidence is to buttress the fact that ekwensu is venerated and adored at umuezejor obollo. nnadi clement (interview 2018) corroborates this opinion and maintains that “it is a common belief in obollo community that ekwensu is the god of fertility in terms of agriculture and hence its festival at a time when harvest is at its peak”. the new yam festival also falls within this period. at the seventh native month, “onwa asaa” seven native weeks were usually counted from the first sight of the moon and the nearest “eke” market day to the seventh native week is declared the “onwa asaa” festival. according to eze theophilus (interview 2017) the second day after the “onwa asaa” festival is said to be the “afor ekwensu”, that is the second and the last for akatakpa masquerade outing on afor market day. ezeme ugwuanyi (interview 2019) asserts that the market day is a day of celebration which is done annually and which is also the festival of ekwensu (known as egba ekwensu). all the festivity or celebration and sacrifices are dedicated to ekwensu. odo joseph (interview 2017) agrees that ekwensu is worshipped at onwa asaa in obollo afor here the worship of ekwensu heralds the end of onwa asaa (seventh native month) and at this site of the worship all the male who partook in the “onwa asaa” akatakpa masking is expected to mount his last used cane at the red anthill in the environment and also sacrifice some money there. for ugwuodo paul (interview 2017) the significance of this is that the said individual by dropping some money is set free from the influence of ekwensu that protected him throughout the “onwa asaa” and akatakpa masking period. on the penultimate day to idu ekwensu (the day of appeasing the ekwensu to ward off its influence), the eldest man of umu-onah collects the cane, makes proper sacrifice and rituals according to the tradition of obollo and incinerates the cane in order to ward off the negative influence of ekwensu and for ekwensu to retire to its fold. the worship of ekwensu in obollo is marked by real outing of different masquerades good and bad to exemplify the double standard played by ekwensu. the pictorial representation below shows some masquerades and its followers carrying canes to fulfill their obligation as traditionalist and advocates of the worship and veneration of ekwensu on the day of afor ekwensu (ekwensu’s market day) in obollo. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 134 cane rituals on the day of afor ekwensu : photo credict author akatakpa uturu: this brand of masquerade is usually black and there is the spirit of ekwensu in this masquerade called okaranabo which makes it to strike people with cane and it has charm to neutralize the problems caused by such malicious behaviour. ugwu (1999:101) adds that “this masquerade is very violent; it beats people and collects money by force from people. photo of uturu akatakpa. photo credit: authors igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 135 another great masquerade is the owegara akatakpa: this masquerade has many followers and is believed to be masquerade of the elders. they follow the masquerade with heavy drumming and flute of different magnitude. owegara masquerade is well vested in minstrels’ pity saying and words of wisdom known for its ecstatic beauty and proud movement. below are the pictures of owegara akakakpa. photo of owegara akatakpa credit: author to buttress that ekwensu possesses dual nature as stated by scholars, ugwu nnajiofor (interview 2017) opines that the akatakpa ekwensu has a juju (ogwu) called okaranabo. this juju is made up of two ram horn with a heavy diabolic substance tied on the centre of the ram horn. the ram horn signifies that the ram is a powerful fighter and the akatakpa should possess its power. for onah, james (interview 2017) the juju instigates the akatakpa to violence and also neutralizes the effect of such violence. eze peter (interview 2018) further explains that the interpretation is that one ram horn is a bad force designed to make trouble while the other one is a good force ever ready to neutralize its force and this goes down well with ekwunife (1995); metuh (1987) and opata (2005) who believe that ekwensu possesses dual characteristics of doing good and evil. below is the image of okaranabo ekwensu. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 136 photo of okaranabo ekwensu. photo credit to the author if the activities of ekwensu in the obollo northern igbo sphere were widely known and recognised in the contemporary and primordial history of people, why would such deity of great substance suffer extinction? although this question may seem rhetoric, what stands clear is that the problem of translation and misinterpretation may have dealt with the deity under study and intentionally diminished its popularity amid the people of the area under study. in is with regards to this assertion that this research work seeks to x-ray the impact of christianity on the culture of obollo people. the impact of christianity on obollo culture christianity has been adjudged to have dealt a huge blow to the culture and religion of the people of obollo people but due to the fact that the culture of the people as it appears is an obstinate reality, it has refused to quit and hence the survival of some of the aspects of the people’s culture and ways of life overtime. according to eke (1985) as quoted in uwaegbute (2021:5) who asserts, that it has been argued by the igbo church historians that it was from eke, between 1921 and 1960 that other church missionaries and the roman catholic church started spreading to towns like enugu, nsukka, agwu, udi and nkanu. uwaegbute further asserts that right from onset; christianity’s interaction with the cultural practices of the igbo people was mostly very strained, direct antagonism and condemnation of the people’s cultural practices, especially their traditional religion. in conformity with the above assertion eze (2004:23) suggests that: they also impose a new meaning on some of the existing construct notably ekwensu which in the true igbo religion is the deity that repels, ward off or otherwise frustrate evil decisions. not finding the equivalent of the concept, of satan, in the host society, the christian missionaries adopted the name of this anti evil deity but reversed its semantics. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 137 “they” as used in the context of the above extract suggests that it is the missionaries who introduced christian religion to the obollo people and made the traditional ekwensu to assume the same feature with the christian lucifer and hence the misrepresentation of ekwensu deity and the extinction of its virtues and veteran characteristics at war. in spite of christian dominance in some part of igbo land, it is evident that some people in the area under study still worships ekwensu and appreciate its activities in their lives but what stands clear is that christianity and western type of education associated with it reversed the original meaning of ekwensu. this is evidenced in the views of anugwom (2002:72) who argues that, “western education led to the abandonment of certain traditional institutions and values such as those based on superstition magic and charms”. general eze godwin (interview 2020) agrees that “the christian messenger schema drastically affected some culture and tradition of obollo people. most excruciating is their tendency to declare the igbo culture as satanic and the juxtaposition of igbo gods and deities with the evil. apparently, christianity makes the igbo man of obollo origin see things differently from their traditional worldview and they now describe the activities and worship of ekwensu as satanic. but from the array of opinion sampled and collected about ekwensu, it is obvious that ekwensu is seen as a war veteran and a fertility deity among the people of the area under study. this is clearly obvious in the views of ugwuomaga bernard (interview 2016) who observes that, it is obvious that the people of obollo were totally oblivion of biblical devil before its introduction to them, which later degenerated to the derogation of the deity ‘ekwensu’. the above exposition is seen in the people’s total denial of the presence of any alternative deity opposing chukwu (the great god). okpe emmanuel (interview 2018) suggests that it is the ability of ekwensu to induce violence which was one of its dual attributes that made the missionaries to juxtapose ekwensu with the biblical lucifer/satan. a situation supposed to be an overturn of ekwensu’s denotation. conclusion in the first instance, the set objective of the research was unambiguously spelt out. this research work involves the quest into the concept of ekwensu, throw light on the mode of worship and veneration of ekwensu in obollo also pointing at forests and spots dedicated to the worship of ekwensu and among other things, discuss the impact of christianity on ekwensu deity in obollo. in the study it was apparent that, the linking of ekwensu with the biblical lucifer is termed a great mistake made by the missionaries in their bid to christianize and westernize the obollo people. they dislodged the early christian converts from their traditional igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 138 religion and got them acquainted with the new religious idea and worldview that is totally alien to the people and thus minimized their traditional understanding of deities such as ekwensu the god of war in igbo cosmology. to this end, ekwensu is now viewed by the people as equivalence of christian devil (lucifer). this misrepresentation is illusive because ekwensu in the igbo thought is the god of war and fertility among the people of obollo. its virtue is adorned and felt all over among people who are committed to it in obollo. it is unthinkable for a deity which is celebrated in obollo cosmology to become a sole antagonist of god in christian worldview. this is not also true as ekwensu is of the igbo origin while the sole antagonist of god is lucifer (satan). in addition, in obollo there is total absence of a being, which is in total opposition to god and mankind greatest enemy. however, what cannot be denied out rightly is the existence of some ambivalent and malevolent beings in the tradition of obollo such as the spirits of witches, mermaid spirit, ogbanje (born to die children). these spirits constitute terror in obollo sphere but are not a sole equivalent of lucifer. in all it could be adjudged that associating ekwensu with the devil has its origin from the translation of the christian bible and the missionary derogation of deities and not necessarily that ekwensu is the devil. references achebe, c. (1958). things fall apart. london: heinemann. agozino, e. (2010). ekwensu: god of victory not the devil. nsukka: nigerian compass. arinze, f. (1970) sacrifice in igbo religion. ibadan: ibadan university press. anugwom, e. e. (2002). religion, occult and conflict in the niger delta of nigeria: amazon press. basden, g.t. |(1982). among the ibos of nigeria. onitsha: university publishing company. douglas, m. (2009). purity and danger. new york: routledge and kegan paul. ebelebe, c. a. (2009). “africa and the new face of mission”. a critical assessment of the legacy of the missionaries among the igbo of southern nigeria www.frametwork.org/newshow. retreived on 12/07/16 egbarevba. j. u. (1971). the city of benin, benin law and customs, some stories of ancient benin and some tribal gods of southern nigeria nendeln liechtenstein: kraus press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 139 eke, c. i. (1985). the creation of more diocese after 1960: port-harcourt (1961), enugu (1962), ikot ekpene (1963), abakiliki (1973), awka (1978), orlu (1981) and okigwe (1981), in a hundred years of the catholic church in eastern nigeria, 1885-1985, edited by ca obi, va nwosu, c eke, kbc onwubiko, and fc okon, 227-303. onitsha. ekwunife, a. n. o. (1995). spiritual explosions: reflection on christian lives and practices in nigeria context.enugu: snaap. eze, j. (2004). african cultural values: an eroded edifice. in lumen magazine, vol. 6, no. 8, pp. 12-13. isichei, e. (1976). a history of the igbo people. london: macmillian kanu i. a. (2015b). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2010). towards an african cultural renaissance. professor bassey andah journal of cultural studies. volume 3, pp. 146-155. kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kingsley, i. u. (2021): christianity and masquerade practices among the youth in nsukka, nigeria, african studies, http://doi.org/ 10.1080/00020184.2021.1886049 mbiti, j. s. (1969). african religions and society. nairobi: eastern educational press. metuh, e. i (1987).comparative study of african traditional religion.onitsha: imico publishers. ndiokwere, n. i. (1990). search for security. benin city: ambik press nwala, t. u. (2010).the philosophy of the igbo speaking peoples of nigeria.za. new york: triatlantic books. onoyima, t. (2013).the evil forces and us satanology and satanism 181 lessons. nsukka: chuka educational publishers. oguejiofor, o. (1996). the influence of igbo traditional religion of the sciopolitical character of igbo. nsukka: fulladu press opata, o. (2005), ekwensu in the igbo imagination: a heroic deity or christiandevil”? nsukka: great ap publishers. udoye, e. a. (2011). resolving the prevailing conflicts between christianity and african (igbo) traditional religion through enculturation”. litverlag munster. isbn 364390116x igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 140 ugwu, c.o.t (2004), man and his religion in a contemporary society. nsukka: chucks educational publishers ugwu, c.o.t.(2014). the demise of african gods: fallacy or a reality? 85th inuagural lecture of the university of nigeria, nsukka: unn press ltd. umeh, j. (1999). after god is dibia igbo cosmology, divination sciences in nigeria and sacred. vo11 london: karnak house. interviews nnadi clement, 57 years, traditionalist 17 march 2019 ezeanaji ugwu, 87 years, traditionalist 2020 eze rapheal,62 years, traditionalist, 19 november 2020 eze, benard, 56 years, traditionalist, 16 march 2018 ezeme, anthony 64 years, traditionalist, 13 may 2016 augustine, onah, 45 years, traditionalist, 11 may 2016 benard, ugwuomaga, 84 years, penticostal 17 may 2016 odo, augustine, 72 years, catholic, 16 march 2018 emmanuel, okpe, 66 years, traditionalist, 16 march 2018 eze elias, 80 years, catholic 18 february 2021 mba, godwin 45 years, traditionalist, 14 july 2017 ugwu, augustine, 64 years, a traditionalist, 15 july 2017 eze, theophilus, 52 years, roman catholic, 17 june 2017 eze, john 75 years traditionalist 12 june 2019 ezeme ugwuanyi 72 years, traditional chief priest, 17 may 2019 odo joseph, 67 years, traditionalist, 13june 2017 ugwuodo, paul 73 years, roman catholic, 16 june 2017 ugwu, nnajiofor, 65 years, traditionalist, 20 june 2017 james onah, 92 years, roman catholic, 19 june 2017 eze, peter 72 years, traditionalist, 17 march 2018 general ugwuoke godwin (rtd) 72 years. 18 may2020 microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 4 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 107 terrorism and nigeria’s security challenge: the case of boko haram chuka enuka department of history and international studies nnamdi azikiwe university awka, nigeria & ojukwu, emmanuel ph.d department of political science nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, nigeria abstract the paper surveys the boko haram sect and its activities in nigeria. it posits that the origin, spread and continued manifestation of the boko haram group reflect the dysfunctional character of the nigerian state. the paper inter alia, establishes that the myriad and milliard attacks and manifestations of the boko haram sect pose enormous and complex security threat to nigeria. besides its multifaceted negative implications on human security and economic development, boko haram also portends harmful ramifications for the corporeality existence of the nigerian state. the paper posits that two bare options present themselves to nigeria: to defeat boko haram, or become deformed by boko haram. in view of this imperative, the paper concludes with a number of suggestions as panacea to the menace of boko haram terrorism in nigeria. keywords: terrorism, boko haram, nigeria, security. introduction the incidences of boko haram terrorism have become not just obvious in nigeria, but have remained a threat to the country’s national security. the unrestrained milliard attacks on individuals and institutions of government by the boko haram sect in nigeria demonstrate that there is a palpable deterioration in the security situation of the country. across the country, mostly in the northern part of nigeria, both nigerian citizens and foreigners residing in the country are faced with constant fear for their lives and property following the seemingly unending campaign of killing and maiming by the boko haram terrorist sect. for some long years, bomb blasts have become virtually a daily occurrence in maiduguri and other parts of borno state, resulting in deaths of scores of people (anyanwu 2012). the massacres by the boko haram terrorist group, using improvised explosives and gun attacks, prove that boko haram has become a virulent thorn in the flesh of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 108 nigeria. the country has watched helplessly as hundreds of innocent people are being killed, important national monuments and facilities being destroyed and foreigners including present and potential investors being scared away from nigeria by the activities of the deadly boko haram group. positing that the boko haram is a terrorist group in nigeria which origin, spread and continued manifestation reflects the dysfunctional character of the nigerian state, this paper establishes that the sect poses an enormous and complex threat to nigeria’s national security. besides its multifaceted negative implications on human security and economic development, it also portends harmful ramifications for the corporate existence of nigeria. towards a conceptual explanation of terrorism terrorism is a fluid concept that has remained hotly debated and sharply contested. like many other subjects and concepts in the social sciences, terrorism has defied a single definition. as seteolu (2011) argues, the conceptualization of terrorism is subjective, transient and problematic. perceptions on how to define the phenomenon differ among scholars, who attempt to define terrorism in different contexts and perspectives. this is exemplified in the oft over quoted saying that one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. terrorism in a sense is linked to the struggle for self determination (seteolu 2011), and in another sense, governments’ description and construction of opponents who use violence against them (calvert 2010). political philosophers and democratic theorists have in certain circumstances, justified rebellion against a tyrant. the opening statements of some country’s constitutions have it that when a government becomes destructive to the very purpose that established it, the people have right, and indeed the right to overthrow it. one wonders if revolutionary pressures by disgruntled and abused citizenry on tyrannical governments qualify for the description, ‘terrorism’. in the united states, the former american president, george washington, is revered as a revolutionary and freedom fighter for contesting the authority of the english state. equally,gerry adams, the leader of sinn fein is viewed as a terrorist for similar actions (seteolu 2011). the fluidity of the concept of terrorism is further evidenced in the perception and construction of late yasser arafat, ex-leader of the palestinian liberation organization (plo). especially to the western capitalist, arafat was a terrorist in the light of his struggle to actualize the state of palestine, the declaration of a parliament in exile, the non recognition of the state of israel and the threat of declaring a palestinian state. but on his death, arafat was described as a freedom fighter and canvasser of peace (seteolu 2011). similarly, the terror actions of the irish republican army, ira, chechens and the polisario front in western sahara are described as self determination struggles, and moralized to justify the terror. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 109 however, while accepting that the confusion shrouding the definition of terrorism is growingly indubitable, we are not exempted from attempting a working definition of the concept of terrorism. etymologically considered, the word terrorism is derived from a latin word “terrere”. this means terror which is intended to attain specific objectives by creating fear in obstacles that prevent the attainment of such goals (oche and dokubo 2005). terrorism can be seen as a concept that is defined and understood relative to the legitimacy of state governance, as an illegal and illegitimate act (franks 2006). this assumption, which is disputed, forms the basis of seteolu’s conceptualization of terrorism as an unauthorized act. though seteolu defines terrorism as “…the resort to violence or terror for political ends by unauthorized nongovernmental groups in pursuit of specific political goals”, but there can be state-directed terrorism, state-sponsored terrorism, added to nongovernmental terrorism (oche and dokubo 2005). seen from its nonstate/governmental perspective, terrorism is a form of political violence that challenges the illegitimacy and ill-governance of the state. terrorism shares undeniable and inextricable linkage with premeditated act of violence or threat of violence which are designed to spread shockwaves of fear and anxiety, to send message to government officials, military leaders, or some segment of the public (levin 2006). however, clear demarcation should be recognized between civil strife that is an expression of will of the people and criminal groups which may be dreadful, violent and chaotic. having journeyed thus far on the difficult path of conceptually clarifying terrorism, we make haste to posit that conceptualizing terrorism as the acts of non-governmental groups is reductionist and lacks a conceptual balance. our working definition of the concept sees terrorism as the use of, or threatened use of violence by government, group or individual to intimidate or coerce people or government in furtherance of political, social or religious, selfish or rational objectives. making sense of security security as a concept has been a subject of broad and rich debate due to its multi-dimensional nature, for as imohe will say, “security is a word that does not enjoy an agreed definition” (imohe 2010:240). by and large security is a sharply contested concept. wolfers described it as an ambiguous abstract symbol (wolfers 2010). yet it has remained as imobighe will put it, a great concern to all human societies and impinges on the survival of every human person or society (imobighe 2003). however, despite the absence of an agreed general definition, majority of the scholars in the field of security studies have noted that security has always been associated with the safety and survival of the state and its citizens from harm or destruction and dangerous threats igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 110 (zabadi 2003, ocheche 2005, golwa 2010). this understanding of security focuses on the state as the unit to be secured and on issues relating to use and management of force and coercion in world politics. for some other scholars, security means the absence of threats to acquired values so that a nation is secure in the extent to which it is not in danger of having to sacrifice its core values if it wishes to avoid war, and is able, if challenged, to maintain them by victory in such a war. this perspective further asserts that the state is the only institution on which primary responsibility for safety of its territory and its people reposes. following the challenges of nation building in africa and other third world countries in the 1990s, scholars began to extend the concept of security to encapsulate wider issues beyond its political and military meaning. from this period, the understanding of security stretches itself to capture items such as satisfaction of basic needs, the right to sustainable environment, protection of cultural and religious identity etc (ocheche 2005). however, for the purposes of this study, we are constrained to adopt the definition of security that encompasses its environmental dimension, but focusing more on the political and military angle. this is not in the least to undermine the importance of the dimensions of the package of security. origins of boko haram terrorist group in nigeria the history of origin of the boko haram sect in nigeria is shrouded with obscurity. the confusion not only reflects in the narratives about the exact date, but also who the actual founder was (alozieuwa 2012). while adibe (2012) maintained that the sect was founded in 2002, madike (2011) traces the date to as far back 1995 under the name jama’at ahl us-sunnah li’d-da’wah wa’l-jihad (the group of the people of sunnah for preaching and struggle) (murtada 2013). madike’s account had it that one lawan abubakar was the actual founder of the boko haram sect. other accounts credit the origin of boko haram to shehu sani, a civil right activist in northern nigeria (alozieuwa 2012). on the other hand, gusau’s version of the account of boko haram origin, traces the sect to an evangelical group formed by muslim students at the university of maiduguri, bornu state, who reportedly felt dissatisfied with western education (uzodike and maiangwa 2012). the popular belief however, is that the boko haram sect was founded in 2002 (alozieuwa 2012). mohammed yusuf, to whom the formation is now generally ascribed, only assumed leadership after abubakar’s departure to medina in saudi arabia for further studies. boko haram is a compound name that comprise of hausa and arabic. the word boko is applied to western and non-islamic forms of education. haram igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 111 figuratively means ‘sin’, and literally ‘forbidden’ (nwogu 2012, murtada 2013). joined together, the two words boko haram, means to forbid westernization (both western education, western culture and modern sciences). the conviction of the boko haram sect is that what has been constructed as evil in the society is a consequence of western civilization. therefore, the aim and pursuit to entrench an islamic society becomes, in their thinking, an assurance for an evil-free society. to have this achieved, modern state formation must be replaced with the traditional islamic state. boko haram associates itself with the sunni salafi tradition (nworgu 2012). mohammed yusuf, the late boko haram leader was heavily influenced by the teachings of 14th century islamic legal scholar, ibn taymiyyah, who himself is associated with the salafi strain and whose work influenced the ideologies of many radical muslim groups. salafists adhere to an austere islamic tradition practiced by the first islamic converts. salafi jihadists aspire to implement the traditional form of islam by rejecting any innovations or modern influence on islam. there is a correlation between systemic frustration and violence such that the boko haram sect inflicts and which threatens the security of a society. following from this understanding, it has been argued that the wanton destructions, bombings and other acts of violence linked to the boko haram group are necessitates of the particular way the nigerian society is structured and organized. as faleti (2006) would argue, problems like political exclusion, economic deprivations, injustice, poverty, exploitation and inequity are sure reasons for violence and aggressive behaviours. when as a result of the dysfunctional character of a state, expectations no longer meet attainments, the tendency is for people to confront those they hold responsible for frustrating their ambitions. this is central to holsti’s weak state thesis. weak states display a low or absence of vertical legitimacy in that substantial portions of the society fail to display any loyalty to the rulers. the boko haram phenomena constitutes essentially the fallout of frustration with corruption and the attendant social malaise of poverty and unemployment among the teeming population. the majority of nigerians, especially the growing youths, see how the nation’s resources are being squandered by a small group of self-serving elite. this unquestionably breeds anger and frustration which ultimately is demonstrated in violent outbursts which continuation has challenged the monopoly of use of force by the nigerian state, resulting to scores of deaths of innocent and defenseless nigerian citizens. it is against this background of failed and dysfunctional state character of nigeria and that of notorious corruption among the political elite and increasing poverty of the citizens over the past years in nigeria, that a growing disenchantment with the western system of governance grew, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 112 particularly among the jobless young men (nwogu 2011). students of tertiary institutions, lecturers and highly placed individuals are believed to be members of the boko haram sect, fighting the cause of allah to save islam from the clutches of western influences and domination (abolurin 2011). incidences of boko haram in nigeria since the inception of boko haram, and indeed since its radicalization in 2009, following the killing of its leader, yusuf, who was shot dead while in the police custody, the group is believed to have carried out numerous campaigns that have resulted in the deaths of many and destruction of property worth billions of naira. below are selected cases of boko haram attack incidences: selected cases of boko haram attacks from 2009 to 2015 date incidents effects july 26-29, 2009 2009 boko haram uprising marking the beginning of the insurgency in northern nigeria. nearly 1,000 people were killed in clashes between boko haram militant and nigerian soldier. july 30, 2009 execution of muhammed yusuf, spiritual leader of boko haram by nigerian soldiers following the recent uprising. abukakar shekau takes control of the group september 7, 2010 bauchi prison break. 5 people were killed and 721 inmates freed from bauchi prison. october 11, 2010 bomb attack on maiduguri police station the police station was destroyed and three person injured. december 31, 2010 attack at mammy market at army mogadishu barracks, abuja. 11 people died. may 29, 2011 bomb explosion in abuja and bauchi (during goodluck jonathan’s swearing in as new president). 15 people killed. june 16, 2011 failed abuja police headquarters bombing (nigeria’s first instance of suicide bombing). 2 people died (the suicide bomber and a traffic policemen) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 113 august 4, 2011 damaturu attacks between 100 to 150 people were killed. december 2223, 2011 book haram and nigerian army clashes in maiduguri and damaturu. 68 people, of whom are 50 militants, at least 7 soldiers and 4 civilians were killed. december 25, 2011 bombing of st. theresa’s catholic church, madalla. 46 people killed. january 21, 2012 kano multiple bombs blast. 185 people feared dead. april 29, 2012 attack bayero university, kano. 13 christian worshippers, 1 non-teaching staff and 2 professors were killed. june 17, 2012 kaduna church bombings 19 people were killed. august 7, 2012 deeper life church shooting. 19 church members killed. december 25, 2012 maiduguri and potiskum church shootings. 27 christians were killed. january 1, 2013 nigerian army raid on boko haram. 13 militants were killed. march 18, 2013 kano bus bombing. between 22 and 65 people were killed. april 16, 2013 baga massacre (borno state) 187 people were killed. july 6, 2013 yobe state school shooting. over 42 persons were killed. august 12, 2013 attacks on maiduguri mosque 56 people killed. september 12, 2013 ambush by boko haram 40 soldiers died. september 12-18, 2013 nigeria army offensive against boko haram sect. 150 militants and 16 soldiers died. september 19, 2013 benisheik attacks by boko haram. 16 people were killed. september 29, 2013 guiba college massacre (yobe state). over 50 students were killed october 2013 government force raid on rebel. 101 boko haram fighters were killed. october 29, 2013 raids on damaturu. at least 128 people were killed (95 militants, 24 soldiers, 8 policemen and 2 civilians). january 26, 2014 northern nigeria attacks by boko haram 138 killed in total. february 14, 2014 borno massacre in konduga 121 christian villagers were killed. february 15, 2014 izghe attack by boko haram. 106 persons killed. february 25, 2015 federal government college 59 students were killed some through igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 114 attack by boko haram in yobe state. throat slitting by militants. march 14, 2014 attack on giwa military barracks in maiduguri. book haram detainees were freed from a detention facility and recaptured detainees were executed by the military. april 14, 2014 abuja twin bombing attack over 88 people were killed. april 15, 2014 chibok school girls kidnapping (borno state). 276 female students were kidnapped by boko haram. may 1, 2014 abuja car bombing 19 people killed. may 5, 2014 gamboru ngala attack (borno state). at least 300 people were killed. may 20, 2014 jos car bombings. at least 18 villagers were killed. may 27, 2014 buni yadi attack (yobe state) 49 security personnel and 9 civilians were killed. june 1, 2014 mubi bombing (adamawa state). 40 people were killed. june 2, 2014 gwoza massacre. at least 200, mostly christians were killed in several villages in borno state. june 20-23, 2014 borno state attacks. 70 people were killed and 91 women and children kidnapped by militants. june 23-25, 2014 central nigeria (middle belt) attack. about 171 people were killed in series of attacks in the middle belt of nigeria. july 26, 2014 nigerian military raid on boko haram camps. over 100 militant were killed november 28, 2014 kano bombing and gun attacks. at least 120 muslim followers of the emir of kano, muhammed sanusi ii were killed during a suicide bombing and gun attact by boko haram. the four gunmen were subsequently killed by an angry mob. december 13, 2014 gumsuri kidnappings (borno state). about 35 persons were killed, while about 185 persons were kidnapped. december 28-29, 2014 failed boko haram offensive into cameroon’s far north region. 85 civilians, 94 militants and 2 cameroonian soldiers were killed. january 3-7, 2015 baga massacre and raze. militants razed the entire town of baga in north-east? nigeria. at least 2,000 were killed. boko haram controlled 70% of borno state. the worst affected by the insurgency. january 9, 2015 refugees flight from baga, 7,300 refugees flee to neighbouring igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 115 borno state. chad, while over 1,000 were trapped in the land of kangala in lake chad (following the boko haram massacre in baga). january 12, 2015 failed kolofata raid in cameroon. the cameroonian military claimed the army lost one officer, while the boko haram group lost between 143 – 300 rebels. january 18, 2015 attacks on villages in north cameroon by boko haram 80 people kidnapped and 3 others killed by boko haram. january 25, 2015. offensive against nigerian forces in maiduguri. 8 civilians, about 53 militants and unknown numbers of soldiers died rebels captured the nearby strategic town of monguno. january 29, 2015 recapture of border town of michika by nigerian military in collaboration with chadian soldiers. michika recaptured from the rebels. january 31st, 2015 african union pledged to send 7,500 international soldiers to nigerian and fighting in north of cameroon. chadian forces claimed to have killed 120 boko haram fighters while they lost 3 soldier. february 6, 2015 niger raid by boko haram on bosso and diffa towns. it marked the first time the boko haram attacked the country. the chadian military assisted the nigerian armed forces to repel the attack. 5 nigerien were killed while the government claimed to kill 109 militants. february 12, 2015 invasion of sambisa forest, borno state (boko haram stronghold) by west african allied forces of nigeria, cameroon, chad and niger undisclosed number of scores of insurgents were killed. february 13, 2015 ngouboua, chad attack (after 30 insurgents crossed lake chad in 4 motor boats). the first attack on chad by boko haram. february 21, 2015 recapture of baga by baga which had fallen to boko haram on igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 116 source: akinobi (2015) security implications of boko haram in nigeria there is no doubt that boko haram insurgencies and violence has been a major threat to national security in nigeria since the year 2009 when the group declared its onslaught on some government institutions in the heartland of northern nigeria. the continued insurgency of the boko haram shows that nigeria is a tinderbox, an unstably equilibrated country sitting at the edge of a precipice. the use of lethal weapons and explosives by the boko haram group that engage in violent activities have been responsible for the death of many individuals and destruction of property, including places worship. the implication of this is serious insecurity problem in nigeria. this nigerian army. january 3rd was recaptured by nigerien army. february 24, 2015 chadian boko haram rebels clash near garambu over 200 boko haram fighters were killed, one chadian soldier lost and nine others wounded. march 9 and 18, 2015 recapture of malam fatouri and damasak (north east nigeria) by chadian and nigerien forces. insurgents dislodged from fatouri and damasak while chadian and nigerien forces retook the towns. april 24, 2015 sambisa forest last area controlled in nigeria by boko haram forces. intensive efforts are still mounted to dislodge the militants and take over the area. june 16, 2015 twin suicide bomb attacks in chad capital targeted at police headquarters and police academy. 24 people killed and more than 100 wounded in n’djamena blamed on boko haram jihadists. june 22, 2015 maiduguri mosque bombing by 2 female suicide bombers. 30 killed at crowded mosque as boko haram marked the start of ramadan by targeting a mosque that they saw as falling short in following ‘the prophet’. july 1-2, 2015 multiple mosque massacres 48 persons killed on the 1st at one mosque in kakawa and 17 wounded in the attacks. 97 others mostly men were killed in numerous mosques on the 2nd july 2015 with a number of women and young girls killed in their homes, while unknown numbers were wounded. july 6, 2015 jos bomb attack at least 44 persons were killed. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 117 is to the extent that safety to the lives and property of people is no longer guaranteed as people can be killed at the slightest provocation. substantial number of nigerian soldiers had been lost to boko haram killers. this is a great minus to nigeria’s resources invested in training these fallen officers, and also a reduction to the expectation of national protection to which end the military in the first place was designed and created. in addition to the security implication of loss of lives, the perpetration of violence by different boko haram members and groups has been generating mutual hatred and suspicion in the minds of people in nigeria. the recent attacks on places of religious worship by suicide bombers have been misinterpreted as attacks by muslims in the north against the christians in the south and vice versa. as such, the level of trust between the adherents of the two religions has been affected. this has been increasingly causing attacks and reprisal attacks in the country. the resort to violent attacks has made the task of nation building more difficult in nigeria. instead of advancing towards achieving common national identity, people now attach themselves with primordial symbols. boko haram since its inception has created a cover under which crime and violence are perpetuated by other gangs. armed robbers have found an alibi to loot banks, and politically hired assasins employ the boko haram cover to execute their jobs (omotosho 2010). it should be emphasized that the activities of the boko haram militias in maiduguri and its environs has a negative implication on nigeria’s nascent democracy. apart from facilitating election rigging, the boko haram activities have scuttled and obstructed smooth conduct of general elections in nigeria. following the insurgence of terrorism in nigeria, the country’s sources of revenue have equally been affected. several business cities, especially in the northern part of the country which were formerly economically active are fast becoming shadows of their old self, thereby reducing economic growth rate in nigeria. boko haram activities have placed nigeria on the global map of terrorism. the united states for example has branded nigeria a breeding ground for international terrorism (dukor 2010). arising from this is that nigeria’s business environment has been described as unsafe. since the business environment in nigeria has been rated risky as a result of boko haram insurgencies, potential foreign investors are running away from nigeria. it is evident that cities and states like kano, which had remained for many years, the commercial and economic epicenter of northern nigeria, and indeed that of other neighbouring countries, have now been ripped of this economic glory. the indiscriminate attacks of the boko haram bombers have generated fears that have affected traders from mali, chad and niger igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 118 republic who usually flood the (kano) market (nwokike and oche 2014). an atmosphere of fear occasioned by insecurity, no doubt, inhibits economic development. in line with this, foreign direct investment (fdi) in nigeria has been badly affected. untad report has it that fdi flows to nigeria fell to 6.1 billion us dollars in 2010. this is a decline of about 29 per cent from 8.65 billion us dollars realized in 2009 fiscal year (nwokike and oche 2014). also, statistics from the 2010 annual report of the central bank of nigeria (cbn), showed that the capital inflow into the nigerian economy in 2010 dropped by 78.1% from what it was the previous year. implicit in this is that boko haram terrorism has negative implication on the nigerian economy, and the economic security of nigerians. another security implication of the violent attacks by boko haram sect in nigeria is that it leads to the displacement of citizens from their homes or places of settlements, leading to a deluge of refugees. such rising number of refugees is considered a security threat especially to the host communities (nnoli 2006). since the 1980s and accelerating rapidly with the end of the cold war, the content of national security concerns has expanded significantly from the traditional focus on military threats to borders and governments in power to encompass non-military sources of insecurity. the expanded notions of what constitutes threats to national security have important implications for the issue of forced migrations, especially refugees and internally displaced persons arising during the course of internal wars and other forms of violence. the united nations security council’s summit declaration acknowledged that threats to peace and security can come from non-military sources. this has brought refugee activities to the forefront of security concerns. with the infliction of terror by boko haram through killing by shooting, arson, beheading, maiming and bombing, many have been compelled to flee their homes and residents in nigeria. those who flee the scenes of conflict eventually become refugees in other places. in places like maiduguri, biu etc, where great destruction had occurred, huge displacements of persons internally had occurred. this has serious impacts on socio-economic activities of the people concerned. refugees and forced migrations necessitated by the boko haram terrorist activities disrupt production and distribution in the affected nigerian communities. often it is the actively productive members of the population who flee. besides, the flight of highly skilled persons from the society reduces the capacity of the economy to grow. in addition, the timing of the flight of refugees does not necessarily coincide with planting and harvesting seasons in the case of farmers, or factory work schedules in the case of manufacturers. thus farms are abandoned either during the planting or harvest seasons to the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 119 loss of important food and cash crops. similarly, the pattern of expectation of manufactured products is not realized. influx of refugees in a state or community generates divisive socio-economic competition between the refugees and the host population. the perception by large numbers of the host population of refugees receiving economic support from the government, at a time when the local population is experiencing unemployment and economic hardship, often contributes to a rise in negative attitudes towards the refugees, and indeed physical violence towards them. there are ecological consequences of refugee emigration. refugee flows are often much denser and more concentrated than labour migration movements. they are therefore more likely to have an impact on the environment, often leading to overgrazing, deforestation and destructive agricultural practices. refugees make demands on the resources of the host community, such as water, food and land. often, domestic resentment arising from that has translated into political action, and indeed conflict. conclusion there is no gainsaying that the operations of boko haram as a terrorist group add danger in real and serious terms to the already shaky security situation of nigeria. the uphill task for the nigerian state is to defeat boko haram or be deformed by it. to end this menace will require, to some appreciable extent, recognizing what in the first place, brought it about, and conscientiously working on them. the nigerian state should in some serious ways be blamed for its improper handling of the sect which resulted in their radicalization, leading us to where we are today. boko haram began in 2002 but as a peaceful islamic splinter. it was not until 2009 that boko haram turned violent, after its leader, muhammad yusuf, was killed while in police custody. seeking revenge, boko haram resorted to violence, targeting the police, the military and local politicians. besides having a rethink on her rather harsh and hard approach to some national issues, the nigerian state and leadership should, as a matter of urgency, address the lingering and deep-seated socioeconomic poverty and deprivation, manage the economy in the interest of the citizens, and construct the much needed platforms of inclusion, tolerance and participation. some discipline should be ensured within the ranks of nigerian elites and politicians, some of whom, allegedly, give insidious support to the boko haram sect for their self political ends. amnesty and retraining and rehabilitation programme by the federal government of nigeria, for members of the boko haram sect, and the youths in general in the hot spot areas of the country, will not be a bad option. if this applied in the niger delta, it can work in the case of the boko haram members. the example of the chibok igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 120 girls’ release, holds hope for nigeria at the instance of the boko haram terrorist menace. the release of the girls took a long period of steady and sustained negotiation between the federal government and the sect. this suggests that these boys are amenable to negotiation and peace talk. the government should explore this opening, and meaningfully engage boko haram in negotiation that will lead to laying to rest, the lasting terrorist activities in the country. references abolurin a (2011) terrorism, nigeria and global dimensions. ibadan: goldengems unique multi ventures. adibe j (2012) “boko haram: one sect, conflicting narratives” african renaissance, vol. 9, number, p.2 akinobi joseph (2015) “examining the boko haram insurgency in northern nigeria and the quest for a permanent resolution of the crisis” global journal of arts, humanities and social sciences, vol. 3, no. 8, pp.32-45 alozieuwa simeon (2012) contending theories on nigeria’s security challenge in the era of boko haram. peace and conflict review, vol. 7, p.2 anyanwu simon (2012) “socio-ethical challenges of boko haram terrorism to security in nigeria” in anyanwu simon and nwanaju isidore (2012) boko haram and terrorism: religious conflicts and dialogue initiatives in nigeria. enugu: snaap press. calvert peter (2010) terrorism, civil war, and revolution: revolution in international politics. new york: the continuum international publishing group dukor maduabuchi (2010) “between the state and terrorism: the challenges of boko haram and religious fundamentalism to nigeria” in anowai eugene (ed) (2010) political terrorism: unique phenomenon of our time. awka: fab educational books. faleti, ademola (2006) “theories of social conflict” in best gaya (2006) introduction to peace and conflict studies in west africa. ibadan: spectrum. frank jason (2006) rethinking the roots of terrorism. new york: palgrave macmillan. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 121 golwa joseph (2010) “ecowas and management of security in africa” in eze osita, anigbo chike and dokubo charles (2010) nigeria’s security interests in africa. lagos: niia holsti k. j (1998) peace and war: armed conflicts and international order 16481989. cambridge: cambridge university press imobighe thomas (2010) “perspectives on regional security in africa” in eze osita, anigbo chike and dokubo charles (2010) nigeria’s security interests in africa. lagos: niia. imohe e. e (2010) “extra regional security challenges for nigeria” in eze osita, anigbo chike and dokubo charles (2010) nigeria’s security interests in africa. lagos: niia. levin jack (2006) domestic terrorism. new york: chelsea house nnoli okwudiba (2006) national security in africa: a radical new perspective. enugu: pacrep nwogu kelechi (2012) “boko haram and 2011 bombings in nigeria” in agbu osita (2012) survey of nigerian affairs 2011. lagos: niia nwokike c.n and oche o (eds) (2014) contemporary challenges in nigeria, africa and the world. lagos: niia oche ogaba and dokubo charles (2005) “the scourge of globalized networks of terror and nigeria’s security” in ogwu joy (2005) new horizons for nigeria in world affairs. lagos: niia ochoche sunday (2010) “regional peace security and conflict management in africa” a paper presented at the conference on regional economic integration in africa, abuja; omotosho mashood (2014) dynamics of religious fundamentalism: a survey of boko haram insurgency in northern nigeria in nwokike c. n and oche o (2014) contemporary challenges in nigeria, africa and the world. lagos: niia seteolu dele (2011) “terrorism in the sahel region” nigerian journal of international affairs, volume 37, number3, p.5 uzodike u and maiangwa b (2012) boko hram terrorism in nigeria: causal factors and central problematic. african renaissance, vol. 9, number 1. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 122 wolfers arnold (1952) “national security as an ambiguous symbol” political science quarterly, vol.67, no. 4 zabadi istefanus (2005) “understanding security and security sector dynamics” in zeni moulaye (2005) democratic governance of security in mali: a sustainable development challenge. adpromo ltd, nigeria. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 1.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 66 morpheme acquisition order of obolo native speakers emmanuel owaji-ikekeiyem alfred department of english studies university of port harcourt nuelsonline@yahool.com & michael alozie nwala ph.d department of english studies university of port harcourt mikeson100@yahoo.com abstract the paper investigates the morpheme acquisition order of obolo native speakers. morpheme acquisition order cross linguistically is a controversial phenomenon as there exists different opinions motivated by different empirical studies. using the processability theoretical framework, a well-established linguistic approach to acquisition based on the premise that the stages of acquisition are hierarchical, the paper examines speech samples collected from 160 obolo children within the ages of 3-6 years. following the data analysis, the results indicate that the morpheme acquisition order of obolo speakers do not follow a similar morpheme acquisition order with those of the english speakers. the paper therefore concludes that there are parametric variations in morpheme acquisition order cross linguistically. keywords: morpheme, acquisition, linguistically, processability, parametric and longitudinal introduction in the 1970s, a line of research began in linguistics known as morpheme order acquisition studies. it began sequel to the findings reported by roger brown in 1973 of his longitudinal study of three american children acquiring english as their first language. according to brown (1973) the three children investigated acquired fourteen morphemes in a remarkably similar order regardless of their ages and backgrounds. the novelty of the findings, sparked off several studies igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 67 like de villiers and de villiers (1973), goldschmeider and dekeyser (2005) kwon (2005) ; luk and shirai (2009), barrot and de leon (2014) among others. kwon (2005) observes that early researchers primarily worked on english language (1983, iwasaki, 2004, luk & shai, 2009) were concerned primarily with uncovering evidence to support innatist’s perspective of language acquisition based on the claim that human beings are ‘designed’ to acquire language; hence, they intensely propagated this notion that morpheme order acquisition exist universally across languages in a fixed natural order. this position was challenged due to the fact that many of the studies conducted focused on one language, english. accordingly, naerssen (1978) cited in mcferren (2015) “advised that caution should be taken in generalizing principles of language acquisition based on english, especially for languages with much more complex inflectional system’’ (p. 146). thus, for the claim to be substantiated, it was suggested that there was need for more empirical evidence from other languages apart from english. given the controversy that the proposition of an existence of natural morpheme order cross linguistically has generated and in furtherance of the need for more empirical evidence from non indo-european languages, as well as the consensus that the inference which can be made about the attributes of universal grammar depends on the attested characteristics of individual language, especially ‘small’ languages under-described (ngulube 2013), this present study is set to ascertain whether obolo language native speakers specifically, follow a similar morpheme acquisition order as reported among english l1 speakers. the overarching aim of this study which is to observe, analyse and describe the morpheme acquisition order of obolo speakers, has the following specific objectives: (a) to identify the morpheme acquisition order followed by obolo speaking children in their language acquisition process; and (b) discover the factors responsible for the identified morpheme acquisition order of obolo speaking children. overview of obolo language obolo is a non indo-european language. it is the only native language spoken by the andoni people residing in andoni local government area (anolga) of rivers state and perhaps by those in eastern obolo and ibeno local government areas of akwa ibom state. obolo by linguistic classification is a lower cross rivers language under the nigercongo phylum (lewis, 2009) spoken in the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 68 niger delta region of nigeria. the name obolo is both a linguistic and ethnic term (ejituwu, 1991). it stands for the name of the people and the name of their language. review of literature since the work of brown (1973) longitudinal study of the three american children between the ages of 18-27 months old acquiring english as their first language (johnson & johnson 1998), several other studies have been carried out. for instance de villiers and de villiers (1973) carried out a cross-sectional study of twenty-one english speaking children between the ages of 16 and 40 months, using the fourteen morphemes identified by brown (1973) as well as his coding rules to identify obligatory contexts. following the data analysis, their results turned out to be very similar to brown’s (1973) longitudinal study. since then, several studies have been carried out on acquisition order of english morphemes even in l2, with many providing evidence in support of universal morpheme acquisition order (kwon, 2005, schenck & choi, 2013). available literature shows there are many studies in morpheme acquisition order; however, none has examined the morpheme acquisition order of obolo speaking children. hence, the interest of the present study as mentioned earlier was to examine and describe the morpheme acquisition order of obolo speaking children. the methodology in carrying out the study is explained in the next section. methodology the study employed the descriptive survey method which sought to identify the morpheme acquisition order of obolo native speakers using the fourteen morpheme standard identified by brown (1973). data were collected from 160 children between the ages of 3-6 years through electronic recordings and were later transcribed and described. data presentation here, we present in tables for analysis the standard fourteen morphemes identified by brown and those of the obolo language identified in this study. table 1.1 shows those of brown, while table 1.2 contains both the standard igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 69 fourteen morphemes identified by brown, 1973 and their corresponding equivalents in the obolo language. table 1.1 also contains sentential examples of the standard morphemes, while table 1.2 also contains sentential examples the obolo language table 1.1: brown’s (1973) fourteen morphemes and their acquisition order igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 70 order of acquisitio n morpheme example 1 present progressive (-ing) daddy eating 2 in water in bowl 3 on cup on table 4 plural-s cats drink milk 5 irregular past he ate rice 6 possessive’s sham’s plates 7 uncontractible copula she is beautiful 8 articles: a, the a bird the book 9 regular past-ed shan opened the car 10 third person singular-s shalom writes 11 third person irregular he does cry 12 uncontractible auxiliary were they eating? 13 contractible copula girl is tall girl’s tall 14 contractible auxiliary mommy is cooking mommy’s cooking igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 71 table 1.2: brown’s (1973) identified fourteen morphemes and corresponding equivalent obolo morphemes order of acquisitio n english morpheme equivalent obolo morpheme examples 1 present progressive – ing kí/gâ i kí kúp 3sg prog drive s/he driving ń gâ gúm 1sg prog swim i (am) swimming 2 in mé átísí mé mún 1sg(pn) pp water atisi (is) in water 3 on mé kíreék mé ńkasí v pp chair sit on chair 4 plural-s 5 irregular past 6 possessive’s èyí/kè ĺkpá iré èyí àŋ book poss pro (the) book is mine ứjí kè ĺmám car poss pn ĺmám’s car 7 uncontractible ré áya i-ré ogwú íbót igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 72 data analysis several steps were followed in the data analyses: first, language samples collected from the subjects were transcribed, the types and frequency of the morphemes were then identified and codes were developed to account for the morphemes produced. for each morpheme, the sequences of acquisition were calculated by counting the number of its suppliance in obligatory context (soc). suppliance of obligatory context is recognized as providing one universal ‘yardstick’ for measuring grammatical accuracy (kwon, 2004). for explicitness, a morpheme is assigned point values following whether it was supplied correctly, incorrectly and not supplied or unavailable in the suppliance of obligatory context. thus, for a correct morpheme supplied, 2 (two) points was scored; for an incorrect morpheme supplied, 1 (one) point was scored and a zero (0) was scored where no morpheme was supplied. table 1.3 illustrates clearly the scores. table 1.3: morpheme supplied point values morpheme supplied score example: present future reference correct 2.0 émí má sí (i will go) copula pn 3sgv(be det n aya is the head (leader) articles: a, the 9 regular past-ed 10 third person singular-s î î-ki súlú òkwá 3sgpnt drum he drums 11 third person irregular 12 uncontractible auxiliary 13 contractible copula 14 contractible auxiliary igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 73 incorrect 1.0 émí mé sí (i will go) not available 0.0 émí ? sí (i go) from the above table, the sentence émí má sí (i will go), which shows the correct use of the future tense marker má (subject-verb singular agreement) received a score of 2, where mé (future tense plural marker) was supplied after émí (first person singular) received a score of 1, because it was not used correctly, (no subject-verb agreement) in obligatory context, howbeit indicated the speaker’s intention; where none was supplied or unavailable, zero was scored. the data collected from the children were grouped or coded into seven categories as follows: a (third person singular) b (future reference), c (uncontractible copula), d (present progressive), e (negation), f (possessive) and g (preposition). thereafter, the mean for each morpheme acquired was determined for each subject in table 1.4. this was followed by obtaining the percentage acquisition of accuracy for each morpheme under consideration by counting the number of respondents that correctly supplied in each case in obligatory context. the number of those that correctly supplied in obligatory context was then divided by the total number of respondents, multiplied by 100%, as in table 1.5. to ascertain the similarity or difference in comparison with the acquisition order of english l1 studies and those of this study, the resulting data was statistically ranked and ordered first by percentage acquisition in table 1.6, then by the spearman rank order correlation coefficient based on the number of respondents that supplied correctly in obligatory context shown in table 1.7. the morpheme acquisition order of obolo native speakers is presented in table 4.8 table 1.4 a-g: mean of morpheme calculated for each subject �������� = �� � =� 258 160 = 1.61 (e) negation score (x) frequency (f) fx na 0 15 0 ict 1 32 32 ct 2 113 226 total 160 258 table 1.4e ��������� = �� � =� 305 160 = 1.91 (a) third person singular score (x) frequency (f) fx na 0 4 0 ict 1 7 7 ct 2 149 298 total 160 305 table 1.4a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 74 table 1.5: percentages of obolo morpheme acquisition morpheme acquisition order percentage (%) �������� = �� � = � 265 160 (f) possessive score (x) frequency (f) fx na 0 13 0 ict 1 29 29 ct 2 118 236 total 160 265 table 1.4f ��������� = �� � =� 311 160 �= 1.94 (b) future reference score (x) frequency (f) fx na 0 2 0 ict 1 5 5 ct 2 153 306 total 160 311 table 1.4b ��������� = �� � =� 285 160 �= 1.78 (c) uncontractible copula score (x) frequency (f) fx na 0 7 0 ict 1 21 21 ct 2 132 264 total 160 285 table 1.4c �������� = �� � =� 300 160 = 1.88 (g) preposition score (x) frequency (f) fx na 0 5 0 ict 1 10 10 ct 2 145 290 total 160 300 table 1.4g ��������� = �� � = � 282 160 = 1.76 (d) present progressive score (x) frequency (f) fx na 0 8 0 ict 1 22 22 ct 2 130 260 total 160 282 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 75 table 1.6: morpheme acquisition percentages of obolo native speakers s/n morpheme acquisition order percentage (%) 1 future tense 95.62 2 third person singular 93.12 3 preposition 90.62 4 uncontractible copula 82.50 5 present progressive 81.25 6 possessive 73.75 7 negation 70.62 table 1.7: spearman’s rank order correlation coefficients s/n morpheme morpheme acquisition ranks order 1. future tense 153 1 2. third person 149 2 3. reposition 145 3 4. uncontractible copula 132 4 5. present progressive 130 5 6. possesive 118 6 7. negation 113 7 third person singular (149) 149 160� × 100% (93.12%) future tense (153) 153 160� × 100% (95.62%) uncontractible copula (132) 132 160� × 100% (82.50%) present progressive (130) 130 160� × 100% (81.25%) negation (113) 113 160� × 100% (70.62%) possessive (118) 118 160� × 100% (73.75%) preposition (145) 145 160� × 100% (90.62%) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 76 to ascertain the acquisition order of obolo native speakers, as table 4.4 shows, the sequences of morpheme acquisition for each of the 160 subjects according to their responses was ascertained. recall that a score of two (2) was given for correct (ct) morpheme supplied, a score of one (1) was given for incorrect (ict) morpheme supplied and zero (0) given for no morpheme supplied or available (na) as calculated and presented in table 1.4 a-g. as table 1.4 a. shows, out of the 160 obolo children, 149 of them supplied the third person singular morpheme correctly, while 7 of the supplied incorrectly and 4 of them did not give any response. following this development, a mean score of 1.91 was obtained for the third person singular morpheme acquisition. in table 1.4 b. a total of 153 out of the 160 obolo children correctly supplied the future tense morpheme. 5 children supplied it incorrectly and two children turned up without a response. based on that, a mean score of 1.94 was obtained for the future tense morpheme acquisition as shown. in another development, of the 160 obolo children, 7 children did not produced any response for the uncontractible copula, while 21 children supplied the morpheme incorrectly and 132 children supplied it correctly; which in sum produced a mean score of 1.7 for the uncontractible copula morpheme as shown in table 1.4 c. for the present progressive morpheme acquisition (table 1.4 d), a total of 130 children supplied the morpheme correctly, 22 children supplied it incorrectly and 8 persons did not give any response. this gave us the mean score of 1.76 for the present progressive. for the negation morpheme, a mean score of 1.61 was obtained because 113 children supplied the negation morpheme correctly; 32 children supplied it incorrectly and 15 children did not supply as shown in table 1.4 e. the analysis in table 1.4 f. shows that out of 160 children, 118 correctly supplied the possessive morpheme, 29 children supplied the morpheme incorrectly and 13 children gave no response; thus this produced a mean score of 1.66. as table 1.4 g. revealed, 145 children correctly supplied the preposition morpheme, while 10 children supplied it incorrectly and the 5 children supplied no morpheme. after the summation, a mean score of 1.88 was obtained for the preposition morpheme acquisition. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 77 comparison of the respective mean score for the different morpheme acquired by the 160 obolo children revealed that the future reference has the highest mean score, in this case, 1.94. the morpheme with the lowest mean score was the negation marker, in this case, 1.61. similarly, table 1.5 revealed the accuracy rate or acquisition percentages for each morpheme particularly for future reference, third person singular and preposition to be above 90%. it can also be inferred from the table that the future reference ranks the highest amongst the seven morphemes under consideration. the negation morpheme, on the other hand, ranks the lowest. further comparison of the values obtained from table 1.6 (percentage of morpheme acquisition) and the rank order obtained from table 1.7, show clearly that obolo native speakers’ morpheme acquisition order differ from those obtained in english l1 studies. the future reference was acquired first, followed by third person singular, preposition, uncontractible copula, present progressive, possessive and negation respectively. table 1.8: morpheme acquisition order of obolo native speakers s/n morpheme morpheme acquisition ranked order 1. future reference 153 1 2. third person singular 149 2 3. preposition 145 3 4. uncontractible copula 132 4 5. present progressive 130 5 6. possessive 118 6 7. negation 113 7 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 78 table 1.9: factors affecting morpheme acquisition in obolo morphe me future referen ce 3rd person singular prepositi on uncontracti ble copula present progress ive possess ive negati on factors langua ge structur e 2 2 2 2 2 morphe 2 2 1 2 1 2 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 79 conclusion deriving from the above, it is evident that obolo children do not follow a similar morpheme acquisition order as the english l1 speakers reported. it implies therefore, that universal morpheme acquisition order does not exist cross linguistically. in many dimensions this study is significant, as it has shown the morpheme acquisition order of obolo native speakers which hitherto was unknown, despite decades of several studies in this area of research. it also contributes to the existing knowledge on morpheme acquisition research as it provides additional information or new data on morpheme order from non indoeuropean language speakers. the study offers a sort of basis to test the generalized claim within the attested characteristics of individual language. through this means, it would give clearer understanding into the universal nature of language acquisition process, ‘balancing out’ what may only be true of a particular language. references barrot, j. & leon, k. (2014). accuracy order of the grammatical morphemes in the oral production of pre-school pupils. indonesian journal of applied linguistics, vol.3 no. 2 pp. 63-76. brown, r. (1973). a first language: the early years. cambridge ma: harvard university press. me salience semanti c complex ity 1 1 2 2 2 1 input frequen cy 2 2 1 1 1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 80 de villiers, j. & de villiers p. (1973). a cross-sectional study of acquisition of grammatical morphemes in child speech. journal of psycholinguistic research, 2, 267-278. dekeyser, r. (2005). what makes learning second language grammar difficult? a review of issues. language learning, 55(1), 37-53) ejititwu, nkparom c. (1991). a history of obolo (andoni) in niger delta. oson: manson publishing company. ellis, n. & collins, l. (2009). input and second language acquisition: the roles of frequency, form and function. the modern language journal, 93(3), 329-335. giraudo, h. & dal-maso, s.a. (2016). the salience of complex words and their parts: which comes first? journal frontiers in psychology 7: 1778. gleitman, l. & wanner, e. (1984). current issues in language. in bornstein, m. and lamb, n. (eds.), perceptual, cognitive and linguistic development, vol. 2 of developmental psychology. an advance textbook, 279-356. hillsdale, nj: erlbaum. goldschneider, j. m., & dekeyser, r. m. (2001). explaining the ‘‘natural order of l2 morpheme acquisition” in english: a meta-analysis of multiple determinants. language learning. 51, 1-50. iwasaki, j. (2004). the acquisition of japanese as a second language and processability theory: a longitudinal study of a naturalistic child learner. edith cowen university, perth, australia. ph.d dissertation. johnson, k. & johnson, h. (1998). encyclopedia dictionary of applied linguistics. malden, ma: blackwell publishers. kwon, e. y. (2005). the ‘natural order’ of morpheme acquisition: a historical survey. columbia university working papers in tesol & applied linguistic, vol.5, no. 1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 81 luk, z. p, & shirai, y. (2009). is acquisition order of grammatical morphemes impervious to l1 knowledge? evidence from the acquisition of plural-s, articles and possessive’s. language learning, 59(4), 721-754 mcferren, k. (2015). order of acquisition: a comparison of l1 and l2 english and spanish morpheme acquisition. liberty university: m.a. dissertation. ngulube, i. e. (2013). the eleme phonology. port harcourt: m&j grand orbit communications ltd. schranck, a.d. & choi, w. (2013). unlocking the secrets of morphosyntactic development by examining acquisition order disparities in an efl context open journal of modern linguistics vol.3, no. 1, 47-57. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.3. no.2 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 36 la traduction romanesque yoruba-français et l’integration nationale nigeriane: un survol des traductions par abioye, ajiboye et iyalla-amadi ihechi obisike nkoro department of foreign language and translation studies abia state university, uturu ihenkos2008@yahoo.com résumé la pratique de la traduction littéraire actuellement au nigéria, témoigne d’une part du plurilinguisme nigérian et d’autre part, du statut du français en tant que langue de la créativité littéraire du pays. la multiplicité des langues et d’ethnies au pays empêche d’une grande mesure la communication écrite interethnique. ainsi, la plupart des nigérians lettreé n’arrivent pas souvent à lire les œuvres écrites en plusieurs langues autochtones nigérianes sauf par l’intermédiaire des traducteurs et des traductrices connaissant bien les langues autochtones et d’autres langues telles l’anglais, le français, l’allemand et l’arabe. cette recherche vise à faire ressortir le grand rôle que joue le français dans la diffusion de la littérature yoruba aux autres ethnies nigérianes. l’étude se consacre à un exposé thématique de trois romans yoruba traduits au français par abioye (1989), ajíbóyè (2003) et iyalla-amadi (2012). le travail démontre que ce domaine de traduction littéraire exige plus d’engagement de la part de tous les francophiles parlant une ou plusieurs langues autochtones nigérianes. mots-clés: littérature nigériane, romans en langue yoruba, traduction romanesque, yoruba-français, intégration nationale introduction la littérature orale ou écrite est un des grands indices de la créativité de toute société humaine. une langue ayant une tradition écrite préserve mieux sa culture qu’une société qui n’en a pas. la littérature d’un peuple reste une littérature ethnique ou nationale, si elle s’exprime seulement en langue ethnique ou nationale. c’est au moment où une littérature ethnique ou nationale, est traduite en d’autres langues du monde, qu’elle devient une littérature mondiale. ainsi, la pratique de la traduction littéraire assure la diffusion de la littérature mondiale. en afrique, le débat à l’égard des langues pour l’expression de la créativité littéraire est bien vif. néanmoins, la littérature écrite africaine témoigne de plurilinguisme africain. d’une part, il y a la littérature écrite en langue européenne, qui est selon berman, cité par bandia, «l’écriture-de-traduction » (1). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 37 d’autre part, on a la littérature en langues autochtones africaines que nous considérons comme la littérature ethnique. tandis que la littérature africaine en langue européennes nous semble être une approximation d’emploi des langues et des cultures en présence, la littérature africaine en langues autochtones, est une écriture monoculturelle qui préserve toutes les nuances linguistiques et pragmatiques des énoncés. c’est toujours par l’intermédiaire des traducteurs qu’on arrive à avoir accès aux ouvrages en langues autochtones. voilà pourquoi simpson (275) reconnait les traducteurs en langues européennes et les traducteurs en langues autochtones ouest-africaines. dans cette étude, nous nous adressons à la pratique de la traduction littéraire yoruba-français et ses implications pour l’unité nationale nigériane. nous nous limiterons aux trois ouvrages traduits du yoruba au français notamment, le roman le preux chasseur dans la forêt infestée de démons de fagunwa (1938), traduit par abioye (1989), la pièce de théâtre catastrophe au rendez-vous (une traduction de rẹ́rẹ́ rún) d’òkédìjí (1973), par ajíbóyè (2003), et un homme averti (traduction française du roman yoruba ogun àwítẹ́lẹ̀) de faleti (1965), traduit par iyalla-amadi, priyé (2012). la situation ethnolinguistique nigériane et la créativité littéraire d’après oti et mbah, le nigéria a plus de 250 groupes ethnolinguistiques (1). chacune de ces groupes a une culture qui se distingue d’autres ethnies. bien que toutes ces ethnies aient leurs littératures orales, qu’elles passent par la bouche d’une génération à l’autre, le transfert de la sagesse d’une ethnie à une autre ethnie, se fait oralement, seulement par l’intermédiaire des interprètes. de ce fait, le seul moyen de passer la sagesse d’une ethnie, à une autre ethnie, devient le déplacement et le voyage. cela implique qu’au niveau oral, on arrive seulement à avoir accès à la sagesse d’une autre culture lorsqu’on visite cette ethnie, ou lorsqu’on rencontre quelqu’un qui vient de cette ethnie, ou quelqu’un, qui a appris par ses efforts personnels, la sagesse de cette autre ethnie. par conséquent, la communication interethnique du pays ne facilite pas la diffusion de la littérature orale de ces ethnies. signalons que ce n’est qu’une toute minoritaire des ethnies nigérianes qui ait une tradition écrite. par conséquent, certaines ethnies du pays n’ont pas une littérature écrite en langues ethniques. le hausa, le yoruba et l’igbo, qui jouent le rôle des langues nationales parmi d’autres, disposent d’une littérature ethnique écrite. notons que l’accès interethnique à ces littératures en langues autochtones nigérianes est très difficile, car, on doit d’abord apprendre à lire la langue de chacune de ces ethnies avant de lire leurs littératures d’où relève la nécessité de la traduction littéraire. au fait, nous igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 38 faisons partie de beaucoup de nigérians lettrés qui n’ont jamais visité la chine et qui ne connaissent aucun mot chinois, mais qui citent souvent les proverbes chinois qu’ils ont lus en anglais. l’expérience coloniale africaine a remodelé à jamais, la situation linguistique de tous les pays africains. au nigéria, depuis l’ère coloniale jusqu'à nos jours, l’anglais reste la langue officielle. le français qui connait déjà plus d’un siècle au pays comme une langue étrangère, est actuellement la deuxième langue officielle du pays. l’arabe, une langue religieuse occupe aussi une position privilégiée surtout au nord du pays. d’autres langues étrangères au pays incluent l’allemand, l’espagnol, le portugais et le chinois. la littérature écrite nigériane s’exprime également en ces langues étrangères. tandis que la littérature écrite en langues autochtones nigérianes se limite aux frontières ethniques, la littérature écrite en langues internationales telles l’anglais, le français et l’arabe, déborde non-seulement les frontières ethniques mais les frontières nationales faisant ainsi partie de la littérature mondiale. cependant, une littérature ethnique peut être transformée en une littérature mondiale dès qu’elle soit traduite aux plusieurs langues vivantes. le présent travail qui focalise sur trois ouvrages yoruba en traduction française, se situe donc au domaine de la littérature ethnique transformée en littérature mondiale par l’intermédiaire de trois traducteurs yorubaphiles et francophiles. les auteurs et les traducteurs des textes étudiés deux romans et une pièce yoruba en traductions françaises sont choisis pour l’étude, notamment, les romans : le preux chasseur dans la forêt infestée de démons de fagunwa traduit du yoruba au français par abioye, la pièce, catastrophe au rendez-vous d’òkédìjí traduit du yoruba au français par ajíbóyè, et l’homme averti de faleti traduit du yoruba au français par iyalla-amadi. rappelons qu’en 1938, fagunwa écrit en langue yoruba, le roman ogboju ode ninu igbo irunmale, faleti écrit ogun àwítẹĺẹ̀ en 1965 tandis qu’ òkédìjí écrit rẹŕẹ ́ rún aussi en langue yoruba, en 1973. a vrai dire, ces textes en langue yoruba n’attireraient jamais notre attention si l’on ne les a pas traduits au français, car nous ne pouvons pas lire les textes en langue yoruba. en ce qui concerne la situation linguistiques de ces trois traducteurs vis à vis les ouvrages choisis pour l’étude, abioye et ajíbóyè sont d’origine yoruba, des professeurs titulaires de français, et enseignants universitaires de français tandis qu’iyalla-amadi est yorubaphile, et enseignante universitaire de français. le bilinguisme et le biculturisme de ces deux traducteurs et la traductrice, sont des atouts qui leurs ont permis de réaliser ces igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 39 traductions yoruba-français. dans ce qui suit, nous ferons un exposé thématique de ces trois ouvrages en traductions françaises, afin d’en tirer les éléments unificatrices face à la situation multilingue et multiethnique nigériane. exposés thématiques des textes étudiés aucun artiste ne termine sa créativité sans livrer à la société un produit de beauté, d’instruction et d’amusement. toute créativité littéraire digne de son nom, aurait toujours des aspects esthétiques, instructifs et même critiques. voilà pourquoi la littérature d’une époque donnée fait partie de l’histoire générale de cette époque-là, ainsi, la littérature devient un élément important à considérer en pensant au développement d’un pays donné. en essayant de faire un exposé thématique des ouvrages choisis pour l’étude, on veut tout simplement faire ressortir le message de fagunwa, de faleti et d’ òkédìjí pour l’humanité. notre exposé concentre aux thèmes renforcés par les trois écrivains voire la chasse et les chasseurs, l’éducation, le gouvernement, la prudence et la vigilance, la détermination, la patience et la persévérance a) la chasse et les chasseurs a chaque société ses métiers. tout adulte doit travailler pour ne pas être un parasite. fagunwa, faleti et òkédìjí se servent de leurs ouvrages littéraires pour nous faire comprendre certains aspects de la vie économique de la société yoruba traditionnelle et moderne. les traducteurs français de ces auteurs réussissent bien à reproduire en français, la vie économique présentée dans les textes sources. il y a plusieurs métiers représentés dans les trois ouvrages étudiés mais on est d’avis que la chasse et les chasseurs méritent plus d’attention que tout autre métier parce que ce métier figure directement dans l’ouvrage de fagunwa et de faleti, et par allusion dans l’ouvrage d’òkédìjí. dès l’abord, on apprend que le protagoniste dans la forêt infestée de démons de fagunwa, akara-ogun, est chasseur dans la forêt d’irunmale’. il dit à propos de son enfance: «je commençai à accompagner mon père à la chasse dès l’âge de dix ans et j’eus mon premier fusil à l’âge de quatre ans… même de son vivant, j’étais devenu un chasseur renommé qui tuait beaucoup d’animaux sauvages y compris le tigre et l’éléphant » (9). de même, dans catastrophe au rendez-vous, on parle souvent de chasseurs. par exemple, dans ses préambules intitulés ‘pourquoi cette pièce ? òkédìjí nous fait comprendre que les conditions des ouvriers sont pénibles en signalant que les igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 40 ouvriers sont comme « sont comme des chiens qui ayant tué le gibier, se trouvent dépossédés par le chasseur» (x). de plus, adéníyí, un des ouvriers, «chante la chanson des chasseurs ‘ìjálá (16). de surcroît, le premier chapitre de l’homme averti… de faleti commence par ces mots : «au cours de la chasse, le chasseur vtt beaucoup de difficultés » (1). au fait, les mots tels ‘chef-chasseur, mon lieutenant’ (3), ‘maîtres-chasseurs et jeunes-chasseurs’ (5), et ‘ikólàbà (titre officiel du chasseur’ (47), témoignent du grand professionnalisme de la chasse et des chasseurs yoruba. autres termes tels ‘osi-oluodè ‘,(troisième adjoint du chef et ‘otun-oluodè’ (deuxième adjoint du chef-chasseur (48), expliquent aussi l’aspect militaire du chasseur yoruba. selon iyalla-amadi, «chez les yorubas, le chasseur remplit la double fonction de chasseur du gibier et de gardien du village. » (47). b) l’éducation l’éducation est un des thèmes qu’on ne peut pas négliger dans les trois ouvrages étudiés. voici le conseil de fagunwa aux parents : surveille la façon dont ton enfant parle… veille aussi à ce qu’il ne devienne pas un polisson ou fripon plus tard dans la vie. si tu as les moyens, envoie ton enfant à l’école et si tu ne disposes que de ressources minces, cherche à donner à ton enfant une bonne éducation, même s’il te faudra vendre des fagots, ne manque pas de le faire. souviens-toi qu’un seul enfant bien élevé et qui à une bonne éducation vaut mieux que mille autres qui ne sont que des fainéants (119). notons que fagunwa signale également l’importance de l’apprentissage des métiers comme un autre moyen de préparer un enfant pour la vie d’adulte. il dit : si compte tenu des frais de scolarité souvent trop élevé, tu sais que tu n’auras pas la capacité de mener à bout ce projet, cherche carrément à faire apprendre à ton enfant un bon métier qui serait plus tard rentable. même si c’est le métier de fermiers, encourage-le à le bien apprendre. regarde combien la race noire est bénite en ce qui concerne la richesse et la quantité du terrain…si c’est au commerce qu’il s’intéresse, encourage-le à le bien apprendre ; et si c’est le métier de igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 41 menuisier qui l’intéresse, encourage-le à s’y distinguer…. (120) de sa part, faleti montre nettement que l’éducation distingue les vieux des jeunes dans le roman. lorsqu’il arrive chez le chef du village, le chef-chasseur nous dit que «…le balé… en sortît une petite lettre et appela son fils ainé pour venir me la lire. le garçon ouvrît la lettre et commença… (1). ensuite, les chasseurs qui ne peuvent pas lire les affiches collées par les voleurs, demandent l’aide des écoliers : « …nous vîmes trois écoliers en train de lire une affiche collée à un arbre. je demandai au plus âgé de nous lire ce que fut écrit sur l’affiche…. » (6). òkédìjí nous présente egalement le thème de l’éducation dans sa pièce. les acteurs tels akòwé àgbà (secrétaire des chefs traditionnels du village) et mopélólà, la jeune dactylographe, sont biens éduqués (vii). davantage, láwúwo, le leader des ouvriers, explique à sa femme, moréniké que : c’est alors que je suis devenu tour à tour apprenti-maçon, apprenti-menuiser, apprenti-peintre …pour ensuite partir à l’école du soir ou j’ai appris les quelques bribes qui m’ont permis aujourd’hui de conduire les affaires des ouvriers…(31) le gouvernement le gouvernement se voit dans les trois ouvrages étudiés. chez fagunwa, on voit des rois et leurs sujets. le narrateur, akaraogun, dit qu’: un des messagers du roi entra précipitamment chez moi pour m’annoncer que le roi voulait me voir tout de suite. comme c’état un devoir pour moi en tant que sujet du roi, je fis mes préparatifs pour me rendre au palais du roi » (77). poursuivant, akara-ogun ajoute : «a vrai dire, oke langbodo était une grande ville dont la propreté était incontestable… à notre arrivée dans la ville, nous fîmes savoir au roi que nous étions là … » (112). de sa part, faleti, présente le terme du gouvernement en nous parlant d’ activités du chef du village, le balé et ses sujets, notamment, le chef-chasseur et autres chasseurs(1). le chef-chasseur dit : «le matin du quatrième jour, je reçus un message de la part du balé. il voulut que tous les chasseurs se réunissent chez lui » (14). le thème du gouvernement se voit aussi chez òkédìjí lorsqu’olúgbón, un chef, s’adresse à onímògún, le roi, en disant : «écoutez, kábíyèsí notre roi… (9). de plus, onímògún, pose cette question à balógun, un autre chef«balógun, toi aussi, tu as déjà participé au igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 42 gouvernement. est-ce que tu t’es fait construire une maison, même jusqu'à ta retraite ? (12). il est vrai qu’on ait des rois et des sujets dans ces trois ouvrages mais il y a une grande leçon morale à en tirer. tandis que fagunwa et faleti nous présentent des rois et des sujets heureux, òkédìjí nous présente un roi heureux et des sujets opprimés et malheureux. le narrateur dans l’ouvrage de fagunwa dit que «la façon dont imodoye avait parlé était magnifique. il excita en nous du courage et le désir de rendre service à notre patrie (93). ce même sentiment patriotique se voit chez faleti lorsque le chef-chasseur, en répondant au discours du roi, dit « je l’assurai que nous ferons tout notre possible de remporter la victoire » (16). au contraire, on voit chez òkédìjí, des sujets opprimés représentés par les ouvriers. voilà pourquoi mopélólà en s’adressant au roi onímògún, dit : «si les ouvriers souffrent tant aujourd’hui, c’est que le syndicat ne s’est pas encore affermi, tôt ou tard, ils se débarrasseront de tout encombrement » (92-93). d) la prudence et la vigilance la sante bible nous conseille à maintes fois d’être prudents. selon la sainte bible, «la faveur du roi est pour le serviteur prudent » (proverbes 14 :35, louis segond). en fait, jésus christ commande ses disciples «vous aussi, tenez-vous prêts car le fils de l’homme viendra à l’heure où vous n’y penserez pas » (luc 12 :40). de même, fagunwa, faleti et òkédìjí nous donnent des leçons morales concernant la prudence et la vigilance. selon fagunwa, «un homme prudent fait des pas à la mesure de ses jambes. en toute chose, un homme prudent considère la fin tandis qu’un homme vaniteux se plonge dans une imitation aveugle » (134135). pour faleti, le titre même du roman un homme averti…, fait appel à la prudence et à la vigilance. le chef-chasseur dans ce roman montre que la prudence et la vigilance vont de paire lorsqu’il dit qu’il est vrai qu’«un homme averti en vaut deux, mais ceci n’est vrai que lorsque l’homme qui a été averti se prépare bien» (46)., òkédìjí contribue aussi à cette leçon morale sur l’importance de la prudence. les activités de láwúwo, le révolutionnaire et le leader des ouvriers qui souffre la catastrophe d’être veuf et de devenir fou après sa lutte contre l’oppression des ouvriers, suscitent le conseil à la prudence de la part de la classe dirigeante, et de la part de sa famille. d’abord, olúgbón, le chef qui fait partie du gouvernement du roi onímògún dit au roi que «la prudence s’impose. il faut prendre au séreux l’affaire de láwúwo. et cela vite, sinon ce sera trop tard (10). par ailleurs, sa sœur wúràólá, la conseillère des ouvriers, lui parle ainsi: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 43 «láwúwo, je te conseillerai la prudence, le genre de prudence qui nous permet de marcher dans un champ d’épines sans être blessés (24). d) la détermination, la patience et la persévérance la détermination, la patience et la persévérance sont d’autres bonnes qualités recommandées dans les trois ouvrages étudies. le vieil homme qui donne des conseils à akara-ogun et aux autres chasseurs vaillants après leur retour de la forêt d’oke langbodo leur dit : «j’apprécie votre intrépidité. je vous félicite pour votre persévérance. j’apprécie votre ténacité. je loue également votre résolution (117). de plus, òkédìjí encourage la patience lorsque balogun dit à onímògún : «la patience, c’est ce qu’il nous faut (13). faleti nous enseigne de persister lorsque le chef-chasseur dit aux autres chasseurs : «si un chasseur persiste dans la chasse sans se décourager, il finira par avoir du succès auprès du gibier (36). en fin, le chef-chasseur nous dit à propos de la guerre de l’homme averti que «grâce à l’aide portée par ado et à ma persévérance, nous réussîmes donc à venir à bout de la guerre de l’homme averti (43). les textes étudiés et le rapprochement des ethnies nigérianes rappelons que nous avons indiqué plus haut que le nigéria a plus de 250 ethnies. la lecture des ouvrages de fagunwa, de faleti et d’òkédìjí nous serait impossible sauf par l’intermédiaire des traducteurs, car nous ne pouvons pas lire la langue yoruba. grace à notre lecture de ces ouvrages, nous avons pu bénéficier de l’universalité des ouvrages. nous sommes d’accord avec amadou que «la mondialisation ou globalisation est inévitable…. si l’afrique ne s’y prépare, elle sera à nouveau marginalisée… mais ce village planétaire est aussi pluriculturel, voire pluriethnique » (425). en traduisant ces ouvrages écrits en langue yoruba au français, les traducteurs ont permis aux francophiles y compris les nigérians francophiles d’en avoir accès. ainsi, les versons françaises de ces ouvrages yoruba contribuent beaucoup à la nigérianisation et la mondialisation de la littérature yoruba. avouons que nous apprécions mieux le monde yoruba grâce à notre lecture de ces ouvrages. evidemment, nous partageons l’avis de betocchini et costanzo que cette étude a aboutit à une participation «à un débat d’idées » (77), entre des ethnies nigérianes différentes parlant le français. on est d’avis que le monde entier a beaucoup à apprendre du professionnalisme de la chasse et des chasseurs yoruba. signalons que le dicton «l’unité fait la force », qui détermine toutes les actions des chasseurs chez fagunwa et chez faleti, leur remporte la victoire. a l’inverse, on trouve chez òkédìjí que le sabotage d’ìdòwú contre les igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 44 autres ouvriers demandant une amélioration de leurs conditions de travail, ne remporte que la catastrophe aux ouvriers. ainsi, le nigéria peut se distinguer parmi les autres pays du monde, si tous ses citoyens s’unissent malgré leurs ethnies d’origines. conclusion l’impact d’une littérature ethnique se multiplie par sa traduction en d’autres langues. fagunwa, faleti et òkédìjí, des écrivains d’expression yoruba sont connus aujourd‘hui au monde francophone parce que leurs ouvrages existent en traductions françaises. aujourd’hui des francophiles de par le monde peuvent mener des études comparées en se servant de le preux chasseur dans la forêt infestée de démons(une traduction d’ogboju ode ninu igbo irunmale) de fagunwa par abioye, catastrophe au rendez-vous (une traduction de rere run) d’okediji par ajiboye et un homme averti (traduction française du roman yoruba ogun awitele) de faleti par iyalla-amadi. quiconque lira ces ouvrages sera mieux muni d’affronter les difficultés inévitables associées à l’expérience humaine compte tenu de leçons morales telles l’unité, la prudence, la vigilance et la persévérance présentées dans ces ouvrages. bien qu’il y ait plusieurs groupes ethnolinguistiques au nigéria, avec l’unité, on peut apprécier mieux notre diversité et notre créativité ethnique. néanmoins, nous regrettons qu’à l’heure actuelle, seulement les yorubaphles, les anglophiles et les francophiles puissent lire ces ouvrages. il est souhaitable que ces ouvrages soient traduits en toutes les langues autochtones nigérianes parce que cela assurera une grande unification nationale. œuvres citees amadou, oumarou. « genèse et fondement de la mondialisation : enjeux et défis ».partcip’action : revue interafricaine de littérature, linguistique et philosophie. revue semestrielle volume 8, no1-janvier 2016, lomé, togo, 417-426. bandia, paul. «le concept bermanien de l’étranger ». http://www.erudit.org/revue/ttr/2001/v14/n2/000572ar.html?vue=r esume betocchini, paola et costanzo, edvige. « participer à un débat d’idées ». le français dans le monde, no 406 juillet-aout 2016, 77-78. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 45 fagunwa, daniel o.. le preux chasseur dans la forêt infestée de démons. trad. abioye, olaoye. lagos : nelson publishers limited, 1989. faleti, adebayo. ogun àwítẹĺẹ̀. ibadan: oxford university press, 1965 /http://0-www.worldcat.org.novacat.nova.edu/title/ogunawitele/oclc/26969477/editions?referer=di&editionsview=true faleti, adebayo. un homme averti (traduction française du roman yoruba ogun àwítẹĺẹ̀). trad. iyalla-amadi, priyé. ibadan: hebn publishers plc. 2012. la sante bible -louis segond. paris: la société biblique, 1974. òkédìjí, ọládẹ̀jọ. rere run. ibadan:onibonje press and book industries (nigeria ltd. òkédìjí, ọládẹ̀jọ.. catastrophe au rendez-vous (une traduction de rere run). trad. túndé ajíbóyè. ibadan: heinemann educational books (nigeria) plc. 2003. oti, e. osita & mbah, s. chidi. «ethnicity and census-taking: challenges and prospects ». abia population studies: a publication of the centre for population studies, abia state university, uturu, 2.1, 2015, 1-11. simpson, ekundayo. translation: principles and applications. lagos: interlingua limited, 2007. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 7.doc igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 81 paradoxes of adolescent and adult love in female sexuality: nwabueze’s a dance of the dead and a paraliament of vultures as paradigms canice chukwuma nwosu department of theatre and film studies nnamdi azikiwe university awka, anambra state nwosucoc@gmail.com abstract sexuality differs from sex because it is embracing and encompassing; since it involves the individual’s expression of sexual interest, attraction and sensual feelings. sex refers more to the physical and biological sexual characteristics that conservatively determine gender. love in the other hand is a sensational feeling in the individual that spurs him or her on to express sexuality. thus, there is a thin dividing line among love, sex and sexuality. the problem of this study therefore, stems from the proposition that age and human development impact on how the trio of love, sex and sexuality are expressed by the individual; despite the contention that in sexuality some people are either “younger” or “older” than their ages. the researcher identified two age brackets in this study: adolescents and adults and examined how youth and maturity have affected the expression of female sexuality in postcolonial nigerian society. this is without prejudice to the fact that; biological, socio-cultural change, nature, concept of choice as well as material gratification and pleasure are important variables that condition individual sexuality. the researcher interrogated emeka nwabueze’s contention in the two plays selected for study: a dance of the dead and a parliament of vultures, that there are conflicting paradigms of female sexuality in the postcolonial nigerian society, as the two plays juxtapose the impact of adolescent and adult love on female sexuality; using case study and content analysis approaches of the qualitative research method. therefore, there is a paradoxical attempt to determine the negativity and positivity between and betwixt the two: adolescent and adult female sexuality in the postcolonial but volatile urban nigerian society. the study concludes that; though discourse on sexuality, especially female sexuality across different eras in human development is as diverse as it is complex, age, human development and socio-economic change are variables of love, sex and sexuality. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 82 keywords: sexuality, female, adolescent, adult, love, paradoxes, drama. introduction love is a known character trait of man and animals, both species develop the idea to love from the family through parental love. it is however, a truism that the family is the smallest but very important component unit of communities and different worldviews. hence, how communities and worldviews perceive love, bi-laterally impacts on the individual and family perception of love. the ubiquity of love in the activities of man and his environment stems from the proposition that love is a universal phenomenon which is as old as man and his environment. hence, love dominates religious, social, economic and political aspects of man’s life as it influences thematic fixation of modern african and european drama. similarly, religion presents the importance of this phenomenon called love when the holy book argues that god created man and the world out of love. thus, the relationship between god and man is sustained by shared love between god and mankind. other social relationships including marriages and friendships are basically contracted and built on love, despite other motives that may govern or condition such relationships. even business and political partnerships are not devoid of love. however, the impact of love on the social life of man is both axiomatic and enigmatic, and has therefore, generated intermittently compunction and elated discourses. there is no gainsaying that the impact of love on human sexuality which is an important aspect of human sociality is both enormous and complex. hence, it has generated intermittently, periodic, culture bound and dialectical discourses that attest to the positivity and negativity of love in human sexuality. despite these age long sexological optimistic and skepticisms, love has enabled the opposite sexes to co-exist peacefully in the same geo-enclaves from creation to the postcolonial nigerian society. love as a sophisticated activity in human sexuality has been interpreted and defined to mean different things in different cultures and to different scholars and lovers. to some, it is a means to an end; while to others it is expression of acceptance. love is presented in this study to mean a sensational feeling that indicates affection, acceptance or rejection between/among persons or groups. deborah anapol posits that, “love is a force of nature”, (1) explaining the nature of love further, she says, “it is difficult to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 83 control the powers of love.” emphasizing the power of love, anapol concludes that, “love is bigger than you are. you can invite love, but you cannot dictate how, when, and where love expresses itself,” (1) especially in adolescent love. anapol’s definition of love affirms the complex and sophisticated nature of love that makes it difficult for adolescents to understand it in the process of exercising their sexuality during different periods and within different cultures. according to boundless, human sexuality refers to “peoples’ sexual interest in and attraction to others, it is the capacity to have erotic or sexual feelings and experiences” (i) anapol’s definition of love as a variable of human sexuality affirms the proposition that age impacts on sexuality, especially female sexuality exercised within the context of a society that is dominated by patriarchy. the centrality of love in human sexuality stems from the view that love induces the expression of sexual interest, attraction and sensual feelings which are all aspects of sexuality. psychologist are of the view that adult love is restraint or even sometimes selfish, in the expression of sexuality; while adolescent love throws caution to the wind. the views of psychologist notwithstanding; human sexuality is conditioned by cultural and social constructs of nations and periods in history. hence, given the patriarchal nature of most cultures of the world, there is the tendency that exercise of female sexuality has been generally accepted to require more caution than male sexuality. defining female sexuality; jesi egan says that; “it is women’s ability to feel sexual desire and achieve orgasm…” (10) egan goes further to explain that female sexuality is not a universal phenomenon since there are societies where women do not feel any particular pleasure by sexual activity. many socio-cultural and religious factors impact on female sexuality, of which female circumcision is one of them. the goal and purpose of female circumcision among other secondary reasons is reduction or total elimination of female sexuality. female circumcision further justifies reasons why most cultures and religious denominations condemn pre-marital sex and preach chastity; which directly and indirectly impacts on female sexuality. thus, egan affirms that; female sexual desire is a quality that can be fostered or suppressed during upbringing. nothing prevents different cultures from igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 84 evolving differently in this respect since female desire is not necessary for fertilization to take place. (10) the pre-colonial nigerian society is restrictive and conservative about sexuality, especially, female sexuality. hence, most pre-colonial and colonial writers and artists discuss sexuality with reservation and present its expression as vulgarity and immorality. writers like chinua achebe in things fall apart, kalu uka in ikhamma bode sowande in farewell to babylon and femi osofisan capture in their plays the old sexuality that dwell on morality, abstinence and sometimes pretence and secrecy however, the trend in postcolonial writings and arts in nigeria has strained this pre-colonial cultural view on sexuality, thus the postcolonial era in nigeria is producing highly amorous works in literature and music. emergent and contemporary writings and performances reflect radicalized views on sexuality as the enriched sexual contents of these creative products are enjoyed and applauded worldwide. the changing trend on sexuality in postcolonial society is also evident in the patronage of such pornographic and erotic music and performances enjoy. the plays selected for study, directly or indirectly capture both the old and new sexuality of pre-colonial and post-colonial society. one of the plays selected for study, a dance of the dead is set in igbo pre-colonial culture; but the actions of the play spill over to urban culture. the second play, a parliament of vultures is totally set on nigerian postcolonial urban culture, the two urban cultural settings combine to achieve a socio-centric pull that reveal the bastardization of igbo culture on sexuality in the first rural setting of the play. the playwright situates ngozi, the protagonist of a dance of the dead within these periodic and cultural settings; and uses forces emanating from these periods and cultural milieu (pre-colonial, postcolonial and igbo culture) to interrogate ngozi’s sexuality against the igbo accepted perception on sexuality. nwabueze shows that; the position of pre-colonial igbo culture on female sexuality is clear: pre-marital sex is not tolerated and marital infidelity is not for women. samuel chukwukwu – okoronkwo and izuu nwankwo posit that: … the woman is inextricably entrapped by culture. thus, her issue and indeed, those of her relations with ‘men’ in the society cannot be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 85 discussed in isolation of culture which encapsulates the totality of the ways of life in the society. (109) okoronkwo and nwankwos’ cultural views on women, further affirm that there is need for the adolescent and adult female to be aware that female sexuality is not individually constructed. the female should be aware of the cultural provisions of her own worldview on female sexuality. according to ngozi udengwu; “to be culturally literate … one does not only have to understand the cultural norms, but should also abide by them, as failure to conform to cultural norms can have dire consequences.” (38) however, violation of cultural norms on female sexuality may be as a result of youthful exuberance, rebellion, or materialistic tendencies, ambition, acquisition of political power and so on. by and large, nwabueze reveals in a dance of the dead and a parliament of vultures that how the female, entangled in love, wrestles with these important elements of female sexuality is to a large extent determined by the age of the female and the prevalent socio-economic construct of each era. hence, the researcher’s preoccupation in this study is to interrogate the impact of adolescent and adult loves on female sexuality in a dance of the dead and a parliament of vultures, paying close attention to the nexus between sexuality; cultural, social and economic constructs of the postcolonial nigerian society. adolescent and adult love in female sexuality despite the fact that female sexuality is culturally constructed, there are convergent and divergent cross-cultural views on the issue that produce a globalized perception of female sexuality and its expression. freudian theories on sex and sexuality were among the earliest theories that helped modern man to come up with some of these universal views on sexuality because freudian theories were penetrating and revealing in their approaches to the understanding of human sexuality. prior to sigmund freud’s discourses; issues of sexuality were peripherally treated leaving many grey areas that added to the curiosity of the youth about the subject. the influence of freud on contemporary theorists of sexuality like michil foucault cannot be overemphasized. roy horrisby reveals freudian influence on foucault as he recounts the latter’s incisive questions on sexuality below: how is it that in a society like ours, sexuality is not simply a means of reproducing the species, the family and the individual? not igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 86 simply a means to obtain pleasure and enjoyment? how has sexuality come to be considered the privileged place where our deepest “truth” is read and expressed? there is no doubt that freud and foucault in their studies opened new horizons on human sexuality and consequently influenced both western and african theorists on issues surrounding both male and female sexuality. however, in the bid to answer some of foucault’s questions, one cannot help but relate sexuality to various aspects of human endeavors. ameh d. akoh and elizabeth olayiwala affirms that, “ sexuality is derived from the word sex.” thus, they argue that: sexuality is more embracive and revolves around human experiences ranging from, family relationships, dating, sexual behavior physical development, sensuality, reproduction, gender, body and so on (101). discourses on human sexuality in recent times do not exclude gender as one of the elements of sexuality as listed above by akoh and olayiwala above. genderism lead to the bifurcation of human sexuality into male and female sexuality as traditional gender constructs in most cultures, until the recent experience in proliferation of gender, which produced homosexuals, and asexuals. though akoh and oyilolas’ elements of human sexuality have one thing or the other to do with the level of expression in sexuality, it is female behavior that is most conditioned by culture. “human female sexuality encompasses a broad range of behaviors and processes, including female sexual identity and sexual behavior, the physiological, psychological, social, cultural, political and spiritual or religious aspects of sex activity” (wikipedia, 1). even though, female sexuality share the restrictiveness and inclusiveness of human sexuality, it is culturally, more restrictive than male sexuality. according to wikipedia: in most societies and legal jurisdictions, there are legal bounds on what sexual behavior is permitted. sexuality varies across the cultures and regions of the world, and has continually changed throughout history, and this applies equally to female sexuality. aspects of female sexuality include issues pertaining to biological sex, body image, self-esteem, personality, sexual orientation, values igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 87 and attitudes, gender roles, relationships, activity options, and communication. (3) apart from the variables mentioned above, age is another variable of human sexuality that has not been fully explored. like other variables, age produces divergent views on love and sexuality, hence, even within same cultures and periods, the perception of love and sexuality by the young and the old differ. therefore, adolescent and adult loves as variables of human sexuality are pitched against cultural and periodic variables to assess the demographic implication of age on love and sexuality within the igbo culture of postcolonial nigeria. however, the variables of adolescent and adult sexuality are appropriated in this section of the study to enable the researcher put in place suitable theoretical framework for the analyses of the two case studies. few sexcological researches focus on the age variable, even theories of sexuality in the elderly are few. up till now, freud’s psychoanalytic theory and foucault’s theories appear to be the most focused on sexuality. however, neither freud nor foucault focused on age and expression of female sexuality. therefore, the researcher combines two theoretical approaches in an attempt to broaden this horizon. hence, in the theoretical application the researcher collapses theories and approaches adolescent development: aspects into eddy m. elmer’s applying symbolic interactionism and age stratification theories to the study of sexuality in the elderly, because these two theories support the analyses of the impact of adolescent and adult love on expression of female sexuality in the two plays selected for study. adolescents are people within the age bracket of ten to nineteen (10 – 19) years. female adolescents start expression of their sexuality as soon as they begin to experience certain physical changes in their body. “in response to these physical changes, young adolescents begin to be treated in a new way by those around them. they may no longer be seen as just children, but as sexual beings to be corrected or targeted. they face society’s expectations for how young … women “should” behave. (theories and approaches,1) young female adolescents may or may not express their sexuality according to their society’s cultural provisions and social constructs of the period. generally, provisions for expression of female sexuality in most cultures are more restrictive than the expression of male sexuality. however, the postcolonial nigerian society has seen departure from the old and conservative view of adolescent female sexuality. hence, adolescents in some cases break cultural norms and transgress taboos in the process of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 88 expressing their sexuality. theories and approaches argue that these experimental behaviors are as a result of: a dramatic shift in thinking from concrete to abstract which gives adolescents a whole new set of mental tools. they are now able to analyze situations logically in terms of cause and effect. they can appreciate hypothetical situations. this gives them the ability to think about the future, evaluate alternatives, and set personal goals. they can engage in introspection and mature decision-making. as a result of their growing cognitive abilities, most developing adolescents will: become more independent. take on increased responsibilities …. (3) the adolescent’s new ideals and desires are reflected in the expression of adolescent sexuality in postcolonial nigeria as captured by nwabueze in a dance of the dead, as the adolescent female protagonist ngozi, accepts or rejects partners for one reasons or the other. the adolescents feel that they can handle their own affairs and that they are in charge and are therefore independent from their parents. sometimes, “the adolescents’ new desire for independence leads to increasing conflicts between adolescents and their parents (theories and approaches, 2). even though some of these conflicts between adolescents and their parents may not be ruled out, they should be carefully handled to avoid escalation. the situation may be worse if a female adolescent falls in love with an adult and sees her new lover as an alternative care giver and replacement for her parents. most of these adolescents/ adult relationships are based on dependency as a result of inability of the adolescents to get enough care from the family, take care of themselves or general un-conducive atmosphere. such relationships involve too much give and take involving risks on the part of the adolescent; that may not be for the overall interest of the adolescent. “unfortunately, some of the risks that adolescents pursue may pose real threat to their health and well-being. these include motor vehicle accidents, pregnancy, alcohol and drug abuse… (theories and approaches, 3) adult love differs from adolescent love, the beginning of adult love is love for one’s self, and then attraction and motive follow. the combination of theories and approaches… and applying symbolic interactionism … captures nwabueze’s transition from adolescent love to adult love in the expression of female sexuality igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 89 in a dance of the dead and a parliament of vultures. unlike adolescents love, eddy m. elmer says adult love in female sexuality in the elderly: … can be conceptualized in a number of ways. foremost, sex can be considered more than biological act of procreation or pleasure. it is a complex social interaction between two or more people. it is the dynamic interaction not only between one's own personal values, attitudes, personality dispositions, cognitions, wants, desires, and behaviours, but, more importantly, the interaction between these entities and those of one's sexual partner(s). furthermore, sexual behaviours, including acts of courtship, foreplay, and coitus, can be interpreted not simply as means to ends, but as acts invested with meanings that are interpreted differently by different people. together, social interactions relating to sexual acts and the meaning attached to these sexual acts can change over the life course, and may change significantly during older age and may change significantly during elder age. (2) the conceptualization of adult sexuality may take different dimensions depending on the motive for falling in love. sometimes it may conform to the socio-cultural construct of sexuality and confine it to marriage or within wedlock. it may also go against this traditional socio-cultural construct, especially in urban and postcolonial african societies, where materialism, politics, power, ambition and economic desires constitute values that are traded with sex. traditional expression of adult sexuality makes it a biological act for procreation or pleasure. beyond this traditional conception of sexuality in organized societies as presented by the elders in a dance of the dead, there is also the modern radical expression of adult sexuality where the adult female fall in love because of mutual understanding to benefit one thing or the other. in this regard, sex and sexuality become powerful instruments for achieving socioeconomic and political goals. unlike, the adolescent female lover, the adult female lover knows and understands what she wants, the antics to be adopted, and when to quit. the relationship is not usually built on dependency or genuine love; but on personal values and personality in relation to the distribution of societal values in the world of the adult lovers. hence, most of the adult loves may violate cosmological view of sexuality in a given society, but may remain acceptable within the urban society so long as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 90 they serve as means to one end or the other. however, depending on the meaning attached to such relationships, they are very dynamic under the dynamism of overall values of the society, personality and fortunes of the lovers. therefore in most cases, it is the adolescent female lover that is preyed upon in adolescent sexuality while the adult female lover preys on the male in adult sexuality, as portrayed by emeka nwabueze’s a dance of the dead and a parliament of vultures respectively. adolescent and adult love in female sexuality: an appraisal of a dance of the dead and a parliament of vultures a dance of the dead captures the consequences faced by a radical adolescent lover who violates in all ramifications the socio-cultural construct of adolescent sexuality within the igbo cultural setting miniaturized in emeka nwabueze’s a dance of the dead. the play opens in ojogwu’s (ngozi’s) father’s house, where the news of ngozi’s absconding from home and her waywardness are revealed to us through the disagreement between ojogwu and his first son amobi. ngozi’s violation of the people’s cultural norms in the expression of her sexuality is further revealed by her father, who informs that, though an adolescent, ngozi is betrothed to a young man whom he drank his palm wine. the visit of the elders: nweke, chuba and azuka further affirms that ngozi’s sexuality cast a doubt on what is expected of her by the community as both adolescent and a betrothed maiden. however, ngozi’s transgression of the people’s culture is not without consequences; her romance and abscond to bokina with chief lead to unwanted pregnancy and ngozi’s untimely death. the playwright’s exposition of ngozi, the female protagonist, goes a long way to reveal nwabueze’s understanding of character motivations and impact of background factors on character behaviour. like realistic and naturalistic playwrights, nwabueze makes bio-physical factors participants in the dramatic actions that eventually overwhelm ngozi. hence, the school environment and variables of adolescent development combine to form the driving force that lead the protagonist to a tragic end. justifying the saying that nothing grows without a root, mba, ngozi’s teacher and her friend ada reveal in the dialogue below, how ngozi met chief and entered into an adolescent love that ruined her life. mba: this chief, what is he like? igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 91 ada: haven’t you seen him in school? he first met ngozi that night you took her to a party (mba starts, shows some confusion, and looks suggestively at ada) ojogwu: party? (ada is about to speak but mba beats her to it) mba: it was just a school party. (winks at ada, who deliberately avoids ojogwu’s searching eyes) ojogwu: you see, i took my daughter to school so you will protect her. i could as well have taken her to a brothel (24) thus, the dialogue above shows that ngozi is exposed early to the complex game of love with adults, which may appear very simple to her as an adolescent; she embraces this game with that burning zeal of an adolescent and moves from one level to another. ngozi later abandons her teacher lover, mba for chief whom she absconds with to bokina. thus, in an adolescent manner, ngozi justifies her relationship with chief, this nwabueze brings to us in a conversation between the love intoxicated adolescent lover ngozi and her mother; who tries without much success to change her perception of love and expression of sexuality. below nogzi’s mother, nwamu, cautions her: nwamu: whoever the gods want to kill they first block her vision and make her a walking corpse…i have been talking to you since you developed those tiny breasts i had always thought you were listening … (13) ngozi’s response is typical of an adolescent who feels that she has grown up and therefore thinks that she can handle her own affairs, retorting ngozi informs her mother: ngozi: mama, i have got tired of your preaching leave me alone. i’ am no longer a school girl. my eyes are now open. (13) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 92 unfortunately the eyes which ngozi says have opened are blinded by materialism and utopia desires. ngozi, a betrothed wife of a young undergraduate, is now interested in marrying a rich chief who promised to take her to the city where she will find a job in a bustling urban bokina city. in an outburst ngozi informs her mother of her plans: ngozi: there are many things a modern girl needs to do with money, and a teacher’s pay packet isn’t just enough to provide her with these. surly you want the best for your daughter, isn’t it, mama? there’s a rich a man who wants to marry me. he lives in bokina. he is a chief… (14-15) ngozi’s mother cautions her, calls ngozi names to discourage her, ngozi would not deter because she fails to realize that her mother is an adult who understands the game of love and sexuality more than her. ngozi’s mind is made up, continuously she reveals that love to her is all about satisfaction of material needs. furthermore she tells her mother. ngozi: mama, you don’t understand. try to be realistic i need money to be up-to-date. i need to buy more of this (points at the jeans), i need a beautiful home, i need a nice car, i need… (15) ngozi’s material needs are endless; these utopic desires push her to violate her peoples’ cosmological view on adolescent sexuality as she enters into a flirtatious relationship that rocks the entire village. ngozi brings shame to her family and subjects her parents and relations to traumatic experiences that made one time respected and dreaded ojogwu (ngozi’s father) an object of ridicule before his kinsmen, ojogwu’s son amobi reports her sister’s careless and reckless expression of her sexuality below: amobi: don’t you know that iroko tree beside the church? ... it was under it that the stupid man parked his car and waited for ngozi. you know the place is near nweke’s house. they saw what happened. (16) ojogwu presses amobi further to know what happened and amobi opens up: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 93 amobi: when ngozi met this man standing beside the car under the tree, the two embraced each other, touched each other here and there, licked each other’s mouth, like this, before they entered the car and finally drove away. (16) ngozi absconds with chief, to bokina, she gets impregnated by chief and to her greatest surprise chief, refuses to marry her and resorts to abortion. chief gives her a concoction to drink and sends her back home. ngozi returns home on the day okey, her suitor and his friend visited ngozi’s family right before them ngozi collapses and dies. nwabueze presents in the second play a parliament of vultures, an adult female lover who is completely opposite of ngozi in the of madam omeaku, who rose from a street hawker to a parliamentary secretary. the play mirrors activities of nigerian parliamentarians and high level of corruption among law makers in nigeria, the playwright reveals political maneuvering bickering, rancor and bitterness that characterize the modus operandi of the nigerian legislature. he shows the failure of the legislative and entire political system and attempts revival of traditionalism in the play as a solution to corruption and roguery that is the bane of the postcolonial nigerian society. the playwright further suggests revolution and change through the intervention of the youths. unlike ngozi, madam omeaku knows what she wants in love, she is not dependent on her lovers and has no intention to depend on any man. however, she is the type of women that uses what she has to get what she wants; this she shows in the amorous relationship between her and mr. brown. despite their closeness, madam omeaku demands half a million naira from brown before she can support his chairmanship of the purchasing committee of the parliament, hear madam omeaku: madam omeaku: what will wait? do you think i am a teacher? do you think i left my hotel to go into the house of parliament to wait? … i want half a million naira before i support you. i say my own hoha. (12) madam omeaku settles for three hundred thousand naira and mr. brown pays her cash there and then. as soon as she gets the money, her mood changes and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 94 she enters into romance with brown. the playwright paints a good picture of the two adult lovers in the stage directions below: (mr. brown opens his brief case and brings out a wad of notes, and gives it to madam omeaku she removes the top of her wrapper and wraps the money, then embraces brown smiling. mr. brown caresses her hair, and says): brown: you are a very beautiful woman . . . (12) madam omeaku continues to use her sexuality to control the affairs of the parliament; she goes as far as planning and removing the secretary of the house by using her daughter to set the secretary up. she succeeds in removing the secretary, mr. otobo and takes over as the secretary of the house. as the play progresses, we see madam omeaku dump brown after using him to climb to the top. the playwright also brings to us the encounter between mr. brown and madam omeaku when mr. brown requests for his own share of the party deal below: brown: i need my own share of the party deal. from my estimation, my own cut will be close to a billion. madam: haven’t you received eight million? (104) brown: that is mere chicken feed. what is eight million? and remember that i spent a good part of it paying our hotel bills, purchasing flight tickets to london, new york, and amsterdam and buying presents for you. (104) madam omeaku: look here mister; take your time o! did i ask you for any present? am i the only woman you buy presents for? you’ve had your enjoyment, and that should be enough for you. you are not ashamed of yourself go back and tell your wife and your parents that you spent eight million paying hotel bills, purchasing flight tickets and buying presents for women.(104) madam omeaku loves when there is need, when love is needed to open political, business and economic doors. love to madam omeaku is an instrument, a tool for political jiggery-pokery and economic wellbeing. madam sees love relationships as give and take; however, she ensures that she takes more than she gives. as a notorious breaker of agreements, she fails to give brown his own cut igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 95 of the party money after brown helped her to inflate the contract and collect billions of naira. like some nigerian female politicians, omeaku relies on her sexuality and blackmail for getting what she wants. she accuses brown of dating many women, worst still in an archetypal nigerian politician’s manner, madam outsmarts her partners in crime and uses intimidation against her frustrated lovers as seen in the dialogue above. brown feels highly embarrassed as madam omeaku urges him to go home and inform his family that he spent all the peoples’ money he stole on women. mr. brown’s attitude is not far from the attitude of the african male political class who spend the nation’s resources on chains of girlfriends. there is no gainsaying that madam uses her sexuality for material gains, she preys on her lovers (victims) and leave them frustrated at the end. conclusion the study reveals that adolescent and adult love in female sexuality differs; hence the study provides strong indicators that age is a variable in female sexuality. analyses of the two plays selected for study indicate that understanding of female sexuality by most females comes with age; even though the two protagonists ngozi and madam omeaku reveal in the expression of their sexuality, that material benefit is a major factor to contend with in both adolescent and adult love. however, unlike the matured madam omeaku, young ngozi does not understand that some men are deceitful, selfish, greedy and sometimes devilish in their dealings with their lovers. nwabueze shows that sexuality is culturally and socially constructed in the world of the two plays. he also reveals that transgression of cosmological perceptions of sexuality could be more catastrophic in the rural communal setting than in the urban setting where nobody raises an eye brow about what others do. hence, ngozi is highly chastised by her people while the parliamentarians see the relationship between brown and madam omeaku as one of those things. the study also shows that in adolescent love men prey on women; while in adult love women prey on men. hence, the playwright shows the consequences of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 96 radical adolescent love and uses it to sustain his support for africanist values of female sexuality that border on virginity, respect for culture, family values and marital fidelity. works cited akoh ameh d. and elizabeth olayiwola “ethnography, gender and self determination in the drama of ogonna anagudo-agu” metephors and climax: reminiscence in honour of ugonna agu. nwadigwe, charles, molinta enendu and canice nwosu eds. london: adonis abbey. 2014:91-110 amaonyeze, chinenye. “african-womanism and sexist paradox in emeka nwabueze’s the dragon funeral.” a lion on the ijele dance: a festrich in honour of prof p. emeka nwabueze. ngozi anyachonkeya ed. abakaliki: ojiaka press. 2015:67-78 chukwu-okonkwo, samuel okoronkwo and izu nwankwo e. “culture and gender issues in a contemporary nigerian drama.” imsu theatre journal: a contemporary journal of arts and theatre practice. 2.1 owerri: department of theatre arts, 2012: 105-116 elmer, eddy m. applying symbolic interactionism and age stratification theories to the study of sexuality in the elderly. http://www3.telus.net/edyelmer/artics/sisfu.htm simon fraser university, june, 2001. accessed, 05-11-15 nwabueze, emeka. a dance of the dead. ibadan: evans brother, 1991. a parliament of vultures. enugu: abic books, 2000 stosny, steven. anger in the age of entitlement. adults in love http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/anger-in-the-age entitlement/201101/adults-in-love. accessed 28 10 15 theories & approaches adolescent development: aspects http://recapp.etr.org/recapp/index.cfm?fuseaction=pages.t heories details & page id=336 accessed 06-11-15 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 97 udengwu, ngozi “cultural literacy and educational empowerment of women in the 21st century: a study of into the world, nneora: an african doll’s house and our wife is not a woman.” african performance review 4.1. london: goldsmiths university of london, 2010: 35-50 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 105 gborsi: the canons of destiny, and destiny renegotiation in ogoni traditional religious philosophy deezia, burabari sunday department of religious and cultural studies faculty of humanities, university of port harcourt phone: +2347068015113; e-mail: burabarisunday@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.36109.97768 abstract whatever befalls a man is believed to be what he/she settled with his bari (guardian angel) and kawaa-bari (the supreme being). hence, the experience of an invincible external pull and irresistible constraints and the feeling of powerlessness and void, are indeed the common fate human all share. in other words, how the principle of destiny balance against individual will and freedom of action calls for great concern among philosophers and theologians alike. however, our consideration here is with particular reference to the ogoni, as little or no attention have been given to the concept of gborsi (destiny) from the ogoni-african perspective. this study therefore gives a deep philosophical reflection on the concept of ‘gborsi’ (destiny), and the role of one’s bari (personal god or guardian angel) in ogoni ontology. the study further unveils the canons or principles believed to be responsible in the shaping of a person’s life, as well as the understanding of the factors or means of re-negotiating one’s destiny in the ogoni religious experience. through the description and philosophical method, the study argues that destiny is not fixed, static, and absolutely a predetermined reality, but rather as a framework in which the relationship between divine agency and human agency could be understood as compatiblism that admits personal efforts. keywords: ogoni, gborsi, destiny, renegotiation, religion, philosophy introduction destiny or fate (both used interchangeably) is a phenomenon that cut across almost all religious tradition and philosophy. the concept of destiny is commonly used to refer to a fixed order of things established by divine decree, which no one, however pius or powerful, could alter (udoh, 2000). hence, when st thomas aquinas disclosed that everything, however insignificant, must have a purpose, an idea derived from aristotle, he was in effort raising the status of fate to a level of philosophical inquiry. the types of determinism include biological, psychological, religious, climate, cultural, economic, and geographic determinism. mailto:burabarisunday@gmail.com https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.36109.97768?_sg%5b0%5d=nnomtxdh21aedi_xepodbdtdyfkgcgjz92h6gxugydugdzovqitdq0pcheewm3c91ikjsktkwkibfqv-ovb61lja3g.nrnjh2azuf6mbn5gagyqih9aoyytuztqiwqfs8f-f2zwgv4ct-fhi_pt3lkrrrodug9jauewq4koh3fqi4ymaq igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 106 according to ferraiolo (2006) determinism often meets the charge that if true, it would render all purposive deliberation and effort futile. if all that occurs is necessitated by laws of nature, antecedent conditions, the will of god, the gods, fate, or any other mechanism or government, then it seems that the course of one‟s life, as it is but a tiny stream of events in confluence with all other events in the universe are determined, and one‟s life is a series of events within the universe then one‟s life will unfold as necessitated by the irresistible powers that be, and attempts to masters fate are futile or even perverse. while the ancient stories insisted that everything happens by fate. such as found in the hymn of clean thus: conduct me, zeus, and thou, o destiny wherever your decrees have fixed my lot i follow cheerfully, and did i not, wicked and wretched, i must follow still (epictetus, 1944, 52). this suggests that whatever happens by fate. however, the epicureans think that necessity of fate is avoided by the swerve of atoms. in other words, the epicureans hold that the universe is in-deterministic, and nothing could happen by fate. hence, human beings are not bound by fate because they are composed of atoms. they however, fail to realized that the swerve of the atom is implausible, and thus cannot be explained why it should occur. in other words, discussion about the concept of destiny in western scholarship is usually subsumed in discussions about predetermination, predestination, determinism, and fatalism, free-will and moral responsibility. therefore, the concept of gborsi (destiny) has not received the degree of attention as has been given to predestination, determinism and free-will in the western world. hence, the essence of this study, as it explores the concept of destiny from the ogoniafrican perspective. the study argued that though human destiny seems to be blind, predetermined and inescapable, one‟s efforts cannot be completely ruled out of human success or failure, goodluck or misfortune, life or death etc. this therefore, raised the following posers: is it possible for one to go against the infallible divine foreknowledge? in what ways can one renegotiate his/her destiny? what is the belief on human destiny in the ogoni contemporary society? theoretical framework a theory is a set of interrelated, concepts and definitions that presents a systematic point of view of specifying relationships between variables with a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 107 view to predicting and explaining a phenomenon (fox & bayat, 2007). this study therefore adopts the compatibilism theory. compatibilism is the belief that freewill and determinism are mutually compatible, and without being logically inconsistent (coates & mckenna, 2015). this idea is ancient and was certainly known about and investigated by the greeks. they were the first to globalize the thesis and to consider what it meant for the conduct of human affairs-the tragedy of oedipus being largely a brilliant essay on the thesis of predictability of human actions and its logical consequences. the major proponents of compatiblism are the ancient stoics and medieval scholastic – thomas aquinas – and by enlightenment philosophers – david hume and thomas hobbes – (mckenna, 2009). therefore, before williams james came up with his the dilemma of determinism presented at harvard university of divinity in 1884, where he described compatibilism as “soft determinism”, most philosophers, especially those with theological training, held a dualist view of free-will, in which freedom was god‟s gift to humanity, a gift that operated in a mind outside the physical universe, for example in immanuel kant‟s noumenal world beyond the deterministic phenomenal world (doyle, 2010). within the context of this study, discussion on the metaphysical nature of „gborsi‟ (destiny) therefore falls within the gamut of compatibilism. in other words, the ogoni believed that though ones destiny could be determined, freewill can still play it role. this view does not preclude moral responsibility from an agent of an action. that is to say that, everything is caused but some events are caused by human by means of their own minds or wills. thus, „gborsi‟ (destiny) is nether completely free nor determined. what is at stake? the debate on whether human actions and events are being determined or out of free-will seems to have pulled scholars in a journey of no returns. in other words, the philosophical argument on free-will and determinism which dates back to the ancient period still takes the front burner in the contemporary theosophical discourse. thus, making the doctrines of pre-determinism (or fatalism), determinism (or hard determinism), indeterminism (or soft determinism), and non-determinism (or free-willism) (shitta-bey, n.d.), popular in western intellectual discourse on the human will questions. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 108 pre-determinism (fatalism) holds, that “human choice and action have no influence on future events, which will be as they will be regardless of whatever we think or do” (craig, 2000). in other words, certain events are such that they cannot but occur no matter what happens. fatalism beliefs that the future is already set fated, and that everything one does will drive one to complete one‟s fate, even if one knows and attempts to avoid it. by implication, fatalism does not allow for possible human efforts, self criticism, and self involvement, hence the slogan, what will be will be. determinism (hard determinism) holds that every events, with respect to the paste, presents, and future, has a cause. in other words, determinism is the view that everything that occurs in the universe must be the effect of a cause, produced by, is dependent on, and condition by what brought it into existence (balogun, 2007). this doctrine denies human of being either in control or capable of exercising their will freely. reflecting on the implications of determinism for morality, spinoza characterized the human condition as nothing less than “bondage”. indeterminism (soft-determinism) holds that one can be free even if determinism is true. that is to say that some events and human actions though determined are also functions of human free-will. non-determinism (free-willism) holds that human beings are endowed with the ability for choice of actions, for decision among alternatives, and specifically, that given an innate moral sense, man can freely discern good and evil (marcoulesco, 1987). free-will is therefore the ability to make choices unimpeded by certain factors. such factors include metaphysical constraints, physical constraints, social constraints, and mental constraints. however, the seeming incompatibility of determinism and free-will brought the god‟s foreknowledge and freewill dilemma. this is an acute problem because the ogoni tends to identify fore-knowledge with human destiny. the practical implication of this is that one is not permitted to make a separation between what god knows at a point in time and what she does with or about that knowledge in the future. that is to say that, if what god knows is as good as done, then any notion of free will and human responsibility is negated. hence, the possibility for man to go against the infallible divine foreknowledge is a question that continuous to beg for answer. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 109 in other words, human destiny is the mysterious power believed to control human events. it is believed that whatever happens or that will happen in the future has been preordained, and happened according to an earlier master plan (balogun, 2007; oladipo, 1992). that is to say that every person has his/her biography written before coming to the world which consequently implies that anything one does is not something done out of free-will but something done in fulfillment of pre-ordained history. among the ogoni, such a belief is usually accredited to kawaa-bari (the supreme being) who is said to have preexistentially fixed all the events that, could possibly and would take place in human‟s earthly existence. however, this fatalistic conclusion seems to raise a lot of problem, which if carried to its logical conclusion, it will be unjustified to hold a person responsible for his actions since the causes of his actions are external to him/her and beyond his/her control. this therefore, calls for a detail explanation of destiny in the ogoni religious experience. the concept of ‘bari’ (being) and human person in ogoni ontology according to oral tradition, the ogoni indigenous people, originally known as the khana (a corruption of ghana) people who are believed to have migrated from the former gold coast (now ghana), during a brutal civil war. they migrated through the atlantic coast and eventually making their way over to the eastern niger delta. although, the dates are not specified in ogoni traditional narratives, scholars believe that archaeological and linguistic evidence and calculation indicate that the ogoni arrived in the niger delta around 15 b.c. (williamson, 1985), making them one of the oldest settlers in eastern niger delta region of nigeria. the ogoni indigenous people are spreads over six kingdoms – babbe, eleme, gokana, ken-khana, nyor-khana, tai, including ban-goi (special unit). administratively, the ogoni is made of khana, gokana, tai and eleme. the ogoni speaks related mutually intelligible language of khana as the central language, with gokana and eleme respectively. their notable feature of expansion has been that of inter-marriage within the ogoni and neighboring tribes. the ogoni indigenous people believe in the existence of two worlds, or the physical and metaphysical, or the sensible and the supra-sensible world. in the ogoni worldview there is no sharp distinction between both worlds, as there is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 110 cohabitation, inter-relation and interaction of both worlds. parrinder must have the ogoni people in mind when the writes: there is no sharp dividing line between the sacred and the secular … material and spiritual are intertwined, the former as a vehicle of the later (parrinder, 1975:27). this shows that among the ogoni people, the spiritual beings are closely linked with important natural phenomena which they are believed to control. the notion of a supreme omnipotent and omniscient „being‟ is held very strongly among the ogoni indigenous people. this „being‟ is believed to be feminine and thus referred to as kawaa-bari literally meaning „the mother of creation”. she is the believed to be the first mother; the mother of all nature and the womb of all life. it is believed that she conceived the world in her womb and directs all human activities and events. hence, no human can escape her apprehension if one performs an evil act (deezia, 2018) and nothing escapes her knowledge. she sees all human even in their closet and rewards and punishes people accordingly of their deeds. this indicates the unfathomable depth of knowledge of kawaa-bari. hence, the common expression in ogoni, bari sua d ̅̅ ̅ d ̅̅ ̅ nu (god knows everything). apart from the supreme being that is being referred to as kawaa-bari with capital letter „b‟ for „bari‟, other divinities – deities, ancestors, spirits, and persons – are also referred to as „bari‟ with small letter „b‟ for „bari‟. this is in recognition of their subordination to kawaa-bari (the supreme being). this bari therefore means the life from god, or the presence of god. it can also be referred to as „over‟ or „beyond soul‟, this means that bari is a metaphysical causality that binds or links up all beings to kawaa-bari (the supreme being). in other words, kawaa-bari is the source of all creatures, hence, bari is liken unto her presence in every other created or emanated being. thus, the ogoni have bari as deity (bariaayor deity of luawii) bari as ancestors/ancestress (de-bari-the celebration of the ancestors); and bari as personal god or guardian angel. hence, the common expression; o bari le zege (your personal god is very young). this expression compares the strength of young vibrant and hardworking youth to that of one‟s guardian angel. this belief in the existence of an individual‟s spiritual counterpart, his guardian angel, is not peculiar only to the ogoni people. this entity is called chi among the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 111 igbo, and ikwerre. the benin referred to it as ehi, while the ijaw calls it tamuno, and to the ogoni it known as bari. the canons of gborsi (human destiny) in ogoni traditional religious philosophy the concept of destiny is a metaphysical phenomenon, believed to pervade human life and activities and life events. destiny among the ogoni indigenous people is known as gborsi (among the khana) or kol (among the gokana). however, gborsi seems to be the most generally acceptable version. gborsi (destiny) is futuristic in nature and thus, entails one‟s calling or what god has for an individual. while poro-gborsi is referred to as bad fate, they referred to legborsi as good fate. hence, in the ogoni traditional religious philosophy, there is a very well marked belief in gborsi (destiny). gborsi (destiny) in ogoni may be teleological, collective, selective or communitarian in nature. it is teleological if it is designed for a purpose; it is collective if every member of a family or group is attended to by a particular fortune or misfortune; it is communitarian if it attends a whole community; and termed selective if different people with no ontological community come together without having any foreknowledge of the situation to face their allotted destiny at the appointed time (airoboman, 2012). kawaa-bari (the supreme being) as a canon of destiny the ogoni people believed that when kawaa-bari (the supreme being) gives the personal bari (guardian angel), she also gives gborsi (destiny). the gborsi is only know to be god and no one can change one‟s destiny except god. gborsi is therefore believed to be an unalterable fixation, a set of life outcomes, sealed-up or preordained in one‟s bari (guardian angel). it is that which determines the uniqueness and individuality of a person and events. god‟s destiny is therefore, said to be unavoidable. this suggest that some people are destined to be healthy, strong, hardworking, honest, and wealthy; others are destined to be sickly, weak, lazy, poor, and dishonest. this hard determinism or fatalistic belief indicates that whatever one has chosen in the present of kawaa-bari remains the blue print of an individual‟s life. that is to say that whatever actions human perform was meant to be that way and nothing otherwise, since they are not in control of what they do, there is nothing like chance. in other words, it is believed that personal bari (guardian angel) is in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 112 possession of one‟s biography before one is born. this is one of the principles of destiny where it entails that one is believed to be just what some superior force has predestined, planned and programmed. anii ke ̅-akaba (lines on one’s palm) as a canon of destiny another canon of destiny is the belief in anii ke ̅-akaba (lines found on a person‟s palms) which the ogoni people believed to be an operative in the shaping of a person‟s life. among the ogoni there is a belief that what one will be in life is all inscripted in the lines found our one‟s palms. what can prevent the actualization of what is inscripted on one‟s palms is the lack of a correct reading and interpretation of these lines as well as the lack of sustained effort in that direction. anii-ke ̅ akaba (the inscription on each person‟s palm) is distinct and unique. it is such a personal thing that it is only the supernatural that could have been responsible for the individual differences. hence, a child does not necessarily have the same anii ke ̅-akaba with his/her parents, brother sister or relatives etc. personal bari (guardian angel) as a canon of destiny another canon of gborsi is the ogoni belief in personal bari (guardian angel/personal god or destiny-spirit) which is believed to be an emanation of kawaa-bari (the supreme being). it is a sort of spirit double, guardian genius; personal providence, or a divine agent assigned to a person from the moment of conception, and remains with the person for the rest of his/her life on earth. when a person dies, his/her personal bari goes back to kawaa-bari to give account of one‟s work on earth. the ogoni therefore believed that it is one‟s personal bari that determines one‟s success, abilities, misfortunes and failures in life. hence, human continue to strive not just to bridge the visible with the invisible world, but to establish a special relationship between oneself and one‟s godly guardian. this places the human person at the forefront of interlinked activities that involve other cosmic forces. from the above views, the principle of bari and anii ke ̅-akaba really serves as an ideology of consolation for the ogoni. for instance, if a person loses an only child, sympathizers would express this; poror gborsi se (this is bad fate). in other words, there is no better consolation to proffer than to tell the person that „everything is in god‟s hand‟. another familiar case is that of an ogoni man in search of a male child. he has about 5 female children from one wife, and blames the situation on the wife. then, he married the second, third, and fourth wife, but igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 113 the same trend continues. he consulted many diviners and offers a lot of sacrifices, but all to no avail. when this is the case, the person resigns himself to fate, may be, nu bari ye ere-ne lo (that is what god has for him), he may also lay the entire responsibility to his personal bari or anii ke ̅-akaba. to opata (1998), at this stage, the person has reached the end of the road, where there is nothing else he can do. death and reincarnation as a canon of destiny sequel to this, the ogoni also believed that gborsi (destiny) is concerned with the general quality and the ultimate end. hence, issue of man‟s final destiny naturally involves the question of death and life after expiration. it also deals with the idea of judgment, the cult of ancestors and reincarnation, hence, they strongly belief in death and after-life. the ogoni believed any ancestor who considers his work on this earth unfinished before he died may decide to come back to this earth again. this clearly shows that death is not an annihilation of life but rather an inevitable sojourn considered to be transitory. reincarnation therefore becomes one of the hallmarks of the cannon of destiny in ogoni religious philosophy. the ogoni believed that gborsi (destiny) that befalls humans that brings suffering – deformities, bareness, blindness, importance and other permanent disabilities – are as a result of the sin committed, customs violated as well as the negligence of the victim in his other world before reincarnating. thus, the saying; nu a bee doo bu alua s ̅ nyo ̅-ue a, ne a ye sere doowaa yaah (your suffering today is based on what you did in the later world). that is to say that the success or misfortune experienced today have their roots in the past already lived life without knowledge of the victim (deezia, 2018). this therefore suggests that human responsibility cannot be ruled out while considering one‟s destiny. it is important to note that gborsi centers on wealth, riches, success, poverty, misfortune and failure (material success), with little or no consideration to moral character, and as such it does not affects all of human actions, inactions, and events. human efforts and moral responsibility as a canon of destiny the idea of gborsi (destiny) and moral responsibility enjoins good behavior and the need to struggle to achieve one‟s destiny. hence, amidst the fatalistic and hard-deterministic cannons of destiny, the ogoni believed that there are actions which human chooses to perform and which he could also choose not to perform. free-will is therefore not an illusion as some scholars perceived; as the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 114 ogoni instinctively holds tha they have free will given their common choices and self-decision concerning those choice. relating the above to human gborsi, there is the common saying in ogoni, ep k ̅ nu obee su o ba da ̅ sere doo (what a person has caused or done for oneself). this expression appears to have some kind of karmic implications in the direction of one having to suffer for what one has done. thus, the expression; o toora nu-onoor meaning what one has caused for himself, let him/her bear the responsibility or the consequences. in other words, what is implied in the statement is the notion of individual responsibility for action (opata, 1998). this suggests that the human person has the personal freedom arising from a free exercise of the person‟s will to do or to refrain from carrying out certain actions. this principle of responsibility for one‟s actions is so strong in ogoni worldview that they are quick to affirm: mm-lee u nyo ̅ nu mm su ̅ t ̅ (let what another person has done lead not to my death). in the same vein, the ogoni also have a proverb: so ̅ mi ̅ a nyo ̅ne ne ̅ a toora mi ̅ (let the smoke follow him who is carrying the fire). juxtaposing the hard deterministic interpretation of the cannons of gborsi (human destiny) with that of the compatibilist interpretation, one will easily notice a problem with hard deterministic school which tends to have pressed too far and exaggerated the role played by personal bari (guardian angel), and anii ke ̅ aka-ba (the incription‟s on one‟s palms) etc, in the ogoni view of destiny. this exaggeration is in conflict with the concept of hard work, personal morality and good behaviour as upheld by the ogoni. in other words, if all human actions and events are predetermined exclusively, then could there be room for morality, sin and punishment and good behaviour and reward? this posits a great philo-ethical problem. thus, wiredu observes; …this may be the sense of destiny that is operative in the thinking of those africans who insist that personal effort of the right kind is necessary for the realization of a good destiny, notwithstanding postulating the cosmological (an unalterable) predestining of everything (wiredu, 1994:119). a soft deterministic or compatibility conception of gborsi in ogoni philosophical thought is truly reflective of and coherent with the belief of the people on moral responsibility and freedom. it is because of the freedom, morality and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 115 responsibility which accommodated by this conception of gborsi that mark the renegotiation (alterability) of one‟s destiny meaningful and consistent. therefore, situating gborsi (human destiny) within framework of compabilism can help in taking care of the inconsistencies and problems associated with the fatalistic interpretations of gborsi in ogoni religious philosophy. gborsi (destiny) re-negotiation in ogoni religious philosophy: towards a compatibilist interpretation the ogoni indigenous people have no particular divinity in charge or known to be the custodian of people‟s destiny. however, the ogoni people believed that an individual‟s destiny could be renegotiated for good or for bad. they believed one‟s legborsi (good destiny) could be maintained and achieved; and one‟s porogborsi (bad fate) could both be renegotiated for through good the aid of diviners who are believed to be fully knowledgeable in the affairs of human destiny. this is done through the use of particular mediums, the reading of one‟s anii ke ̅ akaba (inscriptions on one‟s palms), and omens, as well as the movements of sacred animals or objectives etc. their quest to know what the future holds for them is further shown in their daily activities, as the ogoni consults deities before marriage, at their birth of a child, before the appointment of a king, and to ascertain the causes of one‟s illness and eventual death etc. this implies that one can consult a divinity to renegotiate one‟s unfavorable destiny. the possibility of archiving this depends on how one is able to marshals the favorable forces through rituals, sacrifices, prayers, offerings, vows, making good medicines, charms etc, to neutralize the machination of the evil forces. the ogoni also believe that sadistic foes, in the form of abeng (witches and wizards), secrete cults and anybody with evil intention can through spiritual means renegotiate one‟s destiny and frustrate an otherwise a prosperous fate, thus, spoiling every opportunity of people‟s success. it is also believed that an individual‟s character can negatively affect one‟s fate. in other words, a person‟s own rashness or impulsive behavior can affect his destiny for the worse, and bad character is recognized as being accountable for such a fate. hence, the believe that legborsi (good destiny) without dogo (character) is worthless. this suggest that a man‟s failure or success all though his life may be his own responsibility. hence, what must be, may not be in such situation, as one will need to work to bring the contents of his/her destiny to fruition. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 116 in other words, the ogoni hardly resign themselves to fate. hence, an ogoni person will need to consult diviners, move from one sacrifices to one deity to the other to make his good destiny a reality, or to renegotiate his bad destiny with the hope that somewhere they would succeed. at this point, the question that comes to mind is whether human attempts or effort can really, change one‟s preordained destiny. according to oral tradition, it works to an extent, but in a situation where it does not, there is this common expression m-mee dora yibe-nu, kere-wo, this is literally interpreted to mean that one‟s surrender to the things of life should only come after one had tried all one could. even till today in the ogoni contemporary thoughts, there is a strong belief in the existence of forces, beings that can thwart or harm one‟s destiny, hence, the urged to seek for solutions to bad destiny and human problems prompted man‟s resort to divination. hence, some of the ogoni christians run from here and there, from one church to another, one pastor to another or one man of god to another for a perfect and fulfillment of one‟s destiny as well as to inquire about the secretes of events. that is to say that while the ogoni people accept idea of destiny in their religious philosophical thoughts, they also believe that, their life is not completely predetermined. hence, when one has a good destiny and does not work hard towards it actualization, there is no guarantee of good fortune coming his/her way. this is not peculiar to the ogoni, as discussion on the akan philosophical thought, gyekye writes; determination therefore does not negate the effectiveness of human as causal and therefore moral agents. the spirit of a person is held to be developed: a weal power or capacity can be improved or strengthened, moral failures then, which are in fact spiritual defects, can be rectified. therefore, neither, the akan deterministic conception of the world nor akan moral psychology is fatal to human free will and responsibility (gyekeye, 1987:121). in other words, the ogoni world is interlinked and interactive in nature. hence, determinism and freedom both co-exist, working together towards the making of human person without contradiction. it is in this regard that buber writes: destiny and freedom are solemnly promised to one another. only the man who makes freedom real to himself meets destiny…destiny confronts him as the counterpart of his freedom. it is not his boundary, but his fulfillment; freedom and destiny are linked together in meaning (buber, 19170:53). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 117 concluding remarks our discussion thus far shows that the notion of gborsi (destiny) is not a mere conceptual arithmetic, nor an outcome of logical construction but an inseparable existential phenomenon, which permeates the religious philosophy and socioeconomic life of the ogoni people in their daily activities and events. it was observed that determinism and freewill in relation to ghorsi (human destiny) is such that while some human actions, experiences, and events could be said to be determined, there is room for human free will in the making of one‟s destiny which provides a philosophical justification for moral responsibilities. the study therefore, identified inii ke ̅ aka-ba (the inscripted lines on one‟s palms) believed to be associated with one‟s destiny; personal bari (guardian angel) which appear to direct and influence the actualization of what has been foreordained for individuals; and human free will or moral responsibilities as the cannons or principles of destiny in ogoni indigenous religious philosophy. it is on the above premises, that the paper argued that discussions on gborsi will be better understood within the framework of compatibilism. references airoboman, f.a. (2012). the concept of destiny and its social implications among the esans. jorind 10(3) available at http//.www.transcampus.org.journals, www.ajol.info/journals/jorind. balogun, o.a. (2007). the concept of ori and destiny in traditional yoruba thought: a soft deterministic interpretation. nordic journal of african studies, 16(1) pp 116-130. buber, m. (1970). i and thou. trans.w.kaufman. new york: charles scribner and sons. coates, d.j. & mckenna, m. (2015). compabilist stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. retrieved 19th may, 2019. deezia, b.s. (2018). a philosophical inquiry into the nature of god and human suffering: the ogoni religious experience. m.a. dissertation department of religious and cultural studies, faculty of humanities, university of port – harcourt (unpublished). doyle, b. (2010). james free-will: the two-stage model of williams james. william james studies, vol 5, pp 10-37. http://www.ajol.info/journals/jorind igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 118 epictetus, (1944). discourses and enchiridon. thomas, w. higginson (trans). new york: walter j. black, inc. ferraiolo, b. (2006). freewill, determinism and stoic counsel, ars disputandi, 6(1), pp 204-210 fox, w. & bayat, m.s. (2007). a guide to managing research, cape town: juta and co. limited graig, e. (2006). fatalism the concise rutledge, encyclopedia of philosophy. london rutledge. gyekye, k. (1987). an essay on african philosophical thought: the akan conceptual scheme, reversed edition. cambridge: cambridge university press. marcourlessco, i. (1987). freewill and determinism, the encyclopedia of religion, vol. 5 ed. mircea eliade. new york: macmillan publishing company. mckenna, m. (2009). compatibilism. the stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. edward zalta (ed). oladipo, s. (1992). predestination in yoruba thought: philosophers interpretation. orita: journal of religion xxiv (1 & 2), pp 34-51 opata, d.u. (1998). essays on igbo world view. nsukka-enugu: ap express publishers parrinder, e.g. (1975). african traditional religion, london, england: sheldon press. shitta-bey, o.a. (2016). the human will debate between western and yoruba philosophical tradition. filosofia unisinos-unisinos journal 17(3), pp. 326332. udoh, e. (2000). a discourse on fate in ibibio cosmology. journal of religious studies, university of port harcourt. vol. 1. no. 2 pp100-110 williams, k. (1985). how to become a kwa language. in linguistic and philosophy. essay in honour or ruben s. wells (ed). wiredu, k. (1994). topics in african philosophy unpublished microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 7.doc igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 194 the importance of environmental sculpture in cultural identification nzoiwu, azuka abigail department of fine and applied arts nnamdi azikiwe university,awka. anambra state 08030488626 abstract this paper examines african environmental sculpture and how african artists have deployed it to engage certain socio-cultural circumstances in the continent. the paper argues that culture is not only evident in physical form but also reflected in certain sculptures mounted on strategic sites in the african environment. through this paper, it is observed that the project of waste recovery has been used by african artists who in one way or the other have contributed to an aesthetic revitalization of the environment. keywords: environmental, sculpture, cultural, identification introduction environmental sculptures are sculptures that create their own environments, large enough, for viewers to enter and move about in (gilbert, 1995). it could also meanlarger sculptures designed for display in the outdoor environment such as sculptures commissioned for a city square. again it could be sculptures that are actually a part of the natural environment, such as the president’s head carved out of the natural rock of mt. rushmore.while this style of sculpture may have been represented in many cultures before the 20th century, many western authors prefer to see it as a development of 20th century euro-american artistic tradition. the fact remains that environmental sculpture is not a preserve of the west but usually creates or modifies the specific environment it is situated, irrespective of culture, space or geography, for the viewer,as opposed to presenting itself,in the characteristic monumentality that define traditional sculptural medium, before theviewers. a recurrentattribute of larger igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 195 environmental sculptures is that one can actually enter or pass through the sculpture and be somewhat or totally surrounded by it. contemporary understanding of environmental sculpture has also linked it to ephemera in which case humans attempt to bridge the uneasy gap between art and life. for example, such materials as dust, light, stone, among others have been utilized by modern environmental sculptors to tease out the uncanny dichotomy that disconnects humans from direct communication with their environment. in other words, the argument advanced in this paper is that every environmental sculpture is an exemplification of the type of environmental resources and raw materials available in that environment. it also argues that african environment provides a unique kind of sculptural styles that befits the african environment. artists examined in this paper represent one form of unique experience in environmental sculpture. environmental sculpture: a historical overview one could argue that the first form of environmental sculptures that existed were the type cave men produced during their time. the process involved in the inscriptions cave men made on rocks and walls of caves provided that situational relatedness an artist or an audience could establish with the environment. however, art historians have not been able to articulate cave art in relation to environmental art. most importantly one should observe that environmental sculptureis the type of sculpture that is created for a particular environment, surrounding or setting (uyehara 1971; sonfist, wolfgang, rosenblum. 2004). beth galston argues that, “an environmental sculptor plans a piece from the very beginning in relationship to its surroundings. the site is a catalyst becoming part of the creative process, galston stresses further that “environmental sculpture entails the idea that the piece also functions to alter or permeate the existing environment or even to create a new environment in which the viewer is invited to participate, the finished sculpture and site become one integrated unit, working together to create unified mood or atmosphere. envrionnmental sculptures have been re-invented in many ways by contemporary african artists. these re-inventions have been termed 'site-specific' in art historical parlance. "site-specific art" has consistuted one of the greatest maniofestations of conceptual art since christo and his wife produced one of the greatest siteigwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 196 specific environmental installations in modern art history. christo vladimirov javacheff and jeanne-claude were a married couple who created environmental works of art. christo and jeanne-claude were born on the same day, june 13, 1935; christo in gabrovo, bulgaria, and jeanne-claude in morocco. they first met in paris in october 1958 when christo painted a portrait of jeanne-claude's mother. they then fell in love through creating art work together. their works include running fence which is made of a fabric fence, supported by steel posts and steel cables, running through the landscape and leading into the sea. the fence was to be 5.5 meters high and 40 kilometers long and constructed in sonoma and marin counties, california. for the project, 59 families of ranchers needed to be convinced and the permission of the authorities had to be obtained, so christo and jeanne-claude hired nine lawyers. at the end of 1973, christo and jeanne-claude marked the path of the fence with wooden stakes. on 29 april 1976, the work finally began after a long struggle against bureaucracy. approximately 200,000 m2 of nylon fabric, 2050 steel posts and 145 km of steel cable were needed. on 10 september 1976 the work was completed. however, christo and jeanne-claude had to pay a $60,000 fine, because they lacked permission for the coastal region.jeanne-claude died, aged 74, on november 18, 2009, from complications of a brain aneurysm. although their work is visually impressive and often controversial as a result of its scale, the artists have repeatedly denied that their projects contain any deeper meaning than their immediate aesthetic impact. the purpose of their art, they contend, is simply to create works of art for joy and beauty and to create new ways of seeing familiar landscapes. art critic david bourdon has described christo's wrappings as a "revelation through concealment"( bourdon, 1970). to his critics christo replies, "i am an artist, and i have to have courage ... do you know that i don't have any artworks that exist? they all go away when they're finished. only the preparatory drawings, and collages are left, giving my works an almost legendary character. i think it takes much greater courage to create things to be gone than to create things that will remain. a reason for blurred definitions is that much of site-specific and environmental art was created from 1970 on for public spaces all over the united states, sponsored by federal (gsa and nea) or state and city percent for art igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 197 competitions, and many of the artists were women trying to succeed outside the established art-gallery world (busch, 1974). younger art historians will have to sort out the development of this marginalized "movement" and the importance of artists such as olga kisseleva, patricia johanson, athena tacha, mary miss, alice adams, elyn zimmerman and others who, from the early 1970s on, won and executed large outdoor public art commissions with new formal, kinesthetic and social underpinnings. many of these artists were also ecologically conscious and created works that could offer a further definition of "environmental sculpture": art that is environmentally friendly and cares for the natural environment. one of the most unusual form of environmental sculptures has been created by martin hill who for over 20 years has been creating temporary sculptures from ice, stone, and organic materials that reflect nature’s cyclical system. often working with his longtime partner philippa jones, the duo create sculptures and other installations that “metaphorically express concern for the interconnectedness of all living systems.” speaking specifically about the use of circles hill shares: the use of the circle refers to nature’s cyclical system which is now being used as a model for industrial ecology. sustainability will be achieved by redesigning products and industrial processes as closed loops—materials that can’t safely be returned to nature will be continually turned into new products. of course this is only one part of the redesign process. we need to use renewable energy, eliminate all poisonous chemicals, use fair trade and create social equity (hill in jobson 2014). while hill and jones adopt a more theoretical stance in their pursuit of environmental art, others have a more tangible, physically engaging style that allows the individual opportunity to commune with the environment. beyond the above historical overview, africans have produced environmental sculptures that are unique as will be discussed subsequently. african environmental sculpture and artists igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 198 a typical case of african environmental sculpture could be seen from the mbari art practiced by the igbo during the early twentieth century. under this type of art sculptures embodying aspects of traditional lifestyle were erected in the village square where individuals came and communed with them. mbari proves to be one of the most evocative indices of how african environmental sculptures could become a vehicle of cultural identification thus the significance of this investigation. mbari may never adequately symbolize the very empathy africans feel with an artwork that is situated within a specific public environment, yet it is one of the likeliest suggestions of communal aesthetic idiosyncrasy where the sculptures may be sited in a space where the gesture of the sculptures individualism is consciously ruptured by the juxtaposition of human and environmental elements. more curiously one of the immediate cases of sculptures meant for the environment in africa could be seen from certain sculptures mounted on strategic locations in some nigerian cities, for example. a model could be found in enugu, south east nigeria where artists have consciously mounted sculptural works across major centers of the city in a bid to enhance the city's aesthetic quality. in effect while the intention of the artists may have stopped at this aesthetic appreciation, the works have relatively transcended that narrow purpose to encompass a public site of engagement and reflection. the works bring humans and the environment into a fruitful dialogue of how a city's space could serve as a site of discourse for politics, history and socio-economic encounter. in africa a good number of artists have produced environmental arts. one of the major exhibitions that have redefined african artists' relationship with their environment include environment and object which opened at the frances young tang teaching museum and art gallery at skidmore college, saratoga springs in new york on february 5, 2011. the exhibition specifically concerns african artists and how they deal with environmental degradation. important artists that exhibited in the show include zwelethu mthethwa, bright eke, sokari douglas camp, jerry buhari, romuald hazoumé, el anatsui, viye diba, nnenna okore, garth meyer, yinka shonibare. most of the works in the exhibition are concerned with the notion of art as an object with which to speak to environmental degradation. however, most of the artists attempted to view the environment from one particular perspective: the environment as the defenseless, fading being. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 199 outside environment and objectother exhibitions such as 'human nature’ reveals a unique show exploring our changing relationship with the environment. the show is a carnival of developing and cutting edge environmental art. from photography exploring our link to nature, to artworks made from recycled materials, paintings and music interrogating the very kernel of our humanity; the mixed medium show explores what drives us to connect to our environment and how we’re responding to nature’s call to adapt to a world of finite resources. the exhibition, which held at hoxton arches, cremer street, london on tuesday 14th & wednesday 15th october 2014, was produced by charlotte webster at good shout studio. webster, a respected environmental and financial reform campaigner, is also an artist whose aim is to create closer links between creatives and organisations to communicate positive, social, environmental and economic change. in this show south africans oliver barnett and christiaan nagel, and zimbabwean artist gordon glyn-jones showcased their most recent work. gordon glyn-jones’ new work, as well as immersive landscape photographs from harry cory wright, sculpture from the magical lesley hilling and mysterious photographs of natural symmetry by oliver barnett clearly demonstrates human's fraught relationship with their environment. environmental art as cultural identification in nigeria one of the easiest pointers to reflect over african artists' relationship with their environment is by looking at the work produced by certain nigerian artists who are passionate about the environment. for example, bright ugochukwu eke has made conceptual images out of what is known as satchet water in nigeria. in one of his works titled 'acid rain,' eke uses water as both a material and a metaphor to speak about universal human and environmental problems. he states: "water is a universal medium. it’s common to everybody, no matter who or where you are. whatever i do with water is what every other person does with it in every part of the world. the most interesting part is that we are bound or connected by [water]" and "having perceived this interconnectedness and interdependence of humans and nature, and having felt the damage, the separateness, and barriers we have created selfishly and egoistically, i thought it pertinent to find ways through which we could ameliorate or proffer some solutions to some of these […] i thought of a common language in nature. that brought me to the language of water.” eke uses plastic bags to wrap water igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 200 forming installations pieces. other installation materials of eke are made from recycled bottles like that of ripples and storm i, (figure 1), comment figure 1 bright ugochukwu eke, ripples and storm i. on the industrial production of water bottles and the fact that these bottles end up in the trash and are not always recycled. plastic is not biodegradable and is littering the environment, harming wildlife, releasing toxic fumes during incineration, and filling our garbage dumps. the corporate exploitation of its raw material, oil, causes ecological destruction as in the oil-rich niger delta region. eke is also concerned about the safety of drinking water bottled in plastic due to chemical leaching. the ripples fascinate him with their allusion to water and their structure: problems but also actions can start out as a point and have broad ramifications. eke speaks to the destruction of environment in nigeria. what is unique about eke's works is that they recover one of the most environmental hazards in nigeria, what is known as pure water sachets. other nigerian artists that have produced unique environmental art include el anatsui, who has recovered bottle cocks and converted them to huge fabrics sold in the international art market. anatsui transforms simple materials into complex assemblages that create distinctive visual impact. he uses liquor bottle caps and cassava graters to create sculpture that defies categorization. he reuses and transforms intrinsic ideas to connect to his continent while crusading against environmental degradation that results from late capitalist mercantilism. his mission resides meticulous recycling of environmental mess into aesthetic objects. his work igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 201 interrogates the history of colonialism and draws connections between consumption, waste, and the environment, but at the core is his unique formal language that distinguishes his practice. figure 2 el anatsui wastepaper bag 2003; aluminum plates and copper wire collection of the artist in one of his works titled wastepaper bag, (figure 2) produced with aluminum, anatsui intends to "subvert the stereotype of metal as a stiff, rigid medium and rather reveal it as a soft, pliable, almost sensuous material capable of attaining igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 202 immense dimensions and being adapted to specific spaces." yet the forms he creates are layered with meanings that reach beyond the physical characteristics of the materials he chooses. in this eight-foot-tall sculpture of an oversized wastepaper bag anatsui makes a blatant statement about the rising problem of waste transformation in nations with limited recycling capabilities. more subtly, however, this piece also comments upon the all-too-often disposable nature of human life. made from discarded printing plates used for newspaper obituary pages, these images and announcements of the dead remind us of the continuous scourge of disease, crime and persecution in a nation struggling with the longterm effects of post-colonialism, underdevelopment and political corruption. conclusion from the above it is evident that the environment is culturally represented in environmental sculptures. conclusively it should be noted, that in spite of the roles that art forms have been playing in africa,environmental sculptures specifically have been performing leading roles as far as issues of cultural identification are concerned.while western understanding of environmental art may not adequately address the wider contexts of other cultures, this paper has shown that the concept of environmental culture was traditionally inscribed in the sculptures africans produced in the last early and decades of colonialism. contemporary african artists have also deployed creative repertoires of their environment to speak to a modernist and postmodernist ethos that define the african environment. evidently this paper has shown that the environment is crucial to the aesthetic possibilities that could artists are exposed to in the continent. in conclusion there is need for proper documentation of sculptural role in cultural identification. the objective of this is to be able to present a documentation of prominent and salient roles sculptures play in most african cultures. references sonfist, alan (2004). wolfgang becker, robert rosenblum. nature, the end of art : environmental landscapes (new york : d.a.p. ; london: thames & hudson) uyehara, seian (1971). environmental sculpture (honolulu, 1971) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 203 busch, julia m. a decade of sculpture: the new media in the 1960s (the art alliance press: philadelphia; associated university presses: london, 1974) bourdon, david: "christo", harry n. abrams publishers, inc., new york city, 1970.gilbert .r. and mc carter (1995)environmental sculpture wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia (2008) environmental sculpture, retrievedon18thof june 2016 fromhttp://en.wikipedia.og/wiki/environmental beth galston (2017). "thoughts on environmental sculpture" http://www.bethgalston. com/aboutenvsculpt.htm visited august 2, jobson, christopher (2014). ephemeral environmental sculptures evoke cycles of nature january 1, in colossal http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2014/01/ephemeral-environmentalsculptures-evoke-cycles-of-nature/ microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 6 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 3 a brief account on pupil grouping strategies in primary schools in the united kingdom salwa mostafa khisheim* special needs department, school of education jeddah university, jeddah, saudi arabia smkhisheim@gmail.com abstract this review article explores the pupil grouping strategies which are based on agegrouping in primary schools in the united kingdom.it considerstwo main strategies for grouping pupils within classroomsfrom the standpoint of the possible advantages and disadvantages experienced by younger children in a cohort.taken into account are the chronological grouping, which is called single-age grouping as well, and the vertical grouping, also known as mixed-age groupor family grouping. reviews on the studies of different grouping strategies of pupils that have been employed in primary schools in the uk has indicated that among the grouping strategies, within-class grouping may prove to be a the significant one. furthermore, the most effective strategy may be within-class mixed-age, mixed-ability grouping of pupils for raising the standard of education in primary school. keywords: pupil grouping, within-class grouping, chronological grouping, vertical grouping, primary school introduction in all the classrooms of united kingdom (uk), pupils are grouped in some form or other (blatchford et al., 2005).consideration of pupil grouping in classrooms in uk can be track back as early as the recommendations of the hadow committee report on primary education (board of education, 1931).pupils are grouped in the classrooms in order to provide for the huge differences that exist among any aggregation of individuals. these differences are the varieties of interests and purposes, the wide range of talents and skills, variations in the ability and potential, in speed, depth and nature of comprehension. all these distinctions among the pupil necessitate the practice of many varied materials and resources as well as classroom procedures that provide opportunities for each student to move as rapidly as possible in reaching their own potential (hock, 1961). there was also a long tradition of structured ability grouping in the uk, resulting from the government’s order to assist in achieving the government’s targets for pupil attainment and to raise the standard of education the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 4 government indicated that primary schools should consider setting children by ability (dfee, 1997; ofsted, 1998b). following the separation of the old ‘elementary’ schools into primary and secondary schools, the primary school report of 1930 recommended that children in primary schools should be grouped in classes according to ability (streaming) where numbers allowed (hadow report, 1931). however, most of the primary schools were too small to implement streaming strategy. in 1944, the butler education act, established the requirement for ability grouping in primary schools. thus the practice of streaming (ability grouping) became widespread in larger primary schools throughout the 1940s and 1950s. though, in the 1950s itspopularity had declined due to research reports that revealed it had no significant effect on overall attainment, and had negative social consequences for certain pupils (jackson, 1964; barker lunn, 1970). the organisation for economic co-operation and development (oecd), a parisbased think-tank, analysed successes and failures in education systems in 39 of the world's most developed nations. it reports thatthousands of uk primary schools are locking their pupils into a cycle of disadvantage by separating them into ability groups. it found that countries that grouped pupils into ability groups at an early age tended to have higher numbers of school drop-outs and lower levels of achievement.grouping pupils into ability groups at school was commonplace in the uk in the 1940s and early 1950s. by the early 1990s it had virtually disappeared because studies had shown it had no effect on overall attainment of the students. however, it has gradually been re-introduced into uk schools (shepherd, 2012). in 1970s, there was also a general inclination in educational values towards a more child-centered approach with emphasis on the overall development of the individual rather than on academic achievement; and on equality of opportunity rather than the pursuit of excellence. the plowden report (1967) reflected this movement, and was powerful enough to encourage schools towards ‘upstreaming’. with the abolition of the 11+ examination and the spread of comprehensive secondary education, mixed ability classes became the norm in primary schools.from the result of a survey of primary schools in 2 leas in the early 1990s, lee and croll (1995) reported that less than 3% streamed by ability. ability grouping (streaming) as a form of school organization in primary schools had almost disappeared(hallam et al., 2003). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 5 during the 1990s, combined with the main educational emphasis on increasing standards and a widespread assumption that the best way to maximize academic success was by selective grouping that led to government guidelines promoting the use of setting. in 1993, all primary schools were encouraged to introduce setting by the department for education (dfe report, 16/93). this was reinforced in 1997, by the government white paper ‘excellence in schools’ (1997) which suggested that setting could be beneficial in raising standards. it is worth considering in primary schools.’ the document presented a case study of a primary school which implemented setting for maths and reported significant benefits from the practice: it focused the range of attainment within a class; it reduced the pressure on teachers; it enabled teachers to maintain appropriate pace and challenge, and to make good use of whole-class teaching. it was mandatory for schools by law to undertake baseline assessments of all children entering primary school, in the basics of language and literacy, maths and personal and social development. furthermore, these assessments were to be analyzed by leas to help schools measure children’s subsequent achievement (hallam et al., 2003). according to taylor (1983), there are two general methods by which grouping of students in classrooms are most commonly done. they are chronological or single age grouping and vertical or family grouping. historically, chronological and vertical grouping were the traditional ways of grouping children and are still retained in the uk as the main methods of organising children in schools. vertical grouping which was originated in small country schools has been increasingly adopted by larger town schools. research have provided useful evidence on the extent of different forms of grouping, such as school and class sizes and ability grouping practices in schools and classrooms levels. several research surveys have been carried out regarding the nature and extent of grouping practices in schools and classrooms (bealing, 1972; des, 1978a; lee and croll, 1995; hallam et al., 2003; kutnik., et al. 2006; ofsted, 1998b). comparisons among survey results helpin theestablishment of trends over time and are more readily made when samples are based on large, randomly selected samples. however, different grouping strategies can affect pupils’ learning, attitudes and interactions with teachers and peer in various igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 6 ways (blatchford et al., 2005). hallam et al. (2003) established the extent of setting, within-class grouping, vertical (mixed age) grouping and mixed ability grouping and were able to relate these to school size and age of pupils. within-class grouping a feature of educational life of all pupils that can be specify with certainty is the grouping within classrooms. consideration of grouping in classrooms should not simply give emphasis on what has traditionally been referred to as the ‘small group’ or the number of children that can sit around a table in the classroom (usually between four and six pupils). classroom grouping, in terms of how the class is organised and taught should consist of a whole class seated and working together (blatchford et al., 2010).research have shown that in primary schools, any classroom consists of a number of different sized pupil groups working simultaneously and the group size may vary as a lesson progresses (baineset al.,2003; kutnick et al., 2002). in line with traditional classroom pedagogy, primary school teachers will often have responsibility for a whole class. however, it should be noted that a pupil will spend the majority of classroom time in the presence of peers (whether simply by being seated next to other children or actually working with other children). thus, each pupil will have a very limited amount of time to interact with their teacher and we need to consider the role of within-class grouping in relation to pupil’s learning and the quality of interactions with peer as well as teachers(blatchford et al., 2010).however, groups working together without the teacher works best when the pupils are mixed-ability and contain the most and least able pupils. for effective group functioning high-ability pupils are crucial nevertheless, they also benefited from the process of working in groups that serves to enhance their own skills (bennett & cass, 1989; swing & peterson, 1982; webb, 1991). groups should reflect this with a mixture of younger and older pupilswhere classes are cross-age (mixed-age). furthermore, they should reflect the ethnic mix of the class and have a gender balance (salvin, 1990). allocating pupils to groups in this way can promote social mixing and break down stereotypical views of other pupils(blatchford et al., 2010). research have shown that within the classroom, teachers have a significant influence over pupils’ educational experiences and outcomes of schooling in terms of attainment and affect (day et al., 2006; downey, 1977; harlen& malcolm, 1997; igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 7 dunne, 1998, 1999; sammons, 2006).comparison to specific forms of organizational grouping, within-class attainment grouping may have greater potential to raise standards through personalizing the learning experience (kutnick et al., 2005). some studies have also revealed positive effects of withinclass grouping (sukhnandan& lee, 1998) and it may make differences in progress between lower and higher sets less significant (wiliam& bartholomew, 2004). within-class ability grouping is seen as a means of raising attainment that avoids the social and emotional disadvantages of streaming (macintyre&ireson, 2002). chronological age grouping (single-age grouping) chronological age grouping can also be called as a ‘single age grouping’ (taylor, 1983). on the whole, an organisation based on chronological age grouping is probably the most widely used. in this strategy the students in the classrooms are divided according to their age, all of them having been born in the same school year. the age gap among the children in any one class may be just a few months or it may be a year, depending upon the numbers in the school and the size of its annual reception class intake.however, allen et al.(1975) claim that chronological grouping means entire classes of the same age. in larger schools, with three or four parallel classes in each year, this may mean only a three months’ age difference within each class. on the other hand, in a small school, there will be a much wider gap up to one year. advantages of chronological grouping children generally fall within a narrower band of intellectual, social, emotional and physical development than they do if an age of two or three years is represented within one class. this is not easy to say that there cannot be a fairly considerable difference in the ability and the maturity of children who are of roughly comparable chronological age. the differences can be very marked and the variation in their rates of progress appreciable; but these variations are generally greater if there is, in addition, a difference of two to three years in the child’s age (taylor, 1983). allen et al. (1975) affirmed that it is often thought that chronologically-grouped classes display greater social cohesion and interaction for the children tend to be at the same level of socio-emotional development and have similar levels of interest. they also claim that teachers may feel more secure with a narrow age igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 8 range. their task seems simpler as the range of ability appears to be less than in classes where children are vertically grouped. both children and teachers can make a completely fresh start putting past mistakes and failure behind them with each school year. disadvantages of chronological grouping the task of the reception class teacher, in particular, is not an easy one. in a large school situated in an area in which there is a high proportion of families with young children, there may be a full class of thirty or more new entrants all beginning at the same time. these children come together to the unfamiliar world of school and many of them have had little or no experience of sharing the time and attention of one adult with others in a large group. in this new and to some children, the frighteningly large situation of people and things, the children’s overwhelming need is for attention and for personal contact with the teacher to help it over the early strangeness and unfamiliarity of school life. yet, it is this very attention which is difficult for the teacher to provide when there are so many children in need of it at the same moment (taylor, 1983). the reception class teacher’s problems do not end with satisfying the children’s need for security and emotional stability as they settle into school or indeed with organizing their daily program so that they learn and make progress. the use of auxiliary staff in primary schools is invaluable to the teacher of very young children and does much to help him or her with the day-to-day affairs of the reception class. but the organizational and practical problems inherent in a large class of new entrants, all bewildered together, all comparatively unskilled, continue to be extremely pressing despite the welcome assistance of another pair of hands. it is not only within the walls of the reception class that chronological age grouping presents its difficulties. they appear also in the organisation of the school itself, and they arise because of the practice of termly admission at the beginning of the infant or primary school and annual transfer to the junior or middle school at the end of it. this means that a large infant or primary school opens with smaller numbers in the new school year, fills up during the year and may be bursting at the seams in the summer term. with chronological age grouping in this situation, a teacher may be needed for a new class for each term, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 9 and this is no easy way of arranging it with a permanent staffing ratio which is usually calculated on the basis of average numbers throughout the year. at the beginning of the school year the whole class is new with no nucleus of children left over from the previous year to continue class tradition or routine. they also emphasized that in the last year of the infant school, where there are parallel classes with narrowly differentiated age ranges, too many children who need help in reading may be concentrated in the youngest seven-year-old class (allen et al.,1975). however, the children in the younger, parallel classes may do less well, even when allowance is made for their age because they are known to be younger and appear less able. the teacher expects less from them so they tend to underachieve. teachers may be persuaded that they have a homogeneous class, all at the same level and be blinded to the exceptions. they further assert that many teachers tend to specialize in one age group for several or even many years becoming known as a ‘reception class teacher’, or ‘a top infant teacher’. this may considerably narrow the range of a teacher’s experience. moreover, in a small school where there is an intake, each term means that a child may spend only one term in the reception class and subsequently very short periods in any of other classes due to the pressure of new entrants. vertical grouping (mixed-age grouping) vertical grouping of students is also called ‘family grouping’. with vertical grouping, there is usually an age range of up to about three years in any one class, though sometimes there can be even wider age span. but to take a fairly usual example, in a large primary school, the five, six and seven-year-olds are together in one set of classes and the eight and nine-year-olds are together in another set. there may be two or three of each of these sets depending upon the size of the school. all the classes in any one set are identical in structure, and families and friends can stay together unless there are reasons in a particular case that would make this undesirable. there is, of course, no reception class as such. each class in the younger set receives an equal number of new entrants every term so that even with a large new intake no teacher has ever had more than a few children who are just starting school. at the end of the school year, all classes in the older set lose roughly the same number of children in the middle school (taylor, 1983). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 10 the principle has long been established in small country schools which have always been vertically grouped by force of circumstances. indeed, vertical grouping was first introduced to urban classes by teachers who had become convinced of its benefits by their experience in rural areas and who were concerned to extend these benefits to children in the towns. in town schools, however, classes are likely to be much bigger and it is the combination of large numbers and the extensive age and ability range of a vertically grouped class that often leads to the choice of a chronological age structure (moyles, 1993). family grouping is concerned with children making progress at the individual level, rather than at age grouped or class rates. ridgeway & lawton (1965) noted that it required flexible grouping arrangements and a relevant teaching style and an open plan school designed to accommodate family grouping (cohen & cohen, 1988).due to the social and family-like structure of classes where pupils, at least one year apart in age, are taught by the same teacher together for several years,vertical grouping has been adopted as a system of choice by some schools (hallam et al. 2013). the supposed benefits of vertical grouping are similar to those made for mixed-ability teaching (veenman, 1995). advantages of vertical grouping the main value of mixed-age programs is the flexibility they provide to students whose growth is a series of sudden rather than a smooth, linear progression. the rule becomes a wide range of abilities rather than the expectation that everyone is at the same level by serving a range of students with a large chronological-age gap. a pupil may be ahead of or behind his chronological peers, but the classroom has teachers and materials available that are appropriate to the needs of every pupil, regardless of where he or she falls on the spectrum of abilities. there is no skipping or failing of grades because a pupil remains with his chronological peers whatever his academic needs (bernstein, n.d.).there is no difficulty in placing a newcomer into a class, as a child will find children of his or her own age group and mentality in whichever room are chosen and he or she will also have the company of children of different ages. there should be no ‘personality’ clashes between child and teacher or child and child or a lack of progression on the part of the child. he or she can be moved to another class without difficulty (allen et al.,1975). vertical grouping gives an atmosphere of stability and removes the awkward situation which sometimes arises with chronological grouping in which a child may spend as little as one term in its classes; a very unsettling experience. within igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 11 vertical grouping situation, the child has the chance to become familiar with its surroundings for a sustained period. the presence of mixed age groups gives greater opportunities for different levels of conversation and speech. the atmosphere is then more than that of the natural family and the child is, therefore, less inhibited. additionally, the older children acquire a sense of responsibility towards the younger ones. in the vertically grouped class, there is not such a break in the teaching of basic skills. under this system, the numbers in the class are evened out. as the children become more stable, the teacher is able to know and understand them better. within the framework of the vertically grouped situation, the children are able to find their own level. the slower child, for example, may work with a younger group without attracting attention. in fact, the children find their emotional and mental level and are able to work within it. the theoretical advantages of vertical grouping are substantial for the child. when it first starts school, it comes into a class in which there might be an older brother or sister, or even an older friend, who provides a comforting link to the world of home. the older child can help the younger one to feel less strange in its new surroundings and can give some extra attention and practical assistance needed until it has settled down. however, taylor (1983) suggested that the benefits from the older children come from the development of qualities of leadership and responsibility to acting on behalf of the teacher in many ways and in showing consideration to those who are less mature and less skilful than themselves. teaching a vertically grouped class is in many ways easier where an integrated program is in operation. it follows that if conditions are unfavourable to integration, vertical grouping should be carefully considered before it is introduced, especially where classes are large. it is by no means impossible without integration to manage the degree of individual teaching that vertical grouping requires, but it does need skill and a real organization on the part of the teacher if it is to work well. one other area in which some adjustment is necessary for vertical grouping is that which involves the whole class at the same time, such as stories and poetry. a story or a poem which satisfies the sevenyear-old may be quite without interest for the very young child and vice versa. it is, therefore, preferable either to present these on a group basis or to make an igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 12 arrangement with the teacher of another class whereby each plans stories and poems at different levels of interest and the children from both classes join whichever they prefer. from the point of view of overall school organization, the great merit of vertical grouping is that it entirely solves the problem of accommodating new entrants termly without having to move children from one class to another during the year. on the other hand, the extensive provision of material and equipment that is necessary to encompass the full age and ability range in every class can be quite a serious drawback. rathbone (1988) stated that one major objective of vertical grouping is the development of children’s social skills. older children are expected to help in some ways with the education of their younger classmates. undeniably, the system is also referred to as ‘family grouping’. moreover, when the children stay in one class for more than a year, vertical grouping can be a help to the teacher because although some children move on into other classes, some children who are familiar with the routines of the class stay on to help the new younger members of the class. disadvantages of vertical grouping one of the chief problems appears to be a misunderstanding on the part of parents who believe misguidedly that by staying an additional year in the same class their children are being victimised in some way. despite the evidence to the contrary; or they may fail to understand the advantages to their children in being educated with other age groups and feel these groups in some ways impede the children’s progress. though there may be a tendency for the older children to help the younger ones too much thus, impeding their own progress. furthermore, the older children should not be permitted to become a kind of teacher’s substitute (allen et al., 1975). it is also sometimes difficult to preserve equal opportunities for each age group in the class, for example, the needs of the seven-year-old may be given undue stress just because their promotion to the junior school is imminent. unless teachers make comparisons of work right through the school at each age level, so that they cross-reference the standards of each age in every other class, children of equal age and ability may leave the school with unnecessarily different igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 13 attainments. head teachers in some schools ask all the teachers to hand in each month the work of the seven or six-year-olds in their classes, so that the head and the teachers can see that a comparable standard is being kept throughout the school. failure to seek such comparisons may impair teachers’ efficiency and be contrary to the best interests of the children. it is tough to furnish for the physical and mental capabilities of the various age groups in certain subjects and it would be advisable to group the children into ages drawing on more than one class, for such activities as story time, music, and movement, where skill is largely dependent on maturation. where there is a changeover to single age classes at junior school level, a certain amount of unsettled feelings may arise in some children accustomed to working in groups, though one feels that at seven plus years, many would appreciate it. children who are in the care of weak, uninterested or supply teachers are seriously disadvantaged by vertical grouping and many of the objectives of vertical grouping have to be abandoned if such teachers have to be given a different class each year. desperate parents have been known to complain that their children had not had an adequate teacher by the age of nine years, after four years of schooling. there can be no doubt, however, that in a vertically grouped classroom the teacher’s resourcefulness is stretched to the limit, as he or she has to prepare work for the vast range of abilities within the class. rathbone (1988) argues that parents’ concerns about vertical grouping also have to be answered. parents need to be informed about the rationale of the system. teachers in vertically grouped schools also need to ensure that their children have access to those parts of the curriculum which are best taught to children of approximately similar age. physical education and games lessons, for example, may need two or more classes to be joined together, so that the teaching is effective. a coherent pattern of work that covers the curriculum satisfactorily, the setting up of the classroom each morning, and the recording of what each child has done are essential if this system is to work effectively. the teacher’s workload is immense. conclusion review on the available literature on the studies of different grouping strategies of pupils that have been employed in primary schools in the uk has indicated that among the grouping strategies, within-class grouping may prove to be a the significant one. furthermore, the most effective strategy may be within-class igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 14 mixed-age, mixed-ability grouping of pupils for raising the standard of education in primary school. many researchers who have studied on the effects of vertical grouping have concluded that there are no significant differences between cross-age and single-age groupings on pupils’ academic achievement or social and personal development (pratt, 1986; miller, 1990; veenman, 1995). in within-class grouping of pupils, the size of classes, size of within-class groups, composition of within-class groups, nature of the assigned learning task, intended social interaction and teacher intervention appear to be related. planning for effective learning need consideration of the social pedagogic relationships between these factors. research have indicated that group work can be successfully used and implemented into primary school classrooms, provided teachers are aware of social pedagogical principles and train pupils in the skills of group working. it has also shown that involvement in group work, with support from relational and other group working skills has positive effects on pupils’ academic progress. these results have suggestions for educational policy and practice(blatchford et al., 2010). greenfield (2011), suggested that in order to be widely accepted and effective, policies do not have to be mandated, but can arise spontaneously as a consequence (intended or unintended) of other policies or practices, which serve to make compliance with an implicit policy more or less obligatory. there are three main contexts for learning in any classroom; teacher-led work, individual work and interaction between pupils. pressures arising from the curriculum and the classroom context mean a heavy emphasis on whole-class teaching followed by individual work, with little room for group work (blatchford et al., 2006). blatchford et al. (2010), had argued that the third context for learning – peer-based interactions, or ‘co-learning’ – has been neglected, certainly in the uk. thus, suggested that, given space and time to develop pupils’ group working skills, teachers can bring about a transformation in the teaching and learning environment. it offers learning possibilities for pupils which is not provided by the first and second context i.e., either teacher-led or individual work, and can contribute to national concerns with engagement in learning and attitudes to work and classroom behavior. they further suggested that, group work deserves to be given a much more central role in educational policy and school practice. evidences reviewed form the research studies have indicated that within-class grouping, rather than class-level organizational igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 15 grouping initiatives, may have greater potential to raise standards (blatchford et al. 2010). further research onwhole-school processes that can best support and sustain group work we be noteworthy and helpful in making pupil-centric policy that can be effective andwidely recognized. references allen, i.,dover, k., gaff, m., gray, e., griffiths, c., ryall, n.,&toone, e. (1975).working an integrated day(p. 38). london:ward lock educational. baines, e., blatchford, p.,&kutnick, p. (2003). changes in grouping practice over primary and secondary school. international journal of educational research, 39, 9-34. barker lunn, j.c. (1970).streaming in the primary school: a longitudinal study of children in streamed and non-streamed junior schools. slough, uk: national foundation for educational research (nfer). bealing, d. (1972). the organisation of junior school classrooms. educational research,14(3), 231–5. bennett, n.,& cass, a. (1989). the effects of group composition on group interactive processes and pupil understanding. british educational research journal, 15, 119-32. bernstein, c.d. (n.d.).what are the benefits of mixed-age classrooms? early learning institute. http://www.headsup.org/benefits-of-mixed-ageclassrooms/ blatchford, p., baines, e., rubie-davies, c., bassett, p.,&chowne, a.(2006). the effect of a new approach to group-work on pupil-pupil and teacherpupil interactions. journal of educational psychology,98 (4): 750–765. blatchford, p., galton, m., kutnick, p., & baines, e. (2005). improving the effectiveness of pupil groups in classrooms. end of award report to the economic and social research council. http://www.springproject.org.uk/spring-publications.htm blatchford, p., hallam, s., ireson, j., kutnick, p., & creech, a. (2010).classes, groups and transitions. structures for teaching and learning. in:r. j. alexander,& c.doddington (eds.),the cambridge primary review research surveys, 2010(pp.548-588).cambridge primary review (organization),london: routledge (taylor & francis group). cohen, a.,& cohen, l. (1988).primary education: a source book for teachers(p. 95).london: paul champan publishing ltd. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 16 day, c., stobart, g., sammons, p., kington, a., gu, q., smees, r.,&mujtaba, t. (2006). variations in teachers' work, lives and effectiveness (vitae) nottingham: dfes. department for education and employment. (1997). excellence in schools. london: dfee. department of education and science (des). (1978a). primary education in england: a survey by her majesty's inspectors of schools. london: hmso. downey, m. (1977). interpersonal judgements in education. london: harper and row. dunne, m (1999). positioned neutrality: mathematics teachers and the cultural politics of their classrooms.educational review, 51 (2), 117-128. dunne, m. (1998). pupil entry for national curriculum mathematics tests: the public and private life of teacher assessment. mathematics, education and society conference proceedings, nottingham, csme. greenfield, r. l. (2011). the practice of age-grouping in english schools: the scope and power of the implicit education policy. educate, 11, (1), 52-64. hadow (1931). the primary school report of the consultative committee london: hmso. hallam, s., ireson, j. & davies j. (2013). pupils’ experiences of different kinds of grouping. in: s. hallam, j. ireson, & j. davies, (eds.), effective pupil grouping in the primary school: a practical guide (p.160). london: routledge. hallam, s., ireson, j., lister, v., chaudhury, i. a., &davies. j.(2003). ability grouping in the primary school: a survey. educational studies, 29, (1), 69–83. harlen, w., & malcolm, h. (1997). setting and streaming: a research review (vol. 18). edinburgh, uk: scottish council for research in education. hock l. e. (1961) classroom grouping of effective learning. educational leadership. lviii, 420-424. jackson, b. (1964) streaming: an education system in miniature. london: routledge and kegan paul. kutnick, p., blatchford, p., & baines, e.(2002). pupil groupings in primary school classrooms: sites for learning and social pedagogy.british education research journal,28, (2), 187–206. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 17 kutnick, p., hodgkinson, s.,sebba,j.,humphreys,s., galton, m.,steward, s., blatchford, p., & baines. e. (2006). pupil grouping strategies and practices at key stage 2 and 3: case studies of 24 schools in england. research report 796. london: dfes. kutnick, p., sebba, j., blatchford, p., galton, m., & thorp, j. (2005).the effects of pupil grouping: literature review. research report 688. london: dfes. lee, j.,&croll, p. (1995). streaming and subject specialism at key stage 2: survey in two local authorities. educational studies, 21, (2). macintyre, h., &ireson, j. (2002). within-class ability grouping: placement of pupils in groups and self-concept. british educational research journal,28, (2), 249–263. doi: 10.1080/01411920120122176 miller, b. a. (1990). a review of quantitative research on multi-grade instruction. journal of research in rural education, 7(1), 1-8. moyles, j. (1993). just a matter of routine...? organising for learning in the early years classroom,education 3-13: the professional journal for primary education, 21, (1), 44-52. ofsted. (1998b). setting in primary schools: a report from the office of her majesty’s chief inspector schools. london: office for standards in education. plowden, (1967). children and their primary schools. report of the central advisory council for education (england) london: hmso. pratt, d. (1986). on the merits of multi-age classrooms. journal of research in rural education, 3(3), 111-115. rathbone, m. (1988).improve your teaching, leamington spa: warwickshire: scholastic, bright ideas management books. ridgway, l.,& lawton, i. (1965). family grouping in the infant school. in: a. cohen, &l. cohen,(eds.),primary education: a source book for teachers (p. 95). london: paul champanpublishing ltd. sammons, p. (2006). school effectiveness and equity: making connections. paper presented at embracing diversity: new challenges for school improvement in a global learning society.international congress for school effectiveness and improvement, fort lauderdale, florida usa. 4th january 2006. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 18 shepherd, j. (2012, february 9). dividing younger pupils by ability can entrench disadvantage, study finds.theguardian. retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/education/2012/feb/09/dividingpupils-ability-entrenchdisadvantage slavin, r. (1990). achievement effects of ability grouping in secondary schools – a best evidence synthesis. review of educational research, 60 (3), 471-499. sukhnandan, l.,& lee, b. (1998).streaming, setting and grouping by ability: a review of the literature.slough, nfer. swing, s.r.,& peterson, p.l. (1982). the relationship of student ability and small group interactionto student achievement. american educational research journal, 19 (2), 259-274. taylor, j. (1983). organising and integrating the first school day, london: allen and unwin. veenman, s. (1995). cognitive and noncognitive effects of multigrade and multi-age classes: a best-evidence synthesis. review of educational research, 65, 319-381. webb, n. (1991). task-related verbal instruction and mathematics learning in small groups. journal for research in mathematics education, 22, 366-389. wiliam, d.,& bartholomew, h. (2004). it’s not which school but which set you’re in that matters: the influence on ability-grouping practices on student progress in mathematics. british educational research journal, 30 (2): 279-294. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 206 wife inheritance and psychological well being of the inherited widows in ugenya sub county, kenya boniface owiyo catholic university of eastern africa psychology department bonnieosa@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.18277.47848 abstract the death of a spouse is a moment of devastation and sadness to the loss of love, care, company, and livelihood, attended by a feeling of abandonment. it represents radical change in one’s social status and lifestyle. the inherited widow’s plight in ugenya sub county is not addressed due to the lack of awareness on the psychosocial challenges they experience. the purpose of the study is to determine the psychosocial challenges that affect the inherited widow’s wellness and explore the coping and intervention mechanisms that can be adopted by the inherited widows in ugenya sub county. the objectives of the study were to explore the psychological and social challenges affecting the wellness of inherited widows and explore the coping and intervention mechanisms that the widows can adopt to deal with the psychosocial challenges and improve their wellness within ugenya sub county. to understand the psychological wellbeing and the adjustment mechanisms of inherited widows in the study, the researcher postulated that the three models; the kubler-ross model, the dual process model of coping with bereavement by stroebe and schut and rational emotive behaviour therapy by albert ellis would be applicable to this study. the study will adopt research design using a qualitative approach. targeted populations are the inherited widows, those that are not inherited and clergy working with these women, local administrators. purposive sampling will be used to select the 73 respondents that comprised of 36 inherited widows, 13 widows who are not inherited, 6 clergies,6 women leaders local,6 government leaders and 6 luo elders. interview guides instruments and questionnaire for both widows and professionals was used in data collection. qualitatively data was analysed using the thematic framework. scales of psychological wellbeing by carol ryff was used to measure the psychological wellbeing of inherited widows. the study revealed that sexual rituals practices and process negatively affect widows psychological well-being. there are serval coping strategies adopted by widows such include; cognitive restructuring, problem solving, express emotion, social support, self-criticism, problem avoidance, social withdrawal, wishful thinking. the study concludes that inherited widows experience both negative and positive psychological wellbeing depending on the inheritor. inheritance, provide widows with emotional support that enhance their psychological wellbeing some igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 207 widows also receive financial and labour support from the inheritors that help them cop up with the loss. however, inheritance has also negative impact on psychological wellbeing of a widow such include the risk of hiv infection, emotional abuse and exploitation of the widow. it recommends exploration of alternatives to widow inheritance rituals. keywords: inheritance, psychology, widows, women, well-being, kenya general introduction death is a reality that all must face. death of a husband affects the widow since her life must change, living without a partner. death of a husband disturb the wellness pattern of a widow. the death of a spouse is rated as among the most stressful life event that humans experience (amster& krauss, 1974), and yet, it is a common occurrence in the lives of midlife and older women. almost one half of women over the age of 65 years are widowed (fields & casper, 2001). wife inheritance can be dehumanizing since the spouse is still mourning the death of her husband. ajiboye (2016) discussed the world of widowhood in many african cultures that is characterized by dehumanizing cultural and ritual practices passed off as mourning rites. the rituals, that include wife cleansing and inheritance of the widow and all her husband’s properties, subject the widows to various psychosocial challenges. eboiyehi (2013) noted that the death of a spouse is a traumatic event that results into profound effects on their wellness and provokes important life changes, including the loss of an intimate companion that results into long-term psychosocial consequences oniye (2000) further noted that the widows feel ignored and suffer within the society; they may lack self-esteem and feel loneliness and may live in state of fear as they lack groups to identify with. the psychosocial challenges do affect the wellness of the widow and especially widow who are forced with inheritance. in global perspective, what is known to africa as wife inheritance or widow inheritance is commonly known to the world as levirate marriage (kudo, 2017). it has been practiced across the globe. according to westreich (2019) levirate marriage was practiced among religious groups such as muslim and judaism. eurasia, it was popular in; scythia, central asia and xingu, india, indonesia, japan, manchu, and some countries in africa. the traditional people believed that widow inheritance provided the widow with considerable security (dah 1995: 25, sandys 2001: 8). the word levirate comes from a hebrews word levir which means brother-in-law. this was an ancient custom which was practiced among the semitic people and the arabs of yemen (holy bible, ruth chapter 1:9-21, 4:1-6, deuteronomy chapter 25:5-10). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 208 a review by the unite nations division for the advancement of women (2000) indicated that the various psychosocial challenges experienced by the widows, include low status, poverty and violence, discrimination on inheritance, the patriarchal nature of society, and the domination of oppressive traditional practices and customary codes. according to oniye (2000) some of the psychosocial challenges a widow faces are related to the income variations, living conditions, perceived health, status, and presence of a confidant. oniye (2000) further noted that the widows feel ignored and suffer within the society; they may lack self-esteem and feel loneliness and may live in state of fear as they lack groups to identify with. the psychosocial challenges do affect the wellness of the widow. the study further contends that an adjustment strategy is crucial because a widow without proper adjustment or assistance is not only experiencing problems, but could be a problem to herself, her family and local community. the perceived inability to cope with the demands of living following the death of a spouse causes stress and this result into various psychosocial challenges and reduced wellness levels. the luo (lwo) as a cultural group is found in south sudan, ethiopia, kenya, uganda, tanzania, and the democratic republic of congo (ojwang’ 2005, 72). the luo are a patrilineal group that practices levirate as a means of taking care of the wife and home of a deceased brother. the custom is called lako or ter in the luo language. lako as an institution stipulates that upon the death of a husband, his ‘brother’ takes up the roles and responsibilities of the deceased’s ‘home’ including towards his wife (wives) and children; that is, he assumes the care of the deceased’s ‘home’ (dala). the ‘brother’ who takes up the roles of the deceased is referred to as jalako or jater; and as kirwen aptly puts it, the arrangement “is the cohabitation of a widow with her brother-in-law in which the brother-in-law relates to the widow as a substitute for her deceased husband” (kirwen 1979, 3) statement of the problem the loss of a loved one in most cases causes a lot of depression and some other problems in the life of the bereaved. therefore, the society and close family members are expected to provide not only social support to the widow but also journey with her through the bereavement processes. however, the psychological wellbeing of the widow is deteriorated with the societal pressure to be inherited before the bereavement cycle is complete. this has escalated major depression, excessive use of alcohol, and anxiety disorders, including igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 209 panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and phobias among the widows. ebunoluwa (2001) noted that women are treated like chattels (properties) they are subjected to several arduous and dehumanizing rites that violate some of their human rights and erode their self-esteem. the institution of lako has aroused a very sharp debate in kenya since about 1994 to date. this is majorly, but not only, due to the advent of hiv/ aids and the wind of gender sensitivity. of course, opposition to this institution by some christian denominations began long before the two events, not only in kenya but in the whole of africa (kirwen 1979, 1-4). another problem is that it only targets women. widowers are not subjected to these sexual cleansing and inheritance. in fact, a man is free to remarry after the wife’s death. the community does not dictate to him who to marry. so, the practice of wife inheritance is a violation to human and women rights. women are treated as property of men. purpose of the study the general objective of this study is to examine the extent to which wife inheritance affect the psychological wellbeing of the inherited widows in ugenya sub county, kenya. the specific objectives are:  to examine the effects of wife inheritance rituals and the psychological wellness of inherited widows within ugenya sub county, kenya.  to established the extent to which wife inheritance process and beliefs effect on the psychological wellbeing of a widow in ugenya county.  to establish coping mechanisms of inherited widows within ugenya sub county can cope with their situation. research questions the study will seek to answer the following research questions: 1. what are the effects of wife inheritance rituals on the psychological wellness of widows within ugenya sub county, kenya? 2. to what extent does wife inheritance process and beliefs effect on the psychological wellbeing of a widow in ugenya county? 3. what coping mechanisms do inherited widows use to enhance wellness in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 210 ugenya sub county, kenya? design of the study to understand the psychological wellbeing and the adjustment mechanisms of inherited widows in the study, the researcher postulated that the three models; the kubler-ross model, the dual process model of coping with bereavement by stroebe and schut (1999) and rational emotive behaviour therapy by albert ellis would be applicable to this study. the study adopted ethnographic research design to gather an in-depth understanding of the challenges faced by the inherited widows after spousal death. shuttleworth (2008) indicated that research design is a scientific method which involves observing and describing the behaviour of a subject without influencing it in any way. the research approach was qualitative and the participants were interviewed in their natural environments. population the target population were widows who had lost their husbands and are most affected by customary practice of wife inheritance. the study targeted all the women who have been widowed and inherited in the study area. according to population & housing census (2019), there are 993183 people in siaya county while that of ugenya sub county is 134,354 people. kombo and tromp (2009) define a target population as an entire group of people or objects that have at least one or more characteristics in common that are of interest to the researcher and from which samples are taken for measurements. the target population in this study were clergy, inherited widows, uninherited widows and local administrators. ogula (2009) argues that the target population refers to the entire membership of the group that the researcher hopes to gain information from during the study and derive some generalized conclusions. sampling techniques and sample size the study focused on inherited widows within ugenya sub county that were selected purposively. snowball sampling procedure was employed to identify the respondents, whose spouses had passed on and were congregants within the seven churches. browne (2005) asserted that snowball sampling is best suited for those populations that are not known and are ‘hidden’ due to the sensitivity of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 211 the topic. the choice of the snow balling procedure was influenced by the fact that the widow inheritance in the churches is a sensitive matter and the catholic church has been against it and so widows who have been inherited have remained silent and hidden among the church population. the snowball sampling is a non-probability sampling method, and the researcher will use his own judgment and consultations with the church ministers to choose the initial participants and request those participants to refer him to others they knew. purposive sampling was used to select the 73 respondents that comprised of 36 inherited widows, 13 widows who are not inherited, 6 clergies, 6 women leaders, 6 local government leaders and 6 luo clan elders. research instrument the data was collected using in-depth interview guides and focused group discussions (fgds) to illuminate the lived experiences of the inherited widows and the challenges they have experienced after the spousal death. the in-depth interview guide method was chosen as it allows for flexibility of gathering information on the participants ‘experiences. the questionnaires contain close-ended and open-ended questions. the respondents will be able to communicate their opinions, views, suggestions and give recommendations freely. scales of psychological wellbeing by carol ryff (1989) was used to measure the psychological wellbeing of inherited widows. the questionnaire for inherited (qfi) was a five point likert type questionnaire used to determine the respondents’ responses with the items through the following response options; strongly agree (sa), agree (a) undecided, (ud) decided (d), strongly disagree (sd), weighted 5,4,3,2 and 1 respectively. the mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions. the criterions mean score of the data collected was 3.00. the description is as follows: sa a ud d sd 5 4 3 2 1 = 15 =3.00 5 all the items with mean ( x ) scores which were equal to or greater than 3.0 were accepted, while those with less than 3.0 were rejected. by motivating the respondents to express their feelings, data was collected to provide their views and perceptions on psychological challenges on inherited widows. information igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 212 obtained from the interview with the respondents will be transcribed and then analysed. results the first objective of this study was to examine how wife inheritance rituals contribute to the psychological well-being of an inherited widow. the study unravels rituals like sexual cleansing, changing the house, shaving the hair, ritual concerning the dead as well as ending the bond with the dead and burial rituals conducted for the dead. one cannot understand the alternative rituals of widow cleansing without having a full understanding of the ritual of widow cleansing itself. widow cleansing is a ritual which demands a widow to have sexual intercourse with another man, normally one of her brothers-in-law in order to let the spirit of the deceased rest in peace among the dead. the rationale behind this ritual is the belief that the spirit of the deceased husband still recognizes the widow as his wife, hence interfering with any relationship the widow might establish. the ritual of widow cleansing was however challenged by various groups especially at the dawn of the hiv and aids pandemic. through increased awareness about the hiv and aids malady and its widespread effects on human health, communities in zambia have adopted alternative cleansing rituals to cleanse widows without the act of sexual intercourse. while many scholars have hailed the alternative rituals to the extent of encouraging them, the question about women’s sexual rights seem to have been ignored. studies have shown that although the alternative rituals do not involve sexual contact, some of them are done in a manner that comprise the sexual rights of women. the disregards for and of women’s sexual rights causes the marginalization and denial of their social, political and economic rights. sexual cleansing is part of the social transition process for widows to become eligible to remarry after the death of her husband. this ritual is conducted to cleanse the widow of evil spirits resulting from the death of her husband. all the participants described sexual cleansing as a widely known practice within the community. the reasons for the practice were defined as participants explaining the ritual and the purpose of sexual cleansing. most of the participants mentioned sexual cleansing removes impurity ascribed to her, protects the children, and homestead, and upholds tradition. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 213 sexually cleansed widows reported their knowledge of the practice when asked “what are some of the reasons why a widow is sexually cleansed in this community?” most of the participants mentioned sexual cleansing removes impurity or evil to protect the children, extended family, community, and homestead. every widow mentioned that she was perceived in the community as having a bad omen because of the death of her husband. a widow must be sexually cleansed to remove bad omen, and sex must be part of sexual cleansing. only one participant mentioned that cleansing should be done publicly so that community members know that the widow has been rid of a bad omen. if the widow is not cleansed, she cannot visit other people's homes, mingle freely with others, collect water from the river, and eat with her children. have you been inherited? frequency per cent valid percent cumulative percent valid yes 30 61.2 61.2 61.2 no 19 38.8 38.8 100.0 total 49 100.0 100.0 (source field data, 2022) table4.1: have you been inherited the study showed that 61.2% (30) widows have been inherited and 38.8% (19) had not been inherited. this confirms that wife inheritance is still prevalent in the community and it is a practice that cannot be eliminated easily. the above data support perry, et al., (2014) that confirms that widow inheritance is part of the luo community and there are meta factors that maintain the traditions. such factors include taboos, curses, social stigma and social isolation from the community. in the african traditional context, the death of the husband signifies the social death of the widow, the widow loses the breadwinner and a partner. the members believe that inheritance is important. this practice is carried out for many reasons which include: retaining the family's health, where they believe if she is re-married to another man, it will benefit her new family. the practice is also for continuity of the deceased's family and also to support the kids of her late husband. for instance, fear of taboo tends to exploit widows through fear of being mad, getting diseases, misfortunes and the like. intimidations can also be associated with alienation, withdrawal of economic support and social barriers, hence, widows are left with no choice but to oblige. the belief itself affects the psychological well-being of a widow. for instance, widows who say no to such practices with claims that are christian may be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 214 isolated by the family and may associate any misfortune with their failure to perform the ritual. the church was very critical of its members during these circumstances. wives of church workers and converts were not to be subjected to widowhood rituals. when a female member of the church lost her husband, members of her group assembled in her home to share her grief. christian widows were to sit on a chair and receive condolences from friends and relatives. the luo society had the worldview that a wife was communal in the sense that she was literally owned by the society. this was based on the rites and practices surrounding the whole concept of marriage. for instance, negotiations for marriage, and payment of dowry were in many cases a joint effort of members of the bridegroom’s family. hence in the event of the demise of the husband, a widow was seen as having lost a base and therefore members of the family had to come in to fill this vacuum. death of a spouse did not dissolve marriage; therefore, woman should not remarry but have an inheritor (oluoch 2013). however, this paper does not envision a difference between remarrying and having an inheritor apart from the fact that certain rites involved in marriage (for example dowry payment) are not performed in the case of inheritance. according to oluoch the arrangement is the cohabitation took part in sexual cleansing? frequency per cent valid percent cumulative percent valid did not take part in the cleansing ritual 15 30.6 30.6 69.4 took part in traditional cleansing 34 69.4 69.4 100.0 total 49 100.0 100.0 (source field data, 2022). table 4.2: took part in sexual cleansing the study shows that majority of women took part in the sexual cleansing ritual as per the community requirement. among women who took part in the focused group discussion, 69.4% (34) confessed that they took part in sexual cleansing, and 30.6% (15) indicated that they did not take part in the ritual. in the focused group, discussion women who had participated in the cleansing expressed that following the community tradition was the best thing after the passing of their husband. they also expressed that apart from sexual cleaning there are other igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 215 rituals that they had to undergo when their husband died. for instance, widow rites were conducted after the death of the husband. widows confessed that their acceptance to the community and family did not only depend on how well they conform to the tradition but also on cooperation with their in-law's demands hence living them with no choice but to accept the rituals. the rituals entail shaving the hair, ( tero chola), and changing the house, (loko ot) which must be done after the death of the husband and require a man. do you agree with the following statements regarding inheritance? s/n items on psychological wellbeing of widowhood n range sum mean std. deviation 1 before engaging in sexual ritual the congregation used to respect me but today the story has changed. 36 4 124 3.44 1.611 2 i have lost the companionship i used to enjoy when my husband was alive because of the ritual. 36 4 110 3.06 1.433 3 i was forcefully cleansed by my in-laws 36 4 137 3.81 1.527 4 i feel people look down on me because am with an inheritor and went through the ritual. 36 4 114 3.17 1.298 5 my in-laws and people around me treat me like an outcast because i am inherited by an outsider 36 4 97 2.69 1.167 6 the number of suitors that come to me for remarriage is few especially the young unmarried ones because of the sexual ritual 36 4 121 3.36 1.496 7 i am worried i might have acquired a sexually transmitted infection during cleansing 36 4 107 2.97 1.540 valid n (listwise) 36 (source, field data, 2022) table4.3: psychological wellbeing of widowhood igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 216 from table 4.8 above items, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 have their mean ( x ) score above the criterion of 3.00, hence were accepted by the respondents as possible for deterioration of psychological wellbeing of the inherited widows. while items 7 and that is below the criterion mean of 3.00 were rejected as psychological wellbeing of an inherited widow. other problems that were also identified were anxiety, the desire to commit suicide, aggression and depression. for instance, some widows explained they have experienced intimate partner violence and emotional abuse by the inheritor which made the desire to die. the study sought to examine the strategy used by the widows to examine the coping strategy used by the widow. the strategy was divided into two parts how widows cope with widowhood and how they cop up with inheritance. the study shows that both strategies were very detrimental to their psychological wellbeing. what are the coping strategies of widows to widowhood stress? n range sum mean std. deviation 1 cognitive restructuring 35 4 122 3.49 1.337 2 problem solving 36 4 163 4.53 1.055 3 express emotion 36 4 114 3.17 1.298 4 social support 36 4 111 3.08 1.519 5 self-criticism 36 4 119 3.31 1.546 6 problem avoidance 36 4 130 3.61 1.626 7 social withdrawal 36 4 120 3.33 1.394 8 wishful thinking 36 4 148 4.11 1.466 valid n (listwise) 35 (source field data, 2022) table 4. 4: what are the coping strategies of widows to widowhood stress? the results in table 4.11 showed that the range of the means for the nine coping strategies was from 3.31 to 4.53; whereas the standard deviation ranged from 1.055 to 1.526. the close values of the means and the low values of the standard deviations are indications of homogeneity among the respondents. hence, research findings from these data could be relied upon, and generalizations could be accepted with minimal error. the study support enekeme ( 2014) who noted that widows tend to withdraw themselves and have wishful thinking during the time they are bereaved. there are defence mechanisms that take place during the bereavement cycle, especially during the bargaining stage. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 217 conclusion based on the study findings this study concludes that inherited widows experience both negative and positive psychological well-being depending on the inheritor. inheritance, provide widows with the emotional support that enhances their psychological well-being some widows also receive financial and labour support from the inheritors that help them cope with the loss. however, inheritance has also a negative impact on the psychological well-being of a widow including the risk of hiv infection, emotional abuse and exploitation of the widow. this study recommends the following. 1. there is a need to create awareness of mental health among the widows 2. the church should come up with an alternative that enables young widows to meet their sexual needs in a dignified way. 3. the church should stop condemning windows that opted for widow cleansing. this will enable them to open up and seek help when having psychological problems. 4. more hiv and aids awareness should be created by the government and economic support for the widows is required to reduce their vulnerability. references ahortor, g. (2016). marriage, sexuality and moral responsibility among the tongu mafi people of ghana. legon journal of the humanities (, 71-94. akanni, g. (2001). building a fulfilling marital relationship. gboko: peace house publication. aknade, e. a. (1997). towards satisfactory marriage . ikeja: caltop publications ltd. amuche, r. (2003). the traveils of widows in nigeria. enugu: macdonald ltd. banett, m. k., & soulsby, l. k. (2012). wellbeing in bereavement and widowhood. ilness, crisis and loss, 321-337. enekeme, b. a. (2014). psychological and social problems of widowhood. enugu. enekeme, b. a. (2015). psychological and social problem of widows in yenagoa local government area of bayelsa state. world educators forum, 1-9. goldberg, e. l., comstock, g. w., & harlow, s. d. (2021). emotional problems of widowhood. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 218 hilliard, s., elizabeth, b., shelly, g., tiffany, l., abigail, m. h., zachary, k., . . . shari, l. d. (2017). perceived impact of a land and property rights program on violence against women in rural kenya: a qualitative investigation. violence against women, 1-21. icrc. international committee of the red cross. (1999). 27th international conference of the red cross and red crescent, held on 31 october to 6 november 1999. report on the workshops. geneva: international committee of the red cross. retrieved march 28, 2022, from https://www.icrc.org/en/doc/resources/documents/misc/57jq6j.htm izumi, k. (2007). gender based violence and property grabbing africa a denial of women's liberty and security . gender and development , 11-23. kudo, y. (2017). why is the practice of levirate marriage disappearing in africa? hiv/aids as an agent of institutional change. ide-jetro. nyanzi, s., emodu-walakira, m., & serwaniko, w. (2009). the widow, the will, and widow-inheritance in kampala: revisiting victimisation arguments. canadian journal of african studies, 12-33. nyarwath, o. (2012). the luo care for widows (lako) and contemporary challanges. a journal of the philosophical association of kenya (pak), 91-110. o'rourke, n. (2022). psychological resilience and the well-being of widowed women. ageing international , 267-280. otieno, e. j., & okuku, m. t. (2017). social cultural factors contributing to spread of hiv and aids in homabay county. in n. m. amutabi, beyond agency; voice and space in africa's development (pp. 135-147). nairobi: center for democracy rsearch and development. perry, b., oluoch, l., agot, k., taylor, j., onyango, j., ouma, l., . . . corneli, a. (2014). widow cleansing and inheritance among the luo in kenya: the need for additional women centered hiv prevention option . journal of the international aids society , 1-7. saguti, e. (2016). alternative rituals of widow cleansing in relation to women’s sexual rights in zambia. unpublished master thesis. stroebe, w., stroebe, m., abakoumkin, g., & schut, h. (1986). he role of loneliness and social support in adjustment to loss: a test of attachment versus stress theory. journal of personality and social psychology, 1241–1249. tati, n. r. (2018). widowhood rituals and widow inheritance in the balikumbat,cameroon. international journal of history and cultural studies (ijhcs), 56-64. tyrrell, p., seneca, h., & waquar, s. (2021). stages of dying. statpearls. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 219 westreich, a. (2019). present-day posthumous reproduction and traditional levirate marriage: two types of interactions. journal of law and the biosciences, 759-785. goldberg, e.l. comstock, g.w. & harlow, s.d. (2013). emotional problems of widowhood. retrieved jan. 10th 2021 from http//ww.ncbi.nih.goo/entrez/guery. meek, c.k. (1971). the northern tribes of nigeria. london: frank cass and co. moore, s. (1988). social welfare alive. london: stanley thorns publishers ltd. nkparom, c.e. & amakieve, o.i.g. (2003). women in nigeria history. port harcourt: onyema research publication. odunze, d. (1989). the concept of widowhood. enugu: donze family life publications. okojie, c.g. (1960). islam native laws and customs. lagos: ukwuesa publishers. shaffer & singleman, c.k. (1991). life & human development. london: colepublishing company. “broken bodiesbroken dreams – violence against women exposed. irin 2005 bound, j. (1991): poverty dynamics in widowhood. journal of gerontology, 46 (3), s115 – s124. cook, a.s. &oltjenbruns, k.a. (1998): dying and grieving life span and family perspectives, harcourt brace & company. falana, b. a (2010) attitudes to death related grief among the yoruba people of nigeria. unpublished ph.d thesis, university of adoekiti, ekiti state, nigeria. lopata h.z. (1993): the support systems of american urban widows. in m.s. stroebe, w. stroebe& r.o. hanson (eds) moss, m.s. & moss, s.z. (1984): some aspects of the elderly widow(er)’s persistent with the deceased spouse. omega international committee of the red cross (1999). widowhood and armed conflict challenges faced and strategies forward. retrieved from https://www.icrc.org/en/doc/resources/documents/misc/ 57jqha.htm jamil ahmed chitrali (december 2013). socio – psychological consequences of spouses death on widows of khyber igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 220 pakhtunkhwa. retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259444516_sociopsychological_consequences_of_spouse%27s_death_on_wid ows_of_khyber_pakhtunkhwa microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.1 no. 1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 31 colonialism, christianity and the nigerian dependent economy by nwadialor, kanayo louis, ph.d department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe university, awka kl.nwadialor@unizik.edu.ng abstract this paper has examined the developing nations and dependency syndrome using africa as a case study and has pointed out the fact that through slavery and colonialism, the developing nations were integrated into the world capitalist system. this led to expansion of production as new opportunities were created for commodity production and exports. but the developing nations were integrated in such a way that served external interests more than internal ones. these changes disarticulated the economy, and inter-group commerce as well as the macro-economic equilibrium of the pre-colonial period. african continent was thus left in a state of socio-economic and political desperation; this was colonialism in its extreme form of violence. now that the era of slavery and colonialism is over, the same white man has succeeded in finding some hideous and subtle ways and means of keeping us under his social, economic and political tutelage and this is neo-colonialism in its extreme form of violence. this paper therefore calls on africans to do original thinking for a better and renascent africa. the black man can make it but we need the hurricane of change known as revolution. ours is a race against time. time is running out. we black africans have to rise up like every other race in cooperation with god to make our destiny. nothing short of self-criticism, selfexamination and mental revolution can save the developing nations from their present predicament. keywords: colonialism, christianity, nigerian, dependent, economy. introduction from time immemorial, the business of exchange and production had engaged the attention of the various people in the world. indeed economic activities were influenced by changing conditions and adoption of new technologies; hence people in different ecological zones specialized in production and distribution of goods to people in other ecological areas that were linked with trade routes. by leaps and bounds a high degree of science and technology developed in application to agricultural and industrial production in certain parts of the world igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 32 that were characterized by central political systems, and quite often, goods from these zones were predominantly displayed and exchanged on the global market. thus there grew a glaring economic inequality between such countries and others whose products are not frequent in the global market. as this trend continued such countries with central political system and economic boom began to control the market forces in the global market and this widened the economic gap between them and other countries. this development combined with other features to give rise to differences in the description of countries into developed, and developing. the developed countries became those ones that have made their mark in the global market in terms of advanced technology and industrial products. consequently, the developing countries one way or the other had to depend on the developed ones for their economic growth. this dependency syndrome among the developing nations and its effects in nigerian/african economy is our focus in this paper. the term developing nations has been used in different ramifications to refer to non western industrialized nations. for william (1981), developing nations are the economically underdeveloped countries of asia, africa, oceania and latin america considered as an entity with common characteristics such as poverty, high birthrates and economic dependence on the advanced countries. this was likened to the third estate by way of analogy. the third estate was used in france around the medieval and early modern times to refer to the commoners during the french revolution as opposed to the priests and nobles who were referred to as the first and second estates respectively. like the third estate, according to william (1981), the developing nations were regarded as nothing that wants to become something. this implied that the developing nations have been exploited as much as the third estate. developing nations are also classified as the third world nations. the expressionthird worldwas first used at the 1955 conference of afro-asian countries held in bandungindonesia. (oddih, 1988). by the end of 1950, the term was frequently employed in the french media to refer to the under-developed countries of asia, africa, oceania and latin america. the concept of dependency the world dependency simply means a state of being contingent or reliant on another person, bodies or phenomenon for survival and support. in political parlance, it implies a state of social, political, economic and cultural reliance of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 33 one state on another. a dependent economy is a subordinate economy. however, dependency in developing nations especially in africa is not an independent variable. rather it was occasioned and precipitated by certain forces and circumstances. we shall now trace the history of world trends that gave rise to dependency particularly in africa’s and nigeria’s socio-political and economic formations. historical genesis of inequality and dependency: the nigerian experience studies in world and african history indicate that man originated and settled first around the middle east and north of africa around the nile river. he was said to be an active participant in the struggle for the exploitation of the resources of nature for his existentiality. thus, at a given point in time, africa was said to have demonstrated the capacity to control her environment through developing her natural faculties as well as his productive forces. indeed, africa was said to be the focus of man’s developmental edifice in terms of economic, social and political activities and exhibited these traits of development in many magnificent ways. ikoku (1977) made some sober and patriotic attempts to itemize certain common invaluable qualities and traits for which the african precolonial societies were known and reckoned with. these, according to him included: norms, values and attitudes which amounted to basic equality, security, freedom, and solidarity. it was a humanistic society, their communal system blended economic and social security with a feeling of being somebody and of belonging. the principles of mutual respect, common wealth, and the obligation to work welded the entire family into a unit divorced from individual consciousness. the common wealth concept was inculcated by their mutual interest in maintaining stable community (oddih, 1988). in effect, the basis of sustenance of their community was the equality among its free and self sufficient peasants, and their individual voluntary labour as the condition for the continued existence of their property. african societies abhorred and negated unbridled inequalities, individualism, isolationism and pronounced social differentiation. political authority and leadership was rested on the head of the family who was the first among equals. again the family head was expected to be generous and kind particularly in periods of economic stagnation arising from natural disaster like plant disease, drought or flood. people had equal rights to their shares of land and economic resources. there was no labour market as labour was not considered a commodity for sale. there was no single controller of the capital as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 34 the peasants were the collective controllers of the work process. the acquisition of the means of production was not market oriented and the economic function of the market was very minimal and lacked the social imperative connected with market transactions. labour and natural resources were not divorced from each other; social relationships and values, according to oddih (1988) stood as the most important moving forces behind work organization. distribution of production surpluses was part of the social demand as gifts; hence there was social cohesion and security of subsistence. depression and technological unemployment did not threaten the continuity of income since there was no dependence on market sales. there was no capital accommodation and economic growth; hence it was rendered vulnerable to intrusions and even invasions from alien forces that had superior technological armaments with which it was conquered. with this technological superiority, african traditional communalism was changed via slave trade raids by the europeans. thus oddih (1988: 143) maintained that: the first attack on the continent of africa was the slave raid/trade which commenced in the 16th century and this brought to a halt the africans wellknitted social structure and set the stage for the market economy and the integration of market relations between the western nations and africa, hence the genesis of integration and dependence. slave trade was necessitated by the need to enhance effective agricultural productivity through employment of turgid and study manual labour which could be obtained greatly from africa. some of the consequences of slave trade included depletion of the population and loss of able bodied hands that could have contributed to development in africa. it established a business link between europe and africa and created inter-community conflict as each community raided another in search of slaves to sell for profit reasons bringing about the interest in material acquisition and inequality and exploitation in africa. colonialism, dependency and underdevelopment in nigeria industrial revolution in europe ended the need for slave trade. chinweizu (1978) opines that colonialism which means economic and political domination of a country by a foreign state commenced from the 1880s to about 1960. colonialism was caused primarily by the changes in mode of production in europe and america which relegated manual labour in agricultural engagement as a result of the industrial revolution and the need for european wealth and national prestige among the belgians, portuguese, british and french colonial masters. according igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 35 to ikime (1977), colonialism started with the passage of a law against slave trade in 1807. britain got other countries to follow and comply with the abolition law. with the abolition of slave trade, the colonialists commenced business in palm oil, timber and other precious goods that were of use to the european industrial machineries. there was tense competition between rival colonialists like the french, germans, portuguese and other european traders who had the same business interest in the west african coastal areas. the important point here is that this oil business marked the integration of nigeria’s pre-colonial societies into the european capitalist network. furthermore, the goods which the europeans used to exchange for oil, has the net effect of creating in traditional elites, a desire to consume more products of european industry. around 1807 taubman goldie, in a bid to check incessant conflicts and to assert tighter control over the oil business amalgamated various british firms into what, by 1879, became the united african company (uac) which later became known as the national african company in 1881. in 1886 goldie obtained a royal charter for the (nac), which then became the royal niger company. the charter meant that the company was not just a trading company but also had conferred on it certain powers of government and law making, as well as powers to raise and maintain an armed force for the effective pursuit of its trade and for the maintenance of law and other. ikime (1977) also rightly notes that the grant of a royal charter to the (rmc) was a deliberate act by which britain sought to guarantee her interest on the niger benue as well as part of the delta. this was coupled with the fact that for years before the granting of the charter, consul hewett had travelled across the length and breathes of the niger delta and signed treaties of protection with various traditional chiefs and rulers in these local areas. worthy of note also is the fact that by the time that the british was penetrating into the interiors of nigeria through trading activities, the british missionaries were also penetrating the psyche of the local people with their christian religion. in this sense the missionaries were deeply involved in the colonization process. the advent of christianity to nigeria was so closely linked with colonialism that a very dubious alliance developed between christianity and british colonization of nigeria. from the start, missionary propaganda in nigeria was not just a religious invasion. in effect it was associated with political invasion as well. outhuzien (1968: 67) opines that “the church itself in africa lived on imperial igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 36 and political favours and the christian missionaries were at times pioneers of the white man’s penetration. it has been argued that treaties signed between the colonial government and the different nigerian ethnic nationalities before the formal establishment of colonial presence gave the missionaries a foothold in several places in nigeria. the enthusiastic support which the colonial administration gave to the missionaries predisposed the latter to even greater involvement in their work of colonial administration. the british government saw no better ally than the missionaries in entrenching colonial rule. the missionaries evidently had a tremendous amount of influence on the people, their influence deriving not from stringent laws and prosecutions and the fears that these could generate in the colonized people but essentially from the submissive influence of the teaching of christian principles and this the colonial government considered an advantage in fostering colonial rule. tufuoh (1968: 385) adds that “the colonial government saw that for a system of government like this in which influence counted for everything, administrative actors would find no better ally than missionary enterprise. once the missionaries laid this foundation, the occupation and pacification of nigeria were carried out with comparatively little difficulty and with relatively little expense in arms, money and men. it must be emphasized however, that this collaboration was not born out of a conscious attempt to ensure the establishment of british imperialism as such, rather it was seen as a means to an end, for it was believed that in the chaotic situation of the 19th century, only a serene atmosphere could ensure a fruitful germination of christian ideas, and that only british government could bring about this atmosphere. this is why jowitt (2010: 231) submits that “missionaries in fact undoubtedly in general welcomed the coming of colonial rule, because it brought about the more peaceful conditions in which the missionaries could operate, and not least, afforded protection to the missionaries. this colonization process met with some fierce opposition by courageous and valiant rulers like king jaja of opobo and nana of itsekiri as well as obi aje of aboh kingdom. however, in 1885 after the berlin conference, britain gave a declaration or proclamation that the southern part of nigeria be called the british protectorate of the oil rivers. this, of course, was what has been called the era of gun boat diplomacy or the british pacification of nigeria. in the north, trade treaties were signed by clapperton and barth in 1821 and mohammed bellow of the sokoto caliphate. in january 1, 1900, northern nigeria became a british protectorate with the appointment of lord lugard as the high commissioner. before this, in 1861, lagos had become the first part of nigeria to become a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 37 british colony and latter the yoruba cities of ibadan, ile-ife and ijebu were conquered by the colonial masters. thus, at this point, there were three protectorates viz, the protectorate of southern nigeria or oil rivers niger delta area established in 1893, the protectorate of northern nigeria and the crown colony of lagos. in 1906, the colony of lagos and the protectorate of southern nigeria were merged to become the colony and protectorate of southern nigeria and in 1914, the northern and southern protectorates of nigeria were amalgamated into one united modern and indivisible entity called nigeria. an overview of nigerian colonial economy within the first two decades of british rule, there were various forms of revolt, protest and organized resistance against the new political and economic structures that were introduced to integrate the whole territory of modern nigeria into a capitalist world market. having suppressed the hostile groups in the colony, the colonial administration prohibited the use of all traditional currencies, introduced the british pound sterling, new taxation and a tariff system. all these measures were to develop the export economy. the atlantic slave trade and the palm oil trade otherwise known as the legitimate trade were the earnest bases or strings by which nigeria was tied to the european capitalist network. with the establishment of a colonial government, the pre-capitalist formation of the pre-colonial nigerian societies was further entrenched into the system forcefully as opposed to the pre-colonial era when the business links were more or less on voluntary basis. colonial state carefully disrupted and destroyed in virtually all ramifications, the pre-existing economic and social structure of hitherto existing nigerian societies, and replaced them with a new and alien administration and economic structures which linked it further to the western capitalist mainstream in mandatory manner. for instance, land was the major means of production and was communally owned in the pre-existing social formation but colonialism created a disruption of this order. again production was organized in communities in a self-contained or reliant manner, but colonialism created a different mode of production system quite alien to the traditional type. this time, production was aimed and geared towards market needs. it was divorced from the subsistence needs of the local population. the forces of production became greatly developed and elements of specialization became enormous contrary to what used to obtain in the pre-colonial societies. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 38 four basic tools or instruments were used by the colonialists in their bid and effort to integrate nigeria into the international capitalist framework thereby leading to resource exploitation of labour and land; and trade promotions, and thus economic dependency of nigerian nation on european capitalist economy. these tools are taxation, transport, education and agriculture. taxation: taxation was virtually unknown in nigeria except in the northern part where a little fraction of the groups did pay such taxes to the emir. the colonial government under lord lugard needed funds and taxation was quickly institutionalized and sternly enforced. with pockets of resistance notwithstanding, direct taxation was introduced in the western region in 1916 and in the eastern region in 1928. the effects and implications of the introduction of taxation in the colonial states were many and varied, but most prominently and importantly were the facts that it led to the introduction of coin currency which invariably eliminated the pre-colonial trade by barter. again taxation necessitated that the local population should work in the colonial enclave to earn some new coin currency to pay their tax and other necessities in the new social order. thus, taxation via the introduction and usage of a new coin currency was a factor in attracting and coercing the pre-existing traditional local population into the new system through being press ganged into public works or service (oddih, 1998). transport: the rivers niger and benue with their tributaries constituted the main transportation system in nigeria during the early periods of exploration of nigeria by the europeans. in effect, they served as lines of access through which european influence reached many parts of the country. later on the colonial period witnessed unprecedented growth and expansion in the production of export crops such as cocoa, rubber, palm oil and kernels, cotton and groundnuts. to promote the production of these crops the british embarked on the construction of railway lines and sea ports. according to onyekpe (1997: 23). railway lines were constructed in such a way that areas effectively involved in export agriculture were linked with the coast. railway construction started in 1898 at lagos and by 1930 the western line had reached nguru in northern nigeria. the eastern line started from port harcourt in 1913 reaching kaura namoda also in northern nigeria in 1929. roads were also constructed to feed the railways. of course transport development was for the purpose of facilitating the evacuation of agricultural produce to britain. the new transportation system, nevertheless, changed and destroyed some pattern of trading activities in the pre-colonial scheme of affairs. for instance, some pre-colonial urban centres like calabar and aboh lost their growth momentum and began to stagnate due to the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 39 new transportation network which cut off their areas; hence it changed, declined and altered the pattern and flow of their trade. in effect, and most importantly, the penetration into the hinter land of european trading companies resulted in a fuller incorporation of nigeria into the international capitalist market system. education: it is the view of some scholars that colonial education was the ideological apparatus of the colonial state. the colonial state initially was not interested in educational matters but was compelled to do so for many reasons. first, was that there were few educated european manpower to man colonial activities in the colonial enclaves. second, was that the available african or nigerian average worker was considered by the colonial administration as unreliable, lacking integrity, self-control and discipline, had no respect for authority of any kind and ill educated. for these reasons, christian instruction was considered proper for training and personnel development. coleman (1971) notes that from the very beginning, education was a virtual monopoly of the christian missionary societies and until 1898; all education was under the direct control of missionaries. as late as 1942, 99 percent of the schools and 97 percent of the students in nigeria were enrolled in mission schools. by 1945, only very few literate nigerians had not received all or part of their education in mission schools. the missionary was exhorted to modify the curriculum to accommodate other needed courses that could facilitate state requirements like clerks, accountants, dispensers, dressers, sanitary inspectors, station masters, railway guards, interpreters, court messengers and labourers. this was to modify the mission’s mere educational objective of teaching converts how to read and interpret the bible. to achieve their objectives, the colonial state had to grant land and financial subsidies for missionary educational activities. the important facts here are that products of the missionary and colonial schools latter became the bedrock of the colonial administration who were seriously integrated into western capitalist system by virtue of their training and job. most importantly, it facilitated the emergence of a separate class who were endowed with the knowledge and skills, ambitions and aspirations that enabled them to challenge the nigerian colonial government and ultimately to wrest control over the central political power from it and shape nigeria’s post independence new social order in their interest. agriculture: nigeria being a british territory, all economic policies was geared towards the integration of the economy into that of the metropolitan area. thus, emphasis was on the extractive sector of the nigerian economy. for example, there was concentration on agricultural production. agriculture is the mainstay igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 40 of any human society, particularly in the pre-colonial social formation of nigeria prior to the arrival of the colonialist. the colonial government stimulated agricultural expansion through research and experimentation. this involved the establishment of a number of institutions. according to onyekpe (1997: 230). the period 1912-16 saw the development of the moor plantation at ibadan as an agricultural experimentation station. similar stations were established in 1923 in zaria, umuahia and benin. the major functions of these institutions were the provision of agricultural research, training of agricultural personnel and improvement of the agricultural system and techniques through the dissemination of new ideas and through practical experimentation. however, it must be noted that expansion was stimulated by the need for export production. there were no efforts to develop food crop production. another issue, according to onyekpe (1997) was that the development of agriculture led to the privatization of land, especially in southern nigerian where the principal export crops were permanent crops such as cocoa, rubber and palm produce. privatization destroyed the communal ownership of land through the progressive increase in private holdings. another feature of the colonial economic system was that the import-export trade was dominated by the expatriate firms mostly owned by british merchants. the colonial state protected and promoted the interest of the expatriate firms by ensuring that domestic financial resources mobilized by the west african currency board and the commercial banks were placed exclusively at the disposal of the firms against indigenous business interests. colonial commercial monopolist was especially consolidated during the second world war and after, with the creation of central buying agencies such as the marketing boards which created lots of discouraging and disincentive medium of purchasing farmer’s produce. ekekwue (1986) remarks that by 1949, palm produce; groundnuts, cocoa and cotton had all come under control by the boards. the boards were established partly to help farmers to cope better with periods of falling world market prices. profits from their operation were to be returned to the agricultural producers in times of price imbalances and fluctuations. this goal was not paid back to the right farmers at the due periods. the resultant effect was that while the local cultivators had been attracted into the capitalist system, the yields or profits of such integration were not satisfactory thereby engendering a form of marginalization of the local farmers. the effects of the new colonial order are issues which underlie many studies of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 41 nigeria’s underdevelopment along with its foreign policy. ake (1982) maintains that the colonial economy created complementality between our local economies and western economies and structural dependence of the former on western capitalist system by promoting the spread furthermore, it created the emergence of small capitalist indigenous class who had common interest with the western foreign interest. according to onyekpe (1997:232). the most critical feature of the colonial economy was the absence of an industrial sector. in nigeria, the metropolitan power and the colonial state were hostile to industrialization. to be sure, industrialization would have endangered the regularity of raw material export to british home industries. moreover, industrialization in the colonial territory or “open economy” would have robbed britain of the market in nigeria as foods imported from the metropolis would have faced competition from the locally produced ones. thus, the few industries established in the later colonial period were processing industries. they were to reduce the bulk of raw materials exported and thereby economize on shipping space. the implications of the absence of an industrial sector were that the country depended on the metropolis, first, for the purchase of its agricultural produce and, second, for the industrial products and manufactured goods domestically required. third world political organizations and dependency issues third world political organizations which aimed at improving the lot of the developing nations started in 1955 with the bandung conference. this conference was organized by china and india. the conference played a great role in exposing the underdevelopment problems of their member countries to their former colonial masters. since then, developing nations have formed a series of organizations and conferences which were aimed at addressing the socioeconomic imbalances between the western industrialized nations and the developing nations. given the foregoing circumstances, some scholars believe that in current times, developing nations are characterized by excessive dependence on foreign aids and grants and high import contents of their local needs and foreign exchange earnings. today the need and quest for rapid economic development and the desire to close the socio-economic gap between the north and the south, many political and economic organizations have been formed by the developing nations. some of the organizations include the nonaligned movement (nam) which had its first summit at belgrade in 1961 (oddih, 1998). currently, the non-aligned movement has been concerned with igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 42 the economic development of the developing nations as opposed to political or economic alignment with either eastern socialist bloc or the western capitalist bloc. their achievements in the activities of the non-alignment have remained a high academic and political issue, as in some quarters their unity and prospects have been described as hypothetically expressed mainly from the platforms of international conferences. another organization founded by prominently oil rich developing nations is the organization of petroleum exporting countries which followed the 1960 baghdad conference in kuwait. member countries of the (opec) include rich oil producing countries of the developing nations which include: nigeria, saudi arabia, gabon, algeria, iran, iraq, kuwait, libya, oman, the united arab emirates and venezuela. (opec’s) achievement could be better assessed in terms of huge profits made by member countries through increased sale of crude oil to the western countries. it was a big victory for the group in 1973 when it succeeded in securing a great increase in the price of crude oil for its members. in nigeria this period was known as the oil boom era and lots of profits made from it were wastefully lavished on many white elephant projects and official embezzlement by the ruling political and bureaucratic authorities. another organization formed by the developing nations was the bauxite international association (bia) which was founded in 1974. it was a raw material producing cartel. some members of the association included: yugoslavia, guyana, guinea, australia, jamaica, sierra leone etc. in spite of all these efforts, most developing nations, particularly in africa, still wallow in poverty and hunger. living conditions have continued to deteriorate and the incidence of unemployment, corruption, over population, food crisis, debt and dependency crises are still prevalent in their respective countries. the most important of these problems are the religious and political crises which stem from greed and corrupt tendencies of the ruling class. neocolonialism this is the form of exploitation which characterized most developing nations soon after the independence. it is a combination of western capitalist forces in collaboration with the indigenous capitalist elements who, to a large extent, were colonial products in terms of their educational, cultural, political economic and social backgrounds. these people were bequeathed the power to rule in the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 43 colonial ideology as soon as independence was granted to the post colonial or developing countries. for centuries now, africans have blamed their backwardness on the so-called white man’s exploitation; the much orchestrated rape of africa. it was the white man who looted our natural resources and transported them to europe; it was the white man who captured the cream of our african youths and led them into slavery in america, and so on. fine, all that is history, we do not deny that it happened. what we are saying is that we africans should stop crying over spilt milk and begin to raise our own cows. we should stop blaming the white man for the evils of the past and begin to face the facts of the evils of the present, which we, not the white man, have created for ourselves. centuries ago, we lamented the evil of white colonialism of developing nations of africa. today, we are lamenting the neo colonialism of africans by their brother africans. decades ago, many african countries rejoiced as they celebrated their independence from the white man. today, we have come to realize that the freedom we were celebrating was no freedom at all but a mere exchange of slave masters. we drove away the white man only to be ruled by african dictators. we blamed the white man for looting our natural resources. today, it is our own african heads of state and their henchmen who carry our natural resources to the white man’ country, sell them to the white man at the white man’s own price, and deposit the money in the white man’s bank in a secret account to be inherited by the white man when they die. we blamed the white man for carrying away the cream of the african youths into slavery in europe and america. today, it is the african youths themselves who are begging the white man to smuggle them out in containers, cargo-vessels and under the guise of pilgrim planes to the white man’s country where they like the prodigal son, are quite ready to feed on pig’s food, clean the white man’s gutters and wash his plates in order to earn some dollars to send home to their parents. according to odey (1996:8), africa suffered under the colonial masters who came as innocuous seekers of fortune but proved to be harbingers of africa’s doom. today, the same africa is going through the challenge and horror of leadership in the hands of africans. people are suffering in almost every african nation as they never suffered in the colonial era. the entire continent has been reduced to a land of oppression, misery and despair by the arrant greed of african leaders. this was why rodney (1981) foresees that the euphoria which greeted the emerging independence of african nations could be turned into a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 44 charade by african leaders, the nationalist bourgeoisie, who would later do more harm to africa than the whites. in the colonial days, the form of political subordination was obvious. under neocolonialism, the domination takes up a subtle form. former colonial masters now set up black puppets who collaborate with them to exploit and destroy africa. our leaders now connive with europe and america, suck their nations dry and dump the money in foreign banks for the benefit of those who already have everything they need while people die here in abject poverty, misery and want. if we africans had any good reason in the past to lay the blame for our problems on the white man, today we no longer have any good reason to blame the white man for our self-inflicted misery. the strange thing about our race is that other races have, in the past, been similarly enslaved and colonized. but these other races broke the shackles of slavery and domination, reached great height and in many cases excelled their oppressors in contributing to civilization. the jews, the chinese, the japanese and the indians are but few eloquent testimonies of people who have gone through the horrors of history but are today among the markers of history. but africa is still the underdog, crippled and beggarly-the refuse dump of the world. odey (1996), having observed just a little of what the white man has done in europe and america, began to ask, is the black man truly made of the same stuff as the white man? is the black man equally created in the image of god, endowed with the faculty of reason to be used in conquering, transforming and recreating the world as the white man has been doing? is the black man created merely as a complement-a product of an afterthoughtafter the great creator must have retired from creation? if not what is the problem with the black man? by her inveterate and seemingly immutable backwardness, africa has given the outside world an occasion to put on us the badge of inferiority and dependency. africans must therefore honestly have the courage to face some realities if africa will ever rise up to the challenges of the times. every hope has not been lost in africa. if a good number of african intellectuals can embark on a serious mental revolution and critical self-examination, the black race will eventually make its presence felt, no longer as a beggar, no longer as an under god, no longer as a refuse dump, no longer as a copy cat of europe’s technological and scientific achievements, no longer as a miserable race: always asking for relief fund, but as an equal member of the human family. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 45 conclusion we have examined the developing nations and dependency syndrome using africa as a case study and we have pointed out the fact that through slavery and colonialism, the developing nations were integrated into the world capitalist system. this led to expansion of production as new opportunities were created for commodity production and exports. but the developing nations were integrated in such a way that served external interests more than internal ones. for-example, there was emphasis on an externally oriented primary production. moreover, the crafts and cottage industries of the developing nations were ruined as the market was flooded with imported items. these changes disarticulated the economy, and inter-group commerce as well as the macroeconomic equilibrium of the pre-colonial period (onyeka, 1997). african continent was thus left in a state of socio-economic and political desperation; this was colonialism in its extreme form of violence. now that the era of slavery and colonialism is over, the same white man has succeeded in finding some hideous and subtle ways and means of keeping us under his social, economic and political tutelage and this is neo-colonialism in its extreme form of violence. african leaders became wolves in sheep’s clothing, spoilt children of yesterday’s colonialism and of today’s neocolonialism, who would organize the loot of whatever national resources that exist, as soon as the white man goes, to the white man’s country to deposit in the white man’s bank. these black wolves used today’s national distress to enrich themselves more and more until their nations are economically incapacitated. we also made a recommendation, calling on africans to do original thinking for a better and renascent africa. the black man can make it but we need the hurricane of change known as revolution. ours is a race against time. time is running out. we black africans have to rise up like every other race in cooperation with god to make our destiny. nothing short of self-criticism, selfexamination and mental revolution can save the developing nations from their present predicament. references ake, c. (1982). a political economy of africa. hong kong: wilture. chinweizu, e. (1978). the west and the rest of us. london: nok. coleman, j. (1971). nigerian background to nationalism. california: california. ekekwue, e.c. (1986). class and state in nigeria. lagos: longman. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 46 ikime, o. (1977). the fall of nigeria: london: h.c.b. ikoku, e.a.u. (1977). african development with human face. london: african. jowit, d. (2010). christianity: a concise history. ibadan: kraft. oddih, m. (1998). the third world and dependency: a nigerian perspective. in m. oddih & i. elebo (eds.). humanities (pp. 135 – 158). enugu: john jacobs. odey, j.o. (1966). africa, the agony of a continent: can liberation theology offer any solution? enugu: snaap. onyekpe, j. g.n. (1997). western influence on nigeria in the era of new imperialism. in a. osuntokun & a olukoju (eds). nigerian peoples and culture (pp. 220 – 245). ibadan: danidson. oosthuzian, g.c. (1968). post-christianity in africa. london: c. hurst. rodney, w. (1981). how europe underdeveloped africa. london: bogle overture. tufoh, i. (1968). relations between christian missions, european administration and traders in the gold coast, 1828 – 1874. in c.g. baeta (ed.). christianity in tropical africa (pp. 34-60). london: oxford university. william, g. (1981). third world political organizations. hong kong: macmillan. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.1 no. 1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 67 augustine’s theology of love: an impetus for christian social action by emeka xris obiezu, o.s.a., ph.d augustinians international, new york email: xrisobiezu@yahoo.co.uk abstract love, understood as the unity of love of god and love of neighbor, provides the theological and ethical hermeneutical normative for accessing the foundation and scope of christian social engagement. although augustine would not have considered himself a political theologian in the formal sense of the term, this paper argues that his teaching on love nevertheless provides a theological framework for active christian social encounter. this validates one of the major claims of critical theologies: that it is the responsibility of every; and not any single, theological discipline to dialogue with human persons in their concrete situations, i.e., in the world. keywords: augustine, theology, love, christian, social action introduction it is a widespread belief among theologians, ancient and modern, that love, understood as the unity of love of god and love of neighbor, provides the theological and ethical hermeneutical normative for accessing the foundation and scope of christian social engagement. according to a. d. mattson (1960, 4), an american lutheran and member of social gospel movement, it is the love and will of god, not any kind of hedonism, utilitarianism, eudemonism, or simply good human relations that grounds christian social responsibility. the same idea was held by his german roman catholic contemporary, karl rahner. rahner (1982, 231-2) maintains that no matter how important, wonderful and useful they may be, our concerns for the human person, especially socio-political concerns, do not belong to the present economy of salvation unless they are acts of love … love understood within its mysterious horizon as love of god, caritas. without love these activities degenerate into mere functions of a secular society with every possibility of “becoming an empty feeling, and nothing but talk [rather than] a tangible helping action.” based on his elaborate work on the topic, this reflection investigates augustine’s treatment of the concept of love to determine how it fulfils this theological assertion and could thus become an impetus for christian social responsibility. it critically describes and evaluates the developments in augustine’s teaching on love: the reduction of three loves to one; the argument for the practical primacy igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 68 of love of neighbor; the argument for love as a process of identification; and the case for totus christus and its relation to and implications for social responsibility. while primary attention is on augustine’s work, the interpretations of some of his readers, especially the belgian augustinian tarcisius j. van bavel, o.s.a., are of immense value to this discussion. tarcisius j. van bavel, an outstanding scholar in augustine’s thought, wrote extensively on this topic. to him this work is indebted for its methodology. development of augustine’s teaching on love either as a lived experience or a concept of intellectual reflection; love permeated augustine’s life from the beginning to the end. “the mature bishop of hippo, as well as the young convert of milan,” charles kannengiesser, s.j. (1986, 187), writes, “was a loving person…from his teens, he was in a constant state of being consumed by love. his human experiences as well as his reading and intellectual endeavors, never failed to inflame his senses.” in his confessions (13.9), augustine wrote, “my weight is my love, by it i am carried.” in his diverse experiences, he never stopped deepening his understanding of the actual meaning of love. his entire pastoral messages and activities were regulated by the subject of love. the development of augustine’s theology of love gives evidence to the popular claim among scholars that it is characteristic of augustine that his teachings on a number of doctrines and topics came through a wide range of development, warranting changes, some fundamental, in his thought. frederick van fleteren (1978, 9) claims that the discussion as to what augustine understood by christianity at the early stages of his conversion, and how he gradually came to the knowledge and interpretation of various christian doctrines, remains openended. his teaching on love reveals an evolution in his thought which developed as he matured in the faith, and as he was becoming gradually more familiar with the holy scriptures. in the initial stage of his teaching on love he placed stronger emphasis on the distinction between the two loves — love of god and love of neighbor. god is god and human beings are human beings; therefore they require distinct precepts and distinct acts. that is why god is and must be loved as god and human beings are and must be loved as human beings (sermon, 265.8, 9; de trinitate, 8.9, 12; de disciplina christiana, 3.3). within this period he basically saw love of neighbor as belonging to the lesser realm, merely a necessary condition of love of god, a preparation for it, a cradle for it, or a ladder or step up to it (van bavel, 1986, 169). though he never denied that some unity exits between the two loves, yet he paid little or no attention to it. thus augustine’s earlier teaching of undue emphasis on the distinction between the two loves and the supremacy to the love of god had a great influence on later igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 69 christian schools of thought. he is blamed for the scholastic tradition that believed that in loving our neighbor we also love god yet would deny that conversely, “every act of the love of god is formally also the love of neighbor” (rahner, 1982, 237). a person with this kind of understanding would see the act of love of neighbor as love of god only insofar as it is god, not the individual, who is originally and directly intended in this concrete act of love. the problem is that this type of mindset may degenerate into some individualistic proclivities and provides for the practice of sentimentalized compassion, bearing no concrete and practical import for the individual recipient, who really does not matter. whether it is justified to blame augustine for this position remains contentious. however even augustinian scholars would agree that the ambiguities associated with some of his admonitions such as “seeing the poor as our ladders to heaven,” do not help the situation. some people today still refer to this in their subjectobject relationship with the poor whom they see as necessary instruments for their self interest and gratification. in that case the poor cannot be helped to improve their condition or else we will lose a necessary means to get to heaven. it is not surprising that such people would ordinarily denigrate social responsibility as having nothing in common with their christian vocation. their conception and practice of christian charity suggest a dichotomy between humanitarianism alms giving and social activismadvocacy for systemic change, two necessary components of social responsibility. in other words it is comfortable and admissible within this understanding to give alms to the poor but not engage in socio-political activism that challenges the unjust structures of society creating poverty. without a theology of the unity of love that justifies a christian’s love for his or her neighbor as, at the same time, a true love of god, the christian lacks the impetus to embrace certain socio-political actions demanded by the practice of this love. we discover a tilt in this direction in augustine’s thought as he matured in christianity and understanding of the scripture. augustine and the reduction of love to one the scriptures, particularly the gospel of matthew 22; the first letter of john and the pauline theologies of love influenced to a large extent the mature augustine, who, by 407 had turned to the unity of love from his earlier position that emphasized distinction. commenting how his growing familiarity with the scriptures influenced his development in thought and categorization of love, charles kannengiesser writes, it is because there is a double commandment of love of god and love neighbor in mt. 22 that augustine talks of the double face of love. because 1st john describes god as love and reduces the double igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 70 commandment to one, viz. love of neighbor, augustine envisioned love in those categories. he assimilates and integrates the literal reference to the divine value of love expressed in the scriptures with human experience, in a striking and radical simplicity. for instance, in enarratio in psalmum 98, augustine (as quoted by charles kannengiesser) says, “for it is written, ‘god is love.’ therefore, the one who is full of love is full of god…” by this expression, he immediately ascribes to the human condition at its best, what he takes from the scripture: ‘god’ and ‘love.’ however, kannengiesser cautions that one should hesitate to assume that, by employing the literal sense of scripture, augustine was embracing a simplistic fundamentalism. as is evident in most of his works, especially on christian doctrine, he combines a creative theory of hermeneutics with literal applications of scriptures (kannengiesser1986). it is striking that this type of reference to the scriptural use of love and the interrelation of scripture with the human condition have remained a common methodology among those who later developed the unity of the two loves as the basis for christian social responsibility. for them, love is present in the scripture as motive, vocation and norm. we have a perfect example of this in karl rahner’s theology of the unification of love and how it infiltrated the vatican ii teaching on christian social responsibility especially as documented in gadium et spes. augustine’s commentary on the first letter of john gives testimony to this transition in augustine’s thought from the distinction to the unification of objects of our love and also bears witness to how pragmatic he became in his approach. tarcisius j. van bavel says that, in augustine’s attempt to demonstrate how these three loves ― love of self, love of neighbor and love of god — are related. he first showed the relation between love of self and love of god. to love one’s self is to hate iniquity. for him, love of self is genuine only if the self loves god; otherwise one would miss the supreme good. his position stems from the words of psalm 10:6, “he who loves iniquity hates his own soul.” augustine (sermon, 128.3, 5; de doctrina christiana 1.23), therefore concludes that true love of neighbor depends on the self being intent upon god. i am inclined to think, since he followed the scriptural prescription, “love the lord your god … then your neighbor as yourself,” that augustine first reduced self-love to love of neighbor and then the love of god to that of neighbor. however, following the length of this argument may distract us from the essentials we are concerned with in this reflection. it would seem that tarcisius j. van bavel’s record of augustine’s assent to the unity of love of neighbor and love of god was rather precipitous. van bavel himself acknowledged this tendency in his reading that leaves the impression igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 71 that he ignores or minimizes the amount of time and energy it took augustine to come to the appreciation of the relationship between love of neighbor and love of god as well as love of self. following bavel’s mistaken path, we may miss many of the implications to be drawn from augustine for our own social responsibility toward our neighbor. for instance, in his on being a christian, relating the love of neighbor with one’s true love for oneself, augustine asks, “and you who love iniquity, how can you possibly want me to entrust a neighbor to you? for if you love yourself in a way that causes you to lose yourself, you will undoubtedly, by acting that way, lose the person you love as yourself.” such a person, augustine would then sternly warn not to love anyone: “perish alone!” “either put your love in order, or renounce the fellowship,” he would say (augustine, de disciplina christiana. 5.5, russell j. desimone, o.s.a., 1986, 4, 5). augustine identifies love for material things (avarice) as the inordinate love of self which not only corrupts the love of neighbor but also might detract one from loving the neighbor at all; for scripture says “where your treasure is, there also is your heart” (matt. 6:21). he asks the christian, “how can you boast that you wish them well? you want them to have as much as you have. you wish the needy well, that they may possess as much as you have, but you do not give them anything of your own possessions.” augustine’s next concern was how to reduce the love of god to love of neighbor. though the ten commandments are divided into two parts, love of god and love of neighbor, augustine maintains they can be reduced to one commandment, the so-called golden rule in tobit 4;15: “do to no one what you would not want done to you.” “in this one commandment,” he says, “the ten commandments are included and also the two commandments of love of god and neighbor” (sermon, 9.14). following st. paul’s statement in rom. 13: 9-10, that love is the one thing that cannot hurt your neighbor; that is why love is the law in all its fullness, augustine then asks “what is this love?” his answer: “love for our fellow man (sic).” he concludes that the reason why paul did not say anything about the love of god is because it is sufficient to fulfill the law solely by loving one’s neighbor. “what were formerly two has been made into one. it couldn’t be put more concisely: ‘love your neighbor as yourself’” (de disciplina christiana, 5.5-6). augustine’s theology of love is presented as a reduction of love to the single commandment, love of neighbor. according to him, “though love of god comes first in the order of commanding (ordo praecipiendi), love of neighbor has to come first in order of execution (ordo faciendi)” (tractate in ioannes evangelium 17.8). this assertion provides the rationale for christian social responsibility. it opens up the two principal concerns at the center of the controversy concerning igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 72 christian social engagement based on the concept of love as a unity, viz. “the love of neighbor as man’s manifestation of his wholeness and essence, and the encounter of the world and of man as the medium of the original, unobjectified experience of god” (rahner, 1982). augustine’s argument for the practical primacy of love of neighbor sheds more light on these two primary causes of controversy over christian social responsibility. this transition in his thought benefits from his practical approach to love, which often he prefers to refer to as caritas, for its less abstract and action-evoking dynamics. the argument for the practical primacy of love of neighbor the thesis of augustine’s argument here as summarized by van bavel (1986) is: “in the practical order of action, love of our brothers and sisters comes first, for it is in everyday life that the claims of love are felt most concretely.” it must first be acknowledged that to make this claim was very troubling for augustine. he sometimes battled himself over this principle. his worry being whether holding this position gives deserved emphasis and respect to the first great commandment, the love of god above all things. however, he found his encouragement in reading various pauline and johannine texts which gave the same priority to love of neighbor. for instance, in his exposition of paul’s letter to galatians he reflected: since love is not complete except in the two precepts of love for god and neighbor, why does paul in both galatians and romans mention only love of neighbor? is it not for the reason that, since love of god is not so frequently put to the test, people can deceive themselves about it? in love for neighbor, however, they can more easily be convinced that, when they act unjustly towards others, they do not have love for god… therefore, since both precepts are such that neither can be kept without the other, it is normally sufficient to mention just one of them when it is a matter of the works of justice. but the precept of love for the neighbor is more appropriate, for by that, a person is made aware of his shortcomings… some of the galatians were deceiving themselves that they had love for god. they were shown clearly that they did not have it because of the hatred among brothers, about which it was easy to judge in daily life and conduct (exp. ep. ad galatas, 45). he made a similar remark with regard to john: “some of you may wonder anxiously why john so explicitly and exclusively insists on love for our sisters and brothers. he speaks of ‘him who loves his brother’ and ‘this is jesus’ commandment that we love one another.’ brotherly love is continually spoken igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 73 of. but the love of god, that is, the love whereby we love god, is not so frequently mentioned, though it is not altogether passed over in silence” (homily on io. ep., 8.4). for augustine, john would never have placed the perfection of goodness in love of neighbor had he not intended that god be understood in brotherly love itself. he maintained that “a person sees his brother and sister with human sights with which god cannot be seen…” this is why john asks, ‘how can someone who does not love his brother and sister whom he sees, love god whom he does not see?’ (1john 4:20) (de trinitate, 8.8, 12). it is easy for one to deduce from these texts and augustine’s interpretation of them, “that the greater concreteness of the human being alongside us is the reason why we must start with love of neighbor in order to love god.” as it concerns christian social actions and welfare, this concreteness is described variously as doing justice or as ‘seeing’ our sisters and brothers. this expresses that god is invisibly loved and served when we express any practical act of love toward our neighbor. augustine bases his argument here more on the meaning and implication of the incarnation, of god’s word, by which fact christ has become our neighbor, and therefore the human and the divine have become interrelated. in view of this interrelatedness he asks, “do you think that when you love your sister and brother you are loving her or him alone and not christ as well? that is impossible, because you are loving the members of christ. when you love christ’s members, you love christ himself. love cannot be split up [love is so entirely one piece]” (homily on 1st john, 10.3). we shall return to this in the next section when we deal with love as a process of identification as illustrated in his theology of totus christus ‘the whole christ.’ his response to the objection of god’s invisibility is that: “one can always say, ‘i don’t see god’ but one can never say ‘i don’t see a human being’” (homily on 1st john, 7.5; tractates on gospel of john, 17.8). from this the conclusion can be drawn that, for augustine, we touch god in loving human beings. by extension we can say that the love of neighbor is the absolute condition for love of god. augustine presses his argument beyond a mere representation or reproduction of biblical statements. he also supports his argument from a philosophical point of view by insisting on the ontological identity of the act of love. the starting point of the argument is biblical, of course: john’s insight that “god is love.” based on this, augustine asks, “does the person who loves his brother and sister love god also?” “yes,” he answers, “the one who loves his sister and brother necessarily loves god. he cannot do otherwise than to love love itself. a person cannot love his sister and brother igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 74 without loving love. he necessarily loves love… and in loving love, a person loves god.” this argument of the ontological identity of the act of love is carried on in contemporary discussion by karl rahner from the wisdom of transcendental theological anthropology. whether augustine had a direct influence on rahner or not, they seem to have a shared idea on love, which many contemporary christian social activists draw upon in shaping an active christian response to the needs and conditions of those most deprived in society. for augustine and rahner, love of neighbor is the first act of love for god, and love of neighbor always includes necessarily a movement towards the transcendent god. there is no competition between loves. therefore, both loves do not only coincide because they are related with one another as divine commandment and its human realization, but they also coincide because they are related ontologically. this solves one of those questions relating to our call to christian social responsibility, namely, the possibility of the encounter of the world and of the human person as the medium of the original, unobjectified experience of god. it is obvious that this conclusion has remained a contentious issue in augustinian scholarship. another question which is not addressed here, though many will claim it is implied, is the extent to which one can conclude that augustine’s reduction of three loves, especially the love of god to love neighbor implies that the neighbor can be the object of our true love. the reason for this concerns some scholars like william r. schoedel would say, is the teleological nature of augustine’s ethics, that everything ought to lead us to the ultimate good, the true object of our love which is god ... a teaching he maintained all through his life (van bavel, 1986, 183-5). in view of this, augustine, in his treatment of love, always distinguishes between frui and uti, between “enjoying” god and “associating with” the things of this world, in which humanity is included. if that is the case, augustine would be more likely to have maintained that we love our neighbor insofar as he/she leads us to god. for william r. schoedel, this criticism of augustine derives from a misconstruction of his statement in homily on 1st john 5.12: “let love even now be stirring in your inmost heart to do it, not for display, but out of the very marrow of compassion, thinking only of the man and his need.” in actual fact, augustine is referring to the individual lover and the one loved and not, as assumed above, referring to our neighbor and god. as he may seem to say, this is a case of misappropriation of emphasis of relationship, confusing what is used in relation to two human beings to mean god and the individual being loved as our neighbor. i think schoedel’s observation is true inasmuch as it presents a picture igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 75 of the struggle augustine went through in his love discourse, especially in relation to his apparent disregard for all that is other than god. augustine himself admitted this struggle, as i pointed out in the first part of this reflection. however, as mary t. clark, r.s.c.j. (1984, 88) would suggest, it is not right to interpret this augustinian disposition as “an instrumentalism of means-end” teleological ethics as schoedel indicates. we earlier cited an example of this with those who interpret augustine’s analogy of the poor as ladder in terms of instruments for self goal ― whatever that maybe — achieving heaven or some boast of self-ego. sometimes the accusation of an exclusively one dimensional view of love in augustine stems from an erroneous presumption that augustine, with the zeal of his conversion, came to live love exclusively in a vertical direction, a god and i direction. but we know from many of his writings that augustine was always surrounded by friends. “to love and to be loved” (conf. 3.1, 1) was his daily task. we also see a similar stand in sermon 96.1, 1; de clivitate dei, 19.8. therefore there seems to be no sufficient evidence to deny that in augustine there is a possibility of loving the neighbor, the individual person, for himself while at the same time qualifying that as loving god. to hold otherwise, i earlier mentioned, citing an example from the scholastic position, is detrimental to the practice of compassion that brings practical relief to the suffering of others, that compassion which augustine practiced so well. this issue will become clearer when we consider his next argument, “argument for love as a process of identification.” returning to our discussion, van bavel helps us to see that, by this argument of the unity of the two loves and the practical primacy of love of neighbor, augustine does not limit love to merely christian love, but extends the notion of love to all human beings. his understanding of neighbor has a universal and trans-religious or cultural character. in sermon 359.9 he writes, “whether someone is a pagan or a jew, he is our neighbor because he is a human being.” again in de disciplina christiana, 3, he maintains, “every human being is the neighbor of every human being.” by referring often to isaiah 58: 7, augustine, provides the foundation and scope of christian social responsibility based on the unity of this love (van bavel, 1986, 174). this is laid out in his tractates on the gospel of john, 17.8: “we must begin with the love of neighbor, sharing our bread with the hungry, sheltering the homeless poor, clothing the man we see to be naked, and not turning from our own kin.” to this list we must also add: to challenge structures of injustice as augustine exhorts: “you give bread to a hungry person; but it would be better were no one hungry and you could give it to no one. you clothe a naked person. would that all were clothed and necessity igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 76 did not exist. remove distress, and there will be no place for works of mercy” (homily on 1st john, 8.8). in this section we encountered how augustine became more practical in his discussion on love as his thought continued to mature. in a remarkable way, he provides us with a great opening in our search for the theological ground for social action and welfare based on the unity of love of god and of neighbor. his teaching here makes it possible for us to focus on individual persons in their concreteness, and yet have our actions qualify as a participation in the salvific event. this counters the classical scholastics’ thought that the human person must be seen and used only as a ladder to god. the other concept augustine developed in his theology of love which is of great significance for our understanding of the foundation and scope of christian responsibility, is his idea of love as a process of identification. argument for love as a process of identification to aid a true understanding of augustine’s intents here it is important to begin with a clarification and distinction between the terms, ‘identity’ and ‘identification.’ t. j. van bavel warns, “by identifying love of god and love of neighbor augustine never intends an identity between god and human beings, for identity means that two beings are completely the same thing. he insists always on the fact that god and human beings remain different beings. ‘they are aliud and aliud, [other and other] and we love god as god and a human being as a human being.’ precisely because of this difference, it is possible to speak of identification. for identification can only happen between two different persons. where complete identity exists, there can be no question of identification” (van bavel, 1986, 174). what augustine teaches in his argument for identification is a union of two persons through free love. “what is love but a kind of life that unites or seeks to unite two beings, namely the one who loves and that which is loved,” says augustine (de trinitate, 8, 10, 14). love and freedom are distinguished here by augustine as two principal and irreducible elements for a psychologically healthy identification. thus by the love process the lover, out of his or her free choice, becomes present in the persons s/he loves, and vice versa. this has a great implication for our understanding of solidarity, a necessary congruent of christian social responsibility and a basic principle of catholic social teaching. solidarity is also called ‘being-with,’ indwelling in which two persons in relation are both subjects and drawn into one another. it stems first from god’s action with humanity through the giving of his son – the incarnation and is also used igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 77 sometimes as a synonym of love. this is illustrated in this phrase augustine puts in the mouth of god: “love itself makes me present to you” (homily on 1st john, 10.4). therefore, god’s presence in the human being becomes both the reason why we touch god by loving our fellow human being, and also the propellant for such love. one aspect of this theology of identification, which is relevant and related to solidarity as a principle of christian social engagement, is the maintenance of the individuality of both the lover and the loved while incorporating both in the new life of community, with some degree of freedom, mutuality and equality. this does not make provision for a relationship of instrumentalism of means-end teleological ethics as mentioned earlier. augustine further illustrates his thought here with the concept of totus christus, as another aspect of free identification through love. totus christus is the third of augustine’s tripartite conception of christ, namely the ‘total christ’ including all human beings. the first two are the ‘pre-existent eternal son of god’ and the ‘historical man jesus, the incarnate son of god’ (van bavel, 1986, 175). totus christus means that christ includes all human beings. this has being expanded in contemporary narrative of cosmic soteriology to include the whole creation, especially on account of the reading of paul’s presentation in romans 8: 22, which allots the groaning for salvation to the whole creation. moreover, it has become imperative that we include the entire universe within this scope since today the call to compassionate solidarity urges us to extend our christian responsibility to other components of creation, together with which we form the one common body of god’s gift. the concept of totus christus also has the connotation of ‘the particular’ being present in ‘the general’ and vice versa. yet at the same time it insists on the individuality of the particular, which cannot on any account be subsumed in the general by the fact of this relation. christ, for augustine, is not only an ‘i,’ but also a ‘we,’ a kind of the whole present in the parts, and conversely, the parts present in the whole. this impacts greatly our practice of christian solidarity and social responsibility, as it highlights the important aspects of this responsibility: personalism and communitarianism. in this concept, augustine not only gives christians a theology of activity that links our genuine concern for the individual with the christian personal relationship with christ. he also offers us a narrative and tool for dealing with two major plagues of modern times: liberal capitalism that reduces the individual to unconnected atoms and hence favors individualism, and communism that, on the other hand, sees the person as a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 78 mere functional tool. these modern thoughts are contrasted with augustine’s, which basically favors cooperation, freedom, and equality. the final case for the theology of identification exemplified by this concept of totus christus comes from his elucidation of christ’s saying in matt. 25, “whatsoever you do to the least of these [brothers and sisters] of mine you do to me.” in sermon, 25.8.8, he writes, “each of you expects to receive christ seated in heaven. turn your attention to him lying in the street. direct your attention to christ who is hungry and suffering from the cold, christ in need and a stranger.” he not only identifies christ with and in the whole of humanity, but he draws particular attention to the poor. from this, modern catholic social teaching draws its inspiration and confirmation in its insistence that the poor are the central concerns of our social action of charity and solidarity. augustine also establishes an eschatological theology that connects the two worlds and their respective realities and scope (this-world and other-world, as seen in the unity of the heavenly christ and the poor of today). this plays a prominent role in the doctrine of christian social teaching and responsibility. one of the final goals of such teaching is to unite these essential aspects of the christian life, the belief and hope in the life hereafter and the reality of life here and now. in concluding this reflection i want to reiterate that, although augustine would not have considered himself a political theologian in the formal sense of the term, his teaching nevertheless provides a theological framework for active christian social encounter. this validates one of the major claims of critical theologies: that it is the responsibility of every; and not any single, theological discipline to dialogue with human persons in their concrete situations, i.e., in the world. the tasks of the various theologies “are not to be fulfilled in the unhistorical and sterile realm of eternally valid truth, but in the historical situation which is ours at any one particular time” (rahner, 1972, 106-7). reference augustine, saint. 2012. the trinity (i/5) (works of saint augustine: a translation for the 21st century) paperback. edmund hill op. (transl.). new york: new city press. _____________. 2009. homilies on the gosp. john 1-40 (works of st. augustine: a translation for the 21st century). edmund hills o.p. (translator). new york: new city press. _____________. 2008. confessions (oxford world's classics). henry chadwick igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 79 (translator). new york: oxford university press. _____________. 2008. homilies on the first epistle of john (works of saint augustine a translation for the 21st century). boniface ramsey (translator). new york: new city press. ______________. 2007. essential sermons (the works of saint augustine) daniel doyle o.s.a. and edmund hill o.p. (translator). new york: new city press. ____________. 2004. letters 156-210 (ii/3) (works of saint augustine). augustinian institute heritage. new york: new city press. ____________.2003. commentary on galatians: introduction, text, translation, and notes (oxford early christian studies). eric plumer new york: oxford university press. __________.2002. expositions of the psalms 73-98 (iii/17) (works of saint augustine). maria boulding, o.s.b (translator). new york: new city press. __________.1999. enchiridion on faith hope and charity (the augustine series). bruce harbert (translator). new york, new city press. __________.1996. teaching christianity (on christian doctrine) (works of saint augustine). edmund hill. (tran.). new york, new city press. ____________. 1992. sermons 94a-150 (iii/4) (works of saint augustine). edmund hill. (tran.). new york: new city press. ____________. 1990. sermons 1-19 (iii/1) (works of saint augustine). augustinian institute heritage (translator). new york: new city press. clark, mary t. (1984). “augustinian spirituality.” augustinian studies 15. desimone, russell j. (1986). “st. augustine, on being a christian.” augustinian studies kannengiesser, charles s.j. (1986). “augustine on love: response to fr. tarcisius van bavel, the double face of love in augustine.” augustinian studies 17. mattson, a.d. (1960). the social responsibility of the christians. philadelphia: muhlenberg press. order of st. augustine. (2001). on the way with st. augustine: augustinian lay igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 80 fraternities, spirituality and organization. roma: pubblicazioni agostinianae. rahner, karl (1982). “reflections on the unity of love of neighbor and the love of god.” theological investigations. vol. vi. karl – h and boniface kruger. tran. new york: seabury press. ____________. (1972). “practical theology within the totality of theological disciplines.” theological investigations, ix. new york: herder and herder, 1972. van bravel, tarcius j. (1986). “love.” augustine through the ages: an encyclopedia. allan d. fitzgerald. o.s.a. ed. michigan: william b. eerdmanns publishing company, 1999: 509-516. _________.(1986). “the double face of love in augustine,” augustinian studies 17. 169-181. __________. (1980). christians in the world: introduction to the spirituality of st. augustine. new york: catholic book publishing co. van fleeteren, frederick. (1978). “augustine and the resurrection.” studies in medieval cultures. xii. microsoft word igwebuike jounals vol. 5. no. 1.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 122 the power of multilingualism in a globalized economy odochi s. akujobi, phd. department of english language and literature nnamdi azikiwe university awka, nigeria. os.akujobi@unizik.edu.ng abstract language appreciation in trade and commerce is a strong determinant to the viability of goods and services in a corporate entity. the economic power of language transcends beyond the level of small businesses, to impact on large-scale national and international businesses. the awareness that economic returns ride on the wheels of language comprehension between the trader and his client has grown to a phenomenal proportion; while economic internationalisation and multilingualism have become two sides of the same coin. moreover, the growth of early civilisations in africa, asia and europe was facilitated by cross-cultural transactions, premised on the mutual understanding of the seller and buyer. here, the economic power and market potential of multilingualism are advanced. the paper further argues that if monolingualism is propagated over linguistic heterogeneity, the economy will suffer. furthermore, the paper posits that multilingualism can be exploited as a resource with exchange value in a globalized economy and advocates the incorporation of multilingual orientation in a programmatic form into global business policies. keywords: power, multilingualism, economy, globalization. introduction kachru (1985) describes multilingualism as the “linguistic behaviour of the members of a speech community which alternately uses two, three or more language depending on the situation and function.” according to wandruzka (1981), multilingualism has various dimensions, and can be defined in different ways. he x-rayed the different dimensions, starting from individual multilingualism. ‘individual multilingualism’ characterises people who are capable of making themselves understood in more than one language, be they celebrities or people from everyday settings such as children from immigrant families, who use their original language at home, speak the national language at school and additionally learn at least one foreign language. individual multilingualism is also called ‘pluralingualism’ (beacco and byram 2000). individual multilingualism should be isolated from ‘multi-competence’ which intends to place more emphasis on the relationships between one language and another. individual multilingualism has been shown to function as a connected system rather than each language being a separate system in which the elements of the individual languages igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 123 interact with and influence one another and together they comprise a single ‘integrated competence’ (cook, 2008). individual multilingualism therefore, emphasizes the ability of an individual to speak or communicate in more than two languages, irrespective of the mode of acquisition and proficiency. thus, such individuals may not be multilingual from birth or ‘perfectly multilingual’. wandruzka also describes ‘social multilingualism’ as when languages share different functions in a society as is the case in swiss canton of granbunden, where german, romansh and italian are official languages with theoretically equal states, yet romansh and italian are dominated in many situations by german, on account of the general bilingualism of the minorities. he also defines ‘political multilingualism’ as when areas are divided into more or less monolingual language zones, as is the case with flemish, french and german in belgium, while ‘institutional multilingualism’ is described as a situation where institutions or organizations offer their services in different languages as do the united nations (un) and european union (eu). paulston (1980) opines that folk bilingualism is the result of the contact of ethnic groups who have to become bilingual involuntarily in order to survive; here they do not have a choice, they just have to learn the language of the setting where they live. furthermore, ‘folk multilingualism’ emphasizes a situation where an individual resides in a multilingual environment and acquires various languages in the same way a child in a monolingual environment acquires the language. this type of multilingualism is contrary to ‘elective multilingualism’ where an individual who uses one language in everyday life takes foreign language classes to acquire more languages (gogolin and ludi, 2009). gogolin and ludi (2009) also postulates that a multilingual repertoire is made up of a number of linguistic resources which are multimodal, having different sensory channels which are usually activated by the speakers to resolve problems relating to specific situations. this applies to multilingual teams at the work place where team members apply simultaneous use of different languages, images and gestures to achieve optimal communication. most of the world’s population is bilingual or multilingual. monolingualism is characteristic only of a minority of the world’s peoples. according to stavenliagen (1990), 5000-8000 different ethnic groups reside in approximately 160 nations and that over 5000 distinct languages are spoken in that same small number of nation states. nations, whose work forces are multilingual, have demonstrated greater economic returns against those whose business frontiers are closed and opposed to foreign infiltration. the economic igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 124 dominance and superiority of multilingual nations deserve to be emulated and systematically propagated in monolingual states. globalization cannot be potentiated in a global linguistic framework; rather, there must be a conscious and programmatic endeavour by nations to invest in the development of the linguistic skills of their work force. small and medium-sized entrepreneurs should invest in human capacity development in language acquisition. if monolingual countries must be appropriately positioned to reap from the trends of global economy, their work force must acquire other languages apart from their mother tongue. similar to other nations, the gdp of these nations can increase, if those who trade on goods and services obtain sufficient fluency and skill in languages, such as chinese, german, spanish and so on. the prevailing economic realities in monolingual communities, where traders from these enclaves who travel outside their linguistic space are financially exploited for language interpretation, need to be addressed by a sensitization of the business class to the need for extra foreign language acquisition. governments need to accept the responsibility of mobilizing their work forces to adopt multilingual skills as a resourceful economic paradigm. the political will must be engaged and sustained by these nations, while public awareness and targeted sensitization programs ought to be advanced to propagate the economic benefits of multilingualism. the nations can institutionalize inherent incentives, such as, import and export tax rebates, reduction of interest rates on business-specific loans and so on, to motivate her work force towards acquisition of extra languages. the advantages of speaking more than one language transcend economic gains. it equally boosts the human mind, which is the world’s greatest resource. bialystok, craik and freedman (2007) studied ‘bilingualism as a protection against the symptoms of dementia’, they examined the effect of lifelong bilingualism on maintaining cognitive functioning and delaying the onset of symptoms of dementia in old age. they selected their sample from the records of 228 patients referred to a memory clinic with cognitive complaints. their findings showed that bilinguals expressed symptoms of dementia 4 years later than monolinguals. multilingualism has also been associated with a better ability to concentrate and process information. this was postulated by thomas bak, a psychologist at the university of edinburgh, who suggested that the effects are strongest on people who were multilingual from a young age, but acquiring languages later still made a difference. he also showed that a one-week intensive igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 125 language course improved attention and this effect remained stable nine months later, in those who practised five hours a week or more. definition and the concept of global economy: global economy is the economies of the world, cordoned together as one economic system. it is the way in which the countries’ economies have been developing to operate collectively as one system. it can further be explained as the interconnectivity and interdependence of countries’ economies in such a way that they seem like parts of one whole. in other to understand the global economy, it is very important to know what ‘economy’ means. an economy is all the activity that is related to the production and consumption of goods and services in a specific area. therefore, global economy refers to all the economic activities within each country and between countries around the world. this implies that when one country does well, other countries experience a boost in their economies. on the other hand, when one country does poorly, other countries can suffer because the countries of the world are inter-dependent. the concept of linguanomics (the economics of language): the concept of linguanomics, as an emerging phenomenon in global economy is real, and the economic power of language should be popularized and entrenched in the commerce and trade systems of monolinguistic nations. this emerging concept has been described as the effect of language skills on income and trade and the costs and benefits of language planning options, preservation of minority languages and so on. language is the medium of business, an asset in itself and sometimes a barrier to trade (coulturas, 1992). the relationship between economics and language is mainly rooted in how individuals acquire language. languages are human economic resources that can be invested in by individuals or corporate organizations. when the usage of a language increases, naturally people will begin to invest in the language in order to maximise their gain. however, the antagonists of linguanomics have in different settings; argued that the tendency of linguistic hegemony may become more apparent if linguistic communities, in the quest for economic benefits, relegate their aboriginal languages and mother tongue to the secondary position. they further opined that commerce and trade can be restricted to nations who share same international languages and that the preservation of the socio-cultural values of nations must take pre-eminence over economic benefits. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 126 although the arguments advanced by the anti-linguanomics appear plausible prima facie, they have been successfully debunked by the protagonists of linguanomics. the pro-linguanomics strongly argue that the tendency of linguistic hegemony should be premised on empiricism rather than social speculation. they provided real figures of individual and institutional economic growths derived from multilinguistic proficiency of the work force and proved that such extra linguistic skills posed no danger to the local languages of those workers. furthermore, they argued that if linguistic restrictions exist in business, the economic prospects of the individuals, institutions and nations will be retarded. in their opinion, if nations, institutions and individuals must restrict trade to those who speak their languages, the under-developed and developing nations will regress into unimaginable poverty, sickness and high mortality rates and the co-lateral damages will be global. the study therefore, corroborates the position of the pro-linguanomics and further asserts that multilingualism has tremendous economic power and should be propagated at all levels of commerce and trade. it further opines that the gains of language-driven globalization are too enormous to be ignored and calls on nations to create sustainable programs for the acquisition of extra linguistic skills by their work force. it is opined that language has a specific value which is marked by economic variables and that the value of language includes the economic aspect-that language is like treasure, it cannot stand alone, in isolation, it is always a part of a broader social context (boudieu,1991). according to marschak (1965), language is the object of choice directed to achieving certain goals. he attributed the choice of language in communication or the choice to learn a certain language to standards of microeconomics and linked them in the same manner to all other economic decisions of the individual, from purchasing a product to investments, which always represents a result for the individualthe best choice in a given moment. in a multi-ethnic community, the linking of economic and language processes at both the micro and macro levels is expressed in the mutual acceptance or rejection of different language groups. he further opines that economic factors influence the ethno-linguistic vitality of communities and contributes to the evaluation of diversity and to the promotion of minority languages. in certain multicultural communities, the effect of economic activities is linked to the position of a minority, especially in the context of bilingualism as a value at the national and local levels and not at the wider international level. when language is linked to the economy, it means that it has a commercial potential. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 127 according to cameron (2005), managing language means managing the user’s language, communication and the economy. managing goods and services without language does not really exist. economy in the widest meaning, directly and indirectly, affects various language processes and language is linked to the individual and society while economy is part of the society. therefore, the management of language at both the individual and societal levels affects the overall economic processes. multilingualism and the economy in an era of globalization, when all international boundaries are broken by economic activities, language proficiency becomes a major determinant of market breakthroughs. more so, international organizations and companies are investing huge resources into human capacity development in the area of language acquisition. according to hardach (2018), language matters on a largescale national level and also, at the level of smaller businesses. moreover, successful exports, innovative work force and economic growth have been linked to linguistic diversity (hardach, 2018). the founder of facebook, mark zukerberg is learning mandarin, not because his wife’s family is chinese, but because he has a market-driven incentive and his company has been trying to penetrate the chinese market. the economic power of language was further emphasized by willie brandt, the former chancellor of the federal republic of germany. according to him, ‘if i’m selling to you, i speak your language, but if i’m buying, then you have to speak german’. his position underscores the power of language in individual and corporate transactions. it also highlights the need for the acquisition of extra linguistic skills for successful global marketing. bradley (2008) reports that switzerland attributes 10% of its gross domestic product (gdp) to its multilingual heritage. the country has four national languages: german, french, italian and romansh. he further stated that switzerland’s multilingual heritage gives it a competitive advantage worth sfr46 billion ($38.15 billion). according to him, this is the first time the economic value of linguistic skill has been calculated. despite this huge linguistic resource, language has largely been ignored by economic analysts. (grin, 2008). in response to the economic value of linguistic skills in switzerland, grin (2008) postulated thus; ‘i think we have a confirmation here, that language is a good investment from the perspective of the economy as a whole, rather than just for the individual or for the state’. therefore, these observations corroborate the government’s declarations about the attractiveness of switzerland, as a place to do business, linked to the fact that people speak many languages. in switzerland, people in organizations are able to speak three, four or even five languages and the capacity to do that certainly igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 128 contributes to value creation and the comparative advantage of switzerland. there is a convergence of the economic result and switzerland’s cultural, political and social concerns about multilingualism. therefore, the idea that a state needs to preserve her national language, in addition to english, and possibly develop skills in other languages, is something that makes sense, not just politically and sociologically, but also economically. despite the great economic potentials of a multilingual workforce, some organizations, companies and nations are yet to appreciate the true value of a multilingual working environment. in the uk, about 3.5% of its gdp are lost every year as a result of a loss of language skills in the workforce (grin, 2008). furthermore, habib (2011) showed that small and medium-sized companies in sweden, germany, denmark and france, who invested more in languages, were able to export more goods. german companies that invested heavily in multilingual staff added 10 export countries to their market. additionally, the english language does not suffice in economic returns, as many tenders are lost through lack of skills in local languages and smes are increasingly using the specific language of the country, to which they export, so as to gain grounds in emerging markets. the english language’s role, as the sole language for world trade, is declining and other languages are being used to an increasing extent, for example, the chinese language’s importance for trade relations, has grown from 5% in 2000 to 20% in 2009. meanwhile, the english language’s importance has declined from 51% in 2000 to 29% in 2009 (habib, 2011). according to the university of florida (2000), workers who speak both spanish and english earn $7,000 per year more than those who speak only english. the study also observed that florida hispanics who are fluent in spanish and english earn significantly higher incomes and are less likely to live in poverty than those who speak only english. it also found that for hispanics, being bilingual, offers advantages throughout the state. in miami, where the advantages were particularly pronounced, the study observed that fully bilingual hispanics earn nearly $7,000 per year more than their englishonly counterparts. the study also examined the income levels for bilingual and english-only hispanics in 10 metropolitan areas nationwide, with high percentages of hispanic immigrations. it was observed that in miami, jersey city, n.j and san antonio, bilingual hispanics earn more than those who communicate only in english. it also found that bilingualism had advantages for older employees in some of the other cities. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 129 according to christofides and swindinsky (2010) in the university of guelph study (2010), bilingual employees earn more than their unilingual counterparts, even if they aren’t using their language skills on the job. furthermore, the study discovered that bilingual men earn 3.6% and bilingual women earn 6.6% more than those who speak only english, but there was no additional financial reward for bilingual employees who actually speak french in the work place. although the study explained the distinction between language knowledge and language use, the economic benefits of bilingualism over monolingualism is strongly emphasized. the attendant economic values of multilingualism seem to suggest that knowing a second or third language could be a sign of cognitive power, perseverance and a good education. conclusion the benefits of multilingualism are numerous and enormous. multilingualism, as an emerging concept, has been proven to accelerate the individual and collective economic spread of nations and also enhance the cognitive powers of multilinguals. at a time like this, when globalization is emphasised, it is expected that nations who desire to strengthen their economic power must re-orientate their work force to align with this linguistic trend. many advanced nations have collapsed all linguistic trade barriers and many more are doing so, in many instances, by encouraging the acquisition of extra linguistic skills, deliberately designed towards human capacity development. if the world must collectively cooperate in commerce, then linguistic barriers must be dismantled, global economic players must realize and quickly too, that trade and commerce cannot stand alone without language and that goods and services are transported on linguistic proficiency. the more the languages, the more goods and services that are marketed, hence, language and economy have become the flip sides of a global currency. references beacco, j.c., byram, m. (2002). guide for the development of language education policies in europe,from linguistic diversity to plurilingual education. strasbourg: council of europe, language policy division. bialystok, e., craik, f.i.m., freeman, m. (2007). bilingualism as a protection against the symptoms of dementia. neuropsychologia. 45(2), 459-464. bradley, s. (2008). languages generate one tenth of swiss gdp. swissinfo. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 130 cameron, d. (2005). commodity and commodification. global economic change in sociolinguistic perspective. in: erreygers, g., jacobs g. (eds.) language, communication and the economy. christofidel, l., swindisky, r. (2010). bilingualism translates into higher earnings. canadian public policy. cook, v. (2008). second language learning and language teaching. london, arnold. coulnia, f. (1992). language and economy. oxford: blackwell publishers. gogolin, i., ludi, g. (2009). multilingualism: what is multilingualism?. goethe institut. grin, f. (2009). the economics of the multilingual workplace. routledge studies in sociolinguistics. habib, i.b. (2011). multilingual skills provide export benefits and better access to new emerging markets. sens public. hardach, s. (2018). speaking more than one language can boost economic growth. world economic forum on asean. kachru, b. (1986). “code-mixing, style repertoire and language variation: english in hindu poetic creativity.” world englishes, 8 (3). paulston, c. b. (1980). bilingual education: theories and issues. massachusetts: newbury house publishers, inc. university of florida (2000). it pays to be bilingual. uf news. wardruszka, m.(1981). die mehrsprachigkect des meuschenr. munchen: deutschertaschenbuch-verlag. igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations proceedings of an online colloquium on igwebuike philosophy held from 20th january-20th july 2020 ikechukwu anthony kanu (ed.) igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations edited by: ikechukwu anthony kanu first published in 2020 a publication of igwebuike research institute (iri) copyright © 2020 by the igwebuike research institute (iri) all rights reserved: no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or retrieved or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photographic, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the editor isbn: 978-978-985-902-3 13245 trebleclef lane silver spring 20904, maryland, united states of america dedication igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations iv dedication mazi emmanuel nwafor kanu in memory of an igwebuike philosopher introduction igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations v introduction in this work, igwebuike is employed as a unifying concept of african thought, especially, that aspect concerning the human person’s conception of the spiritual and material universe in which he or she lives. it is an explanatory theory or principle that interprets the puzzle of our complex relationship with the non-corporal world and human social life, that is, major social institutions that ensure social continuity and group identity, and further, underpins the epistemological manifestations of the human person’s universe. different thinkers from different backgrounds in this book have brought different tastes of igwebuike perspective on the table of discourse on igwebuike philosophy. a co-relation between igwebuike and the african worldview was made, followed by a study of the relevance of igwebuike philosophy within the context of insecurity. the igbo kola nut, being a very important symbol in igbo ontology is studied in relation to igwebuike philosophy. there is also the study of the relevance of igwebuike philosophy and the management of corona virus pandemic (covid-19); it also studies igwebuike as the basis for science and technology in africa and the key to understanding african traditional religion. recently, the struggle towards the liberation of african women has taken a centre stage in efforts towards liberation. igwebuike principle is also employed in this regard showing how it stands for respect for alterity, equality and equity. there is also an evaluation of the relationship between igwebuike and belongingness, and the place of consciousness in the understanding of igwebuike philosophy. this was concluded with a chapter on the relationship between igwebuike philosophy and human resource management. this piece remains a major contribution to the corpus of literature on igwebuike philosophy. i, therefore, introduce this piece to all lovers of african philosophy, religion and culture. table of contents igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations vi table of contents dedication iii introduction iv igwebuike as the conceptualization of african worldview kanu ikechukwu anthony 1 igwebuike attributes in the medieval french system: a review of charlemagne’s leadership in “la chanson de roland” jude i. onebunne, phd & sylvia chinazom ezeaka 21 igbo-african kola nut as a symbolic manifestation of igwebuike philosophy kanu ikechukwu anthony 41 igwebuike philosophy and the management of covid-19 in nigeria omojola o. immaculata, ssma, phd 63 igwebuike philosophy of science and technology kanu ikechukwu anthony 79 igwebuike as a key to understanding african philosophy, religion and culture kanu ikechukwu anthony 99 igwebuike: a conceptual tool for change in liberation of african women nnoruga james, phd 113 table of contents igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations vii ‘igwebuike philosophy’: a vehicle for peace and conflict resolution among the igbos of south east nigeria onyeakazi jude chukwuma phd 131 belongingness as igwebuike and african philosophy: a critical relationship jude i. onebunne, phd 147 the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum dozie iwuh, osa 163 igwebuike philosophy and human resource management omojola o. immaculata, ssma, phd 205 covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwebuike discourse hilary ugwu, msw 221 in search for native communication: igwebuike and shikrot philosophical renderings justine john dyikuk 261 the role of umunna in conflict resolution as an expression of igwebuike philosophy francis iwuh 285 the concept of igwebuike in igbo knowledge integration obinna victor obiagwu, phd301 table of contents igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations viii ‘igwebuike’ as a conceptualization of igbo-african worldview igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 1 ‘igwebuike’ as a conceptualization of igbo-african worldview ikechukwu anthony kanu department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university umunya, anambra state ikee_mario@yahoo.com executive summary the relationships in the african universe point to the fact of the dynamics of a personal and universal world, and the reality that the human person is a composition of lived embodiment with the world while at the same time experiencing his/her own body. this interaction between the personal world of the human person and the universal world is possible because, just as the heart of the human person is in the body, so is the body of the human person in the world. as a being in the world, the human person nourishes the world through creativity, while the world nourishes and sustains the human person. this interaction between the personal and universal worlds is a very important element in the understanding of the dynamics in the african worldview. it is in this regard that the african worldview can be described as an inter-subjective and complementary universe. it is a universe that remains in being by maintaining a balance in the relationships between complementary realities. this complementary and relational nature of the universe affects the way the african understands and interprets reality around him/her . this notwithstanding, with the recent studies in the area of igwebuike philosophy and theology, the present researcher makes a co-relation between igwebuike and the african worldview. this work discovered that igwebuike is a conceptualization of the african worldview. it, therefore, understands igwebuike as the african mailto:ikee_mario@yahoo.com ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 2 worldview, and the african worldview as igwebuike. for the purpose of this research, the igwebuike complementary approach would be employed. keywords: igwebuike, complementarity, intersubjectivity, worldview, universe, african introduction the concept, ‘worldview’ (weltanschauung), was popularized by german philosophers. heidegger considers worldview within the context of distinguishing weltanschauung from philosophy, to be a fixed interpretation of the universe of beings, as opposed to philosophy as the study of being. he further suggests that fundamental ontology could demonstrate the condition of possibility for something like worldview (heidegger, 1975). in this sense, he distinguishes philosophy from worldview, while making it clear that philosophy as wisdom of the world and life is a provider of worldview. in this, he was quite unlike hegel, dilthey, nietzsche, and jaspers, who more or less equated philosophy with worldview. the concept, worldview, had a very specific meaning for freud. he defines it as “an intellectual construction which solves all the problems of our existence uniformly on the basis of one overriding hypothesis, which, accordingly, leaves no question unanswered and in which everything that interests us finds its fixed place” (1933, p. 158). this definition was to aid his distinction between rational or scientific worldview from religious or philosophical worldview. he argues that the age of modernity marks the emergence of the rational or scientific worldview and the bowing out of religious or philosophical worldview. while the religious and philosophical worldviews place realities beyond the reach of human understanding, the rational or scientific worldview sees reality as ultimately transparent to the power of human cognition. ‘igwebuike’ as a conceptualization of igbo-african worldview igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 3 dilthey analyses worldview within the context of hermeneutics. dilthey (1954) understands worldview as hermeneutical constructs, conveying the meaning of the world, thus, the interpretation of worldviews helps us to get at the meaning of reality, just as the interpretation of language helps to understand a text. according to rickman (1988), dilthey presents worldviews as: a special case of methodological verstehen (interpretative examination of phenomena) in the human sciences, involving description, abstraction, analysis, typification, comparison, and generalization. it [a worldview] attempts to reproduce or re-evoke at the conceptual level the original content of what is “there for us” in lived experience (p. 327). schleiermacher understands worldview as an element that makes our knowledge of god complete. for emmanuel kant, worldview is a world-intuition ‘mundus sensibilis’, which determines contemplation, apprehension and interpretation of being in the world of man. in the contention of schelling, worldview is the summation-scheme for the understanding of the real world (okonkwo, 2002a&b). while these perspectives of worldview from german philosophers introduce us to the discourse on worldview, this paper focuses on the african worldview, that is, how the african interprets the universe around him and how he relates the individual elements of his world to each other. with the recent studies in the area of igwebuike philosophy and theology, the present researcher makes a co-relation between igwebuike and the african worldview. as a result of the content of igwebuike and the place it occupies in african ontology in relation to the concept of african worldview, it would be argued in this piece that igwebuike is a conceptualization of the african worldview. igwebuike is, therefore, understood as the african worldview, and the african worldview as igwebuike. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 4 what is african worldview? african worldview refers to the african theory of the universe, which includes the manner of conceiving the world and the place of humanity in this world in relation to other realities. the african worldview forms a ‘life system’ that the african holds on to consciously or unconsciously which serves as an interpretative framework for the interpretation and conception of reality. writing on the philosophy of the igbo-speaking people, nwala (1985) defines worldview as: the complex of beliefs, habits, laws, customs and traditions of a people. it includes the overall picture they have about reality, the universe, life and existence; their attitude to life and things in general; what they do and think of; what life is; what things are worth striving to attain; what man’s place is in the scheme of things; whether or not man has an immortal soul; whether or not life has a meaning and purpose, etc… worldview is enmeshed in the practical life of the people; in particular in the economic, political, social, artistic and religious life (p. 26). worldview is, therefore, at the centre of our thoughts and expressions through actions and the institutions of society, like education, politics, fender, sense of family, religion, arts, social interactions, health care, etc. figure 1: walsh and middleton (cited in kara 2011) ‘igwebuike’ as a conceptualization of igbo-african worldview igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 5 just like any other worldview, the african worldview has the following characteristics: it is mutually exclusive, which also gives it its unique identity; it is assumption-based; it has a strong sense of assurance and provides africans with techniques to manipulate their world. it is like the lens (glasses, sunglasses) through which the african looks at the world around him. in this sense, the african worldview colours everything that the african sees. although we have one universe, one world, one existence, but how the african understands it, interacts with it, and lives it depends on his lens, that is, his worldview. the african worldview, therefore, affects everything the african sees, notices, etc., and, therefore, affects the way he/she relates to it. it is the worldview that guides, directs, orients the african; it takes him to where he is, where he is going to and shapes how he intends to get there. it is the same worldview that shapes the african personality and culture and serves as a filter and framework. it sifts and sorts, accepts and rejects, and gives context to the life of the african; it interprets, explains and imparts meaning to realities, such as god, universe, the self, etc. the african worldview gives answers to the following questions: what is the origin of the universe? what is the ultimate and prime reality? what sustains the universe? what is the basic nature of the environmental universe? what is the place of the human person in the world? what is death and what happens after death? is there any need for morality? etc. the answers it gives to these questions shapes the life of the african. in providing answers to these questions, the african worldview provides an intellectual construct that provides unified solutions or answers to these fundamental questions in a way that blends the multiplicity of beings, values and duties. this intellectual construct may be expressed in african mythical narratives, songs, proverbs, parables, drama, prayers, etc. it is essentially the underlying thought link that holds together the african value system, philosophy of life, social conduct, morality, folklores, myths, rites, rituals, norms, rules, ideas, cognitive mappings and theologies. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 6 the religious and relational character of african worldview there are different types of worldviews: there is the religious worldview that is based on the belief in a universal spirit: god, deity or divine entity. this divine entity has established a moral order which is known to human beings, and human beings have a moral duty to obey it as it has future consequences in relation to life after death. the religious worldview has a comprehensive perception of the world, putting into consideration the seen and unseen realities. contrary to the religious worldview, there are non-religious worldviews. these include the mythological worldview, especially when it uses myths, folklore or legends believed to be supernatural and true for the interpretation of nature, universe, events and humanity. the distinction between religious and mythological worldviews, not withstanding, a mythological worldview can also be a religious worldview. non-religious worldviews also include the philosophical worldview, which uses logical reasoning, mathematics and speculation to interpret and provide answers to fundamental questions about reality. the third is the scientific worldview, which uses the premises and findings of science in explaining the meaning of life, morality, creation, etc. although it is more exact and authentic, it does not provide meaning to existence as it is limited to the material realm. ‘igwebuike’ as a conceptualization of igbo-african worldview igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 7 figure 2: carmel m. (https://slideplayer.com/user/15613762) these classifications notwithstanding, the basic question looming at the horizon is: what is the nature of the african worldview? there is copious font of literature available on the african worldview. one needs to glance at the works of eminent scholars like wambutda (1986), ejizu (1986), achebe (1958), onuoha (1987), metuh (1987), quarcoopome (1987), arinze (1970), madu (2004) and kanu (2012). very significant to their analysis is an underlying principle that speaks of the african worldview as basically religious, which gives a sense of purpose and direction to the lives of people and enables them to act purposefully and exercise a measure of control over their environment. thus, okonkwo (2002b) argues that it is difficult, if not impossible, to separate the african person as ‘homo religiosus’ from his ‘mundus sensibilis’. one cannot talk about the african worldview without making reference to the place of the god, deities, ancestors, etc., in it, and the place of the human person in relation to the other elements of the https://slideplayer.com/user/15613762 ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 8 african universe. the presence of and relationship between the human person and god, the deities, the ancestors, etc., and the strong influence that these divinities have in the day-to-day life experience of the african introduce a wide sense of the sacred and mystery in the african universe. it is such that it is difficult to separate other dimensions of the life of the african from his personal inclinations to the divine. mbiti (1970) puts this succinctly: wherever the african is, there is his religion. he carries it to the fields where he is sowing seeds or harvesting new crop, he takes it with him to a beer parlour or to attend a funeral ceremony; and if he is educated, he takes religion with him to the examination room at school or in the university; if he is a politician, he takes it to the house of parliament. (p. 2). in the contention of njoku (2004), this is such that: the african man had many taboos to observe, and many daily rituals to perform, either to appease the community or the divinities. if he was not an indirect or unconscious slave of the dominant conscious, he held perpetual allegiance to one divinity or another. if he was ‘free’ with men, he was not free with nature or his environment. suppose community and environment allow him to live his life with fewer burdens, he would still have to pay the debts owed by his past ancestors. (p. 57). what makes the african worldview religious is not just because of the presence of god, the deities and ancestors, etc., but the relationship that is operative between the human person and these divine realities. more so, this religious dimension has great influence on the african worldview, as it shapes the worldview of individual persons or people. this perspective has great implications for the latin origin of religion as religare, which means ‘to bind together’. it is around this process and degree of binding or relationship between the african and the divine elements of his universe that religion takes its place. in this relation within the context of the religious universe, the igwebuike character of the african universe begins to emerge. through this ‘igwebuike’ as a conceptualization of igbo-african worldview igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 9 relationship, the divine does for man what he cannot do for himself and man does for the divine what they cannot do for themselves. it is a relationship of not only of survival but a display of the beauty of being with the other. it is this ideology of being in relation to the other that igwebuike captures. igwebuike character of the african worldview igwe bu ike is an igbo proverb and also a typical igbo name. igbo proverbs and names are among the major traditional vessels in which african philosophy, religion and culture have continued to be preserved. mbiti (1970) writes that: “it is in proverbs that we find the remains of the oldest forms of african religious and philosophical wisdom” (p.89). they contain the wisdom and experience of the african people, usually of several ages gathered and summed up in one expression. proverbs spring from the people and represent the voice of the people and express the interpretation of their beliefs, principles of life and conduct. it expresses the moral attitudes of a given culture, and reflects the hopes, achievements and failings of a people (kanu, 2018). this is to say that beyond the linguistic expression lies a deeper meaning, that is, the spirit of the letter. beyond the literal sense, igwebuike is understood as providing an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations (kanu, 2016c). igwebuike is a combination of three igbo words. it can be understood as a word or a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. literally, igwe is a noun which means ‘number’ or ‘multitude,’ usually a large number or population. the number or population in perspective are entities with ontological identities and significances, which are, however, part of an existential order in which every entity is in relation to the other. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is a noun, which means strength or power (kanu, 2016a&b). igwe, bu and ike put together, means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’ (kanu, 2017f). however, beyond the literal sense of igwebuike, it means otu obi (one heart and one soul) – cor unum et anima una. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 10 the need for otu obi or solidarity in the african universe is anchored on the fact that the universe in which the african lives is a world of probabilities. an igbo proverb says: “if a thing remains one, then nothing remains”. this is because the power or strength generated by a person is not strong enough to withstand the existential gamble of life, as the chances of being overcome are on the high side, thus the need for an existential backing. there is also an african proverb that says: “while going to the toilet in the morning ensure that you carry two sticks”. the sticks were used for cleaning oneself after using the convenience. but because there is always the high probability of the stick falling into the pit, it is always advisable to take a second stick, just in case. with two sticks one has a greater assurance of cleaning oneself up after using the toilet; the higher the number, the greater the preparedness towards minimizing the casualty of life. the second stick is also necessary in case of a second coming or remainder of the output. in a metaphoric sense, it is used within the igbo linguistic setting to refer to relational engagement in the world, accomplished in solidarity and complementarity, and the powerful and insurmountable force therein (kanu, 2017g). the closest words to it in english are complementarity, solidarity and harmony. the main principles of the african worldview that makes it igwebuike and igwebuike the african worldview include: the interconnectedness of reality; the spiritual nature of the human person that creates a basis for connection to other spiritual beings in the african universe; the collective or inclusive nature of the family structure; the ones of mind, body and spirit; and the value of interpersonal relations. the structure of the african universe the african universe has physical and spiritual dimensions (unah, 2009). at the spirit realm, god is the chief being, and sits at the apex of power. in the physical world, human beings dominate, occupying the central position (onunwa, 1994). the human beings form a “microcosm” on which converge the innumerable forces and influences from the beings that inhabit the other arms of the universe. ‘igwebuike’ as a conceptualization of igbo-african worldview igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 11 figure 1: kanu (2013 & 2015) the diagram above, with three circles, represents the spiritual worlds of god (chukwu) and the spirits and the physical world of human beings that overlap and, thus, interact. thus, ekwealor (1990) stresses that “it is important to note that although the igbo universe is divided into these three broad structures, there is the possibility of certain elements to move from one structure to another to commune with other elements” (p. 30). in the african universe, there is really no distinction between the physical and spiritual worlds, between the visible and invisible, the sacred and profane. there is a corporate existence of reality in the african universe and this corporate existence is not brought to an end by the death of the human person but extends into the hereafter. it is in this regard that the african speaks of his death as a return to the world of the ancestors. in this interaction, human beings commune with god, the angels, the ancestors, and vice versa. the african world is, therefore, an interactive universe. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 12 taking the foregoing into consideration, it can be concluded that the african universe has basic characteristic features which include: unified view of reality: the profane and the sacred cannot be separated, as they interact through divination, sacrifices, libations, etc; and a strong sense of community: there is an intricate web of relationship between the living, the dead and the yet to be born. the human person in the african interactive universe african religion and thought is anthropocentric. man is at the centre of the universe. mbiti (1970), therefore, asserts that “man is at the very centre of existence and african people see everything else in its relation to this central position of man… it is as if god exists for the sake of man” (p. 92). corroborating mbiti’s position, metuh (1991), avers that “everything else in african worldview seems to get its bearing and significance from the position, meaning and end of man” (p. 109). the idea of god, divinities, ancestors, rituals, sacrifices etc., are only useful to the extent that they serve the needs of the human person. however, the human person is a being that has its origin and finality in the supreme being. this implies that the human person in the african universe is best understood in his relationship with god his creator, with whom, from the igbo perspective, he is ontologically linked through his chi, the spark or emanation of god in each person. he comes into the world as a force amidst forces and interacting with forces. good status, good health and prosperity are signs of the wellbeing of a person’s life-force, and man struggles to preserve it through an appropriate relationship with the spiritual forces around him. this relationship is maintained through a community of channels: a. libation libation is prayer usually said in the morning time. however, libation can also be offered during ceremonies, meetings and gatherings using oji (kola nut) and mmanya-oku (hot drink), the food and drink of the gods. it is through libation that the african tries to normalize or balance the relationship between the three worlds. this libation is made to god through the ‘igwebuike’ as a conceptualization of igbo-african worldview igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 13 agency of the ancestors and other deities. the igbo believe that it is through gifts that they can gain god’s favour. there is an aphorism that says, enyepu dibia ego, obuo mkpologwu n’ajoofia (when a medicine man is well paid, he seeks the vital roots even in the evil forest). b. divination divination involves a process of inquiry. people who wish to know why certain things happen, how to solve certain problems, and so on, go to diviners. this is usually done through the agency of a particular deity. the igbo would say onye amaghi ebe mmiri bidoro maba ya, anaghi ama ebe okwusiri (he who does not know where rain started beating him cannot know where it stopped). c. religious festivals, rituals and ceremonies religious festivals and rituals such as new yam festivals, harvest seasons, hunting seasons and planting season festivals are activities that demonstrate and express belief and faith in god and the spirit world. during these ceremonies, what god or the spirits have done for human beings are commemorated; rituals are done and powers obtained from the spirit world. describing the function of rituals, steyne (1992) writes that “rituals sustain and generate the myth underlying the belief system, while it also binds people together socially” (p. 95). for instance, the igbo’s celebration of the new yam festival is connected to the month of ahiajioku. it is a time when they give thanks to chukwu and his deans and the ancestors for granting them a bountiful harvest for the year. igbo traditional marriage ceremonies also provide an opportunity for communion with the ancestors, as the igbo invoke their blessings upon the newly married couples. d. professional communicators with the spirit world in the african world, as egbeke (2001) observes, when the african speaks of an accident or the unexpected event, he does ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 14 not speak in terms of chance, but in terms of an event whose cause is not yet known. because of the need to trace the causes of these events and conditions, counteract them and appease or punish those behind them, the african employs the help of sacred specialists like the priests, rain makers, medicine men, etc., as professional communicators with the spirit world to go into the spirit world and find out what is wrong. these four channels are not the only channels through which the human person relates with the other elements in his universe; we can also speak of dreams, visions, etc. conclusion the relationships in the african universe point to the fact of the dynamics of a personal and universal world, and the reality that the human person is a composition of lived embodiment with the world, while at the same time experiencing his/her own body. this interaction between the personal world of the human person and the universal world is possible because, just as the heart of the human person is in the body, so is the body of the human person in the world. being in the world, the human person nourishes the world through creativity, while the world nourishes and sustains his being in diverse ways. every interaction between the human person and the world begins from the personal trading scheme of ‘my world,’ which creates consciousness and understanding of both the personal and universal worlds. it also triggers the consciousness of abstraction that affects a relational understanding of consciousness and a universal world ‘our world’. the concept of ‘my world’ which leads to ‘our world’ through sense abstraction expresses what okonkwo (2020) calls the “personal and objective living communicative fieldwork of a world” (p. 71) that is made present to ‘me’ and to ‘us’ and also the familiar place of life experiment. at the level of logic, it seems more appropriate to speak of the discovery of ‘my world’ before the discovery of ‘our world’. but in reality, once you are conscious of ‘igwebuike’ as a conceptualization of igbo-african worldview igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 15 ‘my world,’ it implies that you are already in ‘our world,’ as you can only discover ‘your world’ in relation to ‘our world’. this relationship made possible as a result of the presence of both personal and universal worlds within the african context is conceptualized by igwebuike. it captures the inter-subjectivity of the african universe in terms of complementarity. thus, igwebuike becomes like a ‘control box’ that determines thinking, action or doing and values. it exerts a strong influence in shaping the life of individuals and the community as a whole, thereby, unifying the african thought and life. it is within this context that igwebuike is understood as the african worldview, and the african worldview as igwebuike. references achebe, c. (1958). the things fall apart. england: heinemann. arinze, f. (1970). sacrifice in igbo religion ibadan: ibadan university press. dilthey, wilhelm. the essence of philosophy. trans. stephen a. emery and william t. emery. chapel hill: the university of north carolina press, 1954. egbeke, a. (2001). metaphysics: an introduction. enugu: donze. ejizu, c. i. o. (1986). igbo ritual symbols. enugu: fourth dimension. ekwealor, c. c. (1990). the igbo world-view: a general survey. e. oguegbu (ed.). the humanities and all of us (pp.29-33). onisha: watehword. freud, sigmund (1933). new introductory lectures on psychoanalysis. se, 22: 1-182. heidegger, m. (1975). the basic problems of phenomenology. indiana ijiomah, c. (2005). african philosophy’s contribution to the dialogue on reality issues. sankofa: journal of the humanities. 3. 1. 81 – 90. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 16 kanu, i. a. (2012 a). the secularity of sacredness of the priestly office in african traditional societies. journal of integrative humanism. 2. 1. 219-225. kanu, i. a. (2012 b). a metaphysical epistemological study of african medical practitioners. in o. e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (2012). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (227-240). jos: fab anieh. kanu, i. a. (2013). the dimensions of african cosmology. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 533-555. kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2. no.1 june, pp.23-40. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2014). being and the categories of being in igbo philosophy. african journal of humanities. volume 1. issue 1. pp. 144-159. ‘igwebuike’ as a conceptualization of igbo-african worldview igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 17 kanu, i. a. (2014a). igbo proverbs as depositum of igbo-african philosophy. international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 4. no. 1. pp. 164-168. kanu, i. a. (2014a). suicide in igbo-african ontology. developing countries studies. vol. 4. no. 5. usa. pp. 27-38. kanu, i. a. (2014b). suffering in igbo-african ontology. research on humanities and social sciences. vol. 4. no. 5. pp. 8-13. kanu, i. a. (2014b). the place of igbo myths in igbo-african philosophy. american journal of contemporary research. vol. 4. no. 2. pp. 98-102. kanu, i. a. (2015). african traditional democracy with particular reference to the yoruba and igbo political systems. international journal of philosophy and public affairs. vol. 2. no. 3. pp. 147-160. kanu, i. a. (2015). personal identity and punishment in john locke (a dissertation for the award of master of arts degree in philosophymetaphysics), university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu state. kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (ed.) (2016a). complementary ontology: provocative essays on innocent asouzu’s african philosophy of integration for progressive transformation. germany: lambert academic publishing. kanu, i. a. (ed.) (2016b). ibuanyidanda: a complementary systematic inquiry. reflections on innocent asouzu’s african philosophy. germany: lambert academic publishing. kanu, i. a. (2016). igbo-african christology: a cultural christological construct in post-missionary africa. germany: lambert publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). african traditional folk songs as dialogue between education and entertainment. cambridge ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 18 international journal of contemporary education research. 6. 6. pp. 53-64. kara m. k. (2011). an exploration of worldview and conceptions of nature of science among science teachers at a private christian high school. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/an-exploration-ofworldview-and-conceptions-of-of-akits/7a839bed677eaa2f282bf8dca6feb2afba18f0e0. madu, j. e. (1997). fundamentals of religious studies. calabar: franecloh. madu, j. e. (2004). symbolism in african cosmology: the igbo perspective. nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state. lecture note. mbiti, j. s. (1970). african religions and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational publishers. metuh, e. i. (1987). comparative studies of african traditional religion. onitsha: imico. metuh, i. e. (1991). african religions in western conceptual schemes. jos: imico njoku, f.o.c. (2004). development and african philosophy: a theoretical reconstruction of african socio-political economy. new england: universe. nwala, t. u. (1985). igbo philosophy: the philosophy of the igbo speaking peoples of nigeria. ikeja-lags: lantern books. okonkwo j. i. (2020). uwa m: the igbo phenomenology of existential perception. okpulo journal of arts and cultural heritage. vol. 2. no. 3. 71-82. okonkwo, i. j. (2002a). world-view and life-forms crisis of a nigerian philosophy of culture. an appraisal. journal of nigerian languages and culture. vol. 4. 171-182. okonkwo, i. j. (2002b). religious language and igbo-folks media: the crisis situation of modern trends of evangelization. in okonkwo, i. j. et al (eds.). elements of igbo traditional religious practice (pp. 8-27). imo: ministry of information and culture. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/an-exploration-of-worldview-and-conceptions-of-of-a-kits/7a839bed677eaa2f282bf8dca6feb2afba18f0e0 https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/an-exploration-of-worldview-and-conceptions-of-of-a-kits/7a839bed677eaa2f282bf8dca6feb2afba18f0e0 https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/an-exploration-of-worldview-and-conceptions-of-of-a-kits/7a839bed677eaa2f282bf8dca6feb2afba18f0e0 ‘igwebuike’ as a conceptualization of igbo-african worldview igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 19 onunwa, u. (1994). the individual and community in african traditional religion and society. the mankind quarterly. 34. 3. 249 – 260. onuoha, e. (1987). four contrasting world-views. enugu: express. parinder, g. d. (1961). west african religion. london: epworth. quarcoopome, t. n. (1987). west african traditional religion. ibadan: african universities press. rickman, h. p. (1988). dilthey today: a critical appraisal of the contemporary relevance of his work. new york: greenwood press. steyne, d. m. (1992). in step with the god of the nations: a biblical theology of missions. houston: touch. unah, j. (2009). ontologico – epistemological background to authentic african socio-economic and political institutions. a f. uduigwomen (ed.). from footmarks to landmarks on african philosophy (264 – 278). lagos: o. o. p. wambutda, d. n. (1986). the interplay between cosmology and theology: a. matrix for african theologizing. in a. oduyoye (ed.). the state of christian theology in nigeria, 1980-81, (38-49). ibadan: day star. igwebuike attributes in the medieval french system: a review of charlemagne’s leadership in “la chanson de roland” igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 21 igwebuike attributes in the medieval french system: a review of charlemagne’s leadership in “la chanson de roland” jude i. onebunne, phd department of philosophy nnamdi azikiwe university, awka juno.anyi@gmail.com & sylvia chinazom ezeaka department of modern european languages nnamdi azikiwe university, awka cs.ezeaka@unizik.edu.ng executive summary the fact that the society is filled with human beings, and not only a single being, justifies the supreme being’s intentions for all beings to relate with each other and work together to achieve a common goal. as such, the logical understanding of the igbo adage “a nyukoo amiri onu, o gbaa ufufu” simply depicts the igwebuike philosophy which propagates the limited nature of the individual person and uplifts the unity of the collective human person in achieving far greater positive results. as early as the middle ages, france has recorded a great success in unity, and regretted every form of betrayal and division; hence, the title “la belle france “ was not a misconception of aesthetics and glamour, rather, the beauty in unity, togetherness and solidarity. la chanson de roland clearly conveys charlemagne’s victorious achievements in the medieval period, which was not by mere fortress, rather mailto:juno.anyi@gmail.com mailto:cs.ezeaka@unizik.edu.ng jude i. onebunne, phd & sylvia chinazom ezeaka igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 22 by unity and solidarity. unfortunately, the regrettable destruction that befell his reign was as a result of disunity in the form of betrayal, treachery and division. this paper will significantly unveil the importance of solidarity, the need to be unified as a nation to fight insecurity and maintain national peace. political analysis of the role of unity in charlemagne’s ruling class and solidarity skills utilized to overcome problems will be deployed, while the integration of the principles of igwebuike philosophy for national security and peace are strongly recommended. keywords: igwebuike, kanu ikechukwu anthony, national unity, igbo-african, peace, solidarity, charlemagne introduction a quick glance at the history of the attainment of freedom and independence of many african countries reveals a couple of outstanding leaders, freedom fighters, true heroes of their time, and patriots who once championed solidarity movements and conquered as well as set the moral and political tones for their societies. such leaders as julius nyerere of tanzania, nnamdi azikiwe of nigeria, kwame nkrumah of ghana, nelson mandela of south africa, etc., have proved that unity and solidarity is a working strategy for africa. history reminds us that the success of any organization religious or secular, state or nation is highly dependent on the quality of its leadership. leadership, void of dictatorship and one which upholds unity, complementarity, friendship and solidarity, records substantial success and progress. in this regard and in the spirit of integration and togetherness, igwebuike philosophy propagates principles of good leadership. igwebuike philosophy developed over time by professor kanu ikechukwu anthony is one that is described with an igbo word, but igwebuike attributes in the medieval french system: a review of charlemagne’s leadership in “la chanson de roland” igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 23 with a universal relevance and appeal. nonetheless, it is not limited to the igbo or african society, rather a universal ideology that believes in the incarnation and confirmation of the universal relevance of its principles. igwebuike, which literally translates to unity is strength, reflects in different igbo proverbial representations to support its ideology; this philosophy can be well addressed with some collection of igbo proverbs (kanu, 2014). these proverbs are not mere collections of words; rather, they are words of communal wisdom that speaks the echoes of ancestral truth which society should do well to hearken to. “a nyukoo amiri onu, o gbaa ufufu” defines the power of unity and working together in peace and harmony to achieve common positive results. in this regard, the society is made to understand that working as a group in harmony is far better than individual actions. solidarity in the face of conflict is an insurmountable force which is most likely to conquer. the igbo tradition in its totality has always upheld solidarity because of the great success it has known so far in cultural wars and inter-boundary conflicts, hence the agreement of the adage “gidi gidi bu ugwu eze” (kanu, 2015a&b). humans are often taught to develop the spirit of oneness, or group solidarity and brotherhood. igbo culture cannot define complementarily without tracing it to the adage: “egbe beru ugo beru,” and this is a principle on which the igwebuike philosophy is rooted. this igbo adage (whose cultural emblem is the eagle and the hawk perching on the same tree branch) is the igbo version of the concept of ubuntu, which is common among many other african groups (kanu, 2016a&b). this concept implies that there is room enough for all. your existence and well-being does not threaten the igbo existence and its well-being because the igbo tradition believes that there is room for all. the igbo world and religious views demand that the stranger and alien be treated with utmost care, respect and courtesy. in this spirit of oneness, the structure and idea of this proverb has been altered, thereby replacing the wordings to reflect love and concern for others. this renders it thus: “let the kite perch, let the eagle perch as well, anyone that does not want the other to perch, let its wing not be broken; rather, it should show its mate where to perch” (kanu, 2017a&b). all should try to live in peace. those who do not jude i. onebunne, phd & sylvia chinazom ezeaka igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 24 want peace with others, or insist on causing disharmony have only themselves to be blamed; thus, peaceful coexistence is encouraged and taught. igwebuike also depicts the extension of hand of brotherhood and friendship as a principle of unity which promotes love amongst neighbours, hence the understanding that no man is an island and no man can exist alone because the african tradition does not overlook human intervention. “okwa mmadu k’eji aka,” therefore, establishes a very strong link between igwebuike philosophy and the structure of the african universe. it is a universe of particularities that, however, exist in a thermodynamic systemwhere every creature as an independent but interacting entity, negotiates another’s existential highway for mutual survival (kanu, 2019). a closer look at the literal meaning of igwebuike as strength/power in numbers, kanu insists that it rests on the philosophy of solidarity and complementarity; thus, to live outside the parameters of these principles is simply to suffer alienation. igwebuike understands every individual reality as part and completion of the whole, and presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations (kanu, 2019 & 2018). mbiti classically proverbializes this relationship between beings thus: “i am because we are and since we are, therefore i am” (mbiti, 1970). the igbo cosmology, on its part, having long accepted the potency of unity in resolving issues mutually, depicts its puissance in the proverbs “otu osisi anaghi emebe ohia,” which literally means: a tree does not make a forest. this portrays the importance of numbers; the existence of many trees to create a forest. asouzu airs his views on the importance of many to successfully achieve a common positive and efficient goal: it is also a view that maintains that by the coming together of the individual or parts, a viable and sustainable whole will emerge, and by this, the parts igwebuike attributes in the medieval french system: a review of charlemagne’s leadership in “la chanson de roland” igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 25 will get to the brim purpose of their existence (asouzu, 2004). prior to this, no particular tree is more important than the other in this concept. no matter how small, tiny or less leaves a particular tree bears, its role in the creation of a forest cannot be overlooked; its existence in the circle is very important. in the human existence, the tree depicts human beings, and none can exist alone; we all need each other to survive. in one way or the other, everything man does needs one form of human interaction or intervention. the earlier proverb entails a relative adage: “otu aziza anaghi aza ezi,” which entails that a stick of broom cannot sweep; therefore, sticks of broom put together make up a lever for sweeping. man cannot ignore the existence and importance of another because forces properly together constitute a power to be reckoned with. looking at the second adage in its totality solves a bigger problem when applied in unity. sweeping a small square space with a single stick of broom will take ages and still not achieve a good result, whereas using many sticks of broom jointly tied together does not just make the work a lot easier; it will save time and make the environment very clean. the rich entrepreneurs in the society today did not become rich because they wanted to, nor do the poor make a choice of poverty over riches. alas, the wealthy didn’t even achieve the status quo on their own accord, hence the importance of the existence of the poor masses in the society today. this supports kanu’s presentation of igwebuike thus: it is a fact of life that no human person can claim to know everything; and so the need of the other to complement one’s knowledge. (kanu, 2016) a man with an idea only visualizes how to materialize his ideas using the tools produced and manufactured by other humans and expose them for consumption in the market occupied by other humans, rich or poor. both depend on the materialized idea of other humans and in turn make him wealthy everything runs concurrently. should an intelligent man jude i. onebunne, phd & sylvia chinazom ezeaka igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 26 exist alone in the society, the scene is completely static because he degenerates with his useless ideas in his head. an idea or dream belongs to one man who adopts the tools produced by another to visualize his own ideas, and he finally solicits for other humans to consume his items to help him complete his dream. a human existing alone cannot assume the responsibilities of other humans to affect his success or survival; all humans have their specific role in the lives and success of other humans, consciously or unconsciously. this sense of unity, friendship, complementarity and solidarity among the community is evident in the philosophy of tempels: ‘beings forces’ of the universe are not a multiple of independent forces placed in juxtaposition from being to being (tempels, 1959). therefore, humans are dependent on others for existence. mbiti also airs his view on the coexistence of humans thus: the world of forces is held like a spider’s web of which no single thread can be caused to vibrate without shaking the whole network. (mbiti, 1970) no man is an island and his existence can never circle around him alone. even if an idea comes from one man, he needs other forms of human intervention to actualize that idea and bring it into form. the effect of one relatively manifests in other beings because of coexistence and unavoidable connection between one and other, hence the saying “otu aka ruta mmanu, ozuo ora.” this adage summons us to look out for one other to ensure nothing goes wrong at one end; whatever goes wrong affects those at the other end. a company owned by an entrepreneur needs the hard work of many to grow, because the survival of many depends on the company’s progress. should by disorderliness, carefree attitude and selfishness the company suffers liquidity, although owned by an individual, it will automatically force many into the labour market. therefore, unity should be a perennial goal because it is an important value for any society, and for the entire global community. in order for this to become a reality, it is necessary to establish a consensus about fundamental values, and work to extend igwebuike attributes in the medieval french system: a review of charlemagne’s leadership in “la chanson de roland” igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 27 the principles of peace, equity and well-being, to establish a basic principle of mutual recognition and reciprocity. unity and division in the middle ages french society a quick run through the political history of france during the middle ages shows clearly the positive impact of unity, and negative default of division and disunity in the leadership and national security of the french society. during the later years of charlemagne's rule, the vikings made advances along the northern and western perimeters of his kingdom, but they lost severally because charlemagne had always based his leadership on solidarity and complementarity. the french text titled la chanson de roland depicts charlemagne’s leadership era, and one could see different levels of success it attained in unity and solidarity, and the destruction meted out to a divided sect, evidently visualizing the igwebuike principle of solidarity “gidi gidi bu ugwu eze.” charlemagne was well-known all over france for his might and immeasurable power in the battlefield, and cities and countries were terrified at the mention of his name and at war because he had a great army that fought in unity and looked out for one another. they fought with love for their troop and with immense enthusiasm for the glory of their country. charlemagne had already conquered all the cities around, except saragosse which was ruled by marsille, and it was clear that the city was charlemagne’s next land to conquer. the opponents, already terrified of charlemagne’s might, honourably sought for reconciliation and surrendered under emperor charlemagne’s rule, rather than facing scandalous death and momentary slavery as they were no measure to the his power. the emperor had always had a strategy of protecting his warriors by means of ambush, whereby they stampeded at different points and ambushed the enemy in case they tried to overpower the armies in the battle field. this complementary approach gained him huge success in the battle field, upholding france as the most powerful country in the entire region. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/charlemagne https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/viking jude i. onebunne, phd & sylvia chinazom ezeaka igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 28 charlemagne already tired of fighting, and overwhelmed by the huge success he had attained as the emperor, accepted marsille’s peace offer and sent a messenger, ganelon, who happened to be roland’s stepfather, to seal the treaty between the two cities. ganelon, who was already enraged with jealousy for roland the chief guard, saw him as enemy and planned revenge by exposing their secret of success to the saracens. he alienated with the saracens and formed a new form of friendship with them, thereby informing them of how they could ambush the rear guard of charlemagne's army, which would surely be led by roland as the franks picked their way back to spain through the mountain valleys. he helped the saracens plan this evil attack just to eliminate roland, thereby exposing his country to harm and danger. ganelon, in this regard, possesses an object of division in an existing unified circled by exposing a guarded secret that has helped them achieve success, not minding the fact that the same single act might unleash terror and disaster upon the entire country. he only aimed at achieving his selfish goals of killing a singular being that his existence was entangled to his own and that of his country. this form of alienation has helped the saracen attain a pact to their long-awaited confusion as to the reason for charlemagne’s great success. although the friendship was to a disadvantage to the frankish army, it would lead to their success, portraying the importance of friendship and hospitality to strangers. ganelon helped the saracens achieve the igwebuike principle of “mmadu k’eji aka” to plan their movement against the franks. exactly as the traitor ganelon predicted, roland gallantly volunteered as usual to lead the rear guard with the clear intention of standing guard to protect his people against sudden ambush, while olivier and turpin, his friends and most trusted ally in the army, accompanied him in the rear. unfortunately, according to plan, and well-prepared in great numbers, the warriors of saragosse ambushed them at ronceavaux; roland and his men were overwhelmed by their sheer number. in unity, they still fought, not knowing that their solidarity circle had been tampered with by an insider, alas, the enemy had taken advantage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/saracens igwebuike attributes in the medieval french system: a review of charlemagne’s leadership in “la chanson de roland” igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 29 of the power in number tactics they had always been deployed against them, and fought back gainfully. hence, unity cannot be defined without solidarity, because the existence of a ravager in the circle sabotages all efforts to succeed, thereby annihilating the unity and peace amongst them. at this point, the unity of roland’s army has been sabotaged because they were unprepared and scattered on their way back home. they never expected a huge fight from the same country that had already paid allegiance and tendered loyalty to the emperor’s leadership. ironically, the opponents deployed the igwebuike principle of “a nyukoo amiri onu, o gbaa ufufu” to encircle them and confuse them before they could make a decision to restore their sanity. oliver and turpin, having seen how badly outnumbered they were, asked roland to blow on his oliphant (trumpet) made out of an elephant tusk, and seek help from the emperor. this had always been their alibi in time of uncertainty and unexpected confrontation. unfortunately, roland proudly declined to the suggestion, believing that they needed no help and could fight any number the saraceneans came up with. although they fought magnificently, and with great enthusiasm and spirit of patriotism to protect their great country “la belle france”, there was no way they could have held off the great number of the saracenean army, and the battle began to turn clearly against them. it then dawned on roland that it was now too late to ask for help from charlemagne. he blew his oliphant anyway, so that at least, the emperor should become aware of evil that had befallen his great warriors and seek to avenge them. roland blew so hard that his temples burst and afterwards he died a glorious martyr's death for his beautiful country; his friends also died in the battle field. unity and solidarity had always been the key to success for charlemagne’s army. roland’s pride cost his life and that of his dear friends. it was clear that the frankish army was always victorious by virtue of solidarity. roland was unaware that the saracenean army had gained knowledge of their secret and applied the idea of fighting in numbers, instead of sending few to the death field and saving some for a later challenge. roland always trusted their might and the efficient unity that existed jude i. onebunne, phd & sylvia chinazom ezeaka igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 30 among them, unaware that the circle had already leaked and endangered their lives. ganelon, on the other part, exposed the entire country to great danger, just to achieve his selfish aim, thereby wasting the blood of the innocent, hence, the igwebuike proverbial warning against disunity “otu aka ruta mmanu, o zuo ora”. charlemagne and his army angrily fought back the saracens, killed them in numbers, took over their properties and chased them into the river ebro where they all drowned. this literary work of the french middle ages was not fictional; rather, it brought to light the importance of unity and its reckoned success as well as described the challenges and disadvantages of disunity to national progress. the real france society after charlemagne’s reign continued to experience change in the system across decades, pending the unified relationship integrated in the existing leadership during each period. after charlemagne's death in 814, unfortunately, his successor charles le bald was incapable of maintaining political unity as his predecessor, and the empire began to crumble under his reign. the vikings, who had earlier made advances along the northern and western perimeters of the kingdom under charlemagne’s reign but lost severally, escalated their advances, this time their dreaded longboats sailed up the river loire, seine and other inland waterways. they took advantage of the disunity in france during charles reign and achieved great success. they wreaked havoc and spread terror, murdering people and burning down churches; eventually, they sacked paris. the history of medieval france transcended into a new era with the election of hugh capet (940–996), but his political unimportance weighed against the powerful barons who elected him. hugh lost the spanish principalities again due to his inability to give in to solidarity and complementarity, thereby restricting his greatest achievement to just being a ruling king. in order to secure his succession, seeing the extent of failure his leadership suffered, hugh allowed his son, robert the pious, to be crowned king before his demise. robert ii, as king, sought solace in unity and met holy roman emperor henry ii in 1023 on the borderline. they agreed to end all claims over each other's realm, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/charles_the_bald https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/charles_the_bald https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/longboat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/loire_(river) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/seine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/hugh_capet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/hugh_capet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/robert_ii_of_france https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/henry_ii,_holy_roman_emperor igwebuike attributes in the medieval french system: a review of charlemagne’s leadership in “la chanson de roland” igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 31 setting a new stage of capetian and ottonian relationships. although a king weak in power, robert ii's efforts were considerable, and that was as a result of mutual understanding and having faith in brotherhood and unity. unity gave his era an advantage over the leadership of his predecessors. he construed with the fact that he was weak and cannot prosper on his own and sought solace in his ruling quarters and achieved success, even greater than the mighty kings he succeeded. the reign of robert ii was quite important because it involved the peace and truce of god. his surviving charters implied that he relied heavily on the church to rule france. robert ii crowned his son, hugh magnus, as king of the franks at age 10 to secure the succession, but hugh magnus rebelled against his father and died fighting him in 1025. his second son, henry i, was crowned as co-ruler with his father (1027 – 1060), and reigned after his father’s death in 1031, but was one of the weakest kings of franks because he trusted himself alone and never believed in human intervention. he handed over to king philip i who reigned from 1060 to 1108 and handed the mantle down to louis vi. it was from louis vi onward that royal authority became more accepted. the king, who was more a soldier and warrior than a scholar, launched regular attacks on his vassals due to his greedy and ambitious nature. hhe raised so much fortune from his vassals, and his bad nature made fun of the royal image and earned him an unpopular king. from 1127, having recorded fame without honour and respect, he sorted the advice of a skilled religious statesman, abbot suger, whose political advice was extremely valuable. louis vi successfully defeated both militarily and politically, but his insatiable greedy nature never eluded his person, and he went against his statesman advice and had landed possessions confiscated and military campaigns mounted against those questioning his leadership. autocracy and dictatorship was mounted on the people and this drastic policy clearly imposed some royal authority on paris and its surrounding areas. when louis vi died in 1137, much progress had been forcefully and illegally achieved towards strengthening capetian authority, but king louis vii, upon his https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/peace_and_truce_of_god https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/hugh_magnus_of_france https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/louis_vi_of_france https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/abbot_suger jude i. onebunne, phd & sylvia chinazom ezeaka igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 32 succession as king after louis vi, heeded religiously to abbot suger's advice and enjoyed greater moral authority over france than his predecessors. powerful vassals willingly paid homage to the french king, unlike his predecessor, who forcefully took over the vassals and imposed heavy rules on the people. the succession of kingship in the medieval france has evidently shown the extent of success which true leadership by virtue of unity, complementarity, brotherhood, love for others, solidarity and oneness has achieved in the course of time. apparently, situation worsens at a point where selfishness and selfcenteredness, lack of trust and disunity became the order of the day. unity restores sanity, stability, and orderliness in a country, and these virtues promisingly help the nation achieve economic, political, social and financial greatness. igwebuike as a response to national instability life rests on the mutual need for human beings to come together and form a community of similitude; igwebuike works best when we respect one another’s needs and life circumstances, as respect for one’s needs breeds love and reduces the tendency of injustice and wickedness in the society. igwebuike, in the spirit of unity, does not work when we attempt to coerce shame or inflict guilt upon one another, no matter how subtle. no doubt, human relation is a difficult task because we are all different people from very different spheres of life. nonetheless, we are not necessarily immediate allies, nor are we one another’s greatest enemy, therefore, the similarity amongst us should prevail to ascertain attainment of unity amongst all. we believe we have different ideologies and values, but we still share important norms, especially the common belief in basic human rights and the need to live communally in respect and dignity. we believe we must protect this planet, our air, water, earth and food, or we will all die; therefore, unity must be prioritized to achieve these goals. the current situation of the existing covid-19 pandemic has exposed the fact that affluence is not a guarantee to good life. the rich have always believed they are independent and untouchable in the society because they have attained https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/moral_authority igwebuike attributes in the medieval french system: a review of charlemagne’s leadership in “la chanson de roland” igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 33 a prominent financial status which is capable of shielding them from imminent danger. currently, the entire world is on corona virus rampage, and in some countries like nigeria, it seems the rich are the most affected and the wealth acquired through dehumanization and poor leadership has been unable to protect them from the dangers of the disease. all along, had the leadership of the country in the spirit of igwebuike principle of love, oneness and friendship considered the good health of its citizens and the poor masses, it would have provided the country with befitting hospitals and good health care centers; rather, they depended confidently on their financial ability to sustain the health of their family members by moving to countries with efficient health system while neglecting the citizens. today, their financial status can neither help the rich nor the poor, everybody is paying the price of greed and disunity existing in the country; health security has failed completely in the system. the purpose of solidarity is to build our movement, and to embody our mutual care and concern for justice. chandran defines solidarity thus: solidarity can be simply a way of lifestyle, to support one or more and stick by him in good and bad, as well as his success and failures. (chadran, 2014) the definition above could mean a lot more than just its literal sense, because people are necessarily dependent on each other in different ways. when solidarity requires one to follow a group‘s social and moral rules, they usually have non-instrumental reasons to obey these rules as ways of standing in solidarity and unity with others. solidarity often grounds reasons to follow somewhat defective rules, and improve their social moral rules in order to pull them in line with the group‘s ideals, which in turn has lots of limitations to refine oneself and grow. solidarity can be referred to as a value par excellence, being characterized by mutual collaboration between individuals which makes it possible to overcome the most terrible disasters, such as wars, jude i. onebunne, phd & sylvia chinazom ezeaka igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 34 plagues, bad leadership, destructive trend, etc. this applies as well to helping relatives, friends and acquaintances who find themselves in difficult situations, so that they can overcome obstacles and move forward. the belief that the leadership of the country is engrossed in corruption is a common understanding, including the belief that the global corporate and political institutions are serving only the interests of the rich and continue endlessly to sap the poor of their scourging sweat and effort. but at a point, one wants to break out and achieve success. the oppressed are tired of been abused, voices wish to be heard. there is a mutual agreement that it’s time for a fundamental and radical change. there is only one way to speak out; it is for voices to come together and echo in a thunderous manner that will disrupt the serenity of the entire land. the only way voices can be heard loud and clear is through solidarity. solidarity is the voice of oneness, togetherness and the only way diversity becomes strength of the weak. we build movements and protect one another’s lives and rights, the interest being mutual and equal existence of mutual love, human and group interest at heart, and integrity to strongly hold on to one another to avoid the outbreak of sabotage. in essence, unadulterated solidarity implies great success, critically applying the form of social behavior for the purpose of creating cohesion and social ties that unite the members of a partnership with each other. there is need for the integration of human relation in performance and practices that are complementary to each other. however, the concept of complementarity suffers from a lack of operational clarity and has been essentially approached from a statistical standpoint that has limited the understanding of the overall system. complementarity posits that human social coordination is the product of structured psychological inclination linked to corresponding cultural paradigms. a hungry person needs more than bread to survive, because today’s bread might not be his problems. he might have the day’s bread but is bothered about his hopeless tomorrow; he needs inner peace, and this is the only remedy to his psychological derangement. the rich are not free of this trauma of lack of financial abundance, implying peace; igwebuike attributes in the medieval french system: a review of charlemagne’s leadership in “la chanson de roland” igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 35 whereas, undue acquisition of so much fund, management and spending are bigger problems on their own. peace remains the answer to existing problems in the society, and this can be achieved through oneness, complementarity with oneself and other humans. every human has the innate and congenital need to experience peace and an environment that is void of conflicts. trees and animals need no peace because nature has blessed them with a peaceful existence. it is unnecessary to hold animal pets in higher regard than fellow humans, because they only agree and respect man’s wishes in an animalistic manner which their nature has subjected to. they are created as animals and tend to behave as such, but humans possess understanding and individual differences; therefore, tolerance in adversity is a virtue to be emulated and deployed in general relation with fellow humans to achieve peace of mind. humans need peace for an enduring coexistence. the peace that extends to other humans emanates naturally from one’s self and inner satisfaction; man can only remain at peace with other men when he has achieved inner peace with himself. ralph waldo emerson once said: the reason why the world lacks unity, and lies broken and in heaps, is because man is in disunity with himself”. he clearly establishes the need for individual restoration of inner peace to be able to relate properly with other humans in unity and brotherhood. as difficult as humility and tolerance towards diverse human negative attitude are, peace of mind accelerates discipline and grants a better chance of understanding, and ensures logical approach to human behaviour and individual differences. unfortunately, the society today bedrocks on other people’s faults, and carelessly analyzes these faults to exhibit their intolerance. humans neglect their own weaknesses, and look at other people’s weaknesses. resolving conflicts, as the principle of the igwebuike philosophy does, is not limited to the igbo-african culture, and ensuring peace is a world phenomenon that is peculiar to all humans all over the world. conflict resolution and world peace, as we all know is very important in our lives and is essential to our overall well-being. however, it has regrettably eluded us over the years, not jude i. onebunne, phd & sylvia chinazom ezeaka igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 36 just emphasizing on a particular nation but the entire globe. it has been hindered by different disastrous factors like war, conflicts, diseases, and disagreements throughout human epoch, which have left our entire world and humans in a dilapidating and deplorable state, be it in their emotional, psychological, physical and financial strata. this research has studied the reality of disunity which characterizes being, the positive dynamics the society could benefit in appreciation of igwebuike as an option for social relationship and leadership goals. within this context, it looks into the echoes of the medieval french government in the leadership system of france and called for the need for change in nigerian and generally african political qualities. it describes humans being as beings that should in all aspect deploy other human relations for better survival. it sees the leadership of a nation in the values of the society as a communal responsibility, which everyone is held responsible for its success and failure as well. this work, therefore, suggests as a solution to saving nigeria from instability (and extends to africa) from already existing or further emergent political upheaval: there must be a conscious policy of leadership that integrates the local context of the igbo-african cultural belief of igwebuike principles into its leadership visions. igwebuike potency for achieving national unity should not be overlooked as its principles can help to either prevent or attack problems emanating from bad leadership qualities. conclusion igwebuike philosophy is a true manifestation of the african spirit, i am because we are with great emphasis on its translation, unity is strength. an ideology that defines the true essence of human relationship with others, such that mutual relationship, it is a great force which rightly combines and exhibits forces to be reckoned with. kanu upholds igwebuike as the kind of bond or strength in collaboration and community spirit, and an indication of the necessity of synergy to amplify the value of african communal spirit towards igwebuike attributes in the medieval french system: a review of charlemagne’s leadership in “la chanson de roland” igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 37 achieving success or anything meaningful in life. the principles of igwebuike, exhibited in this paper as unity, complementarity, friendship and solidarity, are the basis on which this philosophy is well-defined, thus giving them an igbo-african cultural representation, not limiting the philosophy to the igbo culture alone, rather giving it cultural amplification and elaboration as preachers of world unity. elaborating on igwebuike as a philosophy conspicuous in the french society and already perceptible as early as in the middle ages, its success in leadership and other spheres of national progress cannot be overlooked; therefore, it is a commendable approach and serves as a solution to existing problems in our nation today. these principles allow us to overcome the adversities that present themselves throughout life. a person or nation which acts on these principles does not hesitate to collaborate with and support all those who are in disadvantaged situations, in contrast to people who are indifferent to the needs of others and are more self-centered. therefore, in team spirit, we must encourage an attitude of igwebuike in individuals, since unity can be seen as the basis of many other human values. in a special way, it helps one to develop valuable friendships in family and social settings, and helps nations to attain growth and progress. references asouzu, i. i. (2004). the methods and principles of complementary reflection in and beyond african philosophy. calabar: university of calabar press. barrette, j., carrière, j. (2003). organizational performance and complementarity in human resources management practice. journals des relations industrielles / journal of industrial relations, vol. 58, no. 3. cadot-colin, a. (2010, réécrit) la chanson de roland. isbn : 2218944782. editions hatier, paris. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/absbyauth.cfm?per_id=1506641 https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/absbyauth.cfm?per_id=1528624 https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1663820## https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1663820## jude i. onebunne, phd & sylvia chinazom ezeaka igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 38 chandran, r. (2014). solidarity – the need for survival and existence. global education magazine. http://www.globaleducationmagazine.com/solidarity-survivalexistence/ henderson, c. r. (1905). social solidarity in france. american journal of sociology, vol. 11, no. 2. usa, university of chicago press kanu, i. a. (2015). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for national unity. a paper presented at the 2015 faculty of arts international conference, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state. kanu, i. a. (2016). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2, no. 1. kanu i. a. (2018). sources of igwebuike philosophy: towards a socio-cultural foundation. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 9, no 1. kanu, i.a. (2019). on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. journal of religion and human relations. volume 11, no. 1. kanu i. a. (2015b). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu i. a. (2017). igwebuikeconomics: towards an inclusive economy for economic development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 6. 113-140. kanu i. a. (2017). sources of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. 9. 1. pp. 1-23. kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. kanu, a. i. (2017c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 7. pp. 165-183. file:///c:/users/hp/downloads/global%20education%20%20%0dmagazine http://www.globaleducationmagazine.com/solidarity-survival-existence/ http://www.globaleducationmagazine.com/solidarity-survival-existence/ igwebuike attributes in the medieval french system: a review of charlemagne’s leadership in “la chanson de roland” igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 39 kanu, a. i. (2017d). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 6. pp. 16-50. kanu, a. i. (2017f). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. pp. 153-160. kanu, i. a. (2014). igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholic-pentecostal relations. jos studies. 22. pp.87-98. kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015b). igwebuike as an ontological precondition for african ethics. international conference of the society for research and academic excellence. university of nigeria, nsukka. 14 th -16 th september. kanu, i. a. (2015c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25 th -26 th november 2015 university of paris, france. kanu, i. a. (ed.) (2016a). complementary ontology: provocative essays on innocent asouzu’s african philosophy of integration for progressive transformation. germany: lambert academic publishing. kanu, i. a. (ed.) (2016b). ibuanyidanda: a complementary systematic inquiry. reflections on innocent asouzu’s african philosophy. germany: lambert academic publishing. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. jude i. onebunne, phd & sylvia chinazom ezeaka igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 40 kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. mbiti, j. (1970). african religions and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational. tempels, p. (1959). bantu philosophy. paris: presence africaine. the igbo-african kola nut as a symbolic manifestation of ‘igwebuike’ philosophy igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 41 the igbo-african kola nut as a symbolic manifestation of ‘igwebuike’ philosophy ikechukwu anthony kanu department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university umunya, anambra state ikee_mario@yahoo.com executive summary among the igbo of eastern nigeria, symbols are not only important, but have become indispensable in their daily lives. several symbols used include: ofo, which is a symbol of authority; ogu, the symbol of innocence; ikenga, a symbol of strength, uprightness, success, integrity and ancestry; mbari, the symbol of culture and aesthetics; mmanwu, the symbol of the ancestors; udara, the symbol of fertility, procreation and abundance. all these symbols among the igbo put together are not as important as the symbolic expressions of the igbo kola nut (oji igbo) ‘cola acuminata’. it is among the greatest, if not the greatest symbol among the igbo, and belongs to the mysteries of igbo history, culture and tradition. it symbolizes the well-acclaimed igbo hospitality, and manifests goodwill. it is used to settle disputes and make peace, and serves as a link between human beings and the divine. this work studied the igbo kola nut in relation to its symbolic expression of igwebuike philosophy. igwebuike, at the philosophical level, provides an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. taking from the igwebuike worldview, which places the human person at the centre of the universe, the kola nut was employed to advance the understanding of the human person’s relationship with fellow human beings, and the relationship between human beings and the gods, ancestors, etc. this piece discovered that the kola nut mailto:ikee_mario@yahoo.com ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 42 expresses igwebuike philosophy which is the operative condition of the igbo universe. for the purpose of this study, the igwebuike holistic and complementary approaches were employed. keywords: oji, igbo kola nut, africa, igwebuike, complementarity, symbol, philosophy introduction the african is a homo symbolicus, and one does not need to live long among them to discover that symbols occupy a very significant place in their life. as representational beings, they have a distinctive character of creating and using symbols to communicate evocative messages that represent aspects of their lives or those around them. the african is, therefore, not just a symbol-making being, but a symbolizing being. farchild (1965) describes a symbol as: …that which stands for something else particularly a relatively concrete explicit representation of a more generalized, diffuse, intangible object or group of objects. a very large part of social processes is caused on by use of symbols such as words, money, certificates and pictures. a true symbol excites reactions similar to, though perhaps not quite as intense as those created by the original object. (p. 314). it is from the above perspective that madu (2011) maintains that symbolism implies the practice of using acts, sounds, objects or other means which are not of importance in themselves for directing attention to something that is considered important. among the igbo of eastern nigeria, several symbols are used to direction attention to significant realities; symbols like the ofo, which symbolizes authority; ogu, the symbol of innocence; ikenga, a symbol of strength, uprightness, success, integrity and ancestory; mbari, the symbol of culture and aesthetics; mmanwu, the symbol of the ancestors; and udara, the symbol of fertility, procreation and abundance. all these symbols among the igbo put together are not as the igbo-african kola nut as a symbolic manifestation of ‘igwebuike’ philosophy igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 43 important as the igbo kola nut (oji igbo) cola acuminata. it is among the greatest, if not the greatest symbol among the igbo. of the many cultural symbols in igboland, none has received attention like the kola nut. it is very important and central to the life and ceremonies of the igbo. this work studies the igbo kola nut in relation to its symbolic expression of igwebuike philosophy. igwebuike, at the philosophical level, provides an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. taking from the igwebuike worldview, which places the human person at the centre of the universe, the kola nut, as a symbolic expression, will be studied to see to what extent it expresses the understanding of the human person as a being relationship with fellow human beings and the divine: gods, ancestors, etc. the igbo kola nut in igbo-african religion and culture for the igbo, the kola nut goes beyond the red and yellow seed that you find in trays sold on the streets and in kiosks. it is not just the biannual crop grown and stored in sacks and baskets (kanu, 2015a). it is a food that must be eaten with relish; it commands adoration and many accolades and must be attended to with deserving feast. it unites the living and the dead, and symbolizes a feast of togetherness, love and trust. the kola nut is a symbol of life ndu; this is why the igbo say: “he that brings kola brings life” (kanu, 2019). uchendu (1965) refers to the kola nut as “the greatest symbol of igbo hospitality. it always comes first. ‘it is the king’”(p. 74). and because of the important place it occupies, presenting it is very ceremonial. the ceremony begins with the presentation of the kola nut to the guests through the next ranking male after which it is returned to the host. it is usually presented alongside with white chalk (nzu), alligator pepper, garden egg, bitter kola, groundnut butter (okwa ose) in a wooden dish (okwa oji). inside the wooden dish is added a knife for the breaking of the kola. even if the visitor is just a person, more than one kola nut is presented in case the visitor may need to take one back home. anything less than two must be presented with apologies ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 44 before any other ritual commences. the presentation is followed by a prayer, said by the host if he is the eldest; if not, the prayer is said by the eldest person present. during the prayer, chukwu is invoked with incantations garnished with proverbs and prayers for life, good health, prosperity, children, peace, justice, etc. after the prayer, the kola nut is broken into its various lobes; this is followed by distribution and chewing. it is expected that everyone present would partake in the kola nut to avoid the euphoria of suspicion. figure 1: the kola nut: culled from www.pinterest.com as the heart beat of the igbo culture and tradition, the igbo kola nut is used for several purposes, which include: 1. to welcome a visitor to welcome a visitor with a kola is to receive the visitor into one’s life. it is also a sign that you wish the visitor life. 2. to open a prayer it is used for prayers and sacred communion because of the special place it occupies among the gods. 3. for rites, rituals and ceremonies the igbo-african kola nut as a symbolic manifestation of ‘igwebuike’ philosophy igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 45 it is what the gods, ancestors and men eat together during these ceremonies. 4. food and nutrition it is a food that contains caffeine, theobromine, tannins, potassium, magnesium, glycosides, etc. 5. commerce it is bought and sold just like any other goods and services. 6. cleansing it is used for ritual of cleansing of a person, property or place. 7. flavoring it is used for flavoring food, drinks and beverages. in 1886, pendergrast (2000) observes that it was used to flavor coca cola. 8. oath-taking, covenant and settlement of disputes when used during these circumstances, it is employed to call on god to be a witness. 9. divination and prophecy usually it is broken into lobes and cast on the ground, then the diviner makes an interpretation. 10. sacrifice and worship this is very important as it is a sacred meal, the meal of the gods. 11. receiving a new day it is used in the morning during invocatory poems and prayers. 12. medical and mystical uses because of its nutritive value, it has health consequences. it helps strengthen the tooth enamel surface. every kola nut can be broken into lobes, and these lobes signify numbers. and number is very important for the african. some have one lobe, some two lobes, some three, some four, some five, some six and some seven. one can also find a kola nut with more than seven lobes. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 46 the kkola nut with one lobe is a dumb kola (oji ogbi). it is also called the kola nut of the spirits (oji mmuo), round kola nut (oji ifilifi or nkpurukakpu), kola nut of the mystical circle or zero kola nut(oji akwu na ogbi or obi); it is not eaten by human beings because it belongs to chukwu; chukwu is a spirit (chukwu bu mmuo). a onelobed kola nut is neither male nor female, since chukwu is one and indivisible in nature. when it has two lobes, it is called oji gworo, symbolizing male and female. it is an elliptical gender shadow of oji ogbi and the first child of the one-lobed kola nut. it is the cola nitida. just like the one-lobed kola nut, it belongs to the spirits and is not used for religious and cultural celebrations in igbo land. however, it can be eaten after some prayers. three-lobed kola nut is called oji ikenga (ike eji aga, ikenga is a spirit of power and achievement) or oji dike (the kola nut of the brave or valiant), or oji echichi (the kola nut of titled people). it is the masculine kola. as a matter of principle, it is eaten only by warriors, brave men, the consecrated or the ordained. it is not eaten by women, except for those who may be seeking for a male child. the kola with four lobes (oji aka ano) is the kola of peace (oji udo) and blessings (oji ngozi), the kola nut of the four market days (oji ahia na ano ubosi na ano: afor, nkwor, eke and orie). it also symbolizes completeness (izu zuru oke, referring to the four market days). it is the kola nut for both male and female genders (oji nwoke na nwayi), and thus considered the most gender-sensitive kola. it is also called the kola nut of the family (oji ezinuno) because it is believed to unite the family. the kola with five lobes is the kola of procreation (oji omumu), protection, of industry and achievement (oji aka na okpa), of wealth (oji una or oji ubalaka), progress and good luck (oji sirili werere). whenever it is broken and shared, it is a sign that things will go well. the igbo-african kola nut as a symbolic manifestation of ‘igwebuike’ philosophy igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 47 it came from the four-lobed kola; however, unlike the four-lobed kola with two males and two females, the five-lobed kola comes with three males and two females. the kola with six lobes is called the kola nut of the ancestors (oji ndi chie), or the kola that doubles the ikenga kola (oji ikenga abuo). it is also called the covenant kola nut (oji ogbugbandu), the kola nut of communion (oji oriko) or the kola nut of blood and spirit ties (oji umume na umuite). it is the kola of blood and spirit, and thus, indicative of communion with the ancestors. no wonder the smallest part of it is not eaten but given to the ancestors. it is used to make peace, covenant ties, taking of oath and punishment of offenders. the last is the seven-lobed kola, which is known as the kola nut of perfection of man and spirit (oji asaa mmadu asaa mmuo), consummations, fulfillment, and completeness (oji kpurugede), the kola nut of the titled cow killer (oji ogbuefi), the kola nut of ozo title and prophecy (oji ozo na amuma), the kola nut of celebration and festivities (oji emume na mmemme), the kola nut of law and judgment (oji iwu na ikpe). it is also the kola of endlessness or eternity. thus, the igbo would say: uwam uwa asaa; asaa ndu na anwuanwu; ikpa naasaa mmiri naasaa (kanu, 2015b). the kola nut and the expression of igwebuike philosophy igwe bu ike is an igbo proverb and also a typical igbo name. igbo proverbs and names are among the major traditional vessels where african philosophy, religion and culture have continued to be preserved. they contain the wisdom and experience of the african people, usually of several ages gathered and summed up in one expression (kanu, 2018a). thus, beyond the linguistic expression lies a deeper meaning. it is at the philosophical level that igwebuike is understood as providing an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations (kanu, 2016a). the expression, igwebuike, is a combination of three igbo words. it can be understood as a word or a sentence: as a word, it is written as ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 48 igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. literally, igwe is a noun which means ‘number’ or ‘multitude,’ usually a large number or population. the number or population in perspective are entities with ontological identities and significances; however, they are part of an existential order in which every entity is in relation to the other. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is a noun, which means strength or power (kanu, 2016b). igwe, bu and ike put together, means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’ (kanu, 2017a). however, beyond the literal sense of igwebuike, it means otu obi (one heart and one soul) – cor unum et anima una. in a metaphoric sense, it is used within the igbo linguistic setting to refer to relational engagement in the world, accomplished in solidarity and complementarity, and the powerful and insurmountable force therein (kanu, 2017b). the closest words to it in english are complementarity, solidarity and harmony. if igwebuike provides an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations, the major question looming at the horizon is how the kola nut symbolizes this mutual relational character. it is in this regard that kola nut symbols of human/human and human/divine relationships will be studied. 1. the kola nut symbol of divine/human relationship the kola nut is a sacred symbol among the igbo, and it tells the story of the igbo religious reality. it is, therefore, not surprising that, in relation to its beginnings, the kola nut is presented in igbo mythologies as belonging to the plant world of the spirits and has remained associated with the spirit world. umeogu (2019) gives several mythical stories in this regard; however, the following three are of relevance to this research: 1. the autochthonous origin of the kola nut holds that it was planted by chukwu as the first tree planted on igbo land. it was planted by chukwu so that the fruits would serve as fruits for both the gods and human beings. it was also planted that it may become the gateway of communion between spirits and human beings. the igbo-african kola nut as a symbolic manifestation of ‘igwebuike’ philosophy igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 49 2. a second myth holds that the gods lived on kola nuts and sacrifices. usually, when they were offered sacrifices, they consumed the sacrifice with kola nut. human beings used sacrifices to invoke the presence of the gods so as to attend to human needs or challenges. during one of such invocations and the appearance of the gods in igbo land, they forgot to return with some of the kola nuts that they had brought to eat their sacrifice with. the kola nut then sprouted and became a cherished tree in igbo land. 3. a third myth has it that the founding fathers of igbo land paid a visit to the gods. as part of the welcome ceremony, the gods went to their orchard, plugged a fruit and offered it to the founding fathers of igbo land. on their return home, these founding fathers returned with the kola nut to igbo land, planted it and began using it in the world of human beings. since then, it has been used for welcoming visitors, rituals, ceremonies, etc. because of the sacred dimension of the kola nut, it has been regarded as a symbol of sacred communion between human beings and the gods, spirits, ancestors, etc. thus, during the blessing of the kola nut, osamugha (2006) observes that the prayer below is said: god in heaven come and eat kola. unfathomable god, come and eat kola. king who is the final arbiter, come and eat kola our ancestors, recent and remote, come and eat kola (p. 10). from the foregoing, the kola nut has been used by the igbo in their relationships with the divine. it is at this level that the kola nut is understood as a symbol of divine and human relations. through the kola nut, human beings do for the divine what they cannot do for themselves, and through it too, they appeal to the gods to do for them (human beings) what they cannot do for themselves. this communion between human beings and the gods is symbolized in and attained through the use of kola nut. there are special events when and where ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 50 it is used by human beings in their relationship with the divine. these times include: e. prayer it is very important in prayer because the kola nut speaks, and also used to communicate between human beings and the gods. it is so important that in every gathering of the igbo it is employed for the opening prayer. nzekwu (1966) presents a typical igbo prayer with the kola nut thus: creator of the universe, chew kola nut. our ancestral spirits, chew kola nut. he who brings kola nut brings life. wherever a child may be, may it wake each dawn. we will all live. forward jumps the male monkey; it never jumps backward. if a kite and an eagle perch, whichever says the other should not perch, may its wings break. whatever one’s occupation, may it provide for his old age. (p. 48). the oji (kola nut) and mmanya-oku (hot drink) are also important during libations, the food and drink of the gods. it is through libation that the african tries to normalize or balance the relationship between the three worlds. this libation is made to god through the agency of the ancestors and other deities. the igbo believe that through gifts, like the kola nut, they can gain god’s favour. f. divination and prophecy the kola nut is an important element during divination and prophecy among the igbo. divination involves a process of inquiry. people who wish to know why certain things happen, how to solve certain problems, and so on, go to diviners. this is usually done through the agency of a particular deity. the igbo would say onye amaghi ebe mmiri bidoro maba ya, anaghi ama ebe okwusiri (he who does not know where rain started beating him cannot know where it stopped.). the kola the igbo-african kola nut as a symbolic manifestation of ‘igwebuike’ philosophy igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 51 nut in divination speaks the minds of the gods. when it is broken and thrown to the ground, the diviner or prophet interprets what the gods are saying to a particular situation or individual. this interpretation is shaped by the way the lobes fall, whether facing up or down. for instance, if after the lobes are thrown to the ground or in a plate and they lie open on their backs, it is called itu mnwiri enu and is a sign of good things to come, but if they lie on their faces with their backs up, it is called itu mnwiri ala, and is a sign of bad omen. when it is a half face up, it is called itu mnwiri nko enu. when it is a half face down, it is called itu mnwiri nko ala. if the lobes forma circle, it is a sign of life. if they form a cross, it is sign of conflict or death. g. festivals, rites, rituals and ceremonies the kola nut is never absent in igbo religious festivals, rituals, rites and ceremonies. the reason is simple; the gods cannot be invited for a ceremony without making provision for their food: the kola nut. religious festivals and rituals, such as new yam festivals, harvest seasons, hunting seasons and planting season festivals, are activities that demonstrate and express belief and faith in chukwu and the spirit world. during these ceremonies, what god or the spirits have done for human beings are commemorated and powers obtained from the spirit world. for instance, the igbo’s celebration of the new yam festival is connected to the month of ahiajioku. it is a time when they give thanks to chukwu, his deans and the ancestors for granting them a bountiful harvest for the year. igbo traditional marriage ceremonies, etc., also provide an opportunity for communion with the ancestors, as the igbo invoke their blessings upon the newly married couple. h. sacrifice and worship the kola nut occupies an important place in igbo ritual home. for some, it is a crop grown in the forests and sold; but for the ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 52 igbo, it is an instrument for a holy communion. its sacredness explains why it is used by human beings during sacrifices and worship. through it, the human person is able to reach out to the gods. i. oath-taking, covenants and settlement of disputes the five and six-lobed kola nuts are used during oath-taking (inu iyi), covenants (igbo ndu or igbo oriko) and settlement of disputes (ikpe ikpe) to invite the gods and ancestors to be witnesses to the covenant that is made or oath that is taken or agreement reached during dispute settlement. the five-lobed kola is used for the settlement of dispute. if after the dispute is settled and the kola nut is broken, shared and eaten, it is sign that peace must reign between the persons involved. if afterwards, a mischief maker arises from among the persons, he would be in trouble. 2. symbol of inter-human relations the igbo kola nut symbolizes the unity and togetherness of the igbo people. this understanding begins from the shape of the kola nut itself: it has the shape of the human heart, and so it is regarded as the heart of the igbo people. it is in this regard that it is said that ‘the kola nut is the heart of the igbo people’ (oji bu mkpuru obi ndi igbo). it does not just symbolize the igbo people in an abstract sense, it is also a culture that holds the igbo people together; wherever they meet, the kola nut carries the same meaning and power. once it is presented, every igbo person knows what it symbolizes and what should be done. it is within this context that the igbo say that ‘the kola nut is the culture that holds the igbo together’ (oji bu omenani jikotaru ndi igbo). it is at this level of understanding that it becomes easier to connect the igbo kola nut with igwebuike philosophy which means otu obi (one heart and one soul) – cor unum et anima una. this philosophy of otu obi that the kola nut signifies is evident when it is presented to a visitor as a sign of reception and hospitality. to offer the igbo-african kola nut as a symbolic manifestation of ‘igwebuike’ philosophy igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 53 a visitor kola nut is to receive the visitor with one’s life, and beyond that, it is also wishing the person life, because an igbo proverb says that ‘he that brings kola brings life’ (onye wetara oji wetara ndu). according to uchendu (1964), “kola nut features in all aspects of igbo life. it is the symbol of igbo hospitality. to be presented with a kola nut is to be made welcome; and one is most welcome when the kola nut turns out white, whether this is by accident or by design” (p. 448). the lobes of the kola point to the reality of complementarity in human relationships. when these lobes stay together they remain alive, but when they separate they die and dry off. their togetherness is a symbol of life, and their separation, death. life in africa is about being in relation to the other. to be is to belong, and not to belong is to suffer alienation (kanu, 2017d and 2016d). the kola nut also symbolizes the african worldview, which is characterized by a common origin, common worldview, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny. the communal-individuality of the african is expressed in the igbo proverb which says ‘if a lizard stays off from the foot of a tree, it would be in danger’ (ngwere ghara ukwu osisi, aka akpara ya) (kanu, 2014). mbiti (1970) classically proverbialized the community-determining role of the individual when he writes, “i am because we are and since we are, therefore i am” (p. 108). the existence of others assures one of their solidarity and complementarity, without which i cannot be. achebe (1958) brings the essential nature of the igbo-african communal relationship to a higher and more fundamental focus when he writes: we do not ask for wealth because he that has health and children will also have wealth. we do not pray to have more money but to have more kinsmen. we are better than animals because we have kinsmen. an animal rubs its itching flank against a tree, a man asks his kinsman to scratch him. (p. 132). the kola nut points to the fact that existence is not only meaningful, but also possible only in a community. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 54 the kola nut and igwebuike philosophy of science there might have been other sources of knowledge of african philosophy of science; however, the kola nut as a symbol inundated with multiple meanings among the african people must have contributed to or deepened the understanding of african philosophy of science. this is very important, especially as the kola nut is a gift from chukwu, who is himself the source of all science and knowledge. 1. the kola nut and igwebuike physics the two-lobed kola nut has implications for an african physics. the two lobes signify actions and events within the african world. umeogu (2019) refers to it as that force of impression that would move a body and stop a body in motion, and the kola produces cause and effect, action and reaction. it is through the movement and interaction of these forces of nature that reality comes into existence (kanu, 2020). instances include: a. universal gravitational forceeverything works towards the centre of the earth which points to the african concept of the complementarity of reality. in spite of the multiplicity of reality, reality is one. b. synthesis theory of urea: this theory believes that the synthesis of inanimate things brings about the formation of animate realities. it points to the interconnected of reality. c. neutralization reaction: it holds that the combination of elements brings about the formation of new ones. for instance, oxygen + hydrogen=water or acid + base= salt + water if it is through the interaction of forces, and sometimes conflicting forces, that new realities come into existence. it then implies that in african physics, alterity is not a problem but a potentiality for the birth of new reality. it further presents the igbo universe as one of conflicts of opposites: good and evil, light and darkness, hot and cold, wet and dry, male and female, etc. these conflicts do not spell the end of the universe but the hope of sustenance and remaining in being. the igbo-african kola nut as a symbolic manifestation of ‘igwebuike’ philosophy igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 55 2. the kola nut and igwebuike astronomy and theogenesis the unity of the lobes of the kola nut, in spite of their divisibility, unrepeatability and uniqueness, registers the fact about the ‘commonness’ in the midst of alterity in the african universe. it manifests the fact that reality in the african universe is one. it does not just point to the oneness of reality but to the mysterious beginning of the universe (from the one-lobed kola a symbol of chukwu). it all began from the one, with whom there was no second. that one is chukwu who alone, in himself and by himself, created the universe. we did not create it but found ourselves in it. we are because he does exist, and nothing would be in existence without him, for everything was made through him and in him. the case of the one-lobed kola nut, oji ogbi, tells his story. it is the first kola from which other kola nuts emerged. it is neither a male nor female, just as chukwu is neither male nor female. the one-lobed kola nut points to the importance of numbers in the african universe, and how igbo-africans devoted much time and interest in mathematics. they did not only develop it, but used numbers to explain the reality of the universe. it is in this regard that 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 lobed kola nuts give profound explanations about the igbo universe and how realities can be explained in relation to numbers. the one-lobed kola, being the beginning and source of other kola nuts, points to the important place that the number one occupies in igbo astronomy. the number one is not only the central number but the centre of the universe and the heart of reality. every reality began from the number one its destiny is determined by the one and would end in the one. this one is chukwu. since everything exists in and through the frame of the one, every reality finds its unity in him. it is within this context that igwebuike understands every individual reality as part of and the completion of the whole, and thus, there is a unity in the midst of diversity (kanu, 2019). ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 56 3. the kola nut and igwebuike biology and anthropogenesis focusing on the four-lobed kola nut, which is made of two female lobes and two male lobes, in which the male lobe faces the female lobe and the female lobe faces the male lobe, the source and foundation of the igbo-african family is traced. it makes it clear that according to igbo biology, it is from the union of the male and female that other males and females emerged. it is through the crossing of the male and female that every other thing was generated. the male and female speak of the positive and negative polar charges of being that must cross each other before a being of their kind can come into existence. thus, the four-lobed kola nut speaks of the source of creative light and life. when the male and female lobes cross each other, light is ignited which further brings about life in the igbo world. 4. the kola nut and igwebuike scientific method the multiplicity of the lobes, which does not in any way make the kola nut two or three or four kola, but united to form a whole, points to a holistic approach in science. its ‘holisticness’ of the approach is anchored on the fact that all parts of reality are interconnected and find identity, meaning and purpose through relationships. thus, igwebuike emphasizes the importance of multidimentionality in research (kanu, 2017g). an investigation of a particular situation or reality should imply several viewpoints or perspectives so as to arrive at a global, balanced and enriched position (kanu, 2017h). the implications of the lobes of the kola nut lying side by side as support to each other establish the importance of interdisciplinary approach in scientific investigations. the interdisciplinary approach is based on the interconnectivity of reality. by interdisciplinary approach, it is meant the combining of two or more established academic disciplines in a process of research (kanu, 2019). thus, an interdisciplinary research synthesizes perspectives, knowledge, skills, interconnections, epistemologies, etc. the interdisciplinary method draws knowledge from several other professions, technologies and fields (kanu, 2016a). this further implies that science as a field of the igbo-african kola nut as a symbolic manifestation of ‘igwebuike’ philosophy igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 57 study is not independent of other fields of human endeavour. while it can give explanations for the causes of certain realities in the universe, it cannot alone give meaning or purposefulness to human existence. conclusion among the igbo-africans, the kola nut remains one of those symbols that have defied the blades of civilization. it is, therefore, not surprising that, in spite of the influx of modernity into the african society, the place of the kola nut remains undiminished, and may have even grown in stature. one of the reasons for its persistence through time is because of its sacredness and place in ceremonies and festivals. it is such that ceremonies like marriage, child birth, naming of a child, new yam festivals, etc., without the kola nut, may be considered incomplete. the kola nut does not only symbolize the essence of the african acclaimed hospitality, it manifests the goodwill employed to welcome a visitor. it is also used to settle interpersonal or inter-communal disputes. from the foregoing, acholonu (2006) avers that “the kola nut functions at the heart of igbo-african collective psyche and spirituality” (p. 1). it is because of the centrality of the kola nut in the igbo psyche and spirituality that its relationship with igwebuike philosophy, which captures the igbo-african worldview, becomes unavoidable. this work has unveiled the symbolic manifestation of igwebuike philosophy in the kola nut. the kola nut manifests the reality of being human within the context of a web of relationships with persons and other inhabitants of the universe. the kola nut and igwebuike philosophy understand the human person and other realities around him/her as a social being, rather than a solitary individual. herein, being human involves an unfolding, evolving and developing dimension, one that has a cumulative experience and wisdom of one’s community, locally and globally. it is within this context that the kola is understood as a symbolic expression of igwebuike philosophy. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 58 references achebe, c. (1958). the things fall apart. england: heinemann. acholonu, r. (2006). women and the kola nut saga in igbo culture: a human rights abuse. in uchem, r. (ed.). women and the kola nut (pp. 1-8). enugu: snaap press. fairchild, h. p. (1965). dictionary of sociology and related sciences. england: little field adams. kanu i. a. (2015b). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu i. a. (2017a). igwebuikeconomics: towards an inclusive economy for economic development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 6. 113140. kanu i. a. (2017b). sources of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. 9. 1. pp. 1-23. kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. kanu, a. i. (2016b). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 1-7. kanu, a. i. (2016d). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. kanu, i. a. (2014). igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholic-pentecostal relations. jos studies. 22. pp.8798. kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. the igbo-african kola nut as a symbolic manifestation of ‘igwebuike’ philosophy igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 59 kanu, i. a. (2016c). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. kanu, i. a. (2017c). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017d). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2018a). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018b). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2019). collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2020). african culture as an ancient landmark: culture versus identity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. pp. 49-54. kanu, i. a. (2014a). igbo proverbs as depositum of igbo-african philosophy. international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 4. no. 1. pp. 164-168. kanu, i. a. (2014a). suicide in igbo-african ontology. developing countries studies. vol. 4. no. 5. usa. pp. 27-38. kanu, i. a. (2014b). suffering in igbo-african ontology. research on humanities and social sciences. vol. 4. no. 5. pp. 8-13. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 60 kanu, i. a. (2014b). the place of igbo myths in igbo-african philosophy. american journal of contemporary research. vol. 4. no. 2. pp. 98-102. kanu, i. a. (2015). african traditional democracy with particular reference to the yoruba and igbo political systems. international journal of philosophy and public affairs. vol. 2. no. 3. pp. 147-160. kanu, i. a. (2015). personal identity and punishment in john locke (a dissertation for the award of master of arts degree in philosophymetaphysics), university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu state. kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (ed.) (2016a). complementary ontology: provocative essays on innocent asouzu’s african philosophy of integration for progressive transformation. germany: lambert academic publishing. kanu, i. a. (ed.) (2016b). ibuanyidanda: a complementary systematic inquiry. reflections on innocent asouzu’s african philosophy. germany: lambert academic publishing. kanu, i. a. (2016). igbo-african christology: a cultural christological construct in post-missionary africa. germany: lambert publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). african traditional folk songs as dialogue between education and entertainment. cambridge international journal of contemporary education research. 6. 6. pp. 53-64. madu, e. j. (2011). symbolism in african cosmology: the igbo perspective. nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. lecture notes, 2011. mbiti, j. (1970). african religions and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational publishers. nzekwu, o. (1966). wand of noble wood. new york: signet. the igbo-african kola nut as a symbolic manifestation of ‘igwebuike’ philosophy igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 61 osamugha, c. (2006). women and the kola nut in igbo culture: a theological reflection. in uchem, r. (ed.). women and the kola nut (pp. 9-14). enugu: snaap press. pendergrast, m. (2000). for god, country and coca-cola. new york: basic books. uchendu, v. c. (1964). kola hospitality and igbo lineage structure, man. vol. 64. britain: royal authr institute. uchendu, v. c. (1965). the igbo of south east nigeria. new york: holt rinehart and winston. umeogu, b. u. (2019). kolanut in igbo metpahysics: a phenomernalysical research into its symbolismic universe. inaugural lecture delivered on 26 th september at the nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and the management of covid-19 in nigeria igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 63 ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and the management of covid-19 in nigeria omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd department of business administration and management villanova polytechnic, imesi ile, osun state omojolassma@yahoo.co.uk executive summary this paper discussed ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and the management of corona virus pandemic (covid-19) in nigeria. it attempted to show the correlation between this philosophy and how covid-19 is being managed in nigeria. the development of the disease, its spread and preventions were deliberated upon, in the sense that it originated from china. it has spread into many countries, and can be contracted through droplets from the affected person(s). avoidance of gatherings (both social and religious), use of face masks and sanitizers were presented to be some of the ways in which the spread of the pandemic could be curbed. to arrive at a lasting solution, the government introduced social lockdown, and foodstuffs were distributed to people to cushion its effects on them. the work revealed that ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and covid-19 are related in the sense that both deal with people and their affairs. it brought about solidarity on the part of government and the populace in finding solutions to the common problem of the pandemic in their ability to search for vaccines, while individuals were suggesting african herbs. also, the covid-19 period encouraged families to stay together in unity and harmony as ‘igwebuike’ philosophy resonates. it was then recommended that there should be proper database for unbiased distribution of palliatives. the lockdown should be a nation-wide issue for proper supervision, and that omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 64 other deadly deceases ravaging the country, like lasser fever, should be well-managed like the issue of covid -19. in conclusion, leaders could embrace ‘igwebuike’ philosophy of solidarity in decision making so as to avoid followers losing confidence in them as it happened at a point during the management of covid-19 pandemic in nigeria. phenomenological method of inquiry was used for the purpose of this study. key words: ‘igwebuike’ philosophy, kanu ikechukwu anthony, management, covid-19, palliatives, social distancing, isolation centre and face mask. introduction the outbreak of corona virus disease, otherwise known as covid-19, started in december 2019 in china. this is an infectious disease that has been presented to be caused by a newly discovered virus. according to the report of matt and sabrina (2020), it seems to have originated from wuhan seafood market where all sorts of wild animals like marmots, birds, rabbits, bats and snakes are merchandized illegally. “coronaviruses are known to jump from animals to humans, so it is thought that the first people infected with the disease – a group primarily made up of stallholders from the seafood market contracted it from contact with animals” (p.4). there are many contending views on the origin of the virus. matt and sabrina further said that virologist assessment shows that the infection is from bat, while some are of the opinion that the early cases of covid-19, however, appeared to have inflicted people with no link to the wuhan market at all, suggesting that the initial route of human infection may pre-date the market cases. by implication, it might be transmitted between human to human. some also said it came from the laboratory investigations, whereas another opinion was that it was a recurring of pandemic of past centuries. with these competing views, the origin of this pandemic might not be known. the only fact is that it was invented from china. https://www.wired.co.uk/profile/matt-reynolds-and-sabrina-weiss ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and the management of covid-19 in nigeria igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 65 within the first week of april 2020, the following countries were the top ten that were affected by the corona virus pandemic-usa, italy, spain, germany, china, france, iran, united kingdom (uk), switzerland and turkey (duddu, 2020). in the same vein, matt and sabrina (2020) reported that the disease had been detected in more than 200 countries and territories, with the us, russia and the uk experiencing the most widespread outbreaks, followed by brazil, spain and italy. with this information, a lot of awareness programme came up and how to control it became important. it was described in numerous alertness programmes that covid-19 was majorly transmitted through droplets of the infected persons. when an infected person coughs or sneezes, the droplets from these actions hang in the air or surfaces. if anyone comes in contact with the droplets either by breathing it in or by touching the contaminated surfaces from there to the mouth, eyes or nose, the person has been infected. it is spread through socialization, therefore, avoidance of close contacts, social lockdown, including religious gatherings were used as means of controlling the spread of the sickness. the precautionary measures have created a lot of setbacks for virtually every individual and every one of the countries it touches. it is beyond health issues because if prolonged, it might have political, social and economic effects. the poor will suffer more in this regard and those who rely on their daily income for survival may not find it interesting. as presented by the nigeria centre for disease control, the first corona virus case was announced in nigeria on the 27 th of february 2020 in lagos. the second one came up on the 9 th of march, 2020 at ewekoro, ogun state. this pandemic kept spreading that as at the time of this research (14/5/2020), the total confirmed cases had risen to 5,162 active cases, 3,815; recovered cases, 1,180 and number of diseased persons, 167 within 34 states in nigeria, as analyzed below. omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 66 confirmed corona virus cases by states in nigeria state affect ed no of cases(lab confirme d) no of cases on admissi on no discharch ed no of deat h lagos 2,099 1,525 541 33 kano 753 633 87 33 fct 379 290 82 7 katsina 224 183 29 12 bauchi 207 179 25 3 borno 191 151 20 20 jigawa 176 169 4 3 ogun 134 72 57 5 gombe 124 36 87 1 kaduna 114 94 17 3 sokoto 112 59 40 13 edo 92 60 27 5 oyo 73 55 16 2 ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and the management of covid-19 in nigeria igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 67 zamfara 73 50 18 5 kwara 56 43 12 1 osun 42 8 30 4 rivers 30 25 5 3 yobe 32 28 3 1 kebbi 31 16 11 4 nasarawa 29 23 5 1 plateau 25 21 4 0 delta 22 9 9 4 adamawa 21 14 7 0 ondo 19 7 11 1 taraba 17 16 1 0 akwa ibom 17 3 12 2 ekiti 15 5 9 1 enugu 12 10 2 0 niger 10 8 2 0 ebonyi 9 9 0 0 imo 7 5 2 0 bayelsa 6 6 3 3 benue 4 4 0 0 omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 68 anambra 2 1 1 0 abia 2 1 1 0 source: ncdc microsite. as at 15/5/2020 management of covid-19 in nigeria covid-19 pandemic did not enter nigeria as a surprise. before the first case was announced, many countries had been experiencing it and it was proclaimed to be a pandemic. therefore, apart from the fact that people heard about it themselves through the media, the government did some sensitization programmes to bring the issue of this pandemic to people’s doorsteps for preparations. in the report given by adepoju (2020), the following were done even a month before the spread of the pandemic in nigeria: giving information on personal hygiene and cough etiquette, creating health workers network centers around the nation, gathering skilled workers for tracing and to treat infected cases, and five testing laboratories were developed. in the 2014, during the ebola epidemic, some of the public-health institutes created to help in curbing this infectious disease became useful now, and improvement on them came in preparation for covid19 pandemic. this was why nigeria centre for disease control (ncdc) was being signed into law in 2018, to give the legal backing to perform its functions, according to adepoju (2020). all these efforts were put together in preparation for covid-19 pandemic, and in the report of adepoju, it seems the arrangements were not sufficient as he asserts “nigeria’s prevention efforts are limited to screening international travelers at its airports while promoting hand washing and hygiene among the general populace. the country is relying on temperature screening at the airport, travelers’ travel history and promotion of self-isolation for people visiting nigeria from countries with numerous confirmed cases of covid-19” (p.4). apart from these initial and immediate preparations, nigerians were encouraged to wash their hands with soap under running water, ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and the management of covid-19 in nigeria igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 69 regular use of sanitizer was mandatory, use of face mask was made compulsory and social distancing became very important. majority complied with these directives and people were using various kinds of masks, some even customized theirs. covid-19 became real to nigerians when the federal government declared total lockdown in march, 2020, in federal capital territory, and lagos and ogun states. other states within the country joined and it became a nationwide lockdown. therefore, nothing seemed to function. there was no market, except for few hours in a day. places of worship were under lock and key, businesses were not operative, schools at all levels could not continue and all recreational centers were closed in a bid to control the spread of covid-19 pandemic. only essential workers were allowed to move and work actively. in this situation, nigerians came together to fight this pandemic, and proposals on how to go about it became important. many methods of solving it in an african way turned out to be necessary in the application of local herbs. the benedictines monks were prominent in this regard. their research ended up in a solution, as announced by adodo (2020) in this statement: “paxherbals has developed a novel drug, called cvd plus specifically for the treatment of covid-19,” the clinic's founder, fr. anslem adodo announced in a press release dated april 29” (p.1). while government was looking for vaccines for cure, the idea to adopt afghanistan drug became glaring. when this practice was on, those tested positive were kept in the isolation centers for treatment and to prevent them from mingling with the people. some victims lost their lives in the process and majority were discharged from the centers. another effort made by the government was the distribution of palliatives in terms of food items to cushion the effects of this pandemic on the people. it was a difficult moment for many nigerians, especially those who relied on their daily struggles for survival, like labourers, drivers and petty traders or traders generally. they were spending their savings, even their capitals could be used to feed families during this period. those who work for private organizations did not receive salaries during the omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 70 pandemic period, but federal and state workers were receiving salaries regularly. as this was in progress, the number of confirmed cases kept increasing. the need to ease the social lockdown came up in may, 2020, and work resumed skeletally. markets especially became very active. movements within states were allowed and interstate movements were forbidden. the interesting part of the lockdown exercise was the reactions of people after a while. majority lost confidence in the government and lost trust in the procedure of managing covid-19 because what was been presented on social media was not enough to prove that this pandemic was real or was prominent in nigeria. a comedian at a time called it ‘covid-19 for business.’ there were no sufficient evidences that people were dying of the pandemic in nigeria and the media kept showing empty beds in the isolation centers, and the number of infected cases continued to rise, while death rate was increasing without revealing burial processes. since the covid-19 has impacted religion in various ways, including the closure of churches, restriction on public worship of various faiths, as well as the cancellation of pilgrimages and religious festivals, religious leaders started reacting to why churches would not open and markets were operative. after all, the interactions in most churches are not as noticeable as that of markets. onaiyekan, the catholic archbishop emeritus of abuja, in a write-up circulated through the social media said that “on a more practical level, if government finds reasons to relax measures for banks, markets and farms, there is no reason why churches and mosques should be excluded from the same special consideration” (p.2). this implies that the congestions in banks and markets, including farms, could also spread this pandemic. igwebuike philosophy igwebuike has been described by professor kanu ikechukwu anthony, who has systematized the thought over time “as an igbo word that expresses the heart of african thought, logic and the modality of being in african philosophy” (kanu 2017, p.17). he further says that “it ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and the management of covid-19 in nigeria igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 71 means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful and can constitute an insurmountable force”(p.17). by inference, therefore, this philosophy is people-oriented and establishes the fact that i am because we are. in an attempt to describe igwebuike philosophy, ejem (2018) states that, “it establishes that there exists a common link between human persons and that it is through this relationship that every other person realizes himself/herself” (p.17). in another development, kanu (2017) declares that the philosophy is highly connected with mutual association. this is related, according to him, to “a common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny” (p.17). therefore, as long as there is a unifying factor, we are meant for each other’s good. igwebuike philosophy is significant in this regard because it moves away from an individualistic life to the communal life that africans have always preached and lived. it emphasizes cooperation among a group of people, irrespective of their backgrounds, keeping in mind that what makes our coming together relevant is the fact that we are human beings. if this philosophy is ever considered by all members of a group, it will foster love and unity for the attainment of both individual and group purposes. the end result of igwebuike philosophy is common benefit, in which members stand with themselves in times of good and bad; hence, it is a life of ‘sharedness,’ as kanu (2014, 2015, 2016 & 2018) affirms. igwebuike philosophy and the management of covid-19 having analyzed what igwebuike philosophy stands for, its relevance to the management of covid-19 in nigeria will be divided into three parts. the first is the fact that both igwebuike philosophy and covid19 are about people. this philosophy centers on the affairs of others and having consideration for another person; so also are the issues of omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 72 covid-19. this was reflected in the management of the pandemic when isolations centers were built to separate affected people from others to avoid them being infected. the imposition of the use of face masks was for individual good and for the good of others as well. another common factor was the issue of joint efforts on the part of the government and the populace to find solution to this common problem, as we have in the search for local herbs on the part of the populace, and government was in search of vaccines. this problem was addressed in a common manner as igwebuike philosophy pays attention to collective matters, in keeping with kanu’s declaration that it involves “a common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny”(p.17). to nigerians, the corona virus pandemic was a collective problem that needs collective efforts to resolve. the third part of this relevance is about unity and oneness. the summary of igwebuike philosophy is actually unity. this is what kanu emphasises in his explanation of igwebuike philosophy in people coming together in solidarity and complementarity to form an insurmountable force. the corona virus pandemic period has has seen families and the nation uniting in prayers. many families that have ever lived apart can now use this phase to stay together and share memories of a lasting value. children are at home with their parents, closely in prayers and sharing what they have together as they hope and yearn to have more years for family ties. recommendations based on the discussions above, the following recommendations are presented: 1. that in case of future occurrence, the government should be more proactive in closing the borders to prevent travelers who transport the diseases from entering the country. in a case like this, less attention should be paid to the immediate effects of it ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and the management of covid-19 in nigeria igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 73 on the economy; after all, the economy was affected and many lives were lost as recorded. 2. the country needs a functional database in a time like this for the distribution of palliatives. many people did not receive any food items as support from the government. this brought about their anxiety to return to their businesses, since their immediate needs could not be met. if there had been a welldesigned database, palliatives would have been easy to distribute as other measures to curb the diseases were being put in place like fumigation of public places and building of isolation centers. 3. any situation that may cause total lockdown needs to be adequately planned. total lockdown should be general, that is, it should be a nationwide programme happening at the same time in all the states. the regulations on how to go about it must be left to the federal government, instead of individual state governments. 4. the efforts put into fighting the corona virus pandemic on the part of the government were commendable. however, attention should be paid to other communicable diseases in nigeria, if our interest is on saving lives. lassa fever, malaria resulting from dirty environments, and diarrhea ensuing from regular climate change claiming lives every time can be addressed so that people will enjoy good living in peaceful environments. conclusion this paper discussed igwebuike philosophy and the management of corona virus disease (covid-19) pandemic in nigeria. it was an epidemic in china that occurred in december, 2019 which suddenly turned to be a pandemic, throwing the whole world into panic. it came to nigeria in 2020 february and it has been adequately managed by the government and the entire people of nigeria, giving their support through compliance with the regulations of the government on how to omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 74 go about it. this cooperative effort is actually laudable as it gave much hope for the future. it is important to note that before the era of covid -19 in nigeria, there have been other issues confronting the populace in this country that are not on health basis, but are deadly. therefore, attention should be given to lack of qualitative education, problem of insecurity, development matters in terms of amenities, job creation for youths and young school leavers, functional pension scheme for workers and the needs of retirees. lack of robust plans for the above might lead to negative effects on the health of nigerians. consequently, they develop high blood pressure, depression, dementia and all sorts of health issues that result in untimely deaths of the concerned. hence, consideration should be given to all areas of their lives to encourage better living. nigerians are known for struggles and stressful life style; hence, let everyone keep in mind that covid-19 lockdown had given all the opportunity to rest and get refreshed. finally, leaders at all levels need to adopt the ‘igwebuike’ philosophy of solidarity in decision making so as to avoid followers losing confidence in them, as it happened at a point during the management of covid-19 pandemic in nigeria. references adepoju p. (2020). nigeria responds to covid-19; first case detected in subsaharan africa. retrieved (14/5/2020) from https://www.nature.com/articles/d41591-020-00004-2 adodo a.g. (2020). how a nigeria-based catholic medical centre is responding to covid-19 search for cure. retrieved (20/5/2020) from https://www.aciafrica.org/news/1266/how-a-nigeria-basedcatholic-medical-centre-is-responding-to-covid-19-searchfor-cure https://www.aciafrica.org/news/1266/how-a-nigeria-based-catholic-medical-centre-is-responding-to-covid-19-search-for-cure https://www.aciafrica.org/news/1266/how-a-nigeria-based-catholic-medical-centre-is-responding-to-covid-19-search-for-cure https://www.aciafrica.org/news/1266/how-a-nigeria-based-catholic-medical-centre-is-responding-to-covid-19-search-for-cure ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and the management of covid-19 in nigeria igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 75 duddu p. (2020).covid-19 coronavirus: top ten most-affected countries. retrieved (14/5/2020) from https://www.pharmaceuticaltechnology.com/features/covid-19-coronavirus-top-tenmost-affected-countries/. ejem p.s (2018). comparative study of igwebuike philosophy and julius nyerere’s philosophy of african brotherhood. retrieved (13/5/2020) from https://www.academia.edu/37608513/. kanu i.a (2017). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development in african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/features/covid-19-coronavirus-top-ten-most-affected-countries/ https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/features/covid-19-coronavirus-top-ten-most-affected-countries/ https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/features/covid-19-coronavirus-top-ten-most-affected-countries/ https://www.academia.edu/37608513/ omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 76 kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. kanu, i. a. (2018). african philosophy, globalization and the priority of ‘otherness’. journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 40-57. kanu, i. a. (2018). african traditional philosophy of education: essays in igwebuike philosophy. germany: lambert publications. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 5983. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and the management of covid-19 in nigeria igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 77 kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kanu, i. a. (2019). on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159-176. kanu, i. a. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. matt r and sabrina w (2020). how corona virus started; what happened next explained. retrieved (14/5/2020) from https://www.wired.co.uk/article/china-coronavirus. onaiyekan j. (2020). covid-19: a case for the resumption of controlled worship gatherings in churches and mosques. catholic archbishop emeritus of abuja. write –up circulated on social media. the nigeria centre for disease control (ncdc). retrieved (13/5/2020) from https://covid19.ncdc.gov.ng/ https://www.wired.co.uk/profile/matt-reynolds-and-sabrina-weiss https://www.wired.co.uk/article/china-coronavirus https://covid19.ncdc.gov.ng/ ‘igwebuike’ philosophy of science and technology igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 79 ‘igwebuike’ philosophy of science and technology ikechukwu anthony kanu department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university umunya, anambra state ikee_mario@yahoo.com executive summary contrary to the opinion of some scholars which holds that science is independent of particular worldviews in its presuppositions and method, this paper argues that although the presuppositions of science have no worldview content, science may provide evidence that has a bearing on a certain worldview . this dependence on a worldview is what gives science some level of political autonomy; that is, some kind of scientific citizenship in philosophy that gives credence to a form of local knowledge, and thus, gives voice to a group of people. this is very important as science and technology is not just about doing or making by hand; it involves not only human activities, but also the skills of the crafts-man or woman, which does not leave out the art of the human mind that does the manufacturing. it is on this basis that this paper studies igwebuike as the basis for science and technology in africa. igwebuike falls within the parameters of the art of the african mind. it shapes the african thinking as it is the basis of the african logic. at this point, science and technology become a revelation of the igwebuike framework. this piece, therefore, studied how igwebuike impacts on science and technology through its determination of the logic (nka) employed in science and technology. it discovered that the african worldview conceptualized in igwebuike is capable of a science that is anchored on the structure of the african world. for the mailto:ikee_mario@yahoo.com ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 80 purpose of this study, the igwebuike complementary method of inquiry was employed. keywords: igwebuike, science, technology, pillar, logic, worldview, complementarity introduction scholars like cherry (1965) and okonkwo (2012) observe the importance of a people’s language and worldview in the shaping of their thoughts, including thoughts and developments in the areas of religion, philosophy, science, technology, among others. he writes: the language of a people largely constrains their thoughts. its words, concepts and syntax, out of all the signs that people use, are the most important determinant of what they are free and able to think. it makes their particular epistemology, their special view of the world, and what they notice or do not notice, (p. 73). it is in this regard that fuller (cited in okonkwo, 2012) speaks of a scientific citizenship in philosophy that should be “designed to give credence to a form of local knowledge... to retain a certain level of political autonomy” (p. 73). the implication of this is that every language community has its own science and technology, which should be integrated into what is now known as technology. this, according to okonkwo (2012), would deepen ordinary democratic franchise by giving voice to a group of people. moreover, if science is understood as “an organized, systematic enterprise that gathers knowledge about the world and condenses the knowledge into testable laws and principles” (wilson 1998, p. 58), and in the perspective of afisi (2016) “as the concerted human effort to have a clear understanding of the history of the natural world, and how the natural world works, with observable physical evidence as a basis for that understanding” (p. 59), it then implies that peoples and societies, both local and advanced rational and intellectually open societies, are capable of science, even if it might not be in full accord ‘igwebuike’ philosophy of science and technology igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 81 with what the west has developed as science. beyond the reality of pluralism in the world, science has a social character that makes it part of social and cultural traditions, and it is at this point that we can speak of particular worldviews as characterising different sciences. it is also within this context that igwebuike philosophy of science and technology is discussed. an understanding of technology makes profound the idea of the social character of science and technology. technology is not just about doing or making by hand, it involves the skills of the crafts-man or woman, which involves the art of the human mind. the art of the human mind is shaped by particular worldviews, and, therefore, the source of the influence of the worldview on science and technology. to understand the power of worldview on a particular science and technology, there is the need to go back to the definition of technology. etymologically, it stems from the greek techné, which designates “skill,” “art,” and “craft,” a mode of doing or making. it is in this spirit that plato understood politics as fundamentally belonging to the domain of techné, politics as first and foremost a political skill to be learned, an art or, better yet, a kind of technology of the polis. techné, in the original greek usage, refers to both the skill or power of doing/making and that which is performed, produced, or fabricated—in other words, techné designates both art and artifice. from this perspective, techné (art/artifice) is opposed to physis (nature), most fundamentally in terms of causality. thus, techné implies a mediation by an external agent (reason) to an object in order to bring about change in it, which means that the principle of change is here foreign to the object (nadal 2012). technology is a product and performance of man’s dealings with physis through techné, the bridge is the materialization or actualization of an intended, desired end (jean-luc 2000). thus, heidegger (1977) writes that: “the manufacture and utilization of equipment, tools, and machines, the manufactured and used things themselves, and the [social] needs and ends that they serve, all belong to what technology is” (p. 288). it can be, therefore, said that science and technology only ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 82 become a revelation or the bringing forth of what the art of the mind conceals. it is from the context of the dynamics of ‘the art of man’ and the ‘artifice’ that this work studies igwebuike (which conceptualizes a worldview) as the basis for science and technology in africa. igwebuike falls within the parameters of the art of the african mind. it shapes the african thinking as it is the basis for african logic. from the forgoing, science and technology become a revelation of the igwebuike framework. this piece would, therefore, study how igwebuike impacts on science and technology through its determination of the logic (nka) of the scientific and technological. it argues that the african worldview conceptualized in igwebuike is capable of a science, notwithstanding that it is a predominantly religious worldview. what a worldview provides is the framework capable of responding to several questions at the same time, be it in the area of science, religion, politics, economics, etc. it is in this regard that worldview would be understood as a world of possibilities. worldview as a framework for science/technology gauch (2007) o u t l i n e s seven pillars that define and hold science. these pillars include: 1. realism: it holds that the world is real. if it were not real, then it cannot be studied or analyzed 2. presuppositions: it holds that the world is orderly and comprehensible. if it were not comprehensible, then it wouldn’t be studied by science. 3. evidence: this means that science requires empirical, public evidence for its conclusions. 4. logic: it holds that scientific thinking employs standard logic. 5. limits: it holds that science has limits; it cannot explain everything. 6. universality: this holds that science is open to all people from all cultures; in principle, anybody can engage in scientific activity. ‘igwebuike’ philosophy of science and technology igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 83 7. worldview: this states that science contributes to a meaningful worldview. developing his thesis further, gauch (2007) argues that science is independent of particular worldviews in its presuppositions and method. this notwithstanding, he avers that science can have worldview import. interpreting the position of gauch, irzik and nola (2009) write: we understand this as follows. gauch believes that although the presuppositions of science and scientific method/reasoning have no worldview content, science may provide evidence that has bearing on a certain worldview belief, say p. such evidence can be employed as a premise in an argument. then using scientific reasoning (that includes standard logic), p is reached as a conclusion. gauch seems to think that this is the only way science is relevant to worldview beliefs—if, that is, they can be obtained as the conclusion of an argument that contains evidence as one of its premises. let us call this the argument–argument. (p. 735). reacting to the position of gauch, irzik and nola (2009) argue that science does have worldview content, even in its presuppositions and method. in other words, the scientific method is not worldviewindependent. thus, science, in the quite minimal sense, has worldview content in other respects as well. this content derives from its presuppositions that include its criticizability, logic, the orderliness and the comprehensibility of the world, from its method of inquiry and mode of explanation. of course, science is also relevant to worldviews by also providing empirical evidence and then reaching conclusions that have worldview content. this is not to say that science can answer every worldview question, but it is a rich and powerful source of worldview beliefs. furthermore, by challenging, confronting and conflicting with other worldviews, it forces their defendants to improve upon them. natural theology, for instance, owes as much to ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 84 science as it does to religion (p. 744). this position is based on the fact that the history of science reveals how it emerged from mythological and religious worldviews; using a remarkable episodes in the history of human kind, they made reference to the scientific revolution in the 16th and 17th centuries, which was highly influenced by philosophical and religious beliefs. thus, from the above perspectives, it can be said that science, as a universal enterprise, is independent of worldview; however, in relation to the person who does the science and the influence of his or her background, science can be said to have a worldview. african worldview (logic) and science in africa like the discussion on whether there is an african philosophy or not, there has been a debate on whether there is an african science or not. this section of this paper joins the position of scholars who have argued for an african science, and the basis which this piece provides for the possibility of an african science is the african logic. it is the african logic that shapes what ezeabasili (1977) refers to as the “african account of nature and how it works” (p. xi), or what in the contention of murfin (1992) is africa’s attempt to unfold the truth in nature. the idea of an african attempt to unfold the truth in nature or give an account of the workings of their universe points to the pluralism in science, involving the inquiries of systematic cultures. one of the pillars on which science stands, as seen in the work of gauch (2007), is logic. it is also logic that gives and directs the scientific process and findings. it is at the point of logic which is embedded in the african worldview that the african worldview makes its distinctive impact on science in africa. speaking of african logic, the focus is on the structure of african thought. every culture or people have their own peculiar way of thinking or reasoning, and it is the african pattern of reasoning that has led to an investigation into the african logic. speaking on the diversity of logic, momoh (1989) relates logic to human language which differs from culture to culture: ‘igwebuike’ philosophy of science and technology igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 85 in everyday usage of natural language we talk of a person as being logical if he is reasonable, sensible and intelligent; if he can unemotionally and critically evaluate evidence or a situation; if he can avoid contradictions, inconsistency and incoherence, or if he can hold a point of view argue for and from it, summon counter-examples and answer objections. (p. 174). the adjective ‘african’ attached to the word ‘logic’ speaks of the context or the locus of logicality. it is the application of reason to the world and culture of the african people (kanu, 2017). there are two implications to this: first, it sees logic as a universal phenomenon. this is very important, since logic is a fundamental ingredient of the human person whose thoughts and thinking are organized, analyzed and sustained by some intrinsic structures that make the way for a systematic conception of reality. this being the case, it can be said that logic is thus a necessary element of every culture. there is no culture that does not accommodate a good argument, especially as it concerns their conclusions. whether in africa or in europe or in america or in asia, if the assumption of an argument is true, the conclusion of the argument would always be true. for instance: if njoku is an african philosopher, then njoku is a great african thinker, njoku is an african philosopher, therefore, njoku is a great african thinker if kanu is shorter than emeka, then kanu should be taller than usman kanu is taller than emeka therefore, kanu is taller than usman ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 86 these are arguments that are logical and cannot be accepted in one culture and rejected in another culture. their conclusions are all acceptable as their assumptions are true. thus, the principles of logic are universal principles that could be generally applied to diverse situations, no matter where. they are, thus, topic-neutral and concontingent, in the sense that they do not depend on any accidental features of the world. second, there is the particularity of logic, by which is meant the context in which logic is applied. it speaks of the worldview which differs from one place to another; this bears on the universal application of logic. while logic is universal, it is clear knowledge that the cultural experiences of people are meaningful within the context of an organized language that points to a logical abilityit is a people’s language that communicates their logical world. it is in this regard that kuhn (1962), in his incommensurability theory, speaks of competing paradigms without a common measure, and feyerabend (1981) holds that there does not exist a single scientific method that we can agree on as the “events, procedures and results that constitute the sciences have no common structure” (p. 1). following from the construct of the african ontology which is complementary, african logic in general is complementary and integral in character, accepting the co-existence of opposing realities as complementary. it is based on its capacity for complementarity and openness to co-existence of opposing realities that it is described within the context of igwebuike. igwebuike is the modality of being in african philosophy. it is from the igbo composite word and metaphor igwebuike, a combination of three words. therefore, it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space (2018a). the three words involved are: igwe is a noun which means ‘number’ or ‘population,’ usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is a noun, which means strength or power (kanu, 2018b). thus, put together, it literally means ‘number is ‘igwebuike’ philosophy of science and technology igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 87 strength’ or ‘number is power’. beyond the literal sense, it speaks of otu obi (one mind and one heart), asserting that when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force or strength, and at this level, withstand the probabilities of life. igwebuike is, therefore, an african philosophy of harmonization and complementation. it understands the world immanent realities to be related to one another in the most natural, mutual, harmonious and compatible ways possible (kanu, 2016a&b). thus, ‘to be’ is ‘to be with the other’, in a community of beings (kanu, 2017a). the african worldview, therefore, is ruled by the spirit of complementarity, which seeks the conglomeration, unification, summation of fragmented thoughts, opinions and other individualized and fragmented thoughts and ideas. it understands reality within the context of the whole being greater than the corresponding parts. it is also a view that maintains that by the coming together of the individuals or parts, a viable and sustainable whole will emerge (kanu, 2017b). because igwebuike captures the dialectical character of african thought, it is referred to as african logic. and by dialectics, it is meant a method of philosophical argument that involves some sort of contradictory process between opposing sides. in african logic, there is the reliance on the contradictory process of opposing sides, though in a unique manner. for instance, day is vivified and complemented by night, and good by evil. the adage that “abasi obot mbat, abot udara ikpat,” meaning “the god who creates mud made available something to wash off the mud”, explains this fact of the complementarity of contradictory realities. the two realities – “mud” and “water” – are mutually opposed, but are two sides of the same coin. anyanwu (1981) describes this contradictory dialectics as the “inner curve of reciprocity” (p. 87) that makes african epistemology to avoid the dualism of subjectivism and objectivism. the contradictory dialectics is not negative but affirms the functionality of differences as essential and incomplete dimensions of the whole. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 88 the openness of african science the nri hegemony and its influence on igbo history cannot be overemphasized. thus, madubuko (1994) observes that the story of the igbo, no matter how briefly considered, would be incomplete if one omits the eri-nri contribution. afigbo (1981) shows eri clan as originating from the regions of anambra river, at aguleri; from there they fanned eastward and established various communities. in a discourse of this kind on african science and technology, knowing full well the place that nri myth occupies in igbo history, religion and culture, it would not be out of place to search beyond the surface of the mythology of nri to discover profound ‘senses’ of african science and technology. the myth has it that eri is the father of all nri; and tradition says that he came from chukwu. it is reported that the earth was not firm when he came to the world. to solve the problem of flood, he employed blacksmiths from awka to use their bellows to dry the flooded land (uzukwu, 1988). that eri, the father of all nri who came from chukwu, needed blacksmiths from awka to use their bellows to dry the earth already shows the dialogue between philosophy, religion and science. in spite of the fact that chukwu, with all his wisdom and knowledge, would allow for his son to employ the help of these traditional scientists and technologists, the fact is established that science and technology are also part of his divine arrangement for the human person achieving his purpose in life, and thus, does not contradict the divine purpose, if employed in proper perspective. within the context of igwebuike philosophy of science, in spite of the fact that philosophy religion and science deal with different aspects of human life and the existence of the universe, these areas of study achieve their full potentials only when they collaborate with other areas of study. this notwithstanding, there are two major implications that can be drawn from this myth in relation to the african concept of science. ‘igwebuike’ philosophy of science and technology igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 89 1. science as an independent dependent worldview there is a seeming categorization of worldviews into different types. freud (1933) categorized worldview into religious or philosophical and rational or scientific worldviews and understands the categories are completely independent from each other. irzik and nola (2009) made categorization of worldviews into religious, philosophical, political, cultural, scientific, etc. these categorizations are done in a manner that poses that these worldviews are antagonistic to one another. obviously, science is a special cognitive activity aimed at objective and systematic knowledge about reality, different from religion which is based on faith or mystical experience, and also different from philosophy which studies the fundamental characteristics and principles of reality. in spite of their uniqueness as areas of study with different interests, there is always a meeting point, where an aspect of one influences or flows from the other. the categorization of religious worldview that is differentiated from others on the basis of the predominance of the belief in a universal spirit: god, deity or divine entity, in which the divine entity has established a moral order which is known to human beings, and human beings have a moral duty to obey it as it has future consequences in relation to life after death, with a comprehensive perception of the world. under this categorization, you find the mythological worldview, especially when it uses myths, folklore or legends believed to be supernatural and true for the interpretation of nature, universe, events and humanity. the distinction between religious and mythological worldviews, not withstanding, a mythological worldview can also be a religious worldview. nonreligious worldviews also include the philosophical worldview, which uses logical reasoning, mathematics and speculation to interpret and provide answers to fundamental questions about reality. the third is the scientific worldview, which uses the premises and findings of science in explaining the meaning of life, morality, creation, etc. although it is more exact and authentic, it does not provide meaning to existence as it is limited to the material realm. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 90 the researcher’s argument is that a scientific worldview can still have elements of religious beliefs. the fact that a person is a scientist does not necessarily mean that the person ceases to have a religion. one can be a christian or a muslim and still be a scientist. more so, science can still emerge from a worldview that is dominated by religious perspectives. this is very important because the african worldview is highly considered to be a religious worldview. if understood purely as a religious worldview, then it would be incapable of science and technology. and yet science emerges from the african worldview. it is on this basis that the researcher argues that worldviews are not independent but dependent. science itself is not an independent field of human inquiry as it requires other perspectives in the search for the meaning of life. it is, therefore, understood as an independent dependent worldview. this explains why eri, the son of chukwu, in spite of his rich religious and philosophical background, implored the help of awka traditional scientists; in this, he showed that science complements philosophy and religion, and vice versa. 2. the human person is central to science what compelled heidegger to write on technology lies in his observation that “everywhere, man remains un-free and chained to technology”(p.287), a situation in which the more technology advances, the more it “threatens to slip from human control” (p. 289). this adversely has affected the ordering of the world in fact, disordering the world. as a result, a questioning of technology became necessary and urgent for heidegger. balancing his critique of technology further, heidegger (1966) thinks that there is the possibility of the use of technology in such a way that it would further the being of man: we can use technical devices, and yet with the proper use also keep ourselves so free of them, that we may let go of them at any time.... we can affirm the unavoidable use of technical devices, and also deny them the right to dominate us, and so to warp, confuse, and lay waste our nature.... i would call this comportment toward technology which expresses “yes” and at ‘igwebuike’ philosophy of science and technology igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 91 the same time “no,” by an old word, releasement toward things (p. 54). from the myth of nri, when eri called the blacksmith to come and help him move the water away with their scientific and technological expertise, the myth only resounds that science and technology is relevant only to the extent that it helps the human person to advance and preserve his life. this is based on the fact that the igwebuike worldview is anthropocentric. man is at the centre of the universe. mbiti (1970) asserts that “man is at the very centre of existence and african people see everything else in its relation to this central position of man… it is as if god exists for the sake of man” (p. 92). corroborating mbiti’s assertion, metuh (1991), avers that “everything else in african worldview seems to get its bearing and significance from the position, meaning and end of man” (p. 109). the idea of god, divinities, ancestors, rituals, sacrifices etc., is only useful to the extent that they serve the needs of the human person. science is, therefore, meant for man and not man for science and technology. heidegger’s argument against modern technology is that it looks at realities that do not conform to the standard of calculability and utility with suspicion, and addresses such as mere myth or superstition (adorno and horkheimer, 2002). heidegger (1977) describes this as a challenge that “puts to nature an unreasonable demand that it supply energy, which can [then] be extracted and stored” (p. 296). the work of the peasant does not challenge the soil of the field. in the sowing of the grain it places the seed in the keeping of the forces of growth and watches over its increase. but meanwhile even the cultivation of the field has come under the grip of another kind of setting-in-order, which sets upon nature. it sets upon it in the sense of challenging it. agriculture is now the mechanised food industry. air is now set upon to yield nitrogen, the earth to yield ore, ore to yield uranium, for example; uranium is set upon to yield atomic energy, which can be released either for destruction or for peaceful use (p. 15). ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 92 he argues that modern technology ‘enframes’ nature only to capture it; that is, it sees nature merely as a valuable material resource to be extracted, expropriated, and used-up for whatever man desires or wills of it. under conditions of modern technology, “the earth,” as heidegger (1977) notes, “reveals itself as [only] a coal mining district, [its] soil as a mineral deposit” (p. 296). he believes that modern technology sees the world as an energy resource, a thing to be used, what he describes as a “standing-reserve” (p. 309). taking from the african complementary perspective of reality, nature is not just as a thing to be exploited; nature is part of a whole to which we belong as human beings. the exploitation of nature by science and technology is the exploitation of oneself because one belongs to nature as one is a part of nature. thus, to treat nature with respect is to treat oneself with respect, and to treat nature without respect is to treat oneself without consideration and respect. more so, science and technology is meant to advance the freedom and humanity of the human person, and not to bring about human slavery. conclusion ozumba (2004) observes that every society has its own stock of epistemological thoughts, methods and worldviews. this assertion is fundamental to epistemology as the quest for knowledge is part of human nature; and thus, it is the prerogative of every culture or tradition. like every other people, the african has his/her own method or means of acquiring knowledge, which is based on what bacon (1952) calls the alphabets or forms of the world around him/her . nature consists of alphabets or forms, and the discovery of these alphabets or forms of nature helps us to understand the multifarious complexities of the universe in which we live. beneath the surface, igwebuike philosophy of science understands science and technology as a collective achievement of the ‘art of the human mind’ and the ‘artifice’ involved with the purpose of generating a new order upon nature. the understanding of the dynamics of the alphabets or forms of nature involved in the process equips us better in the transformation ‘igwebuike’ philosophy of science and technology igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 93 of bodies, as these forms (the art of the mind and the artifice) are the determinants of the fundamental structure of the world. a basic form or alphabet within the parameters of science and technology is the ‘art of the mind’ which flows from the worldview of the scientist and the technologist. it is from the worldview that the artifice of the scientist or technologist emerges (that is, the pragmatic side of science and technology). the artifice, therefore, reveals the art of the mind. it is on the basis of the discovery of these forms that the discourse on igwebuike philosophy of science and technology is possible. the understanding of the nature of the forms involved in science and technology in africa would help us understand the secret motions in the scientific and technological enterprise in africa. in this, we see science and technology in partnership with nature to provide human needs in an environment in which they must survive by sustaining the existential grid in a cooperative fashion. in discovering the forms of nature and the utilization of these forms for the betterment of human life, igwebuike philosophy of science understands this pursuit or enterprise as a collaborative effort tailored towards the needs of the human person in a challenging universe. since it is a collaborative effort, igwebuike philosophy of science and technology does not in any way see science and technology as independent fields of human inquiry, but in a spirit of complementarity with other fields of human inquiry work towards the achievement of a balanced solution to human needs or problems. this is the complementarity that produces a scientific citizenship in philosophy, which gives credence to a form of local knowledge. it is only within this context that we are able to speak of an igwebuike philosophy of science and technology. references afigbo, e. a. (1975). towards a history of the igbo-speaking people of nigeria. in ogbalu, f. c. and emenanjo, e. n. (eds.). igbo language and culture (pp. 11-27). ibadan: heineman. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 94 anyanwu, k. c. (1981). pre-suppositions of african socialism. the nigerian journal of philosophy. 1.2. asouzu, i. (2011). ibuanyidanda and the philosophy of essence. calabar: university press. cherry, c. (1975). on human communication. cambridge mass: mit press freud, sigmund (1933). new introductory lectures on psychoanalysis. se, 22: 1-182. gauch, h. g. (2007). science, worldviews and education. science and education. vol. 18. 729-745. heidegger m. (1966). discourse on thinking. trans. john m. anderson and e. hans freud. new york: harper and row. heidegger m. (1977). the question concerning technology. trans. william lovitt, basic writings. new york: harper and row. irzik, g. and nola, r. (2009). worldviews and their relation to science. science and education. vol. 18. 729-745. jean-luc n. (2000). being singular plural. trans. robert d. richardson and anne o’byrne. stanford: stanford university press. kanu i. a. (2017). igwebuikeconomics: towards an inclusive economy for economic development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 6. 113140. kanu i. a. (2017). sources of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. 9. 1. pp. 1-23. kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. kanu, a. i. (2016b). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 1-7. kanu, i. a. (2014). igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholic-pentecostal relations. jos studies. 22. pp.8798. ‘igwebuike’ philosophy of science and technology igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 95 kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2014a). igbo proverbs as depositum of igbo-african philosophy. international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 4. no. 1. pp. 164-168. kanu, i. a. (2014a). suicide in igbo-african ontology. developing countries studies. vol. 4. no. 5. usa. pp. 27-38. kanu, i. a. (2014b). suffering in igbo-african ontology. research on humanities and social sciences. vol. 4. no. 5. pp. 8-13. kanu, i. a. (2014b). the place of igbo myths in igbo-african philosophy. american journal of contemporary research. vol. 4. no. 2. pp. 98-102. kanu, i. a. (2015). african traditional democracy with particular reference to the yoruba and igbo political systems. international journal of philosophy and public affairs. vol. 2. no. 3. pp. 147-160. kanu, i. a. (2015). personal identity and punishment in john locke (a dissertation for the award of master of arts degree in philosophymetaphysics), university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu state. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 96 kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (ed.) (2016a). complementary ontology: provocative essays on innocent asouzu’s african philosophy of integration for progressive transformation. germany: lambert academic publishing. kanu, i. a. (ed.) (2016b). ibuanyidanda: a complementary systematic inquiry. reflections on innocent asouzu’s african philosophy. germany: lambert academic publishing. kanu, i. a. (2016). igbo-african christology: a cultural christological construct in post-missionary africa. germany: lambert publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). african traditional folk songs as dialogue between education and entertainment. cambridge international journal of contemporary education research. 6. 6. pp. 53-64. madubuko, l. (1994). igbo world-view. bigard theological studies. 14, 2. 13. mbiti, j. (1970). african religions and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational publishers. metuh, i. e. (1991). african religions in western conceptual schemes. jos: imico momoh, c. s. (ed.) (1989). the substance of african philosophy. auchi: african philosophy projects publications. okonkwo j. i. (2012). okwu danahu onu: the basic principle of igbo philosophy of language. inaugural lecture, imo state university, serial no. 6. owerri: imo state university press. ozumba, g. o. (2001). a concise introduction to epistemology. calabar: ebeneger printing press. nadal, p. (2010). heidegger’s critique of modern technology: on “the question concerning technology”. retrieved 27/4/17 from https://belate.wordpress.com/2010/07/12/heideggermodern-technology. https://belate.wordpress.com/2010/07/12/heidegger-modern-technology https://belate.wordpress.com/2010/07/12/heidegger-modern-technology ‘igwebuike’ philosophy of science and technology igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 97 theodore adorno and max horkheimer (2002). dialectic of enlightenment. stanford: stanford university press. uzukwu, e. e. (1988). nri myth of origin and its ritualization: an essay in interpretation. in e. e. uzukwu (ed.). religions and african culture, inculturation: a nigeria perspective (pp. 56-80). enugu: spiritan publications. afisi, o. t. (2016). is african science true science: reflections on the methods of african science. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion. vol. 5. no. 1. pp. 59-75 wilson e. (1998). consilience: the unity of knowledge. knopf: new york ezeabasili, n. (1977). african science: myth or reality. vantage press: new york. murfin, b. (1992). african science, african and african-american scientists and the school science curriculum. a paper presented at the nsta national convention, boston, massachusetts on 26 th march. kuhn, t. (1962). the structure of scientific revolutions. university of chicago press: chicago. feyerabend, p. (1981). against method. verso of new left books: new york. ‘‘igwebuike’ as the key to understanding african philosophy and religion igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 99 ‘igwebuike’ as the key to understanding african philosophy and religion ikechukwu anthony kanu department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university umunya, anambra state ikee_mario@yahoo.com executive summary this work is a response to the questions within african philosophy and african traditional religion: the question of the underlying principle in both fields of study. it is a contribution to the ongoing investigations in the areas of african philosophy and african traditional religion in search for the keys to the understanding of both fields. this piece argued, contrary to the positions of mbiti and koech, that the key to understanding african traditional religion is igwebuike. it also argued, in relation to african philosophy, that igwebuike is the intricate web of african philosophy. it has remained constant in the midst of the changes in the history of african philosophy, and has continued to persist through changes. it argued that its sense of harmony, community, complementarity and solidarity have been expressed in virtually all the perspectives of african philosophers, from the time of tempels to the contemporary era. this position was based on the fact that igwebuike is based on or captures the african worldview which shapes african philosophy and religion. the method inquiry employed for the purpose of this investigation is the igwebuike approach, which understands reality within the parameters of complementarity. mailto:ikee_mario@yahoo.com ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 100 keywords: african, philosophy, religion, igwebuike, complementarity introduction the concept of a “key to understanding” introduces the image of a door that needs to be opened for the purpose of achieving a breakthrough. it places emphasis on both the result of understanding and the action of understanding. within the context of this study, it is about discovering the interaction of underlying factors or assumptions that shape the course of african philosophy and religion, that is, a principle that runs through their multiplicities; thus, creating a unity in the midst of diversities. in relation to african traditional religion, two major views will be studied and criticized. these views are the perspectives of mbiti and koech. while mbiti argues that the key to understanding african traditional religion is an understanding of the african concept of time, koech argues that mythology is at the heart of the understanding of african traditional religion and metaphysics. these views will be presented and studied within the context of their ability to enhance the understanding of african traditional religion. within the parameters of philosophy, the perspectives of african philosophers, dating from the time when the intellectual history of african philosophy attained significant level of systematization, beginning from the time of tempels to the perspectives of contemporary african philosophers like asouzu, will be studied to see the web or thread that holds these perspectives together, in spite of the diversities there in. the major question that this research will be responding to, therefore, is: what is the underlying principle or moving spirit of african traditional religion and philosophy? the key to understanding african traditional religion mbiti (1970) understands african ontology as a religious ontology, which is heavily anthropocentric. in this ontology are god, the spirits, animals and plants, and objects; however, at the centre is the human ‘‘igwebuike’ as the key to understanding african philosophy and religion igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 101 person. if this ontology would be understood, he argues that there is the need to penetrate its unity. mbiti, therefore, avers that the african concept of time is the key to understanding the african religious ontology. the concept of time may help to explain beliefs, attitudes, practices and general way of life of african peoples not only in the traditional set up but also in the modern situation, whether of political, economic, educational or church life. (p. 16). his idea of african time is built around his research on the kikamba and gikuyu languages, in which he analyzed three verbs that speak of the past and the future, covering only a period of six months and not beyond two years at most. he defines the african time as “a composition of events which have occurred, those that are taking place now and those which are immediately to occur” (p. 17). this would mean that africans set their minds on things that have passed, rather than on the future. he describes the african time as concrete, epochal, and not mathematical. this would mean that when africans are sitting down idle, they are not wasting time but waiting for time or producing time. mbiti’s african time, in the perspective of gbadegesin (1991), is only a communal worldview report which was never evaluated. gyekye (1975), kagame (1976) and izu (2010) see mbiti’s african time as insulting and false, as it does not represent the general concept of time among africans. gyekye argues that contrary to mbiti’s african time, the akan people of ghana have a future time. from the foregoing, it is obvious that mbiti’s african time is not a consistent principle in african religious and cultural thoughts, and as such cannot be regarded as the unity or the key to understanding african traditional religion. koech (1977) speaks of african myths as the key to understanding african traditional religion and metaphysics. he writes that: ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 102 myth expresses the history, the culture and the inner experience of the african himself. the myth portrays the wishes and the fears of the african man as he gropes to understand the unknown by dissecting and remolding it to fit his frame of reference. in the myth, the african’s metaphysics are created and his beliefs constructed. (p. 118). koech, thus, concludes that: the myth is the essence of the african himself in history. the modern african, if he is to find his real identity and to grasp the remnant of his culture, must look for it in myth... the african myth tarried to preserve the last drop of african-ness. it is the encyclopedia engraved in the chambers of the african mind to be passed from generation to generation. (p. 139). although myths articulate and preserve the outcome of investigations on the origin of the world, the national god, the origin of humanity, its place in creation, deity, the temple, the cult, etc., it cannot be regarded as the key to understanding african religion or metaphysics, for the simple reason that mythology is not an underlying principle in african traditional religion. myths vary from one religious culture to another, and the religious meanings that mythological elements present in one culture might not be the same in another. thus, rather than speak of unity, myths introduce the subject of polarity in african traditional religion. the key to the understanding of african traditional religion should be based on the nature of the african cosmos or universe. cosmology, etymologically, is from two greek words: cosmos and logos, meaning ‘universe’ and ‘science’ respectively. put together, it is the ‘science of the universe’. scholars like wambutda (1986), ejizu (1986), achebe (1986), metuh (1987), quarcoopome (1987), arinze (1970), madu (2004) and kanu (2015a) hold that african cosmology is simply the way africans perceive, conceive and contemplate their universe; the lens through which they see reality, which affects their value systems and attitudinal orientations. cosmology is, therefore, the search for the ‘‘igwebuike’ as the key to understanding african philosophy and religion igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 103 meaning of life, and an unconscious but natural tendency to arrive at a unifying base that constitutes a frame of meaning often viewed as terminus a quo (origin), and as terminus ad quem (end) (kanu, 2012). african cosmology is essentially the underlying thought link that holds together the african value system, philosophy of life, social conduct, morality, folklores, myths, rites, rituals, norms, rules, ideas, cognitive mappings and theologies (kanu, 2015b). igwebuike as a concept captures the is-ness of the african cosmos; a universe of complementarity and sharedness. igwebuike is, therefore, african cosmology, and african cosmology is igwebuike. it is igwebuike because, in spite of its departmentalization into the worlds of the spirits and human beings (edeh, 1983; abanuka, 2004 & ijiomah, 2005; kanu, 2017a), it is not a bifurcated world. the spiritual and physical dimensions overlap and harmoniously interact. in this interaction, human beings commune with god, the ancestors, etc., and vice versa. while the ancestors do for human beings what they cannot do for themselves, human beings do for the ancestors what they cannot achieve by themselves. this interactive capacity of the african universe has instilled a strong sense of community in every dimension of the african life, such that to be without belonging is to be annihilated (kanu, 2017b). this has not only defined the social and political dimensions of the african life, but the spiritual or religious dimension as well. it is in this regard that igwebuike is employed as the key to understanding african traditional religion. to understand the meaning that igwebuike conveys is to understand the dynamics of african traditional religion. the key to understanding african philosophy this second section of this piece also argues that igwebuike is the key to understanding african philosophy. right from the philosophy of tempels (1959), the igwebuike spirit of complementarity, solidarity, etc., has permeated the perspectives of african philosophers. it is in this regard that tempels argues that in bantu ontology: ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 104 ‘beings forces’ of the universe are not a multiple of independent forces placed in juxtaposition from being to being. all creatures are found in relationship according to the law of hierarchy... nothing moves in this universe of forces without influencing other forces by its movement (p. 29). kagame (1951) and jahn (1958) did establish the harmonious character of reality. they agree with tempels that reality is force. it is not a force independent of other forces. the nationalistic movements of the 20 th century in africa were linked by their emphasis on belongingness, familyhood, which was the basis for their socialisms. thus, the social negritude of senghor (1959, 1964 & 1975) places the family at the centre of the social structure. nyerere (1968) bases his principle of ujamaa on familyhood. the choice of socialism over capitalism by awolowo (1969&1979) and the promotion of pan-africanism by nkrumah (1963) were based on the distinctive complementary character of african ontology. edeh (1983), in his work on igbo metaphysics, continues with the perspective of mbiti: accordingly the igbo way of life emphasizes ‘closeness’ but not closed-ness’. there is a closeness in living because each person ‘belongs to’ others and in turn, ‘is belonged to’ by others. by adopting this life of ‘closeness’ or ‘belongingness’, an igbo becomes immersed in the culture’s spiritual substance, love; and by love, he acquires a fulfillment as a person beyond mere individuality. (p. 105). gyekye (1987), writing on akan philosophy, avers that the individual depends on the community: the individual’s life depends on identifying oneself with the group. this identification is the basis of the reciprocal relationship between the individual and the group. it is also the ‘‘igwebuike’ as the key to understanding african philosophy and religion igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 105 ground of the overriding emphasis on the individual’s obligation to the members of the group. (p. 156). iroegbu (1995) describes being in african ontology as belongingness. in response to the questions, ‘what makes being, being?’, ‘what does it mean to be in the uwa (world the true and valid universum along the possibilities of thinkables, experientials, perceivables and their commonness to all human beings. that is, the worldhood or universal datum that provides the “hood” for the perceivers and experiencing thinkers of this inescapable phenomenon)?’ iroegbu argues that it is belongingness, thus being is belongingness. what then is belongingness? he defines it as ‘the synthesis of the reality and experience of belongingness’ (p. 374). nkemnkia (1999) writes that in african ontology, the self is the other: the meaning of an individual’s life is found in and through his relationship with the other or others. in fact it is meaningless to ask oneself “who am i” without having a complete knowledge of the other, from whom, in the final analysis, one expects the answer. (pp. 111-112). wiredu (1995), focusing on the political dimension of the african life, sees complementarity and belongingness as characterizing political decision-making in africa. asouzu (2004, 2007) and njoku (2018) develop the notion of being within the new ontological horizon of ibuanyidanda. within the ibuanyidanda context, asouzu (2007) defines being as “that on account of which anything that exists serves a missing link of reality” (p. 103). thus, being is located within the context of mutual complementarity of all possible relations in the sense of an existent reality (kanu, 2016a&b). from tempels to asouzu, the igwebuike principles of harmony, community, solidarity and complementarity have never been lacking, therefore, positioning igwebuike as the underlying principle of african philosophy. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 106 conclusion this work is a contribution to the ongoing investigations in the areas of african philosophy and african traditional religion in search for the keys to the understanding of both areas of study. contrary to the positions of mbiti and koech, this piece argues that the key to understanding african traditional religion is igwebuike. it also argued, in relation to african philosophy, that igwebuike is the intricate web of african philosophy. it has remained constant in the midst of the changes in the history of african philosophy, and has continued to persist through changes. its sense of harmony, community, complementarity and solidarity has been expressed in virtually all the perspectives of african philosophers, from the time of tempels to the contemporary era. this position is based on the fact that igwebuike is based on or captures the african worldview which shapes african philosophy. reference achebe, c. (1958). the things fall apart. england: heinemann. asouzu, i. i. (2004). methods and principles of complementary reflection in and beyond african philosophy. nigeria: chidal global. asouzu, i. i. (2007). ibuanyidanda: new complementary ontology, beyond world immanentism, ethnocentric reduction and impositions. berlin: transaction. asouzu, i. i. (2007a). ibuanyidanda: new complementary ontology, beyond world immanentism, ethnocentric reduction and impositions. berlin: transaction. awolowo, o. (1968). the people’s republic. ibadan: oxford university press. awolowo, o. (1979). the problems of africa: the need for ideological appraisal. london: macmillan. edeh, e. (1985). towards an igbo metaphysics. usa: loyola university press ‘‘igwebuike’ as the key to understanding african philosophy and religion igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 107 ekwulu, b. i. (2010). igbo concept of ibe (the other) as a philosophical solution to the ethnic conflicts in african countries. in b. i. ekwulu (ed.). philosophical reflections on african issues (pp. 183-192). enugu: delta. gyekye, (1975). african religions and philosophy by j.s. mbiti. second order. 4. 1. 86-94. gyekye, (1975). african religions and philosophy by j.s. mbiti. second order. 4. 1. 86-94. gyekye, k. (1987). an essay on african philosophical thought: the akan conceptual scheme. cambridge: cambridge university press. ikemnkia, m. n. (1999). african vitalogy: a step forward in african thinking. kenya: paulines. iroegbu, p. (1994). metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: international universities press. iroegbu, p. (1995). metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: international universities press. iroegbu, p. (1995). metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: international universities press. izu, m. o. (2010). the problematic of african time. uche: journal of the department of philosophy, university of nigeria, nsukka. 16. 19-38. jahn, j. (1958). muntu: an outline of the new african culture. new york: grove. kagame, a. (1951). la philoosophie bantu rwandaise ae l’ etre. bruxelles: la divine pastorale. kagame, a. (1976). the empirical apperception of time and the conception of history in bantu thought. culture and time (pp. 101-102). the unesco press. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 108 kagame, a. (1976). the empirical apperception of time and the conception of history in bantu thought. culture and time (pp. 101-102). unesco press. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2016a). african traditional folk songs as dialogue between education and entertainment. cambridge international journal of contemporary education research. 6. 6. pp. 53-64. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2016b). african traditional folktales as an integrated classroom. sub-saharan african journal of contemporary education research. vol.3 no. 6. pp. 107-118. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. ‘‘igwebuike’ as the key to understanding african philosophy and religion igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 109 kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. kanu, i. a. (2018). african philosophy, globalization and the priority of ‘otherness’. journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 40-57. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 110 kanu, i. a. (2018). african traditional philosophy of education: essays in igwebuike philosophy. germany: lambert publications. koech, k. (1977). african mythology: a key to understanding african religion. inn. s. booth (ed.). african religions: a symposium (pp. 117-139). london: nok. mbiti, j. s. (1969). african religions and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational publishers. njoku, f. o. c. (2015). the philosophical grid of igbo sociopolitical ontology: ibu anyi danda. 147 th inaugural lecture of the university of nigeria, nsukka. nkrumah, k. (1963). africa must unite. london: oanaf. nyerere, j. (1968b). ujamaa: essays on socialism. oxford: oxford university. nyerere, j. (1968a). freedom and socialism. oxford: oxford university. senghor, l. s. (1959). elements of constructifs d’ume civilization d’inspiration negro-africaine. presence africaine. february – may. senghor, l. s. (1964). on african socialism. trans. m. cook. new york: f. a. praeger. senghor, l. s. (1975). what is negritude? (eds.) g. c. m. mutiso and s. w. rohio. readings in african political thought (pp. 78-90). london: heinemann. tempels, p. (1959). bantu philosophy. paris: presence africaine. wiredu, k. (1995). democracy and consensus in african traditional politics: a plea for a non-party polity. in o. ‘‘igwebuike’ as the key to understanding african philosophy and religion igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 111 oladipo (ed.). conceptual decolonization in african philosophy: four essays (pp. 53-63). ibadan: hope igwebuike: a conceptual tool for change in the liberation of african women igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 113 igwebuike: a conceptual tool for change in the liberation of african women nnoruga james department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe university, awka nnorugajames@gmail.com executive summary when women in their numbers find themselves socially, economically, politically deprived and progressively thrown further and further away from the centre of life and meaning, it is not a mere accident or effect of an unknown factor. consciously or unconsciously, it shows that there is a big problem unattended to. the subjugation of women in the world remains one thing men do not consider seriously as something worth fighting for. recently, the struggle has started toward the liberation of african women. igwebuike principle is used here to show the way to the liberation of african women. the approach used here is reflective and theological approach. keywords: liberation, igwebuike, kanu ikechukwu anthony, african, women, conceptual tool introduction recently, liberation has been a cause of concern to the whole world, both from the point of men and women. for ages, liberation has been about men in africa or community or village; nothing meaningful has been done or carried out about women liberation. according to umeh ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 114 (2004), the ”book of exodus” is an account of god’s liberation of the people of israel. this means that liberation has been there for ages, about people who are dominated by other people stronger than they are. it is known that israelite liberation happened because of injustice, slavery, social and economic exploitation found among the people of israel by their stronger opposing nation, egypt. this goes on to show that for liberation to take place, there must be underlying crisis or factors that necessitate liberation. it does not happen in a vacuum, for man always yearns to be free, yet always chained by one bad situation or the other. today, in the world of globalization, women suffer in different ways, which can stem from psychological, sociological, cultural, to political crisis or problem meted out to them by their male counterparts or society. arinze-umobi (2010) articulated it as thus: violation of women’s right is a global problem that affects third world countries and some developing countries …. violence against women and girls is one of the most widespread violations of human rights. it can include physical, sexual, psychological and economic abuse, and it can include physical, sexual, psychological and economic abuse, and it cuts across boundaries of age, race, culture, wealth and geography. it takes place in the home, on the streets, in schools, the workplace, in farm fields during conflicts and crises. (p. 715). from the above quotation, one recalls the prevalent rape going on everywhere in most places, or brutal killings of women in war or by terrorists. objectively, liberation cut across all ages, races, continents, human right and status because sufferings or crises are seen or emanate virtually from these aspects and spheres of life or from any part of the world. so far, it is known that crisis or suffering is a monster bedeviling our society or african nations, especially for their backwardness or understanding of life in this contemporary age. igwebuike: a conceptual tool for change in the liberation of african women igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 115 hence, there is need for the liberation of african women from all these shackles of devils reducing their meaningful and joyful life. sequel to this hopeless situation in africa, this write-up views igwebuike principles as a way of liberation for african women. this will ensure a balance and joyful life for african women. though many principles or solutions for the liberation of african women have been given or suggested by many african scholars or theologians, from their own point of view, igwebuike principles will ensure the development and advancement of african women because it is based on african world views primarily, rather than other world views. though references may go beyond african women, but it measures more on african women and igbo perspective. african situation: women predicament african nations, as of today, are still suffering heavily from the burdens of their past invasion, exploitation and partition of african countries by the european countries. under the evils of slave trade, millions of africans, especially women, were taken into slavery and abused violently, and most of them died. slave traders engaged in the exportation of able-bodied women for sexual activities outside africa. this is one of the ways the rights of the african women were subdued, and violence enthroned into their lives. today, slavery is being replaced by human trafficking in major parts of africa, and this involves women and children mostly. it goes on to show that women are less valued in our society today. there may be other causes of women trafficking but the bottom line is that society does not value them as their male counterparts, and government in place does not protect its citizens. it is known that recently, african women are deceived for better jobs in other countries of the world, like italy, germany, malaysia, china, and so on. slavery or women trafficking, which may be caused by unemployment, poverty, greed, ignorance, will be controlled through quality education and self-sustenance, and this involves liberation. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 116 culturally, african women are subjugated in different ways. this hampers them from living the fullness of their lives as normal human beings. according to oborji (2005), there are some cultural hardships that african women are experiencing. these range from aspects of african customs and traditions that oppress women and put them in the state of inferiority complex, when they compare themselves with other women in the world. this, of course, prevents them from participating fully and elegantly in the development of the african society. there are some cultures that restrict african women from coming out at certain times of the day or at festivals. most of the african cultures place more value on the male child in the society. with this, women or girls in the african society or family are valued less than their male counterparts. sometimes, this leads the head of the family to marry another wife, thereby putting the woman or the wife in perpetual agony. here, ezeigbo (1966) is of the opinion that the losing or changing of names upon marriage by african women subdues them all the more, though marriage is seen as one of the hallmarks of a complete woman. ezenwanebe (2010) agrees strongly that being an african woman in the family has a lot of demands like pregnancy, house work, child care, and so on, which is a burden to womanhood and a serious threat to self-realization and freedom. yet, marriage is seen or perceived as the major perspective from which one can better access a woman’s other life aspirations. according to muonwe (2016), a woman is, so to speak, a nobody outside of marriage” (p. 3). from the social point of view, african women are subjugated in different ways. they are being discriminated against in so many ways in favour of their fellow africans or male counterparts in the family circle. muonwe (2016) relates that: in the traditional igbo society, during her menstruation, the wife is not allowed to cook for her husband, especially if he is a titled man (though this practice is no longer wide spread today), because she is believed to be impure…. she is not only forbidden to cook for igwebuike: a conceptual tool for change in the liberation of african women igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 117 her husband during this period, but is also required to avoid coming near him. in certain cases, she lives in a separate house and is forbidden to touch ceremonial objects, else they become defiled. ( pp. 14-15). poverty also has helped to reduce african women to a mere human whose task cannot be more than that of man or just bearing children. unemployment finally gave a deadly blow to our economy, and consequently our women are affected adversely. traditionally, it is believed that there are certain tasks or employments or jobs women will not do. this hampers greatly the actualization of their dreams in life. some african men believe that the task of women begins and ends in the kitchen and “the other room”. through this way, abuses and violence are done to african women, and their rights constantly denied. according to arinze-umeobi (2010): violence affects the lives of millions of women worldwide, in all socio economic and educational classes. it cuts across cultural and religious banners, impeding the right of women to participate fully in a society. violence against women takes a dismaying variety of forms, from domestic abuse and rape to child marriages and female circumcision. (p. 716). some ideologies believe in the reality of inequality. this shows that women, generally, in the family and society are oppressed. marxists claim that gender inequality originated from man’s desire to own property in herding and agricultural economy of pre-industrial society. engels (cited by ezenwanebe, (2010)) points out that certain historical conditions led to women’s subjugation and this started when man’s desire to ensure the paternity of the children, who would become heirs to his properties, led to an increased restriction of the women; a mere instrument for breeding children. zaretsky (1976) agrees with the marxists that it is the capitalists who benefit most from women’s subjugation and oppression. in private life, women dominate, but in public life, it is believed to be the area of men; that is why zaretsky ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 118 agrees with marxists that capitalism benefits more from domestic labour of housewives who reproduce future generation of workers at no cost to the capitalist. male domination or chauvinism has been traced again as the source or the problem of women’s subjugation in most places. this is seen most often in patriarchal societies. this ideology or society favours male issues and sees women as not equal to men. it is known that africans accepted this ideology or cultural system without making any effort to deconstruct the system. the deconstruction of patriarchal ideology is necessary for the growth of african women. this is a social system in which men hold primary power and pre-dominate in roles of political leadership, moral authority, social privilege and control of property. some patriarchal societies are also patrilineal, meaning that property and title are inherited by the male lineage. this patriarchal ideology is attributed to inherent natural differences between men and women. but sociologists tend to see patriarchy as a social product and not as an outcome of innate difference between the sexes, and they focus attention on the way that gender roles in a society affect power differentials between men and women. in fact, most societies are patriarchal in practice. again, feminist theorists see it as a primary cause of women’s oppression and subjugation. so many feminists have called for culture repositioning as a method for deconstructing patriarchy. this culture repositioning relates to culture change and it involves the construction of the cultural concept of a society. layli (cited by ezenwanebe, 2010)) defines feminism as the “critical perspective and social movement that revolves around the eradication of sexism, the dismantling of patriarchy and elimination of violence against women” (p. 6). this is a view that women are oppressed and subdued by many obstacles limiting the actualization of their potentials. it calls for women to challenge and transgress the obstacles to free themselves. most feminist theorists believe that it is an unjust social system that is harmful to both men and women. it involves any social, political or igwebuike: a conceptual tool for change in the liberation of african women igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 119 economic mechanism that evokes male dominance over women. again, some feminists believe that it is man and his society, not capitalists, who benefit most from women oppression, and only a change in the status of women in society can bring an end to their subservient oppression. but firestone (1970) argues that gender inequality and women operation are3 biologically determined, producing what is referred to as sexual class system. the above thought refers to the burden of family lives on women. some scholars objected strongly to the view that it is not the family task or biological make up of women that devalues them but the way african society interprets their world view, and the interpretation that ties them to reproduction and family care. this in a great way hampers african women from the business of governance in africa. in fact, women in politics are sometimes seen as wayward women; it is only recently that the mentality is changing. sequel to this and other factors, women are not seen much elected in political offices in the african political arena. even in the process of appointment into political offices, african women are neglected because of mindset . but women can lead when elected and can manage authority more than men. it is on record that during this corona virus pandemic that most countries of the world ruled by women are low in the number of people affected and number of people that died. but most countries in the world ruled by men recorded more suffering and death during this corona virus pandemic. this means that women govern well and care very much. african women are highly subjugated or oppressed in the world today. there are many accusing fingers pointing at the ugly situation of african women. the solution is yet farfetched; where it is found or suggested, it is hard to be implemented. the worst is that even the women themselves seem to accept and enjoy the situation. igwebuike principle will help to enhance the freedom of african women because it is african worldview-oriented and it is going to be achieved by collective and individual efforts. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 120 igwebuike and its principles having seen the condition of african women, which needs liberation urgently, we proffer and analyze the principles to ameliorate the conditions of african women. for it is known that most african women migrate to other continents of the world for better living and balanced life. recently, the rate of rape against african women reported in the internally displaced peoples’ camp was alarming. sequel to all these, the principles of igwebuike developed by professor kanu ikechukwu anthony need to be analyzed for the liberation of african women. according to kanu (2015), igwebuike is the modality of being, and being in igbo ontology is ‘idi’, that is ‘to be’. igwebuike is an igbo word which is a combination of three words. according to him: it can be understood as a word and as a sentence: as a word, it is written thus igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written thus, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space and [meaning]. (p. 67). he goes further to explain the three words that make up the word, igwebuike. igwe is a noun which means ‘number’ or ‘population’, usually a large number or population; bu is a verb which means ‘is’; ike is a noun, which means ‘strength’ or ‘power.’ when these words are put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’ (kanu, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019). this, in effect, means when a good number, group or society of human beings comes together in solidarity, they are powerful. again, solidarity combines with complementarity because everybody needs each other to make a complete whole. it constitutes a powerful group and an insurmountable force. at this level, kanu asserts that no task is beyond their collective capability. again this analysis provides or proves an african ontology that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. mbiti (1960) also asserts that “man is at the very centre of existence, and african people see everything else in its relation to this central position of man… it is as igwebuike: a conceptual tool for change in the liberation of african women igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 121 if god exists for the sake of man” (p. 92). metuh (1991) affirms that “everything else in african worldview seems to get its bearing and significance from the position, meaning and end of man” (p. 109). the above analysis shows that for man to achieve his aims or objectives in this world, he has to be in relational character with the other people around him. this will ensure a formidable force. the human person, following the african worldview, is understood in his relation with god and his fellow human beings. ideologically, kanu (2015) argues that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is to be with the other in a community of being. onwubiko (1991) expresses this sense of community rightly with lozi proverb which says: “go the way that many people go, if you go alone you will have reason to lament” (p. 13). anchoring on or explaining igwebuike on the basis of african worldview, iroegbu (1994) describes it as being characterized by a common origin, common worldview, common language, common historical experiences and common destiny. determining the role of community to individual or human beings, mbiti (1969) asserts that “i am because we are and since we are, therefore i am” (p. 108). the sense of community here portrays family-hood or brotherhood, which means collaboration in existence. achebe (cited by kanu, 2015), in order to bring out the essential nature of the igbo african communal relationship, asserts that: we do not ask for wealth because he that has wealth and children will also have wealth. we do not pray to have more money but to have more kinsmen. we are better than animals because we have kinsmen. an animal rubs its itching flank against a tree, a man asks his kinsmen to scratch him. (p. 68). the above shows that life is shared in african worldview which makes life meaningful. so, it is in relationship or coming together that ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 122 each completes a whole. thus, every being has a missing part and is at the same time a missing part. ekwulu (cited by kanu, 2015) confirms the above view that “if the other is my part or a piece of me, it means that i need him for me to be complete, for me to be what i really am. the other completes rather than diminishes me” (p. 189). this rightly explains why igbo-african worldview would refer to the other as ‘ibe’, which means a piece of or a part of, as in ‘ibe ji’ (a piece of yam), or ‘ibe ede’ (a piece of cocoyam). kanu (2015) asserts that the igbo-african refers to the other person as ‘ibe’ which means ‘my piece’, or ‘mmadu ibe m’ (my fellow human being). this is a concept also employed in relation to relationships and reciprocity: love one another (hunu ibe unu n’anya), help one another (nyere nu ibe unu aka), respect one another (sopuru nu ibe unu). from the above, we see that igwebuike portrays the african sense of commonality, solidarity, brotherhood, familyhood and complementality as the root of african world view, thought and ontological quality of real the african which is needed to liberate african people from the state of subjugation seen in all aspects of their lives (kanu, 2016 & 2018). igwebuike and its powers towards liberation we have seen the ugly situation of african women which needs liberation to have a full life. we noticed again that the feminist writers, more than any set of people, increasingly and strongly call attention to an end to the oppression of women which has been there since human history. sequel to the above, tutu (1979) posits that liberation is the objective task of contemporary african scholars. african theologians have sought this liberation in the light of the gospel message. igwebuike principles, on its own, combine gospel message and african world view in seeking a way of liberation for african women. the liberation of african women entails eliminating all forces that hinder african women from living fully as human beings. the above assertion on the principles of igwebuike are the same with murray’s igwebuike: a conceptual tool for change in the liberation of african women igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 123 (1979) principles of liberation which assert that the term liberation has three distinct levels of meaning: (a) socio-political liberation, (b) a historical process of humanization and self-realization, and (c) liberation from sin and admission to communion with god. the igwebuike principle is rooted in the african world view, and this can be linked to the inculturation used by theologians today (kanu, 2017). it involves removal of bad traditional cultures. oborji (2005) relates that these are those cultural hardships that african women experience; that is, those aspects of african customs and traditions which oppress women, put them in the state of inferiority complex and subjugation with the men folk, and deny them the right to participate fully as equal partners in the development of africa. this entails that africans can, on their own, stop all customs and traditions which they see that is oppressing their womenfolk. it coincides with the saying that man is meant for sabbath and not sabbath for man. this implies also replacing those customs and traditions with good ones that will make african women to be proud of themselves. one of the principles of igwebuike includes complementarities and shared experiences. it is true that men and women differ in some significant ways, but it equally shows that they are not different as day and night or light and darkness (kanu, 2017 & 2019). hence, udebunu (2010) asserts that: from the stand point of nature, men and women are much closer to each other than either anything else and an exclusive gender identity is a suppression of these natural similarities. men and women have the human “species characteristics” of capacity for language, intellect and imagination, upright stance, thumb opposition and manipulation, tool-making and toolusing and extended childhood and parenting that mark ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 124 us off from other species and are constituents of the evolutionary jump to human society. these characteristics are shared between the sexes and there is no good reason to doubt that the shift from biological evolution to history should also be shared accomplishment. (p. 158). this shows that human beings generally are almost the same in everything. since men and women share the same capacity, ability and skill, there is no reason to suppress the other on the basis of gender. igwebuike is endowed with the principle of complementarity (kanu, 2014). we know that no tree can make a forest. so, instead of amplifying the differences in men and women by virtue of their biological or body difference which leads to subjugation and exclusion of women from the vital activities in the african society, africans should decide or develop how best to harmonize or complement the great qualities or skills found in men and women’s biological nature to achieve great living and advancement in the society. however, udebunu (2010) rejects the efforts of those who, in an attempt to achieve the above complementarity and advocated for both sexes, that is encouraging women to become more like men, dropping their womanly qualities, as if they succeed only to the extent they achieve masculine status or vice versa. hence, igwebuike, as a principle, is projecting a means whereby both male and female come together in a new synthesis or synergy and achieve a difficult task in a holistic manner. using igwebuike as a conceptual tool for change, the issue of mental attitude towards certain areas of life has to be changed or reconstructed to accommodate womens’ life in the society. for example, in terms of political life, family life is seen by certain feminists as the tyranny of family or criticized as barrier to political equality and a source of psychological, economic and political oppression. here, the principle of relation in igwebuike comes in because family must be part of the political life. udebunu (2010) hints igwebuike: a conceptual tool for change in the liberation of african women igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 125 also that gone is the time when political institution exists exclusively of its own, independent of the family life. bottomore (1964), on the above stand, says that “the institutions which exist in the differing spheres of society are not merely co-existent but are connected with each other by relations of coincidence or contradiction and mutually affect each other” (pp. 121-122). this implies that there is a significant relationship that exists between the structure or formation of nuclear family and the structure of the wide political society of which it is a part and parcel . eckstein (cited by udebunu, 2010) supports the above when he points out that the stability of any political order is dependent upon the congruence between governmental authority structures and other such structures in the society, including those of work places, pressure groups, schools and, most significantly, the family. with this, the above family life, through the principles of igwebuike, can never be a barrier to political life, but indeed can bring fullness of life for african women. the principle of solidarity in igwebuike again brings in the effort of women themselves to recognize the power in them and to rise up against oppression meted out to them by the menfolk. the coming together of women to have one voice and strength etymologically depicts igwebuike (strength in number). this has been done in most countries of africa where women liberate themselves from the oppression they found themselves in. muonwe (2016) expresses the efforts of igbo women through their organized women revolts as thus: because of the weakened position igbo women found themselves in, as a result of colonial policies and administrative strategies, the staged quite a good number of demonstrations, “wars”, protests and riots. they did these to press home their demand for a better treatment and to register their displeasure with what they saw as injustice, deprivation of their basic rights, and bastardization of igbo culture. (p. 97). ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 126 some of these revolts by igbo women include: (a) 1916 onitsha women market demonstrations. (b) 1925 women movement. (c) oil mill demonstration 1940-1950. there are revolts, especially those bordering on rape in the recent times, by which young women in nigeria and other african countries protest openly against rape and other oppressive actions. finally, the situation of african women needs liberation. the principles of igwebuike, as a tool for change, when properly applied within africa, will definitely help in liberating the african women. conclusion the write-up has shown the possibility of liberating african women using the liberating principles of igwebuike. it does not involve dismantling of any institution, but transforming our world view which involves change of attitude, empowerment, and proper education of african women. this will ensure that every woman can say no to subjugation and exploitation or oppression of any kind. mbefo (2009) supports and enumerates strategies for winning the battle or the struggle for african women liberation from male hegemony and subjugation. firstly, he proposes that we must look into the contemporary situation of women in the wider world in order to insert african women into broader global picture. african women must see themselves as modern women of twenty-first century. secondly, in order not to be alienated from african roots and, therefore, to highlight their identity as african women, women must look deeper into their african history to effect a genuine update of african values. all these affirm the principles of igwebuike discussed above. however, this involves strong will and effort, for liberation struggle entails much. igwebuike: a conceptual tool for change in the liberation of african women igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 127 references achebe, c, (1958). things fall apart. london. heinemann. arinze-umeobi, s. o. (2010). women and globalization in the nigerian filmindustry: an appraisal of selected nigerian films. in a. b. c. chiegboka, t. u. utuh, ezeajuh and g. i. udechukwu (eds.). the humanities and globalization in the third millennius (pp. 715-720). nimo: rex charles and patrick. bottomore, t. b. (1964). elites and society. england: harmondsworth. ezeigbo, a. t. (1996). gender issues in nigeria: a feminist perspective. lagos: vista. ezenwannebe, o. c. (2010). issues in women’s liberation struggles in contemporary nigeria: a study of ezeigbo’s hands that crush stone. journal of international women’s studies. 16,3, 262-276. firestone, s. (1992). the dialects of sex. london: paladin. iroegbu, p. (1995). metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: international university press. kanu i. a. (2015b). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu i. a. (2017). igwebuikeconomics: towards an inclusive economy for economic development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 6. 113-140. kanu i. a. (2017). sources of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. 9. 1. pp. 1-23. kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. kanu, a. i. (2017c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 7. pp. 165-183. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 128 kanu, a. i. (2017d). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 6. pp. 16-50. kanu, a. i. (2017f). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. pp. 153-160. kanu, i. a. (2010). towards an african cultural renaissance. professor bassey andah journal of cultural studies. volume 3, pp. 146-155. kanu, i. a. (2012). a metaphysical epistemological study of african medical practitioners. in o. e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (2012). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 227-240). nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2012). being qua belongingness: the provenance and implications of pantaleon’s redefinition of being. uche: journal of the department of philosophy, university of nigeria, nsukka. vol. 17. pp. 57-58. kanu, i. a. (2012). from ‘onye’ to ‘ife’ hypothesis: the contribution of edeh to the development of the concept of being. lwati: a journal of contemporary research. 9, 4. 218-223. kanu, i. a. (2012). inculturation and christianity in africa. international journal of humanities and social science. vol. 2. no. 17. pp. 236-244. kanu, i. a. (2012). the functionality of being in pantaleon's operative metaphysics vis-a-vis the niger delta conflict. african research review: an international multidisciplinary journal. vol.6. no.1. pp. 212-222. kanu. i. a. (2012). towards an igbo christology, in ezenweke, e.o and kanu, a.i. (eds) issues in african traditional religion and philosophy, jos: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2012). the problem of being in metaphysics. african research review: an international multi-disciplinary journal. vol.6. no.2. april. pp. 113-122. igwebuike: a conceptual tool for change in the liberation of african women igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 129 kanu, i. a. (2012). the problem of personal identity in metaphysics. international journal of arts and humanities. vol.1. no.2. pp.1-13. kanu, i. a. (2012a). the concept of life and person in african anthropology. in e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (eds.). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 61-71). nigeria: augustinian. kanu, i. a. (2012b). towards an igbo christology. in e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (eds.). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 75-98). nigeria: augustinian. kanu, i. a. (2013). african identity and the emergence of globalization. american international journal of contemporary research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 34-42. kanu, i. a. (2013). globalisation, globalism and african philosophy. c. umezinwa (ed.). african philosophy: a pragmatic approach to african probems (pp. 151-165). germany: lambert. kanu, i. a. (2013). on the sources of african philosophy. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 337-356. kanu, i. a. (2013). the dimensions of african cosmology. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 533-555. kanu, i. a. (2014). a historiography of african philosophy. global journal for research analysis. volume. 3. issue. 8. pp. 188190. mbefo, l. n. (2005). african women and the challenges of modernity. bigard theological studies. 29, 2. 51-63. mbiti, j. s. (1969). african religions and philosophy. london: heinemann. metuh, i. e. (1991). african religions in western conceptual schemes. jos: imico. muonwe, m. (2016). new dawn for african women; igbo perspective. ikechukwu anthony kanu igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 130 bloomington: xlibris. murray, p. (1979). black theology and feminist theory: a comparative view. in g. s. wilmore & j. h. cone (eds.). black theology: a documentary history. 1966-1979 (pp. 398-417). new york: orbis book. onwubiko, o. a. (1991). the christian mission and culture in africa. african thought, religion and culture. enugu: snapp press. tutu, d. m. (1979). black theology/ african theologysoul mates or antagonists? in g.s. wilmore & j. h. cone (eds.). black theology: a documentary history, 1966-1979 (pp. 483491). new york: orbis book. udebunu, c. (2010). from nuclear to global family: plato’s feminism and the politics of identity. in a. b. c. chiegboka, t. c. utoh-ezeajuh & g. i. udechukwu (eds.) in the humanities and globalisation in the third millennium (pp. 152-163). nimo: rex charles & patrick. umeh, e. c. (2004). option for the poor. an african liberation theology. enugu: snaap press. zaretsky, e. (1976). capitalism: the family and personal life. london: pluto press. igwbuike philosophy: a vehicle for peace and conflict resolution among the igbos of south east nigeria igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 131 igwbuike philosophy: a vehicle for peace and conflict resolution among the igbos of south east nigeria onyeakazi jude chukwuma, phd philosophy unit, directorate of general studies federal university of technology owerri. jude.onyeakazi@futo.edu.ng; judefuto@gmail.com executive summary the concept of socialism and communalism has been an age-long problem in the history of philosophy. philosophers, over the years, have tried to mediate in this age-long problem through their various theories: nyerere’s theory of ‘ujamaa’ (togetherness as oneness), the collective consciousness of emile durkhiem, the ibuanyindanda ideology of innocent asouzu and kwame nkrumah’s philosophical consciencism, just to mention but a few. in all these socio-political ideologies, none has been properly exhausted to meet the desired result in the reduction and prevention of conflicts and man’s cruelties against man, in terms of communal clashes, assorted forms of oppression, suppression, domination and discriminations. it is against this background that this research work titled ‘igwebuike philosophy: a vehicle for peace and conflict resolution among the igbos of south east nigeria’ was chosen as a template to contribute to the prevention and reduction of violence and terrorism in the nigerian state. it is a philosophical inquiry that attempts to interrogate the dynamics of our social environment, using igwebuike (strength in unity) ideology, which was developed by kanu ikechukwu anthony, depicting the marcelian theory of intersubjectivity. mailto:jude.onyeakazi@futo.edu.ng mailto:judefuto@gmail.com onyeakazi jude chukwuma, phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 132 despite the fact that our own country is plagued with insecurity, communal violence, and anxiety from various terrorist attacks, this paper is optimistic that the scourge can be reduced to a reasonable limit via “igwebuike” which is a call and an awakening to mutual complementary relationships. furthermore, it aims at unraveling how this consciousness can be used as an essential tool for lasting peace and reconciliation, with the sole aim of restoring the meaning of life in our meaninglessness situation. lastly, it recommends certain strategies for peace and conflict resolution among the various ethnic groups in nigeria. the method of this paper is essentially analytical, expository and evaluative. keywords: igbos, igwebuike, kanu ikechukwu anthony, conflict resolution. introduction: metaphysical dimension of igwebuike philosophy the fundamental principle which describes the core african spirit is harmony; although reality exists as individuals, they converge at the point of reasonableness. 1 igwebuike, as an ideology developed by professor kanu ikechukwu anthony, rests on the african principle of solidarity and complementarity. 2 it provides an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a rational character of mutual relation. to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. “to be” is “to be” with the other in a community of beings. 3 this is also captured in the philosophical assertion of panteleon iroegbu that “to be is to belong 1 kanu, ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy, 84. 2 kanu, ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy, 84. 3 kanu, ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy, 84-85. igwbuike philosophy: a vehicle for peace and conflict resolution among the igbos of south east nigeria igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 133 and to belong is to be” 4 and in mbiti’s “i am because we are and because we are, therefore, i am. kanu, quoting asouzu, opines: “complementarity is a philosophy that seeks to consider things in the significance of their singularity and not in the exclusiveness of their otherness in view of the joy that gives completion of all missing link of reality.” 5 socio-anthropological analysis of igwebuike philosophy man is a socio-cultural being that always shares a relational affinity with other members of his community. human beings and societies exist only in relation. 6 the intercultural philosophy of igwebuike captures the socio-anthropological nature of man, especially the igbo people. the igbo people of southern nigeria exhibit their social characteristics in their interactions with their fellow human beings, both within their ethnic nationality and outside of it. 7 igwebuike is anchored on igbo-african worldview which is characterized by a common origin, common worldview, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour, habit, common historical experience and a common destiny. 8 thus, igwebuike celebrates in deep cultural and philosophical modality our common humanity, interconnectedness and our common responsibility towards ones another. this is in line with the famous proverbial assertion of mbiti, “i am because we are and since we are, therefore, i am”. 9 4 panteleon, iroegbu. metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy, 374. 5 kanu, ikechukwu anthony. “igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy”,in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 3, no. 1, january 2007, 14. 6 kanu, ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy, 74. 7 christian, o. ele. conflict resolution strategies in igbo religion: the oath taking and covenant making perspective, 35. 8 panteleon, iroegbu. metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy, 108. 9 john, mbiti. african religions and philosophy, nairobi: east african edu. publishers, 1970, 108. onyeakazi jude chukwuma, phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 134 in the igbo-african view, it is the community which defines the person as person. 10 individualism is alien to igbo experience of reality; hence, “reality as a communal world takes precedence over the reality of individual life histories”. 11 as a summary of this idea, nwoko opines: an african traditional society is a society where the individual is always considered a free, integrated member of his community, a communion person. it is a society where individualism is considered a taboo, where each member takes the interest of the community as his own. his pride is community is power. the more united he is to the community, the more he sees the community as a mere extension of the family. 12 the need to live together in community is seen as part of igbo-african existential status. the individual has meaning only in the context of the community. 13 the igbo-african society has been based on an extended family system, which in turn expanded to kinship groups which further extended to clan system and this is the theoretical basis of african communalism. 14 therefore, the igbo community denotes first and foremost ontological quality of human relation. it is 10 ifeanyi, a. menkiti. “person and community in african traditional thought,” in african philosophy: an introduction , 3 rd ed., (ed.) richard a. wright. lanham: university press of america, 1984, 172. 11 ifeanyi, a. menkiti. person and community in african traditional thought, 171. 12 nwoko, m. i. the rationality of african socialism, rome: 1985,71-72. 13 ikegbu, ephraim. “african communalism”, in a colloquium on african philosophy, vol. 1, g.o. ozumba (ed.). calabar: prospper ventures, 2003, 32. 14 uduigwomen, a. f. “african communalism: individual freedom versus communal demands,” in sophism and african journal of philosophy, vol. 4, no. 1. calabar: pyramid publications, 2002, 27. igwbuike philosophy: a vehicle for peace and conflict resolution among the igbos of south east nigeria igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 135 ontological in so far as all the members of the community are believed to descend from a common ancestor. 15 causes of conflicts among the igbos there are many causes of conflict within the igbo societal setting; this can result either from land or boundary disputes, bad leadership, etc. meanwhile, a major pivotal factor of conflicts in the south east zone of nigeria is still the ownership of land 16 and kingship tussles. this is because land is a serious issue among the igbos, since it touches both the material and the spiritual essence of igbo ontology. thus, land is something worth fighting and dying for. 17 meanwhile, other sources of conflict in igbo land, apart from land disputes, are chieftaincy titles tussles, political differences and search for dominance and hegemony, and matrimonial fallouts. on the other hand, social deviance, which contravenes norms of the society, such as incest, stealing of yam or cattle, murder of fellow kinsman, adultery, insubordination to elders, are also causes of social disputes among the igbos. these social deviances range from the minor deviant acts that require sanctions for their controls to heinous offences, nso-ala. 18 15 nzomiwu, j. p. c. the moral concept of justice among the igbos, rome: ac. alfonsiana, 1977, 38. 16 charles, c. mezie-okoye. “tiv and igbo conflict management mechanism: a comparative study”, in international research journal of social science, vol. 5 (7), 2016, 25. 17 oguntolalaguda, d. “the role of traditional rulers and religious leaders in conflict management in nigeria”, in the practice of religion in nigeria, ilorin: decency press, 25. 18 nwankwo, ignatius uche. “traditional multiple level conflict resolution and the appeal system of the igbo group of southeast nigeria and the challenges of social change”, 36. onyeakazi jude chukwuma, phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 136 igwebuike and conflict resolution: a philosophy of social inclusion the igbos organized their society to integrate the needs of the individuals, family, village, town and clan. individuals benefit socially and psychologically from the support and protection of the community. individual survival and safety is protected within the walls of the community. every member of the community is responsible for the other. 19 the success of an individual increases the overall well-being of the entire community. the community which adopts communalism as a standard of operation delves into rights and freedom in order to protect the individual from harm and undue molestation. 20 central to the idea of community is unity which is linked to peace and progress in the society. 21 harmonious and friendly relationships facilitate progress and overall well-being in the human community. 22 harmony within the community is a moral obligation ordained by god for the protection and promotion of life. 23 igwebuike 19 kanu, ikechukwu anthony. “igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering”, in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 3, no.2, march 2017, 72. kanu i. a. (2015b). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu i. a. (2017). igwebuikeconomics: towards an inclusive economy for economic development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 6. 113-140. kanu i. a. (2017). sources of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. 9. 1. pp. 1-23. kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97101. kanu, a. i. (2017c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 7. pp. 165-183. kanu, a. i. (2017d). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 6. pp. 16-50. 20 ikegbu, ephraim. african communalism, 32. 21 anthony, kwakporo nwogu. the christian eucharist and oriko: a study in conflict resolution, 14. 22 anthony, kwakporo nwogu. the christian eucharist and oriko, 38. 23 anthony, kwakporo nwogu. the christian eucharist and oriko, 40. igwbuike philosophy: a vehicle for peace and conflict resolution among the igbos of south east nigeria igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 137 philosophy avers that development be holistic, and emphasizes the centrality of the human person in such a development. it calls for a collaborative approach in the search for better means of livelihood; this means that everyone must play a complementary role. igwebuike is anchored on the thinking that the community has a moral responsibility in the face of human suffering. everyone must do something to alleviate the suffering of the other. 24 the community spirit is very strong among the igbos. almost from the first, the individual is aware of his dependence on his kin group and his community. he also realizes the necessity of making his own contribution to the group to which he owes so much. 25 as a principle of sustainable development, igwebuike philosophy invites everyone to accept “community involvement”. as committed members of the society, it implies a mutual involvement of individuals and society in the destiny of each other; a common social destiny. therefore, it makes every member of the society responsible for the welfare of one another. 26 the community will definitely become better if everyone plays his/her own part very well. to this, asouzu asserts: the african (igbo) worldview, therefore is ruled by the spirit of complementarity which seeks the conglomeration, the unification, the summation of fragmented thoughts, opinions and other individualized fragmented thoughts and ideas. it believes essentially that the whole is greater than the corresponding parts, a viable and sustainable whole will emerge and by this, 24 kanu, ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem, 72. 25 uchendu, v. c. the igbo of southeast nigeria, london: r and wiston, 1965, 34. 26 edmund, aku. solidarity, subsidiarity and common good: fundamental principles for community and social cohesion, usa: xlibris corporation, 2011, 15. onyeakazi jude chukwuma, phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 138 the part will get to the brim purpose of their existence. 27 igwebuike philosophy: a vehicle for conflict resolution the igbo race took adequate measures to handle confrontations of social powers in their possibilities and actualities by evolving strategies that would prevent them, and at conflictual situations, resolve them. 28 conflict resolution in the igbo society is rooted in 27 kanu, ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy, 14. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kanu, i. a. (2019). on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159-176. kanu, i. a. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. 28 christian, o. ele. conflict resolution strategies in igbo religion: the oath taking and covenant making perspectives, 35. igwbuike philosophy: a vehicle for peace and conflict resolution among the igbos of south east nigeria igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 139 their social structures and religion. 29 this is wellexpressed by christian ele as thus: “in igbo land, conflict resolution strategies are embedded in their socio-cultural structures such as the family, kindred, village or clan and the entire town or community. in igbo society, the family heads (ndi okpara), umunna (the entire family of patriarchical roots), the council of elders (ndi ichie), the eldest in the kindred (onyishi), traditional ruler (igwe or eze), the women groups (umuada, umu nwunye di), youth groups (the age grade system, the ogbo oha), the maternal family (ndi ikwu nne), the grand child by a sister (nwa di ana, oke nwa nwunye), are all agents of peace and stakeholders in conflict resolution.” 30 whenever there is an issue within the family or clan, it is often settled in the presence of everyone in an acclaimed open court through mediation and negotiations. the very aim of conflict resolution within the igbo traditional setting is the reconstruction of social bridges and a reenactment of a supposed broken social order with a huge prospect of peaceful co-existence. it is not about justifying one and condemning the other, it works towards a compromise for the reconciliation of the both parties and the restoration of balance or the harmony of reality. 31 this very idea is simply an enactment of what igwebuike (complementary and solidarity) philosophy stands for. it is, thus, a method of conflict resolution built upon the culture of the people. 29 christian, o. ele. conflict resolution strategies in igbo religion, 35. 30 christian, o. ele. conflict resolution strategies in igbo religion, 38. 31 kanu, ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace, 37. onyeakazi jude chukwuma, phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 140 traditional means of conflict resolution before the advent of white men, igbos have already put into place mechanisms for adjudicating matters and for controlling the suppression of the weaker person by the stronger. 32 the basic unit for ensuring peace and preventing conflict was the family. however, there are many conflict resolution structures in traditional igbo society. these are in forms of institutions, social groups and extra-mundane (metaphysical) beliefs or orientations that resolve matters between disputants, and prevent or counteract individual tendencies to deviance. they negotiate, mediate and arbitrate in dispute situations. they use tools like fines, banishment, food commensality, ostracism, oath-taking, to punish or resocialize persons whose behaviours violate role expectations, to preserve the society from disruption. the igwebuike ideology and the communalistic nature of the igbo people necessitate that there are established groups for socio-cultural and socio-economic affairs. there are numerous religious and social groups for conflict resolution in igbo land. these conflict resolution structures, according to nwankwo, include “nuclear family structure, extended family assembly, age grades (otu ogbo), women association (umuada), village assembly, festivals, ozo title holders 33 ”. we shall explain only but a few of these structures. nuclear family structure the family is the foremost socialization and social control agent to which the individual is exposed. it controls the quality and quantity of new members of the society by educating the child on the rules, norms, mores and folkways that govern the society. in the society under study, the functions of socialization, social control and conflict resolution were executed by the nuclear as well as extended families. 32 charles, c. mezie-okoye. “tiv and igbo conflict management mechanism: a comparative study”, 27. 33 nwankwo, ignatius uche. “traditional multiple level conflict resolution and the appeal system of the igbo group of southeast nigeria and the challenges of social change”, 38-42. igwbuike philosophy: a vehicle for peace and conflict resolution among the igbos of south east nigeria igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 141 nuclear family attends to disputes within the nuclear family setting between siblings, and spouses. it is usually presided over by the father and the elders of such families. 34 extended family assembly (izu umunna) the extended family is a grouping into one functional unit of three or more generations of people linked by marriage, descent or adoption. they share a putative father and cannot inter-marry. in the igbo society, the training was achieved by educating the child in the code of manners, conventions, customs, morals and laws of his society. at times, stories of heroes, or of tragedies that befell disputants or defaulters, are used to illustrate the essence of good behaviour. the family restrains the child by meting out punishment as need arises. the kindred or members of the extended families form what is known as umunna assembly in igbo tradition. they are represented by the opara/okpala – the most elderly male person. by virtue of his age and position, the opara acts as spokesman in conflict-related matters. 35 he performs socio-juridical functions and distributive justice is adjudicated by him. any case which cannot be resolved by the opara is brought to the general assembly of the umunna. every adult male has the right to contribute to the general deliberations at the assembly. the elders reserve the right to take the final decision after private consultations among themselves (igba izu). the disputants or deviant members are customarily expected to comply with whatever punishment is prescribed, or face stiffer measures. in the igbo society, a person who falls out of line with his extended family is likened to a bastard. for this reason, individuals carefully avoid violating the 34 nwankwo, ignatius uche. “traditional multiple level conflict resolution and the appeal system of the igbo group of southeast nigeria and the challenges of social change”, 38. 35 anthony, kwakporo nwogu. the christian eucharist and oriko: a study in conflict resolution, umuahia: lumen press, 2018, 18. onyeakazi jude chukwuma, phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 142 norms, thus, controlling their social behaviour and effectively resolving most conflicts. 36 women association (umuada) the umuada is an association of women married outside their natal home. at birth, every female in the community is an ada and qualifies as a member of the umuada association. but she plays no practical role in the association until adult age, especially after she is married. in traditional igbo society, the umuada association was a formidable conflict resolution structure and agent for the control of social behaviour of their members and of the larger public. their influence was felt both in their lineage of procreation and in their husband’s lineage. 37 since pre-colonial era, igbo women have imbibed the concept of igwebuike in their diverse means of resolving conflicts and promoting peace. umuada and nwunye di are the foremost women group and organization in igbo land built on the truism of igwebuike philosophy. these are organizations of daughters or wives of the clan who meet on several occasions to foster peaceful coexistence within the extended family, town or community. the umuada refers to the natal organization of daughters of the clan who are married either within or outside the community, while the nwunye di (co-wives) refers to the organization of women married within a family, kindred, clan or community in their maternal homes. umuada exercises remarkable powers in their natal homes due to their status as daughters of the soil. the fundamental background of this very group is that their strength lies in their union and complemenatarity. no single person makes up the “umu ada”. the prefix “umu” already signifies plurality, and umuada work with communal strength. in performing the above social control functions, the umuada often adopt mechanisms like fine, demonstrations, gossip, praise and blame or 36 nwankwo, ignatius uche. “traditional multiple level conflict resolution and the appeal system of the igbo group of southeast nigeria and the challenges of social change”, 39. 37 nwankwo, ignatius uche. “traditional multiple level conflict resolution”, 40. igwbuike philosophy: a vehicle for peace and conflict resolution among the igbos of south east nigeria igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 143 expulsion of members as ways of expressing disapproval and to secure their demands. in sum, the uumuada association was crucial in conflict resolution and social control in traditional igbo society. they enjoy profound respect, even in contemporary times, and their verdict in all matters is taken seriously. appeals may, however, be taken to council of elders, and ozo title-holders group. 38 evaluation and conclusion it must be noted that despite the fact that igwebuike philosophy has an igbo semantic and cultural undertone, it is of universal relevance. it is not a philosophy specifically viable for the igbo people alone, despite its uniqueness to the igbo people. despite its intrinsic worth, there are also certain areas of consideration which must be critically evaluated so as to make the best use of igwebuike philosophy. these shortcomings highlight the potential misconceptions, misappropriation or misapplications of igwebuike philosophy. it is often assumed by critics of igwebuike philosophy that communality kills the autonomy of an individual. this assumption may not necessarily be true, but if care is not taken, freedom and rights of individuals might be submerged and possibly suppressed in the strong tides of the community. more so, igwebuike philosophy runs the risk of collectivism. most times, in collectivism, the individual disappears. 39 it is similar to a democratic worldview which considers the opinion of the greater majority, since all the members of the community must not necessarily agree. in cases of misjudgment, compromise, bias, prejudice and conspiracy, popular opinion might not correspond to right judgments and decisions. the rich and influential people might also impose their thoughts on others. 38 nwankwo, ignatius uche. “traditional multiple level conflict resolution”, 41. 39 ozioma, j. nwachukwu. communalism in african traditional worldview, lagos: change pub, 2017, 71. onyeakazi jude chukwuma, phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 144 the igwebuike ideology is also established on the commonalities of interest and socio-political or socio-cultural background. its emphasis on numerical strength might actually breed an undue hegemony as those with higher numerical strength can intimidate others and issue undue treatments to the less numerically privileged few based on this ideology. the igwebuike philosophy, when wrongly conceived, will breed a problem of paucity of integration. there is also a tendency to consider those outside one’s circle as enemies, strangers, and treated as second class citizens. this is because humans can be consigned into believing that reality is genuine only within their individual circles. there will, hence, be a tendency to trust only those who are closer to us, like kinsmen and family members. evaluation and recommendations in the face of ever-increasing complexities, the igbo people have continued to employ igbo categories in search for a solution to their many problems. this work, thus, employs the holistic, inclusive and complementary category of igwebuike as a model for both conflict resolution and sustainable development. peace and progress are the hallmarks of every developing society, and they are both realities derived from mutual relational affinities between individuals. hence, they are products of unity; unity is synonymous with peace and progress. in the igbo worldview, peace is not merely an abstract construct; it is a reality which links with the life lived in the human community. 40 this idea is best captured in the complementary philosophy of igwebuike which stresses that solidarity and supplementary relationship built upon common background are very vital for social cohesion and advancement. it does not abrogate the importance of individual autonomy, but stresses an interdependent relationship whereby everyone assumes a social responsibility for the welfare of one another in the society. hence, the intercultural philosophy of igwebuike calls for a global action in conflict resolution and a socio-anthropological communal involvement in a bid to create 40 anthony, kwakporo nwogu. the christian eucharist and oriko, 40. igwbuike philosophy: a vehicle for peace and conflict resolution among the igbos of south east nigeria igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 145 an enabling environment for development. the igbos should concentrate on the fact that “together in peculiarities, the igbos can make a formidable whole.” hence, as a sort of recommendation, igbos should appreciate more the philosophical heritage of their founding patrimony, since the conventional western courts are now dominated by injustice and nepotism. the high cost of litigation in these courts is quite alarming, while the traditional means of conflict resolution does not charge fees for services rendered. therefore, in issues of dispute resolution, the adoption of the igwebuike philosophy should be taken with utmost priority. conclusion conflict resolution and sustainable development imply the ability of a society to improve the relational affinity and socio-economic standards of its citizens through various measures. from the igwebuike perspective, the adopted approach must be complementary and balanced 41 – built upon the principle of solidarity. this work, 41 kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christianmuslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the onyeakazi jude chukwuma, phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 146 thus, concludes by affirming that despite the alarming rate of conflicts and violence in our society today, a change of approach and employment of dialogue through igwebuike consciousness will help to reduce tension in the society. it will help in building mutual understanding and respect in the society and, by so doing, enhancing sustainable development among the igbo people of nigeria. this research aims to re-awaken the spirit of participation in the life of others in the igbo community, a call to a mutual service for common good. problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igboafrican modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. belongingness as igwebuike and african philosophy a critical relationship igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 147 belongingness as igwebuike and african philosophy a critical relationship jude i. onebunne, phd department of philosophy nnamdi azikiwe university, awka anambra sate, nigeria juno.anyi@gmail.com executive summary to be is to belong. that is to say being fundamentally belongs. being is belonging. belonging is being. to be, therefore, is to belong in one way or the other. by being and consequently belonging, human beings and realities are identified as such. being foundationally relates to belongingness and belongingness to being. belongingness, therefore, is an essential and indispensable character and intrinsic way of being. hence, belongingness defines and describes a being, thereby justifying the conclusion thus: to be is to belong; not to be is not to belong. until a being belongs, there is no identifying possibility with regard to what it can become or do amidst other realities. so, there is unity in strength by and in belonging. this is belongingness as igwebuike. belongingness guarantees the expression of relational unity as igwebuike, which literally translates to unity is strength and guarantees pragmatic relationship that is symbiotic. these concepts, belongingness and igwebuike, nevertheless are critically examined and philosophically contemplated within the paradigm of african philosophy amidst doubts of possibility and questions of existence with regard to nature, method, scholarship and history, which are genuinely part of world philosophical heritage. mailto:juno.anyi@gmail.com jude i. onebunne, phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 148 keywords: belongingness, kanu ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike, african philosophy introduction philosophy, philosophia, is love (philos) of wisdom (sophia). at the dawn of philosophy in the chequered history of man as rational animal, being question is very prominent and at the centre of philosophical discourse. different philosophical traditions as well as philosophical epochs and periods had different problems to tackle philosophically. contemporary period engaged more the reality as it confronts individual philosophy, demanding proper explanation and response. at this point, many western philosophico-traditional concepts are being replaced with complementary african philosophictraditional concepts like igwebuike, among others. these are individual philosophers’ attempt at articulating reality as it relates to them, solving their problems and explaining their immediate environment. belongingness belongingness is a definitive principle in african communalism. it is a kind of societal bonding and genuine relationship within a community that stipulates that a thing belongs as it identifies with the environmental realities. onebunne (2019a:) reiterates that, “belogingness is nevertheless expressed in few meta-theoretical concepts as: ibuanyidanda, ubuntu and ohazurume “ as well as in njikoka, ezumezu and more in igwebuike. belongingness, therefore, is the conceptual african metaphysics of being. belongingness has been identified as an ontological abstract term that specifies that a thing is because it belongs to one reality or the other. the idea of being as belongingness is nevertheless articulated on this understanding. being, therefore, expresses itself in belongingness. nothing actually is inactive or in its own unidentified with the other. it is only by implication that something can be thought to be inactive. belongingness is the propulsive move of being to perfect itself and belongingness as igwebuike and african philosophy a critical relationship igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 149 operates within an environment. belongingness, as the african metaphysics of to be, tries to locate by concretely defining and determining a being. belongingness concretizes a being in existence. hence, whatever is, as a being, must belong to something and/or somewhere. this is why being fundamentally belongs within the locus of spatial temporality. onebunne (2018:429) notes that the typological interconnectedness of belongingness is that it connects to every being and every reality is networked. being realizes its potentialities in belongingness. this is so because being fundamentally belongs within the spatial reality of space-time. igwebuike philosophy igwebuike is a modal action of a being in african worldview and understanding. it is an igbo word, which is a combination of three igbo words. kanu (2017:23) in systematizing igwe-bu-ike writes thus. ‘to be’ in igbo ontology is idi. however, the modality of being is igwebuike. it is an igbo word, which is a combination of three words. thus, it can be understood as a word and as a sentence: as a word, it is written thus, igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. let us try to understand the three words involved: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a large number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is a noun, which means strength or power. put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force. at this level, no task is beyond their collective capability. the three words involved are: igwe is a noun which means ‘number’ or ‘population,’ usually a huge number or population. it nevertheless means ‘sky’ or ’king,’ depending on the pronunciation and the syllable stressed. bu is a verb, which means is or that which is. ike is jude i. onebunne, phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 150 another noun, which means ‘strength’ or ‘power,’ and as a noun it means ‘buttocks,’ or even as a verb, it means ‘to create’ or ‘to share’ (kanu, 2014). thus, put together, igwebuike literally means number is power or strength is power. put it the other way round, it means ‘number is strength’. number here refers to a group of beings, population of persons or people or reality. it refers to a congregation or multitude of human beings, animals or any reality that is capable of activity. you cannot gather for nothing. the igwe (in the sense of masses or assemblage) gathers for action to be replicated or exerted (kanu, 2016). it is presupposed that the crowd or cluster of persons or any reality will exert enough might or vigour as well as force and supremacy or control for an end or activity to be achieved. onebunne (2018:65) explains that igwebuike “as employed by igbo traditional philosophers as a theory based on an illustrative statement to teach that when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force, and more so, to express their world of relationship, harmony, continuality and complementarity.” at this level, no task is beyond collective capability. this provides an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. as an ideology, igwebuike argues that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is ‘to be with the other’ in a community of beings. this is based on the african sense of community, which is the underlying principle and unity of african philosophy (kanu, 2019). this work suggests that igwebuike is the key to understanding african philosophy. while being in igbo philosophy is ‘idi’, that is, to be, igwebuike is the modality of being. it is an igbo word, which is a combination of three words. therefore, it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as igwebuike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. as an ideology, igwebuike postulates that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and belongingness as igwebuike and african philosophy a critical relationship igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 151 complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is ‘to be with the other’, in a community of beings (kanu, 2018). such being with others is guaranteed by such others. that means one belongs with others, strengthening their existence. this is based on the african sense of community, which is the underlying principle and unity of african philosophy belongingness as igwebuike igwebuike literally means number is power or strength is power. kanu (2017), the apostle of igwebuike, defines it as “the expressive modality of being in igbo ontology.” for him, igwebuike, which, according to asouzu (2007:11), is literally strength in togetherness, is the locus of meeting of beings in igbo communalist metaphysic, with special reference to existentialism and leadership. kanu (2017:34), however, opines strongly on the concept of igwebuike thus: igwebuike provides an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. as an ideology, igwebuike rests on the african principles of solidarity and complementarity. it argues that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is ‘to be with the other’, in a community of beings. this is based on the african philosophy of community, which is the underlying principle and unity of african traditional religious and philosophical experience. in developing this fundamental character of being as belongingness, iroegbu (1998:45) initially defines belongingness as a definitive principle in african communalism. he uses belongingness in a technical sense. it is, thus, for him, a principle of membership applied to a given community. this membership is not mere identification but a kind of belonging that is security-assured. this belongingness implies the basic commonness that makes a community a community, jude i. onebunne, phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 152 in our context, what makes a given african community as such. iroegbu shows that communalism makes belongingness an indispensible conceptual starting point for communal existence. accordingly, iroegbu explains thus: one native expression of belongingness is the term, umunna. in this sense, umunna, a basic community, transcends the nuclear family to mean, by extension, people of common lineage as well as commonness of origin. belonging, however, is the human need to be an accepted member of a group. abraham maslow suggested that the need to belong was a major source of human motivation. and since no man is an island, the need to belong to and with one another becomes a basic demand for man’s existence and co-existence. in belonging, people form a community of togetherness, and strengthened by such togetherness, many activities are possible. some theories in life have also focused on the need to belong as a fundamental psychological motivation. we belong to a group with which we have commonalities. this feeling of belonging is a basic need and a unique term in the dynamics of living and existence. hence, iroegbu (1995:19) asserts that “belongingness makes sure that all belong and none is marginalized, both contributively (duties and responsibilities) and distributively (sharing of communal cake).” this is the locus of igwebuike at play. one does not necessarily belong. one is ever conscious of where one is putting oneself or belonging. the importance of communal existence is a rational provision aimed at a better understanding and appreciation of man, not as a discrete individual but as a being properly expressed in belongingness as igwebuike this understanding has provided an enduring manner of attending to man as being with an inalienable interconnectivity with the rest of men. and so, the idea of coexistence as bedrock of caring and concern (sympathy) is highly significant in africa as a whole. hence, the igbo people normally talk of power as belong to the multitude (igwe-bu-ike), especially when they cohabit or live together as in extended family system, a form of onyeaghana nwanneya!. in fact, the very concept of the multitude is in itself understood as a source of power and authority. belongingness as igwebuike and african philosophy a critical relationship igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 153 understanding of african philosophy african philosophy is philosophy as it is done in and for africa and others. it is a philosophical tradition that is african within the mainstream of philosophy as a systematic study. african philosophy is the critical and universalizing interpretation of the culture and worldview of african people by philosophers within and outside the african continent. it is philosophy done within african philosophical tradition, designating the corpus of african philosophical writings. however, african philosophy, like other philosophical traditions, has a historical development along the path of human consciousness, critically encountering their realities (kanu, 2015). this is against some philosophers’ views and philosophical currents trying to demean and oppose the existence of african philosophy. african philosophy, therefore, is a systematic study within the limits of the africanity of philosophy and philosophicality of african realities and heritage. the philosophicality and africanity of african philosophy osuagwu (1999:28), in his criteria for the scientific philosophicality and scientific africanity of african philosophy, was apt to note thus: african philosophy is at the same time african and philosophical. in and by these terms, we are searching, on the one hand, for the genuine philosophicality, i.e., formal scientific philosophy, of the said african enterprise, and on the other hand, for the authentic scientific africanity of that scientific philosophy. these two basic scientific criteria make african philosophy to bear the characteristics marks of its particularity and universality. philosophicality simply places african philosophy at par with philosophia, which is love of wisdom. to this extent, african jude i. onebunne, phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 154 philosophy remains part of the world philosophical heritage, with one philosophical monoculture, though from african weltannchaunng. philosophicality, nevertheless, prunes african philosophy of the old socio-cultural bias of existence, and mere skeptical influence with pseudo-philosophical orientation. however, by this singular application of philosophicality, african philosophy is philosophy qua philosophy, irrespective of the philosophical traditions and/or philosophers’ postulations, as long as it expresses the needed love for wisdom and maintains the search for knowledge with an unaided reason as the most basic instrument. african philosophy, in this perspective, is philosophy per excellence, considering its contribution to world philosophical heritage and even to western ancient philosophers, like socrates and other known philosophical figures, periodisation and traditions. if socrates was regarded as a philosopher per se alongside western philosophical tradition, then the tradition that produced him, which is the egyptian african philosophical tradition, must have elements of such uncompromising philosophical innuendoes. onebunne (2019d:3) summarily opines thus: philosophicality is another principal criterion for determining african metaphysics. african philosophy is at the same time african, philosophical and metaphysical. by these terms, we are searching for the genuine understanding of philosophy. philosophicality, as a basic scientific criterion makes african philosophy to bear the characteristic mark of its universality. hence, echoing osuagwu, i.m., therefore, in line with this understanding, african philosophy is, therefore, a universalization, a universal vocation, ordination, destination and determination of and in the african particular. to this extent african philosophy or metaphysics is carried on at the same time according to philosophy’s general scientific norms, exigencies and african particular, traditional and natural factors. in this co-operation and mutual integration. belongingness as igwebuike and african philosophy a critical relationship igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 155 african philosophy has been very much neglected, rejected and denied on the purported grounds of its lack of genuine scientificity, authentic africanity and systematic philosophicality. through continued studies and sustained researches, african philosophy finds stability with its africanity and more by its philosophicality. it is no more a question of, is there an african philosophy? can there be african metaphysics? today, the emphasis of the question shifts rather from can there be african philosophy? to the issues of the possibility and how contemporaneously african philosophy is dealing with facts of historicity and method in african philosophy, principles, issues and special areas in african philosophy and her branches. equally, the africanity of african philosophy is worth the salt. scientific africanity is a complementary principle in the definition of african philosophy. africanity is a criterion that defines african philosophy properly with some parameters. according to osuagwu (2001:24), “by its africanity, it is a particular, that is to say, a particular reflection, concentration, concretization, contextualization, experience, identification and differentiation of the philosophic, scientific universal.” africanity tries to solve the controversy and the project of african philosophy by going beyond the boundaries of the geographical africa. within the geographical context, africanity expresses what it takes for any philosophy to be qualified, identified and differentiated as specifically and typically african. it contextualizes african experiences, life and reality within the realm of philosophy. for osuagwu (2001:26). therefore: scientific africanity refers to a set of african parameters or factors which include nature and culture, persons, places, times, events, doctrine, text and methods involved in philosophic enterprises so designated. these factors and many more constitute the common requirements by which a given subject matter is said to be african. jude i. onebunne, phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 156 borrowing an impressive idea from kinyongo, osuagwu (1999: 28) writes that “african philosophy is carried on at the same time according to philosophy’s general scientific exigencies and africa’s particular natural and cultural factors. in this cooperation, and mutual integration, philosophy and africanity look into each other to detect, engage and determine the scientifically valid and available in themselves.” belongingness and igwebuike as products of african philosophy african philosophy, having come to stay, gave room for philosophical concepts that ordinarily would not attract any serious attention. but as long as philosophers of african origin and background are concerned, many of our concepts, having received the needed critical attention, can be projected naturally to the realm of rigorous discourse. it is no more: can there be african philosophy? instead, it is dealing with african philosophy in a very sublime way, amidst given possibilities. the debate is over. what we are in now is doing african philosophy. oblivious of hegel’s doubts on the possibility of the existence of african continent and the known facts with regard to black pharoahs of the ancient egypt, contemporary history is saddened with facts that western philosophy is african philosophy in display as one doubts the authenticity of the burnt alexandria library. african philosophy has made it possible for the emergence of african concepts that can comfortably challenge her contemporaries. whatever it is like, placid tempels was bold enough to initiate then the debate on the possible existence of african philosophy with his publication of bantu philosophy. amidst every known criticism, one must note that african philosophy is a viable philosophical option. this is because, philosophy, like african philosophy, has been rooted in the culture and worldview of the people. these socio-cultural data and worldviews of people’s realities remain the given for critical appraisal in the quest or search for knowledge or wisdom which is philosophy. this is philosophizing per se. okere (1983:15) opines strongly for the possibility of african philosophy based on this opinion, thus: “it is belongingness as igwebuike and african philosophy a critical relationship igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 157 only within the context of hermeneutics that african culture can give birth to african philosophy.” why then do some philosophers refuse to accept and acknowledge that african culture has been reflected on and interpreted as such over the century amidst great scholarship and authorship, even as its methodological moments and scientific historicity are readily available? to this extent, any reference to african philosophy as mere derogatory ethno-philosophy than its foundation or fundamental root is a mark of great lack of scholarly ingenuity and serious disfavour to knowledge. instead, one is inclined to accept that african philosophy is part and parcel of world philosophical inheritance. definitional universality of african philosophy in relation to raw materials for philosophical reflection the definition and universality of african philosophy, against oddities of credibility and doubts of existence per chance, is resolved in the philosophicality and africanity of african philosophy. african philosophy, therefore, has a share in the mainstream of philosophical traditions growing as a human enterprise as a result of critical interpretation of tradition and cultural realities. okere (1983:38) asserts that “all philosophy is essentially an historical and time bound interpretation of being.” in this line of thought, however, there are ethno-philosophical foundations to philosophy as critical engagement and philosophical traditions of which african philosophy or chinese philosophy is no exception. this is far beyond referring to african philosophy as sage or mere cultural philosophy. amidst all sorts of bizarre and false ideas on the capability of african man to philosophize, questioning the depth of his philosophy, one can boast of african philosophical scholarship as well as african authorship. however, iroegbu (1994:116), an optimistic contemporary philosopher, was very apt in defining african philosophy as: the reflective inquiry into the marvels and problematics that confront one in african world, in view of producing systematic explanation and jude i. onebunne, phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 158 sustained responses to them. it is an inquiry with two aspects: philosophical and african. iroegbu was very premier in giving this succinct definition. in this definition, one can read a kind defense of african philosophy against being labeled mere folk, cultural or ethno-philosophy. the background at the time of this definition has to do with questioning and giving the possibility of african philosophy with regard to historicity and methodology. this is why for iroegbu, african philosophy is a philo-sophia, a quest for african wisdom. however, iroegbu was academically astute enough to reiterate that “african philosophy is philosophy done in an african context…the different aspects and complexities of existence that challenge him as an african person. in this respect, every philosophy is contextual philosophy.” by this very act, i strongly add that every philosophy worth the salt is ethno-philosophical, relatively cultural and appropriately traditional to the philosopher. alluding to this, iroegbu (1994: 122) was vehemently bent on this general understanding of philosophy as: the global participation of all realities and entities in the general fact and understanding of being as being whether in african, asian or western philosophy. summarily, iroegbu (1994:122) gave ten areas of any contextual or ethno-philosophical basic foundation for genuine philosophical enterprise thus: geo-environmental, socio-cultural, episteme, mythico-religious, political-moral, historic, ethnic – linguistic, existential, phenomenologico-pragmatical and ontological. for iroegbu, therefore, these philosophical concepts alone “are what we generally call the african philosophical philosophemena: raw materials for philosophical reflection, questioning, responses, analysis and eventual synthesis.” in this statement of fact, iroegbu, continued to echo his teacher okere theophilus, who had earlier conceived the idea of philosophemes as deposit of conceptual data or realities for philosophical enterprise. belongingness as igwebuike and african philosophy a critical relationship igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 159 conclusion a definitive thoughtful interpretation and critical analysis of the symbols of african cultures would be african philosophy qua tale. that is to say, igbo philosophy would, nevertheless, consist in the interpretation at a certain level of the various symbols and institutions or traditions of igbo culture. the concept: belongingness or igwebuike, for instance, stands for a kind of relationship or unity in strength respectively in igbo philosophy. however, all those institutions, concepts and symbols in igbo world that are ever-pregnant with sense and meaning are critically meaningful. therefore, a reflection with profound application of criticality, analyticity and originality on most african thoughts, concepts and culture gives credence to philosophy and, rightly put, african philosophy. such profundity in the critical appreciation of african or igbo worldview makes of them veritable moments for african or even igbo philosophy based on categories that are native to igbo culture and worldview. based on proper hermeneutics, one can dependably and realistically infer that african philosophy is a philosophy within the limits of african source and is nourished from african culture, as its cultural reservoir and primary critical nourishment as belongingness and igwebuike have done in african philosophy. reference asouzu, i.i (2007) ibuanyidanda: new complementary ontology, zurich: lit, verlag gmbh & co; wien iroegbu, p., (2004). kpim of time. ibadan: hope publication. iroegbu, p., (1995). metaphysics: kpim of philosophy. owerri: international university press. iroegbu, p (1996b) kpim of politics: communalism, owerri international press kanu i. a. (2017). sources of igwebuike philosophy. towards a socio-cultural foundation. international journal of religion and human relations vol. 9 no 1 june. jude i. onebunne, phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 160 kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and being in igbo ontology: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 4 no 5. [1221]. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kanu, i. a. (2019). on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159-176. kanu, i. a. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international belongingness as igwebuike and african philosophy a critical relationship igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 161 journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. jude i. onebunne, phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 162 kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. osuagwu, m. i., (2001). early medieval history of african philosophy. enugu: snaap press. osuagwu, m. i., (1999). african historical construction. owerri: assumpta press. okere,t. i., african philosophy: a historico – hermeneutical investigation of the conditions of its possibility, (lanham: university of american press), 1983. onebunne, j., being as belongingness; expanding the hermeneutics of african metaphysics of to be, awka: fab anieh nig. ltd., 2019a onebunne, j., belongingness: a definitive metaphysical principle in african communalism, awka: fab anieh nig. ltd., 2019b onebunne, j. in kanu, ,i,a., & chabi, k., (eds), a critical review of st. augustine’s concept of time. augustine through the ages: echoes of faith and reason, mauritius: lambert publishing c., 2018 onebunne, j.i., method: a definitive demand in african hhilosophy, awka: fab anieh nig. ltd., 2019d onebunne, j. in onebunne, j. haaga, p & ndubisi (eds), igwebuike: an african metaphysics of communal strength, igwebuike ontology: an african philosophy of humanity towards the other -papers in honour of professor kanu, ikechukwu anthony, o.s.a, the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 163 the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum dozie iwuh, osa department of philosophy augustinian institute makurdi benue state registered501@gmail.com executive summary it was boethius who defined person as an individual substance with a rational nature, pointing out three important aspects of the nature of the human person, namely his individuality, his rationality and his being a substance. the rational nature of man is not just limited to the use of logic in his dealings, it is not merely reduced to the fact that man thinks or reasons before and even after undergoing an action. it also comprises the fact that man is conscious of all that he does, he is aware of his rationality. the human person is not the only substance in the animal kingdom with consciousness, for all animals have a certain level of consciousness, but the human person is the only animal whose consciousness comes with an awareness; that is to say that the human person is conscious of his awareness or is aware of his consciousness (to put in tautological terms, he is conscious of his consciousness and aware of his awareness). the issue of consciousness only gained mailto:registered501@gmail.com dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 164 momentum in the 19 th /20 th century, although some put it in the mid 20 th century. the debate as to how man is conscious and as to how this power arises in him has awed greatly the scientific world, with some holding that the validly accepted explanation to this resides in the homunculus, which is original dated to the 16 th century alchemist paracelsus. this theory is presently rejected, using the infinite regress argument. with the dawn of the quantum field theory, which is relativity applied to quantum mechanics, applied to the field of neuroscience, the issue of how consciousness arises from the brain has resurfaced. applying quantum field theory (qft) to the thought about the brain and consciousness has paved the way for the quantum model of the brain. how much can we know of our conscious state using qft? is it even possible to dabble into the matter of consciousness whose matter is absent, yet whose effect is seen, using scientific theories that depends on the availability of matter? the igwebuike ideology speaks of two strong tenets, solidarity and complementarity (and even togetherness). what this paper will address is that these two main tenets of igwebuike depend on consciousness, for it is the consciousness of the other, that is the foundation of igwebuike’s trends of solidarity and complementarity. with this being said, can it be proposed that the igwebuike gospel has not just macroscopic underpinnings but it also has quantum? keywords: consciousness, qft, kanu ikechukwu anthony, brain, neuroscience, igwebuike, other (environment) what is consciousness? consciousness is a scientific problem that is unlike any other. our own consciousness, as descartes noted, is the most indubitable feature of our existence. it is the most precious one, as well: consciousness is the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 165 life itself, and for most people having their bodies kept alive in a vegetative state is no better than dying. the major religions are defined by their theories of consciousness: whether a person’s essence consists of his consciousness (his soul) or his body; how that consciousness ultimately fares as the result of its choices in life (whether it goes to a special place, or melds into a global mind); and whether the world contains forms of pure, disembodied consciousness in the form of gods, demons, angels and spirits. and the conviction that other people can suffer and flourish as each of us does is the essence of empathy and the foundation of morality. 1 consciousness consists of inner, qualitative, subjective states and processes of sentience or awareness. consciousness, so defined, begins when we wake in the morning from a dreamless sleep and continues until we fall asleep again, die, go into a coma or otherwise become "unconscious." it includes all of the enormous variety of the awareness that we think of as characteristic of our waking life. it includes everything from feeling a pain, to perceiving objects visually, to states of anxiety and depression, to working out cross word puzzles, playing chess, trying to remember your aunt's phone number, arguing about politics, or to just wishing you were somewhere else. dreams, from this definition, are a form of consciousness, though of course they are in many respects quite different from waking consciousness. 2 this definition is not universally accepted, and the word consciousness is used in a variety of other ways. some authors use the word only to refer to states of self-consciousness, i.e. the consciousness that humans and some primates have of themselves as agents. some use it to refer to the second-order mental states about other mental states; so according to this definition, a pain would not be a conscious state, but worrying about a pain would be a conscious 1 d.m. rosenthal, concepts and definitions of consciousness, in the encyclopedia of consciousness, w.p. banks ed, academic press, elsevier inc, oxford, 2009, v. 2 j.r. searle, consciousness, originally published october 8, 1999 as an academic paper at the university of california at berkeley, posted on kurzweilai.net august 13, 2001. javascript:loadbrain('consciousness') javascript:loadbrain('consciousness') javascript:loadbrain('number') javascript:loadbrain('politics') javascript:loadbrain('consciousness') javascript:loadbrain('consciousness') javascript:loadbrain('consciousness') javascript:loadbrain('consciousness') javascript:loadbrain('consciousness') dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 166 state. some use "consciousness" behaviouristically to refer to any form of complex intelligent behaviour. 3 the term ‘conscious’ is used most frequently to refer to the condition of people and other creatures when they are awake and responsive to sensory stimulation. a creature lacks consciousness in this first sense when it is asleep, anaesthetized, in a coma, and so forth. the main concern with this kind of consciousness is to explain in biological terms the difference between creatures’ conscious and unconscious conditions. because consciousness of this sort is a property of creatures, it is convenient to refer to it as creature consciousness. 4 this pertains to all sentient and animate creatures. a second important phenomenon we call consciousness is a creature’s being conscious, or aware, of something. there are two ways creatures are conscious of things. a person or other animal is conscious of an object by seeing, hearing, or touching it, or sensing it in some other way. but one is also conscious of something, even without sensing that thing, if one has a thought about it as being present to one, that is, a thought that represents that thing as being in one’s immediate environment. because we describe this phenomenon by reference to a grammatical object, we may call it transitive consciousness. explaining transitive consciousness consists in explaining what it is for a thought to be about something and what it is for a perception or sensation to be of something. a third phenomenon is more controversial in nature, and is the subject of much recent scientific and philosophical literature. we are conscious of various things by virtue of our having perceptions of them or thoughts about them. but those perceptions and thoughts can themselves be conscious or not conscious. subliminal perception is an example of nonconscious perceiving, and it is widely accepted that many thoughts occur nonconsciously as well, that is, outside our stream of consciousness. since this phenomenon is a property of mental states, rather than of creatures that are in those states, it is 3 ibid. 4 d.m. rosenthal, concepts and definitions of consciousness, in the encyclopedia of consciousness, w.p. banks ed, academic press, elsevier inc, oxford, 2009, 157 javascript:loadbrain('consciousness') the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 167 convenient to call it state consciousness. 5 consciousness refers to individual thoughts, memories, feelings, sensations and environment. one’s consciousness is one’s awareness of yourself and the world around you. this awareness is subjective and unique. 6 consciousness, thus, refers to experience itself. rather than being exemplified by a particular thing that we observe or experience, it is exemplified by all the things that we observe or experience. something happens when we are conscious that does not happen when we are not conscious— and something happens when we are conscious of something that does not happen when we are not conscious of that thing. we know what it is like to be conscious when we are awake, as opposed to not being conscious when in dreamless sleep. we also know what it is like to be conscious of something (when awake or dreaming) as opposed to not being conscious of that thing. 7 the quantum model of the brain the quantum model of the brain makes use of excerpts from qft. so, it would be better to let a little about qft before delving into the quantum model of the brain. why qft? qft is physics, 8 as it seeks to uncover that which is fundamental to existence, and it owes a lot to classical physics. classical physics is physics that does not make use of quantum mechanics or the theory of relativity. newtonian mechanics, thermodynamics, and maxwell's theory of electromagnetism are all examples of classical physics. many theories in classical physics break down when applied to extremely small objects such as atoms or to objects moving near the speed of light. in spite of all its 5 ibid. 6 k. cherry, consiousness is the psychology of awareness, in verywellmind online journal, february 24th, 2020, https://www.verywellmind.com/what-isconsciousness-2795922, received 12 th may, 2020. 7 m. velmans, how to define consciousness and how not to define consciousness, in journal of consciousness studies, 16(5), 2009, pp 139-156 8 physics deals with the behavior and composition of matter and its interactions at the most fundamental level https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-consciousness-2795922 https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-consciousness-2795922 dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 168 achievements, classical physics proved itself to be incapable of handling further fundamental issue of reality, like the photoelectric effect, the compton effect, to name a few.  the photoelectric effect: this is the emission of electrons by a metal when light falls on it. according to classical physics, electrons require some energy to escape from the surface of the metal. this amount of energy is called the work function and is given the symbol, 𝜙. according to the wave theory of light, the energy of the incident light is spread over the whole surface. electrons should, therefore, only be emitted if the intensity of the light, given by: intensity = power absorbed by surface/area of the surface. the maximum kinetic energy of the electrons and the number of electrons emitted are also predicted to depend on the intensity of the light. the frequency of the light should not matter, apart from being included in the intensity of the light: intensity ∝ frequency these predictions are clearly at odds with the experimental evidence seen. it was einstein who assumed that ‘light consists of quanta of energy, called photons.’ in fact, planck had introduced the concept of material resonators possessing quanta of energy nhν, where n is an integer, while einstein assumed that each quantum of light possesses the energy hν. the absorption of a single photon by an electron increases the energy of the electron by hν. part of this energy is used to remove the electron from the metal. this is called the work function. the remaining part of the energy imparted to the electron increases its velocity and consequently its kinetic energy. thus if hν, the energy of a photon incident on a metal, is greater than the energy e required to separate the electron from the metal, and v is the velocity of the emitted electron, then the following relation must hold: the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 169 hν = e + 0.5mv 2 the above formula shows that if the energy of the incident photon is less than the work function, the electrons cannot be separated from the surface of the metal and, therefore, will not be emitted. for a particular metal, the work function e being constant, the relationship between the energy of the incident photon and the kinetic energy of the emitted electron is linear. it is also clear that a more intense source of light will cause photons to be emitted at a greater speed, and this will produce a stronger electron current. thus, einstein was able to provide a completely satisfactory picture of the photoelectric effect by using the concept of the quantum nature of light. 9 9 m. saleem, quantum mechanics, iop publishing ltd, 2015, 3. einstein saw that the experimental evidence was explainable if it was assumed that light comes in discrete 'quanta' or packets of energy, which became known as photons.  each photon has a specific energy (e=ℎ f), and only collides with one electron. the probability of two photons colliding with one electron is very low. thus an electron can only absorb a specified amount of energy for light of a specific frequen*cy.  if this energy is insufficient to allow an electron to escape the surface of the metal, no electrons will be emitted. this creates a threshold frequency, above which a photon will provide an electron with enough energy to leave the surface, and below which the electrons cannot escape. the minimum energy required to remove an electron from the metal is the work function, ф. if a photon provides more energy to the electron than this, the rest will be seen as kinetic energy. thus: k.emax = ℎ f− ф= ℎ f−ℎ fo = ℎ (f−fo) k.emax ∝ (f−fo) where k.emax is the maximum kinetic energy of the electrons, ф is the work function of the surface, ℎ is planck's constant, and fo is the threshold frequency.  increasing the intensity only affects the rate of electrons being emitted, but does not affect their maximum kinetic energy. this is because increasing the intensity while keeping frequency constant increases the number of photons hitting the metal per second, and so increases the number of electrons which absorb them. it has no effect below the threshold frequency, because even if a huge number of electrons absorb photons, none of them have the energy to escape the surface. dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 170  the compton effect: this is also referred to as compton scattering. the compton effect is the term used for an unusual result observed when x-rays are scattered on some materials. by classical theory, when an electromagnetic wave is scattered off atoms, the wavelength of the scattered radiation is expected to be the same as the wavelength of the incident radiation. contrary to this prediction of classical physics, observations show that when x-rays are scattered off some materials, such as graphite, the scattered x-rays have different wavelengths from the wavelength of the incident x-rays. this classically unexplainable phenomenon was studied experimentally by arthur h. compton and his collaborators, and compton gave its explanation in 1923. the experiment exhibits that the change in the frequency of incident radiation is independent of its initial frequency and depends only upon the angle of scattering. this can be satisfactorily explained by the quantum theory of light by making use of relativistic expressions for various quantities. 10 to explain the shift in wavelengths measured in the experiment, compton used einstein’s idea of light as a particle. the compton effect has a very important place in the history of physics because it shows that electromagnetic radiation cannot be explained as a purely wave phenomenon. the explanation of the compton effect gave a convincing argument to the physics community that electromagnetic waves can indeed behave like a stream of photons, which placed the concept of a photon on firm ground. other areas in which classical physics failed to give explanation to included the heisenberg uncertainty principle, the correspondence principle, schrodinger’s wave equation etc. the advent of the quantum theory gave better explanation to these happenings, as science could further understand that what was earlier 10 m. saleem, quantum mechanics, iop publishing ltd, 2015, 3. the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 171 considered as the fundamental element of all that is, yet had others more fundamental, and that these resided in a world known as the quantum world. from the above failures of classical physics, it is apparent that what led to such failure was the deterministic way in which classical physics conceived of reality, and reality proved itself again and again to not be as deterministic as classical physics claimed it to be. to add to the above-mentioned, the course of this write-up is aimed at arriving at richer insights when it comes to the study of the brain. qft and its elements of study provide the basic work tools to undergo this study. according to jibu and yasue: …physicist h. umezawa in the early 1960’s (wrote for, addition mine) the necessity of emergence of quantum field theory in describing and investigating the typical physical aspect of living matter, because complex systems of atomic ingredients with strong mutual correlation like living matter cannot be treated by quantum statistical mechanics but only by quantum field theory. 11 what is qft? there is no rigidly acceptable definition of qft, it can thus only be described. it is the mathematical and conceptual framework for contemporary elementary particle physics. it can also be considered as an extension of quantum mechanics (qm), which deals with particles, over to fields. 12 qft deals with and seeks answer to the most fundamental questions to life and to the origin of all that is. if we were to account taxonomically for the organism known as the human being, using him as a means of questions and answers we would say: 11 m. jibu-k. yasue, quantum brain dynamics and quantum field theory, in brain and being: at the boundary between science, philosophy, language and arts, g.g. globus, k.h. pribram and g. vitiello eds., john benjamins publishing company, amsterdam/philadelphia, 2004, 273. 12 m. kuhlmann, quantum field theory, in the stanford encyclopedia of philosophy, sept 27 th , 2012, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/quantum-field-theory/ retrieved 12 th may, 2020. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/quantum-field-theory/ dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 172 what are people made of? people are made of muscles, bones, and organs. then what are the organs made of? organs are made of cells. what are cells made of? cells are made of organelles. what are organelles made of? organelles are made of proteins. what are proteins made of? proteins are made of amino acids. what are amino acids made of? amino acids are made of atoms. what are atoms made of? atoms are made of protons, neutron, and electrons. what are electrons made of? electrons are made from the electron field. what is the electron field made of?… to the best of our present ability to perceive and to reason, the universe is made from fields and nothing else, and these fields are not made from any smaller components. 13 at the fundamental physical level, this is expressed by the quantum foundation of the notion of extended mind in qft (quantum field theory). it was formerly held that matter and particles are the fundamental building blocks. yet, the deeper truth is that the basic building blocks of nature are not discrete particles at all; rather, they are continuous fluid-like substances that spread throughout all of space, and they are called fields. a very good example of fields are the electric and the magnetic fields. these fields, nonetheless, like other areas of nature, have laws that they must obey and these laws are inquired by quantum mechanics (qm). quantum field theory (qft) is the current paradigm of fundamental physics. it emerges from the convolution of quantum physics and relativity, the 13 b. skinner, a children’s picture-book introduction to quantum field theory, in ribbonfarm online journal, 20 th august, 2015, https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2015/08/20/qft/ retrieved 12 th may, 2020. https://gravityandlevity.wordpress.com/2010/08/30/our-stability-is-but-balance-freeman-dyson-on-how-to-imagine-quantum-fields/ https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2015/08/20/qft/ the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 173 two major theoretical revolutions of the 20 th -century physics. 14 while quantum field theory reverts back to quantum mechanics for its mathematical representation, it nonetheless admits of relativism in reality than does qm. quantum field theory deals with systems with infinitely many degrees of freedom. for such systems, the algebra of observables that results from imposing canonical commutation relations admits multiple hilbert-space representations that are not unitarily equivalent to one another. this differs from the case of standard quantum mechanics, which deals with systems with finitely many degrees of freedom. for such systems, the corresponding algebra of observables admits unitarily equivalent hilbert-space representations. 15 one thing that makes qft so special is that it provides a unified framework where the quantum theory and the theory of relativity become consistently integrated out. sometimes, field theory is identified as the theory of particle physics. this is not completely correct. field theory is a framework which goes beyond particle physics. in fact, there are field theories where there is no particle interpretation of the states of the theory. but it is also true that most of the successful field theories admit a particle interpretation. that means that there are states which can be correctly interpreted as particle states and in those cases field theory provides a causal framework for particle interactions where action at a distance is replaced by local field interactions. although this can also achieved by classical field theory, the difference between the classical and quantum theories resides in the fact that in the quantum theory, the interaction between the particles can be interpreted as a creation and destruction (also known as creators and annihilators) of messenger particles process. the association of forces and interactions with particle exchange is one of the most interesting features of qft. the 14 m. asorey, a concise introduction to quantum field theory, in international journal of geometric methods in modern physics, october 2018, 1-45. 15 m. kuhlmann, quantum field theory, in the stanford encyclopedia of philosophy, sept 27 th , 2012, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/quantum-field-theory/ retrieved 13 th may, 2020. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/quantum-field-theory/ dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 174 particles that appear in field theory are very special: they are all identical. this means that the electrons in the earth are the same as the electrons in alpha centauri because all of them are excitations of the same electron field in quantum electro dynamics (qed). another essential characteristic of relativistic field theories is that when the field theory admits particle states, they are accompanied by antiparticle states; that is, the theory requires the existence of antiparticles. 16 areas to note when representing qft: a quantum field theory is a quantum theory which is relativistic invariant, and exists where there is a special type of quantum operators which are associated with the classical fields. in the case of a real scalar field ø, a consistent theory should satisfy the following principles.  p1 quantum principle: the space of quantum states is the space of rays in a separable hilbert space ℋ. 17  p2 unitarity: there is a (anti)unitary representation u(ʌ; a) of the poincare group in ℋ, where time reversal t is represented as an antiunitary operator u(t).  p3 spectral condition: the spectrum of generators of spacetime translations pᶙ is contained in the forward like cone: ˅+ = {pᶙ; p 2 ≥ 0; p0 ≥ 0}  p4 vacuum state: there is a unique state ψϵℋ, satisfying that pᶙψ0 =0. 18  p5 field theory (real boson): for any classical field f in the space s(ℝ3 ) of fast decreasing smooth c ∞ (ℝ3 ) functions there is field operator ø(f) in ℋ which satisfies that ø(f) = ø(f). the field operator can be considered as the smearing by f of a fundamental field operator ø(x) ø(f) = 16 ibid. 17 a hilbert space is an abstract vector space that possesses the structure of an inner product which allows length and angle to be measured. 18 the vacuum state also known as the ground state is that at which the quantum energy level is at its lowest. the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 175 ∫ the subspace spanned by the vectors ø(f1)ø(f2)………… ø (fn)|0} for arbitrary test functions f1; f2; ……fnϵs(ℝ3 ) is a dense subspace of ℋ.  p6 poincare covariance: let ḟϵs(ℝ4 ) be a test function defined in minkowski space-time 19 and ø(ḟ) =∫r4d 4 xø(x)ḟ(x); where ø(x) = ø(x; t) = e itp0 ø(x)e -itp0 . then u(ʌ;a) ø(ḟ)u(ʌ;a) ⸶ = ø(ḟ(ʌ;a)), with (ḟ(ʌ;a))(x) = ḟ(ʌ -1 (x-a))  p7 (bosonic) local causality: for any f, gϵs(ℝ3 ) the corresponding field operators ø(f); ø(g) commute [ø(f); ø(g)] = 0. 20 commutators pertains to bosonic particles, while anticommutators pertains to fermonic particles. quantum brain dynamics 19 minkowski space-time, is a combination of 3-dimensional euclidean space and time into a 4-dimensional manifold, where the interval of spacetime that exists between any two events is independent of the inertial frame of reference. the minkowski spacetime coordinate system has axes given as (x, y, z, ct). it can also be written as (x1, x2, x3, x4). the differential for arc length in spacetime is given by the equation: ds 2 = -c 2 dt 2 +dx 2 +dy 2 +dz 2 . 20 when it is said that operators in the quantum realm commute, what is implied is that they are identically zero. as seen above. let us consider that we have a state ψ and two observables (operators) a, b. when these operators are simultaneously diagonalised in a given representation, they act on the state ψ just by multiplication with a real number either a or b, or an eigen value of the operator (a ψ=a ψ, b ψ=b ψ). imagine that this were real numbers, a and b, this will hold like ab-ba=0 (signifying identicality) or in the operator form (ab-ba) ψ=0 or ((a,b) ψ=0). thus the expression ab-ba= [a,b] indicate that they commute. commutators are used for bose particles (bosons). there is also the expression anticommutators, and these are used for fermion particles. when talking about fermions, the commutators have to be adjusted accordingly (as in the case {θ1θ2= θ2θ1}). to ensure that identicality is recorded so that it sums up to zero, it needs to be adjusted to ({θ1θ2= θ2θ1→ θ1θ2 + θ2θ1 = 0}). dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 176 qft is all about gaining a fundamental understanding to matter. matter can either be macroscopic or microscopic, and even quantum. what is being considered here is brain matter. the use of qft, in what concerns matter, has proven insightful in blazing new trails as pertaining to the understanding of matter in its fundamentality. quantum brain dynamics is used to describe long range ordered dynamics of the quantum system of electromagnetic field, and water dipole field in the brain is proposed as a revival of the original idea developed by umezawa in the early 1960s. 21 qbd is nothing else but quantum electrodynamics (qed) of the electric dipole field of dipolar solitons and water molecules with a symmetry property under the dipole rotation. the highly systematized functioning of the brain is found to be realized by the spontaneous symmetry-breaking phenomena. memory printing, recall and decay processes are represented by the fundamental physical processes standing for the phase transition process, the symmetry-restoring process and the quantum-tunneling process, respectively. 22 the brain, as already noted, is a typical macroscopic object extraordinary in its functioning as it gives rise to highly advanced mental "objects" such as consciousness (plus unconscious), mind, memory and will. it is the custom and cognitive sciences to regard the brain as a tissue made of a huge of brain cells, and many phenomenological theories of brain functioning based on the macroscopic picture of electric and chemical circuits of cells take into account various mesoscopic aspects of the brain cell revealed by molecular biological studies. 23 of all living matter, the brain is considered as the highest example. thus, investigating the brain and its functionality thus pertains to the quantum field. qbd is a completely new theoretical framework to describe the fundamental physical process of the brain dynamics that 21 m. jibu-k. yasue, magic without magic. meaning of quantum brain dynamics in the journal of mind and behaviour, vol 18, no2/3, 205-227 22 m. jibu-k. yasue, quantum brain dynamics and quantum field theory, in brain and being. at the boundary between science, philosophy, language and arts, 269. 23 m. jibu-k. yasue, magic without magic. meaning of quantum brain dynamics. the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 177 makes man human on the basis of quantum field theoretical analysis of the fundamental system of brain tissue. 24 the fundamental system of living matter: the brain is a living matter. thus, it will be best to investigate the essential characteristic of the fundamental system of living matter. in living matter, there is specifically two degrees of freedom to which qft ponders; the first is the dipolar soliton (also known as the davydov soliton), localized in each protein filament of the background three-dimensional network structure and the water molecules surrounding them. in the words of jibu and yasue, the first degree of freedom we are looking for in the fundamental system of living matter may be found as an internal degree of freedom of the background three dimensional network structures of protein filaments free from thermalization. 25 this degree of freedom was found by davydov in 1979 as a coherent dipolar solitary wave propagation along the one-dimensional chain of protein molecules such as the protein filament. 26 in quantum field theory, a coherent solitary wave propagation is considered as a localized degree of freedom maintaining and carrying energy, without loss due to thermalization, and it is called the “davydov soliton” or “dipolar soliton.” 27 namely, energy in coming from the metabolizing system of living matter through the atp cyclic process to the fundamental 24 m. jibu-k. yasue, quantum brain dynamics and quantum field theory, in brain and being. at the boundary between science, philosophy, language and arts, 279. 25 ibid. thermalization is the process of physical bodies reaching thermal equilibrium through mutual interaction. 26 a.s. davydov, solitons in molecular systems, in physica scripta, 20, 1979, 387– 394. 27 the dipolar soliton is a collective mode of many dipolar oscillations maintained by nonlocalized electrons trapped in the one-dimensional chain of protein molecules and may be regarded as the first degree of freedom of the fundamental system of living matter. it is a quantum mechanical degree of freedom representing electric dipole moment localized in each background protein filament. the dipolar soliton arises from a coherent solitary wave propagation of nonlocalized electron along each protein filament. the dipolar soliton is created at the end of each protein filament by energy gain from the metabolizing system through, for example, the atp cyclic process. dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 178 system of living matter induces first dipolar solitons localized in each protein filament. as a specific character of soliton in quantum field theory, energy stored in soliton form is kept free from thermalization and belongs to the fundamental system of living matter, though creation of soliton is triggered by incoherent and disordered interaction with the metabolizing system. in other words, the creation and annihilation process of dipolar solitons plays the role of a gateway between metabolizing and fundamental systems. these dipolar solitons in the human brain are referred to as corticons, 28 but “in the general case of cell assembly, we call it simply ‘dipolar soliton’”. 29 the second degree of freedom of the fundamental system of living matter is the water molecule. jibu and yasue capture this better as they note: the water molecule, h2o, is a typical molecule simple in its form but rich in its physical characteristics. the origin of richness can be found, however, in simpleness of its form. namely, due to the spatial geometric configuration of two hydrogen atoms relative to one oxygen atom, the water molecule manifests nonvanishing electric dipole moment. thus, the totality of enormously large number of water molecules can be well described from a physical point of view by a quantum mechanical degree of freedom of electric dipole moment moving and rotating freely. this is the second degree of freedom of the fundamental system of living matter. we call it the “water dipole moment.” 30 finally, we have obtained a physical picture of the fundamental system of living matter. it is essentially a quantum mechanical manybody system described by two different degrees of freedom interacting with each other, that is, dipolar solitons localized in the background 28 c.i.j.m. stuart., y. takahashi, h. umezawa, on the stability and non-local properties of memory, in journal of theoretical biology, 71, 1978, 605–618. 29 m. jibu-k. yasue, quantum brain dynamics and quantum field theory, in brain and being, 278. 30 ibid. the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 179 three-dimensional network structure of protein filaments and water dipole moments surrounding them. 31 as earlier stated, the brain is a living matter; thus, there are two major components (in the words of jibu and yasue, degrees of freedom) that are vital in the computing of the qbd, namely; the dipolar solitons and the water dipole moment. 32 yet, in the brain, these solitons are referred to as corticons, and these protein filaments are immersed in water molecules, leading to a somewhat superimposition of states. thus, instead of having two degrees of freedom acting in the brain, as in other living matter, we have one superimposed degree of freedom known as corticons. these corticons can be described as “the fundamental system of brain tissue described by a single degree of freedom of electric dipole field spanning the spatial volume of the brain tissue.” 33 according to jibu and yasue, the corticon in qbd is now fully described by the electric dipole field (of both dipolar solitons and water dipole moments) spanning the spatial volume of the brain tissue. in this sense, we may call the fundamental system of brain tissue simply as the “system of corticons,” hereafter. considering the physical background of the electric dipole field as those of dipolar solitons and water dipole moments, we may assume that the electric dipole field manifests symmetry under rotation. namely, even if the electric dipole 31 ibid, 279. 32 permanent dipoles are found in water molecules and these occur when two atoms in a molecule have substantially different electronegativity. 32 a molecule with a permanent dipole moment is called a polar molecule. in electromagnetism, there are two kinds of dipoles: an electric dipole is a separation of positive and negative charges. the simplest example of this is a pair of electric charges of equal magnitude but opposite sign, separated by some (usually small) distance. a permanent electric dipole is called an electret. a magnetic dipole is a closed circulation of electric current. a simple example of this is a single loop of wire with some constant current through. 33 m. jibu-k. yasue, quantum brain dynamics and quantum field theory, in brain and being, 280. dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 180 field on each position is rotated by any spatial angle, the total energy of the system of corticons is kept invariant. in quantum field theory, the total energy of the system of any field quantity plays an important role in specifying dynamics of the field, and it is usually called the “hamiltonian.” so, we refer to the total energy of the system of corticons as the hamiltonian of the system of corticons or equivalently the hamiltonian of qbd. then, we obtain the following invariant or symmetry property: the system of corticons in qbd manifests a symmetry under the rotation of the electric dipole field in a sense that the hamiltonian of qbd is invariant. 34 thus, we can define qbd as nothing but quantum electro dynamics (qed) of the electric dipole field with symmetry under the dipole rotation. the spontaneous breaking of symmetry: symmetry plays a big role in physics. it often greatly simplifies the solution to a problem. suppose we have an object shaped like the base of a wine bottle, and a marble is placed on the hump at the base of the wine bottle, even though the floor of the wine bottle after the hump is yet perfectly symmetric, the marble will not end up in the centre, where it would be sitting on a hump; it will come to rest somewhere on the circle of lowest points. this is precisely what spontaneous symmetry breaking is about; for the ground or lowest-energy state does not share the symmetry of the underlying physics. instead, there is a whole family of ground states, the different points on the circle. 35 the symmetry breaking is spontaneous in the sense that (unless we have extra information) we cannot predict which of these ground states will be chosen. spontaneous symmetry breaking is ubiquitous in condensed matter physics. it often occurs when there is a phase transition between a high-temperature, symmetric phase and a low-temperature 34 ibid. 35 t.w.b. kibble, spontaneous breaking of symmetry in gauge theories, in phil. trans. r. soc. a 373: 2015 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2014.0033, 1-12. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2014.0033 the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 181 one in which the symmetry is spontaneously broken. the simplest example is freezing. if we have a round bowl of water sitting on a table, it looks the same from every direction; it has rotational symmetry. but when it freezes, the ice crystals form in specific orientations, breaking the symmetry. 36 symmetry is said to be spontaneously broken when the lagrangian of a system is invariant under a certain group of continuous symmetry, say g, and the vacuum or ground state of the system is not invariant under g, but under one of its subgroups, say g′. the ground state then exhibits observable ordered patterns corresponding to the breakdown of g into g′. the possibility of having different vacua with different symmetry properties is provided by the mathematical structure of qft, where infinitely many representations of the canonical commutation relations (ccr) exist, which are unitarily inequivalent with respect to each other, i.e. there is no unitary operator transforming one representation into another one, and thus they are physically inequivalent as well, that is they describe different physical phases of the system. 37 in sbs theories, the goldstone theorem predicts the existence of massless bosons called nambu-goldstone (ng) particles. the spin-wave quanta, called magnons in ferromagnets, the elastic wave quanta called phonons in crystals, the cooper pair quanta in superconductors, etc., are examples of ng particles. ng bosons condensed in the ground state of the system, according to the bose-einstein condensation, are the carriers of ordering information out of which ordered patterns (space ordering or time ordering as, e.g., “in phase” oscillations) are generated. the condensation density of the ng boson quanta determines the macroscopic field which is called order parameter, e.g. the magnetization in ferromagnets. 38 the order parameter is a classical macroscopic field in the sense that it is not 36 ibid. 37 w.j. freeman-g. vitiello, dissipation and spontaneous symmetry breaking in brain dynamics, in escholarship.org, 2008, https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5c43n596, 1-16. by contrast, in quantum mechanics all representations are unitarily (and therefore physically) equivalent. 38 ibid. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5c43n596 dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 182 affected by quantum fluctuations. its value may be considered to be the code or label, specifying the physical phase of the system. in the absence of gauge fields, the ng quanta are observed as realistic physical quanta, and excitations of the system ground state extend over the whole system (collective modes or long range correlations). they may scatter with other particles of the system or with observational probes. if a gauge field is present, the ng bosons still control the ground state condensation in the ordered domain, and the gauge field propagation is confined into regions where the order is absent. through the generation of ng collective modes, sbs is responsible for the change from microscopic to macroscopic scale: crystals, ferromagnets, superconductors, etc., are macroscopic quantum systems. they are quantum systems, not in the sense that they are constituted by quantum components (like any physical system), but in the sense that their macroscopic properties, accounted for by the order parameter field, cannot be explained without recourse to the underlying quantum dynamics. 39 in the words of vitiello, symmetry “corresponds to indistinguishable points.” 40 but the symmetry which gets broken in the creation of observable ordered patterns is the symmetry of the dynamical equations; symmetry is said to be spontaneously broken when the symmetry of the ground state is not the symmetry of the dynamical 39 ibid. when symmetry is broken, a quanta, a masseless scalar with no spin, appears, this masseless scalar according to vitiello, is the carrier of the ordering information and therefore the quantum mediating the long range correlation among the atoms. this scalar is a boson, which means that many of them can be found in the same state with similar quantum properties (charge, energy, numbers etc). symmetry can be restored via condensation of the bosons, one that is controlled by the bose-einstein distribution function (referred to as the bose-einstein condensate). according to vitiello, at conveniently high temperature, above a certain critical temperature tc, the condensed bosons may “evaporate”: condensation is destroyed and symmetry is restored. symmetry is restored and broken by means of an occurrence known as phase transitions. 40 g. vitiello, my double unveiled. john benjamins publishing co., amsterdam and philadelphia, 2001, 30. the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 183 equations. 41 this means that the symmetry is said to be broken since the vacuum state does not possess the full symmetry of the field equations (the dynamics). the “order” is indeed such a “lack of symmetry.” 42 when symmetry is broken, “the invariance of the field equations implies the existence of quanta, the so-called nambu goldstone (ng) quanta.” 43 these ng quanta propagate through the system and are the carriers of the ordering information, “they are long range correlation modes;” 44 in crystals, for example, the ordering information is that which specifies the lattice arrangement. the ng quanta for crystals are the phonons. thus, not only are these ng quanta involved in informational gain, they are also involved in the dynamic ordering of the system. for instance, with magnets, the symmetry broken is that of the magnetic dipole of the electrons, thus the magnetization comprises the correlation amongst all the electrons so that they all choose, among all available directions, one particular direction of the magnetization vector (the ng quanta for magents are magnoni). the ng quanta are masseless scalar bosons. thus, they are to be differentiated from the other type of boson involved in the different energy fields known as the gauge bosons (the photons of the emf, the gluons of the strong field, the w ± and z bosons of the electroweak fields). the gauge bosons are mediators of the energy exchanges among the interacting elements they correlate, because they are effectively quanta of the energy field they mediate (that is the w ± and z bosons are the quantum of the weak field). the ng bosons (ngb) are not mediators of the interactions among the elements of the system. they determine only the modes of interaction among them. 41 ibid, 30-31. according to vitiello, «the word “spontaneous” means that the symmetry of the dynamics can be rearranged in any one of the possible ordering patterns observable at the physical level (in other words any of the physical phases can be dynamically realized).» (g. vitiello, my double unveiled, 31) 42 g. vitiello, the dissipative brain, in brain and being at the boundary between science, philosophy, language and arts, globus g.g., pribram, k.h. and vitiello, g., (eds), john benjamins pub. co. amsterdam, 2004, 317-331. 43 g. vitiello, the dissipative brain, in brain and being. 44 ibid. dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 184 due to the masselessness of the ngb, their condensation does not necessitate a change of energy state of the system. this is because in their “lowest momentum state ng quanta do not carry energy.” 45 this is needed to enable the ng quanta cut across the full system volume, sending long distance informational correlation in the system, “thus setting up an ordered pattern.” 46 in living biological systems, the human body, the ng quanta are the dipole wave quanta (dwq), since they arise from “the breakdown of the electrical dipole rotational symmetry.” 47 how does symmetry breaking happen in the qbd? according to vitiello, this happens by interaction, for the “brain is a system in interaction with the external world from which it receives stimuli carrying information. these stimuli put the brain into states.” 48 the brain-body is not a closed system, but an open system that stands in physical entanglement with the environment. according to streltsov et al., entanglement can arise from incoherent operations, provided one of the communicating systems is coherent. this can be illustrated thus: s (incoherent) a (incoherent) s (coherent) a (incoherent) incoherent op. incoherent op. s is separable from a s is entangled with a. 49 45 ibid. 46 ibid. 47 ibid. according to g. vitiello, «in qft the dynamics (i.e. the lagrangian or the hamiltonian, or simply the field equations) is in general invariant under some group, say g, of continuous transformations. spontaneous breakdown of symmetry occurs when the minimum energy state (the ground state or vacuum) of the system is not invariant under the full group g, but under one of its subgroups.» (g. vitiello, my double unveiled. john benjamins publishing co., amsterdam and philadelphia, 2001, 93). 48 g. vitiello, my double unveiled, 73. 49 a. streltsov et al, measuring quantum coherence with entanglement, in physics review letters, number 115, june 2015, pp1-8.. the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 185 thus, the personal unit brain-body-environment has its physical foundation in the quantum entanglement brain-body-environment. the entanglement “represents the impossibility of cutting the links between the brain and the external world;” 50 the quantum model of the brain is based on the fact that the brain “is an open system in interaction with the external world.” 51 for information printing on the brain “is achieved under the action of external stimuli, which produce the breakdown of the symmetry associated with the electric dipole vibrational field.” 52 thus, emphasis is laid on the brain being entangled or “coupled to the environment.” 5354 the centrality of the brain, as constantly noticed in the foregoing lines, should not lead to a hasty consideration of the body as inconsequential in the entire dynamics that defines the human person, for the three components, of body-brain-environment, stand as integral 50 g. vitiello, the dissipative brain, in brain and being at the boundary between science, philosophy, language and arts, globus g.g., pribram, k.h. and vitiello, g., (eds), john benjamins pub. co. amsterdam, 2004, 317-331. 51 g. vitiello, my double unveiled, 104. 52 ibid. 53 ibid. 54 each personal conscious state of a human being corresponds to a complex phasecoherence among the oscillating electromagnetic force fields of some material parts (molecules) of the three components involved. that is for instance in the personal state of me as seeing now the computer screen in front of me some (effectively many trillions) of molecules of the neurons of a part of the visual cortex involved, many and many trillions of the molecules constituting the parts of the ocular system involved (ocular nerve, ocular muscles, cones and rods of my retina, of the crystalline membrane in front of my retina etc), many and many trillions of molecules constituting the gases forming the air between me and the computer screen, and finally the many and many trillions of the molecules of the part of the screen i am seeing and emitting the electromagnetic radiation putting in phase the molecules of screen, of airs, of my oculomotor system, of my visual cortex, on its turn influencing the oscillation in phase of my emotional system: limbic system, amygdala etc. this is a personal state unified at the material level by the electromagnetic fields, ordered and then unified informationally by the nambugoldstone bosons characterizing univocally this so complex phase coherence domain of electromagnetic, oscillating force field. dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 186 to a valid comprehension of the human person. according to capolupo, freeman and vitiello, brains are thermodynamics systems that use chemical energy to construct knowledge from information. the oxidative metabolism of glucose provides the energy, as measured by oxygen depletion and carbon dioxide production. the sensory receptors in the body and on the body surface provide the information by absorbing energy of various types impinging from the internal and external environments. the role of each sensory receptor is to selectively convert a microscopic quantity of energy first to ionic currents (receptor potentials), then to a train of pulses (action potentials, units, spikes) on its axon. 55 once the external stimuli are intercepted by the body, a necessary sbs occurs, a definite ground state, from the many infinite ground states or vacua, is chosen. masseless ngb are observed, which carry long-range correlation waves observed in the brain dynamics. as a consequence of this, the time-reversal symmetry is also broken, because the choice of a ground state entails that the information has been recorded. 56 after information has been recorded, the brain state is fixated and the brain cannot be brought to the state configuration in which it was before the information printing occurred, for before the information recording process, the brain can in principle be in anyone of the infinitely many (unitarily inequivalent) vacua. 57 the brain as an open/dissipative system the brain is an open, dissipative system; the brain closed on the world is a dead brain, physiology tells us. isolation of the brain (closure to the world) produces serious pathologies. thus, the extension of the quantum model of brain to the dissipative dynamics appears to be a 55 a. capolupo et al, dissipation of dark energy by cortex in knowledge retrieval in physics life review, volume 10, issue, 1, march 2013, pp85–94. 56 g. vitiello, my double unveiled. the dissipative quantum model of the brain, 107. 57 ibid. the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 187 necessity. 58 the dissipation of the brain, and its inherent openness, is a mark of the interaction that exists between the brain and the environment, for the brain (/body) is not a closed system, but an open system that stands in physical entanglement with the environment. we ought to note that the entirety of the human person, as a biological system, stands in relation to other biological systems (other human persons and the environment). as a biological system, the human person is a dynamic comprising the brain and the body. the human person is an open-dissipative biological system in relation to the environment (that was why it was earlier asserted that the human person stands in relation, a relation of brain-body-environment). the human body (brain-body) operates dynamically in a phase coherent order. this macroscopic level of a high degree of coherence is referred to as order parameter. the order parameter is the macroscopic variable that characterizes the new emerging level of matter organization and is related to the matter density distribution. the emergent properties are neither the properties of the elementary constituents nor their summation. rather, they are new properties, depending on the modes in which they are organized, that is to say, on the dynamics controlling their interaction. a point to recall is that “the ordered pattern which is actually realized is the output of the system’s internal dynamics.” 59 this pattern is realized through a process known as spontaneous symmetry breaking. 60 then, the mathematical formalism for quantum dissipation requires the doubling of the brain degrees of freedom. 61 the doubled degrees 58 g. vitiello, the dissipative brain, in brain and being. 59 g. vitiello, the dissipative brain, in brain and being. 60 symmetry breaking can also be explicit, referred to as explicit symmetry breaking. in this case, the dynamical operations are modified by adding one or more terms that are not consistent with the symmetric terms. 61 the conventional approach in introducing the qft algebraic structure consists in assigning the canonical commutator or anticommutator relations for the boson or fermion case, respectively. however, one needs also to specify which one is the prescription for adding primitive observables such as energy, angular momentum, etc. it could seem that such a prescription does not belong to the algebraic structure dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 188 of freedom, say a˜ (the tilde quanta; the non–tilde quanta a, denoting the brain degrees of freedom), are meant to represent the environment to which the brain is coupled. the physical meaning of the doubling is the one of ensuring the balance of the energy flux between the system and the environment. the environment thus represented by the doubled degrees of freedom appears described as the “time–reversed copy” (the double) of the brain. 62 the environment is “modelled” on of the theory. effectively, this is not the case. in fact, in order to specify, e.g., the total energy e of two identical particles, one writes e = e1 + e2. the meaning of the labels in such a formula is that e1 refers to the first particle and e2 to the second particle. however, it is easy to realize that e1 = e × 1 where the index 1 thus refers to the first position. similarly, e2 = 1 × e. thus, e = e1 + e2 = e × 1 + 1 × e, and similarly j = j1 + j2 = j × 1 + 1 × j, for the angular momentum, which are nothing but the commutative coproducts of a coalgebra. here, “commutative” refers to invariance of the coproduct under the permutation 1 ↔ 2, as it needs to be on the premise that the particles are identical. we should be able therefore to go from the algebra a for the single particle to the algebra for two of them, namely, a → a × a. of course, we need also to be able to go back to a single particle, namely, a × a → a. the conclusion is that the basic algebra to start with, in qft is a bialgebra, that is the hopf algebra. we thus see that the “doubling of the degrees of freedom” (ddf) implied in the hopf mapping a → a × a arises as a natural requirement in setting up the qft algebraic structure. most interesting is the case when the two systems need to be treated not on the same footing, as, for example, in thermal field theory, or when dealing with open systems in general, where the system under study and its thermal bath or environment are not exchangeable. in these cases the proper tool is provided by the q-deformed hopf algebras with non-commutative coproducts, e.g., ∆aq = a×q+q −1 ×a ≡ aq + q −1 ˜a, with aϵa, and its hermitian conjugate, ∆a† q = a†×q*+(q −1 )*×a†. of course if q is real, q* = q; if it is imaginary, then q* = q −1 . the deformation parameter q may depend on temperature, decay constants, etc. the qft formalism of the ddf has been introduced and used in many applications of the tfd formalism for many-body systems. the hopf coalgebra thus describes the doubling of the degrees of freedom a → {a, ˜a} and of the state space f → f × ˜ f, with the operators a and ˜a acting on f and ˜ f, respectively. we stress that the associated hopf algebra is, as said, a non-commutative coalgebra. (g. basti, g. vitiello and a. capolupo, quantum field theory and coalgebraic logic in theoretical computer science, in arxiv:1701.00527v1[quant-ph], 29 th dec, 2016, 120). 62 g. vitiello, the dissipative brain, in brain and being. when the system under consideration is dissipative, it accepts external energy without heating up, stores the order, and can later give it up to the surrounding heat bath environment. umezawa’s the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 189 the brain. time–reversed since the energy flux outgoing from the brain is incoming into the environment, and vice versa. 63 the doubling of the degrees of freedom in the dissipative model thus arises as a consequence of the irreversible time evolution. the superimposition of the dipole soliton and the water dipole moment in the brain lead to one defined degree of freedom known as corticon. this, according to g.g. globus, “disregards the neuron’s and neuroglia’s boundary membrane” 64 that is the mark of classical physics. these corticons are created when an input from the environment comes into the vacuum. but let us understand the concept of vacuum in qbd. the concept of vaccum in qbd: vacuum states are near-zero energy states, also called “ground states.” in the case of ordered water, the momentum axes of the spinning water dipoles all point in the same direction in the θ-vacuum states upheld by the living brain. 65 as already stated, when input comes into this vacuum, corticons (dipole wave quanta) are created, they are quanta which undergo annihilation innovation is to treat the heat bath environment as tilde. the nontilde system exchanges energy with its ⁓environment, while the energy of the nontilde system + ⁓environment, that is, the energy of the closed system, remains constant in strict accordance with energy conservation laws. so when the nontilde system dissipates order to the ⁓system, its entropy increases and the entropy of the ⁓system in compensation decreases. the total entropy of nontilde and tilde systems, however, remains constant under any exchange. (g.g. globus, g.g. globus, quantum closures and disclosures. thinking-together postphenomenology and quantum brain dynamics 36). 63 the quantum dissipation formalism implies that the full operator describing the system time evolution includes the operator describing the coupling between the non–tilde and the tilde quanta. at the same time, such a coupling term acts as the mathematical tool to attach the label to the vacua (and thus to distinguish among different memories). this label is time–dependent: the system states are thus time– dependent states. 64 g.g. globus, quantum closures and disclosures. thinking-together postphenomenology and quantum brain dynamics, john benjamins publishing co., amsterdam and philadelphia, 2003, 22. 65 ibid. dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 190 and creation dynamics. this input provokes corticon dynamics. in the corticon dynamics, the energy gained can be dissipated, with the system relaxing back into a different θ-vacuum state than before. (the θ-vacuum transformation is called the bogoliubov transformation, which remarkably, in russian literally means the love-of-god transformation. so we might say that we have memory, and so our humanity, through the love of god.) input provokes corticon dynamics and a bogoliubov transformation to a θ-vacuum state. (memory – hence temporality – is derived through the bogoliubov movement). 66 understanding bogoliubov transformation via the hopf coalgebra of qft: there is one more aspect of qft and its intrinsic algebraic hopf structure, which is relevant from the perspective of the coalgebraic logic and computer science: the tilde modes provide the intrinsic dynamic (coalgebraic) reference (semantics) for the non-tilde modes. the coalgebra structure of the doubling both the space, and the operators, turns into a strict correspondence between each operator and its tilde-copy (the doubled operator) so that one of the two provides the address of the other one. the result is the self-consistent dynamical inclusion of the “reference term” in the logical scheme. a sort of contextual self-embedding, or dynamical generation of meaning, a “local”, not “absolute”, but crucially meaningful truth, singled out of the infinitely many possibilities offered by the infinitely many representations of the ccrs. the simplest example is perhaps obtained by explicitly computing the expectation value of the number operator nak = a † kak in the ground state |0(θ)}n . by inverting the bogoliubov transformations, we have ∀k nak(θ) ≡ n{0(θ)| a † kak |0(θ)}n = n{0(θ)|a˜k(θ) a˜ † k(θ)|0(θ)}n = sinh 2 θk, (1) 66 ibid. the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 191 which shows that for any k, the only non-vanishing contribution to the number of nontilde modes nak(θ) comes from the tilde operators. in this sense, these last ones constitute the dynamic address for the non-tilde modes. through them, the total number nak(θ) of the ak condensate is determined. of course, the reverse is also true, namely the only non-zero contribution to na˜k(θ) comes from the non-tilde operators, and nak(θ) − na˜k(θ) = 0. the whole condensate content of |0(θ)}n is thus specified by the n-set ≡ {nak(θ), nak(θ) = na˜k(θ), ∀k}. such a n-set is called the order parameter. it provides a characterizing parameter for the θ-vacuum |0(θ)}n and explains the meaning of the n subscript. its knowledge constitutes the “end point” of the computation, the searched result. 67 the corticon fields in which corticon creation and annihilation dynamics take place are of the spontaneous symmetry-breaking type. at the ground, there is sameness before difference, vacuum states without preference – degenerate θ-vacua – and difference is achieved, intrinsic to the ground, in symmetry-breaking. in non-vacuum states, the unbroken symmetry of “a uniform rotation of the electric dipole moment vectors of the h2o molecules does not change the fundamental dynamics of the water rotational field described by the schrödinger equation.” the field entity, with its various energy levels, makes no distinctions under uniform rotation in higher energy states. but in least energy vacuum states, the rotational symmetry can be broken: a change in the direction along which the electric dipole moment vectors lineup changes the vacuum. symmetry-breaking in vacuum states thus permits distinction. order becomes ontological 67 g. basti, g. vitiello and a. capolupo, quantum field theory and coalgebraic logic in theoretical computer science, in arxiv:1701.00527v1[quant-ph], 29 th dec, 2016, 1-20. dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 192 through symmetry-breaking, without which there is only the degeneracy of uniformity. 68 so vacuum states support distinction, permit order. when input spontaneously breaks the rotational symmetry of the vacuum, the broken symmetry is specific to a particular input. however, fundamental energy conservation laws do not allow the loss of symmetry under these conditions. the “lost” invariance is in fact conserved in massless quanta known as nambugoldstone (n-g) bosons. 69 the broken symmetry is preserved by the ngb. according to g.g. globus, the ngb “in living brain tissue are none other than the “symmetrons” of the early umezawa school, since they conserve the lost symmetry specific for input.” 70 how does consciousness arise? the personal unit brain-bodyenvironment has its physical foundation in the quantum entanglement brain-body-environment. the entanglement “represents the impossibility of cutting the links between the brain and the external world;” 71 the quantum model of the brain is based on the fact that the brain “is an open system in interaction with the external world.” 72 for, information printing (this is also consciousness) on the brain “is achieved under the action of external stimuli, which produce the breakdown of the symmetry associated with the electric dipole vibrational field.” 73 thus, emphasis is laid on the brain being entangled or “coupled to the environment.” 7475 the centrality of the 68 g.g. globus, quantum closures and disclosures. thinking-together postphenomenology and quantum brain dynamics, 23. 69 ibid. 70 ibid. g.g. globus refers to these symmetrons as goldstone symmetrons, to remind all that they are massless quanta which conserve the symmetry specifically broken by input order. 71 g. vitiello, the dissipative brain, in brain and being. 72 g. vitiello, my double unveiled, 104. 73 ibid. 74 ibid. 75 each personal conscious state of a human being corresponds to a complex phasecoherence among the oscillating electromagnetic force fields of some material parts (molecules) of the three components involved. that is for instance in the personal state of me as seeing now the computer screen in front of me some (effectively many trillions) of molecules of the neurons of a part of the visual cortex involved, the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 193 brain, as constantly noticed in the foregoing lines, should not lead to a hasty consideration of the body as inconsequential in the entire dynamics that defines the human person, for the three components, of body-brain-environment, stand as integral to a valid comprehension of the human person. according to capolupo, freeman and vitiello, brains are thermodynamics systems that use chemical energy to construct knowledge from information. the oxidative metabolism of glucose provides the energy, as measured by oxygen depletion and carbon dioxide production. the sensory receptors in the body and on the body surface provide the information by absorbing energy of various types impinging from the internal and external environments. the role of each sensory receptor is to selectively convert a microscopic quantity of energy first to ionic currents (receptor potentials), then to a train of pulses (action potentials, units, spikes) on its axon. 76 once the external stimuli are intercepted by the body, a necessary sbs occurs, a definite ground state, from the many infinite ground states or vacua, is chosen. masseless ngb are observed, which carry long-range correlation waves observed in the brain dynamics. as a consequence of this, the time-reversal symmetry is also broken, many and many trillions of the molecules constituting the parts of the ocular system involved (ocular nerve, ocular muscles, cones and rods of my retina, of the crystalline membrane in front of my retina etc), many and many trillions of molecules constituting the gases forming the air between me and the computer screen, and finally the many and many trillions of the molecules of the part of the screen i am seeing and emitting the electromagnetic radiation putting in phase the molecules of screen, of airs, of my oculomotor system, of my visual cortex, on its turn influencing the oscillation in phase of my emotional system: limbic system, amygdala etc. this is a personal state unified at the material level by the electromagnetic fields, ordered and then unified informationally by the nambugoldstone bosons characterizing univocally this so complex phase coherence domain of electromagnetic, oscillating force field. 76 a. capolupo et al, dissipation of dark energy by cortex in knowledge retrieval in physics life review, volume 10, issue, 1, march 2013, 85–94. dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 194 because the choice of a ground state entails that the information has been recorded. 77 after information has been recorded, the brain state is fixated and the brain cannot be brought to the state configuration in which it was before the information printing occurred; for before the information recording process, the brain can in principle be in anyone of the infinitely many (unitarily inequivalent) vacua. 78 there is the presence of time-reversal symmetry which means that the human person assumes a present state of affairs, one that can be distinguished from the past and the future, what vitiello calls, “now you know it!” 79 according to vitiello, “consciousness appears to be intimately related to dissipation.” 80 he adds further that “consciousness seems thus to emerge as a manifestation of the dissipative dynamics of the brain.” 81 this dissipative dynamics has to do with the coupling of a (the nontilde subject) with ã (the tilde object), which describes nonlinear dynamical features of the dissipative model. the nonlinearity of the dynamics describes a self-interaction process for the a system. ã thus also plays a role in such self-coupling or self-recognition processes. the ã system is the mirror in time image, or the time-reversed copy of the a system. 82 it actually duplicates the a system. it is the a system's double, and since it can never be eliminated, the a system can never be separated from its double. the role of the ã modes in the selfinteraction processes leads me to conjecture that the tilde-system is 77 g. vitiello, my double unveiled, 107. 78 ibid. 79 ibid. 80 ibid, 123. 81 g. vitiello, quantum dissipation and information. a route to consciousness modeling, in neuroquantology 2003; 2: 266-279. 82 according to g.g. globus, that the tilde object is a mirror image of the nontilde object, this representation is only in the mathematical sense, for there is no world running forward in the nontilde system and running backward in the ⁓environment, and so a metaphor of time and time-reversal as a movie run forward and backward respectively would be an inappropriate metaphor. (g.g. globus, quantum closures and disclosures. thinking-together postphenomenology and quantum brain dynamics, 36-37). the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 195 actually involved in consciousness mechanisms. 83 dissipation manifests itself as a second person, the double or sosia, to dialogue with. in this way, consciousness appears to be not solely characterized by a subjective dynamics; its roots, on the contrary, seem to be grounded in the permanent trade of the brain (the subject) with the external world, on the dynamical relation between the system a and its sosia 84 or double ã, permanently joined to it. 85 consciousness is reached through the opening to the external world. the crucial role of dissipation is that self-mirroring is not anymore a self-trap (as for narcissus), the conscious subject cannot be a monad. consciousness is only possible if dissipation, openness onto the outside world, is allowed. without the objective external world, there would be no possibility for the brain to be an open system, and no ã system would at all exist. the very same existence of the external world is the prerequisite for the brain to build up its own subjective simulation, its own representation of the world. the informational inputs from the external world are the images of the world. once they are recorded by a, they become the image of a; ã is the address of a, it is identified with (is a copy of) a. 86 in vitiello’s formulation, the 83 ibid. the mathematical and physical meaning of the tilde-system is to describe the environment to which the brain is permanently coupled (linked). since the brain is intrinsically an open system, the tilde-system can never be neglected. the tildemodes thus might play a role as well in the unconscious brain activity. this may provide an answer to the question "as whether symmetron modes would be required to account for unconscious brain activity. as already observed, the tilde modes might tell us something about that fuzzy region between fragile consciousness and the obscure unconscious core of the dream activity. 84 the "doubling" of the self is actually a very old literary metaphor. plautus invention of the "doubling" of sosia in his comedy amphitruo (plautus, 189 b.c.), or even the falling in love of narcissus with himself mediated by his "reflection" in the water, are famous examples of such a metaphoric use of the "doubling ". on the other hand, in the ancient vedic tradition (kak 1996), consciousness also flows between two poles: an identity of self and an identity with the processes of the universe. g. vitiello, my double unveiled, 141. 85 ibid. 86 ibid. dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 196 brain is an open system exchanging energy with the external world. there is a “permanent ‘trade’ of the brain (the subject) with the external world.” this trade is reiterated in the relation between the brain (subject) and its ⁓double. …the unavoidable coupling with the external world is ‘internalized’ in the dialectic, permanent relation with the double. 87 so now there is a subject/object dialectic where subject is nontilde and object is tilde, and a subject/double dialectic where again subject is nontilde and double is tilde. consciousness arises for vitiello where tilde and nontilde come together, where nontilde subject meets a world that is “in some sense” tilde, a meeting of time-reversed mirror images, self meeting double. consciousness, in vitiello’s account, is the case of subject self-recognition in a ⁓conjugate mirror. in his metaphor, consciousness is not on either side – neither nontilde/subject nor tilde/object, but at the tail of a mirror in which the mirror image comes up in an alter universe. 88 in vitiello’s thermofield qbd formulation, consciousness lies in the vacuum states where an interaction match takes place. dasein’s dissipative quantum brain, which supports controlled interactions in its ground states, does it all. so vitiello’s formula resolves to: nontilde subject self-recognizing world representation → consciousness. vitiello gives no justification for thinking of nontilde as subject. it has the very same symmetry as the ⁓object, only time runs oppositely in the latter. tilde and nontilde modes here are perfectly symmetrical, so they cannot support the categorical distinction between subject and object, indeed their only distinction is the time reversal. 89 in the very mathematical formulation, the self recognition or match is assumed. 87 g. vitiello, my double unveiled, 141. 88 g.g. globus, quantum closures and disclosures. thinking-together postphenomenology and quantum brain dynamics, 31. 89 ibid, 32 the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 197 vitiello “requires” that the condensate contain an equal number of a and a⁓ modes, which insures “that the flow of the energy exchanged between the system and the environment is balanced.” 90 the equation of subject and object here is imposed by fiat; their equality is simply postulated, in the dominating fashion typical of still metaphysical modernity. 91 conclusion consciousness, as a nonphysical entity that is pertinent to the rationality of the human person, is an issue that has for long defied any explanation. yet, with the findings of the qbd, based on qft, it is now seen that the age-long truth of “no man is an island” comes to bear in what has been elaborated upon thus far. consciousness arises in the brain-body-environment interaction or, to put it in quantum terms, entanglement. the environment referred to here is all that is outside the subject, the “i”, including the “other”, that is the “you”. that is to say that the environment is not limited to the inanimate, or the brute, or the vegetative life that resides outside the subject. it also encapsulates other subjects, who in reference to the subject under study, is the object. the mode in which consciousness arises also makes reference to the view that opposes solipsism, but speaks for interaction, community, solidarity and togetherness. these latter qualities have been championed in philosophical debates under titles such as existentialism, personalism, interpersonalism, especially in igwebuike philosophy 92 . what this goes to certify is that the human 90 g. vitiello, my double unveiled, 111. 91 g.g. globus, quantum closures and disclosures. thinking-together postphenomenology and quantum brain dynamics, 32. 92 kanu, ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy, 14. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 198 portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kanu, i. a. (2019). on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159-176. kanu, i. a. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 199 person is not a closed system, but is an open system who is in continuous interaction and rapport with others (rational, animate and inanimate alike). the human person becomes a closed system when he dies; as qft records it, this is when he attains to the state of maximum entropy. the exchange between him and the environment is cushioned under the second law of thermodynamics, such that there is a balance, even in this exchange of energy (for what is exchanged is energy). the human person is one with other, and not one with himself, his rational consciousness attests to this. that the human person is linked to the other is what makes consciousness arise, one which is rational and cognitive. what is to be said is that our solidarity and complementarity, our interpersonal interaction, our “igwebuikeness” as human persons, is neural, it is cognitive and it is quantum. bibliography a. capolupo et al, dissipation of dark energy by cortex in knowledge retrieval in physics life review, volume 10, issue, 1, march 2013. problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igboafrican modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 200 a.s. davydov, solitons in molecular systems, in physica scripta, 20, 1979. a. streltsov et al, measuring quantum coherence with entanglement, in physics review letters, number 115, june 2015, b. skinner, a children’s picture-book introduction to quantum field theory, in ribbonfarm online journal, 20 th august, 2015, https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2015/08/20/qft/ retrieved 12 th may, 2020. c.i.j.m. stuart., y. takahashi, h. umezawa, on the stability and non-local properties of memory, in journal of theoretical biology, 71, 1978. c.i.j.m. stuart., y. takahashi, h. umezawa, mixed-system brain dynamics. neural memory as a macroscopic ordered state, in foundation of physics, 9, 1979. d.m. rosenthal, concepts and definitions of consciousness, in the encyclopedia of consciousness, w.p. banks ed, academic press, elsevier inc, oxford, 2009. g. basti, g. vitiello and a. capolupo, quantum field theory and coalgebraic logic in theoretical computer science, in arxiv:1701.00527v1[quant-ph], 29 th dec, 2016. g.g. globus, quantum closures and disclosures. thinkingtogether postphenomenology and quantum brain dynamics, john benjamins publishing co., amsterdam and philadelphia, 2003, g. vitiello, my double unveiled. john benjamins publishing co., amsterdam and philadelphia, 2001. g. vitiello, the dissipative brain, in brain and being at the boundary between science, philosophy, language and arts, globus g.g., pribram, k.h. and vitiello, g., (eds), john benjamins pub. co. amsterdam, 2004. https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2015/08/20/qft/ the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 201 g. vitiello, quantum dissipation and information. a route to consciousness modeling, in neuroquantology 2003; 2. i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no. 1 2016:1-6. i. a. kanu. igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 5983. 2018 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. 2018 i. a. kanu. new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. 2018 i. a. kanu. collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. 2019 i. a. kanu. igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. 2019 i. a. kanu. igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. 2019 i. a. kanu. igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cociopolitical system of governance. tolle lege: an dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 202 augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. 2018 kanu, i. a. on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159-176. 2019 i. a. kanu. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christianmuslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of the dissipative quantum model of the brain: how consciousness (of the other) arises from the interactive process of the body-brain and environment. our igwebuike-ness is quantum igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 203 contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. 2017 j.r. searle, consciousness, originally published october 8, 1999 as an academic paper at the university of california at berkeley, posted on kurzweilai.net august 13, 2001. k. cherry, consiousness is the psychology of awareness, in verywellmind online journal, february 24th, 2020, https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-consciousness2795922, received 12 th may, 2020. m. asorey, a concise introduction to quantum field theory, in international journal of geometric methods in modern physics, october 2018,. m. jibu-k. yasue, quantum brain dynamics and quantum field theory, in brain and being: at the boundary between science, philosophy, language and arts, g.g. globus, https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-consciousness-2795922 https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-consciousness-2795922 dozie iwuh, osa igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 204 k.h. pribram and g. vitiello eds., john benjamins publishing company, amsterdam/philadelphia, 2004. m. jibu-k. yasue, magic without magic. meaning of quantum brain dynamics in the journal of mind and behaviour, vol 18, no2/3. m. kuhlmann, quantum field theory, in the stanford encyclopedia of philosophy, sept 27 th , 2012, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/quantum-field-theory/ retrieved 12 th may, 2020. m. saleem, quantum mechanics, iop publishing ltd, 2015. m. velmans, how to define consciousness and how not to define consciousness, in journal of consciousness studies, 16(5), 2009. t.w.b. kibble, spontaneous breaking of symmetry in gauge theories, in phil. trans. r. soc. a 373: 2015 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2014.0033. w.j. freeman-g. vitiello, dissipation and spontaneous symmetry breaking in brain dynamics, in escholarship.org, 2008, https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5c43n596. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/quantum-field-theory/ http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2014.0033 https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5c43n596 ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and human resource management igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 205 ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and human resource management omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd department of business administration and management villanova polytechnic, imesi ile, osun state omojolassma@yahoo.co.uk executive summary this paper discussed the relationship between ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and human resource management. this philosophy emphasizes togetherness, collegiality and collaboration. hrm is concerned with administrators overseeing people within a particular organization using the rules and policies. six parts of hrm processes were discussed human resource planning, recruitment, selection, professional development, performance appraisal and compensation. in arriving at a connection between these two concepts, the work disclosed that they both deal with people and their affairs; working together and depending on others for achievements were identified as related. the links in the process of hrm were also acknowledged to be common to the two thoughts, which are important factors toward individual and general development. it was then recommended that hrm departments and administrators can use ‘igwebuike’ philosophy to form policies for organizational goals. phenomenological method of research was used for the purpose of this study. keywords: igwebuike philosophy, human resource management, recruitment, selection, kanu ikechukwu anthony, professional development, performance appraisal, compensation and policies. omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 206 introduction this paper has its aim in discussing the link between igwebuike philosophy and human resource management. human resource management and personnel management are two terms that have always been used interchangeably until human resource management became more popular. armstrong (2006) gives a clue to the transformation of the term, personnel management, to human resource management. personnel management began around the end of the 19th century, when welfare officers (sometimes called ‘welfare secretaries’) came into being. they were women who were concerned only with the protection of women and girls. the creation of this welfare secretaries was a reaction to the harshness of industrial conditions, coupled with pressures arising from the extension of the franchise, the influence of trade unions and the labour movement, and the campaigning of enlightened employers, often quakers, for what was called ‘industrial betterment.’ when men became part of this process, personnel management, as a term, began to fade, and human resource management came to play. supporting this assertion, lundy (2008) opines that the first world war accelerated change in the development of personnel management, with women being recruited in large numbers to fill the gaps left by men going to fight, which in turn meant reaching agreement with trade unions (often after bitter disputes) about ‘dilution’– accepting unskilled women into craftsmen’s jobs. during the 1920s, jobs with the titles of ‘labour manager’ or ‘employment manager’ came into being in the engineering industry and other industries where there were large factories, to handle absence, recruitment, dismissal and queries over bonuses, and so on. employers’ federations, particularly in engineering and shipbuilding, negotiated national pay rates with the unions, but there were local and district variations and there was plenty of scope for disputes. according to mello (2001), during the 1930s, with the economy beginning to pick up, big corporations in these newer sectors saw ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and human resource management igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 207 value in improving employee benefits as a way of recruiting, retaining and motivating employees. the second world war brought about welfare and personnel work on a full-time basis at all establishments producing war materials, because an expanded ministry of labour and national service insisted on it. the government saw specialist personnel management as part of the drive for greater efficiency and the number of people in the personnel function grew substantially; there were around 5,300 in 1943. this development, as in the view of armstrong, brought human resource management into popularity because the term left the level of being use for women and girls to include management of people (men inclusive) and their affairs. in the opinion of cole (2002), while stating why hrm is preferred to personnel management states that, “use of hrm language also helps to bypass ‘politically incorrect’ terms used in the past, such as manpower planning”p8. although cole’s distinction between the two terms has been shared by numerous authors, like lunnernburg and ornstern (2008), some scholars, like ajayi and ayodele (2002), are still of the opinion that personnel management and human resource management can be used to mean the same thing. kamoche (2001) gives a simple closure to this discussion. to him, whether human resource management is called “personnel management, personnel administration or strategic human resource management is immaterial” (p.1). by implication, the four terms are the same, since they are all about managing people and their affairs to achieve the objectives of organization; even drucker (1986) calls hrm personnel administration and human relations. human resource management is a deliberate style of managing people or workforces in an organization for the accomplishment of company’s goals. in an attempt to develop an adequate definition for human resource management, scholars came up with series of descriptions. to understand the exact meaning of the term ‘human resource management’ and its scope, the following definitions formulated by eminent scholars on management science, as put omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 208 together by miller and miller (1973) will be very useful. they are as follows: human resource management is concerned with obtaining and maintaining a satisfactory and a satisfied work force. human resource management is an extension of general management that promotes and stimulates every employee to make fullest contribution to the purpose of the business. human resource management is that aspect of management having as its goal the effective utilization of the labour resources of an organization. manpower management is the function of activity aiding and directing working men and women in maximizing their contributions and satisfaction in employment. it helps workers, including all those who work, from unskilled common labourer to corporation president to public administrator,combine their efforts with those of others in providing the services and products we all want. the personnel function is concerned with procurement, development, compensation, integration and maintenance of the workers in an organization for the purpose of contributing towards the accomplishment of that organization’s major goals or objectives. therefore, the researcher feels that personnel management is the planning, organizing, directing and controlling of the performance of those operative functions. according to brech (2010), human resource management is that part which is primarily concerned with human resource of organization. it includes the function of employment, development and compensation. these functions are performed primarily by the human resource manager in consultation with other departments. human resource management is an extension to general management. it is concerned with promoting and stimulating competent work force to make their fullest contribution to the concern. personnel management exists to advice and assists the line managers in personnel matters. therefore, hrm department is a staff department of an organization. personnel management lays emphasis on action, rather than making lengthy schedules, plans and work methods. the problems and grievances of people at work can be solved more effectively through ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and human resource management igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 209 rationale personnel policies. it is based on human orientation. it also motivates the employees through its effective incentive plans so that the employees provide fullest co-operation. hrm deals with human resources and all that has to do with them. in context to human resources, it manages both the individual as well as the organization. willie (2010) gives a picture of human resource management as the management of employees’ knowledge, aptitudes, abilities, talents, creative abilities and skills/competencies. it is a continuous, on-going development function aimed at improving human processes. human resource management follows the systems thinking approach. it is not considered in isolation from the larger organization and takes into account the linkages and interfaces. it is considered a strategic management function. ajayi and ayodele (2002) define human resource management as ”the careful selection of and placement of new employees and the development and effective utilization of existing ones with a view to attain the potential of individual employees and organizational goals and objectives” (p.152). in the definition of stoner, freeman and gilbert (2002), human resource management is a process “that tries to keep the organization supplied with the right people in the right positions, when they are needed” (p.376). to akindutire (2004), however, personnel administration “is the process of getting qualified personnel to provide instructional services for the goal achievement of the school system” (p26). the common factors in these definitions are the fact that the above authors focus on obtaining, using and maintaining a satisfied workforce. it is a significant part of management concerned with employees at work and with their relationship within the organization. human resource management is the planning, organizing, compensation, integration and maintenance of people for the purpose of contributing to organizational, individual and societal goals. simply put, it is about managing people, about working together for organizational targets, development of people and the company, and omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 210 finally, hrm processes are connected, which means they are not separated as visibly shown in the model. in describing the roles the human resource management department performs for an organization, arum and roksa (2010) agree with the following: conducting job analyses, planning personnel needs and recruitment, selecting the right people for the job, orienting and training, determining and managing wages and salaries, providing benefits and incentives, appraising performance, resolving disputes and communicating with all employees at all levels. these are what it takes to be a human resource manager. in line with this, kamoche (2001) says that human resource management “is concerned with the management of people, the employer-employee relationship or labour regulation” (p.1). and akindutire feels that the functional aspects of personnel administration are: placement of personnel, training and development and service activities related to welfare of personnel. the functions presented by kamoche and akindutire have recently been broken into ten responsibilities by meich (2019) as planning for the future, recruiting top talent, succession (career) planning, evaluating job functions, incentives and rewards, employee engagement and internal marketing, employee wellness, general administration, employee off-boarding, safety and health standards. all these descriptions of the hrm department can be compressed to be getting proper staff to meet objectives, organize, motivate and communicate appropriately, evaluate and develop workforce, , all of which, to the researcher, will reflect in the hrm process. human resource management process human resource management is a planning unit in any organization that has a manager and other staff that carry out the process of making the affairs of all personnel in the organization realizable. therefore, stoner et al have analyzed human resource process to be in seven parts as follows: human resource planning, recruitment, selection, training and development, socialization, performance appraisal and promotions/transfers/demotions and separations. in the ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and human resource management igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 211 same vein, lunnernburg and ornstern (2008) break the process into six parts in this way: human resource planning, recruitment, selection, professional development, performance appraisal and compensation. for the purpose of this work, however, lunnernburg and ornstern’s pattern will be adopted, taking for granted that socialization that is added to the first one is embedded in professional development or training and development of the processes, while, promotions/transfers/demotions and separations are entrenched in performance appraisal and compensation, because compensation is about reward, and if no reward, there will be demotions or lay-off. below is human resource management model. human resource management process model the human resource model is a reflection of what the human resource department does in the organization to make the affairs of personnel achievable. the model reflects connections or networks between all the phases, step by step. it must begin with human resource planningthis is logical planning and forecasting to see that there are no dearth of personnel in an organization. it will pay attention to job analysis that is divided into two parts job specification which is the outlining of the required qualifications of any interested person to take up a job. job description, therefore, is the stating clearly of the job title, the superior of the staff to be employed, statement of job goals and duties /responsibilities. this exercise gives the organization reasons to be proactive and exist without fear that there can be disappointment in relation to manpower shortage. recruitment: this is referred to as “the process of generating a pool of competent applicants needed to fill the available positions in an organization” (lunenburg and ornstein, 2008p.492). the hrm department has the responsibility of attracting, shortlisting, selecting and appointing candidates for permanent or temporary jobs in an organization. it can be done through internal or external sourcing, since there can be some qualified staff among the existing ones to fill in the gaps. if there are, it is a matter of deploying them to the given positions for new ones to occupy their places. it is a good way of omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 212 motivation and a reliable method of improving the organization. therefore, hrm department will get personnel to replace them. this stage is always preceded by an interactive session with the team approved by the organization to do it. this must be done by human resource management department before selection. selection: this is a way of picking the best candidates out of the recruited ones. mahek (2019) proposes the following as steps in the selection process in any organization preliminary interview, screening of applicants, employment tests, selection interview, checking of references, medical examination, and final selection/hiring. this process, in the mind of the researcher, is combining the entire hrm process, not taking a step at a time. the first four processes should be left for the recruitment stage, while the selection phase should be concerned with checking reference, medical examination and final selection and hiring. although mahek insists that “the selection process varies from industry to industry, company to company and even amongst departments of the same company” (p.2). after recruitment and selection, the next step is professional development. professional development: this is a way of teaching administrators and professionals the skills needed for both present and future positions. it has dual benefits: confidence to perform better on a given assignment and ability to improve the standard of the organization, now and in the future. nevertheless, trammel (2019) suggests ten ways of professional developments for those who long to be few steps ahead of others as follows; hone a learning mindset, examine your decisions, read regularly, write regularly, attend training programs, teach what you know, build self-awareness, gather feedback, find mentors and cultivate peer relationships. these proposals have merits because they include assessment, training and evaluation which have been the regular ways of developing workers in organizations. and to this, drucker (1986) warns that apart ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and human resource management igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 213 from the fact that individuals should make regular efforts to develop their careers, the work environment must maintain this fact when he stresses that “the work therefore must encourage the growth of the individual and must direct it-otherwise it fails to take full advantage of the specific properties of the human resources” (p.266). there should be regular assessment of workers in hrm to see if they are responding to the needs of the organization. this can only be achieved through consistent performance appraisal. performance appraisal: performance appraisal is a method that hrm adopts to assess employee response and contributions to an organization. it is done for the following reasons: 1. to check the effectiveness of personnel selection procedure. 2. the outcome of it is used by administrators to make decisions for compensation, promotions, transfer, demotions and lay-off. 3. also, it reveals areas in an organization where improvements and developments are needed. this exercise is often called annual review, performance review or employee appraisal, since it also focuses on how an organization is progressing through the workforce. compensation: compensation is a vital part in hrm process. employees develop serious anxiety if they are not adequately compensated. apart from this, they talk ill about their organization and administrators. they can become less effective and committed, which will have adverse effect on the organization in question. compensation includes fringe benefits or bonuses, profit sharing, overtime pay, even promotions, responsibilities and recognition rewards are parts of compensation. these processes in hrm are to be followed step by step and properly planned. as it reflects in the model, the processes are connected with each other and none is less important as in the spirit of igwebuike philosophy. igwebuike philosophy according to alalama (2018), while citing kanu, “igwebuike philosophy is based on the igbo-african worldview of omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 214 complementarity, that is, the manner of being in african ontology. it is a worldview in which individuating differences must work towards a corporate existence where the “i” does not stand as the “i” but as a ‘we’, where life and living makes meaning. in a scenario of this kind, difference does not divide neither does it constitute a threat, but rather unites and gives hope that future existence would have meaning” (p.20). kanu (2017) had earlier explained this philosophy in this assertion. it (igwebuike philosophy) “is anchored on the african worldview, which is characterized by a common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny. life is a life of sharedness” (p.17). igwebuike philosophy has its worth in paying attention to people and, by extension, the environment in which people live or work. it also emphasizes togetherness and sharing which can easily prompt the development of the individual and the entire group. above all, it highlights being connected with a given group that can simply foster support and encouragements for improvement. igwebuike philosophy and human resource management the link between igwebuike philosophy and human resource management is paramount to this work. the following important characteristics, which also explain the nature of human resource management, can be deduced from the various definitions and explanations given above. it concerns employees: it is primarily concerned with the efficient utilization and conservation of these human resources; it considers employees as individuals and also as members of a group; it is concerned with personnel policies in formulating policies with regard to recruitment, selection, training, promotion, transfer, job evaluation, merit rating and working conditions. igwebuike philosophy is also concerned with people being ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and human resource management igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 215 together for growth and development, and connected with other members in a group. as human resource management is the strategic approach to the effective management of people in a company or organization such that they help their business gain improvement, so also is igwebuike philosophy giving attention to people, and it emphasizes togetherness and sharing, with much importance on what you have in common. as kanu explained, it is “characterized by a common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny. life is a life of sharedness” (p.17). also, it has a connection or link with the hrm process as in the model where all the processes stand as one and none could be omitted at any point, if truly the hrm department must function as it should be, which is closely associated with the thought of alalama “’i’ does not stand as the “i” but as a ‘we’” (p.20), in defining igwebuike philosophy. another common factor is development. since development of staff is a must in hrm and indeed the system must be able to naturally develop personnel, so also will the association with a group in igwebuike philosophy certainly develop every member of the group. recommendations based on the discussions above, the following recommendations are offered. that since human resource management is about people and their welfare, human resource managers are, therefore, encouraged to make the office to be more people-oriented and to be more preoccupied with their dealings as in the igwebuike philosophy which stresses ‘we’ not ‘i’. on the part of workers, however, there should be cooperation with the administrator or hrm manager to achieve all the laid-down rules. attention should not be given to individual interest but to the group omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 216 for the benefit of all. it is important to keep in mind that hrm processes are connected, so also is igwebuike philosophy about life of sharing, as kanu states “life is a life of sharedness” (p.17). working together harmoniously must equally be underlined. where ever you find people, there must be understanding for development. therefore, managers are encouraged to lead their members in a manner that will enhance their growth, as in the mind of maxwell while citing firestone that “it is only as we develop others that we permanently succeed” (p.112). conclusion this work has been able to show the link between hrm and igwebuike philosophy. human resource management is an integral but distinctive part of management, concerned with people at work and their relationship within the enterprise, seeking to bring together intereffective organization men and women who staff the enterprise, enabling each to make his/her own best contribution to its success, both as an individual and as a member of a working group. it seeks to provide relationships within the firm that are conducive both to effective work and human satisfaction. igwebuike philosophy is about paying attention to one another and not being individualistic in a group. it advocates the idea that all members should always seek the growth and progress of the group, for the group. like the saying goes, if you want to walk fast, walk alone and if you want to walk far, walk together. walking together is always the focus of any organization. this brings about back-up and assistance for success, which is the view point of igwebuike philosophy that hrm can also adopt. references ajayi i. a and ayodele j. b (2002). fundamentals of educational management. nigeria. greeline publication. akindutire i. o. (2004). administration of higher education. lagos. sunray press. alalama v.e (2018). igwebuike as an african philosophy for peace and conflict resolution in obeama-nguru of aboh-mbaise l.g.a. imo state. ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and human resource management igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 217 retrieved (5/5/2020) from https://www.academia.edu/37608513/. armstrong, m. (2006). a handbook of human resource management practice. international student edition. (10th ed). kogan page, london and philadelphia. arum, r., & roksa, j. (2010). personnel management. retrieved (5/4/2020) from http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/personnelmanagement.html brech, c. (2010). academically adrift: limited learning on college campuses. chicago: university of chicago press. cole, g. a. (2002). personnel and human resource management. tj international ltd. padstow, cornwall. drucker p. f. (1986). the practice of management. new york. harper. kamoche, n. (2001). understanding human resource management. buckingham. open university press. kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. 2016 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. 2016 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. 2016 kanu, i. a. african traditional folktales as an integrated classroom. sub-saharan african journal of contemporary education research. vol.3 no. 6. pp. 107-118. 2016 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christianmuslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international https://www.academia.edu/37608513/ http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/personnel-management.html http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/personnel-management.html omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 218 journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. 2017 kanu, i. a. african philosophy, globalization and the priority of ‘otherness’. journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 40-57. 2018 ‘igwebuike’ philosophy and human resource management igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 219 kanu, i. a. african traditional philosophy of education: essays in igwebuike philosophy. germany: lambert publications. 2018 kanu, i. a. igbo-african gods and goddesses. nnadiebube journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 118-146. 2018 kanu, i. a. igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 5983. 2018 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. 2018 kanu, i. a (2017). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6. lundy o. (2008). from personnel management to strategic human resource management. international journal of human resource management. 5 (3): 687-720. lunnernburg f. c. and ornstern a. c. (2008). educational administration: concept and practices. usa. wadsworth: cengage learning. mahek s. (2019). selection process in hrm. retrieved (5/5/2020) from http://www.economicsdiscussion.net/humanresource-management/selection-process-in-hrm/31871. maxwell j.c. (2001). the power of leadership. nigeria: joint heir publications ltd. meich c (2019). 10 core functions of human resource management. retrieved (5/5/2020) from https://tracktime24.com/blog/10-core-functions-of human-resource-management mello j. a (2001). strategic human resource management. south western, cincinnati. miller j. b. & miller m. g. (1973). personnel and industrial relations: a managerial approach. new york: macmillan company. stoner j. a. f., freeman r. e. and gilbert d. r. (2002). management. sixth ed. new delhi: asoke k. ghosh. http://www.economicsdiscussion.net/human-resourcehttp://www.economicsdiscussion.net/human-resourcehttps://tracktime24.com/blog/10-core-functions-of-%20%20%20%20%20human-resource-management https://tracktime24.com/blog/10-core-functions-of-%20%20%20%20%20human-resource-management omojola immaculata olu, (ssma), phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 220 trammel j. (2019). 10 ways to maximize your professional development. retrieved (5/5/2020) from https://www.inc.com/joel-trammell/10-ways-to-maximizeyour-professional-development.html https://www.inc.com/joel-trammell/10-ways-to-maximize-your-professional-development.html https://www.inc.com/joel-trammell/10-ways-to-maximize-your-professional-development.html covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 221 covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse hilary ugwu, msw university of oklahoma school of social work norman, usa, hiugwu@yahoo.com executive summary in the art of war, sun tzu (544 b.c – 496 b.c), the ancient chinese military tactician, outlined combat subterfuges to dismantle the enemy. his strategies not only involve physical combat. it also includes using swift psychological dexterities to paralyze the opposition. military generals around the world have studied sun tsu, mastered his tactics and made exponential improvements. thus, the portrait of modern warfare is that of a theater of apocalyptic death. think of the horrors of mass-killer viral attacks, thermonuclear pulverization, sonic soundfrequency weapons, lethal gaseous nerve agents, the manipulation of electromagnetic spectra for destructive purposes, etc. the threat of nuclear annihilation hunted humanity during the time of the cold war. the cold war indeed ushered in an era of rapid anti-human scientific and technological intensification. two super heavyweight economic ideologies, viz the anglo-american capitalism, and soviet communism, were masturbating and exhibiting their erectile military narcissism. it was a time of looming fear— unbridled arms race, socio-economic sabotage and psychopathic war-mongering. it was also be beginning of race to conquer the space, hence the installation of spacebased complex planetary reconnaissance spy satellite systems. the cold war era spiked-up mass brainwashing mailto:hiugwu@yahoo.com hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 222 and unmitigated propagandas. we were told that the battle line was drawn between ‘demon-’ driven marxistleninist authoritarian eastern communism and ‘angelic’ anglo-american exploitative imperial capitalism. however, these two world powers pushed the rest of mankind into taking sides. the cold war gave mischief makers insatiable dracula-kind of bloody appetite for developing and stockpiling mass destroyer-weapons, including bioweapons (bw) which herein is my main focus. keywords: igwebuike, kanu ikechukwu anthony, military operations, bioengineering, weaponization, viruses introduction: ancient myths abound which portray man as acting wickedly against his own kind. the latinized aphorism, ‘homo homini lupus’—man is wolf to man, captures tersely mankind’s deep-rooted belief that man is a predator as well, just like the wild wolf. the statement reveals man’s psycho-traumatic paranoid fear relative to him being preyed on by his own kind. the human experiences of trauma and victimization find their ways into the linguistic lexicons. man would not have created words such as homicide, infanticide, genocide, holocaust, pogrom, etc., if he had not traumatically experienced them. these words elicit dark creepy feelings. they also re-trigger repressed collective anxieties. humanity’s primal psycho-trauma exists in all of our collective minds. the swiss analytical psychologist, carl jung, calls this realm of collective minds, the “objective psych.” this is the realm of our congenital unconscious mind. the darkest and deepest part of our collective fears has manifested throughout history in storytelling and mythologies. in ancient kemet (what greek erroneously called egypt), there was a mythology that tells of the drama of the death of one man in the hand of another by a deliberate act of killing. this is the myth of seth and covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 223 osiris. seth/set (original name, setesh) premeditatedly killed his brother, osiris (original name, asar) in the vilest and sadistic manner. the myth paints a picture of gory precision medical assassination. seth dismembered osiris’ body into fourteen pieces and scattered the remains all over the river nile. the name, seth, has continued to migrate into the human conscious history. seth invokes certain nomenclatural diabolism: shaitan, in arabic, and satan, in christian theology, both of which derive from the kemetian seth/set. whether you call him seth, set, sheth, setesh, sutekh, setan, satan, shaitan, i am referring to the same primordial character in african mythology. the drama of seth/set is deeply encoded within the human collective psychology. modern anglo-linguistic formation identifies seth with darkness, since the word sun-seth (sunset). seth is the prince of darkness, and his coming foreshadows night/darkness and evil in the ancient african mind. this primordial human trickster (seth) became the god of evil as well as the god of the barren wilderness. he causes death and chaos. seth was referred to as the apep or apophis, that is, the great dragon/monster/serpent/beast (remler, 2010). jesus was in the seth’s (satan’s) wilderness and was tempted by him. while this article is not a recapitulation of ancient african theological construct, i must not fail to point out that the atrocious deed of this prehistoric man (seth) has become the objective embodiment of evil as a monstrous entity within the collective human psyche. my point is that man is capable of inverted evolution (devolution) into sethianlikeness (satan-like) through his deliberate act of wickedness against his own kind and nature. similarly, the myth of cain and abel, specific to the hebrew scripture, continues to warn us about the murderous instinct encoded in the human freewill. the hebraic myth introduces mankind to the dramatic prelude of man’s premeditated killing of his own kind. this biblical story is the primeval blueprint to murder consciousness. cain’s method was simplistic, anachronistic and crude. when the deity, elohim, asked him the whereabouts of his brother, he gave a hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 224 classical response “am i my brother’s keeper?” this cainite response would set the future stage for humanity’s careless, irresponsible and unaccountable predisposition toward their own bio-kinds. the point is that those we trust to protect us have continued to exhibit cainite psychopathic nature, narcissism and antisocial proclivities. the above prehistoric sethian/cainite murder mythos serve as reminders that man, in fact, does exterminate his bio-kind for diabolical intentions. it is not completely irrational to make apriori assumptions that man’s darker nature easily succumbs to the lures of cruel, nefarious and murderous instructs embedded in his free choice. today, modern man has perfected his inherited sethian/cainite killing skills, using advanced scientific and technological methods. modern man is obsessed with anti-human sciences and seems to reach a state of orgasmic euphoria when he is able to unleash death and destruction on the planet. man can now, through molecular engineering, create and spread deadly bio-synthetic terminator pathogens that can wipe out any crowded cities. viruses: the invisible demon the english natural philosopher, robert hooke (1635—1703), changed the world after he discovered that organisms have cells. this finding was possible through the use of light microscope. antonie leeuwenhoek (1632—1723) made another significant discovery, the bacteria. following similar trend, a russia scientist, dmitry ivanovky (1864—1920), was able to discover a much smaller micro agent, the virus. these discoveries opened some doors into the microscopic universe of microorganism. ivanosky found that viruses are filterable micro agents. his experiments indicated that viruses were able to pass through poreclain chemberland filter which bacteria could not pass through. thus, scientists, for the first time, learned that there are micro agents that are much smaller than bacteria. the word “virus” derives from latin and implies poison. viruses and bacteria are completely different. viruses have no cellular structure as covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 225 bacteria. another distinguishing feature of viruses is their extremely small size. a bacterium is a giant in comparison to a virus (zimmer, 2011). scientists, in their taxonomic classifications, exclude viruses from living organisms. in other words, viruses are non-living biological agents. so, if viruses are non-living organisms, what are they? they are infectious virions which are capable of entering a cell and initiating a replication cycle (payne, 2017). a virus carries a single nucleic acid encased within its protein coats. they parasitize off of all other forms of life on earth. they have replication cycle which means that they have the capacity to change their genome rapidly. this is why viral mutations are very common. they have fluidity of adaptation on new hosts. the mysterious artificial-like nature of virus makes it difficult to fight. bacteriological attack is more manageable than virus attack. some viruses can mutate so quickly it is nearly impossible to create an effective single medical solution to eliminate their mutation variants. bacteriophages is a scientific terminology which points to the fact that viruses can infect and destroy bacteria (this sounds like top gangster.). due to their small sizes, they are described as “filterable diseases.” they can pass through filters that bacteria cannot filter through. viruses lack ribosomes and must steal ribosomes from its host for translation of their mrna. scientists report that viruses are known for their geometric sophistication which are not observed in natural microbial organisms (tennant et all, 2018). they sort of behave like invisible demons. biological weapon (bw): a historical morphogenesis bioweapon (bw) skeptics who are uncomfortable with the idea that man uses viral attacks on his own kind often recite litanies of epidemics throughout history as a ‘proof’ that intentional viral attack is made-belief. their argument is that if man, in the context of historical ecosystems, has always experienced death by germs, it is, therefore, ‘unreasonable’ to think that germs are intentionally created and deployed to attack humans. the most cited example is the bubonic black plague that ravaged europe in the middle ages (i will provide a new viewpoint on this as you read on.). no reasonable person denies hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 226 the fact that disease-causing agents have always existed in man’s natural environment. the real question which skeptics of bw miss is this: has man used germ as a bw? the answer is yes. let’s outline the historical progression of bw from four fundamental point of views, viz: (a) pre-microbiology era (pre-germ discovery era), (b) the era of applied microbiology, (c) the era of aerobiology and industrial microbiology and, (d) the era of molecular biology and biotechnology. i will provide a brief theoretical description of these for eras of bw expansion histories. pre-germ era: the use of germs as bw has always been practised by man throughout ancient time, even before the discovery of microbial agents via microscope. soldiers are familiar with diseases due to high level of exposures to unsanitary battlefields conditions. thus, military tacticians of ancient time learned to harness pathogenic agents for bio-attacks on their enemies. valerius maximus, a roman author— more than two thousand years ago provided a historical testimony that diseases were used for purposes of war (guilemin, 2005). in ancient times, the army deployed carcasses of diseased animals or corpses of highly infected people to contaminate water supplies in populated areas to cause mass death on the side of the enemies. they sent infected and highly contagious people to enemy cities and towns as a way of spreading the diseases. ancient greece army used extremely poisonous extracts from plants to contaminate water sources on the enemy side. the eye-opening written account of gabriele de’ mussi, concerning the battle siege of caffa in 1346, indicates that the black death in middle age europe was a distinctive case of bw. mussi reported that the black death (which killed an estimate of 50 million people) was as a result of soldiers’ flinging rotten diseased corpses into the besieged walled city of caffa to cause infection and contamination. he indicated that contaminated fleeing italians brought the plague to europe. evidence indicates that rats helped to spread this plagues, but according to mussi, the initial cause was traced to military bw. covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 227 advent of microbiology: the next shift in man’s bw capacity was brought in by the science of microbiology. man is able to, through advancement in science, identify in a test tube specific microbial agents as the cause of illnesses. man learned to isolate, modify and deploy pathogenic agents. thus, military strategists saw a ripe opportunity for weaponization of viruses. this was the beginning of the scientific development of bw which changed the concept of warfare forever. on a positive side, man’s capacity to understand, prevent and fight germs improved exponentially with the science of microbiology. microbiology leads to the knowledge that simple preventive measures like sanitization was able to prevent diseases. progress in industrial aerobiology and microbiology: aerobiology deals with the study of the spread and effect of biological agents for public health purposes. following world war ii, industrial societies entered a new era of industrial microbiology. this era ushered in industrial-scale pharmaceutical production and customization of microbial organisms for various purposes. breweries, baking industries, allopathic pharmaceutical companies, etc., utilized bacteria massively for product manufacturing. some bacteria are beneficial and necessary for the survival of the human organism. with this era also came a problem, the mass production of death-causing viruses for bw purposes. the era of molecular biology and biotechnology: in the early 1950s, francis crick and james watson discovered the double helix structure of dna. a new scientific revolution was born (koblentz, 2009). thus began the new era of genetic engineering. this propelled microbiologists into a new form of bw heights. the ability to manipulate gene code made bioweaponeers demigods. viral strands cannot only be studied from their genetic composition, but the humane genetic strands are also carefully studied. with this mixture, it became easy to create virus that can target specific people based on genetic history. gene editing has positives but lots of negatives as well. hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 228 the military weaponization viruses “in this age of technological inhumanity scientific atrocity atomic mis-philosophy nuclear mis-energy it's a world that forces lifelong insecurity” bob marley—survival (song) the lyrics above is from bob marley’s surviral album. marley offers a prophetic glimpse into the inordinate and gloomy empirical materialism of modern civilization. he paints a portrait of the age of draconian scientism, epistemological imperialism as well as scientific atheism. it is the era of dictatorship that passes for science. the consequence of man’s exaggerated fanatical faith in material science is leading man into an apocalyptic horror. this is the age where man has to face the demon of invisible micro-bug created in laboratory. some of the world’s most powerful governments and their elite military intelligences, in collaboration with some civilian ‘mad scientist’, have engaged in secret bw research and development. certain research institutes have been exposed as having engaged in bioweaponry, for instance, the pasteur institute in france, porton down research center in england, ivanofsky institute of virology in russia, fort detrick military research institute in the united states, the tokyo institute, japan etc. these institutions are linked to underground anti-human-anti-god-anti-nature bw research activities (horowitz, 1998). countries such as isreal, lybia, egypt, china, iran, north korea, pakistan, taiwan, syria, to name but a few, are reported to have engaged in the use of bioweapon (koblenz, 2009). the notion of bw involved microorganism used intentionally to cause illnesses and death. what makes microbial bw agents lethal is their capacity to mutate, reproduce and spread. a bio agent released within a given environment could linger for years, just waiting for activation inside a host. chemical weapon is easily detected and felt. but bw could take days and months before victims become symptomatic. covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 229 bws are relatively cheaper to make compared to other forms of mass weapons (cole, 1990). this could explain its appeal to mischief makers. according to expert advice to the united nations, large-scale attack against a civilian population costs $2000 per square kilometer, using conventional weapon, $800 with nuclear weapons, $600 with nerve–gas weapons, and only $1 with bw. to think that the military could ignore such low-cost budget in international arms’ race would be to play the ostrich. in 1980, the u.s. annual budget, involving bw development, is $1 billion. there is no question that viruses are being made in test tubes. experts indicate that certain viruses can be cultured in test tubes “by mixing purified genomes and protein.” the said genomes may have been synthesized (payne, 2017). the modern rise in bw research and development came from warmongering mindset of industrialized nations. as way back as 1920s, france was working on the use of microbial agents as weapons. japan may have started working on bw in the early 1930s. the united kingdom, soviet russia as well the united states have engaged in bw research and development as means of winning wars and dominating their enemies. the military proponents of bw development believe that mass death of civilians will bring a battleresistance nation on her knees (guillemin, 1999). there are sufficient historical reasons to conclude that some deadly man-made bio agents which at one time or another have ravaged human society might have come from clandestine military laboratory bases and may have been either released accidentally or by deliberate intent. looking back at the mid-19 th century, one could notice that the threats of global catastrophe and the end of life on earth by thermonuclear pulverization was widespread in newspaper headlines, books, televisions and radio talk shows. even then, the media paid less attention to the possibilities of human-induced virological outbreak of similar apocalyptic proportion. i would assume that the reason threats from bw mass death are given less attention is because viruses are microbes and are imperceptible to the naked eyes, unless with special equipment. so if people didn’t see it, they think it posed less threat. hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 230 viral attacks usually sneak into a population and cause mass death undetected. so they are not as dramatic as thermonuclear destructive explosions. the period between 1945 and 1991 has been classified by military historians as the cold war era. world war ii was crucial in understanding man’s weaponization of microbes. molecular sciences, like microbiology and other nano-based sciences, provide man with the tool for detailed study of structures, systems and behaviours of microscopic organisms. man’s scientific ability to understand the structures of deoxyribonucleic acid as well as ribonucleic acid offers him the endless mastery of post-transcriptional modification, that is, the ability to control gene’s expression. the ability to splice genes means that man has acquired the science of the gods. he too can create or destroy at his whims and caprices. those who weaponize microbial agents for dark evil agendas will not hesitate to use such knowledge to instigate mass pandemic, bioterrorism, disorientation of population, pavlovian-style mass behaviour modifications/social control, economic collapse, political control, social systems collapse and mass death. there are people who believe in and want to implement malthusianism and nazi-style eugenics. soviet russia and microbial warfare during the cold war, russia’s ostrov vozrozhdeniya (translated as rebirth/renaissance island) was used as one of the bw research, development and test locations. multiple reliable sources, including declassified documents, implicate elite soviet military intelligence for the existence of so many weaponized strands of killer viruses. some prominent russian bw facilities were, at least according to official report, dissolved in the early 1990s, following the collapse of communist russia. however, it would be unwise to trust official reports and believe that russia’s bw capacity has been disarmed. bws were developed and used during world war ii. in 1942, as both the russian and the german fronts were preparing for the battle of stalingrad, a virus outbreak occurred. this virus was named covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 231 tularemia, and it was a bw. it was uncertain if this came from the german side from the russian side. what is clear, however, was that russia had a well-established bw capacity. russia’s biopreparat agency was dedicated to research and development of unnatural pathogens as bw. the agency was created through a clandestine decree and has top military officials who were themselves dedicated scientists. the reason most of bw activities around the world are strictly under military secrecy is because bacteriological warfare is prohibited by the geneva protocols of 1925. this deceptive prohibition is nothing but a toothless dog. virological weapon continues to be developed by the world’s most sophisticated militaries and nothing happens. these deadly germs are deployed for all kinds of agenda. other soviet military facility used for bw development include, the center for military technical problems of antibacteriological defense, sverdlovsk; scientific research institute of microbiology, kirov; the center of virology,zagorsk; leninggrad’s scientific research institute of military medicine, to name a few. russia’s biopreparat agency was overseen by russia’s fifteenth directorate. this covert agency came under different army chiefs at different times, including, general yury tikhonovick, as well as general vsenolod ogarkov. russia boasted possession of ss-18 killer missile capable of conveying active bio agents to target destinations. the communist red army strategists were obsessed with this mission of ‘conquering the world’ through epidemiological attacks and mass death if need be. russia’s viral capacity was enormous. cities were marked around the world for viral attacks. many will not want to imagine that genetically modified infectious microorganism have been used on the masses around the world in the past and have continued to be used in the present time for nefarious reasons. there are enough information to make intelligent assertion that as far back as 1920s, soviet communist russia has enlisted the best and brightest of their scientists in the development of killer viruses to be used as bw. russian military strategists were using lowhilary ugwu, msw igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 232 flying airplanes loaded with deadly microbes, spraying them around (alibek, 1999). imperial japan and weaponization of virus japan has been involved in the development and use of bw for antihuman purposes. during world war ii, japan invaded the chinese region of manchuria. what made this invasion additionally horrific was that the japanese military deployed death-causing bio agents on the population of the region. japanese history of atrocities in china was immense. their war atrocities continue to define the chinese bitter enmity against japan today. chinese school teach their children the horrific japanese terror in their land during world war ii. these children are growing up to detest japan as evil. the imperial japanese military facility responsible for the dark mission in china was known as water purification unit 731. unit 731 was under the command of lieutenant general shiro ishii. this facility was in full operation for a very long time. japan was working with viral strands, such as anthrax, plague, cholera, dysentery and many other deadly agents. the japanese military was dropping canisters infested with deadly bio agents, like plagues. we have to understand that before they deployed such agents, they must have engendered it to be even deadlier when in contact with human organism. when the soviet red army invaded the regions occupied by japan in china, they gained access to documents and materials implicating japan for bw atrocities. when the soviet communist leader, stalin, was briefed as to japan’s use of bw in china, he ordered that russia increase its germ weaponization exponentially. japan was also implicated for flying low-airplane in the town of chuhsien in chekiang province, south of shanghai in china. they were spreading clouds of deadly viruses on the population. sometimes in 1941, japanese airplane flew over the city of changteh in hunan province in china and sprayed what is now understood to be bubonic plagues on the population. there were reports of people having their lymph nodes swollen and they died from the contamination. covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 233 japan was determined to weaponize every germ they could obtain. japanese army medical collage, tokyo was running covert bw research in the later 1930s. the u.s. officials were concerned that the japanese intelligence unit was sending secret agents to obtain yellow fever strand from rockefeller institute of medical research in new york (croddy et al, 2002). in the 1990s, a renegade cult-like subversive group in japan known as aum shinrikyo was in possession of bw which they were planning to use on the masses. this group was responsible for chemical attack on vulnerable innocent people inside a mass transport train in 1995. possession of bw means, capacity as well as the intention to use especially in the hands of local or international terrorists groups should concern everyone. the united states’ bioweapon programs in 1969, the u.s. president, richard nixon, made a speech in which he vaguely promised the world that the united states was abandoning its bw program. the u.s. demonstrated her commitment to nixon’s promise by reportedly destroying some of their bw stockpiles. however, people did not believe nixon and the whole official narrative. many around the world thought he was making false declaration and surreptitiously moving the offensive bw program even deeper underground. the russian military bioweaponeer, alibek (1999), expressed russia’s attitude regarding nixon’s statement. he stated that the russian government did not believe nixon in any shape or form. russia believed that u.s. was being deceptive. evidence of the united states history of bw activities can be discerned from the u.s senate subcommittee on health and human scientific research of the committee on human recourses hearing in 1977. it proved that the united states was not just researching and developing bioweapons but was carrying out germ testing on civilian population. the hearing also revealed that disease-causing microorganisms have been tested on densely populated civilian locations between 1949 and 1969. the named senate hearing also linked mysterious outbreak of illnesses on civilian population in those hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 234 areas of test. it has been reported that the united states army was spraying serratia marcescens on the population in san fransisco during the 1950s for tests. the united states’ project jefferson and project clear during the 1990s were alleged to be involved in that which violated international bw convention. whistleblower and independent researcher confirm that fort dietrick located in the state of florida is one of the facilities that have engaged in secret bw activities. aids was said to have developed in this highly secretive military facility (henderson, 2019). henderson further reported that aids was developed as a means to depopulate the world of undesirable masses. the u.s. army medical research institute on infectious diseases was alleged have history of bw programs that contravened international bw convention. vigo facility, indiana, pine bluff arsenal, arkansas, dugway proving ground, utah, all in the united states, have been identified as having engaged in germ activities for bw at one time or the other. the u.s has a biological defense research program. this program exists for a reason—preparedness for possible mass viral attacks. mass attack by the enemy might not necessary be in time of war. foreign enemy might use mass viral attacks to destabilize a population, slow down economy and create damaging stress on nation’s resources. the regan administration in 1986 had a budget of 1 billion dollars for biological and chemical weapons research and development. regan presidency was during the cold war era. so it was easy for the u.s. government to earmark such a huge sum of money for viral and chemical bioweapon research by constantly feeding taxpayers official and media propaganda about russia. aids virus as a bw according to a whistleblower, cooper (1991), who served as a united states naval intelligence officer, aids is a biological weapon. cooper was shot and killed in an altercation with a law enforcement officer. many believe he was assassinated because he exposed too covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 235 much of the dark secrets of the u.s government as an insider military intelligence officer. there are no cases of aids virus prior to 1975. research has linked the world health organization to an agent of infecting african population with aids. in 1977, the who started smallpox vaccination program in africa. copper linked the smallpox vaccination project of 1977 by who to the origin of aids in africa. he stated that africans were first injected with aids virus during this time. it has been estimated that 100 million africans were injected with aids virus camouflaged as smallpox vaccine in 1977. according to cooper, some population in the united states (gays) was also intentionally targeted and injected with the virus one year later in 1978 through government deceptive hepatitis b. vaccine program. the hepatitis b. vaccination in new york and with the gay population were how aids virus was introduced in the united states. this “vaccination’ program by national center for disease control was meant to remove the undesirable from the planet, in this case, ‘useless africans and homosexuals.’ cooper reechoed a few times that “whatever caused aids was in the vaccine” (cooper, p168, 1998). this might explain why some distrust all vaccine agenda and programs, especially the so-called free mass vaccinations coming from the who. this organization is diabolical when one looks underneath the presumed global humanistic public face. the global malthusian eugenicist usually uses this organization for evil intents. currently, president trump is proposing that the united states will not fund this organization further. trump has gained deep insight into the who. there are several other renowned scientists who reported that aids epidemic was man-made. dr. horowitz (1998) reported that aids virus was cultured as a bw and intentionally released on the masses. he also re-affirmed cooper’s report that among the initial victims of aids virus during the late 1970s were black africans and homosexuals. certain population controllers see both the black masses and homosexuals as undesirables who ought to be reduced or eliminated. and yes, aids reduced african population drastically. hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 236 there are too much convergence of propositions to ignore all these glaring pink elephants in the room. eugenic genocidal maniacs are bent on depopulating the world based on malthusian devilish principles and other fanatical ecological reasons. certain elitist agenda, such as “green revolution,” mask fanatical eugenics principles which include geo-engendering via genetic modification of every biological taxonomy on this planet. when government and world leaders talk about ‘depopulation policy’ as the dangerous zionist and malthusian eugenicist, henry kissinger—the former u.s secretary of states was fond of doing, all critical thinkers must understand the concept in its true nature, i.e., eugenic mass depopulation. molecular biologists as well as virologists who have studied the behaviour of aids virus believe that there is a strong behavioural similarity between aids and bovine lymphotrophic virus (blv). the ‘official’ reports around the world, including deceiver scientists from the who, claim that aids came from african green monkeys. however, independent scientists have long debunked this bogus claim and have continued to report that aids virus was laboratory-cultured. dr. robert strecker, a u.s. distinguished, practitioner of internal medicine and gastroenterologist, pathologist and pharmacologist, was another whistleblower who reported that aids was an artificial and unnaturally engineered pathogen. he concluded through his medical research that aids was intentionally released on the population for nefarious reasons. in 1969, the united states defense department provided funding in the sum of $10 million for researchers to create a deadly strand of virus. the strand of virus was meant to target mostly black african population. dr. strecker expressed that there was research going on in t-cell-destroyer virus in the early days. according to him, the success of this research led to the creation of a virus which destroys completely the immune system of a human organism. dr.strecker indicated that this was possible by the crossing of the viral strand such as bovine leukemia virus and visna viruses. he reported that bovine predominantly attack cows. visna is known to attack sheep. he stated that these two strands were then cultured in the herpes to get what undeniably turned out to be aids. bovine covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 237 leukemia virus does not naturally attack the human organism. that is why it has to be carefully cultured in a test tube before being released to infect people. in other words, it was weaponized. dr. strecker then debunked the claim that aids came from simian monkey. he alleged that it was the international agency for research on cancer that was responsible for introducing aids to african population. iarc is an extension of world health organization and it came into existence in 1965. dr. leonard horowitz was another person who reported that cancer causing aids-like viruses found in livestock was engineered to infect humans. in his book, emerging viruses: aids and ebolanature, accident or intentional, he discussed some procedures scientists used to manufacture aids from combining strands of naturally occurring viruses in livestock. red alert: viral attacks and bw suspicions anthrax: anthrax is a single-celled bacterium originally known as bacillus anthracis. this strain is found in livestock such as sheep and cattle. it forms spores which grow in lymph and blood. anthrax has been called the 20 th century bw. many people have forgotten that in october 2001, in the wake of the attack on the world trade center in the united states, there was mass panic about anthrax used on american population as bw. it was reported that this virus was deployed through contaminated envelopes sent out to people, prominent media personalities. following this attack on the population, president george w. bush established the national biodefense analysis and countermeasures center which is overseen by the department of homeland security. according to ex-soviet bioweaponeer, ken alibek (alibek et al, 1999), a hundred kilograms of anthrax spores would, (intentionally released) in optimal atmospheric condition kill up to three million people in any of the densely populated metropolitan areas of the united states.” he reported that a single ss-18 (laced with viral weapon) could wipe out the population of a city as large as new york. anthrax as a bio-agent is considered an effective bioweaponary by hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 238 world military elites. the deadly outbreak of anthrax in the city of sverdlovsk, russia, in april and may 1978, was due to a release from massive stockpile of anthrax by the military (cole, 1990). anthrax virulent strain is difficult to obtain. if this is the case, it would take an extreme scientific knowledge to understand how to work with it and use it on the population. scientists report that anthrax attack mimic cold flue. victims exhibit slight nasal congestion, joint pain, lethargy, lingering cough and more. due to the mild nature of initial symptomatology, it is often not taken serious. thus, the virus would continue to metastasize in the lymph, node thereby ravaging the body’s general immune system. the toxicity generated by the virus then overwhelms the internal human biomechanics completely with invasive acidic fluids and block the body’s oxygenation mechanism. anthrax virus induces difficulties in bronchial systems, breathing issues persists. the blockage of oxygenation system leads to victim’s bluish/pale unnatural pigmentation, death is imminent. smallpox: russian scientists worked on modification of smallpox to serve as biological agent for weapon. by 1947, russia had already established a large capacity smallpox bw production facility. the world health organization, during the 1970s, claimed that smallpox disease has been eradicated globally. for communist russia, this declaration created a new opportunity. now, since the world no longer paid attention to fighting smallpox, it was a moment to genetically modify the strand for weaponization. it is estimated that the russian stockpile of smallpox viral strands was about twenty tons as way back as the 70s. smallpox is known to be highly contagious. motility rate could be as high as 90 percent. one of the wicked ways they were spreading this virus was grinding it into power and dusting it over letters for bw delivery (alibek, 1999). ebola: ebola river in zaire, modern-day democratic republic of congo, continues to be associated with the name of a deadly virus. it has been claimed that ebola (disease) originated in this region of africa. ebola is a hemorrhagic fever-causing agent. some believe that ebola is an offshoot of marburg. marburg virus surfaced in germany covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 239 so many years back. this begs the question, did scientists isolate marburg in the laboratory and genetically modified it as the strand known as ebola which was to be found in zaire in years to come? why congo? well, congo is one of the world’s most heavily blessed natural resources country on the planet. this country has been ravaged by internationally sponsored conflicts. congo conflict is prolonged for the resource theft by international resource thieves. even in the midst of conflict, local impoverished guerilla factions arms-funded by international cooperate criminals continue to supply resources to these foreign corporate overlords who fly helicopters and small airplanes into the congo jungles to steal. the outbreak of ebola in congo is very suspicious for one reason. both ebola virus and marburg virus (found in germany way back), when observed under electron microscope, share similar behavioural characteristics. they multiply by shooting out some monofilaments. according to alibek (1999), ebola and marburg belong to the same family of viral agents named filoviruses. filoviruses attack host cell by enveloping them with net-like strands. the appearance of ebola in africa is very suspicious. could it be the military and international elite controllers tested ebola on africans? could it be a way to continue to keep this resource-blessed people down forever? this needs to be investigated further. bioterrorism and media mass traumatization dr. horowitz (2001) describes an aspect of bioterrorism as when the elite controllers frighten the masses into accepting every official recommendation which might include vaccine experimental trials, using people as test-tube guinea pig, etc. he further cites a case example where people have been sprayed with malathion and anvil as a “precautionary measures” against anthrax. he states that malathion and anvil, in themselves, are bad agents for humans. they are immune system suppressant, carcinogenic (cancer causing agent) and lethal for human organism to absorb. it was probably a test but people were deceived that they needed to take the vaccine for protection hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 240 against anthrax. the masses are usually vulnerable and suggestible to the whims and caprices of the powers that be (ptb). poisoning the masses using chemical and biological means for political, economic, military and medical reasons is not new. in ancient rome, chemical agents (lead) were added into the public water systems. lead is scientifically established to be a deadly neuro-suppressant and could lead to serious cognitive degeneration. if public water systems are contaminated with lead, it could lead to mass mental passivity, alzheimer’s disease, memory loss and so many other neurodegenerative problems. were ancient roman elite trying to create a passive population so dumbed down through water-system ‘vaccination’ and who were unable to think for themselves and put up any resistance to the oppressive systems? in fact, many scholars believe that this was the case. many think that the fall of rome, among many other factors, is attributed to weakened neuronal systems as a result of mass lead poisoning. the elite were also affected. we see some of the most psychopathic roman emperors emerging— pedophiles, incest, sadistic murders, including of family member, and any evil you can name. a neuro-psychological assessment of some of these romans shows a serious mental health issues. could it be lead poisoning causing these cognitive degenerative behaviours? medical tests of archeological artifacts prove clue that romans had mass lead poisoning. in modern society, it is a known fact that public water systems are treated with fluoride. fluoride is a neuro-cognitive depressant as well. toothpastes are also fluorinated. the argument of demented scientists is that fluorinated water helps with healthier teeth. but one should examine this argument, since there is clear evidence of cognitive degeneration through contamination with fluoride. that is, it could be a way of creating a mass of people with sedated neuronal and nervous systems. it is not completely irrational to think that mass public water is vaccinated with fluoride for cognitive mass repression. so, one does not even need to get a vaccine, since city water is already vaccinated secretly. scholars are also linking gmo with their high level of pesticide, herbicide to future bio-genetic degeneration of humanity. this is a new form of homo-reengineering. covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 241 many people seem excited with eating seedless fruits and not having to do the “hard work” of spitting out seeds. but seedless seeds bioengineered mutant variant. they are called genetically modified organism (gmo) and are unnatural because the original divine genetic blueprint has been altered. genetically modified food and meat appear to be a subliminal bw system to alter the original humans through gradual scientific molecular mutations? this is what the company called monsanto does, modifying all living organism on the planet away from their divine origin. monsanto now has patents on virtually all agricultural seeds on this earth and few people understood this. bill gates has millions of dollar worth of financial investment stake in monsanto. bill gates is also part of the ownership of alliance for a green revolution in africa (agra). the term “green revolution” is a malthusian fanatical eugenic global movement. the agenda have been pushed to africa since the 80s and beyond. gates is promoting terminator gmo seeds in africa, seeds you can only plant once and when you have harvest them you can’t plant them again because they were engineered to be sterile and impotent. you can harvest good yield, yes, but they are infertile to grow for your next planting season. so what do you do? you have to go back to these agro-based malthusian corporatocrats to buy more seed every year. famers around the world will be subjected to such global control. and world food supply will be in the hands of few wicked overloads. these elite-owned agro-bio-tech companies already have obtained patents on many seeds. so in the future it would be illegal for you to own their patented seed. the global agro beast called monsanto and other emerging agro-biopharmaceutical companies are in the game of geo-engendering and tera-formation of all biosphere as we know it. this agenda of subliminal human genetic mutation is designed on a long term to change the original genetic code of man through food and other bio-synthetic toxicities. the powers that be (ptb) can terrorize the population not just with actual bw but with virus-scare. media manipulation through highly effective visual cinematographic mind control could induce mass hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 242 panic. the public’s visual and auditory apparatuses are constantly under media assault with hyped up apocalyptic-type viral invasion and induced food shortage. they heighten death statistics, parade few cases seriously night and day on the media. this is how you get the population to do whatever you prescribe. it is called hegelian dialectics, action-reaction-solution. various intelligences in the developed world are involved in media mind programming. the american cia, the russian kgb, the israeli mossad, the british m16, etc., all have agents in popular media outlets. cia’s operation mockingbird is known for media psyop (psychological operation) program for mass mind control. the pretty face anderson cooper, while at school, interned for cia’s operation mockingbird. many popular media casters are implanted there for mass behavioural social engineering. many people do not do research. for these groups of people, nothing is true until it is reported in popular international media outlets, like cnn, al jazeera, etc. this sort of people stand to be manipulated, irrespective of their educational background. it does not matter if they have three phds. game of death: how the global power systems use mass death to achieve goals oppressive systems social, political, economic, religious, familial, etc., are like a self-sustaining parasitic organism in a closed system. for an oppressive system to evade its eventual cause of entropic decay, it must seek to expand its deceptions in order to continue to feed off on the people it oppresses. in so doing, the small privileged elite, in closed-system circuit, will continue their act of vampirism. evil systems have perpetuated itself in power using every biochemical-military-neuro-linguistic-religoius-mind-controlling tools to keep itself in position of power and control. the roman emperor nero (a.d. 37-68) would not have cared about setting rome on fire for political agenda. he would not have cared about killing hundreds of his own people to stay in power if he needed to. similarly, emperor gaius caesar of rome ruled from 37 a.d to 41 a.d. he is popularly known as emperor caligula. he used his debauchery, diabolism and perverted politicalcrafts to perpetuate himself in power. it would be covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 243 irrational to think that if he had access to modern bw, he would hesitate to use it. in our modern global politico-military and economic game of chess, the world elite have used any means possible, no matter how evil, to assert their dominance, not minding the consequence such as mass death. for example, the global financial elite have financed and used murderous instincts of the islamic extremists for their geo-political control. one would be shocked to learn that both the isis terrorist organization as well as the jabat al-nusra have been funded and utilized by certain western power elite for geo-political control (henderson, 2019). russia’s center for reconciliation in syria and their intelligence gathered information implicating the anglo-western powers for secretly funding jabat al-nusra terrorists in syria. henderson (2019) reveals that clandestine western elite provided jabat al-nusra with chemical weapons in syria’s village of serakab. this group provoked the chemical attacks which is now blamed on syria’s bashar al-assad. the goal was to remove syria al-assad from power. once the masses hear (through cia-controlled media agents) that al-assad used chemical weapon, everyone will turn against him and it becomes easy for ptb to get rid of him. what is reported on the news is not what is going on underground. and few people understood this global power games. in 2018, the only few countries whose central banks were not under the control of angloamerican financial banking elite were syria, iran, cuba and north korea. every central bank in the world is under the absolute control of anglo-american western power system. and anyone who wants to change this dynamic will be ready to die. any country that wants to change it will be ready to be destroyed in few months. this is how things are and how things work. a critical look indicates that these named countries(syria, cuba, iran, north korea) are not in the good books of the western ptb that are ready and willing to use their military puppets’ knowledge of biological, chemical and conventional means to create new global paradigm shift and to subjugate all countries on the planet under their financial and military control. hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 244 gaddafi of libya tried to create a different financial arrangement independent of the clandestine anglo-american central bank control. they got rid of him immediately. in the process of killing gaddafi, many people died and the country was destroyed. do you think the covert global system of ptb care about humans dying? so, those who argue against the possibility of ptb using viruses to achieve certain agenda, locally, nationally and globally, need to reconsider their knowledge of the human power games. perhaps, it is time for them to turn off too much watching of television which is another name for mind control. black market and viruses military and civilian scientists go around the world secretly obtaining bacteria that are natural occurring in certain geographical areas. they then return to their clandestine laboratories and try to genetically engender them to specifically attack humans. the strand known as machupio which causes bolivian hemorrhage fever was smuggled by russian agents from the united states for specific customization as weapon during the cold war. russia also may have obtained more strands of marburg from germany. marburg virus is in the ebola family. inhaling as little as three microscopic particles of marburg constitutes a terminal biohazard that leads to death (alibek, 1999). a u.s. congressional inquiry during the 80s found that batches of deadly bw agents were mysteriously missing from laboratories. one would make an intelligent guess; these batches probably were exchanged in black markets. they might have ended up in the hands of big corporate pharmacological establishments, other governments, or nefarious secret societies and elite researchers, including terrorists. the congressional inquiring body cited huge loopholes and safety concerns. recently, the u.s. department of justice arrested dr. charles lieber. dr. lieber is the chair of the chemistry and chemical biology department at harvard university. he was charged for lying to the u.s. government about details of his involvement with china. he was covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 245 made a “strategic scientist” at wuhan university of technology (wut), china. all businesses and institutions in china are rigidly under the chinese communist state. companies can be taken over at any time by the state at will if it serves states specific agenda. wut (definitely under communist direction) was paying dr. lieber large sums of money for his nanoscience research. china is involved in global scientific and economic espionage. no doubt, they were utilizing dr. lieber to gain certain information of nanoscience, perhaps for bio engineering. the u.s government wanted to know all details. also, two chinese researchers, yanqing ye, 29 and zaosong zheng, 30, were also charged separately. zaosong was accused of attempting to smuggle 21 vials of bio agents from the u.s to china. the bottom line is that china has so many highly disciplined communist agents around the world who are highly committed to their communist bw development agenda. they are everywhere in the world stealing bacteria for modification and weaponization. international underground germs market is a fact. the dark connection of some research institutes and pharmaceutical companies the u.s. national cancer institute (nci), university of texas, university of chicago, university of virginia, the university of california, the university of new york, yale university, to name but a few, have history of receiving funding from the government for the wily research project of bw. research institutions are supposed to be independent and not controlled by the government. the government will always control, dictate and direct any research institution that is so eager to go for the money. the saying goes, he who pays the piper dictates the tune. thus, institutions of learning and research centers so eager to get cash and be in the good books of the government usually become puppets of nefarious politicians and government secret agenda. some of these agenda are dark and anti-human. one character whose name appears to be linked to the above-named governmentbacked clandestine university bw researches is dr. robert c. gallo. dr. gallo’s research at one time was funded by the national institute hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 246 of cancer. while some of this research fundings appear innocent from a quick glance, usually government intelligence units use these individuals for evil agenda. why gallo is important in this article is because he has been linked by many independent sources to the creation of aids virus as a bw. gallo is linked with the u.s. top military medical research facility at fort detrick, in florida. this is the facility where aids was said to have originated from. horowitz (1998) indicates that gallo’s research publication “detailed the steps involved in creating human-immune-system-destroying viruses….” dr. horowitz then concludes that gallo spent decades of research creating and perfecting “aids-like” viruses. the company, litton research laboratories, which is a subsidiary of litton industries inc., u.s.a, has a dark history with bw development, according to horowitz. this company is a top american military contractor and has received millions of dollars from the government to engage in bw projects. dr. gallo, again, has an established history with this devious company which ought to be charged with genocidal actions against africa via viruses. the former, u.s. secretary of states, henry kissinger, as well as the u.s. department of health, education and welfare’s frank carlucci and joseph califono, have also been implicated as culprits to introducing immune system destroyer in africa as a form of bw. one of the political reasons for the introduction of aids in africa was to subdue the alleged radical “communist” tendencies of the african nationalists who “threaten” global democracy of the west. we should not forget that cia was central in destroying kwame nkrumah’s vision for africa. africa spent many decades and resources in the fight against aids epidemics which led to the total destruction and collapse of the spirit of pan african nationalism that was in emergence in the 1960s and 1970s. (umpenhour, 2005). the image of africa around the world became associated with disease and poverty. thus, a continent ravaged by disease does not have the strength to push the agenda of pan africanism and the spirit of national rebirth. this is a classic cia long-term operation and it was effective. the spirit of african covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 247 nationalism and liberation fizzled away. and colonization went underground. this time around, bw was one of the many tools. the international union against cancer (iuac), under the who, in the 60s and 70s, became so obsessed with africa in their research focus. this organization claimed to promote campaign against cancer. however, researching about this organization may prove that its name is an inversion of truth. this company has been reported as being the actual conduit through which aids was brought to africa. there seems to be a symbiotic relationship between certain big money pharmaceutical companies and some of the dark military bw programs. to understand the established power system in control, one must understand that the top secretive elite see themselves as family. they protect themselves in a network of financial, social, political and military brotherhood. in the united states, the rockefellers own one third of the entire pharmaceutical industries which continue to push for mass vaccinations bringing billions of dollars to this economic empire (henderson, 2019). the same people, through political lobbying, have been able to demonize homeostatic natural herbs. in some places, if you sell herbs, you go to jail. pharmaceutical companies tell people that herbs are bad but allopathic synthetic chemicals are good. this is a typical inversion of reality by sheer use of legal force, and one of the ways people are being controlled. the bio-pharmaceutical company known as merck, sharp & dohme (popularly known as merck) has suspicious bw history of research and development as well. the company’s current website describes their vision statement thus: “to make a difference in the lives of people globally through our innovative medicines, vaccines, and animal health products. we are committed to being the premier, research-intensive biopharmaceutical company and are dedicated to providing leading innovations and solutions for today and the future.” hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 248 a uk journalist, miles johnston, in an interview, has linked bill gates’ funded pirbright institute, based in u.k, to current covid-19 outbreak. mr. gates also has a foundation which he uses to promote mass vaccinations, especially for developing societies like africa and india. gates’ vaccines program is accused of spreading sterilization for population control. the u.s government has official program for population control. two outstanding evidence that cannot be ignored. the u.s. house bill 5090 authorized the funding for project mknaomi. there is no doubt that mk-naomi is a malthusian depopulation project aimed at eliminating the undesirable poor people around the world. the u.s. also created the office of population affairs. a deeper research into the activities of this office implicates global depopulation agenda. there is an elite political group in the u.s. which met in 1961 and created the famous report from iron mountain. this report espoused ways to eliminate certain population, especially using wars another case of darwinian-fittest philosophy which was even implemented by nazi germany. bill gates is known for financing the wuhan institute of virology which is also linked with the covid-19 outbreak. gates’ seemingly global altruism might be covering up some darker malthusian eugenic program. malthusian population control fanatics like paul ehrlich, in his book, the population bomb, outlines global template for depopulation of the world. new viruses will continue to emerge. in the past, the u.s. as well as soviet russian militaries tested viruses using low-flying airplanes for spraying. when viral outbreaks occur, government will likely start pushing and forcing vaccines on the masses. governments have engaged in extreme draconian non-pharmaceutical biodefense measures such as martial-law-type response to these viral outbreaks. that is, restriction of freedoms, creation and enforcement of selfisolation, restriction of human contacts, travel bans, etc. forced vaccination has always taken place around the world. a careful examination of molecular compositions of some of these vaccines by independent scientists reveals bigger concerns. a character named dr. maurice hilleman has a history of research with merck, sharp & covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 249 dohme (cited above). he is credited for developing about 40 vaccines for this reticent company. he once confessed that vaccines injected to people were contaminated with cancer viruses as well as leukemia viruses (icke, 2013). we are all aware of how the rate of cancer is exploding exponentially around the world. there has also been connections made between vaccine and autism in children. however, mainstream scientists and academics, who are usually lackeys to mainstream power system, usually deny such reports. research has also shown that some vaccines contain noxious agents such as mercury (deadly for humans), aluminum, octoxinol 9 (sperm-killing agent), aborted fetal materials, insect and dog genes, betapropiolactone (corrosive chemical found in disinfectant), phenol (carbonic acid which could trigger dermatitis condition), triton x-100 (detergent) ethylene glycol (antifreeze), etc., (icke, 2005). big biotech companies are interested in big money. the masses become the experimental guinea pig and the sheep to fleece. bacteriological warfare prohibitions geneva protocols of 1925. the protocol prohibits the use of bws. the u.s. and soviet russia were signatories. but the u.s. did not ratify the geneva protocol until years later in 1975. i would make a rational assumption here. the u.s. congress utilized delay tactics in ratifying this prohibition. there is substantial evidence that the u.s was developing and stockpiling bw until the 70s, in view of the cold war. by the time congress completed ratification, they had amassed as much bw as they needed. geneva protocol on a face value prohibits the use of bacteriological agents in warfare. however, the weakness and hypocrisy of this prohibition is clean; it did not prohibit possession. what a façade! biological weapon’s convention of 1972. this convention prohibits the development, production and stockpiling of bw, except for prophylactic and military defense purposes. by 1996, close to 140 countries were signatories. one could already notice the hypocrisy and deception of this convention. obviously, it is all talk-and-no-do. it hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 250 was meant to pacify the masses who were starting to be worried about the apocalyptic nature of biochemical weapons. in fact, the convention clearly gave the military and as well as the pharmacological companies absolute freehand. where there is profit, there is greed; where there is greed, evil is possible. corporate conglomerates might decide to develop strands of viruses to experiment, in the name of research, on the people, since the biological weapon’s convention did not expressly forbid it. the military could claim defense purposes as well and continue to develop deadly viruses capable of depopulating any given society drastically. the moral ambivalence of bioweapon (bw) skeptics the great moral conundrum in germ research involves the “dual-usedilemmas.” the ethical ambivalence is between biodefense and bioattack. biodefense is the same as biosecurity. biosecurity implies engaging in germ sciences as a means of protecting the population against disease outbreaks. bio-defense also argues that it is ethical, especially for governments, to engage in germs research programs as “acts to defend a state’s population against future biological attack” (enemark, 2017). proponents of this stand indicate that a clear scientific understanding of pathogenic organisms provides enormous protective benefits. that is, it saves lives. critics, on the other hand, point out inherent risks and weaknesses of this argument. they contend that there is the possibility of using such knowledge for evil intention, such as the creation, proliferation and use of bw against a population, especially on an international scale. both arguments are valid. however, my focus in this article is the fact that bw have been proliferated and used around the world at different times and continues to be used against vulnerable populations. laboratory insiders in biosecurity programs have been reported as breaching all ethical codes, smuggling and marketing deadly strands in the black markets. there are those who think that bw concerns or alarms are a product of “conspiracy theory.” for instance, a high ranking u.s. army medical corps, major leon a. fox, during the early 1930s, published covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 251 an article in the army surgeon journal in which he set out to debunk the possibility of bw use. his stand was that bw concerns came from conspiratorial “scare-heads” and “pseudo-scientists” who were seeking ephemeral mass media attentions. he unequivocally stated that deploying, successfully, death-causing bio agents was a practical impossibility. his argument was that noxious bacteriological organism could not linger on open surface for long due to exposure to heat and other harsh factors. thus, they could not be successful as a mass weapon. obviously, this argument defies common sense. it undermines the ability of genetic engineering in virological sciences to modify strands and make them mutable for evolutionary adaptations. one wonders if this sort of official denial was a covert psychological operation for mass distraction. despite official lies, it soon became crystal clear that bws were not only possible as a means of mass attack but were, actually, being used especially during world war ii. the cold war efforts no doubt created lots of antihuman scientists in the industrialized high-tech “first world” societies. these military-controlled scientists have been implicated in the nefarious research and development in virological sciences. the purpose of the development is for mass death, population control as well as behaviour modifications. this is not hard to conclude for those who do research bw. some people do not want to imagine or accept that viruses can be cultured in laboratories to be used as bw. this sort of lackadaisical attitude vindicates the famous existentialist observation of albert camus that man is a creature who spends his whole life trying to convince himself that his existence is not full of absurdities. as farfetched as this idea of bw research and deployment may sound, there are some evidences to substantiate such claims. during the 19th century, there were indications of underground proliferation of bw research laboratories and projects aiming assiduously to develop strands of viruses that could destroy the human immune system and terminate the entire human organism. governments funded some of these evil researches. while these clandestine bw research activities were being carried out, there were whistleblowers who continued, like hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 252 foresighted prophets, to sound warning alarms to humanity about accidental and intentional releases of these lethal viruses on the masses. when such alarms were raised, “official” medical reports from government representatives continued, as they still do, to hide these atrocities with their skillful scientific sophistry aimed at neutralizing and subverting all clues to malevolent scientific programs. mainstream elite medical authorities, as well as so called academia, often serve as lackeys to the powers that be (ptd). in cases of viral onslaught on the masses, these officials usually invent shambolic cock-and-bull ‘scientific’ explanations as to the origin of some deadly viruses that have ravaged humanity at different times. for instance, african monkeys have been accused of so many responsibilities for viruses. this is laughable, especially knowing that the despicable world health organization and their mind-controlled scientists often peddle these lies that are even found in textbooks. if man is capable of evil at all, it would be naïve and irresponsible to exempt him from the capacity to develop and deploy bioweapon (bw). man’s scientific advancement in biotechnology offers him a rapid paradigmatic thrust into a new era of bw possibilities. guillemin (1999) lamented thus: “should the deliberate infliction of disease and other hostile application of biotechnology come into widespread use, the nature of war and the future course of civilization itself could be disastrously altered.” guillemin was speaking hypothetically. although he was making a valid point, he appeared to be ignoring the real world in his probability statement. the fact is that military elite are, in fact, engaged in clandestine operations of research, development and testing of bw on the people. declassified documents provide some evidence that between 1949 and 1970, virological warfare program was in constant progress by the u.s. government. not only that these germ weaponization was going on, they were being tested on the people. leonard (1988) explained that the u.s. military has a history of testing new bw on the u.s. population. my point is this: if they can test it on their own citizen, what makes one believe they cannot test it on other populations around the world with weak government and defense systems? covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 253 leonard further cited some evidence of the u.s. navy spraying the people with microbial agents as “testing.” this kind of dark bioexperimentation is not new as far as the united states government is concerned. the u.s. has a long dark history of medical experimentation on vulnerable population. there was the tuskegee syphilis experiment where the united states government researchers carried out atrocious nazi-style controlled experimentation on black people from 1932 until about 1972. government’s public health services intentionally left these “negros” untreated for syphilis, while deceptively providing them with placebo medical cares. at that time, ordinary penicillin could have cured those blacks inflicted with syphilis. but the government wanted to study the behaviour of syphilis on infected people and in this case vulnerable and poor black sharecroppers. it is also a well-documented history that between 1837 and 1838, the imperial european expansionists and colonialists in the americas were intentionally giving the native people they met in the land blankets laced with chickenpox as a form of bw to exterminate the people. today, we live in a time of bio-nano-genetic sciences. these highly advanced sciences have made possible the engineering of molecular/atomic destructive machines, both biological and synthetic. sometime ago, i read michael crichto’s book prey. even though written in a sci-fi style, he depicted a vision of the future that is already possible, the futuristic technology which many whistleblower reports military elite already possess, that is, man-made nano particles (nano dusts) that are self-aware and self-preserving. these sentient molecular agents got released from secret military laboratory and ended up posing the greatest death threat man has ever known. the point is that molecular engineering is now possible and viral agents are being engineered every day in underground laboratories around the world. unfortunately, part of these futuristic sciences deals with development of invisible bio-synthetic soldiers that could attack and kill people. hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 254 in their book, the soviet biological weapons program: a history, milton leitenberg and his colleagues observe that the reason the concept of bw awakens such dismissive cynicism in those who seek to “debunk” the fact is because “… the idea that someone can and is willing to apply science and medicine in order to manipulate and grow microorganism for the purpose of deliberately brining about illness and death contravenes so much of our societies ethnics that is beyond the pale of civilized behavior” (leitenberg et al, 2012). echoing the same line of thinking, leonard (1988) wrote that one of the reasons bw is seen as abhorrent is because they infringe on the essential moral values among civilized people and “contradicts human sensibility.” this might be why those who deny the possibility of bw deployment and use tend to dangle between ethical ambivalences. one the one hand, they count on the good nature of man, and on the other hand, they understood man’s possibility to initiate endless plethora of evil on his own kind. in a perfect world, man is supposed to be good and do the right thing of fighting bad germs and saving lives, and not use germs to cause death. unfortunately, this is an imperfect world and man is in a “fallen state.” cognitively, the relationship between ‘ought to’ and what actually obtains is like the metaphysical relationship between appearance and reality. those who take reality as given and feed on what they are being told by the government and their official media outlets will fall into abysmal epistemological error. the threat of biological warfare is to be taken serious. i would conjecture, at least, that any coherent mind would do so. this planetary biosphere is in danger if we ignore the truth about man’s virological weapons capacities. the degenerate instincts of man to deploy such cannot be undermined. critics who deny the possibility of modern man weaponzing viruses for mass death often cite plethora of epidemics throughout history. deniers seem to reassure themselves of their stance through constant re-echoing of the noisy notion that disease has always been here with us and had always plagued mankind. however, the difference between our time and primitive times is molecular atomic sciences and genetic engineering. these covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 255 sciences have enabled man to understand the invisible universe around of germs and viruses. do we actually believe that if ‘mad scientists’ could build nuclear weapons that could end life on earth that they cannot develop and use viral strands to kill? this is a monologue that calls for reflection. conclusion my intention in this article has been to point out that anti-human scientific proclivities abound and man has, in fact, intentionally engineered viruses in laboratory as bw. the military industrial complexes around the world have been implicated multiple times in bw research and development projects. whistleblowers who sound alarms on these covert scientific atrocities often face hard times in the hands of the almighty draconian government officials as well as from mainstream established intellectuals. mass media psychological operations are often a good tool used to centralize information by the powers that be (ptb). once information system is centralized and forced into the psyche of the general population, independent researchers and counter-voices are seen and categorized as crazy conspiracy theorists. the nefarious projects of viral engineering have only one goal creation of mass death-agents. mad scientists splice, mutate, modify and strengthen various harmful bio-synthetic microbial strands found in nature to be used as invisible super soldiers, bws. any reasonable person ought to ask, ‘how come people, corporations and governments owe patents to viruses?’ doesn’t this imply that people created or modified these pathogenic plagues; hence, they can lay claim to ownership? i have no doubt that there are people whose sole intentions are to subjugate all categories of taxonomy under their control as a means of power and wealth. the history of military techno-scientific offensive/defensive research and development power is incomplete without a reflection on viral bw. corporate pharmaco-epidemiological profit drives have also been implicated for many strands of viruses that attack humans. nazi-style anti-human research and development is in progress in our world today and we must not sleep to that fact! if we do, our entire hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 256 planetary biosphere will be subjugated under taxonomic apocalypse as well as consent viral terrorizations. there are ‘mad scientist’, surrogated by powerful military elite and governments who are immoral. there are large pharmaco-conglomerates backed by big money as well as arcane political force who would not hesitate to use bw on the population to achieve their agenda. scientific and military machiavellianism is a reality. machiavelli’s prince is a conscienceless immoral entity. the mad scientist like machavelli’s prince has perfected a system of scientific authoritarianism. the mad scientist idolizes himself as “homo deus,” the god man. this nomenclatural title is an inversion of his true nature. his anti-human-anti-nature consciousness best fits with the title ‘homo diablos,’ the human devil. the ‘mad scientist’ has corrupted true science. he coerces humanity to bow to his religion of scientism. he is an empirical fanatic. for him, empiricism is the only conduit wherein reality is studied, understood and improved. his acclaimed empirical objectivity hides a narrow materialistic relativism. he presents his scientism as a base for a new universal paradigm. since his scientism is seen through the relativistic lens of empirical materialism, he is an atheist. his appetite for terror, death and destruction is insatiable. references christine enemark , biosecurity dilemmas: dreaded diseases, ethical responses, and the health of nations, georgetown university press, washington dc, 2017. cole, leonard, clouds of secrecy: the army’s germ warfare tests over populated areas, rawman & littlefield publishes inc., 1988. david icke, the perception deception, david icke book ltd, isle of wight, uk, 2005. dean henderson, nephilim crown, 5g apocalypse, usa, 2019. covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 257 ed regis, the biology of doom: america’s secret germ warfare project, henry holt & company, llc, 1999. eric croddy, clarisa perez-armendariz, john hart, chemical and biological warfare: a comprehensive survey for the concerned citizen, springe science and business media, llc, ny, 2002. gregory koblentz: living weapons: biological warfare and international security, cornell university, ny, usa, 2009. jeanne guillemin, anthrax: the investigation of a deadly outbreak, university of california press ltd, 1999. jeanne guillemin: biological weapons: from the invention of state-sponsored programs to contemporary bioterrorism, colombia university press, 2005. kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. 2016 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. 2017 kanu, i. a. igbo-african gods and goddesses. nnadiebube journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 118-146. 2018 kanu, i. a. igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 5983. 2018 kanu, i. a. igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. 2017 hilary ugwu, msw igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 258 kanu, i. a. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. 2017 kanu, i. a. african philosophy, globalization and the priority of ‘otherness’. journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 40-57. 2018 kanu, i. a. african traditional folktales as an integrated classroom. sub-saharan african journal of contemporary education research. vol.3 no. 6. pp. 107-118. 2016 kanu, i. a. african traditional philosophy of education: essays in igwebuike philosophy. germany: lambert publications. 2018 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. 2018 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. 2016 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. 2016 covert military operations, bioengineering and the weaponization of viruses: an igwuebuike discourse igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 259 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christianmuslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. 2017 ken alibek with stephen handelman, biohazard: the chilling true story of the largest covert biological weapon in the world—told from inside by the man who ran it, random house, ny,2002 milton taylor, viruses and man: a history of interactions, springer international publishing, switzerland, 2014 paula tennant, gustavo fermn, jerome foster, viruses: molecular biology. host interactions and application of biotechnology, elsevier inc., 2018. remler pat, egyptian mythology a to z, chelsea house publishing, new york, 2010. stephanie dalley, myths from mesopotamia: creation, the flood, gilgamesh, and others, new york: oxford university press, 1989. susan payne, viruses: from understanding to investigation, elsevier inc., london, uk, 2017. william cooper, behold a pale white, light house publishing, flagstaff, ar, 1991 in search for native communication: igwebuike and shikrot philosophical renderings igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 261 in search for native communication: igwebuike and shikrot philosophical renderings justine john dyikuk university of jos, plateau state justinejohndyikuk@gmail.com executive summary the ancients developed their modes of communication which helped them to relate with one another and communicate with the divine. these forms of communication also distinguished them from others while providing meaning about life and the eternal destiny of man. unfortunately, the arrival of the colonialists and the advent of the internet with its razzmatazz of new media expressions showed an exit door to native media. this qualitative study, “in search for native communication: igwebuike and shikrot philosophical renderings” investigated the matter with the help of native theory of communication theoretical framework. while dissemination of information, public relations and entertainment were found as native forms of communication in igbo philosophy, it was discovered that being persuasive, active listening and saying the truth are elements of communication in ngas culture. the paper recommended revamping african traditional education, embracing public relations and encouraging divine encounter as veritable ways of inculcating traditional values of community among people of the two cultures. it concluded that notwithstanding the use of the new media, if various forms of communication are married to newer expressions, africans are capable of finding solutions to contemporary challenges in an african way. mailto:justinejohndyikuk@gmail.com justine john dyikuk igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 262 keywords: communication, kanu ikechukwu anthony, native, igwebuike, shikrot. introduction before the arrival of white imperialists to africa, the people of the continent used oral tradition as a vital vehicle for information gathering, sharing and worship. while living their normal lives, they cultivated, built, ate, sang, danced, healed their sick, created and communicated through various modes such as incantation (duru, 2016). most importantly, language which has also been a veritable tool for communication, alongside other linguistic forms of communication among homo sapiens, was employed through sound and the acoustic effects they produced (ahamefula & odii, 2014). this meant that the people crafted their modes of communication and attached meaning to them. these traditional forms of communication were part and parcel of the people’s philosophy. for example, the igbos of the south east and ngas people of north central nigeria enjoyed rich communication values which helped the people to distinguish themselves and fulfill their destiny. however, the advent of the digital age with all its attractions seems to have pushed these erstwhile local media to the background. worse still, for africans, traditional or native forms of communication which made a lot of sense to people are gradually being replaced by digital formats. the coming of the internet plus smartphone technology is also truncating the traditional forms of human interaction. in societies where having a meal together, sharing banters with friends, telling children stories under the moon light and other indigenous types of communication are gradually being faced out, the implication is that interpersonal, intrapersonal, group and extra-communication are now considered as older ways of communication. what is now trending is surfing the internet and communicating through various social media platforms, like facebook, whatsapp, twitter, instagram, emails, to mention a few. in search for native communication: igwebuike and shikrot philosophical renderings igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 263 the ease with which information is now being transmitted creates an instantaneous sensation of satisfaction. because social media is characterized by speed, media convergence and interactivity, it creates a feeling that these media can perfectly replace older forms of human communication. in a bid to embrace this new technology, africans now stand the risk of missing out on sharing common meals, going out to enjoy traditional dance in the village square, bonding as an extended family or members of the same kindred or paying regular visits to friends and family. this is because new media could provide an avenue to contact them. inspired by this anomaly, this qualitative research aims at: 1. presenting a resume’ of the igbos of the south east in juxtaposition with the ngas people of north central nigeria; 2. investigating native communication in igwebuike philosophy; 3. exploring traditional communication in shikrot philosophical outlook; 4. searching for common grounds regarding native communication in igwebuike and shikrot philosophical thoughts, and; 5. stimulating academics (media scholars and philosophers) to encourage the young not to lose their africanness in a digital age which seems to supply all things western. conceptual analysis native communication also known as traditional or trado-rural communication, native communication is communication from an african perspective. it is a kind of communication which starts from a person’s birth to his death, as it affects every aspect of life. africans communicate with themselves, their neighbours, the deities, ancestors, and god. it consists of both verbal and non-verbal cues. in the context of justine john dyikuk igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 264 igwebuike (igbo) and shikrot (ngas) philosophies, this means the transmission of essential values which catapults the worldviews of these people towards appreciation by others (dyikuk, 2019) and finding local solutions to african problems. igwebuike philosophy igwebuike, which simply means “number is strength” or “number is power,” is at the heart of african philosophy. it is the idea that when human beings form a united front, their solidarity and complementarity becomes an unbreakable union, such that nothing can defeat their collective resolve (kanu, 2016a & b). as the lungs or vital organ of igbo tradition, igwebuike is a driver of communication as it engenders complementarity, harmony and communality. it is the philosophy of the igbo people which helps them in transmitting values, mores and customs. as the mechanism for ensuring complementarity, harmony and communalism in the community, igwebuike brings about unity and synergy between the igbos at home and those in diaspora. it is the core or underlying principle of african philosophy and a manner of being in african ontology, which translates as complementarity, harmony and communality. the worldview persuades everyone in the community to work towards corporate existence by creating a situation where “we” becomes lauder than “i” (2015 & 2016c&d). although the community means much to the individual, it does not suppress him/her, as the individual’s talents do not constitute any threat to the society. igwebuike unites all and gives hope that the future is full of meaning. it argues that it is the community that gives meaning to a person’s existence based on his/her identity (kanu, 2017 & 2018a). here, the family and community which the individual belongs to are indisputable and inevitable. the community-oriented philosophy posits that life and living makes meaning because of the community (kanu, 2016 & 2018b). this philosophy takes cognizance in search for native communication: igwebuike and shikrot philosophical renderings igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 265 of divine and human realities, methods of traditional education and native communication as invaluable ways of transmitting igbo culture. shikrot philosophy literally translated as “talk of love,” shikrot philosophy encapsulates the religious, political and socio-cultural life of the ngas people of plateau state. it includes the philosophy, ethics and behavioural patterns as well as the cultural-ideology of the people. as the worldview which helps them to raise the stakes, shikrot philosophy provides that ngas sons and daughters should be knitted in love and also live out values such as truthfulness, straightforwardness, honesty, heroism, accountability and ingenuity. notwithstanding the barrier between the nkarang (bona fide citizens) and nlap (foreigners), this philosophy invites all to love unconditionally (dyikuk, 2008 & dyikuk, 2019). based on the communitarian dimension of shikrot, the people exuded the spirit of charity and solidarity, sharing their farmlands with members of the kindred and close allies. “built on love, communalism and a high sense of fellow-feeling, shikrot philosophy reveals the various forms of communication in the society. it also showcases the revered culture of the people such as their mores, customs and traditions. because the community emphasizes a communitarian way of life, it frowned at those who had rebellious tendencies” (dyikuk, 2019,p.5). the same author opines that from manhood training which was based on circumcision (vwang) to naming and wedding ceremonies and funerals, native communication was used as a vehicle of communicating values and customs. comedians (clowns), town criers, messengers, dancers and musicians had a crucial role to play in the community as they served as conveyors of information, masters of ceremony, consolers and producers of comic relief. justine john dyikuk igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 266 theoretical framework this study adopts native theory of communication as theoretical framework. this indigenous theory engenders collaborative decisionmaking processes about socioeconomic and environmental sustainability as well as diverse stakeholder interests in various communities and organizations (deetz, 2020). the theory makes case for a culture-bound development that is all-round, which meets the needs of the people and attempts answers to the puzzles of life. native theory of communication is a 21 st century assumption which argues that an african model of communication should be developed by africans for africans, which takes into the cognizance the culture, norms, mores, values, traditions as well as wishes and aspirations of the people towards finding home-grown solutions to problems. as a theory which engenders integral development, it insists that for “africans to freely communicate with themselves and find lasting solutions to the issues that affect them, both capitalist post-colonialism and neo-colonialism with their ingredients of hierarchical and linear approaches to governance must be kept at the back door. an erstwhile linear model of communication must necessarily give way to a grassroots, people oriented or participatory model of communication which indicates that power belongs to the people; something akin to strict principles of democratic governance” (dyikuk, 2018,p.15). this theory is in tandem with the study because native communication is key to revitalizing the african philosophical worldview in the light of igwebuike and shikrot renderings. literature review and discussion igbos of south eastern nigeria: a synopsis the igbos have a very rich history igboid languages are said to have originated from volta–niger family. as one of the biggest and most inflectional ethnic groups in nigeria with about 40 million people throughout nigeria, they have an ancient and well-organised culture. in search for native communication: igwebuike and shikrot philosophical renderings igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 267 the well-urbanized ethnic group lives in igbo land, which consists of such cities like onitsha, owerri, nnewi, okigwe, aba and orlu. they have a variety of dialects and were predominantly farmers, traders and craftsmen. their style of pottery is traced back to 2500 bce. genetic research finds them close to niger-congo-speaking peoples (agu, 2020 & adeboyejo, 2018). according to one school of thought, the igbos originated from the nri kingdom where eri, a king-figure, held sway. although the nri kingdom was theocratic in nature, the people practiced a quasidemocratic governance without centralized states. scholars put the five groups of igbo people as northern igbos, western igbos, igbos of north-eastern nigeria, igbos of south-eastern nigeria and igbos of eastern nigeria. another school of thought traces igbo roots to ancient hebrews. it is believed that they migrated from the middle east to their present ancestral home. a third version simply suggests that the tribe originated from ancient orlu or awka towns (agu, 2020 & adeboyejo, 2018). unlike other cultures, the igbos did not have a centralized system of government. they had title holders who were respected for their achievements, but were not revered as kings. they had a traditional republican system of government that is consultative in nature, which guarantees equality to citizens. they cultivate roots and tubers like yam and cassava, which explains why most of their cuisines are pounded yam and garri eaten with vegetables soup of different variety (oha, nsala, akwu, okazi and ofe owerri), alongside fruits and seeds. little wonder during the new yam festivals (iri ji), the harvest of yams is celebrated (adeboyejo, 2018). regarding marriage in igbo culture, there are four stages: the first stage is “knocking the door,” known as iku aka. the second stage is the visit of the groom with his family members to the woman’s family where her extended family members are supposed to give their consent. the third visit involves paying of bride price and collection of list for wedding items from the prospective in-laws. the fourth and https://theculturetrip.com/authors/adejoke-adeboyejo/ https://theculturetrip.com/authors/adejoke-adeboyejo/ https://theculturetrip.com/authors/adejoke-adeboyejo/ justine john dyikuk igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 268 final stage, called igba nkwu or “wine carrying,” is the wedding itself; here, the groom will hide in the crowd and the bride will look for him and offer him a cup of palm wine to show everyone that he is the man. after this, the couple is blessed by family, friends and all present as celebration continues (adeboyejo, 2018). built on igwebuike, igbo culture encapsulates various customs, practices and traditions of the people. it comprises ancient practices and modern concepts which have evolved due to external influences. some of these customs and traditions are visual art, religious beliefs, birth, marriage and death rituals, use of language, music and dance forms, cultural attire, food and language or dialect. the igbos express their culture through customs, beliefs, war, burial, social norms, religion, racial and social or material traits. they often seize every opportunity to educate the world about their rich culture and traditions through festivals of arts and culture (obindigbo, 2020). for the igbos, traditional education or philosophy includes moral and religious instruction that is meaningful to all (osuagwu, 2006). ngas people of north central nigeria: a historical overview ngas or angas is an afro-asiatic language spoken by certain dwellers in north central plateau, nigeria. they are said to have migrated from bornu from where they passed through villages before settling in their present homes on the highlands of plateau and splintered into subgroups in pankshin, ampang, amper and kabwir. the major city of the ngas people is pankshin (tolu, 2020). they have many festivals, such as pus dung which brings all ngas sons and daughters from diaspora to celebrate cultural diversity and rendition. this is celebrated annually at nefur arena. other such festivals are tsati tar or mos tar, the “shooting the moon,” which is celebrated during harvest to mark the end of the farming season and the beginning of a new season. the moslum festival, which occurs around march or april, features the preparation of local brew mus which the people use https://theculturetrip.com/authors/adejoke-adeboyejo/ in search for native communication: igwebuike and shikrot philosophical renderings igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 269 in a ritual to ask for blessings from the gods for a bumper harvest. the masquerade, wong, comes out during this event (tolu, 2020). as regards marriage rites, the people practice match-making. “the child then gets to know about this when they are fully grown. paying for a wife involves farming for the eventual in-laws and this lasts for as long as the courtship lasts. cakes of tobacco and salt are also offered to the girl’s father and mother respectively. there is no specific bride price here. goats are also offered as part of the marital rites” (tolu, 2020). since it is difficult to separate a people’s religious life from their social life, the historical and social life of the ngas man reveals that they are deeply religious people. ngas people are divided into hill ngas (pankshin lga) and the plain ngas (kanke lga) (gyang, 2020). they, however, have similar beliefs and practices with few variations in one village or the other. shikrot is the worldview of the ngas people. most inhabitants of pankshin and kanke local government areas in north-central geopolitical zone are ngas by tribe. while christianity is currently the major religion there, there are few muslims and pockets of those who still practice african traditional religion (atr). the rural population still practices extended family system and common farming activities as well as animal husbandry. the ngolong ngas is the paramount traditional ruler in the two lgas who superintends over the traditional affairs of the ngas populace (gyang, 2020). shikrot sums up the ontology or philosophy of the ngas people. native communication in igbo culture: viewpoints from igwebuike philosophy 1. dissemination of information: announcements concerning public or community works, duties or responsibilities of the collective citizenry are carried. defaulters in the community often faced automatic sanctions. the traditional authority could send certain justine john dyikuk igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 270 groups of people or individuals to make announcements or disseminate information about upcoming events. the news takes the form of passing information about new or impending events which are of importance to the community (akakuru, nwokedi & edi, 2015). 2. advertisement, public relations and entertainment: advertisement was carried out through displaying products on a table, tree stump or flay pole, peripatetic hawkers and vendors. the merchants often sang, accompanied by drumming while naming the product for sale. in igwebuike philosophical thought of communication, public relations (pr) was achieved through personto-person or on a person-to-organisation basis, where the individual tries to promote the image of his organization through singing. entertainment was done through music, dance and drama, which were carried out either free of charge or paid for in some circumstances. it could also take the form of performances and announcements that were made to enhance communication in the community to a greater level (akakuru, nwokedi & edi, 2015). 3. education: in igbo culture, educating the people is at the heart of all cultural expressions. as such, education is derived through informal means from parents to their children or through a more formal means where membership into certain societies through membership of other sociocultural groups in the community could afford one the chance to learn (akakuru, nwokedi & edi, 2015). 4. signs and symbols: in igbo land, various forms of traditional communication include: idiophones, membranophones, aerophones, symbolography. as instruments which produce sound without using an intermediary medium, idiophones produce sound when shaken, scratched, struck, pricked (pulled) or pressed with the feet. examples are: gong, woodblock, wooden drum, bell and rattle. membranophones are skin or leather drums which produce sounds through the vibration of membranes when beaten specially with carved sticks. as media which comprise flute family, whistle reed pipes, hones and trumpets, aerophones produce sound as a result of the vibration of a column of air. in igwebuike tradition, in search for native communication: igwebuike and shikrot philosophical renderings igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 271 symbolography are a descriptive representational device for conveying meaning. they are known as “uri” in igbo, which stands for writings or painting on a wall or human body (akakuru, nwokedi & edi, 2015). 5. sound and acoustics: in a paper which investigated the various non-verbal forms of cultural communication among igbo people, ahamefula and odii found “that sound patterns and acoustic effects (extra linguistic) other than the sounds from the vocal tract system of man play a significant role in human communication, especially in cultural communication” (2014.p.35). the authors noted that aside from the ‘ọja’ (flute), there are many other igbo traditional instruments such ikoro (giant gong), igba (membrane drum), ekwe gong), ogene (metal gong) that are employed in cultural communication. 6. ikpe ekpere (prayers): as a central part of the life of igbo people, ikpe ekpere, as prayer is called, serves as a direct link to ala mmuo (the spirit land). in traditional igbo beliefs and practices, morning prayer was carried out every day by the head of each household. as he does that, he offers oji (kola nut) to the different divinities (ogbukagu cited in duru, 2016). it is essential to communicate with the divine before one communicates with his/her fellow human beings. this is what igwebuike philosophy stimulates. 7. incantations: incantation is a collection of special words that are either uttered or sung to have magic effect on someone. it also involves an activity through employing special spiritual passwords. in line with igwebuike philosophy of communication, in igbo thought, incantation belongs to an extra-mundane form of communication which takes place between the living and the dead, supernatural and supreme being. this mode of communication includes: rituals as ‘igo-ofo’ (traditional worship), iwa oji (breaking of kolanut) and itu oza mmii (pouring of libation). these are secret ways of giving or practicing traditional medicine for the purpose of love or imprisoning mosquitoes to stop them from biting the person making the incantation justine john dyikuk igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 272 in some localities, like umunoha in mbaitoli local government area of imo state (duru, 2016). native communication in ngas culture: shikrot philosophical perspective 1. being persuasive: in ngas culture, persuasiveness, referred to as man le shitok den’en gurum or man shitok, means talking to make an influence or impact on your audience. usually, children would sit behind elders in order to listen so as to learn from them (govwang, cited in dyikuk, 2008). ngas people believe that the ability to speak persuasively is a gift from god, although some people who admire orators can learn. those with this gift are often asked to represent the people, especially in modern times. man shitok connotes making a good speech. in olden times, those who were talented in public speech were sent on errands to deliver messages to the people. due to lack of formal education, children imitated orators and mimicked them while playing (jurshak, cited in dyikuk, 2008). this was an essential element of socialization. 2. active listening: ngas people hold good listening ability as a most cherished type of native communication. ten kom, as it is referred to, means listening attentively with mind and heart alert. children are not expected to speak when elders are discussing. they just listen and only reply when they have better knowledge of what their elders are talking about. in this custom, children are taught the basics of active listening, especially when they are before their seniors or visitors (govwang, cited in dyikuk, 2008). also known as fot shitok, active listening is fundamental to the people’s communication. when a child refuses to listen or pay attention to what is being said, we say, gem de po fot kom ka, which translates as – “this child does not pay attention and is stubborn” (jurshak, cited in dyikuk, 2008). 3. saying the truth: le zin is speaking the truth in ngas language. one is expected to speak the truth at all times. as one grows, one is taught to speak the truth all the time; as such, dishonesty is abhorred (govwang, cited in dyikuk, 2008). truth-telling is symbolized by the in search for native communication: igwebuike and shikrot philosophical renderings igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 273 one-one facial tribal mark on each side of the chick. because of this, the hausa’s nicknamed the ngas as “aska daya, magana daya” – one mark (on each side), one word. children learn how to tell the truth from their parents. sanctions such as flogging are consequences for lies. to buttress this point, a typical ngas man would say: “shikok gak do mun la shi nyi” – which literally translates as “we will only follow one thing (message) that is said (jurshak, cited in dyikuk, 2008). saying one thing underscores truth in the culture. usually, children would sit in kantang and are taught about the dangers of stealing or fighting over other people’s property as these contradict truth. 4. showing respect: respect in ngas is, pen warang, pen kun or nang kun. showing respect, especially to elders, is fundamental to many cultures in africa. this is because doing so is also associated with the divine. ngas people believe that “one who respects a human being, respects god.” when a child shows lack of respect, it is concluded that such a child is not from a disciplined home. to this end, children are trained to respect their elders. as a sign of respect, children are expected to help someone who is older to carry load. at home, they are taught to wake up very early in the morning, greet their elders and run errands. as a mark of respect, a younger person is expected to be the last person at meals – he/she cannot leave the plate for his/her seniors, even if he/she is satisfied. any member of the community who is elderly, not necessarily his/her parents or guardians, can discipline an erring child (yeldung, cited in dyikuk, 2008). also, food is distributed to children according to their age. disrespectful children are beaten squarely to serve as a deterrent to others. as such, showing respect is a non-negotiable native form of communication. 5. sense of followership: because the leader comes across as a vanguard, gadfly and shining star, the led are expected to follow the leader. this underlines the importance of followership among the ngas people as a form of native communication. “the idea of an individual standing alone on his or her on does not really make sense in ngas thought” (govwang, cited in dyikuk, 2008). that is why justine john dyikuk igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 274 members of the community hold communality, submissiveness and followership in high esteem. since togetherness enhances progress, followership is an invaluable traditional asset. in solidarity, respect, humility and search for the common good, the people follow the leader. this is closely connected to respect. in the light of respect for constituted authorities, the people are groomed to be loyal to superiors and all those in authority. as such, a leader must be followed and respected as a sign of loyalty, submission and good followership (yeldung, cited in dyikuk, 2008). 6. traditional entertainment: another critical form of native communication is amusement or nang shuar. since humour creates comic relief, excitement and eases tension, amusement or traditional entertainment helps people in the community to feel relaxed and enjoy a good life. in a typical ngas community, there are comedians who entertain people at various occasions, such as traditional festivals, weddings and funerals. although these comedians (clowns) are not trained, they, nonetheless, act in an impromptu manner to make people laugh to the admiration of women and children (yeldung, cited in dyikuk, 2008). nang shuar by the amuser (go tok barak) is cherished by the people as a gift or talent. usually, he demonstrates these abilities during funerals to make people forget the pain of their loss (yeldung, cited in dyikuk, 2008). 7. sense of community: like other cultures in africa, the ngas have a high sense of communality expressed through the extended family system. for them, the individual realizes himself/herself in and through the community. that is why they live together, farm together (nwok) and eat as a family in groups of men, women and children. an individual’s problem becomes a problem of the community. women use common utensils and go to the farm as well as the stream in groups to fetch water and bathe their babies. this is usually accompanied by a melodious traditional song which inspires team spirit and keeps the body alive. for the ngas people, “…co-operative community effort [is] considered necessary for the development of good character” (fafunwa, 1975,p.24). in search for native communication: igwebuike and shikrot philosophical renderings igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 275 recommendations: common grounds for native communication in igwebuike and shikrot philosophical thought although moemeka (1998) suggested that african communalism is anchored on supremacy of community, sanctity of authority, respect for old age, usefulness of the individual and religion as a way of life, we shall consider common features in both the igwebuike and shikrot philosophies of native communication in the light of education, public relations, divine encounter and interpersonal relations: 1. african traditional education: in igwebuike philosophical rendering, the system of education created multiple personalities in the society. traditional education included moral and religious instruction that was meaningful to all. it encapsulated the world view of the people which takes into cognizance language, culture, morals, proverbs, signs and symbols, even as it provided answers to the people's questions about life and afterlife (osuagwu, 2006). children were taught by their parents in the kindred or extended family system. the use of proverbs, songs and dance was part of preparing children for a holistic appreciation of igbo culture. like the philosophy of ohazurume (umeogu, 2007), igwebuike is the sum total of the people’s realities, places, thoughts, language and actions. in shikrok philosophy of communication, children receive their earliest education from parents, guardians, elders or seniors within the kindred. for a holistic socialization, children are trained to respect their elders (dyikuk, 2008). they are also taught about religious and moral values, especially during vwang rite of initiation into adulthood. although informal, this education was a gateway to who the child would grow to be in the future. everything was done in love so as to groom the young into a descent and invaluable member of the community as well as a mature citizen. therefore, it is evident that both igwebuike and shikrot worldviews hold african traditional justine john dyikuk igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 276 education of the young as a form of native communication dearly. this is aimed at preparing a person for the future. it is crucial for traditional rulers, religious leaders and stakeholders in the education sector to encourage parents/guardians as well as other custodians of culture to incorporate teaching african traditional education into contemporary curricular so as equip children with the love of language and culture and how to communicate same. 2. public relations: we saw earlier that another vital form of native education in igwebuike philosophy is public relations, with its twin variables of advertisement and entertainment. the igbos value performances and announcements because they are carried out to enhance communication in the community (akakuru, nwokedi & edi, 2015). through the use of signs and symbols, such as idiophones, membranophones, aerophones, symbolography, local entertainers, performers and dancers communicate important messages and provide useful entertainment for the people. for example, sound and acoustics from local instruments, like ịgba membrane drum), ekwe gong), ogene (metal gong) (akakuru, nwokedi & edi, 2015), are useful recipes for the social life of the people. “traditional communication in igbo land is a continuous process of information dissemination” (akakuru, nwokedi & edi, 2015,p.17). in like manner, the ngas consider amusement or nang shuar as a useful vehicle for transmission of values. for this ethic group, the comedian who performs at funerals is one endowed with the gifts of persuasion and humour so as to provide comic relief for people in moments of tension. as a traditional form of communication, public relations makes room for amusement or local entertainment which helps people in the community to feel relaxed and enjoy a good life (dyikuk, 2008). since public relations is a common denominator in the two cultures, in the face of decaying cultural values, african in search for native communication: igwebuike and shikrot philosophical renderings igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 277 academics from these extractions should drum support for revamping this important element of native communication in both localized and urbanized settlements. this will go a long way in connecting young people who may have lost their roots to be reconnected to the rich traditions of the past. 3. divine encounter: in view of ikpe ekpere, igbos believe that prayer is a direct link to ala mmuo (the spirit land) which is why morning prayer is offered by the custodian of the family, accompanied by oji (kola nut) and other divinations (ogbukagu cited in duru, 2016). igwebuike philosophy is built around the idea of igwe, god as the supreme being who holds all things in being and to whom other smaller gods like amadioha, the god of thunder, are subject to. everything about the life of this people, from birth to death, is associated with divine realities. in the same vein, the ngas cannot understand life outside of religion. this is why, for instance, children are taught that god must not be excluded from education; the plateau people hold that nen is the supreme god, while other lesser ancestors and spirits are within the environment to whom libation is made in form of food and drink (mus or pito) (gyang, 2020). from when a child is born and prayers are offered, to the time of death, the idea of god is central to all affairs. another meeting point in the two cultures is the supremacy of god and dependence of man on him. what is more, it behooves sages and scholars to canvas for an acculturation of the good aspects of this overt reliance on god as a resource for a native form of communication that is inculturated, especially in the light of christian faith. 4. interpersonal relations: one of the finest expressions of igwebuike philosophy is the concept of universal brotherhood and love. this form of native communication among the igbos comes from the concept of the love of god who in turn justine john dyikuk igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 278 inspires human beings to love one another. this is why the extended family or kindred, umunna, practice communalism and fellow-feeling. this is also why events like the new yam festival (iri ji) and marriage ceremonies bring people together for common celebrations (adeboyejo, 2018). all these point to interpersonal relations as ways of expressing native communication in igbo society. the sense of followership, traditional entertainment by comedians and dissemination of information by the town crier reveals various levels of traditional communication among ngas people. because interpersonal relations is paramount to this ethnic group, the people engage in certain common practices such as eating together in groups of men, women and children, using common utensils for fetching water, drinking from the well and engaging in commercial farming (dyikuk, 2008). at every point, the people must interact. this common feature in igbo and ngas cultures underscores the place of traditional communication in africa and the need to restore same in formal settings. the right place to start is the home, followed by local communities where community or traditional leaders are custodians of the traditions of the people. 5. respect for authority: igbo philosophy is built around igwebuike which connotes that the people ought to help one another to succeed. as the igbo saying goes, “a child who washes his hands well eats with the elders.” when someone is of age or the person is married, he/she is respected by both the young and old alike. the person can even take part in discussions with his kinsmen and participate in meetings with elders. respect is deeply rooted in truth, honesty and transparency. interestingly, persons who have excelled in their fields, brought about development, or those who possess exceptional abilities, qualities and achievements are given titles (nairaland, 2017). https://theculturetrip.com/authors/adejoke-adeboyejo/ in search for native communication: igwebuike and shikrot philosophical renderings igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 279 the youths who are initiated into the “ngas cult” are taught how to respect their elders, keep secrets, show love and make sacrifice for the good of the society. “in ngas tradition like other cultures in africa, elders are repertoires of knowledge who communicate or transmit those values to their children. in line with traditional african education, parents teach their kids how to eat, greet, dress and treat others with respect” (dyikuk, 2019,p.11). in a society where traditional values of communication, like respect for authority are challenged due to advances in technology and loss of touch with cultural roots, it is expedient that a new model of african traditional education is developed to remind the young on the need to respect constituted authorities. conclusion the study was able to demonstrate that dissemination of information, advertisement, public relations and entertainment, education, signs and symbol, sound and acoustics, ikpe ekpere (prayers) and incantations are veritable forms of igwebuike philosophy of communication in igbo thought. in like manner, the article provided evidence that being persuasive, active listening, saying the truth, showing respect, sense of followership, traditional entertainment and a high sense of community are elements of native communication in ngas culture. since the study set out in search for native communication in igwebuike and shikrot worldviews, a common ground was found. this was why revamping african traditional education, public relations, divine encounter, interpersonal relations and respect for authority in the communities under study, through educational policies, were recommended as useful ways of restoring native communication in the two cultures. this can be achieved if the requisite communication values are infused into primary and secondary curricula for education. it is worth reiterating that traditional communication affects every aspect of an african’s life. these common grounds are not exclusive justine john dyikuk igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 280 to the igbos or ngas people of nigeria, as they are also found in other parts of the global south. be that as it may, in a society where homegrown solutions seem to be taking the centre stage in almost every part of the world, educationists of african extraction need to think out of the box to find lasting remedies to challenges in the african way. indeed, native communication, like native intelligence which entails taking a helicopter view of contemporary issues, should propel various academics, especially media scholars and philosophers, to encourage the young not to lose their africanness in a digital age which supplies all things western. references adeboyejo, a (2018). an introduction to nigeria's igbo people. https://theculturetrip.com/africa/nigeria/articles/anintroduction-to-nigerias-igbo-people/.accessed 4/28/2020. agu, z (2020). origin of igbo tribe in nigeria www.legit.ng/1151109origin-igbo-tribe-nigeria.html. accessed 4/27/2020. ahamefula, n.a & odii, b (2014). preliminary study on the use of sound and acoustics in igbo cultural communication. innovare journal of social sciences. 2(2), [35-39]. akakuru, o.c; nwokedi, c.i & edi, t.o (2015). means and forms of traditional communication in igbo land in contemporary socio-cultural interactions. journal of humanities and social science (iosr-jhss). volume 20, issue 6, ver. iv, [17-20]. doi: 10.9790/0837-20641720. deetz, s (2020). native theory. www.cu.edu/ptsp/nativetheoryaccessed 4/27/2020. duru, w. (2016). the communicativeness of incantations in the traditional igbo society. journal of media and communication studies, 8(7), 63-70. dyikuk, j.j (2008). ngas values of social communication as vital tools for effective homiletics: a case study of bwarak. bachelor’s degree in theology (bth) thesis. university of jos, nigeria. dyikuk, j.j (2018). communicating the marshall plan to africa: challenges and responses. sumerianz journal of social science. vol. x, no. x, [11-18]. https://theculturetrip.com/authors/adejoke-adeboyejo/ http://www.legit.ng/1151109-origin-igbo-tribe-nigeria.html.%20accessed%204/27/2020 http://www.legit.ng/1151109-origin-igbo-tribe-nigeria.html.%20accessed%204/27/2020 http://www.cu.edu/ptsp/native-theoryaccessed%204/27/2020 http://www.cu.edu/ptsp/native-theoryaccessed%204/27/2020 in search for native communication: igwebuike and shikrot philosophical renderings igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 281 dyikuk, j.j (2019).communication and culture in igwebuike and shikrot philosophies: a critical evaluation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 5 no 8 [1-16]. fafunwa, a.b (1975). history of education in nigeria. london: george allen and unwin ltd. gyang, l.j (2020).the effect of western education on africa traditional values. www.academia.edu/37705415/the_effect_of_wester n_education_on_africa_traditional_values. accessed 4/27/2020. kanu i. a. (2018a). sources of igwebuike philosophy. towards a socio-cultural foundation. international journal of religion and human relations vol. 9 no 1 june. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no. 1.[ 97-101]. kanu, i. a. (2016b). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no.1. [1-7]. kanu, i. a. (2018b). igwebuike and being in igbo ontology. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 4 no 5. [12-21]. kanu, i. a. (2015b). igwebuike as an ontological precondition for african ethics. international conference of the society for research and academic excellence. university of nigeria, nsukka. 14 th -16 th september. kanu, i. a. (2015c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25 th -26 th november 2015 university of paris, france. kanu, i. a. (2014). igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholic-pentecostal relations. jos studies. 22. pp.87-98. kanu, a. i. (2017c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 7. pp. 165-183. justine john dyikuk igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 282 kanu, a. i. (2017d). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 6. pp. 16-50. kanu, a. i. (2017f). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. pp. 153-160. kanu, i. a. igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. 2018 kanu, i. a. igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 1117. 2017 kanu, i. a. igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. 2017 kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. in search for native communication: igwebuike and shikrot philosophical renderings igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 283 kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory socio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. moemeka, a. (1998). communalism as a fundamental dimension of culture. journal of communication, 48(4) [118–41]. nairaland.com (2017). respect in igbo land and it general misconception in nigeria(debunking the lies). www.nairaland.com/3676537/respect-igbo-land-itgeneralaccessed 4/28/2020. obindigbo.com (2020). igbo culture. http://obindigbo.com.ng/category/igbo-culture/. accessed 4/27/2020. osuagwu, p.c (2006). the education of the whole person: the igbo moral perspective. etd collection for fordham university. aai3222144. https://fordham.bepress.com/dissertations/aai3222144. tolu, (2020). facts about the angas tribe of nigeria. https://everyevery.ng/facts-about-the-angas-tribe-of-nigeria/. accessed 4/27/2020. umeogu, b. (2007). ohazurume: a philosophical definition of communalism as the typology of igbo being. in i. odimegwu (ed.), perspective on african communalism. pp. 107 112. canada: trafford. https://www.nairaland.com/3676537/respect-igbo-land-it-general#54486087 https://www.nairaland.com/3676537/respect-igbo-land-it-general#54486087 http://obindigbo.com.ng/category/igbo-culture/ https://fordham.bepress.com/dissertations/aai3222144 https://everyevery.ng/facts-about-the-angas-tribe-of-nigeria/ the role of umunna in conflict resolution as an expression of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 285 the role of umunna in conflict resolution as an expression of igwebuike philosophy francis n. c. iwuh modibbo adama university of technology yola, adamawa state nduemerem16@yahoo.com executive summary knowledge of the traditional ways of resolving conflict is highly needed at a time and period when people are losing and abandoning their history and tradition. we approached this article from the expository point of view, to study the role traditional institution (umunna) has played in restoring warring members of the society. the presence of modern conflict management has posed a great challenge to the existing traditional method. in this study, the term ”umunna” was descriptively explained through the way in which they resolve conflicts in igbo land, which has become an expression of igwebuike philosophy of peace and conflict resolution. the elders, acting as arbiter, resolves conflict in umunna kindred. in this regard, they act as peacemakers and have kept the community running smoothly. the conclusion of this paper is that umunna instituion has contributed a lot to the resolution of conflict in igbo land and their role in conflict resolution has been very interesting and effective. the knowledge acquired through this study will help appreciate and empower the umunna traditional conflict resolution mechanism in igbo land. keywords: igwebuike philosophy, kanu ikechukwu anthony, conflict resolution, umunna, tradition mailto:nduemerem16@yahoo.com francis n. c. iwuh igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 286 introduction disputes are an integral part of human nature which dates back to the origin of man. this is so because human beings live in families, hamlets, villages and in large communities. as they interact amongst themselves, disputes are likely to occur. since we are created differently and can hardly share the same view, there is bound to be divergent opinions as when friends or members of a family disagree, or as what countries or states hold tenaciously, views that are diametrically opposed. in traditional african society, conflicts are common phenomena among communities, families and individuals. africa as a continent has diversity of cultural and religious practices. this diversity affects the approaches to dispute and conflict management in the traditional setting. apparently, the approach tends to differ from the western dispute management in several respects. even then, in africa itself, the approach may also differ from one culture to another. igbo traditional african society has a wellorganized and systematic conflict resolution strategy. it is a healing process in which all stakeholders contribute positive energy. these stakeholders range from family heads, the council of elders, or chiefs, religious leaders, leaders of age-grades, umuada and to umunna. igbo people initially had neither chiefs nor kings who would manage their conflict, and would not wait for conflict to start before they control it; they rather had institutions for managing the suppression of weaker persons from the stronger. one of those institutions that resolve conflict in traditional igbo society to date is the “umunna.” this paper discusses “umunna” as an institution that resolves conflict in traditional igbo society, drawing inspiration from igwebuike african philosophy of peace and conflict resolution. igwebuike is an indigenous igbo philosophy, rooted within indigenous epistemologies, cultures and traditions based on the relationships and experiences of interrelationships and interconnections of the igbo people. the study tends to commend and appreciate “umunna” for their great contribution in resolving conflict in traditional igbo society. the role of umunna in conflict resolution as an expression of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 287 conflict and causes of conflict in igbo land conflict is part and parcel of every human society. whenever two or more people are gathered in one interaction or another, conflict is bound to surface. conflict is described in terms of what might have caused it, such as scarce resources, disagreement and competition. conflicts will always occur due to ideological, political, social and economic differences which usually resulted in rivalry and competition. conflict resolution aims at restoring social harmony, mending breached social ties, performance of rituals and offering apologies or compensation to ensure that the status quo before the dispute is restored. the pre-colonial igbo society cannot be said to differ, as individuals and communities engaged in one form of interaction or the other a situation which at times led to conflicts (ezenwoko and osagie, 2014, p. 135). igbo peace scholars are unanimous on the causes of conflicts in igbo land, which include issues arising from marriage, inheritance, chieftaincy tussle, land, territorial boundaries, among others. matudi (2016) captures the sources of rift or conflict in african setting in different levels. in the family level; conflict ensues through interpersonal relations, marital issues and property ownership. in economic level; conflict can take shape through land encroachment, territorial dislocation, terms of trade and failure to pay tribute. in the political level; conflict can arise through tussle for leadership, especially where rules guiding selection of traditional rulers are disobeyed. conflict can also be manifested in non-compliance to religious obligationsviolation or objection of shrine order and finally, nonallegiance to constituted authority such as elders and traditional rulers (p. 4). charles (2016) agrees with this when he said, “conflict in igbo land has always been either disputes over ownership of land, chieftaincy tussle, political authority and fears of domination and marginalization” (p.9). thus, inter-tribal conflict over boundary and trade, marital conflict, conflict over inheritance and chieftaincy title tussle all exist in igbo land. francis n. c. iwuh igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 288 the major cause of conflicts in igbo traditional society has always been the struggle and ownership of land. land is seen as valuable sources not only for food cultivation but also for exploitation of aquatic and other products. land has much to do in human affairs, and whatever human beings do on the land affects the land positively or negatively, whether it is to grow food and cash crops, extract mineral resources or abode for its inhabitants. land speculation is, therefore, an important source of communal conflicts today. according to charles (2016), “this is because of the spirituality surrounding land in the igbo culture as expressed in the prominence of the deity, ‘ana’ and the importance of the yam crop” (p.6). land dispute is a serious issue among the igbos, since it touches both the material and spiritual essence of igbo ontology. the reason why land disputes are more complex in igbo land is that all lands are usually owned; whether it is cultivated or not, it belongs to somebody or a community. hence, claims and counter-claims over land ownership have become the order of the day in igbo society till date. geographically, there is scarcity of land among the igbos of southeastern part of nigeria. subsistence farming still accounts for a major part of their occupation. so dispute on the limited available land is rampant. in addition, most of the bitter territorial disputes have erupted among communities that have had strong ties that bounded them together for centuries. charles gave example of a famous land boundary conflict between aguleri and umuleri. these two communities belong to the same ethnic stock, are neighbours, have the same ancestral origin (eri), are in the same local government area (anambra east), and the same state (anambra ). they have been living together, farming and intermarrying long before the coming of the white man. the major cause of the conflicts that have lasted for more than thirty (30) years is a piece of land called, ‘otuocha.’ the two communities have been in court since 1920 and yet no lasting peace has been achieved until 2000 after the 1999 war that claimed many lives (2016, p. 6). land conflict is one of the deadly conflicts in igbo society. this is the reason why nwolise (2004) posits that, “it was pressure on land resulting from a combination of expropriation, the role of umunna in conflict resolution as an expression of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 289 monetization of land by the colonial masters, rising population density, degradation and resurgence of pre-colonial communal competition has raised land into primal “casus belli” in rural.” thus, land is something that is worth fighting and dying for. there is too much pressure on the little cultivable land and this also causes conflicts among the people, especially during the farming seasons. land is a non-renewable resource and, with concentration of population growth, will lead to conflict. another major source of conflict in family setting in igbo land is sharing the inheritance or the properties of the dead among the living children and other family members. this source of conflict can be either among the living children of the deceased person or the brothers of the deceased with the wife/children. in igbo society, the property of a man, on his death, was inherited by his sons, while that of a woman is inherited by her daughters (ezenwoko et el, 2014, p. 151). this is where the conflict between brothers of the deceased and the wife arises, especially when the man dies without a child or the children are still young. since a woman cannot inherit the property of a man, then the brothers come for it. on the other hand, in the pre-colonial period, the method by which family property was shared among the members of a monogamous family differed from the way family property was shared in a polygamous family. on the death of the head of a family, his eldest son exclusively inherited his personal “ofo” (symbol of authority) and other objects of worship. the eldest son also exclusively inherited his late father’s obi (the house where he lived and died), distinct plot of land known as “ala isi obi” or “ani isiobi” – a plot of land specifically meant for the head of the family (nwogugu, 1974), furniture and dresses. the other properties, such as farm land, farming implements, economic trees, livestock, etc., were shared among his male children (chubb, 1961). the eldest son was accountable to his other brothers. if he desired to sell or lease any of the plots of land, he had to inform his brothers who were also stakeholders. however, family inheritance generated a lot of conflicts in igbo society because some eldest sons, after inheriting their father’s property, especially landed property francis n. c. iwuh igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 290 converted some to themselves by planting economic trees, like palm trees, on them. attempt by the other brothers to reclaim such property from their eldest brother usually leads to conflict. conflict resolution conflict resolution is the process by which two or more parties in conflict reach a peaceful resolution to a dispute. it is the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of conflict. it can also be thought to encompass the use of nonviolent resistance measures by conflicted parties in an attempt to promote effective resolution. shedrack (2014) sees conflict resolution as a sense of finality, where the parties to a conflict are mutually satisfied with the outcome of a settlement and the conflict is resolved in a true sense (p. 94). on the question, if conflict can truly be resolved? shedrack avers that “some conflicts, especially those over resources, are permanently resolvable.” conflict can be said to be resolved when the basic needs of the parties in conflict have been met and their fears defused. conflict resolution can either aim at resolving or terminating conflicts in an open and predictable process in accordance with legal principles or focus on efforts to increase cooperation among the parties to a conflict and deepen their relationship by addressing the conditions that led to the dispute, fostering positive attitudes and allaying distrust through reconciliation initiatives, and building or strengthening the institutions and processes through which the parties interact. the overall objective of conflict resolution in african society was to uphold and promote peaceful co-existence among and between community members. it is in the light of this that the following guiding principles had informed the african approaches to conflict resolution. 1) impartiality: in traditional conflict resolution, no case was treated as an isolated entity. the elders tried to be as neutral and unbiased as possible, siding or supporting no party. 2) transparency: all issues emanating from conflicting situations were placed at the public domain for all to see and hear. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/conflict_(process) the role of umunna in conflict resolution as an expression of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 291 3) fairness, justice and equality: traditional conflict resolution distributes equitable justice to all and sundry, irrespective of the status. 4) award: traditional african conflict resolution dreaded the issue of “winner takes it all.” conflict resolutions were aimed at stabilizing the bond of relationship in the society. this was done through celebration of reconciliation. umunna umunna is an igbo word from the eastern part of nigeria. it is a compound word. “umu” means children or sons and “nna” means father. when brought together it could mean “children of the father” or “sons of the father”. umunna is translated ‘kindred’ or ‘kinsmen’, to mean the extended family of one’s ancestral village. it is a form of patrilineage maintained by the igbos, which is a male line of descent from a founding ancestor with groups of compounds containing closely related families headed by the eldest male member. so, umunna simply means, sons of the same father. the umunna kindred are often named after the founding ancestor. umụnna, the cornerstone of igbo structure, defines the arrangement of every individual in a family structure and describes their social position in the community. umunna, the weekly assembly of only male members of the clan/kindred, is another traditional method of resolving conflict. the umunna is made up of elders and male members of families bonded by some ancestral ties. these elders have overtime stood as peace builders that built strong and virile communities that have witnessed a prolonged peaceful co-existence (ebisi, 2016). the terms, ‘village group council’ and ‘village assembly,’ are used interchangeably to refer to the igbo central authority, while umunna village-group and ndiamala refer to the more locally derived authority headed by the okparas, elders and ozo title holders at the village level. as family groups which share a common ancestry, umunna kindred is the next political structure above the family. the kindred assembly is presided over by the eldest okpara. the kindred union is similar to the family meeting, except that it ordinarily deals with issues that affect francis n. c. iwuh igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 292 the kindred. the village union handles issues and problems that concern the entire village. individuals can, nevertheless, take their complaints to the village union, especially if they are not satisfied with the decisions taken at the kindred union, or if the dispute is between people from different kindreds within the village. therefore, umunna is another form of arbitration. arbitration has been one of the significant methods of resolving conflict in traditional igbo society. it has produced great level of trust, confidence and mutual understanding in traditional igbo society. the arbiters or arbitrators, who are mostly elected leaders of the clan in conjunction with the elders, have lived up to their expectation of being impartial and interpreted the customs and norms creditably suitable to issues of conflict handled in the arbitral proceedings. in igbo land, there is a court, if the parties have tried negotiation and mediation and it did not work, they move to the court, which might be the town hall where umunna meet weekly, king’s palace, village square, or in the shrine (as a last resort). supporting this statement, charles (2016, p.7) said “africa used council of elders, king’s court, people’s assemblies” in resolution of conflict. the judges in town hall, village square or market place are the elders and traditional rulers, who in judging, use the norms and belief of the land. the eldest man in the kindred is the holder of the kindred ofo and acts as the chairman of the umunna assembly. umunna village assembly is in charge of resolving conflicts between individuals from different families in the same clan and village. the umunna assembly resolves conflicts, such as; land boundary and inheritance conflicts. simple cases of fighting and stealing are treated by the umunna, either on their “awurawu”, that is, weekly gathering of all the male members of the community or, if it involves a female during the moonlight, as the community gathers at the village square. as it was, the family constituted the lowest court in the traditional african system, whereas the king and his council formed the highest court of appeal. they constitute what might be called ‘third party intervention’ in conflict management. in traditional thought, philosophy and religion, the third party is expected to be neutral and possess the capability to diffuse the role of umunna in conflict resolution as an expression of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 293 tension, listen to all sides, restore peace and put social mechanisms in place for conflict management. their task is to re-establish the energy flow within individuals, families and communities so as to re-build social harmony. according to matudi (2016), “traditional african conflict resolution is embedded in the cultural heritage or values of the society.” they seek to promote serial harmony or togetherness illustrated by the proverb which says that, “when people gather in the village square moonlight, it is not because they cannot see the moon in their individual houses” (achebe, 1959). conflict resolution in the african society by the umunna was a drama where there were neither actors nor spectators. the process of conflict resolution was triangular, involving the parties in conflict, witnesses and the audience. conflict resolution by the umunna involves the celebration of settlement of disputes. there was no loser or winner in the conflict resolution in igbo traditional society. concerted efforts were geared toward establishing and sustaining ontological balance between the society and the supernatural world. umunna within the context of igwebuike philosophy and conflict resolution kanu, the founder of igwebuike philosophy, gave a succinct description of igwebuike in this way: “igwebuike is an igbo word; one of the major dialects in africa. it is a principle that is at the heart of african thought, and in fact, the modality of being in african ontology” (2017, p. 6). he went on to say that it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. the three words involved are: ‘igwe’ is a noun which means ‘number’ or ‘population,’ usually a huge number or population. ‘bu’ is a verb, which means ‘is.’ ‘ike’ is another verb, which means ‘strength’ or ‘power’ (kanu, 2016). thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power;’ that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and francis n. c. iwuh igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 294 complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force. its english equivalents are ‘complementarity’, ‘solidarity’ and ‘harmony’. the preferred concept, however, is ‘complementarity’ (kanu, 2017, 2018 & 2019). however, applied to african traditional conflict resolution, kanu writes that: igwebuike, an igbo-african philosophy is, therefore, employed as a system of conflict resolution which would help africans to incorporate african traditional categories in the resolution of conflicts, promotion of peace, justice, freedom, human dignity, sustainable development and better quality of life. igwebuike as an indigenous wholistic igbo philosophy is generated to emphasize that indigenous peoples have worldviews and means of relating to the world. this worldview is rooted within indigenous epistemologies, cultures and traditions with the understanding that we are all relatedeach aspect relates with the whole: the dynamics of realty are based on the relationships and experiences of interrelationships and interconnections (2017, p.2). conflict resolution in igwebuike philosophy is viewed like a person with headache which sends the person to bed. the headache is on the head but it has affected the whole body. so, unless the head stops aching, the whole body will continue to be in discomfort. applying this to umunna, the head is the one in conflict, while the rest of the body symbolizes the kindred. the kindred will never have rest when there is conflict amongst its members. it (igwebuike) celebrates in a deep cultural and philosophical modality our relatedness, our interconnectedness, our common humanity, our common responsibility towards one another and for one another (kanu, 2015a&b). igwebuike is an innate human quality. for, deep in the recesses of the heart of everyone are found the qualities of and hunger for complementarity, solidarity, compassion, reciprocity, dignity and harmony (kanu, 2017. p.7). this, in reality, is what umunna stands the role of umunna in conflict resolution as an expression of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 295 for. it gives everyone, both young and old, the sense of belonging. kanu opines that; igwebuike as an indigenous method of peace and conflict resolution has a community-based approach. it is an outcome of the wisdom of traditional african conflict management practices drawn from the values of host communities, and founded on the custom and tradition of the african people which has been developed over a long period of timeit is entirely based on culture and emphasizes the fundamental part which culture plays in the lives and actions of people. it is more of a healing process in which individuals contribute positive energy with the sole aim of re-establishing the energy flow within individuals, families and communities for the purpose of rebuilding social harmony (p. 8). in relation to conflict, igwebuike philosophy does not understand conflict merely as a fracas between two persons, or two groups, it rather understands conflict as a fracas touching on the harmony of reality. thus, it is not just about justifying the one and condemning the other, it works towards a compromise for the reconciliation of both parties and the restoration of balance or the harmony of reality. it is relatively informal and, thus, less intimidating, as those involved are at ease, and are in a familiar environment. this is the case with the umunna in igbo land, which settles conflict during the weekly gathering, which is on a particular market day, at an open family hall or “awurawu” of the kindred, as it is called in some parts of igbo community. on this market day, all palm-wine tapped in the kindred belongs to the kindred. a person designated by the kindred goes round to all those tapping wine to collect the wine. at the time for the meeting, all the male members of the kindred gather at the kindred hall and the meeting begins with the breaking of the kolanut by the eldest in the kindred. after the kolanut is broken and shared, issues of the day are discussed. during this time, anyone who has conflict presents the issue with four (4) pieces of kolanuts. after francis n. c. iwuh igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 296 he has finished presenting his case, the eldest in the kindred, who also serves as the leader, invites the second party in the conflict to give his own side of the story. this is followed by cross-examination, witness and consultation. at the end, the conflict is resolved by the most elderly member of the kindred, using words of wisdom. shedrack (2014), avers that, “the words of our elders are words of wisdom. the wise man (or woman) hears and gets wiser” (p. 99). they sometimes receive input from other members of the community present, but the verdict comes from the elders. the aim of the verdict is to reconcile the parties in conflict, promote community solidarity, and not to blame either party. the conflict can be said to have been resolved when the parties in conflict display any of the signs of reconciliation; shaking of hands, hugging, sitting together, etc. when all the issues of the day have been presented and treated, the palmwine that has been collected earlier are brought out for celebration of the conflict resolution, not without the eldest pouring some on the ground to appease and appreciate the gods/ancestors for their intervention in the conflict. it is a process of socialization for every male member of the community, a learning process for the younger generations. this is why younger male members do more of listening and observing of the elders than participate in contributing. this is because, in the words of shedrack, “indeed younger people are typically not to be heard” (2014, p. 100). it is important to note that it is not all kinds of conflict the umunna resolves in igbo land, some serious conflicts are reserved for elders and elders-in-council or for the chief priest. this is so because, since the umunna is the gathering of all male members of the community, some conflicts are too big for the minds and ears of younger members of the community. however, umunna conflict resolution is informal, cost-effective and expeditious. the parties often sit together and resolve their dispute within a sitting or two. this way, the poor and indigent clients are carried along in a system that is just and less expensive. the elders acting as arbiter resolve conflict in the kindred, knowing all the ramifications of personal relationships within their small community, the role of umunna in conflict resolution as an expression of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 297 for most of these important factors are not brought out in the case, but are presumed to be known to all hearers. in this regard, they act as peacemakers and keep the community running smoothly. the umunna has contributed a lot to the resolution of conflicts in igbo land and their role in conflict resolution has been very interesting and effective. judging by the guiding principles of conflict resolution in pre-colonial africa, elders in the umunna are impartial; they display neutrality and unbiased attitude in resolving conflicts. the process has always been transparent, since all issues are placed at the public domain for all to see and judge. there is fairness, justice and equality in judgment. conclusion the process of conflict resolution by the umunna involves getting the parties and their families together, and getting to the root of the conflict to ensure the underlying causes of conflict are resolved and the parties reconciled. the igbo world has many other indigenous mediatory bodies for conflict management and resolution. the family is the first in the process of conflict resolution in cases concerning the family. if the crisis is between neigbours, the families involved are required to come for a dialogue. where the family or families are unable to resolve their problem, the umunna institution comes in to help. umunna is called upon where families cannot resolve their problem. the weekly gathering of umunna was not only to settle or resolve conflict; when there is no conflict, the umunna gather to strengthen the bond of family ties. they do a lot of conflict prevention and also take proactive measures to ensure that conflicts do not arise amongst members. the major aim of the umunna is to keep the brotherhood in unity. in igbo land, drinking palm wine together is the sign of unity and friendship. it is also a sign of communion, bonding them together. thus, the overall objective of conflict resolution in igwebuike philosophy is to uphold and promote peaceful co-existence among and between members of the kindred. it has produced a great level of trust, confidence and mutual understanding in traditional igbo francis n. c. iwuh igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 298 society, and reconciliation has apparently been the end product of the umunna conflict resolution mechanism. references achebe, c. (1959), things fall apart, greenwich: fawcett. charles, m.o. (2016). tiv and igbo conflict management machanism: a comparative study, portharcourt, centre for conflict and gender studies (ccgs), 5(7), 22-29. chubb l.t. (1961). ibo land tenure, 2 nd edition. ibadan, o.u.p. ebisi, n. (2016). the challenge of peace and conflict resolution a clue from igbo cultural group of nigeria. journal of arts humanities and social sciences.1 (14) ezenwoko, f.a. and osagie i. j. (2014). conflict and conflict resolution in pre-colonial igbo society of nigeria. benin city, university of benin. kanu i. a. (2015b). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, a. i. (2016). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1.pp. 1-7. kanu, a.i. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution, a paper presented at the 2017 igbo studies association international conference held at great wood hotel, owerri, imo state, pp.1-10. kanu i. a. (2017). igwebuikeconomics: towards an inclusive economy for economic development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 6. 113-140. kanu i. a. (2017). sources of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. 9. 1. pp. 1-23. the role of umunna in conflict resolution as an expression of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 299 kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. kanu, a. i. (2017c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 7. pp. 165-183. kanu, a. i. (2017d). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 6. pp. 16-50. kanu, a. i. (2017f). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. pp. 153-160. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in francis n. c. iwuh igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 300 mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. nwogugu e.i. (1974). family law in nigeria, ibadan, heinemann. nwolise o.b.c. (2004). traditional approaches to conflict resolution among the igbo people of nigeria: reinforcing the need for africa to rediscover its roots. amani. matudi, g.i (2016). unpublished lecture note on african approaches to conflict resolution, yola, mautech. shedrack, g.b. (2014). “the methods of conflict resolution and transformation.” in shedrack g.b. (ed.), introduction to peace and conflict studies in west africa. ibadan, spectrum books limited. the concept of igwebuike in igbo knowledge integration igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 301 the concept of igwebuike in igbo knowledge integration obinna victor obiagwu, phd directorate of general studies federal university of technology, owerri obinnaobiagwu71@gmail.com executive summary igwebuike, as a concept in igbo ideology, is that of strength in numbers, where togetherness in one accord remains the watch word and the spirit of engagement. it aims towards the promotion of a sustainable development and also improvement of economic, social, cultural and political purity within the igbo-speaking people in comparison with their neighbours of other languages and nationalities. the igwebuike philosophy, therefore, becomes the force behind the igbo indigenous knowledge holders in making their own decisions as it affects their future life endeavours, which define them as a people among others of different cultures. what it implies then is that igwebuike application is inherent in selfdetermination and consistent with socio-cultural and other developmental relativity. igwebuike ensures equity and justice in igbo integration of knowledge through its nature of all hands being on deck. keywords: igwebuike, philosophy, kanu ikechukwu anthony, igbo knowledge introduction according to posey (1998), there will be nothing ‘new’ if we do not develop new methodologies for dialogue with local knowledge holders. he goes further to say that until indigenous people have political and economic parity with development forces that is only mailto:obinnaobiagwu71@gmail.com obinna victor obiagwu, phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 302 when a positive result will be achieved on indigenous knowledge development. looking at the case of igbo knowledge integration, one can be tempted to ask how indigenous igbo people can assert their traditional cultural values within their social environment in a way that it will be fair to all concerned. the simple answer to this question is the “igwebuike” concept. the concept of “igwebuike” is a concept that was articulated by professor kanu ikechukwu anthony. it captures and communicates the igbo-african world. igwebuike is the form and symbolic of the igbo-african mental being and the gateway to igbo-african philosophy. beyond the literal understanding of igwebuike (igwe number; bu-is; ike-strength) as “there is strength in number”, it captures the igbo philosophy of relationality, complementarity and interconnectedness of reality (kanu 2014; 2015; 2016; 2017; 2018; 2019). it concatenates igbo forms, symbolism, signs, media, meaning, anthropologies, universal cosmic truths, functions, semantic powers, physics, phenomena, faculties, and igbo environ-mentalities, and symbolizes the propositional powers of igbo knowledge, perception, identity, phenomenalism, physics, metaphysics, logic, history of analytic character, speculative mindset and positive provisions for definitions of facts (kanu 2020). parity, in this context, involves equal relations among the indigenous peoples of igbo extraction, whose knowledge is being integrated with the other worlds, knowing full well that knowledge integration involves the synthesization of multiple knowledge models, or representation into a common one. knowledge integration has also been studied as the process of incorporating new information into a body of existing knowledge with an interdisciplinary approach (wikipedia). integration, therefore, occurs when separate ideas or things are brought together, just like in the amalgamation of northern and southern protectorates of nigeria in 1914 by lord frederick lugard, the then governor general of the combined colony of nigeria. the concept of igwebuike in igbo knowledge integration igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 303 the igwebuike spirit of parity is, therefore, seen as the ability of the igbo indigenous knowledge holders to make autonomous decisions about their future, based on a set of principles derived from their own collective ontology. the igbo integration of knowledge must be based on people’s understanding of the world, rather than from imposed assumptions. parity of igbo knowledge integration is inherent in selfdetermination and consistent with cultural relativity. parity ensures equity and justice, just like in “igwebuike”, where all hands must be on deck without any pranks. igbo knowledge integration of western education western education, no doubt, has come to stay in igbo cultural milieu. but the issue here is “educational diversification.” this is important to meet individual differences as regards interests and abilities. the emphasis here is on specialization. according to eliot (1949), education is the process by which the community seeks to open its life to all the individuals within it and enable them to take their part in it. it attempts to pass on to them its culture, including the standards by which it would have them live. in furtherance to the emphasis on education, okafor (1974) states that education is a process of acculturation by which the individual is helped to attain the maximum activation of his potentialities according to right reason and to achieve thereby his perfect self-fulfillment. looking at the two above, one can observe that the igwebuike concept of igbo knowledge integration has a major role it is already playing. the issue of western education is at present a collective concern of the igbos. one can easily observe the community efforts in the establishment of schools and training of individuals. in most igbo communities, some indigenous people attended various levels of education, through communal efforts, believing that any educated mind among them is a major asset to the community. through the igwebuike concept, the igbo communities from 1950s till date still build schools, in order to ensure that western education does not elude them. they also endeavour to see that their people are educated, by going further to make contributions towards the education of some of obinna victor obiagwu, phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 304 their sons and daughters. they as well made earlier donation of lands to the white missionaries for the establishment of educational institutions, even before the advent of community schools. that is actually the concept of igwebuike in the igbo western education knowledge integration. the “igwebuike” spirit of oneness helped so much in this direction, even till date. western education is still very important to the majority of the igbos that the issue of scholarship award is still common among the people, just to make sure that those who cannot afford western education on their own can benefit from such awards. going through studies and researches on “igwebuike” concept of the traditional igbo attitudes and values with a view to formulating educational procedures responsive to the good in the igbo background have inescapably brought into sharp focus the importance the igbos attach to educational realities. they have quite acknowledged the fact that western education is an integral and prevailing factor among the people. igbo knowledge integration of christianity christianity is agreeable to igbo culture – a culture of deep spirituality, maximized religious values and quite theocentric in outlook. this fact was very evident in the early centuries when parts of igbo land first came in contact with the christian religion. christianity, therefore, is an excellent example of what renascent igbo should incorporate into her cultural fabric. however, distinction must be made between christianity as practiced by discrete individuals and groups and christianity in its essential substance. in the words of okafor (1974), over the centuries, certain individuals and groups did, in fact, run into behavioural mud water in the practice of christianity; but still over the centuries, many individuals and group did succeed in exemplifying in their lives the perfection that was essentially embedded in christianity. okafor also goes further in his work to remind us of the fact that, that many do not the concept of igwebuike in igbo knowledge integration igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 305 measure up to the ideal does not remove the validity or the reality of the ideal. in spite of individual failures, christianity still remains the most civilized of all religions. it remains the religion better than which none can be found. looking at its nature, one can observe that christianity remains that unique religion, which by all means holds the greatest potentialities of meeting up with the dilemmas and challenges of the modern igbo race. it is so simply because of the fact that christianity puts into consideration a mysterious combination of the essentials of the traditional igbo religions and those principles which constitute the badge of civility to contemporary man. in comparison with the christian religion, the igbo traditional religion also accommodates certain christian doctrines like forgiveness, patience, brotherhood, blessing of the peace-makers and the merciful, kindness, malice towards none, charity, etc. all these and others are agreeable to the igbo man. they not only touch at the heart of the traditional igbo religion but also reveal any imperfections that might be present in them. the igbo man, in his “igwebuike” spirit, accepted the christian religion holistically and has been making concerted efforts to enroute christianity into the cultural norms of the igbos. this is being achieved through communal efforts, just like in the case of western education. the igbo communities have invested much in the building and establishment of churches of different denominations, with a good number of igbo sons and daughters going into various religious professions. prayer itself has become a central survival strategy of the igbo people. conclusion it will be totally wrong and a great social misgiving for one to think that there is nothing good, admirable or worth preserving in the igbo of the old. there are a lot of things that are quite good, highly admirable, and worthy to be preserved in the igbo traditional obinna victor obiagwu, phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 306 knowledge norms. same is also applicable to that of the other worlds. every group of people is naturally endowed or structured with some characteristic assets and blessing. taking into consideration the fact that humans are structured as a community of brotherhood, which makes the assets of any sector of humanity a common property for all to share. as such, there must be a kind of unity in diversity. just as whitehead (1982) states that a diversification among human communities is essential for the provision of the incentive and material for the odyssey of human spirit. other nations of different habits are not enemies; they are god-sends. whitehead goes further to explain that men require of their neighbours something sufficiently akin to be understood, something sufficiently different to provoke attention and something great enough to command admiration. as a result of speedy communication of development in these contemporary times, the world has been brought closer, together than it has ever witnessed. this has also made the issue of knowledge integration quite imperative. one sector of the global arrangement, therefore, must influence another socially, politically and economically, as well as in their different cultural norms. in a situation like these, the igbos, propelled by their “igwebuike” philosophy, need a proper integration of their knowledge with other nationalities of the world. they are expected to conform to what okafor (1974) described as judicious selective integration of culture. the old norms of knowledge must be treated with respect, as a legacy for the newer ideas. but it must also be refined, given new meaning, expression and direction. anything undesirable in the old knowledge must be dropped as history of the old, so as to pave way for the new normal. to cope with the present challenges, the igbos must approach their plan of action with every atom of definition. they should not allow the mystical past to conscript them, nor allow themselves to be consumed by the indecision of the present. they should be clear about the present situation, and avoid building castles in the air. in the best the concept of igwebuike in igbo knowledge integration igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 307 “igwebuike” team spirit, the igbo should collectively be realistically guided in their cultural spectrum. references eliot t. s., (1947). notes towards the definition of culture, new york: harcourt, brace & company. kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. kanu, a. i. (2017c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 7. pp. 165-183. kanu, a. i. (2017d). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 6. pp. 16-50. kanu, a. i. (2017f). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. pp. 153-160. kanu, i. a. (2012). the problem of being in metaphysics. african research review: an international multi-disciplinary journal. vol.6. no.2. april. pp. 113-122. kanu, i. a. (2012). the problem of personal identity in metaphysics. international journal of arts and humanities. vol.1. no.2. pp.1-13. kanu, i. a. (2012a). the concept of life and person in african anthropology. in e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (eds.). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 61-71). nigeria: augustinian. kanu, i. a. (2012b). towards an igbo christology. in e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (eds.). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 75-98). nigeria: augustinian. kanu, i. a. (2013). african identity and the emergence of globalization. american international journal of contemporary research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 34-42. obinna victor obiagwu, phd igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 308 kanu, i. a. (2013). african identity and the emergence of globalization. american international journal of contemporary research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 34-42. kanu, i. a. (2013). globalisation, globalism and african philosophy. c. umezinwa (ed.). african philosophy: a pragmatic approach to african probems (pp. 151-165). germany: lambert. kanu, i. a. (2013). on the sources of african philosophy. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 337-356. kanu, i. a. (2013). the dimensions of african cosmology. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 533-555. kanu, i. a. (2014). a historiography of african philosophy. global journal for research analysis. volume. 3. issue. 8. pp. 188190. kanu, i. a. (2014). being and the categories of being in igbo philosophy. african journal of humanities. volume 1. issue 1. pp. 144-159. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. the concept of igwebuike in igbo knowledge integration igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations 309 kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. okafor f. c., (1974). africa at the crossroads, philosophical approach to education. new york: vantage press, inc. purcell t. w. & onjoro e., (2004) models of knowledge integration; in harvesting & sharing indigenous knowledge in africa (eds) okere t. i. & nkwocha l. owerri assumpta press. nwaka g. i., (2004) using indigenous knowledge to strengthen local governance and development in nigeria, in harvesting & sharing indiginoud knowledge in africa. (eds) okere & nkwocha l. owerri assumpta press. whitehead a. n., (1919a (1982). an enquirty concerning the principle of national knowledge. cambridge: cambridge university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 108 ozo title and names as the mirror of igbo traditional beliefs and practices in abba community of anambra state akabike gladys, phd department of religion and cultural studies, faculty of the social sciences, university of nigeria, nsukka. gladys.akabike@unn.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.14770.12482 abstract the ozo title and names are very important in igbo society. the ozo title is highest rank one can attain in life in abba community. it is the occasion of acquiring a new name one will be called for the rest of one’s life. ozo title-taking accordsone great honour and prestige in the society. the occasion affords one opportunity to show the strength of his achievement and wealth. also, it is an occasion that showcases the rich cultural heritage of igbo people vis-a-vis abba people. the recent events in abba community signify that changes have occurred in the acquisition of ozo title and names. the concept of ozo title-taking in contemporary abba community has eroded the institution its traditional values. the mores of this great institution are no longer observed. these concerns are the basis of this study. the article emphasizes on the religious dimension of ozo institution which is the bed rock of ozo title and has been played down in the contemporary society. the study aimed at unraveling the causes and the effects of these changes onozo title-taking in the community. this is achieved through phenomenological method. the study revealed that these are as a result of cultural conflict, globalization and technological advancement. the implication is that ozo society is now open to all manner of people who can afford to enter into it without recourse to the consequences. the study therefore, recommends that there is need for abba community to overhaul ozo institution in order to preserve its traditional values. keywords: ozo title and names, traditional beliefs and practices, abba introduction ozo title taking is not only ceremony for entertainment or ritual ceremony but also a name taking ceremony. the study of ozo title is the indirect way of studying of ozo names. apart from ozo title-taking, there could be no ozo names. among the igbo people, the ozo title is an indigenous institution that is regarded as a central aspect of african indigenous religious practice igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 109 through which they engage questions about the meaning for life (madukasi, 2020). it is a component part of igbo life and the holder of this title occupy a distinct enviable position from the rest of people in the society. ozo title is rooted in the igbo earth (nze 1997). it is a meeting point of igbo tradition of arts, music, ritual dramas, and embodiment of authority as symbolised in ofo. as echoes by (onwuejeogwu, 1977), ozo title in its traditional sense stands as a symbol of justice and a vindication of holiness. in other words, it is not only a manifestation of someone’s wealth and affluence as a successafo ojuju, but its importance lies in the exhibition of justice and holiness, this has proved a point that those who were accorded the right to ozo title in the olden day were people of impeccable character, virtue and would not compromise in any situation. also, people who have the fear of anithe earth goddess and the ancestors were given the privilege of attaining ozo title. in abba or igbo land where ozo title taking is practised, it is a trophy very much coveted by almost every male member who could afford it. it is exclusive to men in the sense that women are not allowed to be initiated. women cannot be trusted due to the fact that they can divulge the secret information and may betray the town on important matters because of the secrecy involved (matory, 1993:61). women as argued by shepherd (1987:153) ‘are necessary as the source of life, as well as potentially dangerous in their power to withdraw it’. also, it may be argued that one of the reasons why women are not allowed to be initiated into ozo society is that women menstruate and some of the rites abhorred such. it should be noted that an ozo titled man traditionally did not eat food cooked by a menstruating woman nor such woman entering obi palace. though a woman could be allowed to wear a cord on her ankle together with her husband, but that did not give her the prerogative right as an ozo title holder. rather, it is a prestige that the husband is able to achieve such a feat in the society. ozo title is a chauvinistic society where a man is allowed to go through a lot of initiations before he becomes an entrant. in abba community, ozo title is the last of a man’s religious, socio-economic achievement, and the highest honour a man can confer on himself in life. it shows the cumulative efforts of a man in his society through life of efforts, competition with both his fellow man and the environment. it is a society of free men capable of paying the initiation fees as an external sign of their wealth, and exercising in collaboration with one another the authority it confers (forde and jones1962). membership of ozo title society shows a change in one’s life style. it is expected that the initiate will henceforth comport himself in a manner worthy igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 110 of emulation. he is expected to live above board, live a life worthy of his calling, and must serve in truth and honest. this new life invokes a change of name by which the titled man is called for the rest of his life (ifemesia 1979 and ikeobi 1970). the name to an extent reflects the circumstance surrounding the initiate’s life and his wealth in the society. the name is to distinguish him from the untitled man in the society. according to (ebo 1981 and ezeanya 1967), ozo names are part of personality dynamics of the individuals. the names are not a mere label as awolalu and dopamu (1979) enthuse. but they are pregnant with meaningful and symbolic importance. hence, the bearers must of necessity try to maintain them as an igbo adage says that good name is better than moneyezi aha ka ego. there are no hierarchy in ozo names according to abba customs and tradition. one chooses name based on what he has in mind or circumstance the bearer found himself before attaining the title. some acquire the title through the wealth accumulated for them by their fathers, mothers, brothers, sons, relations or through self-hard work. this attributed to various names with different meaning. in this article, mention must be made of how the much cherished tradition has lost its original aura because of cultural conflict and globalization. however, changes have been made in the system of ozotitle taking as well as the names acquired during the ceremony. the pressures of christianity, together with the influence of civilization have dealt a serious blow to ozo title and ozo names in abba. thus, ozo title and names have become seriously modified to enable enthusiastic aspirants to enter into the society. brief history of abba the account of abba community is based on oral tradition as there is no written document. abba is one of the communities in njikoka local government area of anambra state. the enugu-onitsha dual carriage way passes through abba and divides it into two with more land on the right side. the town is about four and half kilometers from abagana and two kilometers from ifite-dunu and awkuzu tarred roads respectively. there are sources of natural water spread out so strategically as to serve the town from three locations; oyi, orunkpikpa, ogalanya. abba was founded by a man called ‘abba’ meaning in hebrew ‘father’. two schools of thoughts have conflicting versions of the number of wives abba marriedand number of children his wife or wives had. the first stated that abba married and gave birth to nine children with a single female igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 111 namely: nogbe, mgbafe, abba-ichi, iruoruka, ire, amabo,okpuloji, umu-olie, and ezi-abba. the second account has it that abba married two wives. the first wife gave birth tofive sons: nogbe, mgbafe, abba-ichi, amabor, and okpuloji, whereas, the second wife had four males and a female child by name iruoruka, ire, umu-olie, eze-abbaand the only female called oyilim meaning a replica of myself. it was at nogbe that abba was said to have first settled and later consolidated, established in the process all that were necessary for security of life, property and peaceful existence. abba was said to have coined oyi from his daughter’s name oyilim which he so much loved. hence, oyi-shrine is regarded as a woman and is highly loved by women of abba origin. originally, the economy of abba was agriculture, palm wine taping and moulding of clay pot, plates and clay reservoir because of the abundant clay found in the northern part of abba where the ceramic deposit is based. with the advent of civilization and christianity, a good number of sons and daughters of abba had the opportunity to embrace religion and western education early. the town today has produced various grades of men and women in different educational disciplines, some of whom are occupying high positions in government ministries and private establishments. traditionally, people of abba were traditionalists. their religion was african traditional religion and their whole life was dominated by religious beliefs and practices. the objects of their worship in the words of arinze (1970) are three: god, non-human spirits and the ancestors. abba as an integral part of igbo race believes in the one transcendent beingthe supreme being. there isa strong belief in the existence of one god, the creator of all things whom they call chi-ukwu, the supreme being, but ancestor worship is also practiced where the people offer sacrifices to their dead fathers (idigo, 1990:60). this is depicted in their morning prayer which they addressed principally to god and also ancestors they believe are their eyes and intercessors in the land of the dead. the morning prayers offered to god demonstrate convincingly that the concept of god was indigenous to the igbo religious traditions (metuh, 1981:7), which promises concrete blessings and protection (isichei, 1980:4). the life of the people of abba is intermingled with the belief in god. like in many other places in igbo land, there is no altar dedicated to the supreme being. among the males in abba community, it was commonly believed that every one of them must of necessity have an agwu shrine. if a male did not have agwu shrine, it was believed that agwu would punish him or bring igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 112 misfortune to him. thus, there is an annual feast of agwu during which sacrifice of fowls are made to agwu among the adherents. mention has to be made hereof public deities also worshipped in abba. their common name is arusi. these deities do not belong to anyone individual particularly. they are normally for a whole village or town. these deities have special priestseze-arusi who offer sacrifices at the shrine on the special annual festive days. the most central public deitiesinabba include oyi-abba, the most popular, fearful, and perhaps more powerful as attested by her fame which goes beyond the periphery of the town. others are ogalanya, akose, ezumezu, and okwu-ani. these deities in abba play a major role during the ozo title-taking ceremonies. besides, the people of abba also practice the cult of ancestors as mentioned above. it is a common believe that the ancestors are interceding for them. they believe in other minor deities. these, uchendu (1965:101) affirms that “the number of igbo deities, spirits, and oracles is enormous and their anthropomorphous character is well recognized. he argues that “igbo attitude towards the gods is not of fear but of friendship, a friendship that lasts as long as the reciprocal obligations are kept” (uchendu, 1965:101). ritual processes on the conferment of ozo title and names in abba community in abba town just as the case in other parts of igbo land where ozo title taking is practiced, before a man could take an ozo title and name, he must have undergone many ritual processes or initiation rites. initiation rites are seen as fundamental to human growth and development and socialization. these are very important to ozo society as a whole as in the olden day. in the words of (okeke, 1984), various titles are open to men who could afford them. some are mandatory while others are voluntary. some of these titles must be taken before the actual ozo title in abba community. these are chi naufejioku, idondiichie, amanwulu, ekwu, obele and nnekwu ozo, nninwammadu and atulukpaokala which are compulsory and the last ceremonies to be observed before the actual ozo title taking in abba. since these titles go with the ritual ceremonies, many sacrifices are made by the aspirants to the earth divinityala or other divinities according to the tradition of abba town. these are the requirements in ozo title taking which must be met by the aspirants in the traditional abba community. some of these which are very relevant to this work shall be treated. these are amanwulu, ekwu, obele and nnekwu ozo and nni-nwammadu. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 113 amanwulu according to the tradition of abba town, amanwuluis an important title enroute to ozo title taking. it has artefacts associated with it. many rituals are performed during this occasion. there will be an entertainment to those who have previously performed an amanwulu title. unless this title is taken, noninitiates would not take other titles, nor traditionally be allowed to carry the coffins of amanwulu title holders when they die. ekwu ekwu is another title to be taken as far as the tradition of abba town and ozo society is concerned. it is the beginning of the ozo events proper. this entails the paying of a certain amount of money by the aspirants to ndi nze and ozo holders in abba town. in the process, fowls and goats are killed in the aspirant’s compound to entertain people who are invited. the umunna, umuada and the entire ozo titled men of the village will be present during this ceremony. moreover, it must be accompanied by rituals. obele and nnekwu obele and nnekwu ozo are done by the aspirant before nni-nwammadu. the ozo title holders and ndi nze would be present. the aspirant would bring four fowls, tubers of yam, dried fish and other items. the person would also give the ozo men and ndi nze some money as their tradition requires. in this ceremony, some certain rituals would be performed. nni nwamadu nninwamadu is one of the processes an ozo aspirant has to go through before he would be conferred with ozo title. in this case, the aspirant has to inform the isi nze of his ozo alliance group of his intention. here, it is the duty of isi nze to call the ozo alliance group for notification. the aspirant would be required to pay a stipulated amount of money which would be shared among the ozo alliance group. rituals and entertainments are involved in this stage. it is during this occasion that the new nze would announce his new name to others. he would be given status symbols of his office. these are the bag made of the skin of an aborted-calfakpa nwaefi; the skin of a ramakpukpo ebunu and the short spearlike staff with a round head called alo okpulukpu. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 114 he is advised to behave responsibly so that in the near future, he can take the ozo title. the older ozo men would reel out the “dos and don’ts” of ozo society. henceforth, he would see himself as an ambassador of peace and justice and also assume the mouthpiece of the community where ever he is found. at this stage, all ozoentrants would go home each with a tuber of yam and a fowl at the expense of the new entrant. this is one of the reasons it is said that ozo ceremony is a ceremony for the wealthy individuals in the society. the ozoceremony involves a lot of money which the aspirant must expend before he couldget the title. all these initiations are mile-stones marking the progress in life which an individual has made (nze 1977). it is proper to remark immediately that these sub-titles of ozo are independent of one another. individually, they confer on the holder some degree of dignity, honour and status in abbacommunity.the rituals performed during these titles are intended to clothe the titles with some religious authority and thereby ensure its continuity, respect and sanctity ( ogbalu 1981). also to be noted is the fact that it is only the son of the soil that could be conferred ozo title. a stranger cannot take ozo title no matter how important the person is to the town. it is highly exclusive to the indigenes of abba even in this modern time everything has changed; it remains as it were in the traditional abba community. finally, comes the actual ozo title taking in which friends and all the relations far and near must be present to witness the ceremony. it is an occasion and also a period of extraordinary extravagance. there would be food in abundance together with drinks, cows, goats and fowls which would be killed for entertainment. there is no excuse of shortage of food or anything because it is time to show people actually, that one is capable of taken ozo title and feeding the multitude of people who could grace the occasion. this lasts almost seven market weeks according to the tradition of abba town. during this time, some friends and relations who came would give the new entrant and wife different types of gifts. on the last day of the celebration, there would be outing to the market square. it will not be forgotten that throughout the ceremony, the person and the first wife would be confined in a house till the day of outing. and there would be a traditional music called ufieplaying to entertain people throughout this period. it is important to note that ufiemusic is for the ozo title holders which non-initiates would not dare to dance. after the outing, the new ozo title holder will begin to live a new life of his calling. it is from this moment that he will assume full responsibility of ozo title. traditionally, an ozo man must not eat food prepared by a menstruating woman or eat in the public. he must be cautious of his thoughts and actions. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 115 there was a rite called isailecleansing of tongue which signifies that he must not tell lie, bear false witness, cheat, steal, and indulge him in diabolic acts as these could earn him expulsion from ozo society. in fact, he will live a life of holiness and exercises justice when the need arises. these are the hallmark of ozo institution which must be live out by the holders to preserve that endearing legacy of the customs and tradition of the society. they are the custodians as well as builders of the community for progress. in the matters of litigation, their opinions are sought. they are called ndi nze and people looked upon them as the role models of the society. perhaps, it is the reason ozo institution is called gerontocracy. this is because it is only the elders or people who have come of age could keep all these rules and regulations of ozo institution. it is on this positions that nabofa (1994:19) connected/interpreted this ethical values to the notion that wisdom belongs to the elders and describes the ozo titled men as “the voice of the elders which invariably is the voice of wisdom’’, that “reminds an initiate of his responsibilities and obligations to his fellow members’’ (nabofa, 1994:14). it is pertinent to know that in the olden days, the means of livelihood was basically agriculture in which yam was the main attraction. in fact, many have come to link the igbo success in modern trade, industry, commerce, ethos of work and adaptability to any environment to their early ritualized food culture, which was based on yam cultivation (onwuejeogwu, 1987). the strength of a man was measured by the number of barns one had in his compound. there was no bank to save money realised from the yearly sale of the yam. thus, a successful man would, as it were, register and legitimize his success by acquiring a title (agada-uya, 1984).ozo became an available means of saving the money. this is because so far as the title holder is alive, he would continue reaping the dividend of the money invested in ozo title taking through the entrance of the new aspirants into the ozo society. apart from the money one would realise each time there is a new entrant, ozo title taking accords one great respect and honour both in the immediate community and beyond. it is the occasion that makes one to be popular as his achievement is seen by all and sundry. more importantly is the sacredness of the titlethat is the driven force behind the ozo institution. classification of ozo names ozo names taken by the ozo title holders are very important in their lives. as was mentioned before, the new names adopted by the ozo title holders imply a remarkable change in life and they are called by these names for the rest of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 116 their lives anywhere and anytime. names in general always stand as land marks in the life of a normal igbo man, and with greater reason for an ozo titled man. all these names are purposeful in one way or the other. some of these names will be outlined here for further explanation. ozo title names associated with god or the supreme being chinyelugo god gives glory ezechikwelu a king by god’s consent ezechikwulu a king through eternal decree ezemgbechikwelu a king in god’s time ezechiwubelu a king by god’s authority ezechukwu god’s king nwachinemelu a son whom god always provides omenkechikwulu executor of god’s will ugochukwu god’s glory or glory of god ugwuchinyelu honour accorded by god ozo title names associated with divinities ezeanyanwu king of sun divinity ezejiofor a king who holds the sceptre or ofo ozo title names associated with the ancestors nwagoziennaya may the son honour his father afunwaechetanna when son is seen, the father is remembered ozo title names associated with personal achievements akuabata wealth has come akubude wealth is fameone may become famous by one’s deeds, wealth or hard work akubueziowu wealth is truth igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 117 akuezuilo wealth that is beyond the reach of an enemy akuilili multi-faceted wealth or surplus wealth akukalia surplus wealth akukwesili well-deserved wealth or you deserve to be wealth akulueuno… if wealth reaches home akuneche wealth is waiting or a wealth that is waiting akunaefobi wealth that gladdens the heart akunwata a child’s wealth ekwueme proclaimer or executor ezeadaubu unscrambling kingship eze dinka ` a skilful king ezeafulunamba a king seen in another town ezeafulunaanya a well beloved king eze afojulu a wellsatisfied king eze amaulu a well-known king ezeaku king of wealth ezeanekwu a king who is the centre of discussion eze anulumbu a king whose like has existed before ezenwata a king from childhood eze anatuanyaya the expected king eze jiugo a king who holds the glory eze ji king of yam eze okwelume a king who is able to do ezeeonyeozulu a self-satisfied king eze orimili king of sea eze udo king of peace milinaezoluora rain that falls on the masses ngaaku di where the wealth lies nwakaibeya a son who is greater than others igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 118 nze di uba nze is lucrative or multitude omesiliotuubosi he who finished a day omego he who is generous in giving gifts to others omekanti nu one whose achievement deserves publicity omesilinanwata he who finished his ozo title in childhood omekaokwulu he who keeps his word ono n’ enyi one who has mounted the back of an elephant ogbunaechendo a fig tree that gives shade okutaluakukwe let he who has wealth admit it ochiora public defender or leader onyenweaku owner of wealth onwanaetiliora moon that shines for the people omenka a craft-man okpalajideaku may the first born be wealthy opulu ozo he who has enough for ozo title oranuduya people have heard his fame ozo adiuche ozo is not causing anxiety ozo kwesili ozo title is well-deserving ozo nwayo unassuming or modest ozo title ozulumbaonu universal ozuluumuogbenye breadwinner of the poor uduezue fame is accomplished miscellaneous ozo title names akudilinwa wealth belong to the son akuezuoke wealth is never enough akujieze wealth supports the king akunna father’s wealth akunne mother’s wealth igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 119 ezekwueche a king by destiny ezenwa a king conferred on a child eze nnaya father’s king eze nwanne a king by the help of a brother nnabuenyi father is like an elephant nnanyelugo father gives glory nwajideaku let the child hold wealth onyekaozulu who is self-satisfied? otuugonnaya holder of his father’s glory ugwunwa honour or dignity conferred by a child nwannenyelugo his brother gives glory nwamelu done by his son oranyeaka out of people’s contribution oraebuka masses or his people are great orabuike masses are his analysis of these names names in general always stand as land marks in the life of a normal igbo man, and with far greater reasons for an ozo titled man. they are one of the cultural components in the personality system says (ebo (1981). we do know, however, that there is a strong belief in igbo culture area that one may be influenced (for evil or good) through the name one bears. most of ozo title names are really very good and interesting from the religious point of view. some of these names cover a whole range of religious sentiments. example of such names are nwachinemelua son whom god always provides for; ugochukwuglory of god; ugwuchinyeluhonour accorded by god; ezechiwubelua king by god’s authority; ezegbechikwelua king in god’s own time; chinyelugogod gives glory; and ezechukwugod’s king. these names have great importance to the bearers in particular and society at large. they express among other things confidence, faith, gratitude, joy, reverence and so on. these are sentiments spontaneously coming from the heart of the person bearing the name. furthermore, it is always an accurate externalization of his innermost sentiments which are generally indicative of his past, present life and a reliable pointer to his aspirations for the future. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 120 some of these names given in the classification table should be analysed to the understanding of the people in order to give their deeper meanings and also significance. instance, nwachinamelu has three wordsnwason, chigod, nemeluprovides for. bringing them together, they stand for “son whom god does everything for.” it signifies that it is god who made him what he is in his life. ugwuchinyelu has also three wordsugwuhumour/prestige, chigod, nyelugiven. thus, it is honour or prestige given by god. this signifies that it is only god who can exalt a person and not human beings. so it is the humble one whom god wants that he exalts and honours. ugochukwu comprises three words such as ugoglory, chigod, ukwugreat. they stand for “glory of god.”. this means that god is the source of his wealth, hence, ugochukwuthe glory of god. chinyelugo comprises also three words namely: chigod, nyelu given, ugoglory. this means that his title is from god and it is god who confer him his title ozo title and names are acquired by the holders through many ways. some were initiated by their sons, brothers, fathers, through mother’s wealth, or out of cheer contribution made by their relations. those whose fathers helped to take the title by paying the initiation fees for them generally disclose this in their names which of course are at times chosen for them by their fathers. hence, akunnayafather’s wealth or by their fathers’ wealth or by their fathers’ riches, nnanyelugofather gives glory, otugonnayaholder of father’s glory and so on. those whose brothers helped or initiated into ozo society bear names like eze nwanneyahis brother’s king, nwanneebukahis brother is great and so on. some who were initiated by their relations through cheer contribution bear names like oranyeakaout of people’s contribution, oraebukamasses or his people are great. those who were initiated by their sons answer nwajideakuif son holds his wealth, nwaebukason is great, nwanemeludone by his son. finally, adults who laboured, fighting as it were from abject poverty to the prominence of a title holder, take such names like ugochukwugod’s mark or glory, ugoebukadestiny is great, akubueziokwuwealth is truth, uduezue fame is accomplished, akunwatachild’s wealth, akuabatawealth has come, akubudeone may become famous by one’s deed or handiwork, okutaluakukwelet he who has wealth admits it. there are others which are too many to be enumerated here. some of these names have no religious implications. this is because of the modern trend and civilization. modern ozo title men answer whatever they like and forget about their real meanings. examples are ekwuemeproclaimer and executor, ezegoking of money, eze afulukwea king by unanimous igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 121 consensus of his people, eze afulunambaa king who is recognized in a foreign land, eze afulunaanyaa beloved king, milinaezoluorarain that falls on the masses, ngaaku diwhere wealth lies, omesilihe who finished in a day, omegohe who is generous in giving gifts to others, omekaokwuluhe who keep his words, onwanaetilioramoon that shines for the people or masses, ogbunaechendoa fig tree that gives shade and so on. in the absence of any written list of names, one often gets mystified at the ease with which the titled men remember the names of one another. thus, through these names the religious, social, political and economic outlook of the traditional abba vis-a-vis igbo are publicly manifested and perpetuated. this further shows that ozo title and names is an important dimension of this ancient igbo traditional institution. religious function ozo title and names religion gives moral definitions and solutions to the problems of a man on earth. ozo society is a sacred society. this is because it enjoins every member to be holy through living an irreproachable life. an ideal igbo religion seems to rest with the ozo society and name in that neither fear nor an abject poverty compels its members to practice religion. religion provides moral code to the ozo titled man who has a particular name. the examples of name which give religious functions are: ugwuchinyeluhonour accorded by god, akubueziokwuwealth is truth, ezeudoking of peace, omekachikwulu executor of god’s will, ezechiwubelua king by god’s consent to mention but a few. it is this moral code which religion provides that make the ozo man not to tell lies, cheat, steal, gossip, fornicate, judge unjustly, break taboos and so on. this shows that ozo man should set example for the untitled man in the society. moreover, the bearer should recognize their inadequacy before ‘the mysterious being’ to show the help god gave him throughout his life. this he expresses in the name he answers. thus, some of these ozo title names perpetually remind their bearers their religious roles in the society. social function social function of ozo title is the fundamental element in the title society. an ozo man in igbo land is never swallowed up in a crowd. his presence is always felt and the social importance of his name is universally respected. some of the names that depict social stand include akubudewealth is fame, ekwuemeproclaimer and executor, ezeamalua well-known king, ezeanaekwua king who is the centre of discussion, onwana ,etilioramoon igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 122 that shines for the people, uduezuefame is accomplished, ezeanatuanyaya the expected king and so on. political function ozo title holders are advocates of their variouscommunities. as the politics implies the art of acting and judging wisely, ozo titleand names convey their holders’ position in doing the same. for instance, ochiorapublic leadership involves the man who has the name and engages in leadership role for the public especially his community or town. the political functions of ozo title indicate the holders’ abilities to excel his age mates or other members of his society in providing good leadership. hence, such names as ogbunaechendoa fig tree that gives shade, eze afulunambaa king who is recognized in a foreign land, ezeafulukweaking by unanimous consensus of his people and so on. all these portray that the king has not only a responsibility of leading his people aright, but takes active part and care in the public sector and welfare. economic function economy involves wealth, especially what money can do. ozo title is money consuming venture. njoku (1992) ,observes that title and secret societies were elite clubs of the ‘haves’ from which the ‘have-nots’ were excluded; indeed, a means of institutionalizing elitism (p.139).it is in the light of this that it is believed to be a ceremony for showing off one’s wealth. also it is a money saving enterprises in that the dividend accruing from it will be throughout the bearer’s life time. some of ozonames run along this particular line and thus project the image of their bearers to the masses or people. some of ozo names that relate to economy include: akukaliasurplus wealth, ozulumuogbenyefeeder of the poor, akulueunoif wealth reaches home…, akuililimultifarious wealth, akuabatawealth has come, to mention but a few. these names remind the people of the bearers’ abilities to cope with the hardship of life and especially of their abilities to take the title regardless of the expenses there in. moreover, the names show the holders’ capabilities of paying the initiation fees as an external sign of their wealth. the names also show the holders’ ability to host a large number of people for a long period most especially during entertaining period which is one month. the entertainment given to the people is the appreciation of the titled man’s excessive wealth. to sum up, we would say that ozo title names are more than mere labels on the bearers. a name is not just a personal label for the sake of identity; it igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 123 means much more (ezeanya, 1994:7). alford (1988:2) argues that “in some societies individuals receive their given names at birth and use these same names throughout their lives; while in other societies, individuals traditionally change their names at important points in their lives. and, finally, in some societies personal names are freely used in social interaction, while in other societies, personal names are regarded as intimate and private, and they must be kept secret”. the meaning of these names is deeper than what scholars would call “praise names’ (aha otutu). rather, these names manifest the vital roles which ozo titled men play in traditional igbo society. the effect of christianity and western civilization on ozo title and names culture is dynamic so also ozo title taking which has witnessed many changes in the way it is being taken in modern time. it is an institution among many which the influence of christianity and civilization is felt. when these forces could not obliterate ozo institution completely, they begged for room to be accommodated. hence, various changes which have allowed many things to be accepted in ozo society. all the ritual processes are monetised. one does not need to go through the ozo religious rites to become a titled man. no wonder ekwueme (1974:13) laments that “early missionaries tagged all indigenous forms of arts as the work of the devil, especially as almost invariably those associated with some religious or quasi-religious ceremonies. today, many with questionable character have infiltrated into the ozo society. ozo society that was based in sacredness and justice has given way to ‘anything that goes.’ once, one is able to shoulder the responsibility, he is eligible to take the once revered title irrespective of the source of his wealth. this has seriously devalued the title to a common ‘commodity’ anybody can buy. conclusion ozo title is a great land mark in the history of abba people. this tradition is as old as the town itself. the origin is not known but it is assumed to be handed down to the subsequent generations by their forefathers who lived before them. however, ozo title taking is an assumption of both a new mode of life and selfrealising responsibility. it is money intensive in that one has to spend fortune before he can have the title. ozo title is very rigorous because it involves a lot of initiation rites which aspirant must undergo before he could be absorbed into the ozo society in traditional abba community. as a new life, it brings about a new change of name which the titled men are known throughout their igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 124 lives. these names acquired as a result of title taking have religious, socioeconomic and political significance. in them one can understand the minds and situations of the bearers. with the advent of christianity and western civilization, there are modifications of ozo title taking and names by the modern people who seriously desired to acquire the title and the names to boost their ego in the community. the christians among them do not go through ozo rites which are the main ingredients of ozo society. instead, these rites are monetised in order for them not to partake in the initiation which they tagged idol worship. some of these people take the ozo title in order to satisfy their hunger for privileges, titles, class distinction and pompous exhibition of their wealth. through these processes, ozo title and names lost some of their values. recommendations ozo title taking is an ancient tradition among the igbo people. it is a tradition that has stood the test of time despite the pressure from christianity and western civilization. what knighthood is to the catholics that is what ozo title is to the traditionalists. in ozo title taking, one can understand and appreciate our rich traditional cultural heritage. traditional values will always have a place therefore; they will never lose relevance. therefore, it is recommended that abba people vis-à-vis igbo generally should endeavour to preserve this great institution for generations yet unborn. references agada-uya, u. (1984). omume ceremony in ehugbo (afikpo): a look at greatness, nigerian magazine, 144. alford, r. d. 1988. naming and identity: a cross-cultural study of personal naming arinze, f. 1973. the church and nigerian culture. onitsha: tabansi press ltd arinze, francis (1970), ibadan: sacrifice in igbo religion, ibadan: university press. awolalu, j. and dopamu, p.(1979), west african traditional religion, ibadan: onibonje press. ebo, ubahakwe (1981), igbo names: their structures and their meanings, ibadan: daystar press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 125 ekwueme, l. 1974. african music in christian liturgy: the igbo experiment. african music.5, no.3. (1973/1974, accessed: 4th august, 2020 ezeanya, s. n.(1994), a handbook of igbo christian names. onitsha: tabansi. press ezeanya, stephen n. (1967), a handbook of igbo christian names, port harcourt: cms press. forde,d. and jones, g.i. (1962), the ibo and ibibio speaking peoples of south-eastern nigeria, london: international african institution. idigo, m. c. m. (1990), aguleri history and culture. lagos: bantam press ltd. ifemesia, chieka (1979), traditional human living among the igbo: a historical perspective, enugu: fourth dimension publishing co. ltd. ikeobi, godwin c. (1970), towards the christian purification of the igbo ozo title society in onitsha archdiocese, as a prelude to its christian integration, unpublished manuscript, rome. isichei, e. (1980), entirely for god: the life of michael iwenetansi. ibadan: macmillan nigeria publishers ltd. madukasi, f. c. (2018), ozo title: an indigenous institution in traditional religion that upholds patriarchy in igbo land south-eastern nigeria, accessed 10th march 2020, http://valleyinternationalnet/index.php/the.jsshi/article/view/1165 matory, j. l. 1993. government by seduction: history and tropes of ‘mounting’ in oyo-yoruba religion, in modernity and its malcontents: power in afrirca, edited by jean comaroff and john comaroff, chicago: university of chicago press. metuh, e. i. 1981. god and man in african religion. london: geoffrey chapman. nabofa, m. y. (1994), religious communication: a study in african traditional religion, ibadan: daystar press . njoku, o.n. (1992). igbo economy and society, in a.e. afigbo (ed.), groundwork of igbo history, lagos: vista books nze, c. (1977), ozo title, enugu ministry of education and information cultural division. ogbalu, c. (1981). ndu ndi igbo, onitsha: university publishing company igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 5. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 126 okeke, romeo (1984), “abba” a tribute to fatherland 1800-1984, enugu: chuka publishing co. ltd. okeke, uche, (1977), ozo title takingdilemma of the contemporary igbo, enugu: ministry of education and information cultural division. onwuejeogwu, m.a. (1977), the genesis, diffusion, structure and significance of ozo title in igbo land, uniben: benin city press. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 7.doc igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 58 la mission du christ comme manifestation de la trinité dans l’histoire du salut : une étude analytique du sermon 52 de saint augustin p. kolawole chabi, phd, o.s.a institutum patristicum augustinianum roma résumé cet article est la continuation d’une recherche que nous avons commencée sur la doctrine trinitaire augustinienne dans sa prédication. nous avons pris en examen, à travers une étude analytique du sermon 52, ce que l’évêque d’hippone enseigne sur l’inséparabilité des personnes de la trinité dans leurs opérations ad extra. plus précisément, nous avons étudié l’inséparabilité du père et du fils dans les œuvres de ce dernier dans sa mission par sa naissance, sa passion et sa résurrection. saint augustin enseigne que chacun de ces événements de la vie du christ est son œuvre propre mais aussi celle du père. il ajoute par ailleurs, dans d’autres textes significatifs, que le saint-esprit ne peut être nullement séparé de ces œuvres, car la trinité agit toujours en tant qu’un seul dieu.si saint augustin soutient que c’est la trinité qui opère dans la mission du fils, il devient alors difficile de comprendre comment l’on peut dire qu’il a séparé la trinité de l’histoire du salut. introduction nous avons entrepris une étude sur la doctrine trinitaire augustinienne dans ses sermons dans le dessein de montrer, contre ceux qui l’accusent d’avoir séparé la trinité de l’histoire du salut et de l’avoir rendue inutile à la piété chrétienne,1 que de telles accusations ne sont nullement pas fondées. dans ce second article,2 qui est aussi un extrait de notre thèse doctorale auquel nous avons apporté de 1 nombreux sont les théologiens modernes qui trouvent de nombreux impairs dans la théologie trinitaire augustinienne. par eux, il faut nécessairement mentionnerk. rahner,remarks on the dogmatic treatise de trinitate, dans theological investigations, vol. 4: more recent writings, trad. kevin smyth, helicon press, baltimore 1966, et l’opposant le plus acharné de l’évêque d’hippone, c. gunton,augustine, the trinity and the theological crisis of the west, dans sjth 43/01 (1990), 33-58; id.the trinity in modern theology, dans p. byrne-l. houlden-l. houlden (éds.), companion encyclopedia of theology, routledge, london 1995, 937– 957 ; id., trinity, ontology and anthropology, dans id. (éd), persons, divine and human, t. & t. clark, edinburgh 1991. 2 un premier article sur la doctrine trinitaire augustinienne s’est penché sur son enseignement sur la nature de la trinité dans ses sermons de la période presbytérale.il a paru sur igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities 3/2 (2017). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 59 légères modifications,3 nous voudrions montrer comment saint augustin enseigne l’agir de la trinité dans l’histoire à travers la mission du fils. notre étude aura comme point d’attache le sermon52 qui, de tous les sermons authentique de l’évêque d’hippone, est le seul qui traite spécifiquement de la trinité. daté en 412,4 ce sermon est un commentaireà la péricope de l’évangile selon saint matthieu sur le baptême de jésus. c’est donc autour de la personne du fils, dans sa mission dans le temps, que se déploie une manifestation éclatante du dieu un et trine. nous sommes, pour cela, dans la logique de la mission du fils qui, après son incarnation, passera par son ministère public pour aboutir au 3 notre thèse soutenue à l’institut patristique « augustinianum » en mai 2017 est intitulée : « le mystère trinitaire dans l’histoire du salut et dans la vie du chrétien :une recherche dans les sermones ad populum de saint augustin », sous la direction du p. nello cipriani, o.s.a. 4 sur la datation de ce sermon, voire. hill qui suggère que l’évêque l’aurait prêché à hippone un jour de la semaine en dehors de la messe dominicale : « …it was clearly not at a sunday mass for the whole community, where many of the congregation, perhaps most, would be illiterate. so, it would probably have been at some weekday service, or service for some special group of the devout—some kind of house mass perhaps? now would augustine hold such a service outside his own local church? at carthage, he certainly might have done so, by invitation. but there is no suggestion of an invitation here. so, i read this passage as implying that the sermon was probably preached in hippo ». e. hill, n. 15 au s. 52, dans id. (trad.), wsa. sermons iii/3 : sermons 5194, 64. cette hypothèse de hill n’est pas déterminante pour notre étude sur le sermon. quel que soit le lieu de la prédication du sermon, notre intérêt va surtout à son contenu doctrinal qui nourrit la foi des fidèles, lettrés ou non, qui comprennent mieux le mystère auquel ils croient ;a. schindler, wort und analogie in augustins trinitätslehre, j.c.b. mohr (paul siebeck), tübigen 1965, 41-42 ; a. kunzelman, die chronologie der sermones, 485 ; p.-p. verbraken, le sermon lii de saint augustin sur la trinité et l’analogie des facultés de l’âme, dans revue bénédictine 74 (1964), 10.hill affirme: « the point is discussed, very briefly, inthe trinity iv, 21, 30, and raised, but hardly discussed at the beginning of that work, i, 5, 8. though in this last passage augustine says that people weary him with questions on this particular point, it is not in fact one that he devotes much attention to in his magisterial work on the trinity. he deals with this again in letter 169, 2, 6, written to his friend and colleague evodius (but it is a slightly huffy letter!) toward the end of the year 415.both here and inthe trinity iv he uses the same illustration of memory, understanding and will to make his point. does this connection with other augustinian texts help us to date this sermon? before answering, we must note that in one instance what augustine says here does not accord with a major theme of his the trinity. in the closing section of the sermon he says unequivocally, “i don’t say memory is the father, understanding is the son, will is the spirit. i don’t say it… i don’t dare to.” he is clearly thinking it, but he is very hesitant about it. now in the last books of the trinity, books ix, x and xi especially, he very definitely and definitively does say just that; he uses the mental triad as a very clear model or analogy for the divine triad—of course with all the necessary reservations that he touches on here, and states more precisely in his letter to evodius».e. hill, n. 1 au s. 52, dans id. (trad.), wsa. sermons iii/3 : sermons 5194, 63. il conclut au même endroit : «nonetheless, i think we may tentatively infer that when he wrote to evodius, he had already got two thirds of the way through book xii ofthe trinity, and stopped there under the pressure of other demands on him. if that is so, this sermon would have been preached quite a long time before 415. the majority of the scholars in fact date it to 410-412, while one puts it as late as 419-420. for the reasons given, i cast my vote with the majority». igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 60 sacrifice suprême du mystère pascal. et c’est la trinité qui donne le coup d’envoi à ce ministère du christ avec l’événement singulier de son baptême dans le jourdain.5 notre étude se divise en deux parties asymétriques. dans la première, nous ferons dusermon 52 un exposé analytique articulé en trois parties qui en substance présentent l’argumentation de saint augustin sur l’inséparabilité des œuvres du père et du fils dans la mission de ce dernier dans l’histoire. nous exposerons comment le prédicateur d’hippone démontre sur la base des écritures que la naissance, la passion et la résurrection du fils sont toutesl’œuvre commune du père et du fils. puis dans la deuxième partie, nous traiterons de ce qu’il enseigne sur le rôle du saint-esprit dans la mission salvifique du christ pour compléter le tableau de la partition que joue chacune des personnes divine dans cette mission. 1. un exposé analytique du sermon 526 après un bref exorde dans lequel le prédicateur dit aux fidèles qu’il prêcherait sur le thème du jour sous l’inspiration et l’ordre du seigneur, il déclare directement que ce qui se passe sur les rives du jourdain comme un « divin spectacle » c’est bien sûr la révélation de notre dieu dans sa trinité sainte.7 il décline alors le spectacle en reprenant la narration évangélique pour indiquer les trois personnes de la trinité distinctement dans l’action que l’évangéliste associe à chacune : jésus fut baptisé par jean après l’avoir convaincu qu’il fallait 5 saint augustin dira dans un autre sermon qui serait prononcé entre 417 et 418 qu’à travers le baptême de jean reçu par le christ, le père, le fils et saint-esprit ont consacré le baptême institué par le christ en faveur des chrétiens. cf. aug., s. 51, 33 (rb 91, 44) : « et quamvis esset illud baptismum ioannis ; in eo tamen sensibiliter apparuit trinitas patris et filii et spiritus sancti, qua consecratus est ipsius christi baptismus, quo baptizandi erant futuri christiani : pater, in voce quae facta est de coelo ; filius, in ipso homine mediatore ; spiritus sanctus, in columba ». donc le baptême qu’a reçu le seigneur est voulu par la trinité en vue de celui que recevraient les chrétiens par la suite. c’est d’ailleurs au nom du père et du fils et du saint-esprit que jésus ordonnera que les apôtres baptisent ceux qui auront cru à leur prédication (mt. 28, 18). 6 le s. 52 a déjà été l’objet de nombreuses études, attendu qu’il est pratiquement le seul sermon de notre auteur entièrement consacré au mystère trinitaire. nous pouvons citer entre les plus importantes études, celles de m. mellet, le mystère de la sainte trinité : comment saint augustin prêchait la trinité aux fidèles d’hippone, dans la vie spirituelle 64 (1941), 401-421 ; g. bardy, saint paul juriste, dans recsr (1943), 209-210 ; m. smalbrugge, l’analogie réexaminée, dans rhpr 69/2 1989, 121-134.l. ayres, “remember that you are a catholic” (serm. 52, 2). augustine on the unity of the triune god, dans jecs 8/1 (2000), 39 – 82 ; s. gonzález,la vivencia trinitaria en san agustín ('de la trinidad' y 'sermón 52'), religión y cultura 46 (2000), 301-317. 7 id., s. 52, 1 (rb 74, 15-16) : « videmus enim et tamquam proposito divino spectaculo contuemur, apud flumen iordanen commendari nobis deum nostrum in trinitate ». igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 61 accomplir toute justice, l’esprit-saint descendit sur lui en forme de colombe, et on entendit du ciel la voix du père : « celui-ci est mon fils bien-aimé, en qui j’ai mis mes affections ». le prédicateur récapitule : « ne voyons-nous pas ici la trinité distinctement ? dans la voix nous entendons le père, nous adorons le fils dans l’homme qui reçoit le baptême, et l’esprit-saint dans la colombe. il suffit de le rappeler ; rien n’est plus facile à saisir. quoi de plus évident ? quoi de plus indubitable ? c’est bien ici la trinité ».8 ainsi, saint augustin établit que c’est la trinité qui s’est manifestée distinctement dans les personnes du fils qui s’est transporté d’un lieu dans un autre et donc présent au bord du fleuve pour le baptême, du saint-esprit apparu en forme de colombe allant lui aussi d’un lieu à un autre, et du père dont la voix s’est faite entendre nettement. il affirme alors « quamvis timide » que la trinité est « quasi separabilem ». de cette manifestation, saint augustin en arrive à affirmer qu’« il y a donc ici comme une triple séparation de lieux, de fonctions et d’œuvres ».9 à ce point survient l’habituelle méthode augustinienne qui consiste à donner de façon imaginaire la parole à l’auditoire qui devrait objecter à son propos sur cette question de la séparabilité de la trinité. du coup, il anticipe la réaction des fidèles qui, fermes dans leur foi, n’accepteraient pas une telle idée. on lui répliquerait, dit-il : montre plutôt que la trinité est inséparable. souviens-toi que tu es catholique et que tu parles à des catholiques. tel est en effet l’enseignement de notre foi, c’est-à-dire de la foi véritable, de la foi droite, de la foi catholique, de la foi qui ne repose pas sur les présomptions de l’esprit mais sur les témoignages de l’autorité, de la foi qui ne flotte pas incertaine au souffle téméraire des hérétiques, mais 8 ibid (rb 74, 16): « habemus ergo distinctam quodam modo trinitatem : in voce patrem, in homine filium, in columba spiritum sanctum. hoc quidem commemorare opus erat ; nam videre facillimum est. evidenter enim, nec ullo dubitationis scrupulo commendatur haec trinitas ». dans un texte où il polémique un peu avec les scismatiques, ceux qui, ingrats contre le saint-esprit, ne voient pas sa manifestation et brisent l’unité et la paix de l’église, saint augustin affirme encore la manifestation de la sainte trinité dans le baptême du seigneur. cf. id., io. eu. tr.6, 5 (ccl 36, 56) : « etapparuitibisanctaillaetueratrinitas, quaenobisunus deusest. adscenditenimdominusabaqua, sicutineuangelio legimus : etecceapertisunteicaeli, etuiditspiritumdescendentem uelutcolumbam, etmansitsupereum ; etstatimuox consecutaest: tuesfiliusmeusdilectus, inquomihicomplacui[mt. 3,16sq.]. apparetmanifestissimatrinitas, paterinuoce, filiusin homine, spiritusincolumba. inistatrinitatequomissisunt apostoli, uideamusquoduidemus, etquodmirumestquiailli nonuident ; nonenimuerenonuident, sedadidquodfacies eorumferit, oculosclaudunt ». 9 aug., s. 52, 2 (rb 74, 17) : « tria haec quasi separantur locis, separantur officiis, separantur operibus ». igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 62 qui demeure fortement établie sur la vérité apostolique.voilà donc ce qu’elle nous fait connaître, ce qu’elle nous donne à croire… que le père, le fils et le saint-esprit forment une inséparable trinité, un seul dieu et non pas trois dieux.10 saint augustin veut établir le fondement orthodoxe de la foi de l’église dans l’unité et l’inséparabilité de la trinité. mais il ne manque d’insister sur la distinction des personnes car, comme il le souligne, la trinité est un seul dieu sans que « le fils soit le père et sans que le père soit le fils, sans que le saint-esprit soit le père ou le fils, car il est l’esprit et du père et du fils ».11 le prédicateur est bien conscient qu’il a devant lui une entreprise de longue haleine demandant un effort soutenu pour justifier que les trois personnes ont agi séparément dans l’épisode que narre la péricope évangélique, et soutenir tout de même que la trinité est inséparable dans ses opérations. il invite alors l’assemblée à prêter attention et implore leur prière et collaboration car, dit-il, sous le poids du corps qui se corrompt et appesantit l’âme, il est très difficile de l’élever vers dieu.12 1. 1. l’inséparabilité des œuvres du père et du fils13 10 ibid., : « dicat mihi aliquis: ostende inseparabilem trinitatem. memento catholicum te loqui, catholicis loqui. fides enim nostra, id est, fides vera, fides recta, fides catholica, non opinione praesumptionis, sed testimonio lectionis collecta, nec haeretica temeritate incerta, sed apostolica veritate fundata, hoc insinuat; hoc novimus, hoc credimus… inseparabilem esse trinitatem, unum deum, non tres deos ». 11 ibid., « ita tamen unum deum, ut filius non sit pater, ut pater non sit filius, ut spiritus sanctus nec pater sit, nec filius, sed patris et filii spiritus ». 12 ibid., 52, 3 (rb 74, 17-18) : « videtis enim quid susceperimus ; non solum quid, verum etiam qui; unde volumus dicere, ubi positi, quomodo positi in corpore quod corrumpitur et aggravat animam, et deprimit terrena inhabitatio sensum multa cogitantem. quando ergo istum sensum a multis extraho, et ad unum deum trinitatem inseparabilem colligo, ut aliquid videam quod dicam ; putasne in hoc corpore quod aggravat animam, ut aliquid vobis digne loquar, potero dicere : quoniam ad te, domine, animam meam levavi? adiuvet me, levet eam mecum. nam infirmus sum illi, et gravis est mihi. » 13 dans la littérature patristique, l’inséparabilité des personnes de la trinité dans leur opération ad extra est une doctrine fortement établie même avant saint augustin. dans ce sens il s’insère dans une tradition que l’église tient et transmet. entre autres pères qui ont développé une réflexion théologique sur cette question, l’on peut citer : irénée de lyons : «le père a toujours avec lui son verbe et sa sagesse, le fils et l’esprit, par qui et en qui il a fait toutes choses… il n’y a qu’un seul dieu, qui par son verbe et sa sagesse a fait et disposé toutes choses » (adv. haer. iv, 20, 1.4) ; saint athanase : « le père fait toutes choses par le verbe et l’esprit, et c’est ainsi que l’unité de la sainte trinité est sauvegardée » (ad serap. i, 28) ; saint hilaire de poitiers dans la tradition occidentale : « il n’y a qu’un seul auteur de toutes choses, car un est dieu le père, de qui (sont) toutes choses, un le fils unique notreseigneur jésus-christ, par qui (sont) toutes choses, un l’esprit, qui est le don en toutes choses ». igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 63 l’évêque observe, d’entrée de jeu, que certains frères de l’assemblée qu’il reconnait « plus studieux » posent souvent la question de savoir si le père fait quelque chose sans le fils où si le fils agit quelques fois sans le père. cette inquiétude des frères guidera une longue partie de la prédication et orientera les diverses facettes de la réflexion sur l’intervention des autres personnes de la trinité (le père et le saint-esprit) dans la mission du fils. mais saint augustin se concentre d’abord sur le père et le fils pour montrer comment ils opèrent ensemble dans la création et le gouvernement du monde. c’est surtout se en basant sur certains testimonia bibliques que le prédicateur indique aux fidèles comment les deux agissent ensemble. trois des points fondamentaux que notre prédicateur promet de démontrer dans le sermon du jour sont la naissance, la passion et la résurrection du christ qui sont réalisées aussi bien par le père que par le fils. il ne fera pas cette démonstration au moyen de spéculations en marge des données scripturaires sur ces questions. bien au contraire, c’est à travers un habile agencement de versets bibliques que lui-même considère comme des témoignages de « documenta firmissima », qu’il arrive à réaliser sa promesse. et spontanément, à un certain point, ses propos fort convaincants ont suscité des applaudissements de l’assemblée sidérée par son habileté dialectique. saint augustin est parti de la conviction selon laquelle le père ne saurait rien faire sans celui par qui tout a été fait et sans qui rien n’a été fait. 14 mais la question qui pourrait justement se poser est celle de savoir si le père a tout créé par le son fils au temps de la création et qu’aujourd’hui il ne gouverne pas le monde par lui. à une telle idée, l’évêque oppose l’attitude que doit avoir et la conviction que doit tenir un vrai croyant : « que cette pensée s’éloigne du cœur des fidèles, qu’elle n’entre point dans l’esprit des hommes religieux, dans l’entendement des âmes pieuses. on ne saurait admettre que dieu ait créé et ne gouverne point par son fils. comment ce qui a l’être serait-il dirigé sans lui, puisque c’est lui qui a donné cet être ? ».15 il recourt alors à deux testimonia pour soutenir sa position : tout d’abord il 14 aug., s. 52, 4 (rb 74, 18) : « facitaliquidpatersinefilio ? respondemus : non. andubitatis ? quidenimfacitsineillo, perquemfactasuntomnia ? omnia, inquit, peripsumfactasunt[io.1, 3] : etsatiateinculcanstardis, duris, litigiosis, addidit : etsineipsofactumestnihil[io.1, 3] ». 15 ibid. 52, 5 (rb 74, 19) : « absit. recedathaeccogitatio afideliumcordibus, abigaturasensudeuotorum, abintellectupiorum. fierinonpotest, utperipsumcreaueritetnonperipsumgubernet. absit, utsineipsoregaturquodest, quandoperipsumfactumestut esset ». igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 64 rappelle io. 1, 3 qu’il avait déjà cité : « tout a été fait par lui et sans lui rien n’a été fait ». non seulement tout a été fait par lui, mais aussi tout ce qu’il a fait est régi et gouverné par lui. et pour démontrer cela il s’en appelle à sg. 8, 1. c’est le christ la sagesse et vertu de dieu par qui il a fait toutes les créatures. cette sagesse, dit le verset sur lequel s’appuie le prédicateur, « atteint avec force d’une extrémité à l’autre et dispose tout avec douceur ». la sagesse de dieu, c’est-à-dire le christ, dispose donc tout dans le temps présent avec douceur. nous arrivons ainsi à une conclusion partielle de cet effort démonstratif de notre auteur qui dit aux fidèles : « ainsi donc, gardons-nous d’en douter : celui par qui tout a été fait, gouverne également tout, et conséquemment le père ne fait rien sans le fils ni le fils sans le père ».16 le prédicateur repose alors la question qu’il se propose de traiter au nom du seigneur et par sa volonté : « si le père ne fait rien sans le fils, ni le fils rien sans le père, n’en devons-nous pas conclure que c’est le père aussi qui est né de la vierge marie, le père qui a souffert sous ponce-pilate, le père qui est ressuscité et monté au ciel ? ».17 puisque la foi véritable ne professe pas une telle erreur, la réponse à cette interrogation doit être nécessairement négative. selon la foi catholique, seul le fils est né de la vierge marie, lui seul a souffert la passion et est mort sous ponce-pilate. et pour lever toute ombre de doute sur la distinction qu’il existe entre la personne du père et celle du fils, le prédicateur a jugé bon de mettre les fidèles en garde contre les partisans de la confusion, les hérétiques qui disent que c’est la même personne qui est le père et le fils : j’oubliais de remarquer qu’il est des hommes, peu intelligents, connus sous le nom de patripassiens. ils affirment que c’est le père qui est né d’une femme et qui a souffert, que le fils n’est autre chose que le père ; deux noms, mais une seule personne. or pour les empêcher de séduire qui que ce soit, pour qu’ils ne pussent contester que hors de son sein, l’église catholique les a retranchés de la communion des fidèles.18 16 ibid. : « nonergodubitemusper ipsumregiomnia, perquemfactasuntomnia. nihilitaquepatersine filio, nihilfiliussinepatrefacit». 17 ibid. 52, 6 (rb 74, 19) : « si nihil facit pater sine filio, et nihil filius sine patre; nonne quasi consequens erit ut et patrem dicamus natum de virgine maria, patrem passum sub pontio pilato, patrem resurrexisse et in coelum ascendisse? ». 18 aug., s. 52, 6 (rb 74, 19) : « excidit nobis, quosdam male intellegentes vocari patripassianos, qui dicunt ipsum patrem natum ex femina, ipsum patrem passum, ipsum esse patrem qui est filius, duo esse nomina, non res igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 65 à ce point, saint augustin fait resurgir la problématique du propos en indiquant les objections que tout auditeur attentif pourrait soulever contre l’affirmation selon laquelle le père ne fait rien sans le fils ni le fils sans le père, tandis que seul le fils est né, a souffert et est ressuscité sans que le père ne soit lui aussi le sujet de ces événements. cela semble à juste titre une contradiction. il réitère alors le point focal de son enseignement : « voici ce que je dis : le fils, et non le père, est né de la vierge marie ; mais cette naissance est l’œuvre du père et du fils. le père n’a point enduré la passion, c’est le fils ; mais cette passion est l’œuvre du père et du fils. le père n’est pas ressuscité, c’est le fils ; mais la résurrection aussi est l’œuvre du père et du fils. il semble donc que la question soit résolue ».19 donc la nativité, la passion et la résurrection sont l’œuvre du père et du fils quoi que ce soit seul le fils qui les ait vécues dans la mission dans le temps. l’habile prédicateur ne veut pas se contenter de simples affirmations. il intervient donc en sa qualité de maître rhéteur et veut suivre les procédures d’un procès judiciaire.20 le tribunal est l’assemblée des fidèles, auditeurs de la duas. et removit istos ecclesia catholica a communione sanctorum, ne aliquem deciperent, ut separati litigarent ». l’évêque d’hippone note dans son de haeresibus que tous les hérétiques qui professent la doctrine selon laquelle la même personne est le père, le fils et le saint-esprit sont une seule et même chose du fait de la doctrine erronée qui les unit. ainsi, quand on entend, noétiens, sabelliens, patripassiens, praxéaniens, hermogéniens, l’on doit retenir que ce ne sont donc pas plusieurs sectes, mais ce sont des noms différents donnés à une seule et même secte, en mémoire des hommes les plus célèbres qui en firent partie. à cet effet, il cite philastre, évêque de brixiane, auteur d’un traité sur les hérésies qui témoigne de l’exclusion de ces groupes de la communion de l’église : « sabellius, inquit, discipulus eius [noeti], qui similitudinem sui doctoris itidem secutus est, unde et sabelliani postea sunt appellati, qui et patripassiani; et praxeani a praxea, et hermogeniani ab hermogene, qui fuerunt in africa; qui et ita sentientes abiecti sunt ab ecclesia catholica ». aug. haer 41 (ccl 46, 308). 19 ibid., 52, 8 (rb 74, 21) : « hoc dico: filius quidem, non pater, natus est de virgine maria; sed ipsam nativitatem filii, non patris, de virgine maria, et pater et filius operatus est. non est quidem passus pater, sed filius : passionem tamen filii et pater et filius operatus est. non resurrexit pater, sed filius : resurrectionem tamen filii et pater et filius operatus est ». 20 nous savons l’importance que revêtait l’exercice pour la défence des causes à l’école du rhéteur. il y a différentes sortes de discours. dans ce qui est d’ordre judiciaire, la “controverse” (controversia) est une plaidoirie pour ou contre une cause, dans un cas imaginaire mais bien précis, défini en fonction d’un texte de loi. on trouve à titre illustratif un exemple d’exercice scolastique commun à l’école du rhéteur chez sénèque l’ancien qui présente le cas d’une prêtresse prostituée : « on supposera une loi fixant qu’une prêtresse doit être chaste et pure, issue de parents chastes et purs. une vierge, prise par des pirates, est vendue à un entrepreneur qui la livre à la prostitution. aux clients qui se présentaient, elle demandait de lui payer son salaire tout en la respectant. un soldat refuse de lui accorder cette grâce et veut lui faire violence : elle le tue. accusée, elle est acquittée et rendue aux siens. elle demande un sacerdoce. plaider pour ou contre ». cf. sénèque le rhéteur, controverses, i, 2. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 66 prédication. ils constituent en même temps les juges et l’évêque est l’avocat. il fera son plaidoyer se servant du témoignage des livres saints et de façon éminente, il produira l’autorité de saint paul qu’il considère comme « idoneum iuris divini consultum ».21 ainsi, il attribue le titre de juriste22 ou d’expert en droit divin à saint paul dont il citera des passages dans son plaidoyer. examinons donc les textes dont il se sert pour chacun des événements importants de la mission du christ qu’il considère comme étant une œuvre du père et du fils. 1. 2. la naissance du fils : œuvre du père et du fils la démonstration de la naissance du fils comme l’œuvre du père et du fils se trouve dans le §9. c’est particulièrement à cet effet que le prédicateur s’appuie sur l’autorité de saint paul, l’habile docteur en droit divin. il donne donc la parole à l’apôtre : « montrez-nous, saint apôtre, comment la naissance du fils est l’œuvre du père ». s’en suit la citation scripturaire de l’épître aux galates : « lorsqu’est venue la plénitude du temps, dit-il, dieu a envoyé son fils, formé d’une femme, soumis à la loi, pour racheter ceux qui étaient sous la loi ». c’est dieu le père qui envoie et qui fait naître son fils d’une vierge la plénitude du temps étant venue.23 l’évêque fait une petite parenthèse d’exégèse à ce point se servant de son habileté de grand rhéteur. il venait de dire que le père a envoyé le fils en le 21 aug., s. 52, 9 (rb 74, 22). 22 sur l’attribution du titre d’expert en droit divin à l’apôtre, il existe une brève étude gustave bardy sur la figure de saint paul juriste chez venance fortunatus, chez arnobe le jeune et, avant ces deux auteurs, chez saint augustin et c’est précisément au paragraphe 9 de notre sermon que l’auteur fait référence. cf. g. bardy, saint paul juriste, dans recherches de science religieuse (1943), 209-210. notons que le volume de cette parution de la revue n’est pas mentionné parce que manquant. certainement cette année étant une année de guerre, la publication n’avait procédé de la façon normale. sur la question des exercices scolastiques où l’usage de la rhétorique sert à aiguiser la capacité discursive et argumentative de l’élève sur divers aspects de la vie, cf. h.-i. marrou, histoire de l’éducation dans l’antiquité, éditions seuil, paris 1981 ; n. cipriani, la retorica negli scrittori cristiani antichi, 15 ; b. sans, exercer l’invention ou (ré)inventer la controverse, dans exercice de rhétorique 5 (2015) rhétorique et citoyenneté. édition électronique. http:// rhetorique.revues.org/404. 23 cf. aug., s. 52, 9 (rb 74, 22) : « ostendat nobis sanctus apostolus, quomodo nativitatem filii pater operatus sit. “cum autem venit, inquit, plenitudo temporis, misit deus filium suum factum ex muliere, factum sub lege, ut eos qui sub lege erant redimeret”. audistis, et quia planum et apertum est, intellexistis. ecce pater fecit filium nasci de virgine. cum enim venisset plenitudo temporis, misit deus filium suum, utique pater christum. quomodo eum misit? factum ex muliere, factum sub lege. fecit ergo eum pater ex muliere sub lege ». nous lisons dans s. 213, 7 (ma 1, 446) que toute la trinité a formé la chair du fils: « filius verbum caro factum est, non pater, non spiritus sanctus. sed carnem filii tota trinitas fecit: inseparabilia enim sunt opera trinitatis ». igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 67 formant d’une vierge. mais le texte de l’apôtre cité dit « d’une femme ». il dit à l’auditoire qu’il sait attentif : « êtes-vous surpris que j’aie dit : d’une vierge, et que paul dise : d’une femme ? ne vous en étonnez point, ne nous arrêtons pas à cela ; je ne parle pas à des ignorants. l’écriture emploie les deux expressions ; elle dit : d’une vierge, et : d’une femme. d’une vierge : “voici qu’une, vierge concevra et enfantera un fils”. d’une femme ; vous venez de l’entendre ». le prédicateur apporte deux témoins pour prouver qu’il n’y a pas de contradiction dans l’usage des deux expressions. nous l’avons déjà noté que saint augustin, à travers différentes expressions dont il se sert dans ce sermon semble organiser la démonstration de son propos quasi comme dans un procès judiciaire. par conséquent, il garde à l’esprit certaines règles de base de la procédure judiciaire dans son argumentation. c’est typiquement, pourrait-on dire, le cas des status legales (états légaux)24 qui se présente ici, et entrant dans les particuliers on distinguera le status scripti et voluntatis (l’état de la lettre et de la volonté)que le prédicateur utilise pour montrer qu’il ne peut pas y avoir contraction dans le texte sacré. généralement, cet étattente de déterminer l’application d’une loi en invoquant son contenu explicite ou l’intention implicite du législateur. c’est sans doute à cette procédure que saint augustin se réfère en faisant appel au sens du mot « femme » dans la langue hébraïque. il rappelle alors que « la langue hébraïque appelle femmes, non pas celles qui ont perdu leur virginité, mais toutes les personnes du sexe ».25 il fait suivre immédiatement les testimonia bibliques : « la genèse en 24 nous renvoyons au texte de n. cipriani, la retorica negli scrittori cristiani antichi, 26-29. 25 aug., s. 52, 10 (rb 74, 22) : « proprietas enim locutionis hebraeae “mulieres”, non corruptas virginitate, sed feminas appellat ». cf. s. 186, 3 : (pl 38, 1000) : « item si ille qui est dei filius, non est ipse factus filius hominis, quomodo misit deus filium suum factum ex muliere ? quo nomine secundum hebraeam linguam non virgineum decus negatur, sed femineus sexus ostenditur ». la référence à la langue hébraïque dans ce passage pourrait suggérer que l’évêque a connu une version hébraïque de la bible, quoique sa connaissance de cette langue ne soit pas des meilleures pour ne pas dire qu’elle est peut-être nulle. mais faut noter qu’il lui arrive de faire référence la version hébraïque de la bible en la comparant à celle des lxx pour affirmer par exemple qu’ils ne se contredisent pas. c’est le cas par exemple dans civ. xviii, 44 concernant les versions des deux bibles sur l’annonce de jonas à ninive. saint augustin concilie les deux positions mais opte pour la version hébraïque : « sed ait aliquis : quomodo sciam quid ionas propheta dixerit ninivitis, utrum : triduum, et ninive evertetur, an: quadraginta dies? quis enim non videat non potuisse utrumque tunc dici a propheta, qui missus fuerat terrere comminatione imminentis exitii civitatem ? cui si tertio die fuerat futurus interitus, non utique quadragesimo die ; si autem quadragesimo, non utique tertio. si ergo a me quaeritur, quid horum ionas dixerit, hoc puto potius quod legitur in hebraeo: quadraginta dies, et ninive evertetur. septuaginta quippe longe posterius interpretati aliud dicere potuerunt, quod tamen ad rem pertineret et in unum eumdemque sensum, quamvis sub altera significatione, concurreret, admoneretque lectorem utraque auctoritate non spreta ab historia sese attollere ad ea requirenda, propter quae significanda historia ipsa conscripta est. gesta sunt quippe illa in ninive civitate, sed aliquid etiam significaverunt, quod modum illius civitatis excedat; sicut gestum est, quod ipse propheta in ventre ceti triduo fuit, et tamen alium significavit in profundo inferni triduo futurum, qui dominus est omnium prophetarum ». igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 68 présente un exemple frappant, au moment même de la création d’ève : de cette côte, ditelle, “dieu forma la femme” (gen. 2, 22).ailleurs encore l’écriture rappelle que dieu ordonna de séparer les femmes qui n’avaient point connu d’homme (nb. 31, 17-18, jg. 21, 11) ».26 le prédicateur n’a pas l’intention de s’attarder sur cette question car il sait qu’il n’a pas à faire à des ignorants.27 il faut qu’il s’occupe des points difficiles de la doctrine qu’il veut enseigner. il démontrera à présent que la naissance du fils est aussi l’œuvre du fils. saint augustin repart se basant encore sur l’autorité de saint paul. selon lui, dire que le fils est né de la vierge signifie que dans le sein de cette vierge, il a pris la nature de serviteur. c’est tout simplement cela la naissance du fils. mais en est-il l’auteur comme le père ?le prédicateur répond en citant phil. 2, 6-7 : « mais le fils en est l’auteur comme le père ; écoutez : « il avait la nature de dieu, dit l’apôtre, et il ne croyait pas usurper en s’égarant à dieu ; mais il s’est anéanti lui-même en prenant la nature de serviteur ». l’abaissement du fils qui fait qu’il ne s’égale pas au père mais s’est anéanti pour assumer la nature humaine, est la preuve que sa naissance est aussi son œuvre. saint augustin récapitule alors pour montrer qu’il a déjà fait la lumière sur les deux facettes de la question faisant encore appel à saint paul dans rom. 1, 3 : « “lorsqu’est venue la plénitude du temps, dieu a envoyé son fils, formé d’une femme ; son fils qui lui est né selon la chair, de la race de david ” voilà la naissance du fils produite par le père ; mais comme le fils “s’est anéanti luimême en prenant la nature de serviteur” sa naissance est aussi son œuvre. la preuve est faite, passons, appliquez-vous à ce qui suit ».28 ainsi a-t-il démontré que le père et le fils ont réalisé la naissance du fils dans le temps. on connait les bonnes recommandations de saint augustin sur l’importance de la connaissance des langues bibliques présentes dans doctr. chr. ii, 16 (simonetti, 94) : « etlatinaequidemlinguaehomines, quos nuncinstruendossuscepimus, duabusaliisadscripturarumdiuinarum cognitionemopushabent, hebraeascilicetetgraeca, utadexemplariapraecedentiarecurratur, siquamdubitationem attuleritlatinoruminterpretuminfinitauarietas». il n’y a néanmoins aucun doute sur le fait que sa connaissance du grec n’est très grande comme il le témoigne. mais on ne saurait soutenir qu’il est en ignorant puisqu’il l’utilise souvent pour apporter des éclaircissements importants dans différents écrits.sur la connaissance augustinienne de la bible hébraïque, cf. a.-m. labonnardière, did augustine use jerome’s vulgate ? dans p. bright (éd.), augustine and the bible, university of notre dame press, notre dame (indiana), 1999, 42-51 ; y.-m. duval, saint augustin et le commentaire sur jonas de saint jérôme, dans reaug 12/1 (1966), 9-40. 26 aug., s. 52, 10 (rb 74, 22-23) : « habes evidentem scripturam geneseos, quando ipsa primo eva facta est : formavit eam in mulierem. dicit etiam alio loco scriptura, iubere deum separari mulieres, quae non cognoverunt cubile viri. » 27 ibid., « non moveat, non immoremur : neque enim rudibus loquor ». 28 aug. s. 52, 11 (rb 74, 23) : « “cum venit plenitudo temporis, misit deus filium suum factum ex muliere ; qui factus est ei ex semine david secundum carnem” : videmus ergo nativitatem filii a patre factam ; sed quia ipse igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 69 1. 3. la passion du fils : œuvre du père et du fils la procédure pour démontrer que la passion du fils est l’œuvre du père et du fils est la même que celle utilisée ci-dessus. toujours l’autorité de saint paul entre en jeu. saint augustin cite rom. 8, 32 et gal. 2, 20. le premier passage sert à montrer que la passion du fils est l’œuvre du père car on y lit : « il n’a point épargné son propre fils, mais il l’a livré pour nous tous ». c’est donc le père qui livre son fils. mais cela ne signifie pas que le fils ait subi la tyrannie du père qui a voulu le livrer. il s’est livré lui-même et c’est ce que dit l’apôtre dans l’épître aux galates que cite le prédicateur : « il m’a aimé et s’est livré lui-même pour moi ». on retrouve l’idée selon laquelle c’est le fils qui s’est livré lui-même dans le s. 53, 16 sur les béatitudes : « il dépendait de lui de mourir, ou de ne pas mourir, et ce n’est pas sans raison qu’il a choisi ce genre de mort. s’il pouvait mourir ou se préserver de la mort, ne pouvait-il pas aussi mourir d’une manière ou de l’autre ? non, ce n’est pas sans motif qu’il a préféré expirer sur la croix pour t’y crucifier à ce monde ».29 apportons une précision sur le sens de ce sacrifice du christ pour notre salut. selon saint augustin, le fils se livre pour faire la volonté du père, pour réaliser le projet d’amour de la trinité et non pour payer une rançon au diable. il existe une certaine manière de comprendre la pensée augustinienne sur le sacrifice du christ qui semble lui prêter une théologie quasiment païenne de la rédemption, voulant faire croire que chez l’évêque d’hippone, le sacrifice du christ n’est qu’un aspect secondaire de l’œuvre du salut, conçue comme un rachat de l’humanité de l’empire totalitaire du démon par le moyen de l’humanité du seigneur livrée en rançon au diable pour notre délivrance.30 en effet, h. gallerand retient que la rédemption, selon saint augustin « désigne le paiement d’une rançon au diable » qui n’est « dépossédé que pour s’être rendu coupable d’un abus filius “semetipsum exinanivit, formam servi accipiens”,videmus nativitatem filii et ab ipso filio factam. probatum est hoc ; transeamus hinc : intenti aliud accipite, quod ex ordine sequitur ». cf. s. 5, 3 (ccl 41, 52) : « at ubi uidit completas in se omnes scripturas, ut etiam acetum illi darent, “perfectum est”, ait, “et inclinauit” “caput, et dimisit spiritum [io. 19, 30]”, quasi ad hoc staret ut impleretur. cum uellet ergo, animam suam posuit » ; s. 223c, 1 = s. guelfer. 6, (ma 1, 460) ; s. 232, 5 (pl 38, 1461-1463). 29 id., s. 53, 16 (rb 104, 32) : « nonenimfrustratalemmortemelegit, incuiuspotestate eratuelmoriuelnonmori. siinpotestateeratmorietnonmori, quare noninpotestatesicuelsicmori? nonfrustraergocrucemelegit, ubite huicmundocrucifigeret ». 30 cf. h. gallerand, la rédemption dans saint augustin, dans revue d’histoire et de littérature religieuse 8 (1922), 38-77. cet auteur s’appui sur un certain nombre de textes de saint augustin (en. ps. 95, 5 (ccl 39, 1346), en.ps. 125, 1 ; en.ps. 88, s. 1, 11 (ccl 40, 1844-1845 et 39, 1229) ; s. 27, 2 (ccl 41, 361) ; s. 265d, 4 = s.morin 17, 4 (ma 1, 661), pour soutenir que selon l’évêque d’hippone, le diable aurait régné sur un empire opposé à celui de dieu, de façon quasi-manichéenne. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 70 de pouvoir ».31cet auteur soutient par ailleurs que d’après saint augustin, « dieu a provoqué l’abus commis par le tyran… pour le provoquer, il a employé un moyen qu’autorise l’état de guerre, il a recours à la ruse… il a tendu une souricière au diable, il l’a berné ».32voilà pourquoi, à en croire gallerand, l’incarnation du fils et la mission de mourir qu’il tient de son père « font partie du plan conçu par dieu d’amener par ruse le diable à empiéter sur ses propres droits… en envoyant dans le monde son fils fait homme, dieu lui ordonna de mourir, d’amener le diable à prendre sa vie corporelle comme rançon du genre humain ».33 mais s’il la pouvait « prendre », le diable ne put la garder. et c’est ainsi que le rachat de l’humanité au démon se terminerait, chez saint augustin, par une grossière escroquerie.34 toute analyse faite, cette hypothèse selon laquelle le diable est amené, « par la ruse » à « prendre » la vie du christ semble ouvertement contredire l’évangile luimême où le christ dit « nul ne peut me l’enlever : je la donne de moi-même. j’ai le pouvoir de la donner, j’ai aussi le pouvoir de la recevoir de nouveau : voilà le commandement que j’ai reçu de mon père » (io. 10, 18). saint augustin lui-même affirme exactement le contraire de l’idée qu’on lui prête ici. il dit dans le s. 265/d, 4 (s.morin 17, 4) : « ecce veniet princeps mundi, et in me nihil inveniet. et quasi diceremus :quare ergo moreris? respondit: sed ut sciant, inquit, omnes quia voluntatem patris mei facio, surgite, eamus hinc, adpassionem, propter voluntatem boni patris, non propter debitum mali principis ».35 le christ fait la volonté du père bon. il ne paie pas de dette au prince du mal contrairement à l’hypothèse de h. gallerand et de tous ceux qui suivent sa ligne de pensée. l’observation de j. rivière nous semble pertinente quand dit que l’étude de gallerand, représente, à n’en pas douter, l’effort le plus méthodique, sinon le plus heureux, qui ait été fait jusqu’ici pour établir un système qu’on se contente, en général, de prêter à saint augustin comme une sorte d’axiome qui n’aurait pas besoin de démonstration. et cette circonstance devrait bien montrer aux moins clairvoyants l’intérêt supérieur d’une discussion qui dépasse le cas d’h. gallerand pour atteindre la critique elle-même en une de ces positions en apparence les 31 h. gallerand, la rédemption dans saint augustin, 44-45. 32 ibid., 45. 33 ibid., 63 ; 75. 34 cf. j. turmel, histoire des dogmes i, 378-379, paris, 1931. j. turmel est le pseudonyme du même auteur h. gallerand. 35 s. 265d, 4 = s. morin 17, 4 (ma 1, 659-664) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 71 plus fortes, de même que c’est toute la tradition de l’église qui est ici en cause dans la personne du plus notable de ses représentants.36 pas plus qu’un rachat des hommes à satan, il ne s’agit pas pour saint augustin de présenter la rédemption comme le paiement d’une dette ou d’une rançon au démon. s’il prend l’image biblique de la rançon (cf. mt. 20, 28 ; mc. 10, 45 ; 1tim. 2, 6), il ne dit jamais qu’elle a été versée au diable. si par contre il emploie la métaphore du décret retenu par satan en notre défaveur et s’il reprend le terme « chirograpum » à col. 2, 14, il faut remarquer que jamais il ne s’attarde à détailler la portée de cette métaphore.37 il ne l’emploie pratiquement qu’en incise au cours de ses descriptions de l’œuvre de libération accomplie par le christ : « la caution de notre péché était retenue, le diable tenait contre nous le décret ; il possédait ceux qu’il avait déçus ; il avait ceux qu’il avait vaincus. nous étions tous débiteurs, et nous naissons avec la dette héréditaire ».38 selon e. aumônier,39 en disant cela, l’évêque d’hippone n’entendait pas dire que le diable ait réussi à établir lui 36 j. rivière, le dogme de la rédemption chez saint augustin, gabalda et c ie , paris 1933, 105. notons que dans cet ouvrage décidément polémique, l’auteur démontre contre turmel que si saint augustin introduit sans conteste la pensée du démon dans les finalités du plan providentiel, c’est à titre secondaire, le sacrifice ayant pour but principal la rémission des péchés et la réconciliation de l’homme avec dieu et ne constituant nullement un grossier marché entre dieu et le diable pour le rachat des pécheurs. c’est la même position que l’on trouve dans la recente thèse de a. bizzozero qui dit : « non corrisponde al pensiero di agostino l’idea di vero e proprio tributo pagato da dio al diavolo per ottenere la liberazione dell’uomo ». id., il mistero pasquale di gesù cristo e l’esistenza credente, 146. 37 cf. aug., en. ps. 67, 30 (ccl 39, 891) : « sed propter humilitatis et patientiae documentum, et sanguine suo delendum nostrorum chirographum peccatorum, etiam suum esse voluit exitum mortis, ne mortem timeremus istam, sed illam potius unde nos liberavit per istam » ; en. ps. 88, 1, 11 (ccl 39, 1227-1228) : « humiliasti te, et humiliatus est superbus. superbus enim per superbiam superbos tenebat : humiliatus est magnus, credens autem in eum factus est parvus. dum nutritur parvus exemplo magni facti parvi, perdidit quod tenebat diabolus ; quia superbus nonnisi superbos tenebat. dato tanto humilitatis exemplo, didicerunt homines damnare superbiam suam, imitari humilitatem dei. ita ergo ille perdendo quos tenebat, etiam ipse humiliatus est; non correctus, sed prostratus. “tu humiliasti sicut vulneratum superbum”.humiliatus es, et humiliasti; vulneratus es, et vulnerasti: neque enim eum non vulneraret sanguis tuus, qui fusus est ut deleret chirographum peccatorum. unde enim superbiebat, nisi quia cautionem contra nos tenebat? hanc tu cautionem, hoc chirographum tuo sanguine delevisti ». ; en. ps. 103, 4, 8 (ccl 40, 1528) : « ut autem sit mediator, descendat a superiore ad inferiorem, ab aequalitate patris; faciat quod ait apostolus: “semetipsum exinanivit formam servi accipiens, in similitudine hominum factus, et habitu inventus ut homo”. fundat sanguinem suum, deleat chirographum nostrum, componat inter nos et deum; nostram voluntatem corrigens ad iustitiam, illius sententiam flectens ad misericordiam ». ; en. ps. 149, 9 (ccl 40, 2183) : « quid tam beneficum, quam mori pro impiis? quid tam beneficum, quam sanguine iusto delere chirographum peccatoris?» 38 aug., s. 229/e, 2 = s. guelf. 9, 2 (ma i, 468) : « tenebatur cautio nostrorum peccatorum, tenebat contra nos chirographum diabolus; possidebat quos deceperat, habebat quos vicerat. debitores omnes eramus, cum debito hereditario omnes nascuntur ; fusus est sanguis sine peccato, et delevit cautionem de peccato ». 39 e. aumônier, la passion du christ dans la prédication de saint augustin, 69. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 72 même un décret de condamnation après notre péché ; il en est simplement le gardien, et l’action du christ qui nous libère effacera automatiquement le décret. cette parenthèse nous a permis de montrer que si le père livre le fils et le fils se livre lui-même, et que pour cela la passion du fils est l’œuvre des deux, cela ne signifie pas pour autant que cette passion servait à payer une rançon à satan. notre rédemption par la passion du christ rentre dans le plan salvifique du dieu trine et un qui par amour, veut sauver l’homme. nous pouvons, à ce point, passer à la résurrection du fils comme œuvre du père et du fils 1. 3. la résurrection du fils: œuvre du père et du fils ayant élucidé les deux premières questions sur la naissance et la passion du fils qui sont à la fois l’œuvre du père et celle du fils lui-même, l’évêque aborde le dernier tournant de sa démonstration qui concerne le troisième événement significatif qui implique les deux personnes du père et du fils selon l’hypothèse du départ. il fait encore appel à l’habile docteur en droit divin qui offre le témoignage nécessaire dans la procédure en cours. c’est le fils et non le père qui ressuscite, mais la résurrection du fils est l’œuvre de père et du fils. le prédicateur fournit le témoignage paulinien dans phil. 2, 9 pour montrer qu’elle est l’œuvre du père : « l’œuvre du père : “c’est pourquoi il l’a exalté et lui a donné un nom qui est au-dessus de tout nom”. en exaltant son fils et en le tirant d’entre les morts, le père l’a donc ressuscité ».40 puis il fait recours à l’évangile selon jean (io. 2, 19 ; 10, 18) pour démontrer que le fils s’est ressuscité : il a dit de son corps, en style figuré : « renversez ce temple, et je le relèverai en trois jours. » autre preuve : si la passion consiste à donner son âme, la résurrection consiste à la reprendre. voyons donc si le fils a bien pu donner son âme et s’il a fallu que le père la lui rendit. il est certain que le père la lui a rendue, car il est dit dans un psaume : « ressuscitez-moi et je les châtierai ». mais pourquoi attendez-vous que nous vous montrions le fils la reprenant de son côté ? n’a-t-il pas dit lui-même : « j’ai le pouvoir de donner mon âme ? ... »41 40 aug., s. 52, 13 (rb 74, 24) : « opereturpaterresurrectionem filii : propterhocenimexaltauiteumamortuis, etdonauiteinomen, quodestsuperomnenomen[phil. 2, 9]. resuscitauitergopaterfiliumexaltando eumetexcitandoeumamortuis ». 41 ibid., :« infiguramsuicorporisdetemplodixit : soluitetemplumhoc, etintriduoresuscitaboillud[io. 2, 19].postremo, sicutad passionempertinetanimamponere, sicadresurrectionemanimam iterumsumere, uideamussifiliusquidemanimamsuamposuit, et eianimamsuampaterreddidit, nonipsesibi. paterenimquiareddidit, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 73 c’est ici le premier point culminant de l’effet de l’habilité discursive de notre prédicateur. l’auditoire attentif n’attend pas la fin de la démonstration avant d’éclater en applaudissements. et cela atteste que l’assemblée devance le prédicateur dans la suite des idées qu’il est en train de développer et saisit déjà le propos. et l’évêque l’observe en faisant même l’éloge de son troupeau pour l’écoute attentive de la parole. il les félicite d’être de bons disciples de l’unique maître : mais ce n’est pas encore ce que je vous ai promis ; j’ai dit seulement : « le pouvoir de la donner » et vous applaudissez, parce que vous devancez mes paroles. formés à l’école du maître du ciel, vous écoutez attentivement ses leçons, vous les reproduisez avec piété ; aussi vous n’ignorez pas ce qui suit : « j’ai le pouvoir, dit-il, de donner mon âme, et j’ai le pouvoir de la reprendre. personne ne me la ravit ; mais je la donne et la reprends de moi-même ».42 à ce point saint augustin récapitule avec satisfaction en résumant tout son propos avec une expertise didactique de pointe dans l’exhortation suivante : je répète en peu de mots et je vous recommande de conserver dans vos esprits une vérité que je crois fort importante. le père n’est pas né de la vierge, c’est le fils ; mais cette naissance est l’œuvre du père et du fils. le père n’a point souffert sur la croix ; mais la passion du fils est l’œuvre du père et du fils. le père n’est point ressuscité d’entre les morts ; mais la résurrection du fils est l’œuvre du père et du fils. gardons-nous donc de dire que le père fait quelque chose sans le fils ou le fils quelque chose sans le père. demanderez-vous si parmi ses miracles jésus n’en a pas fait quelques-uns sans le père ? eh ! que deviendraient alors ces mots : « mon père, qui demeure en moi, fait luimême mes œuvres ? » ce que nous venons de dire était clair, il n’y avait manifestumest : indeenimpsalmusdicit : etsuscitame, etreddam illis[ps. 40, 11]. sedquiaetfiliusanimamsuamsibireddidit, quidanobisexspectatis? ipsedicat: potestatemhabeoponendianimammeam[io. 10, 18] ». 42 ibid., s. 52,13 (rb 74, 24-25) : « nondum dixiquodpromisi, ponendi[io. 10, 18]dixi; sediamclamastis, quiapraeuolatis. eruditiquippeinscholamagistricaelestis, tamquamlectionesintente audientes, pie reddentes, quid sequatur non ignoratis: "potestatem", inquit, "habeo ponendi animam meam, et potestatem habeo iterum sumendi" "eam. nemo tollit eam a me, sed ego pono eam a me, et iterum sumo eam [io. 10, 18] ». igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 74 qu’à l’énoncer ; aucun effort n’était nécessaire pour le comprendre, il suffisait de le rappeler.43 c’est à ce point que l’évêque d’hippone termine son exposé et la résolution des questions que les fratres studiosissimi avaient le désir de voir l’évêque résoudre. dans cetarticle, nous avons exploréle sermon 5 pour découvrir comment notre auteur explique aux fidèles l’inséparabilité du père et du fils dans leur agir dans l’histoire, spécialement dans les différents événements qui ont marqué la mission du fils. sur la base de testimonia bibliques, et non sur quelque raisonnement emprunté à la philosophie néoplatonicienne, saint augustin a montré que dans les œuvres accomplies par le christ pour notre salut, il agit avec le père. mais en tout, c’est aussi toute la trinité qui agit. il faut alors montrer comment le saintesprit agit avec les deux autres personnes dans la mission du fils. 2. le saint-esprit dans la mission salvifique du christ. dans le schéma argumentatif de saint augustin analysé jusqu’ici, l’on ne trouve pas le saint-esprit agissant avec les deux autres personnes dans les opérations ad extra et pour rester sur thème de notre recherche, dans la mission du fils. certainement les références bibliques nécessaires ne manquaient pas pour démontrer que le saint-esprit a coopéré à l’incarnation du fils. il le dit clairement d’ailleurs dans le s. 225, où il avertit les fidèles de se garder de l’erreur qui consiste à séparer le saint-esprit des œuvres qu’accomplit la trinité dans le monde, et souligne avec l’appui de l’évangile de l’annonciation et du témoignage d’un texte du livre des proverbes, que le christ est aussi l’auteur de son incarnation avec le saint-esprit : garde-toi, mon frère, de ne pas associer à cette œuvre immense de l’incarnation, l’esprit-saint. quelle œuvre immense en effet ! … les anges adorent la chair du christ siégeant à la droite du père ; et cette chair est surtout l’œuvre du saint-esprit ; c’est lui qui figure pour en 43 ibid., s. 52, 14 (rb 74, 25) : « breviter replico, et rem utilissimam, quantum existimo, mentibus vestris collocandam commendo. pater non est natus de virgine : nativitatem tamen istam filii et pater et filius operatus est ex virgine. pater non est passus in cruce : passionem tamen filii et pater et filius operatus est. non resurrexit pater a mortuis : resurrectionem tamen filii et pater et filius operatus est. habetis personarum distinctionem, et operationis inseparabilitatem. non ergo dicamus aliquid patrem operari sine filio, aliquid filium sine patre. an forte miracula quae fecit iesus, movent vos, ne forte aliqua ipse fecerit, quae non fecit pater ? et ubi est : pater autem in me manens, ipse facit opera sua ? haec quae diximus plana erant, tantum dicenda erant : non laborandum ut intellegerentur, sed curandum ut commemorarentur ». igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 75 être l’auteur lorsqu’un ange annonça à la sainte vierge qu’elle allait avoir un fils… la preuve de son dessein est donc dans ces paroles d’étonnement : « comment cela se fera-t-il, puisque je ne connais pas mon mari ? – comment cela se fera-t-il ? » – « l’esprit-saint descendra en vous », répliqua l’ange ; voilà comment s’accomplira cette œuvre ; « et la vertu du très-haut vous couvrira de son ombre ; aussi ce qui naîtra saint de vous, sera appelé le fils de dieu». que cette expression est juste : « vous couvrira de son ombre ». c’est pour détourner de votre virginité l’ardeur de la passion. d’elle aussi il fut dit, pendant qu’elle était enceinte : « il se trouva que marie avait conçu par l’esprit-saint ».le saint-esprit a donc formé réellement le corps du christ. le christ, le fils unique de dieu l’a formé également. comment le prouver ? c’est qu’il est dit à ce sujet dans l’écriture : « la sagesse s’est bâti une demeure ».44 nous trouvons aussi dans les sermons des textes où le saint docteur affirme, on ne peut plus clairement, que le père, le fils et saint-esprit font tout ensemble. ainsi dans le s. 126 dont la date est située dans la fourchette d’années après 409 et avant 418,45 saint augustin dit au peuple : les œuvres du père ne sont pas autres que celles du fils ; car tout ce que fait le père, il le fait par le fils. le fils a ressuscité lazare. le père ne l’a-t-il pas en même temps ressuscité ? le fils a guéri l’aveugle-né ; le père ne l’a-t-il pas guéri avec lui ? le père agit par le fils dans le saint-esprit ; c’est une trinité de personnes, mais il n’y a qu’une seule action ; c’est la même majesté, la même éternité et la même coéternité, 44 ibid., 225, 3 (pl 38, 1096) : « noli, frater, ab isto tanto opere separare spiritum sanctum. a quo tanto opere? non parvum opus, magnum opus sunt angeli: carnem christi sedentem ad dexteram patris adorant angeli. tale ergo opus operatus est maxime spiritus sanctus. in isto opere cognominatus est, quando sanctae virgini per angelum futurus nuntiatus est filius. illa admiratio, propositi est testificatio: quomodo fiet istud, quoniam virum non cognosco? quomodo fiet? et angelus ad eam: spiritus sanctus superveniet in te. ecce quomodo fiet quod quaeris: et virtus altissimi obumbrabit tibi. “ideoque quod nascetur ex te sanctum, vocabitur filius dei.ˮ et bene dixit : “obumbrabit tib i: ne tua virginitas aestum libidinis sentiat. et cum praegnans esset, dictum est de illa : inventa est maria habens de spiritu sancto in uteroˮ. operatus est ergo spiritus sanctus carnem christi. operatus est et ipse unigenitus filius dei carnem suam. unde probamus ? quia inde ait scriptura : sapientia aedificavit sibi domum ». 45 cf. p.-p. verbraken, études critiques sur les sermones de authentiques de saint augustin, instrumenta patristica xii steenbrugge: in abbatia s. petri, 1976, 84. notons que ch. mohrmann, pourrait aussi être classée dans ce groupe de chercheurs malgré l’incertitude qu’elle montre par rapport à l’année 417. elle suggère en effet 416 ou 417. berrouard quant à lui le situe avant 418. en somme, toujours dans la fourchette de date qui rime bien avec la date généralement acceptée. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 76 ce sont les mêmes œuvres. il n’y a pas des hommes créés par le père, ni d’autres par le fils, ni d’autres par l’esprit-saint ; le même homme est créé par le père, le fils et le saint-esprit ; le père, le fils et l’esprit-saint ne sont qu’un seul et même dieu créateur.46 l’évêque d’hippone ne relègue donc pas le saint-esprit à l’arrière-plan.47 si l’on ne traite pas les textes disponibles de façon isolée, son enseignement se saisit tout entier. en effet, selon lui, il n’y a jamais eu de séparation entre les trois personnes dans le temps ; car le temps n’est point en eux. le père, le fils, le saint-esprit sont un même dieu qui a créé le temps. on retrouve cette conviction du prédicateur d’hippone dans son s. 308/a où il exprime aussi avec force l’idée de la coéternité des trois : … car jamais le saint-esprit n’a été séparé du fils, non plus que le fils du saint-esprit, ni le fils du père, ou le père du fils, ou le saint-esprit du fils ou du père. mais une chose est que ces réalités soient comprises par une âme purifiée, leur manifestation visible en est une autre. il n’y a pas eu un temps où le père a précédé le fils, ni un temps où le fils vient après le père ; car en dieu le temps n’existe point. le père, le fils, le saint-esprit sont un même dieu qui a créé le temps. il n’y a donc point lieu de dire : le père est le premier, le fils le second. d’où vient le père, de là aussi vient le fils.48 46 aug., s. 126, 10 (rb 69 (1959), 188) : « non alia pater facit, alia filius facit, quia omnia quae pater facit, per filium facit. suscitavit lazarum filius, numquid eum pater non suscitavit ? illuminavit filius caecum, numquid pater non illuminavit ? illuminavit pater per filium in spiritu sancto. trinitas est, sed una operatio, una maiestas, una aeternitas, una coaeternitas, et opera eadem trinitatis. non alios homines creat pater, alios filius, alios spiritus sanctus. unum eumdemque hominem et pater et filius et spiritus sanctus creat. et pater et filius et spiritus sanctus unus deus creat ». 47 c’est ce qu’affirme avec force e. dryer en disant que dans la théologie et l’ecclésiologie de saint augustin “the spirit has not been relegated to a place in the wings, but is an existential force in the life of the individual believer and of the ecclesial community. augustine sees the spirit as a force, leading believers to full and mature knowledge of the things of god. the spirit also calls and empowers the church to the very difficult task of living in unity, loving, and forgiving one another”. e. dryer, spirituality as a resource for theology : the holy spirit in augustine, dans ead., minding the spirit, the john hopkins university press, baltimore 2005, 193. 48 aug., s. 308/a, 4 = s.denis 11, 4 (ma 1, 43-50) : « non enim a filio aliquando recessit spiritus, aut aliquando filius ab spiritu, aut aliquando filius a patre, aut pater a filio, aut spiritus a filio et patre ; sed aliter ista intelleguntur mente purgata, aliter oculis demonstrantur. nullo tempore praecedit pater filium, nullo tempore sequitur filius patrem; nullo tempore, quia ibi nullum tempus. pater et filius et spiritus sanctus, creator temporum, unus deus. ibi ergo non est ut dicas : prior est pater, posterior filius ; ex quo pater, ex illo filius ». la traduction française que nous avons utilisée a omis : « sed aliter ista intelleguntur mente purgata, aliter oculis demonstrantur ». nous avons donc apporté notre propre traduction à cette portion du travail. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 77 s’agissant concrètement de la création, saint augustin commentant le texte de la genèse dans s. denis 2 (= 223/a) daté en 399, met en relief le fait que les trois personnes ont agi ensemble dans la création du monde. le saint-esprit est lui aussi clairement indiqué dans le processus qui porta à la révélation de la beauté de la création. sans faire mention de lui, le prédicateur n’aurait pas réussi à montrer la trinité créatrice. il dit : mais dieu avait déjà fait la terre avant de l’orner, avant d’en découvrir la beauté. « elle était invisible, sans ordre, et les ténèbres couvraient l’abîme ». les ténèbres couvraient ce que n’éclairait pas la lumière ; or, la lumière n’était point encore. « l’esprit de dieu était porté sur les eaux » ; cet ouvrier n’était point séparé du père, et du verbe, son fils unique. car, écoutons, voilà qu’on nous insinue la trinité nous dire en effet : « il fit dans le commencement », c’est nous faire comprendre l’essence du père et du fils, dieu le père, dans le fils commencement. il reste l’esprit-saint pour compléter la trinité : « l’esprit de dieu était porté sur les eaux ».49 mais ce n’est pas seulement dans les sermons que l’évêque d’hippone enseigne la vérité fondamentale de l’unité d’action et de l’inséparabilité de la trinité. dans le contexte de sa pastorale, nous retrouvons la même conviction clairement exprimée dans la lettre qu’il envoya à évode en 415. il indique l’idée de l’inséparabilité des actions du dieu un et trine : croyons donc avec une piété ferme, en un seul dieu, père, fils et saintesprit, sans croire que le fils soit le père, que le père soit le fils, et que celui qui est l’esprit de l’un et de l’autre, soit le père ou le fils. écartons de cette trinité toute idée de temps ni de lieux ; mais reconnaissons que ces trois personnes sont égales et coéternelles et qu’elles sont absolument une seule nature; que les créatures n’ont pas été formées, les unes par le père, les autres par le fils, d’autres par le saint-esprit, mais que tout ce qui a été ou est créé l’a été et subsiste par la trinité créatrice; que personne ne sera sauvé par le père sans le fils et le saint 49 id., s. 223/a, 3 = s. denis 2, 3 (ma 1, 13 ) : « terram autem fecit deus, adhuc ante quam ornaretur, ante quam eius species nudaretur. “invisibilis erat et incomposita, et tenebrae erant super abyssum”. tenebrae erant, ubi lux non erat ; nondum enim lux facta erat. “spiritus dei super ferebatur super aquas”, et ipse opifex, nec a patre et unigenito verbo seiunctus. nam ecce, si diligenter adtendamus, trinitas nobis insinuatur. ubi enim dicitur : in principio fecit intellegitur patris et filii: in principio filio deus pater. restat spiritus, ut trinitas impleatur : “spiritus dei superferebatur super aquas” ». igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 78 esprit, ou par le fils sans le père et le saint. esprit, ou par le saintesprit sales le père et le fils, mais par le père, le fils et le saint-esprit, dieu unique, véritable, vraiment immortel, c’est-à-dire de toute manière immuable.50 conclusion dans la théologie augustinienne, nous retrouvons une conviction de toute l’église qui atteste l’orthodoxie de sa doctrine : l’inséparabilité des personnes divines dans leurs opérations dans le monde, qui reflète leur vie intime caractérisée par leur union sans confusion. dans la prédication, cette idée se retrouve ça et là, mais c’est le s. 52 qui estle texte du corpusdans lequel se retrouve l’exposition la plus élaborée du thème. notre étude du s. 52 jusqu’ici avec les autres importants textes sur cette question, nous convainquent sur les positions de saint augustin. le père a créé toutes choses par son verbe, et il ne gouverne pas le monde sans ce même verbe par qui il l’a créé. c’est le fils qui s’est incarné, c’est lui qui est né de la vierge marie, c’est lui qui a souffert la passion, qui est mort et qui est ressuscité. mais dans ces différentes étapes de sa mission dans le temps, les autres personnes de la trinité (le père et le saintesprit) jouent aussi leur rôle. nous avons compléter l’agir du père et du fils avec ce que dit saint augustin sur le rôle du saint-esprit en apportant des textes d’autres sermons. dans les paragraphes du sermon 52 que nous avons étudiés, saint augustin a fait une démonstration essentiellement ancrée dans les écritures et surtout sur les textes de saint paul auquel il attribue le titre d’expert en droit divin, à travers ce qu’il considère « documenta firmissima ». mais l’exposé du prédicateur d’hippone va bien au-delà des références bibliques.un autre important aspect de ce sermon 52 est l’usage des similitudes psychologiques pour faciliter l’intelligence de la foi dans le mystère qu’il présente aux fidèles dans la prédication du jour. cela fera l’objet d’une autre étude à travers laquelle nous offrirons un aperçu complet de ce riche sermon. 50 id., ep. 169, 2, 5 (csel 44, 616) : « proinde in unum deum, patrem et filium et spiritum sanctum firma pietate credamus ; ita ut nec filius credatur esse qui pater est, nec pater qui filius est, nec pater nec filius qui utriusque spiritus est. nihil putetur in hac trinitate temporibus locisve distare; sed haec tria aequalia esse et coaeterna, et omnino esse una natura: non a patre aliam, et a filio aliam, et a spiritu sancto aliam conditam esse creaturam; sed omnia et singula quae creata sunt vel creantur, trinitate creante subsistere, nec quemquam liberari a patre sine filio et spiritu sancto, aut a filio sine patre et spiritu sancto, aut a spiritu sancto sine patre et filio; sed a patre et filio et spiritu sancto, uno, vero, vereque immortali, id est omni modo incommutabili solo deo ». cf. s. 213, 6 (ma 1, 446) : « …inseparabilia enim sunt opera trinitatis ». igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 79 références aumônier, e., la passion du christ dans la prédication de saint augustin, extrait de thèse, pug, roma 1983. ayres, l., “remember that you are a catholic”(serm. 52, 2). augustine on the unity of the triune god,dans jecs 8 (2000), 39 – 82. bardy,g.,saint paul juriste, dans recherches de science religieuse (1943), 209-210. cipriani,n.,la retorica negli scrittori cristiani antichi, institutum patristicum augustinianum, roma 2014. dryer,e., spirituality as a resource for theology: the holy spirit in augustine, dans ead., minding the spirit, the john hopkins university press, baltimore 2005, 193. duval,y.-m., saint augustin et le commentaire sur jonas de saint jérôme, dans reaug 12/1 (1966), 9-40. gallerand,h., la rédemption dans saint augustin, dans revue d’histoire et de littérature religieuse 8 (1922), 38-77 gunton, c., augustine, the trinity and the theological crisis of the west, dans sjth 43/01 (1990), 33-58. __., promise of trinitarian theology, t. & t. clark, edinburgh 1991. __., the trinity in modern theology, dans p. byrne-l. houlden-l. houlden (éds.), companion encyclopedia of theology, routledge, london 1995, 937– 957. __., trinity, ontology and anthropology, dans id. (éd), persons, divine and human, t. & t. clark, edinburgh 1991. hill, e.,(trad.), the works of saint augustine, a translation for the 21st century. new city press, brooklyn, new york 1990-1997 sermons iii/3: sermons 51 94, 63. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 80 kunzelmann, a., die chronologie der sermones des hl. augustinus, dans miscellanea agostiniana ii, studi agostiniani, tipografia poliglotta vaticana, roma, 1931417-520. labonnardière,a.-m., did augustine use jerome’s vulgate? dans p. bright (éd.), augustine and the bible, university of notre dame press, notre dame (indiana), 1999, 42-51. marrou,h.-i., histoire de l’éducation dans l’antiquité, éditions seuil, paris 1981. mellet, m.,le mystère de la sainte trinité : comment saint augustin prêchait la trinité aux fidèles d’hippone, dans la vie spirituelle, vol. 64 (1941), 401-421. rahner, k., remarks on the dogmatic treatise de trinitate, dans theological investigations, vol. 4: more recent writings, trad. kevin smyth, helicon press, baltimore 1966. rivière, j., le dogme de la rédemption chez saint augustin, gabalda et cie, paris 1933. sans, b., exercer l’invention ou (ré)inventer la controverse, dans exercice de rhétorique 5 (2015) rhétorique et citoyenneté. édition électronique. http:// rhetorique.revues.org/404. schindler, a. wort und analogie in augustins trinitätslehre, j.c.b. mohr (paul siebeck), tübigen 1965. smalbrugge, m., l’analogie réexaminée, dans revue d’histoire et de philosophie religieuses 69/2 1989, 121-134. verbraken, p.-p., études critiques sur les sermones de authentiques de saint augustin, instrumenta patristica xii steenbrugge: in abbatia s. petri, 1976. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no.4.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 1 appraising the phenomenon of pluralism and religious dialogue in northern nigeria vitalis terhemba anaana department of religion and cultural studies benue state university, makurdi email: anaanavt@yahoo.com & boniface msugh ahura department of religion and cultural studies benue state university, makurdi mail: ahuraboniface@gmail.com abstract the paper examined the phenomenon of pluralism and religious dialogue in northern nigeria. the phenomenon religious pluralism is one of the reasons of religious conflicts and these religious conflicts have many negative effects on the country. given the growing religious tension between muslims and christian in northern nigeria, the need to rethink the phenomenon of religious dialogue becomes imperative. the study adopted the historical, phenomenological and analytic methods in order to analyse the religious pluralism in northern nigeria, pluralism and religious dialogue in northern nigeria, christian-muslim interaction in northern nigeria, the history of religious dialogue in northern nigeria, threats to peace between christians and muslims in northern nigeria in order to enhance an effective dialogue between christian and muslims in northern nigeria. the study relies on primary and secondary sources. a sample of 14 respondents was used in the study. it is found out in the study that the universal claim by the adherent of both islam and christianity as to which religion is superior is one of the major problems in northern nigeria today. it is also found out in the paper that many people are ignorant of the facts that, religious pluralism in nigeria presents a great challenge for effective religious dialogue and peaceful co-existence in northern nigeria. this is seen in the instances of religious hostilities, violent, terrorist activities, herdersfarmer conflict and clashes in northern nigeria. the study recommended that, muslims and christians should make their message of peace practical oriented and should check other tendencies such as intolerance, fanaticism and extremism in their interactions and religious practices. introduction igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 2 nigeria like other african nations is a pluralistic society and this pluralism covers many aspects of our national life such as religion, ethnicity, politics, economic and ideologies. religious pluralism presents a challenge for religious dialogue and peaceful co-existence in northern nigeria. this could be seen in some instances of religious hostilities, violent and clashes in northern nigeria. nigeria was born in the year 1914 when fredrick lord lugard amalgamated the northern and southern protectorates. nigeria became a democratic nation with corporate and legal existence in 1960 when she gained her independence. the amalgamation which gave rise to one “nigeria” was the brainchild of the british government which operated parliamentary system of government where democracy was in full operation (ibenwa 162). “religious riots have become a recurring decimal in the nation leading some important nigerians to raise their voices against this ugly trend. today, we discover that the problem of diversity is affecting the relationship between individuals and groups in northern nigeria. religion among other factors has been a source of conflicts in our nation, nigeria. now, there is a problem of coping with religious differences which give rise to religious conflicts. today, the universal claims of islam, christianity, hinduism and buddhism which are the major world religions give rise to religious conflict. there has been a great contact among theologians of different religions, but more important is the fact that adherents of these religions are faced with the challenge of working and interacting together with people who have different belief systems therefore, there is the tendency of the adherents of these different religions to vie with one another for supremacy (ijeoma 93). this paper is therefore an attempt to examine the phenomenon of pluralism and religious dialogue in northern nigeria. for the sake of clarity and organization, the paper is divided into sections beginning with an introduction, the brief history of nigeria nation, politics of secularism in nigeria, christian-muslim interaction in northern nigeria, the history of religious dialogue in northern nigeria, threats to peace between christians and muslims in northern nigeria, conclusion and recommendations and works cited. religious pluralism in northern nigeria the word pluralism is defines as the dialogic response to religious otherness. it is a vehicle for interfaith understanding and pluralism requires a communicative climate in which religious differences and disagreement are interpreted as learning opportunities rather than sources of conflict that must be resolved (keaten and soukup 180). scholars argued that pluralism is the only paradigm igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 3 congruent with the understanding of dialogue from a communicative perspective. “pluralism” and its cognates, “plural”, “plurality” and “pluralistic” have become very current in modern discussions, both in the practical ways of life and in the humanistic studies. in practical life, it is used in the discussions about many religions, races, nations, cultures and so on that has to live together as a society today. in technical usage, the philosophies of anaxagoras and especially of leucippus and democritus in the ancient times, and william james in the modern times are technically termed ‘pluralistic’. in this technical sense, pluralism is “the metaphysical doctrine that reality consists in many reals” (hunnex 74). in contemporary scholarly discussions, pluralism is the ‘ism’ of plurality, the affirmation or acceptance of difference (williams 78). there could be differences within society without the differences being accepted as the norm. pluralism, however, is an evaluation of the fact of difference in the acceptance of the difference as ideal. pluralism as it is being considered today has many forms, such as religious pluralism, ethnic pluralism (otite 86, schermerhorn 143), political pluralism (baskin 197, manley 23-26), moral or ethical pluralism (parekh 117-154), value pluralism (skorupski 101-116), cultural pluralism and philosophical pluralism (russell 80). among all the different forms of pluralism under discussion today, none is as virile as religious pluralism. one can define pluralism, however, in more than one way. although traditionally, pluralism stood for belief in more than one ultimate principle and opposed monism, the belief in one ultimate principle, the modern use of the term does not necessarily imply a denial of one ultimate reality which is god. in effect, the original notion of pluralism referred to the acceptance of many gods (cooper 824). today the idea leans toward the toleration of a wide variety of religious orientations such as varying forms of christianity, islam, buddhism and so on. religious pluralism as recognition of independent validity of other religions had obtained in many societies in many parts of the world and at different periods in history (evans 57-60). examples are the ancient roman empire, india and many ancient empires in africa. however, there had been religions also, that were making exclusive claims, such as in many branches of christianity and islam. because these consider their religions to be the only true one, or the best, they igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 4 seek to convert others. the increase in travel from the 17th century was an increase in evangelization of the world. there had been theoretical discussions of religious pluralism before the 17th century european enlightenment. rizvi cited qur’an chapter 109 as one of the earliest messages of peaceful coexistence thus, “o unbelievers! neither do i worship what you worship; nor do you worship what i worship. neither am i going to worship what you worship; nor are you going to worship what i worship. to you shall be your religion, and to me shall be my religion” (3). the theoretical discussion, however, gained in pace after the acceptance of political liberalism in the west. according to diana eck, pluralism is a direct concomitant to religious freedom. they go together (10). other factors also accelerated the discussions on the nature and validity of religious pluralism. the most important of these factors are the fast trend of globalization in the 20th century and the involvement of religions in many conflicts in the world, such as between india and pakistan, israel and palestinians, northern ireland, nigeria, central african republic, egypt, iraq and syria. as bernhardt has said, at present, the fronts between the religions are hardening in a dramatic way (10). kung therefore observed that there will be no peace in the world until there is peace between the religions (108). in the process of theoretical discussions among scholars on religious pluralism, different forms of pluralism had been proposed and justified. according to banchoff, religious pluralism is being discussed in two major disciplines. the first is in theology/religious studies, and the second is among social theorists, sociologists and political scientists. the former are discussing the implication of religious pluralism for individual religion, belief and practices; the latter are discussing the impacts of religious pluralism on civil society and democratic politics (118). furthermore, it was discovered that, within each of these broad disciplines, especially the former (theology and religious studies), there are varieties of proposals. religious pluralism becomes prominent in the twentieth century as a response to two other views of relationship to other religions: exclusivism and inclusivism. (eck 21-25). the debate started among western (christian) thinkers. exclusivism is the view that only one religion possesses the truth, and that there can be no truth or salvation outside it. it is based on the belief that the revelation of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 5 religion is the final; no other one is possible. an inclusivist recognizes partial truths in other religions, but considers his or hers as absolutely true. in contrast to exclusivism and inclusivism, pluralism is the recognition of the independent validity of other ways, religions, cultures, moralities, races and so on. pluralism should also be distinguished from plurality. raimundo pannikkar explicitly states that pluralism does not mean plurality (109). religious plurality refers to “the fact of difference” or “the empirical reality of diverse religious systems in the world (demarest 135). david tracy distinguishes the two thus: pluralism is one of the many possible evaluations of that fact (2). religious pluralism should also however be distinguished from religious relativism. the latter is the claim that no religious belief is absolutely true. rather, pluralism rests on an assumption that there are some underlying and fundamental religious truths which are presented in a variety of cultural forms in various religious belief systems (o’keefe 62). varieties of religious pluralism in the field of theology and the philosophy of religion, john hick is considered the greatest advocate of religious pluralism. his proposal is found primarily in his major book, an interpretation of religion but also in many of his other publications (hick, 1980, 1985, 1993a, 1993b, 1995, 2001). hick’s theory of religious pluralism is philosophical, reconstructing the concept of transcendent in the religions. his focus is on the religions he terms, ‘post-axial religions’. these are religions that began between 800 bce and 200 ce (hick 13). they consist of world’s major religions which islam is considered as an offshoot of judaism and christianity. according to hick, these post-axial faiths focussed on “transformation of human existence from self-centredness to reality-centredness”. the transformation occurs are transcendentally oriented. hick used kant’s philosophy to account for differences between the religions on the conception of the transcendent/ultimately reality. the ultimately real/transcendent/real is the noumenon, the reality in itself, which cannot be conceived as it is. different human perception and conception of the real, which are due to different cultural contexts, account for the differences between the religions. the different conceptions are the phenomena. hick found support for his proposal in the religions themselves. they all distinguished between the real as it is in itself, and at is perceived and conceived. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 6 in a negative response to john hick’s form of religious pluralism, gavin d’costa outlines five types of religious pluralism (223-232). that of john hick is the first, called “philosophical pluralism.” other types include the practical or pragmatic religious pluralism of paul knitter, houston smith and seyyed hossein nasr’s “perennial philosophy” or esoteric pluralism, sarvapelli radhakrishnan’s mystical unity of religions in which the implicit pluralism within hindu brahmanism and advaita vedanta was brought into surface, and the dalai lama’s (of tibetan buddhism) tolerant pluralism. of these, john hick’s and similar ones had provoked more responses. it was hick and paul knitter in an edited volume, the myth of christian uniqeness: toward a pluralistic theology of religions, who thrusted the issue of religious pluralism into modern intellectual discussion (29). the book was the result of a conference held at the claremont graduate school, claremont, california from march 7-8, 1986. the conference was highly organised and the contributors specially chosen. the motivating factor of the organisers was that, christians had started to realise that religious plurality is a fact; more than that, they are feeling that other religions are as vital as theirs and influential in the modern world. the non-christian religions have depths and beauty, which an unprejudiced observer can see, and the religions are attractive to many. the basic tenets of religious pluraism keaten and soukup introduced eight tenets that serve as orientations to pluralistic dialogue: these includes; 1. pluralism requires active engagement of the religious other. thus, pluralism is a dialogic response to religious otherness. 2. pluralism focuses on personal religious experience communicated through narrative. 3. pluralism requires empathetic listening, that is, setting aside assumptions and entering the discursive faith world of the religious other. 4. pluralism neither presumes nor requires a person to adopt the central assumption of religious relativism. 5. pluralism is a vehicle for interfaith understanding not conversation. 6. pluralism conceived of religious difference as an opportunity for insight and inspiration rather than as a treat to one’s own faith tradition. 7. pluralistic dialogue focuses on faith rather than religion. 8. pluralism requires a communicative climate in which religious differences and disagreement are interpreted as learning opportunities rather than sources of conflict that must be resolved (180-181). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 7 according to iremeka, for one to think about what is pluralism, here are some points to begin our thinking pluralism, these includes; it is energetic engagement with diversity: pluralism is not diversity alone but the energetic engagement with diversity. diversity can and has meant the creation of religious ghettoes with little traffic between or among them. today, religious diversity is a given, but pluralism is not a given; it is an achievement. active seeking of understanding across lines of difference: pluralism is not just tolerance, but the active seeking of understanding across lines of difference. tolerance is a necessary public virtue, but it does not require christians and muslims, hindus, jews, and ardent secularists to know anything about one another. tolerance is too thin a foundation for a world of religious difference and proximity. it does nothing to remove our ignorance of one another and to leaves in the place the stereotype, the half-truth, the fears that underlie old patterns of division and violence. in the world in which we live today, our ignorance of one another will be increasingly costly. encounter of commitments: pluralism is not relativism, but the encounter of commitments. the new paradigm of pluralism does not require us to leave our identities and our commitments behind, for pluralism is the encounter of commitments. it means holding our deepest differences, even our religious differences, not in isolation, but in relationship to one another. pluralism is based on dialogue. the language of pluralism is that of dialogue and encounter, give and take, criticism and self-criticism. dialogue means both speaking and listening, and that process reveals both common understandings and real differences. dialogue does not mean everyone at the “table” will agree with one another. pluralism involves the commitment to being at the table with one’s commitments. religious pluralism generally refers to the belief in two or more religious worldviews as being equally valid or acceptable. more than mere tolerance, religious pluralism accepts multiple paths to god or gods as a possibility and is usually contrasted with “exclusivism,” the idea that there is only one true religion or way to know god. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 8 more than the sharing of certain values: pluralism is more than the sharing of certain values or agreement on some social issues. buddhists and christians both agree that helping the poor is important, but such limited concord is not pluralism (169-170). pluralism has to do with lending credence to competing truth claims and accepting diverse beliefs regarding god and salvation. in addition, two or more religions can share some doctrinal beliefs yet remain fundamentally different as belief systems. for example, muslims and christians agree that there is only one god yet both religions define god differently and hold many other irreconcilable beliefs. the plurality of religious traditions and cultures has come to characterize every part of the world today. according to jude, religious pluralism is therefore an attitude or policy regarding the diversity of religious belief systems co-existing in society (160). the introduction of christianity and islam in northern nigeria marked the beginning of religious pluralism on the continent, thus putting to an end the monolatric religious system that operated in the traditional nigerian societies. corroborating this view chuta, said that the introduction of western education in africa brought in western idea of rationalism and individualism into nigeria. many nigerians began to doubt their religious traditions, and subsequently decided to live without it, and that was the inception of secularism in nigeria (48). the plurality of religious traditions and cultures has come to characterize every part of the world today. according to taylor, religious pluralism is therefore an attitude or policy regarding the diversity of religious belief systems co-existing in society (337). from a look back at nigerian history since the pre-colonial era, it becomes evident that nigeria right from its inception has remained a pluralistic society comprising different cultural, political, religious and social groups co-existing in the same political society. the country is divided into four different regions; the north, south, west and east and each with itself, has different people who are different in their cultural, political, religious and social background (baxter 16). religion therefore is an important dimension of the pluralistic nature of nigerian society and therefore forms the basis of discussion in the essay. the traditional religions consisting of a variety of localised religious practices and beliefs, common to our people, were thriving, undisturbed by any foreign influences. fr. mathew kukah notes that: the introduction of the islamic empires igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 9 and subsequent missionary activities across the continent produced different and sometimes divergent worldviews among communities (172). in our situation, two world major religions islam and christianity, are added to the alreadt existing traditional religion and even over shadow it. the most decisive impact of islam came in the first decade of the 19th century when usman dan fodio, one of a group of muslims scholars mainly of fulani origin initiated a major islamic reform in the north (beversluis 119). thus islam is more influential and dominant in the north, especially in the far north areas described as the holy north. it also has interests in the south-west. after the islamic presences had been registered in the northern part of nigeria, christianity was planted in the country through the south coast of the atantic by some explorers who were principally portuguese and later developed by holy ghost and missionaries fathers (ozigbo 91). traditional religion which was the initial religion in the country now claims a small percentage of the population and is scattered in all the four major regions (onyeidu 47). on the whole, the universal claims of both islam and christianity are adherently conflictual and contrast sharply with the communal world views of african religions as practised by various ethnic communities, african religion, being the spiritual ideological expression of the total worldview of the community, was hardly a source of conflict, since by its nature it did not seek converts nor did it try to impose its beliefs patterns. the central basis of religious pluralism is this last observation. tom driver points this out in his postscript to the book. he writes, “… the case of pluralism is at bottom a moral or ethical one, not the result of any salvific, revelational, or rational harmony.” (driver, 1992: 216). john b. cobb, jr who was a participant in the conference, but not a contributor makes an interesting observation, which again helps distinguish pluralism from relativism. according to knitter, (knitter, 1992: 184) cobb chides hick, cantwell smith and knitter himself for searching for a basis on which the unity of religions can be based. today, the country has become more pluralised in nature. the major religious adherents are growing in alarming proportions. people are now aware of others who do not share the same beliefs as they do. there is a struggle for supremacy between these two major religious groups which constitutes a problem of peaceful co-existence and unity in the nation. thus, the situation today is very complex. however, these problems can be isolated and treated. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 10 christian-muslim interaction in northern nigeria it is argued that, nigeria is one of the most heterogeneous societies, because her religious character is a pointer to that effect. before the coming of islam and christianity, during the pre-colonial nigeria, the inhabitants were religiously very heterogeneous (iremeka 148). in the different societies that have merged to form the entity called nigeria today, religion played integrative roles. different people had similar concepts of the supreme being and believed in the intermediary deities and spirits who provided social, political and moral guidance. membership of this society was such as being synonymous with religious identification. since the people of the various tribal groups had similar belief systems, religion was able to serve as a rank of identifying or distinguishing members of different groups (ogbeide 67). imo concured with the above fact that: today, pluralism has become a feature of modem nigerian society, with the coming of islam and christianity; three major religious traditions were established in the country. before independence in 1960, the effects of pluralism had begun to be felt along with those other factors of social change such as civilization, modernization, urbanization and technological advancement. colonialists accentuated inequality and projected particular religious groups above others, thereby, promoting discrimination (7). it is in the compliment of the above quotation that makozi pointed out that, the development gave islam and christianity a privileged position over the indigenous african religion, which our colonial masters and missionaries of both islam and christianity condemned. within a recent decade, members of the two religions have ascribed high positions to their religions at the national level and they strive and compete for dominance over each other. each religious tradition tries to protect its ideas at the national level. this has produced an antagonism which has generated fear, suspicion and acrimony (4). the consequences of this development are alarming as religious disturbances have often degenerated into serious crises resulting to loss of lives and properties worth trillions of naira. francis nyiku rightly observed, that “current indications suggest an accelerated movement towards islam and christianity, so that avowed adherents of traditional religions seem to be in a very thin minority”. he further postulates that, the result of the declining number of those who can identify as traditionalists, some scholars are of the view that only christianity and islam be recognized as the major religions in nigeria (oral interview). within the two igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 11 major religious traditions of christianity and islam, there are internal divisions and subdivisions that sometimes produce sharp contentions. christians and muslims interact in nigeria with suspicion, hate speech, discrimination, distrust and hostile tendencies. this situation helps to compound the problem of religious crises in the country, although it has often been down played in discussion on the subject. this religious diversification presents to us the pluralistic character of the nigeria society. seeing this, the federal government of nigeria in the tenth article of the 1999 constitution stipulates that the government of the federation or of a state shall not adopt any religion as a state religion (anjov 25). in addition to the above postulations nyiku attested that, the existence of the two main competitive religious traditions with the intra-group subdivisions has created serious problems for effective governance. with an increase in rivalists, christians and muslims have become more conscious of their rights and do not only demand what they consider to be their entitlement but ask that their special religions be included in the national ethical system. as a result, there is a constant cold war between muslims and christians, and religions have become unpredictable factor in the socio-political life of the country (oral interview). traditional religion of africa seems to be neglected as islam and christianity are growing at a very fast rate and their adherents are found in varying proportion in different parts of the country (kukah 5). according to hon. dugeri david what worthy of note here is that, inter religious interaction that calls for attention is mainly’ centered on christianity and islam because, they have taken over the country in terms of religion and because both of them are scrambling for identity from the federal coffers and more so, trying to dominate one another (oral interview). that is where the major problem lies, and it is the reason for why much mention is made of christians and muslims without giving prominence to the traditional religions of african which is the indigenous religion of africa and nigeria in particular. in dialogue, talking across religions is the main focus, and it is with the intention to encourage tolerance, where there had been conflicts. pluralism goes further than dialogue. although talking across religions is not discouraged, yet it is not emphasised. the reason for this is simple, the equal validity of the different religions is assumed. what remains for a theorist of pluralism to do is to spell out the meaning of the equality in practice. as kenny and mala have pointed out, dialogue is taught and encouraged in the university of ibadan, nigeria because igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 12 of the recent religious controversies and conflicts in nigeria (kenny and mala 104). according to david griffin, those who accept religious pluralism accept two affirmations, a positive one and a negative one. the negative affirmation is the rejection of religious absolutism, which means rejecting the a priori assumption that their own religion is the only one that provides saving truths and values to its adherents, that it alone is divinely inspired, that it has been divinely established as the only legitimate religion, intended to replace all others. the positive affirmation, which goes beyond the negative one, is the acceptance of the idea that there are indeed religions other than one’s own that provide saving truths and values to their adherents. (griffin 3) the word dialogue is a positive term, which connotes peace or the search for peace. with specific reference to inter-religious dialogue, oloso notes that: inter-religious dialogue can be defined as a forum purposefully created to generate contacts, discussions and interactions between two or more different religious groups with a view to bringing about an atmosphere of peaceful co-existence... its objective should be to discuss the various aspects of the problem that poses a threat to the peaceful co-existence between different religious groups (23) when this concept is applied to muslim-christian relationship in nigeria, it can be said that dialogue has been effective, to a great extent, in many communities, with particular reference to the south. that is not to rule-out occasional and isolated clashes, but these will be nothing compared to what obtains in many parts of northern nigeria which is said to be dominated by muslims. dialogue presupposes three things: toleration or, in the better terminology of vatican ii, religious liberty (kanu 2016 & 2017). it is possible to avoid interfering in the beliefs of another while still being convinced that he is on the road to damnation, dialogue presupposes also a recognition that the members of another religion can be on the way of salvation. since the influence of the holy spirit should be manifest in such people's lives and religious practices, dialogue attempts to recognize these values, which, it must be admitted, these religions mediate (cited in machado 45). by its nature, dialogue is applicable to many areas of human life. as smith notes, it has socio-political, historical, cultural, economic, intellectual, and other dimensions. he notes further that dialogue can feature at both corporate and inter-personal levels. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 13 madaki quotes pope paul vi as stating the essence of dialogue, when the latter noted that: we must meet each other, not just as tourists but as pilgrims on the road seeking god, not just in stone-buildings but in the hearts of human beings. human beings and nations must meet each other as brothers and sisters, as children of god. in mutual friendship and understanding, and in holy fellowship, we must also begin to work together to build a communal future for the human race. (56) in the same book, madaki also notes how three indispensable principles of dialogue were listed by the world council of churches. the three principles are: 1. frank and undisguised witness to one’s faith; 2. mutual respect between participants in a dialogue and 3. a recognition of religious freedom as an inalienable human right. the three principles imply that dialogue is about mutual understanding for peaceful co-existence, and "must never be used for proselytisation” (57). indeed, turning dialogue into an opportunity for propagating one's faith can only scare away adherents of a religion who fear that their members may be lost in conversion to another religion. of course, similar difficulties exist in nigeria, particularly in the northern part of the country. religious dialogue in northern nigeria muslim-christian dialogue dated back to the rise of islam in the seventh century. rooted as both traditions are in the monotheism of the patriarch abraham, muslims and christians share a common heritage. for more than fourteen centuries, these communities of faith have been linked by their theological understandings and by geographical proximity. the history of muslim-christian interaction includes periods of great tension, hostility and open war as well as times of uneasy toleration, peaceful coexistence and cooperation (kramer 127). islamic self-understanding incorporates an awareness of and direct link with the biblical tradition. muḥammad, his companions, and subsequent generations of muslims have been guided by the qurʿan, which they have understood as a continuation and completion of god's revelations to humankind. the qurʿan speaks of many prophets (anbiyaʿ, singular nabi) and messengers (rusul, sg. rasul) who functioned as agents of god's revelation. particular emphasis is laid on the revelations through moses (the torah) and jesus (the gospel) and their respective communities of faith or “people of the book” historically, christians living under islamic rule were usually treated as “protected peoples”; the practical implications of dhimmi status fluctuated from time to time and from igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 14 place to place (massoudi 17). even in the best of circumstances, however, it was difficult for christians and muslims to engage one another as equals in dialogue. on the christian side, the advent of islam in the seventh century presented major challenges. in the short space of a century, islam transformed the character and culture of many lands from northern country, disrupted the unity of the country, and displaced the axis of christendom to the north. islam challenged christian assumptions. not only were the muslims successful in their military and political expansion, but their religion presented a puzzling and threatening new intellectual position (michaelides 449). the dialogue movement began during the 1950s when the wcc and the vatican organized a number of meetings between christian leaders and representatives of other religious traditions. these initial efforts resulted in the formation of new institutions. in 1964, toward the end of the second ecumenical council of the vatican (vatican ii), pope paul vi established a secretariat for non-christian religions to study religious traditions, provide resources, and promote interreligious dialogue through education and by facilitating local efforts by catholics. several major documents adopted at vatican ii (1962–1965) focused on interfaith relations (onaiyakan 146). the most visible christian leader during the last quarter of the twentieth century, pope john paul ii, was a strong advocate for the new approach to interfaith relations. the spirit of his approach to islam is evident in a 1985 speech delivered to over 80,000. muslims at a soccer stadium in casablanca: we believe in the same god, the one god and the living god who created the world (igwara 37). in a world which desires unity and peace, but experiences a thousand tensions and conflicts, should not believers come together? dialogue between christians and muslims is today more urgent than ever. in 1989, john paul ii reorganized the secretariat for non-christian religions and renamed it the pontifical council for interreligious dialogue. the wcc established its program for dialogue with people of living faiths and ideologies (dfi) in 1971: muslim-christian relations were a primary focus from the outset. (lalley 62-3). by the 1980s and 1990s, other international organizations developed formal and informal programs for muslim-christian dialogue. the muslim world league, the world muslim congress, and the middle east council of churches are notable examples. at the local level, hundreds of interfaith organizations have facilitated dialogue programs. christian institutions have studied islam and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 15 pursued dialogue programs for decades. these academic programs stimulated particular initiatives by churches and muslim organizations. the large influx of muslims since 1950 has spawned numerous local and national islamic organizations, many of which are engaged with christian counterparts in local churches or through programs of the churches. their concerns range from education and health care to the resolution of middle east conflicts (lalley 64). in addition to numerous dialogue programs organized by local interfaith organizations or state councils of churches, two major academic centers in the country provide leadership and programs centered on muslim-christian relations. for over fifty years, hartford seminary in connecticut has specialized in the study of islam and muslim-christian relations through degree programs, continuing education, and publications. the center for muslim-christian understanding (cmcu) was founded at georgetown university in 1993 (65). on the local scene, there is the example of the catholic diocese of ijebu-ode which has an “interreligious dialogue commission.” the body is reported as having organized four public fora between june 11, 2000 and march 15, 2002 (machado 114) this type of dialogical effort can be said to be theological in nature. it is possible that many unsung socio-religious dialogues take place in many nigerian communities. the possibility is predicated on the existence of religious peace that is perceivable in many communities. in his book, inter-religious dialogue: the nigerian experience, bidmos traced the origin of muslim-christian dialogue in nigeria. he highlighted the four forms of inter-religious dialogue that are obtained in nigeria (71). in addition, one can mention some other academic efforts, such as the books by dopamu, raji and oduyoye. these books are not dialogical as such, but they contain contributions from scholars from various religions. the limitation of these efforts and those mentioned above is that the factors which usually cause tension go beyond theological differences (34). a deep look into the issues reveals socio-political and economic rivalry as being the main bone of contention under the smokescreen of religious allegations. hence, as earlier noted, christianity monopolized the roman empire, and the emirs resisted the introduction of christianity to northern nigeria. thus, dialogue may suffer where ulterior motives reign. as mentioned above, the secretariat for non-christians, in 1969 published in guidelines for a dialogue between muslims and christians, the work of joseph cuoq igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 16 et louis gardet. after further experience in such dialogue, maurice borrmans rewrote the book in 1981, giving it the title, guidelines for dialogue between christians and muslims appeared in 1990 (11). john-paul ii encouraged this dialogue at ankara on 30 november 1979 (cited in machado 34). the secretariat for non-christians and the world council of churches subcommission for dialogue with people of living faiths and ideologies have constantly been organizing meetings with muslims, and sometimes muslims have organized such meetings themselves. threats to peace between christians and muslims in northern nigeria the organized dialogue movement represents a new chapter in the long history between muslims and christians in northern nigeria. intentional efforts to understand and cooperate are hopeful signs, particularly for religious communities with a history of mutual antipathy. muslims and christians who advocate and engage in dialogue still face many obstacles. many muslims are wary of the entire enterprise because of the long history of enemity and the more recent experiences of colonialism. some christians argue that dialogue weakens or undermines christian mission and witness. for many, the perception of islam as inherently threatening is deeply ingrained; they are unwilling or unable to move beyond stereotypes or to distinguish between sympathetic and hostile counterparts in the other community (samartha 320). at the same time, the voices of some highly audible christian and muslim leaders became more polemical. the long history of misunderstanding, mistrust and animosity continues to inform the attitudes of many people in both communities of faith in northern nigeria. muslim-christian dialogue represents a new and major effort to understand and cooperate with others in increasingly interdependent and religiously diverse countries. the newness of dialogue and the absence of conceptual clarity have required experimentation. questions about planning, organization, representation, and topics need thoughtful consideration and careful collaboration. many local, regional, and international dialogue groups have developed guidelines to address common concerns and avoid pitfalls (tyolumun aker oral interview). christian-muslim dialogue, with such a push from the church, is completely new. it is not surprised that there were some stumbling and disappointments after the success and euphoria of the first meetings. in the first stage there were quite a few international meetings. each meeting seemed more daring and more igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 17 promising than the previous one (kenny 22). the heavy applause and the numbers of muslims who went up to the stage to embrace him showed the pleasure of the muslims at this sincere confession. but there was no parallel confession on the part of the muslims. besides, a final communication was released with the intrusion of some political clauses regarding israel, and immediately afterwards all international transmissions were cut. this made many feel disappointed at the conference. the local churches of the northern nigeria, where relations with muslims have not been easy, challenged or resisted the efforts of the secretariat for nonchristians to organize meetings with muslims on their territory. also northern christians showed their dissatisfaction with the lack of balance when muslims in other parts of the country are given liberty for full religious expression, while christians in nigeria are not allowed to have any public christian worship (muhammad ali oral interview). and the imposition of sharia law on non muslims in some states in northern nigeria. muslims also are mistrustful of dialogue. that was always the case in northern nigeria, except for some private exchanges. otherwise islamic fundamentalism is gaining ground and spread the impression that dialogue is a new missionary strategy to destabilize islam; one muslim called it "the new trap of the old trappers" (kenny 23). all these problems led the secretariat for non-christians to give preference to meetings with muslims on a local level, without publicity. in fact such meetings were more fruitful. besides, the focus of such meetings moved from looking for common belief to establishing the legal legitimacy of religious pluralism and to an awareness of the economic and social background that is often the root of religious tensions, where religious differences are only a mask camouflaging these other differences. what is perceived as moral decadence in western countries is unfortunately often interpreted by some muslims as the decadence of christian civilization. and this is a fertile ground for the nurturing of fundamentalist or puritanical (extremist) orientations within islam. the same tendency towards fundamentalism is noticeable today among fringe sects within christianity (oral interview). the "globalization of bad news," by which atrocities committed in any remote part of the world are beamed through satelite for everyone else to see, makes dialogue difficult today. muslims in nigeria can see all the violence in iraq and in palestine in a manner that would not have been possible before our technological age. there is need for international media corporations to know igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 18 what to do with bad news. it is a point to note that there is too much bad news in the media today. a few good things are happening in many parts of the world but it appears that good news is no longer news-worthy. this situation does not help our quest for global peace. conclusion the need for an authentic dialogue between christian and muslims in northern nigeria is not only important but also necessary. for religious tolerance and peaceful co-existence to be achieved in the country, a sincere attitude towards dialogue from both christians and muslims must be enhanced. the dialogue between religions must be advance beyond polite posturing and into arena whereby mutual mis-perceptions are corrected and old dogmas transcended. to achieve this, it requires a particular framework for discourse, a language that belongs to neither religions in isolation but to both in the context of dialogical encounter. with the specific of the christian-muslim, a theological dimension of dialogue with particular tool of phenomenology of religion and john hick religious pluralism is recommended. we need a positive attitude towards one another that we show true love, unity, peace, justice and the spirit of tolerance from both christian and muslims. recommendations after a careful examination of the phenomenon of pluralism and religious dialogue in northern nigeria, the study made the following recommendations: i. muslims and christians should make their message of peace practical oriented and should check other tendencies such as intolerance, fanaticism and extremism in their interactions and religious practices. ii. the leaders of islamic religion should adopt more peaceful means of expansion and eschew the violent approach. iii. christian and islamic scholars should promote the positive teachings of their religions like peace, care for the poor and the needy, the life of prayer and so on. iv. there is need for religious dialogue, justice, implementation of laws that will regulate christian-muslim relationship in northern nigeria. v. there is need for a campaign for a more positive interaction between muslims and christians in northern nigeria as well as enhanced security measures to tame violence behaviours. works cited anjov, kahaga t. contemporary ideologies. makurdi: lanrad prints, 2008. print ................ religion and the nigerian nation. makurdi: lanrad prints, 2008. print igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 19 baxter, k. b. “measuring student learning of interfaith cooperation: the pluralism and worldview engagement” in journal of college and character, 2015. print beversluis, j. source book of the world’s religions. novato: new world library, 2016. print bidmos, m. a. interreligious dialogue: the nigerian experience. laogs: irede printers, 2013. print chuta, s. c. “religion and social control in traditional african socieites” in j. o. ijeoma (ed.). african humanities. nigeria: mekslink publishers, 2002. print dopamu, p. a. "african religion in nigerian society: past, present and the future" in abubakre, r. d. et. al. dialogue: theorizing difference in communication studies. ca: sage 2016. print galtung, j. the emerging conflict formation. a paper for spark. m .matsunaga institute for peace conference. university of hawai’i: honolulu, 2-5 june, 2001. print gofwen, r. i. religious conflict in northern nigeria and nation building. kaduna: human rights monitor, 2015. print machado, f. a. “dialogue in the world pro-dialogo index” a bulletin of the pontificium consilium pro dialogo inter religiones citta del vaticano, 2014. print huntington,s. p. the clash of civilization and the remaking of world order. new york: simon schuster, 1997. print ibenwa, c. n. “religion and social change in nigeria”. in okeke, v. i et al (eds). comprehensive textbook in the social sciences. enugu: joen publishers, 2013. print igwara, o. “holy nigeria nationalism and apocalyptic visions of the nations” in nations and nationalism, 1 (3): 2015. print ijeoma, j. o. african humanities. nigeria: mekslinki publishers, 2009. print imo, cyril. religion and the unity of nigeria nation. sweden: almguist and wiksell igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 20 international, 1995. print iremeka, ukamaka f. “the place of religion in national development” in anyika, f. african humanities and nation building: nsukka: afro-orbis publication limited, 2015. print jibrin, i. “identity transformation and identity politics under structural adjustment in nigeria” in jega, a. (ed) structural adjustment in nigeria. uppsala and kano: african institute and centre for research and documentation, 2009. print jude, e. m. fundamentals of religious studies. calabar: franedoh publishers (nig) ltd. 2017. print kanu, i. a. (2016). “christian-muslim relations in nigeria as a religio-political locus theologicus for misericordia vultus”. harvard journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 117-128. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christianmuslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. ushe m. ushe and kanu, i. a. (2018). “the religious politics of boko haram and fulani herdsmen menace: a resurgence of islamic fundamentalism”. in kanu, i. a. & ndubisi j. o. e (eds.). religion, morality and peace-building in africa: ambiguities and the imperfect human condition (pp. 109-183). kanu, i. a. (2017). the culture of political corruption and the emergence of terrorism in nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli and rico sneller (eds.). the root causes of terrorism: a religious studies perspective (pp. 280-291). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. justine j. dyikuk and kanu, i. a. (2018). “boko haram’s violence against women: what can the media do?” in kanu, i. a. & ndubisi j. o. e (eds.). gender equality and power relations in africa: insights from religious and socio-cultural perspectives (pp. 9-32). lambert academic publishing: germany. keaten, j. a. and soukup, c. “dialogue and religious otherness: toward a model of pluralistic interfaith dialogue” in journal of international and intercultural communication, 2 (2), 2016. print kenny, joseph. views on christian-muslim relations http://www.diafrica.org/ nigeriaop/kenny/views. web igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 21 kramer, k. p. “a silent dialogue: the inter-religious dimension” in buddhistchristian studies, 1999. print kukah, m. h. religion, culture and the politics of development. lagos: centre for black and african arts and civilizations, 2017. print. lalley, j. p, and miller, r. h, the learning pyramid: does it point teachers in the right direction? educational (16) august, 2017. print madaki, augustine. "areas of dialogue between muslims and christians in nigeria" in mwojok, clement, j. gangwari, f. oso and uchu, p. (eds) jos studies vol. 10 jos: st. augustine's major seminary, 2016. print michaelides, p. e. interfaith dialogue in global perspective and the necessity of youth involvement. asia: asia europe journal (7), 2017. print massoudi, m. citizen and the subjec: contemporary africa and the legacy of colonialism. cape town: david philip, 2016. print ogbeide, o. reluctant politician. nigeria: provincial pastoral institute publication, 2006. print oloso k .k. inter religious dialogue: as solution to contemporary and world problems. lagos: joja educational and publishers, 2018. print onaiyekan, j. “religion and peace: ideals versus realities”. in mala, s. b. and oseni, z. i (eds) religion peace and unity in nigeria. ibadan: snarp press, 2004. print onyeidu, s. o. phenomenology of religion. nsukka: easy quality press, 1999. print ozigbo, i. r. a. “african responses to christianity and islam: the case of west africa” in i. t. k. egonu (ed.). readings in african humanities in world culture. nigeria: vivian and vivian publishers, 2008. print raji, rasheed a. (ed). perspectives in religious studies vol.1 ilorin: unilorin press, 2005. print richard, a. democracy and prebendal politics in nigeria: the rise and fall of the second republic. ibadan: spectrum books limited, 1999. print igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 22 samartha, s. j. "guidelines on dialogue," b.s.n.c., 41-42 2009. print taylor, j. p. “dialogue as the search for sustainable organizational coorientation” in anderson, r. baxter, l. a. and cissna, k. (eds.) dialogue: theorizing difference in communication studies. c a: sage, 2014. print usman, b. y. the manipulation of religion in nigeria. kaduna: vanguard press, 2007. print microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.1 no. 2 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 140 education in the school of genuine humanity: pastoral care for persons living with disability and their families in nigeria patrick ebito akekpe, msp352 national missionary seminary of st paul, abuja ebitoa@yahoo.com abstract disability is an inescapable reality of life. many families who have a disabled member among them face serious emotional, psychological and socio-economic challenges. some of these persons living with disability are also members of the church. however, in spite of their sizable numbers in many worshiping communities, they are basically sidelined in the pastoral outreach of the church. the reasons for this are either ignorance, prejudice or the absence of adequate pastoral training on how to reach out to this group or perhaps their seeming neglect is a symptom of a deeper theological problem. could the pastoral ‘invisibility’ of persons living with disability in ecclesial life not be due to a theological uneasiness regarding god’s goodness, the problem of evil, etc. the goal of this article is to examine the parameters of a pastoral care plan. this article will be predicated on the fact that persons living with disability form part of the body of christ and are full human subjects with the corresponding innate, sacred and inviolable rights. they too have unique gifts which can be at the service of communion. harnessing these gifts will require an education in the school of genuine humanity whereby able members of the church will create a conducive atmosphere of pastoral integration for people living with disability and their families. the goal is to make people with disabilities equal partners in the christian community. this pastoral care plan will include but may not be limited to designing churches that are disabled friendly (mobility) creating opportunities for ministry by persons with disability, pastorally reaching out to families with disabled members and examining how the laws of state protect the disabled and how these can be harmonized with the pastoral ministry of the church. keywords: education, humanity, pastoral, disability, families, nigeria 352 fr. patrick ebito akekpe, msp, is a priest of the missionary society of st paul. he is currently a lecturer at the national missionary seminary of st paul, gwagwalada, abuja, where he also serves as the dean of students’ affairs. he can be reached via ebitoa@yahoo.com. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 141 introduction no family is ever fully prepared to welcome the birth of a child with any form of disability. this is due to the fact that the arrival of a child with even the mildest form of either physical or mental disability alters the dynamics of family relationships. for a culture which glories in physical appearance and where physical beauty or attractiveness is held in high esteem, the birth of an “abnormal” child is perceived as an aberration. parents of such children may feel embarrassed, humiliated or let down by god. the gradual coming to terms with the disability of their children can become a crushing burden for parents. they soon discover that the duty of care they owe their offspring is a journey without an immediate end. in fact, it demands a lifetime commitment. in addition, disability stigmatizes both the individual and the family. persons with disabilities and their families experience a lot of emotional and psychological turmoil. this is often a result of societal prejudice, social ostracism, isolation and discrimination. to tell it as it is, persons with disabilities form a significant proportion of the marginalized in many societies.1 if the church is to fulfil its mission as salt of the earth and light of the world then it has a bounden duty to minister to the pastoral needs of this anawim of yahweh. the goal of this paper is to examine the parameters of intervention by the church in catering to the pastoral needs of persons living with disability and their families. it is common knowledge that in spite of the sizable numbers of many persons living with disabilities in our worshipping communities, they and their families are basically sidelined in the pastoral outreach of the church. in fact, they are pastorally ‘invisible’. a combination of ignorance, prejudice, fear and perhaps lack of adequate pastoral training on how to respond to the needs of this group may be partially responsible. perhaps too, there is some theological uneasiness regarding god’s goodness and the problem of evil which disability confronts us with. pastoral care is a multidimensional intervention which includes advocacy, inclusion, presence and solidarity. it will also entail attitudinal changes and constant education of the lay faithful on fulfilling the duties of care they owe to the least of their christian brothers and sisters. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 142 current status of the literature research revealed that there is not much published material in the area of pastoral care for persons with disabilities in nigeria and their families. in the area of magisterial pronouncements not too much has been done either. following the declaration of the international year of disabled persons in 1981 by the united nations, the holy see on 4 march, 1981 issued a statement to that effect. a few articles and books on the issue appear to focus more on how the church can become accessible to those with physical handicaps. a study among a particular group in nigeria dealt extensively with the need of incorporating the physically challenged in the liturgical life of the church.2 this lacunae further reinforces the invisibility and anonymity that is the lot of persons living with disability within the institutional church. this voiceless group is yearning and groaning to be heard. but it does seem that those “able bodied men and women” who run the affairs of the church have more ‘weightier matters’ on their agenda. it could also be the case that many are embarrassed by the subject of disability. for how come that in a discussion of the vocation and mission of the family and the consecrated life in the church and contemporary society3 the issue of disability is not considered at all? are people aware that in spite of their invisibility they form a sizable number of the population and many of them are actually baptized catholics?4 definition of terms this is a complex issue. several literature have battled with the issue of nomenclature. what terms may be used? are persons physically handicapped or disabled? some see the use of the term “handicapped” as condescending or degrading. some prefer the term “physically or mentally challenged” insisting that the conditions are mere challenges which can be overcome. should we refer to someone as a disabled or one living with disability? should people be defined in terms of their disability or personhood? is mr x a blind man or a man who is blind? mccoll and jongloed have argued that when we categorize people on the basis of their disability, “the result is depersonalization and medicalization of disabled peoplereinforcing a power structure that systematically disadvantages disabled people”.5 the significant point to note in disability advocacy is that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 143 people are first persons and human before their disability. as scholars like eiesland argue, disability is no different from other conditions of life such as gender, age or even ethnicity. though she does not underestimate the difficulties associated with being disabled, which may be personal and social, she also sees disability “as a source of creativity and resourcefulness, and as an expression of faith and solidarity.”6the united nations convention on the rights of persons with disabilities state that, “persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others”7 this descriptive definition enables us to have a comprehensive view of disability. in this article therefore, we shall use the term “disability” to refer to a smorgasbord of physical and mental defects in individuals or persons. the meaning of pastoral care as a discipline pastoral care is not well developed in this part of the world. this does not mean that pastoral care is not being carried out by priests, consecrated persons and lay people. however, there has not been, to my knowledge, a systematic and scientific exploration of specific areas of pastoral care as has been widely done in other climes. this is evident in the fact that certain specialized areas of ministry such as geriatric care, hospital chaplaincy, ministry to divorced or separated persons, and ministry to those suffering from effects of substance abuse often do not have adequate personnel trained to render services in such areas. the hospice movement which has been able to offer palliative care for persons with terminal illnesses is at best inchoate in nigeria. pastoral care encapsulates the traditional concept of cura animarum or care of souls. clebsch and jaekle define pastoral care as “the ministry of the cure of souls….and consists of helping acts done by representative christian persons, directed toward the healing, sustaining, guiding, and reconciling of troubled persons whose troubles arise in the context of ultimate meanings and concerns”.8 pastoral care is not the prerogative or priests or ordained ministers alone. in fact, as howard clinebell argues, “pastoral care is the shared ministry of the pastor and the whole congregationordained ministers are like player coaches who have the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 144 responsibility of enabling the mutual ministry of lay persons and also doing their own unique and valuable ministry of caring”.9 why pastoral care? if disabled persons are full members of christ’s mystical body by virtue of their baptism then they too deserve all the spiritual benefits that accrue to other members of the faith community. some people argue that there is no need for singling out disabled persons for pastoral care. this they believe would negate the practice of inclusion. however the reality is that these groups of people are basically invisible in the church’s liturgical and pastoral life. if their spiritual needs and other temporal needs were well catered for then there would be no need for this intervention or any other. the year 1981 was declared by the united nations as the international year for disabled persons. in the light of this declaration the holy see issued a statement on march 4, 1981 setting out guidelines on the church’s response to the plight of disabled persons worldwide. however, before this time attention to disability issues became a priority for christian communities globally when in 1968 the world council of churches began to explore avenues to make the church a more inclusive community. landmark progress was made in 1998 with the establishment of the ecumenical disabilities advocates network with headquarters in kenya.10as it is today various faith communities and civil authorities have become more aware of the need to respond to the needs of persons living with disabilities and their families. on november 16, 1978 the united states catholic bishops issued a pastoral statement on people with disabilities. in 2006, the united nations general assembly published the “conventions on the rights of persons with disabilities”. recently, the centre for citizens with disabilities (ccd) a group which represents persons living with disabilities in nigeria urged president muhammadu buhari to sign into law the discrimination against persons with disability bill which having being passed by parliament is awaiting his assent.11in order to properly articulate the parameters of pastoral care for disabled persons and their families we must first of all seek to enter into the world of such persons and seek a theological understanding of pain, suffering and loss. it is only when we have plumbed some of the depths of misery and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 145 agony surrounding the presence of a disabled child in a family that we can begin to speak of pastoral intervention. not the child they wanted as we stated at the beginning of this article, no family is ever fully prepared to welcome the birth of a disabled child. in certain parts of the world were prenatal diagnosis of certain disabilities such as down’s syndrome is now possible and mothers are given a choice on whether to abort or keep the baby, it is heartwarming that many mothers decide to keep their babies in spite of the challenges that may arise in raising such children. however in many parts of the world, especially ours, diagnosis is often made at birth or shortly after. the moment parents make the painful discovery their child is afflicted with either mental or physical disability can bring their world crashing down. as the holy see’s declaration affirms, “the trauma which derives from this can be so profound and can cause such a strong crisis that it shakes their whole system of values” (no 6).12in parts of nigeria, this trauma is accentuated by cultural beliefs which tends to link the birth of a handicapped child with punishment from the gods. parents of such children facing isolation and social ostracism are forced to hide such children from public view. added to this is the conviction by certain persons who believe that close association with the handicapped child will bring bad luck to them. some pregnant women have a sense of trepidation and foreboding when they encounter a handicapped child. the situation is not much different in the western world. andrew solomon who has written extensively on this subject affirms that, “manifest disabilities affront parents’ pride and their need for privacy; everyone can see that this child isn’t what you wanted, and you must either accept the world’s pity or insist on your own pride”.13 pastoral care should ideally begin the very moment that parents make the painful discovery that their child is disabled. pastoral care workers should intervene with great tact and diplomacy and avoid spiritual platitudes of quickly urging the parents to accept the disability of their child as the will of god. the first ministry should obviously be one of presence and support and continual and creative exploration of possibilities. such families at the beginning will require understanding not judgment, empathy not pity, solidarity not exclusion, and a firm commitment igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 146 from pastoral care givers that though the journey may be long and tortuous, they would not travel the path alone. grief without end the birth or diagnosis of a child with disability represents a form of loss. as we grieve for the loss of a loved one so parents grieve for the loss of sight of a child that may never see or an autistic child who may never be able to independently care for himself all his life. it is therefore not unexpected that many parents generally, though not typically, on discovering that their child is suffering from mild or chronic disability go through a range of feelings associated with imminent loss. elisabeth kübler ross in her study of terminally ill patients confronted with the reality of impending death identifies these feelings as denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.14 these gamut of feelings may not necessarily present themselves in the above sequence but they are present nonetheless at different stages. what makes grieving for a disabled child unique is that it is often a grief without pending closure. this is a reality that parents with normal healthy children can never comprehend. in a 1962 article, simon olshansky wrote: “most parents who have a mentally defective child suffer chronic sorrow throughout their lives regardless of whether the child is kept at home or “put away”. the parents of a mentally defective child have little to look forward to; they will always be burdened by the child’s unrelenting demands and unabated dependency. the woes, the trials, the moments of despair will continue until either their own deaths or the child’s death. release from this chronic sorrow may be obtainable only through death”.15 the goal of pastoral care is to mitigate to some extent this brutal reality. theological issues manifest disability presents us with difficult questions about the goodness of god and his creation. if as we are told in the scriptures that we are made in the image and likeness of god (gen.1: 26) and that god saw everything that he made and it was very good (gen 1: 31), how do we explain the reality of children born with chronic mental and physical disability? are they too made in the image of god? is god a dwarf? is he autistic? does he suffer from cerebral palsy and is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 147 he blind, deaf and dumb? necessarily then, a hermeneutic of disabilities will alter our image of god and redefine our understanding of his goodness and love. it means therefore that we must begin to factor in brokenness, ugliness, incompleteness, etc, in seeking to grasp the mysteries of creation. secondly, chronic disability raises the question of personhood. what does it mean to be human? is a person fully human simply because they are free from any physical or mental defect? why do we insist that every child has a right to life even if at the embryonic stages there is evidence that the unborn child would suffer from chronic mental disabilities? according to the holy see’s declaration for the international year of disabled persons, “in their view of faith and in the concept of man, christians know that in the disabled person there is reflected in a mysterious way the image and likeness which god impressed upon the lives of his sons and daughters”16. this indubitable truth does not lessen the confusion and agony often faced by persons living with disability or their families. there are no simple theological explanations to the reality of disability. any form of disability is a form of imperfection and limitation. to some extent every person suffers from some imperfection and limitation. this is of little comfort though to parents raising a mentally retarded child who must constantly wonder why their child’s imperfection sticks out like a sore thumb. in disability we are also confronted with the mystery of pain and suffering. the lack of open discussion of disability in church circles may stem from some form of theological uneasiness about the reality of pain and suffering as manifest in the lives of persons living with disability. in a culture where everything negative is attributed to evil forces, even children born with congenital deformities have been taken for ‘deliverance’ by parents who are assured by miracle healers that their child’s condition may be the result of ‘ancestral curses’ or the handiwork of the devil or other enemies. when such children fail to ‘be healed’ it is attributed to the parents’ lack of faith. either way, the miracle healer has the final word. the scriptures and pastoral care for disabled people does the scriptures offer us any model for caring pastorally for people with disabilities? a cursory glance at the both the old and new testaments reveal that not much can be mined by way of drawing models of pastoral care for igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 148 disabled persons. in the scriptures generally, disability is viewed as a disease. the most frequent diseases mentioned in the bible are blindness, deafness, dumbness, leprosy and paralysis.17 as otieno demonstrates, visual impairment is perhaps the most common form of disability in antiquity as we see in isaac (gen 27:1), jacob (gen 48:10), eli (1 sam 3:2 & 4:15) and ahijah the shilomite (1 kings 14:4).18 however, for all these people their eyesight failed in old age. in the hebrew worldview, disability like ill -health was often linked to sin and disobedience. passages such as lev. 26: 14-16 demonstrates the punishment that would accompany israel’s disobedience. samson sinned against god through his eyes (judges 14: 2). he was punished by having his eyes gouged out by the unforgiving philistines (judg 16:21) various encounters of jesus with disabled people seems to also support the connection between disability and sin. see john 5: 14, mark 2:1-2 where the respective healings are tied to the admonition to the person healed not to sin again.mccoll and ascough have argued that “the miracle narratives in the nt have fuelled destructive attitudes toward disability among christians even to the present day”.19it does seem that the church follows levitical teaching in setting the requirements for ministry. according to regulations set forth in lev. 21: 16-23, any kind of physical imperfection constituted enough impediment to the exercise of priestly ministry. thus, the blind, lame, the hunchback etc,` will not come forward to offer the food of his god. in spite of all these, however, there is ample evidence that people with disability are included in god’s plan. when israel is restored, the disabled would not be left out. in isaiah 35:5-6 the author exalting in the triumphant return of the liberated israelites says: “then the eyes of the blind will be opened, the ears of the deaf unsealed, then the lame will leap like a deer and the tongue of the dumb sing for joy”. further passages in isaiah indicates that disabled people factor in god’s salvific plan for his people (see isaiah 29:18; 33:23-24). the parable of the great banquet (luke 14) is the most instructive of jesus’ attitude to persons living with disabilities. they like other people are welcome in the kingdom of god. in fact, he told the host who had invited him to a meal to give preference to the poor, the crippled and the lame whenever he threw a banquet (luke 14:13). if for jesus the kingdom of god was not complete without people with disabilities, so for us too, the church cannot be complete without them. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 3 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 1 historicizing the extant remote causes of the usman dan fodio’s 1804 jihad: a lesson for the nigerian contemporary leaders amanambu, uchenna ebony, ph.d methodist church nigeria umuobiala, isuikwuato l.g.a abia state email: ebonyuchem@gmail.com abstract this paper focuses on the history and remote causes of the 1804 usman dan fodio’s jihad as an event that took place in the ancient hausa land, spread beyond it and has become topical and inspirational to many people. it observes that leadership played a pivotal role in the success of the jihad. it outlines some principles of effective leadership, roles of leadership to the existence or otherwise of any society and valuable lessons nigerian leaders can sieve from the 1804 usman dan fodio’s jihad so as to avoid the repeated quests and launching of jihads in nigeria. the study submits that if nigerian leaders want to avert the incessant destruction of lives and property spurred by the jihadists, they must learn from all the shortfalls, weaknesses and mistakes of the kings of pre jihadist hausa land and adopt superior ideologies that will ensure mutual respects, relationships, justice, equity and fairness to all and sundry. introduction in 1804, a young islamic scholar, usman dan fodio successfully over ran the entire ancient hausa land and overthrew dreadful authorities with the launch of islamic jihad. many factors have been adduced for the causes and successes of the jihad. one of the factors that led to success of the war was the leadership qualities. amidst the foregoing, a revered scholar, achebe (1983) asserts that the trouble with nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership. he argues that there is nothing basically wrong with the nigerian character, nigerian land, nigerian climate, nigerian water, nigerian air or anything else concerning nigerian except leadership (p.1). iweh (1987) in agreement with achebe harps on the fact that leadership is to a society what an eye is to the human (p.20). nigeria is hugely and abundantly blessed with both human and material resources but her citizens because of bad leadership have continued to suffer and squalor in the midst of abundance thus fertilizing the ground for the incessant rise of other jihads. these jihadists and other ethno-religious militants such as the blood thirsty herdsmen, boko haram and maitatisine have continued to wreak havocs igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 2 against the people and existence of the nigerian state. the resultant effect has been a country that is drifting on the edge of precipice. this study is enthused by the premise that no nation can grow above the quality of its leadership. clarification of terms historicizing, extant, remote, causes, jihad, lesson, nigerian, contemporary and leaders the webster’s dictionary defines historicizing as the use of historical material in interpreting something. it means a product of historical development. extant stands for something very old but still in existence. remote is an electronic device that operates at a distance and controls something indirectly from a distance. cause means the reason for an action, a person or a thing that gives rise to an action. lesson means a piece of instruction learned by study or experience. contemporary implies a person or thing living or existing at the same time as another. nigeria according to meek (1925), is a name given by flora shaw, who later became the wife of lord lugard, the first nigerian colonial governor-general (p.59). nigeria can be briefly defined as the conglomerates of nations that were amalgamated into one country in 1914 but on 1st october, 1960, it gained political independence from britain. leader has been given many definitions by many scholars. for instance, rowe (2007) views leadership as a process through which an individual influences a group of other individuals to achieve a common goal. leader can be summed up as a person who plans, leads, directs, manages or influences a person or groups in an organization or country to achieve common goal. jihad: etymologically, ayatullah (1984) defines jihad as an arabic word meaning different things but basically imply to strive, to struggle and the use of force in the defence of islam and its propagation as applied in the quran (p.39). ali (1986) posits that jihad is a tool of fighting for survival hence that among the arabs, raiding was a means of freeing oneself from want (p.63). nzomiwu (1989) classifies jihad into various categories, types and kinds but they agree with this basic or popular four kinds of jihad and they are “jihad by the heart; jihad by the tongue; jihad by the hand and jihad by the sword. the usman dan fodio’s 1804 jihad in the view of kukah (1993) is a war launched with the aim of establishing islamic state based on sharia (p.115). contextually, historicizing the extant remote causes of the usman dan fodio’s 1804 jihad: a lesson for the nigerian contemporary leaders implies the historical explanations of the isolated but still existing issues that indirectly fertilized the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 3 ground for the launching of the 1804 usman dan fodio’s jihad. it analyses the social implications of the war and highlights how those salient issues should serve as a warning for nigerian leaders so that where possible, the incessant repeats of the war will be managed or avoided. nigerian leaders do not mean only political rulers rather both religious and every other kind of leadership. theoretical frameworks the study employs the human relations theory developed in reaction against the formal tradition of classical models by mary parker follet (1968-1933) who believes that the fundamental problem in all organizations is in developing and maintaining dynamic and harmonious relationships. koontz and weihrich (1980) assert that this theory argues that conflict is “not necessarily a wasteful outbreak of incompatibilities but a normal process by which socially valuable differences register themselves for enrichment of all concerned”. from the same theory, fayol develops some useful principles that characterized successful administration and general management which can be applied to any organization including government and these principles are: planning, organizing, directing, co-ordinating and controlling (p.46). similarly, the relationship/transformational theory was used. lamb (2013) notes that it is a theory that focuses on the connections formed between leaders and followers. in these theories, leadership is the process by which a person engages with others and is able to “create a connection” that will result in increased motivation and morality on both followers and leaders. it demands that leaders should posses certain qualities such as confidence, extroversion and clearly stated values so as to be able to motivate followers. the theory is used in this study because just like charry (2012) observes, it helps leaders motivate and inspire people by making them see the importance and higher good of the task, focusing on the performance of the people and seeing each person fulfill his or her potential. leaders in this category often have high ethical and moral standards (p.19). brief history of usman dan fodio in view of hunwick (1966), there are mixtures of migrated fulanis and the inhabitants hausas that produced a high degree of cultural mix among them. the hausa people were largely pagans while the fulani people were igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 4 predominantly muslims (p.293). adeleye (1971a) observes that through the obvious ensuing admixture between the islamic culture and the indigenous hausa pagan culture, a gradual polarization of society along the lines of two conflicting religio-political ideologies occurred (p.558). it was in the peak of these conflicting ideologies that usman dan fodio was born. according to crowder and abdullahi (1979), milsome (1979) and fage (1988), usman dan fodio was born in 1754 in marata, gobir, to the toronkawa tribe of fulani origin. sulaiman (1986) notes that shortly after his birth, his parents and the rest of his family moved to degel, where he grew up. according to timbuktu’s ancient tradition, parents were regarded as the first teachers of any child. thus, usman dan fodio received most of his education from his parents and other relatives. he traces usman dan fodio’s descent to one mura jakolo who had migrated to gobir from futa-toro at around the 15th century. he maintains that usman dan fodio’s ancestors were also believed to have settled originally in konni before they eventually migrated to degel (pp.109-ff). the toronkawa tribe according to hunwick (1966), is a “missionary tribe” which had an ancient tradition of islamic learning and piety (p.293). olupona (1991) asserts that the toronkawa claimed descent from prophet mohammad and they were the first occupants of gobir land (p.39). in view of these, it is not surprising therefore that usman dan fodio grew to be an erudite scholar who had undertaken a deep study of islamic law, theology and mysticism. milsome (1979) stresses that even though he received his first tutelage under his father, his uncles, he was later educated at agades, north of marata, at the feet of jebril (p.19). cook (2011) argues that usman dan fodio’s life can be divided into two sections which are: the teaching phase of life and the active phase of life. in the first phase, usman dan fodio was closely linked with the hausa rulers especially in a preaching and hortatory capacity, calling for the suppression of innovation (pp.5-6). adeleye (1971a) states that usman dan fodio employed the use of poems and pamphlets written in arabic, fulfude and hausa languages. he was able to spread his teachings to the most parts of northern nigeria and as a reward for his zeal, he won a great number of admirers and followers across the entire hausa land. the outcome was to play a decisive role in the success of the jihad some years later. the leadership ability soon earned him wider credibility and recognition (p.560). the 1804 usman dan fodio’s jihad igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 5 everything about the 1804 jihad in hausaland revolves around the life and teachings of usman dan fodio. according to khalid (2012), king nafata’s made series of attempts at enforcing dehumanizing policies against usman dan fodio and his group. in his desperateness to take usman dan fodio’s family hostage and coerce him to discontinue his activities, the king died in 1802. his son, yumfa took over the throne. his accession coincided with when usman dan fodio wrote on the theme of hijra and jihad in “al-masa’il al-mu-himma”. like his father, yumfa made failed attempts at usman dan fodio’s life. by 1803, the situation was so explosive that when yumfa attacked gimbana in kebbie, muslim property was robbed and muslims were taken captive with many dead and villages destroyed. when the captives passed degel, they were freed by other muslims without usman dan fodio’s permission but this made yumfa to order him to leave his jamaa (people or followers) and go into exile. usman dan fodio refused to leave his jamaa and instead left gobir for gudu (pp.18-21). yumfa sensing mass exodus of the slaves ordered usman dan fodio to stay back but the decision was made and the whole process was organized by his brother abdullah, aliyu jedo, abdusalam and muhammad bello his son. it was at this time that the famous pamphlet, wathiqat ahl al-sudanwa-ila man sha’allah min alikhwan fi albuldan was written as the manifesto of jihad. the write up was widely circulated as a declaration of the jihad. it made it clear that the status of a state is in the ruler and if muslims have to fight the unbelievers so be it. thus, usman dan fodio and his party of jamaa moved from degel to gudu marking it as the hijrah in 1804. according to sulaiman (1986), the armies of usman dan fodio met at gurdam-a lake known as tabkin kwatto, on thursday, 21st june, 1804 (12 rabi al-awwal 1219) and drew up their swords against the king of gobir, yumfa and his armies. it was a war undertaken with the intension to free themselves from the oppressors and ensure the people’s liberty. the war made the late nineteenth century hausa land witness a remarkable event that has come to be a point of reference for many generations after. however, onwubiko (1985) argues that at the initial stages of the jihad, usman dan fodio was prompted by religious motives to revive the true islamic practices and to establish an ideal islamic society in hausa land. but later, the jihad which began as a religious movement turned out a political and economic agenda (p.29). the extant remote causes of 1804 usman dan fodio’s jihad igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 6 wrong perception of others: sulaiman (1986) notes that by 1789, usman dan fodio had raised so many followers that bawa jan garzo, king of gobir, viewed him as a political threat. the king was also afraid that the jamaa-being the muslim community was becoming highly organized which could render the influence and power of his own leadership useless and powerless (p.187). initially, the king perceived usman dan fodio and his people wrongly and he treated them so. many leaders of nigeria have perceived people outside their ethnic nationalities wrongly. most times these leaders portray their wrong perceptions through the treatments and general attitudes to the people. for instance, ibeh (2015) states that an abuja-based lawyer, dim-udebuani marcel, has sued president muhammadu buhari over appointments he made. buhari has been roundly accused of favouring a section of the country against especially those of igbo extraction. he also sought to determine whether there were no qualified or corrupt free persons from the igbo land to be appointed into responsible offices in nigeria (pp.6-7). many igbo groups believe that the president perceived them as enemies because of the civil war and their failure to vote for him in 2015 general elections. indeed, this kind of ill treatment and perceptions on both sides is capable of making some group of people to join forces against central authorities and when it is done, it brings about weak or questioned authority and strong ethnic base. ethnicity: ethnicity can be seen as relationship, concern, favour or regard shown to a person or people because of common language, culture and origin. if the accounts of abubakar (2003) are objectively considered, it is evident that divisions based on ethnic lines played significant role in the mismanagement of the crises. the division noted especially between the fulbe people who were mostly nomadic herdsmen and the ruling agrarian hausa people persisted almost unabated. these groups did not only have different dominant occupations but also their societies were differently structured (p.11). more so, bako (1997) avers that tribalism was the problem of nigeria in the first republic (p.284). the sense of ethnicity is fundamentally one of the major indications of a failed leadership. this is because general security being the cardinal duty of the government is biased, clueless and largely non existence. everybody basically needs the sense of general security and where this is not achieved, people surrender their loyalty and defend wherever it is provided. for example, the formations of ethnic associations in nigeria where contributions are made towards ethnic-inclined common good have rendered the government almost igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 7 useless. for example, when a man is arrested by the nigerian police, his kinsmen contribute to secure his bail. when he is sick, his people assist to offset the huge bills. when flood and other natural disaster affect him and his property, his kinsmen are often the first and sometimes the last to show up. incidentally, trekable road, borehole and erratic power supply can only reach to his village if his kinsman becomes the governor or president. in that case, it does not matter if the governor or president is a thief, incompetent or rules from the grave. ethnicity kills objectivity and enthrones subjectivity. it kills cohesion and mutual relationships in a multi religious and cultural society. the success of usman dan fodio’s jihad was that it has ethnic colouration making those that do not know the reason for the war took up arms. hence, the coup and counter coup in nigeria together with the nigerian civil war were all carried out from the lenses of ethnicity. regrettably, it has remained the problem of nigeria today. many of our leaders have turned into ethnic warlords. amanambu (2013) identifies ethnicity as a problem of nigeria which has changed from sore to ulcer and currently assuming cancerous dimension. he said that the leaders have been polarizing ethnicity in nigeria through their policies (p.57). social insecurity, marginalization and ill treatments of people because of their race, sex and religion give rise to ethnic consciousness. increased population and competition for limited space: abubakar (2003) notes that the rapid increase of the population of the people was making it increasingly difficult for the fulbe to move their herds. the lack of adequate land increased tensions over the limited ones and the migratory ability of the fulbe group threatened their neighbours similar to the deadly fulani herdsmen attacks today (p.12). it is natural to have this kind of situation in a multi religious and cultural setting but what matters is the aptness of leaders in managing it. this is because if it is well managed, it can be harnessed into strength in diversity. thirst for religious purification and triumphalism: perhaps the most important remote factor that led to the launching of the 1804 jihad was the need to purify islam among the habe states of northern nigeria. many scholars agree that usman dan fodio desired to revive islam in hausa land towards the orthodox line. milsome (1979) notes: it troubled him (fodio) greatly that only lip service was paid to the muslim faith in gobir. everywhere he went with abdullahi, they saw how lax people were towards their religion. the sarkin gobir was deliberately igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 8 discouraging people from observing their religion carefully. so angry was usman dan fodio at what he saw that he made up his mind to organize an uprising against yunfa. (p.12) lenshie and ayokhai (2013) confirm that the way these leaders followed unislamic practices such as veneration of rocks and trees, consultations with magicians and soothsayers, the imposition of taxes, the banning of wearing of veil for women among others. usman dan fodio took the advantage of the political misnomer and began to preach islam, mobilizing the people against the state (p.4). adeleye (1971) concludes that, it was circumstances such as these to which muslims were radically opposed to that brought about the tension which precipitated the jihad (p.599). ironically, khalid (2012) notes that other oppositions usman dan fodio faced came from some ulamas (religious leaders) who wished to maintain the state of affairs to retain power. according to him, there were other charlatans who posed as sufi saints but were very ignorant and depended on mystical experience of transcendental knowledge. usman dan fodio had criticized these ulama for justifying political corruption, immorality, promotion of evil through local customs and culture and especially promoting slavery among muslims (p.6). on religious triumphalism abiola (1984) asserts that the thirst for territorial, economic, political, ethnic expansions led to the war but the desire of “dipping the koran into the atlantic ocean in lagos” took preeminence (pp.109-111). the culture of projecting one particular as superior to others has been one of the salient challenges of the country. contrastingly, many nigerian religious leaders have continued with the same merchandise that caught the ire of usman dan fodio and his men in gobir land. a former nigerian president, olusegun obasanjo in ezeamalu (2017) said that the activities of religious leaders through the celebration and veneration of members with corrupt wealth are contributing to the rampart cases of corruption across the country (p.12). the levels of impunity, destructive politicking and injustice that are constantly and structurally carried out in the religious organizations in nigeria can only be summarized as unprintable. in this type of atmosphere, jihad, radicalism, militancy and fundamentalism will always thrive like wild fire. the culture of impunity and corruption: usman dan fodio observed that corruption was widespread in the hausa government with strategic appointments being made based on bribes rather than merit. adeleye (1971) said igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 9 that politically, the fulanis had remained aliens in hausa land despite the fact that they had lived there for centuries. without any regard to the substantial number of learned men among the fulanis, they suffered the disabilities of second-class citizens (p.578). nwankwo (1972) points out that, it was one of the main reasons why the biafra lost the nigerian civil war. according to him, hardship caused by corruption affected the army, fraud became common in the directorates, officials sold fuel meant for military use, food meant for men in the trenches was diverted to homes, market stalls, a contractor could inflate price of food worth a hundred pounds to a thousand pounds, the release of scarce biafran currency was grossly exploited by the bank officials and regrettably the soldiers took to looting of homes, shops in combat areas were robbed and the booty sold at give-way price. crops of villagers at that perilous time were heavily harvested by soldiers in the end most of the hungry biafrans joined the federal troops hence the freedom was lost (pp.32-37). conclusively, amanambu (2013) argues that nigerian roads are death traps primarily due to corruption which allows craters to develop even on the socalled expressways. yet, every year, billions of naira is voted for road rehabilitation. the hospitals are beautified morgues relatively arranged for those who refused to die in their houses. but politicians and their families fly abroad for medications. the educational system is dying on daily basis because of corruption and this has brought about the problem of offensive poverty, insecurity of lives and property, violent conflicts, armed robbery, kidnapping, poor quality of infrastructure. through all sorts of corrupt practices including contract inflation, kick-backs, treasury looting and pillage of public resources, nothing or little is left for development (pp.135-137). in relation to the other factors discussed above, it takes only the culture of impunity to promote corruption and have leaders act the way they like. in the nigerian situation, corruption has brought nigeria to her knees. repressive rulership: khalid (2012) said that usman dan fodio faced much opposition from all directions because of hatred against him even though he had wished to maintain the status quo while being committed to the change (pp.1618). the rulers accused him of hypocrisy, sedition and misleading the people and it gradually grew into unwarranted attacks and even persecution. lenshie and ayokhai (2013) affirm also that the repressive nature of hausa people particularly gobir rulers was systematic and glaring. the gobir people and their actions portrayed them as not being muslims. the land was considered as the land of islam but the rulers’ unbelief contradicted religion. these treatments igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 10 became the remote causes of the usman dan fodio’s 1804 jihad (p.4). there is an extent to which people can endure repression. after that time, they wait for any trigger and when trigger arrives, their resistance or rebellion can unseat any government. thirst for the consolidation of unpopular power: khalid (2012) maintains that by 1795, the power was eroding the gobir rulers and they tried to consolidate. this move increased their persecution of usman dan fodio and his jamaa. it was around this period that usman dan fodio wrote a poem in praise of sheikh abdul kadir jilani. in the poem, he urged his jamaa to acquire arms to establish islamic rule in hausa land. unfortunately, many leaders do not know when to leave the stage. many are so engrossed by the paraphernalia of office that they can do anything to stay in power. when a leader has meritoriously delivered, he/she does not fidget or manipulate means of consolidating his/her position because his/her works speak louder than manipulation. promulgation of unimplementable laws: one wonders the need for some of the laws some leaders promulgate. in reality, there are laws that can better be avoided in promulgating especially in a multi-religious and cultural society. khalid (2012) states that when the king of gobir wanted to quell his sense of insecurity, he promulgated some laws which include: that no one was allowed to preach except usman dan fodio, conversions were not allowed and those who were not born muslims should revert back to their old religion, no man was allowed to wear the turban and no woman could wear a veil. this attempt to control the masses failed and provoked muslims to become militant and thereafter amass and take up arms. similarly, ajayi (2017) quotes the emir of kano, sanusi lamido sanusi as arguing, “we have had it in nigeria; people came and said they were implementing sharia. zamfara state started sharia in nigeria, yet it has the highest rate of poverty in the country today. they see religion as a tool of getting power” (p.2). just like in the pre-jihadist hausa land, nigeria promulgates some unimplementable laws from federal road safety corps’ speed limit device to customs’ fresh duty on already imported cars in nigeria. the state of nigerian leadership in addition to achebe’s argument noted earlier, lukmanjun (2013) adds that divide and rule is the dominant strategy in nigerian contemporary leaders. their igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 11 strategy thrives on zoning and rotation of political offices with aspiring candidates for leadership at all levels of government. these rulers cheaply brandish their religious and ethnic credentials over any other objective qualification. pointing out some of the indications of the states of nigerian leadership, kukah in aworinde (2015) avers that nigerian system has failed because of bad leadership (p.12). it has been largely accepted that leadership is one of the biggest challenges of nigeria. this is because many public office holders mistake leadership for position alone while majority of the followers also cannot fathom the ideal perspective of what leadership is and who is a leader. unarguably, the carnages of nigerian civil war, maitatisine, boko haram, fulani herdsmen and corruption considered the greatest challenges to the nigerian existence are products of bad leadership. all these have brought the country to a negative standstill. major principles of leadership needed in nigeria nigeria is in dire need of leaders who see leadership as fundamentally a product and function of influence. jenkins (2013) argues that a good leadership is made up of strong character and selfless devotion to an organization. it implies that leadership is not ultimately to occupy position, power and pleasure. it is a matter that positively affects the people and their events. it sends out idea to the people and expects results from the people. hence, a good leader should strive to be effective and successful because the effectiveness with its impacts of leadership is expected to flow down to others. good leadership in the human society is not something to be obtained through conquest or by the use of instruments of coercion. purposeful leadership is something one should occupy by merit and earn, something that carries with it certain basic qualities accruing from latent and discernible abilities. taken that misunderstanding and conflicts are parts of human existence but what matters is how the conflict is handled and resolved. in the time of crisis, a good leader is an agent of reconciliation, one who shows unreserved commitment to reconciling dissent voices and views. a good leader does not basically demand loyalty but through his/her charisma, candour and moral standing, he/she earns all of them. a good leader does not imbue his reputation on propaganda nor does he patronize the sycophants. nigeria needs leaders who understand that leadership deals with followership. it is not a monopolistic activities because there can be no leader without followers. what defines a leader is the followers and that is why the success or otherwise of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 12 a leader can be tested by the state of the people. nigeria craves for leaders who believe that leadership defines and determines the results. naylor (1999) posits that effective leadership is a product of the heart. an effective leader must be visionary, passionate, creative, flexible, inspiring, innovative, courageous, imaginative, experimental and change initiator (p.12). abbasialiya (2010) adds that leadership is composed of everything a leader does that affects the achievement of objectives and the well-being of people and the society (p.56). ololube etal. (2013) asserts that leadership involves a type of responsibility aimed at achieving desired ends. the achievement of these ends is prompted by harnessing and utilizing the available human and material resources. this will ensure a cohesive and coherent organization in the process (p.34). the extent to which a society achieves its vision and mission is greatly dependent on the quality of its leadership. nigeria deserves strong, purposeful and qualitative leadership aptly harnesses the potentials, opposition and uses the energies of the people to achieve desirable and common good. the lessons of usman dan fodio’s jihad for nigerian leaders one of the lessons nigerian leaders should garner from the remote causes of the usman dan fodio’s jihad is that people love and will wholeheartedly follow leaders who genuinely and practically prioritized their welfare. leaders should be wary of wittingly or unwittingly discriminating against any group of people especially in a multireligious and cultural nigerian society. this is because discrimination gives them the opportunity to solidly organize themselves against the state. nigerian leadership should realize that offices of leadership are for those who are emotionally, intellectually and socially strong, valiant, daring and courageous. nigerian leaders should learn to manage dissent voices and views. they should be wary of triggers which dissent voices can exploit to wreak havoc. leaders should learn to provide conducive atmosphere for justice, fairness, transparency, peace and equity because all these virtues will lessen the avoidable pressure and instability in the country. nigeria leaders should be aware that parochial, wicked and mischievous disposition in leadership produces despots and tyrants which will be roundly resisted by the people. nigerian leaders above all should be aware that leaders are responsible for anything happening in the society. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 13 conclusion in recent time, no islamic principle has invoked debates more often than jihad especially in nigeria where maitasine, boko haram and fulani herdsmen killings are associated with jihad. it is often understood as the very heart of contemporary radical islamist ideology. the main thrust of the foregoing has to do with an unforgettable event that took place across the then hausa land in the year 1804. usman dan fodio with his islamic followers overran almost all the northern parts and some parts of the southwestern day nigeria. the jihad sought to enthrone justice, fairness, equity, stability and social peace. the jihad arose because the failure of leadership on the side of the kings of gobir made usman dan fodio’s jihadist activities the desired option. similar to the 1804 usman dan fodio’s jihad, there are worse factors which served as the remote causes of the jihad that are blazingly enthroned in the socio-political, economical and religious life nigeria and leaders seem to be bereft of history. most times these remote but extant causes of jihad are considered insignificant, hidden and irrelevant until they explode. as long as inept and clueless leadership majors in the country, jihadists more deadly than 1804 usman dan fodio’s jihad will always arise. references abbasialiya, a. (2010). the concept of leadership. retrieved april 11, 2017, fromhttp://expertscolumn.com/content/concept-leadership. abiola, o.(1984). a textbook of west african history ad 1000 to the present day. ado-ekiti: omolayo. abubakar, s. (1999). “the established caliphate: sokoto, the emirates and their neighbours” in ikime, o (ed), groundwork of nigerian history. ibadan: heinemann. pp. 303-326. abubakar, s. (2003).notes on sakkwato jihad. kaduna: joyce graphic. achebe, c. (1983). the trouble with nigeria. enugu:, fourth dimension. adeleye, r. a. (1971). “hausaland and borno” in ajayi, j.f.a. and crowder, m (eds), history of west africa, vol 1 (2ed). london: longman. adeleye, r. a. (1971). power and diplomacy in northern nigeria, 18041906. london: longman. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 14 afigbo, a.e. (1999). the causes of jihads of the 19th century in western sudan, in anene, j. c. ed. essay in african history 19th and 20th centuries. ibadan: onibonoje.pp.65-119. ajayi, d. (2017). “zamfara, first to implement sharia also has highest poverty rate’ – sanusi” www. cable.com. accessed 9th april. ali, a. (1986). “the islamic arab mentality-a reassessment”. hamdard islamicus vol.ix (1). pp.59-72. amanambu, u.e. (2013). nigerian odyssey: the missing link. okigwe: whytem. aworinde, t. (2015). “ex-heads of state will protect jonathan from persecution”. punch 23rd august. ayutollah, .a.j. (1984). “defence and jihad in the quran” altawhid journal of islamic thought and culture. vol.1 (3).tehran: ipoird.pp.34-54. bako, s. (1997). muslim, state and the struggle for democratic transition: from cooperation to conflict, in becrett. . p. and young, c. eds. dilemmas of democracy in nigeria. rochester: university of rochester. pp.284-301. charry, k. (2012). leadership theories-8 major leadership theories. retrieved march 23, 2017 http://psychology.about.com/od/leadership/p/leadtheories.htm. cook, d. (2005). understanding jihad. los angeles: university of california. cook, d. (2011). bokoharam: a prognosis. usa: rice university. crowder, m. (1978). the story of nigeria. london: faber & faber. crowder, m. and abdullahi g. (1979). nigeria: an introduction to history. london: longman. ezeamalu, b. (2017). “how nigerian churches are encouraging corruption– obasanjo”. www.premiuntimesng.com 8th april. fage, j. a. (1988). a history of africa. london: unwin hyman. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 15 hunwick, j.o. (1966). “the nineteenth century jihads” in anene j.c and brown, g.n (eds), africa in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. ibadan: ibadan university. ibeh, n. (2015). buhari sued over ‘lopsided appointments’. www.premiumtimesng.com. 1st september. iwe, n.s.s. (1987). socio ethical issues in nigeria. new york: peterlang. jenkins, t. (2013). reflections on kenneth e. boulding’s the image: glimpsing the roots of peace education pedagogy. journal of peace education and social justice,7(1),pp.27-37 khalid, a. (2012). shehu usman dan fodio and islamization of hausas through jihad. malaysia: international islamic university. koontz, h.o. and weihrich .h. (1980). management aukland: mcgraw-hill bass, b. and bass, r. (2008). the bass handbook of leadership: theory, research and managerial application. new york: simon & schuster. kukah, m.h. (1993). religion, politics and power in the northern nigeria. ibadan: spectrum. lamb, r. (2013). how can managers use participative leadership effectively? retrieved march 17, 2017, http://www.task.fm/participativeleadership. lenshie, n. e, & ayokhai, f.e.f. (2013). “rethinking pre-colonial state formation and ethnoreligious identity transformation in hausaland under the sokoto caliphate”. in global journal of human social science and political science. vol 13 (4). lukmanjun, s. (2013). issues-nigerian-leadership-political-prospects-and-challenge. www.saharareopter.com meek, c.k. (1925). the northern tribes of nigeria. london: oxford. milsome, j.r. (1979). makers of nigeria: usman dan fodio. ibadan: university. naylor, j. (1999). management. england: prentice hall nwankwo, a. (1972). nigeria: the challenge of biafra. enugu: fourth dimension. nzomiwu, j.p.c. (1989). the history and message of islam. awka: meks-unique. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 16 ololube, n. p., dudafa, u. j., uriah,o. a., & agbor, c. n. (2013). “education for development: impediments to the globalization of higher education in nigeria”. international journal of educational foundations and management, 1(2), pp.109-130. olupona, j.k. (1991). “contemporary religious terrain” ”. religion and society in nigeria historical and sociological perspectives. ed. olupona j. and falola, t. ibadan: spectrum.pp.31-42. onwubiko, k.b.c. (1985). history of west africa book (1) ad 10001800.onitsha: africana. rowe, w. g. (2007). cases in leadership. thousand ca: sage. sulaiman, i. (1986). a revolution in history the jihad of usman dan fodio. london: mansell. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 139 interrogating the concept of identity and the marker for african identity evaristus emeka isife department of philosophy, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state, nigeria. emekaisife@gmail.com; ee.isife@stu.unizik.edu.ng & arinze agbanusi, phd associate professor of philosophy, department of philosophy, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state, nigeria. ac.agbanusi@unizik.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.33912.11529 abstract identity is that part of an individual’s self which derives from his knowledge of his membership of a social group (or groups), together with the value and emotional significance attached to that membership. philosophically, identity is from the latin word identitas meaning sameness. leibniz gives a modern formulation of the concept of identity as the relation each thing bears only to itself and it concerns a relation, specifically, a relation that x and y stand in if, and only if they are one and the same thing or identical to each other (that is, if, and only if x=y). locke speaks of personal identity and survival of consciousness following this understanding. the criterion for identity specifies, insofar as that is possible, the necessary and sufficient conditions for the survival of a thing. humans are confronted with questions on identity in a world where flexibility is seen as a virtue and accelerating change pervades society. again, “identity” is a predicate, which functions as an identifier, that is, a marker that distinguishes and differentiates one object from another object. thus, identity in this sense focuses on the uniqueness of the concerned object. this paper critically analyzes the concept of identity within the framework of making sense of what can be called the marker for african identity along the lines of communalism. keywords: identity, sameness, african, ubuntu, preservation, subsisting, communalism igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 140 introduction vignoles (2017:1) asserts that the term identity refers to “how people answer the question, “who are you?” the question may be posed explicitly or implicitly, at a personal or a collective level, to others or to one self.” identity is inescapable, both personal and social, in their content and in the processes by which they are formed, maintained and changed overtime. the personal and social nature of identity therefore gives the construct its greatest theoretical potential namely to provide insight into the relationship between the individual and society. this is where the individual self is being constructed from the milieu or the culture of the age. this also emphasizes the symbiotic relationship that exists between the individual, society and all it represents. oyserman et al maintain that the self, self-concept and identity are pointers to a certain consciousness that are “the traits, characteristics, social relations, roles and social group memberships that define who one is” ( 2012: 69). identity can be focused on the past, (what used to be true of one), the present, (what used to be true of one now), or the future, (the person one expects or wishes to become). identity therefore has something to do with becoming as that has a bearing with the concept of “being.” identity is orienting as it provide a meaning-making lens and focus one’s attention on some but not other features of immediate context. hence, identity together make up one’s self concept variously described as what comes to mind when one thinks of oneself or a thing. if we focus on this aspect, identity is questioned as a structure or form of an individual’s self-relation and self-conception. identity in this sense aims at competences and capacities of the individual to communicate, to interact, and to integrate and synthesize different emotional states, social roles, values, beliefs, group identifications and so on and these cannot be denied of africans. identity in the sense of self-sameness is not a fixed result of a process of development, but a dynamic process of continual integration itself, creating continuity in the persistent self-consciousness over space and time. this point also squares up with isife’s position that: “culture is the internal equilibrium of a people’s personhood which derives from their once stable and communally appreciated cultural values” (2021: 64-65). it is in the light of this that this paper attempts to examine the concept of identity in order to be able to situate africa within an identity framework that gives it its uniqueness as a people. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 141 understanding identity kehily (2009: 1) opines that a generally held assumption of late modernity suggests that “identity matters more now because we have more choices.” it could be argued that in previous generations, we had identity waiting for us. thus, the existence of strong class-based and regionally specific communities shaped the life trajectories of individuals. within these locally bounded contexts, individuals further developed a notion of being in the world through occupational structures and work-based cultures. kehily made reference to a different conceptualization of identity in late modernity thus: everyone has to ask himself the question “who am i,” how should i live,” “who do i want to become,” and at the end of the day, be prepared to accept responsibility for the answer. in this sense freedom is for the modern individual, the fate he cannot escape, except by retreating into the fantasy world or through mental disorders. freedom is therefore a mixed blessing. one needs it to be oneself; yet being oneself solely on the strength of other’s free choice means a life full of doubts and fears of error…self-construction of the self is, so to speak a necessity. self-confirmation of the self is an impossibility (2009: 2). since the self cannot confirm itself, the community becomes another important variable in the confirmation of the individual self. this position repudiates “posttruth” and makes the case that the community has a role to play in the objectivity of truth amidst freedom of the individual. identity for the west is not the fixed markers people assume them to be but are instead dynamically constructed in the moment. choices that feel identitycongruent in one situation may not necessary feel identity-congruent in another situation. for example, one can have a religious identity that contains relevant content and goals, such as what to do, what to value, and how to believe. personal identity is however contrasted within social identity (kehily, 2009). social identity involves the knowledge that one is a member of a group, one’s feelings about group membership, and knowledge of a group’s rank or status compared to other groups. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 142 identity then is a distinct part of self-concept, the internalized meanings and expectations associated with the position one holds in social networks and the role one plays. identity is no doubt an ambiguous and slippery term (burkingham, 2008) and the fundamental paradox of identity is inherent in the term itself. from the latin root idem, meaning “the same” the term nevertheless implies both similarity and difference. on the one hand, identity is something unique to each of us that we assume to be more or less consistent (and hence the same) over time. in these formulations, our identity is something we uniquely possess: it is what distinguishes us from other people. yet on the other hand, identity also implies a relationship with a broader collective or social group of some kind. when we talk about national identity, cultural identity, or gender identity, for example, we imply that our identity is partly a matter of what we share with other people. in this sense, identity is about identification with others whom we assume are similar to us (if not exactly the same), at least in some significant ways. much of the debate around identity derives from the tensions between these two aspects. on one level, i am the product of my unique personal biography, yet who i am (or who i think i am) varies according to who i am with, in the social situations in which i find myself. allusion is made to michael foucault who argue that “who we are or who we perceive ourselves to be is far from a matter of individual choice; on the contrary, it is the product of powerful and subtle forms of ‘governmentality’ that are characteristics of modern liberal democracies” (burkingham,2008: 10). foucault asserts that there has been a shift in the ways in which power is exercised in the modern world, which is apparent in a whole range of social domains. power is now diffused through social relationships so that even the individual behavior must conform to acceptable societal norms. this clearly shows that the individual identity is shaped by the society while social identity is also a true reflection of the individual. identity is a concept that neither imprisons (as does much in sociology) nor detaches (as does much in philosophy and psychology) persons from their social and symbolic universes, so it “has over the years retained a generic force that few concepts have” (howard,2000: 367). again, identity is never a priori, nor a finished product; it is only ever the problematic process of access to an image of totality. at earlier historical moments, identity was not so much an issue; when societies were more stable, identity was to a great extent, assigned rather than selected or adopted as was obtainable in pre-colonial africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 143 the concept of identity as it is known currently carries the full weight of the need for a sense of who one is, together with an often overwhelming pace of change in surrounding social contexts, that is, changes in the groups and networks in which people and their identities are embedded and in the societal structures and practices in which those networks are themselves embedded. social identity theory for example, “focuses on the extent to which individuals identify themselves in terms of group memberships” (howard, 2000: 386). the central tenet of social identity theory is that individuals define their identities along two dimensions: social, defined by membership in various social groups; and personal, the idiosyncratic attributes that distinguish an individual from others. social and personal identity is thought to lie at opposite ends of a continuum, becoming more or less salient depending on the context, though not easily separable. because people are motivated to evaluate themselves positively, they tend to evaluate positively those groups to which they belong and to discriminate against groups they perceive to pose a threat to their social identity. this point may be seemingly responsible for colonization as the west might have this mindset of the superiority of their identity making them move to civilize the people of africa considered to be primitive and savages. african identity all human behavior depends upon a system of principles and for the bantu african for example, it is very possible, both with the individual and with the tribal or culture group, that the mysteries of life and death, survival and destruction, together with fear arising from all these mysteries became the psychological agent that gave birth to certain behavioral patterns that gives them their identity and to certain redemptive practices. tempels (1959:17) captures this point thus: if one has not penetrated into the depths of the personality as such, if one does not know on what basis their acts come about, it is not possible to understand the bantu. one is entering into no spiritual contact with them. one cannot make oneself intelligible to them, especially in dealing with the great spiritual realities. on the contrary, one runs the risk, while believing that one is “civilizing” the individual, of in fact corrupting him, working to increase the numbers of the deracinated and to become the architect of revolts. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 144 the point being made above is that the bantu have an identity that each individual share with the general outlook of the society. certain words are constantly being used by africans which express their supreme values. these supreme values include: “life, force, to live strongly, or vital force” (tempels, 1959: 30). used negatively, the same idea is expressed when the bantu say: we act thus to be protected from misfortune, or from a diminution of life or of being, or in order to protect ourselves from those influences which annihilate or diminish us. force, the potent life, vital energy is the object of prayers and invocations to god, to the spirits and to the dead, as well as of all that is usually called magic, sorcery, or magical remedies. again, tempels articulates the point thus: the bantu will tell you that they go to a diviner to learn the words of life, so that he can teach them the way of making life stronger. in every bantu language, it is easy to recognize the words or phrases denoting a force, which is not used in an exclusively bodily sense, but in the sense of the integrity of our whole being (1959:31). the cultural worldview of the bantu africa is where its identity is irked out and this is predicated on the notion of vital force upon which everything about the bantu african makes sense such as ontology, language, ethics, psychology and even politics. this goes to show that, the identity of a people or individual is colored by their most cherished beliefs to which their lives revolve around. again, african identity can be found in religion and philosophy as averred by john s. mbiti when he insists that traditional concepts still form the essential background of many african peoples, though obviously this differs from individual to individual and from place to place. mbiti asserts that: africans are notoriously religious, and each people have its own religious system with a set of beliefs and practices. religion permeates into all the departments of life so fully that it is not easy or possible always to isolate it. a study of these religious systems is, therefore, ultimately a study of the peoples themselves in all the complexities of both traditional and modern life. to ignore these traditional beliefs, attitudes and practices can only lead to a lack of understanding of african behavior and problems (1969:1). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 145 though the philosophical systems of different african people have not yet been formulated into one corpus, they can be found in religion, proverbs, oral traditions, ethics and morals of the society concerned. african philosophy can therefore be referred to as “the understanding, attitude of mind, logic and perception behind the manner in which african people think, act or speak in different situations of life” (mbiti,1969: 2). some of the things that give the african his identity are: language, geography, culture, social and political organization, religious beliefs subsumed under the broad framework of communalism. this probably explains the fact of fundamental beliefs being found over wide stretches of africa. these are the main features of an african tribe, people, society or nation. a person has to be born a member of it and he or she cannot change tribal membership. tribal identity is still a powerful force even in modern african statehood. from mbiti’s submission, identity in african worldview has a very strong affinity with totem as the totem is the visible symbol of unity, of kinship, of belongingness, of togetherness and common affinity. in traditional life then, “the individual does not and cannot exist alone except corporately” (mbiti,1969: 108). he or she owes his or her existence to other people, including those of past generations and his or her contemporaries. he or she is simply part of the whole. the community must therefore, make, create or produce the individual, for the individual depends on the corporate group. this idea of the individual being a creation of the community is widespread in africa and it is also called ubuntu in some quarters. bolden (2014:1) avers that the concept of ubuntu “is an alternative to individualistic and utilitarian philosophies that tend to dominate the west.” it is a zulu/xhosa word with parallels in many other african languages, which is most directly translated into english as “humanness”. the origin of ubuntu as a concept can be traced to the bantu people of southern africa although the philosophy is now shared across much of the continent. it is perhaps best understood as a social philosophy based on principles of care and community, harmony and human existence. ubuntu is a relational philosophy (bolden,2014: 2). its frequent articulation as “i am because we are” points towards a strongly constructivist ontology in which a people’s sense of being cannot be detached from the social context in which they find themselves. it highlights the importance of a subjective and emotional appreciation of human experience rather than privileging objectivity and rationality. ubuntu is also collectivist in orientation. bolden asserts that: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 146 ubuntu expresses the value of collaboration, cooperation and community. it espouses an ethics of care and respect for others and the importance of solidarity in the face of adversity. it is perhaps unsurprising that such an approval has prevailed in a continent that has experienced so much social, political, environmental and economic upheaval, where collective action and mutual assistance have been essential to survival (2014:3). the concept of ubuntu is also inter-subjective in that it focuses on the relationship between the individual and the collective, rather than privileging one over the other. the concept gives a clear insight into the identity of africans founded on communality. an individual is an individual in the community and the community is a community because of the individual. this defines the african identity and makes it such that it is easier to delineate. in the principle of ubuntu, values such as: sympathy, compassion, benevolence, solidarity, hospitality, generosity, sharing, openness, affirming, availability, kindness, caring, harmony, interdependence, obedience, collectivity, and consensus are derivable. ubuntu is “opposite to vengeance, confrontation, retribution; and values life, dignity, compassion, humaneness, harmony and reconciliation” (mugumbate and nyanguru,2013: 85). the western distortion of african identity the issue of african identity is unarguably, the central plank of contemporary african philosophy due mainly to historical and contextual reasons. oguejiofor and ezenwa-ohaeto (2015) argue that, given the pivotal importance of language in ensuring cultural identity, there is an antithesis between the quest for identity and the neglect of african languages. contemporary african philosophy suggests that african philosophy is historical and thus rejecting the claims of certain scholars who think otherwise. oguejiofor and ezenwa-ohaeto (2015:3) aver that: the issue of identity itself and how it became the central issue in contemporary african philosophy is itself very historical. for wiredu, the question of african identity is not an attempt to apply the metaphysical laws of identity and excluded igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 147 middle. it is not whether africans are africans. it is rather a normative question, whether africans are what they should be. the question raises a negative feeling, for people do not usually spend much time in asking what they should be as a people, a country or a continent. this negativity is created by the historical experience of the african with the west, starting from the time of slavery. by the time the process of capturing and enslaving africans was started, europe, through its contacts with the rest of the world, has cultivated cultural triumphalism with the implication of utter denigration for other cultures and people of the world (oguejiofor and ezenwa-ohaeto, 2015). thus, colonialism occluded western self-interest and progressed with complete denigration of all that was african. to justify colonialism and cultural subjugation, africa was presented as a continent without history, without geography, literature, culture, civilization and of course, philosophy. clearly, the intention and execution of the west towards africa was to rob it of its identity so that it will embrace the identity of his slave master over time. these traits can be found even among contemporary african philosophers who can be tagged “professional philosophers.” it is imperative therefore for unity of purpose to be advanced so that contemporary african scholars will keep in touch with their historical roots and be able to take back their battered identity as bastardized by the westerners. ndubuisi (2013:222) bemoans the fact that “racialism, slave trade and colonization gave rise to african cultural alienation which also gave rise to the loss of identity and no meaningful development.” african philosophers and the philosophical paradigms are not set out to create a complete new african but rather seek to know, understand, clarify, articulate and synthesize the african experience as african philosophy bears on african identity. the question of african identity bears on the principle of being that “what is, is and what is not, is not.” africans naturally are same as their culture and worldview. while human nature and dignity is universal and common to humans, each human person is also a particular mix of the entire element which goes into its making. this particular mix accordingly determines his or her individual personality, that is, his or her character, temperament and individuality. although a person is traditional and free but these typical human characteristics combine with other physiological aspects of being or of human being to create an identity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 148 african identity bears on the stuff of which any african can be identified and associated with appropriately and comfortably. it bears also, on that underlying element of unity in the plurality of all african peoples. african identity “does not subsist on the accidental facts, may be, by the virtue that one was born and bred or lives in the african continent. identity is therefore both physical and transcendental” (ndubuisi, 2013: 224). the facts then remain that the pathological distortion of the mind and the devastating effects of racialism, slave trade and colonization can actually affect a people’s identity. while globalization has brought immense benefits to africa on the one hand, africa’s entrance into and participation in the global scene has also precipitated a crisis of confusion and identity for africa, a situation which is analogous to the effect of her encounter with colonialism so that “unless the dialectic of identity and difference that inevitably arises from this situation is constructively managed, it will be difficult for africa to make the best of the opportunities inherent in globalization” (ilodigwe, 2018: 794). african identity and the contemporary world kanu agrees that the quest for identity embodies the value of the first principle of being, which is that every being is determined in itself, is one with itself and is consistent with itself. he quoted locke thus: when we see anything to be in any place in any instant of time, we are sure that it is that very thing, and not another which at that same time exists in another place, how like and undistinguishable so ever it may be in all other respects: and in this consists identity, when the ideas it is attributed vary not at all from what they were that moment wherein we consider their former existence, and to which we compare the present…when thereafter we demand whether anything be the same or not, it refers always to something that existed such a time, in such a place, which it was certain, at that instant, was the same with itself, and no other (kanu, 2013:34). from locke’s thoughts on identity, it becomes easier to delineate african identity as battered on the historical threshold of ideological race classification, slave trade and the dehumanization of africa as well as colonialism and the exploitation of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 149 africa. arising from these, african identity can be given just any kind of interpretation from: africa’s geo-numerical based identity, to africa’s black civilization-based identity, africa’s black backward-based identity, africa’s colour-based identity, africa’s pragmatic and recuperated based identity. however, there is an aspect of africa’s identity that seems to be traditional and central without evolution. kanu asserts that: africa’s community based identity was developed by julius nyerere in his ujamaa socialism. ujamaa is a swahili word which means familyhood….the root of africa socialism is the idea of familyhood, which extends beyond the basic family unit, the tribe, the community and the nation to include the entire humanity. it reveals the life of the traditional african people where a sense of brotherhood is very strong, and the society is so organized that it cares about its individuals (2013:39). although the slave trade, racism and colonialism affected the identity of africans and were at the base of the initial quest for an african identity, “contemporary threat to africa’s identity is the issue of globalization” (kanu, 2013: 40). this suggests that africa’s identity is constantly being threatened by forces that tend to jeopardize or reform it. globalization can then be construed to being a blessing in disguise on the one hand, and a major obstacle on the other hand to the realization of africa’s true and authentic identity. the african is not determined by the colour of his skin, nor the experiences of colonialism, slavery or underdevelopment. rather, he is one “who embodies the cultural heritage of african and at the same time feels the need to change the african environment, not in isolation, but to meet with the challenges of global development” (afisi, 2008: 89). the crisis of african identity has overwhelmingly been traced to the advent of colonialism in africa. the imposition of foreign cultural heritage on the people of africa made them to begin to lose track of their cultural identity. this is alongside the influence of islamic/arabic cultural heritage which persisted long after colonialism is over. afisi avers further: in fact the african today does not know what it is like to be a pure unadulterated africa. even though the african today acts, speaks, behaves either like a european, an american or an arab, he is however neither considered nor accepted as an european or an arab. similarly, he is also not an african; may igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 150 be only by the colour of his skin, but culturally not one (2008:91). the african, as it were today, has become a hybrid of some sort full of an identity problem. the reason for this is because of the exposure to different cultures through contacts, slave trade and colonialism. africa had a strong and organized socio-political structure in pre-colonial days. the white colonialists saw the black people as being obviously inferior and not capable of abstract reasoning. the colonialists tried to convince the world that blacks are not capable of reasoning which is needed in order to help fashion out what is better for them. with this at the back of their minds, the white embarked on the duty of social and political restructuring of the black long cherished traditional institutions. at the end of the restructuring, the africans were given institutions that were very strange and foreign. the political structure was changed, social values were altered or completely changed and “a complete dislocation was introduced which ultimately led to an identity crisis and projected it to a height which was never to come down” (fanon, 2008: 2). the african identity crisis also rubs off on the religion and the entire culture of the african people. the dearth of values in africa today can be traceable to the inverse of culture and religion brought about by colonialism. despite the fact that the african is a human being who lives in a society with others and is aware of the social and natural events in the world, the colonialists did not see them in a light other than “primitives” and “savages.” fanon asserts that man is a yes that vibrates to cosmic harmonies. the colonized, who have been uprooted, pursued, baffled and doomed to watch the dissolution of the truths that he or she had worked out for himself or herself one after another, had to give up projecting onto the world an antinomy that coexists with him or her. the black is a black man as a result of a series of aberrations of cosmic effect; he is rooted at the core of a universe from which he must be extricated. fanon proposes nothing but “the liberation of the man of colour from himself” (2008:2). fanon opines that: the black man has two dimensions. one with his fellows, the other with the white man. a negro behaves differently with a white man and with another negro. that this self-division is a direct result of colonialist subjugation is beyond question…no one would dream of doubting that its major artery is fed from the heart of those various theories that have tried to prove that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 151 the negro is a stage in the slow evolution of monkey into man (2008:8). colonialism leaves the black man with the mentality that the white is indeed superior to the blacks. hence, the blacks tries to find this false identity from the dictates and approval of the whites and this in turn leaves him with a different attitude and disposition towards his fellow blacks in terms of relationship. every colonized people, in other words, every people in whose soul an inferiority complex has been created by the death and burial of its local cultural originality finds itself face to face with the language of the civilizing nation, that is, with the culture of the mother country and this trend continues even up to this contemporary time. the colonized says fanon, “is elevated above his jungle status in proportion to his adoption of the mother country’s cultural standards. he becomes whiter as he renounces his blackness, his jungle” (fanon,2008: 9). evaluation african thinking is very important to the reclaiming of africa’s identity hence, perhaps the surest way of getting africa back is to get african thinking back to africa. but even if we cannot return african thinking to africa in geographical terms, “we could do so at least epistemically and paradigmatically” (kwasi, 2019:33). the study of africa has been and continues to be driven by paradigms and theories established by non-african scholars. the study of africa means an african centered approach that conceptualizes reality and situates africans within their cosmological, symbolic and pragmatic universe. such an unambiguous approach not only affirms african agency and serves their best interests, but also authenticates the notion of an african cultural-historical continuum that predates african thinking and would continue even if the academic field ceased to exist. this point is very important to the proper historical teaching of the african culture both to africans and to the non-africans clearing off any doubts and misinformation and in the process, engendering african true identity. the development and expansion of the african and its cultural and societal order is intimately linked to the notion of africana studies, rather than african studies. in this context, it is important to note that “africa should be viewed as a geographic, cultural, conceptual, socio-political, and spiritual entity” (kwasi,2019: 35). in fact, the concept of culture that would suffice is one in which africa is the expression of culture, that is, the physical (land and people), ideational (philosophy and thought), and spiritual (temporal manifestation). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 152 in essence, africa and its indigenous peoples are living entities bound in symbiotic relationship. and by extension, it only follows that the african who is situated within his/her conceptual universe and is culturally oriented to proclaim and express the pragmatism and philosophy of this universe without ambiguity is africa. from the above, it is not in doubt that there will be several debates about what defines african identity leading to several theorizing. one notion of african identity is based on the credo that generally champions the view that the so called africans should not only celebrate an identity that is predicated on recialised and essentialized blackness, but also seek out (and hopefully render assistance to) any black persons anywhere in the world. crucially, it was “the black experience of slavery, as well as colonialism that helped to foster such essentialized notions of identity” (kalua,2017: 24). it is a matter of tragic irony that the very people who were written out of history are architects of some of the continent’s worst excesses, notably ethnic wars, genocides, and related manifestations of black-on-black hatred and violence. it is common knowledge that brothers have misunderstanding and disagreement, but africans seems to have taken theirs to an unprecedented height with the animosity and wars it has executed amongst its kits and kin. the “otherness” or “communalism” is the bedrock upon which african identity is grounded. there is need therefore for africans to unite to overcome their common problems. tolerance is required for difference from an intercultural perspective especially in the twenty-first century with its many cases of conflicts arising from lack of tolerance. notions of identity which gesture towards totality or categorical imperatives in favour of the idea of identity as a provisional and mobile way of living out cultural identities which are social constructs ought to be rejected. this is because the african continent is grappling with humanitarian related challenges and the solution will be found in the degree to which the subjective development of the self is submerged in an african sense of collective identity. africa must focus on the growth of freedom and responsibility which is the mark of true personhood since lack of individuation is at the root of the african crisis in identity and in the failure of the continent to sufficiently address its problems. kochalumchuvattil (2010:108) thinks that communalism in african society is “the main barrier to the process of subjective becoming.” although this statement is contestable in the present circumstance. tempels pointed out that bantu psychology cannot conceive of man as an individual, as a force existing by itself and apart from its ontological relationship with other living beings. this igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 153 communalism is actually what distinguishes the african from the european and is the basis of african identity. the ontological primacy of the community and the organic character of the relations between individual persons even beyond physical death both points to the “all-importance of the community in enabling the individual to achieve well-being and realize selfhood” (tempels,1959: 113). furthermore, gyekye’s states that moderate communalism is where individuality, autonomy and responsibility are to some extent respected and catered for in the african communalistic understanding and are rarely exercised owing to the authoritarian hierarchical structure and deep respect for tradition found within the african culture. such reflection on the status of african communalism in itself is not without some merit as philosophy as a discipline can also reflect on itself; some kind of meta-philosophy and in this case, meta-communalism. however, this reflection will only reinforce the truth that the individual self can be anything it wants to become on the wings of communalism because communalism provides the enabling environment for the individual to succeed since the individual is, because of the other. subjectivity therefore cannot be the solution for the crisis of identity in africa. in fact, subjectivity is part of the problem of the african because of the selfish tendency of the self. conclusion marovah theorized “against an essentialized approach to identities in a ‘global context’ ” ( 2015:42). he explores and builds on arguments for plural identities, mobilizing concepts of heterogeneity and plurality, agency, and public deliberation from the capability approach for the purpose of advancing a way of understanding and negotiating identities that allows for a reasoned, flexible and inclusive approach. it is not difficult to see that he is concerned about a global interaction between africa and itself and africa and other continents. but most importantly, he is concerned about creating freedoms, opportunities and choices available for individuals to deliberate on the type of identities or african identity that they value on the assumption that identity is an object of reasoned choice from available alternatives. it is erroneous to think that african identity is dynamic and heterogeneous rather than rigid and monolithic. although there may be some enduring qualities which can be found in what constitutes african identity, it will vary depending on context. african identity should be understood as any distinction or department reasonably claimed to be african by the bearer(s) without shutting out other possibilities. thus marovah (2015) outlines the main components of african identity to include: essential identities (having to do with categorization of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 154 individuals), pan-african approached identities (africa is for africans), plural identities (this contrast the first two). plural identity is complex and multi-layered. marovah argues that there is a danger in viewing african identity as narrow and monolithic claiming that doing so will be borrowing from a colonial understanding of africa. this is to say that one should not make the same mistake as the colonialist who defines africa but from a wrong and faulty narrative. this is why marovah will prefer to use the plural identities to refer to africa. this position can be understood because africa is known to be heterogeneous cluster of people with different tribe and tongue. but the whole can be given a meaning by the part and vice versa. to talk about african identity would not be wrong as there are some vital logical connectives that give the whole of africa its defining identity. consequently, the marker or place holder for african identity is to be found in its cultural worldview as exemplified by communalism. that is the melting pot of all that the african was or is, or would be. the concept of identity can be understood in multiple ways arising from the culture and worldview that one is coming from. but as far as african identity is concerned, there can be no better way of putting it as did isife when he states “whether called ubuntu or ‘communalism’, the main idea surrounding african identity is one of community or familyhood. what this means is that, the individual person finds his essence or identity from the community and not from himself” (2021:54). references afisi, o.t.(2008). “rethinking the african identity crisis” in nnamdi azikiwe journal of philosophy 1,(2), 89 – 108. bolden, r.(2014). encyclopedia of action research, edited by david coghlan and mary brydon-miller, london: sage publications. buckingham, d. (2008). “introducing identity” in youth identity and digital media, edited by david buckingham. john d, and catherine t. macarthur foundation series on digital media and learning, cambridge: the mit press, 124. fanon, f.(2008). black skin, white mask, trans. charles law markmann, london: pluto press. howard, j. a. (2000). “social psychology of identities,” in annual review of sociology 26,367 – 393. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 155 ilodigwe, d.(2018). “globalization and the question of african identity,” in sociology and anthropology 6 (10), 794 – 812. isife, e. e. (2021). “human identity crisis and unsustainable development in africa: a critical study” in oracle of wisdom journal of philosophy 5 (2), 64 – 73. ……………………….. “a critical analysis of the implications of covid 19 pandemic on african identity” in sapientia: journal of philosophy 14, 54 – 64. kalua, f. (2017). “intermediality: a paradigm for african identity in the twentyfirst century,” in journal of literary studies 33(1), 24 41. kanu, i. a. (2013). “african identity and the emergence of globalization,” in american international journal of contemporary research 3 (6), 34 – 42. kanu, i. a. (2012). “the africanity and philosophicality of african philosophy”. internet afrrev: an international online multi-disciplinary journal. 2012. vol.1. no.2, pp. 52-55. kehily, m. j.(2009). “what is identity? a sociological perspective” in esrc seminar series: the educational and social impact of new technologies on young people in britain, uk: london school of economics. kochalumchuvattil, t. (2010). “the crisis of identity in africa: a call for subjectivity,” in kritike 4(1), 108 – 122. konadu, k. (2019). "the cultural identity of africa and the global tasks of africana studies,” in african studies quarterly 7 (4),3340. marovah, t. (2015). “using the capacity approach to conceptualize african identity(ies),” in phronnimon 16 ( 3), 42 – 57. mbiti, j. (1969). african religions and philosophy, nairobi: heinemann, 1969. mugumbate, j. and nyanguru, a. (2013). “exploring african philosophy: the value of ubuntu in social work,” in african journal of social work 3(1), 82 – 100. ndubuisi, f. o. (2013). “the philosophical paradigm of african identity and development,” in open journal of philosophy 3, (1a), 222 – 230. oguejiofor, j. o. and ezenwa-ohaeto, n. (2015). “contemporary african philosophy, identity and the question of african language,” in ogirisi: a new journal of african studies 11, 1 -18. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 156 oyserman, daphna et al. (2012). “self-concept and identity,” in handbook of self and identity (2nd edition), edited by mark r. leary and june price tangney, new york: the guild ford press, 69 – 104. tempels, p. (1959). bantu philosophy, paris: presence africaine. vignoles, v. l. (2017). “identity: personal and social” in oxford handbook of personality and social psychology 2nd ed, edited by kay deaux and mark synder. oxford: university press, 120. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 2.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 37 multicultural aesthetics in felix egwuda’s the pillars and uche nwaozuzu’s the candles ndubuisi nnanna ph.d university of nigeria, nsukka. ndubuisi.nnanna@unn.edu.ng & vivian nwabueze university of nigeria, nsukka. ndubuisi.nnanna@unn.edu.ng abstract this study is a seminal work on the selected plays. it adopts a close reading of the plays to examine the themes of multiculturalism and cultural diversity as aesthetic platforms used individually by the authors to interrogate the roles of ethnic and cultural sentiments in the underdevelopment of the nigerian nation and how these sentiments continue to challenge efforts at national integration. this paper takes a close look at the creative ingenuity of the authors in terms of their ability to reveal the core of the problem without sacrificing literary objectivity. it compares the two plays with some other plays with similar themes, recognizing their uniqueness, and concludes by identifying the dramatic form as a veritable medium for multicultural communication and education. this study encourages more dramatic creations on cultural diversity and national integration, especially at the present time when the corporate existence of nigeria and ethnic agitations for self-determination are in the front burner. keywords: multiculturalism, nigerian drama, cultural diversity, national integration. introduction aesthetics is concerned with what is beautiful, and thus can be simply understood in relation to the beauty of an organism. therefore, in arts, it may be understood in terms of the attainment of correctness to the extent that the recipient can perceive the artistic product as good and enjoy it to the fullest. the term "multiculturalism" has been used by political theorists and philosophers like william james, george santayana, and john dewey to describe a culturally diverse society and also to reflect a kind of policy that aims at protecting cultural diversity. cultural diversity has existed in societies for a very long time and is still in existence in various societies today. these societies have a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 38 mix of individuals from different tribes, races, linguistic backgrounds, and religious creed. the co-existence of these individuals within a given geographical space and the consequent mix and exchange of cultures define the multicultural nature of the community. drama mirrors the society. the society provides the needed materials with which the dramatist expresses thoughts and ideas. the dramatist does not create in a vacuum. the socio political, religious, economic and cultural configurations of a society provide the materials from which he creates. hence, the thematic preoccupations of most drama are the topical issues of the society in which it is set. in this light, it behoves on dramatists to educate, inform, criticize or appraise events and actions of a group or individuals in the society. the diverse and multicultural nature of nigeria, with more than 250 ethnic groups and different languages and settlements, dressing modes, social lifestyles, and religious beliefs, among others, has inspired many nigerian dramatists. extrapolating from the foregoing, it is glaring that multiculturalism could be a uniting or divisive factor, and for nigeria, it has been more instrumental in the challenge of nationhood, culminating in a civil war, perpetual agitations for more state creation, national conferences, as well as ethnic and sectarian conflicts. conflicts arising from misunderstanding of diverse cultural configuration, among other problems have led to the establishment of numerous institutions and organizations to encourage peaceful co-existence among the many cultures in nigeria. among these institutions is the theatre. theatre radiates through the religious, political, educational, health and most importantly, recreational dimensions of the society. the theatre celebrates, imitates, reflects, reproduces, educates, engineers, re-engineers, interprets and reinterprets the totality of culture which can be material and immaterial. essentially, every culture has aesthetic values. in other words, every culture is attractive to some people. it may be safe to say that acceptable values and approved ways of behaviour in a given community account for a good appreciation and the popularity of its culture. therefore the theatre must seek to project the multicultural aesthetics of all nigerian cultures, individually and collectively. multicultural communication through drama can be effectively used to promote national unity especially in a federal state like nigeria. in view of this, there is urgent need for reinstating drama as an embodiment of multicultural aesthetics. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 39 this study, therefore, proposes drama and theatre as a media through which we can "understand our differences" and promote national unity. the researchers set out to assess the role of nigerian drama in promoting diversity and multicultural education. thus, this study promotes the idea of encouraging diverse cultures in nigeria through drama. it suggests possible solutions to the problem of multiculturalism in nigeria, and adds to the extant body of discourse on the present topic. the purview of this study is the examination of the candles by uche nwaozuzu and the pillars by felix egwuda to determine how they comprehensively bring to the fore the topic under discourse, and how drama can serve as an important tool for unifying the different cultures in nigeria and bringing out the value of multicultural identity. review of literature in this segment we shall attempt a review of literature relevant to the focus of this study. against this background, multiculturalism, and aesthetics will be discussed. we shall also admit critical comments on some other nigerian plays with the themes of multiculturalism. there are no published works on the selected plays. multiculturalism and culture are two sides of a coin. the term ‘multiculturalism’ derives from the word ‘culture’. multiculturalism is a multidimensional concept. as a philosophy, it advocates equal cultural and political status. as a policy, it focuses on the inclusion of all cultures and ethnicities in a society. as an ideology, it centres on amalgamating diverse cultures into a mainstream culture. multiculturalism, according to clara chu, is “the coexistence of diverse cultures, where culture includes racial, religious, or cultural groups and is manifested in customary behaviours, cultural assumptions and values, patterns of thinking and communicative styles” (1). in other words, multiculturalism is the cohabitation or ‘coming together’ of people of diverse cultural, religious and racial inclinations. caleb rosado agrees with the above by defining multiculturalism as: a system of beliefs and behaviours that recognizes and respects the presence of all diverse groups in an organization or society, acknowledges and values their socio cultural differences, and encourages and enables their continued contribution within an igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 40 inclusive cultural context which empowers all within the organisation or society (2). rosado sees multiculturalism as concerned with the survival of all cultures within a state or country. its philosophy and guiding principles are tailored towards the existence, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultural traditions within a single jurisdiction. jeffrey reitz sees multiculturalism as a social philosophy and a policy. as a policy, it suggests that, “in an attempt to shape a cohesive society from diverse ethnic and cultural groups, it is better to recognize and value that diversity and not seek to downplay diversity or to cast all groups within one single cultural mould” (1). through this definition, he suggests that multiculturalism does not encourage mere tolerance, it calls for attitudinal disposition. it is geared towards recognizing, respecting, acknowledging and encouraging the existence of all cultures within a multicultural society. andrew heywood identifies two forms of multiculturalism; descriptive and normative. in its descriptive form, he says, “it has been taken to refer to cultural diversity”, but as a normative term, it has been seen as “a positive endorsement, even celebration of communal diversity, typically based on either the right of different groups to respect and recognition or to the alleged benefits to the larger society of moral and cultural diversity” (313). one peculiar nature of nigeria, with a population of about 185 million people and more than 250 ethnic groups, is its diversity. nigeria’s population is equivalent to 2.48% of total world population, making her rank number seven in the list of countries by population and the most populous black nation on earth (world meter, 2016). the multicultural nature of nigeria has been recognised by many scholars. remi oyeyemi posits that, “nigeria is a multicultural society. it is a conglomeration of nations with different peoples and cultures. it is a basket of different religions and worldviews...” (32). oyazino aluede and agnes malik concur that; “nigeria is a multicultural nation with over 350 nationalities, with each entity having its own norms, values, beliefs, and languages” (117). the multiplicity of culture in nigeria has been a thing of joy and pride and at the same time, a constant source of worry and concern. while nigerians home and abroad have celebrated their diverse igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 41 cultures through arts and craft, it has also brought them untold hardship, rivalry, pain, a civil war as well as perennial conflicts. ndubuisi nnanna agrees that nigeria is a country, “...with over 200 ethnic groups and 500 dialects...and it should no longer be seen as a weakness but strength. the mix of cultures and the richness of the dynamic synergy that comes from intercultural transactions is something that various countries now cherish and encourage” (102) but, according to stuart a. notholt, “...such diversity comes at a price. it is a dangerously short jump from ‘my group is different’ to ‘my group is better’ or ‘my group is threatened’. national or religious chauvinism, racial antagonism, the demonization of other groups, and ultimately, war, deportations, and genocide can then be among the consequences” (vii). the multicultural nature of the nigerian state has been a fundamental factor of national leadership from independence. overtime, the concept of aesthetics has been viewed from different perspectives. during the medieval period, the medieval christians used religious concepts as the theoretical basis for aesthetic appreciation. the structure of art was interpreted from the symbolic point of view by such thinkers as st. augustine and thomas aquinas. the concept of aesthetics took on another dimension with the birth of the renaissance. the criteria for judging art became secular and humanist in outlook. the focus was on the theoretical validation of specific, styles, methods and trends. after the renaissance, came the enlightenment period with its own criteria for judging art and beauty. in an attempt to mould man’s view of the world, there was an effort to contrast the various forms of art. to this end, taste was viewed as a specific psychic mechanism enabling man to perceive and evaluate beauty and the fruits of artistic creativity. the word aesthetics has its origin from the greek word aisthetikos. aesthetics is then synonymous with beauty generally and that is why when someone wants to say that something is beautiful, he could say that it is aesthetically pleasing. roger fowler maintains that aesthetic perception is, “normally a blend of aesthetic pleasure and appreciation” (4). he goes on to categorize the processes of aesthetic delight: composition, complimentarily and condensation. immanuel kant posits that; “other people ought to feel as we do. just as human beings should never be treated as merely a means to an end, so aesthetic pleasure comes from the sheer use of deploying our imagination; not for reasons of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 42 morality or utility or any purpose at all” (4). although beauty is not mere feelings, the sense of beauty is grounded in feelings of pleasure; this pleasure should be universally valid and necessary. kant goes on to say that beauty is, “objective and universal, thus certain things are beautiful to everyone” (4). aesthetic judgements are made by checking sufficient conditions. uniformity in variety always makes an object beautiful, this makes up aesthetic value. according to emeka nwabueze: … the kantian concept which is the widely accepted definition of aesthetics sees the term as ‘the result of perceiving something, not as a means but as an end itself, not as useful but as achievement’. such perception is guaranteed to yield whatsoever beauty the material possesses, especially with regard to the qualities and pleasures that arise from one’s contact with it (136). in practice, aesthetic judgement refers to the sensory contemplation or appreciation of an object (not necessarily an art object). welsh wolfgang states that, “aesthetics is considered as artistic as an explication of art with particular attention to beauty. the discipline tradition name aesthetics seem to be wrong because in fact it does not have, as the name suggests, aesthetics as a point of reference, but arts; so the name artistic would be much appropriate” (19). dickie george divides aesthetics into three fields, “theory of aesthetics, philosophy of arts, and philosophy of criticism” (52). he also asserts that; all theories of art up to the eighteenth century ad were variations of the ‘imitation theory of art’ which was first formulated by plato (428-348 bc) in the symposium and which basically saw artistic activity as an imitation of the form of beauty in nature. art is a human activity consisting in this, that one man consciously, by means of certain external signs, hands on to others feelings he has lived through and that other people are infected by these feelings and also experience them (39-40) aesthetics is an integral part of the human experience, at least as a perception of beauty and art. whether or not one develops a thorough understanding of aesthetics as a philosophy, we encounter objects of beauty and perceive them as such. contemporary aesthetics defies a universal rule. there is no singular igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 43 definition of beauty or art, rather both can be found and experienced in the moment, by the observer. there are various published plays that capture the challenge(s) of multiculturalism in nigeria. the most notable, langbodo, by wale ogunyemi, was performed during the second world african festival of arts and culture (festac) hosted by nigeria in 1977. it was nigeria’s award winning play for festac ’77. wale ogunyemi experimented with various nigerian dances and songs that cut across the nation. langbodo has been appraised by so many notable nigerian scholars and playwrights. it is a play which segun oyesoro describes as one of the ‘‘productions that featured in different theatre programs representative of the major theatre forms predominant in nigeria’s cultural diplomacy’’ (33). o. ejue praises the play as making a very strong statement on the various challenges of nigeria. “…everything about nigeria is in the play… it also speaks to the entire nigerian society which is currently challenged by insecurity and disunity” (1). similarly segun oyewo, sees the play as “the most effective in making a profound statement about world peace and understanding out of all nigeria’s theatre export” (109). langbodo, in content and form, is a good example of a multicultural drama. wale ogunyemi makes use of numerous theatre idioms, and many dances and ethnic songs peculiar to the generality of the nigerian society. the play is adapted from d. o fagunwa’s ogboju ode ninu igbo irunmale. apart from wale ogunyemi’s langbodo, ola rotimi’s if… a tragedy of the ruled (1983), hopes of the living dead (2001), and segun oyekunle’s katakata for sofahead (1983) also critically examine the theme of multiculturalism. thematically ola rotimi’s if… and hopes of the living dead are replete, as effiok uwatt observes, with “themes of nationalism, communalism, multi ethnic characters and multi-lingualism.” (40-46). in hopes of the living dead and if… ola rotimi experiments with the philosophy of multiculturalism by bringing together people from diverse cultures and different backgrounds, plagued with the same problem who tend to de-emphasize their individual backgrounds and cultural affiliations to fight for the common good of the people. it is interesting to note that rotimi grew up in an ethnically heterogeneous family, with his father from yoruba land and mother from the ijaw extraction in rivers state of nigeria. in if..., ola rotimi employs a variety of dramatic techniques that make the play unique in its aptness at capturing the nigerian essence. similarly, ola rotimi replicates in hopes of the living dead the co-existence of characters from different cultural backgrounds. the play is ola rotimi’s miniature representation of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 44 nigeria as a multicultural nation bound together by suffering, frustration and a communal resolve to push through social, political and health challenges. segun oyekunle’s katakata for sofahead is perhaps the first play to be published entirely in pidgin and from character portrayal and developments in the play one can see that the three major languages in nigeria: hausa, igbo and yoruba are used. apart from the problems faced by prisoners in the play, the central motif of the play is a comment on the wider nigerian society. it is also important to note, as a matter of fact, that some plays by wole soyinka, femi osofisan, olu obafemi, j. p. clark, bode sowande and others interpret and re-interpret national themes with the intention of creating national unity. however, most of the plays by these playwrights cannot be placed totally under multicultural drama because they have one ethnic setting or the other, ethnic songs, ethnic characters and so on. of course, a play can lend itself to a universal interpretation in terms of content but multicultural drama often lends itself to a special assemblage of multicultural elements to project national issues. textual analyses this segment will examine the portrayal of multicultural aesthetics in the pillars by felix egwuda and the candles by uche nwaozuzu, giving a detailed synopsis of each play. the pillars opens with four groups of people that form the ohimini community gathered for a parley. they discuss issues that centre on the people’s corporate existence. they reason together on the possible factors that may hamper their existence as one and an indivisible unit. the four groups are represented by arbiter, akechi, ebo and iyaji and the meeting is without a convener. arbiter appoints himself chairman but the idea is frowned at by the other groups and a decision is reached that the chairmanship be rotated among the four groups at each meeting. they decide the leadership by voting and arbiter assumes the leadership of the meeting. arbiter opens the floor by addressing the need for and importance of the meeting, prompting iyaji to see reasons for a captivating name to address the forum and the name ‘the pillars’ is agreed on. arbiter goes on to highlight each group’s strengths and weaknesses and admonishes that they all amend their ways and learn to live together. the meeting is adjourned. at the next meeting, arbiter tells each group to render an account of the resources god has deposited at their disposal and suggest how such resources can be harnessed for the growth of the community. each group does this and the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 45 meeting is adjourned once again. akechi goes home to find things wrong; an infidel of a daughter, who is hell bent on acquiring western education, a rebellious wife who supports her daughter’s dream and a son who just recently developed a flair for going out with christian friends, thereby going against the muslim faith. in the last meeting, a major decision is taken about the corporate existence of ‘the pillars’ in ohimini community, with every group making honest and sincere contributions. they all come to terms with the fact that each group is guilty for the mishap of ohimini community and that each one of them has a peculiar role to play in the development of the land. they forgive one other and celebrate the rebirth of their community. egwuda’s the pillars successfully explores, symbolically, the emergence of a new nigeria that is built upon the pillars of cultural understanding and tolerance. the playwright reveals the issues relating to the making of a new nigeria, above the barriers of ethnicity and selfish regional interests, to a clarion call for cultural tolerance and understanding. this is suggested by arbiter: arbiter: gentlemen. i welcome us to this august parley. none of us knows the convener of this meeting. perhaps, it is a divine arrangement that we should meet today. if our being together should be meaningful, we would have to reason together. after forty years of self-assurance, we are still unsure of our destiny. the foundation looks weak. the future is bleak. corruption, tribalism, nepotism, bribery, sectionalism, etc take precedence in our collective lives... ethnic and religious crisis has become the order. there is crevasse in our wall... we crib our life style from the white culture because we have no focus. while the larger world is coming together...we are drifting apart. do you remember the axiom of ‘united we stand, divided we fall’? there is more to be said. welcome. (p. 15) egwuda brings his creative ingenuity to bear by unveiling the play with arbiter, akechi, ebo, and iyaji being summoned to a parley without a convener. these four groups of people form the nigerian community which egwuda calls ohimini. he singles out the three dominant ethnic groups in nigeria leaving arbiter to represent the other over two hundred and fifty minority groups. these facts are well established in the following: arbiter: as our seniority has not been well established. i wish to start from the north to the south. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 46 akechi: don’t create unnecessary complexity arbiter: what i mean is that i shall start with akechi, then ebo and finally, iyaji. (p. 19) arbiter: ...well, thank you for your patience. i know by now ebo is craving for his ‘akpu’, iyaji for his amala and akechi, for his ‘tuwo dawa’ (p. 27). the play explores the cultural, political and economic frictions that plague the corporate existence of the people of ohimini. through the ensuing confrontation between the three ethnic groups arising from issues of religion, tribe and culture, arbiter who is one considered to be an authority on what is right, good or proper, or a person who has the power to settle an argument between people, is seen arbitrating between akechi, ebo and iyaji, never taking sides with any and always appreciating the singular input of all towards the development of ohimini. we see arbiter admonishing the others on the need for peace: arbiter: peace. we are here to resolve conflict in our community. we are not here to enhance it. as brothers, we should learn to live in peace with one another. (p. 7) this admonition is intended to placate the trio who are bent on playing the politics of tribe and religion on who should be the chairman of the meeting. the argument on who should lead based on tribal construction is one crucial area that has hindered the development of nigeria. along this line, the multicultural crisis in nigeria, from egwuda’s point of view, can be traced to tribal jingoism and religious chauvinism: akechi: we cannot accept christian prayer in this forum; christians are referred to as kaffir. it is islam that is the true religion as it came directly from allah. ebo: which religion does not come from god? akechi: i will pray. an infidel cannot pray in this forum. ebo: who are infidels? you should not be silly. (p. 12) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 47 arbiter is able to convince the three about the importance of unity. through his unwavering loyalty to the cause, he is able to change the divisive views of iyaji, ebo, and akechi. the multicultural aesthetics of egwuda’s the pillars is anchored on the play’s attempt to reveal most of the problems influencing the existence of a symbolic nigeria, arising from its multicultural nature while adequately advocating cultural understanding through the character ‘arbiter’. the playwright makes it glaring that for nigeria to forge ahead and make any headway, it must learn to accept everyone irrespective of religious or cultural affiliations. it is also significant to note the importance of the individual strength of the different ethnic groups, and thus their utility in the development of the community. through the interaction of these ethnic groups, a new resolve is formed at the end of the play. it is geared towards the coexistence of all, for the greater good of the community. the candles opens with the minister of information, chief koko, talking to the religious leaders about their roles in the safety of the president and the nation as a whole. the government has just received hint about a coup planned by an unknown group of persons and the duty of the religious leaders is to unmask the persons behind the plot. as they discuss, the power is interrupted and the minister of information goes out to seek for a solution to the power failure. as he leaves, the secretary to the government comes in to meet darkness. just as he speaks, the minister comes in with candles. he explains to the secretary that the standby generator could not come on because of the adulterated fuel supplied for it. now left with the assignment of revealing the coup plotters, the religious leaders fight among themselves and finally decide to work according to religious divides. the african traditional religious leaders ogun, usman and amadioha decide to work first. but even among themselves, they still have disputes on which god to call upon first and they decide to call upon their individual gods at the same time. they begin to say what they claim to see. after their various incantations and chants which does nothing to redeem the situation, the secretary replaces them with the spiritual leaders; arch bishop, imam and great mother. they do the same thing the traditional leaders did, praying in different ways without proffering a solution. the secretary, now angry, also replaces them with the mystics; lama, legion and tibet. they perform their entire magic, quote all their laws and use all their mystic arts, yet without result. the secretary, who is now extremely angry, brings all the religious leaders to work together and call igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 48 upon their different gods to redeem the situation. a notice comes to them, through the secretary, that the president is on his way to their hideout, and unfortunately for them the candles are dying out and the coup plotters have stormed the state house. the fear that the coup plotters would follow the president’s trail and find their hideout engulfs them all, causing commotion and finally, the last of the candles is crushed in their frenzy, introducing total darkness. nwaozuzu’s the candles exploits different dramatic techniques to explain certain societal ills which affect the nigerian state. the playwright indirectly mocks the nigerian society and the ‘despots’ and ‘psychopaths’ therein. the play exposes the disunity of the religious institutions in nigeria. the three traditional religious leaders represent the three major ethnic groups in nigeria. they antagonize each other and each person claims to be superior to the other: ogun: ...pray my fellow lords, everyone to his spot, do not move. my igba lies on the floor, if human feet break it, a greater darkness shall descend on this assembly. tibet: your igba you speak of ogun? no, think you instead of my sphere, my fragile crystal ball. so delicate that only a breath shall trip it. greatmother: crystal balls and igba, the worldly have had their say. as for me, all that i testify is that light has no communion with darkness... we are light. (p. 8) nine spiritual leaders are invited and they are further divided into three; usman, amadioha and ogunserving as the traditional leaders, legion, tibet and lama, as the mystics and archbishop, great mother and imam as the divines. they all struggle for recognition as the most powerful and superior. as earlier stated, usman, amadioha and ogun represent the three major ethnic groups in nigeria; hausa, igbo and yoruba respectively. the nine spiritual leaders are all expected to work together to forestall the impending doom but are all at loggerheads as to which group is the superior and therefore, should be the first to perform: usman: which group goes first? imam: since it was the inspired idea of the holy woman in our midst, i suggest the religious take the first slot. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 49 amadioha: no. as the ancestors, we own the land and according to tradition, the first part always belongs to us. imam: no we have... arch/b: they can go first imam. darkness first reigned before light overcame it. let the herbalists take the first slot and after them we go, then after us, the mystics will follow... that is if there will still be something left for them to do by the time we are through. tibet: don’t worry with us, the arrangement offers us the privilege of a befitting end to the night’s summit... lama? lama: well-spoken friend. (p. 18) even after the traditionalists are allowed to perform their magic first, they still have disagreements about which god to call first, thus, bringing in the issues of superiority, disintegration and disharmony, even among their closed group. the playwright uses this example to make a bold statement about the situation of the nigerian state and the problem of segregation along religious lines: usman: which god shall we call upon first? ogun: ogun it shall be, the ancient benevolent god of regeneration. amadioha: unacceptable. amadioha is more potent and awesome, fierce and moves on the tail of the heavenly fire. ogun: iro... ogun just as i have proclaimed. who has not benefitted from his ageless godhead? the firmament and heart of ife, egbado, remo, ayieforo... amadioha: nonsense. that is localized. we need a national deity. ogun: sango then is our bet amadioha: sango... the deity of national electronic cooperation? far be it from us friends. is he not the principality that has condemned us to use candle light in this most important tryst? igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 50 ogun: then which shall it be? usman: let everyone call upon his own god, let every herbalist invoke his own deity. amadioha: a wiser decision (p. 19-20) the playwright sees the need to maintain peace in the country and among the different sects; political, religious and social: greatmother: to keep this candle one, united, indivisible and indissoluble entity is a task that must be accomplished... i beg your pardon, did i say candles? eh, i actually mean the nation... (p. 27) the multicultural aesthetics of nwaozuzu’s the candles is expressed in his attempt to unveil the difficulties hindering the achievement of a united country. we see the importance of the religious leaders and the work they have done which prompts them to see themselves as superior but at the climax of the crises, they are all forced to drop their pride and work together to achieve a common goal; the safety of the president and the nation. though, when they eventually decide to drop their pride and work together, the die is already cast and it is too late to achieve a positive result. conclusion drama can be a powerful tool for multicultural education. this research demonstrates the importance of multiculturalism by suggesting that the right of every nationality to practice its culture should be respected. the stability of nigeria depends on fashioning an ethos of mutual respect among the nationalities that make up nigeria. the literary artist has not relented in recreating the contemporary cultural issues bothering his time; hence egwuda’s the pillars and nwaozuzu’s the candles and a host of other plays are seen to be promoting the idea of multiculturalism. these plays are artistic successes because with the simplicity of their styles, the playwrights are able to convey their messages to the reader with ease. they have both told us an unavoidable truth about ourselves and about our social, political, and cultural problems as a country. a multicultural society like nigeria can reconcile unity and diversity provided it does not confuse unity with uniformity. nigeria should evolve its unity out of its igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 51 diversity by encouraging its cultural communities to evolve a plural national culture that both reflects and transcends them. more nigerian playwrights should become interested in multiculturalism and preach unity in diversity, since they are among the final hope of the masses towards achieving a better nigeria, especially at the present time when the corporate existence of nigeria and ethnic agitations for self-determination are in the front burner. works cited aluede, oyaziwo & maliki agnes. “integrating multiculturalism into counsellor education curriculum in nigerian university”, african journal of education. 5 (2000): 27-36 chu, clara m. “defining multiculturalism”. ifla, adjoa k. boateng, 18 march 2005, www.ifla.org/publications/defining-multiculturalism. accessed 23 march 2017. egwuda, felix ugbeda. the pillars and the whirlwind (two plays). enugu: benak ventures, 2005. ejue, o. “ola rotimi and the quest for national unity and development: the paradigm of if…and hopes of the living dead”, in bakare ojo rasaki (ed.) ola rotimi’s drama and theatre: issues and perspectives. abuja: roots books and journals nigeria limited, 2007. pp. 208-220. fowler, roger (ed.). a dictionary of modern critical terms. new york: routledge publishers, 1987. george, dickie. aesthetics: an introduction. new york: pegasus, 1971. heywood, andrew. political ideologies. (4th ed.). new york: palgrave macmillan, 2007. kant, immanuel. aesthetics. london: macmillan, 1987. nnanna, ndubuisi. “the potentials of tie (theatre in education) for intercultural integration in nigeria”. the performer: ilorin journal of the performing arts. 11.12 (2009 & 2010): 102-12. notholt, stuart a. fields of fire: an atlas of ethnic conflict. london: stuart notholt communications ltd, 2008. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 52 nwabueze, emeka. visions and revisions: selected discourses on literary criticism. enugu: abic books, 2011. nwaozuzu, uche-chinemere. the candles: a farcical dark tragedy. enugu: st. francis publications, 2010. oyesoro, segun. “cultural fusion or unity in diversity: the theatre on nigerian cultural diplomacy”. the performer: ilorin journal of the performing arts. 1. 1 (2003): 31-38. oyewo, segun oyeleke. “the theatre in nigeria’s cultural diplomacy: the problem of dialogue” in ahmed yerima and ayo akinwale (eds.) theatre and democracy in nigeria. ibadan: kraft books limited, 2002. pp. 104-114. reitz, jeffrey. assessing multiculturalism as a behavioural theory. canada: springer press, 2009. rosado, caleb. toward a definition of multiculturalism. toronto: the roeher institute, 1996. uwat, effiok. theatre of feast: the dramaturgy of ola rotimi. ibadan: sam bookman publications, 2002. wolfgang, welsch. “aesthetics beyond aesthetics: towards a new form of the discipline”, in f. halsall, j. jansen & t. o’connor (eds.) rediscovering aesthetics. london: stanford university press, 2009. pp. 18-37. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 4 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 36 the dimension of necessity in asouzu’s ontology by anongu iorhen m. moses department of philosophy faculty of arts university of calabar, calabar abstract the work, the dimension of neccessity in asouzu’s ontology is carefully addressed from the philosophical point of view of ibuanyidanda (mutual complementary and comprehensive reflection), and is a critical analysis of asouzu’s ontology (complementarity). this ontology can be understood if and only if we have a clear picture of asouzu’s notion of being and nothingness. the work holds that any bifurcative and polarizing concept of being is problematic. after a critical study of asouzu’s ontology as based on the concept of ibuanyidanda, undergirded by the principle that “whatever exists serves a missing link of reality” (ibuanyidanda, 253) i discover that asouzu’s idea is antithetical to the ideas of most philosophers especially sartre whose idea of being is bifurcating and polarizing in nature. a study of his work revealed that sartre whose original intention was to overcome the bifurcating and polarizing notion of being that was predominant in western philosophy in turn fell into the same problem as he notes that being is of two kinds namely, being-in-itself and being-for-itself. he afterwards focused all his philosophizing on being-for-itself (human being), which he term nothingness. and through this nothingness, being-for-itself negates the existence of other beings. this paper therefore seeks to analyze asouzu’s idea of being and nothingness in the perspective of his mutual complementary and comprehensive reflection as the necessary dimension to understanding ibuanyidanda philosophy. by so doing, i shall dwells on his works in conjunction with the library method where relevant literatures or works are interpreted and synthesized for our purpose. finally, i shall advanced in conclusion that from the framework of asouzu’s ibuanyidanda philosophy there is no need for bifurcation and polarization of being and that all aspects and kinds of being cannot exist outside a mutual complementary relationship since they are serving as missing links to each other. the benefit of such a conception of being is that it ensures harmony, mutual relations and integration of all aspects of being, and this in turn could improve interpersonal relations in our society. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 37 introduction professor asouzu has done well not only in philosophy but also in other disciplines within the globe. his philosophy of ibuanyidanda or complementary reflection is applicable in all spheres of human endeavour to integrate, coexist, unify and create a mutual harmonious whole. this is because his ‘system of thought goes beyond the world immanent concomitant pre-deterministic immediacy and existential fragments to inculcate knowledge of oneself (ego) in relation to others knowing that whatever exists serves a missing link of reality. one can say that asouzu’s approach to philosophy is one of self-realization and self-rediscovery mediated in a complementary horizon (ibuanyidanda) taking into cognizance all existing realities as the mind seeks to attain full liberation. the whole universe is presently immersed in very serious crisis and i think that a cue can be taken from asouzu’s philosophy towards addressing some of our most daunting problemstribalistic and ethnocentric tendencies among individuals and nations, individualism, corruption, etc. thus, the habit of some personalities in embezzling public funds meant for the development and well being of individuals and nations has taken over the centre of power most especially, in our contemporary period. hence, recourse to asouzu’s mutual complementarity principle as a necessity precondition of our existence becomes very important. this is the core intention of the paper i.e., to learn from asouzu’s philosophy of thought that “to be is not to be alone” (ka so mu adina) but to be in a complementary relationship with one another. this entails that authentic living includes taking others into cognizance knowing that what exists serves a missing link of reality. besides, whatever exists has head and tail-end. (ihe di nwere isi na odu). explication of concept a. ontology ‘ontology’ or rather ‘ontologia’ appears to have been coined in 1613 by two philosophers writing independently of each other: jacob lordhad in his theatrum philosophicum and rudolf gockel in his lexican philosophicum. the first occurrence in english seems to be in bailey’s dictionary of 1721, where ontology is defined as ‘an account of being in abstract’. ontology is derived from two greek words namely “onto” – meaning being and “logos” – meaning study. ontology is simply the study of being. it is “the study igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 38 of the meaning, nature, principles of whatever is and in as much as it is or exists” (wallace 85). briefly put, it is the science of being. being signifies a concept that has the widest extension and the least comprehension. the word being has two senses: the study of what is, or what exists; the study of entities or things; and the study of what it is to be or to exist; what all the things that are have in common (tony lawson, 2004). certainly this twofold conception is adopted here. clearly, so conceived, ontology amounts to the study of anything and everything; for everything is a part of being (86). being as a subject-matter of ontology is very complex and has been discussed by most philosophers of various eras. this is because it poses a lot of problems to philosophers. these philosophers tend to probe into being, its nature and manifestations. in so doing, they encounter more and more problems. there are those who see being as an abstract entity. there are also those who are of the view that being is solely concrete. there are furthermore, those who see being as consisting of both abstract and concrete nature. also among philosophers, there exists the tendency to bifurcate being and elevate an aspect of being over and against the other. the problem of being further extends to the notion of being and nothingness. the underlying question begging for answer and which appears to pose a perennial problem is the question: what really is the nature of being and how is it related to nothingness? to answer the question rose above, asouzu, attempts to penetrate and grasp being, and with its ultimate reality through mediation or via the instrumentality of ‘‘mutual complementary relationship” (inaugural lecture 42). instead of polarizing being, complementarity seeks to harmonize, complement and unify the same. in this mutual relationship “being is that on the account of which anything that exists serves as missing link of reality” (asouzu, inaugural lecture 41). it is on this “principle of integration” of being in ibuanyidanda that sartre’s idea of being and nothingness becomes irrelevant. hence, no being can exist in isolation of other beings and it is only when one live in a mutual complementary relationship that one is said to be in existence. asouzu perceived ontology as the doctrine or teaching about being, or the study of being (ibuanyidanda: new complementary ontology, 251-252). the above definitions of ontology seem to give a clear direction of my paper. hence, the idea of mutual complementarity and comprehensive reflection as a dimension of necessity in asouzu’s ontology cannot be achieved in absence of being. the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 39 notion of ‘being’ is unarguably, the most important theme in metaphysics. hence, metaphysics simply defined is the “philosophy of being” (daugherty 5) or “the science of being in common” (daugherty 10). this ‘being’ that metaphysics studies, is the being of being distinct from the being of particular things. daugherty quotes aristotle as holding that metaphysics is “a science which investigates being as being and the attributes which belong to this in virtue of its own nature…it is of being as that we also must grasp the first causes” (11). hence, for aristotle, metaphysics is the science of being as being. this pursuit of metaphysics is most expressed in one of its major branch called ontology discussed above. an analysis of being and nothingness in ibuanyidanda philosophy this section focuses on the notion of being and nothingness in ibuanyidanda (complementary) philosophy. a. the notion of being ibuanyidanda is an approach to ontology which wishes to bridge the artificial chasm, and overcome all forms of bifurcating barriers, which the mind imposes on the relationship between substance and its accident (asouzu, ibuanyidanda 253). it also “explores a method and principles to coalesce the real and the ideal, the essential and the accidental into system of mutual complementing units’’. this is to say ibuanyidanda ontology attempts to penetrate and grasp being, and with it ultimate reality through mediation or via the instrumentality of mutual relations. in line with this complementary system of thought asouzu defines being as “that on account of which anything that exists serves a missing link of reality” (451). within this context, to be is to be in mutual relationship with other existents. to be is not to be alone (ka so mu adina). thus, being is located within the context of mutual complementarity of all possible relations in the sense of an existent reality having head and taiend (ihe di, nwere isi na odu)the thing that exists has head and tail end. to be is to have head and tailend (ihe di, nwere isi na odu). to be in ibuanyidanda ontology is to serve a missing link of reality. to say that something has being according to asouzu, “entails all the processes that enter into grasping the thing in question meaningfully within a complementary framework” (253). hence, “what we understand as substance in its relation to accident can be grasped not in the mode of the relationship of an abstract isolated concept to a concrete one” (ibuanyidanda 254). in this ontology, both accident and substance are viewed as inseparable dimensions of being, where substance is used to describe the thing that is most important (ihe kachasi mkpa), igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 40 and accident, the thing that is important (ihe di mkpa). similarly, to be in ibuanyidanda is to be in control (ima onwe onye). invitalizing the value of ima onwe onye (being in control), asouzu says “in all life situations, all attempts at upholding an authentic existence can be seen as a continuous process of complementary reawakening, complementary revitalisation, conscientisation or re-habitualisaton” (330). b. the idea of nothingness we live in a world of contraries, of opposites and so forth. when we talk of being (ihe di), our critical minds quickly reflect on what is not (ihe na adighi). hence, the idea of being connotes the opposite idea of non-being or nothingness. once we affirm that there is something (onwere ihe di), we on the other hand are confronted with the possibility of non-existence (ihe na adighi). from the ibuanyidanda ontology so far understood, “any type of ontology begins with identifying contraries as missing links that are in mutual complementary, comprehensive, future-oriented relationship to each other” (ibuanyidanda 262). according to asouzu, we go beyond saying that “something is” (odi) to “underline the fact that it has a head” (onwere isi). when this is done, we grasp being as something that has meaning (onwere isi) thus state unequivocally that “it is”. the above approach, for asouzu, is applicable when we wish to emphasize that it (existence) is meaningless and as such has no being or existence. we do this by positing that it has no head and tail-end (onwegi isi, onwegi odu). that is, we affirm existence by upholding that it has head and tail-end (onwere isi na odu). asouzu argues thus: ihe di, nwere isi na odu (thing that exists has head and tail). hence, to be is to have head and tail-end (ihe di, nwere isi na odu) as to have full meaning. to exist is virtually the capacity to have head and tail-end (ihe di, nwere isi na odu). (ibuanyidanda 253) by implication, where it has no head and tail-end (onwegi isi na odu), it has no meaning and therefore does not exist-it is nothing. hence, for asouzu, something exists if it has meaning in so far as it serves a missing link. thus asouzu notes “within this context, being is understood as that because of which anything that exists serve a missing link of reality” (ibuanyidanda 251). therefore it follows, if existence is negated through meaninglessness (onwegi isi) then there is non-existence or nothingness in so far as no missing link is served. another way to understand nothingness from ibuanyidanda perspective is to look at existence from its relevance to “other perceiving subjects” (ibuanyidanda 254). first, we designate the thing that is most important (ihe kachasi mkpa), not in the abstract, abstruse, exclusivist sense but one existent reality whose being can be grasp in relation to all missing links in reality. ihe di igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 41 kachasi mkpa (substance) do not stand in “isolation” otherwise it runs the risk of not being known even if it does exist. that is, it cannot be perceived by other subjects. complementarity demands that a being according to asouzu “must be perceived by any of the units with which it constitutes a complementary whole relationship” (ibid, 254), otherwise this brings it to the status of non-being (ka so mu di). on the surface, this approach is like the berkelian claim of “esse est percipi”-‘‘to be is to be perceived’’ (omoregbe, epistemology 88) because non existence or nothingness arises when something is not in any perceptible mode as to be in mutual relationship with other beings. nothingness can likewise be inferred from the idea of being articulated within the context of “relations” (asouzu, ibuanyidanda 259) as we apply the methodological approach. for asouzu, being loses its significance as that which is. for this new ontology, to be as captured in the expression of that has head and tail-end (ihe nwere isi na odu), is the awareness that what is, as this becomes manifest in diverse existential modes of being, can be accessed only within the context of the totality as missing links that serve each other mutually. thus, asouzu opines “to be is to be in mutual complementary relation (ka so mu adina) and its negation is to be alone (ka so mu di) and nothing” (inaugural lecture 42). being is as such dynamic and in mutual service to each other. outside this essential rational mode, it has no head and tail-end (onwegi isi na odu) because it does not serve a missing link. it follows that such a being does not exist. nothingness can more so connote not being in control. according to asouzu: wherever and whenever the ego has lost the capacity to be self-conscious and assert itself positively in this manner, it has also lost grips of being; it can even be said to have lost sense of its own existence, even if the subject imagines that the contrary could be the case. this loss ensues from the fact that negating any missing link in the process of its own selfaffirmation entails negating what has head and tail-end (ihe inwe isi na odu). in this case, the ego is negating meaning, and in negating meaning, it is directly also negating being, the foundation of its own existence. (ibuanyidanda, 332). furthermore, nothingness can be inferred from asouzu’s attempt in his complementary reflection to rehabilitate the idea of being in a way to salvage it from aristotle’s bifurcation. according to asouzu, “the complementary ontology wishes to bridge the artificial chasms, and overcome all forms of barrier which the mind imposes on the relationship between substance and accident” (ibuanyidanda 252). from the above quotation, it is clear that substance and accidents are viewed as inseparable constituents of being, where substance is used to designate the thing that is most important (ihe kachasi mkpa), and accident, the things that are important (ihe di mkpa). both substance and accidents igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 42 do not exist independent of each other, they exist side by side. hence for them to exist independently implies non-being or nothingness. the dimension of neccessity in asouzu’s ontology looking from the analytic point of view of ibuanyidanda philosophy and its exposition of being and nothingness, one can easily see beyond doubt the dimension it takes to arriving at the inherent problems associated with being and how these problems could easily be better handled. asouzu in his efforts to address some avoidable problems created by being itself attempts to penetrate and grasp being, and with it ultimate reality through mediation and the instrumentality of mutual relations. he conceives being in the instance of other beings and emphasized mutual complementary reflection among beings. within this context, to be according to asouzu is to be in mutual relationship with other existents. his ontology is located within the context of mutual complementarity of all possible relations in the sense of an existent reality. because of this type of necessary service in complementarity, and the inherent dimension of missing link, this mode of relationship seeks to supersede the difficulty inherent in any type of world immanent reductionism of a mechanistic exclusivist type (ibuanyidanda, 284). where we conceptualize this mode of mutual complementary relationship in the fixed mode of an agent or series of agents that brings about an effect and vice versa, there are always dangers of ideological oversimplifications. this is still the case where such agents are dependent on themselves mutually, but this mode of mutual relationship is not understood in the sense of serving a missing link. due to the difficulties all mechanistic causal modes of understanding present, some are even of the opinion that the idea of causality has to be dropped altogether (285). it is also important to note that according to asouzu, complementary mode of determination is directed against all modes of understanding causality, which negate the moment of a necessary mutual service in complementarity. this means that in complementary ontology, we seek to strive beyond the idea of mere reciprocity, lawfulness, functional connection, chance, spontaneity, self determination, confirmation of hypotheses of causal connection etc., as to encompass all possible relations that serve each other interminable and such that might be adjudged necessary for a thing to assume a new condition or shape. for complementary ontology, any model that restricts mutual relationship only to those things needed to change the state of an affair beyond the mutual complementary relationship existing between them is a typical instance of bifurcating exclusivist understanding of the idea of being in its dynamic igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 43 essentiality. these are those models of understanding relationship, which focus mostly on an agent which impacts and an effect, which is the recipient of such an impact (286). for complementary ontology, the effect is a necessary condition to know its agent, and where there is no effect, we can also not think of an agent that causes it. this is a clear indication that the dimension of necessity in asouzu’s ontology is geared towards the principles of cause and effect. an agent risk remains inconceivable where it denies the effect and the inescapable role such effects has to produce. where we negate the role, which effects play in being produced, then there is no need talking of cause and effect, since both would mean the same thing. however, when we talk of cause and effect, we do not mean the same thing. in most cases we even mean a very complex mode of relationship beyond known causes. it is precisely due to the illusion arising from a stringent commitment to an ontology of differences that many are of the opinion that the idea of causality, as it is normally used in classical metaphysics, has to be dropped altogether. according to asouzu, they may be right in this sense provided this is not a ploy to reintroduce intolerance and an ontology of exclusiveness through another guise. hence, it would be a big mistake to make recourse to alternative paradigms which seek to explain the character of relationship between units but which give the impression that such cannot be grasped within the framework of mutual complementary relationship (ibid, 288). one can say that most controversies and debates surrounding the idea of causality within the history of philosophy, and inspired by the spirit of aristotle, find it difficult to adjust a complementary mode of understanding missing links, most especially as human subjects. this is what becomes evident in most detailed investigation of this matter. typical examples are those undertaken by mario bunge (the rival of causality; the place of the causal principle in the modern science), edward h. madden (the meaning of ‘cause and law’) and alexander rosenberg (causation and teleology in contemporary philosophy of science). what is striking in these essays is that most attempts to grapple with the difficulties presented by the idea of causality end up not being committed fully to the idea of an intrinsic mutual complementary relationship between what can be regarded as an agent and its effect. however, rosenberg’s essay stands distinct in this aspect because it show how most treaties dealing with idea of causality have great difficulty submitting to the notion that there is a mutual complementary relationship between cause and effect. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 44 as observed earlier, we can say epistemologically that a cause without a necessary inherent complementary linkage to its effect remains a matter of illusion within the domain of human self-conscious act. consequently, hume’s problem of induction, as with most theories that seek to negate the moment of mutual complementary relationship between a cause and its effect remain more ideological than purely epistemological matter. if a person were to deny such a necessary complementary linkage between cause and effect, this person would definitely not be in a position to consummate his reflection as an act peculiar to human being that shares the world with others. this is because no reflection is possible without a form of intrinsic linkage of the subject to a network of relations that complement themselves manually (ibuanyidanda, 293). more so, any understanding of cause must be in a position to help us explain events, not only in an efficient causal mode, but more so, in a complementary mutual related fashion. this is that understanding of causality that is adaptable, not only in the sciences, but more so, in the understanding of reality generally, as missing links in mutual complementary relationship to each other. one can then say that all forms of causes have an inherent dimension that is necessarily complementary. this is a fact that cannot be denied should cause and effect have any meaning at all. this mode of understanding the relationship between cause and effect follows the way human consciousness relates to reality in general beyond arbitrariness and mere habits. as such, the dimension of necessity in understanding asouzu’s ontology becomes an interesting exercise. if the above view is correct and hold water, then we can understand why asouzu assigned a very preponderant place to the fact of mutual complementary dependency of all finite modes of existence, within the frame work of the new complementary ontology as is captured by the insight that anything that exists serves a missing link of reality, which is the most fundamental statement that can be made about things. over and above all, asouzu’s ontology which we intend to study should be an ontology that has an intrinsic dimension of its calculus the liberation of the human mind from the constraints arising from its ambivalence situations. conclusion it is pertinent to state here that for asouzu, every discrete existent being is incomplete and insufficient in itself and for itself but is in need of complementation of others in the same whole. it is therefore apparent in this context that no individual can exist alone just as no isolated being can. this view igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 45 of azouzu is better captured in the words of ozumba which reads thus “it seems that the individual thing – (ka so mu di) to be alone, does not constitute being but only individual in complementary relationship with other individual can constitute being (ka so mu adina). this brings one to the understanding that no one or individual can be considered to be absolute. this is truly what is expressed in asouzu’s truth and authenticity criterion which states that “never elevate any world immanent missing link to an absolute instance” (“ibuanyidanda” and the philosophy of essence 105). in this way, one can say that just as being-for-itself should not be elevated to an absolute instance since it is serving a missing link to being-in-itself and vice versa, no individual or group should be elevated as such for there are all serving missing links and are in mutual service to one another. likewise, all human beings exist in mutual dependence and interdependence. for outside of this nothing exists. references aristotle. metaphysics. trans. w. d. ross. oxford: clarendon, 1947. print. asouzu, innocent i. effective leadership and the ambivalence of human interest: the nigerian asouzu, innocent i. paradox in a complementary perspective. calabar: university of calabar, 2003. print. asouzu, innocent i. “ibuanyidanda and the philosophy of essence”. asouzu, innocent i. ibuanyidanda and the philosophy of essence (philosophy, the science of missing links of reality). 50th asouzu, innocent i. ibuanyidanda: new complementary ontology, beyond worldimmanentism, ethnocentric asouzu, innocent i. reduction and imposition. london: transaction, 2007. print. asouzu, innocent i. ibuaru: the heavy burden of philosophy beyond african philosophy. london: transaction, 2007. print. asouzu, innocent i. ikw approach. calabar: saesprint, 2007. print.a ogwe: essential readings in complementary reflection (a systematic methodological asouzu, innocent i. “progress in metaphysics: the phenomenon of ‘missing link’ and interdisciplinary. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 46 asouzu, innocent i. the method and principles complementary reflection in and beyond african philosophy. calabar: university of calabar, 2004. print. barnes, hazel e. “sartre’s ontology”. the cambridge companion to sartre. ed. christian howell. daugherty, kenneth f. metaphysics: an introduction to the philosophy of being. new york: graymoor, 1965. print.. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion 481 inaugural lecture, university of calabar. calabar: uniersity calabar, 2012. print. omoregbe, joseph i. epistemology (theory of knowledge): a systematical and historical study. lagos: joja, 2009. print. sartre, jean-paul. being and nothingness. trans. hazel e. wallace, william a. the elements of philosophy. new york: st. paul’s, 1977. print. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no.4.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 42 the healing of the blind and lame (matthew 21:14) and the call to promote the rights of persons living with disabilities paul jatau, ph.d catholic institute of west africa portharcourt rivers state timshow03@gmail.com abstract the text of matthew 21:14 is part of a larger unit (matt 21:12-17) which deals with the temple cleansing. jesus has dealt with those he wished to rebuke and now turns to the blind and the lame, who apparently either weren’t driven out of the temple court or now enter it to approach jesus. according to 1 samuel 5:8, “the blind and the lame shall not come into the house (of the lord).” the blind, lame and the physically affected were not supposed to be in the temple at all; there is an assumed link between sin and disease, and their presence is considered incompatible with holiness (cf. lev 21:16-24). this article attempts to look at jesus’ healing of the blind and lame in matthew 21:14 as the fulfilment of the ot prophecies about the return of the glory of god and the challenges it poses for contemporary christians. it argues that if properly understood, the rights of persons with disabilities would be respected, promoted and preserved. keywords: disability, rights, healing, blind, lame, disadvanged persons, matthew introduction the bible does not contain a fully elaborated, codified doctrine of human rights, it does however, address several issues relating to the rights of people. the idea of human rights is the claim that every human being has the same right to be treated as persons, irrespective of their religion, sex, political persuasion or social or economic status. the basis for the human equality is the creation of humankind in the image and likeness of god (vorster, 2012: 3). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 43 most people living with disabilities have been subjected to prejudices, discrimination and segregation (hahn, 1997: 174). according to scripture, “speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute” (cf. prov 31:8). the implication is that the church has a responsibility to serve as the prophetic voice for the marginalised in society. persons with disabilities form part of the marginalised in society, and it is, therefore, imperative that their rights be respected, promoted and preserved. this restoration of human dignity can be seen in jesus’ action in the larger context of matthew 21:12-15. it is here that the most marginalised of the periphery represented in the gospel narrative come to jesus to be healed. however, the pharisees and temple officials are not able to recognise the need to heal broken humanity represented in the blind and lame rather, they are only able to see the material loss. subsequently, they admonish jesus for failing to value what they value, while worshipping in a temple that seems to be lacking god. rather than being able to hear the presence of god within the worship of children, the cries of the least are lost on the human stewards of god’s creation. this article, therefore, seeks to explore the text of matthew 21:12-15 and its implication on the rights of persons with disabilities. an understanding of disability “the cambridge international dictionary of english defines disability as the state of lacking some physical ability or any restriction resulting from impairment that prevents someone from performing an activity in a manner or within the range considered normal for a human being. it is a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on the ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities (procter, 1995:123). texts of matthew 21:14 transliteration of the greek text kai prosēlthon autō tuphloi kai chōloi entō heirō, kai etherapeusen autous igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 44 14the blind and the lame came to him in the temple (en tō hierō), and he cured them. the centrality of the temple in matthew 21:14 the word hieron (“temple”) refers to different quarters in the temple. in order for us to know what the “temple” means and where the exact location of the blind and lame was when they were healed (kohlenberger, 1997:236), we need to enlarge our study of the uses of hieron in the nt. (1) it is used when the reference is to the whole complex. the gentiles were allowed to be in the outer court (the court of the gentiles) and not beyond (barrett, 1987: 53). (2) it is used for the court of women, where anna prayed (luke 2:37), and jesus observed the poor widow putting her offerings (mark 12:41ff). evidence from the new testament shows that lame may come up to this point. in acts 3:2, the lame was laid daily at the gate called beautiful, the “high inner gate,” which “leads from the court of women into inner court” (schrenk, 1965:236). (3) it is used for the inner court, with the altar and the temple proper. this was for the men (court of israelites) and for the priests. men came to worship and brought their offerings and sacrifices to the altar (matt 5:23, 24; acts 21:26). (4) it is used for the temple proper (naos), where only priests could enter (luke 1:9) (schrenk, 230-247). from the foregoing, it is likely that the business of buying and selling was going on in the court of gentiles. the blind and lame came from the court of gentiles (outer court) or likely the court of women, traversed the beautiful gate, and got into the “temple,” i.e. the inner court (court of israelites) to be healed by jesus. in cleansing the temple, jesus quoted from isaiah 56:7, as he reacted upon seeing the business in the temple: it is a “house of prayer,” not a “den of thieves.” however, isaiah 56:7 goes on to state that the temple is a “house of prayer for all nations.” even though jesus did not explicitly quote that phrase, his immediate igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 45 following action of approving the entrance and healing the blind and the lame in the temple (21:14) implies it. the temple is the house of prayer for all. there will be no discrimination to enter it to worship god. blind and lame prohibited from entering the house at a cursory reading, david’s decree that “the blind and the lame shall not come into the house” in 2 samuel 5:8 seems to be unrelated to the prohibition of the blind and lame from serving in the priesthood in leviticus 21. as a matter of fact, the text says that “blind and lame” were “hated by david’s soul” (2 sam 5:8), and that hatred seemed to be the reason for their prohibition from entering the house, and not any other reason that may have been deduced from the levitical instruction. according to josephus, the jebusites were so confident of the strength of their wall that they placed blind and lame upon the wall to defend the city, obviously in contempt of david (josephus, 7.61). unfortunately, josephus makes no mention or comment of “the blind and lame shall not come into the house.” it is clear that for david, it is the jebusites who were the blind and lame. he identified them as such, and declared them to be rooted out. as keil and delitzsch note, “‘blind and lame’ has the general signification of ‘repulsive persons,’ with whom one does not wish to have anything to do” (keil and delitzsch, 1987: 365). david, under provocation, decreed to exclude the blind and lame from the house. it “eventually gave rise to an epigram: ‘the blind and lame’ will not enter the palace [house]” (youngblood, 1992:856). however, it could be that, in david’s mind, it was the jebusites who were blind and lame who were barred from associating with him. in all likelihood, david did not exclude blind and lame from his house. his eventual welcome to the lame mephibosheth into his royal palace (2 sam 9:13) provides evidence for this. the question remains unanswered: why the exclusion of the blind and lame from the temple? bruce c. birch affirms, “we do not know of such regulation although disabled persons could not become priests (lev 21:18)” (birch, 1994: 1237). joel o. lewis disagrees, stating, “david’s challenge to his men later became the explanation for refusing to allow the lame and blind in the temple (v.8 and lev igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 46 21:18)” (lewish, 1980: 85). hentrich, in his turn, argues that the reason for the prohibition of blind and lame from the temple was not their opposition to david during the fall of jerusalem (these were jebusites), but the blind and lame’s perceived impurity, thus, following leviticus 21:18 (hentrich, 2019:19). the hebrew bayit is used in the ot for a “dwelling palace” (cf. 2 chron 9:11, or god’s house/temple, 2 kings 11:10, 11, 13), house/place to stay (exod 10:6), or household/family (gen 7:1). in the lxx, the word as used in 2 samuel 5:8 is translated into oikon tou kuriou, “house of the lord.” this is significant in that the lxx translators understood it as the temple, thus, prohibiting the blind and lame from entering the temple. to stress it further, lxx translation and interpretation may reflect the way jewish people thought about the blind and lame. even though the text says nothing about their impurity, this phrase indicates that david himself would have ordered their expulsion from the temple on personal grounds that are founded in their presumed opposition to him. more likely though, disabled people seemed to have played a more active role in the jebusite cult centre prior to the capture by david, but are considered impure by israelite standards. for this reason, they are subsequently excluded from the temple once it was built shortly after david’s reign (ibid). however, the translation of bayit into “house of the lord” as the etiology of the epigram “the blind and lame shall not enter the house” in 2 samuel 5:8, seems to indicate that around the time of the lxx translation in the third century, the exclusion of the blind and lame from the temple was in effect, or at least expected (godman, 2014). the motif of their exclusion seemed to be their perceived impurity which was associated with their disability (ibid). jewish writings around the nt time support that idea. theological implications of the entrance and healing of the blind and the lame the scene in matthew 21:14 states that the blind and lame, who were previously excluded, came into the temple, and jesus healed them. for the religious leaders, the temple has been defiled by the entrance of those who did not have the right igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 47 to enter it. their cups overflowed. they were full of indignation (matt 21:15c). the condemnation of jesus was just steps away. but there is more to jesus’ action to approve the entrance of the blind and lame into an area where they were forbidden, and his healing of them, irrespective of the indignation of the religious leaders. these implications are worth noting: messianic age matthew draws the attention of his readers to see that the procession from the mount of olives and the riding on a donkey, the triumphal entry to jerusalem, the cleansing of the temple, and the healing of blind and lame were all signs of messianic age, the dawning of god’s kingdom, as fulfillment of ot prophecies (matt 21:4). even if matthew mentions jesus on mount of olives only during the final week of his life, the fact that he mentions three times jesus’ activities there is striking (matt 21:3; 24:3; 26:30). his start of the procession from the mount of olives must be linked with his ascension from and second return on the same mountain (acts 1:11) as zechariah has prophesied in the ot (zech 14:4). his riding on a donkey was a matter of deliberate choice and of careful planning to show the kingly fulfillment of zechariah 9:9 (france, 2007:774). besides associating his kingly posture with riding a donkey, people proclaimed him as the son of david, a title with an explicit messianic connotation (cf. 2 samuel 16:2). the psalmist’s utterance, “blessed is he who comes in the name of the lord” (ps 118:26) is now fulfilled. but the dawning of god’s kingdom is also seen in the carrying out of his mission as he himself uttered it in luke 4:18-19 (cf. isa 61:1,2), of which healing the blind and lame is an integral part. now that the blind and lame were healed in the temple, their entering it [the temple] for healing has been described as a powerful sign that god’s kingdom was indeed at hand (nienhuis, 2015). return of god’s glory in the temple igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 48 the mount of olives’ motif in matthew is not only linked with the prophecies of zechariah as we have seen. it is likely that matthew has also in mind ezekiel’s prophecies in relation to the glory of god, its departure from the temple to the mount of olives and its return from the mount of olives to the temple. ezekiel the prophet saw and described that departure and return. the glory of the lord departed from the temple, went out, and stood on the east gate, before going up to and standing on the mountain, east side of the city, i.e. mount of olives (10:34, 18,19; 11:22,23) (green, 2009: 158). ezekiel 43:1-4 describes how the same glory would come back from the way of the east (undoubtedly mountain of olives) and came into the (post-babylonian captivity) temple by way of the gate which faces toward the east (43:1-4). this all fits jesus’ entry into the temple from the eastern mountain (olives) through the eastern gate as the logical route of the procession would dictate. but to understand fully that return from the eastern mountain through the eastern gate, we need to take a look at another ot prophecy, that of haggai. the statement of haggai 2:3 is very revealing on the status of the temple that was being rebuilt after the babylonian captivity. “who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? and how do you see it now? in comparison with it, is this not in your eyes as nothing?” there was no ark of covenant in the second temple. the jewish tradition states that jeremiah hid the ark in a cave in mount nebo before the babylonian invasion, and that its location would not be revealed until god was ready for it to be found (2 macc 2:4-8). however, god promised that his glory would return to the temple. and its glory would be greater than that of the first temple. god in person was in the temple (ibid). jesus’ healing of the blind and the lame shows his authority to create purity in all those desiring to worship god, demonstrating that as the one who is greater than the temple (12:6), he fulfils the old testament prescriptions for cleansing that the temple practices required to come into the presence of god. such inclusion is the fulfilment of the prophecy of jeremiah 31:8, “behold i will bring them from the ends of the earth, among them the blind and the lame.” the entrance of the blind and lame into and their healing in the temple was a tangible demonstration of jesus’ words: the temple is the house of prayer of all nations igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 49 (matt 21:13). it is all-inclusive. besides, their healing was not merely physical. it carries a clear message of renewal and restoration. their full membership in the people of god is reconstituted and restored. contemporary challenges to the church although many interpretations of the old testament views of disability have led to a discriminatory and exclusive approach when viewing persons with disabilities, it is important to point out that the issue took a different approach in the new testament. in the new testament, as well as jesus’ healing ministry, there are examples of disabled people portrayed in a positive way, and of god using disability for good in people’s lives (cf. john 9:1-7; acts 3:1-9). grant argues that the healing stories of jesus have served as proof of the moral imperfection of persons with disabilities. by contrast, jesus christ provided evidence that it is not always true that disabilities are caused by sin, but for the sake that the glory of god will be manifested (john 9:1-3) (colleen, 1997:77). the gospels show jesus christ as sensitive and caring towards persons with disabilities. they are the main focus of his healing ministry (mark 8:22-26; 10:46-52). the parable of the great banquet (luke 14) defines the place of persons with disabilities in the life of the kingdom of god. the parable shows that jesus christ, in both word and action, sets persons with a disability within the circle of unity of the christian church. the acts of apostles also gives evidence of how the early church had compassion and concern for persons with disabilities. all this evidence shows that persons with disabilities are part of the mission agenda of god. furthermore, countless healing in the old and new testaments provides proof of the compassionate nature of god. despite the fact that not all illnesses, diseases, or disabilities were removed, the kingdom of god is not complete without persons with disabilities (rayan, 2015). the mission of the church is not only to preach the gospel, but also to be concerned for the welfare of the people within and outside the church (ross & walls, 2008:254). the biblical idea on justice envisions human relationships to be balanced, reciprocal and of quality (johannes, 2012: 51) in order to fulfil the lifegiving mission of the triune god (jooseop, 2013:4). more so, the ultimate goal of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 50 mission is to present “love, equality, diversity, mercy, compassion and justice” (andrew, 199:132) throughout god’s creation. furthermore, the appropriate response to disability is not medical treatment or rehabilitation, but social change and radical political action for justice, inclusion and full citizenship for people with disabilities (swinton, 2011:279). according to wilkes, persons with disabilities form an integral part of the church and society; they are essential for the wholeness and unity of the church (wilkes, 1980:40). it is also essential that churches develop an inclusive attitude towards persons with disability and welcome them into christian fellowship (atieno, 2009:14). govig submits that the church must recognise the spiritual and material needs of persons with disabilities and their families, and respond in a christ-like manner (stewart, 1989:98). meeting the spiritual needs of persons with disabilities the issue of meeting the spiritual needs of persons with disabilities challenges the mission of the church, especially in the area of miraculous healing. the new testament records many miracles and healing wrought by jesus christ. yet jesus did not remove every disease and infirmity in his immediate proximity. scripture records that, upon returning to his hometown, “he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith” (matt 13:58). in john 5, jesus christ healed only one of the many disabled people who had gathered at the pool of bethesda to seek a supernatural expectation of physical healing. one can learn from this that, if prayer for healing is not immediately answered, it does not change one’s theology to say that god no longer heals. mashau and mangoedi submit that, in reading acts 3:1-10, it is clear, without a doubt, that worshippers in the temple in jerusalem were either ignorant or insensitive to the lame man’s spiritual need to belong, to be part of their community and to be able to call the church his home. his longing to belong could only be satisfied when he was healed. once he was healed, the man entered the temple walking, jumping and worshipping. this demonstrates how important it is to see the spiritual longing of persons with disabilities. the argument, in this instance, is not only to seek their miraculous healing, but also igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 51 to see them as part of the community of believers and participate in the missio dei without any sense of discrimination (mashau and mangoedi, 2015: 5). furthermore, inclusivity in addressing the spiritual needs of persons with disabilities gives the church the opportunity to share the healing and restorative power of jesus christ of nazareth, as peter did in acts 3. whether the church is involved in the provision of care, rehabilitation, chaplaincy or ministry to, or with disabled people, it must recognise the central assumptions of equality and dignity within the christian message and promote it on its mission agenda. discipleship the church’s participation in the missio dei should be holistically inclusive. this implies that there is, therefore, the need for clergies and workers (ministers) who are well formed and prepared to address disability issues. there is also the need to institutionalise disability issues in the seminaries and theological institutes, in order to ensure that the enthusiasm to disciple persons with disabilities does not fade. furthermore, churches should have a well-defined programme to reach out to persons with disabilities and to engage people trained in sign language, ability to read and teach with braille. efforts should be made to provide braille discipleship materials, bibles, as well as audio-visual and hearing aids for the blind. as part of the discipleship agenda, persons with disabilities should be encouraged to actively participate in the activities of the church. their gifts and talents should be accepted and used in the church. according to the lausanne committee for world evangelization, the church must remove physical, emotional and spiritual barriers in order to bring in persons with disabilities and charge them, through discipleship and training, to use their spiritual gifts and god-given talents in building the body of christ (world evangelization, 2010). prophetic role as part of the proclamation (evangelisation) mandate of the church, it was also assigned a prophetic role of advocacy. the church must continue to echo her prophetic role and be the voice of the voiceless. the church must denounce and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 52 combat all that degrades and destroys people. churches are, therefore, required to raise awareness throughout society, regarding persons with disabilities, and to foster respect for the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities; to combat stereotypes, prejudices and harmful practices relating to persons with disabilities, including those based on sex and age, in all areas of life, and to promote awareness of the capabilities and contribution of persons with disabilities. the faith community should be informed that the church is the best place for persons with disabilities to experience the sincere love of god and to feel accepted.” although it is fitting to address the needs of persons with disabilities, it will be a great joy when they can do things for themselves (robert, 1999: 200); this calls for empowering persons with disabilities by creating opportunities such as vocational education and employment. conclusion since human beings are made in the image of god, this makes it important that every person be treated equally with respect and dignity. this implies that persons with disabilities are made in the image of god and, therefore, deserve all the rights and freedom enjoyed by persons without disabilities. using proverbs 31:8 as the starting point for the article, it was noted that the church has a missionary call to serve as the prophetic voice for the marginalised in society. due to the fact that persons with disabilities form part of the marginalised in society, it is thus imperative that their rights be respected, promoted and preserved. references andrew, kirk, what is mission? theological explorations, london 1999. atieno, p.a., biblical and theological perspectives on disability: implications on the rights of persons with disability in kenya. disability studies quarterly 29 no.4 2009. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 53 barrett, charles, the new testament background:selected documents, rev.ed., new york 1987. birch, bruce, c. “the first and second books of samuel,” in the new interpreter’s bible, vol. ii, nashville 1994. colleen, grant, reinterpreting the healing narratives. in: n. eiesland& d. saliers (eds.), human disability and the service of god: reassessing religious practice, nashville1997. eurich johannes, justice for people with disabilities: philosophical and theological arguments. religion and theology 19. 2012. france, r. t., the gospel of matthew, new international commentary on the new testament, vol. 1, grand rapids 2007. green, joel b., “mount of olives,” in the new interpreter’s dictionary of the bible, ed. katharine doobsakenfeld, nashville 2009. hahn, h., “advertising the acceptably employable image”. in: l. davis (ed.), the disability studies reader, london 1997. hentrich, thomas,“the ‘lame’ in leviticus 21:17-23 and 2samuel 5:6-8,” accessed may 13, 2019, https.//www.academia.edu.. john godman: the astonishing teaching of jesus on spirituality,” accessed january 21, 2014, www.daretoventure.org/venture/identity/52thechurchstudyhelp s-pdf. josephus, the jewish historian, antiquities, 7.61 jooseop, keum, (ed.), together towards life: mission and evangelism in changing landscapes. with a practical guide. geneva 2013. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 54 kanu, i. a. (2012). “the church and national development: towards a philosophy of collaboration”. african research review: an international multi-disciplinary journal. vol.6. no.2. april. pp. 113122. kanu, i. a. and b. a. c obiefuna (2014). “church and politics in nigeria: towards a philosophy of collaboration”. in religious faith and public service in nigeria: ambiguities and paradoxes (pp. 268-379). nigeria: catholic theological association of nigeria (cathan). keil, c. f. and delitzsch, f., old testament commentaries, vol. 2, judges 6:33-ezra, grand rapids 1987. kohlenberger, john r., iii, edward w. goodrick and james a. swanson, the greek english concordance to the new testament with the new international version, grand rapids 1997. lewish, joel o., laymans’ bible book commentary, vol. 5, 1 and 2 samuel, 1chronicles, nashville 1980. mangoedi t.d. & mashau l., faith communities, social exclusion, homelessness and disability: transforming the margins in the city of tshwane. hts theological studies 71 no.3. 2015. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/hts.v71i3.3088. nienhuis, david, “the confrontation in jerusalem: matthew 21:1-23:39,” accessed january 21, 2015, blog.spu.edu/lectio/the-confrontation-injerusalem. procter, p., ed., cambridge international dictionary of english, cambridge 1995. rayan, n. , prepare the bride.http://www.crossroadsfellowship.org.au/bride/bride.pdf accessed 16 august, 2015. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 55 robert, jonas a., ed., beauty of the beloved, london 1999. ross, c., & walls, a., eds., mission in the 21st century: exploring the five marks of global mission, london 2008. schrenk, gottlob, “to hieron,” theological dictionary of the new testament, ed. gerhard kittel, grand rapids 1965. stewart, d. govig, strong at the broken places: persons with disabilities and the church., westminster 1989. swinton, j., who is the god we worship? theologies of disability; challenges and new possibilities. international journal of practical theology 14. 2011. third lausanne congress on world evangelization, 2010. vorster, n a., theological perspective on human dignity, equality and freedom. verbum et ecclesia 33. 2012. wilkes, h. wilkes, creating a caring congregation: guidelines for ministry with the handicapped, nashville 1980. youngblood, ronald, “1, 2 samuel” in expositors bible commentary, vol. 3, grand rapids 1992. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 94 ‘igwebuike philosophy’: a vehicle for peace and conflict resolution among the igbos of south east nigeria onyeakazi jude chukwuma, phd philosophy unit, directorate of general studies federal university of technology owerri. email: jude.onyeakazi@futo.edu.ng; judefuto@gmail.com phone: +2348129937821, +2348033694748 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.36109.97768 abstract the concept of socialism and communalism has been an age long problem in the history of philosophy. philosophers over the years have tried to mediate in this age long problem through their various theories. nyerere‟s theory of „ujamaa‟ (togetherness as oneness), the collective consciousness of emile durkhiem, the ibuanyindanda ideology of innocent asouzu and kwame nkrumah‟s philosophical consciencism, just to mention but a few. in all these socio-political ideologies, none has been properly exhausted to meet the desired result in the reduction and prevention of conflicts and man‟s cruelties against man in terms of communal clashes, assorted forms of oppression, suppression, domination and discriminations. it is against this background that this research work titled „igwebuike philosophy: a vehicle for peace and conflict resolution among the igbos of south east nigeria was chosen as a template to contribute to the prevention and reduction of violence and terrorism in the nigerian state. it is a philosophical inquiry that attempts to interrogate the dynamics of our social environment using igwebuike ideology, which was developed by kanu ikechukwu anthony, (strength in unity), depicting the marcelian theory of intersubjectivity. despite the fact that our own country is plagued with insecurity, communal violence, and anxiety from various terroristic attacks; this paper is optimistic that the scourge can be reduced to a reasonable limit via “igwebuike” which is a call and an awakening to mutual complementary relationships. furthermore, it aims at unraveling how this consciousness can be used as essential tool for lasting peace and reconciliation, with the sole aim at restoring the meaning of life in our meaninglessness situation. lastly, it recommends certain strategies for peace and conflict resolution and among the various ethnic groups in nigeria. the method of this paper is essentially analytical, expository and evaluative. key words: igbos, igwebuike and conflict resolution. mailto:jude.onyeakazi@futo.edu.ng mailto:judefuto@gmail.com https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.36109.97768?_sg%5b0%5d=nnomtxdh21aedi_xepodbdtdyfkgcgjz92h6gxugydugdzovqitdq0pcheewm3c91ikjsktkwkibfqv-ovb61lja3g.nrnjh2azuf6mbn5gagyqih9aoyytuztqiwqfs8f-f2zwgv4ct-fhi_pt3lkrrrodug9jauewq4koh3fqi4ymaq igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 95 introduction igbo names like somadina (may i never be alone), chieftaincy titles like onwa na etiri oha (a moon that shines for all, man of the people), ochiri ozuo (a philanthropist). there are also resonances of this philosophy in igbo folktales, songs, artifacts, symbols especially the kolanut. the unitary conception of reality pervades the igbo worldview in a very remarkable way. 1 the metaphysical dimension of igwebuike philosophy the fundamental principle which describes the core african spirit is harmony; although reality exists as individuals, they converge at the point of reasonableness. 2 igwebuike as an ideology rests on the african principle of solidarity and complementarity.3 it provides an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possess a rational character of mutual relation. to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. “to be” is “to be” with the other in a community of beings. 4 this is also captured in the philosophical assertion of panteleon iroegbu that “to be is to belong and to belong is to be”5 and in mbiti’s “i am because we are and because we are, therefore, i am. kanu quoting asouzuo opines: “complementarity is a philosophy that seeks to consider things in the significance of their singularity and not in the exclusiveness of their otherness in view of the joy that gives completion of all missing link of reality.”6 socio-anthropological analysis of igwebuike philosophy man is a socio-cultural being that always share a relational affinity with other members of his community; human beings and societies exist only in relation.7 the intercultural philosophy of igwebuike captures the socio-anthropological nature of man especially the igbo people. the igbo people of southern nigeria exhibit their social characteristics in their interactions with their fellow human 1oguejiofor, j. o. “globalization and the resilience of tradition paradigms: the case of the igbo of nigeria”, in the humanities and globalization in the third millennium, awka: fab anieh, 2010, 21 2 kanu, ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy, 84. 3 kanu, ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy, 84. 4 kanu, ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy, 84-85. 5 panteleon, iroegbu. metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy, 374. 6 kanu, ikechukwu anthony. “igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy”,in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 3, no. 1, january 2007, 14. 7 kanu, ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy, 74. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 96 beings both within their ethnic nationality and outside of it. 8 igwebuike is anchored on igbo-african world-view which is characterized by a common origin, common worldview, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour, habit, common historical experience and a common destiny. 9 thus, igwebuike celebrates in deep cultural and philosophical modality our common humanity, interconnectedness and our common responsibility towards ones another. this is in line with the famous proverbial assertion of mbiti, “i am because we are and since we are, therefore, i am”. 10 in the igbo-african view, it is the community which defines the person as person.11 individualism is an alien to igbo experience of reality; hence, “reality as a communal world takes precedence over the reality of individual life histories”.12 as a summary of this idea, nwoko opines: an african traditional society is a society where the individual is always considered a free, integrated member of his community, a communion person. it is a society where individualism is considered a taboo, where each member takes the interest of the community as his own. his pride is community is power. the more united he is to the community, the more he sees the community as a mere extension of the family.13 the need to live together in community is seen as part of igbo-african existential status. the individual has meaning only in the context of the community.14 the igbo-african society has been based on an extended family system, which in turn expanded to kinship groups which further extended to clan system and this is the theoretical basis of african communalism.15 therefore, the igbo community denotes first and foremost ontological quality of human relation. it is ontological 8 christian, o. ele. conflict resolution strategies in igbo religion: the oath taking and covenant making perspective, 35. 9 panteleon, iroegbu. metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy, 108. 10 john, mbiti. african religions and philosophy, nairobi: east african edu. publishers, 1970, 108. 11 ifeanyi, a. menkiti. “person and community in african traditional thought,” in african philosophy: an introduction , 3rd ed., (ed.) richard a. wright. lanham: university press of america, 1984, 172. 12 ifeanyi, a. menkiti. person and community in african traditional thought, 171. 13 nwoko, m. i. the rationality of african socialism, rome: 1985,71-72. 14 ikegbu, ephraim. “african communalism”, in a colloquium on african philosophy, vol. 1, g.o. ozumba (ed.). calabar: prospper ventures, 2003, 32. 15 uduigwomen, a. f. “african communalism: individual freedom versus communal demands,” in sophism and african journal of philosophy, vol. 4, no. 1. calabar: pyramid publications, 2002, 27. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 97 in so far as all the members of the community are believed to descend from a common ancestor.16 causes of conflicts among the igbo there are many causes of conflict within the igbo societal setting; this can result either from land or boundary disputes, bad leadership etc. meanwhile, a major pivotal factor in conflicts in the south east zone of nigeria is still the ownership of land17 and kingship tussles. this is because land is a serious issue among the igbos since it touches both the material and the spiritual essence of igbo ontology. thus, land is something worth fighting and dying for.18 meanwhile, other sources of conflict in igboland apart from land disputes are chieftaincy titles tussles, political differences and search for dominance and hegemony and matrimonial fallouts. on the other hand, social deviance which contravene norms of the society such as incest, stealing of yam or cattle, murder of fellow kinsman, adultery, insubordination to elders are also causes of social disputes among the igbos. these social deviances range from the minor deviant acts that require sanctions for their controls to heinous offences, nso-ala.19 igwebuike and conflict resolution: a philosophy of social inclusion the igbos organized their society to integrate the needs of the individuals, family, village town and clan. individuals benefit socially and psychologically from the support and protection of the community. individual survival and safety is protected within the walls of the community. every member of the community is responsible for the other.20 the success of an individual increases the overall wellbeing of the entire community. the community which adopts communalism as a standard of operation delves into rights and freedom in order to protect the individual from harm and undue molestation.21 central to the idea 16 nzomiwu, j. p. c. the moral concept of justice among the igbos, rome: ac. alfonsiana, 1977, 38. 17 charles, c. mezie-okoye. “tiv and igbo conflict management mechanism: a comparative study”, in international research journal of social science, vol. 5 (7), 2016, 25. 18 oguntolalaguda, d. “the role of traditional rulers and religious leaders in conflict management in nigeria”, in the practice of religion in nigeria, ilorin: decency press, 25. 19 nwankwo, ignatius uche. “traditional multiple level conflict resolution and the appeal system of the igbo group of southeast nigeria and the challenges of social change”, 36. 20 kanu, ikechukwu anthony. “igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering”, in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 3, no.2, march 2017, 72. 21 ikegbu, ephraim. african communalism, 32. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 98 of community is unity which is linked to peace and progress in the society22 harmonious and friendly relationships facilitate progress and overall wellbeing in the human community. 23 harmony within the community is a moral obligation ordained by god for the protection and promotion of life. 24 igwebuike philosophy avers that development be holistic and emphasizes the centrality of the human person in such a development. it calls for a collaborate approach in search of better means of livelihood; this means that everyone must play a complementary role. igwebuike is anchored on the thinking that the community has a moral responsibility in the face of human suffering. everyone must do something to alleviate the suffering of the other. 25 the community spirit is very strong among the igbos. almost from the first, the individual is aware of his dependence on his kin group and his community. he also realizes the necessity of making his own contribution to the group to which he owes so much.26 as a principle of sustainable development, igwebuike philosophy invites everyone to accept “community involvement”. as committed members of the society, it implies a mutual involvement of individuals and society to the destiny of each other; a common social destiny. therefore, it makes every member of the society responsible for the welfare of one another. 27 the community will definitely become better if everyone plays his/her own part very well. to this, asouzu asserts: “the african (igbo) worldview, therefore is ruled by the spirit of complementarity which seeks the conglomeration, the unification, the summation of fragmented thoughts , opinions and other individualized fragmented thoughts and ideas. it believes essentially that the whole is greater than the corresponding parts, a viable and sustainable whole will emerge and by this, the part will get to the brim purpose of their existence. 28 22 anthony, kwakporo nwogu. the christian eucharist and oriko: a study in conflict resolution, 14. 23 anthony, kwakporo nwogu. the christian eucharist and oriko, 38. 24 anthony, kwakporo nwogu. the christian eucharist and oriko, 40. 25 kanu, ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem, 72. 26 uchendu, v. c. the igbo of southeast nigeria, london: r and wiston, 1965, 34. 27 edmund, aku. solidarity, subsidiarity and common good: fundamental principles for community and social cohesion, usa: xlibris corporation, 2011, 15. 28 kanu, ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy, 14. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 99 igwebuike philosophy: a vehicle for conflict resolution the igbo race took adequate measures to handle confrontations of social powers in their possibilities and actualities by evolving strategies that would prevent them and at conflictual situations, resolve them.29 the conflict resolution among the igbo society is rooted in their social structures and religion.30 this is well expressed by christian ele as thus: “in igbo land, conflict resolution strategies are embedded in their sociocultural structures such as the family, kindred, village or clan and the entire town or community. in igbo society, the family heads (ndi okpara), umunna (the entire family of patriarchical roots), the council of elders (ndi ichie), the eldest in the kindred (onyishi), traditional ruler (igwe or eze), the women groups (umuada, umu nwunye di), youth groups (the age grade system, the ogbo oha), the maternal family (ndi ikwu nne), the grand child by a sister (nwa di ana, oke nwa nwunye), are all agents of peace and stakeholders in conflict resolution.”31 whenever there is an issue within the family or clan, it is often settled in the presence of everyone in an acclaimed open court through mediation and negotiations. the very aim of conflict resolution within the igbo traditional setting is the reconstruction of social bridges and a reenactment of a supposed broken social order with a huge prospect of peaceful co-existence. it is not about justifying one and condemning the other, it works towards a compromise for the reconciliation of the both parties and the restoration of balance or the harmony of reality. 32 this very idea is simply an enactment of what igwebuike (complementary and solidarity) philosophy stands for. it is thus a method of conflict resolution built upon the culture of the people. traditional means of conflict resolution before the advent of white men, igbos have already put into place mechanisms for adjudicating matters and for controlling the suppression of the weaker person by the stronger. 33 the basic unit for ensuring peace and preventing 29 christian, o. ele. conflict resolution strategies in igbo religion: the oath taking and covenant making perspectives, 35. 30 christian, o. ele. conflict resolution strategies in igbo religion, 35. 31 christian, o. ele. conflict resolution strategies in igbo religion, 38. 32 kanu, ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace, 37. 33charles, c. mezie-okoye. “tiv and igbo conflict management mechanism: a comparative study”, 27. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 100 conflict was the family. however, there are many conflict resolution structures in traditional igbo society. these are in forms of institutions, social groups and extra mundane (metaphysical) beliefs or orientations that resolve matters between disputants, and prevent or counteract individual tendencies to deviance. they negotiate, mediate, and arbitrate in dispute situations. they use tools like fines, banishment, and food commensality, ostracism, oath-taking, to punish or resocialize persons whose behavior violate role expectations to preserve the society from disruption. the igwebuike ideology and communalistic nature of the igbo people necessitates that there are established groups for sociocultural and socio-economic affairs. there are numerous religious and social groups for conflict resolution in igboland. these conflict resolution structures according to nwankwo include “nuclear family structure, extended family assembly, age grades(otu ogbo), women association (umuada), village assembly, festivals, ozo title holders34”. we shall explain only but a few of these structures. nuclear family structure the family is the foremost socialization and social control agent to which the individual is exposed. it controls the quality and quantity of new members of the society by educating the child on the rules, norms, mores and folkways that govern the society. in the society under study, the functions of socialization, social control and conflict resolution were executed by the nuclear as well as extended families. nuclear family attends to disputes within the nuclear family setting between siblings, and spouses. it is usually presided by the father and elders of such families.35 extended family assembly (izu umunna) the extended family is a grouping into one functional unit of three or more generations of people linked by marriage, descent or adoption. they share a putative father and cannot inter-marry. in igbo society, the training was achieved by educating the child in the code of manners, conventions, customs, morals and laws of his society. at times, stories of heroes or of tragedies that befell disputants or defaulters are used to illustrate the essence of good behavior. 34 nwankwo, ignatius uche. “traditional multiple level conflict resolution and the appeal system of the igbo group of southeast nigeria and the challenges of social change”, 38-42. 35 nwankwo, ignatius uche. “traditional multiple level conflict resolution and the appeal system of the igbo group of southeast nigeria and the challenges of social change”, 38. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 101 the family restrains the child by meting out punishment as need arises. the kindred or members of the extended families form what is known as umunna assembly in igbo tradition. they are represented by; the opara/okpala – the most elderly male person. by virtue of his age and position, the opara acts as spokesman in conflict related matters.36 he performs socio-juridical functions and distributive justice is adjudicated by him. any case which cannot be resolved by the opara is brought to the general assembly of the umunna. every adult male has the right to contribute to the general deliberations at the assembly. the elders reserve the right to take the final decision after private consultations among themselves igba izu. the disputants or deviant members are customarily expected to comply with whatever punishment or face stiffer measures. in the igbo society, a person who falls out of line with his extended family is likened to being a bastard. for this reason, individuals carefully avoid violating the norms thus, controlling their social behavior and effectively resolves most conflicts. 37 women association (umuada) the umuada is an association of women married outside their natal home. at birth, every female in the community is an ada and qualify as a member of the umuada association. but she plays no practical role in the association until adult age especially after she is married. in traditional igbo society, the umuada association was a formidable conflict resolution structure and agent for the control of social behavior of their members and of the larger public. their influence was felt both in their lineage of procreation and in their husband’s lineage. 38 since pre-colonial era, igbo women have imbibed the concept of igwebuike in their diverse means of resolving conflicts and promoting peace. umuada and nwunye di are the foremost women group and organization in igbo land built on the truism of igwebuike philosophy. these are organizations of daughters or wives of the clan who meet on several occasions to foster peaceful coexistence within extended family, town or community. the umuada refers to the natal organization of daughters of the clan who are married either within or 36 anthony, kwakporo nwogu. the christian eucharist and oriko: a study in conflict resolution, umuahia: lumen press, 2018, 18. 37 nwankwo, ignatius uche. “traditional multiple level conflict resolution and the appeal system of the igbo group of southeast nigeria and the challenges of social change”, 39. 38 nwankwo, ignatius uche. “traditional multiple level conflict resolution”, 40. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 102 outside the community while the nwunye di (co-wives) refers to the organization of women married within a family, kindred, clan or community in their maternal homes. umuada exercises remarkable power in their natal homes due to their status as daughters of the soil. the fundamental background of this very group is that their strength lies in their union and complemenatarity. no single person makes up the “umu ada”. the prefix “umu” already signifies plurality and umuada work with communal strength. in performing the above social control functions, the umuada often adopt mechanisms like fine, demonstrations, gossip, praise and blame or expulsion of members as a way of expressing disapproval and to secure their demands. in sum, the umuada association was crucial in conflict resolution and social control in traditional igbo society. they enjoy profound respect even in contemporary times and their verdict in all mattes is taken seriously. appeals may however be taken to council of elders, and ozo title holders group.39 evaluation and conclusion it must be noted that despite the fact that igwebuike philosophy has an igbo semantic and cultural undertone, it is of universal relevance. it is not a philosophy specifically viable for the igbo people alone despite its uniqueness to the igbo people. despite its intrinsic worth, there are also certain areas of consideration which must be critically evaluated so as to make the best use of igwebuike philosophy. these shortcomings highlight the potential misconceptions, misappropriation or misapplications of igwebuike philosophy. it is often assumed by critiques of igwebuike philosophy that communality kills the autonomy of an individual. this assumption may not necessarily be true but if care is not taken, freedom and rights of individuals might be submerged and possibly suppressed in the strong tides of the community. more so, igwebuike philosophy runs the risk of collectivism. most times, in collectivism, the individual disappears.40 it is similar to a democratic worldview which considers the opinion of the greater majority since all the members of the community must not necessarily agree. in cases of misjudgment, compromise, bias, prejudice and conspiracy, popular opinion might not correspond to right judgments and decisions. the rich and influential people might also impose their thoughts on others. 39 nwankwo, ignatius uche. “traditional multiple level conflict resolution”, 41. 40 ozioma, j. nwachukwu. communalism in african traditional worldview, lagos: change pub, 2017, 71. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 103 the igwebuike ideology is also established on the commonalities of interest and socio-political or socio-cultural background. its emphasis on numerical strength might actually breed an undue hegemony as those with higher numerical strength can intimidate others and issue undue treatments to the less numerically privileged few based on this ideology. the igwebuike philosophy when wrongly conceived will breed a problem of paucity of integration. there is also a tendency to consider those outside ones circle as enemies, strangers and treated as second class citizens. this is because humans can be consigned into believing that reality is genuine only within their individual circles. there will hence be a tendency to trust only those who are closer to us like kinsmen and family members. conflict resolution and sustainable development imply the ability of a society to improve the relational affinity and socio-economic standards of its citizens through various measures. from the igwebuike perspective, the adopted approach must be complementary and balanced – built upon the principle of solidarity. this work thus concludes by affirming that despite the alarming rate of conflicts ad violence in our society today, a change of approach and employment of dialogue through igwebuike consciousness will help to reduce tension in the society. it will help in building mutual understanding and respect in the society and by so doing, enhancing sustainable development among the igbo people of nigeria. this research aims to re-awaken the spirit of participation in the life of others in the igbo community; a call to a mutual service for common good. recommendations in the face of ever-increasing complexities, the igbo people have continued to employ igbo categories in search for a solution to their many problems. this work thus employs the holistic, inclusive and complementary category of igwebuike as a model for both conflict resolution and sustainable development. peace and progress are the hallmarks of every developing society and they are both realities derived from mutual relational affinities between individuals. hence, they are products of unity; unity is synonymous to peace and progress. in the igbo worldview, peace is not merely an abstract construct; it is a reality which links with the life lived in the human community. 41 this idea is best captured in the complementary philosophy of igwebuike which stresses that solidarity and supplementary relationship built upon common background are 41 anthony, kwakporo nwogu. the christian eucharist and oriko, 40. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 104 very vital for social cohesion and advancement. it does not abrogate the importance of individual autonomy but stress an interdependent relationship whereby everyone assumes a social responsibility for the welfare of one another in the society. hence, the intercultural philosophy of igwebuike calls for a global action in conflict resolution and a socio-anthropological communal involvement in a bid to create an enabling environment for development. the igbos should concentrate on the fact that “together in peculiarities, the igbos can make a formidable whole”. hence, as a sort of recommendation, igbos should appreciate more the philosophical heritage of their founding patrimony since the conventional western courts are now dominated by injustice and nepotism. the high cost of litigation in these courts is quite alarming while the traditional means of conflict resolution do not charge fees for services rendered. therefore, in issues of dispute resolution, the adoption of the igwebuike philosophy should be taken with utmost priority. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 5 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 57 a critical reflection on the biafran agitations and the questions of nigerian amalgamation in 1914 amanambu, uchenna ebony, ph.d methodist church nigeria, umuobiala, isuikwuato l.g.a abia state email: ebonyuchem@gmail.com abstract historically, at the arrival of the european colonials, many african tribes were forcefully conscripted to form most of the present states. after much pressure, they gained independence from the colonial masters but these colonies inherited the same mentality, arrangements and system from their old colonial masters. virtually all the boundaries of these colonies were superimposed on the land with little or no regard for the culturally coherent groups of people. nigeria founded in 1914 by the colonialists is a good example of the loose correspondence between nation and state that exist in africa today. just as it is in the cases of middle east, turkey, iraq and iran which are homes to kurdish tribe who are now minority in each of these countries. the kurdish has made repeated attempts to break away from each of these countries to form their own original unified states. the striking features of these former colonies have been unhealthy mismatches of statehood and nationhood. some of the handy terms from these groups are “resource control, marginalization, secession and restructuring”. nigeria is almost at a cross road because of how to build a national cohesion. this is because in addition to the avoidable but self inflicted nigerian-biafran war, the current fearful and fierce agitations for the independent biafra, many leaders and other tribes have risen to question the rationale of the amalgamation and existence of the country as one. keywords: biafra, agitation, amalgamation, nigeria, igbo. introduction arguably, there are two issues that have dominated public discourse in nigeria lately. they are the performance of the current administration vis-à-vis their 2014/2015 campaign promises especially the horrible economic situation and the controversies surrounding biafra and the nigerian state. the later has been very sensational and forceful. the nigerian state where all these quagmires are raging came into being by the british amalgamation agenda of 1914 according to akani (1999) has over five hundred and ten (510) languages and dialects are spoken within its borders of nigeria (p.61). there is also an important religious, split, as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 58 the north is primarily muslim and the south primarily christian. until 1960, nigeria was a british colony and like most colonies, it was not basically constructed for internal coherence but rather for the administrative and economic convenience of the british. apart from the nigerian biafran war between 1967 and 1970, the pressure and movements of biafra secession have gathered ferocious momentum especially in recent time. while some believe it is achievable, others term it “politics” and many others believe it is part of nigerian deficient social structure. there have been series of arguments as to whether the biafran movements and agitations are legal. obviously, the federal republic of nigerian 1999 constitution, the african charter on human and peoples' rights of 1981, the common wealth of nations declaration on democracy, human rights and good governance of 1990, united nations' declaration of human rights of 1945 and her other humanitarian laws make provisions for the engagement and actualization of self determination so long as the principles of non-violence are strictly maintained. whatever the case, the latest movements and agitations for the independent of biafra state out of nigerian state has not been in the interest of nigeria either. clarification of some terms critical means making a careful judgment about the good and bad qualities of something or somebody. reflection is the act of casting one’s mind back so as to give a careful thought and consideration on something. biafra-is a republic founded in the eastern nigeria which existed from 30th may, 1967 to january, 1970. agitations-the plural form of “agitation” means a situation in which people protest or argue especially in public with the aim of achieving a particular goal. questions-the plural of the term “question” have many entries but here it implies a subject or point for debate, dispute, controversy or a problem for discussion, under discussion and a matter for investigation. amalgamation is the combination of one or more companies to form a larger entity in the context of this study, a critical reflection on the biafran agitations and the questions of amalgamation of nigeria in 1914 means unbiased analyses of why there have been incessant demands by the igbo tribe to pull out from the merger of 1914 which metamorphosed into the present day nigerian state. adopting the theory that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere as propounded martin luther king jr, this study is enthused by the fact that the unification has been directly and indirectly blamed for almost all the instabilities in the country including the irrepressible movements and agitations for the secession of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 59 biafrans from the 1914 merger of other entities that formed the present day nigeria. highlights on the pre-colonial, colonial and post colonial nigerian politics abiola (1984) states that between the eleventh century and the european colonial conquest in the nineteenth century, the area known as nigeria today was homes of sophisticated kingdoms and societies (p.153). the meaning of a kingdom is the existence of a king and without a king, there will be no kingdom. adigwe (1979) said that the sokoto caliphate was conquered in 1903 and after the conquests the british were able to create the northern nigerian protectorate. in 1906, the colony of lagos and the protectorate of southern nigeria which included the former niger coast protectorates that were hitherto administered separately were merged and became the southern protectorates. lugard who had gone to hong kong as a governor for six years later returned to nigeria in 1912 and two years later, from january 1914 amalgamated both the southern and northern protectorates and the newly united colony was presided over by a proconsul, who was given the title of a governor-general of nigeria (p.170). olusanya (1999) notes that nigeria had its first constitution in 1922, usually regarded as the clifford constitution and its committee comprised fifteen unofficial members nominated by the government, three unofficial members representing lagos, calabar municipal and the east as well as thirty official members (p.544). salmone (1991) has submitted that the emirs settled more into their roles as reliable agents of indirect rule (p.55). anyaele (1987) states that britain agreed then to share power and responsibility with nigerian politicians though on representative institutions only. nigeria was granted independence on 1st october, 1960 under a constitution that provided for a parliamentary system of government. the constitution gave a substantial measure of selfgovernment for the country's already created three regions. abogurin (1999) affirms that the major political parties in the early republic such as ncnc, ag and npc had emerged in the late 1940s and early 1950s as regional parties (p.86). however, tanko (2003) argues that at independence, even when the departing colonialists favoured the npc’s view above other political parties, none of them could form enough strong party to control the national government. therefore, a coalition was adopted that produced tafawa belewa as the prime minister while nnamdi azikiwe became the governor-general and later the president after the republic in 1963 (p.6). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 60 meanwhile, the military came on the scene on 15th january 1966, when major nzeogwu and five other majors staged a coup-d'état that claimed the lives of many people including ahmadu bello, tafawa belewa, col. unegbe and others. uwechue (2003) said that the coup of 1966, though, later turned sour, brought in major general aguiyi ironsi as the ruler between january and june 1966. when ironsi took over in 1966, he appointed military governors for the four regions. another coup was staged by the northern soldiers in july of the same year and it claimed the life of ironsi (pp.34-64). ademolekum (1985) confirms that the exit of ironsi's regime brought in general gowon who divided the four regions into twelve states. the eastern region under lt colonel ojukwu rejected the move (p.11). oyewole and lucas (2000) note that ojukwu's demand that the most senior military officer in the army being brigadier ogundikpe should succeed ironsi instead of lt col. gowon was rejected by t.y. danjuma, murtala mohamed, martin adamu and other northern groups who carried out the mutiny. with this and other factors such as massacring of the igbo people in the north and gowon's inability to abide by the aburi accord made late general ojukwu to declare the independence of biafra and the nigerian civil war ensued (p.401). modupe (2000) states that the often mentioned aburi accord was held in aburi of accra in ghana with the aim of averting the impending nigerian civil war (p.35). the war ensued with bitter and bloody ending in the defeat of biafra in 1970. anyaele (1987) said that gowon's administration was knocked out of office after series of allegations such as corruption and inability to announce a realistic time for civilian hand-over (p.301). awosefo (2005) avers that murtala mohammed and his group took over the government (p.136). furthermore, ademolekum (1985) said that murtala mohammed's regime was short lived through a bloody coup of 13th feb.1976 while his second incommand general obasanjo, completed his programme of civilian rule that later produced shehu shagari as the president in 1979 (p.22). oyewole and lucas (2000) affirm that there were six political parties that contested for the elections during the shehu shagari era. in 1985, mohammad buhari took over the government from shehu shagari through a coup d’état (p.474). awosefo (2005) states that buhari’s government was on 27th august 1985 overthrown through a bloodless coup that produced ibrahim babangida. he continued until in 1993, when he bowed to public pressure after the annulment of the widely-talked about june 12th 1993 election believed to have been won by late m.k.o abiola. he inaugurated the interim national government headed by shonekan and in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 61 his word “stepped aside”. but on 17th november 1993, late general sani abacha forced shonekan to resign and he took over government (pp.143-144). abacha died in office on 8th june, 1998 (p.11). adamolekum (1999) confirms that abdulsalami abubbakar, who handed over to a civilian rule under olusegun obasanjo, on 29th may, 1999 took over after abacha’s death. therefore, the death of abacha and the transition agenda carried out by his successor, abdulsalami brought about the fourth republic (p.24). nigeria re-attained democracy on 29th may 1999, when it elected olusegun obasanjo who after eight years handed over to umar yar'adua on 29th may, 2007. after prolonged illness, yar'adua died on 5th may 2010. then with the “doctrine of necessity” as propounded by the national assembly, the acting president, goodluck jonathan who acted as vice president before then was on 6th may 2010, sworn in as the replacement for the late yar'adua. jonathan picked namadi sambo, the former governor of kaduna state to be his deputy until in 2015 when they vacated offices for general mohammad buhari (rtd) and prof. yemi osinbajo respectively. brief history of biafra according to anseth (2015), there was a biafra before it lost its sovereignty to colonial powers. early modern maps of africa from the 15th-19th centuries, drawn by european cartographers from accounts written by explorers and travelers, reveal that the original word used by the european travelers was not biafra but “biafara”, “biafar” and “biafares” (p.3). biafraland.com said that biafra is an almost rhomboid shaped territory which is demarcated to the west by the lower reaches of the river niger and its delta, to the east by the obudu plateau and the highlands of oban and ikom, to the south by the bight of biafra and to the north by an administrative boundary following, approximately, the seven (7) deg. n. latitude. the total area is over twenty nine thousand four hundred (29,400) square miles (p.34). the biafran state was officially recognized by gabon, haiti, ivory coast, tanzania, and zambia. other nations which did not make formal their recognition but provided support and assistance to biafra includes israel, france, spain, portugal, norway, rhodesia, south africa and the vatican city. some of the metamorphoses of 1966 biafran struggle the struggle for the state of biafra which many people hoped to have ended courtesy of the nigeria biafran war has given birth to at least three known movements that have continued with the ideals and vision of the struggles. even igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 62 though their approaches differ, the mission remains the same. these movements include movement for the actualization of the sovereign state of biafra (massob), biafra zionist movement (bzm) and indigenous people of biafra (ipob). nnanna (2015) said that barrister ralph uwazuruike led the actualization of the sovereign state of biafra (massob) which popped up in the middle 1990s and declared a non-violent agitation. massob mustered the youths, held rallies and planted the biafran flag, often getting into serious odds with the police and other security agencies. in 2012, another activist, barrister ben onwuka, came up with his biafra zionist movement (bzm) and staged an abortive invasion of the enugu state government house, the symbolic “biafran seat of power” (p.3). kanu’s incendiary broadcasts gave flesh to ipob which is the acronym for the indigenous people of biafra. the movement has succeeded in mobilizing millions of igbo youths worldwide who have been protesting the peace of nigerian embassies and officials around the world. the routine demonstrations and protests, which started long before his arrest got me worried for several reasons. all these movements claim to be the original inhabitants and rightful owners of the lands and communities of the southeast, some parts of south-south and middle belt nigeria. biafra and the questions of nigerian 1914 amalgamation the issue surrounding the nigerian amalgamation has remained a controversy in nigeria. it has received more of negative appraisals than positive ones. for example, paden (1986) avers that dr. nnamdi azikiwe once said to sir ahmadu bello, “let us forget our differences”... but bello responded, “no, let us understand our differences. i am a muslim and a northerner. you are a christian, an easterner”(pp.66-98). in the same way, amanambu (2012) succinctly samples some of the perceptions of nigerians rulers about the 1914 amalgamation thus, chief obafemi awolowo said, “nigeria is not a nation. it is a mere geographical expression” in 1948, sir abubakar tafawa balewa stated in the legislative council, “since 1914 the british government has been trying to make nigeria into one country but the nigerian people themselves are historically different in their backgrounds in their religious beliefs and customs and do not show themselves any sign of willingness to unite...nigerian unity is only a british intention for the country.” sir ahmadu bello described the amalgamation of the northern and the southern provinces as “the mistake of 1914.” in his maiden broadcast as head of state on 1st august, 1966 general yakubu gowon did say, “the basis of unity is not there”. one time viceigwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 63 president of nigeria, alex ekwueme states, “ours is hardly a federation except in name” (pp.122-123). similarly, richard akinjide, former nigerian attorney general and minister of justice in akinnola (2000) said that nigeria is a very complex country whose problems started in 1894 when lord lugard arrived. major lugard was not originally employed by the british government but he was employed by companies. he was first employed by east indian company, the royal east african company and then the royal niger company. it was from the royal niger company that he transferred to the british government (p.2). fafowora (2013) confirms that britain was not looking for new colonies or territories in west africa but was preoccupied with the penchant for trade and free markets (p.13). ishiekwenesep (2011) quotes richard akinjide as having argued that unless people know the background of the amalgamation, people will not know the root causes of nigerian problems. according to him, in 1898, lugard formed the west african frontier force initially with two thousand soldiers and about ninety (90) percent of them were drawn from the north and that was the beginning of nigerian problems. it led all the coups and counter-coups in nigeria. in some of his dispatches to london, lugard said a number of things which are the root causes of yesterday and today’s nigerian problems. the amalgamation of the south without necessarily the people became crucially important to british business interests. they needed a railway from the north to the coast in the interest of their business. lugard said that the north was poor, they had no resources to run the protectorate of the north, had no access to the sea and that the south had resources and educated people. therefore, because it was not the policy of the british government to bring the tax-payers money to run the protectorate rather it was in the interest of the british tax payers that there should be the amalgamation. what the british amalgamated was the administration of the north and south. “in fact, the so-called nigeria created in 1914 was a complete fraud”. it was created not in the interest of nigeria or nigerians but in the interest of the british. the structures created were as follows: northern nigeria was to represent england, western nigeria like wales while eastern nigeria was to be like scotland. in the british structure, england has permanent majority in the house of commons. there is no way wales can ever dominate england neither can scotland dominate britain. but they are very shrewd to the point that they may allow a scot to become a prime minister and they can allow a welsh to become prime minister in london but the fact remains igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 64 that the actual power is rested in england. thus, lugard created a kind of nigeria where a permanent majority goes to the north. the population figure at that time was so fraudulent that a british colonial civil servant who was involved in the fraud tried to expose it but he was never allowed to publish it (pp.9-11). the stand of biafra on the theory of nigerian amalgamation may not be different from the rest of many other nigerians. apart from those milking from the national patrimony many have questioned the rationale behind the amalgamation. beside other factors as enumerated earlier, laccino (2015) avers that biafra movements have declared the expiration of a so-called “amalgamation contract”. they cited the time fractured as one of their reasons to justify their position. according to them, the amalgamation contract must within one hundred years. in view of the above, there are many causative factors that negatively authenticate the expiration of that document and propel the biafran agitators. the metonymy and the extant causes of the biafran agitations the faultiness and deceptive motives of the unification: the foundation for the unification was deceptive and thus created imbalance among the people. whenever a process of building any long lasting venture is faulty and fraudulent, with time the result will be questionable. the british interest in the unification was purely to enlarge their commercial and political horizons. the people including the biafrans have risen to question it. onumah (2015) believes that those who view the biafran agitation and rampaging fulani herdsmen killers as an igbo and fulani problems respectively are not well informed or subjective (p.5). in other words, all the ugly tides in nigeria are the products of faulty establishments carried over by faulty leadership. structured suppression, injustice, hatred, insecurity and desire for survival: arguably, the british planted the seed for the persecution and marginalization of the igbo race. hence, dr. nnamdi azikiwe in a speech at the meeting of the igbo state assembly (isa) in aba, in present day abia state on saturday, 25th june, 1949, lamented the social, economic and political persecution which the igbo tribe had been subjected to. similarly, general effiong the man who surrendered biafra to nigeria remarked, “throughout history, injured people have had to resort to arms in their self defense where peaceful negotiation (sic) have failed. we are no exception. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 65 we took up arms because of the sense of insecurity generated in our people by the events of 1966. we have fought in defense of that cause”. the most brazen injustice against igbo tribe was that sinister and cold-blooded murder of her sons and daughters by the nigerian state for no justifiable reason. the pogroms against them include, jos 1945 massacre, kano 1953 and 1966 pogrom and 1967-1970 igbo genocide. it has been hoped that the country has learnt her lessons but after the war, odey (2009) said that many igbo people have been gruesomely murdered in the primes of their lives in the north. for example, akaluka was slaughtered in kano in 1994 (p.41). unarguably, this could have reminded the igbo tribe of the past biafran war experiences. ogbeche (2016) notes that methodus chimaije emmanuel, a 24-year-old igbo christian trader based in padongari, niger state was on sunday 29th may, 2016 butchered with three other persons including one personnel of the nigeria security and civil defence corps and about thirty shops looted by hausa muslims over allegations of blasphemy (p.3). muhammad (2016) concurs that a 74 year old igbo woman, bridget agbahime was on thursday 2nd june, 2016 gruesomely slaughtered by hausa muslims at kofar wambai market kano in the presence of her husband over alleged blasphemy (p.6) in the area of infrastructural developments, it is on record that the southeast has no single functional international airport. the river niger cannot be in any other part of the nigeria without being dredged and accorded a befitting seaport, let alone building another bridge that will support the ailing one. there is no federal government industry that can beef up markets in igbo-land. since the abolition of regionalism and the introduction of statism in 1967, no befitting railway has been constructed throughout igbo-land. all other geopolitical zones have the minimum of six states but the case is different with the south eastern zone. all roads in igbo land are death traps. the only federal government presence in igbo land is the brazen floodgate of its legion of security apparatus with her sophisticated arms in order to taunt and attack massob and ipob members especially with the so-called “operation python dance”. despite the non-violent posture of the biafran movements, they are being hounded and murdered with impunity while states such as kaduna and benue where thousands of people have been roasted by the rampaging fulani herdsmen and sharia agitators have not received such militarized exercises. the nature and pattern of federal appointments in nigeria is another inflammable factor in the agitations of biafra. for example, abdulrahman (2015) lists the first and second batches of appointments made in the current nigerian administration which igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 66 sparked off outrage across the country especially among the igbo speaking areas. they are aide de camp: lt. col abubakar lawal (kano state, north-west and husband to president buhari’s foster daughter), special adviser, media and publicity: femi adesina (osun state, south-west), senior special assistant, media and publicity: garba shehu (kano state, north-west), state chief of protocol/special assistant (presidential matters): lawal abdullahi kazaure (jigawa state, north-west), accountant general of the federation: ahmed idris (kano state, north-west), national security adviser: babagana monguno (borno state, north-east), chief of defence staff, abayomi olonishakin (ekiti state, south-west), chief of army staff: tukur buratai (borno state, north-east), chief of naval staff: ibok-ete ekwe ibas (cross rivers, south-south), chief of air staff, sadique abubakar (bauchi state, north-east), chief of defence intelligence: monday riku morgan (benue state, north-central), director general, state security services: lawal daura (katsina state, north-west), acting chairperson, independent national electoral commission, inec, amina zakari (jigawa state, north-west later replaced with prof yakubu mamood (bauchi, north east), managing director, nigerian ports authority: habibu abdulahi (kano state, north-west), special adviser, niger delta amnesty office: paul boroh (bayelsa state, south-south), acting director general, nigerian maritime administration, safety and security agency: baba haruna jauro (yobe state, north-east), executive vice chairman/chief executive officer, nigerian communications commission: umaru dambatta (kano state, north-west), executive chairman, federal inland revenue service: babatunde fowler (lagos state, south-west), director general, budget office of the federation: aliyu gusau (zamfara state, north-west), group managing director, nigeria national petroleum corporation, nnpc, emmanuel kachikwu (delta state, south-south later replaced with dr maikanti kacalla baru (bauchi north east), secretary to government of the federation, babachir david lawal (adamawa, north east), chief of staff to the president: abba kyari (borno, north-east), comptrollergeneral, nigerian customs service: hameed ibrahim ali (bauchi state-north east), comptroller-general, nigerian immigration service: kure martin abeshi (nasarawa state, north-central), senior special assistant on national assembly matters (senate): ita enang (akwa ibom state, south-south). senior special assistant on national assembly matters (house of representatives): suleiman kawu (kano state, north-west), director, department of petroleum resources, modecai baba ladan (niger, north-central) managing director, asset management company of nigeria, amcon, ahmed lawan kuru (kanonorthwest), commissioner for insurance and chief executive of the national insurance commission, mohammed kari (kano-north-west) (pp.4-6). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 67 nobody from the south east (igbo) was reportedly considered for appointment even as a gatekeeper was appointed in these tranches of appointments. this is the first time nobody from the south east geopolitical is represented in the national security meeting. in as much as the state of origin should not matter where productivity is prioritized. however, in heterogeneous society like nigeria where national appointments are considered the rights to enjoying “national cake”, sidelining any section in key appointment is often a subject of unhealthy misinterpretations. it cannot be logically and justifiably explained or proved that there are no qualified and capable individuals from the igbo group who can handle national assignments. moreso, naturally, there seems to be an aspect of human instinct that reacts against perceived and proven injustice. meanwhile, nnanna (2015) argues that the youth have seen how igbo students were allotted higher cut off marks than their counter parts before they gain admission into federal schools. they have watched with shock how the presidency of nigeria has changed hands between the north and the west. they have even seen how a southern minority held it for five years only for it to go back to the north with a western vice president which indicates where it might be heading next. amidst these prevailing situations, several questions boil in their minds such as, “does it mean that igbo people do not matter? were they forced back to nigeria only to be kept in subjugation?” the first six months of the president muhammadu buhari regime has made matters maddeningly worse. all the positions in the three branches of the federal government that matter have been handed over to arewa muslims with igbo indigenes present in this government only as ministers (pp.9-10). similarly, kumolu, ebegbulem, enogholase, nwabughiogu, agbakwuru, una and bello (2017) account of an outrage that spread in some parts of the country over lopsided recruitment into the department of state service (dss). for example, katsina state, the home state of president buhari and the director-general of dss got fifty one (51) of the four hundred and seventy nine (479) new recruits which was more than the forty four (44) new cadets recruited from the five south-eastern states. however, senator ekweremadu, said the reality on ground is that buhari administration has excluded the igbo people from nigeria. he decried the sacking of the national pension commission (pencom) director-general, mrs. chinelo anohu-amazu from anambra state just two years into her statutory five year and her replacement with aliyu dikko from kaduna state against the provisions of the pension reforms act 2014 (p.7). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 68 it is into such a festering atmosphere that massob and ipob resurrected the aborted struggle by the igbo tribe between 1967 and 1970 to abandon nigeria and establish their own independent republic. they had aimed at establishing a “land of freedom” where they will be free from “internal slavery”. according to nnanna (2015), col joe achuzia, biafran war hero and secretary-general of the indigenous people of biafra (ipob) sums it thus “we fought for survival! we fought to prevent us from being exterminated (p.7). according to nwachukwu (2017), prof. pat utomi argues that biafra is a metaphor for discontent writ from many nigerians. the people in the north-east are biafrans because they are unhappy with nigeria. many people in the north-central are biafrans because they are unhappy due to herdsmen destruction. many in the south-south are biafrans because they are unhappy with nigeria and across nigeria, there is a general democratization of discontent among majority of the people (p.13). the biafra struggle for a republic out of nigeria is simply secession-garbed reactions of the igbo tribe against the perceived and real structured injustice, dehumanization, nepotism, gang-up and hatred meted out to them by the nigerian state and nigerians. why biafran agitations have been sensationally attractive ironically, many opinion leaders in igbo land did not support biafran agitations. for instance, nwosu (2000) notes that an umbrella group of all igbo organizations in nigeria, ohaneze ndigbo and odumegwu ojukwu who led the 1967 secessionist struggle unequivocally denounced and dissociated themselves from massob (p.2) in view of these, what then have made these agitations highly attractive? poor state responses adekunle (2017) argues that the responses of nigerian government to biafran have been disappointing. he cites the case of the leader of ipob who was made a hero by holding him close two years of incomprehensible judicial rigmarole and executive procrastination. his final release on bail with these stringent conditions made him more popular. for instance, he was asked to (a) produce three sureties who must deposit the sum of one hundred million naira each, (b) produce a highly placed person of igbo extraction, (c) produce a respected person who resides and owns landed property in abuja and ensure that (d) one of the sureties must be a highly respected jewish leader;(e) must not attend any rally or grant an interview; (f) must not be in a crowd exceeding ten persons and (g) must surrender his nigerian and british passports. but surprisingly within three days, the bail conditions were met. apart from the trial igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 69 itself being needless, it is doubtful whether the stringency of the bail conditions did not violate the purpose of a fair trial and the constitutionality of bail (p.2). perhaps, the government had thought that the incarceration of nnamdi kanu and other ipob members would silence the agitations but to the chagrins of both government and others, the issue was kept on the front burner for the entire duration of the incarceration of the ipob leader. unarguably, the previously little or unknown nnamdi kanu and the ipob soared into global significance swallowing the popularity of its rival, the movement for the actualization of the sovereign state of biafra (massob). nnamdi kanu has received the supports many reputable figures such as charles soludo, pat utomi, uzor kalu, peter obi among others. it can be argued that the government hopes of defeating or silencing the group with state security forces have not bore fruit. this is because biafra is a movement that exists more in the mind and can only be defeated with superior ideology. biafra has over the years morphed into an ideology, partly as a result of the complicity of an insensitive government that failed to understand the beginnings of the movement and was also unable to offer a closure to the fractures and contradictions that triggered the 1967-1970 nigerian civil war. the inability and unwillingness of state actors to correct the faulty foundation associated with the amalgamation of nigeria: as it has been adroitly noted, virtually everything that nigeria is facing today come as result of the fact that the europeans instituted and established marginalization, ethnicity, inept leadership, fraudulent methods of imposing rulers, south and north dichotomy, religious intolerance, electoral fraud, corruption and impunity are among some of the unwanted factors that are questioning the 1914 amalgamation of nigeria. but surprisingly, the rulers pay lip services to these factors probably because they are beneficiaries of the faultiness of the state. in this type of environment, biafra agitations become attractive to the shortchanged groups. the mentality of majoring in the minor: if the amount of energy dissipated by the rulers and state of nigeria in fighting the biafran agitators and oppositions is channeled towards checkmating the fulani herdsmen’s genocidal activities and improving the lives of nigerians, undoubtedly the agitations for biafra will be less attractive. but because the state actors and the state itself have not prioritized what is needful, these agitators have capitalized the loopholes to create uneasiness in the country. igbo land is militarized because of nonviolent massob and ipob groups while boko haram and fulani herdsmen are feasting on innocent blood in bornu, yobe, adamawa, kaduna and benue states. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 70 leaders have not learnt their lessons from the previous wars. one of the reasons why the agitations for biafra have been ongoing is because nigerian leaders and their followers have never learnt from their mistakes. according to umoru and alaribe (2017), senator ike ekweremadu while reacting to the humanitarian crises in the north-east said that the crises arose because nigerian rulers have not learnt any lesson from the causes and crises of the nigeria biafran war. they have failed to build the internal capacity and mechanisms for managing such situation (p.8). whenever a leader succumbs to the pressure of placing sentiment above reasoning and sound-mindedness, the outbreaks of war, violence, overt and covert conflicts, crises and squabbles with their fatalities are bound to occur. biafran agitations and other agitations lay credence to these facts. nigerian civil war could have been avoided if the leaders have allowed reasons to dictate their actions and inactions. household enemies: another depressing factor fuelling of biafra agitations in nigeria is the brazen impunity of many igbo political rulers. virtually all the manageable state roads across igbo land were roads built after the civil war by the likes of late sam mbakwe and few others. all the monies accrued to these states from federal government and the exorbitant taxations they muscle out from the poor masses are serially wasted by these politicians and their cronies. if they have done things differently by providing leadership, biafra agitations and its attendant consequences could have been checkmated. towards checkmating the resurgence of biafra agitations i. nigerians seem to be reactive people and hardly pro-act. nigerian leaders will usually wait for trouble to brew before scampering for solutions. leaders should be proactive in managing the ingredients that breed the agitations. ii. igbo people should not be overtly or covertly reminded of the gory of the civil war. iii. the no victor no vanquished statement of general gowon after the civil war has been a ruse. let urgent and concrete steps be taken to address it. iv. let the youths and the other agitators be made to channel their energy towards the moves for restructuring the country on the path of justice because using the southern sudan’s experience, there is no guarantee that biafra republic will be the messianic and utopian society they are longing for. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 71 v. let justice, equity, sense of reason and fairness be hallowed by the leaders because they are the bedrock of any progressive society. conclusion more than one hundred years after the lugard’s amalgamation and forty-two years after the end of the devastating nigeria biafran civil war in which government troops fought and defeated biafran secessionists, the dream of independence has not died. despite the fear and tears that are raging in the land, the biafran flags still coloured almost every corner of the major igbo states. the name “biafra” means different things to different people. to those in top political positions of the country whose interests are at stake, biafra is an unwanted element that should be destroyed. to some of them from the biafran side that witnessed the horrors of the war, it is a negative issue that should not be recalled. it means tragedy of diseases, kwashiorkor, killings, genocide and man’s inhumanity against his fellow men. to few enlightened and objective nigerians, biafra means injustice, denials and suppressions. but the present crops of igbo youths find the name very attractive, lovely, respectful, hopeful and many men, women and children waved the flags with hope and dream. a hope born from the very depth of their souls and the dream of a nation whose sun would one day rise up high to shine forth for justice and equity. the recent sit-at-homeorder by the ipob to commemorate the biafra day across the southeast and some south-southern states had said it all. in the midst of the state misguided responses to the biafra agitations in nigeria, there are issues that must critically be considered and they are the dangers these agitations pose to other peaceful individuals who want squalor in the midst of debilitating nigerian atmosphere spurred by corruption and structural injustice. secondly, there is no guarantee that subsequent governments in the future will draw positive lessons from the impasse largely occasioned by governments’ poor responses. conclusively, a well breast fed child can only do these two things: the child either sleeps or goes on to play. therefore, as long as injustice, oppression, dehumanization and hatred reign in the nigerian state, biafran agitations and questions on the amalgamation theory will continue. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 72 references abiola, o. (1984). a textbook of west african history ad 1000 to the present day. ado-ekiti: omolayo abdulrahman, a. (2015). outrage grows across nigeria as buhari’s lopsided appointments continue. http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news abogurin, s.o. (1999.). religion and democracy in nigeria orita journal of religious studies. ibadan: xxxi/1.pp.286-98. adekunle, a.a. (2017). ipob’s kanu and the road to erehwon the nation. 30th april. ademolekun, l. (1985). the fall of the second republic. ibadan: spectrum. ademolekun, t. (1999). the role of religion in the political and ethical reorientation of nigeria in orita journal of religious studies. ibadan: xxxi/12. pp.19-28 adigwe, f. (1979). essentials of government for west africa. ibadan: university press. akani, a.a. (1999. “theodemocracy and islamic approach to nigerian’s quest for a political ideology” orita journal of religious studies. ibadan: xxxi/1-2, pp.61-70. akinnola, r. (2000). excerpts from the book “fellow country menthe story of coup d’etats in nigeria. amanambu, u.e. (2012). sharia implementation: a challenge to the nigerian nation state. okigwe: whytem. anyaele, j. (1987). comprehensive government for schools. lagos: johnson. anseth, m. (2015). name of biafra-origin-meaning. http://www.nairaland.com. accessed 2nd feb. 2017. awofeso, o. (2005). “military disengagement from politics in africa: the nigeria experience” in oyari o. eds. issues in african politics. nigeria: data-globe. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 73 fafowora, d. (2013).lord lugard and the 1914 amalgamation of nigeria. the nation 14th feb. kumolu, c. ebegbulem, s. enogholase, g, nwabughiogu, l, agbakwuru, j, una, e and bello, b. (2017). “outrage over fg’s appointments and why katsina got 51 dss slots” vanguard april 30 iaccino, l. (2015). ipob, massob and buhari's government: how is nigeria dealing with probiafran separatist movements? 29th july. http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/ipob-massob modupe, o. (2000). the shariy’ah debate in nigeria. ibadan: sefer. nwachukwu, j.o. (2017). “why every nigerian is a biafran-pat utomi” dailypost 8th may. nwosu, p. (2000). “nigeria: ohanaeze declares biafra dead ... disowns massob.” post express 12 may. odey, j.o. (2009). c.a.n. my foot: the reckless utterance of a wilful president. lagos: emmafids olusanya, g.o. (1999). “constitutional development in nigeria since 18611960” in ikime, o (ed) groundwork of nigerian history. ibadan: heinemann onumah, c. (2015). “we are all biafrans!”sahararepoter 7th dec. oyewole, a. & lucas, j. (2000). historical dictionary of nigeria. maryland: scarecrow paden, i. n. (1986). ahmadu bello sarduana of sokoto values and leadership in nigeria. london: hodder and stoughton. salmone, f. (1999). “ethnic identities and religion” religion and society in nigeria historical and sociological perspectives. ed. olupona jacob and toyin falola. ibadan: spectrum, pp.45-64. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 74 tanko, p. (2003). “inter-religious dialogue as a tool for the transformation of northern nigeria” bulletin of ecumenical theology. 15(.1) pp.1-36. ishiekwenesep t. (2011). the amalgamation of nigeria was a frauda rejoinder! sharareport 15th june. umoru, h and alaribe, u. (2017). we failed to learn from biafran warekweremadu. vanguard 19th march. uwechue, r.(2003). reflections on the nigerian civil war: facing the future. london: wordmithess. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 18 ethno-religious conflicts and the role of the church in central nigeria: a challenge to the church jones ugochukwu odili (ph.d.) department of religious and cultural studies, university of port harcourt east-west road, choba, port harcourt, rivers state nigeria +1238055313264; +1237038133706; jonesuodili@yahoo.com; jonesuodiligmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.10379.82727 abstract religion has played crucial but ambiguous roles in the history of humanity. it has been a viable tool for reconciliation and conflict resolution. this paper, “ethno-religious conflicts and the role of the church in central nigeria: a challenge to the church”, enquires into the conditions that precipitate ethno-religious conflicts in central nigerian. the author explains that a group’s definition of her membership or citizenship in terms of ownership and habitation of indigenous territories, migratory history and myths of putative ancestral links are formulated and manipulated in order to establish contested territorial claims. it demonstrates that most of the conflicts in nigeria which arose out of ethno-religious protests have been given religious coloration. using the noam chomsky’s theory of “hippocratic principle” and the jain’s concept of ahimsa, the essay argues that the church in her quest for retributive justice in central nigeria should interpret and reinterpret history differently because working for peace and reconciliation is a very long process requiring for patience and long range plans. it, therefore submits that christians of central nigeria have to be reformed first before the vision of reformation of central nigeria could be viable. this essay makes a good analysis of ethno-religious conflicts. keywords: central nigeria, conflict resolution, reconciliation, restorative justice introduction religion has played crucial but ambiguous roles in the history of humanity. it is an obvious fact that religion’s influence on secular life is much more remarkable than vice versa. religion has been used to motivate and justify violence and conflicts, and to encourage tolerance, reconstruction of broken societies and ensure igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 19 global peace. this dual role of religion is quite bewildering. how can a thing be “hot” and “cold” synchronically? secondly, in the face of anti-tolerant religious beliefs which command adherents to strongly oppose those who hold a different view how can one say, “live and let’s live”? the question that would naturally follow is: how can one be a militant supporter of one’s view and an opponent of others who hold contrary view without generating conflict? how can a religion, which professes christ on the cross, condone violence? in the light of the varied and various religious conflicts that have ravaged the unity and peace of humanity, should religion be taken seriously in an all-important discussion of this national and regional transformation? this paper, “ethno-religious conflicts and the role of the church in central nigeria: a challenge to the church”, is therefore, poised to answer these and other puzzling questions. it shall investigate briefly the crucial but ambiguous roles religion has played in the history of humanity; enquire into the conditions which precipitate ethno-religious conflicts in central nigerian and demonstrate that most of the conflicts in nigeria which arose out of ethnic protests have been given religious coloration. using the noam chomsky’s theory of “hippocratic principle” and the jain’s concept of ahimsa, the essay will show that the quest for peace and reconciliation is a long term process that requires patience. it shall also illuminate on how religion creates the much-needed new man who sees man as man, to resolve conflicts; and that religion qua religion does not condone violence; while the unifying role of religion shall not be left out. finally, since every society has something called religion which influence one’s expression of oneself, an omission of religion in conflict resolution quite unthinkable. models of conflict resolution according to j. c. wenger1, conflict involves, “two opposing kingdoms: the one is the prince peace, the other price of strife.” similarly, van bright2 depicts conflict as involving two opposing forces; those who were “born by nature to seize and destroy” and those with “no desire for revenge”. for these anabaptists conflict is 1 wengcr, j. c. (ed.), the complete writings of menno silmons scottdale, (pa: herald press, 1956) 554. 2 van bright, t., the bloody theater or martyrs mirror. (scottdalc, pa: herald press, 1985) 427. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 20 of dual cosmology. generally, conflict is driven by unfulfilled needs of the people in terms of autonomy, sense of justice, identity, basic needs and rights of individuals. it is an experience of the heterogeneity of interests, values and beliefs that arise as new formations generated by social change come up against intrinsic and inevitable aspects of social change. although conflict is a persistent feature of modernity and a universal phenomenon, the manner and approach of how to transform potentially violent conflicts into non-violent alternatives is of great concern to us. throughout history, individuals and groups have handled conflict in multi-dimensional ways: evasion of fight, submission or voluntary subordination of goals and interest to the stronger party. conflict can be categorized into two: violent and non-violent conflict. a conflict is said to be violent when it involves damage, destruction or death by means that are authoritarian in the sense of overpowering consent and human dignity. nonviolent conflict refers to initiatives and practices of peacemaking, which actively transforms violent conflicts or latent ones.3. sam g. egwu4 states that ethnic and religious violence is the extreme manifestation of conflicts rooted in crises of identity. although, it involves grievance directed against state in capacity and failure of the existing asymmetry in the distribution of social and economic power with realistic effect, it can hardly be endowed as with revolutionary violence. the dominant dependency inherited from classical writers such as marx weber, karl marx and the functionalist tradition, was to reduce religion to some other epiphenomenon and denying it of any independent existence, religion was treated either as ignorance or error by the elites to keep lower classes assigned to misery. durkheim whose classical formation of religion is often cited merely presented a functional and conservative image of religion whose essence was the creation of common symbol for social coherent and continuity. some of the assertions found within these traditions are difficult to fault for example, what is regarded as the “standard” marxist position of the obscurantist role of religious relation to human emancipatory project is buttressed by the increased religiosity among members of the subaltern class or 3 stassen, glen h and m. i. wester moreland-white. “defining violence and no-violence” in teaching peace: non-violence and the liberal arts, ed. by j. denny weaver and g. bieseckermost. (london: rowman & littlefield. 2003) 17. 4 egwu, sam g., ethnic and religious violence in nigeria. (centre for democratic governance, 2001). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 21 the heightening of religious zeal and fundamentalism during periods of sweeping changes and massive economic decline as has been the case in nigeria since the 1980s. anifosose5 postulates that: violence or the threat of violence is a universal phenomenon. individuals and groups throughout history have in one way or another resorted to violence or its potential use as tactic of political action. violence has been used by groups seeking power, by groups holding power and by group on the process of losing power. violence has been pursued in the defense of order by the privilege, in the defense of justice by the oppressed, and in fear of displacement by the threatened. for many decades however, the study of ethno-religious and political violence was given negatively scanty treatment in the science literature. social theory has little to say about the occurrence of large scale violence which is regarded as being incidental to the basic character of structures and processes. according to ekwunife6 in, politics and religious intolerance, the nigerian experience: religion can be an-integrative factor in any society, when the divisive elements of religion is not properly handled and brought under strict control; they create tensions and un-rest in a society, often manifesting themselves in forms of religious riots and intolerance. shedrack g. best7 asserts that, there are diverse opinions concerning the sources and causes of conflicts. but most scholars agree that the causes of conflict can be reduced to three broad classifications, namely: resources driven conflicts, conflicts over values and those over psychological needs. onigu otite8 in ethnic groups and conflicts in nigeria identified many factors that usually lead to the occurrence of conflicts/violence in nigeria. he said that the 5 anifosose a., violence and politics in nigeria: the yoruba and tiv experience, (london: nok, 1979) 1. 6 ekwunife, n., politics and religious intolerance, the nigerian experience,( n.p., 1992) 5. 7 best, gaya shedrack, introduction to peace and conflict resolution in west africa, (ibadan: spectrum, 2007) 10. 8 otite, onigu, group and conflict in nigeria, (akoko: n.p., 2005). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 22 concept of ethnicity in nigeria involves the factor of territoriality, the nigeria civil war and various phenomena of ethnic conflicts, including the one demonstrated by the land factor sometimes goes beyond tolerable levels with disastrous consequences. a group defines their membership or citizenship in terms of their ownership and habitation of their indigenous territories, migratory histories and myths of putative ancestral links. these are often formulated and manipulated to establish contested territorial claims. having written extensively on ethnoreligious conflicts in kaduna state, otite9 in his work identifies the pre-conditions that necessitated the occurrence of ethno-religious conflicts. he said the question of groups perceiving themselves as neglected or excluded from the terrain or corridors of political power and in sharing from the benefits of the resources and wealth of a country is central. other factors are the problematic contestations concern of cultural issues about class relations, ethnicity, religion, gender, justice, social equality, citizenship rights and governance. other factors such as manipulations by the elite class, identity-contestations, resistance to perceived domination, historical antecedents and people’s attempt to assert themselves, urbanization unemployment, poverty, and illiteracy, among others, have also been used in explaining religious conflicts in nigeria10. d. sheen in his book peace of soul 11 reports that there are three major approaches to conflict resolution. the first is “hegemony”, in which one group dominates others by force of arms or by other exercise of irresistible power. this is the “threat system” basic to all imperialisms. the disadvantage of this model for peace building is that its dependence on violence leads to further violence. the second approach is “balance of power,” in which all sides to conflict reckon with the advantages and rewards of respecting each other’s interest by tapping those interests for mutual benefits. this is “a trade system” in which the rewards are both economic and non-economic, including spheres of profit, influence, and prestige. the weakness of this system is twofold; most power balances arc dynamic, changeable, and unstable. further, as in most tradeoffs in polities, some on both sides are usually denied a share in the rewards or feel that the terms of 9 otite, group and conflict 10gwamma, dogara j. “the turning tides of religious intolerance in nigeria”. the external connections and internal dynamics: historical perspectives on the post-colonial conflicts, (lagos: unimark, 2007) 135. 11 sheen, d., peace of soul, (new york: image books, 1954) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 23 trade arc unfair. finally, few governments will trust economic forces to provide security, and publics will not tolerate extraordinary sacrifices of economic resources in the name of security. the third model is “common security.” this is an “integrated system” based on induced identification of the self with others. the bridge between interpersonal and collective ties is the ability of conflictants to identify with the interests, situations and histories of the “other”. the weakness of this model is empirical; cultures and interest impose blinders on human ability to perceive and respect the cultures and interests of others. these blinders may degenerate into misunderstanding, fear and hatred. the psychosocial virtue commended in the third model is empathy, a virtue that is both intellectual and emotional. the political and moral wisdom in this model calls for a fourth model, which might be tagged “dialogue”. this is the process by which the agents in the conflict search together for a commonality that “does not yet appear”. real dialogue exists when the agents in the conflict enter “a realm where the law of the point of view no longer holds”. in their courage to risk and dialogue, participants reach out for something that will bind them beyond the limits of their respective points of view. this approach keeps the two sides talking to each other long enough until they finally can hear each other, and discover a way into a political peace that took account of their difference, fears, interests, and assumptions. this is where the christian churches must provide the agents in central nigeria conflict a space to sit down at round-table with hope that something good will come of it. religion, violence and conflict expression this section of this paper shall examine, from a historical perspective, the ambivalent roles of religion in human society. when the social structures of our society are in a flux, transition or crisis, people tend to look for something that could give them a point of reference. should a line of battle be drawn between two parties, religious or political ideologies would act, as a determinant factor of which party an individual would belong. the relationship between religion and political ideology is an inseparable one. they both involve systems of values and beliefs, and systems of actions, which are justified in terms of these values. this relationship is often an explosive one, as events in the middle east has shown. in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 24 the formation of nationalist movement in palestinian, religion was the element that made up ideological weaves of the palestinian movement12. nigeria too has had its own share. the nigerian civil war of 19671970, the abortive coup of 1990 led by gideon orka, and the annulment of the 1993, june 12 election allegedly won by m.k.o. abiola were given a religious coloration. with respect to the latter, the south-west on ethnic basis felt marginalized. the upsurge that followed had a religious undertone. religion, in this context, is used as a force to generate political ideologies to legitimate actions that are actually motivated by ethnicity or personal gain. when ethnic issues pick up religious badges it makes conflicts more protracted, more violent and more intractable. here religion is playing a very crucially role which may be termed “religiofication” of conflicts. these are conflicts, which cleanly begin with secular forces and in term assume a religious shape. the reason of this is that religious mobilization is a way of defending threatened identities when nationalism has failed. it is pertinent to state that religion qua religion does not have unsalutory effects unless it is wrongly used by its adherents. in such a situation, it becomes the worst cloak that mars the spiritual happiness and peace man longs to attain. religion then becomes a potent tool for fanning tribal antagonism, and a fuel for religious intolerance in which case religious fanatics fail to recognize the importance of other’s faith. in fact many issues which might be easily compromised at are reinforced by religious flames. this fact was buttressed by johnson. while writing on the politics of palestine he reports that, “some of the atrocities in recent middle east history were perpetuated in the name of religious differences’13. religious and political ideologies cannot be discussed in a vacuum. ideologies are shared by a group of people. ideologies become politically significant depending on the structure of the group professing it. for instance, religious doctrines that have been around for decades suddenly assume new importance in a new political or economic situation in which case ethnic groups and political groups use religious ideologies to solve their problems. on the intrinsic relationship between religious convictions on political choice kent greenawalt asserts that the latter is grossly influence by the former. he maintains 12 johnson, n. islam and the politics of meaning in palestinian nationalism, (london: keyan paul lnternational, 1982) 1. 13 johnson, islam and the politics of meaning, 13. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 25 that, “when people reasonably think that shared promises and other, criteria for determining truth cannot resolve critical questions of facts and fundamental questions of values, they do appropriately, rely on religious convictions that help them answer these questions.”14 such religious convictions have a profound influence on the legal culture and might render laws or government programs invalid. consequently, with respect to america’s national development, many american intellectuals, at the end of a long period to secularism, is recovering religion’s strength. some are ready to accept it as the major source of stability and democracy15. it would, therefore, be quite out of place to have a discussion on conflict evolution in a highly religious society as ours without recourse to religion. the epitome of religious crisis which shook the nation to its solid foundation was the maitatsine riots which took place intermittently between 1980 and 1985 and its varied and various resurgence in bulliem kattu, bornu state in 1992; kigassa village, kaduna state; jimita-yola, adaniawa state in 1985 and the most recent boko haram insurgence. another religions-political conflict though not yet an outbreak is the nigeria’s alleged membership of the organization of islamic conference (o.i.c). the then babangida’s administration believed that nigeria stands to gain from the conference through its development bank since borrowing from the bank does not attract interests, but the christian populace saw in it a secret plot to declare nigeria an islamic state. religions discrepancies and antagonism are not limited to different religions. it is also inherent in a particular religion in the guise of denominationalism and sects. here the difference between conflicts that use religions as a symbol for issues of identify and conflicts over religions doctrines is clear. based on doctrinal differences protestants conflict with catholics; the maitasine sect of islam does not only pick up arms against ‘unbelievers’ but also against ‘nominal” muslims. even within denominations factions are bound to exist. the tensions that are often generated often negate peace and harmony in the society. hence, owete aand odili reports that, religions controversy is an “ill wind and that blows no one any good”, and that, “religions is a slippery terrain, more slippery than a banana peel”16. there is, therefore, a need for caution when handling religions conflicts. one thing to be made clear of religonized ‘conflicts is that although religious fanatics and bigots portray their 14 greenerwalt, kent, religious concoctions and political choice, (new york: oxford university press, 1988) 12. 15 lipset, s., the political man: the social basics of politics. (london: heinemann, 1963) 71. 16 owete, kingsley and odili jones, religion and national development: the nigerian perspective, (owerri: lighthouse, 2008) 64. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 26 actions as a get-back-to-basics fundamentalism, it, really, is nothing but a creation of a new form of religious expression which clouds itself with an appeal to traditionalism which very often represents a radical shift from religion qua religion. around the world today, conflicts and violence has become prevalent features in many areas that were once colonized or controlled by western european or soviet powers, the causes of most of these conflicts, stems from post-colonial and especially those regarding territorial boundaries, the treatment of indigenous population with preference of some groups over others, the uneven distribution of wealth and local government infrastructures, and the formation of nondemocratic or non-participatory governmental systems. it is therefore essential if one wants to understand intractable conflicts and violence and its causes to examine not only the issues and problems of the moment, but also influential factors most notably the post-colonial era. it is the concern of this paper to give an overview of the root causes of the ethno-religious conflicts in north-eastern nigeria. such an overview would give us a critical insight the contemporary ethno-religious conflicts and violence in that region of the nigeria so as to be able to proffer a long lasting solutions to the problems there. some ethno-religious conflicts in central nigerian many scholars and researchers have documented several conflicts that are popularly referred to as “ethno-religious” conflicts in north-eastern nigeria. the term, ethno-religious implies those conflicts that have both ethnic and religious causative factors. some case studies of religious conflicts in nigeria as identified by gwamna dogora ji’adayibe17 are the kafanchan (1987), zangon kataf (1992), tafawa-balewa (1991, 1995, 2000), and jos crises (2001) among others. 2000 has the sharia crisis, 2002 witnessed the miss world pageant crisis, 2001 was osama bin laden’s riots and 2006 witnessed the cartoon riots. there is also the protracted maitatsine riots which ran through the 1980s that affected the states of northern nigeria and the most recent boko haram insurgence that has ravaged the economy of the that region of nigeria. turaki18 further stressed that: 17 gwamma,. “the turning tides of religious intolerance 18 turaki turaki (1991) in, sharia, the socio-political implication for the christians in nigeria. n.p. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 27 a significant sharia politics in nigeria is a shift from national constitutional functions to that of state or sectarian legislative function, from the centre to the periphery, from international to sub-national, herein lies that greatest danger in the national body policy, the re-instatement of the subnationalism, parochialism above and against national goal, ideas and values. nigerian nation is gradually moving back into the dark ages under the guise of constitutional freedom. many internal conflicts have been occurring amongst muslims and christians in north central nigeria as a result of religious intolerance. it is becoming difficult and complex to analyze conflicts of these types sampled above as multi-faceted perspectives are brought to bear in most crisis that have been witnessed particularly in north central nigeria. shedrack g. best in his study, introduction to peace building, plateau state, nigeria,19 chronicled reports about the bassa and igbira conflict in toto local government area of nassarawa state of nigeria. the conflict referred to the negative physical confrontation that occurred mainly between bassa and igbira ethnic groups. the gbayi ethnic group was a neutral group in the earlier phase of the conflict, but it would appear that the group was entangled gradually in the conflicts, especially after the events of 3 may, 2003. the conflict had a fairly long history of the ethnic groups, the igbira, being perceived as lording it over the group of bassa. with the creation of two chiefdoms within the area, the igbiras insisted it was within their territory looking at it during the solomon lar administration (1979-1983) in plateau state, which by implication excluded the bassa and gbagi. this trend gave rise to political conflicts and a spring board ground for ethnic tension. at the early stage of conflict, the igbira gained an upper hand. the bassa had more of its people displaced and creating in the process a great internally displaced persons (idp) catastrophe. turaki,20 identified one reason why there are frequent ethnic riots and violence in northern nigeria, according to him, the political regimes of many states, whether military or civilian, since several creation of states out of the defunct northern nigeria region, in 1967 up to the present time has consistently and deliberately 19 best, gaya shedrack. introduction to peace building, plateau state, nigeria. ibadan: spectrum, 2007. 20 turaki, sharia, the socio-political implication igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 28 refused to create and grant autonomous chiefdoms to ethnic groups such as the kabilu of the middle belt region of nigeria. another reason why there are frequent ethnic riots and violence in northern states of nigeria is because the governments in these states give preferential treatment to others. comments on marginalization of ethnic groups are similar to the problem in the area under study. shedrack best’s21 study is very relevant to this work. commenting on the yelwan shendam ethno-religious conflict he wrote that the yelwan shandam is a significant factor in the conflict calculus of the southern plateau zone, and its history is equally an important ingredient. a key difficulty in yelwa which breed the conflict emanates from the conflicting history of the settlement as held by both the goemai, most of the christians and african traditional religion (atr) practitioners, on the one hand, and the jarawa supported by the boghom, hausa/fulani pre-dominantly muslims, on the other hand. the jarawa in yelwa are also the direct descendants of the jarawa of dass in bauchi state. it is on record that the jarawas left bauchi together with the fulani jihad leader and founder of wase, madaki hassan, in about 1820, and having stayed at wase for some years, they later moved to yelwa after brief stopovers at kwanpe in lantang north local government area, kwap bakwa in mikang local government area and yelwa maiganuwa, 1.6km from present yelwa. the claim of ownership of the yelwa shendam has been a major source of ethno-religious violence. the first inter-religious violence in numan local government area of adamawa state was witnessed in june 2003 after the gruesome murder of evangelist esther jinkai in her home near her church by a hausa muslim water hawker who took her life while she was resting after leading a service in the morning22. another ethno-religious conflicts and violence was recorded at maiduguri in 2006. it was that day that hell was literally let loose on the christians by their muslim neighbors and within four (4) hours dozens of corpses mainly christians were deposited at the maiduguri specialist hospital mortuary. people were injured, while in the streets, shops of igbo traders were either looted or burnt and businesses shut down. the violence was said to have occurred because of a 21 best, introduction to peace and conflict 22 gambo, 11 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 29 denmark cartoon published in a newspaper which they said, made a caricature of prophet muhammad. the security agents thought that it was going to be a peaceful demonstration. but it later resulted into mass destructions: twelve children and fifty two adults died while thirty seven churches were burnt.23 the arewa consultative forum (acf), had been warned not to intervene in the plateau crisis because their coming into the matter was inviting an enemy to poison his victim rather than to cure him of the affliction, while pointing out that the people of the (middle belt) would respond appropriately and when necessary. on 12th april, 1994, jos the home of peace and tourism lost her sanity. the violent conflict that engulfed the state according to mwadkon was the pragmatic expression of accumulated anger and grievances. this was an attempt by the federal government to establish the hegemony of hausa-fulani by constituting the jos north local government committee with a hausa-fulani from bauchi as chairman, an igbo, a birom, a yoruba and a jarawa person as members while the anaguta were excluded. the interpretation was that the area belongs to the settlers and also that the city was deliberately turned into an islamic center. the appointment led to a peaceful protest by the indigenous people and later a counter protest by the hausa and fulani, which later degenerated into spontaneous violence. this crisis was ignited by mutual distrust, suspicion, fear and frustration as large numbers were mobilized to fight it out. bagudu’s documents in detail the events before now, and went further to state that alh. danfulani baba joda stated that their action was just the beginning in a series of what they intended to do until alh. mato was allowed to take over office. he highlighted the meeting by the hausa-fulani community near the central mosque, where alhaji yaya aga abubakar, instigated them to come in mass to embark on a demonstration. the person in question here according to him was the president of the jasawa development association. these actions ravaged the entire city for three days as the city of jos was in flames, shooting, killing and looting also characterized, the period in jos. the conflict also led to the burning of part of the jos ultra-modern market and properties worth millions of naira destroyed. it also affected the kabong village market, a mosque adjacent to the market and another along rukuba road. 23 (abraham 2006:11). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 30 the 7th september 2001, jos ethno-religious crisis, scholars have documented a lot of the remote and immediate causes of the jos crises of september 2001. again like the april 1994, the appointment of alhaji muktar, considered to be a non-indigene, as one of the major causes. bagudu also stated that posters appeared for and against this appointment. there were write-ups by the jasawa (name used by the hausa/fulani and other northern muslims who believed they own jos town) and the indigenes threatening fire and brimstone, bloodshed and death. the northern traditional rulers council began an emergency meeting in kaduna to deliberate on the 2001 crisis in jos, with the sultan of sokoto, alhaji muhammed sa’ad abubakar describing the events in .jos and its environs as genocide. the sultan claimed that the recent crisis in jos is genocide, because the amount of massacre that took place was not witnessed during the boko haram crisis in maiduguri as at then and kala kato crisis in bauchi of recent. he identified failure of leadership at all levels as the reason for the recurring crisis in jos. what we know and what we believed is that there is a complete failure of leadership at all levels. if there is good leadership, problems like this would never occur. there are so many people all over living together despite religious divide and ethnic divide. in a century where a migrant black american is the president of the world greatest power, how are we now taking it ourselves here as ethnic minorities, as settlers, as non-indigenes? i think it is time we act and put an end to these entirely if we really want to move forward. enough is enough; because we cannot just keep turning back the hands of the clock of progress and development of our country backward because of the action of some misguided murderous killers in our midst. what happened in plateau is unfortunate and it would have been planned by anybody, but i am yet to know whether it was planned or not24. the future of the north is bleak, according to arewa consultative forum (ace). after reflecting on the state of affairs in the north the arewa consultative forum (ace) urged the stakeholders in the region to unite to save the region. speaking 24 mubashiru and ishmail 2010:1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 31 during the opening of the board of trustees (bot) of the forum, its vice chairman, senator ladan shuni, said for the region to advance, all its socioeconomic problems must be addressed squarely in order to save the future of our children which he believes is bleak if not saved. we have to actually rise up and see how we can save this our noble culture and noble orientation. he added that there is an urgent need for leaders in the region to address the massive poverty and growing problem of begging among the people of the north. in the past, we were only hearing cases of kidnapping in other places, armed robbery was not part of us but now we have similar things here too” the education sector of the region, according to him, has gone backward too; we have a lot of unemployment in the north, the unemployed are roaming the streets and in some cases they become ‘area boys’. before it was difficult to find northern armed robbery gangs but today is common. he also raised alarm on the massive relocation of fulani cattle rearers to the southern part of the country, saying virtually all fulanis have moved to the south in search of grazing areas. while stressing the importance of the north in the socioeconomic development of the country, he said, “it is our duty to see that these problems are solved”. he wanted them to frankly state their mind, they have been meeting, but the problem is implementation, we have to come up with ways of implementing the resolutions. otherwise, we will not go anywhere; we have to agree on how to implement our discussions25. the church and restorative justice: a sine qua for transformation in central nigeria the need for reconciliation is now recognized in many countries throughout the world. the last few decades in central nigeria have been characterized by violent conflicts and strife. they were bitter and tragic. atrocities were carried out on religious institutions, neighbors and even family members. in such circumstances the process of reconciliation has to be subtler, and more nuanced. structural and economic programs have not been able to address the problem. they did not reach the depth of the alienation. ‘in other words, there is the need for a spiritual dimension to the problem: economic reparation is not enough. according to stephen r. godwin: 25 (mubashiru and ishmail 2010:2) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 32 social reconciliation lies beyond the structural realm and does not therefore respond to the mechanical manipulation of institutions. because reconciliation is a pre-eminently human endeavour, involving the moral and ethical will of individuals and communities alike, it is most naturally situated in the locus of the personal and relational, not the structural and institutional. religion is at home in this realm and should be able to make positive contributions”26. it is in this wise that the christian churches should provide a sacred space where the virtues of repentance, forgiveness, reconciliation, love and peace can be harnessed to heal the wounds of the people of central nigeria. this is a discursive shift. we advocate for restoration and not retribution. the advocacy for a restorative model of justice has become imperative because it confronts the crime without continuing the cycle of violence. instead it empowers victims in their search for healing and holds offenders responsible for their infractions by impressing upon them the real human impact of their behavior. the restorative model emphasizes on the harm done to people, to relationships and to communities. its focus is on the obligation of the offender to repair the harm done the victim. thus the object of restorative justice is actual restoration — as much as is humanly possible — to bring wholeness back to the situation and the people involved (gingerich, 2003:196). the call for restoration does not mean the return to the “old order” (the edenic paradise) but a “new order”, where the resources of central nigeria can be harnessed to lift the region from systemic violence of underdevelopment, neglect, poverty, and misery to one of empowerment, wealth and prosperity. communities, feel that resources are taken away and wasted in ways and areas that do not ultimately benefit them. this has led to the breakdown of law and order. in the article, “why children become guns for hire and african wars,” the business day africa (2005, july 4:10) asserts that “hopelessness and poverty drive young people into rebel groups for exchange for money or a share of the loot... a lack of job means that violence can offer economic opportunities not found elsewhere”. 26 goodwin stephen r. “from un safe havens to sacred spaces: contributions of religious sodalities to peace building and reconciliation in post-war bosnia & herzegovina” in studies in world christianity, 9.2 (2003) 174. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 33 the violence and disturbances experienced daily in central nigeria are as a result of the people’s quest for restorative justice. uche onyeoguocha27 enjoins all who suffer injustice to continue the struggle to defend their human dignity. although onycoguocha failed to tell us what mode the struggle should take, he undoubtedly, was opting for restorative justice: a nonviolent approach to conflict resolution and reconciliation. revenge is one of the most powerful human emotions. acts of revenge range from the trivial to the horrific. men have committed bloody massacres to avenge their impugned honor. as to what kind of attitude is expected of those seeking for restorative justice, duane friesen’s28 advice is apposite: “in the struggle for justice, what is powerful and enduring for history is persuasive love. if one begins with this premise, one would also interpret history differently”. it is necessary to discuss non-violent alternatives, the times and places where nonviolence has averted wars and conflicts. richard deats29 has pointed out that nonviolent actions have been recognized globally and have been dramatically effective in toppling dictatorships and moving nations toward peace and justice. some instances where non-violence were instrumental to restoring a “new order” were the overthrow of the dictators ferdinand marcos of the philippines in 1986, and augustus pinoehet of chile in 1988, and the disintegration of the former ussr. the mere suggestion that non-violent worldview exists will sound heretical to the armed advocacy groups. the conventional wisdom or usual presupposition in political science and history is that violence is both inevitable and necessary. a corollary is the assumption that the way things turned out was the necessary and inevitable way. in response to the use of violence, noan chomsky30 reminds us that “one choice, always available, is to follow the hippocratic principle; ‘first do 27 onyeoguocha, uche. “the environmental question”: the emperor has no clothes. report of the conference on the peoples of the niger delta and the 1999 constitution. bcnin city. environment rights action/friends of the earth, nigeria, (2000) 19. 28 friesen, duane. “means and ends: reflections on opposing theologies of history” in nonviolent america: history through the eyes of peace. edited by juhnki and louise hawklcy. (new newton: ransas bethel college, 1993) 267. 29 deats, richard. “the global spread of active non-violence” in peace is the way: writings on non-violence from the fellowship of reconciliation. edited by walter wink. (maryknoll, new york: orbis books, 2000) 283. 30 chomsky, noan. the new military humanism: lessons from kosovo monroe, (maine: common courage press, 1949) 156. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 34 no harm.., if you can think of no other way to adhere to that elementary principle, then do nothing; at least that is preferable to causing harm”. this is akin to the hindu and jam’s concept of ahimsa. nonviolence is an active process that requires courage and not cowardice; it requires discipline and strength of wills and it entails risks of injury to its practitioners. the way we deal with conflict is a matter of choice. there should be a repeated refusal to accept warfare as a policy against those we classify as enemies. derrick wilson31 cautions that in human relationship chaos is often resolved in seeking identifiable scapegoats who are to be blamed, yet not responsible; we should not remain under the illusion of peace secured in scapegoating others. the definitive renunciation of violence without any second thought will become the sine qua non for the survival of humanity itself and each of us. the quest for nonviolent resistance should not be seen as a mechanism for aiding the oppressor and oppression. non-violence can be a way of life, a life style, as well as, a strategy for social change. peace making in central nigeria: a challenge to the churches if the ethno-religious violence, killings, bigotry, fanaticism, misery and squalor are to be averted in central nigeria, we must find effective ways to live with each other and with our conflicts. the christian churches have contributions to make to this hopeful future. when jesus said, “blessed are the peacemakers” (matthew 5:9), he was giving the churches the mandate to make peace knowing that conflict is inevitable. but how does the christian church respond to this mandate of conflict resolution, especially in central nigeria? since violent conflict begins in the minds of individuals, it is in the minds of men, women, and children that the desires for peace and nonviolence must be constructed. this is to say that peace, to a large extent, depends on very concrete decisions made by people doing their own peace initiatives, at the micro level (the family, and the inner person), meso level (the society), and macro level (inter societal and interregional). consequently, a key strategy of a culture of peace lies in the education and training based on the principles of concretization which 31 wilson, derick “living through chaos, seeking the gaps and creating space for learning: learning for a change in northern ireland” studies in world christianity 9.2 (2003): 205. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 35 embody organizing, mobilizing and advocating for sincere economic, social and political reforms. for peace education to be effective, we have to be open to certain changes and re-orientation of our views and attitude towards resistance, from violent resistance to non-violent resistance32. peace is conceived not just as the absence of conflict and violence, but in a positive sense, as a co-operation among individuals and groups to achieve justice and freedom33. peace includes the values, principles and practices based on respect for life, human rights, inter-cultural understanding and solidarity. there is, therefore, the need for reconciliation among the stakeholders in central nigeria for the good and development of the region. reconciliation models need to be diverse in its approach. reconciliation cannot be forced; it cannot be imposed from ‘above’. it can only come through repentance, and not from thousands of hours of political debate. it is a spiritual process. victims impelled by a desire for revenge find it difficult to see any aspect of their enemy in a positive light. solomon schimmel34 observes that a danger of revenge comes from our tendency to generalize both with respect with the perpetrator himself and the group to which he belongs, but we fail to see their human complexity, an admixture of good and evil. there would be healing if we see those we judge in their totality and must not focus exclusively on the harm they might have caused us. in joseph butler’s words: anger may be considered as another false medium of viewing things, which often represents characters and actions much worse than they really are.... thus in cases of offence arid enmity, the whole character and behaviors are considered with an eye to that particular part which has offended us, and the whole man appears monstrous, without anything right or human in him, whereas the resentment should surely at least be confined to that particular part of the behavior which gave offence35. 32 onduku, akpobibibo. “towards a culture of peace in the niger delta “an open letter to the honourable members of delta state house of assembly. 7 pp. online. internet. 11 august (2001) 2. 33 onduku “towards a culture of peace, 2. 34 schimmel, solomon, wounds not healed by time, (oxford: oxford university press, 2002) 4. 35 butler, joseph, “upon resentment and upon forgiveness of injustice” in the works of joseph butter, d. c. l. vol. 2. sermons. edited by w. e. gladstone, (oxford: claredon press, 1997) 137. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 36 it can no longer be acceptable or persuasive to say that evildoers attack merely because they hate or because they have some kind of genetic predisposition to kill. for instance, historians recognize that hitler’s fanaticism did not arise in a vacuum; the seeds were laid in the humiliating, punitive peace and economic disintegration imposed upon germany by the victors of world war 1. what is, therefore, needed in central nigeria is understanding not revenge; a need for restoration not retaliation, a need for ubutu, a need for reconciliation not victimization36. it must be pointed out that unless the fundamental injustices of the past are redressed, reconciliation would not be sustainable. the past has to be dealt with properly and expeditiously if not, it could return to haunt the future. victims’ desire for vengeance is that they want the truth to come out so they can meaningfully forgive, and where possible, receive their rightful due. remembering the past may be costly, but it may be more costly not to remember it in a way that can contribute to healing and genuine reconciliation. because perpetrators of evil tend to forget their past more quickly, for their victims, it is always fresh in their memories. reconciliation is all about seeking justice, healing memories and rebuilding society. when the harm caused and evil committed in the past are not admitted or minimized, there is no sign that reconciliation has taken place. people cannot be merely exhorted or manipulated into a truly heart felt reconciliation. it must be initiated from the side of the victim37. the victims must be heard, the issue addressed, and their pains and plights well understood. there is the need for perpetrators and victims to sit together and listen to each other and undergo a process of forgiveness and healing through narrating their stories. if we explore our histories together with people whose experiences differ, then new histories may eventually flourish38 and in the definition of own self-identity 36 tutu, desmond “the truth and reconciliation commission” longford lecture: the independent. february 16 (2004) 7. 37 schreieter, robert j., reconciliation, mission and ministry in a changing social order, (maryknoll, new york: orbis books. 1992) 45. 38 wright, f., northern ireland — a comparative analysis, (dublin: gill & macmillan, 1992) 30. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 37 we make room for the “self-identification of the other”39. true reconciliation takes place when victims and transgressors come together in justice to repair the injustices suffered. if the transgressor accepts his guilt and the victim accepts his genuine apologies, then the parties are reconciled with justice, god and each other. we need to strengthen our efforts in dialogue with each other so that our real or perceived conflicts can move towards reconciliation rather than spiral into violence and counter violence. in a conflict there is one guilty party. once one acknowledges one’s guilt, one must do all one can to repair the specific pain or damage (physical or psychological) that one has wrought by one’s offence. this usually involves apologizing and making restitution, to the victim for the harm caused. christianity teaches us that we can rectify the damage caused by our sins through the process of genuine repentance (philemon 1: 1-25). if we realize that we have sinned against others or violated their trust or norms or hurt them, and feel alienated from them, it behooves us to repent and return. repentance entails the recognition and acknowledgement of our sins and feeling the guilt and remorse for the sins committed. as solomon schimmel40 puts it “the repentance process includes self-confrontation, self-control, and self-sacrifice: the latter includes restitution, reconciliation and forgiveness”. self-sacrifice depicts the broad range of elements in the repentance process that are necessary to make repentance complete. this is not only a matter of restitution in the sense of returning a stolen item, but also of extending the necessary effort to alter the fabric of relationships, the negative consequences, or mistrust and broken covenants that need to be corrected. we often shrink from the effort required to make these corrections, but such self-sacrificing effort is an essential point of redeeming the situation. the first duty of the christian churches is to oppose violence. the second is to reconcile the victims with their oppressors — this means a return to justice and the law. therefore, contacts with the conflicting parties are necessary. there is the need to provide opportunities for meeting, dialogues, and learning in communities to dispel ignorance, prejudice and fear, and to promote mutual respect and trust. when our feet get used to walking towards those we have 39 baum and h. wells (eds). the reconciliation of peoples: challenges to the churches. (maryknoll, new york. orbis books. 1997) 191. 40 schimmel, wounds, 158. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 38 historically been estranged from, we will become wise — wise enough to ensure our interdependence of one another. however, the role of intermediaries becomes necessary when the parties themselves are unwilling to engage in direct contact. it then becomes obligatory for the christian churches to serve as intermediaries for ‘kick-starting’ the peace process by convincing the parties in conflict of the benefit of opening channels of communication. their role, here, is to facilitate and not to dictate the terms of the contract. this may mean adding support to the weaker side or absorbing criticisms from both sides. before going into the phase of negotiation or mediation, there is the need for the churches to perform the task of sensitization towards the weaker side, and of helping them get organized in order to reduce the gap between oppressed and the oppressors41. the churches must be aware of underlining aspects of the conflict and apply pressure on the stronger side so as to bring the situation in central nigeria under control. it is pertinent to state that neither the conflicting parties nor the mediators are infallible. all are composed of personalities, with ambitions, personal agenda and preconceived expectations. the work of reconciliation requires open acknowledgement of this fact and financial limitations. the church, as a mediator, should be acquainted with democratic and problem-solving ideas and practices. the task of reconciliation can be difficult and controversial. it calls for psychological insight into a people’s culture, a high degree of flexibility, capacity to judge a situation non-sentimentally, the talent to communicate with simplicity and clarity, and the readiness to adopt apolitical and agnostic stance when working with communities. the tasks also required “a high amount of psychological stress endurance, the capacity to encourage people and an unlimited trust in the success of the work as a community organizer”42. to move out of conflict, there is the need for christian churches to come together. doctrinal issues should be set aside so that the church of christ can face the problem with a single voice as one body. the churches should therefore liaise with 41 salter-white, james h., “non-violence, political movements as misused opportunities in kosovo.” in teaching of peace: non-violence and the liberal arts. edited by j. denny weaver and g. biesecker-most, (london. rowman & littlefield, 2003) 94. 42 koch, andrea and b. scheiger “testimonies of atonement: a german protestant movement (asf)” in the reconciliation of peoples: challenges to the churches. edited by g. baum and h. wells. (maryknoll. new york: orbis books, 1997) 151. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 39 the various levels of government and ngos to constitute a commission for reconciliation among the stakeholders in central nigeria. such a commission should oppose any desire for revenge and retributive justice, but insist that the truth be told. the sacred space is therefore created where the deeper processes of forgiveness, confession, repentance, reparation and reconciliation can take place. then a very sincere commitment is required on the part of the churches to ensure that the dust of violence expressed differently across the region is permanently settled. in the words of erich weingartner (1997:78): work for peace and reconciliation is a very long process, requiring patience and long range plans. it is impossible to solve in a few years’ problems that have a history spanning decades of centuries. ‘quick-fixes’ often create more problems than they solve. by the same token, ultimate and win-lose options should be avoided. these simply pave the way for disappointment or later, retaliation. breakthrough can be ephemeral and set backs are inevitable. they are both parts of the process. rather than think in terms of conclusions, it is better think of it as an on-going process that needs to be nurtured. this issue is quite complex but the resurrection of jesus christ teaches us that no stone is permanent. all of them can be turned aside — even the stones of prejudice, misunderstanding and political differences. the churches are enjoined to move quickly into central nigeria to persuade people that it is in their interest to lay down their weapons and embrace peace. therefore, the task of reconciliation in central nigeria is not a humanitarian option but a christian obligation. concluding remarks we have noted that most of the violence experienced in central nigeria is ethnic in nature. most of them are based on agitations of identity and sense of belonging. arms are taken up in protest against marginalisation. the result has been fatal and unimaginable, as several communities have been desolated. we have also argued that the various measures taken by successive governments to address the underdevelopment and hence calm the restiveness and violence in the region have remained largely unsuccessful. this is because they do not address the depth of the problem. in its place, we have proposed a new discursive shift of conflict resolution in which the churches would provide a sacred space to harness the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 40 virtues of the scripture such as non-violent resistance, peace, repentance and forgiveness to effect reconciliation in central nigeria. the new shift of restorative justice is not mutually exclusive but complements the structural measures already in place. central nigeria’s quest for national development should not be sought in science and technology, governments legislations, strategies of sociologists and political analysis alone this has to be south in the light of the spirit because it is man who has to be reformed first; then society would be remade by a reformed man’. a man who has not known peace cannot create a peaceful environment. a reformed man would be patriotic and not catastrophic. bibliography anifosose a. violence and politics in nigeria: the yoruba and tiv experience. london: nok, 1979. baum and h. wells (eds). the reconciliation of peoples: challenges to the churches. maryknoll, new york. orbis books. 1997. best, gaya shedrack. introduction to peace and conflict resolution in west africa. ibadan: spectrum, 2007 best, gaya shedrack. introduction to peace building, plateau state, nigeria. ibadan: spectrum, 2007. business day africa. “why children become guns for hire and african wars” july 4, 2005, 10. butler, joseph. “upon resentment and upon forgiveness of injustice” in the works of joseph butter, d. c. l. vol. 2. sermons. edited by w. e. gladstone. oxford: claredon press, 1997. chomsky, noan. the new military humanism: lessons from kosovo monroe. maine: common courage press, 1949. deats, richard. “the global spread of active non-violence” in peace is the way: writings on non-violence from the fellowship of reconciliation. edited by walter wink. maryknoll, new york: orbis books, 2000. egwu, sam g. ethnic and religious violence in nigeria. centre for democratic governance, 2001. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 41 ekwunife, n. politics and religious intolerance, the nigerian experience, n.p., 1992. friesen, duane. “means and ends: reflections on opposing theologies of history” in non-violent america: history through the eyes of peace. edited by juhnki and louise hawklcy. new newton: ransas bethel college, 1993. gbule, n. j. and j. u. odili. “conflict resolution in niger delta: challengeas to the churches” in journal of religious and culture, 7.2 (2006): 70-84 gingerich, jeff. “violence and non-violence in criminal justice.” in teaching peace: non-violence and liberal arts. edited by j. denny weaver and g. bieseckermost.london: rowman & littlefield, 2003. goodwin stephen r. “from un safe havens to sacred spaces: contributions of religious sodalities to peace building and reconciliation in post-war bosnia & herzegovina” in studies in world christianity, 9.2 (2003). greenerwalt, kent, religious concoctions and political choice. new york: oxford university press, 1988. gwamma, dogara j. “the turning tides of religious intolerance in nigeria”. the external connections and internal dynamics: historical perspectives on the postcolonial conflicts. lagos: unimark, 2007. johnson, n. islam and the politics of meaning in palestinian nationalism. london: keyan paul lnternational, 1982. koch, andrea and b. scheiger “testimonies of atonement: a german protestant movement (asf)” in the reconciliation of peoples: challenges to the churches. edited by g. baum and h. wells. maryknoll. new york: orbis books, 1997. lipset, s., the political man: the social basics of politics. london: heinemann, 1963. onduku, akpobibibo. “towards a culture of peace in the niger delta “an open letter to the honourable members of delta state house of assembly. 7 pp. online. internet. 11 august 2001. onyeoguocha, uche. “the environmental question”: the emperor has no clothes. report of the conference on the peoples of the niger delta and the 1999 constitution. bcnin city. environment rights action/friends of the earth, nigeria, 2000. otite, onigu. group and conflict in nigeria. akoko: n.p., 2005. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 3. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 42 owete, kingsley and odili jones, religion and national development: the nigerian perspective, owerri: lighthouse, 2008. salter-white, james h. “non-violence, political movements as misused opportunities in kosovo.” in teaching of peace: non-violence and the liberal arts. edited by j. denny weaver and g. biesecker-most. london. rowman & littlefield, 2003. schimmel, solomon. wounds not healed by time. oxford: oxford university press, 2002 schreieter, robert j. reconciliation, mission and ministry in a changing social order. maryknoll, new york: orbis books. 1992. sheen, d., peace of soul, new york: image books, 1954. stassen, glen h and m. i. wester moreland-white. “defining violence and noviolence” in teaching peace: non-violence and the liberal arts. edited by j. denny weaver and g. biesecker-most. london: rowman & littlefield. 2003. taraki turaki (1991) in, sharia, the socio-political implication for the christians in nigeria. n.p. tutu, desmond “the truth and reconciliation commission” longford lecture: the independent. february 16, 2004 van bright, t. the bloody theater or martyrs mirror. scottdalc, pa: herald press, 1985. weingartner, erich “the tozanso process: ecumenical efforts for korean reconciliation and reunification” in the reconciliation of people: challenges to the churches. g. baum and h. wells. mary knoll. new york. orbis books, 1997. wengcr, j. c. (ed.). the complete writings of menno silmons scottdale, pa: herald press, 1956. wilson, derick “living through chaos, seeking the gaps and creating space for learning: learning for a change in northern ireland” studies in world christianity 9.2 (2003): 205-225. wright, f. northern ireland — a comparative analysis. dublin: gill & macmillan, 1992. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 3 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 95 different consciousness created by some nigerian female writers to combat gender discrimination: an overview of nwapa, emecheta and okoye by mbanefo s. ogene, ph.d department of english language and literature nnamdi azikiwe university, awka phone number: 08051848014 e-mail: sm.ogene@unizik.edu.ng, mbanefoogene@gmail.com abstract a sense of sanity prevailed in the pre-colonial nigerian society as there were no conflicts over what roles that women played in the society along that of their male counterparts. the coming of the white man to the country changed the whole situation as the western education, religion and culture were absorbed by nigerians and this affected their new outlook to life. the idea of freedom of women enshrined in such movement as feminism contradicted most of the earlier beliefs held by the traditional african societies of which nigeria is part. feminism in nigerian context assumes a different face from what is obtainable in europe and other western countries. the cultural differences existing in nigeria make it difficult, if not impossible for men and women to share equal rights and also be treated as equals in the social, political and economic spheres. no wonder a different term, ‘womanism’ is given to both african and black-american women writing and that of their counterparts that engage in discourses on gender issues. this study is an overview of different consciousness created by some female nigerian writers to combat and possibly discredit the traditional images created of them. it focuses on the writers’ use of the novel as a means of women narrative discourses. flora nwapa, buchi emecheta and ifeoma okoye have distinguished themselves as strong voices that discussed issues that bother on women and added new dimensions to these problems. the result is that the novel genre has projected women in different new faces of strong and successful characters, contrary to the negative traditional image and perception earlier built of them. introduction various definitions of ‘feminism’ indicate that the term stands for the ideas and movements that have sought and still seek to challenge and possibly change the roles that were considered as belonging to women in traditional societies, this radical view connotes the belief in the social, economic, and political equality of both male and female sexes. although there is a general notion that the movement largely originated from europe, feminism is said to have manifested worldwide and is represented by various institutions committed to activity on behalf of women's rights and interests. according to encyclopedia britannica igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 96 throughout most of western history, women were confined to the domestic sphere, while public life was reserved for men. in medieval europe, women were denied the right to own property, to study, or to participate in public life. at the end of the 19th century in france, they were still compelled to cover their heads in public, and, in parts of germany, a husband still had the right to sell his wife. even as late as the early 20th century, women in the united states, as in europe, could neither vote nor hold elective office. women were prevented from conducting business without a male representative, be it father, brother, husband, legal agent, or even son. married women could not exercise control over their own children without the permission of their husbands. moreover, women had little or no access to education and were barred from most professions. in some parts of the world, such restrictions on women continue today. (ultimate reference) history different scholars have traced various sources as the origin of the feminist movement. biblically, the wife of ahab, jezebel is known to have exhibited a dominant trait that make scholars believe that she did not only champion this movement, but is studied theologically today as the spirit behind women’s consciousness of their rights, rebellion and love of power, especially when intended to be exercised over men. other women in the bible include deborah, athalaiah and delilah. in the 3rd century bc, it was reported that roman women filled the capitoline hill and blocked every entrance to the forum when consul marcus porcius cato resisted attempts to repeal laws limiting women's use of expensive goods. “if they are victorious now, what will they not attempt?” cato cried. “as soon as they begin to be your equals, they will have become your superiors.” (see ultimate reference) encyclopedia britannica goes further to state that “for most of recorded history, only isolated voices spoke out against the inferior status of women, presaging the arguments to come. in late 14thand early 15th-century france, the first feminist philosopher, christine de pisan, challenged prevailing attitudes toward women with a bold call for female education. her mantle was taken up later in the century by laura cereta, a 15th-century venetian woman who published epistolae familiares (1488; “personal letters”; eng. trans. collected letters of a renaissance feminist), a volume of letters dealing with a panoply of women's igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 97 complaints, from denial of education and marital oppression to the frivolity of women's attire.” (ultimate reference) the defense of women had become a literary subgenre by the end of the 16th century, when il merito delle donne (1600; the worth of women), a feminist broadside by another venetian author, moderata fonte, was published posthumously. defenders of the status quo painted women as superficial and inherently immoral, while the emerging feminists produced long lists of women of courage and accomplishment and proclaimed that women would be the intellectual equals of men if they were given equal access to education. feminism in nigeria feminism in nigeria assumed a different face from what is obtainable in europe and other western countries. the cultural differences existing in nigeria make it difficult, if not impossible, for men and women to share equal rights and also be treated as equal in the social, political and economic spheres. before the advent of colonialism, nigerian women were subservient, humble and good supporters of their husbands. culture abhorred them from some social functions, religious rites and other traditional practices. it is obvious, for instance, that no nigerian culture accepts a woman marrying a man, neither does the igbo culture allow women to break cola nut before men or join masquerade cults. some cultures are not dynamic and are intolerant of change. due to the nigerian cultural background, it is a taboo for women to do those things which culture forbids them to do. no wonder a different term, ‘womanism’ is given to both african and black – american women and their counterparts all over the world in the field of literary expression. pulitzer price winning author, alice walker, coined the word ‘womanism’ in her book, in search of our mother’s garden: womanist prose. the term which stands for black feminism was used by walker to describe the perspective and experiences of african and black – american women and others who share the african descent. while the feminist movement focuses on oppression based on sexism, womanism focuses on the black woman’s experience of what the white men refer to as ‘worse oppression’ in the form of racism, sexism and classism. ideally, womanism connotes a more orderly and polite term where women, especially blacks, are comfortable with their culture. supportive of the male supremacy, a typical womanist is not ashamed of her gender role as a woman. she is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 98 appreciative of the fact that her role in creation as a mother and female specie is very important. to the womanist, men should be men and exhibit their roles while they (women) complement them. their writings suggest however, that they should not be unnecessarily marginalized or maltreated like animals. if men should go to school, then women should equally be allowed to go to school. women should however, dress in their traditional attires that distinguish them as such, while men should dress in their own. unfortunately, what is obtainable in nigeria today is a situation where the western culture has seriously filtered into the nigerian scene. education for most new generation nigerian women means freedom to do what they want. it can be freedom to sexually exploit gullible men, oppress weak men, the unemployed, sexually perverse and fortune seekers. other women who are not well educated use different mechanisms which they anchor on the concepts of fighting for human rights, fighting against gender inequality and religious extremism. the consequences of these actions, in the long run, are that sentiments and propaganda are whipped up by such women to subdue men. in most cases, women hide under the umbrella that men have so long oppressed them and that it is now their turn to pay back. they use this strategy to procure employment, rule over men in their matrimonial homes, and engage in free sex with men of their choice as well as get involved with other issues that help them achieve many other goals. this situation is creating a serious problem, especially in situations where some mature women easily engage in immoral sexual relationships with willing men. in some cases, there are situations where pregnancies occur which these single ladies proudly own up and then they give birth to children that have no fathers. feminism seems to offer a liberty to women to do what they feel like doing without any moral restraint. these are observed in the selected texts for this study. the question is did western education, religion and culture really bring the negative views of women against men? if that is the case, all that feminism is pointing to in the nigerian culture is anarchy and rebellion. womanism seems to be a more primitive form of feminism as it supports some aspects of traditional culture and religion. feminism and the novel essentially, the traditional images of women focused on their domestic and sexual roles, the part that the individual women play in the society notwithstanding. the adverse effect of this fact in limiting women’s notions of themselves is quite obvious. the foregoing gave birth to the awareness of women’s movements in making conscious efforts to combat the cultural stereotypes experienced by them. new, alternative images were created by igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 99 women to comfort and possibly discredit the traditional images created of them, aiming to expand women’s consciousness of themselves instead of narrowing it down to what the culture says or imposes on them. it is in this context that the novel became useful as an effective tool of creating awareness alongside other mass communication media. most writers henceforth, used the novel form to wage war against the negative impressions created about women. women writers have not totally accepted the psychological and social conditions imposed on them by their biological and socio-cultural factors but have used the novel to spell out new culture and behaviours for their fellows. mojola in otokunefor and nwodo states that “despite the common characters identified, the female characters are not homogenous in their attitude to life” (21). she listed out the three main categories of these female characters discernible as: 1. the purely traditional illiterate women whose attitudes are informed by traditional culture and religion. these women abhor all forms of anti social behaviours like prostitution, single parenthood, adultery and patronage of gigolos. 2. the intermediate category which consists of educated women who were adolescents in their forties and fifties like the protagonists of nwapa’s women are different, agnes, dora and rose, whose european names are a direct result of the impact of western education and religion on the society. influenced by the christian moral values passed to them by their missionary teachers rather than their native igbo culture, they frown at the corruption, immorality and extreme materialism of the seventies but they engage in legally unsanctioned sexual relationships. the portrayal of this side of their life underscores a social phenomenon: the biological need for sexual satisfaction of relatively young women who are separated or divorced from their husbands, or those like rose who are professionally recognized and materially comfortable, but who are single. 3. women devoid of moral values. these women epitomize some of the ills of a corrupt society, the nigerian society, full of avarice, selfishness, corruption and self-degradation for financial gratification. (mojola: 21-22) feminism has taken root and a serious shape in most european countries where literacy has existed for more than twenty centuries. those societies have passed through various phases of development and cultural transformations. in nigeria, literacy started fully from the point of the colonial contact of nigerians with the english in the nineteenth century. although the northern parts of the country igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 100 had encountered islamic education and civilization as early as the thirteenth century, nigeria became a protectorate of britain and later a republic during the english colonial era. this cultural transformation process has continued for a few centuries with new ideologies, cultures and movements permeating the pattern of life of nigerian citizens. literature, unlike the other disciplines, has served as a bedrock through which people easily expressed their feelings. no wonder women find this medium an easier means of letting out their burdens. it serves as therapy as well as a medium of education and communication. the situation of things in nigeria and in most of the serious novel genres that have developed have always had culture conflict as their major theme. due to the cultural differences between nigerians and their western allies, the issue of feminism seems to have been more misconstrued than other issues of culture differences. feminism as a concept on gender issues is therefore allied to the literary theme or story of culture differences. due to its foreign nature to most nigerians, the concept creates not only conflicts but openly indicates a serious problem of alienation between men and women, women and their fellow women, men versus their inner self and women versus their inner self. the nigerian feminist novelists flora nwapa was the first nigerian feminist novelist with the publication of her novel efuru in 1966. unlike the earlier image presented of the igbo women as weak, passive and subordinate characters in the polity, efuru is presented in nwapa’s novel as a strong and successful woman in her igbo village of oguta. outside her youth and beauty, efuru always seems to have bad luck with men as her husbands missed or disappeared in mysterious circumstances. her popularity was such that the whole village knew efuru as a “remarkable woman who did not only come from a distinguished family, but was distinguished herself” (nwapa: 1). efuru did not wait to be given to a man in marriage like the other igbo women of her time but just eloped with her lover adizua. this behaviour is queer and revolutionary as the igbo culture where nwapa comes from abhors women of easy virtue. in this context, it appears that efuru is independent though the name “efuru” in igbo language connotes loss (e.g. efurum meaning i am lost) and in the context of this novel, there is the loss of moral values, of culture and of self. her husband’s sudden disappearance after the couple have their first baby , with the rumours of his marriage to another woman does not restrict efuru from equally engaging in another blissful marriage with another man, eneberi, after the death of her baby born with the former lover, adizua. efuru never accepts defeat, even when the second husband disappears again and her father dies without any in-law’s assistance in his burial. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 101 lonely, childless and single, efuru puts her confidence in the ability of the goddess of the lake utuoso to cover her and receive her worship. she however, becomes critical of this worship when she recalls that this goddess has no children and cannot even bring back those she (efuru) has lost. a critical analysis of efuru’s boldness in marrying another husband when her first husband abandons her shows her measuring shoulders with her male counterparts. this shows that she is a rebellious woman or simply put, possessed by the water spirit, utuoso. a woman in the traditional igbo society will remain unmarried if her husband abandons her. she can only remarry when her bride price is returned to her father or foster parents. in the case of efuru, it is not recorded that her bride prize is paid before she enters into marriage, so she is not married ab initio but is just co-habiting with different men. this act is a taboo in igbo culture. in the business world, efuru, unlike her counterparts nnuego in emecheta’s the joys of motherhood, is a very successful business woman. she is not only successful, but maintains her dignity in her village society where she finds herself. efuru helps the sick and the poor. her roles in the different marriage contracts entered into satisfy the expectations of female nigerian writers. chukwuma states that “the men because of their limited education secure only menial jobs as washer men, cooks, stewards, labourers and grass-cutters. the full effect of such jobs is to rid the men of their manhood, their inner strength and assertiveness (9). it is such weak men and failures in life that appeal to characters like efuru. men who she can use to vent her anger on the culture and society which places a superior role on her. the equivalent of this behaviour can be found in miss havisham in charles john hoffman dickens novel great expectations who derives pleasure in hurting the feelings of young pip because of her being jilted by mr. compeyson at the point of their wedding, exactly at noon time of their wedding day. from this perspective, it is obvious that feminism in the nigerian context is a psychosomatic problem where some women with negative temperaments seem to carry out serious aggression against men through the medium of writing, for the offence which men do not know of nor contribute anything to. since there is freedom of expression in human nature, such writings can be accepted especially as it satisfies the need and curiosities of most men and women who welcome change which is the only constancy in human society. in her married life, efuru asserts her rights as a woman, her love for the two husbands notwithstanding. although she can only give birth to one child, efuru is willing to bring in a second wife into her home to have more children for her igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 102 husbands. this custom is well accepted in her igbo society but can equally be attributed to be punishment from the gods who gave her the beauty and wealth but shut her womb. in the traditional igbo parlance, efuru can be categorized under the group of women referred to as eze nwanyi. this class of women, who are by tradition supernatural and mystical, is believed to have spirit husbands in the water kingdom. these spirit husbands are believed to give them wealth and have sex with them at odd hours, as well as with their spirit wives in the spirit world. no wonder they cannot exclusively be married in the physical world to one man. efuru however keeps her dignity and leaves her husbands to go their ways when they abandon her, showing her strength to be independent and also take some care of herself. efuru is successful, happy, and free from her oppressive and abusive first husband, adizua, and from her equally disappointing second husband, gilbert. apart from her independence, efuru clearly accepts her igbo culture’s traditional practices such as circumcision and polygamy, traditional beliefs and attitude towards married women and childlessness, thereby supporting the concept of womanism. chukwuma in opata and ohaegbu states that: feminist writing in africa has no such activistic(sic) antecedents as it had in the western world where the women liberation movement fought for women’s suffrage seen in marches, protests and women’s rights political conventions. nor does african feminism have a well articulated and written charter as “the declaration of sentiments” of the seneca falls convention of july 19, 1848 in new york. (104) outside nwapa’s efuru, some critics have tried to identify some loopholes in the definition of the audience and major theme of the writer. mojola is of the view that “all the novels of nwapa, except never again (which is the fictional version of the nigerian civil war portrayed from a ‘biafran’ woman’s viewpoint) have a similar plot pattern. this pattern has to do with the narration of life history of a central fictitious character (20). her second novel, idu published in 1970, like the former is not left out of this criticism. in an article, ‘who does flora nwapa write for?’, emenyonu, while citing a recent reviewer of nwapa’s idu, re-states that “considering her performances in both efuru and idu one cannot help wondering what motivates miss nwapa beyond the elementary wish of everyone to be a writer” (28). idu, like nwapa’s previous novel, exposes the culture and living manners of the igbo society, especially “the fishing and farming residents of oguta, who find occupation and pleasure in the oguta lake, and to whom the ‘fantasies’ of the woman of the lake, are a reality” (emenyonu: 29). the novel igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 103 projected the theme of barrenness in marriage which is a thing that very much bothers the igbo society from which the author came. the problem of barrenness stigmatizes an igbo woman as the people fear that the cause can be from her weak moral life before her marriage or a curse from god. unlike emecheta’s heroine nnuego in the joys of motherhood and john munonye’s obi who portrayed the same theme, idu is a courageous woman, highly successful in her business venture as a trader and is equally committed to her husband, not minding that she has no child after several years of marriage. although the baby, ijoma comes much later on a very extra ordinary day of an eclipse of the sun, no other issue comes afterwards. her husband’s later mysterious death after four years of the first child birth and the coming of a second girl child creates a disturbing milieu for idu. the woman idu, unlike efuru, resolves to die along with her husband adiewere. in her words; she feels cheated by her husband’s death: weep for what? she asked, ‘weep for adiewere? that is not what we agreed on. he has cheated me. we did not agree this would happen’ we did not think of it. why do you want me to weep? i am going with him. leave me alone. i am going with him (210). this action is eventually carried out. in the igbo world view, this action can be interpreted as faithfulness and love for the late husband. although the woman neither commits suicide nor falls sick before her death, her action of eating a nice meal one afternoon before lying down and dying the same afternoon is a mark of loyalty as well as the nigerian concept of the supreme sacrifice. to the igbo, this is a mark of deep love. as the pioneer female nigerian writer, nwapa is able to project a picture of original igbo tradition where the woman who is loyal to her husband ceases to exist as soon as the husband dies. today’s nigerian woman, in the views of feminist writers, will throw her feathers up and celebrate her luck and freedom from the deceased husband and apply the right to engage as many men as she loves in sexual relationships. this new culture is as a result of the new moral value introduced into the nigerian scene by the english culture. another nigerian female writer, buchi emecheta is also distinguished for her contributions to feminism and the novel in nigeria. born in lagos in 1944 to ibusa parents, buchi got married at the age of sixteen to one sylvester onwordi after completing her career in methodist girls high school, yaba. she was betrothed to her husband at the age of eleven and after their marriage, they gave birth to two children before her husband went to study in london where she igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 104 later joined him in 1962. her ambition to study library was shattered after giving birth to two other children in quick succession and she was being forced to give up her job as a librarian and take care of the children. she engaged in writing while taking care of these children but she was not encouraged by her husband who refused to read her first manuscript entitled the bride price but burnt it instead. buchi abandoned her marriage to francis and absconded with her four children in anger, carrying her fifth pregnancy with her. she later began to write and has published thirteen novels and other works dealing on women’s issues. she got her honours degree in sociology and master of philosophy in social education. her phd was finally completed in 1991. buchi’s biography is necessary in understanding the works written by her as they are largely autobiographical. they reflect her unhappy marriage that ended in a divorce and her financial and emotional struggles as a single mother raising her five children. her works are also more of expose on her anger and frustration at the patriarchal system and the abuse of women’s rights in the society. buchi emecheta’s views and approach to feminism equally qualify her as a feminist. second class citizen was published in 1975 as buchi’s first fully accomplished novel. it was set in post-colonial nigeria and london, two settings of one colony. adah the central character in the novel is the physical image of the author. adah’s birth to ibuza parents residing in lagos is disappointing as the people really expected a baby boy. this is a major problem in the nigerian culture which the nigerian female writers are fighting against. for obvious reasons, the nigerian culture makes it expedient that a boy in the family continues the family lineage and name. women married to other men automatically belong to another family. this is why adah’s father pays more attention to boy, an action which breeds acrimony in the novel. adah naturally feels that as a biological child in the family, the father should have shown equal love to her and her brother by sending her also to school. this expectation is right. a man should show equal sign of love to all his children. nobody should feel marginalized in the family, the female child should be well accepted in the family at her tender years and then be psychologically prepared to face her calling as a woman who should get married and build her home. even after marriage, she should still be accepted in the family with her full rights accorded her just as the male child. the new societal changes have made it possible for both male and female children, whether married or unmarried, to leave their parental home and rent or build their own homes while they remain visitors to their parents. the igbo custom igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 105 does not however, permit a woman to partake in land sharing in her father’s home town as her own heritage is in the husband’s place. to prove the culture which places the subordinate role on a woman wrong, adah has to work and sponsor the husband’s trip abroad. she takes all the responsibilities at home and later joins the husband abroad. her successes in england and winning of the court case against the husband are as a result of the different culture in which adah finds herself. the plot of the story reveals adah’s disappearance with her father’s broken slate to mr. cole’s class at methodist school and the subsequent punishment of the mother over this incidence. the rest of the story follows this line of women marginalization and oppression which is very usual in the igbo society from where the author originates. the only difference is that adah stands against the odds and claims her rights, a fact which is made possible by the london environment in which the characters found themselves. it is this same conflict that buchi emecheta projects in her second novel, the joys of motherhood published in 1979. the conflicts faced by both nnu ego and adah in the joys of motherhood and second class citizen respectively can be analysed under the different aspects of sexual, reproductive, domestic and productive roles. the fast changing nature of the nigerian society and its dire consequence on women are clearly depicted in the joys of motherhood when nnu ego realizes that the introduction of education makes it necessary for children to take a longer time to grow up: still how was she to know that by the time her children grew up the values of her country, her people and her tribe would have changed so drastically, to the extent where a woman with many children could face a lonely old age, and maybe a miserable death all alone, just like a barren woman? (219) in the traditional igbo society, parents expected their children to send financial and material rewards to them, especially their teenage married daughters but in the post-independent nigeria, it takes a long period of time for a child to complete his studies in schools, get married, procure employment, bear children, build a home, buy a car, pay his tax, tithe in the church, meet up with other societal demands, before taking care of their parents, whether old or young. in behind the clouds, ifeoma okoye sets out to redeem the humiliating images of women in the african setting. okoye makes an effort in presenting the nigerian women as dignified and humane individuals capable of personal integrity and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 106 economic independence. this novel is a modern approach to critical issues of women rights and biological abilities. it was conceived in paradox and ended in paradox as the author stipulates the following moral challenge: it is not right to blame all cases of infertility and childlessness on the wife, and drown her in drugs and subject her to all kinds of psychological tortures, without also testing the man to ascertain his potency. (118) behind the clouds tells a story of the wrong culture of blaming the woman of impotency whenever there is the case of childlessness in marriage. it projects the picture of ije, the good natured wife, married to an architect, dozie who nnolim describes as “the loving and hard-working, successful architect” (31). ije is regarded as a barren woman. based on this, the husband spends so much money in curing ije amidst serious anxiety from all quarters. in this circumstance, the man dozie starts to flirt with another lady, virginia and is confident that he has impregnated the girl when she eventually gets pregnant in the course of her friendship with him. he later realizes through the lampoons of virginia that the pregnancy is not as a result of his sexual relationship with this flirt. this situation compels dozie to travel abroad for a test of his potency. realizing that he is the cause of barrenness in his home, he apologizes to his wife to forgive him for all the pains of medical treatment, tests and mental torture that she was subjected to. this leads to more exposures of issues in the novel, issues like the families where characters like the motherin-law intensify the stress between husband and wife whenever there is the problem of barrenness in any marriage. the entire society is criticized as the false prophet and faith healer, apostle joseph, takes advantage of beatrice, another woman with another marital problem of conception in the novel. the medical doctor is not also left out as he does not examine ije’s husband for infertility at the time he is examining the woman for infertility. the novel, behind the clouds, is an indictment and a serious challenge to the society in their attitude to childless women in the nigerian cultures as this attitude might not be caused only by the women but also by men. it is obvious that a man contributes to the pregnancy of a woman but the igbo society sees the failure of any pregnancy as that which comes from the woman. there is also the problem of sex of each baby delivered by an igbo woman. a woman is expected to give birth not only to children but also males so as to guarantee her stay in a matrimonial home. she should not only procreate male but also work hard to provide for the family. where she fails in these roles, the entire society abandons igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 107 her but if she succeeds, she will attract the attention of her children, spouse and all others. conclusion a study of some feminist novels in nigeria has shown that the new feminist novel deviates from the old forms of creating pictures of women that lived private lives. it focuses more on crediting women with more forms of experience than their personal or sexual entanglements. from the development of feminist world-view, women, many of whom are middle-class, work. what feminism has done in the nigerian novel is to debunk the claim that women are only mere vessels of home keeping and sexual gratification. it explains that like their male counterparts, women work. when they do not work outside their homes, they devise other means of relating to the external world. such means could be in writing, communication and even in business relationships as the modern world, with its globalization, has generated various means of livelihood and sustenance. the authors selected for this study show their grasp of the vast differences that really existed between the accepted cultural images of women and what women actually pass through in the modern world. their abilities to develop their plot on this contradiction really distinguish them as feminist novelists in nigeria. works cited chukwuma, helen. “the face of eve: feminist writing in african literature”. major themes in african literature. eds. d.u. opata and a.u. ohaegbu. nsukka: a.p. express publishers, 2000. pages 101 – 114. ---------“positivism and the female crisis: the novels of buchi emecheta”. nigerian female writers, a critical perspectives. eds. otokunafor, henrietta and obiageli nwodo. lagos: malthouse press limited, 1989. pages 2 – 18. emecheta, buchi. second class citizen. glasgow, britain: william collins sons and co.ltd, 1974. …………………. the joys of motherhood. oxford: heinemann, 1994. emenyonu, ernest n. “who does flora nwapa write for?” african literature today no 7 focus on criticism. ed. eldred durosimi jones. london: heinemann. 1982. pages 28 – 33. "feminism." encyclopædia britannica. ultimate reference suite. chicago: encyclopædia britannica, 2012. mojola, yemi. “the works of flora nwapa.” nigerian female writers, a critical perspectives. eds. otokunafor, henrietta and obiageli nwodo. lagos: malthouse press limited, 1989. pages 19 – 29. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 108 nnolim, charles. “the writings of ifeoma okoye”. nigerian female writers, a critical perspectives. eds. otokunafor, henrietta and obiageli nwodo. lagos: malthouse press limited, 1989. pages 30 – 36. nwapa, flora. efuru. london: heinemann, 1970. okoye, ifeoma. behind the clouds. harlow essex: longman, 1982. stubbs, patricia. women and fiction, feminism and novel 1880 – 1920. london: methuen and co. 1981. watt, ian. the rise of the novel. harmondsworth: penguin books, 1985. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 7.doc igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 21 strengthening capacity building in the local government: the nigerian experience igwe, izuchukwu samuel department of public administration federal polytechnic, oko email: izuuigwe@gmail.com okeke, martin i. ph.d department of political science nnamdi azikiwe university, awka email: martinokekeifeanyi@yahoo.com onuigbo, richard a. department of political science enugu state university of science and technology email: ifeifeonuigbo@yahoo.com & iheanacho, emmanuel n. ph.d department of political science, imo state university, owerri email: emmanuelihanacho403@yahoo.com abstract in a bid to ensure an effective and democratic local government system in nigeria, this paper takes a critical examination of the present state of local government and capacity building in nigeria. this is because the issues bordering on the performance of local government administration in nigeria has been at the front burner in the polity in recent times. the paper explores the militating factors and weaknesses in the system with the view to re-invigorating it to meet the challenges of governance in the 21st century through capacity building. source of data collection are based on the participant observation method. this work will also benefit from secondary data such as manuals, textbooks, periodicals etc. the world view of the paper is to contribute to political reengineering of nigeria state through the viability of local government as a panacea for political growth, economic stability and overall well-being of the citizenry. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 22 keywords: capacity building, challenges, democratic government, local government social service delivery and governance stakeholders. introduction the 1976 local government reform marked a turning point in the historical development of local government administration in nigeria. as asserted by (ugwu, 2001), the 1976 reform marked the end of sound experiment or model and gave way to a common national local government system in nigeria. the major thrust of the reform in the word of orewa and adewumi (1983) "is to entrust political responsibility to where it is most crucial and beneficial, that is to the people". it also aimed at social and development of and the effective delivery of the respective local population scattered all over the country". unlike previous reforms which were highly restricted in scope and range, the 1976 reform followed extensive consultations at all the levels of the federating units and among other stakeholders and experts. the reform also conceptualised local government as the third tier of government operating with a common institutional framework with defined functions and responsibilities. as a third tier of government, local government gets its statutory share of allocation direct from the federation account and it is empowered to exercise control over its spending. in addition, the reform provided for a democratically elected local government councils. all the provisions of the 1976 reform were entrenched in the 1979 constitution which anchored in the second republic. however, the1976 reform invariably gave the federal government more domineering role. as gboyega (2001) rightly observes, the consequences of federal intervention and imposition of a common system of local government have been mixed from a benign role that clearly retained state dominance of local government policy-making, the federal role has gradually widened to the point where the federal government can initiate local government policy reform. the second republic was a turbulent period in the history of local government administration. it was a period in which to put to practice the provision of the 1976 local government reform as contained in the 1979 constitution. it was a testing period in which the state and the federal igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 23 government contested the control of local government policy with each other. attempts by the state to re-establish their primacy in local government policymaking not only created conflict with the federal government, but also weakened the power of the local government. the states, especially, abused some provisions of the 1979 constitution to suit their selfish desires. state governments neglected or voided aspects of the 1976 reforms that they were displeased with and distorted those that were merely inconvenient. over the years, successive post-military administrations in nigeria have made various attempts to create a governance structure that would give room for decentralization through different levels of government with differing degrees of success. unfortunately, the local government system has not achieve its purpose since creation following its marginalization by state governments. the implication of these provisions is that local government cannot exercise the functions assigned to it in section 1 schedule 4 of the constitution until the state house of assembly had passed a law. the same fourth schedule of the constitution also provides for "the functions of the local government council to also include participation of such council in government of a state as in respect of the following matters, education, agricultural materials resources, healthcare and any other function assigned to it by the state house of assembly. another area of confusion is in terms of electing the local government council and their tenure. 2nd section 7(6) of the 1999 constitution provides for a democratically elected local government council. while the constitution provides for four year tenure for federal and state political office holders, it was silent on the tenure of the local government political office holders. the constitution in the concurrent legislative list gives the national assembly the power to make laws "with respect to the registration of voters and the procedures regulating election to a local government council. the same constitution gave the powers to the state house of assembly to make "laws with respect of election into a local government council. for instance, in preparation for the fourth republic in 1999, local government elections were held on 5th december, 1998. the elected officers however did not assume office until six months later in may, 1999. the electoral law under which the local government officials were elected (basic constitutional and transitional provisions decree no. 36 of 1998) provides for tenure of three years. the local government officials later went to the supreme court to ask for the increase of the tenure to four years. in collaboration with igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 24 national assembly, the supreme court however ruled that the national assembly did not have the power to increase or alter the tenure of elected officers of local government. at the expiration of the three years which supposed to end in may, 2002, the state governments appointed caretaker committees for all the local government councils in their states to serve until another date of election was agreed upon. subsequently, the election did not take place as and when due as it was postponed twice due to the tussle between the state independent electoral commission (siec) and the independent electoral commission. in order to maintain the local government as an institution that is amenable to perform well, there is the need to strengthen the capacity of such institution in terms of awareness creation and enlightenment. this is the essence of this paper. to achieve this objective, the next section of the paper deals with conceptual issues. the next segment addresses the militating factors against capacity building in the nigeria local government system. the final section offers recommendations and concludes the paper. conceptualizing capacity building to begin with, we can define capacity as the capability of a person, an institution or organization to perform a given task effectively, efficiently, and on a continuing basis and on a continuing basis and with reduced dependence on external resources. the canadian aga khan foundation (akf) defined capacity building as: “addressing the interrelationships between institutions and organizations” (akf, undated, p. 5). akf suggested that the focus on capacity building has produced only a few broad operational guidelines to assist practitioners. another prominent northern ngo (nngo) defined capacity as “what makes an organization strong” (crwrc, 1997). in the fall 1996 in washington, dc, the framework development task force was created to assess capabilities of civil society, state and market organizations. this group gave a third definition of capacity as “the degree to which an organization can marshal human, financial, material and informational resources to accomplish clearly defined goals and objectives” (framework development task force, 1996, p. 2). the above examples demonstrated the striking disparity and the lack of rigor among igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 25 current definitions. unless the term “capacity building” is given more rigor and credibility, its role as the “missing link” in development is likely to be shortlived. by definition, the concept of capacity building is a process designed to allow an organization to attain its vision, mission and goals, and sustain itself. in the context of this study, capacity building is a dynamic social process. it is dynamic because it continuously seeks to develop the organization and its stakeholders to higher and higher levels of capacity. it is social because the driving force of any organization is its people, and people are the builders of capacity. capacity building has typically been defined as the development and strengthening of human and institutional resources. it is acknowledged that the process needs to go beyond the public sector, as it is also influenced by entities in the private sector including commercial enterprises and nongovernmental organisations. capacity development is the process by which individuals, organizations, institutions and societies develop abilities to perform functions, solve problems, set and achieve objectives. it needs to be addressed at three interrelated levels: individual, institutional and societal. “specifically, capacitybuilding encompasses the country’s human, scientific, technological, organizational, and institutional and resources capabilities. a fundamental goal or capacity-building is to enhance the ability to evaluate and address the crucial questions related to policy choices and modes of implementation among development options, based on an understanding of environment potentials and limits and of needs perceived by the people of the country concerned” (uno, 1992). the united nations development programme (1996) defines capacity as the ability to perform functions, solve problems, and achieve objectives at three levels: individual, institutional and societal. the expected outcome of building national capacity is a comprehensive and sustainable national strategy for multisectoral programmes and policies. from the above thesis, undp recognizes that capacity-building is a long-term, continuing process, in which all stakeholders participate (ministries, local authorities, non-governmental organizations and service users, professional associations, academics and others). in 1991, undp and the international institute for hydraulic and environmental engineering organized a symposium entitled “a strategy for water sector capacity-building” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 26 in delft, the netherlands, during which delegates from developing countries and supporting institutes defined capacity-building as: (a) the creation of an enabling environment with appropriate policy and legal frameworks; (b) institutional development, including community participation (of women in particular); and (c) human resources development and strengthening of managerial systems (undp, 1992). at the individual level, capacity-building involves establishing the conditions under which public servants are able to embark on a continuous process of learning and adapting to change – building on existing knowledge and skills and enhancing and using them in new directions. this requires a new approach to human resources management and also points to the importance of knowledge management as the new vehicle for increased learning. at the institutional level, a similar approach needs to be applied. rather than creating new institutions, often based on foreign blueprints, support should focus on the modernization of their machinery, with a priority on systems and processes. in this process, capacity development for policy support, organizational effectiveness and revenue and expenditure management is crucial. finally, capacity development at the social level is required to support the paradigm of a more interactive public administration that learns equally from its actions and from the feedback it receives from the population at large. in order for public administration to be seen as a responsive and accountable service provider, whose performance needs to be monitored, societal change is required (undp, 1996). philbin (1996) conceptualizes it as a process of developing and strengthening the skills, instincts, abilities processes and resources that organizations and communities need to survive, adopt, and thrive in the fast changing world. in organizational sense according to her, capacity building can encompass governance, policy-centric leadership choice, vision and mission of the organization, strategies to accomplish them and the administration of human and financial resources. more often than not it may include revenue generation, i.e. taxation, fundraising, appeal funds, advocacy, partnerships among others. for egonmwan (2002) capacity building could be viewed from three perspective namely: (a) human resources development (b) institutional development and (c) policy environment within which organizations operate and interact. three igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 27 above variables are continuous, dynamic, and can be held in a water tight compartment. that is to say that they are independent on one another. awotokun (2013) adds that the human resources (personnel) are meant to determine the performance or otherwise of the institution i.e. (local government as third tier in nigerian federation). reacting to the notion of capacity building at the local government level in nigeria, he posited that the performance or lack of performance by the local government is implacably reflected on the people as recipient of the outcome of decision (performance) of local government. how the people react to local government of course is contingent on its performance. the performance of local government in turn is affected by the quality and quantum of human resources infused into it. indeed, it can be said that human resources development or management is all it takes to strengthen the capacity of local government to perform its constitutional assigned functions. indeed (egonmwan: 2002) graphically capture it thus: (1) the organization, (a) it enhances performance and increase productivity (b) it heightens moral among staff (c) it brings about organizational stability and flexibility to adapt to changes in technology, techniques and methods and other motivations. (2) to the individual employees: (a) it leads to the acquisition of more knowledge skills and appropriate attitudes (b) it enhances the chances of advancement within the organization and (c) it leads to more job satisfaction, increased earning and greater security. (3) to the society. it enhances overall productivity leading to increase in national income. linnell (2003) conceive capacity building in relation to leadership development, advocacy skills, training / speaking abilities, technical skills, and other areas of personal and professional development. finally, capacity building must respond to the changing needs of individuals, organizations and local governments, as a third tier in nigeria federation. capacity building according to awotokun (2013:12) can be conceived as activities which strengthen the knowledge, abilities, skills and behaviour of individuals and improve institutional structures and process such that the organization can efficiently meet its mission and goals in a sustainable way. be that as it may, it is instructive to consider the principles that govern community capacity building. in a large measure, capacity building more than training includes the following igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 28 elements: (a) human resource development, the process of equipping individuals with the understanding, skills and access to information, knowledge and training that enable them to perform effectively. (b) organizational development, the elaboration of management structures, processes and procedures, not only within organizations but also the management of relationships between the different organizations and sectors (public, private and community) (c) institutional and legal framework development, making legal and regulatory changes to enable organizations, institutions and agencies at all levels and in all sectors to enhance their capacity (an.org.). capacity building is, therefore, concerned with human resource development (people), institutional development (local government system) and the overall policy environment within which the local governments (as public service organizations) operate and interact. capacity building can also help to determine the efficient utilization and allocation of human resources among competing demand. finally, there are two critical issues related to capacity building at the local government level for accelerated and sustainable rural development namely:capacity retention and capacity retrieval. capacity retention involves keeping those trained in critical areas in the local government; curtailing ‘loss’ through ‘brain-drain’; keeping them constantly exposed to new knowledge, tools and techniques in their various fields and providing conducive work environment as well as the tools to work. capacity retrieval entails making concerted efforts through policy measures to retrieve or bring back home those who have out migrated. local government and appropriate capacity building: the militating factors the local government reforms initially had the following lofty objectives: (i) to make appropriate service and development activities responsive to local wishes and initiatives by devolving or delegating them to local representative bodies; (ii) to facilitate the exercise of democratic self-government close to the local levels of our society, and to encourage initiative and leadership potentials; (iii) to mobilize human and material resources through the involvement of member of the public in their local development potentials; and (iv) to provide a two way channel of communication between local communities and government (both state and federal). since the above objectives of local government reforms, the 1979, 1989 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 29 and 1999 constitutions had ensured its continuity as tier of government in the federation. section 7(1) (13) of the above constitutions state: the system of local government by democratically elected local government council is under this constitution guaranteed and accordingly the government of every state shall ensure their existence under a law which provides for the establishment, composition, finance and functions of such councils (fgn, 1999). put differently, the 1976 reform and the constitutions firmly established local government throughout the federation as the third-tier of government. the structure and functions of the local government are contained in section 7 of the fourth schedule of the constitution of the federal republic of nigeria. accordingly, local government is seen as the first level in the national rural development process. any rural development activity that ignores the first level (local government) is doomed to failure. from the provision in the 1979 constitution, it can be seen that local government is assigned wide ranging responsibilities in the areas of education (upe), health care (phc, npi), social and community development, sanitation, agriculture, rural water supply and economic development. besides the constraint of finance, these responsibilities demand from the local government system a high level of its present level of competence. this then, is the reason being the growing concern and urgent need for capacity building at the local government level. from past experience, it is common knowledge that the local government has the weakest capacity to initiate and manage rural development programme. this is due to the fact that the quality and quantity of human resources available at the local government level is seriously insufficient. most of the officials are performing their functions without the relevant qualifications to perform effectively. as a result, available resources for accelerated and sustainable rural development are inefficiently utilized for the purposes intended, thus leaving the local governments today without a reasonable number of qualified accountants, engineers, medical doctors, property values and even economists. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 30 more analysts and scholars believe that the non-conduct of council elections in most states is partly responsible for the inability of local governments to thrive. for instance, a state like anambra did not conducted council election for over a decade while the local government system in over 23 other states are being run by transition chairmen appointed by state governors. yet, as the closest tier of government to the people, the local government is saddled with such responsibilities that directly affect the lives of the grassroots people. it is also believed that local government is fundamental to building a stable government not just at the state but also at the federal level through representative councils established by law with specific responsibilities within defined areas. eme (2011, 2014), who had conducted research about the local government system, noted that in a democracy, local governance is conceived as necessary condition to engender participatory governance as well as foster development at the local level. as the third-tier of government, he posited was to ensure effective participation of the local people in their affairs as well as bring development and good governance to local communities. but such a change, he added, can only come through in two ways. first is to effect necessary amendment of adjustments to the existing legal framework governing local government administration in nigeria. second is by ensuring credible local government elections devoid of any form of manipulation which often characterize elections in nigeria. supporting the above thesis, participants at the one-day workshop organized by centre for democracy and development (cdd) for stakeholders in local governance, proposed that the national assembly should entrench an effective and democratic local government system in nigeria in the just concluded constitution review. the workshop traced some of the challenges of local governance to constitutional ambiguity in responsibility for creating local government areas, clearly delineated areas of responsibilities between states and local governments in some concurrent areas; lack of clarity of roles in governing urban centres; continual encroachment of state governments on responsibilities of councils and inoperability of lga autonomy due to inordinate state controls. if local government must be functional, the group concluded that institutions of governance should undertake all development initiatives in participatory manner with special consideration for women, the poor and other vulnerable igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 31 groups. in this wise, budget formulation, project identification, implementation, monitoring and evaluation should be done participatory. formal institutions, the group also noted, must be transparent in undertaking their functions and also accountable to the citizenry. this could be through regular dialogue sessions like town hall meetings when scorecards are presented to the people. the use of publicly displayed information/bulletin boards have also been found useful. the fiscal resources availability to local councils constitutes another challenge to capacity building. the disposable (financial) resources are germane to human resources development, institutional development as well as environmental policy output. it is for this reason, perhaps, that the authors of the 1976 local government reform conceded a substantial amount of (n100,000,000) for the take off of about 299 (and later 301) local governments created across the nigerian federation, between 1976 and 1977. this was a colossal amount of money as at the time when compared with a grant of n1 million and n1.5million made to each state of the existing twelve states in the previous years (1973 – 1975) fiscal years (ola 1984). it is instructive to note that the financial fortune of the local government rose steadily from 1977/78 with a sum n250million, 1978/79 n300million etc. local government currently enjoys 20.60% of the federation account but to what extent has this strengthened the capacity building at the local level? (awotokun, 2013: 12) queried. head of democratic governance department of cdd, idayat hassan, in her contribution noted that the spirit and letter of the 1999 constitution recognize the principle of fiscal federalism meant to guarantee effective decentralization. as a result, the constitution implicitly acknowledges the need for fiscal, administrative and political decentralization in the management of nigeria. these efforts, she said, are exemplified in the use of regional authorities or governments, native and district authorities and the introduction of a parliamentary system of government with the independence constitution. similarly, the creation of states, that rose from initial 12 to the present 36 (include the federal capital territory), as well as the creation of 300 local government areas (lgas) in 1976, which progressively rose to the present day 774 lgas, were also aimed at creating an administrative environment for grassroots development through decentralization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 32 hassan explained that experience with the application of this constitutional provision has been varied over the years. for instance, decentralization of administrative power during the military era was highly whittled down because of the command and control structure of the regimes, adding that by the time the military finally left government in 1999, the country was left with three main issues related to decentralization which are still the objects of debate, vis-avis, failure of the present constitution to articulate a clear delegation of authority between the states and local government in some areas of concurrent responsibilities, the ambiguity in the responsibility for creation of councils which remains inchoate and included in the fourth schedule of the constitution as well as the problems relating to the equitable allocation of federal revenues amongst the three tiers of government (okolie, 2012). according to her, with the advent of the present democratic dispensation in 1999, effective decentralization received a boost as the state governments began to enjoy high level autonomy in a number of areas. the same was not however reproduced at the local government level. indeed, a carry-over of the military era has continued and political power at the councils remains subservient to the state government. consequently, hassan said there was over dependence on federally allocated revenue. most local governments rely on the federation account for more than 90% of their financial needs, adding that non-participation of stakeholders in governance over the years has made councils accountable to the state and federal governments rather than their communities. as articulated by awotokun (2013:14) institutional capacity of particular importance to this discourse is the institutionalization of presidential system of government in the local government level in nigeria. presidentialism as a form of governance, as witnessed especially in the united states of america, is hinged on good governance. good governance in turn is contingent on successful operationalisation of the machinery of government, which presidential democracy has foisted on the legislative institution, the executive and the judiciary. this is what aptly described in the literature as tripartite system of governance. for good governance to be engendered at the local government level, it must focus on the effective and efficient management of the public affairs at the local level. the local government council which constitutes the legislative institution must make good laws, control the executive activities and safeguard igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 33 the interest of the people. the extent to which the office of the chairman of local government executes or performs the will of the people as enacted in the laws, determines to a large extent what constitute good governance. in the main, elections are seldom held in legislative and executive branches of government at the local level. as stated earlier, state governments do handpick, their surrogates as care-takers of local government. under this arrangement emergence of strong and virile legislative-executive institutions that can confront local challenges will be difficult if not impossible. the effect is that across the federation, most leadership at local government does not derive their legitimacy from the people they claim to represent. this has implication for revenue sharing formula of the monies distributed from the federation accounts, otherwise known as the state-local government joint account. specifically, lack of political will and management challenge constitute big challenges to capacity building in the local government. this is because despite pronouncements to the contrary, central governments often do not want to devolve power to the local level. national political leaders and civil servants may resist decentralization for any number of reasons, from the narrow, parochial interest of retaining power to the broader concern of maintaining national oversight in the interest of uniformity. the management challenges posits that as the process of decentralization, it will not take that long for reality to sink in that many local governments have limited financial and human resources and inadequate governance capacity to fulfill the mandate thrust upon them. many of our municipal governments lack the necessary institutional capacity to manage their rapidly growing populations. as central administration shifts to untested local governments responsibility for, say, public health, education, shelter, waste management, and so on, few of them are equipped with the technical and managerial expertise needed to take on these new responsibilities. supporting the above thesis, olisa agbakoba, senior advocate of nigeria (san) in 2014 sent a private bill to the national assembly advocating power devolution which is akin to what political decentralization. mr. agbakoba is right to posit that devolution of power will not mean disintegration of nigeria. this is because as agbakoba corrently pointed out that there are 68 items in the exclusive list of the 1999 constitution where only the federal government can exercise power. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 34 water, education, healthcare, natural resources, good roads and electricity can be best delivered at the state, local and municipal level if granted devolution. an indepth analysis of current aspect of nigeria political, social and economic index shows that the federal government has made limited impact in service delivery and infrastructural development. the evaluation of federal government management of postal service, power, healthcare, education, security, natural resources and infrastructure are below par. effective decentralization can be deterred by weak administration and lack of or insufficient capacity at the local level which could impair or delay service delivery. administrative responsibilities could be assigned to authorities at the local level without sufficient funds and technical expertise thus making service delivery challenging at the local level (owusu, 2005). citing razin and obiri as quoted by owusu (2005) service delivery at local level is substandard as budget allocation tends not to favour local government. meaning that although decentralization has improved governance, funds allocation which tends to be rigid and delayed, deters service delivery thus growth insignificant (owusu, 2005). simultaneously, government at the local level is usually not in the best position to comprehend the true scenario of the position of things from the national standpoints which could bred conflicting priorities between the central and local government. also, the lack of reliable data could mean that government at the local level would make decisions without a clear picture of the effects of such decisions to the national government. furthermore, dismantling of political powers to local authority could make harmonizing national policies challenging as individual localities would have different opinions and priorities based on their individual analyses. likewise, supporting the argument by cro0ok and sverrisson (2001) decentralization in most cases could be used as a means to promote the interest of local elites as a result of the rigging and lack of transparency in the way elections are conducted and won in nigeria. this could mean that the decisions in most cases fail to reflect the needs of the poor as it seeks to satisfy the elites coupled with the lack of proper checks and balances from the top-down therefore, cannot create tangible impact for the poor. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 35 finally, the central government could be predisposed to preserving as much political authority as possible, sometimes while assigning major responsibilities to the local authorities in an attempt to promote a decentralized administration; it is often without adequate resources required to providing such service. for example, we believe the reason why primary education which is under the local governments is substandard as a result of inadequate resources allocated, corruption, and lack of technical expertise required. but these opportunities can only be exploited only when the necessary conditions for creating more transparent, accountable, responsive and effective local governments are in place. that is: an appropriate legal and regulatory framework, especially one that supports market-oriented municipal finance. allows access to private sector borrowing facilities becomes necessary when public sector resources are insufficient to meet all infrastructure investment needs; a strong civil society, and increased opportunities for participation in the governance process, creating capacity for local governments to manage, finance and deliver services. at the end of the day, what matters most is that the local government is able to deliver services to its residents and that citizens have recourse through democratic means should their local government be unwilling or unable to delivery those services. strategies for capacity building in local government it has become imperative to adopt urgent measures aimed at raising the executive capacity profile of local governments if they are to fulfill the rural development role which has been assigned to this level of government. these measure include that local government system that nigeria deserves is one that promotes the existence of a decentralized national structure of governance. that is the one whereby certain levels of power (political and economic), authority (financial and administrative) and responsibility legally reside with the lowest tier of government. the local government institutions must be amenable to periodic monitoring of their activities by the civil society and the media and there lies the need to strengthen the capacity of such monitoring groups in terms of awareness creation and enlightenment. also to be stressed is the fact that it is the responsibility of the government all levels to take care of the needs of its people, especially under political dispensation. both executive and legislative arm of the government owe the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 36 society a responsibility to take care of their women and children. while calling on the three tiers of governments’, the federal, state and local government to initiate policies toward strengthening the capacity of various stakeholders, especially the local government staff and the media through an enabling platform to engage capacity building and accountability in the country, it also imperative that civil society organizations, community based organisations and the other stakeholders to put more efforts towards capacity building in the country. checklists of these strategies include: � staff development at local government and community level must be intensified. � training in planning and management of rural development must be hastened as this will form the basis upon which the local government human capacity will be strengthened. � training to be undertaken through on-the-job, in-service and academic methods through joint collaboration between the federal, state and local governments, donor agencies, foundations, ngos, cbos, smos, etc. � conduct of a staff audit as a first step with a view to determining areas where there is excess capacity and shortfalls which are to be addressed. � utilize critical expertise that is available from the pool of retired state and federal officers in designated professional areas for specified periods on contract basis. � carry out recruitment of suitably qualified persons to improve the quality of staff available at the local government level. conclusion this paper set out to interpret the relevance of capacity building in the nigerian local government. however, this study is more than just an interpretation of capacity building. it attempts to offer insights and guidelines into a new way of understanding capacity building and suggest ways in which the nigerian local government can revitalize their organizations. the challenge experiences in capacity building in relation to accelerated and sustainable development at the local government level in the past have shown the following characteristics: � failure to build capacity which can be sustained � failure to address critical national/local objectives � capacity building not treated as a priority, which must be continuous process/efforts igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 37 � lack of formulation of coherent strategies with a realistic time frame. consequently, for capacity building to improve at the local government to ensure accelerated and sustainable development the following measures must be adopted as a way forward: � capacity assessment/profile � analysis of the existing capacity problems � assessment of past approaches to capacity building � strengthening the existing system references adamolekun, l. (1991), “promoting african decentralisation”, public administration and development, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 285-292. adesopos, a. et.al (2004), “centralization of inter-government fiscal power and the lower levels of government in a federation: the nigerian experience”, journal of social sciences, pp. 179-195. ahmed, a. (1999), “conceptual approaches to the study decentralisation for rural development”, the journal of local government, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 1-9. akf, (undated), muddles, challenges and opportunities: the current state of capacity development. a background paper prepared for the aga khan foundation canada. akhter, m. y. (1990), ‘decentralisation for development: experiments in bangladesh’, philippine journal of public administration, vol. xxiv, no. 1, jan. pp. 27-42. awotokun, a. m. (2013), “strengthening capacity building in nigerian local government system,” oida international journal of sustainable development, 06:05, pp. 11-16. bardhan, p. (2002), “decentralization of governance and development,” the journal of economic perspectives, vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 185-205. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 38 bardhan, p and dilip m. (2006), “corruption and decentralization of infrastructure delivery in developing countries,” the economic journal, 116: pp. 101-127. campos, jose edgardo and joel, s. hellman, “governance gorte local: does decentralization improve accountability?” ch. 11 east asia decentralizes world bank. cheema, g. s. and rondinelli, d. a. (1983), decentralisation and development: policy implementation in developing countries, beverly hills: sage publications. collins, p. (1974), “decentralisation and local administration for development in tanzania”, africa today, vol. 21, pp. 15-25. conyers, d. (1983), “decentralisation: the latest fashion in development administration?”. public administration and development, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 91-110. conyers, d. (1974), “organisation for development: the tanzanian experience”, journal of administration overseas, vol. 13, pp. 438-448. conyers, d. (1981), “decentralisation for regional development: a comparative study of tanzania, zambia, and papua new guinea”, public administration and development vol. 1, pp. 107-120. conyers, d. (1984), “decentralisation and development: a review of the literature”, public administration and development, vol. 4, pp. 187-197. crwrc, (1997). partnering to build and measure organizational capacity: lessons from ngos around the world. publication made possible through support provided by the bhr/pvc, bureau for humanitarian response, u.s. agency for international development, washington, dc. dieseruvwe, s. (2014), development and decentralisation: concept and practice of decentralisation, december 7. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 39 dubois, h.f.w. & fahore, g. (2009), “definitions and typologies in public administration research: the case of decentralization”, international journal of public administration, pp. 704-727. federal government of nigeria (1979), constitution of federal republic of nigeria, lagos: federal government press. federal republic of nigeria (1976), guidelines for local government reforms, kaduna: government printers. fesler, j. (1949), area and administration, alabama, university of alabam press. fesler, james w. (1965), ‘approaches to the understanding of decentralisation’, the journal of politics, vol. 27, pp. 536-566. framework development task force, (1996, september 2). memo to: capacity building working group, washington, dc. furniss, n. (1974), ‘the practical significance of decentralisation’, journal of politics, vol. 36, no. 4, pp. 958-59. gboyega, a. (2001), local autonomy in federal politics: the nigerian local government system in historical perspective”, being a paper presented at an international conference on new directions” federalism in african, abuja nigeria. hyden, g., jackson, r. and okumu, j. (eds.) (1970), development administration: the kenyan experience, nairobi: oxford university press. igbuzor, o. (2003), local government reform and constitutional review in nigeria, lagos: centre for democracy and development (cdd). maro, p. s. (1990), “the impact of decentralisation on spatial equity and rural development in tanzania”, world development, vol. 18, no. 5, pp. 673693. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 40 mawhood, p. (1983), local government for development: the experiences of tropical africa, chichester: john wiley. meaanaski sundaram (1994), “decentralization in developing countries: (http://en.wikipedia.org). meenakshisundaram, s. s. (1994), decentralisation in developing countries, new delhi: concept publishing company. narain, igbal (1963), ‘democratic decentralisation: the idea, the image, and the reality’, the indian journal public administration, vol. 9, pp. 9-34. okolie, a. (2012), “strengthening local government system”, this day, 04 dec, pp. 32. olowu, d. (1988), african local government as instrument of economic and social development, netherlands: the international union of local authorities. olowu, d. (1990), “achievements and problems of federal and state transfers to local governments in nigeria since independence”, in adamolekun, l., robert, r., and laleyee, m. (eds.), decentralisation policies and socioeconomic development in sub-saharan africa, world bank: washington dc. olowu, d. (1990), “the failure of current decentralisation programmes in africa”, in wunsch, j. and olowlu, d. (eds.), the failure of the centralised state: institutions and self-governance in africa, boulder: westview press. olowu, d. (2002), “governance in developing countries: the challenges of multi-level governance,” the geospatial resource portal (gis development) www.gisdevelopment.net orewa, g. o. and adewumi, j. b. (1992), local government in nigeria: the changing scene: vol. ii, benin city: ethiope publishing corporation. osaghae, e. e. (1990), “a reassessment of federalism as a degree of decentrailization”, public: the journal of federalism, 20, winter. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 41 oyugi, w. o. (1990), “decentralised development planning and management in kenya: an assessment”, in ademolekun, k., robert, r., and laleye, m. (eds.), decentralisation policies and socio-economic develo0pment in subsaharan africa, world bank: washington, dc. rondinelli, d. a. (1981), ‘government decentralisation in comparative perspective: theory and practice in developing countries’, international review of administrative sciences, vol. 47, no. 2 pp. 133-45. rondinelli, d.a (1983), ‘implementing decentralisation programmes in asia: a comparative analysis’, public administration and development, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 181-208. rondinelli, d., nellis, j.r. and cheema, g.s. (1984), decentralisation in developing countries: a review of recent experience, world bank staff working papers no. 581, the world bank: washington dc. sharma, c.k. (2005), “when does decentralisation deliver? the dilemma of design”, south asian journal of socio-political studies, pp. 38-45. sherwood, f. p. (1969), “devolution as a problem of organization strategy”, in r. t. daland (ed.), comparative urban research, beverly hills: sage, pp. 6087. siedentopf, h. (1989), ‘decentralisation for rural development: government approaches and people’s initiatives in asia and the pacific’, planning and administration, vol. 2, pp. 7-11. sokoya, k.l. and ekong e.e. (1982) ‘success and failure in rural community development effort: a study of two cases in south west nigeria’, community development journal. the world bank (2001) “attacking poverty with a three – pronged strategy”, world bank policy and research bulletin, october-december, 2000/ mar,2001, vol. 11 no. 4/vol. 12, no. 1. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 42 tordoff, w, young ra (1999), decentralisation and public sector reform in zambia in j. southern afr. stud. vol. 20. u.n.o. (2002) national planning commission and united nations development programme & aid management programme; course on management of sustainable human development at local government level (mshdlg), participants’ manual, training modules 1-4. ugwu, s.c. (2001), issues in local government and urban administration in nigeria, enugu: academic publishing company. undp (1996), report of the united nations global forum on innovative policies and practices in local governance, gothernburg, sweden, 22-27 september. undp (2004), participatory local governance life global programme. http://www.undp.org/governance/local.htdm united nations development programme, undp, (1996, july 30). [on-line]. available: van de geer, r. and wallis, m. (1984), public administration and community development: lesotho’s experience, department of political administrative studies, university of lesotho, april. werlin, herbert (1992), “linking decentralisation and centralisation: a critique of the new development administration”, public administration and development, vol. 12, pp. 223-235. world bank (1994), governance: the world bank’s experience, washington dc also see world bank (1997), world development report, 1997, new york: oxford university press. wunsch, j. (1986), “administering rural development: have goals outreached organisational capacity”, public administration and development, vol. 6, pp. 287-308. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 43 wunsch, j.s. (1991), “sustaining third world infrastructure investments: decentralisation and alternative strategies”, public administration and development, vol. 11, pp. 5-23. wunsch, sj (2004), “decentralisation, local governance and the democratic transition in south africa: a comparative analysis”, in african studies quarterly, the online j. or afr. studies. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 59 the role and place of religion in the political philosophy of dr. nnamdi azikiwe paulinus c. ejeh, phd philosophy unit, general studies division, enugu state university of science and technology paulinus.ejeh@esut.edu.ng; 07038546333 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract the relation between religion and politics has continued to be an important theme in political philosophy. this is because religion is one of the oldest, deep-rooted and most important traditional institutions on the face of the earth. it is a divine reflection of mankind’s craving and effort to interrogate and understand the reasons of creation of the universe, and the meaning of life on earth. religion is said to have an important influence on forming the individuals’ worldview in general and correspondingly their political perception and identities. however, the influence of religion on politics in nigeria and in particular on the political leaders could be positive or negative or both positive and negative. the political office holders are misusing religion as a tool to get to power while religious leaders are mishandling it to get personal gain from those who hold public office. in other words, as religion enhances national development, so also it could be counterproductive. the study makes use of descriptive methodology to explore the role and place of religion in the formation of nnamdi azikiwe’s political thoughts. keywords: religion, politics, role, nnamdi azikiwe, office holders introduction religion and politics have always co-existed, and are so close that one cannot easily talk of one without the other. as a phenomenon religion can be used for different purposes – some good and some bad depending on the intention of the user. many politico-economic thoughts have been influenced by religion and vice versa. in the latter instance, they may favour religious ideology or as in the case of marxism which is a direct confrontation against christianity. there is an incontrovertible connection between religionand politics. while the actual role that religion plays in politics has remained debatable, the nexus between the two concepts has been established for long (falana, 2010) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 60 religion does not make people good or bad. on the contrary, it is being used as an instrument of oppression and deceit in nigeria. it appears that nigerians have resigned themselves to fate and this is possibly further compounded by poverty, illiteracy, and lack of political education on the part of majority. this position is further aggravated by the general perception that politics is a dirty game and that only people who can deceive, manipulate, and greedily accumulate wealth are meant to participate (egbewole and etudaiye, 2011). the number of religious people in nigeria run into million, yet the level of insecurity, destruction of lives and properties and crimes committed in god’s name is overwhelming. the need for political stability in nigeria cannot be overemphasized. a major variable in the nigerian polity is the relationship between religion and politics which some consider as inseparable while some support the notion of the separation of religion from politics, so that the former will not imbibe the corruption inherent in the latter. generally speaking, there is a common fallacy that religion and politics are two different fields of social activity. this leads observers sometimes to speak of the politicization of religion, and aver that itis against the original intent of the founder of religion, or god himself(van der veer, 1996:50). all over the country, religion plays an important role in the daily lives of her citizens; the way we interact with one other, our choice of dressing, food, and politics are mostly affected by religion. in other words, religion and politics are intertwined and it empowers man to function in his society by contesting for a political position so as to contribute his ideology. nigeria's population of over 140 million is divided nearly equally between christians and muslims. the importance of this division is well illustrated by the fact that religion, not nationality, is the way in which most nigerians choose to identify themselves; though not in all cases. thus, the domains of religion, secularism and politics are becoming increasingly intermingled in both overt and covert ways. invariably, sectarian politics is inherently problematic (tar and shettima, 2010). thus, there is a need to look at the effects of religion on politics in nigeria since independence. in addition, the study intends to find out how religion can bring sustainable development to our politics. it concludes by agitating for religious tolerance and the hinging of politics on moral codes. in the social sciences there is no generally accepted definition of religion. this is partly because religion is “historically, geographically, culturally and demographically situated within a language” (maduro, 1982) and partly because religion means different things to different people of different professions, cultures and orientations. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 61 therefore, seeing religion as “any system relating man to ultimate values, whether god or something else, and embodying creed, code, cult and communion (kenny, 1984), i will, after presenting a brief biographical account of dr. azikiwe, examine the political thought he expressed in his essays on neo-welfarism with the intention of noting their religious underpinnings. azikiwe’s brief biographical data dr. benjamin nnamdi azikiwe, fondly known as zik, hails from onitsha, anambra state in eastern nigeria. he was born on november 16, 1904 at zungeru in niger state, northern nigeria and was baptized a methodist in 1916. his father was a civil servant in the nigerian regiment. dr. azikiwe later changed his first name to nnamdi. azikiwe received his early education in the methodist mission schools of onitsha, calabar and lagos. he was exposed to different nigerian cultures and spoke three languages. he was educated in political science in the united states of america from 1925-1934. he graduated from the university of pennsylvania and from lincoln university. he became the first nigerian to study in the united states. he taught political science in the latter institution in 1933. on his return to african in 1937, he became an outstanding journalist, founding and editing many renowned newspapers and journals such as african morning post, in accra and west african pilot in lagos, nigeria. among his notable political publications are renascent africa (1937), political blueprint of nigeria (1942), the realities of african unity (1965), origins of the nigerian civil war (1969), i believe in one nigeria (1969), my odyssey: an autobiography (1971), ideology for nigeria: capitalism, socialism or welfarism? (1981). dr. azikiwe’s political spirit was awakened at an early age. with adekunle ajasin, he founded and was the first president of the famous national council of nigeria and cameroon (ncnc). as a member of the legislative council, he belonged to the western house of assembly from 1954-1959, during which he severed as the minister of the local government and internal affairs of the eastern region and as the premier of the region. he was a member of the nigerian house of representatives from 1959 to 1960. in 1963 he became the first president of the federal republic of nigeria. but three years later, he and his civilian colleagues were removed from office in the 15 january 1966 military coup, and he was the most prominent politician to avoid assassination after the coup. azikiwe was a spokesman for biafra and advised its leader, chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu, during the biafran war (1967–1970). after the war, azikiwe was chancellor of the university of lagos from 1972 to 1976. he joined the nigerian people's party in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 62 1978, making unsuccessful bids for the presidency in 1979 and 1983. he left politics involuntarily after the 31 december 1983 military coup. throughout his career, azikiwe used his nationalist press, political connections, and kinship of his tribe to promote education, self-government, welfare, and progress. dr. benjamin nnamdi azikiwe was a nigerian statesman and political leader who, apart from being the first president of nigeria, was considered a driving force behind the nation's independence, and came to be known as the "father of nigerian nationalism. he died at the university teaching hospital, enugu in 1996 after a long illness, at the age of 91. welfarism in order to clearly understand the concept of neo-welfarism as the foundation of azikiwe’s political philosophy, it is important that we first understand what welfarism stands for. zik explains welfarism as, a social system where the state assumes primary responsibility for the individual and social welfare of it citizen. it is the complexes of policies, attitudes and believes which animate the state to provide its inhabitants with minimum standard in education, health, housing, pension, etc. where individual means are inadequate (azikiwe, 1981). the major thrust of welfarism is its demand on the state to care enough for the economic, social and political wellbeing of the citizens. the welfarist aims at bringing the greatest good to the greatest number by providing essential services to its citizen virtually free of charge. welfarism is essentially attractive because, it promotes the principle of mutual aid on a humanistic basis. however, welfarism as a social philosophy has its own shortcomings. it has an inherent problem arising from its provision of essential services, free of charge. once it becomes known that these services are free, azikiwe points out, there is bound to be mad rush of people to take advantage of these free services. and experience according to azikiwe has shown that “any social service that is free is bound to be inundated with drop-outs, idles, adventurers, apart from the genuine sector of the population concerned. eclectic-pragmatism azikiwe’s philosophical method is a combination of eclecticism and pragmatism because it flows and follows through the principles of eclecticism and pragmatism. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 63 hence eclectic-pragmatism aptly describes zik’s philosophical method. according to him: eclectic-pragmatism is a term used in philosophy to identify a composite system of thought which incorporates ideas selected from other systems. it does not modify but blends opposite views. according to an authority its essence is the refusal to follow blindly one set of formulae and conventions with a determination to recognize and select from all other sources those elements which are good or true, either in the abstract, or in the concrete, so far as they are practicable and useful (azikiwe, 1981). this system according to azikiwe does not attempt to reconcile or combine irreconcilables; rather it leaves the contradiction unresolved but blends incompatibles to make them practicable for utilitarian purposes. he extols the merit of the eclectic approach as lying in the fact that any person or group of persons can add, subtract, multiply or divide any idea and adapt it to their situation or historical circumstances. pragmatism in the other hand is a theory of truth. truth according to william james is made by successful experience. in line with this proposition, azikiwe asserts that pragmatism is a philosophical theory of dealing with things which are real. by emphasizing practicability and workability, pragmatism appealed to azikiwe in his quest to construct a system of philosophy which works to the advantage of the many, and not that which speculate to the disadvantage of the many when accessed by its practical results, politically, socially and economically. eclectic-pragmatism for azikiwe is the most suitable method for dealing especially with the multi-faceted reality of economic and political matters. it is a method which attempts to harmonize apparently opposing views, not by resolving the contradictions, but by selecting and blending what is useful and practicable in each for the purpose of attaining the desired goals. it is a method which also recognizes that the various systems of thought contain some truth, but not the whole truth, and that better picture of the world and human experience will be achieved, if the truths in the various systems are sifted and blended. thus, eclectic pragmatism seems to be the most suitable method for dealing with african problems in view of the variegated and traumatic experience which precipitated them. having critically examined the major political systems, azikiwe finds each of them wanting. but none of them in his view is totally bad without some good elements. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 64 with the assumption that what nigeria needs is an ideological re-orientation and not ideological imposition, azikiwe through the eclectic-pragmatic method, proposes a harmonization of the good elements of capitalism, socialism and welfarism. the outcome of this eclectic harmonization of opposite is what he calls neo-welfarism. neo-welfarism dr. azikiwe wrote about neo-welfarism in 1981. he defines it as: an economic system which blends the essential elements of capitalism, socialism and welfarism in a socio-economic matrix, influenced by indigenous nigerian moves, to enable the state and the private sector to own and control the means of production, distribution and exchange, whilst concurrently enabling the state to benefit the citizens according to their needs and officially specified minimum standards, without prejudice to participation in any aspect of the social services by voluntary agencies (azikiwe, 1981). according to zik then, the neo-welfaristic state determines the minimum standard of living of its people and provides equal opportunities for them in education, health, housing, pension and rehabilitation. it sustains and champions the social and economic well-being of its citizens through a system of laws. the neo-welfare state aims at bringing the greatest good to the greatest number of its people by providing all of them with essential services. hence, zik pointed out that “what we need as a cure is a system of philosophy which works to the advantage of the many, and not that which speculates to the disadvantage of the many when assessed by its practical results” (azikiwe, 1981). neo-welfarism permits private enterprise(s), but invites the state to participate and cooperate in its management, control and sponsorship in order to attain the optimum welfare for the people. the other basic system of neo-welfarism is pragmatism and it is influenced by four factors: “psychology.], logical, ethical and religious” (omoregbe, 1990). in this light, neo-welfarism aims at “the restoration of democracy in nigeria with political and religious freedom, economic security, and social equality” (azikiwe, 1981). these involve, among other things, the following two principles: 1. the insistence on the rule of law and 2. the total restoration and reinforcement of the fundamental human rights of all citizens (azikiwe, 1981). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 65 viewing neo-welfarism from the above, one could easily surmise that neowelfarism has no religious dimension. but is that the case? let’s find out. the influence of religion on zik’s political philosophy born into christianity, zik absorbed its religious tenets. thus he said: “i was reared in a christian atmosphere and in a home where christian idealism was translated into our daily lives” (azikiwe, 1970). neo-welfarism reflects the teachings of christianity. how? it is evidenced in zik’s concept universal fatherhood, universal brotherhood, and universal happiness which truly reflects the teachings of jesus christ – brotherliness, communalism and the care for one another. in his statement on the 31st of december 1933, zik remarked: “henceforth, i shall strive, to my utmost, to live as a true christian; forgiving those who offend me, forgetting the evils perpetrated against me, and praying fervently to god to forgive my sins and to forget my shortcomings” (azikiwe, 1970). zik understood that to live as a true christian entails bringing god into one’s daily activities whether one is a president or a laborer. one should always seek for the good of others and for the glory of god. this then, is the underlying factor in zik’s political activities. he brought christ into his political thoughts or philosophy for the good of the people and for the glory of god. although we are not discussing the influence of religion on the person of zik, the above precious statements should not be discarded because it helped to form his political philosophy – the neo-welfarism. zik was inspired at the impressionable age of 16, by a sermon delivered in 1924 by rev. dr. james e.k. aggrey, at the tinubu methodist church in lagos. in the sermon, rev. aggrey called for a reorientation of values in africa. this made a deep impression on zik, who later wrote: “i became spiritually electrified. it dawned on me that life had a meaning and i had a mission to fulfill. thus it was my task to make life worthwhile for my fellow men and to be a friend to struggling humanity” (azikiwe, 1970). another person who influenced zik was marcus garvey, a christian crusader whose political philosophy – “one god, one aim, one destiny” galvanized zik into drafting it as his philosophy of life “so far as was practicable towards the evangelization of universal fatherhood, universal brotherhood, and universal happiness”(azikiwe, 1970). from these, we can see the effects of zik’s education in the states – the resolve to fulfill a mission of making life worthwhile for his fellow men and to be friend of struggling humanity. to accomplish this aim, he igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 66 chose neo-welfarism – a system of government that protects the peoples’ rights to religion; and as we well know, in religion, one find security and protection. note that it was not in a political rally that zik received this inspiration but at a christian church. what was he doing there; political campaign or a religious worship? surely, he was there for a religious worship. thus, he acknowledged: dr. aggrey’s sermon gave me intellectual curiosity, and marcus garvey’s motto gave me the ambitions to be of service for the redemption of africa. these were sparks which kindled my spirit and made me seek avenues to articulate my feelings and yearnings” (azikiwe, 1970). zik found these avenues and articulated his yearnings in neo-welfarism. neowelfarism is therefore born out of zik’s realization of the ultimate good and the actualization of the religious principles of the people. according to zik, neowelfarism as a suitable system for nigeria is based on two schools of thoughts: eclecticism and pragmatism. eclecticism aims integrally at the utility of doctrines (omoregbe, 1990). since one of the aims of neo-welfarism is to restore the fundamental rights of all citizens, including freedom of religion, can it not legitimately be said that religion was one of the reasons for zik’s neo-welfarism? in his autobiography, zik writes: “religious education had given me a positive conception of universal fatherhood and universal brotherhood” (zik, 1970). even while travelling to canada for treatment on may 25, 1993, zik said: “what i expect to see on my return is a nigeria where everyone is free; where if you are qualified, you should vote and be voted for irrespective of tribe and religion” (the guardian newspaper, 1993). in his political neo-welfarism he considered all men to be his brothers. this is a fundamental christian attitude. zik’s ideology of neo-welfarism reflects his consciousness of the place of religion in society and his insistent on respect for all. in opting for the fundamental human rights, he permits the unrestricted growth of religion. he warned his political opponents who wanted to impose their leadership on the majority of nigerians thus: “i am supremely confident that almighty god will frustrate their knavery and ultimately expose their machinations and consign them to the garbage heap of forgotten tyrants. history will vindicate the just, and god shall punish the wicked” (tel magazine, 1994). this statement carries a biblical tone, for the bible emphatically says that the wicked shall perish. let us consider the followings: “so we are going to the ladder, not only for one year but by the grace of god, we shall become a permanent member of the council” (nigerian tribune, 1993). also, when ernest shonekan, the then head of interim government led a delegation of government officials on igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 67 courtesy visit to zik, zik told them: “we pray god for your administration to give nigeria good government so that we move forward. we must learn to cooperate to make things possible. the task is great, but if you work hard you will succeed, with god on your side” (the guardian newspaper, 1993). note that zik did not cite famous politicians like karl marx or lenin. he cited god himself. in his statement regarding the future of nigeria he said: “now i see a future of greatness for nigeria, provided we continue to remember that god made us and the fingers of our hands” (the guardian newspaper, 19930. in other words, zik saw that the future of nigeria depends on our bringing god in whatever we do, thus the neowelfarism. let us consider the following narration of his early life which proves that religion is not only a part of his teachings but the core motivation of his political thoughts: christianity has always appealed to me as a great world religion. from my youth i had been a first-rate student of the scriptures. as a student of history, i enrolled in a theological seminary with a view to understanding the history and basic doctrines of christianity… i had the sacraments of the various churches bestowed upon me, being a methodist…, admitted to holy communion as a presbyterian, and married as a methodist” (azikiwe, 1970). herein lies zik’s political philosophy! herein lies the birth of neowelfarism! it is clear from the above quotation that zik’s neo-welfarism is based on his religious convictions. this is also evidenced in his exhortations in which he passionately urged: “let mankind learn to love one another. let mankind emulate the founder of christianity and apply the noble ideals of christianity so as to change this mad world into a paradise on earth” (azikiwe, 1937). zik’s idea of neo-welfarism was influenced by religion in his emulation of christ in order to change nigeria and africa into a paradise on earth. he saw the need for religious values in both political and economic life of the nation which he transmitted in his neo-welfarism. evaluation and conclusion neo-welfarism as a system is not perfect. in fact, it has its own shortcomings. moreover, it never materialized. but this should not prevent us from seeing that given a chance, neo-welfarism would have been the best system of government for nigeria. besides what matters as far as this paper is concerned is not the workability of neo-welfarism, but the influence of religion on zik in the neowelfarism which has been aptly shown above. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 68 although zik’s political philosophy was stimulated by concern for the political, economic, and social welfare of the people, it is certain that they are not the only factors behind his ideology. in fact, religion is the core motivator. zik’s concept of neo-welfarism and his whole political thought was motivated by religion. he used religion advantageously to confront political and economic issues. this is quite commendable especially as the history of nigeria political leadership is replete with over-zealous and religious fanatics who used and are still using religion to the advantages of a section of the country to the detriment of the rest of the nation. zik’s early christian education and up-bringing influenced his political activities positively. he sought for the good of all and not just his own people (the igbos). in fact, many people (including the igbos) still blame zik for being too good; for being too universalistic, for standing for the whole nation instead of for his own people. one may ask why does zik so frequently refer to god in his political activities? is god a political or a religious concept? if god is a religious concept – as he surely is – and zik in his political ideology keeps referring to him and drawing his political teachings from him, then the logical conclusion is that religion must have influenced him greatly. zik is not an atheist but a solid christian. his reference to god is therefore not a coincidence but a normal phenomenon proper to all christians who wish to spread the message of the kingdom of god. being a christian, zik wished to do that in his political teachings – neo-welfarism. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 69 it is therefore, no doubt that religion played a major role in azikiwe’s politcal activities. can there be any political ideology without religious underpinning? look at julius nyerere of tanzania, who postulates that everybody is related regardless of race, colour, and belief. a closer look at the world political system would reveal great religious-minded leaders whose political thoughts were motivated by religion. thus, religion need not be separated from politics nor politics from religion. the two go together, and in some cases, there is only but a thin wall between them. no doubt, religion has in the past an even in the present caused lots of problems and divisions in the society, yet, in every religion there is always an aspect that is truly authentic, worthwhile, commendable and unifying. it is this aspect that we should embrace and zik as well as many other religiousdriven leaders sought for this aspect of religion that is positive and life-changing. when a leader is positively motivated or driven by religion, his political thoughts or ideologies become purified as is the case with zik. neo-welfarism is the religious manifestation of zik. for this reason, in spite of numerous voices clamoring for the separation of the state and religion, we maintain that there is no need for the separation between the two. in fact, the separation of the two would cause more problems than it could solve. therefore, since religious ideology resounds in zik’s entire political thinking, religion is then the vehicle that transported his political thoughts, and he used it to conscientize nigerians and africans. references azikiwe, n. (1937). renascent africa. london: frank can and co. azikiwe, n. (1970). my odyssey: an autobiography. london: hurst and company. azikiwe, n. (1981). ideology for nigeria: capitalism, socialism or welfarism? lagos: macmillan. egbewole, w . o., and etudaiye, m. a. (2011). religion, politics and justice: interplay of forces in nigeria. retrieved fromhttp://www.etudaiyeandco.com/.../religion_politics_and_justice_ interplay_of_ forces_in_nigeria.pdf falana, f. (2010). a public lecture delivered at the 51st birthday anniversary of rt. rev alfred adewale martins, catholic bishop of abeokuta, ogun state on saturday june 5, 2010. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 2. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 70 kanu, i. a. (2011). zikism: towards an indigenous ideology for political regeneration in africa. amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 9. no. 1. pp. 18-26. kenny, j. (1984). “religious movements in nigeria: divisive or cohesive? some interpretative models in orita, ibadan. vol 4, 22, p234. maduro, o. (1982). religion and social conflicts. new york: orbis books. tell magazine, “zik at 90” exclusive interview”, n0. 47, nov. 21, 1994. the guardian newspaper, “zik canvasses for peace, dialogue on political crisis.” friday july 30, 1993. the nigerian tribune, “zik canvasses for peace, dialogue on political crisis.” friday july 30, 1993. omoregbe, j.i. (1990). knowing philosophy. lagos: joja educational research and publishers ltd. tar, u., and shettima, a. g. (2010). discussion paper 49: endangered democracy? the struggle over secularism and its implications for politics and democracy in nigeria. nordiska. afrika institutet, uppsala. p. 5. van der veer, p. (1996). “the ruined center: religion and mass politics in india”. journal of international affairs50(1):254-277. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 2(2) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 1 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christianmuslim relations in northern nigeria by kanu, ikechukwu anthony, o.s.a., ph.d. department of philosophy augustinian institute, makurdi, benue state ikee_mario@yahoo.com; +2348036345466 abstract nigeria is a religiously diverse society, with islam and christianity being the most widely professed religions. in the 1980’s serious outbreaks of violence began to be manifest in the relationships between christians and muslims. the clashes in kaduna and kano states are notable. since then, the relationship between the two religions in nigeria has been defined by violence, attacks, counterattacks and bloodshed. this piece studies the relationship between christianity and islam in nigeria with the view of seeking a solution to the recurrent conflicts between them. it further adopted igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the resolution of conflict between christians and muslims. the historical and phenomenological methods of enquiry were employed in the collection and analysis of data, while the indigenous wholistic theory was adopted for the interpretation and understanding of the problem at hand. this work submits that nigerian muslims and christians are first of all kinsmen before their adherence to christianity and islam. both religions constitute parts of the intricate web of reality and relationships in the ontological order. their differences is for complementarity and not conflict. keywords: igwebuike, igbo-african, dialogue, christian, muslim, relations, nigeria, philosophy. introduction naked fire can be used for cooking delicious food for nourishing human life, however, naked fire can also destroy human life. in the same way, religion is a very powerful force for unity, but it can equally be a very volatile force for division. a cursory glance at the unfolding of events in the history of nigeria, right from independence, reveals an incessant tension between the adherents of christianity and islam. their relationship has been characterized by mutual igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 2 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) suspicion, hate and unhealthy rivalry. this has placed the nigerian nation on the boil. the climate can be compared to a powder keg of frustration which often explodes at the slightest provocation. kukah (2012) observes that this explosion is triggered by a range of factors, like arguments over election results, the burning of koran in any part of the world, the making of provocative statements by christian leaders in any part of the world, etc. for instance, 12th october 2001, in kano, there was an anti-american protest rally spurred by the us-led strikes on afghanistanthis led to over 200 deaths. in 2006, cartoons of muhammad were published in denmark, in reaction many lives and properties were lost, with many innocent people dying without knowing what it was all about. in the same year, pope benedict xvi questioned islam’s position on peace, this also led to the loss of lives and properties in nigeria. these, according to jimoh (2008), continue to affect the relationship between christians and muslims. more recently, the outburst of a new face of violence in northern nigerian under the aegis of the boko haram sect which rejects what it understands as pervasive and corrupting western influence has deepened the mutual suspicion, hate and unhealthy rivalry between the two religions. in the face of all these, the fundamental question that this piece asks is ‘what is the way forward?’ in many cases, violence has been employed to curb violence, but the end result has been more hate and division. there are also times when ngo’s have come into the scene with different western theories of conflict resolution, which hardly responds adequately to the problem of religious violence. this piece strongly believes that the engagement of an indigenous ideology/category for the resolution of religious conflicts would make more impact. it is, therefore, in this regard that igwebuike is adopted as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in nigeria. theoretical framework over the years, the international community has been involved in supporting african countries in the resolution of conflicts, however, only very little have changed. there still exist all kinds of conflicts that threatens existence, safety, security, moral dignity, etc. the indigenous wholistic theory of absolon (2010) is used to underpin this study on christian-muslim relations. the theory is based on the idea that indigenous peoples have worldviews and means of relating to the world. this worldview is rooted within indigenous epistemologies, cultures and traditions with the understanding that we are all relatedeach aspect relates igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 3 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) with the whole: the dynamics of realty are based on the relationships and experiences of interrelationships and interconnections. it is wholistic in the sense that it encompasses the spiritual, emotional, mental and physical elements of being. it forms a framework to indigenize our thoughts and actions into active healing processes that simultaneously decolonize and indigenize. christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria 1980-2014 christian-muslim relations in nigeria have been predominantly on the negative. while kazah-toure (2003) dates this mutual suspicion and conflict from the precolonial period, sangosanya and sha (2005) argue that this phenomenon began with the colonial periodthe result of the construction of ethno-religious identities by the colonial masters. gotan (2008) opines that whatever time frame we put as the beginning of religious intolerance between the two religions, the fact remains that it is a danger that is capable of destroying the corporate existence of nigeria. because of the sensitive place and role of religion in nigeria, sectional economic and social interests, political ambition, ethnic considerations, easily take up the garb of religion, and thus, religion has become a tool in the hands of politicians and other pursuants of selfish interests to realize their quest. a glance at the nigeria history reevals that in 1980-1985, there were the maitatsine religious riots; in 1987, at the college education, kafanchan, there was a religious riot; in 1990bauchi; in 1991, 14th october in kano which was a reaction to reihard bonke’s crusade; in 1992, in zangon katab; in kaduna february 2000; in bauchi, 2001 june, as a result of the introduction of the sharia law legal system in the state; in jos, september 2001; in kaduna, november 2002. below is a summary of the religio-political crisis from 2009–2013 between christians and muslims in the northern part of nigeria, giving a picture of the relations between the two major religions in nigeria. 2009 religio-political crises in nigeria date place number of deceased july 26th 2009 bauchi over 1,000 july 27th 2009 yobe, borno, bauchi, kano 800 figure 5 2010 religio-political crises in nigeria igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 4 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) date place number of deceased january 2010 borno 4 march 13th 2010 jos 300 october 1st 2010 abuja 12 december 24th-29th 2010 jos and borno 94 figure 6 2011 religio-political crises in nigeria date place number of deceased january 2011 jos 200 january 28th 2011 borno 6 march 3rd 2011 suleja 14 april 16th 2011 borno 6 april 25th 2011 borno 5 may 28th 2011 damboa 5 june 7th 2011 borno 14 june 16th 2011 abuja 2 june 26th 2011 borno 25 july 10th 2011 suleja 6 august 1st 2011 borno 1 august 26th 2011 abuja 24 november 4th 2011 damaturu 150 november 27th 2011 yobe 7 dec. 22nd/23rd 2011 borno and yobe 100 december 25th 2011 madalla 46 december 30th 2011 borno 7 figure 7 2012 religio-political crises in nigeria date place number of deceased january 5th 2012 gombe 6 january 6th 2012 adamawa 17 january 20th 2012 kano 200 june 3rd 2012 bauchi 15 june 17th 2012 kaduna 50 june 17th 2012 jos 150 august 2012 kogi 19 october 3rd 2012 mubi 50 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 5 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) october 28th 2012 kaduna 8 december 2012 jaji 60 figure 8 2013 religio-political crises in nigeria date place number of deceased march 18th 2013 kano 22 may 7th 2013 borno 55 july 6th 2013 yobe 42 july 28th 2013 borno 30 july 29th 2013 borno 40 september 7th 2013 borno 74 september 18th 2013 borno 166 september 20th 2013 borno 142 september 21st 2013 abuja 17 september 29th 2013 yobe 78 september 30th 2013 adamawa 2 september 30th 2013 yobe 62 october 8th 2013 borno 30 october 11th 2013 plateau 21 october 16th 2013 borno 40 october 16th 2013 borno and yobe 900 october 21st 2013 borno 20 october 25th 2013 borno 74 november 4th 2013 adamawa 30 figure 9 from the above figures, dating from july 26th 2009 to november 4th 2013, 5,248 lives were lost, not counting the property also lost. in 2014, which is not in this collection, many more lives were lost, for at this time preceding the election of 2015, more heinous crimes were committed by the boko haram sect. igwebuike: ontologico-existential foundations igwebuike is an indigenous philosophy of the modality of being for the realization of being. it is from the word igwebuike, which is a combination of three words. thus, it can be understood as a word or sentence: as a word, it is written thus igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is in this form: igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. igwe is a noun which igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 6 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power. put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’. igwebuike is based on the nature of the igbo-african cosmology. cosmology, etymologically, is from two greek words: cosmos and logos, meaning ‘universe’ and ‘science’ respectively. put together, it is the ‘science of the universe’. scholars like wambutda (1986), ejizu (1986), achebe (1986), onuoha (1987), metuh (1987), quarcoopome (1987), arinze (1970), madu (2004) and kanu (2012) have dealt profoundly with the topic of african cosmology. the igbo-african cosmology is simply the way igbo-africans perceive, conceive and contemplate their universe; the lens through which they see reality, which affects their value systems and attitudinal orientations. it is the igbo-african’s search for the meaning of life, and an unconscious but natural tendency to arrive at a unifying base that constitutes a frame of meaning. igbo-african cosmology is essentially the underlying thought link that holds together the igbo-african value system, philosophy of life, social conduct, morality, folklores, myths, rites, rituals, norms, rules, ideas, cognitive mappings and theologies. according to edeh (1083), abanuka (1983) and unah (2009), the igbo-african cosmos has the physical and spiritual dimensions. at the spirit realm, god represents the chief being, and seats at the apex of power. in the physical world, man dominates, occupying the central position in the scheme of god’s creation. these physical and spiritual dimensions, in the perspective of ijiomah (2005) consists of three levels: the sky, the earth and the underworld: “the sky is where god chukwu or chineke and angels reside; the earth where man, animals, natural resources, some devils and some physical observable realities abide; and the underworld where ancestors and some bad spirits live” (p. 84). these divisions into spheres and levels does not in any way mean that the igboafrican cosmology is composed of irreconcilable realms. the spiritual and physical realms overlap and harmoniously interact. there is a corporate existence of reality in the african universe which is not brought to an end by the death of the human person but extends into the hereafter. thus, ekwealor (1990) avers that: it is important to note that although the igbo universe is divided into these three broad structures, there is the possibility of certain elements to move from one structure to another to commune with other elements. (p. 30). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 7 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) in this interaction, the human person communes with god, the angels, the ancestors and vice versa. the beauty of their being together is found in the diversity of their being. while the ancestors do for human beings what they cannot do for themselves, human beings do for the ancestors what they cannot achieve by themselves. the african world has a unified frame of reality. the interactive character of the igbo-african universe has instilled a strong sense of community consciousness, with an intricate web of relationship between the living, the dead and the yet-to-be-born. this intricate web of relationship is the ontological foundation of igwebuike. every dimension of reality was created to interact with and complement the other, not withstanding their differences. igwebuike and its prospects for a better christian-muslim relations in nigeria kanu (2015a) avers that igwebuike rests on the principles of solidarity and complementarity; thus, to be is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. to be is to be with the other, in a community of beings. kanu (2015b) argues that this is based on the african sense of community, which is the underlying principle of african philosophy and religion, and as such, the unity of the african philosophical experience. therefore, to be with the other becomes the modality of being in african ontology. this, according to kanu (2015c) is anchored on the african cosmology which is characterized by a common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny. the communalindividuality of the african is expressed in the igbo proverb: ngwere ghara ukwu osisi, aka akpara ya (if a lizard stays off from the foot of a tree, it would be in danger). mbiti (1970) classically proverbialized the community determining role of the individual when he writes, “i am because we are and since we are, therefore i am” (p. 108). the existence of others assures me of their solidarity and complementarity without which i cannot be. achebe (1958) brings the essential nature of the igbo-african communal relationship to a higher and more fundamental focus when he writes: we do not ask for wealth because he that has health and children will also have wealth. we do not pray to have more money but to have more kinsmen. we are better than animals because we have kinsmen. an animal rubs its itching flank against a tree, a man asks his kinsman to scratch him. (p. 132). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 8 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) igwebuike philosophy argues that existence is not only meaningful, but also possible only in a community. in relation to the christian-muslim divide in nigeria, the adherents of the two religions must understand themselves as kinsmen and women, for that is what they are. their religious affiliations are only secondary to their kinship bondthey were brothers and sisters before the advent of these religions. in the contention of kanu (2015d), igwebuike is an ordered relationship, even though the idea of igwe (large number of people or group) may give the mpression of a mob or disordered relationship. igwebuike is a relationship guided by the igbo-african principle: egbe bere ugo bere (let the kite perch, let the eagle perch). iroegbu (1994) writing on being as belongingness avers that: “isiokwu bu ebub egbe bere ugo bere). nihi na o weghi onye e kere kan nani ya biri n’uwa) the central thing is live and let live. for none is created to live alone in this world” (p. 378). the idea of egbe (kite) and ugo (eagle) speaks of a variety of positions, personality, creed, culture, etc., and in fact, differences in life, which is found in the world, and yet must coexist together. when the egbe settles in the uwa (the world) and imagines that the ugo has no right of existence and then begins to castigate ugo and to push it out of being, at that point, the egbe alienates the being of the ugo. when egbe castigates and condemns the ugo, it thinks that it is making progress; it is rather alienating itself because the being of the ugo has an existential and fundamental contribution to make to the being of the egbe. it is such that when egbe kills the ugo, the egbe also kills itself. to be in the world, kanu (2014) avers that the egbe and the ugo must dialogue. the world is such that differences would always exist and to try to destroy the other as a result of difference is to waste one’s time; to end the variation of reality is to end reality itself for reality is by its nature variegated. egbe beru ugo beru (let the kite perch, let the eagle perch). this implies they live face to face with each other, and, therefore, must have a relationship. they have the options of either relating and being happy or being in perpetual discord which alienates their being in the uwa. when the egbe and ugo harness their energies towards a common project, need and desire, they can constitute an insurmountable force in pursuing their collective vision. only then can they overcome their collective difficulties. in the same way, only when muslims and christians come together in existential solidarity, which is a correlative and complementary solidarity, a ‘we’ relationship, can they fulfill their divine mandates. both religions have something to learn from each other, and to avoid or alienate the other is to deny oneself of knowledge and growth, and, thus, expanding the capacity of ignorance. when both religions slight each other, look down on each other, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 9 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) segregate each other and reject the contribution of each other, they are committing the ontological evil of alienation. conclusion religion is a unique phenomenon in the nigerian society. although it is one of the few factors that has succeeded in bringing together a good number of nigerians under one umbrella, irrespective of ethnic considerations, onwukeme (2008) avers that christianity and islam in nigeria has been associated with conflicts and violence which has dealt a terrible blow on the nation’s unity and brought untold hardships on the people. religion has been politicized, manipulated and militarized by unscrupulous people to fan the embers of rivalry, antagonism and ethnic discrimination. one lesson that is evident in the incessant quarrel between christians and muslims in nigeria is that both religions have come to stay. although both religions have misunderstood themselves by dwelling more on their differences, there is the need for dialogue, which does not deny the significant differences between the two religions. so much energy has been dissipated on violence instead of using it for solving the problems of human suffering and other socio-economic and political challenges that face us in the eye. after several years of interventions, igwebuike is proposed in this work as an indigenous philosophy to help the adherents of both religions to focus on the things that unite them, that is, the importance of dialogue to our common existence. igwebuike is a model that is built on the traditional categories of the nigerian-african. it refocuses attention on the fact that muslims and christians in nigeria have so many things in common as believers and as human beings: the adherents of both religions live in the same world, in the same nigeria beset by the same socio-economic and political problems. to fight one another is to engage in a futile enterprise and more so, worsen their conditions. both religions constitute parts of the intricate web of reality and relationships in the ontological order. their differences is for complementarity and not conflict. references abanuka, b. (1994). a new essay on african philosophy. nigeria: snaap. absolon, k. (2010). indigenous wholistic theory: a knowledge set for practice. first peoples child and family review. 5. 2. 74-87. achebe, c. (1958). the things fall apart. england: heinemann. arinze, f. (1970). sacrifice in igbo religion. ibadan: ibadan university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 10 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) edeh, e. (1983). towards igbo metaphysics. chicago: loyola university press. ejizu, c. i. o. (1986). igbo ritual symbols. enugu: fourth dimension. ekwealor, c. c. (1990). the igbo world-view: a general survey. e. oguegbu (ed.). the humanities and all of us (pp.29-33). onisha: watehword. gotan, c. t. (2008). nigeria’s religious conflicts: a call for a dialogue of life. in c. obanure (ed.). religion, violence and conflict resolution in nigeria (pp. 93105). nigeria: aboki. ijiomah, c. (2005). african philosophy’s contribution to the dialogue on reality issues. sankofa: journal of the humanities. 3. 1. 81 – 90. iroegbu, p. (1994). metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: international universities press. jimoh, f. e. (2008). on the need to dissociate religion and violence. in c. obanure (ed.). religion, violence and conflict resolution in nigeria (pp. 7684). nigeria: aboki. kanu, i. a. (2012). a metaphysical epistemological study of african medical practitioners. in o. e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (2012). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (227-240). jos: fab anieh. kanu, i. a. (2014). igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholicpentecostal relations. jos studies. 22. 87-98. kanu, i. a. (2015a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. a paper presented at the international conference on studies in humanities and social sciences. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france. kanu, i. a. (2015a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. a paper presented at the international conference on studies in humanities and social sciences. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france. kanu, i. a. (2015a). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france. kanu, i. a. (2015a). igwebuike as the consumate foundation of african bioethical principles. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 11 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) kazah-toure, k. (2003). ethno-religious conflicts in kaduna state. nigeria: human rights monitor. kukah, h. (2012). persecutions of christians in africa: contents, contexts and opportunities. a paper presented at the international conference on contemporary christian martyrs. notre dame university, 4th november. madu, e. (2004). symbolism in african cosmology: the igbo perspective. nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state. lecture note. mbiti, j. (1970). african religions and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational publishers. metuh, e. i. (1987). comparative studies of african traditional religion. onitsha: imico. onuoha, e. (1987). four contrasting world-views. enugu: express. onwukeme, v. (2008). muslim-christian religious violence in nigeria: a christian response based on matt. 5. 44. in c. obanure (ed.). religion, violence and conflict resolution in nigeria (pp. 245-261). nigeria: aboki. quarcoopome, t. n. (1987). west african traditional religion. ibadan: african universities press. sangosanya, j. a. and sha, p. (2005). ethno-religious conflicts and human rights violations in nigeria. nigeria: niri. wambutda, d. n. (1986). the interplay between cosmology and theology: a. matrix for african theologizing. in a. oduyoye (ed.). the state of christian theology in nigeria, 1980-81, (38-49). ibadan: day star. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 2.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 1 human trafficking in nigeria and its effects on the national image: a moral appraisal chia, bonaventure aondover department of christian religious studies federal college of education eha-amufu enugu state abcchia01@gmail.com abstract human trafficking is regarded as modern slavery. it ‘involves deceiving or coercing someone to move either within a country or abroad through legal or illegal channels for the purpose of exploiting him or her’. the phenomenon in recent time has generated a lot of attention among local and international community. the menace has become a lucrative criminal business and nigeria has acquired a reputation for being one of the leading african countries in human trafficking with cross-border and internal trafficking as a country of origin, transit and of victims. the paper attempts to articulate the effects of the illicit business on nigeria national image. the major reasons for the persistence of the ugly phenomenon of human trafficking in nigeria include pervasive poverty, unemployment, greed etc for the purpose of forced labour, domestic servitude, sexual exploitation, and rituals. the paper also review the legislations put in place the nigeria government to curb menace. the paper recommends that fighting human trafficking in nigeria is all encompassing because it requires a need for synergy of efforts to create public awareness of the crime, address the poverty situation in the country, create employment for the youths, reinforce relevant national laws, organize counseling, rehabilitation and reintegration programme for the victims keywords: human, trafficking, nigeria, national image, moral appraisal introduction human trafficking is defined in international law as “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments of benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.” (letitia and yvonne, 2014). in other words, human trafficking refers to the wide variety of processes by which igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 2 individuals become enslaved—that is, unable to leave a situation without fear of violence and paid nothing or next to nothing for any duration of time. human trafficking most often takes place in three stages: (1) recruitment at place of origin, which often involves coercion or abduction; (2) the transfer of victims to a final destination, either crossing international borders or moving internally within the same country; and finally, (3) the exploitation of the victims. the most widespread forms of exploitation are forced commercial sex and labour, including domestic servitude, but victims are also trafficked for purposes of forced marriages, organ removal and ritual killings. traffickers target the most vulnerable sectors of society luring their victims, many of whom are women and children, with promises of a better life through employment or education. human trafficking is largely a form of modern slavery on account of its resemblance to the trans atlantic slave trade. slavery as an institution was abolished in the 19th century, and the 1948 universal declaration of human rights prohibiting slavery or servitude recognizes the rights of all human beings to live trade, more than two centuries ago, about 300 international protocols and conventions prohibiting and criminalizing slavery and slave trade in any form, have been signed and adopted by nation states (goliath, 2008). but the recent global economic crunch, poverty, social and political conflicts, wars, natural disasters and the contemporary climate change have profoundly influenced the alarming dimension with which people are being pulled-up as clients for human traffickers (unhcr, 2000). human trafficking, like money laundering, advanced fee fraud, cyber scams and illicit trade in arms and narcotics has elicited a great concern as a contemporary social problem worldwide (poulin, 2004). it is considered to be the third largest source of profit for organized crime apart from drugs and arms (unhcr, 2000). in 2007, marking the 200 year anniversary for the abolition of slavery, the united nations’ researchers and other experts agreed that approximately 800,000 persons are trafficked across the world countries borders each year. the researchers and experts also concurred that human trafficking is nothing but organized crime with the total market value estimated at about $32 billion (south african government information, 2009). the international awareness of the scourge of human trafficking has over the years increased considerably. the illegal trade occupies a prominent position among the social ills that pervade the nigerian society (ofuoku, 2010). while it may appear that the problem seems more endemic in the southern part of the country, there are indications that no igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 3 part of the country is completely immune from this social malaise that has ravaged many countries in the world (unicri, 2004). the united nations protocol to prevent, suppress and punish human trafficking, especially women and children, defined human trafficking as “recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, or receipt of persons by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of abuse of power or of a position, of vulnerability, or of the giving or receiving of payment of benefit to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. exploitation shall include, at minimum, the exploitation of prostitution, of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, servitude or the removal of organs” (south african government information, 2009). nigeria, italy, spain, thailand and belgium are the countries heavily affected by the problem of human trafficking in minors and girls for sexual exploitation. despite efforts by the government to curb the menace, human trafficking has remained a critical problem in nigeria. the prevalence of human trafficking has generated serious concerns that have provoked interest of this paper to articulate the potential vulnerability of the victims and the attendant effects on the nation’s image. to properly situate this objective for intellectual discussion, this paper shall attempt to provide an expository situation of human trafficking in nigeria, an in-depth moral appraisal of the effects on the nation’s image, assess the potency of the nigerian legal instruments available to curb human trafficking and also recommend possible recommendations to the problem of human trafficking in nigeria. human trafficking in nigeria trafficking in human beings is not new. historically it has taken many forms, but in the context of globalization, has acquired shocking new dimensions. it is a complex, multi-faceted phenomenon involving multiple stakeholders at the institutional and commercial level. it is a demand-driven global business with a huge market for cheap labour and commercial sex confronting often insufficient or unexercised policy frameworks or trained personnel to prevent it. nigeria has acquired a reputation for being one of the leading african countries in human trafficking with cross-border and internal trafficking. from all account, nigeria is a country of origin, transit and destination for human trafficking (mashil, 2005). the dynamics of human trafficking in nigeria igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 4 are considerably geographical in nature and involve internal and crossborder trafficking. the cross-border context of human trafficking in nigeria is presented by syndicates that procure travel documents, transportation fare and accommodation for the women and girls who are desperate to leave the country in search of greener pastures in europe, america, saudi arabia and south africa. these vulnerable women and girls easily become prey for the traffickers. the lure to find a lucrative job abroad and earn a fat pay becomes clearly irresistible because of the devaluation of the naira and the humiliating pangs of poverty in the country. it is only on arrival at their destination that the women and girls are confronted with the harsh realities that they have been deceived, and are ultimately lured or coerced into commercial sex. while the accurate statistics of the total number of women and girls trafficked into sex industry are difficult to obtain, in 2001, the number of nigerian women working in the sex industry in italy alone was about 10,000; a more recent conservative estimate put the figure at roughly 20,000 (italy, 2011; unicri, 2004). a recent report on human trafficking and migration to europe shows that in 2014, 170, 100 arrived italy by sea, compared to 141, 484 migrants that were ferried through the mediterranean sea from libya in 2013. according to the report, the migrants had come from syria (42, 323), eritrea (34, 329), mali (9,908) nigeria (9,000), gambia (8, 691), somalia (5, 756) and some other nations (4,095). among the migrants, 64, 625 were said to have applied for asylum (ojugbana, 2015). in the case of nigeria, most of the migrants were victims of human trafficking hoodwinked by syndicates as a result of their desperation to travel to europe or asia for a better life. thus, human trafficking is a complex phenomenon of which many people are involved at both family and community levels, as well as at the border or international transactions. the guardian opinion (june 29, 2004) observed that nigeria is a well-known player in human trafficking. according to the paper, the country serves as” a base camp and transit channel for traffickers and their human commodity”. the paper also noted that inside the country and at border areas some locations are known to be target spots for operations. in a similar view, oloko cited in okpalakunne (2006) explained that human trafficking consists of both national and trans-national recruitment and movement of persons for the purpose of providing cheap, manipulatable and exploitable labour for domestic and agricultural work, commercial sex work or prostitution, begging, unregulated industrial work and street trading. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 5 the south-east and south-south geo-political zones of nigeria are noted for active involvement in human trafficking. for instance, several thousands of children are known to have been trafficked from igbo land, akwa ibom and cross river states to lagos, benin republic, togo and gabon for the purpose of engaging them in child labour, which is akin to child slavery. the high rate of child trafficking became a major source of concern to the akwa, ibom state government that it banned “all forms of trafficking in children from the state to other parts of the country to serve as house-helps or cheap labour of any form” in 2004. the government also threatened to “deal drastically with parents who persist and promote trafficking in children” (njoku, 2015). the western part of the country is also involved in child trafficking for the purpose of using them as cheap labour for domestic work, agricultural production, including cocoa and rubber farms. nwakamma (2004) reported that asewele, a community in ondo state is a spot for child slavery. he stated that both males and females were sold at a price of about n25, 000.00 each across the border and there were always prospective buyers. he also noted that despite the efforts being made by the police and immigration officers, nigerian borders are still vulnerable as far as child trafficking is concerned. in benin city, capital of edo state, there were syndicates who specialized in recruiting and sponsoring young ladies to europe especially italy, amsterdam and belgium for prostitution. taire (2004) observed that it was since 2000 that the issue of nigerian women in general, and ladies from benin city and its environs in particular going to europe to work as commercial sex workers had become a real cause for concern. similarly, this day (may 3, 2004) in a story culled from economist stated that people-trafficking in benin-city was an organized and lucrative trade. the paper observed that it was riot possible to know how many ladies were shipped out each year, but that “everyone in benin-city knows who has gone”. the paper noted that the girls were recruited by local sponsors “who pay up-front for transport, and the girls therefore start out with thousands of dollars in debt” the major reasons for the persistence of the ugly phenomenon of human trafficking in nigeria include pervasive poverty in the society especially at the family level; the frightening problem of unemployment among the populace particularly the youths, and ignorance of the prospective victims of human trafficking about their fate in foreign countries. some other reasons include bad igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 6 leadership that has failed to improve the welfare of the citizens thereby resulting in mass disillusionment and the urge by many citizens to leave the country in search for better living conditions in other countries; the abuse of traditional method of fostering children and get-rich-quick syndrome in contemporary nigerian society. there is also the pressures of urban migration which have stretched the demands for house helps and, in turn, induced the internal trafficking of young boys and girls conscripted sometimes into near slave labour (the guardian editorial, june 29, 2004). moreover, there is the problem of the existence of powerful and influential syndicates within and outside nigeria that coordinate and finance the despicable business, and the lure of huge profit that accrue to them annually from it. legislations against human trafficking in nigeria to stem the rising tide in human trafficking in nigeria, the government has set up machineries and embarked on legislations while aligning with international protocols as both preventive and deterrent measures. at the international level, the treaties, laws, protocols and conventions that nigeria is signatory to include the united nations convention on the declaration of human rights (1948); the united nations convention on elimination of all forms of discrimination against women (1979); the united nations convention on the rights of the child (1989); the international labour organization (ilo) convention on forced labour and minimum wage (1999); the united nations optional protocol to the convention on the rights of the child, especially on the sales of a child, child prostitution and child pornography (2002); and the united nations convention against transnational organized crime (2000). others include the african charter on human rights (1980); the protocol on the rights of women in africa (1981); africa charter on the rights and welfare of the child (1990), and the economic community of west africa states (ecowas) declaration and of action against trafficking in persons (2001). at the national level, the 1999 constitution provides for the respect and dignity of human persons. it provides in section 34(1) that no person shall be subjected to torture, in human or degrading treatment or held in slavery or required to perform compulsory labour. the rights of the citizens to the dignity of the human person against slavery, servitude, forced labour, prostitution and other forms of sexual exploitation is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 7 also enshrined in the criminal code of the southern nigeria (cap 42, 1990) and the penal code of the northern nigeria (cap 89, 1963); labour act (cap 198, 1990); and the trafficking in persons law enforcement and administration act (2003). the anti-human trafficking act is the most recent and crucial because it specifically addresses human trafficking. this anti-human trafficking law was a laudable move that culminated in the establishment of the national agency for prohibition of trafficking in persons (naptip). there are several provisions (sections 11 to 29, 32 and 46) of the antihuman trafficking act of naptip prescribing different punishment ranging from one year to life imprisonment for serious offences such as exportation or importation of girls under the age of 18 years for prostitution, forced labour, servitude or removal of organ by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud or deception. the seriousness of this law is underscored by its section 61(1) which provides for: where an offence under the act is committed by any citizen or person granted permanent residence in nigeria, s/he may be prosecuted in respect of such offence as if it was committed in any place within nigeria. this law also vests the power to arrest, search and seize on police, immigration, custom and national agency for prohibition of trafficking in persons (naptip) officials. similarly, the federal and state high courts have concurrent jurisdiction to try any of the offences under the law. although nigeria’s trafficking law provides a unified approach for the first time, it is not without its shortcomings. the law adopts the definition of trafficking in persons as contained in the palerino protocol but deals more extensively with trafficking for prostitution and sexual exploitation than with trafficking for other forms of labor. this greatly limits its scope. moreover, there are lapses in the provisions of the nigerian trafficking law for the protection of trafficked persons and witnesses. it thereby falls short of the recommended human rights standard approach (gaatw, 2001). while it is noteworthy that the law criminalizes the transport of potentially trafficked persons by any commercial carrier with knowledge of the trafficking transaction, no commercial carrier has ever been charged. though still young and in need of necessary infrastructures for the effective execution of its mandate, napttp has succeeded in effecting some arrests and prosecutions. in august 2004, for, example, the agency prosecuted and convicted a woman trafficker in the benin city high court in edo state of nigeria and as at february 2006, naptip’s efforts have yielded seven convictions: three in benin city and two in kano, two in ijebu-lgbo ogun state. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 8 there are also multiple cases pending that raise public awareness. naptip also collaborates with the nigerian immigration office, the police and ngos and has established offices across the country. to date a total of four offices have been created: one each in lagos, benin city, uyo and kano. two shelters were also set up in lagos and benin city in addition to a mini-shelter in abuja. there is also a national anti-child trafficking network operating in 22 states of nigeria with the support of the united states department of state and unicef. finally, both the police and immigration service have established antitrafficking units located at exit and entry points for trafficking and the kano immigration command now issues annual reports of repatriations through the kano airport. however, much still needs to be done as the problem still persists because it is a covert activity and thus the extent to which it occurs remains unknown, nongovernmental organizations like women trafficking and child labor eradication foundation (wotclef) has also been involved in the prosecution of traffickers, protection of victims, rehabilitation, retraining and counseling of repatriated trafficked people and their activities have received worldwide support as well as local recognition for their contribution towards curbing the menace. (www.comminit.com/en/node). in accordance with the national law allowing individual states the right to amend, edo state recently added new provisions to the criminal code. these provisions had some positive effects: for the first time they made it a crime for third parties, i.e. sponsors and traditional priests, to facilitate the secret oath ceremony and/or to participate in it. unfortunately, the edo state amendment also criminalized prostitution, thereby alienating trafficked persons working in prostitution (cc of edo state, 2001). since the adoption of this law, there is no evidence that trafficking for prostitution in edo state has been reduced. in fact, as of april 2004 the majority of repatriated trafficked persons for prostitution from europe and west africa were from edo state. in addition, 25 trafficked nigerian women were recently deported from the republic of benin and 23 of them were from edo state. there have been no convictions since the enactment of this law. the amendment also provided for compulsory stds and hiv tests for deported trafficked persons. this provision violates international human rights standards which permit testing for hiv only with the informed consent of the individual. nonetheless, state liaison offices are given details of trafficked persons including their hiv and aids status for record purposes and “there is a standing order that such deportee victims should be prevented from traveling, outside nigeria.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 9 anti-migratory policies such as not issuing passports to single females from edo state below the age of 25 years have not had any effect on the trafficking of edo girls. instead, traffickers have found other means of getting passports’ and visas for trafficked persons. however, the policy has succeeded in discouraging and frustrating women from edo state from traveling out of the country to pursue legitimate ventures, violating their fundamental rights. with an increased awareness of human trafficking, other nigerian states are creating laws in response. there is already a law in enugu state against child abuse that bans child trafficking. efforts are also underway to arrest and prosecute traffickers. unfortunately, few cases have been fully prosecuted. in a nutshell, human trafficking denies hundreds of thousands of people their basic human rights, poses a serious public health risk and fuels organized crime around the world. it is a dark and uncomfortable subject, but one that must be illuminated. trafficking can only be eliminated through combined efforts at national, regional and international levels. when dealing with an issue of this importance and urgency, time is of the utmost essence. the world must come together to act as one in this regard. the world must stop the criminals and terrorists from using human trafficking as a resource, but even more importantly, the world must stop human trafficking in the name of common decency. effects of human trafficking on national image bad international image ranks one of the most palpable effects of human trafficking. owing to the high degree and alarming rate of human trafficking engaged by nigerians within and across the globe, there have been unprintable reports that portray nigerian reputation in very bad light it has created erroneous impression that the country is incapable of providing for her citizens especially in terms of employment and social welfare, hence the exodus of her able-bodied youths to foreign countries. with the increase of young prostitutes of nigerian origin are allegedly often spotted in sex parlours and streets of some european countries (italy, holland and belgium etc) soliciting for male clients, nigerians are branded promiscuous and people of low morals that can do anything to earn a living, even sleeping with dogs and monkeys and as a result, our people are held in disdain and treated like animals. such reports tend to lower our good image before the international community and portray us in a very bad light. this makes every nigerian a suspect wherever he or she goes. consequently, we are faced with harsh immigration laws and in some cases, the most sophisticated security igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 10 gadgets are used in screening us at different international borders and embassies. so many times visa is denied nigerians. the human trafficking conundrum erroneously portrays nigeria as a country in throes of political and economic crises. this is despite the fact that the country conducted free, fair, credible and peaceful general elections recently, and is making efforts to improve socio-economic conditions of its citizens. human trafficking, therefore, creates wrong impression of the image of the country. (njoke, 2015) it frustrates the efforts of the government towards the achievement of millennium development goals (mdgs) particularly education for all. many of the victims of child trafficking are deprived of the opportunity to acquire formal education. besides, ezinma (2010) reported that over 12 million nigerian children are in the bondage of child labour and more are at risk of joining the child labour condition. he stated in his report that it is quite sad that many years after the goal of international programme on the elimination of child labour work (ipec) was launched, the prevention and elimination of worst form of child labour (wfcl) is still a mirage in nigeria. this casts doubts on the commitment of the country towards eliminating child labour which is akin to child slavery. human trafficking deprives the country high-skilled manpower needed for rapid national development. it acts as a brain drain. ibekwe (2010) summarized the negative effects of brain drain on developing countries, including nigeria as follows: brain drain in developing countries has financial, institutional and social costs: little return from their investments in higher education; increasing dependency on foreign expertise due to dwindling professional sector; diminishing ability of several developing countries to offer basic health care services to their subjects; widening gap in science and technology between the richer and poor countries; crumbling middle class population; failing tax system and disappearance of jobs and society (ibekwe, 2010). with particular reference to nigeria, professors wilma meus and david sanders, both of the university of the western cape’s school of public health, south africa stated in their research report that nigeria has incurred loss of $420 million (n53.34 billion) through the loss of 21,000 doctors to the united states of america. meus and sanders stated that conservative estimates showed that the united states has saved at least $3.86 million (n490.2 million) in training fees by igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 11 employing doctors from nigeria (bagshaw, 2003). similarly, thousands of medical experts of nigerian origin reside and work in united kingdom. on the other hand, nigeria’s health care and education sectors have “been in deplorable state partly due to inadequate number of experts as a result of the effect of brain drain.” in the case of health sector, for instance, the report on the progress of the millennium development goals (mdgs) as documented by anuforo (2010) shows that nigeria really still does not have the kind of public health system that the country…. needs. the life expectancy in nigeria is about 55 years, while in other middle income countries it is about 70, and higher income countries about 80 plus. nigeria is just not achieving the health and maternal survival of the child befitting a country of its stature (anuforo, 2010). it should be noted that nigerians in diaspora were said to be over 20 million contributing greatly to the development of their various countries of residence (nwanunobi, 2006). human trafficking exposes some nigerian citizens to all forms of inhuman treatment in foreign countries. these include physical assault, rape, detention and in some extreme cases execution. many nigerians are also known to be languishing in prisons in some countries of the world due to the misadventure associated with human trafficking. trafficking victims also experience other forms of psychological and physical abuse. yukoshko (2009) reports that victims are more likely to experience fear, guilt, sense of betrayal, lack of trust, suspicion, sense of apathy, shame, withdrawal, resignation to fate, hopelessness, extreme form of submissiveness, maladaptation, and a sense of loss of personal autonomy; initiative and integrity. the report also adds that victims tend to turn to drugs, as well as being much more likely to inflict self injury or even commit suicide. yet also, victims stand the risk of being arrested, face detention, prosecution and deportation. the fastest growing prisons in italy, france, spain, the netherlands, united states, saudi arabia and south africa are the ones for the immigrants trafficked for sexual exploitation (unhcr, 2000) most probably from nigeria. it has given rise to frequent deportation of nigerian citizens from foreign countries with its attendant diplomatic implications. the former head of nigeria immigration service (nis), trafficking unit, miss nnenna mbagwu revealed that a total of 2,562 nigerian girls were deported from europe in 2002. she also stated igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 12 that 189 minors who were being ‘towed out’ of the country ostensibly for child slavery were intercepted in the same year. (daily champion, january 30, 2003). human trafficking exposes nigerian youths to the danger of being used as ‘guinea pigs’ for scientific and medical researches in foreign countries. the national coordinator of the national anti-human trafficking campaign (nahtc), mr. richard osai lamented that human trafficking between nigeria and the world “is taking worse dimension”. he stated that “besides slave work abuse, the victims are losing their vital parts for a paltry $150 in return for the permanent damage done to them” (njoku, 2015). this is not only an act of indignity against such victims, but also portrays them as sub-humans without protective rights. human trafficking also has significant impact on the national security. it create an environment of violence, crime and fear, human trafficking separates families, erodes social bonds and support networks, and undermines the economic prospects of the country. furthermore, facilitated by large-scale international organized criminal networks that are linked to illicit trade in arms and narcotics, trafficking in persons can also compromise state security and impede human development by weakening the rule of law, undermining health systems and threatening public safety. it impugns on nigeria’s national character. it was partly as a result of the bad image which human trafficking paints about the country that the federal government resolved to embark on re-branding nigeria project conclusion and recommendations the menace of human trafficking is damaging, disastrous and devastating to the victims, the family and the society at large. in view of the pervasive and penetrative effects of human trafficking on nigeria and nigerians, there is need for a continuous synergy of efforts to curb the menace. the government, law enforcement agencies, media, religious bodies, traditional rulers and the civil society organizations all are expected to play a pivotal role in the war against human trafficking. government in particular should make the country attractive to citizens especially the youths through qualitative public education, job creation and provision of social infrastructures, which often constitute the push factor for emigration. since women and girls are the most vulnerable to trafficking, the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 13 federal government is expected to reinforce relevant national laws and international conventions and protocols that protect the rights and privileges of individuals against trafficking. law enforcement agencies like the nigeria police force (npf), nigeria immigration services (nis) and nigeria custom and exercise (nce) could also assist the national agency for prohibition of trafficking in persons (naptip) with intelligence and logistic support to fight the crime. members of the public also owe a duty to naptip by providing information to help naptip to track down suspected trafficking syndicates. above all, since globalization has influenced and aggravated human trafficking, just as other transborder crimes, the necessity for closer cooperation and collaboration between nigeria and other countries to nip the crime in the bud cannot be underestimated. there is the need to wage war against poverty. the ability to successfully, reduce poverty, is the starting point of victory over human trafficking. the government should work seriously to alleviate the suffering of the people. unless this is done, no war against human trafficking can be won. parents and guardians should also be mindful of porous propositions by dubious tour operators seeking to encourage bogus oversea trips for their young daughters. according to the 2015 tip report, the government of nigeria does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. for instance, the government has to implement formal procedures for the return and reintegration of nigerian victims to ensure that victims are afforded adequate care upon their return to nigeria; take proactive measures to investigate and prosecute government officials suspected of trafficking-related corruption and complicity in trafficking offenses; take proactive measures to investigate and prosecute government officials suspected of trafficking-related corruption and complicity in trafficking offense. much is also required in the area of counseling, rehabilitation and reintegration. victims, most of who are traumatized, disoriented and haunted by their experience should first undergo counseling before rehabilitation and subsequently adequate reintegration into the society. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 14 references akor, l. (2011) “trafficking of women in nigeria: causes, consequences and the way forward” in corvinus journal of sociology and social policy vol.2 pp 89–110 dagaci, a m (2016) “trafficking of women and children in nigeria: a critical approach” in american international journal of social science issn 2325-4149 (print), 2325-4165 (online) www.aijssnet.com (retrieved march 2018) enaikele1, m. d. and olutayo, a. o. (2011) “human trafficking in nigeria: implication for human immune deficiency virus and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (hiv/aids) pandemic” in international journal of sociology and anthropology vol. 3(11), pp. 416-422, www.academicjournals.org (retrieved march 2018) ezinma, b. (2010) “child labour: dilemma of nigerian government”, saturday independent, september 11, p11. garba, u k, mu’azu, a. s, and kamal, a. d (2012) “child trafficking in nigeria: causes, consequences and the way forward” in european law review www.sweetmaxwell.org vol 4; issue 2;mar-apr; pp17-26 (retrieved march, 2018) goliath jp (2008). “human trafficking: south africa perspective”. a paper delivered at the international association of women judges 9th biennial international conference, panama, march 25-28, 2008 ibekwe, m. (2010), “can brain drain benefit everyone?” the punch, october 26, p12. letitia m. c, and yvonne c. z (2014) “christian ethics and human trafficking activism: progressive christianity and social critique” journal of the society of christian ethics, vol 34, no1, spring/summer pp. 145-172 doi: 10.1353/sce.2014.0003 http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/sce/summary/v034/34.1.campbell.html (retrieved march, 2018) mashil ma (2005). “the spate of human trafficking in nigeria”. a paper presented at a workshop organized by the nigeria immigration service, bauchi state, nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 15 national agency for prohibition of trafficking in persons (naptip) (2009). naptip news. vol. 2 no. 1 julysept. 2009. national agency for prohibition of trafficking in persons, nigeria. njoku a. 0. (2005) contemporary public issues in social studies education in nigeria, enugu: redeemed printing and publishing co, njoku, a.o (2015) “human trafficking and its effects on national image: the nigerian case” international journal of multidisciplinary academic research www.multidisciplinaryjournals.com (retrieved february, 2018) nwanunobi, t. (2006) “nigeria marks first diaspora day”, leadership, july 27, p8 ofuoku au (2010). “human trafficking in nigeria and its implication for food security” (in) int. j. rural stud., 17 (1): 1-6. www.vrionline.org.uk/ijrs (retrieved april 2011). okpalakunne, n. (2006) “the evils of human trafficking, child labour”, daily champion, thursday, april. 6, p15 omolola, i.(1982). main trends in african history from the earliest times to 1900, omolayi standard press co. oshadare,o.t. (2004). “the past and present dimensions of slavery in nigeria” paper presented at the first national conference of the faculty of arts and humanities, held at the kogi state university, anyigba from 28th – 30th april. osita ogbu (2003). corruption and human trafficking: the nigerian case, west africa review, vol 4:1 poulin r (2004) globalization and sex trade: trafficking and commodification of women and children. ca. women’s stud., 22:38-43 solomon, t. (2004) “akwa ibom bans child trafficking”, vanguard, june 1, p7. the guardian editorial, (2004) “the scandal of child trafficking”, the guardian, tuesday, june 29, p22. this day (2004) “people trafficking: nigeria’s other export”, thisday, monday, may 3, trafficking in persons law enforcement and administration act (nigeria) (2003) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 16 trafficking in persons law enforcement and administration act (nigeria) (amended) (2005). united nations protocol on declaration of human rights (1948). united nations convention on elimination of all forms of discrimination against women (1979). united nations convention on the rights of the child (1989). united nations optional protocol to the convention on the rights of the child, especially on the sales of child, child prostitution and child pornography (2002). united nations high commission for refugees (unhcr) (2000) a multi-billion dollar trade in human (in) refugee unhcr, geneva. pp. 18-19 united nations interregional crime and justice research (unicri) (2004). “trafficking of nigerian girls to italy” unicri publication. pp.23 -24 . microsoft word igwebuike jounals vol. 5. no. 1.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 66 ironwork as a vehicle for promoting art in awka, anambra state, nigeria nzoiwu, azuka abigail ph.d department of fine and applied arts faculty of environmental sciences nnamdi azikiwe university awka,anambra state. email: zukibiggirl@gmail.com & akhogba, albert ehi ph.d department of fine and applied arts, faculty of environmental studies, ambrose alli university, ekpoma, edo state. email: akhogbaalbertehi@yahoo.com abstract it has been observed that ironwork faces so many problems that limit its objective of providing jobs and producing item that could serve the needs of the populace. in contemporary society, people seem less interested in ironwork while patronage has also reduced. this study investigated the origin and history of blacksmithing in awka, examining the trends, and issues in the industry. the study also examined the current state of blacksmithing in awka as well as its future. descriptive survey was used for the study while the study area was awka, anambra state. the population of the study was all the registered members of the blacksmith association in anambra state. they are 34 in number. the grounded theory approach was used in the analysis of data for the study. the result of this study showed that blacksmithing originated in awka when a man from ezeagu, in the present day enugu state called nebechi uzo, visited awka as a professional smith. it was also found that blacksmithing in the area has under gone many changes. learning is done through apprenticeship method and it is also transferred from father to children. the result of this study also showed that blacksmithing is still being practiced but at a reduced rate. finally, the result of this study showed that the future of blacksmithing in awka is under threat as those who are currently in the trade do not have confidence in it. they are willing to abandon it if they get other opportunities. this suggests lack of interest on their part. the researcher recommends, among others, that the government of anambra state should provide modern tools for blacksmithing in awka and make them pay back in terms of tax. keywords: iron work, awka, anambra state. introduction the study area is awka town and capital of anambra state of south eastern nigeria. it is relatively a large town located about 20 kilometers east of the commercial city of onitsha. the town lies along roads leading from owerri, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 67 umuahia, onitsha and enugu. it is the traditional home of the igbo blacksmiths and the town’s artisans are still noted for their metalwork. according to nwanne, (2015) in igboland, communities that are known for blacksmith include awka in anambra state, agbaja udi in enugu state, abriba in abia state and nkwere in imo state. these are the known smithing communities in igboland and one cannot do without them during the precolonial time. in awka, blacksmithing is one of the trades that defines its people. people from awka are reputable for blacksmithing skills. a practicing awka blacksmith ogbuefi anagor and a retired smith: ogbuefi nwanemeke nwanna (personal communication, 2016) agree that despite the enviable contributions blacksmithing has made in traditional igbo society in particular, the industry is now being relegated to the background. awka, the capital of anambra state is renowned for blacksmithing. okwu (2010) opines that awka, abiriba and nkwerre are noted iron workers throughout igbo land. okwu adds that their technological superiority and monopoly of the smithing profession throughout the area that later became eastern nigeria attracted the attention of both the pioneer missionaries as well as that of the early colonial administrators. onwuka (1991) avers that ironworking, one of the most valued skilled craft industries of igboland in pre-colonial nigeria has attracted substantial attention from archaeologists of igboland. the attention given to blacksmith in literature underscores its importance in igboland generally. ezenagu (2014) reveals that the iron technology of pre-colonial nigeria was an advanced technology which included the art of smelting and smithing. according to ezenagu, the former was a method through which bloom (iron) was extracted from iron ore on the other hand, the latter focuses on the actual production of iron implements. ezenagu (2013) posits that the importance of the smith technology in producing crafts for public consumption, though not free from aesthetic beauty is the reason for its continuous existence. hence, blacksmith industry is one amongst the range of indigenous technologies that flourished in precolonial nigeria. blacksmithing in awka is one of the oldest craft industries that have survived in the communities from generation to generation. blackmsith from awka were renowned for their skills that they travelled from place to place, plying their trade and making money. ezenagu (2014) avers that it is based on the popularity of awka smith that the word ‘uzu’ (smith) is a household name amongst its residents such that the present day traditional ruler of the community is named after the trade ‘eze-uzu’ (king of smith). basden (1960) corroborrates that the awka smiths practically took over the occupation and they hold a leading place in the profession throughout ibo country and in many places outside igboland. according to eze-uzomaka (2011) in pre-colonial times the people of awka were famous for metal working and their blacksmith was highly valued throughout the region for igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 68 making farming implements, guns and tools. okpoko and okpoko, (2002) add that this partly explains why awka and nkwerre people in igboland are known as masters in blacksmithing. although awka blacksmith used to be mixed with ritual practice, ezenagu, (2014) argues that the influence of modernity has diminished the ritualistic nature of the industry which previously prohibits a stranger from smithing in awka blacksmith workshop. nwanna (2011) notes that awka metal work is almost as old as the town itself. he further stated that “it is their proficiency in metal work that gave them the prominent position which they had held among their fellow nigerians and even beyond.” indigenous technology especially blacksmithing, was a flourishing profession among the people of awka in anambra state. the significance and influence of this industry were pronounced within and outside the community. omolewa (1986) pointed out that, “there is evidence of more advanced technology in various parts of nigeria during the bronze and metal age. indeed, one of the most active periods of technological efforts in nigeria was around 500bc to 200ad”. field (1940) notes that although the awka people are known to have done a little metal casting, it is practically certain that the igbo never reached the degree of skill required to fashion any objects. bobo (1983) averred that: “technology is spread by man and that man lives by technology. this assertion is more relevant when the technology is indigenous (endogamous) often referred to as internally generated methods of learning and expressing initiatives or traditional technology.” through this indigenous technology, the people developed various means with which their economic as well as military needs were met. according to onwuegbuna (2012) “in awka community, the concept of art is physically based in the sense that artistry is first recognized in the psyche of the individuals whose cognitive sphere is charged with creative imagination (onwelu uche nka)”. consequent upon awka blacksmithing ingenuity, the people bagged the sobriquet: “awka okpu-uzu.” burtle (2013) notes further “the awka area in earlier times was the site of the nri civilization that produced the earliest documented bronze works in sub-saharan africa around 800ad”. he further stated that: “before the inception of british rule, awka was governed by titled men known as ndi ozo na ndi ichie who were accomplished individuals in the community.” they held general meetings or izu awka either at the residence of the oldest man (otochalu awka) or at a place designated by him. he was the nne uzu or master blacksmith, whether he knew the trade or not, for the only master known to awka people was the master craftsman, the nne uzu. the current eze uzu of the town selected since 1999 is gibson nwosu. he was one of the first recruits for the nigerian air force. burtle (2013) observes that, “each village had clearly defined trade routes. for example, people from umuogbu village plied their trade in benin, urhobo and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 69 itsekiri areas; umubele were stationed in the igala areas in modern day kogi state, umuike and umuonaga in present day abia and rivers states, umunechi in the kwale and isoko areas of delta state and umudiana, okperi, ugwuogige stationed in calabar area of today’s cross rivers state. considering the rich history of awka people regarding blacksmithing, literature on blacksmithing in the area with emphasis on origin, it application in contemporary society, challenges and the way forward is still emerging. this, therefore, makes a study of this nature at this time very essential. changes in the society have resulted in fears among scholars (e.g. tapper, & mclachlan, 2005; ezenagu, 2014) who are worried that traditional technology may be facing extinction to the detriment of the society. one of such traditional technologies that is under the threat of extinction is the art of blacksmithing. as an art, blacksmithing offers a platform through which people can be gainfully employed, thus making them self-dependent. in this era of increasing youth unemployment, the art of blacksmithing could provide an alternative through which jobs could be created. in addition, blacksmithing has the capacity to supply the local needs of nigerians in the areas of house hold items, farming tools as well as other iron-related implements. the central role of blacksmithing-both in the area of job creation and supply of essential tools-implies that iron work is pivotal to nigeria’s economy, hence empirical evidences are required on how to promote iron work. although studies like those of e.g. nworjih, 1993; njoku, 2002; ezenagu, 2014 have examined the challenges of blacksmithing, as well as its origin, there is still the need to examine the trends and development of blacksmithing in awka. this was linked with what is happening at the moment and it was projected into the future, hence the need for this study. this study sought to determine the current state of blacksmithing in awka as a vehicle for promoting art. specifically, it sought to achieve the following: 1. to ascertain the origin of blacksmithing in awka with particular attention to trends and development in blacksmith industry 2. to examine the current state of blacksmithing in awka. 3. to identify the art qualities found in awka iron work. the research examined the origin of blacksmithing in awka with attention to trends and development in awka blacksmith industry and how it can flourish as an art. the study also examined the current state of blacksmithing in awka and forecasts the future. the following questions are raised: 1. what is the origin and the history of blacksmithing in awka with particular attention to trends and development in the blacksmithing industry? igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 70 2. what is the current situation of blacksmithing in awka? 3. what are the art qualities found in awka ironwork? this study is relevant to the government, professionals and other researchers. first, the government will benefit from the result of the study especially as regard formulating policies that will drive blacksmithing in awka and nigeria in general. with this result, government will be better guided on how to improve blacksmithing to make it a job creation venture. second, professional artists who may be willing to invest in blacksmithing will find the result of this study useful as its findings on the challenges facing blacksmithing will guide such artists in their planning. the result of this study on the ways of improving blacksmithing will also serve as a guide to policy makers and investors. finally, the result of this study will serve as a reference materials for other researchers who may be willing to investigate similar areas. this will be made possible when the study must have been published online and also made available in libraries. the origin and the history of blacksmithing in awka: trends and development in blacksmith industry. the result of this study showed that blacksmithing originated in awka when a man from eziagu, the present day enugu state called nebechi uzo, visited awka. according to the result, the man was in awka to ply his trade of blacksmithing craft. one of the respondents recalled: ‘‘uzo came to awka to buy and sell elephant tusks. he also built his blacksmithing workshop.’’ the respondents reported that uzo was well received by awka people to a point that he married their daughter called imedegwu. another respondent recalled: ‘‘imedegwu gave birth to a son which uzo named agulu.’’ the result of the study further revealed that when agulu grew up, he took to his father’s profession, and became a trader and a blacksmith. it was through agulu that blacksmithing started spreading in awka as he (agulu) started multiplying in number. in the views of the respondents, awka people, even before the coming of colonial masters were ambitious, hardworking productive, innovative and dogged. therefore, the result showed that the respondents reported that blacksmithing began in awka even before the colonization of nigeria. one of the respondents notes: ‘‘blacksmithing in awka has a very long history, awka people began working on iron even before the colonial masters came into nigeria.’’ another respondent said: ‘‘the history of blacksmithing in awka is as old as awka people. it is difficult to mention any exact year, the closet you can get is that, it started very long time ago before the white men came into nigeria.’’ when asked further why an exact date cannot be mentioned, another respondent said: ‘‘except if someone wants to lie to you mentioning date is out of it but just note that it started before nigeria was colonized.’’ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 71 concerning the trends and development, the result of this study showed that the respondents were of the view that awka people specialized in iron work , copper, brass and bronze and were skillful in the carving of wooden implements and ornaments. in this direction, a respondent added: ‘‘this enthusiasm made the smith industry to flourish and serve the needs of the public.’’ another respondent said: ‘‘the determination, skills, and creativity inherent in awka people made the blacksmithing industry to grow in the area.’’ the result of this study also showed that blacksmithing was initially reserved for the seven related villages in awka. among the seven villages, six were from agulu while only umuzocha was not. those from agulu were umuogbu, umudioka, umuenechi, umuoruka, umubele, umujagwo. during those days, only people from these areas were blacksmiths but as time went on, other people started joining the industry. when the respondents were probed further to explain why blacksmith was initially the prerogative of people from these seven villages, a respondent quip: blacksmithing in awka initially had a spiritual connotation. you must belong to the smith family to learn and practice the trade but over time, the growing population and the need to meet the demand of blacksmithing products changed that. also, christianity and its wide acceptance in southeast nigeria led to the change in attaching spiritual importance to smithing. anybody can learn the trade now. the respondents were probed further to explain why people from other villages started and it was found that the growing population led to increase in demand for blacksmith products continued to increase such that blacksmiths from the seven villages could not meet up with the demand, hence others started joining the trade, not only to improve their economic fortunes, but also meet up with the demand in the market. in this light, a respondent said: awka population was increasing, and the demand for blacksmith products also continued to increase so other people had to join to meet up with the supply.” the result of the study also showed that the participants reported that blacksmithing played a critical role in driving agricultural activities by providing working tools needed for agriculture to flourish. in this direction, a respondent said: ‘‘when discussing trends in blacksmithing industry, we must also remember to add that blacksmithing played a critical role of supplying working materials without which, agricultural activities will not flourish.’’ another trend that was and is still common in awka blacksmithing is the development of apprenticeship pattern. during the interview, the respondents igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 72 reported that apprenticeship was adopted and practice as a strategy of sustaining the awka blacksmith. the respondents reported that there was no generally accepted number of years for the apprenticeship because it was dependent on two factors. first, it was dependent on the master. here, a respondent said: ‘‘every master has the right to decide the number of years that someone can undergo apprenticeship under him. nobody can force him, if you are not satisfied, you look elsewhere.’’ another respondent said: ‘‘the master has a very critical part to play in deciding the number of years for apprenticeship.’’ the second factor is how fast the person is able to learn. in this direction, a respondent revealed: ‘‘you know that people do not have the same abilities. some people learn within a very short time while others take a very long time to learn, this reality significantly influences the duration of apprenticeship.’’ nwachukwu (2017) revealed that the apprenticeship system spans over a period of years and they had a god called ogadazu, that is the spirit of blacksmithing, which protects them. another trend in the blacksmithing industry as revealed by the study is the guild system. the participants revealed that based on the guild system, blacksmithing is not open for everybody; it is reserved for smithing families. the essence of the guild system is to ensure that the integrity of blacksmithing is maintained such that only smithing families take part in it. nwachukwu (2017) says that the guild system was initiated to protect the integrity of blacksmithing and to avoid non-smithing families from getting into the business because they believed that blacksmithing was a reserved craft which was a highly respected profession and spiritually inclined. the researcher probed further to determine if members of the families of a person who just graduated from apprenticeship were qualified to practice and the response was thus: ‘‘once a person completes the apprenticeship period, his family automatically becomes a smith family.’’ the simple implication here is that, a person is not allowed to practice without due training. another trend in the awka blacksmithing is the relationship between an apprentice and the master. our result showed that the participants reported that there was much discipline in the blacksmithing such that an apprentice could not eat on the same table as the master at the same time. it was also obligatory of the apprentice to run errands for the master. one of the respondents revealed: ‘‘the apprentice is like a servant to the master. he takes instructions without complaining. the apprentice also takes instructions from the master’s wife.’’ another respondent added: ‘‘the apprentice also keeps the blacksmith store very neat and ensures that the place is not untidy. he is also duty--bound for supply of icheku (charcoal from the inyi tree) for as long as he remains an under the master.’’ in summation, therefore, the apprentice, according to the result of this study, must be completely loyal to the master. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 73 the respondents were also asked to assess the awka residents knowledge of blacksmithing and the result showed that the residents of awka are very conversant with awka blacksmiths since the blacksmiths produce farm implements like hoes, cutlasses, shovels and other household items like kitchen knives etc. moreover the blacksmiths workshops are within the neighbourhood. the respondents were of the view that residents are very familiar with blacksmith such that they send some of their children as apprentices to these blacksmiths. also, the respondents were asked to explain the significance of blacksmithing in awka and the result showed that it has helped in projecting the image of awka to the outside world as a blacksmith town. the respondents also reported that blacksmiths serves as a source of income to awka people. the researcher also asked the respondents to outline some of the blacksmith works in awka and the result showed that their products include, hoe, guns, machetes, shovel, kitchen, knives, gong musical equipments etc. the current state of blacksmithing in awka the respondents were asked to provide narratives on the current state of blacksmithing in awka. the result showed that blacksmithing is still very much practiced but at a reduced rate. most of the respondents reported that there is a reduced interest in blacksmithing as the number of people who indicate interest to learn the trade through apprenticeship has reduced. one of the respondents said: ‘‘although blacksmithing is still practiced in awka, many people are not interested in learning the trade.’’ another respondent said: the result of the study showed that the respondents were of the view that there is a declining interest among the younger generation in getting involved in blacksmithing. one of the respondents said: ‘‘all my children have refused to learn blacksmithing because it does not command respect and recognition.’’ another respondents said: ‘‘i will not even allow my children to join me in this trade because it is no more fashionable. how many people come here to patronize us? just very few. ‘’ the result of this study showed that most of the respondents reported that there is a general reduction in blacksmithing in awka. the respondents were further probed to ascertain if they face challenges in their blacksmithing practice and the result was in the affirmative. ‘‘yes we face a lot of challenges which eventually make the trade unattractive and boring. these challenges play a vital role in discouraging the younger ones from getting involved in blacksmithing.’’ said one of the respondents. another respondents said: ‘‘it is gradually becoming very difficult to ply the blacksmithing trade because of the enormous challenges facing us.’’ the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 74 respondents were probed further to provide insights into the challenges facing blacksmithing in awka. a respondents said: ‘‘our major challenges are space and patronage coupled with the dumping of foreign products into our markets at very cheap prices.’’ the respondents reported that most people do not want to patronize them as it used to be. another respondent said: government is also our major problem through the instrumentality of the police. they use the police to harass our members (blacksmiths) day in day out, some of our members where often killed because they produce guns. these guns were essentially made for hunters (hunting guns) and not combatant guns yet they were arrested. the police said they were producing guns without license. government on the other hand is not in the length ready to issue such license to blacksmiths. the respondents were of the view that government forces were not encouraging them as members are at one point or the other made to contend with government forces over issues that the income of an average blacksmith from awka cannot cope. in this regard a respondent said: ‘‘where do you expect an awka blacksmith to raise money for bail at the nigerian police station over an alleged production of dangerous weapon? the situation, as it is, is terrible.’’ the respondents were further probed to determine if the challenges impinge on their performance and the answer was in the affirmative as one of the respondents said: ‘‘of course they do. we are limited in producing basic items which in turns kills creativity and zeal. they make the trade look like a disregarded trade meant for never-do-well individuals.’’ the respondents also reported that they face stigmatization as one of them said: ‘‘nobody wants to be associated with this kind of trade especially the young ones. unfortunately these are the ones that will take over from us.’’ another respondent described how it affect their performance thus: you spent energy and time to produce something and you fail to dispose them. this non disposal of the items produced, destroys the zeal which one used to produce them. creativity and enthusiasm are also destroyed. at a stage, one feels not going to the workshop any more. to balance the interview, on patronage, some awka residents were interviewed to determine their perceptions about the products of blacksmiths in the area and the result showed that most of the people patronized blacksmiths in awka do so because they have no option. they do so because they are low income earners who cannot afford modern implements. one of the patrons reported: ‘‘if i must be honest with you, i patronize blacksmith igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 75 products because i do not have enough money. if my income improves today, i will say bye-bye to them.’’ another one said, ‘‘the truth is that it is not a thing of honour to patronize the blacksmith products. what they produce has obviously gone out of fashion.’’ generally, the most of the patrons were not interested in blacksmithing products. the aesthetic and art qualities found in awka iron work awka ironworks are made up of different aesthetic qualities like balance which refers to the use of artistic elements such as line, texture, color, and form in creation of artworks in a way that renders visual stability. also, the works reveal rhythm which is a show of variety and pattern as well as hierarchy which reveals the most important part of the work in order of importance. see appendix 1 for some of the awka iron works. this study found that blacksmithing pre-dates even colonialism. the result showed that blacksmithing was introduced in awka through a migrant called nebuzo uzo. this result is somewhat consistent with the account of okafor (2013) who revealed that awka supplied their own needs of iron products and served others, but the era of the “traveling blacksmith” began with the coming of agulu. according to okafor, oka’s internal markets could not sustain all the smiths practicing there; therefore, people moved out, and with their traveling organization into guilds took shape, and, also, the division into journey route of ezi ije or owali ije. this result is, however, inconsistent with that of onuoha (2017) who revealed that ‘‘awka people claimed that a chief god called okanube came down from the sky and taught them blacksmithing (p.5).’’ from the submission of onuoha, the origin of blacksmithing is completely unrelated to any human efforts but spiritual powers. onuoha further revealed that there two schools of thought on the origin of iron technology in africa generally. the first is the exotic or diffusionist school that viewed its origin from outside africa and the autochthonous school that hold that it originated from africa. onuoha further proffers reasons for this disparity thus: the cardinal reality on this controversy of origin is that due to lack of reliable data its origin is yet to be ascertained. in the same vein, the origin of blacksmithing in igbo land was anchored on divinity due to the inability of the ancient men to transmit to the younger generation and as result of lack of scientific acceptable data (p.8). from the assertion above, it can be seen that there is no consensus on the origin of blacksmithing in awka and igboland in general. however, the most important thing to note is that the trade is generational as it is transferred from father to children and from a master to an apprentice. there have been many trends in blacksmithing in awka. onu and kwu-ikeje (2015) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 76 corroborates that the blacksmiths of awka predate colonialism and even recorded western history because awka people fashioned their armlets and bracelets with the same ease as they produced their hunting and agricultural tools or kitchen ware. onu and kwu-ikeje add that in the modern era, the blacksmiths who learnt the trade from their forebears have been churning out almost anything one can imagine: their forges, blowers, anvils, hammers and the like have aided them in producing the earliest documented bronze works in sub-sahara africa. onu and kwu-ikeje in describing the awka blacksmithing added: ‘‘according to history. it is also said that awka smiths are among the best in the country.’’ nwachukwu (2017) argues that there have been trends and changes in blacksmithing industry especially with the coming of the europeans as the blacksmithing industry in awka has made some remarkable changes and developments in the areas of equipment and tools produced. nwachukwu in stressing the changes in blacksmithing industry adds: anything that has to do with iron is a product of blacksmithing; the door we have today is a product of blacksmithing. but because of modernisation and advancement in technology, they now modernise their product. the doors, windows and guns are all made by the blacksmith. so, it is not about making hoes and knives, no!,’’ if not that we call them panel beating and iron benders, the blacksmiths are the ones that do all those things that have to do with iron. but as technology changes, some of the blacksmiths have had to adjust to the new technology. hinges, locks, tools, and all sorts of useful articles are now sold at the factories at prices which must compete seriously with locally produced articles. the same principle of change is operating in almost every crafts. the assertion by okafor above provides insights into the changes in and trends in blacksmithing in awka. today in awka blacksmithing, there is an association of blacksmiths that guide the activities of members. all registered members must conform to the set rules or be punished according to the union’s rules for example, when a journalist visited awka blacksmith for an interview, he refused to grant the interview because the union in awka is against it. he was quoted thus: nobody wants to help us, even most of our elders in this community are no longer interested in what we do, so we decided to take our fate in our hands, and that is why we decided at our meeting that anybody who visits this place to consult us whether to interview us or any other thing, must pay a certain amount of money with a few other items before we talk (onu & kwu-ikeje (2015, para 6) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 77 nwanne (2015,para 8) reported a similar situation of blacksmith complaining of being abandoned and insisting of payment before interacting with members of the public. nwanne cited one of the awka blacksmiths thus: what you heard is the truth; we have stopped people coming here to interview us or take pictures. for years, they have been coming and we used to cooperate with them. but the way it is now, we have decided that, if you want us to talk to you, you must pay n10,000 to the union, with drinks and kola nut. that’s the only thing we get now. the submissions above has shown that the blacksmiths in awka have adjusted to accommodate changing situations around them. from the submission also, it can also be deduced that the blacksmiths are feeling abandoned by the society, they are feeling cheated as people just rush to them and get information, after which, they are abandoned. hence, the need to resort to self-help with a view to avoiding a continuation of the same scenario. in this regard, nwanne (2015, para 5) notes: they have abandoned us; we are on our own. each time they come here, they make empty promises, but at the end, nothing will come from it. look at me now heating these metals; that’s all i get. but government will use our name to be promoting themselves, but they don’t listen to our problems. the current trends in blacksmithing reflect a complete contrast from what it used to be many years ago. okafor (2013) holds that in 1925 oka smiths were taken to an exhibition at wembley, england. they demonstrated to the british how awka smiths worked, and showcased what they made. subsequently, the british flooded the african market with cheaper machine-made goods and this led to the fall of awka and till date, it has become difficult for it to claim its pride of place. okafor adds that awka smithing was dying until the nigerian civil war, then awka came back briefly into her own, in fabrication, foundry work, and so on. awka flowered for a time, and then sunk back into ordinariness. okafor adds that awka blacksmiths had great honour wherever they went. their usefulness was always appreciated such that in yoruba land they were not required to do what others did. “agbede” ―the blacksmithǁ, they said, “does not cut the path to the stream, nor cut the path to the farms, nor go to war. he is in his smithy fashioning the implements of war or of farming’’ (p.43). at the moment, the tempo of blacksmithing activities has reduced. products of awka blacksmiths the result of this study showed that though blacksmithing is still being practiced in awka, the activities are no longer as they used to be. the smiths igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 78 from awka are still working and producing different items like dane guns, hoes, machetes and gongs as affirmed by onu and kwu-ikeje (2015). others include metal traps, diggers for harvesting tubers, musical instruments, fetters, spears, metal gates, titular staff, spoons, plates, bangles, rings, necklaces and earrings, among others. onu and kwu-ikeje add that the works of awka blacksmiths are everywhere, decorating hands and feet, lifting the profile of living rooms, making the job of housewives easier in the kitchen, helping to secure homes and, among other things, helping motorists who damage their car keys out of their misery. onu and kwu-ikeje (2015) paint a picture of the current state of blacksmith in awka thus: the smiths are barely grinding out a living, almost entirely nonexistent in the reckoning or psyche of state government officials, year after year and administration after administration the master craftsmen of awka do their business at a sewage site amid all manner of refuse. the air around the place is unhealthy and the workmen look crammed. they said the governments of the state have scarcely taken notice of them, giving them a sense that they are pretty much on their own. the submission above showed that blacksmiths in awka are currently in a state of abandonment. they are suffering from many challenges like poor patronage, non-recognition and harassment from government agents like the police. anigbogu and onyima (2014) revealed that as a result of the increasing security threat in nigeria and the eventual proliferation of illegal arms, there is the possibility that blacksmith will be subjected to undue security checks. ngboawaji (2011) corroborates that guns have been produced locally by unlicensed craft gunsmiths without corresponding information regarding the type, quality and scale of craft production. ngboawaji revealed further that sporadic raids against craft producers and seizures of guns produced by local smith have featured prominently in nigerian newspapers, an indication of the threat that illegal gun production posed to the nigerian society. ngboawaji recalled thus: in june 2007, nigeria’s this day newspaper reported the confiscation of 40 pistols from a local blacksmith in niger state by the police while investigating a case of armed robbery. one of the arrested armed robbers had confessed having bought his gun from the craftsman. with this kind of business operating, it is thus difficult to ascertain the real number of arms circulating and how their proliferation and use could be curbed (p.8). the import of the submission of ngboawaji above on the current study is that it has revealed new insights on why blacksmith from awka may continuously be harassed by the police. onu and kwu-ikeje (2015) affirm on the current igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 79 state of grievances between blacksmiths and the general society thus: ‘‘given the insensitivity of government and even community elders, the workmen have grown somewhat disenchanted and are seeking what they can get out of the job, caring less and less whether help would come from anywhere or not (para 5).’’ apart from abandonment, blacksmith from awka face other challenges like poor patronage, lack of modern equipment and harassment from law enforcement agencies. obhota and olayemi (2016, para 3) reported different challenges thus: the challenges i face are quite enormous but i will mention few. one of the challenges i face is getting the wood. the reason is because it’s difficult getting the right tree for the work. secondly, it is even more difficult during the rainy season because the wood will be wet so we will have to wait for it to dry. the next challenge i face is getting the iron because it can be very expensive. the charcoal is also difficult to get too, so all these things make it a bit challenging for me. obhota and olayemi appear to have differed from many others as they presented the positive side of blacksmithing even in contemporary awka. this is because when obhota and olayemi inquired to know the achievement recorded in blacksmithing, an awka smith reported ‘‘i have been able to build my house from this trade. i am married with children and they are all in school. one of them will graduate from secondary school this year.’’ this is in sharp contrast with that of nwanne (2016 para 7) who revealed: if you watch news on abs, that blacksmith you see in the video is my father; they have been promising him too. today, he’s old, yet nothing to show for it. this is what awka is known for, but they are not paying attention to us; even our government….. the kind of leaders we have here, they are the cause of our problem. they only answer names; some of them answer ‘uzu awka,’ other answer ‘eze uzu,’ but they don’t maintain their names. some of them will come here and use us to make money from the whiteman. we are no longer waiting for the government; we eat from what we make here… at the moment, blacksmithing in awka is under the threat of extinction. anigbogu and onyima (2014) affirm that the status of traditional blacksmithing industry is best described as been ‘endangered’ as it is currently facing lots of challenges with the increasing discovery of new technologies, as such, its continuity in the next few decades is doubtful. anigbogu and onyima further revealed that this is associated with some overwhelming factors necessitated by socio-cultural change and other current realities that may not be easily ignored in the 21st century. judging by the assertion of anigbogu and onyima, blacksmithing in awka may go into extinction like dinosaur. nworjih (1993) attributed the reduction in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 80 blacksmithing activities to include: the modern technological advancement accompanied by the influx of foreign products; mass movement of rural community members to big cities; lack of government support, and the declining interest of youths in the profession. the result of this study showed the existence of different aesthetic and art qualities in awka iron work. such qualities include balance, rhythm and hierarchy. this implies that that the future of blacksmithing may still be bright as blacksmiths still devout their time to produce art work with attractive aesthetic qualities. this is contrary to the assumption of anigbogu and onyima (2014) who said that the occupational challenges being faced by traditional blacksmiths in awka, are multi-faceted and that the trend portends even greater danger in terms of ‘intergenerational deskilling.’ aesthetic and art qualities are essential in attracting people’s attention to art work. when art work have aesthetic elements, they are likely to attract patrons than when they are lacking in aesthetic. senam,, udoakah and udoh (2015) in a study did an aesthetic analysis using aesthetic categories namely: balance, contrast, dynamics, focus, unity and proportion and found that most academics in south-south nigeria are significantly familiar with the concept and principles of newspaper aesthetics; significantly motivated by aesthetic contents of their selected newspapers; and are attracted to most of the aesthetic elements used in the newspapers. although senam, et al did not examine iron work, aesthetic in newspapers are art work and their result has provide an insight into the role of aesthetic in the behaviour of others and possibly, their attitude to art work. challenges of the blacksmithing industry blacksmithing is currently facing challenges. nworjih (1993) identified various factors responsible for the declining conditions of the traditional art of blacksmithing in southeastern nigeria to include: the modern technological advancement accompanied by the influx of foreign products; mass movement of rural community members to big cities; lack of government support, and the declining interest of youths in the profession. nworjih notes that products of the local blacksmithing industry remain indispensable to the people due to their socio-cultural, religious, economic and aesthetic significance to the living tradition of the society and their cultural heritage. perhaps, the singular greatest threat portending the extinction of the blacksmithing industry in awka is the ebbing away of the apprenticeship system as the blacksmithing profession has lost its attraction in the eyes of the present generation of youths. anigbogu and onyima, (2013) hold that blacksmithing is one of nigeria’s cultural heritage that is facing challenges of survival. according to them, blacksmithing industry, brass-casting, bronze igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 81 works and metal-working industries practiced across nigeria, terracotta; wood carvers constructed beautiful stools and doors, engravings on walls and rocks etc. all these skills served as good entrepreneurial and income yielding jobs have been abandoned for foreign ones in the quest for civilization. according to aremu, (2008) after mining in traditional metal-working industries, the spongy mass of metallic iron known as the bloom is often sold to blacksmiths with which they fabricate several objects ranging from farm implements, hunting and fishing materials, palm wine tapping tools, weaving implements, household utensils, wood carving tools, ceremonial staff, military weapons, political royal swords, seats and scepter, among others. this implies that the blacksmithing industry permeated most sectors of the society and as such its relevance and significance to pre-colonial nigerians was not in doubt. often time, people blame the government for the challenges confronting blacksmithing, but nwanna (2015) avers that government cannot be completely blamed on the challenges facing blacksmithing because no matter what people want the government to do, it should be understood that people are becoming naturally lazy, such that everybody wants to work in an office. according to nwanna, even blacksmiths are beginning to lose enthusiasm from the trade as its income is meager. nwanna notes: ‘‘this time of oil business, everybody wants to go into modern life and it’s affecting the business of the blacksmith. again, the blacksmith feels that after staying in his forge for a day andproduced maybe 30 knives, how long will he do that to be able to buy a big car like others?’’ modern technology has posed challenges to the sustenance of blacksmithing as most people prefer modern technology to the traditional ones. tapper and mclachlan (2005) suggest that there is the need for conservation and modification of some technologies that are under current threat of extinction because of the threat posed by modern technologies. ezenagu, (2014) argues that the colonial masters have left the african land and as such, it is time for african leaders to learn to solve their problems by themselves. one of such ways is to improve on indigenous technology and make it helpful for the overall benefit of africans. this study investigated the origin and history of blacksmithing in awka, examining the trends, and issues in the industry. the study also examined the current state of blacksmithing in awka as well as its future. the study reviewed relevant literature bothering on metal and its formation, identification and location of metal bearing rock as well as types of metal which were identified as ferrous metals which have elements like wrought iron, cast iron and steel. also, non ferrous metals were discussed in the study. the study also examined the evolution of blacksmithing beginning from 1000 b.c and from 4000bc to the 410 ad to the present day where blacksmithing has become a very essential part of the society. the study examined the products of the early smithing to the present day. another area captured in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 82 literature is the influence of technological advancement in the practice of blacksmithing. this has been explained taking into account the threat posed by new technology to blacksmithing. the study attempted an overview of blacksmithing in awka. the smithing as an art has also been captured from the beginning to the finishing. the tools needed for blacksmithing have also been discussed in the study. these include closed furnace, heat treatment bath, forging machine, small hammer, fire tong, anvil, vice, electric blower and metal cutter. apprenticeship in learning the art of blacksmithing has also been explained. descriptive survey was used for the study while the study area was awka, anambra state. the population of the study was all the registered members of the blacksmith association in anambra state. they are 34 in number. the grounded theory approach was used in the analysis of data for the study. the result of this study showed that blacksmithing originated in awka when a man from ezeagu, the present day enugu state called nebechi uzo, visited awka. it was also found that blacksmithing in the area has undergone many changes but learning is done through apprenticeship. also, it is transferred from father to children. the result of this study also showed that blacksmith is still being practiced but at a reduced rate. at the moment, blacksmiths in awka are feeling abandoned and ill -treated by the society and the government. finally, in the result the iron work of awka blacksmiths have aesthetic qualities like balance, rhythm and hierarchy. recommendations based on the result of this study, the following recommendations are made: 1. awka residents should improve their patronage of blacksmith products as a way of encouraging those in the trade. 2. the government of anambra state should provide modern tools for blacksmithing in awka and make them pay back in terms of tax. 3. more and more young men and women in awka should be encouraged to learn blacksmith trade as a way of reducing the rising unemployment rate in nigeria. 4. further studies should be expanded to cover more areas in nigeria like nsukka and other neighbouring smithing communities for better understanding and comparison. in the process of conducting this study, the researcher was confronted with experienced some limitations. first, most of the blacksmiths contacted refused to speak insisting that the researcher must pay five thousand naira and also provide some refreshment items like kola nut and wine. all attempts to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 83 convince them that the essence of the study was for academics failed. the researcher eventually had to comply before the interview was held. during the interview session, there was a language challenge as some of the respondents, especially the elderly ones could not speak english language fluently. the researcher had to conduct such interviews in igbo and transcribed to english language. conclusion this study investigated the origin and history of blacksmithing in awka. based on the result of this study, the researcher concludes that blacksmithing began in awka through a migrant from enugu who visited the area. the researcher also concludes that at the moment, there is a significant reduction in the activities of blacksmithing in awka as those who are still plying the trade are not enthusiastic about it. also, at the moment, blacksmith in awka are feeling abandoned by the government and elders in their communities as well as the society generally. this thinking is already influencing their relationship with the larger society as they now insist on being paid before granting any interview. this study also concludes that awka iron works have aesthetic qualities. the basic contribution of this study is that it has provided evidence for understanding the origin of blacksmithing in awka, which has different accounts, some of which are not based on empirical evidence. also, this study has provided empirical evidence for understanding the current state of blacksmithing in awka as well as its future. this understanding is very essential because it has provided a guide on specific areas of interventions in improving the fortune of blacksmithing in awka. photographs of the interview sessions plate 1: an interview with chief anakweze, one of the eldest smith in awka. photo by sculptor chisom 2017 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 84 plate 2: smithing in progress. photo by nzoiwu, azuka 2017 some of the awka blacksmith’s works plate 9: ngwu nmanwu (staff of masquerade). it is used to indicate where a masquerade is, so as to scare people from going to the spot. it is also used by the native doctor. photo by nzoiwu, azuka 2017. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 85 plate 12: alo (big gong) it is used for musical instrument photo by nzoiwu, azuka 2017 plate 14: ogene mkpi na-abo (twin gong) used for shrine activities, masquerade dance and traditional purposes. photo by nzoiwu, azuka 2017 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 86 plate 15: ngwu ana (digger) it is used for harvesting yam in the farm photo by nzoiwu, azuka 2017 plate 19: nwangwu ana (small digger) it is used for planting vegetables, seeds of plant photo by nzoiwu, azuka 2017 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 87 plate 20: isiogu (head of a hoe) it is used for farming photo by nzoiwu, azuka 2017 plate 22: ite okpukpu (casting pot) used for cooking food photograph by nzoiwu, azuka 2017 references igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 88 albers, j. (1999). about ancient blacksmithing. ore crushes and processing equipment, for iron ore, gold ore, copper ore. www. kefidchina.com/ore.crusher. anigbogu , c. & onyima, b (2014). new technology and challenges of the blacksmithing industry in awka: implication for entrepreneurship development. retrieved from https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2466839 anigbogu, k.c. & onyima, b.n. (2013). new technology and challenges of the blacksmithing industry in awka: implication for entrepreneurship development. african journal of microfinance and enterprise development, 3(1),46-56. aremu, d. a. (ed.) (2008). preservation of land, culture & wildlife for the development of ecotourism in africa. ibadan, spectrum books limited. bealer, a.w. (1969). the art of blacksmithing. new york: castle books. blacksmithing history, (1978). appalachian blacksmith’s association. august 21,2012 bobo, j.s.a. (1983). a dilemma of choice-an adaptive acquisition or innovative transfer of technology in s.u.r. chaudhri (ed). the impact of technology on management in nigeria (pp, 12-36). england: rolex trading book company. burtle, e. (2013). awka, nigeria history, awka union usa and canada. http://www. /stchoicepersonnel.net/awka/index.php/awkainfo. david, h. & bernhard, h (1993). basic tools and equipment of the rural blacksmith. intermediate technology publications. dike, a. a. ( 1985). the resilience of igbo culture: a case study of awka town fourth dimension . enugu nigeria : pub.co ltd. emeriewen, k and kalilu, o. (2015). emerging trends in blacksmithing in benin city, nigeria. journal of science and technology of act, 2, (2), 70-76. energy and environmental profile of the u.s. mining industry (2012). iron. retrieved from https://energy.gov/sites/*prod/files/2013/11/f4/iron.pdf eze, u. (2011). iron production and change in igbo land, nigeria. ikenga international igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 89 ezenagu n., (2013) tourism a viable path for wealth creation in nigeria: an analysis of awka metropolis. international journal of science and research, .2 (9), 22-35. ezenagu, n (2014). the blight of african indigenous technology in the 21st century: the way forward. journal of tourism and heritage studies, 3(1), 5973. eze-uzomaka d. i (2011) iron production and change in igboland nigeria, ikenga international journal of institute of african studies, 12 (1), 3447. field, j.o. (1940). bronze castings found at igbo southern nigeria man. https://www.jstor.org/stable/ forging & smithy (2013). retrieved from http://web.uettaxila.edu.pk/cms/ aut2013/iewpbs/notes/smithy%20&%20forging%20shop.pdf francesco, f. (2005). nigerian tourism development master plan http://www.nacd.gov.ng from www.appaltree.net. hornby, a.s. (2000). oxford advanced learners dictionary (6th ediction). http://forgetools.com/. johnston forge, (1999) blacksmithing and forge tools information nandi, r. (2010). why buy local? an assessment of the economic advantages of shopping at locally owned businesses. accessed from http://www.ced.msu.edu/upload/reports/why%20buy%20local. pdf ngboawaji d.n. (2011). the changing patterns of small and light weapons proliferation and the challenges of national security in nigeria. international security journal 1(1), 1-16. nwachukwu, r. (2017). development of blacksmithing in awka. retrieved fro m https://awkaland.blogspot.com.ng/2017/01/development-ofblacksmithing-in-awka.html nwanna, c.e. (2011). awka, the land of metal smiths. “nka na uzu”. a/quarterly publication on arts, culture and environment, 1(2),23-41 nwanne, c. (2015). keeping a date with awka blacksmiths. the guardian newspaper. retrieved from https://guardian.ng/sundaymagazine/c104-sunday-magazine/keeping-a-date-with-awkablacksmiths/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 90 nwanne, c (2015, january, 17). preference for foreign products bane for blacksmithing in nigeria. the guardian. retrieved from https://guardian.ng/sunday-magazine/c104-sundaymagazine/preference-for-foreign-products-bane-ofblacksmithing-in-nigeria/ nworjih, c.a. (1993) a study of the origins, characteristics, and significance of the traditional art of blacksmithing in southeastern nigeria. unpublished phd dissertation: new york university nyitor a. s. (2010). impact of country-of-origin and price on product’s advertisement efficacy. journal of social science, 2, 193-201. obhota, e. & olayemi, j. (2016). blacksmithing is a creative business – makeri. daily trust newspaper. retrieved from https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/asochronicles/blacksmithing-is-a-creative-businessmakeri/131936.html. okafor, a. (2013). the awka people. retrieved from https://igbocybershrine. files.wordprss.com/2013/01/awkapeople.pdf oke, p.k (2007) an evaluation of improved local blacksmith process. journal of engineering and applied sciences, 2(8), 1255-1261. okwu, a. s. o. (2010). igbo culture and christian missions 1857-1957: conversion in theory and practice, usa: university press. oladimeji, y. u. (2013). potentials of and the socio-economic benefits of blacksmithing production in promoting agricultural development and poverty alleviation in kwara state, nigeria. international journal of modern engineering research (ijmer) 3, (6),3809-3817. olaleke, o. (2010). nigerians’ perception of locally made products: a study on textile fabrics consumers in kaduna state. economic sciences series,1, 30-36. oloidi, i. (1989). constraints on the growth and development of modern nigerian art in the colonial period. nsukka journal of humanities, omolewa, m. (1986). certificate history of nigeria. ibadan: longman group ltd. on management in nigeria (pp, 12-36). england: rolex trading book company. onu, n. & kwu-ikeje, o. (2015). 2019: agony of awka master blacksmiths. the nation. retrieved from http://thenationonlineng. net/agony-of-awka-master-blacksmiths/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 91 onuoha, c. (2017). origin of iron technology in africa: the abiriba blacksmithing in focus. pyrex journal of history and culture 2 (1), 19. onwuegbuna, i.e. (2012). folk artistry: development possibilities eroding okwomma musical culture of awka, journal of liberal studies, school of general studies, university of nigeria, 2, 17-35. onwuka, n. n. (1991) magi, religion and iron technology in pre-colonial northernwestern igboland, journal of religion africa xx1,2, 13-29. osuala, u (2012).colonialism and the disintegration of indigenous technology in igboland: a case study of blacksmithing in nkwerre, historical research letter, 3, 11-21. pamela, eze, u. (2004). iron production and change in igbo land, nigeria ikenga, international journal of institute of african studies, 12 (1), 1639. rathi m, & jakhade, n (2014). an overview of forging processes with their defects. international journal of scientific and research publications, 4 (6), 1-7. sherby, o. wadsworthb, j. (2000). ancient blacksmiths, the iron age, damascus steels, and modern metallurgy. international conference on processing and manufacturing of advanced materials, las vegas, nv, december 4-8. senam, udoakah, n & udoh, g (2015). aesthetic attitude and newspaper selection among nigerian academic. the international journal of social sciences and humanities invention , 2 (2)1095-1114. simon, g.j. (2011). history of the blacksmith, a.w.c.b. cert. ed….. blacksmith www. simongrant-jones.com. tapper, r. and mclachlan, k. (2005) technology, tradition and survival: aspects of material culture in the middle east and central asia, london: taylor and francis e-library terwase, i. & madu, a (2014). the impact of rice production, consumption and importation in nigeria: the political economy perspectives. international journal of sustainable development & world policy,3(4), 90-99. ugwu, c.c. (2014). blacksmithing and development of rural technological base, department of sociology imo state university owerri by unicorn journal, 2, 14-31. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 6.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 143 igwebuike: an african metaphysics of communal strength jude i. onebunne, phd department of philosophy faculty of arts nnamdi azikiwe university, awka ji.onebunne@unizik.edu.ng, 080340734664 abstract african metaphysics remains a major branch of african philosophy. the concept of igwebuike within african communalist metaphysics has shown the influence of communal strength or a kind of sharedness power. igwebuike expressing the heart of igbo thought and communalistic existence remains the instrument for better interpretation of reality as such. the researcher, using the methods of conceptual appraisal and critical analysis finds out that though igwebuike can be referred as a complementary igboafrican philosophy of inclusive leadership but is more acceptable as the expressive modality of being and belongingness in african ontology. therefore, igwebuike philosophy should be most appreciated as the african metaphysics of communal strength. keywords: igwebuike, philosophy, metaphysics, communalism introduction the theory and term communalism as used from the back-cloth of african ideology which is community identity, is traceable to senghor, nkrumah and nyerere. however, as an ideal pertinent cultural value, it has been a practice among black africans from the moment they are grouped into communities. various etymologies all point to connotation and denotation of communalism as indicating mutual participation and equal sharing of a variety of values and goods evaluated as fundamental in the community. african is founded on the assumption and belief that all human beings are members of one human family. african communalism is time-oriented since it transcends those that practice it and it is man-oriented based on its place in the culture of the people. iroegbu (1995), therefore, joins in this appreciation of african communalism. he, however, went further by showing that there are principles that determine this african communalism of which belongingness is definitive. african communalism is a moral doctrine that also values human dignity, rights and responsibilities. ikuenobe (2018), argues that “african communalism does igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 144 not see a conflict between individuals and community; they are mutually supportive, and people are required to have the moral attitude of contributing to the community for their own well-being. this attitude creates the priority of duty which is for the fundamental goal of creating a community; in order to provide the material conditions for actualizing individuals’ substantive right and well being”. communalism properly and generally expresses an intense community spirit and communal interrelationship that exist among groups of people or an entire people. communalism embodies ties of close relationship interactions through commune origin, language, culture, customs, religions and socioeconomic life. in a large sense, it is an expression through nationality, that is, people from the same root. hence, people commune easily, freely and more intensely with their members in contrast to social give and take and this make their community the central focus of their lives. communalism is opposed to individualism where people think and act on the basis of the wishes of the individuals, as opposed to community good and values. it is as well opposed to pluralism where there are dualistic tendencies of opposing forces to every issue. fundamentally, communalism grids the social aspect of human nature. it is so pronounced in african societies that is regarded as an african way of life at least, in pristine and still in modern african societies and groups. communalism remains an african theory, especially, of a wellordered society. the understanding underlines the key characteristics of a human community, namely mutual participation, social relationship, fellowship and equal sharing of certain fundamental rights, value, origin (root), good or orientation in the community. it entails sharing a defined locality and communality, which are often expressed in a nation as people from the same root (natus). the full understanding of communalism is expressed in the meaning of community. according to ekennia (2001), communalism expressed in a community, ‘’refers to social relationship, fellowship, socialites, organized society. it invokes obligingness’’. in our popular parlance and understanding, it invokes belongingness. the community is understood as a nexus of inter-relational relationship for human action and interaction. and communalism is practical in this community since it is a basis for a communal life that demands a just ordered and well organized society. conceptual clarifications igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 145 concept of igwebuike this work proposes igwebuike as the key to understanding african philosophy. while being in igbo philosophy is ‘idi’, that is, to be, igwebuike is the modality of being. it is an igbo word, which is a combination of three words. therefore, it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. the three words involved: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power. thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’. it was employed by igbo traditional philosophers as a theory based on an illustrative statement to teach that when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force, and more so, to express their world of relationship, harmony, continuality and complementarity. at this level, no task is beyond collective capability. this provides an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. as an ideology, igwebuike argues that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is ‘to be with the other’, in a community of beings. this is based on the african sense of community, which is the underlying principle and unity of african philosophy (igwebuikepedia). concept of african metaphysics it is one of the main branches of african philosophy. african philosophy presupposes and strongly assumes the existence of a metaphysics that is distinctly and peculiarly african; that reflects that african weltanschuug (universe of experience) and african reality of existence. this is in contra-distinction to the western, eastern or jewish metaphysics which have their uniqueness and characteristics. african metaphysics briefly is a study of the african world and world-view. as a study, it takes a deep and wide look into the nature of ultimate reality for africans. it looks into the nature of forces or beings in the african universe, the relationship between the seen and the unseen. african metaphysics is the key to the understanding and interpretation of life, existence, being, in fact reality as a whole as observed in the african universe. the african sees his universe as essentially a religious one; a unified whole of visible and invisible and this igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 146 organic whole of the visible world ‘spiritually’ blends with the divine invisible world to give the african the ultimate whole of life. the african further recognizes that the forces in the universe are in constant motion and each force tends to affect another by its motion. this text brings to light the essentials of the african belief system, and also with a visible and comprehensive review of the phenomenon of the forces in his environment and how he manipulates or interacts with his nature. concept of communal strength communal relationships are relationships in which benefits are given in response to needs or to demonstrate a general concern for the other person (clark & mills 1979). in african metaphysics, it is a selfless form of relationship where one is not identified in the self but ‘we’. the courage, level of confidence, support and solidarity gotten from this type of relationship is referred to as communal strength. communal strength refers to the degree of responsibility a person feels for communal partners’ welfare (mills, clark, ford & johnson, 2004 p. 213). the stronger the communal strength, the more responsibility felt for the other’s welfare. the stronger the communal strength, the more cost a person will incur to provide for the needs of the other. a person will feel more distressed or guilty for not responding to the other’s needs when communal strength is stronger. igwebuike and communalism according to kanu, igwebuike is anchored on the african worldview, which iroegbu (1995) describes as being characterized by a common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny. the communalindividuality of the african is expressed in the igbo-african proverb: ngwere ghara ukwu osisi, aka akpara ya (if a lizard stays off from the foot of a tree, it would be caught by man); ntugwa bu uto ndu (variety is the spice of life); otu osisi anaghi eme ohia (a tree does not make a forest); gidigidi bu ugwu eze (the dignity of a king is the number of his followers); mmetuko ahu bu uto ndu (the beauty of life is in mixing up with others). mbiti (1970, p. 108), has classically proverbializes the community determining role of the individual when he wrote, “i am because we are and since we are, therefore i am”. this would mean that the confidence of being is because others are in being. the existence of others assures me of their solidarity and complementarity without which i cannot be. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 147 achebe (1958,p. 133), brings the essential nature of the igbo-african communal relationship to a higher and more fundamental focus when he wrote: “a man who calls his kinsmen to a feast does not do so to save them from starving. they all have food in their own homes. when we gather together in the moonlight village ground it is not because of the moon. everyman can see it in his own compound. we come together because it is good for kinsmen to do so”. with the style of existential expression, he writes further: “we do not ask for wealth because he that has health and children will also have wealth. we do not pray to have more money but to have more kinsmen. we are better than animals because we have kinsmen. an animal rubs its itching flank against a tree, a man asks his kinsman to scratch him” (achebe, 1958, p. 132). the idea of a human person asking a fellow human person to scratch the back speaks of the fundamental complementary role which a fellow being plays in the life of another. while the above analysis focuses on the world of human beings, igwebuike goes beyond the human world to speak of the modality of the being of the entirety of reality, including the inanimate and spiritual worlds (igwebuikepedia). according to senghor, ‘’we see this that the negro-african is a collective society, more precisely communal…’’. the term communalism, associated with african society and life, has a political origin. it became famous in the 1960s during period of the struggle for independence from the western colonizers and for the decolonization of african continent. to some it is a political weapon for the independence and a developmental weapon for africans. and ekennia summed it up thus, if communalism was regarded as one of the guesses made on the african social system by westerners in the eyes of mbonu ojike, it turns out to be the foundation of african theories of political and economic liberations, in the work of authors like kwame nkurumah, leopold sedar senghor, julius, nyerere and many other politicians of africa. nyerere, however, defines african communalism as african brotherhood. this is an ujamma project in a practical concretization of a task of a command breakthrough for africa. these african thinkers and writers reiterate the original igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 148 existence of the communal way of soul, one mind one spirit, as opposed to aggregation of individual in a society among africans. in iroegbu’s (1996) word, thus the life of sharing, communal togetherness distinguishes african societies from the western ones where there is pronounced individualism. with regard to the status of communalism, iroegbu (1995) believes that, ‘’communalism is not an abstract theory, it is rather a realizable model designed for a particular society, an african one’’. communalism, therefore, addresses the foundational and distributive structures of any society that is the institution of any society, which are so justly arranged for the good of all the members. communalism remains a theory of justice for a well-ordered society where everyone belongs for the wellbeing of all. in such communal belonging, there is a kind of shared personality or sharing with otherself. igbo communalism is expressed in living together and sharing responsibilities. the traditional igbo society has a great asset in this practice of a mode of life called communalism. this is the bedrock and the result of a wonderful relationship prevalent in the igbo-african community as well as the purpose of the existence of the igbo community in particular and africa in general. igwebuike and belongingness the concept of belongingness, from the verb ‘to belong,’ is the synthesis of the reality and experience of belonging. it is a part of, a member of and a substantive that summarizes all the things that are posed. belongingness is one of the principles of igwebuike. the individual is not self sufficient but has many needs which he cannot supply to himself. hence, human beings agreed to submit voluntarily to a system and were bound to live in unison and solidarity. through deep experiences as creatures, human beings realized their insufficiency and dependency. they discovered that they need each other to live a contented life. these experiences of life gave recourse to the idea of complementarity as a measure to survive the challenges posed by other vicissitudes of life. inter-dependency, interrelationship, collectivism and mutual co-existence form the basis for igbo life pattern as expressed in igwebuike and belongingness: the metaphysics of effective communal relationship. being means the existence of a thing. anything that exists has being. anything that partakes in being is also a being. being is a concept encompassing objective igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 149 and subjective features of reality and existence (wikipedia). before these individual persons can come together to form a community as in “igwe”, they must exist, which is ‘to be’. they must exist possibly in a nuclear family, which automatically make them the members of an extended family, kindred, a clan and a community. the being therefore, form the basis of igwe. they existed because they are beings, because they cannot exist alone except in the whole, they must belong to a group forming the ‘igwe’. the existence of a relationship among the igwe, thus strengthens their bond, giving them the courage and solidarity that stems from a communal relationship. belongingness is the arrangement of the fundamental structures of any society such that it incarnates and manifests the commonness of origin of history, and of general destiny of all the members of the community. belongingness concretizes in reality a group of people. belongingness is therefore, ‘’umunna concretized’’. belongingness pursues in a large sense the social justice of the people. according to iroegbu: it (belongingness) makes sure that all belong and that none is marginalized: both in contributively and distributively. belongingness will be understood as a defining principle in the theory of african communalism. the fundamental structure of communal existence is definitively pillared on belongingness (onebunne,2009). igwebuike and ubuntu i am because we are, and you are because i am aptly defines communalism which studies have shown is the underlining principle of african communalism. this south african word – ubuntu – is a synonym of the igbo expression igwebuike – in unity lays our strength. it is often translated as “i am because we are” or humanity towards others. it is often used in a philosophical sense to mean “the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity”. according to michael onyebuchi eze, the core of ubuntu can best be summarised as follows: ‘a person is a person through other people' strikes an affirmation of one’s humanity through recognition of an ‘other’ in his or her uniqueness and difference. it is a demand for a creative intersubjective formation in which the ‘other’ becomes a mirror (but only a mirror) for my subjectivity. this idealism suggests to us that humanity is not embedded in my person solely as an individual; my humanity is co-substantively bestowed upon the other and me. humanity is a quality we owe to each other. we create each other and need to sustain this otherness creation. and if we belong to each other, we participate in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 150 our creations: we are because you are, and since you are, definitely i am. the ‘i am’ is not a rigid subject, but a dynamic self-constitution dependent on this otherness creation of relation and distance. an "extroverted communities" aspect is the most visible part of this ideology. there is sincere warmth with which people treat both strangers and members of the community. this overt display of warmth is not merely aesthetic but enables formation of spontaneous communities. the resultant collaborative work within these spontaneous communities transcends the aesthetic and gives functional significance to the value of warmth. how else are you to ask for sugar from your neighbour? warmth is not the sine qua non of community formation but guards against instrumentalist relationships. unfortunately, sincere warmth may leave one vulnerable to those with ulterior motives. "ubuntu" as a political philosophy encourages community equality, propagating the distribution of wealth. this socialisation is a vestige of agrarian peoples as a hedge against the crop failures of individuals. socialisation presupposes a community population with which individuals empathise and concomitantly, have a vested interest in its collective prosperity. urbanisation and the aggregation of people into an abstract and bureaucratic state undermines this empathy. african intellectual historians have argued however that this ideal of "collective responsibility" must not be understood as absolute in which the community's good is prior to the individual's good. on this view, ubuntu is argued, is a communitarian philosophy that is widely differentiated from the western notion of communitarian socialism. in fact, ubuntu induces an ideal of shared human subjectivity that promotes a community's good through an unconditional recognition and appreciation of individual uniqueness and difference. audrey tang has suggested that ubuntu "implies that everyone has different skills and strengths; people are not isolated, and through mutual support they can help each other to complete themselves." "redemption" relates to how people deal with errant, deviant and dissident members of the community. the belief is that man is born formless like a lump of clay. it is up to the community, as a whole, to use the fire of experience and the wheel of social control to mould him into a pot that may contribute to society. any imperfections should be borne by the community and the community should always seek to redeem man. an example of this is the statement by the african national congress (in south africa) that it does not throw out its own but rather redeems. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 151 ubuntu: "i am what i am because of who we all are." archbishop desmond tutu, (1999) offered a definition; a person with ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, based from a proper selfassurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed. ubuntu does not mean that people should not enrich themselves. the question therefore is: are you going to do so in order to enable the community around you to be able to improve? tim jackson refers to ubuntu as a philosophy that supports the changes he says are necessary to create a future that is economically and environmentally sustainable. at nelson mandela's memorial, united states president barack obama spoke about ubuntu, saying, there is a word in south africa – ubuntu – a word that captures mandela’s greatest gift: his recognition that we are all bond together in ways that are invisible to the eye; that there is a oneness to humanity; that we achieve ourselves by sharing ourselves with others, and caring for those around us. we can never know how much of this sense was innate in him, or how much was shaped in a dark and solitary cell. but we remember the gestures, large and small – introducing his jailers as honored guests at his inauguration; taking a pitch in a springbok uniform; turning his family’s heartbreak into a call to confront hiv/aids – that revealed the depth of his empathy and his understanding. he not only embodied ubuntu, he taught millions to find that truth within themselves. igwebuike and njikoka njikoka is the african-igbo philosophy of integrative humanism. integrative humanism is the philosophical orientation that sees reality as having both physical and spiritual dimensions, past and present; as well as harmonized framework in which seemingly opposed variables unite without contradiction to achieve progress and epistemic wholeness. being part of a community affects our daily life, attitude and character and greatly increases our power to act. njikoka is the act of coming together and integrating ourselves into a whole. it is having a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 152 place in one’s heart where every other persons dwell, for when you are in that place in me, and i am in that place in you, we are knitted by a strong bond into a whole. in like manner you share my pain and i share yours. igwebuike and njikoka conform to the philosophy of “ubuntu” (i am because we are). the igbos express it by seeing yourself in me and i seeing myself in you. because i see myself in you, in njikoka, the community is placed first before the self and the interest of others before one’s personal interest. in igwebuike, all the communal actions are participatory actions. the essence of integrative humanism is to show that through insights we can provide answers to most of the questions that confront us in our daily lives by means of collective responsibility (chimakonam, 2011). integrative humanism is grounded on the igbo cultural injunction “njikokamma” which translates “to integrate is better than to disintegrate”. it is a human centered theory which derives its insights from the igbo culture. this is expressed in the igbo axiom of “anyuko nwamiri onu ogboo ufufu” which is translated as “unity is strength” bearing in mind that a tree cannot make a forest (otu osisi adighi emebe ofia). we need other human beings in order to be human. an igbo man will always convey by his words and actions the philosophy of “somadina” translated as “may i never be alone” approving that loneliness is undesirable, but collectivity is the greatest (chimakonam, 2011). igwebuike and ibuanyidanda the permanent feature or behaviour pattern of igbo social life is based on a logical system of thought and a complete positive philosophy expressed in ibuanyidanda. the fact that the world is incomplete (uwa ezu-oke) and nobody is complete (onweghi onye ozuru) necessitates collectivism in action. igwebuike and ibuanyidanda are igbo philosophies which express collectivity. collectively, we can surmount any obstacle, no matter how big or strong. asouzu (2004, p 105), describes igbo social life as complementarity which is a concretely lived experience of everyday’s life. according to him; this idea derives from the general and fundamental human feeling of insufficiency and experience of relativity and fragmentation of historical process. from here arise the human fundamental inclination to solidarity, togetherness and community. in the same way arises all tendencies guiding such ideas as mutual co-existence, co-dependability, co-responsibility ... etc igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 153 there are factors which tie or bond the people incomplementarity, such as blood relation. in fact, a community in igbo land means “people of one blood” kinsmen, or brethren (umunna). other factors that favour complementarity include territorial location (habitation) and physical proximity of members of the community which bring them into personal face-to-face relation. these factors that favour complementarity illustrate vividly the igbo belief that (agbata-obi onye bụ nwanne ya) one’s neighbor is his relation. the essential nature of traditional igbo social life is conveniently expressed in the above quote. it emerged as a result of the realization that the community is better able to rest on themselves, and it is a means of developing, sustaining and reproducing themselves. ibuanyidanda in this context is fundamentally a social relation of execution. it is the act of doing things together; the spirit of corporate existence, mutual assistance in work by all and the spirit of collective effort found among traditional igbo people. the life of the igbo is group participation in which each individual participates according to his natural ability. this explains the complementarity. for the traditional igbo, asouzu (1999) cited in egwutuora (2013) says: without complementarity, human life would be unbearable isolated struggles that easily lead to self abandonment. we can now understand why the traditional igbo never cease to sound the clarion call to complementarity and solidarity in times of crisis resume igwebuike philosophy as a model for contemporary philosophical discourse is a communalistic metaphysics that number is power or unity is strength. igwebuike philosophy however complements other communalistic metaphysical concepts like belongingness, ibuanyidanda, njikoka, ubuntu, and brotherhood to mention but a few. since african philosophy is a movement and a discipline, most of the african metaphysical concepts are like movements to deconstruct one problem or the other as well as construct or sustain another philosophical movement towards establishment of proper african philosophical tradition. references achebe, c. (1958). the things fall apart. england: heinemann. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 154 clark, m. s. & mills, j. (1979). interpersonal attraction in exchange and communal relationships, journal of personality and social psychology, 37 (1). 12 -24. ikuenobe, p (2018). "human rights, personhood, dignity, and african communalism" journal of human rights. 17 (5): 589–604. doi:10.1080/14754835.2018.1533455. issn 1475-4835. iroegbu p (1995). metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy, owerri:international university press ltd. iroegbu p (1996). kpim of politics: communalism, owerri: international university press. iroegbu p (1994), enwisdomization and african philosophy: owerri: international university press. ekennia j (1998). ‘’african communalism and political rationality: a critique in african philosophy and public affairs, enugu: delta publications, 1998,p.348-349. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and and logic (nka) of african philosophy”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. kanu, i. a. (2015a). a hermeutic approach to the study of african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 6, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 155 kanu, i. a. (2015b). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no. 1.[ 97-101]. kanu, i. a. (2016b). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol.2. no.1. [1-7]. kanu i. a. (2018a). sources of igwebuike philosophy. towards a socio-cultural foundation. international journal of religion and human relations vol. 9 no 1 june. kanu, i. a. (2018b). igwebuike and being in igbo ontology: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 4 no 5. [12-21]. mills, j., cl ark, m. s., ford, t. e., & johnson, m. (2004). measurement of communal strength. personal relationships. 11, 213-230. obama’s tribute to nelson mandela https://www.businessinsider.com/obamanelson-mandela-memorial-service-speech-full-text-2013-12?ir=t onebunne, j i (2018). egbe bere ugo bere (ebub) and ubuntu: expanding the philosophical economics of belongingness and xenophobia in continental africa in nnadibube journal of philosophy, vol. 2 (2) journals.ezenwaohaetorc.org/index.php/njp/article/download/455/40 5 retrieved 23/5/2019 onebunne, j i (2019). epistemic appreciation of belongingness as a definitive principle in african communalism in oguejiofo, j o (eds) nnamdi azikikwe journal of philosophy vol. ii no. 1 senghor s l (1961). african socialism, paris: preghume 1961. tutu, desmond (1999). no future without forgiveness. image. isbn 0-385-49690-7. tutu, desmond (2013). "who we are: human uniqueness and the african spirit of ubuntu" microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 4.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 55 nigerian youths and sustainable development a philosophical analysis on the speech of the nigerian president at the commonwealth forum in london adidi, dokpesi timothy department of philosophy benue state university, makurdi. timshow03@gmail.com abstract the youths are an integral part of any society and they are the focus for any sustainable development. sustainable development comes with continuous growth, progress and improvement in every facet of human existence and the self-acquired capability for sustenance. political parties and their existing government get involved in the business of integral and sustainable development for the sake of the present and the future looking at the realities that affect the present conditions any society finds itself. as such, the youths becomes the most important beneficiaries of these developments and yet the victims of underdevelopment which hardly translates into self-actualization that pricks youth effectiveness in relation to polity and the dynamics of nigerian identity. if the youths are the leaders of tomorrow as popularly said then the future begins from today. this is on the ground that for a development to be sustainable and to sustain the future of the youth, then there must be fair level playing ground. this in mind, this paper did a qualitative research in a laboratory of philosophical analysis in response to a question where the nigerian president has cause to talk about nigerian youths at the commonwealth business forum in london. in so doing, this paper has critically x-rayed the role of nigerian youths in sustainable development in a contextual philosophical analysis as it pertains to the comment made by the president of nigeria so as to accommodate divergent views and creating a more robust engagement between the youths and government in nigeria. key words:youths, sustainable development, society, nigeria, speech and business forums. introduction it was on the 18th april, 2018 the commonwealth business forum took place in london and president muhammadu buhari was at that conference to deliver a key note address and responding to a question about nigerian youths; in which the nigerian president said: we have a very young population, our population is estimated conservatively to be 180 (one hundred and eighty) million. more than 60 percent of the population is below the age of 30 (thirty). a lot of them igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 56 have not been to school and they are claiming that nigeria has been an oil producing country, therefore they should sit and do nothing and get housing, healthcare and education free. no doubt, from the said quotation it will be difficult to make reference to the exact text of the speech itself but listening and watching video recording on the various media platform there is no doubt of the exact words used by the president of nigeria concerning the nigerian youth. from the above quotation extracted it will be very difficult to clearly understand the angle the president was speaking from; and yet these comments have brought uproar in the social media and in various medium of discussion including our offices and social atmosphere (beer parlor). did the president of nigeria actually state that the ‘nigerian youths are lazy’? is this statement an implied statement drawn from the response of the president? are the nigerian youths actually lazy? is the president’s response a determining factor to measure the lazy attitude of nigerian youths if we go by his comment? at what point in history did the nigerian youths develop this attitude such lazy attitude? when was oil discovered in nigeria? are these present generation of youths given birth to at the point oil was discovered in nigeria? oils was discovered in the year 1956 in nigeria and between 1956 to 2018 is sixty-two (62) years and the midst of all these questions which this paper hope not to give adequate answers, it is appropriate to set the stage by making reference to a book written by odumegwu ojukwu because i am involved in relation to our country nigeria. he said thus: the average nigerian looks upon nigeria as a theatre and the entire population representing and manifesting the full spectrum of acts and actors. in this revelry, life is the theatre; the nation is the stage upon which we perform. the politicians and, very often the military, are the actors – very often mediocre, from time to time ham. when stars appear, it is more often because a play must have a star rather than because the player is possessed of some dramatic genius. we falter and we muff our lines; sometimes, our performance takes on the aspect of the grotesque – nobody takes this seriously because it is perceived as being in the nature of the play. our people become the audience – politics for them remain a spectator spot. it is not for them to participate; theirs is to applaud (1989: 12). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 57 as of when this book was written, it can be interpreted to reflect the past and days of odumegwu ojukwu and projecting the future as it is today. the above quotation still stands the taste of time considering our socio-economic and political realities in which the president tries to blame the nigerian youths of his time without recourse to his own past. hence, the president’s response might be partly correct but cannot be absolutely correct if from the moment the youths of the past and the present acted accordingly. in the politics of youth in greek tragedy matthew shipton argues that the prominence of young people in tragedy throughout the fifth century reflects the persistent uncertainty as to what their role in society should be. as the success of athens rose and then fell, young characters were repeatedly used by tragic playwrights as a way to explore political tensions and social upheaval in the city. thereby, presenting to his readers that the complex and often paradoxical views we hold about youth today can also be found in the ancient society of classical athens (2018). in civic and political engagement in youths: finding and prospects xenia chryssochoou and martyn barrett disagrees with matthew shiphon and argues that rather than using conventional forms of political participation, youth today are often engaged through nonconventional and civic means instead (2017:291). these scholars can be reconciled with the fundamental aristotelian phrase “et social is et homo politicus” so as to fill in the gap for the of lack of conventional political participation which is a pitfall in youth engagement for political participation. the response of the nigerian president in playing politics of the youth as “blame game” is a challenge for the nigeria youth to wake up to their responsibilities they have left in the hands of a selected few. it only means that the youth must work it out this time around. this paper will look beyond the response of the president of nigeria; to also challenge the nigerian youths in becoming more proactive in problem solving rather than “sitting down” to allow a particular elitist group to decide their destiny if we must sustainably develop as a nation and a people. sustainable development the concept ‘sustainable development’ is susceptible to wide interpretations without any single definition but often used without recourse to know exactly what it means. this paper will not over heat or stress one’s intellectual insight or intend to start quoting extracts from scholars on what they conceive ‘sustainable development’ to be. this paper will provide a working definition that suits the context and framework of this paper. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 58 it is impossible to define ‘sustainable development' without putting the past in perspective. the definition ought to involve the past, present and the future; and this is because socio-economic and political progress should cut across every strata of human endeavor. according to brundtland report, in our common future it defines sustainable development as a kind of development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (1987). the question now should be who should meet the needs of the present? the present will always have recourse to the past; and the past ought to take full responsibilities of the present. what is the past? in an effort to understand our past and know what our past is, then it will be appropriate to evaluate the socio-economic realities of our past so as to understand how we got to where we are in the present. the satisfaction of human needs and aspirations is the major objective of sustainable development. can human needs ever be satisfied? philosophically, this probes into the concept of sustainable development itself; but nonetheless, sustainable development requires meeting the basic needs of all and extending to all the opportunity to satisfy their aspirations for a better life. it means creating an enabling environment for growth, freedom and progress. sustainable development calls for concerted efforts towards building an inclusive, sustainable and resilient future for people and planet. in other to achieve a genuine sustainable development, it involves three areas of interest; economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection (unachukwu & ijeoma 2017). no doubt, they are all interconnected for the well-being of the integral development of society. for the purpose of this paper, sustainable development is defined as a process that is continuous in impacting positive improvement, growth and social change for the well-being of everyone today and creating a fair level playing ground by making life better for the future generation. in simple terms “as you eat today make sure you don’t eat everything today but reserve for the future so that those yet unborn will have something to leverage on tomorrow”. nigeria youths, the problem of definition: who is a nigerian youth? the concept ‘youth’ varies from country to country and in most cases it ranges from age to age. nevertheless, before we begin to interrogate this concept ‘youth’ it will be appropriate to give it a fundamental bedrock definition. according to the webster dictionary, a youth is defined as “the time of life when one is young” (1979:1092). according to isawa elaigwu in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 59 nigeria yesterday and today for tomorrow: essay in governance and society, ‘youth’ symbolizes a transitional stage in the growth path to maturity (2005:76). this definition from isawa elaigwu broadens ones definition of who a youth is. if a youth is defined by age, then it is very possible one can be of age and not a youth at heart. the definition of a youth from the perspective of maturity involves how the mind thinks. thus, a child might not be of age but thinks critically and better than someone who has not attained youthful age. a person might be much older and has come off age but thinks better than someone who is younger and ought to be vibrant than the older person. youthful age comes with vibrancy, vigor, sharp thinking and not from a biological or sociological categorization. therefore, as long one have passed the stage of a child say from eighteen (18) years and above and in some countries seventeen (17) years and above then with the necessary characteristics as mention (good thinking, vibrancy, vigor, social and the ability to carry everyone along) then, such person is youth in mind at heart. for the purpose of this paper, a nigerian youth is one who has the maturity for good thinking, vibrancy and vigor and is very much able to display a good sense of wisdom in matters that concerns life; and this includes the less privilege and the physically challenged irrespective of the age, tribe, political party, religious affiliation, geographical provenance and social extraction. therefore, been a youth is not limited by age but vibrancy and vigor; one can be physically challenged and still be vibrant. as a matter of fact, youthful stage of life has vital function for society and constitutes an important segment of our contemporary society. the speech of the nigerian president: setting the stage the nigerian president muhammadu buhari on the 18th april, 2018 was in london to attend the commonwealth business forum in london, united kingdom. president muhammadu buhari was quoted to have said that “many nigerian youths want everything free without doing anything”. the president was speaking on the topic: making business easier between commonwealth countries and these statements have since brought about all forms of interpretations and criticisms. president muhammadu buhari has only reiterated and reaffirmed the realities that exist and can exist anywhere in the world. crime rate in the world are usually committed by youths who might me looking for an easy way out of poverty and sufferings. was the president making a statement of generalization to mean all nigerian youths? no doubt, there are so many nigerian youths out there looking for easy way life and this is what makes them go into all forms of crimes rather than contributing to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 60 national development. according to chidozie ekeji in poverty and crime among nigerian youths he asserts: there are so many ways youths can contribute to national development. they can do so by working hard in any field they are involved in, be it in education, farming, trading, in the civil service etc. however, there is still a public concern and sociological interest in the way that youth is changing. matters of safety and security are topical issues in today’s society. lives have now become precarious in today’s world. this is evident in media reports of happenings in the world today. from one part of the world to another or one part of the country to another; we hear of various criminal activities perpetrated day by day. these crimes range from kidnapping, armed robbery, vandalism, prostitution, cybercrime, car theft, terrorism and so on (2010:1). did the president of nigeria actually say anything new? it is fundamental to understand the dynamics of society and it operations to know that it is only vibrant and vigorous minds that commits crime and the youths are always involved. but, the socio-philosophic question will be why are the youth potentials for crime in the world and in particular nigeria where the crime rate is very high? what has been the policy framework for youths in nigeria to be part of nation building and sustainable development? what did the past leadership in nigeria impact on economic policies that can improve and create employment for the average nigerian youth? did we ever have nigerian youths from independence or when oil was discovered in nigeria till date? who were those at the helm of affairs and what impact as youths did they make in stabilizing our country nigeria to be a better place than they left it? until these questions are answered what we have today goes beyond shifting blames but the real issues must be addressed. nigerian political class and the failure of leadership in nigeria it was chinua achebe who has been popularly quoted to have said that the problem and trouble with nigeria is simply and squarely a failure in leadership (1984). matthew hassan kukah has argued not to justify bad leadership on the nigeria youths but sees the nigerian political elites who shifted their attention away from the ordinary people whose lives they had set out to improve, to themselves… rather than dealing with the problems of the welfare of nigerians, government resorted to endless and mindless expenditures (1999). nigerian leaders have refused to act to deal with the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 61 problem that is anti-thetical to sustainable development in the past and the present. the reason for this according to j. obi oguejiofor is that public institutions have refused to be functional due to bad leadership. hence according to him, such functionality is premised on the preparedness of sufficient number of key holders to do the right thing for the sake of doing it, not for money, and not on account of coercion (2009:21). this is why the average nigerian youth have suffered endlessly to the point of no option but to result to crime. there is a significant relationship between bad leadership and crime rate and this is why many at times the nigerian youths have been shortchanged in so many ways and have become victims of circumstances. despite this abysmal failure in leadership, so many nigerian youths have defied the odds of the society to become the best abroad and contributing enormously to the economy of other nation; and this has resulted to brain drain in which our best doctors, nurses, teachers, engineers, architectures, philosophers, theologians, entrepreneurs etc are abroad making waves for a viable society that is not theirs. yet, they are a nigerian youth who despite bad leadership always wants to make a difference to enhance their life for better living. it can also be very much obvious that those who have this opportunity to be abroad are beneficiaries of a corrupt system and bad leadership. they could also be the children of high profile public servants and business men and women who took advantage of a system that bad leadership allows for irregularities to thrive at the expense of morality and professionalism. there is a big gap between politics and morality in nigeria and this has continuously affected the thinking of an average nigeria youths who begin to see leadership as a means to gather wealth for themselves. it is very much unthinkable how majority of nigerian youths applaud these politicians who come from their geographical jurisdiction and never see anything wrong with squandering public funds. unfortunately, in nigeria today wealth is the standard for measuring hard work irrespective of where the wealth is coming from and the only criterion valid for the measurement of success. according to odumegwu ojukwu, the nigerian must wear the most expensive clothes, drive the most expensive cars, build the most expensive palaces, patronize the most expensive clubs, send his children to the most expensive schools, drink the most expensive beverages, throw the most lavish parties and mate the most mercenary mistresses(1989). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 62 this is the very reason an average nigerian leader is not interrogated or question as to their means of funds when they are in office. a political leader in nigeria is convicted of crime on so many count charges and serve jail term and yet such persons is still celebrated and even seek to be elected in political offices or even given appointment. yet, such a leader is even applauded by nigerian youths on the grounds of what odumegwu ojukwu calls ‘addict of privileges’. more so and unfortunately is the fact that even the constitution has a very deep lacuna in addressing issues of morality in public office and political leadership. nigerian lawyers seem more to defend corrupt officials than making sure we have a sanitized constitution in nigeria with a great deal of moral ingredients. this is where we are as a nation and as a people looking for a development that ought to be sustainable so that our professionals, technocrat and expertise can translate into problem solving. nonetheless, our leaders are pseudo leaders; our intellectuals, pseudo intellectuals; our professionals are pseudo professionals; whilst our occupations are pseudo occupations. our middle class is pseudo-middle class; our elite are pseudoelite, our socialist, marxists, liberals and even our conservatives, are very often pseudo, no matter the appellation they sport (ojukwu:1989). foundation once destroyed: what can the nigerian youths do? the nigeria youths are almost helpless and hopeless in an atmosphere where the powerful elites strategically use policies and laws to deprive the ordinary nigerian youths the privilege of unleashing his/her potentials for the sustainability of our development. this is because, according to c.c. mbah: those who possess enough capital are at advantage to hijack the major political parties (sic) operating in the political system and by logical extension, political decision making process which is usually in the interest of the ruling class, mainly the bourgeoisie and the comparadorial (sic) bourgeoisie. these capitalist (sic) when they are not in direct control of state affairs are operating as godfathers with godsons and daughters in representative positions (2006:142). the socio-economic and political environment in nigeria poses a great challenge to the youth and this is partly because the country has not been able to create an environment for high value-added economic activities for youth. hence, the problems and challenges of the nigerian youths is traceable to a poor educational formation, unstable political environment, bad governance, a poor orientation of youths, insecurity, and other vices characterised with developmental retardation. if the youths must become viable and productive igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 63 for economic growth and total excellence, then it is important they are prepared and empowered for their roles and responsibilities as full citizens (elaigwu 2005:75). until the very foundations of the economy is built on preparing the grounds for the future generation, then it will be most unfortunate for the nigerian youth. despite this anomaly as nigerian youth we cannot continue to cry over spilled milk but we shall have to learn how to raise our own cows in the midst of these difficulties and hardship that has befallen this generation of nigerian youths. the task becomes more enormous for the nigerian youth to also run away from blame game and avoid continuously putting all the problems on the political elites; when as nigerian youth it is possible to rise above the situation and most especially with the passing of the “not too young to rule” bill passed by the national assembly. this is where our hopes and aspiration lies as citizens of nigeria to express ourselves and become recipient of a people oriented government that values the dignity of the human person irrespective of age and gender. according to b.a.c obeifuna in democracy in contemporary nigeria: lessons from igbo culture-area he admonishes thus: the primary characteristic of democracy is that it is people oriented. every other thing that is essential for the establishment, growth and sustenance of democracy must be centered on the human person and the desire to bring out the best in him (her) and give him (her) the best; and to give him (her) the best in order to bring out the best in him (her). it aims at that which is the essence of the human person. it respects human life and human right (2009:228). the dignity of the nigeria youths have to be respected and their rights preserved by the government of nigeria. this will be the foundation to build a better nigeria and to reciprocate the efforts made by the nigerian youth. the involvement of the youth in political participation without any discrimination is the basic foundation of democracy in nigeria and the reason why democracy has become very unsuccessful in nigeria is basically because the nigerian youths have always been alienated in the past (obiefuna 2009: 228). nigerian youths and entrepreneurial skills for sustainable development entrepreneurial skills have a very close link with sustainable development for the nigerian youth. so far in nigeria there is a clarion call for skills acquisition so as to help drive sustainable development in nigeria so that an average igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 64 nigerian youth can become self-employed and in turn employ others. this calls for serious attention as regards the kind of education been impacted on the nigerian youth. entrepreneurship education is commonly defined as the process of creating a new business or creating a new idea towards selfreliance. it is also a practical step which combines resources and opportunities in new ways. it involves the application of personal qualities, finance and other resources within the environment of business success (wokeh & basil 2011). the nigerian youths ought to key into this venture of entrepreneurship education with its uniqueness and should be treated proactively to meet current challenges in problem solving. it is important to understand the fact that as nigerian youth’s entrepreneurial skills and education is a vital force for sustainable development in nigeria. education should go beyond the learning of facts and mastery of figures and ought to transcend into skills acquisition for repositioning into nation building. therefore, entrepreneurship education and skills acquisition could be seen as those steps involved in teaching nigerian youths the fundamentals, theories and process of entrepreneurial spirit, culture and methods. unfortunately, many nigerian youths graduate from the higher institution of learning and hopelessly carrying their curriculum vitae or resume from one company to another in search of jobs and this has frustrated so many nigerian youths to the extent they result to so many vices. nigeria youths cannot progress if her trained manpower does not participate in her planning and development. we have, as a nation, an unfortunate situation in which the quality of nigerian life deteriorates every minute. it is sheer arrogance for a few to arrogate to themselves the sole right to opinion on matters affecting our entire nation. thus, a competence-based system of education helps prepare nigerian youths for the labour market and self-dependency and these will also make the nigerian youth develop the ability for critical analysis of world events, matching theory with practice, development of vision for new and better society; ability to explore controversial issues and offer technical solutions. entrepreneurship involves discipline and morals for sustainable development. good moral behaviour and making youths in nigeria obey laws can help bring about sustainable development. this i agree with jean jacque rousseau when he said: if it is good to know how to deal with men as they are, it is much better to make them what there is need they should be…make men: therefore, if you would command men: if you would have them igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 65 obedient to the laws make them love the laws, and they will need to know only what is their duty to do it (1998:263). from the above statement of jean jacque rousseau, the nigerian youths owe its country a duty and a moral obligation to make nigeria a better country and more better than we met. it is this kind of duty immanuel kant describes as ‘duty for the sake of duty’ known as the “categorical imperative”. this will help making the nigerian youths a tool for sustainable development in nigeria. conclusion the economic business forum in london and the challenge before the nigerian youths can be looked from two perspective. it is a call for the nigerian youths to get actively involved in what concerns sustainable development and secondly for the political elites to take full responsibility of their failures in alienating the nigerian youth from sustainable development. the nigerian president has put before the youths the future in their hands by challenging them to put the polity into their own advantage and see education as the only viable ingredients that can foster a development that is sustainable for a better nigeria were the youths will become stakeholders and partakers of their own future and destiny. taking advantage of the ‘not too young to rule’ bill is timely and urgent for the nigerian youths to get engage politically, economically, socially, morally and with a high sense of professionalism to create an enabling environment for sustainable development. work cited 1. achebe c (1984) the trouble with nigeria. johannesburg: heinemann publications. 2. chryssochoou x & barrett m (2017) civic and political engagement in youth: findings and prospects. in a journal zeitschrift fur psychologie vol. 225: issue 4 2017. https://doi.org/10.1027/2151-2604/a000315 retrieved online 5th july, 2018 3. ekeji c (2010) poverty and crime among nigerian youths. online www.academia.edu retrieved online 11th july, 2018. 4. elaigwu j (2005) nigeria yesterday and today for tomorrow: essay in governance and society. jos: aha publishing house. 5. kukah h.m. democracy and civil society in nigeria. ibadan: spectrum books, 1999. 6. mbah c (2006) poslitical theory and methodology. nimo: rex charles and patrick. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 66 7. obiefuna b (2009) democracy in contemporary nigeria: lessons from igbo culture-area. in the humanities and nigeria’s democratic experience (eds) chiegboka a. nwadigwe c. & umezinwa e. awka: rex charles & patrick ltd. 8. oguejiofor j (1999) practicing democracy in a culture of corruption: reflections on ten years of democracy in nigeria. in the humanities and nigeria’s democratic experience (eds) chiegboka a. nwadigwe c. & umezinwa e. awka: rex charles & patrick ltd. 9. ojukwu o. e (1989) because i am involved. ibadan: spectrum books limited. 10. rousseau j (1998) the social contract or principles of political right (ed) charles sherover, cleveland: meridian books. 11. shipton m. (2018) the politics of youth in greek tragedy. london: bloomsbury academic. 12. unachukwu g & ijeoma b (2017) education and sustainable development. proceedings of the nigerian academy of education: enugu. 13. websters’ ninth collegiate dictionary. springfield, massachusetts: merriam-webster incorp. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol 9 no.1, 2023 www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/igwebuikejournals.php a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 1 symbols of trauma and violence in soji cole’s embers and iyorwuese hagher’s lamp of peace nasir, taofiq olaide, phd department of theatre and media arts federal university, oye-ekiti taofiq.nasir@fuoye.edu.ng & omorodion martina, o. department of theatre and media arts federal university, oye-ekiti. martina.omorodion.ph.d180006@fuoye.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.27610.21449 abstract trauma studies has its foundation in the psychoanalytic theory of freud. however, the 1990s saw an upsurge in the discourse of trauma studies in literature especially with the influential study of cathy caruth. over the years, trauma studies has thrived and been applied in the interdisciplinary discuss of race, feminism, ecology and globalization. this paper explores the narratives of trauma in two nigerian plays. it goes beyond the concept of “trauma unspeakable”(caruth 1994) to investigate the impact of institutionalized violence on the vulnerable group of women and children. based on literary trauma theory and psychoanalytic theory, the paper offers a diversity of interpretation to women’s experiences of loss, displacement, and trauma in soji cole’s embers and iyorwuese hagher’s lamp of peace. it finds that events of violence and inequality impacts the lived experiences of the characters differently and the ways in which it is captured in literature. keywords: trauma studies, literary trauma theory, drama, women, psychoanalytic theory introduction the age of globalization is a digital era marked with technological advancement and closer human connections. it is also marked by general unrest, terrorism, natural disasters, symbols of trauma and violence in soji cole’s embers and iyorwuese hagher’s lamp of peace 2 and other acts of violence, which ballengee and kelman (2021:i) call “the age of traumatism”. violence is a social malady that affects families, communities, states and continents. it is a prevalent act that is reflected in the personal space and the public space. the impact of violence is varied and ubiquitous (reidy et al., 2013). violence impedes on development and affects all facets of human development. the world health organization report on violence and health states that violence is the leading cause of mortality for people aged 1544 (krug et al., 2002). violence ranges from selfinflicted violence, to inter-personal violence and collective violence. it is reflected in the “invisible suffering of society’s most vulnerable individuals to the all too visible tragedy of societies in conflict” nelson mandela (cited in krug et al., 2002, p. xi). creative writers find inspirations from the society to craft their arts. the materials of their creativity come from social issues, history, human nature, and the oral literature of their people. violence and violent conflict has been an important source of inquiry by the creative artist. the complicated issues of inter-personal violence, collective violence and self-inflicted violence has piqued the imagination of the creative artist from the times of sophocles to aristotle. writing as an art goes beyond the action of telling stories. it critiques and challenges the dominant belief systems of the day and brings to the fore issues that are paramount to the wellbeing of the society. as noted by emenyonu (2008) the work of art is not created in a vacuum, rather the writer is socially committed to the social and political issues of his time no matter how difficult or delicate. literature offers insights into the subject of human nature in relation to the environment social, cultural, and economic. it is on this premise that this paper investigates the narrative of trauma and the reflections of violent conflicts on the vulnerable characters (women and children) in the selected plays texts. the plays of choicesoji cole embers and iyorwuese hagher lamp of peace are based on violent conflicts such as civil war and violent insurgencies. this paper sets out to identify the narratives of trauma in the plays and how the playwrights capture the delicate psychological after-effect of violent conflicts. the paper also explores the social conditions that nurture and normalize violence and the ways in which it affects the vulnerable members of the society. sociological, environmental and psychological factors are found as contributory to violence in the society. literature offers us the opportunity to creatively unravel these situations that might be lost in the cold language of documentation and official files. it is through the creation of the dramatist that literary drama lends empathy to these stories. through drama, the playwright explores and exhumes the workings of the mind that is buried under sociocultural ethos. this he recreates through his fictional characters, imbuing in them the nasir, taofiq olaide & omorodion martina, o. 3 themes he wants to pass across. as stated in the abc of galtung’s conflict triangle, behaviours (b) and contradictions (c) that promote violence are hidden under actions (a). it is these actions and their manifestations through the characters of the plays under-study that this research paper addresses. a psychoanalytical reading will enable and aid a revelation of this conflict. the actions, behaviours and contradictions that lead to violence and sustain violence are all social acts that emerge from the psyche of the individuals involved. conflict does not exist in a vacuum and like drama, conflict propels the actions leading to a resolution. theoretical framework through literature the unconscious finds an escape or expression just as in dream symbols. bennet and royle (2004), state that literature has always been concerned with the unconscious or the other, the fantasy, hallucinations and other forms of impersonality. literature offers insights into the subject of human nature in relation to the environment (social, cultural, economic etc.). freud lists a tripartite that is helpful in the understanding of the working of the mind of the human. the ego, the super ego and the id. these three levels rightly correspond to the consciousness, the conscience and the unconscious which are in a constant state of conflict with each other. the unconscious is structured like a language that implies a loss or lack. the expression of which takes place in the forms of anxiety, defenses, dream symbols, repression and others. psychoanalytic theory can be applied to the characters and the choice of characters in a play text. it is also reflected in the use of language, the plot, the theme and the settings. jacques lacan a coproponent of the psychoanalytic theory stresses the importance of language for the human psyche. lacan theorizes that the operations of the unconscious resembles the figure of speech – metaphor and metonymy. they act as stand in for a loss that is experienced. psychoanalysis gives insights not only on the playwright’s mind but on that of the characters which are representative of human personality. psychoanalytical theory can further be applied to the understanding of other theories among which is feminism. as noted by tyson (2006), “psychoanalysis can be used to help us understand the psychological effect of patriarchal ideology as well as why and how women and men internalize it (94). furthermore, fortier m. (1997) cites three dimensions on which psychoanalysis engages with art and literature. firstly, it can be used to psychoanalyze the artist, secondly to psychoanalyze the characters and thirdly to demonstrate the pattern of the psyche in general. frontier notes that, “as drama text, theatre is open to each of these approaches. symbols of trauma and violence in soji cole’s embers and iyorwuese hagher’s lamp of peace 4 any playwright or dramatic character is susceptible to psychoanalytic analysis, and in the realm of character, drama has yielded particularly rich materials for psychoanalysis” (61). literary trauma theory trauma studies focus on the representation of psychological trauma in language and the place of memory in shaping individual and cultural identities (balaev 2021). trauma in this case refers to a mental wound, separate from physical trauma of the body. trauma studies explore the psychological impacts of trauma (personal or collective) on a person’s psyche due to war, terrorism, social conflicts, political violence, natural disasters and other distressing events. although the definition of trauma is contested and no generally accepted definition of trauma exist, balaev definition of trauma as the representation of an extremely disruptive experience and its impact on identity and memory is utilized in this paper. “trauma thus, is an individual’s response to an experience that disrupts previously held perceptions of one’s self and others” (balaev, 2012, p.2). trauma studies explore the impact of trauma in literature and society by analyzing the cultural and psychological significance of an unprocessed traumatic experience. interest in trauma in literary criticism started in the 1990s with the works of several scholars such as with judith herman, shoshana felman, geoffrey hartman and the influential cathy caruth’s editorial essays: trauma: exploration in memory (1995) and unclaimed experiences: trauma, narrative, and history (1996). literary trauma theory explores the intense change in perception brought on by an extreme emotional state that is captured in literary narratives through the use of psychological theories. trauma studies in literary criticism as proposed by caruth explored the limitation of language in capturing meaninghence, trauma unspeakablea loss that emerges from a missed event. caruth viewed trauma as an event that fragments consciousness and prevents direct linguistic representation. thus, the painful recollection of the event might not be verbal but can still be captured in imaginative literature. caruth argues that even when trauma is amnesic and unspeakable, fictional representation (novels, films) gives voice to traumatized individuals and population. the occurrence of trauma memory emerges then from the unprocessed traumatic experience (caruth, 1995, p.153). it is worthy to note that joshua pederson’s 2014 article challenges caruth’s model of trauma theory and memory based on the findings of richard mcnally, a clinical psychologist. mcnally in his bookremembering trauma (2003) notes that traumatic memories can be recalled and are speakable. pederson proposed a threepronged model for reading trauma in literary theory. firstly, he notes that trauma victims do not necessarily suffer from trauma amnesia but that traumatic memories are memorable and speakable. hence, he advocates for the critic to focus on the trauma texts itself rather than nasir, taofiq olaide & omorodion martina, o. 5 on the structure. secondly, he notes that the victims’ textual narrative of trauma has healing power and the speaking of trauma can help the process of rehabilitation. thirdly, pederson states that, the depictions of trauma experiences can be “temporally, physically and ontologically distorted” (337). in essence, the memory of trauma maybe heightened but altered. the literary critic is thus informed that the authors of trauma texts, may recount trauma with excessive details and vibrant intensity employing peritraumatic dissociation (dissociative alternations in consciousness). on the other hand, the pluralistic model of trauma studies advocated by michelle balaev allows for a more nuanced and varied response to trauma. it notes that the assumed unspeakability of trauma (caruth’s model) is one of the many responses to an extremely disruptive event, rather than it being the defining feature of trauma. the pluralistic model offers an exploration of the ways in which contextual factors such as time and place inform the remembrance, the retelling and the experience of a traumatic experience in a novel. place and landscape are meaning making sites that portray the range of emotional sufferings. balaev argues that silence is a narrative strategy rather than an evidence of the epistemological void created by the experience of trauma which caruth posits (balaev, 2012, p.23). some of the techniques for depicting trauma in literature include: landscape imagery, silence, narrative omission, non-linear plot, fragmentation in speech and narratives, repetitive actions, flashbacks, and disruptive temporal sequence that heighten chaos, mental confusion and ruptures meaning. trauma theory is often applied to trauma texts which are sometimes war memoirs, fictional narratives, poetry and film. however, in this paper we apply it to the interpretation of selected play texts. a reading of iyorwuese hagher lamp of peace and soji cole’s embers the violent acts of war do cause trauma which can trigger post-traumatic stress disorder (ptsd). this manifest in the form of depression, anxiety, nightmares, panic attack, violent anger and other repressive acts. pstd was once referred to as shell shock and combat fatigue. although pstd has existed as far back as the greek era, it was not until the first world war that the impact of psychological trauma was discovered and defined. pstd was first believed to have been caused by soldiers’ direct contact with artillery bombardment and other weapons of war, hence the term shell shock. further studies after the return of american war veterans from vietnam and the psychological distress they suffered led to the inclusion of post-traumatic stress disorder to the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorder in 1980 by the american psychiatric association. it symbols of trauma and violence in soji cole’s embers and iyorwuese hagher’s lamp of peace 6 is noted that distressing experiences, violent acts, traumatic experience especially in the time of war when human rights are easily infringed and abused can cause pstd. in lamp of peace we see madam alafia suffering from pstd as the medical officers agree that she has gone mad and refer her case to a psychiatrist. although madam alafia and general ado disagree with the diagnosis, as the play progresses we experience the depth of the tragedy that has befallen madam alafia and understand her plight. the playwright through the use of psycho drama and the technique of a play within a play attempts a dispassionate presentation of the horrors of war. in the form of trauma texts, the conversations between the characters are disjointed and fragmented. there are scenes of flashbacks, temporal dislocation in the plot and peritraumatic dissociation in madam alafia’s narration of the death of her family. boy soldier, a young child soldier of eleven years already bears the scars of war and also suffers the traumatic effect of war. his exaggerated panic and frantic grip on his automatic rifle as a life saver shows his desperate belief in the power of the gun. the moment his gun is taken away, boy soldier “surrenders” and appears weak. at that moment he pleads for his life. it is telling that the first and only question boy soldier asks dr ndu is “doctor. am i going to die?” the altercation between dr. ndu and boy soldier is an example of the strain that traumatic events can cause. it does not occur to boy soldier that he is at the hospital in safe hands and his life is about to be saved not cut shot. the actions of boy soldier are consistent with the actions of one who has been exposed to extreme degrees of violence and to whom violence, pain and death is normalized. boy soldier is more distressed about his gun being taken away rather than the bullet lodged in his head from which he is bleeding profusely. it is the inability of children to process fear, sense danger and be cautious that makes them a valuable addition for insurgents who prey on them. child soldiers are regarded as easy to indoctrinate, fearless, cheap to maintain and willing to fight when they have been drugged, fed and indoctrinated. due to exposure to trauma and excessive violence at a tender age, child soldiers are desensitized to violence and killings. they normalize killings especially if they have witnessed the brutal killings of their parents and loved ones. the instinct of a child soldier is directed at survival, and if he has to kill to survive, so be it. in lamp of peace, boy soldier’s refusal to let go of his weapon, even in the hospital where he has been brought in for emergency treatment expresses the constant state of danger, distress and alertness which his young mind has been subjected to. child soldiers via the nature of their experience tend to be more violent and have aggressive behaviours. the encounter between boy soldier and husband on the street during husband’s search for food buttresses this point. boy soldier by the law of the gun nasir, taofiq olaide & omorodion martina, o. 7 can decide who dies and who lives. he is rude and uncouth to husband and does not observe the respect a younger person accords to an elder especially in the african tradition. this social and cultural dis-stability is one negative effect of armed conflicts. in post-conflict situations, trauma, personality disorder, and depression are not uncommon amongst the survivors of violent conflicts. this is especially pronounced among vulnerable group of children, women and ex-combatants. schauer and elbert (2010) writing on the psychological impact of child soldiering reports that: child soldiers are raised in an environment of severe violence, experience it, and subsequently often commit cruelties and atrocities of the worse kind. this repeated exposure to chronic and traumatic stress during development leaves the children with mental and related physical ill-health, notably ptsd, and severe personality changes. such exposure also deprives the child from a normal and healthy development and impairs their integration into society as a fully functional member (311/312). the plot of lamp of peace is nor linear. rather, it is disjointed. it applies the tool of flashbacks, fragmented speeches, detailed and distorted narrative to capture the emotional turmoil caused by war. the playwright’s use of disjointed language and repetition, reveals the inadequacy of language to capture the traumatic experience (caruth 1995). boy soldier: halt there! [he covers him menacingly with a ak47] husband: yes, sir. boy soldier: hands on your head. boy soldier: password. husband: password? boy soldier [kicks him]: password, stupid. think you can just walk the streets like this? husband: my son, i don’t understand. boy soldier: sharrup. i am not your son, period. now what is in your sack? husband: empty. boy soldier: empty what, stupid? husband: empty sack. boy soldier: empty sack. in sack? husband: empty sack, son, sir boy soldier: put the sack on your head stupid. husband: yes, sir. [drapes sack over head.] boy soldier: now, match forward to the execution ground at once. you are long face traitor (215/216). symbols of trauma and violence in soji cole’s embers and iyorwuese hagher’s lamp of peace 8 the traumatic experience of boy soldier is tied not only to the violence he has experienced on the battle field but also to the atrocities he has committed in the name of war. it is telling that the war comes to an end when boy soldier helps the state forces capture his father, warlord. in conflict situations such as these, the lines between familial relationships can become blurred as members of a family might find themselves on opposing ends. by the nature of the forced “growing up” that boy soldier is forced to undergo, he becomes a child trapped in an adult situation. he loses his childhood to the war and becomes a militarized child, whose only singular motive is survival. madam alafia, another traumatized victim of the war loses her entire family to the conflict. her daughter is gruesomely raped by eleven men and shot dead with madam alafia watching, powerless to stop them. madam alafia’s traumatic ranting is pegged on the wedding dress her daughter has worn as she thinks it is the bad omen that attracts the rebels to their hideout. when madam alafia narrates how the war has claimed her children, she includes the destruction of her daughter’s beautiful wedding dress. in lamp of peace, iyorwuese highlights not only the physical destruction caused by the war but the psychological and mental impact of the war on the survivors. soji cole’s embers embers is soji cole’s incursion into the experiences of trauma and its impact on internally displaced persons (idp). embers which won the 2018 nigeria prize for literature award follows the life experiences of three girls, memunah, idayat, atai and a middle aged woman talatu who serves as their guide and mentor. these women through the boko haram inspired conflict have been displaced from their homes and villages of origin. they are gathered at the idp camp under the mercy of the nigeria military and humanitarian agencies. soji cole explores through memories, recollections and direct narration the impact of the boko haram insurgency on women. in embers, we see the direct effect of trauma on people that have been exposed to violent extremism and conflicts. for these people life holds no meaning anymore and survival is the only thing that matters. soji cole’s embers follows the narration of the traumatic experience of three young girls memunah, idayat, atai and a middle aged woman, talatu. these females have all suffered the devastating effect of the boko haram crises and have lost their homes and family. they have been resettled in the internally displaced people (idp) camp which is set up in an old and abandoned school building. talatu by means of expressing her past through the therapeutic action of talking and sharing, seeks to inspire in the younger girls hope for a bright future despite their sad experiences. talatu’s narration of her past life nasir, taofiq olaide & omorodion martina, o. 9 serves as a coping mechanism and a healing process for the girls. talatu also encourages the girls to talk and through the dialogue of the play we partake of their negative experiences not only in sambisa forest but at the idp camp as well, by the camp workers and soldiers who have been mandated to protect them. in embers, cole uses sambisa and the idp camp as the location of traumatic memories. sambisa forest, the hideout of the boko haram insurgents and the idp camp organized as a safe haven for the displaced people is the place or site that influences their perception of the world and holds centre-stage in their traumatized memories. the experiences of the girls in sambisa forest informs their cryptic outlook and their experiences at the idp camp defines the side of the law on which they end. each girl associates a place as a site of hope or of pain. for talatu, kano city is the place of hope and an escape from a childhood of sexual abuse and exploitation. atai, regards the idp camp as a safe heaven and despite the destruction of her village by the boko haram boys and the army, she wishes to return home. atai, is the only one that is reluctant to share her story, forcing idayat to call her secretive. but, atai shares her fears that the war would never end. her dreams are troubled by the images of her brother’s horrible death at the hands of the insurgents and even though she had been raped by the government soldiers she would rather live her life at the idp camp than return to sambisa forest which is the symbol of her pains and loss. atai’s refusal to talk about her pain is based on her unwillingness to accost the trauma (pederson) rather than the inability to remember and express it (caruth). as atai states: atai: i hate to talk about it but it has become part of my life now„ talatu: you don’t have to talk about anything if you„ atai: even if we don’t wish to talk about our story in the forest of sambisa, the memory cannot be erased. it will live with us forever. sometimes memory is pain. but to forget is itself a crime. it is the pain of memory that nudges us clearer to the failure of our humanity. (55) atai thus, against her will holds on to the traumatic pain of her experience in sambisa and the memories of the death of her brother. these memories come in the form of dream symbols that upset the psyche. it is the images of the repressed memories that haunts her when her defense her down. as she says, she finds it impossible to achieve closure as the memories hunt her every night. symbols of trauma and violence in soji cole’s embers and iyorwuese hagher’s lamp of peace 10 atai: that is impossible, goggo. i watched as they put a knife to my brother’s throat and slice off his head like some eid ram. how do i achieve closure when i dream every night of that horrendous moment? (81) memunah on the other hand regards the idp camp with the officials and the soldiers as the den of death and suffering. memunah would rather live in sambisa forest under captivity than in the “freedom” of the internally displaced people’s camp. she justifies life with the insurgent based on the personal treatment they receive from the rebels. this contrasts sharply with life at the idp camp where they are subjected to survival sex and the hypocrisy of the government officials. it is this that influences idayat position as well. memunah: goggo, i tell you that life was better in sambisa. the men go out to find food for us but here the camp people and the soldiers steal our food. the men in the forest took care of us. they learn to coax us even when they are having sex with us. with time some of us even came to enjoy it when„ (59) she further justifies her position when she says: memunah: that is why i say the forest is better. this is where the boko haram really operates. look at those soldiers; every night they go into the tents to rape the girls. the camp officials also rape us. they threatened us with food and other supplies if we don’t have sex with them. the governor would come here with ten bags of rice, and tell the world that he brought a hundred. then at night his driver comes to pick up one of us. tell me how this place is better than the forest when all we do here is to kill ourselves and live on the carcass! (60) idayat, a secret member of the boko haram sect also holds the same views with memunah as she notes that: idayat: he taught me that the real boko harams are here and not in the forest. those you call boko harams are a group of young agitated men and women, but those who empower and use them are here right nowthe politicians! they are those who snuff lives out of the people they are supposed to lead. (93) at the end each girl goes through a traumatic experience but the reaction to it is diverse and the implications different. for some, the answer to violence is more violence. for the other, survival is the basic instinct at whatever cost. the location of sambisa and the idp camp as landscape imagery symbolizes insurgent forces and government forces respectively. in conclusion, we find that trauma is a real condition and dramatic literature can stand as witness to the pains and sufferings of an individual or a people. idayat makes a conscious choice to blow up the idp camp as a suicide bomber. atai, chooses to betray the girls, an nasir, taofiq olaide & omorodion martina, o. 11 act that leads to the horrible death of memunah. boy soldier loses his childhood and innocence too and suffers from post-traumatic stress. madam alafia lives with the memories of her dead children in her mind. the deliberate loss of narration and her inability to tell what becomes of her sons is a lack of agency on her part. this has been taken away by the playwright who leaves the audience to fill up the gaps in the memory in their own ways. through the analysis of the selected plays we see that literature can stand as witness to the traumatic experiences of a people. trauma from a negative experience is real and its impact is pervasive. at the end of it all, we realize that in violent conflicts, there are no victors or victims, only traumatized souls. references balaev, m. (2018) “trauma studies”. in richter, d(ed) a companion to literary theory. first edition. oxford: wiley/ blackwell. ----------(2012). the nature of trauma in american novels. illinos: north western university press. ballengee, j. and kelman, d.(eds.) (2021) trauma and literature in an age of globalization. new york: routledge. bennet, a. and royle, n. (2004) an introduction to literature, criticism and theory. 3rd edition. london: pearson educational. caruth, c. (1995) explorations in memory. john hopkins uni press. pp 151-157 ------------(1996) unclaimed experience: trauma, narrative, and history. johns hopkins university press. emeonyonu, e. (2008) “war in africa literature: literary harvest, human tragedies” (editorial) in african literature today. suffolk uk: james curry 26 2008 frontier, mark. (1997) theory/ theatre: an introduction. london: routledge. krug eg et al (2002) (eds) world report on violence and health. vol 2. geneva: world health organization pederson j. (2014) “speak, trauma: toward a revised understanding of literary trauma theory.” narrative (columbus, ohio) vol. 223, no. 3, pp. 333-53. www.jstor.org reidy d., kearns m., & degue s. (2013) “reducing psychopathic violence: a review of the treatment literature.” aggression and violent behaviour 18 (5) sept. pp 527-538 schauer, e. and elbert, t. (2010) “the psychological impact of child soldering.” in e. martz (ed) trauma rehabilitation after war and conflict. springer science www.usip.org tyson, l. (2006) critical theory today: a user friendly guide.2nd edition. new york: routledge. http://www.usip.org/ microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 5 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 110 la mission du christ comme manifestation de la trinité dans l’histoire du salut : une étude analytique du sermon 52 de saint augustin kolawolechabi, phd, osa, institutumpatristicumaugustinium rome, italy kolachabi@gmail.com résumé cet article est la continuation d’une recherche que nous avons commencée sur la doctrine trinitaire augustinienne dans sa prédication. nous avons pris en examen, à travers une étude analytique du sermon 52, ce que l’évêque d’hippone enseigne sur l’inséparabilité des personnes de la trinité dans leurs opérations ad extra. plus précisément, nous avons étudié l’inséparabilité du père et du fils dans les œuvres de ce dernier dans sa mission par sa naissance, sa passion et sa résurrection. saint augustin enseigne que chacun de ces événements de la vie du christ est son œuvre propre mais aussi celle du père. il ajoute par ailleurs, dans d’autres textes significatifs, que le saint-esprit ne peut être nullement séparé de ces œuvres, car la trinité agit toujours en tant qu’un seul dieu.si saint augustin soutient que c’est la trinité qui opère dans la mission du fils, il devient alors difficile de comprendre comment l’on peut dire qu’il a séparé la trinité de l’histoire du salut. mots-clés: mission, christ, trinite, sermon 22, saint augustine, analytique. introduction nous avons entrepris une étude sur la doctrine trinitaire augustinienne dans ses sermons dans le dessein de montrer, contre ceux qui l’accusent d’avoir séparé la trinité de l’histoire du salut et de l’avoir rendue inutile à la piété chrétienne,39 que de telles accusations ne sont nullement pas fondées. dans ce second article,40 qui est aussi un extrait de notre thèse doctorale auquel nous avons apporté de 39 nombreux sont les théologiens modernes qui trouvent de nombreux impairs dans la théologie trinitaire augustinienne. par eux, il faut nécessairement mentionnerk. rahner,remarks on the dogmatic treatise de trinitate, dans theological investigations, vol. 4: more recent writings, trad. kevin smyth, helicon press, baltimore 1966, et l’opposant le plus acharné de l’évêque d’hippone, c. gunton,augustine, the trinity and the theological crisis of the west, dans sjth 43/01 (1990), 33-58; id.the trinity in modern theology, dans p. byrne-l. houlden-l. houlden (éds.), companion encyclopedia of theology, routledge, london 1995, 937– 957 ; id., trinity, ontology and anthropology, dans id. (éd), persons, divine and human, t. & t. clark, edinburgh 1991. 40 un premier article sur la doctrine trinitaire augustinienne s’est penché sur son enseignement sur la nature de la trinité dans ses sermons de la période presbytérale.il a paru sur igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities 3/2 (2017). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 111 légères modifications,41 nous voudrions montrer comment saint augustin enseigne l’agir de la trinité dans l’histoire à travers la mission du fils. notre étude aura comme point d’attache le sermon52 qui, de tous les sermons authentique de l’évêque d’hippone, est le seul qui traite spécifiquement de la trinité. daté en 412,42 ce sermon est un commentaireà la péricope de l’évangile selon saint matthieu sur le baptême de jésus. c’est donc autour de la personne du fils, dans sa mission dans le temps, que se déploie une manifestation éclatante du dieu un et trine. nous sommes, pour cela, dans la logique de la mission du fils qui, après son incarnation, passera par son ministère public pour aboutir au 41 notre thèse soutenue à l’institut patristique « augustinianum » en mai 2017 est intitulée : « le mystère trinitaire dans l’histoire du salut et dans la vie du chrétien :une recherche dans les sermones ad populum de saint augustin », sous la direction du p. nello cipriani, o.s.a. 42 sur la datation de ce sermon, voire. hill qui suggère que l’évêque l’aurait prêché à hippone un jour de la semaine en dehors de la messe dominicale : « …it was clearly not at a sunday mass for the whole community, where many of the congregation, perhaps most, would be illiterate. so, it would probably have been at some weekday service, or service for some special group of the devout—some kind of house mass perhaps? now would augustine hold such a service outside his own local church? at carthage, he certainly might have done so, by invitation. but there is no suggestion of an invitation here. so, i read this passage as implying that the sermon was probably preached in hippo ». e. hill, n. 15 au s. 52, dans id. (trad.), wsa. sermons iii/3 : sermons 5194, 64. cette hypothèse de hill n’est pas déterminante pour notre étude sur le sermon. quel que soit le lieu de la prédication du sermon, notre intérêt va surtout à son contenu doctrinal qui nourrit la foi des fidèles, lettrés ou non, qui comprennent mieux le mystère auquel ils croient ;a. schindler, wort und analogie in augustins trinitätslehre, j.c.b. mohr (paul siebeck), tübigen 1965, 41-42 ; a. kunzelman, die chronologie der sermones, 485 ; p.-p. verbraken, le sermon lii de saint augustin sur la trinité et l’analogie des facultés de l’âme, dans revue bénédictine 74 (1964), 10.hill affirme: « the point is discussed, very briefly, inthe trinity iv, 21, 30, and raised, but hardly discussed at the beginning of that work, i, 5, 8. though in this last passage augustine says that people weary him with questions on this particular point, it is not in fact one that he devotes much attention to in his magisterial work on the trinity. he deals with this again in letter 169, 2, 6, written to his friend and colleague evodius (but it is a slightly huffy letter!) toward the end of the year 415.both here and inthe trinity iv he uses the same illustration of memory, understanding and will to make his point. does this connection with other augustinian texts help us to date this sermon? before answering, we must note that in one instance what augustine says here does not accord with a major theme of his the trinity. in the closing section of the sermon he says unequivocally, “i don’t say memory is the father, understanding is the son, will is the spirit. i don’t say it… i don’t dare to.” he is clearly thinking it, but he is very hesitant about it. now in the last books of the trinity, books ix, x and xi especially, he very definitely and definitively does say just that; he uses the mental triad as a very clear model or analogy for the divine triad—of course with all the necessary reservations that he touches on here, and states more precisely in his letter to evodius».e. hill, n. 1 au s. 52, dans id. (trad.), wsa. sermons iii/3 : sermons 5194, 63. il conclut au même endroit : «nonetheless, i think we may tentatively infer that when he wrote to evodius, he had already got two thirds of the way through book xii ofthe trinity, and stopped there under the pressure of other demands on him. if that is so, this sermon would have been preached quite a long time before 415. the majority of the scholars in fact date it to 410-412, while one puts it as late as 419-420. for the reasons given, i cast my vote with the majority». igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 112 sacrifice suprême du mystère pascal. et c’est la trinité qui donne le coup d’envoi à ce ministère du christ avec l’événement singulier de son baptême dans le jourdain.43 notre étude se divise en deux parties asymétriques. dans la première, nous ferons dusermon 52 un exposé analytique articulé en trois parties qui en substance présentent l’argumentation de saint augustin sur l’inséparabilité des œuvres du père et du fils dans la mission de ce dernier dans l’histoire. nous exposerons comment le prédicateur d’hippone démontre sur la base des écritures que la naissance, la passion et la résurrection du fils sont toutesl’œuvre commune du père et du fils. puis dans la deuxième partie, nous traiterons de ce qu’il enseigne sur le rôle du saint-esprit dans la mission salvifique du christ pour compléter le tableau de la partition que joue chacune des personnes divine dans cette mission. 1. un exposé analytique du sermon 5244 après un bref exorde dans lequel le prédicateur dit aux fidèles qu’il prêcherait sur le thème du jour sous l’inspiration et l’ordre du seigneur, il déclare directement que ce qui se passe sur les rives du jourdain comme un « divin spectacle » c’est bien sûr la révélation de notre dieu dans sa trinité sainte.45 il décline alors le spectacle en reprenant la narration évangélique pour indiquer les trois personnes de la trinité distinctement dans l’action que l’évangéliste associe à chacune : jésus fut baptisé par jean après l’avoir convaincu qu’il fallait accomplir toute justice, l’esprit-saint descendit sur lui en forme de colombe, et 43 saint augustin dira dans un autre sermon qui serait prononcé entre 417 et 418 qu’à travers le baptême de jean reçu par le christ, le père, le fils et saint-esprit ont consacré le baptême institué par le christ en faveur des chrétiens. cf. aug., s. 51, 33 (rb 91, 44) : « et quamvis esset illud baptismum ioannis ; in eo tamen sensibiliter apparuit trinitas patris et filii et spiritus sancti, qua consecratus est ipsius christi baptismus, quo baptizandi erant futuri christiani : pater, in voce quae facta est de coelo ; filius, in ipso homine mediatore ; spiritus sanctus, in columba ». donc le baptême qu’a reçu le seigneur est voulu par la trinité en vue de celui que recevraient les chrétiens par la suite. c’est d’ailleurs au nom du père et du fils et du saint-esprit que jésus ordonnera que les apôtres baptisent ceux qui auront cru à leur prédication (mt. 28, 18). 44 le s. 52 a déjà été l’objet de nombreuses études, attendu qu’il est pratiquement le seul sermon de notre auteur entièrement consacré au mystère trinitaire. nous pouvons citer entre les plus importantes études, celles de m. mellet, le mystère de la sainte trinité : comment saint augustin prêchait la trinité aux fidèles d’hippone, dans la vie spirituelle 64 (1941), 401-421 ; g. bardy, saint paul juriste, dans recsr (1943), 209-210 ; m. smalbrugge, l’analogie réexaminée, dans rhpr 69/2 1989, 121-134.l. ayres, “remember that you are a catholic” (serm. 52, 2). augustine on the unity of the triune god, dans jecs 8/1 (2000), 39 – 82 ; s. gonzález,la vivencia trinitaria en san agustín ('de la trinidad' y 'sermón 52'), religión y cultura 46 (2000), 301-317. 45 id., s. 52, 1 (rb 74, 15-16) : « videmus enim et tamquam proposito divino spectaculo contuemur, apud flumen iordanen commendari nobis deum nostrum in trinitate ». igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 113 on entendit du ciel la voix du père : « celui-ci est mon fils bien-aimé, en qui j’ai mis mes affections ». le prédicateur récapitule : « ne voyons-nous pas ici la trinité distinctement ? dans la voix nous entendons le père, nous adorons le fils dans l’homme qui reçoit le baptême, et l’esprit-saint dans la colombe. il suffit de le rappeler ; rien n’est plus facile à saisir. quoi de plus évident ? quoi de plus indubitable ? c’est bien ici la trinité ».46 ainsi, saint augustin établit que c’est la trinité qui s’est manifestée distinctement dans les personnes du fils qui s’est transporté d’un lieu dans un autre et donc présent au bord du fleuve pour le baptême, du saint-esprit apparu en forme de colombe allant lui aussi d’un lieu à un autre, et du père dont la voix s’est faite entendre nettement. il affirme alors « quamvis timide » que la trinité est « quasi separabilem ». de cette manifestation, saint augustin en arrive à affirmer qu’« il y a donc ici comme une triple séparation de lieux, de fonctions et d’œuvres ».47 à ce point survient l’habituelle méthode augustinienne qui consiste à donner de façon imaginaire la parole à l’auditoire qui devrait objecter à son propos sur cette question de la séparabilité de la trinité. du coup, il anticipe la réaction des fidèles qui, fermes dans leur foi, n’accepteraient pas une telle idée. on lui répliquerait, dit-il : montre plutôt que la trinité est inséparable. souviens-toi que tu es catholique et que tu parles à des catholiques. tel est en effet l’enseignement de notre foi, c’est-à-dire de la foi véritable, de la foi droite, de la foi catholique, de la foi qui ne repose pas sur les présomptions de l’esprit mais sur les témoignages de l’autorité, de la foi qui ne flotte pas incertaine au souffle téméraire des hérétiques, mais qui demeure fortement établie sur la vérité apostolique.voilà donc ce qu’elle nous fait connaître, ce qu’elle nous donne à croire… que le père, 46ibid (rb 74, 16): « habemus ergo distinctam quodam modo trinitatem : in voce patrem, in homine filium, in columba spiritum sanctum. hoc quidem commemorare opus erat ; nam videre facillimum est. evidenter enim, nec ullo dubitationis scrupulo commendatur haec trinitas ». dans un texte où il polémique un peu avec les scismatiques, ceux qui, ingrats contre le saint-esprit, ne voient pas sa manifestation et brisent l’unité et la paix de l’église, saint augustin affirme encore la manifestation de la sainte trinité dans le baptême du seigneur. cf. id., io. eu. tr.6, 5 (ccl 36, 56) : « etapparuitibisanctaillaetueratrinitas, quaenobisunus deusest. adscenditenimdominusabaqua, sicutineuangelio legimus : etecceapertisunteicaeli, etuiditspiritumdescendentem uelutcolumbam, etmansitsupereum ; etstatimuox consecutaest: tuesfiliusmeusdilectus, inquomihicomplacui[mt. 3,16sq.]. apparetmanifestissimatrinitas, paterinuoce, filiusin homine, spiritusincolumba. inistatrinitatequomissisunt apostoli, uideamusquoduidemus, etquodmirumestquiailli nonuident ; nonenimuerenonuident, sedadidquodfacies eorumferit, oculosclaudunt ». 47 aug., s. 52, 2 (rb 74, 17) : « tria haec quasi separantur locis, separantur officiis, separantur operibus ». igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 114 le fils et le saint-esprit forment une inséparable trinité, un seul dieu et non pas trois dieux.48 saint augustin veut établir le fondement orthodoxe de la foi de l’église dans l’unité et l’inséparabilité de la trinité. mais il ne manque d’insister sur la distinction des personnes car, comme il le souligne, la trinité est un seul dieu sans que « le fils soit le père et sans que le père soit le fils, sans que le saint-esprit soit le père ou le fils, car il est l’esprit et du père et du fils ».49 le prédicateur est bien conscient qu’il a devant lui une entreprise de longue haleine demandant un effort soutenu pour justifier que les trois personnes ont agi séparément dans l’épisode que narre la péricope évangélique, et soutenir tout de même que la trinité est inséparable dans ses opérations. il invite alors l’assemblée à prêter attention et implore leur prière et collaboration car, dit-il, sous le poids du corps qui se corrompt et appesantit l’âme, il est très difficile de l’élever vers dieu.50 1. 1. l’inséparabilité des œuvres du père et du fils51 l’évêque observe, d’entrée de jeu, que certains frères de l’assemblée qu’il reconnait « plus studieux » posent souvent la question de savoir si le père fait quelque chose sans le fils où si le fils agit quelques fois sans le père. cette 48ibid., : « dicat mihi aliquis: ostende inseparabilem trinitatem. memento catholicum te loqui, catholicis loqui. fides enim nostra, id est, fides vera, fides recta, fides catholica, non opinione praesumptionis, sed testimonio lectionis collecta, nec haeretica temeritate incerta, sed apostolica veritate fundata, hoc insinuat; hoc novimus, hoc credimus… inseparabilem esse trinitatem, unum deum, non tres deos ». 49ibid., « ita tamen unum deum, ut filius non sit pater, ut pater non sit filius, ut spiritus sanctus nec pater sit, nec filius, sed patris et filii spiritus ». 50ibid., 52, 3 (rb 74, 17-18) : « videtis enim quid susceperimus ; non solum quid, verum etiam qui; unde volumus dicere, ubi positi, quomodo positi in corpore quod corrumpitur et aggravat animam, et deprimit terrena inhabitatio sensum multa cogitantem. quando ergo istum sensum a multis extraho, et ad unum deum trinitatem inseparabilem colligo, ut aliquid videam quod dicam ; putasne in hoc corpore quod aggravat animam, ut aliquid vobis digne loquar, potero dicere : quoniam ad te, domine, animam meam levavi? adiuvet me, levet eam mecum. nam infirmus sum illi, et gravis est mihi. » 51 dans la littérature patristique, l’inséparabilité des personnes de la trinité dans leur opération ad extra est une doctrine fortement établie même avant saint augustin. dans ce sens il s’insère dans une tradition que l’église tient et transmet. entre autres pères qui ont développé une réflexion théologique sur cette question, l’on peut citer : irénée de lyons : «le père a toujours avec lui son verbe et sa sagesse, le fils et l’esprit, par qui et en qui il a fait toutes choses… il n’y a qu’un seul dieu, qui par son verbe et sa sagesse a fait et disposé toutes choses » (adv. haer. iv, 20, 1.4) ; saint athanase : « le père fait toutes choses par le verbe et l’esprit, et c’est ainsi que l’unité de la sainte trinité est sauvegardée » (ad serap. i, 28) ; saint hilaire de poitiers dans la tradition occidentale : « il n’y a qu’un seul auteur de toutes choses, car un est dieu le père, de qui (sont) toutes choses, un le fils unique notreseigneur jésus-christ, par qui (sont) toutes choses, un l’esprit, qui est le don en toutes choses ». igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 115 inquiétude des frères guidera une longue partie de la prédication et orientera les diverses facettes de la réflexion sur l’intervention des autres personnes de la trinité (le père et le saint-esprit) dans la mission du fils. mais saint augustin se concentre d’abord sur le père et le fils pour montrer comment ils opèrent ensemble dans la création et le gouvernement du monde. c’est surtout se en basant sur certains testimonia bibliques que le prédicateur indique aux fidèles comment les deux agissent ensemble. trois des points fondamentaux que notre prédicateur promet de démontrer dans le sermon du jour sont la naissance, la passion et la résurrection du christ qui sont réalisées aussi bien par le père que par le fils. il ne fera pas cette démonstration au moyen de spéculations en marge des données scripturaires sur ces questions. bien au contraire, c’est à travers un habile agencement de versets bibliques que lui-même considère comme des témoignages de « documenta firmissima », qu’il arrive à réaliser sa promesse. et spontanément, à un certain point, ses propos fort convaincants ont suscité des applaudissements de l’assemblée sidérée par son habileté dialectique. saint augustin est parti de la conviction selon laquelle le père ne saurait rien faire sans celui par qui tout a été fait et sans qui rien n’a été fait. 52 mais la question qui pourrait justement se poser est celle de savoir si le père a tout créé par le son fils au temps de la création et qu’aujourd’hui il ne gouverne pas le monde par lui. à une telle idée, l’évêque oppose l’attitude que doit avoir et la conviction que doit tenir un vrai croyant : « que cette pensée s’éloigne du cœur des fidèles, qu’elle n’entre point dans l’esprit des hommes religieux, dans l’entendement des âmes pieuses. on ne saurait admettre que dieu ait créé et ne gouverne point par son fils. comment ce qui a l’être serait-il dirigé sans lui, puisque c’est lui qui a donné cet être ? ».53 il recourt alors à deux testimonia pour soutenir sa position : tout d’abord il rappelle io. 1, 3 qu’il avait déjà cité : « tout a été fait par lui et sans lui rien n’a été fait ». non seulement tout a été fait par lui, mais aussi tout ce qu’il a fait est régi et gouverné par lui. et pour démontrer cela il s’en appelle à sg. 8, 1. c’est le christ la sagesse et vertu de dieu par qui il a fait toutes les créatures. cette sagesse, dit le verset sur lequel s’appuie le prédicateur, « atteint avec force d’une 52 aug., s. 52, 4 (rb 74, 18) : « facitaliquidpatersinefilio ? respondemus : non. andubitatis ? quidenimfacitsineillo, perquemfactasuntomnia ? omnia, inquit, peripsumfactasunt[io.1, 3] : etsatiateinculcanstardis, duris, litigiosis, addidit : etsineipsofactumestnihil[io.1, 3] ». 53ibid. 52, 5 (rb 74, 19) : « absit. recedathaeccogitatio afideliumcordibus, abigaturasensudeuotorum, abintellectupiorum. fierinonpotest, utperipsumcreaueritetnonperipsumgubernet. absit, utsineipsoregaturquodest, quandoperipsumfactumestut esset ». igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 116 extrémité à l’autre et dispose tout avec douceur ». la sagesse de dieu, c’est-à-dire le christ, dispose donc tout dans le temps présent avec douceur. nous arrivons ainsi à une conclusion partielle de cet effort démonstratif de notre auteur qui dit aux fidèles : « ainsi donc, gardons-nous d’en douter : celui par qui tout a été fait, gouverne également tout, et conséquemment le père ne fait rien sans le fils ni le fils sans le père ».54 le prédicateur repose alors la question qu’il se propose de traiter au nom du seigneur et par sa volonté : « si le père ne fait rien sans le fils, ni le fils rien sans le père, n’en devons-nous pas conclure que c’est le père aussi qui est né de la vierge marie, le père qui a souffert sous ponce-pilate, le père qui est ressuscité et monté au ciel ? ».55 puisque la foi véritable ne professe pas une telle erreur, la réponse à cette interrogation doit être nécessairement négative. selon la foi catholique, seul le fils est né de la vierge marie, lui seul a souffert la passion et est mort sous ponce-pilate. et pour lever toute ombre de doute sur la distinction qu’il existe entre la personne du père et celle du fils, le prédicateur a jugé bon de mettre les fidèles en garde contre les partisans de la confusion, les hérétiques qui disent que c’est la même personne qui est le père et le fils : j’oubliais de remarquer qu’il est des hommes, peu intelligents, connus sous le nom de patripassiens. ils affirment que c’est le père qui est né d’une femme et qui a souffert, que le fils n’est autre chose que le père ; deux noms, mais une seule personne. or pour les empêcher de séduire qui que ce soit, pour qu’ils ne pussent contester que hors de son sein, l’église catholique les a retranchés de la communion des fidèles.56 54ibid. : « nonergodubitemusper ipsumregiomnia, perquemfactasuntomnia. nihilitaquepatersine filio, nihilfiliussinepatrefacit». 55ibid. 52, 6 (rb 74, 19) : « si nihil facit pater sine filio, et nihil filius sine patre; nonne quasi consequens erit ut et patrem dicamus natum de virgine maria, patrem passum sub pontio pilato, patrem resurrexisse et in coelum ascendisse? ». 56 aug., s. 52, 6 (rb 74, 19) : « excidit nobis, quosdam male intellegentes vocari patripassianos, qui dicunt ipsum patrem natum ex femina, ipsum patrem passum, ipsum esse patrem qui est filius, duo esse nomina, non res duas. et removit istos ecclesia catholica a communione sanctorum, ne aliquem deciperent, ut separati litigarent ». l’évêque d’hippone note dans son de haeresibus que tous les hérétiques qui professent la doctrine selon laquelle la même personne est le père, le fils et le saint-esprit sont une seule et même chose du fait de la doctrine erronée qui les unit. ainsi, quand on entend, noétiens, sabelliens, patripassiens, praxéaniens, hermogéniens, l’on doit retenir que ce ne sont donc pas plusieurs sectes, mais ce sont des noms différents donnés à une seule et même secte, en mémoire des hommes les plus célèbres qui en firent partie. à cet effet, il cite philastre, évêque de brixiane, auteur d’un traité sur les hérésies qui témoigne de l’exclusion de ces groupes de la communion de l’église : « sabellius, inquit, discipulus eius [noeti], qui similitudinem sui doctoris itidem secutus est, unde et sabelliani postea sunt igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 117 à ce point, saint augustin fait resurgir la problématique du propos en indiquant les objections que tout auditeur attentif pourrait soulever contre l’affirmation selon laquelle le père ne fait rien sans le fils ni le fils sans le père, tandis que seul le fils est né, a souffert et est ressuscité sans que le père ne soit lui aussi le sujet de ces événements. cela semble à juste titre une contradiction. il réitère alors le point focal de son enseignement : « voici ce que je dis : le fils, et non le père, est né de la vierge marie ; mais cette naissance est l’œuvre du père et du fils. le père n’a point enduré la passion, c’est le fils ; mais cette passion est l’œuvre du père et du fils. le père n’est pas ressuscité, c’est le fils ; mais la résurrection aussi est l’œuvre du père et du fils. il semble donc que la question soit résolue ».57 donc la nativité, la passion et la résurrection sont l’œuvre du père et du fils quoi que ce soit seul le fils qui les ait vécues dans la mission dans le temps. l’habile prédicateur ne veut pas se contenter de simples affirmations. il intervient donc en sa qualité de maître rhéteur et veut suivre les procédures d’un procès judiciaire.58 le tribunal est l’assemblée des fidèles, auditeurs de la prédication. ils constituent en même temps les juges et l’évêque est l’avocat. il fera son plaidoyer se servant du témoignage des livres saints et de façon éminente, il produira l’autorité de saint paul qu’il considère comme « idoneum iuris divini consultum ».59 ainsi, il attribue le titre de juriste60 ou d’expert en droit appellati, qui et patripassiani; et praxeani a praxea, et hermogeniani ab hermogene, qui fuerunt in africa; qui et ita sentientes abiecti sunt ab ecclesia catholica ». aug. haer 41 (ccl 46, 308). 57ibid., 52, 8 (rb 74, 21) : « hoc dico: filius quidem, non pater, natus est de virgine maria; sed ipsam nativitatem filii, non patris, de virgine maria, et pater et filius operatus est. non est quidem passus pater, sed filius : passionem tamen filii et pater et filius operatus est. non resurrexit pater, sed filius : resurrectionem tamen filii et pater et filius operatus est ». 58 nous savons l’importance que revêtait l’exercice pour la défence des causes à l’école du rhéteur. il y a différentes sortes de discours. dans ce qui est d’ordre judiciaire, la “controverse” (controversia) est une plaidoirie pour ou contre une cause, dans un cas imaginaire mais bien précis, défini en fonction d’un texte de loi. on trouve à titre illustratif un exemple d’exercice scolastique commun à l’école du rhéteur chez sénèque l’ancien qui présente le cas d’une prêtresse prostituée : « on supposera une loi fixant qu’une prêtresse doit être chaste et pure, issue de parents chastes et purs. une vierge, prise par des pirates, est vendue à un entrepreneur qui la livre à la prostitution. aux clients qui se présentaient, elle demandait de lui payer son salaire tout en la respectant. un soldat refuse de lui accorder cette grâce et veut lui faire violence : elle le tue. accusée, elle est acquittée et rendue aux siens. elle demande un sacerdoce. plaider pour ou contre ». cf. sénèque le rhéteur, controverses, i, 2. 59 aug., s. 52, 9 (rb 74, 22). 60 sur l’attribution du titre d’expert en droit divin à l’apôtre, il existe une brève étude gustave bardy sur la figure de saint paul juriste chez venance fortunatus, chez arnobe le jeune et, avant ces deux auteurs, chez saint augustin et c’est précisément au paragraphe 9 de notre sermon que l’auteur fait référence. cf. g. bardy, saint paul juriste, dans recherches de science religieuse (1943), 209-210. notons que le volume de cette parution de la revue igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 118 divin à saint paul dont il citera des passages dans son plaidoyer. examinons donc les textes dont il se sert pour chacun des événements importants de la mission du christ qu’il considère comme étant une œuvre du père et du fils. la naissance du fils : œuvre du père et du fils la démonstration de la naissance du fils comme l’œuvre du père et du fils se trouve dans le §9. c’est particulièrement à cet effet que le prédicateur s’appuie sur l’autorité de saint paul, l’habile docteur en droit divin. il donne donc la parole à l’apôtre : « montrez-nous, saint apôtre, comment la naissance du fils est l’œuvre du père ». s’en suit la citation scripturaire de l’épître aux galates : « lorsqu’est venue la plénitude du temps, dit-il, dieu a envoyé son fils, formé d’une femme, soumis à la loi, pour racheter ceux qui étaient sous la loi ». c’est dieu le père qui envoie et qui fait naître son fils d’une vierge la plénitude du temps étant venue.61 l’évêque fait une petite parenthèse d’exégèse à ce point se servant de son habileté de grand rhéteur. il venait de dire que le père a envoyé le fils en le formant d’une vierge. mais le texte de l’apôtre cité dit « d’une femme ». il dit à l’auditoire qu’il sait attentif : « êtes-vous surpris que j’aie dit : d’une vierge, et que paul dise : d’une femme ? ne vous en étonnez point, ne nous arrêtons pas à cela ; je ne parle pas à des ignorants. l’écriture emploie les deux expressions ; elle dit : d’une vierge, et : d’une femme. d’une vierge : “voici qu’une, vierge concevra et enfantera un fils”. d’une femme ; vous venez de l’entendre ». le prédicateur apporte deux témoins pour prouver qu’il n’y a pas de contradiction dans l’usage des deux expressions. nous l’avons déjà noté que saint augustin, à travers différentes expressions dont il se sert dans ce sermon semble organiser la démonstration de son propos quasi n’est pas mentionné parce que manquant. certainement cette année étant une année de guerre, la publication n’avait procédé de la façon normale. sur la question des exercices scolastiques où l’usage de la rhétorique sert à aiguiser la capacité discursive et argumentative de l’élève sur divers aspects de la vie, cf. h.-i. marrou, histoire de l’éducation dans l’antiquité, éditions seuil, paris 1981 ; n. cipriani, la retorica negli scrittori cristiani antichi, 15 ; b. sans, exercer l’invention ou (ré)inventer la controverse, dans exercice de rhétorique 5 (2015) rhétorique et citoyenneté. édition électronique. http:// rhetorique.revues.org/404. 61 cf. aug., s. 52, 9 (rb 74, 22) : « ostendat nobis sanctus apostolus, quomodo nativitatem filii pater operatus sit. “cum autem venit, inquit, plenitudo temporis, misit deus filium suum factum ex muliere, factum sub lege, ut eos qui sub lege erant redimeret”. audistis, et quia planum et apertum est, intellexistis. ecce pater fecit filium nasci de virgine. cum enim venisset plenitudo temporis, misit deus filium suum, utique pater christum. quomodo eum misit? factum ex muliere, factum sub lege. fecit ergo eum pater ex muliere sub lege ». nous lisons dans s. 213, 7 (ma 1, 446) que toute la trinité a formé la chair du fils: « filius verbum caro factum est, non pater, non spiritus sanctus. sed carnem filii tota trinitas fecit: inseparabilia enim sunt opera trinitatis ». igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 119 comme dans un procès judiciaire. par conséquent, il garde à l’esprit certaines règles de base de la procédure judiciaire dans son argumentation. c’est typiquement, pourrait-on dire, le cas des status legales (états légaux)62 qui se présente ici, et entrant dans les particuliers on distinguera le status scripti et voluntatis (l’état de la lettre et de la volonté)que le prédicateur utilise pour montrer qu’il ne peut pas y avoir contraction dans le texte sacré. généralement, cet étattente de déterminer l’application d’une loi en invoquant son contenu explicite ou l’intention implicite du législateur. c’est sans doute à cette procédure que saint augustin se réfère en faisant appel au sens du mot « femme » dans la langue hébraïque. il rappelle alors que « la langue hébraïque appelle femmes, non pas celles qui ont perdu leur virginité, mais toutes les personnes du sexe ».63 il fait suivre immédiatement les testimonia bibliques : « la genèse en présente un exemple frappant, au moment même de la création d’ève : de cette côte, dit 62 nous renvoyons au texte de n. cipriani, la retorica negli scrittori cristiani antichi, 26-29. 63 aug., s. 52, 10 (rb 74, 22) : « proprietas enim locutionis hebraeae “mulieres”, non corruptas virginitate, sed feminas appellat ». cf. s. 186, 3 : (pl 38, 1000) : « item si ille qui est dei filius, non est ipse factus filius hominis, quomodo misit deus filium suum factum ex muliere ? quo nomine secundum hebraeam linguam non virgineum decus negatur, sed femineus sexus ostenditur ». la référence à la langue hébraïque dans ce passage pourrait suggérer que l’évêque a connu une version hébraïque de la bible, quoique sa connaissance de cette langue ne soit pas des meilleures pour ne pas dire qu’elle est peut-être nulle. mais faut noter qu’il lui arrive de faire référence la version hébraïque de la bible en la comparant à celle des lxx pour affirmer par exemple qu’ils ne se contredisent pas. c’est le cas par exemple dans civ. xviii, 44 concernant les versions des deux bibles sur l’annonce de jonas à ninive. saint augustin concilie les deux positions mais opte pour la version hébraïque : « sed ait aliquis : quomodo sciam quid ionas propheta dixerit ninivitis, utrum : triduum, et ninive evertetur, an: quadraginta dies? quis enim non videat non potuisse utrumque tunc dici a propheta, qui missus fuerat terrere comminatione imminentis exitii civitatem ? cui si tertio die fuerat futurus interitus, non utique quadragesimo die ; si autem quadragesimo, non utique tertio. si ergo a me quaeritur, quid horum ionas dixerit, hoc puto potius quod legitur in hebraeo: quadraginta dies, et ninive evertetur. septuaginta quippe longe posterius interpretati aliud dicere potuerunt, quod tamen ad rem pertineret et in unum eumdemque sensum, quamvis sub altera significatione, concurreret, admoneretque lectorem utraque auctoritate non spreta ab historia sese attollere ad ea requirenda, propter quae significanda historia ipsa conscripta est. gesta sunt quippe illa in ninive civitate, sed aliquid etiam significaverunt, quod modum illius civitatis excedat; sicut gestum est, quod ipse propheta in ventre ceti triduo fuit, et tamen alium significavit in profundo inferni triduo futurum, qui dominus est omnium prophetarum ». on connait les bonnes recommandations de saint augustin sur l’importance de la connaissance des langues bibliques présentes dans doctr. chr. ii, 16 (simonetti, 94) : « etlatinaequidemlinguaehomines, quos nuncinstruendossuscepimus, duabusaliisadscripturarumdiuinarum cognitionemopushabent, hebraeascilicetetgraeca, utadexemplariapraecedentiarecurratur, siquamdubitationem attuleritlatinoruminterpretuminfinitauarietas». il n’y a néanmoins aucun doute sur le fait que sa connaissance du grec n’est très grande comme il le témoigne. mais on ne saurait soutenir qu’il est en ignorant puisqu’il l’utilise souvent pour apporter des éclaircissements importants dans différents écrits.sur la connaissance augustinienne de la bible hébraïque, cf. a.-m. labonnardière, did augustine use jerome’s vulgate ? dans p. bright (éd.), augustine and the bible, university of notre dame press, notre dame (indiana), 1999, 42-51 ; y.-m. duval, saint augustin et le commentaire sur jonas de saint jérôme, dans reaug 12/1 (1966), 9-40. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 120 elle, “dieu forma la femme” (gen. 2, 22).ailleurs encore l’écriture rappelle que dieu ordonna de séparer les femmes qui n’avaient point connu d’homme (nb. 31, 17-18, jg. 21, 11) ».64 le prédicateur n’a pas l’intention de s’attarder sur cette question car il sait qu’il n’a pas à faire à des ignorants.65 il faut qu’il s’occupe des points difficiles de la doctrine qu’il veut enseigner. il démontrera à présent que la naissance du fils est aussi l’œuvre du fils. saint augustin repart se basant encore sur l’autorité de saint paul. selon lui, dire que le fils est né de la vierge signifie que dans le sein de cette vierge, il a pris la nature de serviteur. c’est tout simplement cela la naissance du fils. mais en est-il l’auteur comme le père ?le prédicateur répond en citant phil. 2, 6-7 : « mais le fils en est l’auteur comme le père ; écoutez : « il avait la nature de dieu, dit l’apôtre, et il ne croyait pas usurper en s’égarant à dieu ; mais il s’est anéanti lui-même en prenant la nature de serviteur ». l’abaissement du fils qui fait qu’il ne s’égale pas au père mais s’est anéanti pour assumer la nature humaine, est la preuve que sa naissance est aussi son œuvre. saint augustin récapitule alors pour montrer qu’il a déjà fait la lumière sur les deux facettes de la question faisant encore appel à saint paul dans rom. 1, 3 : « “lorsqu’est venue la plénitude du temps, dieu a envoyé son fils, formé d’une femme ; son fils qui lui est né selon la chair, de la race de david ” voilà la naissance du fils produite par le père ; mais comme le fils “s’est anéanti luimême en prenant la nature de serviteur” sa naissance est aussi son œuvre. la preuve est faite, passons, appliquez-vous à ce qui suit ».66 ainsi a-t-il démontré que le père et le fils ont réalisé la naissance du fils dans le temps. la passion du fils : œuvre du père et du fils la procédure pour démontrer que la passion du fils est l’œuvre du père et du fils est la même que celle utilisée ci-dessus. toujours l’autorité de saint paul entre en jeu. saint augustin cite rom. 8, 32 et gal. 2, 20. le premier passage sert à 64 aug., s. 52, 10 (rb 74, 22-23) : « habes evidentem scripturam geneseos, quando ipsa primo eva facta est : formavit eam in mulierem. dicit etiam alio loco scriptura, iubere deum separari mulieres, quae non cognoverunt cubile viri. » 65ibid., « non moveat, non immoremur : neque enim rudibus loquor ». 66 aug. s. 52, 11 (rb 74, 23) : « “cum venit plenitudo temporis, misit deus filium suum factum ex muliere ; qui factus est ei ex semine david secundum carnem” : videmus ergo nativitatem filii a patre factam ; sed quia ipse filius “semetipsum exinanivit, formam servi accipiens”,videmus nativitatem filii et ab ipso filio factam. probatum est hoc ; transeamus hinc : intenti aliud accipite, quod ex ordine sequitur ». cf. s. 5, 3 (ccl 41, 52) : « at ubi uidit completas in se omnes scripturas, ut etiam acetum illi darent, “perfectum est”, ait, “et inclinauit” “caput, et dimisit spiritum [io. 19, 30]”, quasi ad hoc staret ut impleretur. cum uellet ergo, animam suam posuit » ; s. 223c, 1 = s. guelfer. 6, (ma 1, 460) ; s. 232, 5 (pl 38, 1461-1463). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 121 montrer que la passion du fils est l’œuvre du père car on y lit : « il n’a point épargné son propre fils, mais il l’a livré pour nous tous ». c’est donc le père qui livre son fils. mais cela ne signifie pas que le fils ait subi la tyrannie du père qui a voulu le livrer. il s’est livré lui-même et c’est ce que dit l’apôtre dans l’épître aux galates que cite le prédicateur : « il m’a aimé et s’est livré lui-même pour moi ». on retrouve l’idée selon laquelle c’est le fils qui s’est livré lui-même dans le s. 53, 16 sur les béatitudes : « il dépendait de lui de mourir, ou de ne pas mourir, et ce n’est pas sans raison qu’il a choisi ce genre de mort. s’il pouvait mourir ou se préserver de la mort, ne pouvait-il pas aussi mourir d’une manière ou de l’autre ? non, ce n’est pas sans motif qu’il a préféré expirer sur la croix pour t’y crucifier à ce monde ».67 apportons une précision sur le sens de ce sacrifice du christ pour notre salut. selon saint augustin, le fils se livre pour faire la volonté du père, pour réaliser le projet d’amour de la trinité et non pour payer une rançon au diable. il existe une certaine manière de comprendre la pensée augustinienne sur le sacrifice du christ qui semble lui prêter une théologie quasiment païenne de la rédemption, voulant faire croire que chez l’évêque d’hippone, le sacrifice du christ n’est qu’un aspect secondaire de l’œuvre du salut, conçue comme un rachat de l’humanité de l’empire totalitaire du démon par le moyen de l’humanité du seigneur livrée en rançon au diable pour notre délivrance.68 en effet, h. gallerand retient que la rédemption, selon saint augustin « désigne le paiement d’une rançon au diable » qui n’est « dépossédé que pour s’être rendu coupable d’un abus de pouvoir ».69cet auteur soutient par ailleurs que d’après saint augustin, « dieu a provoqué l’abus commis par le tyran… pour le provoquer, il a employé un moyen qu’autorise l’état de guerre, il a recours à la ruse… il a tendu une souricière au diable, il l’a berné ».70voilà pourquoi, à en croire gallerand, l’incarnation du fils et la mission de mourir qu’il tient de son père « font partie du plan conçu par dieu d’amener par ruse le diable à empiéter sur ses propres droits… en envoyant dans le monde son fils fait homme, dieu lui ordonna de mourir, d’amener le diable à prendre sa 67 id., s. 53, 16 (rb 104, 32) : « nonenimfrustratalemmortemelegit, incuiuspotestate eratuelmoriuelnonmori. siinpotestateeratmorietnonmori, quare noninpotestatesicuelsicmori? nonfrustraergocrucemelegit, ubite huicmundocrucifigeret ». 68 cf. h. gallerand, la rédemption dans saint augustin, dans revue d’histoire et de littérature religieuse 8 (1922), 38-77. cet auteur s’appui sur un certain nombre de textes de saint augustin (en. ps. 95, 5 (ccl 39, 1346), en.ps. 125, 1 ; en.ps. 88, s. 1, 11 (ccl 40, 1844-1845 et 39, 1229) ; s. 27, 2 (ccl 41, 361) ; s. 265d, 4 = s.morin 17, 4 (ma 1, 661), pour soutenir que selon l’évêque d’hippone, le diable aurait régné sur un empire opposé à celui de dieu, de façon quasi-manichéenne. 69 h. gallerand, la rédemption dans saint augustin, 44-45. 70ibid., 45. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 122 vie corporelle comme rançon du genre humain ».71 mais s’il la pouvait « prendre », le diable ne put la garder. et c’est ainsi que le rachat de l’humanité au démon se terminerait, chez saint augustin, par une grossière escroquerie.72 toute analyse faite, cette hypothèse selon laquelle le diable est amené, « par la ruse » à « prendre » la vie du christ semble ouvertement contredire l’évangile luimême où le christ dit « nul ne peut me l’enlever : je la donne de moi-même. j’ai le pouvoir de la donner, j’ai aussi le pouvoir de la recevoir de nouveau : voilà le commandement que j’ai reçu de mon père » (io. 10, 18). saint augustin lui-même affirme exactement le contraire de l’idée qu’on lui prête ici. il dit dans le s. 265/d, 4 (s.morin 17, 4) : « ecce veniet princeps mundi, et in me nihil inveniet. et quasi diceremus :quare ergo moreris? respondit: sed ut sciant, inquit, omnes quia voluntatem patris mei facio, surgite, eamus hinc, adpassionem, propter voluntatem boni patris, non propter debitum mali principis ».73 le christ fait la volonté du père bon. il ne paie pas de dette au prince du mal contrairement à l’hypothèse de h. gallerand et de tous ceux qui suivent sa ligne de pensée. l’observation de j. rivière nous semble pertinente quand dit que l’étude de gallerand, représente, à n’en pas douter, l’effort le plus méthodique, sinon le plus heureux, qui ait été fait jusqu’ici pour établir un système qu’on se contente, en général, de prêter à saint augustin comme une sorte d’axiome qui n’aurait pas besoin de démonstration. et cette circonstance devrait bien montrer aux moins clairvoyants l’intérêt supérieur d’une discussion qui dépasse le cas d’h. gallerand pour atteindre la critique elle-même en une de ces positions en apparence les plus fortes, de même que c’est toute la tradition de l’église qui est ici en cause dans la personne du plus notable de ses représentants.74 pas plus qu’un rachat des hommes à satan, il ne s’agit pas pour saint augustin de présenter la rédemption comme le paiement d’une dette ou d’une rançon au 71ibid., 63 ; 75. 72 cf. j. turmel, histoire des dogmes i, 378-379, paris, 1931. j. turmel est le pseudonyme du même auteur h. gallerand. 73s. 265d, 4 = s. morin 17, 4 (ma 1, 659-664) 74 j. rivière, le dogme de la rédemption chez saint augustin, gabalda et cie , paris 1933, 105. notons que dans cet ouvrage décidément polémique, l’auteur démontre contre turmel que si saint augustin introduit sans conteste la pensée du démon dans les finalités du plan providentiel, c’est à titre secondaire, le sacrifice ayant pour but principal la rémission des péchés et la réconciliation de l’homme avec dieu et ne constituant nullement un grossier marché entre dieu et le diable pour le rachat des pécheurs. c’est la même position que l’on trouve dans la recente thèse de a. bizzozero qui dit : « non corrisponde al pensiero di agostino l’idea di vero e proprio tributo pagato da dio al diavolo per ottenere la liberazione dell’uomo ». id., il mistero pasquale di gesù cristo e l’esistenza credente, 146. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 123 démon. s’il prend l’image biblique de la rançon (cf. mt. 20, 28 ; mc. 10, 45 ; 1tim. 2, 6), il ne dit jamais qu’elle a été versée au diable. si par contre il emploie la métaphore du décret retenu par satan en notre défaveur et s’il reprend le terme « chirograpum » à col. 2, 14, il faut remarquer que jamais il ne s’attarde à détailler la portée de cette métaphore.75 il ne l’emploie pratiquement qu’en incise au cours de ses descriptions de l’œuvre de libération accomplie par le christ : « la caution de notre péché était retenue, le diable tenait contre nous le décret ; il possédait ceux qu’il avait déçus ; il avait ceux qu’il avait vaincus. nous étions tous débiteurs, et nous naissons avec la dette héréditaire ».76 selon e. aumônier,77 en disant cela, l’évêque d’hippone n’entendait pas dire que le diable ait réussi à établir luimême un décret de condamnation après notre péché ; il en est simplement le gardien, et l’action du christ qui nous libère effacera automatiquement le décret. cette parenthèse nous a permis de montrer que si le père livre le fils et le fils se livre lui-même, et que pour cela la passion du fils est l’œuvre des deux, cela ne signifie pas pour autant que cette passion servait à payer une rançon à satan. notre rédemption par la passion du christ rentre dans le plan salvifique du dieu trine et un qui par amour, veut sauver l’homme. nous pouvons, à ce point, passer à la résurrection du fils comme œuvre du père et du fils la résurrection du fils : œuvre du père et du fils 75 cf. aug., en. ps. 67, 30 (ccl 39, 891) : « sed propter humilitatis et patientiae documentum, et sanguine suo delendum nostrorum chirographum peccatorum, etiam suum esse voluit exitum mortis, ne mortem timeremus istam, sed illam potius unde nos liberavit per istam » ; en. ps. 88, 1, 11 (ccl 39, 1227-1228) : « humiliasti te, et humiliatus est superbus. superbus enim per superbiam superbos tenebat : humiliatus est magnus, credens autem in eum factus est parvus. dum nutritur parvus exemplo magni facti parvi, perdidit quod tenebat diabolus ; quia superbus nonnisi superbos tenebat. dato tanto humilitatis exemplo, didicerunt homines damnare superbiam suam, imitari humilitatem dei. ita ergo ille perdendo quos tenebat, etiam ipse humiliatus est; non correctus, sed prostratus. “tu humiliasti sicut vulneratum superbum”.humiliatus es, et humiliasti; vulneratus es, et vulnerasti: neque enim eum non vulneraret sanguis tuus, qui fusus est ut deleret chirographum peccatorum. unde enim superbiebat, nisi quia cautionem contra nos tenebat? hanc tu cautionem, hoc chirographum tuo sanguine delevisti ». ; en. ps. 103, 4, 8 (ccl 40, 1528) : « ut autem sit mediator, descendat a superiore ad inferiorem, ab aequalitate patris; faciat quod ait apostolus: “semetipsum exinanivit formam servi accipiens, in similitudine hominum factus, et habitu inventus ut homo”. fundat sanguinem suum, deleat chirographum nostrum, componat inter nos et deum; nostram voluntatem corrigens ad iustitiam, illius sententiam flectens ad misericordiam ». ; en. ps. 149, 9 (ccl 40, 2183) : « quid tam beneficum, quam mori pro impiis? quid tam beneficum, quam sanguine iusto delere chirographum peccatoris?» 76 aug., s. 229/e, 2 = s. guelf. 9, 2 (ma i, 468) : « tenebatur cautio nostrorum peccatorum, tenebat contra nos chirographum diabolus; possidebat quos deceperat, habebat quos vicerat. debitores omnes eramus, cum debito hereditario omnes nascuntur ; fusus est sanguis sine peccato, et delevit cautionem de peccato ». 77 e. aumônier, la passion du christ dans la prédication de saint augustin, 69. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 124 ayant élucidé les deux premières questions sur la naissance et la passion du fils qui sont à la fois l’œuvre du père et celle du fils lui-même, l’évêque aborde le dernier tournant de sa démonstration qui concerne le troisième événement significatif qui implique les deux personnes du père et du fils selon l’hypothèse du départ. il fait encore appel à l’habile docteur en droit divin qui offre le témoignage nécessaire dans la procédure en cours. c’est le fils et non le père qui ressuscite, mais la résurrection du fils est l’œuvre de père et du fils. le prédicateur fournit le témoignage paulinien dans phil. 2, 9 pour montrer qu’elle est l’œuvre du père : « l’œuvre du père : “c’est pourquoi il l’a exalté et lui a donné un nom qui est au-dessus de tout nom”. en exaltant son fils et en le tirant d’entre les morts, le père l’a donc ressuscité ».78 puis il fait recours à l’évangile selon jean (io. 2, 19 ; 10, 18) pour démontrer que le fils s’est ressuscité : il a dit de son corps, en style figuré : « renversez ce temple, et je le relèverai en trois jours. » autre preuve : si la passion consiste à donner son âme, la résurrection consiste à la reprendre. voyons donc si le fils a bien pu donner son âme et s’il a fallu que le père la lui rendit. il est certain que le père la lui a rendue, car il est dit dans un psaume : « ressuscitez-moi et je les châtierai ». mais pourquoi attendez-vous que nous vous montrions le fils la reprenant de son côté ? n’a-t-il pas dit lui-même : « j’ai le pouvoir de donner mon âme ? ... »79 c’est ici le premier point culminant de l’effet de l’habilité discursive de notre prédicateur. l’auditoire attentif n’attend pas la fin de la démonstration avant d’éclater en applaudissements. et cela atteste que l’assemblée devance le prédicateur dans la suite des idées qu’il est en train de développer et saisit déjà le propos. et l’évêque l’observe en faisant même l’éloge de son troupeau pour l’écoute attentive de la parole. il les félicite d’être de bons disciples de l’unique maître : 78 aug., s. 52, 13 (rb 74, 24) : « opereturpaterresurrectionem filii : propterhocenimexaltauiteumamortuis, etdonauiteinomen, quodestsuperomnenomen[phil. 2, 9]. resuscitauitergopaterfiliumexaltando eumetexcitandoeumamortuis ». 79ibid., :« infiguramsuicorporisdetemplodixit : soluitetemplumhoc, etintriduoresuscitaboillud[io. 2, 19].postremo, sicutad passionempertinetanimamponere, sicadresurrectionemanimam iterumsumere, uideamussifiliusquidemanimamsuamposuit, et eianimamsuampaterreddidit, nonipsesibi. paterenimquiareddidit, manifestumest : indeenimpsalmusdicit : etsuscitame, etreddam illis[ps. 40, 11]. sedquiaetfiliusanimamsuamsibireddidit, quidanobisexspectatis? ipsedicat: potestatemhabeoponendianimammeam[io. 10, 18] ». igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 125 mais ce n’est pas encore ce que je vous ai promis ; j’ai dit seulement : « le pouvoir de la donner » et vous applaudissez, parce que vous devancez mes paroles. formés à l’école du maître du ciel, vous écoutez attentivement ses leçons, vous les reproduisez avec piété ; aussi vous n’ignorez pas ce qui suit : « j’ai le pouvoir, dit-il, de donner mon âme, et j’ai le pouvoir de la reprendre. personne ne me la ravit ; mais je la donne et la reprends de moi-même ».80 à ce point saint augustin récapitule avec satisfaction en résumant tout son propos avec une expertise didactique de pointe dans l’exhortation suivante : je répète en peu de mots et je vous recommande de conserver dans vos esprits une vérité que je crois fort importante. le père n’est pas né de la vierge, c’est le fils ; mais cette naissance est l’œuvre du père et du fils. le père n’a point souffert sur la croix ; mais la passion du fils est l’œuvre du père et du fils. le père n’est point ressuscité d’entre les morts ; mais la résurrection du fils est l’œuvre du père et du fils. gardons-nous donc de dire que le père fait quelque chose sans le fils ou le fils quelque chose sans le père. demanderez-vous si parmi ses miracles jésus n’en a pas fait quelques-uns sans le père ? eh ! que deviendraient alors ces mots : « mon père, qui demeure en moi, fait luimême mes œuvres ? » ce que nous venons de dire était clair, il n’y avait qu’à l’énoncer ; aucun effort n’était nécessaire pour le comprendre, il suffisait de le rappeler.81 c’est à ce point que l’évêque d’hippone termine son exposé et la résolution des questions que les fratres studiosissimi avaient le désir de voir l’évêque résoudre. dans cetarticle, nous avons exploréle sermon 5 pour découvrir comment notre auteur explique aux fidèles l’inséparabilité du père et du fils dans leur agir dans 80ibid., s. 52,13 (rb 74, 24-25) : « nondum dixiquodpromisi, ponendi[io. 10, 18]dixi; sediamclamastis, quiapraeuolatis. eruditiquippeinscholamagistricaelestis, tamquamlectionesintente audientes, pie reddentes, quid sequatur non ignoratis: "potestatem", inquit, "habeo ponendi animam meam, et potestatem habeo iterum sumendi" "eam. nemo tollit eam a me, sed ego pono eam a me, et iterum sumo eam [io. 10, 18] ». 81ibid., s. 52, 14 (rb 74, 25) : « breviter replico, et rem utilissimam, quantum existimo, mentibus vestris collocandam commendo. pater non est natus de virgine : nativitatem tamen istam filii et pater et filius operatus est ex virgine. pater non est passus in cruce : passionem tamen filii et pater et filius operatus est. non resurrexit pater a mortuis : resurrectionem tamen filii et pater et filius operatus est. habetis personarum distinctionem, et operationis inseparabilitatem. non ergo dicamus aliquid patrem operari sine filio, aliquid filium sine patre. an forte miracula quae fecit iesus, movent vos, ne forte aliqua ipse fecerit, quae non fecit pater ? et ubi est : pater autem in me manens, ipse facit opera sua ? haec quae diximus plana erant, tantum dicenda erant : non laborandum ut intellegerentur, sed curandum ut commemorarentur ». igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 126 l’histoire, spécialement dans les différents événements qui ont marqué la mission du fils. sur la base de testimonia bibliques, et non sur quelque raisonnement emprunté à la philosophie néoplatonicienne, saint augustin a montré que dans les œuvres accomplies par le christ pour notre salut, il agit avec le père. mais en tout, c’est aussi toute la trinité qui agit. il faut alors montrer comment le saintesprit agit avec les deux autres personnes dans la mission du fils. le saint-esprit dans la mission salvifique du christ. dans le schéma argumentatif de saint augustin analysé jusqu’ici, l’on ne trouve pas le saint-esprit agissant avec les deux autres personnes dans les opérations ad extra et pour rester sur thème de notre recherche, dans la mission du fils. certainement les références bibliques nécessaires ne manquaient pas pour démontrer que le saint-esprit a coopéré à l’incarnation du fils. il le dit clairement d’ailleurs dans le s. 225, où il avertit les fidèles de se garder de l’erreur qui consiste à séparer le saint-esprit des œuvres qu’accomplit la trinité dans le monde, et souligne avec l’appui de l’évangile de l’annonciation et du témoignage d’un texte du livre des proverbes, que le christ est aussi l’auteur de son incarnation avec le saint-esprit : garde-toi, mon frère, de ne pas associer à cette œuvre immense de l’incarnation, l’esprit-saint. quelle œuvre immense en effet ! … les anges adorent la chair du christ siégeant à la droite du père ; et cette chair est surtout l’œuvre du saint-esprit ; c’est lui qui figure pour en être l’auteur lorsqu’un ange annonça à la sainte vierge qu’elle allait avoir un fils… la preuve de son dessein est donc dans ces paroles d’étonnement : « comment cela se fera-t-il, puisque je ne connais pas mon mari ? – comment cela se fera-t-il ? » – « l’esprit-saint descendra en vous », répliqua l’ange ; voilà comment s’accomplira cette œuvre ; « et la vertu du très-haut vous couvrira de son ombre ; aussi ce qui naîtra saint de vous, sera appelé le fils de dieu». que cette expression est juste : « vous couvrira de son ombre ». c’est pour détourner de votre virginité l’ardeur de la passion. d’elle aussi il fut dit, pendant qu’elle était enceinte : « il se trouva que marie avait conçu par l’esprit-saint ».le saint-esprit a donc formé réellement le corps du christ. le christ, le fils unique de dieu l’a formé également. comment le prouver ? c’est qu’il est dit à ce sujet dans l’écriture : « la sagesse s’est bâti une demeure ».82 82ibid., 225, 3 (pl 38, 1096) : « noli, frater, ab isto tanto opere separare spiritum sanctum. a quo tanto opere? non parvum opus, magnum opus sunt angeli: carnem christi sedentem ad dexteram patris adorant angeli. tale ergo opus operatus est maxime spiritus sanctus. in isto opere cognominatus est, quando sanctae virgini per igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 127 nous trouvons aussi dans les sermons des textes où le saint docteur affirme, on ne peut plus clairement, que le père, le fils et saint-esprit font tout ensemble. ainsi dans le s. 126 dont la date est située dans la fourchette d’années après 409 et avant 418,83 saint augustin dit au peuple : les œuvres du père ne sont pas autres que celles du fils ; car tout ce que fait le père, il le fait par le fils. le fils a ressuscité lazare. le père ne l’a-t-il pas en même temps ressuscité ? le fils a guéri l’aveugle-né ; le père ne l’a-t-il pas guéri avec lui ? le père agit par le fils dans le saint-esprit ; c’est une trinité de personnes, mais il n’y a qu’une seule action ; c’est la même majesté, la même éternité et la même coéternité, ce sont les mêmes œuvres. il n’y a pas des hommes créés par le père, ni d’autres par le fils, ni d’autres par l’esprit-saint ; le même homme est créé par le père, le fils et le saint-esprit ; le père, le fils et l’esprit-saint ne sont qu’un seul et même dieu créateur.84 l’évêque d’hippone ne relègue donc pas le saint-esprit à l’arrière-plan.85 si l’on ne traite pas les textes disponibles de façon isolée, son enseignement se saisit tout entier. en effet, selon lui, il n’y a jamais eu de séparation entre les trois personnes angelum futurus nuntiatus est filius. illa admiratio, propositi est testificatio: quomodo fiet istud, quoniam virum non cognosco? quomodo fiet? et angelus ad eam: spiritus sanctus superveniet in te. ecce quomodo fiet quod quaeris: et virtus altissimi obumbrabit tibi. “ideoque quod nascetur ex te sanctum, vocabitur filius dei.ˮ et bene dixit : “obumbrabit tib i: ne tua virginitas aestum libidinis sentiat. et cum praegnans esset, dictum est de illa : inventa est maria habens de spiritu sancto in uteroˮ. operatus est ergo spiritus sanctus carnem christi. operatus est et ipse unigenitus filius dei carnem suam. unde probamus ? quia inde ait scriptura : sapientia aedificavit sibi domum ». 83cf. p.-p. verbraken, études critiques sur les sermones de authentiques de saint augustin, instrumenta patristica xii steenbrugge: in abbatia s. petri, 1976, 84. notons que ch. mohrmann, pourrait aussi être classée dans ce groupe de chercheurs malgré l’incertitude qu’elle montre par rapport à l’année 417. elle suggère en effet 416 ou 417. berrouard quant à lui le situe avant 418. en somme, toujours dans la fourchette de date qui rime bien avec la date généralement acceptée. 84 aug., s. 126, 10 (rb 69 (1959), 188) : « non alia pater facit, alia filius facit, quia omnia quae pater facit, per filium facit. suscitavit lazarum filius, numquid eum pater non suscitavit ? illuminavit filius caecum, numquid pater non illuminavit ? illuminavit pater per filium in spiritu sancto. trinitas est, sed una operatio, una maiestas, una aeternitas, una coaeternitas, et opera eadem trinitatis. non alios homines creat pater, alios filius, alios spiritus sanctus. unum eumdemque hominem et pater et filius et spiritus sanctus creat. et pater et filius et spiritus sanctus unus deus creat ». 85 c’est ce qu’affirme avec force e. dryer en disant que dans la théologie et l’ecclésiologie de saint augustin “the spirit has not been relegated to a place in the wings, but is an existential force in the life of the individual believer and of the ecclesial community. augustine sees the spirit as a force, leading believers to full and mature knowledge of the things of god. the spirit also calls and empowers the church to the very difficult task of living in unity, loving, and forgiving one another”. e. dryer, spirituality as a resource for theology : the holy spirit in augustine, dans ead., minding the spirit, the john hopkins university press, baltimore 2005, 193. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 128 dans le temps ; car le temps n’est point en eux. le père, le fils, le saint-esprit sont un même dieu qui a créé le temps. on retrouve cette conviction du prédicateur d’hippone dans son s. 308/a où il exprime aussi avec force l’idée de la coéternité des trois : … car jamais le saint-esprit n’a été séparé du fils, non plus que le fils du saint-esprit, ni le fils du père, ou le père du fils, ou le saint-esprit du fils ou du père. mais une chose est que ces réalités soient comprises par une âme purifiée, leur manifestation visible en est une autre. il n’y a pas eu un temps où le père a précédé le fils, ni un temps où le fils vient après le père ; car en dieu le temps n’existe point. le père, le fils, le saint-esprit sont un même dieu qui a créé le temps. il n’y a donc point lieu de dire : le père est le premier, le fils le second. d’où vient le père, de là aussi vient le fils.86 s’agissant concrètement de la création, saint augustin commentant le texte de la genèse dans s. denis 2 (= 223/a) daté en 399, met en relief le fait que les trois personnes ont agi ensemble dans la création du monde. le saint-esprit est lui aussi clairement indiqué dans le processus qui porta à la révélation de la beauté de la création. sans faire mention de lui, le prédicateur n’aurait pas réussi à montrer la trinité créatrice. il dit : mais dieu avait déjà fait la terre avant de l’orner, avant d’en découvrir la beauté. « elle était invisible, sans ordre, et les ténèbres couvraient l’abîme ». les ténèbres couvraient ce que n’éclairait pas la lumière ; or, la lumière n’était point encore. « l’esprit de dieu était porté sur les eaux » ; cet ouvrier n’était point séparé du père, et du verbe, son fils unique. car, écoutons, voilà qu’on nous insinue la trinité nous dire en effet : « il fit dans le commencement », c’est nous faire comprendre l’essence du père et du fils, dieu le père, dans le fils commencement. il reste l’esprit-saint pour compléter la trinité : « l’esprit de dieu était porté sur les eaux ».87 86 aug., s. 308/a, 4 = s.denis 11, 4 (ma 1, 43-50) : « non enim a filio aliquando recessit spiritus, aut aliquando filius ab spiritu, aut aliquando filius a patre, aut pater a filio, aut spiritus a filio et patre ; sed aliter ista intelleguntur mente purgata, aliter oculis demonstrantur. nullo tempore praecedit pater filium, nullo tempore sequitur filius patrem; nullo tempore, quia ibi nullum tempus. pater et filius et spiritus sanctus, creator temporum, unus deus. ibi ergo non est ut dicas : prior est pater, posterior filius ; ex quo pater, ex illo filius ». la traduction française que nous avons utilisée a omis : « sed aliter ista intelleguntur mente purgata, aliter oculis demonstrantur ». nous avons donc apporté notre propre traduction à cette portion du travail. 87 id., s. 223/a, 3 = s. denis 2, 3 (ma 1, 13 ) : « terram autem fecit deus, adhuc ante quam ornaretur, ante quam eius species nudaretur. “invisibilis erat et incomposita, et tenebrae erant super abyssum”. tenebrae erant, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 129 mais ce n’est pas seulement dans les sermons que l’évêque d’hippone enseigne la vérité fondamentale de l’unité d’action et de l’inséparabilité de la trinité. dans le contexte de sa pastorale, nous retrouvons la même conviction clairement exprimée dans la lettre qu’il envoya à évode en 415. il indique l’idée de l’inséparabilité des actions du dieu un et trine : croyons donc avec une piété ferme, en un seul dieu, père, fils et saintesprit, sans croire que le fils soit le père, que le père soit le fils, et que celui qui est l’esprit de l’un et de l’autre, soit le père ou le fils. écartons de cette trinité toute idée de temps ni de lieux ; mais reconnaissons que ces trois personnes sont égales et coéternelles et qu’elles sont absolument une seule nature; que les créatures n’ont pas été formées, les unes par le père, les autres par le fils, d’autres par le saint-esprit, mais que tout ce qui a été ou est créé l’a été et subsiste par la trinité créatrice; que personne ne sera sauvé par le père sans le fils et le saintesprit, ou par le fils sans le père et le saint. esprit, ou par le saintesprit sales le père et le fils, mais par le père, le fils et le saint-esprit, dieu unique, véritable, vraiment immortel, c’est-à-dire de toute manière immuable.88 conclusion dans la théologie augustinienne, nous retrouvons une conviction de toute l’église qui atteste l’orthodoxie de sa doctrine : l’inséparabilité des personnes divines dans leurs opérations dans le monde, qui reflète leur vie intime caractérisée par leur union sans confusion. dans la prédication, cette idée se retrouve ça et là, mais c’est le s. 52 qui estle texte du corpusdans lequel se retrouve l’exposition la plus élaborée du thème. notre étude du s. 52 jusqu’ici ubi lux non erat ; nondum enim lux facta erat. “spiritus dei super ferebatur super aquas”, et ipse opifex, nec a patre et unigenito verbo seiunctus. nam ecce, si diligenter adtendamus, trinitas nobis insinuatur. ubi enim dicitur : in principio fecit intellegitur patris et filii: in principio filio deus pater. restat spiritus, ut trinitas impleatur : “spiritus dei superferebatur super aquas” ». 88 id., ep. 169, 2, 5 (csel 44, 616) : « proinde in unum deum, patrem et filium et spiritum sanctum firma pietate credamus ; ita ut nec filius credatur esse qui pater est, nec pater qui filius est, nec pater nec filius qui utriusque spiritus est. nihil putetur in hac trinitate temporibus locisve distare; sed haec tria aequalia esse et coaeterna, et omnino esse una natura: non a patre aliam, et a filio aliam, et a spiritu sancto aliam conditam esse creaturam; sed omnia et singula quae creata sunt vel creantur, trinitate creante subsistere, nec quemquam liberari a patre sine filio et spiritu sancto, aut a filio sine patre et spiritu sancto, aut a spiritu sancto sine patre et filio; sed a patre et filio et spiritu sancto, uno, vero, vereque immortali, id est omni modo incommutabili solo deo ». cf. s. 213, 6 (ma 1, 446) : « …inseparabilia enim sunt opera trinitatis ». igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 130 avec les autres importants textes sur cette question, nous convainquent sur les positions de saint augustin. le père a créé toutes choses par son verbe, et il ne gouverne pas le monde sans ce même verbe par qui il l’a créé. c’est le fils qui s’est incarné, c’est lui qui est né de la vierge marie, c’est lui qui a souffert la passion, qui est mort et qui est ressuscité. mais dans ces différentes étapes de sa mission dans le temps, les autres personnes de la trinité (le père et le saintesprit) jouent aussi leur rôle. nous avons compléter l’agir du père et du fils avec ce que dit saint augustin sur le rôle du saint-esprit en apportant des textes d’autres sermons. dans les paragraphes du sermon 52 que nous avons étudiés, saint augustin a fait une démonstration essentiellement ancrée dans les écritures et surtout sur les textes de saint paul auquel il attribue le titre d’expert en droit divin, à travers ce qu’il considère « documenta firmissima ». mais l’exposé du prédicateur d’hippone va bien au-delà des références bibliques.un autre important aspect de ce sermon 52 est l’usage des similitudes psychologiques pour faciliter l’intelligence de la foi dans le mystère qu’il présente aux fidèles dans la prédication du jour. cela fera l’objet d’une autre étude à travers laquelle nous offrirons un aperçu complet de ce riche sermon. références aumônier, e., la passion du christ dans la prédication de saint augustin, extrait de thèse, pug, roma 1983. ayres, l., “remember that you are a catholic”(serm. 52, 2). augustine on the unity of the triune god,dans jecs 8 (2000), 39 – 82. bardy,g.,saint paul juriste, dans recherches de science religieuse (1943), 209-210. cipriani,n.,la retorica negli scrittori cristiani antichi, institutum patristicum augustinianum, roma 2014. dryer,e., spirituality as a resource for theology: the holy spirit in augustine, dans ead., minding the spirit, the john hopkins university press, baltimore 2005, 193. duval,y.-m., saint augustin et le commentaire sur jonas de saint jérôme, dans reaug 12/1 (1966), 9-40. gallerand,h., la rédemption dans saint augustin, dans revue d’histoire et de littérature religieuse 8 (1922), 38-77 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 131 gunton, c., augustine, the trinity and the theological crisis of the west, dans sjth 43/01 (1990), 33-58. __., promise of trinitarian theology, t. & t. clark, edinburgh 1991. __., the trinity in modern theology, dans p. byrne-l. houlden-l. houlden (éds.), companion encyclopedia of theology, routledge, london 1995, 937– 957. __., trinity, ontology and anthropology, dans id. (éd), persons, divine and human, t. & t. clark, edinburgh 1991. hill, e.,(trad.), the works of saint augustine, a translation for the 21st century. new city press, brooklyn, new york 1990-1997 sermons iii/3: sermons 51 94, 63. kunzelmann, a., die chronologie der sermones des hl. augustinus, dans miscellanea agostiniana ii, studi agostiniani, tipografia poliglotta vaticana, roma, 1931417-520. labonnardière,a.-m., did augustine use jerome’s vulgate? dans p. bright (éd.), augustine and the bible, university of notre dame press, notre dame (indiana), 1999, 42-51. marrou,h.-i., histoire de l’éducation dans l’antiquité, éditions seuil, paris 1981. mellet, m.,le mystère de la sainte trinité : comment saint augustin prêchait la trinité aux fidèles d’hippone, dans la vie spirituelle, vol. 64 (1941), 401-421. rahner, k., remarks on the dogmatic treatise de trinitate, dans theological investigations, vol. 4: more recent writings, trad. kevin smyth, helicon press, baltimore 1966. rivière, j., le dogme de la rédemption chez saint augustin, gabalda et cie, paris 1933. sans, b., exercer l’invention ou (ré)inventer la controverse, dans exercice de rhétorique 5 (2015) rhétorique et citoyenneté. édition électronique. http:// rhetorique.revues.org/404. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 132 schindler, a. wort und analogie in augustins trinitätslehre, j.c.b. mohr (paul siebeck), tübigen 1965. smalbrugge, m., l’analogie réexaminée, dans revue d’histoire et de philosophie religieuses 69/2 1989, 121-134. verbraken, p.-p., études critiques sur les sermones de authentiques de saint augustin, instrumenta patristica xii steenbrugge: in abbatia s. petri, 1976. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.3. no.2 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 136 the growth of christianity and western education in mbano society of igboland, 1912-1990 mbalisi, chinedu nnaemeka, ph.d chidonzi@yahoo.com. department of history and international relations, paul university, awka & kanayo nwadialor, ph.d kl.nwadialor@unizik.edu.ng department of religion and human relations, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka abstract christianity and western education are two colonially induced institutions that emboldened european activities in igboland nay mbano society. the trajectory of their growth and spread remain unprecedented in the course of social change in the area. the pattern of growth and influence cannot be easily papered over. it is indeed, significant to the overall change and continuity of the history of mbano people. the nexus between christianity and western education and impact in mbano can be gleaned from the periscope of their activities that significantly reflected in the lives of the people. these impacts remained unstudied by historians and researchers of auxiliary disciplines. this paper interrogates the growth of christianity and western education in mbano and the extent to which their activities influenced the people and their way of life. it demonstrates that much of what is seen as european influence in mbano area remain the relics of christianity and western education. the orthodox historical-narrative method is employed and the work is presented chronological and thematically. sources were distilled from both primary and secondary materials. the qualitative research methodology was explored in analyzing the data used for the paper. introduction: background to the penetration of christianity into mbano area freed slaves were instrumental to bringing christianity and its spread in west africa and igboland in particular. before the permanent establishment of christianity in igboland in 1857, series of attempts were made by the collaborative efforts of the british government, c.m.s. missionaries and british traders to bring christianity and western form of civilization to igboland. in their expeditions of 1841 and 1854, aboh, an igbo community on the western bank of the niger in the present day delta state, was the centre of activities until 1857 when, due to great water inundation and certain economic considerations, the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 137 expedition team relocated from aboh to onitsha. in 1841 and 1857, simon jonas, an igbo ex-slave from sierra leone and a veteran of the niger expedition, preached the gospel at aboh. it was for this reason the elizabeth isichei referred to simon jonas as the apostle of igboland. so aboh stands as the first igbo community where christianity was preached, while onitsha takes the pride as the first igbo community where a permanent christian mission was established. edmund ilogu provided in some details, the arrival of christianity in igboland and its subsequent spread to the interior thus the definitive date was 27th july, 1857, when an agreement was finally executed between a missionary group led by samuel crowther, and obi akazua of onitsha and his councilors to establish a christian mission at onitsha, an igbo town on the eastern bank of the river niger.44 from onitsha, christianity spread further into the igbo hinterland. hence, onitsha has the pride of place in becoming the place of active beginning of the evangelization of igboland. before the arrival of christianity, the igbo interior was said to be under the grip of aro and nri religious and commercial influence. however, christianity found its route to owerri and closer to mbano, ikeduru and other towns around the area. the way to owerri was opened during the aro expedition of 1901-1902, when owerri was used as the garrison of the colonial army. it was from owerri that the first column of the nigerian regiment proceeded to bende from where arochukwu was attacked and the long juju destroyed. between1902 and1905, most towns in owerri district (old owerri province) were conquered and the rulers, the slave chiefs, subdued and brought under colonial rule.45 the colonial government had ordered that slaves held at arochukwu be released. it was most probably at that point, the ex-slave woman, nwanmgborie, who first brought christianity into mbano at ezeoke was freed. but before christianity came to mbano early in the second decade of the 20th century, between about 1912 and 1913, the pioneer missionaries, the church missionary society (cms) at onitsha, had been in search of a more possible center for mission work in owerri district. according to a. o. iwuagwu, the archbishop of owerri ecclesiastical province, in 1904, leslie probyn, suggested 44for details, see edmund ilogu, christianity and igbo culture: a study of the interaction of christianity and igbo culture. onitsha: university publishing company, 1974, pp.148-149 45 a.o. iwuagwu, the foundation of the anglican church in imo state, nigeria, 1905-2000, aba: nwamara publishers ltd. 2002, pp.8-9. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 138 to tugwel, the bishop of western equatorial africa, in charge of yoruba mission and niger mission, that owerri might prove a possible center for mission work in the district. leslie informed the bishop that the purest igbo language was probably spoken in owerri isuama area. after the initial hesitation, archdeacon dennis and an igbo catechist, a.c. onyeabo, visited owerri in april 1905 through oguta. on arrival, the missionaries were received by harold m. douglas, the district commissioner at owerri. the arrival of the c.m.s in owerri marked a change in the general pattern of missionary enterprise in igboland. after a long period of search for a suitable town in owerri, archdeacon dennis preferred egbu close to owerri. the movement of the c.m.s to egbu was facilitated by the decision of eze njemanze and his cabinet.46 it was from egbu that the missionaries spread to other towns within owerri province including some parts of okigwe district. christian missionaries first visited mbano area early in 1910, but they were unable to establish a church. a. o. iwuagwu states that “at anara, the gospel came to umuokpukpara, now ezihe as early as 1910 when rev. payne and jeremiah nkparu of nnewi visited the town. the church was not allowed to stay because the visit was not initiated by chief osunwa. for this reason quarrel ensured between osunwa and ekpemandu who brought the earlier church”.47 a second attempt at establishing christianity in mbano through anara also failed. bishop iwuagwu writes that, the african church was brought from kalabari to anara in 1912 by anara indigenes. but that church was not allowed to survive because chief agbugba and his people (chiefs) did not welcome it. the early converts were imprisoned by agbugba because they were alleged not to have respected the traditions of the land. they were accused of breach of peace because they preached about a new god. but the warning from the british resident at calabar and the fear of losing the church and his warrant compelled chief agbugba to restore the church.48 it seemed that the warning by the british resident at calabar influenced the establishment of the c.m.s at ezeoke and from where christianity began its spread in the area. the arrival, establishment and spread of christianity in mbano the formal establishment of christianity in mbano began with the story of an exslave woman by name nwanmgborie iwundu of ezeoke. she returned from 46 iwuagwu, the foundation of the anglican church,… pp.9-10 47 iwuagwu, the foundation of the anglican church,… p.104 48iwuagwu, the foundation of the anglican church,… p.103 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 139 arochukwu in 1912, and lived with her sister munonye, the wife of chief nwachukwu nwadigo. she had been sold to obinkita in arochukwu; was liberated by the church of scottish mission and was converted a christian. enchanted by the christian message and promises of eternal life, peace and education and fame, she was inclined to bring the same “good news” to her own people back home at ezeoke.49 nwanmgborie had converted her family members and sister munonye, the wife of chief nwachukwu. munonye had informed her husband that “his throne could be better boosted by his embracing the new religion called christianity with its blessings and promises.”50 chief nwachukwu showed keen interest. he agreed and arranged with his people to send his first son, daniel nwachukwu and some young men to arochukwu to ask for a church. he was encouraged by ambrose, the district officer at okigwe. bishop iwuagwu stated that after collecting €12 (twelve pounds), the young daniel nwachukwu and nwanmgborie, led a delegation to arochukwu, for this mission. there, they met a presbyterian minister, rev. richardson, who re-directed them to rev. a.c. onyeabo at egbu near owerri with a letter. daniel nwachukwu and his group returned and planned to go to egbu, but were duped by a man who claimed to be a church teacher. the man promised to lead them to egbu, but after he received the money, he was not seen again.51 as a result of the burning desire of the chief and his people, a fresh collection was made and a delegation was sent to egbu. while at egbu, rev. a. c. onyeabo directed them to ozala c.m.s. headquarters in onitsha for a teacher. the journey was made and on august 13, 1913, they returned with joseph chiejina as their first church teacher.52 the church was st. paul’s ezeoke (now the cathedral church ezeoke and headquarters of okigwe south diocese). st. paul’s ezeoke developed rapidly and became the mother church of converts for many churches in mbano, etiti and ekwereazu. from ezeoke, the c.m.s. spread to ikperejere, lowa, onicha uboma, umuowa and umunakanu in 1916; 49i.d.e anyadike, “the advent of christianity in igbo heartland” in church of nigeria silver jubilee commemorative album 2004 edition, owerri ecclesiastical province, pp.13 50 anyadike, p.87 51 iwuagwu, the foundation of the anglican church,… p.87 52 iwuagwu, p.87 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 140 agbaja, 1916; umuezeala nsu 1917; nzerem 1918; umunachi-onicha 1921; umunumo 1924; umueze ii 1918; umualumaku 1937, umuopara-owerre 1942, and umuopara nsu 1970.53 however, the ezeoke experience did encourage chiefs from other mbano towns, to bring christianity into their communities. the situation was such that the conversion of a chief in some cases ensured the chief would retain his warrant. hence, chiefs began inviting the missionaries into their communities. for instance, in 1912, chief agbugba of anara in osu-ama clan applied for the c.m.s via rev. a.c. onyeabo of egbu. it was granted with emmanuel chikwendu as the first church teacher. in 1915, with the visit of rev. payne to oka ugiri, a young juju priest – mazi onuegbu onwuka, became converted to christianity, and was renamed samuel onwuka. rev. payne, spencer and other mission teachers had visited oka in 1911. in oka, initial efforts made to bring christianity was said to have failed because, the people opposed the missionaries. mazi azubuike, the community leader of oka, was compelled to ask for a church teacher. it was the second visit by rev. payne in 1915 to oka, that the st. stephen’s church was established with a school. the colonial government disarmed oka as they did to atta and other places. during the initial persecution of the early converts, the church teacher’s property was destroyed and some converts were imprisoned for taking the chief’s subjects to church. one of the converts named edenji died in prison at okigwe. for that reason, chief azubuike’s warrant was suspended for three years. from oka the c.m.s evangelization was extended to umuoziri inyishi, obollo, ugiri, ogbor, umuneke, ibeme and other surrounding places. 53 iwuagwu, p.87 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 141 the churches established by the c.m.s are shown in table 6 below: table 1: churches established in the mbano and its neighbours these churches were located within mbano, ekwereazu, ihite uboma okwelle and etiti. within the ikeduru axis, a number of churches were established through egbu. a similar scenario in terms of resistance and conflict situations played out. christianity reached amawo-atta in ikeduru in 1911. at the time s/n villages name of church and year oka st. stephen’s 1915 obollo st. paul’s (later holy trinity church) 1916 umuneke emmanuel anglican church, 1916 ibeme st. mary’s, 1926 umunkwo st stephen’s, 1915 amaraku st. peter’s, 1917 amuzari st. john’s, 1917 anara st. andrew’s, 1915 ezihe st. john’s 1919 okwelle st. andrews’, 1915 ezumoha c.m.s., 1918 okohia-osu st. michael’s, 1917 eziama st. michael’s, 1919 umueze st james, 1917 umuihim –etiti st. cyprian’s, 1916/1920 umuawuchi st. paul’s, 1916 umuduru st john’s, 1918 ihiteafoukwu st, james’, 1918 umukabia st. philip’s, 1919 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 142 also, two ikeduru chiefs namely chief nwigwe of umuhu atta and chief njoku nwanshi of akabo had been oppressing their people. as the news about happenings in neighbouring communities reached the amawo youths (agegrade), they invited the c.m.s church to atta. the c.m.s was at the time described as “egbe ada” (or the church that stops shooting war). some persons from amawo-atta had visited abazu where they met with the foreign missionary, mrs. hensley, sister of archdeacon dennis. atta people were impressed by the preaching of the mission, the education which abazu converts received at the time, and the peace the presence of the c.m.s brought to neighbouring ogwa community. the amawo elders therefore approached chief esiemeje of abazu, who connected them with chief oparaeke of abazu mbieri. oparaeke willingly accompanied amawo elders to egbu where they met with rev. brown. following the request by amawo people, jacob opara was posted to st. mathews amawo atta, in 1911 as their first church teacher. christianity at atta at its early stage faced some difficult times because chief nwigwe mbachu, of umuhu atta made life miserable for the new converts. he opposed the christian religion because of its attack on traditional religion. he punished early converts such as mr. azubuike, mr. nwoleke, mr. iwuchukwu, mr. abunachu and mr. ezete. chief nwigwe also subjected others to all sorts of hard tasks. mr. nwoleke and iwuchukwu had died in the prison. in spite of persecutions, converts at atta and its environs continued to practice their newly introduced christian religion. from amawo, the church spread to umuhu, umuafa, ikembara, inyishi, iho, amaimo, umuri, umunkwo and other towns. however, with time atta produced the first indigenous anglican bishop of the diocese of owerrihis lordship bishop nwankiti.54 the following churches were established in the area over the years; st. mathew’s amawo-atta, 1911; st. paul’s umuhu-atta, 1918; st. barnabas umudim, 1917; st jude’s umuafa atta, 1918; holy trinity iho dimeze, 1916; st. john’s, owuamakohia, 1912 (the church was brought by the trio of afufunwa nwipe, ihejirika nwagwu, and asogu ikemenogo, who on their way to the shrine of igwekala in umuneoha saw a c.m.s. sign board, “egbe ada”). others were st. andrew’s umuoti inyishi 1914; st. peter’s umuoziri 1916; st. james’s amaimo 1917; st. john’s umuri 1921; emmanuel church amaimo 1932; st. simon ugirike 1916, (where the bible was described by the people as “ukwu nri ewu”bunch of 54 iwuagwu, pp.59-60 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 143 goat feed); st. stephen’s amaeke inyishi 1917; st. philip’s ikembara 1917; st. andrew’s uzoagba 1914, and st. andrew’s akabo 1916.55 the fast spread of churches in mbano and its neighbours, especially between 1914 and 1919, during the world war 1 years, was, as nwadike contends, attributed to an overzealous court clerk, stephen oranye. he worked with mr. c.a.b. cochrane, the district officer in okigwe division. oranye arbitrarily announced to the chiefs of okigwe that any of them who failed to establish a church in his area of jurisdiction ran the risk of losing his warrant. this triggered an unprecedented enthusiasm as the chiefs went all out and brought christianity into all communities within mbano territories, ikeduru, etiti and ekwereazu.56 these early churches were mainly built with red mud and thatch. some chiefs’ houses were used as churches until their community was able to erect one. for instance, in ugiri clan of mbano, in 1917, the roman catholic mission (r.c.m) on its arrival was the first to establish in umuebie quarter of ugiri town within the compound of chief duruokwara. the church was attended by all and sundry who professed the roman catholic doctrine within and around ugiri clan.57 growth of christianity and western education in mbano area the establishment of christianity, as noted earlier, was not without resistance. resistance in mbano came mainly in respect to the provision of land for the citing of church buildings. it also took the form of individual communities resisting attending churches in the houses of chiefs. the r.c.m. at umuopara ugiri was one such example. bones ojiah writes that: early in 1926, the young catholics of umuopara ugiri described as the “the boys” felt that the distance they were covering to attend church services, ‘mass’, and other committed activities was not conducive to their health, especially, during rainy season. of course this situation coupled with non-availability of enough space to accommodate them in the church hall triggered off crisis between “the boys” and chief duruokwara. eventually, the church building was demolished and 55 iwuagwu, pp.59 56anyadike in “the advent of christianity in igbo heartland…,” p.13. 57 c.o. bones, ojiah, early history of ugiri clan..., p.59. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 144 later, another new church building was set up at nkwo mbaa.58 the coming of the church in some communities created conflict situations which impacted on inter-group relations. there was a clash between the new religion and traditional religion, custom and cultural festivals, values and societal norms. the years 1920-1960 witnessed the establishment of mainly the c.m.s. and r.c.m and other denominations in almost all communities in mbano and those of the neighbouring communities. each community had its own church, but was grouped under different parishes and dioceses. the impact of christianity on inter-group relations was largely felt through various church activities such as youth programmes, conferences, and anniversary celebrations, among many others. through these activities, people from different communities, who attended such programmes, came into contact. it was indeed, an avenue for interaction between people. such interactions helped build relations among individuals and communities over time. it is also instructive, that, the missionaries, alongside the churches, introduced western education. one of the most revolutionary influences operative in nigeria since the beginning of the european intrusion has been western education.59 from the very beginning, western education was a virtual monopoly of the christian missions. a.v. murray, observes that, to all intents and purposes, the school is the church. right away in the bush or in the forest, the two are one, and the village teacher is also the village evangelist. an appreciation of this fact is cardinal in all considerations of african education.60 ozigbo correctly stated that europe or the christian missions did not bring the concept and practice of education to igboland. the igbo had their traditional 58 ojiah. p.59 59the concept “western education” (as distinguished from traditional african education) is employed herein to refer to formal and systematic instruction in subjects characteristics of the curricula used in western countries (reading, writing and arithmetic as core subjects, to which are added courses in the humanities, arts and science). this system of instruction was designed to standardize the training of young people not only in the values of modern industrialized and necessary skills for meaningful participation in that society. 60 a. victor murray, the school in the bush, london: penguin books, 1929, p.65 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 145 system of education. what the europeans brought was the western type of education.61 he further explained that, long before 1858 in igboland, traditional system of education was largely informal, in that it had neither fixed venues (schools) for its practice nor professional teachers or graded durations (classes 1,2,3,etc; years 1,2,3 or intervals of rest/ holiday). it was also non-literate in that, it did not utilize reading of books or writing. it transmitted knowledge and skills orally through parents and adults, relations and acquaintances to the young, adolescents and adults. the teaching profession in igboland, he stated, was an adjunct of school education which had spread from onitsha to other igbo areas through the agencies of the cms and the rcm especially. schools spread to igbo areas like awka, udi, nsukka, abakaliki, owerri, orlu, aba and okigwe, etc62. education was under the direct control of missionaries. as late as 1942 they controlled 99 percent of the schools and more than 97 percent of the students in nigeria were enrolled in mission schools. by 1945, there were comparatively few literate nigerians who had not received all or part of their education in mission schools.63 the first school built in mbano was st. paul’s mission schools, osu (later osu central school), built by the c.m.s about 1914/15. pupils attended the school from different communities in mbano, such as obollo, ogbor, amaraku, mbeke, umunkwo, oka, amuzari and okwelle in onuimo etc. many people trekked to st. paul’s osu due to the perceived dividends of being educated as in colonial nigeria. the expected dividends encouraged other communities to establish schools. the communities contributed both in human and material resources for the purpose. by 1930, for instance, the six towns in ugiri clan -ugirinna, obollo, umuneke, ogbor, oka, and ibemehad an elementary school each under the management of the nsu parish priest, rev. father howell.64 the schools were built by the communities. in 1933 and 1942, rev fr. howell who managed the six r.c.m. schools transferred the central school at ibeme to what was considered a more central place, that is, at umuebie ugiri (a village in ugiri town) where they got a communal virgin land. the land was regarded as ajo ohia, evil forest. the catholic christians of ugiri cleared the area for the transfer of the central school 61 r.i. ozigbo, a history of igboland…, p.119 62 ozigbo, a history of igboland, … pp. 119-120 63 for details see, ten year educational plan, nigerian session paper no. 6,/1944, p.13 64 ojiah, early history of ugiri clan… p.119 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 146 at ibeme. the school was established at its present location as st. michael’s central school ugiri at umuebie. the relocation of the school to umuebie was strongly opposed by ibeme people. however, the efforts to retain the school at its earlier site proved abortive. in a swift reaction to the re-location, ibeme people approached one mr. port-johnson at port-harcourt, who promised to establish a branch of his enitonia school at ibeme. consequently, on february 28, 1944, it had the traditional ruler of ibeme, chief/eze christopher ohiaeriaku okorie, isiala11 of ibeme as its manager; chief stephen ihekaire, as its proprietor and mr. jonah ngigia, a native of tombia in river state, as its first headmaster. in 1947, the government took over the administration of the school. in 1949, the school produced its pioneer standard six certificate holders who included some people from ibeme who later became prominent. these were his lordship, rev. dr. gregory ochiagha, former bishop of orlu catholic diocese, justice j. ihekaire, former chief judge of imo state and mr. louis nwanguma, to mention these few.65 by 1932, the c.s.m. had built the central school, obollo and the r.c.m built st. theresa’s school (later community primary school, obollo) in 1935. the district officers conducted regular inspection to ensure the hygienic condition of the schools. in 1948, the year the eclipse of the sun occurred, tragedy struck at central school obollo. according to c.c. opara, who was a pupil and an eye witness, “it was announced that government inspectors were coming to inspect the school facilities. the pupils were asked to dig a pit toilet for the school. in the process, the toilet caved in and a number of pupils were buried alive. however, some people were rescued including mr. joseph onyekebi.”66 mr. onyekebi who confirmed the incident, died a few months after the writers field work in 2011. many other primary schools were established by the missionaries within mbano and its neighbours. some of these schools include central school umueze 11, built by the c.m.s. (popularly called ‘school nwobiji’). nwobiji was the chief who attracted st. stephen’s church at duruegwele community) in 1920; st. andrew’s mission school, okwelle in 1920 built by the c.s.m. and st. charles in 1921, built by the r.c.m., under rev. fr. folly. in 1920, central school eziama 65 ojiah, p.119 66 c.c. opera interview cited in c.n. mbalisi, “change and continuity in isiala mbano…p.79 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 147 was built, and later in 1922, isiala primary school oboh, was built by the r.c.m. there was also the group school eziama built in 1944.67 it is instructive that most of these primary schools occupied the same compound with the churches. some of the schools developed with time and came to their peak in the 1940s and 1950s. however, by 1960, there were many elementary schools located in mbano communities. most communities had one, while others had two or more. there was no secondary school in mbano before 1960. but from the 1960s to 1990, almost all communities in the area had a secondary school. the first secondary school in mbano was the st. thomas aquinas model secondary school located in anara. the school was built in 1962.68 impact of christianity and western education in mbano the introduction of christianity and western education brought remarkable changes in the socio-political, economic and cultural relations. ozigbo rightly pointed out since man is mortal, every society must perpetuate itself physically by procreation and socially by process of education. through education, the customs, values, beliefs, skills and so on, are passed on from generation to generation. without this, the society would disintegrate. the new generation must be taught the way of thinking and behaving which preserved the society in the past and are believed to keep it in the future. the function of education is to mould individuals to the social norm. 69 this situation applies to the area of this study. but it was not everyone who desired to be educated had the privilege. the few who did had mainly elementary and secondary education. the reason was that the colonial administration had no interest in tertiary education. those who acquired 67the details see, bones ojiah, early history of ugiri clan…, pp.101-125., a.o iwuagwu, the foundation of anglican church in imo state, nigeria, 1905-2000, pp.156-166. 68chief innocent ikemenogo, c. 68 years, retired teacher, interviewed at umulolo oboh osu-ama, 24/08/2010. 69 ozigbo, a history of igboland, … p.119 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 148 secondary education went to owerri, umuahia or ife grammar school. among such people were people like chief john onyenze of obollo, samuel mbalisi, chief egbuziem, peter ekezie, and senator b.c. agunanne. ozigbo observed that, the christian missionaries, who were the main providers of western education in igboland, were generally not interested in tertiary education. it was not until the 1960s that the first tertiary institution was opened in igboland, the university of nigeria, nsukka.70 mbano and its neighbours like most other igbo rural communities began to have secondary schools in the post-colonial era. infrastructure development: health and pipe-borne water provision of health facilities and pipe-borne water were part of colonial infrastructure. according to ozigbo, “a veritable revolution occurred in medicare services in 20th century igboland. its history, in fact, dates back to the 1890s. it was the christian missionaries who pioneered the introduction of western medical practice in igboland.71 before the arrival of british administrators in mbano in 1906, the people depended on herbs, native doctors (dibia ngborogwu) and diviners (dibia afa) for their health related concerns. women gave birth in their homes, under the supervision of older and experienced women. the medical needs of the people were settled through the use of herbs gathered from the bush and forest. different types of roots were used to cure diseases and other sicknesses. it is a truism that the christian missionaries brought western medical practice into igboland. however, it took quite a significant long period of time, before it spread to all parts of igboland and indeed mbano area. ozigbo writes that the missionaries built health facilities in some cities around igboland. for instance, the roman catholic mission built a dispensary at onitsha in 1886 and began attending to sick people in 1890: the mary slessor hospital was built at itu in 1906, by the presbyterian church. the queen elizabeth hospital was built at umuahia by the methodist and anglican churches,72 in the 1950s. before 1906, there were neither hospitals nor dispensaries in the area. herbert oguine noted that the thing we call health centers and hospitals today were not known here. it was when the ‘white man’ came, in fact, when churches were built in the 1920s, that maternity homes were cited in some places. the first was at umuduru where the ‘white man’ lived. it was that early maternity that later became mbano joint hospital in the 1960s. communities in mbano with the help 70 ozigbo, a history of igboland, … p.123 71 ozigbo, a history of igboland, … p.128 72 ozigbo,pp.128-129 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 149 of the colonial administrators and missionaries73 jointly built the hospital. people who had one minor health need or the other had a missionary maternity within mbano to attend. many with severe health problems were referred to queen elizabeth hospital at umuahia. the c.m.s was largely instrumental in establishing maternity homes in mbano communities from the 1920s. these maternities were supervised by british doctors and trained nurses from iyi-enu, ogidi where the medical mission, onitsha was relocated in 1907. bishop iwuagwu noted that, such doctors extended their services to maternities in owerri province. for instance, in 1942, dr. rosevera worked at egbu from where he also inspected the maternities in parts of owerri district. in the 1950s, dr. dorothy dykes also worked faithfully at iyi-enu. the nursing school at that mission hospital has also played a major role in the training of nurses and other para-medical staff sent to the maternities. it was only in the 1950s and 1960s that other hospitals were set up to support the health care delivery provided by iyienu and the queen elizabeth hospitals.74 the c.m.s established some maternity homes in some mbano communities and those of its neighbours with limited number of beds. these include atta maternity (atta parish) with 8 beds; amainyi maternity (etiti parish) with 8 beds; ekwe maternity with 4 beds75 et cetera. a few of other maternity homes were said to have been closed down because of lack of patronage, scarcity of patients and unhealthy rivalry. besides, each of the maternity homes got trained midwives who helped the mothers from neighbourhood in child delivery and baby care. from the beginning, there had always been medical officers or supervising midwives that supervised the health centres. they inspected the cleanliness of maternities, the performance of the midwives, and of the maternity, and made their reports to the missions. the establishment of these maternity homes marked a paradigm shift from the nature of health care in the area. it was yet another addition to colonial infrastructure. its impact on inter-group relations was quite enormous. for instance, people from ogbor, obollo, amaraku, isu, and anara etc went to umuelemai to receive medical attention. sometimes people from ogbor trekked to obollo to board cars to umuelemai. as people went to the health centres, they met and interacted with others from different communities. the meeting of the 73 herbert oguine interview cited. 74 a.o iwuagwu, the foundations of anglican church…, p. 169 75 iwuagwu, p.170 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 150 people contributed in building new friendly relations between peoples. in fact, the movements of people to and from the health centres constituted forms of interactions among the people. the maternities attended to the converts, who were in need of health challenges. mbano was not as lucky as some igbo areas that enjoyed large presence of colonial infrastructure in terms of secondary schools and hospitals. for instance, the only maternity home at obollo ugiri served ugiri, parts of mbama, osu and ehime clans in 1942. according to bones ojiah, the idea of establishing the maternity home at obollo in the year 1942 was propounded by ugiri, osu, ehime and mbama chiefs, councilors and the tax payers themselves after holding several meetings. the district officer in-charge of okigwe division at the time was mr. d.a.f. shute w ho after consulting the appropriate medical authorities and got the establishment approved.76 following the completion of the maternity block, it was agreed among all the groups of towns and parties concerned (the native authority) that the r.c.m emekuku be invited to take over the management since they had the man power and other resources to sustain the maternity home in the face of the world war ii eventually, the catholic mission authorities emekuku took up the supervision till the end of the war. controversy over the management of the maternity home arose between ugiri progressive union (u.p.u) and the administrative set up of the maternity. it was the religious politics over the control of the maternity home between the r.c.m. on the one hand and the c.m.s on the other that caused the relocation of the maternity home to umuelemai in 1949 under mr. l.t. chubb, the ag. resident.77 more health centres and hospitals were built in the post-colonial era in the area by government and individuals. another colonial infrastructure introduced into mbano was pipe borne water, though not widespread until the post-colonial era. e.e. obilor observed that, 76 bones ojiah, early history of ugiri clan…, pp. 135-137 77 ojiah, pp. 137-139 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 151 pipe-borne water in the length and breadth of mbano during the colonial era was a rarity. it was the ‘nwa dc’ (the name given to the colonial officers in many igbo communities) that established the first type of pipeborne water at umuduru in the late 1940s. the establishment was for the colonial officers and his administrators.78 the main source of water supply to the local people remained the streams and springs found in many mbano communities. examples of such springs are oramiriokwa in ugiri, agbaja and umuelemai in the 1920s. there are many streams in almost all the communities in mbano and its neighbours. these streams served the water needs of the people. however, bones ojiah noted that, the colonial officer erected a water reservoir at umuelemai. pipes were installed to carry the water into the do’s residence. the youths provided the labour.79 in fact, the coming of christianity and western education contributed to the gradual development and modernization of mbano area. conclusion it is a fact of history that christianity and western education are two colonial institutions of note that brought significant changes in nigeria, igboland and indeed mbano society. the arrival of both institutions challenged the foundation of african culture and life style. to say the least, christianity and western education had both negative and positive consequences on the society and its people. for one, they introduced western infrastructure such as church buildings, schools, hospital/maternity homes built and owned by the church. there are also such things as pipe borne water, motorable transportation and european styled houses and dress code. there was the introduction of european banking system and salaried white collar jobs, european goods and service and christian organisations into mbano area. these institutions largely influenced the attitude of the people towards their culture and tradition. on the second hand, christianity and western education relegated igbo traditional belief system to the background. this provided the nexus for the total disregard for igbo culture, tradition, norm and value systems. in fact the negative influences witnessed in aspects of igbo life are attributed to activities of these two 78 e. e. obilor interview cited 79 ojiah, p. 78 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 152 institutions. nonetheless, christianity and western education contributed to the contours and dynamics of modernisation and infrastructural development in mbano society and igboland at large with its attendant distortions in the culture of the people. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 6.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 141 the status of minority languages in nigeria: a study of tiv, edo, mbube, bassa-nge and bassa-kwomu languages anidobe, c. j. department of igbo and other nigerian languages nwafor orizu college of education nsugbe, anambra state tinachux@yahoo.com & nwizu, p. c. school of general studies alvan ikoku federal college of education owerri, imo state paulinecnwizu@gmail.com abstract language is a tool of social definition and development. this owes to the fact that no society understands its views and hopes without language and no society with different languages can develop without solving her linguistic problems. however, some countries have not been able to understand this fact and tackle linguistic challenges properly. nigeria is an example, as much of nigeria’s languages which help majority of nigerians understand nigeria’s ideologies and goals better when spoken in their varying tongues remain underused and underdeveloped. this paper thus, adopts the sociolinguistic principles by william labov to enquire into the status of tiv, edo, mbube, bassa-nge and bassa-kwomu languages among the numerous nigerian minority languages. the paper observes thattiv language has high level of acceptance among its speakers, but has no standard orthography yet, it gains some institutional support to aid its development and enjoys wide extent of usage though limited to the environment of its native speakers. edo language which is better referred to as benin language following arguments by other language speakers equally share similar status as tiv in its speech community. mbube language has good acceptability with no orthography nor institutional support and is confined to extremely informal usage while bassa-nge and bassa-kwomu which do not enjoy much acceptance among their speakers, have no standard orthography nor institutional support and their usage are equally limited to informal situations. finally, the paper recommends that people express strong commitment to their respective indigenous languages. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 142 key words: language, speech community, orthography, acceptance, institutional support 1.0. introduction nigeria today is a country that is inhabited by several groups of people historically organized by nature and events into a collection of kingdoms, tribes, clans and villages that were once politically independent of one another, possessed, and still possess their independent cultures and traditions, as well as their languages. the independence of these kingdoms, tribes, clans and villages was witnessed prior to the coming of the colonialists who came with their ideologies as well as their language (english), imposed them on the people and subsequently, forcefully merged them into one political entity that is today called nigeria. consequently, the linguistic state of the country nigeria is surely, one that can largely be regarded as a multilingual one. this owes to the fact that nigeria as a country has many ethnic groups and languages. these ethnic groups and languages, to a great extent, collectively determine the nature of the country; her political strength, power and continental status as the dubbed ‘giant of africa’. this situation of course has its attendant challenges as these variable ethnic and linguistic units battle for recognition and supremacy over one another; especially the three dominant tribes in nigeriaigbo, hausa and yoruba. the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria recognized the need to resolve this and also to inculcate some level of her linguistic identity within her status as an independent country and thus, granted the status of ‘official language’ to the languages of these three dominant ethnic groups. however, this move though commendable, has not solved the country’s linguistic issues as most nigerians cannot speak all three official languages nor can majority of nigerians from other minor ethnic groups speak these recognized official languages. consequently, english language has come to become the language that is used in almost all official activities, both at the federal, regional, state and sometimes, even down to the family level. this excessive use of the english language has resulted in the relegation of virtually all nigeria’s indigenous languages to the background; as they now occupy inferior or minor position when compared to the english language. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 143 from the fore-going therefore, the scope of this work is limited to sociolinguistics as studying the status of the minority languages in nigeria will be limited to sociolinguistic perspective which investigates language in relation to its environment. the aim of this work is to look into the status of nigeria’s minority languages by studying the level of acceptance, the state of orthography, extent of usage and institutional support given to them. the languages under study are : tiv, edo, mbube, bassa-kwomu and bassa-nge languages, which are selected minority languages in nigeria. the following research questions will be adopted to help achieve the aims of this work: i. what is the level of acceptance of tiv, edo, mbube, bassa-kwomu and bassa-nge languages, respectively? ii. what is the state of the orthography of tiv, edo, mbube, bassakwomu and bassa-nge languages, respectively? iii. have tiv, edo, mbube, bassa-kwomu and bassa-nge languages and their speakers received any institutional support in promotion of the languages? iv. what is the extent of usage of tiv, edo, mbube, bassa-kwomu and bassa-nge languages, respectively? the limitations encountered in this work include time constraint, possible subjective responses of some of the respondents and the hoarding of valuable information by the respondents. however, qualitative efforts will be made to address these shortcomings as much as possible so as to achieve a reliable result. significantly, the work is valuable as it creates an insight into how somenigerian languages which are symbols of the country’s identity are being treated and how underdeveloped many of them remain. it equally evokes a mind-provoking resolve from the reader to treat one’s language better. 2.0. review of literature this section of the study takes a look at the works of some writers and researchers who have done similar works or works which prove relevant to the one being done here. the works of these writers and researchers will be discussed under theoretical studies, empirical studies and theoretical framework. 2.1. theoretical studies igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 144 first, let us look at the words of ferguson (1962) in his explanation of what language situation is all about. in his opinion, language situation is a total configuration of language use at a given time and place including such data as how many and what kinds of language are spoken in the area, by how many people, under what circumstances and what the attitudes and beliefs about languages held by the members of the communities are. it is based on these facts that the growth of a language or even its death can be determined or estimated. equally, languages are on these facts categorized according to their sociocultural, educational and political levels of importance, as well as determining the status of a language as a minority or majority language. the fact that people have great attachment to language can be understood through sapir (1970)’s expression that language is a tool of significant experience. capo (1990) justifies this as he wrote thus, “when it is considered that language is closely related to culture in that it is an expression of the common cultural experiences of the members of a linguistic community who speak it, this point underscores the socio-cultural value of language to man.” this is an undeniable fact and it is equally fact that all languages are indeed, socio-culturally valuable to man irrespective of its status as a minority or a majority language; as long as it is still spoken and used by a give population of people for communicative purpose. a given language situation does not in any way render a language less important to any other. according to williamson (1990:118), “a language is only described as ‘minority’ language if it co-exists with one or more ‘majority’ languages”. this is of course a point we agree with and in the words of capo (1990:2), the minority-majority reference about languages in nigeria are expressed thus: …it has become conventional, in this country to refer to three languages (hausa, igbo and yoruba) as the ‘major’ languages on the basis of number of speakers (each ofthe three languages has by far a larger supportingspeaker population than any of the other languages, and together, the three languages account for over 60% of thenigerian population) and official status, i.e. in terms of government recognition and use at various levels, particularly national and state, and for various purposes.the remaining languages are by igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 145 implication deemed to be‘minor’ in a vague indeterminate sense. however, this is not a generally held view because there are various angles from which various writers, authors and researchers view the issue regarding the minority-majority status of nigerian languages. consequently, this same author postulates thus: “…while the three main languages are argued by some to be ‘major’, they are hardly perceived to be ‘dominant’ in a pervasive sense, a status that is reserved for english.” it is based on this angle that some other people view all nigerian languages as minority languages when viewed alongside the english language. various theories of sociolinguistics have been proposed by several theorists to explain this phenomenon of language status as well as the relationship between language and the society. a sociolinguist, william labov proposed sociolinguistic principles to show the relevance of social variables in relation to language. dell hymes proposed to help study the factors that determine how people use language through his ethnography of communication paradigm. another is john gumperz; a scholar who proposed sociolinguistics to study the interaction between individuals through his idea of interactional sociolinguistics. these theories are very handy to researchers and indeed sociolinguistics theory lends huge support to this work. 2.2. empirical studies some researchers have conducted similar researches on the status of nigerian languages in general. in the research conducted byezenwafor and ezenwafor (2010) on the place of nigerian languages in the era of globalization, with particular reference to the igbo language, they observed and put forward their findings by stating that the igbo language is fast losing grounds in the face of numerous challenges posed by globalization and suggested production of modern films using igbo language, the revitalization of the translation field and a language attitude change of the indigenous igbo speakers to help revitalize the language. globalization here means the creation of a world society in which the image of a nation-state and national identity had given way to a worldwide social interactionconfer okeke and ohaeto (2010). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 146 ifechelobi (2010) on her own part conducted a research on the relevance of minority nigerian ethnic groups and languages to national unity. in her study, she observed that many of nigeria’s minority languages still remain underdeveloped and maintained that every language is capable of being developed sufficiently and rapidly too by the expansion of the vocabulary to cope with any aspect of knowledge, including science and technology. she then suggested that a cost minimizing strategy of implementation that will allow segmentation of the implementation can be adopted over a period of time until the overall task is completed. 2.3. theoretical framework among the sociolinguistic theories already identified in this work, the sociolinguistic theory by william labov will be adopted to study the status of some minority languages in nigeria such astiv, edo, mbube, bassa-nge and bassa-kwomu languages. william labov proposed this theory in 1968. the theory analyzes data by studying the demographic, social and linguistic characteristics of the speaker and his language within a given speech community and describes their relationship adequately. the strength of the theory therefore rests on the fact that unlike many other sociolinguistic theories, it favourably links structures of linguistic theory with time and other social and extra-linguistic variables, including the use of statistical data. more relevant to this work is that this theory broke the rule of what is referred to aselitist language attitude where only popular languages are studied; thus, advocating and advancing the study of minority languages as well. 3.0. research methodology the various methods and considerations employed for this research work will be discussed in this section. these include the area of the study, the methods of data collection, the method of data presentation, as well as the method of analysis used. 3.1. area of study the work concentrates on the field of sociolinguistic. thus, it bases on the various social factors or events which provide various degrees of evidence to the status of tiv, edo, mbube, bassa-nge and bassa-kwomu languages. 3.2. method of data collection igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 147 information of data for this work was obtained through various reliable sources. these sources include textbooks, online journals and research-papers, as well as unstructured interview. making use of interviews is to ensure that first-hand information are obtained from some credible respondents as this will equally ensure that biased information are controlled to ensure credible result at the end of the work. 3.3. method of data presentation and analysis being a study of the status of tiv, edo, mbube, bassa-nge and bassa-kwomu languages based on sociolinguistic principles by william labov, the information obtained were thoroughly evaluated and adequately described. the various information obtained through evidence from texts and interviews were thoroughly studied to ensure that confusion and ambiguities are dispersed. the status of the languages under study were then discussed or described based on four factors which include the level of acceptance or interest shown in the language, the state of orthography of the various languages, institutional supports which have been given to each of the languages as well as the ones still being given to them, and also, the extent to which the languages are used. 4.0. the status of tiv, edo, mbube, bassa-kwomu and bassa-ngelanguages the discussion on the status of these minority languages identified and spoken in various places in nigeria and by an identified nigerian population will be based on certain angles or aspects ranging from: i. level of acceptance ii. the state of their orthography iii. institutional support to the languages and their speakers, to iv. extent of usage these points will in no small measure, help us to adequately discuss each of these five languages with equal attention. 4.1. the status of tiv as a minority language in nigeria the tiv language is a part of the southern bantoidtivoid family, a branch of benue–congo and ultimately of the niger–congolanguage-family. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 148 4.1.1. level of acceptance of tivlanguage by its speakers the tiv language is spoken by over three million people in nigeria, with a few speakers in cameroon. most nigerian tiv speakers are found in benue state of nigeria. the language is also widely spoken in the nigerian states of plateau, taraba, nasarawa, cross river, as well as the federal capital territory (fct) abuja. according to gundu (1990), an average tiv child grows up not only speaking the tiv language; he also learns the oral literature which comes in the forms of “kwagh-ahir” (story telling); oral poetry of “atsam” or “imo”, riddles called “kikya” or proverbs known as “anzaakaa”. it is later, while at school that he comes in contact with the written literature; starting with its rudimentary form of primes like hen tivdedoo or uhiihii. according to udu (2009), as quoted by sar (2012), researches on tiv as a language began with the advent of the early european missionaries who saw the need to develop this language that is today spoken by over 3 million people. people like r. c. abraham, rev. w. a. malherbe, gerald terpstra, eugene rubingh and carl hoffman among others took interest in the language and made several efforts towards the development of tiv language. their efforts for researching into and developing the tiv orthography are worth commending. in fact, these europeans knew nothing about the structure of the tiv language but out of interest, they applied their linguistic knowledge of the english in their study of tiv. again, the natives who must have been their resource persons were not educated or literate so to say, as to competently assist in these researchers’ efforts. this thus means that tiv speakers have pride and favourable disposition towards the language. thus, it can be said that the level of acceptance of the tiv language held by its speakers is high. 4.1.2. institutional support to tivlanguage and the role of government according to ikpa (1965:8), prior to 1979, the state government had not much interest in tiv languages as well as other state languages. however, 1979 witnessed renewed interest in not only tiv but other such languages as igala (now in kogi state), idoma and igede, all of which were approved and recommended for use in all primary and post primary schools in the state. at the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 149 national level, the federal government took statutory steps to accord priority attention to the recognition and development of indigenous languages. to this end, provisions were made for their use and development in the national policy on education (2004). the document states that: “government appreciates the importance of language as a means of promoting social interaction and national cohesion; and preserving cultures….” (npe 2004:5). the document continues: government shall therefore ensure that the medium of instruction is principally the mother-tongue or the language of the immediate community; to this end will: a. develop the orthography of many more nigerian languages and b. produce textbooks in nigerian languages (npe 2004:7) the efforts of the government in this regard were complemented by the activities of good-spirited individuals and associations such as the tiv language studies development. the association made spirited efforts to develop orthography for the tiv language. 4.1.3. state of orthography of tivlanguage sar (2012) has it that over the years, several efforts have been made by a lot of scholars towards the development and standardization of the tiv language. of particular relevance is with regards to the orthography. before the report on tiv orthography was made public, prof. r.g. armstrong said there were seventy (70) phonemes in tiv (armstrong 1983:62-65). a one-time executive governor of benuestate, late mr. aperaku took interest in the development of the tiv language. he set up an ad-hoc committee on the tiv language development. the committee presented sixty-five (65) phonemes as existing in tiv. this committee’s report was the most accepted as representing authentic document on the tiv language. in recent times, the tiv language studies and development association (tlsda) has worked extensively on tiv orthography. at a seminar held at katsinaala in march 2010, the association came up with a white paper showing that 87 phonemes are found in tiv. tiv orthography: a, aa, b, bw, by, mb, c, cw, d, dy, dw, nd, dy, ndy, e, zw, ee, j, f, fy,jw, g, gb, gby, gh, gw, gy, h, hw, hy, i, ia, ii, iô, j, jw, k, kp, kpy, kw, ky, l, lw, ly, m, mb, mbw, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 150 mby, n, n, nd, ngb, ngby, njy, nj,nng, ngw, nw, nyng, ngb, ngw, nz, o, oo, p, pw, py, r, rw, ry s, sh, shw, sw, t, ts, tswtw, ty, u, ua, ue, uu, v, w, y, z. however, from the interview with mr. david waya, a tiv native speaker, he asserts as at the day of the interview in may 2013, that the tiv language does not have any standard orthography yet but a committee has been set-up recently to device a standard orthography and this may be largely drawn from the gboko dialect which is regarded as the main dialect of tiv. 4.1.4. extent of usage of tiv language according to our respondent, the major tribes in benue state are tiv, igede and idoma, consequently, using the tiv language for state affairs, official gatherings and the likes. however, in all tiv territorial areas, the tiv language is taught in primary schools. also ,there are radio stations that cast news and broadcast some of theirprogrammes in the tiv language. since 1941, the bible had equally been translated into the tiv language called tiv biblio. the standard tiv dialect is called gboko dialect although there is no much difference among the dialects. this is why some people refer to it as a mono-language owing to the fact that thereare almost no dialectal variations. 4.2. the status of edo as a minority language in nigeria the edo language, according to imasuen (1998), is a language spoken in the lower reaches of niger river, uredo, ego-uselu, ikpoba-okha, ovia north east, ovia south west, uhunmwuode and orhionmwon local government areas of edo state, and other parts of nigeria, especially in delta and ondo states. the edo language belongs to the edoid group of languages of the new benue-congo family as classified by williamson (1989). he equally maintains that although the entire language is called edoid group, this is not intended to imply that the various languages and dialects derived historically from edo. however, we wish to note that a vital discovery was made by the researchers during the course of this work. the edo respondents interviewed, said that there has been a great shift from what was identified by previous researchers as edo language. they maintained that for political reasons, the use of edo language to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 151 refer to the benin language has become obsolete. this was due to the strong political experience and break-through which other tribes that speak other languages aside edo have gained. however, this does not change much as the fact still remains that native benin people still refer to their language as edo language as well. thus, edo and benin language is used interchangeably in this work to refer to the same language. 4.2.1. level of acceptance of benin language by its speakers in an interview with one of our respondents, mr. g. o. eigbiremolem, he maintains that the speakers of benin language are very proud of their language, being the language with the highest number of speakers in edo state. it is often spoken and used among the people who can speak and understand the language. 4.2.2. the state of orthography of beninlanguage the benin language is the medium of interaction within the cultural frame of the benin people. the unit constituents of language are the alphabets and edo/benin language has its alphabets.there are 24 alphabets in the edo language with 7 vowels and 17 consonants. interestingly, there are also 7 pairs of consonants (that is the pair or double consonants) which though are not part of the 24 consonant letters. they occupy a special category in the edo alphabetical system and are pronounced differently from the single consonants. the benin letters include the following: a/aa/; b/bi/; d/di/; e/a; e/e/; f/fi/; g/gi/; i/i/;; h/hi/; k/k/ a i; l/l/, m/mi/; n/nil; o/;q/or/ p/pi/; r/ril; s/si/; tltil; u/uu/; v/vi/; w/wi/; y/yi/; z/zi/. the vowels include a, e, i o and u, while the consonants are b� d� f� g. h� k� i� m� n� p: r� s� t� v� w� y. and z. 4.2.3. institutional support to the language and speakers of benin language there has been institutional support to the growth and development of the language. however, these efforts were undertaken by individuals in attached to a scholarly unit who pick interest in studying the language. examples areimasuen (1998) who conducted a study on the influence of edo language with igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 152 the portuguese language. he noted how both languages have borrowed from each other to enhance their languages following the coming of the white men to edoland between 1483 and 1897 ad.melzian, h. (1937) published a concise dictionary of the bini language of southern nigeria in london. munro, d.a. (1967) compiled an english-edo word list, as well asagheyisi, r. n. (1986) who produced an edo-english dictionary. 4.2.4. extent of usage of benin language the extent of use of benin language is not too wide in terms of places and events of use. though it is used in local radio programmes as confirmed by our respondent, it is not used in many political gatherings nor in the state house of assembly because there are an array of people from other ethnic groups who are always involved in deliberations. thus, use of only benin language cannot be understood my majority of the people. however, he affirmed that the speakers do speak the language very well within their families and in some informal events. 4.3. the status of mbubelanguage as a minority language in nigeria the mbube is a language spoken by the mbube people of the ogoja in cross river state, of nigeria. the number of its speakers number about 14,300 people in 1973. as the closest relative of the ekoid family of the southern bantoid languages, mbube, also known as mbe language is fairly close to the bantu languages. it is tonal and has a typical niger–congo noun-class system. according to maduagwu (2012), mbube is a language spoken in ogoja local government area of cross river state, nigeria. 4.3.1. level of acceptance of mbube language by its speakers according to mr. nche, the speakers of mbube language are very proud of their language and they speak it adequately among themselves. the language is mainly spoken in ogoja and in this place the parents or older ones have and exercise great commitment with teaching or passing-on the language to their younger ones to ensure the continuous strive and usage of mbube language. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 153 4.3.2. the state of orthography of mbube language according to maduagwu (2012), mbube is one of the phonologically and tonologically unresearched languages. however, some scholars have tried to follow the writing pattern of developed/already written languages to create some parameters of study for the language. for example, the author above presents some of his study thus: mbube orthographic consonants and vowels as well as their phonemic counterparts: all mbube consonants apart from the labial–velars (kp,ɡb, w) and nasal(n) have labialized counterparts. (/jʷ/ is presumably [ɥ].) in addition, the non-labialized peripheral stops (m p b k ɡ; palatalized ŋ would be ɲ) and the liquids (l, r) have palatalized counterparts. there are a few consonants that only occur in idiophones, such as /fʲ,hʲ/.summarily, mbube language does not have a standard orthography yet. 4.3.3. institutional support to mbubelanguage and their speakers as earlier stated, much has not been done in mbube language with regards to supporting its development. this has been as a result of lack of support to its development by government and other institutions capable of lending support to the development of nigerian languages. the only support has been on individual bases which has been through the conduction of individual or private studies on the language as maduagwu, georgina in her 2012 study, lewis, m. paul in his 2009 study on the language among other few scholars. 4.3.4. extent of usage of mbube language at this point, we would like to state that from our findings, mbubeis not just a minority language but also an endangered language. there are however some dialects of mbube language. however, none of these dialects have a status higher than the language itself. these dialects include idum, ekuntark, odejie, igbe, keruen and mbeafal. communities where mbube language is spoken include: idum, ekuntark, odejie, igbe, keruen and mbeafal. they are all equally limited to being spoken in ogoja, cross river state and eastern nigeria. so, aside usage in informal situations, especially in the immediate family setting, mbube language is neither spoken nor taught in schools. it is equally not used in official igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 154 gatherings or in political sessions, anywhere in cross-river state nor in any other state in nigeria. 4.4. the status of bassa-nge as a minority language in nigeria bassa-nge is a language notably spoken in ugboloko which is located in kogi state. this place (ugboloko) is equally regarded as the ancestral home of bassange people. bassa-nge language belongs to the kwa group of languages. 4.4.1. level of acceptance of bassa-ngelanguage by its speakers from an interview with mr. suleiman, bassa-nge is a language which its speakers, especially the bassa-nge people of the modern era do not hold in high esteem. he maintains that some of its speakers are often shy of speaking the language in the mist of people from other tribes. this piece of information in a high sense simply means that the level of acceptance of the language is poor. this respondent equally states that families who migrate out of bassa-nge hardly return home and hardly use their language away from home nor teach the language to their children or younger ones. notwithstanding that bassa-nge people have prominent people such as the former chief judge of kogi state in the person of former chief justice musa eri, now the director of nigerian judicial council; alhajiabdulrazakissakutepa who is a very wealthy businessman and philanthropist among others, the bassa-nge language hardly earns much acceptance from the people of the state nor the state government. its acceptance is very poor. 4.4.2. the state of orthography of bassa-nge language currently, there is no known orthography for the bassa-nge language. all works which have been done on the language, if any, are hardly available to researchers like us and even attempts made in writing about the language are done by individuals who adopt the writing system of another language, notably the english language; like the work entitled a descriptive grammar of the bassa-nge language by an author named mohammed aminu mu'azu, jidda hassan juma'a & suleiman tebu in 1968. 4.4.3. institutional support to bassa-ngelanguages and their speakers igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 155 as earlier stated, there has been no standardized attempt to promote the orthography of bassa-nge language. in like manner, there has equally been no institutional support to the growth or development of the language. all effort has been in private studies of few scholars. let us take a look at an extract from the daily trust online newspaper of 22nd january, 2010 in an article entitled nigeria: 'you can't fill a pick-up' story of bassa-nge. does the development of communities revolve around size of the population, with larger populations being first recipients of the much needed facilities? tadaferuaujorha went to shintaku, gboloko and abocho in kogi state. the bassa-nge needs a bridge.it would rise at lokoja, extend across the niger and neatly terminate at shintaku. they repeat that the bridge would turn around their lives and enhance travel and trade. it would be a boon to agriculture and quicken the pace of tourism and development. they love the concept of the bridge and they have different words for what they need. in their language 'akpada' is the word for bridge, and 'akpadazi' is the plural form. they have been waiting for the bridge all their lives. but they suspect that this bridge won't be built just yet, because of the nature of power equations in kogi state. so they say, rather prophetically, that it will certainly be built whenever a bassa-nge son becomes governor. a prominent ruler in the area says 'if we produce a governor for kogi state, his first priority will be the bridge.' the thought consoles them but how long will they have to wait? one government comes .it does a little. it is quickly replaced by another. the award winning cycle of neglect and forgetting continues. still the people wait and hope and pray. the people pray and hope and wait. the situation is akin to that of sisyphus, the legendary character in greek folklore, who rolls a stone to the top of the hill. when he is about to be exalted that he has succeeded in his task, the stone rolls downhill, and he has to roll the stone uphill afresh. . speaking on the bassa-nge communities, a former civilian governor of kogi state is reported to have said in public ‘‘i can afford to ignore you (bassa-nge), because your population is not significant. your entire people cannot fill a pick-up van.’’ this extract above summarises not just the political state of the bassa-nge people in nigeria today, but also, that of the language. 4.4.4. extent of usage of bassa-nge language the bassa-nge language is definitely, a language which has been confined to usage only in informal situations and gatherings within the bassa-nge region in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 156 ugboloko, bassa local government of kogi state. wikipedia records that its population is very small with about 139,992 speakers. bassa-nge is an endangered language and not just a minority language. the extent of its usage continues to diminish as time goes on. 4.5. the status of bassa-kwomu as a minority language in nigeria the bassa-kwomu language is a language that have been and is known or referred to in different ways by different people. thus, other names used to refer to the language include rubasa, basa-benue, abacha and abatsa. just as bassange, it is viewed by some people as a dialect of nupe language because both have some degree of mutual intelligibility. according to wikipedia, the people of bassaalso often speak igalaand nupe languages. however, they are separate languages recognised independently especially for political reason. their speakers are viewed as different tribes instead of one tribe. therefore, their mutual intelligibility does not make them one language. 4.5.1. level of acceptance of bassa-kwomu language by its speakers from our interview with our respondent, mr. suleiman, bassa-kwomu language does not enjoy much popularity nor acceptance in terms of the choice of people to speak and use it for various communication purposes. consequently, as stated earlier, the speakers of the language often speak igala or nupe languages in preference to it. no wonder our respondent mr. suleiman put it this way, “the people are not proud of the language and rather, prefer to speak it in hiding.” 4.5.2. the state of orthography of bassa-kwomu language according to blench (1991), bassa-kwomu has gone through a number of orthographic changes during the history of publication and the writing system is still being debated. an excerpt of his contribution is that in the bassa-kwomu language, the 'ŋ' was introduced to show a nasalized vowel at the end of words. nasalized vowels in the middle of words are marked with 'n'. to spell in a more consistent way, it has been decided to use 'n' in all cases. this in summarymeans that the bassa-kwomu language does not have a standard or conventional orthography yet. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 157 4.5.3. institutional support to bassa-kwomulanguages and their speakers from our study so far, it is glaring that most efforts so far on the development of bassa-kwomu language has been based on private individual efforts. there has not been conspicuous institutional support aimed at enhancing the status of the language nor developing it. the language has strived to convince all about its status as a language rather than a dialect of nupe language and seems to have succeeded to an extent, judging from the views of some researchers and writers. however, institutional support to its development is still lacking. 4.5.4. extent of usage of bassa-kwomulanguage according to blench (1991), “since 1991, the bassa people have had their own local government area, called bassa, centered on oguma, near the benue river in northeast kogi state.” the use of this language is mainly concentrated around this area. one of our respondents, mr. suleiman equally has it that bassa-kwomu speakers equally exist in small numbers in abuja and nassarawa states of nigeria. however, the use of bassa-kwomu language is not far-reaching. it is rather used only in informal gatherings like in the families and in other very informal situations. it is hardly taught in schools, nor used in the state political affairs. this owes especially to the small population of its speakers. besides, it is always difficult and practically impossible for a language without a standard orthography to have a wide and diversified extent of usage. 5.0. conclusion from this study, we can understand to a great extent that the status of most minority languages in nigeria is not enviable. this owes largely to their limited extent of usage and lack of attention. added to that, non linguists have failed to understand the strong impact of language to the growth and development of the country. to this, okon (1990) advises that the speakers of the minority languages have a very important part to play; that they should form language associations which aim to develop and promote their own languages and thereby compel government attention. he cited an example with an ibibio cultural organization which in 1982 commissioned the writing of ibibio orthography and presented it to the state ministry of education in 1983 as part of its community’s contribution to education.this he said made the former cross-river state government to have igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 158 no alternative than to order the teaching of ibibio language in the schools within the state which in turn attracted the attention of the university press limited that commissioned primers in the language. thus, all hands are advised to be on deck with regards to the promotion and development of nigeria’s minority languages. this will enhance and promote proper teaching and learning in the schools. it will equally ensure that no nigerian is left behind in matters or affairs concerning one’s locality or speech community, state or country. the development of minority languages will equally help to establish a true nigerian linguistic identity. this will deemphasize the current situation where a good number of nigerians get lost in the massive ocean of the english language. especially when the use of english language does not fully express all aspects of nigerian culture and so, leaves a lot of nigerians lost in issues concerning them. references interview sources name sex age occupation date of interview david waya male 32 linguist 28th april, 2014 godsgifteigbiremolem male 26 economist 10th may, 2014 george nche male 27 lecturer 5th april, 2014 ivy abuh female 25 civil servant 25th may, 2014 suleiman chimozoshuaibu male 39 school teacher 3rd march, 2014 textual sources abraham, r.c. (1940). a dictionary of the tiv language. government of nigeria 1940. farnborough, hants: gregg press ltd. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 159 agheyisi, r. n. (1986). an edo-english dictionary. benin city, nigeria: ethiope publishing company. blench, r. (1991). a dictionary of the basa language (trial edition). capo, h. b. c. (1990). ‘comparative linguistics and language engineering in africa’ in e. n. emenanjo (ed.) multilingualism, minority languages and language policy in nigeria agbor: central books limited. pp. 1-9. ezenwafor, c. i. and ezenwafor, c. a. (2010). ‘the place of nigerian languages in the era of globalization: a case study of the igbo language’ in a. b. c. chiegboka, utoh-ezeajugh, t. c. and udechukwu, g. i. (eds.) the humanities and globalization in the third millennium. nimo: rex charles and patrick ltd. pp.590-597. gundu, g. a. (1990). ‘problems and prospects for a minority language literature in nigeria: the case of the tiv phone literature’ in e. n. emenanjo (ed.) multilingualism, minority languages and language policy in nigeria. agbor: central books limited. pp. 145-154. idaeho, r. e. (n.d.). the edo alphabet: a look at the benin letters and sounds. ifechelobi, j. n. (2010). ‘nigerian languages and national unity: a case of minority ethnic groups’ in a. b. c. chiegboka, utoh-ezeajugh, t. c. and udechukwu, g. i. (eds.) the humanities and globalization in the third millennium,nimo: rex charles and patrick ltd. pp. 503-507. ikpa, s. g. (1985). beginning, development of current tiv orthography. makurdi: government printers. imasuen, e. o (1998). ‘languages in contact: the case of edo and portuguese’ injournal of west african languages xxvii.2. 1998/1999. lewis, m. paul (ed.), 2009. ethnologue: languages of the world (16th ed.). dallas tex.: sil international. maduagwu, g. (2012). ‘tone occurrences in mbube’ in the nigerian journal of research and production volume 20 no 1, april, 2012. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 160 melzian, h. (1937). a concise dictionary of the bini language of southern nigeria. london: kegan paul. munro, d. a. (1967). english-edo word list: an index to melzian’s binienglish dictionary. ibadan: ibadan university press. nordhoff, s., hammarström, h., forkel, r., haspelmath, m. (eds.) (2013).‘ekoid–mbe’ in glottolog 2.2. leipzig: max planck institute for evolutionary anthropology. nordhoff, s., hammarström, h.; forkel, r.; haspelmath, m. (eds.) (2013). ‘mbe’ in glottolog 2.2. leipzig: max planck institute for evolutionary anthropology. okon, e. e. (1990). ‘the future of minority languages’ in e. n. emenanjo (ed.) multilingualism, minority languages and language policy in nigeria. agbor: central books limited, pp. 155-168. sar, v. s. (2012). ‘the status of diphthongs in the tiv language’ in journal of igbo language & linguistics no. 4, 2012 issn – 05987518, pp. 53-58. udu, t. t. (2009). tiv language: a reference book. kaduna: labari publishers. umera-okeke, n. and ezenwa-ohaeto, n. (2010). ‘globalization and its effects on nigeria’s indigenous languages and culture’ in a. b. c. chiegboka, utoh-ezeajugh, t. c. and udechukwu, g. i. (eds.).the humanities and globalization in the third millennium. nimo: rex charles and patrick ltd, pp. 564-571. williamson, k. (1989c). ‘new benue-congo languages’ in bendor-smuel, j., lanham, n. y. and rhonda, l. h. (eds.) in the niger-congo languages. usa: university press of america. williamson, k. (1990:118). ‘development of minority languages: publishing problems and prospects’ in e. n. emenanjo (ed.) multilingualism, minority languages and language policy in nigeria.agbor: central books limited, pp. 118-144. web sources igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 161 http://www.ethnologue.com/ http://www.isp.msu.edu/africanstudies/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/basa-benue_language http://en.wikiuredo, pedia.org/wiki/tiv_language http://www.edoworld.net/edo_alphabet.html http://www.rogerblench.info/rbop.htm daily trust online newspaper of 22nd january, 2010. nigeria: you can't fill a pick-up story of bassa-nge. appendix interview 1 interview with mr. godsgift m. eigbiremolem researcher: good morning. respondent: good morning. researcher: please, i am a student conducting a research on the status of edo language and would like to ask you some questions; haven identified that you are from edo. respondent: okay. but idon’t think there is a language called edo. there are many languages in edo state. researcher: okay. what language do u speak? respondent: i speak esan. researcher: okay, but several other researchers and have identified some speakers of edo language. respondent: may be it is benin language that they are calling edo because there are many languagesin edo. so, it sounds somehow for someone to mention that there is a language called edo. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 162 researcher: okay, but do people who speak these languages in edo state understand themselves? respondent: they do to an extent o, but only if you have stayed in their places for some time, then you will be able to be picking one or two things you can understand in the language. respondent: so don't you think they are all dialects of the same edo language? respondent: no, it is not so. they can't understand themselves. as i said, you can only understandesako or benin if me for example that is from esan have stayed there for some time. it is a personal thing. if someone from benin speaks, i can understand a little because i have stayed there for some time. researcher: okay. thank you respondent: you are welcome. interview 2 phone interview with miss ivy abu researcher: hello, ivy. respondent:kels… good afternoon. researcher: afternoon. ivy, i have a question to ask you. is there a language called edo language in your state? respondent: yes. researcher: apart from edo language, are there any other languages in the state? respondent: of course, there are other languages like esako, owan, oran, benin and others. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 163 researcher: okay. these languages you mentioned, are they easy to understand among the speakers? that is, for example, can someone from esan understand what a benin person is speaking? respondent: no. researchers: okay. i asked because i was thinking that all these languages you mentioned are perhaps dialects of one edo language. respondent: no ooo. they are not oo. all these languages have different people and places where they are spoken. wait ooo, infact there is no language that is called edo language sef. rather, there are several languages spoken in edo as a state. researcher: you see, i was going through the works of some other researchers and several of them identified edo language. as a matter of fact, some of these researchers see some of these languages you are mentioning as dialects of one edo language. respondent: no ooo. it is not true. in fact, there are different languages in edo state. edo is a state not a language and it is not easy to understand what other speakers of a different language is speaking. for example, me i am esako and if i’m speaking now, someone from esan or benin cannot understand what i am saying. researcher: so, how come the concept of ‘edo language’ in the first place? how come. respondent: okay, see, it is like this. in edo state, the capital which is benin is where benin language is spoken. there are many other areas where different languages are spoken; like esako, which is my language, esan, owan, there is also akoko-edo. it is a language of its own that is different from benin language but what happens is that people take it that benin language is edo language but it is not so. researcher:okay, well, i just shared my observations from the study i am doing currently. may be other language speakers over there are not doing well enough to project there language which is a trend that they need to correct. respondent: what is the work about? igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 164 researcher: it is a research on the status of indigenous languages in nigeria. to find out how much attention people pay to speaking and using their languages and help them know the consequences of not doing so and also encourage them to speak, write and generally, use their languages adequately and proudly. respondent. okay. it’s good. researcher: yes o. thank you; and eeem, how is work going? respondent: fine fine. researcher: okay, well done, we will still talk later my dear. take care. respondent: aite. later. bye. interview 3 this is an interview with mr. george nche researcher: i am here to interview you on the status of mbube language in nigeria. respondent: go on. you can. researcher: how often do mbube people use the language to communicate among themselves or when meeting someone in their locality for the first time? do they start with their language or with another? respondent: if it is a stranger, we start with english or pidgin. if it is someone from mbube who can speak it, we speak with mbube, but if the person is from our town but can’t speak it, we use english or pidgin still. researcher: okay. does mbube have an orthography already standardized for writing mbube language? respondent: no. none that i know of. researcher: why nah? does that mean people don’t try to write in mbube? igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 165 respondent: i don’t know but we hardly write in mbube language. i for example, i don’t. researcher: does it mean mbube is not taught in schools in your locality or used in formal gatherings and events like that? respondent: hmmmm… no. i wasn't taught mbube in school and i have not seen any school that teaches it. we use it in the gatherings in our village but we also combine it with english for many other people who don’t understand it. researcher: and it is not used in the government gatherings in the state like in the house of assembly i guess. respondent: no nah. you cannot nah. there are many people from many places that speak different languages there nah. you can't speak your language there because many people will not understand it. so, english is mainly used. researcher. okay. thank you very much for your time. respondent. you are welcome. interview 4 interviw with mr. suleiman chimozoshuaibu researcher: good afternoon mr. sulei. respondent: good afternoon sir. researcher: i am here to ask you some questions about the bassa languages of bassa-nge and bassa-komu. respondent: no problem. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 166 researcher: i will like to start with the bassa-nge language. where and where is the language spoken? respondent: ugboloko is the ancestral headquaters of bassa-nge people. ugboloko is in kogi state. their language is like nupe but they are not nupe. except that people who speak nupe can understand bassa-nge and if nupe person speak, bassa-nge person can understand what he is saying. researcher: okay. and what is the population of the speakers. respondent: they are not many. they are just few. they don't even occupy a local government. they are just in a part of a local government. researcher: do they have a writing system for writing the language? respondent: no. they don't have a writing system. researcher: but don't they have prominent people from bassa-nge? respondent: ha! they have oo. the former chief judge of kogi state is from bassa-nge tribe. what is that his name....? wait let me remember it...... he is now the director of nigerian judicial council..... eee. his name is chief justice musa eri. that is name. chief justice musa eri. there is this other man. a very rich business man and a philanthropistalhajiabdulrazakissakutepa. he was a former gubernatorial aspirant in kogi state. researcher: okay. what is the attitude of the people of bassa-nge? do they like to speak their language and do they have people who help to develop their place and things like that. respondent: aside these people i mentioned, the bassa-nge people hardly come home igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 167 whenever they leave their place. they also seem to be shy of speaking their language in public. they hardly speak or teach their children their language. researcher: does that mean the language is not used in formal or official gatherings like in politics or house of assembly? respondent: no. they just have small speakers. so, many people don’t even know the language is existing sef. researcher: okay, for bassa-kwomu people. where can they be found? respondent: bassa-kwomu people, they are the original people of gwagwalada in abuja and they are also found in nassarawa and kogi state also. in kogi state, they are neighbours of bassa-nge people in bassa local government. in abuja, they are headed by a man called alhaji mohammed. headquarters of bassa-kwomu people is ogwuma. ogwuma is also in kogi state, in bassa local government. researcher: how do they handle or take their language. what is the style of life style of bassa kwomu people? respondent: the people... just like bassa-nge people who are well influenced by the missionaries and so, they are enlightened and go to school, bassa-kwomu people don't like going to school. they don't seem to like education. researcher: okay. what of their language, do they like speaking it often. respondent: they don’t seem to be proud of their language. many of them hardly speak it, especially the ones that go outside their place and the ones that manage to go to school. they don’t write the language. many people don’t know about it and don’t speak it. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 168 researcher: okay. thank you sir. respondent: yes sir. thank you sir ooo. interview 5 interview with mr. david waya researcher: eh eh, mr. dave, i want to ask you something. it is about the status of your language with regard to its level of acceptance by the speakers, state of its orthography, extent of usage and institutional support to the language. respondent. oookaay.... tiv is one of the 3 major languages in benue state, along with idoma andigede. it is widely spoken among tiv people. it is use in education also. primary schools in tivland teach tiv language very well. also, radio stations, especially, i know of two who cast their news and present some programmes in tiv language. as for in house of assembly and political gatherings, 'no' because there are people from other tribes like igede, idoma and others. so, using only tiv will not be possible. researcher. ok. what about the orthography? respondent: actually, tiv does not have any standard orthography yet but a committee have been set-up recently to device a standard orthography and this may be largely drawn from the gboko dialect which is regarded as the main dialect of tiv. however, there is not much difference among these dialects unlike in igbo where someone from anambra may not be able to understand what someone from nsukka is saying. in tiv, every tiv person can understand whatever another tiv person says very well, no matter the tribe. so, i can say that tiv is a mom-language because it almost has no dialectal variations so to say. researcher: okay. thaaannk you very much. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 1.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 134 the role of language in communicating thought: towards a balanced education for human development okoye, chiamaka obioma department of languages federal polytechnic oko email: ojokoye@gmail.com +2347037735576 abstract learning, via the instrumentality of language, is the essence of education. education itself is the bedrock of development which anchors nonetheless on human development. the global structure of the contemporary world fraught with multiplicity of languages makes learning stagnant in which case, limited education makes holistic human development virtually a mirage. thus, the global community makes individuals isolated in mind and expression, more or less positioned in an imbalanced state. this crisis spirals around human interaction with the environment which anchors on the ability to understand, interpret and relate to the environment in most objective way. that is to say, to the extent of clarity of man’s understanding and lucid interpretation, that evokes suitable relation to the positive demands of his environment. being pivotal in human relation, language becomes of necessity, the instrument of education, where the positive development expected from education depends on the proper use and ability to speak many languages. such diverse language exposure brings cultures close for human development. this work applies conceptual analytic method in unveiling the target of language both in understanding and learning, where meaning becomes an aid; aid in terms of proper thought representation and communication in the task of education for human development. key words: language, thought, communication, development, education introduction chomsky (1978) notes that, “it is quite natural to expect that a concern for language will remain central to the study of human nature..” where man’s ability to speak informs his possession of memory and thought. with language, he exposes his thought pattern irrespective of the vergueness of the though pattern, as the case may be. for ladusaw (2017); “meaning seems at once the most obvious feature of language and the most obscure aspect to study. it is obvious because it is what we use language for – to communicate with each other to convey ‘what we mean’ effectively. but the steps in understanding something said to us in language in which we are fluent are so rapid, so transparent, that we igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 135 have little conscious feel for the principles and knowledge which underlie this communicative ability”. it is this expansive structure of language that originated the questions of semantics which encompass several different investigations, namely • how each language provides words and idioms for fundamental concepts and ideas (lexical semantics) • how the parts of a sentence are integrated into the basis for understanding its meaning (compositional semantics) • how our assessment of what someone means on a particular occasion depends only on what is actually said but also an aspects of the context of its saying and an assessment of the information and beliefs we share with the speaker. however, this work does not solely dwell on semantics, but focuses on the problem of understanding is learning. close examination of most words reveals that they have many different contexts and the rules which combine them into sentence meanings will frequently yield several possibility for interpretation. interpretation informs response of an individual either in action, speech or understanding, towards meaning. in the educational sector, when information is not properly represented in the mind of the learner, the learning process becomes problematic and misrepresentation of information becomes a clog to proper education and proper human development. towards resolving the problem, the work studies language and habit of thought enquiring on how representative, language is to thought pattern. the clarity of thought advances learning which is the essence of education. the ability to communicate properly with language promotes education of the society on human development and interpersonal relationship, sharing sameness of meaning and understanding. furthering the study, the work advocates for multiplicity of language in nigeria for higher and better understanding of different cultures in today’s global world for better human development. language and habit of thought in wikipedia’s explication, language “consists of development, acquisition, maintenance and use of complex systems of communication, particularly the human ability to do so; and a language is a specific example of such a system” (httw.wikipedia/language). the explanation implies two specific facts, namely; igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 136 language is an exclusive product of human beings and language usage is conventional amongst humans. the first fact which is peculiarity of language to human quality informs the coinage of the latin word ‘lingua’ which mean ‘tongue’ and its ‘usage’. literally put, it is the usage of tongue to unearth the mind. for chomsky (1968), “it is fair to suppose that the major contribution of the study of language will lie in the understanding it can provide as to the character of mental processes and the structures they form and manipulate”. the second fact addresses the differences in human mind apprehension of reality as well as natural environmental differences in human society. chomsky notes also that anyone concerned with the study of human nature and human capacities must somehow come to grips with the fact that all normal humans acquire language. for lyons (1981), the differences in reality bring about the differences in language resulting to an estimated number of 5000 and 7000 languages in the world. fundamental in these facts of language is the cognitive ability of humans to learn and describe the patterns in reality and use of systems of complex communication in terms of utterances to represent thought. thus, trask (2007) maintains that the definition of language entails different approaches and understanding of language. they also inform different and often incompatible schools of linguistic theory. aside linguistics, it is paramount to ascertain the influence of the habit of thought on language as it informs the process of learning in education. the relationship between language, thought and reality has occupied philosophers, linguist, anthropologists and psychologists for centuries. for john locke, the english philosopher; “our senses, conversant about particular sensible object, do convey into the mind several distinct perception of things according to those various ways wherein those objects affect them. and thus, we come by those ideas we have of yellow, white, heat, cold, soft, hard, bitter, sweet and all those which we call sensible qualities”. (essay concerning human understanding, book 2, chapter 1) locke exemplifies in the statements what many philosophers and psychologists felt about how we think, how we perceive reality as well as how reality reflects in our language. 18th century german scholar and diplomat wilhelm von humbolt in his approach equates language and thought as inseparable, as language completely determines thought (brown, 1968). in clearer analysis, phipps (2001), opines that language and society are so intertwined that it is impossible to understand one without the other. there is no human society that does not depend on, is not shaped by, and does itself shape language. this statement best igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 137 defines the relationship between language, thought and reality, for language not only shapes the way reality is perceived, reality also shape language. hence, conventionality of language structure and content. concerning the relationship between language and thought, two schools emerged in debate for and against the precedence of thought or language, namely, lingualism and language of thought’ lingualism lingualism affirms the belief that the absence of language is the absence of thought. this is to say, to think is to think language. advocating this view, davidson (1996) opines that while the mental is not reducible to the physical, every mental event can be paired with some physical event – that is, every mental description of an event can be paired with a physical description of the very same event. taking language as physical reality, he speaks of the mental as supervening on the physical in a way that implies a certain dependence of mental predicates on physical predicates. succinctly put, events that cannot be distinguished under some physical description cannot be distinguished under a mental description either. thus, this approach questions the possibility of developing language outside the mind where the mind learns reality through language. however, since separability of mind and language seem almost impossible, the second school language of thought emanated. language of thought this is a hypothesis that describes the nature of thought as possessing “languagelike” or compositional structure which is also known as “thought ordered mental expression” (tome). for tillas (2015-08-2016), simple concepts combine in systematic ways (akin to the rules of grammar in language) to build thoughts. that is to say, in its most basic form, thought, like language, has syntax. this theory was propagated by american philosopher jerry fodor. the theory asserts that thinking takes place in a language of thought (lot). for fodor (1975); “cognition and cognitive processes are only ‘remotely plausible’ when expressed in a system of representations that is ‘tokened’ by a linguistic or semantic structure and are operated upon by means of a combinational syntax”. simply put, syntax as well as semantics has a causal effect on the properties of the system of mental representatives. these mental representations are not present in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 138 the brain in the same way as symbols are present on paper; rather, the lot is supposed to exist at the cognitive level, the level of thoughts and concepts. thus, the theory implies a strongly rationalist model of cognition in which many of the fundamentals of cognition are innate. not derailing to the field of cognitive science as language of thought led fodor to, the essence of recognition of this theory is to infer the import of the mental structure on the spoken words about reality as well as human actions. the order of the mind is seen from its expressions in language and action. that is to say, the mental structure informs the human apprehension of reality and how he orders reality. for instance, the thought “john is tall” is clearly composed of two subparts, the concept of john and the concepts of tallness, combined in a manner that may be expressed in first-order predicate calculus as a predicate; ‘t’ (“is tall”) that holds of the entity “j” (john). a fully articulated proposal for what a lot would have to take into account greater complexities such as quantification and propositional attitudes (the various attitudes people can have towards statements; like i might believe or see or merely suspect that john is tall). the above analysis informs a correlation of the mind and perception cum action. there is causal relationship between our intentions and our actions. because mental states are structured in a way that causes our intentions to manifest them by what we do, there is a connection between how we view the world and ourselves and what we do. that is why the popular adage states that ‘when you go to rome, behave like romans’. also, allusions of people’s behavior like addressing someone as frenchman, italian man, english man, has not only to do with ascription of language but also a pattern of thought and behavior. noting this fact, it becomes of utmost importance to analyze the import of language in learning process which is the essence of education. import of language in learning and communication process: having identified the relationship between language and our thought pattern, this section of the work enquires the effect of language in the process of learning. the essence of education is for people to learn about something, be it scientific enquiries or any form of artistry. language becomes the vehicle that conveys a thought pattern that could be novel to the student, for the corollary effect of behavioral change. for mudenda (2017); “the primary medium in the learning process is language. all that a learner at any level of the education system is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 139 expected to grasp is either heard or read.” at every level of one’s life or career path, one’s knowledge can only be expressed through words or written language. however, the fact is that language development can either negatively or positively affect one’s learning process. the limitedness of one’s language vocabulary limits one’s exposition and acquaintance with learning especially in a world of lots of innovations and discoveries. when we consider language as being a common item in the process of education, we bear in mind a child growing up. whatever he or she hears has a greater effect than what he/she sees. then he/she begins to learn to speak through listening to sounds created by people around them. eventually they start attaching meanings to those sounds which is later related to written text. this process is informed from the predisposition that human beings are born tabularaza, being exposed only to mother tongue. however, at higher level of learning, the ability of an individual to speak multiple languages suppresses the limitedness of particular languages to the expositions of learning. as mudenda notes that as an individual increases one’s ability and use of language, they eventually increase their ability not only to learn, but also to share knowledge with others around them. it is fascinating to see how in recent years educational experts around the globe have started to focus on the language dimension when it calls for schools to meet the demands of modern knowledge societies. to understand the cognitive and language challenges of modern competencebased school education, thurmann (2013), categorized the manifold functions of language in learning as follows; • language as a constituent component of higher-order thinking skills and a necessary precondition for successful content learning • language as a tool for making meaning • language as a filter for assessing learning outcome. when language is functionally addressed as above in the process of learning, the learner is expected the following; • to comprehend and fully understand the meaning of an utterance, a passage, a text • to negotiate meaning and communicate knowledge • to reflect on the learning process and the learning outcomes igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 140 • to transfer information from one representational system to another (e.g translating facts from a topographic map into a coherent spoken expository text) • to partake in socio-scientific discourse • to make use of generalisable knowledge and skills for solving problems and tasks in private and public life beyond the context of formal education. arriving at the above expectations of learning situates the direction of education which is the end point of learning. be it academic or social education, the intention is nonetheless, achievement of human development. human development through education king (2011), at the education world forum in london, asserts; “education is fundamental to development and growth. the human mind makes possible all development achievements from health advances and agricultural innovations to efficient public administration and private sector growth. for countries to reap these benefits fully, they need to unleash the potential of human mind. and there is no better tool for doing so than education.” although formal education is supposed to start from primary education, it has been found that the science of brain development shows that learning needs to be encouraged and often, both inside and outside of the formal schooling system. pre-natal health and early childhood development programs that include education and health are consequently important to realize this potential. in the primary years, quality teaching is essential to give students the foundational literacy and numeracy on which life long learning depends. adolescence is also a period of high potential for learning, but many teenagers leave school at this point, lured by the prospects of a job, the need to help their families, or turned away by the cost of schooling. the cost of schooling and priorities in terms of preference of a society informs level of investment of a nation on education towards human development. mostly the case, education is not learning for all. learning for all means ensuring that all students, and not just the most privileged or gifted, acquire the knowledge and skills they need for human development. major challenges of access remain for disadvantage populations at primary, secondary and tertiary levels. learning for all promotes the equity goals that underlie education of all and without confronting equity issues, it will be impossible to achieve the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 141 objective of learning for all. although achieving this goal will be challenging, consciousness of the fact that the project will drive the youth’s employability, productivity, health, and well-being in times to come, will help ensure that their communities and nations thrive. but how can a society (like nigeria) give a high priority to education when all considerations are geared towards the economy? such a society has no balanced knowledge of assignment of roles towards development. thus, in the words of wellstone (2016); “education and democracy have the same goal; the fullest possible development of human capabilities. the literacy rate of a country determines its prosperity and economic health. relating to educational roles of human development, certain prospects needs to be considered; • overcome social prejudice: probably, this is the most crucial benefit of education. social evils and beliefs can really hold back the growth and development of a society and a country. so to overcome this and understand and explain things with logic and reasoning, educated minds are very essential. an enlightened mind can lit up a thousand more. education used in proper way also helps to reduce crime and restore law and order. • nuture talent and pursue dreams: every human being has dreams and aspirations. so, education is a medium to pursue and fulfill them. it increases the knowledge of a person in different fields of studies. it helps to determine a path to follow and express ones talent to the world. • enhance creativity and imagination: education opens up new ways and ideas to ponder. it cultivates a young mind to think out-ofthe box and explore different things in life. education also helps to know about things and stay healthy, fit and follow a productive lifestyle. • contribute to a bigger growth: education is a way of academic excellence and paves the path for economic growth of the country. research and development in sectors like technology, medicine and others, breakthrough innovation and progressive mindsetall of these are fruits of education which takes a nation and its people forward. educated people contribute towards advancement in every sector. • knowledge, wisdom and exposure: education opens up every channel of knowledge and wisdom. it exposes us to a whole new world of information, invent new things and know how we can make our igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 142 surroundings a better place to live and get our lives to a greater and better height. it is very important to understand that education is the real asset that can develop an individual as well as a nation. people and leaders should join hands to make education, not only a fundamental right for all, but also the guiding light, which can take mankind ahead through any phase of darkness. in the words of nelson mandela; “education is the most powerful weapon, which you can use to change the world.” but how can one be educated in a multi-cultural world with a limited language? this is an education problem in a country like nigeria. limited education in a limited language country: nigerian case: since language has been identified with thought pattern of a people, it is consequent to deduce multiplicity of thought patterns from multiplicity of languages. that is to say, differences in languages informs differences in weltansuaum(worldview). as people differ in their worldviews, so are their approaches to reality and thus, development. the implication is that contemporary education demands ability to know, speak and understand as many languages as possible. that is project known as multilingualism. in rao’s (2018) explication; “multilingualism is a social environment in which people speak more than one language. it is not uncommon to find multilingualism across the globe. there are only a few countries in the world which have monoligualism.” his submission informs the rudiment of education which the modern world of today demands. multilingualism affects the cognitive domain of the learners in a positive manner as it has been proven that a multilingual thinks more analytical than the monolingual given exposure of two worldviews. dealing with another culture enables people to gain a more profound understanding of their own culture in which case creativity is increased. but what is the nigerian disposition and condition to issue of languages. the rigid disposition of nigeria towards language learning stems from ethnic intolerance in nigerian political sector. ethnical superiority struggle has relegated the effort of learning the regarded inferior monitories cultures including their languages. as nigeria has more than 200 ethic groups with different languages, it becomes problematic to coordinate these languages not to talk of introduction of the external world languages. thus, education in nigeria suffers. ibrahim & gwandu (2016) observe; “despite the fact that the government igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 143 through the national policy on education can be said to favor the use of two or more languages in the educational system, implementation of the multilingual provisions has been a serious issue.” olagbaju (2014) articulated the factors responsible for the poor implementation of the polices as follows: • multi-lingual challenge, • negative attitudes of students • lack of circulation materials • ambiguities in the policy • parental factors • teacher quality of essence is emphasis on individual and collective disposition of nigerians to multilingualism. for example, in nigeria, an english speaking country, president muhammadu buhari went to dapchi secondary school to commiserate with them on the abducted school girls by bokoharam terrorist group. in public media he succeeded in communicating in hausa language to the students in secondary school who expectedly should be eloquent in speaking english language. this action informs the nigeria executive government’s level of discouragement to multiplicity of language even to the said ‘lingua franca’. at this dismal state the ability to have consideration of other foreign languages becomes inconsiderate. thus, the level of educational performance of nigerians within and outside the country becomes adequately poor with regards to development. in moja’s (2000) observation; “concern has been raised about the decline in the quality of the nigerian high education system. the quality of education offered by higher education institutions at the present time has deteriorated substantially. the poor quality of many nigerian university graduates has accelerated. as a result, there is high unemployment amongst graduates especially in fields such as engineering. there is also concern about the lack of recognition of nigerian degrees by overseas universities”. when failed policies have failed the people in terms of education, the result is poor human development. but what can be done to solve these problems of human underdevelopment in nigeria? enhancing multiplicity of languages in education sector: recommendation for human development in nigeria to read and write in more than one language especially foreign languages is simply a citizenship certificate in today’s global village. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 144 in agbedo’s (2013) indication; “for those serious minded-nations that have recorded significant progress in this delicate balancing act, multilingualism is more of an asset than a liability. however, the reverse seems to be the case in such countries like nigeria that appear roundly confounded by the realities of multiplicity of languages to the sorry point of surrendering to the centrifugal forces that gnaw at the soul of the nigerian nation.” this problem has distrusted the very tool of education towards whole and entire project of human development. however, to proffer solution to the problem, there is need to consider the benefits of multilingualism from three approaches, namely: child benefit, brain benefit and social benefit. child benefit: in recent years, the centre for imagination studies (cis) reports that nearly 30 percent of arizona children and teens speak a language other than english at home. many children navigate language fluidity as they communicate with individuals in and out of their home (www.swhd.org). children who learn multiple languages simultaneously are known as duallanguage learners. while learning new languages is an achievable skill at any age, mastering multiple languages is a skill best learned from birth. it is during the earliest years of life that rapid developing brain connections form a child’s foundation for successful language, thinking and social skills. in southwest human development (2018) recommendation; “children who learn multiple languages during the most critical years of brain development are more likely to later slow proficiency in varying areas.” research shows that children who are exposed to more than one language are more likely to be able to take on the perspective of a speakers intended meaning (as explained prior on language and meaning). meaning leading to cognitive power, bilingualism and multilingualism in young children have long been observed, but have not scientifically tested until recent years. proceedings of the national academy of sciences study (nass) give a glimpse into the minds of 7month-old infants raised learning two languages. with combination of neuroimaging techniques and scientific studies into language proceeding of infants, it was found that bilingual infants improve cognitive skills higher than monolingual counterparts. in the study, kovacs and mehler (2009), exemplified that: “whereas both monolinguals and bilinguals learned to responds to a speech or visual cue to anticipate a reward on one side of a screen, only bilinguals succeeded in redirecting their anticipatory looks when the cue began signaling the reward on the other side. bilingual infants rapidly suppressed their looks to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 145 the first location and learned the new response.” this scientific study leads to the brain benefit of multilingualism. brain benefits: there have been a number of international studies on the subject, which indicate that the ability to use more than one language brings an individual a considerable advantage. the report of the research team appointed by the european commission, the contribution of multilingualism to creativity, presents the firsts known macro analysis based on the available evidence, which has been conducted by searching through several studies and giving particular attention to recent research on the brain. from the analysis, marsh (2006) informs; “the research report brings forth six main areas where multilingualism and hence the mastery of complex processes of thought seem to put people in advantage. these include learning in general, complex thinking and creativity, mental flexibility, interpersonal and communication mental diminishment later in life”. one of the central cerebral areas highlighted in the research report is the one responsible for memory function. people rely especially on the short-term memory when thinking, learning and making decisions. multilinguals seem to be able to have an advantage in handling certain thinking processes since it is obvious that enhanced memory have a profound impact on cognitive functions. learning from the study, one can conclude that the recently published study shows that even though it could be difficult to prove the existence of a direct causal link, it is likely that multilingualism produces a special advantage in utilizing a person’s brain capacity as creatively as possible. such positive creativity creates social benefit. social benefits: apart from the individual benefits, there are also social benefits of multilingualism. the ability to speak more than one language would give an edge, interculturally. in addition to cognitive advantages, dual-language learners have a special opportunity to forge a relationship with their family’s heritage. language fluidity allows family interaction to transcend the surface, diving deeper into meaning and understanding. because of this connection and appreciation, dual language learners are better able to maintain strong ties with their family, culture and community. expressing the cordially in exchange of languages, sachdev (2016) explains; “when people are expressing their inner emotions; be it love, anger, hate; they do so in their own language. one would be amazed to see the changes in them at this point if only we knew their language, and be able to understand them.” the observation informs the crisis the contemporary people deal with in the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 146 challenges of social media. misunderstandings in context of statements, allusions, idiomatic expressions, and worst of it, not been able to read a language, limits our communication with the global world. we live in a world which promotes thousands of cultures, each having a different language and thus, it is extremely critical that we should be acquainted with languages more than just our mother tongue. to really understand the true meaning of someone’s existence, one need to understand their thoughts and their culture which begins with understanding the language. apart from social communication benefits the creativity in multilingualism could manifest in technological development and professional career path. multilingualism creates job opportunities both within and outside the learner’s country. in the same vein, as the world advances in technology, it accommodates those who are conversant with technological nations languages. in draxler’s (2015) observation; “today, new forces are at play. languages are transformed by technological advances that transcend borders and redefine how we communicateand with whom.” since technology is constantly advanced, knowledge of the language of the nations that originated a particular technology is beneficial to a multilingual which can be advanced to develop a native technology. for instance, qatar as a country was able to survive the blockage imposed on them by the emiratis due to their industrialized openness to wider world for a larger business development. conversant with western technology, they are now able to develop technologies that will aid their production system like agriculture, recycling and air space travels. in any case, it is said that two good heads a better than one. hence, more than one language is best in any form of development. nigeria is till battling to write and speak eloquently the english language they made their lingua franca. french language which is added to it, spoken in our neighboring country is another language hurdle to jump. but the education ministry in the country claims they are working hard. it is really a human developmental sorry state; if the reverse is not the case. conclusion crises erupt in nigerian and many other countries due to personality disorder created by lack of education. the disorder in personality informs absence of balanced education which creates an enabling society where people are not free igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 147 from hobbessian state of nature. balanced education involves the inculcation of rationality,where consideration of every side of issues towards judgment is sacrosanct. it is within the consideration that individual and cultural differences are taken note of towards action. but how can these differences be learnt? it is from the knowledge of the mind, background and worldview of people towards their actions and belief system. such are encoded and expressed in their language. therefore, to be balanced in person is to know more than oneself and one knows more than oneself when he or she knows the language of the other. references agbedo, c (2013) multilingualism in nigeria: issues and challenges, lambert academic publishing. brown, r (1968) readings in the sociology of language, the hague, paris. chomsky, n (1968) language and mind, linguistic contributions to the study of mind (future), harcourt brace jevanovich, inc. davidson, d (2014) action and mind, standford encyclopedia of philosophy, https://plato.standford .edu may, 5. draxler, b. (2015) how technology in shaping the future of language. popsci.com fodor, j (1975) the language of thought, havard university press. ibrahim, j & gwandu, s language policy on education in nigeria challenges of multilingual education and future of english language, american research journal of english and literature, vol. 2. king, e (2011) education is fundamental to development and growth. blogs.worldbank.org. kovacs, a and mehler, j (2009) cognitive gains in 7 month – old bilingual infants, havard university cambridge. ladusaw, w (1982) meaning (semantics and pragmatics), advancing the scientific study of language, linguistic society of america. locke j. essay concerning human understanding, book 2, chapter 1. lyons, j (1981) language and linguistics, https://bookas .google.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 148 marsh, d (2006) content and language integrated learning ihjournal.com. moja. t, (2000) nigerian education sector analysis: an analytical synthesis of performance and main issues. siteresources .worldbank.org. mudenda, e (2017) importance of language in learning process, zambia daily mail limited. https://www.daily-mail.co.zm olagbaju, o (2014) multilingual education in nigeria: policy, practice challenges and solutions. journal of education & practice vol. 5, no. 6 phipps, r. (2001) intercultural ethics: questions of methods in language. scholar.google.com raw, j (2018) the advantages of multilingualism, www.teachinegnlish.org. sachdev, a. (2016) importance of being a multilingual, blog.pedagoge.com. thirmann (2013) the role of languages in learning and teaching school subjects. tillas, a (2015) language as grist to the mill of cognition, cogn process https://en.wikipedi.org. trask (2007) language and linguistic: the key concepts, london: routledge. wellstone, p (2016) role of education in human development, silas international school, silas international school. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 2.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 66 englishigbo documentation of traditional marriage terms orji dereck-m akachukwu department of linguistics nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. odm.akachukwu@unizik.edu.ng & muogbo chinasa seraphine department of linguistics nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. abstract language documentation refers to systematically recorded representations of both spoken and written forms of a language in their appropriate sociocultural context. this research work documents the igbo traditional marriage terminologies. the research data involve the use of journal papers, the internet, interviews and textbooks. the methodology is simply descriptive. the research paper documents thirty terms associated with igbo traditional marriage and gives a description on terms documented. keywords: english, igbo, documentation, language, traditional, marriage. introduction language documentation has to do with creating a record of a language, preserving the sounds and the structure of a language. it is any record of language usage. language documentation has emerged as a response to the pressing need for collecting, describing and archiving material on the increasing number of endangered languages. this paper focuses on the documentation of the igbo traditional marriage terminologies. igbo is a major language in nigeria. bender (1989) emphasizes that the igbo language is classified as a niger-congo sub-branch of languages or the west benue-congo as noted by williamson & blench (2000). the language consists of many dialects which are mutually intelligible. there exist the anambra, ebonyi, imo, enugu dialects. the research paper examines the terms used in the different stages of the igbo traditional marriage, providing their english equivalent. the data used for this research study were gathered through interviews. the researcher also consulted many relevant texts, the use of journal papers and the internet. the concept of language documentation igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 67 himmelmann (2006) defines language documentation as “a lasting, multipurpose record of a language”. language documentation is concerned with the methods, tools, and theoretical underpinnings for compiling a representative and lasting multipurpose record of a natural language or one of its varieties. it is a new area within linguistics that has emerged as a response to the growing crisis of language endangerment. austin (2007) defines on the other hand sees it as an activity of systematic recording, transcription, translation and analysis of the broadest possible variety of spoken (and written) language samples collected within their appropriate social and cultural context. marci (2010) says that language documentation implies preserving a language without necessarily preserving the speakers; preserving the sounds, the structure of the language; or making a record of a culture. for grenoble and furbee (2010:3), language documentation acquires language data from many contexts in the best, most transferable and most durable formats. in other word, austin (2006), himmelmann(1998) and woodbury (2003) see language documentation as the systematically recorded representations of both spoken and written forms of a language in their appropriate sociocultural context. austin (2006) explains that for language documentation, data collection, representation and diffusion is the main research goal. himmelmann(2006) notes that language documentation is a field of linguistic inquiry and practice which is concerned with the compilation and preservation of linguistic primary data and interconnection between primary data and various types of analyses based on these data. reasons for engaging in language documentation from a linguistic point of view, there are essentially three reasons for engaging in language documentation as explained by himmelmann (2006). they are: language endangerment, the economy of research resources, and accountability. a. language endangerment: certainly the major reason why linguists have recently started to engage with the idea of multipurpose documentations is the fact that a substantial number of the languages still spoken today are threatened by extinction. the case of an extinct language, it is obviously impossible to check data with native speakers or to collect additional data igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 68 sets. creating lasting multipurpose documentations is thus seen as one major linguistic response to the challenge of the dramatically increased level of language endangerment observable in our times. in this regard, language documentations are important resources for supporting language maintenance. b. the economy of research resources: creating language documentations which are properly archived and made easily accessible to interested researchers is also in the interest of research economy. if someone worked on a minority language in the philippines 50 years ago and someone else wanted to continue this work now, it would obviously be most useful if this new project could build on the complete set of primary data collected at the time and not just on a grammar sketch and perhaps a few texts published by the earlier project. c. accountability: establishing open archives for primary data is also in the interest of making analyses accountable. many claims and analyses related to languages and speech communities for which no documentation is available remain unverifiable as long as substantial parts of the primary data on which the analyses are based remain inaccessible to further scrutiny. challenges in language documentation grenoble (2010) explains some of the challenges of documentation for any linguist include: • the range and scope of the documentation project: the magnitude of a documentation project can be a challenge. depending on how much work has already been done, a linguist may need to document all aspects of a language, from phonology of a language to complicated; contextually situated discourse and everything in between or the linguist may be filling in gaps in an existing corpus. it is necessary to be careful in determining the scope of a project. • collaborative work with speakers and communities: • the end products of a project • the technical expectations of modern documentation and teamwork. terminology according to anyaehie (1997:1), terminology is the science that is concerned with form and meaning of terms defined as units of reference in the scientific, technical or other special domains. to him, terminology specifically deals with the concept “terms”, their meanings and the domains they are been used, since igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 69 every domain has its own specialized group of words it uses in expressing that domain. terminology gives a transparent insight of what a term is all about; how to use it; when to use it and where it is not suitable to be used. for instance, the word “recommendation” is similar to the word “prescription,” but prescription is more suitable in the medical domain. a term from the point of view of ananiadou (1994) is a word that contains linguistic characters, and systems. in the words of crystal (2008), it as a unit of expression which has universal intuitive recognition by native speakers, in both spoken and written language. for gelinas-surprenant and hussman (2015), terminology is a discipline that deals with the collection, processing, description and presentation of terms which are lexical items belonging to a specialized subject field (e.g. medicine, law, engineering, library science or art history. dubuc (1978) expresses that terms are special registers made for a particular field. a term according to him, must be a noun or of the nominal group and terms are created to satisfy the needs of people in order to communicate from one language to another. hartman and james (1980) see a term as a word, a phrase or alphanumeric symbol used by practitioners of a specialized technical subject to designate a concept. for baker (1992), a term is a discrete, conceptual entities, properties, activities or relationships which constitute the knowledge space of a particular field. igbo traditional marriage according to ogbalu (2006:14) , igbo marriage ceremony consists of (a) initial enquiry by the man’s parents and relatives about the girl, her moral character, ability to work hard, intelligence, good behavior and home-making ability, e.t.c. (b) consultation of the afa man as to whether the marriage is agreeable to the gods. (c) determination and payment of dowry. dowry is the bulk sum of money paid by the husband to the girl’s parents and it is refundable at whatever stage the marriage fails and the woman has another husband. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 70 (d) ceremonies marking fulfillment of all that is customary e.g. ibu nkwu nwaanyi. this involves the umunnas and in some cases the entire villages of the husband and wife and other friends and relatives. for iroegbu (2012), is the final ceremony to take a wife home and it takes place in the bride’s family compound. here, the entire extended family relations, friends, colleagues and co-workers are invited. some communities specify items that the groom must present to the bride’s family like: kola nuts, palm wine, hot and soft drinks, onions, tomatoes e.t.c. the bride’s family will also give the bride presents like cooking utensils for her new home in order to show their love and care for their daughter. igba nkwụ starts with the arrival of groom’s party and the bride’s family comes out to greet their in-laws. the bride and her maids will also come and greet the in-laws after which, the groom’s party will present their assigned gifts to the in-laws who will check to make sure that they are in accordance with their list. the bride will later be blessed by the father who pours a palm wine into a cup and hands it over to the daughter to give the groom. both the groom and the bride now go before each of their parents to get their prayers and blessing. after this, merry-making and presentation of gifts begins. at the end of the party, the bride joins her husband’s party as they make their way back to their place. (e) performance of ndu-oku custom: at the end of the entertainments during ibu nkwu nwaanyi, the parents, relatives and friends bring out presents of all sorts ranging from the cow to broom and in modern homes, motor cars to their daughter. this is carried away when her husband’s people leave her home to her husband’s place at the end of the ibu nkwu ceremony. data presentation and analysis in this section, the data on igbo traditional marriage will be presented followed by the analysis. the terms used in traditional marriage include: 1. ḷchọ nwaanyi: this is the act of searching for a life partner. in this case, parents will assist their child in searching for a wife. some of the things they look out for while searching is the family of the person whether they die prematurely, whether the spirit of the dead is disturbing them e.t.c. 2.ọha ajụjụ / ọha mgbajuga ama/ ḷgba njụ : it has to do with thorough inquiry / investigation about the bride and the groom. they engage in investigations like: a. whether the families are outcasts that is osu. b. whether they are of the families that commit suicide igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 71 c. are they from the families that are diabolic? d. are they from the families that are armed robbers? e. are they from the families that the spirit of the dead attacks others? f. do they have land for farming, economic trees like palm tree? 3. inwe nkwekọrịta: it refers to a mutual agreement or consensus of both parties to marry each other. 4. ḷkpaje nkụ: this is done after the investigations i.e. ọha ajụjụ . when the investigations are positive, then, there will be what is called ḷkpaje nkụ that is, fetching of firewood. here, all the families that have males who are interested in the lady will start fetching firewood, sending coconut, fried breadfruit and palm kernel to the bride’s parents. as the males do all these things, the parents of the bride would be keeping those things for some times. at the end of this exercise, the parents of the bride would return the kolanuts, breadfruits and firewoods of those they do not accept as husband to their daughter, while they would eat the ones brought about by the accepted would-be husband. 5. nkwụ ọrụ: as both parties have given their consent to the envisaged marriage, people from the husband-to-be would go to their would-be in-law to engage in farming which involve clearing of grounds, gathering and burning of the weeds, cultivation and sowing of seeds which may be yam or cocoyam. this is usually done in any of the four market days. for instance, in nanka town in anambra state, it is done in oye and nkwọ market days as the people go to market on afor and eke. this exercise is equally applicable to the people from the side of the bride as they would help the would-be in-laws to carry out similar exercise. 6. ḷdụ ọdụ: this involves the counseling of both couples. elderly people would lecture the couples on the rudiments on marriage or what marriage entails. 7. ḷkụ aka/ ḷkụ kpam kpam: refers to initial visit by the bridegroom. the bridegroom and his people would come with not less than four kolanuts representing the four market days in igbo land and for instance, two gallons of upwine. when they arrive the bride’s home, they present these items. after these presentations, an elderly man from the bridegroom’s side will say that they saw igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 72 a plantain sucker i.e. unere in that family and that they would want to take it to their home. an elderly man from the bridegroom side will reply by saying that they have so many suckers of plantain and they would want to know the exact one. at this juncture, the bridegroom’s spokesman would mention the name of the lady. then, the bride would be sent for and when she arrives, they would ask the bridegroom whether she is the one and the expectation is that she says yes. equally, a question will be posed to the lady whether she knows those that have arrived in their place and if the answer is yes, the kolanut should be broken after praying traditionally. thereafter, a cup of upwine presented by the bridegroom would be given to the lady to show amongst the people, who exactly is the would-be-husband and the girl will carry the cup of wine to the would-behusband and present it to him after kneeling down. once this happens, every person present will now know who the would-be-husband is. this exercise equally shows consent by the lady. in other words, the wine should be shared to everybody present. 8. iwoyi nwa akịrịka n’onu/ ịdonye mmanya: it means presentation of bride. now, after the ḷkụ kpam kpam which is the initial visit by the bridegroom, both families will agree on the date for the payment of dowry preceded by ịka akịrịka which is haggling or negotiation of bride price. 9. ḷka akịrịka/ịgba ọnụ akụ: this is a situation where the amount to be paid by the groom on the bride is subjected to bargaining by both parties. in the olden days, the money paid as dowry is not mentioned. there is the use of an instrument called broomsticks which is used for negotiations and it is referred to as ịka akịrịka. on the day of this exercise, as the would-be-in-laws arrives the bride’s home, an elderly member of the bride’s family would present to the would-be-in-laws a bunch of broken broomsticks indicating the amount of money they are expecting from them as bride price. the would-be in-laws would count the broomsticks and if they find it too much, they would go for 10. ḷgba izu, that is, secret conversations within the premises and there, they would remove some broomsticks and return the rests. as this happens, if the members of the bride’s family are not satisfied with the number igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 73 of broken broomsticks, they would equally go for secret conversation known as ḷgba izu. then, they would add a number of broomsticks to the bunch indicating what they want to be paid as dowry. this exercise would continue until a balance is struck by both parties. this shows consensus and that amount will be paid as dowry.10. 11. ọjị ọsọ: this refers to the presentation of kolanut to show that one is welcomed. here, the bride’s family presents kolanut to show that they welcomed the bridegroom’s family because in igbo land, the presentation of kolanut signifies welcome or acceptance. 12. ọjị odoniigwugwu: on the day of ịgba nkwụ, certain items must be presented to the members of the bride’s family by the ụmụnna(kindred); ụmụọkpụ or ụmụada(married female members of the bride’s family); inyomdi(the women being married by the male members of the bride’s family); ndị agbataobi(the neighbours) and ụmụagbọghọ (the unmarried girls). on that day of ịgba nkwụ, after presenting the required items to these groups, then, the groups in turn will present kolanuts to the in-laws. the only exception is the unmarried girls (ụmụagbọghọ). before the ceremony comes to an end, there must be traditional prayer by the eldest man from the bride’s family and the eldest man from the bridegroom’s side. in doing this, four kolanuts each are presented to the eldest man to the family of the bride and that of the bridegroom’s side. naturally, the man should pocket two kolanuts and use one to say a prayer after which they break the remaining two kolanuts. after that, the other party will also carry out the same exercise and finally, the kolanuts will be shared to everyone. 13. ḷda ịya/ iji ana: this means suing for audience. in this particular exercise, a young man from the bride’s side should run, jump, demonstrate and bind his feet on the ground and there should be chorus of “yoo” by the crowd and when they feel that it is okay, people should rush to the young man giving him money meaning that he should stop. after that, the eldest man should pray traditionally and break the kolanut and as he says the prayers, people there will spray him money from different igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 74 denominations. the same thing should be applicable to the other party. a young man should also draw people’s attention through ịda ịya. 14. nnu ayọnaa na mmanụ: once both parties have agreed on an amount to be paid, this expression is made to indicate that both parties have come to a consensus. 15. ḷsekpụnaga obene: at the end of the dowry section, the bride must follow the would-be-husband to their family carrying the gourd with which they brought wine to the bridegroom’s home and she should be there for about four days helping the mother of the bridegroom. after about four days, she should return to her parents before they wait for the ịgba nkwụ and she goes finally with them. 16. ḷsọtọsi aka: this is the act of settling the ụmụnna(kindred); ụmụọkpụ or ụmụada (married female members of the bride’s family); inyomdi(the women being married by the male members of the bride’s family); and ụmụ agbọghọ (the unmarried girls) by giving every group their requirements or due. 17. nnene uno: it is one of the preliminary things. it is a situation where the lady in question, goes to the would-be-husband’s place to study the place whether she can make a living there or not. this involve studying the people, their way of life, finding out if there is any secret about the people that were not exposed during the enquiry or investigation section. after these, if the lady is satisfied with the environment, she can give her consent. 18. ntị ayị dịzikwe n’ama ụnụ: this is an expression made in a situation where after the bridegroom’s people have gone to the bride’s home to declare their intentions, normally, the bride’s people would say that they have heard what the bridegroom’s people have said but that a reply should be given after due enquiry or investigations. 19. ḷjụ mmụọ ese/ ịgba afa: it refers to the consultation of a native doctor for the success/confirmation or otherwise of the union or marriage. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 75 if the consultation turns out to be positive, then, the marriage should be consummated, but if otherwise, then the person should be told that the gods do not agree and that will be the end of the proposed marriage. 20. ego nkpụrụ ụkpaka: this is an entitlement to the mother of the lady being given to marriage. after paying the dowry, the suitor owes it as an obligation to present money to his mother in-law in respect of “nkpụrụ ụkpaka” which symbolizes the sufferings the mother encountered in raising up the girl child. 21. onye oke /onye aka ebe: he is the middleman that is, an intermediary through which information/errands could be passed to both parties. during traditional wedding, the intermediary is entitled to one tuber of yam and one fowl. it is pertinent to mention that in time of trouble/when there is disagreement between the couples normally, the intermediary should intervene. 22. nne ọmụmụ: it is used to refer to the mother of the bride. 23. ụtụrụ ọhụ na-abọ nkụtụkọ nkụtụkọ na ọgọ bụ chi onye: this means that the two families are not almost the same and should cooperate with each other. 24. ego isi: this is the money paid on the bride. 25. ḷgọ ọfọ: it is said to be the traditional prayer. 26. ọ nwere onye ọ nọọrọ? /aka o ji ya?: these are part of the questions that the bridegroom’s family will ask the bride’s family. they are used to enquire if the lady in question is engaged to anybody. the expression “ezi gara” means that the lady is free that is, she is not engaged. 27. idu obu: this is a time when the parents of the bride present her with various items or gifts for starting a new family. 28. ndị ọgọ : it is referred to as the in-laws. 29. ọgọ bịa mara be: at the end of the ịgba nkwụ, the suitor invites the bride’s family to his home and entertain them with food and drink. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 76 30. ilo ihe: it means the enumeration of the marriage items the table below presents the analysis of the igbo traditional marriage terms. it provides their english equivalent. s/n terms english equivalent 1 ḷchọ nwaanyi seeking for a wife 2 ọha ajụjụ / ọha mgbajuga ama/ ḷgba njụ enquiry or investigative period 3 inwe nkwekọrịta agreement 4 ḷkpaje nkụ fetching of firewood 5 nkwụ ọrụ testing the cooperation and patience of the parties 6 idu ọdụ counseling the couple 7 ḷkụ aka/ ḷkụ kpam kpam introduction 8 iwoyi nwa akịrịka n’onu/ ịdonye mmanya paying of bride price 9 ḷka akịrịka/ịgba ọnụ akụ haggling for the bride price 10 ḷgba izu secret conversation igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 77 11 ọjị ọsọ expression of reception of the would-be in-laws in tangible terms 12 ọjị odoniigwugwu kolanut presented to the suitor by various members of the bride's kindred 13 ḷda ịya/ iji ana suing for audience 14 nnu ayọnaa na mmanụ an expression indicating success 15 ḷsekpụnaga obene the girl in marriage accompanying the suitor to their home where she stays for about twelve native before returning to her home 16 ḷsọtọsi aka fulfilling the marriage requirements 17 nnene uno the bride going to the would-be-husband’s place to study the place and to know if it is habitable 18 ntị ayị dịzikwe n’ama ụnụ full of expectations 19 ḷjụ mmụọ ese/ ịgba afa consulting the idols igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 78 20 ego nkpụrụ ụkpaka money given to the bride's mother for raising the child 21 onye oke /onye aka ebe intermediary 22 nne ọmụmụ bride's mother 23 ụtụrụ ọhụ na-abọ nkụtụkọ nkụtụkọ na ọgọ bụ chi onye full cooperation with others 24 ego isi dowry 25 ḷgọ ọfọ traditional prayer 26 ọ nwere onye ọ nọọrọ? /aka o ji ya? whether or not the lady is engaged 27 idu obu settling the bride with the presentation of gifts 28 ndị ọgọ in-laws 29 ọgọ bịa mara be the bride’s family visiting the groom's home to know where their child is married to 30 ilo ihe marriage items enumeration the table above illustrates the different igbo traditional marriage terms and their english equivalent. summary and conclusion terms are specific to a particular domain. the igbo culture presents interesting aspects as reflected in its traditional marriage setting. the terms which were documented above can go a long way in sustaining traditional marriage ceremonies and other igbo festivities. igbo scholars can further develop a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 79 handbook on igbo cultural practices to enable people understand the igbo cultural setting and heritage. references ananiadou, s. 1994. a methodology for automatic term recognition, published in proceeding coling '94 proceedings of the 15th conference on computational linguistics , 2, 1034-1038. anyaehie e.o., 1997: research in terminology: the science, the practice and the product studies in terminology. okigwe: fasmen educational and research publication. austin , peter k. 2006. language documentation and your data . in essentials of language documentation, jost gippert, nikolaus p. himmelmann and ulrike mosel (eds.). berlin:mouton de gruyter. austin, peter k. 2007. training for language documentation: the soas experience. a paper presented at the international conference on endangered austrnesian languages, providence university, taiwan, june5-7, 2007). http://yamiproject.cs.pu.edu.tw/yami/conference/paper/013.pdf baker m., 1992: in other word: a course book on translation. london, routledge. bender, s .j. 1989. the niger congo languages: a classification and description of africa’s largest family. lanhan, new york and london: university press of america. david, c. 2008. a dictionary of linguistics and phonetics. (6th ed.). blackwell publishing. dubuc, r. 1978. manuel practique de terminologiè. quebec: lingulatech. gelinas-surprenant g. and hussman g. 2015. canadian terminology. standardizing terminology for better communication: practice. handbook of terminology, 1, 304–323. doi: 10.1075/hot.1.ter5 retrieved from https://benjamins.com/online/hot/link/articles/ter5 grenoble, lenore a & furbee, louanna, n. 2010. language documentation practice and values. amsterdam: john benjamins publishing company. grenoble, lenore a. 2010. language documentation and field linguistics: the state of the field. in in grenoble, lenore a & furbee, louanna (ed.) , language igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 80 documentation practice and values. amsterdam: john benjamins publishing company. hartman and james. 1980 .the dictionary of lexicography london: routledge himmelmann, nikolaus. 1998. documentary and descriptive linguistics. linguistics 36:161-195. himmelmann, nikolaus. 2006. language documentation: what is it and what is it good for? in gippert, himmelmann and mosel (eds.), 1-30. iroegbu patrick. 2012. traditional marriage best practices. canada: tradfford publishing. marci, martha j. 2010. language documentation . in grenoble, lenore a & furbee, louanna (ed.), language documentation practice and values. amsterdam: john benjamins publishing company. ogbalu .2006. igbo institutions and customs. onitsha :university publishing company. williamsom, k and roger, b. 2000. niger-congo. in bern h. & dereck n (eds), african languages: an introduction. cambridge: cambridge university press. woodbury, anthony c. 2003. defining documentary linguistics. in peter k, austin (ed.) 2003b, 35-51. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 391 the role of religion in peace building among ethnic groups in nigeria godwin aturuchi eche phd department of religious and cultural studies ignatius ajuru university of education rumuolumeni, port harcourt, rivers state south-south, nigeria 08037744939;godwineche1@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/ rg.2.2.23433.67684 & fortune okechukwu department of religious and cultural studies ignatius ajuru university of education rumuolumeni, port harcourt, rivers state south-south, nigeria 08037080849;fortunengozi2@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/ rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract today, africa is faced with some of the most obstinate conflicts, most of them constructed from differences in religious and ethnic identities. religious and ethnic nationalism has led to conflicts about control of state power, unequal allocation of resources, citizenship issues, state collapse, economic decline and ethno-religious clashes. nigeria has been pushed hither and thither by recurrent crises of regional or state illegitimacy, often impairing efforts at economic transformation, democratization, national cohesion and stability (osaghae and suberu, 2005:4). with this continental background in mind, this research paper seeks to examine the relationship between religion, ethnicity and conflict in nigeria, focusing mainly on issues in the north of the country. the question is: to what extent are conflicts emerging from ethnic or religious sources? this paper examined the notion of identity and how it explains the crisis of development and complexities in modern nigeria. keywords: religion, peace-building, nigeria, ethnic groups introduction nigeria is synonymous with deep divisions which cause major political issues to be vigorously and violently contested along the lines of intricate ethnic, religious mailto:godwineche1@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 392 and regional divisions. issues that raise the most dust are those regarded essential for the existence and the validity of the state. opposing and contending assemblages have a tendency to assume an exclusionary winner-take-all approach. these issues include the control of state power, allocation of resources and citizenship. as a result, states with such divisions are disposed to be delicate and unstable because by definition, they have very little in common with regard to convergence and harmony which are necessary to reduce the centrifugal forces that rip them apart (osaghae and suberu, 2005:4). breakdown, breakaway, civil strife, civil war, minority nervousness, and violent clashes, all of which would typically be regarded unusual in normal states are common forces or actual occurrences in divided states (osaghae and suberu, 2005:4). due to complicated network of politically silent identities, coupled with a history of protracted and seemingly stubborn wars and instability, nigeria is high on the list as one of the most unstable states in africa. since its independence, nigeria has been driven hither and thither by recurrent crises of regional or state illegitimacy, often impairing efforts at democratization, stability, economic transformation and national cohesion. a peak of the crisis appears to have occurred during the civil war of the 1960‘s, which began shortly after independence (okpanachi, 2010). since 1999 when nigeria transited into civilian rule, the country has witnessed a rapid increase in the number of conflicts. the aim of this study is to examine the relationship between religion, ethnicity and conflicts in the country. it looks at the notion of identity in an attempt to explain the crisis of development and the complexities of modern nigeria. a high level of corruption and the looting of state resources is another serious and ‗pandemic‘ problem that makes all forms of conflict and trouble worse in nigeria (dike, 2005). the country is ‗richly endowed with natural resources and high quality human capital‘ (ogbeidi, 2012:1), but corruption is one of the main reasons that affect the development of the country in a negative way. the appropriation of state resources by certain hands makes poverty and bitter anger inevitable aspects of daily socio-economic and political routine. in this sense, though corruption is not peculiar to nigeria, many sources call it the ‗bane of the country‘ (dike 2005; ogbeidi, 2012:21). corruption is considered to be one of the main causes of ethno-religious conflicts in nigeria (nwankwo, 2015). poverty and injustice caused by corruption weaken any sense of mutual tolerance, social solidarity or coexistence, while reawakening social hatred, radicalism and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 393 violence. for this reason, corruption is seen as one of the most important issues that have to be resolved in order to cope with ethno-religious conflicts in nigeria. the identity factor from a socio-political perspective, ‗identity‘ bears a personal and a social meaning. processes related to identity are ‗located at the core of the individual and yet in the core of his community‘s culture‘ (erikson, 1968-57; okpanachi, 2010). this, identity can be said to be an individual‘s ‗sense of belonging to a group if it influences his political behavior‘ (erikson, 1968:57; mary anderson, 2010; okpanachi, 2010). identity is built into an individual‘s physiological ‗givens‘ and in social roles (erikson, 1968:57; okpanachi, 2010). identity is characterized by features such as an ‗emotive tie to a group‘, ‗love and belief for a group‘, ‗pledge to a cause‘, and ‗commitments and duties to a group‘ with which a person identifies (smyth and robinson, 2001:7-11; okpanachi, 2010). general studies in identity underscore the fact that identity implies similarity and contrast at the same time (jenkins, 2004; okpanachi, 2010). ‗for an individual, or for a group, there may be a plurality of identities. yet, such a plurality is a source of stress and contradiction in both self-representation and social action. this is because identity must be distinguished from role-sets‘ (okpanachi, 2010). oftentimes, self-definition of identity overlaps with role expectations, but identities are more stable springs of meaning than those social roles. this is because identities establish the meaning, while social roles shape the functions (okpanachi, 2010; castells, 2010:7). however, identity is not uniform or stable among groups or individuals. its strength and importance is dynamic and differs from group to group. while identities are somewhat stable, identity consciousness keeps on changing to reflect the fluctuating role of the identities and the swelling magnitudes (jega 2000:11; okpanachi 2010). this elasticity of identity avoids coming up with an all new identity for the particular role and circumstance. recent studies on religious identity have also underscored the positive function of religion in promotion of peace. on the other hand, however, mobilization of identity has been used to incite political groups to struggle; and religious groups to legitimize wars and various modes of brutal and violent acts (alger 2002:101; okpanachi 2010). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 394 politics of ethnic identity in nigeria ethnicity is a social phenomenon that is manifested in interactions among individuals of different ethnic groups within a political system where language and culture are the most prominent attributes. the formation of dialects within languages was one of the ways in which ethnicity became fixed in nigeria. although there are over 400 languages in nigeria, only three are considered ‗major‘, while the rest are considered minor languages. however, the distribution of these languages is directly proportional to both political and socio-economic power, and therefore the language group to which one belongs defines his/her status in the society. missionaries and local politicians created standard languages and hoped that they would homogenize language and ethnicity, and create more harmonious ethnic identities. ethnicity is natural in almost all societies made up of more than one ethnic group. this observation tends to offer the suggestion that the interaction between different ethnic groups within a single political set-up generates ethnic identity. an interaction of this kind can create ‗a common consciousness of being one in relation to other relevant ethnic groups‘ (eriksen, 1996:30). that in turn, results in the emergence of ingroup and out-group confines which come to be guarded jealously over time. based on this approach, ethnicity thus becomes a process through which ethnic identities are politicized (eriksen, 1996:30). historically, identities have played a significant role in the nigerian political process during the colonial period and in the post-colonial era. during the colonial period, the administrators allowed the emergence and aggravation of an ‗us‘ versus ‗them‘ syndrome, where muslims were pitted against christians, northerners against the southerners, hausa-fulani, yoruba and lgbo against each other, and so on (adefemi 2003:14; okpanachi 2010). in this era religious and ethnic differences became prominent factors in instituting and executing socio-economic strategies and applications. therefore, the differentiating outcomes of colonialism became the forerunner of the socio-economic disequilibrium among the different regions, and then this became an important factor in the stimulation of identity awareness so as to efficiently ‗divide and rule‘ (fearon and laitin 2003:82; okpanachi 2010). but, as a counter argument it must be said that internal factors are more determinant than the external ones in creating the cleavages in nigeria. this is also the case in many other countries. ethnicity is seen as the most basic and politically salient identity of nigerians. this argument is based on the premise that in competitive and non-competitive igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 395 contexts, nigerians tend to define themselves in terms of ethnic affinities as opposed to other identities (osaghae and suberu 2005:8). a survey conducted in nigeria by lewis and bratton found that almost half of nigerians (48.2%) labeled themselves with an ethnic identity compared to 28.4% who labeled themselves with respect to class and 21% who identified with a religious group (lewis and bratton 2000:27; osaghae and suberu 2005:9). this means that over 66% of nigerians view themselves as members of an elemental ethnic or religious group. what is even more interesting is the fact that religious and ethnic identities are more salient than class identities (lewis and bratton 2000:26; osaghae and suberu 2005:9). however, this is not at all that surprising, especially if one considers that ethno-religious formations are the most persistent behavioral units in nigeria (nsongola-ntalaja 2004:404; osaghae and suberu 2005:9). nevertheless, notwithstanding the fact that ethnicity is the most salient, and the large number of studies conducted on this issue, the total number of ethnic groupings in nigeria remains unknown (osaghae and suberu 2005:9). some sources put it at 374 (otite 1990:34; okpanachi 2010), while some other sources count more than 250 different ethnic identities (central intelligence agency 2016). however, the population percentages of the majority of these groups are small when compared with the seven largest ethnic groups constituting about 88% of the country‘s population. these are hausa and fulani (29%), yoruba (21%), igho (18%), ijaw (10%), kanuri (4%), ibibio (3.5%), and tiv (2.5%) (central intelligence agency: 2016). this population disproportion, when combined with the disparities in the political influence of individual ethnic groups roughly classifies the nigerian population into two major groupings: the majority and minority ethnic groups. while the hausa-fulani, the yoruba and the igbo form the majority, the rest of the ethnic groups are fitted into the minority classification which in itself possesses different degrees of status relative to their size and political influence (rakov 1990; paden 2008:4; okpanachi 2010). the hausa-fulani and other smaller ethnic groups that inhabit the north of the country are muslims while the igbo and the other smaller groups residing in the south are mainly christians. groups lying in the middle comprise of a mixture of christians and muslims while the yoruba found in the southwest are almost half muslim and half christian. this muslim north and christian south cleavage enhances ethnic fractionalizations in nigeria, especially in northern nigeria where islamic identity plays a dominant role (paden 2007:8; okpanachi 2010). it is clear that nearly the entire northern half of the country consists of states with sharia law. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 396 of course, exceptions should not be overlooked for both parts of the country. there is a considerable population of muslims in the south, especially in the southwest, and a sizeable number amongst the benin in edo state. even in the southeast, amongst the igbo, there has been a rising number of muslims, causing the governors of some igbo-speaking states to introduce state programmes for muslims. the same goes for christians in the north, where the considerable number of christians cannot be disregarded in any analysis of religious groupings in nigeria. lewis (2007:6) attributes the historical prominence of islam during the formation of northern states in the early 19th century to the continued prominence of emirs and religious authorities in framing identities in northern nigeria. lewis argues that a number of principles of ethnicity are used by political leaders and others to frame their arguments as to how things should be accomplished. first, ethnic identity is the most important and consistent basis of social identity in the country. second, ethnicity is seen as a way for collective action. finally, ethnicity is presumed to be a destabilizing factor with far-reaching impacts on democracy. these principles breed a number of outcomes. because political competition is played along lines of ethnicity, the resultant ‗democratic‘ but authoritarian government ostensibly has an ethnic character (lewis 2007:2). lewis states that civilian governments supposedly promote the creation of an ethnic politicization and political schism. on the other hand, non-democratic regimes like military rules are usually repercussions from the side of the political elite. in most cases, therefore, mechanisms of political governance are formed on the basis of ethnicity via custom-made patronage systems (lewis 2007:2). for instance, in nigeria the ethnic factor is seen when political parties are formed and during elections. the northern people‘s congress (npc) was formed in the first republic and it was a hausa-fulani party. similarly, the igbo belonged to the national council of nigeria and cameroon (ncnc) while the yoruba prided themselves as members of the action group (ag) (cohen 1968). these parties later transformed into the national party of nigeria (npn), the nigerian people party (npp) and the unity party of nigeria (upn) during the second republic (edoh, 2001:87). the third republic had the social democratic party (sdp) and national republican convention (nrc), which were disbanded by annulment of the june 12, 1993 elections by general ibrahim babangida, due to suspected ethnic reasoning when it became clear that the northern political hegemony risked igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 397 losing out. thus, here it is possible to detect that stimulation of ethnic awareness easily turns into a conflict in order to get more from scarce societal resources. and this situation provokes political tensions and cleavages among the ethnic groups. nigeria is not the only country in the world where such things are experienced. in recent times, socio-economic and political changes have taken place and transformed the delineations of identities and politics in nigeria. to begin with, patterns of group mobilizations have shifted, in the traditional models of nigerian ethnic politics, emphasis was on competition among the country‘s three largest groups – the hausa-fulani, the yoruba and the lgbo. the minority groups comprising over 250 smaller ethnic groups have often been regarded as inconsequential in political contests. however, since 1999, nigeria‘s political arena has been changing following political action by groups in the niger delta and the ‗middle-belt‘ communities who have increasingly become vocal in national politics and economy (soludo 2007). ethnic solidarity has also faced opposition from religious mobilizations by the muslims and the christians especially in the muslim north. since the restoration of democratic rule, ethnic identity and mobilization in the nigerian political landscape has often resulted in political instability. between 1999 and 2013, more than 11,000 deaths have occurred as a result of more than five hundred incidents of communal violence. ethnic violence has been witnessed in almost all regions in the country but with particular frequency in the niger delta, the muslim north and northwest and along the middle-belt (uzodike and whetho, 2011:220). the level of insecurity witnessed during the post-military period is considerably higher than that experienced during the three decades of military rule that ended in 1999. it is often assumed that there exist stable identities in nigeria and consistent group motives in the approach to ethnic politics (rotberg 2002:88). religious identity nigeria is the most crowded african country with a population of about 182 million by 2015 (world population prospects 2015:21). a majority of the scientific academic sources accept that half of the population is christian and the other half muslim. however, there is uncertainty about the exact percentages hence various sources give different figures. in a report published by pew research center in 2010 the numbers from different sources are compared in the report‘s appendix b. if we mention them chronologically for instance, the 1963 census igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 398 certified 36% christian, 48% muslim and 16% other. however, the demographic and health survey gave 53% christian, 45% muslim and 2% other in 2008. similarly, afro barometer found 56% christian, 43% muslim and 1% other, also in 2008. and finally, pew forum declared 46% for christians, 52% for muslims and 1% for others in 2009 (pew research center 2010). whatever the exact percentages are, it is clear that nigeria is a country with very large christian and muslim populations. this situation makes this country a potential fault line between the two different identities and even civilizations. in this sense, nigeria, with the largest christian plus muslim population in the world, can be defined as a ‗cleft country‘ and then a ‗test case‘ of huntington‘s clash of civilizations thesis (paden 2007; olojo 2014:7). although the general presumption is that ethnic identity is a more prominent and stable source of identity in nigeria, some researchers have demonstrated that religion was more significant than ethnicity as a source of identity and conflict in nigeria (ruby and shah 2007; pew research center 2010; green 201 1). in fact, in the hausa-fulani north, religious identity is more pronounced than ethnic identity and only serves to stimulate ethnicity (osagbae and suberu 2005:10). therefore, of the two major ethnic groupings in the country, the yoruba are more likely to identify themselves with their ethnic group than are the northern hausa-fulani (lewis and bratton 2000:20; osaghae and suberu 2005:11). nigeria has three major religious identities: christian, islam and traditional religions (omorogbe and omohan 2005:557). traditional religions are the most politically inactive of the three groups, ‗numbering several hundreds of ethnic groups and subgroups, villages, clans and kin groups; and, involving the worship of different gods and goddesses‘ (osaghae and suberu 2005:11). on the other hand, christian and muslim identities have continued to be the backbone of religious disparity and conflict (lewis and bratt on 2000:5; osaghae and suberu 2005:1 1). this differentiation underlies the north-south cleavage. it is worth noting that, within the wide christian and muslim categories, there lie many sub-cleavages and intra-group conflicts that have either been active politically in the past or have a potential of being salient in the future. among the christians, sub-cleavages include the protestants (anglican lo%, baptist 8%, methodist 5%, and lutheran 5%), the catholics 15%, the evangelical church of west africa 2%, jehovah‘s witnesses 5% and a myriad of other local (aladura, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 399 cherubim and seraphim, celestial church of christ 20%) and pentecostal churches 30% (osaghae and suberu 2005:11% the pentecostal churches form the fundamental division of christianity in nigeria which has experienced rapid growth in numbers of followers in the last few years with the majority of adherents, especially the youths, joining the church from the older and more traditional denominations. the church has played an important role in civil society in anti-military struggles and democratization. this has been made possible through umbrella bodies such as the christian association of nigeria (can), the pentecostal fellowship of nigeria (pen), and the catholic bishops conference (osaghae and suberu 2005:11). however, politicization of christianity has been reliant on moves by the muslims and the interventions of the government. still, protestant-catholic cleavages have continued to play an important role in elections among the lgbo communities living in the southeast of nigeria (osaghae and subeni, 2005:11). muslims also belong to a number of sub-cleavages that include ahmadiyya 12%, sanusiyya 5%, tijanniyya 3%, and quadriyya 8% which have in turn been in conflicts. as among the christians, the muslims also have umbrella bodies which aim at propagating different understandings of islam. notable among these organizations is the jamaatu nasril islam (jni) which was established by sardauna of sokoto in 1961. following events in iran during the islamic revolution of 1979, radical fundamentalist activities increased among muslim youths. these conditions resulted in the formation of fundamentalist muslim factions such as the maitatsine, the isala movement, the shiites, the talibans and most recently the boko haram (fayemi: 2011) which demanded the establishment of a purist islam based on sharia law, the abolition of unorthodox innovations, and the creation of an islamic theocracy (osaghae and suberu 2005:11). these relatively new sentiments that depend on a unique and radical interpretation of islam provoke conflicts with the traditional and/or more moderate understandings. ethno-religious conflicts the fact that an average nigerian is very religious was observed by some sources (oluduro 201.0:209; athyo 2013:29). religion plays a critical role in nigerian society and has expressed itself as a potent force in the geopolitical development of the country. this force which has been used to unite nigerians is the same force that has led to numerous conflicts in the country. nigeria has been engulfed igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 400 in numerous religious crises or conflicts between 1980 and 1994 (warner 2012:38). due to their tendency to spread into other areas after an early stay in one area, ethno-religious conflicts have gained notoriety as the most violent crises in nigeria. most of these conflicts occur in the middle-belt and along the culturally borderline states of the predominantly muslim north, and also take place between hausa-fulani groups and non-muslim ethnic groups in the south (osaghac and subeni 2005:19). in conflicts of this nature occurring along the convergence of ethnic and religious lines, it is often very difficult to tell the differences between religious and ethnic crises because the dividing line between them is slimmer than thin. examples of such ethno-religious conflicts are the kafanchan-kaduna crisis that occurred in the i 980‘s and i 990‘s, the kaduna sharia riots of 2000 and 2012 (osaghae and suberu 2005:19). several hundred lives were lost during the kaduna crisis of 2000 and the jos insurrection of 2001. the crises caused violent ripple effects that spread beyond kaduna and jos (enukora 2005:633). other recent ethno-religious conflicts include the july 1999 conflict among the oro cultists in sagamu in ogun state who claimed that the hausa women had come outside when the cultists were outside with their gnome. the result were arguments that finally turned into a fill—scale crisis. many yoruba and hausa people were killed before a dusk to dawn curfew was imposed on the sagamu town. even as the infamy was being put under check in sagamu, reprisal attacks continued in kano a hausa city leading to deaths and destruction of property worth billions of naira (kura, 2010:33-34). another ethno-religious conflict that had far reaching impacts on the people of nigeria was the october 2000 lagos-kane (idi-araba/oko-oba) conflict which was caused by a misperception between the hausa inhabitants and the yoruba living in lagos over the use of a convenience by a man from hausa, the mayhem resulted in the death of many yoruba. as a consequence, the o‘dua people congress (a yoruba militia) was formed and worsened the situation as the violence later spread southwards to kano (enukora 2005:633; kura 2010:34). worse still, in september 2001, ethnic friction between the tivs and the bunkums in the plateau state reached fever pitch following what came to be referred to as ‗mistaken identity‘. ‗what this means is that some tiv took some nineteen soldiers to be bunkums in fake army uniform. the tiv youths captured them and slaughtered them one by one‘ (kura 2010:34-35). and then the nigerian army igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 401 embarked on devastating reprisal attacks in zaki-biam. according to some controversial mm hers at least a hundred people died in the army attacks (human rights vatch 2001). violence spread to jos plateau especially after a christian was appointed as a local council chairman. by the time the menace was brought to a standstill, over 160 lives had been lost (kura 2010:35). a case of the north: boko haram between 1999 and 2013, numerous conflicts have been witnessed in nigeria. the most important among them is the boko haram crisis which is on-going. this group has started a bloody campaign to impose a sui-generis islamic regime based on sharia in the muslim north of the country. actually, it is hard to argue that boko haram is a religious or ethnic conflict. in the former case, it targets more muslims than christians. in the latter, it is mostly an ethnic northern conflict. for this reason, though boko haram uses a religious discourse, it may be more appropriate to call it simply a terrorist organization. with regard to the numerous conflicts and the boko haram menace in particular, the country‘s stability is under constant threat boko haram has introduced into nigeria‘s political and social life a level of insurgency never witnessed before. the insurgency became violent in 2008 even before the country could heal from previous ethno-religious conflicts (shehu 2011:3). boko haram was founded in 2002 by muhammad yusuf. it is formally identified by its members as ‗jama‘at ahlissunnah lid da ‘waswal jihad’, which means ‗people committed to the propagation of the prophet‘s teachings and jihad‘. the name of the group ‗boko haram‘ is loosely translated from the hausa language to mean ‗western education is sinful‘. this meaning is extended to mean any western culture is prohibited. it is for this reason that followers of this outfit advocate for a government based on sharia as opposed to a democratic one. it is possible to count wahhabism, salafism and islamic fundamentalism as the basic items of the boko haram‘s ideology. the group which was founded in 2002 in maiduguri did not become militant until 2009 when its leader was captured and killed by the nigerian army. since then, the group has engaged in gun battles, arson, bombing and stabbing, in promoting their ideology (warner 2012:40). moreover, boko haram has captured a territory in and around borno state in the northeast part of nigeria in 2014. however, the territorial control of the group has been removed by the nigerian army in 2015. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 402 boko haram can be examined in various ways. firstly, it refers to a long history characteristic of northern nigeria and the continued radical islamic movements. secondly, the group has its foundations in the socio-economic marginalization of the country‘s northern population. thirdly, boko haram is understood as seeking revenge especially in response to unacceptable behavior of the law enforcers. the fourth understanding is based on the perception that boko haram is utilized by the elites from the north to express their grievances over lack of interest demonstrated by the central government. finally, the group can be understood as developing as an offshoot of the al-.qaeda in the islamic maghreb (aqim) and probably al-shabaab (warner 2012:39). it is important to note that apart from the group targeting national events, markets and churches, they are sometimes engaged in sporadic bombings in major towns in northern nigeria including kaduna, zaria, jos, kano, maiduguri, and in damaturi. during such instances, the fighters kill indiscriminately – muslims and christians alike. despite everything, the group leaders have often stated that they are still fighting for justice and the islamization of nigeria (roach 2012:4). the group has declared its allegiance to the islamic state (is), as has been done by a series of terrorist groups from various parts of the world. in this context, boko haram can be seen as yet another reflection of the religious looking international tenor campaigns now sweeping the globe scene. inter-religious conflicts inter-religious conflicts in nigeria form part of the dynamics of identity politics. political elites in nigeria have always sought to reap advantages from the multidimensional identities, more so during electioneering periods, and this has resulted in conflicts and instability. this politicization of religious identities during contests for political office often lacks any sustaining unifying ideology. somehow, politics in nigeria are fashioned on the appeasement of religious motives. as a consequence, religion attains the level of deification that is difficult to challenge or overpower. in the quest to assume power and control state resources, the elites constantly modify patterns of political domination. in this perpetually changing pattern of domination, fears and anxieties are breed that motivate an upsurge in struggle and intolerance (ibrahim and kazah-toure 2003:18; okpanachi 2010). since the return of civilian rule in 1999 following a protracted period of military rule, nigeria has continued to experience recurring ethno-religious conflicts. although some of these struggles are low-intensity contestations and rancorous igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 403 wars of words, other has degenerated into bloody sectarian fights. thousands of nigerians have been left dead, wounded and homeless over the years due to constant religious strife pitting people of different religions against each other (okpanachi 2010). the main forms of inter-religious conflicts in nigeria are between the muslims and the christians, the conflicts are sometimes so intense that they have turned into wars in different parts of the country, and they range from the kano revolt (1980), bulunktu bisarre (1982), kastina crises (1999), zamfara conflict, kaduna revolt, bauchi crises and sokoto (1999). more recent examples are the jos crises and the current conflict by boko haram against christians and moderate muslims. these are only a few examples of inter-religious conflicts in nigeria, since not a year passes without three to four incidences of inter-religious conflicts. inter-religious conflicts are brought about by a number of factors. one of these causes is the clashing interests of those in authority. the ruling class has applied a number of processes to express their dissatisfaction with exclusion from important decisionmaking processes of the country. the methods employed include religious violence and military coups d‘état. a majority of the religious conflicts in northern nigeria are reported to be due to the large number of rich southerners who reside there. many northern elites are hurt by the business inventiveness of the southerners and employ religious calls to incite people to destroy property belonging to non-natives. the results are wars fought under the pretence of being religious (falola 1998). major causes of ethno-religious conflicts in nigeria unlike other forms of social conflicts, ethno-religious conflict entails different ethnic groups that belong to different religions. it is essential to advert that both religious and ethnic causal agents have always acted together in the majority of social conflicts in nigeria. at different levels and times in the past, the nigerian people have complained of religious and ethnic discrimination. most ask for religious and ethnic rights within their state. another cause of the conflicts has been the state‘s use of religion and ethnicity in political discourse or action. therefore, it is clear that accusations and allegations of neglect oppression and domination are the major causes that fuel ethno-religious conflicts (ikelegbe 2001:14; kura 2010:35-36; salawu 2010:348). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 404 nigeria, like many other countries in the world, lacks a consensus on how necessary changes and reforms are affected. this is caused by the fact that different religious and ethnic groups have varying benefits in which case some groups will have their interests met while others will not. this means that tension occur when individuals who feel that they are deprived attempt to increase their stake of power or wealth or to alter the central beliefs, values, norms and philosophies. in nigeria therefore, there appears to exist a contentious interaction of politics, ethnicity and religions, which has resulted in an increased sense of belonging and militancy. it is important to note that the general outcome of this is the intensification of numerous ethno-religious struggles in nigeria. and this intensification can be seen as the main source of ongoing discrimination, subordination and domination in this country (kura 2010:36). from one perspective, the failure‘ of the nigerian political elite to enact good governments, promote national integration and foster good economic progress via thoughtful and pronounced policies has resulted in massive unemployment. this has in turn led to the rise of communal, ethnic and religious conflicts that are characteristic of the nigerian politics. since poverty and unemployment have acted as the mainstay for various ethno-religious conflicts in the country, an accumulation of pauperized people can end up acting as paid militants. this could be the reason why any conflict in nigeria is usually characterized by a large number of fighters (kura 2010:36; mu‘asu 2011:19-20). there is a correlation between ethno-religious conflicts and low standards of democracy due to protracted military interferences in politics. this appears to legalize the application of coercion and violence as tools for social change and for the achievement of anticipated desires and objectives (kura 2010:37). based on this understanding, it is common in nigeria to observe that as a consequence or an aftereffect of a military period, the application of both force and intimidation as a means of settling a misunderstanding has become very frequent. when this is coupled with easy acquisition of illegal fire arms, violence erupts more quickly and there is more difficulty in negotiating peaceful settlements. the absence of vehicles of social control that were characteristic of traditional african societies, such as kinship, religious and political systems concerned with the wellbeing of the community, has led to the escalation of ethno-religious conflicts. the failure of these institutions is partly to blame for the ethnic and communal conflicts witnessed in nigeria today. broken families and the inability igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 405 to make ends meet in many homes have led to an increase in the level of immorality while at the same time providing a reservoir of youths who readily take up arms to execute ethno-religious conflicts at a fee. conclusion this study in one sense has tried to look at the emergence of identities and their impact on the conflicts in the most crowded african country, nigeria. from social and political perspectives, ‗identity‘ has a personal and social meaning. identity can be defined as distinct qualities, characteristics and beliefs of an individual or a group of people. and it is an individual‘s sense of belonging to a group which often has mi impact on his/her political behavior (erikson 1968:57; mary anderson 2010). identity has been a significant aspect of the nigerian political process, during the colonial period and in the post-colonial era. ethnicity is a social phenomenon that is related to interactions among individuals of different ethnic groups within a political system where language and culture are the most prominent attributes. both ethnicity and religiosity have emerged as the most basic and politically salient identities of the nigerians. in nigeria, structures of political control are formed on the basis of ethnicity and religiosity via a custom-made patronage system. these identities have been a constant source of conflict and cleavage in the country. since the restoration of democratic rule, ethnic identity and mobilization in the nigerian political landscape has often resulted in political instability and constant conflicts. a number of uprisings and concomitant mayhem have been reported since 1999 and have resulted in the loss of thousands of lives and the destruction of property. in recent times, for instance, the militarization of boko haram has undermined nigeria‘s stability and placed the country under constant threat. despite some exceptions, such as the yoruba being made up of both christian and muslim segments, ethnic identities generally overlap with religious identities in nigeria. for that reason, it is difficult to distinguish ethnic conflicts from religious ones in this county. however, it can be said that ethnic differences in nigeria would not have been such a prominent cause of conflict if they had not overlapped with the religious identities, or vice versa. in other word, in many instances, religion provides a mobilization flame for conflict and this effect is amplified when religious and ethnic cleavages run parallel. and there is no doubt that inter-religious conflict in nigeria form part of the dynamics of identity politics. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 406 as stated above, while some sources (lewis and baton 2000) reveal the importance of ethnicity as a causal factor of cleavages, others (ruby and shah 2007; pew research center 2010; green 2011) underline religious identities as a more determinant element in the perception of difference. the diversity in the scientific findings and literature was probably caused by researchers focusing on different groups in nigeria. basically this means that for some groups ethnicity is more binding, while in others religion plays a dominant role in group identification and a sense of belonging. since this paper has been mostly concentrated on conflicts in the north, the religious factor might be highlighted – due to the decisive religious cleavages in this region. of course, there is much ethno-religious conflict in nigeria, not only in the north and in the delta, but also in the middle belt. however, the importance of the conflict in the north comes from its global origin. it is apparent that this conflict is a manifestation in nigeria of religiously oriented global-scale violence. there are similarities between boko haram and other radical lslamist groups like aiqaeda, al-shabaab, al-nusra and the is in terms of discourse and praxis. this makes the conflict in the north more interesting for the rest of the world and this is the main reason for the emphasis on the subject in this paper. it is generally accepted that the inefficacy of politicians in nigeria at the points of good governance, national consolidation and economic development has caused political cleavages, social disintegration and massive unemployment (kura 2010:36; mu‘asu 2011:19-20; ogbeidi 2012:21). this, together with the absence of social control mechanisms and a high level of corruption, has stimulated ethnoreligious finally, the nation-state model is in danger in nigeria, as in many other so-called nation-states. of course, globalization feeds this process, but the main reason is related to inherent features of the model. the majority of modern states consist of different groups and usually one of them tries to rule the system while provoking the objections of others. consequently, the ethnic, religious and maybe ideological groups compete for dominance and this weakens the basis of any achieved unity. this is then seen as the inevitable character of heterogeneous nation-states (gordon anderson 2010:29) this paper having examined all the factors which possibly may militate against peace, hereby recommends that: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 407 1. there is the need for various religious and ethnic groups to have a form of dialogue whereby they can interface through discussion for a meeting ground. 2. the christians represented by the christian association of nigeria (can), and the muslims represented by the islamic supreme council (isc) should regularly meet and dialogue for peace among the various religious 3. various political parties as well as regional interests should be tackled to disabuse followers from self-centeredness (which often create conflict) in order to make way for peace among the various ethnic groups in nigeria. references adefemi, l. v. (2003), ―migration, land tenure, citizenship and communal conflicts in africa‖ in nationalism and ethnic politics, 9 (1), pp. 1– 9 alger, c. f. (2002) ―religion as a peace tool‖ in the global review of ethno-politics, 1 (4), pp. 94–109. anderson, gordon l. (2010), resolving ethnic conflicts in nation states, introduction to ijwp, june. available from> [accessed 25 july 20161. anderson, mary r. (2010), community identity and political behavior. new york, palgrave macmillan. canci, haldun and azevket s. men (2010), ―turkish dilemma after operation desert storm (1990-1991): an analysis of ‗negative consequences‖ in the european journal of social science research, 23 (3), pp.279—292. castells, manuel (2010. ―the power of identity‖ (2nd ed). london wileyblackwell.available from: central intelligence agency (2016) the world facebook available from:https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/theworld-factbook/geos/ni.html>[accessed 12 july 2016]. cohen, abner (1969), custom and polities in urban africa. berkeley; university of califonia. press. available from:https://books.google.com.cy/books?id=oroodripvgmc&pg=pa1 41&hl=tr&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=4#v=onepage&q&f=false[accessed 12 july, 2016]. dike, victor e. (2005), corruption in nigeria: a new paradigm for effective control. africa economic analysis. available https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ni.html https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ni.html https://books.google.com.cy/books?id=oroodripvgmc&pg=pa141&hl=tr&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=4#v=onepage&q&f=false https://books.google.com.cy/books?id=oroodripvgmc&pg=pa141&hl=tr&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=4#v=onepage&q&f=false igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 408 from:http://www.africaeconomicanalysis.org/articles/gen/corruptiondik ehtm.html [accessed 25 july 2016]. edoh, t. (2001), ―the upsurge of ethno-religious sentiments and the future of democracy in nigeria‖ in nigeria journal of political and administrative studies, 1 (2), pp. 79 – 92 ekundayo, john iwo (2013), ―out of africa: fashola reinventing servant leadership to engender nigeria‘s transformation‖. bloomington, author house. available from:<https://books.google.com.cy/books:id=nu5foxojbt4c&pg=pa29 &1pg=paz9&dq=an+average+nigerian+is+very+religious&source=bl&ot s=8miovk9_f&sig=iu8hwisholhokhcxodpeq6aeljjac#vonepage&ga n%20average%2onierian%2ois%2overy%2oreligious&&fhlse> [accessed 25 july 2016]. enukora, lo. (2005) ―managing ethno-religious violence and area differentiation in kaduna metropolis‖ in, yakubu,alhaji m; r.t.adegboye; c.n. ubah and b. dogo (eds). crisis and conflict management in nigeria since 1980 (i1) kaduna, nigerian defense academy. pp. 610 – 635. eriksen, thomas h. (1996), ―ethnicity, race, class and nation‖ in, hutchinson, j. and a. d. smith (eds) ethnicity. oxford; oxford university press. pp. 28 – 31. erikson, erik h. (1968), identity, youth and crisis. new york; w.w, norton. falola, toyin (1998), violence in nigeria: the crisis of religious politics and secular ideologies. new york, university of rochester press. available from:https://books.googie.com.ng/books?id=o7wna3imksc&printsec=f rontcover&hl=tr#v=onepage&q=inventiveness&f=false [accessed 25 july2016]. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. http://www.africaeconomicanalysis.org/articles/gen/corruptiondikehtm.html http://www.africaeconomicanalysis.org/articles/gen/corruptiondikehtm.html https://books.googie.com.ng/books?id=o7wna3imksc&printsec=frontcover&hl=tr#v=onepage&q=inventiveness&f=false https://books.googie.com.ng/books?id=o7wna3imksc&printsec=frontcover&hl=tr#v=onepage&q=inventiveness&f=false igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 409 kanu, a. i; omojola, i. o.; bazza, m. b. (2019). boko haram and forced migration: a focus on the northeast and lake chad basin. published in nnadiebube journal of education in africa. vol. 4. no. 2. pp. 1-13. kanu, ikechukwu a. & ndubisi j. o. ejikemeuwa (2018) (eds.). religion, morality and peace-building in africa: ambiguities and the imperfect human condition. lambert academic publishing: germany. kanu, i. a. & ushe m. u. (2018). the religious politics of boko haram and fulani herdsmen menace: a resurgence of islamic fundamentalism. in kanu, i. a. & ndubisi j. o. e (eds.). religion, morality and peace-building in africa: ambiguities and the imperfect human condition (pp. 109-183). lambert academic publishing: germany. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 3 special edition igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 62 a discourse on globalization and conflict in african values by b. a. c. obiefuna department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe university, awka anambra state nwaozaku@yahoo.com & kanu, i. a. department of religion and cultural studies veritas university of nigeria, abuja abuja ikee_mario@yahoo.com abstract advancements in the areas of science and technology have created easy access to means of transportation and communication which has further made the world a global village and its inhabitants cosmopolitans on a global conference table. this has made it easier for the transportation of cultures, religions and ideas to different parts of the world. people are getting to know more about other people’s culture and religion. it can be said that most things are not the same again all over the world as a result of cultural influences. this trend has brought the african values face to face with western values, creating a conflict of cultural perspectives. this piece therefore studies the nature and dimensions of this conflict of values. it observes that in this conflict of values, the western values are gradually having an upper hand in virtually every dimension of the african life. it therefore argues that for africans to retain their values in the age of globalization of values, african values must be taught in the smallest sociological units of the african society and in institutions. keywords: globalization, african, values, conflict, discourse introduction a cursory glance at the history of africa reveals that the cultural encounter between europe and africa at various periods, ranging from the slave trade era through the colonial period to the present age, could be better described as a forced acculturation, a concept kanu (2010) understands as a situation in which a highly developed society imposes certain elements of its culture on the other, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 63 consciously or unconsciously, thereby forcing the ‘weaker’ culture to derail from its unique tract of cultural civilization. during these encounters, african beliefs and ideals have suffered enormous alterations or even threat of extinction. achebe (1958) in his celebrated classic and epoch-making piece, things fall apart, brought out the consequences of the encounter between the european and african cultures. he particularly looks at the igbo society, specifically at the period when the white man broke into it as a missionary, trader and administrator. this is located in obierika’s accusation of the white man: does the white man understand our custom about land?, asked okonkwo, “how can he when he does not even speak our tongue?” responded obierika, and then he continued, “but he says our customs are bad; and our own brothers who have taken up his religion also say that our customs are bad. how do you think we can fight when our brothers have turned against us? the white man is very clever. he came quietly and peaceably with his religion. we were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. now he has won our brothers and our clan can no longer act as one. he has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart”. (pp. 124-125). in our age of globalization, an evolution characterized by a systematic reconstruction of integrative phases along economic, political, social and cultural relations across international boundaries, and thus the breakdown of barriers and intensified integration (fafowora 1998), the african cultural values have been in a more intensified way brought face to face with the values, not only of europe and america but also of all the corners of the world. the result of this encounter is a conflict of values. this piece therefore studies the conflict of values that have emerged as a result of this encounter. a historico-descriptive perspective of globalization the understanding of globalization by particular scholars to a great extend determines the beginning and nature the scholar in question would attached to globalization. globalization was first employed in 1983 by an american economist theodore levitt, and made popular some years later in 1988 by a japanese scholar and business consultant called kinichi ohmae in his work on ‘the worldwide strategies of multinationals’. according to obiefuna and aniago (2010) traced an ancient form of globalization to hellenism, an attempt by alexander the great in 334 b c to greekicize none greeks, by imposing greek culture, custom, law and language on the colonies he had conquered. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 64 kanu (2014) links the history of globalization to europe, when portuguese navigators discovered some part of the world, and through trade, evangelization, exploration and colonialism rules the world. this led to the movement of people from one part of the world to another, and led to a cross-cultural influence. from this, we understand that globalization is not a one-way traffic; it is not something you could blame on another as though you are innocent. everyone is guilty of globalization, because everyone globalizes and everyone is globalized. there is an african adage that says, “when the cutlass is cutting the tree, the tree is also chopping the cutlass”. the history of globalization has also been traced to the advancements in the areas of science and technology. we now have easy access to means of transportation and communication which has further made the world a global village and its inhabitants cosmopolitans on a global conference table. thus cairncross (1997) would aver that the media is a veritable factor in the acceleration of globalization, and in fact the single most crucial factor in the communication revolution. aja (2001) would also write that globalization is “electro-communication driven” (p. 126). this has made it easier for the transportation of cultures, religions and ideas to different parts of the world. people are getting to know more about other people’s culture and religion. it can be said that most things are not the same again all over the world as a result of cultural influences. generally, globalization is a natural process of development. more recently, scholars like chinsinga (2003) have argued that globalization can be linked to a number of events: the time when bretton woods agreement on exchange rate collapsed in 1971 during nixon’s administration; the emergence of conservatives in power like ronald reagan in the united states of america, and margaret thatcher of the united kingdom. these and the developments they initiated accelerated the process of globalization. there are also accounts that link globalization to the demise of the soviet system and the end of the cold war. a cursory glance at these historical developments reveals that they are based on the negative conceptions of globalization. globalization goes beyond these pieces of historical developments. globalization began at the time human beings achieved consciousness of self and others. the conflict of values in africa the experience of the conflict of values in africa is principally based on the differences in the cosmological structure of the western world and the african universe. kanu (2013) defined cosmology as the way a people conceive, perceive igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 65 and contemplate their universe which affects their value systems and attitudinal orientations. it is the lens with which they see reality. the african values are based on the african cosmology, the way they perceive reality. there would therefore emerge a conflict of values when the african wants to become an european or when an african is forced to become an european. in the process, two worldviews would clash and even though it might lead to the creation of another perspective, there would emerge a conflict of values. for instance, many missionaries who came to africa were not well informed about the cosmology they came to evangelize. they came with an almost impregnable confidence in the overwhelming superiority of the european west and in all the ways of society and culture which they had taken for granted in their homes. the consequence was that many of them rejected african names for baptism, as a replacement, they encouraged the adoption of not only christian names, but also european family names like dos santos, caetano, johnson, crowther (hastings, 1976). there was no appraisal of our peculiarities, our languages enriched with traditions of centuries, our parables, many of them the quintessence of family and national histories; our modes of thought, influenced more or less by local circumstances. african songs were rejected for european songs in churches, not knowing that africa is a continent of song, dance and musical instruments. it is a continent of language and languages. the drum was not heard in most churches, only the harmonious accompanying carefully translated european hymns sung to the tune of the west. the result was frequently deplorable; african languages cannot be bent to european hymn tunes (hastings, 1976). thus, many africans worshiped god in the white man’s way without an accompanying satisfaction. the african developed a vacuum in himself that could not translate into fulfillment. although he worshipped god, he did not feel the fulfillment of worship. the widening of this conflict has led to the evolvement of syncretism, very evident in african christian churches. another area of conflict of values is in the concept of life. this again is based on cosmological differences. while the african cosmology understands life from the vitalist perspective, which obiefuna and kanu (2013) aver considers life as a singular original phenomenon, irreducible to matter, in the west, life possesses a very simplistic and mechanistic meaning. the west conceives life in terms of a well contrived machine, with its levers (bones), its pumps (heart), its bellows (lungs), etc. descartes and leibniz proposed the analogy of living organisms and machines, in particular the clock. from this perspective, life is perceived as an igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 66 organization of matter. what distinguishes living substances from non-living substances is that living substances have a much more complex way of molecular structuralization (mondin, 1998). this strongly conflicts with the african value of life as sacred and as the highest value that there is. with globalization there is a rising influence of the western perspective on the african perception of life. in addressing issues like abortion, suicide, euthanasia etc., the africa seems to be at a crossroad of values, between the liberalism of the west and the african conservative perspective. globalization, a world where the western perspective still dominates, seems to leave a psychological effect. kanu (2012) avers that it has created a lasting sense of inferiority such that many african no longer have confidence in their values. this has affected local industries; whatever comes from the african is tagged ‘inferior’. this ranges from simple machines to simple things like clothes, furniture, bags, shoes, belts etc. indigenous industries now prefer to tag their products ‘made in usa’ or ‘made in china or taiwan’, giving the impression that local products are not of desirable standards. inferiority has turned our eyes to be ‘outward looking’ rather than ‘inward looking’. very significant is the value of language. because of the emphasis on international languages and the hunger for the international many young africans have no knowledge of their local language. referring to the period of colonialism, leonard senghor (1976) said that ‘african misfortunes have been that our secret enemies while defending their values made us despise our own’ (p. 17). cultural values ranging from the sense of the sacred to respect for life and elders, respect for marriage institution, premarital sex, virginity, honest labour and communalism, are gradually swallowed up by western values, such as materialism, nudity and hedonism’. towards a resolution of the conflict of values if the conflict of values in africa must be resolved, there is the need for an african cultural renaissance. hastings (1976) captures the meaning of an african cultural renaissance as “rediscovering the wisdom of the ancestors, revaluing their ceremonies, reawakening their names, renewing their languages” (p. 43). the quest for an african cultural renaissance does not mean a call to primitivism; it is not a call back to cultural practices such as the killing of twins, patriarchy, human sacrifices etc. it is not a call to close the door against cultural interactions, because every culture gives and takes from the other. the move for a cultural igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 67 renaissance is a reminder to africans that the western culture is not a finished product, they must be considered as raw materials still requiring processing and refinement before use. thus, hallen (2002) argued that africa must define itself in and on its own terms regarding issues without reference or deference to any alien culture. the problem that african cultural renaissance tries to avoid is what iroegbu (2004) calls “cultural hegemony”. that is, an attempt by some cultures to dominate, to assimilate, or even to totally obliterate another or other cultures. mugambi (1998) observes that the future of africa can only be forged by accepting and mending the socio-cultural present. african identity must not be sacrificed on the altar of compromise. we must step forward towards restoring our values. this promotion of our cultural values must begin from the smallest sociological unity: the family. the family in africa, is the maternity home, the nursing home and the birth place of culture, and at the same time where it is nurtured and developed. parents should take the teaching of culture as an important duty and primary right. in this age of globalization and near invasion of the mass media in our homes, it is incumbent for parents to provide their children with alternative african perspectives. one great instrument for cultural renaissance is language. irrespective of where parents find themselves with their children they should endeavor to teach their children their native language. language carries with it the culture and worldview of the people who own it. learning institutions have a role to play in this process. it is through education that our values can be restored in the heart of young africans. africans as africans need to know what makes them africans. this was the point stressed by socrates when he said “man know thyself”, self knowledge is the beginning of every renewal process. plato (1989) had also pointed out that, “since the mind of the young are very impressionable we must, if we are to educate them properly, make sure that the poetry on which they are brought up is suitable for the purpose” (p. 518). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 68 the african law making bodies also have a role to play; if the laws and policies that can safeguard our values are promulgated by the government or enacted by traditional ruling councils, the decay of our cultural heritage will be impeded. references achebe, c. (1958). things fall apart, london: heinemann. aja, a. a. (2001). selected themes in international economic relations: understanding trends of globalization and regionalization. enugu: kenny and brothers enterprises. cairncross, f. (1997). the death of distance: how the communications revolution would change our lives. boston: harvard business school press. chinsinga, b. (2013). can developing nations be strategic actors in the global village? journal of cultural studies. 5. 2. fafowora, o. o. (1998). management imperatives of globalisation. management in nigeria: a journal of nigerian institute of management. 34, 2-4. 5-9. hallen, b. (2002). a short history of african philosophy, indiana: indiana university press. hastings, a. (1976). african christianity, new york: crossroads books iroegbu, p. (2004). ‘the dynamism of african culture’, viewpoint magazine, vol. 4, no. 5. kanu, i. a. (2010). towards an african cultural renaissance. professor bassey andah journal of cultural studies. volume 3. 146-155. kanu, i. a. (2012). the colonial legacy: the hidden history of africa’s present crisis. the international journal of arts and humanities. 1. 1. 123131. kanu, i. a. (2013). the dimensions of african cosmology. filosofia theoretica: a journal of african philosophy, culture and religion. 2. 2. 533-555. kanu, i. a. (2014). globalization, globalism and african philosophy. in c. umezinwa (ed.). african philosophy: a pragmatic approach to african problems (pp. 151-165). germany: lap lambert. mondin, b. (1999). philosophical anthropology, rome: urbanian university press obiefuna, b. a. c. and aniago, o. p. (2010). the sense and nonsense of globalization vis-à-vis igbo indigenous religion. in a. b. c. chiegboka, t. u. c. utoh-ezeajugh and g. i. udechukwu (eds.). the humanities and globalization in the third millennium (pp. 336-346). fab anieh: awka. obiefuna, b. a. c. and kanu, i. a. (2013). the value of life in african ontology and global bio-ethical discourse. nigerian journal of theology. 27. 126-146. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 69 plato (1989). plato’s republic. (trans.) r. m. hare. oxford: oxford university press. senghor l., (1976). prose and poetry, trans. keed & wake, london: heinemann. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 3 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 88 preserving value system of ndi igbo in folkloric expression arts exhibition: the review onwuekwe, chidiebere department of fine & applied arts, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. & muoneme, izuchukwu national gallery of art, enugu. theuntold09@gmail.com abstract on 13th of november, 2015, an art exhibition title “folkloric expression” was opened in the national gallery of art, enugu, nigeria. organized by izuchukwu muoneme and chidiebere onwuekwe, the exhibition consisted of over thirty five paintings, drawings and digital illustration which themed igbo folk stories. folktales are ancient stories which were transferred from oral tradition to literary forms. the tradition has gradually diminished as a result of grave influence of western tradition on the culture of ndi igbo. today, even the bulk of folktales which had been written and published are hardly perished, because of easy accessibility and distractions of the social media and videos. in view of this the two artists embarked on research which involved transformation of existing folk stories written by renowned igbo authors such as chinua achebe, iroaganachi and f.c. ogbalu, into visual metaphor, using diverse materials on different two dimensional media. a review of the works displayed by the artists in “folkloric expression” will reveal that they have achieved a wonderful feed in preserving igbo value. introduction in recent times, the culture of reading is going down the drain, particularly now the social media is at large. with such development if would prove difficult to peruse written and printed folktales which were transferred from oral literature. it is an unavoidable fact that by virtue our thought, imagination and creative expressions, great works of art have always been produced. some contemporary nigerian artists have constantly been influenced by traditional folklores and beliefs. most of these folklores and constantly been used by some nigerian igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 89 artists for sources of visual expression and unifying symbol if identification (muoneme 2015: 32). onwuekwe and muoneme embarked on research to transform some of their important folktales in visual form. their aim was to force the picture into the sub-conscious minds of both literate and illiterates and to foster igbo folktales in visual form. these were their main aim of opening “folkloric expressions.” enekwachi (2015:94) describes the art exhibition: from november 13 to 27 at the national gallery of art, enugu, two nigerian artists trained at the nnamdi azikiwe university awka, izuchukwu muoneme and chidiebere onwuekwe showcased body of works inspired by folkloric in a contemporary gallery space. these young artists rekindled in us the nostalgic mode taking us back down memory lanes to those tireless hours of moonlight nights well spent, listening to stories with mixed imageries of animals, spirits and humans. the works of onwuekwe and muoneme numbered up to forty (40) and were made up of drawings, paintings and digital illustrations, which all geared towards one theme: folklore. on the artists and their styles the two artists schooled at igwebuike grammar school, awka and were trained by the same art master, amobi ebudide, who gave them a very firm foundation in the fundamentals of visual art. coincidentally, they both gained admission at the same time to obtain formal art training in the department of fine and applied arts of nnamdi azikiwe university, awka in 2004. on the artists, adibe (2015:39) has this to say: the artists, muoneme izuchukwu, a graduate of fine and applied arts from nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state, who is also a staff of the national gallery of arts, enugu and chidiebere oswald onwuekwe, another graduate of fine and applied arts from the same university, were participating in an exhibition tagged “folkloric expression. according to irabor (2015: 5) “onwuekwe is a trained visual communication artist who schooled at nnamdi azikiwe university awka. he is a lecturer and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 90 digital illustrator who employs technology as a vehicle of expression in the visual arts.” digital illustration is simply computer illustration or digital drawing and painting (onwuekwe, 2012:72). he simply draws on paper, scans and colours on application such as adobe photoshop or mary studio 5. there he renders suggestive perspective, foreshortening, depth and other element in his works. enekwachi (2015:94) further describes onwuekwe and his style when he avers thus: onwuekwe bagged a master’s degree in visual communication in 2013 after graduating from the fine and applied arts department of nnamdi azikiwe university in 2007 where he now teaches visual communication. onwuekwe is a folklore illustrator and visualize. through the use of digital tools and applications, he accentuates his skills as can be seen in the various rendition of his thematic representations. on the other hand, enekwachi (2015) also speaks on muoneme’s style when he agrees that he creates works of art in the stylistic ranges of realism, expressionism and the experimental but with concatenating subsistence for visual narratives that dress a question his immediate and external social realities and perception. izuchukwu muoneme graduated in 2007 as a painting specialist while he bagged an mfa degree in 2015 in the same department. he experimented with the liquidized drip-technique amongst other styles, leading to the introduction of forms using unbroken lines (irabor 2015: 5). izuchukwu muoneme also dares to experiment with many materials and medium for visual expression. recently he explores so called solid waste as medium for painting onwuekwe and nzoiwu (2015; 316) are that “he devised a means of using discarded bottle tops to prime his support for painting”. with such creative feat, he bagged the 2015 grand finale of life in my city art festival category award on best painting/mixed media/drawing prize. storylines in the works of the artists muoneme focused on chinua achebe’s and john iroagnachi’s folktales titled “how the leopard got his claws (1979). the tale goes thus: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 91 in the beginning, all the animals in the forest lived as friends. their king was the leopard. he was strong, but gentle and wise. he ruled the animals well and they all liked him. at that time the animals did no fight one another. most of them had no sharp teeth or claws. they did not need them. even king leopard had only small teeth. he had no claws at all. only the dog has sharp teeth and the other animals mock him for it. one day, the deer approaches king leopard about constructing a common shelter for the rain. all the other animals embrace the plan… except for the dog who keeps out of the rain in his cave (and the duck, who doesn’t mind getting wet). the rest of the animals work hard, each contributing to the construction, and at last completed their work. at the celebratory feast to celebrate the opening of the hall, king leopard says, ‘‘this hall is yours to enjoy. you worked very hard together to build it. i am proud of you’’. but then rains come, the dog ran from one end of his cave to the other. but the water followed him everywhere. at last he ran out of the cave altogether and straight for the hall of the animals. the deer was already there. he was surprised to see the dog enter the hall. ‘‘what do you want here?’’ said the deer to the dog’’. ‘‘it is none of your business’’, replied the dog. ‘‘it is my business’’, said the deer, ‘‘please go out, this hall is for those who built it’’. then the dog attacked the deer and bit him with his big, sharp teeth. the deer cried with pain. the dog seized him by the neck and threw him out into the rain. the other animals came in after the other. the dog barked and threw each of them out. they stood together shivering and crying in the rain. the dog kept barking and showing his teeth. then the deer cried out: o leopard our noble king where are you? spotted king of the forest, where are you? even if you are far away come, hurry home the worst has happened to us the worst has happened to us… the house the animals built the cruel dog keeps us from it, the common shelter we built the cruel dog keeps us from it, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 92 the worst has happened to us the worst has happened to us… the cry of the deer rang out loud and clear. it was carried by the wind. king leopard heard it on his way back from his journey and began to run towards the village hall. as he got near, he saw the animals, wet and sheltering under a tree. they were all crying. as he got nearer still, he could see the dog walking up and down inside the hall. the leopard, who was away at another village returns, but without teeth or claws, he is quickly vanquished. his subjects refuse to rally behind him, but rather capitulated to the dog and name him the king. the leopard, injured and alone leaves. he make his way to a blacksmith and says, ‘‘i want the strongest teeth you can make from iron and i want the most deadly claws you can make from bronze’’. he then goes to thunder and says ‘‘i want some of your sound in my voice… even a little bit.’’ upon hearing his story, both consent and he returns home armed and ready. the leopard journeyed for seven days and seven nights and returned to the village of the animals. there he found the animals dancing in a circle round the dog. he stood for a while watching them with contempt and great anger. they were too busy to notice his presence. he made a deep terrifying roar. at the same time he sprang into the centre of the circle. the animals stopped their song. the dog dropped his staff; the leopard seized him and bit and clawed him without mercy. then he threw him out of the circle. all the animals trembled. but they were too afraid to run. the leopard turned to them and said. ‘‘you miserable worms, you shameless cowards. i was a king and gentle king, but you turned against me. from today i shall rule the forest with terror. the life of our village is ended’’. ‘‘what about our hall?’’ asked the tortoise with a trembling voice. ‘‘let everyone take from the hall what he put into it’’, said the leopard. the dog runs to the human hunter and offers to be his slave in return for sanctuary from the leopard. today the animals are no longer friends, but enemies. the strong among them attack and kill the weak. the leopard, full of anger, eats up anyone he can lay his hands on. the hunter, led by the dog, goes to the forest from time to time and shoots any animal he can find. perhaps the animals will make peace among them some day and live together again. then they can keep away the hunter who is their common enemy. (as cited in muoneme 2013) the story “how the leopard got his claws” was subdivided into igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 93 seven scenes. apart from the major work, there are other works captured in bits, especially interesting scenes like “the tortoise and the birds” (mixed media, 2013), “the flight” (acrylic on canvas, 2013), “igba nni na ofe” (oil on canvas, 2012) and “polygamous family” (gouache on paper, 2014). there were scenes from very interesting igbo folktales. narration of “the tortoise and the birds” onwuekwe focused an f.c ogbalu’s version of folktale titled “the tortoise and the birds” as narrated by okodo (2000:49): once upon a famine, the birds planned to fly to a distant land of plenty. tortoise learnt of it and asked birds to allow him to join them. they agreed but reminded him that he had no feather. tortoise pleaded with them and they accepted to loan him feather from each of them so that he could fly along with them. they flew off. he told them that there was a need for them to take new names. tortoise took the name – ‘all of you’. when they arrived, they were received. their hosts gave them various things to eat; food, lumps of meat and wine. when they placed any of the things before them the hostess would tell them that “the things were for all of you”. in each case, tortoise told the birds that his new name was ‘all of you’; therefore the item was meant for him alone. the tortoise ate and drank to his satisfaction without the birds taking anything. when they finally left. they perched on an iroko tree in their village to hold a meeting. during the meeting the birds expressed their annoyance towards the behaviour of the tortoise and snatched their respective feathers from him and flew away. the tortoise could not fly down, mbe the tortoise shouted to his wife from there and told her to collect sand at the foot of the tree so that he would land on it. his wife thought he asked her to collect stones from their environment and did so. tortoise fell from the tree, landed on the heap of stones and broke into pieces. seeing his situation, mbe called the black ant to piece him up. the black ant agreed to to do the job at the cost of one hundred pieces of silver. black ant pieced him up. that is why the tortoise has patched up shell. when the black ant came to collect his fee, tortoise quarreled with him and scolded black ant. the artist broke the story into fifteen scenes well rendered with draw and paint technique on adobe photoshop layout. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 94 onwuekwe (2003: 38-39) writes on his style and technique: “apart from employing digital technique for the illustration, caricaturism and naturalism were employed in developing the concepts. below each work were messages in english that was used in narrating the story… also, indigenous figure of sounds or onomatopoeia was utilized in scenes where necessary. for instance, instead of using sound “thud!” for a fall, the sound “frr-gbaa” was used as alternative figure of sound. another typical example “bang” for a gunshot was replaced with “kpowai”. all these efforts were made by the artist to make his illustrations indigenous. all these efforts were made by the artist to make his illustrated works indigenous. references adibe, t. (2015). “reviving igbo folktales through illustrations.” in daily trust, sunday, december 6, 2015. p.39. enekwachi, a. (2015). “folkloric expressions”. thisday, the sunday newspaper. nov., 22, 2015. p 94. irabor, j. (2015). “nigerian art. historical outlook”. in folkloric expressions: a joint art exhibition paintings, digital illustrations and drawings on igbo folklore, by onwuekwe and muoneme. november 2015. awka: potential technologies. muoneme, i. (2015). advocating for the use of traditional igbo folktales in contemporary nigerian paintings. an unpublished mfa thesis, department of fine and applied arts, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. okodo, i. (2000). the study of trickster tales of the igbo people of nigeria. unpublished ma thesis, department of english, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. onwuekwe, c. & nzoiwu, a. (2015). “on solid waste recycling: the involvement of the nigerian artist through the evolving tradition of waste-to-art.” in land use transformation and environmental sustainability in nigeria. igbokwe, j. et al (eds.) nimo: rex charles and patrick ltd. onwuekwe, c. (2012). “trends in illustration: a digital approach to large format illustration on igbo folklore.” in mgbakoigba: journal of african studies. (1)1, pp 71-79. onitsha: new life press. onwuekwe, c. (2013). a digital approach to illustration on igbo folklore. an unpublished mfa thesis, department of fine and applied arts, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. article 11 igwebuike 6. no3 online version.cdr igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.6 no.3, 2020 www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute/igwebuikejournals.php a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 151 electronic publishing of academic journals in nigeria: a study on adoption of web content management system for electronic editorial workflow kanu, emmanuel uchenna department of industrial design modibbo adama university of technology, yola emmauchekanu@gmail.com & ibiwoye, tope israel department of industrial design federal university of technology, akure abstract editorial processing of manuscripts begins the procedure of academic journal article publishing. it is essential for achieving the registration and certification functions of journals more efficiently through electronic publishing. the study evaluated the extent of adoption of web content management system with peer review tool for effective journal article editorial processing. the level of adoption of electronic information technology for editorial processing of university-based nigerian journals was sort from 156 editors using 15-item questionnaire. the results show that electronic editorial processing has not been significantly adopted. majority of the online journals have web presence for download and offline reading of articles. integration of manuscript submission, electronic manuscript review and commenting, tracking of article progress in online publishing platforms were limited as email communication among editors and authors dominated. the study, therefore, recommends that journal editors work assiduously towards maximizing the potentials of web 2.0 technologies by adopting a more integrated electronic editorial processing to improve social cooperation and efficacy of publishing procedure, while cal and university authorities to increase funding and insist on higher publishing standards in nigeria. keywords: editorial, workflow, academic journal, electronic publishing, nigeria, universities. 1.0 introduction the editorial workflow of academic journal is key management and communication processes which ensure that manuscripts are collected, reviewed, edited and forwarded for production and distribution. the process begins with screening of submitted manuscripts by editors, followed by peer review of generally acceptable manuscripts and those that pass this filter are then edited so that they meet the standard of the journal (bridges 2008). the described process may last for a few weeks or a number of months, depending on the efficacy of the publishing group. the adoption of electronic journal management system by publishers to facilitate communication among editors, authors and reviewers have continued to positively affect the quality of journal service delivery. many journal management applications are obtainable from open source software domains. this makes it easier to transit from print to electronic publishing at insignificant cost. management of peer-review process and author correspondences are integrated into electronic publishing platforms, making communication among the various groups easier, convenient, cost effective and interactive with higher degree of social cooperation. electronic information technology the internet precisely – enabled these new dimensions to the scholarly communication system. tekerek and kyzy (2013) recommend web content management system (wcms) with peer review tool (prt) as most appropriate for scholarly publishing system. they described it as system that can facilitate management of workflow in a collaborative environment, from a central interface that allows publishing, editing and modifying of content by non-technical system administrator, who may be supported by a web developer. there are majorly two ways to approach the editorial process namely automated and non-automated systems. in between them, is a scenario that portrays stagnation in the transition from a non-automated system to the automated one, where partial adoption of electronic information communication process abounds. the study probed editorial processing in nigerian academic journal publishing with a view to ascertaining the extent to which journal editors have adopted web content management system for automation of editorial publishing procedure. 1.1 approaches to journal editorial processing the automated system demands that all communication between the authors, editors and peer-reviewers are conducted seamlessly on an electronic publishing system. a standard electronic publishing system provides for uploading of articles to a database made accessible to editors who may collectively conduct an initial assessment of submissions to determine their suitability for further assessment by peers. reviewers are documented and culled from database records, based on specialization and availability to conduct reviews. commenting on articles and reporting to editors by reviewers are digitally executed in the 152 electronic publishing of academic journals in nigeria automated system. tracking of manuscript's progress may be enabled to carry authors along. authors are expected to read reviews and comments, effect corrections where needed and re-submit articles by digital upload. editors assigned to articles, digitally coordinate and moderate communication between authors and reviewers to ensure compliance with standards. the automated system, which admits by registration and gives access by username and password, to stakeholders uses rss feeds and email notifications to call attention. the advantages of an automated editorial process are enormous, they include time saving, data curation and faster connection with stakeholders. tekerek and kyzy (2013) state that the automated system can be of three types, namely offline processing system; online processing system; and a hybrid system, all modeled as wcms with prt. the automated system is practically enabled by web 2.0 technology, which provides for social cooperation on the internet (bridges 2008). scholars generally agree that integrated electronic workflow makes publishing easier, faster, more accessible and visible (guardado & borges 2011). the non-automated process, synonymous with antiquated print model, requires authors to make round trips to journal management office or send surface mails, fax or electronic mail to the editorial office. reviewers are handed hard copies of articles together with comments and verdict forms for necessary action. the author expects response to submitted manuscript either by surface mail, fax or by scanned copies via e-mail. the correspondences amongst stakeholders in the non-automated system takes longer periods, with less organized record keeping and documentation. the length of time it takes to identify suitable manuscripts and process them to finished publication has been a source of concern to authors and publishers as it often takes two to three years (buchet, 2004). this time lag is partly attributed to use of antiquated print-based workflow, which drives up journal office expenses and postage cost. slow editorial process of journal publishing negates the prompt attainment of the registration and certification functions of academic journals. 1.2 attainment of academic journal functions through editorial processing the registration function of academic journals establishes priority and date stamping of research outcome credited to authors. delay in publishing outcome of academic research by one author, poses a disadvantage position for the author as peers working on similar subject may establish priority on publication at an earlier date. certification function pertains to quality stamping, majorly attained through peer review mechanism. some of the frustrations of journal editors are finding suitable and willing reviewers and the time taken to review manuscripts. the processes leading to carrying out these functions over the years have not changed for many journal editorial offices. the academic journal publishing system, according teytelman and stoliartchouk (2015), is 350 years old and 153kanu emmanuel uchenna & ibiwoye tope israel has hardly changed in publishing and communication methods, despite the influence of the internet, web and mobile technologies which have changed virtually everything, hence making science communication in dire need of innovation. generally scholars agree that the future of publishing will be predominantly in the electronic realm. in corroborating the foregoing, arora, jaramillo, nathalia and pyati (2005) assert that: as great deal of scholarly communication continues to move toward electronic formats…those in the academic communication need to take full advantage of the mediums made available for disseminating work that pushes contemporary boundaries and standard frames of knowledge into transformative realms of possibility. there is therefore need for academic journals to transform by maximizing the potentials of online platforms; web 2.0 technologies; mobile technologies; workflows integration; and semantic technologies to advance scholarly communication. it is obvious that the economic model of print journal has become unsustainable based on rising costs, and bringing down the cost of academic communication will require re-engineering the manuscript-handling process. the recommended re-engineering involves the use of electronic production system which is capable of reducing costs and time of editorial process as well as enhancing professionalism. 2.0 method the design of the study was basically descriptive. it adopted the survey approach, to reach 156 academic journal editors who are actively publishing in both print and electronic media from nigerian universities. the sample size of 156 was taken from a sample frame of 256 members enlisted through internet search on google and nigerian universities websites. only journals that own websites or annexed to university websites, whose address appeared on the sites, were enlisted on the sample frame. the sample size was determined using the formula recommended by taro yamane (yamane, 1967). non probability sampling approach, using convenience sampling technique was used to enlist members. structured questionnaire, in 5-point likert style was used for the study. respondents were asked to indicate their level of adoption of electronic editorial publishing innovation by ticking any of (i) totally adopted, (ii) often adopted, (iii) moderately adopted, (iv) seldom adopted and (v) not adopted. validation of the instrument was done by a jury of three experts in industrial design from modibbo adama university, yola. reliability index of 0.97 was obtained from the pre-test of the instrument on ten potential respondents, using cronbach alpha technique. 154 electronic publishing of academic journals in nigeria the questionnaire was administered on the internet through google forms, supported with whatsapp messaging application. email addresses and phone numbers of editorial desks were used to reach editors of sampled journals. 156 questionnaires were administered, 130 editors responded and returned 128 duly filled questionnaires, which represents 82% retrieval rate. descriptive statistics, including mean, percentages, tables and figures derived from computations in statistical package for social sciences (spss) version 20, was used in the analysis. 3.0 results and discussion the results of the study are presented in the tables below. table 1: demographics of respondents % e d itoria l job role e ditor-in-c hief 71 .9 a ssociate e ditor 7 .8 m anaging e ditor 20 .3 a cad em ic ran k p rofessor 74 .2 a ssociate p rofesso r 21 .9 s enior lecturer 3 .9 y ears in ed itoria l job role 1 -5 26 .6 6-10 53 .1 11-15 14 .8 16-20 3 .9 20 and above 1 .6 table 1 presents the demographic information of respondents. the study obtained favourable demographics of subjects as majority of respondents surveyed are editors-inchief with the highest academic rank of professorship and appreciable number of years of experience in editorial job role. it is assumed that respondents are familiar with electronic publishing innovation and changes taking place in editorial processing. therefore, would be able to offer honest assessment of their current publishing practice. 155kanu emmanuel uchenna & ibiwoye tope israel table 2: mean score of respondents on adoption of electronic editorial workflow for journal management sn variables ta (5) meanna (1)sa (2)ma (2)oa (2) a. pre-review and submission processes online publishing platform (software) for journal management 1 journal website2 submission of articles by upload to online journal management platform 3 submission of articles by attachment to email to editor 4 editorial board assesses articles before conducting peer review 5 b. review processes invitation of reviewers from existing journal electronic database created over time 6 delivery of soft copy of articles to appointed reviewers 7 use of electronic review tools to comment on article 8 electronic tracking of article's publication progress 9 shorter period of review (four weeks or below) 10 b. post review processes upload of reviewers comments and verdict to online platform 11 upload and confirmation of final revised copy of article by sector editor on online platform 12 submission of revised copy of publishable article by email to the editor-in-chief 13 forwarding of accepted articles to production team by digital upload on online platform forwarding of accepted articles to production team by email from the editor-in-chief 14 15 key: ta=totally adopted; oa=often adopted; ma=moderately adopted; sa=seldom adopted; na=not adopted 89 18 21 4.06 112 10 2 4 4.75 60 45 23 3.92 10 75 30 13 3.64 25 68 30 5 3.60 12 32 21 63 2.45 15 25 18 70 2.19 11 5 8 28 76 1.80 12 1 3 32 80 1.69 17 44 67 1.87 15 7 1 33 72 1.90 11 10 41 66 1.90 62 50 8 3 5 4.26 19 13 9 87 1.97 67 8 1 7 45 3.35 grand mean 2.89 156 electronic publishing of academic journals in nigeria in table 2, the mean values of 4.06 and 4.75 of response to item 1the adoption of online publishing platform and item 2journal websites respectively show that many journals have adopted an electronic management system for the day to day management of their journal publishing. the responses to questionnaire items 6, 9,10, 11, 12, and 14 with low mean values between 1.69 to 2.45 show that the adopted online platform and websites facility are limited in functions, as such not well integrated to facilitate journal editorial management process. questionnaire items 3 and 4, measured the mode of article submission and recorded the mean values of 3.92 and 3.64 respectively. this shows that electronic mode of transmission of manuscript has been significantly adopted. consequently, impacting positively on the efficacy of sending and receiving manuscripts, where time lag and instances of non delivery of mail are minimized or even completely eliminated. this inturn is an improvement in the achievement of the registration/acceleration function of journal publishing. some journals include the dates of receiving manuscript and date of final recording of the definitive versions of the article as a competitive advantage in their publishing system where the time is considerable reduced. item 5, which questions the role of editorial board members in assessment of articles prior to review, certifies that consideration to pass an article to review stage is often given, evident in the mean value of 3.64. this process in academic journal publishing is necessary for saving cost by not forwarding and paying for articles that are not publishable for review, which consequently, increases the chances of attending to publishable articles on review queue faster. advanced manuscript processing platforms provide editors' forum, where preliminary assessment is digitally assigned and evaluation reported by electronic review facility. the low rating of in item 8 (1.8) further confirms that electronic manuscript handling is not significantly adopted in academic journal publishing in nigerian universities. items 6, 7, 8, 10, 11 and 12 with mean values 2.45, 2.19, 1.80, 1.87, 1.90 and 1.90 respectively reveal a non significant adoption of electronic review mechanism that will guarantee accelerated processing of articles for publication. in the prevalent conditions, reviewers make comments on hard copies of articles and return evaluation forms in hard copies. electronic record of reviewers, with their disciplinary specialization, is not kept in an electronic database, which makes it harder to locate and invite a reviewer over time. the integrated system assures that a new entrant to a journal management team will find it easier to locate and use records. responses in item numbers 4, 13 and 15 with mean values of 3.64, 4.26 and 3.35 respectively show that email exchange is the major communication link between authors, reviewers, editors and production. nonetheless, this is an improvement on the use of surface mail and fax. however, boing in campbell et-al (2012) recommends an integrated 157kanu emmanuel uchenna & ibiwoye tope israel workflow based on the deployment of xml (extended mark-up language) as a fundamental tool for electronic content management even beyond editorial procedures. this in turn will quicken the editorial process and lead to the attainment of hann (2001) acceleration function of journals and mabe (2012) function of date stamping or priority via registration. furthermore, the time lag between the identification of suitable manuscript and publishing it, which according to buchet (2004) often takes two to three years, will be drastically reduced by adopting an integrated system. summarily, the grand mean of 2.89, being lower than 3.0 which accounts for moderate adoption of technology, implies that electronic editorial workflow for academic journal publishing has not been significantly adopted by university-based nigerian academic journals. 4.0 conclusion editorial processing in most journals is stagnated at mere adoption of electronic platform in the form of journal websites for display of articles. digital editorial content management processes for manuscript handling were not significantly adopted. that is to say that being online for most nigerian academic journals means that you can download and read contents on the internet. this implies that much of the editorial processing of manuscript in editorial offices remains non-automated. authors are still expected to approach editorial desks to pick up papers with hand written comments or receive them via post or email. the prevailing situation limits the ability of nigerian university-based academic journals to maximise the potentials of internet technology and integrated communication systems to improve editorial processing, and promptly attain the registration and certification functions of academic journal publishing. 5.0 recommendations 1. editors are to ensure that adoption of electronic channel for journal publishing is not limited to acquiring online presence, by mere display of articles on the internet. editorial processes of digital manuscript submission, electronic review and commenting and tracking of manuscripts among other integrated workflow techniques should be enabled to maximize the potentials of web 2.0 technology. 2. there is need for editors to reduce dependence on personal email communication and entrench a more integrated editorial workflow emanating from database and networked environment, where records are received, stored, retrieved and updated easily using web content management system. 3. funding and regulatory agencies, such as university authorities, tertiary education trust fund (tetfund) and others not mentioned, must ensure that funded journal publishers in nigerian universities upgrade to platforms that meet global best 158 electronic publishing of academic journals in nigeria practice and standard. nonetheless, more funds should be made available to increase the number of funded titles, reduce article processing charges paid by academics and encourage the proliferation of quality journals. 6.0 references arora t., jaramillo n. e., & pyati a. k. (2005). editors' note. interactions: ucla journal of education mand information studies 1 (2). www.escholarship.org /uc/item/1nv5s83h buchet b. s. (2004). electronic publishing and information quality: academic journals and how the electronic medium changes them. phd thesis, university of st gallen, switzerland. bridges k.w. (2008). epublishing 2.0; editorial. ethnobotany research and applications: a journal of plants, people and applied research vol 6. www.ethnobotanyjournal. org/vol6/i1547-3465-06-001.pdf. campbell r. (2012). introduction: overview of academic and professional publishing. in campbell r., pentz., & borthwick i. eds, academic and professional publishing. oxford: chandos publishing. guardado m. c. & borges m. m. (2011). some trends in electronic publication and open access in portuguese history journals. information services and use, 31. doi:10.3233/1su-2012-0653. ios press. hahn k. l. (2001). electronic ecology: a case study of electronic journals in context. washington, dc: association of research libraries. mabe, m. (2012). does journal have future? in campbell r., pentz., & borthwick i. eds, academic and professional publishing. oxford: chandos publishing. tekerek m. & kyzy j. n. (2013): developing a scientific publication content management system with peer review tools for academic institutions. manas journal of engineering 1(1). www.journals.manas.edu.kg. teytelman l. & stoliartchouk a. (2015). protocols.io: reducing the knowledge that perishes because we do not publish it. information services and use 35, 2015, pp 109115; doi:10.3233/isu-150769. ios press. yamane t. (1967). statistics, an introductory analysis, 2nd edition. new york, harper and row 159kanu emmanuel uchenna & ibiwoye tope israel http://www.ethnobotanyjournal.org/vol6/i1547-3465-06-001.pdf http://www.ethnobotanyjournal.org/vol6/i1547-3465-06-001.pdf http://www.ethnobotanyjournal.org/vol6/i1547-3465-06-001.pdf http://www.journals.manas.edu.kg microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 3 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 53 challenges of liberal democracy in goodluck jonathan’s administration from 2010 2015 anthony ngonadi department of political science, tansian university umunnya, anambra state. email: mantony47@yahoo.com abstract this paper examines the challenges of liberal democracy in goodluck jonathan’s administration from 2010 2015. it further evaluates the practice of this form of democracy and its conformity with the tenets of liberal democracy. it is democracies that guarantee for citizens much broader spectrum of social and economic rights. the paper adopts the elitist theory of democracy as its tool of analysis. relating the elitist theory to this paper is the facts that president goodluck jonathan belongs to the group of segmented elites as he exercises his power over the entire nigeria rightly or wrongly. too, he attained the presidential status as a member of the ruling class and people’s democratic party. furthermore, existing bodies of knowledge were consulted in relation to the challenges of liberal democracy and observed that liberal democracy vis-à-vis, its tenets under president goodluck jonathan’s administration was characterized by conflict of communal, religious, and ethnic groups. more to these are problems of corruption, thieving, election rigging, ill-preparedness, destruction of necessary infrastructures that are needed for development, etc. finally, this paper finds out that the challenges and underdevelopment of genuine liberal democracy is masterminded by our political elites and against this backdrop these elites struggle to fix this anomaly. the paper recommends that nigeria needs a democracy capable of guaranteeing not only fundamental human rights but also address the overwhelming issue of material poverty of the people. key words: liberal democracy, challenges, tenets, democracy, government introduction because nigeria’s political history has been primarily dominated by conservative, ethno nationalist, religion nationalist or militaristic entities, the presence of liberalism in nigeria outside such realms is hard to come by from previous historical research and records. the closest that the political scene in nigeria has come to any form of liberalism in the presence of progressive political parties; however; is in the areas where progressive parties have ruled at the local or state levels. the progressive government with such majorities has igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 54 either engaged in initiatives or passed law which may run against the idea of civil and personal liberties while focusing more on economic development. furthermore, the liberal contingent is much more represented in the non-political civil right activism and advocacy organization in nigeria. such organization and their members have been subjected to both state sanctioned, clericallysanctioned, and non-official persecution throughout nigeria’s history. the growth of liberals in nigeria was very much witnessed during the period after colonization. the origins of democracy lie in ancient greek where philosopher’s classified government according to the number of citizens involved in the processfrom rule by one person, through to rule by a few, to rule by many. at one extreme is autocracy, in which one individual has power to make all important decisions. the concentration of power in the hands of one person (usually a monarch) was a more common form of government in earlier historical periods. oligarchy puts government power in the hands of elite. at one time, the nobility or the major land owners commonly ruled as an aristocracy. at the other extreme of the continuum is democracy, which means rule by the people. most scholars believe that the united states, britain, france, and other countries in western europe are genuine democracies. others contended that, these countries only appear to be democracies because they hold free and fair elections but they actually are run by wealthy business elites for their own benefit. nevertheless, most people today agree that government should be democratic (juda, berry and goldman; 2008; 33). american has a simple answer to the question, ‘who should govern” it is, “the people” unfortunately, this answer is too simple. it fails to define who the people are should he include young children? recent immigrants? illegal aliens? this answer also fails to tell us how the people should do their governing, should they be assembled in a stadium? vote by mail? choose others to govern for them? we need to take a close look at what government by the people really means (yunsa; 2007;45). the word democracy originated in greek around the fifth century e.c. demos referred to the ‘common people’, the masses, kratos meant ‘power’. it is a type of government in which all citizens exercise power and civil responsibility, directly or through their freely power and civil responsibilities. thus, a true democracy, i.e. a system in which all citizens meet periodically to elect state officials and personally enact laws, has been extremely rare. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 55 democracy and nigeria are like siamese twins; though conjoined, they are uncomfortable and under intense pressure that could result in all forms of hunt, even death. although, democracy, may not be strange to an overwhelming percentage of nigerians; what may be strange to them is the brand of democracy that invests, first and foremost in human and material resources for the purposes of political stability, economic liability, scientific advancement, technological breakthrough, educational development and life-enhancing social services given the general optimism that nigeria was going to be a leader of democracy in africa. following her independence from britain in 1960, one should normally expect that by now democracy should be deeply rooted and institutionalized in the country; ironically and unfortunately, nigeria, as far as the practice and delivery of dividends of liberal democracy is concerned, is yet a cripple that can barely stand let alone walk or run. conceptual and theoretical discourses democracy is a universal concept, its practice differs from one place to another with regard to acquisition of (and disposition to) power and institutional arrangement. hence, one can talk of american democracy, british democracy, irish democracy, canadian democracy and so on. it has been pointed out in this paper that the concept of egalitarianism has more theoretical connotations than practical application. there is nowhere in the world where democracy is a republic of equals. thus, socio-economic and political inequality is a prominent and permanent feature of democracy particularly in nigeria where democracy has widened the gap between those who have access to power and public funds and those who do not. since democracy is said to be government of the people by the people and for the people, it is therefore generally assumed that democracy is the most suitable form of government at least as far as the delivery of ronald’s ‘political goods’ is concerned. it is therefore generally taken for granted that the pursuit of the welfare of the generality of the people is the epicenter of democracy whenever it is practiced. while this may be so in some democracies, the reverse is the case in others; while democracy is synonymous with holistic development and aggregated growth in some climes; it is the representation of betrayal and inhuman deprivation in others. nigeria probably personifies the latter. while some countries aspire to and do indeed practice democracy for the socio-economic benefit of the generality of the people or at least as many people as possible; others like nigeria, make their own brand of democracy government of the few by the few and for the socio-economic benefit igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 56 of the few. indeed, the most outstanding feature of nigeria democracy is mind boggling and unpardonable west of public funds on the comfort of a few nigerian the democracy of waste practiced in nigeria invests, first and foremost, in the comfort of officials rather than in human and national resources. democracy is a household political concept in many part of the world today, which often occurs at political participation discussions. any government (civilian or military) now laid claim to it because it sound as an ideal form of government. however, the controversy surrounding the employment of the concept is a clear indication that it means different things to different people and societies (abia, 2003; 55). sartori (1965;19) conceive democracy as “the power of the people and the rule of the people”. furthermore, appadoria (1975; 137) describes it as ‘a system of government under which the people exercise the governing power either directly through representatives periodically elected themselves. schnumpeter (1967;153) reduces the concept of the procedural, when he defines the democratic methods as the ‘institutional arrangement for arriving at political decision in which individual require the power to decide by means of a competitive struggle for the people vote’. and from the marxist point of view, as represented in the work of marx and engles (1981). according to the communist manifesto, democracy connects the “dictatorship of the proletariat.” that is to say, majority rule of the common people, plebeians, it was very much a class affair; it means the sway of the lowest and largest class. this paper adopts the “elitist theory of democracy” as its tool of analysis. the elitist theory of democracy has developed mainly during the present century. the notable advocates of this theory are viltredopareto (1848-1923), gaetono mosca (1858-1941), robert michel’s, james burnham, joseph h. schumpter, raymond aaron, giovanni sartori and karlmannheim. the theory is mainly concerned with the institutions of democracy and realities of the western liberal democratic political system. it provides a description and explanation and justification of the existing political system in western democracies. this theory arose due to the need for the maintenance of stability and equilibrium in the capitalist liberal societies. its object is to suggest a political system best suited to the existing order (mahajan; 2005; 820). clearly, elite theory describes a government that operates in an undemocratic fashion. relating the elitist theory to this paper is for some facts that president goodluck jonathan belongs to the group of segmented elites as he exercises his power over igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 57 the entire nigeria rightly or wrongly. too, he attained the present status as a member of the ruling class and people’s democratic party. today, president goodluck jonathan belongs to a ministry of the population that takes the major decisions. government by the consent of the governed this principle is a fundamental pillar of the concept of liberal democracy. it can also be termed as representative government which stems from the conduct of free and fair elections competitive elections. government by consent can only be achieved through the conduct of elections. elections play important part of representative democracy. individuals and groups have to compete in an open contest for the peoples votes. when this is done fairly and creditably, the wishes of the people would easily prevail. nigeria since her independence as a political entity has experienced several types/forms of government; that is, government by the consent of the governed and the government without the consent of the governed, i.e civilian and military government and regimes. all the military regimes that we have had in nigeria have all come into power without the propel approval from the governed/electorates. hence, it has failed/fall-short of this principle of liberaldemocracy. in total, nigeria experienced her first military intervention in politics on january 15, 1966 and since then there has been four other successful coups, 2 abortive coups, one attempted coup and 3 alleged coups all by different military government at different times in history. however, the government by the consent of the governed which must come from the conduct of a free, fair and competitive elections, as also been slightly dysfunctional due to the fact that elections conducted in nigeria have to a large extent been far from been free, fair and competitive. elections serve as one of the major instrument for selecting political officeholders. it serves as means of ensuring accountability and mobilization of the citizens for political participation. yet, elections in nigeria have always been characterized by malpractices such as: election rigging, snatching and stuffing of ballot boxes, political intimidation, and assassination prior to during and after elections. elections are critical aspects of democratic framework for governing modern political societies. they serve as instruments of political choice, mobilization, and accountability. in the context of liberal democracy in the world, elections are to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 58 facilitate the smooth transition from one civilian administration to the other and help in legitimizing sitting governments. since her return top civil rule in1999, the nigerian experience with general elections has shown that the political elite have not truly come to terms with the referents of elections for democratic sustenance. more often than not, the elite has failed to play by the rules of competitive electoral politics has failed to play by the rules of competitive electoral politics which prioritizes politics of tolerance, conflict and consensus, bargaining and compromise. they see political parties which organize for elections are also, like armband of men and women going to war, where there must be victors and the vanquished. elections in nigeria have become warfare where it is a sin to lose. challenges to liberal democracy in the 21st century nigeria the model democracy that is popular in this age of globalization is liberal democracy, democracy is a descriptive term that is synonymous with majority rule, and it is associated with democratic consolidation and good governance. however, in nigeria, efforts to attain high level of democratic consolidation and good governance have been made but are yet to be crowned with much success. the literal meaning of “democracy” comes from a combination of two words demos (people) and kratos (rule), and its core, “democracy is a form of government in which the people rule”. the term originated in athens and was a part of the standard classification of regime forms that distinguished rule by one (monarchy), several (aristocracy), and the many (democracy). however, beyond the literal meaning of democracy, there has been considerable debate over the criteria that distinguish democracies from non-democracies. it can be argued that democracy is a system of government where the opportunity to participate in an authoritative decision making is opened to all who are willing and interested to share. however, it is a system of government that recognized individual rights, a system based on the principle of man one vote and one vote one value. the nigerian state assumed a new governance status in 1999 following the demise of authoritarian regime in the country. military dictatorship was replaced by representative democracy with the hopes and aspirations of good governance much higher than what the seemingly collapsible democratic institutions could fulfill. the source and nature of transition in 1999 was later found to constitute igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 59 threat to the foundation democracy and obliterates the current efforts at consolidating democracy. since restoration of democratic rule in the country, change of government has been orderly while elections have been periodic. between 1999 and 2015 four different civilian administration have emerged and there have been four successive transitions from civilian government to another (obasanjo administration, 1999-2007), yar’ adua/jonathan administration 2007-2011, jonathan administration 2011-2015 and incoming administration buhari administration 2015). the country has successfully passed through five legislative houses both at the centre and at the component units. despite the fact that nigeria has experienced about sixteen years of interrupted democracy practice, they are various challenges confronting democratic consolidation and good governance in the nigeria. these challenges are: (a) bad governance: bad governance is a major obstacle to the survival of liberal democracy in nigeria. the widespread nepotism and persistent corruption in the nigerian polity pose a serious threat and challenge to democracy. when citizens feel that appropriated funds are not well managed in the common interest, it discourages loyalty to the nation and kills the spirit of jingoism. (b) bourgeois over proletariat: the issue of class different and class struggle in our politics is still a challenge as the ethnic minorities in some geo-political zones of the country struggle to get voted for at the national level which lead to constant and prolonged neglect of their region by the majority ruling the country over the years. (c) sit-tight syndrome: the unending quest by our political leaders to remain in power forever has always been a challenge to liberal democracy and democracy of nigeria at large. some leaders exercise all their powers to stay in power for life thereby negating the constitutional tenure system. (d) abuse of power: the unrestrained use of power by government officials against innocent citizens still poses a serious challenge. the approval of unbided contracts, the illegal detention of nigerian citizens in many cases could be seen as extravagant use of power that reinforces undemocratic norms. (e) electoral malpractices: the activities of political parties during elections are very different from the tenets of liberal democracy. some political parties and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 60 their members still breach with impunity the constitutional provisions of elections as well as formation of political parties. thuggery, ballot-box snatching, kidnapping is the order of the day in our political parties. conclusion the focus of the paper is to examine the challenges of liberal democracy, its tenets under president goodluck jonathan’s administration. to do this, the paper is structured into 5 parts with introduction as part 1. part 2 is conceptual and theoretical clarifications. part 3 challenges to liberal democracy in the 21st century nigeria. part 4 government by the consent of the governed. part 5 is conclusion and recommendations. the paper concludes that; liberal democracy under goodluck jonathans’ administration was marred by crisis religion and ethnic. more to these are problems of corruption, looting, election rigging, destruction of lives and properties that are needed for development, to mention but a few. recommendations a. there must be a deliberate and conscious effort by government to surmount these challenges to democracy outlined above which if not tackled will continue to witch-hunt nigeria's liberal democracy. b. military coups are persistent menaces that have often truncated democracy in nigeria. to put coups at bay forever, the country needs to clearly outline some heavy punishments that will be meted out to any coup plotter. c. furthermore, our leaders should always do their best and resist the temptation of sit-tight syndrome. they need to borrow a leaf from their western counterparts and note that they must abide by the oath of office they took before assuming office which is to protect the constitution of the federal republic of nigeria. d. the enthronement of free and fair elections will tremendously advance the installation of democracy in the country. the first step here is to ensure that inec is adequately and independently funded as epileptic release of funds during the 2007 election experience amounted to delays in printing and distribution of election materials. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 61 e. political parties also have a role to play to ensure that their member is not used as thugs and hooligans during and after the elections. f. finally, the government and other governmental agencies need to orientate the citizens on the need to protect and guard democracy jealously because with democracy which is rule by majority, the country will develop at a speedy pace. bibliography abia, v.b (2003). understanding nigeria government and politics. concept publications limited, mushin, lagos, nigeria. appodorai (1975) cited in abia v.b.e understanding nigeria government and politics, concept publication limited. mushin lagos, nigeria. appodorai, (1975) cited in abia, v.b.e understanding nigeria government and politics, concept publication limited, mushin lagos, nigeria. david, west t. “how africans underdeveloped africa” in yunusa, mh” underdevelopment theory and contemporary african predicament: are-think. journal of political administration studies, vol. 4 no.1, september 2008. department of political science and public administration, ebonyi state university, abakaliki. janda, k. benny, j.m., and goldman, j. (eds) (2008). challenges of democracy. hougton, mifflin company, boston toronto geneva, illinois palo alto princeton, new jersey, 5th edition. lame, i.y. and badia, h (eds) (2000). democracy, good governance and national development in nigeria. spectrum books, ibadan, nigeria. mbachu, o. (2009) “democracy and national security” in mabachu, o. and eze, (eds), democracy and national security” issues, challenges and prospects, machusa academic publishers, lagos street kaduna, nigeria. machungo, m “this earth, my brother” in africa forum, vol. 5, no. 5 1 and 2, august, 2001. mahgan, v.d. (2005). political theory, s chand and company limited, ramnagar, new delhi, forth edition. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 62 momoh,a “democracy or good governance? making sense of disempowerment in nigeria”. cited in yunusa, m h “renaissance of democracy in nigeria: a performance evaluation”. journal of law and interdisciplinary studies.vol. no. 1 2007.department of public law, ambrse ali university, ekpoma edo state, nigeria. saton, g (1965). cited in abia v.b.e. understanding nigeria government and politics, concept publication limited, mushin, lagos, nigeria. schumpter, j.a. (1967). cited in abia, v.b.e. understanding nigeria government and politics, concept publication limited, lagos. uduagham, e “leadership still the problem with nigeria” the guardian 2007.performance evalution” journal of law interdisciplinary studies vol. no.1. 2007. department of public law, ambrosealli university ekpoma, edo state, nigeria. yunusa m.h. and aliyu b.m. “the problem of the consolidation of democracy in nigeria: 1999 to date “journal of nigeria government and politics, vol. 4no.1, march 2012 department of political science, imo state university, owerri, nigeria. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 1.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 117 the unifying power of language a comparative analysis of russian and nigerian states okoedion eseohe glory department of foreign languages university of nigeria nsukka enugu state abstract the unifying power of language which is generally defined as the method of human communication, either spoken or written, consisting of the use of words in a structured and conventional way, is a force that can never be neglected by any peace loving state. apart from using language for communication, language is also used for education. in fact, without language, there is no education. the aim of this work is to give a comparative analysis of the unifying roles of language in russian and nigerian states. the two countries are chosen as case studies because russia which practices monolingual language is believed to be more united compared to nigeria that is multilingual. the question this work seeks to answer is on how national unity is fostered by language. the russian nation, as a homogeneous nation with time-honoured history and culture, is highly patriotic and strong in esprit de corps. on the other hand nigeria suffers the misfortune of almost losing its sovereignty because of the struggle for power which is often triggered by ethnic affiliations. the methodology employed in this study is descriptive phenomenological method. both oral interviews and library materials were used. the study revealed that language is the chief medium for the communication of civilizations, customs, traditions, habits, wisdom, values and lifestyles of a people, thus using the english language in nigeria, while encouraging the learning of mother tongue will help to foster unity. keywords: russian, nigerian, states, comparative analysis, language, unifying power introduction the unifying and dividing power of language has historically been given a highminded status. communities world over learn to communicate what unites them through language. language is so influential that even linguists cannot say with certainty how many human languages are spoken today. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 118 in this work on the unifying power of language, the study seeks to draw a comparative analysis of russian and nigerian states. russia is chosen because it is monolingual in nature while nigeria is multilingual. russia is and remains the primary language of the russian people, compared to nigeria with the influence of language annihilators. even without physical annihilation and prohibitions against language use, the language of the “dominant” cultures may drive other languages into extinction; young people see education, jobs, culture and technology associated with the dominant language and focus their attention on that language. the largest languages spoken are english, spanish, portuguese, french, russian, hindi, and chinese. in the words of ehusani (2017), language is a sacred gift, developed in the course of human evolution. it is the sophisticated instrument of socialization and communication that distinguishes one group of people from the other and sets homo sapiens apart from all other living organisms. language is committed to the care of creation. language is a formidable instrument for the cultivation and communication of meaning. it is the embodiment of the collective memory and the purveyor of the corporate wisdom of a people. language is the chief medium for the communication of civilizations, customs, traditions, habits, wisdom, values and lifestyles of a people. the nigerian national language issue nigeria is currently living in an age of widespread crisis of identity and crisis of values which has been made worse by different political crisis ranging from terrorism to tussle for power. this is an age when we seem to be witnessing a general loss of cultural orientation, and particularly for a people who have gone through over a hundred years of economic, political and cultural domination by foreign powers. daily, nigerians wake up to here chains of threats and calls for division of the country which is all anchored on the fact that we have often emphasized on what divides than on what unites us. the large difference in language is a dividing factor in nigeria. language is the key to the heart of the people. if we lose the key, we lose the people. the development or adoption of an indigenous language as the nation’s lingua franca, is an instrument for the attainment of genuine unifying factor. the history of nigeria cannot be complete without tracing it to prehistoric settlers (nigerians) living in the area. numerous ancient african civilizations igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 119 settled in the region that is today nigeria, such as the kingdom of nri, the benin empire, and the oyo empire. islam reached nigeria through the hausa states during the 11th century, while christianity came to nigeria in the 15th century through augustinian and capuchin monks from portugal. the songhai empire also occupied part of the region. lagos was invaded by british forces in 1851 and formally annexed in 1861. nigeria became a british protectorate in 1901. colonization lasted until 1960, when an independence movement succeeded in gaining nigeria its independence. the forgoing thus gave rise to nigeria’s multilingual nature. in achieving a national unity, there is need for the emergence of a national language which will aid the communication of the factors that unites us like the national symbols and characteristics of one integral political entity, like the national flag, the national anthem or the national currency. it could even be said that a measure of a country’s sovereignty is reflected or embodied in its national language. monolingual nations like russia seems to enjoy more stability in the politics the russian model russia as a country has always enjoyed internal stability, a status that has endowed her with the fiat to exert her political influence over other countries. recent attempts to foster the national unity and patriotism in the russian federation show that the concept of a unified language is an important tool and symbol in the creation of the shared experience of belonging. contemporary language ideological discourses emphasize the universalistic significance of the russian language as a semiotic resource shared by all nationalities in the russian federation, and are also concerned about the need to treasure the purity of russian. as noted by prof lähteenmäki (2016) the significance of the unified language transcends the geographical boundaries of russia, and russian is seen as the unifying feature of the ‘russian world’, that is, a specific linguistic and cultural space consisting of russian-speaking people and diasporas scattered around the globe. language has so united the people of russia as against the nigerian nation that russia has a national unity day (äåíü íàðîäíîãî åäèíñòâà) this is a holiday (ïðàçäíèê) celebrated in russia on november 4 (4 íîÿáðÿ). as a national holiday, it is an official day off. the history of national unity day is quite interesting. it was reinstated by the russian government in 2005 after being replaced in 1917 by the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 120 commemoration of the october revolution (îêòÿáðüñêàÿ ðåâîëþöèÿ), celebrated closer to this date on november 7 (7 íîÿáðÿ) during the soviet times. the unifying power of the russian language is so influential that even neighbouring countries are contemplating its adoption. dyakuyu or spasibo? the controversy over whether russian should be recognized as an official language of ukraine is so heated that it has compelled ukrainian politicians to tear each other’s clothes, flip parliamentarians over bannisters, and even provoked the speaker of parliament to tender his resignation. discussion of findings findings from primary and secondary sources consulted at the course of this work shows that language is an extremely important tool in any society. its indispensability nature always necessitates a continuous development. apart from using language for communication, language is also used for education. in fact, without language, there is no education. as asserted by nwadike (2003:13) language is the key to the heart of the people. if we lose the key, we lose the people. language is an indispensable tool for human communication and national development. there is hardly any human activity that does not make use of language. there can never be development in a society without language. language is the key sustenance of both the society and the people. having rediscovered the above importance of language; the question that confronts the researcher is that in the face of hausa, igbo and yoruba as the three major languages spoken in nigeria which should be adopted to meet our national need? this question has been an issue since 1961 when parliament debated national language question, till date (enahoro (2002). almost all developing countries were constantly confronted with the problems of ethnic and cultural diversity. the presence of competing ethnic and cultural groups in these countries generally means that the establishment of new nationhood requires the cultivation of a new national identity (kuo 1985) and language plays an integral role in nation-building and identity formation in these multi-ethnic societies. many studies of nationalism and the emergence of nations have shown that a broadly shared language is the most significant and critical component in the successful building of a nation. the nigerian situation seems to be on the feeble face based on the fact that according to atta (2008), the number of languages spoken in nigeria has been igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 121 variously estimated from 150 (tiffen 1968) to about 400 (bamgbose 1971). probably the most authoritative survey is that of k. j. hansford et al. (1976) which identifies asmany as 394 indigenous languages spoken within the territorial boundariesof the country. afolayan (1977) suggests that the actual number may well be higher considering that on closer investigation the ijo language in the rivers state has been found to be seventeen different languages rather than a single dialect. also, mobar, which was grouped as a dialect of kanuri, has now been found to be a distinct language (bulakarima 1986). in order to ascertain the number of indigenous languages in nigeria, the federal government now plans to map out the country's linguistic topography. this national language survey should involve a thorough documentation of all the indigenous languages, including their location until this survey is complete, suffice it to say that nigeria is a multilingual nation with three of the four phyla into which african languages are classified fully represented within its boundaries. therefore, if we go by the european model, does this mean that multi-ethnic nations can never have integrative socio-cultural bonds? the european model is not a realistic approach to adopt without adaptation because the history of postcolonial nations has seen them inherit a demography that has constituted ethnic groups made up of different races, religions, cultural practices and languages. for many of these nations, on attaining independence, they had to struggle with establishing not only “the politico-institutional instruments” but also the “sociocultural authenticity”. rupert (1959) draws in the socio-cultural authenticity as a defining factor in his definition of a nation describing it as “a community of people who feel that they belong together in the double sense that they share deeply significant elements of a common heritage and that they have a common destiny for the future. in the contemporary world, the nation is for great portions of mankind in the community with which men most intense and most unconditionally identify themselves, however deeply they may differ among themselves on other issues.” realistically, in a nation made up of diverse ethnic groups, loyalty to the nation does not override all other competing loyalties. “family, tribe, locality, religion, conscience, economic interest, and a host of other appeals may at any given time and place prevail over national allegiance for particular individuals or groups.” (emerson 1959, p. 97). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 122 recommendations 1. in the interest of national unity, each child should be encouraged to learn one of the three major languages other than his own mother-tongue. in this connection the government considers the three major languages in nigeria to be hausa, igbo and yoruba. 2. with so many languages and with their speakers identifying so strongly with them, nigeria's national language issue may never be resolved amicably in favour of an indigenous mother-tongue. 3. the use of english language as a major unifying factor should be properly emphasized; to achieve this qualified english teachers should be employed into our schools. conclusion the work so far has x-rayed the irreplaceable role of language in unifying a nation. as have already been recommended, english language needs to be adopted as a unifying tool for national integration in nigeria. of the entire heritage left behind in nigeria by the british at the end of colonial administration, probably, none is more important than the english language. it is now the language of government, business and commerce, education, the mass media, literature, and much internal as well as external communication. government thus need to ensure that all her citizenry learn to read and write in english. bibliography bulakarima, u. (1986). is mobar a kanuri dialect! in annals of borno 3. maiduguri: university of maiduguri press. ehusani, g. (2005): http://www.georgeehusani.org/home/index.php/other articles/134-language-and-the-nigerian-project. enahoro, a. (2002) towards a new constitutional order in vanguard. lagos: july 5. pp18-19. hansford, k. et al. (1976). an index of nigerian languages. accra: summer institute of linguistics. afolayan, a. (1977). acceptability of english as a second language in nigeria in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 123 acceptability in language, edited by s. greenbaum. the hague: mouton publishers. lähteenmäki (2016) https://www.ed.ac.uk/literatures-languagescultures/dashkova/newsevents/events/construction-of-national-unity. rupert, e. (1959) “from empire to nation”. uk: university press. tiffen, b. w. (1968). "language education in commonwealth africa." in language in education, edited by j. dakin. london: oxford university press. 1974. "the intelligibility of nigerian english." ph.d. thesis, university of london. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 129 book review ii name of book: a hermenuetic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy year of publication: 2015 publishers: fab anieh publications author: kanu, ikechukwu anthony, o.s.a., ph.d reviewer: alalama valentine emeka (st. augustine’s major seminary, jos) introduction right from creation man is made up of both a spirit and a body which both has its own longings needs. in man is a vacuum that earnestly yearns for a supreme being and from his quest nothing material or physical could satisfy or fill this all important space in him. he however devised a medium through which he addresses such issues. through it he gets hold of the divine, he gets access to certain spiritual insights and then settles his needs. this medium is therefore is called ‘religion’. religion as a general phenomenon is something that is practiced everywhere even in the remotest regions. this therefore implies that in the african world too, religion is in vogue and it is known as african traditional religion. every religion places its edifice on a particular culture and people. thus the african religion stems its existence in the traditions, norms and customs of the african people. at this point, this work would attempt to do a review of the work on schedule. a cursory glance on the piece the problem of defining african traditional religion, posed a contestable atmosphere, and just as philosophy which has no holistic – depleted definition, african traditional religion finds itself in such situation. thus there is no generally accepted definition to this concept. the nature, elements and the indoctrinated views of this concept were also addressed. african, tradition, and religion are its three elements. it has no founder, it is spontaneous, and a reflection of the people. it is never a primitive enterprise, paganism, fetishism, etc. the author went further, by giving a developmental unfolding of events of african traditional religion through the passage of time. he emphatically gave the four eras that relates its history: precolonial, colonial, post – colonial and contemporary seasons. paging through chapters three, four and five, the author underscored certain approaches which were employed in the study of african traditional religion; ranging from the historical to the hermeneutic approaches. all these in so many different ways gave descriptive igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 130 and specific interpretations to this discourse. it would interest one to observe that he remarked on the concepts of time and myths by john mbiti and kimgeno keech respectively, which attempt to reach at an understanding of atr; these according to him were believed insufficient and less effective in doing so. however he went further to propose a modality. this stand which he established, he called ‘igwubuike’. in it one would see the undiluted form of communality; this according to him is the key that unlocks the mystery in understanding atr. the chapter six laid emphasis on the source of atr. these are the raw materials, the fibers that make up the linen of atr. among such are: african proverbs, folk tales, myths, language, symbols etc. in the realm of the cosmos (universe), the african man as averred by the author, view it solely as it affects him. he stressed on how he perceives, conceive, and understands it. in all, it is an african approach which sees the world as both a physical and spiritual entities fused together. and that god has dominion over the universe and man is the central point of them. the priesthood is held with paramount importance. it is actually an institution like other religions; he serves as a mediator. one can become a priest by apprenticeship, heredity, extraordinary signs etc. he also gave four different procedures on a priest is being installed in conjunction with his functions which are religiously, socially, economically and politically inclined. in the spheres of medicine, divination and diviners which are resultant remedies to sickness, diseases, misfortunes, the african people generally believed that such things are caused by crimes or evil acts performed by a person or group of persons. the diviners try to give solutions and explanations. kingship in the african perspective is an office that fills in the gap of god on earth to enforce authority. he is as well a religious leader. life according to the author is chain of developmental stages; in other words, transition from one stage to another over time. more so, the rites of passage is discovered, holds a crucial standing jus as an african individual himself. it is the movement from one stage of life as one grows up to another through rites of initiations and rituals. examples are: birth rite, puberty rite, marriage rite etc. looking at marriage from the prism of the igbo culture which was succinctly expressed by the author: is a lawful union between a man and a woman who exchange consent of love. he enumerated stages that are involved in the marriage plans. it is a community affair and not just a stuff of the two parties. symbols in themselves reveal certain meanings often other than their intrinsic values. the african symbols reflect, communicate and mirror down the african world and essence. it could be events, objects, gestures etc. masquerades, in the black world are the visible presence of their ancestors long gone and are symbolized in different forms. they pose inspiring attributes and power and exercise certain functions and boost the economy of the community. death is expressed as an inevitable phenomenon, and that it is not the end of life but actually a transition into another world. he remarked the source and origin of death and suffering also. death could be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 131 good, bad or violent. kinship in the african settings is one which emphasizes bond and communality. people are identified through kinship. it is web like structure that associates individuals. life is seen as the highest good and given by god. it depicts effectiveness and efficiency. belongingness is seen as an evidence of the sense of living. and it begins from conception. man is made up of three elements: body, spirit and soul. reincarnation is observed unlike the western concept in the african world view as a partial phenomenon. it is the inheritance of the features of ancestors rather than the return of the spirit from the soul world into another body. ogbanje or abiku were distinguished from these concepts which are seen as mischief and bad omen. chapter twenty – one stressed on witchcraft, sorcerer and magic. they engage in supernatural activities and manipulations of forces. witchcraft is socially disapproved; sorcery and magic are seemingly accepted based on a positive influence they could render to the community. he outlined some procedures on how on could be initiated into their cults. the book furthermore buttressed the axiom sacrifice as a means of striking a balance and maintaining the equilibrium between the human world and that of the spirits. that the african man feels he is whatever way might have offended or fallen away and hence needs reconciliation. so sacrifice comes to play to reconcile, to ask for favors. it could be in form of votive, substitutionary, foundation sacrifices. taboos are abominable acts done by a person or group of persons against existing constitutions. this chapter emphasized that taboos are relative base on community discretions and norms. also the african people see the adherence of taboo as a way of the community’s sustenance otherwise such community would collapse. examples of such are murder, incest, adultery etc. the sense of sacred is consciously observed by the african people. sacredness is ascribed to certain objects, animals etc based on the communities’ beliefs, and these objects reveal supernatural attributes, examples are market days, the ofo tree, and python. some objects are also tagged profane, examples are owl, vulture etc. proverbs are seen as the voice a particular people; a vehicle that conveys messages. author used the igbo cultural dimension in addressing it. proverbs also reflect some philosophical connotations. the african christology in contrast to the western concept begins from below and ascends above. it is more of a lived experience; hence the african people see christ lived. it is also based on the power and victory of christ. atr is invariably another source of african christology; their myths, proverbs, parables etc reveal the nature of christ. he (christ) is seen as a healer, king, victor, giver of life etc. with the outspread and growth of christianity in africa, and for effective and conducive evangelism, the need for inculturation was adopted. through it, beauty is added to the christian faith. the author also pointed out some challenges that might emerge through inculturation such as problem of language, skepticism, syncretism etc. atr has also contributed its quotas to national development, in the aspect of morality, unity, patriotism etc. chapter 29, emphasized on the awakening the african people to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 132 uphold, maintain, protect and live out their cultural heritages and riches. the last chapter tremendously expressed a phobia of atr going into extinction like other religions because of the powerful factors or agents acting aggressively to it. among such are modernism, islam, christianity, consumerism etc. appraisal having explored this yet another thought – provoking piece, i came to the realization though suggested in the mind of the author that a people without an origin or more precisely culture or is however like a river without a source. this is not in any way say that such exists, though giving a credence to the benefit of doubt that one maybe caught up with the situation of not tracing his/her root. but in such case it doesn’t dispute the fact he/she has an origin in the real sense. no doubt this piece has immensely addressed and stung indigenous africans with reference to nigerians to the consciousness of recognizing and appreciating their own gifted and rich heritage amid alien cultures. so much so that even when tries to disillusion himself/herself about the historical and developmental existence of his/her tradition ends up in total self – contradiction or suicide. this book exposed with much intent so much enigma revolving round most african beliefs and traditions which were taken for granted, misinterpreted and looked at with scorn and disdain. for instance, initially african traditional religion was seen as something fetish, idolatrous and all what not, this book rid off and gave a better understanding. shedding off every tribal sentiment, i subscribe to concept of death: a process of transition to a world beyond. i see it also as the end of an end which begins another end that has no end. this book is clearly a promotion of the african culture and tradition. critique � from all ramifications, the book is less culture – sensitive: there are traces of one – sided syndrome of ethnic worldviews; such that there is on categorical diffusion of other tribes’ perspectives on atr other than the igbo and perhaps yoruba perspectives on the subject matter. it lacks the sociological research qualities and enquiry which are not visible in the entire work. at least in some chapters, the igbo perspectives should be avoided and other ethnic views employed. though excuses were given, but remember variety is the spice of life. � also considering the view held about suffering as explained, i don’t assent to it because ascribing suffering to man as something predestined by god clearly shows that man’s freedom and freewill are hampered and that god is partial. i feel rather that the missing link is not only the mystery dimension of evil, but igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 133 when we (africans) fail to understand events that happen in a holistic angle and not in a particular way. more so, on this same issue, i suggest that evil could be seen in this light as “a privation or the negation of good”. � i am not of the opinion with pertinent concern on reincarnation (partial). i perceive it to a genetic trait inheritance. scientifical research has proven that in every one thousand years, there is the possibility that someone with similar traits and genes could be reborn. so the issue of reincarnation is a faded issue. i also see it as a means the african man invent in order to give answer and meaning to troubling questions; hence satisfy their innocent ignorance. i stand to be corrected where needed; reincarnation defies the principle of identity and uniqueness. � in your discussion on taboos, i discovered that it failed to address specific situation and circumstances beyond one’s control which may cause one to commit them. and in such case when it occurs, how would the rule of law be applied; like in the case of self defense; though little was just said on it at the last sentence of the conclusion section. i feel more should have being emphasized on it, maybe as a sub heading in the work. it would do great good to the work too. � one essential set back observed is that the voice of the author is really not heard and felt to a large extent in this book. such situation hinders the readers from getting the intent of the author or the main idea the writer wishes to express on a given text. conclusion i greatly commend the effort dished out to arrive at this serene clincher – ‘igwubulke’. it is unequivocally an encompassing approach and really an undisputable axiom that gives meaningful interpretations and understanding to atr. it has all the necessarily make ups and authority which really the intrinsic nature of atr and its practices. in my own opinion, this work has really done immensely in exposing the nity critty of atr and it has enlightened me as person on the paramount nature of african myth, customs, beliefs, norms and the role they play in atr. finally i say to the author “dalu” for illuming me intellectually with the radiance of a better grasp of the basic rudiments of religion in the african context. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 29 the metaphysics of empiricism: two dogmas of empiricism reexamined ikhianosime, francis eshemomoh department of philosophy, seminary of all saints, uhiele-ekpoma, edo state. franklmore@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.19482.59846 abstract the empirical task carried out by hume, kant and the viennese empiricists, set a new foundation and outlook for philosophy with a positivist outlook. the strength of this philosophy arguably rests on two dogmas as w. v. o. quine expresses in his paper, "two dogmas of empiricism". the dogmas are that there is the fundamental cleavage between analytic and synthetic statements (dogma 1) and that each meaningful statements are equivalent to statements about sense experience (dogma 2). quine opines that these are logically unfounded dogmas in view of philosophical extrapolations. thus, to base claims on logically unviable claims is defeatist, hence, he advanced a positive picture of "empiricism without the dogmas"; a form of epistemological holism to understand the nature of meaningfulness. this critique far from being a mere revision is a critique of the whole metaphysics of empiricism. several attacks of this defence have been advanced and formidable amongst these, is paul grice and p. f. strawson's "in defense of a dogma". this reply only festered the sore of this debate. this paper sets to examine the main thrust of these two major papers which have shaped the analytic and post-analytic traditions in philosophy. keywords: dogmas of empiricism, holism, analytic, synthetic, reductionism. introduction with the turn of the 20th century, analysis of language became the predominant focus of philosophy, especially with the analytic tradition. it was believed, with this, philosophy would resolve all its problems if not most. this is because issues in philosophy are couched in language. with this intended, philosophers like hume, kant, and the verificationists came up with various criteria for determining meaningful statements. these criteria formed the fulcrum of the analytic tradition. w. v. o. quine in his paper, "two dogmas of empiricism" written in the philosophical review in 1951 made a major critique of this tradition which would become an albatross to the whole empiricist movement. his major mailto:franklmore@yahoo.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 30 blow was an attack on the analytic/synthetic distinction. this caused a stir and provoked a spate of replies, for if left unreplied, the whole empiricist tradition would fall apart like a pack of cards. thus, there were various defenses against the attack and other attacks of the defenses on this issue. this as it were, pushed the analytic tradition into its post-analytic era. one of such major replies was that of h. p. grice and p.f. strawson in their "in defense of a dogma" (1958). this work is set to recap the issues and related issues on the subject matter and evaluate in the light of grice and strawson the tenability of the claims. the methodology of this essay shall be analytic and expository. empiricism and the criteria for sentential meaningfulness empiricism as a philosophical doctrine relies on sensory experience for the acquisition of knowledge (irele in owolabi 183). empiricism has its roots in the idea that all we can know about the world is what the world cares to tell us (ted honderich ed. 242). this doctrine is the foundation for the evolvement of other strands of empiricism like logical empiricism (logical positivism), radical empiricism, etc. logical positivism as a philosophical school adopts logical empiricism as an outlook which holds apart from analytic statements of mathematics and logic, no statements are significant except those which could be verified by observation. metaphysical and theological assertions were consequently rejected not as approved, but as 'nonsensical' or meaningless (ree ed. 108-109). this is the nucleus of the analytic tradition in philosophy. thus, it was a commonly held view that only by the proper analysis of language can meaning be derived. the search for criteria for meaningfulness is rooted in hume's empiricism. hume is a radical empiricist argues that anything that is not verifiable is nonsensical or meaningless. he argues: if we take in our hand any volume of divinity or school metaphysics, for instance let us ask, does it contain any abstract reasoning concerning quantity or number? no. does it contain any experimental reasoning concerning matter of fact and existence? no. commit it, then to the flames, for it can contain nothing but sophistry and illusion. (hume xii, pt iii. 140). hume's empirical stance led him to advocate that statements are meaningful if they relate to ideas or to facts. anything which does not satisfy this basis is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 31 meaningless (hume iv. p. i 40). by this token, mathematical statements and empirically justifiable statements are both meaningful and indubitable. immanuel kant (17241804) was a scholar whose philosophical contributions deepened the humean position of meaningfulness. in kant, meaningful statements are classified into four: analytic, synthetic, apriori, and aposteriori statements. in all, there is an outright and technical distinction between them; "the distinction between empirical (aposteriori) and apriori statements, and the distinction between analytic and synthetic statements. the aposteriori/apriori distinction is uncomplicated as one the former relies on sense experience, while the latter lies on an absolute independence of all experiences. the second form of distinction which is central to kant's philosophy is more complicated and needs more elucidation. in order for kant to fully present the distinction between analytic and synthetic statements, he considered statements which have a relationship between subject and predicate, which are explicitly limited in its application to the class of affirmative statements only. this relation, that is, a subject-predicate relation can be of two kinds: either the predicate b belongs to the subject a as something contained (though covertly) in the concept a; or b lies outside the sphere of the concept a, though somehow connected with it. (kant sec. iv 7). kant says, when the predicate is contained in the concept of the subject, then it is analytic and when the predicate stands outside the subject-concept, even though it is of course connected with it, it is synthetic (kemp 13). kant explains further that analytic statements are those in which the connection of the predicate with the subject is conceived through identity, and may be termed illustrating statements, since nothing is said to be added by the predicate to the concept of the subject, rather the concept is only a division or split of the concept into its constituent concepts, which were always conceived as existing within it (kant sec iv 7). while synthetical statements are those in which the connection of the predicate with the subject is conceived without identity and are termed expanding statements, because the predicate, which is not conceived as existing within it add something to the concept of the subject (kant sec. iv. 7). in kant, based on his distinctions, meaningful statements are analytic apriori, synthetic apriori and synthetic aposteriori. analytic aposteriori is meaningless since if a judgment is analytic, it would not be one that was based on experience (lawhead 330). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 32 the contribution of kant brought the analytic-synthetic distinction to light as the basis for meaningfulness. for long, the empiricist tradition came to be built on analyticity, that is the analytic and synthetic distinction. other empiricists that built on this edifice include viennese empiricists with their verification principle, that the meaning of a sentence lies in its method of verification (ayer 10), moritz schlick's verification principle of meaning of "empirically possible and logically possible" (schlick 492). others who built on this are carl hempel, rudolf carnap, and so on. it suffices to say that the whole of the analytic tradition rests largely on the analytic and synthetic distinction. w. v. o. quine, however, with his classic paper, "two dogmas of empiricism" seeks to question this foundation by attacking this edifice and falsifying its truth value. w. v. o. quine and the two dogmas of empiricism against the backdrop of the analytic foundation, williard van orman quine (1908-2000) launched an attack on this foundation. he refutes first that the traditional analytic and synthetic distinction cannot be sharply drawn and also rejects that meaningful statements can only be drawn to immediate sense experience. in the opening of his article, he says: modern empiricism has been conditioned in large part by two dogmas. one is a belief in some fundamental cleavage between truths which are analytic, or grounded in meanings independently of matters of fact, and truths which are synthetic, or grounded in fact. the other dogma is reductionism: the belief that each meaningful statement is equivalent to some logical constructs upon terms which refer to immediate experience. both dogmas, i shall argue, are ill-founded (quine in ammerman 197). the refutation by quine of these dogmas which are the foundations for empiricism is premised on the fact that they are both ill-founded. the starting point of his argument begins with the query on analyticity. analytic statements are being true in virtue of their meaning and statements and synthetic requires empirical observation to ascertain their veracity. analytic statements are necessarily true and their denials would be self-contradictory. quine distinguishes two types of analytic statements: first the logically true, where a statement is true and remains true under all reinterpretations of its components other than the logical particles (quine in ammerman 198). example of this is, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 33 "no unmarried man is married" or "a triangle has three angles" (imafidon 36). the second class of analytic statement is a more substantial form of analytic statements, is typified in that statement can be turned into a "logical truth by putting of synonyms for synonyms" (quine in ammerman 198). example of this is "no bachelor is married". in this, unmarried has been substituted for a bachelor. quine argues that the problem is with this second class of analytic statements, that "we lack a proper characterization of this second class of analytic statements, and therewith of analyticity generally, inasmuch as we had to [in the description] to lean on a notion of "synonymy" which is no less in need of clarification than analyticity itself" (quine in ammerman 199). the problem with the second form of analyticity, imafidon clearly states is what it means to be synonymous (37). in attempting to explain a synonymy substituted for a word, there is a resort to the idea of analyticity which in turn needs a further clarification. this can only lead to a circular argument. thus, quine asks, instead: what is it for two expressions to be synonymous? in reply to this, quine says, we can explain synonymy by recourse to a definition. it suffices to quote quine here: there are those who find it soothing to say that the analytic statements of the second class reduce to those of the first class, the logical truths, by definition: 'bachelor', for example, is defined as 'unmarried man'... who defined it thus, and when? are we to appeal to the nearest dictionary...? clearly, this would be to put the cart before the horse. the lexicographer is an empirical scientist, whose business is the recording to antecedent facts; and if he glosses 'bachelor' as an 'unmarried man' it is because of his belief that there is a relation of synonymy between those forms... prior to his own work" (quine in ammerman 199) for quine, definitions presuppose synonymy rather than explain it since definitions are reports of observed and selected instances of synonymy that are grounded in usage. this means that definition hinges on the prior relationship of synonymy. the notion of definition seems to be inadequate since it was unable to unlock the problem of synonymy and analyticity in view of attaining clarity of the problems, quine, therefore, turns his back on the notion of definition and proceeded with the task of seeking clarity for the notion of synonymy and analyticity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 34 his next attempt to bring clarity to the notion of synonymy was carried out using the idea of interchangeability which is usually between two linguistic forms or cognitive synonymy in all contexts without altering its meaning salva veritate. by interchangeability salva veritate; is a principle attributed to leibniz by which two expressions are said to be synonymous if the substitution of one for the other does not change the truth value or meaning of any context in which either expression appears. quine asserts that "it is not quite true that the synonymy 'bachelor' and 'unmarried man' are everywhere salva veritate. truths which become false under substitution of "unmarried man" for "bachelor" are easily construed with the help of "bachelor of arts" or "bachelor's buttons""(quine in ammerman 201-202). the problem of interchangeability arises as quine notes that not all the time that "bachelor" is used for instance does the truth value remains when the synonymy "unmarried" is substituted for both are not cognitively synonymous all the time. cognitive synonymy means the kind of synonymy that has a connection with analyticity, such that it will make "any analytic statements to be turned into a logical truth by putting synonyms for synonyms (quine in ammerman 202). further, quine pointed out that in extensional languages that are interchangeable salva veritate cannot assure us of the desired cognitive synonymy. this means that interchangeability salva veritate, when viewed in relation to an extensional language, is not a sufficient condition of cognitive synonymy. hence, interchangeability does not resolve the analyticity issue. with the appeal to meaning, definition, and synonyms failing to provide satisfactory justification for analyticity, quine resorts to semantic rules. he engages the position that argues the true nature of the analytic-synthetic distinction is made clear with the appeal to artificial language that has explicit semantic rules. however, an appeal to semantic rules involves different forms and this has a purported relationship between statements and languages and statements are only true or analytic if they conform to the semantic rule. quine, however, says this is going back to the first point or clarification of the meaning of what the semantic rule is, just as it is to ask what analytic is. thus, the shift from analytic to semantic rule has also failed to resolve the cleavage between the analytic-synthetic distinction. in view of the difficulty of giving a justifiable explanation of analyticity or something close to it, quine concludes that the analytic propositions will be those in which the factual content is null or simply those which are informatively trivial (quine in ammerman 207) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 35 quine makes another appeal to substantiate the dilemma of analyticity by recourse to the verification theory. this is an appeal to the second dogma which is the second side of the coin of the logical positivist dogmas. the logical positivists view verification as a method of confirming and infirming the meaning of a statement and such process is justified if it coheres with empirical confirmation or information. thus, analytic statement is that limiting case which is confirmed no matter what (quine in ammerman 208). this is both foundationalist and reductionist in approach. thus, meaning statements are only those translatable to direct sense experience. but quine criticizes this verificationist position of meaning or the reductionist view which reduces the goal of translating any significant statement to sense-datum language. this in fundamentally wrong as its supposed validity rests on a defective conception of meaning which regards individual statements as independent of primary units of meaning. (imafidon 39). quine argues that if we have reasons to reject the analytic-synthetic distinction, we must also reject the reductionist thesis because they constitute two sides of the same coin (aigbodion and igbafen 68). in view of the epistemic impasse in finding justification for the analytic-synthetic cleavage and the hypocrisy and weakness of verificationism, quine proposes a new foundation for empiricism, which he tags "empiricism without the dogmas"; a form of holism which is regarded as confirmation holism or epistemological holism. holism is regarded as "any view according to which properties of individual elements in a complex are taken to be determined by relations they bear to other elements (holism in honderich 397). epistemological holism which has been advanced by w.v. o. quine and donald davidson argue that "the meaning of a sentence depends on its relations with other sentences in a language; thus, understanding a sentence involves understanding a language either the language in which the sentence is expressed or one into which it is translatable". (holism in honderich 397-398) quinean holism is a form of deconstruction of the empiricists' edifice which argues that there is no demarcation as it were, between the analytic and the synthetic. he argues that what we have is a network of linkage connecting various sentences, hence, we cannot compartmentalize sentences into two sharp categories or reduce them to only empirical verification. (irele in oladipo 179). the whole of science is built on the unit of empirical significance and scientific igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 36 statements are interconnected. thus, if we think of verification, it would be the whole field of science and not single statements that are verified. because of this interrelatedness of science, the talk about the empirical content of individual statements is misleading and it is similarly incoherent, therefore, to set boundaries between analytic and synthetic statements, with the former being contingent on experience and the latter necessary on experience. for quine formulation, therefore, statements are held as necessarily true if the right changes are made somewhere else in the system. he argues further that the function of science is to predict future experiences in the light of past ones; the only ground for choosing which explanations to believe is "the degree to which they expedite our dealings with sense experiences". (quine in ammerman 212). this position is a tilt towards pragmatism. aigbodion and igbafen interpret quine's criterion clearly: from quine's viewpoint, we may regard analytic statements as those we would want to conserve and regard as somewhat well entrenched, such that they are the truths which we would be least willing to give up in the face of apparently falsifying circumstance. this is the quinean pragmatic criterion of preserving analyticity. (69) quine argues further that no statements are immune to revision. this is the famous critique against induction and the empirical principle which categorizes some statements as incorrigible. quine argues to the contrary. several replies to quine's pragmatic reproach of empiricism have been advanced from rudolf carnap to hilary putnam to paul grice and p.f strawson. it suffices to capture the defense of grice and strawson against the attack on empiricism. paul grice and p. f strawson: in defence of a dogma quine made a swipe at the analytic-synthetic distinction with his epochal paper, "two dogmas of empiricism", arguing that the claim is an unempirical dogma of empiricism, a metaphysical article of faith, hence not rationally grounded (imafidon 39; aigbodion and igbafen 62). quine declares or seems to declare, "not merely that the distinction is useless or inadequately clarified, but also that it is altogether illusory, that the belief in its existence is a philosophical mistake" (grice and strawson 142). thus, quine makes a radical rejection of the distinction which amounts to a radical skepticism of analyticity. however, grice and strawson (henceforth gs) contest the rational and logical basis of quine's claims and argue as not sufficient for an outright rejection of analyticity. gs argue that https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/empirical_evidence igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 37 the claims of quine do not amount to a rejection, hence, they make an amendment of quine's claim which would not amount to an outright denial. the basis for gs's refutation stems from the fact that there are grounds which would lead to a denial and not. it may seem that they that fact of incomprehension of a concept or its ambiguity does not amount to inexistence. it may seem that those who hold the view on analyticity may not present the argument as it should be, but, this incoherence or rejection of a claim as useless ore pedantic or can be done away with does not lead to a rejection (grice and strawson 141). gs think that the presentation of quine's critique should be a critique on the philosophical elucidation of doctrine, rather, than a radical rejection of it. gs expressly backlashes quine: it is worth pointing out that quine's objection is not simply to the words "analytic" and "synthetic", but to a distinction which they are supposed to express, and which at different times philosophers have supposed themselves to be expressing by means of such pairs of words or phrases as "necessary" and "contingent", "a priori" and "empirical", "truth of reason" and "truth of fact"; so quine is certainly at odds with a philosophical tradition which is long and not wholly disreputable. (grice and strawson 142) the point that gs try to make is that, since the terms "analytic" and "synthetic" are not contested philosophical terms, but its distinction; and a certain kind of distinction at that, as quine argues, that, "our major difficulty lies not in the fist class of analytic statements, the logical truths, but rather in the second class, which depends on the notion of synonymy (quine in armmerman 199), then, quine's inability to understand at least the second class of analyticity or at worst to explain it, does not mean that they cannot be explained at all or therefore does not exist. gs reinterpret quine in the light of this logical sequence that his thesis is not that there is no difference at all, "but that the nature of, and reasons for, the difference or differences are totally misunderstood by those who use the expressions" (grice and strawson 143). gs takes a further swipe at quine in contesting the notion of synonymy which the latter agrees pose a difficulty in understanding the analytic distinction; a term he describes a "cognitive synonymy" which he claims is as unclarified as that of analyticity. the strength of the quinean rejection of synonymy is that x igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 38 and y means the same at all the time that they can be interchanged, and in which case, none exists since any expression recourses back to the definition and further clarification. hence, both "analytic" and "synthetic" do not exist. gs replies that if quine is to be consistent, then, his use of the words, "means the same as" and "do not mean the same as" do not exist. this is so because the words "analytic" and "synthetic" are not the special property of philosophers (grice and strawson 145). thus, both from a philosophical point of view and from ordinary language gs argue that quine's position is not sufficient to claim that "analytic" and "synthetic" do not exist. the intelligibility standard created by quine in view of understanding analyticity as being part of a closed circle of concepts, all of which stand in need of clarification, gs make an attempt to break into the circle with a concrete example of logical impossibility unfortunate, because, as i shall argue, it is precisely the kind of analyticity that experience might persuade us to discard (pidgen "two dogmatists; grice and strawson 150-1). an example of logical impossibility would be the example of a child of three being an adult and as distinct from natural impossibility with an example of a child of three understanding russell's theory of types (imafidon 40; grice and strawson 152-3). thus, quine's difficulty stems from incomprehension and thus, rather than take a posture of socratic assumption that something not easily describable has no place in discourse, it only needs clarity. quine's intellectual rebuff can only lead to skepticism of meaning. gs further says, in view of synonyms, it is only wise to ask, what does it mean? gs thus conclude that two sentences are synonymous if and only if the true answer of the question, "what does it mean?" asked of one of them is the true answer to the same question asked of the other. in view of quine's critique of the second dogma; verificationism or reductionism, which is based on the principle of "immune from revision", he had said, it is absurd to think that a statement taken in isolation from its fellows, can admit of confirmation or discomfirmation at all. gs replies this thus: [quine] does not deny that individual statements are regarded as confirmed or disconfirmed, are in fact rejected or accepted, in the light of experience. he denies only that these relations between single statements and experience hold independently of our attitudes to other statements. he means that experience can confirm or disconfirm an individual igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 39 statement, only given certain assumptions about the truth or falsity of other statements. (grice and strawson 156) gs say the implication and prescription of quine is only a revision of the analytic-synthetic doctrine on synonym. and so, since individual statements are not denied confirmed or disconfirmed, just that they are not immune to revision, but justified by experience, therefore, they [gs] argue that: all we have to say now is that two statements are synonymous if and only if any experiences which on certain assumptions about the truth-values of other statements, confirm or disconfirm one of the pair, also, on the same assumptions, confirm or disconfirm the other to the same degree. (grice and strawson 156) what gs interpret this claim of quine as an amended account of statementsynonymy along these lines. thus, the query or attack by quine ends up according to gs in strengthening the doctrine of analyticity. the reply or defense of an attack by gs, pidgen describes as "analytic imperialism" ("two dogmatists") as it has bloated the empire of the analyticity. this reply by gs safeguarded the empiricist edifice, yet, leaves the burden and difficulty of analyticity as a ravaging ghost in analytic and post-analytic philosophy. grice and strawson on quine: an attack on the defense, but not defense of the attack several revisionists' positions have come up since the formidable reply by grice and strawson to quine's criticism to empiricism and his subsequent positive theory of empiricism without the dogma; an epistemological holism. a notable quinean revisionist is hilary putnam and subsequently quine himself in his book, word and object (1960), where he presented his theory of "indeterminacy of translation". while gs have faulted quine on theoretical grounds and claim that quine suffers incomprehension and should not suffice for incredulity, their own position is also fraught with some inconsistencies which has made the "analytic debate" a perennial discourse in analytic philosophy. in gs's reply, the epistemic impasse in understanding analyticity remains. two main arguments are used to critique quine and that is logical impossibility and natural impossibility. gs illustrate this by two respective examples: (1) my neighbour's three year old is an adult and (2) my neighbour's three year old child igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 40 understands russell's theory of types. the distinction between both gs argue is the distinction between an utterance meaning something and not meaning anything. the first example; case of logical impossibility is one that require a new explanation because it is not logically possible to claim a three year old is an adult; but one may think that the speaker is using familiar words to express new concept. thus, in this case, either one is asserting it with a meaning other than the standard conventional one, or with no meaning at all. whereas in the second; the case of natural impossibility, it is evident that the case is false, except, it would take a more convincing situation to assert one. in the face of this main thrust of gs argument, it seems to me, that the argument hatched to attack quine is true to attack theirs, as they need to clarify what quine means in his claims even if it appears to be logically impossible. the contribution of gs leaves the understanding of analyticity more vacuous than ever. their reply did not advance a new explanation to the problem but to quine and so, the difficulty remains. the contributions of putnam and latter quine has further spiralled this philosophical problem. however, it suffices to mention that quine's revision did not amount to the radical skepticism attributed to his work, as, he also claims that the problem is with a set of analytic statements; when synonymy is applied, not to logical truths whose truth-value are self-evident. it seems that the case of analyticity shifted from the incredulity of belief to issue of incomprehension of thought, both of quine and misreading by gs. while it is impossible to hold completely to the quinean position as it leads to the skepticism of meaning, his revision, breaks empiricism from a form of foundationalism. over 60 years of quine's attack on the empirical foundations, the quinean ghost has continually haunted analytic philosophy and pushed it into new intellectual frontiers, part of what has formed the foundations of post-analytic philosophy. works cited aigbodion, j. a, and igbafen, m. l. philosophy of language from an african perspective, benin city: ava graphics prints, 2013. print. ayer, a. j. logical positivism, new york: the free press, 1966. print. grice paul, and strawson, p. f. "in defense of a dogma" in the philosophical review, vol. 65 (2), 1956, 141-158. pdf. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 41 honderich, ted. (ed.) the oxford companion to philosophy, new edition, oxford: university press, 2005. print. hume, david. an inquiry concerning human understanding, charles w. hendel (ed), new york: the liberal press, 1955. print. irele, dipo. "philosophy of language: a contemporary approach" in issues and problems in philosophy, k. a. owolabi (ed.), ibadan: grovacs network, 2000. print. imafidon, elvis. "defending a dogma: between grice, strawson, and quine" in international journal of philosophy and theology, vol. 2. no. 1, march 2014. print. kant, immanuel. critique of pure reason, translated by f. max muller, new york: the anchor books, doubleday and company inc., 1966. print. kemp, john. the philosophy of kant, new york: oxford university press, 1979. print. lawhead, william. the voyage of discovery, a historical introduction to philosophy, 2nd edition. belmont: wadsworth group, 2002. print. pidgen, r. charles. "two dogmatists" in https://www.academia.edu/3548066/two_dogmatists_a_critiq ue_of_grice_and_strawsons_in_defence_of_a_dogma_, retrieved, march 15, 2018. web. schlick, mortiz. "meaning and verification" in william barrett and henry aiken (eds), philosophy in the twentieth century, new york: harper and row publishers, vol. 2. 1962. print. quine, w. v. o. "two dogmas of empiricism" in robert ammerman (ed.), classics of analytic philosophy, indianapolis: hackett publishing company, 1990. print. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 1. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2021. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 42 quine, w. v. o. word and object, massachusetts: the mit press, 1960. pdf ree, jonathan. ed. the concise encyclopedia of western philosophy, new york: routledge, 2005. print. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 2.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 81 pidgin-creole a tool for nigerian national language development emmanuel chukwudi ugwu department of english language and literature nnamdi azikiwe university, awka ec.ugwu@unizik.edu.ng abstract considering nigeria as a multilingual nation and her problem of adopting one of the indigenous languages without any bias as her national language, this paper addressed the issues on nigerian pidgin and creole as the only panacea to have the long awaited common national language in the present day nigeria. the data collected were analysed with concept of descriptive method analysis and translations. the work used accommodation theory as the theoretical framework, and concluded with affirmative recommendation on a wakeup call to the government, in other to salvage the situation. keywords: pidgin, creole, national language, government, nigeria. introduction: nature of language in nigerian context nigeria is a nation with various languages that made her a multilingual nation; spanning over three hundred and fifty languages: igbo language used in the land area of the eastern nigeria; hausa mainly in the northern region; yoruba in the western part; southern part with her languages such as ijaw, warri, bini languages etc. and other minor languages that cut across the nation. although britain colonised nigeria area so english was fused into the nation as a common language which settled the problem of linguistic diversity. portuguese arrived before the english language but it appeared that the earlier language could not capture the territory linguistically which the later was able to achieve, and of course today, the english language is assumed to be one of the greatest assets to the nation. language has been the powerful artefact of any given nation and also the dominant instrument for upholding people’s culture. linguistically, nigeria is a nation with divergent and diversified languages. it also does not exist in a vacuum but in a particular environment and society. the other contexts where language exists in nigeria are the gender, social class, identity etc. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 82 language and national policy polices have been put in place in nigeria for a common codified language to serve as a medium of unifying the other languages of our nation, nevertheless the english language has been serving this purpose. it has served the purpose as the language of nigerian government, in education, commerce, law, industry and other minor and major institutions. on the other hand, it has maintained its position as the target, official and unresolved national language of the nation. the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria with amendments 2011 states thus on the issue of languages, “the business of the national assembly shall be conducted in english, and in hausa, ibo and yoruba when adequate arrangements have been made thereof” (ll47). it also incorporates the dictates on language issue in the state assembly thus: the business of a house of assembly shall be conducted in english, but the house may in addition to english conduct the business of the house in one or more other languages spoken in the state as the house may by resolution approve. (ll63) the question begging for answer is when will an ordinary state assembly come to the term of using any of the indigenous languages peculiar to their state or one of the local languages to bind the national interest of the nation? to foster the unity in a nation, one of the national languages other than the english language has to take the centre stage in our national day-to-day business activities. it is evident that nobody is ready to allow another person’s language to be given the privilege of dominance. thus, the existing state of affairs still stands. take for instance, a state like delta with its various languages would not condescend so low as to choosing other peoples’ language or accepting it. this implies that things must be done to salvage this situation of using english that is not our local language for official purposes. government has proposed various policies in education on language environment, sofunke considers the situation thus: the government is fully aware that the trend the world over is to have a national language which is a means of preserving the people’s culture. although the adoption of a lingua franca in nigeria is a task which cannot be achieved overnight, government is of the view that a beginning should be made as soon as possible and considers it to be in the interest of national unity that each child igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 83 should be encouraged to learn one of the three major languages in nigeria other than his own vernacular. (38) the issue of wazobia has taken the centre stage and some earlier school of thoughts kicked against it. the wazobia framework which was a coinage that originated from the pulling together of the translation of the english word come among the major languages was totally ruled out by some people over some political, religious, ethnic etc. bias and other factors that militated against using one of the indigenous languages as a national language. osaji presented some factors that affected the choice of any of the native languages as the national language such as: • population of speakers, with age, occupation and class distribution; • location: geographical, political and social boundaries; • present status: any evidence of change in status e.g. decline, increase, age shift, geographical extension, etc. • literature: oral and written traditional, use in educational institutions and in political, religious and other organisations: mass media using language, such as newspapers radio, television; • history of any specialised use of the language including education, history of social and religious pressure groups, and history of any relation with other languages of the area concerned; • economic strength: method of finance, state or private or national, staff recruitment and training facilities, availability of teaching materials, foreign aid and technical assistance requirements; • administrative, commercial and mass media requirements in terms of cost for changing languages; • adult education facilities and literacy campaigns. considering the above factors enlisted by osaji, it is assumed that a lot of homework needs to be done with some factors in other to have at least a particular language which can serve the purpose of a national language for the nation. some other school of thought suggested the use of one of the minority language. this is prior to the unresolved struggle among the three major languages as none igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 84 wants to surrender to the other in the course of being used as the national language. it is suggested that igala should be adopted as the national language since it is the only language that cuts across some speech communities in the north, east and southern parts of nigeria. another thought recommended idoma, even ijaw considering the people that speak the language and areas they covered. these areas are so minimal to be considered enough reason to place them as the national language. also, the vast teaming population of nigerian nation with the multi-nature of the political terrain, sociological differences, linguistically maps and other factors will hinder the progression of any of the indigenous languages as the national language. the majority of the languages do not have adequate manpower that can teach the language to others if accepted; every of the language has a particular region that is dominated for it, leaving behind the others. in other to avoid imposing any of the major or the minor languages that can bring about common bickering, another language should be developed to serve this purpose of national language and this paper seeks to proffer nigerian pidgin-creole as the answer. pidgin and creole the nigerian perspective pidgin and creole have long standing recognitions in linguistic environment with various discrepancies on their acceptability by a particular speech community. this is based on the assumption and impression that they are languages that are debased, second handed, and mainly meant for the third class citizens because they are usually spoken by servants, maids and generally the uneducated. the language arose to breach the gap in communication among various societal classes. pidgin came up earliest and once it is widely used creole is developed for that community. todd considers pidgin to be a language that ‘arises to fulfil certain restricted communication needs among people who have no common language’ (1), while creole ‘arises when a pidgin becomes the mother tongue of a speech community’ (3). such language has existed in nigeria and still triumphs in certain areas without giving it the much accolade needed with various varieties and acceptability in some quarters. it is highly recognised without adequate proper attention given to it, but it is an everyday language among various classes. the language was assumed a contact language during the english colonial era but clear observation will note that during the portuguese voyage to coastal areas of nigeria there was a contact language, that is, a language that eases their communication with the people on ground. the antera duke’s diary is clear example which bamgbose igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 85 opines that ‘contact english is often illustrated by the famous entries in anterra duke’s diary of events in calabar between 1785 and 1788’ (12). elugbe and omamor write: the language of antera duke’s diary does sound more like some kind of substandard usage of english than a pidginised or even simplified form of english. describing the language of antera duke’s diary as kind of substandard english is not in any way equivalent to a claim that it does not represent some stage in the tortuous journey of np from its proto-form, whatever the latter may have looked or sound like. (31) in nigeria, some areas have developed to the extent that creole is used as their first language or mother tongue, like in niger-delta area of nigeria and some other areas pidgin is still being reckoned with. pidgin and creole the panacea for nigeria’s national language pidgin-creole has come to stay, breaking various grounds on linguistic barrier among the multilingual nigerian’s nation. there have been existing proposals on the choice of a national language, which were categorised into two major aspects: the unilingual and the multilingual methodologies. the unilingual approach comprising the pidgin language, artificial language form from the amalgamation of the three indigenous languages: hausa, igbo, yoruba making up the wazobia, or guosa; any of the minority languages like igala, idoma, ijaw etc.; any of the major indigenous languages: english; or any of external pan-african languages like: swahili, zulu. on the side of the multilingual approach is where the three major languages will be recognised as national language concurrently while the english language retains its official status. soyinka 1977, olagoke 1982, jowitt 1995. the second approach was also supported by the federal government, in line with their stand on language issues for the business of national assemblies and national policy on education. on the existing various criticisms against the various approaches above: that is power of exclusion on the other languages, english is not a native language, and using any pan-african language is also on the same category of english and worst of it is that nobody speaks the language in our national lives. upholding one of the minority languages will pose a greater problem, bearing in mind the manpower and limited available resources to compare the major languages covered capacities. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 86 so, this paper seeks to advocate acceptance of pidgin-creole as the major language of the nigerian’s national language, due to its wider acceptability in all spheres of nigeria, and in all her regions. pidgin-creole has gained wider acceptance in everyday life, politics, business, education, economy and social well-being. statement of the problem nigeria had had its rough side on the ability to choose a particular language for national language. so many ethnic bickering arise once national language is mentioned, while the english language will never be accepted as the national language despite its wide dominance. research questions 1. how would pidgin-creole serve as nigeria’s national language? 2. to what extent will pidgin-creole go in taking the pride of the national language? 3. to what extent has pidgin-creole developed to serve this purpose? 4. what international importance in areas of business, education, politics, media etc. do pidgin-creole possess in nigeria? review of relevant scholarship conceptual framework nigeria and her linguistic issues could have been a resolved matter if needful and palliative measures or approaches were attended to before now. despite her multilingual nature, every quarter could have shelved their ethnic interest and come to a roundtable to foster formation of a particular language that can serve the purpose of a national language. if pidgin-creole was given a clear negotiation and preference, nigeria could have overcome the problem of having a national language. in view of the general origin and acceptance of the pidgincreole, that has no locus or attachment to any particular nation or other indigenous languages could have been adopted as a language that will serve the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 87 purpose of the national language, then, some needed structure, orthography and other things could have been developed. pidgin-creole in national development developing a nation demands a language that will boost other areas of the nation and for a country to develop linguistically, certain measures are needed to be put in place and since no indigenous language wants to assume the outright position of national language development, emenanjo as quoted in jowitt discusses that development needs to be fostered by deliberate language engineering, which assumes five major forms: • graphisation (designing and standardising the orthography) pidgincreole needed to be graphised with current trends in nigerian contextual norms. • standardisation (the evolution of a standard dialect) pidgin-creole of a nigerianise dialect needed to be developed with a leaf from indigenous language, like tatafo (gossip), oga (master or sir) • modernisation of the numeration system (by the incorporation, for example, of the decimal principle); upgrading pidgin-creole in nigerian context of numeral systems. • creation of metalanguage (so that a language can function as a medium of study and instruction); areas in niger-delta region has started developing the pidgin-creole for teaching and learning in that area, which is needed in other regions too. • production of materials related to each of these. jowitt considers that other signs related to a particular language functions include the use of language in radio and television broadcasting and in creative writing (41). rickford extends that once formed, a marginal pidgin may develop into an extended pidgin or creole, and may eventually decreolise into a continuum of post-creole “dialects” (497). pidgin-creole in national politics the general relationship between pidgin-creole and national politics is seriously gaining ground in nigerian context, elugbe and omamor stress that it is curious that nigerian government, both at the state and at the federal levels, simply igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 88 never mention np. it is as if it does not exist. and yet, if the population of those who do speak np in one form or the other is a metre stick for determining what a major language is, then np is definitely a major nigerian language (143-4). it seems that the majority of educated nigerians in politics will not want to associate themselves with inferiority of the said pidgin-creole language. it is observed that government are yet to develop the acclaimed three major languages to the national level due to some political factors, but developing pidgin-creole will go a long way to eschew all form of disunity, because the language has no particular dominated language over it. jowitt supports this claim that the result is that, “advocacy of the promotion of a particular to some kind of ‘national’ status is viewed with suspicion by those who do not fall in the category of l1 speakers of that language, and a government policy that appeared to favour it would encounter serious, and potentially most damaging opposition” (42). pidgin-creole in language policy on education language policy on education requires a situation whereby pidgin-creole needed to be incorporated in educational policy of our nation. the language has gone a long way in permeating into some major cronies of the users among the high and the low in our nation, if given a chance the language can as well function well in teaching and learning in our schools. national policy on education requires that: in addition to appreciating the importance of a language in the educational process, and as a means of preserving the people’s culture the government considers it to be in the interest of national unity that each child should be encouraged to learn one of the three major languages other than his own mother tongue. in this connection, the government considered the three major languages in nigeria to be hausa, igbo and yoruba. the above policy and the rest were made in 1977 and since then a lot of dynamism has taken the centre stage in language policy of our nation; given pidgin-creole a chance this time around as a language of instruction to some extent at the early stages will project the language policy to a greater limelight. due to the ground the english language has gained, observation has it that some teachers in southern region of nigeria usually resort to pidgin-creole when there is a crack in communication or that teacher lacked the actual semiotics for the particular situation in english. as todd discourses: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 89 to instil in teachers while they are in training colleges the knowledge that the occasional use of the pidgin or creole might well be sound pedagogical practice – for example in supplying the local equivalent of an unknown english word or phrase – might have the effect of reducing unnecessary classroom tension. a teacher who does not have to worry unduly about the linguistic performance might be more sensitive to the type of language most useful in encouraging individual pupils to participate in classroom work …. as far as oral behaviour is concerned, the aim should be to facilitate the pupils’ manipulation of a wider range of varieties, ultimately in his ability to control english language. (83) since the essential tool for education is the communication and to communicate effectively the appropriate language should be employed. at the tertiary level once the gap arises instead to mix the language with the indigenous language of the environment, one should employ the services of pidgin-creole, to fill up the gap, because everybody understands this particular code; and if the pidgincreole is well recognised in that area, the paper thinks that nothing should stop pidgin-creole in advocating its place of national language. pidgin-creole for nation on lingual-cultural trends nigeria being a nation with multicultural strands needs a national language that will help her various ethnic groups to transmit their culture to other ethnic nations. akindele and adegbite concur that “language does not exist in a vacuum. it is as a vehicle of culture and that language functions as an instrument of human development.” (91) they proffer that a lingual-cultural policy for national development recognises three fundamental needs of nationhood: i. the identification and positive development of the linguistic resources of a nation: ii. the identification and positive development of the cultural resources of a nation: iii. an integrative (rather than separated) development of both the linguistic and cultural resources. (92) the above three varieties can serve these areas of monolingcultural society with one principal language and culture and there is no society with the absolute igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 90 mono; bilingcultural society with two principal dominated the society or using only the two languages and cultures over other languages; and lastly multlingcultural society where the nigerian nation belongs, with multiple languages and cultures. theoretical framework theory of communication accommodation theory (cat) was applied in this paper which was developed by howard giles. turner and west argue that when people interact they adjust their speech, their vocal patterns and their gestures, to accommodate others. (1) also using convergence and divergence for the national interest and integration in the national language. giles and smith state that convergence refers to the process through which an individual shifts his or her speech pattern in interaction so that they more closely resemble the speech patterns of speech partners. (46) while the divergence is a linguistic strategy whereby a member of a speech community accentuates the linguistic differences between one and one’s interlocutor. methodology the paper explains the design of the research, how the data were collected and the analytical approach that was followed. design the paper was purely a library research based with examples lifted from already existed work on pidgin-creole language in those texts. population the population was mainly pidgin-creole existing structure, words, plural formations, question tags, and they were analysed through descriptive method of analysis. data analysis pidgin-creole basically is the language of business and used daily at any environment where the people involved are bilinguals: hawu mochi? what is the price? i wan bai fuud stofs i want to buy food stuffs mek i kukuma enta maaketi let me quickly go to market igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 91 some words on particular indigenous languages are now accommodated in pidgin-creole of nigerian context for examples abeegi or ejoor or doo etc. meaning please elugbe and omamor state that pidgin-creole has only one negation no which is realised as no in the speech of some. there also appear to be speakers for whom the choice between no and no depending on the nature of the vowel of the verb or the auxiliary item in the sentence. for such speakers the negator takes the form no if the appropriate vowel is an open vowel, and no if this vowel is a closed vowel. this is the category of speakers who say: a no go; an a no tel mai papa sef – i did not go; and i did not tell my father. a no go kom tumoro – i will not come tomorrow dem no gri rait di leta – they refused to write the letter plural formation strategies in modern pidgin-creole, aziza gave some examples as follows: i. di draivas de kom – di draivas dem de kom – “the drivers are coming” ii. a no si di tishas – a no si di tishas dem – “i did not see the teachers” iii. wi tel awa gads mek dem no it – wi tel awa gads dem no it – “we told our guards not to eat” iv. plenty shoshis de dis rod – plenti shoshis dem de dis rod – “there are many churches on this road.” (aziza, 12) orthography of some selected area of pidgin-creole as elugbe and omamor contribute in diverse parts of speech. (88-92) nouns in pidgin-creole: examples pikin child hausu house chia chair pesin person oga sir/master abro brother draiva driver penta painter igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 92 noun with reduplication or by compounding: examples sansan sand boiboi houseboy longatrot greed switmaut gluttony pronoun derivation in pidgin-creole, aziza suggests that “in modern np pronouns, number gender and case are differentiated in such a way that makes them more similar to english than in the past, i.e. they appear to be decreolising.”(13) subject object possessive a “i” mi “me” mai “my/mine” yu “you (sg)” yu “you” yọ “your (sg.)” i “he/she/it” am “him/her/it” im “his/hers/its” wi “we” wi/ọs “us” wi/awa “our/ours” una “you pl.” una “you” una “your/yours” dẹm “they” dẹm “them” dẹm “their/theirs” conclusion and recommendation if nigeria must get it right now on the issue of national language it is high time we shove every sentiment and come to a round-table and keep every personal interest and forge this nation ahead with the adoption of pidgin-creole as her national language. aziza asserts that “it is the single most spoken language in nigeria with a population of over 80 million and still growing because, as a product of urbanisation and as more rural communities become urbanised due to more formal education and industrialization, the number of np speakers is also growing” (16). although, pidgin-creole is yet to get full recognition in this nation, the paper recommends that government should brace up to a sincere responsibility and give the language a standardised position by involving the linguists, educationists, legislators, writers, journalists and other language developers to give the language a facelift in terms of quantum sponsorship, in other to develop a standard orthography for it. finally, government should promote and implement the language as one of the major languages to be studied at all levels of our educational system. “all in all, the field of np studies promises us a lot of excitement in the coming decades.” (elugbe, 435) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 93 works cited akindele, femi and wale adegbite. the sociology and politics of english in nigeria: an introduction. ile-ife: o.a.u. press, 2005. print. aziza, rose oro. “aspects of the syntax of modern nigerian pidgin.” in kramer, ruth, elizabeth c. zsiga and one tlale boyer. eds. selected proceedings of the 44th annual conference on african linguistics. 11-16. somerville, ma: cascadilla proceedings project. www.lingref.com, document #3122, 2015.web. bamgbose, ayo. “english in the nigerian environment.” in bamgbose, ayo, ayo banjo,andrew thomas. eds. new englishes: a west african perspective. 9-26. ibadan: mosuro, 1995. print. constitution of the federal republic of nigeria (promulgation) 1999 with amendments 2011. elugbe, ben ohi and augusta phil omamor. nigerian pidgin: background and prospects. ibadan: heinemann educational books plc, 1991. print. elugbe, ben. “nigerian pidgin : some matters arising.” in kamalu, ikenna and isaac tamunobelema. eds. issues in the study of language and literature theory & practice. 428-436. ibadan: kraft books limited, 2015. print. federal ministry of information: federal republic of nigeria national policy on education. lagos: nerdc, 1977. print. giles, howard and philip smith. “accommodation theory: optimal levels of convergence.” in giles, howard and robert st clair n. language and social psychology. baltimore: basil blackwell. 1979. web. jowitt, david. “nigeria’s national language question: choices and constraints.” in bamgbose, ayo, ayo banjo, andrew thomas. eds. new englishes: a west african perspective. 34-56. ibadan: mosuro, 1995. print olagoke, d. o. “choosing a national language for nigeria.” journal of the linguistic association of nigeria (jolan). 1 197-208. 1982. web. osaji, b. language survey in nigeria. quebec: international centre for research on bilingualism, 1979. print. rickford, john. “the field of pidgin-creole studies: a review article on loreto todd's pidgins and creoles. london: routledge and kegan paul, 1974.” journal of postcolonial writing. vol. 16: 2, 477 — 513. 1977. print. sofunke, biodun. “national language policy for democratic nigeria.” in emenajo, e. nolue. ed. multilingualism minority languages and language policy in nigeria. agbor: central books limited, 1990. print. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 94 soyinka, wole. “language and boundary.” in bamgbose, ayo. ed. language in education in nigeria vol. 1 proceeding of the language centre organised by the national language centre federal ministry of education, lagos, nigeria. 1977. web. todd, loreto. pidgins and creoles. london: routledge and kegan paul. 1974. print. turner, lynn h. and richard west. “communication accommodation theory.” introducing communication theory: analysis and application. 4th ed. new york: mcgraw hill. 2010 web. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 179 induction versus sceintific progress: examining background questions in popper’s conception of science charles kosolu onebunne department of philosophy, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka ck.onebunne@unizik.edu.ng & prof. bonachristus umeogu department of philosophy, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka bu.umeogu@unizik.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.33912.11529 abstract induction has been viewed as a scientific method. that is to say that scientific hypothesis, theories and laws are arrived at by means of induction. but induction has its problem; the problem of justifying the inductive inference from the observed instances to unobserved instances. this is the problem of hasty conclusion. thus, in induction, the inference is rationally unjustified. this explains why the truism of induction as a method of science was challenged by karl popper who contended that induction by its very nature cannot bring about progress in science even as it cannot really enable us demarcate what is scientific from what is not. in contrast, popper propounded his famous theory of falsificationism where he asserts that the criteria of the scientific status of a theory are its falsifiability or refutability, or testability. in this way, popper believes that progress in science would be achieved. this study employs the method of analysis to bring to the fore, the problems associated with induction and which have prompted and propelled popper’s conception of science. this study reveals that, for popper, induction is not capable of assuring progress in science. keywords – induction, scientific progress, falsification. introduction from time immemorial, science and scientific theories have been in progress. this is so because since the creation of the universe mankind has been faced with multifaceted problems that require authentic solutions. to this end, many theories have kept on springing up in other to proffer solutions to those problems. put in another way, so many discoveries have been made, all in a bid to take care of problems of mankind. however, these discoveries have given rise to such problems as; how do we account for scientific discoveries? what method leads to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 180 scientific discoveries? how do we account for the truth and certainty of these discoveries? owing to the above questions, some answers have emerged by way of ideologies. in the first instance, instrumentalists would deny the position that scientific theories about unobservable can be accepted as the description of an observable world. this implies that for them, the world is an experiential world so that any description of it must be experimental too. in their own postulation, the realists have it that science seeks to explain and understand nature in a way that theoretical entities are postulated in form of a scientific theory to explain the reality of observable phenomena. on their own part, the relativists would make us believe that there is no such thing objective truth because for them, truth depends on the community that claims it. this relativistic conception is rather problematic because it implies that there is no objective body of science. incidentally, it is in given to these various conceptions of science and the problem they generate that serve as the background of this study. consequently, this study focuses on karl popper’s falsification where he proposed that science relies on putting up a hypothesis by way of conjecture and then falsifying it. according to popper, so long as a hypothesis is falsifiable, near objectivity of science is assured. this is against the earlier held belief by some philosophers of science that induction is the traditional method in science and remains so. it is against this background that this study seeks to put induction and scientific progress side by side to actually see if induction as a method in science can bring about real progress in science. of course, for popper, induction cannot offer real progress in science. this is the key background problem that informed his conception of science which is rooted in his falsificationism whereby falsificationism is seen not as an aberration to scientific endeavour, but as an innovation and a revolutionary endeavour. as a matter of fact, falsification in itself is a pointer to the fact that no knowledge is final. this means that for popper, falsicationism as a method gives room for progress in science as against induction which, as it were, is not capable of assuring progress in science. popper on the problem of induction one of the major issues in philosophy of science has always been the methodological approach to science. as it were, all through the history of science, induction has been considered to be a method in science by some philosophers of science. however, popper, did not see induction as a veritable method in science. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 181 in the light of this, he (popper) aligned himself with hume’s refutation of induction as a true method of acquiring knowledge. in the same veins, he argues that bacon’s system of induction in itself is naive and as such cannot stand as scientific method. however, some scholars are of the opinion that popper’s rejection of bacon’s induction is as a result of him not properly comprehending bacon’s position. this is because popper shares same view as bacon that science is distinguishable from non-science by its empirical method which is basically inductive. nonetheless, popper was not comfortable with inductive method whose inferences have observations as premises and theories as conclusions. this did not go down well with karl popper. instead, popper believes that hume’s rejection of induction is lucid enough. it was hume who posits that our assumptions of cause and effect in relation to two events cannot be necessarily true. for hume, that is causal connection which in itself is assumption that is not subject to reason. hume went further to assert that what is normally termed causal connection is simply as a consequence of repeated observations about two events. thus, for hume there is no real rational support to believe in causation. popper argues that scientists hold onto induction because they suppose that it is only induction that can provide a definitive criterion of distinction between science and non-science. for popper, it is not to be so because the real procedure of science is to operate from conjectures. induction can simply be described as the process of constructing a general law from observation of particular instances. for popper, it is not to be accepted in the terrain of science. in his rejection of induction he puts it succinctly that “for any conclusion drawn in this way may always turn out to be false: no matter how many instances of white swans we may have observed, does not justify the conclusion that all swans are white”.1 with this, the problem of induction becomes whether inductive inferences are justified, and under what conditions they are justified. popper sees the principle of inductions as lacking the purely logical truth and therefore contains logical inconsistencies. according to popper, that inconsistencies can easily come up from the principle of induction is very clear in david hume’s an enquiry concerning human understanding. however, popper argued that hume ran into the same error that he tried to refute when he admitted the principle of induction, albeit psychological. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 182 in his look earlier mentioned, hume had argued that “even after the observation of the frequent constant conjunction of object, we have no reason to draw any inference concerning any objects beyond those of which we have had experience”2. in another line hume submitted thus: “i would renew my question, why from this experience we form any conclusion beyond those past instances, of which we have had experiences.”3 this goes to demonstrate that justifying induction by relying on experience leads to infinite regress. popper found hume’s critic of induction to be correct and conclusive, but was dissatisfied with his psychological explanation of induction as habit or custom. this is on account of hume’s theory giving a causal explanation of a psychological fact that is “the fact that we believe in laws, in statements asserting regularities or constantly conjoined kinds of events.”4 again, it implies that “through custom and habit we are conditioned by repetitions and by the mechanism of the association of ideas, a mechanism without which hume says we could hardly survive”5. at this point it is clear that popper sees induction as any method of showing to be true general laws on the condition of observational data or information. it is however noteworthy that popper does not disagree with the assumption or belief that scientists could state general laws by way of testing these general laws against observational data. instead popper, as hilary putnam puts it in his article – the corroboration of theories, proposed his theory of corroboration saying that when scientists corroborate general law that they do not in that way assert the laws to be true or even probable. popper on deductive testing of theories “popper argues that the only logical technique that is integral part of the scientific method is that of deductive testing, the conclusions being deduced from a hypothesis and then compared with each other and other relevant statements to determine whether they falsify or corroborate the hypothesis”6 in supporting the position of karl popper, thornton posits that “such conclusions are not directly compared to facts, simply because there are no ‘pure’ facts available; all observations statements are loaded by theory and are just as much a function of purely subjective factors (interests, expectations, desires, etc) as they are a function of what is truly objective”7 still furthering his contention regarding deductive testing, popper went ahead to specify four steps for his deductive procedure: i proposed that the refutability or falsifiability of a theoretical system should be taken as the criterion of its demarcation. according to this igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 183 view, which i still uphold, a system is to be considered as scientific only if it makes assertions which may clash with observations, and a system is, in fact, tested by attempts to produce such clashes, that is to say by attempts to refute it. thus, testability, is the same as refutability, and can therefore, likewise be taken as a criterion of demarcation. there are, moreover (as i found later), degrees of testability: some theories expose themselves to possible refutations more boldly than others.8 it is the conviction of popper that the philosophy of hume has really portrayed that there is an inherent contradiction in traditional empiricism that claims that all knowledge derive from experience and that universal sentences, which includes scientific, laws, can be verified by having recourse to experience. contradiction derives from the attempt to show that, despite the openness of the experience, scientific laws can be interpreted as empirical generalizations, which in a way finally confirm a positive experience. "popper eliminates the contradiction by rejecting the first of these principles and eliminating the imposition of empirical verification into falsifiability in the second principle”.9 in the foregoing, nicolae sfeteu said of popper that: scientific theories are not inductively deduced from experiences nor are scientific experiments conducted to verify or establish their truth, all knowledge is provisional, conjectural, and hypothetical – we can never prove theories definitely, we can only confirm (temporarily) or refute them. that is why we have to make a choice between theories that explain the set of investigated phenomena, eliminating only those theories that are falsified, and rationally choose between the remaining unfalsified theories, the one that possess the highest level of explanatory power and predictive power.10 this way, “popper emphasizes the importance of the critical spirit of science – critical thinking is the very essence of rationality”.11 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 184 popper on demarcating science and non-science karl popper was a critical rationalist. as such he was very much opposed to all forms of skepticism, conventionalism and relativism in relation to science. as a matter of fact, in his book, the logic of scientific discovery, he channeled his argument against the members of vienna circle and their logical positivism. “logical positivism, through the theory of verificatiionism, considered that only affirmations of factual matters of logical relationship between concepts are significant”.12 however “the verificationist proposals had the aim of solving a distinctly demarcation problem, namely that between science and metaphysical”.13 for popper, the pivotal issue in the philosophy of science is the question of demarcation that explains the distinction between science and non-science. in analyzing popper’s brand of demarcation, david miller posits that “any demarcation in my sense must be rough. for the transition between metaphysics and science is not a sharp one: what was a metaphysical idea yesterday can become a testable scientific theory tomorrow and this happens frequently”.14 thus, popper was very particular and specific on the kind of demarcation he sought to expound, namely, demarcation between science and what he calls nonscience. this is in contrast with verification principles that seeks to eliminate metaphysics. as a way to further drive home his point, popper expatiates that: there will be well-testable theories, and non-testable theories. those which are non-testable are of no interest to empirical scientists. they may be described as metaphysical. here i must again stress a point which has often been misunderstood. perhaps, i can avoid these misunderstandings if i put my point now in this way. take a square to represent the class of all statements of a language in which we intend to formulate as sciences, draw a broad horizontal line, dividing it into an upper and half; write ‘science’ and ‘testable’ into the upper half, and ‘metaphysics’ and ‘non-testable’ into the lower: then, i hope, you will realize that i do not supposed to draw the line of demarcation in such a way that it coincides with the limits of a language, leaving science inside, and banning metaphysics by excluding it from the class of meaningful statements.15 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 185 the point karl popper is making is that it is important to solve the problem of demarcation of metaphysics from science but not in the approach the members of vienna circle. this is because some metaphysical systems have actually metamorphosed into vital scientific result. having opposed verficationism, popper projects falsification as a method of scientific enquiry. accordingly, he posits that a theory is scientific only if it is falsifiable by a conscious effort. “popper’s theory of demarcation is based on his perception of the logical asymmetry he has between verification and falsification: it is illogically impossible to definitively verify a universal proposition by reference to experience (as hume says), but a single counter –example refutes definitively the corresponding universal law”.16 the criterion of demarcation between science and non-science in popper portrays a true scientific theory as restrictive in the sense that it can be tested and falsified as against non-science which bears the opposite attribute. there is no gain saying the fact that popper uses falsification as a demarcation criterion for evaluating theories as to which ones are scientific and which ones are not. in the postulation of nicolae sfetcu, “the popper criterion does no exclude from the field of science, statements that cannot be falsified, but only theories that contain no falsifiable statement”.17 the reason why popper sought to write elaborately on his brand of demarcation is as a result of his observation that members of the vienna circle in their verificationism, were mixing two different concepts, namely, the question of significance and the question of demarcation. “verificationism claims that a statement must in principle, be empirically checked to be both meaningful and scientific”18 for popper, those concepts are two different things. in this light, “popper said that there are significant non-scientific theories, and therefore a significant criterion does not coincide with a delimitation criterion proposing replacing verifiability with falsifiability as a delimitation criterion”19 in a nutshell, popper “opposed the view that statement that are not falsifiable are meaningless of wrong”.20 with this, it becomes clear that karl popper does not dismiss non-scientific theories as they could possess their own meaning and as well could become raw materials for scientific theories. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 186 falsifications as a criterion for demarcation karl popper having criticized and rejected logical positivism expounded an entirely new system of demarcating science from other forms of intellectual enquiry. to be sure, popper’s notion of science is no doubt prescriptive in the sense that it portrays a method that scientific endeavours should follow. this method is falsification. popper asserted that falsification would purify science from prejudice, speculation, assumptions and superstitions which are inherent features of non-science. so for popper, for any hypothesis to assume a scientific status, it must be subjected to falsification. it is in the light of this that popper presents falsification as a criterion for demarcating science from non-science. this way science has to aim at laws that are empirically testable and capable of surviving repeated attempts aimed at falsifying them. corroborating this position, antti salovaara and jani merikwi opine that: the best theories are those that appear easy to falsify (e.g ones that provide surprising explanation or predictions) yet gain corroborating evidence, that is, survive repeated empirical attempts that seek to refute them. this definition was also popper’s answer to demarcation problem: theories should be falsifiable – formulated in a manner that provides a means for empirical examination that may lead to the theory’s refutation. unfalsifiable claims, in turn, would not be considered scientific.21 popper’s falsification simply entails that good theories make bold and empirically testable claims that have the capability of surviving repeated attempts of falsification. thus, according to karl popper “scientific progress requires provisional falsifiable theories and their refutation that show where the existing theories need to be corrected”.22 thus, popper’s demarcation criterion should not be seen in its own sake. rather it should be seen not just as an endeavor that demarcates science from non-science but more as an endeavor that seeks to demonstrate the progressive character of science. as it were, popper’s falsification opened a new vista towards understanding scientific progress. this is so because “scientific progress, following the falsificationist method, emerges from propositions of theories, their refutations, and replacement with corrected theories that better explain the phenomena of interest.23 therefore, falsification for popper, is a fecund method in science in that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 187 it aids the growth of knowledge as well as aids scientists improve on their theories by way of observing the theories that are lacking the scientific character. while commenting on popper’s falsification, magee outlines its procedure this way: 1. problem (usually rebuff to existing theory or expectation), 2. proposed solution, in other words a new theory, 3. deduction of testable propositions from the new theory, 4. tests, i.e attempted refutations by, among other things (but not only among other things), observations and experiment, 5. preference established between competing theories.24 in a similar fashion, lee sums up the falsification style as follows: “consideration of predictions that would prove a theory being wrong, internal consistency of those predictions, corroboration and confirmation of the predictions with empirical data, and ruling out the rival theories”.25 for popper, falsification is an important criterion for distinguishing between science and non-science. popper’s contention is that verification does not have the requisite capability of producing a satisfactory criterion of demarcation. this is what exactly led popper to posit that scientific theories should be distinguished from non-scientific theories by testable claims that future observations might portray to be false. in making his point more succinct, “popper draws attention to the fact that scientific theories are characterized by the existence of potential counterfeiters – statement that might be found to be false”.26 this way, “popper imagined that science progresses by successively rejecting falsified theories by keeping those with more explanatory power, rather than by falsified statements”.27 in sum, popper’s falsification criterion demarcates science from non-science without imputing meaninglessness on metaphysics as with verificationism of logical positivists. popper was actually influenced by einstein’s assertion that “in so far as statements of mathematics speak about reality, they are not certain, and in so far as they are certain, they do not speak about reality”.28 popper reformulated the einstein’s assertion this way: “in so far as a scientific statement speaks about reality, it must be falsifiable, and in so far as it is not falsifiable, it does not speak about reality”.29 the reality in question here is referred to that which science seeks to explain out. thus, falsification is supposing that no scientific explanation about reality should be regarded as a finality. this is on account of reality in itself being subject to change. here we may recall the position of heraclitus that change is constant. may igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 188 it be explained here that heraclitus made reference to the fact that realities are subject to change. if this is so, it therefore implies that scientific theories that seek to explain realities should as well be flexible so as to reflect the reality of realities. therefore, popper’s falsification seeks to rule out unfalsifiable theories that seek to explain realities, from the encirclement of science. popper’s notion of corroboration the best way to present popper’s notion of corroboration is to explain it in terms of severe testing of theories. for popper, theories that could not be falsified by sincere effort and attempt are to be tentatively corroborated. because popper differs with the members of vienne circle in their verification principle, he pointed out that corroboration is significantly different from verification. thus for popper, corroborating a theory is different from verifying it and that after all, a theory cannot be verified whereas it can be corroborated. at this juncture, he dismissed the arguments of the verificationists who sought to input truthfulness, falsity and probability to statements. popper’s contention here is that it is worthless to lay claims about probability of hypothesis in science. instead, popper believes that interest in science should be focused on how far hypotheses have been able to withstand series of tests and trials. this in the language of popper is the same thing as examining how far hypotheses have been corroborated. therefore, to say that a theory or hypothesis is corroborated is the same as saying that it has successfully passed through series of tests. shedding light on this, feigle posits that “popper allows for corroboration in the sense that we may say that a theory which has withstood very severe tests is at least until further notice, acceptable as part of the justified corpus of scientific knowledge claims”.30 this goes to portray that the term corroboration in popper’s parlance can only be ascribed to a proposition tentatively and relatively and not actually absolutely. however, the qualities of universality and precision count in terms of degree of corroboration. that is to say that popper holds that a theory has a high degree of corroboration if it has a high degree of universality. in the same vein, a theory that possesses the quality of precision has a better chance and degree of being corroborated as against imprecise theory. therefore, for a test to be severely conducted upon a theory depends so much on the level of precision and universality of its assertion. therefore, for popper, the content and the nature of a scientific statement influences the extent of its testability and thus corroboration. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 189 there is no doubt that popper’s effort within the terrain of philosophy of science is to provide strong ground and foundation for scientific theories. little wonder he postulates that real scientists are given to making bold conjectures. by bold conjectures, he means conjectures that can be severely and independently tested. these bold conjectures would later metamorphose into theories that are capable of standing a better chance of being corroborated as against those that cannot be corroborated. popper found some examples of statements that cannot be corroborated in the prophecies or predictions of sooth-sayers. for him, they cannot be corroborated because of imprecision that characterize them. concerning this claim, popper substantiates that: “… we are inclined to doubt so much as their alleged logical improbability since we intend to believe that such prophecies are non-corroborable, we also tend to argue in such cases from their low degree of corroborability to their low degree of testability”.31 popper’s conception of corroboration denotes the geniuses of a scientific theory in terms of it withstanding severe tests. however, but more importantly, corroboration in popper does not connote finality of scientific theory. conclusion in the field of philosophy of science, there has not been any scholar that generated controversy by means of his theories as karl popper has done. in popper’s philosophy of science, the two major issues of controversy are his attack on induction and his formulation of falsification as a method in science. some philosophers of science see popper’s falsification as a failed project. for them, popper’s rejection of induction amounts to an unaccomplishable project. their argument is that induction is the only veritable method in science and remains so. they contend that scientists in their undertakings and practice proceed by inductive method. induction, as it were, is the process of accumulation of evidences for purposes of making generalization and future references. that is to say that in induction, inferences have observations as premises and theories as conclusions. this simply implies that inductive method is the process of constructing a general law from observation of particular instances. this is the bone of contention for popper when he argues that “for any conclusion drawn in this way may always turn out to be false; no matter how many instances of white swans we may have observed, does not justify the conclusion that all swans are white”.32 from the look of things, popper’s argument seems to have some merit in the sense that the so called generalization from induction does not really possess a conclusive claim. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 190 however, some antagonists of popper still argue that a scientist or a researcher does not need to examine all the samples of any object under his investigation before he draws a conclusion. this shows that they admitted the cumbersome and the impossible nature of the inductive process. may it be noted that it is as a result of the difficulty of inductive method in reaching a justifiable and valid theory in science that propelled popper to posit that the real procedure of science is to operate from conjectures. that explains why he asserts that “all human knowledge is fallible and conjectural … a product of the method of trial and error”.33 by this, popper means that scientists bring forth bold conjectures for trials and then carry out systematic falsification of those conjectures. the import of this in the philosophy of popper is that scientific hypotheses are not arrived at by induction but rather, are formed by creative imagination. this is interesting in the sense that it takes us to the knowledge of the link or the nexus between science and metaphysics. pointing this out, watkins writing about kant’s belief in the metaphysical aspect of science states that “according to kantian presupposition, there are certain metaphysical assumptions which must remain under the shelter of the umbrella of science so long as science exists”.34 it should be pointed out at this juncture that the nexus between science and metaphysics can only be possible by means of the conjectural aspect of science as postulated by popper and not by the conventionalist view of induction. in lauding popper’s stance, n.g. diora stated that “one of the most important achievements of popper’s epistemology was his defence of the possibility of talking about knowledge growth without necessity to adhere to foundationalist model, also important is his claim that we don’t need either to think knowledge progress as accumulation”.35 for diora therefore, accumulation of evidence to justify scientific theories occasions inductivism which does not help in the progress of science. this implies that diora aligns with popper who holds that we cannot achieve truth by means of induction. besides, popper’s aim in his philosophy of science is to ensure progress in science. for him, progress in science is from problems to solutions. thus science starts from problems and not observations and therefore, not from induction. references 1. k.r. popper, the logic of scientific discovery, (london: routledge, 1959), p.27. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 191 2. d. hume, enquiry concerning human understanding, quoted in popper, conjectures and refutations: the growth of scientific knowledge,(london: routledge and kegan paul, 1963), p.42. 3. ibid. 4. k.r. popper, conjectures and refutations: the growth of scientific knowledge, (london: routledge and kegan paul, 1963), p.42. 5. k.r. popper, objective knowledge: an evolutionary approach, (london: oxford university press, 1972), p. 4. 6. n. sfetcu, “the distinction between falsification and refutation in the demarcation problem of karl popper; https://www.telework.ro/ebooks/the-distinction-between-falsification-and-refutation-in-thedemarcation-problem-of-karl-popper/p.9. 7. s. thornton, “karl popper”, in the stanford encyclopedia of philosophy, (ed.) edward n. zalta, (stanford: metaphysics research lab, stanford university, 2017), p. 11. https://plato.stanford.edu/archieves/sum2017/entries/popper/. p.17. 8. k. popper, conjectures and refutations: the growth of scientific knowledge, (hove; psychology press, 2002), p.17. 9. n. sfetcu, pp.9-10. 10. ibid., p.10 11. s. thornton, p.19. 12. a.c. grayling, wittgenstem: a very short introduction, oup oxford, 2001, quoted in n. sfetcu, op. cit, p.6. 13. s.o. hansson, “science and pseudo-science”, in the standard encyclopedia of philosophy (ed.) edward n. zalta, (stanford: metaphysics research lab, stanford university, 2017), quoted in n. sfetcu, op. cit, p.6. 14. d. miller, popper selections, (new jersey: princeton university press, 1985), quoted in n. sfetcu, op.cit, p. 6. 15. k.r. popper, conjectures and refutations, (hove: psychology press, 2003), quoted in n. sefcu, op. cit, pp.6-7. 16. n. sfetcu, op.cit, p.7 17. ibid., p.8 18. ibid. 19. ibid, pp. 8-9. 20. k.r. popper, the logic of scientific discovery (hove: psychology press, 2002), quoted in n. sefcu, op. cit, p.9. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 192 21. a. salovaara & j. merikivi, “is research progress would benefit from increased falsification of existing theories”, twenty-third conference on information systems (ecis), munster, germany, 2015), p.3. 22. ibid., p.1. 23. ibid., p.3. 24. b. magee, popper, (london: fontana press, 1973), p.56. 25. a.s. lee, “a scientific methodology for mis case studies”, mis quarterly,13, (1989), p.36. 26. n. sfetcu, op.cit., p.13. 27. ibid.p.14. 28. k.r. popper, the logic of scientific discovery (london: routledge, 1989), p.314. 29. ibid. 30. h. feigle, “what hume might have said to kant” in m. bunge (ed.), the critical approach to science and philosophy in honour of karl popper, (london: the free press of glencoe, 1964), p.48. 31. k.r. popper, the logic of scientific discovery, p.270. 32. k.r popper, the logic of scientific discovery, (london: routledge, 1959), p. 27. 33. k.p. popper, conjectures and refutations: the growth of scientific knowledge 2nd edition, (new york: basic books, 1965). p. 116. 34. j.w.n, watkins, “metaphysics and the advancement of science” in the british journal for the philosophy of science, 26, (1975), p. 91. 35. n.d. diora, “no more than conjectures: popper and the ethics of scientific enterprise”, integrative psychological and behavioural science, 43 (2009). p.122. 36. kanu, ikechukwu a., “igwebuike philosophy of science and technology”. nnadiebube journal of education. vol. 5. no. 4, pp. 64-74, 2020; kanu, ikechukwu a., “igwebuike and the question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge”. journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 131-138, 2018; kanu, ikechukwu a., “genetic engineering and the quest for a perfect society: religion and science in dialogue”. amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 10. no. 1. pp. 63-70, 2012. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 7.doc igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 165 igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership kanu ikechukwu anthony department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university, umunya anambra state ikee_maio@yahoo.com abstract a cursory glance at the historical development of the concept of leadership in africa reveals that proposals during the nationalistic movements of the twentieth century were basically in the direction of an inclusive system of government. thus, senghor places the family at the centre of social structure; nyerere’s political philosophy was familyhood; while awolowo called for a socialist system of government, nkrumah proposed panafricanism, and azikiwe welfarism. all these were based on the african worldview that is inclusive, integrative, complementary and wholistic. following the complementary nature of the african worldview, this work makes an attempt to articulate an igboafrican concept of leadership within the context of igwebuike philosophy, to serve as a model for the essential elements of effective leadership. for the purpose of this research, the hermeneutic method of inquiry and indigenous wholistic theory would be employed. this research hopes to produce both inclusive leaders and inclusive organizations in africa that would run a system of leadership that would carefully include the contributions of all stakeholders in the community or organization. keywords: igwebuike, inclusive, leadership, igbo-african, belongingness, socialism. introduction with the collapse of the second world war emerged new city states of which singapore was one. lee kuan yew, the charismatic leader of singapore wrote a book in 2000 titled: “from third world to first: singapore and the asian economic boom” in which he narrated the story of the transformation of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 166 singapore from a third world country to a first world country106. granted independence in 1965 with a population less than two million, with 75% chinese, 13.6% malay and 8.6% indian, however, adjoined in the south with indonesia of aver a hundred million and malaysia with about 6.28 million, she seemed like a nation that would turn out to be the slave of bigger nations. however, lee kuan yew led singapore from a nation people thought would simply survive to a state that excels. how was this achieved? lee kuan yew summoned his compatriots to a duty they had never previously perceived: first to clean up their city, then to dedicate it to overcome the initial hostility of their neighbors and their own ethnic divisions by superior performance. the singapore of today is his testament. annual per capita income has grown from less than $1000 at the time of independence to nearly $30,000 today. it is the high-tech leader of south-asia, the commercial entrepot, the scientific center107. the foregoing reveals that the success of any organization, religious or secular, state or nation is highly dependent on the quality of leadership. where there is no good leadership, there can’t be unity, peace and progress. a cursory glance at history reveals a couple of outstanding leaders, true heroes of their time, who set the moral and political tones for their societies. such leaders as george washington of america, mahatma gandhi of india, winston churchill of britain, charles de gaulle of france, julius nyerere of tanzania and nelson mandela of south africa, etc108. these leaders have shown that circumstances are not only enough for national prosperity or to change events, but that prudent and ordinary calculations made by extraordinary personalitiesleaders can overturn events. circumstances might be unfavourable, but extraordinary personalities can manipulate unfavourable circumstances to achieve favourable ends. recent experience reveals an aggressive agitation for cessation in nigeria; there is the agitation for the republic of biafra from the igbo of eastern nigeria, the 106 lee kuan yew, from third world to first: singapore and the asian economic boom, 2000, pp. ix. 107 lee kuan yew, from third world to first: singapore and the asian economic boom, 2000, pp. x-xi. 108 george ehusani, nigeria and the leadership challenge. retrieved 8th october 2017 from http://www.georgeehusani.org/home/index.php/other-articles/140-nigeria-and-the-leadershipchallenge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 167 agitation for oduduwa republic from the south west and the agitation for niger delta republic from the south south of the nation. these agitations continue to whisper that there is a problem with leadership and thus the need to structure our concept of power. describing the present leadership, george ehusani writes that: “it goes without saying that the government of the day is insensitive to the yearnings of the people and deaf to their cry of desperation”.109 if nations and organizations must succeed, there is the need for leaders who would redraw the political map of their nations and organizations. the world needs a paradigm shift from an exclusive culture of governance, to an inclusive, transparent and accountable leadership style. it is in this regard that igwebuike philosophy, aligning with its inner principles of inclusiveness, complementarity and solidarity develops a system of leadership that concurs with the african spirit of integration, for development. diversity as a basis for inclusive leadership the mid 19th century will always be remembered as the period in african when european explorers began to make significant advances into tropical africa. as a result, the great puzzles of the geography of africa– notably the course of the nile, niger, congo and zambezi rivers – were solved within the space of half a century110. gradually, europe realized that profitable trade depended on the maintenance of peace, and that this peace could not be assured without administrative intervention and control in the hinterlands111. since the explorers came from several different european countries – spain, portugal, france, britain, belgium and germany – africa soon became a field for the conflicting ambitions of the major european colonial powers112. by the early 1880’s these conflicting ambitions were beginning to be expressed territorially. sections of the coast were being claimed by traders and administrators of one or other of the 109 george ehusani, nigeria and the leadership challenge. 110 kanu ikechukwu anthony, the colonial legacy: the hidden history of africa’s present crisis”. published in the international journal of arts and humanities (afrrev ijah), february 2012, vol.1. no.1. pp.123-131. 111 kanu ikechukwu anthony, african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. augustinian publications, nigeria. 112 kanu, ikechukwu a. (2010). “towards an african cultural renaissance”. professor bassey andah journal of cultural studies. volume 3, pp. 146-155. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 168 european powers113. the stage was now set for the european scramble for africa, finally to be set in motion by the 1884-5 conference and treaty of berlin which divided lands and peoples without consideration of their ethnic and religious divides114. the boundaries of the formerly english colony were drawn to serve commercial interests, largely without regard for the territorial claims of the indigenous peoples115. the result of this development was that countries like nigeria were formed without the consideration of the league of culturally and religiously diverse nations. cultural and religious diversity is a term commonly used to describe the society with people of different ethnic origins and religious affiliations, which is manifested in their religious expressions, culture: languages, the way they dress, art, and other traditional practices that are either similar or very different from each group. in the north, while hausa and fulfulde are the major languages spoken, in the south it is majorly yoruba language and in the east, igbo language. when it comes to religion, it is more of islam in the north and less of christianity, in the south, there is what seems to be a balance of both religions. in the east, it is predominantly, the christian religion. when it comes to dressing, it varies according to regions: the hausa are known for their baba riga and cap; the yoruba ethnic group generally sew their cap in a long style which is neatly folded when worn on the head. on the other hand, in the eastern part of the country the igbo are known for their red cap, which is traditionally worn. other minority ethnic groups in the middle belt region of nigeria, like the tiv, ngas, ida, nupe, etc., also have unique cultural attributes that help identify cultural roots, when he appeared in public. for example, the tiv of people in nigeria are well known for its a'nger, unique traditional costumes (cloth), linear sewn in black and white options, which typically carry tiv people identify with their cultural background116. 113 kanu, ikechukwu a. (2013). “the trans-atlantic slave trade: a historico-philosophical analysis”. published in the lwati: a journal of contemporary research. vol. 10. no. 4. pp. 131-143. 114 hodder, b. w. (1978). africa today: a short introduction to african affairs. london: methuen. 115 kanu, ikechukwu, a. (2014). “the nature and meaning of african philosophy in a globalizing world”. published in the international journal of humanities, social sciences and education. volume. 1. issue. 7. pp. 86-94. 116 simon a. rakov, ethnicity in nigeria. http://www.postcolonialweb.org/nigeria/ethnicity.html igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 169 beyond the three major ethnic groups: igbo, hausa and yoruba, which comprise only fifty-seven percent of the population of nigeria, there are ethnic minority groups, those which do not comprise a majority in the region in which they live. going by the 1953 census of about thirty one million nigerians, these ethnic groups were discovered to have over one hundred thousand members each. this would imply that with the population of nigeria, now estimated to be about 180 million, it is safe to assume that these groups are now five times larger or even more, than they were117. these ethnic minorities include peoples like the kanuri, the nupe, and the tiv in the north, the efik/ibibio, the ejaw, and the ekoi in the east, and the edo and urhobo/isoko to the west, along with hundreds of other groups that differ widely in language, culture and even physique. these groups usually do not have a political voice like the major ethnic groups. they, therefore, often consider themselves discriminated against, neglected, or oppressed118. as a result of perceived discrimination and relegation of particular ethnic groups, nigeria's unity has been consistently under siege as more than ten attempts at secession have threatened national unity between 1914 and 2017. in 1990, the movement for the survival of the ogoni people issued a ‘bill of rights’ to the nigerian government and with an appeal to the international community, they castigated nigeria’s federalism as arbitrary and constructed to favour the major ethnic nationalities: hausa-fulani, yoruba and igbo. the group agitated for control and use of ogoni economic resources for ogoni development119. they, therefore, denounced the centralised state control and management of the country’s oil and mineral resources120. in 1998, after the all ijaw youths conference held in kaiama, they released a communique called ‘the kaiama declaration’, they similarly denounces nigeria’s ‘unbalanced’ federalism and the exploitation of ‘ijaw resources’ for the benefit of other groups. iyc threatens to disobey all ‘undemocratic decrees that rob our peoples/communities of the right 117 the american heritage dictionary, second college edition. boston: houghton mifflin company, 1982, p.1509 118 simon a. rakov, ethnicity in nigeria. http://www.postcolonialweb.org/nigeria/ethnicity.html 119 mosop 1992. ogoni bill of rights. port harcourt: saros international publishers. nelson, h.d. (ed). 1982. nigeria: a country study. washington: the american university. 120 wiwa, k.s. 1992. foreword, in mosop, ogoni bill of rights. port harcourt: saros international publishers. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 170 to ownership and control of our lives and resources, which were enacted without our participation and consent…’121 more recently, the ijaw youths conference has taken a militant stance, taking up the name: niger delta people’s volunteer force (ndpvf). its purpose is to seek greater local control of the delta’s petroleum resources. with the proliferation of sophisticated weapons in the niger delta, this has led to armed confrontations between them and the nigerian military122. this agitation has become more aggressive as nigeria’s export as of 2004 was 97 percent crude oil. this has alternated with time: oil accounted for 57 per cent of total export revenues in 1970, it rose to 96 per cent (1980), 97 per cent (1990), 76 per cent (2000)123. while this oil is from this minority area, the nigeria’s political scene is dominated by three largely non oil-producing ethnic groups. worst still, the niger delta remains one of the most underdeveloped regions in nigeria; she remains poor as her resources sustains the nation124. igwebuike philosophy and inclusive leadership the relevance of igwebuike to a discussion on leadership is, first, because of the place igwebuike occupies in the category of being: it is the modality of being125. secondly, because of the importance of leadership in human development: leaders are agents of change126; they have the task of taking people from where they are to where they have not been127; it is the leader who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way128. igwebuike posits that the level of the leader’s 121 kaiama declaration, 1998, kaiama 122 wilson akpan, ethnic diversity and conflict in nigeria: lessons from the niger delta crisis. in african centre for the constructive resolution of disputes. www.accord.org.za/ajcr-issues/ethnicdiversity-and-conflict-in-nigeria. 123 opec report, 2005 124wilson akpan, ethnic diversity and conflict in nigeria: lessons from the niger delta crisis. in african centre for the constructive resolution of disputes. www.accord.org.za/ajcr-issues/ethnic-diversity-andconflict-in-nigeria. 125 kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “igwebuike as the expressive modality of being in igbo ontology”. published in the journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp. 59-69. 126bernard bass cited in kanu ikechukwu anthony, leadership workshop for catechists, organized at st vincent catholic church, olodi, apapa, lagos. 2017.1 127 henry kissinger, cited in kanu ikechukwu anthony, leadership workshop for catechists, organized at st vincent catholic church, olodi, apapa, lagos. 2017.1 128 john c. maxwell, cited in kanu ikechukwu anthony, leadership workshop for catechists, organized at st vincent catholic church, olodi, apapa, lagos. 2017.1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 171 impact is dependent on the level of connection he is able to have with his people. the three words involved: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power129. thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force. at this level, no task is beyond their collective capability130. leadership within the context of igwebuike philosophy is understood as an inclusive enterprise. the leader does not see himself as a separate entity from the people, but as leading from among the people; while the individual is a potent and viable being, as such a force, it is potent and viable in a limited way; however, when there is a conglomeration of forces, the human potency can be extraordinary. leadership is not about power but about service. the leader sees himself as part of a group and not as a person different from the group or better than the people he is serving. he or she understands that there are no leaders without followers, and leadership always involves interpersonal influence or persuasion131. in the absence of followership, interpersonal influence and persuasion, the person is only taking a walk and not leading. the relevance of the leader is based on the people whom he is leading; if there are no people, there can’t be a leader, and the ability of the people who constitute the state to achieve their national goal, is dependent on the ingenuity of the leader. so the leader needs the led as much as the led needs the leader. this springs from the understanding that every reality has a purpose of existence. the leader and the led both share in this pool of universal purposefulness of existence, which they draw from and contribute to by playing their unique roles in the journey of existence. situations where by the leader sees himself as superior and indispensable to the people that he or she is leading, can be 129 kanu, i. a. (2016). “igwebuike and the unity of african philosophy”. in kanu, i. a. (ed.). published by igwebuikepedia: internet encyclopedia of african philosophy published by the augustinian institute of philosophy, makurdi. http://igwebuikepedia.info/intricate.asp. online. 130 kanu, i. a. (2016). “igwebuike, personal identity and alterity”. in kanu, i. a. (ed.). published by igwebuikepedia: internet encyclopedia of african philosophy published by the augustinian institute of philosophy, makurdi. http://igwebuikepedia.info/alterity.asp. online. 131 sandra e. crewe, five key styles of leadership. young african leaders initiative, online courses. https://yali.state.gov/courses. p. 2 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 172 considered an aberration or alienation of true leadership. likewise, the polarization and fragmentation of society into antagonistic factions, in the bead to ‘divide and rule’ is a disservice to and an aberration of the human society. in every circumstance, the good of those led is placed over the self-interest of the leader. this is the leadership that promotes the valuing and development of people, the building of community, and the promotion shared power. leadership is, therefore, not a position, rather, it is about how well we work together; the great leader is the one who has been able to connect to the different dimensions of society, not minding the depth of its diversity. there are all kinds of human beingsgood and bad, in the society, and this is where the role of the leader comes in, it is a responsibility and not a call to enjoy life; the leader should be able to manage all these peoples and make the best out of them. this makes the deciding difference. as a philosophy, igwebuike in relation to leadership recognizes that a team is made stronger through diversity; it acknowledges that our differences are what make us stronger132. this would mean that the less the diversity, the less the power of the group. the qualities of inclusive leadership would, therefore, include: 1. listening: listening is a critical communication tool, necessary for accurate communication and for actively demonstrating respect for others. listening creates for oneself and others the experience of being heard and understood133. by listening to the individuals, you show you are approachable, and in turn encourage others to be the same. 2. empathy: empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person. the inclusive leader strives to understand and empathize with others, recognizing the fundamental human need to be accepted134. 3. healing: one of the great strengths of inclusive leadership is the potential for healing people. many people have broken spirits and have suffered from a variety of emotional hurts. inclusive leaders must recognize that 132 sandra e. crewe, advantages of servant leadership p. 3 133 sandra e. crewe, ten principles of servant leadership. p. 2 134 sandra e. crewe, ten principles of servant leadership, p. 2 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 173 they have an opportunity to “help make whole” those whom they come in contact with135. 4. awareness: inclusive leaders must be attentive to their surroundings, their actions and the effect of their behavior on others. they must solicit and be open to feedback136. 5. persuasion: the effective inclusive leader builds group consensus through gentle but clear and persistent persuasion, and does not exert group compliance through power. servant leadership utilizes personal, rather than position power, to influence followers and achieve organizational objectives137. 6. foresight: the next principle we’ll review is foresight. this means learning from the past in order to have a better than average guess about what is going to happen in the future138. 7. stewardship: the eighth principle is stewardship. as stewards, leaders are concerned not only for the individual followers within the organization, but are servants to the organization as a whole139. stewards are not owners but answerable to the owner. 8. commitment to growth of people: commitment to growth of people is another principle of inclusive leadership. it is the demonstrated appreciation and encouragement of others, by lifting people up to grow taller than they would otherwise be140. this is the leader that makes the difference in society. if there are leaders who have made impact; if there are leaders who are celebrated; if there are leaders who have transformed society positively, these leaders are the inclusive kind of leaders. 135 sandra e. crewe, ten principles of servant leadership. p. 2 136 sandra e. crewe, ten principles of servant leadership. p. 3 137 sandra e. crewe, ten principles of servant leadership. p. 3 138 sandra e. crewe, ten principles of servant leadership. p. 3 139 sandra e. crewe, ten principles of servant leadership, p. 3 140 sandra e. crewe, ten principles of servant leadership .p. 3 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 174 the anthropological foundation of inclusive leadership igwebuike concept of inclusive leadership has an anthropological foundation. and this anthropological foundation is based on the nature of the human brain which hungers for something inclusive and finds satisfaction when an atmosphere is inclusive. a glance at the different inclusive leaders that we celebrate today reveals that they created an inclusive atmosphere. this explains why some leaders are able to inspire their followers while others are not. if we analyze the human brain, we discover that the human brain has different sections which could be described as circles. below is a diagram to explain the different sections of the brain and what they represent. figure showing the dimensions of the human brain the human brain has the olympic dimension referred to as olympic brain and the noecortex dimension. the olympic brain can be divided into the inner and outer olympic brain. thus, in the brain we can have the inner olympic brain, the outer olympic brain and the noecortex brain. these different parts of the brain concern themselves with different questions that arise in human relationships. there are three questions that correspond to the different parts of the brain: the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 175 question of why, how and what. while the inner olympic brain responds to the question of why, the outer olympic brain responds to the question of how, and the noecortex responds to the question of what. many who are under leaders of organizations, nations, etc., know what they do, how to do what they do, but do not know why they do what they do. thus, in advert, most organizations only explain what they do, how they do it without explaining why they do it. this explains why many organizations fail. this is because, people patronize you because of why you do what you do and not because of what or how you do it. the question of why explains why you are different and the newness you are bringing into the system. in many circumstances, people led know what and how they do the things they do, but they do not know why. this is simply because many leaders do things without carrying their people alongno communication with the people who are led. the result is that many leaders do not attract loyalty. why is this so? at the why levelcorresponding to the inner part of the brain, you find: feelings; loyalty; trust; decision making and human behaviour. if you are able to explain why you do what you do, then you touch people at the level of feeling, which is very important, you would attract their trust and loyalty. they would make a decision to follow you, which is shown in their behaviour. at this level, you get people to believe what you believe. you inspire them from the inside. when we remain at the level of what we do, it is just the level of language. you can express what you do in the most beautiful language, but the person still leaves without feeling anything. he remains with you without conviction. he is following you but only like a hireling. the person would leave you as soon as he finds something more convincing. if leaders must be able to inspire their followers, then they must take them into the sanctuary of the why. the socio-cultural foundations of inclusive leadership the socio-cultural foundation of inclusive leadership based on igwebuike philosophy is first of all, the igbo traditional model of leadership, and secondly, a yoruba traditional model of leadership. 1. igbo-african traditional model of inclusive leadership igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 176 hundreds of years ago, the igbo developed permanent settlements, which led to the emergence of economic, social and political institutions. from these settlements emerged leader, and as social groups developed, effective administrative systems that regulated social relations. this administrative system was founded on egalitarian and democratic structures. the political organization was constituted by different levels of autonomous democratic governments which exercised political, social and economic control over the lives of the people. these autonomous democratic governments include the nuclear family, the patrilineage (umunna), the maximal lineage and the village-group assembly. the nuclear family was the bedrock of social and political organization, referred to as ezi na uno. it consisted of a man, his wives, his married and unmarried sons, unmarried daughters and the servants or slaves, if any. the father was the leader of the household and was in possession of the family ofo, which is the symbol of authority, justice, law and uprightness. the father was responsible for directing the affairs of the family, however, it was done in consultation with his senior sons and wives141. there was also the extended family, which is referred to as the umunna. it is composed of a number of families that have a common eponymous father. uchendu defines the ununna as “a territorial kin-based unit which subdivides into compounds (ezi obi)”142. the head of this political unit was the oldest male member of the extended family also known as the di-okpara and had the ofo of the extended family in his possession. according to opone, the leader is usually a grandfather or great grandfather143. the di-okpara presided over meetings, sacrifices, issues of inheritance, settlement of dispute among members of the extended family, marriage, allocation of lands and the representation of the family with other extended families. in decision making, the di-okpara worked in consultation with the other heads of the extended family who constituted the extended family 141 kanu, ikechukwu anthony, african traditional democracy with particular reference to the yoruba and igbo political systems. in international journal of philosophy and public affairs. vol. 2.no. 3. p.153 142 v. c. uchendu, the igbo of south east nigeria. new york: holt rinehart and winston. 1965.p. 40. 143 p. o. opone, traditional socio-political organizations of the enuani igbo of south central nigeria. study tribes tribals. 10. 1. 57-66. 2012. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 177 assembly. decisions were arrived at through dialogue, consensus (nkwekolita), compromise, cooperation and consultation (igba izu)144. the maximal lineage is the next biggest socio-political organization after the extended family. this is a referred to as idumu in igbo, which means quarter. it is made up of a number of extended families who are linked by a common putative ancestor. this major lineage is headed by the oldest male among them. he holds the ofo of the major lineage and presided at functions concerning the major lineage and was considered as a sacred person with taboos and rituals accompanying the violation of his authority. in his exercise of authority over the major lineage, and he worked in consultation with a large assembly comprising of senior household men, titled men, priests, men of honour, intelligence and wealth etc145. there was also the village-group assembly, which was the biggest socio-political group referred to as ogbe (village). it was composed of a number of major lineages who are descended from a common ancestor or different putative ancestors146. and could be referred to the ogbe as federation of autonomous settlements147, and by ozimiro as wards148. the assembly was the highest authority with its members being senior males of households, professional hunters, priests, honourable and wealthy men, warriors, titled men, medicine men, etc. the leader of this assembly varied from one village to another, in some it was headed by the council of elders: a group of wise, knowledgeable, courageous and transparent men, maquet refers to their authority as “a collegial authority exercised by the chiefs of the various lineages living in the village”149. in some, the oldest member of the council of elders referred to as the diokpa, and in this case, he becomes the custodian of the ofo. the supreme head of the assembly took decisions in consultation with the constituent members of the village assembly. consultation, consensus and compromise were 144 kanu, ikechukwu anthony, african traditional democracy with particular reference to the yoruba and igbo political systems. p.154 145 kanu, ikechukwu anthony, african traditional democracy with particular reference to the yoruba and igbo political systems. p.154 146 ajaegbo, d. i. (2014). african democratic heritage: a historical case study of the igbo of nigeria. journal of humanities and social science. 19. 4. 17-23. 147 onwuejeogwu, m. a. (1972). the traditional political system of ibuzo. nri: odinam museum. 148 148 nzimiro, i. (1972). studies in igbo political systems. chieftaincy and politics in four niger states. london: frank cass. 149 149 maquet, j. (1972). africanity. new york: oxford university press, p. 57. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 178 necessary elements in resolving issues and decision making. the village square (ama nzuko ora), usually a common place, was the arena of assembly150. in the igbo political system, during decision making, it is not the eldest man that imposes his will upon the people, but decisions are reached through discussions, consultations, dialogue and compromise which might take the shape of imposing the will of the majority on the minority and this reveals the democratic value that does not see the community as a constellation of impersonal forces but rather a complex of human beings and human interests that upholds the ethos of resolving human antagonistic interests through negotiation. according to wirendu: this should not be confused with decision-making on the principle of the supreme right of the majority. in the case under discussion the majority prevails not over, but upon, the minoritythey prevail upon them to accept the proposal in question, not just to live with it... in a consensus system the voluntary acquiescence of the minority with respect to a given issue would normally be necessary for the adoption of a decision. in the rare case of an intractable division, a majority vote might be used to break the impasse. but the success of a system must be judged by the rarity of such predicaments in the working of the decision-making bodies of the state151. during decision makings, the perspective of every lineage in the village is represented in the presence and contributions of their representative. it can be compared to the house of representatives, a structure that provides the space for the genuine meeting of minds for the interchanging of opinion and understanding. decisions arrived at this council is not enforced through policing, but what maquet called ‘collective pressure’152. at the centre of these african traditional political structures was the rule of law. nigerian nation and igwebuike vision of inclusive leadership the geographical area that is today known as nigeria was, before the colonial invasion, inhabited by people of varied and often conflicting traditional ideologies, cultural dispositions, and socio-political and religious orientations. 150 kanu, ikechukwu anthony, african traditional democracy with particular reference to the yoruba and igbo political systems. in international journal of philosophy and public affairs. vol. 2.no. 3. p.155 151 wirendu, k., conceptual decolonization in african philosophy. ibadan: hope, 1995, p.62. 152 maquet, j. (1972). africanity. new york: oxford university press. p 10 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 179 these peoples or tribes are endogamous groups descended from the same ancestor, occupying a particular territory and possessing cultural, religious and linguistic homogeneity153. these tribes in nigeria are about 400, and it is the coming together of these different tribes that have united and formed the political union in the form of a federation154. in their respective domain, they cherished what they shared together as a people. but with the advent of colonial powers and missionaries, the policy of divide and rule along religious, cultural and political lines was introduced. nigeria was divided into north and south155. this division of north and south keeps reminding nigerians that they are different. and today, nothing in nigerian history captures her problem of national integration more graphically than the chequered fortune of the word tribe in her vocabulary. as achebe would say, ‘tribe has been one time accepted as a friend, rejected as an enemy at another, and finally smuggled through the backdoor as an accomplice’156. if nigeria as a nation would endure in the midst of the possibility of tribalism, then there is the need for the government to adopt an inclusive pattern of leadership which would have the responsibility to: a. discover the circumstances which can be superimposed on the natural chains of language and culture, which has linked the human beings who inhabit nigeria to enable them develop a feeling of personal security and group preservation157. b. concede coexistence to all linguistic groups, on the basis of equality, within a framework of political and constitutional warrantees. such a federal system of government would protect individual freedom under the rule of law and thus preserve and sustain any linguistic group. by preserving the linguistic groups of nigeria and conceding to them local autonomy of some satisfactory nature, an atmosphere for respect of their culture and traditions is created. c. revise the nigerian constitution: first in relation to safeguarding people’s fundamental human rights; secondly, providing citizens with adequate 153 kanu, ikechukwu anthony, the political philosophy of nnamdi azikiwe as an ideology for political regeneration for nigeria. professor bassey andah journal of cultural studies. 3. 146-155. 154 azikiwe, n. (1961). renascent africa. new york: negro university press. 155 ezeanya, o. (2010). tribe and tongue in nigeria. enugu: professor’s press. 156 achebe, c. (1985). the trouble with nigeria. taiwan: ai-united, p.5 157 kanu, ikechukwu anthony, the political philosophy of nnamdi azikiwe as an ideology for political regeneration for nigeria. pp. 146-155. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 180 food, comfortable shelter and a minimum level of subsistence. in this case, rulers must discover the material needs of their people. once there is a failure in this by rulers, nigerians will harbour grievances about political, economic and social inequalities. this will increase loyalty to tribe and disloyalty to the nation158. d. concede to each region de jure equality and de facto inequality. de jure equality is used in the sense that every province and local authority in each region in the nation is legally equal with the federal government providing for each of them. de facto inequality, means the acceptance of the fact that not all regions, provinces and local authorities are equal either in area, population, natural resources and financial means. e. have political parties that will cut across the artificial barriers of tribes and regions. national loyalty must supersede regional claims159. there is something in everyone that yearns for belongingness. if nation building is a national project, then the interests and participation of all parties and dimensions of society must be patronized. conclusion this piece has studied the socio-political platform for leadership which igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy provides. as an ibgo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership, the focus of this work is primarily the entirety and africa and in fact the world. however, it adopts a context for a more concrete analysis and application. it studied the basis of a philosophy of inclusive leadership, which is diversity, emphasizing that the idea of leadership already presupposes the need for an inclusive leadership. to go contrary to this would result to crisis, frustration and polarization of society. it established that igwebuike philosophy is the philosophical basis for inclusive leadership. it established the anthropological and socio-cultural foundations of inclusive leadership; then using the nigerian nation as a context, it studies how inclusive leadership can being about the desired future which the nation aspires for. this work, therefore, lends its voice to the many voices calling for an inclusive form of leadership as the one political system that can restore the basis for a genuine nigerian socio-political life. 158 kanu, ikechukwu anthony, the political philosophy of nnamdi azikiwe as an ideology for political regeneration for nigeria, pp. 146-155. 159 azikiwe, n. (1961). renascent africa. new york: negro university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 181 bibliography achebe, c., the trouble with nigeria. taiwan: ai-united, 1985. ajaegbo, d. i., african democratic heritage: a historical case study of the igbo of nigeria. journal of humanities and social science. 19. 4. 17-23. 2004. azikiwe, n., renascent africa. new york: negro university press. 1961. kanu ikechukwu anthony, catechists and leadership, a paper delivered at the leadership workshop for catechists, organized at st vincent catholic church, olodi, apapa, lagos. 2017. daron acemoglu and james robinson, why nations fail: the origins of power, prosperity and poverty. profile books, london. 2012 ezeanya, o., tribe and tongue in nigeria. enugu: professor’s press. 2010. george ehusani, nigeria and the leadership challenge. retrieved 8th october 2017 from http://www.georgeehusani.org/home/index.php/otherarticles/140-nigeria-and-the-leadership-challenge. hodder, b. w., africa today: a short introduction to african affairs. london: methuen. 1978. kaiama declaration, 1998, a communique issued at the end of the all ijaw youths conference which held in the town of kaiama on the 11th day of december 1998. kanu ikechukwu anthony, african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. augustinian publications, nigeria. 2015. kanu ikechukwu anthony, the colonial legacy: the hidden history of africa’s present crisis. international journal of arts and humanities (afrrev ijah), vol.1. no.1. pp.123-131. 2012. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, “igwebuike and the unity of african philosophy”. in kanu, i. a. (ed.). published by igwebuikepedia: internet encyclopedia of african philosophy published by the augustinian institute of philosophy, makurdi. http://igwebuikepedia.info/intricate.asp. online. 2016 kanu, ikechukwu anthony. “igwebuike, personal identity and alterity”. in kanu, i. a. (ed.). published by igwebuikepedia: internet encyclopedia of african philosophy published by the augustinian institute of philosophy, makurdi. http://igwebuikepedia.info/alterity.asp. online. 2016. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuikecracy: an african democracy. in kanu, i. a. (ed.). igwebeuikepedia: internet encyclopedia of african philosophy igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 182 published by the augustinian institute of philosophy, makurdi. http://igwebuikepedia.info/nationhood.asp. online. 2016. kanu, ikechukwu anthony “towards an african cultural renaissance”. professor bassey andah journal of cultural studies. volume 3, pp. 146-155. 2010. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, “the trans-atlantic slave trade: a historicophilosophical analysis”. published in the lwati: a journal of contemporary research. vol. 10. no. 4. pp. 131-143. 2013 kanu, ikechukwu anthony, “igwebuike as the expressive modality of being in igbo ontology”. published in the journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp. 59-69. 2016. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, african traditional democracy with particular reference to the yoruba and igbo political systems. in international journal of philosophy and public affairs. vol. 2.no. 3. p.153 kanu, ikechukwu anthony, african traditional democracy with particular reference to the yoruba and igbo political systems. in international journal of philosophy and public affairs. vol. 2.no. 3. 2016. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, the political philosophy of nnamdi azikiwe as an ideology for political regeneration for nigeria. professor bassey andah journal of cultural studies. 3. 146-155. 2010 kanu, ikechukwu anthony, “the nature and meaning of african philosophy in a globalizing world”. published in the international journal of humanities, social sciences and education. volume. 1. issue. 7. pp. 86-94. 2014. lee kuan yew, from third world to first: singapore and the asian economic boom. harpercollins books, new york. 2000. maquet, j. africanity. new york: oxford university press. 1972. mosop 1992. ogoni bill of rights. port harcourt: saros international publishers. nelson, h.d. (ed). 1982. nigeria: a country study. washington: the american university. nzimiro, i. studies in igbo political systems. chieftaincy and politics in four niger states. london: frank cass. 1972. onwuejeogwu, m. a., the traditional political system of ibuzo. nri: odinam museum. 1972. opec annual report, 2005. http://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/publications/337.htm. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 183 p. o. opone, traditional socio-political organizations of the enuani igbo of south central nigeria. study tribes tribals. 10. 1. 57-66. 2012. sandra e. crewe, five key styles of leadership. young african leaders initiative, online courses. https://yali.state.gov/courses. p. 2 simon a. rakov, ethnicity in nigeria. http://www.postcolonialweb.org/nigeria/ethnicity.html the american heritage dictionary, second college edition. boston: houghton mifflin company, 1982. v. c. uchendu, the igbo of south east nigeria. new york: holt rinehart and winston. 1965. wilson akpan, ethnic diversity and conflict in nigeria: lessons from the niger delta crisis. in african centre for the constructive resolution of disputes. www.accord.org.za/ajcr-issues/ethnic-diversity-and-conflict-innigeria. wilson akpan, ethnic diversity and conflict in nigeria: lessons from the niger delta crisis. in african centre for the constructive resolution of disputes. www.accord.org.za/ajcr-issues/ethnic-diversity-and-conflict-innigeria. 2009. wirendu, k., conceptual decolonization in african philosophy. ibadan: hope, 1995. wiwa, k.s., foreword, in mosop, ogoni bill of rights. port harcourt: saros international publishers. 1992. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 6 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 99 mercy: an attribute of god, the virtue of human persons clara m. austin iwuoha, ph.d. imo state university faculty of humanities department of religious studies imo state, owerri e-mail address: ausiwuoha@yahoo.com abstract there is no disputing the fact that mercy is one of the attributes of god among other attributes like omnipresence, omniscience and omnipotent, love, justice, infinite, eternal, etc. the bible, tradition, and the whole faith life of the people of god provide unique proof that mercy is the greatest of the attributes and perfections of god.” in this research, the writer is poised to reiterate this fact that mercy is the attribute of god as well as to posit that the human person can be virtuous only to the extent that it can replicate this attribute. it is obvious as was also identified in this research that in today’s world the philosophy of teeth for tat, “do me i do you god no go vex”, injustice andunforgiveness reigns supreme. the research therefore recommended that there is the need for humanity to realize that they are created in god’s image therefore should imbibe the attribute of mercy towards each other. keywords: mercy, attribute, virtue introduction genesis 1:26 states:…“and god said let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” human beings no doubt are created in the image and likeness of god hence the need to imbibe the attribute of mercy towards each other. by this we do not mean to say that we are competing with god in showing mercy, rather, we intend to emphasize the fact that there is something of god’s nature in us that can make us live more peacefully with one another in our society today. suffice to observe that god does not just do merciful things sometimes, nor does he have a merciful “side” to his character, as a human being might have. on the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 100 contrary, he is always and everywhere and at all times merciful. everything he does is an expression of his mercy and of all of his other attributes too, all at once. all of his attributes are eternally in action. but if, on the other hand, mercy is understood in the biblical sense as functional, then, even though it is called an attribute, it first of all denotes the results of the infinite and eternal love of god in world history, and especially in the history of mankind's salvation. in fact, both hesed (mercy in the old testament) as well as eleos (i.e. mercy in the new testament) signify active manifestations of god's love toward mankind. in the old testament the manifestations found their expression in the calling and directing of the chosen people, and in the new testament they were in the sending of the son of god into the world and in the entire work of redemption.1 god is known to be a god of mercy and grace. understanding gravity of mercy is often difficult for people as we tend to be a generation of “i’ll get him for that” and “i hope they get what they deserve.” many have developed a nature of harsh criticism and want others to get what they deserve coming to them; especially to those they don’t like their faces. god, however, is merciful to even the worst offenders, sinners, and law-breakers. this means that even though he knows of our guilt, he doesn’t always mete out the desired punishment. to elaborate and give credence to this point, romans 3:23-24 says:… “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of god, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by christ jesus.” simply, we are all sinners and do not meet the standards of righteousness that god intends us to have. however, through his mercy and grace he provides a way for our sins to be forgiven through our acceptance of christ jesus even though we don’t deserve it. it is by grace (which in this case is god’s free gift of forgiveness) that mercy is shown to us because he loves us and only asks that we accept his son by faith. the attribute of god which we wish to affirm in this article is ‘mercy’ and it is closely related to god’s ‘goodness’. some see mercy and grace as being linked, like two sides of one coin. grace being god’s goodness positively bestowed on those who do not deserve it, and mercy being god’s goodness toward those in misery by withholding what they do deserve. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 101 before we attempt to better define god’s “mercy” we should note some things. first, a synonym for “mercy” in the bible is “compassion.” second, like all attributes, “mercy” is not a nature that has regard for or conditions toward the creature, it is an attribute of god within and of himself, with no basis or regard for the creature or recipient. third, “mercy” is not only a “feeling” or emotion that god has and is surely not a temporary mood, but it is also a power, an infinite and inexhaustible energy. fourth, god’s “mercy” is firstly directed toward himself as he is tenderly affected toward himself and constantly wills himself to be most blessed, glorious and joyful. but we cannot fathom god’s mercy toward us, much less toward himself, so we will restrict our thoughts to his mercy toward his creation and his creatures, particularly mankind. definition of terms mercy we can define “mercy” as that attribute of god within the divine nature that disposes him to be actively compassionate toward his creatures, in both withholding what is due or deserved, and in his ready inclination to actively relieve the misery of fallenness. thus “mercy” presupposes sin! since the wages of sin is death, and sin always brings some form of misery, mercy toward us takes on meaning only in light of sin. since all of our misery, trials, suffering, pain, punishment, death exists as a result of sin (universal and personal sin, relief and rescue from it (i.e. “mercy”) becomes active and meaningful only after the effects of sin are realized. god was gracious toward the angels before he created mankind, and he was gracious toward adam and eve before their fall, but now we benefit from both his mercy and his grace.2 saint thomas aquinas defined mercy in general as “the compassion in our hearts for another person's misery, a compassion which drives us to do what we can to help him.” divine mercy, therefore, is the form that god's eternal love takes when he reaches out to us in the midst of our need and our brokenness. whatever the name of our need or our misery might be sin, guilt, suffering, or death he is always ready to pour out his merciful, compassionate love for us, to help in time of need.3 mercy can also refer to the goodness or love of god shown to those who are in misery or distress. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 102 attribute attribute comes from the latin verb attribuere, which is made up the prefix ad, meaning “to”, and tribuere meaning “give or bestow.” an attribute is a quality or characteristic given to a person, group, or some other thing. it also denotes an abstraction belonging to or characteristic of an entity.4 somethingattributedasbelongingtoaperson,thing,group,etc.;aquality,character,ch aracteristic,orproperty. the british dictionary defines attribute as a property, quality, or feature belonging to or representative of a person or thing.5 virtue the word virtue derives from latin: virtus, meaning moral excellence. a virtue is a trait or quality deemed to be morally good and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. personal virtues are characteristics valued as promoting collective and individual greatness. the opposite of virtue is vice.6 immanuel kant, in his observations on the feeling of the beautiful and sublime, expresses true virtue as different from what commonly is known about this moral trait. in kant's view, to be goodhearted, benevolent and sympathetic is not regarded as true virtue. the only aspect that makes a human truly virtuous is to behave in accordance with moral principles. kant presents an example for more clarification: suppose that you come across a needy person in the street; if your sympathy leads you to help that person, your response does not illustrate your virtue. in this example, since you cannot afford helping all needy ones, you have behaved unjustly, and it is out of the domain of principles and true virtue. kant applies the approach of four temperaments to distinguish truly virtuous people. according to kant, among all people with diverse temperaments, a person with melancholy frame of mind is the most virtuous whose thoughts, words and deeds are on the bases of principles.7 understanding mercy as an attribute of god the god of mercy calls for the following in micah 6:8: “he has showed you, o man, what is good. and what does the lord require of you? to act justly, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your god.” these are words to all mankind. mercy is offered to you and me alike. he has shown us what is good and answers what is required of us. micah asks god in micah 7:18, “who is a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 103 god like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? you do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.” this passage shows that god enjoys being merciful, and is still showing mercy today. one example of god’s mercy today is the remarkable story of the prodigal son. he demanded for his portion of his father’s wealth which he extravagantly wasted. his father sighting him from a distance on his return ran to welcome him. this was a typical example of what god did for all sinners and he is still doing for all who are returning from their sinful ways. note, luke 1:50 says:… “his mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.” 8 there are many references about god’s mercy throughout the bible. for instance, in genesis 37 through 45 we find the story of joseph, son of jacob. god’s mercy toward joseph’s brothers after their betrayal is certainly evident in this story. other illustrations are found throughout the prayers of king david in the psalms. god’s mercy is endless and evident throughout the ages to the present. saying that he is a god of mercy is a minimized description of what he is willing to do. remember, in the first section we said god offers a pardon even though he knows of our guilt. paul gives a good picture of this in ephesians 2:110: “as for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. all of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.” but because of his great love for us, god, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with christ even when we were dead in transgressions; it is by grace we are saved. and god raised us up with christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in christ jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in christ jesus. for it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of god not by works, so that no one can boast. for we are god’s workmanship, created in christ jesus to do good works, which god prepared in advance for us to do (eph 2:6-10). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 104 when the lord takes away the guilt of sin, that it may not condemn us, he will break the power of sin, that it may not have dominion over us. if left to ourselves, our sins will be too hard for us; but god's grace shall be sufficient to subdue them, so that they shall not rule us, and then they shall not ruin us. when god forgives sin, he takes care that it never shall be remembered any more against the sinner. all who find pardoning mercy, cannot but wonder at that mercy; we have reason to stand amazed, if we know what it is. he casts their sins into the sea; not near the shore-side, where they may appear again, but into the depth of the sea, never to rise again. all their sins shall be cast there, for when god forgives sin, he forgives all.9 he will perfect that which concerns us, and with this good work will do all for us which our case requires, and which he has promised. these engagements relate to christ, and the success of the gospel to the end of time, the future restoration of israel, and the final prevailing of true religion in all lands. the lord will perform his truth and mercy, not one jot or little drop of it shall fall to the ground: faithful is he that has promised, who also will do it. humanity has a lot to learn from this attribute of god. bickering, personal vendetta and acrimony will be drastically reduced in our society if human beings may decide to emulate god. remember humans are little “gods” and are created in the image and likeness of god; therefore it beholds on humanity to crave for this virtue. for example, if mercy becomes our watchword in today’s nigeria, there will be no killings (political or ritual), militancy will become a thing of the past; there will be no kidnappings and embezzlement of public funds/resources will be no more and the nigerian society will become a better place of abode for us all. properties of god's mercy a. god's mercy is free. to set up merit is to destroy mercy. nothing can deserve mercy, because we are polluted in our blood; nor can one force it. we may force god to punish us, but not to love us. i will love them freely says prophet hosea (14:4). every link in the chain of salvation is wrought and interwoven with free grace. election is free. he has chosen us in him, according to the good pleasure of his will (eph 1:1). justification is free since we are justified freely by his grace. rom 3:24. salvation is free. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 105 according to his mercy he saved us (cf. titus 3:3-7). say not then, i am unworthy; for mercy is free. if god should show mercy to such only as are worthy, he would show none at all. b. god's mercy is an overflowing mercy; it is infinite. plenteous in mercy. psa 86:6. rich in mercy. eph 2:2. multitude of tender mercies. psa 51:1: the vial of wrath drops, but the fountain of mercy runs. the sun is not so full of light as god is of mercy. god has morning mercies. his mercies are new every morning. lam 3:23. in the night his song shall be with me. c. god's mercy is eternal. the mercy of the lord is from everlasting to everlasting. 1ch 16:34. his mercy endurethfor ever, is repeated twenty-six times in one psalm. psa 136. the souls of the blessed shall be ever bathing themselves in this sweet and pleasant ocean of god's mercy. god's anger to his children lasts but a while, but his mercy lasts forever. psa 103:17. as long as he is god, he will be showing mercy because his mercy is overflowing and ever flowing. d. god’s mercy cannot be abused. take heed of abusing the mercy of god. suck not poison out of the sweet flower of god's mercy. think not that because god is merciful, you may go on in sin; this is to make mercy your enemy. none might touch the ark but the priests, who by their office were more holy; so none may touch the ark of god's mercy but such as are resolved to be holy. to sin because mercy abounds is the devil's logic. he that sins because of mercy is like one that wounds his head because he has a plaster. he that sins because of god's mercy shall have judgement without mercy. mercy abused turns to fury. if he blesses himself, saying, i shall have peace though i walk after the imaginations of my heart, to add drunkenness to thirst, the lord will not spare him, but the anger of the lord, and his jealousy, shall smoke against that man. deut 29:19, 20. we need to always bear this in mind that nothing is sweeter than mercy, when it is improved; nothing fiercer, when it is abused; as nothing is colder than lead when taken out of the mine, and nothing more scalding when it is heated. nothing is blunter than iron, yet nothing is sharper when it is whetted. the mercy of the lord is upon them that fear him. psa 103:17. mercy is not for them that sin and fear not, but for them that fear and sin not. god's mercy is a holy mercy; where it pardons it heals. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 106 characteristic of god’s mercy god’s mercies are: a. great – num. 14:18; isa 54:7 isaiah 54:7 “for a short time i abandoned you, but with great compassion i will gather you. b. rich – ephesians 2:4-5 4 but god, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even though we were dead in transgressions, made us alive together with christ – by grace you are saved. c. manifold – ne 9:27; lam 3:32 nehemiah 9:27 therefore you delivered them into the hand of their adversaries, who oppressed them. but in the time of their distress they called to you, and you heard from heaven. in your abundant compassion you provided them with deliverers to rescue them from their adversaries. d. plenteous – ps 86:5, 15; 103:8 psalm 86:5 certainly o lord, you are kind and forgiving, and show great faithfulness to all who cry out to you. e. abundant – 1 peter 1:3 blessed be the god and father of our lord jesus christ! by his great mercy he gave us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of jesus christ from the dead, f. sure – isa 55:3; mic 7:20 isaiah 55:3 pay attention and come to me! listen, so you can live! then i will make an unconditional covenantal promise to you, just like the reliable covenantal promises i made to david. g. everlasting – i chron 16:34; ps 89:28; 106:1; 107:1; 136:1-26 1 chronicles 16:34 give thanks to the lord, for he is good and his loyal love endures. h. tender – ps 25:6; 103:4; lu 1:78 psalm 25:6 remember your compassionate and faithful deeds, o lord, for you have always acted in this manner. i. new every morning lamentations 3:22-23 the lord’s loyal kindness never ceases; his compassions never end.they are fresh every morning; your faithfulness is abundant! j. high as heaven – ps 36:5; 103:11 psalm 36:5 o lord, your loyal love reaches to the sky; your faithfulness to the clouds. k. filling the earth – psalm 119:64 o lord, your loyal love fills the earth. teach me your statutes igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 107 l. over all his works – psalm 145:9 the lord is good to all, and has compassion on all he has made. manifestations of god’s mercy god’s mercy has a threefold manifestation in the scriptures. first, there is a general mercy of god, which is extended not only to all men, but to the entire creation. the lord is good to all, and his mercies are over all his works (psalm 145:9 nasb). second, there is a special mercy of god, which is exercised toward all mankind, both believers and unbelievers alike. …for he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (matthew 5:45 nasb). third, there is a sovereign or electing mercy of god, which is reserved for heirs of salvation, the members of the covenant, the children of god. that is the focus of what follows. we should never think that “mercy” is a recent attribute of god, that justice and judgment characterizes the god of israel and the old testament, while mercy and grace belong to the god of the church and the new testament. in fact, the ot has four times as much to say about his mercy as the nt. the stories of the ot are all stories of his “mercy” like this one from exodus 34: “and he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and moses rose up early in the morning,and went up unto mount sinai, as the lord had commanded him, and took in his hand the twotables of stone. and the lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, andproclaimed the name of the lord. and the lord passed by before him, and proclaimed,the lord, the lord god, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodnessand truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression andsin,….” (exodus 34:4-7 kjv). the simple presence of this passage alone is a proof of god’s mercy. this is the second time god has met moses on sinai to give him his commandments. when moses came down the first time, the people were engaged in worshipping the golden calf and rank immorality. but here we are at the mountain again, awaiting the revelation of god. the fact that these rebellious sinful people are not destroyed and that god would meet moses again on their behalf is proof that god is merciful. but beyond that, he defines his very name and nature as being “merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 108 keeping mercy forthousands.” we can read what jeremiah wrote: it is of the lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. they are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness (lament. 3:22-23). jeremiah wrote this after the destruction of jerusalem by nebuchadnezzar and his powerful army. amazingly the prophet sings a song that extols the mercies of god even as he sits among the ashes of the holy city. after sin upon sin, for generation after generation, judgment upon judgment, yet god’s mercy toward his people continues. god’s mercy has many facets. it is eternal and everlasting, great and abundant, faithful and unchangeable, sovereign and free. we are told in romans 9:15 that he says to moses, “i willhave mercy on whom i have mercy, and i will have compassion on whom i have compassion.” his mercies transcend our loftiest thoughts. for as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him (psalm 103:11 kjv). like all attributes, god’s mercy is seen best in jesus christ and his cross. he is the spiritual “mercy-seat” of god. we are “vessels of his mercy”, regenerated by his mercy… but god, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with christ (by grace you have been saved), eph. 2:4-5 …and we are saved by his mercy… he saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to his mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the holy spirit, titus 3:5. we should acknowledge our desperate condition and be humbled like the tax-gatherer who cried “god, be merciful to me, the sinner!” luk.18:13 but all of us who receive his mercy have a calling to display it toward others. "blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” (matthew 5:7). we are to love mercy as god loves it and delights in showing it, especially toward those in need, (like all of us). besides, romans 6:1 says…“what shall we say then? shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound. therefore humankind should not take the mercies of god for granted to continually live in disobedience to his injunctions and wickedness. invariably, the god who is infinite in mercy is the same god who will recompense all according their works. his mercies endures forever will not extend to pardoning someone whose actions and lifestyle is not in conformity with the biblical prescriptions (rev. 20:15). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 109 conclusion the same god of mercy is the same god who is described as a consuming fire. he who refuses to pass through the door of my mercy must pass through the door of my justice and when sinful souls bring all of god’s graces to naught, then he will be angry with them, leaving them alone and giving them what they want. it is not his intension to punish any man but our sins has separated us from his mercy (isa 59:1-2). in short, jesus longs to pour out upon us the fullness of his merciful love, but unless we repent of our sins and trust in him, he cannot do so. those who are stubbornly unrepentant to the bitter end will fall into the hands of divine justice. the entire humanity needs to imitate god in showing mercy. as god is the father of mercy, show yourselves to be his children, by being like him. the sum and definition of religion is, be rich in works of mercy, be helpful to the bodies and souls of others. scatter your golden seeds; let the lamp of your profession be filled with the oil of charity. be merciful in giving and forgiving. be ye merciful, as your heavenly father is merciful. blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy. finally, we are to sing of the mercies of god. let’s do so to his glory; singing of his mercies entails that as his children we must be his good ambassadors then the virtue of our human person would have been guaranteed. note: god’s holiness and righteousness are not and cannot be overshadowed by his mercy. they are in perfect balance numbers 14:18 (net) “the lord is slow to anger and abounding in loyal love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children until the third and fourth generations.” the benefits of mercy are enormous to enumerate but this paper stands to recommends that humanity should rather imbibe the nature of our heavenly father than our temporal father whose thoughts and imaginations are evil on daily basis. endnotes 1 http://www.thedivinemercy.org/news/mercy-is-gods-greatestattribute-70 2 http://www.allaboutgod.com/god-of-mercy.htm 3 saint thomas aquinas in robert stackpole, jesus, mercy incarnate, (london: marian press, 2000), 112. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 110 4 www.vocabulary.com/dictionary 5 collins english dictionary complete & unabridged digital edition (william collins sons & co. ltd. 2012). 6 carr, d. the cardinal virtues and plato's moral psychologym (the philosophical quarterly, 38(151), 1988), 186-200 7 immanuel kant in peterson, c., & seligman, m.e.p. character strengths and virtues: a handbook and classification. (london: oxford university press 2004). 8 gregory vlastos, the unity of the virtues in the “protagoras”, (the review of metaphysics, vol. 25, no. 3 mar., 1972), 415-458 9 stanley b. cunningham (2002), review of virtues and vices and other essays in (moral philosophy, dialogue, volume 21, march 1982), 133-137 most of the sources in this research were drawn from the holy bible and from different versions. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 2.doc igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 23 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) independent national electoral commission and the rest of us: a critical evaluation of its vision and mission matthew ikechukwu obijekwu, phd, ekemezie uchenna g., francisca orji, udalla edith nkechi school of general studies, philosophy unit, anambra state polytechnic, mgbakwu, anambra state, mathewobijekwu@gmail.com abstract this paper critically examines the nigerian electoral institutions both the past and the present towards consolidating democracy in nigeria. in doing this, we made recourse to the independent national electoral commission (inec). as a result, we shall critically evaluate the activities of the independent national electoral commission (inec) with regard to its mission and vision as enshrined in the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria (as amended). also, colonial and post-colonial elections will be considered. we shall argue that the independent national electoral commission (inec) has over the years seemed to have deranged from its primary purpose, which involves conducting free, fair, transparent and credible elections in nigeria. the electoral umpires both the past and the present have been accused of manipulating election results, rigging, and committing all sorts of electoral irregularities. using analytic approach, we shall embark on conceptual analysis. we shall also explore the mission and vision of inec as enshrined in nigerian constitution to find out whether it has deranged from its fundamental purpose. we shall as well evaluate inec in relation to good governance and electing credible leadership. we shall also make reference to the basic guiding principles of inec with regard to respecting the general will of the electorate. we shall conclude that if inec should be allowed to maintain its independence from the executive arm of government and the politicians, and carry out its fundamental purpose, the will of the electorates will reign supreme in choosing their representatives. key words: independent, free and fair election, inec and nigeria introduction election, which is considered as the instrument through which the will of the electorates are realized, has over the years seemed to be seriously manipulated and shortchanged. the truth remains that the supposed relevance of electoral umpires, especially the independent national electoral commission (inec), can never be overemphasized in a democratic society. inec, as an electoral institution through which the electorates elect their representatives, is expected to be unbiased, credible and impartial institution, and as well, serve the purpose upon which it was established. from all indicates, we can rightly say that the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 24 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) electoral institutions, both the past and present, were established to conduct free, fair and credible elections in nigeria. but this objective seemed not to be feasible when we consider the past and the present elections conducted in nigeria under these electoral management institutions. many authors, scholars, and political analyst have seriously condemned nigerian electoral process as well as the unconstitutional practices of the independent national electoral commission (inec). it is based on this background this work sets out to critically evaluate the vision and mission as well as the guiding principles of inec to find out whether those principles are maintained in conducting elections in nigeria. to this end, we shall trace the origin of the elective principles in nigerian constitution. in doing this as well, we shall take recourse to the colonial elections after which the post-colonial elections will be considered. emergence of elective principles in nigeria the issue of election cannot be discussed in nigeria without making a reference to colonial period. there is no doubt that the colonial constitutions laid foundation for the political development and modern electoral process in nigeria. the elective principles that is today practiced in nigeria appeared first in the sir hugh clifford’s constitution of 1922.1 this constitution came after the nigerian council of 1914 was abolished by sir hugh clifford in order to heed to the demands of the national congress of british west africa(ncbwa) for elective principles. the national congress of british west africa was the body that united all the countries under the control of the british colonial administration in africa. they include sierra leone, nigeria, gold coast that is today known as ghana and gambia. the constitution provided for both legislative and executive councils. the legislative council was made up of 46 members, and 27 of these members were british officials, who comprise both the official and unofficial members. then, out of the 46 members, nigerians were nineteen (19) in number. with this, nigerians became minority in the council. meanwhile, four (4) representatives out of the nineteen (19) members of the legislative council became members through elections. three (3) members were elected from lagos, while one (1) was elected from calabar. this was the first time the election took place in nigerian history. so, the elective principle that was first introduced in the sir hugh clifford’s constitution of 1946 promoted the formation or development of political parties and at the same time, promoted suffrage. among the political parties formed at the time were the nigerian national democratic party (nndp) launched by herbert macaulay and his igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 25 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) associates in 1923, nigerian youth movement (nym) in 1934, national congress of nigeria and cameroons (ncnc) in 1944. as well, richard’s constitution and other subsequent constitutions helped to awaken the spirit of nationalism among the nationalists and continued to consolidate these electoral principles. this made the nationalists to push forward for self-government or independence. in all these, the common front then was to send the colonial masters packing. but, in the later years, things began to fall apart due to tribalism, ethnicity, religious affiliations, and as a result, the center could not hold. subsequently, political parties were formed based on the division of nigeria into regions, namely; eastern region, western region and northern region introduced by the richard’s constitution of 1946. being under the colonial masters, the method of formation and the activities of these political parties were checked and supervised by the governor generals and other colonial officials working with him. at this point, regionalization which should have fast-track regional development seemed to have turned to a curse. however, among the main features of the richard constitution include: a) provision for a legislative council which comprised 44 members; b) introduction of bicameral legislature of two chambers of a house of chiefs and a house of assembly in the northern region, while the eastern and western regions had a unicameral legislature each (the house of assembly); c) provision of a central legislative council for nigeria under the charge of colonial governor who wield unlimited powers on either to accept or reject decisions or resolutions of the legislatures; and d) provision of regional assemblies in the north.2 in the east and west, legislatures were not to make laws, but to discuss legislations and work as electoral college (ec) for the election of legislative council. though, the power to make and apply the laws all over the country resided with the governor in consultation with the legislative council members who cannot even influence his decisions. however, due to the deficiencies of the richard constitution regarding the discrepancies between the executive and legislative arms of government, and the demands of the nationalists to accommodate nigerians in the both executive and legislative council, the macpherson constitution emerged in 1951. the constitution was reformed with the help of the central legislative council. the main problem with the richard constitution was that executive was not responsible for the legislature. it was solely independent of the legislative arm of government. so, the macpherson came to rectify the constitution and some other constitutional deficiencies, and at the same time promoted elective principle in the constitution. this constitution, as it were, increased the number of the elected igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 26 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) members in the legislature. for example, 90 elected members into the house of assembly (and house of chiefs) in the north (as the north practiced bicameral legislature); 8 elected members in the west including other official members that constituted a house of assembly; and a president, 80 elected members, 5 officials, and 3 special members in the eastern house of assembly since the eastern had unicameral legislature. the point is that each of these regions operated independently during colonial as enshrined in the colonial constitution of the time. amongst the significance of the macpherson constitution include: a) the central legislature was renamed the house of representatives which 136 members were nigerians; and b) the regional legislative house acted as electoral college through which members of the house of representatives were elected3. macpherson constitution introduced electoral college system (ecs) in 1951 under its auspice many elections were conducted in the colonial administration. after the macpherson constitution, the lyttleton constitution of 1954 emerged due to the demands of the nigerian nationalist as they fought for selfdetermination. since each of the constitution was made with aim of development and advancement of nigerian situation, lyttleton constitution also contributed to that. the fact remains that neither of these constitutions solved nigerian electoral problems. actually, the lyttleton constitution, amongst its impacts, contributed in promoting electoral process by: a) introducing the federal system of government; and b) introducing direct elections to both the federal and regional legislatures.4 one of the weaknesses of the constitution as identified by the nationalists was that the constitution did not make provision for a common electoral system for the entire country as was the case with the macpherson constitution. this constitution with other subsequent changes and modification ushered in the independence constitution of 1960. the effort so far is not to discuss the constitutional development in nigeria, but to draw from these constitutions the emergence of the elective principles. as seen above, the concept of electoral college(s) was used to explain the body charged with conducting elections in nigeria during the colonial period. electoral institutions established in nigeria before the establishment inec, elections have been conducted in nigeria by other defunct electoral management bodies. with the advent of nigerian independence in 1960, the electoral commission of nigeria (nec) was established in 1958 to conduct the 1959 elections (wikipedia). this electoral body made the 1960 nigerian independence possible. the election was said to be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 27 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) rigged by the then colonial governor sir james robertson in favour of the north, when he announced alhaji abubakar tafawa balewa as the nigerian prime minister even when the collation of election results were still in progress. this really affected the already germinating seed of democracy in nigeria. with the 1960 constitution, nigeria was free to establish an electoral umpire to conduct its elections. abubakar tafawa balewa, the then nigerian prime minister, set up the federal electoral commission (fec) under the chairmanship of eyo esua (1964-1965) to conduct the immediate post-independence federal and regional elections of 1964 and 1965. the events of the military coup of 1966 led to its dissolution. in preparation 1979 general election, general olusegun obasanjo set up the federal electoral commission (fedeco) in 1978 to organize the election to a return to civilian rule under the leadership of chief michael ani to supervise the 1979 elections. this election, so to speak, ushered in the nigerian second republic under the watch of alhaji shehu shagari. the federal electoral commission also conducted the 1983 elections. fedeco was dissolved in 1987 when general ibrahim babangida(ibb) started moving the process of transition to civil rule. in view of this civil programme, ibb established the national electoral commission (nec). nec conducted the annulled 1993 election, which was alleged to be won by mko abiola, the presidential candidate of social democratic party (sdp). in 1995, the military government of general sani abacha dissolved nec and established the national electoral commission of nigeria (necon), having taken from as head of state from chief ernest shonekan, head of the interim national government. though, this electoral body was not inaugurated before his death. necon conducted elections into the local government councils and the national assembly, which the elected officials into these were yet to sworn in before the abacha’s sudden death in 1998. in 1998, general abdulsalami abubakar took over power, dissolved necon and set up the independent national electoral commission (inec) under the chairmanship of justice ephraim akpata.5 inec: its vision and mission in nigeria as an electoral management institution, inec has its vision, mission and guiding principles. the independent national electoral commission (inec) was established by the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria to among other things organize elections into various political offices in the country. the functions of inec as contained in section 15, part 1 of the third schedule of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 28 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 1999 constitution (as amended) and section 2 of the electoral act 2010 (as amended) include are as follows: a. organise, undertake and supervise all elections to the offices of the president and vice-president, the governor and deputy governor of a state, and to the membership of the senate, the house of representatives and the house of assembly of each state of the federation; b. register political parties in accordance with the provisions of the constitution and act of the national assembly; c. monitor the organization and operation of the political parties, including their finances; conventions, congresses and party primaries. d. arrange for the annual examination and auditing of the funds and accounts of political parties, and publish a report on such examination and audit for public information; e. arrange and conduct the registration of persons qualified to vote and prepare, maintain and revise the register of voters for the purpose of any election under this constitution; f. monitor political campaigns and provide rules and regulations which shall govern the political parties; g. conduct voter and civic education; h. promote knowledge of sound democratic election processes; and i. conduct any referendum required to be conducted pursuant to the provision of the 1999 constitution or any other law or act of the national assembly.6 the mission statement reads thus: to provide credible and efficient electoral services consistent with the principles of equity, justice, and fair play for the building of a strong and viable democracy.7 the vision statement reads: ...is that of a dynamic, formidable and independent organization committed to the instrumentalization of an enduring democracy, which allows for effective and smooth political change.8 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 29 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) the supposed guiding principles of inec towards achieving its vision and mission in nigeria include: a) autonomy; b) transparency; c) integrity; d) credibility; e) impartiality; f) dedication; g) equity; and h) excellence. since its establishment, inec has conducted series of elections in nigeria. the elections conducted by inec since its establishment in 1998 include: the 1999 general election, the 2003 general elections, the 2007 general elections, the 2011 general elections, the 2015 general elections and just concluded 2019 general elections. having stated this, one wonders whether the independent national electoral commission (inec) has ever been committed to its mission and vision in nigeria. or, has inec ever built a strong, enduring and viable democracy in nigeria as was stated in its vision and mission? in answering the above question, it is proper to examine the meaning of democracy. since inec was established to build a strong, enduring and viable democracy, it is quite imperative here to understand the concept of democracy. inec and democracy in nigeria from the law that established inec, we can rightly observe that it purposely set up to consolidate democracy in nigeria. one may ask: what is democracy? how can inec consolidate democracy in nigeria? what is democracy? democracy, as a concept, has been so much emphasized in the political realm as a better political system. democracy has been embraced by many nations in world despite lots of controversies that have thrived or associated with it. the concept, “democracy” is said to come from two greek words “demo” meaning “the people”, “the poor people”, “the masses”, “the mob”, and kratein meaning “to rule”. therefore, democracy means “rule by the people”, “rule by the mob” or “rule by the masses.”9 a popular definition of democracy was given by abraham lincoln when he defines democracy as “the government of the people, by the people and for the people”. from the root of the word, it is clear that people or the masses are central to democracy, or that democracy revolves around the people, the constituents of society. though, this definition has been criticized with regard to contemporary practices of democracy. the criticism anchored on the fact that democracy has been described as the government of the elites, where elites of the society control and share political powers among themselves, their friends and their associates. this even happens among the countries that are said to be, or categorized as, democratic nations or countries. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 30 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) as a system of government, democracy was first practiced among the athenians. this was observed in the works of greek philosophers like plato (427-347 bc) and aristotle (384-322 bc). even plato and aristotle rejected democracy underground that it promotes mediocrity and enthrones intellectually bereft individuals as leaders of the people. accordingly, democracy as a rule of the incompetent and ignorant crowd, it pays attention to quantity, not quality; votes are counted not weighed”.10 metala defines democracy as a system of government in which people exercise their governing power either directed or through representatives periodically elected by themselves.11 buttressing further on the meaning of democracy, metala citing appadorai’s the substance of politics notes that democracy draws strength and legitimacy from the assumption that it is the highest safeguard of individual liberty, creates the highest opportunity for political participation, guarantees equality. democracy can be seen as a principles as well as an institution. as a principle, metala asserts that democracy intends towards mutual tolerance of views of people through dialogue and expression of individual or/and collective opinions with the aim of attaining the common good. on the other hands, as an institution, it seeks to establishment and eager to maintain the apparatus and atmosphere under which free expressions can take place.12 therefore, democracy is institutionalized through the following agencies of the society, namely; the legislature, the executive, the judiciary and other agencies purposely established by the state to or/and enforce the germination and sustenance of democracy.13 webster dictionary cited in momah’s electoral commissions and the conduct of elections in nigeria: the role of inec defines democracy as government by the people; rule of the majority; a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly. commenting further momah asserts that democracy is a human right, as such, it is included in a number of the most important international human rights standards, such as the universal declaration of human rights art.1, which states that “everyone has the right to take part in the governance of his country, directly or indirectly, or through freely chosen representatives… art.3 states that the will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of the government; this will be expressed in periodic and genuine elections that shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.”14 the emphasis here is on the representative democracy, which most often comes through election not through imposition of a candidate. representative democracy is defined as a democratic process where under the principle of political equality where candidates are periodically elected into political offices igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 31 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) to serve a period of time as mapped out in a constitution. constitution, as stated here, is the fundamental legal framework or basic law of a country, it assigns powers and duties to government institutions and agencies, indicates how decision-makers are to be selected, defines scopes of governmental authorities, establishes the nature of the relationship between the people and their government, and states how political leaders are to be held accountable.15 basically, democracy has made it possible that people are place different political positions through election. then, what is election? election, as defines by okoye festus, is: a complex set of activities with different variables that act and feed on one another. it can be defined as a ‘formal’ act of collective decision that occurs in a stream of connected antecedent and subsequent behaviour. it involves the participation of the people in the act of electing their leaders and their participation in governance. elections are not necessarily about election day activities, although it forms an important component. it encompasses activities before, during and after elections. it includes the legal and constitutional framework of elections; the registration of political parties, party campaigns, the activities of the security agencies and the government in power. it includes the authenticity and genuineness of the voter’s register. it includes the independence or lack of it, of the electoral agencies and organs. it includes the liberalism or otherwise of political processes in the country and the independence of the adjudicating bodies in elections.16 in nigeria for instance, ince is among the institutionalized mechanism through which democracy is meant to be sustained and promoted in the society, and through which the individual rights are meant to be respected. it involves the rights of the electorate, that is, respecting the “will of the people” or “the will of the electorates”. the question remains: how far or to what extent has inec gone in fulfilling its primary responsibilities? inec: the democratic journey so far? the representative democracy has made it possible that through election, people, masses or the electorates are allowed to make choice among the political parties or candidates vying for different political offices like presidential seat, federal house of representatives, senate, gubernatorial seats, state house of assembly, local government chairmen seat, councillorship positions, and other elected igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 32 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) positions. the independent national electoral commission (inec), in nigeria) is charged with the responsibility to conduct free, fair, and credible elections into these political seats in nigeria. as the inec is charged with these responsibilities, some principles are mapped out to guide it in discharging these utmost responsibilities. the guiding principles as written in the 2019 electoral manual explains thus: a. autonomy: this is relentlessness in the pursuit of autonomy for effective electoral service. this shows that for inec to effectively and efficiently do its work, it should not be under the influence of any arm of the government be it executive, judiciary and legislative. b. transparency: this means that openness in all activities and in relations with stakeholders, the media, service providers and the people of nigeria. c. integrity: integrity shows that integrity should be a watchword in the activities of inec. integrity indicates the demonstration of high moral standard and honesty in all dealings with the people of nigeria. d. credibility: credibility in all actions and activities thereby remains an institution that people can trust. e. impartiality: creation of a level playing field for all political actors. f. dedication: commitment to providing quality electoral services for all people of nigeria. g. equality: fairness and justices in dealing with all people. h. excellence: promotion of excellence and ensuring that merit remains that basis for the recruitment and compensation of staff.17 despite the above guiding principles, inec has been accused of impartiality, lack of integrity, lack of dedication, inequality, incredibility, and being under the influence of the executive arm of government and elites of the society especially the politicians in discharging its primary responsibility of fair, free and credible elections. before now, that is, before the establishment of inec, the past electoral umpires as mentioned earlier were accused of electoral irregularities and/or malpractices. the first and second republic witnessed lots of political violence as those electoral umpires established both in the first republic and second republic were alleged to be involved in one election fraud or the other. they have been accused of electoral irregularities and manipulation of election results. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 33 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) in 1964 and 1965, under fedeco the then electoral body, nigeria conducted a federal election into the house of representatives that was said to be marred by serious crises. the election was contested by only two political parties, namely; the united progressive grand alliance (upga) and nigerian national alliance (nna) which both of them were coalition of different political parties. elections were conducted in different regions as nigeria was still under the regionalization introduced by richard constitution in 1946. the truth is that most of the political parties were formed under regional affiliations and loyalty, and these implanted the seed of discord, mutual suspicion and tribalism. election frauds were alleged in the west, east, mid-west and north. the principal political actors like alhji tafawa balewa, dr. nnamadi azikiwe, chief s. l. akintola, sir ahmadu bello and others, who were members of different political parties in one way or the other were accused of influencing the then electoral umpire to favour one region or the other. meanwhile, most of these abnormalities were carried over from the pre-independent era to the post-independent political party formations, even when regionalization was the determinant factor. despite the fact that almost all those political parties in their political manifestoes vowed to attain power through democratic and constitutional means, promote participatory democracy, and foster nigerian unity, they were not faithfull to their political promises.. the fedeco which was established to deepen democracy in nigeria was alleged to be part of electoral malpractices and fraud. the point here is that fedeco that was set up to promote democracy contributed in destroying democracy which it was meant to deepen or consolidate. this period, as alleged, witnessed high level of political killings, looting of the national treasury, arson, influencing of the electoral officers by the ruling party then, nigerian national democratic party (nndp), destruction of property and electoral atrocities. this wittingly questioned the integrity of the electoral body as at the time. in 1979, the same federal electoral commission (fedeco) conducted another general election, where different positions like presidential seat, house of representatives, state house of assembly, and other positions were heavily contested. among the parties that featured in the election, especially presidential election include gnpp, alhaji waziri ibrahim, prp, mallam aminu kano, npp, dr. nnamdi azikiwe; upp, chief obafemi awolowo; and npn, alhaji shehu shagari. the electoral umpire, under the chairmanship of mr. michael ani was alleged to have declared shehu shagari the winner against the principles of the constitution of the federal republic of nigeria, which upheld the two-third majority votes cast in the states of the federation. so, the sole accusation leveled against fedeco was that the returning officer declared shehu shagari the winner, when it was clear that he (shagari) did score one quarter of the total igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 34 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) votes cast in at least two-third of the nineteen (19) states of the federation.18 this, however, was against the electoral laws as well as the letters of the constitution. the same thing was applicable in 1983 general election. these elections, especially the 1983 election were alleged to have been massively rigged election in favour of national party of nigeria (npn). with the alleged rigging, npn won the presidential elections of 1979 and 1983, which was criticized heavily by other political parties like unity party of nigeria (upn). federal electoral commission (fedeco then was accused of electoral malpractices. this was among accusation the military used to overthrow the then civilian government. it is a fact that rigging of election can never be possible if the electoral umpire is not part of the dirty deal? still, the abolition of fedeco by the military regime led to the promulgation of the transition to civil rule decree by the armed forces rulings council under general ibrahim babangida. during this period, two party system was promulgated in nigeria, namely; social democratic party (sdp) and national republican convention (nrc). these parties contested presidential seat and other political seats all over the country, and the presidential seat was alleged to be won by the sdp which chief mko abiola was the presidential candidate. this election was annulled by the military regime of ibrahim babagandi which till date is referred as june 12, 1993 annulment. till date, this election, under the chairmanship of humphrey nwosu, was considered the freest, fair and credible election ever conducted in nigeria. inec and the rest of us as said earlier, the vision and mission statement of inec is never in contradiction with the constitutional principles that armed at institutionalized democracy in nigeria from the nigerian first republic to the era of fourth republic. inec, as said earlier, has conducted series of elections since its establishment from 1999 to 2019. the question is: to what extent has inec promoted democracy? from the definition of democracy stated above, the basis of democracy is respecting the fundamental human rights, respect to the rule of law, etc, and fundamentally, is the respecting the will of the people or masses in choosing their representatives. the phrase “the rest of us’ represent the populace who desire to live in a democratic society. the 1999 general election ushered in the fourth republic of nigeria. the same accusations that were leveled against fedeco in 1960s, 1970s and 1980s are today being leveled against inec. as said earlier, since the establishment of inec in 1999, it has organized series of elections, which include: the 1999 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 35 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) general election, the 2003 general elections, the 2007 general elections, the 2011 general elections, the 2015 general elections and recently concluded 2019 general elections. in 1999, for example, inec, under the chairmanship of ephraim apkata, was accused of committing electoral fraud. some of the political parties that contested against the pdp like ad-app and others, in the 1999 presidential general election accused inec for electoral flaws. going through the 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015 general elections, nigeria witnessed another round of electoral flaws. pdp held power from 1999 until 2015 general election when it when it was defeated by all progressive alliance (apc). among the contested political parties were: pdp, which had olusegun obasanjo as its presidential candidate; anpp, muhammadu buhari as its presidential candidates in 2003; apga, odumegwu ojukwu, etc. in 2007, under the prof. maurice iwu, inec organized a general election, which umaru musa yar’dua contested under the platform of pdp against other political parties; buhari and atiku contested under the political platform of anpp and ac respectively amongst others. in 2011, prof. attahiru jega, as the chairman of inec, conducted the presidential election, national assembly, governorship and house of assembly. pdp had goodluck jonathan as its presidential candidate; cpc, muhammadu buhari; acn, nuhu rabidu and others that contested. furthermore, the 2015 elections organized by the same prof. attahiru jega, as the chairman of inec, were also heavily contested among pdp, goodluck jonathan; apc, muhammadu buhari; and other political parties as well. well, we are not here to trace the inec and the activities of political parties in nigeria, but to find out whether inec has over these years promoted democracy in nigeria through conducting free, fair and credible elections. however, reuters world news on april 23, 2007 captioned “yar’adua declared winner of nigerian poll charade”. this report by the observers described the election as charade. despite this situation, inec went on to declare pdp the winner of the election.19 eu, us and other observers described the 2007 election in the following manner. the european union observers commented on the poor election organization, lack of transparency, significant evidence of fraud, voter disenfranchisement, violence and bias. max van den berg, eu observer asserts that “these elections have not lived up to the hopes and expectations of the nigerian people and the process cannot be considered to have been credible”.20 on the other, the united states said the vote was “flawed” but stopped short of calling for it to be overturned. mccormack sean, state department spokesman opines that “problems should be resolved peacefully and according to the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 36 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) constitution”. in 2011 and 2015 elections, nigerians witnessed the same electoral irregularities. in 2019, inec organized another general election that could be described as a bizarre election. the 2019 general election was marred with electoral violence, killings, and ballot snatching, and other electoral atrocities. inec’s inability to conduct the presidential, senatorial and house of representatives elections that were first scheduled on 9th march, 2019 that led to its postponement few hours to the commencement of the elections due to the claimed “logistics challenges” questioned they said guiding principles of inec. this, as well, shows the level of incompetence of nigerian electoral management institutions. other factors that may have arisen from this failure or incompetence are disentrancement of many nigerians, rigging of election, electoral apathy, lack of trust on inec, etc. with this also, many nigerians lost hope in inec. again, declaring some states, like bauchi state, adamawa state, sokoto state, kano state, plateau state, and benue state allegedly won by peoples’ democratic party (pdp), inconclusive, and the suspension of election in rivers state, seem to justify the accusation that inec has been the instrument of the ruling party for election result manipulations. the vanguard newspaper captioned it as “inconclusive polls: the battleground states”21, which could be interpreted to mean so many things like expected violent states, war zone elections states and so on, which nigerians really observed them to be during the presidential held on 16the of march, 2019 and gubernatorial elections held of 23rd of march, 2019. few days to the elections, having known condition of nigeria during elections, the us warned against election rigging, violence and other political intimidations against political opponents as well as involvement of inec in election malpractices or irregularities. odunsi captioned in his article: “nigerian election: us issues inec stern warning” quoted michael pomeo, the united states secretary of state, saying that “the general election would be an opportunity for the country to solidify its democratic leadership in africa”.22 the statement obviously highlighted the impact of inec in promoting democracy or democratic society in nigeria and africa in general. commenting further, he said that united states government supports a free, fair, transparent and peaceful election that reflects the will of the nigerian people. it is critical that the inec operates free from outside pressure and intimidation and in a total objective manner. the external powers, especially from the executive and politicians in influencing the operations of inec have questioned itself acclaimed “independence, integrity, impartiality, equality, fairness, neutrality among the political parties be it the ruling party or otherwise. other international igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 37 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) organizations like the national democratic institute for international affairs and the carter center(ndi/carter) having observed the role inec can play in promoting democracy in nigeria, has been attached or availed itself to assist the electoral umpire to realize its vision and mission, especially with regard to election observations, accurate and complete assessment of election process. some of this assistance ranges from providing legal framework for election; an accurate and complete voters register, counting of votes, preparing election time table, etc. all these gear towards achieving a democratic society as well as making sure the human rights are respected during elections in nigeria. disfranchisement is against the principles of democracy. people should have the right to choice or elect their representatives as the representative democracy has made it possible, and guaranteed the fundamental human rights of all irrespective of one geopolitical zone, tribe, or religion. conclusion basically, the electoral umpires from the very moment of their establishment are meant to deepen democracy; promote and sustain democratic principles in nigeria. election is an element of democracy through which the electorates freely elect their representatives. therefore, the previously established electoral bodies like fedeco, necon as well as inec seemed not to have maintained and promote the objective upon which they were established by the constitution of the federal republic of nigeria due to either executive influence or other external influences. therefore, we conclude that that if the electoral umpires like inec should be allowed to maintain its independence from the executive arm of government, and carry out its fundamental purpose, the will of the electorates will reign supreme in choosing their representatives and that will contribute in consolidating democracy in nigeria. endnotes 1. okoli, government for schools and colleges. onitsha: mid-field publishers, 2011, p.352. 2. ibid. p. 357. 3. ibid, p.362. 4. ibid. 5. inec history. independent national electoral commission. retrieved 2019/02/11. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 2, march 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) 38 (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 6. section 15, part 1 of the third schedule of the 1999 constitution (as amended) and section 2 of the electoral act 2010 (as amended). https://www.incenigeria.org/home/about-inec. retrieved 2019/03/15. 7. inec, manual election of officials, 2017, p.11. 8. ibid., p.11. 9. o. iwuchukwu, “democracy and regional ontologies”, in m. obi oguejiofor (ed.), africa: philosophy and public affairs, (enugu: delta publications nigeria ltd, 1998), p. 84. 10. c. metala, “democracy as oligarchy: studies in the obstacles to democratization and development in africa”, in ike odimegwu, goddex ezeani, and fidelis, philosophy, development and conflicts in africa, (awka: fab educational books, 2007), pp.11-19. 11. ibid., p.10. 12. appadorai, in metala, p.11. 13. ibid. 14. p. o. momah, “electoral commissions and the conduct of elections in nigeria: the role of inec”, in elections and governance in nigeria’s fourth republic, p. 37. 15. r. j. pay and j. r. nassar, politics and culture in the developing world: the impact of globalization, in m .i. obijekwu, school: an industry of values. awka: unpublished work, p. 55. 16. festus okoye, ‘do the votes count?’ final report of the 2003 general elections of nigeria, 2003, cited in p.o. momah, “electoral commissions and the conduct of elections in nigeria: the role of inec”, p.40. 17. inec, manual election of officials, 2017, p.11. 18. okoli, p.444. 19. https://qz.com/.../nigeria-election-rigging-inec-card-reader-and-pvcprotect-polls 20. ibid. 21. daily vanguard front page, wednesday, march, 2019, 22. https://qz.com/.../nigeria-election-rigging-inec-card-reader-and-pvcprotect-polls. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 3 ---.doc igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 202 chi n’eye ndu: understanding god in an igbo-african category prof. kanu ikechukwu anthony, o.s.a. department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university, umunya anambra state ikee_mario@yahoo.com abstract this work is an attempt to understand god in igbo-african category. as a thesis, it has gone beyond proving that the african can know or concieve god, and moved from the wider parameters of theology to the particular aperture of christological investigation. it investigates the possibility of an understanding of the christ-god within an african category. the idea employed here is that of an igbo-african. this concept is very significant because the igbo race shares in the african worldview, and the interactive nature of the african worldview, makes this consideration more relevant. this christological perspectives constructed from the igbo worldview creates a socio-political context, as theology is meant for a community and not to remain the property of a theologian class. it responds to the question: “how will christ and his message be presented to the igbo person, in such a way that he or she would understand and appreciate jesus within categories that he or she is at home with?” keywords: chi, ndu, igbo, african, category, christology, god, chukwu, choneke. introduction at the time when ideological race struggle was at its peak, gobineau (1915) developed a biased anthropology, which placed human beings on a hierarchy with africa at the bottom. he argued that europe had attained civilization while others are yet to. following the same line of thought, hume (cited by chukwudi 1998) wrote, “i am apt to suspect that the negroes to be naturally inferior to the whites. there scarcely ever was a civilized nation of that complexion or even an individual eminent in action or speculation” (p. 214). hegel (1956), following the same derogatory path wrote further about the negro: in negro life the characteristic point is the fact that consciousness had not yet attained to the realisation of any substantial existence.... thus distinction between himself as an individual and the universality of his igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 203 essential being, the african in the uniform, undeveloped oneness of his existence has not yet attained. (p. 93). he thus posits that the negro is yet to go beyond his instinctual behaviour to identify a being outside of himself. following the same line of thought, levybruhl (cited by njoku 1993), questioned the veracity of an untutored african knowing about god. corroborating with levy-bruhl, baker (cited in richard 1964) wrote, the negro is still at the rude dawn of faith-fetishism and has barely advanced in idolatry.... he has never grasped the idea of a personal deity, a duty in life, a moral code, or a shame of lying. he rarely believes in a future state of reward and punishment, which whether true or not are infallible indices of human progress”. (p. 199). chi n’eye ndu as an understanding of god in igbo-african category, is a thesis that has far gone beyond proving that the african can know or concieve god. it has moved from the wider parameters of theology to the particular aperture of christological investigation. it investigates the possibility of an understanding of the christ-god within an african category. the idea employed here is that of an igbo-african. this concept is very significant because the igbo race shares in the african worldview, and the interactive nature of the african worldview, makes this consideration more relevant. this christological perspectives constructed from the igbo worldview creates a socio-political context, which agrees with the perspective of schreiter (1985), who maintains that theology is meant for a community and not to remain the property of a theologian class. it is not an elitist enterprise. it begins from below, from the underside of history, its main interlocutors, the poor and the culturally marginalized. it responds to the question: “how will christ and his message be presented to the igbo person, in such a way that he or she would understand and appreciate jesus within categories that he or she is at home with?” this piece adds to the ongoing developments in christology during the past thirty three years as evident in the works of nyamity (1984), sanon (1991), kabasele (1991), kolie (1991), magessa (1991), walligo (1991), waruta (1991), bujo (1992), ukachukwu (1992) among other scholars who have searched for an authentic african response to the christ event. from biblical and patristic christology to an igbo christology igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 204 the followers of jesus acknowledged him as the messiah (christos, the anointed one), the expected anointed king of david’s royal line; whether in the combination of jesus christ or christ, it quickly became equivalent to a personal name. the aramaic hebrew speaking christians, closest to the life, death and resurrection of jesus, understood him as “the son of man”, “the messiah”, “son of david” and “son of god”. the jewish greek converts to christianity translated christ as christos, and they understood him as the centre of the cosmos or universe. for the hellenistic gentile christians, christ is the eternal divine logos and the wisdom of god. according to kankai (2008), the different authors of the gospels presented christologies that responded to particular situations and cultures. mark the evangelist presented jesus as healer and exorcist. in the first chapter he narrates that jesus cast out demons and healed the mother-in-law of simon. as a consequence, people were immediately drawn to him with confidence because of his power to heal. in addition to highlighting jesus as healer and exorcist, jesus is designated as a faithful and suffering servant of god. in matthew’s gospel, he is the son of david, king of nations, the new moses and the lawgiver. the evangelist luke presented a jesus who is a prophet and advocate of the poor, and a person of prayer. in john’s gospel, he is the pre-existent word, eternal wisdom, revelation of god’s glory and the one who is. during the patristic period, the christology of the fathers was profoundly biblical. for them, christ is the ultimate meaning of all scripture. they believed that every text of the bible reflects and expresses a moment or aspect of one plan of salvation or the other, in which the old testament prepares and anticipates christ. during this period, heresies about the nature of christ also emerged. docetism proposed that jesus was not truly human but merely apparent to be man. for the gnostics, christ is the spiritual being fully aware of his divine identity, and whose mission is to reveal to his followers the secret of their divine identity. adoptionism teaches that jesus was a man whom god adopted to be his son. the arians taught that the logos and jesus were not two beings but one, since the logos has indeed become flesh. thus the logos is not god since he cannot be god and man at the same time. unlike the arians, the appollinarians denied the existence of a rational human soul in christ, because they believed that the logos uniting with jesus takes the place of a rational soul. during the council of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 205 ephesus, the fathers declared that the same jesus christ is perfect god and perfect man, composed of a rational soul and body, consubstantial to the father as to his divinity and consubstantial to us as to his humanity. thus christ has two natures, divine and human. the council of chalcedon further emphasized that jesus has two natures, without confusion and change, without division and separation (kanu 2012). from the above observations, it is obvious that these christologies emphasize the divinity of jesus. this is referred to as a high or descending christology or christology from above. it emphasizes the exalted and high quality of jesus. this method of christologizing goes back to the gospel of st john, which in fact has a high christology. low christology, different from high christology concentrates on the man jesus, his humanity. this christology has opened interesting possibilities, producing a whole new set of categories such as jesus as the man for others, the revolutionary, the way, the representative and the harlequin. while western christology could be considered as high, the african approach to christology is quite different. it begins from below and ascends above (kanu, 2012). an understanding of nd’igbo of nigeria according to onuh (1991), by way of definition, “igbo” is both a language and the name of an ethnic group or tribe in nigeria. there is however an etymological and lexical complexity surrounding the meaning of the term ‘igbo’. in the contention of ekwuru (2009), the difficulty of arriving at a precise etymological and semantic clarity of the word “igbo” has its trace in the unprecise nature of the history of the igbo people. for afigbo (1975a), compared to the state of research as regards origin in relation to other tribes in nigeria, the igbo history can without much exaggeration be described as terra incognita. however, afigbo (1975b) further observes that the igbos are not indifferent to this crisis of identity. their experience of colonialism, and even the biafran civil war has sparked off in them the quest for a historical identity. it is such that isichei (1976) avers that no historical question arouses more interest among the present day igbo people than the enquiry “where did the igbo come from?” as regards the territorial identity of the igbos, uzozie (1991) observes that “to date, there is no agreement among ethnographers, missionaries, anthropologists, historians, geographers and politicians on the definition and geographical limits of territory” (p. 4). ekwuru (2009) states that any attempt to introduce who the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 206 igbo is poses a lot of problems in all aspects of its academic conceptualizations. this notwithstanding, hatch (1967) describes the igbo people as a single people even though fragmented and scattered. inhabiting a geographical area stretching from benin to igala and cross river to niger delta. they speak the same language which gradually developed various dialects but understood among all the groups. their cultural patterns are closely related, based on similar cults and social institutions; they believe in a common supreme being known as chukwu or chineke. two theories have emerged in response to the question “where did the igbo come from?” there is, the northern centre theory which, according to onwuejeogwu (1987) posits that the igbos migrated from five northern centre areas, namely: the semetic centre of the near and far east, the hermatic centre around egypt and northern africa, the western sahara , the chadian centre and the nok centre. the second historical hypothesis is the centre theory of igbo heartland. according to jones (cited by isichei 1976), the early migrations of the proto-igbo originated from the areas termed as the igbo heartland, such as: owerri, okigwe, orlu and awka divisions. geographically speaking, njoku (1990) posits that igboland is located in the southeastern region of what is known as nigeria. the southern part of nigeria exhibits a wide variety of topographical features. the average temperature is about 85, with annual rainfall of 70 inches. it is situated within the parallels of 6 and 8 east longitudes and 5 and 7 north latitudes. as a culture area, it is made up of enugu, anambra, imo, abia and parts of the delta, cross river, akwa ibom and rivers state of nigeria. according to uchendu (1965), in its status as an ethnic group, the igbo share common boundaries with other ethnic groups: eastward, the yakos and ibibios; westwards, with the binis and the isokos, warri; northward, with the igalas, idomas, and the tivs, and on the southward, the ijaws and ogonis. socio-politically, unlike the other tribes in nigeria, who evolved a molithic centralized system of government, the igbo distinguish themselves with a complicated socio-political structure which has been qualified as republican. the igbo ethnic group is divided into clans, each clan is made up of towns; and each town villages. the village is the primary social unit constituted of families or kindred. the family is the nucleus of society. politically, the lineage system is the matrix of the social units or organization and provides grounds for political and religious structures (kanu, 2012). the traditional concepts of political power and authority is structured and determined by their concepts of umunna and the membership of the association based on elaborate title system. economically, aligwekwe (1991) avers that the traditional igbo igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 207 people were sedentary agriculturists. this delimitation of igboland as a culture area, helps to identify the cultural horizon for the study on the igbo-african concept of life. life in igbo-african ontology the concept of life has been analysed by scholars of various academic disciplines and at different periods. however, the researcher is primarily concerned with the concept of life ndu in igbo anthropology. igbo traditional thought, like those of other african groups, has perhaps been rightly dubbed heavily anthropocentric and their concept of life and person derives from this perspective (nwala, 1998). the concept of life in igbo anthropology can be seen from various perspectives; however, generally, it is a road-map that reveals the igbo conceptual and historical construct of life possibilities and human potentialities, with built-in goals and values for communal and individual self-determination. for a better appreciation of the igbo concept of life, there is need to explore the historicalcultural roots of the igbo. life as the highest good the desire for life ndu and its preservation in igbo ontology is the summum bonum (the supreme good), and every other thing is expected to serve its realization (nwala, 1998). the prominent appearance of ndu in igbo proverbs, parables and personal names projects the height of the value the igbo race places on life. for instance, the igbo would say, ndubisi: life is the first. from this perspective, life is the prime necessity. life should be pursued before and above every other thing or value. ndukaku: life is greater than wealth. this is a little bit related to the first. if life is greater than wealth, then, wealth must not be pursuit at the expense of life. ndubuizu: life is ethos of consensus. that people are able to come together and discuss and even agree on something is because they have life. ndulue: if life stretches out. the plans about the future in the present can only be actualized if life extends into the future. ndukwe: if life agrees. this is related to the preceding. the actualization of future plans depends on if life agrees that we be in that future. nduka: life is greater. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 208 nduamaka: life is good. because of the prime place that life occupies in igbo philosophy, everything that the igbo does is geared towards the preservation of life. eating, drinking, sacrifices, rituals and rites, kinship, taboos and other moral provisions, worship and even the existence of sacred specialists is for the preservation of life. nothing is done without a bearing to life (obi, 2009). life as active and dynamic life for the igbo is not just to exist and be counted as existing at census. it is an active and dynamic existence in which other things follow. life is the principle of activity, growth and fulfilment. as such, the more elevated the life, the more effective and efficient will the functions of acting, growth, reproduction. this implies that the value of life is linked with the quality of life. the higher the quality the better the performance; it is a vital force that keeps a person not only in motion, but also in constructive actions that help a person and others live on and better (obi, 2009). from the above perspective, to say to a man who lives iwuola (you are dead), means that the person in question has become inactive or incapacitated in respect to certain functions expected of him as a human being (nwala, 1998). for instance, the inability of a man to climb a palm tree or to make his wife pregnant, these may earn a man the expression iwuola or odi ndu onye wuru awu ka mma (a living that is worse than the dead). if one however is able to execute any of the above roles, it earns him or her the expression idi ndu. life as given and sustained by god a very significant concept of ndu among the igbos is the idea that ndu is from god. this makes the human person a theomorphic being. this explains why the igbos say, ndu sin a chi (life is from god). when a child is born it is taken to be a gift from god. the life of children is not attributed to mere biological fact of conception because every child has existed in an antecedent world of a divine master. it is thus not surprising that the igbo would name their child, chi-nyere ndu: god gave life nke-chi-yere: the one god has given chi-n’eye ndu: god gives life chi-di-ogo: god is generous igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 209 chi-nwendu: god owns life chi-ekwe: god has agreed chi-ji-ndu: god owns life however, god does not only give a child, he also guides and protects the child all through its existence; this is why the igbo would say ndu di n’aka chi (life is in the hand of god) (obi, 2009). even though life is in the hand of god, it is still for the igbo a paradox: meaning that it is unpredictable. it is often interrupted by death. one wonders indefinitely at such enigma, inconsistency, mystery and puzzles of premature death, the absurdity and ambiguity of life and death. it is in this regard that onunwa echoes that, “among the unfriendly agents that threaten life here on earth (for the igbo) is illness. the other enemy which the igbo hates is death” (onunwa, 1990, p.81). although death is conceived as a transition to the world of the ancestors, it still does not change the fact that it is an enigma. it is thus not surprising that the igbo would name their child: onwu di njo (death is bad). onwubuche (death is my worry). onwubiko (death i implore you). onwu kam ike (death is more powerful that i am). onwuasoanya (death is no respecter of persons). onwuamaeze (death does not recognize a king or a great man). in spite of the human person’s wisdom and technological know-how, death still defies prediction. life as belongingness the igbo world into which a child is born crying abatala m ya (i have come into it) is made up of seven characteristics: common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny (pantaleon, 1995). this communal dimension of the african life is expressed in the igbo proverb, ngwere ghara ukwu osisi, aka akpara ya (if a lizard stays off from the foot of a tree, it would be caught by man). it expresses the indisputable and inevitable presence of, not just the family, but the community to which the individual belongs. the igbo’s believe that “when a man descends from heaven, he descends into a community”. the community rejoices and welcomes his arrival, finds out whose reincarnation he is, gives the person a name and interprets that arrival within the circumstance of the birth. as the child grows, he becomes aware of his dependence on his kin group and community (kanu, 2012). he also realizes the necessity of making his own contribution to the group (uchendu, 1965). according to mulago (1989), igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 210 the community is the necessary and sufficient condition for the life of the individual person. the individual person is immersed into the natural world and nevertheless emerges from it as an individual and a person within his conscience and freedom given him by the mediation of the community in which he senses a certain presence of the divine. (p. 115). during one of the feasts organized by okonkwo in the work the things fall apart, his uncle uchendu expressed the igbo philosophy of belongingness: we do not ask for wealth because he that has health and children will also have wealth. we do not pray to have more money but to have more kinsmen. we are better than animals because we have kinsmen. an animal rubs its itching flank against a tree, a man asks his kinsman to scratch him (achebe, 2008, p. 132). after the feast, when one of the eldest men of the umunna rose to thank okonkwo, the reason for the igbo philosophy of belongingness is revealed with a different shade of insight, a man who calls his kinsmen to a feast does not do so to save them from starving. they all have food in their own homes. when we gather together in the moonlit village ground it is not because of the moon. everyman can see it in his own compound. we come together because it is good for kinsmen to do so (achebe, 1998, p. 133). mbiti has classically proverbialized the community determining role of the individual life, “i am because we are and since we are, therefore i am” (mbiti, 1970, p. 108). the community, according to pantaleon, gives the individual his existence. that existence is not only meaningful, but also possible only in a community (kanu, 2012). to be is to belong and to belong is to be (anah, 2005). to be alive is to belong. the igbo principle of egbe bere ugo bere (let the kite perch, let the eagle perch) reenacts the contents and significance of belongingness as the essence and hermeneatic core of igbo reality. pantaleon (1995) believes that what a being is, is its activity of perching (belonging). to perch is to be. to be is to perch. to be is to belong and to belong is to be. thus existence for the igbo is an act of belonging. life as a circle igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 211 life is circlical for the african. the cyclical nature of life affects the african’s concept of time, and also gives a philosophical basis for beliefs such as in reincarnation. the history of the african people, as in that of the greeks is not a lineal movement. everything repeats itself. thus one moves from day to night, which gives birth to another day, and since man is part of the laws of this world, he moves from life to death and to another life again. this explains why when an african loses time, he does not see it as a loss because he knows another will come. life as a stage in african ontology, life could be refered to as a play. in a play, according to jacob (2010), how and when an actor enters the stage is not his own making but depends on his asigned roles in the play. in life too, where and when a person is born or dies which makes for human superficial differences of race, colour, status etc, is not his own design. destiny plays a very significant role in the determination of our life. the interference of destiny raises questions as regards freedom and determinism. moreso, just as an actor may return one or more times to the play stage after once taking an exit in order to complete his assigned roles, a dead person may also return through reincarnation to the world stage. life as everlastingness pantaleon (1995) had argued in his study of the analytic connotations of being as belongingness that to be is to ‘be-long’, which means, ‘to live long’. this is based on the idea that life extends into eternity. life goes beyond the present dimension of the uwa (world) to the uwa of the ancestors (the world of the ancestors), such that to be and not to be-long is not to be at all. while on-going belongingness may be open-ended, being-long belongingness stretches into everlastingness. as such, in pantaleon, one becomes through being-on so as to be-going, in other to be-long, that is to participate in the everlastingness of being. the provenance of human life in african ontology in african ontology, life begins from the conception of the child in the woman. and right from the time the child is conceived, respect is accorded to the child through the rites of passage. in these rites and rituals, the hands of the gods are recognized in the socio-religious community and implored to further effect their authenticity and relevance (madu, 2011). the rites of passage, as regards the conception of a child, are done to ensure a change of condition from the spiritual igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 212 world to the physical world. it is celebrated as a new outburst of life following the intervention of the divine. thus, at the point of conception, it is not just about human involvement, the divine is also involved. this is why, during the rites of pregnancy, the divine order is acknowledged and actualized. in fact, rites of passage are considered to be the re-enactment of the archetypal patterns set by the gods in illo tempore (metuh, 1991). very significant is the fact that rites of passage are done for the various stages in the development of the human life and in the life of the traditional people. and every stage is connected to the other and is as significant as the other, for without the early stage, there wouldn’t be a later stage. in the contention of metuh (1991), “pregnancy (for the african), is a transitional period between conception and childbirth. and so the ceremonies of pregnancy and childbirth together, generally constitute one whole” (p. 124). according to parrinder (1976), “like some of the seven sacraments, these mark the turning points in life; birth, puberty, marriage and death. they are accompanied with various religious and magical acts” (p. 90). pregnancy in african life, is not just about the woman and her choices, it is a community affair. the community bears both the gains and the loses. the dramatis personae include: the wife, the husband, neighbours, spirit forces and the unborn baby. the whole pregnancy rite is fashioned to facilitate the birth of the child and to protect the mother and child from evil forces (madu, 2011). among the igbos of the north central area of eastern nigeria, their pregnancy ritual is called ima ogodo. it involves a series of rites. as soon as conception takes place, there is consultation with the divine about the best way to preserve the pregnancy. the materials used in the rite are symbolic: a dog for sacrifice, a white chalk, ogirishi tree and gravels. when the dog is sacrificed, it is usually a dynamic ceremony for the child, praying that he may be dynamic, visionary, smart and loyal as the dog. the white chalk signifies purity. it is also a symbol of consecration. the ogirishi tree survives under hard conditions, and have very long life span. it symbolizes longevity and health. the prayer of the community that brings the origishi tree is that their child may flourish like it. the gravels symbolize permanence, signifying that the child has come to stay. this is the prayer that the priest says during the sacrifice, we have planted the ogorishi tree in order that the child born to this woman may flourish like the ogirishi tree. we have set gravels form the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 213 riverbed besides the tree in order than as gravels remain when the river dries up, so may this woman’s child remain alive after the waters of childbirth have broken (metuh, 1995, p. 125). in all these, efforts are directed towards protecting the child and securing his future if he is eventually born (madu, 2011). the various preparations made even before the child is born is based on the african philosophy that life begins even before conception. chi in igbo ontology according to ezewugo (1987), the word chi has three connotations in igbo ontology: in its narrow and primary sense, it applies to the supreme being and carries here the force of a proper name. secondly, it denotes any being, human or divine that is acting solely in the name and authority of the supreme being: onye kwado ije chi ya akwadobe (if a person gets ready to go on a journey, his chi gets ready too); chi ya edulugoya naba (his chi has taken him home with him). human agents could also be called chi if he or she has acted as an agent of providence to a fellow human being, like saving the life of a person who wants to commit suicide: chi nwayi bu diya (a woman’s chi is her husband); ogo bu chi onye (one’s father inlaw is one’s chi). chi also has an abstract and impersonal reference to providence. in this case, it refers to a divine decree or fate. the igbos believe that before a child is born, his life course has been charted by his chi: onye ajo chi kpatalu nku ewa ta ya. chi occupies a significant place in igbo life and salvation history. it is therefore not surprising that many igbo names have chi attached to it. like, chi azor: god saves chi jioke: god holds the share chi amaka: god is good chi wendu: god owns life oge chi: god’s time chi nonye: god stays with me chi merem: god should do for me chi dera: god has written chi naza ekpere: god answers prayer chim dindu: my god is alive chi nedum: god leads me chi azokam: god saved me igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 214 chi di bere: god is merciful amara chi: grace of god nke chi yere: the one given by chi gwa chi: tell chi kene chi: greet god arinze chi: were it not for god golibelu chi: rejoice unto god chi n’eye ndu: god in igbo category a very significant concept of life among the igbos is the idea that life is from god. this makes the human person a theomorphic being. thus the igbo would say, ndu sin a chi (life is from god). when a child is born it is taken to be a gift from god. the life of children is not attributed to mere biological fact of conception because every child has existed in an antecedent world of a divine master. it is thus not surprising that the igbo would name their child, chi-nyere ndu: god gave life nke-chi-yere: the one god has given chi-n’eye ndu: god gives life chi-di-ogo: god is generous chi-nwendu: god owns life chi-ekwe: god has agreed chi-ji-ndu: god owns life however, according to obioma (2009), god does not only give a child, he also guides and protects the child all through its existence; this is why the igbo would say ndu di n’aka chi (life is in the hand of god). for the igbo, life begins from the conception of the child in the woman. and right from the time the child is conceived, respect is accorded to the child through the rites of passage. in these rites and rituals, madu (2011) states that the hands of the gods are recognized in the socio-religious community and implored to further effect their authenticity and relevance. thus, metuh (1991) maintains igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 215 the rites of passage, as regards the conception of a child, are done to ensure a change of condition from the spiritual world to the physical world. it is celebrated as a new outburst of life following the intervention of the divine. at the point of conception, it is not just about human involvement, the divine is also involved. this is why, during the rites of pregnancy, the divine order is acknowledged and actualized. in fact, rites of passage are considered to be the re-enactment of the archetypal patterns set by the gods in illo tempore. the concept of the human person in yoruba ontology further reveals the place of the divine as the source of life. according to oduwole (2010) yoruba scholars agree that the human person is made up of three basic elements: ara (body), emi (breath) and ori (soul). idowu (1962) describes the body as the concrete, tangible thing of flesh and bones which can be known through the senses. as regards the emi, he describes it as spirit, and this is invisible. it is that which gives life to the whole body and thus could be described through its causal functions: its presence in the body of a person determines if the person still lives or is dead. according to ebunoluwa, the body is the creation of orisha nla (arch-divinity). he was assigned by olodumare (the supreme being) to mould the body of human beings. it is only the supreme being that puts the spirit into the body so as to give it life. yoruba reflections on the human person does not end with the body and spirit, there is third element called the soul. the soul suggests that the human person already has an individuality in the spiritual world before birth. from this understanding, life does not begin with birth, it rather begins as soon as one acquires the soul which defies a person’s individuality. the soul of the human person begins to live even before there is a body for its abode. from the foregoing, it is general believe that life comes from god. thus, the designation of jesus as the giver of life is not alien to the african but rather makes more sense to him and agrees with what he already believes about god. conclusion this research has investigated the possibility of an understanding of the christgod within an african category. the idea employed here is that of an igboafrican. from the christological perspective, it responds to the question: “how will christ and his message be presented to the igbo person, in such a way that he or she would understand and appreciate jesus within categories that he or she is at home with?” it is born out of the understanding that christ’s incarnation is not only to be conceived as the in-breaking of the divine logos in human history igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 216 but also as the advent of the mystery of possibilities of his humanization in a variety of cultures. it asserts that god is not a being only expressed in western categories, but can also be received and appreciated within african categories, as in chi n’eye ndu: god who gives life. references achebe, c. (2008). things fall apart. england: heinemann. afigbo, e. a. (1975). prolegomena to the study of the culture history of the igbo-speaking peoples of nigeria. in f. c. ogbalu and e. n. emenanjo (eds.). language and culture (pp. 28-53). ibadan: heineman. afigbo, e. a. (1975). towards a history of the igbo-speaking people of nigeria. in f. c. ogbalu and e. n. emenanjo (eds.). igbo language and culture (pp. 11-27). ibadan: heineman. aligwekwe, e. p. (1991). the continuity of traditional values in the african society: the igbo of nigeria: owerri: totan. bujo, b. (1992). african theology in its social context. new york: orbis. bujo, b. (1992). african theology in its social context. new york: orbis. chukwudi, e. e. (1998). modern western philosophy and africa colonialism. in e. e. chukwudi. african philosophy: an anthology (pp.200-215). oxford: blackwell. ekwuru, e. (1999). the pangs of african culture in traivail. owerri: totan. gobineau, a. (1915). the inequality of human race. london: william heinemann. hegel, g. w. f. (1956). the philosophy of history. new york: dover. idowu, b. (1962). olodumare: god in yoruba belief. london: longman. isichei , e. (1976). a history of the igbo people. london: macmillan. kabasele, f. (1991). christ as chief. in r. j. schreiter (ed.). faces of jesus in africa (pp. 103-115). new york: orbis. kankai, p. (2008). christology. (lecture notes). jos: st augustine’s major seminary, department of theology. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 217 kanu, i. a. (2012). inculturation and the quest for an igbo christology. m.sc dissertation. department of religion and human relations, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. kanu, i. a. (2012). the concept of life and person in african anthropology. in e. o. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (eds.). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 61-74). jos: fab anieh. kanu, i. a. (2012). the functionality of being in pantaleon’s operative metaphysics vis-a-vis the niger delta conflict. african research review: an international multi-disciplinary journal. 6. 1. 215. kanu, i. a. (2012). towards an african christology. in e. o. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (eds.). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 75102). jos: fab anieh. kolie, c. (1991). jesus as healer. in r. j. schreiter (ed.). faces of jesus in africa (pp. 128-150). new york: orbis. madu, j. e. (2011). rites of passage in traditional and modern igbo society. madu, j. e. (2011). rites of passage in traditional and modern igbo society. unpublished lecture note. nanmdi azikiwe university awka, anambra state. magessa, l. (1991). christ the liberator and africa today. in r. j. schreiter (ed.). faces of jesus in africa (pp. 151-163). new york: orbis. mbiti, j. s. (1970). african religions and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational. metuh, i. e. (1991). african religions in western conceptual schemes: the problem of interpretation. jos: imico.nwala, t. u. (1998). igbo philosophy. lagos: literained. mulago, v. (1989). african heritage and contemporary christianity. nairobi: oxford university. njoku, e. e. (1990). the igbos of nigeria: ancient rites, changes and survival. newyork: edwin mellen. njoku, f. o. c. (1993). a phenomenological critique of the igbo god-talk. encounter: a journal of african life and religion. 2. 70-91. nyamiti, c. (1991). african christologies today. in r. j. schreiter (ed.). faces of jesus in africa (pp. 3-23). new york: orbis. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 218 oduwole, e. (2010). personhood and abortion: an africa perspective. in personhood and personal identity: a philosophical study. enugu: snaap. onuh, c. (1991). christianity and the igbo rites of passage: the prospects of inculturation. frankfurt: peter lang. onunwa, u. (1990). studies in igbo traditional religion. obosi: pacific. onwuejeogwu, m. a. (1987). evolutionary trends in the history of the development of the igbo civilization in the culture theatre of igbo land in southern nigeria. a paper presented during the ohiajioku lecture, owerri. pantaleon, i. (1995). metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: iup. parrinder, e. g. (1976). african traditional religion. london: sheldon. sanon, a. (1991). jesus, master of initiation. in r. j. schreiter (ed.). faces of jesus in africa (pp. 85-102). new york: orbis. schreiter, r. (1994). constructing local theologies. maryknoll: orbis. uchendu, v. c (1965), the igbos of south east nigeria. london: rinehart and winston. ukachukwu, c. m. (1993). christ the african king: a new testament christology. frankfurt: peterlang. unpublished lecture note. nanmdi azikiwe university awka, anambra state. waruta, d. w. (1991). who is jesus christ for africans today? priest, prophet, potentate. in r. j. schreiter (ed.). faces of jesus in africa (pp. 52-64). new york: orbis. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.3. no.2 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 86 le pluriel en igbo: question de syntaxe scholastica ezeodili department of modern european languages nnamdi azikiwe university, awka daccord2014@gmail.com resume le procédé de la formation du pluriel varie d’une langue à l’autre or c’est un phénomène universel. en général, l’affixation d’un morphème au nom est une méthode particulièrement très productive dans beaucoup de langues indo-européennes. par contre, la langue igbo présente surtout le morphème zéro sur le nom. nonobstant, elle possède des diverses manières systématiques d’effectuer la pluralisation nominale. les travaux sur ce sujet ne sont pas encore énormes en igbo, représenté surtout dans un petit nombre de livres de grammaire igbo. nous nous donnons donc pour objectif, d’entreprendre une étude descriptive des mécanismes de la pluralisation en langue igbo. on y a remarqué plusieurs procédés de pluralisation, notamment, le redoublement, la préfixation du morphème umu/ndi aux noms animés, l’emploi du quantifieur et le démonstratif. suivant la typologie de dryer matthew, nous avons pu conclu que la méthode de formation du pluriel en igbo est du type syntaxique. introduction le terme ‘pluralité’ dérive du latin « pluralitas », le fait d’être plusieurs, c.-à-d. d’exister en grand nombre. d’après le dictionnaire petit robert, il s’agit plutôt de la catégorie du nombre fondé sur la considération du compte suivant que le mot est employé pour designer un objet ou un concept unique ou une pluralité (1698). on se limitera ici surtout à la pluralité de la catégorie nominale. le nom fait partie de cette classe ouverte qui admet toujours des nouveaux lexèmes dans la langue. on n’a pas encore signalé jusqu’ ici de langues qui n’auraient pas d’unités nominales même si certains renseignements sont absents (feuillet jacques 98). en français, n’importe quel mot peut fonctionner comme nom pourvu qu’il soit précédé d’un déterminant, par exemple, dans la phrase : « je n’aime pas les gens qui pratiquent l’ôte –toi de là que je m’mette » le groupe de mots l’ôte –toi de là que je m’mette introduit par l’article défini, fonctionne comme nominal. de même, la catégorie du nom en igbo pourrait se repérer facilement du fait que selon mbah, (1999) c’est la seule catégorie qui peut igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 87 coexister avec le démonstratif a/ahu. (56) dans le groupe du nom : nnụnụ ahụ « cet oiseau-là », le démonstratif ahụ précise déjà la catégorie nominale de nnụnụ. selon les recommandations de la comite de la standardisation de la langue igbo( spilc), le nombre n’est pas une catégorie grammaticale en igbo mais lucidement, la langue igbo divulgue sa façon d’exprimer la pluralité. plus précisé avec les noms animés, anagbogu (1995) a remarqué qu’ « apart from the suppletive forms like nwa ‘child’ sg. umu “children” pl. onye “somebody” sg. ndu ‘ people’ (pl).,there is no formal way of marking plurality in igbo” (43). [a part les formes supplétives nwa child sg. umu children pl. onye somebody sg. ndu people pl., il n’existe aucun moyen formel de marquer la pluralité en igbo (notre traduction)]. l’objectif de cette communication est donc de décrire les diverses manières d’exprimer la pluralité nominale en igbo. nous visons aussi déterminer à quel point la langue igbo s’adapte à la typologie de dryer mathew (2005a, 2005b). notre méthodologie est surtout descriptive. les travaux sur cette catégorie ne sont pas énormes dans la langue. bien qu’okonkwo et osuagwu dans leur livre de grammaire igbo aient expliqué le phénomène, une étude plus élaborée est nécessaire à l’heure actuelle au moins pour valoriser notre langue autochtone. les données de cette étude sont tirées des livres de grammaire igbo aussi bien que des dires des locuteurs dont appartient la rédactrice. nous nous appuyons aussi sur les travaux de mbah(1999), okonkwo et osuagwu (1974). ainsi, le travail est remis en quatre sections dont un aperçu général sur la langue igbo formera l’objet de la première section suivi par la typologie de dryer matthew ensuite, une esquisse des stratégies employées dans quelques autres langues constituera le sujet en troisième partie et enfin la présentation du procédé de la pluralisation en igbo aboutira à la conclusion. 1.0 aperçu général sur la langue igbo l’igbo fait partie du groupe kwa, un sous-groupe important de la famille nigercongo qui comprend plusieurs centaines de langues de l’afrique occidentale et australe (greenberg 17). géographiquement, les igbo s’étendent dans les cinq états du sudest du nigeria : anambra, imo, enugu, abia, ebonyi. les locuteurs igbo se trouvent également en minorité dans les états de rivers et de delta. du fait de nombre de ses locuteurs, elle s’inscrit parmi les trois langues majeures nigérianes. c’était en 1961 qu’une orthographe officielle a été établie igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 88 après une centaine d’année de grapbhisation. l’orthographe « onwu » tiré du nom du président du comité chargé pour la modification surtout de l’ordre des alphabets comprend : huit voyelles et vingt –huit consonnes. l’orthographe onwu comprend les suivants : a) 8 voyelles-a,e,i, ị ,o,ọ,u,ụ b) 28 consonnes-b,gb,d,f,g,gh,h,j, k,l,m,n,ṅ,p,kp,r,s,sh, t,v,w,y,z,ch,gw,kw,nw,ny l’igbo standard a comme l’inventaire segmental phonémique les suivants : /p, b ,t, d, k, kƥ ,kw, g, gƃ, gw, tʃ, dӡ, m, n,ɲ ŋ, ŋw, f, v, s, z, ʃ, ɤ, ɦ, l, r, j, w, i, ɪ, e, a ,ͻ, o, ɷ, u / (anasiudu 65 ). le nominal igbo est la seule catégorie qui peut coexister avec le démonstratif a/ahu, ainsi ‘anything that co-occurs with the demonstrative a/ahu must be a noun’(mbah 56). [n’importe quel mot qui coexiste avec le démonstratif a/ahu doit être un nom) notre traduction]. donc, les termes comme oche, akuko, akwukwo figurent comme noms dans la langue. oche ahu-« cette chaise là; akuko a-« cette histoire » ; akwukwo ahu-« ce livre –là. » 2.0 typologie de la pluralisation dryer (2005a, 2005b, 2013), dans une étude extensive sur la pluralisation du nom, a examiné un échantillon de 957 langues diverses et en distingue huit mécanismes de pluralisation nominale en ordre décroissant de leur fréquence qui sont notamment les suivants : suffixation, ajout d’un mot indépendant, préfixation, aucune marque du pluriel, ajout d’un clitique, redoublement, changement de radical, changement de ton. d’après lui, il existe deux méthodes de base par lesquelles une langue indique la pluralité. la première et la plus fréquente est le changement de la forme morphologique du nom, par exemple en anglais dog, dogs. la deuxième consiste à l’indication du pluriel à travers un morphème se situant dans une autre position du syntagme nominal. le premier est donc du type morphologique et le deuxième du type syntaxique [wals.info/chapter/33]. a travers des exemples tirés de quelques auteurs, il a illustré la formation du pluriel suivant les différentes valeurs qu’il a proposées. voyons –en dans quelques langues : igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 89 (1) elua a’u mau i’a (elbert and pukui 1979: 159) two my pl fish ‘my two fish’ (2) anindilyakwa australia( leeding 1989 : 294) wirr-iyikwayiwa plchild “children” (3) nagatman new guinea (campbell and campbell 1987:2) a’ma-re dog –pl ‘dogs’ (4) maricopa (gordon 1986:29) humar ‘child’ humaar ‘children’ nchen ‘older sibling’ nchiin ‘older siblings’ hat ‘dog’ haat ‘dogs’ mhay ‘boy’ mhaa ‘boys’ dans l’exemple (1) le mot mau est signalé comme le morphème du pluriel. cet élément qui n’est pas lié au morphème de base forme avec le dernier, le nom pluriel. le deuxième exemple est une langue isolée d’une territoire du nord de l’australie comme proposé par leeding 1989 et citée par dryer m. ici, le morphème du pluriel wirr, préfixé au nom, correspond à une unité lexique. dans la langue nagatman parlée en nouvelle-guinée, la suffixation est marquée comme une méthode de formation plurielle comme on le voit dans l'exemple (3). la langue maricopa illustrée dans l’exemple 4, il s’agit surtout de la duplication de certaines voyelles. parmi les 957 langues échantillonnées par corder, la suffixation d’un morphème est le plus productive -495 cas. parmi les neuf valeurs définies, six de ces valeurs indiquent la méthode de formation du pluriel du type morphologique. voyons encore la formation du pluriel dans d’autres langues. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 90 3.0 marque du pluriel dans quelques langues déjà de nombreux chercheurs se donnent la tâche de s’engager dans la description les différents procédés de former le pluriel nominal. en langue tasawaq, une langue mixte comprenant le songhay, l’arabe et le tasawaq, alimata a effectué un travail sur les procédés de la pluralisation. c’est une langue parlée actuellement à ingall et à teggida -n-tessemt dans le nord du niger. selon alimata, la marque du nombre est obligatoire en tasawaq suivant la classe lexicale : une suffixation du marqueur –yό et ses variantes. pour les bases nominales du deuxième groupe, la marque du pluriel varie en fonction de la distinction féminin/masculin. le pluriel des bases lexicales de la première classe est marqué par les morphèmes grammaticaux –yό, -eé ou yé : (5) nom au singulier sens nom au pluriel mè bouche mèyό háwì vache háwíyó mò œil mòyó gùmàanán bon gùmàanányó (113) en langue agwagune, une langue parlée dans l’état de cross rivers au nigeria, ugot souligne l’absence du marqueur du pluriel sur les objets et les noms de masse comme : (6) singulier pluriel gloss è-tán ` è-tán ‘stone/rock’ é-jè ̀ é-jè ‘ day’ ò-kpó ò-kpó ‘ cap/hat’ ( ugot 77) la formation du pluriel dans cette langue s’effectue spécifiquement aux noms (+humain) soit par l’alternation vocalique de la préfixe qui est irrégulière : (7) singulier pluriel gloss ọ̀-sọ̀m à-sọ̀m ‘ person’ ú-ship é-ship ‘thief’ ú-bbú í-bbú ‘ ghost’ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 91 o-zèm i-zèm` ‘witch’ (ugot 78) dans un travail antérieur, ugot (2008) observe des modifications morphologiques de noms pour la pluralité en quelques langues biase parlée dans l’état de cross river comprenant ce qu’elle appelle ukpet-ehom cluster comme dans l’exemple : (8) a aga ‘stone’ iga b egbei ‘day’ igbei c ego ‘house’ ige ( ugot 201) le processus de la pluralisation ici indique la même condition que la formation de pluriel des noms animés en agwagune. udoh (2004) a cité un exemple de réduplication totale dans la langue leggbo, une langue d’upper-cross de l’état de cross river au nigeria. une telle réduplication est écrite séparément comme suit : (9) lettol ggwénè ggwénè head white ‘white heads’ de même, en langue idoma, c’est la préfixation du morphème a qui forme le principal procédé de la pluralisation. adejoh a constaté que la plupart des noms en idoma prennent le morphème a préfixé au nom pour remplacer le syllabe initial : (10) ọche (person) áchè (persons) oyi (child) ayi (children) onya (woman) anya (women) oklobia(young man) oklobia (young men) nkamigbo a étudié l’expression de la pluralité en langue eggon. parmi les stratégies de la pluralisation qu’elle a observées sont l’affixation zéro, préfixation du morphème mo, alternation vocalique, la réduplication, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 92 permutation tonale, et l’insertion vocalique. voyons quelques exemples de la préfixation de mo: (10) singular plural mother ana moana child anwye moanwye boy anwyanom moanwyanom thief asi moasi (156) en langue igala, selon amachonu cité par adejoh, la formation du pluriel des noms peut se réaliser par l’emploi de àm(a),àb(o), etc. il donne des exemples suivants : singulier pluriel àtá ‘father’ àmàtá ‘fathers’ íye ‘mother’ àmìye ‘ mothers’ ògijo ‘elder’ àbógijo ‘ elders’ il explicite que àm(a) est utilisé pour les humains et les non humains, alors que àb(o) est spécifique pour les humains (38). 3.0 formation du pluriel en igbo en igbo, le nom n’est pas ouvertement marqué pour le nombre comme beaucoup d’autres langues africaines mais il existe plusieurs mécanismes variés de le réaliser. d’après les travaux antérieurs, okonkwo et osuagwu (1974), les méthodes de pluralisation dans la langue incluent le redoublement du nom, l’emploi des quantifieurs, la préfixation de umu/ndi aux noms animés, l’adjectif démonstratif et l’emploi du verbe au pluriel. anagbogu (1995) a remarqué qu’à part les formes supplétives comme nwa ‘child’ sg. et ‘umu’ pl. ‘onye’ somebody et ‘ndu’ people, il n’existe pas d’autres moyens de marquer la pluralité en igbo. selon ses observations, la formation du pluriel en igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 93 igbo est spécifiquement par le numéral, par contexte ou par redoublement. tout en nous basons sur leurs arguments, nous allons d’emblée expliciter les méthodes de la pluralisation en igbo. 3.1 la réduplication(redoublement) du nom la réduplication des mots est une des stratégies de former le pluriel en igbo ayant un sens de multiplicité. il s’agit de la répétition intégrale du mot. 8 singulier pluriel okwute « caillou » okwute okwute « des/plusieurs cailloux » nkita « chien » nkita nkita « des/plusieurs chiens » osisi « arbre » osisi osisi « des/plusieurs arbres » okonkwo et osuagwu citent des exemples de ce qu’ils désignent de « repetition of the noun » dans la phrase : 9 agwo agwo juru ohia serpent serpent remplir(pc) foret la forêt est remplie de serpents comme l’observe kouame yao emmanuel, le processus de la réduplication (nominale) en baoulé débouche sur une copie intégrale de la base morphemique (nominale).ex bwa : mouton bwa bwa :les/des moutons 3.2 nom + quantifieur en linguistique, on appelle quantifieur ou quantificateurs les déterminants qui indiquent la quantité par laquelle le nom est défini (tout, deux, chaque, un ,etc sont les quantifieurs.(dubois et al 393). le numéral otu s’emploie parfois pour indiquer l’unicité. « otu akpa » « un sac »en igbo, les quantifieurs (q) dénommant la pluralité comme : ọtụtụ, imirikiti, imerime, dum, niile désignent la forme plurielle. les morphèmes ọtụtụ, imirikiti, imerime renvoient au même sens de « plusieurs/beaucoup de / un grand nombre de » ils sont prépositionnés au nom : igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 94 10 singulier pluriel (otu) nkita ọtụtụ/ imirikiti/ imerime nkita « un chien » « plusieurs/beaucoup de / un grand nombre de chiens » (otu) ụlọ ọtụtụ/ imirikiti/ imerime ulo « une maison » « plusieurs/beaucoup de / un grand nombre de maisons » otu ụgbọala ọtụtụ ụgbọala « une voiture » « des voitures » les quantifieurs dum/niile ayant le sens de « tout » exhibent une position différente –n+q singulier pluriel nkita nkita dum/niile « chien » « tous les chiens » ọkpụkpụ ọkpụkpụ dum/niile « os » « tous les os » ite ite dum/niile « marmite » « toutes les marmites » en plus, des numéraux cardinaux servent à indiquer la pluralité nominale en igbo. spilc observe que les numéraux et les quantifieurs sont les méthodes principales d’exprimer la pluralité en igbo (15). le numéral est aussi employé pour indiquer la pluralité en igbo ceci pour les noms humains et non animés : 11 oke ise cinq rats ite iri dix marmites ewu isii six chèvres igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 95 bien que la forme du nom ne varie pas, le nom est clairement conçu comme étant au pluriel. 3.3 préfixation de morphème umu/ndi les morphèmes umu et ndi se posent également parmi les morphèmes de pluralisation dans la langue. le morphème ndi s’emploie spécifiquement pour les humains (+humain). en igbo, on citera quelques exemples : 12 singulier pluriel nwoke umu nwoke « homme » « des hommes » nwanyi umu nwanyi « femme » « des femmes » agboghobia umu agboghobia « jeune fille » « des jeunes filles » okolobia umu okolobia « jeune homme » « des jeunes hommes » umu et ndi pourrait s’employer indifféremment pour les animés humains. cependant, les animés non humains n’acceptent pas le morphème ndi (oha 246) 13 singulier pluriel ewu umu ewu « chevre » « des (petits de) chiens » aturu umu aturu « mouton » « des (petits de) moutons okonkwo observe également l’emploi de ndi typiquement pour les animes humains dans les exemples suivants : 14 ndi ghana-ghanaians igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 96 ndi agha-soldiers ndi ughaliars ndi ohi-thieves ndi nkuzi-teachers 3.4 détermination du pluriel par le verbe okonkwo et osuagwu observent que le pluriel est indiqué le plus souvent par le verbe. le contexte joue aussi un rôle indispensable. dans la phrase : 14 osisi juru n’ohia arbre remplir dans foret il y a beaucoup d’arbres dans le foret. dans l’exemple ci-dessus, le verbe juru suggère que le nom osisi est au pluriel. d’autre verbes de quantité en ibo servent a indiquer la pluralite. conclusion nous avons examiné, d’une manière élaborée, des différents procédés de formation du pluriel nominal en igbo. nous avons remarqué donc que la langue igbo comme beaucoup d’autres langues du monde exhibe des différents mécanismes qui ne sont pas forcement morphologiques. ces méthodes comprennent surtout le redoublement total du nom, la préfixation de morphème umu/ndi aux noms animés, le post-positionnement d’un quantifieur au nom, et l’emploi de certains verbes en contexte. suivant la typologie de dryer, nous pouvons conclu d’emblée que la pluralisation du nom en igbo est du type syntaxique du fait que c’est la structure des mots environnant qui détermine le nombre dans la langue. oeuvres citees adejoh, m.o.’ pluralisation in the idoma language.’ journal of igbo languages and linguistics no. 4, 2012 http :www.linguistsafricana.com anagbogu, philip. ‘the semantics of reduplication in igbo’ in journal of west african languages xxv.1(1995) pp.4352. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 97 anasiudu b.n. "phonotactic variation and the igbo native speakers’ english accent"nsukka journal of african languages and linguistics 2.2 (2005): 6368. dictionnaire.reverso.net dryer, matthew s. “coding of nominal plurality”. in the world atlas of language structures , ed. martin haspelmath, mathew s, dryer, david gil & bernard comrie 138-141.oxford: oxford university press, 2005a. dryer, matthew,s. “occurrence of nominal plurality”. in the world atlas of language structures. ed. martin haspelmath, mathew s, dryer, david gil & bernard comrie 142-145.oxford: oxford university press, 2005b. dubois, jean et. al. dictionnaire de linguistique et des sciences du langage. paris: larousse, 1994. feuillet, jack. introduction a l’analyse morphosyntaxique. paris : presses universitaires de france,1988. greenberg, j.h."africa as a linguistic area" in "continuity and change in african culture ". w.r. basom and m.j. hirskovits(eds.) chicago: university of chicago press (1959): 15-27 kouame yao emmanuel. “le pluriel en baoule : question de morphosyntaxe ou de morphophonologie?” kibort, anna & greville g. corbett. “number” . grammatical features. 25 january 2008 http://www.grammaticalfeatures.net/features/number.html mathew s. dryer. 2013. “coding of nominal plurality”. in dryer, mathew s. & haspelmath, martin(eds). the world atlas of language structures online.leipzig: max planck institute for evolutioary anthroplogy. http://wals.info/chapter/33,accessed 2016-11-21 matthew s. dryer. ’coding of nominal plurality. in dryer, matthew s.& haspelmath, martin (eds). the world atlas of language structures on lineleipzig; max planck institute for evolutionary anthropology http://wals.info/chapter/33 accessed on 2015-04-06 mbah, b.a.studies in syntax: igbo phrase structure.nsukka: prize publishers, 1999. nkamigbo, linda. ’the expression of nominal plurality in eggon’ in ezenwaohaeto ngozi & ifeyinwa ogbazi(eds.) in the perspectives of language and literature essays in honour of r. u.uzoezie .awka: rex charles & patrick ltd., 2011. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 98 oha amaechi. ‘affixing strategies in mgbidi inflection’ unizik journal of arts and humanities vol.vi okonkwo, m. o & b.i.n osuagwu.a complete course in igbo grammar. ibadan: macmillan publishers ltd, 1974. omachonu, g. ‘inflectional morphology in igala’journal of linguistics association of nigeria. vol.11 pp 33-30 robert paul (ed.) le petit robert. paris : le robert, 2013. smith john charles ‘marque du pluriel et cohérence typologique du domaine gallo-roman section atilf.fr society for the promotion of igbo language and culture (spilc) recommendations. 1983. udoh, i i . leggbo lexicon. port harcourt :ehmai publications, 2004. ugot, mercy. ‘nominal plurality in agwagune : a descriptive analysis’ an international journal of language, literature and gender studies (laligens) vol.3(2), serial no.8, may,2014 66-88 http://dx.doi/10.4314/laligens.v3i2.5 welmers, w.e. african language structures. chicago: ucla press, 1973. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 2(2) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 51 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles by kanu, ikechukwu anthony, o.s.a., ph.d. augustinian institute, makurdi, nigeria mobile: +2348036345466 & +23408027611485 email: ikee_mario@yahoo.com abstract to talk about bioethics in africa on the same level with bioethics in the euro-west is to leave it hanging and irrelevant, as the african environment has peculiar problems that require peculiar bioethical principles to solve. studies in western bioethics emphasize the importance of the principles of individual autonomy and justice in the analysis of bioethical issues. these principles are based on western idiosyncrasies and eccentricities, which very often conflicts with the african worldview. there is, therefore, the need to outline a descriptive analysis of ethical and moral values as rooted in authentic african traditions and cultures that can provide a helpful framework for ethical decision making in africa. this would involve discovering the peculiarities and common features that make african bioethics worth its name. it is based on this scenario that this work focuses on ‘igwebuike’ as basis for generating african bioethical principlism. the multidisciplinary approach would be used since bioethics is a multi-disciplinary discourse. the significance of this research is that it would unveil the richness of the african cultural heritage in relation to bioethics. it would further serve as a stimulus for further research in the area of intercultural bioethics. keywords: igwebuike, igwebuikology, igbo, african, bioethics, principle. introduction african bioethics is a field of study that concerns itself with the evaluation of ethical issues arising in medicine and the cultural practices in africa from an african perspective. such an evaluation springs from an african background and belief. african categories, therefore, constitute the instruments or principles for the analysis, shaping and transformation of the meanings attached to the experience of life, health and illness. for instance, when africans are reflecting on moral issues such as abortion, organ transplant, euthanasia, cloning, suicide etc., they would appeal to the shared moral traditions and ethical values that are implicit in beliefs and practices of african culture. these values, rooted in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 52 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) authentic african culture and traditions will further provide the framework for ethical decision making. it is thus, not surprising that the sources of african bioethics, according to mbugua (2009) and andoh (2012), would include popular african sayings, songs, mythology, tales, folklore, proverbs, maxims etc. this is what gives it its identity as african bioethics. based on this scenario, this piece focuses on developing african bioethical principles that would guide authentic african bioethical discourses. igebuike is, therefore, employed as an igbo-african concept for the generation of african bioethical principles. bioethical imperialism and the quest for regional variation mbugua (2009) observed that bioethical principles promoted in the west, precisely the united states of america, which emphasize respect for autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice are non-existent and unacceptable in other cultures. in this regard, ryan (2004) avers that: critics bearing the concerns of feminism, religion and multiculturalism have registered their discontent with the state of contemporary bioethics in the u. s. a. heavily indebted to the principles-based method that became popular through james f. childless and tom l. beauchamp’s influential text, principles of bio-medical ethics, bioethics has been called to task for its emphasis on rights and duties over the development of character and virtue, as well as its relative attention to social, religious and cultural features of moral experience and moral agency. (p. 158). hongladarom (2003) while arguing for asian bioethics writes: hence it is no longer adequate to limit the debates and discussions in bioethics only within the western perspectives. as long as countries, notably in asia, enter into the advances of biotechnology and the life sciences, these countries need to find their ways of solving the problems as well as carry on the debates and discussions as partners in the global dialogue (p. 1). crawford (2001) in his paper on hindu bioethics, further argues that: in fact, the new pluralistic approach to world cultures is introducing us to several religious and philosophical alternatives from outside the angloamerican west. just as alternative medicine is becoming recognized and respected, and is been incorporated into mainstream medicine, there is a growing admission that the ethical problems we face today have dimensions that are not adequately addressed… (p. 25) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 53 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) the promotion and globalization of bioethics, built on western categories of thought and, which relies heavily on western analytical philosophy, has been interpreted as bioethical imperialism or colonialism. confronted by the question of identity and authenticity in bioethical discourse, fan (1997) asked “ought bioethics in east-asia to use the same approaches (assumptions, principles, theories, styles, methods, concepts) as bioethics developed in the west, or ought it to reflect a specifically east asian approach to the subject?” (p. 310). sakamoto (1995) while addressing the brain death debate in japan maintained that “‘our bioethics’ should be based on our own culture and, therefore, it should be somewhat different from the euro-american ones” (p. 30). de castro (1999) addresses it as an issue of identity. he writes: the issue appears to be one of identity. the crucial values are authenticity and integrity. the unarticulated argument is that if we are to be authentic, we must be true to ourselves. given a religion-oriented culture, this could mean having to be guided mainly by religious thought on the various topics of bioethics. where there is no dominant religious worldview, ‘being true to ourselves’ could mean being cognizant and respectful of one’s traditions, history and cultural heritage (p. 230). he argues further: people also need to retain their integrity as a group. they must uphold the shared values that unite them. they must seek recognition of their identity as a people. to be remiss in this responsibility is to participate in the annihilation of their identity. what seems to be at stake, then, is the survival of an identityin a way, the preservation of a cultural self. (p. 231). from the foregoing, gbadegeshin (2009), therefore, calls for a trans-cultural bioethics which is characterized by: 1. openness to and effort to understand the cultures and values of other people; 2. the development of a compendium of values and belief system across cultures; 3. the promotion of intercultural dialogue on the critical analysis of those values and belief systems; 4. identification of set of common values that transcend particular cultures; and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 54 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 5. utilization of this set of common values in the development of bioethical principles and standards that all cultures can embrace. gindro (1995) points out the relevance of such a study: nowadays, physicians and therapists must face new problems rising from the great migration of populations, and consequently the deep mixing of cultures. until a short time ago, western medicine imposed its universal validity primarily through the diffusion of missionaries throughout the world. in the different countries touched by colonialism, the local cultural expressions were naturally considered primitive, and therefore, of a lower level. (p. 6). it is from this background that igwebuike, which is the underlying principle of african philosophy and religion is employed for the generation of independent african bioethical principles. igwebuike as a regional framework for bioethical principlism igwebuike, according to kanu (2014) is the study of the modality of being for the realization of the being. it is from the igbo word igwebuike: it is a combination of three words. it can be understood as a word and as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. let us try to understand the three words involved: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power. thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’. as an ideology, kanu (2015) avers that it rests on the principles of solidarity and complementarity. igwebuike posits that to be is to live in solidarity, complementarity and respect for the other; and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. igwebuike is the underlining principle of african philosophy and religion. it is the unity of the african philosophical experience. it is, in fact, the fundamental category of african philosophy and religion. the principles of african bioethics that are generated from igwebuike in this work are few among the innumerable dimensions of igwebuike. the first principle is solidarity principle, which is based on the african sense of community; this is followed by respect for others, beneficence and non-maleficence. why is igwebuike central to the principles of african bioethics? it is simply because igwebuike is the underlining principle from igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 55 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) which all principles of african philosophy emanate. the centrality of igwebuike in relation to the principles of african bioethics is represented in the diagram below. a diagram showing the centrality of igwebuike in relation to the principles of african bioethics a. solidarity principle solidarity is the first dimension of igwebuike and a basic principle in african bioethics. it is directly linked to the ontological order of the african worldview. ruch and anyawu (1981) referring to the african strong sense of community write that: “family ties are very tightly knotted with taboos, interdicts and crosschecks. this web maintains the harmony of the group” (p. 144). maurier (1985) agreeing with ruch and anyawu, posits that: relationship is the fundamental category in african philosophy, as the vital and active link between persons. the term ‘vital’ wishes to underline that outside ‘relationship’, the person tends towards inexistence. the term ‘active’ recalls that relationship is not simple thought, an active object of igwebuike nonmaleficence principle beneficence principle respect for persons solidarity principle igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 56 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) abstraction; but is one that acts without stop in very tangible concrete acts. (p. 60). in african communities, there are recognized family roles and relationships that define the obligations, rights, and boundaries of interaction among the members of a self-recognizing group. this creates a network that gives its members a sense of belonging. to live outside this relationship, according to maurier (1985) is “total death, irredeemable death, which is real death. this is the cutting off of all relationships with the living on earth” (pp. 63-64). it is, therefore, not surprising that the igbo would say: if a lizard stays off from the foot of a tree, it would be caught by man. in another proverb: a tree does not make a forest. the community plays a fundamental role in the life of the individual. uchendu (1965) observes that at birth, the community rejoices and welcomes the arrival of the child, finds out whose reincarnation he/she is, gives the person a name and interprets that arrival within the circumstance of the birth; the community lives with the person, cares for the person, and when life ends, the community buries the person. chummar (2008) explains how the community plays a supportive role when its members are sick: african anthropology understands that humans are homo patients and one’s health or illness is closely related to the relationship of a person to their community and to the creator of life. illnesses are understood as both natural and unnatural. in many african minds, an epidemic is brought by supernatural forces since humans are breaking the taboos of sexuality and moral values. then, in the process of holistic healing, the person must be reintegrated into the community – with the living, with the ancestors and the forthcoming generations and with the creator. many believe that hiv/aids is an ethical issue, since the illness are the consequences of breaking the ethical values (p. 11). he wrote further: traditional african care of the sick is basically communitarian and specifically it starts with family members, extending to friends and then to the community at large. even the expense of the care of the sick is met by family, social and communitarian sources. the ambiance of family, extended family and community gives the most effective support to the patient and avoids isolation. but the stigmatization of hiv/aids means that there is an increasing unethical tendency of removing hiv/aids patients from the home and community and abandoning them to anonymity in hospitals and elsewhere. (p. 11-12). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 57 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) alyward, (1975), from the foregoing, therefore, concludes that the african traditional life is centred on the family. iroegbu (1995) writes that: not only is relationship vital… it is also active. active relationship is one that involves concrete actions, facts and events in its network of expression… passive relationship belongs to the inactive, the moribund, the death. to be alive at all entails having active relationships that link one with others, below and above, and that integrates one in the community. activity is vital. (p. 370). the concept of personhood in africa is, therefore, not attained in isolation from the community. mbiti (1969) sums up the african view of a person in these words: “i am because we are, and since we are therefore i am” (p.108). with this network in the african life, bioethical issues are not treated solely from an individual perspective but in relation to the community. b. respect for persons a fundamental dimension of igwebuike is respect for persons. this is because igwebuike maintains that the other person is a part of the whole ontological order. to harm the other is to harm oneself, and to preserve the other is to preserve oneself. moreover, the human person is also understood as a gift from god. the nexus between god and human beings, makes the human person a theomorphic being, and explains why the igbo-african says: ndu sin a chi (life is from god). it is also on this basis that the human person is respected right from conception. the life of children is not attributed to mere biological fact of conception; this is because every child has existed in an antecedent world of a divine master. thus, the igbo would name their child, chi-nyere ndu: god gave life, nke-chi-yere: the one god has given, chi-n’eye ndu: god gives life, chi-di-ogo: god is generous, chinwendu: god owns life, chi-ekwe: god has agreed, chi-ji-ndu: god owns life. since life is a gift from god, it must be treated with the respect it deserves. life generally, is understood as the highest good. it is a value that should be considered first before any other value. thus, everything the african does is directed towards the preservation of life. life for the african is not merely biological but meta-empirical; it is not just a fruit of physical conception but a sacred gift and a most precious good. life is inserted by the divine, protected by the ancestors and related to the community. while western thought sees life as consisting of stages that may be considered unrelated, for the african, life does not follow a straight line as a series of moments, which follow one another; it igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 58 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) presents itself more of a circumference in which the various moments are in continuity, inseparable and interdependent. c. beneficence principle since igwebuike philosophy sees the other as complementary to the being of the other, that is, as a piece or a part of the other, the other is treated with respect and love. beneficence as a principle of african bioethics is drawn from this understanding. in ordinary english, it refers to an active goodness, kindness or charity towards the other. it is the opposite of maleficence. below are african proverbs that promote the principle of dong good to the other: roast something for the children that they may eat; the hen with chicks doesn’t swallow the worm; when there is a feast everyone is welcome; my house is like a spongy coconut, anyone who likes goes into it; sharing is a way of life; sharing is living; what one contributes for another, is what is contributed for him; a good act never dies away, the memory lives on all time. the other is treated with love and kindness because he/she is part of the whole. d. non-maleficence principle two words are involved here: none and maleficence. maleficence means an active wrongdoing or hurt. it is the opposite of beneficence. the words put together as non-maleficence would mean keeping away from harming or hurting the other. shannon (1993) wrote that "nonmaleficence is a technical way of stating that we have an obligation not to harm people. one of the ancient technical principles is 'first of all, do no harm' (primum non nocere) derived from the hippocratic tradition. if we can't benefit someone, then at least we should do him or her no harm" (p. 6). beyond directly causing harm to someone else, the duty of non-maleficence also includes avoiding exposing people to harm. a person might not have caused another harm directly, but a person can act in such a way that would expose others to harm. conclusion the foregoing has studied the african inspired principles of bioethics. these principles include: solidarity, respect for persons, beneficence and nonemaleficence. these principles are based on igwebuike, the igbo-african philosophy of the modality of being. the generation of these principles for bioethical discourses in the african context is an effort towards satisfying the quest for regional variation in bioethical discourses, especially as it concerns issues like abortion, euthanasia, female genital mutilation and human biomedical research. while western bioethical principles are based on the western igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 59 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) worldview, these african bioethical principles are based on the african ontology. they are african-based, and would create a different version of principlism for bioethics that incorporates the salient features of african ethics. in this age of globalization and intercultural communication, africa, through these principles, has so much to offer to the world from her cultural heritage. for instance, in western ethics, there is an emphasis on the absolute right and choice of the mother. in african ontology, life is not a personal thing. it is community affair, involving both the physical and spiritual worlds. individual choices are not always right; they could be conditioned by personal interests or even psychological deformity. these principles, would help to outline a descriptive analysis of ethical and moral values as rooted in authentic african traditions and cultures that can provide a helpful framework for ethical decision making in africa. references alyward, s. (1975). african christian theology. london: geoffrey chapman. andoh, c. (2011). bioethics and the challenges to its growth in africa. scientific research: open journal of philosophy. 1. 2. 67-75. beauchamp, t. l. and childress, j. f. (1977). principles of biomedical ethics. new york: oxford university press. chummar, p. (2008). hiv/aids in africa: a bioethical hard blow to human dignity and human rights. a paper presented at the international conference on bioethics organized by the unesco regional centre for documentation and research on bioethics at egerton university, 12-14 august. crawford, s. c. (2001). hindu bioethics for the twenty-first century. journal of hindu-christian studies. 14. 9. 25-30. de castro, l. d (1999). is there an asian bioethics? bioethics 13. 3/4. 227-230. fan, r. (1997). self determination vs family determination: two incommensurable principles of autonomy. bioethics. 11. 309-322. gbadegesin, s. (2009). bioethics and culture. in helga, k and singer, p. eds. a companion to bioethics (pp. 45-60). maiden: blackwell. gindro, s. (1995). transcultural issues in ethics of health care. eacme news. 4. 6-8. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 60 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) hongladorom, s. (2003). asian bioethics: what is it? and is there such a thing? a paper presented at a symposium organized by the japanese ministry of education, culture, sports, science and technology on dialogue and promotion of bioethics in asia. at kyoto, japan, september 22-23. iroegbu, p. (1994). metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: iup. kanu, i. a. (2014). igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholicpentecostal relations. jos studies. 22. 87-98. kanu, i. a. (2014). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for interreligious dialogue. a paper presented at the nigerian philosophical association national conference, held at the university of lagos, lagos state, october 15-17. kanu, i. a. (2015). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for national unity. a paper presented at the 2015 international conference of the faculty of arts, nnamdi azikwe university, awka, anambra state. held on 17-19 june. maurier, h. (1985). philosophie del’afrique noire. saint augustine: anthropos institute. mbiti, j. (1969). african traditional religions and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational publishers. mbũgua, k. (2009). is there an african bioethics? eubios journal of asian and international bioethics. 19. 4. 2-5. ruch, e. a. and anyawu, k. c. (1981). african philosophy. rome: catholic books agency. ryan, m. a. (2004). beyond a western bioethics. theological studies. 65. 158-177. sakamota, h. (1995). new initiatives in east asian bioethics. eubios journal of asian and international bioethics. 5. 20-30. shannon, t. a. (1993). bioethics: basic writings on key ethical questions that surround the major modern biological possibilities and problems. new jersey: paulist press. uchendu v. c. (1965). the igbos of south east nigeria. london: rinehart and winston. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 4 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 100 scientific statements and the problem of human ambivalence situation by agbor, innocent; okey, joel ndifon; usha, charles iwony; bassey, raphael ini; isu, emmanuel o.; umoren, raphael e.; buluku onoriode j.; okon, effiong etim department of philosophy faculty of arts university of calabar, calabar abstract this work has examined scientific statements and the problem of human ambivalence situation. it would discover that scientific statements or models of explanation can be used adequately to explain human actions and interaction in the society. and though man is said to be an animal, his rational ability makes him unique from other lower animals. keywords: scientific statements, human ambivalence situation. introduction our aim in this essay is to examine scientific statements and the problem of human ambivalence situation. we shall see if scientific statements or models of explanation can be used adequately to explain human actions and interaction in the society. though man is said to be an animal, his rational ability makes him unique from other lower animals. also, man has the natural instinct of self preservation, which is the basis for his actions and interest. according to akpan, “…human interests have double capacity which more often than not, are conflicting, portraying negativity and positivity at the same time. professor asouzu painstakingly and vividly captures this phenomenon as the ambivalence of human situation…” (american journal of social and management sciences, 2). therefore, the thrust of this essay is that any model of explanation concerning man, his actions and interactions in the society that fails to accommodate the phenomenon of human ambivalence situation, is ipso facto not effective. conceptual analysis igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 101 in other to attain a better understanding of this essay and to avoid ambiguity, we shall define the key words employed herein. a. scientific statements: these are statements of facts that can be verified; these are statements involving or connected with science. b. problem: according to the oxford advanced learner’s dictionary, problem means a thing that is difficult to deal with or to understand. c. human: this entails what is connected with people (human beings) rather than animals (lower), machines or gods. d. ambivalence situation: this simply means a situation comprising of both positive and negative aspects. a doublesided situation. human ambivalence situation it is indeed not out of place for one to reflect on the problem of human ambivalence situation, because according to mondin, “indifference can arise towards all others (dogs, cats, horses, dinasoars, etc), but not towards ourselves. we must necessarily occupy and preoccupy ourselves with the sense of our life and the value of our existence” (philosophical anthropology, 1). therefore, in studying man, there is one obvious thing that man has in common with other creatures, namely the natural (inherent) instinct of self preservation. thus, asouzu opines that “under the influence of this primitive instinct, human being always seek to act after what i call the super maxim, which states; ‘the nearer the better and the safer’ (ibuanyidanda: new complementary ontology, 19). furthermore, even if the human person is fundamentally rational, the same human person is subject to challenges of our fundamental instinct of self preservation. thus, caught between being human and being subject to our most primitive instinct, a tension is created within human consciousness. this is the foundation of the ambivalent tension that characterizes our consciousness (asouzu, 11). the implication of this is that self preservation is a strong instinct in man. infact all of man’s effort strictly speaking, is geared towards self preservation (survival) and it is within this context that man can and strive to make significant meaning out of his spatio temporal existence. the above is the basis for human actions, either as an individual or as a group. hence, according to akpan, “self preservation and its concomitant interest are not tendencies that are bad in themselves. the problem, however is exposed when we critically examine the intrigues that characterize such interest and the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 102 intricate aims human beings associate with such pursuits” (american journal of social and management sciences, 2). nonetheless, according to asouzu, human interest is ambivalent because it has a double capacity and as such can represent something negative and positive at the same time (effective leadership…, 15). this imply that we can pursue a certain course hoping and believing that its outcome will certainly be beneficial, without knowing that we would also get what is negative as against or alongside what we pursue. therefore, this tendency is the root cause of social disorder, crisis, distrust and lack of our development as humans, state, nation and continent respectively (akpan, 2). again, asouzu correctly sees the phenomenon of ambivalence of human interest as something that is paradoxical. he wonders how we could explain a situation where one seeks to conserve his interest but at the same time undertake actions that would virtually lead to his destruction and in the process end up by losing whatever interest he was trying to conserve (effective leadership, 15-16). some examples to support the above includes that of a suicide bomber who in the process of detonating a bomb, end up losing his life and that of innocent people who are not his target. also, this explains the action of a goal miner who still dares to enter a goal mine that is dangerous and as a result prohibited. instances of pipeline vandalization in the quest to scoop fuel illegally, when the vandals know very well that they may end up being burnt to death, also fall within the purview of human ambivalent situation. therefore, the impacts of these constraining phenomena and mechanisms can throw more light on why people are more likely to indulge in the same ills and vices they ordinarily condem and reject (asouzu. ibuanyidanda: complementary reflection and some basic…, 13). furthermore, as regards why people in wanting to preserve themselves end up acting in ways that tend to destroy or harm them, asouzu opines that one of the major reasons for this is because besides being ambivalent and tension laden, all human existential situations are characterized by inherent moment of concealment (ibuanyidanda: complementary reflection and some basic…, 11). that is to say it is the phenomenon of concealment (ihe mkpuchi anya) that forces our drives towards certain interest which are rather deceptive in nature. however, the question now is, how then do we get out or get liberated from the phenomenon of human ambivalence? professor asouzu makes it clear that we can free ourselves from this tyranny only if we make concerted conscious efforts igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 103 to be aware of their devastating effect (akpan, 3). according to asouzu, if we were fully aware of the dangers associated with the ambivalence of our interests, we would certainly not sign our own death warrant; we would vehemently resist those things that would complicate matters later and put us into trouble (effective leadership, 6). asouzu further stated that “it is the lack of adequate awareness concerning the phenomenon of ambivalence of human interest that makes us choose wrongly, when it matters most. if we were aware of this ambivalence, we would always make spirited efforts to avoid those things that would actually never desire even if they touch on our most cherished personal interests. (effective leadership…, 7). the fact that being very critical may likely reveal that human beings are conscious of the dangers that lie in-wait as consequences of certain actions, like that of the suicide bombers, the goal miners and the pipe line vandals notwithstanding, asouzu has propounded two basic principles of complementarism on how to manage this natural phenomenon that beset human life. there include; 1. the principle of harmonious complementation 2. the principle of progressive transformation. � the principle of harmonious complementation the principle states that “anything that exists serves a missing link of reality” (ibuanyidanda: new complementary ontology, ii). the implication of this is that the whole is a composite of the various part, if the parts are viewed in isolation there would be meaningless and also missing in relation to the others, for to be is to be with others (ka so mu adina) and not to be alone (ka so mu di). therefore for any reality to be meaningful, its components have to be viewed complementarily. hence, when viewed in the light of human social action, this principle would mean that both the positive as well as the negative parts of human existence should be harmoniously and mutually related in other to serve each other in a complementary way. � the principle of progressive transformation the demand of this second principle is none other than to allow the limitation of being to be the cause of joy. that is, we should accept our limitations and finality as humans, while making efforts to see these as conditions through which we can igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 104 achieve higher level of legitimization. for only so can our struggle and interest in the society have authentic meaning and significance. scientiific statements and the problem of human ambivalence situation since we have had a look at the meaning of human ambivalence situation, we shall now beam our philosophical search-light on scientific statements and the problem of human ambivalence situation. literally and according to various dictionary definitions, the term science means knowledge arranged in an organized or orderly manner, especially knowledge derived from experience, observation and experimentation (uduigwomen, 20). according to uduigwomen, “thus conceived, science does have historical roots… however, it first emerged in its modern form in western europe in the 17th century… modern science is thus distinctively european in origin (philosophy and the rise of modern science, 17-18). thus, the scientific method, which provides the rules for gathering evidence and evaluating hypotheses on the basis of such evidence and the fixed and universal principles of logic combined to become the paradigm method for any form of knowledge (including the social sciences) wishing to be regarded as rational/scientific. this was what propelled the positivists like august comte and the falsificationists like karl popper to want to demarcate science from non science i.e. science from pseudo science. therefore this logo-centric scientific paradigm has had a firm grip on many models of explanation towards explaining natural phenomena and infact, human social behavior. but to what extent have these science based models of explanation succeeded in explaining, especially human actions rationally? (akpan, 5). akpan further asserts that man with his complex nature, characterized by his intentions, beliefs, values, aspirations, and most important his interest and the natural instinct of self-preservation can render the logocentric scientific method, especially as peddled by the positivists, questionable (american journal…, 5). michael lesnoff was cited by akpan to have argued strongly that the model of natural science is inapplicable in the social science because the existence of social facts always implies the existence of mental stateintentions, purposes, beliefs, expectations and awareness of rules which are not observable by empirical methods (188) (american journal…, 5-6). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 105 as a result, any study of man has to take into consideration the human existential situation which of course is influenced by the ambivalent nature of his interest. furthermore, the positivist model of scientific explanation for instance, applies the exclusivist disjunctive kind of reasoning. hence, there is a problem with that kind of reasoning because reality is indeed complex and not merely phenomenal. also, the realist position on explanation is that an authentic causal explanation of event could be achieved if we strive to uncover and understand the underlying structure, the operative mechanisms and their interrelationship that gives rise to phenomena. however, the problem of this model of explanation is that it appears to divorce the real from the appearances as if they have no mutual relationship. nonetheless, both models, on the whole, do not seem to bother about taking the different strands and components of reality into consideration in a complementary manner. this problem is what asouzu’s complimentary approach seeks to overcome (akpan, 6). the implication of such models of explanation as aforementioned is that they tend to detach the issue of what factors are responsible for the actions of the social agent, when applied to human social action. therefore, each component of reality is meaningful only when understood in relation to the other components. hence, all models that are restrictive in their explanation of reality are non-complementary, and all non-complementary models are models that are incapable of explaining the phenomenon of ambivalence that beset human existence. evaluation and conclusion having looked at human ambivalence situation and scientific statements, it would not be out of place to say that webb was right when he opined or asserted that “prediction in the social sciences, while there may be some shared features, is not like prediction in the natural sciences for three reasons. first behavior is not invariable as is frequently the case with matter in natural science. second consciousness is a factor in human behavior whereas it is not a factor in the behavior of matter…. third, while prediction is often used in natural science as a way of validating an experiment…, the nature of prediction in the social sciences frequently precludes its use as a means of validation. (an introduction to problems in the philosophy of social science, 140-141). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 106 finally, though to risk repetition, human interest is ambivalent because it has a double capacity and as such can represent something negative and positive at the same time (asouzu, effective leadership, 150). and since scientific statements are statements that are fact oriented, i.e. mostly based on observation and can be verifiable (like the positivists and realists models of explanation), they are meaningful and in most cases correct. but when it has to do with human social behavior, scientific statements are seen to be lopsided. hence, any model of explanation wishing to explain the actions of man must go beyond the outward or physical manifestations to the fundamental cause – the human primordial interest, self preservation and must take into cognizance human ambivalent situation. references akpan, o. chris, “ambivalence of human existential situation as an index of rational explanation”. in american journal of social and management sciences. vol. 2, no. 1. pg 1-10, 2011. asouzu i. innocent. effective leadership and the ambivalence of human interest. calabar: university of calabar press, 2004. print. asouzu i. innocent..ibuanyindanda complementary reflection and some basic philosophical problems in africa today. calabar: a. e. moroko coy. print. asouzu i. innocent. ibuanyidanda: new complementary ontology. calabar: a.e moroko coy. print. webb keith. an introduction to problems in the philosophy of social sciences. new york: print. mordin battista. philosophical anthropology. bangalose: theological publications, 2011. print. oxford advanced learners dictionary, 7th edition. print. uduigwomen a. f. a textbook of history and philosophy of science. aba: aau vitalis book company, 2007. print. uduigwomen a. f. philosophy and the rise of modern science. uyo: el-johns publishers, 2011. print. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 157 nation building in nigeria since 1914: a historical perspective boyi sylvester solomon department of history and international relations. veritas university, bwari-abuja solexboy9@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.33912.11529 abstract the entity called nigeria was prior to 1914, a fragmentation of different independent ‘a and autonomous communities and empires which comprised of former free born, slaves, v returnees, royal born, etc, who have had a long history of intergroup relations dating back to the era prior to the coming of the europeans. in post independent nigeria, the narrative has laid emphasis on factors that disunite the ethnic groups which makes up nigeria. this paper provides a historical perspective of the process through which various ethnic groups and successive government have tried to build a nigerian nation. historical method was used in this research. evidence were collected from both primary and secondary sources. all evidence was critically analyzed, interpreted and used for the reconstruct. it was discovered that in post independent nigeria, several interethnic conflicts bothering on parochial interest exist. the frequency of these conflicts which threatens the existence of nigeria as a nation has triggered the feeling of pessimism amongst nigerians; leading to the narrative that the various ethnic groups which constitute nigeria, were never united and so nation building in nigeria is a farce. the paper argues that on the evg of independence, all of the ethnic groups cum tribes saw themselves as nigerians. ethnicity and regionalism were not emphasized. leading personalities like namdi azikiwe from the south-east of nigeria, was based in lagos. there was formation of forces through labour and trade unionism which became stronger, just as political formations along party system emerged to form some forces for a collective front towards nationhood. the paper submits that nationalism which was a collaborative effort of all ethnic groups in nigeria was the fulcrum of nation building. keywords: nigeria, nation building, ethnicity, post-independence, colonial administration. introduction in historical past, the world was built and constituted a number of chiefdoms, kingdoms and empires as in pre-colonial nigerian. in the modern days, we have had nations or nations states which replaced the empires as a basic unit of political igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 158 organizations. at pre-colonial era, nigeria was at a state of development economically and politically. example, kanem-borono was the largest empire at this time which rose and later experience decline. in the case of hausa land, there were conflicts among states zazzau against gobir and so on, the customs and traditions at that time in hausa land overshadowed the law such as tax, music and women that necessitated a reform that gave rise to a fundamentalist and a reformer in person of usman danfodio who transformed the state beyond hausa land across central sudan. in south western nigeria, there was a growth of oyo empire beyond the region the areas of togo and bene republic there were also confederated political system with a central government as a result of the expansion of the area. a fundamental issue worth noting is that, nigeria was a collection of nations, such as hausa, yoruba, igbo and other ethnic nations such as tiv, igala, idoma and so on around the central benue basin. these nations grew up socio-culturally, politically, economically independent of each other. although they enjoy some level of economic and socio-cultural relationship example, yoruba land enjoyed trade route relationship across the atlantic, the hausa land experienced earlier penetration of arab traders across the sahara (trans-saharan trade route). nigeria is not a mare geographical area but a group of people who had little contact with each other in a question of what is called "reprocity"1 . the contact started re-structuring what was existing in the state it is likely seen as sources presented by arab travellers and european missionaries writing about the area they came in contact with. other external forces were seen in the coastal area. such penetration was to lead to conflict among natives and foreigners which culminated into easy resistance against external influence into the internal affairs within nigerian area the contact led to the emergence of nuclear and new center of political power which some scholars sees it as a period when nigeria witnessed decline and a period of cultural revival through the spread of new ideas especially christianity and islam. at this period there was a change in economic activities in europe that led to the obnoxious slave trade in human a result of which also led to penetration and subjugation of the area and subsequently, colonization of the whole region from south to north, east and the west under a political institutions broken by the popular lord lugardian indirect rule. the institutions were led to flourish under the tooth let of the european powers, the question of selfdetermination by the people became a mare mirage, sense of nation-hood were battered by the activities of the colonial administration. a deliberate attempt to ensure they continues the exploitative activities by the european couple with the industrial revolution in europe by the end the 17th century and other reasons that relates to lord lugards ambitions led to the merger of the colonial areas of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 159 the north and the southern regions of nigeria (amalgamation) the fallacy was how two distinctive nations became one?. in this light the paper looked at the historical perspective of the 1914 amalgamation and nation building in nigeria. conceptual clarifications nigeria: the name nigeria has been coined by lugards wife flora shaw a colonial editor of the time newspaper 1897.2 the area called nigeria now is a home to ethnically based kingdoms and tribal comities before it became european colony. the hausa/fulani, yoruba, igbo and other "minor" ethnic groups in spite of the european contact, the communities maintained their autonomy until the attic. when the colonialist consolidated their dominance in nigeria. in 1914 two different nations of the north and south were regionally different but emerged together as a protectorate which marked the beginning of an entity called nigeria on 1960, she became independent from british rule and became democratic republic from 1963. nation building: nation building is about a political entity which concerns to a given territory based on some generally accepted rules, norms and principles and common citizenship. it is also about building an institution which symbolizes political entity such ass bureaucracy, economy, judiciary, universities, civil service and civil organizations3. ethnicity/tribe: it is a term used to categorize human groups who have a conviction that they have a common identity origin, kinship ties, traditions, common, history, language and culture, it differ from tribalism through operates same in principles. tribalism is selfish of one's own tribe and support at all times whether good or bad, right or wrong. the tribalism sees nothing evil but good in his tribe’s people. tribalism is narrower than ethnicity. it defines people in an inbreed moment on customs while ethnicity is out breeding which rest in religions cultural, racial and linguistic affinities to identify and define a group of people with seemingly same linguistic, cultural and religious practices. nigerian history is deplete with the search for a viable political arrangement of power sharing between the hausa/fulani, yoruba and 1gbo known as "majority "group. post-independence: this is known as the period in the history of nigeria when the colonized nations under an entity called nigeria were said to have become independence of both the economy and political systems under its masters (the british). it was a supposed period of self-actualization and national identity though not free from the colonial experience of the pre-independence era. as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 160 period which some scholar's considered as a period of "deceit" as the europeans confirmed with their activities in the area in some quarters (neocolonialism). nigerian colonial experience nigeria is a complex society that if anyone tries to understand it is either deceptive or a liar because it comprises of so many ethnicities and perspective in this, the question of nation building in the means of these diverse politics is a problem. the colonial was only motivated by the economy of the nations in the area4. they also knew that the unity of the nation militates against its interest. there has never been a time they seek for the growth and development of nigeria. they adopted the means of violence and coercion to conquer the area. they were basically interested in the area they systematically conquered. first, the oil river protectorate from bight of benin which they transformed to niger west-protectorate in 1893. it was also known as eastern nigeria in the mid-20th c. secondly the 1862 annexation lagos as crown colony. they overflowed lagos to the whole of yoruba land and administered the area known as western nigeria. thirdly in 1888. j. goldie successfully conquered and acquired the political and administrative powers over arrow belt of the territory from the sea to lokoja that by the 20`5c it came to be known as the northern nigeria. it went in that by 1897, three block of territory had emerged as british colonial possession, hence, the emergence of nigeria became clear as a master plan of british administratively and politically5. the amalgamation the amalgamation started since 1898 with the appointment of the so called niger committee chaired by lord se!bourne. its main term of reference was to look into and advise how to manage the anbirs of the territory in a way that would best promote efficiency and the economy in british interest6. from the foregoing, the british never wanted a nigerian nation state but all they did was to build colonial administration suitable for exploitation of the area. the appointment of frederic lugards the high commissioner at northern protectorate (1900 1906) was an implementation of an amalgamation agenda. lugards was trapped in the middle of regional forces of the north, south and west he could not create a central secretariat. with all his practice and agenda, lord lueards ran short of growth of nigeria into nationhood but only converted the state into abattle field. 'while north wanted to incorporate south into the indirect system, the south wanted to incorporate the north through expansion and extension of power into igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 161 the modern bureaucracy. western education, commerce and legal system where the amalgamation remained a debating issue till 19607. politically, except with the establishment of nigerian council who met once a year to listen to lugard's speech, there was never a legislative administration or forum where nigerians we're to sit and air their view. the nigerian councils only emerged to hear the speech lord lugards was to give annually. their successive government we're of lugards ambiance. in 1922 sir hugh clifford introduced the elective principles for legislative rights. in 1946 richard constituted a regional comas consisting of house of assembly in each of the northerneastern and western provinces. the growth of the iberia gave was influenced by the constitutional conference that took place between 1951 and 54 which was between political leaders and the british government. since then, building a nation through selfdetermination became constitution ally dwindling affairs with lugards principle of centralization of administration replaced by decentralized system. the amalgamation and post-colonial nigeria colonialism was a system of foreign domination that had no consideration about the development of the natives but how to ensure the objectives and condition for exploitation of the economic and human resources of the colony8. under colonialism nigeria lost a of relatives autonomy. nigeria and its activates reveals that its colonial pedigree has tremendously implicated its existence in terms of what it is today 9. though the first republic was manipulated in a shaky ground on how to unite the three region of north. west and south, the feeling of belonging to a nation was under taken with a priority to the successive governments. in the decades of independence so many initiatives were founded by the government to consolidate towards unification shortly after independence and the civil war expedience, the regime of yakubu gowon come an idea of building a pegler with a feeding of nationwide by introducing national youth service commission (nysc) there was state and local government areas 1967 & 1996, creation of new federal constituency creation of certain bodies notable the national character commission, creation of unity schools, and subsequently the composition of the national anthem and pledge. the historiography of the post-colonial nigeria state has it that within the last decade of her existence, it has not been one to forge an agenda for national development in terms of human and institutional structure10. the amalgamation of the 1914 provoked crisis among the igbo nationality by introducing 'warrant chief because it marshalled in an authoritarian possibility in indigenous cultures. the amalgamation in retrospect threw various nationality competing with one igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 162 another for control. thus, the political party which emerged in the first republic were anchored around ethnic and regional home lands. northern people congress (npc) dominantly the hausa fulani in the north. action group (ac) the yoruba south — west, the national council of nigeria citizen (ncnc) was dominated by the igbo south — east. it was this character led by thug, electoral rigging etc. that culminated into the civil war (1967-1970). the contemporary manifestation of lugardian project were what defined nigerian state after the nationalist earlier effort at nation building. nationalist movement and nation building in nigeria nigerian colonial experience from the very on set was built on the fact that the unity and the combined effort of the natives would militate against its interest just like any society nations and nation state have replaced empires as the basic unit of human politics. the historical legacies of nationalist toward nation building were felt in the collective struggle from individual groups and civil society toward nation building (nigeria) throughout over fifty years ago lagos became a melting point for all discourse toward the struggle for an independent nigeria, lagos witnesses a massive movement of individuals and groups driving within and outside the nation through the formation of the national council of nigeria and cameroun (ncnc). this mass meeting way connected and seasoned by the national students union (nus). it was instituted by the principal of grammar school abeokuta ransome kuti, at the meeting were other forty organizations including political parties, tribal union, trade unions literary associations, professionals associations, religions groups, social clubs11.herbert macaulay became the president and nnamdi azikiwe became the secretary. the ncnc was the first national and mass political movement in nigeria with a group other than individual membership.12 by this time, the ncnc was opposed to the richards constitution which reconstituted legislative council, created regional council constitution of house of assembly in each of the eastern, western and northern region the constitution was designed without full concerns with nigeria. one most significant movement was the settlement of nigeria from various regions in lagos to form a strong force towards building a nigeria of their own. the ncnc officials to richard was a success while in lagos, zikist movement was inaugurated suggested by four radical journalists are militant nationalist kolawole balogun, mck ajubu nwanan, abiodun aloba and nduka eze. the initial objectives of the young men were to protect zicks but it soon changed. they claimed that the ideology of zickism foundation by nwafor 0. in his book "without bitterness" was igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 163 opposed to regionalism, individualism and gradualism but embrace positive action to liberate african, as advocated by zik in his book "ramascent africa". 13 from this stand point, nation building as posited by professor gambari, we could see a common sense of purpose, a sense f shared destiny a collective imagination of belonging.14 according to obafemi awolowo in 1947 says "nigeria is not a nation, it is a mere geographical expression. there are no "nigerians" in the same sense as there are no "english", "welsh" or "french" the word "nigerian" is merely a distinctive appellation to distinguish those who live within the boundary of nigeria from those who do not (coleman 1964).15 the early nationalist where focused and had the survival of the country as their point of interest against any political administrative ambition 16 general. the spirit of nation hood that flourished at the birth of an entity "nigeria" was to be affected gradually by the challenges instituted through the divide and rule system and ethnic policies that were rooted by the british just to promote their selfish and mercantile interest in nigeria. 17 it is in this light that from historical perspective lies the lugardian project and the contradiction of the national question with some illusions to the 1914 amalgamation such as electoral crisis, sharia law mayhem, militancy, boko haram and so many instabilities that remains problematic to socio-political, economic, religious, contradictions rooted from 1914 and has become a problem to the search for nation hood.18 it has become historic that the challenges of socio-economic, political and religious inequalities couple with constitutional challenges, institutions and developmental building and leadership has been hampered by the 1914 lugard project as against multiplicity and the establishment of self-government in the originally existing systems prior to the amalgamation.19 conclusion in this paper we were able to establish the fact that nigeria was a mere geographical entity with many nationalities which evolved as a result of the british interest in the area of niger benue and was transform into colonial territory characterized by so many antecedents that later today in international law was known as the federal republic of nigeria20. like any nation. nigeria remain the part of modern society and an integrated part of united nations an organization that was setup to ensure peaceful co-existence and socio-economic development of the work. nigeria as an important part of the world is also with the need for igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 164 nation building. however, nigeria was beddable with a peculiarity of multiplicity in times of language, culture, tradition and the question of nation building became untenable due to foreign domination and acculturation as against what was supposed to be a generally accepted rules, norms, and principles of common citizenship as well as building institutions for bureaucratic, judicial as well as civil organization. the entire nationalities that made up nigeria were coerced into singular administration and control since 1914 as an amalgamation project which transforms these institutions through the measure adopted by lugard (divide and rule system). the paper was able to point out the nature of colonial influence on nation building in nigeria especially as seen in the constitutional arrangement of elite and non-elite policy of separation among the natives into various forms of identities and divide along regional, cultural, religious affiliations. the nationalist question was corrected at the point of independence of nigeria under colonial rule through individuals and groups that form a strong force against the divisive tendency of colonialism to a radical non individual, non-tribal and non-sectional feeling but of a strong formidable body of a council in search of a nation hood (ncnc).with a membership that saw themselves as a strong force to achieve true federalism in nigeria as against confederated richards provision among a young nigeria as a nation an idea among them which if maintained over the decades as against regionalism, ethnicity and other personal aggrandizement could have built a better nation in nigeria. endnotes 1. ajaegbu, h. i. et al (eds), nigeria: a people united by a future assured. p37 2. ajaegbu, h. i. et al (eds), nigeria: a people united by a future assured p35. 3. ajaegbu, h. i. et. al. (eds), nigeria: a people united by a future assured. p37 4. ajaegbu, h. i. et. al. (eds), nigeria: a people united by a future assured. a e. afigbo et. al.: "evolution of nigeria 1849 1960"gabumo publishing company nigeria; vol. 1 2000. p35. 5. ajaegbu. i. et. al. (eds). nigeria: a people united, a future assured.. n. k. obasi. nigeria: the road to national unity vol. 1, gabumo publishing co. ltd. nigeriaabuja 2000. p65. 6. akinwumi, o. et,al (eds) intergroup relations in nigeria in the 19 th and 20thc. o.o. okpe. conceptual and theoretical issues arising from studies in inter-group relations in the 20th c. aboki publishers, ibadan. 2006 p13. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 165 7. akinwumi, o. intergroup relations nigeria in the 19 th and .20th c. p19. 8. akinwumi, o. intergroup relations nigeria in the 19 th and .20th c. p20 9. akinwumi, o. intergroup relations nigeria in the 19 th and 20th c. p19 10. an interviewed brigedier general k. saliyuk. nigeria jos saturday 7/9/2019 at his residence. 11. bourner, a. history of turbulent century. zed books limited, u.k 2015 p3. 12. madunagu, a. the making and unmaking of nigeria. p59. 13. madunagu, a. the making and unmaking of nigeria. p61 14. madunagu, a. the making and unmaking of nigeria. clearlines publications. nigeria rivers 2001. p51. 15. nwabughuo, a. problems of nation building in africa. fasmen educational and research publications (ferp) nigeria 2019. pp49 & 50. 16. olaniyan, r. a. the amalgamation and its enemies. a. dauda, the historical sociology of the problem of nigerian statehood obafemi awolowo university press limited. nigeria ife. 2003 p88 17. olaniyan, r. a. the amalgamation and its enemies. p89. 18. olaniyan. r.a. et. al, the amalgamation, colonial politics and nationalism. 1914 — 1960 in olaniyan (ed) the amalgamation and its enemies. nigerian — ife, obafemi awolowo university press ltd. 2003. p19 19. prof. gambari, a.i. "the challenges of nation building the case study of nigeria" anniversary lecture under secretary general and special adviser to the united nations secretary general abuja nigeria. 2008 p2. 20. prof. gambari, a.i. "the challenges of nation building the case study of nigeria" p 12 p 21. kanu, ikechukwu, a., “symbols in african philosophy and the issue of nation building”. international journal of scientific research. volume. 3. issue. 9. pp. 3537, 2014; kanu, ikechukwu, a., “masquerades in african philosophy and the issue of nation building”. indian journal of applied research. volume. 4. issue. 9. pp. 4-7, 2014. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 1.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 14 inter-religious crises in the nigerian society: a focus on african traditional religion as a via media solomon ochepa oduma-aboh, phd department of christian religious studies, faculty of arts, kaduna state university, kaduna, nigeria. +234-803-826-7716; solomonoduma@gmail.com & ochoga edwin ochoga doctoral student, department of political science benue state universitymakurdi, nigeria. ochogaeochoga@gmail.com abstract nigeria is a multi-religious society comprising several religious traditions but the major ones are christianity, islam and african traditional religion. the first two are missionary religions and as such are bound to struggle for spheres of influence with mutual suspicion, rivalry and the eventual snowballing into the different inter-religious crises we have had over the past four decades in the nigerian society. the paper observes that all the inter-religious crises witnessed in the country was ochestrated by the influences of christianity and islam. with this reality on ground, the paper is focusing renewed attention to african traditional religion which is not a missionary religion because people are born into the religion and persons live out their religion from craddle to death. this then means that, african traditional religion would likely not compete for spheres of influence which makes it a peaceful religion that can co-exist with other religious traditions in multi-faith society like ours. the beliefs and practices of the religion makes it a via media between the extremes of christianity and islam in the religious equation and the incessant inter-religious crises spilling out thereof. the study is purely analytical in nature based on secondary sources of data. some of the recommendations of the paper includes the following amongst others: government at all levels should introduce african traditional religion into our education system to learn basic beliefs and practices of the religion in order to use same for living harmoniously for the growth and development of a multi-faith nigerian society, policy makers in nigeria at all levels should adopt the bottom to top approach including igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 15 the use of indigenous peace mechanisms inherent in african traditional religious culture for the formulation of laws that will ensure peaceful co-existence of all and sundry. key words: inter-religious crises, nigerian society, focus, via media and african traditional religion. introduction pluralism in all its ramifications is primordial. it is not limited to nigeria as a political society of men and women who have come to live as a composite in keeping with their true nature as social beings. man is not only a social being, he is also a political and religious being. that is why men and women put in governmental structures to regulate their activities within the society. and man knowing fully well that he is not the author of his life forms ideas and beliefs about a supersensible being responsible for his being, an unmoved mover, the ultimate reality and the like. the awareness of this ultimate reality made man to form religious ideas and beliefs about him, and each people have their own level of awareness situated within their own perculiar socio-political and cultural milieu. these different levels of awareness have led us to the paradox of the one and the many; one god and many path ways to reach him. this is the reality in the world today and indeed nigeria. in the words of gbenda cited in oduma-aboh and adumbu (2015:15556): there is religious diversity in nigeria. the message of islam, chrstianity and the indigenous religion relates to diversity or pluralism. the votaries of these religions should live by the message of inter-group relations enshrined in their sacred writings. hence we live and labour in a multi-religious society and cannot help being pluralistic in nature. high degree of objectivity is needed on the part of government in coordinating the activities of the religious groups for the common good of all. it is when the mechanisms and structures are put in place where each group understands and tolerates each other that nigerians will reap the benefits of religious pluralism. it has been widely acknowledged that the twentieth century was an age of great violence, and there are threatening signs that the twenty-first century may evn be more violent and insecure. countless civil wars and violent conflicts are continous threats that make the african continent an unsafe place for many, while sophisticated armaments supplied by western powers are used to devastate and kill innocent men, women and children along with political igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 16 opponents. in nigeria, religion plays a major role in fuelling and perpetrating violence (dyaji and kajom, 2014: 15). theoretical framework the paper adopts the marxist theory of religion. according to omoregbe (1999: 9-10), karl marx attributed the origin and continuing existence of religion to econmomic exploitation of the masses by the capitalist exploiters in the capitalist system and that religion is man’s own self alienation. religion is the product of exploitation, oppression and suffering. it is the sigh of the exploited, the cry of the oppressed in the capitalist system. he cites karl marx further thus as: the religious misery is at the same time the expression of real misery, and the protest against the real misery. religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the feeling of a heartless world just as it is the spirit of a spiritless condition (1999:10). in addition, the rich exploiters encourage religion and use it as an opium with which they sedate the masses and prevent them from protesting or revolting against their exploitation. thus, the rich exploiters see religion as a very good weapon with which to calm the nerves of the exploited masses and keep them perpetually under their exploitative condition. it is an effective weapon for preventing rebellion and revolution among the suffering masses. by telling the people that their reward is in heaven, that after suffering in this life they are going enjoy in heaven. though the theory has its own pitfalls, what we can not deny is the fact that, the elites across the different religious divides, especially that of christianity and islam have and are still using religion to achieve their inordinate and ulterior motives for their selfish gains and agenda; be they political, social, cultural, economic or otherwise. nigeria is not the only country in the world that is religiously pluralistic, some of those countries have harnessed the strengths of their religious plurality to develop for the benefits of all and sundry. but the real problem lies in the fact that, religion has and is still been manipulated for achieving goals not evn related to religion. the elites across the different religious divides are always in agreement when it comes to the collective plundering of our common wealth and the like, but when they feel shut out, they now appeal to and whip up religious sentiments among the gullible masses of the different religious spectrum as evidenced in the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 17 different inter-religious crises nigeria has experienced over the past four decades. thereby threatening the peace and stability of the country, and adversely affecting our national security with its attendant implications on development in all ramifications and a host of other spheres or endeavours. the marxist theory of religion is very apt and relevant in understanding and analyzing the different inter-religious crises we have experienced over the past four decades in nigeria. the religious scenario in the contemporary nigerian society according to imo cited in oduma-aboh and adumbu (2015:160), in the precolonial period different nigerian groups and their indigenous religions had certain common features. societies were religiously fairly homogenous. religion permeated the various spheres of society, whether it was the economic, familial, political or the recreational aspects of their lives. in effect, the peoples’ world-view was mainly religious and to a considerable extent religion controlled their general behaviour. frequently there was no formal distinction between theories of natural and supernatural causation. the indigenous religions, with a variety of manifestations, remained the only religions in nigeria until the 11th century when some muslims were reported to have lived in parts of what is today northern nigeria, for example in borno. however, it was not until the 14th century that there became a recorded history of islam in nigeria. in addition, the most decisive impact of islam came in the first decade of the 19th century, when usman dan fodio, one of a group of muslim scholars, mainly of fulani origin, initiated a major islamic reform in the north. the effects of this reform were far-reaching, politically, socially, culturally and intellectually, both to muslims and non-muslims in nigeria and africa at large. consequently, the cultures of the areas that later came to be known as nothern nigerian were islamized, and the people were shut out of early european influences and were given a muslim vision of history and society. as a result of the jihad, islam became the spatio-temporal framework within which people thought of their history and conducted their day-to-day affairs, a reference point, if not a code always honoured in the practice. this description is very important in understanding why religion has continued to be a naughty problem in attempting to build a united nigeria. the muslims with this type of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 18 formation tend to become a community of their own, and try to view things in ways that are different from the interests and goals of other nigerians. imo in oduma-aboh and adumbu (161: 2015) illuminates further, that after the islamic presence had been registered in the nothern part of nigeria, christianity was planted in the country through the southern coast of the atlantic. christianity also had an early history of contact with nigeria. it came into the area around the 15th century. the explorers, who were principally portuguese, landed at the benin coast, in the south-western part of the country. but this group did not make any meaningful impact. a sustained christian missionary effort on the part of protestants and roman catholics ultimately occurred in the 19th century. this was the situation that was on ground coupled with our colonial history which culminated in the almagamation of the southern and northern protectorates in 1914, thus the birth of the nigerian nation. this merger reached its heights in 1960 when nigeria gained political independence from the colonialist. these historical events brought about the pluralism of nigeria in all ramifications including religious pluralism which is the nexus of our study. currently, imo (1995: 19-21) states that, islam and christianity are growing at a fast rate and the adherents of these two religions are found in varying proportions in the different parts of the country. some areas that would have been designated muslim or christian domains in the past, today can no longer be described as such, as there has cropped up, even in these areas, most recently, some sizeable population of practitioners of the other religion. the present religious situation in nigeria can be said to revolve around muslim and christian influences. although members of both religions can relate and interact with each other at some personal levels there is a strong latent fear, prejudice and suspicion which is not expressed. however, at the slightest provocation these feelings can be manifested in a rather violent manner. this is a common mood among activists in both religions which has resulted in sporadic religious disturbances in the country. a cursory historical look at inter-religious crises in nigeria according to ogbogo (2014:111), over the years the issue of the role of religion in national development has been in the headlines in nigeria, as well as in the international scene. regrettably, since the people of nigeria have experienced long series of violent and bloody confrontations between religious groups, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 19 especially between christians ans muslims, causing the death of thousands of innocent people, some scholars have argued that religion is the bane of nigeria’s drive to attain unity and cohension. inter-religious crises are all the violent confrontations nigeria have experienced over the past four decades arising from the activities and influences between the votaries of the two dorminant religious traditions of christianity and islam resulting in the collosal loss of human lives and properties worth over billions of naira. inter-religious crises threatens the peace and stability of the country and in the midst of these inter-religious crises, no meaningful development in all ramifications can take place. instances of inter-religious crises in the nigerian polity abandoned. according to ediba (2014: 116), other conflicts in nigeria have come to be associated with religion are: the kafanchan, kaduna, zaria and other parts of kaduna in 1987; the conflicts in tafawa balewa and other parts of bauchi state in 1999 and 2000-2001; the conflicts in zango-kataf and other parts of kaduna state in february and may 1992, the conflicts in kano state in 1999-2000; the conflicts in jos metropolis and environs in 2001-2002 and a host others. a focus on african traditional religion as a via media in a multi-religious nigerian society shishima posits that, religion is a universal phenomenon. regardless of where you live, you have no doubt seen how religion affects millions of people. religion deals with man’s relationship with the divine and concerns, especially in a cultic melieu, man’s response in his worship of god and in his actions. thus the teachings, precepts, moral standards and indeed ethical propositions of a religion should influence the personality and the daily conduct of individuals (2006: 252-253). in corroborating this view, asifatu cited in shishima, postulates that religion and moral beliefs aim at the same goal in life of a man. they deal with the aspects of of man which prompt him to do various things and avoid vices. man by his beliefs, has to render an account of his stewardship on the surface of the earth, and hence, the essence of religion is also extended to the way we conduct the business of governance and carry out political and economic activities. in this case, there is no doubt that religion has rendered great services to humanity on political, social and economic matters. it concerns itself also with public affairs igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 20 and the act of governance, but more so on the reversed and refined manner to induce the course of development (2006: 254). gbenda (2008: 62), adumbrates that of course, the cherished values embodied in the holy writings when they are sufficiently put into practice by adherents, nigerian society would have meant a remarkable development in the economy and improved standard of living generally. ironically, religious pluralism has generated challenges of mutual suspicion, rilvary and intermittent religious crises. it has caused great tensions, and conflicts and serious unhealthy consequences among men in such a way that this form of pluralism has often been seen as entirely negative. iwe cited in gbenda also observes that religion has been subjected to abuse, exploitation, and immoderation due largely to fanaticism or extremism. this is dangerous and an enemy of mutual living, peace, and development. the elite in the nigerian society have used the religious pluralistic nature that ought to be a blessing to us as individuals and as a collective in a manner that smacks of responsibilty and statemanship of their part. in other words, they have mismanaged or manipulated our religious pluralism for their selfish reasons be it political, economic, cultural and the like. when their selfish interest (s) is or are threatened, they appeal to the religious sentiments of votaries within their own faith convictions as a strategy of defending such interests. most often than not, when they appeal to religous sentiments in matters that purely does not have any bearing to religion itself, they snowball into inter-religious crises with the attendant wantom destructions of human lives and properties of immesurable value. a classical example that is fresh in our minds, is the fallout of the 2011 general elections in nigeria, where a particular presidential candidate perceived that he has been surchanged in the elections and instead of facing the issue at hand he appealed to religious sentiments orchestrating widespread religious violence with colossal loss of human lives and properties in a matter that is supposed to be a political affair. the paper is optimistic that we have learnt our lessons in this and many other regards. history does repeat itself, as we yet go to the polls for the 2015 general elections, the same political gladiators are still on the political scene. to be forewarned is to be fore-armed. religious pluralism is therefore an asset for meaninful religious dialogues in nigeria. this will usher in the virtues of goodwill of the citizens to all and sundry, a virtue which is the source of all peace, harmony, progress and development (madu 1997: 97). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 21 african traditional religion has no founder nor written documents and as such it is primordial and written in the hearts and minds of its votaries. it is a living religion that is why wherever they go, one would find the religion as expressed in various beliefs and practices even outside the shores of africa as captured by gbenda: african (traditional) religion is found in the americas, especially, the carribean islands, jamaica, haiti, trinidad, cuba, and brazil among others. in the above areas african deities or gods are worshipped and ancestors venerated. priests, priestesses and sorcerers are found. african conception of life as a pragmatic reality finds expression in folklore and proverbs. beliefs in ancestral cults, witchcraft, spirit possession, sacred music and dancing, sacrifices, rituals, traditional medicines are common and most of the beliefs and practices are infused into christian practices. all these are a conglomeration of beliefs and rites of african origin that are found and embraced by africans and non-africans alike (2010: 45). since the religion is a living religion, and despite the incursion of christianity and islam to the collective consciousness of the nigerian society alot of good beliefs and practices have survived to the present day. the exercise here is to appeal to such consciousness and use them to halt and reverse the trend of the negation of social justice, mutual respect and peaceful co-existence and the like by votaries of the two dominant religious culture of christianity and islam that have being responsible for the various inter-religious crises with their attendant colossal lost of human lives and properties that have become a bane to all our developmental aspirations in all ramifications as individuals and as a collective. it is not an attempt at syncretism but the use of the good elements from african traditional religion as a via media in solving the quagmire between these seemingly two extremes of the nigerian religious situation that has relegated social justice, mutual respect and peaceful co-existence and the like in principle and practice to the background. for the purpose of this paper, the definition of african traditional religion by ekwenife (1990: 1) has been adopted. he defines african traditional religion as: … living institutionalized religious beliefs and practices, which are rooted in the past … religious culture, a religion that was transmitted to the present overt and covert votaries by successive … forebears mainly through oral tradition (myths and folktales, songs and dances, liturgies, rituals, proverbs, dances, pithy sayings and names sacred institutions like igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 22 sacred specialists and persons, initiation rites, festivals, sacred spaces and objects and religious works of art, a religion which is slowly but constantly updated by each generation in the light of new religious experiences through the dialectical process of continuities and discontinuities. the concept of via media is clarified by the encarta microsoft dictionary as a middle course or choice between extreme possibilities (2009). in this case the extreme posibilities is that of christian and muslim influences that have brouhgt about violent conflict situations in the nigerian society. the paper calls for the use of african traditional religion as a via media between these two exremes in ensuring a just, peaceful and egalitarian nigerian society where social justice and all its underpinnings reign supreme in order to entrench sustainable and lasting peace, progress, growth and development in all ramifications for all and sundry. this is because no country can grow and develop to enviable heights where there is no peace and tranquility as in the ochestrated by the various inter-religious crises in nigeria revolving around the influences of christianity and islam, especially within but not limited to the northern part of nigeria. a study of the beliefs and practices of the (nigerian) african peoples, leads to the theological understanding that african traditional religion is a religion of salvation and wholeness. there is always a careful anaysis on both worldly and spiritual salvation. the indigenous consciousness or mind believe that life is a complex web of relationships that may either enhance and preserve life or diminish and destroy it. the goal of religion for them is, therefore, to maintain those relationships that protect and preserve life. for it is the harmony and stability provided by these relationships, both spiritual material that create the conditons for well-being and wholeness (gaiya, 2004:33). in traditional african religious culture, there is nothing seperate which could be called african traditional religion. for traditional religion was part of the whole of life, all of life was religious and related to the spiritual. african traditional religion is a way of life and is part of all of life experiences. the religion centres on man and the whole emphasis is upon man gaining power needed to live a good life. life centres on man and his interests and needs (gehman, 2001:29). mbiti once commented on the religion, that africans are notoriously religious and their religion permeates all sphere of their lives. the predominant worldview is a religious worldview in that, phenomena in the world is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 23 interpreted and seen through the prism of (african traditional) religion. social justice in the context in which the traditional nigerian mind experienced and practiced his religion and culture could offer a via media in ushering genuine social justice in the nigerian society. some of these beliefs and practices are discussed below. amadi (2005:6), butresses the above by saying that, the angas believe that after death the great god nan receives the souls of all good men, while those of bad men become kapwans, lingering near their old homes and harrasing the living. the nupe believe that evil men never attain heaven but are turned into beasts and the like. the overall effect of all this is to enforce a moral standard acceptable to a particular society. a secular interpretation leads to the conclusion that moral precepts have always had their origin in the mind of man. even where deities are said to have laid them down, they have had to do so through the mind of man. it would appear, then, that while man formulates the moral code, he enlists the influence of religion for it enforcement. in other words, in ethics man proposes, god enforces. the imported religions, namely christianity and islam, do not have the same powerful hold on the people as the traditional religion, so their use as ethical instruments is not as effective. in this regard, idowu observes in olodumare: christianity, by a miscarriage of purpose, makes its own contribution to the detrimental changes in moral values. somehow it has replaced the old fear of the divinities with the relieving but harmful notion of god who is ready to forgive perhaps even more than man is prone to sin, the god in whom ‘goodness and severity’ have been put asunder. so also does islam unwittingly create the erroneous impression that the fulfilment of the obligatory duties and act of penance by good works are sufficient for the purpose of winning heaven. the result of all these is that our ‘enlightened’ products of the two ‘fashionable’religions can now steal without any twinge of moral compunction those articles of food placed for sale at cross roads and by roads sides, which used to be quite safe; they can now cheerfully appropriate other persons’property; they can break covenants, or promises made on oath, with brazen indifference (qtd in amadi, 2005:6). this is a call to acknowledge the beauty, wisdom and power of our own religion in bringing about social justice in the contemporary nigerian society. in the indigenous culture of the african (nigeria), justice especially social justice, is one of the things needed for communalism, peaceful co-existence and fair play to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 24 enable them move forward as well as for development. social justice among the traditional africans is tied with the religion of the people. the supreme being, the divinities or deities, the living-dead spirits and so on are concerned with ethical life including social justice. it features prominently in laws, commands, customs and conventions and prohibitions. man is limited in a way to ensure absolute social justice, the gods in african thought system provide the missing link, hence they act as agents of moral sanction by meting out punishment to acts of injustices especially social justice (gbenda, 2006:114). concluding remarks one of the greatest hurdles nigeria and nigerians faced over the past four decades is that of inter-religious crises that have threatened the very existence of the country including her bid to be counted among the comity of developed countries of the world. what is today known as nigeria was predominantly homogenous in terms of religious culture, that is african traditional religion with its variants spread all over. but around the 11th century islam was noticed around kanem-bornu empire through the transsaharan trade route and in 18th century christianity was planted in warri and benin. coupled with our colonial history and consequent amalgation of the northern protectorate and the southern protectorate in 1914, a country called nigeria was birthed. these events have led to the multi-religious nature of nigeria. thus, the three dominant religious convictions are christianity, islam, african traditional religion amongst others. but it is interesting to note that the various inter-religious crises have revolved around the influences of christianity and islam engaged in unhealthy rivalry and at the slighest provocation snowballs into the various inter-religious crises we have experienced over the past four decades, with their attendant lost of human lives and properties that cannot be estimated. with this reality on ground, it has become imperative to look at the good tenents, values and the like embodied in african traditional religion, as to used same as via media in mitigating the extremes of christianity and islam in achieving a tranquil and peaceful atmosphere for the growth and development of the country in all ramifications for the benefit of all and sundry. one of the high points of african traditional religion is that, it is not a missionary religion unlike the other two which makes it a peaceful religion because it will not come in contact with other religious convictions in the course of propagation like the other two. by and large, the paper is a call for a focus on african traditional igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 25 religion as a via media in the religious scheme of affairs in nigeria, so as to mitigate the extremes of christianity and islam for the much needed tranquility and peace for the over all growth and development of the country, as individuals and as a collective. references amadi, e. (2005). ethics in nigerian culture. ibadan: heinemann educational books nigerian limited. dyaji, d.m and kajom d.h (2014). “religious violence in nigeria: it’s implication on peace iniatives for national transformation”. in: gwamna, d.j (ed.). jocres: journal of christian religious studies. vol. 2. no. 2. department of christian religious studies, kaduna state university. gajere, i. (2015). religious and ethnic violence in northern nigeria: a product of both contemporary religious media and religious history in northern nigeria. kaduna: pyla-mak publishers. gbenda, j.s. (2008). “rethinking the role of religious pluralism in nigeria: a paradigm for revamping and sustaining the economy”. in. achor. e.e (ed.). national asssociation for science, humanities and education research journal. vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 60-66. gehman, r.j. (2001). african traditional religion in the light of the bible. bukuru: african christian textbooks. gwamna, j.d. (2010). religion and politics in nigeria. bukuru: african christian textbooks. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/national_security. accessed on the 26/09/2015. imo, c.o. (1995). religion and the unity of the nigerian nation. uppsala: tryck reprocentralen hsc. johari, j.c. (2013). contemporary political theory. 3rd edition. new dehi: sterling publishers pvt. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 26 kajom, d.h. (2015). violence and peace initiative in nigeria: a theological assessment of the wcc’s decade to overcome violence and volatile nigerian polity. kaduna: pyla-mak publishers ltd. kukah, m.h. (2003). religion, politics and power in northern nigeria. ibadan: spectrum books limited. njoku, f.o.c. (2009). “development, conflict and peace in nigeria”. in: ikejiani-clark, m. (ed.). peace studies and conflict resolution in nigeria: a reader. ibadan: spectrum books limited. nwachukwu, c.o. (2015). “faith (ful) prodigals and the national question: revisiting achebe’s things fall apart and adichie’s purple hibiscus”. in: chidili, b. et al (eds). african journal of humanities. vol. 2, no. 1.kaduna: african journal of humanities, pp. 155-169. madu, j.e. (1997). fudamentals of religous studies. calabar: franedoh publishers (nigeria) ltd. obasi, f. (2009). “the role of religion on issues of peace and conflict”. in: ikejiani-clark, m. (ed.). peace studies and conflict resolution in nigeria: a reader. ibadan: spectrum books limited. oduma-aboh, s.o. and n.n adumbu. (2015). “the elite and the mismanagement of religious pluralism in the nigerian society”. in: chidili, b. et al (eds). african journal of humanities. vol. 2, no. 1.kaduna: african journal of humanities, pp. 155-169. ediba, i.o (2014). “historizing religious conflicts in nigeria since the 1980’s: towards proffering pragmatic remedies for national transformation”. in: gwamna, d.j (ed.). jocres: journal of christian religious studies. vol. 2. no. 2. department of christian religious studies, kaduna state university. okafor, v.e. (2009). “religious fundamentalism: impacts to sustainable development in nigeria”. in okorie, c.o. (ed). nigerian journal of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 27 politics and administration. vol.2, no.1. ikwo: ebonyi state college of education ikwo. omoregbe, j.i. (1999). comparative religion: christianity and other world religions in dialogue. lagos: joja educational research and publishers limited. onoja, a. & n.m. abene. (2015). “security education in the nigerian context and the need for reconceptualisation”. in: goshit, z.d.(ed.). humanity: jos journal of general studies. vol. 7, no. 1. jos: general studies university of jos. shamija, t.a. (2006). politics of development: the african perspective. makurdi: destiny ventures. shishima, s.d. (2006). “followership and corruption in nigeria: the role of religion”. in. raji, r.a. (ed.). religion, governance and development in the 21st century. ilorin: national association for the study of religions. terwase, a. & k.m. babale. (2015). “the implications of religious conflicts on national security and development in nigeria”. in: goshit, z.d.(ed.). humanity: jos journal of general studies. vol. 7, no. 1. jos: general studies university of jos. usman, y.b. (2014). the manipulation of religion in nigeria 19977-1987. zaria: centre for democratic development research and training. viotti, p.r and m.v. kauppi. (2013). international relations and world politics. 5th ed. new jersey: pearson education inc. vogt, m.a. (1990). “nigeria’s defence policy: an overview”. in: ekoko, a.e and m.a vogt (eds.). nigerian defence policy: issues and problems. jaji: command and staff college. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 5 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 84 ibanyidanda, descriptive statement and the super maxim. by afo, comfort iyaji; ejom, margaret bassey; godwin, idongesit umoh; ofana, diana ekor; ofem, okoi etim; ogholo, grace ibe; omah, ambrose emmanuel; udoudo, idorenyin denis department of philosophy faculty of arts university of calabar, calabar abstract this work has discussed and/ or analyzed what ibuanyidanda descriptive statement and the super maxim designates. in doing the analysis, we did not lose sight of making an explicit introduction into our essay. also major terms and/ or concepts were vigorously elaborated upon. we took pain also to critically evaluate the ibuanyidanda descriptive statement and the super maxim. keywords: ibanyidanda, descriptive statement, super maxim. introduction the ibuanyidanda descriptive statement and the super maxim is the thought of prof. innocent i. asouzu of the calabar school of philosophy, university of calabar, calabar nigeria. the ibuanyidanda descriptive statement and the super maxim is the concern of this paper, we shall in this essay make explication of what the ibuanyidanda designates, we shall give account also of what the descriptive statement and the super maxim implies. but before doing the above, we shall not lose sight of the need to clarify major terms and/or concepts; this is for clarity of purpose and freeness from every form of vagueness, in consonance with analytic philosophy’s notion of clarification of concepts. it is in this regard that we shall define ibuanyidanda, descriptive statement and the super maxim. this we shall do without equivocations. definition of concepts ibuanyidanda it is said to be a composite word made up of three parts to writ: • ibu, which means “load or task” • anyi, designates “insurmountable for” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 85 • danda implies a “species of ants”. according to asouzu, the concept ibuanyidanda draws its inspiration from the teachings of traditional igbo philosophers of the contemporary system of thought (asouzu p.11). ibuanyidanda is the principle of togetherness, that is the coming together of all parts of reality either in the physical or the metaphysical realm, in order to create a nexus without which there will be a missing link. the ibuanyidanda rejects a one-sided fragmented or exclusive approach to human interest, concerns and projects a complementary, comprehensive, wholesome or inclusive approach (the international research, page 57). the ibuanyidanda is an igbo term which means: “no task is insurmountable for danda (the ants)”. the igbos views that danda, because of their mutual dependence, have the capacity to carry loads that appear bigger and heavier than them (asouzu p.19). but in philosophy it’s rev. fr. prof. innocent i. asouzu of the calabar school of philosophy that borrowed, the concept: “ibuanyidanda” from the igbo people to explain his philosophy of complementarities (messembe, unpublished lecture note). descriptive statement: this is a statement that gives an elaborate account of an event, it makes attempt at describing a state of affairs. most descriptive statements are not true, but may seem true on false value. asouzu noted that, like the statement “ibu anyi danda”. statements like this are evidently not always true and valid in all ramifications. even though in some cases we think and/or assume that such statements are true. some other descriptive statements in the igbo language are to writ: njiko ka, ummuna bu ike, igwe bu ike etc. all these are statements in igbo describing one thing, event or the other. descriptive statements are a statement that gives us an insight into the state of affairs, by way of describing explicitly what an event and/or state of affairs designates. descriptive statements state a factual description of human affairs, e.g.: “the state of much of the middle east is in turmoil”. that is a descriptive statement. super maxim: a super maxim is a law-like dictate that fundamentally controls our actions, such that we mistake their hypothetical character for a universal imperative (the international researcher, p. 59). in ibuanyidanda, the super maxim can be said to mean “the basic rule of danda” and summarizes what all hypothetical injunctions seek to express, which are designed to help stakeholders igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 86 uphold a bond of intimacy needed to securing privately motivated actions (asoouzu, p. 24). an elaboration of ibuanyidanda ibuanyidanda is an explanation of the complementary nature of beings from the inter-relatedness devoid of polarization and exclusiveness, for the new complementary ontology, to be is the capacity to be in mutual complementary relationship with all things that exist and it is that which ibuanyidanda idea of complementarity seeks to explains or address. the idea of ibuanyidanda seeks to supersede all abstract, abstruse and bifurcating modes of conceptualizing being (asouzu, p. 10). before going further into giving an explication of the ibuanyidanda philosophy, it is imperative to dissect the word ibuanyidanda. the term ibuanyidanda is a composite word made up of the following parts: • ibu, which means “load or task” • anyi, designates “insurmountable for” • danda implies a “species of ants”. asouzu in his book, “ibuanyidanda, new complementary ontology” (pg. 11), posits that the orthographic style ibuanyidanda instead of ibu, anyi, danda, draws its inspiration from the teachings of traditional igbo philosophers of the complementary system of thought. for these igbo philosophers, the idea of complementarity is inferred from observing a specie of ants called danda. these ants, ‘danda’ have the capacity to carry load that appear bigger and heavier than them. what this implies is that they can surmount every difficulty tasks when they are mutually dependent on each other in the complementation of their efforts. the concept ibuanyindanda is a very important idea in igbo vocabulary. it is a way of life and constitutes a typical igbo work song bunu bunu oo “ibuanyindanda” lift the load, lift the load , nothing is impossible for danda, the ant (chorused many times in retrain ) it is around this concept that the new complementary ontology is articulated as its horizon. for anything to claim existence it has to fulfill a minimum condition which subsists in its commitment to mutual complementary relationship between it and the other units with which it shares a common frame work. when this condition is fulfilled we can then igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 87 refer to such a thing as what is and has head and tail-end (ihe di, nwee isi na odu). a thing that exists has no head or tail-end (ihe enwegi isi na odu). ibuanyidanda descriptive statement the character of the descriptive statement: “ibu anyi danda” (no load is in surmountable for danda), umunna bu ike, (the kindred is strength), njiko ka (togetherness is the best strategy). all the above descriptive statements as opined by asouzu enshrine mere hypothetical injunctions that are mistaken for categorical commands, and as such, acting in tune with them, always uncritically is bound to lead to error of judgment (asouzu, p. 24). such expressions for asouzu, enshrine hypothetical injunctions of the type “the nearer the better and the safer” which are easily mistaken for universal laws. they are habitual assumptions that have inherently conditional dimensions that are not always evident. a typical example is mbiti’s widely acclaimed phrase “i am because we are; and since we are therefore i am”. many rely upon this phrase to derive some of those principles and ideas based upon which they seek to construct a communalist theory needed to validate african experience of the world. however, this phrase serves as one of the major point of departure for assuming that the idea of intimate belongingness bestows africa experience of the world its unique character. but this is not always the case, because those that are nearer to us are not always better and safer, and so adhering strictly to super maxims of this kind to legitimize their actions, people can always err even in the point of negating those values they cherish, believing that they are acting in the most authentic mode. such existential errors are induced by mechanisms and phenomena that have the capacity to distort the internal workings of human consciousness, and this can make people not always conscious of their errors and as such be acting unintentionally. elaboration of the super-maxim super maxim according to asouzu, in the international researcher is a law-like dictate that fundamentally controls our actions such that we mistake their hypothetical character for a universal imperative. within the context of complementary reflection, all maxims relating to the realization of human interest can be reduced to this one super maxim that: “the nearer the better and the safer”. it is that which all human are susceptible to this fallacy and illusion. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 88 in the light of the above, the super-maxim of the nearer, the better, and safer is a misguided concept which is operational in every human endeavour, and most times being used as danda, the super maxim can be seen to mean “the basic standard in appropriating what ought to be in a parochial manner which still tilts towards self-interest, and egoistic tendencies, it is on this note that asouzu explains further that, the super-maxim; the nearer, the – better and the safer, is “all forms of exclusive mindset derive from our natural tendency to selfpreservation.” this again expresses itself in our propensity to secure our interest first at the expense of those of others. to survive better than others, we have the general tendency to highlight certain things we imagine are special or exceptional about ourselves. we encounter this tendency in almost all spheres of life and at almost all leads of our existential situation. in this way racism ethnicity, nationalism, tribalism and all forms of exclusive tendencies derive their force from the primordial human natural inclination to self-preservation (asouzu 2004, 68). the point being made is that human by nature only seek those things that are conducive towards fulfilling their self-interest. our primitive instinct of self-preservation instigates us to share interests only with those we assume are those nearest to us, who we believe, or assume will guarantee our survival most. we believe it is better and safer to relate with those nearest to us, we are more inclined to stay close to those who are closest to us and to those with whom we share certain common interest and have similar values. consequently, we are drawn to our kith and kin, those from our tribe, from our clan, from our ethnic group, our race, our political groups etc. ibuanyidanda descriptive statement and the super maxim human by nature are egoistic, they tend to preserve their interest in any given situation or circumstance no wonder, for the golden age philosophers the preservation of the self is the first law of nature, this in time past and still in the 21st century, the golden rule of self-preservation is inherent in all human actions irrespective of individual prowess in life. in his “ibuanyidanda (complementary reflection) and some basic philosophical problems in africa today.” asouzu asserts that this self-preservative stigma is constructing impact of our tension – laden ambivalent existential experience of reality and the mkpuchi anyi (phenomena of concealment) (pg, 22). what this means is that agents or individuals have not allowed the limitation of being to be the cause of their joy instead the reverse is the case. if individuals are aware of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 89 the ambivalence of human nature, then descriptive statement such as ibu anyi danda (no task is insurmountable for the ants), umunna bu ike (the kindred is strength), igwe bu ike (multitude togetherness is strength), njiko ka (togetherness is the best strategy) and the super maxim of the nearer the better the safer (pg, 24) would hold no water. in line with the above, social agents tend to interpret these descriptive statements to suit them thereby making other individuals who are not intimate relations by blood, marriage, clan, village, community etc as enemies or infidels. the society have been beclouded in their reasoning to think and even conclude illogically that any member(s) outside their comfort zone tends to be a threat among or to them, thus they result in excommunicating such individuals, one way or the other. the super maxim and descriptive statements has made human consciousness react “vigorously, but uncritically, and at times quite unintentionally to lessons of commonsense experience” (asouzu , pg 23). however, since experience has showed that “multitude is strength, and it stands undisputed that togetherness is strength, that we stand to succeed when we poll our resource together, and hold closely to each other in times of crises , and it is better to help and support those who are nearer to us. since… they do not pose the same threat which outsiders pose” (pg 23). individual tends to exalt their kindred than outsiders, this is what asouzu calls ihe-mkpuchi anyi (phenomenon of concealment) because this action for the individuals are an insider command, norm or values (pg. 25) and mistake the descriptive as a universal law or imperative, and this makes them prone to error. asouzu (25) explicate on the above; “stakeholders can always err… since such existential errors are induced by mechanisms and phenomena that have the capacity to distort the internal workings of a man’s consciousness, actors are not always conscious of their errors and can as such be acting unintentionally”. the descriptive statements such as ibuanyi danda (no task is insurmountable for the ants (danda), umunna bu ike (the kindred is strength), igwe bu ike (multitude or togetherness is strength), njiko ka (togetherness is the best strategy) and the super maxim of the nearer the better and the safer, and concealed the aura of complementarily, also this descriptive statement can once again be seen in the mibiti philosophy of brotherhood, when he asserts that “i am, because we are, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 90 and since we are , therefore i am” (asouzu, p. 25), this mibiti’s assertion is tantamount to hatred, contempt etc among individuals of diverse culture and/or origin. also the super maxim has encouraged negative attributes such as nepotism, ethnicity and tribalism and to some extent this could be identified as some of the problems of nigeria. thus, the question which is pressing at this juncture is what is the way out? critical evaluation of ibuanyidanda descriptive statement and the super maxim the ibuanyidanda descriptive statement and the super maxim as articulated by rev. fr. prof innocent i. asouzu is an eye opener over the limitations in human nature. this philosophy by asouzu will serve as remedy to human existential problems, which we at times fall into though unintentionally. here, we see how due to the impact of the phenomenon of the mkpucki anya (phenomenon of concealment), it is not always immediately evident to us that we can be the very cause of those very problems that are weighing us down. in such situation, it is not always clear to us that precisely our personal anti-social acts are the very causes of the problems we are complaining about (asouzu, p.33). but on the contrary, since human beings are too complex and/ or diverse in views and aspirations, it will be difficult to subject them into coming together, as there are still some humans who will still want to divert from the principle of ibuanyidanda. and on these grounds, the ibuanyidanda will not hold sway generally as a theory for human unity and/ or togetherness. there are cases also were people who are not near to us by birth, marriage, religion and ideology tends to be very harmful of us, case study is the harm done to christians in northern nigeria by some religious sect members in the guess boko haram (kanu 5). be that as it may, the ibuanyidanda descriptive statement and the super maxim will for the greater good of the greater number of people in the society serve as a panacea for unity, progress and development of our world, particularly nigeria. ibuanyidanda descriptive statement and the super maxim is therefore a master piece for development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 91 summary/conclusion we have in this essay, been discussing and/ or analyzing on what the ibuanyidanda descriptive statement and the super maxim designates. in doing the analysis, we did not lose sight of making an explicit introduction into our essay. also major terms and/ or concepts were vigorously elaborated upon. we took pain also to critically evaluate the ibuanyidanda descriptive statement and the super maxim. it is imperative to state without equivocation that asouzu’s ibuanyidanda descriptive statement and the super maxim need to be taught to students and none student the world over. this is because it is the only way humanity can be aware of her short comings and/ or her ambivalent nature, in other to make change and ensure unity, harmony, peace and progress thrive in our society. ibuanyidanda descriptive statement and the super maxim is therefore the ideal for social – cultural and human developments. references edor, j. edor (ed), “the international researcher; a multi – disciplinary journal”: calabar, serenity publishers, 2010. innocent i. asouzu, “ibuanyidanda (complementary reflection) and some basic philosophical problem in africa today: germany. lit verlag gmh and co ka wein, 2013. innocent i. asouzu, “ibuanyidanda and the philosophy of essence: 50th inaugural lecture”, calabar, university of calabar press, 2011. innocent i. asouzu, “ibuanyidanda; new complementary ontology, beyond world – immanentism, ethnocentric reduction and impositions,” zurich, lit verlag gmh and co ka wein, 2007. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). christian-muslim relations in nigeria as a religio-political locus theologicus for misericordia vultus. journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 117-128. mesembe, i. e. “the supermaxim and social change in nigeria”: the international researcher, a multi-disciplinary journal, university of calabar, calabar, august , 2010. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 4.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 84 development of appropriate contents for widening occupational opportunities of electrical/electronic technology graduates in african environment to cope with world of change jimoh bakare, ph.d. department of industrial technical education faculty of vocational and technical education university of nigeria, nsukka jimoh.bakare@unn.edu.ng abstract the study developed appropriate contents for widening the occupational opportunities of electrical/electronic technology graduates of nigerian universities to cope with world of change. three research questions guided the study while null hypotheses formulated were tested at 0.05 level of significance. the study adopted descriptive research design and was carried out in enugu state. the population for the study was 109 subjects comprising lecturers of electrical/electronic technology and supervisors in electrical/electronic related industries. there was no sampling because of manageable size of the subjects. a structured questionnaire titled “appropriate contents for widening occupational opportunities questionnaire” was used as instrument for data collection. the instrument was validated by three experts and cronbach alpha reliability method was used to determine the internal consistency of the questionnaire items while 0.84 was obtained. out of 109 copies of questionnaire administered on respondents with the help of three research assistants, only 101 copies were duly retrieved which represented 92.66 percent return rate. the data collected were analyzed using factor analysis and mean while t-test was used to test the three null hypotheses formulated. the findings revealed 25 local contents, 58 instructional strategies and 45 training facilities for implementing the developed contents for widening occupational opportunities of electrical/electronic technology graduates in african environment. recommendations include that the contents developed with instructional strategies and training facilities identified should be integrated to electrical/electronic technology programme of nigerian universities. keywords: local contents, occupation, change, opportunities, factor analysis, integration introduction there are various educational programmes in the curricula of nigerian universities and one of such programmes is called industrial technical education. industrial technical education (ite) is a special type of education igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 85 designed to equip individuals with knowledge, skills, attitudes (competence), techniques, and methods in various occupational areas. some of the components of industrial technical education programmes in nigerian universities as at today include: automobile, building, metalwork, woodwork, electrical and electronic technology. electrical/electronic technology as an aspect of ite is expected to equip students with knowledge, skills and attitudes for paid or self employment. it is the application of scientific knowledge in the design, selection of materials, construction, operation and maintenance of electronics. college board (2018) also explained that in electronics technology, students learn the basic skills needed to operate, maintain, install and repair electrical and electronic equipment. in electrical/electronic technology according to knight (1994), students may study the behaviour of electrons and the practical uses to which such study can be applied. the graduates of electrical/electronic technology are expected to acquire skills or knowledge to construct, maintain, repair and service all kinds of electrical and electronic equipment and machines (bakare, 2009). they are also expected to take up business or occupations within electrical/electronic technology. but what is happening to graduates in nigerian society today is quite different from the purpose or objective of electrical/electronic technology programme. the graduates of electrical/electronic technology based on the findings of previous studies are not well equipped with relevant knowledge, skills and attitudes for paid jobs or to set up their own businesses. it is observed that the present contents of electrical/electronic technology programme of nigerian universities are narrowed and obsolete and the facilities meant for effective implementation of these contents are not available for use while the available ones are also obsolete. teachers of electrical/electronic technology also hardly teach their courses using modern strategies that can encourage skills acquisition and effective learning. world is changing and people in it make use of emerging technologies in their homes and offices. all these technologies will require maintenance with time and there is need for people to take occupation in them occupation is an activity through which one earns a living. dictionary of occupational titles (2017) defined occupation as any activity in which a person engaged. ede (2011) maintained that an occupation requires special training. therefore emerging technologies as occupations involve some training in order to make students and graduates beneficially competent in them. widening the contents of electrical/electronic technology programme has igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 86 become imperative for the training of students and for occupational opportunities of graduates. content of a training programme gives directions to the trainers and the trainees. content as defined by bakare (2014) is what the teacher and the students pay attention to when they are teaching and learning. kapoma and namusokwe (2011) described content as a list of subjects, topics, skills, themes, concepts or works to be covered by teacher and his students. content of a training programme can be in form of competence, skills, techniques, concepts or attitudes. the contents in this study are the skills, knowledge and attitudes for widening the occupational opportunities of electrical /electronic technology graduates. ogwo in asogwa (2010) explained that competency is characterized by clearly stated, attainable and measurable objectives, followed by identified knowledge, and skills that learners have to master within a given time frame. these contents if articulated well could be used to teach students and can be also used build the capacities of electrical/electronic technology graduates for occupational quality assurance. development of good contents for training makes the training easier and efficient. in the opinion of quirk (1995), development is the act of making an idea clearer by studying it more, by speaking or writing about it in more detail. asogwa (2010) viewed development as the act of making something more organized. in the context of this study, development of contents involves: (a) determination of local and modern competencies in electrical/electronic technology; (b) identification of training facilities and instructional strategies for teaching the contents; (c) organizing what has been identified sequentially and logically in a manner that will make teaching easy for the trainer and trainees and (d) packaging what has been determined and identified and organized into units or modules of instruction with required facilities facilities are physical objects that facilitate a given work or activity. yavala (2011) explained that facilities are those goods and services that help to facilitate teaching and learning process in any performance. adequate and relevant training facilities make the learning process more satisfying. facilities may include relevant tools, devices and equipment for teaching and acquiring relevant skills for maintaining woodwork machines and equipment. various facilities such as sets of screw drivers, infra red rework station, soldering irons, cutting pliers, vacuum cleaners, magnifying desk lamps, fluxes, multimeters could be used for maintenance of broken down electronic equipment and implementation of training contents. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 87 implementation strategies are means of teaching prepared lessons to students. delivery systems to be selected depend on the contents of the lesson (bakare, 2014). a good trainer matches the contents of a lesson to delivery systems in order to achieve the objectives of the lesson (ogbuanya & bakare, 2017). application of appropriate implementation strategies or delivery systems improves students’ understanding. it enables the students to acquire relevant skills and knowledge. ezeilo (2001) suggested delivery systems such as seminars, workshops and conferences. implementation strategies or delivery systems are different teaching methods or techniques and related resources for facilitating the implementation of the contents for widening occupational opportunities of electrical/electronic graduates. both experienced lecturers and supervisors in electrical/electronic industries could help retrain the graduates for occupational quality assurance. the general purpose of the study was to develop appropriate contents for widening occupational opportunities of electrical/electronic technology graduates in african environment to cope with world of change. specifically the study sought to determine the: 1. competencies (contents) for widening occupational opportunities of electrical/electronic technology graduates in african environment to cope with world of change 2. instructional strategies for implementing the contents for widening the occupational opportunities of electrical/electronic technology graduates in african environment to cope with world of change 3. training facilities that could be utilized by trainers for widening the occupational opportunities of electrical/electronic technology graduates in african environment to cope with world of change research questions the following research questions were posed: 1. what are the competencies (contents) for widening occupational opportunities of electrical/electronic technology graduates in african environment to cope with world of change? 2. what are the instructional strategies for implementing the contents for widening the occupational opportunities of electrical/electronic technology graduates in african environment to cope with world of change? igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 88 3. what are the training facilities that could be utilized by trainers for widening the occupational opportunities of electrical/electronic technology graduates in african environment to cope with world of change? hypotheses the following null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance: 1. there is no significant difference in the mean responses of respondents on the competencies (contents) for widening occupational opportunities of electrical/electronic technology graduates in african environment to cope with world of change 2. there is no significant difference in the mean responses of respondents on the instructional strategies for implementing the contents for widening the occupational opportunities of electrical/electronic technology graduates in african environment to cope with world of change 3. there is no significant difference in the mean responses of respondents on the training facilities that could be utilized by trainers for widening the occupational opportunities of electrical/electronic technology graduates in african environment to cope with world of change methods the study adopted a descriptive survey design. descriptive survey design according to osuala (2005) is a design that studies characteristics and focuses on people, the vital facts of people and their beliefs, opinions, attitude, motivation and behaviors. descriptive research design according to kothari and garg (2014) is appropriate for those studies which are concerned with describing the characteristics of a particular individual, or of a group. the descriptive survey design was therefore adopted for this study because it aimed at using questionnaire to elicit facts, beliefs and opinions of experts about the development of contents for widening occupational opportunities of electrical/electronic technology graduates. the study was conducted in enugu state of nigeria. the population for the study was 203 which comprised lecturers of electrical/electronic technology and supervisors in electrical/electronic industries in enugu state. there was no sampling because of the manageable size of the population. a structured questionnaire titled: appropriate contents for widening occupational igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 89 opportunities questionnaire (acwooq) was used for data collection and was on 5-point likert scale. the structured questionnaire had 139 items developed for collecting data in accordance with the research questions. the instrument was organized in three sections a-c. a centered on competencies (contents) for widening occupational opportunities of electrical/electronic technology graduates in african environment to cope with world of change, b dealt with instructional strategies for implementing the contents for widening the occupational opportunities of electrical/electronic technology graduates in african environment to cope with world of change while c centered on training facilities that could be utilized by trainers for widening the occupational opportunities of electrical/electronic technology graduates in african environment to cope with world of change. each item in the instrument was assigned a five response scale of strongly agree or required (sa or sr)-5, agree or required (a or r)-4, undecided (u)-3, disagree or not required (d or nr)-2, and strongly disagree or not required (sd or snr)1point. according to lozano et al (2008), an instrument can be considered good for validity and reliability if it has between four (4) and seven (7) alternative responses. however, fewer options are acceptable depending on the purpose and scope of the study (bendig 1954; mattell and jacoby 1971; jones and scott 2013). the respondents were therefore asked to rank the response options to an item based on the level at which each item was required. the instrument was face-validated by three experts. these were experts in department of industrial technical education, university of nigeria nsukka and department of art education. the title of the study, specific purposes, research questions and null hypotheses formulated were attached to each copy of the questionnaire given to the experts. the experts were asked to read the items under each research question and make useful corrections in order to improve the standard of the questionnaire. the experts were also requested to add any relevant item to the questionnaire. after one week, one of the researchers went round to collect the copies of the questionnaire given to the experts and effected the corrections accordingly. one hundred and thirty nine items were retained out of 147 items presented to experts in form of questionnaire. in other to establish the internal consistency of the questionnaire items, cronbach alpha test of internal consistency was conducted on each section in the part 2 of the questionnaire. the researchers administered 20 copies of the structured questionnaire on lecturers of electrical/electronic technology and supervisors in institutions and industries in anambra state. the reason for igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 90 administering the copies of the questionnaire on other set of respondents outside the study area was to obtain real reliability coefficient values for each sections of the questionnaire (roberts, 2012). statistical packages for social sciences (spss) 22 versions was found useful for data analysis. the result of the cronbach alpha revealed the following: competencies (contents) for widening occupational opportunities of electrical/electronic technology graduates in african environment to cope with world of change (& = 0.81, n=20), instructional strategies for implementing the contents for widening the occupational opportunities of electrical/electronic technology graduates in african environment to cope with world of change (&= 0.81, n= 20), training facilities that could be utilized by trainers for widening the occupational opportunities of electrical/electronic technology graduates in african environment to cope with world of change (&= 0.78, n= 20) while the overall reliability index yielded &= 0.89, n= 20. according to guidelines by sekaran (2003), a coefficient of .60 is considered to be poor, 0.70 is acceptable, while over 0.80 is good. olelewe and agomuo (2016) also stated that the closer the cronbach’s alpha is to 1, the higher the internal consistency. out of one hundred and nine copies of the questionnaire administered to the respondents by the researchers, only 101 copies were duly retrieved which represent 92.12 percent return rate. data collected were analyzed using factor analysis and mean for answering the research questions. for selecting the appropriate competencies for widening occupational opportunities of electrical/electronic technology graduates in african environment to cope with world of change, 0.50 as factor loading was utilized. any competency with factor loading of 0.50 or above was regarded as required and any competency with factor loading less than 0.50 was regarded as not required. also, any item with mean of 3.50 was regarded as required or appropriate while any one with mean below 3.50 was regarded as not required or not appropriate. t-test was employed for testing all the null hypotheses at 0.05 and relevant degrees of freedom. the null hypothesis of no significant difference was accepted for any item whose pvalue was greater than the 0.05, but it was rejected for any item whose p-value was less than 0.05. results the results for the study were obtained from the research questions answered and hypotheses tested through data collected and analyzed. the data for answering research questions and testing hypotheses were presented in tables 1-3 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 91 tables i outcome of factor analysis for answering research question one and t test for testing hypothesis one s/n contents factor loading at 0.50 pvalues remarks, ho a local contents inform of competencies 1 construction of extension sockets using local materials such as woods as casing 0.95 0.53 required, ns 2 construction of alarms using local materials 0.60 0.34 required, ns 3 troubleshooting of faults in extension sockets and alarms 0.85 0.56 required, ns 4 construction and assemblage of solar power panel locally 0.71 0.33 required, ns 5 maintenance of locally made solar power systems 0.78 0.24 required, ns 6 installation of locally made solar power system 0.82 0.16 required, ns 7 construction of automatic voltage regulators using some local materials 0.58 0.53 required, ns 8 construction of non ozone layer depletion refrigerator and air conditioners 0.56 0.41 required, ns 9 installation of non ozone layer depletion refrigerator and air conditioners 0.63 0.56 required, ns 10 maintenance of non ozone layer depletion refrigerator and air conditioners 0.73 0.34 required, ns 11 construction of illuminated white board for teaching in remote areas 0.78 0.26 required, ns 12 wiring of houses and installation of electrical equipment locally made 0.82 0.31 required, ns 13 design and construction of fire detector for homes and offices 0.56 0.34 required, ns igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 92 14 designing standard termination boards for houses and offices 0.79 0.21 required, ns 15 design and construction of distribution boards 0.73 0.25 required, ns 16 design and construction of electrical panels for the machines and heavy equipment 0.67 0.12 required, ns 17 making of safety devices locally to protect electronics and machines 0.61 0.32 required, ns 18 design and construction of amplifiers and other sound systems 0.59 0.11 required, ns 19 design and construction of frequency filters 0.63 0.33 required, ns 20 rewinding of electric motor and speakers 0.62 0.23 required, ns 21 rewinding of burn transformers locally 0.77 0.13 required, ns 22 servicing of all locally made electrical equipment and devices 0.60 0.21 required, ns 23 repairing of locally made electrical/electronic equipment when faulty 0.62 0.41 required, ns 24 construction of locally made ovens and radiation 0.61 0.12 required, ns 25 design and construction of hot plates and immersion heater for kitchen use 0.55 0.23 required, ns 26 construction of rechargeable lantern and torches 0.68 0.54 required, ns 27 making of locally made electrical switches 0.61 0.50 required, ns b modern contents in form of competencies 0.55 0.43 required, ns 29 maintenance of microwave oven 0.62 0.34 required, ns 30 service and repair of plasma televisions 0.59 0.43 required, ns 31 maintenance of flat screen tvs 0.65 0.13 required, ns igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 93 32 operation of robotics and automation 0.78 0.34 required, ns 33 servicing of recent cameras such as autofocus cameras 0.59 0.23 required, ns 34 maintenance of consumer electronics 0.69 0.54 required, ns 35 knowledge about industrial electronic and applications 0.56 0.23 required, ns 36 maintenance of all kinds of smart phones 0.66 0.11 required, ns 39 servicing and repairing of ipads and other recent telecommunication technologies 0.78 0.21 required, ns 40 servicing of e-teaching technologies 0.66 0.21 required, ns 41 maintenance and use of interactive white boards 0.68 0.17 required, ns 42 servicing and repairing of mechatronics 0.75 0.44 required, ns 43 maintenance of automated teller machines 0.62 0.24 required, ns 44 fixing and maintenance of power windows and doors 0.54 0.13 required, ns 45 servicing and repair of modern air conditioners 0.65 0.41 required, ns 46 maintenance of recent refrigerators 0.51 0.33 required, ns 47 maintenance of modern washing machines 0.52 0.28 required, ns 48 servicing of keyless entry 0.55 0.42 required, ns 49 maintenance of compact disk and video players 0.59 0.30 required, ns 50 servicing of power transformers 0.65 0.42 required, ns keys: ns = not significant, ho = hypothesis, data in table 1 reveal that factor loading of the competencies ranged from 0.50 to 0.95. this indicated that all the 50 competencies could be used as contents for widening the occupational opportunities of electrical/electronic igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 94 technology graduates. the table also indicated that each item had its p-value greater than 0.05. this showed that there was no significant difference in the mean responses of respondents on the competencies (contents) for widening the occupational opportunities of electrical/electronic technology graduates in african environment to cope with world of change. therefore, the hypothesis of no significant difference was upheld for the 50 competencies for widening the occupational opportunities of electrical/electronic technology graduates in woodwork machine maintenance. tables ii mean responses of the respondents on the instructional strategies for implementing the contents for widening the occupational opportunities of electrical/electronic technology graduates s/n instructional strategies mean s.d. pvalues remarks, ho 1 adoption of e-teaching for instructional delivery 3.98 0.77 0.53 required, ns 2 learning by doing 3.76 0.79 0.34 required, ns 3 compact disc and cassettes in presentation 3.85 0.81 0.56 required, ns 4 audio-visual materials/objects 3.80 0.89 0.33 required, ns 5 films and videos in delivering lectures 3.78 0.83 0.24 required, ns 6 workshops on modern electrical/electronic maintenance 3.82 0.86 0.16 required, ns 7 group dynamic 3.58 0.85 0.53 required, ns 8 adoption of dualised training 3.50 0.89 0.41 required, ns 9 using internet as a means of instruction delivery 3.63 0.82 0.56 required, ns 10 questioning technologists about what they know 3.80 0.80 0.34 required, ns 11 interactive lecture 3.78 0.71 0.26 required, ns 12 use of practice teaching 3.82 0.93 0.31 required, ns 13 prepare and deliver skills to be 3.56 0.81 0.34 required, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 95 taught to students in slides ns 14 deliver lectures inform of film show to technologists 3.79 0.84 0.21 required, ns 15 simulation as teaching strategy 3.73 0.88 0.25 required, ns 16 tape recorders to instruct technologists 3.67 0.72 0.12 required, ns 17 using flow charts when instructing trainees 3.61 0.80 0.32 required, ns 18 using different types of film shows for instruction delivery 3.55 0.70 0.11 required, ns 19 using circuit diagrams of different types of electronics for training 3.66 0.82 0.42 required, ns 20 using scraps of different types of electronics 3.95 0.73 0.53 required, ns 21 small hands-on group training 3.76 0.79 0.34 required, ns 22 evidenced based learning 3.85 0.71 0.56 required, ns 23 using large group training 3.80 0.90 0.33 required, ns 24 conversation with questions posed to elicit thoughtful responses from learners 3.78 0.83 0.24 required, ns 25 verbal instructions 3.82 0.86 0.16 required, ns 26 using photo sequences 3.58 0.85 0.53 required, ns 27 using picture/images of different types of electronic equipment for teaching 3.50 0.89 0.41 required, ns 28 film viewing 3.63 0.81 0.56 required, ns 29 dual training 3.80 0.81 0.34 required, ns 30 group dynamic 3.78 7.00 0.26 required, ns 31 distance learning 3.82 0.93 0.31 required, ns 32 self paced learning 3.56 0.81 0.34 required, ns igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 96 33 simulation 3.79 0.84 0.21 required, ns 34 action plan preparation and presentations 3.73 0.88 0.25 required, ns 35 symposium 3.67 0.71 0.12 required, ns 36 individual and small group work and presentations 3.61 0.80 0.32 required, ns 37 experience sharing 3.55 0.70 0.11 required, ns 38 story analysis 3.66 0.82 0.42 required, ns 39 brainstorming 3.95 0.71 0.53 required, ns 40 inquiry based learning 3.76 0.79 0.34 required, ns 41 seminar 3.85 0.81 0.56 required, ns 42 group exercises 3.80 0.90 0.33 required, ns 43 webinar 3.78 0.83 0.24 required, ns 44 debate 3.82 0.86 0.16 required, ns 45 cooperative learning 3.58 0.85 0.53 required, ns 46 project based learning 3.50 0.89 0.41 required, ns 47 action based learning 3.63 0.81 0.56 required, ns 48 challenge based learning 3.80 0.81 0.34 required, ns 49 activity based learning 3.78 0.76 0.26 required, ns 50 project method 3.82 0.93 0.31 required, ns 51 cognitive apprenticeship instructional method 3.67 0.71 0.12 required, ns 52 guided discovery method 3.64 0.80 0.32 required, ns 53 panel discussion 3.55 0.70 0.11 required, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 97 ns 54 learning mode 3.50 0.82 0.42 required, ns 55 meta-learning 3.95 0.71 0.53 required, ns 56 reciprocal peer tutoring 3.76 0.79 0.34 required, ns 57 programmed instructional method 3.85 0.83 0.56 required, ns 58 presenting lessons in power points and slides 3.67 0.79 0.21 required, ns keys: s.d. = standard deviation, ns = not significant, ho = hypothesis, sig. = significance data in table 2 reveal that 58 items had their mean values ranged from 3.51 to 3.98 and this shows that the mean value of each item was above the cut-off point of 3.50, indicating that all the 57 instructional strategies were required for implementing the contents for widening the occupational opportunities of electrical/electronic technology graduates in african environment to cope with world of change. the table also shows that the standard deviations of the items were within the range of 0.73 to 0.90; this indicated that the respondents were not far from the mean and one another in their responses. the table 2 also indicated that all the items had their p-values greater than 0.05 which means that there was no significant difference in the mean responses of the respondents on the instructional strategies for implementing the contents for widening the occupational opportunities of electrical/electronic technology graduates in african environment to cope with world of change. therefore, the null hypothesis of no significant difference was upheld for all the 58 instructional strategies tables iii mean responses of the respondents on the training facilities that could be utilized for widening occupational opportunities of electrical/electronic technology graduates s/n training facilities mean s.d. pvalues remarks, ho 1 smart and conducive workshop for training 3.73 0.70 0.53 required, ns 2 constant electricity/power supply 3.60 0.72 0.34 required, ns igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 98 3 internet facilities for downloading relevant materials during training 3.81 0.84 0.56 required, ns 4 ultrasonic cleaner 3.80 0.85 0.33 required, ns 5 interactive white board/magic boards 3.77 0.83 0.24 required, ns 6 projector 3.80 0.86 0.16 required, ns 7 computer systems 3.58 0.85 0.53 required, ns 8 power soldering iron 3.56 0.89 0.41 required, ns 9 soldering lead 3.63 0.78 0.56 required, ns 10 soldering paste 3.78 0.88 0.09 required, ns 11 pickers for removing tiny and hidden objects from the machines 3.86 0.80 0.34 required, ns 12 torque screw driver/precision tools 3.78 0.84 0.26 required, ns 13 eyelets and eye letting tools 3.82 0.79 0.31 required, ns 14 hot lead sucker/suction devices for removing melted solder 3.56 0.82 0.34 required, ns 15 long nose pliers for holding tiny object in hidden place 3.77 0.84 0.21 required, ns 16 cutting pliers for cutting flexible objects 3.75 0.87 0.25 required, ns 17 digital multi-testers for testing components and measuring electrical quantities 3.58 0.85 0.53 required, ns 18 fluxes (non-corrosive liquid flux) to prevent oxidation during soldering 3.55 0.89 0.41 required, ns 19 solder-resistant paint used in soldering 3.63 0.78 0.56 required, ns 20 magnifying lens for enlarging tiny objects 3.78 0.88 0.09 required, ns 21 magnifying desk lamp 3.86 0.80 0.34 required, ns 22 smart phones 3.78 0.84 0.26 required, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 99 ns 23 ipads 3.82 0.79 0.31 required, ns 24 meterless meter 3.56 0.82 0.34 required, ns 25 user manuals 3.77 0.84 0.21 required, ns 26 screw extractors 3.75 0.87 0.25 required, ns 27 mechatronic products 3.58 0.85 0.53 required, ns 28 electronic medical equipment 3.59 0.89 0.41 required, ns 29 digital oscilloscopes 3.63 0.78 0.56 required, ns 30 special software for diagnosing faults in electronic equipment 3.78 0.88 0.09 required, ns 31 modern air conditioners and refrigerators 3.86 0.80 0.34 required, ns 32 power screw drivers 3.78 0.84 0.26 required, ns 33 anti static wrist strap and mats 3.82 0.79 0.31 required, ns 34 pcb holders 3.52 0.82 0.34 required, ns 35 spatula 3.77 0.84 0.21 required, ns 36 sim card cutters 3.75 0.87 0.25 required, ns 37 allen keys 3.58 0.85 0.53 required, ns 38 mobile openers 3.57 0.89 0.41 required, ns 39 digital battery testers 3.63 0.78 0.56 required, ns 40 volt stick 3.58 0.85 0.53 required, ns 41 dc power source 3.53 0.89 0.41 required, ns 42 test light 3.63 0.78 0.56 required, ns igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 100 43 modern socket outlets for powering sensitive electrical/electronic equipment 3.78 0.81 0.09 required, ns 44 catalogues of various electronics and electrical equipment 3.68 0.79 0.52 required, ns 45 conducive classrooms for training 3.71 0.83 0.10 required, ns keys: s.d. = standard deviation, ns = not significant, ho = hypothesis, sig. = significance data in table 3 revealed that 45 items had their mean values ranged from 3.52 to 3.86 and this shows that the mean value of each item was above the cut-off point of 3.50, indicating that all the 43 training facilities could be utilized for widening occupational opportunities of electrical/electronic technology graduates. similarly, the standard deviation of contents of the training programme ranged from 0.71 to 0.89 indicating that the respondents were close to one another in their opinion. the table 3 also indicated that all the items had their p-values greater than 0.05. this indicated that there was no significant difference in the mean responses of the respondents on the training facilities that could be utilized by trainers for widening the occupational opportunities of electrical/electronic technology graduates in african environment to cope with world of change. therefore, the null hypothesis of no significant difference was upheld for all the 45 training facilities discussion of findings the findings of this study revealed 50 competencies (contents) for widening occupational opportunities of electrical/electronic technology graduates in african environment to cope with world of change, 58 instructional strategies for implementing the contents for widening the occupational opportunities of electrical/electronic technology graduates and 45 training facilities that could be utilized for widening the occupational opportunities of electrical/electronic technology graduates in african environment to cope with world of change. the contents of a training programme determine the quality of skills acquired by the trainees. the results of the study in table 1 agreed with giachino and gallington (1977) that if content has no components of non – loading items, it is assumed that the factorial validity of the content is high. the finding also agreed with the opinion of jain (2010) that the higher the absence of low loading items the more important and suitable the contents. the finding was in agreement with the opinion of kapoma and namusokwe (2011) that content is a list of subjects, skills, topics, themes, concepts or works to be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 101 covered in a programme. equipping teachers of technology such as technologists and instructors with necessary contents during retraining promotes skills acquisition among students; because these teachers are charged with the responsibility of equipping students with relevant skills and attitudes in occupational areas of technical education in schools and colleges these findings agreed with the submission of bakare (2010) who stated that innovations and 21st century technologies such as modern equipment, tools and machines should be integrated to the curriculum of electrical/electronic technology. these findings were in agreement with the findings of ogbuanya and bakare (2017) who that 22 competencies in e-teaching were appropriate for capacity building of technical education lecturers, 44 instructional strategies for implementing e-teaching contents for capacity building of technical education lecturers and 33 training facilities and procedures for building the capacity of technical education lecturers in e-teaching. the findings of this study agreed with the findings of asogwa (2010) who conducted a study on development of entrepreneurial competency support programme in goat production for enhancing the income of teachers of agriculture in secondary in enugu state and found that 11 competency items were required in planning for goat production, 17 in providing housing, 29 in breeding goat, 29 in rearing weaned goats, six in health management of goats, 10 in marketing of goats and 27 in packaging competency items in goat production enterprise into a competency based programme. this finding was also in agreement with the study of akinduro (2006) who carried out a study on electrical installation and maintenance work skills needed by technical college’s graduates to enhance their employability in ondo state. the author found out that the graduates of technical colleges needed domestic installation skills, industrial installation skills, cable jointing skills, battery charging skills and winding skills in electrical machine for employment in ondo state. the findings of this study agreed with the findings of ogbuanya, and bakare (2014) who conducted a study on mechatronics skills required for integration into electrical/electronic engineering technology programme in polytechnics for sustainable employment of graduates in contemporary nigeria. the findings revealed that 16 mechatronicc contents and 40 mechatronics skills were required for integration into electrical/electronic engineering technology programme in polytechnics for sustainable employment of graduates. this finding was in agreement with the findings of nwachukwu, bakare and jika (2011) who carried out a study to identify effective laboratory safety practice skills required by electrical and electronics students for effective functioning in the laboratory of technical colleges in ekiti state. the authors found that 10 safety practice skills were required to use electrical hand tools, 25 safety igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 102 practice skills in operating electrical and electronic power tools and machines and 10 safety practice skills for working in electrical/electronic workshop. the results of the study in table 2 show that all the instructional strategies could be used for implementing the contents for widening occupational opportunities of electrical/electronic technology graduates. these findings agreed with the finding of olelewe and okwor (2017) that using ict supported strategies for teaching improves learning outcome of students and make the teaching easier for teachers. the findings were in agreement with the finding of onah (2013) who carried out a study on development of a digital empowerment programme for students on e-learning in the universities in southeast of nigeria and found out that demonstration, cooperative learning, discussion and guided discovery are suitable as instructional strategies for teaching competence to students. teaching strategies/ methods serve as medium in which teachers transfer their planned instruction to students. also the finding were in consonance with the findings of ogbuanya, bakare and igweh (2009) that teaching strategies such as reciprocal peer tutoring improve someone’s competence in electrical/electronic and other related subjects when effectively applied during instruction the results of the study in table 3 show that all the training facilities could be used for implementing the contents for widening occupational opportunities of electrical/electronic technology graduates. these findings were are also in line with the finding of adirika and alike (2008) that technologies such as computer, relevant electronic equipment, internet facilities, email, cell phones, e-teaching facilities, ipads among others are yet to be fully used for teaching of school subjects due to inadequate skill possessed by the lecturers. furthermore, the results of hypotheses one to three showed that there were no significant differences in the mean responses of lecturers and supervisors on the contents, instructional strategies and training facilities for implementing the contents for widening occupational opportunities of electrical/electronic technology graduates. this means that the lecturers and supervisors had similar perceptions on the contents, instructional facilities and training facilities for widening the occupational opportunities of electrical/electronic technology graduates in african environment to cope with world of change. that is, they have the same opinions on most of the items presented tables 1-3. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 103 conclusion the essence of introducing electrical/electronic technology programme into the curriculum of nigerian universities is to equip students with knowledge, skills, attitudes and techniques for paid or self employment. what we have in our society today is contrary to the objective or purpose of including electrical/electronic technology into the nigerian university curriculum. the majority of graduates of electrical /electronic are jobless and observation reveals that most of these graduates lack competences or skills for paid employment or to take occupations within electrical/electronic technology. the researcher now carried out this study in order to widen the occupational opportunities for electrical/electronic technology graduates. appropriate contents, instructional strategies and training facilities were therefore determined for widening the occupational opportunities of electrical/electronic technology graduates. recommendations based on the findings of this study, the researchers presented the following recommendations for consideration: 1. the contents determined in this study should integrated to the electrical/electronic technology programme of nigerian universities for training of students 2. relevant facilities and materials should be supplied by government and enabling individuals for effective implementation of the developed contents in electrical/electronic technology 3. teachers should be encouraged to make use of the determined strategies for the implementation of the contents for widening occupational opportunities of electrical/electronic technology programme references adirika, b.n. & alike, g.u. (2008). utilization of ict for teaching and learning in tertiary institution: a case study of nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. in b.g. nworgu (ed), education in the information age: global challenges and enhancement strategies (pp. 172 177). nsukka: university trust publishers akinduro, i. r. (2006) .electrical installation and maintenance work skills needed by technical college’s graduates to enhance their employability in ondo state. m. ed project submitted to the department of vocational teacher education, university of nigeria, nsukka igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 104 asogwa, v.c. (2010). development of entrepreneurial competency support programme in goat production for enhancing the income of teachers of agriculture in secondary in enugu state. m. ed project submitted to the department of vocational teacher education, university of nigeria, nsukka bakare j.a. (2008). the 21st century technology to be integrated into electrical installation and maintenance practice trade curriculum . a paper presented for a course vte 550, curriculum development in industrial technical education at department of vocational teacher education, university of nigeria, nsukka bakare, j. (2014). development and validation of cell phone maintenance training modules for national diploma students. an unpublished ph.d thesis. department of vocational teacher education, university of nigeria, nsukka baruch, y. (1999). response rate in academic studiesa comparative analysis, human relations, 52, pp.421-438 bendig, a. w. (1954). reliability and the number of rating scale categories. journal of applied psychology, 38, 38–40 college board (2018). electronics technology. retrieved august 7, 2008 from www.collegeboard.com dictionary of occupational titles (2017). electrical/electronics engineering occupations. retrieved 12 062018 ede, e.o. (2011). occupational analysis and course construction in industrial technical education. nsukka: godjikson publishers ezeilo, j. n. (2001). women’ socio economic and legal rights. enugu: women’s aids collectives giachino, j.w. & gallington, r.c. (1977). course construction in industrial arts, vocational and technical education. chicago: america technical society igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 105 jones, w. p. & scott, a. l. (2013). optimal number of questionnaire response categories: more may not be better. sage open 1–10 doi: 10.1177/2158244013489691 accessed on kapoma, g. c. & namusokwe, c. (2011). “when is the curriculum content of social relevance”. zambia: educational resource and informational site knight, s. a. (1994). electronics two. london: hartnolls limited. kothari, c.r. & garg, g. (2014). research methodology, methods and techniques. india: new age international publishers lozano, l. m., garcı´a-cueto, e., & mun˜iz, j. (2008). effect of the number of response categories on the reliability and validity of rating scales. methodology: european journal of research methods for the behavioral and social sciences, 4(2), 73–79. mattell, m. s. & jacoby, j. (1971). is there an optimal number of alternatives for likert scale items? study i: reliability and validity. educational and psychological measurement, 31, 657–674. olelewe, c.j. & agomuo, e.e. (2017). effects of b-learning and 2f2 learning environments on students’ achievement in qbasic programming. computer & education, 103 (2016) 76 86 olelewe, c.j. & okwor, a.n. (2017). lecturers’ perception of interactive whiteboard for instructional delivery in tertiary institutions in enugu state, nigeria. journal of computers in education. doi 10.1007/s40692-017-0077-6. accessed on march, 2017 ogbuanya, t.c., bakare, j.a. & igweh, a. u. (2009). reciprocal peer tutoring and academic achievement of students in electronic technology in technical colleges in southwestern, nigeria. a paper presented at annual conference of nigerian vocational association held at university of nigeria, nsukka on 22nd – 25th, 2009. ogbuanya, t. c. & bakare, j. (2014). mechatronics skills required for integration into electrical/electronic engineering technology programme in polytechnics for sustainable employment of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 106 graduates in contemporary, nigeria vocational association journal, vol. 18 (3),197-222 ogbuanya, t.c. & bakare, j. (2017). development of appropriate eteaching contents for capacity building of technical education lecturers of colleges of education in lagos state. international journal of uand eservice, science and technology, 10 (8), 13-24 oecd (2013). oecd skills outlook 2013: first results from the survey of adult skills, oecd publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264204256-en quirk, l. (1995). longman dictionary of contemporary english. spain: longman group limited sekaran, s. (2003). measurement: scaling, reliability, validity. in research methods for business: a skill building approach. london: wiley. yavala, t.d. (2011). strategies for bridging gender imbalance in technical and vocational education in taraba state. an unpublished m. ed thesis submitted to department of vocational teacher education, university of nigeria, nsukka microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 6 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 72 class room management on part of a teacher and students academics performance alamgir khan department of sports sciences & physical education gomal university kpk pakistan author email: alamgir1989@hotmail.com & salahuddin khan, ph.d department of sports sciences & physical education gomal university kpk pakistan author email: drsalahuddinkhan@yahoo.com & syed zia-ul-islam department of sports sciences & physical education gomal university kpk pakistan author email: ziaulislamgr8@gmail.com & manzoor khan department of education hazara university mansherakpk pakistan author email: manzoor.sspe@yahoo.com & m. iqbal khan directorate of education hazara university mansherakpk pakistan author email:dr-iqbal@yahoo.com abstract this research study was an effort to investigate the impact of teacher managerial skills on student’s academic performance. for the purpose to collect the worthwhile responses of the concerned respondents, professional attitude scale (pas) developed by the researcher under the supervision of the field experts. the target populations were the students of sports sciences and physical education studying in different universities of pakistan. data were collected personally by the researcher by visiting each and every respondent. discussion forum were also provided to the respondents for the clarifying their concept regarding the different aspects of the problem highlighted in the developed scale. the collected data then coded and feed in spss version 20. regression as a statistical tool igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 73 was used for the analysis of collected data. after analysis, the researcher arrived at the conclusion that teacher managerial skills having no effect on the academic performance of the students at university level. key terms: academics, knowledge, teacher, students, university 1. introduction during the last few decades the professional life of teachers has significantly changed. educational development and technological changes brought a lot of positive modifications in the educational environment of the schools, colleges and universities. professional development is also among these positive modifications of educational institutions mentioned above (kirk, 1998). borko (2004) also mentioned in his study that improvement or modification of education totally depends upon the professional development of the teachers. no doubt, to say that teachers have key role in bringing changes in the educational system. professional attitude of teachers needs to be changed for bringing positive modifications in educational system (villegas-reimers, 2003). for the purpose to contribute to the knowledge base of educators, policy makers, teacher educators, and administrators who are engaged in the process of teacher education and development, numerous studies have been conducted i.e. (kirk, 1998; alsaid , 2001; hart & lee, 2003), on the professional development of teachers. teacher with positive attitude always shows good performance in teaching learning process. students also respect the teacher who has positive attitude with students (iqbal et al., 2013). teacher is one, who has direct interaction with students, parents and also with society. they do not feel shame while asking from other about new things. they feel happiness while sharing ideas or views with their colleagues and friends. due to this reason teachers are considered the most genius and respectable part of the society. positive thinking, belief in services, self-regulations, dedication, self-sufficiency and guidance of other are some basic tips for the well-being and for the good professional attitudes of the teachers (borko, h. 2004). 2. justification of the study management of classes on part of teacher professional attitude is considered key to academics success of the students. how much the management of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 74 classes on part of teacher professional attitude effect the students’ academics? for the purpose to discover the fact the researcher intend to conduct a research study under the title “class room management on part of teacher and students academics” 3. literature review managerial skills mean the skills adopted by the teachers while teaching to the students. for a good teacher it is necessary to have good managerial skills for controlling all academics aspects of the students. the teacher, having improper or lack of good managerial skills, leads to different kinds of problems in class. besides these, students are also unsatisfied with the teaching of all those teachers who possess improper or poor managerial skills.for the maintenance of class management it is needed by the teacher to set an effective class routine. lack of proper or effective routine may cause mismanagement of class (darciborden, 2013). classroom management is the top listed problem for the teachers, particularly for fresh or new teachers. teachers get respect from students if they teach them comprehensively from all perspectives. a lot of teachers leave their profession because of improper or ineffective classroom management (durmuscelebi, 2004 cited in borden, 2013). it is an authentic fact that the main cause of ineffective teaching for the fresh appointed teachers is mismanagement of class. students easily learn from the teacher when he properly manages the class (mccann, 2004). students adopt the different styles of class management from their teachers. because each teacher has its own style of controlling the students, maintaining the discipline and so on (desiderio, 2005). management is a basic thing for both students and teachers. effective management not only makes the teaching process effective for teachers but also makes the learning process easy and interested for students (marzano, 2003). making him/her self as a good and effective teacher is complicated and difficult task. because a good teacher not only has a deep context knowledge, but also organizational and communication skills. it is also necessary for a teacher to create a warm classroom climate for making the teaching and learning process interested (chelo et al., 2009). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 75 the effective teacher is one who has clear objectives and goal of teaching. teachers must clarify each and every thing for students for achieving the desired targets and goals of teaching (killen, 2006). 4. methods and materials the following procedures were adopted by the researcher for the purpose to achieve the desired objective of the study. 4.1 participants of the study the population of this particular research study was comprised of all the students enrolled in the discipline of sports sciences and physical education at university level of pakistan. 4.2 sample and sample size four hundred and forty students (1440) were enrolled in the sessions of 2011to 2013 and 2013-2015 in thirteen (13 both private and public sectors) those universitiesoffering physical education programs. a sample of (418) students (30% from each university) were taken as sample through convenient sample technique. 4.3 data collection tool (pas) professional attitude scale comprised of relevant questions; attempted to cover all the aspects of the study developed by the researcher for the collection of data. before using the developed scale for the collection of data the developed scale were made valid and reliable by using the experts’opinions (20 experts of the concerned field) and by using the pilot studies previously conducted in the field. 4.4 mode for data collection professional attitude scale (pas) containing of different questions related to the different aspects of the relevant research area was used by the researcher for the collection of data. before using it for collection of data from the respondents, formal consents were taken from the respondents and similarly the researcher personally visited the whole population and distributed the whole questionnaire among the respondents and collected back after getting it filled by the respondents igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 76 4.5 analysis of data the collected data were faded in spss version 20 and then regression as statistical tool were employed to test the hypothesis and draw the findings and conclusion of the study. conceptual framework statistical analysisof data impact of managerial skills of teachers on student’s academic performance model summary model r r square adjusted r square std. error of the estimate 1 .034a .001 -.003 .80780 a. predictors: (constant), managerial coefficientsa igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 77 model unstandardized coefficients standardized coefficients t sig. b std. error beta 1 (constant) 3.080 .114 27.037 .000 managerial .013 .026 .034 .514 .608 a. dependent variable: achievement the above shows the impact of teacher’s managerial skills on students’ academic performance. the r square is .001 which means 0% effect of teacher’s managerial skills is there on students’ academic performance. the b is .013 (p=0.608) which mean total 1 unit increase in teacher’s managerial skills will cause .013 unit overall increase. therefore the hypothesis of the study is accepted result and discussion it is concluded by researcher that majority of the respondents were in the views that good knowledge and managerial skills are necessary part of teacher professional attitude. but at university level there is no impact of teacher managerial skills on students’ academics. the main reason was that at university level students are mature, their teacher mange or not manage the classes they can manage the classes well in time. they learn more from those teachers who has good knowledge and managerial skills. they also respect and favor all the teachers who have good knowledge level and adopt good managerial skills during the class. the arguments were also supported by the research study conducted by abid h, (2006) he indicate that good knowledge, guidance, good management etc all the basics factors effecting the students study attitude and motivation toward their academics targets and goals. further the study conducted by marzano, (2003) concluded that class management is the prime responsibility of teacher. lack of proper class management may create hurdle in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 78 way of academics achievement of students. similarly this it is also inline of the present research study. to conclude, to be an effective teacher is not an easy task. in fact, it is a complex process. it is not only concerned with success in short-term, but also with appropriate values and success of long term achievement. effective teachers need to have good professional and personal skills. content knowledge, together with good planning, clear goals and communication, good classroom management and organization, and consistently high and realistic expectations with the students are essential factors to be effective teachers. besides, they need to feel responsible for the students learning process, regardless the students’ aptitude to learn. the teachers, as well as having effective personal and professional skills, serve as example of lifelong learners, and are investors of their own education. moreover, the effective teacher will combine professionalism with care, understanding, fairness, and kindness. they also have to be passionate, enthusiastic, motivated about teaching and learning. they have to create a warm classroom environment where students feel comfortable, and have a sense of belonging, as the environment is conductive to learn. effective teachers are innovative, invite students to approach and interactions, and also values diversity. to finalise, it can be said that those who have the capacity to inspire students to reach their fullest potential on learning through their qualities and professional and personal skills are effective teach conclusion in terms of data obtained from the present research study the researcher arrived at conclusion that managerial skills of teacher having no effects on the academics. as the present study was conducted at university level similarly the result reviled that there is no need of teacher managerial skills during the class because at this level the students are mature, teacher manage the classes or not manage the classes the students can manage the classes well in time. references abid h. (2006). effect of guidance services on study attitudes, study habits and academic achievement of secondary school students. bulletin of education & research june 2006, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 35-45. alsaid, m. (2001). efficiency of a suggested program for developing art education studentteachers’ critical thinking and its influence on igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 79 the outcomes of the teaching process. studies in curricula and instruction, pp 71,83-221. borko, h. (2004). professional development and teacher learning: mapping the terrain. educational researcher,31(8),18-20. chelo, m. et al., (2009). effective teachers–professional and personal skills. universidad de castilla-la mancha. desiderio, m. f. &mullennix, c. (2005). two behavior management systems, one classroom: can elementary students adapt? the educational forum. 69(4), 383-391. durmuscelebi, m. (2010). investigating students misbehavior in classroom management in state and private primary schools with a comparative approach. education, 130(3), pp377-383. gibbs, c. j. (2002). effective teaching: exercising self-efficacy and thought control of action. auckland university of technology, new zealand, annual conference of the british educational research association exeter england. hart, j. e. & lee, o. (2003). teacher professional development to improve the science and literacy achievement of english language learners.bilingual research journal, vol. 27, pp 475–501. killen, r. (2006). effective teaching strategies –lessons for research and practice (4th edit)., thomson, social science press, uk. liaquat, h., jamil, a., noor, a., sibtain, & m. shah, a. h. (2011). relationship between the professional attitudes of secondary school teachers with their teaching behavior. international journal of academic research in business and social sciences october 2011, vol. 1, no. 3 issn: 2222-6990. marzano& robert, j. (2003). classroom management that works: research based strategies for every teacher. alexandria: association for supervision and curriculum development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 80 mccann, t. m., & johann essen, l. r. (2004). why do new teachers cry? the clearing house. stronge, j. h., tucker, p. d., & ward, t. j. (2003) “teacher effectiveness and student learning: what do good teachers do?” presented at the american educational research association. chicago, il. villegas-reimers, e. (2003). teacher professional development: an international review of the literature. paris: international institute for educational planning, unesco. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.1 no. 3 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 78 augustine as the thought-current of the church’s doctrinal tradition: reflections on pope john paul ii’s augustinum hipponsensem by kanu, ikechukwu anthony, o.s.a., ph.d. augustinian institute, makurdi, nigeria ikee_mario@yahoo.com abstract this paper has studied the reflection of pope john paul ii on augustine, who had the principal aim of urging the spiritual sons and daughters of this great saint to keep his fascination alive and attractive in the modern world. he thus discussed augustine’s thoughts on the interaction of faith and reason, christ and the church, freedom and grace, charity and the acsent of the spirit. and from his presentation of augustine, it is arguable that augustine is the thought-current of the church’s doctrinal tradition. keywords: augustine, though-current, tradition, john paul ii, augustinum hipponsensem introduction the scope and quantity of the works of st augustine, has placed him withim parameters that makes him a central figure in western thought, and his teachings, a vade mecum in ecclesiastical circles. on the occasion of the 16th anniversary of the conversion of st augustine of hippo, bishop and doctor, on 28th august 1986, at st peter’s basilica, pope john paul ii praised the philosophical and theological writings of augustine. however, long before john paul ii, pope pius xi had written thus of augustine: “of those who have flourished from the beginnings of the human race down to our own days, none— or, at most, very few—could rank with augustine, for the very great acuteness of his genius, for the richness and sublimity of his teachings, and finally for his holiness of life and defence of catholic truth”185. paul vi later affirmed: "indeed, 185 pius xi, ad salutem human generis (april 22, 1930): aas 22 (1930), p. 233. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 79 over and above the shining example he gives of the qualities common to all the fathers, it may be said that all the thought-currents of the past met in his works and form the source which provides the whole doctrinal tradition of succeeding ages."186 pope john paul ii, in his apostolic letter augustinum hipponsensem, urged "that his philosophical, theological and spiritual doctrine be studied and spread, so that he may continue...his teaching in the church, a humble but at the same time enlightened teaching which speaks above all of christ and love."187 at the heart of his reflections on augustine is to urge the spiritual sons of this great saint "to keep the fascination of st. augustine alive and attractive even in modern society."188 reason and faith pope john paul ii avers that there is the problem that occupied him most in his youth and to which he returned with all the force of genius and the passion of his spirit: the problem of the relationship between reason and faith. that "since we are impelled by a twin pull of gravity to learn,"189 both forces, reason and faith, must work together. he always listened to what faith had to say, but he exalted reason no less, giving each its own primacy in time of importance190. he told all, "believe that you may understand," but he repeated also, "understand that you may believe."191 he wrote a work, perennially relevant, on the usefulness of faith192, and explained that faith is the medicine designed to heal the eye of the spirit193, the unconquerable fortress for the defence of all, especially of the weak, against error194, the nest in which we receive the wings for the lofty flights of the spirit195, the short path that permits one to know, quickly, surely and without 186 paul vi, discourse to the religious of the augustinian order (may 4, 1970): aas 62 (1970), p. 426; cf. l 'osservatore romano, english edition, may 21, 1970. 187 john paul ii, discourse to the professors and students of the "augustinianum" (may 8, 1982): aas 74 (1982), p. 800; cf. l'osservatore romano, english edition, june 14, 1982. 188 john paul ii, discourse to the general chapter of the augustinian order on august 25, 1983: insegnamenti vi-2 (1983), p. 305; cf. l 'osservatore romano, english edition, september 3, 1983. 189 contra acad. 3, 20, 43: pl 32, 957. 190 de ordine 2, 9, 26: pl 32, 1007 191 serm. 43, 9: pl 38, 258. 192 de utilitate credendi: pl 42, 65-92. 193 confess. 6, 4, 6: pl 32, 722: de serm, domini in monte 2, 3, 14: pl 34, 1275. 194 ep. 118, 5, 32: pl 33, 447. 195 serm. 51, 5, 6: pl 387, 337. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 80 errors, the truths which lead the human person to wisdom196. he also emphasizes that faith is never without reason, because it is reason that shows "in what one should believe."197 "for faith has its own eyes, by means of which it sees in a certain manner that what it does not yet see is true."198 therefore "no one believes anything, unless he has first thought that it is to be believed," because "to believe is itself nothing other than to think with assent...if faith is not' thought through, it is no faith."199 in the great work on the city of god, which is at once apologetic and dogmatic, the problem of reason and faith becomes that of faith and culture. an important text of augustine may be usefully quoted here: "the heavenly city...draws citizens from all peoples...taking no account of what is different in customs laws and institutions;...she neither suppresses nor destroys anything of these, but rather preserves and fosters it. the diversities that may exist in the diverse nations work together for the single goal of earthly peace, unless they obstruct the practice of the religion that teaches the worship of the one, true and most high god."200 god and man a pair of words augustine continuously studied is god and man. pope john pual ii observed that he studied them together as man thinking of god, god thinking of man, who is his image. in the confessions, he asks himself these two questions: "what are you for me.... what am i myself for you?"201 he is fully convinced of the ineffability of god, so that he cries out: "why wonder that you do not understand? for if you understand, it is not god."202 it follows that "it is no...small beginning of the knowledge of god, if before we are able to know what he is, we already begin to know what he is not."203 it is necessary therefore to strive "that we should thus know god, if we are able and as far as we are able, the one who is good without quality, great without quantity, the creator not 196 de quantitate animae 7, 12: pl 32, 1041-1042. 197 de uera relig. 24, 45: pl 34, 1041-1042. 198 ep. 120, 2, 8: pl 33, 456. 199 de praed. sanctorum 2, 5: pl 44, 962-963. 200 de civ. dei 19, 17: pl 41, 645 201 confess. 1, 5, 5: pl 32, 663. 202 serm. 117, 5: pl 38, 673. 203 ep. 120.3.15: pl 33, 459. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 81 bound by necessity," and thus going through all the categories of reality that aristotle has described204. although god is transcendent and ineffable, augustine is nevertheless able, starting from the self-awareness of the human person who knows that he exists and knows and loves, and encouraged by sacred scripture, which reveals god as the supreme being (ex 3:14), highest wisdom (wis, passim) and first love (1 jn 4:8), is able to illustrate this threefold notion of god: the being from whom every being proceeds through creation from nothing, the truth which enlightens the human mind so that it can know the truth with certainty, the love that is the source and the goal of all true love. he finds god as "the eternal internal,"205 most secret and most present206—man seeks him because he is absent, but knows him and finds him because he is present. god is present as "the creative substance of the world,"207 as the truth that gives light208, as the love that attracts209, more intimate than what is most intimate in man, and higher than what is highest in him. referring to the period before his conversion, augustine says to god: "where were you then for me, and how far away? and i was a wanderer far away from you.... but you were more internal than what was intimate in me, and higher than what was highest in me"210 "you were with me, and i was not with you."211 he insists!: "you were in front of me; but i had gone away from myself and did not find myself, much less find you."212 whoever does not find himself does not find god, because god is in the depths of each one of us. he sees the human person as a tension directed toward god; his words, "you have made us for yourself and our heart has no rest until it rests in you,"213 he writes in the de trinitate that mankind "is the image of the one whom he is capable of enjoying, and whose partner he can become."214 this faculty "is in the soul of man, which is rational or intellectual...immortally located in his 204 de trin. 5, 1, 2: pl 42. 912; cf. confess. 4, 16, 28: pl 32; 704. 205 confess. 9, 4, 10: pl 32, 768. 206 confess. 1, 4, 4: pl 32, 662. 207 ep 187, 4, 14: pl 33, 837. 208 de magistro 11, 38-14, 46: pl 32, 1215-1220. 209 confess. 13, 9, 10 pl 32, 848-849. 210 confess. 3, 6, 11: pl 32, 687-688. 211 confess. 10, 27, 38: pl 32, 795. 212 confess. 5, 2, 2: pl 32, 707. 213 confess 1, 1, 1: pl 32, 661. 214 de trin. 14, 8, 11: pl 12, 1044. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 82 immortality," and therefore the sign of his greatness: "he is a great nature, because he is capable of enjoying the highest nature and of becoming its partner."215 human nature "has been created in such an excellent state that eventhough it is itself mutable, it reaches happiness by cleaving to the unchangeable good, that is, to god. nor can it satisfy its need unless it is totally happy; and only god suffices to satisfy it"216. it is because of this basic relationship between man and god that augustine continually exhorts men to the life of the spirit. "go back into yourself; the truth dwells in the inner man[woman]; and if you discover that your nature is mutable, transcend yourself also,"217 in order to find god, the source of the light that illuminates the mind. christ and the church one may rightly say that the summit of the theological thinking of the bishop of hippo is christ and the church. the church is inseparable from christ. about christ he writes: "the believer...believes that .in him there is the true human nature; that is our nature, although it is taken up in a unique way into the one son of god when god the word received it, such that the one who received it and what he received formed one person in the trinity. the assumption of man did not make a quarternity, but the trinity remained: this assumption wrought in an ineffable manner the truth of one person in god and mankind. therefore we do not say that christ is only god...nor only man...nor man in such a way that he would lack something that certainly belongs to human nature...but we say that christ is true god, born of god the father...and the same is true man, born of a human mother...nor does his humanity, in which he is less than the father, take away anything from his divinity, in which he is equal to the father...the one christ is both of these."218 he puts it somewhat more briefly: "the same one who is man, is god; and the same one who is god, is man-not by the confusion of the nature but in the unity of the person,"219 "one...person in both natures."220 215 de trin. 14, 4, 6: pl 42, 1040. 216 de civ. dei 12, 1, 3: pl 41, 349. 217 de uera relig. 39, 72: pl 34, 154. 218 de dono persev. 24, 67: pl 45, 1033-1034. 219 serm. 186, 1, 1: 38, 999. 220 serm. 294.9: pl 38, 1340. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 83 christ, the man-god221, is the sole mediator between the righteous and immortal god and mortal and sinful human beings, because he is at once mortal and righteous222. it follows that he is the universal way, "which has never been lacking for the human race, no one has been set free no one is set free, no one will be set free."223 the mediation of christ is accomplished in the work of redemption, which consists not only in the example of righteousness, but above all in the sacrifice of reconciliation, which was supremely true224, supremely free225, and completely perfect226. the essential characteristic of the redemption by christ is its universality, which shows the universality of sin. he teaches that "jesus christ came in the flesh for no other reason...than to give life and salvation to all, to free, redeem, and enlighten those who beforehand were in the death of sins, in sickness, slavery, captivity, and darkness.... it follows that those who are not in need of life, salvation, liberation and redemption cannot have anything to do with this dispen sation of salvation by christ."227 because christ, the only mediator and redeemer of humanity, is head of the church, christ and the church are one single mystical person, the total christ. he writes with force: "we have become christ. just as he is the head, we are the members; the whole man is he and ourselves."228 this doctrine of the total christ is one of the teachings that mattered most to the bishop of hippo, and one of the most fruitful themes of his ecclesiology. about the church, he wrote that the holy spirit as the soul of the mystical body: "what the soul is to the body of a man, the holy spirit is for the body of christ, which is the church."229 the holy spirit is also the principle of community, by which the faithful are united to one another and to the trinity itself. "by means of what is common to the father and the son, they willed that we should have communion both among ourselves and with them. they willed to gather us 221 serm. 47, 12-20: pl 38, 308-312. 222 confess. 10, 42, 68: pl 32, 808. 223 de civ. dei 10, 32, 2: pl 41, 315. 224 de trin 4:13, 17; pl 42, 899. 225 de trin. 4, 13, 16: pl 42, 898. 226 de trin 4, 14, 19: 42, 901. 227 de pecc. mer. et rem. 1, 26, 39: pl 44, 131. 228 tractatus in io 21, 8: pl 35, 1568. 229 serm. 267, 4: pl 38, 1231. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 84 together, through that gift, into that one thing which both have in common; that is, by means of god the holy spirit and the gift of god.230" another theme dear to augustine's ecclesiology was that of the church as mother and teacher. the church is the mother who gives birth to the christians231: "two parents have given us the birth that leads to death, two parents have given us the birth that leads to life. the parents who gave us birth for death are adam and eve: the parents who gave us birth for life are christ and the church."232 the church is a mother who suffers on account of those who have departed from righteousness, especially those who destroy her unity233; she is the dove who moans and calls all to return or draw near to her wings234; she is the manifestation of god's universal fatherhood, by means of the charity which "is mild for some, severe for others; an enemy to none, but mother for all."235 she is a mother, but also, like mary, a virgin: mother by the ardor of charity, virgin by the integrity of the faith that she guards, defends and teaches.236 freedom and grace it was on the eve of his conversion that he grasped the responsibility of the human person in his actions, and the necessity of the grace of the sole mediator237, whose power he felt in the moment of the final decision, as the eighth book of his confessions eloquently testifies238. he always defended freedom as one of the bases of a christian anthropology, against his former coreligionists239, against the determinism of the astrologers whose victim he himself had once been240, and against every form of fatalism241; he explained that liberty and foreknowledge are not incompatible242, nor liberty and the aid of divine grace. "the fact that free will is aided does not destroy it; but because it is 230 confess. 7, 7, 11: pl 32, 739. 231 ep. 48, 2: pl 33, 188. 232 serm. 22, 10: pl 38, 154. 233 psalmus contra partem donati, epilogus: pl 43,31-32. 234 tractatus in io 6, 15: pl 35, 1432. 235 de catech. rud. 15, 23: pl 40,328. 236 serm. 188, 4: pl 38, 1004. 237 confess 8, 10, 22; 7, 18, 24: pl 32, 759-745. 238 confess. 8, 9, 21; 8, 12, 29: pl 32, 758-759; 762. 239 de libero arb. 3, 1, 3: pl 32, 1272; de duabus animabus 10, 14: pl 42, 104105. 240 confess. 4, 3, 4: pl 32, 694-695. 241 de civ. dei 5, 8: pl 41, 48. 242 de libero arb. 3, 4, 10-11: pl 32, 1276; de civ. dei 5, 9, 1-4: pl 148-152. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 85 not taken away, it is aided."243 and the augustinian principle is well known: "he who made you without your participation, does not justify you without your participation. he has made you without your knowledge; he justifies you if you will it."244 one must therefore believe in their compatibility just as one must believe in the compatibility of the two entirely necessary offices of christ, who is at once savior and judge, for it is on these two offices that freedom and grace depend: "if then god's grace does not exist, how does he save the world? and if free will does not exist, how does he judge the world?"245 he describes and celebrates christian freedom in all its forms, from the freedom from errorfor the liberty of error is "the worst death of the soul"246-through the gift of faith which subjects the soul to the truth247, to the final and inalienable freedom, the greatest of all, which consists in the inability to die and in the inability to sin, i.e. in immortality and the fullness of righteousness248. augustine teaches no less insistently freedom from time, a freedom that christ, the eternal word, has come to bring us by his entry into the world in the incarnation: "o word that exists before time, through whom time was made," he exclaims, "born in time although you are eternal life, calling those who exist in time and making them eternal!"249 it is well known that st. augustine studied deeply the mystery of time250 and both felt and stated the need to transcend time in order to exist truly. "that you may be truly yourself, transcend time. but who shall transcend it by his own power? let christ lift him up, as he said to the father: 'i wish that they too may be with me where i am.'"251 charity and the ascent of the spirit 243 ep 157, 2, 10: pl 33, 677. 244 serm 169, 11, 13: pl 38, 923. 245 ep. 214. 2: pl 33, 969. 246 ep. 105, 2, 10: pl 33, 400. 247 de libero arb. 2, 13, 37: pl 32, 1261. 248 de corrept. et gratia 12, 33: pl 44, 936. 249 enarr. in ps. 101, d. 2, 10: pl 37, 1311-1312. 250 confess. lib. 11: pl 32, 809-826. 251 tractatus in io 38, 10: pl 35, 1680. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 86 augustine climbed with steady diligence the steps of the interior ascents, and described their program for all, an ample and well-defined program that comprises the movement of the spirit toward contemplation—purification, constancy and serenity, orientation toward the light, dwelling in the light252 _ the stages of charity — incipient, progressing, intense, perfect253—the gifts of the holy spirit that are linked to the beatitudes254, the petitions of the lord's prayer255, the examples given by christ himself256. augustine located the essence and the norm of christian perfection in charity, because it is the first gift of the holy spirit257 and the reality which prevents one from being wicked258. it is the good with which one possesses all goods, and without which the other goods are of no avail. "have charity, and you will have them all; because without charity, whatever you have will be of no benefit."259 he indicated all the inexhaustible riches of charity; it makes easy whatever is difficult260, gives newness to what has become a habit261; it gives irresistible force to the movement toward the supreme good, because charity is always imperfect here on earth262; it frees from every interest that is not god263; it is inseparable from humility—"where there is humility, there is charity"264—and is the essence of every virtue, since virtue is nothing else but well-ordered love;265 it is the gift of god. this final point is crucial, because it separates and distinguishes the naturalistic and the christian concepts of life. "whence comes the love of god and of neighbor that exists in humans, if not from god himself? because if it is not from god, but from men[women], the pelagians have won: but if it is from god, then we have defeated the pelagians."266 252 de quantitate animae 33, 73-76: pl 32, 1075-1077. 253 de natura et gratia 70, 84: pl 44, 290. 254 de serm. domini in monte 1, 1, 3-4: pl 34, 1231-1232; de doctr. christ. 2, 7, 9-11: pl 34, 39-40. 255 de serm. domini in monte 2, 11, 38: pl 34, 1286 256 de sancta virginitate 28, 28: pl 40, 411. 257 enarr. in ps. 101, d. 2, 10: pl 37, 1311-1312. 258 confess. lib. 11: pl 32, 809-826. 259 tractatus in io 38, 10: pl 35, 1680. 260 de bono viduitatis 21, 26: pl 40, 447. 261 de catech. rudibus 12, 17: pl 40, 323. 262 serm. 169, 18: pl 38, 926; de perf. iust. hom.: pl 44, 291 318. 263 enarr. in ps. 53, 10: pl 36, 666-667. 264 tractatus in ep. io, prol.: pl 35, 1977. 265 de civ. dei 15, 22: pl 41, 467. 266 de gratia et lib. arb. 18, 37: pl 44, 903-904. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 87 augustine and the modern man pope john paul ii, as concrete as he had always being, made an effort to concretize augustine’s thoughts for the application of the modern man in the modern world. 1. he teaches the person who searches for truth not to despair of finding it. he teaches this by his example—he himself rediscovered it after many years of laborious seeking—and by means of his literary activity, the program of which he had fixed in the first letter after his conversion. 2. augustine's legacy to the theologians, whose meritorious task is to study more deeply the contents of the faith, is the immense patrimony of his thought, which is as a whole valid even now; above all, his legacy is the theological method to which he remained absolutely faithful. we know that this method implied full adherence to the authority of the faith, which is one of its origin—the authority of christ267—and is revealed through scripture, tradition and the church. 3. it is well known how much augustine loved sacred scripture, proclaiming its divine origin268, its inerrancy,269 its depth and inexhaustible riches;270 and it is well known how much he studied scripture. but the aim of his own study, and of his promotion of study by others, is the entirety of scripture, so that the true thought, or as he says, the "heart"271 of scripture may be indicated, harmonizing it where necessary with itself272. 4. in the controversies that arose concerning the interpretation of sacred scripture, his recommendation was that one should discuss "with holy humility, with catholic peace, with christian charity,"273 until the truth itself be grasped, which god "has set...upon the throne of unity."274 267 contra acad. 3, 20, 43: pl 32, 957. 268 enarr. in ps 90, d. 2, 1 : pl 37, 1159-1160. 269 ep. 28, 3, 3: pl 33, 112; 82, 1, 3: pl 33, 277. 270 ep. 137, 1, 3: pl 33, 516. 271 de doctrina christ. 4, 5, 7: pl 34, 91-92. 272 de perf. iustr. hom. 17, 38: pl 44, 311-312. 273 de baptismo 2, 3, 4: pl 43, 129. 274 ep 105, 16: pl 3, 403. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 88 5. another contribution of augustine's teaching to the men and women of today which we may briefly mention is his proposal of the twofold object of study that should occupy the human mind: god and man. 6. further, he teaches scientists to recognize the signs of god in the things that have been created275 and to discover the "seeds" which god has sown in the harmony of the universe276. 7. to the young, he recalls three great things to them: truth, love and freedom—three supreme goods which stand together. he also invites them to love beauty, for he himself was a great lover of beauty277. it is not only the beauty of bodies, which could make one forget the beauty of the spirit278, nor only the beauty of art279, but the interior beauty of virtue280 and especially the eternal beauty of god, from which is derived the beauty of bodies, of art and of virtue. augustine calls god "the beauty of all beauties."281 "in whom and from whom and through whom exist as good and beautiful everything that is good and beautiful."282 when he looked back on the years before his conversion, he regretted bitterly that he had been late in loving this "beauty, ever ancient, ever new"283; he admonished the young not to imitate him in this, but to love beauty itself always and above all else, and to preserve to the end the interior glory of their youth in beauty284. conclusion the foregoing has studied the reflection of pope john paul ii on augustine, who had the principal aim of urging the spiritual sons and daughters of this great saint to keep his fascination alive and attractive in the modern world. he thus discussed augustine’s thoughts on the interaction of faith and reason, christ and 275 de diversis quaestionibus 83, q. 46, 2: pl 40, 29-31. 276 de gen. ad litt. 5, 23, 44-45; 6, 6, 16-6, 12, 20: pl 34, 337-338; 346-347. 277 confess. 4, 13, 20: pl 32, 701. 278 confess. 10, 8, 15: pl 32, 758-786. 279 confess 10, 34, 53: pl 32, 801. 280 ep. 120, 4, 20: pl 33, 462. 281 confess 3, 6, 10: pl 32, 687. 282 solil. 1, 1, 3: pl 32, 870. 283 confess 10, 27, 38: pl 32, 795. 284 ep. 120, 4, 20: pl 33, 462. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 89 the church, freedom and grace, charity and the acsent of the spirit. and from his presentation of augustine, it is arguable that augustine is the thought-current of the church’s doctrinal tradition. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 5 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 1 l’exégèse de deux théophanies l’ancien testamentdans le sermon 7 de saint augustin kolawolechabi, phd, osa, institutumpatristicumaugustinium rome, italy kolachabi@gmail.com résumé dans cet article qui est un extrait légèrement modifié de notre thèse doctorale, nous faisons une étude l’exégèse augustinienne de deux théophanies vétérotestamentaires: l’apparition de dieu à moise dans le buisson ardent et la manifestation des trois personnages à abraham aux chênes de mambré, dans son sermon 7. les évidences internes de ce texte indiquent que le prédicateur d’hippone s’en prenait aux ariens qui considéraient que le fils est d’une nature différente et inférieure à celle du père. selon l’exégèse des hérétiques, c’est le fils qui s’est toujours manifesté dans les théophanies de l’ancien testament parce que sa nature est visible contrairement à celle du père. dans la littérature patristique, nous retrouvons l’interprétation christologie des théophanies vétérotestamentaires même chez les pères orthodoxes. saint augustin se démarque de ces prédécesseurs en faisant une exégèse qui n’attribue pas les théophanies exclusivement au christ, mais offre une réflexion trinitaire. il fait tout ceci pour contrecarrer les erreurs des ariens qui peuvent facilement fourvoyer les fidèles. somme toute, saint augustin retient que c’est dieu en tant que tel ou la divinité qui s’est révélé par le ministère des créatures, à qui, quand et comment il a voulu dans l’ancien testament. mots-clés: théophanie, le père, le fils, saint-esprit, nature,substantia, essentia, trinité, exégèse, vétérotestamentaire, ariens. introduction il y a une longue tradition de l’exégèse chrétienne des théophanies bibliques (ancien et nouveau testament) chez les pères qui ont précédé saint augustin.1 en effet, les premiers théologiens chrétiens du iiè au ivè siècle, comme justin martyr (dial. 56 ; 1apol. 62-63), hilaire de poitiers (cf. trin. 4, 16 4, 21 ; 5, 11), et ambroise de milan (de fide1.13.83; de isaac vel anima 8.77), percevaient les 1cf. g. legeay, o.s.b., l’ange et les théophanies dans l’écriture sainte d’après la doctrine des pères, dans revue thomiste x (1902) : 138–158 ; 405–424 ; xi (1903) 46–69 ; 125–134. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 2 difficultés des récits des théophanies et cherchaient à les résoudre par des approches différentes. ils y voyaient des histoires de la révélation de dieu en forme visible, et reliaient cela à leur christologie et leur théologie trinitaire, en demandant comment ce dieu entre dans le monde visible. en particulier, ils reliaient les théophanies à leur compréhension du rôle du fils dans l’histoire du salut en devenant visible pour révéler le père. en d’autres termes, ils avaient tendance à associer les théophanies au fils, auquel il était convenable de devenir visible. en outre, ils se servaient de cet argument dans leur polémique christologique, voyant dans les théophanies la preuve de l’identité distinctive du fils et son activité avant son incarnation. pourtant, cette exégèse christologique tendait aussi à subordonner le fils au père, puisqu’il se rend visible dans le temps, contrairement au père dont la nature est invisible. leur arme dans la controverse finit par tourner en faveur des hérétiques auxquels ils s’opposaient.2 l’œuvre du docteur d’hippone s’insère dans la tradition qui le précède, mais il offre une approche exégétique différente en s’éloignant tant soit peu d’une lecture christologique. ce changement a été traditionnellement reconnu par certains savants augustiniens comme une correction de la tendance subordinationniste face au défi des ariens ; ces chercheurs montrent comment augustin cesse d’identifier les théophanies avec des manifestations du christ, pour les relier plutôt plus généralement à « dieu » ou « la divinité », sans spécifier la personne divine.3en résumé, à travers son évolution, l’évêque d’hippone est toujours constant à affirmer un certain nombre de points essentiels : 1.) les personnes divines sont collectivement invisibles dans leur 2 sur cetteapproche, un chercheurmoderne note aussi que: “the christological interpretations read revelations of christ into the theophany narratives in ways that displaced the hebrew scriptures from their context in the history of israel, a problem that makes patristic theophany exegesis seem facile to modern readers.”k.kloos, seing the invisible god. augustine’s reconfiguration of theophany narrative exegesis, dans augstud. 36 (2005), 390. 3au rang des études dédiés aux théophanes dans la pensée augustinienne, citons j. lebreton, saint augustin théologien de la trinité : son exégèse des théophanies, dans ma. ii, studiagostiniani, tipografiapoliglottavaticana, rome 1931, 821–836 ; l. j. van der lof, l’exégèse exacte et objective des théophanies de l’ancien testament dans le de trinitate, dans augustiniana 14 (1964), 485–499 ; j.-l. maier, les missions divines selon saint augustin, 101121 ; f. l. smid, de adumbratione ss. trinitatis in veteretestamentosecundum sanctum augustinum, dissertationesadlauream 14, seminary of st. mary of the lake, mundelein, il, 1942 ; l. thunberg, early christian interpretation of the three angels in gen. 18, dans studiapatristicavii, akademie verlag, berlin 1966, 561-570 ; k. kloos, preparing for the vision of god: augustine’s interpretation of the biblical theophany narratives, dissertation, university of notre dame press, notre dame (indiana), 2002 ; id., christ, creation, and the vision of god augustine’s transformation of early christian theophany interpretation, brill, leiden-boston, 2011 ; m.-o. boulnois, l’exégèse de la théophanie de mambrédans le de trinitated’augustin. enjeux et ruptures, dans e. bermon – g. j.-p. o’daly (éds.), le de trinitate de saint augustin. exégèse, logique et noétique. actes du colloque international de bordeaux, 16-19 juin 2010, institut d’études augustiniennes, paris, 2012, 35-65. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 3 essence ; 2.) dieu se manifeste par l’intervention des symboles créés (les anges en l’occurrence) qui sont aux ordres du créateur ; 3.) n’importe quelle personne de la trinité peut se manifester ainsi en figure, 3.) les théophanies ne vont pas contre l’immutabilité et l’invisibilité de celui qui se manifeste, et 4.) dieu choisit de se montrer quand, comment et à qui il veut.selon j.-l. maier, bien que notre docteur ait traité la question des théophanies après la publication de son traité sur le trinité, « le de trinitate représente la réponse définitive de saint augustin au problème des théophanies : n’importe quelle personne divine peut se manifester dans une théophanie, tout comme dieu dans son unité, l’étude prudente de l’écriture permettant seule de trancher dans les cas particuliers ».4 dans cet article nous voulons présenter seulement l’argument de saint augustin dans son sermon 7 dans lequel il aborde le problème des théophanies du « buisson ardent » et de l’apparition des trois personnages à abraham aux chênes de mambré.après quelques considérations sur la datation et les circonstances de la prédication du sermon, nous ferons une étude analytique de son contenu sur les théophanies en question. datation et lieu de prédication généralement, les chercheurs s’accordent sur carthage comme le lieu de la prédication de notre sermon, mais la question de sa datation est loin d’être unanimement résolue. les nombreuses tentatives de propositions de date s’étendent de 397 à 430. pratiquement, il y a trois arguments que nous pouvons regrouper selon l’approche des différents chercheurs comme suit: 1) rottmanner – la bonnardière –hombert, en comparant les thèmes et les citations bibliques que renferme le sermon 7, le datent respectivement entre 409 et 430,5 après 411,6 et en 412-413.7 2) kunzelmann8, se référant à la liturgie situe le sermon en temps de carême en se basant sur le titre « sermo habitus per ieiuniumquinquagesimae » sans proposer une date précise. 4j.-l. maier, les missions divines selon saint augustin, 121. retenons qu’il ne s’agit ici que du cas de l’exégèse de saint augustin aux théophanies vétérotestamentaires. 5 cf. o. rottmanner, s. augustin sur l’auteur de l’épître aux hébreux, dans revue bénédictine 18 (1901), 261. 6a.-m. la bonnardière, l’épître aux hébreux dans l’œuvre de saint augustin, dans réaug 3 (1957), 137– 162. 7p.-m. hombert, nouvelles recherches de chronologie augustinienne, (collection des études augustiniennes, série antiquité, 163) études augustiniennes, paris 2000, 305–316 ; 8a. w. kunzelmann, die chronologie der sermones des hl. augustinus, dans ma 2 (1931), 427. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 4 3) de bruyne – lambot – perler, en se fondant sur leur théorie qui regroupe une série de sermons traitant vraisemblablement du même sujet soutiennent respectivement que le sermon a été prêché entre le 22 mai et le 24 juin d’une année qui demeure indéterminée9 ; probablement le mercredi 27 mai 397 après la pentecôte de cette année10 ; un jour après la pentecôte de la même année 397.11 de récentes études de h. drobner qui passe en revue chacune des propositions des chercheurs mentionnés supra, montrent qu’aucune de leurs hypothèses ne conduit à une conclusion ferme. et en conséquence, selon le patrologue allemand, le sermon 7 resterait fondamentalement non daté. toutefois, la thèse de rottmanner dans la façon dont la bonnardière et hombert l’ont raffinée, pourrait porter à considérer que la date probable du sermon 7 est l’année 412/13.12 dans le contexte de la présente recherche, nous sommes intéressé par le fait que le sermon appartienne à l’époque de l’épiscopat de saint augustin. les recherches de perler et de lambot qui suggèrent que ce sermon soit situé en 397, pourraient permettre de dire que c’est au début de l’épiscopat que saint augustin a tenu ce discours et du coup, de conclure qu’il avait déjà atteint une certaine acuité et élévation doctrinale dans la transmission des données de la foi au peuple dès ces premières années. ceux qui comme la bonnardière et hombert suggèrent l’année 411-413 qui coïnciderait avec la rédaction des livres ii et iii du de trinitate,13 nous permettent de noter que le théologien ne prive pas son troupeau du fruit de ses recherches qui font l’objet des livres et traités destinés à un public plus intellectuellement avancé. la complexité de la doctrine trinitaire pouvait être un bon prétexte pour ne pas en parler aux non-initiés. mais nous voyons dans les sermons et spécialement dans celui que nous voulons étudier que l’évêque d’hippone, en bon pasteur, en dissertait amplement devant les fidèles. ayant fait cette prémisse, nous aborderons pour les analyser les paragraphes 4 et 6 du sermon sous considération où le prédicateur expose le mystère trinitaire aux fidèles. 9d. de bruyne, la chronologie de quelques sermons de saint augustin, dans revue bénédictine 43 (1931), 185–193. 10c. lambot, un ‘ieiuniumquinquagesimae’ en afrique au ive siècle et date de quelques sermons de s. augustin, dans revue bénédictine 47 (1935): 114–124. 11o. perler, les voyages de saint augustin, études augustiniennes, paris 1969, 216, 440. 12 h. drobner, the chronology of st. augustine’s sermones ad populum ii: sermons 5 to 8, 63. 13p.-m. hombert, nouvelles recherches de chronologie augustinienne, 57 ; a.-m. la bonnardière, l’épître aux hébreux dans l’œuvre de saint augustin, 150. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 5 analyse 2. 1. la théophanie du « buisson ardent » et la réflexion antiarienne de saint augustin ce sermon présente essentiellement une exégèse de saint augustin sur la théophanie vétérotestamentaire du buisson ardent (ex. 3, 2-14) mais le prédicateur fait aussi référence à l’épisode des trois personnages apparus à abraham à mambré (gen. 18, 19). l’évêque d’hippone a ici en vue les ariens et s’attache à réfuter leurs objections contre la divinité de jésus-christ, du fait que dans ces passages de l’ancien testament il est parlé d’un ange dans la révélation à moïse et à abraham. dans le raisonnement des hérétiques, ce n’est pas dieu le père dont la nature est invisible qui est apparu dans ces théophanies. c’est donc le christ qui est apparu sous forme d’ange et cela indiquerait son infériorité au père. commentant le passage de l’exode que nous avons mentionné, après avoir posé la grande question de savoir si le personnage qui s’est adressé à moïse dans le buisson ardent est l’ange du seigneur ou le seigneur lui-même, le prédicateur répond que c’est une question à ne pas aborder avec témérité mais à examiner avec soin.14 il formule alors brièvement une définition de l’ange et tire la conclusion selon laquelle l’ange peut bel et bien être le seigneur: le mot ange désigne l’office et non la nature, car en grec il signifie messager ; or ce terme de messager indique un être qui agit, qui annonce. mais le christ ne nous a-t-il point annoncé le royaume des cieux ? de plus, l’ange ou le messager est envoyé par qui le charge d’annoncer quelque chose. le christ n’a-t-il pas été envoyé ? ne dit-il pas souvent : « je suis venu accomplir non pas ma volonté, mais la volonté de qui m’a envoyé (io 6,38) ? »… ainsi l’ange de moïse peut être le seigneur.15 14 aug., s. 7, 3 (ccl 41, 71): «... magnaquaestioest, nectemerarium debethabereaffirmatorem, sedcautuminquisitorem». 15ibid., (ccl 41, 72) : « angelusenimofficiinomenest, nonnaturae. namangelus graecedicitur, quilatinenuntiusappellatur. nuntiusergo actionisnomenest: agendo, idest, aliquidnuntiando, nuntius appellatur. quisnegetchristum nuntiasse nobisregnum caelorum? deindeangelus, idest, nuntiusmittiturabeoquipereumaliquidnuntiet. etquisnegetchristummissum? quitotiensdicit: “nonuenifacereuoluntatemmeam, seduoluntatem eiusquimemisit”[io. 6, 38]… ergoidemangelus, idemdominus».ajoutons une précision sur ce que saint augustin consent dans ce passage. le christ peut être considéré l’ange. mais cela ne signifie pas qu’il soit inférieur au père qui l’a envoyé. c’est la question qu’il traitera igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 6 après cette précision que fait saint augustin sur le problème de l’ange, nous voyons surgir une question qui est devenue désormais constante dans les mises en garde du saint docteur contre les hérétiques. il s’agit ici de l’unique nature commune du père et du fils que rejettent les ariens. il dit au § 4 : il ne manque d’hérétiques qui soutiennent qu’il y a des différences entre la nature du père et la nature du fils, et qu’ils n’ont pas une seule et même substance. la foi catholique croit au contraire que le père, le fils et le saint-esprit sont un seul dieu, trinité d’une seule substance, inséparablement égales, sans mélange ni confusion, sans division ni séparation. or pour prouver que le fils n’a point la même nature que le père, ils s’appuient sur ce que le fils a apparu aux anciens. mais le père, disent-ils, ne leur a point apparu ; or une nature visible est différente d’une nature invisible. aussi, poursuivent-ils, est-il dit du père que « nul homme ne l’a vu ni ne peut le voir (1tim. 6, 16). » ils veulent conclure ainsi que celui qui s’est montré à moïse et à abraham, à adam et aux autres patriarches, n’est pas dieu le père, mais plutôt le fils et qu’il est une créature.16 saint augustin présente les points fondamentaux de la christologie arienne qui contredit la foi et l’enseignement de l’église catholique : l’affirmation des différences de la nature du père et de celle du fils, et du manque d’une seule et même substance des deux ; la preuve de cette position hérétique se trouve pour eux dans le fait que, dans les théophanies vétérotestamentaires, c’est le fils qui apparaissait aux anciens et non le père dont la nature demeure invisible. comme il est clair dès le début de ce texte, c’est la nature du père et du fils qui est en jeu d’abord.17 le prédicateur est conscient du fait qu’il faut partir des deux premières personnes du père et du fils et passer de là à la démonstration de la trinité. dans trin. iv où il explique la mission du fils de dieu ; quoiqu’envoyé, il n’est pas inférieur à son père, pas plus que le saint-esprit n’est inférieur aux deux autres personnes, parce qu’il a été député par le père et le fils. 16ibid., 7, 4 (ccl 41, 72-73): « nonenimdesunthaereticiquidicunt, patrisetfiliidistareetdissonarenaturas, etnoneosesseuniuseiusdemquesubstantiae. catholicaautemfidescreditpatremetfiliumetspiritumsanctumunumdeum, uniussubstantiaetrinitatem, inseparabiliteraequaliternon permixtioneconfusam, nondistinctioneseparatam. illiergo quipersuaderemoliunturfiliumnonesseeiusdemsubstantiaecuiusestpater, argumentanturexhoc, quodfiliusuisusest patribus. pater, inquiunt, uisusnonest ; inuisibilisautemet uisibilisdiuersanaturaest. etideo, inquiunt, depatredictumest : quemnemohominumuidit, necuiderepotest[1 tm. 6,16], ut illequiuisusestnonsolummoysisedetiamabrahae, onsolumabrahaesedetiamipsiadamoetceterispatribus, nondeus pater, sedfiliuspotiuscredaturcreaturaautintellegatur». 17 saint augustin tend à procéder de cette façon dans ces textes trinitaires. c’est donc une approche méthodologique qu’on retrouve dans les sermons et dans d’autres écrits y compris de de trinitate. dans la longue élaboration qu’il fait dans le s. 52 sur la trinité,il procède de la même façon, abordant en un premier tant le père et le fils, puis l’esprit saint. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 7 sans trop nous y attarder, notons que dans ce texte, saint augustin fait usage des termes substantiaetnaturapour parler de la commune essence du père et fils contre les hérétiques : « patrisetfiliidistareetdissonarenaturas, etnoneosesseuniuseiusdemquesubstantiae». et juste après, il affirmera en accord avec la foi catholique que le père, le fils et le saint esprit sont un seul dieu,formant la trinité des personnes en une seule substance. dans le reste du texte il a surtout utilisé le terme substantiapour signifier la nature de la trinité et cela mériterait un petit examen. la complexité terminologie trinitaire latine la question de la terminologie trinitaire latine est assez complexe à cause de l’équivalence lexico-sémantique qui s’est établie péniblement entre le vocabulaire grec et le vocabulaire latin, spécialement par rapport formule de la deuxième moitié du ivè siècle µία οσία, τρεὶς ὑ̟οστάσεις des théologiens orientaux, qui, traduite en latin, devient una essentia, tressubstantiae.18 en latin, essentiaet substantiapassent pour synonyme et pour cette raison on préfère parler de unasubstantia, tres personae. saint augustin, quant à lui, aurait préféré le terme essentia à celui de substantiapour exprimer ce qui est un en dieu. essentiaest la traduction littérale du grec ουσία. pour lui, dieu est l’être absolu19 et le mot qui 18 les théologiens de l’église primitive devaient parcourir tout un chemin laborieux pour établir un langage convenable par lequel distinguer en dieu, dans la juste mesure, ce qui était des personnes et ce qui était de la nature. il fallait trouver des termes adéquats pour exprimer des concepts fondamentaux pour ne pas tomber dans les diverses hérésies trinitaires qui à l’aurore de la réflexion théologique chrétienne se sont offert le droit de cité. deux étaient donc les possibilités pour affronter le problème du langage : se rabattre sur des termes préexistants et en modifier la signification dans un sens qui n’était malheureusement pas encore nettement défini, ou bien créer de toutes pièces des termes nouveaux. en occident par exemple, depuis tertullien, le mot persona, qui primitivement signifiait masque, rôle, personnage de théâtre, mais servait aussi aux juristes à dénommer la personne morale, s’était imposé pour exprimer la trinité des personnes en dieu (cf. tert. adv. prax., 7). pour son unité, il y avait le mot substantia (cf. tert., apologeticum 21 ; adv. prax. 2, 26.) l’orient grec, par contre se servait des termes ουσία et ὑπόστασις (équivalent de substance) pour exprimer ce qui est un en dieu, de πρόσωπον (équivalent de personne) et encore ὑπόστασις pour rendre sa trinité. mais à cause du modalisme (sabellianisme) tant redouté et combattu en orient, on préférait ne pas se servir du mot πρόσωπον maisgarder uniquement ὑπόστασις pour parler des personnes en dieu. le mot ὑπόστασις finit par avoir deux assertions : il exprimait dans le sens de ουσία tantôt l’unité de dieu, tantôt sa trinité. de son côté le mot ουσία servait bien en général à exprimer l’être et l’unité de dieu (sa nature), mais servait parfois aussi à connoter en même temps les personnes en dieu, ce qui pouvait présenter une sorte de modalisme. en fin de compte il n’en put être qu’une confusion quasi babylonienne du langage et souvent des idées. le vocabulaire grec lui-même sur cette question a été singulièrement changeant : le concile de nicée indentifieousieet hypostase (il condamne les ariens qui ne veulent pas que le fils soit d’une ousieou hypostase que le père) ; quelque cinquante ans plus tard, la formuleµία οσία τρεὶς ὑποστάσειςsera couramment admise à travers la théologie des cappadociens en l’occurrence celle de basile de césarée. la théologie latine retiendra en suite unaessentia, tres personae. saint augustin, quoique un peu méfiant est naturellement dans cette perspective. 19 cf. e. gilson, introduction à l’étude de saint augustin, 279-280. il cite pour preuve mor. 14, 24 : « deum nihil aliuddicam esse, nisiidipsum esse». igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 8 l’exprime le mieux c’est essentia. même si l’usage de substantiaest plus courant, pour augustin l’essence divine est improprement appelée substance car celle-ci désigne le sujet qui reçoit les accidents et, à ce titre, ne convient qu’aux créatures. il dira dans le traité de trinitate : car le corps subsiste, et c’est pour cela qu’on l’appelle substance ; mais la couleur et la forme appliquées à ce corps qui subsiste ne sont pas substances, mais seulement dans une substance ; de telle sorte que, si elles cessent d’être, elles n’empêchent pas le corps d’être corps, parce que, pour lui, être et avoir telle couleur et telle forme ne sont pas la même chose. le mot substance s’applique donc proprement aux choses changeantes et qui ne sont pas simples. mais si dieu subsiste en ce sens qu’on puisse justement l’appeler substance, il y a donc en lui quelque chose dont il n’est que le sujet ; il n’est donc pas simple… or, c’est une impiété de dire que dieu subsiste, c’est-à-dire qu’il est simple sujet de sa bonté, que cette bonté n’est pas sa substance même ou plutôt son essence ; qu’il n’est pas sa bonté même, mais que cette bonté est en lui comme en un sujet. il est donc évident que le mot de substance est abusif pour désigner en dieu ce qu’exprime le mot essence, qui est plus usité et proprement et justement employé, à tel point que dieu seul doit être appelé essence. en effet, il existe vraiment seul, parce que seul il est immuable, et c’est en ce sens qu’il a révélé son nom à son serviteur moïse, quand il lui a dit : « je suis celui qui suis » ; et encore : «tu leur diras : celui qui est m’a envoyé vers vous » (ex. 3,14). cependant, soit qu’on l’appelle essence ce qui est le mot propre, soit qu’on le nomme substance ce qui est le terme abusif ; en tout cas on parle dans le sens absolu, et non dans le sens relatif. 20 dans le texte ci-dessus, on note que saint augustin utilise comme testimonium scripturaire pour supporter son argumentation contre l’usage de substantiapour désigner l’être de dieu, le verset même qui fait l’objet de l’exégèse qu’il présente 20 cf. aug.,trin. vii, 5, 10 (ccl 50, 260-261): « corpus enimsubsistit et ideosubstantia est ; illavero in subsistenteatque in subiectocorpore, quae non substantiaesuntsed in substantia ; et ideo si esse desinatvel ille colorvelilla forma, non adimuntcorpori corpus esse, quia non hoc est ei esse quod illamvelillamformamcoloremveretinere. res ergo mutabilesnequesimplicespropriedicuntursubstantiae. deus autem si subsistit ut substantiapropriedicipossit, inest in eoaliquidtamquam in subiecto, et non est simplex... nefas est autemdicere ut subsistat et subsit deus bonitatisuae, atqueillabonitas non substantiasitvelpotiusessentia, nequeipse deus sitbonitas sua, sed in illosittamquam in subiecto. undemanifestum est deum abusive substantiamvocari ut nomine usitatioreintellegaturessentia, quod vereacpropriediciturita ut fortassesolum deum dicioporteatessentiam. est enimvere solus quia incommutabilis est, idquesuum nomen famulosuomoysienuntiavit, cum ait : “ego sum qui sum”, et: “dices ad eos: qui est misit me ad vos”. sed tamen sive essentia dicatur quod proprie dicitur, sive substantia quod abusive, utrumque ad se dicitur, non relative ad aliquid.» igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 9 dans le s. 7. ceci ne devrait pas suggérer une erreur doctrinale ou une contradiction dans l’exégèse de l’évêque d’hippone. la complexité de la question sous considération conduit le saint docteur à évoluer dans la recherche et revoir sa terminologie au fur et à mesure qu’il gagnait une meilleure compréhension de chaque question qui fait l’objet de ses études. par ailleurs, si nous nous en tenons à la datation des chercheurs qui ont proposé l’an 397 comme la date de la prédication du s. 7, nous pouvons dire que le texte de trin vii, 5, 10 dans lequel saint augustin préfère l’usage de essentia à substantiaest bien postérieur au sermon et donc, qu’il a reconsidéré son langage. c’est le moindre que l’on pouvait espérer d’un homme qui se considère comme faisant partie de ceux qui « écrivent en progressant et progressent en écrivant »,21 et qui veut que ces lecteurs puissent progresser avec lui.22 retournant au texte de notre sermon, nous y voyons la distincte affirmation de la sainte trinité, père, fils et saint-esprit, trois personnes ayant la même nature. le prédicateur utilise ensuite une terminologie qui sera reprise, mutatis mutandis, dans le langage du concile de chalcedoine en 451, pour parler plutôt de la nature du fils de dieu au faîte des controverses christologiques de cette époque. saint augustin dit que les trois personnes sont inséparablement égales, « sans mélange ni confusion, sans division ni séparation ». parlant de l’union des deux natures du christ, le concile affirme en effet : « ἔναϰαὶτὸναυτὸνχριστὸν, υἰόν, ϰύριον, µονογενῆ, ένδύοφύσινmmmmmύmmς, mmmέmmmς, mmmmmmέmmς, mmmmίmmmςγνωριζόµεν ». ce qui nous montre de façon très claire les mots mmmmmύmmςmmsens confusion), mmmέmmmς (sens mutation), mmmmmmέmmς (sens division), mmmmίmmmς (sens séparation). presque rien ne semble manquer de ce que saint augustin avait dit par rapport à la nature de la trinité dans son sermon à cette définition conciliaire appliquée au christ dans ses deux natures. et cela donne à croire qu’il y aurait une influence de saint augustin sur le langage conciliaire.23 selon une hypothèse de carlo dell’osso, la théologie 21 aug., ep. 143, 2 (csel 44, 251): «ego proinde fateor me ex eorum numero esse conari, qui proficiendo scribunt et scribendo proficiunt.» 22 id., retr. i, 3 (ccl 57, 6-7): «quapropter quicumque ista lecturi sunt, non me imitentur errantem, sed in melius proficientem. inueniet enim fortasse quomodo scribendo profecerim, quisquis opuscula mea ordine quo scripta sunt legerit.» 23 il existe de plus clairs parallèles lexicaux entre la formulation christologique de chalcedoine et certains textes de saint augustin autre que l’allusion que nous retrouvons dans ce sermon : ep. 137, 9 (csel 44): « nuncueroitainterdeumethominesmediatorapparuit, utinunitatepersonae copulansutramquenaturametsolitasublimaretinsolitiset insolitasolitistemperaret.» ; ep. 140, 12 (csel 44, 164) : « uide, quemadmodumeundemhominemquemdeumcommendat, utpersonaunasit, nenontrinitassedquaternitasinducatur. sicutenimnon augeturnumeruspersonarum, cumcaroacceditanimae, utsit unushomo, sicnonaugeturnumeruspersonarum, cumhomo accedituerbo, utsitunuschristus. legituritaque: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 10 occidentale, et de façon prédominante celle augustinienne est a trouvé une place dans les décisions conciliaires grâce au tomus ad flavianumaussi appelé tomusleonis que le pape léon le grand a envoyé à flavien et qui a été lu et approuvé lors du concile.24 ainsi l’influence de l’évêque d’hippone a atteint l’orient peu d’années après sa mort. la manifestation de dieu à abraham aux chênes de mambré le prédicateur poursuit alors son exégèse des théophanies vétérotestamentaires toujours en référence à la définition qu’il avait donnée de l’ange au début du sermon. il en arrive donc à l’épisode de l’apparition des trois personnages à qui abraham a donné l’hospitalité à mambré. ici encore, il trouve l’occasion de parler aux fidèles de la nature de la trinité en détaillant la doctrine dans la plus grande simplicité : mais si ce personnage qui porte le nom d’ange était le christ parce qu’il se trouvait seul ; n’est-il pas vrai que trois anges se montrèrent à abraham ? comment répondre ? ils étaient trois, et comme si abraham ne parlait qu’à un seul, il dit : “seigneur”. que répondre encore ? pourquoi étaient-ils trois ? était-ce alors la divine trinité ? mais pourquoi dire : seigneur ? parce que la trinité est un seul seigneur, et uerbumcarofactum[io. 1,14], utintellegamushuiuspersonaesingularitatem, nonutsuspicemurincarnemmutatamdiuinitatem». ;c. s. arrian. 8 (ccl 87a): « ac per hoc propter istamunitatem personae in utraquenaturaintellegendam et filius hominis diciturdescendisse de coelis … hanc unitatem personae christi iesu domini nostri, sic ex naturautraqueconstantem, divina scilicet atquehumana, utquaelibetearumvocabulumetiamalteriimpertiat, et divinahumanae, et humanadivinae, beatusostenditapostolus.» ; trin. 13, 17, 22 (ccl 50a, 412): « ... deus condiditquandoquidem sic deo coniungipotuithumananaturautex duabussubstantiisfieretuna personaac per hoc iam ex tribus, deo, anima et carne ». ces textes démontrent au-delà du doute une certaine clarté de l’expression augustinienne qui se retrouve dans la définition conciliaire. une récente thèse a démontré, au prix d’une ample et complexe revue de littérature, par rapport à ladite influence de saint augustin sur la christologie de chalcédoine, que plusieurs pères en orient comme en occident (tertullien, hippolyte, origène, hilaire de poitiers, grégoire de nazianze, appolinaire de laodicée, ambroise) avaient déjà utilisé un langage qui préfigure la définition christologique de chalcedoine : « ένδύοφύσιν = in duabusnaturis ». saintaugustinétait seulement l’héritier d’une tradition et sa théologie qui s’est affirmé au début du vè siècle à surement a influencé les théologiens qui l’ont suivi. il ne pourrait donc pas être culpabilisé de ce que les théologiens modernes considèrent comme limite du concile de chalcédoine. cf. p. c. ezimora, the christology of saint augustine in the council of chalcedon. a quaestio disputata (excerptum ex dissertatione), pontificia università urbaniana, roma 2015, 11-21; et pour l’évaluation des différentes positions, 58-63. 24 nous mentionnons ici une note des cours inédits de christologie qu’il a donné: « il concilio di calcedonia è sempre stato un concilio difeso dalla sede di roma; lì infatti venne letto e approvato da tutti i padri conciliari il tomus leonis; in tal modo, dunque, arrivò in oriente anche la teologia latina. nel tomus di papa leone, infatti, ci sono echi – ad esempio – della teologia di agostino che sottolineava l’unicità del soggetto. proprio per questo è un errore grave dire che i latini e gli orientali non si capivano già dal iii secolo.» igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 11 non pas trois seigneurs ; un seul dieu et non trois ; une seule substance en trois personnes ».25 les questions surgissent du fait qu’abraham dit « seigneur » en s’adressant aux trois. saint augustin demeure dans la tradition de ses prédécesseurs et voit la trinité dans cette apparition.26 mais il prévoit les objections de ceux qui soutiennent que le patriarche ne s’adressait pas aux trois tous ensemble : « il est vrai néanmoins, quelques-uns prétendent que parmi les trois personnages l’un s’élevait au-dessus des autres ; c’est celui-là qu’abraham appelait seigneur, il apparaissait entre deux comme le christ entre ses anges. mais quoi ? n’y en eut-il pas deux seulement qui furent envoyés à sodome et qui apparurent à lot frère d’abraham ? lot cependant reconnut en eux la divinité, et quoiqu’il en vit deux, il dit seigneur, au singulier (gen. 18,19) ».27 on peut interpréter de deux manières la réaction de saint augustin dans ce passage. d’une part, l’on peut dire le prédicateur fustige, tout subordinationnisme – tendance hérétique qui soutient que le père est le seul vrai dieu auquel le fils et le saint-esprit sont subordonnés – qui s’insinue derrière l’idée selon laquelle un des trois personnages apparus se distinguait des autres et que c’est à lui qu’abraham se référait en disant « seigneur ». cela séparerait la trinité, et c’est sur cela que l’évêque avertit les fidèles en insistant que l’ange est porteur de dieu et que c’est dieu qui est vénéré dans celui qui le porte : « ne séparons pas la trinité, dit-il, ne faisons pas une dualité dans sodome ; et il est mieux, je pense, de croire que nos pères adoraient le seigneur dans ses anges l’habitant divin dans sa demeure ; ils rendaient gloire, non aux porteurs mais à celui qu’ils portaient. »28 c’est donc la divinité qui est apparue dans cet épisode. l’autre possibilité 25 aug., s. 7, 6 (ccl 41, 74): « nam si propterea christus erat, cum angelus dictussit, quia unus erat, quid faciemusquandoabrahaetresapparuerunt ? quid hic dicimus ? tresapparuerunt, et abraham tamquam ad unum loquensdicit : “domine”. quid dicimus ? quaretres ? an ipsatrinitas erat ? quare ergo dominus ? quia trinitasunus dominus non sunttresdomini, et trinitasunus deus non tres dii an ; unasubstantia, tres personae». 26 selon saint ambroise par exemple, abraham a vu la trinité « in typo » et au même moment où il observe la distinction des personnes, il adore un seul seigneur. cf. ambr., de excessufratris ii, 96 (csel 73, 302). saint augustin pouvait avoir appris l’exégèse de ce texte de ces pères et problablement d’autres auteurs latins à lui contemporains. pour une étude générale de l’exégèse de cette théophanie dans la littérature patristique, cf. l. thunberg, early christian interpretation of the three angels in gen. 18, dans stpatrvii, akademieverlag, berlin 1966, 561-570. cf. a. d'alès, la théophanie de mambré devant la tradition des pères, dans rechsr 20 (1930), 150-160. selon cette étude, avant le iv° siècle, ni grecs ni latins n'adoptent une exégèse trinitaire de la théophanie : l'opinion courante y voyait une manifestation du verbe. en occident l'autorité de saint augustin a contribué à généraliser l'explication trinitaire mais elle resta toujours un peu hésitante à s’affirmer. 27 aug., s. 7, 6 (ccl 41, 74): « quamvis in illis tribus aliquidicant, quod unusibiexcellebat, quem dominumappellabat abraham quandoapparuerat cum duobus tamquam christus cum angelis suis. sed quid agimus, quia cum duo mitterentur ad sodomam apparentes fratriabrahae loth, et ipseagnoscit in eisdivinitatem, et cum duos videat, dominumappellat. et ille in tribus dominum, et ille in duobus dominum». 28ibid.: « neseparemus ergo trinitatem et faciamus in sodoma dualitatem, puto quiameliusintellegimusquiapatres nostri dominum in angelisagnoscebant, habitantem in habitationeintellegebant, non portantibus sed insidentigloriamdabant ». igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 12 d’interprétation est de voir dans cette réaction une opposition à l’idée selon laquelle c’est le christ qui est apparu avec deux anges. cela signifierait, comme soutiennent les ariens, qu’il est d’une nature visible diverse de celle du père. et voilà l’hérésie. saint augustin rejette donc une interprétation christologique de cette théophanie. la conclusion des deux possibles interprétations demeure toujours la même : le « seigneur » auquel s’adresse le patriarche c’est la divinité même. il est particulièrement intéressant de noter l’accord et la consistance qu’on constate ici dans la pensée augustinienne sur la théophanie de mambré. dans la cité de dieu, il a aussi rejeté d’emblée une possible interprétation christologique de cet épisode, car il lui semblait difficile d’admettre une révélation du christ sous la forme humaine avant l’incarnation : dieu apparut encore à abraham au chêne de mambré dans la personne de trois hommes, qui indubitablement étaient des anges, quoique plusieurs29 estiment que l’un d’eux était jésus-christ, qui était visible, à les en croire, avant que de s’être revêtu d’une chair. je tombe d’accord que dieu, qui est invisible, incorporel et immuable par sa nature, est assez puissant pour se rendre visible aux yeux des hommes, sans aucun changement en son essence, non par soi-même, mais par le ministère de quelqu’une de ses créatures ; mais s’ils prétendent que l’un de ces trois hommes était jésus-christ, parce qu’abraham s’adressa à tous trois comme s’ils n’eussent été qu’un seul homme, ainsi que le rapporte l’écriture : « il aperçut trois hommes auprès de lui, et aussitôt il courut audevant d’eux, et dit: seigneur, si j’ai trouvé grâce auprès de vous …» cette présomption n’a rien de concluant… or, l’écriture témoigne que c’étaient des anges, et ne le témoigne pas seulement dans la genèse, où cette histoire est rapportée, mais aussi dans l’épître aux hébreux, où faisant l’éloge de l’hospitalité : « c’est, dit-elle, en pratiquant cette vertu que quelques-uns, sans le savoir, ont reçu chez eux des anges mêmes ».30 29 selon les traducteurs de l’édition en français que nous avons cité, cette opinion est de tertulien (de carne christi, cap. 7 ; cont. jud., cap. 9 ; et alibi), de saint irénée, adv. haer. (lib. iii, cap. 6, et lib. iv, cap. 26) et de quelques autres pères de l’eglise. cf. m. poujoulat & m. raulx (dir.), œuvres complètes de saint augustin. tome iii, 351, note 2. 30 id., ciu. xvi, 29 (ccl 48, 533-534): « itemdeusapparuitabrahaeadquercummambreintribus uiris, quosdubitandum non est angelos fuisse ; quamuis quidam existiment unum in eis fuisse dominumchristum, adserenteseumetiam ante indumentumcarnis fuisse uisibilem. est quidemdiuinaepotestatis et inuisibilis, incorporalisinmutabilisquenaturae, sine ulla sui mutationeetiammortalibusaspectibusapparere, non per id quod est, sed per aliquid quod sibisubditum est ; quid autemillisubditum non est ? uerumtamen si propterea confirmant horumtriumaliquem fuisse christum, quia, cum tresuidisset, ad dominumsingulariter est locutus (sic enimsriptum est igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 13 or, on peut validement dire qu’il y a une remarquable évolution dans la pensée augustinienne sur l’interprétation des théophanies si on compare sa position dans notre s. 7 et dans ciu. xvi, 29 et celle qu’il a affichée dans le contra adimantum. dans cette œuvre exégétique anti-manichéenne datée à 394,31 la forme et le contexte ont clairement affecté la réflexion théologique du nouveau prêtre d’hippone. cette œuvre présente la plus forte affirmation de notre auteur sur la manifestation du fils dans les théophanies. saint augustin devait réfuter le rejet de l’ancien testament de la part d’adimantus et des manichéens en général. son principal souci dans ce contexte était de démontrer la continuité entre l’ancien et le nouveau testament. il fallait donc montrer non seulement que l’ancien testament est compatible avec la vie et le message de jésus, mais que le verbe est le sujet même dans les écritures hébraïques. il affirme en effet : « le fils, qui est le verbe de dieu, non-seulement dans ces derniers temps, où il apparut aux hommes, revêtu de notre humanité, mais dès la création et souvent depuis, a révélé à qui il l’a voulu les secrets du père, soit par le langage, soit par les apparitions, soit par l’intermédiaire de la puissance angélique, soit par l’entremise de toute autre créature ».32 et il poursuit encore : « il est certain qu’il est la vérité en tout, qu’il est le fondement de tout, que tout obéit à ses ordres et lui est soumis. et cependant en tant qu’il est dieu, en tant qu’il est le verbe du père, coéternel à son père, immuable et l’auteur de la création tout entière, il ne peut être vu que par un cœur parfaitement pur et simple ».33 saint augustin précise donc, pour dissiper toute possibilité d’équivoque, que le fils comme le père dont il est le verbe, est invisible dans sa nature même. l’économie de la polémique anti-manichéenne a orienté les positions qu’a prises le jeune prêtre.34 : “et ecce tresuiri”“stabant super eum, et uidensprocurrit in obuiamillis ab” “ostiotabernaculi sui, et adorauit super terram et dixit : domine,” “si inuenigratiam ante te [gen. 18, 2sq.]”, et cetera)… angelosautemfuissescripturatestatur, nonsoluminhocgenesis libro, ubihaecgestanarrantur, uerumetiaminepistulaad hebraeos, ubi, cumhospitalitaslaudaretur: perhanc, inquit, etiamquidamnescienteshospitioreceperuntangelos[hbr. 13, 2]». 31 saint augustin nous parle des circonstances de la composition de cette œuvre dans retr. 1, 22 (ccl 57, 63-64) : « eodemtemporeueneruntadmanusmeasquaedamdisputationesadimanti, quifueritdiscipulusmanichei, quasconscripsitaduersuslegemetprophetas, uelutcontrariaeiseuangelicaet apostolicascriptademonstrareconatus. huicegorespondiuerbaeiusponenseisquereddensresponsionemmeam». 32 aug., c. adim. 9, 1 (csel 25, 1, 132): « ipse filius, quod est verbum dei, non solumnovissimistemporibus, cum in carne appareredignatus est, sed etiamprius a constitutione mundi, cui voluit de patre annuntiavit, siveloquendosive apparendo, vel per angelicamaliquampotestatem, vel per quamlibetcreaturam». 33 aug., ibid.: « omniailli ad nutumserviunt, atquesubiectasunt ; ut etiamoculis per visiblemcreaturam cui vult, quando dignatur, appareat : cum ipse tamen secundumdivinitatemsuam, et secundum id quod verbum est patris, coaeternum patri, et incommutabile, per quod factasunt omnia, non nisi purgatissimo et simplicissimo corde videatur ». 34 puisque c’est pratiquement le début de son ministère de prêtre, saint augustin peut avoir simplement adopté la position de ses prédécesseurs latins sur la question. saint ambroise avait offert une exégèse des igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 14 l’évolution se trouve ici dans le fait que, tandis que saint augustin offre une interprétation christologique dans le contra adimantum, il la rejette dans le sermon que nous avons pris en considération de même que dans la cité de dieu. dans la première œuvre, le besoin pressent était de répondre aux manichéens. mais dans le sermon, il avait plus en vue l’hérésie arienne qui trouvait argument pour justifier la subordination du fils par les apparitions qui lui sont attribuées dans les théophanies vétérotestamentaires. les mêmes motivations orienteront son argumentation dans le contra maximinum, une réfutation de l’hérésie arienne écrite en 427 où il dira catégoriquement les épisodes de l’ancien testament n’attribuent pas les théophanies au fils.35 par ailleurs, la précise idée selon laquelle les anges sont porteurs ou demeures de la trinité est comparable à une idée qui est déjà apparue dans le contra adimantus. dans les textes sur théophanies vétérotestamentaire qu’il commente, saint augustin affirme : « nos pères adoraient le seigneur dans ses anges l’habitant divin dans sa demeure ; ils rendaient gloire, non aux porteurs mais à celui qu’ils portaient ». il avait écrit dans le c. adim : « sic et in angeloipseloquitur, quandoveritatem angelus annuntiat ; et rectedicitur : deus dixit ; et : deus apparuit; et item diciturrecte: angelus dixit, et: angelus apparuit; cum illuddicatur ex persona inhabitantis dei, illud ex persona servientiscreaturae ».36 notre recherche nous portera par la suite à la découverte de ce qu’il dit sur le rapport de la trinité avec le croyant. passons maintenant à examiner un autre texte. conclusion théophanies comme manifestation du fils avant son incarnation. cf. ambr. exp. luc. 1, 25 (ccl 14, 19): « filiumvisum esse in veteri testamento, . . . qui antequam nasceretur ex virgine videbatur ». mais il reconnait aussi que la nature divine est invisible en elle-même. id., « et ideo deum nemoviditumquam, quia eamquae in deo habitat plenitudinemdivinitatisnemoconspexit, nemo mente autoculisconprehendit». mais sa maturité, l’évêque d’hippone a adopté des positions beaucoup plus nuancées qui abandonnent l’orientation de ses prédécésseurs. cf. j.-l. maier, les missions divines selon saint augustin,paradosis : études de littérature et de théologie anciennes 16, éditions universitaires fribourg, fribourg 1960,107-110. l’on peut voir certains textes du traité : aug., trin. 2, 35 (ccl 50,126) : « interrogatisquaepotuimus quantum sufficerevisum est sanctarumscripturarumlocis, nihil aliud, quantum existimo, divinorumsacramentorummodesta et cautaconsideratiopersuadetnisi ut temere non dicamusquaenam ex trinitate persona cuilibetpatrumvelprophetarum in aliquocorporevelsimilitudine corporis apparueritnisi cum continentialectionisaliquaprobabiliacircumponitindicia». 35cf. c. max. 2, 26, 7. (ccl 87a, 676-677): « tu autemdixisti : hic deus visus est abrahae; sciens te legisse quod scriptum est, visum esse deum abrahae ad quercummambre : et volens quasi probaredominumfiliumvisum esse illipatriarchae … et cum dixisses : hic deus visus est abrahae: volens filiumsolumvisumputari in eo quod in genesilegitur, visum esse deum abrahae, quomodositvisus, dicerenoluisti, ne ibi non solus filius, sedtrinitasagnosceretur deus ». 36 aug., c. adim. 9, 1 (csel 25,1, 132-133). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 15 en faisant l’exégèse des théophanies vétérotestamentaires du buisson ardent et des chênes de mambré, saint augustin a essayé de montrer contre les hérétiques, que les trois personnes ont une seule et même nature et que le fils, même si c’est lui qui apparaît dans les théophanies, n’est pas inférieur au père. le tout se résume en ces propos: « ainsi se résout donc la question : dieu, père, fils et saintesprit, est invisible dans sa propre nature. il s’est montré quand il a voulu et à qui il a voulu, non tel qu’il est, mais comme il a voulu, car tout est à ses ordres. »37 ce sermon, pourrait-on dire à la fin de notre analyse, a un intérêt christologique car c’est spécialement la divinité du christ que les hérétiques contestent et l’évêque d’hippone tenait à affronter cette question pour consolider la foi des fidèles. mais la réflexion sur la nature du christ porte saint augustin à développer devant le peuple une profonde réflexion trinitaire car il n’y a qu’une seule et même nature du père, du fils et du saint-esprit. ceci nous indique que pour lui, christologie et théologie trinitaire sont inséparables. c’est ce que confirme justement gérard rémy lorsqu’il souligne qu’il n’est en réalité pas de révélation trinitaire en dehors de la christologie ni de christologie qui ne renvoie au mystère trinitaire.38 par ailleurs, malgré la complexité de la question, le prédicateur réussit à exposer la doctrine au petit peuple. référence boulnoism.-o., l’exégèse de la théophanie de mambré dans le de trinitated’augustin. enjeux et ruptures, dans e. bermon – g. j.-p. o’daly (éds.), le de trinitatede saint augustin. exégèse, logique et noétique. actes du colloque international de bordeaux, 16-19 juin 2010, institut d’études augustiniennes, paris, 2012, 3565. debruyned., la chronologie de quelques sermons de saint augustin, dans revue bénédictine 43 (1931), 185–193. drobnerh., the chronology of st. augustine’s sermones ad populum ii: sermons 5 to 8, dansaugustinian studies 34/1 (2003), 49-66. 37 aug., s. 7, 4 (ccl 41, 73): « soluiturergoistaquaestiosic. deuspateretfiliuset spiritussanctusnaturapropriainuisibilisest. apparuitautemquandouoluit, cuiuoluit. nonutest, sedutuoluitcuiseruiuntomnia». 38 cf. g. rémy, passivités du christ. leur interprétation chez grégoire de nazianze et augustin d’hippone, dans m.-a. vannier (dir.), la christologie et la trinité chez les pères, les éditions du cerf, paris 2013, 120. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 16 hombertp.-m., nouvelles recherches de chronologie augustinienne, (collection des études augustiniennes, série antiquité, 163) études augustiniennes, paris 2000. kunzelmanna. w., die chronologie der sermones des hl. augustinus, dansmiscellanea agostiniana 2 (1931), 427. kloosk., preparing for the vision of god: augustine’s interpretation of the biblical theophany narratives, dissertation, university of notre dame press, notre dame (indiana), 2002. ___., seing the invisible god. augustine’s reconfiguration of theophany narrative exegesis, dansaugustinian studies36 (2005), 397-420. ___.,christ, creation, and the vision of god augustine’s transformation of early christian theophany interpretation, brill, leiden-boston, 2011. la bonnardièrea.-m., l’épître aux hébreux dans l’œuvre de saint augustin, dans revue des études augustiniennes 3 (1957), 137–162. lambotc., un ‘ieiuniumquinquagesimae’ en afrique au ive siècle et date de quelques sermons de s. augustin, dans revue bénédictine 47 (1935): 114–124. lebretonj., saint augustin théologien de la trinité : son exégèse des théophanies, dans ma. ii, studiagostiniani, tipografiapoliglottavaticana, rome 1931, 821– 836. legeayg., o.s.b., l’ange et les théophanies dans l’écriture sainte d’après la doctrine des pères, dans revue thomiste x (1902) : 138–158 ; 405–424 ; xi (1903) 46–69 ; 125–134. maierj.-l., les missions divines selon saint augustin,paradosis: éditions universitaires fribourg, fribourg 1960. perlero., les voyages de saint augustin, études augustiniennes, paris 1969. rémy g., passivités du christ. leur interprétation chez grégoire de nazianze et augustin d’hippone, dans m.-a. vannier (dir.), la christologie et la trinité chez les pères, les éditions du cerf, paris 2013. rottmannero., saint augustin sur l’auteur de l’épître aux hébreux, dans revue bénédictine 18 (1901), 257-261. smidf. l., de adumbratione ss. trinitatis in veteretestamentosecundum sanctum augustinum, dissertationesadlauream 14, seminary of st. mary of the lake, mundelein, il, 1942. thunbergl., early christian interpretation of the three angels in gen. 18, dansstudiapatristicavii, akademie verlag, berlin 1966, 561-570. van der lofl. j., l’exégèse exacte et objective des théophanies de l’ancien testament dans le de trinitate, dans augustiniana 14 (1964), 485–499. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 5 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 111 book review title of the book: the method and principles of complementary reflection in and beyond african philosophy. author of the book: reverend professor innocent i. asouzu, ph.d., professor of philosophy, university of calabar. publisher: university of calabar press, 2004. reviewer: udo etuk, ph.d., professor of philosophy, and dean, faculty of arts, university of uyo. review there is an african saying that in trying to burn a snake, one need not make the fire as long as the tail of the snake. the book under review is a very long work by any standard; a 529-page book, starting with an analytical table of contents, followed by a brief introduction; then a rather unusually lengthy dedication and acknowledgements. the main text covers about 464 pages of material; while the rear is brought up by a very impressive and imposing bibliography and an index. in my attempt toreview this book, i shall endeavour to keep the review short, in order not to make the fire as long as the snake. the main body of the book is divided into four long divisions: they are not called chapters or sections by the author. in fact, he left them simply as four large divisions, each of which contains many sub-head, which add to give the book a rather complicated outlook. but before delving into an overview of the divisions, it is very important to do two things: one, explain the key concepts which constitute the theme of the book which will greatly heighten your reading interest and also hopefully facilitate your grasp of the issues raised herein. the key concepts are “complementarity”, “complementarism”, and the adjectival form “complementary” which occurs everywhere to qualify such terms as “reflection”, “attitude”, and many others. the author explains complementarity as a certain characteristic, which obtains “wherever human beings understand that their survival depends on their ability to reach out to others like themselves” (2324). let us reduce that to saying that complementarity is the spirit or fact of mutual help, readiness to work with others for the overall benefit of all; it is, as he puts it elsewhere, “a paradigm of cohabitation in society” (49). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 112 thus, complementarity is a fact, or rather, a force of life. like love, you cannot seize it and put it in your pocket. but it is a very potent force, and wherever it is operating, you can see its effect. the author thinks that this force was much more present in the traditional african society than in the “africa that we know” complementarism, as you may surmise from the suffixed –ism, is a doctrine, a philosophy which the author is trying to promote. he says that it is a “normative practical philosophy” which seeksto tell us the proper method we should adopt towards realizing our goals. in other words, it is meant to set standards and guidelines which can help anyone tutored by it to achieve “the type of harmony which is all – inclusive, comprehensive, and universal in all aspects of life” (4647). that, in summary, is the book; the rest is philosophical elaborations and adumbrations replete with scholarly citations and arguments. what led asouzu to see complementarity at work and then to conceive it as a philosophy, or a normative practical philosophy? this is where the lengthy “dedication and acknowledgements” throws a great deal of light. for the 14page section turns out to be the history of asouzu’s village and its founder. it was here that the young boy innocent saw and experienced the exceptional spirit of complementarity and mutuality, which he says, had always been the foundation of the survival of his people. his community was exceptional, in that it absorbed people from all over igboland; that way exemplifying the land of tolerance. furthermore, in his father’s textile business with partners from iceland, the spirit at work was “you help me preserve my interest and i help you secure your interests”. that was the basic rule of human co-existence in society, as he saw it then; and it is clear the marks it made have been truly indelible. so, don’t go into the book without reading this background. the problem or burden of the work, then, is how to inculcate in africans a mind-set or characteristic that would experience and practice this complementarism. for there can be no doubt that this complementary way of life is the way of nature and is what sustained the african past. the author takes great pains and goes into a great detail to discuss what he calls “the ambivalence of the human existential condition”. put in a less elaborate way, the ambivalence is a manifestation of the human predicament noted much earlier by the great apostle paul, when he said that he could not do the good that he would; instead, the evil that he would not, that he did. the author’s method and principles of inculcating the complementary mindset are shown exhaustively in the many sub-sections of the book dealing with igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 113 complementary ontology, complementary epistemology, complementary ethics, and so on. having given this general over-view of the book, let me give you a brief idea of the contents of each division of it, before i conclude with a critical summary. you have heard about the introductory materials contained in the dedication and acknowledgements. this is very informative. the first division tells you that the fundamental human drive is that of self-interest and self-preservation. however, man soon grows out of this primordial tendency, when he discovers that in many directions, he needs to complement his efforts and contributions with those of others. to quote from the book: “what this shows is that in the deep experience of his finitude, man as a creature comes to the realization of his insufficiency and dependence and from here, he concludes also that he needs others to live a contented life” (105). this idea is trans-cultural; but among the igbo of nigeria, it is exemplified in the attitude, which says ibu anyi danda. it was the wise king solomon who said, “you, sluggard! go to the ants!” it is in this second division also that we learn that complementarity is ontological. that is to say, it belongs in the order of things, in the nature of things, that nothing can survive and thrive alone and apart from every other thing. in the third division of the work, the author provides a reformulation of the principles and method of complementary reflection. concerns with “truth and authenticity” dominate this section of the book. truth and authenticity, says the author, are not merely categories of logic and epistemology; but they must characterize the mind that wishes to regard the human condition in complementary terms in order to attain comprehensiveness and universality. in the fourth and final division of the book, the author seeks to elevate the principles of complementarity to a new level, where they might become a universal or global canon. for the joy of being and living to be full realized, we must reach a point where everything we know theoretically and abstractly about complementarity of all existence must be translated into positive action. only when this takes place does our consciousness of complementary unity begin to go beyond itself and bring joy to both the actor and to others. so far my very skimpy review. now let me come to a few critical remarks i have on the work, since no book review would be complete without the reviewer taking a critical look for and against the work. let me present the positive picture igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 114 first; which, of course, by far outweighs any adverse remarks i may have about the book. this work is a very important work, and not knowing what the author has in his plans and god giving him the strength and long life to philosophize more, i consider this his magnum opus. the author studied in austria and publishes in german; and so the deep long-winded thinking of his continental heritage is there all over for all to see. but clearly he is still very much at home with the ambience of his igbo communities and of nigeria generally. he is mostly concerned with african philosophy in the first instance; but he shows how this would become a universal paradigm. complementarism was not asouzu’s discovery or invention; but he has raised it in this book and in his other work effective leadership and the ambivalence of human interest (2003) to the level of a philosophy and doctrine. if philosophy is to be seen as the fundamental normative science that addresses the ends of human action, and also as the discipline which formulates principles and methods for dealing with them, then this book by an eminent philosopher and cleric must be seen as philosophy at its best. having said that, it should also be said that this book is not easy reading at all, even for professional philosophers. i think that it was the eminent british philosopher, bertrand russell, who said with his characteristic tongue in cheek, that the task of philosophy is to make simple things difficult. indeed many continental european philosophers seem to share this view. perhaps father asouzu was imbued with their spirit. let us just say that you may need to read and re-read many of his statements before you know what he is talking about. for these days and for our economy the book is rather lengthy. this not only makes it intimidating; but will probably put its cost higher than most paperbacks available; and we know the problem of publishing philosophy books – the market is not that wide. the author got carried away in many places by his igbo ambience; such that when he used igbo expressions, such as the ibu anyi danda work-song, he ignored to provide a translation. the book was not meant exclusively for igbo consumption; and even if it were, it might stray into the hands of non-igbo readers. a few technical matters needed to be looked into, which when left undone, betray the technical inadequacy of the editorial staff of the printer. for instance, the style of paragraphing whereby each new paragraph is indented is easier on the eye than the one used here which appears to be the printer’s originality. all book titles wherever they appear in the text should have igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 115 been clearly identified by being italicized. in the event of a second edition, these things should be looked into. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no. 5.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 182 a review of kanu ikechukwu anthony’s “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education” mary amanda nwagbo, ihm, ph.d school of education brandman university (chapman university) irvine california, usa amandanwagbo@yahoo.com this paper argues that colonialism as a system of western rule over regions of the world in which it fanned its influence did more than control the resources of the societies that were subjected to it. it upended their social structures and educational systems. under the assumption that colonized communities inhabited people who were illiterate or uneducated, colonialists positioned themselves as heralds of a value that was utterly lacking. the effect was the introduction and enforcing of an educational system that stripped the student of conscious rational thought, rather turning him/her into a depository of mechanized thought patterns. in place of authentic dialogue with the totality of the individual experiences and culture of the recipients, colonial educationists handed ossified learning techniques that ignored the dynamic nature of education. kanu writes: in africa, following the colonial standard … the teacher is understood as having the full responsibility for making decisions about what will be learned, how it will be learned, when it will be learned, and if the material has been learned. this is based on the assumption that learners need to know only what the teacher teaches them and that the teacher has nothing to learn from the student… the result, is a scenario that actively promotes dependency on the instructor: dependency of the colonized on the colonizer. the teacher-student relationship is one of ‘a narrating subject (the teacher) and patient, listening object (the student); the contents, whether values or empirical dimensions of reality, tend in the process of being narrated to become lifeless and petrified’. the student is charged with the primary responsibility of memorizing mechanically the narrated content. (p. 93). writing further, kanu avers that: most times, the teacher expounds on a topic completely alien to the existential experience of the student. his task is to fill the student with the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 183 content of his narration-contents which are detached from the totality that engender the student. words are emptied of their concreteness and become a hollow, alienated and alienating verbosity. this process of receiving, filling, and storing the deposits limits the entire process of education. the student is turned into a robot or an automaton and denied his right to the ontological vocation of being human, since the automation of the human person is irreconcilable with the vocation to be fully human. the end result of this misguided system is a galaxy of impotent literate men and women filed away through lack of creativity and transformation. they cannot be said to be truly knowledgeable since true knowledge comes about through intervention and reintervention. (p.94). as a solution to the lopsided form of education brought by the colonialists, this paper presents a nurturing educational tool based on the igbo-african philosophy of igwebuike. coined by professor kanu ikechukwu anthony from an igbo expression that suggests the idea of solidarity or complementarity, igwebuike is presented as a veritable educational model, which draws from african cosmology, philosophy, and religion. he writes that: as a philosophy of education, igwebuike stands for a dialogical pedagogy that gives proportionate places to the teacher and the student. it is inculturated to fit into the african category which is realistically oriented to qualitative humanism. it sees the teacher and the student as a community of inquiry; a community in the search for knowledge. education and the educator are understood as mid-wife who is humane, self-effacing, caring, non-authoritative, collaborative and academically unassuming. it recognizes the rights of the human person in their proper perspective. (p. 95). the paper further argues that the igwebuike model possesses the potentiality to add value to african education, harnessing a retinue of african values, like hospitality, friendship, solidarity, complementarity, honesty, respect for life, and respect for elders. this, the paper argues, can galvanize both teacher and student for a dynamic education that is in line with african ontology and spur an educational system that is authentically human and african. he argues that: igwebuike provides the basic atmosphere for free high extension capacity thinking. the teacher is not placed at an intimidating ivory tower; he is part of this community of inquiry, and they work together for the overall igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 184 good of the whole through a critical and creative thinking that eliminates biased, distorted, provocative and prejudiced reasoning. (p. 95). kanu did a great job of highlighting the inadequate form of education passed on by the colonial masters to the colonized africans. while the colonial masters have a share in promoting dependency of the colonized to the colonizer, one wonders whether they are completely to be blamed? for example, kanu writes, “there are graduates of computer science with strong theoretical foundation but without much practical import” (p. 96). this situation appears to be the case even today, long after the colonial masters left. this paper challenges africans to “break away from the educational system instituted by the colonial masters and move on to a system that would advance […] a bigger, better, and richer future for africa (p.95). in addition to proposing igwebuike as the igbo-african philosophy of education, africans are called upon to be the narrator of their own story. as chimamanda adichie pointed out in her tedtalk, “the danger of a single story,” many africans go through education reading books and pieces of literature that have nothing in common with their existential experience or environment. unfortunately, globalization and technology seem to have continued where the colonial masters left off. young africans are bombarded with images, news, and lifestyles from the west presented as “the” way things should be, with anything different from the western ways as deficient. bibliography kanu, i. a. (2016). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no. 1 (march, 2016):1-6. kanu, a. i. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. 153-160. kanu, i. a. (2014). igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholicpentecostal relations. jos studies. 22. 87-98. kanu, i. a. (2016) “igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology.” journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. kanu, i. a. (2016). “igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 2. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 5, september 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 185 kanu, i. a. (2017). “igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education”. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2015). “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education”. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 5 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 84 ibanyidanda, descriptive statement and the super maxim. by afo, comfort iyaji; ejom, margaret bassey; godwin, idongesit umoh; ofana, diana ekor; ofem, okoi etim; ogholo, grace ibe; omah, ambrose emmanuel; udoudo, idorenyin denis department of philosophy faculty of arts university of calabar, calabar abstract this work has discussed and/ or analyzed what ibuanyidanda descriptive statement and the super maxim designates. in doing the analysis, we did not lose sight of making an explicit introduction into our essay. also major terms and/ or concepts were vigorously elaborated upon. we took pain also to critically evaluate the ibuanyidanda descriptive statement and the super maxim. keywords: ibanyidanda, descriptive statement, super maxim. introduction the ibuanyidanda descriptive statement and the super maxim is the thought of prof. innocent i. asouzu of the calabar school of philosophy, university of calabar, calabar nigeria. the ibuanyidanda descriptive statement and the super maxim is the concern of this paper, we shall in this essay make explication of what the ibuanyidanda designates, we shall give account also of what the descriptive statement and the super maxim implies. but before doing the above, we shall not lose sight of the need to clarify major terms and/or concepts; this is for clarity of purpose and freeness from every form of vagueness, in consonance with analytic philosophy’s notion of clarification of concepts. it is in this regard that we shall define ibuanyidanda, descriptive statement and the super maxim. this we shall do without equivocations. definition of concepts ibuanyidanda it is said to be a composite word made up of three parts to writ: • ibu, which means “load or task” • anyi, designates “insurmountable for” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 85 • danda implies a “species of ants”. according to asouzu, the concept ibuanyidanda draws its inspiration from the teachings of traditional igbo philosophers of the contemporary system of thought (asouzu p.11). ibuanyidanda is the principle of togetherness, that is the coming together of all parts of reality either in the physical or the metaphysical realm, in order to create a nexus without which there will be a missing link. the ibuanyidanda rejects a one-sided fragmented or exclusive approach to human interest, concerns and projects a complementary, comprehensive, wholesome or inclusive approach (the international research, page 57). the ibuanyidanda is an igbo term which means: “no task is insurmountable for danda (the ants)”. the igbos views that danda, because of their mutual dependence, have the capacity to carry loads that appear bigger and heavier than them (asouzu p.19). but in philosophy it’s rev. fr. prof. innocent i. asouzu of the calabar school of philosophy that borrowed, the concept: “ibuanyidanda” from the igbo people to explain his philosophy of complementarities (messembe, unpublished lecture note). descriptive statement: this is a statement that gives an elaborate account of an event, it makes attempt at describing a state of affairs. most descriptive statements are not true, but may seem true on false value. asouzu noted that, like the statement “ibu anyi danda”. statements like this are evidently not always true and valid in all ramifications. even though in some cases we think and/or assume that such statements are true. some other descriptive statements in the igbo language are to writ: njiko ka, ummuna bu ike, igwe bu ike etc. all these are statements in igbo describing one thing, event or the other. descriptive statements are a statement that gives us an insight into the state of affairs, by way of describing explicitly what an event and/or state of affairs designates. descriptive statements state a factual description of human affairs, e.g.: “the state of much of the middle east is in turmoil”. that is a descriptive statement. super maxim: a super maxim is a law-like dictate that fundamentally controls our actions, such that we mistake their hypothetical character for a universal imperative (the international researcher, p. 59). in ibuanyidanda, the super maxim can be said to mean “the basic rule of danda” and summarizes what all hypothetical injunctions seek to express, which are designed to help stakeholders igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 86 uphold a bond of intimacy needed to securing privately motivated actions (asoouzu, p. 24). an elaboration of ibuanyidanda ibuanyidanda is an explanation of the complementary nature of beings from the inter-relatedness devoid of polarization and exclusiveness, for the new complementary ontology, to be is the capacity to be in mutual complementary relationship with all things that exist and it is that which ibuanyidanda idea of complementarity seeks to explains or address. the idea of ibuanyidanda seeks to supersede all abstract, abstruse and bifurcating modes of conceptualizing being (asouzu, p. 10). before going further into giving an explication of the ibuanyidanda philosophy, it is imperative to dissect the word ibuanyidanda. the term ibuanyidanda is a composite word made up of the following parts: • ibu, which means “load or task” • anyi, designates “insurmountable for” • danda implies a “species of ants”. asouzu in his book, “ibuanyidanda, new complementary ontology” (pg. 11), posits that the orthographic style ibuanyidanda instead of ibu, anyi, danda, draws its inspiration from the teachings of traditional igbo philosophers of the complementary system of thought. for these igbo philosophers, the idea of complementarity is inferred from observing a specie of ants called danda. these ants, ‘danda’ have the capacity to carry load that appear bigger and heavier than them. what this implies is that they can surmount every difficulty tasks when they are mutually dependent on each other in the complementation of their efforts. the concept ibuanyindanda is a very important idea in igbo vocabulary. it is a way of life and constitutes a typical igbo work song bunu bunu oo “ibuanyindanda” lift the load, lift the load , nothing is impossible for danda, the ant (chorused many times in retrain ) it is around this concept that the new complementary ontology is articulated as its horizon. for anything to claim existence it has to fulfill a minimum condition which subsists in its commitment to mutual complementary relationship between it and the other units with which it shares a common frame work. when this condition is fulfilled we can then igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 87 refer to such a thing as what is and has head and tail-end (ihe di, nwee isi na odu). a thing that exists has no head or tail-end (ihe enwegi isi na odu). ibuanyidanda descriptive statement the character of the descriptive statement: “ibu anyi danda” (no load is in surmountable for danda), umunna bu ike, (the kindred is strength), njiko ka (togetherness is the best strategy). all the above descriptive statements as opined by asouzu enshrine mere hypothetical injunctions that are mistaken for categorical commands, and as such, acting in tune with them, always uncritically is bound to lead to error of judgment (asouzu, p. 24). such expressions for asouzu, enshrine hypothetical injunctions of the type “the nearer the better and the safer” which are easily mistaken for universal laws. they are habitual assumptions that have inherently conditional dimensions that are not always evident. a typical example is mbiti’s widely acclaimed phrase “i am because we are; and since we are therefore i am”. many rely upon this phrase to derive some of those principles and ideas based upon which they seek to construct a communalist theory needed to validate african experience of the world. however, this phrase serves as one of the major point of departure for assuming that the idea of intimate belongingness bestows africa experience of the world its unique character. but this is not always the case, because those that are nearer to us are not always better and safer, and so adhering strictly to super maxims of this kind to legitimize their actions, people can always err even in the point of negating those values they cherish, believing that they are acting in the most authentic mode. such existential errors are induced by mechanisms and phenomena that have the capacity to distort the internal workings of human consciousness, and this can make people not always conscious of their errors and as such be acting unintentionally. elaboration of the super-maxim super maxim according to asouzu, in the international researcher is a law-like dictate that fundamentally controls our actions such that we mistake their hypothetical character for a universal imperative. within the context of complementary reflection, all maxims relating to the realization of human interest can be reduced to this one super maxim that: “the nearer the better and the safer”. it is that which all human are susceptible to this fallacy and illusion. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 88 in the light of the above, the super-maxim of the nearer, the better, and safer is a misguided concept which is operational in every human endeavour, and most times being used as danda, the super maxim can be seen to mean “the basic standard in appropriating what ought to be in a parochial manner which still tilts towards self-interest, and egoistic tendencies, it is on this note that asouzu explains further that, the super-maxim; the nearer, the – better and the safer, is “all forms of exclusive mindset derive from our natural tendency to selfpreservation.” this again expresses itself in our propensity to secure our interest first at the expense of those of others. to survive better than others, we have the general tendency to highlight certain things we imagine are special or exceptional about ourselves. we encounter this tendency in almost all spheres of life and at almost all leads of our existential situation. in this way racism ethnicity, nationalism, tribalism and all forms of exclusive tendencies derive their force from the primordial human natural inclination to self-preservation (asouzu 2004, 68). the point being made is that human by nature only seek those things that are conducive towards fulfilling their self-interest. our primitive instinct of self-preservation instigates us to share interests only with those we assume are those nearest to us, who we believe, or assume will guarantee our survival most. we believe it is better and safer to relate with those nearest to us, we are more inclined to stay close to those who are closest to us and to those with whom we share certain common interest and have similar values. consequently, we are drawn to our kith and kin, those from our tribe, from our clan, from our ethnic group, our race, our political groups etc. ibuanyidanda descriptive statement and the super maxim human by nature are egoistic, they tend to preserve their interest in any given situation or circumstance no wonder, for the golden age philosophers the preservation of the self is the first law of nature, this in time past and still in the 21st century, the golden rule of self-preservation is inherent in all human actions irrespective of individual prowess in life. in his “ibuanyidanda (complementary reflection) and some basic philosophical problems in africa today.” asouzu asserts that this self-preservative stigma is constructing impact of our tension – laden ambivalent existential experience of reality and the mkpuchi anyi (phenomena of concealment) (pg, 22). what this means is that agents or individuals have not allowed the limitation of being to be the cause of their joy instead the reverse is the case. if individuals are aware of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 89 the ambivalence of human nature, then descriptive statement such as ibu anyi danda (no task is insurmountable for the ants), umunna bu ike (the kindred is strength), igwe bu ike (multitude togetherness is strength), njiko ka (togetherness is the best strategy) and the super maxim of the nearer the better the safer (pg, 24) would hold no water. in line with the above, social agents tend to interpret these descriptive statements to suit them thereby making other individuals who are not intimate relations by blood, marriage, clan, village, community etc as enemies or infidels. the society have been beclouded in their reasoning to think and even conclude illogically that any member(s) outside their comfort zone tends to be a threat among or to them, thus they result in excommunicating such individuals, one way or the other. the super maxim and descriptive statements has made human consciousness react “vigorously, but uncritically, and at times quite unintentionally to lessons of commonsense experience” (asouzu , pg 23). however, since experience has showed that “multitude is strength, and it stands undisputed that togetherness is strength, that we stand to succeed when we poll our resource together, and hold closely to each other in times of crises , and it is better to help and support those who are nearer to us. since… they do not pose the same threat which outsiders pose” (pg 23). individual tends to exalt their kindred than outsiders, this is what asouzu calls ihe-mkpuchi anyi (phenomenon of concealment) because this action for the individuals are an insider command, norm or values (pg. 25) and mistake the descriptive as a universal law or imperative, and this makes them prone to error. asouzu (25) explicate on the above; “stakeholders can always err… since such existential errors are induced by mechanisms and phenomena that have the capacity to distort the internal workings of a man’s consciousness, actors are not always conscious of their errors and can as such be acting unintentionally”. the descriptive statements such as ibuanyi danda (no task is insurmountable for the ants (danda), umunna bu ike (the kindred is strength), igwe bu ike (multitude or togetherness is strength), njiko ka (togetherness is the best strategy) and the super maxim of the nearer the better and the safer, and concealed the aura of complementarily, also this descriptive statement can once again be seen in the mibiti philosophy of brotherhood, when he asserts that “i am, because we are, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 90 and since we are , therefore i am” (asouzu, p. 25), this mibiti’s assertion is tantamount to hatred, contempt etc among individuals of diverse culture and/or origin. also the super maxim has encouraged negative attributes such as nepotism, ethnicity and tribalism and to some extent this could be identified as some of the problems of nigeria. thus, the question which is pressing at this juncture is what is the way out? critical evaluation of ibuanyidanda descriptive statement and the super maxim the ibuanyidanda descriptive statement and the super maxim as articulated by rev. fr. prof innocent i. asouzu is an eye opener over the limitations in human nature. this philosophy by asouzu will serve as remedy to human existential problems, which we at times fall into though unintentionally. here, we see how due to the impact of the phenomenon of the mkpucki anya (phenomenon of concealment), it is not always immediately evident to us that we can be the very cause of those very problems that are weighing us down. in such situation, it is not always clear to us that precisely our personal anti-social acts are the very causes of the problems we are complaining about (asouzu, p.33). but on the contrary, since human beings are too complex and/ or diverse in views and aspirations, it will be difficult to subject them into coming together, as there are still some humans who will still want to divert from the principle of ibuanyidanda. and on these grounds, the ibuanyidanda will not hold sway generally as a theory for human unity and/ or togetherness. there are cases also were people who are not near to us by birth, marriage, religion and ideology tends to be very harmful of us, case study is the harm done to christians in northern nigeria by some religious sect members in the guess boko haram (kanu 5). be that as it may, the ibuanyidanda descriptive statement and the super maxim will for the greater good of the greater number of people in the society serve as a panacea for unity, progress and development of our world, particularly nigeria. ibuanyidanda descriptive statement and the super maxim is therefore a master piece for development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 91 summary/conclusion we have in this essay, been discussing and/ or analyzing on what the ibuanyidanda descriptive statement and the super maxim designates. in doing the analysis, we did not lose sight of making an explicit introduction into our essay. also major terms and/ or concepts were vigorously elaborated upon. we took pain also to critically evaluate the ibuanyidanda descriptive statement and the super maxim. it is imperative to state without equivocation that asouzu’s ibuanyidanda descriptive statement and the super maxim need to be taught to students and none student the world over. this is because it is the only way humanity can be aware of her short comings and/ or her ambivalent nature, in other to make change and ensure unity, harmony, peace and progress thrive in our society. ibuanyidanda descriptive statement and the super maxim is therefore the ideal for social – cultural and human developments. references edor, j. edor (ed), “the international researcher; a multi – disciplinary journal”: calabar, serenity publishers, 2010. innocent i. asouzu, “ibuanyidanda (complementary reflection) and some basic philosophical problem in africa today: germany. lit verlag gmh and co ka wein, 2013. innocent i. asouzu, “ibuanyidanda and the philosophy of essence: 50th inaugural lecture”, calabar, university of calabar press, 2011. innocent i. asouzu, “ibuanyidanda; new complementary ontology, beyond world – immanentism, ethnocentric reduction and impositions,” zurich, lit verlag gmh and co ka wein, 2007. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). christian-muslim relations in nigeria as a religio-political locus theologicus for misericordia vultus. journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 117-128. mesembe, i. e. “the supermaxim and social change in nigeria”: the international researcher, a multi-disciplinary journal, university of calabar, calabar, august , 2010. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 4 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 123 igwebuike ontology as an african philosophical response to the tiv-fulani crisis in taraba state tyogema victor ichiater st augustine’s major seminary department of philosophy jos, plateau state abstract the problem of human struggle for supremacy has resulted to several ills in our contemporary societies, one of which is the phenomenon of crisis. the reality of crisis is one that has degraded the dignity of the human person, thrown the sanctity of human life to the dust, and sold the love for one another for the purchase of worldly and mundane glories. the tiv-fulani crisis in taraba state is a resultant effect of this drive of man to dominate the other. this crisis borne out of the hatred for the other has exposed many to inhuman and pitiable conditions, scores have also been sent to their early graves. this research has to a great extent examined the causes and the effects of the tiv-fulani crisis in taraba state, and the researcher employed igwebuike philosophy’s complementary and solidarity principles as a response to the menace. keywords: igwebuike, ontology, african, philosophy, tiv-fulani, taraba state introduction many philosophers have agreed to the fact that the human person is a being that is not totally independent, but rather needs the other to foster its own existence. that is why aristotle succinctly puts it that “man is by nature a social animal. he who is unable to live in society, or who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must be either a beast or a god” (stumpf 103). even though man necessarily needs the other to fully achieve his goal in life, he is often driven by what he will gain and benefit, even at the detriment of exterminating the other, who is a sine qua non for his existence, in other to achieve that which he craves for. that is why the philosopher thomas hobbes quoted by lawhead, is of the view that man is naturally selfish and egocentric, looking out for “number1” and that which benefits him only, without considering the other (221). a cursory glance at our contemporary society, most especially taraba state, will definitely reveal to one that with the present ongoing killings, looting, and the inhumanity melted by humans to its kind, hobbes tends to be right, that the other is just meant to be manipulated for selfish gains. it is against this backdrop, that st. mother teresa once avers igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 124 that “if we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other” (“adoration” 60). this means that for us to live in peace with one another, we have to realize that we are insufficient and dependent beings that need others’ complement, in other to live a contended life. therefore, we necessarily have to tolerate one another, and cultivate the spirit of love and unity, not minding our accidental differences, but considering the fact that we all share the same substance, that is humanity. the famous mahatma gandhi fully aware of this fact puts it that “where there is no love, there is no life”. for over three decades, the tiv people of taraba state have been involved in series of crises with the jukun’s, the kuteb’s and the fulani’s. atta barkindoopines that, with the emergence of the boko haram crisis in the north eastern part of the country, the situation in taraba state has almost being completely forgotten. these series of crises have affected the growth and development of the state, made it very inhabitable and has got everyone living in fear. the most recent and ongoing crisis situation in taraba state is the tiv-fulani crisis, which has being in process for more than three years now. since the year 2013 till date, fulani herdsmen have engaged the tiv people in a serious fight. as a result of this crisis, many people have lost their lives and properties; displaced, their homes and farm lands vandalized, and confiscated. this crisis have put the tiv people, and at large, the whole of the state into serious hardships, and unbearable conditions. some people’s view about the bone of contention between the two parties is that, the crisis is on the issue of land and the problem of indigenes and settlers. others do not agree that the crisis is just on the issue of land, but rather are of the view that looking at the situation so far, it is evident that it has religious and a political undertones. the objectivity of any of these assertions on the cause of this crisis will reveal itself in the course of this research. nevertheless, no matter what the situation is, violence cannot solve violence, and the fact still remains that “a tree cannot make a forest” and “number is strength (igwebuike)”, therefore we need one another to become that which we wish to become. that is why mbiti puts it that “i am because we are and since we are, therefore i am” (108). the researcher, therefore, employs the igbo-african philosophy of igwebuike as a possible attempt to curbing this menace between the tiv people and the fulani herdsmen and restoring lasting peace. the aim of this research is to encourage peaceful co-existence and to enhance the spirit of solidarity and mutual complementarity betweenthe tiv people and the fulani people, and also among the other ethnic groups in taraba state at large. the study has achieved its specific objectives, as it has: i. examined the present ongoing tiv-fulani crisis. ii. discovered the possible causes to the menace. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 125 iii. analyzed the effects and the implications of the crisis on the populace. iv. identified the possible solutions and way forward. review of relevant literature this section of the work attempts to review relevant literatures that are important to this research either explicitly or implicitly. the review will include literatures on igwebuike and literatures on the phenomenon of crisis. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for catholic-pentecostal relations kanu a major proponent of igwebuike philosophy wrote this piece with the intention of resolving the dispute and conflict that exist between the catholic and the pentecostal christians, with the aid of the igbo-african philosophy: “igwebuike”. here, the author tries to resolve an intra-group conflict, in the sense that both catholics and pentecostals belong to christendom. kanu presents igwebuike philosophy as an ideology resting on the “principles of solidarity and complementarity; thus, to be is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation” (92). this means that mutual intolerance and unhealthy forms of competition, which define the relationship between communities and indeed other forms of conflict that characterize many contemporary societies, are dysfunctional and cannot lead to a desired end. for any society or community to develop, igwebuike philosophy posits that there must be mutual complementarity among its members because “existence is not only meaningful, but only possible in a community” (kanu93). the author avers that “africans originally had their traditional religion and cosmology, which united them, and which were conquered by the exclusivist euro-christian cosmology”. for when african traditional religion was what all practiced, there were no divisions, but unity. kanu, therefore, observes that “there is need for a return to our traditional cultures, not in search for religion or a return to african traditional religion, but a common ground for dialogue” (90-91). this means that the differences that exist among us are alien and foreign to our typical african history, which unites us as one. therefore, we need to do away with these differences, and reawaken our oneness. finally, emphasizing on the value and importance of unity, kanu opines that “catholics and pentecostals must understand themselves as kinsmen and women, for that is what they are. their catholic and pentecostal affiliations igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 126 are only secondary to their kingship bond. they both constitute a community of enquiry that are searching for the full realization of their being” (93). catholics and pentecostals, therefore, will be able to fulfill the divine mandate of christ, only if they come together in existential solidarity, which is a correlative and complementary solidarity (97). this means that only through unity can we achieve our ends, and not through conflict. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria kanu in this piece looks at the cat and dog relationship that exists between the adherents of christianity and islam in nigeria, with the aim of seeking the way forward. he observes that the relationship between the christians and the muslims has been characterized by “mutual suspicion, hate and unhealthy rivalry” (2). kanu, therefore, employs the igbo-african philosophy of igwebuike in remedying this ugly trend. this literature is relevant to this work because, the conflict between the tivs and the fulanis in tarabastate is to the contention of many, religious in nature, as the tivs are dominantly christians and the fulanis are dominantly muslims. igwebuike as a philosophy of solidarity and mutual complementarity posits that existence is only meaningful and possible in a community. we necessarily need the other to complement us, if our existence must have meaning and be profitable. this means that the adherents of both christianity and islam need to necessarily understand themselves as kinsmen and women, and not let religion be a source of division among them, because religious affiliations are only secondary to their kinship bond. the fact remains that they were brothers and sisters before the advent of these religions (kanu 8). kanu speaking on the need to embrace the differences that exist among us, and to shun violence and conflict that occur due to our differences, avers that “the world is such that differences would always exist and to try to destroy the other as a result of difference is to waste one’s time; to end the variation of reality is to end reality itself, for reality is by its nature variegated” (8). more meaning can only be added to reality when these differences complement themselves. kanu finally giving his verdict on the dispute between christian and the muslim, opines that only when muslims and christians come together in existential solidarity, which is a correlative and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 127 complementary solidarity, a “we” relationship, can they fulfill their divine mandates. both religions have something to learn from each other, and to avoid or alienate the other is to deny oneself of knowledge and growth, and thus expanding the capacity of ignorance. when both religions slight each other, look down on each other, segregate each other, they are committing the ontological evil of alienation (8-9). igwebuike as an igbo-african response to the problem of personal identity and alterity in this work kanu attempts to address the problem of “i and other” relationship, how the african views relationship between the self and the other. he does this by employing igwebuike an igbo-african philosophy of solidarity and mutual complementarity. he argues that a proper understanding of the “i and other” relationship in the light of igwebuike philosophy will to a very large extent better national and international unity and enhance dialogue between people of diverse religious, cultural and ethnic backgrounds, and thus, reduce or curb violence in our contemporary society. igwebuike philosophy holds that to “to be” is to live in solidarity and complementarity and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. “to be” is “to be with the other”, in a community of beings (kanu web). kanu observes that “igwebuike as a complementary philosophy understands life as a shared reality. and it is only within the context of complementarity that life makes meaning. life as a life of sharedness; is one in which another is part thereof. a relationship, though of separate and separated entities or individuals but with a joining of the same whole” (web). this means that, whatever affects the other also affects the self. this therefore calls peaceful coexistence between the self and the other and mutual complementarity. that is why quoting ekwulu, the author avers that: if the other is my part or a piece of me, it means that i need him for me to be complete, for me to be what i really am. the other completes rather than diminishes me. his language and culture make my own stand out and at the same time, they enrich and complement my own. in the presence of his language and culture, the riches and poverty of my language and culture become clear and i see that his own and my own when put together form a richer igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 128 whole when compared to any of them in isolation (ekwuluqtd in kanu web). kanu, therefore, contends that dialogue is what is needed between the self and the other. he observes that “to conceptualize identity free of alterity is only a few steps away from doomfor although every other is truly other, no other is wholly other but a relative and complementary other”. the etymology and meaning of igwebuike igwebuikeetymologically is an igbo compound word which derives its root from three igbo words: igwe,bu and ike. these three separate words put together to make up the word:igwebuike. these three words can also be used in sentence form, by putting them together although as independent words, thus making up a complete sentence. igwe is a noun which means “number or population”. bu is a verb which means “is”. ike is also a verb which means “strength or power”. when put together, igwebuike comes to mean literally: “number is strength or number is power” (kanu “african traditional religion” 67). igwebuike as an ideology derives its origin from antiquity, it was first employed by the igbo traditional philosophers as “a theory based on an illustrative statement to teach that when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force, and more so, to express their world of relationship, harmony, continuality and complementarity. at this level, no task is beyond collective capability.” (kanu, “igwebuike and the unity…”web). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy rests on two primary principles: solidarity and complementarity. it argues that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’, is ‘to be with the other’, in a community of beings (kanu “african traditional religion” 67). igwebuike, therefore, understands the human person as possessing a relational character, also as one who is inter-subjective and must necessarily relate with the other in order to make a meaningful existence. jean paul sartre a renowned atheistic existential philosopher in his work being and nothingness, argued that authentic interpersonal relation is impossible. for him every form of human relation is based on conflict. he observed that one’s freedom and subjectivity becomes threatened by the look of the other, and beneath the look of the other one feels reduced to an object and alienated. the look is thus objectifying and is a threat to one’s freedom and subjectivity. (omoregbe 100-101). igwebuike discredits sartre’s argument on the basis that as human beings we are social in nature and cannot do without the other. isolation contradicts our nature, but solidarity and mutual complementarity enhances our existence. no wonder then, corroborating with igwebuike, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 129 gabriel marcel a theistic existentialist also refutes sartre’s position. marcel (quoted by omoregbe) insists that “interpersonal relationship is an essential aspect of human existence. in fact, it is in the presence of other selves that everyman becomes aware of himself. thus the presence of the other is essential to self-discovery, self-awareness and self-differentiation.” (76-7). igwebuiketherefore, agrees with marcel that the absence of the other creates a vacuum in the self that can only be filled through mutual complementary relationship with the other. hence kanu defines this relation as one in which, though of separate and separated entities or individuals but with a joining of the same whole. it is a relationship in which case the two or more coming together makes each a complete whole; it is a diversity of being one with one another. to put the other away removes the balance of being. this presupposes a tailor-madecloth, measured, cut and sewn to fit into the curves, contours, shape and size, peculiarities and particularities of a being. thus, every being has a missing part and is at the same time, a missing part (“african traditional religion” 68). prof. kanu ikechukwu anthony, o.s.a: the proponent of igwebuike philosophy kanu ikechukwu anthony is an augustinian friar. he was born 20th november, 1981 at nkwerre. he is of igbo extraction from arondizuogu, ideato north local government area, imo state nigeria. though having his origin from the eastern part of nigeria, kanu had both his nursery/primary and secondary school education in the north in jimeta-yola, adamawa state, from the following schools: command children nursery and primary school, demonstration primary school, army day secondary school and st. peter’s minor seminary, from 1984-1986, 1987-1992, 1993-1994and 1995-1999 respectively. after his secondary school education, kanu in responding to his call to the religious life saw him join theorder of st. augustine, where his vocation was nurtured. thus,kanu proceeded to st. thomas aquinas and st. augustine’s major seminaries from 2001-2004 and 2005-2009, where he obtained bachelor of arts degree in philosophy and bachelor of arts degree in religious studies respectively. after the completion of his formation to the priesthood and religious life, in 2009 he was ordained a catholic priest. kanu after his ordination proceeded to further his studies. he obtained master’s degrees in philosophy (metaphysics); religion and human relations from university of nsukka, enugu state and nnamdiazikiwe university awka, anambra state from 2010-2015 and 2010-2012 respectively. in 2012, he igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 130 continued in the same nnamdiazikiwe university for his doctorate degree programme in religion and human relations, which he obtained in 2015. kanu is a man of great responsibilities and engagements. apart from his religious and pastoral commitments, he served as the dean of students at the international bio-research institute, ugwogo nike, enugu state and lectures in other three different institutions which include: st. augustine’s major seminary, jos; augustinian institute of philosophy, makurdi and veritas university, abuja. he is also a member of various academic societies like: igbo studies association (i.s.a) usa, nigerian philosophical association (npa), international society for african philosophy studies (isaps), association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars (aatreps) just to mention but a few. also a member of decision making boards like governing board, international bio-research institute (ibi), ugwogo nike, enugu state; apurimac onlus (ngo), jos-plateau state; board of trustee, association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars (aatreps), and a host of others. in his bid to contribute immensely to the pool of knowledge, kanu has written omnivorously, making impact in various spheres of life through his works, especially in the areas of african philosophy and african traditional religion (atr) studies in which he has made an indelible impression through his ground breaking igwebuike philosophyand other written works, prominent among which include: african philosophy:an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues and a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. kanu so far, has written 20 books, published 116 articles in national and international peer reviewed journals, 120 papers presented at different conferences. this is no doubt an indication that kanu is truly a genius and his contributions in creating awareness and imparting positive knowledge cannot be over emphasized. kanu is also the founder and editor-in-chief of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, and igwebuikepedia: an internet encyclopedia of african philosophy. kanu being the proponent of igwebuike philosophy has made great impact in philosophy through its instrumentality.kanu through igwebuike has proposed a new way of looking at reality, using the lens of solidarity and complementarity. his works on igwebuike among many include,igwebuike and african ethics, igwebuike and the unity of african philosophy, igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principle, igwebuike as an igboafrican philosophy of education, igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 131 igwebuikecracy:the igbo-african participatory socio-political system of governance, igwebuike asthe expressive modality of being in igbo ontology. pertinent issues that cloud our contemporary world have been addressed by kanu using igwebuike. also, through igwebuike kanu has made vital contributions in the areas of metaphysics, ethics, epistemology and political philosophy. thus,elevating it to the status of an academic discipline worthy of being employed for research in various areas of inquiry for positive impacts on the society. igwebuike: the unity of the african philosophical experience igwebuikephilosophy forms the basis or unity of the african philosophical experience as it promotes an immutable essence of african philosophy in its idea of communal living through solidarity and mutual complementarity. the tenets of igwebuike philosophy mirrors and defines the african worldview and philosophy. thus kanu observed: igwebuike which is the philosophy of complementarity and solidarity is the key to understanding african philosophy or the unity of african philosophy because ‘the idea of communality or complementarity, is a point where african philosophers, not minding their differences come to an agreement: that the african world is an interactive and complementary ontology. (“igwebuike and the unity…” web). 3.3.1. igwebuike and the interpretation of african philosophy the african worldview is communal; one’s being can only make meaning by virtue of its relationship with the other, within the context of the community. this perspective of african ontology, which portrays being as possessing a relational character differentiates it from that of the west. western philosophy is predominantly individualistic in nature as opposed to the communal nature that characterizes african philosophy. this perspective of western ontology is succinctly expressed in the dictum of descartes thus “i think therefore i am.” on the contrary, mbiti expressed the african perspective in his dictum thus “i am because we are and since we are therefore i am.” (108). hence mbiti and the host of african philosophers understand man as a being that is not totally independent, but necessarily needs the other to exist. also, for them man’s being cannot be meaningful in isolation, but only in a community of beings. hence igwebuike as an african philosophical ideology mirrors this african worldview of communal existence as it buttresses that, “to be is to live in solidarity and complementarity and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. to be is to be with the other, in a community of beings” (kanu “igwebuike and the unity…” web). igwebuike philosophy also holds that one does not achieve his goal as an individual, but only through the community. the individual gains his identity igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 132 only through mutual coexistence with the other. the existence of others assures one of their solidarity and complementarity without which he/she cannot be. existence for the african therefore, implies co-existence with the other through mutual complementarity and solidarity. hence igwebuike which bases its tenets on these principles of solidarity and complementarity, serve as the “key to understanding african philosophy.” (kanu “igwebuike and the unity…” web) as an ideology, igwebuike does not limit itself within the material or physical sphere alone, but goes beyond to include the spiritual sphere. thus it “goes beyond the human world to speak of the modality of being or the entirety of reality, including the inanimate and spiritual worlds.” (kanu “igwebuike and the unity…” web). igwebuike as an ordered relationship igwebuike which means literally as “number is strength” does not designate a disordered relationship but rather an ordered relationship. it is not “a philosophy of the ‘mob’, as ‘igwe’ which means large number of people may suggest” (kanu“igwebuike as the unity…”web). it refers to a relationship that is founded or built on mutual trust, dialogue, respect and regard for one another. also the solidarity igwebuike proposes is one that tends towards a good cause. thus kanu opines: igwebuike is an ordered relationship. it is a relation guided by the igbo-african principle: egbebereugobere (let the kite perch, let the eagle perch)….the idea of egbe (kite) and ugo (eagle) speaks of a variety of positions, personality, creed, culture, etc, and in fact, differences in life, which is found in the world, and yet must coexist together. ….when the egbe castigates and condemns the ugo, it thinks that it is making progress; it is rather alienating itself because the being of the ugo has an existential and fundamental contribution to the being of the egbe. it is such that when egbe kills the ugo, the egbe also kills itself. …when the egbe and ugo harness their energies towards a common project, need and desire, they can constitute an insurmountable force in pursuing their collective vision. only then can they overcome their collective difficulties.(kanu“igwebuike as the unity…”web). ontological foundation of igwebuike according to lawhead, ontology refers to the study of the generic features of being, as opposed to the study of the particular things that exist. ontology is concerned with such questions such as “what is most fundamentally real?” “what does it mean to exist?” and “what is the structure of reality?” (576). also according to the wiktionary english dictionary, ontology is the branch of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 133 metaphysics that addresses the nature or essential characteristics of being and of things that exist; the study of being qua being. the ontological foundation of igwebuike philosophy is the african cosmos. the african cosmos comprises of the spiritual and the physical worlds. the spiritual world representing that of the supreme being, spirits and the ancestors, and the physical world comprising of the human being, animate and inanimate objects. these two worlds interact and complement each other. unlike plato who bifurcated reality into the world of forms (immaterial) world and the physical (material) world, with the physical world comprising of mere shadows and incompatible with the world of forms. the african cosmos is not bifurcated, both the physical and spiritual world interact harmoniously and enjoy mutual benefits from each other. thus, kanu buttressing on the relationship that exist between the physical and spiritual worlds observed that in the african cosmos, the spiritual and physical dimensions overlap and harmoniously interact. in this interaction, man communes with god, the divinities, the ancestors and vice versa. while the ancestors do for human beings what they cannot do for themselves, human beings do for the ancestors what they cannot achieve by themselves. this interactive capacity … has instilled a strong sense of community among africans, with an intricate web of relationship between the living, the dead and the yet to be born. (“igwebuike and the unity…” web). this relationship, solidarity and complementarity that characterize the existing feature of being in the african cosmos and worldview make up the ontological foundation of igwebuike philosophy. igwebuike as the intricate web of african philosophy igwebuikeis seen as an intricate web of african philosophy because as a “relational and complementary principle it has remained constant in the midst of the changes in the history of african philosophy, and has continued to persist through changes.” (kanu “igwebuike and the unity…” web). igwebuike in portraying being as having a relational character advocates for solidarity, complementarity, harmony and communal living, which forms the immutable essence of being in african ontology. african philosophers throughout the ages, for example tempels, kagame, senghor, nyerere, mbitit, to mention but a few, have argued in support of the fact that “being” in african ontology is defined and identified by nature of its relationship or solidarity and complementarity with others. these philosophers, hence argue that “to be is to be with the other” and they see being as belonginess. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 134 therefore, the relational, communal and coexisting nature of the african world makes the principles of solidarity and mutual complementarity indispensable. hence these principles which define igwebuike philosophy constitute an intricate web of african philosophy because “the idea of communality or complementarity, is a point where african philosophers, not minding their differences, come to an agreement: that the african world is an interactive and complementary ontology.”(kanu“igwebuike and the unity…”web). igwebuike as an ethics of a shared humanity igwebuike places communalism at the core of african ethics, making african ethics a morality that is understood in relation to the other. as an ethical ideology that encourages communal living, igwebuike expresses the capacity to be compassionate in relation to the other. it encompasses reciprocity, dignity, harmony and humanity in the interests of building and maintaining community. unlike western ethics that promotes individualism and sometimes prize selfish interest above altruistic behaviours, kanu observes that: igwebuike goes beyond the self, to feel the pain of the other as though it were my pain, the redemption of the other as though it were my redemption. it speaks more of our interconnectedness and interrelatedness and the responsibility we have towards each other. it presents my humanity as being inextricably bound in your humanity. the consequence therefore becomes that i am diminished when others are humiliated and oppressed. ( kanu “igwebuike and african ethics” web). igwebuike also “emphasizes the strong connection between moral rules and the type of communal kinship relationships that exist among african societies.” (kanu “igwebuike and african ethics” web).hence a person’s action, whether good or bad, has implications and effects either positive or negative on the other members of the community. thus it is the duty and responsibility of the community in rooting out evil and also helping each member to live morally good lives. therefore as an ethics of a shared humanity and also as an african ethical theory, igwebuike reflects a community based morality in which a person is said to be ethical only in relation to others or to the community. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 135 igwebuike and the essence of being human the philosophy of igwebuike is based on the values of humanness, caring, respect for others, compassion, mutual helpfulness, collective responsibility, reciprocal obligations, interdependence etc. (kanu, “igwebuike and african ethics” web). it recognizes three attributes of being human: human dignity, human equality and universal brotherhood/sisterhood. a. human dignity: for igwebuike philosophy, human dignity is one of the immutable attribute of being human. igwebuike contends that the human person has a relationship with the divine, which makes man a theomorphic being, and hence human life is understood as coming from god. this relationship between human beings and god is what accords them their dignity. igwebuike been an igbo-african philosophy adopts the igbo concept of human life, which argues that human life is from god. thus, in igbo culture “when a child is born it is taken to be a gift from god. the life of a child is not attributed to biological fact of conception because every child has existed in an antecedent world of a divine master.” (kanu “igwebuike and african ethics” web). therefore human dignity, which must be respected by all, is due to the relationship between god and humans. it is obligatory to respect the dignity of the human person. kanu avers that “the dignity of the human person, who must be treated by the other with respect and the moral responsibility expected from him or her, is fundamentally bound to his or her divine relationship.” (“igwebuike and african ethics” web). b. human equality: kanu opined that “the african idea of human equality is directly linked to her concept of god as the father of all.” (“igwebuike and african ethics” web). god in african ontology is conceived to be just and fair, impartial and treats everyone equally. this idea of equality does not water down the reality of hierarchy, rather equality in this sense does not imply “placing everyone on the same level but giving everyone his due place: thus, children must respect their parents because of the precedency that age and experience gives to them.” (kanu “igwebuike and african ethics” web). c. universal brotherhood/sisterhood:igwebuike concept of universal brotherhood/sisterhood is hinged on the fact of our common existence as human beings, which by virtue of it, we shear common interest. kanu observes that “the idea of universal brotherhood and sisterhood is based on the african worldview which understands human persons as having a common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 136 shared race, colour, habits, feelings, hopes, desires, values, common historical experience and a common destiny.” (“igwebuike and african ethics” web).thus igwebuike philosophy argues that as brothers and sisters, “it is meant that the other is part of me. if the other is part of me, he or she is treated with respect and love, for to treat the other otherwise is to diminish myself.” (kanu “igwebuike and african ethics” web). therefore, igwebuike proposes virtues like hospitality, generosity, empathy, sympathy, compassion etc.which can help us live out this universal call of brotherhood and sisterhood. the tiv-fulani crisis of taraba state: an insight the tiv people the tiv people are an ethno-linguistic group or ethnic nation in west africa. according to eduwardo (quoted by ushe) the word tiv has a triple meaning. firstly, it is the term that designates the people as an ethnic group. secondly, it refers to their language. thirdly, it refers to the one ancestral father, tiv, to whom all tiv people trace their common ancestry. (5). the tiv number approximately 10,000,000 individuals in nigeria and cameroon. in nigeria, most speakers are indigenous to benue, nasarawa, plateau and taraba states,with millions of speakers also in cross-river, kaduna, adamawa, lagos, oyo states and abuja federal capital territory. they depend on agricultural produce for commerce and life. they are predominantly christians, while a few belong to the tiv traditional religion. (“tiv people” web). the most distinctive feature of tiv cultural heritage is found in their singularity of language. they have one dialect which is understood by all members of the tribe despite an occasional difference in pronunciation, this serves as a spontaneous vehicle with which to mobilize themselves easily and quickly towards a common objective.(tyough web.) accord to torkulathe origin of the tiv people and early history is covered by three theories of origin. these are thecreation, bantu and family theories of origin. the creation theory: the creation of the world (tar) is attributed to god (aondo). in tiv mythology, aondo (god) had created the world and settled closer to it until he was hit with a pestle by a woman who was pounding food. in response, he moved into the sky (kwavaondo) which is his present abode. though there are different versions of the creation theory, and there does not seem to be any particular sequence in the creation process, in at least, one version takuruku rather than aondo is argued to have been responsible igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 137 for creation. in all the versions however, swem is identified as the “place” of “creation”. the bantu theory: this theory is the one most appropriated by many scholars. it argued that the tiv are bantu people and speakers of a bantu related language. r. c. abraham (quoted by torkula) in his work “the tiv people” argued by giving sixty seven (67) word list showing “similarities” between tiv language and the language of “bantu nyanza” in present day malawi. additional evidence of the “bantoid” origin of the tiv was provided by abraham in the form of shared traits in dance, physique and worship with other central african groups (16). ushe confirms this theory of origin when he asserted that bantu was an industrious man, who had many children including butel (white man) and uke (non-tiv), with tiv as the last born, and one who was most loved by their father.(6) the family theory: aside from the bantu theory another theory upon which arguments about the origin of the tiv are based is the family theory. in outline, the theory traces the origin of all “tiv people” to one man, thus members of a “single family”. torkula observes that tiv is identified in some versions of this theory as father of all tiv people while in other versions; it is takuruku, anyamazenga, karagbe, shon, gbe, akem or awange who is the founding father. whoever the founding father was, the genealogy of the group is hinged on two of his children. these are ipusu and ichongu. ipusu begot shitire, kum, kpar and tongov. while ichongo begot gondo, ikyura, nongo, ihar, mase and turan.these children of ipusu and ichongu constitute the clans of the tiv people today, and from them all the tivs came forth as the claim holds. the various theories of origin of the tiv people points to swem and central africa (congo) as the places of origin of the tivs. while others hold unto to swem as the place of origin, others insist that it is congo. but the swem version is problematique as no one has been able to locate the place called swem, which makes it sound more of like a myth. thus, the congo version seems more plausible. hence, this study considers congo as the place of origin of the tiv, where they then migrated to their present places in nigeria and cameroon. gbor (quoted by nyityo) asserted that the migrant tiv coming from their original home-land in congo passed through swem where they settled for some time before arriving at their present middle belt domicile in nigeria (14). this version contrary to other versions, speaks of swem as only a place where the migrant tiv rested during their migration from congo to their present homes. the tiv people migrating from congo came to settle in the benue valley around 1750 a.d. (tyoughweb). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 138 tiv operated an egalitarian society and power was wielded through collective responsibility and consensus was the means for conflict resolution. the tiv had no central authority; they had mainly a fragmentary social and political organization with the family as the main unit of political organization. it was with the coming of the europeans that central rulership was introduced among the tiv people. (tyough web). the fulani people the fula people known as fulani in hausa language is an ethnic group in africa, but predominant in west africa. they can be found also in northern parts of central africa, including sudan and egypt. the fulani are traditionally a nomadic, pastoralist and trading people, herding cattle, goats and sheep across the vast dry lands of their domain.according to buah (quoted by maina) the estimated population of the fulani stands at about eight million nomadic fulani (fulani baroro’en) and 16 million settled fulani (filaningida) (1). they are considered to have lighter skin and straighter hair than their other african counterparts. historians vary in their assertions concerning the origin of fulani. nevertheless many of them have come to consensus that the history of the fulani seems to begin with the berber people of north africa around the 8th or 11th century ad. as the berbers migrated down from north africa and mixed with the peoples in thesenegal region of west africa the fulani people came into existence. over a thousand year period from ad 900 1900, they spread out over most of west africa and even into some areas of central africa. (modibbo web). the fulani were the first group of people in west africa to convert to islam through jihads, or holy wars, and were able to take over much of west africa and establish themselves not only as a religious group but also as a political and economic force. they are the missionaries of islam and continued to conquer much of west africa. as they conquered different towns and people, they took captives who became their slaves. these slaves adopted the culture of the fulani and worked their fields (maina 4). the zenith of fulani influence in west africa was noticed in 1804 when usmandanfodio – a studious and charismatic muslim fulani scholar staged his famous sokoto jihad. he began by preaching a reformist ideology in the hausa kingdoms. this was climaxed in 1804 when viewing himself as god’s instrument, usmandanfodio preached against the hausa kings who he claimed were not following the teachings of the prophet. the jihad also had a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 139 political undertone as demonstrated in the attack on the well-established muslim kingdom of bornu. the economic cause of the jihad had to do with the resentment by the cattle fulani of what they considered to be an unfair cattle tax called jangali. one of the major effects of the jihad was the creation of a powerful sokoto caliphate whose authority was established over cities like kano and zaria and whose rulers became emirs of provinces within the sokoto caliphate. this probably explains why the motto of sokoto state is “born to rule” and the sultan of sokoto, the religious leader of all muslims in nigeria. (maina 4-5). taraba state taraba state is one of the 36 states of the federal republic of nigeria. it is named after river taraba, a river that transverses the central part of the state. intense military politics under the regime of general ibrahim babangida led to the creation of taraba state out of the defunct gongola state on 27 august 1991. taraba state is bounded in the west by plateau state and benue state and on the eastern border by adamawa state and the republic of cameroon. on the northern border are bauchi and gombe states. taraba has been rightly nicknamed nature’s gift to the nation because of the abundant natural resources the state is endowed with. the agrarian nature and rich alluvial soil found in most parts of the state makes taraba conducive for cultivating all types of food and cash crops such as cassava, yams, potatoes, cocoyam, rice, maize, coffee, tea and cocoa. the state has vast lush grassland that supports cattle grazing, while the various rivers/lakes hold great potential for the development of fisheries.(nscan 10). taraba state has sixteen lgas, and according to the 2006 census figures released by the national population commission, the total population figure of taraba state stands at 2,300,736. research has shown that about 55% are christians, 32% muslims, 12% african traditional religion adherents and 1% self-acclaimed free thinkers (nscan 11).there are over 80 indigenous ethnic groups in taraba state. some of these ethnic groups include mumuy, ichen, wurkum, mambilla, kuteb, tiv, chamba, jukun, fulani, jenjo, kunini etc. (“taraba” web). these diversities in religion, tribe and ethnic group reveals the pluralistic nature of taraba state. the phenomena of taraba state crises: the tiv story the tiv people of taraba state are found predominantly around the central and southern parts of the state. according to gaadi the tiv people are the second largest ethnic group in taraba state next to the mumuye people. (web). the tivs have a long history in taraba state and are said to have coexisted peacefully with their neigbours in the state during the pre-independence era. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 140 in fact there is history of corroboration between the tiv andjukun people to ward off the invasion of enemies before the arrival of colonial administration. this peaceful coexistence between the tiv and their neighbours continued until when by 1960, post-independence political arrangements and the creation of new states led to hostilities between them and other ethnic groups. (nscan12).vaaseh (quoted by nscan) explains that: trouble started in 1976 when benue and gongola states were created. the tiv and the jukun ethnic groups felt the states were created for them. consequently, it was alleged that the jukun ethnic group led by the then administrator of wukari division, mallam ibrahim sangari led a band of arsonists to attack and burn down tiv villages. they argued that since benue was created for the tiv, gongola was created for the jukuns; hence the tiv were to relocate to benue state. (12). since then the tiv people of taraba have not experienced any peace in the state and their history has been crowded with series of crises between them and other ethnic groups. gaadi presents the timeline of tiv-taraba crises thus: tiv/jukun crisis of 1960, 1981, 1987, 1991, 1992, 2001, 2007, and 2011; tiv/fulani/jukun crisis of 1989; tiv/kuteb crisis of 2006(web).and finally, the ongoing tiv/fulani crisis which began in 2013. most of these crises are hinged on political, religious, ethnic and indigenship problems. the letter written by the tiv ethnic group to the then governor of gongola state col. yohannamadaki, says it all, as it succinctly points out the plights of the tiv-taraba, these include: the non-recognition of tiv as indigenes of the state, non-recognition of tiv traditional rulers, denial of employment opportunities at the local government level, denial of scholarship opportunities, change of names of tiv towns and settlements to jukun or hausa names etc. (nscan 12). the tiv-fulani crisis in taraba state there are many controversies surrounding the tiv/fulani crisis in taraba state. this is because, the reality of the crisis is open to diverse interpretations, and as such different schools of thought have their take on the issue. some people view it from the religious perspective due to the harm it has done on religion, and thus tend to name it a religious crisis. others view it from the political perspective and thus point accusing fingers on the political elites for inciting the crisis. some others hold unto to economic, resources and environmental problems, and thus give it a colouring of struggle over scares resources by the parties. this research will take an eclectic stand in order to have a full grasp of the truth surrounding this crisis, because each of the views present a fact about this menace that cannot be disputed outrightly. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 141 gist on the tiv-fulani crisis from 2013-2017 the ongoing crisis between the tiv peopleand the fulani herdsmen in taraba state is saidto have erupted in 2013. this crisis has affected the whole state, but predominantly the central and southern parts of the state because of the dense population of both the tiv and fulani people in these regions. the local government areas directly affect by this crisis include: gassol, bali, gashaka (central taraba); donga, takum, wukari and ibi (southern taraba). according to awoshiri’sreport, the tiv/fulani crisis all began on the 25th of july, 2013 around sarkin kudu district in ibilga. as the news of the abduction of one damisa by the tarokpeople, infuriated the fulani who began attacking, killing people and destroying properties. despite the quick intervention of the local government chairman, alhajiadamuishaku, who visited the town two days after the event, the worse happened when a village named nahuta within sarkin kudu vicinity was attacked on july 28 that year, a day after the chairman’s visit. the news got to sarkin kudu and was taken over by hoodlums (muslims), who went on a rampage, attacking christians. after this incident, there was relative peace, until the second round of the crisis resurfaced again on october 8, 2013 when two tiv okadayouths were attacked and killed by the fulanis in the same area of sarkin kudu (awoshiri2-3).other sources like unity news and nigeria conflict security analysis network (ncsan) reported a later date for the emergence of the crisis. according to these sources the tiv/fulani crisis began in december, 2013. tyopuusu and ugbidye avers that it started in “ibi town in what was seemed to be a religious crisis which broke out in the ancient town, leaving dozens dead and property destroyed.” (1). according to awoshiri’s report, the second phase of this crisis started in a neighbouring village of azege in benue state, a riverine border town between benue and taraba state down kwatansule side, on january 14, 2014 when the fulani herdsmen had some misunderstanding with the natives (tiv) of the place over grazing field. with the misunderstanding, the furious fulani herdsmen attacked tiv villages including awashuwa and tse-jibo, killing four tivs. (4).since after these attacks, many other more destructive attacks have followed, leading to the annihilation of lives and properties. awoshiri presents the timeline of some fulani herdsmen attacks in southern taraba in 2014 as follows: • on march 3, 2014, the fulani invaded sevav, a village in mbawar,gaambe-tiev under chinkai district of wukarilga killed about four persons. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 142 • on march 5, 2014, they attacked kinekaa village, killing and destroying properties. the fulani herdsmen continued their attacks on the tiv people, destroying the whole churches under agan enlarged christian community (ecc); john bosco village, tseaweela, tseakaabo and tseagere villages were equally attacked with people killed, displaced and everything destroyed. • on march 11, fulanis attacked sevav for the second time. on this fateful day they combined it with tseavaan and tsedoki and ensured that no stone was left on top of another. tsekwaghneer was burnt down on march 12, followed by tseiortema on the 13th. also in the same month of march the fulanis attacked tseakue near tor-damisa area in donga lga. in ibilga attacks were launched on tsurkpa, audu, gazor and moti villages, reducing them to nothing. also, igbogodo a village under wukarilga was destroyed. (4-6). another source, the nigerian security, conflict and analysis network (nscan) also reports the findings on tiv-fulani crisis. the nscan conducted a four month (april-july 2015) in-depth research into the violent conflict in taraba state, looking at the period from 2013-2015. even though the research of the nscan is not exclusive to the tiv people alone because it considers all affected by the herdsmen attack, neverthelesstheir findings are vital to this research as greater percentageof their work presents data of herdsmen attacks on the tiv people who are the major victims. this assertion is confirmed as the report has it that “particularly the tiv ethnic group, have been systematically victimized, to such an extent that questions are beginning to be raised as to whether such atrocities can be termed genocide.” (6). the nscan report has is that more than 1,484 christians have been killed and 2,388 injured from the herdsmen attacks on the central and southern region of taraba state. on the number of internally displaced persons (idps) the report also revealed that about 11,898 idps are living in idp camps within the state, while 12,664 idps are being hosted in idps camps in benue state. still other idps about 10,000 are settling in villages and towns around toungo and lukti on the nigeria-cameroon border in adamawa state. finally, on the number of churches and properties destroyed, the nscan report has it that in donga, takum, wukari and ibilgas (southern taraba) as well as bali and gassollgas (central taraba), about 171 churches, 314 houses, 39 shops and businesses of christians have been destroyed, as well as many fields, goods and other possessions. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 143 table showing details of the fulani herdsmen attacks in central/southern taraba from december, 2013 – 14 july, 2015. s/n names of lga people killed people injured churches houses 1 bali 246 462 9 2 donga 226 311 14 3 gashaka 65 122 4 gassol 275 569 101 239 5 ibi 175 227 10 24 6 takum 125 219 2 7 wukari 378 478 49 37 total 1484 2388 171 314 excerpt from nscan report 2015. in june, 2016 unity news reported that “more than 211 persons… have lost their lives in coordinated attacks by armed herdsmen in the state.” (1).and vanguard on 19 december, 2016 reported the killing of no fewer than 18 persons in the tiv and fulani clash in dan anacha, gassollga.(nkomweb). the details presented above on the fulani herdsmen and tiv crisis does not cover in totality every reality of the crisis, it is only a glimpse of what had taken place. also, with the crisis still an ongoing phenomenon, it is impossible to give the complete details because every now and then fresh attacks are carried out. causes of the tiv-fulani crisis the tiv-fulani crisis is attributed to several factors which are said to have ignited it. these causes are not exclusively accepted by all, thus different schools of thoughts are divided in their views on what the actual cause or causes of this crisis are. below are the alleged causes: contestation over land: some people attribute the cause of tiv-fulani crisis to the issue of land. the government, journalist and other political and traditional heads are the major proponents of this view. the secretary to the state government, anthony jellason confirmed this claim when he asserted that the killings are hinged on land usage. the chairman of the muslim council of taraba mr. inuwajauromanu,also believes that the conflict is about land. he observes that “the original inhabitants of those areas don’t want igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 144 people coming from other places to settle in the area and this is the cause of the crisis.” (tyopuusu and ugbidye1; 3). the contestation over land between the parties is said to have been caused by a couple of factors which has forced the fulani herdsmen to migrate from other places to the central and southern region of taraba state in search of pastures. these factors include the boko haram insurgency and the current problems of environmental degradation from deforestation and low rainfall in the north, resulting to desert encroachment, soil erosion, shortage of water and low vegetation. these unfavourable conditions have forced the fulani herdsmen to migrate to taraba state, which has plenty vegetation, with abundant rainfall and arable land for cultivation and grazing. (ncasn 50). religious factor:“… religion which was meant to be the basis of our togetherness and tolerance today sows instead the seed of discord and hate.” (ngare 145).religion is another factor thought to have prompted this crisis.this school of thought opines that the crisis is borne out of the islamic agenda to dominate and take over the state, thus envisaging the tiv people who are 99% christians to constitute the major stumbling block in actualizing this agenda, the herdsmen attacks is concentrated on tiv in order to do away with their major obstacle. thus, the proponents of this school of thought reject the first claim which hinged the sole cause of this crisis to contestation over land between the tivs and the fulanis. furthermore the claim that the tiv/fulani crisis is religiously motivated is backed up by the nature of the attacks carried out by the supposed fulani herdsmen, which is centered on the destruction churches and christian worship centres. the catholic bishop of jalingo charles hammawa reported that about 300 outstations and 6 parishes have been vandalized and burnt down. (justine and ugbidye1). political factor:“it is said that politics is a dirty game, but i say politics is not dirty rather politicians are.” (kamai). it is a fact that nigerian politicians manipulate and employ every means at their reach in other to acquire power. it is against this backdrop that the tiv/fulani crisis in taraba state is suspected to be politically manipulated by some political bigots who are after power and not the well-being of the people.thus some people are supposing that the crisis was ignited by muslimsin otherto displace the tiv people who are predominantly christians so that they will not be able to register for their voters’ cards, therefore automatically disenfranchised. this is alleged to be a plan intended to seize power from the christians (awoshiri 8). this claim igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 145 however tends to portray some truth as 70% of the atrocities committed in this crisis took place in the period of the general elections (ncasn 16). corroborating with this claim, the president of tiv cultural and social association (tcsa) hon. james nungwa aversthat “from all indications, the displacement of tiv people in central and southern parts of the state was borne out of the inordinate ambition of some overzealous politicians to grasp political power in 2015 general election.”(nungwa 1). ethnic factor:“… communal clashes have escalated simply because there are people who think they can take advantage of sentiments of ethnicity to deliberately fuel crises.”(ngare 146).the problem of ethnic rivalry has sparked a lot of interethnic crisis among different ethnic groups in nigeria.gudaku observed that “the virus of ethnicity has poisoned our blood, to the extent that we think of ourselves in terms our ethnic identity over and above any other thing.” (67). thus the problem of ethnic divide cannot be left out in discussing the causes of tiv/fulani crisis in taraba state.the fulanis who are nomadic cattle rearers and the tiv who are agrarians are rivals to each other. their conflicting interests in the animals and crops respectively, yield contending ills and the perpetration of skirmishes every now and then. (azuanan.p) indigeneshipvssettlership syndrome:odigbo gave a sharp distinction between an indigene and a settler when he averred “an indigene is one who claims to be the ‘son’ of the soil, a recognizedcitizen of a given space while a non-indigene or settler is a stranger, a migrant who does not have rights of occupancy” (6). the demarcation between indigenes and settlers has resulted to lot of crises among nigerians. people suddenly find the mere presence of the other the most intolerable phenomenon to condone, let alone appreciate. this has led to systematic elimination of the perceived or imagined ‘enemy’ from political and economic equations. in extreme cases, physical attacks come handy to drive home the feeling of those who, in the present, lay claim to be the sons and daughters of the soil. (gudaku 73). the tiv-fulani crisis can also be liken to have derived its root from the indigene and settler problem which has tormented the tiv people in the state for a long time now. the tiv people are considered settlers and not indigenes of taraba state, by their neigbours from other ethnic groups within the state. this claimthat the crisis could have result from the branding of the tiv people as settlers is affirmed by the attitudes of the local chiefs mostly of fulani extraction who have laid claims to lands and possessions belonging to the displaced tiv in other to hinder them from returning to their homes. shimave observes that “some of these fellows have conspired in claiming parcels of land that the tiv returnees are claiming belonged to their grandparents and so they wish to have them back now.” (6). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 146 the effects of the tiv-fulani crisis the tiv-fulani crisis has exacted series of negative effects on the both parties, especially the tiv people who are the weaker party and the receivers of the atrocities meted on them by their rivals. there are legion of effects resulting from this crisis which include: internally displaced persons (idps):gudaku defined idps as “those who are fleeing violence and seeking safety but within borders of their own country.” (96). the tiv-fulani crisis has resulted to the displacement of a many people, forcing them to abandon their homes, business, farming activities and other means of livelihood. according to report of nscan, about 11,898 idps are in idp camps within taraba state, 12,664 idps from taraba state are taking refuge in idp camps in benue state and about 10,000 idps are taking asylum in the nigeria/cameroon border in toungolga of the southern part of adamawa state. (30-2). thisdata covers only from december, 2013 to july, 2015 only. thus this shows the magnitude of the harm done by this crisis. another painful truth about these idps is the fact that the government is showing little or no concern about their welfare. unlike their fellow counterparts in adamawa, yobe, borno states, the idps in taraba state have continued to wallow in pains without federal government support. (tyopuusu and ugbidye 1). destruction of lives and properties:the tiv-fulani crisis has led to the loss of innumerable lives of men, women and children, as well as the destruction of properties. the nscan research revealed that more than 1,484 have been killed and 2,388 persons injured from the crisis,with about 314 houses, 39 shops, many fields, goods and other possessions destroyed, in just within the span of december, 2013 to july, 2015. added to this is also the destruction of 15 complete family compounds with many houses and properties. (34). tyopuusu and ugbidye reported in unity news that only in 2016, more than 211 persons lost their lives from coordinated fulani herdsmen attacks. (1). educational effect: the fulani herdsmen attacks which has led to the displacement of the tiv people, destruction and vandalisation of school structures, bringing to halt farming activities and other businesses which provides the enablement in training children in schools, has brought about the termination of education and dropping out of schools by students and pupils. this conflict has also led to the shutting down of most schools in the affected areas as a preventative measure to stave off the outrageous attacks of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 147 slaughtering innocent and harmless children. the fact remains that these children for no fault of theirs are denied a solid foundation of their future and well-being. economic and social effects: with the advent of this crisis between fulani herdsmen and the tiv people who are predominantly farmers, there have been shortages in food production and circulation, owing to the fact that farming activities have been brought to a halt as most local farmers have been displaced by the fulani herdsmen. this has caused high price of food in the market and even absence of some, due to the in ability of tiv farmers to engage in their farming activities. hunger is also on the increase as others cannot afford food for themselves due to the expensive nature, other crimes like stealing is also on the increase because of the hardships and sufferings resulting from the crisis which has left others with no other option. religious effect: with the advent of tiv-fulani crisis also, religious activities have been slowed or come to an end in affected areas. the nscan reported that about 171 churches have been destroyed by the crisis. (34). the bishop of jalingo diocese most rev. dr. charles hammawa also revealed that the crisis has forced the closing down of 6 parishes while over 300 catholic outstations have been burnt down or vandalized. (tyopuusu and ugbidye 1). seizing of tiv farm lands: one of the realities of the tiv-fulani crisis is the fact that farmlands and fields of the displaced tiv people are taken over by the local chiefs (mai anguwas and dekechis) and given to other persons. shimave affirms this thus “…since the tiv people fled for safety, some of the local chiefs who are mostly of fulani extraction have laid claim to their land.” (6). these local chiefs are using the crisis as an opportunity to seize land belonging to the tiv people to offer it to other people from other places. unity news also reported that there is “influx of strange people into the state who are now said to be occupying lands belonging to the displaced people in gassol district of gassol and bali lgas.” (3). widowhood/orphaned children: these are effects that are evident in almost all crises. widowhood is “a state of a loss, either of a husband or a wife.” (gudaku 101), while an orphan is “child whose parents are dead” (oxford dictionary). the crisis between the tiv and fulani herdsmen in taraba state has left a lot of people widowed and numerous children as orphans. those affected by these are forced to live on with painful and bitter life experiences and memories. some of these orphaned children due to the lack of basic parental training and care grow up becoming nuisance to the society in which they live. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 148 igwebuike philosophy: a response to the tiv/fulani taraba crisis igwebuike philosophy as an ideology encourages solidarity, mutual complementarity, peaceful coexistence, unity, progress and the pursuit for common good. likewise it discourages and stands against vices and activities like war/crisis, killing, mutual distrust, unhealthy competition and rivalry. it points to the fact that there is no human being or group of humansthat areselfsubsistent or independent. rather every human necessarily needs the other’s complement. igwebuike philosophy argues that“when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force, and more so, to express their world of relationship, harmony, continuality and complementarity. at this level, no task is beyond collective capability.” (kanu “igwebuike and the unity…” web). a look at the tiv-fulani crisis in tarabastatehas revealed that it is hinged on the problems of mutual distrust, ethnic and religious rivalry, clash of interests, lack of mutual respect for each other’s right and dignity, drive for supremacy. these problems permeate the tiv-fulani crisis which has brought misfortunes, doom and lots of hardships on both parties. igwebuike philosophy hence fits in as a philosophical model suitable in responding to this grave problem between the tiv and fulani people of taraba state. igwebuike philosophy in addressing the problem of the divides between the tivs and fulanis; whether this divides are ethnic, tribal or religious, holds that differences are meant for complementarity and not for conflict. engaging the other in crisis is a futile venture which will only worsen issues, because “the world is such that differences would always exist and to try to destroy the other as a result of difference is to waste one’s time; to end the variation of reality is to end reality itself for reality is by its nature variegated.” (kanu “christian-muslim relations” 8). and since “existence is not only meaningful, but also possible only in a community,” one must necessarily live with the differences. therefore instead of capitalizing on the differences and using it as an arsenal to destroy the other, igwebuike argues that these differences can be channeled towards the betterment of each other’s existence. this can be achieved only when one sees the other as a part or piece of himself that is needed to make him/her a whole. hence “the other completes rather than diminishes… his own and my own when put together form a richer whole when compared to any of them in isolation.” (ewulu qtd in kanu “african traditional religion”69). thus “‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 149 complementarity is to suffer alienation.” (kanu“igwebuike and the unity…” web). the tiv people who are predominantly farmers and the fulani people who are predominantly cattle herders, all practice agriculture though in different ways. the both also live side by side with one another, and often times enjoy mutual benefits from each other, these benefits will not be present when both fight one another, rather only when a good relationship is existing. hence instead of fighting one another, cultivating a good relationship built on trust, solidarity and mutual complementarity will enhance their common good and promote their interests. the fulani and tiv relationship at best will be symbiotic rather than parasitic, as it has always being prior to the advent of the crisis and their rivalry. it will be symbiotic because they both possess something vital that the other has not. the fulani is good at herding and likewise the tiv is good at tilling the soil. one is an agrarian and the other a pastoralist, when they blend together they stand a chance of gaining from each other and enhancing their pastoralist and agrarian practices. for example the fulani herdsmen need the fields and the remains on the farm of the tivs as pasture for their cows to graze on. the chaff gotten from some leguminous and cereal crops also serve as important feeds to their cows especially during dry season when fresh grass is scarce. likewise, the tivsalso needs the dung from their cows which is a good source of organic manure, to manure their farms for better production. the tivs also enjoy the local milk (nunu) gotten from the cows of the fulanis. a good number of fulani herdsmen do not engage in crop cultivation, but rather to a very large extent depends on the farm produce harvested by the tiv people for survival, and likewise the tiv people depend to a very large extent on the fulani herdsmen for meat (beef) especially during festive periods. this shows that “no man is an island” and mutual complementarity is necessary. this therefore calls for peaceful coexistence, solidarity with one another and mutual complementarity. because when we come together as igwebuike posits we “constitute an insurmountable force.” (kanu“igwebuike and the unity…” web). finally, adopting igwebuike philosophy by the tivs and the fulanis through peaceful coexistence, solidarity and mutual complementarity, will not only end the crisis, stop the incessant killings, destructing of properties and improve well-being, but it will also have a positive and beneficiary effect on taraba state in particular and nigeria as a whole, as it will enhance development especially within the agricultural sector and thus boost the economy of the state and country at large. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 150 conclusion this research from the foregoing has looked into the tiv-fulani crisis going on in taraba state, around the central and southern parts of the state. this ugly phenomenon has sent scores to their graves, displacing several people from their ancestral homes, subjecting many to inhuman conditions. coupled with the fact that no serious attention and handling has being given to this crisis by the government and the local authorities since its inception in 2013, it is still an ongoing reality yet to come to a halt. a lot of controversies have emerged regarding the cause of this crisis. different schools of thought point to varying causes. prominent of these causes include: religious/ethnic factors, struggle over land and resources, political factors, indigeneship and settlership syndrome, amidst other claims. no matter the claim or cause attributed to this crisis, the fact still remains that it has resulted to several ills and if care not taken more ills will be recorded to its name. hence the concern is to see to the curbing of this menace and the restoration of lasting peace. thus considering the alleged causes of this crisis, what stands out clear among all is the problem of division and lack of trust and unity among the tiv and fulani people. therefore igwebuike philosophy as an ideology that promotes solidarity and mutual complementarity is proposed as a possible response to the crisis issue between the tivs and fulanis in taraba state. igwebuike thus, calls on both the tiv and fulani people to embrace one another, through dialogue and peaceful coexistence, instead of attacking one another, for only through this can the both be happy and fulfilled. the phenomenon of crisis is a reality though not favourable keeps on hunting the human race from time to time. central and southern taraba has from time to time being bedeviled by this phenomenon of crisis. this largely is a resultant effect of the pluralistic nature of these regions. the plurality in religion, ethnic groups, ideologies, et cetera, has contributed in making the central and southern regions of taraba state crisis prone and resistant to peace. at the moment, tiv-fulani crisis is the challenge faced in these regions. killings, maiming, lynching, looting and vandalism have been the order of the day. these unfortunate occurrences have to be put to a stop if progress is needed. the parties have to come together in dialogue, not minding their differences in other to resolve their problems and to coexist peacefully. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 151 works cited adoration ministries enugu, nigeria. adoration daily anointing: july, aug and sept. adoration ministries, 2016. azuana peter. “press release on the fulani versus tiv, agatu,jukun crisis in benue nasarawa and taraba state.” universal reformed christian church, 26 may, 2014. gaadi donald. “the political conspiracy against the tiv nation: from the youths perspective.”https://mobile.facebook.com/theimongo/posts/7024479 731553608?_rdf. accessed 6 feb. 2017. gudaku,t. benjamin. agony of crisis: a challenge to national development and integration. jos: fab educational book, 2007. ideyi nwabuiro. “ethnicism and religious crisis in nigeria: a stumbling block to national development.” filosofia theoretical: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion. vol.2 (1). 2276-8386 (2013): 357-401 kanu, ikechukwu anthony. a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy.jos: augustinian publications, 2015. kanu, ikechukwu anthony. “igwebuike and african ethics.”igwebuikepedia internet encyclopedia of african philosophy.(eds.) kanu anthony and jerome okonkwo. augustinian institute. igwebuikepedia.web.accessed 04 dec., 2016. kanu, ikechukwu anthony. “igwebuike and the unity of african philosophy.”igwebuikepedia internet encyclopedia of african philosophy.(eds.)kanu anthony and jerome okonkwo. augustinian institute.igwebuikepedia.web.accessed 04 dec., 2016. kanu, ikechukwu anthony. “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria.”igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no.2. 24488-9210 (june 2016). kanu, ikechukwu anthony. “igwebuike, personal identity and alterity.”igwebuikepediainternet encyclopedia of african philosophy.(eds.)kanu anthony and jerome okonkwo. augustinian institute.igwebuikepedia.web.accessed 04 dec., 2016. kanu, ikechukwu anthony. “igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholic-pentecostal relations.”jos studies vol.22. 978-2023-36-1 (2014): 87-98. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 152 lawhead f. william. the voyage of discovery: a historical introduction to philosophy. usa: wadsworth/thomson learning. 2002. luther m. king jr. strength to love. benin city: religious broadcasting, 2013. mbiti, j.s. african religions and philosophy. london: heinemann, 1969. modibbo, jabbama. “origin of fulani people.”bandirable-fulbe.n.d., 17 jan. 2011. web. 5 march, 2017. musa m. joseph. “fulani attacks: causes, effects and solutions.” philosophical week. auditorium of sams., jos. 8 march, 2017. ngare, louis. politics of ethnic and religious alignments in nigeria: a philosophy of liberation for mutual co-existence. jos: fab anieh nig. ltd, 2011. nigeria conflict security analysis network (ncsan). violent conflict in divided societies: a case study of violent conflict in taraba state (20132015). abuja: world watch research, 2015. nkom john. “18 killed in taraba tiv, fulani clash.” vanguard.com. vanguard, 19 dec. 2016. web.accessed 15 jan. 2017. nungwa james. “submission from the president of tiv cultural and social association, taraba state, hon. james nungwa at the interactive session with the assistant inspector general of police.” tiv cultural and social association (tcsa), 23 feb. 2016. nyityo g. aondohemba. “clash of civilizations and tiv experience (an interaction between christianity and tiv culture).”ma thesis.university of nigeria, nsukka, 2014. obiwulu c. aloysius. “proper education as solution to the african problematique of crises.”african philosophy: a pragmatic approach to african problems. 2014: 132-150. omonokhua a. cornelius. dialogue in context: a nigerian experience. kaduna: virtual insignia. 2014. omorgbe joseph. a simplified history of western philosophy: contemporary philosophy. lagos: joja, 1991. shimave mark. “the scramble for tarabacentral.”unity news june, 2016: 6-7. stumpf samuel. philosophy history and problems. usa: mcgraw-hill. 1994. the untold story of taraba killing.barkindo atta. nscan, 2015. mp4. torkula a. alfred. “a survey of the marriage and burial institutions amongst the tiv of central nigeria.” diss. st. clements university, 2001. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 153 tyopuusu justine and ugbidyepeter.“the untold story of herdsmen invasion of tarabacommunities.”unity news june, 2016: 1; 3-4. tyough emmanuel. “akaa-a-tiv.” https://wanbaba.wordpress.com/lyfestyle/akaa-a-tiv/.accessed 10 jan. 2017. ushe m. ushe. kpor of tiv culture. enugu: san press, 2007. william awoshiri. the report on the tiv-fulani crisis of 2013-2014 in the southern part of taraba state of nigeria. “tiv people.” wikipedia.org. n.p., n.d. web. accessed 10 march, 2017. “taraba.”facts.ng. discover nigeria, n.d. web. accessed 20 feb., 2017. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 19 documentation et traduction de quelques devinnettes igbo olivia ezeafulukwe nnamdi azikiwe university,awkaanambra state. olyvconnect@yahoo.com resume les devinettes constituent une partie intégrante de la littérature orale africaine. la littérature orale étant menacée par la modernité et la globalisation se voit diminuer en usage. l’usage des devinettes n’en est pas exempt. mais laisser disparaitre les devinettes, c’est laisser disparaitre une partie intégrante de notre patrimoine culturel. cette communication se donne comme objectif de documenter quelques devinettes igbo et les traduire en deux langues internationales. un effort supplémentaire est fait pour contextualizer ces devinettes pour mieux les interpréter et les traduire. cette communication s’ambitionne aussi de chercher la nature des devinettes et à quelles fins elles sont employées. les devinettes igbo préexistantes sont conceptualisées et traduites. mots clés : devinette, traduction, contextualization. introduction une devinette est une forme d’énigme. c’est un jeu d’esprit qui met à l’épreuve la finesse de jugement et la vivacité intellectuelle des joueurs. la devinette est une “question posée sous une forme bizarre ou plaisante, et dont il faut deviner la réponse” micro robert (303).les devinettes constituent une partie intégrante de la littérature orale africaine et en constituent un genre très important. balogun (6) nous explique la devinette en ces mots » un récit ou une expression imaginaire, formulé dans un but de développer l’intelligence ou bien de faire réfléchir le public pour qui elle est racontée. » elle est toujours basée sur la faune et la flore de l’environnent. elle est toujours destinée aux jeunes. fabriquée par les plus âgés pour aider les jeunes à prendre plus conscience de leur environnent immédiat et à apprécier la nature. elle est fabriquée pour mettre en épreuve l’intelligence et le degré d’intégration sociale et culturelle des jeunes. une jeune ne pose pas de devinettes aux adultes puisque ces devinettes ne constituent guère de mystères à ces adultes déjà habituées à leur environnement dès la naissance. les devinettes sont toujours construites en forme interrogative attendant des tentatives de réponses. elles encouragent la rapidité de réaction. les réponses appropriées sont applaudies. jadis ces devinettes constituaient des formes de détentes et pouvaient aussi server à éduquer les enfants ou a éveiller leur conscience de l’environnement dans lequel ils vivent. posées en formes de jeu ou de concours, elles se passent au clair de la lune, pendant les heures de repos. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 20 pourquoi traduire et documenter les devinettes igbo la société traditionnelle africaine, où les familles se rassemblent pour interagir après les jours de tracas et de bagarres, est maintenant remplacée par la vie individualisée où les parents n'ont plus de temps pour leurs enfants. il est décourageant de constater que la modernisation est en train de pénétrer profondément dans les racines de la société africaine traditionnelle et la prive de sa culture et de ses normes. les pauvres africains, dans leur ignorance, comprennent la globalisation comme synonyme d'occidentalisation, ce qui les fait jeter et se dépouiller de beaucoup de choses qui étaient africaines, qu'ils considèrent maintenant barbares et démodées. beaucoup de langues africaines atteignent progressivement l'extinction au furet à mesure que plus en plus d'africains adoptent les langues des maîtres coloniaux au détriment des leurs. o'grady nous informe que le modèle classique de perte de langue implique trois générations : d’abord la génération des parents monolingues, puis suit une génération de leurs enfants qui acquièrent une nouvelle langue pour devenir bilingues et enfin la génération de petits enfants qui redeviennent monolingues, s’exprimant seulement dans la nouvelle langue de leurs propres parents, sans comprendre la langue de leurs grands-parents (330) ma traduction. en regardant le modèle d’o'grady, on peut imaginer combien de langues africaines survivraient au-delà de ce siècle. la langue et la culture sont entrelacées et la disparition d'une langue conduit à la disparition de la culture qu’elle véhicule. les devinettes constituent un aspect très important de la culture igbo et la peur de la disparition de la langue igbo a conduit à ce besoin urgent de documenter certains aspects de sa culture, y compris les devinettes pour les sauver de la disparition. les devinettes comme les autres aspects de la littérature orale, transmet la culture, la taxonomie des peuples ainsi que la culture physique du peuple, une traduction de nos devinettes aidera les autres cultures à mieux les apprécier et par suite mieux comprendre l’afrique, dont on a longtemps représentée comme barbare et sans culture. la traduction de ces devinettes dans les langues internationales les rendra également accessibles aux autres cultures du monde d'où la possibilité pour la culture igbo de contribuer à la culture universelle. ladmiral conçoit la traduction comme « toute forme de médiation interlinguistique permettant de transmettre l’information entre locuteurs de langues différentes » (87). la traduction est à la fois un acte linguistique et culturel. avec les devinettes nigérianes traduites en d’autres langues internationales, le nigéria peut maintenant contribuer à igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 21 la culture mondiale car les noirs en diaspora ainsi que beaucoup d’autres igbophiles peuvent maintenant les comprendre, les apprécier et peut-être les employer. il est pourtant frappant que les devinettes igbo tombent aujourd’hui à l’oubli. puisque les devinettes ne constituent que les jeux oraux, elles ne sont pas bien documentées. en raison de cela beaucoup de ces devinettes disparaissent avec le temps. cette situation exige alors qu’une attention urgente soit portée sur la traduction de cette tradition de devinettes, qui joue un rôle d’éducation, de détente et d’éducation aux jeunes igbo pour qui cette traduction des devinettes igbo peuvent même se constituer à un attrait pour rechercher sur cette langue ou même exciter les autres étrangers à mieux nous valoriser et nous apprécier. composition des devinettes et à quel auditoire ? selon eno (30). «… chaque langue humaine a sa propre système lexical organiquement lié au contexte physique et socioculturel. »’ les devinettes sont composées des personnes, animaux, arbres et plantes qui se trouvent dans l’environnent des personnes auxquelles ces devinettes sont destinées. les devinettes commencent ou terminent toujours avec la formule gwam gwam gwam (dites-moi), onye ka m bụ (qui suis-je ?), gịnị ka m bụ ? (what am i ?) ou par une autre formule d’interrogation. ceci étant de coutume, incite aussi l’auditoire à s’apprêter pour la question qui vient, car les devinettes sont toutes des questions qui cherchent des réponses. quelques fois les bonnes réponses attirent des récompenses soit en forme d’acclamation, en forme de renforcement matériel ou même un prix de victoire si c’est organises en forme de concours. de la même façon des réponses fautives reçoivent des désapprobations ou même des de cris de déception, des hurlements etc. dans la formulation des devinettes il y a beaucoup de personnification. les objets, les endroits sont attribués des caractères humains; ce qui les rend encore plus difficile à deviner leurs réponses. par exemple dans la devinette onye jiri ike gazue ubi nna gị ?……ọgụ (dites moi qui s’est promené autours du champ de ton père à fesse…la houe) nous voyons un nom inanimé, la houe, décrit comme un animé qui peut se promener. les devinettes sont formulées avec les objets auxquels le peuple est habitué car leur usage et formulation ont aussi comme objet majeur de faire les plus jeunes prendre conscience de leur environnement immédiat. elles constituent ainsi un jeu d’éveil qui stimule la curiosité de l’enfant. leur formulation autours de la flore et la faune de l’environnement rend les devinettes abordables et ajoute à la joie qu’évoque le jeu. les devinettes sont construites par un peuple pour les servir. la devinette est très importante dans la vie sociale africaine. les jeunes l’emploient pour se divertir ou pour plaisanter. ce qui est très important dans ce jeu de devinette igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 22 c’est que chaque enfant tente de fournir la bonne réponse. chaque fois qu’un participant donne une bonne réponse, il est applaudi par le battement des mains ou par des cris de félicitation et cela rend tous les participants très gais. les devinettes prennent la forme de jeu chez les jeunes. c’est aussi une façon dont les jeunes s’exercent aux travaux mentaux. on fait la devinette comme une compétition où chaque participant essaie d’être considéré le meilleur ou le plus intelligent parmi les autres, par rapport à sa participation et sa contribution. chevier (22) écrit que les devinettes se font comme une sorte de concours de présence d’esprit, de rapidité des réactions, d’une sorte d’émulation de la parole. selon agu la devinette est une forme d’interrogation chez les igbo et en afrique en général. il sert à rechercher combien quelqu’un est intelligent. ce sont des questions difficiles à interpréter. les igbo les utilisent pour élever les enfants, pour leur apprendre le bon sens. ces questions formulées disent des choses différentes des mots qui servent à leurs compositions. toujours en forme d’interrogation auxquels seules les personnes bien méticuleuses et bien adaptées à la culture igbo peuvent trouver les réponses justes à ces questions. (68-69) ma traduction quelques 31 devinettes igbo et leurs versions anglaise et française (1) abụ m oti egwu abalị. ndi iro m na-akụrụ m aka bụrụgodu mgbe ha achọghịị. onye ka m bụ ? (anwu nta) i am a night musician. my enemies clap for me against their will. who am-i? (mosquito) je suis un musicien nocturne. mes ennemis m’applaudissent même contre leur volonté. qui suis-je ? (la moustique) (2) otu nwanyị kụrụ aka ya umu ya agbasaa n’egwu. onye ka ọ bụ?... (ụkpaka) a certain mother clapped her hands and her children scattered in fear. who is she? (oil bean) une certaine mère frappe ses mains et ses enfants se sont dispersés peureux. (haricot beurre) (3) ibe ji e kobere n’elu na-enye ọkụ n’abali. (ọnwa) the hanging piece of yam which gives light in the night. (moon). igname suspendue qu’illumine le soir. (la lune) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 23 (4) a matara m ka ọ diri m, were ralu iji abalị aga. onye kwuru nkea? (ụsụ) i know my condition so i chose to move about at the night. (bat) je reconnais ma laideur et choisit alors de ne me déplacer que le soir. (la taupe) (5) nne ji otu aha akpọ ụmụ ya dum. (ọkụkọ) a mother who calls all her children by one name.(hen) la mère qui appelle tous ses enfants par le même nom. (la poule) amaghị m mgbe miri ga-ezo nke mere m ji buru ụlọ m na-agagharị. onye kwuru nke a? (mbe) i don’t know when it shall rain so i carry my house wherever i go. who said this?(tortoise) je ne sais pas quand il pleuvra, donc je me promène avec ma maison. qui suis-je? (la tortue) (6) abụ m osisi obe akwa. ndị madụ na-añụ anya miri m n’obi ọma. onye ka m bụ? (nkwụ) i am a crying tree. people happily drink my tears. who am-i? (palm tree) je suis un arbre pleureur. les gens boivent mes larmes avec joie. qui suisje ?(palmier) (7) otu akwa nwere ụmụ kachasị na-ime ya. (ụwa) a single egg that contains the highest number of chicken.(earth) un seul œuf qui contient le plus grand nombre de poussins. (le monde) (8) ọkwụrụ nwere nwanne nwanyị tọrọ ya nke ụmụ ya kara gbaa okpokoro. olee aha nwanne ya nwanyị a.( ọkwụrụoru) okro plant has a taller sister whose children are bigger. what is her sister’s name?(pawpaw) l’okra a une sœur ainée, qui a des enfants plus grands. comment s’appelle sa sœur ? (la papaye) (9) otu agbọ nke odịghị onye makarịrị ibe ya.((enwe)) a special breed where nobody is uglier than the other. (monkeys) un peuple particulier qui est l’un aussi laid que l’autre. (les singes) (10) ute kachasị nke chineke ji aka ya tua. (eligwe) the widest mat spread by god himself.(sky) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 24 la natte la plus large étendue par dieu, lui-même. (le ciel) (11) esi m n’elu nnukwu osisi wutue kwe n’isi too onwe m. gịnị ka m bụ(ngwere) i jumped from a very high tree and nodded my head in self praise. what ami?(lizard) j’ai sauté d’un grand arbre et j’ai hoché la tête pour me féliciter. qui suis-je ? (le lézard) (12) abụ m eze ntamu. ana m atamu bụrụgodu mgbe m no n’uju.(ijiji) i am a king of murmuring even in the mist of plenty.(housefly) je suis un roi murmurant même dans la brume de l'abondance. (la mouche) (13) e nwere ụmụ nne abụọ. nke nọ n’elu kwube okwu egebe ya nti ma nke nọ na mgbada kwuo iru ndị madu agbaruọ.( ọnụ na ike) there are two siblings, when the one at the north speaks people listen but when the one at the south speaks people frown their faces. (the mouth and anus) il y a deux sœurs, lorsque celle au nord parle les gens écoutent mais celle du sud parle des gens se froncent les sourcils. (la bouche et l'anus) (14) gwam ihe ji ikpere gazuo ubi nna gị.(ọgụ). tell me who went round your father's farm on his knees (hoe) dites-moi qui a fait le tour de la ferme de votre père sur ses genoux (la houe) (15) akwa chukwu sụrụ na anaghị akọ akọ.(ire) a cloth washed by god that stays wet(tongue) un tissu lavé par dieu qui reste humide (la langue) (16) ihe mere eze ji rachaa ntụ.(ube) what made a king leak ash (pear) ce qui a fait que le roi lèche la cendre. (la poire) (17) onye uwa nile na-atu egwu, na amaghi nne ma ọbụ nna, ọ maghi onye ukwu ma ọbụ ogbenye. ọ maghi oga ma ọbụ odibo. onye na-akpote gi n’ụra mgbe ụra kachasi gi ụtọ. ( ọnwụ) tell me who the whole world fears; who can't tell mother from father; who can't tell rich from poor; who can't tell servant from king; who wakes you up when your sleep is sweetest? (death) dites-moi qui le monde entier craint; qui ne distingue pas entre la mère le père; entre les riches et les pauvres; entre le serviteur et le roi; qui vous réveille quand le igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 25 sommeil vous est plus doux? (la mort) (18) gwam onye gba aka baa ọhịa chịrị ụmụ pụta. (ede) tell me what entered the bush alone and came out with children (cocoyam). dites-moi celle qui est entrée dans la brousse toute seule et elle est sortie avec les enfants. (le taro). (19) gwam onye gị na ya yị aga na-abụ ọ nọọ n’iru ọ nọọ na azụ. (nkịta) tell me the young man with you who is sometimes in front and sometimes behind as you walk along. (walking stick) dites-moi votre compagnon de marche, qui se met tantôt devant tantôt derrière pendant que vous marchiez. (le bâton de marche) (20) agadi nwanyi otu ntu ime. (jioko) an old woman that conceives but once. (plantain) la vieille femme qui ne tombe enceinte qu’une seule fois dans sa vie. (le plantainier) (21) ihe bu nna ya ukwu uzo taa oji. (mbọ) the servant who eats kola before his master.(the fingernail) la serveuse qui prends le kola avant son patron.(l’ongle) (22) ihe gbazuru agụ ọsọ ma ọsusọ esughi ya. (nkita) the thing that ran round the whole bush without sweating.(dog) l’animal qui a parcouru le champs sans transpirer. (le chien) (23) ihe gba aka baa ọhịa chịrị ụmụ pụta.(ede) the thing that entered the bush alone and came out with children.(cocoyam) qui entre la brousse tout seul et sort avec des enfants? (le taro) (24) ihe dara olulu ma oreghi ure.(okwute) what fell into the pit but never got rotten. (stone) qui tombe dans le trou sans décomposer ? (la pierre.) (25) agbọghọ ọma ji abalị aga.( ọnwa) the beautiful lady who only walks about at night... (the moon) la belle demoiselle qui ne se promène que le soir. (la lune) (26) ọgba aka arị elu. (agwọ) dexterous height climber that climbs without a ladder. (the snake) grimpeur de haute altitude qui grimpe sans échelle. (le serpent) (27) gwam ugbo m kpubere n’ala.(ụkwụ) what is the boat i turned upside down.(the leg) quel est le bateau que j’ai tourné sens dessus dessous. (le pied) (28) ite ọkụ ụwa ji ahụ ụzọ. (ọnwa) the lamp that the world uses to see. (the moon) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 26 la chandelle qui illumine le monde entier. (la lune) (29) oke ehi nwere mpi alaka.(jioko). the bull with horns with branches.(plantain) le bouc avec des cornes à branches.(le plantainier) (30) ihe i wufuru na mbụbọ o soro gị na-ala. (ntụ) what you poured away in the garden and it is following you home. (ash) ce que vous avez jeté au jardin et il vous suit à la maison. (la cendre) (31) ihe duru nwata ọdụ n’ihu nne ya. (agbụsị) what counselled a child in front of his mother. (the soldier ant) qui donne conseil à un enfant en présence de sa mère.(la fourmi soldate) contextualiser les devinettes pour les traduire les devinettes, comme déjà précisée, cherchent à emmener les plus jeunes à une prise de conscience de leur environnent immédiat. beaucoup de devinettes interrogent sur des connaissances et vérités universelles. dans les cas pareils, la devinette devient abordable à tous ceux qui désirent participer au jeu. par exemple, ibe ji e kobere n’elu na-enye ọkụ n’abali. (ọnwa) the hanging piece of yam which gives light in the night. (the moon). igname suspendue qu’illumine le soir. le monde entier sait que c’est la lune qui illumine le soir et tout le monde sait ce que c’est que la lune. c’est donc une connaissance universelle dont un bon traducteur n’aurait pas de problème à la traduire. mais les contextes des devinettes ne sont pas toujours universels. les devinettes sont habituellement construites dans des langues indigènes. ces langues différentes dans leurs structures syntaxiques, morphologiques et sémantiques ont différentes façons de représenter la réalité. la traduction a toujours été décrite comme une activité interlinguistique et interculturelle. la langue et la culture s’entrelacent et aucune ne peut être dissociée de l'autre. la culture implique un mode de vie populaire. les personnes d'une même identité culturelle partagent les croyances, les coutumes et le comportement social et sont identifiables par certaines attitudes partagées. des devinettes sont parfois inventées autour de certains composants de la culture et de mode de vie. pour qu'un traducteur puisse traduire une devinette, il doit tout d'abord la comprendre. la compréhension, comme nous l'indique albir, met beaucoup d'éléments contextuels en évidence. il s'agit notamment du contexte situationnel, du contexte verbal et du contexte socio-historique. par le contexte situationnel, il igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 27 comprend tous les éléments impliqués dans l'environnement de la parole, y compris les objets, les lieux, les gens et les autres. le contexte verbal, pour lui, signifie tous les mots et les phrases qui entourent l'énoncé, alors qu'il décrit le contexte sociohistorique comme la totalité des événements, des codes, des relations sociales, etc. nécessaires pour comprendre l'énoncé. tous ces contextes ensemble construisent le sens réel que le traducteur cherche à transférer. pour traduire ces devinettes bourrées de culture, il faut d’abord les comprendre en les déverbalisant en déverbalisant, ces éléments culturels en partage par les premiers interlocuteurs sont démystifiés. ce n’est que quand ceci est fait que le traducteur peut choisir la technique la plus appropriée pour sa traduction. (que ce soit le calque, la traduction littérale, la transposition la modulation, l’équivalence) ci-dessous sont quelques devinettes qui méritent une explication de mode de vie avant d’être comprises et traduites ainsi que les explications nécessaires pour assurer cette compréhension. devinette explication nécessaire (1) ce qui a fait que le roi lèche la cendre. (la poire) (2) ce que vous avez jeté au jardin et il vous suit à la maison. (la cendre) dans l’afrique traditionnelle on faisait la cuisine, pas avec des réchauds à gaz ou à pétrole mais plutôt avec du bois sec. ces bois, au fur et à mesure qu’ils brulent, laissent de cendre. pour rôtir les poires, il suffit de les jeter à côté du feu qui brule où le cendre aide à assurer la basse température nécessaire pour les adoucir. qui mange la poire préparée de sorte lèche la cendre car bien que les poires soient essuyées après, il reste toujours des traces de cendre. c’est encore la norme de collectionner les cendres et les jeter chaque matin avant de faire un nouveau feu pour le jour. cette cendre est jetée au jardin car elle sert d’enrichir la terre pour igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 28 (3) la serveuse qui prend le kola avant son patron.(l’ongle) l’agriculture. quand la cendre est jetée, surtout sans bien baisser la main, elle est soulevée par le vent qui l’envoie vers des diverse directions. le kola dans la société igbo, est offert pour accueillir des visites. il est béni et partagé en donnant priorité au plus âgés et aux personnalités plus importantes. il est donc anormal pour une serveuse qui doit être une subordonnée de prendre le kola avant son patron. les devinettes peuvent être très ambigües. tout en discutant l'ambiguïté des phrases, qui comprend les devinettes, cann explique qu’une phrase est dite ambiguë chaque fois qu'elle peut être associée à deux ou plusieurs significations différentes. l'ambiguïté peut se présenter dans une phrase pour plusieurs raisons: par l'attribution de significations multiples à un seul mot, par l'attribution de différentes structures syntaxiques à une phrase ou par l'utilisation de certaines expressions qui peuvent avoir une portée sémantique différente. (86) fromkin victoria et rodman robert. (64) opinent aussi que «l'ambiguïté résulte de l'arbitraire du langage, des doubles significations». les devinettes igbo, tout comme d'autres devinettes peuvent être polysémiques car la même devinette peut signifier des choses différentes dans des contextes différents. ceci explique pourquoi une seule devinette fait jaillir plusieurs tentatives de réponses. ces réponses sont multiples parce qu’il existe parfois plus d’une réponse possible à une même devinette. citons comme exemple l’énigme qui demande le « grimpeur de haute altitude qui grimpe sans échelle ». (le serpent) cette devinette est formulée pour faire remarquer avec quelle dextérité un serpent grimpe. mais la même dextérité se constate aussi chez le singe et le lézard. pourtant pour une raison inexplicable, les enfants qui répondent avec ces autres animaux, hors de norme, ne reçoivent pas l’approbation des autres participants ni celle de celui qui igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 29 pose les questions. les solutions à ces puzzles sont apprises par cœur et ne doivent pas en aucun cas changer. qu'il s'agisse de syntaxe ou de sémantique, l'ambiguïté des devinettes crée beaucoup de problèmes linguistiques, car elle peut nuire à la compréhension et créer de la confusion, empêchant ainsi une communication efficace et parfois complique la devinette à tel point que toute tentative de trouver la bonne réponse n’aboutit pas à la réponse correcte. les devinettes ont des dimensions spaciotemporelles. les devinettes naissent et disparaissent en fonction du temps et d’espace. certaines devinettes perdent d’usage au fil du temps. un moment qu’une culture de base qui informe la devinette disparait, la devinette disparait avec elle. si non la réponse à la devinette devient difficile ou impossible à trouver. les devinettes qui cherchent à savoir « ce que vous avez jeté au jardin et il vous suit à la maison. » (la cendre) et « qui donne conseil à un enfant en présence de sa mère. » (la fourmi soldate) trouvent difficilement de réponses correctes chez les jeunes car la culture de cuisiner avec du bois n’est plus répandue, surtout chez les citadins. le milieu de fabrication des devinettes détermine la flore et la faune utilisées. certains arbres et animaux ont des connotations culturelles qui importent sur la formulation, l’interprétation et traduction des devinettes. le puzzle « je suis un arbre pleureur. les gens boivent mes larmes avec joie. qui suis-je ? » ne peut être deviné que par quelqu’un du milieu où le vin de palme est exploité .aussi pour bien comprendre et traduire « la serveuse qui prends le kola avant son patron. » la connaissance de base nécessaire c’est de comprendre quel estime et vénération les igbo attribuent au kola ainsi que l’ordre de partage du kola. des connaissances partagées et des présupposés entrent en jeu dans la traduction des devinettes rendant ainsi impossible pour quiconque avec une divergence spatiotemporelle de faire un bon travail de les traduire. une bonne compréhension de l’axiologie, de la croyance et de la disposition socioculturelle des igbo est très importante pour que les connotations et les inférences et associations nécessaires soient tirées, ce qui facilitera la compréhension, l'interprétation et la ré-expression des devinettes igbo conclusion le besoin de traduire les devinettes igbo est imminent vu la globalisation qui érode, avec rapidité, la culture et la langue igbo. la traduction des devinettes igbo vise à sauvegarder ce patrimoine culturel qui est le nôtre. elle vise aussi à rendre ces devinettes plus accessibles aux non igbophones et par suite contribuer à la culture mondiale. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 30 mais la traduction des devinettes doit se faire avec beaucoup de méfiance en raison de leur nature spatiale, temporelle et parfois ambigüe. la flore et la faune, la culture et l’usage entrent en jeu dans la formulation et l’interprétation des devinettes. pour les devinettes basées sur des vérités universelles, chaque personne et chaque culture peut hasarder des réponses. mais ces devinettes de nature spacitemporelle et bourrées de culture, ne peuvent être bien comprises que par ceux qui partagent une connaissance de base avec ceux pour lesquels les devinettes sont formulées. le traducteur qui désire faire une traduction fidele des devinettes doit avant tout les contextualiser. il est encore nécessaire que la culture et la connaissance de base qui informent la formulation de ces devinettes ne gardent aucun mystère pour lui. œuvres citées agu ofodile. nkuzi asusu igbo n’uzo di mfe maka ndi senio sekondiri nke abuo. ibadan :austin modest publishers, 2009. amparo hurtado albir la notion de fidélité en traduction. paris: didier erudition, 1990. balogun leo iyanda. initiation à la littérature africaine d’expression française. ibadan: agoro, 2005. cann, ronnie. formal semantic: an introduction. cambridge : cambridge university press, 1993. chevrier jacques. littérature nègre, paris: armond collin, 1974. eno belinga. comprendre la littérature orale africaine verdun: editions saint paul, 1978. fromkin, victoria. and rodman, robert. an introduction to language. new york: rinehart and wintson inc. 1974. ladmiral, jean-rené. traduire : théorèmes pour la traduction. paris: payot, 1979. micro robert. dictionnaire du français primordial: paris: le robert, 1980. ugwu anthony « la tradition orale comme instrument de valorisation de la culture africaine » journal of modern european languages and literatures. vol 4 p14 2014 yule, george. pragmatics. new york : oxford university press,1996. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 343 suffering and smiling: the nigerian experience felix gabriel zombobah department of philosophy pontifical urban university rome, italy gzombobah@hotmail.com doi: 10.13140/ rg.2.2.23433.67684 abstract should suffering obliterate happiness? genuine happiness is not a weak and fleeting emotion that shrivels at the first hint of hardship, but, rather, something much more resilient, unshakable and deeply rooted in us. if happiness depends on health, financial security, power, electricity, good road and social amenities, then most nigerians will not be happy. the way nigerians react to what others would see as the last straw has made them as a people very difficult to wear out. for many years now, nigerians have died on the roads that our government will not tar; people die in the hospitals that will not be equipped; people die on the streets that is not secured; and morning afterwards, those who are left among the living will rise very early and rinse their faces and continue. nigerians have lived under dictators of all shades, benevolent, repressive and civilian. they have seen genocide, massacres and bombs. but then this is nigeria! it is still nigeria! a happy nation amidst these challenges! keywords: suffering, smiling, nigeria, happiness, experience introduction happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence. aristotle. the topic of this article is a very famous cliché in nigeria that has been used in so many contexts, rightly and wrongly. it‟s a title of a song by the famous afrobeat musician fela, saying that religious leaders are enjoying themselves, while the common people suffer in cramped spaces daily. it has been on record that nigerians are chronically happy people, and some of the happiest people in the world. my point basically is not to dwell on this so much but give some philosophical insight into what it means to be truly happy amidst all the difficulties and challenges that the topic suggests. trying to be cool will never make you cool. mailto:gzombobah@hotmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 344 likewise, trying to be happy will never make you happy. i say this because happiness like many other emotions, is not obtained but inhabited1. just like a confident man does not wonder if he is confident, a happy person does not wonder if he is happy. he simply is. this topic came to mind in a recent discussion i had with some friends who insist i should be on facebook, twitter and instagram, it is going to make me happy. that is their point. it is true that as humans we naturally want to be happy. this explains why a lot of young people today spend a greater part of their day on social media chasing the things they believe will make them happy – even when those things are based on empty promises and the fake life of social media, which has led so many to work hard to achieve a standard of happiness they find acceptable. in doing so they lose sight of the fact the happiness comes from within. mandy hale said, “happiness is an inside job. don’t assign anyone else that much power over your life.”2 one reason nigerians suffer and smile is because of the parlance: “e go beta.” at this we postpone our happiness until a time in the future when everything is perfect. we think that we have to struggle now to enjoy happiness later; when a person marries the right person, when you get the job of your dream, when you make sufficient money. we put off our happiness until conditions are perfect, at this point therefore, we need to realize that conditions will never be perfect, there will always be something happening, but along the way there will be lots of perfection sprinkled into our lives and that is what we should learn to appreciate. don drapper was once asked what happiness is and he defined it as “the moment before you need more happiness.” this may sound cynical as it is, but the brilliance of his definition lies in the fact that we rarely notice happiness while we are experiencing it, we only notice a lack of it when it is no longer there. 1 what i am implying here is that finding happiness is not achieved in itself, it is rather the side effect of a particular set of ongoing life experiences. in nigeria for example we confuse what it means to be happy and we present it these days as a goal in and of itself. my point therefore is that we cannot buy nor achieve happiness. despite the misguided notion that suffering makes us better people, the fact is that happiness is good for everyone. it matters a lot for nigerians. happy people are more helpful, more productive and more loyal. this will help us understand better if nigerians are truly a happy people. this is because surprisingly in nigeria, the things we believe will make us happy don‟t have much effect on our sense of wellbeing. a high iq doesn‟t make you happier. i know some really intelligent friends who are miserable. is it money? far from it. the more a person has, the more he wants to have. within a short period of time he becomes scared! 2 michelle robin, happy new year| mandy hale and happiness, [internet]. [cited 2020 jul 13]. available from: https://www.drmichellerobin.com/mandy-hale-happiness/ https://www.drmichellerobin.com/mandy-hale-happiness/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 345 happiness and pleasure happiness is one thing everyone wants and we spend our lives pursuing it, but these days it appears to be becoming elusive. many people today spend a lot of time and energy seeking pleasure and avoiding pain, because many of us are pleasure seeking beings, at least from my experience. and we generally hope that by doing this, we will be happy. undoubtedly, pleasure feels good, but it is not the same as happiness. it is correlated with happiness but does not cause it. there is a very enormous difference between happiness and pleasure. the latter is a momentary feeling that is generated from external things; for instance, having a good meal, progress in business, sex and many others. it has to do with positive experiences of the senses, and when things fall in place. pleasurable experiences can give momentary feelings of happiness, but of course, the happiness does not last because it is dependent on external events and experiences. a friend of mine said pleasure is a god of false hope. happiness on the other hand is within us as i mentioned earlier. but apart from being inherent, it is something we have to cultivate intentionally, though this cultivation looks different for everyone. a young friend i have seen as a young happy man, humanly speaking. he married a beautiful lady, with a kid and working and earning good salary. he posts a lot of picture of him, the wife and the kid every single day. as with many nigerian men, he loves watching football especially when his favorite club plays, he will make so much noise and feel so good when they win. i noticed he started posting writings that suggested betrayal on the part of his friends and how people don‟t appreciate the good he has done to them. i told him to stop. he did for a while and started again, but i didn‟t say anything anymore. he called me one night and was so bitter, and i noticed his desire all along has been to make others do things his own way. from our discussion i noticed that whenever things work out the way he wants he felt a momentary pang of pleasure, and if not, he became judgmental, feeling rejected by others and saw himself as a failure. we have both come to realize that happiness is choosing to be kind, and gentle other than the desire to control others and being judgmental. the aim of the wise is not to secure pleasure, but to avoid pain.3 aristotle. 3 pleasure and happiness quotes, | az quotes, [internet]. [cited 2020 jul 10]. available from: https://www.azquotes.com/quotes/topics/pleasure-andhappiness.html#:~:text=pleasure%20may%20come%20from%20illusion,can%20come%20only% https://www.azquotes.com/quotes/topics/pleasure-and-happiness.html#:~:text=pleasure%20may%20come%20from%20illusion,can%20come%20only%20of%20reality.&text=happiness%20is%20different%20from%20pleasure,struggling%20and%20enduring%20and%20accomplishing.&text=pleasure%20is%20very%20seldom%20found,commonly%20kindled%20by%20une https://www.azquotes.com/quotes/topics/pleasure-and-happiness.html#:~:text=pleasure%20may%20come%20from%20illusion,can%20come%20only%20of%20reality.&text=happiness%20is%20different%20from%20pleasure,struggling%20and%20enduring%20and%20accomplishing.&text=pleasure%20is%20very%20seldom%20found,commonly%20kindled%20by%20une igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 346 nigerians make fun of virtually every situation in the country. and many think that comedy is happiness. it is not. comedy can be happiness, but it is not exclusively happiness. so many of us are deluded into believing that comedy is happiness because the result of good comedy is laughter, and we equate laughter with happiness. it is not a given that we laugh when we are happy – laughter is a nervous reaction to an intellectual construct, either spoken or visual. happiness is altogether a different state of mind – like when you watch a child play. comedy is not happiness, it is an intellectual and artistic pursuit exactly like painting or poetry or mathematics. you can get happiness out of it – and it tends to swindle by making us think we will inevitably gain happiness by chasing it – but it is not in itself a mental act that ipso facto engenders happiness in the practitioner. it is a craft, like chair-making. carpenters are pleased when they make a good chair, so are comedians when the put on a good performance or write a good script. happiness and positivity we cannot control what people say about us or to us, and definitely not even what they think about us. reason why most nigerians will say “i no send.” i often tell my friends that my responsibility is to my truth, my health, my vocation and the people around. this includes choosing positivity and smiling even when i don‟t want to. one obvious fact about nigerians is that they are authentically positive people who are happy with their lives and they create fun from every difficult situation. they are not perfect people, in many parts of nigeria there are no roads, no electricity, no portable water, no health systems and yet there they are, upbeat, unbroken and resilient people. no nigerian is in denial about the ups and downs in the whole situation, from corruption, security and all. they have accepted what is, but they won‟t accept that that is all there is. and they say: “ogadimma” (an igbo saying, meaning, it will be fine or it will be better). when we look at nigerians they always appear to be insanely happy regardless of what is going on in the country. we see and hear so many screaming and lamenting on the streets and television of all that is going on. after just few minutes these same people are celebrating and dancing somewhere. you may think we all have collective dementia or they are a dysfunctional people. denying negative emotions leads to deeper and more prolonged negative 20of%20reality.&text=happiness%20is%20different%20from%20pleasure,struggling%20and%2 0enduring%20and%20accomplishing.&text=pleasure%20is%20very%20seldom%20found,comm only%20kindled%20by%20unexpected%20sparks. https://www.azquotes.com/quotes/topics/pleasure-and-happiness.html#:~:text=pleasure%20may%20come%20from%20illusion,can%20come%20only%20of%20reality.&text=happiness%20is%20different%20from%20pleasure,struggling%20and%20enduring%20and%20accomplishing.&text=pleasure%20is%20very%20seldom%20found,commonly%20kindled%20by%20une https://www.azquotes.com/quotes/topics/pleasure-and-happiness.html#:~:text=pleasure%20may%20come%20from%20illusion,can%20come%20only%20of%20reality.&text=happiness%20is%20different%20from%20pleasure,struggling%20and%20enduring%20and%20accomplishing.&text=pleasure%20is%20very%20seldom%20found,commonly%20kindled%20by%20une https://www.azquotes.com/quotes/topics/pleasure-and-happiness.html#:~:text=pleasure%20may%20come%20from%20illusion,can%20come%20only%20of%20reality.&text=happiness%20is%20different%20from%20pleasure,struggling%20and%20enduring%20and%20accomplishing.&text=pleasure%20is%20very%20seldom%20found,commonly%20kindled%20by%20une igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 347 emotions and emotional dysfunction. amidst all these, what is important is to remember that negative emotions are necessary and healthy for maintaining a stable baseline happiness in a person‟s life.4 the stoic philosopher epictetus said that “we can’t choose our external circumstances, but we can always choose how we respond to them.”5 i think this is what many nigerians live by. you hear many say “wetin man go do?” timaya said in his song “i can’t kill myself.” this reflects the foundation of nigerians‟ positive attitude towards the situations in the country. in coping with that they choose their attitude towards it, face the difficulty in the eye with defiance and feel it. they learn from it and think of ways to get through it with time. unfortunately, this may be the reason why “things don‟t work in nigeria” as many people believe. that is why many times you hear the phrase “only in nigeria”. this is only said on the negative aspect, to say that in nigeria everything goes. but marcus aurelius beautifully describes nigeria‟s attitude: “and anyone who pursues pleasure as good, and avoids pain as evil, is guilty of impiety.” yes, nigerians pursue pleasure to the fullest, but do not run away from pain when it comes. people say nigerians are always in a rush and everyone is angry, but my experience differ because i think we there are two ways of expressing the negative emotions that come as a result of the situation in our country that we often hear that nigerians are not patient. first, we express negative emotions in a socially acceptable and healthy manner and secondly, we express them in a way that aligns with our nigerian values. for example, non-violence is a value in nigeria; therefore, when nigerians get angry, they express the anger by raining insults but they will hardly go physical by throwing punches. positivity is not the same as happiness. we should avoid the idea that we will always be positive and feel good regardless of what happens, we should as well, avoid thinking that nothing good can come out of nigeria again. ogadimma! happiness and religion one question that has plagued happiness scientists is whether religious faith can make people happier. j. s mbiti said that “africans are notoriously religious.” meaning you cannot separate them from religion. so, it makes sense that religion 4 mark manson, stop trying to be happy, | the key to finding happiness, [internet]. [cited 2020 jul 13]. available from: https://markmanson.net/stop-trying-to-be-happy 5 n.a. turner, why pain and suffering are necessary if you want to feel happy, | the ascent, [internet]. [cited 2020 jul 10]. available from: https://medium.com/the-ascent/why-pain-andsuffering-are-necessary-if-you-want-to-feel-happy-dca7ec436ff4 https://markmanson.net/stop-trying-to-be-happy https://medium.com/the-ascent/why-pain-and-suffering-are-necessary-if-you-want-to-feel-happy-dca7ec436ff4 https://medium.com/the-ascent/why-pain-and-suffering-are-necessary-if-you-want-to-feel-happy-dca7ec436ff4 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 348 could bring meaning to people‟s lives, but meaning is not necessarily the same as happiness – even if it provides people with other benefits. in nigeria being religious mostly means attending religious activities and being part of a social network, which tends to make people happier. it is hard therefore to figure out the impact of faith from other factors, like community on happiness. religion affects people‟s happiness in many ways. religions offer the prospect of substantial benefits after the end of a person‟s earthly life: like entry into heaven, salvation, favorable reincarnation and so on. even before a person gets to enjoy such distant fruits of religious devotion, being a member of a particular religion already yields a variety of tangible benefits, like spiritual guidance, social contacts, emotional and material support in times of need, conflict resolution, and the likes. it doesn‟t end at only the benefits. religious membership is not that so easy, because religions typically bring with them an array of restrictions such as prohibitions on a person‟s behavior, dietary restrictions, what constitutes acceptable clothing, restrictions on circumstances under which men and women can mix and interact, embrace of modern technology. nigerians find a whole lot of solace in religion. lasting happiness cannot be found in the acquisition of objects, substances, activities, states of mind or relationships. it resides in the simple knowing of our being as it truly is. this is the point at which some people find happiness in religion. as a priest, i know that religious people have a mind-set; the power of prayer, the belief in the lifeafter, knowing that someone is looking after you, that there is a higher power, that things happen for a reason. this mind-set helps believers make sense of tragedy, struggles and loss. religion is about helping others and having them look after you. many believers have the desire to feel that they matter, that their suffering and hard work are not done in futility, and that their lives have a purpose. they need to feel a sense of control over their fates. they need a reason to focus beyond just themselves. a research affirms that belonging to a secular friend group that engages in meaningful activities and shares a social identity might boost life satisfaction (happiness).6 happiness and politics this is one very interesting area of discussion in nigeria. everyone talks politics in nigeria. the world happiness report of 2017 ranked nigerians as the 6th 6 stephanie pappas, why religion makes people happier, | live science, [internet]. [cited 2020 jul 13]. available from: https://www.livescience.com/9090-religion-people-happier-hintgod.html https://www.livescience.com/9090-religion-people-happier-hint-god.html https://www.livescience.com/9090-religion-people-happier-hint-god.html igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 349 happiest people in africa and the 95th happiest people in the world of the 155 countries that are covered. this surely is not surprising because nigerians have a long history of being happy. or as fela put it, „suffering and smiling.‟ a 2003 world value survey revealed that the world‟s happiest people lived in nigeria. this study was carried out over a period of three years. in a gallup poll conducted in 2012, it revealed that africans were the most optimistic people in the world. in nigeria specifically, 88% of people are optimistic about their futures.7 i know some people will not accept this position, but it does not change the fact that optimistic people tend to expect more positive things to happen than the negative. but what is the case in the nigerian situation? nigerians have every reason to despair, politicians have always been about themselves, families and very close associates. many don‟t care about the masses who voted them into office. and my concern is about these masses, and at the end they are still optimistically resilient. the most important thing is that optimistic approach to life is key to attain happiness. there is a deep connection between optimism and happiness as optimism reflects hope and faith which help nigerians believe that for sure the country may not be good presently, but will eventually be some day. this is enshrined in the national anthem: “the labor of our heroes past, shall never be in vain.” whatever we need to achieve in nigeria i believe we need to make our world of thoughts filled positivity. so, in nigeria, achieving happiness is possible only when we do not allow pessimism to overtake our mental space. optimism does indeed affect our level of happiness. we can therefore harness the benefits of this trait in order to achieve a better quality of life. as winston churchill once said, “optimists see opportunities in every difficulty.”8 the topic of happiness is a subjective quality and that is why it matters, because how people feel is their deepest reality and it is the way we should think about the quality of the person‟s life. how is their life as they themselves experience it, not as we think it might be. the law of unintended consequences states that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. for instance, if we take the school teaching profession, we know that the most important predictor of whether a young person will be a happy adult is not the grades they get but whether they are happy at school. it would make a huge difference if we could get away from the 7 yemisi adegoke, nigerians are still happy, this is a problem, | the guardian, [internet]. [cited 2020 jul 13]. available from: https://guardian.ng/features/nigerians-are-still-happy-this-is-aproblem/ 8 the importance of optimism during challenging times, |calling all optimists, [internet]. [cited 2020 jul 13]. available from: https://www.callingalloptimists.com/the-importance-ofoptimism-during-challenging-times/ https://guardian.ng/features/nigerians-are-still-happy-this-is-a-problem/ https://guardian.ng/features/nigerians-are-still-happy-this-is-a-problem/ https://www.callingalloptimists.com/the-importance-of-optimism-during-challenging-times/ https://www.callingalloptimists.com/the-importance-of-optimism-during-challenging-times/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 350 focus on exams as the main purpose of education, which sets people such a burden of responsibility to themselves. a happy society has to be explicitly aimed for, it should never come as a byproduct. this is because it is so easy to get diverted into things that are more obviously measurable. so what has happened is that because income can be measured, income then has become the totem pole at the level of the country and the gdp. this is the thing that politicians feel is critical – but we know that the way people vote in elections is not influenced as much by people‟s economic status as satisfaction with other aspects of their lives. to sum it up… while we are experiencing difficulties in almost every sector of the nigerian society, it does not mean we should stop thinking about our future with hope. right now, more than ever, it is important to embrace a positive mindset as much as we can. let us remember that happiness is not some complex concept or the luxury life of our politicians that we think is beyond our reach. as i said earlier, happiness is something inherent within ourselves and it is only truly possible when we give it to ourselves. it is natural, and lasting, state of being that can be unlocked by the power of our personal will and sense of self. being happy is about understanding not only ourselves, but what we want from life and empowering ourselves to pursue the things that give our lives meaning and purpose. sometimes when i listen to news, from the headlines you know things are not going the way they should, but i can‟t remain on that level always. many times, i pray. sometimes i hiss. i have come to realize that living a happier life comes down to changing and working on the simple things and routines that make us who we are. many times, i go to youtube to revisit old super matches and i relish those happy moments. our parents have always reminded us that things were better at their own time (the old good days!), now we see the way things have turned out to be, so we believe too that things will be better, and soon! let us re-engage our creative side to get back in touch with the things that make us feel confident and fulfilled. only when we learn how to accept who we are and what we want can we truly unlock the happiness that awaits us at our core. let us remember too that happiness varies from hour to hour, day to day, month to month, but there tends to be an underlying trend in our lives. i will say i have been lucky, my friends keep telling me that nothing worries me. and i think on the whole i have had a happy life. i have gained a lot from what i have learned, because i had to start to inquire into why i feel the way i do always, both in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 351 terms of being more aware of other people‟s feelings but also in being better able to distance myself from the negative thoughts and feelings that all of us have from time to time. people meeting me for the first time mostly say i look to serious, but coming closer realize something completely different. bibliography 1. chinua achebe, the trouble with nigeria, lagos: fourth dimension publishing co., 2000. 2. emmons, r. a., & mccullough, m. e. counting blessings versus burdens, journal of personality and social psychology, vol.84 no.2, 2003, pp. 377389. 3. paul j. wadell, happiness and the christian moral life: an introduction to christian ethics, lanham, md: rowman & littlefield, 2016. 4. peter enahoro, how to be a nigerian, new delhi: spectrum books, 1998. 5. wilson, t. d., et al., how happy was i, anyway? a retrospective impact bias, social cognition, vol. 21, no. 6, 2003, pp. 421-446. 6. wilson, t. d., & gilbert d. t. affective forecasting knowing what to want, current directions in psychological sciences, vol. 14, no.3, 2005, pp. 131134. 7. kanu, i. a. (2017). the culture of political corruption and the emergence of terrorism in nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli and rico sneller (eds.). the root causes of terrorism: a religious studies perspective (pp. 280-291). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. 8. kanu, i. a. (2016). corruption in nigeria as a socio-cultural context for the extraordinary jubilee of mercy. harvard journal of management sciences and entrepreneurship. vol. 3. no. 5. pp. 187-196. 9. kanu, i. a. (2011). corruption in africa and its challenges for the enterprise of christian theology. international journal of research in arts and social sciences, vol.4. pp. 492-500. 10. kanu, i. a. (2016). the culture of political corruption and the emergence of terrorism in nigeria. sub-saharan journal of african sustainable development. 3. 7. pp. 127-149. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 4 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 47 complementary ontological reflection by obi-osang v. titilayo department of philosophy faculty of arts university of calabar, calabar abstract the question that engages one’s attention in grappling with the above problem is: following complementarism i.e. in the spirit of complementary metaphysical reflection how can one achieve authentic/concrete existence through his action? in other words the bone of contention here is how a human being can realize his authentic self through his actions in the society he lives, bearing in mind the ambivalence or the double capacity of his personal interests. thus, this paper beings by making clear the sense in which the key concepts are used in the work. hence, “being” is here used to refer to human authentic existence, and the “realisation” of this”being” refers to the process of attainment of that concrete and authentic existence of the human person. complementary ontological reflection on the other hand, is a metaphysical speculation from the complementary perspective as expounded by innocent asouzu. according to asouzu, in complementary ontological reflection, the mind seeks to understand missing links of reality for what they are and this determines the way it relates concretely or authentically to the world. bearing in mind that human beings are beings who live and act from their personal interests, this paper argues that except one recognizes or becomes aware of the double capacity (ambivalence nature) of one’s interests, one would find oneself performing those actions which he abhors and condemns as bad. this insight is provided by asouzu’s complementary reflection. in doing this, such a person will not be able to realize his authentic self through his actions. more so, he becomes for removed from attaining an authentic living when he neglects his relativity and assumes a position of absoluteness. in alliance with complementary ontological reflection, the paper makes the point that, the four ways in which the mind relates to reality must be consciously employed or followed in order for one to realize his (being) authentic self through his actions. these four ways are:1. seeing realities as mere fragments which can be abstracted as essences 2. considering realities as units that can be categorized in ways that are compatible but distinct from other compatible units. 3. relating reality to each other in the sense of co-determinacy 4. viewing them as serving each other in view of a totality that gives them their authenticity. keywords: realization, being, human action, innocent asouzu, complementary, ontological, reflection igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 48 introduction there is a common goal that’s constitutive of action, something at which behavior must aim in order to qualify as an action; just as a pre-dispositional attitude must aim at being true in order to qualify as belief. our actions has a constitutive aim of this sort namely, the good. if every again aims at something conceived as good, then conduciveness to the good would appear to be an internal criterion of success for actions, since the most successful actions, by this criterion, are the ones that are most conducive to the good. (cullity/gant: 40). this leads us to the reality of our concrete existence through our actions. the human action cannot be separated from the ontological view. we are seem as a being, not really in parmenides’ sense of “being” but also as that which, goes beyond the superficial outlook and entails the idealistic view or concept. our actions can’t be remove from our existence hence human existence and pattern of living is premised upon not only our own perceptions but upon the peoples’ perception as well. it is therefore pertinent to bear in mind that as we live in the society, certain behavioral patterns and values are expected of us. we should not be overridden by the double capacity of our personal interests, hence we lose the realization or our authentic self through our actions negatively. that is why man by virtue and good deals is made great. as social and rational being, we are expected to be a cultural being also, we are the society and the society is also us. we are expected to take to the dictates of our cultural values, cultural values are expected to be laid down rules which govern man actions, it becomes an ethical issue here, we are expected to shun vices and embrace virtues in order to sharpen our human behavior and human conduct for the good of oneself and the society at large. by realizing our authentic self as a rational being, our rational will tell us that certain kinds of actions are bad and must be avoided while other kinds of actions are good and should be done. hence, to co-exist effectively with one another, man actions play a determine role no one wants to co-habit or live with vices, mutual and integrated ability thus comes to fore. complementary ontological reflection a human person even in its concrete form is also a transcendent reality. in complementarily, it is not just enough to deal with man as a physical entity but also the immaterial transcendental unit. we are constituted of the mind, the mind makes recourse to the soul, body, the spirit, thinkable and imaginable units that complement each other. when we take a look at the mental picture of man, the human person is seen as the highest creature, man’s dominant features and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 49 inherent disposition in the spheres of life and nature places him at the highest plane of creation, yet there also exist in man, missing link of reality. through complementary ontological reflection, we come to realize our true self, we know that “all fingers are not equal” and this applies also the sphere of dual capacity, we need others to complement our efforts and works, there is a proverbial saying that “one finger does not carry a load on the head” it invariably means that we need the ten fingers to do that, and this apply to a collective effort by one another. some work great jobs while some small, otherwise how do we exist? the joy of our being comes to the full when we realize the limitations that characterize our being. beauty is relative, moral acts differ in acceptance, why was i not born a girl or boy? we cannot be everything, as mere mortals, we all have mere talents, when properly used result in a harmonious form. realisation of being in human action as human beings, it would be unrealized and illogical for us to see ourselves as “finished products” with a stamp of perfection on us. we are the determinants and makes of our actions. it is of no use, to run from the fat that our actions has to do with the “self” in us. we are not programmed robots which can be tuned at will to act according to its systematization. the complexities of our human nature comes to bare in us as individuals and in the society/as large. very individual has something embedded in humor her and we can affect the society either positively or negatively according to the ways in which the mind relates to use. in our daily behavioral patterns, the average person tends to act from their personal interests, not suited for a particular job offer and then goes all his way to stop the rightful person suitable for such a job either through diabolical means or even through physical brutality. self-interest sets in here “self-interest is the disposition always in all situations to desire undue advantage for and solely for the person or persons involved, in total disregard of the common good (asouzu). our double capacity nature, the fact of not knowing where to draw the line betweenegoism and the common good prepare the stage for the ambivalence nature in us and until we realize that there is no perfection in any human being and removed “absolutism” placing it with relativity, then we can begin to realize our authentic self. our authentic existence through the realization of our being brings about the attainment of that concrete and authentic existence of the human person. we should not see ourselves as “the all in all” we are living in a society, society is not an isolated unit, it comprises of others as well, we cannot separate ourselves from others with the idea of one’s self interest without putting igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 50 the other person into consideration. as the body consisted of different parts, all synthesize to become a whole in a harmonious form with the different parts of the body performing its function thus bringing a well-coordinated entity, so also should we as human being desire such mutuality. it is not enough to desire if we should endeavor to practice what we preach or advocate for. the feelings of superiority over one another has eaten so deep into us in our own individualistic tendencies and manner and also into the society at large. how do we explain the case whereby one tribe has the feeling of superiority over another and this more and often bring about the issue of marginalization among ethnic groups. an authentic living is also a healthy living. it is expected that we respect the rights and privileges of others. it is for this reason that we should a times be disposed to suffer for the sake of some higher value (asouzu: 146) people today become dishonest and insincere in order to get all they want as everybody wants to live in a duplex or mansion. people want to travel to united states of america, france etc. everybody wants to ride the best car in the world. dishonesty and insincerity of the people had led to embezzlement in the country. many people no longer respect intellectual achievements and dignity of labor but materialism. there is no proper accountability and transparency, in fact all these invariably is as a result of our ambivalence nature and our misplacement of personal interest, a negativity of our being in essence. in the society, taking the nigeria situation for instance, a critical look at our recent history shows that the elite class in this country has been in large measure insensitive to the plight of the masses who look up to them for succor. as politicians, traditional rulers, administrators, successful business men and women, and religious leaders, they have often neglected to do something about housing for the generality of the population, while they build monstrous mansions for themselves at various locations in the country. some of these structures are unoccupied for years and left at the mercy of lizards and cockroaches. the leaders have often neglected to do something about public schools in nigeria, while they send heir children to exclusive private schools in europe and america where they pay incredible amounts of money that would in nigeria. they have often neglected to do something about dilapidated health institutions in the country, as a result of which many poor nigerians have died prematurely, yet these leaders patronize the best hospitals and clinics abroad, keeping themselves alive with the latest medical technology at very high costs. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 51 looking at the nigerian socio-political and economic landscape, one can discern a near total neglect of the common good in the personal life style and in the value orientation policies and projects pursued by our leaders and the privileged few in the society. individuals, families and groups have a right to acquire private property, in pursuit of their destiny, and for the enhancement of their comfort and their security and in order to promoter a healthy ethnic. this right to private property is however not absolute. it has a social mortgage, it is curtailed or checkmated by the good of the generality of the people. the common good is violated when an individual or group of individuals appropriate or amass for themselves an unreasonably high percentage of the earth’s resources while others are starved of the basic necessities of life. no matter how intelligent the individual may be, no one has the right to more than a fair share of the earth’s resources, since they are destined for the good of all. a society where floating islands of wealth are to be found amidst a sea degrading poverty cannot be said to be truly human. the poverty level of nigeria today has driven level of nigeria today has driven many into frustration, it has turn many into embracing aggression, which is a defeatist position. where then lies our authentic living as a person? the average nigerian can hardly eat three good meals a day. these have left many hungry and made many wild. at the slightest provocation they (mostly youths) brandished machetes and all sorts of dangerous weapons to unleash on one another, there is so much upsurge of crime and violence. the way we perceive our interests as individuals and as groups goes a long way in determining how we act towards these interests. when our interests lies around “individualism” and not “generalism” of goodness of purpose, then the pursuance of such interests beings about ambivalent and selfish situation. we are faced with situation whereby tribalism is being set on a pedestal; the unique spirit of loyalty and solidarity among dominant groups becomes pronounced when questions as to who becomes what in any company or in the federal set-up are involved. on such occasions the hausa/fulani group would invoke the spirit of “ja miyyar mutanen arewo” the igbo would vociferate “enyimba enyi” and “igbo kwenu”, and the yoruba would whip up familiar sentiments encapsulated in the “tiwan ‘tiwa” sibole; deifying this unwholesome practice as a pragmatic instrument for national unity which is why it has been rightly said that most of us feel that others will not tolerate such emotional honesty in communication: we would rather defend dishonesty on the grounds that it might hurt others, and having rationalized our phoniness into nobility, we settle for superficial relationships. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 52 conclusion it is pertinent for our own good as well as the good of others which results into a common good, to pursue it in a purposeful manner. we should not make our society that of self-seeking individualists and money grabbers, a society in which social values and worthiness are determined by money and such mundane things. for example, nigeria today faced a lot of challenges arising from her diversity, such challenges could be traced to apparent contradictions in belief, attitudes, values and ethos of the various ethnic and religious communities in the country. but in spite of this, the ethnic groups had not lost grip of the fact that they needed each other and that their strength lay in their diversity. it is necessary to uproot all seeds of “absolutism” and ‘egoism’ among us. the desire and thirst for self-interest (negatively). it is of no use to be condemned to these turbulent “selfism”, to sink or swim in these messy waters of inauthentic existence and ambivalent of actions. in fact half of our people are already drowned and the other half are swimming in the wrong direction. cultural superiority should be put behind us. some tribes in the country feel they are indispensable to the growth and success of the nigeria economic, they feel they are the rock of gibraltar and the primal foundation of nigeria, of course such cases a times brings about an ambivalent and unrealistic existence. we should seek in the most natural, harmonious and compatible possible the ideal authentic self. references asouzu, i. the method and principles of complementary reflection in an beyond african philosophy. calabar: university of calabar press, 2004. asouzu, i. effective leadership and the ambivalence of human interest. calabar: university of calabar press, 2003. coreth, emerich. metaphysics english edition by joseph donceel, herder and herder, new york, 1968. iroegbu, pantaleon. metaphysics, the kpim of philosophy: owerri: international universities press ltd, 1995. omoregbe, joseph. metaphysics without tears; a systematic and historical study. lagos: joy a educational research and publishers ltd, 1996. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 53 sahakian, w. outline history of philosophy; barnes and noble, inc. 1969 stumph, s. e. socrates to sartre, a history of philosophy: new york: mcgraw hill inc. 1966. taylor, a. e. elements of metaphysics; london: methuen and co. ltd, 1946. microsoft word igwebuike jounals vol. 5. no. 1.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 131 a review of belongingness: a definitive metaphysical principle in african communalism by dr jude ifeanyi onebunne kanu ikechukwu anthony department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university, umunya ikee_mario@yahoo.com the question, ‘what is being?’ is one of the fundamental enquiries within the parameters of metaphysics. this becomes very important since metaphysics as a branch of philosophy is concerned with the totality of being in its nature and structure. since the emergence of african philosophy as a discipline, african thinkers have questioned the nature of being. iroegbu tried to understand being within the context of belongingness. he defines belongingness as ‘the synthesis of the reality and experience of belongingness’. in this case, the recipient-subject of belonging is involved: something belongs and it belongs to something. belongingness is a special noun from the verb ‘to belong’. it means to be part of, or to be a member of a group. there is also a possessive nuance of the verb ‘to belong’. i can say that the soap belongs to me. in the first nuance, to belong creates a situation of participation and in the second, it creates a situation of possession. there is an ontological nuance of belongingness, which specifies that a thing is because it belongs. the present work published in 2019 is one of five chapters, with 76 pages, is a contribution of the author to the ongoing discourse on the philosophy of belongingness. the author began by clarifying fundamental concepts so as to create the background for a fruitful discourse on belongingness. then he delved into the historical excursus of african communalism and the defining principles of african communalism by focusing on the perspectives of scholars on the basic elements of african communalism. he then proceeded to analyse pantaleon iroegbu’s philosophy of belongingness and the definitive principles of belongingness in african communalism. he concludes with the understanding of the human person as a being who is in belongingness. the author strongly relies on panthaleon, the father of beling as belongignness. he strongly agrees with him that the principle of egbe bere ugo bere (let the kite perch, let the eagle perch) re-enacts the contents and significance of belongingness as the essence and hermeneatic core of reality. what a being is, is its activity of perching (belonging). to perch is to be. to be is to perch. to be is to belong and to belong is to be. when egbe perches and ugo perches, they come face to face with each other. they are with each other. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 1, january 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 132 they are present to each other. they relate to each other deeply and directly as well as have relationships with other inhabitants of uwa (world). to relate is to share something: to give and take. they have common projects, needs and desires. together they struggle to overcome their difficulties and share their joy. ‘to be’, therefore, is ‘to belong’ and ‘to belong’ is ‘to be’. while this might sound tautological, iroegbu discovered that it is the definitional circle involved in any description of being as being. once one is tuned in being; there is no going back from its beingness. one continually goes on in being and not even death can stop one’s ongoingness of being. in this work: belongingness: a definitive metaphysical principle in african communalism by rev. fr. dr. jude ifeanyi onebunne a presentation of the philosophy of belongingness is made with such clarity as can hardly be found in any other philosophy literature. in this book, one comes ‘face to face’ with a true academic bee, dr. jude onebunne, who has gathered the spoils of the flowers of the philosophy of belongingness, and is ready to engender in the souls of his readers a deathless element of knowledge. you can only applaud at the end of each chapter and wait to applaud again at the end of the next chapter. in the ranks of the thinkers who, in recent times, have attempted an interpretation of the pantaleonine philosophy of belongingness, this piece would remain the best in generations to come. igwebuike_6_8_3.cdr 32 “city before self”: a comparative study of plutarch’s ethical-political thought and igwebuike communal philosophy kolawole chabi, o.s.a., phd institutum patristicum "augustinianum" rome, italy kolachabi@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.36016.38405 abstract this paper studies some aspects of plutarch’s ethical-political thought in comparison with the igwebuike philosophy. so, it exposes, on the one hand, how plutarch insists on the need for citizens, especially those involved in politics to seek rst the good of the community and give priority to the progress of society above personal achievements. on the other hand, the paper presents the communitarian/communal view that springs from the igwebuike understanding of life in the community. we present the positions of various african thinkers who reason along the line of this worldview to establish that community does have pride of place in the african conception of life together. the last step in this study is a synthesis of plutarch’s ideas and the igwebuike philosophy. we discover that mutatis mutandis, what plutarch advocates for his greek compatriots, constitutes the underlining principle of the igwebuike worldview. moreover, this conrms the universality of this emerging trend in african philosophy. keywords: plutarch, philosophy, common good, igwebuike, kanu ikechukwu anthony, community, african. introduction the reading of a new translation of the works of plutarch1 recently published in the “ancient wisdom for modern readers series” of princeton university press prompted me to undertake the present study in order to compare the vision of an ancient western thinker with the african igwebuike worldview. the basic principle of plutarch’s political thought, and the common thread to his works in the new translation, can be aptly summarised as ‘city before self’. this line of thought seems to rhyme well with the african igwebuike communal thought. 1 cf. plutarch, how to be a leader: an ancient guide to wise leadership. ancient wisdom for modern readers, transl. j. beneker, princeton university press, 2019. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 33 in this paper, we shall present the underlying presuppositions and orientations of plutarch’s political and moral philosophy, on the one hand, and the igwebuike worldview, on the other hand, to draw the similarities and differences between a representative of ancient western cultural thought and a specic line of african philosophical pensée. both the works of plutarch and secondary literature on them are abundant, and we shall depend on authoritative studies on the topic to back up our line of argument in the rst part of the article. concerning studies on the igwebuike approach to reality, a lot of studies are going on, and works of i. a. kanu and other african scholars testify to it. we will precisely depend on most of their scientic research in the eld of african philosophical thought in the second part of the paper. the paper will begin with a brief presentation of plutarch’s biography and an exposition of the signicant aspects of his ethical and political thoughts, most notably regarding common life. the second segment of the paper will be devoted to the igwebuike philosophy on communality. in a synthesis of our itinerary, we will draw the similarities in plutarch’s thought and igwebuike understanding of common life before bringing the study to its conclusion. plutarch and his conception of moral virtue and political engagement plutarch: a prole plutarch was born and educated in chaeronea, a small village located about sixty-seven miles northwest of athens. he spoken with warmth of his family: his wife, timoxena; his father, autobulus, his grandfather, lamprias, for whom he expresses special admiration, and his brothers, timon and lamprias. plutarch deeply loved his wife, timoxena, and their ve children, only two of whom survived into adulthood. we have the consolation to his wife (608a–612b) that he wrote after the death of their only daughter at the age of two. it remains a moving testimonial to his love of family. his views on his own marriage can be summed up in one of his memorable quotes: “very fortunate is the man who in the entire span of his life knows from the beginning only one woman, the one whom he marries” (cat. min. 7.3).2 2 cf. m. beck, introduction. plutarch in greece, in a companion to plutarch, ed. m. beck, wiley blackwell 2014, 2. it is interesting to note that plutarch’s thought on marriage, women and sexuality has gained interest among scholars of late. interested readers could see for example s. b. pomeroy, reflections on plutarch, “a consolation to his wife”, in plutarch’s “advice to the bride and groom’ and “a consolation to his wife”: english translations, commentary, interpretive essays, and bibliography, ed. s. b. pomeroy, oxford university press 1999, 75-81; igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 34 although he was born in the “poor, little town” of chaeronea, plutarch was hardly the “dull, stupid person” the name has come to connote in modern times. judging from the respect he got while still living, and the acclaim some of his works handed down through the centuries, he was one bright and witty fellow – so much so that montaigne would later claim that it was by reading plutarch’s lives that the rest of us “dunces” are “raised out of the dirt.”3 he received much of his early education from the reputed egyptian philosopher, ammonius, with whom he lived during an extended stay in athens as a young man of twenty years.4 his education was augmented by conversations at the dinner table with his family, relatives, and circle of friends.5 we can acquire an approximate idea of what these evening sessions may have been like from reading plutarch’s lengthy table talks (quaest. conv. 612c–748d).6 by the time he was an older man, he had a reputation of being a very learned and wise man. much of his adult life was devoted to social, civic and literary activities. he focussed on taking care of his family, serving as a magistrate in chaeronea, representing his hometown and country on various missions to rome (where he p. a. stadter, φιλόσοφος και φίλανδρος: plutarch’s view of women in the “moralia” and the “lives”, in plutarch’s “advice to the bride and groom’, 173-182. in this paper, stadter demonstrates that plutarch’s writing addressed to women, especially to clea (“virtues in women” and “isis and osiris”), reveals the level of education and philosophical sophistication he expected in them. «isis and osiris» considers his metaphysical basis for the virtues and limits of female action. examples of women’s virtues in “virtues of women” and the “lives” suggest that he expected women not to act as independent agents. p. walcot, plutarch on women, in symbolae osloenses: norwegian journal of greek and latin studies 74 (1999), 163-183. according to walcot, the evidence offered by the “lives” and the “moralia” shows that plutarch had a low opinion of women, regarding them as being deceitful, savage, sexually insatiable, frivolous and gossips. women are thought to be weak, but at the same time, dangerous. there are, however, notable exceptions, most obviously those women whose stories are related in the “mulierum virtutes”; id., plutarch on sex, in greece and rome: journal of the classical association 45/2 (1998), series 2, 166-187. in this paper walcot indicates that some of plutarch’s works reveal his heavily prejudiced and grossly inhibited attitude toward sex. on family and its importance in the development of the person in the thought of plutarch, see fr. albini, family and the formation of character. aspects of plutarch’s thought, in plutarch and his intellectual world. essays on plutarch, ed. j. mossman, london 1997, 59-70. j. beneker, sex, eroticism, and politics, in a companion to plutarch, 503-515; id., the passionate statesman: eros and politics in plutarch’s « lives », oxford university press 2012. 3 cf. b. j. verkamp, plutarch, in encyclopaedia of philosophers on religion, ed. b. j. verkamp, mcfarland 2008, 152. 4 cf. ibid. 5 de tuend. san. 133e. 6 cf. m. beck, introduction. plutarch in greece, 2. an interesting study of the life of plutarch is that of f. klotz, portraits of the philosopher: plutarch’s self-presentation in the «quaestiones convivales», in classical quarterly nova series 57/2 (2007), 650-667. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 35 also briey gave lectures on philosophy). he also produced a vast body of writings (most notably, the parallel lives). it is not an exaggeration to say that plutarch was a prolic writer. his literary legacy testies to it. the so-called lamprias catalogue, an ancient library catalogue incompletely preserved, supposedly compiled by plutarch’s son lamprias, lists 227 works, of which several are no longer in existence.7 plutarch’s works are classied into philosophical and historical-biographical. the latter, the so-called lives of distinguished greek and roman men examined in pairs, demonstrate plutarch’s historical and rhetorical abilities, also showing his interest in character formation and politics.8 plutarch’s philosophical works, predominantly dialogues (set in delphi or chaeronea), cover half of his literary production. in modern times, they have been published under the collective term, moralia. however, as karamanolis rightly observed, when plutarch’s collection was augmented by many other writings preserved in other manuscripts on various other topics, ranging from metaphysics, psychology, natural philosophy, theology, logic, to philosophy of art, the name was retained with the misleading implication that plutarch’s philosophical works are essentially or primarily ethical.9 one can say that, of all the writers of classical antiquity, plutarch is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the most popular to contemporary readers. he certainly owes this popularity to the nature of his genius, to the choice of subjects he dealt with, to the eternal interest in the names of the great men whose images he painted. enough by way of presentation! plutarch’s ethical and political postulates in favour of common good in terms of philosophical literary production, plutarch gives pride of place to ethics in this thought, and this is characteristic of his age. he believes philosophy is a way of life. such a position was familiar with the hellenistic philosophers whose worldview he shares from that perspective, even though he criticises stoics and epicureans for proposing what he considered misguided ethical ideals.10 likewise, concerning the involvement of philosophers in politics, 7 cf. d. a. russell, plutarch, london 1973, 18-19. 8 cf. ibid., 100-116. 9 cf. g. karamanolis, plutarch, in stanford encyclopaedia of philosophy online https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plutarch/#plupla accessed on 24/07/2020. 10 cf. plut. an recte dictum sit latenter esse vivendum 1129f-1130e. some scholars have noted elements of exaggeration in plutarch’s attacks on stoics and epicureans. that is the position of a. pierron in the introductory part of his french translation of plutarch’s lives. pierron wrote: “il est certain, d’ailleurs, que son attachement trop exclusif pour le platonisme l’a rendu injuste envers les stoïciens.” cf. a. pierron, notice sur plutarque, in plutarque igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 36 plutarch criticizes these philosophers. he nds fault with the early stoics for their abstaining from taking part in political activities.11 in the same line of thought, the political quietism of epicurus and his school, according to him, amounts to abrogating or abolishing laws and political community.12 nevertheless, when it comes to some fundamental elements of virtual life in society, for stoics and platonists, a man educated in philosophy was expected to mould the character of the people in his community through his example of virtuous conduct, prudent advice and continuous efforts on behalf of the common good. for plutarch, as a platonist, appropriate conduct towards the community meant placing the common welfare ahead of one’s private interests, including acts of benecence towards that community and initiatives to preserve the liberty, harmony and wellbeing of all groups within the state.13 plutarch’s encouragement to seek common good is a particularly vital element of his thought that calls attention to what we shall see later when examining the communal dimension of igwebuike. the common welfare is supposed to supersede the personal interest to guarantee a better life together. the concept of “political virtue” (πολιτικὴ ἀρετή) embraces excellence in all these activities—from cultivating moral improvement in others through one’s own virtuous character, to taking effective action to improve the conditions of life in the community. as s. jacobs summarily put it, the distinction between the “virtue” of a statesman (politikos) and that of an ordinary "good man" is based i. vies des hommes illustres, transl. a. pierronm paris 1853, iv. kamaranolis, in his article cited above, justifies plutarch’s reaction to the leading hellenistic schools of thought thus: "plutarch engaged in writing so many polemical works against the two main hellenistic schools of philosophy. one reason for plutarch’s preoccupation must be that the early stoics and epicureans both strongly criticized plato. the epicurean colotes, for instance, plutarch’s target in the against colotes, was critical of plato’s dialogues in his against plato’s lysis and against plato’s euthydemus […] while he also criticized the republic’s myth of er and the implied view of an immortal human soul […]. another reason for plutarch’s engagement was the fact that both epicureans and stoics drew freely and extensively for their purposes on plato without acknowledging it and despite their criticism of plato." see also m. montiel – j. francisco, plutarco transmisor de la filosofía epicúrea: el «contra colotes» entre polémica y didáctica, in plutarco e l’età ellenistica: atti del convegno internazionale di studi: firenze, 23-24 settembre 2004, ed. a. casanova, firenze 2005, 337-350; m. isnardi parente, plutarco contro colote, in aspetti dello stoicismo e dell’epicureismo in plutarco. atti del ii convegno di studi su plutarco, ferrara, 2-3 aprile 1987, ed. i. gallo, ferrara, 1988. 65-88. 11 cf. plut., de stoic. repugn. 1033bc. 12 cf. id., adv. col. 1125c; 1127d. 13 cf. susan jacobs, plutarch’s pragmatic biographies lessons for statesmen and generals in the parallel lives (columbia studies in the classical tradition), leiden-boston 2018, 18. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 37 on the sphere in which virtue is exercised (public versus private action) and those on behalf of whom action is taken (the common good of the state as a whole versus the individual caring for his soul). in that light, she argues, both aristotle and plutarch agree that the highest expression of practical virtue for human beings is “political virtue”. since public virtue benets more people than private virtue, public virtue is a “higher degree” of virtue than virtue in private life.14 political virtue was deemed the “most complete” or “perfect” virtue (τελεώτατα) because it combined the qualities of a virtuous character (courage, temperance and justice), a willingness to place the good of the community ahead of self-interest (magnanimity) and effective action on behalf of the common good (φρόνησις).15 plutarch’s work, political precepts, treats a wide range of practical functions that require both a moral foundation of temperance, mildness, justice and dedication to the common good, as well as critical judgment about how to administer the city, maintain harmony between groups, foster prosperity and conduct diplomacy to protect its liberty and security. indeed, in this treatise, moral virtue is not desirable for its own sake, but as a tool of effective leadership: it produces a reputation for incorruptibility that makes a statesman more persuasive, and it empowers reason to guide his judgment on behalf of his state.16 moreover, sometimes, a politician with the qualities of a philosopher fails as a politician where someone who is less qualied as a philosopher proves to be superior as a politician. in real life, then, the good of a community cannot be reached by philosophy alone,persuasion appears to be a necessary instrument, and popular appeal is a value not to be underestimated.17 giving pride of place to the interests of the community is not only presented as a feature of a philosophical attitude, but also as a morally noble action. such is the importance that plutarch places on the good of the community over the individual interest or the satisfaction of a small circle of friends, that we could say that, for him, a specic action, which is in se morally reprehensible, may nonetheless be justied if it is benecial to the state. in his work, alcibiades, 14 cf. ibid. note 31. 15 ibid., 18. 16 ibid., 24. 17 cf. m. van raalte, more philosophico: political virtue and philosophy on plutarch’s lives, in the stateman in plutarch’s works. volume ii: the stateman in plutarch’s greek and roman lives, eds. l. de blois et al., leidenboston 2005, 111. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 38 plutarch has one of his characters argue that: “one who had an eye to the general welfare of the community (τὸ συμφέρον) may betray a few dubious persons, if he could thereby save many good men from the anger of the people”.18 politics is concerned with the highest interests of the community. when it is practised rightly, one does not strive to attain wealth or fame; the purpose is to serve the community.19 to bring our study on plutarch to an end, we deem it tting to add his opinion on the role older people play in the life of their community. in his work titled "an seni sit gerenda res publica” (whether an old man should engage in public affairs), plutarch argues that older people have much to offer, not only on account of their years of experience, but also because they are less prone than their younger colleagues to give in to their passions. older people, he maintains, are more reasonable in their judgements and less inclined to impulsiveness than young people. for plutarch, the primary function of senior politicians was to teach their younger colleagues in both word and deed. he instructs his readers, for example, on how to support young leaders and how to correct them without giving offence or creating hostility. in this way, older politicians could pass on their wisdom and experience to the next generation of leaders. plutarch beautifully puts his idea thus: it is not right to say, or to accept when said by others, that the only time when we do not grow weary is when we are making money. on the contrary, we ought even to emend the saying of thucydides and believe, not only that “the love of honour never grows old,” but that the same is even truer of the spirit of service to the community and the state, which persists to the end even in ants and bees. for no one ever saw a bee that had on account of age become a drone, as some people claim that public men, when they have passed their prime, should sit down in retirement at home and be fed, allowing their worth in action to be extinguished by idleness as iron is destroyed by rust.20 this passage of whether an old man should engage in public affairs summaries the conviction of plutarch regarding the need for older people to be involved in 18 plut., alcibiades 21, 5. 19 id., an seni sit gerenda res publica 783 e. 20 ibid., 784 a. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 39 public affairs, not because they do not wish to hand power over to the younger generation, but because they still have something to contribute to the common good. however, plutarch does not support those aged men who, for the love of ofce, involve themselves in a busy restlessness, lying in wait for every opportunity to grab power and relevant positions in the state, seek for themselves discredit and live a toilsome and miserable life. plutarch opines that, to do these things even with the goodwill of others is too burdensome for advanced age, but, in fact, the result is the very opposite: for such old men are hated by the young, who feel that they do not allow them opportunities for public activity and do not permit them to come before the public, and by people, in general, their love of precedence and of ofce is held in no less disrepute than is other old men’s love of wealth and pleasure.21 granted that an old man can be useful in public affairs, there is a code of conduct he ought to observe. plutarch makes interesting recommendations for elders who still wish to serve the common good, one who still has the honour of setting and making speech in the assembly: he should not be constantly jumping up on the platform, nor always, like a cock, crowing in opposition to what is said ; nor should he, by getting involved in controversy, loose the curb of reverence for him in the young men’s minds and instil into them the practice and custom of disobedience and unwillingness to listen to him ; but he should sometimes both slacken the reins and allow them to throw up their heads boldly to oppose his opinion and to show their spirit, without even being present or interfering except when the matter at stake is important for the common safety or for honour and decorum.22 plutarch offers a wide range of interesting ideas in favour of communal life and the common good. he calls all citizens to place the city before the self and also exhorts elders to participate in public life with the necessary prudence and wisdom. we shall now expose the igwebuike philosophy. igwebuike communality/complementarity worldview 21 ibid., 793 e. 22 ibid., 794 f. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 40 a brief denition of igwebuike philosophy in a recent publication, we have made our rst attempt of comparison between the igwebuike philosophy of common life and the augustinian ideal of community life as expressed in his rule and other essential works.23 this comparative study helps to establish the universality of the postulates of the new trend in african philosophy being proffered by the emerging igwebuike philosophical worldview.24 igwebuike philosophy was developed by professor ikechukwu anthony kanu in his attempt to interpret and understand the african reality. “igwebuike” is an igbo word, which is a combination of three other words. thus, it can be understood as a word and as a sentence: as a word, it is written thus, igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. “igwe” is a noun which means number or population, usually a large number or population. “bu” is a verb, which means is. “ike” is a noun, which means strength or power. put together, it means ‘number is strength’, or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force”.25 igwebuike is, therefore, along the line of the 23 cf. k. chabi, augustine’s ideal of community vis-à-vis the communal dimension of “igwebuike” african philosophy, in perspective on igwebuike philosophy: essays in honour of professor kanu, ikechukwu anthony, o.s.a., 13-33. 24 for a response to the query whether igwebuike is exclusive to the igbo or africa, see i. a. kanu, on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy, in journal of religion and human relations 11/1 (2019), 159-176. in this paper, kanu connected igwebuike philosophy to the oldest philosophical elucubrations of presocratic philosophers such as thales, anaximander, and empedocles to show that it has been in existence for long “beyond the walls of the igbo traditional society.” (cf. p. 161 of the article). 25 i. a. kanu, igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy, in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities 2/1 (march 2016), 110. kanu, ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy, 14. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientic and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 41 positions held by such african philosophers as john mbiti,26 m. nkafu nkembkin,27 b. i. ekwulu28 and many others who pinpoint the importance of the solidarity and complementarity that underline and dene the african concept of the person as a relational being. we shall now look concretely at the various expressions of igwebuike philosophy regarding communality and complementarity identiable in some african philosophers, apart from those already mentioned. some expressions of igwebuike worldview among african philosophers it may not be a wrong step to take into consideration the thoughts of the major exponents of the rst african intellectuals who gave expression to the idea of the primacy of communality in african socio-ethical life. leopold sédar senghor is, without doubt, one of such prominent gures. according to him: “negro-african society puts more stress on the group than on the individual, more on the communion of persons than on their autonomy. ours is community society.”29 he further opines that “negro-african society is collectivist or, more exactly communal, because it is rather a communion of souls than an aggregate of individuals.”30 in these statements, we ne nothing less than the aspect of igewbuike philosophy we are studying in this section of our paper. where people give primacy to the community, the self continues to exist. but it identies itself with the organic body (the community) to which it belongs; hence, it does not place itself above the ensemble. the same opinion of senghor holds for other advocates of african socialism, such as kwame nkrumah, jomo kenyatta and julius nyerere, who tenaciously sustained their socialist ideological choice, the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kanu, i. a. (2019). on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159-176. kanu, i. a. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. 26 j. mbiti, african religions and philosophy, narobi 1970. the study of p. tempels on the bantu people of central africa also affirms some the basic postulates of igwebuike philosophy. he writes: “the living ‘muntu’ is in a relation of being to being with god, with his clan brethren, with his family and with his descendants. he is in a similar ontological relationship with his patrimony, his land, with all that it contains or produces, with all that grows or lives on it.” (p. tempels, bantu philosophy, paris 1959, 66). 27 cf. m. nkafu nkembkia, african vitalogy. a step forward in african thinking, nairobi 1999. 28 cf. b. i. ekwulu, igbo concept of ibe (the other) as a philosophical solution to the ethnic conflicts in african countries, in ed. id., philosophical reflections on african issues, enugu 2010, 183-192. 29 l. s. senghor, on african socialism, transl. mercer cook, new york 1964, 93-94. 30 ibid., 49. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 42 nding its foundation in the traditional african ideas about society.31 that is why k. nkrumah could say that “if one seeks the socio-political ancestor of socialism, one must go to communalism,”32 which, of course, in their opinion, is the basic principle of reality in the african conception of common life. expressing the idea of man as a communal being in the african culture, specically from the perspective of his ghanaian context, n. k. dzobo opines that: the individual’s being emerges from a prior social whole which is truly other; it comes into being for the sake of him and exists for his development and growth. hence, an individual who is cut off from the communal organism is nothing. in africa, it is true then to say: “as the glow of a coal depends upon its remaining in the re, so the vitality, the psychic security, the very humanity of man depends on his integration into the family.” by living creatively, the individual is also contributing to the life and quality of his community and so can say “we are, therefore i am, and since i am, therefore, we are.”33 the very last quotation of dzobo’s text, which is another version of mbiti’s famous axiom in expression communitarianism in africa, has been further examined in a study by i. a. menkiti which is worth mentioning here. this scholar afrms, based on mbiti’s statement “i am because we are…”, that from the african perspective, community has an ontological primacy and independence. in his words, “as far as africans are concerned, the reality of the communal world takes precedence over the reality of the individual life histories, whatever these may be.”34 a few postulates follow in menkiti’s attempt to contrast the african with the western worldview. he contends that in africa, “it is the community which denes the person as person, not some isolated static quality of rationality, will or memory”.35 according to him, what we nd in the african 31 cf. k. gyekye, person and community in african thought, in person and community: ghanaian philosophical studies i, eds. k. wiredu – k. gyekye, washington dc 1992, 103. 32 k. nkrumah, consciencism – philosophy and ideology for decolonisation and development in particular reference to the african revolution, london 1964, 73. 33 n. k. dzobo, the image of man in africa, in person and community: ghanaian philosophical studies i, eds. k. wiredu – k. gyekye, washington dc 1992, 132. 34 i. a. mentiki, person and community in african traditional thought, in african philosophy. an introduction, ed. r. a. wright, lahman, md, 1984, 171. 35 ibid., 172. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 43 understanding of the person is the notion of personhood as acquired, “something which has to be achieved, and not given simply because one is born of human seed.”36 for this reason, in african societies, “personhood is something as which individuals could fail.”37 all these emphatic positions on communal values, collective good and shared goals, could lead to the conclusion that communitarianism conceives the person as entirely constituted by social relationships, that it tends to suppress the moral autonomy of the person, that it makes the being and life of the individual person totally dependent on the activities, values, projects, practices and ends of the community; and as a consequence, that communitarianism would diminish the person’s freedom and capacity to choose or question or re-evaluate the shared values of the community.38 for this reason, some voices rose to critically examine the african communitarian conception of the human person! in recent times, some scholars have indicated that the “we existence” ontology of person which characterizes african philosophy, represented by igwebuike and the african philosophers we mentioned above, was more tting in opposing the western liberal individualism from a political standpoint, to reclaim human dignity for the colonized african. p. nnodim is of the view that: “unmeasured emphasis on group-oriented ideas of the person among africans undermines the broader metaphysical dimensions of personhood existing in the thought systems of many traditional african societies.”39 such a position is also present in k. gyekye’s article already cited above. according to the ghanaian philosopher, menkiti’s position that the personhood is dened or conferred by the communal structure of the society cannot be wholly accurate, despite the natural sociality of the human person which places him in a cultural structure.40 gyekye posits that the human person is also, by nature, other things besides being a communitarian being. there are various attributes, such as rationality, the capacity for virtue and for evaluating and making moral judgements and choices. the community does not create these attributes but discovers and nurtures them. moreover, when he fully uses these attributes in her participation in the life of his community, his 36 ibid, 172. 37 ibid., 173. 38 cf. k. gyekye, person and community in african thought, 102. 39 p. nnodim, the concept of person in african philosophy, in life, body, person and self: a reconsideration of core concepts in bioethics from an intercultural perspective, eds. graetzel and guhe, freiburg 2017, 88. 40 cf. k. gyekye, person and community, 111. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 44 personhood would be fully dened by the communal structure or social relationships.41 instead of an unrestricted communitarianism expressed in the views of senghor and others, gyekye advocates a moderate or restricted version of communitarianism which accommodates the communal values as well as values of individuality, social commitments, including duties to self-attention (which is not individualism). taking a stand on what we have exposed so far, we contend that community constitutes an essential element in the african understanding of reality. the human person is endowed with a life-force that can only yield and be productive if it is put at the service of common good. we agree with gyekye that some essential human attributes are natural endowments. however, at the same time, it is vital to emphasise that from the igwebuike point of view, by nature, a human person can only put his worth to bear within a community. v. mulago’s idea on this issue captures the igwebuike pensée: the community is the necessary and sufcient condition for the life of the individual person. the individual person is immersed into the natural world and nevertheless emerges from it as an individual and a person within his conscience a freedom given him by the mediation of the community in which he senses a certain presence of the divine.42 this same idea comes in a more straightforward axiom formulated by kanu: "to be is to belong and to belong is to be.”43 41 cf. ibid., 111-112. 42 v. mulago, african heritage and contemporary christianity, nairobi 1989, 115. 43 i. a. kanu, a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy, jos plateau state, 2015, 250. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientic community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 45 some anthropological theories, such the darwinist conict theory and the freudian theory, see man as an aggressor and a predator/destroyer by nature, who nds himself obliged to collaborate with other human beings to subjugate his aggressive instincts. from the igwebuike african standpoint, such is not the understanding of the human person. the basic element of life together is the drive to complementarity within the creative synthesis of being which characterizes the african person. furthermore, in this context, placing the common good ahead of personal interests marks the true spirit of belonging to the body. thus, the "self", the individual person with all his natural endowments and attributes, works with the common good in mind. the idea of complementarity that constitutes the underlining principle of igwebuike nds expression also in the vital relationship that exists between the generations in the traditional african environment. elders are highly regarded in their roles within the traditional african communities. as people who hold the stories and wisdom of the past to enlighten the present, elders have the answers to questions such as “who are we?”, “where do we originate from?”, “how do we keep alive the heritage handed down to us?” because of their knowledge and life experience, elders are held in high esteem. as g. j. s. dei puts it, in traditional african societies, people have “respect for the authority of elderly persons for their wisdom, knowledge of community affairs, and ‘closeness’ to the ancestors… there is in africa a general belief that old age comes with wisdom and an understanding of the world.”44 p. o. onyoyo expresses the same idea stating that: “… in several african traditional societies in which customary law ruled the lives of people the role of elders was substantial and critical for order and harmony. the elders are construed to be the custodians of customary law, its journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117136. kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. 44 g. j. s. dei, afrocentricity: cornerstone to pedagogy, in anthropology and education quarterly 25/1 (1994), 13. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 46 promulgators and enforcers…”45 in the yoruba culture to which i belong, and in several other african ethnic groups, elders preside over religious ceremonies, sit as judges in cases of feud, apply corrective measures to repair the damages caused by offenders, facilitate reconciliation and harmony. as kanu indicates in one of his studies, elders have such mastery of language that they use folktales in judging in village courts, telling tales in such a way that the people grasp their meanings without requiring further explanation.46 those of them with specic roles in priestly lineage pray for the community and offer sacrice, mediating between god, people, ancestors, and spirits. they have many more vital roles for the good of their community. a very distinctive feature of elders in the yoruba culture is the desire to hand over their knowledge to the younger generation as the time of their exit from this world draws near. a yoruba saying states that a divinity whose cult is hidden from the offspring of its priest is doomed to disappear. so, elders are not merely preoccupied with their business in the community without regards to the younger ones. they nurture a sense of complementarity and the desire to transmit the cultural and spiritual patrimony to posterity. plutarch’s ethical-political philosophy of common good and igwebuike having exposed the contents of the two worldviews we set out to compare in this paper, we shall now examine what they have in common and what differentiates them. plutarch’s ethical-political philosophy which advocates the primacy of “city before self”, to express the commitment that a good citizen should have towards the common good, nds mutatis mutandis, a corresponding expression in the igwebuike idea of community. even prior to what we know about his philosophical standpoint, plutarch’s very life as a lover of family, as a man who cherished and remained viscerally attached to the service of his native chaeronea, indicates that this ancient philosopher had a strong sense of belonging which is characteristic of the traditional african attitude toward life and community. 45 p. o. onyoyo, a theory of gerontocracy in the african customary law, a paper published on https://www.academia.edu/9644458/a_theory_of_gerontocracy_in_the_african_customary_law, accessed on july 27th, 2020. 46 cf. i. a. kanu, a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, 77. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 47 the same emphasis that plutarch places on the common good the individual should strive for is present in our african worldview. it conrms the belief that the same seed of wisdom is sown in the spirit of all people of the world, irrespective of the categorisation we make to divide ourselves into groups or factions. the possibility of naturally working for the (common) good stands in opposition to the anthropological conict theory sustained by some exponents of western philosophy in the 19th century. in the greek philosopher’s thought, the obligation of the good citizen towards the welfare of his social group does not suppress his personality. in his many works, and through the example of his life, plutarch shows the importance of self-development. he never neglects the importance of the person as an individual with his attributes. likewise, the african communitarianism afrmed by igwebuike does not obliterate the individual within the society. it only puts to the fore the importance of belonging and working for the good of the body. plutarch defends the need for those who, on account of their old age, are considered useless in public affairs to be active and to continue contributing to the life of their community. in the igwebuike framework, elders are never discarded in their old age for retirement as far as the life of the community is considered. no one looks at them as intrusive in matters concerning public life. on the contrary, their opinion is sought and revered. an interesting aspect of plutarch’s recommendation to elders willing to continue their involvement in public life is that of being careful so as not lose the respect and consideration of the youth. respect for elders is distinctive of the traditional african code of conduct. but it is worthwhile to mention that, in the real sense, an elder is one who, with the advanced age, also has the wisdom, the goodness and the interest of the community at heart. among the yoruba, “àgbà" is the word for an elder. when an elderly person is referred to as "àgbà òshì” or “àgbà ìyà” (that is miserable elder), it is not necessarily because of material indigence. that adjective added to qualify him could portray some aspects of his moral and behavioural stand. a shameless elder who involves himself in baseness belongs to the category of “àgbà òshì”. consequently, he cannot be a point of reference to the people of his community. both in plutarch’s society and our traditional african setting, a person could lose the respect of the community even in his old age. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 48 by and large, we have observed some common points in the plutarch and igwebuike worldviews concerning life together and the common good. igwebuike is a universal worldview expressed in the language and within the cultural environment of the igbo in nigeria. that should not come as a surprise, for every trend of thought and every philosophy has a cradle, a point of departure, a culture from which it propagates. this study contributes to the reinforcement of the universal character of this trend as already demonstrated by i. a. kanu.47 conclusion the greek philosopher, plutarch, has consecrated most of his works to revealing the educational power of the past by giving many historical gures as examples for today. in his thought, he laid much emphasis on the need for citizens to seek the common good and to place the well-being of the community before personal or selsh interests. his philosophical pensée seems to rhyme with the igwebuike african philosophy in which commonality, complementarity, and seeking the common good have pride of place within the social fabric. for this reason, our study focused on the comparison of the two philosophical worldviews to establish what they have in common and what differentiates them. apart from the concern for the common good that cut across both philosophies, the aspect of the place and role of elders within the community retained our attention, since it is present in both. plutarch defends the importance of elders in public life. igwebuike sees elders as the custodians and teachers of culture. however, to be an elder is also earned through the wisdom, kindness and exemplary life an aged person displays within his community. in the ideal world of traditional africa, as it was in the ancient western and biblical world, ageing was revered and considered a blessing. living to see one’s children’s children is blessing beyond measure. in traditional africa, elderly people were attended to and accompanied in their old age until they rested with the ancestors. it seems, however, that things are much different nowadays. many elders suffer abuse and neglect. according to aderemi suleiman ajala, among the yoruba, for example, due to urbanisation and other social factors, the perception of ageing has changed from peaceful retirement to crisis-ridden stage of living. some of the crises include: neglect of the elderly, poor feeding and poor 47 i. a. kanu, on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy, in journal of religion and human relations 11/1 (2019), 159-176. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 49 health status for the aged. thus, the aged can no longer play their roles as social reformers and custodians of the people’s culture.48 this situation could be a subject for further studies from the igwebuike perspective, to see how we can reconcile structural development and material progress with the core values of our being africans, with respect to our igwebuike credo. bibliography b. j. verkamp, plutarch, in encyclopaedia of philosophers on religion, ed. b. j. verkamp, mcfarland 2008. fr. albini, family and the formation of character. aspects of plutarch’s thought, in plutarch and his intellectual world. essays on plutarch, ed. j. mossman, london 1997. g. j. s. dei, afrocentricity: cornerstone to pedagogy, in anthropology and education quarterly 25/1, 1994. g. karamanolis, plutarch, in stanford encyclopaedia of philosophy online https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plutarch/#plupla accessed on 24/07/2020. i. a. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity, in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. i. a. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 2016. i. a. kanu, igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education, a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france. i. a. kanu, on the origin and principles of the igwebuike philosophy, in journal of religion and human relations, volume 11 no. 1, 2019. i. a. kanu, igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2, no. 1, 2016. i. a. kanu. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. i. a. kanu. igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. 2018 48 a. s. ajala, the changing perception of ageing in yoruba culture and its implications on the health of the elderly, in the anthropologist 8/3 (2006), 181-188. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 50 i. a. kanu. igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientic community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. 2018 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no. 1 2016:1-6. i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. 2017 i. a. kanu. igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientic and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. 2019 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 51 i. a. kanu. igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. 2019 i. a. mentiki, person and community in african traditional thought, in african philosophy. an introduction, ed. r. a. wright, lahman, md, 1984, 171. j. beneker, sex, eroticism, and politics, in a companion to plutarch, 503-515; id., the passionate statesman: eros and politics in plutarch’s « lives », oxford university press 2012. j. mbiti, african religions and philosophy, narobi 1970. k. chabi, augustine’s ideal of community vis-à-vis the communal dimension of “igwebuike” african philosophy, in perspective on igwebuike philosophy: essays in honour of professor kanu, ikechukwu anthony, o.s.a., 13-33. author house, london. k. gyekye, person and community in african thought, in person and community: ghanaian philosophical studies i, eds. k. wiredu – k. gyekye, washington dc 1992. k. nkrumah, consciencism – philosophy and ideology for decolonisation and development in particular reference to the african revolution, london 1964. l. s. senghor, on african socialism, transl. mercer cook, new york 1964. m. beck, introduction. plutarch in greece, 2. an interesting study of the life of plutarch is that of f. klotz, portraits of the philosopher: plutarch’s selfpresentation in the «quaestiones convivales», in classical quarterly nova series 57/2 (2007), 650-667. m. beck, introduction. plutarch in greece, in a companion to plutarch, ed. m. beck, wiley blackwell 2014 m. nkafu nkembkia, african vitalogy. a step forward in african thinking, nairobi 1999. m. van raalte, more philosophico: political virtue and philosophy on plutarch’s lives, in the stateman in plutarch’s works. volume ii: the stateman in plutarch’s greek and roman lives, eds. l. de blois et al., leiden-boston 2005. n. k. dzobo, the image of man in africa, in person and community: ghanaian philosophical studies i, eds. k. wiredu – k. gyekye, washington dc 1992. p. nnodim, the concept of person in african philosophy, in life, body, person and self: a reconsideration of core concepts in bioethics from an intercultural perspective, eds. graetzel an igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 52 p. o. onyoyo, a theory of gerontocracy in the african customary law, a paper published on https://www.academia.edu/9644458/a_theory_of_gerontocracy_in_t he_african_customary_law, accessed on july 27th, 2020. p. tempels, bantu philosophy, paris 1959. plutarch, how to be a leader: an ancient guide to wise leadership. ancient wisdom for modern readers, transl. j. beneker, princeton university press, 2019. susan jacobs, plutarch’s pragmatic biographies lessons for statesmen and generals in the parallel lives (columbia studies in the classical tradition), leidenboston 2018. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.9, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 5 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 33 the rhythmic sensibility of african folksongs: the case of lullabies in igbo culture ibekwe, eunice u. ph.d department of music nnamdi azikiwe university awka eunyamaka@yahoo.com & umezinwa, emma. c department of music nnamdi azikiwe university awka emmacumezinwa@gmail.com abstract the greatest attribute of african music lies in its rhythmic applications. through the rhythmic configuration of a particular music, an ethnic identity is established. that is to say, apart from language, rhythm is another factor that situates or gives bearing to a given culture. it is through the rhythm that one would be able to distinguish zulu music from caribbean, igbo music from yoruba, or war music from ritual and so on. the sensibility of a rhythm depends largely on the usages, functions and values which it is meant to address. in african culture, the more complex a rhythm is, the more vigorous its performance but that does not imply increase in the value people attach to such music. african music is basically appreciated in both content and context. a ritual music that utilizes few musical instruments and thus produces less complex rhythm may provoke greater aesthetic appeal in society than age-grade ensemble with many instruments meant for entertainment. this paper critically looked at the rhythmic applications as it applies to lullabies in igbo culture using few examples for illustration. it also tried to find out the aesthetic values that inform their sensibility which invariably validate their cultural relevance and acceptability among the igbo. this investigation applied practical experiences, use of interviews and other related resource materials as working tools. it was discovered that the flow and or the application of rhythms is at times shaped by cultural stipulations which are translatable to a given mathematical quantity and which proper coordination brings about the beauty of performance and appreciation. keywords: rhythmic, sensibility, african, folksongs, lullabies, igbo, culture. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 34 introduction rhythmic sensibility addresses issues based on the application and utilization of musical pulses generated as a result of or in the process of singing, clapping, playing of instruments, stamping of feet on the ground and so on to achieve a cohesive sonic expression. lullabies as we know are songs sung when a child has not yet attained the age of reasoning. at this period, the mother and the nursemaids utilize this medium as the most effective way of meeting the child’s need, or rather, a means of soothing / lulling a restive or crying baby. the most interesting aspect of these lullabies which is the concern of this paper is the application and synchronization of melody and rhythm which are demonstrated or achieved by the stamping of feet on the ground or by tapping slightly on the child’s body. it is the synergy between the melody and the consequent rhythmic emphasis or force inherent in lullabies that produce good effect on the child. although the child at this age may be regarded as a passive listener / companion, yet ‘his’ responsiveness to actions required, either to keep quiet, sleep or to stop crying underscores the importance and the seemingly therapeutic effect of this genre on children. in other wards what constitutes the aesthetic appreciation of lullabies in igbo culture may include the synchronism between the melody and the consequent flow of the rhythm which invariably creates a meaningful situation that is, making the child to respond positively to a given stimulus, such as tapping, beating or stamping. the igbo culture area whose folksong is the focal point of this discussion does not imply or present a homogenous stratum of inhabitants but an area with some measure of disparities among different smaller units. it is one out of the twelve culture areas that make up african continent. oehrie and emeka (2003:38) see africa “as comprising twelve culture areas or geographical territories within which inhabitants share most of the elements of culture such as related languages and similar ecological conditions, economic, social, ideological, and systems, though the separate groups may not necessarily belong to the same breeding population”. therefore, it may not be strange to observe some differences or variants among some factions within the ethnic group. concept of rhythm: the longman dictionary of contemporary english, (2005:1413) defines rhythm as “a regular repeated pattern of sounds or movements”. extending it further, the new international webster’s comprehensive dictionary of the english language, (2010:1082) describes rhythm as, “movement characterized by regular measured or harmonious recurrence of stress, beat, sound, accent, or motion”. one may igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 35 also add that rhythm refers to the inward or outward expression of musical pulses, or can be seen as internal or external representation of pulses as conceived in the presenter’s sub consciousness. this is because rhythm can be physically demonstrated as sound through clapping of hands, beating of instruments, tapping or stamping of feet. it can as well be internally applied such as in singing where a singer observes or is timed to a given meter. however, it has been said earlier that different culture areas are identified by different types of rhythms, yet the fact that african societies share some degree of oneness/ commonality or what may be termed unity in diversity cannot be compromised. chernoff, (1979:40) admits that, “if the rhythmic systems used by different african peoples are not the same, they at least have in common the fact that they are complex”. it is the rhythm that forms the basic contrast between african and western music. chernoff reports a.m. jones as saying that ‘rhythm is to africa what harmony is to the european, and that it is in the complex interweaving of contrasting rhythmic patterns that he finds his greatest aesthetic satisfaction’. while discussing the aesthetics and social action in african musical idiom, in his book, african rhythm and african sensibility, (1979: 40) he also avers that, just as the african integration of music with its social context establishes a basic sociological perspective in the face of the diversity of cultures and musical situations, so does the notion of rhythm form the basis for discussing, on a musical level, the general characteristics of the various african traditions which are otherwise so distinct in terms of instruments, tonal organization, and vocal styles. from the above discussion, it could be seen that africa though with its ethnic diversity is still disposed to some measure of cultural convergence or meeting point. that each ethnic group exists as a separate entity does not divorce it from the general context of african cultural concept. basic rhythmic patterns in africa the discussion of rhythmic pattern or structure in africa is perceived in two dimensions. one involves the vocal music rhythm while the other is concerned with the instrumental rhythmic pattern. in vocal music one talks of free rhythm and strict rhythm. in free rhythm, according to nketia, (1974:168) “ there is no feeling of a regular basic pulse, no hand clapping or suggestion of a metronomic background. movements done on such music are based on the performer’s subjective choice of pulse, rather than on a pulse derived from the music itself…characteristic of songs not intended for the dance proper”. songs in this category include praise songs, chants, elegy, dirge, lamentation songs and so on. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 36 on the other hand, strict rhythm is the reverse of the free rhythm. it can be clapped, tapped, or danced to. it utilizes or rather makes a predominant use of duple and triple measures or a combination of both in what is called hemiola system which normally results in cross-rhythmic structure. the scope of this work is limited to vocal rhythm where lullaby finds its location. examples of lullabies in igbo culture few examples of lullabies are used here to illustrate rhythmic applications and usages in igbo culture. song 1: onye tili nwa n’ebe akwa onye tili nwa n’ebe akwa, who beat the child that is crying? egbe tili nwa n’ebe akwa, the kite beat the child that is crying wet’uziza, wet’ose bring uziza, bring ose (local spices) wet’amangololo’fe bring all it takes to make a soup k’umu nnunu racha ya so that the birds would lick it k’okpo tutu kpogbue ha and that hiccough would kill them egbe ndo, egbe ndo kite please, kite please igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 37 song 2: nwenwe i ma n’enu little monkey if you jump up n’eso m gi i follow you nwenwe i ma n’ana little monkey if you jump down igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 38 n’eso m gi i follow you nwenwe nye m oyo little monkey give me rattle n’ye m mgbirigba give me bell ka m kpaba nwa n’aka which i will give my child to hold mgbe o ji ebe erubego for he is about to cry nwenwe ndo nwenwe ndo little monkey please, little monkey please. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 39 song 3 egbe n’eri ji n’agu kite is eating yam in the forest egbe n’eri ede n’agu kite is eating cocoyam in the forest egbe n’ata abacha nkpo kite is chewing dry cassava egbe e nu yo-o, yo-o, yo-o this kite yo-o, yo-o, yo-o igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 40 song 4 mdebe ji n’uko i kept yam at the fire place nwa mbe richaara m ya tortoise ate all of them mdebe ede uko i kept cocoyam at the fire place nwa mbe richaara m ya tortoise ate all of them m churu nwa mbe i pursued the tortoise churu nwa mbe chupa ga ya agu pursued the tortoise out to a forest okuko ocha na-ano n’owele a white cock at the backyard chubiara m ya pursued it for me o naaru okpa tim, tim it started leaping, leaping onye na-achu gi oso who is pursing you. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 41 the rhythmic representations of the songs and so on the above songs are in two-four time except the fourth song which is in threefour time; the tapping is done on the first beat of each bar where the strong accent is emphasized, irrespective of the presence of syncopated notes at certain measures. the tapping on the child’s body gives a feeling of metronome sense, and this helps to control the speed or movement of the song. the nature of the songs / lullabies do not allow for complex rhythmic presentation which is the basic characteristic of african rhythm. this is because of the nature or the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 42 purpose which the lullaby is meant to accomplish, that is to soothe or lull the child. according to my resource person, okoye, theresa (2013-oral interview), “a na-agwo nsi odo anya anaghi etinye ose” meaning “if one is preparing medicine meant to cool the eye one does not add pepper”. however, this does not necessarily mean to undermine the creative expectations of african rhythms achieved through multiple cross-rhythmic applications but to give emphasis to serene appeal which the songs intend to achieve or what nzewi, (2007:52) rightly refers to as “culture rhythm”, according to him, “movement patterns and gestures as well as their dynamics generated by the normal cultural activities affect and determine the peculiar sonic as well as motional dynamics of the culture’s music and dance manifestations” therefore, rhythmic application in lullabies obeys cultural stipulations in order to suit the child’s “psychical tolerance”. highlighting on the issue of psychical tolerance, nzewi (2007:53) generally infers that. “the psychological factor of psychical tolerance regulates for a human group or an individual what constitutes tolerable sound as well as hierarchies of preference in the use and appreciation of music”. he listed the factors that shape psychical tolerance to include; � culture suggestionunconscious acquisition of the normative tastes in sound that is the musical characteristic of a culture, by virtue of growing up as a cognitive member and participant in the culture’s artistic-aesthetic boundaries � auto-recommendationpersonal psychological disposition � peer or associational references and influences � informed education that affords rational knowledge of the nature of a musical culture/type/style/product � participation and worldviewthe psychical tolerance of any modern person could be broadened through effective cross-cultural as well as incultural education, contact and cognitive participation � the factor of a person’s threshold of psychic perception with respect to the sounds that soothe, heal or disturb the first and last points above give credence to the suitability of rhythmic configurations as conceived in igbo lullabies. they hinge on cultural definition and contextual applicability respectively. all these are probably responsible for the acceptability of lullabies as children’s choice music in most of the cultures in africa not only in igbo. obviously, it should be noted that the use of complex rhythm might not have been necessary considering the variables and factors that shape the performance of such genres. some of the constraints include, the age of the recipient and the role the rhythm is meant to perform – to pacify and not to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 43 distract. therefore rhythm is sparsely applied in lullabies to maximize its efficiency and effectiveness. conclusion a performance is said to be sensible, effective and appreciated when it accomplishes the purpose it is meant to achieve. the beauty of african folksong and igbo in particular lies in its functional and contextual import. lullaby as the thrust or subject matter of this discussion is child oriented performance which beauty, values or effectiveness is predicated on its contextual and functional relevance. the igbo and in fact africa in general do not lose focus when it comes to the issue of suitability of performance. lullaby is meant to soothe, calm or pacify, and not to provoke, upset, distract or cause a stir, as a result, the use of non complex rhythm is considered adequate. this paper presented some of the igbo lullabies and tried to relate their rhythmic sensibility to the synchronization of the rhythm and the melody to effect behavioural change in the recipient. the fact that lullabies are invariably fashioned out accordingly to meet up with the cultural demands of the people makes for their appreciation regardless of the absence of rhythmic complexity. in other words, lack of rhythmic complexity does not totally mean lack of effectiveness in the performance of some igbo or african genres. therefore one could be right to say that the importance attached to our traditional musical practices whether lullaby, ritual music, initiation and other forms of folksongs, has to do with the extent to which it conforms to the functional and utilitarian stipulations of a particular culture area, otherwise the performance becomes senseless, irrelevant and unappreciated. this paper suggests that each culture area should try to propagate, maintain and uphold their musical tradition so as to ensure cultural viability. references chernoff, j. m. (1979). african rhythm and african sensibility. london: the university of chicago press oehrie, e. and emeka, l. (2003) ‘thought systems informing the musical arts’. musical arts in africa, theory, practice and education. anri herbst, meki nzewi, and kofi agawu (eds) pretoria. unisa press. longman, (2005). longman dictionary of contemporary english. england: pearson education limited. nketia, j.h.k. (1974). the music of africa. new york: w.w. norton & co igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 44 nzewi, m. (2007). a contemporary study of musical arts informed by african indigenous knowledge systems. (1) pretoria: centre for indigenous instrumental african music and dance. (ciimda) . compress www.compress. co.za okoye, t.n. (2013). oral interveiw the new international webster’s comprehensive dictionary of the english language. united states of america: typhoon media corporation. 2010. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 3 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 29 post-civil war trade in second-hand clothing in igboland ogbonnaya emeka daniel christopher university, mowe emeka.ogbonnaya@yahoo.com & udevi obiamaka nnamdi azikiwe university, awka obiudevi@yahoo.com & uwakwe chidiebere christopher godffrey okoye university cuwakwe@gouni.edu.ng abstract the reliance of nigerian masses on second-hand clothing both as a business and as a supplement for their clothing needs predate the nigeria civil war. government ban on the trade at the end of the civil war had a colossal effect on the igbo who were the major dealers on second hand clothing. the igbo feel the ban was an attempt by the gowon led government to frustrate their attempt to revive their shattered finances and economy. determined to conquer the odds, igbo traders who were reluctant to pursue another line of business resorted to smuggling. this study argues that it was the federal government post-civil war ban on second-hand clothing that led to smuggling; it was smuggling that brought about the resurrection and survival of the second-hand clothing business in postcivil war nigeria. keywords: second-hand clothing, igbo, nigeria civil war, smuggling, traders, okrika introduction second-hand clothing was an important source of clothing well into the nineteenth century. trade in used clothing was a product of necessity. its origin in europe and north america could be traced to a time in history when mass production was low and poverty level high. but even when mass production of clothes and growing prosperity enabled more and more people to purchase brand-new rather than previously worn garments, the importance of second hand clothing still did not diminish.1 instead, the trade became more export 1 karen tranberg hansen, “second-hand clothing encounters in zambia: global discourses, western commodities, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 30 oriented. this new dimension, according to amubode and braide was the solution of developed countries to their environmental problem of waste.2since the world war ii, second-hand clothing trade has grown considerably globally. established charitable organizations are the largest sources of the twenty-firstcentury global trade in second-hand clothing.3 these charitable organisations supply second hand clothes to both domestic and foreign second-hand-clothing markets through their collection efforts. before the civil war started, nigeria had depended on imported second-hand clothes to supplement the clothing need of its teeming population who could not afford the cost of new apparels.4igbo traders started importing second-hand clothing from europe and north america into nigerian the 1940s. the first set of second hand clothing consignment landed in port harcourt. some of the first customers were the people of the village of okrika.5 it is therefore not surprising that okrika is the name by which second-hand clothing has come to be known in nigeria. second-hand clothing trade is indisputably beneficial for consumers in developing countries. it gives them access to far cheaper clothes than they would obtain from domestic production or from imports of new garments. in nigeria, different governments have consistently banned the trade for varying reasons, the most pronounced being that it negates the growth of the nigerian local textile industry. the most painful of government’s bans to second-hand clothing trade was that imposed immediately after the nigerian civil war in 1970. this ban was a big blow to the entire igbo people. the igbo business men were the main importers and retailers in the second hand clothing trade. many igbo people who were not in the business had been pauperised by the war; they had lost clothes and valuables in the course of the hasty migrations caused by the bombing of and local histories” africa: journal of the international african institute 69, no. 3, (1999): 343-365. 2 a.a. amubode and o.o. braide, “revisiting second-hand clothing: market for clothing and textile practitioners in yoruba land,”nigeria journal of humanities, socialsciences and creative arts 5(2) 2010, 60. 3 m.o. areo and a.b. areo, “okrika morphology, marketing and consumer attitudinal evaluation of second hand clothing” academic research international, 6 no. 4, (2015): 64-82 4 paul obi-ani, post-civil war political and economic reconstruction of igboland, 1970-1983 (nsukka: great ap express pub. ltd., 2009), 114. 5 olumide abimbola, ‘’the international trade in second-hand clothing: managing information asymmetry between west african and british traders.’’ textile, vol. 10, no. 2, 184–199. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 31 their communities. the rest who had survived the war with little capital were financially crippled by the vicious economic policies of the gowon administration. the result was that majority of the igbo could not feed themselves and their families. with such pressing need as food for most of the igbo, clothes, whether new or second-hand were luxuries. the ban was perceived in many quarters as a vengeful act aimed at punishing the igbo and slowing the pace of economic resurrection of war-ravaged igboland. the ploy hit the warlosers of biafra where it hurt the most. history of second-hand clothing in nigeria trade in second-hand was pioneered by the indigenes of abiriba, a village in ohafia local government of abia state nigeria. overtime, abiribans moved from the centre of their trade network in igbo hinterland to port harcourt and aba where they were involved in the trade in different products. aba held a two-fold attraction for the traders. the first was that it lay on the railway line which the british constructed in order to transport coal from enugu to port harcourt6. the second attraction was that it had earned a reputation as a clothing and textiles market by the late colonial period. part of those clothing were second-hand. for indigenes of abiriba in particular, the proximity of their town to aba was an added advantage. indeed, abiriba is only about 100 kilometres from aba. port harcourt was another city that was important for the trade in second-hand clothing. it was the place from which the first consignment of second-hand clothing was procured. port harcourt’s rise to prominence was due to the fact that it was a spot chosen to house the port through which the coal that was mined in enugu would be transported out of the region. according to tom forrest, the trade in second-hand clothing was started by i. onwuka, an indigene of abiriba, who bought army surplus stock during and immediately after the second-world war. he trained a number of apprentices. ‘between 1946 and 1963, the proportion of stall frontage devoted to second-hand clothing in aba main market rose from 1 percent to 27 per cent’. 7 the clothes were obtained from ships berthed in the port at port harcourt. some of the 6 ofoegbu, r., urbanization and the rise of modern igbo enterprise. in a. afigbo, (ed) groundwork of igbo history (lagos: vista books, 1992), 576. 7 forrest, t., the advance of african capital: the growth of nigerian private enterprise, (edinburgh: edinburgh university press, 1994), 178. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 32 clothes were sold to the people of okrika. the remaining ones were transported to aba where a big section of the market dedicated to the sale of second-hand clothing existed. by the late 1950s, the trade had increased in volume and intensity. for one, thing, it required little start-up capital.8many of the traders became directly involved in the importation of second-hand clothing from jewish merchants in new york. by the early 1960s, abiriba traders would buy the clothing directly from their kinsmen who were importers and then take them to aba. there, the clothing would either be retailed or wholesaled to igbo people from neighbouring communities who would then take the goods to their own communities to retail. this further developed the trade and the network reached further into other parts of nigeria. the business was so profitable that enterprising igbo traders soon decided to take the second-hand clothing business to other parts of west africa. the tarzan transport company was instrumental to the success of this new business venture. second-hand clothing was transported from aba to lagos. from lagos, the tarzan transport company conveyed the clothing to benin republic, togo and ghana. this was how the trade which started in the 40s evolved through the 50s and 60s until the nigerian civil war started in 1967. thus, before the civil war of 1967, second-hand clothing business was thriving; nigeria relied on imported used clothes to supplement the clothing need of her teeming population.9 these clothes provided a cheaper alternative for vast citizens of nigeria most of who lived below the poverty threshold. clothing and lifestyle in nigeria nigerian society varies greatly between urban and rural areas, across ethnic and religious borders, and with levels of education. these variables are also reflected in the clothing preferences of the people. clothes are an important part of any society. it confers status on individuals and sets them apart in societal groupings. generally, people in nigeria like to wear western clothes like suits, shirts and trousers as well as skirts and blouses. but these items have become 8 a.a. amubode and o.o. braide, “revisiting second-hand clothing: market for clothing and textile practitioners in yoruba land,”61. 9 paul obi-ani, post-civil war political and economic reconstruction of igboland, 1970-1983 (nsukka: great ap express pub. ltd., 2009), 114. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 33 increasingly expensive. consequently, those who still preferred to wear them resorted to buying them as second-hand clothing. women are the number one patrons of second-hand clothing in nigeria.10 second-hand clothing which is variously called bend down select, used clothing, tokumbo (toks), okrika (ok), were at the outset, viewed as the exclusive preserve of the low and medium income earners.11 however, overtime, patronage has grown and now cuts across every social strata; the reason for this range from quality to cost. it is important to mention at this point that secondhand clothing are grouped and sold according to grades; the higher the grade, the higher the price. those in the first grade category are of the highest quality and are the most expensive second-hand clothing. however, it is also pertinent to note that the prices of first grade okrika are relatively low when compared to brand new clothes. this, perhaps, is the reason why the trade enjoys a high level of patronage in nigeria. the fact that many markets in cities like lagos, kano, aba, ibadan, enugu and port harcourt are devoted to the sale of second hand clothes testifies to the lucrative nature of the business. in some major markets like the onitsha main market, okrika lovers are acquainted with days when new bales of okrika arrive the market. they come on those days to select quality second hand clothes from the new arrivals. causes and effects of the ban after the long and bitter civil war, igboland was in ruins. it was badly in need of basic necessities like food, water and clothing. missionaries had accounted for the bulk supplies of food and clothing to igboland during the war. however, the aftermath of the war ushered in a policy of hostility and embargo on missionary works in igboland by the federal government of nigeria. the reason for this hostility stemmed from the assumption by the government that relief materials from these foreign charitable organizations had prolonged the civil war and had worked against its total blockade of igboland.12thus, when the war ended, the 10 m.o. areo and a.b. areo, “okrika morphology, marketing and consumer attitudinal evaluation of second hand clothing,” 74. www.savap.org.pk/journals/arint./vol.6(4)/2015(6.4-08).pdf 11 kennedy bienose, “second hand clothes: the boom, gains and pains,” the pointer http://thepointernewsonline.com/?p=26594 12 paul obi-ani, post-civil war political and economic reconstruction of igboland, 1970-1983, 19. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 34 federal government of nigeria barred a number of humanitarian organizations from entering the country and rendering help to the victims of the war.13 instead, the federal government, through its national commission on rehabilitation and the nigerian red cross society undertook the task of providing food and medical supplies. these supplies were inadequate. clothing supplies, on the other hand, were non-existent. therefore, some igbo businessmen who had hitherto engaged in second-hand clothing business before the war sought to reestablish links with their foreign trading partners, but the ban stiffened any hopes of that happening. the ban on second-hand clothing in 1971 by the federal government of nigeria was not only ill-conceived, it appeared to be deliberately instituted to slow the post-civil war economic recovery of igboland. it was also to act as a reminder to the igbo people of the federal might. it is worthy of note at this point that the war between the federal government of nigeria and the igbo secessionist state of biafra was won by the federal side through a combination of superior weaponry, international support and a total blockade of igboland. it must also be mentioned that after the unconditional surrender of biafra, the military government of nigeria led by yakubu gowon made the magnanimous and humanitarian declaration that the war had “no victor, no vanquished.” yet, later events proved this statement a mere tactics to douse the concerns of the international community regarding any backlash that might emanate from the federal government towards the surrendering biafran igbo people. if the igbo people had thought that the “no victor, no vanquished” rhetoric of general gowon was meant to reassure them of the preparedness of the governments’ to reintegrate them into the mainstream of the nigerian society,14 that thought soon gave way to one of total gloom. the federal policies unveiled during the so-called reconstruction were all meant to “keep the igboman down.” these sets of antiigbo policies included-the ban on second-hand clothing, stock fish, bank withdrawal limits and the indigenization policy. 13 ibid, 19. 14 “gowon’s post war policy, a failure” alex ekwueme in vanguard newspaper october 13, 2010 by hugo odiogor, etal www.vanguardngr.com/2010/10/gowon’s-post-war-policy-a-failure-ekwueme/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 35 brainchild of the ban chief obafemi awolowo is idolized by the yoruba people for a number of reasons. the most important reason is that he transformed the south west into an educational and industrial hub in africa. awolowo understood the value of education and he made it free and affordable. he offered a lot of scholarships to yoruba to advance academically to the highest level. chief obafemi awolowo was also the brainchild of the postcivil war ban on second hand clothing. before the outbreak of the nigerian civil war, chief awolowo was in prison in calabar. he was released from calabar prison by the biafran leader, col. chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu.15 this act of col. ojukwu created a rapport between them. in the tenuous and unjust circumstances the igbo found themselves in, the biafran leader, col. chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu and chief obafemi awolowo, leader of the west had ‘a gentleman’s agreement. the terms were simple; if biafrans were forced out of nigeria, chief awolowo would declare oduduwa republic and lead the west out of nigeria. however, when col. ojukwu proclaimed the republic of biafra on 30th may, 1967, chief awolowo reneged on his agreement with col. ojukwu to lead the west out of nigeria. a number of factors may have been responsible for his decision. the first is that the western region was not militarily prepared for secession. the second and perhaps the most important factor is that the british, the main ally of the federal government of nigeria, recognised the pivotal position of the yoruba in the standoff between the east and the north. even though, the british considered chief awolowo vacillating and devious, they also acknowledged the fact that he commanded widespread support among his yoruba people.16after careful consideration, gowon’s master planners, the british, came up with the idea of making awolowo, the juicy and irresistible offer of federal commissioner of finance and vice chairman of the federal executive council as a means of securing the loyalty of the west to the northern side. as expected, gowon accepted the plan of his advisers and the offer was made to chief awolowo who accepted. if ndigbo, considered awolowo’s acceptance of gowon’s appointment, disappointing, they were in for a rude shock. awolowo took his new position seriously; his policies, strategies showed 15 emefiena ezeani, in biafra africa died: the diplomatic plot second edition (london, veritas lumen publishers, 2013), 72. 16 the national archives (na), powe 63/238, note for the records: nigeria 1967, nigeria: british policy towards nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 36 that he had no sympathy whatsoever for the secessionist biafra. in fact, one can safely say that his policies were his way of proving to the federal government of nigeria that his loyalty lay with them and of course, with the yoruba. as anticipated, he encouraged the yoruba to support gowon’s government. as federal commissioner of finance and vice chairman of the federal executive council, he was second to the head of state. the position of commissioner of finance which he also occupied was the most important office in war time. awolowo’s new position also meant that he had the ear of the head of state and members of council. it was his advice that helped nigeria win the war. he advised the gowon cabinet to block all food supply to biafra. he believed starvation was a legitimate instrument of war. in his words, all is fair in war, and starvation is one of the weapons of war. i don’t see why we should feed our enemies fat in order for them to fight harder.17 members of gowon’s cabinet adopted awolowo’s horrendous policy. it proved to be very effective too. the policy not only led to the starvation and death of over one million biafran children, it effectively and efficiently terminated the biafran dream. another awolowo policy which frustrated biafra’s ability to import food and arms was change of currency and nullifying bank accounts operated by biafrans. awolowo later explained the reason for this: we did that to prevent ojukwu taking the money which his soldiers has stolen from our central bank for sale abroad to buy arms…so i decided to change the currency, and for your benefit, it can now be told the whole world, only gowon knew the day before the change took place.18 17 http://nigeriaworld.com/articles/2009/jan/222.html accessed 14/2/09 quoted in emefiena ezeani, in biafra africa died: the diplomatic plot second edition (london, veritas lumen publishers, 2013), 74. “ 18 obafemi awolowo: hero of yoruba, killer of biafra, betrayed by the north” http://www.nigeriamasterweb.com/masterweb/masterwebmobilenews.php?rss_id=mtyz accessed 22 december 2016. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 37 this statement clearly proves that awolowo was the propagandist whose post war economic policies was geared towards slowing the pace of post-civil war economic rehabilitation of igboland. with this change of currency policy, he ensured that every adult biafran who managed to survive the starvation onslaught was given 20 pounds to start life afresh irrespective of amount of money in the person’s bank account before the war started. the implication of this policy was that the igbo were not able to participate in the indigenization policy that followed the war. as achebe wryly remarked of this policy, “if there was ever a measure put in place to stunt or even obliterate the economy of a people, this was it.”19 chief awolowo also ensured a ban of stock-fish and second-hand clothing. the igbo dominated these two trades. the resumption of trading links with their clients would have provided some respite for the igbo economy. awolowo, however, introduced the ban to ensure that igbo economy was not easily resuscitated. further pronouncements of chief awolowo seem to suggest that he saw the policy as a popular one. he mentioned to ban second-hand clothing again (it was unbanned by the murtala mohammed regime in 1975) during his campaign trip to aba in preparation for the 1979 presidential election. suffix it to say, he barely escaped with his life after making that campaign promise for he ignited the anger of igbo people who were reminded of the hardship they suffered following the ban. the ban on the importation of second-hand clothing, 1970-2010: ingenuity in the face of ban as has already been mentioned, the end of the nigeria-biafran civil war saw the enactment and implementation of several economic policies which were aimed at punishing the igbo people who had lost the war. these policies which range from giving twenty pound to each igbo person in exchange for whatever amount of money they owned in banks before the war, to placing a ban on importation of some items like second hand clothing that have been the exclusive preserve of traders in igboland constituted a direct threat to the quest for economic survival of aba second-hand cloth traders in particular and igboland in general. the reaction of igbo traders to the new threat to their business, demonstrates a classic example of toynbee’s idea of response to challenge. the traders found a 19 chinua achebe, there was a country (new york: the penguin press, 2012), 234. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 38 way to deal with the threats and challenges placed on their economic survival. while some of them adapted to the prevailing economic situation by changing their line of trade, others responded to the ban by finding new ways of importing second-hand clothing into nigeria. the mere fact that the trade in second-hand clothing still thrives in igboland and different parts of the country today is a testament of the resilience and effective response of the second-hand clothing traders to the threat posed by the federal government. the practical response of these businessmen to the prevailing situation of the country proves thomas homer dixon right when he said that a given problem can be understood as a particular requirement for ingenuity. similarly, a given solution is a product of a particular amount and type of ingenuity supplied.20 problems and solutions, therefore, are reduced to independent and objective yardstick of comparing ingenuity. the ban on second hand clothing business in nigeria after the nigeria civil war gave the second-hand clothing dealers in south-eastern nigeria the opportunity to showcase their ingenuity. they came up with innovative ideas that saved their trade. following the ban on second-hand clothing in 1971, traders began to devise new methods to re-establish trade networks. first, relief came from igbo second-hand traders in diaspora. some of them were on business trips in neighbouring african countries of cameroun, togo, benin and ghana etc when the outbreak of civil war forced to stay put in their business locations. the ones in togo and benin got un refugee passports and continued their trade. these sets of traders gave their brothers, friends and partners in igboland a lifeline to continue their trades. the main idea that led to the revival of the trade was smuggling. some igbo traders moved to lagos and started receiving goods from their relatives in togo or benin who smuggled second-hand clothes into the country through the nigeria porous seme border. these clothes were sold in lagos, aba, onitsha and other big cities in nigeria. in some cases, the goods were marked as those in transit to nigeria’s neighbouring countries of niger or chad. once the goods reached these locations, they easily found their way into states in northern 20 thomas homer-dixon “ingenuity theory: can humankind create a sustainable civilization?” address to the royal society of london, october 2nd, 2003, 12 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 39 nigeria through the porous borders of nigeria. smuggling was not an easy venture. its fuel is poverty, hunger and the desperate desire to earn a living. after the civil war igbo traders in second-hand clothing had the aforementioned stimuli. so, smuggling thrived and sustained the trade in major cities in nigeria. it was so effective that so many consumers and buyers were ignorant of the fact that there was an existing ban on the importation of second-hand clothing. since the 1971 ban on the importation of used clothing, there have been calls from certain quarters for ban on tokumbo (fairly used) articles. several governments since the gowon administration have continued to ban the importation of second-hand clothing and appliances. when the gowon regime was overthrown, the murtala mohammed administration lifted the ban. the buhari administration of 1983-1985 placed severe restrictions on imports. the penalty on smuggling was stiff. in 1989, almost ninety-six percent of tariff lines were subject to import prohibition regimes.21 in 1995, the standard organisation of nigeria (son) and the federal environmental protection agency (fepa) called for the ban of used clothing and appliances on the ground that they posed health and environmental hazards. however, nigerian government’s quantitative import restrictions on second-hand clothing, which are largely aimed at protecting domestic manufacturing, have not been implemented effectively. the result is that 75-80% of used clothing imported to west africa ends up in nigeria. the fact that benin and togo have no restrictions on used clothing imports and cross-border smuggling explains why the nigeria flea market is never in short supply of contraband. however, the bans have not stopped the influx of these contraband commodities into the country through her porous borders. traders who specialise in the sale of these articles bribe custom officials at the borders and checkpoints to ensure that their customers always get their regular supplies from the flea market. conclusion the second-hand clothing trade is a network that ensures the provision of clothes at affordable rates to the members of the society. today, the second-hand clothing business still thrives in nigeria in spite of the incessant ban placed on it by several governments in nigeria. with the massive decline and closure of most 21 oyejide, a., ogunkola, a. and a. bankole, import prohibition as a trade policy instrument:the nigerian experience in p. gallagher, p. low and a.l. stoler (eds.) managing the challenges of wto participation: 45 case studies (cambridge: cambridge university press, 2005), 440. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 40 textile and clothing industries in the post-civil war nigeria, the business continues to offer employment not just to the igbo who were the pioneers of the trade, but to thousands of other nigerians. bibliography bankole, a., ogunkola, o. & oyejide, a., ‘’import prohibition as a trade policy instrument: the nigerian experience.’’ in p. gallagher, p. low, & a. stoler, eds. managing the challenges of wto participation (geneva: world trade organization, 2005) charity finance, charity shop survey 2008, (london: plaza publishing, 2008) chinua achebe, there was a country new york: the penguin. press, 2012 cline, w.r., trade policy and global poverty, (massachusetts: center for global development and the institute for international economics. 2004.) dike, k. & ekejiuba, f., the aro of south-eastern nigeria, 1650-1980: a study of socio-economic formation and transformation in nigeria, university press. 1990. ekundare, r.o., nigeria's second national development plan as a weapon of social change. african affairs, 70, no. 279, (1971): 146–158. ezeani, e. in biafra africa died, the diplomatic plot 2nd edition london: veritas lumen publishers, 2013 fadahunsi, a. & rosa, p., entrepreneurship and illegality: insights from the nigerian cross-border trade. journal of business venturing, 17, no.5 (2002): 397-429. flynn, d., “we are the border": identity, exchange, and the state along the benin-nigeria border. american ethnologist, 24, no. 2 (1997): 311-330. frazer, g., “used-clothing donations and apparel production in africa” economic journal, 118, no.532 (2008): 1764-1784. ginsburg, m., “rags to riches: the second-hand clothes trade 1700-1978.” costume, 14, (1980): 121–35. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 41 hansen, k., “helping or hindering? controversies around the international second-hand clothing trade” anthropology today, 20, no.4, (2004): 3-9. hansen, k., “other people's clothes? the international second-hand clothing trade and dress practices in zambia” fashion theory: the journal of dress, body & culture, 4 (2000) 245-274. hansen, k., “second-hand clothing encounters in zambia: global discourses, western commodities, and local histories.” journal of the international african institute, 69, no.3, (1999): 343-365. hilling, d., “ships, ports and developing countries” geoforum, 14, no.3, (1983): 333-340. isichei, e., a history of the igbo people, (new york: st martin’s press, 1976) lewis, p., “from prebendalism to predation: the political economy of decline in nigeria” the journal of modern african studies, 34, no.1 (1996) 79-103. meagher, k., identity economics: informal manufacturing and social networks in south-eastern nigeria. oxford: university of oxford, 2004. okali, d., okpara, e. &olawoye, j., the case of aba and its region, southeastern nigeria, (london: international institute for environment and development, 2001) olisa, m., igbo politics and governance in a. afigbo, ed. groundwork of igbo history. lagos: vista books. 1991. palmer, a. & clark, h. eds., old clothes, new looks: second hand fashion, oxford: berg publishers. 2005. ukwu, u., the development of trade and marketing in iboland journal of the historical society of nigeria, 3 no. 4 (1967): 647-62. wolpe, h., “port harcourt: ibo politics in microcosm” the journal of modern african studies, 7. no. 3 (1969) 469-493. 1969. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.1 no. 1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 47 the relevance of st augustine’s teaching theories in twenty first century by bartholomew chidili, o.s.a, phd. kaduna state university, kaduna udachidili@yahoo.com abstract this paper explored the fulcrum of augustine’s teaching value and discovered its absolute importance even in this twenty first century. as a theologian and a philosopher of unrivaled prowess, augustine presented many indisputable theories for acquisition of valuable education. his love-teaching theory is very compelling. the link up of normal learning to the divine love is most revealing. it demonstrates that teaching is not just a mere job but a vocation which one must embrace with every enthusiasm. centralizing learning on the learner is a compelling theory which still makes waves among current education philosophers. doubt as a positive process of learning is also forceful as it is currently trending in many sectors of educational endeavors. the language exploration for learners is undoubtedly necessary for facilitation of learning process. lucidity can never be faulted in teaching and learning process. hence it makes bold to conclude that augustine is actually an indisputable doyen of teaching—and learning process. keywords: relevance, augustine, teaching, theories, twenty first century introduction aurelius augustine was bishop of hippo, in north africa, and his writings established the intellectual foundations of christianity in the west. he was born in a.d. 354 at thagaste, a town forty-five miles south of hippo in the roman province of numidia, which is now algeria. his father, patricius, was an unregenerate traditionalist both in faith and morals until his later years when he was somewhat uncertainly won over by the persistence of his wife. he held the office of decurio of tagaste under the roman administration, a title given to members of the senate of the municipalities and colonies. he also appears to have been a landowner in a small way; (letter 126, 7), if this is true, then in spite of his name he may have been a native of numidia, the settlement of roman veterans in north africa captured two centuries earlier (leonard,2013:1). from the pages of the confessions of his son he stands out as endowed with a rough kindliness of character accompanied by a tendency to violent outbursts of anger. his mother, monica was a devoted christian whose moral force character and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 48 christian example were dynamic influences in his life. it is probable that she herself was of libyan extraction, her name being derived from the libyan deity, mon, who was worshipped in the nearby town of thibilis. she emerges in st augustine’s confession as one who, like her son, had reached the serenity of faith only after a long course of spiritual travail (leonard,2013:1). compensating for the neglect of the father, she showed great concern for the spiritual instruction of her son: ‘my tender young heart,’ says augustine, ‘had drunk in the name of christ even with my mother’s milk and held it deeply within me (confession iii, 4, 8) in his late teens he went to carthage for further studies, and through his reading of cicero, he became enthused about philosophy. he became a teacher of rhetoric in carthage and later in rome and milan. augustine was a restless seeker rather than a systematic thinker, and after a brief romance with the dualistic philosophy of manichaeanism, he immersed himself in the neoplatonic philosophy of plotinus. his whole life may be characterized as an intellectual and moral struggle with the problem of evil, a struggle that he worked out through synthesizing the ideas of the neoplatonists with christianity. he upheld the teachings of the bible, but he realized that maintaining them in the intellectual and political climate of his age required a broad liberal education (leonard, 2013:1). in his struggle against evil, augustine believed in a hierarchy of being in which god was the supreme being on whom all other beings, that is, all other links in the great chain of being, were totally dependent. all beings were good because they tended back toward their creator who had made them from nothing. humans, however, possess free will, and can only tend back to god by an act of the will. human refusal to turn to god is in this way of thinking, nonbeing, or evil, so although the whole of creation is good, evil comes into the world through human rejection of the good, the true, and the beautiful, that is, god. the ultimate purpose of education, then, is turning toward god, and augustine thought the way to god was to look into oneself. it is here one finds an essential distinction augustine makes between knowing about something (cogitare), and understanding (scire). one can know about oneself, but it is through understanding the mystery of oneself that one can come to understand the mystery of god. thus the restless pursuit of god is always a pursuit of a goal that recedes from the seeker. as humans are mysteries to themselves, god is understood as wholly mysterious (leonard, 2013:1). augustine’s credentials as a teacher augustine’s own experience of teaching was considerable. up to the year of his conversion he practiced teaching as a profession. at tagaste he taught grammar igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 49 for a year in a school, which he himself established. later he taught in schools of rhetoric at carthage and rome. the reputation he acquired as a teacher of rhetoric speedily led to his appointment as a public orator and teacher of rhetoric at milan. on his conversion to christianity he laid down his secular teaching duties, but did not abandon the vocation of teaching. he clearly states in the confessions that he was merely putting aside the work of formal instruction in the techniques of oratory in favor of a more challenging and significant teaching task (confessions, ix, 4-5). in the months immediately following his conversion, this task was begun at a country house at cassiciacum, near milan, where augustine spent some months discussing with a group of his friends and young pupils the implications of christian involvement. on his return to north africa and his native tagaste augustine realized the need for the spread of education among christians, both priests and laymen. thus at tagaste and later at hippo he established communities, whose purpose was the preparation of welleducated christian teachers for the north african church (supra: 23-4). in reply to his friend nebridius, augustine shows his strong feeling of responsibility towards his students at tagaste: “shall i come to you? but there are some people who cannot come with me, and i am sure that it would be wrong to desert them. you can live agreeably with your own thoughts; but this is the condition at which they are still aiming” (letter 10, 1). the teacher-pupil relationship all recommendations augustine makes about teacher—learner relationship derives from the love commandment which he sees as the foundation for all personal relationships: “thou shall love the lord thy god and thy neighbor as thyself” (mk.12:33). his reason being that it is the same love, by which god has created humans and instructs them, is the source of the human desire to learn. it is the teacher’s duty to inspire this love in his/her pupils. thus, for augustine, to be a teacher is an act of love. hence, he advised the teachers to "imitate the good, bear with the evil, love all" (christopher, 1952: 87). this is why the personal relationship with god which enables humanity to advance in understanding and so live the good life, must be reflected in the association of teacher and learners, since this association is designed to effect exactly the same purpose. thus, in instructing the pupils the teacher must cooperate with the purposes and methods of god. this means that teaching must be deeply grounded in a personal relationship rendered productive by love (howie, 1969: 150). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 50 when love is the foundation of teaching the familiar takes on the quality of novelty, and the teaching is raised from a pedestrian to an inspirational level leading to the thrills of exploration and discovery. teaching in its inspirational level engenders productive sense which implies a common involvement of teacher and learner in tasks of mutual interest. if this mutual concern is absent, there remains only the boredom of ‘repeating over and over again things, which are already thoroughly well known to the teacher and appropriate only for little children (the instruction of the uninstructed, 17). the following passage from the instructing the uninstructed, sensitively expresses the experience of intercommunication, in augustine’s thought. let us then adapt ourselves to our pupils with a love which is at once the love of a brother, of a father and of a mother. when once we are linked to them in heart, the old familiar things will seem new to us. so great is the influence of a sympathetic mind that, when our pupils are affected by us as we speak and we by them as they learn, we dwell in each other and thus both they, as it were, speak within us what they hear, while we after a fashion learn in them what we teach (the instructing the uninstructed 17). moreover, augustine insists that, if love is to be effective in promoting learning, it must be specifically directed (supra: 54-55). this implies that the teacher must be observant of individual needs and reactions and vary his/her teaching methods accordingly. the teacher’s love must necessarily be expressed in different modes to accommodate varying degrees of maturity, cultural extraction and personal characteristics of the various persons constituting class (howie, 1969: 152). in the words of dewey (1944:89), “an education could be given which would sift individuals, discovering what they were good for, and supplying a method of assigning each to the work in life for which his nature fits him. each doing his/her own part, and never transgressing, the order and unity of the whole would be maintained.” the essence of this is to whet the appetite of the learners and to enable them study enthusiastically whatever they find suitable. this improves and enhances knowledge and indeed adds value to education of individual. learner centered method of education augustine’s basic philosophical and psychological assumptions assign to the teacher a peripheral position in the process of learning. it is the learner himself who is central; he/she places him/herself in a direct encounter with the thing to be known. augustine, in his educational theory proposes that the teacher’s duty igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 51 is to encourage pupils to acquire education with all his skill. he maintains that the learner must be allowed to discover ideas by him/herself. teacher’s job is to influence the learner with his/her examples, enthusiasm and love. in this way, augustine insists, the pupil will excel. the pupil must neither be restricted nor compelled to learn. in his words, since intellectual enquiry, i.e. education is an absolutely good thing to do; there should be no restriction on the range of such enquiry: for ‘nothing is lost which we enquire into with serious purpose’ (on music vi, 23). in the later century, in 1762 to be exact, rousseau published his emile and while not mentioning augustine by name repeated him almost verbatim. for rousseau insists that his emile should be given the freedom to discover things by himself. since, “man will never have what befits a man except under its own condition” (rousseau, 2000:169). this freedom to learn gives rise to one learning according to one’s aptitudes. thus it is good to allow the child to develop on its own and then cash in on his/her interest. this will lead the child to develop a certain interest or career of his/her delight. this improves on the traditional educational wisdom rousseau says, “consists in control, constraint and compulsion” (rousseau, 2000:11). the said freedom liberates one from the life of ‘imprisonment’ the traditional institutions engender in rousseau’s opinion. thus when a child is free it develops all its faculties before making a choice of what to do with its life. this freedom is also one of the prime techniques of counseling strategy. the counselor always gives the counselee freedom to discover things for him/herself while guiding him/her by gentle suggestions. pastoral counselor for instance, gently guides his/her client to faith maturity by presenting realities of faith while the client takes the final decision. augustine’s as well as rousseau’s vision makes a case in the areas of teaching and learning. their vision as stated earlier is child centered and progressive. this means that the child should be given the chance to discover things by him/herself while the teacher patiently guides him/her. this is in total distinction with the traditional assumption that teaching takes place when the teacher passes on his accumulated knowledge to the students—a process freire (1970:71) defines as banking education. this is an education where students are taken as the banks where teachers deposit accumulated knowledge. this type of education reinforces a lack of critical thinking and knowledge ownership in students, which in turn reinforces oppression. reflecting on this, newsam (2012) maintains that “the traditional position starts from the assumption, taken to be so obvious as not to be open to question, that the purpose of teaching is to ensure that those taught acquire a prescribed body of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 52 knowledge and set of values.” but in augustine’s classroom and indeed that of rousseau’s, the teacher’s job is little guidance without the child even knowing it (augustine, on music vi, 23; rousseau, 2000:160). the teacher has ‘to give him a taste for and methods of’ learning various sciences ‘when this taste is more mature’ (rousseau, 2000:161). the teacher’s answer to the pupil’s question should only be ‘to whet its curiosity but not enough to satisfy it.’ while the pupil has to learn the prolongation of his/her attention this period, the teacher has to be careful not to reach the “point of tedium”, rather, he/she must see that the pupil learns according to his/her desire and capacity and never against his/her will (rousseau, 2000:161). furthermore, this view of the teacher as not being the cause of learning but as merely supplying the stimulus and perhaps the source materials marks one of the differences between the platonic and aristotelian systems. to the aristotelian st thomas aquinas the teacher is the cause of learning in as real a sense as the doctor is the cause of good health in his patient. the augustinian point of view, on the other hand, is one which has never lacked its supporters. in the twentieth century, for example, adamson (1921:27), writing in the individual and the environment, says: in the educative process itself there does not seem to be any room for the teacher—the whole business is between the individual and his worlds and the teacher is outside it or external to it. augustine himself argues this point most thoroughly in the teacher where he maintains that teaching and learning are not set apart as two separate and distinct activities. when these distinctions are made, the activity is often thought to be centered on the teacher and the learner comes to be seen as playing a subordinate and even passive role. in augustine’s view, on the other hand, the activities of teaching and learning come to be closely fused together and lose their distinguishing marks. the learner teaches himself, whether or not he is assisted by an external teacher. the activity of learning arises entirely of the learner’s own volition in response to the presentation of some desired objective, and it continues so long as that objective proves attractive. nothing which the teacher can do can produce learning, unless the learner voluntarily engages himself. this is applied today in adult education and open university learning strategy. however, by this suggestion, st. augustine points to the difference between a method which involves the learner in an activity of thought and one which does igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 53 not necessarily do so. from his own experience of learning in school he understood the difference between the development of ideas and their rote memorizing of words. on the one hand, there is the purposeful, exciting quest for knowledge; on the other hand the largely meaningless ‘sing-song’ of the schools. augustine’s own most significant learning was not gained from schoolmasters, but through the self-activity of thought. his real teachers were those who not merely talked to him through books (e.g. aristotle, cicero, plato), but who also encouraged him to think critically about what they said. he makes it clear in the confessions that he used the material gathered from these teachers as resource materials for the furtherance of his own intellectual quest; he accepted only what he discovered and verified by his own personal effort (howie, 1969:158-159). st. augustine’s teaching method is what is now called the method of ‘activity,’ otherwise known as the ‘direct’ method, since it insists that the learner be directly engaged with the thing to be known. in his own teaching augustine consistently demonstrates the method. in the instruction of the uninstructed, for example, he concludes his discussion of the principles of good teaching with the remark that the influence of examples of good teaching is greater than verbal expositions of theory: you would learn better by watching us and listening to us when actually engaged in the work itself than by reading what we write (the inst. 23). learning by observation augustine pursues the theme of learner-centered education in a later chapter, where he remarks that in childhood he learned his own language in a pleasant manner ‘by mere observation amid the caresses of my nurses, the jokes of smiling friends and the delights of those who played with me.’ amid such informal activity he learned ‘to give birth to ideas.’ he emphasizes that the words, which he learned without clearly realizing that he was learning at all, were learned ‘not from teachers but from people talking’ (confessions, i, 14, 23). motivational learning theory one of the educational theories of augustine is motivation. augustine argues that the teacher’s success in the classroom is a scintillating motivation. by this, augustine means that the teacher must motivate his pupils through clear behaviors that spell out evidently the love of the subject he/she professes and the love of the students. anything short of this, places the learners in a very bad igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 54 mood which results in loss of interest and utter dislike for the subject and indeed the teacher. hence the teachers are advised to do whatever it takes to love their subjects and the learners so as to facilitate the learning of the task at hand (howei, 1969:145). doubt as a positive learning process in company with descartes, augustine regards the condition of doubt in positive terms as implying a desire to learn, i.e. a state of readiness for learning (supra:130-134). in his the trinity, augustine applies this optimistic belief to the practice of teaching. the statement, ‘i do not know’ (nescio), spoken by a student to a teacher, or spoken internally by the student to himself, signifies, ‘i have as yet only a partial knowledge and i desire to know more fully.’ this may well be a more promising beginning for learning than the apparently more positive ‘i know’ (scio), which may indicate nothing more than a complacent acceptance of untested and invalid assumptions…augustine is drawing upon his teaching experience and learning, when he shows that a feeling of proper humility in the face of knowledge is a better beginning than the conviction that there is nothing further to be known. a man may be deceiving himself when he says ‘i know this,’ but this is less likely when he says, ‘i do not know it’ (howie, 1969: 148). the man who says, ‘i know,’ and is speaking the truth, does not necessarily know what knowing means. but the man who says, ‘i do not know,’ and is faithfully saying what he believes and knows that he is speaking the truth—that man at least knows what knowing is. this is because he is distinguishing the person who does not know when he accurately surveys himself and says, ‘i do not know.’ when he knows that this is true, how could he get this knowledge if he did not know what knowing is? (the trinity x, 3). it is in the soliloquies that he first examines the actual insidious doubt as to the existence of the conscious, thinking self. he confidently argues that the soul ‘knows itself by a sort of inward presence, real and not imaginary’ (the trinity, x, 16). if man’s thought is not confused and perverted by the quibbling of the professional skeptics, he enjoys an immediate certainty that he exists, that he lives and that he has an intellect. it is in fact by virtue of his possession and use of his intellect that he is assured of the certainty of his own existence. he knows that he thinks and from this he properly concludes that he exists (howie, 1969: 131). the argument from the reality of thought to the existence of the thinking self recalls descartes’ ‘i think; therefore i exist’ (cogito ergo sum) the central position in augustine’s thought, which it does in descartes,’ nevertheless igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 55 augustine regards it as very important. both in the soliloquies and again in the free will he takes the reality of self-consciousness as the starting point in any attempt to establish other conclusions. thus the second book of the soliloquies centers on the attempt to demonstrate human immortal nature. the argument is preceded by a series of questions designed to determine what can be taken for granted as basis for further progress. the last exchange of question and answer is as follows: reason: do you know that you think? augustine: i do. reason: then it is true that you think? augustine: it is true. (the free will ii, 7). augustine’s argument is designed to emphasize the positive function of doubt as the starting point of all learning; doubt is in fact the evidence of the ability to grow in understanding, and not the symptom of a fatal inability to learn. man’s habit of doubting is the proper consequence of his possession of a rational mind; to be doubting is to be thinking. augustine accepts doubt as the guarantee of man’s ability to learn and indeed as a clear indication that he is positively using his power of thought to that end (howie, 1969: 132-133). starting point for a good teaching and learning process while in the classroom or any place for teaching, augustine argues that the teacher must choose the subject of interest to the students. because according to him, a desired theme of thought will enable the learners to learn the object of learning and make it their own; otherwise the teaching may take place but the learning will not occur. he also suggests that teachers should always start teaching by asking the pupils what they know already about the chosen topic of learning. the value of this, says augustine, is that learners acquire knowledge better and faster if they can begin from what is partially in their purview of knowledge. for, “if a person desires to possess something, it is because he already believes that it really exists. but one cannot believe in the reality of something entirely outside the range of one’s existing experience and knowledge. in other words, there can be no impulse to learn anything which is not already known in part: unless we have some slight knowledge of a subject in our minds, we cannot be kindled with any enthusiasm to learn it” (the trinity x, 1). therefore, the teacher must begin with what the student already knows and give him a glimpse of what there is still to be known, and when this is done, the learner is said to ‘fashion in his mind an imaginary form, by which he is fired igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 56 with love.’ this form in the imagination is composed of the materials of his existing experience. ‘how does the learner form this image,’ augustine asks, ‘unless he draws upon the things he/she already knows?’ (the trinity, x, 4). illustrating from his rhetoric class, augustine averred in his the trinity that: the more a thing is known and yet not fully known, the more the mind desires to know what remains to be known about it. if all a man knew was that a word was a spoken sound and did not know that it was the sign of something, he would seek nothing further—but because he knows it to be not only a spoken sound but also a sign, he wishes to understand it fully, and no sign is fully known unless we know what it is a sign of’ (the trinity x, 2). the importance of adapting the teaching content to the level of the learners among the cardinal teachings of augustine, is that teachers should adapt their teaching to their students according to the level of their understanding. this is consistent with african traditional education counseling where all the contents of community expectation are spread along the growth lines of a child (chidili, 1993, 18-20). this counseling further agrees with the findings of developmental psychologists like piaget, erikson, kohlberg and others. piaget, for instance centers his child’s moral developmental perceptive on early beginning; insisting that the development must of necessity begin through the child’s interaction with the environment. this concept assumes the fact that development does not take place through the mere maturing of individuals; or through the ideas and principles imposed from the significant others. rather, it upholds the double process of assimilation and accommodation. this means that individuals assimilate the outside environmental experience while the development is taking place: because of their own innate potentiality, which enables them to make their own impression upon the environment while assimilating it. this indicates the individuating power that enables the individual to act freely on any encountered experience. kohlberg essentially agrees with piaget in this area of fundamental process of learning. he believes that all learning takes place through the interaction of individuals with their environment. he accepts piaget’s principle that the center of learning is the active child who structures his or her perceived environment. furthermore, kohlberg accepts piaget’s postulation of different stages of development in moral development and thinking. these stages of development characterize the contact between the child’s structuring tendencies and the structural features of the environment (elias, pp. 66-67; balk, 183-187). according to kohlberg, “most children under the age of 9 operate at the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 57 preconventional level of moral reasoning.” this means that at the preconventional level individuals are meant to understand morality as meaning either to obey authority and avoid punishment or to serve one’s own interests. for instance kohlberg cited an example of a seven-year-old robin who was asked to explain why a person should tell the truth, she readily answered saying, “you will be spanked if you lie.” kohlberg (1976) also noted that this level of moral reasoning is applicable to some adolescents as well as many criminal offenders. individuals at preconventional also perceive rules and social expectations to be imposed by significant others, which means that they are not authors of their behaviors. moreover, kohlberg (1976) contends that conventional moral thinking is the level at which most adolescents and adults function. this is to say that in this level most adolescents and adults obey and uphold societal rules and expectations. within the level of preconventional period, individuals obey the societal rules only when it is in their own interest but put the interest of the society into consideration when they reach conventional level as observed earlier. it is then at postconventional level that individuals distinguish “their identities from the rules of society and work from self-chosen principles that are grounded in the concept of justice” (balk, 1995, p. 187). the essence of this is to enable the teachers to key to this psychological age so as to map out the learners according to their age-level of understanding and then plan lessons to suit each group. within this period augustine encourages the teachers to be simple, clear, direct, and patient as they impart the knowledge. he emphasizes that this period of teaching requires much repetition, and could induce boredom in the teacher, but then he counseled that this boredom would be overcome by sympathizing with the students according to which, "they, as it were, speak in us what they hear, while we, after a fashion, learn in them what we teach" (christopher, 1952: 41). this kind of sympathy induces joy in the teacher and joy in the student, in the final analysis. furthermore, augustine maintains that all kinds of teaching are to be done in the restrained style. according to him, the restrained teaching style requires the teacher not to overload the student with too much material, but to stay on one theme at a time, to reveal to the student what is hidden from him, to solve difficulties, and to anticipate other questions that might arise. he encouraged the teachers to speak in the mixed style from time to time i.e. using elaborate yet well-balanced phrases and rhythms–for the purpose of delighting their students igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 58 and attracting them to the beauty of the material. he argues further that teachers should also be able to speak in the grand style, which aims at moving students to action. he then explains that what makes the grand style unique is not its verbal elaborations, but the fact that it comes from the heart, from emotion and passion– thus moving students not only to grab topic properly but also to obey god as they use his creation to arrive at full enjoyment of god. this hoped-for response is wholly consistent with what is probably the most famous quotation from augustine's autobiography, the confessions: “you have made us for yourself o lord and our hearts are restless until they can find rest in you” (bk. 1, chap. 1:39). the importance of lucidity and language some of the most interesting practical advices augustine gives to the teacher is concerned with the use of language to communicate thought and the lucidity of the language. augustine’s emphasis on lucidity as one of the first virtues and duties of the teacher is very essential. augustine advises that the teacher must of necessity value lucidity more highly than verbal ornament or pedantic purity of speech. in view of that, augustine distinguishes between the professional rhetorician and the teacher. accordingly, for the former, eloquence consists in making people do what the speaker wants them to do. but the ‘true eloquence’ of the teacher on the other hand consists in ‘making clear what was obscure’ (christian education ii, iv, 26). he also considered language to be as much a hindrance as a help to learning. augustine explains that since the mind moves faster than the words the teacher utters, and the words do not adequately express what the teacher intends, the teacher must be careful in uttering words while teaching so as to convey intelligible knowledge to the learners. the teacher must also understand that the student hears the words in their own ways, and attend not only to the words, but also to the teacher's tone of voice and other nonverbal signs; which often times leads to the students’ unintentional misunderstanding of the meaning the teacher might be conveying. this is why the teacher is bound to welcome the students' questions even when they interrupt his/her speech. the teacher must listen to students and converse with them, and question them on their motives as well as their understanding. it is under this purview that augustine understands education as a process of posing problems and seeking answers through conversation (howie, 1969: 153-155). problem-posing is a tool for developing and strengthening critical thinking skills. it is an inductive questioning process that structures dialogue in the classroom. obviously, problem-posing dialogue is rooted in the works of augustine and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 59 continued in the works of dewey and piaget who were strong advocates for active, inquiring, hands-on education that resulted in student-centered curricula (shor, 1992:36). freire (1970:68) expanded on the idea of active, participatory education through problem-posing dialogue, a method that transforms the students into "critical co-investigators in dialogue with the teacher.” learners bring to adult education programs a wealth of knowledge from their personal experiences, and the problem-posing method builds on these shared experiences. by introducing specific questions, the teacher encourages the students to make their own conclusions about the values and pressures of society. freire (1970:68) refers to this as an "emergence of consciousness and critical intervention in reality.” conclusion the foregoing has explored the fulcrum of augustine’s teaching value and discovered its absolute importance even in this twenty first century. as a theologian and a philosopher of unrivaled prowess, augustine presented many indisputable theories for acquisition of valuable education. his love-teaching theory is very compelling. the link up of normal learning to the divine love is most revealing. it demonstrates that teaching is not just a mere job but a vocation which one must embrace with every enthusiasm. centralizing learning on the learner is a compelling theory which still makes waves among current education philosophers. doubt as a positive process of learning is also forceful as it is currently trending in many sectors of educational endeavors. the language exploration for learners is undoubtedly necessary for facilitation of learning process. lucidity can never be faulted in teaching and learning process. hence we make bold to conclude that augustine is actually an indisputable doyen of teaching—and learning process. references adamson, j. e.( 1921). the individual and his environment. london: longmans green. chidili, b. (1993). discovering christianity in african cultures. nairobi, kenya: pann printers. christopher, j. p. (1952). augustine: the first catechetical instruction (400). westminster, md: newman press. descartes, r. (1644). principles of philosophy. retrieved, january 10, 2014 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/principles_of_philosophy dewey, j. (1916). democracy and education. new york: the free press igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 60 elias, j. l. (1975). psychology and religious education. bethlehem: catechetical communications. erikson, e. h. (1963). childhood and society, 2nd. ed. new york: w. w. norton freire, p. (1970). pedagogy of the oppressed. new york: seabury. howie, g. (1969). educational theory and practice in st augustine. new york: teacher’s collage press kohlberg, l. (1976). moral stages and moralization: the cognitive developmental approach. in t. lickona (ed.), moral development and behavior: theory, research, and social issues (pp. 31-53). new york: holt, rinehart & winston. leonard, t. (2013). st. augustine (354–430) augustine and teaching, influence. retrieved, december, 2013. http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1778/augustine-st-354-430.html newsam, p. (2012). teaching and learning. retrieved jan. 7 2014 http://highbeam124.blogspot.com/2012/04/teaching-and-learning.html rotelle, j. h. (1997). the confessions. new york: new city press shor, i. (1992). empowering education: critical teaching for social change. chicago: university of chicago press. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 3 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 95 arab uprisings, democratic deficit and the upgrade of authoritarianism in jordan bulus, kwopnan ibrahim department of political science university of jos jos, nigeria. email: kapal4uall@gmail.com & ngonadi, anthony onwuegbuchulam department of political science, tansian university umunnya, anambra state. email: mantony47@yahoo.com abstract despite the regional turmoil that was witnessed in parts of the middle east and north africa, the arab monarchies have continued to be resilient. while the arab uprisings shattered the dictatorial regimes of egypt, libya, tunisia and yemen within a year, the arab monarchies have been able to suppress the uprisings and ensure stability. this paper examines the impact of uprisings on the hashemite kingdom of jordan. it also takes a look at different perspectives relating to the lack of democracy in jordan and other arab monarchies. the paper finds out that the happenings of the arab spring in jordan more or less did little in weakening the monarchical system but rather has led to an upgrade of the autocratic status where the powers of the monarch is not threatened but the strength and capacity of opposition groups is drastically reduced. finally, it considers the upgrade of authoritarianism as the survival strategy of the monarch of the hashemite kingdom of jordan. key words: arab uprisings, democratic deficit, authoritarianism, political reforms, monarchies. introduction within the past few years, profound transformations on the social, political and constitutional fronts have been experienced in parts of the middle east and north africa. the phenomenon was given different names like the ‘arab uprising’, ‘arab spring’, ‘arab revolts’ even ‘arab awakening’. the uprisings started on december 17th, 2010 when mohammed bouazizi, a tunisian street igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 96 vendor decided to light himself up in protest against the regime of president zine al abidine ben ali. the young vendor was calling for an end to the endemic corruption, police brutality and seeking for political reforms in the country. this incident and later the demise of the vendor on the 4th of january led to a mass protest and demonstrations in tunisia which eventually led to the overthrow and the fleeing of president ben ali from the country. the tunisia events acted as a catalyst in other arab countries. it led to protests, demonstrations in some countries. the uprisings in the arab world saw the end of four dictators within a year (i.e. in egypt, libya, tunisia and yemen). the toppling of the dictators brought about fear in arab authoritarian monarchies. it pushed some of the monarchies (gulf states) to resort to financial resources to calm the citizens, others opted for military assistance from neighbouring countries to suppress popular uprisings (bahrain), while still others introduced some political reforms (jordan and morocco). since the uprisings, arab monarchies unlike the arab republics have not experienced a change in regimes. this has prompted extensively scholarly writings on the factors that have made the monarchies resilient. the discussion on the resilience of the monarchies is not new and has been studied by many scholars since the 1990s (anderson, 1991; herb, 1999; lucas, 2004). on a general note, authoritarianism in the arab region has been in existence since the setting up of the arab state system that came into being after the collapse of the ottoman empire as a result of the defeat by great britain and france in the first world war. this collapse led to the creation of eight arab states (hooglund, 2014). the ottoman empire started losing control of its territory in the 19th century with france annexing areas in north africa and great britain taking over areas along the arabian sea and the persian gulf of the arabic peninsula. the arab states later became independent between 1945 and 1971 and remained under monarchical systems. there were no functioning democracies among the arab states till after the 2011 arab spring but for lebanon that had a democratic regime for 30 years before the civil war (barari, 2015). despite the fact that the scale of the protest in jordan was not as large as that of tunisia, egypt and libya, it showed that it was not immune to the so called ‘arab spring virus’ that affected other arab nations. the striking difference of the jordanian protest lies in the fact that while the tunisians and egyptians were igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 97 calling for a change in government, the jordanian were out for reforms. in fact, their demands were limited (hamid & freer 2011, p.4). the protest in jordan began on the 14th day of january, 2011 when people took to the streets to criticise the level of poverty, corruption and the lack of employment in major cities like amman, salt, irbid, maan and karak. central to the protests in january was the call for the resignation of the prime minister samir rifa’i which was led by the group known as “the jordan campaign for change” (jayeen). other leftist parties and groups eventually joined the protest calling for political and economic reforms in the country (international crisis group, 2012). the coming together of different groups and oppositions to join the protest increased the number of protestors thereby putting immense pressure on the government. the political demands ranged from the need of a parliamentary political system with elected members as against the practice of the king appointing; freedom of expression, the independence of the judiciary and respect for the rule of law (ryan, 2011). it is an arguable fact that the uprising was the biggest threat to the throne of king abdullah ii since 1999 when he became the king. yesilyurt (2014) asserted that jordan is the most vulnerable of all the monarchies because of its small size, weak economy and its uneasy neighbourhood. despite all the factors that make jordan vulnerable, it has been able to maintain security and has been stable amidst revolutions and war that surround it. since independence, the monarchy has been able to survive series of interstate war with israel in 1948 and 1967; attempt of a coup d’état in 1950s as well as civil wars in the 1970s and the late 1980s (yesilyurt, 2014). the main thrust of this paper is to examine the impact of uprisings on the hashemite kingdom of jordan. it also takes a look at different perspectives relating to the lack of democracy in jordan and other arab monarchies. finally it considers the upgrade of authoritarianism as the survival strategy of the monarch of the hashemite kingdom of jordan. it will use the steven heydemann’s managing political contestation concept to analyse the upgrade of authoritarianism and persistence of autocracy in jordan. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 98 contradictions on democratic deficit in arab states the issue of democratic deficit in the arab states is not new and has constantly been argued by scholars. there are different and divergent views as to why autocracy has endured in the arab world. firstly, it is presented in the work of western scholars that the major factors that ensure the endurance of autocracy in the arab states are islam (as a religion) and the culture of the people. it is assumed that as a result of the commonness of values that are deeply instilled in religion and traditionalism, the arab cultures exhibit a loathe to democratic tenets. that school of thought is known to be ‘orientalism’. orientalism is the approach in which scholars use in explaining the deficit of democracy in the arab and islamic worlds. the orientalists argue that the islam is a religion that is highly incompatible with democracy as such democracy and its principle are strange and cannot be practiced (said, 1978). barari (2015) strongly argues that the orientalists basically sum this view from their implicit and essentialist assumptions that a monolithic religion and culture is shared by arabs and muslims in general and as such democracy is vehemently rejected by them. this orientalist’s view is reflected in the works of scholars such as lewis (1996) who argued that islamic religion has a political tradition which for a long time has reflected command and obedience, which even modernity has not been able to weaken it but rather has seen it intensify. even huntington (1992) in the same vein considers the islamic religion and the culture as the key factors that keep posing a challenge to democratic development. however, it is clear going by the argument of said (1978) in his criticism of the view by orientalists that the assertion that arab societies are not flexible and cannot accept democratic change is not objective in any sense. rather he conceives it as a desperate way by the orientalists to justify western domination. secondly, another key argument to explain the lack of democracy in the arab world relates to socio-economic development. scholars like lipest (1959) in an attempt to explain the deficit of democracy in countries, emphasized that development in a country largely influences the prospect of democracy. lipest argued that in rich societies where there is high quality educational system and urbanisation usually lead to an expansion of the middle class which in turn creates the necessary condition for social equality and mobility. he further argued that social equality and mobility are necessary conditions on which a functioning democracy can thrive. also, bellin (2011) argued that democratisation process is largely influenced by economic factors. she tried to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 99 show it through the concept of ‘democratic paradox’. in her argument she places emphasis on the role of the middle class and an economically and politically free private sector which is not under the control of the state. the point of view of bellin and lipest, presents a vague view and rather shallow of the democratic deficit. their views fall short of explaining the lack of democracy in the arab world as the oil rich states in the gulf are still autocratic. richards and waterbury (2008) argue that rather than socio-economic developments, ‘rentierism’ is the main factor that explains democratic deficit and the society’s relationship with the state. to them, the generated profit which is usually gotten from the sale of oil in the gulf states is redistributed by the government using a strategy ensures that the elites (rentiers) continue to be powerful. they assert that for the fact that there has been oil for decades and the inflow of profits are high, citizens do not advocate for democracy as they are not heavily taxed and the government subsidizes many services. the debate on monarchic exceptionalism emerged after the arab uprising. while the experiences of the springs led to the ousting of authoritarian governments (in tunisia, libya, yemen and egypt), jordan, morocco and the gulf states were able to manage the impacts of the spring in their countries (yom and gause, 2012). attempts have been made by scholars to explain the resilience of the surviving monarchies. yom and gause (2012) argued that the main conditions that enabled the monarchs to be able to repress and withstand the uprisings include: i. the rents that are gotten from the revenues generated from oil empowered the gulf states to adopt political strategies to hinder any mass opposition; ii. the opposition groups in the states did not enjoy the support of external actors from within and outside the regions; iii. the monarchs have had long-time alliances with the west which also helped to suppress the opposition from the inside and also the opposition groups in the states rather were after political reforms other than the overthrow of the monarchs. the upgrade of authoritarianism in jordan the very first characteristic in the scale of upgrading authoritarianism to heydemann (2007) is the managing of political contestations. in order to maintain and upgrade authoritarianism, the regime must demonstrate the capacity to handle and mange political competition (especially in a democratic structure). this is done through cosmetic reforms. in most cases, the reforms are igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 100 mostly electoral reforms which tend to mean a different thing to the outside world. oppositions are tolerated in this instance but are systematically managed with a tight grip. in jordan, as a result of the pressure that was mounting, king abdullah ii had to give to the demands of the protesters by making the implementation of the electoral laws provided for a mixed electoral system and voters are provided with a vote for a district representative and a vote for a national-level list. so the voter can vote one time at the constituency level and another time at the nationwide level. also, the number of seats for the house of deputies was increased from 120 to 150. more to that, the reform gave room for the increase of seats occupied by women at the national level from 12 to 15 seats and the minimum age limit to be a candidate was moved from 35 to 25 years old. as the pressure mounted, king abdullah gave in to the pressures by calling for amendments to the constitution. as part of the political reforms, there were 41 amendments to the constitution, the establishment of a constitutional court and the institution to conduct elections under the newly installed election body. also, the electoral law that was long-criticized was revised in june 2012, the expansion of parliamentary roles and four prime ministers were dismissed overtime. it is necessary to note here that all the new changes still ensured the control of the state over decision-making process but it portrayed to the outside world that the transformations in the control were leading to a democratic political system. as part of the upgrade of authoritarianism, the laws provided in the constitution to regulate and prevents opposition are still very present. the parliament is a perfect description of a ‘toothless bulldog’ because they are more or less powerless in decision making; the decisions made by the king are final and cannot be altered. another very important factor of authoritarian upgrade could be seen in ties and diplomatic relationship established by autocrats. this is seen in the case of jordan as well as morocco. jordan and the united states prior to the uprisings enjoyed a cordial relationship in general. however, as a result of the ‘cosmetic reforms’ that were implemented the bi-lateral relation between jordan and the west improved as the west highly praised the efforts of the arab monarchs aimed at ‘democratisation’. by diversifying the diplomatic ties in jordan, the authoritarian government since the spring has established trade and investment relations with other nations and international institutions. this has eminently igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 101 reduced the pressure that used to be exerted on the monarchy by the western states as well as international institution. jordan has also established ties with the gulf state and made it a key focus in terms or regional diplomacy. through this activity, the state benefits from the huge capital that flows within the region from oil. conclusion the factor that distinguishes jordan from other arab countries that experienced the arab spring was the fact that the protesters in the country were rather seeking for political reformation other than questioning the legitimacy of the autocratic monarchical system in the country that has been in existence for decades. the arab uprisings shook the arab monarchies and in the case of jordan, the king was left with no option than to offer some form of a top-down and limited reform package that will not reduce the powers of the monarch. it is evident also that the reforms in the form of managing contestation have been able to weaken opposition groups while at the same time the monarch retains power. it is most likely that the autocratic model in jordan will certainly prevail provided the main pillars that have contributed to its stability are still in place and unchanged. on a general note, the happenings of the arab spring in jordan more or less did little in weakening the monarchical system but rather has led to an upgrade of the autocratic status where the powers of the monarch are not threatened but the strength and capacity of opposition groups are drastically reduced. references anderson, l. (1991). absolutism and the resilience of monarchy in the middle east. political science quarterly, vol. 106, no. 1, pp. 1-15. bellin, e. (2011). stalled democracy: capital, labor, and the paradox of statesponsored development. (ithaca, ny: cornell university press). hassan, a. barari (2015). the persistence of autocracy: jordan, morocco and the gulf. middle east critique, 24:1, pp. 99-111 herb, m. (1999). all in the family: absolutism, revolution, and democracy in the middle eastern monarchies. albany, state university of new york press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 102 heydemann, s. (2007). upgrading authoritarian in the arab world. the saban center for middle east policy. pp.1-39. hooglund, e. (2014) editor’s note: special issue, the first world war in the middle east. middle east critique, 23(2), pp. 107-135 huntington, s. p. (1984). will more countries become democratic? political science quarterly, 99(2),pp. 193. huntington, s. p. (1992). the third wave: democratization in the late twentieth century (oklahoma: university of oklahoma press). lewis, b. (1996). islam and democracy: a historical overview, journal of democracy 7(2), pp. 54–55. lipes,t s. m. (1959). some social requisites of democracy. american political science review, 53(1), pp. 69–105. lucas, r.e. (2004). monarchical authoritarianism: survival and political liberalization in a middle eastern regime type. international journal of middle east studies, vol. 36, no. 1, pp. 103-119. richards, a. and waterbury, j. (2008). a political economy of the middle east. (boulder, co: westview). ryan, c. (2011). political opposition and reform coalitions in jordan. british journal of middle eastern studies, vol. 38, no. 3 (december 2011), pp. 383384. said, e. (1978). orientalism (new york: pantheon). yesilyurt, n. (2014). jordan and the arab spring: challenges and opportunities. perceptions, 19(4), pp. 169-194 yom, s.l. gause, iii f.g. (2012). resilient royals: how arab monarchies hang on. journal of democracy, 23(4), pp. 74 al jazeera english, “jordanians march against inflation”, at http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/01/2011114121933 7111.html (last accessed 12 may 2016). bertelsmann stiftung, (2014)j ordan country report. gütersloh: bertelsmann stiftung, available on https://www.btiproject.org/fileadmin/files/bti/downloads/reports /2014/pdf/bti_2014_jordan.pdf accessed on 24 may, 2016. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 103 gause iii, f. g. (2013). kings for all seasons: how the middle east’s monarchies survived the arab spring. brookings doha center analysis paper, no. 8. available at http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/papers/2013/09 /24%20resilience%20arab%20monarchies%20gause/resilience%20arab %20monarchies_english.pdf (last visited 16 may 2016). hamid, s. and freer, c. (2011). how stable is jordan? king abdullah’s halfhearted reforms and the challenge of the arab spring. brookings doha center, policy briefing http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/files/rc/papers/2011/10_jorda n_hamid_freer/10_jordan_hamid_freer.pdf accessed on 24 may, 2016. international crisis group (2012). popular protest in north africa and the middle east (ix): dallying with reform in a divided jordan. middle east/north africa report, no. 118. available at http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/middle-east-northafrica/iraq-iran-gulf/jordan/118-popular-protest-in-north-africa-andthe-middle-east-ix-dallyingwith-reform-in-a-divided-jordan.aspx (last accessed 15 may 2016). ottaway, m. and muasher, m. (2011). arab monarchies: chance for reform, yet unmet. (washington dc: the carnegie endowment for international peace). available at http://carnegieendowment.org/files/arab_monarchies1.pdf, accessed 19th may, 2016. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 5 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 75 juncture in speech: illustrations from the nnewi dialect of igbo george e. onwudiwe, phd department igbo, african and asian studies nnamdi azikiwe university, awka elogee2002@gmail.com abstract juncture is a phonetic feature which contributes greatly in expression and meaning in speech. this phonetic feature can broadly be divided into two: the segmental and the nonsegmental juncture. although the non-segmental appears more obvious in speech, the segmental juncture contributes in no small measure in communication and in enriching language. more importantly, it provides very good atmosphere for speech planning and execution. this aspect of segmental juncture is otherwise called filled pause. they include different sounds, hesitations, parenthetical remarks, repetitions and the like which speakers employ in their speeches. they usually come into speech unconsciously although some speakers introduce them deliberately. unfortunately, these forms of juncture have been receiving very poor attention in language studies and analysis and this has made many people to be ignorant of their importance and function in speech. also, some teachers, journalists and others apparently but ignorantly disregard them. this study therefore strives to project these forms of juncture and their importance in communication, with illustrations from the nnewi dialect of igbo language. some native speakers of nnewi dialect were interviewed and their speech excerpts were collected as raw data for illustration and analysis. the expressive function approach of the functional phonological theory of andré martinet was adopted for the execution of the study. in the end, it was discovered that filled pauses, otherwise called pausing are very necessary ingredients for planning and execution of speech. they also help to elevate speech, nay language/dialect. the study is therefore found quite relevant to linguistic scholars, language teachers and analysts, journalists and all literate public. keywords: juncture, speech, nnewi, igbo, nigeria, dialect. introduction in speech act, certain phonetic features are observed or have to be observed by speakers.for instance, it is customary to observe pauses within or between isolate words or ‘macrosegments’. it is equally necessary to observe the required sound change that go with, or that introduce these pauses. furthermore, it is a mark of competence, for instance, to observe the aspiration that accompanies a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 76 voiceless plosive, or accent in the initial syllable, or syllable ending in some dialects or languages. these features are usually introduced unconsciously. usually in speech, ‘sharp transition’ is required across a boundary between ‘macrosegments’ or isolate words, while ‘muddy transition’ occurs within a single ‘macrosegment’. this is not forgetting the pauses (silent pauses) that have to be observed at the end of stops, comas, colons, semi colons, dashes, etc. these are sine qua non in speech act. similarly, sound change is naturally expected at the end of a question, or before the introduction of a dependent clause or in associative constructions in igbo. these phonemic notations that generally introduce pauses of different kinds and durations, as well as bring about some kind of sound change in the course of speech are generally referred to as juncture; and theirmajor function in speech has also been described as distinctive and prosodic in nature. it has been discovered that not all junctures are non-segmental. some can also be segmental, such as introduction of parenthetical remarks. this type of juncture may also be introduced in speech consciously or unconsciously. in any case, they are meant to communicate. for instance, nervousness during speech such as ‘languid drawl’ or constant ‘nervous giggle’ has been described as a speech style, as well as a ploy to gain sympathy on a particular occasion. similarly, ‘throat clearing’, introduction of foreign phonemes or speech segments within speech such as ‘-eem-’,‘-mhh-‘,‘-ehe-‘,‘-eee-‘,‘-uh-‘, long silence, etc. all can be habitual or unconscious speech style for special purposes or intended meanings. these ‘segmental junctures’, here referred to as filled pauses are the main focus of this study. the paper will identify their components and also try to ascertain their function in speech, illustrating with the nnewi dialect of igbo. it is also important to mention that whatever meaning any juncture has is governed by either the personality or class of the speaker or social milieu and social settings. therefore, speakers in most languages have ways of signalling authoritativeness or submissiveness, seriousness or light heartedness, excitement or calmness, etc. each of these attitudes certainly is not the same across cultures. in the same vein, social institutions devise attitudinal speech patterns to project the intended message and create the required aura.therefore, one other important thing to be noted aboutjuncture is that whereas some can be said to be conventional, some are specialised in the sense that they are unique in type and function. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 77 although works on juncture abound, none studied the forms and functions of filled pauses in speech and their use in specific language or dialect. most of the available works are mainly explanations of the concept and do not consider their uniqueness in consonance with culture. they have also not located them to different disciplines or social milieu where they perform specialised roles. in this study, the theory of functional phonology of the prague school as developed by andré martinet has been adopted as the theoretical framework on which the analysis is built. as junctures are prosodic and distinctive in speech, the specific aspect of function adopted from the hierarchy developed by the approach is the expressive function. the filled pauses are introduced in speech to express some specific function. the paper is arranged in four main sections. section one presents the general introduction to the work and the methodology. section two presents the theoretical framework upon which the analysis was based and also a review of some relevant literatures on the area. section three is the discussion or analysis of the data collected, while section four presents the findings of the study, conclusion and recommendations. the tone marking convention adopted in the work is that propounded by green and igwe (1963) where only high tones are left unmarked while the low and step tones are marked. methodology data for the study were drawn from different literatures in linguistics and language in general. also, some people were interviewed and speech excerpts collected to provide data for illustrations in the nnewi dialect and more importantly to ascertain the various functions served by these junctures in the dialect and in language in general. both standard and non standard dialects of igbo were employed where necessary. structural interview written in igbo was used to collect information from the interviewees. three informants were randomly selected, made up of two males and one female, all between the ages of 62 years and 72 years. a tape recorder was used to record the responses of the interviewees. later, these responses were transcribed and analyzed. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 78 theoretical framework this study adopts the theory of functional phonology of the prague schoolwhich was associated with the russian, nikolaj sergiyevich trubetzkoy (1890 – 1938). the approach is also known as prague school phonology. this phonological theory was developed by the french, andré martinet (1908 – 1999). the functional phonology which was founded on linguistic functionalism has as its main thrust the “study of phonic elements from the point of view of various functions they fulfil in a given language” (malmkjaer: 2007). several functions are identified by this theory, which are also ordered in hierarchy. among these functions are the distinctive function and the expressive function. although the distinctive function is considered most popular because of its wide coverage, the expressive function appears most suitable for the current study, hence its adoption. the expressive function approach, like the entire functional theory,according to matthews (2007),belongs to the general label – functional linguistics which was adopted byvarious schools of linguisticsthat wish to emphasize the attention given in their theories to the functions of language in general, or to those of specific features in particular textual or other contexts. the expressive function approach investigates discourses and the speech mannerismsemployed in executing them with a view to decipher the state of mind of the speakers and the intended meaning.because of personal idiosyncrasies in speaking, or nature of language, certain junctures introduced are for special purposes or special meanings. in discourses, speakers convey to their listeners their state of mind (more often) without resorting to the use of an additional moneme, that is, a minimal linguistic sign, or monemes (www.ling.fju.edu.tw/phono/functional.htm). instead, they may employ suprasegmental phonic elements such as “over lengthening, exaggerated pitch”, etc. (malmkjaer, 2007). thus, in exemplifying the use of suprasegment (phonic elements) as juncture and in defining intended meaning in “that tree isennnormous”, malmkjaer (2007:162) says: “… intonation pre-eminently fulfils the expressive function in which pitch phenomena are exploited expressively, i.e. speakers express definiteness or lack of definiteness, certainty or uncertainty, etc. in their minds about what they predicate”. it follows therefore that through phonic elements, speakers colour their speech and therefore convey different meanings. in like manner, speakers express their state of mind through different ways which could cut across phonic elements, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 79 introduction of parenthetical remarks, filled pauses, etc. these features, we may recall, may be conventional or culture bound; and each one of them is employed for special meaning. in conclusion,the functional phonological theory, and precisely the expressive function approach can be seen to be a very suitable theory in determining meanings in discourses, languages and subject registers. its application in speech analysis is therefore significant for good results to be achieved. literature review the term juncture is a linguistic conceptwhich crystal (1997:424) describes as “phonetic boundary features that demarcate units of grammar, e.g. certain features of + pitch + duration, pause”. as a phonetic boundary, it demarcates two morphemes thereby introducing some sort of pauses at different times within a speech segment. this boundary is represented with the phonemic notation ‘+’, and it could be “open” or “close”. for example: “with juncture, good day! is pronounced [gud+dey], as opposed to [gudey]”,(bussmann, 1996:246). in the above illustration, a pause is observed between the two macrosegments ‘good’ and ‘day’, andthe linking of the segments could be ‘smooth-sailing’ or sturdy. describing the production of this kind of speech segment in what he refers to as “transition contrasts”, hockett (1958) says therefore that when there is a clean finishing of one vowel or consonant before transiting to the next, the result is “sharp transition”. when however the finishing is on the contrary, he calls the transition, “muddy transition”. in other words, sharp transition occurs across a boundary between macrosegments or isolate words, while muddy transition obtains within a single macrosegment or a single word such as ‘good’ or ‘day’ above. therefore, juncture determines the flow of speech, and the author of this paper generally classifies juncture as pause and further follows the categorizationof the concept into two, viz: silent and filled pauses.the silent pauses are generally the silent breaks between words. they include such features as stop, comma, hyphen, etc already enumerated above. the other kind of pause (juncture) the filled pauses –refers to what harley (2000) also calls “filled hesitation”. these include such sounds as ‘um’, ‘ehe’, ‘uh’, ‘em’, ‘mm’, etc.,a repetition, a false start, or a parenthetical remark such as ‘well’, ‘i mean’, ‘you know’, and so on. but, harley (2000:245) categorically asserts: “naturally unfilled pauses are easier to detect mechanically by the equipment used to measure pause duration, so analysis has focused upon them”. this assertion further igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 80 confirms that more studies have been conducted on the silent pauses than on the filled pauses. speaking requires the expenditure of energy because, it is work. during the act (of speaking), hockett (1958:142) says: “the succession of units produced by a speaker is governed constantly by the changing context, by the units already produced, and by his habits”. therefore, the factors of changing context, units already produced and habits of the speaker all influence and determine what next to say and even whether to go on speaking or to stop. the usual result of this dilemma is pausing, hence hockett (1958:142) continues: “consequently, speech is broken up by pauses, by hesitations, by interruptions, by repetitions, by sudden changes of direction”. the reason for these pausing, hesitations and the like is for the speaker to brace up with the task of utterance production. all these, including repetitions are introduced mainly “to “fill silence” while trying to think of what to say next…” (143). in a similar contribution, harley enumerates various consequences of pausing. first, he says: “the theoretical emphasis in the past has been that pausing predominately reflects semantic planning” (harley, 2000:245). in this contribution, he says that one major reason for pausing is for the speaker to ensure that he is making a meaningful statement. other circumstances that lead to pausing, according to him, are “before words that are less predictable in the context of the preceding speech”. otherreason for pausing is “retrieving the particular phonological form of the word”, while yet another situation is ‘the “tip-of-the-tongue state”. the tot state, he describes as “…more pronounced, yet nevertheless essentially transient, lexical access difficulty”, (harley, 2000:246). he describes the tot state as the extreme form of pause.all these situations lead to pausing which hockett (1958) had earlier described as ploy to fill silence while trying to think of what to say next. nonetheless, pausing in speech does not signify incompetence in any speech act as it has been observed in hockett (1958:143) “… that speakers in any speech community vary in fluency of control, and that the same speaker varies in fluency from one occasion to another”. for him, therefore, the variation should not be taken to mean difference between correct and incorrect speech. furthermore, it should not be viewed either as differences of language habits, but rather as habits of some other order which are manifested along with language habits in speech. juncture has also been seen as a form of prosody. according to malmkjaer (2002:429), “… prosody may be a phonetic feature which shows the demarcation between consecutive structures. such prosody is often referred to as junction igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 81 prosody”. illustrating this assertion, he cites example with aspiration that accompany a voiceless consonant in tamil, or accent in the initial syllable in czech. in tamil, malmkjaer (2002) explains that although aspiration which serves as ‘the focus of relevance’ in the pronunciation of a tamil voiceless plosive consonant occurs in word initial position as in [ph] and in no other position, its ‘domain of relevance’ is actually the whole word. similarly, in czech, although accent falls on the initial syllable of a polysyllabic word, it characterizes the whole word. in other words, as prosody, juncture affects every aspect of the structure; that is, it expresses some specific meaning. clark, yallop and fletcher (2007) also observe that prosodies are not always superimposed on consonants and vowels, rather, suprasegmental effects are also often intertwined with the production of isolate consonants and vowels. they therefore define prosody as “… a set of higher-level organizational structures that account for variations in pitch, loudness, duration, spectral tilt, segment reduction and their associated articulatory parameters”, (clark, yallop and fletcher 2007:327). by this definition, they opine that prosodies also include (such) other paraand non-linguistic features which account for whatever changes or variations that may occur during speech. perhaps, it was in consonance with the above that bussmann (1996) describes juncture as an aspect of suprasegmental and distinctive feature; hockett (1958:55) acknowledges the distinctive and contrastive characteristics of juncture and says: “our way of providing for this is to recognise sharp transition within a macrosegment as a phoneme”. these views have strongly projected juncture as that part within a speech continuum which introduces meaning other than the surface meaning. for instance, “at penitential rites/services, silence is employed to allow examination of conscience, sorrow for sins committed and plea for forgiveness” (obiefuna, b.a.c., 2014). malmkjaer (2002) also records that the post-bloomfieldians regard juncture phonemes as suprasegmental phonemes.however, although malmkjaer (2002) recognises juncture as a suprasegmental phoneme, he views its form and function differently. thus, he accepts its superimposed meaning on segmental phonemes, but says that it is not ‘spread over’ as is the case in ‘pure suprasegmental phonemes’. hence, he says: suprasegmental phonemes are said not to be linearly placed but to occur spread over, or superimposed on, a segmental phoneme or phonemes, but this is obviously not the case with juncture phonemes though their effects igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 82 themselves are phonetically manifested over segmental phonemes adjacent to the juncture phonemes. (malmkjaer 2002:409). malmkjaer’s assertion here justifies that even though juncture phoneme may be linearly placed, it still performs the same function of affecting and influencing the meaning of the entire segmental phoneme as does the suprasegment. this assertion is a major claim of this study. as stated above, the aim of introducing juncture is to communicate; and to communicate here implies using special codes(junctures) to import special meaning. such special codes (juncture phonemes) as identified by clark, yallop and fletcher (2007) include nervousness, languid draw or nervous giggle. as they opine, some of these features project certain personality, and may be longterm style of speech. some may be introduced to gain sympathy on a particular occasion such as the languid draw or the constant nervous giggle. as they continue, although some of the reasons for the use of the features may be a function of anatomy, others may be acquired as habitual characteristics. hence, hockett (1958:143) says: “recent research suggests that much can be learned about a person through a close examination of his unedited speech”. it follows therefore that a person’s natural speech is expected to contain various kinds of pauses (including filled pauses). whatever the case, the conventions that govern the behaviours differ among languages, societies and social settings. hence, clark, yallop and fletcher (2007:328) have this to say: “… most speakers in most languages have ways of signalling authoritativeness or submissiveness, seriousness or lightheartedness, excitement or calmness, even though these states or attitudes will certainly not be identical across cultures”. worthy of mention here is that different disciplines like religion also signal different shades of meaning using peculiar features such as silence. this may be the reason they note: “silence: pauses are important ingredient of our communicative resources”; and citing allen (1987) on rules for pause durations in english also state, “the length of pause increases with the size of the syntactic or informational units which the pauses demarcate” (clark, yallop and fletcher 2007:333). despite the nature and function of these phonetic features, they influence the form and meaning ofdiscourses. for instance, they modify the speech production of such words.such speech modification gimson (1980) refers to as a consequence of the speaker’s consciousness of the word as an independent entity or the distinctive function of phonetic features in the speech continuum. here, he igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 83 notes that different pauses like close or open junctures within a speech introduce phonetic differentiation. in the above assertion, gimson opines that modifications in production of words could be as a result of isolate form of the word, or as a result of the type of juncture. hockett (1958:54) also observes that when the phonetic notations that exist between “macrosegments” are correctly observed, there is usually difference of sound. he then says: “any difference of sound which functions to keep utterances apart is by definition part of the phonological system of the language …”. on the other hand, clark, yallop and fletcher (2007) note that in any given language, the way rhythmic structures and stress placement are integrated influences duration patterns of that language. they illustrate with english and dutch where, they say, stressed syllables are generally much longer than unstressed ones. in tone languages like thai, they state, “there may be an interaction between tone and vowel duration in that vowels carrying rising tones are generally longer than vowels carrying falling tones, all things being equal”. in line with gimson’s (1980) and hockett’s (1958) observations above, these rhythmic structures and stress placements; or rising and falling tones all bring about speech modification including sound difference. that notwithstanding, the modification that is of concern to this study is interruption in the flow of speech occasioned by filled pauses during speech. empirical review speech is based on knowledge and competence in the code one is using. these include knowledge of the lexis and structure of the language as well as the evolving meaning of the structure. also relevant is knowledge of the people’s culture which includes their style of speaking. language, as is often said, encodes cultural norms and idiosyncrasies. hence, chukwu and okeke (2012) observe that style of language use makes a written or an oral text conversational or personal, come alive endearing and interesting. their claim is used to recapture the significance of language to culture and encoding of cultural normsand idiosyncrasies, with their study centred on awgu dialect of igbo. other aspect of style that embellishes language, according to the authors is repetition. thus, they say: “…repetition or refrain or chorus makes a text suffused with aesthetic colour” (chukwu and okeke 2012:180). as a form of juncture, repetition helps to make a language/dialect colourful. furthermore, chukwu and okeke (2012) note that language personifies a text. in other words, various levels of style of the language of a people indicate who igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 84 speaks at any time and situation. this suggests that adults, children, males and females each have their form and level of language. contributing to the place of language and speech style in conveying a person’s message, chukwukere (2006:65) aptly states, “language touches upon a people’s most ingrained emotions however and incoherent it may sound to a nonnative/speaker”. in the igbo cultural setting therefore, elders’ speech are not as plain and simplistic as they may sound. they are, however, more complex than those of the younger ones. this is because they employ different forms of junctures conventional and idiosyncratic alike to colour and drive home their point. one such juncture (attitude) common to them is clearing of throat. thus, she observes that clearing of throat within speech is an attribute of old age and wisdom in igbo. hence, she asserts, “the result is that on each occasion an old man is presented by the igbo playwright, readers would predict the action of the clearing throat”(chukwukere 2006:68). the above contributions help to identify the various forms and functions of juncture used in speeches in igbo. they also help to buttress the point that each speech has bearing with the culture of the speaker, and that these various forms of juncture add to the coloration of the language or dialect. analysis of data to determine the form and functions of pauses in speech, live speeches in the nnewi dialect of the igbo language were collected from native speakers of the nnewi dialect and then studied. nnewi dialect is located within the east niger group of dialects (engd) of nwaozuzu’s (2008) classification of igbo dialects. i. aspects of pausing in nnewi dialect pausingin speech has been described as a regular feature in the speech of an average native speaker of the nnewi dialect. some people pause as they speak because they are stammerers, whereas others introduce pausing for special purposes.all thedatacollected opine that other dialectsalso introduce juncture in speech and confirm that most nnewi dialect speakers introduce pausing junctures in their speech. this confirms the earlier claim by clark, yallop and fletcher (2007) that most speakers in most languages have diverse ways of signalling different attitudes and meanings in their speech, and also that the conventions that govern the behaviours vary among societies and social settings. according to one of the interviewees, g.o. onyekaonwu, some of these pauses (filled pauses) commonly employed in the dialect include: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 85 (1) e-ee; eee, e-eem, m-hhm, mm. (2) mbụụ, mbụụm,naa m, mbụ na m, njizim, ọ kwọọ m,ị ma na m…, maka na m. (3) throat clearing, drawling, repetition. the examples of pauses commonly found in the dialect as classified above indicate that some are mere sounds as in (1). the examples in (2) can be described as parenthetical remarks, while example (3) can be described as instances of speech habit. in other words, the forms of pausing juncture discovered in the dialect fall into the three main classes above. these forms of juncture can fall into either of these lounsbery’s (1954) distinctions of pauses as captured by harley (2000) – ‘hesitation pauses’ that reflect planning by the speaker, or ‘juncture pauses’otherwise known as micropauses (usually shorter than 250 milliseconds) that reflect articulation difficulties rather than planning time. thus, the examples in (1) which are mere sounds fall within what lounsbery classifiesas juncture pauses (micropauses), while those in (2) which are parenthetical remarks represent his hesitation pauses. according to g.o. onyekaonwu, pausing is called ‘nsụ̀sụ̀’in the dialect. he also said that pausing is introduced as a ploy to adjust the flow of thought and to be more articulate in discussion. also, pausing comes in to bring in what is necessary in order not to falter. then, he goes on: “hence, it is often said and believed that a nnewi person is full of wisdom”. furthermore, the interview reveals that pausing is common in the speech of elders, especially males. as g.o. onyekaonwu again said: “pausing is not common with the youth, otherwise he will be seen as talking as an adult or being endowed with adult intellect”. corroborating onyekaonwu’s claim, c.onuchukwu puts it this way: ọ bvụ nde okenye, ma nwoke ma nwanyị, mana ọ bvụkarị ụmụ nwoke naewbvata nsụ̀sụ̀ ma ha na-ekwu okwu. (it is the elderly, both male and female, but it is mainly the males that introduce pausing when they are speaking) finally, some people who usepausing juncture in the nnewi dialect are said to introduce them merely as speech style, thus supporting the earlier claim that it can be brought in consciously. however, this is not a strong opinion about the presence of pausing in the nnewi dialect.clark, yallop and fletcher (2007:327) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 86 point out above that these features may be “unconscious or deliberate; but nonetheless they communicate”. ii. functions ofjuncture in the nnewi dialect apart from the fact that juncture is a necessary part of normal speech, it also serves important semantic functions in speech. in the nnewi dialect therefore, juncture (filled pauses) serve very special purposes in communicating in the dialect. as alreadymentioned above, a speech of an average nnewi elder is laden with meaning. this is evident in the frequent use of proverbs, metaphors and pausing by adult speakers of the dialect. in the words of p.n. nnajiofor, one of the informants: (5) “nde nnewi na-ewebvatakarị ilu. ma e wepụ nke a, ha na-asụ nsụ̀sụ̀ kpatalụ e ji ekwu na okenye asụghị nsụ̀sụ̀ ọ gbaa ama”. (people of nnewi usually introduce proverbs. but minus this, they normally pause which is the reason it is always said that if an elder does not pause he reveals secret). what the above statement indicates is that a speech of an elder is embellished with such ingredients as proverbs and pause. thus, our research shows that in such special functions as traditional breaking of kola, pausing is usually introduced. the reasons for its use in a function like this include: “… to reach the ancestors/god …; during admonition of children; in responding to a query; to control thought; …”. for instance, in a traditional breaking of kola nuts we can have such speech pattern as this rendered by p.n. nnajiofor: (6) “hrhrhrhrhrhr, ibe anyị mbụ na ejinụ m ọjị o! m wee na-asị na ọ ya-adịrịnụ ayị mma o! e-eem, ngu onye ji eko ya akwanahụna ya o! na mm onye malụ ife ya-ese okwu ya emenaya na, ọ kwọ udo ya-achị! ị malụ na m, e-eem, ọkpa ụnụ ji bịa ka ụnụ ya-eji na; maka na ọ bịalụ be onye abịagbughu ya, ọ najeyi mkpukpu aya-apụ ya o! mbụ na ọ ya-aha m etu a; chukwu nalụ ayị ọjị, ọ taa na mbu ayị ataa n’ibe tata ahụ ike n’afa jizọs krast bụ onye nwe ayi oo!” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 87 the excerpt is a typical traditional kola nut breaking session in nnewi dialect, the type rendered at a cultural event. the italicised segments represent filled pauses in the speech, including throat clearing (line 1), micropauses (lines 3, 4, 5), and hesitation pauses (5, 6, 7), each serving one function or the other. for instance, throat clearing serves dual functions here: drawing attention of the audience as well as invoking the gods. this supports harley’s (2000:250) assertion that says: “…it is quite possible that any one particular pause might serve more than one function…”.the parenthetical remarks here are mainly for planning, including syntactic planning, while the micropauses are mainly for articulation of thoughts. pausing juncture is also discovered to be introduced to serve co-ordinating function in the dialect. for instance, in listing of items, pausing juncture such as the micropauses are employed in the dialect. for example,g.o. onyekaonwu again gives these instances: (7) (i) obi ee mm, ada ee mm, okoyeee mm, ojukwu eee mm, orizu etc (ii) … mbụụụ … ego iri in the illustrations above, the pauses are used, first of all to serialise the items and secondly they help the speaker to articulate his thoughts as he speaks. the example in (7ii) also indicates that the pause helps the speaker to articulate his thought but mainly when called upon to speak impromptu. furthermore, pausing juncture in the dialect helps to enrich the dialect. as earlier pointed out, pauses (filled pauses) are mainly used by adults. therefore, they use them more artfully, hence the belief that it is a speech style. in the words of p.n. nnajiofor and corroborated by c. onuchukwu, (8) “ọ na-eme ka ofeke ghalụ ịma ife a na-ekwu. n’aka nke ọzọ, ọ na-eme ka asụsụ dị enu, nwee nghọta miri emi ma lụọ ọlụ ya nke ọma”. (it makes the stupid not to understand what is being discussed. on the other hand, it enriches language, makes it have deep meaning and also plays its role well). he further stated that pausing is usually employed by orators in their speeches, as well as during very important discussions. thus, he says: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 88 (9) “ana-ewebvata ilu na nsụ̀sụ̀ mgbe ọbụla onye maalụ ọnụ okwu na-ekwu okwu, ma ọ bụkarị mgbe a na-ekwu okwu dị mkpa”. (proverbs and pausing are used when speech experts talk, but it is mostly when important matters are being discussed). the employment of proverbs and pausing in speech is done by elders and speech experts like orators in the dialect and usually when serious issues are being discussed. as we know, figurative expressions are used mainly by adult native speakers and speech experts in any language or dialect. in speech generally, pausing juncture are employed for various purposes. these purposes as summarised by harley (2000) are for microplanning which occurs to help in retrieving particularly difficult words. it is also during this period that the speaker articulates his thoughts well. the other purpose is macroplannig which is hesitation to plan the syntax and content of a sentence. duration of pausing differs from one to another. pausing for microplanning lasts shorter than that for macroplanning. in any case, pausing enhances good and articulate speech and facilitates communication. iii. analysis of speech excerpts with pausing from the nnewi dialect excerpts (1) and (2) in the appendix were rendered by the informants in the nnewi dialect. a close study of the excerpts reveals that there are a good number of filled pauses in the speeches. these are written in italics. the pauses are of different forms depending on their functions in the speeches. for instance, excerpt (1) on local council elections in anambra state rendered by g.o. onyekaonwu is full of such filled pauses that represent the seriousness of the topic. this corroborates hockett’s (1958) view that the succession of units a speaker produces is a factor of the changing context, the units already produced and his habits. here, a very serious issue is being discussed and the speaker is being careful in selecting the right words for the right message, hence a lot of languid drawls as can be found in line 1: ị ma naam, mbụ naam, in line 3: ọ bụ eziokwu naam, also in lines 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 14, etc. there are hesitations, including what the researcher describes as elliptical hesitations which include the following: eem, ‘a yaa … e nwelu’, ‘ị ya-akụzilinụ m nụ ka …’. parenthetical remarks are also present in the speech. this is also reminiscent of the speech of elders in igbo. again, there are quite a number of repetitions in the speech. apart from seemingly suggesting the speech habit of the speaker, this form of pausing serves for emphasis and as a check to enable the speaker organise his thought. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 89 generally speaking, these filled pausescolour and elevate the speech as is common in the dialect. excerpt (2) given by p.n. nnajiofor, though not as serious as excerpt (1) is also embellished with different pauses. these range from micropauses and macropauses. but, as a mere narration of story, it does not involve as serious forms of pauses as in the other excerpt. there are, however, such forms of pauses as mere sounds, parenthetical remarks repetitions and elliptical hesitation. thus, it projects the levels of speeches which different contexts produce. they also show that speeches in the dialect are context-bound and subject-dependent. for excerpt 1, the speaker knows that the issue is serious and sensitive and is employing all forms of pausing both to guard his thought as well as to check the environment and his listener(s). these instances of pausing in the excerpts help to show the forms and functions of junctures commonly introduced in the speech of average nnewi dialect speakers, particularly the elderly. summary of findings and conclusion and recommendations i. findings in the end, it was discovered that there are various types of junctures; some suprasegmental and others segmental. these linguistic features were also discovered to be distinctive and are of essence and therefore serve specialised functions; and these functions vary from one language (dialect) or context to another – all geared towards communication. from the discussions, it has become evident that junctures are important ingredients in rendition of any good speech. they are relevant for colourful and meaningful communication. therefore, pauses are a special form of juncture which contributes to meaning in speech. both supra and segmental phonemes serve as juncture. furthermore, all the pauses and extralinguistic features introduced within speech convey some meaning. such pauses as throat clearing, sounds and parenthetical remarks. similarly, specific disciplines and languages/dialects employ specific forms of juncture for specific meanings. in religious observances, for instance, silence or elliptical hesitations convey special information during speech. junctures are culture-bound or context-based. in nnewi, for instance, throat clearing, hesitations, parenthetical remarks, repetitions are quite significant. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 90 also, in nnewi, such junctures as mbụụmm, e-eeem, mbụnaam, throat clearing, hesitations, colour discourse and make their speech to be more elevated and complex. in the same way, such junctures as throat clearing, njizim, mbụ naam, are distinctive in their speech. finally, nnewi dialect of igbo language makes profuse use of pausing juncture in speeches particularly by elders at such occasions as kola nut breaking, admonitions, traditional marriage ceremonies, etc. ii. conclusion in conclusion, pausing as an aspect of juncture serves as check for meaning and expression in speech. it is of two major kinds, the silent (unfilled) and filled pauses. in normal speech, pausing comes in unconsciously, but occasionally, speakers introduce pausing deliberately. despite that, some people pause due to natural reasons of say being stammerers, or as a result of some other internal speech organ disorder. also, some languages/dialects lend themselves more to pausing than others. different forms of pausing serve different functions in speech. the micropauses are mainly to create opportunity for the speaker to articulate his thought and realign his flow of thought, if necessary. this usually lasts very briefly, usually about 250 milliseconds. for macropuses, the speaker waits a little longer. during pausing, he checks the syntactic and semantic appropriateness of his sentences. all the same, pausing does not necessarily determine the speaker’s competence in the language/dialect, or his linguistic ability, rather as hockett (1958:144) succinctly puts it, they “are revealing both of his basic personality and of his momentary emotional orientation”. no wonder he says that much can be learned about a person through his unedited speech. the purpose a particular form of pausing serves at one time may not necessarily be the same at another context. this is fully illustrated in the discussion on nnewi dialect and the excerpts from native speakers of the lect. in all circumstances, pausing helps in communication and in enriching language. it strengthens the affinity of language and culture. it also elevates the figurative strength of a language or dialect. iii. recommendations igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 91 the researcherrecommends that further study be conducted on the subject using the dialect to broaden its communicative capacity. the study is therefore recommended for all linguistics scholars, journalists, teachers of language and indeed the general literate public since language is used by all for inter-personal interaction and communication. references bussmann, h. (1996). routledge dictionary oflanguage and linguistics. london: routledge. chukwu, e. & okeke, a.c. (2012). “linguo-cultural significance of the outdooring ceremony of the nursing mother to intercommunal relationship in awgu town”, ọja: an international journal of igbo, african and asian studies (maiden edition), pp 174-181. chukwukere, f. n. (2006). “meeting the challengesof identity, gender and other related issues in the 21st century igbo literary writing” in inno ụzọma nwadike, journal of igbo studies, vol. 1, pp. 65-72 crystal, d. (2003). a dictionary of linguistics and phonetics. maiden: blackwell publishing. clark, j., yallop,c., and fletcher, j. (2007). an introduction to phonetics and phonology (third edition). malden:blackwell publishing. gimson, a.c. (1980). an introduction to the pronunciation of english. london: edward arnold. harley, t.a. (2000). the psychology of language: from data to theory. hove: united kingdom. hockett, c.f. (1958). a course in modern linguistics. delhi: macmillan company. malmkjaer, k. (2002). the linguistic encyclopedia (second edition). london: routledge. matthews, p.h. (2007). the concise oxford dictionary of linguistics, second edition. oxford: oxford university press. nwaozuzu, g.i. (2008). dialects of the igbo language. nsukka: university of nigeria press. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 2.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 53 the role of the church in fostering sustainable education in nigeria clara m. austin iwuoha, ph.d. department of religious studies imo state university, owerri ausiwuoha@yahoo.com abstract well over a hundred years ago, the missionaries brought western education to where we know today as nigeria. they inculcated in their students moral education. many of the students grew to become not just clergies but teachers in schools. these teachers produced by the missionaries, as well as their students became nation builders. in recent times, the church has proven to be formidable factor in providing qualitative and sustainable education in nigeria. christian churches have played a pivotal role in the provision of primary, secondary andhigher education in nigeria. however, the participation of the church in education appears to be increasing but more efforts are required in this regard. this study is set out therefore, towards establishing the roleof churches in the provision of sustainable education in nigeria, that is, as an alternative source to supplement the efforts of the government, parents and local communities. the main objective of this paper is to establish a relation between the church and sustainable education in nigeria. this will be done through qualitative observation of the various roles the church has played and still playing at fostering sustainable education. keywords: education, nigeria, church, missionaries, sustainable. introduction the contributions of church in fostering qualitative and sustainable education in nigeria have been described by different scholars on a different platform, with different perspectives, relying on different sources. but, this paper willfocus on the impact of the church on education in nigeria, anchored on the principle of saving souls by reconciling man with his creator through preaching and practicing the good news. most importantly, the church over time has proven that it has an additional mandate in providing qualitative education. the church has done this through the establishment of private schools including institutions of higher learning. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 54 however, it is vital to note the efforts of henry the navigator and the portuguese roman catholic priests who, in the 15th century, accompanied traders and officials to the west african coast, including benin and warri in nigeria. the priests, with the support of the oba of benin’s palace, built several churches to serve the portuguese community and a small number of african converts. it is important to note that these missionaries also built schools no matter what the argument is that it served their interest in training interpreters which they needed desperately, the fact undoubtedly is that those schools also served the educational needs of nigerians to some extent. till date, these missionary schools and many modern ones have continued to prove they have a peculiar mandate in providing qualitative education for nigerians.in northern nigeria, the mission was resisted in planting mission schools, while it was easily accepted in southern nigeria; where people saw the mission school as ‘messiah’ towards an end to their mass illiteracy. apparently, poverty and illiteracy are highly correlated or associated, this may explain the high level of povertyin the north, when compared to the south as the people reject western education.. before launching into the deep, it is imperative to attempt conceptualizing the following variables: education and church: education in nigeria and probably many other parts of the world, when people talk about education, especially in relation to western education, they almost invariably refer to the learning which takes place in school resulting in the acquisition of knowledge and skills, passing examinations and obtaining certificates. they tend to equate the quality of education with the level of performance and achievement of learners. education is, however, much more than the acquisition of knowledge, skills and certificates. the unesco international standard classification of education defines education as comprising organized and sustained (or durable) communication designed to bring about learning. unfortunately, educational philosophers and educational professionals disagree among on a common definition of education. they tend to define education from different perspectives although in the end analysis, they end up saying the same thing from their differently perspective. it is not the intention in this paper to undertake a philosophical definition of education as stated by secular igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 55 educationists and philosophers of education. since this paper is concerned with the role the church play towards fostering sustainable education. therefore, a simple clarification of the concept will suffice. in the encyclical letter of 1929, probably the most authoritative document on catholic education; pope pius (x1) defined education as the sacred task of forming the character of the child and aiding him/her to attain the purpose of existence. it is stated in can.795 of the code of canon law that “education must pay respect to the development of the whole person so that all may attain their eternal destiny and at the same time promote the common good of society. children and young persons are therefore to be cared for in such a way that their physical, moral and intellectual talents may be developed in a pleasant manner so that they may attain a greater sense of responsibility and a right use of freedom and be formed to take an active part in social life.” these two definitions have said more or less the same thing, except that the definition in the canon law is more elaborate (encyclical 1929). according to francis cardinal arinze (1965) education has to do with “the development of the whole man; soul, body, intellect, will, emotion, and physical well-being.” the catholic bishops of nigeria in 1972 described education as consisting “not only in the aggregate of all experiences that enlighten the mind, increase knowledge and develop abilities, it includes moral and religious education which help to develop attitudes and strengthen the will.” education according to afe (1995) is a tool used for the integration of individual into the society so that he can achieveself-realisation, develop national consciousness, promote unity and strive for social, economic, political, scientific, cultural and technological progress. education involves the process of teaching and learning and for it to be qualitative and sustainable, basic infrastructures must be provided and put in place. it is in view of this that the role of the church in this regard cannot be overlooked. the church it will be pertinent to note that the concept “church” and “christianity” will be used interchangeably by the researcher in this study in view of the fact that without christianity there would not have been the church. “the church” in this research is defined in two perspectives, one as an institution and two as an organism. the church as an institution has been described by van reken as a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 56 “formal organization that sets out to accomplish a specific purpose”. according to him, it is an agent which can do things; and can say things because it has its own voice. the church as an institution has its own purposes and plans, its own structure and officers, and its own mission. it has its own proper sphere. in many ways it parallels other institutions, like governments or schools.(van reken 1999:198). it is from this perspective that iwe (1979) understands the term ‘church’ to mean an organised people of god, a spiritual and moral force to be reckoned with.the church as an organism refers to “the church as the body of believers, the communion of believers” corroboratingthis twofold view of the church; jim harris’ has this to say: “by church i mean both the individual believer and the institutional entity” (harrishttp://thebigpicture.homestead.com/ churchinpolitics.html). according to kanuku (2007), a church is a local assembly of believers as well as the redeemed of all ages who follow jesus christ as saviour and lord; it is a community of christians who believe in and follow christ without reference to locality or limits. people see the church as a social organization with good moral values and are able to extend a helping hand to the needy. it is a social organisation whose membership is voluntary. purpose of education this phrase although rhetorical is pertinent to this research because when the purpose of a thing is not known, abuse is inevitable. thomas aquinas stated that “the purpose of education is to aid man to attain the purpose of existence and the purpose of man’s existence god.in the second vatican council declaration, it was stated that “true education is directed towards the formation of the human person in view of his final end and the good of the society to which he will, as an adult, have a share.” the document further stated that “the purpose of education is to help children and young people to develop harmoniously their physical, moral and intellectual qualities. they should be trained to acquire gradually a more perfect sense of responsibility in the proper development of their own lives by constant effort in the pursuit of liberty, overcoming obstacles with unwavering courage and perseverance.”the purpose of education is to aid man to attain the purpose of existence and the purpose of man’s existence with god. pope pius (x1) affirmed this purpose of education when he stated that “there is no true education which is not totally directed to the last end since the whole igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 57 purpose of education is to shape man in this mortal life that he will be able to reach the last end for which his creator has destined him.” education no doubt is a means of perfecting the individual for life, perfecting society and leading the individual to god. therefore, religion should be the core and the center of the education of the child. in other words, since the church is the custodian of theological truths and the moral values which follow from them and which is the purpose of education to inculcate in man, it follows that the teaching of the church should constitute the basis of any education of the child. core to the purpose of education is the acquisition of skills necessary for man to effectively exploit and explore his environment. ecclesiastical perception of education in nigeria the national policy on education(frn, 2004), talks among other things, about the integration of the individual into a sound and effective citizen and equal educational opportunities for all citizens of the nation at all levels of the nation’s education system. the purpose of religion in education is not just to make converts. rather, it is intended to make good citizens of learners. religious education will make learners to grow up to behave in accordance with the norms of society. pope pius x11 pointed out in 1946 that if children were deprived of knowledge of their faith, they would be hindered in their moral development and would be led astray in their spiritual development (obemeata 1995). it has been pointed out by obemeata (1995) that religion is a means of implanting its recipients in the society of which they are members and it provides them with standards by which they can become good citizens. if religion is removed from the school curriculum or if it is badly taught, children will be ignorant of those standards which will make them good citizens. they will, therefore, be deprived of firm roots in their society and they will behave without regard to any norms. it is, therefore, important that religion should form the basis of catholic education. to the church, the national policy on education seems not satisfying in view of the desire that religion should be core in education. in its philosophy and purpose of education, the national policy on education is silent on the place of god in education. the emphasis is more on secular education. tothe church, the current policy on education is inadequate. that to some extent informs the desire igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 58 by many churches to establish their own schools. for instance, the catholic church maintains that there should be no separation between secular subjects and religious education and that if the two are separated the education which will be received will be incomplete because for the total development of the individual and to lead man to god, education should be a combination of both the secular and religious aspects of education. (obemeata, 1995) sequel to this inadequacy observed by the church view of the national policy on education to provide a satisfactory christian education, therefore, the education committee of the catholic bishops conference of nigeria produced the catholic church policy on education in nigeria which combines the secular aspect of education as emphasized in the national policy on education and the philosophy of education of the catholic church (obemeata, 1995). it is not intended to supplant but to complement the national policy on education which has been found to be inadequate for the provision of education. besides, the church has also discovered the cost intensive nature of private schools which is usually beyond the reach of many parents and intends to compliment government efforts at providing not just qualitative education but also to subsidising the fees hence making education more affordable to many. the roleof the church in fostering sustainable education given the above background on the purpose of education, it has become important to establish the role of christian churches in the provision and fostering of sustainable education in nigeria as a supplement to the efforts of government, parents and local communities. the nation nigeria is home to many churches that include anglican church, catholic church, pentecostal and spiritual churches whose contribution to education are worth studying. in order to perform her role effectively in nigeria educational sector, the church requires the establishment of schools. can. 796(1) states: “among the means of advancing education, christ’s faithful are to consider schools as of great importance since they are the principal means of helping parents to fulfill their role in education.” the sacred congregation for catholic education has defined school as “a place for integral formation by means of a systematic assimilation of culture.” it further states that the school should not be merely a place where values which are being actively lived are presented but also be a community whose values are being transmitted through the interpersonal and sincere igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 59 relationship of its members and through individual and cooperative adherence to the outlook on life that permeates the school. up to 1970, many of the schools in various places in the nigeria, especially in southern nigeria were either established or managed by the mission. like in other parts of the world, it has always been a thing of pride to associate with a mission owned or run school. without the church, it would not have been possible for nigeria to have made the stupendous progress it has recorded in education.the mission impacted on the nigerian indigenous system of education. they were after formal training of the mind, for this reason they encouraged boarding accommodation so as to supervise, control and direct the learner along proper lines (nnamdi 2002). it is also important to unequivocally state that over time successive governments and administrations have found out that they cannot do the job of providing education alone hence the policy of handing over of missionary schools to original owners as well as liberalizing the licence for the establishment of private universities. since then, nigeria has witnessed tremendous increase in the establishment of private institutions of higher learning such as redeemer university, madonna university, covenant, veritas, caritas, gregory and evangel universities to mention a few. in spite of institutions of higher learning, a number of nursery, primary and secondary schools have been set up to cushion the educational need of the nigerian teeming population. hardly is there any church in nigeria without a school or more. each of these churches has made different contributions towards fostering sustainable education in nigeriathrough their schools. the role of the church in early childhood education includes, but not restricted toemploying teachers and support staff. the overall supervision of administrationcomposed of a committee of church members under a pastor which managed the schoolaccounts; provided physical facilities including buildings, furniture and repairs; promotedspiritual well-being of the teachers and pupils; and sponsored children who weredisadvantaged through payment of fees, buying uniforms and provision of meals. specifically, the living faith church went into the establishment of schools early, unlike some other churches that ventured into education. the living faith church has to its credit a conglomerate of nursery, primary, secondary and universities. the nursery and primary schools are under the name kingdom igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 60 heritage while the secondary section is named faith academy. these schools are found in all the nooks and crannies of nigeria. the church’s first university was named covenant university and was established in ota in 2002.the second university was named landmark and was established in omu-aran, the native town of pastor david oyedepo in 2010. the universities have also complemented the efforts of federal and state governments in providing admission to many applicants who are seeking admission to the universities in nigeria. we also believe that the missionary orientation of the schools would minimize cultism and moral decadence in the nigerian universities. apart from providing jobs for teaming nigerian populace, scholarships are usually provided by pastor oyedepo for indigent students, most especially in the covenant and landmark universities. he was once quoted saying that “all school age children, not in school, due to inability of parents, will be fully taken care of by the church” (opoola, 2010). another christian church that has recorded some landmark achievement in the area of education in nigeria is the assemblies of god nigeria. there is hardly any of her branch without an evangel school. most of theirsecondary schools are among the best in the country with boarding houses. this denomination has also succeeded in establishing a university with modern facilities. living world academy is a group of schoolsowned by living worldchurch. there is no doubt about the impact this church owned school is making in the educational sector in nigeria. apart from providing employment for nigerians, the church schools have a stable and standard academic calendar and programmes that cannot be compared to government owned schools. this church among other churches is making tremendous and qualitative impacts towards sustainable education in nigeria. odumuyiwa (2006) observed in his study that the tuition fees being paid in the christian universities are too exorbitant and beyond the reach of the common man in the society. he opines “a situation in which churches established private universities, charge exorbitant fees should be replaced with technical colleges that can be maintained within the resources of the church.” education anywhere in the world is costly especially private university education. it is the nature of the government owned institutions of higher learning that have necessitated the establishment of private universities at least to provide quality and stable education for the teeming population most of whom are travelling outside the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 61 frontiers of this nation even to neighbouring african countries in search for quality education. a voyage into the history of nigeria confirms the axiom that christianity the mother of the church and education are intertwine. olawoyinciting (ajayi, 1965), observes that before, during and after colonisation, christianity has been involved in the making of a new elite through education in the area now known as nigeria. before private universities are allowed in nigeria in 1999, christian missions and churches had been involved in the establishment of primary, secondary (including modern and high or grammar), teacher training, vocational and theological schools. it is also, a well-known fact that the quality of education produced by these schools when the missions and churches were running them was high, academically and morally. the graduates of the schools were disciplined, hardworking and brilliant. the high quality that the missions and churches gave education then is what is spurring the state governments to return the schools to the churches and even allowing private universities. the christian churches had been in the vanguard of establishing these private higher institutions in nigeria. the involvement of the church in education as seen in nigeria, both at lower and higher levels, is a reflection of what had been going on in christian history whenever and wherever christianity becomes entrenched. in fact, the modern university system is christian in origin. for example, bologna, paris, oxford and cambridge, were originally christian catechetical schools. similarly, the best universities in the world today, which are mainly in the united states such as harvard, yale, princeton, columbia and brown, were christian in origin. without doubt, the ethos contributed by christianity and the european enlightenment contributed to making these universities the best(olawoyin, 2005). the inseparable union of church and education can only be explained by one underlying philosophy of christianity that jesus is the logos, the organising and governing principle of the world. the same truth is affirmed in colossians 2: 3 when the author writes that, all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in christ. it is significant to note that the mission needs not just a school for the purpose of carrying out her obligations to children and the wishes of their parents, the mission requires schools in order to inculcate basic moral principles as well as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 62 catholic teachings on children as was advocated by pope benedict (xvi). pope benedict (xv1) in an address in washington dc (april 2008) to heads of colleges stated that colleges must be unwavering in their commitment to catholic teaching in everything they do, from the classroom to the dormitory and that academic freedom in a catholic college must be informed and tempered by the catholic faith and the teachings of the church. pope benedict (xvi) stated further that students must receive authentic catholic teachings. colleges, he stated, have the duty to ensure that students receive instruction in catholic doctrine and practice. this requires that public witness to the way of christ, as found in the gospel and upheld by the church, shapes all aspect of an institution’s life, both inside and outside the classroom. divergence from this vision, he concluded, weakens catholic identity. the church feels responsible to contribute concretely towards the progress of the society within which it finds herself; for example the church in the face of incessant strikes by government owned institution, is capable of providinga stable, qualitative and accessible education in order to discourage nigerians traveling abroad seeking for quality education. it is not enough to establish schools that ordinary church members cannot afford to send their wards; hence making the purpose for which the schools were established elusive. conclusion this paper has succeeded in conceptualizing the role of the church on education in nigeria especially in fostering sustainable education. the church has contributed so much to the educational and social development of nigeria both in terms of human development and physical transformation. it is some of such education-oriented developmental facilities that one of the militant islamist sects in the country popularly known as boko haram is currently poised to destroying. despite the contributions of the church to fostering sustainable education in nigeria which remains unparalleled. but a lot more is needed to be done. the implication of the findings in this research to the church is that as a kingdom of priests, the church is to demonstrate to the nigerian society what god expects; the church is to be exemplary. in other words, christians are to be the light of the world; they are to be the salt of the earth (matthew 5: 13, 14). the task now is to spell this out in practical even if short terms in relation to the university igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 63 education in nigeria. this involves both the church as an institution and the individual as a christian. having x-rayed thecontributions of the church as an organisation towards fostering sustainable education, through their involvement in establishing schools in nigeria which is a welcome development, it is hoped that the christian ethos that had been brought to bear at lower level schools will similarly be brought to bear on the christian universities. universities are not primary and secondary schools neither are they theological seminaries. hence, it is important for the administrators of the christian schools to judiciously follow nigerian university commission’s standard. by so doing they will be contributing to sustainable education in nigeria. by now, the administrators of church schools must have known that it is costly to run private institutions especially those of higher learning. they must not because of this admit candidates more than the capacity of facilities available; this will automatically defeat the purpose for which those schools were established. similarly, the qualities of teachers employed have to be carefully watched. the qualification of teachers expected to teach must not just be a born-again christian with a higher degree. we must encourage excellence in producing quality art, outstanding literature, great music, serious scholarship and first-rate research, while developing christian scholars and students who can be salt and light in the academy. the sorry state of most public schools and nigerian universities are challenging that it has attracted the attention of the church. this study has given a detailed picture of what the church has done and can do in fostering sustainable education in nigeria. however, it has also been demonstrated that the church has contributions to make in reforming the system. the church as an organisation is already contributing by establishing schools and universities as earlier noted. but, the administrators of christian university should be careful of the rot that had pervaded government schools-moral, intellectual and spiritual. the most important of this is that, they should always be conscious that by their living, their teachings and their writings because they are deciding the future of the nigerian society. references afe, j.o. (1995). teacher education in nigeria: trends, issues and challenges. benincity: nigerian education research association. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 64 arinze, cardinal francis, (1965) partnership in education between the church and state in eastern nigeria; onitsha:ude’s printing and publishing company,. catholic bishops of lagos, (1971) west and mid-west nigeria, no true education without religion.ibadan: pastoral letter catholic bishops of nigeria (1972) the church and nigeria social problem.ibadan:pastoral letter federal republic of nigeria (frn, 2004) national policy on education. lagos: nerdc press. flannery, a. (ed) (1975) vatican council ii. the conciliar and post conciliar documents, new york, costello publishing company. iwe, n. s. s. (1979) christianity, culture and colonialism in africa. port harcourt: r.s.n.c. kanuku, j.m. (2007). bishop’s charge to the 17th ordinary session of the diocesan synod meeting at machakos academy, 29th – 30th november 2007. unpublished. obemeata, j. o. (1995) the catholic church on education, ibadan: the pen services. odumuyiwa, e. a. (2006) “christianity, governance and development: a case study of nigeria in the 21st century” in r.a. raji (eds) et al religion, governance and development in the 21st century, a publication of the national association for the study of religions, ilorin decency, p.211. olawoyin, o (2010) “a christian critique of university education in nigeria” in social sciences journals, vol. 5, pp. 25 -29. omoruyi a. a. (2014) impact of catholic mission on education in nigeria retrieved 27/02/2016https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/2014120717492362892927-impact-of-catholic-mission-on-education-in-nigeria opoola, e.o. (2010) “the living faith church and sustainable development in nigeria”. a ph.d 1st seminar paper presented at the department of religions, university of ilorin,ilorin,on 1th august, p.5. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 65 pope benedict xvi, address to head of colleges, washington d c april 2008. pope john paul ii, speech reported in l’ osservatore romano, march 1986 pope pius xi, encyclical letter diviniilliusmagistri, dec. 1929 the unesco international standard classification of educationretrieved: www.medwelljournals.com/fulltext/?doi=sscience.2010.25.2927/11/2015 van reken calvin p (1999) “the church’s role in social justice”. calvin theological journal 34.p.198 online: http://www.calvin.edu/academic/philosophy/virtual_library/article s/van_reken_calvin/the_churches_role_in_ social_ justice.pdf. accessed 30/05/2015 harrishttp://thebigpicture.homestead.com/ churchinpolitics.html microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 3 special edition igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 70 an integrated problem-solving model of crisis intervension in africa for intimate partner violence by andrew ibegbulem department of counselling and clinical health studies, villanova university, villanova frchiomaosa03@gmail.com abstract in africa today, like in america and europe, crisis resulting from intimate partner violence is recognized as a serious problem the society needs to address. the impact of this crisis situation on victims is reflected in other aspects of society. with the increasing cases of crisis in the society from intimate partner violence, counseling psychologists have been called upon as professional better trained to develop ways of addressing the situation. among the various crisis interventions reviewed by professionals, the integrated problem solving model of crisis intervention prove to offer a detail process and lasting result. keywords: crisis intervention, intimate partner violence, integrated problemsolving, post-traumatic, stress, disorder introduction there have been significant reports in recent time on intimate partner violence in the united states of america and many africa counties. with the increasing report and cases of crisis in the society, mental health professionals have seen the urgent need to help individual and group with crisis situations cope with their challenging problem. couseling psychologists are better prepared in the society to apply the type of interventions needed in the society. prior to 1999, there have been relatively few publications in counseling psychology on crisis intervention and the role of counseling psychologists. however, there have been a great change and awareness as a review on recent studies and publications has indicated that crisis intervention has been identified as a major area of concern in counseling psychology (rolling &brosi, 2010) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 71 crisis intervention has been defined as the provision of emergency psychological care to victims as to assist those victim’s in returning to an adaptive level of functioning and to prevent or mitigate the potential negative impact of psychological trauma (everly& mitchell, 1999 cited in flannery, et al, 2000). crisis intervention has proven to be an effective means of addressing lots of psychological challenges faced by individuals in the society. a review on the various studies made in counseling psychology indicates numerous crisis intervention models (roberts, et al, 2005). for the purpose of this focus paper, the integrated problem-solving model (ipsm) as a crisis intervention model will be applied to clients who are victims of intimate partner violence. an integrated problem-solving model of crisis intervention for intimate partner violence intimate partner violence (ipv), is defined as “the patterned and repeated use of coercive and controlling behavior to limit, direct and shape a partner’s thoughts, feelings and actions” (almedia& durkin, 1999 cited in rolling &brosi, 2010). in many africa countries, women are recorded as mostly victims of ipv in the society. ipv is a serious and complex issue in the society that needs to be addressed because of the impact it has on victims, children and family members. the integrated problem-solving model (ipsm) is a combination of several different models or perspective of crisis intervention but draws heavily from the cognitive-behavioral approach which has the most empirical support for use in crisis counseling. the ipsm has 10 stages, which are consistent with current trauma theory. as an intervention, it focuses on safety, stabilization and self care at the beginning and proceed to the processing of the traumatic event and finally encourages integration of all into everyday life functioning (westefeld, et al, 2003). the framework used to form the foundation of the ipsm are consistent with the philosophy of counseling psychology as it empower clients to draw on their inherent strengths, resources and coping skills. the ipsm is a specific, clear, detailed and a step-by-step method. applying the integrated problem solving model to intimate partner violence one of the most common forms of violence against women in the society is that carried out by an intimate male partner. intimate partner violence (ipv) is a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 72 common problem, affecting large numbers of africa women, with few men and children. ipv has become a common source of physical, psychological, and emotional “cancer”. in the united states, an intimate partner annually physically assaults approximately 1.5 million women and 834,700 men. women are more likely than men to be injured, sexually assaulted, or murdered by an intimate partner. studies suggest that out of every four women, one is at lifetime risk (cronholm, et al, (2011). african countries may have an increased statistics. ipv is a highly traumatic experience, of which many victims don’t recover from it and when not addressed immediately could result to post-traumatic stress disorder (ptsd) and suicide. the goals of ipv crisis counseling is to address and reduce the victim’s emotional distress, enhance their coping strategies and prevent the development of a more serious psychopathology. in using and applying ipsm for ipv, the 10 stages of ipsm will follow. 1. establish and maintain rapport: in any crisis intervention and especially with ipsm, establishing and maintaining a strong therapeutic relation with the client is very important. this forms the foundation of the counseling process. through an established rapport with the ipv client a trusting relationship is created and with this trust, every other process will fall in place. some of the tools the counselor will use with ipv client include basic attending and listening skills, empathy, reflection of affect, encouragement, support and the use of statements like “ i am sorry you went through this situation”, “you are safe now”, “it wasn’t your fault” “i know you handle this situation well because you are alive” words like these has the power of instilling of hope to the client. others include, the use of opened and close-ended questions, restatement, summary and clarification and positive reinforcement. 2. ensure safety: the safety of the ipv client is of great importance to the counselor and is addressed at the forefront of the crisis intervention. ensuring the safety of the client involve assessing the possibility of any physical and psychological danger to client either by self or by intimate partner. ensuring safety is a continuous process that entails empowering the client to develop effective safety plan as well as identifying resources that can be incorporated into the other stages of the intervention. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 73 3. assess client and begin processing trauma: in this stage of ipsm the counselor begins to assess the immediate presenting problem, daily functioning and the nature of the violence. the aim of this assessment is to enable the counselor address potential goal for client which will be to process the trauma associate with ipv at an intensity level that client could tolerate and construct the trauma into narrative that are empowering and adaptive for the client. 4. set goals: in setting of goals with ipsm, the counselor after helping client deal with informing family or friend and with clarification will reframe negative problems into positive solution. the counselor will assist client to set goal around increasing their sense of control which include improving self care, developing coping skills, processing and managing of emotion and cognition as well as improving relationship 5. generate options: at this stage of ipsm, the counselor will brainstorm with the ipv client on practical and realistic way of actualizing the set goal. the counselor focus is the adaptive techniques which the client will apply in improving self care, developing coping skills, processing and managing of emotion and cognition as well as improving relationship. 6. evaluate options: during this stage the counselor and client will weigh the pros and cons of each arrived goals to know their attainability and assisted in deciding whom to talk to during this period. in evaluating the various options, the main concern is to restore the control that was lost through the violence and reassure client that control lost is neither permanent nor total. during this stage clients are assisted in accessing the various option like the importance of social support. 7. select plan: after evaluating the various options, the ipv client in collaboration with the counselor will decide on a plan action. selecting and developing a plan involve a more directive approach from the counselor based on the fact that the client may be at a critical and disorganized state. cognitive-behavioral approaches like exposure, cognitive restructuring and stress-inoculation will be appropriate. a good therapeutic alliance is very important at this stage of the intervention. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 74 8. implement plan: during this stage, the selected plan is carried out with a full support and encouragement to avoid dwelling on the ipv from the counselor. the ipv client must assume full control over selection and implementation. stress inoculation training (sit) could be adapted which involve two phase; using brief behavioral intervention procedure (bbit) to normalize client current reactions and anticipatory guidance for future and a coping skill training to deal with fear and anxiety. 9. evaluate outcome: evaluating the outcome of plan is an important stage of getting feedback from client and to analyze how the selected and implemented plan work. this stage will assist client to identify progress made and explain what change has taken place as well as strength demonstrated in the use of the plan. this stage serves the purpose of empowering the client for the future as well as offers the counselor the chance of improving for the future. 10. follow-up: this stage of follow-up is meant to assist the client after the initial implementation of the plan. permission to contact client on telephone after initial session for follow-up is important to assist client go through the aftermath of the ipv to listen and support client with arrangement for medical care or legal service. follow-up could also take the form of educating client about ipv and help them deal with their survivor reactions. counselors are at risk of becoming over involved with ipv during the period of follow-up that they may become burnout from the follow-up activities so it is advised that counselor utilize self-care strategies. conclusion the 10 stages of integrated problem solving model for addressing ipv has proved very effective for victims. the step-by-step approach of this model addresses and focus on safety, stabilization and self-care. in addition, it empowers victims of intimate partner violence on how to deal with crisis situation. the integrated problem-solving model to intimate partner violence is a progressive approach to problem solving. it is also very interactive in it approach of solving problems. the counselor in using this approach, brainstorm with client to come up with possible ways of addressing the crisis situation. the cognitive-behavioral approach in this model gives it an empirical validity. the follow up stage of this model stands out as an importance aspect of this model. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 75 this follow-up stage offers the client to review the progress they have made and areas that needs improvement. references cronholm, p. f., fogarty, c. t., ambuel, b., & harrison, s. l. (2011). intimate partner violence.american family physician, 83(10), 1165-1172. flannery, r. b., &everly, g. s. (2000). crisis intervention: a review. international journal of emergency mental health, 2(2), 119-126. roberts, a. r., &ottens, a. j. (2005). the seven-stage crisis intervention model: a road map to goal attainment, problem solving, and crisis resolution. brief treatment and crisis intervention, 5(4), 329. rolling, e. s., &brosi, m. w. (2010). a multi-leveled and integrated approach to assessment and intervention of intimate partner violence. journal of family violence, 25(3), 229-236. westefeld, j. s., & heckman-stone, c. (2003). the integrated problem solving model of crisis intervention: overview and application. the counseling psychologist, 31(2), 221-239. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 7.doc igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 204 the relevance of philosophic knowledge to our day-today socio-polical life eugene anowai (phd) & raphael olisa maduabuchi (phd) philosophy department chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu university, igbariam chukwueloka@yahoo.co.uk abstract the purpose of this article is to dispel the wrong notion hold by a lot of people that philosophy is a wasted contemplation and futile discussions about the absolute, which has no practical utility. the thesis of this write up is that philosophy is very significant in our day-to-day life. actually, there are much debate and controversy on the issue of the relevance of philosophy to man. here we shall handle the issues involved with objectivity, openness and empathy. we shall prove how much philosophic knowledge has contributed to improve and help mankind in making the world a better place. keywords: philosophic knowledge, what is philosophy? what is philosophy is itself a philosophical question. it is a term first used by pythagoras who noted that men could to divided into three groups • those who love pleasure • those who love activity those who love wisdom it comes from the greek word sophia meaning wisdom; or more precisely of: knowledge, understanding and truth, and the verb philein to love. one of the deep impulses of human mind is the craving to know. plato said that philosophy begins in wonder: “the sense of wonder is the mark of the philosopher. philosophy indeed has no other origin”i. he defines philosophy” in his charmides’ (one of his smaller dialogues) as “the only science which is the science of itself and of the other sciences as well” in another dialogue of his, the euthydemus he defines it as “the acquisition of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 205 knowledge” and in phaedo as the noblest and greatest of arts” for him, “the object of philosophy is the discovery of reality or absolute truth; the two of them are the same. they are the same through dialectics”. while aristotle suggesting that philosophy begins in wonder concerns himself with investigation of the causes and principles of things. it was said that the oracle at delphi with unsual goodsense, pronounced socrates the wisest of the greeks; and “had interpreted this as an approval of the agnosticism which was the starting point of his philosophy – one thing only i know, and that is that i do not know. hence philosophy begins when one learns to doubt. and particularly to doubt one’s cherished beliefs, one’s dogmas and axioms”. curiosity is a characteristic instinctive reaction. we love to pry into nature’s secrets. we wish to understand the world around us its source, its meaning, and its probable future. the philosophers of all ages have courageously set themselves the tremendous task of getting the theory of the universe, its extent and duration (space and time), its creator (god), its purpose, its primary stuff or material, its relation to man and to his soul and destiny. consequently, the great philosophers in history made great strides in adding to our knowledge and understanding of the world and our relation to it. to this end were channeled the efforts of democritus, plato, aristotle, saint augustine, bruno, descartes, spinoza, kant, hegel, herbert spencer and the rest of great philosophers. however these immense world problems still haunt us and must be studied. but in the present age, these astronomical meaning of the world has been extended. with modern individualistic, humanistic, and romantic moods; we turn more to immediate interests and the world mean more than astronomical phenomenon to us. with our climate, our big cities, our crowded populations, sports both national and international, our social life in general, the world we live in is no more an astronomical world but rather social, political, literary, moral, and religious world. the ancient greeks were much occupied with the problem of permanence and change; but the change they meant is physical, the motion of material atoms and particles and the phenomena of growth and decay. actually, these questions remain unanswered but the interest now is shifted to another kind of changing world changing social customs, changing political relations, changing morals, changing religion and changing literary standards. and these are in need of interpretations and so philosophy now becomes the interpretation of life, its values and meaning, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 206 the conscious reflection upon the world as a whole, particularly as to its meaning, purpose and value is referred to as speculative philosophy while the critical examination of the concepts made use of both by science and common sense is critical philosophy. now because of the controversial character of philosophy, let us have a close examination of what it means. we can now go further to analyze in details the scope of philosophy as an enterprise. 1. philosophy is a personal attitude towards life when a person goes through crises or unusual experience, we often inquire how does he take it? how does it affect him? sometimes the answer is, he takes it philosophically. this means that he sees the problem in its broad perspective or as part of large scheme of things; hence he faces the situation calmly and reflectively, with poise and composure. the mature philosophical attitude is searching and critical attitude; it is also open-minded, tolerant attitude expressed in the willingness to look at all sides of an issue. it includes a readiness to accept life and the world as they are, and try to see life in all its relationships. this does not mean enslavement to the present or to what exists now, however, because philosophy is willing to look beyond the actualities to the possibilities. to philosophize is not merely to read and to know philosophy, it is also to think and feel philosophically. philosophy as we have noted above begins with wonder, doubt, and curiosity. it grows out of our developing awareness of the problems of human existence. consequently, philosophy is in part the speculative attitude that does not shrink from facing the difficult and unsolved problems of life. 2. philosophy is a method of reflective thinking and reasoned inquiry this method is not the exclusive property of philosophy, as will readily be seen; it is the method of all careful and accurate thinking. a philosopher applies reason, values objectivity, and asks „why? “. the famous dictum “know thyself”, commands us to examine our lives, to know who or what we are, and to live our igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 207 lives accordingly. the expanded phrase “know thyself, mortal”, uttered when one enters the temple at delphi, reminds us that we are to know that we are mortals. we are exalted to know our boundaries and our limitations. it challenges us to think, to wonder and reflect. above all, it is the life of reflective thinking that directs us toward this old delphic dictum to “know thyself” – “gnothi seauton”, which was taken up by socrates. for socrates, the unexamined life is not worth living. as it is, our experiences are enhanced by our reflection on them. naturally, we have initial responses to our experiences but mostly, they do not offer our lives greater meaning. our lives are better enhanced when we reflect on those experiences. for instance our reflection on our experiences leads us to think more about the horrors of love than merely its romantic elements, about what justice, sexual equality, freedom, beauty, human relationships, questions about religion, good and evil etc. „as randel points out: you will find philosophy always where fighting has been fiercest, wherever men has been turn loose their familiar domestic ties, when their wives have been left behind or have run away, or just grown too wrinkled and old. she (philosophy) consorts with men, comforts men, tells them what they…hear; and with the wisdom of her incredible experience she teaches them how to win. no wonder countless in the strife of ideas have thought her the one woman in the world …and have sworn to her undying allegiance“ii. philosophy however, is more inclusive or synoptic than are the various sciences. philosophical method is more inclusive and critical. it involves the attempt to think through one's problems and to face all the facts involved. the accumulation of more knowledge does not by itself lead to understanding, since it does not necessarily teach the mind to a critical evaluation of facts or enable a person to live his life according to consistent principles. 3. philosophy is an attempt to gain a view of the whole philosophy seeks to combine the conclusions of the various sciences and long human experience into some kind of consistent worldview. the philosopher tries to see life not with the specialize slant of the scientist or the businessman or the artist, but with the over-all view of someone cognizant of life as a totality. according to j. eneh, philosophy has igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 208 the…mission of investigating the true knowledge concerning reality, man and his surroundings in a critical and systematic manner without fear of established presumptionsiii and for john dewey, philosophy performs social function and becomes a “vision” whose main task is “to free men’s minds from bias and prejudice and to large their perceptions of the world about them”iv it takes the results of various sciences and adds them to the results of the religious and ethical experiences of mankind and then reflects upon the whole. the aim is that by this means, we may be able to reach some general conclusions as to the nature of universe, and as to our position and prospects in it. it is on record that many great philosophers have refused to confine their attention to some one or even a few aspects of experience. for example plato, aristotle, aquinas, hegel, bergson, dewey, whitehead and arendt to mention but a few, have sought to gain a comprehensive vision of things. that is why omoregbe says that philosophy is: “a rational search for answers to the basic questions about the ultimate meaning of reality as a whole and of human life in particular”v. as a matter of fact, we acknowledge that there are difficulties and dangers in setting forth any worldview, at the same time, there are also dangers in confining one's attention to fragments of human experience. 4. philosophy is the logical analysis of language and the clarification of the meaning of words and concepts this is actually one of the functions of philosophy. as a matter of fact, nearly all the philosophers have used analytical method and have sought in one way or the other to clarify the meaning of terms and the use of language. some philosophers see this method of analysis as the main task of philosophy and a few others claim it is the only legitimate function of philosophy. for example, wittgenstein a linguistic philosopher opines that philosophy is not a body of doctrine but an activity. it aims at the logical clarification of thoughts. in the tractatus he says that a philosophical task consists essentially of elucidations. also in another work, he defines philosophy as “a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language and its function is uncovering of one another of plain nonsense and of bumps that the understanding has got by running its head up the limits of language. these bumps make us see the value of discoveryvi. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 209 those who see it as the only legitimate function of philosophy, consider philosophy as a specialized field serving the sciences and aiding in the clarification of language rather than a broad field reflecting upon all aspects of life experience. the danger is that this would limit what we call knowledge to statements about observable facts and their interrelations that means to the business of various sciences. however, all linguistic analysis does not define knowledge so narrowly. it is a fact that they do reject and try to clear many non-scientific assertions; many of them think that we can have knowledge of ethical principles and the like, though this knowledge is also derived from experience. from a narrow point of view, the aim of philosophy is to expose confusion and nonsense and to clarify the meaning and use of terms in science and everyday affairs. but in a broad sense, it attempts to integrate mans knowledge from the various areas of human experience and to set forth a comprehensive view of the universe and of life and meaning we have to point out here that there is no philosophical school, which do not rely on analysis in some form. we use the terms philosophical analysis and linguistic analysis to describe those philosophers who see this as the sole or at least the major task of philosophy. 5. philosophy is a group of problems as well as theories about the solution of these problems. there are certain perennial problems, which confront man, and philosophers have always sought to tackle with a view of finding answers to them. philosophy presses its inquiry into the deeper problems of human existence beyond what eye had seen or ear heard. some questions raised in the past have been answered in a way satisfactory to most men. for instance, the question of the existence of innate or inborn ideas has been denied since time of john locke in the seventeenth century who held that the mind of man at birth is in the state of tabula rasavii.-blank tablet” (in the 12th century, the andalusian-arabian philosopher and novelist ibn tufail (known as “abubacer” or “ebn tophail” in the west demonstrated the theory of tabula rasa as a thought experience through his arabic philosophical novel, hayy ibn yaqdhan, in which he depicted the development of the mind of feral child “from tubula rasa to that of an adult, in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 210 complete isolation from the society” on a desert island through experience alone.)viii but many questions have been answered tentatively, still many remain unanswered and many problems remain unsolved. but what are philosophical questions? the question say, "did president obasanjo make a false statement on electoral law?" is merely a question of fact. the answer can be easily given. it requires only going to electoral law and crosschecking what is there with his statement. but the questions "what is truth?" and "what is the distinction between right and wrong" have philosophical implications and importance. at times we stop, sometimes because of startling events and most often out of sheer curiosity and think and reflect seriously about fundamental life issues. we ask certain questions, what life is and why i am created. what is the place of life in this universe? is this universe friendly or unfriendly? do things operate by chance or through mechanism, or is there some plan or purpose or intelligence at the heart of things? is my life controlled by outside forces or do i have a determining or even partial degree of control? why do men struggle and strive for their rights, for justice, for better things in the future? what do concepts like "right" and "justice" means and what are the marks of a good society? at times, men and women have been asked to sacrifice their lives, if need be for certain values and ideals. for instance, the biafra war of defense and struggle for self determination and identity, the palestinian suicide bombers and terrorists of 11th september attack on america. but the question is, what are the genuine values of life and how can they be attained? is there really a fundamental distinction between right and wrong, or is it just a matter of one's own opinions? what is beauty? should religion still count in a person's life? is it intellectually correct to believe in god? is there any possibility of life after death? where does knowledge come from, and can we have any assurances that anything is true? these are not ordinary question but philosophical ones. the attempt to seek answers and solutions to them has given rise to different theories and systems of thought. philosophy and socio-political life igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 211 aristotle settled the whole discussion regarding the relevance of philosophy, whether we shall or shall not enter upon the study of it long ago. that was when he proclaimed,“si philosophandum est, philosophandum est; si non est philosophandum est, philosophandum est, nemper ad ostendendum quia non philosophandum est; ergo, philosophandum est”.if we must philosophise then we must philosophise: if we wish not to philosophise then we must philosophise. never can it be thought that we should not philosophise for on account of this we must philosophise. consciously or unconsciously, every person frames for himself a theory of the relation of the individual to the universe. on his attitude to this question depends his whole life and conduct both public and private ideas are the foundation of action. a person is not likely to act unless he believes in something. for example, communism came into being because karl marx first of all laid its foundation in his philosophy. when men welcomed his ideas, it became inevitable that these ideas should be expressed in action. ideas have a decisive power in human history. hence, a person needs philosophy for the following reasons: 1. each person must make decisions and then act. to decide wisely and act accordingly and consistently too, we need to discover values and the meanings of things. life challenges us with choices and to act on the basis of some scale of values. we have to decide questions of truth and falsity, of beauty and ugliness, of right and wrong etc. the search for standards and goals is an important part of the task of philosophy. philosophy is interested in the qualitative aspect of things. it refuses to disregard any authentic aspect of human experience and seeks to formulate standards and goals in the most reasonable way. it reminds men of the supreme utility of those things which do not deal with means but with ends. men do not live only by bread, sex, drinks, and technological discoveries; above all, the live by values and realities which are beyond time and are worth knowing for their own sake. 2. our conducts are our own, and we are really free only when we rely upon inner controls or self-chosen ends. if man ´s actions are dictated by custom, or tradition or law, he is not genuinely free. an indian philosopher and theologian once told his monks igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 212 “believe nothing o monks because you have been told it ...or because it is traditional, or because you yourselves have imagined it. do not believe what your teacher tells you merely out of respect for the teacher. but whatever, after due examination and analysis, you find to be conducive to the good, the benefit, the welfare of all beings – that doctrine believe and cling to, and take it as your guide”ix when aristotle was asked what good his philosophy did for him he answered that it enabled him to do willingly what other men did merely because of fear of the law. that man is free when he is the author of his principles and the laws by which he lives. it is proper that in an ideal society, each person would agree with every law, but if one does not like the law, he would criticize it and agitate for a change. but he would do this properly only on the basis of facts and principles, which were consistent based on plurality of opinions. this is exactly what political philosophy is all out to do in our society. for, it seeks a rational justification of any form of government. it is “a normative science setting up ‘norms’ or ideal standards for society and government; telling man what ought to be the case or what he ought to do in practical life. and this exercises lasting influence on government and social organizations”x hannah arendt a political philosopher of our contemporary age perceives human plurality to be the precondition of politics. here we recall plato’s ideal state which mean to exercise lasting influence on existing governments and social organizations of his time. he did not think that philosophy ought to be remote from human affairs. he insisted upon himself taking part in practical affairs saying that philosophers ought to be kings or kings take up the study of philosophy for peace and contentment to exist in the societyxi 3. philosophy is one of the best means to foster the habit of reflection philosophy can help us to enlarge the areas of our awareness and become more alive, more discerning, more critical, and more intelligent. and as okolo c. b opines: any society which does not critically analyze its values, beliefs, priorities… is as good as dead. it remains aimless and its course chaotic, like a ship without helmsman. without critical thinking and reflection, all sorts of dogmatic assumptions, bigotry, prejudices igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 213 irrational fears, false goals and priorities… would characterize the lives of the people and society as a whole, and these are clear indices of immaturity and backwardnessxii in many specialized fields of knowledge, there is a definite and specific body of facts, and students are given problems so that they will gain practice in arriving at the right answers quickly and easily. in philosophy, however, there are different points of view to be considered, and there are unsolved problems, which are important for life. consequently the one's sense of wonder, his curiosity, and his speculative interest are kept alive. 4. we live in the age of uncertainty and change, when many of the older beliefs and ways of doing things are inadequate. under conditions of uncertainty and change, we need a scale of values and a sense of direction. just as we feel physical discomfort when we are in the midst of material disorder and moral discomfort when we are confronted with cruelty and injustice, so there is intellectual discomfort in the presence of fragmentary and confused views of the world. without some unity of outlook and response, there may result a divided self, which in turn may lead to psychological tensions or nervous collapse. one important way we can gain unity in a world in turmoil and confusion is to achieve an inner integration to know what to approve and what not to approve, and to gain a sense of the human existence and philosophy grantees this. just as randel remarks : the function of philosophic thought is to be conceived as the eternal but ever changing handmaiden of men’s ideas and ideals, appearing always with the fighters, for new and old alike, indefatigably setting their baggage and their weapons in order; trying to organise the materials of human experience into some tidier and reasonably coherent argument, fitting opposed or irrelevant beliefs together into some not too chaotic scheme, adjusting warring values to give some direction to life without excluding too much,; forging new weapons out of the shattered remnants of the old; always leading men on to fresh ground, to the unsuspected implications of their ideas; and pausing now and again, to point to the tantalising glimpses of something calm and serene above the tumult”xiii. 5. philosophy helps in man’s paradoxical relationship with his fellow-men igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 214 from the practical point of view, man’s contingent experience of reality as the reality shows itself as the realm of freedom. by restricting himself to it and departing from it in his thinking and acting, man, through his capability of critical insight, saves himself from the danger of absolutizing one specific truthperspective, including his own, and keeps his mind open for the possible necessity of change and readjustment under changing historical conditions. isolation from the other through the absolutization of a specific truth-perspective is unrealistic as is shown by the universal experience of man’s common need for his fellow-man. my fellow-man is my critic, my judge, my partner in dialogue. in private life, in professional life, on academic and cultural levels, i measure myself by him, i require him as a term of reference. in limiting and negating me, he, at the same time, expands me in that i fulfill myself through him and he affirms me as an individual. because i am aware of being constantly limited and called in question by the other, i am invited to restrict myself to the field of the actual experience i share with him: the contingent experience of reality from which we postulate our respective truths. this mutual act of self-restriction leads to mutual self-restraint, tolerance, openmindedness, respect and goodwill in regard to each other’s views and ideas. i agree with joad c. e m when he says that through self-questioning and searching criticisms, the human mind achieves greatness, cultivates healthy habits. it escapes from the circle of petty aims and desires which for most of us constitute the prison of everyday life, and forgetting the nervous little clod of wants and ailments which is the self, is elevated into communion with that which is greater than the self. on the practical side this greatness of mind generates qualities of tolerance, justice, and understanding in the growth of which lies the chief hope of the world todayxiv this brings about mutual understanding of each other’s specific existential circumstances. in this way, the separation walls of misunderstanding and prejudice are broken down so that close co-operation and peaceful coexistence become possible in the spirit of mutual recognition and in the interest of all democratic citizens. “as a matter of fact, “true health and progress of any nation depend not on material but spiritual qualities …tolerance, justice, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 215 understanding…and these are basic fruits of philosophy which is the pursuit of wisdom and life according to its directives”xv. 6. broadens the view of our understanding philosophy broadens the extent of things one can understand and enjoy. it can give self-knowledge, foresight and a sense of direction in life. it can lead to selfdiscovery, expansion of consciousness and self-renewal. through all this and through its contribution to ones expressive powers, it nurtures individuality and self-esteem. its value for one’s life can be incalculable and its benefits in one’s public life as a citizen can be immeasurable. a philosophic system is an integrated view of existence. as a human being, you have no choice about the fact that you need philosophy. your only choice is whether you define your philosophy by a conscious, rational, disciplined process of thought and scrupulously logical deliberation, or let your subconscious accumulate a junk heap of unwarranted conclusions, false generalisations, undefined contradictions, undigested slogans, unidentified wishes, doubts and fears, thrown together by chance, but integrated by your subconscious into a kind of mongrel philosophy and fused into a single, solid weight: self doubt, like a ball and chain in the place where your mind’s wings should have grown. reflections and conclusions in light of what we have said till now, philosophers, therefore need no longer be frightened away by a comparism normally made in some quarters of the merger fruits of philosophy and richer fruits of science and other fields of human endevours. the dynamics of philosophical argument reveals philosophy as a critical discipline. the controversial nature of its answers to its questions causes it to ask these questions again and again. philosophy is thus not a closed system but an open discipline which keeps in step with man’s changing experience of reality, his changing circumstances of life. as a human discipline that concerns itself with truth in general, philosophy cannot be any thing but critical and controversial. hence if by philosophy we mean as we indicated not systems of metaphysics or futile discussions about the absolute, but rather the search for wisdom, the appraisement of values, and the careful logical analyses of concepts, then it seems to be just what the world needs. as a matter of fact, one of the deep igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 216 impulses of the human mind is the craving to know. curiosity is a characteristic instinctive reaction; scientific curiosity has always been a powerful incentive to scientific research. naturally we love to pry into nature’s secrets; we wish to understand the world around us – its source, its meaning, and its probable future. just as sir james jeans remarked: part of the value of science is intellectual. it would be a dull mind that could see the rich variety of natural phenomena without wondering how they are inter-related. quite apart from all questions of practical utility, the modern mind feels strongly urged to synthesize the phenomena it observes, to try to combine happenings in the external under general lawsxvi in line with the mind of sir james we recall the words of the poet lessing which run thus: did the almighty, holding in his right hand truth and in his left search after truth, deign to tender me one i might prefer – in all humility, but without hesitation, i should request search after truth. and that is the ultimate project of philosophy. in the words of c.s momoh , philosophy remains: the base and apex, the foundation, the ceiling and the roof of any civilization, any religion, any science, and indeed any description. any culture, any way of life, cooperate or individual is anchored on a philosophy, floats on a philosophy and hangs on a philosophy. philosophy is the ultimate intellectual discipline; it is the queen and the king of all the disciplines. wherever philosophy is present, there is light, where it is absent, there is darkness. thus “to expect philosophy to arrive at a conclusive answer, the failure of which has been called the scandal of philosophy, is to misunderstand its true nature, as jaspers has pointed out”xvii. in this event, man would be god and all questioning, planning and thinking would cease. in fact, nothing would happen anymore. it is precisely the critical, open, and controversial character of philosophy that leads man to critical insight and thus to freedom. so, “philosophy’s critical spirit might not enable man to reach absolute knowledge, but it might lead him to the wisdom of socrates, who knew that he knew nothing”. the critical spirit guards man against turning into an uncritical, the critical relationship obtaining between human truthperspectives. in wise mutual self-restraint, modesty, open-mindedness, tolerance, respect and goodwill, men can then tackle the common task of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 217 working out a modus operendi and vivendi in a socio-political set up that will ensure their freedom as individuals on the one hand and social justice on the other. philosophy in its bid to discover the truth requires not one man’s effort but the co-operation of many. therefore let us learn to know ourselves through philosophy and the world may become a better place. endnotes i plato’s maxim, plato theactetus 155d ii randal, h. j; the career of philosophy from middle age to the enlightenment (colombian uni 1962) 5. iii eneh j.o, history and philosopy of science, an outline (nsukka uni nigeria, 200)iii iv john dewey, reconstruction in philosophy (oston: beacon press, paperback, 1957), 21. v omoregbe, j.o; knowing philosophy, (joja educational research and publication, 1990), 3. vi ludwg wittgenstein, philosophical investigations tr. g.m anascombe(new york: macmillian, third edition, 1969), 119 vii locke’s attempt to reduce knowledge (theory) and morality (practice) to experience and so to arrive at a scientifically demonstrable ethics is found in: essay on human understanding, b. 2, xxi. viii anowai e. c., philosophy: a more historical approach, ((fab anieh nig. ltd. awka, nigeria, 2016)93. ix guatama buddah was a spiritual leader and teacher from indian subcontinent, on whose teachings buddhism was founded. the time of his birth and death is uncertain. most early 20 th century historians dated his lifetime as 563bc, but more recent opinion dates his death to between 486-483. he is a primary figure in buddhism, and accounts of his life, discuourses and monastic rules are believed by buddhists to have been summarized after his death and memorized by his followers. various collections of teachings attributed to him were passed down by oral traditions and first committed to writing about 400 years latercf. htt://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/gautama buddha. x okolo c.b., philosophy of education and education of philosophy,( snaap press ltd, enugu, 1989)71 xi okolo c.b., 71-72. xii okolo c.b., 69 xiii randal h. j; 5 xiv jaod c.e.m; philosophy (london hodder and stoughton, teach yourself books, 1944)222. xv okolo c.b., 70 xvi james jeans, the new backgroundof science(the macmillan company, new york, 1939), 50. xvii momo, c. s; nature, issues and substance of african philosophy in metaphysical phenomenology and african philosophy, (ibadan, hope pub, 1996) 3. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 6.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 51 please stop this carnage: interrogating governmental responses to small arms proliferation in nigeria, 1970 – 2015 amaechi alex ugwuja department of history and international relations, paul university, awka idara hanson-aniefiok department of history and international studies, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka abstract it is an incontestable fact that since the end of the nigeria-biafra war in 1970, illicit small arms proliferation has witnessed an exponential surge in the country. the factors that explain this situation are traceable to the nature/exigencies of the war, as well as the poor demobilization, disarmament and reintegration (ddr) of combatant troops and civilians at the end of the war. besides, the poor security architecture of the post-war nigerian society, coupled with the intensifying culture of ‘quick wealth’, among others have made small arms and light weapons to become the real weapons of mass destruction in nigeria. whilst scholarly efforts at x-raying the existential realities, as well as the implications of small arms proliferation in nigeria have been made by scholars of several disciplines, there appears to be a dearth of researches that focus on the institutional responses of the nigerian state to the challenge of illicit small arms proliferation. following from the foregoing, this study historicises the institutional responses of the nigerian government(s) to the menace of illicit small arms proliferation. the study discovers that various nigerian governments have paid little attention to the growing threat of small arms and light weapons proliferation; most governmental responses tended to have been ad-hoc in nature. the study recommends measures to build an institutional capacity in the war against illicit small arms and light weapons proliferation in nigeria. information for the study depended on primary sources such oral interviews, archival documents, as well as, extant secondary sources in journals, newspapers, among others. keywords: small arms, prescom, ecowas, security, and firearms introduction it is recognised that the proliferation of small arms, munitions, light weapons and explosives have transposed into the greatest threats to human as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 52 well as national security and by extension, national development. small arms and light weapons have, in fact, become the real weapons of mass destruction. this is because of their ‘interesting’ features; they are portable and concealable, lethal, affordable, widely available, simple to use and durable. since 1945, many persons have been killed with small arms and light weapons than with the socalled traditional weapons of mass destruction.1unarguably, small arms proliferation is one of the most encumbering security challenges of most states of the world – developed or developingthe small arms survey2 reports that in nigeria, more than 60 per cent of annual mortalities in the country are made possible by small arms.the availability of small arms in the country has in many cases contributed to violent criminality and political instability.3 these, in turn, have damaged development prospects and imperiled national security in every conceivable way. since the end of the nigeriabiafra in 1970, illicit small arms proliferation has witnessed an exponential surge in the country. the factors that explain this situation are traceable to the nature/exigencies of the war, as well as the poor demobilization, disarmament and reintegration (ddr) of combatant troops and civilians at the end of the war. besides, the poor security architecture of the postwar nigerian society, coupled with the intensifying culture of ‘quick wealth’, among others have made small arms to become one of the most imperiling national security challenges in the country. the threats of arms proliferation to the national security and well-being of citizens cannot be seen as a problem peculiar to nigeria. evidence suggests that since the end of the cold war, small arms proliferation has become a global menace.3 however, what appears to be the challenge in the nigerian case is the fact the that various nigerian governments appear to have paid little attention to the intensifying threat of small arms proliferation.since 1970, most governmental responses tended to have been ad-hoc in nature and this negatively affected the security as well as the development prospects of the country. given the above observation, this study historicises the institutional responses of the nigerian government(s) to the menace of illicit small arms proliferation. this is done in the light of the fact that there appears to be a dearth of researches that focus on governmental responses to the challenge of illicit small arms proliferation. for ease and convenience, the study is divided into four sections. the first section is this ongoing introduction; this is followed by the conceptual explanations. the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 53 third part essays on the governmental responses to small arms proliferation. the fourth part is the conclusion and recommendations. conceptual explanations conceptually, small arms and light weapons have not lent themselves to a generally accepted meaning. this is because, according to valentine okoro, “the understanding of what constitutes these categories of weapons has undergone some changes due to the dynamics of technological development”4. what perhaps appears more acceptable is the description of small arms and light weapons either by their configuration, characteristics, size, user perspective or a combination of some of these. the royal military college of science (rmcs) handbook on weapons and vehicles defines small arms as follows. “man – portable, largely shoulder controlled weapon of up to 12.7millimeter (0.5inches) caliber; such weapons generally have a flat trajectory and an effective operational range of 0 to 800 meters, although, this varies considerably with caliber and weapon type, certain weapons can also provide neutralizing fire up to 1800meters.”5 the un panel of government experts on small arms has received more citations because of their conceptualization of small arms and light weapons. according to the panel, small arms and light weapons are “those weapons ranging from knives, clubs and machetes to weapons particularly below the caliber of 100 millimeter. small arms are those weapons manufactured to military specification and designed for use by one person, whereas light weapons are those used by several persons working as a crew.”6 a cursory look at these conceptualizations suggests that there is no consensus on the meaning of small arms and light weapons.these seemingly disparate views held by scholars notwithstanding, there remains a commonality of characteristics that permeates the various definitions.7 s.a ochecheidentifies these common elements in all the definitions as follows: first, the focus is on lethal equipment that is, weapons and their ammunition, generally used by military and para-military forces, excluding items such as knives and hunting rifles. second, the emphasis is on weapons that are man-portable or transportable by light vehicles, that is, on weight and size of the equipment. third, this equipment is easy to maintain, can function without much logistical back-up and requires light training for use. fourth, to be militarily and politically relevant, the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 54 definition comprises weapons that are in frequent use that is ‘weapons that actually kill.8 it has to be added that because of the similarities between the concepts of ‘small arms’ and ‘light weapons’, both of them have often been used either synonymously or interchangeably in extant literature. in this study, for ease of usage, we adopt the term small arms for all classes of weapon classified above. governmental responses to small arms proliferation in nigeria, 1970 – 2015 the first governmental response at checkmating small arms proliferation came in january, 1970; decree no. 47 which was promulgated by the federal military government of yakubu gowon.9 it has to be borne in mind that this decree was made to check the high spate of armed robberies occasioned by the availability of civil war arms in unauthorised hands in the country. this explains why the decree was entitled ‘the robbery and firearms special provision decree, 1970’.by promulgation of decree no. 47 of 1970, the federal government sought to kill two birds with one stone; the government aimed at curbing armed robbery (especially, through deterrent measures) and its greatest enabler – availability of small arms. the need for the decree was as a result of the high rate of armed robbery in the country immediately after the nigeria biafra war. it was in fact, unprecedented in the annals of the country. the proliferation of small arms was to become a great source of worry to nigeria immediately after the nigeria-biafra war. for reasons difficult to fathom, the nigeria government carried out no sensible demobilization and disarming of combatant soldiers, especially on the biafran side thus, the entire nigerian geographical space became flooded with assorted types of weapons. haladyahaya puts the submission better when he avers: after the nigeria-biafra war of 1967 – 1970, there was an eruption of robberies and armed robberies in the country especially in the war affected areas and in southern parts of nigeria generally. the arms used were no longer the native weapons known but guns, pistols and revolvers as well as other modern instruments which made armed robbery acquire the horrible and disturbing dimension it has today…10 it was, therefore, the poor management of the civil war arms that boomeranged on nigeria immediately after the war; resulting in unprecedented levels of criminality, especially armed robbery. consequently, the military igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 55 government of yakubu gowon on august 8th, 1970 promulgated decree no. 47 permitting the imposition of capital punishment for the crimes of armed robbery and illicit arms proliferation.11 it is on record that the first execution under this decree was done around november 1970 at the bar beach, lagos. the notorious armed robber, isholaonyenusi who had terrorized residents of lagos and benin for months after the civil war was the first to be executed under decree no. 47 of 1970.12 the convicted armed robbers were tied to stakes in front of large jeering crowds and at an order of the commander of the firing squad; volleys of bullets were pumped into the bodies of the condemned criminals. apart from lagos, these firing squads were also carried out in most of the states of the federation throughout the 1970s.13 the question that begs for an answer is: to what extent did decree no. 47 of 1970 help to curb the proliferation of small arms and the attendant criminality, especially armed robbery? first, it has to be submitted that the decree was not expressly on curbing firearms proliferation; as a matter of fact, arms proliferation was only ancillary to the provisions of the decree. the primary aim of the decree was to arrest the high spate of armed robberies in the country by putting up a strong deterrence to it. from available reports, it would appear that robbery and arms proliferation for criminal purposes was not significantly reduced as a result of the decree no. 47. yahaya asserts that “besides a brief lull at the initial stage, armed robbery did not seem to diminish to a tolerable rate of occurrence”.14 furthermore, he opines that, the brutality with which armed robbery was being conducted did not decrease either; instead, the armed robbers developed new techniques and methods of operation and became more dreadful. besides, ambushing travellers on the highways at night, armed robbers could attack in daylight. as if that was not enough a terror to law-abiding nigerians, the armed robbers developed the method of entering, by force, into the abodes of people suspected to hold money or valuables in their houses, waking them up and leisurely requesting them to bring out money or state where their money was hidden.15 therefore, the decree no. 47 of 1970 could be said to have achieved only a moderate success. in the main, it contributed nothing significant in combating the menace of small arms proliferation in the country. first, the decree failed to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 56 make any historical linkage(s) between the high spate of armed robberies and the abundance of civil war arms which were not properly mopped-up. second, it attempted to cure the symptom and left the ailment intact. by addressing armed robberies and neglecting to root out the arms that enabled armed robberies, the decree made a faux pas of putting the cart before the horse. in any event, the decree was soon suspended with the handing over power to shehushagari in 1979. the shagari government seemed not to have made any specific governmental efforts in the task of combating the trafficking/proliferation of small arms in the country. as one observer puts it “everything was on the increase in shagari’s administration – the cost of governance, corruption, ethnicity, cronyism, criminality and what have you?”16 it was, in fact, in shagari’s administration that arms proliferation reached such a height in nigeria that ghanaian gunsmiths came to awka to provide additional lessons to awka blacksmiths.17however, with the sacking of shagari’s government by buhari on 31st december, 1983; the new regime with decree no. 5 of 1984 re-introduced the earlier decree no. 47 of 1970.18 under the newly reintroduced decree, illegal possession of firearms attracted a fine of n20,000 or a minimum of ten years imprisonment, or both. the decree reasserted that armed robberies were punishable by death (by hanging or firing squad), and that offenders charged with attempted robbery involving the use of firearms should face life imprisonment.19 from 1984 onwards, the military administrations in nigeria continued to rely existentially on gowon’s decree no. 47 and in some instances re-working it without any major inclusions. therefore, while the proliferation of small arms continued to grow in leaps and bounds, the firearms regime continued to remain unchanged. in some instances, as chukwuemekaalaku opines, the military governments benefited from insecurities that conduced to the exponential growth of small arms. alaku asserts that “president babangida institutionalized the misuse of small arms because of the ill-gotten wealth or criminal wealth and social injustice that allowed such impunity and free rein in nigeria”20 (sic). despite alaku’s heavy swipe at babangida’s administration, one may give the regime some credit in the area of curbing arms proliferation in nigeria. we may recall that following a bloody inter-ethnic clash in the northern city of kaduna in 1989, in which small arms were freely used by the belligerent sides and with devastating effects, the federal government sought to curb the availability of firearms in the country. it, therefore, revised the regulations igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 57 governing gun ownership, making them more stringent. within the mandate of the presidential order, the administration withdrew the license of arms-dealers and arms-owners throughout country and enacted laws that made the restoration of licenses difficult.21 nevertheless the effectiveness of the presidential order has been seriously questioned. it barely scratched the surface; most arms dealers and owners simply refused to comply with the directives as some of them quickly went underground.22 the advent of a new political dispensation in nigeria on may 29th 1999 heralded a lot of hope in the country but corruption and insecurity, among others seem to have quashed the hopes of the people. it cannot be denied that one of the greatest enablers of insecurity in the country is the proliferation of small arms. with the new civilian government in 1999, it was hoped that something significant would be done in curbing the proliferation of small arms which had conduced to most of the crimes perpetuated in the country. in a memo of 21 september 2001, then president olusegun obasanjo requested the drafting of a bill setting out more stringent penalties for contravention of firearms laws.23 he proposed a 10-year jail term, without an option of fine, for illegal possession of firearms and further proposed a cash reward for information that leads to the arrest and prosecution of anyone in illegal possession of firearms24.however, no draft firearms law was eventually presented to the national assembly from the presidency until olusegun obasanjo exhausted his regime in 2007.25 in fact, since the return to civilian rule in 1999, there appears not to have been any significant legislation or presidential directive on combating the proliferation of small arms and light weapons (with possible exception of the ecowas moratorium on small arms and light weapons). the obasanjo as well as the goodluck administrations were known to have established what they termed presidential committees on small arms and light weapons in 2004 and 2011 respectively.26in the main, these prescoms as they have come to be known do not have statutory back-up and have little or no funding to embark on such an onerous task as combating the proliferation of small arms and light weapons. additionally, the national taskforce on small arms and light weapons trafficking had been denounced by the national assembly as a criminal organisation.27thiscould bedue to the fact that theorganisation had no statutory back-up and works parallel to the mandate of the customs excise. furthermore, it is recognised that a significant number of weapons were surrendered in the post amnesty arms mop-up in the niger delta, nevertheless, these did not igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 58 become possible as a result of a proactive government policy but rather a reactive response conditioned by the need to have oil – nigeria’s life wire – to continue to flow in the region. what continued to obtain in the period under review was adhoc arms collection exercises which cannot in the main, stem the tide of illicit small arms proliferation in the country. the federal government of nigeria carried out its first destruction of arms and ammunition seized by security agencies, which comprised of 428 rifles, 494 imported pistols, 287 locally made pistols and 48 dane guns in 2001.28 it has been unable to conduct further arms destruction programmes ostensibly as result of lack of funds and equipment. in addition, the 2001 arms destruction exercise involved the burial at sea of arms, a destruction method which the government is reluctant to repeat for environmental reasons and which civil society and other stakeholders criticize for its lack of transparency. since 1999, most of the government responses to small arms proliferation have been incidental and reactive. the plateau area provides a typical example. in may 2004, as a result of persistent settler-indigene and christian-muslim conflicts in parts of plateau state, the federal government declared six months of emergency rule in the state and appointed major-general chris alli (rtd) as the sole administrator of the state. the sole administrator appeared to have been exasperated by the number of civilians in possession of firearms which could lead to a relapse into violence. consequently, on 21 may 2004, he was known to have ordered that all firearms in private hands should be submitted to the government under a ‘guns for cash’ programme.29 under the ‘gun for cash’programme, the government directed all individuals and groups in possession of firearms to come forward and surrender them at designated centers for cash rewards. the directive declared that whoever surrendered any foreign rifle was to be paid 100,000 naira while those who surrendered locally made arms would get 25,000 naira each. the government also directed that any person that had useful information on the whereabouts of hidden firearms could also come forward with such information to the nearest designated center for a cash reward of not less than 20,000 naira. it added that anyone who voluntarily provided information leading to the recovery of firearms would be protected against police action or prosecution, while his identity would not be disclosed. the date of 7 june, 2004 was fixed as the deadline for the voluntary surrender of the illegal arms.30critiquing this approach, b.e. chukwu observes that “he public response to the program, however, was very poor. as cooperation was not igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 59 forthcoming from the people, the closing date for the voluntary surrender of the arms was extended by two weeks…”31. in that same 2004, precisely on 5 february 2004, the inspector-general of police (igp) directed that all illegally acquired, prohibited and offensive weapons should be surrendered to the police within one month. he offered a “handsome reward” (later specified at 10,000 naira) to any citizen who would volunteer information about persons in possession of offensive weapons and assured that all information received by the police would be treated with “utmost confidentiality.” the igp, however, warned that after the expiration of a one month deadline, the force would commence raids on illegal owners of offensive weapons.32following the expiration of the one month deadline, on 14 march, 2004, he inaugurated a 60-man task force on the recovery of illegal firearms nationwide. the igp ordered the force to commence a mop-up operation of illegal weapons all over the country. the terms of reference of the taskforce included: (a) seeking and obtaining information on places where firearms are kept, sold or manufactured. (b) obtaining search warrants from courts of competent jurisdiction to search and identify premises where illegal firearms are kept, manufactured or sold and confiscate them. (c) collating and forwarding returns of recoveries to force headquarters, abuja, for further action when necessary. (d) collaborating with other sister organisations in all their operations. (e) seeking and obtaining information on points of entry (land, sea or air). (f) approaching its assignment closely throughout the 12 zones of operation of the police, which must be closely monitored by the zonal assistant inspectorsgeneral of police.33 table 12: list of weapons seized in nigeria by the nigerian police in 2004 s/n item number recovered a. b. c. 1. weapons recovered 972 972 2. ammunition recovered 111,585 111, 585 3. persons arrested 190 4. suspected killed in operation 73 5. policemen injured/killed 12/19 respectively igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 60 source: bruno e. chukwu, “ecowas and arms control in west africa: a focus on the niger delta amnesty” (master’s thesis: department of political science, university of nigeria, nsukka, march, 2010. table 13: summary of arms seized by the police in the southeast between march and may, 2004 states arms ammunition cartridges total abia 386 86 46 518 anambra 26 3 nil 29* ebonyi 77 30 22 129 enugu 39 30 nil 69 imo 28 40 290 358 total 456 189 358 1103 source: nigerian police records at umuahia. from the above statistics, it is not in doubt that the igp’s initiative on small arms achieved but a limited success. there have been other arms collection exercises in nigeria since 2004. the most popular of these being the niger delta case where the federal government tried to use grand-strategic thinking to woo militants of that region in 2010. this too, met a limited success. as on observer puts it, the disarmament process not only failed to disarm the factions, but also reduced confidence in the government, thereby making future disarmament measures more difficult. the key element preventing real progress on the disarmament process was the lack of attention to reintegration efforts and opportunities for former militants to earn gainful employment. although over 4,000 jobs were promised, the posts that materialized were temporary, low paying, and oddly located in areas not directly affected by the conflict as a result, the militants felt short-changed by the process. the failure of this *the low figures for anambra state were as a result of the leaking of official information about the raids to gun – owners and gunsmiths. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 61 disarmament process left armed groups distrustful of the government and its motives, and apprehensive about any future disarmament initiatives.34 it appears that nigeria has only made appreciable efforts in sub-regional arms proliferation control. yet the ecowas framework is fraught with a plethora of grey areas too. arising from the ecowas 1998 moratorium on arms trafficking.the federal government of nigeria inaugurated the national committee on the ecowas moratorium in 2001. the committee was composed of representatives of the ministries of defence, internal affairs the national orientation agency, the immigration service, and various security and customs agencies such as the police, the state security services and the national drug law enforcement agency”.36 however, despite having a wide representation, the national committee did not appear to have satisfied the guidelines on the composition of national commissions as stipulated by the programme of cooperation for security and development (pcased). for instance, neither the ministry of justice nor the ministry of foreign affairs were represented on it. the committee’s mandate was to: • control the import and manufacture of all small arms and light weapons; • register and control the movement and use of legitimate arms stock; • detect and destroy all illicit and surplus weapons; and • permit exemptions to the moratorium only in accordance with strict criteria.37 the committee, however, managed to devise a ‘framework for the implementation of the ecowas moratorium’ which contains several priority areas, based on pcased’s plan of action. this included, establishing a culture of peace, enhancing border controls, training, collecting and destroying surplus and illegal weapons are some of the priorities set out by the national committee. in november 2002, the national committee hosted a pcased-sponsored national workshop on modern methods and techniques of illicit small arms control through the promotion of a culture of peace. it was broadly agreed that a necessary condition for the reduction of the circulation of illicit small arms and light weapons is the national determination to tackle the various socioeconomic and political issues responsible for widespread social discord and upsurge in crime. similarly, it was agreed that the educational curriculum should be revised igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 62 to incorporate a ‘peace module’ teaching the benefits of a culture of peace to society at all levels.38besides, the introduction of a viable social security mechanism was also highlighted as a potential way of reducing armed criminality. the workshop called for a firearms registry, cross-border collaboration among security officials, and adequate equipment and training for border security officials. however, experts in small arms proliferation discourse bemoaned the capacity of the national committee. in their views, the capacity of the national committee could not but be seen as insufficient to carry out the required awareness-raising activities in nigeria on small arms and light weapons issues. besides, its staff and budget was grossly inadequate to cope with the demands of drafting ‘peace curriculum’ for all levels of the education in the country, and to set up, train, and equip advocacy outposts in the 36 states of nigeria.39 any perfunctory reading of the discourse above will show that no effort had been put in place to systematize and or centralize the activities of the agencies which have a mandate in curbing the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in the country. what can therefore be safely submitted is that the nigerian small arms regime requires a major overhauling. this should be done urgently to stop the carnage that small arms are put to on daily basis. conclusion and recommendations measures aimed at curbing small arms proliferation requires appropriate diagnoses of all existing strategies in the context of the socio-economic and political circumstances. the complexity, convolution and political economy of small arms proliferation require a comprehensive and multifaceted response at all levels of government. existing efforts at curbing small arms and light weapons proliferation have been categorized into two – statutory and institutional. often, the historical dimensions to small arms proliferation have more or less been ignored. this study argues for the inclusion of the historical factors in the strategies on curbing arms proliferation. in fact, efforts at combating the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in nigeria have had mixed success largely because the historical undercurrents have been neglected. the fact that the country still relies on the 1959 firearms act does not appear to help matters. while arms syndicates, local fabricators and other criminal elements in the arms trafficking world continuously evolve new methods and systems, the country’s firearms regime have statically remained unchanged. both the statutory and institutional responses of the nigerian igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 63 government to the menace of small arms and light weapons require being systematically overhauled. in the case of statutory overhaul, it is recommended that the 1959 firearms act should be replaced with a more proactive and modern document made after a thorough and in-depth study of the current trends in the small arms and light weapons proliferation discourse. in the area of institutional overhaul, the study recommends for a speedy establishment of a national commission on small arms and light weapons. the seemingly inchoate and ad-hoc nature of institutional responses to small arms and light weapons proliferation in nigeria does not help matters. on both the institutional and statutory overhauling of the small arms proliferation regime, the onus lies on the national assembly to bring about laws that will foster the urgent changes required. references 1. seth ohene, felix aklavon, theonasmoussou and augustine ikelegbetrafficking of small arms and light weapons in west africa: routes and illegal arms between ghana, togo, benin and nigeria, (abuja: single vision limited, 2015). 15. 2. bakuttswahbakut “global threats and africa’s security: is africa relevant?”,nigerian journal of international affairs, 36. (1)., (2010), 109. 3. bakut “global threats …”, 100. 4. valentine u. okoro, “the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in west africa: implications for sub-regional security”, (master’s thesis, faculty of the us army command and general staff college. fort leavenworth, kansas, october, 2007). retrieved from http://usarmyarchives.org (accessed july, 2011). 5. royal military college of science, handbook on weapons and vehicles (shrivenham: 1993), 3 – 11. 6. united nations, report of panel of group of government experts on small arms, a/52/298, (new york august 1997), quoted in valentine u. okoro, “the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in west africa: implications for sub-regional security”…7. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 64 7. s. a. ocheche, “civil-military cooperation in the fight against the proliferation of small arms and light weapons,” paper presented at a seminar on the establishment of a culture of peace, in abuja nigeria, (13 november 2002), 1 – 4. 8. ocheche, “civil-military cooperation”…4. 9. haladyahaya “armed robbery in nigeria after the civil war of 1967 – 70: search for effective remedies” (dissertation: senior executive course no. 6, national institute for polciy and strategic studies, kuru – jos, october, 1984), 4. 10. yahaya “armed robbery in nigeria…”17. 11. federal ministry of information, laws of the federation of nigeria (lagos: federal printing press, 1970), 221 – 232. 12. yahaya “armed robbery in nigeria…”18. 13. yahaya “armed robbery in nigeria…”18. 14. yahaya “armed robbery in nigeria…”19. 15. francis chilaka, “nigeria and the ecowas convention on small arms and light weapons: a critical review” (masters’ thesis, department of political science, university of nigeria, nsukka, february, 2010), 73. 16. hakim umar, c44 years, lecturer, interviewed at kuru – jos, 22nd september, 2016. 17. chilaka, “nigeria and the ecowas…”82. 18. chilaka, “nigeria and the ecowas…”90. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 65 19. bruno e. chukwu, “ecowas and arms control in west africa: a focus on the niger delta amnesty” (master’s thesis: department of political science, university of nigeria, nsukka, march, 20100, 113. 20. chukwuemeka e. alaku “small arms and economic insecurity in nigeria, 1985 – 2004” (phd thesis, department of history and international studies, university of nigeria, nsukka december, 2010). 132. 21. n.k. obasi, small arms and sustainable disarmament in west africa: progress and prospects of ecowas moratorium. (abuja: apophylproductions, 2001), 34 – 65. 22. chukwu, “ecowas and arms control...”113. 23. see vanguagrd, october, 12, 2001, 27. 24. chukwu, “ecowas and arms control…”113. 25. s.a. ocheoche “civil-military cooperation in the fight against the proliferation of small arms and light weapons”, a paper presented at a seminar on the establishment of culture of peace, organized by natcom, abuja, (november, 2002), 116.\ 26. ocheoche “civil-military cooperation…”9. 27. ayodelefilani, “how proliferation of arms threaten national security in nigeria”, today, monday 12th february, 2016. 28. chukwu, “ecowas and arms control...”101. 29. chilaka, “nigeria and the ecowas…”65. 30. chukwu, “ecowas and arms control...”101. 31. chukwu, “ecowas and arms control...”102 103. 32. chukwu, “ecowas and arms control...”102 103. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 66 33. d.o., ogaba, the proliferation of small arms and light weapons (lagos: fog ventures, 2005), 16 – 19. 34. chukwu, “ecowas and arms control...”102 103. 35. chilaka, “nigeria and the ecowas…”64 – 66. 36. chilaka, “nigeria and the ecowas…”64 – 66. 37. chilaka, “nigeria and the ecowas…”64 – 66. 38. the guardian, april 12, 2003 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 207 the role of advertising and public relations agencies in brand building okoh samuel ejime department of mass communication veritas university, bwari, abuja okohsamuelejime@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.33912.11529 abstract advertising and public relations agencies are firms designed to help advertisers grow their brands and services, the process of achieving this starts with creative brief from the client to the creative agencies. the essence of this article is to help give insight into how advertising and public relations agencies functions and are managed but more importantly how they deploy creative efforts in building client products and services. although both advertising and public relations agencies has been in existence since nigeria independence in 1960, the professions and practice has evolved over the years, faster than the industry envisaged most especially with the modern communication tools deployment to achieve better and faster result in the industry. with the unbundling of mass communication programme by the national universities commission which favoured advertising and public relations to stand as full disciplines and departments, will further help examine how these two disciplines help build strong and enduring brands. this study also examined the requirements for establishing the public relations and advertising studio prad for mass communication department of a university. the importance of creative brief to advertising and public relations agencies from clients is very vital and critical in marketing communication industry, because this brief is the only document from advertisers that help creative agency develop marketing communication strategy. keywords: advertising agency, public relations agency, mass communication programme unbundling, creative brief. introduction the marketing communication industry in nigeria which is powered and nurtured by the activities of advertising and public relations agencies has contributed immensely to the products and brand building efforts in the country. jefkins (2000) described advertising agency as a team of experts that plan, create, and execute advertising campaign for clients who are known as account. the word igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 208 account here refers to advertiser, advertising and public relations agency call client account while the agency staff that service the account or advertiser is known as account executive. an account executive in an advertising agency can be servicing two, three or more clients that the agency is working for. the number of accounts an agency manages and the good success stories in handling these accounts help agency get more clients, agency use success stories around accounts they handle to showcase and advertise herself, williams (2004), hafer and white (1976) posited that advertising firm is made up of highly skilled advertising professionals that offer it services to promote clients and prospects brands. according to onabajo (2011), advertising agencies recognition by clients, prospects and within the marketing communication industries is propelled by her ability to generate fresh, unique and creative ideas in solving client’s communication problems. deploying creativity in producing client’s advertisement materials and exposing such materials through the right media to the right audience says a lot about an advertising agency, having advertising experts in the agency make this possible. gamblien (1970) advertising agency is dependent on creative people who specialised in the development and preparations of advertising plans. apcon is the regulatory body for advertising agencies and practitioners in nigeria public relations agency has experts in the area of publicity and with the ability to generate events that will be driven by media exposure. these events relevance are determined by the media slots and exposure provided by the public relations experts that developed them for a client. some of these well thought out events can be tv or radio programme, big brother naija, nigeria idol and events around women day, environment day or cancer day. public relations agency help build activities on behalf of client around chosen event with the logo, colour and other objects that represent the sponsor. the media will then be invited to cover the event with different story angles for a particular event in order to give maximum publicity in favour of the client. nigerian institute of public relations nipr, is saddled with the responsibility of regulating public relations practice in nigeria. the institute has the power to register and determine who should be a practitioner, regulate the practice of public relations and monitor professionals conduct asemah, kente, nkwam-uwaoma & amah (2021). p304. public relations consultants’ association of nigeria defined pr practice as the provision of specified technical and creative services by an individual or group of individuals qualified by reason of experience or training with legal backing. asemah, kente, nkwam-uwaoma & amah (2021, p308). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 209 public relations agency according to tuckerhall.com, is a communication firm that works to influence public opinion about businesses and their products. forbes.com (2013) public relations agency promote companies or individuals via editorial coverage. this comes in form free publicity on pages of newspapers, newsletters, t programmes. radio programmes and websites. the editorial coverage part of it means comes with third party endorsement which gave it credibility. theoretical framework this work aligned with agency relationship theory by eisenhardt (1989) which stated that agreement is established between an advertising agency and an advertiser, when the later gets the blessing of the former to develop a creative material, determine the best media to expose it based on the advertiser’s approval and such material exposed. agency relationship theory opined that advertising agency must take the interest of the advertiser far higher than her own in all business transactions she carries out on behalf of the principal. system theory of public relations also apply to this study. system theory by ludwig von bertalanffy (1940) as it relates to public relations states that practitioners should all the time put into consideration developments within their environment and apply to the practice of public relations, it stated the importance of putting in place the right mechanism to measure the right audience feedback in all publicity efforts. according to the theory, the human environment is not only dynamic but progressive so public relations agency should continue embrace modern tools to achieve good result. methodology this work will make use of oral interview of advertising and public relations practitioners with good experience at advertising and public relations agencies, observation of target audience to publicity materials from advertising and public relations agencies, and the impression of affected mass communication students towards the course ‘’ advertising and public relations agencies’’. and relevant advertising and related case study. a relevant and related case study to this work is the press easter greetings advertisement by a commercial bank in april 2022 to nigerians. in the highly creative material, the advertising agency likened the resurrection of jesus christ to agege bread. the print advertisement as published igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 210 reads [‘’ like agege bread, he rose’’ happy easter]. the advertisement was highly criticised as it attracted the following comments from different people: comments and reactions to the advertisement ‘’ when creativity becomes a sterling blasphemy’’ ‘’ the management of the bank of the bank has succeeded in demarketing the bank by this stupid advert’’ ‘’ this is no creativity, it is purely an act of insanity ‘’ ‘’ they lack knowledge’’ ‘’ i just wonder why sterling bank decided to stoke the religious fire with such blasphemous advert message’’ ‘’ this is one creative mileage misguided and deserving of serious reprimand ‘’ there was an extract in form of advice from one of the comments that the bank should adhere to and that is ‘’ definitely the bank has the herculean task to prove that it meant no harm comparing agege bread and the resurrection of our lord jesus christ. apcon: advertising practitioners’ council of nigeria, the regulating body for advertising in nigeria also condemned the advertisement by issuing a statement signed by registrar and the chief executive of the council. below is apcon response to the advertisement a situation like this must be attended to in a fast and recommended way by crisis management experts, rosa gonzalez, pr & comms at byhours suggested that a high ranking person in the affected organisation should send out a statement to handle negative effect on the organisation. kate lucadamo of mercury public affairs, strongly advised that affected organisations should employed the services of crisis management experts, especially for firms that has distrust and fear of journalists. this according to kate, this will prevent irreversible reputation damage. jennifer donahoe of pr & social media director at planit agency poited out that in a situation like this, silence is not golden, because it will be seen as indifference and affirmation of guilt. this according to her will allow critics and the media define the situation for your firm whch is bad. [ https: //learn.g2.com] apcon was established by decree 55 of 1988, later renamed act 55 of 1988. [ https://ng.linkedin.com] igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 211 apcon functions in nigeria  promoting responsible and ethical advertising practice  act as the conscience of the society in commercial communications matters  register advertising practitioners  manage the needs and interest of stakeholders in nigeria’s advertising industries advertising agency structure ohaegbu 2015 brake down advertising agency structure as stated below:  admin department  client service department  creative department  media department  planning & research  production department the administrative department handles administrative and hr functions; the client service manages the accounts that the agency service. the client service executives that works under a director serve as intermediary between the clients and the advertising agency, the client service get creative briefs from the client and bring them back to the agency to debrief the creative team. butterworthheinemann (2005) described creative brief from the client, as the most important information issued by a client to the agency. this document contains the exact assignment the agency is expected to carry out and the direction. the client service unit carry out the assignment of debriefing the creative team with the client’s brief, this is done during brain storming session. according to mindmanager.com, brainstorming by team members help generate innovative ideas that can be refined and fussed together in order proffer solution to advertising and marketing needs. [https://blog.mindmanager.com] creative department is referring to as the egg head unit of the agency, the department has among others creative professionals, visual artist and copy writers. copy writers develop creative writings that are match with quality visual presentations that becomes artworks for print insertions and story board for television advertisement igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 212 the media department determine the best media strategy to expose the advertisement material. in the media plan strategy, detailed information about media selection based on the target audience, the number of spots / insertions and the exact locations for the billboard sites. bakare (2005) described media buying services as a specialised way to purchase and package media space and time, according to him, media specialists negotiate for discount from media houses and resell to willing advertising agencies and advertisers. this is done with good value for money to both the advertisers and advertising agencies. bloomads.com described media planning as the act of selecting the best media platforms for a marketing campaigns, which is anchored on the best combination of media to achieve marketing campaign objectives [ https://www.bloomads.com] media department help generate money for advertising agency through creative media buying and commission, the modern and scientific media trend in recent years is so complex and huge that it has developed into the establishment of media independent agencies. planning and research department help carry out research after been debriefed by the client service unit concerning client’s product or service, the department mandate is to embark on research concerning affected products in terms of competition, price, best media outlet and other issues that that will enable advertising agency develop productive and result oriented advertising campaign. production departments is responsible for the translation of radio copy into tapes to be aired at radio stations, story boards into tv commercials and also liaise with external and bigger production house for tasks that cannot be handled by the advertising agency. billboard productions and printing are done outside the agency. public relations agency structure public relations agency has less departments compared to advertising agency and it’s usually headed by a chief executive officer with good knowledge of all areas of public relations. the major departments in a pr are:  administrative department  client service department  media relations department igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 213 administrative department: this unit is under the office of the chief executive officer, it comprises the secretariat, human resources and the finance sections. creative department: the client service department is the unit responsible for discussing with the clients and getting jobs for the agency, this same unit is also responsible for managing the existing accounts. media department: this department is as important as the client service, sometimes more important in a well organised public relations agency because almost all activities of pr agency centres around planning and media exposures. staff of this department are trained staff with good knowledge of corporate relations, community relations, media placement / monitoring and many other areas of pr functions. large corporations public relations department there are some big corporations in nigeria with a well-established and large pr department than many pr agencies. a good example will be nnpc nigerian national petroleum corporation with a full blown group public affairs division. this corporation has different staff that handles community relations, corporate relations, investment relations both within and outside the country. there are also staff responsible for public information, public affairs and lobby when it comes national assembly matters. the term public affairs department is used by nnpc as against public relations used by other private organisations. the reasons why there is difference in nomenclature despite the facts that they carry out similar functions both in government and private organisation are stated below. functions public relations department [ private org ] public affairs department [ government org ] source of finance banks, other financial institutions and private organisations prefer pr departments because they are private institutions that must generate funds through nnpc and other government organisations like mda derive their funding from government budgetary allocation, so they worry less about igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 214 the services they render with profits. funding but focus more on execution of approved projects. community relations private organisations are not restricted in doing community relations in there public relations activities, they can focus more on other areas. nnpc for example must be involved in community relations with the oil companies they do joint venture with in the various communities they drill crude oil in niger delta. nphcda [national primary health care development agency] is a government agency that her pr unit must always reach out to their various publics with provision from government budgetary allocation to the agency. the agency do reach out to communities through different community relations efforts to improve their health.. lobby private organisations sometimes do lobby relevant publics that are strategic to their functions but not up to the level with government institution. these government agencies are involved in lobbying to get things done for their agencies and ministries, especially at national assembly. there are big organisations with public relations departments but still make use of outside pr agencies, this style is encouraged because the external agencies will igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 215 be more objective in their presentation to the management compared to the internal staff .. how advertising and public relations agencies contribute to brand management and developments brand development terms advertising agency public relations agency brand building with advertisement exposure, the advertiser must be known. pr help build and nurture products and services mainly with third party which is mainly through editorial efforts imc billings in terms of billing and execution of projects, advertising agency put in more efforts and human resources especially in the areas media planning and placement. advertising agency do media placement based on the rate cards of media organisations and charge fees on commission which range between 15 to 25% depending on the volume of transactions. meaning that advertising agencies generate bulk of their revenue from media placement public relations agency effort is directed mainly at media strategy and placement. with pr, stories and media exposure for clients are achieved through goodwill and quality relationship with media organisations. meaning that with pr, agency spend less in executing projects compare to advertising. billings is amount of client money agency spend on media placement and other equivalent activities, billings is also used to assess and determined the financial strength and size of an agency igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 216 [george e belch & micheal a. belch 1990] publicity measurement advertising efforts can be easily measured because they come in sizes with print media, and seconds / minutes with the electronic media it is difficult and complex to really measure pr exposure. though many professionals have tried and efforts are still ongoing to measure stories based on size especially as it is done in print media. regulation in terms of regulation, advertising is more restrictive, for example you cannot advertise alcohol on tv before 10pm in nigeria. there is also ban on cigarette advertising. pr always find means to avoid this ban by giving adequate publicity in different forms to events and sponsorships of these restrictive products on a 24 hours basis public relations and advertising studio for mass communication department prad studio in line with the unbundling of mass communication programme by the national university commission, mass communication prad studio should be managed like a normal advertising and pr agencies with client service, creative and media units. it should be supervised by professionals with the good knowledge of apcon and nipr regulatory functions. here, students should be taken through the process of taking briefs from the clients and debriefing the in-house professionals at the agency which is the studio. brain storming session is to be done immediately after debriefing in order to determine the best creative option and effective media deployment to achieve good result for the client. creative items that should be in the prad studio are  rate cards of radio, press, tv and outdoor organisations igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 217  illuminated table to process and view press illustration, and story board materials  samples of published media relations materials and advertising / pr briefs  electronic board with projector to analyse, review and critic radio and tv clips  advertising, pr and relevant imc materials prad students should know how to evaluate advertising and pr campaigns, it also important for them to know the relevant bodies recognised by the regulators, bodies like aaan: advertising agency association of nigeria oaan: outdoor advertising agencies of nigeria mipan: media independent practitioners association of nigeria pracan: public relations consultants association of nigeria online advertising agency: this is an agency that promote and project advertiser’s brands and services using digital platforms including search engine optimisation (seo). [ https://www.webfx.com] online pr agency : this is a pr firm that deploy digital resources provided by online media to create good image for clients and their products references arndt, johann (1967), “word of mouth advertising and informal communication”, in cox, d. f. (ed.), “risk taking and information handling in consumer behavior.” division of research, boston, ma.: harvard university, pp.188239. awad, neveen f.; dellarocas, chrysanthos; zhang, michael (2004): “estimating word-of-mouth for movies – the impact of online movie reviews on box office performance,” research paper, archived at:http://opim.wharton.upenn.edu/wise2004/sun413.pdf chiaravalle, b., and schenck, f. (2007) branding for dummies. hobeken: wiley publishing. inc. pg 9. buttle, francis a. (1998), “word of mouth: understanding and managing referral marketing”, journal of strategic marketing, 6 (3), 241-254. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 218 george, e. b. and george, a. b, (2012). advertising and promotion, an integrated marketing communication perspectives, new york, mcgraw-hill companies pg 149 – 151. kotler p. and keller p, (2006). marketing management, new jersey, prentice-hall. 375 cova, bernard; pace, stefano (2006), “brand community of convenience products: new forms of customer empowerment – the case ‘my nutella the community’”, european journal of marketing, 40 (9/10), pp. 1087-1105. dichter, ernest (1966), “how word-of-mouth advertising works”, harvard business review, 44 (6), pp. 147-66. godes, david; mayzlin, dina (2004), "using online conversations to study word of mouth communication", marketing science, 23 (4), pp. 545–560. nyilasy, greg (2006), “word of mouth: what we really know – and what we don’t”, in kirby, justin; marsden, paul (eds.), “connected marketing: the viral, buzz and word of mouth revolution”, oxford: butterworth heinemann. richins, marsha; root-shaffer, teri (1988), “the role of involvement and opinion leadership in consumer word-of-mouth: an implicit model made explicit”, advances in consumer research, 15 (1), pp. 32-36. bansal harvir s. & voyer peter a. (2000): word-of-mouth processes within aservices purchase decision context. journal of services research, vol. 3, no. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 119 the metaphysics of change: a philosophical analysis maraizu elechi, phd department of philosophy rivers state university port harcourt, rivers state, nigeria drmaraizuelechi@yahoo.com; phone: 08038954871 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.36109.97768 abstract all things are subject to change and nothing abides or remains the same forever, says heraclitus. change is inherent in every aspect of reality or being. it is the most pervasive element in nature and an important inevitable denominator in all material being. in fact, change occurs in every sphere of human life and activity. the understanding of change is very important for an adequate or proper understanding of the world we live in as well as how to adapt in it. many disciplines – science, religion, psychology, etc. study and address change, but it is important we understand the metaphysics of change and its principles from a philosophical perspective, which critically examines the “spirit” of change. here, we need to understand, in the first place, why things must change, that is, why it is in the nature of all material beings to experience change. how and when things change, and to what they change into are not the primary concern or focus of this paper. this research seeks to understand the metaphysical reason why things undergo change. this, the paper argues, is defined in the fact that change is a natural principle and part of the being-ness of all beings. it is in the nature of all things to undergo change. god, for instance, does not change because it is not in his nature to change. the question why change is largely neglected by scholars, and to understand it implies to come to grips with the reason and metaphysics of change, which will enable one to always embrace change rather than shy away from it whenever it comes, and learn to change alongside with change itself. keywords: change, metaphysics, philosophy, material being, science, religion, psychology. introduction the understanding to change is very important for an adequate understanding of the world we live in and how best to adapt in it. change is in every aspect of reality; it is the most pervasive element in nature. when there is no change there is no continuity and when there is no continuity there is no change. continuity presupposes change. change has it basis in nature independent of the thoughts and perceptions of many. it is the internal or intrinsic properties of a thing which mailto:drmaraizuelechi@yahoo.com https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.36109.97768?_sg%5b0%5d=nnomtxdh21aedi_xepodbdtdyfkgcgjz92h6gxugydugdzovqitdq0pcheewm3c91ikjsktkwkibfqv-ovb61lja3g.nrnjh2azuf6mbn5gagyqih9aoyytuztqiwqfs8f-f2zwgv4ct-fhi_pt3lkrrrodug9jauewq4koh3fqi4ymaq igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 120 is extrinsically related to external objects. change is an important denominator in human life and activity. it is good and valuable, hence, we need to change our attitudes to things and people around us in order to lead a good and happy life. according to ogungbure, change is the spice of life and life is spiced by change. in the same way, change is also the spice of philosophy and its diverse concerns and formulations. one cannot fully comprehend the present flow of ideas without some degree of recourse to the reflections of the past; and the projection into the future is often a composite reflection on the past and the present circumstances and ideological preoccupation (2020). change is the only unique phenomenon amid others that cannot but remain unchanged. it is a very important metaphysical concept that has provoked a lot of philosophical and scientific reflections. in fact, the problem of change is one of the oldest controversial philosophical problems that the early or pre-socratic philosophers tried to grapple with. but their inability to contend with and solve this problem is one of the factors that weakened pre-socratic philosophy. in the view of onyeocha, if all reality is constantly changing, then nothing can ever be identifiable either in its form or in its aspects, or in its nature or in its purpose. as a result all discourse would be impossible. true knowledge itself would be impossible, since everything would be fleeting perception. there would really be nothing to know, since genuine knowledge and discourse must be about what is, and not what is not (1995: 108-109). the pre-socratics attempted a rational understanding of the world with the philosophical notion that things change into one another. therefore, there must be some common substractum, some ultimate principle, and some unity underlying diversity. they were faced with the fact of the many, of the multiplicity, of diversity, and attempted a theoretical reconciliation of this evident plurality with the postulated unity. their philosophy centred around the external world, the object, the not-self, man, etc, but their ultimate concern or interest was in the not-self. their various attempts to account for the causes of these changes marked a transition from polytheistic mythology to a self-moving monism (smith 1934: 5). they queried about the material element or urstoff out of which the world was made. they wanted to know if actually the material universe was brought about by means of transformation or changes, thus, making the problem of change: the problem of the one and the many a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 121 fundamental concern in philosophy till date. in trying to understand the change of things around them, their originality, destruction and transmutation into one being and another, they objectively expressed their thoughts. they attempted to account for both the persistent and changing features by portraying the world in terms of certain stable, constant element or elements such as water, air, fire, earth, et cetera, which constitute the real and permanent aspect while the rest were in flux in the world of appearance (madu 1997: 26). thales, anaximander, and anaximenes recognized water, the unlimited apeiron and air respectively as a single underlying principle. pythagoras maintained his numbers, heraclitus maintained fire, but insists on his panta-rei in contradiction to parmenides who insisted that reality is one, permanent and unchanging. this opposing view between heraclitus and parmenides is therefore the baseline of our research: the problem of change in philosophy. milvic capek rightly observed that: change indeed is so pervasive that only after the antithetical concept of changelessness or immutability was developed in the earliest period of greek philosophy did change become a problem (1967: 75). the problem which emanates from the concept of change is how things can change and still remain what they previously are, and how one and the same being can become another being. based on this controversial philosophical problem of change, aristotle posited his doctrine of act and potency as a solution, which proves the reality of change and multiplicity of beings. our concern in this paper is to explain the inevitability of change, that is, why change, and show its importance in human life and existence. concept of change: an overview the word change is etymologically derived from the latin word mutalia, which means to become something else or to pass from one state to another. everything given in human experience is subject to change. everyone experiences change, and at least, has a vague implicit knowledge of what it means to change. change is so profound that without it nothing can be said to exist or even attain perfection as such. the word change designates one of the most conspicuous and most pervasive features of our sensory and introspective experience. the objects of sense perception are not stable, they are not always remain the same; they are constantly changing. all the things in the world are unstable and in a state of constant change. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 122 basic to the material universe as we known it is the fact of change and destruction, while certain elements in it remain constant denominators e.g. air, water and light, others like living beings die and disintegrate. generally, all continue to undergo displacements and mutability either in combinations or disintegrations (iroegbu 1995: 76). although the study of change calls forth a variety of problems, our immediate concern at the moment has to do with the nature of change, that is, that things are subject to change. by change, we do not merely mean a change from one place to another; our understanding of change is comprehensive. for a thing to change, it means that the thing has become different from what it was before. in the words of robert kreyche “whenever a thing changes it always becomes (in some sense) other than that it was before. to change, then, mean, of course, “to be different”, never completely different, but always “somehow the same” (1959: 30). the fundamental significance of change is that it involves both sameness and difference. nothing that changes are completely the same or completely different as kreyche tries to explain. change is the development of the new out of the old; something becoming what it was not. change is a gradual and continuous process whereby something passes from one state or phase to another especially between states before and after some events. when a thing or being differs from its original nature, when it gradually passes into another condition, takes on a specific property or attributes; becomes; when it assumes a different shape or form or undergoes a transformation or alteration in position or action, then one can say that change has taken place. merriam webster’s collegiate dictionary (tenth edition) records that “change implies making either an essential difference often amounting to a loss of original identity or a substitution of one thing for another". this, however, implies that any person who passes from one state of being in which he lacks a particular perfection to another state of being in which he possesses such perfection has experienced change – transitus ex uno mode se habendi ad alum, or put in another way – exterminus aquo ad terminus ad quem (the passing or passage from one point to another). thus, any being that changes has definitely acquired what it previously or formally lacked. the technical name for change is mutation, which is the passing from one state or condition to another. change in the strict sense is a transition from one positive state of being to another. it is by way of nature that the sameness and difference is in the being, which changes. it occurs at all times and in all states. therefore, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 123 change is the principle of actual determination; it may be extended to include a coming to be and not out of any pre-existing subject (john, et al 1956: 64). change is a primary datum of consciousness. to say, then, that change is a primary datum, is to assert that it is a self-evident fact – the existence of which can neither be proved nor denied. change occurs both in thinking or reasoning, in understanding, in size, in growth, in ideas, attitudes and opinions, in government, economy and policy, in religion, in weather and virtually in all things. in civil society or government for instance, there is what is known as “regime change”; it is an overthrow of government or regime considered illegitimate by an external force (usually military) and its replacement with a new government according to the concept of political regime legitimacy promoted by that force. in weather, as mentioned above, there is what is called climate change. it is used to refer to changes in the earth’s climate or changes in temperature through other climatic variables like precipitation, clouds, etc. change also occurs in the field of science, as we shall see shortly. scientific notion of change change is a universal phenomenon that can be seen or experienced in both living and non-living things. it can be noticed or experienced scientifically through series of chemical reactions, developments, compositions and decompositions as well as transformations. water when cooled turns into ice – consisting of concepts of water, cooling, and ice; metals melt when heated; leaves fall off from the branch of its tree when old and people attribute it as due to the activity of plant hormones. these are all immanent evidences of change. during the development of an animal from the zygote (fertilized egg) to the adult stage in metamorphosis, there are series of gradual changes that take place. for instance, in complete metamorphosis the fertilized egg hatches into a larva, the larva in turn undergoes developmental changes to pupa (a resting stage) and pupa changes to adult. houseflies, butterflies and mosquitoes are typical examples. plants also undergo changes through pollination, which is the transfer of pollen grains from the anthers of the flower to the stigma of another flower of the same species. in germination, changes occur; it has to do with all the changes that take place from the time the dry seed is planted until the resulting young plant establishes itself. however, before the seed germination, the starch in the seed is broken down into sugar by chemical elements known as ferments or enzymes. the sugar is then moved to the growing regions. this process is known as translocation. changes also occur in blood compositions, as the blood passes igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 124 through the lungs, small intestines, urea and liver. there are also changes in human body form and proportion during pre and post natal life as well as during digestion and breathing as a result of glandular action. this type of change is known as chemical change where human beings absorb foreign substances into their body and they are changed into compounds necessary for their live processes. chemical changes are designated as fermentation and putrefaction. fermentation in a general usage refers to the microbial decomposition of plant materials, which contains mostly carbohydrates, leading to the formation of alcohols or organic acids. putrefaction refers to the formation of unpleasant products by the decomposition of high protein materials such as meat and egg. meanwhile, changes that occur when substance undergoes chemical changes cause the release of chemical energy. in chemistry, certain physical changes (matter) interest the chemist, while certain chemical changes (energy) interest the physicist in physics, that is, the change of one chemical element into another (as by nuclear decay or radioactive bombardment). while the physicist deals with mechanical changes and energy, the chemist examines the changes undergone by matter. scientifically, there are series of chemical reactions that bring about sustenance and construction of new protoplasm as well as the breaking down and release of materials of old protoplasm; properties of parent cell are transferred to the daughter cell. this can also be seen in the transmission of traits (genetics) to the offspring from both parents, one from each body part unite in sexual reproduction to form a new individual which can resemble in particular ways their parents and siblings. even puppies always grow to become dogs and usually have features of their breed. this form of change is sequel to any alteration in the inherited nucleic acid sequence of the genotype of an organism. nature as the principle of change the study of nature is basically the study of change and the things that are subject to change. the idea of nature as used by aristotle is such that identifies final end or cause of a thing. it is what a thing becomes when perfected or in a state of completion. everything moves towards the accomplishment of a natural end. we can identify a things nature by seeing what it is when fully developed and what changes it undergoes in that movement. for instance a tree or frog that grows will still remain the same tree or frog; the adult mature man is still the same human being that was a baby, a child, a young man. thus, for aristotle, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 125 what has changed must have been changing, and what is changing must have changed; changing is preceded by having changed, and having changed is preceded by changing (copleston 1946:50). nature, according to aristotle, therefore, is an inner principle of change and motion. he identifies the nature of a thing with the end towards which such things moves (ross 1964: 236). those things are natural which, by a continuous movement originated from an internal principle, arrive at some completion; the same completion is not reached from every principle, nor any chance completion, but always the tendency in each is towards the same end, if there is no impediment (ross 1964: 116). nature is an organic system of things whose forms make it possible to arrange them into classes comprising species and genera. it is thought of not as a transcendental principle but as a collective term for all natures of all things working harmoniously together (ross 1964:68). as a matter of clarity, aristotle regards nature as the totality of objects which are capable of initiating change and bringing it to an end (copleston 1946: 320). those things are natural which, by a continuous movement originated from an internal principle, arrive at some completion; the same completion is not reached from every principle, nor any chance completion, but always the tendency in each is towards the same end, if there is no impediment (ross 1964:166). from the analysis above, everything naturally undergoes change. nature is the principle and causes of change. the word nature is used in its narrow sense to mean the world, that is, the whole and totality of material objects external to us as existents. the metaphysics of change: a philosophical analysis change is for heraclitus, the primary feature of all reality. everything according to him is in state of flux. for heraclitus, nature exists in two forms: everything is born of strive, and everything is in constant flux or changing. this is because fire lives by consuming and constantly changing its material (onigbinde 1999: 265). according to heraclitus, “everything is in flux and nothing abides everything flows and nothing stays fixed everything is constantly changing and stays the same” (stroke 1968). he continued “into the same rivers we step and yet we do nor step … after all, one does not step into the same water twice, waters disperse igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 126 and come together again … they keep flowing on and flowing away” (norman et al. 1980). with these statements, heraclitus equates reality with a river which flows or changes at all times. change, for him, is the coming into being and passing away of things in the universe. with the above it can be concluded that heraclitus’ philosophy is panta rei, meaning that everything is changing. aristotle, a philosopher of nature and change strongly believes in the cause of nature and change. he developed his entire metaphysics on the basis of change and nature. change is both a physical and metaphysical attributes or features such that the passage from joy to sorrow, ignorance to knowledge, life to death, youth to adult depict change. every being which changes and every being, which is capable of changing, has with it a real metaphysical component. thus, according to aristotle, change is real and intelligible. it is an evidence of both consciousness and unconsciousness that comes from external sensation. there are therefore two extremes or conditions necessary for change, which are known as terminus ad quo, and terminus ad quem. the former means starting point, which implies that in every change there must be a starting point required by such change, while the latter means end point (which indicates that there is a final state of being in change which is actual with a newly acquired and final state of being, and also actual with a newly acquired state of act. “therefore change is the principle whereby the principle is determined to a particular mode of reality” (sheed et al. 1955:39). for aristotle, the word change means many things, including motion, growth, decay, generation and corruption. some of these changes are natural, whereas others are products of human art. aristotle’s account of change is designed to explain both how change in general is possible, and how coming into existence is possible. he indicates that change does not involve bringing together formless matter and matter-less form. on the contrary, change occurs always in and to something that is already a combination of form and matter and that which is on its way to becoming something new and different. he argues that forms are powerless to explain changes of things and a things ultimate extinction. he agrees with heraclitus that change is the sense of a passage from terminus a quo to a terminus ad quem. according to aristotle, for change to take place there must be a substratum which changes, which receives a new determination. aristotle thus defines change with his concept of potentiality and actuality. change, he tells us, is “the actuality of what is potentially, qua such.” (aristotle physics, bk. 3, chapter 1). change is an actualization of a potentiality; but a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 127 potentiality involves an actual being, what is not yet that which it would be. aristotle saw that every being that is capable of change must be composed of two distinct but though mutually interrelated principles called act and potency. thus, for him, reality is neither a mere flux nor stagnant but is evident in the universe. hence, “to be means to be potentially or actually” (nelson 1954: 35). aristotle insists that in every case of change there must be three basic ingredients namely, matter, form and privation or exigency. matter is the particular subject that underlines the substance, that is, the substance comes into being from it. form is what the matter acquires when a first substance comes into being. privation is the necessity presupposed by change. it is not a positive element in the sense that matter and form are positive elements. karl marx has a notion of change. central to his idea of change is the concept of dialectics or dialectical materialism. change for him means the emergence of new structures, novel forms. what causes change according to marx is simply the quantitatively alteration of things, which leads to something qualitatively new (ogungbure 2020). this means that even ideas change. one thing constant in nature as well as in philosophy is change. change is a constant variable in philosophy upon which philosophical ideas thrive. marx believes that materialism is an economic law of motion which elicits change in the society. this further explains why change is known as a universal law of nature. everything, from small to big, from humans to nonhumans undergoes ceaseless and rigorous law of change. stumpf records it thus: materialism meant to marx that the world as we see it is all that there is, that the materialist outlook on the world is simply the conception of nature as it is, without any reservations. moreover, with engels he agreed that all of nature, from the smallest thing to the biggest, from a grain to sand to the sun, to man, is in a ceaseless state of change from one epoch to another in accordance with the rigorous and inexorable laws of historical motion (1986: 228). in fact, modern and contemporary science and philosophy owe a lot to the metaphysics of change, especially to aristotle and his doctrine of act and potency, which he used to explain the metaphysics of change. contemporary philosophical issues such as whitehead’s theory of “process and reality”, darwin’s “theory of evolution”, which were later re-examined by henry bergson. the metaphysics of change still flourishes in various philosophical and scientific deliberations till date. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 128 conclusion change is evitable in all things. it is the anchor on which any development can be propelled, hence, philosophical developments are the consequences of change in the social, historical, cultural and even scientific facts (fadahunsi 2002:164). change is therefore the spice of life; it makes life and living meaningful, exciting and quite interesting. many people try to shy away from change without knowing that humans are beings-to-change, that is, change is a necessary integral part of our being and development, and that we must readily embrace always. we must therefore stop resisting change since it is the only constant in life. how would life be without change; change brings forth new beginning and gives insights about things. it makes us flexible and enables us to adapt to new situations. human beings change activities like other animals (eating, sleeping, moving about), and they also change in their thoughts and desires. they grow in knowledge and acquire virtues and vices. each one of beings undergoes a real change within its being. the tree or frog, for example, that grows will still be the same tree or frog. the adult mature man is still the same human person who was a baby, a child, a young man. thus, what has changed must have been changing, and what is changing must have changed; changing is preceded by changing. change is both a physical and metaphysical attributes and features, such that the passage from joy to sorrow, ignorance to knowledge, youth and adult depicts change. change is an evidence of both consciousness and unconsciousness that comes from external sensation. every being which changes and every being, which is capable of changing, has with it a real metaphysical component. change is there real and intelligible. to deny change would in fact be to deny the world of reality, which would perhaps amount to an illusion. change is a universal natural law. works cited aristotle, physics. (trans. 1961 by richard hope), lincoln: university of nebraska press. copleston f. (1946). a history of philosophy: greece and rome. vol. 1, london: continuum. fadahunsi, a. (2002). “the social foundation of philosophical development” in bjmass, vol. 1(1), pp. 164-168). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 4. issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) 2020. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university 129 iroegbu p. (1995). metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy, owerri: international universities press ltd. john, p. and noon j. (1956). general metaphysics, chicago: loyola university press. kreyche, r.j. (1959). first philosophy: an introductory text in metaphysics, new york: henry holt and company inc. madu r.o. (1997). essays on metaphysics, owerri: assumpta press. milvic, c. (1967). “change” in the encyclopedia of philosophy, vol. 2, new york. nelson, a.g. (1954). philosophy of nature, pittspurgh: duguesne university press. norman, r. and sayers, s. (1980) hegel, marx and dialectics: a debate, moscow: novosti press, pp.52-65). onigbinde a. (1999). what is philosophy? a reader’s digest in philosophical inquiry, ibadan: frontline resources ltd. ogungbure a. “changing philosophies in a changing world: a comparative study of heraclitus and marx on the idea of change” retrieve from https://www.academia.edu on june 8, 2020. onyeocha, i. m. (1995). introfil: a first encounter with philosophy, washington d.c.: the council for research in values and philosophy. \ ross, d. (1964). aristotle. london: methuen and co. ltd. smith, t.v. (1934). philosophers speak for themselves, chicago: illinois: the university of chicago press. stoke, m. (1968). “heraclitus” in edwards paul (ed.), the encyclopedia of the philosophy, vol. 1, new york: macmillan and free press. stumpf, s. (1986). elements of philosophy: an introduction, new york: mcgraw hill publishers. https://www.academia.edu/ microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 7.doc igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 98 slave trade, colonialism and neo-colonialism: revisiting critical issues in african underdevelopment onebunne, jude ifeanyichukwu phd federal college of education (technical) umunze, anambra state, nigeria juno.anyi@gmail.com abstract the imposition of colonialism on africa altered her history forever. african’s modes of thought, patterns of cultural development, and general ways of life were forever altered by the change in political structure brought about by slave trade and colonialism. the african economy was also significantly changed by the atlantic slave trade through the process of imperialism and the economic policies that accompanied colonization. years after slave trade and colonialism were abolished, africans became free only in the paper as the european neo-colonial project keeps disrupting the developmental efforts made by africans. it is against this backdrop that this paper tries to enquire into the basic african issues such as slave trade, colonialism and neo-colonial projects as they influence africa’s growth and development. using the critical assessment method, this paper explores the long time effect of these basic african issues with view to bringing out a positively lasting change which will further necessitate socio-economic, political, cultural and religious growth and development. keywords: slave trade, colonialism, neo-colonial, africa, underdevelopment. introduction the imposition of colonialism on africa altered her history forever. african’s modes of thought, patterns of cultural development, and general ways of life were forever altered by the change in political structure brought about by slave trade and colonialism. the african economy was also significantly changed by the atlantic slave trade through the process of imperialism and the economic policies that accompanied colonization and other neo-colonial movements. years after slave trade and colonialism were abolished; africans became free only in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 99 the paper as the european neo-colonial project keeps disrupting the developmental efforts made by africans. settle (1996) says that the reason for the colonization of africa was for economic and human exploitation: the aim of colonialism is to exploit the physical, human, and economic resources of an area to benefit the colonizing nation. european powers pursued this goal by encouraging the development of a commodity based trading system, a cash crop agricultural system, and by building a trade network linking the total economic output of a region to the demands of the colonizing state. (p. 2) this assertion by settle can be said to be plausible because the europeans took control of major economic states in africa, transporting her resources to european states and importing the finished goods at a higher price. the development of colonialism and slave trade and the partition of africa by the european colonial powers arrested the natural development of the african economic system. africa prior to colonialism was not economically isolated from the rest of the world. indeed, african states had engaged in international trade from the time of the pharaohs of ancient egypt, and west africa specifically had developed extensive international trading systems during the eras of ghana, mali, and songhai, (settle, 1996, p. 3). also, the atlantic slave trade existed in africa for over three hundred years and introduced to the continent sophisticated systems of credit and exchange. africans were sold and transported to european countries to work in their plantations thereby, improving the economy of these european states at the expense of african economic growth and development. as these slaves were taken, so were the peace, unity and love that has held africans from time immemorial taken. years after african states got their independence, european government has decided to rule africa from their homes, influence political, religious and economic decisions taken in african countries. this is the main reason that has left the african growth and development stagnant without any improvement. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 100 this paper is therefore, an attempt to revisit these basic african issues that has continued to wage war against african growth and development. it will also go further to ascertain the level of damage done on africa as a result of this awful experience and suggest possible ways of ensuring african’s total emancipation. slave trade in africa different expressions exist within the oral tradition of the people in nigeria, ghana and benin for describing the word “slave”. among the yoruba of nigeria, it is called eru. their igbo counterparts call it oru, or ohu as it is known among the aro. among the fon of abomey and the egun of porto novo, both in the republic of benin, it is referred to as mehiho and mesisa respectively.the ashanti of ghana, call it akwaa, while the ewe of the same area refer to it as kluvi.to the fanti on the other hand, it is referred to as donkor. the african slave trade is widely seen as one of the most important events in african history and its consequences on african development are enormous. this is in agreement with nunn’s (2008) belief that the “slave trades may have been at least as important as colonial rule for africa’s development” (139). in existence are large amount of evidence regarding the flow of slaves during the slave trade. there are many accounts describing how slaves were captured and transported to the african coastlands and how people from inland communities were sold into slavery by their family members to slave merchant on the coast in the hope of protecting themselves. along the gold coast (modern day ghana), people sold as slaves across the atlantic were often captured from as far inland as the sahel region (modern day burkina faso). in central africa, where nearly half of the transatlantic captives originated, those forced into the ships in launda or along the congo river came from increasingly distant part of the interior. there were also the existence of slave trade in nigeria where people where captured and transported into the southern part of the niger. slave trade started in africa when the european traders arrived on the shores of the african countries with trade intentions that enlarged within a short period of time beyond the initial trade by batter of consumable goods that existed between them and the africans. starting from the middle of the 17th century, africa was the scene of a socio-economic phenomenon, the likes of which the world had never seen before and will surely never see again. large parts of the continent, from the senegal river to the high plateau of angola, became specialized in the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 101 capture, distribution, and selling of slaves. the trans atlantic slave trade merchants were largely claimed to have come into the business through the exchange of trade items for the local produce of the people. oral narrations showed that the items introduced to the africans by these merchants included those things that were appealing to the people. prominent among these were mirror, sugar, guns and gunpowder, fabrics and beautifully decorated bottles of drinks with alcoholic contents. even the empty bottles of these drinks were according to some, a point of attraction for the people. negotiations were said to have started in the form of an almost silent exchange pattern that was initially loaded with fear from the africans. it was claimed that the europeans would put down their goods and move back, and the africans, who were claimed to be the traditional chieftains, will put their own goods close to that of the europeans and move back also. after certifying the balance of interest, each party would then pick their exchanged commodity and depart. fear was soon eliminated and the africans were more comfortable by the day, with their trading partners. this initial trade relationship later graduated in a gradual manner, to the exchange of africans for the purchase of the same european sales items. during the time of the slave trade practice, increased wealth was said to have been associated with the traditional slave dealers who by now have come to enjoy the supply of improved standards of slave catching equipment that were provided by their european partners. it is at this point that many african families sold out their children and brothers to the europeans. slaves were kept in these buildings until there were buyers or agents to take them away, otherwise, if other slaves were purchased while they were still kept within, these old slave stock would have to be moved to a larger holding, one of which has been converted to the nigerian prison in badagry. the aro subculture group of nigeria no doubt played important role in precolonial period as oracular agents woven in slave trade. according to nwankwo (2013) they were mainly slave merchants whose oracle played the role of a spiritual conduit through which its unsuspecting client were sold into slavery. in other words, this dreaded oracle, ibinu-ukpabi, also known as the long juju, which is situated at arochukwu played the dastardly role of sending igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 102 those who appeared before it but could not pay themselves through for freedom into slavery (p.1). arochukwu of the eastern part of nigeria play a great role in propagating slave trade in nigeria. during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, incalculable numbers of people were subjected to enslavement through kidnapping, religious determination, debt, and organized military campaigns. enslaved victims figured prominently in trade in the interior of the bight of biafra from at least the early eighteenth century and probably earlier still. the scale of enslavement was massive, accounting for the 1.6 million people who were forced to embark on slave ships for the americas. slave trading and slave production became the most important economic activities for many african states (klein, 2003, p. 504). the slaves performed a variety of menial tasks in the households of the wealthy, rendered services in commerce and public administration, served in the army, and worked as raw labour in the mines and in large plantations and this made africa a land where the possibility of enslavement was pervasive. europeans were in need of labour for their highly profitable sugar plantations. african slaves became the solution for europe’s labour needs in the americas for simple yet irresistible economic reasons: they were about two times cheaper than european in-dentured labour (which was in quite limited supply anyway) and at least four times cheaper that what european free labour would have cost. indian textiles formed a very large component of the goods that europeans exchanged in africa against slaves (inikori, 1992, p. 175). to further buttress this claim, paul (1983) reiterates: slavery was one form of exploitation. its special characteristics included the idea that slaves were property; that they were outsiders who were aliens by origin or who had been denied their heritage through judicial or other sanction; that coercion could be used at will; that their labour power was at the complete disposal of a master; that they did not have the right to their own sexuality and, by extension, to their own reproductive capacities; and that the slave status was inherited unless provision was made to ameliorate that status. (p. 1) in european societies, and the colonies they controlled, slaves were employed to carry out duties which no hired labourer or tenant could be found willing to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 103 undertake under the condition that the land owners wished. consequently, slaves typically had difficult, degrading and demanding works to do, and were also mistreated by their exploitative masters who were anxious of maximizing profits. with nearly insatiable demand for labourers that grew with european conquest of africa, a large number of slaves emerged from african countries. these slaves had few rights and were generally at the mercies of their land owners, (partick, 1990, p. 37). colonialism in africa colonization of africa by european countries was a monumental milestone in the development of africa. the africans consider the impact of colonization on them to be perhaps the most important factor in understanding the present condition of the african continent and of the african people. therefore, a close scrutiny of the phenomenon of colonialism is necessary to appreciate the degree to which it influenced not only the economic and political development of africa but also how africans see themselves. the two largest colonial powers in africa were france and britain, both of which controlled two-thirds of africa before world war i. ali mazrui’s three broad reasons for european exploration of the african continent, which later led to colonization, provide a good starting point. according to thomas (1973), the first reason has to do with the need to gather scientific knowledge about the unknown. africa, then referred to as the “dark continent,” provided just the right kind of challenge. it held a lot of mystery for european explorers, who travelled and observed and recorded what they saw. many of the early explorers of africa were geographers and scientists who were beckoned by the mysteries and exotic qualities of this new land. expeditions of people like samuel baker, joseph thompson, richard burton, john speke, and others in the nineteenth century, conducted in the name of science and knowledge, served to attract europeans to africa. they “discovered” rivers, lakes, and mountains. they studied the african people and wrote about them. of prince henry’s exploratory expeditions, including those to africa, a historian has written, “while henry directed exploratory activities, he placed high value on the collection of geographical knowledge and rewarded his captains‘ in proportion to the efforts they had made to carry the boundaries of knowledge farther,’ thus keeping them intent on the work of exploration. to ali (1969), without revisiting the debate as to what the europeans meant by claiming to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 104 have “discovered” africa’s rivers and lakes, which the africans had known and sailed and fished from all along, and without belabouring the often extremely racist and distorted descriptions of african societies that they purveyed, it will suffice to say that the writings of some of these foreign travellers increased knowledge of africa in their own countries and ultimately helped africans to know their continent better. another reason for the colonization of africa was for religious penetration. implicit in the christian doctrine (as well as in islam) is the requirement that followers of the faith spread the gospel (or the koran) to others and win converts. since much of africa followed their own traditional religious beliefs, europeans felt that there was a definite need to proselytize and convert africans to christianity. in the early years of both christianity and islam, evangelical work was often carried out with military campaigns. later, other methods of persuasion were applied. missionaries were dispatched to africa. they set up health clinics, schools, and social service centres. they treated the sick and taught people how to stay healthy. they taught european languages to africans, who in turn assisted missionaries in translating the bible into african languages to help disseminate christian doctrines. individuals like dr. david livingstone were able to combine missionary activities with extensive scientific research and geographic investigations. when missionaries or other explorers encountered hostility or when their lives were in danger (as happened, for instance, to bishop hannington, who encountered religious resistance in uganda and was eventually murdered on orders of a local king), foreign troops were dispatched promptly either to punish the groups involved or to protect other foreign nationals. when foreign troops came in, they invariably stayed and, on short order, colonization expeditions arrived. the third reason was based on imperialism, the desire by european patriots to contribute to their country’s grandeur by laying claim to other countries in distant lands. incidence such as this was also experienced by the eastern people of nigeria as recounted in “things fall apart” by chinua achebe. okonkwo had killed messenger of the whites in a bid to resist western dominance and was invariably sentenced to death and this had led okonkwo into taking his own life. the cultural reason for colonization was deeply rooted in the ethnocentrism and cultural arrogance of the european people, who regarded anyone different as being culturally inferior. in the case of the africans, because they were not igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 105 technologically advanced or their achievements were not written and therefore not known to the rest of the world, the europeans felt that it was their duty to “civilize” and “uplift” the african people. in a language that was used by those who sought to cast colonization in the most favourable light, perham asserts that this role “saw the interests of the ruled as equal, if not indeed superior, to those of the rulers african people began to acquiesce to colonial rule and to surrender the elements of their culture and traditions.,” (margery, 1962, p.127). between the 1870s and 1900, africa faced european imperialist aggression, diplomatic pressures, military invasions, and eventual conquest and colonization. at the same time, african societies put up various forms of resistance against the attempt to colonize their countries and impose foreign domination. by the early twentieth century, however, much of africa, except ethiopia and liberia, had been colonized by european powers. colonialism developed in the nineteenth century following the collapse of the profitability of the slave trade, its abolition and suppression, as well as the expansion of the european capitalist industrial revolution. apart from the political, economic and social factors that gave rise to the colonization of african states, the introduction of western religion, and the fact that africa is has a rich cultural heritage that can be explored also triggered colonization. colonial rule disrupted the traditional political and social institutions that had developed in africa over centuries. as europeans carved out empires, they destroyed existing kingdoms and split up or combined many ethnic groups. in time, the colonies they created became african nations consisting of diverse groups with little in common with their fellow citizens. furthermore, european powers destroyed much of the political and social control of traditional african chiefs and rulers. they failed, however, to establish lasting replacements for these authorities. finally, european colonialism introduced africans to various aspects of western culture. african schools and universities today are based on european systems of education and religion. because of european colonial contact with the african, our lives have been westernized and african heritage and culture has been displaced. neo-colonia project in africa after the second world war, the imperialist trends of the eighteenth and nineteenth century started fading away. through collective struggles, the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 106 africans gained independence from the europeans. but though they attained freedom, they could not imagine the fact that it was just a treacherous exchange of power between the out-going masters and a few of their faithful heirs. in the colonial period, the european rulers concluded that as the africans had no culture and history of their own, it was their duty to civilize the native africans. they regarded themselves superior to africans whose culture they considered inferior, uncivilized, and savage. in the name of spreading civilization, they dominated, oppressed, tyrannized and persecuted the native africans not only economically and politically, but also culturally. when the europeans eventually left, the africans got political freedom, but the foul practice of imperialism persevered. it rather appeared in a new form branded neo-colonialism which scholars have regarded as the worst form of imperialism. this camouflaged imperialist practice is turning africa into a museum of acute poverty, hunger, corruption, famine and enemies of themselves (shafiqur, rawshan & rashed, 2017, p. 9). shafiqur, rawshan and rashed (2017) reiterates that: the influence of neo-imperialist countries such as ussr and the usa led to the decolonization of africa which began in the 1960s. but the colonial traditions and the dirty games of the former and present imperialist power kept africa within the iron curtain of neo-colonialism (p. 9). neo-colonialism’ was first coined by kwame nkrumah. neo-colonialism represents the final stage of imperialism which was evident in the african continent. neo-colonialism is the worst form of imperialism: for those who practice it, it means power without responsibility, and for those who suffer it, it is exploitation without redress (northrop, 2012). neo-colonialism is a situation when a less developed country is controlled by a developed country. to kwame (1966), “the neo-colonialism of today represents imperialism in its final and perhaps its most dangerous stage” (para. 1). old-fashioned colonialism is by no means entirely abolished. it still constitutes an african problem. the essence of neo-colonialism is that the state which is subject to it is, in theory, independent and has all the outward trappings of international sovereignty. in reality its economic system and thus its political policy is directed from outside. the result of neo-colonialism is that foreign capital is used for the exploitation rather than for the development of the less developed parts of the world. investment under neo-colonialism increases rather than decreases the gap igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 107 between the rich and the poor countries of the world. the struggle against neocolonialism is not aimed at excluding the capital of the developed world from operating in less developed countries. it is aimed at preventing the financial power of the developed countries being used in such a way as to impoverish the less developed. neo-colonialism, like colonialism, is an attempt to export the social conflicts of the capitalist countries. the temporary success of this policy can be seen in the ever widening gap between the richer and the poorer nations of the world. (kwame, 1966) neo-colonialism was originally applied to european policies that were seen as schemes to maintain control of africa and other dependencies. predominantly neo-colonialism can be noticed in economics, although this economic exploitation is cloaked by the political and cultural exploitation. scholars believe that after the second world war, the colonies were acquiring independences politically but the imperialist countries didn’t give those states economic independences, (shafiqur, rawshan & rashed, 2017, p. 10). though african states achieved independence in the 1960s, the former colonial powers are still controlling african countries from home. africans and anti-colonialist scholars said that without economic liberty, political liberty is totally vain. besides, economic unity makes political unity. kwame nkrumah said, ‘‘for economic unity to be effective must be accompanied by political unity. the two are inseparable, each necessary for the future greatness of our continent, and the full development of our resources.” under-development in africa since the end of world war ii, africa has been experiencing a worldwide struggle for the improvement of living conditions in almost all her countries. at the beginning, there was little worry as to the causes of underdevelopment; the newly independent countries such as nigeria, ghana, south africa as well as united nations bodies and industrialized countries tried to promote development by applying measures like the introduction of know-how through the assignment of experts, the expansion of education, the development of infrastructure among others. in the course of time it became obvious that this was more or less a treatment of symptoms instead of causes, and the gap igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 108 gradually widened between the developed and less developed countries of this world. in accessing the reason for underdevelopment in african countries, we consider internal factors in the countries, such as illiteracy, traditional agrarian structure, the traditional attitude of the population, the low division of labour, the lack of communication and infrastructure (frithjof, 1987, p. 2). we also have cases of poor policymaking, corruption, political instability or other domestic failures. however, these “failing” political and institutional structures was heavily influenced and affected by the colonial historical context, the existing inexorable global market economy and its side effects. furthermore, as the colonial rulers had favoured european firms over africans, there was a lack of entrepreneurs, which could have shaped a post-colonial industrialization. further, in the postcolonial cold war era many new absolute rulers were favoured and supported by the either usa or ussr in their attempts to gathers allies, leading to more suppression of entrepreneurs and a middleclass that is crucial for industrialization. the aftermath of slave trade and colonialism in africa the phenomenon of westernization in africa can be traced to an observation made as early as the late nineteenth century by the great african cultural theorist edward wilmot blyden and summed up in the late twentieth century by ali mazrui’s “the triple heritage.” arowolo (2010), in his “the effects of western civilization and culture on africa” mentioned some notable effects of colonialism and slave tradeand even the current neo-colonial movement on african culture and development as follows: firstly, traditional african family values breaking down very rapidly. extended family that was wonderful instrument like a social verve, social security in our community has given way to nuclear family. little wonder that there is no more respect for age; no more respect for values that we held sacrosanct in africa; younger ones now find it very difficult to greet elderly ones actions are carried out by people with no regard to what the cultural and family laws stipulates. to further heighten this breakdown of family unity and composition, we now have children of single parents, a phenomenon that is identifiable with america. people no longer communalize, nobody wants to be anybody’s brother’s keeper. even our building pattern which depicted the african communal way of living igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 109 has been changed. the pre-colonial african nation featured people who built huts and these huts were built in clusters such that one can know what goes on in his neighbour’s compound. but what we have today is people living individualistic lives. they build magnificent mansions away from villages and live alone. also, colonialism led to rural exodus and the displacement of large segments of the population. as africans kept embracing western civilization, there were rural-urban drift which led to the decongestion of the rural area and the overpopulation of the urban centres. as people keep trooping to the cities, many are jobless and others looking for better opportunities. an average african today can soil his hands to survive because the europeans has though granted african countries independence, but the european domination still continues to persist. western civilization has promoted corruption in africa; leaders in africa now look up to europe and america as safe havens for looted funds. it is a consequence of western civilization. furthermore, africa now suffer from level of mental enslavement; cultural imperialism hence, the need for decolonization of the mind. another factor that has led to underdevelopment in africa as a result of slave trade, colonialism and neo-colonialism is that proficiency in african languages has declined because of the unending demands to embrace western language such as english language and french. western language has created a dichotomy between an elite and mass of our people who still cannot do business with foreign language. it causes alienation for people who cannot speak english or french. language is a vehicle of culture and as such most african cultures and heritage has been lost. more so, the impact of religion has also led to africa’s underdevelopment, for this has been the most important single factor in the process of westernization in africa. western education, involving literacy and the mastery of a european language, became the condition for entry into the modern sector. for most of the colonial period, education was in the hands of the christian missions for instance, who sought not only to convert africans but also to inculcate western values. christianity and other western religions challenged traditional belief systems and promoted the diffusion of new ideas and modes of life; in particular, it sought to impose monogamy and the nuclear family as the norm. the cultural alteration provoked by the pressures of colonial rule and missionary in all igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 110 spheres of life are pervasive enough to qualify as the signs of a new cultural coup in africa. this is more noticeable in the area of science and technology on african experience and consciousness. modern medicine has largely taken precedence over traditional methods in matters of health. mr. dare also says that: the trend of cultural westernization of africa has become very pervasive and prevalent, such that western civilization has taken precedence over african values and culture and the latter is regarded as inferior to the former. as with other societies and cultures in the so-called third world, the impact of western colonization on africa has occasioned a discontinuity in forms of life throughout the continent. this has led to a cultural dualism that often presents itself as a real dilemma in concrete, real-life situations. in other words, the african experience of modernity is fraught with tensions at every level of the communal and social settings. the post independence africa is confronted with how to have a true identity, a new culture that is african in nature. (“the effects of western civilization”) but from the perspective of recent cultural expansion of the west, the africans, instead of harping on the guilt of the colonizers, should take positive and confident steps towards a new era by developing self respect and by increasing their productivity. (as cited in shafiqur, rawshan & rashed, 2017, p. 13) all the above elaborated factors which are masterminded by slave trade and african colonization had reduced the growth and developmental strength of africa and africans. to overcome this after effect, africans must learn to take positive stands and determine to work patriotically. there is also the need for peaceful co-existence between african states and african countries must learn to trust and partner with each other. conclusion slave trade, colonialism and neo-colonial movement have over the years from the basic reasons that has left african’s economic, cultural and political growth a disheartening level. these experiences of africa and africans has continued to linger such that even when africa has been declared a sovereign state, the effects igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 111 of slave trade, colonialism and neo-colonialism has persistently roared like a lion on african’s national growth and development. to overcome this age-long threat, african countries must fight to unite and make effective use of their natural resources if they are to overcome underdevelopment and national peace. references ali, a. m. (1969). “european exploration and africa’s self-discovery,” the journal of modern african studies, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 661–666. arowolo, d. (2010). “the effects of western civilization and culture on africa” afro asian journal of social sciences, volume 1, no. 1 quarter iv. eyoh, d. s. (2003). pragmatic neo-‐liberalism and just development in africa. the united nations university press. pp. 1-12. https://ibpunion.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/international-politicaleconomy11.pdf frithjof, k. (1987). causes of underdevelopment and concepts for development: an introduction to development theories. the journal of institute of development. vol. viii, pp. 1-15. http://www2.fiu.edu/~ereserve/0100292801.pdf inikori, j. e. (1992). slavery and the revolution in cotton textile production in england, in j. e. inikori, & s. l. engerman (eds.) the atlantic slave trade, duke university press klein, m. a. (2003). slavery. in j. mokyr (ed.) the oxford encyclopedia of economic history, oxford : oxford university press. kwame, n. (1966). neo-colonialism, the last stage of imperialism. london, usa: international publishers co. inc. margery, p. (1962). the colonial reckoning. in alfred, a. k. new york, p. 127. northrop, d. (2012). a companion to world history. west sussex (uk): willi blackwell. https://www.marxists.org/subject/africa/nkrumah/neocolonialism/intr oduction igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 112 nunn, n. (2008). 'the long-term effects of africa's slave trades'. quarterly journal of economics. vol. 123, no.1 pp. 139-176. nwankwo, t. n. (2013). the aro and the concept of aro-okigbo: facts and falacies of a histrionic igbo hegemony. ikenga international journal of african studies, vol. 15, pp. 1-12. patrick, m. (1990). slavery and african life. cambridge: cambridge university press. paul, e. l. (1983). transformation in slavery: a history of slavery in africa. cambridge: cambridge university press. settles, j. d. (1996). the impact of colonialism on african economic development. university of tennessee honors thesis projects. http://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_chanhonoproj shafiqur, r., rawshan, y., & rashed, m. (2017). the untold history of neocolonialism in africa (1960-2011). history research. vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 916. doi: 10.11648/j.history.20170501.12 thomas, h. (1973). “portugal in africa: a noneconomic interpretation,” african studies review, vol. xvi, no. 3, p. 406. thomas, w. (n.d). slavery’s legacy and intra-african trade flows. the student economic review. vol. xxxi. pp. 17-24. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 6.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 1 critical analysis of political globalism and its impact on african nations onebunne jude ifeanyichukwu federal college of education (technical), umunze anambra state juno.anyi@gmail.com abstract political globalism is a concept that affects all nations of the world. for centuries, globalization has progressively knitted together the world and created unity out of great diversity. political globalism can be said to be the integration of different countries of the world into one political global order which is meant to benefit members of the entire society but, political globalism has not gone down well for most african countries especially developing african countries as it has disintegrated what they used to have. this research therefore gives a clear meaning of political globalism in africa, enunciates its importance and otherwise and discusses its effect on african political growth using the critical analysis method. this research work will also make possible suggestions on how africans can manage political globalism such that will not be detrimental to african, culture, values, integration, unity, growth and development. keywords: globalism, africa, politics, xenophobia, growth, development introduction globalism is a vast concept that cuts across all aspects of human existence. it is not restricted to a particular country but affects the entire world either positively or negatively. for centuries, globalization has progressively knitted together the world and created unity out of great diversity. according to brittan (1998), globalisation is viewed “as a whirlwind of relentless and disruptive change which leaves governments helpless and leaves a trail of economic, social, cultural and environmental problems in its wake.”(p. 2). from obscure origins in french and american writings in the 1960s, the concept of globalization finds expression today in all of the worlds’ major languages. yet, it lacks precise definition. indeed, globalization is in danger of becoming the cliché of our times (david, mcgrew, goldblatt and perraton, 1999:1).the phenomenon of globalization has indeed captured the centre stage of international relations in the post cold war world. indeed, globalization mirrors igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 2 cooperative as well as conflicting trends across states and civil societies between multiple ranges of actors, at varying levels, which shape contours of international relations. understanding the trajectories of interactions between these multiple actors including nation states, international/regional organizations, transnational firms and banks, multinational terrorist organizations and international social movements etc; under globalization, is incontestably, a daunting task. for, perceptions and perspectives on the complex themes underlying globalization tend to vary according to diverse schools of thought in international relations as well as the spatial locations of scholars (harshe, 2004:9). since the last decade, globalization in its accelerated form has been setting the pace as well as the logic of international relations. nevertheless, being a constantly evolving and an ongoing process, the term “globalization”, continues to escape definition clarity. broadly, however, it is deployed to describe an ongoing movement towards conceiving the world as a single unit and building the consciousness of the people towards the world as a whole (sadeeque et al 2015 citing robertson, 1992 as cited in harshe, op.cit, p. 15). intriligator (2003) posits that globalization is a powerful real aspect of the new world system, and it represents one of the most influential forces in determining the future course of the planet. it has manifold dimensions: economic, political, security, environmental, health, social, cultural, and others. globalization has had significant impacts on all economies of the world, with manifold effects. it affects their production of goods and services. it also affects the employment of labour and other inputs into the production process. in addition, it affects investment, both in physical capital and in human capital. it affects technology and results in the diffusion of technology from initiating nations to other nations. it also has major effects on efficiency, productivity and competitiveness (p:1; 7). with all that has happened, one can say that globalization has become an emerging reality. according to ademola (1998:107), globalization refers to the increased integration across countries of markets for goods, services and capital. it implies in turn accelerated expansion of economic activities globally and sharp increases in the movement of tangible and intangible goods across national and regional boundaries. with that movement, individual countries are becoming more closely integrated into the global economy. their trade linkages and investment flow grow more complex, and cross border financial movements are more volatile. more importantly, globalization has been created, and continues to be maintained by liberation of economic-policies in several key areas. it is clear igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 3 today that people and nation states can no longer think only in terms of individual states and actions, but, a component of global order. mahathir (2002) defines globalization as, a word that seems to describe the coming together of all the countries of the globe into one entity. it was conceived by the rich countries, apparently in response to technological advances and the speed and ease of travelling (p.13). globalization can be said to be the integration of different countries of the world into one global order. with the advent of science and technology, there is an equitable distribution of information of events happening around the globe. this is because people can now communicate, make transactions and meet people in all parts of the world. globalization as a concept is all encompassing. it is not only restricted to the economic point of view but also encompasses the political, cultural, religious and other activities of humans. the awake magazine of september 8, 1999, strengthens the above assertion when it posits that; globalization is more than the flow of money and commodities. it is the growing interdependence of world people and activities through shrinking space, time and disappearing borders. globalization creates a global village based on shared values. technology and market integration processes have dominated the world economic system. the world has become a global village as we now see shared values, religions, and even cultures and ideas. the ideological viewpoints of humans are sharpened by the interrelationships that are now domiciled with humans irrespective of their religious, political, economic or cultural groups. for murad (2002), globalization exists majorly between developed and developing countries and in most cases, the developed country dominates the developing country’s economy, religion, politics and even culture. this is not colonization or imperialism as globalism tends to be subtle and less harmful than the other concepts. globalization is commonly understood to be a process of change, which comes in many forms. it has a number of direct effects on the economical, political, cultural, religious, social, demographic, environmental and military spheres. understanding these aspects of globalization is very crucial and important, because the interaction among them can be constructive or destructive. in recent experiences of some developing countries, globalization can trigger security problems, (p. 1). this can be necessitated by the unnecessary intervention of these developed countries at every slightest security challenge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 4 sadeeque et al (2015) assert that globalization is not only an opportunity, but, a possibility for underdeveloped nations like nigeria to shake off the burden and constrain of development by harnessing and utilizing the abundant mineral and human resources in building a pique self reliance economy (p.2). it is also an opportunity that will enhance the political growth of nations as they get to partner and learn the political workings of other countries and improve where and when necessary. political globalism is a national policy of treating the whole world as a proper sphere for political influence. african countries have at one point in time or the other been dominated by british or european countries. before independence, nigeria’s political government was controlled by the british government who made laws that the nigerian citizens adopted. these influences always happen between developed and developing nations especially countries that feel that they need the assistance of the developed country to run their political affairs. sadeeque et al (2015) have also seen globalization as a trend that impacts everyone more and more each day. for centuries, globalization has progressively knitted together the world and created unity out of great diversity (p. 1). this research work takes a cursory look at political globalism and its implication for africa with particular reference to nigeria. globalism in africa globalism has been a thing of concern for scholars over the years in africa. while some argue that it has had a tremendous positive effect, others oppose it by seeing it as a concept that has done more harm than good in the african nation. from sadeeque et al (2015), as trade between far-flung parts of the world produced a global integrated economy, so also ideas, innovation, technology, culture and political philosophy were exported as easily as raw materials. globalization is an emerging reality (p. 1). it is a reality that cannot be done away with. it is a reality that has come to stay in africa. in the 1990s `globalization' has become a particularly fashionable way to analyze changes in the international economy and in the world politics. advances in technology and modern communications are said to have unleashed new contacts and intercourse among peoples, social movements, transnational corporations, and governments. the result is a set of processes which have affected national and international politics in an extraordinary way (sadeeque at al 2015, pp. 189-190 citing ngaire, 2000). sadeeque at al (2015) further argue that the concept of globalization has attracted igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 5 debates among scholars in both developed and underdeveloped countries. while proponents argue in favour of globalization, opponents see globalization as another re-colonization of the weaker economies by the stronger nations. globalization is the movement and integration of the world economies into one entity, by breaking down barriers to free movement of goods, services and capital (p.3). from the economic perspective, garcia (1998) gives a classical definition of globalization as: changes in the way production is organized as required by the general dismantling of trade barriers and the free mobility of financial and productive capital, in the context of accelerated technology change…technological development in the sphere of information and electronic services has been a catalyst for speeding the process, bringing about global production distribution and consumption (p.:96). from this assertion, globalism in africa can be said to be viewed as a link through which goods and services are disseminated from one country to another. globalism was also felt in africa politically. as globalisation gripped africa, there was a rise in democracy through multiparty elections in countries like kenya, ghana and south africa. finally people had the power to elect the people they wanted through the ballot without fear of reprisals. other countries moved from military dictatorships to civilian rule like nigeria. sudan had a referendum to decide its destiny and the vote was final-south sudan was born. political leadership according to chambers dictionary (1993), political leadership can be seen as a system where there are democratically elected representatives who are vulnerable to de-selection and operate within, as well as influence a constitutional and legal framework. their source of authority is a mandate: ‘permission to govern according to declared policies, regarded as officially granted by an electorate . . . upon the decisive outcome of an election.’ “it is not wise to expect much of political leadership, especially in a democracy”(firlie, 1968: 58). statements like this abound in contemporary literature on political leadership. however, nowadays, a crisis of confidence seems to emerge between citizens and politicians as people do not just vote for anybody but for who they feel can protect their interest. the particular leadership pacing political systems in africa can give to us an interesting point of view to understand this phenomenon. to this effect, it becomes paramount for all citizens to understand what define them vis-à-vis their roles in the country they find themselves. the kind of power citizens have in their hands should also igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 6 give them the chance to determine the positions of their representatives. it is also necessary to understand the roles of politicians elected as representatives and more significantly, to understand the necessity for all of us to have a critical look at what the core components of our societies are. leaders are the objects of intense admiration in our society, due to their ability to shape the world surrounding them, and their natural capacity to lead and to have malleable followers. leadership can only be achieved through responsibility and commitment, as “politics… without belief is impossible” (mayer, 1950; cit. gane, 1997 p. 549-564). the brothers karamazov from fyodor dostoevsky put forward one explanation as to why leadership is so important: “there are three powers, only three powers on earth, capable of conquering and holding captive forever the conscience of these feeble rebels, for their own happiness –these powers are miracle, mystery, and authority”. the possibility to provide all three at the same time is only achievable by those able to grasp the immense complexity of the art of leadership. political leadership can be put simply as the power given to an individual to manage power. it is the ability to exercise power over people or things. weber (1994) focuses his findings on plato’s fundamental question of ‘who should rule’, therefore examining the qualities and abilities of the ideal leader. leadership occupies a central place on the author’s rationale, being fundamental for understanding politics. again the theme of power is what drove weber’s attention, particularly as it is derived from the ‘monopoly of legitimate physical violence’ allowed in modern states. therefore, as weber claims, “anyone engaged in politics is striving for power, either power as a means to attain other goals (which may be ideals or selfish in nature), or power for its own sake, which is to say, in order to enjoy the feeling of prestige given by power” (pp. 310-311). african political conflicts according to appadorai (2004), man as intoned by socrates is a social animal. this implies that the gregarious nature of man abhors in all ramifications the idea of isolated life. therefore, man has to live in a politically organised enclave that is guided by laws. this is imperative because of the insatiability and seemingly selfish nature of man. to begin with, when we observe the life of men igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 7 around us, we cannot fail to be struck by two facts: as a rule, every man desires to have their own way, to think and act as they like; and at the same time, everyone cannot have his own way, because he lives in society, where one man’s desires conflict with those of another. the relations of the individual members of society with one another, therefore, need regulation by government (p.3). in trying to regulate the activities of human beings, a government is formed. this government consist of a body of persons that make decisions relating to the necessity and the essence of rules and regulations guiding our public life. what constitutes the body, the procedures and processes by which the laws are formulated agitated the minds of the political philosophers, whether by the assemblies of the elders (gerontocracy), the committee of the wealthy (plutocracy), the nobles (aristocracy), the experts (technocracy), and the general populace (democracy). this last form of political arrangement appears to be the best form of government (okonkwo, c. and felix, n. (2016) citing okonkwo, 2015 in p. 91). africa can be said to be a continent faced with several political imbalances. at every point in time in african countries, there is always a case of political conflicts between one ethnic group and the other or between one political party and the other. nigeria for instance has from time immemorial, battled with political instabilities and enthronement and dethronement. it has been a battle between the civilian and the military government. democratic forms of governance were generally few and short-lived through the decolonialization and cold war periods; most african regimes were autocratic and well over half of african regimes were ruled by ethnically-exclusive political elites. we encounter political conflicts at various levels in africa. from intra-party to interparty conflict, ethnic clashes, religious political clashes and lots more. intra-party conflict is the tussles and wrangling within a political party that are inimical to normal nomination and/or election of party flag bearers. it is a conflict that exists between members of the same party either in their clamour for positions or in trying to make their opinions count. inter-party conflict exists between different political parties. to stress further, okoli (2001) enumerated factors that are responsible for intra-party opposition as follows: personality difference, clash of socio-economic interests, ideological incompatibility (p. 3). to further buttress this, afegbua (2014) asserts that: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 8 conflicts are common and unavoidable in all human society. all over the world, conflicts occur because society is made up of people with differing interests and values. in most societies, conflicts occur when parties in a state of independence perceives divergent views or believe that their aspirations or goals cannot be achieved simultaneously. therefore, it is only natural that where there is inequality in access to the control of natural resources and political power for instance, there would be discontent, opposition and controversy (p. 1). since nigeria assumed the status of independence, the political parties have been challenged by many conflicts of different dimensions. this as a matter of fact culminated in political instability in the countries. political ideology is like a superstructure upon which every other thing is built on. it consolidates political party and precedes party structure, organisation and manifesto but when there is a clash of interest, it leads to political conflict. diversified political ideologies have been one of the major causes of political instability in africa. african political xenophobia hågensen, l. (2014) asserts that fear of the unknown is something one can witness all over the world, and as the movement of people has accelerated with new technologies of transport and communication so has the fear of strangers. this fear of strangers is what we call xenophobia. it derives from two greek words: xénos and phóbos, meaning ‘stranger’ or ‘guest’ and ‘fear’, respectively. consequently xenophobia means fear of the guest or the stranger, though today it has the stronger meaning of hatred of strangers. (p.1). it is not just an african issue alone, just like globalization, every society at one point in time or the other feel insecure with the inflow of immigrants or visitor who will come to fight over human and natural resources with them. the causes of xenophobia in most african countries particularly south africa can be discussed in three perspectives. the first is the socio-cultural reason. here we find social identity theory, which focuses on a person’s self-image; this derives from the social group(s) that the individual believes himself/herself to belong to (tajfel & turner 1979:40). as most individuals want to maintain or even enhance their self-image, it is important that the membership’ of their group is perceived as something positive. in turn this leads to a need to reject and even express igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 9 hostility towards the out-group. when this translates into nationalism it becomes a way of promoting one’s status as a citizen; this therefore also rejects the foreigner. when a country is going through a political transition, as south africa has been doing for the last 20 years, nationalism can take the form of hostility towards foreigners and this provides an explanation for xenophobia (mummendey, klink & brown 2001:159-160). the issues of inherited culture can also be linked to this socio-cultural cause of xenophobia. the second reason can be structural reasons. at this level, we have the relative deprivation theory, the theory of ethnic violence and the group threat theory. relative deprivation theory suggests that social unrest comes from the perception that one gets less than one is entitled to (hågensen, l. 2014 citing harris 2002). this can create xenophobic attitudes and practices if the reason for this deficit is believed to be foreigners. it is seen as a zero-sum game where foreigners that have jobs are blamed for unemployment among south africans (du toit & kotzé 2011: 163). in other words the foreigners become ‘frustration scapegoats’ and this is why xenophobia occurs (harris 2002). the theory of ethnic violence by horowitz (2001), states that external contextual causes in addition to immediate locality-bound causes must be taken into account when looking at violent outbursts. this theory also gives a step-by-step description of how violent ethnic event will unfold (du toit & kotzé 2011:160-161). it points to causes that were present in south africa prior to major xenophobic events, and therefore explains what caused these events to take place, thus providing an explanation for xenophobia in the country. group threat theory suggests that inter-group hostility is largely a reaction to perceived threats from subordinate group(s). if the dominant group finds that its position vis-à-vis the minority group is in jeopardy and fears that it might lose its advantaged social position, hostility can arise (king 2007: 1225). lastly, xenophobia can be as a result of institutional mismanagement. this consists of the roles of the state. attitudes and statements from state representatives where they deny xenophobia, or lay blame for crime on foreigners, could generate xenophobia (bekker 2010:126). there is also the belief that the government is not doing enough to solve the ‘problem’ of immigrants (landau 2011: 13). one can also look at the policies that affect migration into the country. there is a big gap between policy and practice in african countries particularly in south africa, and this also worsens the xenophobic phenomenon (bekker 2010: 141). furthermore misago (2011) argues that a key trigger for igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 10 violence against foreign nationals and outsiders in specific locations is localised competition for political and economic power. this competition has kept africa where it is today. no one wants to serve, everybody wants to be a leader so as to get intoxicated by power. effects of globalism in africa political globalism in africa has both negative and positive implications. according to akindele et al (2005), africans received globalization naturally with hope. flows of capital in developing countries would grow promisingly: they were multiplied by six, in six years (from 1990 to 1996). people thought that all men and all countries – would benefit from globalization, which was supposed to help developing countries “create better economic environments’, jump into the information age, accelerate development and enhance global harmony. but this believe did not go down completely well for africans. the reality, today, is that the globalization of information and communication technology through the use of the internet and satellite images have narrowed and constrained states from taking political actions especially against their citizens without global condemnation or support. for example, the april 14-15 2014 kidnapping of chibok girls and the reluctance of the former president goodluck ebele jonathan administration to take action, gave birth to global condemnation and the ‘bringbackourgirls movement’ in nigeria and across the globe, forcing the government to accept responsibility and promise to take action in rescuing the girls. such is the powers and interconnectivity of the globe today, thereby eroding political sovereignty (sadeeque et al, 2015. p.3). as a result of globalization, most african countries cannot comfortably take decision decisions without the globe being either fully or partially aware or involved in it. the breakthrough in information technology has broken down barriers and enhanced the world interaction by collapsing it into what we now refer to as the global village. thereby, presenting african countries and their political governments unclothed. today, information spreads like wild fire disseminating both true and false stories. also, globalism has helped positively to bring the world together. politically, leaders in different countries hold meetings and conferences which are meant to benefit their citizens and during the course of such meetings and conferences, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 11 innovations which are meant to boost the political, social and economic life of the general public are introduced. conclusion according to sadeeque et al, (2015), “the world economic and political arrangement is a single social community. this social community is a mix of wealth and poverty, progress and despair, exploitation and assistance, dependence and interdependence. for sure, some countries are rich and some others are rather poor. the rich countries have certain common characteristics. they are economically prosperous, politically stable, socially harmonious and technologically sophisticated. given the link between politics and economics, the rich countries are very competitive in international trade and exchange relations, while in contrast, poor countries are in the majority, and are characteristically backward in economics, unstable in politics, socially disharmonious and technologically dependent” (p.3). for the poor countries of africa, globalization has changed the pattern of international economic relations. the new pattern is to promote growth in the motive force for globalize economic system. it has been argued by both proponents and antagonists of the global drives for globalization, that the new doctrine is facilitating a lot of crises and conflicts in the world. this has made many scholars and leaders alike to argue that globalization has not only created more crises but has also complimented in deepening inequality and underdevelopment (sadeeque et al, 2015, p. 4). this clearly shows the need for complementality of countries to help build the political, economical, sociological power of other countries especially the developing countries. political globalism needs to be embraced to be in the growth of other smaller countries but this should not be an opportunity to exploit them. undoubtedly, globalization has created more problems than solving the existing ones. therefore, the challenge before countries like nigeria is on how to re-position the economy through diversification and building the capacity of her citizens to visualize, theorize, innovate and develop the critical skills and spirit for national growth and development igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 12 recommendations i recommend the following: 1. african countries should build policy thrust to protect and enhance her industrial growth and development especially in harnessing and utilizing the huge human demography at her disposal. 2. there should be a creative utilization of the human and natural resources as there is a general believe that, creative utilization of the human being is the engine of growth and development. this will in turn liberate them from being parasites and thorns on the skins of other countries. what make growth and development happen in any society, is the ability of individuals and groups to imagine, theorize, conceptualize, experiment, invent, articulate and manage problems and do hundred things with their minds and hands that contribute to the progress of the individual and the society in general ( sadeeque et al 2015 citing harrison: 1985). 3. most people today in africa aspire to higher standard of living, longer lives and fewer health problems, education for themselves and their children that will increase their earning capacity and leave them more in control of their lives (sadeeque et al, 2015, p. 5). this opportunity should be created by the government of african countries. 4. developed countries should be made to play only advisory and supportive roles and not to impose orders on the developing countries. 5. political decisions should be based on consensus and the interest of the general public should be taken into consideration when the government make policies. references ademola, o. (1998) as cited in akpuru-aja, a (2001): selected themes in international economic relations: understanding trends of globalization & regionalization. enugu, rhycee kerex publishers. afegbua, i. (2014). conflicts and political instability in nigeria: causes, concequences and prospects. viewed http://chrisdonasco.blogspot.com.ng/2014/12/conflicts-and-politicalinstability-in.html. accessed 17 august, 2017 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 13 akindele, s. t. et al (2002). “globalisation, its implications and consequences for africa”. in. http://globalization.icaap.org/content/v2.1/ 01_akindele_etal.html. accessed 19 august, 2017. aluko, s (2007). reforming nigeria: which model? the economic dimension: being a paper presented at the 2nd trust annual dialogue, organized by media trust, abuja. appadorai, a. (2004). the substance of politics, new delhi india: oxford university press. bekker, s. 2010.‘ explaining violence against foreigners and strangers in urban south africa: outburst during may and june 2008’, in yusuf, a.a. (ed.). the african yearbook of international law. leiden: brill publishers: 125149. brittan, l. (1998). globalisation vs sovereignty? the european response.the 1997 rede lecture and related speeches. cambridge: cambridge university press. du toit, p. & kotzé, h. (2011) .liberal democracy and peace in south africa. new york:palgrave macmillan. gane, n. (1997). “weber on the ethical irrationality of political leadership”. sociology 31(3): 549-564. hågensen, l. (2014).understanding the causes and the nature of xenophobia in south africa: a case study of de doorns. stellenbosch university http://scholar.sun.ac.za. accessed 19th august, 2017. harshe, rajen (ed) (2004). interpreting globalization: perspectives in international relations, new delhi:rawat publications. harris, b. (2002). ‘xenophobia: a new pathology for a new south africa?’, in hook,d. & eagle, g. (eds.). psychopathology and social prejudice. cape town: university of cape town press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 14 horowitz, d. (2001). the deadly ethnic riot. berkeley and los angeles: university of california press. intriligator, m.d (2003). “globalization of the world economy: potential benefits and costs and a net assessment”, policy brief, no 33, january, milken institute: university of california, los angeles. king, r. d. (2007). ‘group threat and social control: race, perceptions of minorities and the desire to punish’. social forces. landau, l.b. (ed.) 2011. ‘introducing the demons’, in landau, l.b. (ed.). exorcising the demons within: xenophobia, violence and statecraft in contemporary south africa. johannesburg: wits university press. mahathir, m (2002). globalization and the new realities. putrajaya: pelanduk publication. mayer, j. (1950). max weber and german politics: a study in political sociology. london: faber and faber. misago, j. (2011). ‘disorder in a changing society: authority and the micropolitics of violence’, in landau, l.b. (ed.). exorcising the demons within: xenophobia, violence and statecraft in contemporary south africa.johannesburg: wits university press. mummendey, a., klink, a. & brown, r. (2001). ‘nationalism and patriotism: national identification and outgroup rejection’. british journal of social psychology, pp. 159-172 ngaire, w (2000). “the political economy of globalization”. in ngaire, w (ed). the political economy of globalization. basingstoke: macmillan. okoli, a. c. (2001). “the political economy intra-party opposition in anambra state (1999-2001)”. b.sc. project submitted to the department of political science, nnamdi azikwe university, awka . okonkwo, c. and felix, n. (2016). intra-party conflict and prospects of democratic consolidation in nigeria. iosr journal of humanities and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 15 social science (iosr-jhss) volume 21, issue 5, ver. 3 (may. 2016). www.iosrjournals.org. accessed 15th august, 2017. sadeeque a, suleiman b, and bukhari b, (2015). globalization and nigeria’s quest for self-reliance and political sovereignty: changing the narratives. international journal of humanities and social science invention issn (online): 2319 – 7722, issn (print): 2319 – 7714 www.ijhssi.org. accessed 15th august, 2017. schwarz , c. (ed) (1993), chambers dictionary, edinburgh: chambers harrap, tajfel, h. & turner, j. c. (1979). ‘an integrative theory of intergroup conflict.’ in austin, w.g., and worchel s. (eds.). the social psycology of intergroup relations monterey. ca: brooks/cole. weber, max (1994). “the profession and vocation of politics”. in lassman, p. & speirs,r. (eds.) weber-political writings. new york: cambridge university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 126 the effects of godly parenting by eunice and lois on timothy in 2 timothy 1: lessons for youth upbringing in nigerian church-hill amadi-nche, phd crowther graduate theological seminary abeokuta, ogun state camadinche@gmail.com abstract nigeria society is confronted with multiplicity of challenges. topical issues that draw attention include weak leadership potentials, insecurity, corruption and lack of accountability by most public office holders. other disturbing issues in the nigerian society are immoral activities such as cultism, sexual abuse, cyber-crime, indecent dressing, kidnapping, drug abuse, drug trafficking, armed robbery and examination malpractices engaged by most nigerian youth within and outside the nation. who is to be held responsible? the government, parent, youth or society? how can this societal menace perpetuated by most youth in recent times be abated? what are the effects of godly parenting in relation to the upbringing of youth in the nigerian society? it is within this context that this paper examines the effects of godly parenting by eunice and lois on timothy in 2 timothy 1:5 and seeks to draw lessons for youth upbringing in the nigerian society. the paper employs the socio-historical and descriptive methods, and argues that while the school, church, extended family and society are avenues for socialization, the proper upbringing of the youth lies solely on godly parenting in the family. the paper maintains that although it is the task of government at various levels to provide basic amenities and protect the lives and properties of their citizens, in addition to creating an enabling environment for the citizens, however, the upbringing of youth to abate societal vices lies primarily on parents. the paper recommends that rather than abandoning children in the hands of house helps and day care centres, parents should properly train their children and also be good examples to them in all spheres. keywords: eunice and lois, godly parenting, nigerian society, societal menace, youth upbringing introduction there is no human society that is deprived of youth. the youth represent a very important part in every human society. the presence of the youth assures continuity of human beings and enables transmission of moral values, etiquette igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 127 and ethos in the society. nevertheless, recent happenings in the nigerian society and the international domain characterized by distasteful attitudes and activities by the youth such as cultism, sexual abuse, cyber-crime, indecent dressing, drug abuse, drug trafficking, armed robbery, examination malpractices, internet fraud, theft, kidnapping, militancy and other related activities with its adverse consequences on the youth and nation, suggests a decline in the numbers of youth in the society, in the near future. this is so stated because when youth who perpetuate this monstrous acts are caught up with by constituted law enforcement agencies within and outside the shores of the nigerian spheres, and are consequently arraigned and tried in the court of competent jurisdiction, and thereafter are adjudged guilty, some of the penalties for their offences are either life imprisonment, imprisonment within certain period oftentimes ten to fifteen years, with hard labour or even death sentences depending on the nature of the crime, thereby reducing the population in the society. who is to be held accountable for this regression in the activities of youths which definitely will not enable them to be leaders of tomorrow as acclaimed by s.o abogurin? how can this societal menace carried out by most youths in recent times be halted? besides, what are the effects of godly parenting in relation to the upbringing of youths in the nigerian society? it is within this context that this paper examines the effects of godly parenting by eunice and lois on timothy in 2 timothy 1:5 and seeks to draw lessons for youth upbringing in the nigerian society. meaning of youth the term youth is difficult to define. longman dictionary of contemporary english defines a youth as “one who is young”. it is especially the phase “before a child becomes an adult”. this may mean a period between age fifteen and twenty-five years, and it also includes young adults from twenty-five to thirty years (della summers 1920). the united nations organization (uno) defines youth as those persons who fall between the ages of 15 and 24 years. danfulani dayilim and ayo atowoju remark that the specific age range that constitutes youth varies from one culture or society to the other. moreover, the western definition does not align with non-western definition. they maintain that in the traditional african societies, youth includes younger ages up to 35. in the nigerian context, the term youth may include young people whose age fall between 15 and 35 years (1-2). the youthful stage is a period when critical decisions that will affect the entire personality of a human being are made. it is the time of opportunities, demands, and foundation for future strength, aspiration, ambitions and character. pope john paul 11, according to dorothy ezeh asserts that “youth is the age of hope, of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 128 promise, of enthusiasm, of plans and ideal” (309). it could also be an age of regrets. youth are depositories of talents, potentials, skills and strength for society’s sustainability, development, productivity and posterity. dayilim and atowoju state that “enthusiasm, energy and physical strength are significant qualities of youth; however, for these natural endowments to be harnessed, they must be steered in the right course” (6). the importance of the family the greek word oikos when translated in english ensues as family or household (w.e. vine 225). the family is the basic social unit in the society. it is the centre for the transmission of basic cultural norms and societal values held by a given people from one generation to another. ekeopara asserts that, “the family is one of the strongest socio-political institution from which all public life emerged. life began and ended in the family” (43). while haralambos and heald assert that the family is the cornerstone of the society (325), amamkpa writes that: it is in the family that the foundation of national life is laid. it is in the family that the seeds of love, self-denial, truth, courtesy, honesty, self-help and cooperation are sown. if the seeds are germinated in the home, transplanted in the school, and trimmed in the church, the state will expect good fruit (45). the importance of the family to the society made secular ethicists of the grecoroman society to consider the stability of the city-state as solely dependent upon the responsible management of the household. the family bears the burden of nurturing and imparting right virtues and morals into the children. youth upbringing in jewish culture the jewish culture had an incessant awful view on women. women were never viewed as persons but mere things. the men dominated all spheres of human endeavours, since the jewish society was highly patriarchal, and the position of man was apparently and totally over that of the woman in many inscribed writings. in the jewish culture, the position or status of women and daughters was dreadfully low and belittling. women and daughters were subordinated in the societal, marital, religious and educational circles. they were completely at the disposal of their fathers, husbands or brothers who decide their fate. the process of bringing up children and youth in the jewish society lies principally on the mothers. although at the end of the training, the glory and eulogy was oftentimes given to the father. amolo remarks that although to the jews, the responsibility of the mother was to teach a child, the father had the revered responsibility of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 129 teaching the religious truth to his son and giving him overall education. she adds that at the age of five, reading of the torah (deut. 6:5-6) was introduced to the children, while at the age of ten, knowledge in the mishnah was initiated. the process of teaching continues to the age of thirteen, which saw to the learning of the commandments, and at fifteen, the children were exposed to the reading of the talmud. marriage for the jewish son was initiated at the age of eighteen, while pursuit of trade or commercial activities was established at the age of twenty. at thirty, the youth was fully grown and at forty they were seen to be matured in reasoning and taking other responsibilities. by fifty years of age, they could be consulted for counsel while at the age of sixty, agedness begins. in addition, the age of seventy brought about grey age; at eighty advanced old age; at ninety, bowed down; at hundred, as if he were dead and gone and taken from the world (242). consequently, timothy was born in lystra of a greek father and a jewish mother (acts 16:1-3), who brought him up in the strictest jewish belief and under whose teaching he learned the holy writings from childhood (2 timothy 3:14-15). timothy was brought up by his mother eunice and grandmother lois. amolo asserts that lois, being a jew and later converted to christianity became a model of faith that enabled timothy to grow in the way of god, that even led to timothy becoming a formidable force in the early church, thus, “impacting hundreds or even thousands of lives with the gospel of truth” (245). the dedication and impact of lois and eunice on timothy as a youth, resulted to him becoming a voice and personality to reckon with, in that timothy ended up as the first prelate of the church in ephesus. vos writing in relation to paul and timothy submits that timothy joined paul at lystra on his second missionary journey (acts 16:1), and remained with him to accomplish the evangelization of ephesus. subsequently, he was with paul in rome during his first imprisonment in the capital (col. 1:1; phil. 1). as paul’s true child in the faith of christ (1 tim. 1:3), timothy was then positioned at ephesus to meet some of the pressing needs of the church (1 tim. 1:3). at the end of his ministerial assignment in ephesus, he joined paul in rome during his second incarceration; in which he also suffered (328). apparently, it is a child that has under-gone godly parenting in the family, that will be able to accept the rigours of ministerial activities. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 130 youth upbringing in the african traditional society the upbringing of youth in the african traditional society is practically the same with the upbringing of youth in the jewish society which is patriarchal in nature. amolo asserts that in the african traditional society “children were under the authority of their parents whose responsibility it was to give them necessary education, through strict obedience that was often enforced by physical punishment. therefore, any child who did an honourable deed was a source of blessing and joy to his parents,’ while a child who was a failure was a source of disgrace and agony to his parents” (246-247). in the traditional parenting of children which falls under informal education, the task to teach children the correct manner and societal accepted ethics depends to a large extend on the women. as educators, women educate their young ones in the richness and diversity of the community cultures, customs, traditions, moral and general etiquette of the society. children, when very young, remained with their mothers, who took after both boys and girls until they reach a given age. in other to actualize the purpose of bringing up morally sound children, strict rules to be complied with on how to dress, speak, eat, walk and sit especially for the girls were made (okoro, 27). women teach their children the basic necessities in the society through the mediums of proverbs, stories and songs. the songs, proverbs, stories and adages taught to the children by their mothers contain simple, but clear messages and moral teaching. the stories and songs were composed to instil in the children, societal customs. moreover, children through the traditional education of their mothers were taught the importance of chastity, uprightness, kindness, love of one’s neighbour, respect for life, moderation, solidarity, respect for the truth and willingness to work and strive, respect for authority, sense of goodness, tolerance, sense of honesty and humility (okoro 28). w.o. wotogbe-weneka consenting to this view asserts that to ensure that the training of young ones is achieved, children are sent to live in the homes of elderly women, relations/friends who are well known for their impeachable character and integrity for months, and sometimes years for mentorship. the purpose of this act is to inculcate the moral integrity of such personalities on the young ones. women teach their progenies the importance of perseverance in pursuing a positive course. this they recount through song to their children that nothing good comes easily, but through handwork; determination and perseverance, a positive goal can be achieved. moreover, women through traditional education enlighten their ward on the value for life, respect for constituted authority, and importance of honesty, humility and integrity. women engage their female children in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 131 assignment like cooking, house upkeep, and caring for the young ones. this is to prepare them for marriage. the females as well as the males are taught the importance of chastity and maintenance of their virginity. when a progeny does anything good, such a person receives commendation(s) from the parent, but when the reverse is the case, such a person is blamed and condemned. through this process, the offspring are taught to refrain from acts that are capable of attracting condemnation(s) to them. apart from being acquainted with the traditional customs and moral values, women in the traditional society also teach their children, especially the girls vocational skills like weaving, farming, cooking and knitting, while the male was taught vocational skills like construction of local farming implement. the traditional education of children by the women enabled the children to participate actively in family and community affairs. it also enabled the children to appreciate and promote the cultural heritage of their community. though women are vested with such enormous obligation(s), when accomplished and the children are grown and well behaved, it is disheartening that the men rather than the women are often eulogized. if the reverse becomes the case, whereby the progenies are not properly behaved, the women rather than the men are blamed. the effects of poor upbringing of youth in the nigerian society the effects of poor upbringing of youths in the nigerian society are grave. the present day nigerian society is burdened with varieties of anti-social and antihuman activities masterminded by youths in the area. worthy of note is the fact that the six geo-political zones in nigeria which are; the north-central, northeast, north-west, south-west, south-east and south-south are characterized by one or more of the unpleasant activities enumerated above, and this reveals the societal perception and conception of people living in such zones. for instance, in the south-south and south-east zones, due to the availability of crude oil and multi-national oil companies’ and other endowed natural resources; militancy, kidnapping/hostage taking, armed robbery, illegal refining of crude oil, prostitution, human trafficking, drug smuggling and cult related activities, are on the high side, while in the south-west kidnapping, killing for ritual purposes, prostitution, human trafficking, internet fraud (also known as yahoo yahoo), rape, drug abuse and armed robbery are predominant. on the other hand, in the northcentral, north-east and north-west regions, boko haram insurgency, fulani herdsmen attack, ethno-religious crisis, armed banditry, rape and illicit drug marketing are prevalent. with the increase in this anti-social and humane menace in the society, there is a relapse in the numbers of youths, in the society, due to a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 132 clamp down on the youth by security agencies such as the nigerian police force, nigerian securities and civil defence corps, nigerian immigration, nigerian army and navy. in all this, what can be done to halt these heinous crimes in the nigeria society is the task of the next section. the section considers what parents, government and the church could do to curtail societal menace in the nigerian society. parental attitude the present situation in the nigeria society, which has negatively affected the country, calls for serious concern by nigerian parents. most nigerian parent needs to change their attitude of being absent from home, which results in their inability to perform their divine responsibility to train their children in the way of the lord (prov. 22:6; 29:15-17, deut. 5:6-8). udofia corroborating this fact asserts that “being absent from home or harsh parental attitude should give way to assurance, encouragement and supportive spirit by the parent. in addition, interest, intimacy and regular counselling, should be parent’s daily routine duties towards their children” (79). when parent spend quality time with their children, they are better informed of the activities and conducts of their children; thus, commendation or rebuke could be administered where necessary. similarly, when parents spend time with their children, proper sex education especially among the females are comprehended and wrong sex education from newspaper and magazines written by people of doubtful character which may be accessible to the youth are corrected. emphasis on teaching the task to teach children the correct manner and societal accepted ethics depends to a large extend on the parents. as teachers, nigerian parents are to educate their children in the richness and diversity of the cultures, customs, traditions, moral and general etiquette of the society. strict rules ought to be introduced in the family, which is aimed at developing the entire personality of the youth. in the good old days of the african traditional society as posited previously, children were usually sent to live in the homes of elderly parents, relations/friends who are well known for their impeachable character and veracity for months and sometimes years for mentorship. the purpose of this act is to inculcate the moral integrity of such personalities in the young ones. in the process of training, vices such as greed, get-rich quick syndrome, lust and worldliness are condemned and the right virtues such as humility, honesty, truth and love are instilled. besides, through the process of teaching, the children are taught to refrain from acts that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 133 are capable of attracting condemnation(s) to them. parents are responsible for training their children and teaching them compassion, respect, as well as acceptable dos and don’ts in line with societal values and religious dictates. as such, they become responsible for their children’s action or inaction, behaviour and attitudes towards others from childhood to maturity. if a child behaves well, people conclude that the child is from a godly home, but if the child behaves badly, people fault the parents for not training the child properly. consequently, the era when youth are left in the hands of house helps and nannies should be discouraged in the nigeria society. like eunice and lois who spent their time in teaching and training timothy, which enabled him to become a remarkable figure in christianity, especially in the church at ephesus, nigeria parents must be willing and ready to fully partake in the process of teaching their children the right societal ethos to maintain a viable nigerian society. provision of basic needs to youth parents must ensure the provision of basic needs such as clothing, shelter, feeding and education for their children. studies have revealed that most of the youth who engage in unpleasant activities in the nigerian society, are either school dropout or wards from single parent, who are unable to carter for their children as a result of poverty, and resorts to prostitution which is the last resort, especially for the females. recently, the electronic and print media has been agog with the death of mr. usifo ataga the chief executive officer of super tv, who was allegedly murdered by miss. chidinma ojukwu, a 300 level mass communication student of the university of lagos. evelyn usman reports that the 21-year-old had been disengaged from her widowed mother for almost a decade due to some misunderstanding, leading her to fend for herself; an act that later resulted her to drinking all sort of alcohols, smoking marijuana and other unfriendly health substances, and prostituting (www.vanguardngr.com). the untamed life, being lived by chidinma, which began at an early age, may not be far from the lack of provision of her basic needs as a youth, and also lack of parental guidance. nigerian parents must see to it that the era when youth are abandoned to fend for themselves as youth are discouraged, rather, parents must take responsibility of their roles as providers and breadwinners. the reason adduced to this is that early exposure of youths to search and secure their basic needs, may at the end, lead to societal problems and abuse of the youth. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 134 auditing of youth ict platforms ict is an acronym which means information and communication technology. it is a joint term given to the second and third generation of information technology generated by the combination of computer and telecommunications. information and communication technology is an overall term that refers to any communication devices or application comprising of radio, television, cellular phones, computer and network, hardware and software, satellite systems as well as the various services and applications related to them such as video conferencing and distance learning (wobodo, 279-280). information and communication technology is a diverse set of technological tools and resources used to communicate, create, disseminate, store and manage information. thus, nigerian parents must be proactive to check and know the sites their youth visits on a regular basis. this is because, the role of information and communication technology (media) in the society which is to inform, educate, entertain and serve as the watch-dog of the society, is gradually being defeated. for instance, through information and communication technology music, videos, movies and some publications online, have successfully polluted the minds of most nigerian youth, thereby, promoting indecent dressing, drinking of alcohol, e-smoking and other dangerous intoxicants. the implication is that, youths who watch such sites unguarded, model their lives in accordance with any of their favourite actors, actresses, musicians, models and the like. on this note, nigerian parents, must be ready not only to recharge ict devices for their children and wards, but to monitor their contents, so as to safeguard the posterity of the youths. job creation by government nigerian government at the federal, state and local levels must rise to tackle the high rate of unemployment, which has contributed to the high-level of unwholesome activities perpetuated by nigerian youth in the society. unemployment is an issue that has bedevilled nigeria for quite some time. it is a state of not having a job or work to earn a living. people who cannot earn a living are prone to social vices such as armed robbery, drug abuse, and illicit sex and so on. apart from these social vices, they look at themselves as second class citizens unable to contribute to the society. the state of unemployment can lead to depression, low self-esteem and frustration. rather than loot government treasury as practised by some nigerian military and democratic leaders; politicians and government officials can invest in nigeria, and gainfully employ graduates from nigerian colleges, polytechnic and universities. this will assist in reducing the rate of crime in the society. if everyone is profitably employed and is self-reliant, there igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 135 will be no problem about unemployment, which is the key factor that triggers youths or young school leavers to go into acts capable of causing mayhem to individuals, states etc., all for the sole drive of meeting up survival needs (jacob david gofwan, goshi mandung shedrach and jonathan ishaya 32). in addition, government could create sustainable youth empowerment programs, with the sole objective to positively develop the minds of the youths, in order to guarantee financial liberation. the federal government of nigeria social investment program, npower and other programs targeted towards emancipation of poverty, should be reformed and restructured, in such a manner that would enable youths to be financially self-reliant, and not depend on a certain monetary allocation from the federal government on a monthly basis. church organizations church organizations as a veritable instrument for the propagation of the gospel of christ (matthew 28:18-20) can enhance the curb of societal menace by the youth in nigeria. this is achievable through sound theological exposition of god’s word in religious centres through teachings, preaching and organization of youth seminars geared towards refocusing the youth in the right direction. similarly, church organizations can discourage the ‘get rich quickly syndrome’ by concentrating on the truth while discouraging prosperity messages. on the other hand, churches in nigeria could embark on the building of rehabilitation centres, where sound morality and vocational skills could be taught (especially for those who have been salvaged), thereby enabling the youths to attain faith in god and eventually turn them into useful members of the society. the establishment of rehabilitation centres could enhance the promotion of ethical standard, and assist in the impartation of vocational skills. this is in line with d.b. usman’s assertion that “the church must de-emphasize concentration of resources on gigantic edifices and look outwards by embarking on charity ventures to reach out or address the problems of the needy, and the homeless street boys and girls in the african societies” (259). john questions that “but whoever has this world’s good, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of god abide in him? (1 john 3:17). church organizations could also establish prison ministry with the aim of bringing youths who have been found culpable of crimes, and consequently incarcerated into the saving knowledge of jesus christ, supporting them spiritually, physically and materially, while in prison and after their release. this is in addition to offering legal counsel/ assistance to secure their release, especially the repentant ones and also assisting in their medical upkeep. it is important to state that some mainline churches such as the anglican, roman igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 136 catholic, evangelicals such as evangelical church of west africa (ecwa) and pentecostal churches such as the redeemed evangelical missions (trem) in the nigerian nation, are involved in this charitable services (www.ncronline.org). however, the emphasis being made here is for them to improve in their services to humanity, and also for other churches that do not have such policy and vision to incorporate same in their mission and vision statements and also strive to actualize them. conclusion this paper examined the effect of godly parenting in 2 timothy 1:5: lessons for youth upbringing in the nigerian society. having chronicled numerous unpleasant activities perpetuated by youths in the nigerian society, the paper sustains that for a viable nigerian society devoid of all societal menace, parents must rise to the challenge of parenting their youth in the right manner, teaching them societally accepted norms and customs. like eunice and lois who took great pain in parenting timothy in the way of lord, and resulted in his usefulness in the family, church and society; parents must ensure that parenting of their children are not left in the hands of nannies, house helps or single parenting. this is because; youths who emanate from homes that are not healthy ethically are capable of becoming societal nuisances and making mess of the revered customs, norms and values of the society. recommendations in view of the fact that children and youths are influenced by the wrong information disseminated on the social media and even learn by imitating what they see their elders doing, the paper recommends that: 1 in order to have a nigerian society devoid of the myriads of societal vices, parent must be ready and willing to be an example to their children in words, character and deeds. parents must be available to their children, know their basic needs and be committed to providing them. also, parents/guardians must have an honest means of income, provide the basic needs for their children, teach their children to be hard working, engage them in honest trade, and also watch the type of friends they keep and ict sites they watch at home regularly. 2 government must improve the economy by providing job opportunities for the youth and regulatory bodies such as nigeria broadcasting corporation (nbc), must ensure that they censor television stations and video films that are immoral, while discouraging viewers, especially youths, should sanction the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 137 defaulters and also ensure enough public awareness on the evils of such activities, as related to the public. the promotion of immoral programs and films by the media must be discouraged by the government, since the youths, are often the first target of such programs. through this, the youths will grow to appreciate the dignity of moral discipline and not seek to imitate something that run contrary to decency. 3 religious leaders must ensure that the undiluted word of god is preached and taught in the religious centres. the word of god must be proclaimed with sincerity of purpose. the preaching and teaching of god’s word must be to recover lost souls, rebuke, correct and exhort where necessary and not for selfish ambition or commercialization. references abogunrin, s.o. “introduction” biblical studies and youth development in africa. s.o. abogunrin et al (ed). ibadan: m.alofe nig. enterprise, 2011 (pp. viiixi). amamkpa, william eded. a short history of ibesikpo. uyo: modern business press, 1979. amolo, hope. “mothers’ legacy to their children: a case of timothy’s mother and grandmother (2 tim 1:5)” biblical studies and youth development in africa. s.o. abogunrin et al (ed). ibadan: m.alofe nig. enterprise, 2011 (pp. 240-254). dayilim, danfulani d. and atowoju, ayo. youth restiveness in nigeria: a theological reflection. lagos: b print publishing, 2012. della, summers “youth” longman dictionary of contemporary english. essex: longman, 2008 (p. 1920). egwu, patrick. “in nigeria’s overcrowded prisons, catholic group frees inmates through free legal services” accessed from www.ncronline.org on 2/07/2021 ezeh, dorothy. “youth and pentecostalism” a.g. nnamani (ed). the new religious movements. benin: ava publishers, 2007. gofwan, jacob david. shedrach, goshi mandung. and ishaya, jonathan “curbing youth unemployment and insecurity in nigeria: vocational and technical education imperative” iosr journal of humanities and social science (iosrigwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 138 jhss) volume 24, issue 2, ver. 5 (feb. 2019) 28-33 accessed from www.iosrjournals.org on 2nd june, 2021. haralambos m. & heald r.m. sociology: themes and perspective. delhi: oup, 1998. okoro, k.n. “women and peace initiative in igbo traditional society; a viable option for peace building in modern africa”. international journal of humanities, vol. 2, no. 2. 2010, pp.58-69. udofia, s.c. “spiritual leaders and the neglect of the home front: eli’s home as an example in the context of africa” s.o. abogunrin et al ed. biblical studies and youth development in africa. ibadan: m.alofe nig. enterprise, 2011 (pp. 71-82). usman, d.b. “the role of the church in the care of street boys and girls in africa” s.o. abogunrin et al ed. biblical studies and youth development in africa. ibadan: m. alofe nig. enterprise, 2011. (pp. 255-260). usman, evelyn. “super tv ceo’s murder: i have not set my eyes on chidinma in 10 years mother” accessed from www.vanguardngr.com on june, 29, 2021. vine, w.e. et al “family” vine’s complete expository dictionary. nashville: thomas nelson, 1996 (pp. 225). vos, horward. concise introduction to the bible. chattanooga: amg publishers, 2004. wobodo johnwealthy j. “the church utility of icts in nigeria amid covid-19 global pandemic” saipential global journal of arts, humanities and development studies (sgojahds), vol.3 no.3 september, 2020; pp.279-287. wotogbe-weneka, w.o. “the teaching of traditional religious morality among the ikwerre of north eastern niger delta: an imperative for a globalized ikwerre society” religions: a journal of the nigerian association for the study of religions. vol.21, 2011, pp.142-153. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 3 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 134 consecrated persons as agents of pastoral care of the family kanu, ikechukwu anthony, o.s.a., ph.d augustinian institute, makurdi benue state ikee_mario@yahoo.com; +2348036345466 abstract the teachings of the church show with increasing clarity the profound connection between the evangelical demands of its mission and the obligation laid on all peoples to foster human advancement and to build a society worthy of humans. however, the profession of the evangelical counsels by consecrated persons establishes a close link between the religious and the church; it is therefore not surprising that it is to them that a consistent and confident appeal is made for well-judged renewal that is open to the needs, problems and yearnings of people. with the particular focus of the church on the family and the consecrated life this year, this piece focuses on how consecrated persons can contribute to the pastoral care of the family through the promotion of unity and fraternity, witnessing to charity, education and ministering to children and the sick. it further studies the pastoral challenges of the family in africa and the efforts the church has made over the years in her pastoral care of the family. this piece therefore submits that consecrated persons, because of the very nature of their consecration to god through the evangelical counsels are indispensable agents in the church’s’ pastoral care of the family. keywords: consecrated, persons, agents, pastoral, family, church, africa introduction paul vi (1964) in his message delivered at the general chapter of religious orders and congregations, without undermining the need for devotion to the interior life of perfection, called on religious institutes and societies of apostolic life to move with the apostolic zeal with which they have been inflamed beyond the boundaries of their own institutes and be open to the great spiritual necessities of our time: with respect to that portion of the apostolate which is entrusted to the care of the religious, we wish to make some further observations. religious igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 135 institutes should sedulously adapt the work proper to their apostolate to modern conditions and circumstances. the younger religious, particularly, are to be instructed and educated properly in this matter, in such a way, however, that the apostolic zeal with which they must be inflamed, does not remain circumscribed exclusively by the boundaries of one's own order but rather opens outwardly toward the great spiritual necessities of our times. (p. 1). francis i (2013) in his address to the union of superior generals in rome also called on consecrated persons to undertake an exodus out of their own selves: we must go out through that door to seek and meet the people! have the courage to go against the tide of this culture of efficiency, this culture of waste. encountering and welcoming everyone, solidarity and fraternity: these are what make our society truly human. be servants of communion and of the culture of encounter! i would like you to be almost obsessed about this. (p. 1). the congregation for institutes of consecrated life and societies of apostolic life (2014) following the path of the pope, francis i, called on consecrated persons to set out on a path of adoration and service. while there is an emphasis on the religious moving out, the destination for paul vi (1964) is toward the great spiritual necessities of our time. in ecclesia in africa and africae munus, the roman pontiffs john paul ii (1995) and benedict xvi (2011), reflected on the challenges of the african family. with the announcement of an extraordinary general assembly of the synod of bishops on topics related to the family for october 2014, and the xiv ordinary general assembly of the synod of bishops coming up in october 2015 and the pronouncement of 2015 as the year of consecrated life, circumstances have arisen to study the role of consecrated persons in the pastoral care of the family. the challenges of the family in africa focusing on the african family, betty and khadiagala (2015) avers that african families are embedded in political and socio-economic circumstances that are characterized by long-standing domestic dynamics of economic fragility, debilitating poverty, poor governance and civil conflicts. throughout the 1990s, the scourge of hiv/aids has put additional pressures on the sustainability of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 136 families and households. similarly, the new demands unleashed by forces of globalization have had mixed outcomes for african families, simultaneously enhancing the chances of families to seize the opportunities for participation in larger economic exchanges while at the same time heightening their vulnerability to these forces. john paul ii (1981) observes that in the midst of obvious developments and advancements: signs are not lacking of a disturbing degradation of some fundamental values: a mistaken theoretical and practical concept of the independence of the spouses in relation to each other; serious misconceptions regarding the relationship of authority between parents and children; the concrete difficulties that the family itself experiences in the transmission of values; the growing number of divorces; the scourge of abortion; the ever more frequent recourse to sterilization; the appearance of a truly contraceptive mentality (pp. 12-13). there are also cases of selfishness, self-affirmation, a troubling individualism which destroys matrimonial union; there are cases of poverty, the lack in the necessary means of survival, such as food, work, housing and medicine, and the most elementary freedoms. the fourteenth ordinary general assembly (2014) observes that there is a general feeling of powerlessness in the face of sociocultural realities that oftentimes end in crushing families. “the negative impact on the family is clear, as seen in the demographic crisis, in the difficulty of raising children, in a hesitancy to welcome new life and in considering the presence of older persons as a burden” (no.5). the assembly further observes that some cultural and religious contexts pose particular challenges like polygamy and arranged marriages; in places where catholicism is the minority, there are cases of mixed and interreligious marriages with difficulties in terms of jurisprudence, baptism, the upbringing of children and the mutual respect with regards to difference in faith. this creates the danger of relativism or indifference. there are cases of cohabitation before marriage or simply cohabitating with no intention of a legally binding relationship. there are places where civil legislation has compromised marriage and the family. there are also places where a great number of children are born outside marriage, many of whom subsequently grow up with just one of their parents or in a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 137 blended or reconstituted family. children thus, become a source of contention between parents and become the real victims of family break-ups. in many parts of africa, simply being a woman is a source of discrimination and the gift of motherhood is often penalized rather than esteemed. there is an increasing violence against women, where they become victims, unfortunately, often within families and as a result of the serious and widespread practice of genital mutilation in some african cultures. the sexual exploitation of children is still another scandalous and perverse reality in present-day africa. consecrated persons in perspective consecrated persons according to kanu (2015) are the members of religious institutes and societies of apostolic life. the code of canon law (1983) teaches that they are lay persons or clerics who assume the evangelical counsels by means of a sacred bond, and become members of an institute of consecrated life according to the law of the church. they totally dedicate themselves to god with the goal of pursuing perfection in charity by faithfully embracing the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience. in this sense, consecrated persons respond freely to the invitation of the holy spirit to follow christ the poor, the celibate, the obedient son, more closely, thus becoming in this life a sign of the life to come. lumen gentium (1964) maintains that: “the evangelical counsels of chastity dedicated to god, poverty and obedience are based upon the words and examples of the lord. they were further commanded by the apostles and fathers of the church, as well as by the doctors and pastors of souls” (no. 43). these counsels in the contention of fleming (1990), are referred to as evangelical because the religious vows are central to the life of jesus and his message and also because religious consecration is founded on baptismal consecration. the consecrated life is also traceable to the post-apostolic church, especially to those early christians who dedicated themselves to a gospel-oriented life-style, to a radical following of jesus christ. the first person in this line according to nwachukwu (2010) was anthony of egypt. he was followed by a line of disciples, until it became an institution in the church. very significant is the idea of consecration. it is derived from the word ‘holy’ or ‘holiness’. in hebrew it is qadash and in greek hagios; these are translated to mean ‘to consecrate’ (cf. leviticus 15:31; ezekiel 14:7). in numbers 6:5-7, 12, the nazirites were referred to as consecrated because of their vows to god. this igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 138 makes the person holy, a consecration that separates the person from others. thus the word consecration implies a setting apart or a separation. this separation for mayers (1987) does not in any way imply superiority, or complete severance from those the consecrated are called to serve. lumen gentium (1964) says, “the state which is constituted by the profession of the evangelical counsels, though it does not belong to the hierarchical structure of the church, nevertheless, undeniably belongs to the life and holiness of the church” (no. 44). the document continues, “the holiness of the church is fostered in a special way by the observance of the counsels proposed in the gospel by the lord to his disciples. an eminent position among these is held by virginity or the celibate state” (no. 42). thus, perfectae caritatis (1965) exhorts consecrated persons thus, members of each institute should recall first of all that by professing the evangelical counsels they responded to a divine call so that by being not only dead to sin but also renouncing the world they may live for god alone. they have dedicated their entire lives to his service. this constitutes a special consecration, which is deeply rooted in that of baptism and expresses it more fully(no. 5). the church and the pastoral care of the family a cursory glance at the historical evolution of the church, reveals that throughout the centuries, the church has maintained a constant teaching to guide marriage and family. in the second vatican council document, gaudium et spes (1965), an entire chapter was devoted to the promotion of the dignity of marriage and the family. it defines marriage as a community of life and love, placing love at the center of the family and manifesting, at the same time, the truth of this love in counter distinction to the various forms of reductionism present in contemporary culture. lumen gentium (1964) further emphasized the grounding of the spouses in christ. so that the bride and groom, consecrated and, through his grace, build up the body of christ. after the second vatican council, the church through different documents and in various ways has refined its teaching on marriage and the family. paul vi (1958) established that there is an intimate bond between conjugal love and the generation of life. john paul ii (1992 and 1994), devoted special attention to the family. more recently, pope benedict xvi, in his encyclical deus caritas est, took up the topic of marriage and the family, emphasizing that “marriage based on an igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 139 exclusive and definitive love becomes the icon of the relationship between god and his people and vice versa. god's way of loving becomes the measure of human love” (no.11). furthermore, in his encyclical caritas in veritate, benedict xvi (2005) emphasizes the importance of love as the principle of life in society. in his encyclical lumen fidei, francis i (2013), reflected on the relationship between the family and faith: encountering christ, letting themselves (young people) be caught up in and guided by his love, enlarges the horizons of existence, gives it a firm hope which will not disappoint. faith is no refuge for the fainthearted, but something which enhances our lives. it makes us aware of a magnificent calling, the vocation of love. it assures us that this love is trustworthy and worth embracing, for it is based on god’s faithfulness which is stronger than our every weakness. (p. 1). the conference of major superiors of nigeria and the family the conference of major superiors of nigeria in her communiqués issued annually since 1998 has frequently referred to the family in her treatment of various topics. in relation to vocation and formation of candidates for the consecrated life, the conference avers that candidates can only be known within the context of their families. it therefore calls for contact between the families of candidates and the formators, which could also be a means of educating the family about the true meaning of religious vocation and discernment. in the area of the vow of poverty, which has been one of misunderstanding and conflict because of the demands of family members on the religious, educating the family would make the interpretation, acceptance and practice of the vow of poverty less problematic. the conference strongly believes that the family should be involved in the promotion of reconciliation, justice and peace. it sees the family as an institution called to witness to reconciliation, justice and peace, and in this regard, consecrated persons through their various communities become living examples for christian families to emulate. from the focus of the conference on the family, there is the recognition of the centrality of the family in society; thus, the health of the society depends on the health of the family. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 140 consecrated persons and the pastoral care of the family the third extraordinary general assembly of the synod of bishops (2014) understands christian marriage as a vocation and as such advocates that: it must be undertaken with due preparation in a journey of faith with a proper process of discernment. therefore, formation is needed to accompany the person and couple in such a way that the real-life experience of the entire ecclesial community can be added to the teaching of the contents of the faith. (no. 36). it is in this regard that consecrated persons should, in cooperation with the dioceses and parishes, strive to implement pastoral initiatives in favour of marriage and family life. consecrated persons, especially those who work in schools as educators, must appreciate the presence of parents in the educational community and try to establish a true relation of reciprocity with them. this is very important as parents are the first teachers of the child. thus, the insertion of parents into the life of church institutions and making them aware of the educational task is very fundamental. when god’s original plan for families is overshadowed in peoples’ minds, society receives incalculable damage and the right of children to live in an environment of fully human love is infringed. on the contrary, when a family reflects god’s plan, it becomes a workshop where love and true solidarity are experienced. the consecrated person’s chance of contact with families, children and young people is a favourable occasion for examining with them meaningful questions regarding life, human love and the nature of families. men and women religious, either individually or in groups, have the responsibility of developing their service to families, with particular solicitude for children, especially if they are abandoned, unwanted, orphaned, poor or handicapped. they can also visit families and look after the sick; they can foster relationships of respect and charity towards one-parent families or families that are in difficulties or are separated; they can offer their own work of teaching and counselling in the preparation of young people for marriage, and in helping couples towards truly responsible parenthood; they can open their own houses for simple and cordial hospitality, so that families can find there the sense of god's presence and gain a taste for prayer and recollection, and see the practical igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 141 examples of lives lived in charity and fraternal joy as members of the larger family of god. the contribution that can be made to the apostolate of the family by consecrated persons in general finds its primary, fundamental and original expression precisely in their consecration to god. by reason of their consecration, religious recall that wonderful marriage made by god, which will be fully manifested in the future age, and in which the church has christ for her only spouse, and they are witnesses to that universal charity which, through chastity embraced for the kingdom of heaven, makes them ever more available to dedicate themselves generously to the service of god and to the works of the apostolate. the promotion of christian unity and fraternity in the family especially, is another domain of the apostolate of the church that increasingly engages the pastoral attention of consecrated life. the religious institutes in africa often bring together into the same community the members of diverse ethnic groups and tribes. thus, john paul ii (1995) maintains that consecrated persons are to be witnesses of unity and fraternal life in community, and, as such, be models for married couples and the family. conclusion the foregoing has studied the place of consecrated persons as agents of the pastoral care of the family. it further discussed the particular ways through which consecrated persons can impact family life pastorally. however, it is worthy of note that the consecrated persons’ dedication to the pastoral care of the family has its requirements. fundamentally, the consecrated person needs a missionary conversion. this means that, consecrated persons must try not to proclaim a message that is merely theoretical, with no connection to people’s real problems. the message that can impact society must be rooted in concrete historical circumstances. conversion needs to be seen in the language that consecrated persons use, in such a way that it might prove to be effectively meaningful. this is very fundamental as paul vi (1974) observes that the modern man is more interested in listening to witnesses than to teachers, and when they listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses. secondly, the word of god must be at the centre of the pastoral care of the family by consecrated persons. the word of god is the source of life and spirituality for the family, which, interiorly fashions and forms the family. therefore, continuous and deep study igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 142 of the sacred scriptures must nourish the religious life so that the word of god, lived and experienced may be communicated in a credible and complete way. references benedict xvi (2005). encyclical letter deus caritas est. nairobi: paulines publication africa. benedict xvi (2011). post-synodal apostolic exhortation africae munus. nairobi: paulines publication africa. betty, b. and khadiagala, g. m. (2015). major trends affecting families in sub-saharan africa. http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/family/publications/mtbigombe. fleming, d. l. (1990). understanding a theology of religious life. in g. a. arburckle and d. l. fleming (eds.). religious life: rebirth through conversion.new york: alba house. fourteenth ordinary general assembly (2014). the vocation and mission of the family in the church and contemporary world. rome: libreria editrice vaticana. francis i (2013). address to the participants at the plenary assembly of the international union of superiors general. rome, 8 may. francis i (2013). homily at the holy mass with bishops, priests, religious and seminarians on the xxviii world youth day, rio de janeiro, 27 july. gaudium et spes (1965). in a. flannery (ed).documents of the second vatican council (pp.903-1001). dublin: dominican publications. iii extraordinary general assembly of the synod of bishops (2014). pastoral challenges to the family in the context of evangelization. rome: libreria editrice vaticana. john paul ii (1981). the family in the modern world. nairobi: paulines publicatiosn africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 143 john paul ii (1995). post-synodal apostolic exhortation, ecclesia in africa. nairobi: paulines publication africa. john paul ii, apostolic exhortation familiaris consortio, rome, at st. peter's, on the twenty-second day of november, the solemnity of our lord jesus christ, universal king, vatican city. john paul ii, letter to families gratissimam sane, saint peter's, on 2 february, the feast of the presentation of the lord, in the year 1994, vatican. kanu, i. a. (2015). africae munus and consecrated persons.the catholic voyage: a publication of the conference of major superiors of nigeria. 11. 4. lumen gentium (1964). in a. flannery (ed). documents of the second vatican council (pp.350-428). dublin: dominican publications. myers, a. c. (1987). sanctify, consecrate. the eerdmans bible dictionary. eerdmans: grand rapids. nwachukwu, m. (2010). consecrated: a vision of religious life from the point of view of the sacred.lagos: change publications. paul vi (1964). message to the general chapters of religious orders and congregations. rome: libreria editrice vaticana. paul vi (1968). encyclical letter humane vitae on the 25th day of july, the feast of st. james the apostle, in the year 1968, vatican city, 7-10. paul vi (1974). address to members of “consilium de laicis”2nd october. perfectae caritatis (1965). in a. flannery (ed). documents of the second vatican council (pp.). dublin: dominican publications. the code of canon law (1983). canon 573. 2. bangalore: theological publications in india. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 111 du monolinguisme au monolinguisme : fin de la traduction? olivia ezeafulukwe department of modern european languages nnamdi azikiwe university, awka anambra state resume le monolinguisme et le plurilinguisme sont deux phénomènes linguistiques qui plus qu’avant commencent à prendre une importance prépondérante dans les discours aux milieux linguistiques. les entités linguistiques autrefois monolingues tendent aujourd’hui vers le plurilinguisme tandis que celles qui étaient autrefois plurilingues tendent vers le monolinguisme. le résultat en est que les langues se mettent en contact avec les effets de cette mise en contact visibles dans toutes les langues du monde. ce qu’il y a de frappant c’est que les langues se fusent en s’empruntant les unes aux autres. arrivera t-il un jour une langue universelle ? est-ce l’histoire qui se répète ? pour aborder ce sujet il a fallu expliquer d’abord les termes clés, tracer l’évolution linguistique avec un regard particulier porté sur les langues en contact et les effets des contacts des langues. les combats contre l’infusion des langues où en est-on arrivé ? une tentative de justification de ces phénomènes était hasardée. et quel rôle jouera la traduction après la fusion des langues? mots clés : monolinguisme plurilinguisme, emprunt, intercodification, traduction introduction par monolinguisme est compris l’usage d’une seule langue. c’est un phénomène qui peut être individuel ou collectif. dans un milieu monolingue la seule langue sert alors comme langue de communication, d’enseignement et d’administration. un individuel monolingue peut exister dans un milieu multilingue. dans des communautés primitives d’autrefois, les gens étaient monolingues car ils vivaient dans une société close, sans grand contact avec le monde extérieur. a présent, on ne peut plus trouver une situation de monolinguisme absolu car les habitants de la terre sont en mouvement continue soit pour se découvrir, pour découvrir les autres, pour le commerce, pour se divertir, pour évader le mauvais temps et les mauvais jours, soit à la recherche de verts pâturages. aujourd’hui dans cette ère de voyage et d’interconnectivité, les langues se mettent en contacte et quelques langues cèdent la place aux autres que leurs parleurs ont quelque chose de plus fructueux à offrir au monde extérieur. le plurilinguisme s’oppose au monolinguisme. il désigne le fait de parler plusieurs langues. c’est un synonyme de multilinguisme. le bilinguisme est encore une forme de plurilinguisme sauf que dans ce dernier cas deux langues sont spécifiquement en présence. le plurilinguisme, tout comme le monolinguisme, est une situation qui peut se manifester dans deux formes. soit qu’un individu ou une espace igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 112 communautaire se sert de deux ou plusieurs langues dans la communication, ou que des groupes de gens qui vivent comme différentes entités dans leur milieux respectifs mais politiquement liées, sont obligés de cohabiter tout en gardant leurs individualités qui incluent leurs différentes langues. le plurilinguisme est à la base de certains termes nouveaux tels que l’emprunt, le néologisme, l’intercodification ou l’alternance codique et le mélange des codes, car ce sont des résultats des langues en contact. a notre jour le désir de communiquer et de comprendre son prochain, les échanges, les voyages, les congrès, l’internet et la mondialisation ont rendu le plurilinguisme, pas plus un choix mais une obligation. les langues se fusent autrefois la langue latine était une langue dominante. aujourd’hui on dit de cette langue qu’elle est une langue morte. mais est-ce vrai de dire que la langue latine est disparue ? la réponse est « non »car dans beaucoup de langues internationales, surtout des langues qui ont eu contact avec la langue latine, nous voyons toujours des mots d’origine latine. en traçant l’origine de la langue française le marchand écrit « né au ive siècle le roman est une nouvelle langue issue de la fusion du latin vulgarisé et du celte germanique. il est à l’origine d’un grand nombre de langues, dont le français….sous l’influence de paris, centre politique et culturel, une langue commune s’élabore.[le français actuel] «4) quand les langues se mettent en contact pour quelques temps, ces langues en contact s’influencent de différentes manières. les langues concernées peuvent subir des transformations sémantiques, phonologiques ou phonétiques, syntaxiques, ou lexicales. quelques mots peuvent aussi disparaître. les langues en contact s’empruntent aussi. les emprunts interviennent soit pour combler une lacune dans la langue qui emprunte, soit pour faire un effet de style. vinay et darbelnet affirment ces effets en discutant l’emprunt. pour eux l’emprunt trahit « une lacune, généralement une lacune métalinguistique (technique nouvelle, concept inconnu) « (47). a force de coexister pour longtemps et de s’emprunter des mots, une nouvelle langue peut naître issue des mélanges de ces langues en contact. les pidgins, le créole sont des exemples typiques. mais dans cette ère de plurilinguisme s’ajoute une autre dimension de l’emprunt. faire preuve de bilinguisme et de plurilinguisme c’est faire preuve d’être à jour. donc. l’intercodification/ l’alternance codique se présente comme le moyen le plus efficace pour démontrer qu’on n’est pas monolingue. c’est une manière très efficace aussi pour démontrer combien on est cultivé. cette situation linguistique d’intercodification a pris une dimension globale car l’emprunt et l’intercodification ne se limitent pas aux langues dites « «sous développées » mais aussi aux langues bien établies du monde. un coup d’œil sur un dictionnaire de n’importe quelle igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 113 langue d’aujourd’hui exposera les mots empruntés des langues différentes. descourbes et paul nous révèlent aussi que la langue française a emprunté beaucoup de mots techniques et abstraits au latin classique : science de scientia, faculté de facultas, communiquer de communicare, fragile de fragilem. des mots savants étaient aussi empruntés au grec : phrase, strophe, thème, économie, politique, géographie. ils progressent en étalant une liste des emprunts aux langues modernes. -de l’allemand : halte, képi, landau, obus… de l’anglais car, bifteck, rail, ticket, tunnel… de l’arabe: alcool, algèbre, chiffre, zéro… -de l’espagnol anchois, camarade, carapace, zèbre… -de l’italien : attaquer, banque, canon, courtisan, pantalon. -du néerlandais : bague, bouquin, gaufre… -du portugais : cargo, albatros -du tchèque : robot, etc (7) les mots comme tête-à-tête, rendez-vous, raison d’être et dame sont devenus des mots anglais. aussi , les jeux tels que basket, tennis, volley ainsi que les mots stop, parking, internet sont importés comme ils existent dans la langue source à la langue française. frompkin note aussi que » la langue anglaise a beaucoup emprunté. des 20.000 mots à emploi quotidien, trois cinquième sont des emprunts. » (474) (ma traduction) o’ grady et al (300) jettent encore la lumière sur cette affirmation en tabulant quelques mots anglais et d’où ils sont originaires. langue source mot emprunté italian motto,artichoke,balcony,casino,mafia,malaria. spanish comrade, tonado,cannibal.mosquito, banana,guitar,vigilante, marijuana german poodle,kindergarten,senunar,noodle,pretzel dutch sloop,coleslaw,smuggle,gin, cookie, boom. slavic languages czar,tundra,polka,intelligentsia,robot amerindian languages toboggan,opossum,wigwam,chipmunk, ottawa, toronto igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 114 parfois des mots empruntés subissent des transformations pour les adapter au système linguistique déjà établi dans la langue d’arrivée. ainsi le mot français enterrement devient maintenant interment en anglais, et le mot anglais stop reste invariable dans sa forme nominale et en forme verbale français, stopper devient un verbe de premier groupe avec l’infinitif en –er, pour l’adapter à la grammaire française. des emprunts subissent parfois des transformations sémantiques. bon après-midi, qui devrait être un souhait dans des milieux typiquement francophones se voit prendre le sens d’une salutation dans des pays bilingues tels que le canada et le cameroun. deux cas particuliers issus des langues en contact sont l’intercodification ou le mélange de codes et l’alternance codique. ces actes linguistiques peuvent s’opérer à dessin ou par hasard. mais que l’intercodification et l’emprunt s’emploient à dessin ou non, ils sont des indices de la fusion des langues. cette affirmation se base sur le modèle classique de disparition des langues selon o’grady et al. qui implique trois générations. ; les parents sont d’abord monolingues, leurs enfants qui acquièrent une nouvelle langue pour devenir bilingues, et les enfants des enfants qui deviennent monolingues ne s’exprimant que dans la nouvelle langue. (o’ grady et al : 330). pour progresser donc dans cette communication, ce processus de disparition sera tracé avec des situations qui l’encouragent, l’avenir des langues en contact sera hasardé, ainsi que le rôle que jouera le traducteur dans toutes ces circonstances. d’abord le monolinguisme puis le plurilinguisme et l’intercodification /alternance codique grâce à la bible nous pouvons tracer que le monolinguisme précède le plurilinguisme. le livre de genèse dans la bible nous raconte; l’eternel descendit pour voir la ville et la tour que bâtissaient les fils des hommes. et l’eternel dit, voici, ils forment un seul peuple et ont tous une même langue, et c’est là ce qu’ils ont entrepris ; maintenant rien ne les empêcheraient de faire tout ce qu’ils ont projeté. allons, descendons et là confondons leur langage, afin qu’ils n’entendent plus la langue les uns des autres. et l’eternel les dispersa loin de là sur la face de toute la terre ; et ils cessèrent de bâtir la ville….(chapitre 11, versets 5-8 version louis segond) donc, la diversification des langues n’est qu’un moyen utilisé par dieu pour déstabiliser l’homme et ôter de lui la solidarité, le travail en commun, la bonne entente, le progrès, la force du travail et le partage que l’homme employait à l’envers. et la diversification de langue a emmené avec elle la fragmentation des peuples. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 115 pendant l’ère colonial, les colons sont allés rencontrer des sociétés, autrefois monolingues et closes. ils leur ont imposé leurs langues, les obligeant le bilinguisme et parfois le plurilinguisme. les anciennes colonies délaissent leurs langues d’origine pour les langues des colons (comme au congo, en côte d’ivoire, au nigeria, au ghana, etc ). ce qui fait qu’aujourd’hui le futur de la langue française est en afrique, avec les plus des francophones localisés au congo. a présent une population importante de la côte d’ivoire a la langue française comme langue maternelle à cause des activités des colons. pourquoi le multilinguisme et l’alternance codique tant que les peuples du monde bougent d’un pays à l’autre et s’entretiennent l’un l’autre, il y aura toujours des échanges interculturels et donc le multilinguisme. l’intercodification, l’alternance codique, la mutation des langues, l’évolution des langues et la disparition des langues resteront toujours des phénomènes à jour et ne cesseront pas d’occuper une place importante dans les discours des linguistes et des traducteurs. bref, le contact des langues encourage le multilinguisme et l’intercodification que nous prévoyons qu’ils aboutiront au monolinguisme. la mondialisation et le multilinguisme s’entrelacent et se nourrissent l’un l’autre. l’homme d’aujourd’hui est un citoyen planétaire apte à se déplacer de son milieu à l’autre. le multilinguisme se présente alors comme un prérequis nécessaire pour se repérer dans n’importe quelle situation ou milieu qu’on se trouve. l’ancien président américain, m barrak obama, un américain d’origine kenyane est devenu président de l’amérique. léopold sedar senghor, le sénégalais, était nommé parmi les immortels de l’académie française. gustave eiffel, descendant de la famille bonickhausen, d’origine allemande, est devenu français et s’est immortalisé avec la tour eiffel, un monument qui est devenu un symbole de la france. pour bien s’équiper pour affronter le futur incertain, l’acquisition de plusieurs langues devient obligatoire. a présent on vit dans l’ère de voyage. a nos jours, contrairement à ce qui s’obtenait avant, les gens entreprennent beaucoup de voyages. ils entreprennent des voyages amicaux, des voyages officiels, des voyages de découvertes, des voyages de détentes et des voyages d’affaires. se disposer de deux ou plusieurs langues c’est se munir à bien s’adapter n’importe où qu’on se trouve. pour un bilingue, l’intercodification n’est qu’un échappement naturel. l’informatique a transformé le monde. grâce à l’ordinateur et aux réseaux sociaux, on accède facilement aux informations. la seule chose à empêcher un navigateur d’accéder les informations des quatre coins du mondes c’est la barrière linguistique. puisque les gens désirent toujours se mettre à jour, la connaissance des langues devient utile pour ne pas se limiter, vu le plurilinguisme. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 116 ajoutées aux raisons déjà avancées qui favorisent l’apprentissage des langues s’ajoute encore cette raison que nous avance piveteau, j. au cours des siècles les auteurs français ont fait de nombreux emprunts aux vocabulaires étrangers et notre langue présente de nombreuses traces d’anglicisme ou d’italianisme par exemple. les connaître c’est mieux connaître notre langue ; c’est se mettre en mesure de l’utiliser d’une façon plus efficace ; c’est comprendre plus profondément quelques-uns des rapports qui ont uni nos pays à quelques moments de leur histoire. (37) le plurilinguisme est donc encouragé pour la simple raison qu’il aide à apprendre une langue, même notre propre langue. l’intercodification est parfois une forme d’interférence qui s’opère dans le discours d’un plurilingue. dans d’autre cas, elle se présente comme une manifestation consciente des connaissances linguistiques de l’énonciateur. c’est aujourd’hui classique de trouver les romans et livres ponctués avec des mots étrangers. un américain se pense plus apprécié quand il mélange quelques mots de français ou de n’importe quelle autre langue étrangère, dans son texte anglais. cette attitude d’intercodification ne manque pas ni chez les français, ni chez les chinois. ce n’est donc pas une tendance limitée aux usagers des langues sous-développées mais plutôt une tendance mondiale à laquelle on ne peut pas freiner. aujourd’hui il n’existe plus de monolinguisme pur car les langues se mettent toujours en contact et s’influencent. parfois l’intercodification n’est que signe d’une maitrise faible de la langue dont on a besoin. dans les anciennes colonies, les langues des colons restent toujours les langues officielles bien que maitrisées seulement par un pourcentage assez faible de la population. wikipedia, documente du sénégal que ; » […] selon les comptes rendus des estimations effectuées par l'organisation internationale de la francophonie en 2005, 10% des sénégalais étaient de vrais francophones, 21% étaient partiellement francophones »' (wikipedia.org/wiki/linguistics.li) (ma traduction). le pourcentage restant de 69% parlent donc une des langues indigènes. pourtant, la langue française reste la langue officielle du sénégal, dans un pays où il existe 36 langues autochtones, y compris le wolof, parlée par au moins 80% de la population en tant que première ou deuxième langue. se trouvant dans le besoin de communication parfois dans des milieux officiels, les citoyens se trouvent obligés de manier la langue officielle de manière que leurs niveaux de maîtrise leur permettent. parfois pour évader d’utiliser les mots ou igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 117 phrases de manières fautives, l’individu peut cacher ce manque de maîtrise par un mélange des deux codes. quelques langues sont disparues les langues comme des êtres humains ont une vie. elles sont nées. elles grandissent et elles meurent. pour qu’une langue subsiste, il faut qu’elle soit utilitaire à un grand nombre de personnes. le pouvoir économique (comme le cas de l’amérique), le pouvoir politique (comme le cas des langues des colons), le pouvoir électronique (comme c’est le cas de la chine) peuvent développer une attirance vers une langue. chaque langue qui enregistre une réduction continue de nombre de parleurs et de milieux d’utilité a déjà pris le chemin d’extinction. et quand les usagers d’une langue commencent à douter sa valeur, une telle langue commence à perdre ses locuteurs. a ce point, l’intercodification et l’alternance codique se présentent comme les premiers indices de l’extinction d’une telle langue. l’aspect de la rentabilité des langues ne doit pas être négligé. nulle langue ne planifie de disparaitre. pourtant ce n’est pas un secret que beaucoup de langues ont disparus, la langue latine par exemple. et beaucoup d’autres sont en risque de disparition. les pouvoirs politiques aident à propager une langue. c’est le cas des langues des colons imposées sur les colonies ainsi que quelques langues imposées aux peuples grâce à la politique des nations. en 2003, le rwanda a délaissé la langue française pour imposer la langue anglaise à son peuple comme deuxième langue officielle après le kinyarwanda. au nigeria, comme dans beaucoup de pays africains, la politique nationale favorise l’apprentissage de la langue anglaise. comme langue vernaculaire, on a imposé trois langues (haoussa, igbo, yorouba). en europe et ailleurs, l’histoire est la même. en france par exemple, la langue qui se dit française aujourd’hui n’est que la forme de la latine vulgaire, et elle a dominé et remplacé les langues qui existaient même avant elle, puisqu’elle a bénéficié de l’appui politique du roi de la france d’alors. les langues qui ne reçoivent pas assez d’encouragement meurent avec le temps pour céder la place aux autres plus bénéfiques ou imposées. imaginons vers quelle direction chemine tout ceci. nulle langue aujourd’hui ne peut se vanter se servir seulement du vocabulaire de la langue originelle. la plupart des gens préféreront que leurs langues maternelles ne meurent pas, pourtant ils pratiquent l’intercodification et le mélange des codes. ces nouvelles tendances provoquent l’inquiétude. cette inquiétude a pris une dimension globale car nulle langue n’en échappe. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 118 dans le but d’aider les langues vernaculaires à survivre, certaines langues ont vu la naissance des organismes de soins linguistiques. la tâche majeure de l’académie française c’est de soigner la langue et aussi régler les mots étrangers qui infiltrent la langue française chaque année en mille. et pour les langues avec moins de locuteurs, que l’anglais et le français, la situation n’est pas moins inquiétante. les mouvements se forment pour encourager l’usage des langues vernaculaires et décourager l’intercodification. chez les igbo du nigeria, pour encourager plus l’usage de la langue igbo et par conséquent éviter sa disparition, un mouvement otu subakwa igbo qui essaie de décourager l’intercodification, a vu le jour. le but majeur aujourd’hui d’acquérir une nouvelle langue, ce n’est plus de parler, agir ou imiter les parleurs originaux mais plutôt de communiquer avec les usagers parfois, hors de leur cadre linguistique. beaucoup de versions de la langue française se développent chez les usagers et nulle ne peut être dite incorrecte puisque toutes les versions servent à communiquer dans les milieux où elles sont utilisées. chaque version véhicule les réalités de son milieu et gardent donc des mythes pour les autres. c’est en réalisation de cet état des faits que kourouma écrit pour raconter ma vie de merde (…) je possède quatre dictionnaires. primo le dictionnaire larousse et le petit robert, secundo l’inventaire des particularités lexicales du français en afrique noire et tertio le dictionnaire harrap’s… il faut expliquer parce que mon blablabla est à lire par toute sorte des gens : des toubabs (toubab signifie blanc) colon, des noirs indigènes sauvages d’afrique et des francophones de tout gabarit (gabarit signifie genre) (9). kourrouma dit alors qu’il a ces dictionnaires pour son travail, un dictionnaire français/français, un dictionnaire français des africains, le dernier dictionnaire pour expliquer aux français quelques mots africains devenus français. pas même l’académie française ne peut quelque chose sur l’infiltration des mots étrangers dans la langue française le plurilinguisme est un phénomène en vogue. l’intercodification/ mélange de code, issu du plurilinguisme et de langues en contact, est aujourd’hui une démonstration de connaissance. des phrases comme « elle attend dans le parking » n’attirent plus d’attention car c’est devenu habituel. en disputant combien c’est difficile pour l’académie française de régler ou même d’empêcher l’emprunt des mots, frompkin nous avertit que « il y a quelques années que l’académie française a promulgué une loi contre l’usage du franglais, des mots d’origine anglaise comme le parking, le weekend et le hotdog. pourtant les français continuent à s’en servir » (475) (ma traduction) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 119 et malgré tout effort fait par des cultures différentes pour sauvegarder leurs langues contre l’infiltration des mots étrangers, nulle langue n’a remporté ce combat. ni la france avec l’académie française, ni la chine avec le confucius institute, ni le peuple igbo avec le mouvement de subakwa igbo, ne peut empêcher cet échange en cours. a ce propos jacques chirac adresse ce discours à la francophonie. soyons solidaires des défenseurs, ou des promoteurs des autres espaces linguistiques (…) notre combat commun permettra de conjurer ce risque immense qui existe aujourd’hui d’un monde où l’on parlerait, où l’on penserait, où l’on créerait dans un moule unique.(…) ce risque est aggravé aujourd’hui par la prépondérance d’une seule langue sur les vecteurs modernes de la communication. chirac n’est donc pas ignorant qu’il y ait une langue qui commence déjà à étouffer les autres. le plurilinguisme est mère de l’intercodification et la mondialisation, deux phénomènes qui cheminent vers le monolinguisme. jacques chirac prêche la diversité culturelle, bien que la langue française ait une place privilégiée dans l’oif et si cela continue encore pour longtemps, ces pays membres réussirons à supprimer leurs langues vernaculaires pour les remplacer avec la langue française, qui reste d’ailleurs le lien majeur des pays membres. ceci parce que le monolinguisme est beaucoup recherché dans ces colonies car la stratification issue de multiplicité des langues dans ces pays résulte en stagnation du progrès. mais du monolinguisme se déclencheront l’échange, la bonne entente, la paix, la justice, le manque de préjugée, la fraternité, un monde d’ordre nouveau. dans beaucoup de ces pays les langues vernaculaires sont si nombreuses qu’on ne peut pas sélectionner une de ces langues pour langue officielle du pays sans provoquer l’amertume et agitations des autres usagers des langues non-sélectionnées. c’est pour cette raison que les langues des colons ont survécu en afrique et ailleurs. mais est-ce l’utopie de croire que le monde tend vers le monolinguisme ? les pays autrefois monolingues, avec les langues des minorités supprimées, commencent à agiter avec des réclamations. en france, au nigeria et ailleurs, l’histoire est la même. chacun veut se particulariser et se concevoir comme différent. la langue véhicule une culture et donne l’identité à l’homme. néanmoins, les agitations des locuteurs ne suffissent pas pour faire progresser, et faire subsister une langue car chaque acte humain est fondé sur un bénéfice espéré. c’est l’utilité d’une langue qui pousse les gens à désirer en être courant. ce n’est que igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 120 les puissances économique, politique et technologique qui semblent déterminer les langues de choix au monde. maintenant la chine est une puissance émergente et ceci explique pourquoi un intérêt récent à l’apprentissage de la langue chinoise. mais www.axl.cefan.ulaval.ca/langues/2vi en parlant de la mort des langues nous expose que « la mort des langues n’est pas un phénomène nouveau. depuis au moins 5000 ans, les linguistes estiment qu’au moins 30,000 langues sont nées et disparues, généralement sans laisser de trace….au cours de trois dernières siècles, pendant que l’europe perdait une bonne dizaine de langues, l’australie et le brésil, par exemples perdaient plusieurs centaines. en afrique plus de 200 langues comptent déjà moins de 500 locuteurs… selon une étude de l’unesco (commencée en 1997 et dont le rapport fut diffusée en 2002) pas moins de 5500 langues sur 6000 disparaitront d’ici un siècle….cela signifie que 90% des langues actuelles seront liquidées au cours de ce siècle« le linguiste français claude hagege ,dans france culture, contribue à cette documentation en notant que « ... en moyenne, il meurt environ 25 langues chaque année. il existe aujourd’hui dans le monde 5000 langues vivantes. dans cent ans, si rien ne change, la moitié de ces langues seront mortes. a la fin du xxie siècle, il devait donc en rester 2500envirion, et sans doute beaucoup moins encore si l’on tient compte d’une accélération fort possible, du rythme de disparition» une langue commence à disparaitre dès qu’elle n’enregistre plus d’expansion. une langue peut mourir en raison de ses usagers qui périssent suite à une guerre, une maladie contagieuse ou endémique. » selon les estimations, un pourcentage aussi important que 95% de la population indigène de l’amérique du nord, sont morts des maladies issues des colonialistes européens. » (o’ grady et al:2011) (ma traduction) des langues meurent aussi puisqu’elles sont bannies. les langues peuvent être bannies pour des raisons politiques. nulle autre langue que le russe n’était permis par les tsars. l’usage de l’ukraine, le lithuanien, le georgin, l’arménien, l’azéri et toutes autres langues nationales était bannies (421-422) des langues bannies meurent après quelques décennies, car elles ne trouvent plus de locuteurs. les langues peuvent aussi mourir naturellement surtout quand la culture sur laquelle la langue est fondée n’a pas beaucoup à offrir au monde extérieur. de telle langue perd alors ses fonctions de communication dans la vie sociale et par conséquent n’est plus pratiquée au quotidien. les parleurs des langues non fructueuses adoptent les langues qui leur donnent plus d’accès à l’éducation et à l’économie. les langues anglaise, espagnole, française sont trois exemples typiques des langues qui gagnent ainsi beaucoup plus de parleurs. personne ne pourrait imaginer que la langue latine disparaisse comme elle a fait après avoir dominé le monde chrétien pour aussi longtemps. mais le moment que les gens ont commencé à igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 121 mettre en cause la domination religieuse, et à s’en détacher, la langue latine, qui était la langue véhiculaire du christianisme, a commencé aussi à perdre ses parleurs. mais la langue latine n’est pas la seule à mourir. d’autres langues telles que la langue manx, une langue parlée dans une petite île entre la grande bretagne et l’irlande, a vu mourir son dernier parleur en 1974. des 300 langues autrefois parlées dans la région désignée aujourd’hui comme la grande bretagne, il ne reste que 175 langues, la majorité desquelles sont en voie de disparition. le processus accéléré vers le monolinguisme est très évident avec les langues qui disparaissent et les autres qui se fusent. c’est aussi vrai qu’une langue sans autonomie politique ou pourvoir politique doit son maintien à la volonté de la majorité dominante, et elle meurt le moment qu’elle perd l’appui de cette majorité. les locuteurs d’une langue en voie d’extinction commencent d’abord à acquérir une autre langue. ils deviennent alors bilingues. et selon www.axl.cefan.ulaval.ca/langues/2vi « le bilinguisme…est simplement un moyen que prend un peuple pour changer la langue parce que la première ne lui apparait plus utile ». l’intercodification se constate pendant la première démarche vers l’apprentissage d’une langue. et comme d’habitude les enfants des bilingues finissent par être monolingues dans la nouvelle langue. la traduction la traduction est née du désir inhérent en l’homme de comprendre son prochain pour faciliter les échanges. ladmiral la conçoit comme « toute forme de médiation interlinguistique permettant de transmettre l’information entre locuteurs de langues différentes » (87). la traduction est à la fois un acte linguistique et culturel. mais avec l’intercodification en vogue et dans cette vitesse alarmante que les mots s’infiltrent dans les langues différentes, on ne peut qu’imaginer qu’il va arriver au point où l’étymologie des mots ne peut plus être établie étant donné que les langues se prêtent des mots. pour appuyer sur cette réalité qui se dévoile lentement vinay et darbelnet disent »il y a des emprunts anciens, qui n’en sont plus pour nous, puisqu’ils sont rentrés dans le lexique et deviennent des servitudes…. ce qui intéresse le traducteur, ce sont les emprunts nouveaux…(47) et il arrivera encore un moment où tout le monde commence à se comprendre. les plus fortes langues auront supprimé les plus faibles et à force de continuer les échanges, les vocabulaires de peu de langues restantes se fuseront. bref, il s’agit ici de la neutralisation de la diversité linguistique qui aboutira au développement d’une langue universelle. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 122 la traduction vient lier et enchainer les hommes et les aider à communiquer entre eux. elle intervient pour débloquer ceux qui sont linguistiquement bloqués. n’est-ce pas à cause du blocage que les services du traducteur trouvent une place ? mais au moment où le monde entier commencent à se comprendre quel rôle jouera alors la traduction ? conclusion le monolinguisme et le bilinguisme s’échangent des tours et d’une vitesse alarmante dans ce siècle. l’intercodification et l’alternance codique sont en vogue à cause des langues en contact. tout ceci indique que d’ici quelques siècles, on ne parlera plus de défis à la traduction mais plutôt d’un anéantissement presque total de la traduction car les langues se fuseront en une seule langue universelle. ce sera la naissance du monolinguisme absolu. mais cela aboutira à une vie meilleure puisque les idées seront maintenant passées sans intermédiaires, éliminant beaucoup de fautes de traduction avec leurs conséquences parfois sinistres. puisque la langue véhicule la culture, on développera aussi une culture mondiale. les préjugés issues des diversités linguistiques seront éliminées et à leurs places la compréhension de tous et par conséquent la bonne entente. œuvres citees collins english dictionary and thesaurus. england : harper collins publishers, 2006. chirac jacques, « discours sur la dimension universelle de la francophonie » hanoï, le 14 novembre 1997. web. 17 nov. 2015. discours.viepublique.fr/notices/97 descourbes, françoise and paul, joëlle. 4e grammaire. paris : bordas, 1992. frompkin, victoria. an introduction to language , 8th ed. united states: thomson/ wadsworth, 2005. hagege claude « halte à la mort des langues» france culture www.franceculture.fr/oeuvre.halte web. octobre, le 29, 2015. kourouma, ahmadou. allah n’est pas obligé. paris : seuil, 2000. ladmiral, j.r. traduire : théorèmes pour la traduction. paris : payot.1979. languages of senegal wikipedia.org/wiki/languages_ of_senegal web 20 mai, 2015. le marchand, veronica. la francophonie. toulouse : milan, 2006. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 123 o’ grady, william et al. contemporary linguistics: an introduction. second edition. london: pearson education ltd, 2011. piveteau, j. perspectives : l’actualité des langues vivantes. paris iv : ligel 1955. segond, louis. la sainte bible (une traduction) corée : alliance biblique universelle, 2005. vinay, j.p et darbelnet, j. stylistique comparée du français et de l’anglais. france: didier, 1977. la mort des langues, www.axl.cefan.ulaval.ca/langues/2vi web. octobre, le 29, 2015. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.3. no.2 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 99 jesus: the light of the world (`o vihsouj to fwj tou kosmou john 8,12; 12,46) as a fulfillment of isa 42,6 and 49,6:an exegetical-christological study obielosi dominic. c. ph.d department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe university, awka abstract jesus is variously titled by different people in the fourth gospel. for john the baptist for example, he is the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world (john 1,29.36). andrew sees him as the messiah (john 1,41). for nathanael he is the son of god, the king of israel (john 1,49). only on few occasions did jesus arrogate any title to himself directly. in john 6,35.41 for example, jesus describes himself as the bread of life. he is also the door of the sheep as we read in john 10,7. he is equally the good shepherd (john 10,11); the resurrection and the life (john 11,25). light of the world is one of these few titles (john 8,12; 12,46. cf. also john 1,5.9). exploration into the meaning of this concept for john is the major preoccupation of this section. its rapport with isaiah’s idea of the servant of god as light to the nations makes it necessarily an aspect calling for a deeper study. keywords: jesus, light, world, exegetical, christological, kosmou, john. introduction ~umei/j de. ti,na me le,gete ei=naiè is believed to be jesus’ question to his disciples (cf. matt 16,15; mark 8,27). this has remained a perennial question for the nt authors, scholars, exegetes, believers and even unbelievers. peter immediately answered that jesus is the christ, the son of the living god (matt 16,16). the evangelists have their individual propositions about the person of jesus. mark posits him as one who came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many (mark 10,45). luke sets out to give a definition to theophilus regarding the personality of the historical jesus (luke 1,4). later nt writers and commentators have all tried to picture the personality of jesus. individual christians are not left out. for some he is the saviour. others see him as a miracle worker. all christians believe him to be the messiah. unbelievers are not unconcerned about him too. thus even moslems consider him one of the prophets. john the evangelist has his own answer. he interprets the ot as talking about christ (john 5,39). he tends to be more historical and scriptural. he structures his gospel within the context of jewish feasts. in his concern to give meaning to the personality of jesus, he finds his answer in that part of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 100 deutero-isaiah commonly known as the songs of the suffering servant. among other christological terms, jesus for john is the servant of god, though he left off using the term directly. the argument of this paper is that the fourth gospel pictures jesus as the “suffering servant of god”. it is of the opinion that the idea of a “suffering servant” is not a projection into john’s gospel. it is rather a theme that runs through the entire gospel. it informs and explicates both his soteriology and christology. various studies have been postulated by different scholars in this regard. barrett (1947); morgan (1957); freed (1965); reim (1974) and cimosa (1984), schuchard (1992), hanson (1994), menken (1996), dwelt on the use of the old testament in the fourth gospel. young (1955) worked on the use of isaiah in the fourth gospel. griffiths (1954), and evans (1987), researched on the use of deutero-isaiah in the fourth gospel. thüsing (1960), beutler (1990), painter (1994), lee (2005) dealt expansively with monographs on chosen johannine passages. this paper concerns itself fundamentally with just an aspect, namely: jesus as the light of the world as one of the many attributes of the suffering servant seen in the fourth gospel. a thorough study of this christological term in john as influenced by deutero-isaiah forms the limitation and scope of this research. the method adopted is purely exegetical. the research rests convinced that linguistic, historical, geographical and exegetical rapport between john 8,12/john 12,46 and isa 42,6/isa 49,6 is not just a matter of coincidence. it simply depicts the effort of the author of the fourth gospel to defend his understanding of jesus as the fulfilment of isaiah’s servant of god. in his thoughts, the unknown became known. the unrevealed got revealed. the true identity of the servant of god prophesied by isaiah got revealed in jesus through actualization of his qualities in the person of jesus. one of these is that he is the light of the world. orientation of the text a prior look at the few textual problems posed by our text gives us an ample opportunity to give a proper translation and interpretation. a) textual problems nestle-aland’s john 8,12 reads pa,lin ou=n auvtoi/j evla,lhsen o` vihsou/j le,gwn( vegw, eivmi to. fw/j tou/ ko,smou\ o` avkolouqw/n evmoi. ouv mh. peripath,sh| evn th/| skoti,a|( avllv e[xei to. fw/j th/j zwh/j. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 101 not many textual problems are observable in the text. part of the text reads o` vihsou/j. the definite article o` is omitted by î75 b. since the text studied is witnessed in vast majority of the mss, we understand it to be closer to the original. also bt or have moi, as an alternative reading to evmoi,. the paucity and dating of the mss that have this alternative reading cast question as to its originality. on the other hand, the text used is witnessed in î66 א d l w θ y 0250 f1.13 33 û. considering the number of the mss that testify to this together with their ancient nature, we confidently interpret it as closer to the original. b) translation the researcher proposes the following as the working translation of the text: “then again jesus spoke to them saying, ‘i am the light of the world’ the one who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life”. c) delimitation the text could be delimited from the point of view of the structure, audience and the theme under discussion. the researcher understands pa,lin ou=n as resumptive indicating the beginning of a new section. this delimits the text from the pericope shortly before it. john 8,9-10 which forms part of the section just before the text under study presents jesus as acquitting the woman caught in adultery after her accusers have left. it is part of a larger section of john 7,53-8,11 dealing on the adulteress. metzger (1998) documents its conspicuous absence in some early and diverse mss like î66.75 א b l n t w x y d q y 053 0141 0211 22 33 124 157 209 565 788 828 1230 1241 1242 1253 2193 al. in the east, the syrc.s and syrp mss as well as sahidic, sub-achmimic versions and boharic mss all omit it. in the west, it is absent from the gothic and old latin mss. no greek church father before euthymius zigabenus (12th) commented on the passage. the pericope is therefore considered as secondary and did not make part of the original fourth gospel. it was after jesus has completed the acquittal that he then began to speak again. by implication, john 8,12 is entirely independent of this pericope because the action of the preceding text already came to a completion. it is also delimited from the subsequent unit by the same fact. in fact in v. 21 one meets the resumptive ou=n pa,lin which gives an introductory linkage to what comes after. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 102 the audience addressed also delimits our text. the personalities involved in the pericope antecedent to the text studied are the scribes and pharisees (john 8,3.4.67.9); the woman caught in adultery (john 8,3.4.10.11) and jesus himself (john 8,2.4.5.6-11). in the text studied, the audience are still the pharisees (john 8,13); perhaps some other jews (john 8,2.20) and jesus himself (john 8,2.12). in the section following the text, the audience is basically the same but whereas in john 8,12, the jews were inactive except the pharisees who challenged jesus’ claim as light of the world, in the text that follows, the jews were very much involved in the event. the theme of john 8,12 is on the personality of jesus, posited by jesus himself. he calls himself the light of the world. the preceding text is on the woman caught in adultery and the subsequent text is on where jesus was to go. d) exegesis john 8,12 is dominated by the semantics of speech and movement. the location of the preaching is in the temple area. thus, it immediately recalls john 7,37-38 which is addressed to all and sundry. pa,lin ou=n indicates the beginning of a new section as well as a continuity with what has gone before but does not fix the context of the discourse. however, the auvtoi/j helps locate the context. already in john 8,2 we read that jesus was in the temple area. all the people gathered about him and he sat down and taught them. this is followed immediately by an intervention by the scribes and pharisees who brought in a woman caught in adultery. we are prone to see this other group as coming from some other part of the temple. perhaps they were not originally part of the people that gathered around jesus. in john 8,9 we read that they all left leaving jesus and the woman. the text did not say anything about “all” the people that gathered around jesus and were taught by him. we only know that in john 8,21, we see the jews with him again. they were being taught by him most probably in the same location. evidently, it is not the scribes and pharisees that left in shame that he was telling that he is the light of the world. the inclination therefore is to favour the conclusion that after the accusers of the woman had dispersed, some people came back probably to see what he would do to the woman. jesus then used it as an occasion to reveal his identity as the light of the world. it is the position of the researcher that as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 103 bernard (1928) observes the auvtoi/j refer to this group that gathered later, pharisees included, hence their reaction in john 8,13. with the linkage indicating another beginning, coupled with the verbs of speech ― evla,lhsen […] le,gwn jesus goes on with his discourse which commenced in john 7,52. there is no indication of change of place. jesus is still in the temple. the verbs of speech used introduce the words spoken (cf. john 3,11; matt 14,27). john’s adoption of two different verbs of speech here ― lalei/n and le,gein arrests attention. these two words generally appear synonymous. they both mean “to say”. the only subtle difference is that lalei/n has to do with the fact and manner of utterance while le,gein concerns with the substance of what is said. bernard (1928) observes correctly that in john “lalei/n suggests frankness or openness of speech” (p. 109). hübner (1994) is of the view that lalei/n is only distinguished from le,gein in that it only rarely means “say that” or is followed by indirect discourse as in rev 17,1; 21,9; matt 28,18; john 8,12. «lale,w». debrunner (1995) traces the difference to the historical meaning of the words. he discovers that originally lale,w is related to latin lallare (to lull to sleep); german lallen and english lull. it means “to babble or prattle”, while le,gw means “to gather, to count, to narrate, to enumerate, to say”. the words spoken present one of the great «i am’s» of the gospel coupled with a christological neologism. jesus says: evgw, eivmi to. fw/j tou/ ko,smou. vegw, is a nominative personal pronoun. it is often used in the nt as in classical greek to make an emphasis. it occurs about 494x in john. in the nt it enjoys a preeminent theological significance because of its revelatory nature. schweizer (1974) made a thorough study of this expression. he gave its manifold interpretations and uses in religious history and different cultures. he then narrowed his excursus down to johannine understanding in relation to predicative nouns. in the fourth gospel, jesus uses it to express what he is (john 6,35; 8,12; 11,25); where he comes from (john 7,29; 8,42); what he gives (john 4,14; 17,14); what he speaks and to what he bears witness (john 5,36; 6,63) and that he is to judge the world (john 7,7; 8,16; 16,30). using evgw, as a revelatory term, jesus expresses two things. one is transcendental, the other is immanent. in the same evgw, he teaches his relationship to the father on the one hand and the gift of salvation to mankind on the other (schottroff, 1994). john uses various soteriological terms and metaphors to express this salvation that is effective in the revelation ― the true vine (john 15,1.5); the bread of life (john 6,35); the door (john 10,9); the good shepherd (john 10,11); the resurrection and the life igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 104 (john 11,25) and the way, the truth, and the life (john 14,6). john 8,12 comes under this category. in the manifestation narratives in the synoptic gospels, it serves a mode by which the revealer introduces himself to the recipient of the revelation. cf. acts 9,5. the recipient is then commissioned. cf. acts 22, 15. he also uses it to convey a message to the recipient. cf. mark 6,50 and luke 1,19. mark 13,6 holds that one of the signs of the eschatological disturbances is that false prophets shall arise presenting themselves as evgw, eivmi. ’egw, eivmi is therefore self representative. stauffer (1995) notes that the logic of the evgw, eivmi revelatory sayings together with the predicative nouns used indicate an equality rather than subordination. in other words, he is these predicative nouns in a supreme and ultimate sense. used by christ, it expresses god-consciousness as well as his redemptive role for man. it is indicative of christ’s mediatorship. it expresses in nuce the o;noma of jesus. it gives a defense of his identity and personality. in john 8,12, jesus calls himself to. fw/j tou/ ko,smou. the figure of speech used is not a simile. he does not say ‘i am like […]’ he calls himself the light of the world. the expression is very akin to his words about himself as the living water (john 7,37.38) or the living bread (john 6,51). the nature of the saying indicates a reference to a light known to the audience. a brief historical excursus into the significance of light will perhaps set us right in understanding this image of jesus as presented by john. in the ancient oriental world, light is rooted in nature. light, sun, life and salvation all go together. the hebrews believed that god gave them light. ps 27,1 for example says “the lord is my light”. isa 60,19 promises that god shall be everlasting light. it is notable that for the hebrews, god is not light. light for them denotes relation, not being. god is the cause of light (job 37,3). he is the sovereign lord of light and darkness (amos 5,8). light for them is god in action (hab 3,4). s. agrelo (1975) gives a good summary of the significance of light for the hebrews in his conclusion to his research on the biblical theme of light. he believes that la simbología de la luz en el viejo testamento, simbología compleja y unitaria, depende fundamentalmente del hecho que dios se manifiesta en la luz, y se manifiesta como salvador. la teología de la salvación considera el mundo como algo perdido, que de por sí marcha hacia la muerte, y que sólo dios puede librar de la ruina (pp. 389-390). in the nt, fw/j occurs 73x. it occurs 15x in the synoptics, 23x in john’s gospel, 6x in 1john,10x in acts, 6x in paul, 5x in ephesians, 4x in revelation and 1x each in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 105 col 1,12; 1tim 6,16; james 1,17; 1pet 2,9. conzelmann (1995) notes that for the greeks, light is not just a medium of sight, but also its object. light in connection with vision is the possibility of grasping and hence of mastering the world. he further observes that the pre-socratics interpret light as a moving and emanating substance. while the pythagoreans understand it as one of the antithetical principles, light is for plato true being. in cults, it is believed that light drives out darkness. in the synoptics, it is used in three senses ― literal, figurative and transferred senses. literally, it refers to appearance of light at an epiphany. example is matt 17,2; acts 9,3; 22,6.9.11; 26,13. figuratively, it is used of person and his teaching (matt 5,14.16; luke 2,32; acts 13,47; rev 2,19). it is used of the christian proclamation of salvation grounded in the person of jesus, his words and works so much so that the follower of christ now also becomes light of the world (ritt, 1994). in its transferred sense, it signifies openness (matt 10,27). paul’s usage lies within the bounds of jewish understanding. between light and darkness is always a polemic. thus he renders the plan of salvation before and now with the contrast of darkness and light (cf. 2cor 4,6; rom 12,1-13,14; eph 5,8-14; col 1,12). in the apocalypse, the extinction of light is viewed as the end of all signs of life (rev 18,23). this short historical tradition behind the understanding and uses of light gives us an idea of the possible meaning of the concept for john. strayer (1900) traces the saying to a possible influence by the feast of dedication which was called ta. fw/ta because the whole city was brilliantly illuminated at the time of the feast. it is the belief of the researcher that john’s usage in our text transcends the common denotation of light for the hebrews. god for them is not light. he is the cause of light. to think of the feast of the dedication as the only tradition behind john’s idea of jesus as the light of the world will be an excessive limitation of the meaning of this concept for john. wiles (1960) has made an extensive study of the fathers and their interpretation of the idea of light and world. in john’s “light of the world” is a clear marriage between soteriology and cosmology. isa 45,7 comes to mind here where god created light and darkness, salvation and destruction. john’s gospel sums up the nt use of light and darkness. lee understands the symbolism of darkness in the fourth gospel in threefold senses: it symbolizes the power of sin and evil in opposition to god; it symbolizes lethal estrangement from god resulting in death and finally it is pointer to human ignorance and unbelief in the face of revelation. john makes use of fw/j in various senses. he adopts the literal sense of it for example in john igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 106 5,35 where he talks of the lamp set aflame and burning. another example is in john 3,20 where he talks of it as brightness avoided by the wicked who shun the light. close to his literal use of light is his figurative use of it. john 12,35 is a good example of the figurative use of fw/j. here light is likened to the brightness of the day which figuratively represents the presence of revelation or even the revealer himself. by identifying light with revelation and revelation with the revealer, john differs from the gnostics who see god as emanation of light. john never called god the light. the concentration of his teaching is on the person of the revealer ― evgw, eivmi. this implies that for him, there is no light independent of the revealer. the revealer gives his revelation to the world. thus, he is light of the world ― tou/ ko,smou. tou/ ko,smou is genitive. it expresses the functionality of jesus the light in relation to the world. jesus, the light as revealer confronts the unenlightened world orientated to illumination. in the synoptics, the word used often for earth is gh/. this word is used 13x in john’s gospel. the word ko,smoj occurs about 78x in john with wide range of meanings. in john 15,5; 21,25 it refers to the universe and the earth. in john 16,21 it is used as a reference to the human inhabitants of the earth. in john 7,4 it denotes the general public. john 3,19 gives it an ethical bent of thought referring to it as humanity alienated from god and in need of salvation. in john 4,42 it refers to nationality. john 7,7; 8,23 presents it as referring to the realm of evil. hendriksen (1969) notes seven different meanings of the term in john. it includes the world of moral agents as well as the sum of physical forces. it stands for mankind at large as well as for the earth which is man’s habitation (john 6,51; 7,4; 12,19). barrett (1978) documents that in john, it does not refer to the totality of creation but to the world of men and human affairs. he notes john 11,9; 17,5.24; 21,25 as exceptions. it is more an ethical term. ferreira (1998) sees john’s proximity to gnosticism in his understanding of the world but with a striking departure from gnostic depiction in that for john, ko,smoj refers to the world that has fallen away from god but yet not rejected by god. instead the father loves the world and sends the son into the world to save the world. we do not intend to give any strict definition of the meaning of ko,smoj for john. the term is too ambiguously used to be streamlined to a particular definition. john 7,7; 8,23; 14,17 give an antithesis between jesus and the world and then again in john 3,16, god is said to love the world and jesus is sent to save the world (john 3,17; 12,47) as its saviour (john 4,42) taking its sin away (john 1,29). again john 6,33.51 talk of jesus as giving life to the world. also in the prayer of jesus in john 17,9, he does not pray for the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 107 world but then later in john 17,21 he prays that the world may be saved. it is sufficient to interpret the term to refer to that which opposes jesus’ mission but yet having a potentiality of coming to belief. unlike paul, john does not see god as reconciling the world to himself (cf. 2cor 5,18-19; eph 2,16). for john, the world is overcome (john 16,33). if we bring our interpretations of the individual parts of “i am the light of the world” together, john’s message stands prominent. the evgw, eivmi is emphatic. it is like saying in italian “io devo dire la verità” or in spanish “yo mismo lo he hecho”. it strikes a note of emphasis on the person of the subject ― i. thus, in calling himself the light of the world, jesus is not being figurative. he is the true light. the definite article denotes the exclusiveness. no other person is the light of the world. he alone is. again, since the presence of light means absence of darkness it follows that when jesus describes himself as the light of the world, he is also expressing the functionality of his person. he is using metaphorical language adopting what is known to them to express his personality. it is another way of saying, i am the saviour of the world. this explains why he said that whoever walks in him can never walk in darkness (john 8,12) because for him, god is light and in him there is no darkness (1john 1,5). this is why the one who follows him cannot walk in darkness but will have the light of life. john consistently depicted jesus as the light. the prologue presents the word of god as the light while john the baptist only testifies to it (john 1,8). this light who is the verbum incarnatum lights every man. this light is jesus (john 3,19; 12,46). it is therefore comprehensible why john puts evgw, eivmi to. fw/j tou/ ko,smou into the mouth of jesus in john 8,12 (cf. also john 9,5). the second part of the verse follows logically from the understanding above. if jesus is exclusively the true light, it means there is no darkness in him and so, his follower cannot walk in darkness but will enjoy the light, the salvation which is life itself ― o` avkolouqw/n evmoi. ouv mh. peripath,sh| evn th/| skoti,a|( avllv e[xei to. fw/j th/j zwh/j. vakolouqein refers to the act of discipleship. john 1,37 presents it as the first act of discipleship. john 21,22 enjoins it as something essential. it means conducting (peripatei/n) oneself after the example of christ who is the way, the truth and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 108 the life (john 14,6). the lxx often renders the hebrew term $lh with peripatei/n eg. prov 8,20; eccles 11,9. it is used in this sense in many parts of the nt. cf. mark 7,5; john 12,35; acts 21,21; 1john 1,6.7; 2,6.11; 2john 6; 3john 3.4. it is expressive of the obedience of faith. it designates the specific character of human life (cf. john 11,9-10; 12,35). the one following him will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life because jesus is light as well as life (john 11,45; 14,6). in john 1,4-5 we read: quod factum est in ipso vita erat, et vita erat lux hominum; et lux in tenebris lucet, et tenebrae eam non comprehenderunt. in conclusion we opine that for john, evgw, eivmi to. fw/j tou/ ko,smou describes a soteriological function rather than a cosmological one. as the light, jesus is the saviour of the world. he is actively saving the world. it is because of this that the followers are said to be delivered from the world (john 1,5; 12,35.46). they are not just delivered. they are blessed with life because jesus, the light has life in himself and therefore gives life (cf. john 4,10.14; 6,35.51). e) john 8,12 in the light of isa 42,6 and 49,6 many scriptural passages talk about light. in zech 14,7 for instance, we read “it will be a unique day without daytime or nighttime ― a day known to the lord. when evening comes, there will be light”. job 33,28 reads “he redeemed my soul from going down to the pit and i will live to enjoy the light” (cf. also job 33,30). ps 36,9 says “for with you is the fountain of life and in your light we see light”. these passages undoubtedly have references to light but none defines the light. john 8,12 reveals the identity of this light. he presents it as one of the “i am” sayings of jesus. it is the submission of this paper that isa 42,6 and isa 49,6 provide closest parallels to this text of john. both texts talk of the servant of god as one who will be light to the nations. john is aware of these texts and in his perfect idea that jesus is a realization of the servant of god prophecy, presents him as defining himself as the light of the world. isa 42,6 reads that the servant of the lord is to be a covenant to the peoples and a light to the nations. in isa 49,6 he will be made a light to the nations in order to bring god’s salvation to the ends of the earth. it is the belief of the researcher that there is a clear confluence in meaning between isaiah’s servant songs and john. the reasons for this position are obvious. they are group under geographical, epistemological and theological rapport. isaiah and john manifest agreement in geographical ambient. the servant of the lord of isaiah is called to be a light to the nations, by implication to the world. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 109 there is no geographical restriction to israel alone. in isaiah’s concept, the gentile world is a connotation of ignorance of god. whoever does not know god is in darkness. he is a gentile whether of jewish or non-jewish origin. this is why the servant of god is charged to bring justice to the nations, i.e to teach them god’s laws (isa 42,1) and gather all back to god (isa 49,3.5). the servant of god is to be a light to all, jews as well as gentiles. thus, he is the harbinger of salvation. he is confirmed in his office. god’s spirit (isa 42,1; 48,16) is his power. the wide world is his field of work. it is the same sense that we read in john 8,12. jesus calls himself the light of the world. our studies have shown us that world in john is not just physical world as such but refers to mankind as well as his habitation as such. it refers to man estranged from god and yet not abandoned by god. because it is estranged from god, it is ignorant of god and so in darkness. jesus as the saviour is to be its light bringing it out from this dungeon of darkness. like isaiah, john gives perspective to the heathen nations (john 1,4-10; john 10,16; 12,19.20-22; 12,32; 17,20). the only difference between isaiah and john is that while the servant of isaiah is “to be”, jesus of john is the light in actuality. isaiah’s servant of god is the light in potency. he is in the process of becoming. jesus is one in actuality. and because he is the light, he is one exclusively. one reason accounts for this ontological difference. while isaiah’s servant of god is one yet to come, john sees jesus as the expected servant of god. both isaiah and john are in epistemological or gnoseological interface. in isaiah the servant has the vocation to be a light to the gentiles. in other words, he is charged to show the way to god to those who do not know him. obedience to this light means victory over ignorance of god. it is salvation in se. it follows from here that as a light to the gentiles, the servant is the saviour of the gentiles. hence the task for the servant that he is to bring god’s salvation to the ends of the earth (isa 49,6). the same meaning is expressive of jesus’ personality as the light of the world. already in the ot, light connotes salvation. jesus as light to the world is saviour of the world. it implies then that just as isaiah’s servant of god is light/saviour to the nations, jesus is light/saviour to the world. the genitive construction, ~yiëag raaæ, fw/j evqnw/n in lxx translation (isa 42,6; 49,6) or to. fw/j tou/ ko,smou (john 8,12) means not only that the nations will be saved but also includes the implication that the salvation is through god’s intervention. it expresses the servant/jesus’ task in relation to the world. theologically, the rapport is no less prominent. isa 49,6 repeats isa 42,6 that the servant is to be a light to the nations. it is the consistent teaching of isaiah that it is god who forms the light and not man (isa 45,7; 60,3). the two texts set light igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 110 and salvation in parallel such that there is a cross-illumination between the two. this is why isa 49,6b explains that the servant is light to the nations so that salvation might reach the ends of the earth. light is salvation and salvation is light. this is because to be saved means to be in the light (cf. col 1,13). since god is the one who forms the light, it means that he is light in himself and by implication he is salvation personified. to be in his light is to be saved. not to be there is to be condemned. knight (1965) it as saving love in action. since the text talks of salvation for the whole earth, there is no reason to confine it to the tribe of israel only. it is salvation in the amplified sense. koole (1998) holds that it is salvation in the broadest and deepest sense of the word. john extends the logic of isaiah’s theology of light and salvation to its logical limit. for john, jesus is god because he is the incarnate word (cf. john 1,1-12). he is god’s light made manifest. to be in him is to be saved. not to be in him is to be in darkness. for god sent him into the world not to condemn the world but in order that through him, the world may be saved (john 3,17). thus in john 12,46 he makes it clear that he is in the world as light so that whoever believes in him will not remain in the dark. he will have eternal life and never incur god’s wrath (cf. john 3,36). negation and refusal to believe means judgment and condemnation because jesus is light in the world (cf. john 3,19). we can therefore confidently say that isaiah’s servant of god has the vocation to be light of the nations. john conceives this as fulfilled and actualized in jesus. he therefore pictures jesus as confirming this fact about himself in his own words ― evgw, eivmi to. fw/j tou/ ko,smou\ o` avkolouqw/n evmoi. ouv mh. peripath,sh| evn th/| skoti,a|( avllv e[xei to. fw/j th/j zwh/j. it is striking to note that john presents jesus as one who restores sight to the blind (john 9). evidently, this points to both a metaphorical and literal healing considering the sequence of discussion between jesus and jews in john 8,31-44. they have always believed themselves to be sons of abraham and so true sons of god. john has another view about them. they are prisoners of a way of life and so are blinded to the truth. thus they are unable to recognize jesus who is life himself even before abraham (john 8,58). it is because they think they see that jesus makes it clear to them that actually they are blind (john 9,40-41). it is not just a coincidence that john brought up all these discussions under the theme of jesus as the light of the world. he is being faithful to his source of influence. in isa 42,6, the servant of god is presented as light to the nations. immediately after, precisely in isa 42,7 he is described as one who will give sight to the blind. it is exactly the same sequence of events and understanding that we see in john igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 111 8-9. in john 8,12-20, jesus is presented as the light of the world. from vv. 31-47 he makes it clear to the jews that they are blind in the real sense of it even though they think the opposite about themselves. in john 9, jesus as the servant of god sets out to restore their sight just as isa 42,7 says he would do. thus we are in favour of the conclusion that isa 42,6 and isa 49,6 are the most likely sources for john’s christology of jesus as the light of the world in john 8,12. evaluation and conclusion prophecy is one thing. understanding and interpretation of the prophecy is quite yet another. this is particular evident in the isaiah’s servant of god concept. scholars in history have tackled the unveiling of the identity of this unique man, foreseen by isaiah as a taunting and titanic issue. spanning through four chapters of the deutero-isaiah (cf. isa 42,1-9; 46,1-6; 49,4-9 and 52,13-53,1-12), he is projected in many lights especially in his functionality. the true identity of this servant of god is unfortunately not given by isaiah. in the new testament, aspects of the qualities of the servant are seen scattered here and there like mark 10,45; matt 8,17. in paul, phil 2,6-11 enshrines some of the characteristics. 1pet 2,24 still has part of it. a full revelation of jesus as the servant of god prophesied by isaiah is seen in the fourth gospel. this paper limited her purview to only one of the characteristics: jesus as the light of the world. linguistic rapport, epistemological interpretation and geographical extensions as seen above give a sound proof that apart from other qualities of the servant of god seen different parts of the fourth gospel, jesus as the light of the world in john 8,12 also depict isaiah’s influence in the construction of the fourth gospel. john did not use the term servant of god but just as uranus as in existence ever before it was discovered by scientists in 1781, so the attributes of the isaiah’s servant of god resound in all parts of the fourth gospel’s christology. this paper has proven beyond doubt that john 8,12 is one these attributes and the author could not have depended less in isaiah for its construction. references agrelo, s. (1975): “el tema biblico de la luz”, anto 50(1975) pp. 353-417. barrett, c.k. (1947): “the old testament in the fourth gospel”. jts 48(1947). pp. 155-169. barrett, c.k. (1978): the gospel according to st. john. an introduction with commentary and notes on the greek text. pennsylvania: westminster press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 112 bernard, j.h. (1928): a critical and exegetical commentary on the gospel according to st. john i-ii, icc. edinburgh: t&t clark. beutler, j. (1990): “greeks come to see jesus (john 12,20)” biblica 71. rome: pontifical biblical institute. conzelmann, h. (1995): “fw/j”, theological dictionary of the new testament ix. grand rapids: wm. b. eerdmans publishing company, pp. 310-358. debrunner, a. (1995): “le,gw”, theological dictionary of the new testament iv. grand rapids: wm. b. eerdmans publishing company, pp. 69-77. evans, c.a. (1987): “obduracy and the lord’s servant. some observations on the use of the old testament in the fourth gospel” in c.a. evans & w.s. stinespring eds., early jewish and christian exegesis. studies in memory of w.h. brownlee. atlanta. ferreira, j. (1998): johannine ecclesiology. jsnt.s 160. freed, e.d. (1965): old testament quotations in the gospel of john. nt.s xi (1965). griffiths, d.r. (1954): “deutero-isaiah and the fourth gospel. some points of comparison” et 66 (1954) pp. 355-360. hanson, a.t. (1994): “john’s use of scripture” in c.e. evans & w.r. stegner, eds., the gospels and scriptures of israel. jssnt.ss 104 pp. 359-379 hendriksen, w. (1953): the gospel of john. london: baker book house. hübner, h. (1990): “lale,w”, exegetical dictionary of the new testament ii. edinburgh: t&t. clark, pp. 335-336. knight, g.a.f. (1984): servant theology. a commentary on the book of isaiah 40-55. grand rapids: eerdman’s publishing co. koole, j.l. (1998) isaiah iii. leuven: hcot. lee, d. (2002): flesh and glory. symbolism, gender and theology in the gospel of john. new york: the crossroad publishing company. lee, h.j. (2005): “signore, vogliamo vedere gesù”. la chiusura dell’attività pubblica di gesù secondo gv 12,20-36. rome: università gregoriana press. menken, m.j.j. (1996): old testament quotations in the fourth gospel. studies in textual form. cbet 15: kampen. morgan, r. (1957): “fulfilment in the fourth gospel”. interp 11(1957) 155-165. painter, j. (1994): “the quotations of scripture and unbelief in john 12, 36b43” in c.e. evans & w.r. stegner, eds., the gospels and scriptures of israel. jssnt.ss 104 pp. 429-458. reim, g. (1974): studien zum alttestamentlichen hintergrund des johannesevangeliums. cambridge: cambridge university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 113 ritt, h. (1990): “fw/j”, exegetical dictionary of the new testament iii. edinburgh: t&t. clark, pp. 447-448. schottroff, l. (1990): “evgw,”, exegetical dictionary of the new testament i. edinburgh: t&t. clark, pp. 378-381. schuchard, b.g. (1992): scripture within scripture. the interrelationship of form and function in the explicit old testament citations in the gospel of john. sbl: scholars press. schweizer, e. (1939): ego eimi…die religionsgeschichtliche hertkunft und theologische bedeutung der johanneischen bildreden, zugleich ein beitrag zur quellecgrage des vierten evangeliums, göttingen . stauffer, e. (1995): “evgw,”, theological dictionary of the new testament ii. grand rapids: wm. b. eerdmans publishing company, pp. 343-362. strayer, p.m. (1990): “transpositions of texts in st. john’s gospel, jts 2 (1900) 137-140. thüsing, w. (1960): die erhöhung und verherrlichung jesu im johanesevangelium. munster. wiles, m.f. the spiritual gospel. the interpretation of the fourth gospel in the early church. cambridge: cambridge university press. young, f.w. (1955): “a study of the relation of isaiah to the fourth gospel”. znw 46 (1955) pp. 215-133. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.3. no.2 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 153 igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity kanu, ikechukwu anthony, o.s.a., ph.d. department of philosophy augustinian institute, makurdi ikee_mario@yahoo.com abstract the ethics of reciprocity holds that “we do unto others as we would like done unto us”. it has the capacity to provide a ready precept for the handling of conflicts and promotion of harmony among peoples. it is derived from human feelings and behaviour; and is also relatively simple to articulate and understand, and yet, addresses an enormous range of human behaviour. however, for the purpose of a more particular study in african thought in relation to the ethic of reciprocity, this piece focuses on igwebuike, which is an igbo-african philosophy of complementarity to explain how the ethic of reciprocity is at the heart of african philosophy and religion. for the purpose of this study, the indigenous holistic method of inquiry is adopted. keywords: igwebuike, ethic of reciprocity, golden rule, igbo, african. introduction the ‘ethic of reciprocity’ is across-religiocultural ethical principle that is found in virtually every religious and cultural backgrounds. it simply states: “do to others what you would like done to you”. it is also called ‘the golden rule’ and provides a ready precept for the handling of conflicts and promotion of harmony among peoples (kanu 2009). it is derived from human feelings and behaviour; it is also relatively simple to articulate and understand, and yet, addresses an enormous range of human behaviour. thus, “the ethic of reciprocity stands alone as a legion in its own right and in the form of a general rule” (matthew black 1967). although the most common reference to the ethic of reciprocity is the gospel of matthew (7:12), a cursory glance at african traditional values, and in fact, its worldview reveals that the ethic of reciprocity is at the heart of african philosophy or thought. one can hear the breath of the ethic of reciprocity so strongly in the following selected yoruba and akan proverbs: 1. one going to take a pointed stick to pinch a baby bird should first try it on himself to feel how it hurts (yoruba). 2. when one fells a tree in the forest, one should apply the matter to oneself (yoruba). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 154 3. whenever one does something to another, one should put oneself in that person's shoes (yoruba). 4. if one sees the corpse of a wicked person on the ground and one kicks it, there are then two wicked people (yoruba). 5. as the young of birds hurt, so the young of humans hurt (yoruba). 6. what you do not find acceptable if it were done to you by another, do not do to him or her (yoruba). 7. if you do not allow your neighbor to reach nine you will never reach ten (akan). 8. somebody's troubles have arrived; those of another are on the way (akan). 9. it is a fool that says, "my neighbor is the butt of the attack not me” (akan). 10. the stick that was used to beat takyi is the same that will be used to beat nyankomago (akan). 11. one person's path will intersect with another's before too long (akan). while these proverbs are of akan and yoruba origin, they are employed in the stead of african proverbs that communicate the same complementary spirit. this goes to show that the ethic of reciprocity is a fundamental african precept for conflict resolution and the promotion of peace among african peoples. however, for the purpose of a more particular study in african thought in relation to the ethic of reciprocity, this piece focuses on igwebuike, which is an igbo-african philosophy of complementarity to explain how the ethic of reciprocity is at the heart of african philosophy and religion. but, before a study of this ethic within the context of igwebuike, it would be worthwhile to understand in a more detailed way the meaning of the ethic of reciprocity. the ethic of rceiprocity and its cross-religiocultural character as already indicated, the ethics of reciprocity holds that “we do unto others as we would like done unto us”. we are not just to love our neighbour but that we must bear the same affection to them as we do to ourselves. it is from this perspective that henry (2007) believes that the meaning of the ethic of reciprocity lies in three fundamental dimensions: 1. we must do that to our neighbour which we ourselves acknowledge to be fit and reasonable: the appeal is made to our own judgment, and the discovery of our judgment is referred to that which is our own will and expectation, when it is our own case. 2. we must put other people at the same level with ourselves, and reckon that we are as much obliged to them as they are to us. we are as much igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 155 bound to the duty of justice as they, and they are as much entitled to the benefit of it as we. 3. we must, in our dealings with others, suppose ourselves in the same particular case and circumstances with those we have to do with, and deal accordingly. for instance, if i were making a bargain for someone else, labouring under the same infirmity and affliction, how should i desire and expect to be treated? this is a just supposition because we do not know how soon their case or situation may turn out to be ours. at least, we may fear, lest god by his judgment should do to us as we have done to others, if we have not done as we would have loved done to us (henry 2007). beyond the christian scripture, particularly the gospel of matthew, the ethic of reciprocity can be traced to some other passages of scripture and also some literatures in judaism and ancient eastern religions. the best known in judaism is probably that of rabbi hillel or hillel the elder (leske 2004), who in giving an answer to a question from a proselyte who demanded a precise and good understanding of the law and the prophets: “that which displeases you do not do to another. this is the whole law, the rest is commentary” (mckenzie 1999). in brahmanism it is expressed thus: "this is the sum of dharma: do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you" (mahabharata, 5:1517). in buddhism: "...a state that is not pleasing or delightful to me, how could i inflict that upon another?" (samyutta nikaya v. 353) in confucianism: "do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you" (analects 15:23). in ancient egyptian religion: "do for one who may do for you, that you may cause him thus to do." (the tale of the eloquent peasant, 109 110) in hinduism: “this is the sum of duty: do not do to others what would cause pain if done to you” (mahabharata 5:1517). in taoism: "the sage has no interest of his own, but takes the interests of the people as his own. he is kind to the kind; he is also kind to the unkind: for virtue is kind. he is faithful to the faithful; he is also faithful to the unfaithful: for virtue is faithful." (tao teh ching, chapter 49) similar text is also found in the old testament in the book of tobit 4:5: “never do to anyone else anything that you would not want someone else to do to you”. having understood the ethic of reciprocity and its cross-religiocultural contexts, it would be appropriate to study igwebuike philosophy and the relevance of ‘the other’ to igwebuike. it is in the idea of ‘the other’ in relation to ‘the self’ that the idea of the ethic of reciprocity occupies a fundamental place in igwebuike philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 156 igwebuike in igbo-african philosophy igwebuike is the heart of african thought, and in fact, the modality of being in african philosophy. it is taken from the igbo language, which is a composite word made up of three dimensions. therefore, it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. the three words involved: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power. thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force (kanu, 2016a). its english equivalent is ‘complementarity’. at this level, no task is beyond their collective capability. it is a concept that was employed by african traditional philosophers of the complementary school of thought to discuss the nature of the observed african reality (kanu, 2016b). the igbo concept of the other as a basis for igwebuike philosophy of reciprocity igwebuike is anchored on the african worldview, which, according to iroegbu (1995) is characterized by a common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny. it is a complementary philosophy which understands life as a shared reality. life is a life of sharedness; one in which another is part thereof. it is a relationship, though of separate and separated entities or individuals but with a joining of the same whole (kanu 2015c). it is a relationship in which case the two or more coming together makes each of them a complete whole; it is a diversity of being one with each other. thus, mbiti (1970) classically proverbializes the community determining role of the individual when he writes, “i am because we are and since we are, therefore i am” (p. 108). reflecting on the african idea of life as a shared reality, and in which complementarity is observed, kanu (2015d) avers that it presupposes a tailormade-cloth, measured, cut and sewn to fit into the curves, contours, shape and size, peculiarities and particularities of a being. thus, every being has a missing part and is at the same time, a missing part. ewulu (2010), therefore, writes that: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 157 if the other is my part or a piece of me, it means that i need him for me to be complete, for me to be what i really am. the other completes rather than diminishes me. his language and culture make my own stand out and at the same time, they enrich and complement my own. in the presence of his language and culture, the riches and poverty of my language and culture become clear and i see that his own and my own when put together form a richer whole when compared to any of them in isolation. ekwulu (2010) further opines that the self is not only completed in relating with the other, but that it attains self-realization in the other: i realize myself in the other because it is in the ‘thou-ness’ of the thou that my ‘is-ness’ is realized. i am ‘i’ because you are ‘you’. without thou there is no i. we are ‘we’ because they are ‘they’, and without ‘they’, there is no ‘we’. (p. 189). in the contention of asouzu (2007): “it is within this ontological context (of life as sharedness) that all questions of meaning can be handled adequately and fully within the context of mutual complementarity of all possible relations.”(p. 252253). the foregoing, explains why the igbo would refer to the ‘other’ as ibe, which means ‘a piece of’ or ‘a part of’, as in ibe anu (a piece of meat) or ibe ede (a piece of cocoyam). the igbo would, therefore, refer to the ‘other person’ as ibe m which means ‘my piece’ or mmadu ibe m (my fellow human being). this is the concept also employed in reference to relationships and reciprocity: love one another (hunu ibe unu n’anya), help one another (nyere nu ibe unu aka), respect one another (sopuru nu ibe unu), etc. since the ‘other’ refers to my own piece, it would, therefore, mean that to love the other is to love oneself, to help the other is to help oneself and to respect the other is to respect oneself. put the other way round, to hate the other is to hate oneself, to refuse help to the other is to refuse help to oneself and to disrespect the other is to disrespect oneself. igwebuike and the ethic of reciprocity the point of connection between igwebuike and the ethic of reciprocity is very easily noticeable. while the ethic of reciprocity teaches that you do unto others as you would want done unto you, and the philosophy of igwebuike provides a philosophical foundation for such a perspectivein relation to a fellow human person, more fundamentally, the other is perceived as a part of the self. if the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 158 other is a part of the self, one with this understanding would treat the other as one would like to be treated. the philosophy of igwebuike is not just a philosophical foundation for the ethic of reciprocity, but it is the ethic of reciprocity. it presents the ethic of reciprocity not just as a moral principle, but as a duty that one owns to himself or herselfeveryone owns himself or herself of treating the other in a way that one would like to be treated. this is because igwebuike sees a very strong relationship between every realityan intricate web. to treat the otherthat which is different from the self in a way that accords with honour is to treat oneself in a way that is honourable. however, to treat the other in a way that is dishonourable to dishonor oneself, because everything we do to the other has a way of getting back at us. thus, in igwebuike, the ethic of reciprocity is not just a moral principle, but a moral obligation one must have towards the other. in fact, from the above understanding, it is not just a moral obligation one owns the other, but an obligation to oneself. conclusion the ethic of reciprocity, generally, is imperfect just as there is hardly a perfect moral law. it has been criticized because it makes the assumption that everyone has the same tastes and opinions and wants to be treated the same way in every situation, and seems to be an injunction to impose one’s own way on the other. however, the ethic of reciprocity is a general moral principle, not a hard and fast rule to be applied to every facet of life. treating other people as we would wish to be treated ourselves does not mean making the assumption that others feel exactly as we do about everything. the treatment we all want is the recognition that we are individuals, each with our own opinions and feelings and for these opinions and feelings to be accorded respect and consideration. this work is not concerned with the shortcomings of the ethic of reciprocity but has argued that at the heart of igwebuike as an ethic of reciprocity, is not the idea of treating everyone uniformly; it is rather a recognition that everyone, independent of human differences deserves to be treated with respect and love. references asouzu, i. i. (2007). ibuanyidanda: new complementary ontology. beyond world immanentism, ethnocentric reduction and impositions. munster: lit verlag. ekwulu, b. i. (2010). igbo concept of ibe (the other) as a philosophical solution to the ethnic conflicts in african countries. in b. i. ekwulu (ed.). philosophical reflections on african issues (pp. 183-192). enugu: delta. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 159 iroegbu, p. (1995). metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: international universities press. kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. kanu, a. i. (2016b). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 1-7. kanu, i. a. (2009) the religio-cultural experience of women in nigeria: towars a theology of liberation. bsc. thesis, department of theology. saint augustine’s major seminary, jos. kanu, i. a. (2015a). igwebuike as the consumate foundation of african bioethical principles. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france. kanu, i. a. (2015b). igwebuike as an ontological precondition for african ethics. international conference of the society for research and academic excellence. university of nigeria, nsukka. 14th -16th september. kanu, i. a. (2015c). “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education”. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france. kanu, i. a. (2015d). “igwebuike as the unity of the african philosophical experience”. international conference of the society for research and academic excellence. university of nigeria, nsukka. 14th -16th september. leske, a. (2004). matthew. in willaim farmer et. al (eds). international bible commentary (pp. 1336-1350). bangalore: theological publications india. matthew black et al. (eds) (1967). peake’s commentary on the bible. canada: thomas nelsom. matthew henry (2007). matthew henry’s commentary on the whole bible. usa: hendrickson publishers. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 160 mbiti, j. (1970). african religions and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational publishers. mckenzie, j. (1999). the gospel according to matthew. in raymond browm et. al. (eds.). the jerome biblical commentary (pp. 63-85). uk: paper back. william barclay (2000), the daily study bible, the gospel of matthew vol.1, chapters 1-10. bangalore: theological publications india. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 114 african culture trends and future hope: hospitality and dressing in ikwerre (evo) case study tasie onyedikachi henry, phd ignatius ajuru university of education, rumuolumeni port harcourt hitasie@gmail.coom doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29332.65925 abstract the culture of hospitality and dressing for the african is a unique phenomenon of global concern. hospitality and dressing are striking identities for the distinct african communities in nigeria. in the pre-colonial era, the way an individual dresses in evo community determines he status, occupation and religious affiliation. on the other hand, it is expected that a stranger is properly cared for when he or she visit the house of a native. these are as a result of the communal-centric nature of the people. in the premodern era, everyone cared for the welfare of a kinsman. hence, there is a recent decline in the act of hospitality and modest indigenous dress styles today in evo communities of ikwerre ethnic group of rivers state. this is as a result of forces of social and religious changes in the communities in modern times. this paper surveys the challenges of the decline in hospitality and inappropriate dressing styles in the culture of evo people. furthermore, its participation on the social vices that trends the society. thus using a phenomenological approach, this paper addresses the drastic development that will be achieved, when this traditional ethos of hospitality and appropriate dress styles are reinstituted in nigeria forestalling rape, abuse and molestation which will impact coherence and order in nigeria and enhancement of national unity, peace and progress. keywords: african culture, dresses, evo, hospitality, nigeria introduction chukwuokolo j. chidozie (2014) viewed the etymological derivation of the word ‘culture’ which is from the latin word ‘cultura’ meaning to cultivate. citing alfred north whitehead, he suggests that culture does not mean an end state, an achieved state rather; it is a process of achieving through cultivation. he further cited b.w. andah who saw culture as embrace of all of material and non-material expressions of people as well as the process with which these expressions are igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 115 communicated. culture is therefore the totality of human experience in all ramifications. e.e.evans-pritchard (1965) discusses culture in the ambit of australian aboriginals and their religious concept of totemism. he opined that culture is a part of each member of the society which is a social order. culture makes a man, person, a social being of mere animals. it is the personality as distinct from the individual organism. man is a rational and moral animal, but the rational and moral aspect of him is what the society has superimposed on his organic part. john mbiti (1969) suggests that african culture is the rhythm of his life. kilani and iheanacho (2013) suggest that culture is a very common issue of human concern and existence. moreover, human being cannot live without culture or for culture to emerge without human being. therefore, culture could be understood in two prism namely substantive and functional cultures. substantive culture describes meaning of something, a gesture or an action, values of things and the way of life of group of people. culture also can be the understanding of the aim of living. emile durkheim (1858-1917) avers that every culture must add value to the life of man for it to be meaningful. thus meaning to the life human being is their culture. the functionality of culture addresses the social practice that is meaningful to the society. this aspect of culture, place more emphasis on the symbolism, rituals and reality. since the structure of the society is based on the foundation of human and superhuman interaction, culture is used to explain the meaning of actions to the society. this why most practices of a indigenous people are gestured in symbolic structures of social relationship. owete and iheanacho (2013) further stresses that culture is one of the universal basic fact of existence which is a part of humanity. citing haviland (2002:55), they suggested that culture evolves with the early hominides who started making tools for butchering animals for meat. this is traced back to about 2.5million years ago which coincides with the appearance of homo at that time. similarly, major importance is placed on the way of life and success of human which is inevitable considering their insatiable need and interaction. robert bocock (1992) viewing culture from the agricultural perspective opined that culture was developed from the ability of man in cultivating his igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 116 environment to meet his need of food in the sixteen and eighteen centuries. the early effort was regarded as the cultivation of human mind as well the field and plant. as this activity progressed, culture was understood as the following: share (culture could be shared among people), learn not biological inheritance (culture can also be studied), symbolic (culture is symbolic through the use of language), integration (culture can be broken down into parts and functions), continuity (culture can be passed from one generation to another generation), dynamic (culture can be influenced by changes as a result development) and the element of culture includes: i) language ii) religion iii) norms iv) values v) organization vi) historical schultz and lavenda (2012) assert that culture can be a set of learned behaviour and ideas that human beings acquire as members of the society. this agrees with the assumption of owete and iheanacho which suggest that human being use culture to adapt and transform the world which they live in. hence, culture is unique to humans since dependence for survival through interaction is inevitable, human use their instinctive knowledge to protect themselves, and food and shelter. iheanacho (2009) asserts that the world civilization has passed three phases and relationships till about 1990. but given the collapse of communism, the main contentions and controversies in the world now revolve around religion and culture – a fundamental aspect of living in which cultural globalization has brought significant alteration into african societies, like nigeria. cultural globalization is currently challenging, bringing about rapid and radical religious change and societal transformation from different aspects of our social system. such phenomenon has induced changes in human perception. 66 uzorka and ebisi (2014) supports the argument of owete and iheanacho as he states that culture in his view is dynamic, in terms of human language, morals, technology and skills which are element of culture that can change with the 66 iheanacho, ngozi n. (2009) globalization challenges and change factors in the religions of africa: the nigerian experience bassey andah journal vol2 p 81 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 117 passage of time. our culture can be learnt through social interactions and relationship beginning with families, through participation in cultural institutions like schools and religious affiliations. thus, culture enhances the sharing of resources for thinking. culture is indispensible of time and the environment. in summary, idang asserts: african culture is the ideal to have a bird’s eye view of the ontology… which is the science that investigates everything. african culture exist in the spiritual and physical realm inseparably and linked together… viewing the world as a complex reality in which living things seen and experience spiritual dimension ( g. e idang p144) conceptualization of hospitality in ikwerre culture the ikwerre people’s ethno-historical origin has not been completely determined.67 this has given rise to the various explanation of the ikwerre origin by various groups and individuals. hence, most of the historical description of the ikwerre people may not be completely reliable. the focus of this paper is to shed light on the practice of hospitality in an ikwerre culture during the premodern era and in this contemporary time. the people of ikwerre ethnic nationality can be described as loving and accommodating following their cultural tenets. the evo division of the ikwerre people see caring for other people and accommodating them likewise as a duty that their deities uses as merit for blessing during the pre-modern era. it was not common to eat alone, farm alone, live separately or worship separately in ikwerre culture. the people practice communal living this knitted the love bond that they shared which was enshrouded by showing concern for kits and kinsmen in their diverse community. they lived in knits of family unit called oro and mgbu where the whole family gather momentarily to discuss and solve the problem of their relatives. the 67 wotogbe-weneka .o w (2020) owumini beliefs and practices of the aquatic spirit among the ikwerre people of the niger delta , port harcourt: university of port harcourt press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 118 families were customarily governed by the eldest male member who was called ojiowhor. he was considered the closest to the ancestors who oversees the affairs of the family in the spirit world. their patches of thatch homes enclosed with large farmlands and surrounding shrines where they practice their indigenous religion was the thrust of their love and unity in the families, communities and clans in general. during the farming season, each family assisted other families’ members to cultivate their farmland which was a favour that was return to other kinsmen without grudges or a show of indifference. this is why before the eve of colonialization ikwerre people were self-sufficient in food production. notwithstanding that they practice subsistence farming; their food production was enough to feed the population. the people of ikwerre engaged in crop farming, hunting, fishing and trading in towns and villages around them. hoes and cutlasses were their common and primary farming and hunting implement. their trading prowess which was borne out of their culture of hospitality engaged them in transacting businesses with the igbo, kalabari, etche, okirika and ogoni people. hence, visiting a kinsman without partaking in a meals prepared in his house was seriously frowned at. such person was considered evil or has an evil intention. it was customarily to visit and spend time with kits and kinsmen without entertaining fear of been harmed or poisoned. visitor were not allowed to visit and leave without been taken care through partaking in a welcome kola nut shared with drinks, and a well prepared sumptuous meal to relax their nerves after a long day’s work or journey. this culture of hospitality among the people of ikwerre gave rise to the confidence non-indigenes had why they flooded port harcourt and its environment since they were received and well taken care of. conceptualization of dressing in africa dressing in the african context goes beyond the ordinary covering of clothe on the body, it is enshrine in three main components: the material, the dressing style and the event or activities, which is the socio-cultural meaning of the dress.68 for the africans, every dressing must be meaningful and applicable to status in an event. 68 otto, charles t. & joanes bubolz e. african dress: action, form and meaning, african journal p115 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 119 dressing is the act of covering the body. dressing for the african is relative to identity of individual as a socio-cultural heritage. people dress according to their culture, dressing identifies status; the manner a single individual dress is completely different from the way those that are married are expected to dress. the african dressing is built from the socio-cultural framework of the people. the dressing of africans incorporates the physiological differences in gender; the dress of a man is completely different from that of a woman. with the dressing identities royalty can be distinguished from a commoner in the society. the occasion also determines the type of dress an individual is expected to wear; there is a specific type of clothing used for farm work as compared to the quality of dress people wear during ceremonies like marriage, worship and parties. the activity a person is engaged in determines the type of dress he or she may wear. dress is a cultural phenomenon in african as language, beliefs, values and norms, customs, roles, knowledge, skills and all other things. “cloth and dress have been described as a mirror of the culture of the people in any society. dress symbolizes the practices of the society, bounded by the same geographical location, sharing the same cultural values.”69 for the africans, the type of dress you put on determines your personal worth in the society. you are addressed the way you dress. as was mentioned above, people dress according to their occupation. as hunters dress in their hunting clothings, warrior and traditional rulers are adorned separately in the regalia that befit their status. in the indigenous religious tradition, there are dress that are worn by diviners and other religious adherents which is believed to be fortified with spiritual potency capable to wade off evil attacks. such dress is a repository of supernatural powers made through divination. such a dress for the african is a measure of relationship between human being and supernatural forces. akinbileje (2014) further explains that “the african life is wrapped in religion (hackett et al., 1998). this explains why the whole community faithfully carries out all rites and rituals connected with rites of passage such as in birth, puberty, 69 akinbileje, thessy yemisi (2014) symbolic values of clothing and textiles art in traditional and contemporary africa; international journal of development and sustainability vol3 number 4 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 120 marriage, death and life after death. these ceremonies symbolize religious values which govern the family and society (idowu, 1991; ejizu, 2013).”70 the type of dress people wear in nigeria is a simple way of identifying their distinct and unique cultural background. it is a special feature for defining self and cultural diversity. dressing is not just a covering of the body; it speaks volume about the person wearing it. thereby the indigenous religion of evo people place a high premium on dressing as a highly priced cultural value and identity. dressing in evo culture in the pre-modern era in evo, dressing style among females and male folks was a matter of concern. every individual was expected to dress appropriately that befit their status, religious affiliation and the occasion. indecent dressing was seriously frowned at, as people who were caught with dress that exposes their private parts were severely punished. the dress worn by the people, determined their cultural status. unmarried individuals especially girls appeared beautifully endowed on ceremonies and festivals to showcase themselves as ripe for marriage. they were often covered themselves properly with a long gown and skirt as they stay at home to help their mothers with home chores. the married women dressed appropriately with two piece wrappers and a full blouse with a head tie to show case their status of respect and honour which was accorded them in the community. thus, was a serious to look down or molest a married woman with no consideration on her age. once a lady is married, she is given the respect every mother is given in the community. the issue of physical assault and sexual molestation was not common. it was a taboo for a woman or man to dress inappropriately exposing their private part in an attempt to seduce or lure an opposite sex. the value of chastity was demonstrated in decent dressing. a man that is matured and married dresses in attire fitting to his status as well as a woman. in this wise, the problem of rape was minimal. the cultural and religious ethos of the indigenous people of evo gave rise to order that they enjoyed within the time. this was a consciousness that the deities and divinities in anger will punish offenders of taboo. 70 ibid igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 121 trends of hospitality and dress in evo the trend of sexual molestation, harassment and rape in the society is a phenomenon that is truncating the peace, unity and stability of the nigeria society especially in evo, rivers state. the changing trend in hospitality and dressing in evo is as a result of the challenges of globalization. “globalization and its effect on the nigerian culture have always worn a controversial mask”71. the major aim of globalization is to achieve homogeneity of cultures by fusing different cultures together to benefit the entire world. following this above objective, nigeria cultural ethos are suffering from a decline of dominance been affected by other western invading cultures. although globalization as a double edge sword, having both positive and negative effects on the cultures of the nigerian people especially evo people, it has succeeded in destroying the value of communal relationship of kits and kin as well as the taboo of rape and sexual molestation in the nigerian society. as much as this foot is not handled, crisis that is capable of forestalling the peace unity and enhancing continuous inter-communal/tribal conflicts will be on the rise. observing the causes of molestation in recent times, this paper see sexual molestation and rape as “any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, unwanted sexual comments or advances, or acts to traffic women’s sexuality, using coercion, threats of harm or physical force, by any person regardless of relationship to the victim, in any setting, including but not limited to home and work”72 more often, the perpetrators of these act of societal abnormality, have alluded to their motivation from the manner victims dress seductively. the trend of dressing with short skimpy clothes like body hugs, spaghetti that exposes the private and sensitive part of the body is prevalent. modest and decent dressing among male and female members of the society is plunging the society into a community of irrational people. the trending fashion today is common with attire worn by women that is so transparent that all their sensitive body parts are expose through a popular 71 ugbam, et.al (2014) the effects of globalization on african culture: the nigerian perspective iosr journal of business and management volume 16, issue 4. 72 who: sexual violence: prevalence, dynamics and consequences (online document accessed 6/04/2021) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 122 clothe called “see through”. “the tight fitting eg. jeans, skirt, hip star, petra, lactra that reveals the contours of the body”73 is the fashionable clothe in recent time. for the men, an un-kept appearance of bushy hairs, beards, tattered jeans with holes makes them suspects of societal nuisance. these acts often times have generated conflict between the growing teenage group and security agencies that attributes such type of dressing to criminals. it is important to note that globalization and modern forces of change in cultural practices in evo have set up conflict as it pertains decline in hospitality. the advent of modernization, globalization and commercialization, came with the challenges of family independence in which each member of the family striving to make ends meet and sustain their immediate family members against the practice of communalism. this family unity disintegration is a major factor of conflicts in the communities. a lot of family members can no longer seek for the wellbeing of members of kin. there is a continuous strive for the greatest achiever than maintenance of peace and unity of the family for the greater good of the society at large. this is the fuelling foundation for the cry of disintegration of the nigerian nation. if this trend of lack of teeming hospitality and decency in dressing in the society continues, the nation will continue to suffer from the problem of conflict, rape and sexual molestation/harassment. the future hence, after considering the challenges the trend of hospitality and decent dressing decline is having on the peace stability of evo and the nigerian nation at large, it will be appropriate for the indigenous religious ethos that kept the society in order to be re-enacted. this value system kept the society in check as ordained by the deities. the rules that guided the society were basically for the peace and unity of the people. people cared for their kit and kin and strangers as well. communal festivals and ceremonies that will ignite the inter/intracommunal relationship should be encouraged. carnivals that show the rich cultural values of the people in decent dressing and hospitality could be promoted regularly using the instrument of globalization known as the social media. thus, when these recommendations have been applied, the modern people will have intimacy for the value of the rich african culture, and a deep and benefit from the ethos of the indigenous religion will 73 special bulletin(2019) ahmadu bello university, zaria vol 10, public affairs directorate the office of the vice chancellor igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 123 help to curtail the widespread conflict, rape and sexual molestation that is trending in the societies. references 1 kilani abdulrazaq o. and iheanacho ngozi iheanacho (2013) culture, development and religious change. port harcourt: stepson press. 2 iheanacho, ngozi n. (2009) globalization challenges and change factors in the religions of africa: the nigerian experience bassey andah journal vol2 p81 3 wotogbe-weneka .o w (2020) owumini beliefs and practices of the aquatic spirit among the ikwerre people of the niger delta , port harcourt: university of port harcourt press. 4 otto, charles t. & joanes bubolz e. african dress: action, form and meaning, african journal p115 5 akinbileje, thessy yemisi (2014) symbolic values of clothing and textiles art in traditional and contemporary africa; international journal of development and sustainability vol3 number 4 6 ugbam, et.al (2014) the effects of globalization on african culture: the nigerian perspective iosr journal of business and management volume 16issue 4. 7 who: sexual violence: prevalence, dynamics and consequences (online document accessed 6/04/2021) 8 special bulletin(2019) ahmadu bello university, zaria vol 10, public affairs directorate the office of the vice chancellor 9 schultz a. emily and lavenda h. robert (2012) cultural anthropology, new york: oxford press. 10 owete, k.i. and iheanacho, n.i, (2009) west african traditional societies; fundamentals of religion and socio-cultural heritage, port harcourt: stepson printing press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 7. no. 4. (2021) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 124 11 obodoegbulam, agi otto; (2001) ogba religion and change, unpublished doctoral dissertation from the university of port harcourt 12 robert bocock (1988) religion as a cultural system. www.jstor.com microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 6 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 111 industrial revolution: policies, structures and industrial design in nigeria by emmanuel uchennakanu department of industrial design modibboadama university of technology, yola emmauchekanu@gmail.com abstract changes in our modern world have continued to be revolutionary across various aspects of human endeavours, with huge economic benefits. developed countries champion the course of these transformational changes, while newly industrialized countries strive to make meaningful contribution to the trends as underdeveloped countries battle with issues of development especially industrial. this paper explored industrial revolution on the global scale and considered the policies, structures and industrial design outcomes that have stalled the roadmap to industrialization in nigeria despite the many development plans, beginning with the first development plan of 1962 to nigeria industrial revolution plan, 2014, and establishes that industrial design is a strategic tool for economic growth that has taken root in developed countries as both a professional area of practice and study and should be incorporated into nigeria’s economic development plans. keywords: industrial revolution, industrial design, economic development, nigeria, industrialization. introduction industrial changes that brought historical economic transformations over the centuries are described as disruptive. resulting from huge technological developments in manufacturing which has influence across complementary industrial sectors such asagriculture, mining, communication, trade and investment;these changes have impacted positively on the economies of nations and lives of their citizens.some scholars have described these transformational changes, which began in the late 18th century europe, as revolutionary changes thatmadesignificant social, economic and political gainsforsome nations of the world. the economic well-being of a nation is directly linked to her level of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 112 industrialization and material resourcefulness, on the basis of which countries are classified into developed, developing and under developed (kayode&kanu 2016). developed nations are characterized by adequate industrial development, research and development (r&d) activities, and structural changes that have significant economic growth effects reflected in capital accumulation, low income inequality, reduced poverty level and advanced infrastructure. developing nations, underdeveloped countries, less developed countries and peripheral countries, otherwise known as the third world countries, on the other hand, have limited industrial development, r&d, and slow rate of international technology diffusion resulting in higher poverty level with greater income inequality, poor infrastructural facilities and limited human and capital resources (kniivila 2007).however, some peripheral countries, in the last five decades with manufacturing contributing 20 to 25% of gross domestic product (gdp), have moved up the development ladder to be recognized as ‘newly industrialized countries (nics)’ from latin america and asia,they include: argentina, brazil, mexico, south korea, taiwan, hong kong, singapore and malaysia. india and turkey with similar developmental strides have also risen to nics status. nigeria is on the process of transforming into a developed nation through industrialization and diversification of her economy; however, enormous challenges have continued to stall this process as conditions such as environmental depletion, deforestation, subsistent agriculture, declining efficiencies in many sectors of national life, are still very much prevalent. this paper looks at the global revolutionary industrialization trends, vis-à-vis the policies, structures and industrial design outcomes that have stalled the roadmap to industrialization in nigeria. industrial revolution industrial revolution was not just a derivative of technological innovations for speeding up of the production process; it had extensive effects on transformation of various aspects of societies in different parts of the world, earlier in europe and american and later in east asia by assimilation and adaptation of techniques and equipment. societies before industrial revolution were basically agrarian and characterized by human and animal labour exploitation and servitude. the industrialization of late 18th century western europe by transformation of home manual factories to mechanized industries had effects igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 113 beyond mere technological advancement; changes in social systems and ideologies were notable, based on the need for the social evolution of man. scholars generally acknowledge that industrial revolution has taken three phases with the fourth revolution imminent, as evident in the transformational changes and innovations taking place in digital domains. the first industrial revolution was centered on hydropower technology and evolution of machine tools. the second came in the widespread use of electricity and assembly line for mass production. while the third, in the form of green revolution, is focused on cleaner energy technology, electronics and information technology (kayode&kanu 2016). first industrial revolution industrialization initiated by britain in late 18th century, first transformed the economies of western europe, polarized social classes and put greater political agitation from ordinary people and workers. this movement is regarded by historians as the first industrial revolution. the dominant technology and raw materials include steam engine, power loom and iron and steel processing; while energy source was mainly coal; transport and communication systems relied mainly on railway and telegraphy respectively. united kingdom, belgium, germany and france were the core countries in the first wave of industrialization, they were liberal states that encouraged freedom of trade and recognized property rights with a degree of reward for technological inventions. (adams 1999, green european foundation 2010). the first industrialization regime faced opposition from the arts and crafts movement of 1880s, which was born out of concern for the disastrous effects of industrial manufacture and unregulated trade on design, traditional skills and on the lives of ordinary people. industrial mass production was considered a dishonest approach to use of materials and modes of construction which had dehumanizing effects on factory workers. the movement sought to establish new set of principles for living and working, advocated the reform of art and turned the home into a work of art. however, the impact of the critique of industrialization process by major proponents of the arts and crafts movement was very limited, as the drive towards mass-production of consumer goods increased by the end of the century and setting the economic agenda for the early 1900s (victoria and albert museum 2015; woodham 1997). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 114 the second industrial revolution the second industrial revolution was precipitated by electricity, combustion engine, assembly line and chemistry. oil and coal were the major sources of energy and plastic the new raw material. car and airplane emerged as the means of transport, in addition to the existing train system, while radio and television became available for mass communication. the united states of america, japan and germany were noted to be core countries where the effect of the second revolution was most felt, nonetheless, they were characterized as welfare, mass society and parliamentary democratic states with mass production capability. many manufacturers, contented with old technologies and being conscious of the cost of new technology, were reluctant to adopt the innovations of the second industrial revolution. however, historians hypothesize that slow diffusion of new technology, coupled with learning-in-plant after the adoption of new technology, caused several decades to slip by without considerable increase in measured productivity growth (green european foundation 2010). the third industrial revolution “it is becoming clear that the second industrial revolution is dying. what we need now is a bold new economic narrative that can take us into a sustainable post carbon future” rifkin 2012 environmental consciousness and the need to save the ecosystem from further degradation are driving the third industrial revolution termed “green revolution”. renewable energies, low-carbon and eco-efficient technologies are replacing oil and coal based domestic and industrial energy sources that have caused significant climate change and depletion of natural resources reserves across the globe. green european foundation (2010) wrote, the shifts in the fuel base of industry have always affected economic sectors and all levels of society. on the one hand, there is potential for crisis and social conflicts, on the other hand, such shifts present an opportunity for technical, social and political innovation…..revaluation of capital and of professional skills, and necessitate a redistribution of wealth within and between sectors and regions. these changes are already taking place, with the strong growth in renewable energy production and eco-efficient technologies being their most recent and visible manifestation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 115 the green revolution is geared toward bringing sustainable development that is linked to a low-carbon, knowledge-based and resource-efficient economy. this will be driven mainly by ict, microelectronics, and cleaner technology applied in renewable raw materials, biotechnology and recycling. the emerging transport systems of the era are high-speed rail systems, electricity powered and low-carbon emission fuel automobiles. telecommunications are shifting to mobile devices with high-speed internet connection and mega data capacity. the core countries at the centre of the green revolution are eu member states, united states of america, japan and china. the fourth industrial revolution the 21st century has been characterized by changes associated with innovations in nanoscience, engineering and technology expected to lead to the next industrial revolution. the united states of america government (2000), acknowledge that “the emerging field of nanoscience and nanaoengineering – the ability to precisely move matterare leading to unprecedented understanding and control over the fundamental building blocks of all physical things. these developments are likely to change the way almost everything from vaccines to computers to automobile tires to objects not yet imagined – is designed and made. industry 4.0 the fourth industrial revolution is on its way. roland berger strategy consultants (2014) state that revolutions are fast, disruptive and destructive as will be experienced in some places; while others will be more evolutionary – slowly but steadily, and for industry 4.0 there is no going back as it will be the answer to the challenges lying ahead. they opine that internet will fuse with physical objects seamlessly to form a sophisticated network described as the internet of things (iot). iot will rival past technological marvels, producing profound economic resurgence across the developing and developed nations of the world at an unimaginable speed. a decade ago, about 500 million devices were connected to the internet; today 10-20 billion objects are connected, and in five years ahead, 40-50 billion may be connected to the internet giving rise to a new age of data. this looming data driven revolution, could do away with many inefficiencies, hassles, dangers and unsafe practices of modern life, offering unprecedented myriad of opportunities to economies, cities, businesses and people to succeed irrespective of if they belong to the developed or developing world. (dubravac&ratti in the forewords of american international group, 2015). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 116 deloitte (2015) explains that exponentially growing technologies such as intelligent robots, autonomous drones, sensors and 3d printing, will accelerate digital transformation of traditional manufacturing industry to surpass the production capacity of the automation process propelled by developments in electronics and information technology of the third industrial revolution. they expatiate that “commentators use the term industry 4.0 to refer to the fourth industrial revolution with four main characteristics: 1. the vertical networking of smart production systems, such as smart factories and smart products, and the networking of smart logistics, production and marketing and smart services, with a strong needs-oriented, individualized and customer-specific production operation. 2. horizontal integration by means of new generation of global valuecreation networks, including integration of business partners and customers, and new business and cooperation models across countries and continents 3. through-engineering throughout the entire value chain, taking in not only the production process but also the end productthat is, the entire product life cycle 4. acceleration through exponential technologies that, while not really new in terms of their development history, are only now capable of massmarket application as their cost and size have come down (e.g sensor technology) and their computing power has risen massively. industrialization of nigeria shortly after independence, nigeria began the pursuit of economic development for self-reliance through several national development plans. between 1962 and 2014 eleven national economic development plans were rolled out. the numerous development plans failed to reach full implementation on account of poor planning and monitoring of programmes, inadequate funding, corruption and poor accountability, and consequently, have negative impact on the industrial sectors of the economy (onwuma, 2015; kayode and kanu, 2016). in february, 2014, the federal government of nigeria unveiled the nigeria industrial revolution plan (nirp) aimed at accelerating the long desired industrialization, with focus on agriculture, oil and gas, construction, light manufacturing and services as sectors perceived to be comparatively advantageous. the nirp, which is the most current policy document on national igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 117 economic development, was developed by the federal ministry of industry, trade and investment and described as the first strategic, comprehensive and integrated unique roadmap to industrialization. it aims at job creation, economic diversification, import substitution, export diversification, improvement of government tax base, and building of stronger institutions (federal government of nigeria, 2014). the nirp is an export-led industrialization plan developed uniquely based on the peculiarities within nigeria while taking lessons from china and brazil in global contexts. the document identified seven supporting structures or enablers that would remove structural impediments to nigeria’s industrialization. they include: infrastructure, skills, innovation, investment climate, standards, local patronage and financing. nirp acknowledge that despite the role played by key actors in infrastructural development, there is still major infrastructure gap in nigeria, namely: insufficient power; high cost of inland transport; poor equipment of industrial zones; poor ports infrastructure and cross-border services; inadequate funding for vital infrastructure development; growing population pressure on urban facilities; and institutional weakness. the plan seeks to remedy the situation by creating industrial cities, parks, clusters; to provide the required infrastructure; give incentives and streamlined regulations available in world-class manufacturing hubs anywhere in the world. youths’ inability to find jobs and companies claim of job availability is a paradox that must be solved by closing the gap in skills development and industry needs through technical and vocational education. the nirp identifies the following skills related challenges: skills development not aligned to market needs; lack of nationwide access to skills development facilities; insufficient real work experience; rigid skills development programmes; and insufficient tutors. the skills acquisition programme is expected to stir innovation in the manufacturing sector. according to the plan, low critical mass in scientific field; inadequate equipment; inadequate information sharing, weak or no interaction between academia, industry and government; and unclear commercialization path are some of innovation issues hampering industrial development of nigeria. nirp stipulates the adoption and implementation of “triple helix model” to facilitate the bringing together of academia, industry and government. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 118 investment climate is one of the vital enablers of the national industrial revolution plan, 2014. the document articulated measures for improving investment climate of nigeria, believing that “all international benchmarks on investment climate and competitiveness, can only serve as broad outlines to organize our investment climate reforms. strategic channeling of funds to industrialization has been deficient as “over the years, nigeria has been unable to channel capital and investors towards strategic sectors which will diversify the economy away from upstream oil and gas. investors have overwhelmingly focusedon low-value added activities and product trading. nigeria will need to intensify mobilization of funds and investors into industry to diversify exports, reduce the import burden, create jobs and broaden the government’s taxable base.” the articulation of the nigeria industrial revolution plan, release 1.0, 2014, is very commendable. it reveals a proper understanding of the industrialization challenges of nigeria, no wonder the economic commission on africa (2014) described it as “the most ambitious industrialization programme”. but like other plans in the past, it feared that the implementation of this elaborate plan will be stalled by political and other influencing factors. an inclusive institutional and implementation framework, with a structure involving the federal ministry of industry, trade and investment, federal government ministerial departments and agencies, private sector industrialists and associations, development agencies and state ministries of commerce and industry are listed as implementation stakeholders, to be guided by outlined principles from an implementation model. steering committee, project office, sectorial teams, support structure teams and other relevant councils and boards are to ensure proper implementation of the plan. it is not in the scope of this paper to measure the level of implementation of the nirp, however, a probe of the performance of the noble initiative is worthwhile, especially in the face of a new political dispensation and the economic hardship nigeria is experiencing. the relevance industrial design in economic transformation programmes economic growth through industrialization entails growing manufacturing activities of a nation alongside electricity generation, transportation facilities and communication networks which would reflect as increase in the portion of manufacturing in gross domestic product (gdp) and in the occupations of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 119 economically active population (kirk-greene in iwuagwu, 2011). industrial revolution initiated mechanized system of production of consumer goods for the satisfaction of growing population. products are conceptualized, planned, embodied, manufactured and delivered for consumption. industrial design responds to the task of conceptualizing and delivering consumer products. tezel (2011) posits that industrial design has much to do with mass production and use processes of objects andsimply defines it as “an approach to design consumer products.”er (1997)views industrial design as a strategic process and reports that: little is known about the development of this strategic industrial activity outside the core countries of the global economic system. since industrial design has been usually associated with the product innovation activity of the industrialized market economies, the lack of literature regarding the design issues of the third world may not be surprising to many. nevertheless, growing members of peripheral countries have begun to play an increasingly active role in the international economy over the last two decades. yet despite the academic attention given to the development of those countries in the economic literature, the development of industrial/product design capabilities in the third world has long remained under-researched. tezel (2011) agrees that the scope of industrial design has surpassed mere activity to satisfy users in product functionsto being a strategic tool for developing countries to favourably participate in the globalized transnational trades, and further acknowledges that developed countries have used it as an infrastructure of sustainable economy,providing link between politics, industry and education sector’sresearch and development efforts. it is both an academic discipline and area of professional practice that uses innovative design as a development tool of a political economy, complemented by other industrialization development entities such as good public policy and adequate infrastructure, to deliver product innovation, economic growth results and global market competitiveness as evident in development efforts of south asian countries and some newly industrialized latin american countries.er (1997) examines the role of government in industrialization drive of nics with focus on development strategy and industrial design and asserts that: the emergence and development patterns of industrial design in nics are influenced by the development policies of governments, which determine igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 120 not only trade regimes-the direction of market orientation-but also the mode of technology transfer through foreign investment policy, and industrial structure through sectorial policies. the link between development strategy and industrial design indicates the nature of government involvement in the development of design capabilities. nics have been characterized by state involvement in their industrialization process, and this extends to the development process of industrial design……the development prospects of industrial design in nics are related to the extent to which governments are prepared to absorb design as an integral part of their long-term development strategies rather than to the extent to which they give direct support to design institutions and promotion. consequently, the main effect of government involvement in the development of design capabilities appears to be to stimulate manufacturing firms to use industrial design as a competitive tool in domestic and international markets. the absence of this kind of government involvement, in many cases, manifests itself as an underdevelopment of industrial design in the third world. therefore, any meaningful attempt to link design to the economic development requires an evaluation of the role of design in the wider context of government development strategies. industrial design in the 4th industrial revolution will assume new roles as industries begin to return to pre-industrial forms, where it all started, due to digital fabrication technologies such 3d printing, smart devices and the internet revolution. hermans and valtonen(2014) state that in this period of ‘postindustrial design’, professional designers will be making toolkits and incomplete designs for consumers to adapt according to their desires and needs with minimal involvement or by active participation, all embedded in the concepts of mass customization and co-design approach. this shift from designer centric approach to limited consumer involvement and active consumer participation has implications for future design practice and education. competence will have to be built around new digital industrial technologies. industrial design in nigeria is yet to emerge as an area of professional practice and a distinct field of study in the nation’s academic institutions;minimum standards for design education in nigerian universities has departmental nomenclature of industrial design with curricular content sectionalized into graphic design, ceramics and textile design of applied arts. industrial design igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 121 hybrid of arts, engineering and science of materials which is very much attuned to developing products for manufacturing, is not yet an academic study area in nigerian universities.the absence of design offices, professional organization for designers and their presence in manufacturing companies in nigeria is an indication of its non-existenceas a profession in the nation. consequently, there is dart of design discourse and research needed to build an epistemological base that reflects nigeria design activities; therefore indigenous efforts in product design are very often not recognized and documented. nigerian government development policy statements, especially in the nirp, do not recognize industrial design as strategiceconomic development tool. nics have leveragedfavourable national government policies, recognizing industrial design as an economic development tool, to achieve industrial growth. nigeria’s desire to rise to the status of industrialized nation must be accompanied with proper implementation of viable economic development programmes, recognizing the capacity of design, astrategic development tool within her unique socioeconomic and political systems, to transform craft industries, meet basic needs, reduce dependency, improve conditions of living for masses, and to create cultural identity. conclusion one of the cardinal objectives of the economic programmes of the federal government of nigeria, over the years, is to transform the country into a global hub for economic activities through industrialization. this objective is far from being achieved as the country’s economic development indices reflect unfavourable global rating asa result of multiple systemic impairments. newly industrialized countries (nics) from latin america and south asia have leveraged the opportunities provided by industrial revolution through technology transfer for eventual development of indigenous techno-cultural capabilities. industrial design as strategic tool for economic growth in industrialized countries of the worldis incorporated into national development plans in which governments vigorously pursue economic development for the benefit of citizens and national pride. it is therefore, imperative for scholars and industrialists from arts, design and engineering backgrounds interested in the industrialization of nigeria, to begin to engage relevant levels government to recognize the value of industrial design as strategic tool for economic transformation and incorporate it into policy statements and structures that must igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 122 be implemented to the fullest to enable nigeria ascend to the status of industrialized country. references adams l.s. (1999).art across time.london: mcgraw-hill american international group (2015). internet of things: evolution or revolution? (part 1 in a series). retrieved from http://www.aig.com victoria and albert museum (n.d.).arts and crafts movement.retrieved november 12, 2015, from victoria and albert museum website, http://vam.ac.uk/content/articles/t/the-arts-and-crafts-movement. deloitte ag (2015). industry 4.0: challenges and solutions for the digital transformation and use of exponential technologies. retrieved from www2.deloitte.com/…/ch-en-manufacturing-industry-4-024102014.pdf economic commission for africa (2014). nigeria’s industrial revolution plan unveiled. economic report on africa 2014.retrieved from www.eca.org er, h. a. (1997). development patterns of industrial design in the third world. journal of design history.retrieved april 20, 2011, from www.jdh.oxfordjournals.org. federal ministry of industry, trade and investment (2014). nigeria industrial revolution plan: release 1.0. retrieved from national automotive design and development council website: http://www.nac.org.ng/nirp.pdf. green european foundation (2010).sustainable industrial policy for europe: governing the green industrial revolution, (green new deal series, volume 3). retrieved from www.gef.eu. hermans g. and valtonen a. (2014).investigating the changing relation between consumer and designer in post-industrial design. in drs2014 (pp 940-950). umea institute of design, umea university. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 123 iwuagwu o. (2011). the cluster concept: will nigeria’s new industrial development strategy jumpstart the country’s industrial takeoff? afro asian journal of social sciences 2 (4). kayode f. &kanu e. u. (2016). training for industrial design product development and manufacturing in nigeria: implications for sustainable economic development. in ebohon o. j., ayeni d. a., egbu, c. o., and omole f. k. proceedings of the joint international conference on 21st century human habitat: issues, sustainability and development, 21st 24th march, 2016, akure, nigeria, pp 1099-1107. onwuma u. j. (2015, november 11). assessing development plans i nigeria: a case of vision 20:2020. [web log message]. retrieved from http://www.infodownloadables.blogspot.com.ng roland berger strategy consultants (2014, march).think act: industry 4.0, the new industrial revolution, how europe will succeed. retrieved from www.rolandberger.com rifkin j. (2012). the third industrial revolution: how lateral power is transforming energy, the economy, and the world. retrieved from www.thethirdindustrialrevolution.com tezel e. (2011). industrial design in turkey: a historical segmentation in policy industry and design. intercultural understanding 1, 99-103 united states of america government (2000). national nanotechnology initiative: leading to the next industrial revolution. a report by the interagency working group on nanoscience, engineering and technology.committee on technology. washington dc: national science and technology: woodham j.m. (1997). twentieth-century design.new york: oxford university press. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.2. no.1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 8 a philosophical inquiry on immortality in tiv thought by paul t. haaga, ph.d department of philosophy, veritas university, abuja paulohaaga@gmail.com & aye, aondongu joseph department of philosophy, veritas university, abuja josephaye59@yahoo.com abstract immortality in tiv thought: a philosophical appraisal” is an inquiry into the tiv concept of immortality. the question of immortality is no doubt a crucial issue that stems from the inner recesses of man in his attempt to define his destiny. the tiv from whose perspective this paper is anchored are also deeply concerned about this issue and seek to address it in the best way possible. the thrust of this paper is an attempt to philosophically appraise the concept of immortality from the perspective of the tiv of central nigeria. this paper seeks to venture the tiv conception of immortality which has received little attention from scholars especially that of tiv extraction. in its inquiry the paper adapts an interpretative approach to arrive at its findings. from its investigation, the paper posits that the tiv explicitly express belief in immortality though from an anthropomorphic standpoint. the paper seeks to contribute to the corpus of knowledge in the subject matter from the perspective understudy. keyword: immortality, soul, conception, tiv, uma introduction it is quite apparent that what makes a man to be a man is not to have a body or life or emotions (animals have all these too) but to have rationality and intellect, powers which are spiritual. this implies that the “substantial form” of man or what makes a man to be a man must be a “formal act” or principle of life (soul) whose nature is spiritual and which actualizes the body and its potencies. this spirituality of the human soul makes it a very special type of substantial form, since it has “subsistence” of its own. this implies that the human soul is immortal. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 9 much has been said and written on the subject of immortality of the soul from antiquity to the present, scholars of various disciplines have expounded on the subject from philosophers, theologians, religionists, psychologists, poets and even scientists. however, the mystery surrounding this issue is yet to unravel. while some express belief in it, some see it as a mere human fantasy. the veil demarcating the spatio-temporal world and the world that lies beyond is yet to be clearly lifted. how can an immaterial soul and the body which is material coexist to form a substantial unity? such questions have been asked and answered variously in form of proofs. the question of the soul and immortality transcends scholarship; it is a question that emanates from the inner recesses of man. as a question involving the collective destiny of man as a whole, it ought to be considered from the perspective of the individual and collective experience of man in his various cultures and belief systems. blaise paschal in (guersart 1975:14) observes that, what is at stake here is not for rational consideration alone. rational knowledge satisfies the intellect not the emotions and appetite. the implication of this is that the question of immortality is at the core of man’s existence. in most african cultures, man belongs to two worlds; the material and the world of the hereafter. there is however an ontological relation between all reality as a whole. the world is seen as living, active and dynamic unity in which material and spiritual beings find their place (nwigwe 2001:3) the concept immortality features prominently in the african spirit world. the african concept of immortality is anthropocentric. for the traditional african, one enters into personal immortality at death when there are people to remember him especially his or her children. however he enters into collective immortality when all who knew him have died. he becomes a member of the family of spirits who are believed to occupy the ontological state between god and men. (uduigwomen 1995:80) death therefore is the beginning of a permanent ontological departure of the individual from mankind to spirithood. the tiv from whose perspective this study is premised shares to some extent in the foregoing. tivphilosophico – religious world view the tiv are presently found in benue state in north central nigeria. social research about the tiv ethnic group spanned many years. there are various versions concerning the origin of the tiv people. various scholars both early and modern have contradicted themselves about tiv origin, (gbenda 2005:71) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 10 one school of thought traced tiv origin to a certain “shon” who was said to have two sons “oryian” and “orii”. oryian means white man while “orii” means black man from whom tiv descended (moti and wegh 2001:9).another version traced tiv ancestor to one “takuruku” who had two sons; tiv and uke; uke refers to all non tiv. the reference to “takuruku” is however contentious as many tiv did not conceive of him as a human being but some kind of music to announce the death of someone (moti and wegh 2001:10) tiv had two sons i.e “ichongo” and “ipusu”. the tiv are descended from tiv two sons” ichongo” and “ipusu”. this segmentation is reflected in tiv sociopolitical organization. according to some versions, the tiv are said to have originated and migrated from the bantu of southern africa, though the congo region of central africa, across the mountains of cameroon to the benue valley in the 16th and 17th centuries (makar 1975:28).religion is no doubt a most embracing subject. tiv philosophy and religion is subsumed under this assertion. tiv religion seems ambiguous and often times bizarre because of the complex nature of the subject matter. religion in tiv worldview does not present a consistent picture to elicit a clear understanding. tiv religion and philosophy can only be understood when viewed from a holistic perspective, where man, nature and the supernatural constitute a continuum (moti and wegh 2001:19). tiv: philosophico – religious worldview like most africans acknowledges the existence of a supernatural being called “aondo” (god). aondo is the creator of the universe and everything in it including man, man is the crown of creation. there is also a strong belief in “akombo” (cosmo – supernatural forces). through the instrumentality of akombo, man participates in the creative work of aondo (god) by ensuring the ordering of society. akombo is synonymous with tiv religion since you cannot talk of tiv religion in isolation of akombo. akombo are represented in cultic emblems and touches almost all aspects of tiv life. abraham (33:62) attests to this by identifying eight areas in which akombo are employed: illness, birth, fertility of crops, rendering arrows efficacious, hunting, good luck, obtaining wives etc.another fundamental element of tiv religion is “tsav” (witchcraft). for the tiv, tsav is a mystical power, it is a tangible and intangible mysterious power. tsav is normally neutral deployed for both good and evil proposes depending on the disposition of the carrier bohannan (1965:513), downes (1971:18), moti and wegh (2001:58) hold that, tsav is related to life itself and it is used as a means of social control to maintain law and order, it occupies a prominent place in tiv social organization both ideological and functionally. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 11 the concept of immortality: philosophical perspective immortality generally implies the continuity of human spiritual existence after the death of the body. this is both a philosophical and religious view. it is pertinent to note that this concept is distinct from bodily resurrection. apart from pythagoras who also has influence on plato, plato (428 – 348 b.c) was the first thinker from the west to systematically address the issue of immortality, it was one of the main problems of his thought. with the contention that reality as such is fundamentally spiritual, plato tried to prove immortality maintaining that nothing could destroy the soul. according to plato, the soul is selfmoving, un-generated and eternal. the soul according to him came into the world from the world of forms after its liberation. (encyclopedia britannica vol. 26). albertus magnus (encyclopedia britannica vol. 26) defined immortality on the basis that the soul in itself is a cause, an independent reality. this assertion by magnus implies that the soul is ungenerated andsimple, hence it is not subject to the body. benedict spinoza (1652 – 1677) saw god as ultimate reality, hence he maintains his eternity but not the immortality of individual persons within him. according to him all things are only the modifications of god who is the ultimate and eternal reality. the german philosopher gottfried wilhelm leibniz (1666 – 1716) contended that, reality is constituted of spiritual monads. human beings as finite monads not capable of origination by composition are created by god, he could also annihilate them. however, in that he has planted in men a striving for spiritual perfection, there may be faith that he will ensure their continual existence, thus giving them the possibility to achieve this. george hegel’s (1770 – 1931) idea of immortality is subsumed in his idea of the absolute. for him, god is the absolute and everything is a manifestation of that absolute including the soul which will also go back to the absolute. emmanuel kant (1724 – 1841) contended that immortality of the soul is an essential requirement of morality. man should conform to the moral law through the practice of virtue. however, in no instance of his existence is a rational being capable of realizing perfect virtue. therefore kant concluded that this perfection can be attained through an indefinite progress and indefinite existence. this indefinite progress is only possible in an indefinite duration of the existence of this same rational being which is called immortality. rene descartes concept of man implies immortality because he conceives man as mind (soul) that happens to have a body, but which is not an essential part igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 12 of its nature. st augustine of hippo (354 – 430) conception of man is that of a “rational soul using a body”. thus as a platonist, augustine argues that the soul obtains truth in intellective knowledge. he remarked that the soul is immaterial and is superior to the body, therefore, it cannot be acted upon by the body, hence it is immortal (frost 62:32). thomas aquinas though and aristotelian parted ways with his tradition concerning the issue of immortality of the soul and clinged to the platonic tradition. he argued that the soul is not intrinsically dependent on the body, for it cannot be affected by the death and corruption of the body. he maintained that the soul is immaterial otherwise it would be incapable of reflecting on itself or apprehending abstract knowledge. st thomas further stressed that, the soul naturally desire immortality, since this desire is natural, then it cannot be in vain (summa theological 19,75). st bonaventure (1221 – 274) conceives the soul as composed of form and spiritual substance which he calls “spiritual matter”. as such, the soul is not intrinsically dependent on the body, it can be separated from the body and exist without the body. he uses both augustinian and aristotelian arguments to prove the immortality of the soul. first, that the human soul derives perfect happiness, secondly he based his argument on the necessity for adequate sanction for the violation or observance of the natural law. he based another argument on the independence of intellectual activities of the body. the soul’s natural faculty carries out reflective activities without expending physical energy that shows its superiority. finally he held that the fact that the soul is capable of grasping the eternal truths shows that it is of the same nature as these truths namely, immaterial, immutable, eternal and indestructible. african concept of immortality in almost all african cultures there is a belief in the afterlife, however, with varying degrees. according to mbiti (1969:27) death is a process which removes a person gradually from the living to the living dead. after death, the individual is believed to continue existing in the world and is remembered by relative and friends who know him in this life and who have survived him. this is referred to as living dead and this is also a state of personal immortality. with time however, such a person sinks beyond personal immortality to collective immortality which is the state of the spirit. the belief in the continuation of life in the spirit world leads to burial rites to ensure a place in the invisible world, (ela 93:14). dopamu (79:253) opined that the washing of the corpse and burying a person with material things as is the case igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 13 in some african cultures signifies getting ready for the journey to the next world. commenting on the igbo culture, nwigwe (2001:23) observes that, death does not involve the separation of body and soul and that it is not explicit what happens at death. the igbo rather see death as a change from one state of existence to another (kanu 2015:228). in consonance with the foregoing, nabofa in adegbola (1983:17) maintains that, there is a general consensus in urhobo thought that after death, the soul (erhi) passes into another world which is known as “erivbin”. however, there are also others who hold that the dead only change their places of abode on this earth.this implies that such people only go to live in other places other than theirs and continue with their normal lives. this belief is flawed in the sense that, the glimpse of a stranger remotely resembling the dead person from a particular place is no proof enough to conclude that such a deceased person is actually residing in another place on earth with all his physical and daily attributes. these views among other invariably affirm immortality and that the living dead are always around. opoku (1978:21) is of the view that the dead only go on a journey and that death does not end life. the present life is seen as a preparation for the journey into after life where the dead continue to live. even in the afterlife opoku contends that the dead are not cut off from the living as they continue to reveal themselves in dreams or appear to their living relatives.africans see immortality as consisting in the act of procreation. this explains the significant role of marriage in african societies, unless a person has children to remember him and carry his name after his death, he is soon forgotten and sinks into oblivion. it is incumbent upon every mature african to get married with the intent of having children especially males in order not to be cut off from immortality. the general african approach to the question of immortality is anthropocentric rather than spiritual. this is because the africans see life beyond the grave as neither better nor worse than life on earth because they have no way of knowing so they consider if unattractive. this explains why emphasis is placed on life in the world than beyond; and this consists in the accumulation of as many children as possible. this ensures interminable life here on earth. tiv concept of the nature of the soul igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 14 part of the problem of western teaching on the soul is that of definition. every reality is defined by making it fit into the scheme of definition through genus and specific difference. the african belief system is both less and more than philosophy. in african thought there is an ontological relation between all things, however, the material things serve merely as vessels through which spiritual forces manifest themselves, such entities are believed to have existence of their own. in most african cultures there is no sharp dualism in the relationship between body and soul. this is because death is not conceived as a separation of body and soul, but rather a change from one state of existence to another. the body is applied not just to stand for the physical body but the totality of man because the bodily organs are believed to exercise mental functions. the tiv world is a psyco-spiritual one in which everything visible has its equivalent in the invisible sphere of life. man is conceived as a composite of material and spiritual elements. the material aspect is “iyol” (body) while the spiritual is “jijingi” (spirit). this “jijingi” is the life force of man, it is demonstrated by the shadow cast by the body. spirit and soul are used interchangeably since there is no sharp distinction between the two in tiv thought. the soul is seen as imperishable while the body is perishable. the tiv believe that at death, the spirit (jijingi) leaves the body, it doesn’t die with the body. it is believed that it hovers around the dead body before departing. this “jijingi” is not just a shadow, but a reflection of life (uma) which is also construed as the soul in man. (gbenda 2005:17) the soul or “jijingi” (spirit) is believed to have endless life since it has a divine origin and therefore indestructible. (hulugh 2014). immortality in tiv thought in tiv society according to gbenda (2005), marriage brings out clearly eschatological ideals of eternal life. this is because children are a product of marriage and the main purpose of marriage is for continuity in the transmission of life. an unmarried man in tiv traditional thought is to some extent considered irresponsible hence he cannot be trusted with responsibility. tarbo (1980:56) opine thus, “to the tiv, having children means eternal life.it means to cooperate with god for the continuityof one’s life and the community in general. parents look forward to seeing their grand children before they die”. this assures them of the continuation of their generation. a man who among other things has married many wives and has many children is said to be “shagbaor” (greatman), at his death he is said not to have died but to have igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 15 “oughaough” (sloughed off) and continue living in his children. the values and ideals of the family are also expected to be immortalized in the children. like the sophists, the tiv regard man as the measure of all things and the world and life are centredaround man, therefore in every facet of life, the tiv hold that man must be preeminent. questions of immortality and afterlife are approached from an anthropocentric dimension. procreative activity is taken seriously in tivsociety, issues of child care are accorded proper attention.it is pertinent to note that most “akombo” (cosmo-supernatural forces) are in one way or the other concerned with the well being and survival of the family. in tiv tradition, a new born child of all polluting influences (moti and wegh 2001:23). “tyumbun” and “iee” enhances the child’s health and growth. all this is geared towards sustaining and perpetuating one’s lineage. conclusion man has always been an enigma to himself. he has sought answers to questions such as who is man? what constitute man? what is his purpose and mission in the world? these questions have always perplexed and intrigued man. to these questions various answers and solutions have been proffered by scholars of various disciplines and schools. in view of the foregoing, man has refused to see life as factitious but has tried to find meaning in life.the concept of immortality will continue to be relevant as long as man lives in the world. because it is at the core of human existence, it is an issue that is fundamental to human life and our attitudes to it determines our entire attitude to life itself. this piece in conclusion established that the tivlike other africans believe in immortality though with their own peculiarities. for the tiv, the spirit or soul of man does not cease to exist with the death of the body.the soul continue to live and there is a strong belief that the souls of the living dead gather to rest after their sojourn on earth at a blissful place. also, the tivconception of immortality is anthropocentric and consists in having as many children as possible to perpetuate one’s lineage. they also express immortality in names.names such as “orbeenga” (man never cease to exist) are suggestive of immortality and express the tiv belief that man will never cease to exist even in death, he lives on in his children. references abraham, r.c. “the tiv people” lagos: government printer 193. abraham, r.c. “the tiv religion” london: crown agency 1940. aquinas, t. “summa theological 1, 75,2. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 16 bohannan, a. “who are the tiv?: a socio-culture inquiry into tivqynamics” in p.t. ahire (ed) the tiv in contemporary, nigeria, zaria writers organization 1993. downes, r.m. “tiv religion” ibadan: university press, 1971. dupamu, p.a. &awolalu, j.o. “west african religion” ibadan: onibonoje press (nig) ltd, 1970. ela, j.m. “my faith as an african” london: geoffrey chapman, 1993. frost, s. “basic teaching of the great philosophers” new york: doubleday publishing group inc, 1962. gbenda, j.s. “eschatology in tiv traditional religious culture: an interpretative enquiry” nsukka: chuka educational publishers, 2005. gilson, e. “history of christian philosophy in the middle ages” london: methuen, 1955. guersart, m. (ed) “les penses de b. paschal” paris: gonsel, 1975. kanu, i. a. (2015). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion. nigeria: augustinian publications. metuh, e.i “african religion in western conceptual schemes” jos: imico press, 1985. moti, j.s. &wegh, f.s. “an encounter betweentiv religion and christianity” enugu: snaap press. 2001. nabofa, n.y. “erhi and eschatogy” in adegbola (ed) traditional; religion in west africa. ibadan: selfer books ltd, 1983. nwigwe, b.e. “the concept of immortality of the soul in classical western philosophy and igbo culture: an essay in conceptual analysis” west african journal of philosophy. vol 4. 2001. omoregbe j. “a simplified history of western philosophy” vol. 11, lagos: joja educational publishers ltd., 1991. opoku, k.a. “west african traditional religion” accra: fep international publishing ltd, 1978. tarbo, n.n “marriage among the tiv” rome: pontifical urbaniana university, 1980. uduigwomen, a.f (ed) “footmarks on african philosophy” lagos: obaroh and ogbinaka publishers ltd, 1995. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 3 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 63 traditional music beyond entertainment: a critical examination of some factors informing musical appreciation in igbo society ibekwe, eunice u. department of music nnamdi azikiwe university, awka anambra state abstract in a lay man’s point of view, music is generally seen as nothing but one of the media available to fulfill man’s innate desire for pleasure. this paper contends that music especially the traditional music has the potency of addressing the entire nature of man. the reality of its efficacy or effectiveness is most evident in the functions and usages which can never be divorced from man’s daily existential experiences. the crux of this paper is to critically examine those factors inherent in traditional music which place it beyond mere entertainment medium and which inversely inform its aesthetic appreciation. this examination is facilitated through literatures, practical observations and personal experiences. the paper argues that the igbo appreciate music based on its ability to conform, consolidate, propagate and reinforce the expected value system and philosophical concept of people. these are embroiled or located within the confines of performance styles as can be seen in the use of song-texts, dynamic application of rhythms, symbolic visual representations, aesthetic disposition of costumes, make-ups and other body adornments that give credence to traditional music performances. the paper therefore concludes that traditional music should not be viewed from mere entertainment perspectives rather from its functional relevance and applicability. introduction basically, music performance in nigeria (which igbo is a part) has two broad categories namelytraditional music and contemporary music. the paper discuses the two broad categories as well as their derivatives and attributes in order to bring out the inherent values that either informs or contradicts musical appreciation in igbo culture. it also makes some comparative analysis between the traditional and non-traditional music (western music) to establish their level of differences in aesthetic consideration. as an indigene of igbo culture, the researcher has been exposed and involved in a number of musical activities right from infant to adult. in fact all the stages of human development is ritualized with one type of music or the other and through practical experiences and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 64 participant-observation it was obvious that the igbo do not just make music merely for entertainment purposes but for other intrinsic values. traditional music as the name implies involves all the musical practices of a people which are supposedly devoid of external influences in functions and presentations. many scholars such as, okafor and emeka, 2004, anumihe, 2005, oguoma, 2010, and so on, have defined traditional music as the indigenous music of a people. discussing traditional music in nigerian context, okwilagwe, (2002) asserts that it ’derives its origin and versatility from oral traditions or the folk lore of the different ethnic groups that make up the nigerian nation’ (105). similarly, forchu, (2012) cited nketia thus, ‘traditional music is affected and conditioned by environmental, historical, political and social circumstances of the various societies in which it emerges’ (209). keke and obiekwe, add that, ‘sometimes (traditional music) acts as a central force in promoting the culture of particular societies and provides avenues for musical expression through ceremonies, festivals and rituals’ (303). according to agu, in ibekwe (2013) traditional music refers to; “the folk music of a people which evolves as a corporate communal experience... handed down from generation to generation and continues expanding and enriching its resources as it evolves” (94). in summary, traditional music can be characterized as a preserver of traditional values, in other words, the custodian of people’s cultural, religious and traditional life styles, as well as avenue for relaxation and entertainment. traditional music classified interestingly, this traditional music is categorized into three major groups namelyrecreational, incidental and occasional. recreational music includes all music that are meant for relaxation and entertainment such as children’s music, peer group or age grades, social groups and so on. occasional music on the other hand involves all traditional music associated with rites and ceremonies such as festivals, religious worship, kingship, initiation or rites of passage such as birth, marriage, burial and funeral rites. incidental music covers all occupational or unpremeditated music such as labourer’s songs, blacksmith’s, truck pusher’s, canoe paddler’s and so on. all these classes of traditional music represent in totality people’s way of life. ibekwe, (2013) posits that, ‘no traditional music operates outside its cultural stipulations, even in the wake of external manipulations; it does not entirely relinquish its identity’ (94). unfortunately no culture exists which does not igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 65 experience the impact of culture transfer and assimilation, hence the emergence of the contemporary music. contemporary music agu in ibekwe, (2013) defines contemporary music as, ‘a new music genre that has a completely new cultural orientation which is not, in any way, committed to the ideals of the traditional types like the intrinsic socio-political values and services, religious inclinations and functional ethos of the traditional types’. therefore, he maintains that, ‘the contemporary music types, though derived from the traditional idiom, have no attachment to the tradition of the people and serve no purpose in the realization of their cultural life’. (94). under this genre, three major groups are involved –art music, improvised vocal music, and popular (pop) music, discussing art music type, agu (1990) classifies it into secular type, concert type and traditional instrumental type. he discusses them thus: secular type consists of compositions structured for western style choir, usually singing in all four parts or less. it is purely choral music type usually in vernacular and rooted in traditional styles. in other words, this genre is more or less a fusion of african and european musical ideas…the exponents are music graduates exposed to both the western and african music literature and creative techniques. the concert type involves vocal solos and duets usually accompanied by western keyboard instrument like the piano or organ. the language could at times be english, but the context is based on african idiom…the composers are influenced by folk polyphonic devices. the traditional instrumental type has been experimented upon by some academic music educators. the idea is based on the creation of new music style with the traditional instruments. the theme is usually based on the traditional concept and developed for the african audience…the composers of this type usually tries to recapture the traditional styles, either orchestrating the instruments for voices or creating a purely instrumental music which had no cultural attachment…(82-83) under improvised music type, he refers to it as music composed by those musicians who cannot write down their music on paper. their music are rather simple with short melodic structure which may be presented in call and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 66 response, solo and chorused refrain and mixed structural patterns. the texts are mostly vernacular, and in rare occasions in english. they are drawn mainly from indigenous or religious experiences of people. popular music this genre which is majorly commercial oriented in nature has in recent time gained much more popularity than the preceding genres. okafor (1989) describes pop music as, ‘music that deals with familiar themes and issues of the moment. it is understood and accepted by a lot of people, not as a topical reflection of their sentiments and current world view. consequently, popular music is more subject to change than any other genre of music’ (3). as a result of its ephemeral and commercial nature, agu (1990) summarizes it as ‘transient and amenable to innovation and alteration’ (83) popular music has received a lot of concern from authors such as onyeji, 2002; okafor, 2005; onwuegbuna, 2009 among others. onyeji (2002) presents pop music as, ‘a genre of music, encompassing several styles, that is readily comprehensible to a large proportions of the population; its appreciation requires little or no knowledge of musical theory or technique’ (24). in essence, popular music as the name implies denotes music of the masses. it appeals to both old and young but in this present time it was observed that due to lack of jobs many untalented musicians have taken to music making as their last option. the result is a total departure from traditional ideology to what is now termed modern (most visible in their use of song texts and costumes). pop music seems to tilt more to the younger group thereby creating or generating a sort of divide between the young and old. the use of vulgar words especially coming from the younger sects does not promote societal valued ethics and thus does not make for general appreciation. traditional music and non-traditional music compared while traditional music are those that are indigenous to a given culture such as the igbo, non-traditional music are those music alien to a particular culture. for this discourse we mean the western world. for the westerners, entertainment programs and activities are never compromised or taken for granted. musicians such as johann sebastian bach, george fredrick handel, wolfgang amadeus mozart, (his prodigious acclamation notwithstanding) joseph haydn, ludwig van beethoven, franz schubert, robert schumann just to mention a few made tremendous impact in the annals of western history. their musical compositions igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 67 and performances are fantastic and wonderful yet most of them did not receive befitting recognition and expected remuneration at certain periods of their musical experiences. for them, musicians play the second fiddle in the scheme of things in most cases. little wonder then, some of them died paupers as evidenced from the early history. they are basically admired and needed only in concert halls, king’s courts and in churches just for entertainments and worships (as in masses, oratorios and requiems), and when they have challenges or their employers are not able to pay them for their services they settle for freelance performances in streets until the situation improves or are commissioned for another contract. this can be seen as recorded by kamien roger (1998). in his account, joseph haydn serves as a choir boy in the cathedral of st stephen but when his voice changed he was dismissed penniless and he struggled to survive by giving music lesson to children and playing violin in street bands. another instance is the case of prodigious mozart who became a freelance musician in vienna when he could no longer tolerate being treated like a servant by a prince-archbishop of salzburg. all these are possible when music is just seen as serving majorly entertainment purposes. but traditional music making in igbo culture for instance ritualizes every mile stone of human existence cum experiences and that is why it is always relevant to the people. each music event is elaborately and greatly celebrated as the situation demands and that is why the igbo do not joke with their traditional music exponents. they are held as the custodian of people’s culture going by the definition of folk or traditional music. asigbo, (2009) affirms, ‘the society sees in the folk artist, a moral censor, a genealogist, a prophet cum visionary, a story teller and an entertainer all rolled into one’ (21). all these attributes place them tall in the eyes of their admirers. again, for the westerners, individual performances and appreciation take precedence over communal effort as can be seen in their numerous solo pieces for pianos and voices. in fact, it may not be an over statement to say that lone performances receive or are accorded equal prominence with chorus and orchestra. inversely, among the igbo and africa in general, music is most appreciated when communally performed. according to ibekwe (2010), group performances in african context usually ’evoke societal appeal more than individual expressions due to the close association or interaction existing igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 68 between the performers and the audience’ (197). in the same direction, onyeji, and onyeji (2011) affirm that, ‘fundamental to african music appreciation is the presence of group…group music making provides a relevant platform for the exhibition of individualized interpretations of the group concept which enriches the aesthetic output’(24). by the nature of traditional music presentation however, music can never be performed out of context for mere entertainment purposes. this is another instance where african music and western meet their point of departure or diversion in terms of music appreciation. ugwu, (2011) emphasizes thus, ‘from the african perspective there is no music for enjoyment rather its functionality determines the aesthetics…the beauty and meaningfulness of music is dependent on its usefulness’ (131). for the western, a particular music can serve many purposes irrespective of context. take for instance, ‘halleluiah chorus’ by george fredrick handel. this song is a suitable rendition for any occasion be it sorrowful or joyful situation. the reason is that most times the content or the song texts are generally drawn from materials not related or attached to any particular event. with the exception of some music with religious concepts otherwise most of their music can be performed out of context. the igbo pay much attention to the content and suitability of any performance before it is appreciated. in fact this is the case with most african societies their heterogeneous status notwithstanding. western performances are always programmed to last for a specific period of time on a well prepared stage, unlike the traditional performances which are guided by the strength of performers, the ability to improvise and extemporize on a given text, phrases and instruments as well as audience interest, coupled with a very serene natural environment. according to adedeji in ugwu, (2011): looking into the indigenous music of africa itself one immediately finds its apodictic feature of realness, repetition, improvisation, extemporization, spontaneity creation and recreation, percussiveness, sacredness, boisterousness, integrative with other arts, audience participation and its unlimited world of sound” (131-132). invariably, the stage performance adopted in this contemporary time as a measure towards globalization has been a limiting factor against open place igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 69 performance of traditional music. this is undoubtedly having a devastating effect on the performance and appreciation of indigenous music. factors informing music appreciation in igbo and africa in general it has been said that music appreciation in africa and igbo in particular depends on a number of factors which border on functions, purposes, usages and suitability. by implication, it hinges on the ability of such performance to mirror as well as transmit people’s cultural concept, such as their beliefs, ideology, norms and values, philosophy, and so on. some of those factors include: use of song texts music is most appreciated when the hearer understands the content of what is being performed. the use of understandable languages enhances the beauty of such piece. this paper is not saying that music performed in another language other than vernacular is not enjoyable; the truth is that the more meaningful a piece is the more tolerable and sensible it becomes to the hearer. the fact that the igbo enjoy good music whether foreign or local does not imply that they share or accord the same level of appreciation to the genres. umezinwa (2012) reports basden thus: european music, as they interpret it has not yet succeeded in gaining access to the inner being of the ibo; it may have the form but it lacks the essence. he will sing hymns as continuously as formerly he chanted native lyrics but he is never carried away by them, however much he enjoy the singing. (677) therefore, a performance may sound very melodious but lack in-depth appreciation and sensibility. this is where early (old) popular genres differ immensely from the contemporary pop. the later is very much interested in the bourgeois sonic presentations that thrill the audience without considering the content of the music or how much message it conveys. nzewi, (2007) maintains that, “africa conceptualizes music in two primary and interconnected perspectives”. according to him, a musical arts production and presentation that is accredited in the public space must have the qualification of: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 70 making musical sense, which is an intellectual activity concerned with the conformations of sound, phonic resources, and artistic wholeness in musical arts theatre making musical meaning, which mandates creative logic and grammar to accomplish philosophical and psychological intentions as well as strategize human-making structures and presentational dynamics. (115) therefore one can make bold to say that music is appreciated when it is sensible and meaningful as well as conforms to the cultural stipulations of a people; otherwise it becomes unproductive less communicative and less appreciated. little then, nketia (1974) earlier contends that, the treatment of the song texts as a form of speech utterances arises not only from stylistic considerations or from consciousness of the analogous features of speech and music…(but) is also inspired by the importance of the song as an avenue of verbal communication, a medium for creative verbal expressions which can reflect both personal and social experiences. (189) therefore, the selection and use of song text in igbo culture is normally predicated on its relevance, suitability and ability to communicate intelligibly on events and matters of common interest to the members of a given society. contextual suitability one outstanding feature of igbo music and in fact africa in general is the contextual applicability of performances. music and events are apparently so compatible that any misappropriation mars the entire performance; it may either result in misconception or may provoke wrong impression on the observers. the performance contexts include such situations as birth, puberty, marriage, initiation, title taking, burial and funeral, royal, festival, leisure, ritual, work and activity and so on. in each of these occasions the texts, instrumentations and costumes are selected to capture the event so as to give it the desired meaning, anything more or short of that is rather contradictory. one is not expected to hear funeral songs where there is child’s birth celebration or marriage event and vice versa. the fact that music types in igbo culture are normally identified in relation to their context of performances make it that one can easily hear such concepts as egwu nwachild birth song, egwu onwamoon light song, egwu onwu-burial or igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 71 funeral song, egwu mmanwuspirit manifest song and so on and so forth, so that by name a particular performance is designated. in that direction, nzewi, (1991) avers that, ‘igbo categories associate music with specific events or institutions, (and that) every music type, in its own merit as a specific product of specialized human behaviour, constitutes a species-specific activity by nature of its ideation and execution’ (23). in summary, music is not performed out of context in igbo society otherwise the meaning and intention becomes bastardized. rhythmic application and sensibility a.m. jones in chernoff (1979) reports that, ‘rhythm is to africa what harmony is to the european, and that it is in the complex interweaving of contrasting rhythmic patterns that he finds his greatest aesthetic satisfaction’ (40). senghor (in chernoff) in his own view also avers that, ‘rhythm is the basis of all african art’. similarly ibekwe, and umezinwa, (2013) affirm that, ‘the greatest attribute of african music lies in its rhythmic applications. through the rhythmic configuration of a particular music, an ethnic identity is established. that is to say, apart from language, rhythm is another factor that situates or gives bearing to a given culture’. (1) in igbo tradition, each performance has its peculiar rhythmic representation. a ritual, cult or initiation music normally employs strange and mystical rhythmic renditions that generate psychological feelings in the hearer. at times the rhythm in combination with vocal pronouncements sends dreadful signals in such a way that the hearer automatically designates the type of performance on display. royal music is identified by its slow, less complex rhythm because of its noble and dignified carriage, while serious dance-conceived rhythm is always very complex and vibrant in nature. tight rhythm suggests or is produced by notes of short durational values while notes of long durational values produce loose rhythms. if the rhythms are misrepresented the beauty and the aesthetic value is affected and therefore less appreciated. for instance, the beauty of oji (stamping iron bar) used by mmanwu -spirit manifests (masquerades) lies in its intervallic stamping and shaking, coupled with people’s mythological concept about the nature of the instrument itself. oja -notched flute is appreciated for its melodious message-laden renditions and its exhortation ability. obviously rhythm classifies as well as gives meaning to a given performance. rhythm also affects vocal music, in which case we talk of free and strict rhythm. there are vocal performances that follow speech rhythms such as recitatives igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 72 mbem. other examples include dirge, epics, and praise songs. in these cases the texts control the rhythm because what people are interested in is the words or messages and not the melody. also children’s folk and lullabies are in these categories. the nature of lullabies does not allow complex rhythm yet that does not reduce its beauty or importance in igbo culture. according to ibekwe, and umezinwa, (2013): it should be noted that the use of complex rhythm might not have been necessary considering the variables and factors that shape the performance of such genres. some of the constraints include, the age of the recipient and the role the rhythm is meant to perform – to pacify and not to distract. therefore rhythm is sparsely applied in lullabies to maximize its efficiency and effectiveness. (11) but in a situation, where there is equal attention on both the melody and the text, there are adequate timing and tempo manipulations for better performance result and for appreciation. instrumentation and function specification african musical instruments are classified into membranophones, aerophones, idiophones and chordophones according to materials used for construction and their playing techniques. chukwu (2007) even considers the utilitarian import as well as the abstract implications of some instruments in his own classification. as a result, he devices five distinct groups namely, materiaphones, onomatophones, utiliphones, abstractophones and mannerphones representing the materials for construction, the sound production or the way they are pronounced, the utility, the abstract appellations and manner of play. in igbo tradition, instruments have varying uses and each is appreciated in relation to its specified function. take for instance, instruments such as ikolo/ikoro, ufie, oja, opi/odu are very significant culture specific instruments, and their applications and or usages are highly exclusive. one cannot expect to hear ufie music in children’s performance but it is quite suitable for royalty. instruments that generate psychological effects on hearers such as oji (a type of stamping idiophone instrument) are most vulnerable in cult activities. women are associated with light and movable percussion instruments. the type of instrument suggests the type of ensemble, that is to say, rhythm determines whether a performance is a serious one or a casual one. in igbo tradition, sex is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 73 often one of the determinant factors in the use of instruments. there are instruments that are male exclusive with no solid reason other than exhibition of domineering influence of male over female or what we may term ‘gender superiority syndrome’. accordingly, ibekwe, (2012) avers that, “they (women) employ few, simple portative musical instruments, in contradiction to the large orchestras associated with men. the choice of their instruments … depends on the limitations associated with the playing of musical instruments”. (109) such limitations make women shy away from playing certain instruments. in some cases, and even when they attempt to play those restricted instruments some people would see it as an achievement, while others may see it as doing an odd or strange thing. but men use almost every type of instrument without any contention. therefore the appreciation of musical instruments at times depends on function, usage and cultural conceptualization. costumes, make-ups and body adornment costumes and make-ups play a very significant role not only in theatre but also in music. they sharpen as well as give meaning to performances in both indigenous and contemporary settings. the more colourful a performance setting the more likely it is suitable and open for public viewing. but the more serious, dreadful and less attractive a performance appears the more secluded and more exclusive the public viewing and even the age of spectators. costumes and make-ups define roles in a given performance or acts as a pointer to specific functions just as in drama. application of costumes outside the prescribed situations is terribly abnormal and misleading. a typical example can be drawn from egbenuoba or obobdo-iduu male ensemble. describing the costume of obodoiduu male ensemble of akpo town in aguata local government area of igbo culture, ibekwe, and aluede (2010) gives the following picture, the dressing code of obodo iduu dancers is not modern. it is unattractive in outlook. it is a pure camouflage or representation of forest life. it comprises materials from plants and animals such as leaves, hide and skin, feathers, horns, bones etc. there is no strict uniformity on the density or richness of individuals make up. it all depends on the ability of a dancer to collect materials enough to disguise ones outlook. the dancers paint their bodies with black mixture, wear tattered shorts or tie loin cloths with strips or band of cloths which are meant to hold the sheaths of their machetes firmly to their waists. their head wears are old wigs decorated with cowries, feathers, bones and horns of animals. in absence of old wigs, dry banana igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 74 leaves or cocoyam leaves are rolled up and designed to serve as head wears. their necklaces are different types of materials such as beads, bones of animals and cowries. they tie rattling materials round their waist, ankles and wrists which in addition to emphasizing rhythmic intensity also make rattling sound that attracts attention as they move about. (214-215) from the above descriptions it is evident that the ensemble in question is not a child’s play but a very serious one which is purely meant to camouflage life in a jungle. according to nwadigwe in ibekwe, and aluede (2010) when a performer ‘is fully dressed in the whimsical costumes, headpiece and accessories, he looks weird or similar to a character from another world’ (215). in other words, costumes mirror and portray the artistic construct of an artiste. it is therefore most appreciated when the image painted is the true picture of what it is expected to interpret in the performance. culture relevance culture as we understand it represents the sum total of people’s way of life which includes their belief system and philosophical ideologies. normally, traditional music is to a large extent viewed as a culture carrier of any given society. ibekwe, and ojukwu, (2014) maintain that, ‘african music, no matter the ethnic inclination exhibits similar characteristics, which can be seen in the use of language and literature, social, historical and religious practices’ (296). accordingly, oguoma (2010) opines that, ‘music arts indicate clearly the folk thoughts, artistic creativity, social values, vision, mission, goals and cultural status of the people’. she stresses further that, music practice (in igbo culture is ) … not just a mere fun or experience but an integral part of man’s life: identifying ethnic groups, building and educating the rustics, communicating social, political developments, harnessing economic growth, expressing feelings of worship, sacrifice, adoration, obedience and gratitude, spying, broadcasting, censuring or commending taboos and norms respectively, processing the power and cultural legacy of housing the history of people, promoting the mental and spiritual healing, celebrating life and finally mourning lost life. (136) still on the same or related dimension, nosiri, , (2010) stresses that, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 75 music deals with philosophical and sometimes mystic reflections on life and nature, with organized and well arranged language, it dishes out incisive comments ranging from praises and criticisms, innovation and incantation, to satirize and laments about the good, the bad and the ugly events in the society. and most often, messages conveyed in music have made serious impacts on the lives of the people… (and) that music exalts the human spirit and calms down frayed nerves. (78) all these submissions above validate the claim that traditional music of a people represents their culture. bakare in ibekwe, and ojukwu (2014) even states that, “dance is a language which expresses the geographical locations, biological temperament, religious beliefs, political and historical experiences, social practice and economic peculiarities of the people that owns it”.(297) also, yerima (from the same source) while describing dance as a form of identity, says, dance represents the identity of the people. through the body, dance uses the emphasis of areas of the body as metaphors and symbols. specific parts of the body are used to reveal the history of the people, their occupational engagement, (and) their environment. for example, if they live by the river, the shapes, angles, the costumes, the music and even their colours, become symbol which emerges from the river or sea. if they live by the rocks, or hills, the feet movement, the jumps, the raising of the shoulders, the hand gestures, all points to the immediate environment of mountain climbing or long years of surviving by the rocks. (297-298) all these imply that whenever we are performing traditional music, some aspects of these traditional values are displayed which directly or indirectly provoke aesthetic appreciation of the spectators or rather the culture owners. it should be noted that whether we sing, dance or play instruments in igbo indigenous setup a message is being communicated, also culture is rehearsed and perpetuated. conclusion the above discussions hitherto have tried to throw light on the traditional music and its derivatives which develops as a result of external influences which either positively or negatively provoke people’s aesthetic appreciation. obviously, the igbo do not just make music for its own sake; music has a lot of accomplishments which edify its essence. according to umezinwa, (2012) ‘igbo music conjures, reminds, articulates, imitates, affects moods, and change state of minds. it can trigger a feeling of joy, sorrow, grief or even togetherness. and the people igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 76 understand something from the music’ (678). above all, music remains the purveyor of igbo culture whether it is sung, danced or played instrumentally, there is people’s culture crystallized and culminated in practical form. little wonder then, basden in umezinwa (2012) reports of igbo traditional music thus, the more one listens to native music the more one is conscious of its vital power. it touches the chords of man’s inmost being, and stirs his primal instincts. it demands the performer’s whole attention and so, sways the individual as almost to divide asunder for the time being, mind and body. it is intensely passionate, and no great effort of the imagination is required to realize that such music could only have originated with the son of cain. (677-678) if a non native researcher could make such a pronouncement about the igbo traditional music, one wonders then what could be the justification for branding or seeing our traditional music from the perspective of a mere entertainment avenue where its usefulness has gone beyond that. references agu, d.c.c. (1990). the primacy of music in igbo traditional religion: in sociophilosophical perspective of african traditional religion. 49-55. emma ekpunobi,and ifeanyi ezeaku (eds) enugu: new age publisher. agu, d.c.c. (2013). compositional procedures in african music practices: types and presentational styles. a keynote address presented at the composers’ summit at the university of port harcourt in collaboration with the centre for black african arts civilization, february 25-27. anumihe, n. (2005). didactic imperatives in igbo traditional music colloquium (onuagaotu). a paper presented at the 2005 ahiajoku lecture festival (november, 24). asigbo, a. (2009).’ oral performance as siren; the example of ozoemena nwa nsugbe’, in the creative artista journal of theatre and media studies. alex asigbo, tracie chima uto-ezeajugh and clementina abone (eds) 3(1) 19 31. awka: valid publishing company. chernoff, j.m.(1979). african rhythm and african sensibility. london: university of chicago press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 77 forchu, i. (2012). nigerian traditional music: an implement for human development. nsukka journal of musical arts research, 1, 208-219 ibekwe, e.u. and aluede, c.o. (2010). the interrelationship of african musicality: a comparative study of obodo-iduu and ijieleghe ensembles. the performer. ilorin journal of the performing arts. 211-224 ibekwe, e.u. (2012). the gender implications of women and music in igbo culture. nigerian music journal 1,105-117. department of music, delta state university, abraka. ibekwe, e.u. (2013). traditional music and glogalization. ama journal of theatre and cultural studies, 9,1,92-103. theatre arts department, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. ibekwe, e.u. and umezinwa e.c.(2013) . rhythmic sensibility of african folksongs: the case of lullabies in igbo culture. an unpublished paper for the conference of the association of nigerian musicologists at the university of port harcourt ibekwe, e.u. and ojukwu, e. v. (2014), the propagation of music dance in igbo culture: di-buugwu women’s dance group as paradigm. charles aluede, kayode samuel and femi adedeji (eds) african musicology: past, present and future. (a festschrift for mosunmola ayinke omibiyi-obidike) association of nigerian musicologists. keke, m.t.o. and obiekwe, c.n. (2012). the integrity of traditional music in nigerian society. nsukka journal of musical arts research, 1, 303-312 nketia j.k. (1974). the music of africa. new york: w.w. norton & co nosiri, h.n. (2010) language, music, education and national development. (ajrma). awka journal of research in music and the arts, (7) 75-82. department of music, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. nzewi, m. (1991). musical practice and creativity; an african traditional perspective. germany: iwalewa-haus, university of bayreuth. nzewi, m. and nzewi, o. (2007). a contemporary study of musical arts informed by african indigenous knowledge systems. 5,2&3. pretoria: ciimda series. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 78 oguoma, p.u. (2010) owerri traditional music performance: a social melting pot for human development. (ajrma) awka journal of research in music and the arts. (7) 136-153. department of nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. okafor, r.c. (1989). women in igbo musical culture. the nigerian field 54, 133-144 okafor, r.c. and emeka, l.n (2004). nigerian peoples and culture . enugu: new generation books okafor, r.c. (2005). music in nigerian society. enugu: new generation books okwilagwe, a.o (2002) . african traditional music and the concept of copy right law. in music in africa. facts and illusions. 105-112 ibadan: stirkling horden publisher (nig) ltd. onyeji, c. (2002). popular music: facts about the music and musicians. music in africa; fact and illusions. ibadan: stirling – horden publishers (nig.) ltd. onwuegbuna, i.e (2009). pop music analysis in the 21st century: an adaptation of the pressey – skinner programmed – learning theory. awka journal of research in music and the arts. 6, 90 – 104. . department of music, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. ugwu,c.a.n. (2011) . comparative study of western and african approaches to music education spotlighting an african child. awka journal of research in music and the arts. 8,130-138. department of music, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. umezinwa,e.c. (2012) . in search of essence in igbo traditional music. a bountiful harvest, festschrift in honour of very rev. msgr prof. j.p.c. nzomiwu. a.b.c. chiegboka, a.i. okodo, e.c.umezinwa, and i.l umeanolue (eds), nimo: rex charles and patricks ltd. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 6.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 113 igwebuikeconomics: towards an incusive economy for economic development kanu, ikechukwu anthony department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university, umunya anambra state ikee_mario@yahoo.com abstract the economic institution of a nation determines its attitude, culture, poverty or wealth. there is, therefore, the need for every society, especially for african countries, who are among the poorest in the world to revisit their economic policies and adopt economic institutions that would enhance the growth and welfare of its people. nations that are poorest in the world always have something in common, and that is, weak economic institutions; in the same way, nations that are economically prosperous always have something in common: vibrant economic institutions. with the growing interest and focus on regional characterization in global discourses, this work strongly believes that the time has come for african nations, who always occupy the bottom of the ladder of the ranking of poor nations to develop economic institutions based on indigenous and wholistic categories that would boost economic growth. the present work on schedule is a contribution to the ongoing discourse on how to improve the economic development of africa. igwebuike philosophy has been adopted for the development of a wholistic indigenous economic theory for africa’s economic prosperity. for the purpose of this work, the hermeneutic and indigenous wholistic method of inquiry has been adopted. keywords: igwebuike, igwebuikeconomics, african, philosophy, economic, development introduction in 2012, daron acemoglu and james robinson carried out a research on the town of nogales in a book titled: why nations fail: the origins of power, prosperity and poverty. they observed that the town of nogales is divided by a fence. on the north side is the united states, and on the south side, mexico. and the inhabitants on the northern side (nogales arizona) face lower crime rates, live igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 114 longer and earn three times as much as their southern neighbours (nogales sorona)60. in seeking an explanation for this difference, their compelling and elegantly new theory reveals that to prosper, citizens need inclusive economic institutions61. economic institutions shape economic incentives for economic activities. these incentives include: incentives to become educated, incentives to save, to innovate, to invest, etc. it is the economic institution of a nation that gives people the confidence to start a business with ease, and the financial help to sponsor their projects; it provides the competitive market environment that would allow people to expand their business and market their products. a nation’s economic success depends to a great extent on the level of trust that investors have in the economic institution. the economic factor is given primacy in this work because economic need is man’s fundamental need, and it is this fundamental need that structures and explains social life. even in the christian scriptures, after the creation of man, the next thing god did was to provide the economic need of the human person by planting the garden of eden, providing water to keep it alive and asking man to till it and eat from its fruit62. god knows that if man is not able to eat, and meet his economic needs, he will not be able to worship and fulfill other obligations that he has. the importance of the understanding of the centrality of economic needs is that it helps in the understanding of society. questions about the material assets and constraints of a society, how goods are produced to meet the needs of society, how the goods are distributed and the kind of relationship that 60 daron acemoglu and james robinson, why nations fail: the origins of power, prosperity and poverty. profile books, london. 2012 61 daron acemoglu and james robinson, why nations fail: the origins of power, prosperity and poverty. 62 genesis 2:2-10. “and on the seventh day god ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. and god blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which god created and made. these are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the lord god made the earth and the heavens, and every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the lord god had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. but there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. 7 and the lord god formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. and the lord god planted a garden eastward in eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 115 emerges in the organization of production helps to understand the culture of society, its political institution and way of thinking63. obviously, people from more economically viable societies tend to be more educated, more cultured, with more status, more successful, etc64. the relevance of the economic order of society is seen in the fact that those from economically advantaged society would always want to preserve the existing social order, while those who are from an economically disadvantaged society would always be working towards a new economy65. the level of economic growth has attracted the attention of scholars at various levels of discussions. these discussions have been centered on how to arrive at a prudent economic policy framework that would guide development agenda for many underdeveloped and developing economies. there is the need for every society, especially african nations, who are among the poorest in the world to revisit their economic policies and build economic institutions that would enhance the growth and welfare of its people. nations that are poorest in the world always have something in common, even if they are geographically far apart: weak economic institutions; in the same way, nations that are economically prosperous always have something in common: vibrant economic institutions. the present work on schedule is a contribution to the ongoing discourse on how to boost the economic development of africa, and igwebuike philosophy has been adopted for the development of a wholistic indigenous economic theory for africa’s economic prosperity. world ranking of poorest and richest nations since the focus of this paper is the economic state of africa and how to boost its economic prosperity, it is worthwhile to study the place of africa in world economics, and this would help show the economic state of africa and thus, the economic framework that would be helpful her. this would be done through the presentation and analysis of the 25 richest and 25 poorest countries in the world as provided by world atlas. 63 claude ake, a political economy of africa. longman house, england, 1981, p. 1. 64 claude ake, a political economy of africa. longman house, england, 1981, p. 2 65 claude ake, a political economy of africa. longman house, england, 1981, p. 2 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 116 the 25 richest countries in the world based on gdp per capita66 2017 rank country gdp per capita (ppp) 1 qatar 127,523 2 luxembourg 105,882 3 singapore 87,856 4 brunei 77,441 5 kuwait (2015) 73,817 6 united arab emirates 72,419 7 ireland 68,883 8 switzerland 62,882 9 norway 59,302 10 united states 57,467 11 saudi arabia 54,431 12 iceland 51,399 13 netherlands 50,898 14 austria 50,078 15 denmark 49,496 16 sweden 49,175 17 germany 48,730 18 bahrain (2015) 47,333 19 australia 46,790 20 belgium 46,383 21 canada 44,025 22 finland 43,053 23 united kingdom 42,609 24 japan 41,470 25 france 41,466 66 richest countries in the world. in worldatlas. http://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-richestcountries-in-the-world.html. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 117 in the above table we have the 25 richest countries in the world. they have been graded based on their gross domestic product per capita for 2017. in this table, oil nations continue to dominate the list. however, the lowest in terms of gross domestic product is france with 41, 466 gdp. these 25 nations have gotten to this point of economic prosperity is as a result of the economic institutions that they have established, and unfortunately, there is no african country in this list. the gap between the list on this rank and the topmost on the list of 25 poorest countries in the world is a cause for great concern. below is the list of the 25 poorest countries in the world and their gdp. the 25 poorest countries in the world based on gdp per capita67 2015 rank country gdp per capita (ppp) 1 tanzania 2,054 2 afghanistan 2, 051 3 benin 1,957 4 solomon island 1,877 5 gambia 1,849 6 haiti 1,846 7 uganda 1,836 8 burkina faso 1,824 9 rwanda 1,782 10 comoros 1,735 11 ethiopia 1,656 12 kiribati 1,640 13 mali 1,614 14 togo 1,525 15 guinea bissau 1,491 16 madagascar 1,477 17 guinea 1,388 67the 25 poorest countries in the world. in business insider: finance. http://www.businessinsider.com/the-25-poorest-countries-in-the-world-2016-4?ir=t/#2-democraticrepublic-of-congo--gdp-per-capita-753-525-24. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 118 rank country gdp per capita (ppp) 18 eritrea 1,210 19 mozambique 1,208 20 niger 1,069 21 burundi 951 22 liberia 934 23 malawi 819 24 democratic republic of congo 753 25 central african republic 639 african countries dominate the ranking of the 25 poorest countries in the world. only four countries out of the 25 are not african countries. these four countries include afghanistan, kiribati, solomon islands, and haiti. however, their presence on this list indicates that, not minding where they are located on the world map, they share something critical with african nations: poor economic institutions. the gdp per capita listed represents the amount of wealth produced in 2015 and is expressed in us dollars. as african countries vie for space in the list of 25 poorest countries in the world, there is a cause for concern. explanatory variables for the hierarchy of incomes among nations in the midst of a world with a hierarchy of economies, scholars of all walks of life have tried to provide explanatory variables for the differences in economies and the visible broad patterns that nest within them. from the tables above, one would discover that out of the 25 poorest countries in the world only four are non-african countries. for these countries to come under the same economic conditions there must be something critical that holds them together. three hypotheses have emerged to explain why countries fail economically. 1. geographical hypothesis: there is the geography hypothesis which argues that poor nations are in that condition as a result of geographical peculiarities. this position was advanced by the philosopher montesquieu and the economist jeffery sachs. the argument is that countries like africa, central america, south asia, etc., have very poor economies because igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 119 people in tropical climates tend to be lazy, un-inquisitive and uninnovative68. people in these areas are also ruled by despots or dictators. the tropical areas marked by diseases like malaria has consequences on the productivity level of a people. however, a cursory glance at the development of cities points to the fact that geographical differences are not the major cause of poor economies. the example of countries like south korea and north korea and nogales sorona and nogales arizona, that share the same geographical setting and yet different economic states points to the fact that hierarchies in economies cannot be adequately explained by geographical differences. 2. culture hypothesis: there is also the argument that holds that culture is the basic reason for differences in the economies of nations. this perspective was advanced by max weber, who argued that the protestant reformation and ethic advanced the industrial society of europe which was positive and driven by hard work69. in relation to africa, they are said to be poor because of their poor work ethic: they believe in witchcraft and practice magic and are very resistant to western technology. this is also explained with the african concept of time developed by john mbiti70, which expresses a very unserious attitude towards time. this has gained time a name in africa as ‘african time’71. to the extent that social norms are related to culture, one can say that culture can affect economic development; however, culture is not enough to explain economic differences among nations. if we go back to nogales arizona and nogales sorona which have the same culture but different economies, it is very difficult to explain how culture makes the difference economically. 3. ignorance hypothesis: the third hypothesis is the ignorance theory. it argues that economic inequality in the world is the product of ignorance. this would mean that the leaders of poor nations have a fundamental problem, and that is the problem of not knowing what to do to make poor 68 daron acemoglu and james robinson, why nations fail: the origins of power, prosperity and poverty. profile books, london. 2012, pp.48-56. 69 daron acemoglu and james robinson, why nations fail: the origins of power, prosperity and poverty. profile books, london. 2012, pp. 56-63 70 mbiti, j. african religions and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational. 1970, pp. 15-27. 71 kanu, ikechukwu anthony, “time in african ontology: a philosophical analysis”. in issues in african traditional religion and philosophy,, 2012, pp. 241-252 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 120 nations richthese are leaders who do not know how to make use of scarce resources for the good of the nation state, neither are they aware of alternative uses and methods of helping out in situations of poverty72. in relation to africa, it would be said that poverty resides in africa simply because african leaders are not well informed on how best to run their countries unlike their western counterparts who are better informed and advised. this is not always true as a cursory glance at the cases of apparent economic decline mismanagement and subsequent decline of the economy of many african countries is not the product of ignorance. if a leader is ignorant and well-meaning for his people, he can always learn what policy would favour the economic prosperity of his people, or seek advice on how to go about it. however, this is not the case with africa. what theory then can we employ to explain the experience of economic retrogression in africa? this takes us back to the problem of economic institutions that is the product of poor political institutions. it is not as a result of ignorance, or cultural differences among peoples or nations, or the product of geographical differences between nations. it is simply the result of a poor economic mentality that has been generated by poor economic institutions, the result of unreliable political structures. the economic prosperity or retrogression of a nation depends to a large extent on her openness towards inclusiveness or exclusiveness. igwebuikeconomics and the vision of a wholistic economy igwebuikeconomics is the application of igwebuike philosophy to economic development. it is, therefore, the product of two words: igwebuike and economics. to understand igwebuikeconomics, an understanding of the two words: igwebuike and economics, that make up the compound word would be necessary. 72 daron acemoglu and james robinson, why nations fail: the origins of power, prosperity and poverty. profile books, london. 2012, pp.63-69. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 121 the first word is igwebuike. it is a word that is at the heart of african thought, logic and the modality of being in african philosophy73. although it is a word, it is not just a word, because it carries within it an entire structure: the structure of african philosophy, traditional religion and culture. it is taken from the igbo language, which is a composite word made up of three compartments74. it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space75. the three words involved: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power76. put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force77. at this level, no task is beyond their collective capability. its english equivalent is ‘complementarity’. it is a concept that was employed by african traditional philosophers of the complementary school of thought to discuss the nature of the observed african reality78. it is anchored on the african worldview, which is characterized by a common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny79. it is a complementary philosophy which understands life as a shared reality, one in which another is part thereof80. it is a relationship in which case the two or more coming together makes each of them a complete 73 kanu ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp. 59-69. 74 kanu ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as an igbo-african wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. 2017, p.52 75 kanu ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. 2017, p.127 76 kanu, ikechukwu anthony, “igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education”. published in nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. 2017, pp. 11-17. cf. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment”. published in nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. 2017, pp. 28-38. 77 kanu ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike and the logic of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. 2017, p.9 78 kanu ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike and the question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. 2017, p.78 79 iroegbu, p., metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: international universities press. 1995, p. 24 80 kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as the consumate foundation of african bioethical principles. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 2. 2016, p.41. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 122 whole; it is a diversity of being one with each other. thus, mbiti writes, “i am because we are and since we are, therefore i am”81. the second word is economics; to understand economics, the strategy of this piece is to begin by understanding the questions that economics concerns herself about. questions such as: why are some countries rich and some other countries are poor? why has income and wealth become unequally distributed in our world over the past few decades? what effect would growth or decrease in population have on the economy of a people? what would be the consequence of particular actions or economic choices of policies on the economy of a people? what economics does as a discipline is to help respond to these questions among others. thus, economics is defined as the field of study that concerns herself with the description and analysis of production, distribution and consumption of goods and services. this would obviously concern how changes in behaviours and economic agents can bring about changes in economies82. in relating igwebuike with economics, economics provides the central context for the application for igwebuike philosophy; and the word igwebuike is descriptive, in the sense that it speaks of the kind of economics that we are dealing with here. it is an economics that is anchored on the african worldview that understands reality as inclusive, complementary and relational, and which places the interest and good of the human person at the centre of reality. it is a humanistic economics that concerns herself with the description and analysis of production, distribution and consumption of goods and services from a complementary perspective for the development of peoples. it understands economic realities not in terms of aspects, identities and static elements but thinks in terms of relatedness that systematically takes into cognizance the interactions of the different elements of social life, especially, economic structure, political structure, social structure and belief systems, with an awareness of the complexity and dynamism of relatedness. it is this relatedness of reality that has called for this complementary approach to economics that addresses problems complementarily and concretely rather than abstractly. anthropocentric and socio-cultural foundation of igwebuikeconomics 81 mbiti, j. african religions and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational. 1970. pp. 15-27. 82 economics, wikipedia, retrieved 28/10/17 from https//en.m.www.wikipedia.org. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 123 at the heart of igwebuikeconomics is the interest of the human personit is an economic humanism that is based on the african worldview that places man at the centre of reality. according to mbiti “man is at the very centre of existence and african people see everything else in its relation to this central position of man… it is as if god exists for the sake of man”83. corroborating with mbiti, metuh avers that “everything else in african worldview seems to get its bearing and significance from the position, meaning and end of man”84. property, money, wealth, etc., are, therefore, not the end of igwebuikeconomics but rather the good of the human person. it has no place for exploitation, inordinate greed or making money through the exploitation of the poora scenario where the rich get richer and the poor poorer, losing access to control over their future. there is equally no place for laziness, negligence, cheating, insincerity, dishonesty and selfishness. it is completely against colonialism of all kinds, which exploits the poor and exposes them to oppressive economic policies. it calls for level economic opportunities for all peoples and not a situation where by the rich countries control the market of the goods produced by the poor to the disadvantage of poor nations. or a situation where rich nations force the poor nations into economic relationships or policies that would enslave the poor countries. igwebuikeconomics respects nature, for it sees nature as a part of the corpus of reality which has a complementary role to play in the business of the general good of reality. from the western perspective, property is seen as a thing that can be used or abused, destroyed or sold, for instance a land; but in african traditional societies, the land is not just a thing, it is respected as an abode of the spiritsthe ala deity. it is, therefore, treated as a mother, and this brings in the idea of love, respect and concern. it is not personally owned, but owed by the community, implying that the interest pursued is not just the interest of an individual but the interest of the group. this also spells the importance of the group, the community in every economic activity. even labour is not done individually, but as a group, not in any way to undermine the importance of the individual, for through the group, the individual finds fulfillment. it creates a system that makes members to have faith in the group. 83 mbiti, j., african religions and society. nairobi: eastern educational, 1969. p. 92 84 metuh, i. e. african religions in western conceptual schemes. jos: imico. 1991, p. 109 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 124 igwebuikeconomics calls for an inclusive economics, in the sense that there is a provision for the security of the investments of peopleno one invests where and when he or she knows that the output would be stolen, expriopriated or taxed away. there must be an unbiased system of law that treats people as equals, providing a level playing field for all players in the economy to exchange and contract. inclusive economies would allow people the opportunity to pursue the vocation of their choice, and which best suits their talents. you don’t get much from an economy that has less alternatives, therefore, forcing people into economic activities that is not in tandem with their talents. for instance, when a medical doctor or a lawyer becomes a cashier in the bank, contrary to the persons desired vocation. the masses need to have faith in the economic institution that is created by the political institution. but in a continent like ours where men and women cast so much doubt on the political institution, it leaves no room for confidence in the economic institution. thus, people are afraid to invest, because a new administration can come into the arena and change the economic game without discussion or recognition of previously signed agreements. the result is that young people are growing and expecting very little from lifethey grow up in poverty, without entrepreneurial skills, creativity or adequate skill to make economic decisions. the sense of distrust discourages the participation of the masses in economic activities that agrees with their talents and skills. the result of inclusive economy is innovations, from all dimensions of life: science, technology, education, etc. igwebuikeconomics as an interdependent economy the underlying principle of igwebuike philosophy is the principle of complementarity. thus, economic entities are understood as complementary entities. meaning that if economic entities must succeed, they must establish a strong relationship with one another, in such a way that the other completes what is lacking in the other. no economic entity is complete; it is rather an entity that is in need of the other entity for fulfillment; to imagine that one is not in need of the other is an expression of the most profound ignorance of self and the other. if one is a producer, he must connect to the consumer, and if one is a consumer, he must connect to the producer; what is the dignity and pride of a producer if there are no consumers? and even if one is a producer, he cannot igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 125 produce everything, and therefore, must connect to the producers of his or her other basic needs. to grow an interdependent economic institution, society needs to provide public services that will connect people with one another. this includes roads, transport networks for the free movement of goods and services. this points to the fact that there is a very strong link between economic institutions and political institutions. when the political institution fails, the economic institution would not stand. political institutions provide incentives for economic prosperity. for instance, it is the government that provides schools where people get educated and where their talents are harnessed for positive action and thus positive economic engagement. political institutions that cannot provide education for the harnessing of talents, a secured environment for economic activities, among others, would have an epileptic economy. the result is that many bill gateses and thomas edisons would be in the farm or elsewhere doing something that they would have never loved to do with their lives. to further express the need for economic interdependency for economic prosperity, this work would engage in a study of the three major ethnic groups in nigeria: the igbo, hausa and yoruba, categorized under the eastern, northern and western regions. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 126 the particular focus of studying these three regions will be their economic capacities with the view to showing how each region, although blessed with peculiar resources, still require a connection with other regions for economic prosperity. it would also show that the level of a people’s openness towards others affects the level of their economic prosperity. 1. the economy of the northern region during the colonial era, the northern part of nigeria had a thriving trade in groundnuts, cotton, millet, maize and other agricultural produce, producing about 80% of the total grains consumed in nigeria, and thus supplying the agricultural raw materials required to sustain a wide range of agro allied industries in different parts of nigeria and the world. until the 1970s when crude oil exportation became very attractive, she was in the list of the world’s largest exporters of grains. but with the gradual disappearance of the groundnut pyramids, it can be described as a shadow of its former self85. the north is also blessed with natural resources. tin mining in plateau, steel mining in benue and other metal industries in sokoto build up the diverse mining industry of the country. cement industries in sokoto and bauchi and leather processing industries in kano constitute the main manufacturing sector86 however, most of the industries established in different parts of northern nigeria to boost economic development have folded. in 2007, the economic associates’ reported a state by state decomposition of nigeria’s gross domestic product (gdp). the report reveals that crop and livestock production, the major economic activities in the northern part of nigeria account for only 23% nigeria’s gdp87. 85 williams wallis, northern nigeria: in search of economic vision. https://www.ft.com/content/666748e62440-11e3-a8f7-00144feab7de?mhq5j=e7 86 northern region, nigeria wikipedia. retrieved 28/10/17 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/northern_region,_nigeria 87 sa’adu a. jijji, a postgraduate student at university of oxford, wrote in from the uk retrieved 28/10/17 from http://www.gamji.com/article8000/news8854.htm igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 127 this notwithstanding, the northern part of nigeria, in relation to other regions, constitute a major economic player. if northern nigeria decides not to allow their agricultural produce to head eastward and westard, there will be starvation in large proportions. this becomes very clear when you pay a visit to any market in the west or eastern part of nigeria. you would realize that about 70% of the foodstuff are of northern origin including but not limited to beans, tomatoes, ginger, onions, pepper, potatoes, guinea corn, millet, wheat, yams, benniseed, cowpeas, ground nut, carrots, sugar cane, livestock and so on. one gets a glimpse of this during islamic festive periods, when most of the northerners must have left the west and east for the north. the quantity of agricultural produce in the market gets scarce and, thus more expensive than the usual, and even less qualitative than what used to be available88. however, the constant flow of foodstuff from the north to the west and east benefits the north, as the north cannot consume all it produces and secondly, her people need the money to sustain their next year farming projects and to purchase other items that are useful to life and living. 2. the economy of the west the western region has a prosperous economy, partly because of the presence of the port. the west region was the third largest economy in the continent of africa n 2014. it is blessed with fertile land, quality wood, produces artifacts through wood carvings, cocoa, and has a rich agricultural base. the leading city of the western region is lagos, with a rich history of economic growth. although it covers only 0.4 of nigeria’s territorial land mass, making it the smallest state in the country, it accounts for over 60% of industrial and commercial activities in the nation. it is financially viable, generating over 75% of its revenues independent of federal grants derived from oil revenues. it generates the highest internal revenue of all states in nigeria. if taken as a country on its own, its 2010 gdp of $80 billion made it the 11th largest economy in africa. 88 okechukwu peter nwobu, economic miracle of northern nigeria is not wishful thinking! retrieved 28/10/17 from http://saharareporters.com/2012/03/11/economic-miracle-northern-nigeria-not-wishfulthinking igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 128 lagos has emerged as a major hub for the headquarters of national and global companies and the complex business and professional services that support them. with a population well over 16 million. it is the 7th fastest growing city in the world, and the second largest city in africa. it is not only becoming a “megacity” in terms of population but it is a global city with a substantial and growing foreign-born population and non-stop flights to hundreds of destinations around the world. its population assures a ready labour pool for production and ready markets for consumption. lagos features relatively superior infrastructure and is strategically located with land, air and sea connections to markets in central and western africa region, europe and the rest of nigeria, easing the flow of both raw materials and processed goods. 3. the economy of the eastern region right from the pre-colonial times, the igbo economy has been dominated by agriculture, trade and local manufactures. success, wealth, a good modern education, political power and influence were all recognized as ways by which people could distinguish themselves. like other parts of nigeria, she has a rich agricultural base and trade in palm produce, rubber, yam, cocoa, etc89. the eastern region is also known for trade90. in the area of natural resources, she is blessed with coal and crude oil. the igbo of the eastern region build and run industries in various parts of the country. the majority of the shoes, clothes, etc., used in nigeria are produced in the eastern region. even the movie industry is a product of igbo ingenuity. about 30 years ago, the first nollywood movie was made by a small-time electronics trader named kenneth nnebue, who, stuck with a large shipment of blank videotapes, decided to unload them by making a movie about a man who sells his soul for wealth. that movie, “living in bondage,” sold hundreds of thousands of copies. 89 wikipedia, eastern region, retrieved 25/10.2017 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/eastern_region,_nigeria. 90 wikipedia, eastern region, retrieved 25/10.2017 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/eastern_region,_nigeria igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 129 in the eastern region, onitsha has the biggest market, in fact, the biggest market in west africa and aba the only place that manufactures every single thing we use from boxers, singlets, sandals, shoes, to suits, etc., and although it is called ‘aba made’, they are selling, and are being exported to different parts of africa: togo, ghana, benin, cameroun, etc. the nnewi motor parts and industrial manufacturing estates, alaoji aba small engines fabrication and motor parts markets, coal camp enugu artisans and emene industrial estate in enugu, abakaliki and afikpo commercial rice production and commercial agricultural estate are positioning the eastern region for future economic transformation. very recently, innoson vehicle manufacturing company (ivm) was commissioned. excluding innoson group of companies, nnewi is a home to many major manufacturing industries including ibeto group of companies, cutix and adswitch, uru industries ltd, omata holdings ltd, cento group of companies, coscharis of companies group, ebunso nig. ltd, john white industries, ejiamatu group of companies, horizontal ent. ltd, m. o. i. ltd.de r.c oriz inv ltd., chicason group. the igbo invented and dominate computer markets across the country. by late 1999 or early 2000 when internet technology became a household name in corporate nigeria, the igbo positioned themselves in the most vantage location of ikeja – otigba street to commence trading in it equipments and devices. till today, ikeja computer village, the largest it market in west africa, makes ikeja stands out from other towns in lagos. it is home to the major dealers of mobile phones and computers as well as their accessories. the igbo of eastern nigeria have expanded the computer markets to abuja, onitsha and aba where you can buy all major electronics, phone, mobile devices and computer accessories, software and hardware. economic interdependence and economic prosperity the northern, southern and eastern regions are blessed economically as independent regions, their economic prosperity is dependent on their openness and relationship with others. if the west produces kolanut in large quantity and there is no northerner to chew it or the easterner to celebrate the kolanut, the economic value of the kolanut would depreciate. if the igbo produces palm oil, cars, shoes and cloths and there are no ready markets for these products in the northern and southern parts of the country, the economy of the east would be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 130 affected. if the north produces rice, maize, millet, vegetables, etc., and there are no eastern or western markets for them to be sold and consumed, that would seriously affect the economy of the north. these three regions are economically interdependent. without the fuel from the eastern part of the country, the nigerian economy and even industries would stand still. the absence of the northern business men and women in terms of foodstuff would bring about starvation. the lagos state market of the southwest is a major market to both the east and the north; it provides opportunities and population to patronize goods and services. economic interdependence of the three regions allows room for the usefulness of surplus labour and surplus products. without the other regions, surplus product would not be able to balance with necessary product. surplus labour which is based on the demands from the different regions helps particular regions to maximize their full potentials economically. a diagram showing the reciprocal relationship in the nigerian economy northern economy eastern economy western economy economic prosperity igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 131 to spur up economic prosperity in nigeria, there is, therefore, the need to open up the different regions more profoundly than they are at the moment to increase access to goods and services. while the west has linkages through the transatlantic ocean, and the east through the calabar sea, the economy of the north, landlocked with no access to international coastlines, has been badly affected. to expand the opportunities for access to her goods and services, the dredging of the river niger would be an important milestone. there is also the need for an efficient railway system that would help the movement of goods and services. the fact that every imported item in nigeria, from petrol to sugar is cheaper in the west than in the north, means that the north’s disadvantage is been further compounded by poor transportation system and poor access. it does not make sense for any manufacturer to site his factory in kastina or yobe if he cannot easily move his goods to markets in the south or for export. while the landlocked nature of the north poses a serious economic challenge, this is compounded by the insecurity of lives and property caused by religious and ethnic crises in the northern part of the country. this has affected investments and the movement of people towards the north for economic purposes. no one would like to invest in a place where he knows is prone to crises; no one would build where he knows his investment would be destroyed91. as a result of these crises, tourist sites in the north have been less attractive. this has economic consequences. crises, religious and ethnic, fails to promote regional integration through intra-regional beneficial partnerships. the level of a people’s economic prosperity is sometimes a reflection of the people’s appreciation for or lack of openness to plurality and diversity. indicators of igwebuikeconomics igwebuikeconomics is an inclusive economy that speaks of an economic institution that considers all the aspects of economic life. it opens up economic opportunities towards those who are facing difficulty in advancing their wellbeing. it is anchored on an economic philosophy that believes that increasing 91 sa’adu a. jijji, a postgraduate student at university of oxford, wrote in from the uk retrieved 28/10/17 from http://www.gamji.com/article8000/news8854.htm igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 132 inequality is a significant threat to economic development92. it requires a collective action from all members of the society, all continents, countries, the government, non-governmental agencies, the general public, the rich and the poor, etc. the rockefeller foundation outlines five broad characteristics of an inclusive economy, and this applies very appropriately to igwebuikeconomics. these broad characteristics could also be referred to as the canons of igwebuikeconomics. they include: equitable, participatory, growing, sustainable and stable. igwebuikeconomics 92 berg a g and ostry j d. inequality and sustainable growth: two sides of the same coin. washington dc, international monetary fund. 2011, p.30; eberts, r. and kleinhenz, j. dashboard indicators for the northeast ohio economy: prepared for the fund of our economic future. clerveland: federal reserve bank of clerveland. 2006, p. 12.; igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 133 equitable this provides level ground opportunities and equal access to public goods, education, services, infrastructure, portable water, basic hygiene services, which are core universal development indicators. with inequality in society, more people are pushed into poverty, which increases social ills, poor health, low participatory economic development comes into play when the economy is participatory. that is, when, workers, business owners and consumers have access to and participate in the market that is transparent and has rules and regulations that is a common knowledge. on the contrary, when there is growing an economy that is inclusive grows. by growth is not just about an increase in gdp but an improvement of the life of the people in a multidimensional way. this comes with greater opportunities for good job, food, shelter, basic health, work opportunities, increase in incomes, and this is experienced not just by a select few but by all sustainable an inclusive economy would always be sustainable. that is, the growth that is experienced in a multidimensional way in the economy must be sustainable over time to ensure an intergenerational well-being of people. this would therefore imply that every inclusive economy must have a vision of what she wants the society to be in the next 10, 20 or 30 years to come and develop stable there should be some level of economic stability that would help individuals, governments, organizations, groups, enterprises, etc., to be able to predict the future outcome of their economic decisions and otherwise. the inability to establish a economic institution that can withstand shocks and stresses, therefore, unstable igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 134 productivity, poor education and political instability. corruption and information symmetry, the result is always the debilitation of economic development. dimensions of society. modalities that would sustain such an economic agenda. there is also the need for a political institution that would not alter economic programme without respect for earlier arrangements. would make it difficult for people to invest in such an economy. in this table are the five canons if igwebuikeconomics or core indicators of inclusive economy. they can be employed universally for the evaluation of the economic growth of all nations in africa and beyond. these canons beyond using them to analyze how nations are doing economically, a database of them preserved can be a serious source of information for discussions in the area of economic development93. this would be a resource material for students and institutions that are carrying out research in the area of economic growth. more so, knowledge gathered in such a database can helpful in making economic norms for nations and regions that would support growth and development. from inclusive economic institution to inclusive economic growth the result of every inclusive economic development is the emergence of an inclusive growth. inclusive economic growth is used within the context of an outcome and a process. it is a growth in which everyone participates in bringing about and one that everyone also shares in when it is realized. inclusive economic growth has many faces. it is manifested in: 93 chris benner and manuel pastor, inclusive economic indicators: framework and indicator recommendations. everett program, usa. 2016. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 135 a. growth in employment and productivity94; b. development in human capabilities and social safety95. c. reduction of poverty96; d. and opportunity for people to contribute to economic growth and benefit from the growth process97. e. increase in gross domestic product98. f. sustainable growth that would create and expand economic opportunities and a broader access to them99. 94 ifzal ali. inequality and the imperative for inclusive growth in asia. asian development review. 24. 2. 1-16. 2007 95 ifzal ali. inequality and the imperative for inclusive growth in asia. asian development review. 24. 2. 1-16. 2007 96 elena i. and susana l. incusive growth analytics: framework policy research working paper. world bank economic policy and debt department, economic policy division, wp. no. 4851. 2010. 97 elena i. and susana l. incusive growth analytics: framework policy research working paper. world bank economic policy and debt department, economic policy division, wp. no. 4851. 2010. 98 habito, c. f. patterns of inclusive growth in asia: insights from an enhanced growth poverty elasticity analysis. adb working paper series. no. 145. 2009 99 mckinley terry. inclusive growth criteria and indicators: an inclusive growth index for diagnoses of countries progress. adb sustainable development wp series. no. 14. 2010 employment good governance gender equity human development socio-econmic amenities economic prosperity equity poverty reduction inclusive economic institutions igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 136 a model for inclusive economic growth if africa establishes inclusive economic institutions, the table above shows that the result would be an inclusive economic growth or prosperity for africa. if an inclusive economic growth is achieved, the result would be availability of socioeconomic amenities, like road, school, water, electricity, etc. sound economic growth obviously affects governance, for although it is the government that sets up the economic institution, it is the economic institution, through economic growth that strengthens the political institution, which further works towards the stability of the economic institution. a sound government allows for gender equity, which strengthens economic growth. economic growth widens employment opportunities, reduces poverty level and decreases inequality. the promotion of equity and gender inequality enhances human development or capabilities, which in turn strengthens the economic institution. conclusion a cursory glance at the historical evolution of thoughts on economic development by academics, policy makers, etc., reveals that the idea of economic inclusivity used to be considered as an afterthought in economic analysis usually thought only to be necessary after economic development has been achieved, thus making economic inclusivity a second phase in the economic development process. however, their research shows that economic inclusiveness needs to move from footnotes to the headers of plans for economic development. it has become the paradigm of many economic projects that is aimed at the reduction of poverty and improvement of the well-being of the generality of peoples. this is evident in the approaches of world bank, asian development bank, oecd, african development bank, undp, among others100. contextualizing the discourse on economic development, this work has argued that for economic prosperity in africa, there is the need for an inclusive or complementary economic system that is transparent. this is necessary as the combination of economic strengths would boost africa’s economy beyond imagination. 100 nicholas ngepah, a review of theories and evidence of inclusive growth: an economic perspective for africa. in environmental sustainability. 4. pp52-57. 2017. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 137 the greatest threat to africa’s economy is her exclusive economic systems; the experiences of xenophobia, ethnic crises, religious crisis in different parts of africa affects the aperture for economic prosperity as they limit movement of goods and people, and also the incentive to take risks. to complement means to bring together or to sum up distinct or similar things or words to make a new meaning or to form or produce a new outlook or phenomenon. according to oxford advanced learners’ dictionary, complementary is all about “combining well to form a balance or attractive group or whole,”101 while to complement is simply “to add new or contrasting feature which show the best qualities of something or which improve it102. what this means is that complementarily is simply the act of summing up fragments to make up a whole which become more attracting and meaningful than its former fragments103. it understands reality as being interrelated in all its segments, which works in mutual complementation and eventually lead to general well being of common good. igwebuikeconomics argues that a whole is greater than any of it’s corresponding parts. it is also a view that maintains that by the coming together of the individual or parts, a viable and sustainable whole will emerge, and by this, the parts will get to the brim purpose of their existence. it is the view that holds that individualized views and individualized goals and desires will be attained fully if there is a mutual collectivity existing amongst them. thus, to be is to be in mutual complementary relationship. this paper believes that the domain of inclusivity in economic development remains a strategy with great potential for africa. bibliography berg a. g. and ostry j. d. inequality and sustainable growth: two sides of the same coin. washington dc, international monetary fund. 2011. 101 jonathan, c., kathryn k., michael, a., oxford advanced learners’ dictionary, oxford university press. 1995, p. 232 102 udoh, godwin udoh, some important ideas in asouzu’s philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2. no. 4, 2016. p.2 103 jonathan, c., kathryn k., michael, a., oxford advanced learners’ dictionary, oxford university press. 1995, p. 232 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 138 business insider: finance. 25 poorest countries in the world. in retrieved 28/10/17 from http://www.businessinsider.com/the-25-poorestcountries-in-the-world-2016-4?ir=t/#2-democratic-republic-of-congo-gdp-per-capita-753-525-24. chris benner and manuel pastor, inclusive economic indicators: framework and indicator recommendations. everett program, usa. 2016. claude ake, a political economy of africa. longman house, england, 1981 daron acemoglu and james robinson, why nations fail: the origins of power, prosperity and poverty. profile books, london. 2012 eastern region, wikipedia, retrieved 25/10.2017 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/eastern_region,_nigeria eberts, r. and kleinhenz, j. dashboard indicators for the northeast ohio economy: prepared for the fund of our economic future. clerveland: federal reserve bank of clerveland. 2006. economics, wikipedia, retrieved 28/10/17 from https//en.m.www.wikipedia.org. elena i. and susana l. incusive growth analytics: framework policy research working paper. world bank economic policy and debt department, economic policy division, wp. no. 4851. 2010. habito, c. f. patterns of inclusive growth in asia: insights from an enhanced growth poverty elasticity analysis. adb working paper series. no. 145. 2009 ifzal ali. inequality and the imperative for inclusive growth in asia. asian development review. 24. 2. 1-16. 2007 iroegbu, p. metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: international universities press. 1995 jonathan, c., kathryn k., michael, a., oxford advanced learners’ dictionary, oxford university press. 1995 kanu ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike and the logic of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. 2017 kanu ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike and the question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. 2017. kanu ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. 59-69, 2016 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 139 kanu ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. 2017 kanu ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as an igbo-african wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. 2017 kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. 3. 6. 11-17. 2016 kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. published in nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. 3. 4. 28-38. 2017 kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as the consumate foundation of african bioethical principles. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 2. 2016 kanu, ikechukwu anthony. time in african ontology: a philosophical analysis. in issues in african traditional religion and philosophy pp. 241252, 2012. mbiti, j. african religions and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational. 1970 mckinley terry. inclusive growth criteria and indicators: an inclusive growth index for diagnoses of countries progress. adb sustainable development wp series. no. 14. 2010 metuh, i. e. african religions in western conceptual schemes. jos: imico. 1991 nicholas ngepah, a review of theories and evidence of inclusive growth: an economic perspective for africa. in environmental sustainability. 4. pp5257. 2017. northern region, nigeria wikipedia. retrieved 28/10/17 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/northern_region,_nigeria. okechukwu peter nwobu, economic miracle of northern nigeria is not wishful thinking! retrieved 28/10/17 from http://saharareporters.com/2012/03/11/economic-miracle-northernnigeria-not-wishful-thinking sa’adu a. jijji, a postgraduate student at university of oxford, wrote in from the uk retrieved 28/10/17 from http://www.gamji.com/article8000/news8854.htm igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 140 udoh, godwin udoh, some important ideas in asouzu’s philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 4, 2016 williams wallis, northern nigeria: in search of economic vision. retrieved 28/10/17 from https://www.ft.com/content/666748e6-2440-11e3-a8f700144feab7de?mhq5j=e7. world atlas, richest countries retrieved 28/10/17 from http://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-richest-countries-in-theworld.html microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 4 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 99 quitte ton pays: consecrated persons and the challenges of family obligations in contemporary africa kanu, ikechukwu anthony department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university, umunya anambra state ikee_mario@yahoo.com abstract pope francis, in october 8, 2013, announced that in october 2014 there would be an extraordinary general assembly of the synod of bishops on topics related to the family and evangelization. in the year 2015, the roman pontiff called for the xiv ordinary general assembly of the synod of bishops in october, which would continue the work of the iii extraordinary general assembly by reflecting further on the points discussed so as to formulate appropriate pastoral guidelines for the pastoral care of the person and the family. alongside these developments in the area of the family, pope francis, announced that 2015 would be the year of consecrated life, and since november 2014 religious institutes and societies of apostolic life all over the world have been putting in great effort at making this year a period of renewal. it is from these developments, in the areas of the family and consecrated life that this paper thinks it worthy to reflect on the relationship between consecrated persons and their families. the relationship between consecrated persons and their families considered in this work is limited to their natural obligation to care for their aged or sick parents. this, therefore concerns how they can fully live out their vocation of “leaving their father’s house and country” and still be attentive to the fundamental obligation of honoring their parents. keywords: quitte ton pays, consecrated persons, family, africa. introduction a cursory glance at the historical evolution of the church reveals that throughout the centuries, she has maintained her constant teaching on the family and marriage. in the second vatican council document, gaudium et spes, an entire chapter was devoted to the promotion of the dignity of marriage and the family34. pope paul vi, in his encyclical humanae vitae35, his letter to families gratissimam sane36 and apostolic exhortation familiaris 34 gaudium et spes, 47-52 35 paul vi, encyclical letter humane vitae on the 25th day of july, the feast of st. james the apostle, in the year 1968, vatican city, 7-10. 36 john paul ii, letter to families gratissimam sane, saint peter's, on 2 february, the feast of the presentation of the lord, in the year 1994, vatican. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 100 consortio37, devoted special attention to the family. more recently, pope benedict xvi, in his encyclical letters deus caritas est38 and caritas in veritate, took up the topic of family. he emphasized the importance of love as the principle of life in society39. in his encyclical lumen fidei, the roman pontiff, pope francis, reflected on the relationship between the family and faith40. in october 8, 2013, the roman pontiff further announced that in october 2014 there would be an extraordinary general assembly of the synod of bishops on topics related to the family and evangelization41. in this year 2015, the roman pontiff has also called for the xiv ordinary general assembly of the synod of bishops in october, which would continue the work of the iii extraordinary general assembly by "reflecting further on the points discussed so as to formulate appropriate pastoral guidelines" for the pastoral care of the person and the family42. alongside these developments in the area of the family, the roman pontiff, pope francis, had also announced that 2015 would be the year of consecrated life, and since november 2014 religious institutes and societies of apostolic life all over the world have been putting in great effort at making this year a period of renewal. it is from these developments, in the areas of the family and consecrated persons that this piece thinks it worthy to reflect on the relationship between consecrated persons and their families. the relationship between consecrated persons and their families is limited to their natural obligation to care for their aged or sick parents. this therefore concerns how they can fully live out their vocation of “leaving their father’s house and country” and still be attentive to the fundamental obligation of honoring their parents. 37 john paul ii, apostolic exhortation familiaris consortio, rome, at st. peter's, on the twenty-second day of november, the solemnity of our lord jesus christ, universal king, vatican city. 38 benedict xvi, encyclical letter deus caritas est, rome, at saint peter's, on 25 december, the solemnity of the nativity of the lord, in the year 2005, 11. 39 benedict xvi, caritas in veritate, 44 40 francis 1, encyclical letter lumen fidei, rome, saint peter’s, on 29 june, the solemnity of the holy apostles peter and paul, in the year 2013 41 united states conference of catholic bishops. 2014/2015 synods of bishops on the family. http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/marriage-and-family/2014-2015-synods-of-bishops-on-thefamily.cfm#support 42 instrumentum laborens, third extraordinary general assembly: the pastoral challenges of the family in the context of evangelization. http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/synod/documents/rc_synod_doc_20140626_instrumentumlaboris-familia_en.html. vatican city, 2014. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 101 the theology of consecrated persons by consecrated persons, i mean the members of the religious institutes and societies of apostolic life43. they are lay persons or clerics who assume the evangelical counsels by means of a sacred bond, and become members of an institute of consecrated life according to the law of the church44. they totally dedicate themselves to god with the goal of pursuing perfection in charity by faithfully embracing the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience. in this sense, consecrated persons respond freely to the invitation of the holy spirit to follow christ the poor, the celibate, the obedient son, more closely, thus becoming in this life a sign of the life to come. “the evangelical counsels of chastity dedicated to god, poverty and obedience are based upon the words and examples of the lord. they were further commanded by the apostles and fathers of the church, as well as by the doctors and pastors of souls”45. these counsels are referred to as evangelical because the religious vows are central to the life of jesus and message and also because religious consecration is founded on baptismal consecration46. the consecrated life is also traceable to the post-apostolic church, especially to those early christians who dedicated themselves to a gospel-oriented lifestyle, to a radical following of jesus christ47. the first person in this line was anthony of egypt. he was followed by a line of disciples, until it became an institution in the church48. very significant is the idea of consecration. it is derived from the word ‘holy’ or ‘holiness’. in hebrew it is qadash and in greek hagios; these are translated to mean ‘to consecrate’49. in numbers 6:5-7, 12, the nazirites were referred to as consecrated because of their vows to god. this makes the person holy, a consecration that separates the person from others. thus the word consecration implies a setting apart or a separation. this separation does not in any way imply superiority50, or complete severance from those the 43 kanu, ikechukwu anthony, africae munus and consecrated persons, in the catholic voyage: a publication of the conference of major superiors of nigeria. vol. 11. january 2015. p.4. 44 canon 573.2 45 lumen gentium 43 46 fleming, d. l., understanding a theology of religious life. in g. a. arburckle and d. l. fleming (eds.). religious life: rebirth through conversion. new york: alba house, 1990, p. 22 47 47 kanu, ikechukwu anthony, africae munus and consecrated persons, in the catholic voyage: a publication of the conference of major superiors of nigeria. vol. 11. january 2015. p.4. 48 mary-sylvia nwachukwu, consecrated: a vision of religious life from the point of view of the sacred. lagos: change publications, 2010, pp. 34-35. 49 leviticus 15:31; ezekiel 14:7 50 myers, a. c. holiness. the eerdmans bible dictionary. eerdmans: grand rapids, 1987, p. 493. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 102 consecrated are called to serve51. the second vatican council document says, “the state which is constituted by the profession of the evangelical counsels, though it does not belong to the hierarchical structure of the church, nevertheless, undeniably belongs to the life and holiness of the church”52. the document continues, “the holiness of the church is fostered in a special way by the observance of the counsels proposed in the gospel by the lord to his disciples. an eminent position among these is held by virginity or the celibate state”53. thus, another second vatican council document exhorts consecrated person thus, “members of each institute should recall first of all that by professing the evangelical counsels they responded to a divine call so that by being not only dead to sin54 but also renouncing the world they may live for god alone. they have dedicated their entire lives to his service. this constitutes a special consecration, which is deeply rooted in that of baptism and expresses it more fully”55. the socio-economic experience of the aged in africa the condition of the aged in africa is no different from the general condition of africa. the 1994 african synod described africa in the image of the biblical icon: the man who was on his way from jerusalem to jericho and fell into the hands of robbers, who robbed him, brutalized him and abandoned him halfdead (lk 10: 30-37).56 it is therefore not surprising that the challenges of africa became the dominant points in the lineamenta and instrumentum laboris of the 1994 african synod: instability and political violence, armed conflicts, poor democratic representation, poor management of public affairs, weight of external debt, corruption, ethnocentrism, arms trade, the collapse of health services and public education, exponential spread of hiv/aids57. all these factors also affect the condition of the aged. the aged in africa lacked the basic necessities of life as a result of the prevailing economic conditions in the continent. this is worsened by government’s insensitivity to the predicaments of the aged and the present socio-economic crisis in africa which favours the migration of young people 51 myers, a. c. sanctify, consecrate. the eerdmans bible dictionary. eerdmans: grand rapids, 1987, p. 493. 52 lumen gentium 44 53 lumen gentium 42 54 romance 6:11 55 perfectae caritatis 5 56 nikola eterovic, ecclesia in africa: the onward synodal march of the church that is in africa from the first to the second special assembly of the synod of bishops for africa. a paper presented at the celebration of the 10th anniversary of ecclesia in africa, from the 14th to the 17th of september 2005, yaounde, p. 1. 57 nikola eterovic, ecclesia in africa: the onward synodal march of the church that is in africa from the first to the second special assembly of the synod of bishops for africa. p. 1. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 103 to big cities for livelihood. as such, the young who should take care of them are not there58. they therefore become victims of isolation, neglect/abandonment and poor nutrition. there are also health challenges linked to the predicament of the aged in africa: visual impairment, immobility, cardio vascular condition, malaria and loss of memory. these conditions become more precarious each time they fall ill and there is nobody to administer drugs or take them to a nearby health centre59. there is a difference between the family in africa and the family in europe, and this has to be considered in the relationship between the african consecrated person and his family. in europe, the government gives great support to the aged and sick. in africa, it is absent; and this makes the situation of the aged and sick parents of some consecrated persons precarious. in africa, the aged rely on family to either meet the demands of everyday life, or for help with a chronic illness or during a crisis. indeed, most of the assistance provided to frail and disabled elderly persons living in africa come from family sources. the majority of the total support received by the elderly derives from informal sources, the majority from spouses and children. social support from family can be represented by four basic types: instrumental support (tangible forms of help such as housework, transportation, shopping and personal care); emotional support (confiding, comforting, reassuring, listening to problems, "being there"); informational support (advice in seeking medical treatment, referrals to agencies, sharing family news), and financial/housing support. in the face of these obvious difficulties, how can the consecrated person in africa fulfill his calling to the religious life and still respond to his natural obligation to honour his or her parents? the response of the second vatican document quitte ton pays the second vatican council document quitte ton pays creates a bridge between the consecrated persons call to detachment from former material and spiritual values, including family and the fourth commandment’s obligation to honour parents during times of sickness, age and infirmity60. this document is not concerned about persons who knew that they were under obligation to help their parents before joining the religious life, because canon 542 advises such persons against joining the religious life; the document is rather concerned with those whose family’s condition or 58 odufowokan, b. a. managing the aged in contemporary african society: ogun state, nigeria in perspective. e-leader croatia, 2011. pp. 1-12. 59 odufowokan, b. a. managing the aged in contemporary african society: ogun state, nigeria in perspective. e-leader croatia, 2011. pp. 1-12. 60 quitte ton pays, 1976, p. 228 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 104 situation disimproves as a result of sickness, age, infirmity or economic setbacks after the person might have entered the religious life61. when cases of this kind arises, the document teaches that, more direct help from sons and daughters in religion may then become necessary. in principle, this problem concerns both men and women religious, but it must be acknowledged that, when it comes to providing nursing or home-help, sisters feel more directly involved because generally speaking they are better qualified to render such services62. the document calls for this kind of assistance because: 1. people are living longer and this has led to an increase in the number of the aged who need help. 2. urbanization, with family apartments in the cities not being big enough to accommodate the nuclear family. as such, the aged are not easily accommodated in the cities. 3. increase in the number of religious sisters, and as such, increase in the number of aged parents who need attention. 4. religious communities are beginning to be more aware of this need63. having studied the issue of consecrated persons and support for their aged and sick parents, the sacred congregation for religious and secular institutes in 1976 came up with the following directives: 1. members of religious institutes and societies of apostolic life cannot be unconcerned about the situation of their parents, especially when they are not able to provide for themselves as a result of sickness, infirmity or old age. 2. in responding to this need, those who have joined the religious life in the family are not the only ones who should be responsible for their aged and sick parents. other members of the family must be involved. 3. when circumstances, like in the case of a religious sister being an only child or if her other relations are not able to help, the religious sister can do more in such circumstances. in such circumstances, the religious institute is to provide help that would facilitate the sister giving the desired help. 4. if reasons are adequately available, a religious sister could be given a leave of absence for apostolic reasonsthat she may care for her parents. 61 quitte ton pays, 1976, p. 228 62 quitte ton pays, 1976, p. 228 63 quitte ton pays, 1976, pp. 229-30 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 105 this is to be gauged and decided by the general council of the institute. contemplative nuns are, however, excluded from this. 5. all this would demand a considerable understanding from the superiors of religious institutes.64 conclusion the importance of this piece is anchored on the current focus of the roman pontiff, pope francis i on the family alongside the consecrated life. the bishop of rome had called for an extraordinary general assembly of the synod of bishops on the family and evangelization in 2014, while preparing for the xiv ordinary general assembly of the synod of bishops in october 2015, during the same year, in 2014, he declared 2015 as the year of consecrated life. since the last year 2014 to the first quarter of the year 2015, articles reflecting on consecrated persons and the family have moved on parallel lines. this piece has attempted to establish a link between the two fundamental celebrations: the link between consecrated persons and their families. although the document lays greater emphasis on religious sisters, the document is employed in such a way that it addresses not just religious sisters but also religious brothers and priests. all have parents who are subject to the same socio-economic situations in contemporary africa. this piece, therefore, calls for a positive action from religious institutes and societies of apostolic life in favour of the family. this call for positive action is first of all important, because of the place the elderly and family occupy in the life of the african. pope benedict xvi taught that, in africa, the elderly are held in particular veneration. they are not banished from families or marginalized as in other cultures. on the contrary, they are esteemed and perfectly integrated within their families, of which they are indeed the pinnacle. this beautiful african appreciation of old age should inspire western societies to treat the elderly with greater dignity. sacred scripture speaks frequently of the elderly. “rich in experience is the crown of the aged, and their boast is the fear of the lord” (sir 25:6). old age, despite the frailty which seems to accompany it, is a gift that should be lived each day in serene openness to god and neighbour. it is also a time of wisdom, since length of years teaches one the grandeur and the fragility of life. as a man of faith, the elderly simeon with joy and wisdom offers not a 64 quitte ton pays, 1976, p. 231 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 106 sorrowful farewell to life but rather a song of thanksgiving to the saviour of the world (cf. lk 2:25-32)65. this is not just peculiar to the african society, it is part of the constitution of the church’s wisdom to care for the aged. the church regards the elderly with great esteem. echoing the words of blessed john paul ii, let me repeat that “the church needs you!66 this call for a positive action is not in any way to move religious persons away from their communities or their consecration, but rather, it is a call that would enhance the profundity of brotherly and sisterly affection. it is in this regard that the document teaches: “institutes ought to be engaged in renewing community life, making it more warm and fraternal, full of cordial sympathy, constituting a sisterly and brotherly support, surrounding with an even more attentive affection the companion whom family duties have distanced, materially, from the community for some time”67. members of religious institutes cannot be building hospitals and old people’s homes to care for the sick, the poor and the aged, while neglecting the aged and sick from their families. the clarity of charity is not found when it is only extended to the farthest while neglecting the nearest. it is said that “charity begins at home”. more fundamental are the parents of religious who are working in far away countries from their home lands. while they are away, the members of their congregations who are nearer to their aged or sick parents have the responsibility of caring for them. it is in the expression of such actions of love that their brotherhood and sisterhood would be strengthened. for if a religious is burdened by his or her needs not met, his or her mission in distant lands would not be attended to with an attentive attention. while their parents are cared for, the mission is not denied but enhanced. as different religious institutes and societies of apostolic life celebrate the year of consecrated life, it can be considered as an opportunity for consecrated men and women, especially from africa, to look into the possibility of generating a more positive action towards the family. 65 benedict xvi, africae munus, no. 47 66 benedict xvi, africae munus, no. 47 67 quitte ton pays, 1976, p. 231 microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.3. no.2 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 63 igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering kanu, ikechukwu anthony, o.s.a., ph.d. department of philosophy augustinian institute, makurdi ikee_mario@yahoo.com abstract a cursory glance at the historical evolution of philosophy reveals that right from the ancient, through the medieval and modern periods to the contemporary era, questions about the problem of evil and human suffering have continued to arise in the minds of men and women of various classes. these questions border on the origin, cause, purpose, etc., of human suffering. while these questions continue to arise in the minds of scholars even in the contemporary epoch, this work is interested, not in the origin or purpose of human suffering, but on how to help those who are experiencing human suffering. although several approaches have been taken to explain and help human suffering, this work, however, adopts an igbo-african pragmatic and wholistic approach. it sees the different approaches to the problem of human suffering as dimensions of the whole, which, as individuals do not provide a wholistic solution to the problem of human suffering. keywords: igwebuike, wholistic response, problem of evil, human suffering, evil. introduction the problem of evil and human suffering is the great enigma vitae, the solution of which, forever attempted, may forever baffle the human mind (strahan 1913). and as far back as the 6th century bc, the question of the problem of evil and human suffering had burdened the heart of man; answers to such questions were sought through mythology. many centuries ago, the igbo people have tried to understand the source or origin of human suffering. this is well explained in an igbo myth narrated by mbaegbu (2012). he writes that there was a time the sky lay just above the earth. thus, human beings could reach chukwu (god) through a rope which hung down from the sky. there was no death at the time god created the world and human beings. human beings never lacked anything, as god was involved in their affairs: associated with them and provided for all their needs. in that world, the spirits and human beings were one. however, it igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 64 happened one day that a woman spat into the eyes of god. he picked offence and thus withdrew into the sky where he now dwells. the result is that human beings were punished and could now die. since then suffering came into the world, and evil and sin spread throughout the world. no matter how imperfect this response might be to the problem of human suffering, it points to the fact that it has been a problem that dates back to the earliest periods of human history. in western philosophy, this burden can be noticed even in the 4th century bc in epicurus, the founder of epicureanism. hume (1947) in his dialogues concerning natural religion puts the following words into the mouth of philo, “epicurus’ old questions are yet unanswered. is he [deity] willing to prevent evil, but not able? then he is impotent. is he able, but not willing? then he is malevolent. is he both able and willing? whence then is evil?” (p. 243) more agitating, is the mystery of suffering, or more precisely, the mystery of unjust suffering (gordis 1965). during the medieval epoch, the idea of an infinitely good god and the presence of evil in the universe disturbed augustine (omoregbe, 1991). whence then is evil? he asked, what is its origin? how did it steal into the world? what is the root or seed from which it grew? can it be that there is simply no evil? whence then does evil come if god made all things, and because he is good made them good too? (confessions, p. 138). in the confessions, book seven, the energy and passion with which augustine pursued an answer to this question is further revealed: i anxiously sought the answer to the question, ‘where does evil come from?’ how great were the pangs of my overflowing heart, what inward groans i had, my god! yet even then your ears were open to me, though i did not know it. when in silence i vehemently sought an answer, those silent sorrows of my soul were strong cries to your mercy. (p. 164). while these questions continue to arise in the minds of scholars, this work is interested, not in the origin of human suffering, but on how to help human suffering. several approaches have been taken to explain and help human suffering, this work, however, adopts an igbo-african wholistic approach. the first step in this research would be to study the different approaches to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 65 approaches to the problem of evil and human suffering 1. dualistic approach the first and oldest approach to the problem of evil and human suffering is dualism, which holds that there are two opposing forces at work in the world – light and darkness, good and evil. the good god, in this view, is responsible for every good thing in the world, while the evil god is responsible for evil and suffering. this view is abundant in the ancient myths of the middle east, and also is expressed in johannine writings. but christian theologians generally reject this view because it is opposed to monotheism that christians profess. in the works of augustine, we find adequate reference to the manichean dualistic approach. after reading the work of cicero, hortensius¸ augustine’s intellect was awakened, and he became inspired with the quest for knowledge, and truth. he became a restless mind seeking the truth (omoregbe, 1991). in his search for a solution to the problem of evil, augustine was first attracted to the dualistic explanation of the manicheans, who claimed that they have the answer to the problem of evil which had long bogged the mind of augustine. at first, their solution to the problem of evil attracted augustine. according to saulytis (2011), mani, the founder of manichaeism, was born in babylonia, then under persian control, on 14 april 216. his family belonged to the elchasaites, a branch of jewish christianity through which mani may have become acquainted with some of the gnostic ideas that we find in his system. at the age of twelve he received a “divine” revelation, and another at twenty-four. these left him convinced that the revelations of previous religious founders, notably buddha, zoroaster, and jesus, though authentic, were incomplete, and that it was mani’s task to bring to the world the fullness of revelation through what he called the “religion of light.” it is for this reason that mani’s followers referred to him as the one in whom the paraclete resides. mani habitually styled himself “apostle of jesus christ.” the manicheans claimed that in the world that there are two ultimate principles and sources of reality: ormuzd the principle of good and ahriman the principle of evil. the first is the source of all good, while the second is the source of all that is evil. these principles they claim are eternal and in perpetual conflict with each other, and this conflict is reflected in the things that come from them. hence light and darkness, spirit and matter, good and evil (omoregbe, 1991). augustine held igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 66 on to this view until he read the work of plotinus the enneads; he thus rejected the manichaean solution to the problem of evil in favour of that of plotinus. 2. classical approach the second approach is commonly called the classical, free-will or augustinian theodicy, because it was augustine that systematized it. according to this view, evil and suffering came as a result of the free choice of human beings, beginning with adam and eve (original sin). however, it has been argued that not all suffering is caused by human choice. hence, this theory does not really hold water. in the classical approach, augustine divided the human nature into three states: the state of original blessedness, fallenness and restored nature (kankai, 2008). as regards man’s state of original blessedness, augustine believed that god originally endowed human beings with his image, which is a rational and moral nature. in this prelapsarian state, man was endowed with immortality, integrity and knowledge. thus, they are unlike god when they are immoral and irrational. this nature with which god has endowed man is purposed on the knowledge and love of god, and not finite things. in this state, man has the ability not to sin or to choose what was good. thus man has a free choice, to choose between god the ultimate good or evil. with the sin of adam and eve, man lost the gifts with which god had endowed him, especially that of immortality, death emerged, ignorance and loss of knowledge and intimacy with god and the difficulty to accomplish the good one wills. the sin of man, for augustine, was the sin of pride expressed in disobedience. he wanted to e like god (kankai, 2008). with the fall, man lost the dominance of reason over passion, which has created a balance between the body and the soul until hitherto. now the passions dominate rational thought. and this accounts for moral evil. in augustine’s theodicy, he develops arguments that clear the creator of any responsibility for sin in the world by transferring that responsibility on creatures. a very serious question that arises from this approach is, “is every human suffering caused by the free choice of human beings?” certainly not! this mirrors the incompleteness of this approach. those who have criticized this theodicy have also argued that god should not have created human beings who would sin. he would have created human beings who will be free, but at the same time, whose freedom is directed towards the good. however, if by free action we mean igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 67 that which flows from the nature of a being and not conditioned externally, the idea of having a freedom conditioned only on doing what is good, then human freedom is no longer freedom. in this case, as hick (1994) wrote, we wouldn’t be more than god’s puppets or patients acting out of a series of posthypnotic suggestions: they appear to themselves to be free, but their volitions have actually been predetermined by the will of the hypnotist. moreover, the very idea of a universe that was perfectly created, to go bad, for friedrich (cited by hick, 1994) is self-contradiction. a flawless creation would never go wrong, and if it does go wrong, the responsibility should go to its creators and not the created. 3. expiatory approach the third approach sees evil and suffering as god’s punishment. in other words, in response to human sin, god punishes humans by evil and suffering. the old testament accounts of the flood and the plagues in egypt reflect this view, which was later taken up by john calvin, karl barth and others of the reformed tradition. in any case, this view distorts our understanding of god (as loving and merciful) too much to be acceptable. 4. redemptive approach according to the fourth approach, suffering is redemptive. this view draws on the suffering servant songs in isaiah (40-45) and on the experience of jesus in his passion and death. for those that hold this view, some human suffering are but an expiatory payment on a debt, whether one’s own or that of others. jesus christ is the arch type of the suffering servant in isaiah the one who accepts abuse unto death, is really guiltless, but accepts punishment nobly on behalf of others ( pro nos, i.e., for us). but this view is criticized on the grounds that it explains only some suffering, not all, and it is not clear what this redemptiveness means (richard 1993). 5. process approach the fifth approach was first seen in iranaeus’ writings and later in the writings of charles hartshorne, john hick and teihard de chardin. suffering and evil, in this view, are seen as realities that are inevitable in an unfinished world that is evolving towards its fulfilment and so is in the process of growth. in other words, they are the natural spin-off, the inevitable growing pains of matter and spirit evolving from foetal immaturity into fullness of being (cf. rom. 8:22-23). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 68 thus, this view is referred to as the process, developmental and evolutionary approach. this view is criticized as painting god as being harsh and as one who denies or is ignorant of the fact that suffering is largely destructive and not a necessary condition of life at all (kanu, 2014).. 6. remedial approach the sixth response to the problem of suffering is that which sees suffering and evil as being remedial, that is, god uses them as tests. in other words, in this view, god allows suffering and evil to test our moral and spiritual strength and stamina, and to purify us as we go through life. so, suffering and evil are a kind of moral and spiritual medicines for us humans. but this view too has been criticized for referring only to some suffering, overlooking the destructiveness of a lot of suffering, and also for portraying god as a harsh taskmaster and disciplinarian (kanu, 2014). 7. futurological approach this futuristic approach, rather than create an immediate solution or clarify the puzzle of evil and human suffering, often very attractive to those in pain, the futurology of the resurrection faith animates and strengthens the human person the struggle against evil and its attendant effects of pain with the eschatological assurance of what is yet to come. it shows evil as that which, in spite of its weight and thickness, cannot manage to, ultimately triumph over the human person (ebuogu, 2006). with the resurrection faith goes the belief that, though the situation of suffering and pain cannot be rationally entirely explained, it can have an eventual solution at the eschaton. as has already been mentioned, our constitutive temporality inserts us into an occurrence that does not end up in emptiness, nor move us only towards possibilities latent in intra-mundane structure of reality but towards a consummation which offers us un plus de ser (being plus). this dimension of human existence offers the future its fascinating charm and saves mankind from remaining absorbed by nature and remaining in a cyclic course that lacks both beginning and end. at the eschaton, all the puzzles that defines human suffering would be unraveled, st paul puts it succinctly, “the last enemy will be conquered” (1 cor 15:26). it would offer a response to our restlessness, anxiety, fear, wandering and quest for meaning. it would offer healing to both the living and the dead. as such, offering a universal justice. the researcher believes that any promise of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 69 justice to te suffering without reference to the eschatological hope, is not just insufficient but a fallacious deceptive promise. no amount of rehabilitation, posthumous apologias or floral wreaths can redress the injustice done to a violated woman, even though all these does make sense and can go a long way. it is only the resurrection that guarantees that there will be justice for all, freedom for all from all forms of alienation. death levels the destiny of the martyr and the executioner, while at the resurrection the relationship of each person with god would be laid bare. god’s justice would triumph over all the injustices committed against his children. and the kingdom of god would come in its fullness, for the definitive realization of god’s plan to bring all things under christ would be unveiled. in this new universe, god will have his dwelling among us (rev 21:5). he will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and death, suffering shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away (rev 21:4). 8. faith solution approach the last approach is commonly called the faith solution – the one adopted by job in the scripture. according to this view, since suffering and evil are mysteries just as god is, all one can do in the face of suffering is to follow the examples of job and jesus. and this entails facing and accepting suffering in faith without understanding it, while seeing it as somewhat part of god’s plan and will for one’s life. the likes of karl rahner, john cobb and simone weil upheld this view. and as a matter of fact, this is the approach that is adopted in this work, with focus on the example of jesus. although this is the most accepted christian approach to suffering today, still dorothy soelle challenges it in her book, “suffering”, for its tendency to promote ‘christian masochism’ as she calls it, that is, the passivity or false other worldly asceticism that has plagued the ‘acceptance’ response to suffering. igwebuike as a wholistic approach to the problem of human suffering igwebuike is from an igbo composite word and metaphor: igwebuike, a combination of three words. therefore, it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. the three words involved: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power. thus, put together, it means igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 70 ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force or strength, and at this level, no task is beyond their collective capability (kanu 2016 a & b). igwebuike is, therefore, a philosophy of harmonization, and complementation. it understands the world immanent realities to be related to one another in the most natural, mutual, harmonious and compatible ways possible (kanu 2015 a & b). igwebuike as a complementary thought posits that no individual approach to the problem of evil and human suffering adequately satisfies the question of the problem of evil. it calls for a complementary approach or an eclectic method of responding to the problem at hand. and to respond to the problem of human suffering, there is the need for a wholistic approach, no one single approach is comprehensive enough. the different approaches taken by different scholars and schools of thought are perspectival to the whole. it is like the proverbial elephant approached from different angles by different blind men. those who approach the ‘elephant’ from the ear would say it is a big fan, others who approach the ‘elephant’ from the legs would say it is a big stick, yet others who approach the ‘elephant’ from the tail would say it is made up of strands. when an argument ensues as to the real igwebuike approach classical approach retaliatory approach redemptive approach expiatory approach process approach remedial approach faith solution appraoch futurological approach igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 71 nature of the ‘elephant’ each of these groups of people will express itself from the angle or direction it approached the ‘elephant’, and because of their limitation to comprehend the totality of the elephant misunderstanding. an igwebuike approach, therefore, calls for an eclectic or integrative or complementary approach (kanu 2015c & d). for instance, the dualistic approach quite alright attempts at explaining the problem of human suffering but does not provide a solution to it. the classical approach explains the problem of moral evil, but we know that not all suffering is caused by the abuse of human freedom. alone, it does not comprehensively respond to the question of evil and human suffering. the expiatory approach is also inadequate. for instance, in the case of job, he did nothing to deserve the evil that came upon him and so there was nothing to expiate. the process approach, remedial approach and faith solution approach seem to advance a form of passivity in the face of human suffering. however, one must respond actively to situations of suffering–fighting to alleviate it and only when one has no control over the situation can one accept it in fate. it does not seem to advance solidarity among people in the face of evil and human suffering, that is, a feelingwith the other, in the face of suffering. igwebuike as a response to the problem of human suffering calls for a complementary approach for a wholistic attendance to the problem of human suffering. igwebuike as a pragmatic and complementary approach to the problem of human suffering the pragmatic approach adopted by igwebuike as a solution to evil and human suffering is anchored on the perspective that it is indifference that makes evil to persist. in relation to the holocaust, wiesel (2005) writes that: “i have always thought that the opposite of culture is not ignorance, but indifference. that the opposite of morality is not immorality, but again indifference.” (p. 101). there is a saying that “the sleep of reason produces monsters”. there is the need for an ethic of responsibility in the face of evil and human suffering, a responsibility towards the other. rather than just sit and look towards the future that no one knows when it would come for the resolution of evil and human suffering, rather than see evil merely as a part of the elements of nature as in the case of the dualists; rather than see evil merely as expiatory, and so part of payment for one’s sins as in the expiatory approach; rather than see evil merely as redemptive, a process and remedial, the igwebuike approach thinks that there is need for a pragmatic response. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 72 the question of the meaning and nature of responsibility has continued to arise in the discussions, analysis, and debates of philosophers, right from the ancient, medieval, modern and contemporary historical developments of philosophy. there is hardly any major philosopher who did not discuss it in one way or the other. this has continued to reoccur and even more as more interesting circumstances continue to emerge. more recently, with the emergence of cataclysmic happenings during the holocaust perpetrated by the nazi, world wars, moral ineptitude of vietnam and indochina, genocide against aboriginal peoples in north america, the armenian genocide, the japanese massacre in nanjing, questions have arisen, not just of responsibility but of collective responsibility. while this might pose a problem in the western world which is individualistic in nature, in african ontology, it fits into the structure of the african worldview. questions such as, what can be done collectively to attend to the problem of evil in the society? igwebuike is anchored on the thinking that the community has a moral responsibility in the face of human suffering. everyone must do something to alleviate the suffering of the other. according to jean (1982), “…the christian’s participation in christ’s painful destiny must be accompanied by an eagerness to alleviate the sufferings of others and to reduce the anguish in the world” (p. 308). john paul ii (1984), in this regard says, “… one (the christian) must cultivate this sensitivity of heart, which bears witness to compassion towards the suffering person. sometimes this compassion remains the only or principal expression of our love for and in solidarity with the sufferer” (p. 72). every member of the community is responsible for the other. when a member of the community is hungry, rather than resort to abstract theories, someone can feed the person. if someone is sick, someone can come to his aid by taking him to the hospital and paying his bill. even if the disease is incurable, he can have a better death through modern medical facilities. if someone is bereaved, the community can come together to console him. if someone suffers a loss, the community or friends can come to him in solidarity to alleviate his suffering. if someone is in prison, visitation can alleviate his suffering. if someone or a people are suffering because of injustice, someone can stand up for them to overcome injustice. this approach points to the fact that something practical can always be done for the alleviation of human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 73 however, igwebuike philosophy also understands that the pragmatic approach cannot on its own, without integration, bring a holistic solution to the problem of human suffering. it is in this regard that igwebuike, at this point, introduces the idea of mystery to the discourse on human suffering. thus, it understands suffering as a mystery – a hidden reality that goes beyond human comprehension. the mystery of suffering has been identified by many scholars to be intimately connected to the mystery of god. rahner (1983), made a connection between the mystery of suffering and the mystery of god, when he writes: the incomprehensibility of suffering is part of the incomprehensibility of god. not in the sense that we could deduce it as necessary and thus inevitably as clarified from something else that we already know of god. if this were so it would not be at all incomprehensible. but the very fact that it is really and eternally incomprehensible means that suffering is truly a manifestation of god’s incomprehensibility in his nature and in his freedom. in his nature because, despite what might be described as the terrible amorality of suffering (at least on the part of children and innocent people), we have to acknowledge the pure goodness of god, which needs no acquittal before our tribunal. in his freedom, because this, too, if it wills the suffering of the creature, is incomprehensible, since it could achieve without suffering the sacred aims of the freedom that wills suffering. suffering then is the form … in which the incomprehensibility of god himself appears. (p. 206). thus, to accept that god is the intractable mystery is to accept too the inexplicability and unanswerability of suffering, since they are one and the same event. still more, rahner (1983) argues that when in our present state we accept suffering in view of the incomprehensibility of god and his freedom, we in a concrete form accept god in himself and allow him to be god. anything short of this acceptance would amount to the affirmation of our own idea of god rather than the affirmation of god in himself. hence, he concludes: “there is no blessed light to illumine the dark abyss of suffering other than god himself. and we find him only when we lovingly assent to the incomprehensibility of god himself, without which he would not be god.” (p. 208). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 74 conclusion in the past, a retinue of attempts have been made by mankind to change, improve and ameliorate situations of evil and human suffering in the society. we have the socio-religious attempts, as in the great deal of charity offered by religious groups and philanthropists. we have the socio-political revolutions as in marxism, the politico-religio approach evident in political, liberation, black and feminist theologies. other attempts include the scientific-technological optimism (neo-positivism) and the philosophic-practical approach evident in pessimism, nihilism, existentialism, etc. generally, they are well intended, but they all result to not being enough. many of them are sectional and segmental, often at the great expense of others. this piece argues for a wholistic approach to the problem of human suffering. it sees the different approaches to the problem of human suffering as dimensions of the whole, which, as individuals do not provide a wholistic solution to the problem of human suffering. references hick, j. (1994). philosophy of religion. new delhi: prentice hall of india. hume, d. (1947). dialogues concerning natural religion. indianapolis: bobbsmerrill. iroegbu, p. (1995). metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: international universities press. james strahan, the book of job interpreted, edinburgh 1913, 1. jean, g. (1982). christ our liberator. rome: gregorian university press. kankai, p. (2008). theological anthropology. st augustine’s major seminary, jos. department of theology. lecture notes. kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. kanu, a. i. (2016b). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 1-7. kanu, i. a. (2014). suffering in igbo-african ontology. research on humanities and social sciences. 4. 5. 8-13. kanu, i. a. (2015a). igwebuike as the consumate foundation of african bioethical principles. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 75 kanu, i. a. (2015b). igwebuike as an ontological precondition for african ethics. international conference of the society for research and academic excellence. university of nigeria, nsukka. 14th -16th september. kanu, i. a. (2015c). “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education”. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france. kanu, i. a. (2015d). “igwebuike as the unity of the african philosophical experience”. international conference of the society for research and academic excellence. university of nigeria, nsukka. 14th -16th september. mbaegbu, c. c. a. (2012). hermeneutics of god in igbo ontology. awka: fab. omoregbe, j. (1991). a simplified history of western philosophy: ancient and medieval philosophy. lagos: joja. rahner, k. (1983). theological investigations, vol. 19: faith and ministry. london: darton, longman & todd ltd. richard sparks, “suffering” in the new dictionary of catholic spirituality, michael downey (ed.), collegeville, minnesota, the liturgical press, 1993, pp. 950-952. robert gordis, the book of god and man: a study of job, chicago 1965, 135. saulytis, g. (2011). augustine and the problem of evil. retrieved 16/9/12 fromhttp://www.btz.lt/english/giedrius/works/augustine_problem %20of%20evil.pdf. st augustine (1961). the confessions. england: pengiun classics. wiesel, e. (2005). noaptea, univers, bucureşti. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 2(2) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 61 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) myths, legends and autochthonism in the historical reconstruction of the nigerian societies by nnoli, o. leo, ph.d department of history and international studies nnamdi azikiwe university, awka nwachukwuobiakor@yahoo.com abstract concerted efforts have consistently been made by african historians, particularly, nigerian historians, to construct and reconstruct their past with a view to reversing its eurocentric posture that had been characterized by brazen and deliberate distortions and misrepresentations of african past. in the attempt to document africa’s past, they only represented views that would serve their interests and neglected to employ the basic traditional tools that would help to illuminate the past of the people and not to relegate them to darkness. now that african historians, nay nigerian historians and scholars are emerging, the onus is on them to right the wrongs, reverse the ugly trends and employ the correct historical tools, including the use of oral traditions embedded in myths, legends and autochthonism, to reconstruct the nigerian past with a view to placing events in their proper perspectives. based on qualitative information analysis, consultation of archival material, coupled with the use of primary and secondary sources, this paper therefore, argues that the conceptual roles of myths, legends and autochthonism, should be considered and in fact, constitutes veritable tools in the reconstruction of nigeria’s historiography that will promote unity, intergroup relationships and national understanding. keywords: myths, legends, autochthonism, reconstruction, historiography introduction almost every ethnic group in nigeria tries to associate its tradition of origin with a legend, myth or both in attempt to establish its descent. some even claim autochthonous origin to legitimise their existence that is, the idea that they migrated into their present habitation from somewhere; that their dynastic igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 62 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) founders, far from being outsiders were the earliest arrivals or autochthones of a particular area1. in discussing these origins of the various nigerian peoples, it is needful to attempt a definition of the conceptsmyth and legend. of relevance also, is the need to highlight some of these stories as vividly as possible, treating each ethnic group on its own meritswithout bias or contradictions. conventionally defined, myth means a traditional story that embodies a belief regarding some facts or phenomenon of experience in which often, the forces nature and of the soul are personified. most times, myth is characterized by a sacred narrative of a god, a hero, a people or a narrative about the origin of the world. in the words of edward cloud, myth was the product of man’s emotion and imagination, acted upon by his surroundings and it carries the traces of its origin in its more developed forms 2. from the above definition, myth could be perceived to be a thing or phenomenon commonly believed but appears to be more imaginary than real. it is a make-belief that creates an image larger than life character. a myth exaggerates or idealizes a reality. most myths surrounding traditions of origins were, more or less, misconceptions, fictitions and exaggerated. some are artificial formulations designed to create a big impression of a thing or event held in excessive or quasi-religious awe3. in essence, myth may not be real or existing materially and cannot be subject to empirical verification. legend legend is a story built around an individual believed to be powerful, brave, fearless or saintly, who lived and did exploits in the past. most times, it represents a story of unknown origin built around a figure held as a demi-god, or a story used to describe an extraordinary event, purposely to establish and legitimatize tradition of origin. a thing margin separates the two concepts, myth and legend. a close look at them reveals their inter-relatedness as both are attempts to mould or fabricate stories to bring idealism or dreams into reality. both concepts try to justify and give effects to their claims by linking their origins to extra-ordinary events or super-humans. with the concepts defined, attempts are now made to investigate the traditions of a few nigerian-ethnic groups with a view to highlighting the conceptual roles of myths, legends and autochthonism in the re-construction of nigeria history. these ethnic groups include: yoruba, igbo, hausa, bini, ijo(ijaw) jukun, igala igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 63 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) and ibibio. efforts are also made to identify which of the traditions of origins derived from myths, legends or even autochthonism. origins of the yoruba people there are two groups of yoruba people namely: the yoruba of ile-ife and the yoruba of old oyo. ile-ife remained the traditional homeland of the yoruba people, while oyo had served as the political centre. the yoruba maintained mythical, legendary and autochthonous stories of origin. they trace their origin to the exploits of one legendary figure known as oduduwa. according to tradition, lamurudu, the father of oduduwa was a native of quresh in arabia, the same village with prophet mohammed, the founder of the islamic religion. the story had it that when mohammed was launching his jihad against the people of mecca to accept islam, lamurudu, yaharba and many others resisted and were forced to flee. after wandering for several years in north africa, they crossed the sahara and entered into the forest area of the western sudan. in the process of journeying and looking for a suitable settlement, lamurudu and yaharba, the idol priest died. lamurudu’s son, oduduwa successfully led the migrant group to settle at ile-ife and founded the place sometime in the 10th century and thence, ife became a dispersal ground for other yoruba states. in that way for instance, oduduwa’s son, akanbi whose seven sons left ile-ife to found the other seven yoruba states namely: owu, popo, bini, saba, ila, ketu and oyo. the origin of old oyo was linked to oranmiyan, the grandson of oduduwa. there are two contradictory versions to this story. the first version says that old oyo was founded by oranmiyan, who was said to have been sent by his father to go and rule the bini-people because they had no ruler at that time. having failed to rule the people, oranmiyan left bini and instead of returning to ile-ife, he moved north-west to found old oyo. the other version says that oranmiyan and his brothers went on a military campaign towards the northern part of ile-ife, leaving behind chief adamu to look after the affairs of ile-ife. his brothers deserted him. from the above two accounts, the yoruba traditions of origins appear to be both mythical and legendary. mythical in the sense that the story is couched around a long and excruciating journey from arabia across to north africa and was led by a legendary figure, who was linked to the founder of the islamic religion. it also sounds mythical because the story was narrated to caste a kind of quasi-religious awe and admiration to the listeners. besides, the story sounds legendary because igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 64 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) it makes an attempt to associate the yoruba origin with a powerful progenitor or super-human in the person of oduduwa. the yoruba tradition of origin also lends credence to autochthonism. this is a story that reflects a mythical creation legend claiming that the yoruba were the original inhabitants of the ife. according to stride and ifeka: ‘at the dawn of time, the world was a watery waste. on the orders of the supreme god, olorun, oduduwa climbed down a chain from the sky. he brought with him a handful of earth, a cockerel and a palm nut. he scattered the earth upon the water and it formed the land at ile-ife. the cockerel dug a hole in which oduduwa planted the palm nut, and up sprung a mighty tree with sixteen branches, each (formed) the ruling family of an early yoruba state4.’ carefully analysed, these stories about yoruba origin suggest the following: • the various yoruba states and people have common links and their origin is traceable to one legendary figure, oduduwa. • that these yoruba states and people may have once lived in scattered settlements below the niger, spoke one language and shared common culture as witnessed today; • the myth of oduduwa descending from heaven to create the world at ife is suggestive of the belief that a yoruba society and culture existed long before the formation of the kingdoms that lasted in the 19th century5 ; and • that the yoruba had strong and wider network of connections, either through conquests or through cultural exchange with igala, nupe, bini or borgu. for instance, in early nupe history, sango was one of the mythical rulers, which was corrupted and venerated as the “god of thunder” among the yoruba. borgu tradition of origin the borgu claim to share a common ancestor with the yoruba, who were believed to have come from the middle east. the story of borgu origin centred around one ancestral legend called ici-sra, who originated from beghadad in today’s iraq. he first travelled through asia minor into north africa and arrived bornu where he established the bornu kingdom. this story is similar to that of bayajida, the founding father of habe-hausa. as far as the bornu are concerned, the word ‘ici-sra’ is a corruption of borgu title ‘ici-sera’ today borne by their kings. oral tradition of edo people (bini kingdom) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 65 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) there exist two versions of stories of origin of the edo people of bini. the first version relates how the early bini dynasty was founded by a man called obagodo about the beginning of the 10th century. the bini like the yoruba or hausa, claim the eastern origin. it was said by this tradition that after wandering through the sudan for some years, the bini migrants, under their leader obagodo, finally settled in their present location. from the founding of the ogiso dynasty in the 10th century to the 12th century, about fifteen rulers had ruled the bini kingdom. the last ogiso ruler was oba owodo. the second version of the origin gives, account of how the kingdom was founded by an ife prince called oranmiyan. it was said that bini kingdom experienced a long period of leadership vacuum after the death of owodo. in a bid to solve the problem, a delegation of bini people was despatched to ife requesting oduduwa to send his last son, oranmiyan, to come and rule over bini. oduduwa granted their request and oranmiyan was sent but he found it apparently difficult to rule the people. the people were alleged to be ungovernable and would not cooperate with him. oranmiyan became frustrated and on leaving, he cursed the land and called it “ile-ibinu” meaning the land of the wicked. some suggest that bini derived its present name from this curse by oranmiyan. before oranmiyan travelled back to ile-ife, he had a son called eweka born for him by an edo woman. it was this son, eweka that founded the second dynasty in bini. oranmiyan when he could not rule the bini and moved to found old oyo. the second version of the bini origin, which ascribed the foundation of the second bini dynasty to a yoruba prince, oranmiyan, has generated serious controversies among some scholars and has made some bini historians to probe deeper into their past. exponents of this move were the young worshippers of ihogbe, who had tried to re-construct the bini history in which they claimed a continuity of dynasty, right from the time of ogiso to the present. they maintained that oranmiyan was only sent to rule the edo people after a crisis that led to the banishment of the ogiso king, owodo, for his highhandedness but he, oranmiyan never established a dynasty in bini. on this issue, prince akenzua succinctly noted: in recent times, issues bordering yoruba-benin relationship have been nothing but hot and characteristically disputatious. . . . controversy seems to trail every account, but no side of the debate would budge. the difference persists because one igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 66 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) appraise history from the standpoint of mythology, while the other fakes the realityoption6. the bini tradition of origin is mythical as it is legendary. mythical because it tries to build a story believed to be true from a powerful yoruba kingdom that lay west of the land, far away indeed. it is somewhat legendary in the sense that the story is cast around a respectable personality with a royal pedigree in the person of oranmiyan, who was from the legendary oduduwa founding dynasty. the story creates an impression of a royal origin common with most stories of origins among the nigeria’s ethnic groups. however, whether the story of oranmiyan was a myth or legend, it has successfully established common bond between and among the edo people and yoruba. in some respects, there seems to exist common cultural and ancestral connections between the yoruba and the edo people of bini. again, the story represents the establishment of two dynasties and kingdomsthe oyo and bini kingdoms. then again, there is an evidence that the revisionist historians of bini kingdom saw the need to re-examine the stories of their origin in order to get rid of some misconceptions and interpret facts to fit the new status of their kingdom. it is worthy of note that the old received traditions that emphasised ife-bini relations still gain some acceptability up till today. the origin of the hausa according to kano chronicle, the story of the hausa origin revolves around their founding father called bayajida or abuyajida. he was a fugitive prince of baghadad, who fled from the wrath of his father abdullahi, after a quarrel between them. abuyajida first settled in bornu and the king of the area gave him his daughter in marriage. as the popularity of bayajida increased, his father-inlaw was not happy.bayajida was thus compelled to migrate further west and stopped at a place called gala, where he abandoned his wife and his only son. on getting to a place called daura, he visited gaya where a blacksmith made him a sacred sword with which he killed the evil snake called “sarki”, which used to disturb the inhabitants of the area from drawing water from the public well. impressed by fearlessness and courage of bayajida, the queen of daura married him. the result of the marriage was the birth of a baby boy named bawo. bawo had seven sons, who were reputed to be the founders of the seven “pure hausa” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 67 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) states known as the hausa bakwai. these included: daura, biram, katsina, rano, kano, zaria and gobir. another account of hausa origin says that bayajida had seven illegitimate sons by a slave woman called gwari, who later founded the seven “banza-bawkai” states which included; gwari, zamfara, kebbi, ilorin, nupe, yauri and kwararafa( or jukun). they were regarded as the “bastard states’7. it has been suggested that the bastard or impure hausa states may have been the conquered far-off states that had been politically dominated and culturally influenced during the 19th century islamic revolution that engulfed most of the northern states of nigeria. whether these states were founded by legitimate or illegitimate sons of bayajida or whether they were founded as a result of the islamic movements of the 19th century, the accounts are still subject to historical analysis and criticisms. be that as it may, the most relevant issue is that these stories reflect the wide use of the hausa language and culture, which cut across the entire northern nigeria, and which serve as bond of unity between the hausa as a people. today, the hausa language is spoken over a wider range area of the west coast and sub-saharan africa, including nigeria, togo, ghana, benin republic, ivory coast, guinea, cameroun, niger, chad, etc. secondly, the bayajida mythology helps to foster cultural and ethnic unity among the people who speak the language, as the word ‘hausa” itself refers more to a language group than a political entity or expression. thirdly, another important aspect of this legendary story is that hausaland was already inhabited by a people, who were organized in village states and had knowledge of iron and who were made up of craftsmen, artisans and leather workers before the advent of the immigrants as could be noted in the story. then, the assertion that bayajida arrived on a strange animal at daura may suggests that the people had been making good use of horses and donkeys as means of transportation. more importantly, the killing of the evil snake called “sarki” might connote a religious change which bayajida represented. some even interpret the killing of the snake to mean ‘removal of the daura king from the throne by bayajida, who now married the queen. recall that ‘sarkin’ in hausa language means “king’. finally, the legendary story tries to show that there was division of labour among the pure hausa states; and this is reflected on the historical development of the states to this day. for instance, kano and rano were chiefs of industry, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 68 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) daura and katsina were chiefs of trade and commerce. zaria controlled the procurement of slaves and kolanuts, while gobir was the chief of war. ibn battuta referred to them as the northern most warlike of all the states and was a trade centre, which waged wars against the tuaregs. referring to katsina, heinrich barth, a german geographer who visited hausa states in 1804, rightly describeddaura andkatsina as the wealthiest of all the hausa states triumphing in trade and commerce and also a citadel oflearning8. this was the feature of oral tradition of the hausa states and the meaning that could be read into it. the origin of nupe nupe was said to have been founded by one of the illegitimate sons of bayajida, the ancestral father of the hausa people. however, the history of the nupe was later dominated by one legendary figure called tsoede, who united the twelve states of the kingdom. according to oral tradition, tsoede was a son of an igala prince, who later became the attah of idah. tsoede’s father first lived at nku in nupe land where he married a nupe woman from an nku chief and this link accorded him a royal connection. following a leadership vacuum at igalaland, tsoede’s father was recalled to become the next attah of idah. on leaving for igalaland, he left behind his pregnant wife with some gifts of a charm and a ring for the child that would be born by his wife. he did this apparently to recognize his son, which he really did when tsoede came of age and was handed over to the igala king as a slave tribute from the nku royal house. his father was happy to see him again. at a time, it was said that he performed the feat of climbing a very tall palm tree and cut down the only fruit which was used to cure his father’s ailment. a feat which his half brothers could not perform. having won the affection and favour of his father by this single action, his brothers became jealous and threatened to kill him. it was said that while cutting down the palm fruit, he split his lips so badly that in today’s nupe tradition, any child born with cleft lip is named after tsoede. now that his half brothers wanted him killed, his father gave him some twelve strong nupe slaves as guards, a royal rank, a bronze, a canoe, trumpets and fetters and advised him to flee back to nupeland and rule over the nupe kingdom. while leaving, his envious brothers followed in pursuit to kill him, but with the assistance of those twelve slaves, they were rebuffed. tsoede and his followers threw away their bronze and canoe and hid in the ega creek from where they proceeded to nupeland. he conquered them and with the place as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 69 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) his base, he extended his conquest to other nupe groups. his slave companions were given control of the twelve beni towns of nupe. this nupe mythology demonstrates a strong nupeigala relationship as exemplified in the exchange of tributes, visits and rulers, and relationship between them still subsists and is being strengthened by geographical continuity. the igala origin: there have been controversies about the origin of the igala people because of their complex socio-political and cultural similarities with other nigeria ethnic groups like the edo, jukun, yoruba, nupe and even the igbo. all the same, the igala trace their origin from one ancestral figure known asaganepoje, who was said to have been sent by the gods. on arrival, according to their oral tradition, agenepoje landed on a rock very close to idah, the capital city of igalaland. even today, the igala are referred to as the people of idah. this legendary agenepoje was said to have had a son called ayaba whose descendants formed the igala ruling class. traditions of origin of the igbo: like the yoruba, the igbo claim autochthonous origin or independent evolution. this is common among many igbo communities, which claim that they were the original inhabitants of the place they found themselves. a typical example of this autochthonous origin is the nri tradition which has survived amongst the nri people today. elizabeth isichie made reference to this nri tradition pointing out eri as the progenitor of the umunri clan9. according to this tradition, eri was the father of their race. eri was said to have come down on earth by a ladder and settled with his two wives at a watery and marshy area called “eri-aka” around the “omambala” river basin. seeing that the place was entirely covered with water, eri had to invite an awka blacksmith,who used his fiery bellow to dry up the area. eri was then faced with the problem of how to feed the people under his charge. he communed with god and requested for solutions to his problem. he was therefore divinely ordered to kill his two childrenone boy and one girl. eri obediently killed them and buried them in different places. after a few days, a plant was noticed to have sprung up from the boy’s grave and that was a yam tendril, while a cocoyam sprouted from the tomb of the girl. this was seemingly the origin of the recognition accorded to yam as the prince of all food crops, while cocoyam is held as the princess of all agricultural products. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 70 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) as for the two wives of eri, the first was called nono who had seven children. the eldest of the children was called agulu-eri and was followed by menri, onogu, ogbodudu and then adamgboo, the only female child among them. according to nri tradition, it was eri’s descendants that settled along the anambra river areas, including the area inhabited by the nri people and other adjourning igbo towns and villages. the tradition of origin as has been popularized by some non and amateur historians that the igbo descended from the hebrew race has not been accepted by professional historians. stories of origin linking the negro race to eastern world is an offshoot of hamitic hypothesis, which is a racially based hypothesis that attempts to trace great civilizations found in the negro world to the caucasoid (light-skinned) race. archaeology and linguistics have made invaluable contributions to the reconstruction of the igbo past. thurstanshaw’s excavation at the igbo-ukwu in 1959 dated the settlement of the igbo to the 9th century. this seems to disprove the story of the ‘eastern origin”, which tends to suggest that the igbo arrived at their present settlement in about the 17th century. also, archaeological discoveries at ugwuelle in imo state revealed a bulk of techno-cultural experiences of early stone age man in igboland. on the part of linguistic evidence, historical and comparative linguistics have helped to throw more light on the early history of the igbo. this aspect of linguistic study has classified the igbo language as belonging to the kwa family of the niger-congo group. in the light of this, the igbo migrated from the nigerbenue confluence, and not from anywhere outside nigeria. one of eri traditions as was told by emeka lawrence in his unpublished work relates the story of how the eri man came paddling his canoe down the omambalariver and settled at eri-aka. afigbo had identified three core areas from where the igbo dispersed to their present settlements namely; nri-awka, isuama-orlu and owerri-ngwa areas. these areas form the nucleus of the igbo nation from where waves of migrations to other areas started10. from the foregoing, the igbo like other ethnic groups in nigeria, have their own myths, about their descent and which is that of the nri mythology. there were also stories of migrations and the igbo, from the findings of the 1959 archaeological excavation, had occupied their present habitation for about 1000 years ago. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 71 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) the unifying factors among the igbo, apart from the mythological story, have been their strong linguistic affiliation, common customs and beliefs. the igbo in addition are characteristically industrious, republican and egalitarian. they are also known for their marked individuality, adaptability, self-assertiveness and strong dislike of any form of imposition. it is perhaps, for these characteristics as shared with the jews that led some people to associate them with the hebrew. perhaps also, these characteristics of the igbo accounted for the stubborn resistance to imposition of the warrant chiefs on the various igbo communities during the colonial era. the origin of ibibio the ibibio are igbo neighbours and they have certain things in common. like the igbo, the origin of the ibibio is shrouded in mystery, not very clear.it is the aro who called them ibibi while the efik called them ibibio, a corrupted ibibi. however, it is suggestive that the name ibibio is ibibio in origin11. however, the people claim to have migrated from the ubom area of the present day imo state due to some economic pressures and aggression by their igbo neighbours. later, they settled where they found themselves today, which could be described as ibibio proper. here they share boundaries with the igbo ofarochukwu to the north, the ika to the west and oron to the south. originally, there were four cities here namely: uyo, abak, uruan and udua. due to some socio-political pressures, there occurred a second wave of migration during which some ibibio moved into anang to the west, while the small city of udua migrated further south east and settled in old calabar and were later known as the efiks of calabar. problems associated with the use of myths and legends for historical reconstruction of the nigeriansociety in using myths and legends for historical reconstruction of nigeria’s past, care must be taken because evidence abounds that they might counterfeit history. although they have some parts to play, but as part of oral tradition, they have their own limitations. firstly, they are not as reliable as written records or archaeological findings. secondly, some stories associated with myths and legends relate haphazardly because parts of the stories may have been a bridged, diluted or forgotten after a long period of time. some are told in diverse versions as in the case of yoruba, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 72 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) hausa or igbo oral traditions. some are even confusing as seen in the case of the nupe talking about the exchange of princes from nupewithigala and vice versa. then again, some myths and legends are developed in an effort by some people to re-write their past to suit their present status. a case in point is the bini when in 1973, a group of ihogbe worshippers attempted to re-write their history to correct the impression that oranmiyan established a dynasty in bini. they imputed that oranmiyan was only sent to the edo people consequent upon the crisis that engulfed the kingdom when owodo the last ogiso was banished. myths and legends could carry conflicting and contradictory stories as could be witnessed in the case of ijo traditions where many of these stories seem to contradict one another. some have been written to prove that the ijo descended from oduduwa, while some maintained that the ijo moved to their present site owing to pressures by their igbo neighbour coupled with some socio-economic circumstances. conclusion there exist some interrelations and connections between these mythology and legendary stories and for this reason, they should not be totally discarded as veritable tools in the reconstruction of the nigerian history. in the first place, some of these myths and legends link people with others. for example, yoruba people of ile-ife share common ancestral origin with edo of bini, although bini-ife connection has been contested by scholars like allan ryder. the igbo share stories that link them with ibibio, igala and their efikneigbours. again, a comparison could be made between the traditions of origins of ijo, bini or even itsekiri, who established links between themselves through mythical stories. in some cases, these stories make references to the middle eastern origin. as has been noted, these stories of external origin have been explored by some writers trying to establish links with races believed to have rich cultural heritage and ancient civilizations. the borgu, yoruba, kanem and igbo lay claims to the eastern ancestorship. the stories go a long way to promote inter-state alliances among the various nigerian peoples. a kanuri, for example, is regarded in bussa as an elder brother, whereas the emir of bussa and alafin of oyo, including the oni of ife are regarded as cousins. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 73 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) comparisons could be made in terms of political organizations of these early states based on these mythical and legendary relationships. stories of the hausa society show some similarities in political organizations. some offices and titles found in bornu were common with those that exist in hausa states; an example is the “galadima” title meant for a warden is also found in both places. even the languages spoken by the bulk of nigerian peoples bear some resemblance and they existed in the pre-historic times. the borgu, hausa, kanuri, nupe and jukun, all belong to the niger-congo, while the edo, igbo, igala, idoma, yoruba, ijo, and efik belong to the kwa-group of languages. all these tell us from oral traditions that linguistically, the various nigerian peoples share many things in common. language separation between the units of this cluster may have begun between 2000 and 6000 years ago12. it is possible to draw some comparisons in the nature of the migrations that occurred giving rise to the present settlements of some nigerian ethnic-groups. while some stress external conquests as in the case of kanuri, who were said to be conquered by the zaghawa, others try to show the process of acculturation by the indigenous culture as evidenced again in the case of kanem-borgu whose culture dominated that of the invading zagawa people. finally, some of these mythical and legendary stories try to demonstrate that there have been existing traditions and civilizations prior to invasion by the europeans. a typical example is the case of the bini people who claim that their tradition of origin centre around the ogoiso dynasty before ever the second dynasty was said to have been founded by eweka, the son of oranmiyan. it therefore could be imputed from the foregoing that there exist some relationships, real or imaginary, between the myths and legends of the various nigerian peoples, which could be helpful in the reconstruction of their past as well as promote unity, peace, cooperation, and understanding among the people. the place of myths and legends in the reconstruction of nigeria’s past can further be appreciated if we consider the scholarly view of c. becker, v. martin and mbodj, who noted that: village traditions provide basic narratives for localities and their environs often in the form of myths with specific items depending on the ethnic groups or countries. they are rich in historical informationand legitimisechieftaincies and customary lawseconomic, financial, political and religious. they often contain genealogical data on the principal families in the village. they approximate the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 74 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) founding date of the community by referring to the creation of neighbouring communitiesor by relating this to the reign of a particular king13, 14. endnotes 1.robin horton, “stateless societies in the history of west africa” in j.f. ade ajayi and michael crowther(eds) history of west africa, second edition, london: longman group ltd, p. 110. 2. edward clouds, myths and dreams, london: chatto and windus, 1885, p.7. 3.wiktionary, http://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/myth, accessed 19th march, 2015. 4.g.t. stride and c. ifeka, peoples and empires of west africa in history 10001800,london: thomas nelson and sons ltd, 1971, pp. 289-290. 5. j.d. fage, a history of africa, london: melbourne hutchison and co ltd, 1979,p. 105. 6. princeakenzua, www.edoworld.net/we-know-beni-history-dontwriteit-forus prince edunakenzua is the 6th son of the late omon’oban’edouku akpolokpolo, akenzua ii of benin kingdom. 7. g.t. stride and c. ifeka, peoples and empires of west africa…, pp.80-87. 8.c.c. ifemesia, “ states of the central sudan” in j.f. ade ajayi and ian espie (eds)athousand years of west african history, lagos/nairobi thomas nelson (nig) ltd, 1965, p.91. 9. elizabethisichie, a history of the igbo people, london: the macmillan press ltd, 1976, p.4. 10. a.e. afigbo,ropes of sand, studies in igbo history and culture, oxford/london: university press ltd, 1981, pp. 10-13. 11. edet a. udo, who are the ibibio?, onitsha: africana-fep publishers ltd, 1983, p.3. 12.adeobayemi, “the yoruba and edo-speaking peoples and their neighbours before 1600” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 75 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) in j.f. ade ajayi and michael crowther (eds) history of west africa volume 1, second edition, london: longman group ltd, 1976, p.200. 13. c. becker, v. martin and mbodj, “the collection of village oral traditions in senegal”in e.j. alagoa (eds) oral traditions and oral history in africa and diaspora: theory and practice, lagos: centre for black and african artsand civilization, 1990, p. 103. 14. nnoli, leo, “the new african historiography and problems of oral evidence” in uzu: journal of history and international studies, (ujhis),published by department of history and international studies, nnamdiazikiweuniverity, awka, vol. 3, no 1, december, 2012, page 227 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 166 bride price: security for women in marriage among ikwerre people of niger delta grace lawrence-hart, phd department of religious and cultural studies faculty of humanities, ignatius ajuru university of education rumuolemini, port harcourt, rivers state drgrace.lawrence-hart@iaeu.edu.ng; gracelawhart@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.33912.11529 abstract women whose bride price are not paid are not traditionally recognized in families among the ikwerre people of niger delta, irrespective of the number of biological children they have with their assumed husbands. hence, they and their children are treated with disregard, denied communal privileges and can be asked to leave the family at any time especially on the demise of the perceived husband. thus, bride price which is believed to be an appreciation of the parents of the bride by the groom for properly guarding their daughter up to the age of marriage as well as an open recognition and acceptance of the bride by both families is highly revered. this appreciation is not just limited to the immediate family but to the extended family too, due to the communal nature of the people. bride price therefore, provides security for the young maid who is going to a completely new home where she is not familiar with the people. being a novice in her new home, she can be exposed to undue danger of denial of what she traditionally deserves if security measures such as the bride price is not paid on her behalf to protect her from undue harassment and intimidations among her mates in the new environment she finds herself by reason of marriage. using the african cultural perspective and ethnographic approach, the paper made use of qualitative analysis to establish the fact that despite the ravaging economy; the ikwerre people are bent on fulfilling the traditional rituals of bride price in order to earn the benefits therein. keywords: bride price, security, women and marriage introduction marriage is one of the cultural values that is highly esteemed among the ikwerre people of niger delta. it is a union that is believed to promote the lineage of the family as well as promote the status of men and women amongst the people. this is because a person is believed to be responsible only when the person is married, lawrence-hart (2018). marriage amongst the ikwerre people is different from mere co-habitation. a recognized marriage in ikwerre land is that which is blessed igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 167 by both parents and the payment of the bride price has been made to the parents of the bride. couples, irrespective of how peaceful and loving they are to each other cannot be addressed as married people within the ikwerre cultural milieu if the traditional rituals of marriage especially bride price has not been paid. reason been that bride price confers on a maiden the status of a married woman, security and a sense of pride in a new status thus every parent craves for it. payment of the bride price makes the woman a recognized member of the new family that she is married to, this recognition earns her respect and makes her a beneficiary of all the fortunes of her new home. aside being a beneficiary, she feels safe and secured in her husband’s house because nobody in the family including her husband will just wake up and ask her to go back to her father’s house without going through certain recognized traditional rituals. consequently, bride price is like immunity on the woman because it makes her feel safe as well as keep hope alive such that she is assured of her security; thus she can work hand in hand with her husband and contribute to the growth of the family knowing that she will partake of the goodies in due course. more so, even though the woman commits adultery while the husband is still alive her security in the family is guaranteed, although it is a disgrace and shame to her husband, relatives and friends; since her personal image is smeared by her action, she still has a place in her husband’s home. the only thing that can make a woman loose her pride of place in her husband’s house is, if the bride price is returned to her parents and kinsmen, else even if she is driven out by her husband for an inordinate act, her children can rise up one day and bring her back to their father’s house when they become adults. this work therefore intends to bring to the fore the importance of bride price in marriage among the ikwerre people of the niger delta; especially at this time when the economy has made some persons co-habit and have children who are not recognized within their family circle. the worrisome aspect is when the so called couple have children and part their different ways due to reasons best known to them; thereby, subjecting the innocent children to stigmatization as a result of non-payment of the bride price ( wotogbe-weneka, 2020). ikwerre people of niger delta the ikwerre people of niger delta, occupies a central position in rivers state as it spans through four local government area of the state. they are; port harcourt, ikwerre, obio-akpo and emohua local government. however, the ikwerre igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 168 people are always erroneously associated with the igbo. consequent upon this, there exist three school of thought concerning their origin and migration, the first is the opko-wagidi school of thought which posit that the ikwerre people migrated from arochukwu to isiokpo which formed the birth place and gradual spread of other towns and villages in ikwerre. next, is the akalaka-ochichi school of thought whose position is that the people migrated from benin empire as a result of the misrule by oba of benin kingdom in the 10th century. the effect of the maladministration and sudden death of the son occasioned the swift escape of ochichi the father of the ikwerre people and akalaka the father of the ekpeye (ahoada) people. suffice to say that the ikwerre and ekpeye people are related as they were siblings who escaped for the safety of their lives. lastly, is the akpo school of thought which maintains autochthony; this implies that the ikwerre people were created by god and placed on their present location (the ikwerre land). for this last group of thought, the people did not migrate from anywhere and are not related to any ethnic group in the niger delta; for them, the issues of language similarity to other ethnic group is as a result of proximate locations to each other. regrettably, this continuous debate which has on origin has resulted to lack of harmony in the common descent of their ancestral fathers. more so, the ikwerre people up till date do not have a paramount ruler which they can look up to as people of the same ethnic group. thus, to handle this issue of disharmony, the people formed a socio-cultural group called ogbakor-ikwerre which provides a platform where they come together as brothers from the same ancestral lineage. interestingly, the ikwerre people are very hospitable and receptive to visitors both within and outside the state. they host major in institutions and infrastructure of the rivers state government like the state secretariat, rivers state university, ignatius ajuru university of education, elechi amadi polytechnic, etc. despite the fact that some of the ikwerre villages have been overtaken by development, the people are still deeply rooted in their culture and traditions, this is seen in their constant display of different cultural exhibitions like masquerades, festivals, traditional wrestling, marriages according to law and custom of the people, etc. they are still intensely involved in their fishing and farming which constitute their major occupation since they are blessed with both land mass and water. geographically, the ikwerre people occupy a mainland area of 32,000 square of land in rivers state and a population of over 777,503 people according to 1963 census. they are bounded in the north by ahoada, on the south by degema, on the east and on the west by abua-odual local government areas. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 169 conceptual framework the concept of marriage is universal, however, every culture and society has its own acceptable approach to actualizing it. thus, what is acceptable in society a might not be acceptable in society b. for this reason, this research made use of african cultural perspective in examining the topic under discuss. this is because the african cultural perspective is a concept that holds that cultures and traditions differs from place to place, hence, cultural practices should be viewed from the lenses of the cultural group under study in order to avoid generalization and distortion since individuals are shaped by their environment, social and cultural milieu which is expressed in their lifestyle. for instance, dance, art forms, music, marriage, etc. these cultural practices are deeply ingrained in their daily activities which has formed their way of life (wariboko 2018). again, it is important to note that the concept of what constitute acceptable marriage is not a cross-cultural phenomenon which implies that cultural practices are not the same everywhere. therefore, viewing it from the african cultural perspective will make a scholar appreciate a people’s cultural values. consequently, this concept validates the imperativeness of looking at the high value placed on bride price amongst the ikwerre people of niger delta and how it serves as a catalyst in motivating men and women to marry within the acceptable norm of the society despite the harsh economy in recent time. although, to the non-ikwerre person the subject under discuss may not make sense but a typical ikwerre man will work hard to ensure that he performs the marriage rites of his wife so that he will not be labelled as a man having a “credit wife”. we shall as well analyze this study within ethnographic framework because it gives researchers the leverage to study the people in their cultural milieu. the essence is to avoid sweeping statements or imposition of a foreign culture on another because a people’s life is holistically dependent on the aspect the researcher may choose to study. it could be their marriage, religion, cuisine, religion, etc. conceptual clarification marriage the concept of marriage has been viewed in divers’ ways by different scholars. marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock is a culturally recognized union between people called spouses. it establishes rights and obligations between them as well as their children and their in-laws. it is considered a cultural universal phenomenon, but the definition of marriage varies between culture and religions igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 170 and over time. typically, it is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually sexual, are acknowledged or sanctioned. in some cultures, marriage is recommended or considered to be compulsory before pursuing any sexual activity. thus, carnel 2012, asserts that marriage is an institution that meets the need for love and being loved, meeting both individual, biological, social, psychological and motivational need as well as raising new generation into the world. in corroboration with this assertion, yavuzer 2012, maintains that marriage is an institution where intimacy and fellowship is expressed, children are raised in safety and gives freedom for sexual intercourse. in the same vein, pinar (2008) asserts that marriage is taking responsibility and sharing organized and happy lives. while the trio of curren, litley and muraco (2010) posits that marriage signifies commitment, love, fellowship, trust and family. for ozguzer 2001, marriage is the core unit of the society irrespective of the fact that its dimension and scope have changed over time in human history. from another flank, ersanli and kalker (2008) sees marriage as a special association given shape by social rules and laws as well as affects individuals development and self-realization. bride price scholars in their rights have viewed bride price using different lenses, for anyebe (1985) bride price legalizes and establishes the legitimacy of children, he further stated that bride price is a compensation for the loss to the woman’s family of its member, a potential child bearer as well as marriage insurance to stabilize relationship and protect the wife. as a way of commitment, oguli (2004) maintained that bride price is a contract where material items such as cattle or other animal or money is paid by the groom to the bride’s family in exchange for the bride, her labour and capacity to produce children. while rakhimdinova in oguli, sees bride price as an agreed sum intended to reflect the value of the young maiden. in another respect, alupo (2004) asserts that the concept under review symbolizes friendship which in actual fact is the transfer of productive and reproductive service to the man’s family, since it involves payment in cash or property by husband and his family to the bride’s family. in the same vein, radcliffe-brown opines that bride price symbolized as a situation where payment of goods and services is made by the bridegroom to the bride’s kin as an essential part of the establishment of legality of marriage. traditional marriage in ikwerre igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 171 the traditional marriage in ikwerre as discussed here is the marriage according to the tradition and custom of the ikwerre people which involves the ritual blessings from both the immediate and extended families. this is because marriage among the people goes beyond the bride and groom from the unset. the marriage process begins when a man finds and proposes to a lady of his choice as well as gets consent from his proposal. arrangement is made to see the parents of the would-be bride which is called akwaka nuoro which literally means “knocking of the door”. the groom goes to see the bride’s family with his parents to make their intentions known and familiarize themselves as well. although, it is their first official visit, they are expected to go with drinks for introduction. at this point the visitors will be given a middle-man or intermediary called nyegaizne. the middle-man takes up the responsibility of the educating the visitors about the procedures which include relatives to pay homage to, requirements for both the immediate and extended family as well as the community at large. the nyegaizne is very instrumental in the negotiation of the bride price and making sure the would-be in-laws do not make mistakes that will result to paying fine; when all the procedures, negotiations and payments have been settled, then the day for the traditional marriage ceremony orwor-mayna will be set (chika anele, bekwele madumere, oral interview 2021) the orwno-mayna is the final stage of the marriage which is usually done in the family of the bride, guests are invited from far and near, the requirements by the bride’s family is presented by the groom’s family. then actual celebration begins with music and dance, the bride is locked up in a room, to add colour and fun to the occasion, young maidens will be sent to the groom to request for money which they (maidens) will use as transport fair to go bring the bride to him as it is believed that the bride is far away from the location of the ceremony; the young maidens in their attire dance in group to the groom and his kinsmen to inform them that they need money either for flight ticket, boat or special convoy to enable them bring the his bride to him if he wants his bride to come out, this request is done again and again until they (maidens) get sufficient money which they will later share amongst themselves. having gotten enough from the fun of the day, they will then go into the room where the bride is hidden and escort her out of the room with loud ovation accompanied with melodious renditions and dance by the cheering maidens. the bride is further escorted by the maidens to greet her guest after which she goes to her father who prays for her and hands over a glass of wine with which she is to go in search of her husband, when she sees her husband, she takes a sip and gives him to drink. this action connotes a public presentation of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 172 the bride and groom as they both dance to the parents and kneel for the ritual joining. the prayers by parents and the elders is believed to be loaded with all round blessings, every couple wants to get the blessing from his parents in marriage as it is perceived to be highly potent. prayers by the parents constitute the main cardinal point why would-be couples seek to strictly follow the rudiments of the traditional process to ensure that they carry the blessing of their parents into their new home, thus, aside the payment of bride price and public presentation cum acknowledgement of the new family, the next is the prayers of blessing which is showered on the new couple. again, this prayer can only be effective when the bride price is paid because it shows obedience to the ancestral norms which has kept the bond of unity between different villages and families, more so, the entire community and relatives who have eaten from the proceeds of the bride price will shower their prayers on the new family for bringing them together to eat as one big family. the parents of newly established family will be overwhelmed with joy as their children has made them proud by making others eat from their home since they have been eating from other families whose children have gotten married in the past. that is why it is a shame if young people just cohabit without fulfilling the traditional ritual of traditional marriage ceremony which provides a basis for parents to call others to come and join them in the celebration of their children and sharing of the proceeds from the bride price because they have been getting shares from other families. for this reason, traditional marriage celebration which is accompanied by the payment of bride price is held in high esteem due its intrinsic value to the ikwerre people of rivers state (ngozi wokoma, chika anele, oral interview 2021). bride price: security for the woman in the family the thrust of this work is the security and guarantee which payment of bride price gives to the woman in the new family where she is married to. the meriam webstar’s dictionary defines security as the state of being free from danger or threat, this definition gives the right explanation to the researcher’s work because among the ikwerre child bearing is the main reason for marriage, lawrence-hart (2018). this implies that the major factor for marriage in ikwerre land is neither love nor companion as practiced in the western world but to bear children, however, this children without bride price paid on their mother does not still place the woman on the right pedestal in her husband’s family as it attracts ridicule and shame which is visible whenever there is an opportunity to share the communal cake amongst family members. this may sound strange but true; children are generally igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 173 believed and seen as those who will continue the linage of their parents. nevertheless, children whose parents’ marriages were not properly consummated according to the traditional rites and custom are mildly treated as outcast as no inheritance or traditional tittle is conferred on a son whose mother was not properly married, that is, bride price was not paid irrespective of how rich the person may be, the person is looked at as what the igbo people call osu though differs in their relationship. so what some persons who have risen to prominence in the society by dint of hard work do, is to sponsor the full traditional marriage and payment of bride price of their mothers in order to maintain their rightful place in their father’s house and community at large (nmenta worlu, 2020 oral source). another feature that ensures her security is that when bride price is paid, it becomes difficult to divorce even when the couple separates by reason of irreconcilable differences, returning the bride price is not always easy, instead family members advocate for settlement, except cases where there is a new suitor who is ready to return the bride price and become a new husband to the woman. her security is so strong that it extends even after the demise of her husband irrespective of whether she had children or not. ordinarily a woman who has not given birth before the demise of her spouse is bound to go back to her parents and probably get married to another man. this is different from a woman whose bride price has been paid as she remains the wife to the deceased even at death, thus if she gets impregnated by any other man of her choice the children belong to her dead husband, these children will bear the late husband’s name and will also be recognized by late husband’s family. although this is not a license for women to be promiscuous or home breakers by running after other women’s husbands just to get pregnant through the act, be that as it may, if she (widow) gets pregnant and have children; the children belong to her late husband. the ikwerre people will say nye nwe eknu nwe nnwo which implies he who paid the bride price is the owner of the children. the woman whose bride price is paid feels so secure even in the midst of glaring insecurity that is a situation where the beloved husband has left her for another woman. she is not perturbed because she has her bride price has been paid, she has authority in the family. the husband’s family recognizes her as head wife rishinwere since the ikwerre cultural settings permits polygamy. the head-wife as they are called is given her due right in the family even in cases where the woman in thrown out or despised because of the coming of the new wife. she still has the right of place in her husband’s family. in such cases the woman’s children might igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 174 even build a new house for their mother in their fathers’ compound to ensure their mother remains in the father’s family. a woman whose husband has chased out of his house is still entitled to her farm or farm lands during farming seasons because ikwerre society is agrarian in nature. the act of giving her farming portions despite her problem with her husband is that she is duly recognized in the family and contributes her quota as a married woman in the larger family. the husband has no right to stop her from benefitting from the communal cake. another feature of her security is membership of married women guild of the land, this group of women work towards the development and protection of the women folks in the land. they are a strong force in the land. they rejoice when their members are rejoicing and mourn with their members. they contribute money through thrift to support and aid their members to get financial freedom. the woman whose bride price has been paid is buried in her husband’s compound at death. reason being that she is regarded as a recognized member of the husband’s family. conversely, a woman whose bride price has not been paid before death (the corpse) is sent back to her parents for burial. although in many occasions the price is paid even at death before the burial. this kind of payment is really painful as the late woman did not enjoy the benefits while alive. it is based on this reproachful attitude towards her which makes the women always feel unsafe that the research intends to explore on the concept of pride price as a security measure for the married women in ikwerre land. benefits of bride price to the woman. bride price among the ikwerre people apart from the monetary involvement is believed to be a mark of respect and honor to the parents of the bride. the payment is a thing of joy, pride and actualization by both the families of the bride and groom, as the occasion of this rites provides opportunity for the immediate and extended families as well as friends to come to together in socialization. it also creates avenues for merry making and public notification of the new couple. with this public show, everybody in the community and its environs is made to know about the new family that is born. more so, with this ceremony again, the bride’s family is given the opportunity to share in equipping the new home of the bride especially in the purchase of kitchen and domestic properties for beginners. the parents of the groom is happy because their son can be addressed as a responsible man who is able to raise fund to marry honorably while the parents of the lady feels proud and fulfilled as their daughter did not just follow a man on the guise of love, this act often times brings shame igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 175 and dishonor to the parents of the girl as it attracts insult from members of the family who at any slight provocation reminds her that she is not yet a wife but a girlfriend who can be kicked out at any time because she is believed to be still standing on one foot thus should be mindful of her conduct (nene amadi oral interview 2021). importance of pride price customary bride price validates the marriage: couples can live together and have romantic relationship for years, have children and stay within their community yet they are not regarded as married people because their marriage has not been consummated with the payment of bride price. couples are co-opted into the different unit of the community only and after the rituals of marriage through the payment of bride price is completed. hence, the need for the payment of bride price and fulfilment of traditional marriage rites. makes the bride a recognized wife in the new family. although the man is recognized in his family, his perceived wife who is believed as not to have been properly married due to non-payment of bride price is not recognized in the husband’s family. this is noticed when married women of the family is called to discuss issues concerning the welfare and development of the family. these set of women (perceived non-married women) will not be called for such discussion irrespective of how educated and intellectually exposed they are. for this reason, every woman seeks recognition in her place of marriage through the payment of her bride price. she benefits from the family: women whose marriage are not recognized within the community are not given share of family farm land or any other benefits which may come up by reason of festive celebration or sharing of proceeds from the marriage of other women in the family. it is often an embarrassing situation when one is excluded from what makes other women happy. therefore, payment of bride price is inevitable. her children are not called bastards but accepted as sons and daughters of the family: children born outside the traditional marriage rite of the people are regarded as bastards. however, those whose parents were duly married are igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 176 accepted and given every privilege that they deserve in the community. they qualify to be beneficiaries of the inheritance from their progenitors because the marriage rites of their parents were duly consummated unlike that outside wedlock. her children are allowed to occupy different traditional, political and social positions of the land: children born in homes where the bride price of their mothers were not paid do not qualify to occupy traditional cum leadership positions in the community irrespective of how wealthy they may be. they may sponsor others but they can never be given the opportunity or be allowed to occupy elevated official position amongst the people. this is one area that they are highly discriminated against because of this, the victim of circumstance (those born out of wedlock) may have all that it takes but the circumstance of his birth has placed him in perpetual denial of his rights. sometimes those who feel strongly marginalized go ahead to fight for their rights but it has always resulted to crisis and divisions in the family. those who suffer most are the male children because they will have to live and continue their father’s lineage while the girls will always marry out of the family where they will enjoy their freedom. her husband’s home becomes her home even after the demise of her husband: a woman who was not properly married before the demise of her perceived husband is like a way fairer because she does not have any root in the man’s family since the man is no longer alive. she either goes back to her parents’ home, remarry or wait for when her children will grow up to go and marry her for their father. if this is not done, the children will suffer serious discrimination even in their father’s house (olunwere okoro, angelina woke, agwuoma ejike, oral interview 2021). conclusion: from the foregoing therefore, it is evident that the ikwerre traditional believe on the importance of bride price to encourage stability and dignity in marriage, especially the security of the woman in a time where marriage has been reduced to a common activity which people engage just to satisfy their sexual urge is still held in high esteem. thus, a woman feels fulfilled when a man becomes so committed in relationship to extent of paying her bride price. this is because her marriage is secured until death. more so, her children are accepted by every member of the family and enjoy the common wealth of the community. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 177 references primary sources names age occupation date nnenta worlu 67 trader 10-2-2021 chika anele 65 farmer 15-2-2021 bekweri madumere 72 basket weaver 2-4-2021 ngozi wokeoma 58 trader 15-5-2021 olunwere okoro 55 trader 20-5-2021 agelina woke 62 farmer 12-6-2021 agwuoma ejike 53 clergy 15-6-2021 nene amadi 60 farmer 15=6-2021 secondary sources alupo j. (2004) bride price and gender violence: a paper presented at the international conference on ‘bride price and development’ makerere university, kampala, uganda. ayebe, p.a (1985) customary law: the war without arms; fourth dimension publishers. curran, m. a., utley, e. a., & muraco, j. a. (2010). an exploratory study of the meaning of marriage for african americans. marriage & family review, 46(5), 346–365. ersanlı, k., & kalkan, m. (2008). evlilik ilişkilerini geliştirmekuram ve uygulama [improvement of marriage relations theory and practice ]. ankara, turkey: nobel kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). an enquiry concerning the religio-cultural experience of women in nigeria: towards a philosophy of reciprocity. international journal of language, literature and gender studies (afrrev laligens). vol. 1. no.2. june 2012. pp. 50-60. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). the genders in christian anthropology vis-a-vis the experience of violence by women in nigeria.international journal of language, literature and gender studies (afrrev laligens). vol. 1. no.2. june 2012. pp. 1-14 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 178 kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). the equality of sexes in j. s. mill vis-a-vis the participation of women in the nigerian labour and economy. the international journal of language, literature and gender studies (afrrev laligens). vol. 1. no.1. march 2012. pp. 18-29. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). an enquiry concerning the religio-cultural experience of women in nigeria: towards a philosophy of reciprocity. international journal of language, literature and gender studies (afrrev laligens). vol. 1. no.2. june 2012. pp. 50-60. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2015). gender and good governance in john lock: religious and political perspectives. amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 13. no. 1. pp. 88-97. oguli oumo, m. (2004) bride price and violence against women: the case of uganda, paper presented at the international bride price conference. özgüven, i̇. e. (2001). communication and life in family. ankara, turkey: pdrem yayınları.pınar, g. (2008). üniversite son sınıf öğrencilerinin evliliğe bakış açısı [final year undergraduate students’ perspective on marriage]. aile ve toplum, 4(14), 49–60. yavuzer, h. (2012). aile ilişkileri ve çocuk [family relationship and child]. in h. yavuzer (ed.), evlilik okulu [marriage school] (pp. 164–172). i̇stanbul, turkey: remzi kitabevi.yıldırım, a., & şimşek, h. (2013). microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 1.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 82 assessment of health risks amongst vulnerable groups of internally displaced persons in pompomari camp, damaturu, yobe state, nigeria umar, s.s. radiotherapy and oncology unit ahmadu bello university teaching hospital, zaria, kaduna state, nigeria (+2347035595262) suleiman, m.s. phd candidate department of sociology and anthropology, faculties of humanities and social sciences, khon kaen university, khon kaen, thailand mohammedsaeedsuleiman@gmail.com mohammedsaeedsuleiman@fugashua.edu.ng (+2348036469928/ +66994761331) magaji, r.a. phd department of human physiology, ahmadu bello university, zaria, kaduna state, nigeria abstract the insurgency affecting majorly the north-east region of nigeria has led to the loss of lives, destruction of livelihoods. it also caused displacement of a significant proportion of the affected communities; majority of them seeking shelter with relatives and acquaintances away from harm, while others were sheltered in camps for the internally displaced persons. pompomari primary school in damaturu, yobe state is one of those camps designated by the yobe state emergency management agency to provide temporary shelter to internally displaced persons. the displaced persons in pompomari camp are victims of the dreaded boko haram insurgency who fled their places of domicile in gujba local government area of the state. assessment of health risks amongst the vulnerable displaced people in pompomari camp was carried out using direct observation, focus group discussion and questionnaire administration as the primary sources of data. the official demographic records of the camp, the routine record of the camp clinic and the comprehensive report of the clinic from its inception were also utilized as secondary sources of data in this research. attempts were made to interpret and discuss the data collated. the research found out that the vulnerable groups constitute 83% of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 83 displaced persons in the camp. they were predisposed to health risks like inadequate sanitation, vector control, and nutrition and housing standards. however, health facility in the camp was very functional and adequate in capacity and water supply was adequate in quantity and quality. the research has helped create a scientific framework for managing the health aspect of idp camps. key words: health risk assessment, vulnerable groups, internally displaced persons, pompomari camp introduction the growing number of internally displaced persons in nigeria in the last decade is worrisome. the estimation was put to about 1.2 million by the end of 2014 and over 1.5 million by april 2015 (international organization for migration, 2015). the on-going insurgency affecting the north-east of nigeria was accountable for most of the internal displacement. however, a minority of the idps was fleeing inter-communal clashes and natural disaster like a flood. more worrisome is the poor condition in which these esteemed population of displaced persons lives in. most are housed in overcrowded camps across the disturbed northern regions. these camps are mainly school facilities and empty government buildings with few basic amenities provided and are supervised by the national emergency management agency (international organization for migration, 2015). pompomari camp is located within the facility of pompomari primary school in damaturu yobe state. it is one of the several idp camps in damaturu coordinated by the yobe state emergency management agency. it was opened on friday, march 27th, 2015 to serve as temporary shelter for idps from gujba local government area of yobe state. according to internal displacement monitoring centre (idmc) report by global view (2014), that as at the end of 2014, it was estimated that there were 38.2 million idps worldwide. the countries with the largest idp population were syria (7.6 million), colombia (6 million), iraq (3.6 million), democratic republic of congo (2.8 million), sudan (2.2 million), south sudan (1.6 million), pakistan (1.4 million), nigeria (1.2 million) and somalia (1.1 million). in addition, most of the idp population it has been estimated that between 70 to 80 percent of all idps do women and childrenthereby constitutes double vulnerability (global view, 2015). as earlier stated, the majority of the internally displaced persons (70-80%) are women and children who are classified as vulnerable groups. vulnerable groups igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 84 refer to specific populations within a country that have been excluded from financial and social services for a variety of reasons which could be cultural or peculiar to that country. from the cultural perspective, women and children constitute vulnerable groups. however, internally displaced persons and refugees from post-conflict regions, people living in remote or difficult to assess regions, people with disabilities, ethnic and religious minorities etc. also constitute vulnerable groups. it, therefore, goes that women, children and disabled people amongst the idps are doubly vulnerable; first by virtue of the pre-existing cultural circumstances and secondly by virtue of being internally displaced. internally displaced persons do not enjoy international privileges and recognition like refugees. this is because, though displaced, they are still confined within the borders of their country of origin and therefore subjected to the laws of their country. to this effect, the united nations office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs in 1998 developed a document titled: the guiding principles on internal displacement. the document intended to provide a valuable practical guide to governments, competent authorities and intergovernmental organization in their work with internally displaced persons. the document outlined 30 principles with principles 18 and 19 having a direct relation to health. this document also inspired other policies like the popular kampala convention on idps in africa in 2009 and the nigerian national policy on internally displaced persons in nigeria in 2012 ( kampala convention, 2009 and nigerian national policy on internally displaced persons in nigeria, 2012). the health assessment in this study will be limited to physical and environmental components. therefore, this study focuses on health risks amongst a vulnerable group of idps who reside in pompomari camp. research problem displacement impacts on health in fundamental ways, often exposing populations to higher risks of disease and malnutrition. although forcibly displaced people move to escape direct violence and the high mortality that it produces, they face new threats from overcrowding, poor sanitation, inadequate provision for basic needs, ongoing insecurity and an unfamiliar environment. also, there is very limited information on idps needs in nigeria. the continuing shortage of accurate and reliable data on internal displacement across nigeria has resulted in a distorted picture of displacement and assistance needs in nigeria and an alarming lack of understanding of the country’s displacement dynamics by national actors and the international community. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 85 aim and objectives the aim of this research is assessment of health risks amongst vulnerable groups of internally displaced persons in pompomari camp, damaturu, yobe state with specific objectives: to obtain basic demographic information about internally displaced persons in the camp, assess the vulnerabilities of idps in the camp to health risks as well as appraise the capacity of the health facility in the camp to cope with health challenges of idps. literature review according to internal displacement monitoring committee (idmc) by global view (2014), there has been a global rise in the number of displaced persons over the last 15 years. the total number of idps worldwide in 1998 was 19.3 million; in 2001 around 25 million; by the end of 2012 it was about 28.8 million; by the end of 2013 it was 33.3 million and by the end of 2014 it was estimated to have risen to 38.2 million. for the years of 2013 and 2014, there was a 16% and 15% rise in the idp population when compared to their preceding years respectively. as at the end of 2013, subsaharan africa had the highest number of idp with about 12.5 million. this was followed by middle east region with 9.1 million. overall, by the end of 2013, 8.2 million people have newly displaced with syria alone accounting for 3.5 million. other countries include democratic republic of congo (1 million), central africa republic (930,000), nigeria (470,500), sudan (470,000), south sudan (383,000) etc. the causes of these displacements were conflicts and violence. global view (2015), also reported that by the end of 2015, there were 11 million newly displaced persons, surpassing the 8.2 million recorded at the end of 2013. this increase is unprecedented in the past 15 years. the five countries of iraq, south sudan, syria, democratic republic of congo and nigeria accounted for 60 percent of the increase. currently, the numbers of idps have doubled those of refugees globally. 77 percent of the world's idps live in the 10 countries of syria, colombia, iraq, sudan, dr congo, pakistan, south sudan, nigeria, somalia, and turkey. also, it was reported through a survey done across 22 of the countries monitored in 2013. more than 60 percent of idps were living outside camps, and in some countries, the proportion was much higher. in 13 countries, idps living outside of camps made up 95 to 100 percent of the displaced population. idps living outside camps may have the opportunity to integrate and overcome their displacement, and it is perhaps this perception that drives people in that direction. the downside, however, those non-camp settings, whether urban or igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 86 rural, can be hostile environments where idps encounter threats to their safety and wellbeing (global view, 2014 and national policy on internally displaced persons in nigeria, 2014). as at the close of 2013, it was noted that there were 12.5 million idps spread across 21 countries of sub-saharan africa. this figure represented more than a third of the global figure (global view, 2014). however, by the end of 2014, central africa became home to the some of the continent's most protracted and dynamic displaced population. the figure of idps in central africa alone at the end of 2014 was 7.9 million representing 70 percent of total displacement in africa. it spread across countries like burundi, central africa republic, democratic republic of congo, south sudan, and sudan. in the central africa republic and sudan, idps constitute about 10 percent of their respective population while in south sudan, the idps constitute up to 13 percent of the total population (global view, 2015). according to idmc report, as of december 2014, there were a total of 1.9 million idps in east africa spread across eritrea, ethiopia, kenya, somalia, uganda, and zimbabwe. the overall figure represents little change from 2013. somalia continues to host by far the largest displaced population in the region with 1.1 million idps, followed by ethiopia with 397,200 and kenya with 309,200. at least 446,250 people were newly displaced across the region during the year. as in 2013, new displacements only took place in ethiopia, kenya, and somalia, which continue to be affected by violence and conflict. no new displacement was reported in eritrea, uganda or zimbabwe. the overall figure is an increase of more than 132,400 on 2013, a significant spike in kenya outstripping a decrease in ethiopia. more than 220,000 people fled their homes in kenya in 2014, compared with 55,000 in 2013, mainly as a result of inter-communal violence. many forms of violence forced people to flee their homes in east africa in 2014, including armed conflict and struggles for political power. two other drivers, inter-communal violence and the activities of extremist groups, were also prevalent across various countries and often affected the same areas (global view, 2015). united nations guiding principles on internal displacement the guiding principle on internal displacement is a document developed in 1998 by the united nations office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs (ocha) which was meant to give an overview of the rights of idps and the responsibilities of national authorize and nonstate actors towards them ( ocha, 2008). even though not a binding document, the guiding principles igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 87 authority is reinforced by the wide international acceptance that they have received. they are recognized by states as "an important international framework for the protection of internally displaced persons" as well as serving as a "tool" and "standard" to guide governments international organizations and all other relevant actors in situations of internal displacement. it has been translated into over 40 languages. the overview of the guiding principles contained in the handbook for the protection of internally displaced persons which was compiled by global protection cluster working group gave a comprehensive review of this document (ocha, 2008). despite its comprehensive nature and wide acceptance amongst member countries of the united nations, many analysts opine that the guiding principles is not a legal document and as such cannot be enforced upon member countries. in a publication titled: support to internally displaced personslearning from evaluation, borton, smith, and otto (2015) summarized the insufficiency of the guiding principles to address problems of idps thus: ‘since the publication of the guiding principles in 1998 progress has been made on incorporating them into national legislation. in 2001 angola became the first country to incorporate the guiding principles into domestic law and several countries have followed suit or incorporated the guiding principles into their cooperation agreements with un agencies. however, there are many countries that have yet to incorporate the guiding principles. experience in angola and colombia shows that incorporating the guiding principles into domestic law does not necessarily lead to better government policies or to automatic improvements in the rights of idps, but at least there is legislation in place against which governments can be held to account' (borton, smith and otto, 2015). african union convention for the protection and assistance of internally displaced persons in africa the heads of states and government of member states of african union met on a special summit in kampala, uganda in october 2009, and adopted the african union convention for the protection and assistance of internally displaced persons in africa popularly referred to as the kampala convention (ferris, 2012). furthermore, ferris (2012) in her article titled: internal displacement in africa; an overview of trends and opportunities, elucidated the overall purpose of the convention thus: ‘the kampala convention comprehensively affirms the importance of addressing the protection and assistance of idps in all stages of displacement – from prevention of displacement to protection and assistance during displacement to durable solutions. significantly, the convention igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 88 incorporates the 1998 un guiding principles on internal displacement; it also recognizes that the guiding principles are an important international framework for the protection of internally displaced persons" which, together with international human rights and humanitarian law, protects "the inherent rights of internally displaced persons (ferris, 2012). the kampala convention consists of 23 articles, which covers a wide range of issues on displacement. it is worthy of note that article 5 specifically addresses obligation of state parties relating to protection and assistance as stated below: state parties shall bear the primary duty and responsibility for providing protection of and humanitarian assistance to internally displaced persons within their territory or jurisdiction without discrimination of any kind. states parties shall cooperate with each other upon the request of the concerned state party or the conference of state parties in protecting and assisting internally displaced persons. states parties shall respect the mandates of the african union and the united nations, as well as the roles of international humanitarian organizations in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, in accordance with international law. state parties shall take measures to protect and assist persons who have been internally displaced due to natural or humanmade disasters, including climate change. state parties shall assess or facilitate the assessment of the needs and vulnerabilities of internally displaced persons and of host communities, in cooperation with international organizations or agencies. states parties shall provide sufficient protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, and where available resources are inadequate to enable them to do so; they shall cooperate in seeking the assistance of international organizations and humanitarian agencies, civil society organizations and other relevant actors. such organizations may offer their services to all those in need. states parties shall take necessary steps to effectively organize, relief action that is humanitarian, and impartial in character, and guarantee security. state parties shall allow rapid and unimpeded passage of all relief consignments, equipment, and personnel to internally displaced persons. states parties shall also enable and facilitate the role of local and international organizations and humanitarian agencies, civil society organizations and other relevant actors, to provide protection and assistance to internally displaced persons. state parties shall have the right to prescribe the technical arrangements under which such passage is permitted. state parties shall uphold and ensure respect for the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence of humanitarian actors. state parties shall respect the right of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 89 internally displaced persons to peacefully request or seek protection and assistance, in accordance with relevant national and international laws, a right for which they shall not be persecuted, prosecuted or punished. states parties shall respect, protect and not attack or otherwise harm humanitarian personnel and resources or other materials deployed for the assistance or benefit of internally displaced persons. state parties shall take measures aimed at ensuring that armed groups active in conformity with their obligations under article. nothing in this article shall prejudice the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity of states (kampala convention, 2009). unlike the guiding principles on internal displacement, the kampala convention was developed to provide a legal framework that will be adopted by member states and binding upon them once it is effected into law. the condition for its entry into force is stated in article 17: ‘this convention shall enter into force thirty (30) days after the deposit of the instruments of ratification or accession by fifteen (15) member states’ (kampala convention, 2009). however, elizabeth ferris further noted as of april 2012 that the convention has been signed by 36 member states, and ratified by 17 although instrument for ratification had only been submitted by 11 member states. this meant that it wasn’t put into force as it will require 15 deposited ratification of the convention to do so (ferris, 2012). national policy on internally displaced persons in nigeria as part of her obligation to reflect the international human rights and humanitarian laws on idps, the federal government of nigeria passed the national policy on internally displaced person (npidp) in nigeria into law in july 2012. the mission statement of the policy is to provide a framework for national accountability and responsibility to protect and promote the rights of internally displaced persons, families, and host communities as well as adopt strategic measures for coordinated gender-sensitive response to all types and phases of internal displacement in nigeria (npidp, 2012). the overall goal of this policy is to strengthen institutional mechanisms and framework for the realization of the rights, dignity, and well-being of vulnerable populations through the prevention of the root causes, mitigation of the impact and achievement of durable solutions to internal displacement in nigeria (npidp, 2012). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 90 it, therefore, goes without saying that the policy was not just inspired by the united nations guiding principles on internal displacement and the kampala convention; but they also served as a template for the development of the policy. it emphasized on the rights and obligations of idps with specific emphasis to vulnerable groups like children, women, elderly, disabled persons and people living with human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) disease; and also outlined the obligations of the idps (npidp, 2012). the policy placed the primary responsibility for idps on the government and also outlined the responsibility of humanitarian agencies as well as host communities. in the policy document, the responsibility of the government for idps was drawn in line with international human right laws which impose on government the obligation to respect the human rights of internally displaced persons, i.e. to refrain from actively violating them; to protect such rights, i.e. to intervene and take protective action on behalf of the victims of internal displacement against threats by others or stemming from their displaced situation; and the obligation to fulfill these rights, i.e. to provide goods and services necessary to allow internally displaced persons to fully enjoy their rights; and to discharge these obligations without discrimination. the responsibilities of the government as outlined in the policy include: preventing all causes of displacement in nigeria and minimize its adverse effects; raising national awareness of the problems of displacement; collecting data on the number and conditions of internally displaced persons in nigeria, supporting training on the rights of internally displaced persons among all relevant government authorities, host communities and the idps themselves; creating a legal framework for upholding the rights of internally displaced persons including domestication and implementation of the kampala convention; implementing and continuously reviewing a national policy on internal displacement; creating the institutional framework for effectively coordinating all interventions targeting all phases of internal displacement in nigeria; empowering and ensuring that the national human rights commission, legal aid council, security agencies and other relevant agencies adequately integrate internal displacement into their work; ensuring the active participation of internally displaced persons in decision making; supporting durable solutions from prevention of displacement to long term development goals; allocating adequate resources to tackling the problem of internal displacement through the various intervening ministries, departments and agencies of government; seeking and strengthening cooperation with the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 91 international community when national capacity is insufficient to address the challenges of internal displacement; and putting in place measures to protect properties left behind by idps (npidp, 2012). it is interesting to note that the national policy went further to outline the framework and strategies for the implementation of the policy statement by designating specific tasks to specific government departments or agencies. health challenges of internally displaced persons in the last decade, a lot of international attention was placed on internally displaced persons with many agencies catering for their specific needs. however, it was observed that support to internally displaced persons, it was noted that very little is done on a needs assessment of idps before putting up interventions. even in areas where it is carried out, the quality of such assessments are often poor (borton smith and otto, 2015). in a study carried out by united states agency for international development (usaid) in 2015, on health and social needs amongst internally displaced persons in iraq, in 2013, 55.6% of them lived in dwellings of concrete block construction, 39.1% lived in dwellings made of mud while 4.5% lived in tents or caravans. 78% of the households claimed they were living in poverty while 19.6% said their economic status was average for iraq and 2.4% said theirs was good. 24.4% of households indicated that a clinic inside the settlement area. 39.9% of household said the nearest clinic was within 1 kilometer while 75.3% said it was within 2 kilometers. only 6.2% of households were 5 kilometers or more from the clinic. 85.7% of the household said they had visited the clinic when needed, however, only 45.6% said the services provided by the clinic was good enough or acceptable. the study further found out that the most pressing health needs of these idps were access to health facilities, sewage disposal, access to water supply and rodent control. when households were asked about illness in the last four weeks, 23.6% indicated diarrhea have been present in a family member, 5.3% indicated a respiratory tract infection had occurred, and 20.8% said a respiratory infection in combination with another condition had occurred. households were also asked if one of their members had been diagnosed with a non-communicable disease. there were 19.1% with a household member with diabetes, 30.1% with hypertension, and 4.4% with asthma. of persons with diabetes, 8.8% also had hypertension (usaid, 2015). in the 2015 humanitarian needs overview (hno) for nigeria, it stated that ‘boko haram insurgents have attacked numerous health facilities and health workers leaving large areas of borno, yobe, and adamawa states grossly underserved. almost 75% of the affected people do not have access to health care and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 92 remaining phcs have been overwhelmed by the recent influxes of idps. 80% of the displaced people do not have sustainable access to water, sanitation, and hygiene. poor hygiene behaviors are contributing to outbreaks of water-borne diseases, increase in mortality and morbidity. lack of adequate emergency sanitation facilities also places individuals, particularly women and children at increased risk of protection issues. with deliberate attacks on schools, abduction of girls and use of schools as idp camps, education has been seriously disrupted (united nations’ office for the co-ordination of humanitarian affairs, 2015). in another survey concluded in february 2015 by displacement tracking matrix (dtm) on idp households in the north eastern states of nigeria affected by the boko haram insurgency, the following findings were made: the most common types of shelter identified during site assessment were schools and government buildings. 37.8% of individuals live in tents, while 29.3% live in government buildings, and 24.3% reside in schools. the predominant majorities of sites (75%) do not have adequate lighting in the majority of communal points and do not have access to safe cooking facilities. in 13 sites the main water source is located on-site within a 20-minute walk and in 9 sites the main water source is located on site but requires more than a 20-minute walk. in 10 sites the main water source is located off-site. in 17 sites there were about 10-15 litres of water available per person and per day whereas 9 sites have less than 10 litres of water per person and per day. households in the majority of sites (29 out of 33) reported that the drinking water is potable and households in 27 sites reported no complaints about the quality of the drinking water. in the sites assessed there is on average one toilet per 368 individuals when the sphere standards recommend 20 persons per toilets. the availability of toilets is particularly critical in borno where there is one toilet per 472 individuals. the majority of sites (25 out of 33) have separate male and female toilets and separate bathing areas (24 sites). the households in the majority of sites (26 out of 33) reported "not so good condition" of the latrines. households in 20 sites have access to food distribution. in terms of frequency, 13 sites receive food distribution every day; another 13 sites receive irregular food distribution. in 3 sites (all located in adamawa) individuals have never received food distribution. households in all sites with the exception of one reported having no supplementary feeding for children or breastfeeding mothers. screening for malnutrition has not been conducted in 27 sites. eighteen (18) sites do not have regular access to medicine. in 19 sites, health facilities are located on-site within 3 km walk. in addition, 18 sites do not have a referral system for idps to be transferred to medical facilities in case of necessity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 93 malaria, cough, and fever are the most prevalent health problem identified on sites (international organization for migration, 2015). methodology the consent of the yobe state emergency management agency that serves as coordinators of the camp was also sought. the consent of the responders was also sought before administering questionnaires. while the study design was a cross-sectional descriptive study. the sources of information for this research were primary and secondary respectively. the primary sources of information were direct observation, focus group discussion and questionnaire were used in this research so that the data obtained could complement one another thereby making it more reliable. direct observation method involved visual inspection of the camp facilities like housing, toilets, water sources, drainages, clinic and open spaces using the designed check-list. also, pictures were taken to boost the clarity of visual observation. focus group discussion was organized involving two health personnel, security personnel, two leaders from idps and the researcher where issues bordering on the composition and organization of the camp as well as health care in the camp were discussed. two sets of questionnaires were administered at the camp: one to the idps and the other to the health officials. the idps were organized into a social structure with the smallest unit being a household. it was assumed that vulnerable members of the same household receive the very similar treatment and are subjected to similar health risks, thus household was used as the basis of administering the questionnaires rather than individuals avoid unnecessary duplication. a member of the randomly selected household was chosen to administer the questionnaire upon (usually a housewife of the household who falls within the scope of this study). the questionnaire was administered by the researcher using an interpreter and health officials of the camp (who didn't need an interpreter). the second type of questionnaire was solitary and was directed to the health officials of the camp. it was responded to by the head of the camp health clinic, abubakar danladi. while the secondary sources of information used in this research were the official demographic records of the camp, the routine record of the camp clinic and the comprehensive report of the clinic from its inception in march 2015 to october ending 2015. the study population is finite. there were 3011 registered idps in pompomari camp divided into 502 household units. it is assumed that members of the same household units experience similar conditions and risks. thus the household units were sampled and one member of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 94 the household unit (usually the housewife) was selected for administering of a questionnaire. the total number of households in the camp n = 502. using the finite correlation, the adequate sample size (n) was determined thus: n = n0/ (1 + n0/n) 1 where no = z2poqo d2 z = standard normal deviate at 95% confidence interval which corresponds to 1.96. po = proportion of idps that are vulnerable from previous studies = 0.8 qo = complimentary probability of po (1po) = 0.2 d = degree of precision assuming a 5% margin of error no = 1.962 x 0.8 x 0.2 0.052 no = 246 n = 246 / (1 + 246/502) = 165 the attrition rate is 10% of sample size of this study 16.5. therefore the adequate sample size of this study is 165 + 16.5 = 181.5. sampling technique was simple random sampling was used to select one representative of a household in the camp. care was taken not to select two members of the same household. housewives of selected households were the preferred choice for administering questionnaires for the study. while the data collected using the various tools were harmonized and analyzed statistically with reference to international minimum standards. findings of the study the vulnerable group which consists of children and women were the majority in the camp. children made up 61% while women of childbearing age made up 22% of the idp population in the camp. this finding is consistent with international organization for migration report (february 2015) conducted across households of idps in five affected states in nigeria where they found out that children made up 56% of the total idp population. the children and women in this study made up 83% of the total idps which slightly above the united nations human for refugees commission (unchr) estimate of 7080% (unchr,2014). there were no available records of sex distribution of the idps in the camp and that of the respondents in this study was not used. this is because one respondent was selected per household and most of the respondents were igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 95 women, thus not a true reflection of the sex distribution of the idp population. the average number of persons per household in this study (6.0 persons per household). this is similar to the value obtained by usaid on idps in iraq (5.4 persons per household). this could explain why it was difficult for the relevant authorities to provide tents to every household unit in the camp. smaller household units tend to occupy the tents while large households lived along with others in large classrooms (olagunji, 2006; fagen, 2011; and usaid, 2015). the study found out that idps in the camp have regular access to portable water which was situated within the camp within a 5-minute walk. the idps were also satisfied with the water quality and quantity. the reason for the availability of water in the camp was the easy access to municipal services as the camp is situated within the state capital. this finding is similar to that of round ii report where the majority of the camps (29 out of 33) had access to potable water with about two-thirds of these sites located within the camp (international organization for migration, 2015). while the finding of this study is in congruence with that of round ii report earlier stated, it apparently contradicts hno report which stated that about 80% of idps in nigeria do not have sustainable access to water, sanitation and hygiene (lidstone, 2007; norwegian refugees council, 2014; and united nations’ office for the co-ordination of humanitarian affairs, 2015). the findings in the two studies above can, however, be reconciled with findings of this research. the hno report was done on the entire idp population in nigeria. the same report also states that 87% of all idps in nigeria live with host communities thereby stretching out available municipal services to the host communities like water and sanitation. according to the report, only 13% of the total idps lived in organized camps that are coordinated by government agencies and nongovernmental organizations. the round ii report was conducted on the 13% of idps living in the camps. this implies that idps in the camp have more sustainable access to portable water than those living with host communities. as there were no incinerators or waste bins fixed at strategic positions within the camp, wastes generated from the camp are dumped in open spaces at some corners, and later burnt when accumulated. there are no drainages constructed to allow passage of wastewater. rather, wastewater is poured on the floor randomly. these findings are consistent with the findings of depoortee and brown (2006), durosaro and ajiboye (2011), tajudeen and adebayo (2013), and hall (2014) that the average of one toilet for every 81 idps was far below the sphere standard of one toilet per 20 persons for a camp, yet better than the round igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 96 ii report where camps in borno state had as worse as one toilet per 472 idps. the relevant authorities might not be aware of the standard ratio for constructing toilets in camps. a similar argument also follows for housing. open drainage and open dumping of refuse in the camp were obvious impediments to whatever vector control measure instituted by the health officials in. this is because they serve as good sites for vectors of diseases like flies, mosquitoes, rodents, and cockroaches to breed. there was a good measure to prevent malaria by giving every household in the camp adequate numbers of insecticide-treated nets to use. however, the compliance of the idps could not be ascertained. also, there was no provision of insecticides or rodenticides to the idps but there was regular cleaning of open drainages and burning of accumulated refuse. overall, some measures of vector control were put in place in the camp but a lot needs to be done for improvement. the food distribution in the camp was impressive. the sema was responsible for supplying food items which are given to the representatives of the six clans on a daily basis. the different clans are responsible for processing, cooking and distributing their food to their members. every idp in the camp is entitled to three meals in a day. however, there is no supplementary feeding for children or breastfeeding mothers. these findings seem better than the international organization for migration report (2015) in which 13 sites had access to food items daily while 13 sites had access to food but not regularly. while another 3 sites had never received food items from camp officials. the food distribution in the camp does not include protein from animal sources like beef, mutton or fish, which are essential for growth and repair of damaged body tissues, especially in children. individual households are with the initiative to complement their diets with protein sources which majority of them cannot afford. the good health service delivery in the camp could be attributed to the adequate political will of the yobe state government, situation of the camp in damaturu, the capital of yobe state, constant supervision by relevant health authorities and the fact that the health officials in the camp were also displaced persons affected by the insurgency. it is, however, worthy of note that the commonest diseases in the camp were malaria, diarrheal diseases and respiratory tract infections which have a direct relationship with the sanitation, hygiene and housing pattern found in the camp. conclusion igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 97 this research was able to find out that 83% of the idps in the camp were of the vulnerable group and were predisposed to health risks like inadequate sanitation and hygiene, inadequate vector control and sub-optimum nutrition. however, they had an adequate water supply, immunization, housing, health officials, drugs and good referral system for severe cases. overall, the research was able to establish that the camp officials grossly satisfied principle 18 but did not satisfy principle 19 of the united nations guiding principles on internal displacement. the research was unable to compare the camp condition to those of neighbouring ones and was unable to assess the nutritional status of children under 5 years amongst the idps. more researches need to be done in these areas. recommendations i) the yobe state government and state emergency management agency should keep up the hard task of providing optimum conditions for idps in the camp so as to reduce their vulnerabilities to health risk. ii) health education should be made a priority in the camp so that idps will be taught more about environmental health, sanitation, hygiene and reproductive health and services available at the camp clinic. iii) the officials of the yobe state emergency management agency should make it an obligation to familiarize themselves on the united nations guiding principles on internal displacement, resolutions of the kampala convention and national policy on internally displaced persons in nigeria with the aim of applying these in the management of idp camps. they should also ensure those managing the camps are taught about these principles. iv) more research on the needs assessment of internally displaced persons by indigenous researchers should be encouraged and even sponsored by agencies responsible for idps. contributions to knowledge i) a modest attempt that provided a systematic procedure for health needs assessment in idp camps. ii) location of idp camps within proximity to the seat of power and use of camp officials who are related to and familiar with the idps go a long way in providing essential services to the idps in the camp. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 98 references borton, j., smith, m., otto, r. (2015). support for internally displaced persons; learning from evaluation. synthesis report of a joint evaluation programme: 46-55. depoortere, e. and brown, v. (2006). rapid health assessment of refugees or displaced population. medecins sans frontierers: 1-16. durosaro, i. a. and ajiboye, s.k (2011). problems and coping strategies of internally displaced adolescents in jos metropolis, nigeria. international journal of humanities and social science, 1(20):2-5 fagen, p. w. (2011). refugees and idps after conflict: why they do not go home. united states institute of peace special report: 3-9. ferris, e. (2012). internal displacement in africa: an overview of trends and opportunities. a paper presented at the ethiopian community development council annual conference: 6-12. national policy on internally displaced persons (2012). federal government of nigeria: 16-42. global overview (2014). people internally displaced by conflict and violence. international displacement monitoring committee (idmc): 8-64 global overview (2015). people internally displaced by conflict and violence. international displacement monitoring committee (idmc): 18-40 hall, s. (2014). displacement dynamics: idp movement tracking, needs and vulnerability analysis, herat and helm. international organisation on migration, kabul: 16-18. international organization on migration (2015). displacement tracking matrix round ii report on nigeria: 2-11. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 99 kampala convention (2009). african union convention for the protection and assistance of internally displaced persons in africa. african union idp convention assembly, 7-9. lidstone, r. (2007). health and mortality of internally displaced persons: reviewing the data and defining directions for research study. university of bern project on internal displacement, 1-10. national policy on internally displaced persons (2014). poll report. special edition poll report on idps in nigeria: 1-11. norwegian refugee council (2014). nigeria: multiple displacement crises overshadowed by boko haram. www.internal-displacement.org united nations’ office for the co-ordination of humanitarian affairs (2008). guiding principles on internal displacement, 1-8. www.ocha.unog.ch/humanitarianreform united nations’ office for the co-ordination of humanitarian affairs (2015). nigeria: humanitarian need overview: 3-15 www.ocha.unog.ch/humanitarian-reform olagunji, o. (2006). management of internal displacement in nigeria. a project thesis of brandeis university: 1-4, 43-45. tajudeen, a.o., adebayo, f. o. (2013). issues of refugees and displaced persons in nigeria. journal of sociological research. vol. 4 no. 1. united nations humanitarian commission refugees (2007). handbook for the protection of internally displaced persons. global protection cluster working group: 2-17. usaid ( 2015). health and social needs among internally displaced persons (idps) in iraq. assessment report. 1-6 microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 5 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 1 asouzu’s being-in-control (ima-onwe onye) by leonard nwoye department of philosophy faculty of arts university of calabar, calabar abstract this paper was written to examine and explain even better asouzu’s being-in-control (ima-onwe-onye) concept. professor innocent i. asouzu in his complementary ontology envisions a world where actors are completely in control (ima-onwe-onye), ultimately guided in thought and deed by complementary mindset. this paper did not criticize asouzu’s concept of being-in-control; it did not adjoin issues to it, rather it explained in plain words, made clear, elucidated and justified this great principle for better understanding of ima-onwe-onye principle and complimentary ontology. keywords: being-in-control, complimentary ontology introduction professor innocent i. asouzu in his complementary ontology envisions a world where the actors (human beings) are ultimately guided in thought (first) and deed (second) by a complementary mindset. this is a situation where actors will come to realize that they are only a fraction of a whole. at this point existence or interpretation of reality becomes “that anything that exits serves a missing link of reality”. in this case all stakeholders, actors, come to embrace the fact that the answers they expect can never be obtained unless they are geared towards a mutual complementarities of all possible relations (ibuanyidanda, 65). it is for this reason asouzu developed the method and principle called complementary reflection in and beyond african philosophy. for this method, all aspects of reality are in a relationship of mutual joyous complementary service (the method and principles, 147). with all the above in place, asouzu is agitating for the necessity of a noetic propaedeutic. he believes that the problem is with the mind; therefore, save the mind, you save the manfor there is a need to train the mind towards the acquisition of the complementary mind set. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 2 the above background leads to asouzu’s being-in-control which is the core responsibility of this research. the ibuanyidana philosophy conveys some special facts and teachings on how actors can be interpreted to as being-incontrol. our task in this work therefore is to examine asouzu’s ima-onwe-onye (beingin-control), to completely determine its existential meaning and implications. we shall consider and deduce what deposition is expected of an actor, when designated to being-in-control. possible applications of this concept in the likes of being-in-control and absolute self expression, being-in-control, absolute power, religion and idea of god, being-in-control, the idea of god and the joy of being (jide k’ iji); being-in-control and contemporary religious experience in africa, limits of communication vis-à-vis ibuanyidanda; being-in-control general laws, super maxims and the african condition, shall be consider for better clarification and understanding of the essence of reality. a brief exposition on the theories of being being has been defined as a state of existence or reality. it is an extremely broad concept encompassing objectives and subjective features of reality and existence. (wikipedia) the concept is often used when trying to explain what should count for the existent. due to the controversial nature of the concept, it has been listed as one of the fundamental problems of philosophy – the most popular of them. many philosophers have written copiously on the subject. parmenides in his wisdom understood being to be permanent, one, unity external and real (kanu, 5, 10). couple of years from when parmenides defined being as one and permanent, heraclitus conceived of being in a state of flux (ozumba, 63). by the above heraclitus believes that being is changing and ephemeral. there is a problem with this view. critics have judged from the background that sometimes we experience that some aspects of physical reality remain the same, some other aspects changes. thus heraclitus may not be said to be accurately right. plato tried to attempt a solution to this problem by interpreting being as multiple but existing in their pure and real form in the world of ideas. plato in his popular theory of the “word forms” and “world of senses” articulated that reality exists in the real and it duplicates or copies appear to us in the physical world (kanu, 10). the physical world is a mere poor copy of the real. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 3 aristotle on the other hand opined that being is temporal, having changing and enduring aspects. that part of reality that changes from time to time are believed to be the clan that constitute the “form” and that aspect of reality that defines enduring parts of our worlds, constitute the matter. he defined being as having substantial and accidental parts, but submits that reality in itself stays at the substantial realm. aristotle taught that being in its purest form belongs to the region of substance or essence. a follow up of aristotle are the scholastics. he defined being as having substantial and accidental part, but submit that reality in itself stays at the substance realm. aristotle taught being or reality in the true sense of the word, belongs to the region of substance or essence brief exposition of the in the wisdom of the scholastics being is everything that exists and derives its existence from the external being-god. they agree with aristotle that being has the changing and the enduring aspect. for them, god is the only unchanging being while other beings are termporal. considering the above, we can therefore say that the term “being” can be seen as a standing form of existence whether permanent or ephemeral. other philosophers like heideggar, sarte william of ockam, alexiles munong, husserl, hagel, bradley etc., and many more in our contemporary time, like quine and asouzu philosophized on the meaning of being. their views of the concept vary depending on the perspective from which they are viewing it. asouzu in his wisdom sustains a definition of being that is quite unique. he believes that being is complementary. in ibuanyidanda ontology asouzu believes that “…that person is to be pitied who thanks that a subject can afford to live alone, outside of the legitimacy provided by the mutual complementary relationship between all missing links and call this existence (ibuanyidanda, 10). in other words, being as being is complementary. his point of emphasis is the relationship at work in being. within the context of the new complementary ontology, the negation of being (that accident can be do away with if we will) is the capacity not to be in any form of relationship. reality or being in its purest form is the moment of mutual intrinsic complementary realities. asouzu’s being-in-control: an overview asouzu believes that reality cannot be apprehended without a system or method. when thinkers or scientists embark on a strenuous exercise as to craft a unique igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 4 bridge through which one can embrace reality, such people are said to be embarking on the art of providing a system and a method needed to connect them to reality. this is what he calls ikwa ogwe (ikwa oge, 5). in other words “…methodological system approaches enables us to follow step by step the mode of reflection of a thinker or the strategies a thinker devises to penetrate reality “(ikwa oge, 6). thus, asouzu in a mission to create a bridge (method and principles) through which we can penetrate reality articulated the ibuanyidanda principle and other philosophical explanation of reality in its purest form. the concept of being-in-control is a state of mind that can only be achieved through a mental activity called noetic propaedeutic. before the articulation of this concept of a complementary system of thought asouzu believes that human nature was under attack from different societal forces. these forces include challenges of the triadic forgetfulness, the varied character of human relative condition, challenges of ethnicity, globalization and the challenges of a bifurcating type of ontology etc. these challenges and more have attacked human’s existential condition and effected seriously its interpretation of reality the correct way. thus complementary reflection emerged as a system with its unique method of investigation to help researchers acquire and master the skill needed in the use and application of the method and principles in their own independent reflections to interpret reality. being-in-control, expresses the state of human existential condition where an actor within this context of the new complementary system of thought has acquired the proper education on what is required of him to live above all human ambivalent existential situations. it defines, the man who in all matters of ontology, not only grasps being or the foundation on which all existent realities are erected, but also one whose mind has been empowered and re-empowered to be in charge in all existential situations which are ambivalent and as such tension-laden (ibuanyidanda, 56). when an actor sees being as an expression of missing links, it is said to being-in-control. this is the point in one’s existential condition where he is totally free from the phenomenon of concealment (ihe mkpu chi anya) and all ambivalence situations. being-in-control vis-à-vis the concept of absolute power religion and idea of god igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 5 in order for asouzu to make a better teaching of his being-in-control theory, he devised a means, very philosophical, by applying it to different fields of human existential conditions. thus in this section, we shall examine the various ways asouzu explained further the being-in-control theory and its application in some sectors of our existential condition starting with the challenge of absolute power, religion, idea of god, general laws and end with super-maxims and the african condition. under that concept of being-in-control, absolute power, religion and idea of god. asouzu discovered a problem. that problem is the situation where the world is threatened by human endemic thirst for power and absolute power over other human beings. this is what he calls the danger of being-in-control in most negative and vile form. according to him this negative version of being-incontrol is existence in our systems, today where conflicts are instigated, and human beings manipulate nations, incite against each other in view of creating enabling atmosphere to control them and demonstrate one’s position as superior over many others. in connection to practical example, asouzu opined that united nations and most of its organs can be manipulated, intimidated to submission by those who think that they have “absolute power”. this same problem and challenge finds expression in the issue of religion and the idea of god. in dealing with the idea of god and the face of religion today, asouzu discovered that religion has become one of the most important instruments of manipulation and control. the problem is that actors in this field in trying to perform religious activities have allowed themselves to come under attack by human ambivalent situation which is tumultuous and vicissitudinous. this existential darkness makes actors make interpretative the idea of god that is noncomplementary in nature. by their definition of the absolute being, it is obvious that they have no idea of the mean of being which is complementary. this is why asouzu opine that anything that exists serves a missing link of reality. but the idea of god projected today pictures reality as bifurcating and polarized against unity. ibuanyidanda philosophy assumes that any man who carries out religious activities in the vilest moods of seeking to salvage humanity from the grips of darkness and forces of evil and destruction, which is nothing other than their own very selves and their ideas should be pitied for oma gi own ya (not in control). thus the call to adopt ibuanyidanda principle informs actors that: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 6 god is absolute no spatio-temporal category has capacity to depict the mode of his operation as an efficient cause in immensity of his being. thus let this claim that i know god more than you be discouraged. any religion that seeks to uphold the idea of god that heat up ethnic and tribal sentiments, seeks to polarizes the world and set nations against the other has lost control of itself. being-in-control, general laws, super maxims and the african condition another difficulty asouzu attempted to solve in the comprehension of reality includes the idea of general super-maxims and the african condition. the mind perceives maxims according to asouzu as universal imperatives having the character of law. (ibuanyidanda, 358) example of such self-evident premises is igbo’s “the nearer the better and the safer” super-maxim. this axiom explains prevalent mindset of most actors in contentions situations within traditional african communities, where a nearer neighbor is perceived as unharmful and other as harmful. by the above an average african with his unrefined mindset will by all means feel safer to have deals with anybody from his clan and feels unsaved when encountering others outside his/her clan. the respect accorded to such maxims is evident in the names or expressions like: umunnaka, (kindred are greater) nwannemuka (my brother or sister is greater) etc. this is where the problem lies. for asouzu, this super-maxim is nothing but an expression that shows or reviews the human consciousness still at the level of causal work immanent pre-deterministic con-commitant commitment. the cause of such commitment is as a result of the challenges arising from ones overhaul ambivalent situation prevalent in the society. but, the principle of being-incontrol advocates, we should grow pass the level under this universal weakness endemic in human nature. the answer or way still remains the programme of noetic propaedeutic. while intercultural philosophy advocates for change of dialogue ibuanyidanda advocates a change of mind. thus: exponents of ibuanyidanda, which this paper supports and shares there view opines a change of mind through rigorous systematic mind training in ibuanyidanda ontology until one begins to live above causal world immanent pre-deterministic concomitant mode of thinking prevalent in the society. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 7 conclusion a closer look upon the language expression of this paper reviews the fact that the paper agrees with ibuanyidanda principle as vibrant system of thought or a bridge for researchers seeking answers about the nature of reality or being. we know of hegelism, kantian categorical imperative and likes, with their prospects and impediments, we see ibuanyidanda principle as exposing a new prospect in the system of methods for better understanding of reality. the theory of being-in-control each time i study it looks like an abstract conjecture without existence implication. again i understand that its only people who allows the causal world immanent pre-deterministic concomitant mode of thinking prevalent in the societies to over whelm them may find it difficult to under ibuanyidanda principles. i am not such a person. a clear examination of the ibuanyidanda being-in-control reviews the principle as a tool for rescuing humanity. humanity, full of manipulators flooded with phenomenon of concealment (ihe mkpu chi anya), which makes it difficult for actors to transcend the limits imposes by maxims has bifurcated and polarized reality at its detriment. this is why principle of being-in-control explains better the way out for actors to attain salvation through noetic propaedentic, a way out of the paradoxes and the tension surrounding reality. in conclusion, the way out for humanity in answer to predicating phenomenon of concealment (ihe mkpu chi anya), unintended ethnocentric commitment and like is mind training. thus, let all actors accept the tenant of this principle and decide to work by it, so that the world will be a better place. references aristotle metaphysica, translated into english under the editorship of w.d.kos, m.a. hon. ll.d (edin) oxford. oxford at the clarendon press 1926. online edition. asouzu i. effective leadership and the ambivalence of human interest: the nigerian paradox in a complementary perspective. calabar: university press, 2004. asouzu i. the method and principles of reflection in and beyond african philosophy. zurich: lit verlag gmh & co.kg wien, 2005. asouzu i. ibuanyidanda new complementary ontology. zurich: lit verlag gmh & co.kg wien.2007. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 8 asouzu i. ibuaryidanda (special edition). calabar: university of calabar press. 2013. asouzu i. “ibuarnyidanda and the philosophy of essence” inaugural lecture. calabar: university of calabar press, 2011. asouzu i. ibuaryidanda (complementary reflectin) and some basic philosophical problems in african today. zurich: lit verlag gmbh & co. kg wien, 2013. asouzu i. ikwa ogwe. calabar: saesprint publishers, 2007. asouzu i. “a brief outline of the method and principle of ibuanyidanda and philosophy complement reflection” (ed) ozumba and ojong. the mirror of philosophy. 2014. asouzu i. the method and principle of complementary reflection in an beyond african philosophy.calabar: university of calabar press 2014. “being” wikipedia. np; nd, web. 21 feb. 2016. kanu, ikechukwu anthony. (2006). “igwebuike as the expressive modality of being in igbo ontology”. a paper presented at the hummingbird publication and research international multidisciplinary conference held at the kwara state university, university main auditorium, malete, kwara state, 30th june. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria”. published in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2. no. 2. march, pp.1-12. ochulor c. l. philosophy: a fundamental and basic science calabar: focus prints and publishers. 2008. ozumba g. o. “the fundamental problems of philosophy” (ed) udungwomen and ozumba. a concise. introduction to philosophy and logic. 2005 omeregbe j. a. simplified history of western philosophy. lagos: joja press limited, 2009. uduigwomen a. f. introducing ethics trends, problems and perspectives. calabar: jochrisam publishers 2006. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.1 no. 1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 1 african traditional democracy by kanu, ikechukwu anthony, o.s.a., ph.d augustinian institute makurdi, benue state ikee_mario@yahoo.com abstract african traditional political systems have often been described as either monarchical or aristocratic. hardly is there any reference to democracy. in fact, many european and african political thinkers see democracy as a system of government that began in greece and was imported through europe to africa. contrary to these opinions, this piece, using the phenomenological and analytical methods of inquiry, argues that democracy is a cherished african value, which existed in pre-colonial africa as a pattern of african administration. it avers that democracy was already in africa before the encounter of africa with the west, and thus, that africa is not a passive recipient of democracy. in this study, the yoruba and igbo democratic models were employed. keywords: african, democracy, traditional, igbo, yoruba, political, heritage, cultural. introduction a cursory glance at the historical evolution of political systems reveals that over the years, a couple of political organizations have emerged distinguished by the different kinds of constitutions that define responsibilities and privileges. among these is monarchy, a system of government in which the king is considered an excellent man who surpasses all citizens with knowledge and virtue; there is also aristocracy, a government by a few men of virtue; from aristocracy has emerged polity, a government by the middle class, moderately rich and of good behaviour. we also have oligarchy, a government by unscrupulous rich men who have no regard for the poor. different from these political systems is democracy. however, when african traditional political systems are discussed, they are often described as monarchical or aristocratic as in the case of the western part of nigeria, or republican as the eastern part of nigeria has been classified. this is a perspective that is evident in arogbofa (2007) who argued that these traditional political systems africa had no place for democracy. european and african political thinkers see democracy as a system of government that began in greece and was imported from europe to africa. this piece argues contrary to the opinion of arogbofa and his ‘likeminds’ that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 2 democracy is a cherished african value, which existed in pre-colonial africa as a pattern of african administration. it further argues that democracy was already in africa before the encounter of africa with the west, and thus, that africa is not a passive recipient of democracy. to substantiate this thought, the political systems of administration obtainable among the traditional yoruba, particularly, the oyo empire, and igbo of eastern nigeria would be studied for the unveiling of the democratic structures of the yoruba and igbo political-cultural heritage. however, what is democracy? understanding democracy the word democracy comes from two greek words: demos which means people and kratein which means to rule. put together in greek, it means the power of the people. it is in this regard that lincoln (cited by salami 2004) described democracy as “the government of the people, by the people and for the people under the rule of law” (p. 316). in the contention of gyekye (1997) and busia (1975), the concept “the people” points to the power of the people to choose who to rule them in accordance with the general good of the society, and that they set up, by themselves, the constitutional rules, principles and procedures of governance. carter (1978) described democracy as a system that is altered by time and experience, always changing, infinite in its variety, sometimes it is turbulent, however, still valuable since it has been tested by adversity. as a political structure, salami (2006) avers that democracy emphasizes the sharing of power among people of various categories. for brecht (1959), it emphasizes that values should not be forced upon any people against their will, and stipulates liberty, separation of power and the sovereignty of the people. thus, sabine (1973) avers that it must involve mutual concession and compromise as a way of arriving at decisions. from these perspectives, chidili (2012) avers that three salient points are noticeable from the definition of democracy: a. that democratic government is not monotypic but diverse in nature; b. that even in its diversity, it is changing; c. it is strictly based on the rule of law. from these noticeable points, chidili concludes that the mutability of the capacity of democracy provides elbowroom for it to be an adaptable system of governance that can exist anywhere in the world, including africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 3 the yoruba traditional political organization the yoruba traditional political organization that would be under consideration in this section is the oyo empire. as a kingdom, it reached its heights in the 18th century, however, was founded in the 14th century about 1300 bc by oduduwa who settled in ille ife during the 14th century. according to smith (1969), ife was considered the religious center of the world and the site where human beings were first created. before his arrival, ayittey (2006 and 2012) avers that there were already about 13 semi-autonomous settlements in ille ife who had organized themselves into a loose confederacy. when oduduwa came, he subjugated them and imposed his authority over them. as of the time, it was the largest empire in yoruba land to exist and the most important and authoritative of all the early yoruba principalities. because of the wealth of military skill, the authority of the oyo empire was felt beyond the yoruba states to as far as the fon of the then dahomey kingdom. by the 19th century, the oyo empire began to collapse as a result of administrative disagreements among the leaders. gradually the provinces began to revolt as the centre lost its ability to govern. by 1888 it had collapsed and became a protectorate of great britain. a. the alaafin: in the oyo empire, the alaafin was the sole voice of authority, however, with limitations. before the alaafin can take any valid decision, he must consult with the oyomesi. he had a large amount of ritual restrictions which limited his authority. for instance, he was not allowed to leave the palace except during important festivals. this made it easy for those who were vying for his position to take over power. the alaafin was also a spiritual leader who was regarded as a representative from the spirit world. he was, therefore, required to devote himself to the worship of orisa. within the place, he worked together with the ona efa, the empire’s chief justice, the otun efa, the priest of shango shrine, and osi efa, the minister of finance. b. the oyomesi: the oyomesi consists of a council of the heads of the seven non-royal wards of the city of oyo, though sometimes six in number. they guided the king’s decisions in many issues, such as military action, religious festivals etc., and had the responsibility of checking the excessive exercise powers of the alaafin. the leader of the oyomesi was called bashorun, the authority he controlled rivaled that of the alaafin. he was the commander-in-chief of the army of the empire and presided at religious festivals, thus giving him a religious and militaristic edge over the alaafin. one of the most important religious celebrations of the empire was the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 4 orun, and during this ceremony, the bashorun had the power to depose the alaafin by causing him to commit suicide. usually the bashorun would present the alaafin with a calabash which signifies that the oyomesi and the ancestors have lost confidence in him. during battles, the position of the bashorun became higher and more important than that of the alaafin; he sat in a stool that stood higher than that of the alaafin. c. the ogboni: the ogboni is another important political structure in the then oyo empire, and in fact the second council in the oyo empire that helped in checks and balances of authority. the council was composed of the representative of the various lineages, and was headed by the olowu. they had the primary responsibility of checking the excessive powers of the bashorun. before a person can be appointed as a bashorun, the ogboni must issue their approval. d. are-ona-kakanfo: this was the military commander of the empire who was never expected to lose any war. if he loses a war, he had the options of either committing suicide or going on exile. he was responsible to the alaafin and bashorun. he was appointed by the alaafin, however, promoted by the oyomesi. e. the aremo: the aremo was the crown prince. while the alaafin remained in the palace as the king of the palace, the aremo, who is the first son of the king was for the general public. the aremo could move out of the palace as he had no ritual restrictions on his movements. during the early stages of the empire, when an alaafin died, the aremo took over, however, it was later discovered that some aremo killed their father in order to ascend the throne. a law was therefore, made that when an alaafin dies, the aremo should commit suicide. f. the babalawo: the babalawo was the spiritual guide of the alaafin. although he was not required to be part of the council, he was very often consulted to provide spiritual advice. his relevance is based on the belief that he was in direct communication with the spirits, and thus, his advice is considered a divine knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 5 the oyo empire survived on this political system until its collapse and the advent of europeans. the igbo traditional political organization two theories have emerged in response to the question of the origin of the igbo. there is, the ‘northern centre theory’ which, according to onwuejeogwu (1987) posits that the igbos migrated from five northern centre areas, namely: the semetic centre of the near and far east, the hermatic centre around egypt and northern africa, the western sahara, the chadian centre and the nok centre. the second historical hypothesis is the ‘centre theory of igbo heartland’. according to isichei (1976), the early migrations of the proto-igbo originated from the areas termed as the igbo heartland, such as: owerri, okigwe, orlu and awka divisions. according to shaw (1969), afigbo (1981), anozie (2002) and chikwendu (2002), the dispersal of the igbos from the igbo heartland dates back to the time between 2555 bc and 800 ad. whatever theory is adopted, ajaegbo (2014) avers that as the igbos dispersed and permanent settlements developed, communal living led to the emergence of economic, social and political institutions. from these settlements emerged leaders who became centres of authority, as social groups developed, effective administrative systems emerged to regulate social relations. this was founded on egalitarian and democratic structures. the political organization was constituted by different levels of autonomous democratic governments which exercised political, social and economic control over the lives of the people. these autonomous democratic governments include the nuclear family, the patrilineage (umunna), the maximal lineage and the village-group assembly. a. the nuclear family was the bedrock of social and political organization, referred to as ezi na uno. it consisted of a man, his wives, his married and unmarried sons, unmarried daughters and the servants or slaves, if any. the father was the leader of the household and was in possession of the family ofo, which is the symbol of authority, justice, law and uprightness. the father was responsible for directing the affairs of the family, however, it was done in consultation with his senior sons and wives. b. the patrilineage or extended family is the next unit of political organization after the nuclear family, which is referred to as the umunna. it is composed of a number of families that have a common eponymous father. uchendu (1965) defines the ununna as “a territorial kin-based unit igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 6 which subdivides into compounds (ezi obi)” (p. 40). the head of this political unit was the oldest male member of the extended family also known as the di-okpara and had the ofo of the extended family in his possession. this according to ogbukagu (1997) is based on the gerontocratic nature of the igbo system of governance, even though isichei (1976) avers that the important place given to elders does not mean that all elders have equal rights to speak. according to opone (2012), the leader is usually a grandfather or great grandfather. in the contention of olisa (2002) and nwosu (2002), the di-okpara presided over meetings, sacrifices, issues of inheritance, settlement of dispute among members of the extended family, marriage, allocation of lands and the representation of the family with other extended families. in decision making, the di-okpara worked in consultation with the other heads of the extended family who constituted the extended family assembly. decisions were arrived at through dialogue, consensus (nkwekolita), compromise, cooperation and consultation (igba izu). c. the maximal lineage is the next biggest socio-political organization after the extended family. this is a referred to as idumu in igbo, which means quarter. it is made up of a number of extended families who are linked by a common putative ancestor. this major lineage is headed by the oldest male among them. he holds the ofo of the major lineage and presided at functions concerning the major lineage and was considered as a sacred person with taboos and rituals accompanying the violation of his authority. in his exercise of authority over the major lineage, ajaegbo (2014) avers that he worked in consultation with a large assembly comprising of senior household men, titled men, priests, men of honour, intelligence and wealth etc. d. the village-group assembly was the biggest socio-political group referred to as ogbe (village). ajaegbo (2014) observed that it was composed of a number of major lineages who are descended from a common ancestor or different putative ancestors. onwuejeogwu (1972) refers to the ogbe as federation of autonomous settlements, and by ozimiro (1972) as wards. the assembly was the highest authority with its members being senior males of households, professional hunters, priests, honourable and wealthy men, warriors, titled men, medicine men, etc. the leader of this assembly varied from one village to another, in some it was headed by the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 7 council of elders: a group of wise, knowledgeable, courageous and transparent men, maquet (1972) refers to their authority as “a collegial authority exercised by the chiefs of the various lineages living in the village” (p. 57). in some, the oldest member of the council of elders referred to as the diokpa, and in this case, he becomes the custodian of the ofo. the supreme head of the assembly took decisions in consultation with the constituent members of the village assembly. consultation, consensus and compromise were necessary elements in resolving issues and decision making. the village square (ama nzuko ora), usually a common place, was the arena of assembly. the democratic values in african political-cultural heritage in the political administrations of the yoruba and igbo traditional political systems, there were strong systems of checks and balances, and this is consistent with most socio-political structures of ancient africa. although the alaafins and the igbo heads wielded much power, they were not absolute leaders. there was elaborate organization of palace officials or chiefs especially among the yorubas. for instance, while the alaafins had the oyomesis to regulate their power, the oyomesis were regulated by the ogboni council who were backed by the authority of religion. in the igbo political system, particularly, during decision making, it is not the eldest man that imposes his will upon the people, but decisions are reached through discursions, consultations, dialogue and compromise which might take the shape of imposing the will of the majority on the minority and this reveals the democratic value that does not see the community as a constellation of impersonal forces but rather a complex of human beings and human interests that upholds the ethos of resolving human antagonistic interests through negotiation. according to wirendu (1995): this should not be confused with decision-making on the principle of the supreme right of the majority. in the case under discussion the majority prevails not over, but upon, the minoritythey prevail upon them to accept the proposal in question, not just t live with it, which latter is the basic plight of minorities under majoritarian democracy. in a consensus system the voluntary acquiescence of the minority with respect to a given issue would normally be necessary for the adoption of a decision. in the rare case of an intractable division, a majority vote might be used to break the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 8 impasse. but the success of a system must be judged by the rarity of such predicaments in the working of the decision-making bodies of the state. (p. 62). during decision makings, the perspective of every lineage in the village is represented in the presence and contributions of their representative. it can be compared to the house of representatives, a structure that provides the space for the genuine meeting of minds for the interchanging of opinion and understanding. decisions arrived at this council is not enforced through policing, but what maquet (1992) called ‘collective pressure’. at the centre of these african traditional political structures was the rule of law. the choice of the king or leader in both the yoruba and igbo traditional societies, or access to the throne was based on equal opportunities, the aspirants were treated as equal candidates and were subjected to the same rules and treatment. for instance, among the yorubas, osae and nwabara (1980) aver that the candidates for the position of alaafin came from different royal families already marked from which contestants can emerge for the stool for the final choice by the oyomesi and the ifa oracle. this is done according to a laid down rule agreed upon by the people. even when contestation arises at the end of the choice, alyasha (2003) observes that the choice is not imposed on the people; there were ritual checks and balances to resolve issues of contestation of succession to the throne. what we find in these traditional democracies, is a balance of autocratic dictatorship and popular democracy. it could be referred to as a participatory democracy. these democratic traditions were however, disrupted, undermined and devastated by the colonial political infrastructure. the strike at african indigenous institutions affected virtually all aspects of the african life. the religio-social formations that ensured democracy, such as the ozo title holders, elders, deities, masquerades etc., were disregarded, disorganized and divested of their political roles. when the colonial authority came, traditional leaders were made warrant chiefs and subjected to the authority and supervision of british political officers. thus, making them no longer accountable to their people but to the british political officer who appointed them. the result is they betrayed their own people and gradually things fell apart. references afigbo, a.e. (1981). ropes of sand: studies in igbo history and culture. london: oxford university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 9 ajaegbo, d. i. (2014). african democratic heritage: a historical case study of the igbo of nigeria. journal of humanities and social science. 19. 4. 17-23. al-yasha, w. (2003). on the subject of kings and queens: traditional african leadership and the diaspora imagisociety. african studies quarterly. 6. 4. 1-6. anozie, f.n. (2002). archaeology in igboland: the early prehistory. in g.e.k. ofomata (ed). a survey of the igbo nation. lagos: africana publishers limited. arogbofa (2007, october 7). travails of democracy in nigeria’s democracy. sunday mirror. 48. ayittey, g. (2006). indigenous african institutions. new york: international publishers. ayittey, g. (2012). the oyo empire. retrieved 20th january 2015 from https://seunfakze.wordpress.com/2012/02/09/theoyoempire. brecht, a. (1959). political theory: the foundations of twentieth-century political thought. princeton: princeton university press. busia, k. a. (1975). the ingredients of democracy. in g. mutiso and s. w. rohio (eds.). readings in african political thought (pp. 453-455). london: heinemann. carter, j. (1978). speech to the parliament of india. june, 2. chidili, b. (2012). african traditional values and sustenance of democracy. in e. o. ezenweke and a. i. kanu (eds.). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 103-120). nigeria: augustinian publications. chikwendu, v.e. (2002). archaeology of igboland: the later prehistory. in g.e.k. ofomata (ed). a survey of the igbo nation. lagos: africana publishers limited. gyekye, k. (1997). tradition and modernity: philosophical reflections on the african experience. oxford: oxford university press. isichei, e. (1976). a history of the igbo people. london: macmillan. isichei, e. (1976). a history of the igbo people. london: the macmillan press. maquet, j. (1972). africanity. new york: oxford university press. nwosu, a. n. (2002). politics and administration in the igbo traditional society. in g.e.k. ofomata (ed). a survey of the igbo nation. lagos: africana publishers limited. ogbukagu, i. n. (1997). traditional igbo beliefs and practices. nigeria: novelty industries enterprises. olisa, m. (2002). igbo traditional political system. in g.e.k. ofomata (ed.) a survey of the igbo nation. lagos: africana publishers ltd. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 10 onwuejeogwu, m. a. (1972). the traditional political system of ibuzo. nri: odinam museum. onwuejeogwu, m. a. (1987). evolutionary trends in the history of the development of the igbo civilization in the culture theatre of igbo land in southern nigeria. a paper presented during the ohiajioku lecture, owerri. opone, p. o. (2012). traditional socio-political organizations of the enuani igbo of south central nigeria. study tribes tribals. 10. 1. 57-66. osae, t. a. and nwabara, s. n. (1980). a short history of west africa, ad 10001800. london: hodder and stoughton. ozimiro, i. (1972). studies in igbo political systems. chieftaincy and politics in four niger states. london: frank cass. sabine, g. h. (1973). a history of political theory. new delhi: oxford university press. salami, y. k. (2004). yoruba proverbs and democratic ethos. proverbium yearbook of intersociety proverb scholarship. 21. 315-328. salami, y. k. (2006). the democratic structure of the yoruba political-cultural heritage. the journal of pan african studies. 1. 6. 67-78. shaw, t. (1969). igbo-ukwu, eastern nigeria. in t. shaw (ed.) nigerian prehistory and archaeology. ibadan: ibadan university press. smith, r. s. (1969). kingdoms of the yoruba. london: methuen and co. ltd. uchendu, v. c. (1965). the igbo of south east nigeria. new york: holt rinehart and winston. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.3. no.2 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 161 the brexit: implications and lessons for african union abuoma c. agajelu department of history and international relations paul university, awka abeenony@gmail.com & oluchukwu n. orizu department of history and international studies nnamdi azikiwe university, awka abstract the brexit can be said to be the most negating factor against the concept of political and economic integration in modern times. even though it is among the phenomena that make big headlines around the world today, many are yet to have a full grasp of the meaning and implications of the brexit especially on the partners of the european union and the united kingdom. worse still, many africans seem oblivious of the impact of brexit on the umbrella body of african countries, the african union and also on individual african economies. it is against the backdrop of these stated problems that this paper set out to attempt a clarification of the implications of the brexit on au. adopting the thematic method of qualitative analysis, the paper sets out to interpret available data and therein observes that the implications of brexit on au are multi-faceted. the brexit has implications on financial and trade relations among the au, eu and uk. it may possibly hit african big economies the worst, which will definitely reverberate on the foundations of the au. this further justifies the postulations of the dependency theorists. therefore, structuring an african regional organisation based on innate models less dependent on the western models will go a long way to make africa a less victim of shake-ups in the western political and economic milieu. introduction the increased need for nations to come together under the umbrella of international organisations in order to address their mutual interests led to greater emphasis on formation of sub-regional, regional and inter-continental or global organisations in the post world war ii era. many of the organisations have the objective of achieving socio-political and economic integration of member actors, which is hoped to foster mutual growth and development among them. a foundational work to ensure collective economic growth and development among nations in the immediate post-world war ii period was laid igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 162 with the formation of the general agreement on tariffs and trade (gatt). gatt was to achieve its mandate through effectively encouraging trade liberalisation. subsequently, gatt was replaced by the world trade organisation (wto) and it played a very significant role in the massive expansion of world trade in the 20th century. under the watch of gatt, the european economic community (eec), which is now a part of european union (eu), was established. the eec emphasises on free trade agreements (ftas), trade liberalisation and effective economic integration among european member states or actors. it became a powerful foundation upon which the eu was built. on november 1, 1993, the eu was created following the maastricht treaty. according to m.j. gabel (2010), the treaty was designed to enhance european political and economic integration by creating a single currency (the euro), a unified foreign and security policy, common citizenship rights, and by advancing cooperation in the areas of immigration, asylum, and judicial affairs. close observation of the activities of the eu today shows that the provisions of the treaty actually lay the foundations for the major objectives of the organisation. the prospective benefits of the political and economic integration which was expected to emanate from a sophisticated organisation as the eu led to the expansion of its membership. originally confined to western europe, the eu expanded to include several central and eastern european countries. prior to the brexit, the members of the eu comprised of austria, belgium, bulgaria, cyprus, the czech republic, denmark, estonia, finland, france, germany, greece, hungary, ireland, italy, latvia, lithuania, luxembourg, malta, the netherlands, poland, portugal, romania, slovakia, slovenia, spain, sweden, and the united kingdom (uk). the exit of the uk from the eu may prove to be a loss of a major donor country of the union. on the other hand, a replica of the eu is the african union (au), which was hitherto known as the organisation of african unity (oau). the oau was restructured and repositioned as its initial major objective of african liberation from colonialism seemed to have been met. the core objective of the organisation thus became collective efforts towards socio-economic development. as regards the transformation of oau to au, e.h. moshi (2013) posits; following various summits which discussed the challenges facing the continent in promoting cooperation among its igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 163 member countries that would expedite the process of social and economic development, at the durban heads of state summit in 2002, the oau decided to transform itself into the african union (au) as a way forward in continuing to fulfill the objectives of the oau charter. with the liberalisation of african colonies, bi-lateral and multi-lateral social and economic relations between african international actors and their european counterparts improved. the activities of the au continue to replicate that of the eu and the au countries increasingly depend on the eu for aids and other packages. nonetheless, the implication of this is a possible shakeup in the au in an event of a drastic change in the eu such as the brexit. this paper examines the possible implications of the brexit from the eu on the integration and sustainability of the au. conceptual clarification it is pertinent to attempt the clarification of the cobwebs surrounding some of the basic terms which are inevitably adopted in this paper. some of the concepts have multiple meanings and the clarification is done to suit the present discourse. such concepts include; brexit, union, and integration. brexit: with the recent popular referendum conducted in britain, the term brexit becomes a new lexicon of the political and economic dictionaries. the concept of brexit came to reality following the vote for the exit of britain from the eu on the historic thursday june 23, 2016. this means that great britain ceases to be a member of eu, which it unenthusiastically joined in january 1973. the brexit may have some implications on the sustainability of the integration of au considering how major countries of the eu like south africa and nigeria view the development. union: the word, union, in the context of this paper is defined in the oxford dictionaries, language matters online as “the action of joining together or the fact of being joined together, especially in a political context”. (“union,” oxford dictionaries, language matters, accessed on august 4, 2016, http://www.oxforddictionaries.com) the eu and the au depict an apt picture of political cum economic union. integration: to integrate, in the context of this paper, means to combine two or more things in order to become more effective. (“integrate,” cambridge igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 164 dictionary, accessed on august 4, 2016, http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/integrate). in line with the above definition, integration means “incorporation as equals into society or an organization of individuals of different groups.” (merriam webster, 2010). in order to achieve mutual political cum economic effectiveness of member actors, the regional integration organisations of eu and au were established. theoretical framework considering the horizontal nature of the relations between eu member countries and the au member countries; and also the rather involuntary dependency of the au on the eu in their relationships and for integration models, the study finds it suitable to adopt the dependency theory as the theoretical guide for a better understanding of the thesis of the paper. dependency theory, in its extreme form, is based on a marxist view of the world, which sees globalisation in terms of the spread of market capitalism, and the exploitation of cheap labour and resources in return for obsolete technologies of the west. a rather clear depiction of what dependency is all about was proffered by theotonio dos santos (eisenberg, 2014). according to him: dependency is an historical condition which shapes a certain structure of the world economy such that it favors some countries to the detriment of others and limits the development possibilities of the subordinate economies…a situation in which the economy of a group of countries is conditioned by the development and expansion of another economy, to which their own is subjected. (eisenberg, 2014) the theory developed in the late 1950s under the guidance of the director of the united nations economic commission for latin america, raul prebisch observed that, unlike assumption of the neo-classical counter revolution and market fundamentalists, growth in the advanced industrialised countries did not necessarily lead to growth in the poorer countries. their studies suggested that economic activity in the richer countries often led to serious economic problems in the poorer countries. this is antithetical to the neo-classical theory, which assumes that economic growth in a free trade zone is beneficial to all even if the benefits were not always equally shared. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 165 because of the unequal distribution of the means of production between the countries of the north and south, the dependency theorists contend that economic relations between the two zones will only be detrimental to the disadvantaged south. furthermore, colonialism strengthened the postulations of dependency theory; specifically the dependence of the south on the north in international trade and integration models which intensified within the 20th century. the bulk of the exports of african countries go to their former colonising powers and their western allies, even when they belong to post-independence sub-regional and regional african organisations that seek to promote free trade amongst the members. african and other developing economies are heavily dependent financially on their former colonising powers and western capital in general. such dependency has made it very difficult for these economies of the global south to untangle itself from trade liberalisation championed by the global north, even when they have established free trade zones for themselves. therefore, when a major change hits the economy of the north, the dependent south suffers it most. this theory advocates economic protectionism for the countries of the south, which involves less dependency on the north for integration and developmental models. nonetheless, the dependency theory has also exhibited some fallibility which attracts criticisms. this is depicted in the nature of the global economic recession of the recent times. while the global recession of 2008 was severely felt mostly in the developed economies, africa and other developing economies only felt it partially. thus, this negates some of the purview put forward by the dependency theorists. in this instance, the capitalist north seems to have imploded while some developing economies, which they were supposedly impoverishing, flourished. the dependency theory, as adopted by this paper, examines the problem of the influence of the eu on the au based on economic effects, but of course, subregional and regional organisations are principally formed for economic reasons. this aptly justifies the application of the dependency theory in examining the implications of the exit of britain from the eu on the sustainability of the au. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 166 arguments for the brexit the brexit has elicited enormous debate and mixed feelings among experts and keen observers of the trends in international political economy. like the debate over free trade and protectionism, the brexit may likely develop a scholarly trend of debate over economic integration and economic isolationism, especially if the brexit turns out to significantly benefit britain. it was almost unanimously agreed, especially among economists, that integration is key to mutual sustainable growth and development. however, with the recent development of the brexit, it becomes unclear who actually benefits from integration and who does not. nonetheless, survey shows that economic reasons were not the only argument of the ‘leave’ campaigners. there were evidently political, social and cultural considerations that strengthened the ‘leave’ campaign and tilted votes to its side. one of the economic reasons given by the ‘leave’ campaigners is premised on the argument that the claims of the benefits accruable from integration are a farce as regards uk/eu relations. according to lianna brinded (2015), “seeing how the markets and politicians have dealt with the eurozone sovereign debt crisis…i’ve become fully unstuck from the mud of pro-eu camp and will sit on the fence until we vote.” the 2009 debt crisis that followed the economic recession which almost crippled many countries of the eu, notably greece, actually strengthened the position of eurosceptics, who formed the crux of the ‘leave’ campaigners. brinded further expressed her skepticism on the continued uk membership of the eu when she stated, “first and foremost, even though we are meant to be part of one big unit, we have no fiscal union to address underperforming areas.” this raises the question of lack of implementation of single market policy which would have fostered fiscal union in the eurozone. the political argument of the pro-brexit campaigners is based on national sovereignty. it is on record that on the day of the referendum lord ashcroft’s polling team questioned 12,369 people who had completed voting. according to the data from the poll (wikipedia, 2016) “nearly half (49%) of leave voters said the biggest single reason for wanting to leave the european union was the principle that decisions about the uk should be taken in the uk.” there is also the general dissatisfaction in the uk/eu politics among many britons. the social and cultural argument of the ‘leave’ campaigners centres on the immigration question among other issues. james dennison and noah carl (2016) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 167 opined that, “eurosceptic fraction of the population almost certainly increased as a consequence of the rapid rise in eu immigration, which began in the late 1990s…” a further observation of the lord ashcroft’s election day poll data shows that one third or 33% of ‘leave’ voters said the main reason was that leaving “offered the best chance for the uk to regain control over immigration and its own borders.” there was generally increased migration of people on the eurozone to britain, especially considering the economic stability the country portrays. nonetheless, this trend has its attendant social menace, especially considering the growing spate of terrorism and insecurity across europe. it is therefore, not surprising that the immigration factor formed a strong point for the pro-brexit campaigners. there are also other less appealing social and cultural factors which played some role in the brexit and these include irrational xenophobia, simple racism, and obstinate protest vote, among others. arguments against brexit like we pointed out above, many anti-brexit campaigners believe that most ‘leave’ voters were simply racists or xenophobic. however, there are more objective reasons put forward by the eurozone believers and these reasons are also premised on economic, political and socio-cultural factors. economically, one of the strong points of ‘remain’ campaigners is the benefits of single market of the eurozone. the argument is that britain will not be able to negotiate free access to the european single market, without free movement of labour. many economists are said to have actually warned that britain leaving the eu would be an economic disaster. this is because the eu is the world's largest economic area. the ‘remain’ campaigners therefore believe that britain will be more successful economically as part of the eu, than outside it. they assert that if britain leaves, the country will still have to take account of eu rules and regulations if it wants to trade with the eu; but it will no longer be able to influence them and help to shape them. the ‘remain’ campaign also made it a strong point that brexit would mean the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs, as international firms that need a base in the eu relocate offices and plants to ireland or to the continent. 57% of the uk car production is said to be exported to the eu countries. the brexit will certainly hurt or have a negative impact on the exports. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 168 politically, the ‘stay’ campaigners emphasises the point that britain is stronger in europe than out. their position is that europe is one of the four major powers in the world scene, as long as it stays united, and britain is one of the three major nations in europe. therefore, britain will likely lose this influential position with the brexit. much of the interference that the ‘leave’ campaigners emphasise on is claimed by the ‘stay’ campaigners to be legislation for the general betterment of the members of the eu. there are other socio-cultural and political points made by the ‘stay’ campaigners but these failed to give them majority vote in the referendum as brexit won the day with 51.9% of the votes. implications of the brexit on the african union the brexit may cause some changes in the au in a number of ways. the principal change, which may be felt or is already being felt in the short term, has an economic dimension. the presence of the uk in the eu actually influenced some of the trade agreements between the eu and the au or some of the au member countries. trade relations between the eu and africa are defined by the cotonou agreement of 2000. britain played important role in that agreement and it is now under contention if britain will uphold its side of the agreement as an independent state outside the eu. there are predictions that african largest economies will likely suffer as a result of the brexit. the uk’s minister for africa and a ‘leave’ advocate, james duddridge (2016), though promised that relations with the continent would only improve without the burden of the eu, however admits that africa’s largest economies are still likely to suffer. the evidence of stain on the african large economies is also being felt in south africa. according to mathew davies (2016), “the most internationally traded african currency, the south african rand, is already having a bumpy ride in the wake of the uk's decision to leave the european union.” it is on record that the south african rand has lost more than 8% against the u.s dollar at the wake of brexit. along with their peers on the london stock exchange, major south african companies dual-listed in london and johannesburg are being hammered. for the fact that the uk is the fourth largest destination for south africa’s exports, the economy of the country is bound to suffer if the uk is to slide into technical recession as forecasted by some economists. obviously, the au will catch cold when south africa sneezes. this would make the implications of the brexit quite severe on the union. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 169 nigeria, which is undoubtedly another big economy of the au and a close trade partner of the uk and eu, is also being affected by the brexit. bilateral trade between nigeria and the uk, currently valued at £6 billion (about $8.3 billion) and projected to reach £20 billion by 2020, will be disrupted if the trade agreements made under the auspices of the eu are to be renegotiated. also, data from the national bureau of statistics shows that the uk was nigeria’s largest source of foreign investment in 2015. this nature of dependency will definitely plummet the nigerian economy further at the event of recession in the uk as a result of the brexit. in terms of aid, the uk was one of the biggest supporters of eu aid programmes in africa, both politically and financially. while the uk will most likely continue to honour its own aid commitments, a changing attitude to aid could evolve within a uk-less european union. many au countries depend on the eu aid. socio-politically, britain being a role model on the question of independence, the brexit has sparked off and strengthened the call for self-determination in some au countries, particularly nigeria. following the brexit pattern, the pro-biafra agitators aptly made a coinage “biafraexit” and heightened the call for a referendum. a pro-brexit government in london may actually lend support to this call. conclusion the brexit, no matter how beneficial in the long term it might be for the uk, has proved to be quite damning on the au in the short term. it further exposes the dependency nature of africa on the countries of the west and strengthens the position of dependency theorists. as could be deducted from the paper, big african economies are already catching from the glum forecast of the british economy, following the brexit. the brexit might even go as far as shaking the foundations of the unity of the au considering that the au is dependent on the eu model of integration. the au was formed in 2002 to follow the patterns of the eu methods of emphasising mutual economic growth and development. the implication of this is that if britain proves better-off outside the eurozone, some big economies in the au may want to review their au membership, especially when they feel strained by their membership of the union. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 170 furthermore, as pointed out in the paper, the brexit has already triggered off stiffer calls for referendum and self-determination, especially in nigeria. a fragmented au member states will only be inimical to the present status of the union. nonetheless, a collapsing eu/au relationship as a result of the brexit may prove the strengthening of the commonwealth of nations as britain is predicted to look towards the commonwealth and strengthen its ties with the members after leaving the eurozone. if the international monetary fund (imf) prediction that by 2019 the commonwealth will contribute more to world’s economic output than the eu, is anything to go by, it means that brexit may actually be a start to the process and african countries belonging to the commonwealth may become better off more than they are with the au. references agajelu, abuoma c. and obiakor, nwachukwu j. (2016) “the free trade debate, economic recession and global south since 2000,” subsaharan journal of humanities and social sciences. ake, claude (1981), a political economy of africa (essex: longman group). “brexit-the people and arguments for and against,” about britain.com, a thematic guide to britain, accessed on august 4, 2016, http://www.aboutbritain.com davies, matthew (2016), “what does brexit mean for africa?” bbc news services, accessed on august 4, 2016, http://www.bbcnewsonline.co.uk dennison, james and carl, noah (2016), “the ultimate causes of brexit: history, culture and geography,” british politics and policy at lse, http://www.britishpoliticsandpolicy.co.uk foster, alice (2016), “what is brexit and what is going to happen now that britain has voted to leave the eu?” accessed on august 4, 2016 http://www.express.co.uk gabel, m.j. (2010), “european union (eu)” encyclopaedia britannica, encyclopaedia britannica student and home edition, (chicago: encyclopaedia britannica). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 171 “integrate,” cambridge dictionary, accessed on august 4, 2016, http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/integrate “integration” (2010), merriam-webster’s dictionary and thesaurus in encyclopaedia britannica student and home edition, (chicago: encyclopaedia britannica). kazeem, lily kuo yomi (2016), “brexit will be terrible for africa’s largest economies,” quartz africa, accessed on august 4, 2016, http://www.qz.com lianna brinded (2015), “reasons why uk leaving the eu 'brexit' is a good idea” business insider, october 1, 2015. mckie, david and barker, dannis (1973), “we are in but without the fireworks,” the guardian: manchester, january 1, 1973. moshi e.h. (2013), “organization of african unity/african union and the challenges of realizing its objectives,” workshop to commemorate 50 years of oau/au held on 24th may 2013 at j.k. nyerere hall, muccobs. stein, leslie (1979), “dependency theories and underdevelopment”, journal of economic studies vol. 6. todaro m. p. and smith, s. c. (2011), economic development: eleventh edition (essex: pearson). “union,” oxford dictionaries, language matters, accessed on august 4, 2016, http://www.oxforddictionaries.com wilhelm, jan-philipp, “the potential impact of brexit on africa,” deutsche welle, accessed on august 4, 2016, http://dw.com/p/1j9be inaugural layout source.cdr i atns ec i et vi rt usestt ao sp n a i t n a t u n iv e r s it y umunya maiden inaugural lecture igwebuike: an operative condition of african philosophy religion and culture towards a thermodynamic transformative ontology by ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. professor of african religion and cultural studies thursday, 18th february, 2021 very rev. msgr. prof. john bosco akam chancellor/founder tansian university, umunya 1 prof. nduka uraih pro-chancellor tansian university, umunya 2 prof. e. o. nwadialor vice-chancellor tansian university, umunya 3 prof. c. c. onochie deputy vice-chancellor tansian university, umunya 4 rev. daniel ikechukwu igwilo registrar tansian university, umunya 5 sir valentine ikeanyionwu bursar tansian university, umunya 6 7 ms esosa odia, b.ls (delsu) ag university librarian tansian university, umunya professor of african religion and cultural studies (fca-edu., fipan, fsr, fipmd, afismi, fimc, cmc, fmerc) bsc. rel., uni. jos; b. phil., urban. rome; m. a. rel. (atr), unizik; m. a. phil. (metaphysics), unn; ph.d. rel. (atr) unizik; pgde, noun nig.; hon. doc. ed.d, london; hon. doc. metaphysics, (uoa) usa; unesco cert. e-learning, bangkok. ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. 8 9 i atns ec i et vi rt usestt ao sp n a i t n a t u n iv e r s it y umunya maiden inaugural lecture igwebuike: an operative condition of african philosophy religion and culture towards a thermodynamic transformative ontology by ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. professor of african religion and cultural studies thursday, 18th february, 2021 inaugural lecture committee professor c. c. onochie chairman rev. fr. prof. p. o. j. umechukwu member prof. chinyere s. okunna member assoc. prof. f. chukwuezi member assoc. prof. uche becky onuh member dr. ejikemeuwa j. o. ndubisi member rev. daniel igwilo secretary/member 10 © professor ikechukwu anthony kanu isbn: 978-978-989-177-1 cover & page layout design: emmanuel uche kanu printed by altograde nig. ltd. 11 the chancellor the pro-chancellor the vice chancellor honorable members of council principal officers of our noble university the members of senate deans and directors heads of departments professors of our great university teaching and non-teaching staff all government office holders present all the clergy here present all royal fathers here present my parents, brothers and sisters ndi izuogu distinguished guests of our university great tansian students lovers of african philosophy, religion and culture ladies and gentlemen protocol 12 in memory of a father of enlightenment and a proponent of igwebuike thinking late msgr prof. john bosco akam dedication 13 title page 9 inaugural lecture committee 10 protocol 11 dedication 12 contents 13 symbol of igwebuike -14 1. preamble to the inaugural lecture 15 2. introduction 17 3. igwebuike: linguistic and ontological analysis 19 i. the essential character of igwebuike 19 ii. igwebuike in the theatre of being 19 iii. igwebuike in its literal and linguistic setting 20 iv. anthropological and epistemological foundations of igwebuike 21 v. ontological foundations of igwebuike 22 vi. cosmological foundations of igwebuike 23 vii. igwebuike research method 23 4. the origin and principle of igwebuike 25 i. wonder, the origin of igwebuike 25 ii. the principles of igwebuike 26 5. “igwebuike”: the key to understanding african traditional religion 28 6. “igwebuike”: the underlying principle of african philosophy 30 7. religio-cultural manifestations of igwebuike 32 i. appellative expression of igwebuike 32 ii. proverbial expression of igwebuike 33 iii. folkloric expression of igwebuike 34 iv. musical expression of igwebuike 35 v. symbolic expression of igwebuike 36 vi. mythological expression of igwebuike 37 8. “igwebuike”: identity and alterity 39 i. the problem of identity and alterity 39 ii. igwebuike and the other 39 iii. chi as an ontological basis for the other as ibem 40 9. igwebuikeconomics 42 i. introduction 42 ii. imu olu as a dimension of igwebuikeconimics iii arrangements and dynamics of imu olu 43 iv the communal and spiritual dimensions of imu olu 44 foundations of igbo apprentice incubator network 45 10. igwebuikecracy 46 i. africanity of democracy 46 ii. the igbo igwebuikecratic structure 47 11. igwebuike theology and the adaptation of christianity in africa 51 i. igwebuike theological perspectives on evangelization 52 ii. case studies 55 12. concluding remarks 58 13. appreciation 59 14. references 60 15. curriculum vitae 67 contents 14 symbol of igwebuike the elgon forest dwellers say that “little dreams” are of no great significance, but if a person has a “big dream”, the entire community must be gathered and told. how then does an elgonyi know the difference between a big dream and a little dream? upon waking up, there is an instinctive feeling about the significance of the dream for the community, and the thought of keeping such a dream secret never occurs. i am profoundly honored to present this professorial inaugural lecture, which is my “big dream”, not just in tansian university, but at the center of academic excellence and in the presence of choicest minds. in this way, the management of this citadel of learning makes tansian university, not just an institution of higher learning and research, but a universitas magistrorum et scholarium, that is, “a community of teachers and scholars” (umeogu 2019). a professorial inaugural lecture is a debt that every professor owes the university community and in fact the whole world as a justification for his or her elevation to the professorial rank. it is also a time to showcase to the academic community of inquiry, the substance of his or her work and specialization. this does not mean that there cannot be a professor without inaugural lecture, but just to say that inaugural lecture is at the heart of matured scholarship and productivity, and the flagship of academic distinction. herein, tested men and women of letters show those things that mark them out as embodiments of farsighted solutions to complex problems through research and learning. an inaugural lecture is the outing of an academic masquerade. while some masquerades may decide to come out at the eve of their retirement, i have decided to give mine timeously, that is, in what the legendary and world acclaimed genius, chinua achebe called 'the morning of creation day'. the apparent honor of presenting this lecture, paradoxically is a heavy weight; first, because it takes a deep breath of intestinal fortitude for a professor to present himself to the academic world; second, this inaugural lecture positions me as the first professor of the department of philosophy and religious studies, the first professor of the faculty of management and social sciences and, in fact, the first professor of tansian university to deliver a professorial inaugural lecture. it is apropos that it should begin from the department of philosophy and religious studies, first, since philosophy has been and remains the entry point of all university studies at the inception of the university system of education (oguejiofor 2010), and second, since philosophy is the synthesis of everything as much as it synthesizes everything. no wonder, what is obtained 1. preamble to the inaugural lecture 15 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya at the end of the highest degree programme in every discipline is a phddoctor of philosophy. this heavy weight notwithstanding, i draw solace from the fact that we are all fellow travelers in an unmapped territory. as a scholar with an african appetite, this inaugural lecture would be described from an african perspective; precisely, in festive termsthe new yam festival. this is important, as this inaugural lecture is an opportunity for us to gather, in terms of a harvest, for our education, entertainment and edification. implicit in the concept of harvest is a preceding period of sowing or planting. this explains why harvest is a period of blissful celebration, marked for us, especially as africans, by thanksgiving, group dances and colorful masquerades, by goodwill visits and exchange of gifts (afigbo 1981). it is in the nature of every serious masquerade to make an impression on the spectators. the nature of this impression cannot, unfortunately, be forecast before hand as it depends not only on the dexterity of the masquerade or lack of it as a dancer, but also on the professionalism of the instrumentalists, the humor of the spectators, their ability to assess and appreciate an artistic performance (afigbo 1981). as i dance on this academic floor, i will endeavor to ensure that my dancing steps are not monotonous and insipid, or a mere arrangement of old and jaded dance steps. this inaugural lecture would be presented in a way that is not suffused with professional jargons (uduma 2015) or esoteric registers to avoid the exuberance of technicality and eschew esoterism and pedantry (emenanjo 1988), however, this would be done in a fashion that avoids the professor being dubbed as one whose learning or mind is not yet great or powerful (trevor-roper 1957). these notwithstanding, ladies and gentlemen, in igwebuike i present to you the paradigm for the creation and constitution of new bodies of knowledge, with original theories, principles and neologisms. 16 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. a cursory glance at the historical evolution of thought reveals that right from the ancient world, thinkers have been concerned about the nature of the operative conditions of reality. when thales of miletus pointed to water as the fundamental unity underlying the diversity of reality, it was born out of the search for reality's operative condition. when anaximander referred to a neutral element that is infinite, eternal and indeterminate, he did not only express the fundamental nature of reality, but the search for the unity of the plurality of things. according to anaximenes of miletus, air is the underlying principle of all reality (omoregbe, 1997 and kanu 2014). the search for the operative conditions of reality has been part of africa's intellectual, documented and systematic tradition. in his work, la philosophie bantou, placide tempels arrives at a fundamental and underlying factor in bantu philosophy, which he calls force. tempels (1945) writes: “…the bantu speak, act, live as if, for them, beings were forces. force is not for them an adventitious, accidental reality. force is even more than a necessary attribute of being; force is the nature of being, force is being, being is force” (p. 431). alexis kagame, in his work philosophie bantou-rwandaise de l'etre, develops tempel's philosophy of force further. he argues that ntu is the category of being or the generic meaning of something. this he classified into four: umuntu (human beings); ikintu (non-human beings); ahantu (place and time); ukuntu (aristotelian category of quantity) (kanu 2012a). ntu, thus, becomes the unifying notion among all these, and the element of interaction between all these forces. edeh (1983) in his towards an igbo metaphysics observes that idi is the igbo verb to be, and can be used as an adjective and suffixed to anything to show that it exists (kanu 2012b). iroegbu (1995) in his metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy avers that to be is to belong. thus, being is belongingness. he defines belongingness as 'the synthesis of the reality and experience of belongingness' (p. 374). while okere (1983) and abanuka (2003) have proposed chi as an alternative concept for being in igbo ontology, asouzu (2011) and njoku (2018) have introduced the concept of ibuanyidanda as an intellectual framework to hang the being of society. the present lecture on igwebuike: the operative condition of african philosophy, religion and culturetowards a thermodynamic transformative ontology is the 2. introduction 17 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya researcher's contribution to the ongoing discourse on the operative conditions of reality. igwebuike, in the researcher's perspective, is the moving spirit and the pivot upon which african philosophy, religion and culture revolve, thus, the key to the understanding of african traditional religion, culture and philosophy. it is thermodynamic because of the interdependence and complementarity of the elements of the african universe, which characterizes the african way of thinking, feeling, talking and responding to various human conditions. igwebuike which is an igbo proverb and proper name forms the 'tool box', the trajectory system and the practical art for the development of this inaugural lecture. what is the basis for the shift from ibu anyi danda to igwebuike since both deal with the complementarity of reality? at the centre of the concept ibu anyi danda is the limited being called danda (the ant), and even though the meaning of the concept has gone beyond the literal understanding, the abstract meaning generated through the binoculars of reason cannot escape the limitations of the creature danda. we cannot entirely speak of the human person in relation to danda, since the former is rational and the later irrational. no matter how great danda is in carrying out its activity towards sharing the burden of life, it cannot be entirely related to the human person. there is, therefore, the need for a concept that goes beyond the particularities and particularities of reality right from the conceptual level, wide a concept, however, potent enough to accommodate the different beings within the economy of the hierarchy of being, and this concept is igwebuike. to accomplish the demands of this presentation, the lecture would be divided into four parts. the first part would focus on the philosophical dimension of igwebuike, the second would reflect on the socio-political dimension of igwebuike. while the third part would deal with the economic dimension, the fourth would entertain issues around the religious dimension of igwebuike. the choice of these dimensions is to express the broadness of igwebuike as a thought current. figure 1: lecture outline igwebuike economic dimension religious dimension socio-political dimension philosophical dimension 18 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. i. the essential character of igwebuike igwebuike, is employed as a unifying concept of african thought, especially, that aspect concerning the human person's conception of the spiritual and material universe in which he or she lives. it is an explanatory theory or principle that interprets the puzzle of our complex relationship with the non-corporal world and human social life, that is, major social institutions that ensure social continuity and group identity, and further, underpins the epistemological manifestations of the human person's universe. it is essentially, a transcendent complementary comprehensive systematic quest to penetrate the structure and dynamics of reality ultimately for the purpose of giving honest answers to fundamental questions or opinions to questions that arise within the arena of asking questions and questioning answers, for selfless enlightenment and furthering of human happiness. in this search for truth, igwebuike, within an integrated systematic framework, strives beyond all forms of particularities, peculiarities, paradoxes and contradictions and espouses the path of complementation, therefore, showing how realities can relate to one another in a mutually harmonized non-absolutistic mode. thus, igwebuike explores methods and principles for the mediation, coalescing and comprehension of the different units of reality: ideal and real, universal and particular, progressive and conservative, necessary and contingent, transcendent and immanent, essential and inessential and other units of reality within the same framework. it treats all units, fragments or components of reality, no matter how minute as units and combinations, or missing links that are necessary for the conceptualization of reality as a whole. ii. igwebuike in the theatre of being 'to be' in igbo ontology is idi. the operative word in idi (to be) is di (be) and it comes from the word odi (it is), which is the third person of the singular idi. it means 'to exist' or 'to be'. it is an adjective and can be suffixed to anything to show that it exists. for instance, okwute di (stone exists), nkita di (dog exists), kanu di (kanu exists), uwa di (the world exists). although every reality has a force, not all realities have the same degree of force. the variety of the degree of forces is at the base of the categorization of being, and thus, the hierarchy of forces (kanu 2017a). in the hierarchy of forces, those with a greater force come first, with god at the apex as the source of all force (kanu 2017b). 3. “igwebuike”: linguistic and ontological analysis 19 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya in igbo-african ontology, reality is subsumed into the following categories: muo (spirit), madu (human being), anu (animal), ihe (thing), ebe (place), oge (time) and uzo (manner, modality or style of being). everything is in relation to the other, except the creator (kanu 2017c). as subjects in the horizon of perception and realization of their existential ends, beings depend on each other for their temporal flourishing. the dependence here is a positive dialectics resulting from their physical and spiritual limitations. human beings are not ontologically creators of themselves, they are essentially limited, and their existence and action, in the midst of communication, are limited by time, place, perception and knowledge, their being is existentially complimentary (kanu 2017d&e). hence they are naturally candidates for company and co-operations. this modality of being in relation to the other is what igwebuike conceptualizes. iii. igwebuike in its literal and linguistic setting igwe bu ike is an igbo proverb and also a typical igbo name. igbo proverbs and names are among the major traditional vessels where african philosophy, religion and culture have continued to be preserved. mbiti (1970) writes that: “it is in proverbs that we find the remains of the oldest forms of african religious and philosophical wisdom” (p.89). they contain the wisdom and experience of the african people, usually of several ages gathered and summed up in one expression. proverbs spring from the people and represent the voice of the people and express the interpretation of their beliefs, principles of life and conduct. it expresses the moral attitudes of a given culture, and reflects the hopes, achievements and failings of a people (kanu 2018). this is to say that beyond the linguistic expression lies a deeper meaning, that is, the spirit of the letter. it is at the philosophical level that igwebuike is understood as providing an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations (kanu 2016c). the expression, igwebuike is a combination of three igbo words. it can be understood as a word or a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. literally, igwe is a noun which means number or multitude, usually a large number or population. the number or population in perspective are entities with ontological identities and significance, however, part of an existential order in which every entity is in relation to the other. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is a noun, which means strength or power (kanu 2016a&b). igwe, bu and ike put together, means 'number is strength' or 20 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. 'number is power' (kanu 2017f). however, beyond the literal sense of igwebuike, it means otu obi (one heart and one soul) cor unum et anima una. beyond the literal understanding of igwebuike, it concatenates igbo forms, symbolism, signs, media, meaning, anthropologies, universal cosmic truths, functions, semantic powers, physics, phenomena, faculties, and igbo environ-mentalities. this is anchored on the fact that the universe in which the human person lives is a world of probabilities. an igbo proverb says: “if a thing remains one, then nothing remains”. this is because the power or strength generated by a person is not strong enough to withstand the existential gamble of life, as the chances of being overcome are on the high side; thus the need for an existential backing. there is also an african proverb that says: “while going to the toilet in the morning ensure that you carry two sticks”. the sticks were used for cleaning up oneself after using the convenience. but because there is always the high probability of the stick falling into the pit, it is always advisable to take a second stick, just in case. with two sticks one has a greater assurance of cleaning oneself up after using the convenience; the higher the number, the greater the preparedness towards minimizing the casualty of life; the second stick is also necessary in case of a second coming or remainder of the output. in a metaphoric sense, it is used within the igbo linguistic setting to refer to relational engagement in the world, accomplished in solidarity and complementarity, and the powerful and insurmountable force therein (kanu 2017g). the closest words to igwebuike in english are complementarity, solidarity and harmony. iv. anthropological and epistemological foundations of igwebuike igwebuike has anthropological and epistemological foundations. these are based on the nature of the human brain, which functions in an inclusive manner for the realization of wholistic knowledge. a cursory glance at the human brain reveals different sections which could be described as circles. below is a diagram to explain the different sections of the human brain and what they represent. why olympic brain how olympic brain what noecortex figure 2: dimensions of human brain 21 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya the human brain has the olympic dimension referred to as olympic brain and the noecortex dimension, referred to as the noecortex brain. the olympic brain has two sections, which include the inner and outer olympic brain. thus, the three circles of the brain are the inner olympic brain, the outer olympic brain and the noecortex brain. these different parts of the brain concern themselves with different questions that arise in human relationships: the questions of why, how and what. while the inner olympic brain responds to the question of why, the outer olympic brain responds to the question of how, and the noecortex brain responds to the question of what (kanu 2017c). for knowledge to be wholistic and translate into action for transformation, it must be based on an understanding of the what, how and why questions about reality. for a leader to be effective, the led need to know what they do, how to do what they do, and why they do what they do. the absence of any of these strangles followership. in advert, most organizations only explain what they do, how they do what they do without explaining why they do it. this explains why many organizations fail. this is based on the fact that people patronize you because of why you do what you do and not just because of what or how you do it. the question of why speaks of your uniqueness and the newness you are bringing into the system. it is at the why level that you find: feelings; loyalty; trust; decision making and human behaviour. the complementary character of the brain creates an anthropological and epistemological basis for igwebuike. v. ontological foundations of igwebuike the mutual relations and complementarity that igwebuike conceptualizes is anchored on the following basic human conditions (njoku 2015): a. the world in which we live is one in which we encounter several needs, however, with very little resources to take care of the needs. this limitation calls for the mobilization of other forces outside of the self, a social fellowship for the satisfaction of particular needs. b. nature has placed in us the alikeness for fellowship. this is based on the fact that we were created by god in his own image and likeness. c. although we are equal essentially, we have different gifts and abilities. what i may be able to do another may not be able to do, meaning that my relationship with the other completes what is lacking in me. d. collaboration with the other is ground for becoming, as everything takes a bit of another to make itself. it is a ground for staying alive and transforming the universe. 22 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. human fellowship and cooperation is a reality that is rooted in the human nature and to keep away from relating is to place a limitation on our being. it is, therefore, a unit of order inscribed in the human nature for survival. the more a person relates the more he or she lives out his or her being to the full. mutual cooperation and fellowship in the society increases protection, assistance, etc. being in the company of the other reduces the burden that nature imposes on a person as an individual. vi. cosmological foundations of igwebuike igwebuike is an african cosmological idea that shapes the african cultural, religious and social. it is symbolic of the african universe of particularities where every creature as an independent entity must negotiate another's existential highway for mutual survival. it is a dependent, interdependent and combinational universe. negotiation is very important in the african universe because it is a world that one shares with the other in an atmosphere of inter-subjective relations (kanu 2018). these inter-subjective relations only play out without chaos when the individual is able to skillfully bridge his or her interiority with the individuality of the other. the african universe has physical and spiritual dimensions. in the spirit realm, god represents the chief being, and sits at the apex of power. in the physical world, human beings dominate, occupying the central position in the scheme of god's creation. the structure of the african universe can be illustrated in three levels: the sky, the earth and the underworld: the sky is where god chukwu or chineke and angels reside; the earth where human beings, animals, natural resources, some devils and physical observable realities abide; and the underworld where ancestors and bad spirits live (kanu 2013). these worlds interact in spite of their peculiarities, and persist because of a healthy inter-subjective relation. there is really no wall between the physical and spiritual worlds, between the visible and invisible, the sacred and profane; as there is a cooperate existence of reality. thus, certain elements can move from one structure to another to commune with other elements. in this interaction, human beings commune with god, the divinities, the ancestors and vice versa. in these movements, you find complimenrarity, relationships, interactions etc, which sustain the universe. vii. igwebuike research method igwebuike posits that life is a relationship, and it is only within this relationship that knowledge and life itself is possible. to be a human being, you must relate to your 23 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya environmentand know the things around you. “to be” and not know is not “to be” (kanu 2019a). every human being wants to know, meaning that every human being cannot but research in a general sense. this aspect of our humanity shows itself in the curiosity of a child who is always asking questions, becoming completely absorbed in the search for the truth, trying to make sense out of a complex world, making guesses and testing them, trying to understand his or her limits and the limits of the situations surrounding him or her. since “to be” is to know, once this liberality to know is restricted, the human person loses something of its humanness, and begins to die intellectually and emotionally. if a person is allowed to ask questions without limit, he or she takes progressive essential steps in the process of becoming human (kanu 2019b). whenever the human person learns only to follow the familiar and safe way, or to ask only those questions to which the teacher knows the answer, or learns never to upset existing organizational patterns and procedures or to see defect in the existing orderhe or she sacrifices some of his or her humanness (torrance, 1970, pp. 6-7). this is the uniqueness that igwebuike adds to the concept of research. research is not just an attempt to find solutions to problems but to reach the full potentials of our humanity. for a research method to be igwebuike in character, it must employ one of more of the following approaches: it has to be wholistic in approach, complementary, interdisciplinary, move from the known as a bridge to the unknown, and should be nonderogatory and sympathetic, which is the areopagus approach. igwebuike research method wholistic complementary interdisciplinary areopagus known to the unknown figure 3: approaches of igwebuike research method 24 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. questions that have emerged from the various papers written on igwebuike is: what is the origin of igwebuike? how did it begin as a pattern of thought in african ontology? is it a thought or philosophy that is exclusive to the igbo or africa? my response has always been that although igwebuike is an igbo word (kanu 2019), it is not a philosophy that is limited to the igbo world; rather, it is a local expression of a universal experience of the relevance of solidarity and complementarity (kanu 2017j). i. wonder, the origin of igwebuike philosophy igwebuike began with wonder as african traditional thinkers began to reflect on the nature of their immediate universe. this wonder shaped their thoughts, thus, establishing a connection between philosophy and the cosmos. aristotle (1941) writes that “it is through wonder that men now begin and originally began to philosophize” (p. 10). this wonder was the first step, which was followed by questions as a second step, and then the third, being proffering answers to these questions. they raised questions about the nature of reality: its beauties and the negative vicissitudes the human person must face in life. realities such as the nature of life, its brevity, human suffering, successes, failures, sorrows, joys, death, the after-life, the nature of the human person, disease, decay, etc. they asked if there is a particular way in which a person ought to behave and a way he ought not to behave. they wondered at the origin and age of the universe, was it created or is it eternal? if it was created, who created the universe? they wondered at the order in the universe, why the rainy season is succeeded by the dry season, the day, the night, the seasons, the birds of the air, the fish that make their way through the waters, the animals in the fields; they wondered at how they are sustained. they wondered at the system of the universe which is a conflict of opposites: good and evil, life and death, light and darkness, hot and cold, wet and dry, love and hate, fortune and misfortune, male and female, etc. these wanderings by african traditional thinkers led to the discovery that the universe persists because of a healthy inter-subjective relation. this discovery was conceptualized as: igwe bu ike. 4. origin and principles of “igwebuike” 25 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya ii. the principles of igwebuike the principles of igwebuike refer to the framework that shapes igwebuike. these principles are the values on which igwebuike stands. while these principles guide igwebuike, they also justify igwebuike. in each of these principles, the chi of whatever is plays a very significant role. chi is used within the context of the imprint of the part of chukwu (the supreme being) on all that he has made. these principles include: a. the principle of identity the principle of identity is the first principle of igwebuike. it states that every being is determined in itself, is one with itself and is consistent in itself. thus, every being is one with itself and divided from others. if reality does not have an identity, then everything would be everything, giving birth to one thing since nothing can be differentiated from the other. in this case, there would be no subject and object relationship (kanu 2012). this would create a causal traffic in the order of being and knowledge. the principle of identity is very important in igwebuike because, before we can talk about inter-subjectivity, interconnectedness, complementarity, the other must have an identity of its own (kanu 2013). this identity is determined by the chi of the being (anatara chireceived from chi), which individuates it in relation to the other. this is important as chi is individual to every person, no wonder, it is called 'personal god' or 'personal guardian spirit'. it is also within this context that we understand why the symbol of a person's chi is destroyed as soon as the person is dead. b. the principle of hierarchy every reality in the universe has a force; however, not all realities have the same force. the variety of the degree of forces is at the base of the categorization of being. in the hierarchy of forces, those with a greater force come first, with god at the apex as the source of all force. it is the chi of a being that determines the force and, therefore, its place in the hierarchy of beings. it is also the hierarchy that determines the relationships. c. the principle of contrariety contrariety is from the word contrary. aristotle defines contrariety as: “a kind of difference, and difference is a kind of otherness” (p.681-926). he writes further: the term contrary is applied to those attributes differing in genius, which cannot belong at the same time to the same subject, to the most different of the things in the same genius, to the most different of the attributes in the same recipient subject, to the most different of things that fall under the same faculty, to the things whose difference is greatest either absolutely or in genius or in species (p. 763). 26 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. within the context of igwebuike, contrariety is part of the natural universe. for instance, in the same universe, we find both good and evil, life and death, light and darkness, hot and cold, wet and dry, love and hate, unity and diversity, short and long, substance and accidents, act and potency, fortune and misfortune, male and female. these are contraries to each other, and are indispensable realities of the universe (kanu 2018). it is the chi of a being that individuates it and thus makes it contrary to the other. d. the principle of unity in spite of the contrariety of reality, there is something common to everything. igwebuike understands every individual reality as part of and the completion of the whole, and thus, there is a unity in the midst of diversity (kanu 2019). although chi provides for the individuation, identity and contrariety of being, it is also the basis for the unity of being. chi being a 'thumb print' of chukwu in all that he has made, provides for the unity of being, and, a basis for interaction and collaboration. from the foregoing, the strong individualistic strain which chi provides in the theory of personality, does not contradict the emphasis on the overriding value of unity in diverse human situations. thus, chi is not only a basis for identity in igbo ontology, it is also a basis for unitya common gift or platform for communal relations. 27 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya mbiti (1970) understands african ontology as a religious ontology, which is heavily anthropocentric. in this ontology are god, the spirits, animals and plants and objects; however, at the centre is the human person. if this ontology would be understood, he argues that there is the need to penetrate its unity. mbiti, therefore, avers that the african concept of time is the key to understanding the african religious ontology. the concept of time may help to explain beliefs, attitudes, practices and general way of life of african peoples not only in the traditional set up but also in the modern situation, whether of political, economic, educational or church life. (p. 16). his idea of african time is built around his research on the kikamba and gikuyu languages, in which he analyzed three verbs that speak of the past and the future, covering only a period of six months and not beyond two years at most. he defines the african time as “a composition of events which have occurred, those that are taking place now and those which are immediately to occur” (p. 17). this would mean that africans set their minds on things that have passed rather than on the future. he describes the african time as concrete, epochal and not mathematical. he thinks that when africans are sitting down idle, they are not wasting time but waiting for time or producing time. mbiti's african time, in the perspective of gbadegesin (1991), is only a communal world-view report which was never evaluated. gyekye (1975), kagame (1976) and izu (2010) see mbiti's african time as insulting and false, as it does not represent the general concept of time among africans. gyekye argues that contrary to mbiti's african time, the akan people of ghana have a future time. from the foregoing, it is obvious that mbiti's african time is not a consistent principle in african religious and cultural thoughts, and as such cannot be regarded as the unity or the key to understanding african traditional religion. koech (1977) speaks of african myths as the key to understanding african traditional religion and metaphysics. he writes that: myth expresses the history, the culture and the inner experience of the african himself. the myth portrays the wishes and the fears of the african man as he gropes to understand the unknown by dissecting and remolding it to fit his frame of reference. in the myth, the african's metaphysics are created and his beliefs constructed. (p. 118). koech, thus concludes that: the myth is the essence of the african himself in history. the modern african, if he is to find his real identity and to grasp the remnant of his culture, must look for it in 5. “igwebuike”: the key to understanding african traditional religion 28 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. myth... the african myth tarried to preserve the last drop of african-ness. it is the encyclopedia engraved in the chambers of the african mind to be passed from generation to generation. (p. 139). although myths articulate and preserve the outcome of investigations on the origin of the world, the national god, the origin of humanity, its place in creation, deity, the temple, the cult, etc., it cannot be regarded as the key to understanding african religion or metaphysics, for the simple reason that mythology is not an underlying principle in african traditional religion. myths vary from one religious culture to another, and the religious meanings that mythological elements present in one culture might not be the same in another. thus, rather than speak of unity, myths introduce the subject of polarity in african traditional religion. how then can we arrive at the key to understanding african traditional religion? the key to the understanding atr should be based on the african cosmos. cosmology, etymologically, is from two greek words: cosmos and logos, meaning 'universe' and 'science' respectively. put together, it is the 'science of the universe'. scholars like wambutda (1986), ejizu (1986), achebe (1986), metuh (1987), quarcoopome (1987), arinze (1970), madu (2004) and kanu (2015a) hold that african cosmology is simply the way africans perceive, conceive and contemplate their universe; the lens through which they see reality, which affects their value systems and attitudinal orientations. cosmology is, therefore, the search for the meaning of life, and an unconscious but natural tendency to arrive at a unifying base that constitutes a frame of meaning often viewed as terminus ad quo (origin), and as terminus ad quem (end) (kanu 2012). african cosmology is essentially the underlying thought link that holds together the african value system, philosophy of life, social conduct, morality, folklores, myths, rites, rituals, norms, rules, ideas, cognitive mappings and theologies (kanu 2015b). igwebuike as a concept captures the is-ness of the african cosmos; a universe of complementarity and sharedness. igwebuike is, therefore, african cosmology and african cosmology is igwebuike. it is igwebuike because in spite of its departmentalization into the worlds of the spirits and human beings (edeh 1983, abanuka 2004 & ijiomah 2005, kanu 2017a), it is not a bifurcated world. the spiritual and physical dimensions overlap and harmoniously interact. in this interaction, human beings commune with god, the ancestors, etc., and vice versa. while the ancestors do for human beings what they cannot do for themselves, human beings do for the ancestors what they cannot achieve by themselves. this interactive capacity of the african universe has instilled a strong sense of community in every dimension of the african life, such that to be without belonging is to be annihilated (kanu 2017b). this has not only defined the social and political dimensions of the african life, but the spiritual or religious dimension as well. it is within this context that igwebuike is employed as the key to understanding african traditional religion. to understand the meaning that igwebuike conveys as a thought current, is to understand the dynamics of african traditional religion. 29 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya igwebuike is the intricate web of african philosophy. it has remained constant in the midst of the changes in the history of african philosophy, and has continued to persist through changes. its sense of harmony, community, complementarity and solidarity has been expressed right from the philosophy of tempels (1959). he argues that in bantu ontology: 'beings forces' of the universe are not a multiple of independent forces placed in juxtaposition from being to being. all creatures are found in relationship according to the law of hierarchy... nothing moves in this universe of forces without influencing other forces by its movement (p. 29). kagame (1951) and jahn (1958) did establish the harmonious character of reality. they agree with tempels that reality is force. it is not a force independent of other forces. the nationalistic movements of the 20th century in africa were linked by their emphasis on belongingness, familyhood, which was the basis for their socialisms. thus, the social negritude of senghor (1959, 1964 & 1975) places the family at the centre of the social structure. nyerere (1968) bases his principle of ujamaa on familyhood. the choice of socialism over capitalism by awolowo (1969&1979), the welfarism of azkiwe and the promotion of pan-africanism by nkrumah (1963) were based on the distinctive complementary character of african ontology. edeh (1983) in his work on igbo metaphysics continues with the perspective of mbiti: accordingly the igbo way of life emphasizes 'closeness' but not closed-ness'. there is a closeness in living because each person 'belongs to' others and in turn, 'is belonged to' by others. by adopting this life of 'closeness' or 'belongingness', an igbo becomes immersed in the culture's spiritual substance, love; and by love, he acquires a fulfillment as a person beyond mere individuality. (p. 105). gyekye (1987), writing on akan philosophy avers that the individual depends on the community: the individual's life depends on identifying oneself with the group. this identification is the basis of the reciprocal relationship between the individual and the group. it is also the ground of the overriding emphasis on the individual's obligation to the members of the group. (p. 156). iroegbu (1995) describes being in african ontology as belongingness. in response to the questions, 'what makes being, being?' iroegbu argues that it is belongingness, thus being is belongingness. what then is belongingness? he defines it as 'the synthesis of the reality 6. “igwebuike”: the underlying principle of african philosophy 30 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. and experience of belongingness' (p. 374). in the contention of okonkwo (2020), reality is understood within the context of uwandu, the true and valid universum along the possibilities of thinkables, experientials, perceivables and their commonness to all human beings. that is, the worldhood or universal datum that provides the “hood” for the perceivers and experiencing thinkers of this inescapable phenomenon)?' nkemnkia (1999) writes that in african ontology, the self is the other: the meaning of an individual's life is found in and through his relationship with the other or others. in fact it is meaningless to ask oneself “who am i” without having a complete knowledge of the other, from whom, in the final analysis, one expects the answer. (pp. 111-112). wiredu (1995), focusing on the political dimension of the african life, sees complementarity and belongingness as characterizing political decision-making in africa. asouzu (2004, 2007) and njoku (2018) developed the notion of being within the new ontological horizon of ibuanyidanda. thus, asouzu (2007) defines being as “that on account of which anything that exists serves a missing link of reality” (p. 103). being is, therefore, located within the context of mutual complementarity of all possible relations in the sense of an existent reality (kanu 2016a&b). from tempels to asouzu, the igwebuike principle of harmony, community, solidarity and complementarity have never been lacking, therefore, positioning igwebuike as the underlying principle of african philosophy. 31 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya as a result of the centrality of igwebuike to african thought, it finds expression in virtually every religio-cultural dimension of the african people. i. appellative expressions of igwebuike the basic concern here is to see how african names express igwebuike or echo the spirit of harmony and complementarity. thus, three categories of names would be studied from the igbo perspective: the names given to human beings, titles given to people and the names given to god. a. human names these names speak of human relationships towards the other, a constant reminder that the human person is not alone. 1. obinwanne: the heart of a brother 2. ekwutosinammadibegi: don't condemn your fellow human being 3. chisom: god is with me 4. kesandu: increase and multiply life 5. chinanurumogu: god fights my battle 6. somadina: may i not live alone 7. lotanna: remember the father 8. adaeze: daughter of a king 9. nnamdi: my father lives 10. adaora: daughter of the people. b. titles given to human beings these titles are given in relation to what the title holder has done for others. no one becomes great in african ontology as a result of what he or she has done for himself or herself. 1. uba zuo oke: let wealth go round 2. onwa na etiri ora: man of the people, a philanthropist 3. ochiri ozuo: a helper, especially to the less privileged 4. ada oha: the community's famous daughter 5. aka ji mba: the people's life-wire 7. religio-cultural expressions of “igwebuike” 32 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. 6. ome udo: the peacemaker 7. okwaruzo: the road maker 8. omeruora: one who does good things for people 9. ebube dike: glorious hero of the community 10. ikemba: the power (strength) of a nation (place) c. african names for god these are names given to god based on what he has done for human beings or what is expected from him. 1. okosisi na eche ndu: the mighty tree that gives protection 2. echeta obi esike: the giver of confidence 3. agbataobi nwa ogbenye: the friend of the poor 4. agbataobi onye ajuru aju: the friend of the rejected 5. olilianya nde ogbenye: the hope of the poor 6. obata obie: he whose presence ends every pain/misfortune 7. onye nzoputa: the savior 8. chukwu na'kpu nwa: the god that creates children 9. okwere nkwa meya: the one that fulfills his promise 10. odi mma na eme mma: the good god that does good ii. proverbial expressions of igwebuike african proverbs contain the wisdom and experience of the african people, usually of several ages gathered and summed up in one expression. they spring from the people and represent the voice of the people and express the interpretation of their beliefs, principles of life and conduct, moral attitudes, and reflect the hopes, achievements and failings of a people (kanu 2014a & 2018). examples are: 1. a person is a person because of other people 2. sticks in a bundle cannot be broken 3. cross the river in a crowd and crocodile will not eat you 4. two ants do not fail to pull a grasshopper 5. a single stick may smoke but it will not burn 6. when spiders unite they can tie up a lion 7. if you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together 8. if two or more people urinate in the same place at the same time, it would produce more foam 33 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya 9. when a bird builds its nest, it uses the feathers of other birds 10. let the kite perch, let the eagle perch iii. folkloric expression of igwebuike africans are parable and story telling people, (zani 1972) and their stories according to rattray (1930) mirror more or less accurately the african idea of life, conduct and morals. apart from the african system of education which is tied to roles such as farming, hunting, firewood gathering, dancing, storytelling, naming ceremony, etc., the african got much more instruction through tales (brosnan 1976). this was in the main moral instruction given at night after the evening meal, on the way to farm or the stream, in the village square or at moonlight nights (shorter 1973 & kanu 2015b). they are told in such a way that people are able to pick up their meanings without any explanation (kanu 2016b). an example of an african folktale that beautifully expresses igwebuike is that of the choosy princess. there was once a choosy princess who turned down the requests of those who asked for her hand in marriage. her father was disturbed because of her choosy attitude and, made public that any man who would win the love of his daughter would have half of his kingdom given to him. this was heard by a python that lived in the river and immediately it went about borrowing the parts of the human body and when it looked fully human, it stormed the palace of the king in a grand style. immediately the princess saw the human python, she was attracted to him, fell in love and decided to marry him. the human python departed with her and owned half of the wealth of the kingdom as the king had promised. when the python was returning with her to his home, just before the river, it turned into a python and went into the river with the princess. those who witnessed this brought word back to the king that his son-in-law is not a human being but a python. this bordered the king who assembled the wise men in his kingdom for a way forward towards rescuing the princess. they came to the decision that to rescue her, extraordinary talents would be required for the mission. this included professionals like: a boat rider, a thief, a carpenter, a diviner, a hunter and a swimmer. when they got to the river, and did not know where to begin to find her, the diviner did some incantations and found out where the princess was hidden by the python. having discovered her, the thief went into the river and stole the princess from where she was. he handed her over to the skillful swimmer who immediately moved with her behind him. at this point, the python woke up from its slumber and angrily went after the swimmer. this was when the hunter came in and fired at 34 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. the python. while the boat rider was heading to the shore with her, the anger of the python was stirred and it hit hard on the boat damaging a good part of it; and to save the boat from sinking the carpenter came in and mended the damaged part of the boat that they may continue on their journey. with a combined effort, the team was able to take the princess back to the king. this was realized through the complementary effort of the different members of the rescue team (kanu 2017k). one person wouldn't have been able to withstand the python, let alone rescue the princess. iv. musical expression of igwebuike africans are a people of songs. they sing in their farms during work, in their shrines during worship, at home while cooking, during storytelling, at war fronts, on a journey, etc., (kanu 2016a). african songs point to the relatedness of reality. one among many is the songs titled nwankelu: onye kugbulu nwankelu?: who killed the rabin? kerere nwankelu (reframe) ukwa dagbulu nwankelu: the bread fruit killed nwankelu kerere nwankelu gini mere ukwa ahu?: what happened to the bread fruit? kerere nwankelu obi mara ukwa ahu: a digger pierced the breadfruit kerere nwankelu gini mere obi ahu?: what happened to the digger? kerere nwankelu akika kporo obi ahu.: the digger was infested by termites. kerere nwankelu gini mere akika ahu?: what happened to the termites? kerere nwankelu okuko tuga akika ahu: a cock was eating the termite. kerere nwankelu gini mere okuko ahu?: what happened to the cock? kerere nwankelu ufu chuga okuko ahu.: a fox was pursuing the cock kerere nwankelu gini mere ufu ahu?: what happened to the fox? 35 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya kerere nwankelu mmadu chuga ufu ahu.: a man was pursuing the fox. kerere nwankelu gini mere mmadu ahu?: what happened to the man? kerere nwankelu chukwu kere mmadu ahu.: god created the man. kerere nwankelu gini kere chukwu ahu?: what made god? kerere nwankelu anyi amaghi ihe kpuru chukwu, chukwu kpuru mmadu, mmadu chuga ufu, ufu chuga okuko, okuko chuga akika, akika taru obi, obi mara ukwa, ukwa dagbulu nwankelukerere nwankelu.: (we do not know what made god, god made man, man was pursuing the fox, the fox was going after the cock, the cock was after the termite, the termite infested the digger, the digger pierced the bread fruit, the bread fruit fell and killed wankelukerere nwankelu) (kanu 2013). in this song, the relationship between reality is expressed. v. symbolic expression of igwebuike of the many cultural symbols in igboland, none has received attention like the kola nut. it is very important and central to the life and ceremonies of the igbo. for the igbo, it goes beyond the red and yellow seed that you find in trays sold on the street and in kiosks. it is not just the biannual crop grown and stored in sacks and baskets. it is a food that must be eaten with relish; it commands adoration and many accolades and must be attended to with deserving feast. it unites the living and dead, and symbolizes a feast of togetherness, love and trust. the kola nut is a symbol of life ndu, this is why the igbo say: “he that brings kola brings life” (kanu 2019). plate 1: the igbo kola nuts 36 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. every kola can be broken into lobes, and these lobes signify numbers. and number is very important for the african. some have 1 lobe, some 2 lobes, some 3, some 4, some 5, some 6 and some 7. kola nut with one lobe is a dumb kola (oji ogbi); it is not eaten because it is the kola of the spirits. it belongs to chukwu, because chukwu bu mmuo. when it has two lobes, it is called oji gworo, symbolizing male and female. it is an elliptical gender shadow of oji ogbi. three lobed kola nut is called oji ikenga (ike eji aga) or oji dike. it is the masculine kola and thus the kola of the valiant. as a matter of principle it is eaten only by warriors, brave men, the consecrated or ordained. it is not eaten by women. the kola with four lobes is the kola of peace and blessings, oji udo, oji ngozi, oji aka ano, oji ahia na ano ubosi na ano: afor, nkwor, eke and orie. it is the kola nut for both male and female genders, and thus considered the most gender sensitive kola. the kola with five lobes is the kola of procreation, protection, industry, achievement, wealth, progress and good luck. the kola with six lobes called oji ikenga abuo and, therefore, oji ogbugbandu. it is the kola of blood and spirit, and thus, indicative of communion with the ancestors. no wonder the smallest part of it is not eaten but given to the ancestors. the last is the seven lobed kola, which is known as the kola nut of consummations, wisdom, power, fulfillment, celebration, festivities, ezumezu. the igbo would say: uwam uwa asaa; asaa ndu na anwuanwu; ikpa naasaa mmiri naasaapointing to the kola of endlessness or eternity (kanu 2019). this notwithstanding, among the lobes, there is always a female and male lobe. when these lobes stay together they remain alive, but when they separate they die and dry off. their togetherness is a symbol of life, and their separation, death. it's a symbiotic relationship in the sense that they need each other to remain alive. a. mythological expression of igwebuike myths are the outcome of the human attempts to explain historical institutions and developments by appeal to non-historical factors and forces. african myths are, therefore, veritable mine of materials on african traditional religion, philosophy and culture. esposito, easching and lewis (2006), explain that “myth” comes from the greek word “mythos”, which means “story”. according to marshall (1988), myths are “invented stories about the gods in which they behave like human beings with superhuman powers” (p. 449). gunkel (1901), corroborating marshall, defines myth as “stories of the gods in contradistinction with legends in which the actors are men” (p. 14). the nri hegemony and its influence on igbo history cannot be over emphasized. it is in 37 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya this regard that madubuko (1994) observes that the story of the igbo people, no matter how briefly considered, would be incomplete if one omits the eri-nri myth. eri clan originated from the region of anambra river, at aguleri; from there they fanned eastward and established various communities. according to uzukwu (1988), eri is the father of all nri; and tradition says that he came from chukwu. it is reported that the earth was not firm when he came to the world. to solve the problem of flood, he employed blacksmiths from awka to use their bellows to dry the flooded land. there was no food as well for the people. to provide food, he prayed to god and he demanded that he should sacrifice his first son and daughter to him. after the sacrifice and burial of his son and daughter, as though all were lost, yam and palm tree began to grow out of the place where he buried his first son while vegetables and cocoyam grew out of the place where he buried his daughter. if yam germinated from where eri's first son was burried, it means that yam is the resurrected son of eri, and since it was given to man to sustain life, it is regarded as life itself. madu (2004) observes a cosmological drama between god and man, land and crops. eri, the civilization hero enjoys a special relationship with chukwu, and through eri's sacrifice, humanity now enjoys a special relationship with the land which offers food for his sustenance. the ritual performed by eri established a covenant between eri, his descendants and chukwu. from the sacrifice of eri, we discover why yam is very prominent in igbo sacrifice and life, a situation which warrants its annual elaborate festival throughout igbo land. the growing of yam from the spot where eri's first son was buried accounts for the respect given to okpara (first son) in igbo life. he is considered to be closer to the ancestors. this notwithstanding, significant to our consideration is the collaboration between eri and awka blacksmiths. eri, even though he enjoyed a special place in the divine plan still had to collaborate with others for the meaningfulness of his existence. 38 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. i. the problem of identity and alterity with rene descartes (1596-1650 ad), philosophy started a new way, that of gnoseology. he defines a person in relation to self-consciousness. descartes (1637), through his methodical doubt, discovers that something resists doubt. that is, the fact that it is he who doubts, and who can be deceived. he thus, arrives at cogito ergo sum (i think, therefore, i am). to the question, who am i? descartes answers, a “thinking thing”. his transformation of the person from an ontological to a psychological fact, opened the door to a series of either great diminutions or of enormous exaggerations of the concept of person (kanu 2012 and 2015). since the time of descartes, individual consciousness has been taken as the privileged centre of identity, while 'the other' is seen as an epistemological problem, or as an inferior, reduced or negated form of the same (kanu 2013). ii. igwebuike and the other contrary to descartes' position, igwebuike provides an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations (kanu 2016a). 'to be' is 'to be with the other', in a community of beings. (kanu 2015a). igwebuike understands life as a shared reality. and it is only within the context of complementarity that life makes meaning. life is a life of sharedness; one in which another is part thereof. a relationship, though of separate and separated entities or individuals but with a joining of the same whole (kanu 2017a). a relationship in which case the two or more coming together make each of them a complete whole; it is a diversity of being one with each other. thus, to put the other away removes the balance of being. kanu (2018) avers that this presupposes a tailor-made-cloth, measured, cut and sewn to fit into the curves, contours, shape and size, peculiarities and particularities of a being. therefore, every being has a missing part and is at the same time, a missing part. ewulu (2010), writes that: if the other is my part or a piece of me, it means that i need him for me to be complete, for me to be what i really am. the other completes rather than diminishes me. his language and culture make my own stand out and at the same time, they enrich and complement my own. (p.189). from the foregoing perspective, the self is not only completed in relating with the other, but attains self-realization through the other. ewulu (2010) writes further: 8. “igwebuike”, identity and alterity 39 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya i realize myself in the other because it is in the 'thou-ness' of the thou that my 'isness' is realized. i am 'i' because you are 'you'. without thou there is no i. we are 'we' because they are 'they', and without 'they', there is no 'we'. (p. 189). as a result of the dynamics of the relationship between the i and the thou, the igbo would refer to the 'other' as ibe, which means 'a piece of' or 'a part of', as in ibe anu (a piece of meat) or ibe ede (a piece of cocoyam). the igbo would, therefore, refer to the 'other person' as ibe m which means 'my piece' or mmadu ibe m (my fellow human being). this is the concept employed in reference to relationships and reciprocity: love one another (hunu ibe unu n'anya), help one another (nyere nu ibe unu aka), respect one another (sopuru nu ibe unu), etc. since the 'other' refers to my own piece, it would mean that to love the other is to love oneself, to help the other is to help oneself and to respect the other is to respect oneself. put the other way round, to hate the other is to hate oneself, to refuse help to the other is to refuse help to oneself and to disrespect the other is to disrespect oneself. from the african perspective, there is a link between the self and the other. this is because the self carries with it the mark of otherness. if reality is one with itself and consistent with itself, that is, different from others, then its uniqueness is always in reference to the other. in the i and the other relation, both participants exist as polarities of relation. iii. chi as the ontological basis for the other as ibem the concept chi has been used in various capacities by the igbo; first, in the capacity of the supreme being, and second, as a guardian angel or a spiritual being or force which every person possess. its essence lies in the commonest everyday expression of the word chi; verbally, in possessive singular adjectival form: chim (my chi), chigi (your chi), chiya (his or her chi), chi anyi (our chi) an igbo interjection for surprise chim o (my god) or a common curse among the igbo chi ne'ke kpo gi oku (may god burn you) (chukwukere 1980). plate 2: ibe ji 40 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. however, the nuance employed here is the later in which chi is understood as the divinity in every human person or the spark of the divine in created things. chi has been represented by the igbo in different ways: for some it is a special tree planted in the person's compound like the ogilisi or oha; for others, it could be a small clay pot and filled with sand with three sticks cut from a special plant thrust jointly into the sand. these representations are usually kept in a special place and an altar built around it for the offering of sacrifice. it is this chi, which is a thumb print or mark of chukwu in each and every one of us that places the other in a special place in relation to the self. if i and the other have the thumb print of the same chukwu, the spark of the supreme being, it then means that we relate in a special way that goes deeper than our individualities. our rootedness in chukwu is what makes the other a part of me. to treat the other in a way that is undeserving of the divine mark in him or her not only affects the person but the ontological order we are all part of. 41 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya introduction igwebuikeconomics is the application of igwebuike philosophy to economic development. it is, therefore, the product of two words: igwebuike and economics. to understand igwebuikeconomics, an understanding of the two words: igwebuike and economics, that make up the compound word would be necessary. in relating igwebuike with economics, economics provides the central context for the application for igwebuike philosophy; and the word igwebuike is descriptive, in the sense that it speaks of the kind of economics that we are dealing with here. it is an economics that is anchored on the african worldview that understands reality as inclusive, complementary and relational, and which places the interest and good of the human person at the centre of reality. it is a humanistic economics that concerns herself with the description and analysis of production, distribution and consumption of goods and services from a complementary perspective for the development of peoples. it understands economic realities not in terms of aspects, identities and static elements but thinks in terms of relatedness that systematically takes into cognizance the interactions of the different elements of social life, especially, economic structure, political structure, social structure and belief systems, with an awareness of the complexity and dynamism of relatedness. it is this relatedness of reality that has called for this complementary approach to economics that addresses problems complementarily and concretely rather than abstractly. imu olu as a dimension of igwebuikeconomics the igbo apprentice system popularly known as 'imu-olu' (learning work) or 'imu-ahia' (learning trade) or 'igba boy' (to serve) is a major factor in any discussion about igbo commerce. maleke (2018) describes it as an “apprenticeship system that purports established businessmen in a town, street or locale to pick up teenagers-young adults [the apprentice] from their homes and give them an informally formal, but raw and practical, cutthroat business education” (n.p). the teenager might be a relative, sibling or nonrelative from the same region. he writes further that “the idea centers around taking them off the streets and the perilous tendencies of an idle mind to give them a purpose, so that they can continue the trend when they are established” (n.p). imu olu as a system of commerce has been with the igbo before the nigerian civil war, with which they created wealth across the nigerian nation. after the civil war, when the igbo world was crumbled following the terrible legacy of the biafra war, marked by great poverty, halting of livelihood, scarcity of funds and human capital and hopelessness, 9. igwebuikeconomics 42 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. it was the igbo apprentice system that pulled majority of igbo families out of poverty within two years after the war. arrangements and dynamics of imu olu the apprentice leaves his parents and comes to live under the care and supervision of an established business igbo person who becomes his master. he takes care of his master for the agreed number of years, and does every chore that the master assigns him. he serves his master not only in the shop or in relation to the business but at home as well. he has no right to travel home without the consent of the master, even if the parents live in the same city. he must work hard to win the trust and favour of his master, as it is the master who would make an appraisal of his service. at the end of the apprenticeship, the master gives him a take-off fund to hire or purchase a shop, goods, equipment, where necessary and in some cases, accommodation for a given period of time. this take-off fund does not in any way mean that he ceases to collaborate with the master. the master still assists him with goods procurement to reduce overhead importation cost, knowing that the apprentice has a weak purchasing power. through different responsibilities, the master prepares the apprentice for the future. it is not in all cases that the master stays with the apprentice in the same shop or business premises. having gathered some experience, the master can decide to open a shop elsewhere, different from the location where he might be. in this case, the apprentice manages the business branch for the master, representing him at business negotiations. this seeming independence of the apprentice in management does not only help the master expand his business and, thus, make more profit, it also helps the apprentice with an ownership mindset that gives room for trust, building of confidence and exposure, which are necessary for the apprentice if he must succeed in the future. once an apprentice graduates and is settled, he has a responsibility of doing for others back at home what his master has done for him. he, therefore, goes to the village and picks another apprentice who would serve him. meanwhile, before his graduation, his master must have gone home and picked another apprentice who would learn the trade (crescent 2019). neuwirth (2018) visited the alaba international market in lagos dominated by the igbo and observes that the igbo apprenticeship system that governs alaba international market is the largest business incubator platform in the world and has produced more millionaires and billionaires than the entire nigerian university economic system has produced. these millionaires: innoson, coscharis, ibeto, chikason, ekenedilichukwu, etc., are not just millionaires, they make millionaires every year through the apprentice incubator platform. the system is such that there is always a millionaire waiting to be born (ted, november 2018) 43 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya the communal and spiritual dimensions of imu olu in spite of the absence of clearly written laws to guide the relationship between the master and the apprentice, this system has succeeded over the years because, first, the apprentice treads with caution, knowing that if he fails or ruins his masters business, his own future would be ruined. he treads carefully in managing the affairs of his master and tries to prosper the master's business for he knows that his destiny is tied to the economic destiny of his master. this fear, according to okoro (2018) engenders honesty as every established acts of theft, diversion of fund and flamboyant use of business finances terminates the arrangement. while the apprentice does his best to avoid the termination of the apprentice arrangement, the master is also careful to avoid a bad labeling from his community where he has picked the son of a brother or relation. to fail to keep to the terms of apprenticeship after the agreed number of years of service can incur the wrath of the community back at home. the igbo apprenticeship system is not only an arrangement between the master and the apprentice, it is a community or family affair. masters who are notorious for not settling their apprentice hardly get apprentice to work with them. according to okoro (2018), insincere masters run the risk of having their businesses ruined by the apprentice's personal deity, known as the chi. this is why every master does his best to give a take-off package to the apprentice after the fulfillment of the agreed years of service. at this point of settlement the blessing of the master is more important than the financial package, because the financial package without his blessing ends in ruin (kanu 2019). master apprentice to master apprentice to master apprentice to master apprentice to master apprentice to master figure 4: igbo apprentice incubator network 44 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. foundations of igbo apprentice incubator network there are three fundamental principles that shape the igbo apprenticeship system: a. igbo social construction of reality among the igbo of nigeria, the life of a human person is circumscribed within the uwa (the world) (kanu 2012a). in the contention of oguejiofor (2010) “this unitary conception of reality pervades the igbo world in a remarkable way” (p. 21). the igbo, therefore, does not see himself or herself as an individual without noticing immediately the need for the other. no wonder he or she often warns the other: onye aghana nwanne ya (no one should leave his brother/sister behind) (kanu 2012b). b. igbo philosophy of resilience the igbo world is not a bed of roses. it is a world of struggles that begins from birth, noticeable in the cry of a little child as soon as it is born. circumscribed to the uwa (world), the human person is faced by difficulties and frustrations. this makes survival in a tolerable way a major concern for the igbo, and it to a large extent determines the igbo attitude to life. to face the struggles of life, the igbo generate a corporate front, partnering with the other to avoid being overwhelmed. c. igbo think-home philosophy the igbo have a saying that: aku ruo uno (wealth must reach home). if a person is known all over the world but not known in his home town then he is not known. if a person does not make an effort to return home, he or she is referred to as an efuru efu (the lost one). after the nigerian civil war, when the property and wealth of the igbo in states outside of igboland were seized by the nigerian government, the igbo philosophy of cheruo uno, (think home) became more important (kanu 2014a). no matter where the igbo travel to and the number of houses he builds elsewhere, he ensures that he has a home in his village. home is home for them and so they are at home for the celebration of festivals like christmas, new year, easter, new yam festival, etc. more interesting is that many who are not able to travel during these seasons have one association or the other to which they belong in the city where they live. even when he dies, the corpse must be taken home. the corpse needs to get home to rest well (kanu 2014b). 45 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya democracy is from two greek words: demos, which means ‘people’ and kratein, which means to ‘rule’. put together, it means the power of the people. thus, lincoln (cited by kanu 2019) describes democracy as “the government of the people, by the people and for the people under the rule of law” (p. 316). gyekye (1997) and busia (1975) observe that the concept “the people” points to the power of the people to choose who to rule them in accordance with the general good of the society, and that they set up, by themselves, the constitutional rules, principles and procedures of governance. carter (1978), adds that democracy as a system that is altered by time and experience, always changing, infinite in its variety, sometimes it is turbulent, however, still valuable. as a political structure, democracy emphasizes the sharing of power among people of various categories. sabine (1973) avers that democracy must involve mutual concession and compromise as a way of arriving at decisions. chidili (2012) notices that three salient points from the definitions of democracy: that democratic government is not monotypic but diverse in nature; even in its diversity, it is changing; it is strictly based on the rule of law. this openness to change provides for democracy to be an adaptable system of governance that can exist anywhere in the world, including africa. i. africanity of democracy when african traditional political systems are discussed, they are often described as monarchical or aristocratic. this is a perspective that is evident in arogbofa (2007), who argues that the traditional political systems in africa had no place for democracy. european and african political thinkers see democracy as a system of government that began in greece and was imported from europe to africa. contrary to this opinion, the researcher argues that democracy is a cherished african value, which existed in precolonial africa. thus, africa cannot be understood as a passive recipient of democracy. before the advent of the west to africa, african nationals already practiced igwebuikecracy, an indigenous democratic government designed by the people for the people. in igwebuikecracy, the community determines the praxis of the socio-political life of the people while putting into consideration existential particularities and peculiarities. herein, followership is as important as leadership since leadership is not a one man show. 10. igwebuikecracy 46 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. members are fully involved in decision making and implementation of such decisions on issues that affect them. igwebuikecracy takes into account african values and identity, thus, building on the african peculiar experiencehistory, circumstances, and situations. ii. the igbo igwebuikecratic structure communal living among the igbo led to the emergence of economic, social and political institutions. from this emerged leaders, and as social groups developed, effective administrative systems emerged as well to regulate social relations. this was founded on egalitarian and democratic structures. the political organization was constituted by different levels of autonomous democratic governments which exercised political, social and economic control over the lives of the people. a. the nuclear family: it was the bedrock of social and political organization, referred to as ezi na uno. it consisted of a man, his wives, his married and unmarried sons, unmarried daughters and the servants or slaves, if any. the father was the leader of the household and was in possession of the family ofo, which is the symbol of authority, justice, law and uprightness (kanu 2015). the father was responsible for directing the affairs of the family, however, it was done in consultation with his senior sons and wives. figure 5: nuclear family 47 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya b. the patrilineage or extended family: it is called umunna. it is composed of a number of families that have a common eponymous father. uchendu (1965) defines the ununna as “a territorial kin-based unit which subdivides into compounds (ezi obi)” (p. 40). the head of this political unit is the oldest male member of the extended family also known as the di-okpara and has the ofo of the extended family in his possession. according to olisa (2002) and nwosu (2002), the di-okpara presides over meetings, sacrifices, issues of inheritance, settlement of disputes among members of the extended family, marriage, allocation of lands and the representation of the family with other extended families. in decision making, the di-okpara worked in consultation with the other heads of the extended family who constituted the extended family assembly. decisions were arrived at through dialogue, consensus (nkwekolita), compromise, cooperation and consultation (igba izu). figure 6: extended family 48 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. c. the maximal lineage: it is also referred to as idumu in igbo, which means quarter. it is made up of a number of extended families who are linked by a common putative ancestor. this major lineage is headed by the oldest male among them. he holds the ofo of the major lineage and presides at functions concerning the major lineage and was considered as a sacred person with taboos and rituals accompanying the violation of his authority. in his exercise of authority over the major lineage, he worked in consultation with a large assembly comprising of senior household men, titled men, priests, men of honour, intelligence and wealth, etc. figure 7: maximal lineage 49 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya c. the village-group assembly: it was the biggest socio-political group referred to as ogbe (village). ajaegbo (2014) observes that it was composed of a number of major lineages who are descended from a common ancestor or different putative ancestors. onwuejeogwu (1972) refers to the ogbe as federation of autonomous settlements, and by nzimiro (1972) as wards. the assembly was the highest authority with its members being senior males of households, professional hunters, priests, honourable and wealthy men, warriors, titled men, medicine men, etc. the leader of this assembly varied from one village to another, in some, it was headed by the council of elders: a group of wise, knowledgeable, courageous and transparent men. maquet (1972) refers to their authority as “a collegial authority exercised by the chiefs of the various lineages living in the village” (p. 57). the owerri igbo call it oha, and its members ndi oha. in some, the oldest member of the council of elders referred to as the diokpa, and in this case, he becomes the custodian of the ofo. the supreme head of the assembly took decisions in consultation with the constituent members of the village assembly. consultation, consensus and compromise were necessary elements in resolving issues and decision making. the village square (ama nzuko ora), usually a common place, was the arena of assembly plate 3: the village-group assembly 50 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. the greek and roman worlds played significant parts in shaping the character and influencing the history of christianity, in the sense that while greek philosophy and culture shaped early christian theological formulations, the roman world, with its rich organizational structures, shaped the organizational and practical dimensions of the life of the christian church, and its religious impulses from the rich jewish tradition. however, as christianity moved to the shores of africa, its sympathetic, non-derogatory and nondominant touch declined. there was a smugness toward african traditional religion and culture, which generated barrage of names for it. names like primitive, pagan, heathen, magic, ancestor worship, juju, fetish, animism, etc., (kanu 2010 and 2015a). this smugness may have been partly the result of the developments in the areas of sociology and anthropology, evident in the writings of linnaeus (1978), gobineau (1915) and other writers who expressed negative perspectives about africa. very interesting is the perspective of the colonial governor of nigeria, lord frederick lugard, in his the dual mandate, which became a handbook for all british administrators in tropical africa, and influenced british colonial policies across the continent. in character and temperament typical african of this race-type is a happy, thriftless, excitable person. lacking in self-control, discipline, and foresight. naturally courageous, and naturally courteous and polite, full of personal vanity, with little sense of veracity, fond of music and loving weapons as an oriental loves jewelry. his thoughts are concentrated on the events and feelings of the moment, and he suffers little from the apprehension for the future, or grief for the past (p. 70). he further compared the african to lower animals: his mind is far nearer to the animal world than that of the european or asiatic, and exhibits something of the animal's placidity and want of desire to rise beyond the state he has reached. through the ages, the african appears to have evolved no organized religious creed, and though some tribes appear to believe in a deity, the religious sense seldom rises above pantheistic animalism and seems more often to take the form of a vague dread of the supernatural (p. 70). focusing on the inability of the african to manage his own affairs, he writes: he lacks the power of organization, and is conspicuously deficient in the 11. “igwebuike” theology and the adaptation of christianity in africa 51 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya management and control alike of men or business. he loves the display of power, but fails to realize its responsibility ....he will work hard with a less incentive than most races. he has the courage of the fighting animal -an instinct rather than a moral virtue......in brief, the virtues and defects of this race-type are those of attractive children, whose confidence when it is won is given ungrudgingly as to an older and wiser superior and without envy.......perhaps the two traits which have impressed me as those most characteristic of the african native are his lack of apprehension and his ability to visualize the future. (p. 70). these perspectives limited the african personality, and shaped the missionaries' conception of african religion and culture (kanu 2016 and 2019). the first strategy employed by most colonial authorities and missionaries was that of disassemblage, concealed in the exploitative ideology of benevolent paternalism (ekwuru 1999). it was first an ideology of condemnation, which identified everything “good to be white” and everything “bad to be black” (kwame, 1981). some missionaries made no appraisal of our peculiarities, african languages, parables, modes of thought, poetry, which reveals the profundity of african literary wizardry. the drum was banned from sounding in most churches. african names for baptism were rejected, and european family names like de santos encouraged (hastings, 1976 and kanu 2012). 1. igwebuike theological perspectives on evangelization in the face of all these, what theological perspective has igwebuike to offer for a balanced evangelization? it is this concern that has inspired the reflections below. a. culture as a preparation for the gospel reality in igwebuike is not disjointed but a continuum. therefore, it makes for the possibility of making a connection between african culture and the gospel message. clement of alexandria wrote the stromata in which he addressed the issue of the relationship between greek philosophy and christianity. he criticized those who say that philosophy is worthless or dangerous for christians. clement calls them babblers “who in their ignorance are frightened at every noise” (strom. 1, 1). he argues that philosophy was given to the greeks by god to prepare them for the coming of christ, just as the law was given to the hebrews for the same purpose (mirus 2015). he writes: “accordingly, before the advent of the lord, philosophy was necessary to the greeks for righteousness. and now it becomes conducive to piety; being a kind of preparatory training to those who attain to faith through demonstration” (strom. 1, 5). 52 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. his interpretation of greek philosophy is that it was not only necessary for the greeks as an intellectual enterprise, but very useful in preparing christians to accept the faith, as well as helping them to understand it better and defend it against error. his idea becomes clearer when it is understood that the early christian thinkers used neoplatonism to clarify the christian message, thus using philosophy as a vehicle for preaching the gospel. in the same sense, igwebuike understands african culture and religion as a gift given to africans by god in preparation for the gospel. b. sympathetic and non-derogatory approach to culture igwebuike does not see the other as an opponent to be avoided or derogated. its approach is such that the other is related with in a manner that is non-discriminatory, non-derogatory and sympathetic. it does not put condemnation before understanding. this was the approach of jesus christ in the gospels. towards the jewish cult, his attitude was one of fidelity and autonomy. in fidelity, jesus had respect for the traditions of his time. he came not to abolish the law and the prophets but to fulfill them (matthew 5:17). he was faithful in observing the offering of sacrifices in the temple (matthew 21:12), the service of word in the synagogue (matthew 6:6), observing the day of the sabbath, the feasts of passover, tabernacle, and dedication (matthew 26:17-19). however, his fidelity did not lie in passivity, but represented that of a “critical yes”, a reforming fidelity, that placed a demand of purification to the worship of his time. his autonomy found expression in his challenge to fellow jews to spiritualize and interiorize the jewish religion (kanu 2019). when jesus preached the gospel, he used categories familiar to his audiencehe preached through what okonkwo (2002) referred to as “the media of the people” or “the press of the people” of his time. we hear of absentee lords and tenant revolts (matthew 21:31-45); small family-run farms (matthew 21:28-30); debts and debtors (matthew 18:25-35); day labourers paid merely subsistent wages (matthew 20:1-6); these graphically reflect the detail of the picture of palestinian countryside during his time. st paul writes, “to the jews i became a jew, in other to win jews… i have become all things to all men that i might by all means save some” (9:20 & 22). st paul adopts a pattern of mission that brings the christian experience into the cultural experience of the local people (kanu 2019). c. culture as the seed of the word of god justine martyr understood man as composed of: body (σώμα, soma), soul (ψυχή, psyche), and spirit (πνεύμα, pneuma). he used the term ζωτικόν πνεύμα (zotikon pneuma), in latin (spritus vitalis) to describe the spiritual dimension of the human person. the 53 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya ζωτικόν πνεύμα, is the divine principle in man, the distinguishing feature of his nature, his unique dignity and a participation in the very life of the logos. he calls it "seed of the word" or “reason in man”, in greek, the σπερματικός λόγος (spermaticos logos) and in latin, the ratio seminalis. through the σπερματικός λόγος, the divine principle in man was able to govern himself and pursued virtue even before the coming of christianity. this divine principle, has an intimate connection with the divine logos, the word of god. thus, he avers that christ was already present in local cultures in an imperfect way even before the word of god was preached to these cultures. the spermaticos logos in the african context is the chi, which is the divinity in every human being. through this, god has not been absent to the african and thus, the african culture. d. the african typology model an interesting aspect of biblical studies is the area of typology. bullinger (1968) defines typology as “a figure or ensample of something future and more or less prophetic, called the 'antitype'” (p. 768). muenscher (cited by terry 1890) understands typology as a study of “the preordained representative relation which certain persons, events, and institutions of the old testament bear to corresponding persons, events, and institutions in the new” (terry 1890, 246). examples of types in the scripture include, the passover, with its spotless lamb (exodus 12:5). it was a type of the death of jesus (cf. 1 corinthians 5:7), who was without spot or blemish (1 peter 1:19). the feast of the first-fruits (leviticus 23:10), i.e., pentecost, was a celebration in which the initial produce of the harvest was offered to god as a token of the full crop to follow. this ritual typified: (1) the early influx of the jews into the church of christ (romans 11:16); and, (2) the resurrection of the lord jesus as god's pledge of the general resurrection to ultimately come (1 corinthians 15:20, 23) (moorehead 1930). relating typology to african traditional culture and religion, the base for relationship changes from the old testament to the religio-cultural experiences, categories, events or persons in traditional african culture and religion which may find their fulfillment in the new testament scripture. this is anchored on the fact that african traditional religion and culture is understood as a gift from god, given in preparation for evangelization. it holds that the events, persons and things in traditional african religion were not so much about the time of their expression but had the capacity for fulfillment in the future with the fullness of revelation in christ jesus. 54 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. 2. cases studies a. the igbo kola nut and the christian holy communion table1: the igbo kola nut vis-a-vis the holy communion no holy communion the holy communion is made of bread, which was a common meal among the jewish people. there was hardly a home where bread was not found, rich or poor. the use of bread, therefore, appealed to the cognition of those who were at the last supper. the kola nut among the igbo is a common meal. every igbo home rich or poor had kola nuts kept, even for unexpected visitors. it is a meal that sends a message to the cognitive faculty of the igbo each time it is seen. it is more than a meal; it is a welcome. the kola nut 1 the bread during the mass is held with honour. generally in a posture that points towards the sky. when the kola nut is blessed, it is treated with honour. it is held with the fingers, pointing into the sky. 2 the holy communion is the bread of life. (cf john 25:56). the kola nut is a symbol of life. this is why it is said: “he that brings kola brings life”. sharing in the holy communion should strengthen unity, respect and love among those who partake of it. the kola nut symbolizes mutual respect and community. it welcomes the guest into the home where it is served. 3 4 before jesus broke the bread and gave it to his disciples, he first gave thanks. (cf. lk 22:19) before the breaking and serving of the kola nut, the person saying the prayer gives thanks to chukwu. 5 jesus christ chose from among his followers, only men who would continue to offer this sacrifice. the kola nut is only blessed by men. it is an abomination for a woman to break the kola in the presence of the male folk. 6 after consecration, the priest breaks the bread as jesus did and gives the people. after the kola nut has been blessed, it is broken and shared to those present. during the prayer of consecration, the priest invokes the saints, asking for their intercession. during the blessing of the kola nut, the person leading the prayer invokes the presence and benediction of the ancestors. 7 during the consecration of bread, wine is also offered. during the blessing of the kola nut, liquor is also offered to chukwu. 8 9 55 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya no holy communion the kola nut 10 table1: the igbo kola nut and the christian holy communion continued at the end of the eucharistic celebration, the participants are blessed. the people present at the consecration of the kola nut are blessed as well. the holy communion is the bread of life. (cf john 25:56). the people present at the consecration of the kola nut are blessed as well. the kola nut acknowledges the archetypal patterns of the gods in illo tempore. the priest presides at the mass. the eldest person presides at the blessing of the kola nut. presbyter, a word used in reference to the priestly mission, comes from the greek presbyteros, meaning elder. 11 12 after the consecration, it is only those who are not in the state of sin that are allowed to partake of the eucharistic meal. after the prayer and the breaking of the kola nut, those who have evil in their hearts avoid partaking in it because of the consequences. 13 the eucharist is the centre and summit of the church's life and prayer. the kola nut is the centre and life of igbo traditional celebrations (cf obiajulu 2003, p. 11) 14 this table has outlined the major areas of similarity between the igbo kola nut and the holy communion. this comparative study is not in any way to equate the kola nut with the holy communion, but to show how, though imperfectly, the gospel was already present in african culture in a seed form. b. amadioha in relation to jesus christ amadioha also known as igwe is the son of chineke, and sometimes referred to as the husband of ala. in some parts of igboland, it is referred to as amadiora or kamalu. the colour of this deity is red, its symbol is a white ram and its day for worship is the afo market day. this explains why during sacrifices to amadioha, a white ram is always preferable (kanu 2018). it is also a god of justice, in that it carries out vengeance for the weak; it is also the god of love, peace, unity and the messianic hope of those who are in great need; and also, the god of enterprise that brings personal wealth. amadioha stands for the collective will of the people. this is derived from its etymology which means 'man of the people'. its associate is anyawu, the god of the sun (kanu 2013 and 2018). 56 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. no jesus christ amadioha 1 table2: amadioha vis-a-vis jesus christ jesus christ is the son of the father (cf nicene creed). amadioha, also known as igwe, is the son of chineke. jesus christ is the light of the world (cf jn 8:12). amadioha is symbolized with lightening. jesus is symbolized in the lamb. (cf john 1:29) amadioha is symbolized in the ram. it is also its choice sacrifice. 2 3 jesus is an intermediary between god and his children on earth. amadioha is an intermediary between igbo society and chukwu. 4 jesus was sent by the father and so he did only what the father wanted of him. (cf john 8:28) amadioha does nothing of its will. everything it does is dependent upon chukwu's approval 5 jesus was fully part of the creation of the world (cf jn 1:1-4) amadioha is also considered to be a creator god. 6 jesus was not created by the father, but proceeds from the father. amadioha was not created by chukwu. it emanated from chukwu. 7 the above table has attempted a comparative study of jesus christ and amadioha, it, however, does not show that amadioha is the same as jesus christ. there are very obvious differences between jesus christ and amadioha. 57 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya 12. concluding remarks the issue that i most sincerely consider major as i end this inaugural lecture hinges on my contribution to the discourse on the operative condition of african philosophy, religion and culture, which has been an area of concern for scholars. this inaugural lecture presents a dominant scenario which broadens the intellectual basis upon which igwebuike can richly be rationalized to stand as an operative condition for not only african philosophy, but religion and culture. igwebuike emerged through a hermeneutical binocular from the payment of attention to the african operative condition of life and has been articulated as a conceptual basis for analyzing and designating reality. it makes explicit what is implicit in african religion and culture and presents the society as a place where people enter into for their own complementation. this lecture has presented igwebuike as a fundamental stretch over philosophy, religion and culture because such an operative condition springs from african cosmology, which is very fundamental to the understanding of african philosophy, religion and culture. it is in this regard that it is understood as the key to understanding african traditional religion and culture, and the underlying principle of african philosophy. even though igwebuike can be interpreted as a response to the need for a strong igbo structure that would stand the menace of time; it is not limited to the igbo hemisphere. igwebuike focuses on the essence of reality in general. it is a particular philosophy only within the context of being clothed with a particular language of a particular ethnic group. igwebuike is a philosophy with configurable ethos for inclusive and constitutive possibilities and prisms of universal relatedness and appeal. 58 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. 13. appreciation every human life passage is a true life history of existentialism with the support of co-authors, coeditors, co-sojourners and contributors. my life history cannot be different from this common fate. the vice chancellor sir, i crave your indulgence on this very occasion of my inaugural lecture to appreciate the efforts of major actors who have, in various ways, helped me come along this difficult passage. since it is in god that we live and move and have our being, my deepest gratitude goes to him, the master designer of every destinywho destined and knitted all circumstances around me to lead to this inaugural lecture. i am grateful to the order of saint augustine of the province of nigeria for providing the context for the discovery and nurturing of my few talents during my early beginning. i am very grateful to very rev. fr. hyacinth kangyep, o.s.a, my former prior provincial who gave me the privilege to further my studies. i want to manifest my measureless gratitude to my parents, late sir emmanuel nwafor kanu, ksji and lady cecilia menwa kanu, ksji. you are the first professors i ever met. and like academic bees, you gathered the spoils of the flowers of academic meadow, and engendered in my soul a deathless element of knowledge. you provided me with various life-support-equipmentalities. i owe gratitude to my brothers and sisters, nnennia, uchenna, chiugo, emeka and akuekwesi (late) for your different cushions at different times of my needs. very importantly, my gratitude goes to the chancellor of tansian university, very rev. msgr. (prof.) j. b. akam, an eminent ecclesiastic and an accomplished academic. i express my thanks to the vice chancellor. the vice chancellor sir, your academic fortitude expressed in this new page of inaugural lecture in tansian university will remain an academic virtue that would never be forgotten. sincere thanks also to the inaugural lecture committee for keeping faith and pace. i extend my gratitude to my most precious professors for the academic culture i inherited from them: prof. jude emeka madu, prof. elizabeth o. ezenweke, prof. jerome ikechukwu okonkwo, prof. innocent asouzu, prof. b. a. c. obiefuna, prof. nkechinyere nwokoye, prof. f. o. c njoku, etc. i salute my colleagues in the faculty of management and social sciences, and the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university. i salute my colleagues in the academia in nigeria and throughout the world. i should count myself one of those lucky ones who, have hardly had reasons to complain in life, being surrounded by individuals that care and listen. in this sense, i congratulate and thank all of you, friends and well wishers, who have left all to be here today. you represent the many without whose help, i would not have been what i am today. you are visible signs of god's wonders in my life. prof. ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a 59 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya 14. refernces afigbo, a. e. (1981). the age of innocence: the igbo and their neighbours in pre-colonial times. a paper delivered at the ahiajoku lecture, owerri, imo state. abanuka, b. (2003). two enquiries in african philosophy. nsukka: spiritan publications asouzu, i. i. (2004). methods and principles of complementary reflection in and beyond african philosophy. nigeria: chidal global. asouzu, i. i. (2007). ibuanyidanda: new complementary ontology, beyond world immanentism, ethnocentric reduction and impositions. berlin: transaction. asouzu, i. (2011). ibuanyidanda and the philosophy of essence. calabar: university press. aristotle (1941). metaphysics. in r. mckeon (ed.). the basic works of aristotle (pp. 535-606). new york: random house. abanuka, b. (2004). philosophy and the igbo world. onitsha: spiritan publications. achebe, c. (1958). the things fall apart. england: heinemann. arinze, f. (1970). sacrifice in igbo religion ibadan: ibadan university press. awolowo, o. (1968). the people's republic. ibadan: oxford university press. awolowo, o. (1979). lthe problems of africa: the need for ideological appraisal. london: macmillan. ajaegbo, d. i. (2014). african democratic heritage: a historical case study of the igbo of nigeria. journal of humanities and social science. 19. 4. pp. 17-23. arogbofa (2007). travails of democracy in nigeria's democracy. sunday mirror. , october 7, 48. bullinger, e. w. (1968). figures of speech used in the bible. grand rapids, mi: baker. busia, k. a. (1975). the ingredients of democracy. in g. mutiso and s. w. rohio (eds.). readings in african political thought (pp. 453-455). london: heinemann. brosnan, t. g. d. (1976). the gospel to the birom. doctoral thesis. pontifical university rome, march. carter, j. (1978). speech to the parliament of india. june, 2, 1978. chidili, b. (2012). african traditional values and sustenance of democracy. in e. o. ezenweke and a. i. kanu (eds.). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 103-120). nigeria: augustinian publications. chukwukere, i. (1980). chi in traditional igbo religious thought: a key interpretative concept. a paper delivered at the workshop on the foundations of igbo civilization. institute of african studies, university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu state. 20-22, may. cresent, g. (2019). what is imu ahia/igba boy – what the igbo apprenticeship is, history, thought and terms. retrieved march 20th, 2019 from https://www.entorm.com/opinion/imu-ahia-the-igboapprenticeship. descartes, r. (1983). discourse on method and the meditations. trans. john vietch. london: penguin classics. ekwulu, b. i. (2010). igbo concept of ibe (the other) as a philosophical solution to the ethnic conflicts in african countries. in b. i. ekwulu (ed.). philosophical reflections on african issues (pp. 183192). enugu: delta. edeh, e. (1983). towards igbo metaphysics. chicago: loyola university press. ejizu, c. i. o. (1986). igbo ritual symbols. enugu: fourth dimension. emenanjo, n. (1988). linguistics, language of the nation. 7th inaugural lecture delivered on 13th january at the university of port harcourt, rivers state 60 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. https://www.entorm.com/opinion/imu-ahia-the-igbo-apprenticeship https://www.entorm.com/opinion/imu-ahia-the-igbo-apprenticeship ekwuru, e. (1999). the pangs of african culture in travail. owerri: totan. esposito, j., easching, d., and lewis, t. (2006). world religion today. oxford: oxford university. gobineau, a. (1915). the inequality of human race. london: william heinemann. gbadegesin, s. (1991). african philosophy: traditional yoruba philosophy and contemporary african realities. new york: peter lang gyekye, (1975). african religions and philosophy by j. s. mbiti. second order. 4. 1. pp. 86-94. gyekye, k. (1987). an essay on african philosophical thought: the akan conceptual scheme. cambridge: cambridge university press. gyekye, k. (1997). tradition and modernity: philosophical reflections on the african experience. oxford: oxford university press. gilson, e. (1999). the unity of philosophical experience. usa: ignatius. gunkel, h. (1901). the legends of genesis. nashville: nashville agbingdom. hastings, a. (1976). african christianity. new york: crossroads books isichei, e. (1976). a history of the igbo people. london: macmillan. izu, m. o. (2010). the problematic of african time. uche: journal of the department of philosophy, university of nigeria, nsukka. 16. pp. 19-38. ikemnkia, m. n. (1999). african vitalogy: a step forward in african thinking. kenya: paulines. iroegbu, p. (1994). metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: international universities press. ijiomah, c. (2005). african philosophy's contribution to the dialogue on reality issues. sankofa: journal of the humanities. 3. 1. pp. 81 – 90. jahn, j. (1958). muntu: an outline of the new african culture. new york: grove. kagame, a. (1951). la philosophie bantu rwandaise de l' etre. bruxelles: la divine pastorale. kagame, a. (1976). the empirical apperception of time and the conception of history in bantu thought. culture and time (pp. 101-102). unesco press. kanu i. a. (2015b). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu i. a. (2017). igwebuikeconomics: towards an inclusive economy for economic development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 6. 113-140. kanu i. a. (2017). sources of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. 9. 1. pp. 1-23. kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. kanu, a. i. (2017c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 7. pp. 165-183. kanu, a. i. (2017d). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 6. pp. 16-50. kanu, a. i. (2017f). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. pp. 153-160. kanu, i. a. (2010). towards an african cultural renaissance. professor bassey andah journal of cultural studies. volume 3, pp. 146-155. kanu, i. a. (2012). a metaphysical epistemological study of african medical practitioners. in o. e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (2012). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 227240). nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2012). being qua belongingness: the provenance and implications of pantaleon's redefinition of being. uche: journal of the department of philosophy, university of nigeria, nsukka. vol. 17. pp. 57-58. 61 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya kanu, i. a. (2012). from 'onye' to 'ife' hypothesis: the contribution of edeh to the development of the concept of being. lwati: a journal of contemporary research. 9, 4. 218-223. kanu, i. a. (2012). inculturation and christianity in africa. international journal of humanities and social science. vol. 2. no. 17. pp. 236-244. kanu, i. a. (2012). the functionality of being in pantaleon's operative metaphysics vis-a-vis the niger delta conflict. african research review: an international multi-disciplinary journal. vol.6. no.1. pp. 212-222. kanu. i. a. (2012). towards an igbo christology, in ezenweke, e.o and kanu, a.i. (eds) issues in african traditional religion and philosophy, jos: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2012). the problem of being in metaphysics. african research review: an international multi-disciplinary journal. vol.6. no.2. april. pp. 113-122. kanu, i. a. (2012). the problem of personal identity in metaphysics. international journal of arts and humanities. vol.1. no.2. pp.1-13. kanu, i. a. (2012a). the concept of life and person in african anthropology. in e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (eds.). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 61-71). nigeria: augustinian. kanu, i. a. (2012b). towards an igbo christology. in e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (eds.). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 75-98). nigeria: augustinian. kanu, i. a. (2013). african identity and the emergence of globalization. american international journal of contemporary research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 34-42. kanu, i. a. (2013). globalisation, globalism and african philosophy. c. umezinwa (ed.). african philosophy: a pragmatic approach to african probems (pp. 151-165). germany: lambert. kanu, i. a. (2013). on the sources of african philosophy. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 337-356. kanu, i. a. (2013). the dimensions of african cosmology. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 533-555. kanu, i. a. (2014). a historiography of african philosophy. global journal for research analysis. volume. 3. issue. 8. pp. 188-190. kanu, i. a. (2014). being and the categories of being in igbo philosophy. african journal of humanities. volume 1. issue 1. pp. 144-159. kanu, i. a. (2014). igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholic-pentecostal relations. jos studies. 22. pp.87-98. kanu, i. a. (2014a). igbo proverbs as depositum of igbo-african philosophy. international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 4. no. 1. pp. 164-168. kanu, i. a. (2014a). suicide in igbo-african ontology. developing countries studies. vol. 4. no. 5. usa. pp. 27-38. kanu, i. a. (2014b). suffering in igbo-african ontology. research on humanities and social sciences. vol. 4. no. 5. pp. 8-13. kanu, i. a. (2014b). the place of igbo myths in igbo-african philosophy. american journal of contemporary research. vol. 4. no. 2. pp. 98-102. kanu, i. a. (2015). african traditional democracy with particular reference to the yoruba and igbo political systems. international journal of philosophy and public affairs. vol. 2. no. 3. pp. 147160. kanu, i. a. (2015). personal identity and punishment in john locke (a dissertation for the award of master of arts degree in philosophymetaphysics), university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu state. kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. 62 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. kanu, i. a. (2015b). igwebuike as an ontological precondition for african ethics. international conference of the society for research and academic excellence. university of nigeria, nsukka. 14th -16th september. kanu, i. a. (2015c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france. kanu, i. a. (ed.) (2016a). complementary ontology: provocative essays on innocent asouzu's african philosophy of integration for progressive transformation. germany: lambert academic publishing. kanu, i. a. (ed.) (2016b). ibuanyidanda: a complementary systematic inquiry. reflections on innocent asouzu's african philosophy. germany: lambert academic publishing. kanu, i. a. (2016). igbo-african christology: a cultural christological construct in post-missionary africa. germany: lambert publications. kanu, i. a. (2016a). african traditional folk songs as dialogue between education and entertainment. cambridge international journal of contemporary education research. 6. 6. pp. 53-64. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.23-40. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.12-21. kanu, i. a. (2016b). african traditional folktales as an integrated classroom. sub-saharan african journal of contemporary education research. vol.3 no. 6. pp. 107-118. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 2, march. kanu, i. a. (2017e). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017h). igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. 63 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya kanu, i. a. (2017i). igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. kanu, i. a. (2018). african philosophy, globalization and the priority of 'otherness'. journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 40-57. kanu, i. a. (2018). african traditional philosophy of education: essays in igwebuike philosophy. germany: lambert publications. kanu, i. a. (2018). igbo-african gods and goddesses. nnadiebube journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 118-146. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95105. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory cocio-political system of governance. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 3445. kanu, i. a. (2019). on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159-176. kanu, i. a. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. kwame, n. (1981). the struggle continues. london: panaf. koech, k. (1977). african mythology: a key to understanding african religion. in n. s. booth (ed.). african religions: a symposium (pp. 117-139). london: nok. linnaeus, c. (1758). system of nature. stockholm: laurentius salvius. lugard, f. d. (1926). the dual mandate in british tropical africa. blackwood and sons, edinburgh. lex christianorum (2010). st. justin martyr: the spermatikos logos and the natural law. lexchristianorum.blogspot.com/2010/03/st-justin-martyr-spermatikos-logos-and.html madu, e. (2004). symbolism in african cosmology: the igbo perspective. nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state. lecture note. marshal, i. h. (1988). myth. in s. b. ferguson (ed.). new dictionary of theology (pp. 449-451). england: intervarsity. metuh, e. i. (1987). comparative studies of african traditional religion. onitsha: imico. mirus, t. v. (2015). church fathers: clement of alexandria. part i. catholiic cultuture.org. https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/articles.cfm?id=655 moorehead, w. g. (1930). the typology of scripture. the international standard bible encyclopedia, ed. james orr (chicago: howard-severance co., 1930), vol. 5, pp. 3029-3030. mbiti, j. s. (1970). african religions and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational publishers. 64 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/articles.cfm?id=655 https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/articles.cfm?id=655 maquet, j. (1972). africanity. new york: oxford university press. nwosu, a. n. (2002). politics and administration in the igbo traditional society. in g.e.k. ofomata (ed). a survey of the igbo nation. lagos: africana publishers limited. neuwirth, r. (2018). igbo apprenticeship system is world's largest business incubator platform – robert neuwirth reveals. retrieved 20th march 2018 from https://www.informationng.com/2018/ 11/igbo-apprenticeship-system-is-worlds-largest-business-incubator-platform-robert-neuwirth. njoku, f. o. c. (2015). the philosophical grid of igbo socio-political ontology: ibu anyi danda. 147th inaugural lecture of the university of nigeria, nsukka. nkrumah, k. (1963). africa must unite. london: oanaf. nyerere, j. (1968a). freedom and socialism. oxford: oxford university. nyerere, j. (1968b). ujamaa: essays on socialism. oxford: oxford university. nzimiro, i. (1972). studies in igbo political systems. chieftaincy and politics in four niger states. london: frank cass. olisa, m. (2002). igbo traditional political system. in g.e.k. ofomata (ed.) a survey of the igbo nation. lagos: africana publishers ltd. onwuejeogwu, m. a. (1972). the traditional political system of ibuzo. nri: odinam museum. onwuejeogwu, m. a. (1987). evolutionary trends in the history of the development of the igbo civilization in the culture theatre of igbo land in southern nigeria. a paper presented during the ohiajioku lecture, owerri, imo state. obiajulu, m. i. (2003). sacrokolanization or kola-aucharization. a challenge to enculturation (ii). our nation, july 27. obiajulu, m. i. (2013). metaphysics of kola nut: towards an authentic african igbo communion; a challenge to christians. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion. 2. 2. 517-531. oguejiofor, o. (2010). globalization and the resilience of traditional paradigms: the case of the igbo of nigeria. in a. b. c chiegboka, t. c. utoh-ezeajugh and g. i. udechukwu (eds.). the humanities and globalization in the third millennium (pp. 15-25). anambra: rex charles and patrick. oguejiofor, j. o. (2010). in praise of african philosophy. 14th inaugural lecture delivered on 28th january at the nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state. okoro, c. (2018). what makes the igbo apprenticeship model tick and critical considerations before taking it mainstream. retrieved 20th march 2018 from https://techpoint.africa/2018/11/07/igboapprenticeship-system-for-startups omoregbe, j. i. (1997). a simplified history of western philosophy: ancient and medieval philosophy. lagos: joja educational research and publishers limited omoregbe, j. (2002). metaphysics without tears. lagos: joja educational research and publications. okere, t. (1983). african philosophy: a historico-hermenuetical investigation of the conditions of its possibility. lanham: university press okonkwo, j. i. (2002). religious language and igbo folks-media: the crisis situation of modern trends of evangelization. in okonkwo j. i. et al (eds.). elements of igbo traditional religious practice papers presented at the 2002 ahiajoku lecture, 28th november (pp. 8-27). imo state: ministry of information and culture. okonkwo, j. i. (2019). chi and christ: the search for the universal essence of god in igbo and christian shoughts. in m. r, duru (ed.). amarachi: a festschrift in honour of amarachi anthony, j. v. obinna on the event of his arch-episcopal silver jubilee (pp. 221-238). owerr: divine favour digital concepts. 65 maiden inaugural lecture, tansian university, umunya https://techpoint.africa/2018/11/07/igbo-apprenticeship-system-for-startups https://techpoint.africa/2018/11/07/igbo-apprenticeship-system-for-startups okonkwo, j. i. (1998). folks-media and the new era of evangelisation: the igbo perspective, in: communication socialis: international zeitschrift fur kommunication in religion, kirche und gesselschaft, salzburg: pp, 246-270. okonkwo, j. i. (1998). oramedia-traditions and the igbo question in nigeria: a philosophy of identity, in gehlaar, s. (ed.), prima philosophia, cuxhaven-dartford, pp. 33-43. okonkwo, j. i. (1998). language and evangelisation: the challenges of the igbo pastor, in okonkwo, j. (ed). pastoral language and evangelisation 2000, enugu, fourth dimension publishers. okonkwo, j. o. (2012). okwu aanahu onu: the basic principle of igbo philosophy of language. inaugural lecture, serial no. 6. imo state university, owerri, july 26. okonkwo j. i. (2020). uwa m: the igbo phenomenology of existential perception. okpulo journal of arts and cultural heritage. vol. 2. no. 3. pp. 71-82. quarcoopome, t. n. (1987). west african traditional religion. ibadan: african rattray, r. s. (1930). akan-ashanti folktales. oxford: oxford university press. shorter, a. (1973). african culture and the christian church. london: chapman. senghor, l. s. (1959). elements of constructifs d'ume civilization d'inspiration negro-africaine. presence africaine. february – may. senghor, l. s. (1964). on african socialism. trans. m. cook. new york: f. a. praeger. senghor, l. s. (1975). what is negritude? (eds.) g. c. m. mutiso and s. w. rohio. readings in african political thought (pp. 78-90). london: heinemann. tempels, p. (1959). bantu philosophy. paris: presence africaine. torrance e. p. (1970). what it means to become human. in scoby m and graham g. (eds.). to nurture humanness (pp. 3-13). washington, association for supervision and curriculum development. terry, m. s. (1890). biblical hermeneutics. new york: eaton & mains. trevor-roper, h. r. (1957). history: professional and lay. inaugural lecture delivered at oxford university, oxford, universities press. uduma o. u. (2015). beyond irredentism and jingoism: reflections on the nature of logic and the quest for an african logic. 7th inaugural lecture delivered on 28th may at the eboyi state university, abakiliki, ebonyi state. uchendu, v. c. (1965). the igbo of south east nigeria. new york: holt rinehart and winston. umeogu, b. u. (2019). kolanut in igbo metpahysics: a phenomernalysical research into its symbolismic universe. inaugural lecture delivered on 26th september at the nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state uzukwu, e. e. (1988). nri myth of origin and its ritualization: an essay in interpretation. in e. e. uzukwu (ed.). religions and african culture, inculturation: a nigeria perspective (pp. 56-80). enugu: spiritan publications. wambutda, d. n. (1986). the interplay between cosmology and theology: a. matrix for african theologizing. in a. oduyoye (ed.). the state of christian theology in nigeria, 1980-81, (pp. 3849). ibadan: day star. wayne, j (2019). a study of biblical types. christian courier.com. access date: june 22, 2019. https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/126-study-of-biblical-types-a wiredu, k. (1995). democracy and consensus in african traditional politics: a plea for a non-party polity. in o. oladipo (ed.). conceptual decolonization in african philosophy: four essays (pp. 53-63). ibadan: hope. zani, j. (1972). african parables as 20 africans write on communications in africa. uganda: gaba. 66 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/126-study-of-biblical-types-a 67 curriculum vitae (fca-edu., fipan, fsr, fipmd, afismi, fimc, cmc, fmerc, fai) bsc. rel., uni. jos; b. phil., urban. rome; m. a. rel. (atr), unizik; m. a. phil. (metaphysics), unn; ph.d. rel. (atr) unizik; pgde, noun nig.; hon. doc. ed.d, london; hon. doc. metaphysics, (uoa) usa; hon. doc. pub. admin, london; unesco cert. e-learning, bangkok department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university, umunya, anambra state, nigeria email: ikee_mario@yahoo.com tel: +2348036345466 ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. professor of african religion and cultural studies mailto:ikee_mario@yahoo.com i. personal data name: ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. date of birth: 20th november, 1981 place of birth: nkwerre sex: male state of origin: imo local government area: ideato north home town: arondizuogu marital status: single nationality: nigerian religion: christianity spoken languages: english, igbo, hausa duties: research, lecturing and administration current status: professor of african religion and cultural studies, department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university (july 2016). visiting professor university of jos (conuass 7/4). web of science researcher id: aae-6630-2020 orcid id: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1977-202x h-index value: 27 @google scholar https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=nhic3h4aaaaj&hl=en i10-index value: 70 @google scholar https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=nhic3h4aaaaj&hl=en worldcat identity: worldcat.org›identities›lccn-no2015033515 68 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1977-202x https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=nhic3h4aaaaj&hl=en https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=nhic3h4aaaaj&hl=en https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=2ahukewjbrkhy4tvnahwkyoukhfvocpaqfjacegqiaxab&url=http%3a%2f%2fworldcat.org%2fidentities%2flccn-no2015033515&usg=aovvaw0zzvb9w62tcdwovjtmbqrc ii. institutions attended with dates 1. 1984-1987, command children nursery and primary school, jimeta-yola, adamawa state. 2. 1988-1992, demonstration primary school, jimeta-yola, adamawa state. 3. 1993-1994, army day secondary school, jimeta-yola, adamawa state. 4. 1995-1999, st peter's minor seminary, jimeta-yola, adamawa state. 5. 2001-2004, st thomas aquinas major seminary, makurdi, affiliate of urbaniana university rome. 6. 2005-2009, st augustine's major seminary, jos, affiliate of university of jos, plateau state. 7. 2010-2015, university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu state. 8. 2010-2012, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state. 9. 2012-2015, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state. 10. 2017-2018, national open university of nigeria, nigeria 11. 2018harvard university, boston, usa 12. 2018university of michigan, usa 13. 2018hec paris, international business school, paris, france 14. 2018university of illinois, urbana champaign, usa 15. 2018wesleyan university, usa 16. 2019london graduate school, london 17. 2019commonwealth university, london 18. 2020african institute of public administration, accra, ghana iii. academic qualifications 1. school leaving certificate, 1992 2. west african examination council (waec), 2000 3. bachelor of arts degree in philosophy, from urbaniana university rome, 2004 4. bachelor of arts degree in religious studies, from the university of jos, 2009 5. master of arts degree in religion and human relations (african traditional religion), from nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, 2012. 6. master of arts degree in philosophy (metaphysics), from the university of nigeria nsukka, 2015. 7. doctor of philosophy in religion and human relations (african traditional religion), from nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, 2015. 8. post-graduate diploma in education, national open university of nigeria. 9. professor of religion and cultural studies, department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya. 69 curriculum vitae. iv. class of degrees 1. first class, bachelor of philosophy, from the urbaniana university rome, italy, 2004. 2. first class, bachelor of arts degree in religious studies, from the university of jos, plateau state, nigeria, 2009. 3. distinction, master of arts degree in religion and human relations, from nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, 2012. 4. distinction, master of arts degree in philosophy, from the university of nigeria, nsukka, 2015. 5. distinction, doctor of philosophy in religion and human relations, from nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, 2015. 6. distinction, post-graduate diploma in education (pgde), national open university of nigeria. v. teaching experience 1. augustinian institute, makurdi, benue state a. african traditional religion b. african philosophy c. philosophy of religion d. history of philosophy e. introduction to philosophy f. philosophy of education 2. 2010international bio-research institute, ugwogo nike, enugu a. dean of students 3. 2012saint augustine's major seminary, jos, plateau state a. african traditional religion b. african philosophy c. philosophy of religion 4. 2016veritas university, abuja a. african traditional religion 5. 2016tansian university, umunya, anambra state, department of philosophy and religious studies a. african traditional religion b. african philosophy c. metaphysics d. advanced metaphysics 6. 2018villanova polytechnic, imesi ile, osogbo rector 70 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. 7. 2020university of jos, plateau state, department of religion and philosophy visiting professor 8. 2020saint albert the great major seminary, idowo-offonran, abeokuta, ogun state visiting professor g. teaching experience cont’d 71 vi. professional qualifications and diplomas 1. 2020african institute of public administration (aipa), accra, ghana. advanced executive certificate in transformational leadership and management. 2. 2018: london graduate school, master class certification in e-learning and digital marketing. 3. 2018: united nations educational, scientific and cultural organization bangkok, elearning series certification on information and communication technology in education 4. 2018: london graduate school, london, certification of professional studies in research methods, dissertation writing and new trends in education. 5. 2018: harvard university, boston, usa, certification in advanced negotiation strategies: mastering the art and science of negotiation. 6. 2018: university of michigan, usa, certification in influencing people. 7. 2018: hec paris, international business school, paris, france, certification in building your leadership skills. 8. university of illinois, urbana champaign, usa, certification in foundations of everyday leadership, 2018. 9. 2018: wesleyan university, usa. certification in creative writing: the craft of plot 10. young african leaders initiative network, u. s. department of state, usa, certification in several aspects of leadership. 11. 2001: federal college of education, yola, adamawa state; computer science appreciation vii. honours and membership of learned societies 1. member, the american philosophical association (apa), usa 2. member, american academy of religion (aar), usa 3. member, global labour organization network, usa 4. member, igbo studies association (i.s.a), usa 5. member, honour society, usa 6. member, peace collaborative development network (pcdn) 7. member, association for the promotion of african studies (apas) 8. member, nigerian philosophical association (npa) v. teaching experience cont’d curriculum vitae. 72 viii. honours and membership of learned societies 9. member, international society for african philosophy and studies, (isaps) 10. member, institute of policy management development (ipmd), nigeria. 11. member, institute of public administration of nigeria (ipan), abuja, nigeria. 12. member, international strategic management institute, (ismi), abuja, nigeria. 13. member, association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars (aatreps) 14. member, society for research and academic excellence (srae), university of nigeria. 15. member, international society for development and sustainability, japan. 16. member, association for promoting nigerian languages and culture (apnilac), nigeria. 17. member, catholic theological association of nigeria (cathan), nigeria. 18. member, international centre for economics, humanities and management (icehm), canada. 19. member, alternative perspectives and global concerns (apgc)ottawa, canada. 20. member, emirates association of arts and management professionals (eaamp) canada. 21. member, young african leaders initiative network, u.s.a. 22. member, universal researchers, united arab emirates. 23. member, international association of humanities, social sciences and management researchers (hssmr), canada 24. member, association for development of teaching, education and learning (adtel), india 25. member, global psychology and language research association (gplra), india 26. member, global association of humanities and social science research (gahssr), india 27. membersocial science and humanities research association (sshra), india 28. member, the institute of management consultants (imc), nigeria-london. 29. member, certified managment consultants (cmc), under the authority of the international council of management consulting institutes (icmci). 30. member, eudoxia research centre (fmerc), eudoxia educational centre, india. 31. member, commonwealth academy of science, education and arts, london. 32. member, national coalition of independent scholars, san antonio, texas, usa. 33. member, commnwealth academy of information and communications technology 34. member, world cultural studies research association (wcsra), eudoxia reserach centre, india 35. member, nigerian association for the study of religion (nasr), nigeria 36. member, association of professional philosophers of nigeria (appon), nigeria 37. member, catholic philosophical association (capan), nigeria 38. member, humanities scholars hub (hsb), nigeria 39. member, africanwatch network (an), nigeria professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. 73 ix. fellow of academic institutes and societies 1. 2017fellow, institute of policy management development (ipmd), nigeria. 2. 2018fellow, institute of public administration of nigeria (ipan), abuja, nigeria. 3. 2018fellow (assoc.), international strategic management institute, (ismi), nigeria. 4. 2018fellow, society for research and academic excellence (fsr), university of nigeria, nsukka (unn). 5. 2018fellow, global labour organisation network (glo), united states of america. 6. 2019fellow, institute of management consultants (fimc), nigeria-london. 7. 2019fellow, member of eudoxia research centre (fmerc), eudoxia educational centre, india. 8. 2019fellow, commonwealth academy of science, education and arts, (fca), london. 9. 2020fellow, african institute of public administration (fai), accra, ghana. x. member of academic committees 1. 2003-2004, member, literary committee, augustinian house of philosophy, makurdi. 2. 2008-2009, chairman literary and debating committee, augustinian theologate, augustinian monastery jos. 3. 2017member, reviewer committee, international conference on research in social sciences, humanities and education (sshe), université du québec à montréal (uqam), canada. 4. 2017member, reviewer committee, international conference on education, egovernance, law and business (iceelb), université du québec à montréal (uqam), canada. 5. 2017memer, reviewer committee, international association of humanities and management, canada. 6. 2018member, appointment and promotions committee of academic staff, veritas university, abuja. 7. 2018member, appointment and promotions committee of non-academic staff, veritas university, abuja. 8. 2018member, oracle of wisdom local organizing committee international conference, tansian university, anambra state 9. 2018member, curricullum committee, tansian university, anambra state 10. 2018member, discilinary committee, tansian university, anambra state 11. 2018member, examination commitee, tansian university, anambra state 12. 2018chairman administrative staff committee, villanova polytechnic, isimi ile, oshogbo, osun state, nigeria. 13. 2018chairman academic board, villanova polytechnic, isimi ile, osogbo, osun state, nigeria. 14. 2018chairman, appointment and promotions committee, villanova polytechnic, isimi ile, osogbo, osun state, nigeria. curriculum vitae. http://www.uqam.ca/en/about/presentation_en.htm http://www.uqam.ca/en/about/presentation_en.htm http://www.uqam.ca/en/about/presentation_en.htm http://www.uqam.ca/en/about/presentation_en.htm 74 x. member of academic committees cont’d 15. 2018finance and general purpose committee, villanova polytechnic, isimi ile, osogbo, osun state, nigeria. 16. 2018chairman management committee, villanova polytechnic, isimi ile, osogbo, osun state, nigeria. 17. 2018chairman administrative and technical staff committee, villanova polytechnic, isimi ile, osogbo, osun state, nigeria. 18. 2018chairman project planning and monitoring committee, villanova polytechnic, isimi ile, osogbo, osun state, nigeria. 19. 2020member, local organising committee, diocesan catholic education summit, catholic diocese of osogbo, osun state 20. 2020global president, world cultural studies research association (wcsra) xi. academic responsibilities 1. 2011group coordinator, second international conference of the department of philosophy, university of nigeria nsukka (unn), enugu. 30th november -3rd december. 2. 20122012 dean of students, international bio-research institute (ibi), ugwogo nike, enugu state. 3. 2013secretary, association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars (aatreps). 4. 2013-2014, secretary, board of trustees, african congress on philosophy and religion (acpr). 5. 2013treasurer, executive board of african congress on philosophy and religion (acpr). 6. 2013editorial manager, filosofia theoritica: african journal of philosophy, culture and religion. 7. 2013chair of session: fourth global conference: making sense of suffering, organized by the inter-disciplinary. net, uk. 10th – 12th november, athens, greece. 8. 2013chair of session: tenth global conference: making sense of dying and death, organized by the inter-disciplinary. net, uk. 7th – 9th november, athens, greece. 9. 20142015 chairman of the augustinian publications commission, province of nigeria. 10. 2016 member, augustinian publications commission, province of nigeria. 11. 2016panel chair, at the 14th annual conference of the igbo studies association, held at the dominican university, river forest, illinois, usa, from may 12th to 14th. 12. 2016-2017, rector, of the augustinian institute, makurdi, benue state. 13. 2017chairman, augustinian commission on tertiary institutions. 14. 2017panel chair, at the 15th annual conference of the igbo studies association, held at owerri, imo state. professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. xi. academic responsibilities cont’d 15. 2017panel chair, at the 5th international annual conference of the association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars (aatreps). 16. 2017president, association for the promotion of african studies (apas). 17. 2018chairman, board of trustees, association for the promotion of african studies (apas). 18. 2018chair of session: oracle of wisdom international conference held on 16-19 april 2018 at tansian university, umunya, anambra state. 19. 2018panel chair, at the 2018 international conference of the association for the promotion of african studies (apas). held at unizik, awka, 13-15 june 2018. 20. 2018rector, villanova polytechnic, isimi ile, oshogbo, osun state, nigeria. 21. 2018member, association of private polytechnic proprietors of nigeria. 22. 2018member, association of the heads of institutions in osun state, nigeria. 23. 2018member of the national association of rectors in nigeria. 24. 2019member, programme committee, world conference on humanities and social siences, may 16-17, paris, france. 25. 2019session secretary, london graduate school round table discussion on research methods and dissertation writing, 24th april. 26. 2019session secretary, london graduate school round table discussion on new trends in education, 24th april. 27. 2019session chair, 2019 association for the promotion of african studies international conference on migration and identity question in a world of change, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state. 28. 2019director of research and content development for journalists international forum for migration (jiform) 29. 2019session chair, 2020 association for the promotion of african studies international conference on african ideologies, human security and peace building, zoom webinar. 30. 2020organizing scretary, international faculty development program on teaching and learning in higher education, organized by eudoxia research centre, india, 20th july to 14th august. 31. 2020member, postgraduate defence committee of the university of america. 32. 2020member, united nations eductional, scientific and cultural organization (unesco) inclusive policy lab 75 curriculum vitae. xii. non-academic responsibilities 1. 20102012economo, assumption priory 2. 2011-2020: national executive secretary, conference of major superiors of nigeria, men (cmsn) 3. 2011-2020: resource person, pastoral agents department meeting, catholic secretariat of nigeria, abuja. 4. 2012-2015: administrator, saint monica's nursery and primary school, ranty, jos, plateau state. 5. 2014-2015: administrator, saint monica's academy (secondary school), ranty, jos, plateau state. 6. 2012-2020: member, national missionary council of nigeria, catholic secretariat of nigeria, abuja. 7. 2012-2015: economo, saint monica priory 8. 2012-2016: province secretary, order of st augustine, province of st augustine of nigeria. 9. 2014-2020: member of the international commission for the laity, order of st augustine, rome. 10. 20152016: economo, saint vincent priory 11. 20162019: censor deputatis, catholic archdiocese of lagos, lagos. 12. 20172019: brigadier general, man of order and discipline (m.o.d). 13. 2018assistant secretary, arondizuogu priests national association. 14. 2018director, feedback hall, nigeria limited. 15. 2018afrikan watch grand national patriot, african watch. 16. 20192020: vicar for religious, catholic diocese of oshogbo, osun state. 76 1. 2011-2018: member governing board, international bio-research institute (ibi), ugwogo nike, enugu state, nigeria. 2. 2012-2015: member governing board, st monica's academy (sma), jos, rantya (primary & secondary). 3. 2018-: member governing council, veritas university of nigeria abuja (vuna), nigeria. 4. 2018member governing council, villanova polytechnic, imesi lle, oshogbo state. 5. 2018governing council member, augustinian institute, makurdi, benue state 6. 2018member, tenders board, villanova polytechnic, isimi ile, osogbo, osun state, nigeria. 7. 2018member, tenders board, veritas university of nigeria abuja (vuna), nigeria 8. 2020chairman governing board, igwebuike research institute, abuja-nigeria. 9. 2020member governing board, african institute for consecrated life and allied studies (aiclas), buari, fct, abuja. xiii. governing council/board membership professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. 1. 2012board of trustees, association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars (aatreps). 2. 2012-2013: board of trustees, african congress on philosophy and religion (acpr). 3. 2011-2020: board of trustees, conference of major superiors of nigeria (men) 4. 2015scientific board of arts, literature and social sciences. 5. 2015international advisory board, alternative perspectives and global concern, canada (apgc). 6. 2018board of trustees, feedback hall, nigeria limited. 7. 2018board of trustees, association for the promotion of african studies (apas). 8. 2018international advisory board, association for the promotion of african studies (apas). xiv. board of trustees membership xv honorary doctorate degrees 1. 2019award of honorary doctorate degree of education (honoris causa degree) by the faculty and the senate of the universirty of commonwealth, london, united kingdom on 19th july. 2. 2020award of honorary doctorate degree of public administration (honoris causa degree) by the academic board of the african institute of public administration, accra and the senate of london bridge business school, london, on 2nd december 2020. 3. 2020award of honorary doctorate degree of metaphysics (african metaphysics) (honoris causa degree) by the willemstad faculty of philosophy and theology, the university of america, curacao, netherland antilles on 19th december. 77 xvi. awards and honours 1. 2013best paper award, conferred by the centre for promoting ideas, louisville, united states of america for a paper published in the american journal of contemporary research vol. 3. no. 4. june 2013. the paper being: african identity and the emergence of globalisation. http://aijcrnet.com/index.php/#best_paper. 2. 2016award of excellence, conferred by lagos archdiocesan council of catholic women organization of nigeria, apapa deanery, lagos, in appreciation of outstanding contributions and enhancement of better life and the preservation of the dignity of womanhood. 3. 2017award of excellence, an insignia to celebrate the iconic achievement of the highest level of academic achievement. presented by saint vincent catholic church, olodi, apapa, lagos. given on 15th may. 4. 2017africanwatch orator gold merit award, for contribution towards religious research, knowledge and development. presented by africanwatch media, lagos. given on 17th june 2017. curriculum vitae. http://aijcrnet.com/index.php/ 5. 2018distinguished academic of the year, in recognition and appreciation of your contribution towards academic research and development. presented by the society for research and academic excellence (srae), university of nigeria, nsukka (unn). on 6th february 2018. 6. 2018africanwatch grand national patriot (agnp), in recognition and appreciation of your contribution towards the betterment of our generation. presented by africanwatch media, lagos. given on 7th april 2018. 7. 2018oracle of wisdom award 2018, in recognition and appreciation of outstanding contribution towards research in nigeria. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya, anambra state. 8. 2018patron of the arts, an award of excellence, for contribution towards the development of arts. presented by the faculty of arts, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, at the grand alumni/friends homecoming, 26th april. 9. 2018exceptional selfless service award, in recognition of contributions towards the development and growth of the catholic women organization and the catholic church in olodi, apapa, lagos. presented by the cwo apapa deanery, catholic archdiocese of lagos. presented on 10th june 2018. 10. 2018award of honour, to a deserving soldier of the gospel and faith. presented by ugwu mgbawe charity initiative anambra state. given on 13th july. 11. 2018isignia of honour, in appreciation of a lead paper presented at the 2nd international conference of the theological institute of consecrated life for africa (ticla), held at dracc, enugu. presented by the theological institute of consecrated life for africa. given on 13-16 november 2018. 12. 2018isignia of honour, in recognition and appreciation of the opportunity you gave us to work with you. presented by the staff of saint vincent parish office. given on 25th december 2018. 13. 2018award of excellence (quintessential orator), in recognition of remarkable contribution to building knowledge and human capacity in the society and county at large. presented by the impact mission initiative (imi). given on 29th november, 2018. 14. 2018insignia of honour, in recognition of hard work, excellence and contribution towards the completion and dedication of saint vincent catholic church. presented by the parish pastoral council of saint vincent catholic church, olodi, apapa. given on 9th december, 2018. 15. 2018insignia of honour, in recognition of your commitment and dedication towards the development of saint vincent catholic church, olodi, apapa, lagos. presented by mr and mrs john momodu and family on 12th december 2018. 16. 2018merit award, in recognition of your being an ideal priest and a role model. given by the lagos archdiocesan catechist association, saint vincent, olodi, apapa, lagos. presented on this day 23rd december 2018. 78 xvi. awards and honours cont’d professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. 17. 2018award of excellence, in appreciation of your relentless and prodigious contribution towards the spiritual growth, elevation and dedication of the church and cmo in particular. presented by the catholic men organization, saint vincent, olodi, apapa, lagos. given on this day 23rd december 2018. 18. 2018merit award, in appreciation of your sterling performance. presented by the augustinian young people organization, saint vincent catholic church, olodi, apapa, lagos. given on this day 23rd december 2018. 19. 2019award of honour, in recognition and deep appreciation of your presence and sterling contributions towards the success of the 30th annual convention of the national associtaion of catholic students held at saint augustine's major seminary, jos, plateau state, 4th april. 20. 2019senior advocate award, in recognition of your immense contribution and support to the activities of the lay faithful in apapa deanery, archdiocese of lagos. given by the apapa deanery laity council, on 18th august 2019. 21. 2019jiform excellent leadership award for advocacy against irregular migration by the journalists international forum for migration (jiform). given on 26th november, during the journalists internal forum for migration summit, at the merit award abuja, nigeria. 22. 2020souvenir of gratitude and apreciation, presented by the conference of major superiors of nigeria (men) for services rendered to the conference for ten years as executive secretary of the conference. 18th january. 23. 2020golden academician of the year 2020, presented by the eudoxia research centre, india, during the 2020 nifes international conference and award ceremeony held at the p. d. memorial hall, gauhati university, india. on 23rd february. 24. 2020africanwatch lifetime national grand mentor (alngm), in recognition of your immense contribution to nationa bulding and human capacity development. presented by africanwatch media network, lagos. given on 10th october 2020. 25. 2020kwameh nkrumah transformational leadership medal (tlm), in recognition of meritorious achievments, career experience and impactful services to society. presented by the african institute for public administration (aipa), accra, ghana. given 2nd december 2020. 26. 2020louis althusser award of the year 2020international golden award 2020. an online international conference and award events in india. presented at the (infes) eudoxia research centre, guwahati, india. given on 29th december 2020. xvi. awards and honours cont’d 79 curriculum vitae. xvii. festschrifts 1. 2019igwebuike philosophy: an african philosophy of integrative humanisma book of readings in honour of professor kanu, ikechukwu anthony, o.s.a. editors: ejikemeuwa j. o. ndubisi, ph.d; amos ameh ichaba, ph.d; james nnoruga, ph.d. authorhouse publications, united kingdom. 2. 2019perspectives on igwebuike philosophy: essays in honour of professor kanu, ikechukwu anthony, o.s.a. editors: kanayo l. nwadialor, ph.d; philip adah idachaba, phd; chiugo c. kanu, ph.d. authorhouse publications, united kingdom. 3. 2019igwebuike ontology: an african philosophy of humanity towards the other. papers in honour of professor kanu, ikechukwu anthony, o.s.a. editors: jude i. onebunne, ph.d; paul t. haaga, ph.d; ejikemeuwa j. o. ndubisi, ph.d. authorhouse publications, united kingdom. xviii. external examiner/supervisor 1. 2020phd dissertation“african traditional religious attitude to death and after life: a case of the igbo of south-eastern nigeria”. the university of america, california, united states of america. 2. 2020phd dissertation (co-supervisor)“jorgen moltmann's christology of the crucified god as a foundation for social justice in nigeria today”. centro estudio teologico ahustiniano, valladolid, madrid, spain. xix research grants 1. 2020feedback hall research grantresearch grant for international conference on covid-19 on zoom webinar 2. 2020feedback hall research grantresearch grant for the publication of book of chapter: “the socio-religious dynamics of covid-19 pandemic in africa. association for the promotion of african studies publication”. 3. 2020feedback hall research grantresearch grant for the publication of book of chapter: “covid-19 pandemic, ict and education system in africa: challenges and opportunities. association for the promotion of african studies publication”. 4. 2020feedback hall research grantresearch grant for the publication of book of chapter: “covid-19 and afrocentric perspectives: health and economic implications. association for the promotion of african studies publication” 5. 2020journalists international forum for migration research grant for publishing a work on: “key concepts in migration: a journalists guide to reportung on migration”. 80 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. xx. publications: journal articles 2010 1. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2010). “towards an african cultural renaissance”. published in the professor bassey andah journal of cultural studies. volume 3, pp. 146-155. a publication of the professor bassey andah centre for cultural studies, university of calabar. 2. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2010). “a discourse on the romance between philosophy and christian theology”. published in the international journal of theology and reformed tradition, vol. 2. pp. 185-198. a publication of the society for research and academic excellence, university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu, nigeria. 3. kanu, ikechukwu a. & elizabeth ezenweke o. (2010). “the dynamics of human suffering in operative theology”. published in the international journal of theology and reformed tradition, vol. 2. pp. 168-182. a publication of the society for research and academic excellence, university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu, nigeria. 4. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2010). “on the problem of religious language”. published in the professor bassey andah journal of cultural studies. volume 4, pp. 56-66. a publication of the professor bassey andah centre for cultural studies, university of calabar. 2011 5. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2011). “zikism: towards an indigenous ideology for political regeneration in africa”. published in amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 9. no. 1. pp. 18-26. a publication of the department of philosophy, imo state university. 6. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2011). “the philosophy of reciprocity and the experience of widows in nigeria”. published in the journal of nigerian languages and culture, vol. 13. no. 1. pp. 195-202. a publication of the association for promoting nigerian languages and culture. 7. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2011). “a review of consecrated: a vision of the religious life from the viewpoint of the sacred”. mary sylvia nwachukwu (author). published in african journal of contextual theology. a publication of the spiritan international school of theology, attakwuenugu state. vol. 3. june. pp. 161-163. 8. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2011). “a review of empiricists and causation in law”. francis o. c. njoku (author). published in uche: journal of the department of philosophy, university of nigeria, nsukka. vol. 17. december, pp. 119-123. 9. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2011). “african traditional religion and christianity: a comparative analysis of values”. published in the journal of nigerian languages and culture, vol. 13. no. 2. pp. 177-188. a publication of the association for promoting nigerian languages and culture. 10. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2011). “women experience of violence and the resurrection faith”. published in african journal of contextual theology. a publication of the spiritan international school of theology, attakwuenugu state. vol. 3. june. pp.125138. 81 curriculum vitae. 11. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2011). “corruption in africa and its challenges for the enterprise of christian theology”. published in the international journal of research in arts and social sciences, vol.4. pp. 492-500. a publication of the society for research and academic excellence, university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu, nigeria. 12. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2011). “african and western perspectives on beig in metaphysics”. published in amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 9. no. 1. pp. 149-165. a publication of the department of philosophy, imo state university. 2012 13. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). “being qua belongingness: towards an africa cultural redefinition”. published in amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 10. no. 1. pp. 14-23. a publication of the department of philosophy, imo state university. 14. kanu, ikechukwu a. & paul haaga (2012). “h. l. a. hart's foundations of rights visa-vis the african experience”. published in the annals of humanities and development studies. vol. 3. no. 2. pp. 40-52. a publication of the universal academic services, beijing, fengtai district, china. 15. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). “on the possibility of miracles”. published in the international journal of theology and reformed tradition, vol. 4. pp. 81-89. a publication of the society for research and academic excellence, university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu, nigeria. 16. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). “the functionality of being in pantaleon's operative metaphysics vis-a-vis the niger delta conflict”. published in african research review: an international multi-disciplinary journal. vol.6. no.1. january. pp. 212222. a publication of the international association of african researchers and reviewers, bahir dar, ethiopia. 17. kanu, ikechukwu a. & paul t. haaga (2012). “the implications of hubert hart's concept of political obligation for the nigeria public service”. published in the international journal of arts and humanities (afrrev ijah), february 2012, vol.1. no.1. pp.110-122. a publication of the international association of african researchers and reviewers, bahir dar, ethiopia. 18. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). “the colonial legacy: the hidden history of africa's present crisis”. published in the international journal of arts and humanities (afrrev ijah), february 2012, vol.1. no.1. pp.123-131. a publication of the international association of african researchers and reviewers, bahir dar, ethiopia. 19. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). “the equality of sexes in j. s. mill vis-a-vis the participation of women in the nigerian labour and economy”. published in the international journal of language, literature and gender studies (afrrev laligens). vol. 1. no.1. march 2012. pp. 18-29. a publication of the international association of african researchers and reviewers, bahir dar, ethiopia. 20. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). “the contribution of igbo ontology to pantaleon's concept of being”. published in internet afrrev: an international online multidisciplinary journal. january. vol.1. no.1, pp.36-40. a publication of the international association of african researchers and reviewers, bahir dar, ethiopia. xx. publications: journal articles cont’d 82 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. 21. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). “from 'onye' to 'ife' hypothesis: the contribution of edeh to the development of the concept of being”. published in the lwati: a journal of contemporary research. vol. 9. no. 3. december 2012. pp 227-235. a publication of the universal academic services, beijing, fengtai district, china. 22. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). “the church and national development: towards a philosophy of collaboration”. published in african research review: an international multi-disciplinary journal. vol.6. no.2. april. pp. 113-122. a publication of the international association of african researchers and reviewers, bahir dar, ethiopia. 23. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). “the role of language in the socio-political philosophy of john locke”. published in the international journal of humanities and social science. vol. 2. no. 14, july, pp.126-131. a publication of the centre for promoting ideas, louisville, united states of america. 24. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). “genetic engineering and the quest for a perfect society: religion and sience in dialogue”. published in amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 10. no. 1. pp. 63-70. a publication of the department of philosophy, imo state university. 25. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). “the family, justice and the culture of life: afrochristian perspectives”. published in the international journal of arts and humanities (afrrev ijah), may 2012, vol.1. no.2. pp.28-40. a publication of the international association of african researchers and reviewers, bahir dar, ethiopia. 26. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). “an enquiry concerning the religio-cultural experience of women in nigeria: towards a philosophy of reciprocity”. published in the international journal of language, literature and gender studies (afrrev laligens). vol. 1. no.2. june 2012. pp. 50-60. a publication of the international association of african researchers and reviewers, bahir dar, ethiopia. 27. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). “the genders in christian anthropology vis-a-vis the experience of violence by women in nigeria”. published in the international journal of language, literature and gender studies (afrrev laligens). vol. 1. no.2. june 2012. pp. 1-14. a publication of the international association of african researchers and reviewers, bahir dar, ethiopia. 28. kanu, ikechukwu a. and jonathan okeke (2012). “the woes of scientific realism”. published in an international journal of science and technology. vol. 1. no.2. april – july, pp. 32-44. a publication of the international association of african researchers and reviewers, bahir dar, ethiopia. 29. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). “the africanity and philosophicality of african philosophy”. published in internet afrrev: an international online multi-disciplinary journal. 2012. vol.1. no.2, pp. 52-55. a publication of the international association of african researchers and reviewers, bahir dar, ethiopia. 30. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). “the secularity of the sacredness of the priestly office in african traditional societies”. published in the journal of integrative humanism. vol. 2. no. 1, pp. 219-226. may. a publication of the department of classics and 83 xx. publications: journal articles cont’d curriculum vitae. philosophy, university of cape coast, ghana. 31. kanu, ikechukwu a. and jonathan okeke (2012). “empiricism verses rationalism: matters arising in medical practice”. published in an international journal of science and technology. vol. 1. no.3. july, pp. 186-201. a publication of the international association of african researchers and reviewers, bahir dar, ethiopia. 32. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). “inculturation and christianity in africa”. published in the international journal of humanities and social science. vol. 2. no. 17, september, pp. 236-244. a publication of the centre for promoting ideas, louisville, united states of america. 33. kanu, ikechukwu a. & chimakonam, j. okeke (2012). “an assessment of the new wave epistemological theories”. published in the european journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 15. no. 1. pp. 756-772. journals bank publishing inc. london, united kingdom. 34. kanu, ikechukwu a. & paul haaga (2012). “philosophy and good governance: the nigerian experience”. published in the european journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 16. no. 1. pp. 773-783. journals bank publishing inc. london, united kingdom. 35. kanu, ikechukwu a. & elizabeth ezenweke (2012). “perspectives of syncretism and its modern trends: a case of christian and african traditions”. published in the ujah: unizik journal of arts and humanities. vol. 13. no. 2. pp. 71-84. a publication of nnamdi azikiwe university, faculty of arts. 2013 36. kanu, ikechukwu a. & b. a. c. obiefuna (2013). “the value of life in african ontology and global bio-ethical discourse”. published in the nigerian journal of theology. june, vol. 27. pp. 126-146. a publication of catholic theological association of nigeria. 37. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2013). “african identity and the emergence of globalization”. published in the american international journal of contemporary research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 34-42. centre for promoting ideas, dr. irving, united states of america. 38. kanu, ikechukwu, a. (2013). “theological, philosophical and african perspectives on substance”. published in amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 165-179. a publication of the department of philosophy, imo state university. 39. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2013). “nkrumah and the quest for african unity”. published in the american international journal of contemporary research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 111114. centre for promoting ideas, dr. irving, united states of america. 40. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2013). “trends in african philosophy: a case for eclectism”. published in filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 275-287. published by the calabar school of philosophy, university of calabar. 41. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2013). “on the sources of african philosophy”. published in the 84 xx. publications: journal articles cont’d professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 337-356. published by the calabar school of philosophy, university of calabar. 42. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2013). “the quest for the nature of being in african philosophy”. published in the filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 391-407. published by the calabar school of philosophy, university of calabar. 43. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2013). “the dimensions of african cosmology”. published in the filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 533-555. published by the calabar school of philosophy, university of calabar. 44. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2013). “the role of governments in the actualization of the millennium development goals: the experience of governments in africa”. published in the journal of integrative humanism, 3. 1. department of classics and philosophy, university of cape coast, ghana, pp. 85-100. 45. kanu, ikechukwu a. & paul haaga (2013). “a philosophical approach to education for the transformation and humanization of africa”. published in the journal of integrative humanism, 3. 1. department of classics and philosophy, university of cape coast, ghana, pp. 29-37. 46. kanu, ikechukwu, a. (2013). “from religious/traditional epistemology to lockean naturalized epistemology”. published in amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 1-16. a publication of the department of philosophy, imo state university. 47. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2013). “the trans-atlantic slave trade: a historicophilosophical analysis”. published in the lwati: a journal of contemporary research. vol. 10. no. 4. pp. 131-143. a publication of the universal academic services, beijing, fengtai district, china. 48. kanu, ikechukwu a. & b. a. c. obiefuna (2013). “african culture as a basis for ecumenism”. published in professor bassey andah journal of cultural studies. vol. 6. pp. 1-11. a publication of the professor bassey andah centre for cultural studies, university of calabar, calabar. 2014 49. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2014). “locke's agnosticism of substance and orthordox christian faith”. published in amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 12. no. 1. pp. 1-13. a publication of the department of philosophy, imo state university. 50. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2014). “freedom and determinism in african ontology”. published in the asian journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 47-53. india. 51. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2014). “causality in african ontology”. published in the asian journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 54-60. india. 52. kanu, ikechukwu, a. (2014). “igbo proverbs as depositum of igbo-african 85 xx. publications: journal articles cont’d curriculum vitae. philosophy”. published in the international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 4. no. 1. pp. 164-168. centre for promoting ideas, dr. irving, united states of america. 53. kanu, ikechukwu, a. (2014). “the place of igbo myths in igbo-african philosophy”. published in the american journal of contemporary research. vol. 4. no. 2. centre for promoting ideas, dr. irving, united states of america. pp. 98-102. 54. kanu, ikechukwu, a. (2014). “death in igbo-african ontology”. published in the asian academic research journal of multidisciplinary. a publication of asian academic research associates, india. vol. 1. no. 18. pp. 475-489. 55. kanu, ikechukwu, a. (2014). “african philosophy and the problem of language”. published in the asian academic research journal of social science and humanities. a publication of asian academic research associates, india. vol. 1. no. 21. pp. 248258. 56. kanu, ikechukwu, a. (2014). “suicide in igbo-african ontology”. published in the developing countries studies. vol. 4. no. 5. a publication of the international institute for science, technology and education. usa. pp. 27-38. 57. kanu, ikechukwu, a. (2014). “suffering in igbo-african ontology”. published in the research on humanities and social sciences. vol. 4. no. 5. a publication of the international institute for science, technology and education. usa. pp. 8-13. 58. kanu, ikechukwu, a. (2014). “igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholic-pentecostal relations”. published in the jos studies. volume. 22. pp. 87-98. a publication of saint augustine's major seminary, jos. an affiliate of the university of jos. 59. kanu, ikechukwu, a. and b. a. c. obiefuna (2014). “africa and the word: implications from the post-synodal apostolic exhortation, verbum domini. the nigerian journal of theology. volume 28. pp. 145-158. a publication of the catholic theological association of nigeria (cathan). 60. kanu, ikechukwu, a. (2014). “being and the categories of being in igbo philosophy”. african journal of humanities. volume 1. issue 1. pp. 144-159. a publication of the faculty of arts, kaduna state university, kaduna. 61. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2014). “anglican church men, descartes and john locke on innate ideas: religion and philosophy in dialogue”. published in amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 12. no. 1. pp. 91-99. a publication of the department of philosophy, imo state university. 62. kanu, ikechukwu, a. (2014). “african philosophy and the problem of methodology”. published in the international journal of scientific research. volume. 3. issue. 7. pp. 66-68. a publication of the global journals, india. 63. kanu, ikechukwu, a. (2014). “african philosophy and the issue of development”. paripex: indian journal of research. volume. 3. issue. 7. pp. 1-5. a publication of the global journals, india. 86 xx. publications: journal articles cont’d professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. 64. kanu, ikechukwu, a. (2014). “the nature and meaning of african philosophy in a globalizing world”. published in the international journal of humanities, social sciences and education. volume. 1. issue. 7. pp. 86-94. a publication of the academicians research centre, india. 65. kanu, ikechukwu, a. (2014). “negritude and the quest for an african identity”. published in the indian journal of applied research. volume. 4. issue. 8. pp. 523-525. a publication of the global journals, india. 66. kanu, ikechukwu, a. (2014). “kenneth kaunda and the quest for an african humanist philosophy”. published in the international journal of scientific research. volume. 3. issue. 8. pp. 375-377. a publication of the global journals, india. 67. kanu, ikechukwu, a. (2014). “african traditional religion in a globalizing world”. published in the international journal of humanities, social sciences and education. volume. 1. issue. 8. pp. 4-12. a publication of the academicians research centre, india. 68. kanu, ikechukwu, a. (2014). “the interplay of language, violence, revolution and liberation in franz fanon's african political philosophy”. published in the paripex: indian journal of research. volume. 3. issue. 8. pp. 148-150. a publication of the global journals, india. 69. kanu, ikechukwu, a. (2014). “a historiography of african philosophy”. published in the global journal for research analysis. volume. 3. issue. 8. pp. 188-190. a publication of the global journals, india. 70. kanu, ikechukwu, a. (2014). “kinship in african philosophy and the issue of development”. published in the international journal of humanities, social sciences and education. volume. 1. issue. 9. pp. 1-6. a publication of the academicians research centre, india. 71. kanu, ikechukwu, a. (2014). “symbols in african philosophy and the issue of nation building”. published in the international journal of scientific research. volume. 3. issue. 9. pp. 35-37. a publication of the global journals, india. 72. kanu, ikechukwu, a. (2014). “masquerades in african philosophy and the issue of nation building”. published in the indian journal of applied research. volume. 4. issue. 9. pp. 4-7. a publication of the global journals, india. 73. kanu, ikechukwu, a. (2014). “igbo-african traditional rational proofs of the existence of god”. published in the journal of nigeria languages and culture. 15. 1. pp. 13-26. a publication of association for the promotion of nigerian languages and culture. 74. kanu, ikechukwu, a. (2014). “reincarnation in igbo-african philosophy”. published in the journal of nigeria languages and culture. 15. 2. pp. 19-26. a publication of association for the promotion of nigerian languages and culture. 87 xx. publications: journal articles cont’d curriculum vitae. 2015 75. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2015). “personal identity: theological and philosophical perspectives”. published in amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 13. no. 1. pp. 1-13. a publication of the department of philosophy, imo state university. 76. kanu, ikechukwu, a. (2015). “africae munus and consecrated persons”. published in the the catholic voyage. 11. pp. 3-14. a publication of the conference of major superiors of nigeria. 77. kanu, ikechukwu, a. (2015). “quitte ton pays: on consecrated persons and the challenges of family obligations in contemporary africa”. published in the jos studies. volume. 23. pp. 45-57. a publication of saint augustine's major seminary, jos. an affiliate of the university of jos. 78. kanu, ikechukwu, a. (2015). “consecrated persons as agents of pastoral care of the family”. published in the joras: nigerian journal of religion and society. volume 5. pp. 74-84. a publication of good shepherd major seminary, kaduna. 79. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2015). “the life, times and works of aurelius augustine”. published in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1. no. 2. september, pp. 1-6. a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya, anambra state. 80. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2015). “the philosophy of anton wilhelm amo as a case against the 17th century ideological race classification of africa”. published in the journal of humanities and social science. university of ghana, legon. pp. 139-145. 81. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2015). “african traditional democracy with particular reference to the yoruba and igbo political systems”. published in international journal of philosophy and public affairs. vol. 2. no. 3. pp. 147-160. claretian scholars. 82. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2015). “the augustinian mission in nigeria: from 2001-2014”. published in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1. no. 2. september, pp. 12-14. a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya, anambra state. 83. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2015). “gender and good governance in john lock: religious and political perspectives”. published in amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 13. no. 1. pp. 88-97. a publication of the department of philosophy, imo state university. 2016 84. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “a review of half christian, half pagan: the dilenma of the nigerian christian”. published in amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 14. no. 1. pp. 110-118. a publication of the department of philosophy, imo state university. 85. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership”. published in the international journal of philosophy and public affairs. vol. 4. december. pp. 25-46. a publication of the claretian institute of philosophy, maryland. 88 xx. publications: journal articles cont’d professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. 86. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “against errantic exaggeration of contexts in africa: when a burglar sues for assaultsaving philosophy from stereotypes”. published in the international journal of philosophy and public affairs. vol. 4. december. pp. 153-158. a publication of the claretian institute of philosophy, maryland. 87. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “the concept of family as the contribution of africa to the consecrated life”. published in the catholic voyage. vol. 12. january. pp. 31-40. a publication of the conference of major superiors of nigeria. 88. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “corruption in nigeria as a socio-cultural context for the extraordinary jubilee of mercy”. published in the harvard journal of management sciences and entrepreneurship. vol. 3. no. 5. pp. 187-196. harvard research and publications international. 89. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “christian-muslim relations in nigeria as a religiopolitical locus theologicus for misericordia vultus”. published in the harvard journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 117-128. harvard research and publications international. 90. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “divination in post-missionary african christianity: globalization and the resilience of traditional paradigms”. published in the hummingbird journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 117-128. centre for trans-sahara studies, university of maiduguri. 91. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “the culture of political corruption and the emergence of terrorism in nigeria”. published in the sub-saharan journal of african sustainable development. 3. 7. pp. 127-149. a publication of sub-sahara african academic research publications, centre for african studies, university of ibadan. 92. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “african traditional folktales as an integrated classroom”. published in the sub-saharan african journal of contemporary education research. vol.3 no. 6. pp. 107-118. a publication of sub-sahara african academic research publications, centre for african studies, university of ibadan. 93. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “the supreme being in igbo-african ontology: a borrowed or indigenous concept?” published in the sub-saharan african journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 97-107. a publication of subsahara african academic research publications, centre for african studies, university of ibadan. 94. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “igbo classical and contemporary poets as african philosophical sages”. published in the sub-saharan african journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 202-214. centre for african studies, university of ibadan. 95. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “african traditional folk songs as dialogue between education and entertainment”. published in the cambridge international journal of contemporary education research. 6. 6. pp. 53-64. a publication of cambridge research and publications international, abuja. 89 xx. publications: journal articles cont’d curriculum vitae. 96. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “the fundamental of african traditional ethics”. published in the cambridge international journal of humanities and social sciences. 6. 4. pp. 55-65. a publication of cambridge research and publications international, abuja. 97. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution”. published in the journal of african traditional religion and philosophy. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 35-44. a publication of the association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. 98. kanu, i. a. and emoit p. o. i. (2016). “africa and climate related disasters”. tansian university journal of arts, management and social sciences. vol. 3. pp. 1-8. a publication of the faculty of management and social sciences, tansian university. 99. kanu, i. a. and omojola, i. o. (2016). “climate change and the african environment”. tansian university journal of arts, management and social sciences. vol. 3. pp. 81-89. a publication of the faculty of management and social sciences, tansian university. 100. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy”. published in the journal of african traditional religion and philosophy. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 89-93. a publication of the association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. 101. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “misericordia vultus and the contexts for the jubilee year of mercy”. published in the international journal of management science and entrepreneurship. vol. 7. no. 5. pp. 114-123. 102. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “miserando atque eligendo: the consecrated life as a mission of mercy”. published in the international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 7. no. 5. pp. 92-100. 103. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “extra religio-metaphysical concept of freedom and necessity in david hume”. published in amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 14. no. 1. pp. 1-7. a publication of the department of philosophy, imo state university. 2017 104. kanu, i. a.; omojola, i. o.; bazza, m. b. (2017). “the human person in yoruba culture and philosophy”. published in amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 15. no. 1. pp. 1-9. a publication of the department of philosophy, imo state university. 105. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles”. published by nnadiebube journal of philosophy. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 1-13. department of philosophy, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. 106. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “the african family as a context for the jubilee year of mercy”. published in the catholic voyage. vol. 13. pp. 32-42. a publication of the conference of major superiors of nigeria (cmsn). 90 xx. publications: journal articles cont’d professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. 107. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education”. published in nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. centre for african development studies, abuja. 108. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment”. published in nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. centre for african development studies, abuja. 109. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering”. published in berkeley international journal of contemporary education research. vol. 3.no. 6. pp. 56-72. berkeley research and publications international, bayero university, kano. 110. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity”. pp. 115-124. published in berkeley journal of humanities and social sciences. berkeley research and publications international, bayero university, kano. 111. kanu, ikechukwu a. & anetoh, b, & ejikeme, p. (2017). “information revolution and the future of humanity”. vol. 4. no. 4. pp. 101-117. published in berkeley: journal of humanities and social sciences. berkeley research and publications international, bayero university, kano. 112. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “african life circle rituals as a socio-cultural context for education”. published by african scholars: journal of african sustainable development. vol.7 no. 7. pp. 72-83. centre for african studies, university of ibadan. 113. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “the philosophical canons of africa indigenous education”. published by hummingbird: journal of african sustainable development. pp. 78-90. vol. 9. no. 8. centre for trans-sahara studies, university of maiduguri. 114. kanu, ikechukwu a. & anetoh, b, & ejikeme, p. (2017). “questioning heidegger's question concerning technology”. vol. 9. no. 4. pp. 47-53. published by hummingbird: journal of humanities and social sciences. centre for trans-sahara studies, university of maiduguri. 115. kanu, ikechukwu a. & anetoh, b, & ejikeme, p. (2017). skepticism and the emergence of modern epistemology”. published by african scholar: journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 7. no. 4. pp. 121-135. centre for african studies, university of ibadan. 116. kanu, ikechukwu a. & anetoh, b, & ejikeme, p. (2017). “a critical analysis of the provisions of human rights in the 1999 nigeria constitution”. published in the subsahara africa: journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 5. no. 4. pp. 1-35. centre for african studies, university of ibadan. 117. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “augustine as the thought-current of the church's doctrinal tradition: reflection on augustinum hipponsensem”. vol. 7. no. 6. pp. 6981. published by african scholar: journal of contemporary education. centre for african studies, university of ibadan. 91 xx. publications: journal articles cont’d curriculum vitae. 118. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “augustine as a luminary among ecclesiastical teachers: reflection on ad salutem”. published in berkeley: journal of contemporary education research. vol. 4. no. 6. pp. 105-116. berkeley research and publications international, bayero university, kano. 119. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “igwebuike and african ethics”. tansian university journal of arts, management and social sciences. vol. 4. pp. 1-9. a publication of the faculty of management and social sciences, tansian university. 120. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “igwebuike and the unity of african philosophy”. tansian university journal of arts, management and social sciences. vol. 4. pp. 108120. a publication of the faculty of management and social sciences, tansian university. 121. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “on the sources of igwebuike philosophy: towards a socio-cultural foundation”. published in the international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 9. no. 1. pp. 1-23. department of religion and human relations, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. 122. kanu, ikechukwu a. & b. a. c. obiefuna (2017). “a discourse on globalization and conflict in african values”. published in the journal of african traditional religion and philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 69-75. a publication of the association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. 123. kanu, ikechukwu a. and ejike, n. (2017). “religious and moral education in nigeria: a complementing search for development”. published in the oracle of wisdom journal of philosophy and public affairs. vol. 1. no. 1. pp.79-84. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya, anambra state. 124. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “ikeji festival of arondizuogu: retelling the stories and rekindling the values of an ancestral homeland”. published in the international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 9. no. 1. pp. 156-179. department of religion and human relations, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. 125. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “igwebuike philosophy and human rights violation in africa”. published in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 7. pp. 117-136. a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya, anambra state. 126. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution”. published in the journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40. a publication of the association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. 127. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “igwebuike as a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology”. published in the journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 14-22. a publication of the association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. 92 xx. publications: journal articles cont’d professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. 2018 128. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “the africanness of augustine's religio-humanistic thoughts on education”. published in amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 16. no. 1. pp. 1-9. a publication of the department of philosophy, imo state university. 129. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “igwebuikeconomics: towards an inclusive economy for economic development”. published in sapientia: journal of philosophy. vol. 9. pp. 90-108. a publication of the department of philosophy, university of uyo, uyo state. 130. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “igwebuike and the question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge”. published in journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 131-138. a publication of the association for the promotion of african studies. 131. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “consecrated persons and collaborative ministry”. published in the catholic voyage. vol. 14. pp. 126-135. a publication of the conference of major superiors of nigeria. 132. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “african bioethics in a world of change”. published in the journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 1. no. 2. pp. 50-59. a publication of the association for the promotion of african studies. 133. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development”. published in the igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. a publication of ibo studies association, marquette university, usa. 134. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “african philosophy, globalization and the priority of 'otherness'”. published in the journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 40-57. a publication of the association for the promotion of african studies. 135. kanu, ikechukwu a. & m. b. bazza (2018). “kamwe (higgi) origin(s), migration(s) and settlement”. published in the journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 1. no. 2. pp. 80-98. a publication of the association for the promotion of african studies. 136. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology”. publication in najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. a publication of the department of philosophy, federal university of lafia. 137. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “african pantheon in a world of change”. published in the journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 1. no. 3. pp. 17-27. a publication of the association for the promotion of african studies. 138. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy”. published in nnadiebube journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 1-13. a publication of the department of philosophy, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state. 93 xx. publications: journal articles cont’d curriculum vitae. 139. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “african liberation theology and women's experience of violence and discrimination in africa”. published in the journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 1. no. 3. pp. 162-177. a publication of the association for the promotion of african studies 140. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology”. publication in najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151-161. a publication of the department of philosophy, federal university of lafia. 141. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “sources of augustine's religio-educational insights”. published in amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 16. no. 1. pp. 64-71. a publication of the department of philosophy, imo state university. 142. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “african bioethics in the face of globalization”. published in the oracle of wisdom journal of philosophy and public affairs. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 16. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya, anambra state. 143. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “igbo-african gods and goddesses”. published in nnadiebube journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 118-146. a publication of the department of philosophy, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state. 144. kanu, ikechukwu a. and ejikemeuwa, j. o. n. (2018). “from african philosophy to african bioethics: on the interaction of structures”. published in the oracle of wisdom journal of philosophy and public affairs. vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 25-31. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya, anambra state. 145. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “god as the giver of life in igbo-african ontology”. published in nnadiebube journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 1-21. a publication of the department of philosophy, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state. 146. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “theological echoes vis-a-vis the suffering of women in african”. published in the oracle of wisdom journal of philosophy and public affairs. vol. 2. no. 3. pp. 88-97. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya, anambra state. 147. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “african philosophy as an ontologico-existential hermeneutics”. published in nnamdi azikiwe journal of philosophy. vol. 10. no. 2. pp. 1-9. a publication of the department of philosophy, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state. 148. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “xenophobia and the african philosophy of the other”. published in aumen journal of moral education in nigeria. vol. 4. no. 1. pp. 1-14. a publication of the association for universal moral education in nigeria. 149. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “migration, remittances and national development”. published in aumen journal of moral education in nigeria. vol. 4. no. 1. pp. 61-69. a publication of the association for universal moral education in nigeria. 94 xx. publications: journal articles cont’d professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. 150. kanu, ikechukwu a. and dafetta odiri (2018). “african religion, state fragility and ethnic militias in nigeria: a comparative study of egbesu and ombatse boys”. published in journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 1. no. 4. pp. 51-68. a publication of the association for the promotion of african studies. 151. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization”. published in nnamdi azikiwe journal of philosophy vol. 10. no. 2. pp. 61-66. a publication of the department of philosophy, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state. 152. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “theological echoes on the suffering of women in africa”. published in the journal of african sustainable development. vol. 10. no. 7. pp. 1-15. a publication of the centre for african and development studies, university of ibadan. 153. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “african traditional religion and the problem of founders”. published in the international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 10. no. 1. pp. 172-186. department of religion and human relations, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. 154. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “a review of african philosophy: a myth or reality by paulin hountondji”. publication in najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 3. no. 1. december, pp. 210-216. a publication of the department of philosophy, federal university of lafia. 155. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “a review of la philosophie bantou by placid tempels”. publication in najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 3. no. 1. december, pp. 216-220. a publication of the department of philosophy, federal university of lafia. 156. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “obedience and discernment in the life of consecrated persons”. published in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 4. 5. pp. 35-43. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya, anambra state. 157. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development”. published in sapientia: journal of philosophy. vol. 9. pp. 8-22. a publication of the department of philosophy, university of uyo, uyo state. 158. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “the paradox of secrecy in african traditional religion”. published in the international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 10. no. 1. pp. 35-55. department of religion and human relations, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. 159. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “igwebuike as the expressive modality of being in igbo ontology”. published in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 4. 5. pp. 12-21. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya, anambra state. 160. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “theological models of youth in christus vivit”. nnadiebube journal of religion, culture and society. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 1-11. a publication of the department of religion and society, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. 95 xx. publications: journal articles cont’d curriculum vitae. 161. kanu, i. a. and omojola, i. o. (2018). “mitigation of african indigenous knowledge”. tansian university journal of arts, management and social sciences. vol. 5. pp. 1-7. a publication of the faculty of management and social sciences, tansian university. 162. kanu, i. a. and ezenweke, e. o. (2018). “the interaction between faith and culture in north africa: lessons”. tansian university journal of arts, management and social sciences. vol. 5. pp. 122-131. a publication of the faculty of management and social sciences, tansian university. 163. kanu, a. i; omojola, i. o.; bazza, m. b. (2018). “a review of national policy on internally displaced persons (idps) in nigeria”. published in nnadiebube journal of social sciences vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 1-15. a publication of nnadiebube research institute, awka. 164. kanu, a. i; omojola, i. o.; bazza, m. b. (2018). “an evaluation of the labour migration policy for nigeria”. published in nnadiebube journal of education in africa. vol. 4. no. 1. pp. 1-11. a publication of nnadiebube research institute, awka. 2019 165. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “saint augustine on teacher-student relationship: religious perspective of education”. published in amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 17. no. 1. pp. 1-10. a publication of the department of philosophy, imo state university. 166. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective”. published in the catholic voyage. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. a publication of the conference of major superiors of nigeria. 167. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “supra-ethnic universality of islam and the ethnocentrism of african culture: questions of assimilation and resilience”. published in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). vol. 5. no. 2. pp. 163-182. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya, anambra state. 168. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). a review of “belongingness: a definitive metaphysical principle in african communalism”. jude ifeanyi onnebunne (author). published in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 1. pp. 131132. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya, anambra state. 169. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “a review of memoir of nze simeon uzondu onebunne (obiak'odudu); ex-seminarian; catechist; headmaster”. jude ifeanyi onnebunne (author). published in journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 210-211. a publication of the association for the promotion of african studies. 170. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “a review of being as belongingness: expanding the hermeneutics of african metaphysics to be”. jude ifeanyi onnebunne (author). published in journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 208-209. a publication of the association for the promotion of african studies. 96 xx. publications: journal articles cont’d professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. 171. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “a review of la philosophie bantu rwandaise ae l'etre et alexis kagame”. published in nnamdi azikiwe journal of philosophy vol. 11. no. 2. pp. 144-145. a publication of the department of philosophy, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state. 172. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “a review of emmanuel edeh's 'towards an igbo metaphysics'”. published in villanova journal of social sciences, arts and humanities. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 148-155. a publication of villanova polytechnic, osogbo, osun state. 173. kanu, ikechukwu.. a. (2019). “igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation”.published in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 56-70. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya, anambra state. 174. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “augustine's pedagogy: religio-humanistic perspective”. published in amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 17. no. 1. pp. 45-53. a publication of the department of philosophy, imo state university. 175. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “igbo philosophy of life vis-à-vis the proliferation of prayer houses in southeast nigeria: a phenomenological study”. published in the journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 2. no. 2. a publication of the association for the promotion of african studies. 176. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “igwebuike and being in igbo ontology”. published in tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 1121. a publication of the augustinian institute of philosophy, makurdi, benue state. 177. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “a review of pantaleon iroegbu's 'the kpim of metaphysics'”. published in villanova journal of social sciences, arts and humanities. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 139-147. a publication of villanova polytechnic, osogbo, osun state. 178. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation”. published in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. pp. 95-105. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya, anambra state. 179. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “time in afrian ontology”. published in tansian university journal of arts, management and social sciences. vol. 6. pp. 1-8. a publication of the faculty of management and social sciences, tansian university. 180. kanu, ikechukwu a. and omojola, o. i. (2019). “justice in yoruba culture”. published in tansian university journal of arts, management and social sciences. vol. 6. pp. 98-105. a publication of the faculty of management and social sciences, tansian university. 181. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “the economies of poverty and migration in africa”. published in journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 2. no. 3. pp. 42-51. a publication of the association for the promotion of african studies. 97 xx. publications: journal articles cont’d curriculum vitae. 182. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). a review of “methodology: a fundamental problem in african philosophy”. jude ifeanyi onnebunne (author). published in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 1. pp. 133-134. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya, anambra state. 183. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “migration and religio-political insecurity in africa”. published in journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 2. no. 4. pp. 36-43. a publication of the association for the promotion of african studies. 184. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory sociopolitical system of governance”. published in tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. a publication of the augustinian institute of philosophy, makurdi, benue state. 185. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “igbo migration and the future of traditional paradigms”. published in journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 2. no. 5. pp. 34-42. a publication of the association for the promotion of african studies. 186. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “a review of muntu: an outline of the new african culture by janheinz jahn”. published in nnamdi azikiwe journal of philosophy vol. 11. no. 2. pp. 146-150. a publication of the department of philosophy, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state. 187. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “migration, globalization and the liquidy of african traditional religion”. published in journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 2. no. 6. pp. . a publication of the association for the promotion of african studies. 188. kanu, a. i; omojola, i. o.; bazza, m. b. (2019). “national policy on diaspora matters: a review”. published in nnadiebube journal of social sciences vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 113a publication of nnadiebube research institute, awka. 189. kanu, a. i; omojola, i. o.; bazza, m. b. (2019). “the national migration policy: a critical review”. published in nnadiebube journal of social sciences vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 94-106. a publication of nnadiebube research institute, awka. 190. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism”. published in the international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. department of religion and human relations, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. 191. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy”. published in the international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 159-176. department of religion and human relations, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. 192. kanu, ikechukwu a. and emoit peter o. imatari (2019). “food sceuirty in arid and semi-arid lands in africa”. published in journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 2. no. 8. pp. 50-83. a publication of the association for the promotion of african studies. 98 xx. publications: journal articles cont’d professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. 193. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “a hermeneutics of the igbo-african kola-nut as a “type” of holy communion”. published in nnadiebube journal of philosophy vol. 3. no. 2. pp. 27-40. a publication of the department of philosophy, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state. 194. kanu, ikechukwu a. and emoit peter o. imatari (2019). “the question of food security in arid and semi-arid lands in africa: indigenous knowledge and implementers of development”. published in journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 2. no. 8. pp. 190-200. a publication of the association for the promotion of african studies. 195. kanu, a. i; omojola, i. o.; bazza, m. b. (2019). “boko haram and forced migration: a focus on the northeast and lake chad basin”. published in nnadiebube journal of education in africa. vol. 4. no. 2. pp. 1-13. a publication of nnadiebube research institute, awka. 196. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “a hermeneutics of amadioha as a prefiguration of christ in igbo traditional religion”. published in nnadiebube journal of philosophy vol. 3. no. 2. pp. 1-13. a publication of the department of philosophy, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state. 197. kanu, a. i; omojola, i. o.; bazza, m. b. (2019). “a discourse on migration and unemployment within the context of africa”. published in nnadiebube journal of education in africa. vol. 4. no. 2. pp. 86-93. a publication of nnadiebube research institute, awka. 198. kanu, a. i; omojola, i. o.; bazza, m. b. (2019). “a quest for a theology of migration”. published by nnadiebube journal of religion, culture and society. vol. 1. no. 2. pp. 1-8. a publication of the department of religion and society, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. 199. kanu, ikechukwu anthony and imatari o. p. peter. (2019). “gender rights, climate change and food security in africa”. published by nnadiebube journal of religion, culture and society. vol. 1. no. 2. pp. 80-86. a publication of the department of religion and society, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. 2020 200. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2020). “augustine's religio-educational praxis as a student”. published in amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 18. no. 1. pp. 58-64. a publication of the department of philosophy, imo state university. 201. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2020). “pornography, society and you”. published in the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 15. pp. 153-178. a publication of the conference of major superiors of nigeria. 202. kanu, i. a. and obiefuna, b. a. c. (2020). “christina morality as african traditional morality”. tansian university journal of arts, management and social sciences. vol. 7. pp. 176-193. a publication of the faculty of management and social sciences, tansian university. 99 xx. publications: journal articles cont’d curriculum vitae. 203. kanu, a. i; omojola, i. o.; bazza, m. b. (2020). “women in yoruba religion and culture”. published in tolle lege: an augustnian journal of philosophy and theology vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 120-127. a publication of the augustinian institute, makurdi. 204. kanu, a. i; omojola, i. o.; bazza, m. b. (2020). “the impact of migration on women and children”. published in tolle lege: an augustnian journal of philosophy and theology vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 1-15. a publication of the augustinian institute, makurdi. 205. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2020). “augustine's religio-educational praxis as a teacher”. published in amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 18. no. 1. pp. 1-8. a publication of the department of philosophy, imo state university. 206. kanu, a. i; omojola, i. o.; bazza, m. b. (2020). “migration and children”. published in villanova journal of social sciences, arts and humanities vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 91-95. a publication of villanova polytechnic, imesi ile, osun state. 207. kanu, a. i; omojola, i. o.; bazza, m. b. (2020). “catholic social teaching on immigration and the movement of peoples”. published in tolle lege: an augustinian journal of philosophy and theology vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 1-8. a publication of the augustinian institute, makurdi. 208. kanu, a. i; omojola, i. o.; bazza, m. b. (2020). “climate change and migration: drawing the lines and making the connections”. published in villanova journal of arts, humanities and social sciences vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 10-14. a publication of villanova polytechnic, imesi ile, osun state. 209. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2020). “covid-19 pandemic and the health of african migrants”. published in amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 18. no. 2. pp. 56-64. a publication of the department of philosophy, imo state university. 210. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2020). “covid-19 and the economy: an african perspective”. published in journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 3. no. 2. pp. 29-36. a publication of the association for the promotion of african studies. 211. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2020). “the concept of sacrifice in yoruba religion and culture”. published in amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 18. no. 2. pp. 140-148. a publication of the department of philosophy, imo state university. 212. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “igwebuike hermeneutic of the dynamics universal and particular”. published in nnadiebube journal of philosophy. vol. 4. no. 1. pp. 76-84. a publication of the department of philosophy, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state. 213. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2020). “saint augustine and covid-19 pandemic: the future and divine providence”. tansian university journal of arts, management and social sciences. vol. 7. pp. 151-162. a publication of the faculty of management and social sciences, tansian university. 214. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2020). “a review of management, society and development: a festschrift celebrating a distinguished professor”. published in journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 3. no. 2. pp. 143-146. a publication of the association for the promotion of african studies. xx. publications: journal articles cont’d professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. 100 215. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2020). “african culture as an ancient landmark: culture versus identity”. published in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 3. pp. 49-54. a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university. 216. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2020). “igwebuike as the moving spirit of pope francis' compassionate leadership”. published in jos studies. vol. 28. july. pp. 13-26. a publication of saint augustine's major seminary, jos, plateau state (affiliate of university of jos). 217. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2020). “the kola nut in igbo-african artistic universe and the question of peace-building”. published in amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 18. no. 5. pp. 49-58. a publication of the department of philosophy, imo state university. 218. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2020). “the ofo in igbo forests of arts, crafts and symbols: implications for peace-building”. published in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 5. pp. 1-12. a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university. 219. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2020). “igwebuike and language: in search of an ontological toolbox for igbo-african philosophy”. published in nnadiebube journal of philosophy. vol. 4. no. 1. pp. 1-11. a publication of the department of philosophy, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state. 220. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2020). “igwebuike as a conceptualization of igbo-african worldview”. published in the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 17. no. 2, pp. 35-50. a publication of the conference of major superiors of nigeria. 221. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2020). “the igbo-african kola nut as a symbolic manifestation of igwebuike philosophy”. published in nnadiebube journal of education. vol. 5. no. 4, pp. 52-63. a publication of nnadiebube research institute (nri), anambra state. 222. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2020). “igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe and the inculturation of the gospel message”. published in ogirisi: a journal of african studies. vol. 16. pp. 15-28. a publication of nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. 223. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2020). “igwebuike theology of udi: god's unchanging revelation and man's changing culture”. published in the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. vol. 17. no. 2, pp. 12-24. a publication of the conference of major superiors of nigeria. 224. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2020). “igwebuike philosophy of science and technology”. published in nnadiebube journal of education. vol. 5. no. 4, pp. 64-74. a publication of nnadiebube research institute (nri), anambra state. 225. kanu, i. a.; isanbor p. o.; adidi, d. t. (2020). “rational affirmation of god's existence in meyer's realist hermemneutic metaphysics”. published in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 6. no. 6. pp. 161-176. a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university. xx. publications: journal articles cont’d curriculum vitae. 101 226. kanu, i. a.; ogabo g. a; adidi, d. t. (2020). “an ontological survey of crime and criminality in nigeria: stating the causes and seeking solutions”. published in journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 177-194. a publication of the association for the promotion of african studies. 227. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2020). “igwebuike theology of omenani and the missionary bifurcation of horizons”. published in ogirisi: a journal of african studies. vol. 16. pp. 127-144. a publication of nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. xxi. publications: completed peer-reviewed books 2020 1. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2020). igwebuike: an african complementary philosophical framework. proceedings of an online colloquium on igwebuike philosophy from 20th january 2020 to 20th july 2020. igwebuike research institute: usa. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.14708.17288. isbn: 978-978-985-904-7. 2. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2020). igwebuike philosophy and complementary relations. proceedings of an online colloquium on igwebuike philosophy from 20th january 2020 to 20th july 2020. igwebuike research institute: usa. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.35679.69281. isbn: 978-978-985-902-3. 3. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2020). themes in igwebuike philosophy and theology. proceedings of an online colloquium on igwebuike philosophy from 20th january 2020 to 20th july 2020. igwebuike research institute: usa. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.15547.03362. isbn: 978-978-985-903-0. 4. kanu, ikechukwu a.; kanu c. chiugo and ejikemeuwa j. o. ndubisi (2020). (eds.). african ideologies, business and peace-building: proceedings of the international conference of the association for the promotion of african studies on african ideologies, human security and peace building, 10th -11th june 2020. association for the promotion of african studies, usa. isbn: 978-978-984-930-7. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.27104.51204 5. kanu, ikechukwu a. and ejikemeuwa j. o. ndubisi (2020). (eds.). african indigenous knowledge and peace building: proceedings of the international conference of the association for the promotion of african studies on african ideologies, human security and peace building, 10th -11th june 2020. association for the promotion of african studies, usa. isbn: 978-978-984-931-4. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.33815.39842 6. kanu, ikechukwu a. and ejikemeuwa j. o. ndubisi (2020). (eds.). religion and peace building in african: proceedings of the international conference of the association for the promotion of african studies on african ideologies, human security and peace building, 10th -11th june 2020. association for the promotion of african studies, usa. isbn: 978-978-984-932-1. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.12005.01764 xx. publications: journal articles cont’d professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. 102 7. kanu, ikechukwu a. and ejikemeuwa j. o. ndubisi (2020). (eds.). philosophy and conflict resolution in african: proceedings of the international conference of the association for the promotion of african studies on african ideologies, human security and peace building, 10th -11th june 2020. association for the promotion of african studies, usa. isbn: 978-978-984-933-8. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.32137.67683 8. kanu, ikechukwu a. and ejikemeuwa j. o. ndubisi (2020). (eds.). justice and the rule of law in africa. nigeria: association for the promotion of african studies. isbn: 978-978-979-502-4. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.18218.98243 9. kanu, ikechukwu a. and ejikemeuwa j. o. ndubisi (2020). (eds.). climate change in africa: problems, prospects and perspectives. nigeria: association for the promotion of african studies. isbn: 978-978-979-503-1. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.11508.09606 10. kanu, ikechukwu a. and ejikemeuwa j. o. ndubisi (2019). (eds.). african indigenous knowledge systems: problems and perspectives. nigeria: association for the promotion of african studies. isbn: 978-978-979-501-7. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29124.17280 11. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2020). collaborative ministry in mission: a socio-pastoral approach. proceedings of the third international conference of the theological institute of consecrated life in africa. theological institute of consecrated life n africa, abuja. isbn: 978-978-979-500-0. doi:10.13140/rg.2.2.14863.53925 2019 12. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). (ed.). nigerian youths in the face of migration, drug abuse and fundamentalism. plateau state: fab anieh nigerian limited. isbn: 978978-8458-92-0; doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.34231.06566 13. kanu, i. a; omojola immaculata; asanbe michael; kanu, c. c. (eds.)(2019). new trends in science, technology, management and social sciences in africa: proceedings of the first international conference of villanova polytechnic, imesi ile 10th and 11th july 2019. villanova polytechnic, imesi ile. isbn: 978-978-979-504-2. 14. kanu, ikechukwu a. and kanayo l. nwadialor (2019). (eds.). african migration and religion: migrant religion and multi-cultural identifications. lambert academic publishing, germany. isbn:978-613-9-58006-4 15. kanu, ikechukwu a. and chiugo catherine kanu (2019). (eds.). african migration and development: contexts, problems and perspectives. lambert academic publishing, germany. isbn:978-620-0-47049-2 16. kanu, ikechukwu a. and ejikemeuwa j. o. ndubisi (2019). (eds.). african migration and philosophy: between cultural bereavement and identity. lambert academic publishing, germany. isbn:978-620-0-46784-3 17. kanu, ikechukwu a. and nkechinyere nwokoye (2019). (eds.). african migration and culture: complex and changing relationships. lambert academic publishing, germany. isbn:978-620-0-46737-9 103 xxi. publications: completed peer-reviewed books curriculum vitae. https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.34231.06566?_sg%5b0%5d=mtxjzlit5w3p0ttca-oofwfkivfxmgqieixl_ohwybxekba3vq_yfuaeogshciyk1mnvdpa2_hp9dnza1fjgsxekgw.icf4kjxrdrhusda8ybuwvohrnghz6ewi9u6kbzbbqc6n_dc-j-b7lo5xr4k4sxaza6rihtyjytl7yofkfuk3bq 18. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). (ed.). the grace to live: selected homilies of most rev. alfred adewale martins, dd, archbishop of the metropolitan see of lagos. altograde books, abuja. 19. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). (ed.). the voice of a shepherd: selected messages of most rev. alfred adewale martins, dd, archbishop of the metropolitan see of lagos. altograde books, abuja. 20. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). (ed.). collaborative ministry in mission and canonical processes: proceedings of of the first international conference of the theolgical institute of concecrated life in africa. nigeria: theolgical institute of concecrated life in africa. isbn: 987-987-971-446-9. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.13185.81766. 21. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). (ed.). collaborative ministry in mission: theological and cultural perspectives: proceedings of of the first international conference of the theolgical institute of consecrated life in africa. nigeria: theolgical institute of concecrated life in africa. isbn: 987-987-971-446-6. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.23252.14728. 22. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019) (ed.). consecrated life and politics: drawing the lines and making the connections. nigeria: fab anieh educational books. isbn: 978-9788458-83-8. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.17873.28000 2018 23. kanu, ikechukwu a. & ndubisi j. o. ejikemeuwa (2018) (eds.). gender equality and power relations in africa: insights from religious and socio-cultural perspectives. lambert academic publishing: germany. isbn: 978-613-9-98656-9. 24. kanu, ikechukwu a. & ndubisi j. o. ejikemeuwa (2018) (eds.). human rights in africa: perspectives within the ecology of religion, history and governance lambert academic publishing: germany. isbn: 978-613-9-97316-3. 25. kanu, ikechukwu a. & raymond hickey (2018). the augustinians in nigeria: eighty years of grace (1938-2018). fab anieh educational books: nigeria. 26. kanu, ikechukwu a. & ndubisi j. o. ejikemeuwa (2018) (eds.). religion, politics and development in africa: multi-disciplinary perspectives. lambert academic publishing: germany. isbn: 978-613-9-97357-6. 27. kanu, ikechukwu a. & ndubisi j. o. ejikemeuwa (2018) (eds.). religion, morality and peace-building in africa: ambiguities and the imperfect human condition. lambert academic publishing: germany. isbn: 978-613-9-97478-8. 28. kanu, ikechukwu a. & kolawole chabi (2018) (eds.). augustine through the ages: echoes of faith and reasonin celebration of the 80th anniversary of the order of saint augustine in nigeria: 1938-2018. lambert academic publishing: germany. isbn: 978-613-9-928711-2. 29. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). a study in african socio-political philosophy. bloomington, usa: author house publication. isbn: 978-1-5462-9744-4 (sc); isbn: 978-1-5462-9743-7 (e) 1040 xxi. publications: completed peer-reviewed books cont’d professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.17873.28000?_sg%5b0%5d=ljf2h7oecta90mztks6yhvokbk5jpx6qo__rzeb_x4kaopg38rmvus9nuuzkt78vdtnyzv9spunpgxxd-bry_jj3zq.xp8mxnofx8qmiopeyafhczshlf-i96khsid-5ql8nyl8-nl7s10urutni7eqth0lmdp5ytgohkxdweol_m81og 30. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). philosophy of religion: with essays on african philosophy of religion. bloomington, usa: author house publication. isbn: 978-15462-9748-2 (sc); isbn: 978-1-5462-9747-5 (e) 31. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). disciplines of african philosophy. bloomington, usa: author house publication. isbn: 978-1-5462-9742-0 (sc); isbn: 978-1-5462-9741-3 (e) 32. kanu, ikechukwu a.; nwadialor, l. k. & kanu, c. c. (2018) (eds.). african government and development issues in a world of change: the changing patterns of a static universe. (pp. ix-xii). bloomington, usa: author house publication. isbn: 978-1-5462-9676-8 (sc); isbn: 978-1-5462-9675-1 (e). 33. kanu, ikechukwu a.; ndubisi, e. j. o. & nwadialor, k. (2018) (eds.). african cultural personalities in a world of change: monolithic cultural purity and the emergence of new values. bloomington, usa: author house publication. isbn: 978-1-5462-9666-9 (sc); isbn: 978-1-5462-9667-6 (e). 34. kanu, ikechukwu a.; ndubisi, e. j. o. & kanu, c. c. (2018) (eds.). africa at the cross-roads of violence and gender inequality: the dilemma of continuity in the face of change. bloomington, usa: author house publication. isbn: 978-1-54629665-2 (sc); isbn: 978-1-5462-9664-5 (e). 35. kanu, ikechukwu a. & kanu, c. chiugo (eds.) (2018) (eds.). discourse on education: e. n. kanu's thought provoking essays. altograde books nigeria limited, yola. isbn: 978-978-967-447-3. 36. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). does the bible contain all that we need to believe? lagos: hansel communications. isbn: 978-978-55668-1-9. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.31032.90882 37. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). the most holy trinity. lagos: hansel communications. isbn: 978-978-55668-4-0. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.31871.76968 38. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). purgatory and praying for the dead. lagos: hansel communications. isbn: 978-978-55668-0-2. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.15094.55368 39. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). mary as the mother of god. lagos: hansel communications. isbn: 978-978-55668-6-4. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.25160.88321 40. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). the veneration of the saints. lagos: hansel communications. isbn: 978-978-55668-9-5. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.25999.74407 41. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). the assumption of the blessed virgin mary. lagos: hansel communications. isbn: 978-978-55028-9-3. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.28516.32649 42. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). mary: mediatrix of all graces. lagos: hansel communications. isbn: 978-978-54447-4-2. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.33549.49126 43. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). catholics and the use of images. lagos: hansel communications. isbn: 978-978-55668-2-6. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.20127.71844 105 xxi. publications: completed peer-reviewed books cont’d curriculum vitae. https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.28516.32649?_sg%5b0%5d=41bglehzqjpavz91pdxwsqa_prxvojbbmfuadydtnlv8rd_b72hnk6en2ieztiuu58t4kd_ptuqlpagd0etiappj-a.s-jlpmvpm129-7hkmx2od8ze5ih0bxgdcfu0nfju0v8bxrxnrpyo2urlr42l9udtny3svnn_yhgvk4_6ki4tfq 44. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). the holy sacrifice of the mass. lagos: hansel communications. isbn: 978-978-55668-5-7. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.27677.46566 45. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). the sign of the cross. lagos: hansel communications. isbn: 978-978-55668-3-3. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.34388.35200 46. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). african traditional philosophy of education: essays in igwebuike philosophy. germany: lambert publications. isbn: 9786138387329. 47. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018) (ed.). african traditional religion and philosophy: essays on an ancestral religious heritage. ikeja, lagos: moonlight publishers. isbn: 978-978-946-048-9. 48. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018) (ed.). african philosophy and public affairs. ikeja, lagos: moonlight publishers. isbn: 978-978-946-047-8. 2017 49. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). consecrated persons and mutual relations: the dynamics of collaboration within the ecology of mission. conference of major superiors of nigeria (men), nigeria. isbn: 978-978-961-123-2. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.25357.49128 2016 50. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). african bioethics: an indigenous humanistic perspective for integrative global bioethical discourse. (germany: lambert publications). isbn: 978-3-330-00936-3. 51. kanu, ikechukwu a. (ed.) (2016). the consecrated life and the jubilee year of mercy: contexts and perspectives. nigeria: altograde. isbn: 978-978-957-783-5. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.21228.72327 52. kanu, ikechukwu a. (ed.) (2016). complementary ontology: provocative essays on innocent asouzu's african philosophy of integration for progressive transformation. germany: lambert academic publishing. isbn: 978-3-659-966354. 53. kanu, ikechukwu a. (ed.) (2016). ibuanyidanda: a complementary systematic inquiry. reflections on innocent asouzu's african philosophy. germany: lambert academic publishing. isbn: 978-3-659-95969-1. 54. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). igbo-african christology: a cultural christological construct in post-missionary africa. germany: lambert publications. isbn: 978-6202-01091-7. 2015 55. kanu, ikechukwu a. (ed.) (2015). consecrated life: the past, the present, the future and the constant demand for renewal. st paul's publications: ibadan. isbn: 9789785390858. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.32553.34407 56. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2015). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. isbn: 978 – 978 – 8458 – 38 – 8. 106 xxi. publications: completed peer-reviewed books cont’d professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.21228.72327?_sg%5b0%5d=kghkjsggls5ckzu73xixkekfp-05qetsf_qiz1femk0zgncmylvavxwclbuoidnbbxh8mqwfkradj77sqwcx2tqeja.bfpmb_wgrejp1oub3vzxnn28sl0uxpaswoeprsfcdorycgchiebks7po5yhfhwoxwownv85mguleph4_jt4yzw 57. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2015). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. isbn: 978 – 978 – 8458 – 39 – 5. 2014 58. kanu, ikechukwu a. (ed.) (2014). the augustinians in nigeria (1938-2014): our history, charism and spirituality. plateau: ilobiz ventures. 59. kanu, ikechukwu a. & chidili, bartholomew, u. (eds.) (2014). augustine through the ages: passionate reflections of his african spiritual sons at their 75. augustinian publications, nigeria. isbn: 9789788458258. 2013 60. kanu, ikechukwu a. (ed.) (2013). faith and life for africa's commitment to christ: reflections on the christian creed. published by the conference of major superiors of nigeria, abuja. isbn: 9789788458197. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.10742.96322 61. kanu, ikechukwu a. (ed.) (2013). echoes of hope: the stand of the conference of major superiors of nigeria on issues of faith and life. published by the conference of major superiors of nigeria, abuja. isbn: 897-897-8458-17-3. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.22906.44487 2012 62. kanu, ikechukwu a. & ezenweke, o. e. (ed.) (2012). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. isbn: 978-978-8458-029. 2011 63. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2011). the quotations of st augustine: an anthology for preachers and teachers. enugu: el' demak publishers. isbn: 978-978-8436-04-1. 64. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2011). the power of faith. enugu: el' demak publishers. isbn: 978-9788436-01-0 65. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2011). praying the psalms for various intentions (enugu: el' demak publishers). isbn: 978-978-8436-00-3. 66. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2011). the power of the cross: the legacy of st rita (enugu: el' demak publishers). isbn: 978-978-8436-09-5. 67. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2011). the power of perseverance: the legacy of st rita (enugu: el' demak publishers). isbn: 978-978-8436-09-6. 107 xxi. publications: completed peer-reviewed books cont’d curriculum vitae. https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.10742.96322?_sg%5b0%5d=kxx0huxhnrrhtwozo-68slr5ejfqt4ynhdn-hozjio6zjyp7vpi8xbmvvtrugkrhqvz90zwbqr5g-wouqbiwwndnba.4zixco7bvz7s_nmnmds9sy8ekm6cerpgr7hc-e3hoi86tm9ugfghhufpdhmlpaksg-7f_ksuuwymifpyx3ueag https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.22906.44487?_sg%5b0%5d=ciczygbp6kumlw01iz9n-mvxplpohape3-eb7jkqevblzpxktiuigzg5pnsd2ptev5p8fue8emppyxtlkhyhllssuw.dqwldhvsvwlm6gytnaxs9o4a7mb2o530fsakb6hg4guj3meoe3dv-qn56mbkfqwm1ha7ylxtahpapqcjchpivw 2019 1. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “introduction: the present and future of humanity”. in kanu, i. a. (editor). nigerian youths in the face of migration, drug abuse and fundamentalism (pp. xi-xii). fab anieh nigeria lted, nigeria. 2. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “theological models of youth in christus vivit”. in kanu, i. a. (editor). nigerian youths in the face of migration, drug abuse and fundamentalism (pp. 1-13). fab anieh nigeria ltd, nigeria. 3. kanu, ikechukwu a. and omojola, i. o. (2019). “youths and consecrated life”. in kanu, i. a. (editor). nigerian youths in the face of migration, drug abuse and fundamentalism (pp. 81-88). fab anieh nigeria ltd, nigeria. 4. kanu, ikechukwu a. and omojola, i. o. (2019). “youths and catechesis”. in kanu, i. a. (editor). nigerian youths in the face of migration, drug abuse and fundamentalism (pp. 89-96). fab anieh nigeria ltd, nigeria. 5. kanu, ikechukwu a. and b.a.c obiefuna (2019). “religion and voters behaviour in nigeria”. in l. e. ijezie, s. audu and a. i. acha (eds.). the christian, elections and faithful citizenship in a pluralist society. cathan publications, port harcourt, nigeria. 6. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “the theology of consecrated life”. in i. a. kanu (ed.). consecrated life and politics: drawing the lines and making the connections (pp. 17). nigeria: fab anieh educational books. isbn: 978-978-8458-83-8. 7. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “theology of political concerns: towards a strange alchemy”. in i. a. kanu (ed.). consecrated life and politics: drawing the lines and making the connections (pp. 9-14). nigeria: fab anieh educational books. isbn: 978-978-8458-83-8. 2018 8. kanu, ikechukwu a. & kolawole chabi (2018). “introduction: echoes of faith and reason”. in augustine through the ages: echoes of faith and reasonin celebration of the 80th anniversary of the order of saint augustine in nigeria: 1938-2018 (pp. 9-10). lambert academic publishing: germany. isbn: 978-613-9-928711-2. 9. kanu, ikechukwu a. & justine john dyikuk (2018). “boko haram's violence against women: what can the media do?” in kanu, i. a. & ndubisi j. o. e (eds.). gender equality and power relations in africa: insights from religious and socio-cultural perspectives (pp. 9-32). lambert academic publishing: germany. isbn: 978-613-998656-9. 10. kanu, ikechukwu a. & jude ifeanyichukwu onebunne (2018). “nigerian civil war and human rights”. in kanu, i. a. & ndubisi j. o. e (eds.). human rights in africa: perspectives within the ecology of religion, history and governance (pp. 107-122). lambert academic publishing: germany. isbn: 978-613-9-97316-3. 11. kanu, ikechukwu a. & ushe mike ushe (2018). “human rights issues in african traditional religion and philosophy”. in kanu, i. a. & ndubisi j. o. e (eds.). human rights in africa: perspectives within the ecology of religion, history and governance (pp. 1630-216). lambert academic publishing: germany. isbn: 978-613-9-97316-3. 12. kanu, ikechukwu a. & jude ifeanyichukwu onebunne (2018). “religion and politics in nigeria”. in kanu, i. a. & ndubisi j. o. e (eds.). religion, politics and 108 xxii publications: chapters in books/proceedings professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. development in africa: multi-disciplinary perspectives (pp. 91-113). lambert academic publishing: germany. isbn: 978-613-9-97357-6. 13. kanu, ikechukwu a. & ushe mike ushe (2018). “the religious politics of boko haram and fulani herdsmen menace: a resurgence of islamic fundamentalism”. in kanu, i. a. & ndubisi j. o. e (eds.). religion, morality and peace-building in africa: ambiguities and the imperfect human condition (pp. 109-183). lambert academic publishing: germany. isbn: 978-613-9-97478-8. 14. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “the problem of nomenclature in african traditional religion”. in n. nkechinyere, o. ogbonna, c. longinus (eds.). trial-blazing discourses on linguistics and igbo: a festschrift in honour of a first class scholar professor gabriella nwaozuzu (pp. 390-396). durability: onitsha. isbn: 978-97850962-4-2. 15. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “african traditional religion and the problem of methodology”. in n. nkechinyere, o. ogbonna, c. longinus (eds.). trial-blazing discourses on linguistics and igbo: a festschrift in honour of a first class scholar professor gabriella nwaozuzu (pp. 436-443). durability: onitsha. isbn: 978-97850962-4-2. 16. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “introduction: gender issues and contexts in africa”. in kanu, i. a. & ndubisi j. o. e (eds.). gender equality and power relations in africa: insights from religious and socio-cultural perspectives (pp. 7-9). lambert academic publishing: germany. isbn: 978-613-9-98656-9. 17. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “introduction: human rights and contexts in africa”. in kanu, i. a. & ndubisi j. o. e (eds.). human rights in africa: perspectives within the ecology of religion, history and governance (pp. 7-9). lambert academic publishing: germany. isbn: 978-613-9-97316-3. 18. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “african liberation theology and women's experience of violence and discrimination in africa”. in i. a. kanu; e. j. o. ndubisi & c. c. kanu (eds.). africa at the cross-roads of violence and gender inequality: the dilemma of continuity in the face of change (pp. 424-447). bloomington, usa: author house publication. isbn: 978-1-5462-9665-2 (sc); isbn: 978-1-5462-9664-5 (e). 19. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “cosmic consciousness and the perspective of global humanistic pedagogy: saint augustine's heritage”. in mahmoud misaeli and rico sneller (eds.). cosmic consciousness and human excellence: implications for global ethics (pp. 264-274). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. isbn-13: 978-1-5275-1149-1 20. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “the implications of igbo-african eco-biocommunitarian spirituality for global concerns”. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 75-91). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. isbn-13: 978-1-52751155-2 21. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life”. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). xxii publications: chapters in books/proceedings cont’d 109 curriculum vitae. united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. isbn-13: 978-1-5275-1155-2 22. kanu, ikechukwu a. & b. a. c. obiefuna (2018). “an evaluation of amoris laetitia on the education of the young in an age of globalization”. in l. e. ijezie, s. audu & a. i. acha (eds.). youth formation and globalization in the nigerian context (pp. 322335). cathan: nigeria. isbn: 9783161484100. 2017 23. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “the theological foundations of mutual relations”. in kanu i. a. (ed). consecrated persons and mutual relations: the dynamics of collaboration within the ecology of mission. (pp. 6-10). decent global, lagos. isbn: 978-978-961123-2. 24. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “consecrated life: global concerns and the demand for renewal”. in emeka obiezu and john paul szura (eds.). journeys to renewed consecration: religious life after fifty years of vatican ii (pp. 233-250). pacem in terris press, usa. isbn: 0999608819. 25. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christianmuslim relations in northern nigeria”. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. isbn (13): 978-1-4438-5073-5 26. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). sacred trees in igbo-african eco-bio-communitarian theology. ejezie l. e, s. audu and a. i. acha (eds.). theology and ecological issues (pp. 280-287). nigeria: cathan publications. isbn: 978-978-63041-7. 27. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). the culture of political corruption and the emergence of terrorism in nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli and rico sneller (eds.). the root causes of terrorism: a religious studies perspective (pp. 280-291). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. isbn-13: 978-1-4438-1680-9 2016 28. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). african traditional religion: between traditionalism and the facade of modernism. in elizabeth ezenweke (ed.). african ideologies and philosophy in a globalized world (pp. 45-52). germany: lambert academic publishing. isbn: 978-365-99449-4. 29. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). african philosophy: between literarity and orality. in elizabeth ezenweke (ed.). african ideologies and philosophy in a globalized world (pp. 211-218). germany: lambert academic publishing. isbn: 978-365-99449-4. 30. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). introduction: our contexts, our perspectives. in i. a. kanu (ed.). the consecrated life and the jubilee year of mercy: contexts and perspectives (5-8). nigeria: altograde. isbn: 978-978-957-783-5. 2015 31. kanu, ikechukwu a. and b. a. c. obiefuna (2015). “the theology of the family in africae munus”. the family in the new evangelization (pp.172-187). in l. e. ijezie, s. audu and a. i. acha (eds.). nigeria: catholic theological association of nigeria (cathan). isbn: 128-437-623915-1. 110 xxii publications: chapters in books/proceedings cont’d professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. 32. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2015). “a history of the consecrated life”. in i. a., kanu (ed.). consecrated life: the past, the present, the future and the constant demand for renewal (pp. 15-26). st paul's publications: ibadan. isbn: 978-978-539085-8. 33. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2015). “introduction: history and recollection”. in i. a., kanu (ed.). consecrated life: the past, the present, the future and the constant demand for renewal. st paul's publications: ibadan. isbn: 9789785390858. 2014 34. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2014). “globalisation, globalism and african philosophy”. in c. umezinwa (ed.). african philosophy: a pragmatic approach to african problems. pp. 151-165. germany: lambert academic publishing. isbn: 978-365-963457-4. 35. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2014). “the historical development of african traditional religion and philosophy”. in african traditional religion, philosophy and development (pp. 81-103). nigeria: association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. isbn: 97897884541231. 36. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2014). “african traditional religion and national development”. in african traditional religion, philosophy and development (pp. 104-121). nigeria: association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. isbn: 97897884541231. 37. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2014). “god within the parameters of divine thanatology and agnosticism”. in whose god is god (pp. 17-28). elizabeth ezenweke onyedinma (ed.). adonis and abbey, london. isbn: 9781909112452. 38. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2014). “god-talk in theistic perspective”. in whose god is god (pp. 87-108). elizabeth ezenweke onyedinma (ed.). adonis and abbey, london. isbn: 9781909112452. 39. kanu, ikechukwu a. and b. a. c obiefuna (2014). “church and politics in nigeria: towards a philosophy of collaboration”. in religious faith and public service in nigeria: ambiguities and paradoxes (pp. 268-379). nigeria: catholic theological association of nigeria (cathan). isbn: 452256681125948763. 40. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2014). “augustine on grace”. in augustine through the ages: passionate reflections of his african spiritual sons at their 75 (pp. 193-202). augustinian publications, nigeria. isbn: 9789788458258. 41. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2014). “on augustine's theodicy”. in augustine through the ages: passionate reflections of his african spiritual sons at their 75 (pp. 287-298). augustinian publications, nigeria. isbn: 9789788458258. 2013 42. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2013). “ujamaa and the quest for a community-based identity: a historical perspective”. in the humanities and national identity (pp. 90-96). awka: faculty of arts. isbn: 978-978-8454-12-30. 43. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2013). “personal identity in john locke”. in identity and multiculturalism (pp. 205-232). a publication of the department of philosophy, bigard memorial seminary, enugu (affiliate of university of ibadan). isbn: 97823357019. 111 xxii publications: chapters in books/proceedings cont’d curriculum vitae. 44. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2013). “i believe in jesus christ, his only son our lord”. in faith and life for africa's commitment to christ: reflections on the christian creed (pp. 41-50). a publication of the conference of major superiors of nigeria. isbn: 9789788458197. 45. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2013). “he was conceived by the holy spirit and was born of the virgin mary”. in faith and life for africa's commitment to christ: reflections on the christian creed (pp. 51-60). a publication of the conference of major superiors of nigeria. isbn: 9789788458197. 46. kanu, ikechukwu a. and b. a. c obiefuna (2013). “inculturation as the reconciliation of cultures: implications from africae munus”. in the church in africa: witness to justice, peace and reconciliation, a post-synodal reflection and reception (pp. 213236). a publication of the catholic theological association of nigeria (cathan). isbn: 9780706577. 47. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2013). “the dynamics and functionality of being in pantaleon's operative metaphysics vis-a-vis the quest for gender equality”. in philosophical essays on human problem (pp. 172-191). a publication of the department of philosophy, bigard memorial seminary, enugu (affiliate of university of ibadan). isbn: 9784830478. 2012 48. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). “the concept of life and person in african anthropology”. in issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 61-74). a publication of the association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. isbn: 9789788458029. 49. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). “towards an igbo christology”. in issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 75-103). a publication of the association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. isbn: 9789788458029. 50. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). “a metaphysical and epistemological study of african medical practitioners”. in issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 227-240). a publication of the association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. isbn: 9789788458029. 51. kanu, ikechukwu a. & elizabeth ezenweke (2012). “the faces of violence in africa: envisioning a way forward”. in the proceedings of the international conference on sustainable development. vol. 8. no. 2. pp. 96-102. uyo: international research and development institute. 2011 52. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2011). “an enquiry concerning the pauline contribution to the concept of freedom”. in the proceedings of the international conference on research and development. vol. 5. no. 8. pp. 73-76. ghana: pan-african book company. 53. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2011). “an enquiry concerning the status of women in pauline writings”. in the proceedings of the international conference on research and development. vol. 5. no. 8. pp. 78-81. ghana: pan-african book company. 112 xxii publications: chapters in books/proceedings cont’d professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. 2008 1. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2008). “corruption in africa: it's challenges for the enterprise of christian theology”. a paper presented at the 20th national conference of the national association of catholic theology students (nacaths), held at all saints major seminary, ekpoma, edo state, an affiliate of urbaniana university rome, march 10th -15th. 2009 2. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2009). “a scriptural and historical theology of the eucharist”. a paper presented at the 21ist national conference of the national association of catholic theology students (nacaths), held at st thomas aquinas major seminary, makurdi, benue state, an affiliate of urbaniana university rome, march 24th -27th. 2011 3. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2011). “the functionality of being in pantaleon vis-a-vis the quest for gender equality”. a paper presented at the 2011/2012 monthly philosophy lecture organised by the department of philosophy, bigard memorial seminary, enugu; an affiliate of the university of ibadan, 5th december. 4. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2011). “an enquiry concerning the pauline contribution to the concept of freedom”. a paper presented at the international conference on research and development. held on 22-25 november, at hotel residence carlos conference hall, buea, cameroun. 5. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2011). “an enquiry concerning the status of women in pauline writings”. a paper presented at the international conference on research and development. held on 22-25 november, at hotel residence carlos conference hall, buea, cameroun. 6. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2011). “the functionality of being in pantaleon's operative metaphysics vis-a-vis the niger delta conflict”. a paper presented at the international convention of intellectuals and experts, organised by the department of philosophy, madonna university, elele, 21st -26th november. 7. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2011). “the equality of sexes in j. s. mill vis-a-vis the participation of women in the nigerian labour and economy”. a paper presented at the second international conference/homecoming, organised by the department of philosophy, university of nigeria, nsukka. enugu state. 30th november -3rd december. 8. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2011). “a comparative analysis of the ethical and religious values in african traditional religion and christianity”. a paper presented at the 5th annual national conference of the association for promoting nigerian languages and culture (apnilac), at the university of nigeria, enugu campus (unec/dracc), enugu state, november, 13th 17th. 9. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2011). “the philosophy of reciprocity and the experience of widows in nigeria”. a paper presented at the 5th annual national conference of the association for promoting nigerian languages and culture (apnilac), at the university of nigeria enugu campus (unec/dracc), enugu state, november, 13th 17th. xxiii. papers orally presented at conferences 113 curriculum vitae. 10. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2011). “the experience of violence by women in nigeria vis-avis the christian eschatological hope”. a paper presented at the 5th annual national conference of the association for promoting nigerian languages and culture (apnilac), at the university of nigeria enugu campus (unec/dracc), enugu state, november, 13th 17th. 11. kanu, ikechukwu a. & elizabeth ezenweke (2011). “perspectives of syncretism and its modern trends: a case of christian and african traditions”. a paper presented at the fifth international conference on research and development. november 23rd 24th. at the university of buea, cameroon. 12. kanu, ikechukwu a. & paul t. haaga (2011). “sovereignty and global responsibility”. a paper presented at the fifth international conference on research and development. november 23rd 24th. at the university of buea, cameroon. 13. kanu, ikechukwu a. & paul t. haaga (2011). “the implications of hubert hart's concept of political obligation for the nigeria public service”. a paper presented at the international conference on social policy and society, by the third world congress on research and development. university of port harcourt, port harcourt, rivers state, nigeria, october 25th 28th. 14. kanu, ikechukwu a. & paul t. haaga (2011). “the foundations of right in h. l. a. hart and the african experience”. a paper presented at the third world congress on research and development. university of port harcourt, port harcourt, rivers state, nigeria, october 25th 28th. 15. kanu, ikechukwu a. & paul t. haaga (2011). “envisioning a paradigm shift in education for transformation”. a paper presented at the 20th faculty of education international conference, university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu state, 28th september. 16. kanu, ikechukwu a. & b. a. c. obiefuna (2011). “africa and the word: implications from the post synodal apostolic exhortation of pope benedict xvi, verbum domini”. a paper presented at a symposium on the practical application of the word of god, at the spiritan international school of theology, attakwu, enugu state, an affiliate of duquense university, pittsburgh, u. s. a. 12th may. 2012 17. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). “the role of governments in the actualization of the millennium development goals in africa: the nigerian experience”. a paper presented at the 2012 annual international convention of intellectuals and experts, organised by the department of philosophy, madonna university, main campus, elele, 11th 18thth november. 18. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). “an analytic search for the elements of naturalized epistemology in john locke”. a paper presented at the biannual conference of the nigerian philosophical association, held at the university of abuja, fct, nigeria. 22nd – 24th october. 19. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). “life and person in african ontology”. a paper presented at the fourth world congress on research and development. september, 11-12. comasie hall, imo state university, owerri, nigeria. 20. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). “towards an igbo christology”. a paper presented at the fourth world congress on research and development. september, 11-12. comasie hall, imo state university, owerri, nigeria. 114 xxiii. papers orally presented at conferences cont’d professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. 21. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). “priests in african life and philosophy”. a paper presented at the fourth international conference on culture, science and sustainable development. july 10th -11th. university of abomey-calavi, cotonou, republic of benin. 22. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). “healers in african life and philosophy”. a paper presented at the fourth international conference on culture, science and sustainable development. july 10th -11th. university of abomey-calavi, cotonou, republic of benin. 23. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). “the quest for an african identity”. a paper presented at the second toyin falola annual international conference on africa and the africa diaspora. 2nd 5th july. held at excellence hotel, ogba, ikeja, lagos. organised by the ibadan cultural study group. faculty of arts, university of ibadan. 24. kanu, ikechukwu a. and b. a. c obiefuna (2012). “the value of life in african ontology and global bio-ethical discourse”. a paper presented at the first international conference on bioethics in africa. held at the international bio-research institute, odumegwu ojukwu auditorium, enugu. 25th – 27th june. 25. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). “the trans-atlantic slave trade: a historicophilosophical investigation”. a paper presented at the sixth african regional conference on sustainable development. june 12th -13th. university of calabar, nigeria. 26. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). “the africanity and philosophicality of african philosophy”. a paper presented at the sixth african regional conference on sustainable development. june 12th -13th. university of calabar, nigeria. 27. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). “from 'onye' to 'ife' hypothesis: the contribution of edeh to the development of the concept of being”. a paper presented at the sixth international conference on research and sustainable development. may 15th to 16th. at the university of lome, republic of togo. 28. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). “being qua belongingness: the provenance and implications of pantaleon's concept of being”. a paper presented at the sixth international conference on research and sustainable development. may 15th to 16th. at the university of lome, republic of togo. 29. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). “the problem of gender inequality and good governance in john locke”. a paper presented at the 2012 faculty of arts annual conference. nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state. from 2nd to 5th may. 30. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). “philosophy and good governance: the nigerian experience”. a paper presented at the 2012 faculty of arts annual conference. nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state. from 2nd to 5th may. 31. kanu, ikechukwu a. & elizabeth o. ezenweke (2012). “gender in christian anthropology vis-a-vis the experience of violence by women in nigeria”. a paper presented at the international interdisciplinary conference/chinua achebe annual lectures. 23rd to 27th april. faculty of arts, university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu state. 32. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). “the religio-cultural experience of women in nigeria vis-a-vis the ethic of reciprocity”. a paper presented at the international interdisciplinary conference/chinua achebe annual lectures. 23rd to 27th april. faculty of arts, university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu state. 115 xxiii. papers orally presented at conferences cont’d curriculum vitae. 33. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). “the political philosophy of nnamdi azikiwe as an ideology for political regeneration in nigeria”. a paper presented at the seventh international conference on development studies. april 17th -18th. university of nigeria nsukka, enugu state. 34. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). “the colonial legacy: the hidden history of africa's present crisis”. a paper presented at the seventh international conference on development studies. april 17th 18th. university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu state. 35. kanu, ikechukwu a. & b. a. c. obiefuna (2012). “inculturation as the reconciliation of cultures: implications from africae munus”. a paper presented at the 27th annual conference/meeting of the catholic theological association of nigeria (cathan). april 20th 13th. at the redemptorist conference centre, ibadan, oyo state. 36. kanu, ikechukwu a. & elizabeth o. ezenweke (2012). “dealing with incidence of inculturation between christianity and african traditional beliefs”. a paper presented during the international conference of the international society for african philosophy and studies. 16th – 18th april, 2012. at the university of kwazulu-natal, pietermaritzburg, south africa. 37. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). “the problem of being in metaphysics”. a paper presented at the first international conference on research, innovations and sustainable development. march 7th – 8th. songhai centre, port novo, republic of benin. 38. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). “the problem of personal identity in metaphysics”. a paper presented at the first international conference on research, innovations and sustainable development. march 7th – 8th. songhai centre, port novo, republic of benin. 39. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). “an enquiry concerning the compatibilism of freedom and necessity in david hume”. a paper presented at the eight international conference on sustainable development. at the university of abuja, fct, nigeria. 7th 8th february. 40. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). “an evaluation of ideas and impressions in david hume”. a paper presented at the eight international conference on sustainable development. at the university of abuja, fct, nigeria. 7th 8th february. 41. kanu, ikechukwu a. & elizabeth ezenweke (2012). “revisiting the lessons of the interaction between faith and culture in north africa”. a paper presented at the international conference on sustainable development. vol. 8. no. 2. pp. 67-71. uyo: international research and development institute. 42. kanu, ikechukwu a. & elizabeth ezenweke (2012). “the faces of violence in africa: envisioning a way forward”. a paper presented at the international conference on sustainable development. vol. 8. no. 2. pp. 67-71. uyo: international research and development institute. 2013 43. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2013). “suffering in igbo-african ontology”. a paper presented at the fourth global conference: making sense of suffering, organized by the interdisciplinary. net, uk. 10th – 12th november, athens, greece. 44. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2013). “death in igbo-african ontology”. a paper presented at the tenth global conference: making sense of dying and death, organized by the inter-disciplinary. net, uk. 7th – 9th november, athens, greece. 116 xxiii. papers orally presented at conferences cont’d professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. 45. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2013). “suicide in igbo-african ontology”. a paper presented at the first global conference: suicide, self harm and assisted dying, organized by the inter-disciplinary. net, uk. 4th – 6th november, athens, greece. 46. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2013). “a historiography of african traditional religion and philosophy”. a paper presented at the 1st international conference of the association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. 25th -27th august. held at pope john paul ii major seminary, awka, anambra state. 47. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2013). “african traditional religion and national development”. a paper presented at the 1st international conference of the association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. 25th -27th august. held at pope john paul ii major seminary, awka, anambra state. 48. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2013). “igbo proverbs as depositum of igbo-african philosophy”. a paper presented at the 6th annual national conference of the association for promoting nigerian languages and culture (apnilac), held at the federal college of education technical, umunze, anambra state. 15th to 17th may, 2013. 49. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2013). “the place of igbo myths in igbo-african philosophy”. a paper presented at the 6th annual national conference of the association for promoting nigerian languages and culture (apnilac), held at the federal college of education technical, umunze, anambra state. 15th to 17th may, 2013. 50. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2013). “kwame nkrumah and the quest for pan africanism”. a paper presented at the 19th annual conference of the international society for african philosophy and studies. 27th -29th may, 2013. department of philosophy, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. 51. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2013). “nationalism: the theoretical and conceptual approach of obafemi awolowo”. a paper presented at the international conference in honour of dr. oladipo fashina, by the department of philosophy, obafemi awolowo university, ile-ife. 7th -10th may. oau conference centre and guest house. 52. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2013). “negritude and the quest for an african identity”. a paper presented at the faculty of arts 2013 annual international conference. nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. wednesday 1-4 of may. university auditorium. 53. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2013). “ujamaa and the quest for an african community-based identity”. a paper presented at the faculty of arts 2013 annual international conference. nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. wednesday 1-4 of may. university auditorium. 54. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2013). “on the problem of religious language”. a paper presented at the 2013 international conference of the society for research and academic excellence, university of nigeria, nsukka, princess alexandria auditorium. 11th – 14th of march. 55. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2013). “on the possibility of miracles”. a paper presented at the 2013 international conference of the society for research and academic excellence, university of nigeria, nsukka, princess alexandria auditorium. 11th – 14th of march. 56. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2013). “the problem of personal identity in john locke”. a paper presented at the 2012/2013 monthly philosophy lecture organised by the department of philosophy, bigard memorial seminary, enugu; an affiliate of the university of ibadan, 10th april. 117 xxiii. papers orally presented at conferences cont’d curriculum vitae. 57. kanu, ikechukwu a. & b. a. c. obiefuna (2013). “church and politics in nigeria: towards a philosophy of collaboration”. a paper presented at the 28th annual conference/meeting of the catholic theological association of nigeria (cathan). april 2nd 5th. madonna renewal centre, nkpor-agu, onitsha, anambra state. 2014 58. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2014). “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christianmuslim relations in northern nigeria”. a paper presented at the nigerian philosophical association national conference, held at the university of lagos, lagos state, october 15-17. 59. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2014). “african philosophy: between literarity and orality”. a paper presented at the literati philosophia conference organized by anambra state university, awka. tetfund auditorium, 2-4 october, 2014. 60. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2014). “igbo-african traditional rational proofs of the existence of god”. a paper presented at the 7th annual national conference of the association for promoting nigerian languages and culture (apnilac), held at imo state university, imo state. 13th to 17th july, 2014. 61. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2014). “reincarnation in igbo-african philosophy”. a paper presented at the 7th annual national conference of the association for promoting nigerian languages and culture (apnilac), held at imo state university, imo state. 13th to 17th july, 2014. 62. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2014). “the meaning and nature of african traditional religion in a globalized world”. a paper presented at the 2014 conference of the association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. held at nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, chike okoli multi-purpose hall. 25th -28th june 2014. 63. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2014). “the meaning and nature of african philosophy in a globalized world”. a paper presented at the 2014 conference of the association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. held at nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, chike okoli multi-purpose hall. 25th -28th june 2014. 64. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2014). “symbols in african ontology and the issue of nation building”. a paper presented at the annual international conference of the faculty of arts, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state, from 14th to 17th of may 2014. 65. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2014). “masquerades in african ontology and the issue of nation building”. a paper presented at the annual international conference of the faculty of arts, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state, from 14th to 17th of may 2014. 66. kanu, ikechukwu a. & b. a. c. obiefuna (2014). “african culture as a basis for ecumenism”. a paper presented at the 29th annual conference/meeting of the catholic theological association of nigeria (cathan). april 22nd 25th. dracc, new lugbe, fct abuja. 67. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2014). “globalisation, globalism and african philosophy”. a paper presented at the bigard memorial seminary monthly lecture. department of philosophy, on 10th march. 118 xxiii. papers orally presented at conferences cont’d professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. 2015 68. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2015). “igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization”. a paper presented at the international conference on studies in humanities and social sciences. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france. 69. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2015). “igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy”. a paper presented at the international conference on studies in humanities and social sciences. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france. 70. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2015). “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education”. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france. 71. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2015). “igwebuike as the consumate foundation of african bioethical principles”. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france. 72. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2015). “igwebuike as an ontological precondition for african ethics”. a paper presented at the international conference of the society for research and academic excellence. university of nigeria, nsukka. 14th -16th september. 73. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2015). “igwebuike as the unity of the african philosophical experience”. a paper presented at the international conference of the society for research and academic excellence. university of nigeria, nsukka. 14th -16th september. 74. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2015). “african philosophy as an ontologico-existential hermeneutics”. a paper presented at the international conference of the association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars held at the institute of african studies, university of ghana, 16th-19th september, 2015. 75. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2015). “towards an african traditional democracy”. a paper presented at the international conference of the association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars held at the institute of african studies, university of ghana, 16th-19th september, 2015. 76. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2015). “towards an african bioethics”. a paper presented at the 2015 international conference of the faculty of arts, nnamdi azikwe university, awka, anambra state. held on 17-19 june. 77. kanu, ikechukwu a. and b. a. c. obiefuna (2015). “a discourse on globalisation and the conflict of values”. a paper presented at the 2015 international conference of the faculty of arts, nnamdi azikwe university, awka, anambra state. held on 17-19 june. 78. kanu, ikechukwu a. & b. a. c. obiefuna (2015). “the theology of the family in africae munus”. a paper presented at the 30th annual conference/meeting of the catholic theological association of nigeria (cathan). bishop kelly pastoral centre, april 10-12, benin city, edo state. 79. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2015). “african science: the search for a causal link”. a paper presented at the academic conference of the society for research and academic excellence, university of nigeria, nsukka. on 16th – 19th february. 80. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2015). “the 17th century ethiopian rationalists: rethinking the ideological race classification of africa”. a paper presented at the academic conference of the society for research and academic excellence, university of nigeria, nsukka. on 16th – 19th february. 119 xxiii. papers orally presented at conferences cont’d curriculum vitae. 81. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2015). “the philosophy of anton wilhelm amo as a case against the 17th century ideological race classification of africa”. a paper presented at the interdisciplinary academic conference. organized by hummingbird publications and research international. held at the university of jos, multi-purpose hall, main campus, plateau state, nigeria on thursday 15-friday 16 january. 82. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2015). “j. s. mbiti's african concept of time and the problem of development”. a paper presented at the international conference on humanities, literature and management (ichlm'15). organized by the international centre of economics, humanities and management. held at holiday inn hotel, dubai, uae on january 9-10, 2015. 83. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2015). “towards an igbo-african spirit-based theology of the environment”. a paper presented at the international conference on global issues in multidisciplinary academic research (gimar-2015) organized by global illuminators, held at hotel grand flora dubai, uae on january 5-6, 2015. 2016 84. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “igwebuike and the question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge”. a paper presented at the nigeria philosophical association (npa) 2016 biennial conference, held at the university of uyo, uyo akwa-ibom state, nigeria, friday 28th october, 2016. 85. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “igwebuike and the logic of african philosophy”. a paper presented at the nigeria philosophical association (npa) 2016 biennial conference, held at the university of uyo, uyo akwa-ibom state, nigeria, friday 28th october, 2016. 86. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “misericordia vultus and the contexts for the jubilee year of mercy”. a paper presented at the cambridge research international conference, held at maison de peuple conference hall, universite nationale du benin, cotonou, benin republic. from 27th to 28th october 2016. 87. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “miserando atque eligendo: the consecrated life as the mission of mercy”. a paper presented at the cambridge research international conference, held at maison de peuple conference hall, universite nationale du benin, cotonou, benin republic. from 27th to 28th october 2016. 88. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “towards an african bioethics”. a paper presented at the 2016 annual international conference of the association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. held at nnamdi azikiwe university, awka on 2124 september 2016. 89. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “towards an african metaphysics”. a paper presented at the 2016 annual international conference of the association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. held at nnamdi azikiwe university, awka on 2124 september 2016. 90. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “the african family as a context for the jubilee year of mercy”. a paper presented at the 37th annual conference of the nigerian association for the study of religions. held at the university of benin, akin deko auditorium, ugbowo campus, edo state, from 19th-22nd september 2016. 91. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “the institution of marriage in igbo traditional religion”. a paper presented at the 37th annual conference of the nigerian association for the study of religions. held at the university of benin, akin deko auditorium, ugbowo campus, edo state, from 19th-22nd september 2016. 120 xxiii. papers orally presented at conferences cont’d professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. 92. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “towards an african philosophy of development”. a paper presented at the international conference of the society for research and academic excellence, university of nigeria, nsukka, princess alexandria auditorium, 29th – 30th august. 93. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “towards an african philosophical anthropology”. a paper presented at the international conference of the society for research and academic excellence, university of nigeria, nsukka, princess alexandria audtorium, 29th – 30th august. 94. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “towards an african philosophy of religion”. a paper presented at the international conference of the society for research and academic excellence, university of nigeria, nsukka, princess alexandria audtorium, 29th – 30th august. 95. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “igwebuike as the expressive modality of being in igbo ontology”. a paper presented at the hummingbird publication and research international multidisciplinary conference held at the kwara state university, university main auditorium, malete, kwara state, 30th june. 96. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “igwebuikecracy: an igbo-african participatory sociopolitical system of governance”. a paper presented at the hummingbird publication and research international multidisciplinary conference held at the kwara state university, university main auditorium, malete, kwara state, 30th june. 97. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “the fundamentals of african ethics”. a paper presented at the 2016 multidisciplinary international conference of cambridge research and publications international on june 22-23, 2016 at conference hall, university of ghana, accra, ghana. 98. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “african traditional folk songs as a dialogue between education and entertainment”. a paper presented at the multidisciplinary international conference of cambridge research and publications international on june 22-23, 2016 at conference hall, university of ghana, accra, ghana. 99. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “the supreme being in igbo-african ontology: a borrowed or indigenous concept?” a paper presented at the academic conference on multidisciplinary approaches. bayero university kano, old site campus, kano, 9th june. 100. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “the culture of political corruption and the emergence of terrorism in nigeria”. a paper presented at the academic conference on multidisciplinary approaches. bayero university kano, old site campus, kano, 9th june. 101. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “igwebuike as an igbo-african response to the problem of personal identity and alterity”. a paper presented at the 14th annual conference of the igbo studies association, held at the dominican university, river forest, illinois, usa, from may 12th to 14th. 102. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “igbo classical and contemporary poets as african philosophical sages”. a paper presented at the 2016 faculty of arts conference, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, may 5th 6th. 103. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “african traditional folktales as an integrated classroom” a paper presented at the 2016 faculty of arts conference, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, may 5th 6th. 121 xxiii. papers orally presented at conferences cont’d curriculum vitae. 104. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “christian-muslim relations in nigeria as a religiopolitical locus theologicus for misericordia vultus”. a paper presented at the multidisciplinary national conference 2016 on april 28, 2016 at university of abuja, gwagwalada, abuja fct, nigeria. 105. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “corruption in nigeria as a socio-cultural context for the extraordinary jubilee of mercy” a paper presented at the multidisciplinary national conference 2016 on april 28, 2016 at university of abuja, gwagwalada, abuja fct, nigeria. 106. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “sacrifice in african ontology and the issue of globalization: the line between change and permanence”. a paper presented at the first faculty of arts international conference, university of calabar, 13th -15th april 2016, international conference centre, mary slessor. 107. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “divination in post-missionary african christianity: globalization and the resilience of traditional paradigms”. a paper presented at the first faculty of arts international conference, university of calabar, 13th -15th april 2016, international conference centre, mary slessor. 108. kanu, ikechukwu a. & b. a. c. obiefuna (2016). “sacred trees in igbo-african ecobio-communitarian theology”. a paper presented at the 30th annual conference/meeting of the catholic theological association of nigeria (cathan). bishop nwedo pastoral centre, march 29-31, umuahia, abia state. 109. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “the philosophical canons of african indigenous education”. a paper presented at the international conference of the society for research and academic excellence. university of nigeria, nsukka. 8th -11th february. 110. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “african life circle rituals as a socio-cultural context for education”. a paper presented at the international conference of the society for research and academic excellence. university of nigeria, nsukka. 8th -11th february. 2017 111. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “african philosophy, globalisation and the priority of otherness”. a lead paper presented at the 2017 philosophy week of saint thomas aquinas major seminary, makurdi, benue state chapter of the nigerian major seminaries association of philosophy students. on 13th may 2017. 112. kanu, ikechukwu a. and ejikemeuwa ndubisi (2017). “religious instruction and or moral education: complementing the defining differential similarities for development”. a lead paper presented at the 3rd annual national conference held at unizik auditorium, on 9-10 august 2017. 113. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “igwebuikeconomics: towards an inclusive economy for national development”. a paper presented at the national conference on peace and national development, organized by the centre peace development, veritas university, abuja, 20-22, november 2017. 114. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development”. a paper presented at the national conference on peace and national development, organized by the centre peace development, veritas university, abuja, 20-22, november 2017. 122 xxiii. papers orally presented at conferences cont’d professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. 115. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “igwebuike and human rights violation in africa”. a paper presented at the second african philosophy world conference held at the university of calabar, cross rivers state, department of philosophy, conversational school of philoosphy, from october 12th to 14th 2017. 116. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership”. a paper presented at the second african philosophy world conference held at the university of calabar, cross rivers state, department of philosophy, conversational school of philoosphy, from october 12th to 14th 2017. 117. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “towards an african integrative and progressive anthropology of the human person”. a paper presented at the 2017 pan african conference on inter-disciplinary studies on 20-25 september, auditorium, holy trinity basilica onitsha 118. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “towards a hermeneutic of personal autonomy in african ontology”. a paper presented at the 2017 pan african conference on interdisciplinary studies on 20-25 september, auditorium, holy trinity basilica onitsha 119. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “augustine's hermeneutic of scripture (matthew 5:1-12) and sufi practice against violence”. a paper presented at the 2017 international conference of the society for research and academic excellence” held at the niger hall, university of nigeria, nsukka, 28-30 august. 120. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “the igbo pantheon: a hermeneutic of selected igboafrican deities”. a paper presented at the 2017 international conference of the society for research and academic excellence” held at the niger hall, university of nigeria, nsukka, 28-30 august. 121. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “the ethic of reciprocity and the issue of human biomedical research”. a paper presented at the harvard fifth academic conference held at the seminar hall, centre for open and distance learning, nairobi, kenya, 2021 july 2017. 122. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “cosmic consciousness and the project of a global humanistic pedagogy: st augustine's heritage”. a paper presented at the harvard fifth academic conference held at the seminar hall, centre for open and distance learning, nairobi, kenya, 20-21 july 2017. 123. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “sources of igwebuike philosophy: towards a sociocultural foundation”. a paper presented at the 5th international annual conference of the association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars, held on 28th june, at the pg school auditorium. 124. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “igwebuike as a hermeneutical hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology”. a paper presented at the 5th international annual conference of the association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars, held on 28th june, at the pg school auditorium. 125. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of peace and conflict resolution”. a paper presented at the 2017 igbo studies association international conference held at great wood hotel, owerri, imo state, from 8-10 june. 126. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “ikeji festival of arondizuogu: retelling the stories and rekindling the values of an ancestral homeland”. a paper presented at the 2017 igbo studies association international conference held at great wood hotel, owerri, imo state, from 8-10 june. 123 xxiii. papers orally presented at conferences cont’d curriculum vitae. 127. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life”. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. 128. kanu, ikechukwu a. & b. a. c. obiefuna (2017). “an evaluation of amoris laetitia on the education of the young in an age of globalization”. a paper presented at the 32nd annual conference/meeting of the catholic theological association of nigeria (cathan). dracc, lugbe, abuja, 18th april . 129. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education”. a paper presented at the nightingale interdisciplinary conference held on 23-24 february 2017 at the federal university of lokoja, kogi state, conference hall, administrative complex. 130. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment”. a paper presented at the nightingale interdisciplinary conference held on 23-24 february 2017 at the federal university of lokoja, kogi state, conference hall, administrative complex. 131. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “missionary heroes and heroines”. a paper presented at the africanwatch annual lecture and award, at king celia hotels and suites, yaba, lagos, on june 17, 2017. 132. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “consecrated persons as agents of evangelization in africa”. a paper presented at the international conference of the society for research and academic excellence. held on 6th-9th february, niger hall, university of nigeria, nsukka. 133. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “the african family as a context for the jubilee year of mercy”. a paper presented at the international conference of the society for research and academic excellence. held on 6th-9th february, niger hall, university of nigeria, nsukka. 134. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity”. a paper presented at the berkeley multidisciplinary academic conference held at nasarawa state university, keffi, 1000 capacity auditorium on 16th february. 135. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “igwebuike as a wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering”. a paper presented at the berkeley multidisciplinary academic conference held at nasarawa state university, keffi, 1000 capacity auditorium on 16th february. 2018 136. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “collaborative ministry within the 'ecology of mission': an african cultural perspective”. a lead paper presented at the international conference of the theological institute of consecrated life in africa (ticla) held on 13th -16th november 2018 at the daughters of divine love retreat and conference center (dracc), enugu. 137. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “the africanity of augustine's philosophy of education”. a paper presented at the academic conference on african development. 26th27th july. cetdat conference hall. makerere university, kampala, kampala, uganda. 138. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “the sources of augustine's educational insight”. a paper presented at the academic conference on african development. 26th27th july. cetdat conference hall. makerere university, kampala, kampala, uganda. 124 xxiii. papers orally presented at conferences cont’d professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. 139. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “augustine's pedagogy: anthropologial and humanistic considerations”. a paper presented at the multidisciplinary academic conference. 30th-31st august. maison de peuple conference hall. universite nationale du benin, cotonou, benin republic. 140. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “augustine's perspective on teacher-student relationship for successful educational outcomes”. a paper presented at the multidisciplinary academic conference. 30th-31st august. maison de peuple conference hall. universite nationale du benin, cotonou, benin republic. 141. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “theological echoes and the suffering of women in africa”. a paper presented at the multidisciplinary academic conference on positioning sub-sahara africa for development. university assembly hall. bauchi state university. gadau, main campus, itas-gadau, bauchi state. 16th august. 142. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “african liberation theology and women's experience of violence and discrimination in africa”. a paper presented at the multidisciplinary academic conference on positioning sub-sahara africa for development. university assembly hall. bauchi state university. gadau, main campus, itas-gadau, bauchi state. 16th august. 143. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “augustine's educational praxis as a teacher”. a paper presented at the eleventh multidisciplinary academic conference held at president muhammadu buhari hall, north western university, kano, kano state. 12th june. 144. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “augustine's educational praxis as a student”. a paper presented at the eleventh multidisciplinary academic conference held at president muhammadu buhari hall, north western university, kano, kano state. 12th june. 145. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “african bioethics in a world of change”. a paper presented at the 2018 association for the promotion of african studies international conference. held at nanmdi azikiwe university, awka, from 13th to 15th june 2018, chike okoli multi-purpose hall, anambra state. 146. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “african pantheon in a world of change”. a paper presented at the 2018 association for the promotion of african studies international conference. held at nanmdi azikiwe university, awka, from 13th to 15th june 2018, chike okoli multi-purpose hall, anambra state. 147. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “kamwe origin(s), migration(s), settlement”. a paper presented at the 2018 association for the promotion of african studies international conference. held at nanmdi azikiwe university, awka, from 13th to 15th june 2018, chike okoli multi-purpose hall, anambra state. 148. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “african traditional religion, justice and national integration”. a paper presented at the 2018 annual international conference of the faculty of arts, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. faulty of arts hall, may 17-19. 149. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for national integration”. a paper presented at the 2018 annual international conference of the faculty of arts, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. faulty of arts hall, may 17-19. 150. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “the problem of nomenclature in african traditional religion”. a paper presented at the 2018 international conference of igbo studies association, dominican university, chicago illinois, usa. may 10-12. 125 xxiii. papers orally presented at conferences cont’d curriculum vitae. 151. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “the problem of methodology in african traditional religion”. a paper presented at the 2018 international conference of igbo studies association, dominican university, chicago illinois, usa. may 10-12. 152. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “african bioethics in the face of globalization”. a paper presented at the oracle of wisdom 2018 international conference, lecture hall 9. msgr rechberger academic block, tansian university, umunya, anambra state. 153. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “from african philosophy to african bioethics: on the interaction of structures”. a paper presented at the oracle of wisdom 2018 international conference, lecture hall 9. msgr rechberger academic block, tansian university, umunya, anambra state. 154. kanu, ikechukwu a. & b. a. c. obiefuna (2018). “election and voter's behavior”. a paper presented at the 33rd 2018 catholic theological association of nigeria annual national conference/meeting, held at ehj domus fidei, ikeja, lagos, from april 3-4. 155. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “african traditional religion and the problem of founders and missionaries”. a paper presented at the 8th international conference of the society for research and academic excellence, university of nigeria, nsukka (unn), 5-8 february 2018, princess alexandria auditorium, unn. 156. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “the problem of secrecy in african traditional religion”. a paper presented at the 8th international conference of the society for research and academic excellence, university of nigeria, nsukka (unn), 5-8 february 2018, princess alexandria auditorium, unn. 2019 157. kanu, ikechukwu a. & b. a. c. obiefuna (2019). “christian morality as african morality”. a paper presented at the 34th annual conference/meeting of the catholic theological association of nigeria (cathan). port harcourt diocesan pastoral centre, iguruta, port harcourt, rivers state, 26th april. 158. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “supra-ethnic universality of islam and the ethnocentrism of african culture: questions of assimilation and resilience”. a paper presented at the 2019 30th national convention of the national associatuon of the catholic theology students (nacaths) held on 1-5 april, at saint augustine's major seminary, jos, plateau state, fr. tom flynn osa memorial hall. 159. kanu, ikechukwu a. & ejikemeuwa j. o. ndubisi (2019). “igbo philosophy of life vis-à-vis the proliferation of prayer houses in southeast nigeria: a phenomenological study”. a paper presented at the 17th annual international conference of the igbo studies association to be held at the dominican university, river forest, illinois, usa, may 9-11, 2019. 160. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “igwebuike as an igbo hermeneutic of beauty”. a paper presented at the 17th annual international conference of the igbo studies association to be held at the dominican university, river forest, illinois, usa, may 9-11, 2019. 161. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “igwebuike as an igbo hermeneutic of wellbeing”. a paper presented at the 17th annual international conference of the igbo studies association to be held at the dominican university, river forest, illinois, usa, may 9-11, 2019. 162. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “african traditional naming ceremony and baptism: towards an evangelical-pastoral-unitary balance”. a paper presented at the conference of diocesan directors of inculturation on 25th-27th june 2019, at the resource center of the catholic secretariat of nigeria, durumi, abuja 126 xxiii. papers orally presented at conferences cont’d professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. 163. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “migration, globalization and the liquidity of african traditional religion” a paper presented at the 2019 association for the promotion of african studies international conference, at multi-purpose hall, chike okoli centre for entrepreneurship, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state. 12-14 june. 164. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “migration and religio-political insecurity” a paper presented at the 2019 association for the promotion of african studies international conference, at multi-purpose hall, chike okoli centre for entrepreneurship, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state. 12-14 june. 165. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “igbo migration and the future of traditional paradigms” a paper presented at the 2019 association for the promotion of african studies international conference, at multi-purpose hall, chike okoli centre for 166. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “economies of migration and poverty in africa” a paper presented at the 2019 association for the promotion of african studies international conference, at multi-purpose hall, chike okoli centre for entrepreneurship, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state. 12-14 june. 167. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “migration and african identity question in a contemporary world”presidential address delivered at the 2019 association for the promotion of african studies international conference. held at nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, from 12th to 14th june 2019, multi-purpose hall. chike okoli centre for entrepreneurship, anambra state. 168. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy: philosophy in search for a scientific basis”. a paper presented at the villanova first international conference in collaboration with the association for the promotion of african studies (apas). villanova polytechnic, imesi ile, osun state, nigeria from 11th – 13th july 2019. 169. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “igwebuike research methodology: towards a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation”. a paper presented at the villanova first international conference in collaboration with the association for the promotion of african studies (apas). villanova polytechnic, imesi ile, osun state, nigeria from 11th – 13th july 2019. 170. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “amadioha as a prefiguration of christ in igbo traditional religion: towards the management of religious diversity”. a paper presented at the villanova first international conference in collaboration with the association for the promotion of african studies (apas). villanova polytechnic, imesi ile, osun state, nigeria from 11th – 13th july 2019. 171. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “the igbo-african kola nut as a type of holy communion: towards the management of cultural diversity”. a paper presented at the villanova first international conference in collaboration with the association for the promotion of african studies (apas). villanova polytechnic, imesi ile, osun state, nigeria from 11th – 13th july 2019. 172. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprentice system for wealth creation”. a paper presented at the villanova first international conference in collaboration with the association for the promotion of african studies (apas). villanova polytechnic, imesi ile, osun state, nigeria from 11th – 13th july 2019. 127 xxiii. papers orally presented at conferences cont’d curriculum vitae. 173. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “key migration terms”. at the csonetmade capacity building workshop for media agencies on migration reportage. a project of the international organization for migration sponsored by the european union. presented at three regional workshops: benin city (17th october, vichi gates hotel & suites, 68 ihama road, g.r.a benin-city), abuja (21st october, msp residence, plot 1198, house no. 113 emeka anyaoku street, area 11, garki abuja), kano (28th october, badala hotels limited, airport road/air force base). 174. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “the role of the media in migration”. csonetmade capacity building workshop for media agencies on migration reportage. a project of the international organization for migration sponsored by the european union. presented at three regional workshops: benin city (17th october, vichi gates hotel & suites, 68 ihama road, g.r.a benin-city), abuja (21st october, msp residence, plot 1198, house no. 113 emeka anyaoku street, area 11, garki abuja), kano (28th october, badala hotels limited, airport road/air force base). 175. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “migration dynamics, trends and analysis”. csonetmade capacity building workshop for media agencies on migration reportage. a project of the international organization for migration sponsored by the european union. presented at three regional workshops: benin city (18th october, vichi gates hotel & suites, 68 ihama road, g.r.a benin-city), abuja (22nd october, msp residence, plot 1198, house no. 113 emeka anyaoku street, area 11, garki abuja), kano (29th october, badala hotels limited, airport road/air force base). 176. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “global migration governace”. at the csonetmade capacity building workshop for media agencies on migration reportage. a project of the international organization for migration sponsored by the european union. presented at three regional workshops: benin city (18th october, vichi gates hotel & suites, 68 ihama road, g.r.a benin-city), abuja (22nd october, msp residence, plot 1198, house no. 113 emeka anyaoku street, area 11, garki abuja), kano (29th october, badala hotels limited, airport road/air force base). 177. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “migration, remittances and development in africa”. a keynote address presented at the global summit of the journalists international forum for migration (jiform), held at the nigerian national merit awards secretariat, maitama, abuja, on november 26th – 27th 2019 178. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “xenophobia and the african philosophy of the other”. a paper address presented at the global summit of the journalists international forum for migration (jiform), held at the nigerian national merit awards secretariat, maitama, abuja, on november 26th – 27th 2019 2020 179. kanu, ikechukwu a. and emoit peter imatari (2020). “the question of food security in arid and semi-arid lands in africa: indigenous knowledge and implementers of development”. a paper presented at the sub-sahara african multidisciplinary conference, on 09th january, 2020 at ppf 1 hall, uthman danfodio university, udu sokoto, sokoto state, nigeria. 180. kanu, ikechukwu a. and emoit peter imatari (2020). “food insecurity in arid and semiarid lands (asal) in africa”. a paper presented at the sub-sahara african multidisciplinary conference, on 09th january, 2020 at ppf 1 hall, uthman danfodio university, udu sokoto, sokoto state, nigeria. 128 xxiii. papers orally presented at conferences cont’d professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. 181. kanu, ikechukwu a. and emoit peter imatari (2020). “africa and climate-related disasters”. a paper presented at the sub-sahara african multidisciplinary conference, on 09th january, 2020 at ppf 1 hall, uthman danfodio university, udu sokoto, sokoto state, nigeria. 182. kanu, ikechukwu a. and emoit peter imatari (2020). “gender rights, climate change and food security in africa”. a paper presented at the sub-sahara african multidisciplinary conference, on 09th january, 2020 at ppf 1 hall, uthman danfodio university, udu sokoto, sokoto state, nigeria. 183. kanu, ikechukwu a. and omojola immaculata olu (2020). “justice in yoruba culture”. a paper presented at the sub-sahara african multidisciplinary conference, on 09th january, 2020 at ppf 1 hall, uthman danfodio university, udu sokoto, sokoto state, nigeria. 184. kanu, ikechukwu a. and omojola immaculata olu (2020). “mitigation of african indigenous knowledge”. a paper presented at the nightingale multidisciplinary international conference. on 6th february, 2020 at hilltop conference hall, federal university of technology, akure, ondo state, nigeria. 185. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2020). “theological models of youth in christus vivit”. a paper presented at the nightingale multidisciplinary international conference. on 6th february, 2020 at hilltop conference hall, federal university of technology, akure, ondo state, nigeria. 186. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2020). “towards a theology of migration”. a paper presented at the nightingale multidisciplinary international conference. on 6th february, 2020 at hilltop conference hall, federal university of technology, akure, ondo state, nigeria. 187. kanu, ikechukwu a. and omojola immaculata olu (2020). “catholic youths and consecrated life”. a paper presented at the nightingale multidisciplinary international conference. on 6th february, 2020 at hilltop conference hall, federal university of technology, akure, ondo state, nigeria. 188. kanu, ikechukwu a. and omojola immaculata olu (2020). “catholic youths and catechesis”. a paper presented at the nightingale multidisciplinary international conference. on 6th february, 2020 at hilltop conference hall, federal university of technology, akure, ondo state, nigeria. 189. kanu, i. a.; bazza, m. b.; omojola i. o. (2020). “the situation of the church in the north east”. a paper presented at the multidisciplinary international conference. on 5th march, at conference center, university of ibadan, oyo state. 190. kanu, i. a.; bazza, m. b.; omojola i. o. (2020). “migration and unemployment in the context of africa”. a paper presented at the multidisciplinary international conference. on 5th march, at conference center, university of ibadan, oyo state. 191. kanu, i. a.; bazza, m. b.; omojola i. o. (2020). “boko haram and forced migration: a focus on the northeast and lake chad basin”. a paper presented at the multidisciplinary international conference. on 5th march, at conference center, university of ibadan, oyo state. 192. kanu, i. a.; omojola i. o.; bazza, m. b. (2020). “climate change and migration: drawing the lines and making the connections”. a paper presented at the multidisciplinary international conference. on 5th march, at conference center, university of ibadan, oyo state. 129 xxiii. papers orally presented at conferences cont’d curriculum vitae. 193. kanu, i. a.; omojola i. o.; bazza, m. b. (2020). “children in the face of irregular migration”. a paper presented at the multidisciplinary international conference. on 5th march, at conference center, university of ibadan, oyo state. 194. kanu, i. a.; bazza, m. b.; omojola i. o. (2020). “review of national policy on internaly displaced persons (idps) in nigeria”. a paper presented at the international conference of the society for research and academic excellence, 9th-12th march, university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu state. 195. kanu, i. a.; omojola i. o.; bazza, m. b. (2020). “national policy on dispora matters: a review”. a paper presented at the international conference of the society for research and academic excellence, 9th-12th march, university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu state. 196. kanu, i. a.; omojola i. o.; bazza, m. b. (2020). “the national migration policy: a critical review”. a paper presented at the international conference of the society for research and academic excellence, 9th-12th march, university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu state. 197. kanu, i. a.; bazza, m. b.; omojola i. o. (2020). “an evaluation of the labour migration policy for nigeria”. a paper presented at the international conference of the society for research and academic excellence, 9th-12th march, university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu state. 198. kanu, i. a.; bazza, m. b.; omojola i. o. (2020). “the quest for a theology of migration”. a paper presented at the international conference of the society for research and academic excellence, 9th-12th march, university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu state. 199. kanu, i. a.; omojola i. o.; bazza, m. b. (2020). “women in yoruba culture and religion”. a paper presented at the second international conference of the seminary of all saints. 18th -20th march. seminary of all saints, uhiele-ekpoma, edo state. 200. kanu, i. a.; omojola i. o.; bazza, m. b. (2020). “the consept of sacrifice in yoruba religion and culture”. a paper presented at the second international conference of the seminary of all saints. 18th -20th march. seminary of all saints, uhiele-ekpoma, edo state. 201. kanu, i. a.; omojola i. o.; bazza, m. b. (2020). “the human person in yoruba culture and philosophy”. a paper presented at the second international conference of the seminary of all saints. 18th -20th march. seminary of all saints, uhiele-ekpoma, edo state. 202. kanu, i. a.; bazza, m. b.; omojola i. o. (2020). “the impact of migration on women and children”. a paper presented at the second international conference of the seminary of all saints. 18th -20th march. seminary of all saints, uhiele-ekpoma, edo state. 203. kanu, i. a.; bazza, m. b.; omojola i. o. (2020). “catholic social teaching on immigration and the movemnt of peoples”. a paper presented at the second international conference of the seminary of all saints. 18th -20th march. seminary of all saints, uhiele-ekpoma, edo state. 204. kanu, ikechukwu a (2020). “the meaning and objective of research”. a paper presentation at the woram 2020 online international workshop on research methodology. organized by the eudoxia research centre, india, sunday, 5th april. 130 xxiii. papers orally presented at conferences cont’d professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. 205. kanu, ikechukwu a (2020). “the significance of research”. a paper presentation at the woram 2020 online international workshop on research methodology. organized by the eudoxia research centre, india, monday, 6th april. 206. kanu, ikechukwu a (2020). “the application of spss in research in philosophy and religion”. a paper presentation at the icssa 2020 international online workshop on the application of spss and statistics in data analysis, eudoxia research centre, india, thursday, 30th april. 207. kanu, ikechukwu a (2020). “'igwebuike' as the operative conditon of george okorie's leadership model”. a paper presented at the twenty first international multidisciplinary conference of african scholars, zoom webinar held on 30th april 2020. 208. kanu, ikechukwu a (2020). “'igwebuike' as the moving spirit of pope francis' compassionate leadership”. a paper presented at the twenty first international multidisciplinary conference of african scholars, zoom webinar held on 30th april 2020. 209. kanu, ikechukwu a (2020). “research and plagiarism”. a paper presentation at the tormp 2020 online international training on research and manuscript drafting and publihsing. eudoxia research centre, india, monday, 16th may. 210. kanu, ikechukwu a (2020). “research grant proposal writing”. a paper presentation at the tormp 2020 online international training on research and manuscript drafting and publishing. eudoxia research centre, india, monday, 16th may. 211. kanu, ikechukwu a (2020). “the positive impacts of migration on africa and beyond”. a paper presented at the 2020 online summit of the jornalists international forum for migration (jiform). zoom webinar, held on friday 29th may. 212. kanu, ikechukwu a (2020). “igwebuike as the underlying principle of african philosophy, religion and culture”. a paper presented at the world summit on social sciences and humanities (sosh). organized by the eudoxia research centre, india, monday, 6th june. 213. kanu, ikechukwu a (2020). “igwebuike theology of udi: reconciling god's unchanging revelation with man's changing culture”. a paper presented at the 2020 association for the promotion of african studies international conference held on 11th june, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state. 214. kanu, ikechukwu a (2020). “igwebuike theology of omenani and the missionary bifurcation of horizons”. a paper presented at the 2020 association for the promotion of african studies international conference held on 11th june, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state. 215. kanu, ikechukwu a. and kanu emmanuel u. (2020). “the kola nut in igbo symbolsmic universe and conflict resolution”. a paper presented at the 2020 association for the promotion of african studies international conference held on 11th june, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state. 216. kanu, ikechukwu a (2020). “igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe and the cross-cultural conflicts of the missionary era”. a paper presented at the 2020 association for the promotion of african studies international conference held on 11th june, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state. 131 xxiii. papers orally presented at conferences cont’d curriculum vitae. 217. kanu, i. a and kanu e. u. (2020). “the ofo in igbo arts and symbols: implications for peace-building”. a paper presented at the 2020 association for the promotion of african studies international conference held on 11th june, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state. 218. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2020). “africa's ethics of care facing pandemic”. a paper delivered at the sixth international seminar organized by alternative perspectives and global concerns (ap-gc), canada on 10th july via zoom webnar. 219. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2020). “africa's spiritual response to human suffering: nigeria and covid-19”. a paper delivered at the seventh international seminar organized by alternative perspectives and global concerns (ap-gc), canada on 17th july via zoom webnar. 220. kanu, ikechukwu a (2020). “ethical issues in research manuscript publication”. a paper presented at the eudoxia interntional training programme on research manuscript drafting and publishing (tormp). organized by the eudoxia research centre, india, monday, 18th july via zoom webnar. 221. kanu, ikechukwu a (2020). “research manuscript writing”. a paper presented at the international faculty development program on teaching and learning in higher education (fdptal), organizedby the eudoxia research centre, india, wednesday 22nd july via zoom webnar. 222. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2020). “from discomfort to hope in a time of pandemic: african perspective”. a paper delivered at the eight international seminar organized by alternative perspectives and global concerns (ap-gc), canada on 26th july via zoom webnar. 223. kanu, ikechukwu a (2020). “research problem”. a paper presented at the international faculty development program on teaching and learning in higher education (fdptal), organizedby the eudoxia research centre, india, wednesday 12th august via zoom webnar. 224. kanu, ikechukwu a (2020). “literature review”. a paper presented at the international faculty development program on teaching and learning in higher education (fdptal), organized by the eudoxia research centre, india, wednesday 12th august via zoom webnar. 225. kanu, ikechukwu a (2020). “igwebuike as a conceptualization of of igbo-african worldview”. a paper presented at the villanova second international conference in collaboration with the association for the promotion of african studies (apas). villanova polytechnic, imesi ile, osun state, nigeria from 2nd september. 226. kanu, ikechukwu a (2020). “igwebuike hermeneutic of the dynamics of universal and particular”. a paper presented at the villanova second international conference in collaboration with the association for the promotion of african studies (apas). villanova polytechnic, imesi ile, osun state, nigeria from 2nd september. 227. kanu, ikechukwu a (2020). “igwebuike and language: in search for an ontological toolbox for igbo-african philosophy”. a paper presented at the villanova second international conference in collaboration with the association for the promotion of african studies (apas). villanova polytechnic, imesi ile, osun state, nigeria from 2nd september. 132 xxiii. papers orally presented at conferences cont’d professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. 228. kanu, ikechukwu a (2020). “the igbo-african kola nut as a symbolic manifestation of igwebuike philosophy”. a paper presented at the villanova second international conference in collaboration with the association for the promotion of african studies (apas). villanova polytechnic, imesi ile, osun state, nigeria from 2nd september. 229. kanu, ikechukwu a (2020). “igwebuike philosophy of science and technology”. a paper presented at the villanova second international conference in collaboration with the association for the promotion of african studies (apas). villanova polytechnic, imesi ile, osun state, nigeria from 2nd september. 230. kanu ikechukwu a (2020). “how to write a research grant proposal”. a paper presentation at the 2020 online international innovation program on research. eudoxia research centre, india, saturdayday, 12th september. 231. kanu ikechukwu a. and uchenna e. kanu (2020). “symbolic expressions of community in africa and the covid-19 precautionary mesures”. a paper presented at the 2020 apas international conference on “the impact of covid-19 on africa and the quest for afrocentric perspecives”. zoom webinar, thursday 17 september. 232. kanu ikechukwu a. and uchenna e. kanu (2020). “the impact of covid-19 on africa's cultural and symbolic development”. a paper presented at the 2020 apas international conference on “the impact of covid-19 on africa and the quest for afrocentric perspecives”. zoom webinar, thursday 17 september. 233. kanu ikechukwu a. and uchenna e. kanu (2020). “the symbols of sustainable development goals and covid-19 pandemic”. a paper presented at the 2020 apas international conference on “the impact of covid-19 on africa and the quest for afrocentric perspecives”. zoom webinar, thursday 17 september. 234. kanu ikechukwu a (2020). “in search of an african indigenous economic system”. a keynote address delivered at the 2020 online international conference on recent trends in multidisciplinary research. organizwe dby the eudoxia research centre, india, saturdayday, 19th – 20th september. xxiv lectures and addresses 1. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2013). “the problem of personal identity in john locke”. a lacture delivered at the 2012/2013 monthly philosophy lecture organised by the department of philosophy, bigard memorial seminary, enugu; an affiliate of the university of ibadan, 10th april. 2. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2014). “globalisation, globalism and african philosophy”. a lacture delivered at the 2012/2013 monthly philosophy lecture organised by the department of philosophy, bigard memorial seminary, enugu; an affiliate of the university of ibadan, on 10th march. 3. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). “missionary heroes and heroines”. a lecture delievered at the africanwatch annual lecture and award, at king celia hotels and suites, yaba, lagos, on june 17, 2017. 4. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). “african ideologies in a world of change”presidential address delivered at the 2018 association for the promotion of african studies international conference. held at nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, from 13th to 15th june 2018, chike okoli multi-purpose hall, anambra state. 133 xxiii. papers orally presented at conferences cont’d curriculum vitae. 5. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “be the best of whatever you can”. a lecture deilivered at the second matriculation ceremony of villanova polytechnic, imesi ile, osun state. address delivered at the oyoyo multipurpose hall on friday, the 22nd day of march, 2019. 6. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “where you see a future, do not fail to invest”. a lecture delivered at the graduation ceremony of villanova polytechnic, imesi ile, osun state. address delivered at the oyoyo multipurpose hall on friday, the 30th day of september, 2019. 7. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2019). “do not sleep through a revolution”. a lecture deilivered at the second matriculation ceremony of villanova polytechnic, imesi ile, osun state. delivered at the oyoyo multipurpose hall on friday, the 9th day of march, 2020. 8. kanu, ikechukwu a (2020). “african ideologies, human security and peace building”. a presidential address delivered at the 2020 association for the promotion of african studies international conference. zoom webinar, 11th june. 9. kanu, ikechukwu a (2020). 'equality, diversity aand inclusion'. presidential address presented at the association for the promotion of african studies international round table discussion. on 31st july 2020 as part of the celebration of african women's day. 10. kanu, ikechukwu a (2020). “african traditional medicine in a time of pandemic”. presidential address presented at association for the promotion of african studies international round table discussion on 31st august 2020 as part of the celebration of african traditional medicine day. 11. kanu, ikechukwu a (2020). “new trends in science, technology, management and social sciences”. rector's address presented at the villanova second international conference in collaboration with the association for the promotion of african studies (apas). villanova polytechnic, imesi ile, osun state, nigeria from 2nd september. 12. kanu ikechukwu a (2020). “the impact of covid-19 on africa and the quest for afrocentric perspecives”. a presidential address presented at at the 2020 assocition for the promotion of african studies international conference. zoom webinar, thursday 17 september. xxiv lectures and addresses cont’d xxv documentaries 1. kanu, ikechukwu a (2020). a documentary on “priests and intermediaries between people and god”. documentary conducted on kaleidoscope of facts by allatra international public movement television. 1.00pm united states eastern times, detroit metropolitan area, usa. https://fex.net/s/xzcasa5 2. kanu, ikechukwu a (2020). a documentary on “the impact of social media on research and interpersonal relations” on the eudoxia interntional talk show on rsearch oriented discussions. organized by the eudoxia research centre, india, monday, 23rd june via zoom webnar. 3. kanu, ikechukwu a (2020). a documentary on “culture and traditions in creative society”. documentary conducted on a television programme on creative society by international public movement television. 3.00pm. united states eastern times, detroit metropolitan area, usa. http://youtu.be/bysbfde_utk 4. kanu, ikechukwu a (2020). a documentary on “employment and technical skill in the twenty first century” on research celebrity talk show of edx talks organized by the eudoxia research centre, india on wednesday 16th september. http://youtu.be/hlomf7sruoa 134 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. https://fex.net/s/xzcasa5 http://youtu.be/bysbfde_utk http://youtu.be/hlomf7sruoa xxvi conferences organized/convened 2013 1. co-organizerthe 1st international conference of the association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. 25th -27th august. held at pope john paul ii major seminary, awka, anambra state, 2013. 2014 2. co-organizer the 2nd conference of the association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. held at nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, chike okoli multi-purpose hall. 25th -28th june 2014. 2015 3. co-organizer the 3rd international conference of the association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars held at the institute of african studies, university of ghana, 16th-19th september, 2015. 2016 4. co-organizer the 4th annual international conference of the association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. held at nnamdi azikiwe university, awka on 21-24 september 2016. 2017 5. co-organizerthe 5th international annual conference of the association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars, held on 28th june, at the pg school auditorium. 2018 6. convener/organizer2018 association for the promotion of african studies international conference held at nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, from 13th to 15th june 2018, multi-purpose hall, chike okoli centre for entrepreneurship, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state. 2019 7. convener2019 association for the promotion of african studies international conference held at nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, from 12th to 14th june 2019, multi-purpose hall, chike okoli centre for entrepreneurship, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state. 8. convener2019 villanova first international conference in collaboration with the association for the promotion of african studies (apas) on the theme: “new trends in science, technology, management and social sciences”. villanova polytechnic, imesi ile, osun state, nigeria from 11th – 13th july 2019. 2020 9. convener2020 association for the promotion of african studies international conference on the theme: “african ideologies, human secuirty and peace-building” held online on 11th june. 10. convener2020 association for the promotion of african studies international round table discussion on the theme: “equality, diversity and inclusion” on 31st july 2020 as part of the celebration of african women's day. 11. convener2020 association for the promotion of african studies international round table discussion on the theme: “african traditional medicine in a time of pandemic” on 31st august 2020 as part of the celebration of african traditional medicine day. 135 curriculum vitae. 12. convener2020 villanova second international conference in collaboration with the association for the promotion of african studies (apas) on the theme: “new trends in science, technology, management and social sciences”. villanova polytechnic, imesi ile, osun state, nigeria from 2nd september. 13. convener2020. assocition for the promotion of african studies international conference on the theme: “the impact of covid-19 on africa and the quest for afrocentric perspecives”. zoom webinar, thursday 17 september. xxvi conferences organized/convened cont’d xxvii peer reviewed encyclopedia entries 1. kanu, i. a. (2016). “igwebuikecracy: an african democracy”. in kanu, i. a. (ed.). igwebuikepedia: internet encyclopedia of african philosophy. a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya, anambra state. http://igwebuikepedia.info/nationhood.asp. online. 2. kanu, i. a. (2016). “igwebuike and african ethics”. in kanu, i. a. (ed.). published by igwebuikepedia: internet encyclopedia of african philosophy. a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya, anambra state.. http://igwebuikepedia.info/shared.asp.online. 3. kanu, i. a. (2016). “igwebuike and globalization”. in kanu, i. a. (ed.). published by igwebuikepedia: internet encyclopedia of african philosophy. a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya, anambra state.. http://igwebuikepedia.info/hermeneutics.asp. online. 4. kanu, i. a. (2016). “igwebuike, personal identity and alterity”. in kanu, i. a. (ed.). published by igwebuikepedia: internet encyclopedia of african philosophy. a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya, anambra state. http://igwebuikepedia.info/alterity.asp. online. 5. kanu, i. a. (2016). “african bioethics”. in kanu, i. a. (ed.). published by igwebuikepedia: internet encyclopedia of african philosophy. a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya, anambra state. http://igwebuikepedia.info/bioethics.asp. online. 6. kanu, i. a. (2016). “african metaphysics”. in kanu, i. a. (ed.). published by igwebuikepedia: internet encyclopedia of african philosophy. a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya, anambra state.. http://igwebuikepedia.info/metaphysics.asp. online. 7. kanu, i. a. (2016). “african philosophical anthropology”. in kanu, i. a. (ed.). published by igwebuikepedia: internet encyclopedia of african philosophy. a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya, anambra state.. http://igwebuikepedia.info/anthropology.asp. online. 136 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. http://igwebuikepedia.info/nationhood.asp http://igwebuikepedia.info/schools.asp http://igwebuikepedia.info/schools.asp http://igwebuikepedia.info/schools.asp http://igwebuikepedia.info/schools.asp http://igwebuikepedia.info/alterity.asp http://igwebuikepedia.info/bioethics.asp http://igwebuikepedia.info/metaphysics.asp http://igwebuikepedia.info/anthropology.asp http://igwebuikepedia.info/anthropology.asp 8. kanu, i. a. (2016). “african philosophy of development”. in kanu, i. a. (ed.). published by igwebuikepedia: internet encyclopedia of african philosophy. a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya, anambra state.. http://igwebuikepedia.info/development.asp. online. 9. kanu, i. a. (2016). “african philosophy of religion”. in kanu, i. a. (ed.). published by igwebuikepedia: internet encyclopedia of african philosophy. a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya, anambra state.. http://igwebuikepedia.info/religion.asp. online. xxvii peer reviewed encyclopedia entries cont’d xxviii r esearched works 1. ideas and impressions in the philosophy of david hume (a thesis for the award of bachelor's degree in philosophy, ubaniana university, rome, 2004). 2. the experience of women in nigeria: towards a theology of human dignity and liberation (a thesis for the award of bachelor's degree in religious studies, university of jos, plateau state, 2009). 3. inculturation and the quest for an igbo christology (a dissertation for the award of master of arts degree in religion and human relations-african traditional religion, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state, 2012). 4. personal identity and punishment in john locke (a dissertation for the award of master of arts degree in philosophymetaphysics, university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu state, 2015). 5. african bioethics as a quest for regional characterization in bioethical discourse (a dissertation for the award of doctor of philosophy in religion and human relations african traditional religion, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state, 2015). 6. the relevance of augustine's philosophy of education for pupil's participation in learning: a case study of ibafon primary school, olodi, apapa, lagos (a thesis for the award of post-graduate diploma in education, national open university of nigeria). 137 curriculum vitae. http://igwebuikepedia.info/development.asp http://igwebuikepedia.info/development.asp http://igwebuikepedia.info/religion.asp xxx. editorial board member to journals 1. 2012editorial board memberthe catholic voyage: a publication of the conference of major superiors of nigeria. 2. 2013editorial manager – filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, university of calabar. 3. 2014-2016editorial board member, augustinian publications, jos, plateau state, nigeria. 4. 2015editorial board memberapi journal of applied research. india. 5. 2016editorial board memberpyrex journal of african studies and development, nigeria. 138 xxix. editor-in-chief of journals/encyclopedia 1. 2012-2014editor-in-chiefaugustinian pulications. a publication of the order of saint augustine, province of nigeria, jos, plateau state. 2. 2015editor-in-chiefigwebuikepedia: internet encyclopaedia of african philosophy. a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya, anambra state. 3. 2015editor-in-chief igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya, anambra state. 4. 2017editor-in-chiefjournal of african studies and sustainable development (jassd). a publication of the association for the promotion of african studies (apas). 5. 2018-2019: editor-in-chiefaumen journal of moral education in africa. a publication of nnadiebube research institute. 6. 2019editor-in-chiefvillanova journal of science, technology and management (vjstm). a publication of villanova polytechnic, imesi ile, osun state. 7. 2019editor-in-chief: villanova journal of social sciences, arts and humanities (vjssah). a publication of villanova polytechnic, imesi ile, osun state. 8. 2019editor-in-chief: tolle lege: an augustinian journal of philosophy and theology (tlaajpt). a publication of the augustinian institute, makurdi. 9. 2020editor-in-chief: nnadiebube journal of religion and cultural studies. a publication of the department of philosophy, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. 10. 2020editor-in-chief: amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. a publication of the department of philosophy, imo state university, owerri, imo state. professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. 6. 2016editorial board memberpyrex journal of history and culture, nigeria. 7. 2016editorial board memberhummingbird journal of humanities and social sciences. centre for trans-sahara studies, university of maiduguri. 8. 2016editorial board memberhummingbird journal of african sustainable development. centre for trans-sahara studies, university of maiduguri. 9. 2016editorial board memberhummingbird journal of contemporary education. centre for trans-sahara studies, university of maiduguri. 10. 2016editorial board memberhummingbird journal of management science and entrepreneurship. centre for trans-sahara studies, university of maiduguri. 11. 2016editorial board membermediterranean journal of humanities and social sciences. centre for african development studies, abuja. 12. 2016editorial board membermediterranean journal of management science and entrepreneurship. centre for african development studies, abuja. 13. 2016editorial board membermediterranean journal of contemporary education. centre for african development studies, abuja. 14. editorial board membermediterranean journal of african sustainable development. centre for african development studies, abuja. 15. 2016editorial board membercambridge journal of humanities and social sciences. centre for african humanity and development circle, university of nigeria, nsukka. 16. 2016editorial board membercambridge journal of management science and entrepreneurship. centre for african humanity and development circle, university of nigeria, nsukka. 17. 2016editorial board membercambridge journal of contemporary education. centre for african humanity and development circle, university of nigeria, nsukka. 18. 2016editorial board membercambridge journal of african sustainable development. centre for african humanity and development circle, university of nigeria, nsukka. 19. 2016editorial board memberjournal of cultural and religious studies, usa. 20. 2017editorial board member, sub-saharan africa journal of humanities and social sciences. centre for african development studies, university of ibadan, oyo. 21. 2017editorial board member, sub-saharan africa journal of management science and entrepreneurship. centre for african development studies, university of ibadan, oyo. xxx. editorial board member to journals cont’d 139 curriculum vitae. xxx. editorial board member to journals cont’d 22. 2017editorial board member, sub-saharan africa journal of contemporary education. centre for african development studies, university of ibadan, oyo. 23. editorial board member, sub-saharan africa journal of african sustainable development. centre for african development studies, university of ibadan, oyo. 24. 2017editorial board member, berkeley journal of humanities and social sciences. bayero university, kano. 25. 2017editorial board member, berkeley journal of management science and entrepreneurship. bayero university, kano. 26. 2017editorial board member, berkeley african journal of contemporary education. bayero university, kano. 27. editorial board member, berkeley african journal of african sustainable development. bayero university, kano. 28. editorial board member, african scholar journal of contemporary education. centre for african development studies, university of ibadan, oyo. 29. editorial board member, african scholar journal of african sustainable development. centre for african development studies, university of ibadan, oyo. 30. editorial board member, african scholar journal of humanities and social sciences. centre for african development studies, university of ibadan, oyo. 31. editorial board member, african scholar journal of management science and entrepreneurship. centre for african development studies, university of ibadan, oyo. 32. 2017editorial board member, integrity journal of education and training (ijet). 33. 2017editorial board member, journal of advances in social science humanities (jassh). 34. 2017editorial board member, nightingale journal of humanities and social sciences. centre for african development studies, abuja. 35. 2017editorial board member, nightingale journal of contemporary education. centre for african development studies, abuja. 36. 2017editorial board member, nightingale journal of management science and entrepreneurship. centre for african development studies, abuja. 37. 2017editorial board member, innovative journal of social science and education (ijsse). 38. 2017editorial board member, international journal of education, culture and society (ijecs), science publishing group. 140 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. 39. 2018editorial board member, society for research and academic excellence, university of nigeria, nsukka. 40. 2018editorial board member, international journal of education, culture and society (ijecs). 41. 2018editorial board member, cultural studies: open access journal, a publication of medcrave group llc, danforth rd., edmond, ok 73003, united states of america. 42. 2018editorial board member, american journal of history and culture, a publication of science publishers, 10700 richmond ave, houston, tx, 77042 usa. 43. 2018editorial board member, african scholar journal of humanities and social sciences. centre for african development studies, university of ibadan, oyo. 44. 2018editorial board member, african scholar journal of contemporary education. centre for african development studies, university of ibadan, oyo. 45. 2018editorial board member, african scholar journal of african sustainable development. centre for african development studies, university of ibadan, oyo. 46. 2018editorial board member, african scholar journal of management science and entrepreneurship. centre for african development studies, university of ibadan, oyo. 47. 2018editorial board member, harvard journal of humanities and social sciences. centre for african development studies, abuja. 48. 2018editorial board member, harvard journal of contemporary education. centre for african development studies, abuja. 49. 2018editorial board member, harvard journal of management science and entrepreneurship. centre for african development studies, abuja. 50. 2018editorial board member, international journal of education, culture and society. a publication of science publishing group. new york, united states of america. 51. 2018editorial board member, cape comorin journal, malankara catholic college, mariagiri, kaliakkavilai, kanyakumari, tamilnadu, india. 52. 2019editorial board member, international journal of social sience journal. a publication of the institute of research, learning and development, livingston, united kingdom. 53. 2019editorial board member, international journal of law and interdisciplinary legal studies. a publication of the institute of research, learning and development, livingston, united kingdom. 54. 2019editorial board member, international journal of arts, humanities and social studies. borhawar, assam, india. xxx. editorial board member to journals cont’d 141 curriculum vitae. xxxi. editorial consultant to journals 1. 2018editorial consultant, interdisciplinary journal of african and asian studies (ijaas). a publication of the department of igbo, african and asian studies, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. 2. 2016editorial consultant, nnadiebube journal of social sciences. nnadiebube research institute, awka. 3. 2016editorial consultant, nnadiebube journal of philosophy. nnadiebube department of philosophy, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. 4. 2016editorial consultant, nnadiebube journal of african culture. nnadiebube panafrican academy of philosophy, religion and cultural research (npaaprcr). 5. 2016editorial consultant, nnadiebube journal of education in africa. nnadiebube pan-african academy of philosophy, religion and cultural research (npaaprcr). 6. 2017editorial consultant, oracle of wisdom journal of philosophy and public affairs. department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university. 7. 2017editorial consultant, journal of african traditional religion and philosophy (jatrp), association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. 8. 2017editorial consultant, journal of moral education in africa (jmea). association of moral education in africa. 9. 2019editorial consultant, tansian university journal of management and social sciences. tansian university, umunya, anambra state. 10. 2020editorial consultant, nimsaps journal of african philosophy, nigrian major seminaries association of african philosophy 11. 2020editorial consultant, ajop aquino journal of philosophy, spiritan university, nneochi, abia state xxxii consultancy 1. 20192020csonetmade capacity building workshop for media agencies on migration reportage. a project of the international organization for migration sponsored by the european union. 17th and 18th october, 2019, benin city. venue: vichi gates hotel & suites, 68 ihama road, g.r.a benin-city. 2. 20192020csonetmade capacity building workshop for media agencies on migration reportage. a project of the international organization for migration sponsored by the european union. 21st and 22nd october, 2019, msp residence, plot 1198, house no. 113 emeka anyaoku street, area 11, garki abuja. 142 professor ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a. 3. 20192020csonetmade capacity building workshop for media agencies on migration reportage. a project of the international organization for migration sponsored by the european union. 28th and 29th october, 2019, badala hotels limited, airport road/air force base. 4. 20192020 drafting of ethical guidelines for media reportage on migration. a project of the international organization for migration sponsored by the european union. 6th november, 2019, abuja (tbc). 5. 2019consultant to the journalists international forum for migration (jiform) 6. 2020diector of research and content development, journalists international forum for migration (jiform) 7. 2019research consultant to nnadiebube research institute (nri), anambra state, nigeria xxxii. consultancy cont’d 143 curriculum vitae. notes 144 iat n s c ie et vi rt us st te a po s n a i t n a t u n iv e r s it y um uny a volume 6, number 1, 2020 ....a cademic excellence for positive change igwebuike ....academic excellence for positive change igwebuike i atns c i e et vi rt usstte apo s n a i t n a t u n iv e r s it y umunya a publication of the department of ait n s ec i et vi rt us se ta to s p n a i t n a t u n iv e r s it y umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya altograde publishing some publications on igwebuike philosophy microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 6 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 40 christianity and religious language in human development in nigeria: an x-ray by nmah, patrick enoch department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe university, awka-nigeria e-mail: patricknmah@yahoo.com & anyanwu, esther chikaodi department of english language and literature nnamdi azikiwe university, awka-nigeria e-mail: kaodisun@yahoo.com abstract our efforts in this research have been geared towards describing historically christianity and human development in nigeria. the study revealed that most of the contemporary churches do not have the will withal strategies in respect of human development. as a result, nigerian society is characterized by mass unemployment, kidnapping, armed robbery, drug abuse, and corruption especially among the politicians and youths. the objective of this research therefore is to present a way forward in ameliorating the sorry nature of many nigerians more especially in this modern era. the method of approach includes historical and phenomenological methods. introduction to iwe (n.d.), christianity in its various institutional and social forms and manifestations is a human and moral, spiritual and cultural, national and international force to be reckoned with. as a religion its claims are both human and divine. its incarnate nature and foundations give it an inescapable and essential human dimension. in view of its human character, christianity has, in the course of human history and in various nations demonstrated itself as the custodian and promoter of human values. it is to be remembered that christianity had a purifying and humanizing impact on the pagan and imperialistic vices and violence of the ancient roman empire. when we think of ‘humanity’ certain attributes or traits immediately come to mind and they include: the human race, the quality of being humane, patience, emotional, compassion, hardwork, caring and so on. it is the concept of ‘humanity’ that gave rise to the branch of learning known as the humanities. the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 41 humanities are about people. genesis 1:1 reports the beginning of creation, humanity, marriage, sin, judgment, arts and crafts, the concept of covenant and the covenant people themselves. god created ‘humanity’ in his own image (gen. 1:26-27). it must be stated from the outset that when the missionaries came to africa, their primary aim was to propagate the gospel of jesus christ to the africans. to nigerian people, their understanding and hermeneutic of salvation preached in the churches went beyond the ordinary salvation from sin. to them, the concept of salvation implies more than liberation from sin. it includes redemption from physical misfortune such as sickness, road accident, sudden death, poverty, court case, oppression of the enemy, socio-cultural, political, illiteracy, economic among others (onunwa, 1991). liberation in this context applies to these suffering, the poor, captive the oppressed, and the naked bound in ignorance, political, economic, religious and social structure. for the church in nigeria to make a real impact on the life of the people it must concern itself with their economic well-being. it should associate itself with the economic development ideologies of the nigerian society. most communities in nigeria have achievement orientation especially in the areas of commerce and industry. the pattern of preaching should not condemn the people’s quest for genuine economic well-being, but rather be concerned with interpretations of the christian meaning and usage of wealth. the methodological approach includes historical and phenomenological approaches. definition of terms to ukpong (1990), the concept of development has been discussed under various terms such as evolution, change, progress, modernization among others, but summed under the generic term, ‘idea of progress’ (p.107). it is the growth in knowledge, essentially a legacy of the enlightenment to structural transformation at societal level. in the most liberal way, development means social, economic, political, religious, cultural and economic changes in society leading to improvement in the quality of life for all. although this concept is not ideological, it nonetheless depicts development as a normative enterprise. according to meler (1976), from this view, development is considered to be qualitative ‘growth plus positive change’ applied to a particular human end (p.6). the central element of development is cumulative change which is high igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 42 complex and can only be best achieved through different phases vis-à-vis cultural, economic, political, social, and religious and so on operating in concert. development in the sense in which we conceive it in this paper is the gradual growth of a people and a society, so that they become better, more advanced, leading to an unfolding of the potentialities of the individuals in that society. the point is that christianity is indispensable in human development, for a people properly educated, civilized, and socialized derive development as a matter of course. christianity, according to willis (2007), one billion, seven hundred eighty-three million, six hundred and sixty thousand-about one out of every one’s in the world today-claims christianity as their religion. but those people have such vastly different opinions as to its theological content that a single definition of christianity is just about impossible. the etymological derivatives of the word “human” or “humanity” in the plural form the latin word ‘humanitas’ while ‘human’ is derived from the word ‘humanus’. when we think of ‘humanity’ certain attributes or traits immediately come to mind and they include: the human race, the quality of being humane, patience, emotional, compassion, hardwork, caring and so on. it is the concept of ‘humanity’ that gave rise to the branch of learning known as the humanities. the humanities are about people: how people create the world they live in; how the world they live in makes them the people they are. genesis 1:1 reports the beginning of creation, humanity, marriage, sin, judgment, arts and crafts, the concept of covenant and the covenant people themselves. god created ‘humanity’ in his mage (gen. 1:26-27). all humanity retains god’s image such as knowledge, righteousness and holiness, which christ restored in humanity (matt.17:1-2, 10:25; john 17:22). humanity has the responsibility to rule the world for god (gen.1:28). according to iwe (1991), the word “humanity”, derives from the latin word, “humanitas.” both the word and idea it enshrines are of a creation of the culture of imperial rome. originally the concept of humanity among the romans stood for the total development of man’s personality and his sentiments and attitudes to his fellow human beings. it is a concept based on the natural dignity and splendor peculiar to man’s personality, when compared to the other beings on his planet. iwe citing schulz averred, thus the concept humanitas comprises moral and intellectual education, but also kindness, goodness, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 43 and sympathy, the restraint of one’s will, consideration for others; it means that one’s own rights and one’s own advantange are not ruthlessly pursued that one is willing to forgo something out of consideration for the other person concerned (p. 93). according to ezeigbo (2013), in the west, the study of the humanities was first introduced in ancient greece, as a basis of a broad education for citizens. then, during the period of roman civilization, the idea of the seven liberal arts evolved and was expressed in the teaching of grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and music. these were the main subjects studied in the medieval period. during the renaissance, the humanities evolved and became subjects to be studied rather than practiced and emphasis shifted from its traditional conception into new areas such as literature and history. with time, especially in the 20th century, more and more areas have been incorporated into the discipline of the humanities. now, the fields include archaeology, anthropology, religion, ethics, history, language and linguistic, literature, fine and applied arts, media arts, music, jurisprudence, philosophy, political science, psychology, etc. the humanities are stories, the ideas and the words that help us make sense of our lives and our world. as fields of study, the humanities privilege analysis and exchange of ideas in contrast to the quantitative explanation that preoccupy the sciences. each field of the humanities focuses on a specific area of knowledge. forexamples, history, anthropology, archaeology and political science study human social, political, and cultural development. literature, language and linguistics explore how we communicate, including how our ideas and thoughts on the human experience are expressed and interpreted. philosophy, ethics and comparative religion consider ideas about the meaning of life (existence) and the reasons for our thoughts and actions. jurisprudence examines the valued and principles which inform our laws while historical, critical and theoretical approaches to the arts reflect upon, and analyze the creative process. all these are geared towards humanity and national development. language constitutes an integral and crucial component of man's life and it permeates and pervades virtually every aspect of man’s life. the role of a piece of language is the place it has in the manifold patterns of human activities and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 44 institutions. language is used for communication in various circumstances and for different purposes. language in specific contexts and situations form functional variation of language which is referred to as register variation. registers then, like dialects, are often seen as different ‘‘englishes’’ because they are often distinguished by special features of semantics, vocabulary, grammar and sometimes phonology. according to yule (2007), a register is a conventional way of using language that is appropriate in a specific context, which may be identified as situational (eg in church), occupational (e.g. among lawyers) or topical (eg talking about language). we can recognize specific features that occur in the religious register…, the legal register…and even the linguistic register….he also goes on to state that one of the defining features of a register is the use of jargon. jargon itself is a concept which is of major interest to stylistic and esp scholars (210). man as a social being, has great need of interaction with others. he uses language to communicate his ideas, desires, fears and accomplishments to others. davy and crystal (1969) assert that there are different varieties of language in christianity and identify the language of sermons as stylistically akin to the variety of language used in public speaking; the theological discourse stylistically akin to “learned descriptive or discursive narratives (such as history or philosophy)...” also, they identify the language varieties of liturgy and biblical translation. babatunde (1998) identifies the rhetoric strategies used in persuasive christan religious speeches. the language used in christian religious teaching is usually dogmatic and predictable in its approach. nigeria: its brief history nigeria is a socio-political entity situated on the southern coast of west africa, sharing borders with benin republic to the west, cameroun and chad to the east and niger to the north. it is bordered to the south by the atlantic ocean. it covers a sprawling area of 923, 733 square kilometers, and has the largest population in africa, estimated to be between 160 and 170 million people. although, there is a widespread notion that nigeria is equally divided between two major religionschristianity and islam; their population ratio is a highly igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 45 contentious issue. apart from the internal population estimate which includes adherents of traditional religion, stefanos (2009) observes that “nigeria’s population includes both more christians in any other african state and more muslims than in any other african state too. it is estimated that one out every six africans, is a nigerian. obviously, nigeria is a multi-ethnic, as well as multi-religious nation, being made up of an estimated two hundred and fifty (250) ethnic groups. the major ethnic groups are the hausa/fulani, the igbo and the yoruba which together is said to make up almost more than half of the entire nigerian population. the hausa/fulani who are predominantly muslims mostly inhabit the northwestern part of the country. igbo are predominantly christians, and mostly inhabit the south-eastern part of the country. the yoruba are, in a religious sense, a “mixed grill” having almost equal adherents of both the christian, islamic and traditional religions. the story of the creation of the nigerian federation is rooted, in part, in the country’s history of colonization by the british which began officially in 1861 with the establishment of the colony of lagos, a process that eventually culminated in the lord lugard’s amalgamative fiat of 1914. this led to the emergence of the entity known as known as nigeria. achieving her independence in 1960, nigeria was composed of three district administrative regions: the western region, the eastern region and the northern region. one prominent theme of nigeria’s history as a federation has been the quest to subdivide. nwabueze (1982) noted that, agitations for subdivision of the three regions into smaller states began even before independence. one cause was the sheer size of the northern region which was larger than the other two put together, encompassing about seventy-five percent (75%) of the land area and about sixty percent (60%) of the population of the country. this imbalance is perhaps the most astonishing peculiarity of the nigerian federation and it naturally gave rise to fears in the other two regions, of domination by the mostly muslim north” (p. 153). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 46 today, there are thirty-six states and a federal capital territory in abuja. nevertheless, agitations for further state creation, engendered by religio-ethnic factors are continuing feature of political discourse in nigeria. though the preamble to the nigerian constitution (1999) expresses the “firm and solemn resolve of nigerians to live in unity and harmony as one indivisible and indissoluble sovereign nation” (section 2:1), the vexing issue of religious and ethnic intolerance, which has often degenerated into conflict, remains a major threat to the ultimate unity of the nigerian nation. it would be recalled that in the light of nigerian heterogeneity, the constitution (1999) sets out “actively to encourage national integration, and to end, prohibit discrimination on the basis of place of origin, sex, religion, status, ethnic and linguistic association or ties (sec. 15:2). accordingly, the constitution obliges the nigerian state to foster a feeling of belonging and of involvement among the various peoples of the federation, to the end that loyalty to the nation shall override sectional interest (sec. 15:4). in the same manner, the constitution obliges the government of a state or a local government to conduct its affairs “in such a manner as to recognize the diversity of the people within its area of authority and the need to promote a sense of belonging and loyalty among all the peoples of the federation” (sec. 14:3) the significance of these constitutional phrases is better appreciated against the background of the incessant religious and ethnic conflicts in nigeria. being a multi-religious and ethnic nation, nigeria is facing several incidences of conflicts that have led to flagrant attacks, destruction of lives and properties of innocent people of different ethnic and religious backgrounds leading to an unprecedented upsurge of internally displaced persons (idp). unfortunately, there are always trumped up political, ethnic or religious reasons given for every conflict and attack, especially against christians and their churches. incidentally, there is an avowed drive by the muslim fundamentalists in nigeria ‘to ensure that nigeria is islamized, that and all facets of life must be governed by islamic law: the shari’a law. the flagrant display of this religious and ethnic intolerance is demonstrated in the statement credited to the former governor of kano state, malam ibrahim shekarau who declared his determination to expend the whole treasury of his state‘s revenue for the cause of shari’ a when he said, we cannot mind spending whatever we have in the state coffers to ensure the success of the shari’a and whoever has any grumble on that should not only go to the radio stations, but also make it known on the internet. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 47 based on this, we shall now examine further some of the remote and immediate causal factors of inter and intra religious and ethnic conflicts in nigeria. christianity and human development it must be stated from the outset that when the missionaries came to africa, their primary aim was to propagate the gospel of jesus christ to the africans. to nigerian people, their understanding and hermeneutic of salvation preached in the churches went beyond the ordinary salvation from sin. for them, the concept of salvation implies more than liberation from sin. it includes redemption from physical misfortune such as sickness, road accident, sudden death, poverty, court case, oppression of the enemy, socio-cultural, political, illiteracy, economic among others (‘onunwa, 1991). evangelization situates liberation in christ to include a transformation of concrete historical and political conditions. the human beings to whom the gospel is proclaimed are not abstract apolitical beings, but members of a society characterized by injustice and human exploitation. mission schools and human development on education, fafunwa (1974) stated that in african educational set up, there were seven purposes before the advent of the west. these were to develop the child’s latent physical skills; to develop character; to inculcate respect for elders and those in position of authority; to develop intellectual skills; to acquire specific vocational training and to develop a healthy attitude towards honest labour; to develop a healthy sense of belonging and to participate actively in a family and community affairs and to understand, appreciate and promote the cultural heritage of the community at large. therefore the missionaries did not only bring the gospel of jesus christ; they taught also the people. they opened schools wherever they established churches where young ones were, and those interested were taught how to read, write, sing hymns, psalms, choruses, recite catechism, pray, and even learnt how to read the scriptures. some of the notable schools by the mission bodies include uzuakoli methodist college built in 1923, ihie high school built in 1945, dennis memorial grammar school onitsha built in 1925, the st paul college awka, bishop lasbrey college irete, and st. augustine and trinity theological college, umuahia. from the mission schools, the missionaries helped in the unification of igbo language by translating the bible into igbo version called union ibo by 1910. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 48 christian missions helped also to preserve the vernacular languages of the people as against the wishes of the colonial administrators who preferred the english language to the vernacular languages. this became one of the christian legacies to the people of igbo, yoruba, efik, nupe and hausa (ayandele, 1966). the translation of the bible is a reflective interpretation of what the biblical god is doing to enhance nigerian survival through the agency of the people who are informed by scripture and traditional concepts of the god who is revealed to us through the faith and life of jesus christ. our future is found in the application of a peculiarly nigerian hermeneutic to bible principles. for the people who could now read in their language, liberation is christ mission to the world of those struggling for survival. liberation in this context applies to these suffering, the poor, captive, the oppressed, and the naked bound in ignorance, political, economic, religious and social structure. the objective of the mission school is to educate members on the need for cooperation and to enhance self-awareness and promote the spirit of confidence, determination, focus and hard work. missionary enterprise in this case is for satisfaction of basic needs such as food, shelter (housing) , potable water, light, good health, basic education, clean environment as well as access to satisfactory cultural, spiritual, social and political life. the philosophy behind this objective is to increase in per capital income, improvement in standard of living and for selfreliance. the human development also consists of child care services which includes probation, orphanages, fostering coupled with family services such as marriage counselling, economic empowerment through establishing cottage industries where unemployed parents and youths are engaged. there is also skill acquisition for parishioners, and settling of conflicts in the family among others. domestically according to iwe (n. d.), there is the glaring fact of irresponsible procreation or rather irresponsible conception which stubbornly perpetuates the reckless practice of launching new babes into the community “with or without” the visibility of the means of livelihood. this typically afro-irish domestic malpractice had generally adamantly refused to yield to the principles and acceptable techniques of responsible and planned parenthood. in consequence, definitely, recognizable human values are being jeopardized. it is human dignity and decency and security in the standards of living that are here being assailed, if not sacrificed. often irresponsible reproduction gives rise to domestic classrooms igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 49 of ape-looking children suffering from acute malnutrition and want of care. christianity can certainly demolish the religious fear and phobia and ignorance at the basis of this practice of ill-planned and irresponsible parenthood. the church has a mission of enlightenment on reproduction and child-spacing. ethically ethical speaking, the virtues of honesty and integrity highly indispensable aspects of the principle of justice, are critically in danger of total eclipse especial in our official, ecclesiastical, commercial and public relations and transactions. here in our developing country or continent of africa, bribery and official corruption characterized by embezzlement and diversion of public funds for private use in high and low quarters are shamelessly practiced if not institutionalized. the present regime of muhammadu buhari claim of fighting corruption will be realistic if he has the will-power and political-will coupled with those who are working with him showing high sense of honesty, integrity and prudence in the use of public funds. in this area also the christian churches will have to put up fight against dishonesty in dealing with official corruption. christianity must practically and publicly advertise itself as diametrically and irreconcilably opposed to such vices, while ceaselessly exerting itself to inculcate the habits of righteousness, honesty and public integrity into people. christianity and humanization of social life this humanization of social life is a value which modern citizenship can ill afford to discard. a responsible citizenship endowed with a dedicated sense of humanity will incline the citizens: (a). to show scrupulous respect for the dignity and sacredness of human life, (b). to eschew any in human action or treatment which degrades human personality, (c). to exhibit sincere and active concern for the welfare of others, especially the weak and handicapped, the helpless and the poor, the honestly unemployed and the sick, and those under their care and authority. (d). to ensure that the ruthless pursuit of absolute justice and rights does not lead to absolute injustice and injury (ne summum ius ducat ad summam injuriam). a truly mature citizenship would indeed ensure at all times that all the significant social institutions of the society are animated by the spirit of humanity and effective compassion for the weak. a sincere sense of humanity is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 50 an unmistakable mark of a truly cultured man. similarly a dynamic spirit of concern for the weak and handicapped is a clear sign of a healthy and mature society and citizenship. nothing exhibits more the true dignity and nobility of man and his society than humanity and magnanimity. christianity and human development should also involve the spirit of liberty and democracy, the principle of solidarity, the sense of justice, the sense of religion, the essential fluidity and functionality of nigerian socio-political institutions, sense of self-reliance, self-propagating, and self-dependence, the spirit of industry coupled with the spirit of magnanimity and hospitality. for instance, in the issue of essential fluidity and functionality of nigerian sociopolitical institutions, each institution has to establish its legitimacy and acceptability on the basis of its rationality, functionality and relevance; otherwise it runs the risk of rejection and disestablishment. again, after the attainment of adult maturity such as in igbo community, one is expected to be enterprising, resourceful, and full of initiatives, creative, daring and adventuring. in our communities, we have got nepotism, statism, denominationalism, multifaith, extremism, terrorism, ethno-centricism or tribalism, and various forms of ritualized or caste-system of social discriminations (such as osu caste, diala, ohu etc igboland nigeria). this sort of social atmosphere, deeply poisoned and violently charged as it is, poses a serious obstacle to justice and its administration and to the recognition and observance of human rights. christianity in keeping with its traditional role, posited iwe (n. d.), must step in here to proclaim the dignity of human person. it must preach the gospel of the fundamental dignity and equality of all human beings in rights and duties. it must be unequivocally spelt out that the abolition of all forms of unjustifiable social discriminations and the effective recognition and practical observance of human rights are the indispensable pre-conditions for liberty, justice, peace and progress in the society. here christianity has got to exercise its diligent mission. christianity and human development from economic perspective according to idowu (1968), africa had known the europeans, missionaries inclusive, as people with immense power, wisdom, and wealth. europeans had demonstrated their power either as tormentors of africans before whom the latter were entirely powerless; or as their deliverers whose benefactions appeared to be inexhaustible. in commercial wares brought by europeans, in their bearing and comportment, there was every sign of wealth, and of this igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 51 wealth, africans were already having a taste in the gifts brought to them by explorers. in relation to this, the missionaries conferred a status upon their converts; they were in a class by themselves. even today in abeokuta christians are called ‘the bookish ones’ or ‘the people with books’ (idowu, 1968, p. 424). christianity is a religion with a prestige value. christians were in the forefront of a new enlightenment throughout the continent and they and their children set the fashion which the impressionable nigerians followed. christianity enabled people to earn their livelihood in ‘clean’ jobs, a situation which was greatly exploited by the church. chiefs became friends of missionaries and either professed christianity themselves or surrendered their children for education and baptism, undoubtedly because of expected political or material benefits, but the church found this acceptable and rejoiced at it. in his book titled, ‘the african slave trade and its remedy’, sir thomas f. buxton, the greatest leader of the slave trade abolitionists after the death of william wilberforce, insisted that the full ransom of africa was to be found in her fertile soil. he suggested the establishment of a settlement at the confluence of the rivers niger and benue to act as an agricultural training center for africans. christianity was to be introduced as a necessary aspect of this programme to bring about the moral and spiritual regeneration of africans. hence sir thomas fowell buxton advocated the principle of the “bible and plough” slogan which caught the imagination of the next generation. venn became an energetic exponent of the buxton’s doctrine. according to nwosu (1998), the formation in 1840 of “the society for the extinction of slave trade and the civilization of africa” gave more force to buxton’s ideas. one of the aims of the christian village strategy popular among the roman catholic missions in africa was to raise the economic well being of the converts. st. joseph’s topo established in badagry in 1876 on a piece of land nine miles long between the lagos lagoon and the ocean was intended to be “the foundation of an agricultural establishment for raising the standard of agriculture so necessary in a colony and so little developed in this part of africa. in this christian village each inhabitant was given a plot of land to cultivate under close supervision by missionaries for his am profit, except for a little rent paid in kind. the church from the beginning of the christianization of nigeria was an active participant in proposals about viable commercial ventures, and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 52 encouraged individual christians to engage in enterprises for the improvement of their economic well-being. when the first church missionary society (cms) missionaries were dispatched to yoruba land in nigeria in late 1844, venn outlined the means to be used in social development. first and most important was the christian gospel. this was the foundation for everything else. the second means was agriculture because it contributed to the necessities of life and provided a constructive occupation. in the third place, he advocated commerce to stimulate local production and create demand for imports. hence, venn planned to bring young africans to england for training in commerce and the professions. through this effort young men developed skills in producing and marketing cotton, brick and tile-making, building, medicine, printing, agriculture, and navigation (shenk, 1983). training in practical arts was also introduced in 1848. venn encouraged also local congregations to be self-supporting, self-propagating, and self-reliance instead of depending on funds from england. venn and friends believed that production of a major cash crop for export was required too. they selected cotton. to introduce cotton production in west africa, they brought africans to england for training in the manufacturing and marketing of cotton and brought machinery for processing the raw materials in sierra leone and yoruba land. warehouse was built for the grown cotton at the ports to expedite shipment from lagos and freetown. regular shipping started between west africa and manchester. cms involvement in various education programmes no doubt proved also more important for future development. by 1852, the cms appointed w.c. hensman as medical adviser and industrial agent to abeokuta industrial and training institution. the industrial concept suited venn’s idea of development. men’s capital includes his wisdom, physical strength, health, skill and his ability. the missionaries recognized skill and honour the dignity of the individuality of the men who posses those skills. christianity and humanity development from political perspective to iwe (1985), the objective of the church in politics should be essentially humanitarian in order to restore human dignity, rights and human values. the church during the missionary era interfered, intervened, interfaced, influenced, artritrate, re-ordered or even changed the relationship or attitude of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 53 government to the people. but today the church is a society ruled by governments of corrupt men whose actions determine our comfort and misery (nmah, 2008). in jeremiah 7:16-17, we hear our god in anger say, “do not pray for these people, nor make intercession to me, for i will not hear you. do you not see what they do in the cities of judah and in the streets of jerusalem?” (cf. jer. 11:4). we can substitute judah with nigeria, zimbabwe, judah, libya, iraq, samaria, egypt and south africa. the anger the lord is much, for there is so much corruption and social injustice in these lands. some of the priests, bishops, archbishops and the like, that are overtly or covertly politicians from their excathedral is an indication of the level of corruption in a society that has affected even some clergy. our kind of politics will be reformed for better if there will be honesty on the side of the rulers and the led, the clergy and their parishioners. from pentecostal angle, in explaining the story of pentecostalism in nigeria, the progressive expansion of poverty, urbanization, ignorance, hunger, disease, poor quality education, unemployment, exploitation, alienation, oppression, witchcrafting, mal-administration, ecclesiastical poor leadership and dispossession in nigeria since independent has continued to influence the resort of nigerians to search for the spiritual essence of their being. the socio-economic and political adversities in the country provide a fertile ground for the planting, germination, growth and balkanization of all forms of religion. the emergence of global cultural system which is the consequence of a variety of social and cultural developments, came to a large extent explain the growth of pentecostalism in nigeria (nmah and udezo, 2013). in the 1999 elections, pentecostals supported olusegun obasanjo of people’s democratic party. for many protestants’ leaders, he symbolizes the restoration of christian hope and control over government. a baptist, obasanjo had served as military ruler from 1976-1979. in 1995, while in prison, obasanjo claimed that he is a ‘born again’. as he was elected, he called for national prayer and fasting to assure a successful transition. in 1999, pentecostal leaders conducted an all-night prayer meeting for the new president (freston, 2001; ojo, 2004). anyim pius anyim of people’s democratic party and a member of assemblies of god were elected as senator and later became senate president and secretary to the federation of nigeria. sam egwu, a member of assemblies of god was also elected as governor of ebonyi state (1999-2007). this is as result of the support of the pentecostals. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 54 contemporary christianity and human development for the church in nigeria to make a real impact on the lives of the people, it must concern itself with their economic well-being. first, it should associate itself with the economic development ideologies of the nigerian society. most communities in nigeria have achievement orientation especially in the area of commerce and industry. the pattern of preaching should not condemn the people’s quest for genuine economic well-being, but rather be concerned with interpretations of the christian meaning and usage of wealth. the current hardship, mass unemployment, corruption, poverty stricken situation of nigerian societies, maladministration characterized by faulty government policies, falling standard of education coupled with economic mismanagement call not only for the voices of god’s people to redress the ills-the cause of the economic quaqmire-but also for a direct contribution from every quarter to improve the economic conditions of the poverty stricken nigerian society and technically the third world countries generally. to put it differently, according to nwosu (1998), while it is legitimate to decry the factors that have produced the economic disasters in which many africans find themselves, it is equally appropriate to identify with the various programmes to alleviate the economic hardship including participation in economic ventures. the church’s participation in economic ventures world fulfill an important deuteronomist legislation which formed the basis of the communal life organization of the early church: none among you should be poor. the modern church could achieve it by engaging in economic ventures that would produce the required wealth and eliminate poverty. if narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor in nigeria can ever be achieved, the nigerian society needs much more pressing today than yesterday the gospel of salvation that must radically take a spiritual and material turn, a turn towards the evolution of the theology of economic liberation. the church’s engagement in business ventures would achieve two great objectives. firstly, it would, if managed by christians in true spirit of christianity, mean more money accruing to the church for the purpose of maintaining itself in spirituality, commerce and civilization and carrying out also the mandate to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. it would also lead to less financial burden on the average poor church goers. secondly, the mission to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 55 make disciples of all nations (matt.28:18-20) or the church to evangelize the world-would be possible in a spiritually and economically dynamic and viable society. the foundation of american and european civilization is centered in their faith in christ. american and european missionaries could not have come to nigeria or africa at the time they did if the church and the states of europe and america were then as poor as african states are today. ultimately the production of wealth must be seen within the plan of the creator who never decreed poverty, but promised unending prosperity (dt. 5:33, 28:63, 29:9; 1kings 2:3; prov. 28:25, etc). presently nigeria’s economy is experiencing a serious recession, and strains and stresses here and there, especially in the foreign exchange reserves. the oil export boom of the 1970s brought fantastic sums of money into the coffers of the nation and created the illusion of a healthy and balanced economy. now, in the 2016s our oil-export reverses in the world oil market due to the drop in oil prices. its foreign exchange earning capacity has been drastically reduced, and as a direct consequence, the structural deficiencies and other harsh realities of the economy are staring the nigerians squarely in the face, and some economic have truths are being learnt. we have to understand that the economic boom of 1970s was not, after all, judiciously utilized to lay solid and lasting economic foundations for a healthy and stable economy due to persistent corruption in nigeria. now we have come to realize, posited iwe (1991) that we have for long imprudently allowed the nation to perch perilously on a single-commodity economy, to the near total neglect of other sources of foreign-exchange earning. the failure to develop our agricultural sector on a significant scale is now yielding its disastrous effects. hunger, poverty, unemployment, and malnutrition in the midst of natural abundance, are social problems to be reckoned with by the generality of the people. the humble suggestion here is that there must be synergy, an ethical and economic re-orientation of the nation and the maintenance of a democratic social order, through a sound educational system. according to gillespie (1966), only an economic break-through on considerable scale will save the continent igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 56 (nigeria inclusive) from serious human frustration. furthermore it has been aintained that such a break-through will only be possible if an educational and training programme conceived, in a very wide sense, can be devised and carried out with sufficient effectiveness to meet a very difficult situation (p.62). if nigeria is to be salvaged from its present economic crisis and malaise, there must be a radical redefinition of economic priorities. if the nation is to be able to feed its uncounted and teaming millions, there must be a massive injection of capital into the agricultural sector. intensified efforts must be made to produce more cash crops and develop new ones for foreign exchange purposes. the development of local raw materials must be pursued with vigour, as a stable basis for rapid industrialization. the indispensable role of religious language in human development people all over the world use language to communicate which is an integral part of being human. language could be defined as a system of sounds or vocal symbols by which human beings communicate experience. it is a veritable means of communication and it is a special attribute which differentiates man from other animals. it is a human phenomenon that has form which can be described in terms of the units of sounds (phonemes), words, morphemes, phrases, sentences and paragraph or discourse. according to gatherer (1977), we think in language and effective thinking is not possible unless we posses linguistic competence adequate enough to realize and express our ideas. language is one of the wonderful gifts given by god to humanity which helps man to communicate and solve a number of his problems and has been able to make a lot of achievements in life. if there has been no language, it would have been difficult for man to communicate his views to fellow human beings. crystal and derek, view the language of religion as a kind of language which a speech community uses for the expression of its religious beliefs. it is usually, one of the most distinctive varieties. the importance of religious language especially in contemporary nigerian society cannot be underestimated. it is the language used for communication, expression and enlightenment and human development. language is a tool for actualizing human ingenuity, creativity, human skills and knowledge. through it man as a gregarious animal can comfortably live among his people and adapt to various socio-cultural groups and situations. ogundare igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 57 (2004) describes language as a facilitator and an index of a people’s capacity to conquer nature and civilize their environment. it is capable of carrying the burden of a society’s value, experiences and ideologies. the scripture is expressed in different kinds of language. he went further to state that religious language has a reference point beyond this world, for it transcends physical reality. in many instances, the language of biblical texts, the language of christian religion, are used with particular intensity. christian religion plays an integral role in the nigerian community as it helps to inculcate moral values in the lives of the people and brings the people nearer to their maker. christian churches use language (english) to carry out their roles. in nigeria, the word ‘development’ is frequently used, either tagged on to, or preceded by, such other expressions as ‘‘human’’ "national," "economic," "cultural," "political," even "democratic.” from all such perspectives, development suggests some form of “advancements” or changes in the life of the society. to quote akpakpan: “most economists and social scientists in general now see development as having economic, social, political, and other dimensions. human development is a form of improvement which manifests in the various aspects of the life of the society. if development is to be achieved in whatever colour, size, or shape, it must begin from the mind. such mind development can be gained when we imbibe positive values. development will necessarily begin from the individual, in other words, such values must first occupy his mind if he is to develop at all. this is where religion and religious language come to play. the role of religious language is pivotal to human growth, national development, global integration and sustainable democracy. summarily, religious language is the language for peace education. we must stress that peace education can re-orientate the humanity towards meeting the challenges of a globalized world. christian religion is a genre with identifiable stages in a particular order that allow people to achieve certain purposes within the context of use. there are stages like: entrance, sermonic stage, communion, offertory, praise and worship, special songs delivery etc. some of the strategies used by religious writers and speakers are: reminiscing, worshiping, committing, solemnizing, invoking, praying, blessing, exhorting and inspiring. such strategies help immensely in shaping humanity and these ultimately lead to human development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 58 conclusion my main concern has been the believers’ orientation towards practical socioeconomic affairs of everyday living. one can view the church doctrine on spirituality and economic as providing a whole series of possible causes of legitimate action which carry church approval. wise investment is encouraged. as isaiah taught that the world would be rebuilt by god’s chosen people, so by christians acquiring skills and improving their own standards of living, both materially and spiritually, they are preparing themselves for the new life and the tasks ahead. there should be emphasis on individualism and industriousness, and church organization and discipline work to uphold the values of the group. there is also the need to introduce peasant farming scheme by christian own universities in order to have a little move away from traditional methods. under the scheme individuals can acquire cattle, birds, crops, farm implements on a government loan and can receive instruction in crop rotation, animal husbandry, and ploughing (long, 1968) . it is also true that majority of nigerian population as in africa rely on traditional methods, there is now an increasing tendency for those who possess ploughs and oxen or who have traditional implements to cultivate crops or rear animals rather than by scientific method. that notwithstanding most of the peasant farmers produce also a small surplus of maize, beans, groundnuts, and vegetables which are transported to overseas’ markets for sale. the net result of all this, together with the regular influx of cash from town in the form of remittances and investments made by retired labour migrants, has been an over-all increase in prosperity, manifest in the growing number of brick settlements and stores, the existence of some diesel-engine grinding mills for cassava, palm fruits, groundnuts, millet etc and several cars, tri-cycles (keke), trailers, and lorries. and this in turn has led to greater-economic differentiation within the community. connected with these changes has been a change in settlement patterns. prior to about 1950 the basic residential unit was the village which had a core of patrilineally-or to an extent matrilineal-related men and women. but with the growth of new forms of production and of wealth, the villages in nigeria have metamorphose into urban areas such as onitsha, lagos, badagry, lokoja, kaduna, jos, calabar, oron, port harcourt, benin, agbo, abeokuta, aba, ikot ekpene, umuahia, owerri among others. another major feature was a change in administrative policy and the rise of independent churches. when we look at the crop of humanities developed during the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 59 missionary era and their enviable achievements in their chosen fields, we are not in doubt that they received the best education possible anywhere. some of them became top literary artists and scholars, historians, philosophers, politicians, lawyers, medical doctors, civil servants, theologians, etc. these men were the products of excellent secondary schools headed by committed christian missionaries and humanists, and taught by teachers trained in the best tradition of humanist education. these men we are referring to include nnamdi azikiwe, obafemi awolowo, chinua achebe, wole soyinka, j.p. clark, akanu ibiam, michael okpara, james johnson, herbert macaulay, mr. e.o. eyo, alhaji tafawa balewa, anthony enahoro, kenneth o. dike, margaret ekpo to mention just a few. to this day the great majority of nigerian leaders in politics, medicine, law, civil service, and education owe their beginnings and their positions in nigerian society to their education in mission schools. missionary effort is an onion for the regeneration and development of this country. browne (1977) averred that education brought with it a demand for a share in government. nigerian nationalism, according to him, traditionally had a wealth of associations reaching across tribal boundaries such as the long-standing nigerian union of teachers (nut) founded in 1931. their members were trained in mission schools. the special contention here is that there is still a strong need for christianity to continue-its traditional role the agent of human values here in our developing nigeria especially african region. our developing nigeria scene exhibits multifarious forces-domestic, ethical, cultural, religious, social, political, national and international-which militate against the realization of unquestionable human values. against this backdrop, the resources of christianity require immediate mobilization and effective deployment. references akpakpan, e. b. (1987). crossroads in nigerian development. port harcourt: new generation publishers. anyanwu, e. c. (2014). a comparative analysis of the english language used in mainline and pentecostal churches in nigeria. an unpublished ph.d. dissertation p. 25 ayandele, a. a. (1966). the missionary impact on modern nigeria, 1842-1914. london: longmans, green and co. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 60 babatunde, s. t. (1998). persuasion in christian religious speeches---a speech act analysis. studies in stylistic and discourse analysis, 1, (1998); 56. ezeigbo, a. t. (2013). “the humanities and the challenges of national development in a philistine age.” in kanayo nwadialor et al (eds.), the humanities and nation building, 2-16. awka: fab anieh. fatunwa, a.b. (1974). history of education in nigeria. london: allen & unwin. gillespie, h. m. (1966). education and progress. london: evans brothers. idown, b.e. (1968). the predicament of the church in africa. in c.s.baeta (ed), christianity in tropical africa, pp.417-436. oxford: oxford university press. iwe, n. s. s. (1985). christianity, culture and colonialism in africa. port harcourt: department of religious studies college of education. iwe, n. s. s. (n. d.). christianity & culture in africa. onitsha: university publishing co. iwe, n. s. s. (1991). socio-ethical issues in nigeria. obosi: pacific publishers. long, n. (1968). religion and socio-economic action among the serenje-lala of zambia. in c. s. baeta (ed.), christianity in tropical africa, pp.396-416. oxford: oxford university press. meler, g. m. (1976). leading issues in economic development. new york: oxford university press. nmah, p. e. (2008). religion and society in africa. enugu: rabboni. nmah, p. e. & udezo, b. o. s. (2013). “black american and nigerian pentecostalism: a black religious schizophrenia, 1910-2010”. in lwati_a journal of conteemporary research, vol. 10, issue 4, 112-130. nwosu, l.u. (1998). the religious factor the history of west africa. owerri: daystar. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 61 ogundare, m.a. (2005). the role of language teaching in national development. in language and literature in education for a better society. 60-63. ankpa, coe. onunwa, u. (1991). missionary factor in african nationalism. journal of indian missiological review, september (delhi), 30-38. shenk, w. r. (1983). henry venn-missionary statesman. ibadan: daystar. ukpon, e. a. (1990). the relevance of national development to the promotion of patriotism in nigeria. in c. c. s. okeke (ed.), defense, patriotism and national development, 105 -134. onitsha: veritas. willis, jim (2007). a to z of world religions: places, prophets, saints and seers. mumbai: jaico. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 1.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 159 agila politico-religious institutions as a model of parliamentarism: a call for inclusion in government solomon ochepa oduma-aboh, phd department of christian religious studies, faculty of arts, kaduna state university, kaduna, nigeria. +234-803-826-7716; solomonoduma@gmail.com & ochoga edwin ochoga doctoral student, department of political science benue state universitymakurdi, nigeria. ochogaeochoga@gmail.com abstract the nature and character of the socio-economic challenges confronting nigeria is indeed a leviathan task for scholars to look outside the box of the current structure of governance and thereby theorize better options. thus, the problematic of this paper is on the agila political and religious institutions as a model of parliamentarism with a carrion call for the inclusion of traditional institutions in governance. the paper aptly revealed that the agila in ado local government in benue state has well developed political and religious institutions that its existence predated colonialism in nigeria. this institution in antiquity regulates the political, religious, cultural, legal and economic life of the agila. the attainment of independence in 1960 did not only excluded the traditional institution in the arrangement of governmental powers, but the virtues of transparency and accountability that were inherent in the traditional political systems in antiquity have gradually disappeared in the attitudenate structures of nigerians. it is upon this missing link, that agila traditional model is been used as a case study for onward generalization. thus, it is recommended that traditional institutions should be included in the governance of local government with the house of chiefs created as an organ of government in every local government. this will aid the preservation of some of the eroding indigenous norms and values. key words: agila, political, religious institutions and government. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 160 introduction the agila in ado local government area of benue state, north central nigeria has a unique traditional political institutions. it is this inimitable traditional political institution that has to a large extent distinguished their culture, customs and tradition from most districts in idoma land. the analysis of the socio-cultural stratification exiting among the twelve agila clans, its purpose and significance forms the major thrust of this paper. also, the qualifications, the procedures of selection/election and functions of otse-agila and other traditional offices in the community were also substantiated. in antiquity, the chiefs in agila enjoyed unconcealed authority over the people. traditional political systems may have differed from one district to the next, chiefs may have been challenged by contenders for their titles at times and quarrels arisen over jurisdiction, but the system itself stood intact and inviolate. that has changed since the introduction of a modern political system during the years of foreign rule. the change has been especially noticeable during the period that saw the rise of the modern democratic apparatus of government in nigeria. we now have legislators, presidents, governors, judges and other officials serving in the modern government. like the agila traditional political system, the council of chiefs is ascribed with political, legal and religious functions as analyzed in tables below. the two political systems, the modern and the traditional, appear to be on parallel tracks. traditional chiefs still enjoy considerable respect in their own sphere, but it is modern political leaders who control today's western government. agila is such a kingdom that has well premeditated traditional institution political and religious wise. while writers have over the years paid more attention to the origins, history and settlement of agila1, little attention is been given to parliamentary utilities of the political institutions and its usefulness in contemporary time. it is against this gap, that this paper sought to 1 see e.o. erim, idoma nationality 1600-1900: problems of studying the origins and development of ethnicity, emgum fourth dimension publishers, enugu, 1981; for more details, see g.s.o.lkese, ‘re: on the letter mr.ikese wrote’ in the voice, friday novemeber25th ,2009,p6. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 161 advocate for bringing back chiefs into the modern system. too, now that the issue of the role of traditional chiefs in the modern government is gradually gaining ascendency in public discourse in nigeria and as such there is need to shine searchlight in the importance of the agila traditional political system as model of parliamentary theory too precious to be relegated only to the status of receiving homage. theorizing the problematic every political system has verities of functions and such functions are essentially performed by sub-systems, which could be political, social, cultural, religious, or judicial. in every political system be it traditional or modern these functions are inherently performed by the sub-systems. theoretically, schemes for classifying political systems into types are as old as the political system itself. this is because the study of politics did not start with the emergence of modern political systems. aristotle, for example, produced a classification based on two criteria: the number of citizens entitled to rule, whether one, few or may; and whether the rulers governed in ‘interest’ or their own self-interest 2 . aristotle classified political systems into three types namely-: mode of authority number of citizens entitled to rule tool kingship (monarchy) one tyranny aristocracy few oligarchy polity many democracy3 aristotle’s early and noteworthy classification scheme has been followed by many other efforts, particularly in recent decades. thus, the question of which one is the best typology obviously depends on the criteria for classifying the political system. what one find useful depend of the system that is most interested. according to ochoga, while political scientists may be interested in the form of power exercised in the political system, philosophers or theologians 2 ernest barker,ed, the politics of aristotle. oxford university press,1952,p.110 3 adopted and reworked from dahl r. modern political analysis, sixth edition , parson education, 2003,p.66 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 162 might be interested in distinguishing the best political system by using ethic and religious criteria and so on4. this implies that even the agila traditional political system is fundamentally pertinent hence there are some of its features that may be worthily inculcating in modern democratic states. such conceptual benefits could be indentify that (1) agila political traditional system like any other are: path to the present,(2) their socio-economic levels or degree of modernity serve as basis for present stage of development, (3) the of distribution of authoritative resources and skills of them could be used to correct present abnormalize,(4), it serve as the gate way to understand emerging cleavages and cohesion, (5) for the understanding of politically motivated conflicts, and (6) for resolving present quagmires of sharing political power among component units of the modern political system. although, traditional political system may be monarchical in power acquisition and ascribed in authority distribution, whereas there are some silent features (particularly norms) of the ancient political system that can be adopted, refined and be useful in the practicing of democracy in contemporary time. it is on this premise that ochoga aptly agued the that study of indigenous societies and their political system is rooted in the historical materialism theoretical framework of karl marx and which he propound as a lens in understanding the present in all its ramifications5 just like the british cabinet system, the queen is the titular head of the state, the real executive powers are lodged not in a single person but in a cabinet which is composed of a prime minister and about twenty other ministers. the members of collegial executive are selected from the parliament and are response to it …6 the british parliament thus perform dual functions like the agila traditional political system, whereas the otse-agila and other members of the cabinet perform political and religious functions. also, like the british parliamentary model, from the otsonu-agila to the least of the cabinet member has ascribed roles inherent in their offices. while otsonu-agila oversees 4 ochoga e. ochoga. politics of ingenious societies: the paradox of development. in journal of social studies, coe maru,2010,p.54 5 see ochoga e. ochoga. politics of ingenious societies: the paradox of development...p57 6 see rime anifowose, in rime anifowose and e. francis. element of politics...1999,p177 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 163 the obligations of the other cabinet members, the otse-agila has the veto-power in every matter. be that as it may, traditional leaders seem to have a secure place in the ancient societies of every african state. although, they have lost much of the economic clout they had in former times, they are still greatly honored. the younger generation today may not be as respectful of traditions as older people, but they will probably fall into line like everyone else. there will be little or no place in the modern government for traditional leaders as such. they will be an influential voice on elected officials, but in an informal way. some of these individual leaders will run for elected office, but this will probably continue to be the exception rather than the rule. the two political systems can coexist as long as chiefs have the good sense to keep conflict with the modern leaders to a minimum. if it ever comes to a showdown between the two political systems, the chiefs will lose and the traditional system erodes. modern political leaders will be expected to defer to traditional chiefs in the latter's realm. chiefs will be expected to submit to modern political authorities in the arena of modern day life and law. one of the expectations of people today is that all should be equal under the law. to the extent that chiefs try to comply with this principle, they will be more likely to preserve their own traditional prerogatives. trajectory on the office of the district head of agila (otse-agila) in agila political and religious system the otse agila performs both cultural and religious functions. in other words, he is the political and religious head of the agila kingdom. the traditional institution of otse agila predated colonialism in nigeria as the agila kingdom was in existence for centuries before the british colonial authorities made the territory hitherto controlled by the otse agila kingship as among the districts in idoma land. in other words, the institution of the otse agila and otsapa igumale now called district head of agila and igumale respectively have being in existence before the emergent of the colonial administration in nigeria in 1900. by implication therefore, the office of the otse agila is as old as agila people themselves. the kingship traditional arrangement in agila, igumale, ulaji, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 164 ijigbam and ekile has to a large extent made the customs and traditions of these communities in the southern part of the idoma speaking areas of benue state differs from of the other idoma sub-cultures. in as much as general idoma culture values kingship, but as far as chieftaincy matter is concerned, the districts in ado local area have peculiar chieftaincy institution. culturally assimilated into this system is the utonkon. the district head of utonkon and his title holders were allowed to wear to akpalewo, dog ear-like royal cap sealed through cultural agreement reached between them and the people of agila and igumale. all these communities are now grouped into what is today known as ado local area, benue state with headquarters at igumale. the otse agila (king of agila kingdom) is traditionally regarded as the spiritual father of agila land and an embodiment of peace and unity of the whole land. otse agila’s authority is unchallengeable because his status is equated as the representative of their ancestors in agila. so many tale are told of otse agila notably that he can stay in his palace and monitor any information from anywhere in the universe. that he knows when he is going to die and so on. otse agila’s comes out of his palace only as demanded by customs and traditions. one should consider himself as extremely lucky to see otse agila in the public in those days. it is a custom that when-ever otse agila appears in the public he is either going to a journey or to his court and his ‘okanga’ and ‘okpatsina’ (royal band and flutes) normally accompany him. the otse agila (like the otsapa igumale) is selected strictly from among the ruling clans of agila purely on merit. the selection and appointment of otse agila is not on rotational bases between the two ruling clans rather the contest is normally thrown open to every qualify male adult of the ruling clans to test their popularity, and whoever appeals to the majority of the king-makers (itsogwa) merges the winner. the lobbying of the itsowa by contestants is usually conducted secretly.7 all candidates are screened at a crucial meeting of the itsogwa presided by the otsonu agila (traditional prime minister and head of the itsogwa). this meeting is usually held in the palace of the otsonu-agila in the dead night, and 7 author’s field survey,2017. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 165 must be attended by the accredited itsowa. the decision of the itsogwa is final and it is biding on every agila indigenes both at home and abroad. the identity of the otse agila elect remains a top secret until the date of the official announcement and the coronation8. now comes to day of the presentation of the otse agila elect to his subjects. this is infact, the most tense and apprehensive moment in the life of agilas. as relatives and supporters of the contestants assembles at the town playing ground (ofuo akpoge) with every contestants and their supporters felling very optimistic of wining. at times the relatively poor turn of agilas at the ofuo akpoge is an expression of fear of possible violence which may erupt from the losers. the contestants are lined facing the anxious crowd with each them holding yards of ikporigwo (pure white locally woven cloth), two white and two feathers with which he would be turbaned, and about two yards of same white cloth for wrapper. as soon as the itsogwa take their seat, the otsonu agila steps into the arena and open the ceremony with a short address in which appeals to the looser to endeavour to maintain absolute peace by adopting the spirit of sportsmanship. the end of the speech, the otsonu-agila announces the name of the otse-agila elect publicly and immediately his adotse (traditionally appointed father of the otsonu) to feather the otse-agila elect. the adotse responds by tying parts of the white cloth around the otse’s head and then insert one white and one red feather each on both sides of the otse’s forehead. and about two extra yards tied to his waist as wrapper. this is immediately heralded by booming of dame gun shot after which the otse agila elect raises exclamations of om’a ntso !.9 then the otsonu-agila and his itsogwa leaves the scene immediately to avoid physical aggression and attack on their persons by aggrieved persons. from the ofuo akpoge square, the otse agila is led away amidst of booming of gun shots and jubilations to the various shrines where he performs the mandatory traditional rites at each of the places. 8 oral interview with mr. m. ochoga, apa-agila, age 59 years on the methods of otse-agila selection, 2th january,2017 9 ibid... igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 166 the first point of call is the ikpaje-agila (agila ancestral shrine). this the place where agila people first settled before they started to multiply. here, the orajaekwu of agila (chief priest of the shrine) opens the gate to allow the otse-agila in and he subsequently administers the necessary ritual ceremony on him. the much any one could say about the cultural implication for this ritual is that, the oroja-ekwu introduces the otse-agila to the ancestors for blessings; because the details of the ritual perform at the ikpaje shrine is largely unseen and unrevealed to any other agila apart from the otse-agila elect and the oraja-ekwu. from there the otse agila moves to etse-oko, an ancient tree reputed for its healing and miracles located at the front of ikpaje kindred in akpoge clan. this tree known as etse-oko is another symbolic tree in the history of agila that is planted directly beside the ikpaje agila shrine.10 it is only the otse-agila and the orajaekwu that know the actual spiritual implications and significances of the etseoko to the office of the otse agila. the next place of call is the ikpuduanother ancient trees famed for its mystery located right inside in an area that is traditionally restricted for only adult agila males (inekwu). this tree is found in okpatobo clan. at this place, the chief priest of the ikpudu performs the necessary ritual ceremony for the otse agila accordingly. another place of ritual performance is the etsi-idibia at the ogblolo clan where the otsonu-agila originates from. at this historical spiritual place, the otse-agila is administered the last ritual ceremony and proceeds to straight to the atsiidoko (royal confinement) and remains there for a period of fourteen days. on the following day, the itsowa normally dress in their traditional regalia and walk in procession to the atsi-idoko to pay the otse-agila first homage. this procession the each itsogwa will hold his ogotsi (staff of office).the ogotsi is normally held by itsowa only on important ceremonial occasion. while in the atsi-idoko, the otse agila is taught the various rules and regulations pertaining to his office and general agila cultural norms and values. he is decorated with ikirinyi and okopi (substance made out special trees) to his both feet. he holds otsi-igwu (about three long stick) with his left hand. he must only eat food 10 oral interview with . a. ochoga, otukpo, age 95 years on the methods of otse-agila selection, 4th january,2017 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 167 cooked by his trusted wife and must not have sex within this period of fourteen days. also, during this period no person of dubious character is allowed to visit him.11 at the end of the fourteenth day of the royal confinement, he returns to his palace amidst pomp and pageantry to assume normal responsibility as the otseagila. this the day he will wear oka, wrist beads which is his symbol of authority. after three months in office, the otseagila performs the iba (coronation) ceremony.12 the new otse-agila reserves the right to retain in office the otsonu-agila and all the itsogwa or drop them and appoint new people who will serve in his interest. since oka is a symbol of authority it is only the otse agila that is culturally permitted to wear it. in other words, even the otsonu agila and the itsogwa are not allowed to wear oka. in the olden days, the new otse-agila had to travel to idah to receive his okwute (staff of office) form the attahidah, where the agila people descended from. this is aptly why j.s. boston and supported by o. o.okpe jr and y.a.ochefu vehemently argued that: the igala strongly influenced the evolution of the oche institutions in the pre-colonial idoma societies 13. up till date, the extent of this influence has not been fully determined. available evidence however indicates that at a point, the oches of the central idoma polities travelled to idah for their investiture ceremonies14. again, there is little evidence to show that these oches were tributary to the attah of igalaland, rather royal visits has been associated with the overwhelming influence of the attah at that time15. while some scholars have their reservation for the routine investiture visit of certain idoma royal fathers to idah, scholars such as n.agbo and a.p agnyebe 11 oral interview with . a. ochoga, otukpo, age 95 years on the methods of otse-agila selection, 4th january,2017 12 ibid ... 13 j.s. boston…ibid 14 okpe, o. o.. ‘origin, migration and settlement of the idoma. ’in y.a.ochefu, j.i and t.a. varvar (ed). a history of the people of benue state, makurdi, nigeria: aboke publishers,2007. 15 okpe, o. o.. ‘origin, migration and settlement of the idoma. ’in y.a.ochefu, j.i and t.a. varvar (ed)… igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 168 seen it different as means of reawaken ancestral ties between the igala and idoma. agbo contends that: idah was the ancestral home of some idoma groups, so that the people still believed that idah was the abode of their ancestors, hence their installation was sanctified at idah 16 .while anyebe basically sees these royal trips to idah as merely spiritual and not politcal17 as being insinuated in some quarters. however, the political, cultural and social influence of the igala (attah of idah), over pre-colonial agila society would not be completely ignored. to be eligible for selection and appointment as otse-agila, first and foremost, such person must be a family member from the two ruling clans of osiroko and effuofo. the candidate must be a male child of the culturally recognized two ruling clans. secondly, he must be able to give at least four names of his ancestral fathers as proof of being full blooded agila indigene. thirdly, he must possess pleasant personality and proven integrity. finally, he must be married. the otseagila is the chief custodian of agila customs, culture and traditions. 18 by implication, he is under oath to at all times to uphold, defend, preserve and protect the agila customs, culture and traditions. the otse agila plays executive, legislative and judicial roles within his domain and over his subjects. be the chairman of agila traditional council, the otse -agila is an automatic member of ado traditional council at the local government level, as well as a member idoma traditional council. the otse -agila decides who gets what, when and how within the purview of his traditional, customary and cultural jurisdiction. the place of the agila prime minister (otsonu agila) in agila political and religious system the otsonu agila is the traditional prime/head of the kingmakers (the itsogwa council). by order of ranking, he is the next rank to the otse -agila. the otsonu agila being the head of the itsowa council, he coordinates the activities 16 see n.o. agbo, idoma politics and history,lagos: parade communications ltd,1991,p.5 17 see a.p agnyebe, the idoma chieftaincy, unpublished paper,1975.p.111. 18 author’s field work, 2017. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 169 of the itsogwa and report to the otseagila for necessary action. the otsonu agila has the prerogative to present and install otse agila elect as decided by the council itsowa headed by him. meanwhile, the appointment and removal of otsonu agila is the exclusive of the right of the otseagila. by tradition, otsonu agila does not wear oka. while the royal greeting of otse agila by his subjects (agilas) is ‘ogaba iduh’, that of otsonu agila is simple ‘otsonu agila’. the office of the otsonu agila is exclusively reserved for the aiotsonu otseokpaga, aiotsonu ebenyi, and ayiya sub-clans of ogbblolo clan.19 even though is it the birth right of these kingderds to occupy the office of the otsonu agila, it is not by rotation, rather the appointment is strictly made by the description of the otse agila. in other words, only the otse -agila has the authority to appoint or remove the otsonu agila, just as only the otsonu agila has the authority to crown the otse agila and traditionally confer on him the attendant power. the delicate system of checks and balance is designed to prevent autocracy by any individual, be he the otse -agila, the otsonu agila, or the otsogwa. basically, the functions of the otsonu -agila include the headship of the itsogwa or the traditional council of kingmakers; being the second-in-command to the otse -agila and thereby acting capacity for the otse in his absence or death (when the chief is known to be dead.); and formal crowning of otse -agila after deliberations in camera by the itsogwa. for example, one of the longest serving otsonu-agila, adai otsonu was appointed in 1955 by chief attah ochoga and him had the privilege and honour of crowning three chiefs-namely chief agbaji omerigwe, chief onmonya ogorri, chief omerigwe attah and excluding the controversial crowning of chief philip agbese onagzi in 16th of december,1985.20 synthesis of recent history when otse -agila ‘goes tiger’ his owo is cut down after year, confirming his transition to the home of his ancestors. thereafter, the politicking commences 19 oral interview with . a. ochoga, otukpo, age 95 years on the methods of otse-agila selection, 4th january,2017 20 ibid oral interview with . a. ochoga, … igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 170 lasting for at two years. this tradition enables the populace in general, and the traditional council of kingmakers in particular to; (i) get to know otse-agila contestants, (ii) determine the suitability of each contestant by knowing his strength and weakness, and; (iii) allow for a consensus opinion amongst the itsogwa for a candidate of their choice, since the itsogwa must not be seen to have divided interest. investigation revealed that the three years period of interregnum in not only peculiar to the agila people, it is practiced by all the tribes that their kingship is institutionalized after the wukari kingship model. some of these includes the jukun, igala, ibirra, doma, yala,ogaja and among other tribes. any attempt to subvert this custom would be regarded as an aberration. five recent examples are showed below to illustrate this contention: (i) when chief ebonyi died in 1952, it took over three years before he was succeeded by (ii) chief attah ochoga in1955. and he in turn voluntary resigned from the position in 1957, three years elapsed before (iii) chief agbaji omerigwe succeeded him in 1960. when this chief was deposed by the government in 1964, the normal three years elapsed before he was succeeded by (iv) onmonya ogori in 1966, who died in 1969. the mandatory three years passed before (v) chief omerigwe attah ascended the throne in 1972 and so on.21 the history of the agila chieftaincy custom and tradition is shrouded in mystery. thus, the unpredicted and unpreventable avengers of the arekwu, ancestral spirits and aje, the earth cult,h agila have its ways of unleashing revenge on violators. only those who are conversant with agila history and tradition can attest to this unflinching fact. 21 author’s field work 2017 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 171 until 1949 when the post of och’ idoma was created, there was no central authority in idomaland. the colonial administration created the och’idomaship to unite the various kingdoms and communities in idomaland which culturally have many things in common. it was felt that a central authority would bring the people as for colonial developmental purposes; as well as the people together as distinct entity by promoting aspects of their culture that emphasis their uniqueness and unity. the och’idoma is under oath not to stage any action or inaction that would contravene the traditions and customs of any district in idomaland. therefore, the choice of otse-agila is strictly an internal matter that is only later communicated to the idoma traditional council (i.t.c) of which the och’idoma is the chairman. the i.t.c is only represented at the official and public selection of otse -agila as an observer, not a participant, and certainly not as enforcer. any attempt of the i.t.c to foist their preferred candidate on the kingmakers and agilas would amount to outright violation of customary order as well as triggering the anger of the arekwu and aje whose fury is unprecedented.22 finally, the och’idoma or his representatives must not be present at the various secret meetings normally hold by the itsogwa under the chairmanship of the otsonu-agila to discuss and make their choice of otse-agila. the religious and cultural functions of the agila kingmakers (itsogwa) itsogwa literally means a traditionally accredited and confound kingmakers in agila traditional political system. there are twenty four traditionally and customary recognized itsogwa in agila tradition system (see the table below). the itsogwa is a group of title holders representing various sub-clans and clans in agila traditional council. the itsogwa title is strictly restricted to the ten clans that do not produce otse -agila. they are normally greeted or addressed by their title such as echembi, ogene-agila, agada, otsanya agila etc. they wear specially made cap‘akpalewo’, which distinguishes them from ordinary persons in agila and this akpalewo is designed in order of superiority of the 22 ibid oral interview with . a. ochoga, … igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 172 title. the core agila kingmakers are drawn from among the itsogwa (itsogwa council). according to the agila customs and traditions, an itsogwa has no claim to the stool of otse –agila neither any of their family members and vice versa. by tradition, itsogwa do not wear oka. it is a serious offence for any itsogwa to appear in the public without his traditional walking stick, ogazi. the appointment and removal of an itsogwa is the exclusive right of the otse-agila. each of the itsogwa has traditionally specified functions to play in agila’s religious, socio-cultural and economic life. table 2.1, table 2.2 and table 2.3 shows the twenty four titles of the itsogwa and their classification based on the ascribed functions in the agila traditional society. table 1.1: the itsogwa that performs religious functions source:authors’fieldwork(2015). table 1.2: the itsogwa that performs civil functions s/no title/office descendant of: clan(s) reserved for sub-clans restricted to 1 orajaekwu idogaogbo akpoge ikpaje 2 ots’oba idogaogbo onogwu onogwu 3 ogene idogaogbo s/no title/office descendant of: clan(s) reserved for sub-clans restricted to 4 agada idogaogbo 5 echno embi otsogbo 6 oga aloge idogaogbo and otsogbo osudu and akpoge aiodudoaguna and ikpaje 7 otsanya agila otsogbo ogbilolo and osudu ogbilolo and osudu 8 onoja okpatoobo idogaogbo okpatoobo,akpoge and opaakor ai-onogwu, ikpaje and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 173 source: authors’ fieldwork(2015). table 2.3: the itsogwa that performs military functions ai-ebakwu 9 otsome otsogbo osudu ai-ome 10 odenebi otsogbo ogbilolo efiga 11 atu otsogbo osudu 12 oworitso idogaogbo okpaakor ai-abakpa s/no title/office descendant of: clan(s) reserved for sub-clans restricted to 13 unogwu ogbilolo otsogbo 14 unogwu akpoge idogaogbo 15 atsonwu ogbilolo otsogbo 16 atsonwu akpoge idogaogbo 17 otse alekpa ogbilolo otsogbo 18 otse alekpa akpoge idogaogbo 19 otsima ogbilolo otsogbo 20 otsima akpoge idogaogbo 21 otse’uje otsogbo igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 174 source: author’s fieldwork(2015). the role of kinsmen of the district head (ogori and ai-attah) in political and religious system there are usually one ogori from each of the two ruling clans of osiroko and efuofu. the ogori simply means elders of the ruling clans, who are selected among the aiattah (i.e the osiroko and efuofu clans). the selection is presented to the otseagila for installation. the otse-agila reserve the right to refuse granting the approval and the installation of the ogori elect. the ogoriattah is the head of the ogori. in other words, both osiroko and efuofu have an ogori-attah heading the ogori group of classified elders in the clan; that is why there is ogori-attah, osiroko and ogori-attah, efuofu respectively. the ogri under the leadership of the ogori-attah discusses matters affecting their clans and at the same time advises the otse-agila on such matter accordingly. for instance, protection of the ancestry spirit cult of ekwu aja, arekwu eka, unaloko and other ancestral shrines practice by the ruling family are matter priority of the ogori title holders23 the itsogwa have no hand in the selection of an ogori. similarly the ogori do not participate neither interface in any process leading to selection of the otse-agila or the itsogwa. once an ogori-attah is appointed he cannot aspire to the stool of otse-agila. infact no agila can use one traditional office as a stepping stone to 23 chief attah michael ochoga asserts that ogori under the leadership of the ogori-attah and discusses matters affecting their clans and at the… ogbilolo 22 otse’uje akpoge idogaogbo 23 okpozu ogbilolo otsogbo 24 okpozu akpoge idogaogbo igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 175 another position. the selection, suspension and removal of an ogori and the two ogori-attah is the collective of the otse-agila and the general elders of the aiattah who he represents. the two ogri-attah and their ogori are entitled to wear their kind of akpalewo that is different from that of the itsogwa. as imply to the otsonu-agila and itsogwa, both the ogori and their ogori-attah do not wear royal beads, oka on their hands. the unsung virtues of agila political and religious system: the imperative of it inclusion in modern democratic system the authors have been inspired to analyze the agila traditional institutions and structures in view of the streams of uniqueness of the system in antiquity. even as the misconception campaign continues, the aim of this paper is to preserve the truth against any history orchestrated on falsehood to sewn seeds of discourse among agilas. this is the system in which all agilas were born into it and no agila should have any difficult to identify the sustenance of agila culture with what is obtainable elsewhere in idomaland and all other tribes that their histories is been traced to the idah and wukari kinship model. this collaborated position suggest that, long before the europeans came to nigeria for colonialism, the doctrine of separation of power and checks and balances were already institutionalized in agila traditional political institutions. while the two clans of osiroko and efuofu produces only the otse-agila, the other ten clans produces the otsonu-agila and the twenty four itsogwa who reserved the right to appoint the otse-agila and perform several other religion, cultural and civil functions as enshrined in agila customs and traditions. this implies that the concept of separation of power as epitomized by montesquieau was not new to the agila people. this invariably could be what prompted two eminent idoma scholars okpe o.okpe jr. and yakubu a.ochefu in their book titled ‘the idoma ethnic group: a historical and cultural setting’ to observe that: the idoma have had social and political institutions that were the product of the historical experience of the people. although not igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 176 structured strictly in terms of the montesquiean model of separation of power between the organs of government, the idoma social and political system possessed the law-making tradition that provided the broad framework within various units of the society performed different functions in the context of the development process of the people.24 it is because of this doctrine of separation of power enshrined in agila social and political from antiquity that restricted agila people from osiroko or efuofu clans from participating in the prestigious arekwu ancestral spirit cult that is the sole right of the ten clans. even among the ten clans as showed in the tables above, the otsonu-agila and itsogwa titles are distributed according to lineages and clans. in other words, all the traditional offices and customary rites are distributed and restricted for certain lineages, sub-clans, and clan(s) as the case may be among the ten clans. even among the ten clans, it is not every lineage, sub-clan, and clan within the ten clans that have the same arekwu ancestral spirit cult. thus, the custom has equally distributed and restricted them to reincarnate different arekwu ancestral spirit cults. this customary role differentiation is the reason why different lineages, sub-clans and clans possessing the right of reincarnating arekwu-ekpela, arekwu-ekpe, etc. come to think of it, the ododo and lkata accorded to the ekpela and ekpe varies among the lineages, sub-clans and clans that have the rights. these few examples of socio-cultural stratification are enough reasons for every agila and even those yet unborn to continue giving glory and praises to the founding fathers of agila. the agila customs and traditions are by no means an accident of history, but they are orchestrated as a way of life and solace of belief whose metaphysical genealogy is saddled in mystery, while its physical genealogy has be traced to the idah and wukari kinship model. the only loyalty and allegiance demanded from agilas by the founding fathers is the continuous status maintenance, rather than bastardizing what the forefathers have painstakely put together; without knowing the nature of sacrifices they have 24 seee okpe o.okpe jr. and yakubu a.ochefu in their book titled ‘the idoma ethnic group: a historical and cultural setting… igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 177 made to establish the agila chieftaincy institutions and other customs and cultural structures.25 every typical clan in agila has a peculiar socio-cultural role to play in agila traditional and cultural system. it is the configuration of these roles that have over the years made agila a distinct community in idomaland. therefore, any attempt to bastardize the agila traditional order would amount to an aberrational movement. agila has never been an egalitarian society as appears it to be in few idoma clans, and as such the agitations for the democratization of the otse-agilaship would amount to a coup d’état orchestrated to erase the socio-political status quo that has been entrenched in antiquity. thus, the distribution of the authority in the hands of the otse-agila, otsonu-agila, and the itsogwa representing different clans is to effectively manage the dynamic complexities of the agila community. this position has being succinctly puts by erim as: ... the various socio-political structures and institutions that were created are in actual terms, a manifestation of efforts aimed at controlling, mobilizing, appropriating and distributing surpluses, and the coordination and resolution of conflicts that may arise there from. the origin of an ocheship in the political organization of the idoma represent the concentration of authority in the hands of groups of titled elders in their efforts at the managing the complexities of their societies24 concerning the age-long tradition of the entire ado districts, there is every need to preserve, promote and to encourage the custodians. therefore, the following recommendations are been suggested: while that of otse-agila and otsepalgumale had already been taken care, the otsonu-agila and his equivalent in igumale, the ozoko should be enhanced and placed on permanent salary in the ado lgc payroll on grade level 12. secondly, instead of appointing another person, the position of the accredited itsogwa representing the various clans of agila, igumale, ulaji, ijigbam, ekile and utonkon should be automatically confirmed by the ado l.g.c as their clan head and placed on salary. since some 25 interview, chief attah michael ochoga, 90yrs, an voluntarily resigned otse-agila, interview in otukpo, may,2013 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 178 of the itsogwa are the traditional head of their respective clans therefore, they should be recognized by the l.g as such. also, the two ogori-attah representing the two ruling clans of osiroko and efuofu in agila ( and their equivalents in igumale, ulaji, ijigbam and ekile) should be invariably designated and appointed by the l.g.c as the clan heads osiroko and efuofu respectively with permanent salary. concluding remarks this paper is aimed at finding out the role and prospects of traditional institutions in community development with specific emphasis on agila political traditional system in ado local government area in benue state. this study revealed precisely that traditional rulers are the major agents in transforming the attitude of the rural people provided they are answerable to a titled ruler vested with the authority of governing the affairs of the people. based on the findings, the paper has come to conclusion that traditional rulers have made a positive impact in community development to a large extent. it is thus advocate for the inclusion of traditional institutions in modern democratic structures in nigeria. allocating statutory role and functions to traditional institutions in our constitution is essentially necessary now, considering the series of socioeconomic challenges confronting the nation. by empowering the traditional institutions, it aims to adopt the spirit of frequent dialogue amongst the subjects. the outcome of the dialogue will create necessary relationship towards community development programmes. while, wealthy individuals from in the community can support the traditional institution to enable traditional rulers embark on huge projects, traditional institutions should be included in the governance of local government with the house of chiefs created as an organ of government in every local government. this will aid the preservation of some of the cherished norms and value such as the spirit of honesty, transparency and accountability that were inherent in the traditional political system in antiquity. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 1.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 100 characterization and the him in fada ebo ifeoma obuasi, phd college of general studies michael okpara university of agriculture, umudike ifeomamebo61@yahoo.com abstract this paper has attempted to discuss fadaebo as a living character according to literary characterization. it based the discussions on one of these elements of literature called character. generally in literature, characterization is the process of developing highlights and details about a character. the discussion is based on plato and group’s view that literary art is an imitation of existential reality. the him (personality) in fadaebo is focused and discussed in relation to the meanings of his names. his pronounced character traits are also discussed as are portrayed by his words. the reader is hereby finally given the adjudicative powers to decide if fadaebo is a round, flat, or dynamic character. keywords: fada ebo, characterization, him, literature, personality, plato. introduction literary works deal with literature. though it may sound as if all works of literature are fiction, it must be acknowledged that not all literary works are fiction. rooting from this, therefore, we say that literary work is divided into two – fiction and non-fiction. as the names imply, fiction deals with the imaginary characters and world, while the non-fiction deals with life-characters in real world. putting-up a paper on a colossus like rev. fr. professor benedict okwuive (okwuife) ebo (eboh), henceforth fadaebo, is really challenging and indeed a herculean task. this is so, as a colossus is known for its gigantic size, but we shall concentrate our efforts on this discussion from the literary perspective from where our competence is based. considering literature from a broad sense, it is an art form of intellectual value and universality with lasting merits. some authors see it as only imaginary or creative writing, but referring to the origin of the word rooting from the latin word “littera” (letter of the alphabet), it means the entire body of human writing. eze (2009:2) believes that it is all about life, and adds: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 101 in whatever way one sees literature, the most important thing to note is that literature has a world of its own with some elements that make up the world. such elements include characters, setting, plot, heroes, tragedy, comedy … and many others. the paper shall base the discussions here on one of these elements of literature called character. generally in literature, characterization is the process of developing highlights and details about a character. there are two types of characterization. the first is direct characterization whereby the author tries to portray the character according to what he/she wants the audience to know about the character. the second type is the indirect character whereby the author shows things about the character that aids understanding of his personality and the effect of such on the other characters. in other words, a character is a human being created by man (direct character) or by god (indirect character) who lives in an environment (setting) at a particular point in time amongst other characters and all creating effects on their world. the human being created by man, as just said, can be exemplified by the kambili in chimamanda adichie’s (2006) purple hibiscus. even when kambili is a common igbo name, it is not any kambili in the real known world. likewise, the settings of the novel are only fictitious imaginations based on real life. in the same vein, the human being created by god here is okwuive benedict ebo, whose real world started at the real world of umuelom a word that means “i now have children”, but as christianized umerum by the colonizers and their agents. this town is in ayamelum local government area of anambra statenigeria. that is fadaebo’s first setting where he started his acting. he continued the acting of his life from umuelom through rome, back to bigard memorial seminary ikotekpene in present akwa ibom state. the setting/scene of his acts changed variously in the academic world till he joined the teaching staff of the department of philosophy, university of nigeria nsukka, where he retired as a professor of philosophy, in december, 2008. by all that kambili did in purple hibiscus we got to know the way she thinks and behaves that formed her personality. likewise, we shall base our indirect characterization of fadaebo on some of his actions and works to make his personality better known in relation to the meanings of his names. to pep up our arguments in the work, a brief discussion of characterization is necessary. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 102 characterization in literature for the working definition, character means the mental and ethical traits that distinguishably mark a person; while characterization is the presentation of persons, other beings or creatures (characters) in a dramatic or narrative work of art. thus characterizing as individual simply means describing an individual convincingly. as it was said earlier, there are two types of characters painted as essentials in literary works. they are protagonists and the antagonists. a protagonist is the central character that plays the first part and the chief part of the actions. he is a leading character, hero or heroine. the second largely painted character is the antagonist. the word antagonism may be well related in the sense we mean here as it denotes negativity to oppose and incite reactions. in literary works, an antagonist is he or she who incites opposing reactions, to the protagonist. in other words, an antagonist is a character or groups of characters or forces that stand as obstacles to the protagonist. literary writers employ a variety of characters to weave their stories as the parts they play add to the story, as well as to the experience of the readers. ervin (2011) in his article titled “seven common character types” listed other character types on which the study will to hinge our discussion of the character types. they are: (a) dynamic character: this type describes a character that permanently changes outlook or personality. some other authors refer to this type as a developing character – one that changes. bather (2000:4) adds that this character is not necessarily better than the others because of its tendency to change. (b) flat character: a flat character is he/she who exhibits only one or two personality traits throughout the work and doesn’t change any of the traits till the end. it may not stand to counter the dynamic, but may aid the display of the characters of the dynamic. (c) round character: this is a kind of dynamic character who exhibits a variety of traits some of which contradict themselves. in the words of nchikogwa (2003), a round character is a character with sufficient complexity and incalculability for surprises without losing credibility. (d) foil character: such a character is often developed to contradict another in other to enhance the traits of the contradicted one. (e) static character: this character is actually static as he/she remains with same portrayed traits throughout the story. it is a kind of flat character. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 103 (f) stock character: such a character is not focused much in the work, yet recognizable to readers. though these characters are distinctively listed here, there is no razor-cut difference amongst them. they are also combinable, as hardly can a personality have only one of the types, though some are not combinable. example, a character cannot be dynamic and static at the same time or flat and round at same time. a literary work is assessed with its character developments. in other words, the success of a literary work depends on how the characters are developed. to have a good literary work, sobczak & magill (2015) advise that authors pay attention to the characters’ ethics. the characters’ ethics and actions determine who and what they are. suffice it to say here that these characters emanate from the reallife characters and so are the characters natural human beings exhibit. thus, with these clear views of character and characterization we want to characterize fadaebo as we know him from our home perspective. here, fadaebo is not a literary figure per se, or a literary character, but a real human figure character in a real world. the study only using literary mirror to reflect the detailed physical characteristics of the original-life-fadaebo at an electromagnetic radiation. theoretical underpinning contributing from a linguistic perspective under arts studies to a philosophical group demands a theoretical pep to underpin the argument. all great men and women seen as heroic characters belong to different schools of thought or tradition. according to juan-navarro (2007), even plato is one and belongs to the mimetic group. mimesis is a philosophical term with a variety of meanings including imitation and representation. the concern of this group is the relationship between art and nature with idealistic doctrine that opposes the permanent circuit of perennial forms to the fluidity of the human real world. plato and his group focus on art as the imitation of existential reality. on this single instance do we wish to anchor our discussions on fadaebo. the him in fadaebo his names igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 104 semantically, names and their referents are arbitrarily related. this academic belief informs searle’s (1971:134) opinion that name “are meaningless marks, they have denotations but not connotations”. this contradicts what humphrey, the 36th american vice president, said as is cited by emeka-nwobi (2012) that “the sweetness of a rose depends upon the name it bears”. standing on the precepts of anthroponomya branch of onomastics we state here that names are given to identify, specify, differentiate, distinguish and designate an individual, as such have meanings especially in the african tradition. the conventionality of naming is not in the scope of this study. deluzain (1996) quotes a puritan preacher to have said that “a good name is a thread typed about the finger, to make us mindful of the errand we came into the world to do for our master”. a number of scientific researchers like psychologists who study human behaviours have explored the feelings that human names influence their bearers. deluzain (1996) thus avers: it has been well established through research that certain names are generally considered desirable in our culture and positive feelings associated with them. it is also well established that other names are looked upon as being undesirable and carry negative association,… because of this, people unconsciously, but nevertheless effectively, send positive and negative messages in keeping with positive and negative images. from the biblical perspective, we see those whose names are undesirable and carry negative association changing them. examples, jabez (which means pains according to the foot notes) prayed god to change his name by blessing him. (1chronicles 4:9-10); naomi wanted her name changed to marah (ruth1: 19-22); sarai to sarah and abram to abraham (genesis 17:5&15) and others. we wish to acknowledge here that most names in igbo-land are mainly the indicators of the psychological state of the parents at the arrival of their children. such states of mind can be guilt, fear, joy, wish, belief, hope, fashion, and so on. the present igbo people have realized the importance of names and their influence to life, and so switched to mainly names that root in chi (god) and hardly agwu. though fadaebo’s first name okwuive – has no chi attached to it, it is indirectly rooted in chi. it could even be seen as a pointer to what he would become in life as destined by his chi. okwuive is a compound noun okwu (spoken word) and ive (ontological word-space). though okwuive (okwuife) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 105 literarily means words in the ontological word-space, its deeper meaning here may best be understood in the words of okonkwo (2012:25) that okwu is as myth… that shapes and determines the transformation of humanity alongside their multifarious existential options, possibilities and opposing factors to guarantee intimacy with the created order in illo tempore at the beginning of time. for fadaebo’s “non-christian” parents to give their child this name means that they believe in the myth of the ontological word-space that the child has come into. it also means that they believe in the order that assigns a part to the child to be played for the master as the puritan preacher stated. this child who later became benedict mythologized into a roman catholic priest as his multifarious existential option in the order of in illo tempore. taking up fadaebo’s second name benedict, it would be necessary to refer to the dictionary meaning of the word. by www.dictionary.com (19th november 2016) and taking benedict as a noun, it is defined as “a newly married man, especially one who has been long a bachelor”. same meaning obtains at www.merianwebster.com. okwuive, following the dictates of the words in ontological word-space becomes a newly married man that remains a bachelor all his life. is he really a bachelor? could he be a bachelor when he left traditional religion to be married to christ-his spouse for life? could he be a bachelor when he has many children who refer to him as ‘father’? for the researcher, he is nnamben. from the perspective of christendom (roman catholic precisely) his second name benedict is a latin word from “benedictus” which means blessing. by inference, therefore, benedict means blessed. thus the word in ontological wordspace married for life to christ is blessed. indeed, nnamben, fadaebo, the first catholic priest in the whole of ayamelum local government area of eight (8) towns, you are a blessing. chamary (2015) in our outline article “the name game: how names spell success in life and love” states that one’s name “can affect your standing at work, your success… even where you choose to live”. can this be taken as the case with fadaebo? again “the week magazine” (2012) states that “people are unconsciously drawn to things, people, and places that sound like their names” which is called implicit egotism in psychology. can the name benedict be the reason for the numerous human attachments of fadaebo? igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 106 the character of the him in the discussions of character, the study looked into the character types. even when we can count the types on the fingers, the traits/values as the genetically determined conditions of physical and behavioral underlying values, may be limitless. these traits can be grouped into two broad kinds the unconsciously acquired traits/values and the consciously acquired traits/values. two common examples that come to mind when consciously acquired character traits are mentioned are being educated and being informed. fadaebo was a bright happy child in his “non-christian family” who followed others to church at an early stage and never knew he was on the track to his marriage with the church and christ. at the time of his primary education, the school and the church were in the hands of one body. with the academics on though, fadaebo was more enraptured with the christian faith that he joined the baptism class, became active, and got baptized. his journey through the junior and senior seminaries speaks for itself. no wonder then, he was deemed fit as soon as he returned from rome by the church to be called into the teaching staff of bigard memorial seminary, ikot ekpene where he was nicknamed “episteme” for his works and teachings. even when he eventually landed at the university of nigeria nsukka for a teaching job, he continued giving helping hands in the formation of seminarians at bigard memorial seminary enugu. the consciously acquired character traits of fadaebo really manifested throughout the different settings of his act of life. we learn about people from their character traits and the way they interact with others. some character traits deal with values and belief. examples include being religious, honest, devoted, patient, optimistic, resourceful, adventurous, and so on. some of these traits have already been associated with fadaebo as discussed above. other traits may be related to a person’s physical description. fadaebo is a person that would always have his hair shaven as far back as when i was small. could it be that it helps him keep hair out of issues in his mind while praying from his breviary, while meditating for a sermon, or reading his numerous philosophy books? the natural built of fadaebo makes him qualified to be called an average man in height and weight. his panacea for good health evident in his controversial work urine as medicine has kept him in the same shape for years till now. some may igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 107 see him as tall, but as far as he is not the tallest of his age group at home, he can only be considered an average man. a good friend of his rev. msgr. eugene ugonna igboaja considers fadaebo as a “short man” since he (igboaja) is taller than fadaebo. fadaebo believes that action speaks louder than voice. his works “even angels eat beans” and “living beyond materialism” sum up his views as eboh (1994:27 states: if this is the case, it is only religion that can save us from the menace of materialism in our society. religion that is devoid of ambivalence that results from one foot in the church and the other foot in the shrine, one wife in church, another measure in the market place, ‘white’ on sunday, ‘black on monday… our actions must be true, that is they must flow from interior attachment to the known truth… it is not only words but deeds that bring out the splendor of christian living of our dream. fadaebo is kind and patient. he usually speaks with the natural igbo accent and igbo meanings. at situations where he is startled, surprised or excited, he would usually exclaim “ooodogwu! (the great one!). this depicts his conciliatory, resilient and gentle nature. no need discussing the reactions of such a person in turbulent and scary situations, because fadaebo would rather remain silent at such situations. he is not an easy push-over from his convictions. running to him in a distressed situation of injustice, he would often say “adina ka onu akoro gi”, (do not be what others say you are.) because, whatever happens to man happens to him in the mind. expressing worries over any issue, he would still say the same thing. he believes in having positive dispositions towards every situation in life. that is just part of his nature, or do we say character trait only to make him fall in line with the footsteps and teachings of christ. in one of his works “even the angels eat beans”, fadaebo tries to expose the unpredictable nature of human beings. man as a social being often exhibit unpleasant surprises in his actions, inactions, and reactions. some of such surprises sometimes root from jealousy. expressing such worries with fadaebo, he would say what eboh (1999:2) noted by admonishing you to “becoming more tolerant and understanding of why people behave the way they do”. if you persist he would add “pray because jealousy is worse than cancer”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 108 fadaebo is ever ready to assist people, even when it encroaches into his schedule for holy mass. in his bid to assist, he may lose track of time and may not be punctual. i had the privilege sometime in the past to persuade him to leave a situation as it was encroaching into his schedule for holy mass and his reply was “fada ana ejelo mass late, mgbe fada ji bia ka mass geji bido” (the holy mass starts when the priests comes, so he is never late). some people would interpret this as being tardy, but an objective mind would see him as one with an allergy for people being stressed. from the discussions so far, including that of the types of characters, is fadaebo a flat, round or dynamic character? conclusion an attempt has been made here to discuss fadaebo as a living character according to literary characterization. the discussion is based on plato and group’s view that literary art is an imitation of existential reality. the him (personality) in fadaebo is focused and discussed in relation to the meanings of his names. his pronounced character traits are also discussed as are portrayed by his words. the reader is hereby finally given the adjudicative powers to decide if fadaebo is a round, flat, or dynamic character. references adichie, c. n. (2006). purple hibiscus. nigeria: kachifo limited. bather, l. a. (2001). critical concepts: character and characterization. accessed on 10/12/2016 @ www.stae.edu>baker>cc-character chamary, j.v. (2015). the name game: how names spell success in life and love. accessed on10/12/2016 @ www.sciencefocus.com>psychology>names deluzain, e .h. (1996). names and personality. accessed 23/9/2016 @ behindthename.com eboh, b.o. (1994). living beyond materialism. enugu: snaap press. eboh, b.o. (1999). even angels eat beans. nsukka: afro-orbis publications ltd. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 109 emeka-nwobia, n.u. (2012). the sociolinguistics of afikpo-igbo personal names. in anyanwu, p.a & obuasi, i. (eds). issues in language and human development, (171-185). enugu: san press ltd. ervin, t. w. (2011). seven common character types. accessed 18/nov/2016 @ www. fictionfactor.com>guest>common eze, c.c. (2009). a practical guide to literature (vol 1). nsukka: university of nigeria press limited. juan-navarro, s. (2007). the power of mimesis and the mimesis of the power: plato’s concept of imitation and his judgment on the value of poetry and the arts. revistade humanidates, 13:97-108. nchikogwa, j.o. (2003). the essentials of literature. enugu: abic books. okonkwo, j.i. (2012). okwu danahu onu: the basic principle of igbo philosophy of language. owerri: imo state university press. searle, j. (1971). the philosophy of language. oxford: oxford university press. sobaczak, a.j & magill, f.n. (20015). cyclopedia of literary characters (4th ed). hackensack: salem press. the week magazine. (2012). how names influence destinies. accessed on 10/12/2016 @ the week.sciencefocus.com>psychology>names microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 2(2) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 12 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) the place of africa in globalization by peace i. osaghae1 department of philosophy, veritas university, abuja dsirepeace@yahoo.com, +2348026450787, 07033228665 & paul t. haaga (phd)2 department of philosophy, veritas university, abuja paulohaaga@gmail.com, +2348067666445, 08020540454 abstract the concept of globalization has a relative long history that has generated enormous interest and debate among contemporary scholars. globalization as a concept is not new to the world; even though some scholars as it were are of the opinion that globalization is categorized into three major phases 1870-1914, 1945-1980 and from 1980 till date. with regard to africa, international contacts and exchanges are not new;hence, africa’s history is marked by foreign involvement. africa has been in contact with other parts of the world and also had significant interactions within it. interaction with the outside world particularly europe and america started way back in the 15th century andthis has significantly altered the course of africa historyculturally, politically, economically and so on. this paper attempts a conceptual assessment of globalization; the paper examines the corollary of globalization and the place of africa in a globalized world with the aim of establishing that what unifies us as humans in the global world is more fundamental than what differentiates us. keywords:africa, colonialism, racism,globalisation, interdependence, migration/immigration introduction there is no unanimous agreement about the inception of globalization although many are of the view that the phenomenon was quickened with the end of the multilateral division of the world occasioned by the dismantling of the second igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 13 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) world. however, authors like karl marx, immanuel wallerstein and roland robertson to mention a few, locate 1500 ad as the starting point of globalization. there are other scholars who share a different opinion about the inception of globalization. for instance, anthony giddens is of the view that modernity is the theme song of globalization and the 1800s marked its beginning. according to tomlinson globalization began as recently as the 1960s with cultural planetization. nevertheless, nederveenpieterse points out that these views imply that the history of modernity/globalization began with the history of the west and therefore these views are not only geographically narrow but also historically shallow (pieterse, 1994). these speculations are pointers to the fact that there is no consensus about the advent of globalization. however, it is essential to identify certain central tendencies associated with the process of globalization which started in the sixteenth century. in retrospect there exists different mode of globalization prior to 1500. for instance the anthropologist eric wolf’s survey of the world in 1400 shows that there were well-formed civilizations in the orient and the existence of states and polities in africa as well as in the americas. the significance of the remark should be seen against the widespread tendency in europe to view colonialism as a civilizing mission and political anthropologists’ assertion that pre-modern african polities were ‘state-less.’convinced that the africans were incapable of self-rule, europeans apportioned africa at the berlin conference held in 1885 in the most haphazard vein, completely shattering the integrity of the ‘nations’ of africa. marx, durkheim, and weber, in spite of the fact that they were so different in their ideological orientations, have all contributed to marginalization of the ‘nations’ of africa as well as others. marx and engels referred to the less developed nations as ‘people without history,’ ‘remains of nations,’ ‘ruins of people’ and their hope was to get attached to more ‘progressive’ nations, which were large,’ ‘well-defined,’ ‘historical,’ and ‘great’; who possessed ‘undoubted vitality.’ the notion of national self-determination by the people was inapplicable to africans because being a people without history they are not nations in colonial europe’s perception. having accepted the western anthropologists’ certification that african society is stateless the colonizers have set out to plant modern states in africa. relying on weber’s notion that the state is the only institution endowed with the authority to handle public violence, european colonizers appropriated the right to control the african people (oomen, 2006).colonialism is one central tendency associated with the process of globalization. in turn, a vital factor of colonialism is racism which implies the superiority of one group over another. before now, the eurasia race (i.e. europe and asia) caused a distortion in the african independence owing to the belief igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 14 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) that africans are less humans among other things. the eurasia race was made up of the caucasian race that tenaciously believes that they are superior to the africans and this has had a negative toe on the african personality. alex quaisonsaikya ghanaian defined africa personality as a movement and the totality of an african world view. he tried to envisage africa as it should be. the african personality entails the totality of the our world view and how we see ourselves, i.e. if you see yourself as inferior then that is what you are but if you see yourself otherwise (superior) and you have self esteem, it generates or redefine you as an african. this invariably makes up your personality. our culture, race, norms and values are the things that count in defining the african personality. the average african is a human being and he has been denied this by other race, he gradually accepts it and this becomes his problem. against this back drop, let us now proffer a clarification of the concept of globalization. on the conception of globalization in retrospect, the ‘standard of civilization’ in international society, a step towards globalization, was fixed by the west. these standards reflected the norms and values of the european civilization rooted in the mores of christendom (gong 1984:14–15). in other words the ideal of civilization which was imbedded in christian conventions was determined by the west. the essential nature of globalization is the compression of space and time, so that people from distant areas are able and in fact obliged to interact with one another intensively and in a wide range of areas. as a result, the world becomes one, and interactions among diverse people begin to look like those within a village. thus, the term “one world” is sometimes used as a synonym for globalization. in its contemporary form, globalization is driven by a variety of forces. these are financial or the flow of financial resources, economic with particular reference to the flow of goods and services and, to a very limited extent, labor, technology, especially transport, communications and information technology, the spread of culture from one corner of the world to the other, and the global diffusion of religious ideas as well as ideologies.according to nsibambi (2001) , globalization is “a process of advancement and increase in interaction among the world’s countries and peoples facilitated by progressive technological changes in locomotion, communication, political and military power, knowledge and skills, as well as interfacing of cultural values, systems and practices”. he noted that globalization is not a value-free, innocent, self-determining process. it is an international socio-politico-economic and cultural permeation process facilitated by policies of governments, private corporations, international agencies and civil society organizations. it essentially seeks to enhance and deploy economic, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 15 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) political, technological, ideological and military power and influence for competitive domination in the world. globalization is a process that breaks down all barriers separating nations and continents with the aim of bringing mankind closer together (daouas, 2000:1). according to omoregbe (2007), it is a natural process of socialization hence; it is inevitable because it is part of human nature to socialize and interact with others. man by nature is a social being with an irresistible urge to associate with his fellow human beings and globalization is a manifestation of this natural tendency in man. globalisation refers to the integration of economic, political, social, cultural, technological, and environmental relations across international boundaries. it implies the opening of local and nationalistic perspectives to a broader outlook of an interconnected and interdependent world with free transfer of services across national frontiers, thereby ensuring that commonalities exist worldwide to make understanding, growth and development in the world map more attainable. through the global interactions, cultures are fussing in several new dimensions, hence the multiculturalism that exists in the world today. globalization has created a virtual village where actions taken in one part of the world system has almost instantaneous effects on other parts (vaughan et.al, 2005). that is, the actions carried out in one society usually have consequences in other societies. let us briefly look at various scholars’ conception of globalization. the concept of globalization and the african experience over time, the general trend in the current debate on globalization revolves around the view that the phenomenon has negatively affected states from the underdeveloped parts of the world especially africa. the argument of the scholars, especially those of the ‘critical school’, is that globalization presents some countries with opportunities to develop, while other countries continue to witness widespread violence and poverty, and also to manifest symptoms of decadence as a result of globalization. this is what has been described as the paradox of globalization. globalization as the basic defining element of the new world order, presents us with a paradox. the apparent integration of global cultures exists along with its anti-thesis: the prevalence of fragmentation in many areas of the same world (offor, 2006).economically, globalization has, on the whole, reinforced the economic marginalization of african economies and their dependence on a few primary goods for which demand and prices are externally determined. this has, in turn, accentuated poverty and economic inequality as well as the ability of the vast number of africans to participate meaningfully in the social and political life of their countries. it has rendered the policies of nation-states governments and groups impotent to the extent that antiigwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 16 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) citizenship policies are now pursued in the interest of a global world order to the detriment of the internal conditions of citizens within a country. this understanding of globalization can be seen in the activities of imf and the world bank in nigeria where anti-citizenship policies with respect to education are being pursued.other aspects that are unique to the present form of globalization are the americanization of the world, the propagation of a universal paradigm for economic and political development, and the dominance of unilateralism as a way of conducting international relations. the americanization of the world is the result of the huge and unprecedented gap between the united states and its nearest rival in each and every sphere, military, economic, technological and cultural, which is in turn transformed into the unequaled american influence on international issues and decision-making, including those within the purview of major international institutions such as the united nations system, the brettonwoods institutions, and the world trade organization.within this system, decisions and outcomes are largely the result of american unilateralism. a major consequence of this is the propagation of a universal paradigm for both economic and political development, in the form of the so-called washington consensus, whose main features are market forces and liberal democracy, without regard to the historical and cultural specificities of individual countries. in fact, globalization seems to be leading inexorably to the homogenization of the world, with the united states as the model and the standard by which all other countries are to be judged. as a result of the cultural domination from outside that goes with globalization, african countries are rapidly losing their cultural identity and therefore their ability to interact with other cultures on an equal and autonomous basis, borrowing from other cultures only those aspects that meet its requirements and needs. in fact, it can lead to loss of cultural and national identity. it can lead to loss of one’s individual identity which can result to inauthenticity. it can lead to a subtle form of neo-colonialism (omoregbe, 2007).globalization has therefore increasingly taken the appearance of the transformation of the international system from a multipolar or bipolar system to an imperial system under american hegemony. from the fore going, it is pertinent that we identify some of the merits and demerits as well as examine some natural consequence of globalization. the corollary of globalization in africa globalization as a phenomenon, however, has both positive and negative consequences. here we shall be examining some of the merits and demerits of globalization among others. underlying the views and arguments in support of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 17 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) globalization is the idea that it is a powerful engine of world prosperity which would bring about sustainable economic growth for all people of the world, particularly peoples of the third world countries (rogoff, 2003:10). he is of the view that globalization is an antidote to global inflation. it has some positive effects on african culture, for example, some inhuman cultural practices directed especially at women e.g. female genital mutilation (circumcision), widowhood rites, etc are being addressed and modified. this is a very significant positive impact of globalization on african culture. it opens people’s lives to other cultures and all their creativity and to the flow of ideas and values, information and communication technologies have eased interaction among countries and peoples. that is, it facilitates contact with people in other parts of the world and brings people all over the world closer together (kwame, 2011), it is necessary for the survival of mankind through interaction; it fosters mutual help, concern and understanding (omoregbe, 2007).then the demerits are that as cultures interact, some cultures are being diluted and or destroyed at the expense of others and negative values are being spread all over the world with relative ease. it has broaden the gap between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, i.e., the world is now divided between the connected, who know and who have a monopoly on almost everything and the isolated, who do not know and who practically have nothing (kwame, 2011). in order words, it has given more opportunities for the extremely wealthy to make money more quickly. these individuals have utilized the latest technology to move large sums of money around the globe extremely quickly and speculate ever more efficiently; i.e., it has further polarized the haves and the have not’s. this is reflected in the neighbourhood in which they live and easy mobility for the affluent which make them ever so global while the poor are further localized with travel restrictions and controls (omonzejele, 2004). in addition to the fore going, another accompaniment of globalization is interdependence. this is a situation in which two or more entities simultaneously rely on one another for sustenance. universally, interdependence involves mutual reliance and cooperation.interdependence as it were has made it possible for globalization to thrive across international borders. over the years, the human society has been characterized by varying degrees of interdependence. we depend on one another to accomplish both profound and mundane objectives (payne, 2009). in other words, the human entity has been known to be interdependent for various reasons. for instance we import or export most of the food, drinks and drugs we consume; the clothes we wear, the cars we drive in and the materials with which we construct our infrastructures. overall therefore, the negative consequences of globalization on africa far outweigh their positive impact. to reverse this situation, africa must meet two major challenges. the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 18 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) first is to introduce farreaching changes in the assumptions, values and objectives of the existing states, so as to transform them into truly developmental states that are strong without being authoritarian. the second is to diversify african economies away from dependence on a few primary commodities, especially depleting natural resources which constitute enclaves in the overall economy, ensure a balance between agriculture and manufacturing, and increase the competitiveness of african goods in the world market. the achievement of these goals would require energetic and concerted action by governments, civil society, other stakeholders, and society at large, with active and sustained support from the international community.the enduring potential of the institution of the state is yet to be fully realized in the african continent due to lack of good governance resulting from bad leadership. the failure of most african states therefore, to face up to the challenges of globalization should not be blamed on globalization. what african states need to stir them aright in navigating the global terrain and reaping the gains of globalization is good governance, which can only be provided by good leadership. the quest for good governance and the search for good leaders; does not necessarily need to take africans beyond the boundaries of their cultural values, as an abundance of virtues existed, in various traditional african societies, attributes that were promotive of good leadership and good governance. a proper exploration, appreciation and appropriation of such habits of virtue would go a long way in producing the right kind of governance that would enhance the capacity of states in africa, to properly navigate the global terrain and reap the gains of globalization, just like their counterparts in other regions of the world (offor, 2006). africans migrate from their motherland for much the same reasons that other immigrants do. broadly categorized, these reasons include the economical, educational, social or political motivations that either push immigrants into leaving their countries of origin and settling in a new country, or those that pull them into seeking immigration to a given country. push factors that stimulate migration from africa include low pay, lack of employment, underemployment, poor educational system, absence of family members owing to prior migration and exposure to endemic violence, persecution and oppression. pull factors include among other things; the possibility of earning a higher income, finding employment, better education, joining family members and hope for freedom from violence, persecution and oppression. push factors usually create the desire to emigrate while pull factors provide the opportunity to act on that desire. classified according to immigration status, one finds among africans temporary migrants, permanent residents, naturalized citizens, exiles and refugees. myron igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 19 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) weiner posits that global trends determine the pattern of migration. in his view, there are identifiable changes in the patterns of international migration which are linked to other international flows, including the movement of trade, capital, investment and information. the predominant cause of international migration is the change in the immigration policies of countries in response to global changes (okome, 2005). this goes to show that the pursuit of globalization policies by some nation-states often leads to the increasing wave of migration in africa countries to the countries of the west, all in the name of the search for greener pastures. the increasing number of interested applicants for the american visa lottery in nigeria, for instance, is food for thought (idowu, 2004). also, economic and social stagnation has triggered a substantial braindrain from africa, further weakening the ability of african countries to manage their economies efficiently and effectively. nothing beats the problems associated with globalization more than the capacity and the ability of any one nation to provide the enabling environment to generate and sustain opportunities for its citizens and indeed for all those who fall within its borders. african leaders should, therefore, put in place favourable working condition to prevent braindrain. having taken into consideration some of the consequences of globalization, we shall now have an insight into africa’s contact with the global world. africa and the contact with the global world africa is one of the continents in the world; and it is the second largest continent both in area and population, having an area of 11,699 square miles, more than three times the size of usa. in 1990, africa had a population of 642 million representing 12% of the world’s population. africa is made up of over fifty nations with an estimated one thousand different languages spoken and as many distinct ethnic group. africa is perhaps the most linguistically and ethnically diverse of the entire world’s continent. africa is endowed with immense natural and human resources, as well as great cultural, ecological and economic diversity. in terms of natural resources, africa is the world’s richest continent. it has 50% of world’s gold, most of the world’s diamonds and chromium, 90% of the cobalt, 40% of world’s potential hydro-electric power, 65% of the manganese, millions of acres of untilled farmland and other natural resources such as crude oil and gas (kwame, 2011). the land mark bordered by the mediterranean sea, atlantic ocean, indian ocean and the red sea is known as africa. africa’s contact with the rest of the world started through trade, including the trans-atlantic slave trade. this was the period when western merchants bought from african slave traders africa’s most valuable resources (able-bodied men, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 20 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) women and children). the second was the era of colonialism, when europeans at a conference in berlin in 1884 divided up africa among themselves and instituted direct control and rule over african countries. this division was done without regard to ethnic, cultural, linguistic and other considerations. the next stage of africa’s interaction with the world particularly europe was during the era of independence from colonial rule. beginning the last decade of the 20th century into the 21st century, africa’s linkage with other parts of the world has entered a new phase commonly termed as globalization. though the term globalization may be new, the substance and ideals are not new to africa and the world as a whole. in spite of these impressive facts on africa, for much of history and even in contemporary times most non-africans have referred to it as the “dark continent”. in the past this reference was a reflection of the ignorance of the people of the west of africa’s immense potential. however in recent years, reference to africa as the dark continent is mainly due to the over emphasis of negative reportage on africa by the western media. africa countries of course confront very real and severe challenges but not as the western media exaggerate. what the western media has failed to notice and to include in their reportage is that, in spite of the political, social and economic challenges confronting africa, africa is not in the throes of total disintegration and decay. reports on african issues are most often ahistorical with no attempt to provide a historical context of antecedents of the issue. many believe that most of the political and economic issues of contemporary africa have deep seated roots in the colonial and post colonial experience i.e. effects of the cold war and globalization. the capacity and reach of the african states, the absence of democratic structures and practice, the ethnic, civil and religious conflicts that have plagued post colonial africa is a reflection of the legacy of colonialism. reflection and debate on these questions have hardly commenced among policy makers, representatives of civil society groups and other stakeholders in the african continent. this puts africa at a disadvantaged position in marshalling its energies and resources to deal effectively with the process of globalization (kwame, 2011).as a result of these, there are divergent points of view about the phenomena and the question that comes to mind is, exactly what features does it refer to? equally controversial are the specific forms taken by globalization, the forces driving it, and its consequences for the global system and for particular groups of countries. from the fore going, africa’s contact with the rest of the world became vivid with slave trade. having seen africa’s contact with igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 21 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) the global world, it is crucial that we examine the situation of africa in a globalized world. the place of africa in a globalized world apparently, africa is a disadvantaged participant in the globalization process. however, this has been blamed on factors such as colonialism and neocolonialism and subsequently hinged the concept of globalization on imperialism. notable in the global space is the fact that the dominant nations of the world have technological, commercial capital resources and socio-political dominance over the dependent countries of africa. it is obvious that the developed countries set the rules in the world political economy structure that has been well planned and directed by transnational bodies. this advantage has essentially made it possible for dominant countries of the west to impose conditions of exploitation and extract part of the domestically produced surplus. it is clear that the place of africa in the global economic order is that of a subservient economy. africa occupies the position of a dependent economy whose objective is to serve european interests. consequently, globalization as imperialism (i.e. the concept is seen as a form of dominance or the subordination of one country or continent over another in order to maintain a relationship of unequal exchange) has made africa not only poorer, underdeveloped, dependent, but also an enslaved and plundered continent scholars like toyo, ijomah and others are of the view that globalization represents a conscious affirmation of imperialism and by extension the universalization of european values and virtues under the pretensions of constructing world unity based on globalization. remarkable in this ideological mindset is the reasoning that globalization signifies a new order of colonization, marginalization and the emasculation of the african continent (igbafen, 2004). in other words, the implementation of globalization has further impoverished the dependent countries of africa. wey and osagie (1984) argue that given the positive impact of technology, it still fosteredthe next tool of enslavement by the west. the type of technology brought to africa was one that kept africa perpetually enslaved to the west.in the same vein, odia (2004) argues that western society is capitalist oriented and technology employs capital intensive techniques. these techniques are imported to technologically backward countries like those in africa to aggravate their problems. accordingly, this introduced western culture and values. commenting on the unfairness of global capitalism generally, george soros (2000) argues that; the global capitalist system has proved a very uneven playing igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 22 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) field. the gap between the rich and the poor is getting wider. this is dangerous, because a system that does not offer some hope and benefit to the losers is liable to be disrupted by acts of desperation. igbafen (2004) posits that, african leaders have carried the twin global policy of globalization–free market liberalization and deregulation, farther than what should ordinarily be the case. for instance, in many african countries successive governments have pursued with vigor, in defiance of public opinion, the programmes of sap, deregulation, liberalization, privatization and globalization such that the state , true to the underlying philosophy of neo-liberal economy, has become largely irrelevant to many africans. simply put, free-market liberalization in many african countries appears socially costly and more politically dangerous than had been imagined or portrayed. more so, another factor that is responsible for africa’s disadvantaged position in the global world is the resolution of endless disputes and conflicts. disputes and conflicts abound everywhere in the world. they do have a value in accentuating diversity and creating the minimum acceptable environment for growth within acceptable norms and relations. they also are the greatest source of instability and create conditions that impede development and growth. africa is almost often synonymous with endless disputes and conflicts. this is unfortunate as african lives and properties have been destroyed and opportunities have been lost in the process. this could account for the continent’s lack of participation in the global economy. the end result is that africa has been left behind. it also means that, at all times africa has to play catch-up with the rest of the world. endless disputes and conflicts do not accentuate africa’s active role on the global stage and neither do they ensure that africa reaps any of the benefits of globalization. instead, the sale of small scale arms, violence against women and children and the attendant vulnerability of selected groups further increases the bad sides of globalization in the promotion of trafficking in people, forced labour and outright slavery of children (kufuor, 2009). however, this paper does not argue that africa should disconnect herself from the global community because african nations like other nations of the world don’t seem to have an option as to whether or not to globalize with the rest of the world and no nation can actually produce all the goods that she needs. this implies that there is a degree to which a nation can be said to be independent. so, africa’s interdependence on other nations of the world should not always place it in the backward position. thus, the paper suggested ways by which this can be achieved. to achieve this objective, african countries must invest heavily in building, developing and maintaining their social capital, especially health and educational facilities that cater for the broad masses of the people rather than to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 23 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) tiny elite. for only by developing its human resources would african countries be in a position to take control over their destinies and be in a strong position to deal effectively with the outside world (kwame, 2011). similarly, rodney opines that africa’s development is possible only on the basis of a radical break with the international capitalist system, which has been the principal agency of underdevelopment of africa over the last five centuries. he blamed africa’s economic retardation on the operation of the imperialist system owing to the fact that they depleted africa’s wealth there by making it impossible to foster the development of her resources (rodney, 2009). he however envisioned and worked on the assumption that the new development of africans and other dependent peoples of the “periphery” would require what he called “a radical break with the international capitalist system,” a courageous challenge to the failing “center” of the current world order. oladipo (2008) opines that, to fight colonialism, this view of africa by the colonialists had to be debunked. and one way of approaching this task was to provide several accounts of african beliefs, values and cultural practices which, in the opinion of the scholars concerned, showed that the african past was not one long night of savagery from which the first europeans acting on god’s behalf delivered them. another reaction of african ethnocentrism was that of african nationalists who postulated a collective african identity, which, although different, was not in any way inferior to european identity. some african scholars and philosophers actually believed that these reactions to european denigration of african peoples were inadequate, and this partly prompted the discussion on what should be the nature of african philosophy. while the scientific and technological forces unleashed by globalization have facilitated to some extent access by africans to advanced technology and information, this has been at the expense of stultifying the indigenous development of technology and distorting patterns of production in africa, notably by utilizing capital as against labor intensive methods of production, which in turn increases unemployment and poverty. we must first understand that africa is backward in terms of science and technology and in economic progress. this also explains its economic, political and military weakness; all of these have a bearing on its position at the bottom of the global hierarchy. african countries must therefore invest heavily in developing the scientific and technological skills and capabilities of its people. in this respect, national, subregional and regional institutions engaged in research and development should be established and strengthened, and close and active cooperation developed among them. cooperation with scientific and technological institutions in the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 24 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) south, as well as with those in the developed world, should also be encouraged. at the level of international institutions, african countries must work energetically to change the rules and regulations, which limit their access to advanced technology, at a reasonable price, while frustrating their efforts at developing indigenous technologies (kwame, 2011). therefore, a complete turnaround of our educational system is vital to our making a unique contribution to the globalization process. education in precolonial africa was relevant to africa unlike what was introduced by the colonialists that has endured until date. we should re-introduce an educational system closely linked with social life and holistic in nature, a system, which does not separate theory from practice or learning from productivity, a system which does not select manual from the intellectual (rodney, 1972:262). in other words, africa should embark on the re-ordering of values, i.e., emphasis should be placed on the intellectual culture over the materialistic culture; and the need to develop a scientific culture which is crucial to human development within any nation. according to oladipo (1998:1), in an address delivered by nyerere on the occasion of the convocation ceremony at the university of ibadan in 1976, political independence has brought no change in economic conditions and very little social change. and unless africa asserts its values, worldviews and paradigms of assessing reality in the globalization process, the problem of inequality will remain; and inequalities among states “both shape the process of globalization and are affected by it” (hurrel and wood, 1995). africa must develop the capacity for self conscious change in our interaction with the global community. in developing its citizens, african countries should pay particular attention to strengthening their cultural identities. culture should however be broadly defined and encompass not only attitudes, values, language, arts, music, dance, and other social mores and behavior, but should also include science and technology which play an important role in the development and spread of culture. this is one in which africa is perhaps weakest, and explains the apparent fragility of african cultures in their encounter with other cultures. this does not mean that african countries should not learn and benefit from the cultures of other societies. all cultures are dynamic and undergo change, either through internal forces or by interaction with other cultures. africa should do the same, but must make sure that it does not abandon its own culture in the process by mechanically aping and uncritically swallowing those of others. in this regard, african countries could learn from japan and east asian countries that have succeeded in strengthening their cultural identities by reinforcing their igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 25 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) indigenous cultures while selectively adopting and adapting aspects of western culture that they find useful (kwame, 2011). globalization and the interests in the african landscape, economic resources, environmental resources and manpower resources; are not positive but negative. the interest of the global world order is not in alleviating the crisis of development in africa but in the exploitation of resources. for example, in nigeria, the activities of the multinational corporations such as shell and the nigerian state in the niger delta area of nigeria are a case in point. at the heart of the crisis in the niger delta is the struggle to realize the gains and privileges of citizenship in the face of the draconian policies pursued by the nigerian state and its global partners (idowu, 2004). both the natural and human resources in africa should be used efficiently to solve the numerous problems within the nations from where they are derived. by this we mean that the situation whereby natural resources are being exported to the western nations for foreign exchange at the expense of national development needs to be revamped. in addition, globalization seems to be leading inexorably to the homogenization of the world, with the united states as the model and the standard by which all other countries are to be judged. notwithstanding, globalization is good but we must embrace it with caution and guard against the dangers inherent in it. since africa as a continent is poorer than the west, and since globalization is a western concept, there is the need to tread gently in the process of globalization. this suggests the need for caution in africa’s involvement in the whole process (odia, 2004).globalization was not something that was planned or decided at a conference table by certain states or individuals. rather it is a natural process of socialization, a process of world history, a phase in the world historical process. however, it can be controlled in such a way as to improve the economic conditions of developing countries. if developing countries are to benefit from globalization, there has to be a genuine intention and effort on the part of developed countries to help the developing countries, especially, to help their economies grow instead of worsening it (omoregbe, 2007). john a. kufuor, former president of the republic of ghana; suggested that, given the general agreement on africa’s historical, psychological, political and economic handicaps which must be radically overcome, it is my belief that the continent needs the following critical tools to empower it to leap-frog into the mainstream of globalization: a leadership with a comprehensive grasp of, and knowledge of; (i) africa’s history, (ii) the economic dynamics of international relations, (iii) the development imperatives that africa must employ to enhance its competitive advantages, rationally deployed on whatever comparative advantages are available, and ensuring that human capital development is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 26 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) central to those advantages, (iv) the necessity for vigorous provision of education, health care, and physical infrastructure including transportation, energy, telecommunications, food security, potable water and environmental balance in each and every nation, (v) awareness that healthy and vigorous symbiotic development of macro and micro-economies dictates public-private partnership policies as a cornerstone of socio-economic advancement, (vi) good governance issuing from constitutional imperatives of institutional checks and balances, respect for human rights as the basis for democracy; respect for minority rights, property rights, cultural and religious rights, transparent and accountable government and also responsible citizenship under law and order, with due process of the rule of law, (vii) appreciation of the decisive benefits of economies of scale from customs unions of regional groupings on the continent, including attracting fdi’s for industrialization and job creation. conclusion in conclusion, this paper posits that africa should not disconnect herself from the global community because african nations like other nations of the world don’t seem to have an option as to whether or not to globalize with the rest of the world and no nation can actually produce all the goods that she needs. we also suggested that african countries must invest heavily in building, developing and maintaining their social capital, especially health and educational facilities that cater for the broad masses of the people rather than to depend solely on other nations. also, from the fore going, it will not be out of place to identify colonialism as one central tendency associated with the process of globalization. in turn, a vital factor of colonialism is racism which implies the superiority of one group over another. the average african is a human being and he has been denied this by other race, he gradually accepts it and this becomes his problem. human beings all over the world are unified by virtue of the fact that they share biologicalcultural identity as homo-sapiens (wiredu, 1996). as such, all humans are equal as we share in the same biological make-up. this status implies that we are organisms that go beyond instinct in the drive for equilibrium and selfpreservation in specific ways, namely, by means of reflective perception, abstraction, deduction and induction. reflective perception here means an awareness that involves the identification of objects and events through the conscious application of concepts which entails the power of recall and reidentification. any being capable of reflective perception is already possessed of a concept of the external world. human behavior is governed by both instinct and culture; because of the element of instinct, we can be sure of a certain igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 27 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) species-distinctive uniformity in human actions and reactions and because of the element of culture, that is, of habit, instruction and conscious thought, there will naturally be plenty of room for variation. naturally, being a human person implies having the capacity of reflective perception, abstraction and inference. these mental capacities are the same for all humans, irrespective of whether they inhabit europe, america, asia or africa. particularly, the concept of object in general is the same for all beings capable of reflective perception. that is, there is a common human identity. the human constitution of flesh and bones quickened by electrical charges and wrapped up in variously pigmented integument, is the same everywhere; while there is only one world in which we all live, move and have our struggles, notwithstanding such things as the vagaries of climate. by this very fact, all human beings are kindred (wiredu: 1996). in this respect, article one of the universal declaration of human rights states that, “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. they are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood” (udhr). some of the reasons why africa is believed to have always been at a disadvantaged position are that; we blame all our problems on colonialism, we have not actually concentrated our efforts to solving the problems of backwardness in a fast growing global society, africa has always been a consumptions oriented society rather than a producing society and africa has come to accept that western paradigm must be used to judge development in africa. nevertheless, africa has been globalizing through its interactions with the rest of the world. references article 1 udhr.the united nations department of public information. nov 2007. daouas m. 2001. “africa faces challenges of globalization” in finance and development, international monetary fund, vol.38, no.4, december (website edition). hurrel a. and wood n. 1995. “globalisation and inequality”, in journal of international studies, vol.24, no.3, winter. gong g. w. 1984. the standard of ‘civilization’ in international society. oxford: clarendon press.pp. idowu, w. 2004. “globalization, citizenship and the african predicament” in philosophy and praxis in africa. m.f. asiegbu and j.c.a. agbakoba. ed. ibadan: hope publications. pp.269-276. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 28 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) igbafen m.l. 2004.“africa in a globalised world”, in philosophy and praxis in africa.m.f. asiegbu and j.c.a. agbakoba. ed. ibadan: hope publications. pp. 287-300 kufuor, j.a. 2009. a statement at the international conference on africa and globalisation: learning from the past, enabling a future, 28-29 september, tokyo, japan. kwame, y. 2011. “the impact of globalization on african culture”.retrieved online at www.africanresource.com on november 9, 2011. mojubaolu o. o. 2005. “globalization and marginalization”, in the antinomies of globalization.o.vaughan, m. wright and c. small. ed. ibadan: sefer books ltd. p. 92 nsibambi a. 2001. “the effects of globalization on the state in africa: harnessing the benefits and minimizing the costs”. paper presented at un general assembly, second committee: panel discussion on globalization and the state, november 2, 2001. odia s.i. 2004. “globalization and african philosophy”, in philosophy and praxis in africa. m.f. asiegbu and j.c.a. agbakoba. ed. ibadan: hope publications. pp. 277-286. offor f. 2006. “globalisation and state collapse in africa: a critique of the critical theorist perspective”, in journal of social development in africa.vol. 21.no.2. pp.11-30. oladipo o. 2008. thinking about philosophy: a general study guide. (ibadan: hope publications) p. 64. omonzejele p.f. alienation in a globalised world.philosophy and praxis in africa.m.f. asiegbu and j.c.a. agbakoba. ed. ibadan: hope publications. pp.301-308. omoregbe j.i. 2007.social-political philosophy and international relations: a systematic and historical study. vol. 1 (lagos: joja educational research and publishers ltd). pp. 155156. oommen t.k. 2006. “on the historicity of globalization: construction and deconstruction of “others” in social change in the age of globalization. j. tiankui et.al. ed. boston: brill leiden. pp. 3-17. payne r.j. 2009. global issues: politics, economics and culture -2nded. (new york: pearson education, inc.) p.14. nederveenpieterse, j. p. 1994. “globalization as hybridization.”international sociology, 9(2), 161–84. rodney w. 2009.how europe underdeveloped africa.(pretoria: panaf publishing) xii & xiii. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 29 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) rogoff k.s. “disinflation: an unsung benefit of globalization” finance and development, a publication of imf. washington: december 2003. soros g. 2000. open society: reforming global capitalism. (great britain: little brown and company) xix. “the challenges of globalization in africa: what role for civil society and other stakeholders?”paper presented at un general assembly in addis ababa ethiopia. november 4, 2002. unesco, international conference: africa and globalisation: learning from the past, enabling a better future. 28-29 september 2009, tokyo, japan. uroh c.o.“globalisation and the question of gender justification: the nigerian experience”.a paper delivered at codersia conference, available at http/www.codersia.org/links/conferences/uroh. wey s.o. and osagie e. 1984.the world at adult stage.ibadan: evans brothers ltd. wiredu k. 1996. cultural universals and particulars: an african perspective. (indiana polis: indiana university press) 22 & 23 microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 6.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 169 thomas kuhn’s incommensurability theory: implications for ethnic diversity in nigeria anetoh, bonaventure chike, ph.d department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university umunya anetohbonaventure@yahoo.com abstract this study examines thomas kuhn’s incommensurability theory and its implications for ethnic diversity in nigeria. science offers a unique explanation of phenomena in the universe through the formulation of theories. there are many theories in the scientific world today. the history of science attests to this. the problem of ascertaining the nature of the relationship between successive and different scientific theories or paradigms is a controversial issue among philosophers of science. philosophers of science have advanced different ideas to explain such relationship. logical positivists argue that successive scientific theories are actually related; and such relationship gives room for objective comparison between them. karl popper maintains that critical discussion and comparison of different scientific frameworks is possible. however, thomas kuhn employed the term ‘incommensurability’ to describe the relationship between successive and different scientific theories. thus, he denies any common measure or standard for evaluating them. this study employs analytical and hermeneutical methods to examine kuhn’s incommensurability theory in order to discover its implications for ethnic diversity in nigeria. nigeria has many ethnic groups, and often, there are conflicts between them. the conflicts may partly be attributed to misunderstandings arising from evaluating one ethnic group with the standards of another ethnic group. this study maintains that attention to kuhn’s incommensurability theory would enable nigerians understand that each ethnic group is unique, and as such may not be properly evaluated with the standards of another ethnic group. the study concludes that attention to kuhn’s incommensurability theory would help curtail ethnocentricism, and thus engender peaceful co-existence between different ethnic groups in nigeria. introduction science has contributed immensely, and it is still contributing to man’s understanding of the universe through its unique explanation of phenomena. scientific discoveries are normally articulated in scientific theories. according to wikipedia: scientific theories are the most reliable, rigorous and comprehensive form of scientific knowledge, in contrast igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 170 to more common uses of the word ‘theory’ that imply that something is unproven or speculative (which is better defined by the word hypothesis).1 many theories have been propounded in the scientific world. some scientific theories seem to be related, while some of them seem to conflict with one another. the fundamental question is: what is the nature of the relationship that exists between different or successive scientific theories? it ought to be stated ‘ab initio’ that the nature of the relationship between successive or different scientific theories or paradigms is a controversial issue in philosophy of science. philosophers of science have advanced different views, and they disagree among themselves on the nature of such relationship. the foundational members of the contemporary philosophy of science are the logical positivists or logical empiricists. they argue that successive scientific theories are related such that objective comparison and choice between them are possible. many philosophers of science reacted to the controversial view of the logical positivists, either in support or in opposition to their views. karl popper, a renowned philosopher of science who is wellknown for his ‘critical rationalism’, argues that different scientific theories or frameworks are comparable. according to him, “a critical discussion and a comparison of the various frameworks is always possible.”2 this implies the possibility of the existence of the standards for such critical discussion and comparison. some philosophers of science like thomas samuel kuhn and paul feyerabend are not comfortable with this position. hence, they argue that successive or competing scientific theories are incommensurable. precisely, thomas kuhn insists on the incommensurability of different scientific theories in his book, the structure of scientific revolutions. this is as a result of his belief that a new theory arises with destructive and conflicting changes. according to him: it is hard to see how new theories could arise without these destructive changes in beliefs about nature. though logical inclusiveness remains a permissible view of the relation between successive scientific theories, it is a historical implausibility.3 this led kuhn to deny any common measure or standard for evaluating successive scientific theories. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 171 this study tries to discover the implications of kuhn’s incommensurability theory for the problem of ethnicity in nigeria. there are many ethnic groups in nigeria. people from the same ethnic group have common origin and culture. there are more than 250 ethnic groups in nigeria, each having a distinct origin and culture. there have been misunderstandings and conflicts between different ethnic groups in nigeria. these misunderstandings and conflicts may partly be as a result of evaluating a particular ethnic group with the values and standard of another ethnic group. thus, the basic questions are: does kuhn’s incommensurability theory actually has implications for ethnic diversity in nigeria? can one evaluate an ethnic group in nigeria with the values and standards of another ethnic group? are there common measures for evaluating different ethnic groups in nigeria? can attention to kuhn’s incommensurability theory help engender peaceful co-existence among different ethnic groups in nigeria? this study argues that kuhn’s incommensurability theory has serious implications for ethnic diversity in nigeria. thus, the investigation of the implications of kuhn’s incommensurability theory on ethnic diversity in nigeria becomes very necessary in this study. the origin and context of thomas kuhn’s incommensurability theory the term ‘incommensurability’ became very prominent in philosophy of science during the era of thomas kuhn and paul feyerabend. in fact, it was both of them who first used the term in philosophy of science. it was originally used in mathematics. this implies that the concept did not originally belong to the domain of philosophy of science. however, thomas kuhn and paul feyerabend used it in philosophy of science to “describe the relationship between successive scientific theories.”4 they argue that the concept of incommensurability explains the nature of such relationship. though both of them made use of the concept, it ought to be noted that there is a notable difference in their conceptions of the term. the discussions in this study centres only on thomas kuhn’s understanding and usage of the term. thomas kuhn used the term ‘incommensurability’ in the context of his idea of scientific development. in disagreement to logical positivists’ linear conception of scientific development, he argues that science develops through revolution which comes up after a long period of ‘normal science.’ he distinquished between normal science and revolutionary science, and described normal science as paradigm based research. in his words: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 172 normal science consists in the actualization of that promise, an actualization achieved by extending the knowledge of those facts that the paradigm displays as particularly revealing, by increasing the extent of the match between those facts and the paradigm’s predictions, and by further articulation of the paradigm itself. 5 during normal science, the prevailing paradigm is not called to question, but rather it is further refined. hence, scientists accept the prevailing theory or paradigm during normal science, and conduct their research within the conceptual world-view of the prevailing theory. however, in the course of normal scientific research, an anomaly may occur when the paradigm fails to function properly. an accumulation of anomalies leads to crisis which may end up in a revolutionary science or scientific revolution. kuhn maintains that after scientific revolution, the new theory that comes up becomes another normal science, and this, for him, is the developmental pattern of science. it is in this context that kuhn articulated his incommensurability theory. he argues consistently that successive or competing scientific theories or paradigms are both incompatible and incommensurable. let us at this juncture examine kuhn’s idea of incommensurability. thomas kuhn’s incommensurability theory incommensurability theory is one of the major contributions of thomas kuhn in philosophy of science. it is a very prominent concept for thomas kuhn, and it seems to be the central aspect of his philosophy of science. his employment and usage of the concept elicited conflicting reactions from scholars. this is as a result of the fact that it contradicts logical positivists’ idea that different scientific theories are related such that there is room for objective comparism between them. the term ‘incommensurability’, for kuhn, implies that two scientific theories or paradigms are different from each other such that direct and point by point comparism of both of them may be rendered very difficult. it ought to be noted that kuhn articulated his earlier views on incommensurability in the structure of scientific revolutions in which he argues that after scientific revolution, scientists conceive the world differently. he argues thus: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 173 successive paradigms tell us different things about the population of the universe and about that population’s behaviour. they differ, that is, about such questions as the existence of subatomic particles, the materiality of light, and the conservation of heat or of energy. these are the substantive differences between successive paradigms, and they require no further illustration. but paradigms differ in more than substance, for they are directed not only to nature but also back upon the science that produced them. they are the source of the methods, problem-field, and standards of solution accepted by any mature scientific community at any given time. as a result, the reception of a new paradigm often necessitates a redefinition of the corresponding science.6 successive scientific paradigms are quite different from each other. it becomes obvious, for kuhn, that change in paradigm brings about change in the scientists’ perception of the world. in his words: ...paradigm changes do cause scientists to see the world of their researchengagement differently. in so far as their only recourse to that world is through what they see and do, we may want to say that after a revolution, scientists are responding to a different world.7 it becomes obvious, for kuhn, that scientific revolution and its accompanying paradigm shift bring about change in the meanings and referents of words such that a particular term may mean different things in different scientific paradigms. thus, different scientific paradigms are incommensurable. kuhn had a very strict idea of incommensurability in the structure of scientific revolutions. he insists that schools guided by different scientific theories or paradigms ‘talk through’or ‘talk past’ each other in a paradigm debate. the reasons for this are not far-fetched because there is change in scientists’ perception of things after scientific revolution, and they interpret data within the framework of a particular scientific theory or paradigm. the scientists are like people putting on inverting lenses after scientific revolution. this is as a result of kuhn’s view that different scientific paradigms or theories make different predictions about phenomena. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 174 the new paradigm that emerges after scientific revolution brings about total changes in belief about nature. successive paradigms or theories say different things about the universe and thus, they differ substantially as well as significantly. hence, scientists subscribing to two different scientific paradigms fail to make complete contact with each other’s view-points. kuhn insists on incommensurability of standards between two paradigms and denies any common measure or standard for evaluating them. for him, the proponents of competing paradigms work in different conceptual worlds, and they may not easily understand one another. illustrating further, he states: but in some areas they see different things, and they see them in different relations one to other . that is why a law that cannot even be demonstrated to one group of scientists may occasionally seem intuitively obvious to another. equally, it is why, before they can hope to communicate fully, one group or the other must experience the conversion that we have been calling a paradigm shift.8 it becomes very clear from kuhn’s specification that scientists adhering to different scientific theories see the same situation differently, and also employ the same words differently. this implies that there is communication breakdown or failure between scientists adhering to different scientific paradigms, and they cannot resort to a neutral language. kuhn’s earlier views on incommensurability theory in the structure of scientific revolutions elicited criticisms from various scholars like hilary putnam, donald davidson, w.v.o. quine, saul kripke, etc. for instance, hilary putnam saw kuhn’s idea as relativistic. in his words: “kuhn also holds views on meaning and truth which are relativistic and, in my view, incorrect...”9as a result of this and other similar criticisms, kuhn moderated and refined his incommensurability theory in his later works. however, he retained his fundamental points in such moderation and refinement. two forms of incommensurability are very remarkable in kuhn’s later views on incommensurability, viz. local incommensurability and taxonomic incommensurability. local incommensurability is actually a modest version of incommensurability theory which centres mainly on the issue of linguistics, and precisely that of translation. here, kuhn argues that translation between different theories are impossible. hence, there is no fully adequate translation between different scientific igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 175 paradigms or theories. this is possible because of his insistence that meaning is locally holistic such that any change in the meaning of one part of the lexical structure of a scientific theory affects its other parts. kuhn’s initial holistic incommensurability as articulated in the structure of scientific revolution, which emphasizes on large-scale miscommunication between the adherents of different scientific paradigms, was refined into local incommensurability due to the criticisms against his initial ideas. as a result of this, instead of insisting on a large-scale miscommunication, kuhn admits of only a slight miscommunication. nevertheless, it ought to be noted that he insists on the impossibility of perfect or strict translation between different theories. this is as a result of the fact that some terms that changed their meanings after scientific revolution affect those that retained their meaning, and this makes translation very difficult. kuhn argues thus: ...the distinction between terms that change meaning and those that preserve it is at best difficult to explicate or apply. meanings are a historical product, and they inevitably change over time with changes in the demands on the terms that bear them.10 incommensurability here focuses on language change and meaning change between different scientific paradigms. local incommensurability is a threat to translatability between different theories or paradigms. also, ‘taxonomic incommensurability’ is very clear in kuhn’s later views on incommensurability. taxonomy entails the classification of objects. kuhn argues that scientists paying allegiance to a particular paradigm share a particular taxanomy which is associated with a lexical network. a scientific paradigm has a specific taxonomic structure which is different from that of another scientific paradigm. kuhn argues that after scientific revolution, the taxonomic structure of the theory changes such that terms are classified differently in the old and new theories. taxonomic incommensurability is the one that arises from differences in classificatory structures of different scientific paradigms. due to the fact that objects are classified differently in the different paradigms, direct as well as accurate translation from one to the other is very problematic. the terms in the old and new taxonomies are not easily inter-translatable. change in the taxonomic structure leads to change of meaning. this poses great problem to translation between different scientific paradigms. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 176 having briefly articulated thomas kuhn’s incommensurability theory, it is necessary at this juncture to examine the issue of ethnicity in nigeria. such discourse is necessary in order to discover the implications of kuhn’s incommensurability theory on the problem of ethnicity in nigeria. ethnicity in nigeria the term ‘ethnicity’ is derived from the greek word ‘ethos’ which is translated as ‘nation’ in english. ethnicity refers to a group of people who share a common origin or ancestry, culture, language and ideology. according to wikipedia an ethnic group or ethnicity is a category of people who identify with each other based on similarities, such as common language, ancestral, social, cultural, or national experiences. unlike other social groups (wealth, age, hobbies), ethnicity is often an inherited status based on the society in which a person lives. in some cases, it can be adopted if a person moves into another society. membership of an ethnic group tends to be defined by a shared cultural heritage, ancestry, origin myth, history, homeland, language or dialect, symbolic systems such as religion, mythology and ritual, cuisine, dressing style, art, and physical appearance.11 obviously, people from the same ethnic group share many attributes in common. nigeria is a multi-ethnic country. it is made up of more than 250 ethnic groups. the most populous ones include: hausa-fulani, yoruba, igbo, ijaw, kanuri, ibibio and tiv. however, the major and most politically influential ethnic groups in nigeria are hausa-fulani, igbo and yoruba. in the words of a. n. akwanya nigeria is a mosaic of many ethno-linguistic groups, some large, many very small indeed, altogether numbering about 250. it is important however to remember that this nation came into being not by amalgamation of all these ethno-linguistic groups, but of two british protectorates, northern and southern nigeria, which could have gone on to develop independently like northern and southern rhodesia. this act of amalgamation in 1914 launched it into world political culture on the basis of european nationigwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 177 state system rather than on the basis of local political institutions.12 the amalgamation of the northern and southern protectorates in 1914 brought together people from different ethnic groups into one country called nigeria. it seems that no serious attention was given to the differences that are very evident in the different ethnic groups. a.n. akwanya further states that: the architecture of nigeria at amalgamation comprised two entities: the northern and southern protectorates. each of these protectorates contained large numbers of ethnic and linguistic groups, some large, some small, some not aware of their neighbours; some were organized prior to colonization into kingdoms, states, provinces or outposts of other power systems, while some were entirely clan based with little awareness of far-flung parts of the same ethnic and linguistic group so that amalgamation was in some cases a first step in bringing together the different clans of the same ethnic and linguistic group to a sense of a shared identity.13 given the fact that different ethnic groups have different ideologies, it became imperative that different groups of people with different ideologies have to co-habit in one country. obviously, nigeria is a country, but the multiplicity of ethnic groups in nigeria is a threat to national unity and and peace. simon a. rakov buttresses this point thus: nigeria is an area the size of the state of texas in which over three hundred different languages are spoken, and in which the same number of separate cultures desperately try to retain their identity. you can only imagine the ensuing chaos.14 ethnicity has actually constituted, and is still constituting serious problems to the development of nigeria as a country. this is as a result of the fact that many nigerians are more inclined to promoting ethnic interest instead of the interest of nigeria as a country. the question: ‘from which ethnic group does one come’ is always taken very seriously in nigeria. such attachment to ethnicity is a big igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 178 threat to unity and progress of nigeria. attesting to this, odinukaeze nnenna states: there are over 250 ethnic groups and the major ones are yoruba, igbo and hausa. it is however very disturbing that nigerians have become slaves to their ethnic origins instead of harnessing these diversities towards national development. nigerians are fanatics when it comes to ethnicity. it is therefore not surprising for a nigerian to get angry because he/she is wrongly associated with another tribe.15 such attachment to one’s ethnic group is a very serious issue in nigeria today, and it is one of the root causes of the problems bedevilling nigeria as a country. many activities in nigeria have ethnic undertone. also, odinukaeze nnenna argues thus: furthermore, whatever is done in nigeria always has an ethnic undertone be it, politics, employment and provision of social amenities. tribal affiliations are always very strong and visible. over the years, since independence there have been cases of ethnic violence resulting from allegiance to one’s ethnic group and this has not worked well for the development of the country.16 it is obvious that misunderstandings exist between different ethnic groups in nigeria. this is partly because of different ideologies, interests and values. just as thomas kuhn argued that scientists paying allegiance to different scientific paradigms ‘talk past’ each other, and are at cross purposes; the same thing may be applicable to the different ethnic groups in nigeria. let us at this juncture examine the implications of kuhn’s incommensurability theory to the problem of ethnic diversity in nigeria. implications of kuhn’s incommensurability theory on the problem of ethnic diversity in nigeria there are many incidences of conflicts between different ethnic groups in nigeria. these conflicts may be attributed to the issue of lack of understanding between such ethnic groups. the basic question is this: how can there be peaceful coexistence between the different ethnic groups in nigeria? a.n. akwanya argues that “coexistence may suggest a situation of (democratic) equality of the ethnic nationalities and tolerance even though mutual animosity igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 179 may be lying underneath”17 it seems to the researcher that peaceful co-existence among the different ethnic groups in nigeria may not be completely achieved in the midst of mutual animosity. such animosity is a very serious threat to peaceful co-existence between the diverse ethnic groups in nigeria. however, this study argues that proper attention to thomas kuhn’s incommensurability theory would help foster peaceful coexistence between the diverse ethnic groups in nigeria. serious attempts have been made in the previous sections of this study to examine kuhn’s incommensurability theory. it ought to be noted that there are elements of incommensurability between different ethnic groups in nigeria. nevertheless, the different ethnic groups in nigeria are not completely incommensurable. this implies that there are areas where they are incommensurable, and at the same time there are areas of commensurability. they are commensurable on the levels of being, humanity as well as biological, mental, psychological and physiological constitutions. it is obvious that a human being is a human being irrespective of his or her ethnic group. every human being has biological, mental, psychological, and physiological constitutions. humans share common physiology, though distinction is made in this aspect between male and female. it ought to be noted that these areas of commensurability are basically natural endowments. however, people from different ethnic groups may be incommensurable on the levels of values, language, attitude, tradition, beliefs, customs, ideology, historical origin, religion, ancestry, mythology, national experiences, ritual, homeland, interests, etc. these areas of incommensurability are actually what distinguished one group of people with common origin from another group of people. it seems to the researcher that these areas of incommensurability between the different ethnic groups in nigeria account for the misunderstandings and conflicts between them. bearing in mind that there are areas of incommensurability between different ethnic groups in nigeria, one should not evaluate one ethnic group with the standard of another ethnic group. though we are fundamentally human, there are areas of differences. such areas of differences as articulated above render very difficult objective and unbiased comparisms between people from different ethnic groups in nigeria. for instance, if an igbo man evaluates an hausa man with his own values and interests, an hausa man may not be able to scale through. the same thing applies when an hausa man evaluates an igbo man with his own values and interests. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 180 appreciation of such differences could help engender peaceful co-existence in a country of multi-ethnic groups. this is as a result of the fact that such brings about mutual respect and tolerance between different ethnic groups in nigeria. though this sounds relativistic, but such consciousness is a potent means of achieving peaceful co-existence in a mult-ethnic country like nigeria. it engenders tolerance and mutual respect for the values and customs of the different ethnic groups in nigeria. at this point of the discussion in this study, there is need to state categorically that in our country nigeria, the emphasis ought to be on what unites us as members of one country. for us to co-exist peacefully in nigeria, what ought to unite us is the country’s interest, and not ethnic interest. this consciousness would enable us set aside ethno-centricism which is one of the major problems bedevilling nigeria today, and thus work together for the progress of nigeria as a country. evaluation and conclusion this study has given great attention to thomas kuhn’s incommensurability theory and its implications for the problem of ethnicity in nigeria. as demonstrated in this study, nigeria is a multi-ethnic country. the ethnic groups in nigeria constitute a big threat to the country’s unity. this is as a result of conflicts and wars between different ethnic groups. as the researcher argued consistently in this study, the different ethnic groups in nigeria are both commensurable and incommensurable at different levels. appreciation of the differences in those areas of incommensurability is of great importance. obviously, the possible implication of this is relativism as articulated above. certainly, relativism is a threat to objectivism. however, it ought to be noted that it is difficult to evolve a theory or a system devoid of limitations. obviously, there is no human society that is conflict-free. wherever there are human beings, there are misunderstandings and conflicts. this is as a result of the fact that different individuals perceive things differently, and at times from different perspectives. also, our thoughts are consciously or unconsciously influenced by our different backgrounds. one’s culture has a lot of influences on one’s perception and understanding of things. different ethnic groups in nigeria have different cultures. thus, one can imagine the differences in ideology. nigerians must pay attention to such differences, and be conscious of them always. it is obvious that some of the conflicts between different ethnic groups in nigeria may partly be attributed to misunderstandings arising from evaluating igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 181 one ethnic group with the standards of another ethnic group. though we are fundamentally human beings, and share some common characteristics in this regard, each ethnic group in nigeria has its peculiarity and specific identity. attention to this is very necessary for it instils the spirit of ‘live and let-live’ in a country of multi-ethnic groups with different ideologies. attachment to ethnic interest is a serious impediment to unity and progress in nigeria. there is need to curtail ethno-centricism so that peaceful co-habitation of the diverse ethnic groups in nigeria can be achieved to a reasonable extent. end notes 1wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, theory, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ theory,(10/02/2013). 2 karl popper, ‘normal science and its dangers’ in imre lakatos & alan musgrave,(eds.) criticism and the growth of knowledge, (cambridge: cambridge university press, 1970), p.56. 3 thomas s. kuhn, the structure of scientific revolutions, (chicago: university of chicago press,1970), p.98. 4 thomas s. kuhn, the road since structure, (chicago: university of chicago press, 2000), p.33. 5 thomas s. kuhn, the structure of scientific revolutions, p.24. 6ibid.,p.103. 7ibid.,p.111. 8ibid.,p.150. 9 hilary putnam ‘the corroboration of theories’ in ian hacking (ed.) scientific revolutions, (new york: oxford university press,1987) p.70. 10 thomas s. kuhn, the road since structure, p.36. 11wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, ethnic group, https:// en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ethnic group,(10/02/2013). 12a.n. akwanya ‘nigeria: of ethnic diversity and coexistence’ in linus okika (ed.) the nigeria project: the politics, the problems, the challenges and prospects, (awka: a-plus technologies, 2014),p.10. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 182 13 ibid.,pp.11-12. 14simon a. rakov, ethnicity in nigeria, http:// www. postcolonialweb. org/nigeria/ethnicity.htn.(10/03/14) 15odinukaeze nnenna, the problem of ethnicity in nigeria, http://www. nigerian observer news.com/19042014/190) 16ibid. 17a.n. akwanya ‘nigeria: of ethnic diversity and coexistence’ in linus okika (ed.) the nigeria project: the politics, the problems, the challenges and prospects,p.18. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.1 no. 2 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 9 the augustinian mission to nigeria: from 1938 to 2001 by raymond hickey, o.s.a. apostolic nunciature, nigeria rhickeyosa@hotmail.co.uk abstract this paper is a historical study of the presence of the order of saint augutsune in nigeria from 1938 to 2001. in relating the story of how our presence in nigeria began as a response in faith to the call of the church to evangelise africa, and how we set out for the province of adamawa in answer to the call of the holy see, we see how our being led ‘from above’ can lead to the most beautiful results for god, the church and the augustinian order. keywords: augustinian, mission, nigeria, yola, taraba, maiduguri introduction in his circular letter of 1st. november 2013, addressed to the brethren of the province of st augustine in nigeria, prior provincial very rev. fr. john abubakar expressed the hope that the diamond jubilee [1938 – 2013] of our current presence in this country might “stimulate in us a greater appreciation of the missionary dimension of our augustinian vocation, towards a more determined resolve to spread the order where it is needed”. his letter ends with this challenging exhortation: “no one can predict to what heights one can soar, even you will not know until you spread your wings. let us spread our wings so as to fly to our god-determined destiny as an order, to the greater glory of his name”. in relating the story of how our presence in nigeria began as a response in faith to the call of the church to evangelise africa, and how we set out for the province of adamawa in answer to the call of the holy see, we see how our being led ‘from above’ can lead to the most beautiful results for god, the church and the augustinian order. one may, perhaps, wonder that it took all of sixtythree years before a fully autonomous province sui iuris was established here and the umbilical cord with the irish province was severed, but that would show a short-sighted appreciation of the primary mission confided to the irish province igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 10 in 1938; namely, the evangelisation and establishment of the church in adamawa province. and, as has been said on numerous occasions, yola is to the augustinians what onitsha is to the spiritans and lagos and shendam to the sma. happily, the moral links between the irish, anglo-scottish and nigerian provinces remains strong, as should be evident from this work. most of what follows here is culled from an earlier work, the irish augustinians in nigeria: 19391992, prepared for another jubilee and published by st patrick’s college in rome in 1994. it is a story, not an academic study, and so is happily bereft of footnotes and references, placed in the context of the world of that time, but also with some personal interpretations of events which may lead to debate. so let us gather around the fire – cois ne tine, as we say in ireland – and listen to the story. the decision taken at the provincial chapter of the irish province in 1936 to apply to rome for a mission territory .............................. (etc. as in text supplied, with amendments. continue to end of p. 178 – as supplied – and then carry on, as follows] augustinian assistant general, and a number of former missionaries from ireland. among them was fr dan kelleher, the first principal of st michael’s secondary school, who then spent some months helping out in the cathedral parish in yola. fr f.r. o’shaughnessy, director of the augustinian mission association in dublin for the past 24 years, was also present. as such, he represented the thousands of irish people who had supported the ‘adamawa mission over the past fifty years and contributed, by their prayers and contributions, to its flowering and success. meanwhile, in nigeria the number of indigenous members of the vice province was growing rapidly, especially from 1988, when three solemnly professed brothers – anthony edukore, john okafor and matthew onaulogho – were ordained on the same day, 18th june. they were followed a year later by frs. bede njoku, jonas gugong and elias goewam (who subsequently left the order and became a diocesan priest). these were followed by frs. patrick akinrimisi, john dangmi, david malam, and peter medugu. from the early 1990s the numbers increased – in 1993 there were five ordinations – and so the complexion of the vice province changed from being a mainly irish enterprise to becoming an almost fully nigerian body. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 11 there were, of course, also departures and some heartbreaks. hardest of all to take was the death of fr john dangmi, in england, on 4th march 1994. he had become seriously ill in nigeria and was sent abroad in the hope that he might be cured. it was not to be, and he was buried in the grounds of clare priory, the mother house of all english-speaking augustinians, having been established as early as 1248. the increase in numbers meant that there could be further expansion of essential structures. what began, in 1989, as assistance to the staffing of st thomas aquinas major seminary in makurdi, by frs denis mason and matthew onaulogho, soon gave way to acquiring a plot for an augustinian student house, adjacent to the seminary. it would accommodate our students of philosophy, who by then were already living in the seminary. fr richard hughes was called in to advise on and supervise the construction of the present community structures, which would be even larger than the accommodation available in jos. it was all in place by 1995 and the ‘monastery’ in makurdi was first used for a major vice-provincial gathering when the ordinary chapter of 1997 took place there. there will be more on this major event anon. by then the versatile fr. hughes had transferred to the sacristy of the old st john’s church in mararaba. this followed the purchase of a site for a secondary school near new karu [where st augustine’s college now stands] and the perceived need for a pastoral outlet nearly. bishop usuh of makurdi, in whose diocese mararaba then lay, indicated the growing suburb of mararaba, where st john’s had been opened as an outstation of keffi and now came under new karu parish. it may be recalled that abuja had taken the place of lagos as capital city of nigeria in 1991and its future importance for the order was obvious. when the apostolic nuncio, archbishop carlo maria viganò, together with bishop usuh, visited st. john’s on 21 march 1997, both were shocked by the spartan conditions in which fr hughes lived. soon afterwards a large site, nearer to the main road, was purchased by the vice province and earmarked for a new augustinian residence and church. we now turn our attention to the diocese of yola, where the southern part of the diocese had, on 3rd. february 1995, been constituted as the new diocese of jalingo. to the great joy of everyone in yola, the former vicar general of the diocese, fr. ignatius kaigama (who hailed from kona, a jukun village close to jalingo), was ordained as first bishop of jalingo on 23rd april that year. the new diocese would comprise the mumuye area around yakoko and zing to the north, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 12 and the vast territory to the south, stretching to wukari, takum and even gembu on the mambilla plateau. bishop sheehan of yola had, at this time, been instrumental in bringing a community of enclosed carmelite sisters to zing, and that too would go to the new diocese of jalingo. little did people realise at the time that bishops sheehan’s days in yola were numbered. to the surprise of all, and the consternation of some, it was announced, in june 1996, that he had been transferred to the vicariate of kano as vicar apostolic. not even the vicar general in yola, fr declan brennan osa, was aware of the move, which was effected later that year. at the same time the bishop of minna, most rev. christopher abba [now deceased] was transferred to yola and was installed there as its third bishop in december 1996. bishop sheehan’s transfer to kano was followed by the granting of a parish [st rita’s] to the care of the augustinian vice province in early 1999, and soon afterwards by the elevation of the vicariate to the status of diocese [22 june 1999]. bishop sheehan was then installed as first bishop of kano. outreach of the vice province in africa we can now revert to developments in makurdi and, in particular, the holding of the ordinary chapter of 1997 in the new student house there. this chapter was truly historical, as it saw the completion of the mandates of the last irish vice provincial, vincent hickey, and the swearing in of fr james daman as the first nigerian head of the order in this country. the chapter took a number of significant decisions, in particular the appointment of an exploratory mission to the republic of benin (frs. david fitzgerald and augusitne awoyemi), in response to an invitation from bishop antoine ganyé of dassa-zoumé. this followed a number of visits to the sisters of st augustine in cotonou, by frs. fitzgerald and raymond hickey (both were stationed in lagos), and a visit by vice provincial vincent hickey for the celebration of their silver jubilee in 1993. fr lucien borg osa, of the maltese province, had also come there to conduct some courses in augustinian spirituality for the sisters. later that year, frs fitzgerald and awoyemi set out for dassa-zoumé, where they were offered the national marian shrine and an adjacent pastoral area as their apostolate. living at first in spartan conditions in the cathedral parish, they set about their task, aided greatly by the augustinian sisters, and within two years a four-bedroom priory was constructed on the site of the shrine. language was not a problem as a dialect of yoruba was the mother tongue of the people and fr. fitzgerald had a good knowledge of french. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 13 shortly after the chapter held in makurdi a parish was offered to the order in warri and fr peter medugu was appointed to build it up. warri was important for the order, not least because of its link with the early portuguese augustinians. at the same time a site in tudun wada, jos, large enough to house a new novitiate, came on the market. the existing novitiate was attached to the priory in iwaro-oka, but it was not an ideal location and the accommodation there was inadequate. the matter was discussed and it was decided to transfer to jos at the end of 1997. our master-builder, fr hughes, was again called upon and he deftly adapted some of the buildings and constructed the present attractive chapel. the work was completed in early 1998 and the novice master, fr. bede njoku, led the novices to their new home. at a later date it proved large enough to accommodate novice from kenya as well as our own. the question of the vice province’s involvement in kenya was somewhat controversial from the beginning. an appeal from the italian-based augustinian contemplative sisters in ishiara for pastoral assistance had been made to the general council of the order. it was passed on to the irish province and then, in 1989, to the nigerian vice province. the matter was discussed at the chapter held in jos that year, but the project was deemed not to be feasible. there followed an open letter from the prior general, fr. miguel angel orcasitas, to all the brethren of the vice province [31 january 1990], in which he outlined the problem facing the order in kenya and appealed for assistance in these words: “i am now formally asking the vice province of the order in nigeria to accept this invitation from bishop njue” [of embu diocese, where ishiara is situated]. when fr. tom sexton took up the challenge of kenya in 1990, he did so in answer to the prior general’s appeal and the project came under the general council of the order. the irish province assisted it financially and the nigerian vice province with personnel. prior general orcasitas came to nigeria on visitation in november 1993, soon after the vice provincial chapter held that year, accompanied by fr. brian o’sullivan of the irish province, the assistant general. the said chapter had again rejected a formal commitment to ishiara, and in another open letter to the brethren in nigeria [19 november 1993] the prior general carefully pointed out that our involvement in kenya should not be seen only in terms of the sisters in ishiara. he wrote: “the main purpose is the re-establishment of the order. the council does not regard it as indispensable that we remain in a specific diocese. it is certainly conscious that, all things considered, the order would in the future igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 14 regret its departure from kenya. for this reason we want to keep the dialogue open”. in this way, the long-standing impasse between general council and the vice province was broken; and when fr francis vincent aherne was appointed to kenya in 1995, it was this wider mission (to re-establish the order), rather than assistance to the sisters in ishiara, that guided him. it also provided the context for the appointment of the first nigerian augustinian friars to kenya -frs. barth chidili, francis osula, michael boni and moses iyara – and since then there has always been at least one nigerian friar stationed in kenya. kenya also gained from nigeria the expertise of the late fr denis mason in the year 2000, when he transferred from the major seminary in makurdi to the staff of tangaza college in nairobi. the vice province’s commitment to kenya and benin republic underlined its privileged place in afa, the augustinian federation of africa. since its inaugural meeting in hippo, in 1979, afa has met at four-year intervals, bringing together brothers and sisters of the augustinian family in many african countries. the meeting held in jos, in 1995, had a somewhat restricted attendance because of visa difficulties but the meeting held in nairobi in 1999 was fully representative. since nigeria was the only vice province of the order in africa at this time, the vice provincial was invariably the president of afa. from vice province to province such was the state of the vice province when the intermediate chapter was held in the monastery in jos in june 1999. a photograph of the chapter fathers shows 14 nigerian friars and 11 irish. the latter includes the irish provincial, fr desmond tom foley. it was the last time that an irish provincial would be present, by right, at such a gathering -as an augustinian vice province remains juridically linked to its mother province. the person of fr dominic teddy hegarty is, sadly, missing from the group. he, the first and only prior of jalingo, who was stationed in gembu with bro giles o’halloran, had died in yakoko of malaria and complications on the 15th june. he, the last irish friar to die in nigeria, was buried in the grounds of the augustinian house in zing, which had been granted to the order by bishop kaigama. further deaths of irish augustinians, who had contributed much to the growth of the church and the order followed. in a circular letter of 23rd. march 1999, vice provincial james daman asked for prayers for his predecessor, fr vincent igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 15 hickey, who had returned to ireland from kenya and was receiving chemotherapy. he also asked for prayers for fr michael sexton, prior of the monastery in jos, who was seriously ill in ireland. in the event, fr hickey died in ireland on 28th april 2000, while fr sexton lingered on in ireland until 2008. preparations for the chapter of 2001 followed the normal pattern and, after the first balloting it was clear that fr james daman was the choice for a second term in office. however, unknown to the brethren, other factors had been at work. all was revealed when it was announced in december 2000 that our vice provincial was to fill the vacancy in jalingo, where bishop ignatius kaigama had been transferred to the archdiocese of jos. fr. daman was duly ordained as second bishop of jalingo on the 24th february 2001, in the presence of prior general orcasitas and a large number of other augustinians, from home and abroad. in the interim period, and according to our constitution, fr. patrick akinrimisi took over as vicar provincial and another vote was held for the position of provincial. yes! it is not a slip of the pen, provincial rather than vice provincial. for it was known that when the ordinary general chapter of the order would be held in rome in september 2001, nigeria would be declared to be a full province of the order, the first ever to be erected in africa. the vicar provincial, fr akinrimisi, then received a vote of confidence from the brethren, the general chapter was duly held, fr robert prevost (american) was elected the new prior general and, on 20th september, the capitular fathers decreed the erection of the new ‘province of st augustine, nigeria’. in the english translation of the decree of erection, we read: this new augustinian province, the first to be established in the land of africa, through the dedication and generosity of the province of ireland is to be solemnly inaugurated on the 27th day of november in the year of the lord 2001, to the great joy of the whole augustinian family united in thanksgiving and good wishes, and in the earnest hope that it may be a source of further fruit for the church and the order. the above has been taken from the acts of the first ordinary provincial chapter of the new province, held in the monastery in jos from 27th november to 5th december 2001, a precious booklet which also contains the homily given by the new prior general, robert prevost, and the vote of thanks from the first provincial, fr patrick akinrimisi. with the inauguration of the new province of nigeria, the juridical role of the irish province in nigeria came to an end, and those members of the irish province in nigeria, who hitherto had dual voting rights in both jurisdictions, were asked to choose affiliation with one or the other province. it is therefore the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 16 right moment to bring this particular chapter of the augustinian presence in nigeria to an end. sixty three years had passed since the first augustinians had arrived in jos, in november 1938. with the inauguration of the province of nigeria in 2001 a new chapter in that story was about to begin. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 30 nigerian political system: the avignon papacy example duruji simeon uzochukwu, n. ph.d & nzeh atracta, a. ph.d department of religion and cultural studies, alvan ikoku federal college of education owerri, imo state venduruji@ gmail.com; atraco_2006@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.18277.47848 abstract the study examines the nigerian political system : the avignon papacy example. it sees the nigerian political system as a problematic and crisis-ridden system that has failed to offer the nation the much expected dividends of good governance. it contends that nigerian political system has been brazenly hijacked by few selfish and unscrupulous politicians who use the system to allocate juicy political powers and valued resources to themselves, their political allies and cronies. their actions are antithetical to good governance practices and democratic values. there is now a colossal systematic failure on the part of the government. the study compares the nigerian political system with the avignon papacy which was dominated by seven popes from france between 1308 and 1378 who promoted french domination of the papacy and the entire hierarchy of eth roman catholic church during the period. the study begins by a survey of the nigeria political system. it goes on to have an overview of the avignon papacy, after which it highlights it as a symbol of corruption in catholic church leadership in the 1300’s. the study also makes a juxtaposition nigeria political system and the avignon papacy and finally takes a look at the church and qualitative political system in nigeria. the study concludes by contending that the nigerian political system is a failed one which calls for urgent overhaul and transformation. it recommends among others, an effective and sustained collaboration between the government and the church in order to ensure qualitative political system and true democracy in the country. keywords: nigeria, political system, avignon, papacy, democracy, good governance, leadership introduction politics is one of the social phenomena that are pervasive in nature as it cuts across all aspects of human life and existence. man has always been in constant struggle to achieve and protect certain personal interests in his relationship with others in the society by exertion of some level of influence over them. man is, therefore, a politically conscious being. nwobi (2018) defines politics as a process of resolving societal conflicts that arise when determining who gets what, when, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 31 where and how? it is power struggle and conflict of interests among individuals in the society in their bid to realize their “best selves” (appadorai, 2004) darl (1961) cited in nwobi (2018) conceptualizes politics as any persistent pattern of human relationships that involves to a significant extent, control, influence, power or authority. nigerian society today, like other societies in the globe, is a conglomeration of variant and complex human beings and a complicated network of institutions. its political system is one ensconced in the complicated concatenation of heterogeneous federating units which make it to exhibit high fissiparous tendency as a federation. heterogeneity and pluralism are not a curse or a challenge to any nation but blessings and catalysts to development if when harnessed by a nation’s leadership or political elites. our past and present political elites have failed woefully as far as effective and efficient steering of the sheep of leadership of this very country is concerned. they have succeeded in bequeathing on the nation a skewed and problematic political system that has jolted her into a failed state. a good political system properly regulates and shapes decisions made by the government about duties and responsibilities of citizens also about rights and privileges. a political system is defined by the concise oxford dictionary of sociology (1994) as any persistent pattern of human relationship that involves, to a significant extent, power, rule and authority. it entails a collectivity of political institutions, such as government, associations (political parties) and organizations performing roles based on a set of norms and goals. the essence of a political system is to help a state to maintain recognized procedures for allocating valued resources (https://en.m.wikipedia.org./wikipol). unfortunately, nigerian political system has been brazenly hijacked by few selfish and unscrupulous politicians who use the system to allocate juicy political powers and valued resources to themselves, their political allies and cronies. their actions are antithetical to good governance practices and democratic values. there is now a colossal systematic failure on the part of the government. the most popular and desirable form of government in the world today is democracy, but nigeria has not been lucky to relish a real taste of democracy and its concomitant good governance since her independence in 1960. nigerian citizens have helplessly found themselves in the sinister hands of leaders whose policies, actions and pattern of governance have only tended toward fostering and maintaining negative political structures and practices that support and reinforce the very elements that elevate disunity, distrust, hatred, rancour, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 32 intolerance, character assassination, tribalism and favouritism that undermine the country’s unity and positive nationhood. the nation’s political arena had been suffused with a crop of inept leaders whose controversial cum apocryphal educational and literacy status have disquieted and unsettled the minds of many nigerians who now see these leaders as models of venial and pardonable perjury, certificate forgery, double standard and holy criminality. they are known for their fair weather and cosmetic integrity but quickly resort to forgery and fraud, in time of exigency, to make up their deficiencies or to argument disqualification when merit and quality try to pose a threat to their personal interest and ambition. they challenge and rubbish the fact that the literacy and knowledge capacity of a nation’s citizens is quite significant in determining the trend and level of the nation’s economic and political progress, unity and cohesion (onyeakazi & okoroafor, 2018). it is on record that nigeria made a radical move to establish democratic governance in 1999, a novel effort that was stifled by the activities of her clannish and sectional leaders, with no scintilla of national interest at heart. the 1999 democratic structure failed woefully under the tormenting weight of electoral violence, electoral irregularities widespread corruption, godfatherism, ethnic politics and greed for power that held sway during and after that period. since, 1999, the democratic space had been dominated by political elites who consistently violate fundamental principles associated with liberal democratic system, such as competitive elections, the rule of law, political freedom, freedom of press and respect for fundamental human rights (okoi & wara 2021). their approach to politics and national issues resonate those of the avignon popes, who moved the papal court of the catholic church from rome to avignon, southeastern france and controlled the authority of the church for seventy years (1308-1378). the avignon popes were known for their corrupt, selfish, lavish and extravagant life style. they sought to protect and maintain french interests instead of the interests of the catholic church. it is against this backdrop that this paper seeks to examine the nigerian political system vis – a vis the avignon papacy example. a survey of the nigerian political system nigerian political system, since her independence on 1st october, 1960 has exhibited motley and mongrelized features of representative government, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 33 military dictatorship, cosmetic democracy with no modicum of democratic principles or ideals, and government by self imposed ethnic conscious politicians. it has painted and continues to paint an unpleasant and dismal picture of a kaleidoscope of politics of wealth accumulation, winner-takes all-and loser-loses all-syndrome, hghest-bidder-takes-all-syndrome, i-must-rules-them – willy-nilly-syndrome; and leadership by inept directionless, rudderless and visionless politicians who only end up destroying the nation’s political economy, bond of unity and image among the comity of nations. it may not be a misconception for one to describe the nation’s contemporary political domain as the exclusive preserve of political elites who are bereft of what adagbabiri and okolie (2019) refer to as the hegemony and discipline to engender socioeconomic and political stability that will usher the nation into the league of developed nations. nigeria is currently enmeshed in the sinister web of politics of self interest, ethnic politics, politics of segregation and exclusion which take her politically, socially economically and culturally backward. these types of politics breed pervasive social inequality which increases poverty rate, aggravate conflict situation such as obtained in certain parts of the middle east where high levels of unemployment resulted in frustration, mass protest against the government which climaxed in violet conflicts and sometimes terrorism (dan – azumi, 2018). nigeria political elites who are the main operators of the nation’s political system take great delight in intimidation and assassination of political opponents to have unfettered access to political power, abuse of fundamental human rights, disregard for the rule of law, court injunctions and verdicts. they are more ardently committed to self and family development than to national development. the problem of our nation’s political system is exacerbated by outright emasculation of the nigerian judicial system by members of the executive arm of government who turned judges magistrates and other members of the judiciary into pawns, artfully used to score cheap and unmerited political goals. legal decisions more or less are based on political considerations and dictates of top politicians rather than legal interpretations and constitutional guidance. as observed by salihu and gholami (2018), the nigerian judicial system has become dominated by corrupt practices which stand as the major obstacle to the fight against electoral irregularities, economic and financial crimes in the country. judiciary is reputed globally as the last hope of the common man in matters that border on justice and equity (ashenfelter, eisenberg & shwab 1995). this is no igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 34 longer true in nigerian, given the nauseating putrefaction witnessed in the judicial system which enfeebles and undermines its potency as an accredited agent for the purveyance of justice in the nation. nigeria electoral process has currently been turned to a call for war and show of force, there are hardly free and fair elections in the country and this has made peaceful democratic transition of power chimerical. electoral violence, widespread electoral irregularities, partisan electoral commission or officials, vote buying and thuggery that characterize nigerian elections are evidence of weak democratic structure in the country. a primary feature of modern democratic practice is free and fair electoral system (biereenu-nnabugwu, 2006). it is very exasperating that democratic participation in nigeria breeds institutional marginality and bad governance due to what ujomu and olatunji (2014) describe as shortfalls in pursuing the values of justice and empowerment as core democratic characteristics. there is no fair play anywhere in the nation’s political system as it stands today. democracy would have helped in this regard since it allows and promotes fair play within and among the elites and political grassroots (barry 1981). nigeria political system is a fragile and ineffectual system as it has failed to help the nation cope effectively and efficiently with the contemporary complexities of governance. corruption, poverty, insecurity, kidnapping, unemployment, infrastructural decay and inflation are of their highest peak in the recent time. the oil and gas industry have been allowed to collapse while nigeria depend largely on importation of refined oil from abroad. the education sector is absolutely neglected as public universities have remain on strike for nearly seven months with no meaningful efforts made on the part of the federal government to settle the demands of the striking university lecturers. the ever-escalating insurgency and agitations for elf government by some cultural and ethnic groups in the country have continued to threaten the stability and political integrity of the country as the giant of africa. nigerian political system, indeed calls for a complete overhaul and transformation to make it fit to serve the political needs of the nation in a rapidly globalizing age. the judiciary is being controlled and tele-guided by the executive arm of government who use them to score cheap and unmerited political goals. legal decisions more or less are based on political consideration and bidding of the politicians who installed the judges and other members of the judicial arm of government rather than legal interpretations and constitutional guidance. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 35 avignon papacy: an overview avignon papacy refers to roman catholic papacy during the period, 1308-78, when the popes took up residence at avignon, france, instead of at rome primarily because of the prevailing political conditions of the time. according to zutschi (2000), it was the period during which seven successive popes resided in avignon, precisely in the kingdom of arles, part of the holy roman empire in france, rather than in rome. these popes, who were all french, resided 70years at avignon. during this period, one of the french born popes named clement v ordered the move of the papal court from rome to avignon in response to the increasingly fractious and turbulent political environment in rome, which had seen his predecessors face off against king philip iv of france. it was this french monarch (king philip iv) that worked assiduously for the election of pope clement v by the conclave (sacred college of cardinals) in 1805, because of his close relationship with him. few years after the election of clement v as the pope at rome, king philip iv pressed him to move the papal residence to avignon, france (www.historyextra.com). by 1308, he moved the papal residence from rome to avignon, france where it remained till 1378. the french crown had significant influence over the leadership of the catholic church beginning from the time of pope clement v (1305-1314) to pope gregory xi (1370-1378). before the election of clement v to the office of pope, his predecessor pope boniface viii had clashed with the french crown, king philip iv and this overheated the political environment in rome. king philip iv wanted to use the finances of the church to pay for his war with english, but boniface viii, who was from england, rejected the selfish demands of king philip iv. the catholic church authority led by pope boniface viii wanted to have independent voice in france but the ability to achieved that was marred by king philip’s political power. another factor that fanned the flame of political conflict between the duo was the church’s method of handling cases of criminal clergy who were accused of committing criminal acts. this was a serious matter since the church had traditionally claimed the right to discipline its own members and to try any cleric accused of a crime in a church court under the procedures of canon law. the french crown (philip iv) saw this as a way devised by the church to cover its criminal clerics as the canon law would end up treating their heinous crimes with kid gloves. he contended that criminal clerics, who break secular law should be tried in a secular court, but pope bonifcace viii objected, claiming that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 36 the church could not be independent if its clerics could be arrested at any time by secular officials. (nelson, 2022). another factor was the argument as to whether catholic clergymen and church property should be taxed like everyone and everything else in france. the french crown (king philip iv) was of the view that the church and its property should be taxed since they enjoyed the protection of the government of france. but the catholic pope, boniface viii challenged the above idea of taxing the church and its property because he felt that the power to tax is the power to destroy. this made him to quickly issue two different papal bulls in 1302. one was the “clericos laicos” which ordered members of the church not to pay secular taxes unless instructed to do so by the pope. the other one was the “unam sactam, in which he declared the supremacy of the church over the secular governments in all things. as a move against the papal authority, king philip iv, who was enraged organized french bishops and arch bishops against pope bonifcae viii and called a representative assembly, the estates general. this made pope boniface viii, who underestimated the power and political sagacity of the french monarch, a person said to be much more dangerous than the holy roman emperors had ever been, to threaten to excommunicate and depose king philip iv (nelson 2022). king philip iv adopted extreme measures against the pope (boniface viii), schemed against him by leveling all sorts of criminal accusations against him which led to his arrest, prosecution and imprisonment (www.vlib.us). this resulted to the death of pope boniface viii in 1303. his successor, pope benedict xi died within eight months of being elected to the papacy. a freshman and a personal friend of the french crown, king philip iv bertrand de got was elected in his place in 1305 and he took the name pope clement v. his election to the papacy opened way for french domination of the papacy. pope clement v. under the patronage of the french crown, king philip iv moved the papal court from rome to avignon, france in 1308 and that begun the avignon papacy (www.eneyclopedia.comreligion.avig...) . the seven avignon popes who successively occupied the papal office of the catholic church from 1308 to 1378 were all french and they include: i. pope clement v (1305-1314) ii. pope john xxii (1316-1334) iii. pope benedict xii (1334-1342) iv. pope clement vi (1342-1352) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 37 v. pope innocent vi (1352-1362) vi. pope urban v (1362-1370) vii. pope gregory xi (1370-1378) (enrnwikipedia.org/wiki/avi). one hundred and eleven (111) of the one hundred and thirty four (134) cardinals were also french and they wielded strong influence in the government of the church (www.britannica.com/event/...). avignon papacy as a symbol of corruption in catholic church leadership in the 1300s. the avignon popes exhibited corrupt leadership style in the catholic church through the introduction of extravagant and lavish life style for the popes while in residence in avignon, france. during their period, which lasted 70 years, tribal politics, partiality, cronism and favouritism held sway in the church leadership, as they did all in their power to entrench french dominance in the papacy and among the bishops, archbishops and zcardinals in the rome catholic church papal court situated then in avignon, southeastern france. they ensured that one hundred and eleven (111) of the one hundred and thirty four (134) cardinals were french and they granted them unusual opportunity to wield greater power in the government of the church (www.britannica.com/event/...). the papacy became a puppet of the french crown, king philip iv, whose influence made the popes to compromise the standard of leadership ethics, principles and modus operandi inherent in the catholic papal leadership style and culture. they were heavily enmeshed in temporal-secular dirty politics of france which made them more obsessed with worldly affairs than with spiritual or church well being. during that period, elections to the papacy were manipulated and skewed to favour the continual and unbroken chain of the crown’s choicest popes from france. no chance or opportunity whatsoever was given to cardinals from other parts of the globe to have access to papal power of the roman catholic church. pope clement v sided with king philip iv’s political persecution of the knights. as observed by williams (1998), the fourth avignon pope, clement vi, not only used his papal office to ensure french dominance of the church at all cost, but also promoted french arts, music and culture in the papal court; and decorated and furnished the cardinals and knights of the papal court extravagantly and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 38 copiously. he exposed them to flamboyant and pompous lifestyle that made their reputation to be dragged to the mud (williams, 1998). papal authority and credibility were grossly damaged because of the inherent corrupt practices in the system and the inability of the popes to bring an end to the 100 years of war between france and england and inability to administer sacrament to european catholic faithfuls during the black death. this had a great damaging effect on their reputation since they had declared that the sacraments were necessary for salvation. the implication of this was that those who died during the period were destined to eternity in hell. the church leadership became very greedy and insensitive to the plights of its votaries, who then resorted to the help of mysticism, stoicism national churches and secular leadership (www.vlib.us). the burden of running the papal office in avignon later became heavy on the popes who cut the finances of parish priests, taxed bishops heavily and raised charges for the services of the papal court, the action, which subjected the priests and bishops to poverty and hardship. they sold justice and indulgences (documents forgiving the purchaser a certain amount of sin), and declared the church’s belief in apostolic poverty heretical (nelson 2022). the avignon papacy affected the church’s power and authority, made people to criticize the church and showed discontentment with its leadership during the period. this crop of church elites chose to undermine the integrity cum sanctity of the papal office because of self dealing and personal gains. nigerian political system and the avignon papacy: a juxtaposition anyone who places the nigerian political system and the avignon papacy of the 14th century side by side today will indubitably observe an intriguingly blurry distinction between the two systems. observation has shown that some group of unidentifiable powerful individuals commonly referred to as the “cabals” wield enormous influence in nigerian government today, just as the french crown, king philip iv did in the government of the 14th century churches led by the avignon popes. the cabals” play great role in the installation of various governments in nigeria, often by rigging them into power, a practice not different from the way king philip iv ardently supported and gallantly fought for the election of clement v to the papal office in 1305. king philip iv advised and mounted pressure on pope igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 39 clement v to move the papal court from rome to avignon, france and the deal was fully actualized in 1308 and remained unchanged until 1378. the above relocation not only affected the church’s authority and credibility but caused conflicts, rivalries and disarray in the hierarchy of the catholic church. in the same vein, nigerian governments were reportedly run by the dictates and manipulations of the cabals. the senior special assistant to president muhammadu buhari on media and publicity mr. garba shehu, on channels television ‘politics today’ said that “cabals” are respectable nigerians that are in some advisable positions of the president. he admitted that there is nothing wrong in having “cabals” around the president buhari in the daily running of the governments. the government of former presidents umaru yar’ adua and goodluck jonathan cabinets were believed to be influenced by cabals,” powerful people controlling the presidents in key decision making. shuhu (2019) noted that one must be trusted by the president in order to be chosen to offer support (as a cabal) to him in the daily running of the government. a sincere look at the disheartening scenario painted by our entire political system will prod one to question the rationale behind having “cabals” in our government. the cabals in the past and present governments were mere enfeeblers and spoilers of the government, whose advice and directions were meant to serve personal and selfish interests ala philip iv of france whose alliance with the avignon popes was for selfish interest and primordial considerations. one of the political agenda of the avignon popes was to ensure french dominance in the papacy and in the overall church hierarchy. the seven avignon popes were all french and out of 134 cardinals 111 of them were french, a situation that gave france religious and political advantage and influence over other nations what belonged to the roman catholic church. to achieve french dominance in the papacy, the avignon popes had to practice exclusionary leadership where priests, bishops and cardinals from other parts of the world were schemed out of the church hierarchy and papacy, while they paved way for smooth ride to power for french clergy new (williams 1998). the above political cum leadership agenda and goals of the avignon popes resonated with the northern political hegemony and dominance in nigerian politics. the north has continued to rule and is out to maintain their political dominance by all means at their disposal. the perceived dominance of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 40 northern region of nigeria over national affairs has remained to date, a major concern of the southern part. according to eze (2022), all political attempts made to correct the persistent imbalance inherent in one region dominating the political space since independence have proved abortive. the power shift from the northern hegemony to a minority geo-political zone of south – south is currently on top in the list of issues that are instigating groups and individuals against the interests of the state (adeleke 2013). the present administration of president muhammadu buhari has taken northern dominance of nigerian politics further than what it used to be before by his fulanization of the system and by his characteristics politics of exclusion. he neglects the federal character principles in his various official appointments and does his things the way it will favour his kingsmen, the fulani. his administration is known for widening the gap between northern and southern parts of the country, making more visible our differences as a people (uddin 2021). political elites from northern nigeria are known for their political scheming to foster power concentration in the north as was the case with the avignon popes, whose political strategy focused mainly on concentrating church authority in the hands of french popes and cardinals. during the just concluded presidential primary elections the two major political parties in nigeria, the all progressive congress (apc) and the peoples democratic party (pdp) reneged on their initial agreement to zone the office of the president to the south in 2023. northern political elites in pdp on the day of the presidential primary election, quickly reached agreement among them to step down for atiku abubakar in order to retain the office of president in the north. they made sure that governor, nyesom wike from the southern part of the countrydid not win the primary election (www.vanguardngr.compolitics). before the primary election, an aggrieved aspirant mr. cosmas ndukwe had approached abuja federal court to challenge the scheduled presidential primary on the premise that pdp was planning to act in breach of its own zoning formula (nnochiri, 2022). it is worthy of note that such breach of power rotation arrangement (zoning formula) depicted discordant and dysfunctional tendencies of nigerian electoral politics which is shrouded in the preponderance of self regarding interest (biereenu nnabugwu 2006). the above attitude is inimical to national unity and integration and runs parallel to that of the avignon popes whose priority was to promote the interest of the french crown and ultimately their personal interests to the detriment of the catholic church and its membership. politics in nigeria is seen as a very lucrative business, as a result of which it is often pursued by igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 41 northern political elites with machiavellian unscrupulousness in order to retain power (okoye & biereenu-nnabugwu,2004). the northern political elites precisely fulanis, have seen themselves as those destined to rule nigeria and hence, exchange of governmental power must be exclusively among them, like the avignon popes, other tribes can go to hell. this identity politics is one of the factors that spark of agitations for self government among other tribes like the igbo and yoruba today. according to kukah (2022). nigeria is suffering today because of “identity politics” where people respond to perceived threat by other economic or political decisions or policy decisions they feel is against them. kukah goes further to explain thus: what we are faced with is what the world refers to as identity politics – that is the consciousness of our worth is driven by both a perceived threat, fear and anxiety created by a circle of social, political divisions that are directed at excluding a particular group. as the avignon popes introduced bad governance political selection as against generally acceptable standard of elections to the papacy, government of the minority by the minority and for the minority, which can best be described as “democracy of seven popes” for a period of seventy years (nelson, 2022); so did nigerian political elites make bad governance, lack of competent and credible electoral system and democracy of seven politicians (power sharing among few politicians and their allies alone) common features of nigerian political system since her independence in 1960. lack of competent and credible electoral system has resulted to the selection of incompetent, visionless, weak, tribalistic, ethnic conscious, greedy fraudulent and selfish political leaders who could not serve the public interest and promote good governance (kasali, 2020) to the seat of power. representative government and mass participation in politics through the power of ballot had not made any sense since 1960 as unpopular candidates were being imposed or foisted on the masses by the political stakeholders. nigeria has not been able to practice true democracy, which connotes the practice whereby citizens of a state take part in the making and implementation of the decisions and polices that affect their welfare and general living standard (idada & omoregie, 2017). what we have today is a sham democracy, government of the minority by the minority and for the minority, and politics that does not favour all but only a few set of individuals. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 42 avignon papacy showed greater interest in promoting the general well being of the popes and the sacred college of cardinals than that of the catholic priests, bishops and the entire members of the church. the popes and cardinals lived in affluence while the priests, bishops and church members wallowed in abject poverty, hardship and frustration. as observed by nelson (2022), the papal capital initiated harsh economic and administrative policies to survive the 14th century general recession in western europe. the papacy cut the finances of parish priests, subjected bishops to heavy taxation, charged heavily for its services and sold justice and indulgences to members to improve fund. this situation caused difficult times for parish priests and bishops and members of the church but made life in the papal capital rosy and comfortable. the nigerian political system puts the avignon papacy in perspective as it has created avenues for the political elites to enrich themselves and their cronies by looting the national treasury, by bad economic policies, inflation of contracts and investment by proxies within and outside the country. there are poor socio economic performance, wide spread poverty and hardship, bureaucratic inefficiency, high rate of unemployment among the youth, high external debt profile, inflation and loss of naira value in both foreign and domestic markets, high infant and material mortality, weak healthcare, collapsed education system, terrorism and armed banditry, which make life difficult and unbearable for the citizens of nigeria. this, according to kasali (2020), has resulted to lack of trust in the political system among the citizens especially the youth, who constitute 51% of the 84 million registered voters. as avignon papacy was known for its corrupt nature, so is the nigerian political system. corruption which, lawal and tobi (2006) see as any deliberate diversion of the states resources for the satisfaction of personal interest is rife both in our national life and political system. as observed by nkwopara (2017), those entrusted with positions of authority often use such positions to acquire personal benefits, take bribes, embezzle public funds, falsify official documents and records for pecuniary benefits. certificate forgery is now the order of the day among the so called political elites. justice is now being sold as was the case during the avignon papacy. court verdicts now favour the highest bidder as the judiciary can brazenly and unscrupulously overturn the truth and the normal judicial process to favour criminals and money bag politicians, the controversial supreme court judgment of 14th january 2020, between governor emeka ihedioha and senator hope uzodimma overturned to the favour uzodimma, the fourth runner-up in the 2019 imo gubernational election) is a case in point. the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 43 economic and financial crimes commission (efcc), the independent corrupt practices commission (icpc), accredited government agencies that fight corruption in nigeria are more corrupt than those they are charging with cases of corrupt practices. they are mere tools of persecuting political enemies of the incumbent government as their loyalists are given indulgencies from all financial crimes leveled against them by reliable sources. things have fallen apart because of corruption and the centre cannot hold anymore. under the watch of president muhammadu buhari, nigeria has gone from being a failed state to a dead one (chidozie, 2021). the church and qualitative political system in nigeria no human society can successfully sideline the church in its striving for a stable credible and qualitative political system. what we know as british politics today owes much of its reforms and structure to the influence of the anglican church. the church stands out prominently today as the conscience of the unconscionable society as its constructive criticisms of the unpopular and obnoxious policies of the government help to shape the structure of nigerian political system. it plays a key role in ensuring that the government in power remains focused on the issue of good governance and in providing an auspicious democratic ambience for the nation (adekoya, 2018). the catholic arch bishop of sokoto, matthew hassan kukah has on several occasions, condemned widespread corruption among politicians and government officials, poor justice delivery as a result of compromise on the part judges, mass unemployment, politics exclusion and marginalization which threaten the corporate existence of nigeria as a pluralistic nation (kukah 2022). when the church keeps quiet, the society will rot and leadership will derail. the church active participation in politics in the recent times, has been very commendable as that will no doubt ensure the possibility of a good society, an accountable democracy and a transparent government. the pentecostal fellowship of nigeria, under the leadership of his emmence bishop wale oke, has created the directorate of politics and governance and the redeemed christian church of god (rccg) followed suit by creating similar directorate in its church in the first quarter of 2022, as a way of impacting positively on nigerian political system (abati, 2022). the strong influence of the church over the policies of the government in nigeria has resulted to the adoption of the convention of a muslim and christian ticket in joint political races, to give the people a sense of balance, access and proximity to power. the breach of this pattern in 1993 by muslim – muslim ticket of the social igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 44 democratic party (sdp) presidential candidates bashorun m.k.o abiola and alhaji baba gana kinigibe, was vehemently condemned by the church. though the duo won that election which was eventually cancelled by general babagida, the then military head of state, similar electoral victory could not be achieved any longer in nigeria with muslim – muslim presidential ticket as the church has become an active political force today (abati, 2022). in preparation for the 2023 general election, many church leaders have advised and sensitized their members on the need to register for and update their permanent voters cards (pvc) and urgently join any political party of their choice at the ward levels and participate actively in political activities of that party while upholding righteousness. the catholic bishops conference of nigeria, the anglican church and the pentecostal fellowship of nigeria have been at the forefront of the struggle for good governance, respect for human rights and inclusive politics. imo citizens will always remember, the retired arch bishop of owerri catholic ecclesiastical province, bishop emeritus ajv obinna, for his fearlessness and outspokenness in condemning bad governance, social ills and political oppressions of the government in power. the heroism of rt. rev peter adebiyi and bishop bolanle gbonigi and his fiery sermons will not be easily forgotten, the stinging interventions of john cardinal onaiyekan, as well as the activisim of the likes of fr. matthew hassan kukah, fr. george ehunsani, fr. john uba ofei and fr. george ehunsani, fr. john uba ofei and fr. iheanyi enwerem, catholic priests,who on one occasion trooped to the streets in defence of democracy, will remain ever fresh in our memories (abati, 2022). the church in nigeria has continued to challenge the federal government of nigeria over the treatment of the current security problem facing the nation with kid gloves. it encourages the government to do something urgent and proactive to address the lingering conflicts between herders and farmers in north central nigeria, armed banditry and boko haram insurgency in the entre northern part of the country; ever-increasing kidnapping cases and unknown gunmen attack in the south east and south south. the church mounts serious pressure on the leadership of all progressive congress (apc) to reconsider the party’s muslim – muslim presidential ticket that has drawn greater criticisms from many nigerian citizens. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 45 the church is a social reformer which exerts enormous influence on both government and individuals to bring about the desired change in the society (abati, 2022). conclusion the avignon papacy, no doubt, exhibited characteristics, modus operandi and general administrative approach that were akin to those of the contemporary nigeria political system. avignon papacy represented exclusionary, self-serving, corrupt practices and the hegemony of few popes (seven popes) in the 4th century roman catholic church. it was a leadership style that elevated french interests, dominance and personnel over and above the interest of the general church traditional and standard pattern of administration which saw rome as the seat of its powers. the root cause of the problem of the avignon papacy and the nigerian political system was squarely and clearly linked with quality of leadership. as the avignon popes lacked vision for good governance, self commitment to standard maintenance and promotion of dignity of papal office, so do nigerian political leaders lack vision, competence and creativity required for good governance practices in a rapidly changing modern world. nigeria is currently referred to by many political analysts as a failed state as every geopolitical zone in the country has become vulnerable to incessant violent attacks by various terrorists groups, widespread corruption, incessant cycle of poverty, souring unemployment and high infant and maternal mortality and low level of based infrastructure. the general citizenry has lost trust in the nation’s political system as seen from rising agitations and demonstrations from various quarters for self government and good governance. in fact, the present nigerian political system calls for total overhaul and transformation. recommendations this paper makes the following recommendations as the way forward; 1) the church in nigeria should extricate itself from whatever practice that will make it lose trust and confidence the society reposes in it as the political light bearer, the quintessence of impact-oriented leadership and the voice of the voiceless in the society. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 46 2) there should be effective and sustained collaboration between the government and the church in order to ensure qualitative political system and true democracy in the country. 3) the church should be steadfast, fearless and consistent in advocating for true democracy, good governance, respect for human rights and the rule of law. it should make itself an effective political machinery and a partisan campaign platform for the election of god-fearing, visionary and competent leadership in the country. 4) political leaders should not allow self-interest and other primordial considerations to influence their leadership style or take priority over the welfare of the masses. 5) politics of exclusion should be avoided and condemned in its entirety both in the church and in nigerian society in general to make greater room for inclusive governance and true democracy. nobody should see any leadership position anytime as his own turn but rather the turn of all nigerians. no single individual, ethnic group, religion or political party has the exclusive right to rule nigeria, it is the right of all bonafide citizens regardless of ethnicity, state, religion, gender and political affiliation. 6) the body charged with the conduct of election in nigeria, the independent national electoral commission (inec) should maintain political neutrality impartiality, transparency and credibility while conducting elections in the country. this will ensure the election of good and legitimate political leaders, who are true choice of the people, to seats of power. references abati, r. (2022). politics and the church is nigeria, premium times, march 15, www.premmiumtimesng.co retrieved 20/8/22 by 3.06pm. adagbairi, m.m. & okolie, u.c. (2019). “democracy and national development in nigeria’s fourth republic: an empirical study”. international journal of legal studies (ijols), 5 (1): 141-166. adekoya, r. (2018). the church of nigeria as agent of social and political change birmingham: lambert academic publishing. adeleke a. (2013). “insecurity: a threat to human existence and economic development in nigeria” public policy and administration research, 3 (6) www.researchgate.net.retrieved 18/2/22 by 1:35pm. appadorai a. (2004). the substance of politics new delhi: oxford university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 47 ashenfelter, o; eisenbery, t. & schwab, s.j. (1995) “politics and the judiciary: the influence of judicial background on case out come”. the journal of legal studies, 24(2): 257-281. avignonpapacy.www. encyclopedia.comreligion.avig retrieved 28/7/2022 by 10:35pm barry n. (1981). an introduction to modern political theory, london: macmillan. biereenu-nnabugwu m (2006). the state and the problem of dysfunctional electoral poltics in nigeria: an analysis in theory and practice. in e. a obi & o. s. a obikeze (eds) contemporary social issues in nigeria (pp 213233). onitsha: book point ltd. britannica (2022) avignon papacy www.britannica.com/event retrieved 22/7/22 by 2:43pm chidozie u. (2021) bad governance in nigeria: do the youth still have a future? the africa report www. the africa eport com. retrieved 30/8/22 by 6:32p.m. dan-azumi, j. (2018). “socio-economic development and insecurity in nigeria: study of boko haram” developing country studies, 8 (6). darl r (1961) who governs democracy and power in an american city. new haven: yale university press. eze s. o (2022) “ northern political hegemony and nigerian politics vanguard, february 15 www. vanguardngr.com retrieved 18/8/22 by 11:27am. idada w & omoregie o l. (2017) democracy in nigeria: problems, challenges and consolidation: in w. idada & m. l rilwani (eds) democracy in nigeria (pp 12 – 19) ekpoma ambrose alli university press. www. researchgate.net. kasali t (2020). “bad governance and political selection in nigeria has a human cost” blogs 1 se.ac-ule retrieved on 27/8/22 by 3.21pm. kukah m.h (2022) “ nigeria, a country of many nations: a quest for national integration” a paper presented at the annual public lecture on the general overseer of the redeemed christian church of god worldwide, ogun state pastor enoch adeboye, ahead of his 80th birth day celebration on march 2, 2022 https//thewhisterng//bishop-kukah. lawal g & tobi a. (2006) “bureaucratic corruption good governance and development: the challenges and prospects of institution building in nigeria.” journal of applied science research, 2 (10): 642-649. nelson l. h. (2022). the avignon papacy, 1309-1378. kansas: university of kansas press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 48 nkwopara c. c. (2017). “ corruption and the mass media. in t.i okere (ed) ogu: the moral order and modern corruption: proceedings of the international symposium, organized by whelan research academy (pp 103-122) owerri: divine favour digital concepts publisher. nnochiri i (2022) court shifts case till june 1, as atiku applies to join suit vanguard, may 26. www.vanguardngr.com/2022/retrieved 14/8/22 by 10.05pm. nwobi f (2018). “culture and women participation in politics”. in e. obi, c. obiora, n ebisi & i. ezeabasili (eds) contemporary gender issues (pp114127) onitsha:l abbot com. ltd okoye i. c & biereenu nnabugwu m (2004) a critical assessment of legislator – behaviour in nigeria’s post military era 1997 to date. a paper presented at the national conference of nigerian government and politics organized by the department of political science unn in nsukka april 20-22. onyeakazi j & okoroafor e c (2018). national integration in nigeria: a philosophical insight” international journal of novel researchers in humanities, social sciences and management 1 (1) 50-62. . political system https.//en.m.wikipedia.org/wikipol retrieved 22/7/22 by 2:50pm salihu, h.a. & gholami, h. (2018) “corruption in the nigeria judicial system: an overview”. journal of financial crimes 25(1): www.researchgate.net retrieved 1/8/22 by 11.02am. shehu g. (2019) cabals are respectable nigerians, they deserve respect. interview with channel televisions ‘politics today’ on wednesday 25 december https//www.channels tv.com/2019 retrieved 28/7/22 by 10:40pm uddin i (2021) “on the north’s dominance of nigeria” premium times, april 26 www.premiumtimesng.com retrieved 18/8/22 by 11:15am. ujomu p. o & olatunyi f. o (2014) “democratic theories and the problem of political participation in nigeria: strengthening consensus and the rule of law” human affairs 93 (24) 120-135. link.springer.com. williams g. l (1998). papal geneology: the families and descendants of the popes paris: mcfarland & company inc. zutschi pnr (2000) the avignon papacy”. in jones m (ed).the new cambridge medieval history vol. vi c. 1300-c1415 (pp 653-673) cambridge: cambridge university press. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.1 no. 2 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 17 augustinian mission to nigeria: from 2001-2014 by kanu, ikechukwu anthony, o.s.a., ph.d augustinian institute, makurdi, nigeria ikee_mario@yahoo.com abstract raymond hickey, osa, an irish augustinian and the finest mind when it comes to the recounting of the history of the augustinians in nigeria has already written on the augustinian mission in nigeria: from 1938-2001. the present work continues from 2001 to 2014. it is therefore complementary in character. the primary purpose of putting down these pieces of history, that of fr raymond and the present, is to testify to the passing of time, help illumine reality, vitalise memory and to bring the tidings of antiquity to our generation. keywords: augustinian, mission, nigeria, preface cicero, in his pro publio sestio wrote that “history is the witness that testifies to the passing of time; it illumines reality, vitalizes memory, provides guidance in daily life and brings us tidings of antiquity”. so is the history of the presence of augustinians in nigeria. rev. fr. raymond hickey, osa, an irish augustinian and the finest mind when it comes to the recounting of the history of the augustinians in nigeria has already written on the augustinian mission in nigeria: from 1938-2001. the present work continues from 2001 to 2014. it is therefore complementary in character. the primary purpose of putting down these pieces of history, that of fr raymond and the present, is to testify to the passing of time, help illumine reality, vitalise memory and to bring the tidings of antiquity to our generation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 18 however, as the number of nigerian augustinians increased and their aging irish confreres decreased, fr. james daman, osa, was elected vice provincial after late fr. vincent hickey, osa. rev. fr. james daman, osa led the vice province of nigeria from 1997 to 200036. by 2000, after his re-election into office as the vice provincial of the vice province of nigeria, he was appointed bishop of jalingo in december 2000. his appointment drew attention to the primary aim of the order of saint augustine: the service of the church, and set the stage for a new beginning37. with this appointment, an election was held, which saw rev. fr. patrick akinrimisi, osa emerge as the vice provincial, the choice of a clear majority of the friars. thus, the first phase of the history of the augustinians in nigeria from 2001-2014 was piloted by rev. fr. patrick akinrimisi, osa from 2001 to 2005. the new prior provincial had the honour of attending the general chapter of the order in rome, during which a new prior general was elected, rev. fr. robert prevost osa and the order in nigeria was accorded full provincial status. the new status marked a new phase in the historical evolution of the order of saint augustine in nigeria. during the mid-chapter of 2003, it was decided to close dassa-zoume, benin republic, which took effect on 8th december, 2003. on 13th november, 2004, the province celebrated the 1640 anniversary of the st augustine’s birth at st monica’s parish, jos. with father akinrimisi, talks about the establishment of st augustine’s college mararraba had begun, awaiting full manifestation. he it was who initiated the involvement of apurimac onlus. fr patrick was succeeded by rev. fr. john niyiring, osa during the 2005 chapter in jos. on 1st october, 2006, the province celebrated the 750th anniversary of the grand union in 1256, at st monica’s rantya, jos, plateau state. fr. john niyiring, osa remained in office until his appointment as bishop of kano in 2007. he is the 6th augustinian to be called to serve as bishop in nigeria after dalton, cotter, sheehan, o’donnell and daman. during his short stay as provincial, he started the augustinian community in enugu: assumption parish, nkwo-nike and got the financial commitment of the curia towards the 36 raymond hickey, the genesis of the nigerian province. order of saint augustine eucharistic celebration of the official inauguration of the province of st augustine of nigeria, 2001, p.vii. 37 raymond hickey, the genesis of the nigerian province., p.vii. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 19 establishment of saint augustine’s college, new karu. he also laid its foundation stone. after the appointment of rev. fr. john niyiring, osa as the bishop of kano diocese, rev. fr. mcdonnell brendan, osa served as the vicar provincial from 2007 to the chapter of 2008, during which rev. fr. hyacinth kangyep, osa was elected the prior provincial of the nigerian province. during this period, new houses were opened in kaduna, zaria diocese: saint paul’s catholic church, jaji, warri diocese: all saints catholic church, ogharefe, lagos archdiocese: st vncent’s catholic church, apapa and minna diocese: our lady queen of peace, bida. in 2007, 17th january, the province lost fr clement danock in maiduguri and was buried on 26th january the same year at the augustinian monastery, jos. in 2008, a formal erection of the pius union of st rita was done. during the same year, a proposal was made for a southern vicariate in 2008, which was discussed during the ordinary provincial chapter. in 2009, the assistant prior general, very rev. fr. franz klein, osa visited the province from november-december 2009. st rita’s clinic was also erected in mararaba the same year. in 2009, september, st augustine’s college was officially opened. rev. fr. hyacinth kangyep brought the irish and the americans on board financially. he got the project up and running with military precision. the year 2010 began with the loss of rev. fr. callistus mbanusi, osa. he was appointed to st thomas aquinas major seminary, makurdi, benue state, 2nd october 2004, as full-time resident lecturer. after a brief illness, he died 2nd february 2010, at bishop murray hospital, makurdi, benue state. he was buried at the augustinian house of philosophy, makurdi, benue state, now the augustinian institute. in the same year in august, the province had her intermediate chapter which was held in the augustinian monastery, jos. this chapter would be remembered, especially, for the full and open discussion of the proposal for the erection of a vicariate in southern nigeria. during the year 2011, the province spread her wings beyond kenya, the vatican city and canada to assist the provinces in england and italy. in 2012, the province had her 4th ordinary provincial chapter, from 20th -24th august at the augustinian monastery, jos. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 20 the ordinary chapter of 2012 marked the end of rev. fr. hyacinth’s tenure as provincial and the beginning of that of rev. fr. john abubakar, osa as the new prior provincial of the province of st augustine of nigeria. this marked the beginning of another episode that is full of hope and promise for the order in nigeria and beyond, and for the universal church. a cursory glance at the miles already covered from 2012-2014 reveals tremendous strides. during this period, saint augustine’s college new karu has witnessed an expansion of its capacity in all fronts to meet up the basic elements of augustinian pedagogy. the collective passion of the augustinian brothers for an augustinian institute, which has lingered in the province’s acts of the chapter for a retinue of years has been finally established through the determination of the prior provincial. the basic requirements for its take-off have been put in place and this year will mark its second session since it began. during this same period, the international character of the order of saint augustine has shone out in a way that is distinctive. the province acquired a community in italy in 2013: parochiale sant’aurea, ostia antica. from west africa, the province of nigeria navigated to south africa in 2013, where it has established a community: sacred heart catholic church in pomeroy, kwazulu natal, dundee diocese. pomeroy is a small town in kwazulu-natal province south africa, located between two cities, durban and dundee. it is 194 km north of durban, the largest city in the province and 56 km south-east of dundee, a coal mining city. in response to the international character of the order, a college of brothers have been sent out to collaborate with our sister provinces abroad. in order to be well prepared for their ministry, many nigerian augustinians have taken up the pursuit of studies in earnest. we now have nigerian augustinians schooling in italy, kenya, philippines, the united kingdom, ireland and canada. the intellectual capacity of the province has never expanded with this speed. while tentacles were spread abroad, all the opportunities within the country were also attended to. a new community has been established in makurdi. for some years the province has tried to find its way into the diocese, but in 2013 it was realized. st francis catholic church, in makurdi town was given to the augustinians in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 21 nigeria by most rev. athanasius usuh. the province has also celebrated her 75th anniversary, during which a secondary school at rantya, st monica’s academy was commissioned and dedicated to the first three augustinian missionaries to come to nigeria. what lies at the future of the province is the design not only of the prior provincial but of all the brethren. thus, the prior provincial, very rev. fr. john abubakar, osa, during his opening speech at the floor of the provincial ordinary chapter in 2012 said that “in your hands more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course of moving our order forward.”38 in another paragraph he wrote “we now realize more than ever our interdependence on each other; that if we must go forward, we must move forward as a trained and loyal family”39. above all, while we make our contributions, he further wrote that “we need to remind ourselves that our order is god’s project. we are simply mortal collaborators limited by time. ... let us learn to entrust the order into god’s hands and try to get our plans for the future from him.”40 38 john abubakar, “new provincial’s address” in the acts of the ordinary chapter, 2012, p. 29 39 john abubakar, “new provincial’s address”, p. 29 40 john abubakar, “new provincial’s address”, p. 29 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 51 jacques maritain on the concept of man and the state: implications for democracy in nigeria amadi, cornelius chukwudi; phd department of philosophy rivers state university, port harcourt, nigeria cornelius.amadi@ust.edu.ng & berebon, charles barivule; phd department of philosophy rivers state university, port harcourt, nigeria charles.berebon@ust.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.33912.11529 abstract in his 1951 essay man and the state, jacques maritain claims that the concept of man and his relationship with the state has been misconceived by the then predominant political system. to re-establish the proper equilibrium as he conceived it between these two entities, maritain developed the doctrine of thomas aquinas in which the state is seen as an entity for the full development and realization of human well-being. against the predominant conception of the state as an absolute entity with legitimate right to command all human welfare, maritain maintains that the state is not the supreme master of the body politic or superman, but an organization bestowed with the function of power and authority and responsible for the welfare and service of man. maritain argues that when man is put at the service of this instrument called state it leads to so many political ills. the human person as an individual according to maritain service the interest of the body politic, while the body politic equally serve the interest of man in the society. the human person is by no means for the state to dispense with at all, rather, the state serves the interest of man in a body politic. through the method of critical and textual analysis, this essay sets out to work out maritain’s notion of man and state in a political community and the antecedent relationship that should exist between these entities. it went on to argue that in a political society like nigeria, where the condition of man is dehumanized even with its practice of democracy, maritain’s concept of democratic charter and his reconstructivist philosophy is a panacea to the nigerian democratic quagmires. keywords: man, state, body politic, political society, common good. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 52 introduction the debate concerning the relationship between the state and the individual in a political community has long been a controversial and protracted issue. this issue stretches down to the ancient period. in ancient greece, plato for example argues that the state is an individual writ large. this is to say that the state is a bigger form of individual. therefore, the individual finds fulfilment only in the state. aristotle conceives of the individual as an entity that is embedded within the polis. according to him, “the city-state is prior in nature to the household and to each of us individually” (pol. 1253al7 -18). in his nicomachean ethics, he argues that the main duty of the state is to realize the greater good for its citizens (ne 1094b7-8) and insists that the individual is not distinguishable from the society he inhabits, rather, the individual is part of that society and that society is a part of the human. to these ancient scholars, man was like a part in the midst of the whole. man is nothing without the society. charles m. sherover further demonstrates this thus: society is the means by which individuals come to see themselves as those whom it has nurtured and developed; society teaches its members to seek their own matured responsibilities as members of a polity, the activities of which are to be justified as the instrument enabling them to seek their common good together (14). everything aims at the good in the polis, but the greatest good is the good of the community [koinonia]. the individual cannot achieve the greatest good which is happiness in isolation. happiness cannot only be achieved in the context of the community which gives meaning to the life of the individual person in the community. the roman philosopher cicero, share the view of plato and aristotle. according to him, the state is a necessary instrument for the achievement of common good. on the contrary, john locke rejected the idea that the individual can only attain fulfilment within the context of the state. he argues that the individual in the society has priority over the state. the state regulates through laws the unassailable rights of human beings "for all the power the government has, being only for the good of the society” and “the end of the law is ... to preserve and to enlarge freedom” (lock 129-130). locke argues that freedom and other undeniable rights of the citizens are the supreme and greatest good or the ultimate purpose of the law. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 53 in the medieval era, st. augustine and thomas aquinas developed a theory of the state that is subordinate to the man in a political society. st. augustine claims that the state cannot lay claim to express the greatest purpose of life, but serve as a means to the realization of human life (augustine 1950). therefore, the state would be worth its salt if the citizens play fundamental role in them (augustine ii, 19). in accordance with the doctrine of st. augustine and contrary to the view of aristotle, st. thomas aquinas held the view that human being cannot achieve his goal in the state. according to him, even though the individual is a social being and member of the state; in his pursuit of the “supreme good” (summum bonum), he transcends the state (aquinas i-ii, q21, a4). in the modern period, the different individual views were summed up under different perspectives. these perspectives range from the communitarian views to the liberal perspective. the liberals or otherwise called “bourgeois liberalism/individualism” conceives of the state as a creation of the human person for the sole purpose of serving the interest of the citizens in the state. the rights of individual in the state are given priority to the state and as such, the state must serve the interest of the individual in the realization of the common good. one of the major advancement of the liberal perspective is the protection of the right and autonomy of the citizen. it is important to note that the american political structure is situated within this category. the extreme version of the liberal perspective which is the classical libertarians seeks to protect the right of the citizens especially right to property and right to liberty through limiting government power. the communitarians on the other maintain that the citizens can only have identity in the mist of the community. the community provides the context of meaning for the citizens. like aquinas, maritain was very critical of aristotle's, cicero's and other communitarian perspective about the state. he argues that the state is an agency managed by experts to use power and coercion in their achievement of their goal. the state serves the interest of man and not man serving the interest of the state. according to him, “putting man at the service of that instrument is political perversion.” according to maritain, "by reason of his relationship to the absolute, and to the extent that he is called to a life and a destiny superior to time ... the human person transcends all temporal societies and is superior to them” (maritain, christianity and democracy, 96). in his discussion of the common good, maritain rejects the teaching of john locke. he argues that the common good is neither the sum total of the good of the individual in a political society, nor that of the interest of the community to which the citizen is a part of (maritain, man and the state, 43igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 54 49), but the improvement of moral and spiritual capacities of the human person whose common good transcend the temporary good of the state. the question fundamental at this juncture is: how can the individual attain the supreme good which transcends the temporal good of the state? this essay sets out to provide answers to this and other similar questions. it went on to argue that in a political society like nigeria, where the condition of man is dehumanized because the proper place of man is misunderstood in the political society even with its practice of democracy, maritain’s concept of democratic charter and his reconstructivist philosophy is a panacea to the nigerian democratic quagmires. maritain concept of the state the systematic construction of maritain’s argumentation in man and the state begins with the distinction he made between some concepts. the first is the distinction between communities and societies. according to him, communities are a given with a certain natural fact (language, region, class, etc.). societies on the other hand are a product of human reason, freely constituted in order to realize a certain goal. maritain elucidates this point thus: both community and society are ethico-social and truly human, not merely biological. but a community is more of a work of nature and more nearly related to the biological; a society is more of a work of reason, and more nearly related to the intellectual and spiritual properties of man (maritain, man and the state, 2). while a society has some biological connotation which is natural by nature, the community is truly a human construct. another distinction is between the nation, the community and the society. according to maritain, “the nation is a community, not a society. it is a community of people who became aware of themselves as history has made them, who treasure their own past, and who loves themselves as they know or as they imagine themselves to be, with a kind of inevitable introversion” (maritain, man and the state, 5). the body politic according to him is a work of reason. it is the most perfect of temporal societies. it is a concretely and wholly human reality, tending to a concretely and wholly human good – the common good (maritain, man and the state, 10). the state according to maritain is the governing part of the body politic. the major function of the state according to maritain is to maintain law and order, guarantee justice and ensure the common good. maritain further maintains that even though the state is a superior part of the body politic, it does entails that the state is superior to the body politic (maritain, man and the state, 13). for the state to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 55 function effectively, it must have authority that it receives from the people. thus, the state acts as vicar of the people. maritain argues that even though the government officials act as vicars of the people, the people must not be used as mere instrument for the service of the state. if the people perceive that the state are abusing their power, maritain argues that the people have the right to remove them from power. this is one of the major ingredients of democracy. maritain makes the distinction between an instrumentalist theory of the state and a despotic notion of the state thus: the theory which … regards the state as a part … of the body politic, subordinate to it and endowed with topmost authority not by its own right and for its own sake, … can be described as an "instrumentalist" theory, … but … the despotic notion of the state, …[conceives of a state as] a subject of right, i.e., a moral person, and consequently a whole; as a result it is either superimposed on the body politic or made to absorb the body politic entirely, … (maritain, man and the state, 13-14). maritain went on to distinguish between the concepts of power and state. “power according to him is the force by means of which you can oblige others to obey you. authority is the right to direct and command, to be listened to or obeyed by others” (maritain man and the state, 126). these two instruments must work together. the state’s power comes from the people. the state abuses it power when it assumes the function of the whole as in a part and when this incidence continues, the state no longer commands the allegiance of the people. maritain argues that while the immediate source of the state’s authority is the people, the definitive foundation is god; for all authority comes from god. for maritain, sovereignty does not belong to the state; neither does it reside in the people. maritain argues that the contention that sovereignty resides in both the people and the state is a long standing fiction. according to maritain, the people are autonomous by the mere fact that they are self-governed but they are not sovereign. maritain believes that while the state and the people do not enjoy sovereignty, the church does. this is because, the church is a divine institution founded by christ. maritain insisted on the supremacy of the sacred (the church) over the supremacy or superiority of the secular realm (the state/the civil society). from this perspective, the sacral is superior to the secular, and “the good of the state must, therefore, be ordered to that same supernatural lasting end which is the good of every individual man” (maritain, the things that are not caesar’s, 11.). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 56 maritain concept of man/person in his anthropology maritain makes effort to distinguish between the individual concept of man and person. he maintains that the concepts are not two separate entities but the same way of referring to the same thing. maritain calls the person the spiritual aspect of man and the individual the material aspect of man. maritain argue that the material aspect of the human person is egoistic and always grasping for itself order to maintain its “precarious unity” (maritain, the person, 27). maritain maintain that when the state begins to see man as an individual without recognizing the more fundamental aspect of man as a person that evil of the greatest order begin to manifest. as a person, according to maritain, the human is a whole that takes place within a universe of discourse that addresses itself to god (maritain, the person, 30). maritain went on to address the relationship between man and the state; man as an individual and as a person. according to him, the state is seen as a whole, while man is seen as a part in the whole. in this context, the good of the whole is considered superior to the good of the part and subordinate to the state. this is why according to maritain the state will always require the individual in the state to sacrifice their life for the service of the state. relying on the philosophy of thomas aquinas, maritain explains thus: “it is a fundamental thesis of thomism that the person as such is a whole. the concept of part is opposed to that of person. to say, then, that society is a whole composed of persons is to say that society is a whole composed of wholes” (maritain, the person, 56-7). the dignity of man is respect according to maritain in the state when man is given his right entity as a person. in this situation, the human person is seen as a whole in the midst of the whole. in this situation, man as a person surpasses the state and his good surpasses the good of the state. the most important good of man is spiritual and the good of the state is temporal. however, maritain maintains that these two goods are not in conflict with one another. but he maintains that the state must recognize the superiority of the spiritual good. maritain insists that most of the problem of western civilization is the triumph of the anthropocentric humanism over theocentric, or integral humanism. anthropocentric humanism is centred on the individual while integral humanism is the humanism that is centred on the human person. man, state and body politic the main thrust of jacques maritain’s man and the state is to establish the proper relationship between the human person, the political society and their proper igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 57 place in the body politic. in the first place, maritain maintains that while the concept of body politic applies "to the order of society", it must be distinguished clearly from the state (maritain, man and the state, 9). according to maritain, the body politic is rational creation of man (maritain, man and the state, 10). consequently, the state is that part of the body politic that is responsible for the maintenance of law and order and the promotion of the common good (maritain, man and the state, 12). the state is part of the body politic and equally serves the body politic and whatever that it equally composed of. however, as part of the body politic, the human person is part that is superior to the body politic (maritain, man and the state, 11). maritain maintains that one of the major functions of the body politic is the creation and maintenance of law and order for the common good of the state. it is the function and duty of the state to serve the body politic. as maritain says: the state is but an agency entitled to use power and coercion and made up of experts or specialists in public order and welfare, an instrument in the service of man. putting man at the service of that institution is political perversion. the human person as an individual is for the body politic, and the body politic is for the human person as a person. but man is by no means for the state. the state is for man (maritain, man and the state 13). maritain believes that the relationship between the state, the body politic and the human person is corrupted. he attributes the source of this corruption to the intellectual flames of the french revolution and the philosophy of hobbes, rousseau, austin, and hegel (maritain, man and the state, 15). he therefore sets out to reconcile the healthy relationship that should exist between these concepts. maritain maintains the concept of the "sovereignty" of the body politic, the state, or the people must be rejected. according to him, while the concept is best suited to christianity, it lacks political applicability. the absolutist’s theory of the state according to maritain is one of the reasons for the destruction of the proper relation of man to the state and the body politic. maritain further maintains that the human person is a right bearing entities and his rights are derived from the authority of the natural law. the state must make sure that it protects the rights of the human person especially those “rights and values which exist neither by the state, nor for the state, and which are outside the sphere of the state”. these rights according to him are derived from the natural law (maritain, man and the state, 9597). the state must not only recognize these rights, they must also ensure that they protect them (maritain man and the state, 95-96). they are rights, maritain says, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 58 that "civil society does not have to grant but to recognize, and sanction as universally valid, and which no social necessity can authorize as even momentarily to abolish or disregard"(maritain, man and the state, 96). maritain argues that it is wrong for the state intrude into these unassailable rights of man. maritain captures this thus: [t]he state has not the authority to make mere form the judgment of my conscience, any more than it has the power of imposing on intellects its own judgment of good and evil, or of loyalty on divine matters, or of imposing any religious faith whatsoever” (maritain, christianity and democracy … , 156). martian further argues that the state is forbidden to deny man the choice of the vocation in marriage and the development of their personal faculties. these areas of human endeavours are attached to the person of man and are beyond the control of the state (maritain, christianity and democracy 160). all these rights, "maritain says, are rooted in the vocation of the person (a spiritual and free agent) to the order of absolute values and to a destiny superior to time"(maritain, christianity and democracy …, 159). consequently, maritain recognizes some fundamental duties of the state in the body politic. and like thomas aquinas, maritain argues that the main duty of the state is the promotion of the common good of man which include both his material and spiritual conditions. critical evaluation / the implication of maritain’s concept of man and the state to nigerian democracy jacques maritain can be considered one of the most outstanding philosophers of the 20th century. brought up as a non-believer and converted to catholicism in his younger years, maritain according to dries deweer “became one of the most important mentors of christian democracy and ardent defender of the rights of the human persons, their condition and their political wellbeing.” (deweer 3) deborah wallace expresses maritain’s utmost concern for the human person thus: maritain hoped for a "personalist" democracy that would curb individualism without being totalitarian, advocate human rights vehemently as integral to the common good, and promote human freedom in conjunction with virtue (128) maritain was one of the greatest advocates of what is called “the democratic faith.” democracy for him represented “the highest terrestrial achievement of which the rational animal is capable here below.” (maritain man and the state, 60) in man and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 59 the state, maritain recognizes the principle features of the democratic charter to include: representative democracy, freedom and protection of the fundamental rights of the human person. these are definitely the underlying feature of a democratic society. this is equally imperative for the much desired democracy that is elusive in nigeria. in nigeria, there is much concern for true democracy which is fundamental for the protection of the human persons and their conditions. maritain emphasizes the need for the protection of the fundamental right of the human person in a democratic setting in his concept of democratic charter. according to him: such a charter would deal, for instance with the following points: rights and liberties of the human person, political rights and liberties, social rights and social liberties, corresponding representatives, rights and duties of persons who are part of a family society … mutual rights and duties of groups and the state, government of the people, by the people, and for the people; … (maritain, man and the state, 112) maritain was so much impressed by the rational principle of democracy as a system of government. he believes that democracy has its foundation in christianity. for him, “democracy is the only way of bringing about a moral rationalization of politics. because democracy is a rational organization of freedom founded upon law” (maritain, man and the state, 59). therefore, in order for democracy to prosper, it must be nurtured by the democratic faith. the promotion of the democratic faith does not mean the promotion of a particular form of government, but the promotion of the democratic ideal. “in this connection,” maritain writes, “whatever the political regime may be, monarchical, aristocratic, or democratic, democratic philosophy appears as the only political philosophy” (maritain man and the state, 129). in concrete situation, the underlying condition that must be established for any form of government is that it; a condition that is lacking in nigeria’s system of government which can be said to be theoretically democratic in nature. in his work entitled gethsemane, cardinal joseph siri subjected the distinction maritain makes between the sacral and secular realm which he refers to as “these two absolutes which constitute a sort of intimate secret of all maritain’s thought” (siri 92) and found it wanting. he acknowledges that maritain sees the secular realm as subordinate to the sacral realm, but the suggestion is that this was only a token gesture on maritain’s part, a pro forma tip of the hat to tradition as it were, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 60 and that maritain’s view implies a usurpation of the proper role of the sacral realm by the secular realm (siri 92). though maritain maintains and insists on the compatible and complementary roles the society and the individual person have towards the other, charles de koninck insists that as an aristotelian-thomist philosopher, maritain’s conception of the common good is inconsistent with that of aquinas’s thought. according to him, “even though maritain’s precise understanding of the relationship between the individual and common good was never clear, one view that can be fairly attributed to him is that the person has an ontological priority over the common good” (osborne 76). like maritain, de koninck emphasizes that the human being is a person who is directly ordered to god, but draws our attention to the fact that for thomas, god is the common good of the universe. according to de koninck, aquinas is saying that humans are only partially ordered to the political common good because the political common good is not the ultimate end of human beings. the ultimate end is god, who is the common good of the universe. still on the same footing, alasdair macintyre observes that maritain’s misinterpretation of aquinas’s notion of common good rest on his inability to distinguish between complete and incomplete communities. according to him, one way of differentiating between the different common goods is by differentiating between the common goods of incomplete and complete communities. accordingly, macintyre draws attention thus: …the fact that the contemporary nation-state cannot justify its ordering of activities and its demand for the self-sacrifice of some citizens. consequently, although the nation-state has taken on the role of the complete community with respect to coercion and war, it does not seem to be the same as a complete community in the aristotelian or thomistic sense (macintyre 11). . following aristotle, macintyre claims that aquinas thinks that the political unit is a complete community with a common good which is greater than that of its members. aristotle and thomas contrast these complete communities with local communities which are not self-sufficient, such as households and villages. this self-insufficiency helps to create a political community which is concerned not with particular practices, but with the good life as a whole (macintyre 5). conclusion the project of maritain is a deconstruction of the relationship between the state and man. from our finding so far, maritain is not critical of the state per se but of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 61 the fact that the state has made itself the absolute sovereign of the body politic a subject of right either superimposed on the body politic or made to absorb the body politic entirely. maritain stated that the problem of the twentieth century was the fact that the theory of the state underwent a degeneration through which the state became overpowering and meddling in domains that were supposed to be beyond its limits leading to what he calls political perversion. the genuine theory of the state is one that regards the state as a part or an instrument of the body politic, subordinate to it and endowed with topmost authority not by its own right and for its own sake, but only by virtue and to the extent of the requirements of the common good. the state cannot be sovereign, because that would shut the door on accountability, while democracy demands that the people are able to pass the ultimate judgment. but neither are the people sovereign, because they have to be accountable to themselves as opposed to transcendent and irresponsible. thus, the totalitarian tendency of the modern state can only be kept in check by a truly democratic re-evaluation of the state that arms the citizens to keep the state under control. the people have to dispose of the will and the means to exert control. only then can they talk about true democracy. we can therefore assert convincingly that despite the possible weaknesses that might be detected in maritain’s political philosophy as it relates to the proper relationship between man and the state in a political society, it offers to the nigerian system of democracy a paradigm example for integral development. this is because its most signal feature especially his concept of the democratic charter is the fact that it is everywhere charged with an abiding awareness of the numerous political quagmire in nigeria. works cited aristotle. politics. b. jowett (trans.). in r. mckeon (ed.), the basic works of aristotle. new york: random house, 1941. aquinas, thomas. summa theologica, 5 vols., westminster, maryland: christian classics, 1981. deweer, dries. “the political theory of personalism: maritain and mounier on personhood and citizenship”. international journal of philosophy and theology (2013), 1-20. web, 11:05:2017. de koninck, charles. “in defense of st. thomas: a reply to father eschmann’s attack on the supremacy of the common good”. laval théologique et philosophique 1(2), 9–109. web, 12/08/2017. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 62 kanu, ikechukwu a., “african traditional democracy with particular reference to the yoruba and igbo political systems”. international journal of philosophy and public affairs. vol. 2. no. 3. pp. 147-160, 2015. kanu, ikechukwu a., “gender and good governance in john lock: religious and political perspectives”. amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 13. no. 1. pp. 88-97, 2015. kanu, ikechukwu a., “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership”. published in the international journal of philosophy and public affairs. vol. 4. december. pp. 25-46, 2016. locke, john. the second treatise of government. p. laslett (ed.) cambridge: cambridge university press, 1988. maritain, jacques. the things that are not caesar’s. london: sheed & ward, 1939. _______. man and the state. chicago: the university of chicago press, 1951. print. __________. scholasticism and politics. portimeradler. london: geoffrey bles: the centenary press, 1945. __________. the person and the common good. john j. fitzgerald (trans.) london: geoffrey bles, 1948. __________. christianity and democracy and the rights of man and natural law. d. a. gallagher (ed.). san francisco, california: ignatius press, 1986. __________. integral humanism. notre dame, indiana: university of notre dame press, 1973. macintyre, alasdair. the macintyre reader. knight, k. (ed.), notre dame, 1998. web, 12/08/2017. mcinerny, d. q. “the social thought of jacques maritain”. the catholic social science review 12 (2007): 155-172. web, 11:05:2017. osborne, thomas. “macintyre, thomism and the contemporary common good,. analyse & kritik, 2008: pp. 75–90. web, 12/08/2017. st. augustine. the city of god. washington, d.c.: the catholic university of america press, 1950. siri, joseph cardinal. gethsemane. chicago: franciscan herald press, 1981. web, 12/08/2017. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 63 wallace, deborah. “jacques maritain and alasdair macintyre: the person, the common good and human rights”. in the failure of modernism: the cartesian legacy and contemporary pluralism, washington/dc., 1999, 127– 140. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 5 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 158 rituals and taboos related to death as a repository of traditional african religious ideas: evidence from the tiv of central nigeria ushe mike ushe, ph.d department of religiousstudies national open university of nigeria jabi, abuja. email: mike.ushe@yahoo.com abstract this paper examines tiv rituals and taboo related to death as a repository of african religious ideas with a focus on the tiv central nigeria. it first of all makes clarification of some terms use in the study such as tiv, death, rituals and culture. furthermore, the paper discusses a metaphysical content of death rituals and taboos, the epistemological and axiological contents of death rituals and taboos in tiv society. the study adopts an interdisciplinary method which makes use of interview, observation and secondary sources for gathering information. data were presented in narrative form and analyzed thematically. the study observes that tiv rituals and taboos related to death are instrumented in understanding the tiv world view. the paper recommends among other things, that some metaphysical concepts associated with tiv death, rituals and taboos be investigated empirically. it also further recommends that the curricula at various levels of our education system should include cultural taboos and rituals to enhance the learner’s understanding of traditional african religious and philosophical concepts. keywords: ritual, taboos, death, african religion, culture and tiv. introduction over the centuries, it has been observed by african scholars that african religion has been expressed through culture. cohen (1991) posits that african religion has been inextricably interwined with culture that the world view of the african people is therefore, basically religious. this religious worldview is the basis of the africans interpretation of the world around them. thus, it is not surprising that african religion has been observed to be expressive of african culture and philosophical thought (mbiti, 1969). eagle (1965) opines that african religion involves rituals and taboos which relates to death, beliefs, customs and behaviours. thus, to understand a people’s religious worldview, rituals and taboos constitute an important dimension. this paper analyzes the tiv ritual and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 159 taboos with a view to discovering their religious import. this is important in the study of tiv religious thinking because probing the tiv on their spiritual beliefs does not yield much in terms of why a particular ritual or taboos is observed. therefore, there is a need on the part of theologians to analyzed and synthesize disconnected ideas, which emerged as the informants describe how the rituals are conceived in african context. the work sought to answer the following research question: what religious concepts are embedded in tiv death rituals and taboos? the question was broken into the following sub-questions: what do death rituals and taboos mean to the tiv? can death ritual and taboos assist in the understanding of tiv religious ideas? a research of this nature is significant because as mbiti (1969) states that religion is the strongest element in traditional african background, and exerts probably the greatest influence upon the thinking and living of the people concerned. religion permeates all aspects of tiv society. thus, wherever a tivgoes, he/she takes along with him/her religion. religion is a unique phenomenon in tivsociety that a cross country conducted by the british broadcasting cooperation (bbc) in 2003 described the tivas “the most religious people” in the world (rahner, 1977). religion is one of the few factors that have succeeded in bringing together sizeable numbers of africa and the tiv under one umbrella, irrespective of ethnic and cultural considerations. this positive role notwithstanding, christianity and islam are associated with the condemnations of traditional beliefs and practices which have divested the cultural rituals and taboos related to death in traditional tiv society. conceptual analysis rituals the word ritual viewed from broad spectrum means different things to different people. according to goody (1964), ritual is the category of standardized behaviour by which the relationship between the means and the end is not intrinsic. wilson (1971) described ritual as primarily religious action directed to securing the blessing of some mystical powers. for mbiti (1975), a ritual or a rite is a prescribed way of conducting a religious action or ceremony. turner (1967) defines ritual as prescribed behaviour for occasion which is not given technical routine but has reference to beliefs, mystical beings and power. zuese (1979) ritual is mechanical human behaviour, ranging from simple custom of shaking hands and the daily etiquette of greeting, to a complex and solemn act of ritual sacrifice. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 160 through word, symbol and action, ritual communicates a religious language. amold van gennep (1960) referred to rituals or rites of passage which he said are designed to enable a person to move successfully through the various stages of life. the rites center primarily on birth, puberty, marriage and death. according to firth (1965) protective and purification rituals are characteristics of these stages. he subdivided the rites of passage into the rite of separation, rites of transition and rites of incorporation. however, these different types of rites cannot be nearly separated from each other and often occur simultaneously within one particular stage of life such as death. mbiti (1975) identifies different african rituals, which he categorized as personal rituals, agricultural rituals, health rituals, homestead rituals, and festivals. according to ray (1976), the main purpose of rituals of passage is to create fixed and meaningful transformations in the life of the cycle (birth, puberty, marriage and death) in the ecological and temporal cycle (planting, harvest, seasonal changes and new year). rituals have a sacred dimension. adler, cited in akiga (1939) maintains that ritual is the language of religion. it brings into our daily life the invisible world of this spirit and the unseen of god. rituals (death rituals included) are therefore, important in understanding a people’s religious and philosophical outlook. taboos the polynesian word taboo means that a particular person, object, word or action is to be avoided (downes, 1971). scholars such as smith (1998); durkheim (1915) and radcliffe-brown (1939) have observed that an important quality of taboo is its association with the sacred. according to this theory, anything taboo is sacred and dangerous and is therefore to be avoided. what is sacred, dangerous and forbidden is unregulated contact between the sacred and the secular (gundu, 1982). shishima (2000) has observed that taboos among some african societies such as igbo, tiv, akan, amongst others, are associated with the supernatural beings. rannie (1977) also observed a link between taboos and religion amongst the traditional shone. taboos are therefore, associated with a people’s metaphysical ideas. mary (1960) sees taboos as an element of all those situations in which attitude to values are expressed in terms of danger behaviours. steiner sees taboos as playing an important function of protecting societal values. this implies that in taboos are enshrined values. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 161 taboos are associated with impurity and contagion (isha, 1996). any person who comes into contact with something tabooed becomes taboo himself and is therefore expected to go through prescribed ritual purification. taboo behaviour expresses and reinforces the values and sentiments important to the maintenance of society (edwardo, 2003); mary, 1960). rahner (1977) and rubingh (1969) have realized the symbolized nature of taboos. taboos are a symbolical way of pointing a warning finger at the contrast to the ideals which are held by the individual and the group. in other words, in taboos are embedded a people’s philosophy. taboos are cultural and religious phenomena which help in maintaining order, cohesion and integration in traditional african religion. they are obeyed because apart from being sanctioned by god, the deities and the ancestors, taboos are guarded by the society as well (abang, 1987). taboos are subsets of totemism which involves a mystical and ritual relationship between such a class of species of animals, or plants and a social group. this relationship includes taboos, projected kingship, saviour saved complexes and so forth, hence totemism is a basic organization principle relating man to nature and the super-human forces in his environment (temples, 1969). there are different types of taboos in traditional african religion. these include: sex taboos, food taboos, death taboos, cultural taboos, royal taboos, taboos for pregnant women, taboos for mothers, and so forth. these taboos strengthened the values and moral beliefs which form the basis of social life in the society. by terming them as sacred or divine injunctions, taboos have the greater power to direct human actions and sayings. they help in maintaining law and order in traditional african societies. culture culture according to isha (1986) refers to people or society total way of life, including customs, traditions, beliefs, emotions, ideas, behaviours and values of things. ajayi (1981) defines culture as: a configuration of learned and shared patterns of behaviour and understandings concerning the meaning and value of things, ideas, emotions and actions of human beings in the society. this configuration of patterns and understandings arises, out of language communication with a social group and help an individual to adapt to his physical environment, his biological nature and his group life. ajayi further explains that culture often refers to the aspect of human direction in terms of his taste, refinement and interests in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 162 music and arts. in this context, culture means civilization, development or improvement acquired through learning and education. culture is made up of a people’s customs, traditions and beliefs, their behaviour, dress, language, their work, their way of living, network, relationships and their attitudes to life, the focus of group loyalties and the way they perceive the world (shishima, 2000). culture is not inherited biologically, but rather learned from childhood all-through adulthood. death death is the cessation of heart beat or the ending of life or the extinction of the individual system (mbiti, 1969). once a person is pronounced death, life in this world is lost. death is the termination of the physical and earthly life of the human beings (ushe, 2010). death involves the cessation of life to complex tissues of brain-dead or loss of irreversible characteristics to psychological stage of death (abeghe, 1980). africans believe that death is a transition to the final destiny of humankind. it is not the end of life but rather a continuation of life in the world beyond (abraham, 1933). thus, at death, the human soul departs the body to the world of spirit popularly called “ancestral abode” (mbiti, 1969). this belief makes african people to consider the unseen world as interpenetrating the unseen world of the spirit. this is why the africans regard death as a greater teacher, using the dead as its instructional materials (ajayi, 1981). the tiv the name tiv according to ushe (2007) has a triple meaning. firstly, it is the term that designates the people as an ethnic group. secondly, tiv refers to their language. thirdly, it refers to the one ancestor father, tiv, to whom all tiv people trace their common ancestory. the tiv as a people are one of the largest ethnic groups in nigeria and africa as a whole (ushe, 2007). they are great farmers who inhabit benue, nassarawa, plateau, taraba, adamawa and cross river states of nigeria, respectively. the tiv speak tiv as a language which belongs to the bantu sub-family of the benue-congo-family (ushe, 2010). the socio-political organization of the tiv is based on kingship system with compound head (orya), clan (ityô), kindred (ingyôr) and land or society (tar) as structure of organization. this structure of socio-political organization however, has undergone some slight changes in the new dispensation due to the advent of modernization in africa. metaphysical content of death rituals and taboos igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 163 an analysis of death rituals and taboos provides an opportunity to explore the metaphysical aspect of life. it is a study of being (ontology) in different aspects reflects the ultimate meaning of human life. rituals and taboos are a repository of traditional tiv metaphysics. there is evidence of metaphysical themes in tiv death rituals and taboos. we will examine some of these themes in this research paper. death is a universal phenomenon which causes anxiety, awe, fear and wonder in human beings all over the world. the salutary fear that death marks the end, not only of life, but also of everything he or she possesses is a major reason why human beings are afraid to die (rahner, 1977). schouppe (1986) posits that even among the world’s most intelligent of human beings, there exist terrible fears of death couched in superstitious beliefs that there are some people who possess the power and ability to use some magical powers (witchcraft) to kill other people. thus, akiga (1964) asserts that he or she that fears death through a sincere belief in its existence and potency, automatically through self-suggestion within his or her own mind becomes not only enslaved by the fear but a ready victim of the evils his or her mind invents. thus, according to tiv religious thought, death is the last crisis every individual must face. it is the crossing from the corporeal world to the spiritual world (downes, 1971). through death, the deceased persons are metaphysically transformed from the physical state into the spiritual state. they are made into revered ancestors (makar, 1975). this remaking into spiritual form involves the symbolic destruction of the old and the creation of the new state. at this critical period, the deceased is not what he/she was but he/she has become momentary anomalies, steeped of the old his/her former mode of being, ready to be something new)awolalu and dopamu, 1977). the tiv therefore, speak mythologically of death as a monster that came visiting the homes of human beings (downes, 1971). through traditional stories and folktales, the tiv people try to explain the origin of death and its possible location, using personal or anthropomorphic terms. some think of death as an animal or a snake, others regard it as a spirit or a witch (abeghe, 1980). according to akiga (1939) death and birth are similar processes in tiv worldview. this is because the two processes are associated with entering into other worlds: birth leads into the world of the visible, while death leads into the world of the invisible. they are both associated with death and rebirth. shishima (2000) commented on this traditional african belief thus: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 164 being born must therefore, be thought of in terms of the category of passage. to come here is to leave the beyond; it is to be in transit, to change one’s state. being born here means dying up there and at the end of life, the opposite is true: to die here is to be born up there. in other words, african (the tiv included) metaphysics sees birth and death as closely related processes. it is important to note that the tiv see a close link between an unborn baby and newly born baby with the world of spirits. similarly, the tiv revered old people as being closer to the world of spirits by virtue of their age (mbiti, 1969). an unborn baby and a newly born baby are believed to discover hidden knowledge and reveal it in the same way as spirits assists diviners to discover hidden knowledge (ushe, 2005). thus, baby blood and old age are associated by the traditional tiv to closeness to the world of spirits. as ushe (2010) explains: childhood, like old age, constitutes an intermediary or transitory stage, a period of progress, while the child tries to free himself/herself from the control of the other world; the old man/woman prepares to return there. thus, the tiv strictly prohibited the burial of deceased during mid-day as people are not normally born and do not die during mid-day. the general view seems to be that people are born and die when it is cool. according to my informant, during mid-day, it normally hot and spirits will be resting and therefore, it is also a bad time for the deceased’s spirit to start on a journey. the tiv said people who died during mid-day died because of spirits such as the avenging spirit. otherwise, people normally die before or after mid-day (mbiti, 1969). even in urban areas, burials do not normally take place between one and two in the afternoon. this indicates that burial taboo related to death is still being strictly observed even by the modern day tiv. the act of dying according to tiv belief can be delayed. the people believe that someone might not die until someone close to his/her heart and is far away comes to see him/her (mary, 1960). thus, it is a taboo to deny a critically ill person whatever he/she wants for he/she will take long to die. in most cases, the dying person would be willing to say his/her last words to one or all of his/her relatives. sometimes, the dying person asked for his/her son-in-law to be sent for. as soon as he arrived, the dying father-in-law or mother-in-law as the case may be requested that everybody except the son-in-law leave the room. he/she igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 165 spent a few minutes with the son-in-law and then peacefully died (mbiti, 1969). in another instance, a critically ill patient at a hospital may ask his/her close relatives in rural areas to come and see him/her. the relatives arrived after some hours and he/she spent some minutes with them and died (eagle, 1965). ushe (2010) observed this belief in death as an entity which can be controlled when he says, “relatives come from far and near to the sick man/woman, and when death is imminent, they will beseech him/her not to die before sunset”. the tiv have a strong belief that an ill person reaches a stage when he/she knows that he/she will not recover but will certainly die. it is said during that stage, the ill person will be close to the world of spirits and will avoid looking directly into the eyes of the living (goody, 1964). it is believed some ill people at this stage even speak words or even behave in a manner which suggests that they are going to die. ajayi (1981) confirmed this belief among the shona thus: there is a belief that, when a man/woman is dying. he/she sees in a vision of the spirits of his/her dead relatives. some of them take him/her by hand, and try to lead him/her away from life. others strive with these, and his death or recovery is dependent on the result of the struggle. this shona religious thought ramifies with the tivwho believe that magic can cause an ill person to delay dying. some people are said to use magic which can make them live longer and the type of magic has the negative consequence of prolonging the dying process (imo, 1991). it is said that some people eat the heart of a tortoise or use the fat of a python to strengthen themselves. people who use such magic die a slow and painful death (awolalu and dopamu, 1977). the heart of the tortoise or python is said to take long to stop beating after the creature has been killed. similarly, a person who used magic from these creatures will have his/her heart continue to beat when the rest of the body is incapacitated. in such a situation, the tiv would perform a ritual to expedite the death process. they would burn the fat of the tortoise or the fat and skin of a python so that he/she could die (ray, 1976). this ritual is done by a powerful native doctor or magician to destroy the force that hinders the dying process. when the person dies, a ritual must be conducted to inform him/her consanguine of the death that so that they will not encounter misfortune. death is believed to bring about mystical danger to the consanguine of the deceased (onwubiko, 1992). the ritual of informing the relatives is meant igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 166 to protect the consanguine of the deceased against mystical danger (zuese, 1979). all relatives are ritually informed about the death either by word of mouth, or some ritual act. one of such ritual act involves throwing millet seeds into the fire, while names of the deceased’s relatives who are far away are being mentioned and the death message put a cross. it is believed by the tiv that relatives of the deceased who have not yet received the bad news of the death will encounter bad omens or some misfortunes which will be a sign that something is wrong in the family (abang, 1987). this might be in the form of an attack (verbal or physical) for no apparent reason, seeing a green branch falling off a tree or a plate breaking while you hold it, or a cameleon crossing your way while walking on the road (onwubiko, 1992). it can be inferred from the tiv taboos that the tiv seem to see death as a concrete entity. they appear to view it as something which actually exists and can be invited by human actions. it is strictly prohibited to sit while holding one’s cheek as this symbolizes someone in mourning and is likely to bring about death (shishima, 2000). when someone is seriously ill relatives should not cry as this is likely to cause his/her death. it is also forbidden to carry two stones or logs to be used for burial as this is believed to cause more death: you have planted death in the family, next time when death strikes, people will die in two or more. your behaviour of carrying objects in twos is likely to result in another death (gundu, 1982). thus, any action associated with a funeral is discouraged during normal times. to the tiv, death exists and it is to be feared in the same way bacteria and viruses exist and are feared in a scientific world. that death is an entity which exists is shown by the following euphemistic expressions: “ku nguertsôôr u ka u tôôr wan ikyev u wundungôkyev u vaanzendengbenda” (death is like an eagle which takes a chick, leaving the mother hen mourning), kuyira un (death calls), kufa ma or ga(death knows no chief), kukaanyam(death is an monster), among others (abeghe, 1980). the tiv to further show the concrete reality of death, the body of the deceased is carried out of the hut not through the door but an opening made in the wall for the purpose of taking out the body. this is done to prevent death from striking igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 167 again. this old burial practice is no longer being observed by the due to the advent of westernization. the tiv people have a belief in a shadow (gbajirji). if a shadow is seen in hut where the deceased is lying in state, burial of the deceased would not take place until the shadow disappears, lest the deceased’s spirit comes back to trouble the living. this taboo points to the tiv belief in a soul which can manifest itself in the form of a shadow. the tiv hardly differentiated between the shadow (gbajirji) and guardian spirits (jirjingiu or), the spirit-double or the double-ego which is so vital that no person can run away from it. this is because the people believe that the essence of human personality is a sort of spirit-entity that acts on the spiritual counterpart of the human beings (ushe, 2007). some african tribes call this guardian spirits or double-ego kuchi, nkrabea, among others. abraham (1933) posits that the shadow is black and when a person dies the shadow disappears. he argues that a corpse has no shadow, and that a coffin with a deceased person does not cast any shadow. rubingh (1969), however argued that a corpse has a shadow but the deceased may show his displeasure by projecting his/her shadow in the wrong place. such a shadow might be seen on the wall of the hut or room where the deceased is lying in state. still, zuese (1979) opines that a person has two shadows-a white shadow and a black shadow. the black shadow is the one which is seen every day, while white shadow is not normally visible and is the one which becomes an ancestral spirit. the white shadow is supposed to disappear soon after someone’s death. if the white shadow does not disappear and instead appears on the wall of the hut where the deceased is lying in state, it will be a sign that the deceased restless and wants something done. the tiv believe in a shadow which can appear if the deceased is unhappy with something. the shadow represents the tiv concept of a soul. this indicates that the tiv have a strong belief that a person consists of two separate entities: a soul and a body (odetola and ademola, 1987). according to tiv belief, the spirit of the deceased person is powerful and has human feelings. the spirit continues to have human like emotions such as anger and thirst (victor, 1969). the tiv people believe that the restlessness and anger of the spirit can cause misfortune among the living in the society (abang, 1987). thus, there are taboos to show respect for the deceased’s body. it is a taboo to speak ill of a dead person no matter how wicked or bad he/she might be. similarly, it is a taboo to allow a human being to die with his/her eyes and mouth open like an animal, the deceased spirit will grow angry and restless and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 168 come back to trouble his/her consanguine (wilson, 1971). the tiv also forbid spitting because of the deceased bad smell even if the body is giving bad ordour. to do so is seen as a sign of contempt, hatred and dislike for the deceased and this is believed by the people to invite the wrath of the deceased spirit (ushe, 2005). in addition, it is forbidden to eat food at a funeral of a young person. the tiv believe that since the death of youths is considered to be pre-nature and unhappy one, eating food at the funeral will invite the anger of the gods. even now, entertainment during the funerals of young people is seen as an act of inviting more calamities in the society (downes, 1971). the tiv allowed the eating of food and drinking of alcohol only during funerals of old people whose death is believed to be a happy one. the tiv interpreted refusal to eat food and drink alcohol at such deaths as arrogance. it is believed that to do so would render the spirit of the deceased restless, angry and dangerous (rannie, 1977). thus, the tiv try as much as possible through ritual and taboos to cool the deceased’s spirit.firth (1965:204-205) analysis of the concept of cooling the spirit among the shona equally applies among the tiv. according to him: at death, a new spirit with its appropriate superior powers enters the conceptual world of the community. nobody knows quite how the spirit will react to its new environment or what secret, grudge the deceased might have harboured before his death, which explains the necessity of keeping the spirit “cool” and of discouraging it from returning to the homestead. in the shona idiom, as in english, the concept of “coolness” carries overtones of calm, placid peacefulness, the opposite of “cool” is hot, much as the concept is used in the english expression, “hot tempered...”. the tiv unlike the shona believe the anger of the deceased’s spirit soon after death can be claimed through ritual. to discourage the deceased from “stabling” or “harming” the living two seeds ishohôare placed in the grave one above the head and one below the feet of the deceased’s body. grass from watery places and the water-lily is placed in the grave to cool the spirit. soon after the burial, the new grave is sprinkled with water as a way of cooling off the spirit. to calm the deceased’s anger, the blood relatives must sacrifice a goat known as ivoivihinshima, (the goat of anger). the meat of the goat of anger is not allowed to be boiled as it is believed the deceased’s anger will increase as the heat in boiling igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 169 water increases. instead, the goat’s meat is supposed to be roasted (rubingh, 1969). to ensure that the deceased’s anger is completely done away with, all the meat of the goat of anger must be consumed on the same day and all the bones burnt so that nothing remains. the tiv believe that soon after death, the deceased spirit inhabits a dry land and is therefore, bound to feel thirsty (ushe, 2007). thus, the ritual the ritual beer is presented to quench his/her thirst. the ritual beer of water or beer of the thirst is conducted before the deceased spirit is accommodated in the family through the home bringing of the deceased ceremony. this however, shows that the ritual of beer of the thirst is meant to symbolically cool off the spirit which is lonely and restless (avel-ivano, 1976). the tiv fear the deceased’s spirit because they believe it has acquired extra powers which it can use to influence the living at times causing misfortunes (bell, 1992).according to edwardo (2003) the deceased can cause unusual and mysterious happenings such as causing bees to sting people at a funeral, giving a bad smell, increasing the weight of the body in the coffin such that no one can lift it and at times making the body to expand such that it cannot fit through the door. thus, if the deceased had indicated his/her wish of where to be buried, it becomes taboo to bury him/her any other place other than the one his/her has chosen (isha, 1996). according to tiv belief, if the wish of the deceased is not considered, the deceased will make it difficult to transport his/her body or to dig his/her grave (goody, 1964). if the deceased had indicated his/her wish to be buried in the rural areas and not in town, ignoring his/her wish might result in the car meant to ferry him/her from the mortuary to a town cemetery refusing to start (ushe, 2005). ignoring the site of the grave chosen by the deceased is believed to result in grave diggers encountering problems such as rocks, roots or water seeping into the grave (isha, 1996). hence, death is believed to empower the deceased who becomes more powerful than the living. the tiv people have a strong belief that soon after death, the deceased’s spirit goes on a journey. based on this belief, the pre-colonial tiv society did not allowed people to weep loudly and for too long soon after the person had died as this might stop the deceased’s spirit from smoothly proceeding on its journey to adômuku(the ancestral abode). according to the tiv, the deceased’s spirit will be perturbed by the loud crying and turn back (eagle, 1965). the deceased’s corpse must be ritually washed just like ordinary life anyone who plans to start on a journey washed his/her body on the way to the grave, the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 170 deceased must be allowed to rest just like someone on a long journey needs to rest. the spirit of the deceased according to the tiv, must be free to undertake its journey hence, the deceased’s body must be undressed of anything which had been tied around it. this includes belts and bandages (mary, 1960). the tiv people believe that there is life beyond the grave. the people believe that the soul of the deceased embarks on a journey soon after death (firth, 1965). preparation of the body before and items put in the grave show tiv belief in life after death. ushe (2007:78) analysis of the tiv concept of death explains this fact: life is an endless enterprise, death is not an end; it is a vehicle from the ontology of visible beings. death is part of life, it is a gateway to eternity, it is a gateway to life in the hereafter. to the tiv therefore, death is regarded as part of the natural rhythm of life but is seems it is dreaded because of its disrupting effect as earlier stated (cohen, 1991). this conception of life after death is further illustrated by the terms used by the tiv to describe death when someone has died; the tiv use taboos and rituals also show that the spirit of the deceased is believed to continue to have sensory experience: it can see, hear and has emotions and desires (avel-ivano, 1976). the tiv concept of aging, impurity, sacred time and causality, the tiv have taboos and rituals which show that the burial ritual of the deceased is determined by age, conditions and status (makar, 1975). the tiv believe that a baby who dies before teething is not to be buried on dry ground but in wet places such as veils, river banks or in the sand of the river bed (geertz, 1975). burying such babies on dry ground and around the compound would lead to the mother of the baby failing to menstruate and hence, becoming sterile. furthermore, burial of such babies on the dry ground is believed by the tiv to lead to drought (ushe, 2010). thus, a woman who died in her pregnancy or during child birth is buried in a wet area because she is regarded as wet. the same applies to the premature or aborted children; those died in advanced stages of pregnancy or in child birth were all regarded as wet and were to be buried in wet places (ushe, 2010). while premature or aborted children were buried in the river sand where there was plenty of water (rubingh, 1969). bigger children were buried on slightly drier ground. adults were buried on higher and drier ground than the ground on which aborted and young children were buried zuese, 1979). it is important to note that one of the underlying concepts of these death rituals and taboos is that the process of growing up is the process of dying out. babies are wet and are igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 171 buried on wet ground, while adults are dry and are buried on dry ground. babies in the womb and those being born make their mother wet (smith, 1998). aging as dying out process seems to be an important metaphysical concept among the tiv. those who are older are believed by the tiv to be drier and to be closer to the ancestors (iowa, 1973). the tiv sometimes address their living grandfathers and parents as utermbangise(ancestral). these people are in an advanced spirit state of aging and drying and therefore, are closer to the ancestors (ushe, 2007). according to tiv belief, aging is a drying process which raises the status of the spirit. the maturity of the spirit is believed by the tiv to depend on the maturity and social status of the living persons (mbiti, 1969). in particular, parenthood and age are very important for the spirit to acquire the full status of an ancestral spirit after death (ray, 1976). this explains why the tiv do not conduct the burial rituals of children and unmarried people. ushe (2010:68) analysis on tiv concept of the spiritual aspect of mankind explains this thus: the spirit of a person who dies without children can never be fully mature. on the other hand, as a person becomes aged he/she is thought to grow closer to the spirits. old people are believed to be very influential with spiritual powers and are regarded with a certain amount of fear and sometimes even suspicion. thus, there is a correlation between the maturity of a living person and they believed maturity of his/her spirit. among the tiv, the spirit of a chief has a higher status than that of his subjects. similarly, the tiv regard the spirit of the deceased grandfather to be more powerful than the spirit of the deceased father. thus, among the tiv, spirits fall in a hierarchy which result from age, maturity and social status (bell, 1992). death rituals and taboos suggest that the tiv believe that death has aspects of impurity and contagion (wilson, 1971). the hut where the deceased lay in state before burial must be swept and the dirt as well as he water used to wash the body of the deceased must be thrown into the grave as they are associated with death (odetola and ademola, 1987). those who come in contact with the deceased as well as the soil from the grave should cleanse themselves with water mixed with a soup called akweshi(purifying soup) in order to prevent accidental death (isha, 1996). those who dig the grave and bury the deceased must wash their faces, hands and feet igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 172 by the grave side to ensure that all the dust and soil from the grave are not carried home as this would be the same as inviting death (eagle, 1965). it is also strictly forbidden for relatives of the deceased to come into contact with the deceased’s property without first deeping hands in medicated water. if a consanguine of the deceased comes in contact with the deceased’s property before the ritual, he/she will suffer from leprosy. the mystical danger associated with the corpse according to tiv belief is contagious. death is a pollutant which makes people ritually unclean or exposes them to danger (zuese, 1979). death rituals and taboos indicate that the tiv have a concept of sacred time. the period of mourning is regarded as sacred time. agricultural activities are suspended before the burial of the deceased (temples, 1969). it is a taboo to conduct burial ritual on sundays and the month of december because the spirits will be resting (bell, 1992). important rituals such as marriage and rain rituals should not be done during the month of december as spirits would have temporarily withdrawn from human activities in order to take a rest in the spirit world (rannie, 1977). the tiv attribute human sufferings to mankind’s failure to observe traditional rituals and taboos. the unseen world simply responds to mankind’s irresponsible behaviour. death is caused by human agents. no death just occurs; there must be an agent responsible for it (rubingh, 1969). the epistemological and axiological contents of death rituals and taboos in tiv society taboos and rituals suggest that there are many alternative ways of acquiring knowledge. we learn that knowledge can be accessed through revelation. thus, the tiv sought for the service of orkpehenishor (divine) after the death of a family member. this important ritual among the tiv is meant to enquire the cause of their relative’s death (downes, 1971). the ritual is conducted even if the family member died of an accident or incurable diseases such as hiv/aids, ibora, hypertities, among others. the tiv, because of their metaphysical outlook, find scientific or naturalistic explanations for death inadequate. in their primarily spiritual universe, they look for the cause of death in the spiritual realm. in african metaphysics, diseases and accidents are viewed as secondary causes of death (ushe, 2010). the primary cause of the death is believed to be found from the supernatural world. this explains why the tiv consult the diviner in order to establish the cause of death. divination is therefore, an important source of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 173 the tiv people also believe that the deceased can communicate his/her displeasure to the living through various ways. the manifestation of omens serves as a vital source of knowledge of the bad news about death. the tiv interpret such unusual events as denoting the coming of death news. this source knowledge was regarded as true, especially at a time when the tiv had poor communication technology. this must have served as an important purpose of preparing people psychologically for bad news. taboos and rituals are trusted as a source of knowledge by the tiv. they are regarded by the tiv as constituting the accumulated wisdom of the generations of their forebears. they are not to be interrogated as is the cause with scientific knowledge (ushe, 2007). this explains why the response one invariably gets from the tiv when one seeks the underlying meaning of the ritual is: “our fore fathers have always done it that way” (ushe, 2010).taboos and rituals seen to suggest that empiricism is one way of accessing knowledge; through their experience and observation, the tiv can have knowledge about certain events related to death. it is possible that certain taboos and rites were introduced after observations of certain patterns of cause and effect. when the tiv observe a particular shadow (jijingi) in the hut or room where the deceased is lying in state they immediately conclude that the deceased is expressing his/her displeasure (ushe, 2005). taboos and rituals are also important aspect of tiv axiology. they are source of material for philosophical discourse on axiological issues. the taboos and rituals serve to reinforce what are considered by the tiv to be essential values of the community. these values include: respect, responsibility, family-hood and social stability (odetola and ademola, 1987). family-hood is an important value among the tiv. kingship (tsombor) is something which mystically links the consanguine. death creates a state of mystical danger to the consanguine of the group who are mystically linked through blood and spiritually. once kin you are always kin. nothing can be done to destroy kingship as it is a mystical relationship. thetiv believe that all relatives of the deceased should be informed of the death so as to protect the consanguine of the deceased against mystical danger. all relatives are informed about the death either by word of mouth or by some ritual act (rubingh, 1969). the deceased’s consanguine are expected to attend the funeral. failure to do so is believed to invoke the wrath of the deceased (bohannan and bohannan, 1953). those who come after burial should do a ritual whereby they place a small stone on the deceased’s grave as they identify themselves and explain to the deceased that they have come to mourn the diseased. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 174 it is important to note that the traditional kingship system includes the deceased. the deceased’s spirit is therefore, still closely linked to the living consanguine. the consanguine, especially the eldest member of the family should chose and mark the site of the grave (teseijiir i timenuwar). if a non-consanguine does that, the spirit of the deceased will be angered and trouble the living (downes, 1971). even a deceased married woman’s spirit is believed to be interested in its own consanguine. her consanguine should dig her grave first and lead during the burial ceremony and subsequent rituals. the ityumbemkuritual is meant to bring the spirit of the deceased back into the family fold. death ritual and taboos promoted a sense of social solidarity. it enhanced the “we” feeling among the members of the community affected by death. death is therefore, a unifying factor which brings together kin and non-kin. when there is death in the village, people are not allowed to work in the fields. the mourning period (kuvaan) for a deceased chief covers a longer time than that of a commoner. this wake-keep is meant to ensure that members of the community give moral and material support to the deceased family. the taboos and rituals of death also show that the tiv value marriage. young males and females of marriageable age who die unmarried are buried with a rat, which is put on the sexual organs-a male rat for female and a female rat for a male (ushe, 2010). the rat is placed on the deceased’s genital organs as the following words are uttered: we via orkpen ne, kakwase/nom u je ne, mayange de kera hide vazaanumacheiyoughga, which means you so and so, here is your wife/husband, do not come back to trouble us (ushe, 2005:48). we can infer from the taboos and rituals that the tiv were essentialists in the sense that they believe values are permanent or objective. the values enshrined in the taboos and rituals are not to be questioned but to be accepted as they are. the tiv have a hierarchy of values which supports temple’s (1969) argument that there exists a hierarchy of forces and primogeniture among the bantu (the included). the value accorded to a being by the tiv id dependent on the force of the being. for example, it has emerged from the analysis that age and status increase a person’s force and respect in tiv society. those who die unmarried are of lesser importance than those who die married. the fact that the days of mourning for a chief are more than those of a commoner indicates that the chief is valued more than the commoner. it also emerged fromthe analysis of rituals igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 175 and taboos that tiv moral system allowed for the segregation of certain categories of people in society. thus, befitting burial rites were not to be conducted for people of bad character and for those who died of incurable diseases such as imande(leprosy), hôrbaa(tuberculosis), ikyungurkigbaan (epilepsy) andkyansa(cancer), among others (gundu, 1982). the tiv at times find it necessary to practice euthanasia. there are times the tiv quicken the dying process through the ritual act of burning the fat and skin of a python close to the terminally and critically ill person suspected to be a witch/wizard so as to quicken the dying process. conclusion and recommendations from the forgoing discussion, it is seen that rituals and taboos suggest a member of tiv philosophical and religious concepts which have an axiological and metaphysical systems in understanding a people’s world view. in rituals and taboos are treasured tiv fundamental values such as family-hood, respect, responsibility and social stability. death rituals and taboos are of importance in the understanding of tiv epistemology. knowledge can be accessed through empirical means, precognition and authority. death is an issue that affects all mankind directly. no one can claim to be indifferent in the face of it. tiv attitudes to death could be best conceptualized through rituals and taboos. death rituals and taboos can therefore, function as alternative sources of tiv philosophy and theology. based on the above facts, the paper makes the following recommendations: 1. rituals and taboos should be incorporated into the curricula of the various levels of our educational system to enable learners to understand tiv religious though. 2. empirical investigation of tiv religious concepts such as the act of dying and the soul should be encouraged. 3. there is need for replication of tiv concept of death ritual and taboos with other african ethnic groups to see if the same pattern emerges. 4. since rituals and taboos exist mostly in oral form, theologians must start a programme to collect and analyse the rituals and taboos with a view to discovering tiv religious and philosophical ideas. references abang, p.a. (1987). death and reincarnation problems in nigerian contemporary society, port harcourt: uweh and udoh press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 176 abeghe, b. (1980).senator tarkar is dead, makurdi: satos offset press. abraham, r.c. (1933).the tiv people, lagos: government printer. ajayi, j. f. a. (1981).50 questions and answers on african traditional religion, ibadan: omolayo standard press and bookshop co. nigeria ltd, 96100. akiga s. (1939).“akiga’s story”.the tiv tribe as seen byone of its members (london: oxford and university press, 1939), 150-164. avel-ivano, b. (1976).zulu thought patterns and symbolism, uppsala and south africa, swedish missinaliaupsaliensie 22 simr and david philip. awolalu, o.j. and dopamu, p. a. (1977).african traditional religion, ibadan: onibonije press, 83-94. bell, c. (1992). ritual theory, ritual practices, new york and oxford: oxford university press. bohanna, p. and bohanna, l. (1953).tiv of central nigeria, london: international african institute, 1953, 96-112. cohen, d.a (1991). (ed) the circle of life: rituals from the human family album, san francisco: harper collins publications downes, r.(1971).tiv religion, ibadan: university of ibadan press, 76-82. eagle, f. (1965).rites and symbols of initiation, new york: haper and row. edwardo, a.u (2003).“the phenomenon of death and the problem of human destiny: a philosophico-theological reflection” in paraclete magazine, vol.3, june. firth, r. (1956).elements of social organization, london: watts firth, r. (1973).symbols, public and private, london: scm press. geertz, c. (1975), the interpretation of cultures, new york: hutchinson and company gennep, a.(1960).the rites of passage, trans. dom m.b. vizecaffe g.l, london, routledge and regan paul. goody, (1964).“religion and ritual”, in british journal of sociology, vol. 12. gundu .a. z. (1982). “tiv burials: an ethno-archaeological perspective” zaria: unpublished project ahmadu bello university, 38-49. isha, i. n. (1986).“initiation and its educational significance in afizere chiefdom of plateau state”, unpublished b.a. long eassay, abu, isha, i.n. (1996).afizere ritual symbolism: studies in culture and meaning, in jos bulletin of religion, vol.3, no. 1, jos, university press. makar, t. (1975).a symposis of the history of the tiv people, makurdi: state press. mary, r. (ed), (1960).symbolism in religion and literature, new york: braziller mbiti, j. s. (1975).introduction to african religion, london: heinemann press. mbiti, s.j. (1969).concepts of god in africa, london: heinemann. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 177 odetola t.o. and ademola, a. (1987).sociology: an introductory african text, london and basingstoke: macmillan publishers ltd onwabika, a.o. (1992). towards a theology of inculturation, enugu, snaap press ltd. rahner karl, (ed) (1977).encyclopaedia of theology,concise sacramentum mundi, london: burns and oates. rainnie, s. (1977).intention and survival, london, macmillan company ltd. ray, c.b (19761).african religious symbolism, ritual and community,new york: jersey prentice hall in c.a. rubingh, e. (1969).sons of tiv a study of the rise of the church among the tiv of central nigeria,michingan: bakar book house. schouppe, f.x. (1986).purgatory explained by the lives and legends of the saints, (translated from french), rock ford: tan books and publishers, inc., 1986. shishima, d. s. (2000). “swem: a tiv symbol of justice”, in swem journal of religion and philosophy,makurdi: benue state university, 194-198. temples, p. (1969).bantu philosophy, paris: presence africairne. turner, v.w. (1967).the forest of symbols, aspect of ndembu ritual, cornell: university press. ushe, m.n (2007). kpôr of tiv culture,enugu: san press ltd. ushe, m.n. (2005).between continuity and change: a comparison of tiv concept of death and burial rites,unpub. doctorate dissertation, department of religious studies, university of jos. ushe, m.u. (2010).the mortgage culture of tiv death and burial rites, makurdi: vast publishers. turner.v.w. (1967).the forest of symbols: aspect of ndembu ritual, cornell: university press. wilson, m. (1971).religion and the transformation of the society: a study in social change, london: cambridge press. wilson, m. (1971).religion and transformation of society: a study in social change, london: cambridge press. zuese, m.e. (1979).ritual customs: the sanctification of life in african religions, ohio up: athens publishers. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.2. no.1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 108 igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy by kanu, ikechukwu anthony, o.s.a., ph.d augustinian institute, makurdi, nigeria ikee_mario@yahoo.com abstract the debate on what constitutes african philosophy, which has been divided into trends or schools dates back to the 1960s and 70s. this was a time when african thinkers began to question the perspective that traditional african beliefs and worldviews, as embedded in pre-colonial african cultures constituted african philosophy. from the arguments of these african thinkers emerged the universalist trend, particularist trend, national-ideological trend, sage philosophy, literary philosophy and hermeneutic trend. this notwithstanding, with the new developments in the area of african philosophy, this piece argues that there is the need for another trend of african philosophy that is multidimensional in character and which reflects the ontological character of the african worldview. the multidimensional approach would be employed in this study. igwebuike as a trend would, therefore, be a central point or a point of convergence for all the trends of african philosophy. with igwebuike it is hoped that the tension between particularity and university would be balanced. keywords: igwebuike, igwebuikology, trend, school, african, philosophy. introduction as decades overtook decades, new methods of interpreting the african philosophical experience emerged. in an earlier work i wrote on the trends in african philosophy, published in the filosophia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, religion and culture, i categorized and discussed the trends or schools of african philosophy into the universalist trend, particularist trend, the eclectic school, national-ideological trend, sage philosophy, literary school and hermeneutic trend. i explained that the universalist or professional school of african philosophy argues that philosophy is the same everywhere and uses the same methodology, and thus, african philosophy should be critical and not a descriptive record of africa beliefs. bodunrin (cited by uduigwomen, 1995), a strong member of this school of thought, therefore, holds that “philosophical systems are built up by systematic examination of specific features of the world igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 109 out of the relationships that are perceived to obtain between them” (p. 3). uduigwomen, (1995) criticizes this school on the grounds that philosophical problems will remain plain and in the abstract except they are made to have local and concrete relevance. the universalist school, therefore, places philosophy at the ivory tower, and makes her an abstract discipline without concrete historical experience. the particularist school or ethno-philosophy was championed by scholars like tempels (1969), mbiti (1969) and senghor (1964; 1973). they hold that the different african worldviews properly constitute what could be regarded as african philosophy. they would define african philosophy as the philosophical thought of africans as could be culled from their various worldviews, myths, proverbs, etc. in this sense, it is the philosophy indigenous to africans, untainted by foreign ideas. hountondji (1995) and segun (1995) criticize the particuarist school on the basis of its definition of african philosophy in terms that are traditional and because of its emphasis on the particular. already, between the universalist school and the particularist school, one begins to notice and feel the tension between particularity and universality, and thus, the need for the balancing of this tension. added to these two major schools are: the national ideological school which focuses on discourses of african political thinkers like azikiwe, nyerere, awolow, etc. it was the theoretical offshoot of the african anti-colonial struggle. it is a school that focuses on a particular historical experience in africa. there is also the sage school. it was developed by the kenyan philosopher, henry odera oruka (1944–1995). he interviewed sages from traditional groups and identified philosophical sages in different cultures who were more of the repositories of cultural wisdom. oruka (1991) divided them into two groups; the first he called folk sages, who embodied community wisdom; the second he called philosophical sages, who held a critical stand towards that wisdom. from his findings, especially as to philosophical sages, he concluded that the west and hountondji were wrong in saying that africa has no philosophy, for his research showed that philosophy existed in traditional africa. the last schools are literary/artistic school and the hermeneutic school. while the literary trend focuses on african thinkers who through their literary or artistic works made philosophical contributions, the hermeneutic school sees the primary function of african philosophy as interpretation. a view expressed in the works of okere (1983), madu (1992) and serequeberhan (1994). a cursory glance at these different schools of african philosophy reveals that the tension between particularity and universality still remains unresolved. there is off course a thesis, but there is need for a synthesis that a thesis may be born. this piece argues that igwebuike is the school that would make a difficult synthesis of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 110 the extremes of the universalist and particularist school for the forging ahead of the african philosophical enterprise. the complementary nature of the african reality as a basis for an eclectic school the fundamental principle which describes the core of the african spirit is harmony; although reality exists as individuals, they converge at the point of reasonableness. it is therefore, not surprising that asouzu (2007b) in his complementary philosophy of ibuanyidanda, would present the african reality as “an all-embracing whole, in which all units form together a dynamic play of forces, which are in harmony with each other, by completing and supporting the other” (p. 14). asouzu (2004) further speaks of reality as “necessary complements of each other” (46). while describing the human society, asouzu (2007a) advanced that, “human beings and societies exist only in relations” (p. 74). thus, the point of convergence is a natural process of world history and a phase in the world historical process. asouzu (2007a) describes it as “a necessary consequence of the character of our being as relative subjects seeking full actualization” (p. 382). this understanding of reality is the ontological foundation for an eclectic school of african philosophy. this is also the basis for the construction a school of african philosophy that would help the exclusive universalist and particularist schools to come together, complement one another and harness their positive energies for the evolution of african philosophy. igwebuike as an eclectic ontologico-existential trend ‘to be’ in igbo ontology is idi. however, the modality of being is igwebuike. it is an igbo word, which is a combination of three words. thus, it can be understood as a word and as a sentence: as a word, it is written thus, igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. let us try to understand the three words involved: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a large number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is a noun, which means strength or power. put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force. at this level, no task is beyond their collective capability. this provides an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. as an ideology, igwebuike rests on the african principles of solidarity and complementarity. it argues that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 111 complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is ‘to be with the other’, in a community of beings. this is based on the african philosophy of community, which is the underlying principle and unity of african traditional religious and philosophical experience. it is from this background that this school of african philosophy derives its name. it is ontological and existential in character, and in this way, it makes a difficult synthesis of the basic and positive elements of the universalist school and particularist school for the generation of a new thesis for african philosophy. as igwebuike means “there is strength in unity”, it believes that the harnessing of the positive energies of the universalist and particularist schools would bring about the advancement of african philosophy. ontologically, it emphasizes the universal character of philosophy, existentially, it respects the regional character of african philosophy, that is, its africanness, with africa being the locale for the philosophical investigation. it strongly believes that universality and particularity are congenial in the sense that they need each other to remain germane and perennial, to remain contextually intelligible and of standard universally. the igwebuike school of african philosophy would define african philosophy as the combination of the universalist and particularist approaches to african philosophy. this would involve sifting the philosophical thought of africans as could be gotten from their various world views, myths, proverbs, etc, and reflecting on them by an african genius, that is, the african philosophers. at the point of romance between the professional and unprofessional, authentic african philosophy is realized. although the different schools are already doing african philosophy, but that they will do better if they join heads together. uduigwomen, (1995) describes the positive possible outcome of the igwebuike school as follows: the universalist approach will provide the necessary analytic and conceptual framework for the particularist school. since this framework cannot thrive in a vacuum, the particularist approach will supply the raw material or data needed by the universalist approach. thus, it will deliver the universalist approach from mere logic-chopping and abstractness. there will be a fruitful exchange of categories and concepts. (p. 6). the igwebuike school of african philosophy can be referred to as an eclectic school or moderate trend, and from my own estimation, it is a balanced and safer path to thread in doing african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 112 conclusion in 2013, when i made a case for the eclectic school, scholars like mangena (2014) had argued that the move towards an eclectic school of african philosophy is “a disservice to our very own philosophy called ethnophilosophy” (p. 96). he interpreted this move as running away from my burning house only to seek refuge next door. as i read through his paper, i asked myself a couple of questions: is t reasonable to remain in a burning house and die in it? is it not safer to take refuse in a safe place? if a human being clings onto something simply because it is his own and not because it is reasonable, does it not degenerate into emotionalism? at this level is it still philosophy? african philosophy is not static, and must not be eternally anchored on folklores, proverbs and myths. the world is globalizing, and new realities are emerging on the table of african philosophy; it would rather be a disservice to african philosophy if african philosophers would reduce african philosophy to only reflection on myths, folklores, proverbs, symbols etc. if this is done, the aperture for growth would have been closed. no school of african philosophy is complete; growth begins when we begin to seek completeness, and the different schools of african philosophy complete the other. references asouzu, i. i. (2004) the methods and principles of complementary reflection in and beyond african philosophy. calabar: university of calabar press asouzu, i. i. (2007a). ibuanyidanda: new complementary ontology. beyond world immanentism, ethnocentric reduction and impositions. munster: lit verlag. asouzu, i. i. (2007b). ibuaru: the heavy burden of philosophy, beyond african philosophy. studies in african philosophy series. munster: lit verlag. hountondji, p. (1995). african philosophy: myth and reality. paris: francois maspero. kanu, i. a. (2013). globalisation, globalism and african philosophy. germany: lambert. madu, r. o. (1992). african symbols, proverbs and myths: the hermeneutics of destiny. frankfurt: peter lang. mbiti, j. (1969). african religions and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational publishers. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 113 okere, t. (1983). african philosophy: a historico-hermenuetical investigation of the conditions of its possibility. lanham: university press america. oruka, h. o. (1991). sage philosophy: indigenous thinkers and modern debate on african philosophy. nairobi: african center for technological studies (acts)). segun, g. (1995). african philosophy: traditional yoruba philosophy and contemporary african realities. london: peter lang. senghor, l. (1964). on african socialism. new york: f. a. praeger. senghor, l. (1975). what is negritude? in g. c. m. mutiso and s. w. rohio (ed.s). readings in african political thought. london: heinemann. serequeberhan, t. (1994). the hermeneutics of african philosophy: horizon and discourse. new york: routledge. tempels, p. (1959). bantu philosophy. trans. colin king, paris: presence africaine. uduigwomen, a. f. (1995). philosophy and the place of african philosophy. in a. f. uduigwomen (ed.). footmarks on african philosophy (pp. 3-9). ikeja: oop press. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.2. no.1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 77 the african priest and the imperativeness of an inculturated preaching by adolphus ekedimma amaefule, sdv department of religious and cultural studies, university of calabar, calabar, cross river state, nigeria adolfsdv@yahoo.com abstract to the priest in general and to the african priest in particular has been given the mandate to preach the word of god. this, of course, is in order to feed the flock entrusted to him. with descriptive and analytic methodology, this paper endeavoured to find out how the priest in africa today could carry out this responsibility better. it was discovered that based on the realities on ground in africa today, only an inculturated preaching could suffice. such an inculturated preaching, the paper still made known, would impel him, the african priest, that is, to listen, first of all, to the word of god, and then to the people in their symbolic world, culture and sociopolitical conditions. while considering also not only the resources available to the same african priest but also the points he should bear in mind as he prepares for this important part of his ministry, the paper did underscore the significance of prayer to and the way of living of the same african priest. it is hoped that this will be an important addition to the ever-growing call for more attention to be given to the reality of preaching in the house of theology, or better, christianity, in africa. keywords: african priest, preaching, inculturation, word of god, symbolic world, socio-political realities. introduction while brown(2000, 695) it was who had observed that it is an irony that the most sophisticated rhetorician and elegant theologian of the new testament, the author of the letter to the hebrews, that is, from whose pen the above quotation comes, is an unknown, what, however, is not unknown is the fact that it is the same living, effective and power-laden word of god that he was talking of and about above that has been entrusted to the hands of the priest, in this case, the african priest. this is even made clearer by the rite of ordination which says, among others, thus:“my son,[…y]ou must apply your energies to the duty of teaching in the name of christ, the chief teacher. share with mankind the word of god you have received with joy. meditate on the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 78 law of god, believe what you read, teach what you believe, and put into practice what you teach”(1991, 52). hence, the fathers of vatican council ii(1965a) would make it known that when all is said and done, and especially, since no one can be saved who does not first believe, the primary duty of the priest, as co-worker of the bishop, would always be the proclamation to all of this same word for the establishment and building up of the people of god (4). it will be the preoccupation of this paper, therefore, to look at how the priest in africa today can best carry out this responsibility, bearing in mind, as a matter of fact, the reality of the african world in which he lives and works so that “the confrontation between the message of the gospel and the african universe[…may] bring forth a meaning with the power to transform the lives of african christians”(ela,1990, 4), who would then have life and have it in abundance(cf. jn. 10:10). and that preoccupation will compel this paper, before anything else, to cast a glance at the face of africa today. today’s africa in brief writing in his post-synodal exhortation, ecclesia in africa, john paul ii (1995, 40-41) had observed, among other things, thus: one common situation, without any doubt, is that africa is full of problems. in almost all our nations, there is abject poverty, tragic mismanagement of available scarce resources, political instability and social disorientation. the results stare us in the face: misery, wars, despair. […c]ontemporary africa can be compared to the man who went down from jerusalem to jericho; he fell among robbers who stripped him, beat him and departed, leaving him half dead (cf. lk. 10:30-37). africa is a continent where countless human beings – men and women, children and young people – are lying, as it were, on the edge of the road, sick, injured, disabled, marginalized and abandoned. indeed, while that observation was made some twenty-two years ago, precisely, in 1994, and while there has even been yet another special assembly for africa of the synod of bishops, held, as it were, from 4th-25th october, 2009, and aimed at continuing “the work of the 1994 assembly, ‘which was intended to be an occasion of hope and resurrection, at the very moment when human events seemed to be tempting africa to discouragement and despair’”(benedict xvi, 2011, 2),the fact remainsthat not much has changed ever since as to warrant a counter observation. many factors could, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 79 indeed, be pointed out as being responsible for this.yes, it was achebe (1983, 1), who, writing in his book, the trouble with nigeria, had made an observation about nigeria that could be applied to africa as a whole. according to him, the trouble with nigeria “is simply and squarely a failure of leadership.[…]. the nigerian[read african] problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the challenge of personal example which are the hallmarks of true leadership.” while one can understand where he, achebe, that is, was coming from, heaping the blame, however, only on the leadership, and leaving the followership off the hook, may not be realistic. the led also share in the blame. in fact, what marlow had said of kurtz in conrad’s heart of darkness(1996),that, “all europe contributed to the making of kurtz”(66), could also be said of africa. all both africa’s leadership and followership contributed to the making of her, africa, that is, what she is today. and there is yet another segment that is and ought not to be excluded, no matter how big or small, from the “all” that made africa today,a “continent wherecountless human beings – men and women, children and young people – are lying, as it were, on the edge of the road, sick, injured, disabled, marginalized and abandoned”. yes, one is here talking of and about external factors. hence, ela (1990,149) would observe: “how can we express our belonging to god in a continent that does not belong to itself? under the pretext of cooperation, economic and financial organizations freely quarrel over our lands and beaches, our bauxite, copper and diamond mines, and our business and tourism – without neglecting our uranium, oil, and, of course, the very conscience of our people.” again, there is the issue of bribery and corruption the latter of which the same achebe (1983, 38), after observation, had pointed out that it, corruption in nigeria[read africa], “has passed the alarming and entered the fatal stage.”richburg (2009) calls this corruption, a feature, indeed, of african social, political and even religious life(kunhiyop, 2008, 164),“malignant corruption”,in comparison with the benign and productive type which exists, according to him, in asia(174-175).and it is little wonder then that thanks tosuch “malignant corruption”, africa would become the world’s most corrupt continent(french, 2004, xvi).moreover, while the pan african conference of third world theologians (cited in bujo and muya, 2008, 265) would maintain that “ethnicity is a positive element in any human society,”it is to be accepted that in africa today the same ethnicity has often been abused. according toobiefuna (1994), “during political elections what counts is not whether you are a catholic or not but to what clan, tribe or town […] the candidate seeking election belongs. the nearer is his or her home to the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 80 african the more qualified he or she is for election”(9).no wonder, the same richburg (2009) would conclude: “in africa it is all about tribes”(241). likewise, mention must also be made here of the issue of religious fundamentalismin many countries of africa today and the reality of pentecostalism. of course, “[t]here are many different expressions of [the same] pentecostalism in africa”(anderson, 2011, 65),especially south of the sahara, little wonder since pentecostalism itself “is a movement of diverse colors”(kalu, 2008, 4). but if lagos, considered “the most pentecostal city in the world”(anderson, 2004, 4), is chosen as a case study, there is the presence today,according to akinwale (2010, 220-221),of an aggressive pentecostalism with its attendant distortion of the image of god who, having, as it were, been created in the image and likeness of the preacher, is given a job description that is reduced only to working miracles as he is controlled, commanded, bribed and settled in the pursuit of narrow selfish interests, an instrumentalization of god, helped, as it were, by such factors as the traditional worldview of the african, the reality of poverty, apparent rejection of missionary christianity(oguejiofor, 2001, 38-54) and erroneous understanding of biblical teaching on miraculous healing and the influence of propaganda, among others(umorem, 2000, 41-79). and there is yet another thing that colours the face of africa today: an “unquenchable desire for a greater humanity and a unified world society”(moniz, 1999, 13-14), or better, globalization, involving basically, “a restructuring of relationships in an ever-shrinking contemporary world”(ayanga, 2010, 167) and unleashing, as it were, an avalanche of possibilities for communication, transportation, electronic financing, etc. but truth be told, this same globalization has not only left positive things on its trail but also some negative ones. in terms of the latter, kasper (2004) would have this to say: globalization creates new forms of dependence and injustice and gives the strong the powerful new opportunities for domination. in fact, the influence of people of different cultures gives rise to deep anxieties, which cause problems leading to hatred and rebellion. there is thus an expansion of particular interests and ethnic and cultural conflicts. some commentators speak of a coming “clash of civilizations”(huntington) and in many places such a clash is already taking place amidst bloodshed (6). above all, as john paul ii had indicated in the same ecclesia in africa, and as a kind of culmination of all the ills mentioned above and thoselike the scourge of aids, malaria, tuberculosis and the recent ebola epidemics etc., igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 81 which for spatio-temporal reasons cannot be mentioned here there is in africa today the reality of a poverty so crushing and prevalent that o’connor (1991,1) would observe that, “to think africa, is to think poverty”, and this, despite the obvious rich natural resources that africa can boast of as a continent(john paul ii, 1995, 42). of course, what is at stake here is material poverty wherein the society, likewise the individuals that make it up, is unable to provide its basic needs: food, clothing, housing, education, etc. but there is also another kind of poverty, the kind that mveng (1994), had called “anthropological poverty”. according to him,this is the “kind of poverty which no longer concerns only exterior or interior goods or possessions but strikes at the very being, essence, and dignity of the human person. […]. this is an indigence of being, the legacy of centuries of slavery and colonization” (156). hence, while mbefo (2001, 11)would conclude by observing that, “the result of european activity in africa can be negatively thematized as the erosion of africans’ self-confidence,”commenting on mveng’saforementioned observation, orobator (2000, 151) would state, thus: “griping to any reader as mveng’s characterization might appear, the fact remains, however, that we can no longer lay the responsibility for the ongoing scourge of anthropological poverty solely on the doorstep of slavery and colonization. doubtless, the effects of slavery and colonization remain visible in africa. but these effects, along with other forms of injustice and oppression, now result primarily from the devious machinations of indigenous taskmasters.”no wonder, odey(2006, 74) would urge that it is high time africa, or rather, her theology, stopped “bemoaning the crimes that white colonialists committed against the black race long ago when our own brothers, in the name of leadership, have done us more harm than the whites.” in fact, because of the way and manner that africa has almost become today a shackled continent(guest, 2004), subjected, as it were, to the fate of the barber’s chair of perpetual motion without progress, how it has even become,as wrong (2002) would rightly term her, “a continent that has not disappointed in its capacity to disappoint”(10), indeed, how it is today in a mess(mwakikagile 2006), some have even been forced to attribute her situation to the spiritual: the anger and curse of the ancestors! yes, the very ancestors of whom no african tribe can fail to revere its own(bujo, 1992, 120), ancestors who “are seen as still part of the family and living with the community and being able to influence one’s life for good or evil”(healey and sybertz, 2005, 214-215) and whom some believe “constitute precisely the link between the african and god”!(mununguri, 1998, 10). indeed, in the words of mazrui (1986), “the ancestors of africa are angry. for those who believe in the power of the ancestors, the proof of their anger is all around us. for those who do not igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 82 believe in ancestors, the proof of their anger is given another name”(11). hence,with a note of finality, he would state: “things are not working in and for africa is the proof of the curse of the ancestors”(1986, 11). however,it will be a testament to badand unbalanced scholarship to state that the aforementioned “shadows” are the only things that define the face of africa, and by implication, the african, of today. ilo(2006) it was who had entitled his book about africa, thus: “the face of africa: looking beyond the shadows”. yes, looking beyond africa’s aforementioned “shadows”, one can see some other positive things happening. indeed, it was benedict xvi (2011) who, after having pointed out some of the realities that painfully scar africa’s memory; the same realties this paper has pointed out above, did not fail, however, to add, that despite all these, “africa maintains its joie de vivre”(9)in fact, one can apply to africans as a whole what oduyoye (2001, 12-13) had said with particular reference to african women: [african] women never say ‘never’: when it has to do with the good expected of life, what they say is ‘not yet’[...]. not even africa’s mammoth poverty can breed despair in women even though from the outside what others see is a future of ‘pain, death, the misery of watching one’s children die and the death of hope herself’. the ‘death of hope’ is an impossible concept in africa women’s theology, because they believe the scripture that says, with god, they can scale walls (ps. 30). again, in the acts of the apostles, luke presents one with paul’s observation about the athenians in the areopagus hall: “athenian citizens, i note that in every way you are very religious”(acts. 17:22). and there is a way also this could be applied in particular to africans. “african peoples”, mbiti observed (1999, 256),“are deeply religious. it is religion, more than anything else, which colours their understanding of the universe and their empirical participation in that universe, making life a profoundly religious phenomenon. to be is to be religious in a religious universe.”in fact, as shorter (1978) noted, “religion in africa is a phenomenon that cannot be ignored – a mountain which, like kenya or kilimanjaro, is part of the african landscape”(3).this, as a matter of fact, is something that ought to be praised and appreciated as it is observed in both christians and followers of other religions predominant in africa such as islam and african traditional religion. although questions may be raised as to whether this has always translated into a better of way of living and high moral standards in all facets of life – “if the scale for weighing the strength of their[africans’] religious depth would be the presence of a healthy social order and the general acceptance of morals in day-to-day life, then africa suffers greatly today from igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 83 a severe religious decline” (achermann, 1996, 23) – suffice it to mention that this would take this paper beyond what it wishes to say here and what is of greatest interest to it under this section. moreover, worthy of praise of and about the african, despite the onslaught of today’s undue individualism, is his or her sense of communion in which, with the same mbiti (1979), he or she seems to say, “i am, because we are; and since we are, therefore i am”(1999, 106; pobee, 1979, 49). in fact, though not exhaustive and in cognizance of the limitations involved and even of the fact that this paper has already hinted at above what it is going to say here, one can still apply to the african what the bishops and priests of igboland had said about the igbo man in their document, the igbo catholic priest at the threshold of the third millennium, (1999): “igbo man values the family, and prices its unity and solidarity. he longs for posterity and is exceedingly devoted to his kins. he has a deep sense of the sacred and the other world. he is deeply attached to his roots and his tradition. he places high premium on community loyalty, his hospitality is legendary as his respect for age and elders. he is achievement-oriented with a high sense of industry.” (16) between the african priest and the africa of today: the necessity of an inculturated preaching. in his book, a listening church, uzukwu (1996)had observed that the totem of the manja chief of the central african republic is the rabbit because it has large ears and that the chief then is one who is versed in the art of listening – an imagery he, uzukwu, would utilize, for his particular style and purpose, in the writing of his book, hence, the caption, a listening church(x). and the priest in africa today should, as a matter of fact, be like thismanja chief with large listening ears. in fact, just as schreiter (1986,40) had said that “there must be a clear commitment to listening as a point of departure for constructing local theologies, and a commitment to continue to listen,”so also, here, there must be a clear commitment to listening as a point of departure for any inculturated preaching and a commitment to continue to just listen. listening to the word of god yes, the priest’s large ears must be, in the first place, for listening to the word of god, and word of god which he must approach with awe and reverence. “[f]rom the very outset”, saidvon balthasar (1965, 9), “one approaches the word of god, the scripture, on one’s knees, prostrate, in the conviction that the written word has within it the spirit and power to bring about, in faith, contact with the infinity of the word.”he should let this word of god talk to him, touch him and incarnate in his life. “whoever wants to preach”, said pope francis (2013), “must be the first to let the word of god move him deeply and become incarnate in his daily life”(150). he should always and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 84 everywhere avoid what one could call the “enoch syndrome”. and what does that mean? it has to do with the character enoch in achebe’s things fall apart. of him, achebe(2000)would write, among other things, thus: enoch [was] the son of the snake-priest who was believed to have killed and eaten the sacred python. enoch’s devotion to the new faith had seemed so much greater than mr. brown’s that the villagers called him the outsider who wept louder than the bereaved. […]. such was the excessive energy bottled up in enoch’s small body that it was always erupting in quarrels and fights. on sundays he always imagined that the sermon was preached for the benefits of his enemies. and if he happened to sit near one of them he would occasionally turn to give him a meaningful look, as if to say, ‘i told you so’(167). that is to say that rather than thinking that the sermon is being preached, or rather, that the word of god is being directed to someone else, the priestpreacher should see it as talking, first of all, to him. and his doing this, of course, would amount to his overcoming a great temptation. “when we make an effort to listen to the lord,” pope francis (2013, 153) maintained, “temptations usually arise. one of them is simply to feel troubled or burdened, and to turn away. another common temptation is to think about what a text means for other people, and so avoid applying it to our own life.”no wonder, cozzens (2000)would observe that, “though tenders and bearers of the word, they need to hear what they dare to bring to others. priests, i believe, can easily forget their need to hear the word of god. there is a time to tend the word and a time to listen to the word, and they remember as the word both soothes and challenges them that evangelists needs to be evangelized. […in fact], tenders of the word must sit with god’s word, savor it as a wine connoisseur savors a winery’s prize vintage. he reads it slowly and carefully, letting it filter into the corners of his unconscious where it takes root under the quiet tutoring of his imagination. here the word begins to reveal its ever-new promise to transform the lives of those who will soon hear it aloud from the preachers’ lips”(90-91). listening to the people in their symbolic world and culture the large ears of the african priest would, as well, enable him to listen to the world, to the culture and, especially, to the people among whom he lives. in fact, living in this world, the african world, that is, which this paper did try, despite the obvious inadequacies, to x-ray above, he should always endeavour to inculturate the word which he has heard always taking cognizance of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 85 observation of laye (1981, 62) that, “the world rolls on, and changes.” yes, the world of africa today is one which has rolled on and changed, it is no longer the africa of many, many years ago. hence, there is the need not only to “give up once and for all any mental picture of africa as a stable world resistant to change, always the same, a stranger to time and history”(ela, 1990, xv), but also to make sure that the african priest does not preach to the africa that no longer exists.“only let us consciously find out howand to what extent”, said pobee (1979), “african countries and african people have changed, lest we waste time preparing to evangelize the africa of 1800, which no longer exists”(19). and what this immediately calls for is the need to change the methods, tactics and strategies of preaching and evangelization in view of the changed and changing situations. “the conditions of society in which we live”, observedpaul vi (cited in paul vi, 1975, 3), “oblige all of us therefore to revise methods, to seek by every means to study how we can bring the christian message to modern man. for it is only in the christian message that modern man can find the answer to his questions and the energy for his commitment of human solidarity.” one thing that cannot be denied is that the aforementioned modern man, in this case, men and women of today’s africa, actually wish to hear the word of god. as a matter of fact, one of the reasons given for most of them leaving the mainstream churches for thenew generation churches is that they are hungry for the word of god and since the word of god which they hear in the mainstream churches, they maintain, sometimes does not speak to them, does not, that is, answer to the questions raised by them, they simply have no other option than to go.“our people,” dolan(2000, 295-296) noted, “are leaving the church, the ‘faith of our fathers’ – which ‘dungeon, fire, and sword’ could not force them to do – because they can’t stand our preaching! i’m not saying that’s right, believe me…but it’s a fact!”and supporting him nearer home here, ikpiki (cited in faniran, 2012, 258), laying bare the result of his research, would observe: some of those interviewed complained bitterly about the poverty of homilies delivered by priests. they complained that the word of god is not preached in relation to their life situations and problems. this, for them, makes the word of god abstract and without meaning. the most probable reason, therefore, why some catholics are not touched during homilies is that some priests are unable to address the existential life situation of the people with the word of god. hence, the urge to go to other churches not just for miracles, but also to assuage their spiritual hunger. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 86 hence, while the document, presbyterorumordinis, (1965a)would stress the need for the priest to “expound the word of god not merely in a general and abstract way but by an application of the eternal truth of the gospel to the concrete circumstances of life”(4),pope francis (2013, 154) himself would, in a similar way, urge: “the preacher also needs to keep his ear to the people and to discover what it is that the faithful need to hear. a preacher has to contemplate the word, but he also has to contemplate his people.[…]. he needs to be able to link the message of a biblical text to a human situation, to an experience which cries out for the light of god’s word”. in fact, while the “the word of the lord” must be his word, “the cry of the people” must be his cry(casaldaliga and vigil, 1994, 126). of course, that would have to force priests in today’s africa to utilize the time and space for preaching the word adequately and not to use it for something else. in adichie’spurple hibiscus(2004), kambili would talk of the christmas mass she had attended in her home parish, st. paul’s, abba. “it was even harder”, she had begun, “to keep my mind on mass because the priest, who spoke igbo throughout, did not talk about the gospel during the sermon. instead he talked about zinc and cement. ‘you people think i ate the money for the zinc, okwia?’ he shouted, gesticulating, pointing accusingly at the congregation. ‘after all, how many of you give to this church, gbo? how can we build the house if you don’t give? do you think zinc and cement cost a mere ten kobo? papa wished the priest would talk about something else, something about the birth in the manger, about the shepherds and the guiding star; i knew from the way papa held his missal too tight, the way he shifted often on the pew.” (2004, 89-90) and the exaggerated and fanatic catholicism of kambili’s father, papa, apart, the fact still remains that a lot of people would wish to hear, like him, the word, would wish, that is, that priests talked about the gospel during the sermon instead of talking about zinc and cement! “so the homily”, said radcliffe (2008, 55), “is not a chance for the preacher to bang on about his or her hobby-horse. it is not an occasion for plugging one’s own line, or pushing the agenda of one’s party within the church. that would be an abuse of the pulpit, like someone dominating a meal and letting no one else get a word in.” indeed, in talking, during sermons, about the gospel and not zinc and cement and in not banging on even about one’s hobby-horse, they, the people of god, that is, would wish that priests bear in mind that no matter the changed situation of the world in which they live, they, as true africans, live, as ela (1990, 35) would observe, “‘in a forest of symbols’, a unique way of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 87 maintaining their relationships to the universe”. hence, the need for priests to make use of the symbolic in their preaching, to make use, for instance, of proverbs which, as achebe (2000, 6) noted, are “the palm oil with which words are eaten,” make use of idioms, stories, and other forms of oral expressions. “the traditional literature of africa,” observed shorter (1973), “is very important to the priest, catechist and religious educator for an understanding of the mind of those to whom he is transmitting the christian message. it is therefore necessary to know something of the traditional literary forms and of the methods of analyzing them. above all, it is necessary to understand the nature and power of symbols.”(83).in fact, the following confession by achebe (2012, 55) as to how he went about his business of writing could hold true for the priest in this case, thus: “i borrowed proverbs from our culture and history, colloquialisms and african expressive language from the ancient griots, the worldviews, perspectives, and customs from my igbo tradition and cosmology, and the sensibilities of everyday people.” the imperativeness of such cannot be underestimated. this writer remembers a priest who was in his home parish many years ago and who was in the habit of using proverbs and stories in his homilies. while many people ordinarily have “forgotten” what he said in his homilies, what they still retain are some of the proverbs and stories they heard from him during such homilies and in remembering them, they often remember what occasioned them and then the contents of the same homilies. hence, puthiadam (2002, 11)would maintain that, “the best means to preserve and transmit wisdom is the story[and also proverbs]. in fact, what remains deeply embedded in our minds and hearts is not the doctrinal and the dogmatic part of the sermons and exhortations we hear or read in books, but the stories[and proverbs] that illustrate and lighten up and exemplify the doctrines.” no wonder, ela (1990) would be forced to draw the following conclusion that could be applied, in particular, to what is at stake, here: if christianity wants to reach africans, to speak to their hearts and to enter their consciousness and the space where their soul breathes, it must change. to do so christianity must do violence to itself and break the chains of western rationality which means almost nothing in the african civilization of the symbol. without some form of epistemological break with the scholastic universe, christianity has little chance of reaching the african. […].the whole scholastic and academic pedagogy of the west penalizes symbolism and ridicules symbolic thought. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 88 the collision of the gospel with the african world compels the church to restore to symbols their place and value in the encounter of humanity with god(41-42). listening to the people’s socio-political realities the people would wish as well that priests do not close their ears to the reality of things on the ground: the socio-political and religious realities, that is! indeed, it was beyer (1998, 26) who had once observed that, “in the celestial church of christ, elders appointed to read the sermon during service are strictly forbidden from making reference to newspaper publications, or any matter of political nature, or one that affects government or is derogatory to other religious organizations. they are strictly enjoined to limit themselves to the word of god in the bible whenever there is service in progress.” while one may try to understand where they are coming from, in the case of the priest in today’s africa, that may not be the case. making reference by him, for instance, to newspaper publications in the course of his sermons in which he would surely be talking about the gospel and not “zinc and cement”, may not amount to an “original sin”. after all, barth (cited in schineller, 2004, 12; taylor, 1977, 63)it was who had pointed out that the preacher ought to preach with the bible in one hand and the newspaper in the otherfor which miller (2006, 33) had to confess: “i like the metaphor, because holding the bible suggests that the preacher is not captive to this world, but holding the newspaper says the preacher at leastknows where the world is. the sermon should not be an intellectual documentary. but it should be an informed homily. people like listening to a preacher who knows the bible and understands the culture.” but even at this, a caveat may still not be unnecessary. in the words of pope francis (2013), “let us also keep in mind that we should never respond to questions that nobody asks. nor is it fitting to talk about the latest news in order to awaken people’s interest; we have television programmes for that. it is possible, however, to start with some fact or story so that god’s word can forcefully resound in its call to conversion, worship, commitment to fraternity and service, and so forth. yet there will always be some who readily listen to a preacher’s commentaries on current affairs, while not letting themselves be challenged”(155). hence, howell (2011, 52)would place the following on the table about the same barth cited above: famous for the image of the bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other, karl barth warned his preaching students against the presumed need that every sermon must be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 89 as timely as this morning’s newspaper. ‘we do not always have to bring in the latest and most sensational events’. events belong to everyday life, ‘but now it is sunday, and people want to go beyond them and rise above them’. he reminisced over the way he preached on the sunday after the sinking of the titanic and made the disaster the main theme of the sermon. the result? ‘a monster of a full-scale titanic sermon’. when war broke out in 1914, he raged in all his sermon about the war, until a woman came and begged him to talk about something else. ‘she was right! i had disgracefully forgotten the importance of the submission to the text. all pastors should be good marksmen who aim their guns beyond the hills of relevance.’ however, on the issue of making any reference to “any matter of political nature” – and one is still on beyer’s observation – during his sermons, the same situation holds for the priest in today’s africa. his having done this should not be interpreted as his having committed the worst of sins or to have been involved in calvin’s famous “nefarious perfidy.” instead, the contrary is the case. according to martey (cited in odey, 2006, 71), “the objective poverty of the african people stares the african church and its theology on the face as both claim to bring these same people the liberating message of christ’s gospel. to do theology[read to preach the gospel] in africa today and wink at the dehumanizing conditions of africa’s socio-economic reality involves what john calvin called ‘nefarious perfidy’ because this not only constitutes a betrayal of the gospel itself, but also of the freedom of god’s own people.” hence, while the fathers of vatican council ii (1965b) would observe that, though the church is not identified in any way with the political community nor bound to any political system, she should, however,have true freedom to preach the faith, to teach her social doctrine, to exercise her role freely among men, and also to pass moral judgment in those matters which regard public order when the fundamental rights of a person or the salvation of souls require it(76), odey(2001, 36-37) would maintain: “there is no church worthy of its name or any clergyman worthy of his noble calling who will comfortably afford to keep quiet when the rapacious wolves that hide under the umbrella of politics directly or indirectly threaten the very lives of his flock.[…]. if the church and the minsters of the gospel could steer clear of politics in the past without abandoning their flocks at the mercy of some ravenous wolves, today, when politics has become a matter of life and death, it has become a different story. any church or minster of the gospel that will have nothing to do with politics will equally have nothing to do with the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 90 people. as a political animal, you may be partisan or non-partisan, depending on your peculiar interest and vocation in life. but it is certainly a very dangerous contract to leave politics for the politicians alone.” little wonder, nwoko(1993) would conclude: “in its genuine nature politics is neither contrary to christianity nor to the priesthood. rather politics and the priesthood share something in common: a service of the organization of human society. so the priests in the leadership role are also in politics. the problem is with party-politics. this is where the controversies about the clergy’s participation in politics originate. the radical issue is the limiting factor of ideology in the nature of party-politics. it is ideology that relativizes politics into party-politics. and this is the factor, i think, that has always made the traditionalist and the church reticent about clergy’s involvement in politics.”(11). of course, in such talk of justice and the political in his sermon, the priest would surely be accused of “madness” and of being given to clerical opportunism(amaefule, 2007, 10), or even, of having become a “politician” who is being used by the opposition against those in governance. in this writer’s little play, the mad priest(2007), the protagonist, fr. ashiegbu, who had refused the donation of a huge amount of money form the governor of his state on the grounds that it was stolen from the poor masses was actually so accused and had to defend himself, among others, thus: i have no personal problems with anybody, no personal problem with those of them in the corridors of power. neither am i being used by their enemies, as i was once accused of, to thwart the smooth-running of their administration. i am simply too old to be used by anybody except god[…]. yes, i would like to let them understand as well that i’m not a politician. i’m not a politician in the sense that i do not belong to any political party. i belong to all parties and none at the same time. but as an enspoliticum, a political being, i think i am political and a politician. it is my inalienable right and i owe no one apologies for it. that’s why, by extension, even though the church has the mandate to preach the gospel of christ to all the world and should not ‘involve’ herself in politics, she cannot, however, close her eyes to the political problems of the world. she cannot close her eyes, bible in hand, kneeling and praying pious prayers and standing in the pulpit and preaching powerful sermons, while the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 91 body politic sinks into the maelstrom of political uncertainty. she cannot close her eyes in pious indifferentism, while our leaders ride roughshod over us by their financial recklessness, economic debauchery, political immaturity and neurotic parochialism(64). such accusations, of course, would surely be expected. in fact, it was archbishopcamara of brazil (cited in odey, 2007, 127-128) who had once challenged his priests: “why should we be afraid to see our peaceful battle for justice wrongly interpreted, wrongly judged, when christ himself was called an agitator, a subversive element, an enemy of caesar? if it is true that he was sacrificed because he proclaimed himself son of god, it is also true that on top of his cross it was written in three different languages that he had been put to death for a political reason.”hence, priests in africa today should not be deterred by accusations of this nature and more but would as always go ahead to preach the word “in season and out of season, reproving, rebuking or advising, always with patience and providing instruction” (2 tim 4:2),since it is only in doing so that they can claim to have fulfilled their prophetic roles as visionaries of their time endowed with rare courage(ehusani, 2003, 68), and, thus, have succeeded, as wont indeed prophets, in keeping the ministry of imagination alive and in proposing alternative solutions.“it is the vocation of the prophet”, said brueggemann (2001), “to keep alive the ministry of imagination, to keep on conjuring and proposing alternative futures to the single one that the king wants to urge us as the only thinkable one”(40). thus, such an african priest would become, precisely, then, according to iroegbu (cited in nwachukwu, 1999, 19-20), “an african amos who will not only denounce social evil, but also effectively bring a revolution to the social unjust situation in africa; an african jeremiah who will sharply decry and lament, making all and sundry conscious of the african deplorable dilemma, while pointing the way and means to solution; an african isaiah who will uncover and discern true african leaders who will be god’s instruments towards the situation in africa on all fronts; an africa hosea who will rise to the top and proclaim the centrality of love, divine and human, african and universal; an african moses who will stand up and cross the red sea of poverty and injustice, mental colonialism and religious confusion into the promised land of peace and justice of god, the integral welfare of all africans; an african christ who will join the jesus of history and faith and bring all africans into the father’s communion in the holy spirit.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 92 the significance of the foregoing inculturated preaching it was in achebe’s no longer at ease(1987) that ogbuefiodogwu, a nonchristian who, however, knew one or two things about christianity and who went to church once a year at harvest, had claimed that, “his only criticism of the christian service was that the congregation was denied the right to reply to the sermon” (47). in p’bitek’ssong of lawino and song of ocol (1984, 84), lawinowould make almost a similar accusation: protestant and catholic priests are all the same they do not like questions. when they mount the rostrum to preach they shout and shout and most of what they say i do not follow. but as soon as they stop shouting they run away fast, they never stop a little while to answer even one question. if these accusations were true, what cannot be denied is the fact that most of the times the people of god do get to talk later, at the back of the preacher, about the homily they have heard. “preachers”, observed cozzens (2000, 92),“know they will be judged by the very word they dare to preach.”according to pope francis (2013), “our people like to hear the gospel preached with ‘unction’, they like it when the gospel we preach touches their daily lives, when it runs down like the oil of aaron to the edges of reality, when it brings to moments of extreme darkness, to the ‘outskirts’ where people of faith are most exposed to the onslaught of those who want to tear down their faith. people thank us because they feel that we have prayed over the realities of their everyday lives, their troubles, their joys, their burdens and their hopes”(3). and though they, priests, that is, ought not to preach in order to be praised and thanked – such gestures, however, do help them, or rather, do act as a boost to their preaching ministry. hence, the same cozzens (2000, 139) would maintain: “and when his[the priest’s] preaching is poor, there is precious little affirmation. priests who preach well are regularly affirmed. priests who don’t, aren’t. clergy, i believe, are no more in need of affirmation than most people, but being human, it can sustain them in times of fatigue and discouragement.” but when they preach badly, the reverse will surely be the case. in fact, it was the same achebe (2000) who in his children’s novel, chike and the river, had igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 93 told the story of one miserly trader, mr. nwana, whom chike, the protagonist, had met at onitsha. of him, he wrote: one day chike saw nwana counting bundles of pound notes. he had not known that so much money existed in the world. if mr. nwana had so much, chike thought, why did he live so miserably? he lived in one room with his wife and five children. they ate hardly anything else but garri. if his wife put much fish in the soup he would rave and curse. sometimes he even beat her. his children wore threadbare clothes to school and were always last to pay school fees. he rode an old rickety bicycle for which he never bought a licence. whenever he heard that policemen were stopping cyclists to check their licenses he put his old machine away for a week or two. his neighbours called him ‘money-miss-road’ behind his back(41). yes, just as mr nwana’s neighbours called him “money-miss-road” behind his back, so also the priest’s congregation often, at his back, judge him and call him some unprintable names thereof. some are called “ogbu okwu chukwu”, killers or murderers of god’s word, “okunyuebube”, extinguishers of the anointing. others, to paraphrase what a writer had said elsewhere about preaching in american churches, are called “chillers of the word”(hilkert, 2006, 13-14). sometimes, such judgments are done without saying anything but doing just one thing: sleeping during homilies and sermons! according to brearley (1999, viii), “bad sermons […] are soporific. latimer told of a london gentlewoman whose neighbour asked her where she was going. ‘marry’, she said, ‘i am going to st. thomas acres to the sermon. i could not sleep all this last night, and i am now going thither; i never failed of a good nap there.’” at other times, the judgments come by their having to go hunting for good sermons elsewhere. though swift (cited in brearley, 1999, viii),had once complained, that, “it is become an impertinent vein among people of all sorts to hunt after what they call a good sermon, as if it were a matter of pastime and diversion”, the reality, however, is that people do it. in fact, it was achebe (2000) who, in presenting in his things fall apartthe missionary whose preaching about the holy trinity had brought okonkwo to the conviction that he, the missionary, that is, was mad and which, eventually, would necessitate his having to shrug his shoulders and to go away to tap his afternoon palmwine, had, however, this also to say: “but there was a young lad who had igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 94 been captivated. his name was nwoye, okonkwo’s first son. it was not the mad logic of the trinity that captivated him. he did not understand it. it was the poetry of the new religion, something felt in the marrow. the hymn about brothers who sat in darkness and in fear seemed to answer a vague and persistent question that haunted his young soul […]. he felt a relief within as the hymn poured into his parched soul. the words of the hymn were like the drops of frozen rain melting on the dry palate of the panting earth”(104). yes, the people go to hunt for good sermons that, like the hymn of the new religion, have answers to the vague and persistent questions that haunt their souls. in fact, sermons that like drops of frozen rain melt on the dry palate of their panting earth! indeed, ekpenyong (2004, 90-91)it was who had narrated a personal experience that underscores, in a way, what is being said, here. “there is a parish church”, he had begun, “i go, sometimes, to assist at mass on sundays. i get confused each time i am told ‘father make your sermon five minutes because people for the next mass will soon be here’. with this i know that there are six or seven masses for the day. after my mass on my way to the catholic secretariat, durumi, i do see some of the people who attended my mass going for service at the living faith church. i was curious, so one day i called one of them and asked whether the sunday masses were not enough to fulfill the sunday obligation. this catholic told me, ‘father the sunday masses are kind of a quick fix. i make sure i go to communion every sunday. after that in the spirit of ecumenism, i go to the living faith church to get the word of god’. don’t mind the new definition of ecumenism. but can you in good conscience blame our catholics who have this kind of doctrinal mix-up? the church’s doctrinal tradition describes the priest as teacher of the word, minister of the sacraments and leader of the christian community. the truth is that we are building more and more “ungospeled” and “unworded” cheap grace christian community.” and when this happens, when, that is, they “go to the living faith church to get the word of god” after their sunday masses, when they leave their parishes to go elsewhere, the priest\pastor from whose parish\congregation they had trooped out, would always cry foul: that the other priest\pastor had “stolen” his parishioners. but more often than not, however, nobody stole anybody or if at all there were any stealing, it was good sermons that did the stealing! and such modus operandi of andin crying foul is never new. already,“[i]n the ninth century”, brearley (1999, xiv) would note,“archbishop agobard of lyons, a notable anti-jewish polemicist, protested to emperor igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 95 louis the pious that many christians in the region regarded jewish preachers as better than christian ones.” preparation and resources for inculturated preaching in view of the foregoing, priests in africa today are challenged to dedicate their time to the preparation of their sermons and homilies and not simply to rely on the principle that “the holy spirit will tell us what to say during the sermon”. “preparation for preaching”, observed pope francis (2013, 145), “is so important a task that a prolonged time of study, prayer, reflection and pastoral creativity should be devoted to it[…]. trust in the holy spirit who is at work during the homily is not merely passive but active and creative. it demands that we offer ourselves and all our abilities as instruments(cf. rom. 12:1) which god can use. a preacher who does not prepare is not ‘spiritual’; he is dishonest and irresponsible with the gifts he has received.” hence, barclay (2001) would put it on record, thus: preaching is the message which the holy spirit has given to a man to deliver to the people of god[…]. we must be quite clear what this means. if we say that a man’s message is given to him by the holy spirit, that does not for a moment mean that a man is freed from study, freed from preparation, freedfrom discipline, freed from the most strenuous exercise of the mind which god has given him. the truth is that the more a man uses his own mind, the more the holy spirit will speak to him. the more a man studies scripture with every help which scholarship can give him, the more the holy spirit will shine upon the pages of scripture, and illuminate them so that there will emerge from themflashes of truth which he has hitherto never seen[…].true preaching comes when the loving heart and disciplined mind are at the disposal of the holy spirit (95-96). in such a preparation, the priest should not forget, as already hinted at above in the pope’s observation, to dedicate enough time to prayer since it is actually in the very act of prayer that the priest gets to know better the christ, the word of god, whom he would preach about later. in fact, there is a way in which what st. jerome (cited in aharoni, 1979, x) had said about the land of judea in the preface to his commentary on the chronicles, could be applied to christ, thus: “just as those who have seen athens understand greek history better, and just as those who have seen troy understand the words of the poet vergil, thus one will comprehend the holy scriptures with a clearer igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 96 understanding who has seen the land of judah with his own eyes and has come to know the references to the ancient towns and places and their names, both the principal names and those that have changed”. that is to say then that only he who had seen christ, who had encountered him in prayer, would understand his words, or rather, he himself better, in order to preach him better. yes, only such a man can confess with the author of the first epistle of john that, “what we have heard and seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, i mean the word who is life…”(i jn. 1:1), him we preach. hence, dolan (2000, 298)would observe that, “it is impossible to be a good preacher unless you are a man of prayer.” indeed, there are no dearth of sources and resources which he, the priest, that is, could utilize in this preparation, or rather, in the actual art of his preaching. “tending the word”, said cozzens (2000), “the priest discovers, includes tending to the power and depth of his own imagination. the priest who takes preaching seriously takes his imagination seriously; he nourishes it with poetry and novels, with theater and film. he comes to understand that his imagination needs its own solitude, space, and time to interpret afresh the biblical symbols and the christian message in such a way that they speak to questions and confusion, the blessings and tragedies that make up the human condition of his parishioners”(94). therefore, he should be open to accept every good thing in the african world, as mentioned before now, that could help him carry out his assignment and needs, at the same time, to eschew any atom of iconoclasm as the one exhibited by lawino’s husband, ocol, whose head, the wife, lawino, makes known, is lost “in the forest of books”(p’bitek, 1984, 113) and who is proud to declare that he would arrest the village poets, musicians and tribal dancers, put in detention folk-story tellers and mythmakers, disband the nest of court historians and singers of the village anthem, send to the gallows the professors of anthropology and teachers of african history and destroy all anthologies of african literatures and close down all schools of african studies(129). this is precisely because from the aforementioned as well as other sources, he has a lot, quite a lot, to learn that can handsomely enrich his preaching enterprise –since, in the words of john paul ii (1985, 18), “the gospel does not lead to the impoverishment or extinction of those things which every individual, people and nation and every culture throughout history recognizes and brings into being as goodness, truth and beauty. on the contrary, it strives to assimilate and to develop all these values: to live them with magnanimity and joy and to perfect them by the mysterious and ennobling light of revelation.” hence, while the fathers of vatican council ii igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 97 (1965c) would urge the young churches in what could be applied here to african priests to “borrow from the customs and traditions of their people, from their wisdom and their learning, from their arts and disciplines, all those things which can contribute to the glory of their creator, or enhance the grace of their saviour, or dispose christian life the way it should be”(22), shorter (1996, 123) would maintain that, “the african reading of the mystery of christ should borrow themes not only from oral culture in its dialogue with the gospel, but also forms of expression from that culture.” again, there is another thing to be said, here: this paper has pointed out above the reality of globalization and what influence, in terms of digital communication, it can and actually does have on the men and women in and of africa, especially now that the world, africa not excluded, consequently, finds herself in what could be called the “communications era”(baur, 1994, 343). in talking about the function of the priest as minister of the word of god in today’s africa, therefore, this has also to be taken into consideration. indeed, it was benedict xvi (2010, 2-4) who during his message for the 44th world day of communication, had observed, thus: all priests have as their primary duty the proclamation of jesus christ, the incarnate word of god, and the communication of his saving grace in the sacraments[…]. the world of digital communication, with its almost limitless expressive capacity, makes us appreciate all the more saint paul’s exclamation: ‘woe to me if i do not preach the gospel’(i cor. 9:16). […]. priests stand at the threshold of a new era[…] they are called to respond pastorally by putting the media ever more effectively at the service of the word[…]. priests are thus challenged to proclaim the gospel by employing the latest generation of audiovisual resources(images, videos, animated features, blogs, websites) which, alongside traditional means, can open up broad new vistas for dialogue, evangelization and catechesis. when the priest, and in this case, the african priest, makes himself so available he becomes a “digital priest” or even, an “e-priest”. according to ihejirika (2011), “there is no doubt that the most defining element of our world today is the new information and communication technologies, which are the fruits of electricity and digitalization. we are today said to live in a digital world or an electronic world. it is an e-world as most of our activities are carried out electronically. we thus have e-banking, e-payment, eigwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 98 registration etc. in like manner, the priest in the modern world could be called the e-priest” (8). points to be always borne in mind by the african priest in his inculturated preaching it is good to point out that in all his preaching activities, the african priest should never forget, as the fathers of vatican council ii (1965a, 5) would maintain, that it is the “eucharist […that is] the source and summit of all preaching of the gospel” and that “preaching is effective only when the priest unites christians at the eucharist, the sacrament of unity”(echlin, 1973, 77). hence, his preaching, or rather, his prophetic role, should always be connected with his sanctifying and cultic role! “thus the prophetic activity of jesus”, galot (2005) noted,“emerges as one closely connected with the other aspects of his pastoral priesthood. in the absence of priestly sacrifice, the prophetic mission would be short of ultimate fulfilment” (46). no wonder, benedict xvi (2010, 55) would state: “word and eucharist are so deeply bound together that we cannot understand one without the other: the word of god takes flesh sacramentally in the event of the eucharist. the eucharist opens us to an understanding of scripture, just as scripture for its part illumines and explains the mystery of the eucharist.” hence, while john paul ii (2004, 3) would observe that, “to evangelise the world there is need of apostles who are ‘experts’ in the celebration, adoration and contemplation of the eucharist,”rahner (cited in echema, 2011, 219), in this regard, would see a priest, and in this situation, the african priest, as “he who, related to at least a potential community preaches the word of god by the mandate of the church as a whole, and therefore officially, and in such a way that he is entrusted with the highest level of sacramental intensity of this word.” yes, it was achebe (1986)who, writing about ezeulu, the chief priest of ulu, in his arrow of god, had observed that, “[w]henever ezeulu considered the immensity of his power over the year and the crops and, therefore, over the people he wondered if it was real. it was true he named the day for the feast of the pumpkin leaves and for the new yam feast; but he did not choose it. he was merely a watchman”(3). the priest, african priest, considering the great power at his disposal, this power to preachand, ipso facto, of “telling people what they ought and ought not to do”(miller, 2006, 9), could, as well, wonder if it was real, but in such wondering let him not forget that such a power only came to him by god’s grace. yes, just as ezeulu was merely a watchman of ulu, so the priest, the african priest, that is, should always remember that he himself, by god’s grace, is merely a spokesman of and for igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 99 god. indeed, he should always remember that he is nothing but a testimonial to grace, to god’s grace(amaefule, 2013, 38). hence, with st. paulin what african priests as a whole should make their motto -they should always confess: “as for us we would not dare consider that something comes from us. our ability comes from god. he has even enabled us to be ministers of a new covenant no longer depending on a written text but on the spirit”(2 cor.3:5-6). no wonder, barth (1957, 186) would conclude: “as ministers we ought to speak of god. we are human, however, and so cannot speak of god. we ought therefore to recognize both our obligation and our inability and by that very recognition give god the glory.” again, the african priest should always bear in mind that being the spokesman of god, or better, the oracle of the eternal word, as st. john eudes(cited in lebrun,1934, 233) would call him, the onus actually rests on him to lead his fellow africans to an encounter with this same word, jesus the christ, whose oracle and spokesman he is. “the first goal”, fogliacco (2001) would insist, “of the entire inculturation programme [just like inculturated preaching] consists precisely in leading africans to identify jesus christ”(121). hence, john paul ii (1995, 57 ) would observe that, “the new evangelization should be centered on a transforming encounter with the living person of christ. the first proclamation ought to bring about this overwhelming and exhilarating experience of jesus christ who calls each one to follow him in an adventure of faith.”and the significance of the aforementioned rests on the fact that it is only after they had identified him, jesus christ, that is, only after they had encountered him, that they will be able to say who he is for them and be in a position to give him a name, not any name but his unique name, the one christological title that situates him in the african world of spirits and distinguishes him from all other principalities and powers(fogliacco, 2001, 121). what a challenge this is, this giving a name to christ, that is, to every african, or better, every african christian, who not only confesses, to borrow the title of kasper’s book, “the god of jesus christ”(1984), but also to whom the word of the same god has been preached. according to orobator(2008), based on his or her flesh-and-blood experience every african christian who confesses the god of jesu kristi faces the challenging task of formulating his or her own answer to the jesus question[‘who do you say that i am?’]. this answer will be conditioned by his or her situation in life and the degree of personal relationship that each has with jesu kristi. in other words, the answer will derive igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 100 from each christian’s personal encounter of jesu kristi, rather than from the erudite speculations of theologians(77). indeed, it is this identification, personal encounter and the consequent naming of christ by the african christian as, indeed, the god to whom nothing is impossible(cf.lk.1:37), the god to whom every knee in heaven, on earth and among the dead must bow(cf.phil.2:10), the god who, as john paul ii (1995, 57) would say, “saves the african...from oppression and slavery” and, consequently, as “the victor over the powers and forces which africa knows no means of deliverance”, as mbiti (1972, 55), on his own part, would see him, that will help a good number of african christians overcome a fundamental problem which is sometimes seen in their way of life. and that is the problem of double allegiance which sees them “keep one foot in the beliefs of their african traditional religion and one foot in christianity”(healey and sybertz, 2005, 294), with the result that “the two faiths seem to hang rather precariously in the convert’s single mind”(okorocha, 1987, 264). ela (1990, 139) regards it, this double allegiance, which has been known to be caused by many factors(nwaoru, 2004, 195-201), as the “tragedy of most black african christians.”no wonder, while penoukou(cited in fogliacco, 2001, 120) would observe that, “stating that one believes in christ, while at the same time committing oneself to other spiritual powers, cosmic or metacosmic, simply shows the failure to identify jesus christ successfully in order to confess him radically”, nwaoru(2004) would put it on record that,“[i]t is when inculturation theology, through the process of assimilation, has enabled christian teaching/preaching(prophetic ministry) to succeed in bringing the concept of god to such a level that no african christian will think that the god he or she worships is a stranger, or be frightened and lured into seeking the face of other gods in the time of difficulty that it could be said to have met its target”(209). finally, the african priest should remember that when all is said and done the best way for him to inculturate and then proclaim the word is and will always be by his way of life, his manner of living, which, like a magnet, is what will attract men and women of today more to what he is saying than anything else. “people today put more trust in witnesses than in teachers, in experience than in teaching, and in life and action than in theories,” john paul ii (1990, 42) would note in what paul vi (1975, 41), in his evangeliinuntiandi, had earlier observed, thus: “modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.”no igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 101 wonder, guest (cited in amaefule, 2005, 23), in his poem, “sermons we see”, would maintain: i’d rather see a sermon than hear one any day i’d rather one should walk with me than merely show the way the eye’s a better pupil and more willing than the ear fine counsel is confusing, but example’s always clear: and the best of all the preachers are the men who live their creeds for to see the good in action, is what everybody needs i can soon learn how to do it if you’ll let me see it done i can watch your hands in action, but your tongue too fast may run. nobody, as a matter of fact, can underestimate what a “seen sermon” of and the authentic witnessing by the african priest can do to the african church and its world at large in these days, as pointed out above, when people prefer to see sermons rather than just hear them(ehusani, 2003 139). “a good image of the priest in the african church”, said ndiokwere (1994) in support, “will no doubt contribute immensely to the growth of the church of christ in africa, while a distorted or dented image of the priesthood will mean disaster”(124). conclusion kung (1967, 77) it was who had observed that, “every believer can and must, having been taught by god, teach others; can and must, having received the word of god, be its herald in some form or other. every christian is called to be a preacher of the word, in the widest sense, even though, in view of the variety of the gifts of the spirit, not everyone can by any means do everything. all are called to preach the gospel in the sense of their personal christian witness, without being all called to preach in the narrow sense of the word or to be theologians”. while there is no contesting that observation, the interest of this paper has been to look at those who are called, as he observed, “to preach in the narrow sense of the word”, to preach, by virtue of their ordination, in a special way, priests, that is, and in this case, priests in and from africa. the paper has found out that the most effective way priests in africa today can undertake this great responsibility is by way of inculturated preaching, that is, that preaching which is open to the symbolic world of africans and at the same time never closes its eyes to the socio-political reality of the same while being built, as it were, on the word of god, on jesus the christ, whom christians not only “personally know, love, and serve and with whom we igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 102 frequently commune in prayer”(dolan, 2000, 299), but whom we believe and believe strongly also shares “the joys and hopes, the grief and anguish of the people of our time, especially of those who are poor or afflicted in any way”(vatican council ii, 1965b, 1). references achebe, c. (1983). the trouble with nigeria. oxford: heinemann. achebe, c. (1986). arrow of god. oxford: heinemann. achebe, c. (1987). no longer at ease. oxford: heinemann. achebe, c. (2000). things fall apart. oxford: heinemann. achebe, c. (2000). chike and the river, ibadan: heinemann. achebe, c. (2012). there was a country: a personal history of biafra. london: penguin press. achermann, e. (1996). cry beloved africa! a continent needs help. munichkinshasa:african university studies. adichie, c.n. (2004).purple hibiscus. lagos: farafina. aharoni, y. (1979). the land of the bible: a historical geography. philadelphia: westminster press. akinwale, a.a. (2010). african theology and dogmatic responsibility for the christian god. in b.u. ukwujie (ed.),god, bible and african traditional religion: acts of sist international missiological symposium, 2009 (213246). enugu: snaap press. amaefule, a.e. (2005). icons of valour: courageous saints and heroes for courageous living.ibadan: daily graphics. amaefule, a.e. (2007).the mad priest. ibadan: caro’phem communications. amaefule, a.e. (2013). before anything else…,. in a.e. amaefule (ed.), the beauty of priesthood: an anthology of poems, prose and prayers on the powers, dignity and duties of the priest (34-50). owerri: totan publishers. anderson, a. (2004). an introduction to pentecostalism: global charismatic christianity. cambridge: cambridge university press. anderson, a. (2011). the pentecostal gospel, religion and culture in african perspective. in encounter beyond routine: cultural roots, cultural transition, understanding of faith and cooperation in development, international consultation, academy mission, hamburg, 17th -23rd january 2011, 65-70. ayanga, h. (2010). globalization: a theo-religious response. in l. magesa (ed.),african theology comes of age: revisiting twenty years of the theology of the ecumenical symposium of eastern african theologians(eseat) (167-174). nairobi: paulines publications africa. barclay, w. (2001). the promise of the spirit. louisville, kentucky: westminster john knox press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 103 barth, k. (1957). the word of god and the word of man. new york: harper and brothers. baur, j. (1994). 2000 years of christianity in africa: an african history 62-1992. nairobi: paulines publications africa. benedict xvi, (2010). message for the 44th world day of communication, the priest and pastoral ministry in a digital world: new media at the service of the word. sunday, 16 may. benedict xvi, (2010). post-synodal apostolic exhortation, verbum domini. saint peter’s, rome, 30 september. benedict xvi, (2011). post-synodal apostolic exhortation, africae munus. quidah, 19 november. beyer, e. (1998). new christian movements in west africa: a course in church history. ibadan: sefer. bishops and priests of igboland (1999). the igbo catholic priest at the threshold of the third millennium: self-examination, challenges and expectations. enugu: snaap press. brearley, m. (1999). foreword. in r. giedhill (ed.),the fifth times book of best sermons(vii-xvii). london: cassell. brown, r.e.(2000). an introduction to the new testament. bangalore: theological publications in india. brueggemann, w. (2001). the prophetic imagination. minneapolis: fortress press. bujo, b. (1992). african theology in its social context. nairobi: st. paul’s publications africa. casaldaliga, p. &vigil, j. (1994). the spirituality of liberation. kent: burns & oates. conrad, j. (1996). heart of darkness. new york: st. martin’s press. cozzens, d.b. (2000). the changing face of the priesthood. collegeville, minnesota: the liturgical press. dolan, t.m. (2000). priests for the third millennium. huntington, indiana:our sunday visitor. echema, a. (2011). priests and laity collaboration in the postmodern church. owerri: assumpta press. echlin, e.p. (1973). the priest as preacher: past and future. dublin: the mercier press. ehusani, g.o. (2003). a prophetic church. ibadan: kraft books. ekpenyong, m. (2005). christ and pentecostalism: the nigerian experience. in c. m. hammawa (ed.),pentecostalism: proceedings of the national seminaries committee workshop, st. augustine’s seminary, jos, plateau state, 4th-7th may, 2004 (77-96). jos: fab anieh. ela, j-m. (1990). my faith as an african. maryknoll, new york: orbis books. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 104 faniran, j.o. (2012). preaching as communication: a response to pentecostal challenge. in l. e. ijezie et al. (eds.),theology and liturgy in the life of the church: proceedings of the 26th annual conference of the catholic theological association of nigeria, ikotekpene, 2011 (257-269). lagos: clear impact services. fogliacco, n. (2001). the family: an african metaphor for trinity and church. in c. mcgarry& p. ryan (eds.),inculturating the church in africa: theological and practical perspectives (120-158). nairobi: paulines publications africa. francis (2013). homily for chrism mass. saint peter’s basilica, holy thursday, 28 march. francis (2013). apostolic exhortation, evangeliigaudium. saint peter’s, rome, 24 november. french, h.w. (2004). a continent for the taking: the tragedy and hope of africa. new york: vintage. galot, j. (2005). theology of the priesthood. san francisco: ignatius press. guest, r. (2004). the shackled continent: power, corruption and african lives. oxford: macmillan. healey, j. &sybertz, d. (2005). towards an african narrative theology. nairobi: paulines publications africa. hilkert, m.c. (2006). naming grace: preaching and the sacramental imagination. new york: continuum. howell, j.c. (2011).the beauty of the word: the challenge and wonder of preaching. louisville, kentucky: westminster john knox. ihejirika, w.c. (2011). the e-priest: the identity of the catholic priest in the digital age. owerri: edu-edy publications. ilo, sc. (2006). the face of africa: looking beyond the shadows. bloomington, indiana: authorhouse. john paul ii (1985). encyclical letter, slavorumapostoli. rome, 2 june. john paul ii (1990). encyclical letter, redemptorismissio. rome, 7 december. john paul ii (1995). post-synodal apostolic exhortation, ecclesia in africa. yaoundé, 14 september. john paul ii (2004). message for world mission sunday, eucharist and mission. rome, 19 april. kalu, o. (2008). african pentecostalism: an introduction. oxford: oxford university press. kasper, w. (1984). the god of jesus christ. new york: crossroads. kasper, w. (2004). the uniqueness and universality of christ. in m. serretti (ed.),the uniqueness and universality of jesus christ:in dialogue with the religions (6-18).grand rapids, michigan: eerdmans publishing company, 2004. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 105 kunhiyop, s.w. (2008). african christian ethics. nairobi: hippo books. kung, h. (1967). the church. new york: sheed and ward. laye, c. (1981). the african child. glasgow: william collins son & co. lebrun, c. (1934). the spiritual teaching of st. john eudes. london: sands & co. mazrui, a.a. (1986). the africans: a triple heritage. london: bbc publications. mbefo, l.n. (2001). the true african: impulses for self-affirmation. onitsha: spiritan publications. mbiti, j.s. (1972). some african concepts of christology. in g.f. vicedom (ed.),christ and the younger churches: theological contributions from asia, africa and latin america (51-62). london: spck. mbiti, j. (1999). african religions and philosophy. oxford: heinemann. miller, c. (2006). preaching: the art of narrative exposition. grand rapids, michigan: baker books. moniz, j. (1999). a new world order: mahatma gandhi & pope john paul ii. mumbai: better yourself books. mununguri, m. (1998). the closeness of the god of our ancestors. nairobi: paulines publications africa. mveng, e. (1994). impoverishment and liberation: a theological approach for africa and the third world. in r. gibellini (ed.),paths of african theology (154-165). maryknoll, new york: orbis books. mwakikagile, g. (2006). africa is in a mess: what went wrong and what should be done. dar es salam: new africa press. ndiokwere, n.i. (1994). the african church today and tomorrow: prospects and challenges, vol. i. onitsha: effective key publishers. nwachukwu, c.o.u. (1999). effective preaching to change lives and society. lagos: compass. nwaoru, e.o. (2004). coping with double allegiance among african christians: insights from the biblical tradition. journal of inculturation theology, 6(2), 195-201. nwoko, m.i. (1993). the clergy and politics. maryland, nekede, owerri: claretian institute of philosophy. o’connor, a. (1991). poverty in africa: a geographical approach. london: belhaven press. obiefuna, a. (1994). fourth general congregation. in l’osservatore romano, 17(1338), 9. odey, j. (2001). the anti-corruption crusade: the saga of a crippled giant. enugu: snaap press. odey, j.o. (2006). the priesthood and the challenges of our time. enugu: snaap press. odey, j.o. (2007). the eleventh commandment: you shall not keep silent in the face of injustice. enugu: snaap press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 106 oduyoye, m.a. (2001). introducing african women’s theology. sheffield: sheffield academic press. oguejiofor, j. o. (2001). african theologians and the challenge of miracle christianity. the nigerian journal of theology, (15), 38-54. okorocha, c.c. (1987). the meaning of religious conversion in africa: the case of the igbo of nigeria. aldershot: avebury. orobator, a.e. (2000). the church as family: african ecclesiology in its social context. nairobi: pauline publications africa. orobator, a.e. (2008). theology brewed in an african pot. nairobi: paulines publications africa. p’bitek, o. (1984). song of lawino and song of ocol. london: heinemann. pan-african conference of the third world theologians (2008). declaration, accra, ghana, december 17-23, 1977. in b. bujo&j.i. muya (eds.),african theology: the contribution of the pioneers (vol. ii) (264-271). nairobi: paulines publications africa. paul vi (1975). apostolicexhortation, evangeliinuntiandi. rome, 8 december. pobee, j.s. (1979). toward an african theology. nashville, tenn.: abingdon press. puthiadam, i. (2002). christian liturgy: the re-presentation of the greatest godhuman story. mumbai: st. pauls. radcliffe, t. (2008). why go to church?: the drama of the eucharist. london: continuum. richburg, k.b. (2009). out of america: a black man confronts africa. new york: basic books. schineller, p. (2004). introduction. in g. o. ehusani, gospel reflections for our time (11-13). ibadan: st. pauls. schreiter, r. (1986). constructing local theologies. maryknoll, new york: orbis books. shorter, a. (1973). african culture and the christian church: an introduction to social and pastoral anthropology. london: geoffrey chapman. shorter, a. (1978). african christian spirituality. london: geoffrey chapman. shorter, a. (1996). christianity and the african imagination. nairobi: paulines publications africa. taylor, g.c. (1977). how shall they preach?elgin: progressive baptist publishing house. the rites of the catholic church, vol. 2, (1991). collegeville, minnesota: liturgical press. umoren, a.i. (2000). jesus and miracle healing today. iperu remo:the ambassador publications. uzukwu, e.e. (1996). a listening church: autonomy and communion in african churches. maryknoll, new york: orbis books. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 107 vatican council ii (1965a). decree, presbyterorumordinis, 7 december. vatican council ii (1965b). pastoral constitution, gaudium et spes. 7 december. vatican council ii (1965c). decree, ad gentes. 7 december. von balthasar, h.u. (1965). the place of theology. in h.u. von balthasar. word and redemption: essays in theology, vol. (ii) (7-22). new york: herder and herder. wrong, m. (2002).in the footsteps of mr. kurtz: living on the brink of disaster in mobutu’s congo. new york: perennial. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.1 no. 1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 81 nature and function of logic in african epistemology by dr. ejikemeuwa, j. o. ndubisi department of philosophy & religious studies tansian university, umunya anambra state, nigeria ejikon4u@yahoo.com abstract in philosophy, western or african, logic and epistemology are very fundamental. they constitute the major branches of philosophy. they are concerned with the object and method of human knowledge. remove knowledge, human life would be meaningless; any neglect on logic makes a particular claim to knowledge questionable and difficult for general acceptance. one thing to note is that without logic in epistemology, true or valid knowledge may not be attained. every society has its own stock of epistemological thoughts, methods and world views. since the quest for knowledge is part of human nature, there is no culture or tradition that is devoid of this essential quality. the african also has his own method or means of acquiring knowledge. the question now is: how logical are these african modes of acquiring knowledge? put in another way: what is the role of logic in the african way of acquiring knowledge? the attempt to answer this question is the concern of this paper. keywords: nature, function, logic, african, epistemology introduction knowledge acquisition is central to the being of the human person. every human person, whether young or old, desires to know. the quest for knowledge therefore is not the exclusive preserve of any group of people. it is something that characterizes our being human. in this regard omoregbe as cited in ozumba (2004:40) maintains that the human nature and experience are basically the same all over the world and that the tendency to philosophize is part of human nature. the implication of this assertion is that the capacity to acquire knowledge is innate in human beings. every human person, regardless of colour, race, status, location, etc., has the potentiality to acquire knowledge. in philosophy, western or african, logic and epistemology are very fundamental. they constitute the major branches of philosophy. they are concerned with the object and method of human knowledge. remove knowledge, human life would be meaningless; any neglect on logic makes a particular claim to knowledge questionable and difficult for general acceptance. one thing to note is that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 82 without logic in epistemology, true or valid knowledge may not be attained. ozumba (2004:40) observed that every society has its own stock of epistemological thoughts, methods and world views. since the quest for knowledge is part of human nature, there is no culture or tradition that is devoid of this essential quality. the african also has his own method or means of acquiring knowledge. the question now is: how logical are these african modes of acquiring knowledge? put in another way: what is the role of logic in the african way of acquiring knowledge? the attempt to answer this question is the concern of this paper. therefore, this paper takes a look at the understanding of the concepts: logic and african epistemology, the modes of acquiring knowledge in african epistemology, the functions of logic in african epistemology. it later ends with a concluding reflection. logic: an overview the art of sound, correct and critical reasoning is in the domain of logic. logic concerns itself with the proper method of reasoning. it distinguishes correct reasoning from incorrect reasoning; removes ambiguities and obscurities from human discourse. logic brings out truth from falsity, consistency from inconsistency, orderliness from disorder, valid argument from invalid argument. logic dissipates confusion that usually arises in our everyday discourse. it is logic that differentiates rational beings from irrational beings. the proper application of logic is what separates human beings from the lower animals. in the view of bello (2000:1), logic is concerned with the study of the principles and techniques of distinguishing good arguments from bad argument. the implication of bello’s position is that logic has to do with the proper structures of thinking. it provides the platform for coherent thinking. copi (1982:2) emphatically states that logic studies the method and principles by which we differentiate good reasoning from bad reasoning and correct reasoning from incorrect reasoning. aja (2008:3) observed thus: the basic aim of logic is to teach us to reason correctly. reasoning is the activity or process of adducing, collecting reasons, weighing them, and drawing conclusions based upon these reasons. correct reasoning is the art of finding reasons and/or evidence which do, in fact, support and/or prove our conclusion. the observation of aja presupposes that without logic, correct reasoning will be impossible. more so, for any claim to be acceptable, there must be some convincing evidence to support the claim, otherwise, it may not be regarded as true knowledge. this is because of the simple fact that it lacks convincing igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 83 justification. echekwube (1999) as cited in jaja and badey (2012:96) noted that “logic … is concerned with the processes of thinking and reasoning as well as the symbolic expressions of such process in verbal or written form.” logic also deals with the use of language for proper communication and comprehension. the inherent relationship between logic and language, in the view of jaja and badey, explains why logicians critically examine statements used in language to see if conclusions follow from the premise or premises (jaja and bradey, 2012:96). in sum, logic helps the individual to form arguments properly for better communication. it is logic that sharpens our thinking faculty and purifies the way we reason. african epistemology the desire to know is innate in every human being. every day, we make claim to certain knowledge. we even go as far as arguing for the thing that we claim to know. but some basic questions arise: what actually do we know? is knowledge relative or objective? can there be absolute claim to knowledge? what is the foundation for the knowledge we claim to have? the answers to the above questions form the subject matter of epistemology. epistemology deals with the nature, origin and basis of human knowledge. omoregbe (1998:vi) relates that epistemology as a major branch of philosophy is “the study of human knowledge, the study of the nature of human knowledge, its origin, its scope, its limits, its justification, its reliability or otherwise, its certainty or otherwise. it is like knowledge taking a critical look at itself to justify itself.” in the view of eboh (1998:1), epistemology simply deals with the justification of human knowledge. it examines the validity or truth of human knowledge (eboh:1998:2). it is clear from the views of omoregbe and eboh that epistemology basically deals with justification of knowledge claim. so it is not enough for one to claim to know something; one has to show that what one claims to know is the case. for instance if i say that ikechukwu kanu is a catholic priest or that very rev. msgr. prof. j. b. akam is the founder of tansian university, i have to present evidence to substantiate or justify the claim. if not, such a claim is nonsense and therefore should not be regarded as knowledge. [a]ny claim to knowledge presupposes, if it is to be a valid claim, the satisfaction of conditions concerning grounds, truth, meaning and perhaps other things. to investigate these conditions is a philosophical task. to establish these general conditions is to elucidate the concept of knowledge, and this is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 84 a prime task of a philosopher concerned with the theory of knowledge [epistemology]. (hamlyn, 1977:5). african epistemology is one of the major branches of african philosophy. we must note that african philosophy, in sum, has to do with a critical reflection on the african and the african world. just like every other aspect of african philosophy, african epistemology has been observed to be in a bad state conceptually (ozumba, 2004:35). the fact is that africans have been regarded as those who do not reflect or reason but simply appeal to emotion. they are simply emotional beings rather than rational beings. it is against this misconception that omoregbe (1985) as cited in ozumba (2004:40) categorically stated that human nature and human experience are basically the same all over the world and the tendency to philosophize is part of human nature; all human beings reflect on some fundamental philosophic questions about life or about the universe. african epistemology therefore is the concretization of what is known in the african world. it is all about the way the african reflects on the reality within the african world. it also has to do with the ways and manners the african makes effort to justify what he claims to know. aja in uduigwomen (2002:36) pointed out that the problem of knowledge in traditional african thought is that of ascertaining whether or not what is claimed as knowledge is actually knowledge rather than mistaken opinion on the other hand, and the means or source of acquiring the knowledge on the other. in the view of ozumba (2001:171), african epistemology has to do with africa’s own way of carrying out its enquiries into the nature, scope and limits of knowledge. now the pertinent question is: what is that africa’s own way of knowledge acquisition? it is simply the mode or manner through which the african talks about reality in the african world. it must be observed that there are varied ways and means of knowledge acquisition in africa. let us now look at the forms of knowledge acquisition in african epistemology. forms of knowledge in african epistemology: there are varied forms of knowledge in african epistemology. they include: perceptual knowledge, common sense knowledge, old age knowledge, inferential knowledge, mystical knowledge, oral tradition, wholistic knowledge, etc. let us briefly analyze them to enable us have a better understanding of the ways and manners of knowledge acquisition in african epistemology. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 85 1. perceptual knowledge: as the name implies, this type of knowledge is gained through sense perception. it is called first-hand knowledge. the african person holds that knowledge is gained through what we see, hear, touch, taste or smell. this is embedded on the idea of igbo expression: ‘afu n’anya e kwere’ (to see is to believe). the idea that ‘mr. john is in the class’ or that ‘snow is falling now’ is within the domain of perceptual knowledge. the african finds it very difficult to doubt what he has witnessed with the empirical senses. the question of whether one is deceived by his senses is out of place here. in some cases where there are problems of ascertaining the veracity of claim to knowledge, the african would ask for the eye-witness (the third party). but should the testimony of the eye-witness be doubted, oath-taking becomes the final reference point. 2. common sense knowledge: this is the type of knowledge that is gained effortlessly. it is the type of knowledge that is coeval with the human person. it is believed that every human person has this type of knowledge: the knowledge to distinguish between what is morally good or morally bad. it must be noted that the fact that every person possesses this type of knowledge is in kind and not in degree. the igbo people would always say that ‘isi na isi ha bu n’onu’ (that all heads are equal is just a matter of words of mouth). the implication here is that some people’s common sense knowledge may be higher than others. 3. old age knowledge: this is the type of knowledge gained through wealth of experience. the africans believe that the older a person is the more knowledgeable he/she becomes. it is also believed that the old person must have had series of experience in life which will now be the basis for most of his decisions. also, in the african hierarchy of beings, there is the belief that the old people are closer to the gods who are the sources of all wisdom. so the ontological states of old people within the african world presuppose knowledgeability. a person is said to know or have wisdom in as much as he approaches divine wisdom. and a person approaches divine wisdom when he/she becomes less fleshy (onyewuenyi, 1980:312). this simply means that the older a person gets, the more knowledgeable he is. 4. inferential knowledge: simply put, inference is the act of drawing conclusion from a given fact or data. so inferential knowledge is the type of knowledge gained from repeated events igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 86 or phenomena. if a little child says the truth once, twice or trice, the african elder concludes that the little child is truthful. this type of knowledge / conclusion is amplified by the past experiences. however, there is a problem that goes with this form of knowledge which is not within the scope of this study. the important thing to note is that the african in his quest for knowledge tries to make reference to the past to enable him ascertain the present. 5. mystical knowledge: this is the type of knowledge acquired through extra-ordinary means. it is beyond the ordinary sense perception. it is the type of knowledge gained through the help of the god, deities and other spiritual beings. it is a form of knowledge that is the exclusive preserve of some individuals. the african believes that those who are privileged to possess this type of knowledge are the diviners, priests, native-doctors, witches, rain-makers, etc. uduigwomen (2002:38) observed that these set of people are believed to possess certain “innate abilities” that enable them to manipulate the spirit world in favour of the natural world. ekarika (1984) argued that this type of knowledge has to do with obtaining information or truth about the past and the future things. umontong (2002:34) also noted that among the annang people of nigeria, mystical knowledge is the major determinant of truth that is beyond ordinary man’s understanding. one thing to note about this type of knowledge is that it is african’s own way of gaining knowledge of realities that are ordinarily hidden. 6. oral tradition: this is the form of knowledge gained through words of mouth. it is the major means of knowledge acquisition and transmission in the african traditional society. oral tradition has to do with the accumulation of events handed down from one generation to the other in form of proverb, myths, stories, folk-tales, customs, legends, etc. some of the things we claim to know today are the things handed down to us through oral tradition. this form of knowledge acquisition is very important to the african person. more so, this form of knowledge disposes the african child to be in tune with the demands of his immediate society. uduigwomen cited ajayi’s position on oral tradition as a source of knowledge in african epistemology. he noted that oral tradition is sometimes enshrined in the works of arts, crafts, symbols, titles, names of places, shrines and sacred places (uduigwomen, 2002:39). 7. wholistic knowledge: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 87 it is the belief of the african person that knowledge of reality cannot be gained if the individual person detaches himself from it. this implies that knowledge of a given reality must involve the subject and the object, the knower and the known. this is what is known as wholistic knowledge in african epistemology. anyanwu and ruch (1981:94) declared thus: “the african maintained that there can be no knowledge of reality if an individual detaches himself from it.” it therefore follow that there is a connection or a relationship that exists between the african person and his world. the african does not claim to know anything in isolation. having stated the forms of knowledge in african epistemology, we shall now look at the functions of logic in african epistemology. functions of logic in african epistemology logic, as noted earlier, has to do with the structure of thinking. every culture has its own peculiar way of reasoning. this is the sense in which we talk of african logic. momoh (1989:174) writes: in everyday usage of natural language we talk of a person as being logical if he is reasonable, sensible and intelligent; if he can unemotionally and critically evaluate evidence or a situation; if he can avoid contradictions, inconsistency and incoherence, or if he can hold a point of view argue for and from it, summon counter-examples and answer objections. it is the view of momoh as cited above that there are people who are logical in the sense stated above. consequently, africa is not an exception. logic in african epistemology deals with the application of reason to the world and culture of the african, to his language and objects of his reference (jaja & badey, 2012:97). for instance, when a bird cries at night and a person dies in the morning, the african elders conclude that the cry of the bird at night is the cause of the death in the morning. this type of conclusion was not reached after single occurrence; it was based on several cases of witnessing a particular bird crying at night and a person dying in the morning. the simple fact that the african did not just arrive at a conclusion after a single occurrence goes to show the logicality or rationality of the african person. however, our concern here is not on african logic per se, but on the functions of logic in knowledge acquisition in african epistemology. the function of logic in knowledge acquisition is quite enormous. without logic the study of african epistemology will be greatly impaired. there is this igbo adage: “ilu bu mmanu ndi igbo ji eri okwu” (proverb is the oil igbo people use in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 88 ‘eating’ words). put differently, we can say that logic is the key with which we can use to unlock knowledge. the implication of this statement is that logic is very essential in epistemology whether african or western. a person may claim to know something, but without the tools of logic, he may not be able to present his ideas very well. and when ideas are not properly presented, the particular claim to knowledge is inhibited. in a general sense, we can say that logic purifies our thinking pattern and makes us critical in our reasoning. more so, we affirm that without the application of logic in epistemology, true and certain knowledge may be very difficult if not impossible to attain. let us now highlight some of the functions of logic in african epistemology: 1. avoidance of error: error simply means a departure from what is proper. it is an act of giving assent to a false claim. it also means a movement away from the truth. the study of logic therefore helps the african to stick to true knowledge and avoid accepting any knowledge that is erroneous. this can be ascertained by following the rules of logic. in african epistemology, logic guards the african against the habit of drawing conclusions from premises that are totally unrelated to the stated conclusion. this is one of the ways by which logic makes knowledge acquisition to be free from error. 2. correct / sound reasoning: logic provides the african with the necessary tools to engage in correct and sound reasoning. it makes it possible for african epistemologist to be able to evaluate arguments in order to distinguish the correct one from the incorrect. the study of logic improves the reasoning capacity of the african person. thus we can say that logic sharpens the thinking faculty of the african. the african person is not only an emotional being as argued in some quarters, but more so, a rational being. this is exemplified in his quest for evidence for any knowledge claim. 3. clarity of expression: some claims to knowledge are sometimes too blurred and confusing. also, some ideas and expressions are often packaged in obscurity. a person may claim to know something but the illogical presentation can downplay his claim to knowledge, thereby creating confusion and making it very difficult for people to comprehend what is being said. it is the function of logic to sift out clarity in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 89 knowledge acquisition. logic therefore provides african epistemology with the systematic and coherent ways of acquiring and expressing knowledge. 4. prediction of event / decision-making: another important function of logic in african epistemology is that it facilitates the act of prediction of events. with the help of logic, the african person, most especially the elderly, can predict events with a high level of accuracy. this is based on past experience. logic enables the african to reason critically before taking decisions especially when faced with difficulties. 5. the power of persuasion: logic provides the african epistemologists with the necessary tools to be able to distinguish between persuasion based on certain psychological techniques and the one based on rational argument and supporting evidence. 6. avoidance of fallacy: a fallacy is an argument whose conclusion is not derived from the premises given. aja (2008:115) states that in logic “fallacious argument is one in which the premises, even if true, would never entail nor justify the premises that is drawn.” with the study of logic, the african gets to know and learn the varied classes of fallacies. this provides the african with the ample opportunity to detect easily any violation of logical principle. concluding so far, this paper has concerned itself with the analysis of the nature and functions of logic in african epistemology. it emphasized that the african can possess no knowledge if the individual detaches himself from the world. this implies that knowledge acquisition in african epistemology is a combination / co-operation of all his faculties. his senses, imagination and reason are involved in the process of acquiring knowledge. it is through this way that the african can claim to have acquired knowledge. we therefore note that the general method by which the african arrives at a reliable knowledge of reality is through personal experience guided by logic. logic plays a vital role in knowledge acquisition in african epistemology. going through this work, one will discover that logic is a conditio sine qua non for knowledge acquisition. without logic the african person may not be balanced in his quest for knowledge. therefore, we affirm that logic provides african igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 90 epistemologist with the necessary tools to separate real knowledge from illusion; to sift correct reasoning from incorrect reasoning. the study of logic makes the african to be systematic, coherent and critical in his reasoning. logic therefore provides the ground / foundation for accepting any claim to knowledge. it disposes the african epistemologist to ask for evidence before accepting any claim to knowledge. one important point to note is that the function of logic in african epistemology has to be viewed through the focal lens of the african person as a being in the african world. references aja, e., logic and clear thought: an invitation to good reasoning 2nd ed., (enugu: university of nigeria press, 2008). anyanwu, k. c. & ruch, e. a., african philosophy: an introduction to the main philosophical trends in contemporary africa (rome: catholic book agency – officium libri catholic, 1981). bello, a. introduction to logic (ibadan: university press, 2000). copi, i. m, introduction to symbolic logic (new york: macmillan, 1982). eboh, b. o., basic issues in the theory of knowledge (nsukka: fulladu publishing company, 1995). ekarika, j. p., from nature to divine: an introduction to the study of religions (italy: 1984). hamlyn, d. w., the theory of knowledge, (london: the macmillan press ltd., 1977). jaja, j. m. & badey, p.p., “logic in african philosophy: examples from two niger delta societies” international journal of academic research in business and social sciences, vol. 2. no. 4 (2012), pp. 95 – 102. momoh, c. s. (ed.), the substance of african philosophy (auchi: african philosophy projects publications, 1989). omoregbe, j., epistemology: a systematic and historical study (lagos: joja educational research & publications ltd., 1998). onyewuenyi, i., “is there an african philosophy?” in claude summer (ed.) african philosophy, (addis ababa: addis ababa university press, 1980). ozumba, g. o. a concise introduction to epistemology (calabar: ebeneger printing press, 2001). ozumba, g. o., a colloquium on african philosophy, vol. 2 (enugu: university of nigeria press, 2004). uduigwomen, a. f. (ed.), footmarks on african philosophy, (lagos: obaroh and ogbinaka publishers ltd., 2002). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 91 umontong, i. d., “truth: a philosophical reflection on africa”, sophia: african journal of philosophy, vol 2. no. 2 (2002), pp 25 – 39. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.1 no. 3 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 106 pastoral theological approach for admitting some divorced and remarried couples to eucharistic communion samuel p. gwimi, ph.d catholic institute of west africa port harcourt, nigeria frsamgwimi@yahoo.com abstract one of the pastoral ministries of jesus christ entrusted to the church consists in feeding the lambs, feeding the sheep and looking after the sheep. jesus entrusted this ministry to the church through the apostles received by peter prince of the apostle (john 21:15-17). this task of feeding the lambs and looking after the sheep has been carried out in many and various ways throughout the history of the church. principally however, the church has carried out this ministry in three basic ways of “teaching the word, administering the sacraments and leading the ecclesial community; ministry of the word, ministry of the sacraments and the leadership ministry which corresponds to christ’s three roles of prophet, priest and king respectively. it must however be noted that in exercising this aspect of her pastoral ministry it is not all the lambs and the sheep of jesus christ in the church that are tended and benefit from the three basic ways of carrying out this ministry. some of the lord’s lambs and sheep are starved from some of these nourishments especially the sacramental nourishments of the eucharist and reconciliation. among the category of those starved from sacramental nourishments of reconciliation and the eucharist are the civilly divorced and remarried members of the lay faithful. this paper examines the pastoral grounds on which some civilly divorced and remarried catholics could be readmitted to these sacramental nourishments of the church. keywords: pastoral, theological, divorced, remarried couples, eucharistic, communion. 1. introduction the problem of administering the sacraments of reconciliation and holy communion to the divorced and remarried couples in the church is as ancient as the apostolic church. many arguments for and against it were put forward in the th igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 107 course of the history of the church. for instance, one could argue from the didache that the divorced and re-married couples could have been admitted in the eucharist since baptism and sacramental reconciliation were the only requirements for eucharistic communion. we read in the didache on baptismal requirement for the reception of the eucharist thus: “let no one eat or drink of the eucharist with you except those who have been baptised in the name of the lord; for it was in reference to this that the lord said ‘do not give that which is holy to dogs’”.1 while on the need for sacramental reconciliation especially among warring parties the didache admonishes “on the lord’s day gather together, break bread and give thanks after confessing your transgression so that your sacrifice may be pure. let no one who has a quarrel with his neighbor join you until he is reconciled, lest your sacrifice be defiled”. 2 reconciliation after a quarrel with a neighbor could have been applied to divorced and remarried spouses. it is from this perspective of the possibility of reconciliation that kasper, cited by mcbrien opined that “the church can admit divorced and remarried persons to the sacraments when they are sorry for any guilt they may have incurred in the breakdown of the first marriage, when everything humanly possible has been done to save the first marriage, and when the second marriage has become a morally binding union that cannot be dissolved without causing fresh injustice.3 2 the lineamenta (outline) of recent, however, the issue of admitting to the sacraments divorced and remarried members of the church once again came to the lime light more forcefully. it was triggered by the lineamenta for the synod of bishops on the vocation and mission of the family in the church and contemporary world. the theme of the reception of holy communion and sacramental reconciliation by the civilly divorced and remarried members of the church featured in articles 51-53 of the lineamenta. the document it self is the fruit of the work of the iii extraordinary general assembly of the synod of bishops 2014 on the pastoral challenges of the family in the context of evangelisation. among these pastoral challenges, the synod fathers during this event recognised and treated the issue of the church’s pastoral responsibility to the divorced and remarried members of the faithful. 4 it is on this note that the fathers deliberated on the possibility of readmitting and giving the divorced and remarried access to the sacraments of penance and the eucharist. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 108 on this subject matter, two positions were held by the synod fathers. the first position insisted on maintaining the present discipline of refusing to give divorced and remarried members of the church the sacraments of penance and the eucharist because of the relationship between the reception of the eucharist and communion with the church, as well as the teaching of the church on the indissolubility of marriage, which were both shattered by the act of divorce. the second position held by the other synod fathers on the other hand wanted an individualised approach to the problem which could permits access in certain situations, and with certain well defined conditions primarily in irreversible situations and those involving moral obligations towards children who would have to endure unjust suffering. 5 however, in the midst of these views both those in favour and against, the fathers encouraged and “requested that further theological study in the matter with a view to making clear the distinctive features of the two forms and their connection with the theology of marriage” 6 be carried out. 3 the stand of the church the official teaching and practice of the church over the centuries on the subject matter is the outright refusal to admit to the sacraments of reconciliation and the eucharist couples who have been divorced and civilly remarried. this is because divorce and remarriage are considered doctrinally evil since they basically, constitute a sin of adultery which in the decalogue constitutes an offence against the will of god7 for marriage, which of its very nature too is ordered towards permanency. above all, the sacramental nature of the marriages of baptised members of the catholic faith makes such marriages indissoluble to say nothing of remarriage. peschke has articulated the sacramental nature of christian marriages thus: “according to ephesians 5:21-33 the marriage between baptised christians is entered after the model of the union of christ with his church. with the same faithful love with which christ loves the church, husbands must love their wives. and with the same unbreakable bond of devotion and love with which the church is linked to christ, wives must be linked to their husbands. ‘this is a great mystery, and i mean in reference to christ and the church’ (eph 5:32). the sacramental nature of the christian marriage explains why it can never and for no reason whatsoever be dissolved, suppose it is a valid marriage. while marriages of partners who are not baptised can at times be dissolved for the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 109 greater good of the faith’” (cf. 1 cor 7:12-16).8 to dissolve such sacramental marriages is tantamount to rupturing and breaking the unity that exists between christ and his church. based on the above and other reasons, the church teaches and legislates that a marriage that is sacramental and consummated is indissoluble, to say nothing of remarriage9 while the catechism of the catholic church expressly spelt out the sinful nature of divorce and remarriage. after repeating the exact teaching of the lord on the subject matter, the catechism went further to say: divorce is a grave offence against the natural law. it claims to break the contract, to which the spouses freely consented, to live with each other till death. divorce does injury to the covenant of salvation, of which sacramental marriage is a sign. contracting a new union, even if it is recognized by civil law, adds to the gravity of the rupture: the remarried spouse is then in a situation of public and permanent adultery.10 the divorced and remarried could be said also to be living in a situation of public and permanent sin. pope john paul ii maintaining the magisterial teaching of the church calls it an evil. as such, the divorced and remarried are cut off from communion with the church expressed concretely by denial of the church’s sacramental nourishments of the eucharist and reconciliation which are meant for those in full communion with the church. pope john paul ii articulates the time long teaching of the church thus: however, the church reaffirms her practice which is based upon sacred scripture, of not admitting to eucharistic communion divorced persons who have remarried. they are unable to be admitted thereto from the fact that their state and condition of life objectively contradict that union of love between christ and the church which is signified and effected in the eucharist…. reconciliation in the sacrament of penance, which would open the way to the eucharist, can only be granted to those who, repenting of having broken the sign of the covenant and of fidelity to christ, are sincerely ready to undertake a way of life that is no longer in contradiction to the indissolubility of marriage….11 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 110 the divorced and the remarried are cut off from sacramental nourishment on grounds of their situation of living publicly and permanently in sin. their state and condition of life likewise objectively contradict the union of love between christ and the church, signified and effected in the eucharist. they like wise belong to the members of christ’s faithful that the code of canon law says are under the penalty of excommunication or interdict. according to canon 915, “those upon whom the penalty of excommunication or interdict has been imposed or declared, and others who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin, are not to be admitted to holy communion”. the divorced and remarried members of christ’s faithful are both under the penalty of excommunication and are obstinately living in sin. as such, they are not worthy of eucharistic reception unless they repent and take up a way of life that is no longer in contradiction to the indissolubility of marriage 4. the subject matter the question this paper addresses is: could the church admit to the eucharist divorced and remarried couples who have no intention what ever of leaving a union that is considered illicit in the eyes of the church? the answer is: yes, they could be admitted. while upholding the church’s position and teaching on the indissolubility of a sacramental and consummated marriage as well as rejecting totally as sinful and evil civil divorce of such marriages and subsequently a remarriage, and without prejudice to any of the provisions of canon law regarding marriage, the divorced and civilly remarried couples could be admitted to the sacraments of reconciliation and the eucharist on the grounds of the nature of the pastoral ministry entrusted to the church and the demands of divine mercy and providence made manifest and offered to all in christ. 5. pastoral theological grounds for admitting to the eucharist divorced and remarried couples there are a number of pastoral theological grounds on which the admission of divorced and remarried spouses could be admitted into the eucharistic communion. among such grounds are the following points. i the nature of the pastoral ministry of the church the theological basis of the church’s pastoral ministry consists in the shepherding and nourishing tasks entrusted to the church through peter and the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 111 apostles by jesus. one of the graphic scriptural texts of the giving of this ministry reads thus: when they had eaten, jesus said to simon peter, ‘simon son of john, do you love me more than these others do?’ he answered, ‘yes, lord, you know i love you.’ jesus said to him ‘feed my lambs.’ a second time he said to him, ‘simon son of john, do you love me?’ ‘yes, lord, you know i love you.’ jesus said to him, ‘look after my sheep.’ then he said to him a third time, ‘simon son of john, do you love me?’ peter was hurt that he asked him the third time ‘do you love me?’ and said ‘lord, you know everything; you know i love you.’ jesus said to him, ‘feed my sheep’ (john 21: 15-17). the term shepherd came from the latin pastor. the greek equivalent of the latin pastor is poimen (444444). etymologically, this greek term poimen in its verbal form means the action of feeding with tender care accorded the sheep.12 the one who accords the sheep this tender care of feeding is the pastor or shepherd. a shepherd has two vital functions to perform when caring for the sheep. first as shepherd he leads the flock to green fields to eat and to restful waters to drink. unable to find verdant pastures and cool streams by their own effort the shepherd had to guide and lead the sheep each day to green pastures where they could be fed and not to be starved (ps 23). added to this first function, the shepherd tends and looks after the weak and sick sheep. the second task of the shepherd is that of giving protection to the sheep against the attack of predators. the shepherd does this with the help of the staff he carries with him serving both as a walking stick and as a weapon with which he could use against the wolf, and to bring back the stray to the fold. a good shepherd therefore, is someone who leads his flock to fertile pastures and life giving water, all the while defending them against malevolent predators with the wood of his staff. the church in carrying out her pastoral ministry as shepherd is therefore duty bound to perform the two tasks of the shepherd to the sheep and lambs of the lord. the church in her ministry is duty bound to feed the lambs and the sheep of the lord with the nourishments of the word of god and the sacraments entrusted to her; as well as to protect the sheep and the lambs against the sinful ways of the devil, the predator with her sacraments of healing. hiltner as reported by lapsley sums up the pastoral ministry of the church to include caring, helping, healing and sustaining the people entrusted to the shepherd.13 great care must however be shown by the shepherd not to neglect any of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 112 flock especially the sick, the weak and the feeble, who are most in need of the church’s pastoral caring, helping, healing and sustenance. the shepherds of old were reprimanded by the prophets for neglecting to nourish the sheep especially the week and the wounded. the prophet ezekiel addressed the human shepherds of israel in this regard: the word of yahweh was addressed to me as follows, ‘son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of israel: prophesy and say to them, shepherds, the lord yahweh says this: disaster is in store for the shepherds of israel who feed themselves! are not shepherds meant to feed the flock? …, but you failed to feed the flock. you have failed to make the weak sheep strong, or to care for the sick ones, or bandage the injured ones. you have failed to bring back the strays or look for the lost’ (ezek 34:1-4). if jesus’ shepherding ministry entrusted to the church through peter and the other apostles consists in nourishing the lambs and the sheep of the lord (john 21) then the divorced and the remarried members of the flock and sheep of the lord could also be nourished with the sacraments. in other words, the civilly divorced and remarried spouses are still sheep and lambs of the lord who through baptism are incorporated into the fold of christ. according to the catechism of the catholic church through baptism we are freed from sin and are reborn as children of god and members of christ, incorporated also into the church and are made sharers in the mission of the church.14 as such they are constituted among the lambs and sheep of the lord to be nourished and looked after (john 21: 15-17) especially with the sacramental nourishments of the church. ii. the nourishing and cleansing nature of the eucharist the second pastoral ground on which the admission of the civilly divorced and remarried members of christ’s faithful is considered is from the nourishing nature of the eucharist. one of the principal effects of the eucharist is that of nourishment. if the discourse of jesus in john’s gospel on the bread of life has any thing to do with the eucharist, then indeed one of the effects of the eucharist is its nourishing impact on the lives of the recipients. the lord jesus teaches this igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 113 at capernaum when he declared that he is the bread of life and whoever comes to him and believes in him will never go hungry nor thirst (john 6: 36). this nourishment likewise prevents the recipients from death for “your fathers eat manna in the desert and they are dead; but this is the bread which comes down from heaven so that a person may eat it and not die” (john 6: 49-50). the same nourishing aspect of the eucharist is further buttressed that it does not only support life here on earth but also nourishes to eternal life. “in all truth i tell you, if you do not eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood you have no life in you. any one who does eat my flesh and drink my blood has eternal life, and i shall raise him up on the last day” (john 6: 53-54). as if to clear any iota of doubt about the nourishing nature of the eucharist and the union and bond it creates with the recipient, the lord insists: “for my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and i live in that person” (john 6: 55-56). the church in her eucharistic doctrine has also repeated the bonding and nourishing effects of the eucharist as taught by the lord. the catechism of the catholic church states that intimate union with the lord jesus is the principal fruit of receiving holy communion; while on the nourishing aspect it states: “what material food produces in our bodily life, holy communion wonderfully achieves in our spiritual life. communion with the flesh of the risen christ, a flesh ‘given life and giving life through the holy spirit preserves, increases and renews the life of grace received at baptism”. 15 the catechism of the catholic church further acknowledges that the eucharist separates the recipients from past sins on the one hand, while on the other, it preserves the recipients from sinning. holy communion separates us from sin. the body of christ we receive in holy communion is “given up for us,” and the blood we drink “shed for the many for the forgiveness of sins.” for this reason the eucharist cannot unite us to christ without at the same time cleansing us from past sins and preserving us from future sins… as bodily nourishment restores lost strength, so the eucharist strengthens our charity, which tends to be weakened in daily life; … by the same charity that it enkindles in us, the eucharist preserves us from future mortal sins. the more we share the life of christ and progress in his friendship, the more difficult it is to break away from him by mortal sin.16 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 114 iii. the theology of baptismal regeneration by virtue of the sacrament of baptism the baptised members of christ’s faithful are given a new spiritual rebirth without which the lord jesus says one cannot see the kingdom of god (john 3:3). as such they are constituted new creatures. due to the reality of this spiritual birth it cannot be repeated. hence the church in the past has rejected the idea of rebaptising reconverted heretics, who were truly baptised, as well as rebaptising persons baptised in heresy depending on the nature of the heresy. pope stephen i in a letter to cyprian bishop of carthage reiterated this fact by refuting the practice whereby converted heretics were rebaptised.17 thus the practice in rome, alexandria and palestine was to lay hands on such heretics, rather than rebaptising them, when receiving them as a mark of reconciliation. the same teaching was upheld by the council of trent, and its catechism teaches that baptism being a spiritual regeneration seals the recipient with a character that can never be effaced from the soul, and as such can never at any time be repeated. 18 the second vatican council in even more clearer terms forcefully repeated this teaching as echoed in the catechism of the catholic church. while admitting the possibility that the new birth generated by the waters of baptism could be wounded by acts of sin, the new life however is never destroyed nor annihilated. incorporated into christ by baptism, the person baptised is configured to christ. baptism seals the christian with the indelible spiritual mark (character) of his belonging to christ. no sin can erase this mark, even if sin prevents baptism from bearing the fruits of salvation. given once for all, baptism cannot be repeated. 19 “baptism not only purifies from all sins, but also makes the neophyte’ a new creature,’ an adopted child of god, who has become a partaker of the divine nature”. 20 the baptised becomes a new spiritual creature. this fact is being attested to in the baptismal theology and celebrated in the baptismal rite of anointing with chrism and investiture with the white cloth. like any other living creature in the natural order, this new creature needs the sacramental nourishments of the eucharist and penance21 so as to bring growth and wholeness to this new spiritual creature. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 115 it is from this perspective that the civilly divorced and remarried members of the faithful owning to the fact that they are baptised, and have the new life of grace and an indelible mark conferred by the sacrament of baptism which though may be wounded by the act and sin of divorce but never erased nor annihilated,22 stand in great need of the church’s spiritual nourishments of penance and the eucharist.23 iv. the theology of divine providence god is merciful and providential to all his creatures. in his divine providence, god the father and creator of all that exists never cease to sustain and nourish his creatures. the catechism of the catholic church teaches that god’s creation was not a complete and perfect piece it was created in a state of journeying to perfection. as such, god provides for his creation with all the needed dispositions which guide creation towards perfection. 24 despite the unfaithfulness of his creatures, god supports and sustains them with his presence and nourishes them with both their material and spiritual needs. in other words, our faith teaches us that despite the failure on the part of creation, god never ceases to provide for his creatures. the sacred scriptures as well as the doctrinal teaching of the church attested to god’s providence for his creatures in diverse ways. scriptural basis of divine mercy and providence: the old testament contains a lot of testimony regarding god’s merciful and providential attitude to all his creatures. to adam and eve our first parents who in a sense were also the first to carry out the act and sin very similar to that of divorce and remarriage by rejecting their marital bonding with god and opting for a new marital bonding with satan and his wishes; god never ceased to sustain and nourish them. in fact on the realisation that they were naked, his divine mercy and providence moved him to cover their nakedness. god also had a similar experience with the children of israel after the exodus from egypt. at the foot of mount sinai god entered into a seeming marital covenant with the children of israel which was sealed with the blood of the sacrifice (exodus 20). though the children of israel consented to the terms of this ‘seeming marital covenant’, not too long after that, and underneath the very foot igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 116 of the mountain of the covenant, the children of israel failed, divorced god and entered into a new seeming marital alliance with the very images which god forbade. despite this, god continued to sustain and nourish them out of his mercy and providence. in fact in the presence of moses, god declared his loving providence and mercy thus: “the lord, the lord, a god merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for a thousand generations…” (exodus 34:6-7). it was after this that god indeed nourished them for forty years in the desert with manna which in a sense one could say was proto eucharist. the remainder of the history of israel is characterised by repeated acts of unfaithfulness to god and bonding themselves to foreign gods (2kings 17:5-23). the book of the prophet hosea is actually a graphic description of israel’s seeming marital unfaithfulness to god on the one hand and god’s faithfulness to israel on the other. despite these repeated acts of unfaithfulness by israel, god was always faithful to israel showing israel his love and providence by nourishing her with both spiritual and material nourishments. in the new testament, the gospels are full of scenarios where divine mercy and providence is extended by jesus to all and especially to those who needed them most. if jesus’ encounter with the samaritan woman is anything to go by, it is a concrete scenario depicting god’s willingness in jesus to dispense his mercy and providence to a divorced and a serially remarried woman since she was married to five and the one with whom she lives is not her husband (john 4:9). “if you only knew what god is offering and who it is that is saying to you ‘give me something to drink’ you would have been the one to ask, and he would have given you living water” (john 4: 10). the living water, i suppose, jesus was willing to give this divorced and serially remarried samaritan woman is non other than the eucharistic water and blood of mercy that flowed from the side of the crucified lord which leads to eternal life. there are many other gospel scenes where god the great provider of mankind through jesus his only begotten son provided nourishment for all categories of human beings. the miraculous feeding of the five thousand could no doubt involve many divorced and probably remarried spouses (matt 14:21; mark 6:3244; luke 9:10-17; john 6:1-15). in fact, jesus teaches about god’s mercy and providence to all his creatures without discrimination when he compared the worth of the birds of the air and flowers growing in the fields with human beings (matt 6:25-34). if god provides nourishment to these sparrows of little worth, how much more then of the divorced and the remarried christian faithful? igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 117 would god’s love, mercy and providence not admit them to eucharistic communion? v. pastoral needs of sinners admittedly, the divorced and remarried persons are living in a situation of public and permanent sin. they are sinners to the core. this makes their case for divine providence and mercy in sacramental and other spiritual nourishments a dire one. they stand in need of these nourishments more than any other. this too is in total keeping with the teaching of the lord thus: now while he was at table in the house it happened that a number of tax collectors and sinners came to sit at table with jesus and his disciples. when the pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ‘why does your master eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ when he heard this he replied, ‘it is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick. go and learn the meaning of the words: mercy is what pleases me, not sacrifice! and indeed i came to call not the upright but sinners’ (matt 9:10-13). who knows whether among the categories of sinners mentioned were divorced and remarried couples? again who knows whether the meal in which they participated was indeed eucharistic or its typology? in any case, jesus sums it all: “it is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick”. therefore, the divorce and remarried, who are sick, could stand much more in need of these sacramental nourishments as avenues for god’s mercy and providence. vi. pas/terra theological approach another scenario that portrays the mercy and providence of god is from the point of view of pas/terra theology (pastoral theology in dialogue with land cultivation theology complementarily enhancing pastoral ministry). a lot of pastoral lessons could be learned on the mercy and providence of god to all his creatures including the divorced and remarried members of the church. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 118 the parable of the darnel in the vineyard teaches that despite the badness of the darnel it was not to be uprooted until harvest time. uprooting it would have been to deny it of nourishment; and leaving it with the good seed to benefit from the soil nutrients was not because there after the darnel would convert to be the good seed. the only reason it was left was for the good of the good seed for in case as you uproot the darnel you may as well uproot to good seed. of course, the nourishment would be good for the darnel even though it will never get converted to be good seed. this is a great indicator of what divine mercy and providence could be to categories of sinners living in an environment of sin like the divorced and civilly remarried couples. to allow them these nourishments is purely the gratuitous act of divine mercy and providence. probably for all these years that the church has withdrawn eucharistic communion from the divorced and the remarried, it is likely that they have been denied divine providence and mercy which god wills to nourish all his creatures with irrespective of being either darnel or the good seed. i think the admonition of the owner of the vineyard to the labourers is a pastoral lesson and response that the church, “as labourer in the vineyard of the lord,” could employ to the problem of admitting divorced and remarried members of christ’s faithful to eucharistic communion. when the labourers reported the matter to the owner of the vineyard and suggested uprooting the darnel, the owner of the vineyard declined and admonished the labourers thus: “no, because when you weed out the darnel you might pull out the wheat with it let them both grow till the harvest” (matt 13:2430). let the darnel both grow till harvest time so as not to uproot the good seed with the darnel. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 119 6. summary and recommendations summary from the foregoing, it is clear that there are numerous pastoral theological grounds on which the admission of the divorced and remarried members of the faithful to eucharistic communion could be reconsidered. the nourishing nature of the eucharist itself coupled with the pastoral ministry of nourishing the flock of the lord entrusted to the church which finds concrete expression in the sacraments of the church could not have excluded the divorced and remarried members of the faithful. likewise the nourishing needs of every living creature, both physical and spiritual, call for the admission of the divorced and the remarried since the life of grace received through baptismal regeneration which though could be wounded by the act and sin of divorce is never erased nor annihilated.25 as such, this life of grace stands in great need of the church’s spiritual nourishments of penance and the eucharist. 26 great lessons could likewise be drawn from the parables and actions of jesus towards sinners in general and possibly the divorced and the remarried in particular that could pave ways for admitting to the eucharist these spouses. among these gospel parables stand the parables of the darnel and the good seed, the unproductive fig tree etc. likewise the merciful attitude and actions of jesus towards sinners such as his attitude of eating with sinners and his willingness to offer even the civilly divorced and serially remarried samaritan woman waters of eternal life could be grounds of theological significance for admitting divorced and remarried members of the church to these sacramental nourishments. it must however be admitted that due to the need to forestall abuses of the sacredness of eucharistic meal (1cor. 11) as well as the need to avoid scandals and leading the faithful into error and confusion regarding the church’s teaching about the indissolubility of marriage 27 certain measures of discipline and liturgical decorum are necessarily needed. as such, even though from the foregoing divorced and remarried couples could be admitted into the eucharist caution must be the watch word. i therefore put forward the following programme of pastoral care for the divorced and remarried couples to undergo igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 120 after which, if the church deems it appropriate, they could be administered the sacraments. recommendations/pastoral action plan i. a programme of pastoral care for the divorced and remarried spouses the experience of loosing one’s spouse through acts of divorce and remarriage could be a very painful one for the couples involved in particular and in some other cases the children as well. the pains would usually include the feeling of being rejected, betrayed, guilty and being a failure. this in turn could lead to being angry. angry with one’s spouse, angry with one self and even angry with god are all part of the painful experiences. some times it is the reality of this painful experience that leads one into remarriage after the break up of the first marriage. the difficulties created by remarriages after divorce are so numerous; because one goes into a remarriage with all the painful experiences one had as a result of the break up of the first marriage.28 as such, remarriages or second marriages do not last either. from the sociological point of view and in terms of statistical evidence, remarriages are less successful than first marriages. the rates of divorce from second marriages are higher than those from first marriages.29 as such, rather than rushing to administer the sacraments to divorced and remarried couples, concerted pastoral care should be carried out with a view to handling with some level of maturity the hurts and pains of the couples to guarantee some stability in the new relationship, if the possibility of reconciliation with the first spouse is ruled out. when this level of stability is established, and having dealt with the reality of angry hurts from the previous relationship, the reality of the present relationship, family issues, children upbringing, societal stigma, legal issues, need to avoid the possibility of a repeat of divorce through marriage stability strategy, deepening of faith and prayer, forgiveness, love etc, then the church could consider the possibility of restoring such couples to eucharistic communion taking into consideration the length of time they have lived together and their ages. ii. intensify a programme of catechesis for the faithful on sin and its consequences igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 121 secondly, in order to ensure and uphold faithfulness to the church’s tradition of not causing scandal and leading the faithful to error and confusion regarding the teaching of the church concerning the nature of marriage and its indissolubility while not blocking the possibility of readmitting the civilly divorced and remarried members of the faithful, agents of pastoral ministry in general and pastors of souls in particular must intensify the catechesis of the faithful on sin in general30 and the sins associated with marital fidelity and the reception of the eucharist in an unworthy manner in particular. contemporary man has lost the sense of sin and its consequences. hence, contemporary men and women have lost the sense of shame about sin and as such avoid calling sinful actions by their proper names and given them new shady names that beautify the sinful actions. apart from individuals involved in renaming sinful actions, the attitude has been institutionalised even by some international organisations. for example, during the rwandan crisis of 1994, the powers that be prohibited the use of the term ‘genocide’ to describe the massacres. rather than calling it genocide, the then secretary general of the united nations boutro boutros-ghali speaks of it as civil war which is milder than genocide.31 a man or woman who commits the sin of adultery or fornication with someone else than their spouse speaks of visiting their male or female friends. the sin of abortion is described as overhauling of an engine. this is the degree to which the sense of sin and shame as well as the consequences associated with them are lost. it could be the reason also that accounts for the rampant cases of divorce and remarriage. this situation therefore calls for the urgent need for a renewed concerted effort to the course of catechesis on sin which the catechism of the catholic church says “creates the proclivity to sin; it engenders vice by repetition of the same acts. this results in perverse inclinations which cloud conscience and corrupt the concrete judgement of good and evil. thus sin tends to reproduce itself, but it cannot destroy the moral sense at its root.” 32 when agents of pastoral ministry in general and pastors of souls in particular intensify catechesis on sin in general and the sins associated with marital fidelity as well as those associated with the unworthy reception of the eucharist in particular, then the consciences of the faithful are better formed and stand in a better position to deicide weather to go for the reception of the eucharist or not. this catechesis should aim at putting before the faithful life and prosperity on the one hand and death and disaster on the other (deuteronomy 30:15-20). in so igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 122 doing, the catechesis will be setting before christ’s faithful the two ways of the didache one of life the other one of death.33 in most of our parishes shortly before the reception of holy communion during the eucharistic celebrations announcements are made warning all as to the reception of the eucharist thus: “it is now time for holy communion and holy communion is for catholics who are in the state of grace”. this type of catechesis is okay but not good enough to build the consciences of the faithful on the consequences of the unworthy reception of the eucharist. since the eucharist and its reception are the highest point of the liturgical celebration, the entire homily should serve as a platform for this catechesis and the immediate preparation for this moment. let the homily with the help of the scriptural texts stress the ways of worthy reception as well as unworthy ways of reception. in this way, awareness could be raised, consciences formed and individual members of the faithful and the civilly divorced and remarried members inclusive stand the better chance to judge themselves whether they are worthy for the reception or not. this too is in accord with st. paul’s methodology on the worthy reception of the eucharist. after a lengthy catechesis on what the eucharist signifies as was given to him by the lord, he concludes the catechesis thus: “everyone is to examine himself and only then eat of the bread or drink from the cup; because a person who eats and drinks without recognising the body is eating and drinking his own condemnation’ (1 corinthians 11:28-29). in this way too, the church could remain faithful to her doctrinal obligations and teaching ministry on the one hand and on the other has refrained from being judgemental as to who is worthy for the reception of the eucharist and left it to the informed consciences of the faithful. the bottom line here is to intensify catechesis with a view to forming the consciences of the people of god about sin and the consequences associated with sinful actions and leave the decision of meeting jesus in the eucharist to the individual. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 123 notes 1william a. jurgens, the faith of the early fathers (bangalore: theological publications, 2005) 3 24 3richard p. mcbrien, catholicism completely revised and updated (sanfrancisco: harpercollins 1994) 860 4xiv ordinary general assembly of the synod of bishops the vocation and mission of the family in the church and contemporary world lineamenta (st. pauls, 2015) 51 5 52 6 53 7john paul ii, the catechism of the catholic church revised edition (ibadan: society of st. paul 2013) no. 2072. 8karl h. peschke, christian ethics. moral theology in the light of vatican ii volume ii: special moral theology (warwickshire: c.goodliffe neale 1985) 455 9john paul ii. the code of canon law (london: collins, 1983) (cf. canons 1056 and1141), 10ccc 2384 11john paul ii. familiaris comsortio in flannery, a., ed. vatican ii more post conciliar documents. (new york: collegeville, 1975) no. 84 12hiltner, s. preface to pastoral theology (new york: abingdon, 1958) 15 13william b. oglesby, jr (editor). the shape of pastoral theology essays in honor of seward hiltner (new york: abingdon 1969) 31-48 14ccc 1213, 1272 15ccc1391, 1392 16ccc 1393-1395 17j. neuner and j. dupuis edts, the christian faith in the doctrinal documents of the church revised edition (glasgow: collins 1983) 386 18pius v. the catechism of the council of trent (illinois: tan, 1982) 190 19ccc1272 20ccc1265 21ccc1392 22ccc 1272 23ccc 1392 24ccc 302-303 25ccc 1227 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 124 26ccc1392 27john paul ii, familiaris consortio, n. 84 28garry r. collins christian, counselling a comprehensive guide revised edition (collins 1998) 450 29anthony giddens, sociology 6th edition (cambridge: polity press 2009) 361 30ccc 1697 31john sobrino “faith, justice and injustice” in frans wijsen, peter henriot & rodrogo mejia (eds) the pastoral circle revisited a critical quest for truth and transformation (nairobi: paulines, 2006) 11 32ccc1865 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 195 problems and prospects of teaching and learning of non african literature in nigerian universities ekwonu, martin nnamdi & onyedike cyprain chukwudi & carol umeh, phd tansian university umunya, anambra state, nigeria martinekwonu01@gmail.com;guardchildcarol@gmail.com; cyonyedike@yahoo.co.uk doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.18277.47848 abstract english language is the official language of nigerian university students, the study of the literature of the english people is of utmost paramount. by literary categorization, nonafrican literature will cover the students desire in learning the literature of the non africans. these non africans cuts across the earliest beginings of english literature to the present. our research have surveyed the prospects as well as the impending challenges as problems thriving and stagnating alike the study of non african literature in nigerian universities. keywords: non african, literature, prospects, problems, teaching and learning. introduction literature, being reflected in man’s life as physical and social phenomena has also been shared widely by different races and settings. their varying races and settings come up with unlikely attributes when merged or compared with each of them. that is to say that literature in itself is diverse but in its diversity, accommodating. that is why it allows for a cross-study and sharing in the sense that it is able to study or share in the literary attributes of other geographical areas different from one another. the study of literature is the study of man and it entails all settings, not précised to a particular setting or area. non-african literature in its study is one of the diversified nature or arm of studies because the student or researcher is sometimes, not from a non-african territory. it was prof. chinua achebe who said to the europeans that they do not have the right or what it takes to delve into the story line of africans because in their attempt to do so they may end up changing the narrative or re-addressing a particular fact or situation from the untrue side of it. this he said, when these non-africans igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 196 attempted writing works that portrayed the african man and his society. joseph comrad’s-heart of darkness is an example of these challenges. joesph comrad’s heart of darkness is an example of nonafrican novel which also concerns achebe’s remark. heart of darkness publish in 1902 was inspired by comrad experience of the russian colonization of his native country, poland. which he saw reenacted by england in his visit to congo in africa in 1890. the novel, heart of darkness explores the evil of colonialism, rituals of civilization, savagery, barbarism exploitation, cruelty, wickedness heartlessness naivety, sabotage etc. it also portray africa as a land of disease that kill many of them and darkness-, that the people were not exposed, a land of naivetyuntil the white men come and exploited africa. from definition, non-african literature defines literary works that its authors, background and setting are not africans or rooted in africa. that is to say that any literary work that its author is not an african can be classified as a nonafrican literature. the novel is however, is clearly an extended narrative and it can be differentiated from the story by its longer length and from all elaboration and complexity. joan cockelreas and dorothy logan (1971) novel is a fiction in prose of certain extent. m.abel chablley in e.m. foster’s ‘aspects of the novel’ (1927; reprinted in 1973 by pelican books) there is no much difficulty in pointing out non-african literatures, but sometimes there are some confusion as for a literary work authored by a non-african which has in its work, an african setting or events. its pertinent to know that works are classified based on authors and owners, as such categorized from the background and identity of an area which the author is an extraction of. we should remember that it is believed that everyone writes from his or her background and so a writer can do more in writing form the ideas existing in his background of origin in as much that literature allows a wide sharing, there are problems and prospects in its regard. just as my subject matter dictates, there are problems as well as prospects experienced in the study of non-african literatures. know that in the study of literature, literary works are not just scanned through for fun only, but there is a move to understand it in context and content, what it embodies in message. in doing this, you realize that a slight delve into a different background is taking place and you are required to assimilate into understanding that which you find in the work especially when an african picks up a non-african work and reads them. in our study of non-african literature igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 197 from its problems and prospects we will have to delve into a vast discourse which may reflect on the historical survey of english literature. from the beginning to the modern period. that is to say that other literatures owned by diverse races may surface in this work. students and researchers alike have studied non-african literatures with its varying component and parts. this is because the subject matter, non-african literature is not in any way precise. note that non-african literatures cuts across literary works that are not african and so you come to realize that non-african literature involves all ages periods and era of literature classical, dark age, renaissance, neoclassical, modern and others. we will also look into the non african poetry which s all about poems that have been written by non africans according to william wordsworth poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings which takes origin from emotions recollected in tranquillity. according to samuel johnson poetry is the art of writing pleasure with truth by calling imagination to the help of reason. according to p.b shellley, poetry is the record of the best and happiest moments of the best and happiest minds. according to john stuart mill poetry is feeling, confessing itself to nearest possible representation of the feeling in the exact shape in which it exists in the poet’s mind. “a play ought to be a just and lively image of human nature, reproducing the passion and humors and the changes of fortune to which it is subject for the delight and instruction of mankind. – john dryden. according to aristotle-drama is a story acted out by people on a stage before an audience, who should better be described as percipients because drama is an expression from designed mainly for our perception. according to jacobus lee drama is the art of representing for the pleasure of others events that happened or that we imagine happening. in the views of w.b worthen, of the many kinds of literature, drama is perhaps the most immediately, involved in the life of its community. drama share with such other literary modes as lyric poetry the epic and romance, the ability and challenge social, political, philosophical and as ethic attitudes. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 198 according to m.h abrams is the literary form designed for the theater in which actors take the role of the character, perform the indirect role or action and alter the written dialogue. according to the online dictionary, drama is a prose verse, composition, especially when telling a serious story that is intended for representation by actors impersonating the characters and performing the dialogue and actions. it is the art or practice of writing or producing dramatic works it could also be a situation or succession of events real life hairy the dramatic effects and characteristics of a play. someone who studied the shakespearean literature from infancy, studies a nonafrican literature or someone who majored in american literature also studies non-african literature. when you talk about problems and prospects, it can only be defined as demerits and merit, challenges and benefits, others. now, this work as it subject dictates will focus on the problems and prospects as evolved in the teaching of nonafrica literatures in nigerian universities. one may ask if the universities are not equipped enough as to how non-african literature are being taught and learned in our nigerian universities. this work will tell us more and better. obviously, the challenges and benefits experienced in this classroom teaching and learning in our various nigerian universities will be from the varying nature of the non-african literatures of which we will x-ray with some of it like, the european literature. western literature also known as european literature is the literature written in the context of western culture in the languages of europe, including the ones belonging to indo european language family as well as several geographical or historical related languages such as basque and hungarian. western literature is considered (western literature, encyclopaedia britannica, retrieved 19 may 2014. last edited on 24 january 2021 at 15: 50) according to the editors of encyclopaedia britannica, history of literatures in the languages of the indo european family along with a small number of other languages whose authors became closely associated with the best, from ancient times to the present. (encyclopaedia britannica© 2021) american literature;like other national literature, american literature was shaped by the history of the country that produced it. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 199 american literature, the body of written works produced in the english language in the united states of america. -walter blait professor of english, university of chicago. asian literature;asian literature encourages rich and widely, diverse, cultural and ethnic heritages found in such countries in china, india, japan, vietnam, korea, and more.by its technical term it is basically the literary products made in continents of asia throughout historycourse hero inc. © 2021 in our contemporaries like the typical nigerian society, which share african as a continent (african literature) with the african background, history, setting and ideas. we realize that in the approach or study of literatures with a non-african extraction poses the greatest of challenges. apart from the resulting challenges positive effects are yielded as well hence the need to research one of these two opposite evolutions. our nigerian universities share africa not just as continent in which it is found, but in idea, setting, and background. all these possess great reflection in our livelihood and writing or creating and understanding a literary work. now, there will be difference when compared to the non-african theories, setting and background. this means that the african setting is different from a non-african setting in all terms, impacts and ramification. think of the non-african literature how it is being taught and learnt by students in our various nigerian university, there are problems and prospects in that regard. this is why the researcher seeks in possible means within his capacity to discuss the problems and prospects in teaching and learning of non-african literature in nigerian universities. identified problems; background and culture poor exposure and experiences zero interest from fear of eluding ones indigenous heritage or history this research will investigate with discussions, the problems and prospects of teaching and learning of non-african literature in nigerian universities. identify the methods used in teaching and learning of non-african literature igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 200 realize if the teaching and learning of non-african literature makes any impact on the nigerian students understand the merits in teaching and learning of non-african literature. observe the relevance and application of materials in teaching and learning of non-african literature in nigerian universities. study delimitation. this study is delimited to one aspect of literature which is the non-african literature with its problems and prospects in ambrose ali university ekpoma, university of nigeria nsukka and nnamdi azikiwe university awka. research questions. to guide this research, the following questions were formulated. these were invented from the purpose of the study. they are, a) what are the challenges or problems in teaching and learning of non-african literature? b) what are the methods used in teaching and learning of non-african literature? c) what is the impact of teaching and learning of non-african literature on students of nigerian universities? d) what are the contributions of teaching and learning of non african literature to the human society? e}what materials are used for teaching and learning of non-african literature in your school.? materials and methods the materials were realized during the 2021 field survey. s/n names of universities levels no of students no of n0n african literature lecturers igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 201 questionnaires were distributed and it received reliable answers in return. the results will be showcased for explicit comprehension. the data collected was subjected to analysis. for research question 1, 2, 3 and 4. the mean and standard deviation was used to determine the cut of points. the mean is given with the following formula: ∑ fx/n where x = mean rating ∑ = summation x = nominal value n = number of each value numerical values were assigned to the response as follows and used as rating scales. sa – 4 points a – 3 points 1 nnamdi azikiwe university awka 400 106 10 2 ambrose ali university ekpoma edo state 400 524 21 3 university of nigeria nsukka 400 274 18 total 904 49 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 202 d – 2 points sd – 1 points the mean of the rating scale was calculated as follows: 4+3+2+1/5 = 3.00 the standard deviation is equally given with the following formula sd = f (x x)2 √ n where s.d = standard deviation f = frequency x = numerical value (number of respondents) x= mean n = total number of respondents then for research question 5a, percentage is used to determine the cut – off point. for 5b, the mean and standard deviation was equally rated as follows: very great extent – 4 points great extent – 3 points poor extent – 2 points very poor extent – 1 point the mean of the rating scale was calculated as follows: 4+3+2+1/4 = 2.50. for research questions 1, 2, 3 and 4, the rating scale was used while 0.5 was added to the mean of the rating scale so that any mean response that is equal to or above 3.5 was accepted while those below 3.5 were rejected. for research igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 203 question 5a, a percentage of 50 were used, so that any mean response that is equal to or above 50 percent was accepted while those 50 percent were rejected. for research question 5b, the mean of the rating scale was used while 0.5 was added to the mean so that any mean response that is equal to or above 3.00 was accepted while those below 3.00 were rejected. results following this research, findings have been made, and here's the results; that insufficient materials and unavailability of lecturers are the challenges in teaching and learning of non-african literature courses that lecture method and computer assisted instruction are the methods used for the teaching and learning of non-african literature courses. that teaching and learning of non-african literature courses have positive impact on students of nigerian universities that knowledge advancement and overall awareness are the prospects in teaching and learning of non-african literature that non-african literary texts and literary works by non-african writers; like novels, poems and plays are the available materials needed for teaching and learning of non-african literature and literary works by non-african writers; like novels, poems and plays is the materials utilized in teaching and learning of literature discussion and conclusion the objective of the study is to investigate and find put the problems and prospects in teaching learning of non african literature in nigerian universities. from the research question 1, it was realized that insufficient materials and unavailability of lecturers are the contributive factors to the problems experienced in the teaching and learning of non african literature. also diverse ideology, poor interest and poor exposure were seen as not being problematic. from the research question 2, the responses revealed that the teaching methods mostly employed by lecturers in teaching of non african literature are lecture method and group methods. the responses also revealed that lecturers mostly neglected the demonstration method, watch and learn method and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 204 computer assisted instruction. it should be noted that the use of group method has the positive tendency of reducing the low interest displayed by students. from the research question 3, the responses revealed that non african literature poses a positive impact to the students. in research question 4, knowledge advancement and overall awareness were recognized as the min prospects realized in the teaching and learning of non african literature, while social enlightenment, psychological enlightenment and adaption were spotted to have less effects. this should inform us of the fact that students are yet to connect their learning outside their environment. research question 5a. shows the availability of materials and its extent of usage. it was revealed that non african literary texts and non african literary works like plays, poems and novels by non african writers are available while sites for the practice or performance of the contents in those works are on the low number. on the other hand as spotted in 5a, it was understood that non african literary texts and sites for literary exhibitions are not used whereas literary works of non african extracts ere found and used properly. conclusion researchproblems and prospects in teaching and learning of non african literature in nigerian universities is stationed to address the humiliating and reoccurring experiences and challenges as well as envisaged advantages in the study of non african literature.. from chapter one till now, several attempts have been made and reached. we cannot avoid the study of non african literature, considering the fact that nigeria has english as an official language and her students of nigerian universities mostly communicate in english. that is why, the literature of the english people must be studied and that is found in non african literature. references abrams m. h. in chukwueloka c. c. ( 2013) introduction to poetry. optimal computer solutions ltd. isbn 978 2039 53 5 aristotle in chukwueloka c. c. ( 2013) introduction to poetry. optimal computer solutions ltd. isbn 978 2039 53 5 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 205 comrad j. ( 1899) heart of darkness. blackwoods magazine. cockeleras j. & logan d. ( 1971) writing essays about literature; a literary rhetoric. isbn 0-03-076495-5. university of new mexico. . dick p. ( 1979 ) the exit door leads in. rolling stone college papers encyclopedia britannica, retrieved 19 may 2014. last edited on 24 january 2021 at 15: 50) samuel johnson in cockeleras j. & logan d. ( 1971) writing essays about literature; a literary rhetoric. isbn 0-03-076495-5. university of new mexico. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.1 no. 3 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 17 st. augustine on providence by augustine ugbomah, osa gregorian university, rome augustineugboma@yahoo.com abstract one of the first questions that naturally cross our minds is, what does augustine mean by providence? thi work does not immediately rush to give an answer to this question, but rather looks at what augustine wants us to understand about providence and its implications. for augustine, providence is a divine attribute. that is why he often speaks of it with an adjective to describe it: “divine providence”, “god’s providence”, “providence of the creator”, and also he speaks of “the most provident god”. in all of this augustine wants us to understand that it is god who acts. when we talk of divine providence we must understand god in action in relation to creation and in relation his creatures endowed with will and intelligence. this paper has drawn conclusions from a vast range of augustine’s works to show hie perspective on god’s providence. this work is hoped would contribute in arousing some interest in reading augustine’s works personally and, thus, grow in the augustinian theology from a firsthand experience of his works. keywords: augustine, providence, hippo, divine, evil, good introduction augustine wrote a number of works, which treat the theme of divine providence either directly or as a consequence of some other arguments, which border around it. towards the end of the year 386, when he converted to christianity, st. augustine abandoned all his worldly ambitions: he gave up his career as speaker to the emperor. he left his residence in milan and took up residence in a small town not far off, casiciacum. he went into a sort of retreat and began to prepare himself to receive the sacrament of baptism. during this time he began to compose some of his philosophical dialogues. augustine tells us: when, therefore, i had left behind both the things that i had attained among this world’s desires and those that i wanted to attain, and had brought myself to the peace of the christian life, the first thing that i wrote, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 18 while i was still unbaptized, was the “answer to the academics” or “on the academics”.43 this was the beginning of the composition of his philosophical dialogues. in the month of november of the year 386 augustine also composed his dialogue on order (de ordine).44 augustine would generally allow his disciples and companions, licentius, trigetius, and alypius to take part in the discussions, as well as his mother monica. the on order (de ordine) is one of augustine’s works that most treat the theme of providence. in this work, augustine treats the question whether the ordering of divine providence includes all things good and evil. this work treats, to a great extent, the presence of evil in the established divine order in the whole of created reality. we should mention here that the question of providence is present in various ways in the other dialogues he wrote in this period of his life. apart from the dialogues in general and the on order in particular, we must also mention the city of god, which treats divine providence, which orders everything in human history and in human affairs. augustine also tells us that he wrote a small book (a homily, in fact) on providence. in his epistle 231 addressed to a certain darius, who had asked augustine for some books and who sent augustine both medicine for his ill health and some money to sustain his library, we read the following: i also sent other books for which you did no task, so that i have done more than you asked for: “faith in the things not seen”, “patience”, “continence”, “providence” and one large book “faith, hope and charity”.45 therefore, augustine wrote a specific work or homily entitled “on providence”. this homily was addressed to christians who are scandalized by the presence of evil in the world and tries to give an answer to them from biblical evidence. relatively recently, among other previously unknown or unedited works of st. augustine, a homily given by augustine “on providence” was brought to light by françois dolbeau, who traced this work to a 12th century codex in the state library in mantua, italy, and asserts that it is an authentic augustinian work. 43 retr.1,1. 44 ibid, 1,3,1, “during the same period, while the books on the academics were being written, i wrote two other books on order.” 45 ep. 231,7. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 19 eugippius collected about forty lines of this homily in his 6th florilegium, but this homily was never received as part of the authentic augustinian works before it was rediscovered by dolbeau. the date of this homily is not known but dolbeau believes, from internal evidence and affinity with other augustinian work, that it could have been preached between the years 408 and 412.46 this homily wants to address the objections of those who deny god’s providence and especially refuse biblical testimonies of god’s providence by claiming that god does not care for the world he created nor is he interested in the affairs of man. augustine disproves these objections with recourse to non-biblical arguments that demonstrate god’s providence (argument from the order in nature or in the composition of the body). augustine went on to say that the apparent disorder in the world is an order that surpasses our understanding. divine justice is present even though we see both good and evil shared among the righteous and the wicked in this world. however, the most sublime of all proofs of god’s care and providence for the affairs of man is the event of the incarnation of christ, which shows, not only that god cares, but also shows to what point god’s interest for man could go. in this article we want to bring out some aspects of augustine’s conception of providence and the consequences providence has on our life and on the world. saint augustine on divine providence when we speak of the question of providence in st. augustine we have to know that it is not merely a matter of academic discussion which could be explained by logic. if we believe in providence, then it touches on the very core of human life and experience. when st. augustine addresses this question in his dialogues or polemical works (addressed to non-believers or to a wider audience) he often seeks the path of rational arguments, knowing that it is a common ground he has with those who do not share his faith or who do not believe at all in god. but when he faces the question in his homilies (addressed to believers) one sees augustine speak more directly from the heart and with passion because he knows it is an essentially existential question. augustine reflected on this problem over and over again. 46 for the manuscript tradition and the transmission of this homily we refer the reader to: dolbeau, f., “sermon inédit sur la providence”, rev.ét.aug. 41 (1995), pp. 268-270. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 20 one of the first questions that naturally cross our minds is, what does augustine mean by providence? however, we should not immediately rush to give an answer to this question. we should first of all look at what augustine wants us to understand about providence and its implications. thereafter, his definition or description of providence will become clearer. the first thing we want to say is that, for augustine, providence is a divine attribute. that is why he often speaks of it with an adjective to describe it: “divine providence”, “god’s providence”, “providence of the creator”, and also he speaks of “the most provident god”. in all of this augustine wants us to understand that it is god who acts. when we talk of divine providence we must understand god in action in relation to creation and in relation his creatures endowed with will and intelligence. for this reason, in his revisions (retractationes) augustine regrets that he often used the word “fortune” in the first works he wrote, i.e., in his dialogues.47 in fact, in his first dialogues, the discourse on fortune was insistent (fortune and life; fortune and freedom; fortune and man; fortune and the philosopher; fortune and the sage; fortune and vocation). given augustine’s later displeasure for the use of this term, we can perceive more clearly that for augustine, providence has nothing to do with what we understand by the words “chance”, “destiny”, “fate” or “luck”.48 these latter concepts are understood as events or circumstances which happen either without any specific design and, thus, is something casual, or are understood as the result of a number of factors which combine to produce certain effects (for example, the alignment of heavenly bodies – object of the pseudoscience of astrology – or the interference of certain spirits or demons which the pagans believe to control some aspects of human life, most especially the goddess “fortuna”, who assigns the lots of men49). st. augustine affirms: 47 ibid, 1,3,2. 48 at the time of augustine the epicurean belief was still strong and it held creation to be the work of chance and not out of any particular design. this kind of reasoning is very much alive again today in our world among scientists and pseudo-scientists. regarding the belief in providence, the epicureans claim that human events do not enter into the interest of the gods (de civ. dei, 18,41,2). augustine argued that the universe is a created and an ordered entity and not a product of chance. god is interested in the affairs of man and cares for him. 49 cf., de civ. dei, 5,9,3-4.10; 10,16-17. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 21 but in these same three books of mine [against the academics] i regret that i called upon fortune so frequently, even though by this designation i did not intend some goddess or other to be understood but rather the fortuitous outcome of affairs in terms of advantages or disadvantages either of the body or apart from it. and so there are words that nothing religious prohibits using – forte, forsan, forsitan, fortasse, fortuitu – although each one of them must be placed within the context of divine providence.50 we should take into consideration that augustine does not only chide the belief in “chance” or “luck” (fors, fortuna), i.e., where one holds that things happen without any design, but he also objects to any form of fatalism or destiny (fatum), if one were to hold that everything has been decreed and ordained to happen in a certain manner and that nothing can be done about it or that everything has been prefixed and nothing can be done to change it. this is one of the reasons why augustine often condemns the consultation of horoscopes or mediums that claim to tell one’s future. augustine holds that these fortunetellers work through deceit by taking advantage of the naivete of the gullible or that the results of such consultations come from the inspiration of diabolic spirits. such a disposition does not take into account the fact that god shows his care for creation and is interested in man’s activities and actions. again, for augustine, to speak of divine providence is to speak of order, i.e., of a rational or intelligent design displayed both in the act of bringing the world into being by virtue of creation and in the sustenance of all created reality. this order or rational design exists even when we are not able to understand or investigate it: but, perhaps what is commonly called fortune is itself governed by a certain hidden order. what we call a matter of chance may be only something whose why and wherefore are concealed. perhaps nothing fitting or unfitting happens in a part which is not suited to the whole … for, if divine providence reaches even unto us – and, believe me, this is not to be doubted – it is opportune for you to be treated just as you are being treated.”51 50 retr. 1.,1,2. 51 contr. acad. 1,1,1. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 22 in the above cited passage augustine was addressing romanianus (most probably the same person who sponsored his high school studies in carthage many years back) to whom he addressed this work. given that augustine never believed anymore in fortune, he prays that god would intervene in the vicissitudes of romanianus’ life and convert him to the divinely inspired “philosophy”, which is ever so remote from the intellect of the profane. this divinely inspired “philosophy” is christianity, to which augustine had been recently converted. therefore, augustine neither entrusts himself nor romanianus to fortune, but to the hands of god – to divine providence. the stoics believed that the universe is an ordered whole. however, they believed that the reason or sense of order in the universe is immanent in creation itself. augustine does not buy this view. he insists that the order in creation is not found in the “ordo naturae”, i.e., in creation itself but in the “ordo dei”, i.e., on the reason and order assigned by a personal god, outside of creation itself, but who is, at the same time, interested in the affairs of mankind and of the world.52 this means that providence (in this case, displayed as order in the universe regulated by reason) is transcendent and is not immanent in creation in the sense that creation does not hold the reason and explanation for its own being and actions, but refers to a superior or ultimate reason outside transcendent; from which it receives its own reason and sense of being. plato in his timeus (30; 44) is considered to have elaborated upon the doctrine of a divine providence, which governs the life of the world. the greco-roman philosophical schools all inherited this patrimony, with the exception of the epicureans (as we have seen earlier). plotinus, in the enneads, treated the question of providence.53 the neoplatonic philosophical thought was the closest to christian teachings among the ancient philosophical schools. however, it should be said that providence, for augustine, is not also like what plotinus taught. plotinus never arrived at the thought of considering the three hypostases (the one, the nous and the anima mundi) persons. thus, providence, for him, was never from a personal being. it was mechanical and a necessary “emanation” – never the act of a personal divine will since, for him (like the predominant ancient greek thought), the world was not created, it is not a 52 cicero’s de natura deorum 11,27,57 gives us a window into the stoic belief. 53 cf., plotinus, enneads 3,2-3 on providence. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 23 product of the deliberate purpose of a creator, but has always existed, even though different in nature and far below on the hierarchical scale with the three primary hypostases. the personal care and attention which each and every person and which each and every creature receives from god is a unique aspect of the christian belief of god’s providence, which augustine wants to make his readers understand. god’s providence is that secret majestic action of divine judgment, not necessarily in the sense of emanating a sentence, but in the sense of exercising his will (secretissimum majestatis arbitrium). god’s providence does not cancel his justice and retribution. the stoics, though they believed in an immanent providence, they thought of it only in the “good” and “positive” sense of the word. for christians, divine providence is displayed even in punishment as well as in reward. augustine believed strongly in the presence of an intelligent and intelligible design; he believed that the immutable reason of god created the world or that god created the world with reason (rationem sempiternam atque incommutabilem, qua fecit deus mundum; providentia per quam deus omnia creavit et regit).54 the logos is this eternal reason (ratio) of god. john the evangelist states the same thing in his gospel, where he states: “through him all things were made” (jn. 1, 3), i.e., through the logos (verbum vel ratio dei). st. augustine loves to quote this verse of john and he takes delight in insisting that it is through the person of his word and wisdom that god created the world. therefore, there is design and reason in the created universe. this means that divine providence is exercised in the entire universe which it created and governs.55 the eternal reason of god (sempiterna ratio dei) is the order with which god governs creation – ordering it according to his divine plan. according to augustine everything that exists does so in virtue of the form which they have received. if their form is destroyed, then they cease to exist. god is the unchangeable form due to which everything exists (by virtue of the fact that he is their creator). god is, therefore, their providence in the sense that nothing exists or happens outside the eternal plan of god with which he governs the world and orders it for its good and conservation without letting it fall into chaos 54 cf., retr., 1,32; de mus. 6,17,56; civ. dei, 1,28; 12,4. 55 cf., civ. dei, 12,6; 15,27; 18,41; div. quaest., q. 53; de gen. ad litt., 5,22,43; serm. de prov. dei, 12. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 24 or into non-being.56 if there were no divine providence, there would be no creation, i.e., there would be complete nothingness. the reason of god, which created the world and orders everything according to the divine plan is, in fact, what we term as the divine providence. when we talk of divine providence god must be presupposed as the author of creation. creation was made according to god’s reason and plan. therefore, god orders, governs and guides creation according to his providence for the good of creation. in his revisions, augustine tells us: anyone who doubts the existence of this divine providence, for the sake of coherence, will also have to admit the irrationality of the creative action of god and recognize that god, both at the moment of creation and previously, did not know what he was doing because he would have been deprived of reason, which is the criterion of his work.57 thus, we cannot deny god’s reason and providence; we cannot doubt the divine rationality in creation. divine providence, as demonstrated in the event of creation and in the sustenance of the created order. what then is providence for augustine? from the foregoing discussion, one of the ways in which divine providence can be viewed is that it is the condition for the presence of order in the universe. therefore, one may ask, is the universe governed by specific laws given by the creator or do things happen as a result of chance or, happen outside the prearranged order of god? st. augustine asked himself this question, which inevitably arises when one begins to take note of the lived existential experience of evil. the presence of evil appears to be diffused in human activity and experience. the problem of evil seems to admit of only two hypotheses from augustine’s explanation: (i) either god does not extend his providential action to human activities because he is unable or because he is not interested; or (ii) every evil depends on god’s will. augustine’s articulation of the problem above reflects the classical question of the problem of evil as posed by philosophers and agnostics even up to our day 56 cf., de lib. arb., 2,17,45. 57 cf., retract. 1,3,2. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 25 and which can be formulated still in many ways: i) either god does not exist; or, ii) creation is the product of two eternal principles – one good (who created the good in the world) and the other evil (who created the evil in the world); or, iii) creation is the product of only one principle – god, who created both good evil and is, thus, responsible for the evil in the world; or, iv) god is good but is impotent in removing the evil in the world. in augustine’s preliminary reflection above in his work “on order”, he says that the second hypothesis (i.e., that every evil depends on god’s will) is the more evil with respect to the first and that any reason that is not lacking a sense of piety towards god is constrained to accept the first option. in reality, augustine knows that the first option does not represent a real option and that both are to be rejected. however, this cannot be justified by the incapacity or the lack of interest on god’s part to put the reality of this world in order given that we notice also in the tiniest terrestrial bodies a rationality independent of mankind and is not plausible to be attributed to mere chance.58 therefore, augustine also does not offer the first hypothesis as a real solution, but only as a working hypothesis in this case to further his arguments and, eventually, present a more acceptable doctrine. the question of the existence of evil and the presence of divine providence are directly related. augustine examines the question whether evil enters into order or not. divine providence and the problem of evil augustine’s “on order” tackles, among other questions, whether evil enters into order or not. augustine defines order as that by which god guides everything he has created.59 god does not desire evil, but order, which regulates everything. augustine wants us to understand also that even the lives of the foolish are ordered, not because of the merits of the foolish themselves, but thanks to divine providence.60 gustave bardy translates augustine’s words in the revisions in relation to his work on order: “...utrum omnia bona et mala divinae providentiae ordo contineat”61 as “...whether all the good and the evil of divine providence are contained in order”.62 this 58 cf. de ord. 1, 1, 2; cf. also, catapano, g., “agostino tutti i dialoghi” p. lxi. 59 cf. ibid. 1,10, 28; 2,1,2. 60 cf. ibid. 2,4,11. 61 retract., 1,3,1. 62 cited in madec, g., “thématique augustinienne de la providence”, p. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 26 translation could be considered acceptable syntactically, but is unacceptable from augustine’s theology itself because it is clearly a manichean position, that traces all the good and evil to a divine origin. in this case the above statement of augustine would not doubt the origin of good and evil (which come from god’s divine providence), but is concerned about whether they are contained in order or not. augustine would never have sustained such a position! therefore, the above translation can only justly be rendered in the following way, “…whether all the good and evil enter into the order of divine providence.” in this case, augustine was inquiring whether there is an order that regulates everything in the universe, both good and evil. looking at the preliminary hypotheses drawn out by augustine (in his on order), he does not agree that either of the solution is acceptable. what he says is that the second hypothesis is the most impious. therefore, the translation of bardy, though right from the syntactic viewpoint, is not acceptable from a christian or an augustinian point of view. to think of evil as being outside the ordo divinae providentiae is to concentrate the whole of created reality in only a single aspect of our existential experience, or to reduce the whole of reality only to a little aspect of it, to worry about the experience of evil alone ignoring the good and the beautiful. augustine uses the image of an artist’s work to describe how we tend to view the problem of evil in the world: if one were examining the details in an inlaid pavement, and if he were observing the little cubes one by one, he might think the artist had disposed them in a disordered manner. on this account he might think the uniformity of the little stones disarranged, just because he could not grasp the one integral form of beauty and examine it all at once. in like manner, he who is not able to grasp the harmonious order of the whole ends up fixing his attention on only what scandalizes his own sensibility and retains that there is a great ugliness in things… the chief cause of this error is that man knows not himself. now for acquiring this knowledge, he needs a constant habit of withdrawing from things of the senses and of concentrating his thought within himself.63 we should not understand augustine wrongly. he distinguishes between good and evil in the practical sense because, if everything were to be considered good 63 de ord. 1,1,2-3. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 27 or as entering into the good (in the manner of the stoics), then justice would not be possible. justice renders to each one that which he deserves.64 order demands justice so that evil can be punished and good be rewarded. when we speak about “order”, we do not only intend to speak about the harmonious and effective running of a mechanism (in this sense, of creation). order especially refers to the “ordo dei”, i.e., of the unfathomable design or plan of god, which remain a mystery even though it has been revealed to us through the sacred scriptures and which unfolds itself gradually in the course of time and history until the end of this world. it is this “ordo dei” – the divine providence – which ensures that wrongs are justly punished and good actions rewarded. if it were not so, it will appear as if god does not intervene in the course of human events and actions. augustine does not oppose man’s freewill because man is free in his actions (that is why he can be justly punished and justly rewarded for his actions), but god ensures that the evil caused by man’s wrong actions do not destroy the order and goodness imposed by god for the good of the whole of created reality. in fact, in his de genesi ad litteram, augustine talks about god’s providence in terms of goodness and justice. god has created in his goodness; in his goodness he rewards the just and in his justice he punishes the wicked.65 according to god’s providence some faults are punished in the here and now while punishment for the others it is differed to a much later point in time or, even, to the end of time at the convocation of the universal judgment.66 it is exactly such belief in god’s justice that provides immanuel kant the ultimate proof of god’s existence because, according to him, the accounts do not add up in this life where it appears that some evil go unpunished in this world and some good go unrewarded. for there to be absolute justice, there must exist an afterlife where everything is set aright. therefore, god, the good and the just one, exists. augustine, on his part, considers that a just retribution is the foundation of religion and morality.67 64 cf. ibid. 1, 6,157,19. 65 cf., gen. ad litt. 8. 66 civ. dei, 1,8; serm. de prov. dei, 8. 67 de ut. cred.,16,34, “si enim dei providentia non praesidet rebus humanis, nihil est de religione satagendum. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 28 the problem of evil is one that occupied augustine’s thoughts for a long time and which he tackled at one point or another in his life. we cannot look at this problem in any profound manner in this article because it is a vast theme of its own. the reality of evil often calls to doubt god’s existence. st. augustine says that it is common to find senseless persons who say in their hearts “there is no god” (cf., ps. 13,1, in reference to those who do not believe in god’s existence). but he also chides equally senseless persons who claim “god does not see” (cf., ps. 93,7, in reference to those who let themselves be scandalised because they do not believe in divine providence or they claim that god is not interested in human affairs).68 for augustine the question of god’s existence and that of god’s providence are inseparable: if god exists, he necessarily intervenes in the affairs of mankind and of creation. augustine’s homily on divine providence tackled the objection which is often posed that, if god were really interested in mankind and in his creation, he would not allow the wicked to live (§1). however, in this homily augustine did not set out to prove the existence of god’s providence but to show the extension of his governing action to individuals. st. augustine’s doctrine maintains that god’s actions are mediated through the will of beings endowed with a rational will (e.g., man, angels or demons). god intervenes in creation, but he also intervenes through the cooperation of the freewill of rational beings, even of those which oppose him. god’s activities are not limited to wills alone, but reaches down to every created nature, even the lowest and most contemptible ones.69 divine providence must not be viewed only as a goodish or lax behavior on god’s part, which does not permit any form of suffering or discomfort. if everything divine providence, through what we may generally consider as unfavourable events, allows the exercise and purification of the just. through such events god burns away pride in the just and purifies their faith according to his infinite design.70 the apparent joys of the wicked are only false happiness; if and when the wicked suffers woes, it is only god’s invitation to them to deplore their evil deeds. the sorrows of the good is a means which god employs to increase their rewards; their happiness is a consolation here in this worldly exile 68 cf., ep. 184a,3,6. 69 cf., civ. dei, 8,17-18. 70 cf., ibid., 11,22; 12,4; c. acad., 1,12. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 29 as they await the joys that god has reserved for them in the world to come.71 it is the same divine providence that, in the present, orders favourable events and permits adversities.72 however, augustine cautions, as always, that god distributes graces according to his pleasure and not according to our merits.73 divine providence and salvation history history plays an important part in the augustinian theology. the general history of mankind is interesting, but it is in salvation history that god’s specific interventions are seen at work in human affairs. divine providence orders the course of time (ordinare temporum cursum).74 in the homily on providence augustine calls the event of the incarnation of christ, manifested in salvation history, the most eminent proof of god’s providence for mankind; because it shows us to what extent god is willing to go to save us. it demonstrates not only god’s interest, but especially his love for humanity. the salvation of mankind and the whole of creation, operated by god in christ, shows god’s care for creation by bringing back to the true being everything that had fallen. it is god’s providence that brings good out of evil and sin.75 christ died because of evil, enduring the shame of the cross, so that good could prevail (§11). st. augustine’s theology of providence does not allow for discouragement. the one who believes in god’s providence cannot submit to desperation because he is convinced that god, the lord of history, whose providence works in and through the wills of mankind, ultimately leads all of creation to its finality, which is ultimately for its good. god’s providence is demonstrated in god’s care for humans both as individuals and as a society of persons, i.e., mankind in general: “o omnipotent goodness, who takes care of each one of us as if there were the only one you have to take of, and of everyone as if each one!”76 st. augustine looks back with gratitude to god for 71 cf., serm. de prov. dei, 8. 72 cf., civ. dei, 17,23. 73 cf., ep. 194; civ. dei, 2,29. 74 cf., civ. dei, 10,15. 75 cf., gen. c. mani., 2,28,42. 76 conf., 3,11,19. cf., anche, de vera rel., 2,46; de civ. dei, 3,1; 21,13. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 30 having mysteriously guided him through the wanderings of his youth to the discovery of god in his search for the truth: this much i believed, some times more strongly than other times. but i always believed both that you are and that you cared for us, although i was ignorant both as to what should be thought about your substance and as to which way led, or led back, to you… i continued to reflect upon these things, and you were with me. i sighed, and you did hear me. i vacillated, and you guided me. i roamed the broad way of the world, and you didst not desert me.77 divine providence appears in a number of pages in augustine’s confessions where he tells us of god acting in his life in wonderful and secret ways, in “the secret of your [god’s] providence” (abdito secreto providentiae tuae; in abdito providentiae tuae.78 in the serm. de prov. dei augustine exclaims …but nowhere else does it appear how much you love mankind, how you made him and for whom you made him; and life willed to die so that he who had lost his life would live; and him through whom you will give the reward you made an example of the very same reward… from the very beginning of the human race until the future which has been foretold will come to pass through the spirit of god, and hitherto the treacherous say – they utter blasphemy – that god does not care about human affairs (§12). in this sermon augustine tells us that only those who do not accept the divine character of the scriptures refuse to believe in god’s providence (§2). in fact, he wonders how these same set of people will be willing to accept the order and harmony in nature (which is created by god) and yet fail to acknowledge that god’s providence is at work in human affairs. (§§. 7;10). therefore, if one believes in christ, he cannot adopt the ideas of the unbelievers (§9), but should rather work and pray that the latter arrive at the truth (§12). 77 cf., conf. 6,5,8. 78 cf., conf., 4,4,7; 5,6,10; 5,6,11; 5,7,13; 7,21,27, etc. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 31 therefore, augustine exhorts, “habet plane, habet; non dubitet pietas, etsi non comprehendit infirmitas” – “reason clearly, reason; let piety not doubt even though weakness cannot understand” (§10). for this he asks: why do we, therefore, judge so rashly the judgments of god and hasten to deny the order of the divine work we cannot see, yet praise the providence of the creator in the leaves of trees and we think that it [providence] is not present in human affairs, nor much more we believe to hasten the unsearchable and hidden order of human affairs, whose immensity we cannot understand nor are we strong enough to observe? god will surely punish the evil and repay the good. conclusion st. augustine makes us understand that providence is a divine attribute, which comes from god’s personal will and desire: in his providence he created the world; in his providence he sustains it in being. divine providence is made even clearer in salvation history, in which god realises the salvation of mankind. god’s providence is also the order. the universe is created according to god’s intelligent reason and wisdom. therefore, it is intelligible in itself, even though its reason is not immanent, i.e., not found in itself, but in god. order demands justice, which renders to each one what he deserves. therefore, evil is justly punished and good is justly rewarded. but, most of all, augustine wants us to understand providence as god’s care for each and every one of his creatures. it has not been easy for us to draw conclusions from a vast range of augustine’s works on to show what the holy doctor of hippo actually understood and what he wants us to understand about god’s providence. our reader may have experienced some difficulties in following our presentation. we ask for your pardon. but, at the same time, we hope this may have contributed in arousing some interest in reading augustine’s works personally and, thus, grow in the augustinian theology from a firsthand experience of his works. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 3.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 43 re-affirmation of the philosophical foundation of african traditional religion: the idoma experience of north central nigeria solomon ochepa oduma-aboh, phd department of christian religious studies faculty of arts kaduna state university, kaduna solomonoduma@gmail.com & james bako danjuma tella department of christian religious studies faculty of arts kaduna state university, kaduna solomonoduma@gmail.com abstract the paper examines the existence or otherwise of the philosophical foundation of african traditional religion, from the idoma experience of nigeria. hitherto to the present epoch, some of the pioneer scholars of africans and her religion have made wrong assertions that the african man and mind is incapable of, comprehending the existence of the ultimate reality, god. implicitly and explictly denying the fact that africans can rationalize and think about their existence and their interactions with the universe and the final end of man on earth. but facts and records available suggest the opposite, because africans observed and pondered on issues of the universe and discovered that after night comes the morning, after the raining season comes the dry season and so on, including his own existence. if african traditional religion has a philosophical foundation, then the paper is a re-affirmation of the philosophical foundations of african. this is borne out of the natural instinct of all human beings, that sense of rationality that is imbued in all of humankind irrespective of faith convictions, ethnic affiliations and the like. pondering and speculating are all part of the acts of philosophizing. so, african traditional religion was borne out of philosophical speculations as the man intereacts with his universe, with the realization that a being greater than himself is responsible for creation epecially, putting in place that divine creative order. the paper is analytical in nature drawing strengths from available secondary sources of data, to buttress the fact that african traditional religion is well grounded on sound philosophical foundations as against earlier wrong notions and contemporary wrong assertions stating the contrary. a denial of the philosophical foundations of african traditional religion both in the short run igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 44 and long run would be an exercise in futility, because it would amount to an attempt at denying the humanity of the africans. keywords: re-affirmation, philosophical foundation, african traditional religion, the idoma experience and north central nigeria. introduction the role of religion in african philosophical discourses can hardly be stressed enough. kaunda cited in makumba (2007: 166) makes a striking point when he says: the african-ness which has its roots in the soil of our continent rather than the lecture rooms of western universities is basically a religious phenomenon; we are who we are because of our attitude to the mysterious depth in life, symbolized by birth and death, harvest and famine, ancestors and the unborn. makumba states further that, one would say the religious experience is the gateway to the african heart and mind. by giving people a way of interpreting the world, a way of understanding their own existence, african traditional [sic] religion has equipped them emotionally, intellectually and culturally to go through life and face its many experiences. if this is the case, it would be expected that central philosophical issues also take on a religious form, especially in pre-colonial africa. as a result, religion and philosophy were so intertwined that african traditional [sic] religion was seen to be the gateway to african philosophy and reason for which answers to most questions in philosophy took or have religious undertones. undoubtedly, taking a cue from the above, there is a presupposition to the fact that african traditional religion is built on a sound philosophical foundation and from this premise, the paper intends to make a re-affirmation of the philosophical foundation of african traditional religion from the idoma experience of north central nigeria. theorizing the problematic this research is partly a refutation of the different wrong notions by early scholars of africa and african traditional religion and culture, especially the denial of the philosophical foundations of african traditional religion. according to kayode, god has not left himself without witnesses; therefore, the article which appeared in a berlin journal in 1891 can now be declared a worthy igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 45 example of falsehood and an attempt at running away from truth in all its ramifications. he refers briefly to a part of the false submission thus: “before the introduction of a genuine faith and a higher standard of culture by the arabs, that natives had neither political organization, nor strictly spoken, any religion, nor an industrial development” (qtd. in kayode, 1984: 1). ludwig would not want his observation put in print anymore since he must have regretted having said, “how can the untutored african conceive god? how can this be? deity is a philosophical concept which savages are incapable of farming”. all religions of the world could be likened to a tree, the root and the stem standing for god who sustains, and the various branches and leaves as religions in the various directions, all deriving their vitality from the roots which hold the entire tree firmly (emil ludwig cited in kayode, 1984:1). kayode (1984:1-2) posits that, god manifests himself in various ways and this is expressed by man in diversity of languages. it is only through the world that god acts upon us. the religious man must at least be conscious of his feelings as the immediate product of the universe. any religious feeling is piety in so far as it is the result of the operation of god in us by means of the operation of the world upon us. he asserts further that, the traditional african peoples may not worship in the same way the hinduists, or christians, or muslims, or buddhists would, but they get the message of the personality which manifests himself to them in their perculiar situations. bolaji idowu, having studied the structure of african theology, suggests that the term “diffused monotheism”could be conveniently used for describing the religion of the people. the crucial reasonable pointis that africans recognize intermediaries in the similar notion of their social set-up where the king in the community is approached through lesser chiefs, princes and princesses. another sphere of the traditional religion of the africans that supports the fact that it is hinged on sound philosophical foundations is that of revelation. it is an act of god and to the understanding of the african peoples, divine message can be obtained through the situation of things in the environment. man has consciousness or awareness of the divine order. without any hesitation, the african affirms that god has put this awareness in man and for this reason his traditional religion is found everywhere. his experience attracts him into religion. the works of nature-rivers, hills, rocks, forests-instil the awareness in man that there is a superior force greater than himself. the experience derived from divine providence-abundance of food for human beings and animals, procreation, growth, and developments of plants and crops-instils in man the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 46 awareness of a superior force in the universe. indeed, the experience of adversity in the form of epidemics, poor harvest, infant mortality, drought and so on also calls for religious awareness. at such times, people then turn round and blame their sufferings on some external force. there may be need to appease the supreme being, the divinities or the ancestors. when things go well and life is pleasant, africans give praise and thanks to the supreme being from whom all blessings are supposed to flow. from their various experiences of life, people form their religious concepts and ideas and over a period of time, these concepts become established (kayode, 1984: 2). what is philosophy? philosophy as a word is got from two greek words philos and sophia meaning love and wisdom respectively. put together it would mean love of wisdom. thus, a philosopher is a lover of wisdom. according to omoregbe (2011: 1), philosophy has been conceived, described or defined in various ways by different philosophers. plato described a philosopher as a man whose passion is to seek the truth, a man whose heart is fixed on reality. aristotle rightly called it the knowledge of truth. epicurus described philosophy as an activity which secures the happy life by means of discussion and arguments. for william james, philosophy in the full sense is only man thinking, thinking about generalities rather than particulars. john dewey described philosophy as thinking which has become conscious of itself. the aim of philosophy according to wittgenstein is the logical clarification of thought. martin heidegger conceived philosophy as the correspondence to the being of being. however, omoregbe (2011: 3), defined philosophy either as “a rational search for answers to the questions that arise in the mind when we reflect on human experience or as a rational search for the answers to the basic questions about the ultimate meaning of reality as a whole and of human life in particular”. for the purpose of this research, these two definitions are adopted. anyacho posits that generally, man is a thinking animal. he thinks about the forces of nature around him and how they help in making for or marring his comfort on earth. he asks question about essence of his existence. he seeks to know about life and man’s position in the universe. these reflections may make him ask the four fundamental questions which kant said are central to philosophy. what can i know?, what ought i to do?, what can i hope for? and what is man. these in line with nwala’s thinking cited in anyacho (2004: 59) states that: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 47 philosophy may mean a worldview (weltanschauung) that is, the basic beliefs which a people have or a person has about the origin, nature and end of the universe, life or existence, whether the ideas are explicitly stated or implied in action. stated in another way, it could be the basic ideas and beliefs which expresses people’s or a person’s outlook in life. he adumbrates further that, philosophy could mean a way of life with definite ideas and conception of what life and existence means. it may mean that attitude to life which is characteristic of all genuine philosophers: that is, one of curiosity to know, maintaining a critical attitude to life, openness of mind on all issues and lack of dogmatic assertions or stands but an attitude of tolerance and readiness to examine everything without prejudice or pre-conceived notions. it may also mean a critical and conscious effort to understand the universe, its origin and purpose (60). philosophy is essentially a reflective activity. to philosophize is to reflect on human experience in search of answers to some fundametal questions. as man takes a reflective look at himself or the world around him, he is filled with “wonder”, and some fundamental questions arise in his mind. when he reflects on these fundamental questions in search of answers, he is philosophizing. both plato and aristotle tell us that this wonder is the beginning of philosophy. it is through wonder, says aristotle quoted in omoregbe (2011: 4), “that men now begin and originally began to philosophize”. human experience is thus the source of the reflective activity known as philosophy. this experience could either be man’s own experience of himself (subjectivity) or his experience of the world around him (objectivity). hence philosophy could start from subjectivity to objectivity. moreso, there is no part of the world where men never reflect on such basic questions about the human person or about the physical universe. in other words, there is no part of the world where men do not philosophize. the tendency to reflect on such fundamental philosophic questions is part of human nature; it is rooted in man’s natural instinct of curiosity-the instinct to know. human nature and human experience are basically the same all over the world, and the tendency to philosohize is part of human nature. hence the german philosopher karl jaspers quoted in omoregbe (2011: 6), says that “ man cannot avoid philosophizing”. this means that men all over the world philosophize, and all peoples have their own philosophers. the concept of african traditional religion igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 48 gbenda (2006: 4), states that african traditional religion is the religious tradition of the african peoples that is based purely on their culture. the religion was initiated by the ancestors of the present generation thousands of years ago and is still being preactised today. citing ekwunife, gbenda (2006: 5) defined religion in the nigerian situation or understanding when he wrote that it is: ...living institutionalized religious beliefs and practices, which are rooted in the past.... religious culture; a religion that was transmitted to the present overt and covert votaries by successive...forebears mainly through oral traditions (myths and folktales, songs and dances, liturgies, rituals, proverbs, pithy sayings and names, sacred institutions like sacred specialists and persons, initiation rites, festivals, sacred spaces and objects and religious works of art; a religion which is slowly but constantly updated by each generation in the light of new religious experiences through the dialectical process of continuities and discontinuities. furthermore, the above definition is very comprehensive and all embracing. from it one can deduce that african traditional religion is a living religious tradition. the religion is not static but dynamic. the dynamic nature of the religion enables it to adjust to changes and new religious experiences, thereby leading to modification and the discontinuities of some elements. the religion “written” in all aspects of african or nigerian way of life. the indelible stamp of the religion could be in the african organization of their political life, as their social, economic, and ethical values. in the same way, works of artboth tangible and intangible portray african traditional [sic] religion. it is in this vein that mbiti (1999: 2), posits that: because traditional religions permeate all departments of life, there is no formal distinction between the sacred and the secular, between the religious and the non-religious, between the spiritual and the material areas of life. whereever the african is, there is his religion... a historical overview of the idoma in north central nigeria according to igboaka (2015: 12), the idoma is one of the ten largest ethnic groups in nigeria dispersed in a number of states in the country. but the focus of this paper is on the idoma people of benue state. by the 1963 national population census the idoma people numbered up to 684,880. based on that figure, the directorate of information, office of the governor, benue state of nigeria indicates that idoma people are the second largest ethnic group in benue state. they live in an area of 13,015 square igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 49 kilometers, covering: otukpo, okpokwu, oju, ado and apa divisions, with otukpo as their main town. idoma land is bounded on the north by the benue river, on the west by the tiv, on the south by nsukka and abakaliki areas respectively. also, on the east reside the igala of kogi state. most of the idoma area is inland south of the benue, 72 kilometers east of the confluence with the niger river. in addition, armstrong cited igboaka (2007: 12), states that “the coutnry is nearly all ‘orchard bush though changing into the forest at the beginning of the rain, along the southern fringes of the territory”. it is very fertile and hence, there is an annual cycle of hoe farming during the rains and hunting and bush fire during the dry season. in the southern part of the region bordering enugu and cross river states stretches of thick forest with palm trees, and many other economic trees, which provide timber for commercial purposes. but currently, the idoma people are spread across nine big local government areas of benue state comprising ado, okpokwu, ogbadibo, agatu, apa, otukpo, ohimini, obi and oju. the language of the idoma people is known as idoma as stated by armstrong, belongs to the kwa language groups. the idoma langauge is very rich, with five main dialects, which are categorized into the following: the central or otukpo dialect spoken in otukpo, adoka, ugboju, oglewu, and onyangede districts; the igumale dialect spoken in igumale and agila districts; the agatu dialect spoken in agatu and ochekwu districts; the okpoga dialect spoken in okpoga district, (it is closer to the igumale – agila dialects, but not the same), and the western dialect spoken in otukpa and other districts in ogbadibo (igboaka, 2007: 13). the geographical spread of idoma people is indeed very wide and diversified. the afor in the nasarawa, the akweya-yachi in both akpa and ogoja districts, as well as the igede, all speak a language relatively close to that of the idoma. taking into account the fact that these groups are linguistically very near to each other, one can affirm that people speaking idoma are spread from keana, north of benue river, to the region of ogoja, and even further south to the bank of the cross river, north of ikom. the etulo (utur) also represent another isolated group near katsina-ala, in tiv country. the idoma people, as already mentioned are divided into numerous clans each with its particualr history. therefore, the idoma unity is essentially a linguistic unity, and not a political one, as is the case with the yoruba or the igala, united into large kingdoms, whereas the idoma language is essentially composed of many and varied dialects, as stated by armstrong (igboaka 2007: 13). similarly, historically the idoma people are said to have migrated from the old kwararafa empire to their present location, though settling at apa. erim’s study, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 50 enables us to follow step by step the settlement of each idoma group at it’s present day location. this historical research calls for some observations. in the first place one can consider the pressure exercised by the fulani of the north as being the deep underlying cause of the intermixing of these populations. this muslim influence was particularly strong in the beginning of the 19th century. secondly, these historical considerations explain the fact that today’s idoma society consists of a heterogeneous number of population, speaking the same language. hence, we are able to comprehend more clearly, the symbolic and cultural world of the idoma. the basic unit of the idoma cultural structure was the compound. armstrong shows that the compound comprises the man, his wife, their children and his sons. the family (ole) occupied a group of huts around an open space, one hut for each wife, one for the owner of the compound. there were various other huts consisting of club houses, granaries, grinding table and so on. these facilities were necessary to make the compound, ole a self-supporting unit. this setting is in line with what is obtainable in other african societies, the family does not consist of only parents and children, but rather, it includes the grand parents, uncles, aunts and others. these also include brothers and sisters who have their own children and other immeidate relatives which anthropologists call the extended family (igboaka, 2007: 15). the father or the head of the family exercised responsibility in the social, political, economic and religious life of the assocaites. nzanuwa in igboaka (2007: 15), rightly points out with regard to the people of east of the niger that: the nuclear family is the smallest or lowest unit of political organization. the father or the elder male is the head politically, socially, economically and religiously. ...as the custodian of the family tradition and ancestral cult, the head acted as the intermediary, between the family’s ancestors and the living members. armstrong stated that idoma land comprises twenty-two districts. districts could be called true areas or regions whose lineages and clans feel they are related genetically and they are of the same people or belong together. this relationship is very strongly and formally expressed by the totemic animals associated with a district which the people involved are forbidden to eat (igboaka, 2007: 16-7). similarly, erim (1981: 141) maintains that: “in pre-colonial idoma land, there were variety of totems”. the idoma regard such an animal as ihoforbiddances. the totems are bird or fish, which the people use as a symbol of their oneness or express their genetically relatedness. such totemic animals include the civet cat (anwu) the leopard (ejeh), the black monkey (eka) the mud-fish (egbe), among others. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 51 philosophical foundation of idoma traditional religion generally, african experience giving credence to the fact that african traditional religion is built on a sound philosophical foundation, the paper brings to bear in the idoma experience. the idoma worldview is basically a religious worldview like any other african society, meaning there is the belief in the existence of two worlds. in the idoma worldview, owoicho, god is transcendental, all excelling, supreme. he is also looked upon as owo no fie owodudu, omniscent. but since he is too physically removed from the world, there must be an intermediary. it is the oche who is therefore invested with godlike qualities and made the ruler of the community. evidence indicates that the oche was the chief priest of nearly all the religious cults in the community. the idoma religion consisted of three essential elements. the first was the owoicho (the supreme god), the second aje (the outstanding earth), and the third alekwu (ancestral spirits). although the owoicho was recognized as the creative supernatural force, yet because of the physical distance between the idoma and god, the people thought it necessary to look for a substitute which acted as an intermediary between them and the supreme being. this intermediary was the aje through which god transmitted his force. in time, aje became sacred to the idoma (erim, 1981: 98-101). erim (1981: 101), posits that so important was aje in the idoma religious belief that each kindred group established an earth shrine within its ojira (kindred playground). the chief priest of the aje was the oche. in this capacity he is referred to as the adalekwu (father of the dead). in idoma belief, the dead members of the kindred group were paradoxically alive. in other words, death in the corporeal sense did not remove the dead from kindred membership as such. rather, certain classes of the ancestors were considered vital and living members of the community. consequently, they were endowed with certain rights and responsibilities. the oche, in his priestly role, was considered a vital link between the alekwu and the living community. the idoma people must have speculated on the origin of things in the universe such as the onset of the raining season and the beginning of the dry season, night fall and the breaking of the day, human existence and life hereafter and the like. there exist rhythms and patterns of life that the idoma person and mind cannot explain. this led to wonderings about the existence of these things which led to attempts at rationalizing their existence through philosophical questions and proferring answers to such questions. if we go by the classical idea of the beginning of philosophy, we come to the realization that it started from ‘wonder’ about some of the events igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 52 enumerated above. the idoma person and mind speculated on many of these and other sundry issues of life and human existence with a long history of the employment of some of these philosophical understandings of life to bring to bear on their religious beliefs and practices handed over from one generation to another through the word of mouth, otherwise known as oral traditions. a classical example of the idoma religious belief in the life hereafter could be seen in the belief in alekwu, ancestral spirits. when an idoma person dies after living a morally sound life, died at a ripe old age and have been giving complete funeral rites, he or she transmigrates and joins the communion of ancestors. of all spititual realities, ancestors are the closest to the idoma people through which they offer worship to owoicho, god the supreme being. ancestors, contrary to the postulations of the pioneer scholars of african traditional religion, are not worshipped but venerated and they are channels through which the idoma person and mind can reach out to owoicho, god the supreme. alekwu, ancestors are referred to as the living-dead because of the physical ceasation of life and the continuation of life in the spiritual realm. this of course buttress the fact that the idoma people believe in the immortality of the soul and the existence of life after our physical stay in the universe. giving credence to the above position, quarcoopome (1987: 43), adumbrates that ancestors are the heroes and heroines of the different african societies. they are believed to have acquired extra-human power in the afterlife. they are able to intervene in the lives of the living members of society. they act as intermediaries. they are the unseen presidents at family and community meetings. they are the custodian of morality of the african communities and they are venerated and not worshipped. they are venerated but not worshipped. it was a misconception from the pioneer scholars and researchers that they are worshipped. of all spiritual realities they are the closest to man and they act as intermediaries. worship and prayers are offered to the supreme being through them. they are remembered periodically at festivals.they are the closest to man and they act as intermediaries between god and man. they are the custodian of morality and they enforce morality through rewards and punishments. they are the unseen chairmen of familiy meetings. they are concerned about a sane society. they are the police men of traditional african societies. ancestors are remembered in diverse ways. they are persons that have lived morally sound lives. as a result of the good lives they have lived those living physically remember them by giving names of their children to them. giving names to children of ancestors is a sign of appreciation to them for living a good life and encourage those living to do the same. these names convey religious eanings. there is a relationship because they are the custodians of morality. they are interested in a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 53 morally sound society. they are the ones that enforce morality in soicety, the worldview of the africans as it relates to the universe could believe in them as the enforcers of morality. the idoma people have the awareness that owoicho, god the supreme being is the creator of the visible (universe) and the invisible worlds (spirtual) worlds. he created everything therein in the universe including human beings, and we look up to him for provision and sustenance. conversely, according to the idoma religious belief, owoicho, god the supreme being depends on the visible world for manifestations. for instance, if an individual is said to be blessed by him because of the individual’s good deeds how do we know? it can only be known through such benevolence from owoicho, god the supreme being as it regards bumper harvest, procreation, good health, longevity and a host of others which are all physical manifestations of the power of god’s providence and sustenance. in support of the above views about the philosophical foundation of idoma traditional religion, mbiti cited in makumba (2007: 166) notes that africans are ‘notoriously religious’and religion has such a grip on their entire life that it is not always easy to isolate it. consequently, an understanding of the people requires knowledge of their religion. this applies even to their thinking because, he maintains: philosophy of one kind or another is behind the thinking and acting of every people, and a study of traditional religions brings us into those areas of african life where, through word and action, we may be able to discern the philosophy behind. makumba (2007: 166-167), citing mbiti insist that religion: has dominated the thinking of the african peoples to such an extent that it has shaped their cultures, their social life, their political organizations and economic activities... religion is closely bound up with the traditional way of african life, while at the same time, this way of life has shaped religion as well. religion therefore, according to this position, occupies a special place in african ontology for it defines the world of the african man and woman. people apply their religion to their social, emotional, economic, intellectual and spiritual life. it is for this reason that religion has been understood to give african peoples a way of understanding the world in which they live and is responsible for cultivating the whole person. and under the influence of religion, the great ideas of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 54 people concerning moral life, cultural achievements, social organization and institutions, political systems and the building of their past civilizations were enunciated. the expression of this thought and ideas are [sic] to be found in proverbs, riddles and sayings of the people. these are the ones in which the wisdom of the people is enshrined and many of them are also religious. conclusion in conclusion, the paper re-affirms the philosophical foundation of african traditional religion because there is no religious tradition in the world that is devoid of this, since men and women in all age, epoch, race and the like have the consciousness and rationality of engaging in philosophizing. a denial from any quarters of this assertion in respect of african traditional religion, is a denial of the philosophical foundation of any religious traditions anywhere in the world. and if we agree that religious traditions cannot be devoid of philosophical underpinnings, this also holds true for african traditional religion because of the fact that africans pondered about existence in the universe, where does a person go to after physical cessation of life?, who is responsible for creating man and woman and all that are therein the universe? etc. all the above is intertwined with the religious traditions of the africans, giving credence that the religion is based on a sound philosophical footing coupled with the fact that there are sources of the religion replete with philosophical underpinnings such as proverbs, pithy sayings, legends, folktales, folklores, songs, wise sayings, myths etc that buttress the subject-matter. any denial of these is the denial of the humanity of the africans whose philosophical mind cannot be questioned, for existence of any man or woman anywhere in the world cannot exist without engaging and bringing to bear their reflective activity called philosophy to all spheres of their life, including their religion. on the final analysis, african traditional religion is based on a sound philosophical foundation and constantly being updated in the midst of continuities and discontinuities. references anyacho, e.o. (2005). essential themes in the study of religion. obudu: niger link printing and publishing. anyacho, e.o. (2004). religion in society: an introduction to eco-theology and justice. ikom: ibiam printing press and computer services. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 3, august 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 55 erim, o.e. (1981). idoma nationality 1600-1900: problems in studying the origins and development of ethnicity. ibadan: fourth dimension publishers. gbenda, j.s. (2006). african religion and christianity in a changing world: a comparative approach. nsukka: chuka educational publishers. idike, e. (2002). introduction to social and political philosophy. enugu: good seed publishers. igboaka, o. (2007). the alekwu cult and its challenge to the catholic church thrust towards inculturation in idomaland. enugu: snaap press limited. kayode, j.o. (1984). understanding african traditional religion. ife: university of ife press. makumba, m.m. (2007). introduction to african philosophy. nairobi: paulines publications africa. mbiti, j.s. (1999). african religions and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational publishers ltd. ndubuisi, f.n. “a conception of man in an african communalism”. unah, jim i. (ed.). metaphysics, phenomenology and african philosophy. ibadan: hope publications, 1996. oduma-aboh, s.o. (2015) “the symbolic death of monarchs in the process of installation in idoma land: a paradigm for fighting corruption in nigeria”. in: dubey, v. (ed.). global journal of human social science. (h) vol. xv (ii) version i volume 15 issue 2,. massachusetts: global journals inc., pp. 1-9. omoregbe, j.i. (2000). a philosophical look at religion. lagos: joja educational research and publishers limited. omoregbe, j.i. (2001). knowing philosophy. lagos: joja educational research and publishers limited. quarcoopome, t.n.o. (1987). west african traditional religion. ibadan: african universities press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 221 colonialism, urbanization and the pan-igbo consciousness and identity in nigeria, 1900-1960 nwachukwu j. obiakor & kingsley okwudili ibeh department of history and international studies nnamdi azikiwe university, awka doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.18277.47848 abstract scholarly works abound on the life and history of the igbo people of nigeria. the major point of convergence of most of these historical literatures is their espousal of the resilience and i-can-do spirit of the igbo, as well as the igbo man’s proclivity to have a say in what concerns him. the ontological basis for these traits could be found in the republican worldview of the igbo, which hallows independence, hard work and egalitarianism. on the other hand, there are aspects of igbo history where ethnographers and historians hold divergent views and which have thus divided them. the first is the issue of the historical origin of the igbo and the other wherein this work anchors itself is the evolution of pan igbo identity or igbo ethnicity: did pan-igboism or pan-igbo idea predate colonial rule or was it necessitated by the socio-economic novelties consequent upon the colonial rule? while few scholars staunchly hold that pan-igboism existed long before european incursion; some others differ, and argue that the pan igbo idea or panigboism itself came only in the face of european domination and thus, pan-igboism is as colonial a product as the nation nigeria. the later claim seem more convincing to any historian who is at home with the pre-colonial socio-political system of the igbo, which has the village as the highest unit and each of this villages was as independent, autonomous and sovereign as any of those central european polities created by the westphalia treaty of january 30,1648. however, it could be observed that igbo ethnicity did not totally and directly evolve in the face of european domination. it was rather spurred by the colonially motivated inter-ethnic rivalry that characterized the colonial urban centers from the 1930’s. thus, the study concludes that while the colonial urban centers were the loci of the development of igbo ethnicity, inter-ethnic rivalry resulting from the heterogeneity of urban centres in colonial nigeria was its raison d’etre. keywords: colonialism, urbanization, ethnic identity, primordalism and consciousness introduction igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 222 the igbo are referred to as one of the three largest ethnic groups in nigeria. the question of the existence of the igbo in nigeria is not in doubt but the question of who are the igbo in contemporary nigeria has been compounded by the state creation and geographical balkanization of the indigenous igbo people which the military administration of gen. yakubu gowon piloted. based on this, many people wrongly associated the igbo with the defunct east central state, which metamorphosed into the five states of the current southeast geopolitical zone (abia, anambra, ebonyi, enugu, and imo). among the proponents of this view is katharine slattery, who espoused that ‘igboland is the home of the igbo peoples and it covers most of southeastern nigeria.’1 for some others, the igbo are found in the southeast and south-south zones of nigeria, adiele afigbo in his map of igboland showing nsukka area, the holy city of nri and arochukwu share this view. his definition of igboland limits the igbo to seven states in nigeria (abia, anambra, delta, ebonyi, enugu, imo and rivers).2 however, contrary to the above shades of opinion, the igbo make up the total population of the southeastern geopolitical region of nigeria which include; anambra, abia, imo, enugu and ebonyi states. they igbo are also found in the south-south states of akwa ibom, bayelsa, cross river, delta, edo and rivers. a small population of the igbo inhabits benue, and kogi states in the north-central region of nigeria. the igbo are widely travelled and in every city or town in nigeria, they are the second largest population after the indigenous population. the igbo maintain a life of extreme simplicity but this simplicity is easily sacrificed in the face of civilization from the outside world. g.t. basden rightly puts it thus: the igbo live a simple life characterized by contentment with the barest modicum of those articles which are usually regarded as indispensable in a household. however, discontent with primitive condition comes only with the introduction of novelties from the outside world and then like a child, the igbo covets what he sees.3 the igbo were among the last ethnic groups in nigeria to come in contact with western civilization and education, but this trait to covet novelties has put the igbo in the first place with regard to western education and civilization. explaining this further, g.t. basden notes; “left to him the igbo neither needs nor desires foreign luxuries but once the possibility of securing them presents itself, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 223 be they even so incongruous, he will not relax his effort until they become his cherished possession.”4 in line with the above postulation of basden, the quest for novelties which in the context of colonialism are civilization and western education, spurred the igbo into migration to non igbo urban centres. the exclusion characteristic of struggle for scarce resources in these centres moved the igbo speaking people into deep introspection culminating in the question ‘who are we?’,‘do we have a common identity as various igboid groups?’ urbanization in pre-colonial nigeria area urbanization in this context refers to the physical development and growth of a once rural area into an urban centre as a result of rural migration. urbanization is therefore synonymous with the growth of cities. corroborating this view, manzoor hussein and iram imitiyaz submit that urbanization implies a change in the economic, social and cultural aspects of the society. it is a process of becoming urban, the movement of people or process of becoming to urban areas5. this conceptualization of urbanization is at variance with the identification of urbanization with population growth; the former can be a result of the later. urbanization in nigeria nay other african countries are wrongly associated with the advent of the europeans. this condemnable line of thought anchors on the eurocentric prejudices of some western scholars. hugh trevor roper had argued that there is only the history of european presence in africa, the rest is darkness6. the urbanization implication of this prejudiced thought is that nigeria began to urbanize with the advent of the europeans and to argue otherwise is baseless. however, history reveals that the above claim is devoid of any foundation in reality. urbanization began in nigeria even before it began in britain. urbanization in britain came as an after effect of the collapse of feudalism in the 9th century. this is corroborated in the assertion of russo below: towns began as borough, that is, as fortifications erected during the 9th century viking invasions. towns were at first places of defense, into which farmers from the surrounding countryside moved when their area was attacked. later, the merchants were attracted to the fortifications because they had something to sell ...7 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 224 on the other hand, urbanization began in nigeria earlier than 9th century. adegbola et al share the view when they submitted that “urban system had been developing in nigeria since the early medieval period circa 7th century and was particularly evident in the north of the country”8. these nigerian cities that predate colonialism were technically designated as old cities to differentiate them from the new cities which later sprang as a result of colonial socio-political and economic activities. features of urbanization in pre-colonial nigeria adegbola et al are of the opinion that pre-colonial urban centers existed in northern nigeria. thus the first feature of urbanization in the pre-colonial nigeria is its concentration in the north. however, some scholars are of the opinion that pre-colonial urban centers in nigeria were concentrated not only in the north as adegbola et al postulate but also in the southwest and that the east was out of the picture as there was virtually absence of urban centres in the east. among these scholars are mabogunje and abumere. mabogunje for instance argues that urban system was particularly evident in the north of the country and in the south-western yoruba part of the country, and they developed around the same time.9 abumere in a similar manner submits that prior to british colonial rule, urbanization tended to concentrate in the north and south-west, the east had a predominant rural character.10 some of the pre-colonial urban centers in nigeria owed their rise to the transsahara trade. these include the cities of kano, katsina and borno (ngazargamu). there were three famous trans-sahara trade routes: eastern, central and western trade routes. of these three, two terminated in northern nigeria bringing the cities of kano, katsina and borno within the operational arena of the trade. these trade routes were the eastern trade route which began in libya and terminated in borno and the central trade route which ran from ghadames, ghat and agades to katsina and kano in nigeria.11 the rise of kano, katsina and borno due to the trans-sahara trade go a long way to buttressing the role of trade, trade routes and markets in urbanization. this idea was well grasped by muhammed korau of katsina as far back as the 15th century. when the central trans-sahara trade route was being constructed, korau relocated katsina to its present site which is about hundred miles north of the former location. this relocation brought katsina within the operational arena of the trans-sahara trade.12 another outstanding feature of urbanization in pre-colonial nigeria is that politics played important role in spurring the rise and growth of urban centers. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 225 certain pre-colonial cities like oyo, gwandu and sokoto owed their urbanization to their status as administrative headquarters of a larger socio-political unit. for instance, sokoto was “the capital of the vast empire or caliphate formed after the jihad … a twin but subordinate capital, gwandu was also built near sokoto”13. the administrative and political relevance of these political nerve centres constituted a pull-factor that drew people to these places thereby encouraging urban growth. in describing the features of urbanization in pre-colonial nigeria one must acknowledge the role played by religion. some cities like ile-ife which was acclaimed as the spiritual headquarters of the yoruba people owed their precolonial urban status to their non-displaceable religious significance and this became a pull-factor that transformed them into urban centers. absence of urbanization in the pre-colonial ‘eastern igboland’ as previously noted, abumere maintained that pre-colonial igboland had a predominantly rural character. this statement does not denote a total absence of urbanization in pre-colonial igboland, however, it does imply that though majority of igbo towns were rural and agrarian, there were nonetheless a few urban centers in pre-colonial igboland. these urban centers existed not in the east but in the western igboland in the present day delta state. the ancient city of aboh stands out here. g.t. strides observed that the “kingdom of aboh situated where the niger enters its delta had become an important urban political unit by 1800”14. the reason for the urbanization of this western igbo city is her strategic position on the niger. “aboh controlled access to the hinterland and to the coastal ports of nembe and kalabari.”15 the civilization attained by aboh explains why at the instance of obi ossai of aboh, the british explorers, richard and john lander (the lander brothers) were arrested for trespassing the territorial waters of the kingdom and they had to remain in aboh prison until they were ransomed by kingboy, a brass merchant. in the eastern igbo area, urbanization was totally lacking. the eastern igboland was rural in character prior to british incursion. two major reasons could be given as to why the eastern igbo lacked pre-colonial urbanization and this are: the socio-political system of the pre-colonial igbo and the geographical location of eastern igboland. the socio-political system of the pre-colonial igbo east of the niger ontologically negates urbanization. the igbo of this zone maintained a five tiers socio-political igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 226 system with the obodo (village republic) as the highest tier. the obodo is “a social unit which comprised a number of maximal lineages knit together by kinship bonds and whose inhabitants consider themselves distinct and autonomous from other such unit”16. this description by l.u. ejiofor further brings out other features of an igbo village republic. every igbo village was distinct and autonomous; it is what j. ekei calls “autonomous political entity”17. an igbo village maintained acephalous or segmentary political system which is a political system without a central government, which in pre-colonial africa was usually headed by a single person (king, empire, sultan, almami)18. the above socio-political system of pre-colonial igbo worked against the factors that engendered urbanization in pre-colonial africa. the first of these factors is the politics of state capital. urbanization during the pre-colonial era was inter alia as a result of politics. those towns that served as administrative capital of pre-colonial african states, developed into urban centers. the igbo village republicanism excluded the existence of administrative state capitals, given that a capital presupposes a ruler that would operate therefrom. the igbo prior to colonialism was acephalous and egalitarian. the affairs of the village were discussed not in administrative capital (which was absent) but in the parliamentary square which could be village square or a major market square and which as webster et al observe “operated every four or eight days depending on its size and importance.”19 again, the population as well as the size of an igbo village republic vitiated the political need for an ideal administrative capital which in most cases was bigger than an igbo village republic itself. the pre-colonial igbo political system negated the existence of a spiritual headquarters for the entire igbo people. some pre-colonial african towns grew into urban centers because of their status as spiritual headquarters of a people bonded by one language, culture or religion. there was no existence of such spiritual headquarters in igboland and the reason for this is not far-fetched. the igbo villages maintained what is called religious egalitarianism and in virtue of this, every igbo village considered itself as equal in religious importance as the other. this notion of religious egalitarianism exudes an air of religious sufficiency and this is encapsulated in the dictum “nku di na mba na-eghere mba nri” (an institution evoked by a people serves and works for them). thus, egalitarianism in igbo worldview does not only denote equality of all persons but also equality of all village republics in political and religious matters. adiele afigbo may have differed with this, having argued that nri is the spiritual igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 227 headquarters of igboland, it was a holy city which was for the igbo what ile-ife was for the yoruba.20 there is a difference here, while the yoruba valued ile-ife as a city, the igbo valued not the town of nri but the priests who came from nri because of what they could offer. thus, there is a dichotomy between the importance of nri people and nri town to igbo people. nri priests were more important to the igbo than nri town just as conversely ile-ife town was more important to the yoruba than ile-ife people. one can say that because the yoruba valued ile-ife as a town, ile-ife acquired a centripetal force or a pull-force that engendered the urbanization of the town. on the other hand, because the igbo never valued nri as a town, nri lacked that pull-force needed for her urbanization rather, what nri had was a centripetal force which discouraged her urbanization. while the yoruba flocked to ile-ife to consult ile-ife oracles and priests, nri priests on the other hand, moved from nri to igbo towns to perform their religious duties. nri people were “itinerant priests and the highest representation of sacerdotalism in the ibo race”21. nri was the headquarters of an itinerant priestly cult and not the religious or spiritual headquarters of igbo people; while a spiritual headquarters attracts people, a headquarters of priestly cult releases her priests into the villages (in the manners of the jewish tribe of levi) to minister to the spiritual needs of the people. this explains why nri priests were peripatetic priests. in corroboration of the above, g.t. basden points out that among the igbo, nri is the headquarters of a priestly cult and that nri men were travelers so much so that they were met with frequently22. precolonial igbo socio-political system negated the existence of security pullfactors that makes for urbanization. such security pull-factors according to c. tettey include “city walls, fortifications and moat”23. these attracted people who sought for defense. as the population of the town grew, it developed into an urban center. as earlier noted, the pre-colonial igbo village republic was non centralized and stateless and among the features of the non-centralized states of nigeria before 1800 was non-existence of security-pull factors like city walls and moats24. the second factor that accounted for the lack of pre-colonial urbanization in igbo land was the geographical location of igboland. igboland lies between lat.4’15’ and 7’05’ north and longitude 6’00 and 8’30’ east. it covers a total surface area of approximately 41,000 square kilometers25. the “igbo [east of the niger] occupy the forests hinterland in nigeria”26 without direct access to the sea and outside the world. the geographical location of the igbo automatically cut her off from the operational arena of the trans-sahara trade and the coastal trade which could igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 228 have engendered the rise of pre-colonial urban centers in igboland. trade and trade routes played important roles in the emergence of pre-colonial urban centers in africa. this does not imply that there were no trading activities in the pre-1800 igboland. there were trades but this was not international enough to birth urbanization. the aro trading system could have encouraged urbanization but the trade was illegitimate being a trade in persons, and slave trade according to inikori joseph is characterized by social tensions, political conflicts and warfare which were extremely harmful to any development be it urban or economic.27 colonialism and rise of new urban centers in nigeria colonialism has been defined as the practice by which a powerful country directly control less powerful countries and uses their resources to increase its own power and wealth. the intervention of john beecroft, the british consul in the kingship tussle between kosoko and akintoye both of lagos opened the door for the british colonialization of what is today called nigeria. the british annexed lagos in 1861 and installed mr. h. freeman as the first governor of lagos. from lagos they began the conquest of the indigenous people of nigeria such that by 1914, the whole nigeria seems to have come under british control. the goal of colonialism has always been economic exploitation of the indigenous people. in keeping with this, as soon as the british established their rule in nigeria, they did not waste time in establishing small ports along the coast for their economic activities and for easy transportation of commodities to the metropole. these port towns grew into urban centers. lagos, calabar and port harcourt were examples of these port towns. having established ports and base, there came the need to establish administrative headquarters among the indigenous people from where they would be controlled to ensure unchallenged exploitation of their resources. these administrative headquarters such as enugu, onitsha, owerri, kaduna, lokoja and other towns that served as colonial regional, provincial and divisional headquarters grew into urban centers. with the people now under effective control from the administrative headquarters, the british settled down for the main business which was economic exploitation. those towns with abundant natural resources were explored, discovered and extractive industries sited in them. these mineral towns grew into urban centers as a result of influx of people. enugu, jos, among others, were examples of these mineral towns. the need to transport the extracted minerals to the coastal ports for onward shipment to europe necessitated the linking of these mineral towns igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 229 with the coastal ports through rail way. the further result of this was that some towns along the railway lines such as umuahia grew into urban centers. igbo ethnicity ethnicity encompasses values, traditions, and practices but, crucially, it gives a people a common identity and sense of distinctivenss usually by foscusing on their homogeneity in origin and descent.28ethnicity or pan identity is achieved when a group of people with “both linguistic and/ or cultural similarity develop a common consciousness”29 “of being one in relation to the other relevant ethnic groups.”30 pan-igbo identity or igbo ethnicity refers to development of common consciousness by those who have igbo language as their primary language and who equally share common igbo culture and worldview. igbo ethnicity in this context can also be called pan-igboism or pan igbo identity. in today’s nigeria, there is pan-igbo identity among the igbo people and this is represented by the ohanaeze ndigbo socio-cultural organization. theorizing igbo ethnicity: primordialism and constructionism with regard to igbo ethnicity, there is a lingering question begging for clarification and that question is: how did igbo ethnicity evolve? this question has elicited two theories: primodialism and constructionism.the primodialist school incorporates all who argue that igbo ethnicity is something innate, fixed and permanent in the psyche of every igbo person. thus each person born into igbo ethnic group comes with him/her a germ of pan igbo consciousness. the primodialist theory of igbo ethnicity is anchored on the primodial theory of ethnicity propagated by vanhanem, estaenban, harowitz, among others. harotwitz for instance submits that under primodialism; ethnic identity is fixed across time. as a function of common blood shared within each ethnic group… hospitality and cooperation are expected among members of the in-group and hostility and conflict against out-groups…31 in the light of primodialism therefore, igbo ethnicity is considered as old as the igbo race and predating the british incursion into what is known today as nigeria. it can conveniently be stated that the character odenigbo in chimamanda adichie’s half of a yellow sun fits into this school. however, an explanation of the evolution of igbo ethnicity using primodialist approach in confuted by the fact that the igbo started coming together as a people during the colonial era. the pre-colonial division between the igbo (as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 230 referred to the people inhabiting upland igboland by their riverine kits and kin) and olu (as the igbo people that live in the riverine/coastal areas refer to themselves), expressed in such adages as e jee m igbo jee olu (i have traversed igbo upland as well as the coastal igbo). also, adaka no n’olu ma odu ya no n’igbo (literarily, the baboon is in the coastal igbo while its tail extends to the upland igbo); ude ya na-ede n’olu na-ede n’igbo (his fame resounds in the coastal igboland as well as upland igbo) have debunked the innatism of igbo ethnicity as well as its pre-colonial dating. okwudiba nnoli shares this view that the igbo speaking people were self-consciously divided into the olu and the igbo peoples…therefore among certain neighbouring peoples, there was a definite distinction between olu and igbo…32 what the igbo had prior to colonialism was micro-ethnicity or at best a polarized ethnicity founded on the dichotomized pillars of igbo and olu. therefore, common possession of igbo culture, worldview and language lack the needed centripetal force for the development and sustenance of pan igbo identity or ethnic consciousness. a better understanding of the evolution of pan igbo identity could be done using the constructionist approach. in line with this, igbo ethnicity is viewed as socially constructed by the igbo elites. thus, igbo ethnicity never predated colonialism. the proponents of the constructionist theory of igbo ethnicity include: okwudiba nnoli, elizabeth isichei, ejitu nnechi ota and l. ezeka. okwudiba nnoli argues that “…in what is today known as igboland, there was no history of common pre-colonial consciousness and identity, igbo ethnicity is a social and not biological phenomenon. it has colonial and urban origin.”33in the same manner elizabeth isichei espoused the constructionist theory of igbo ethnicity when thus: this book is a history of the igbo people. it immediately suggests the question, to what extent were the igbo people a real entity in precolonial times? there was of course, no sense of pan-igbo identity. the igbo villager’s view of external reality was a sharp dichotomy, ‘them and us’.34 the conclusion of the constructionist theory is that pan igbo identity as earlier stated is as colonial a product as the nation nigeria.35 reasons for the of igbo ethnicity in the pre-colonial nigeria there are a number of factors that account for the absence of pan-igbo identity and consciousness in the pre-colonial period. the first of these factors is the igbo igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 231 kinship system which viewed a non-kinsman as an outsider or a foreigner. under this arrangement, a non-kinsman be him an igbo or non-igbo was regarded as a foreigner. the pre-colonial igbo therefore, maintained a closed system and this explains why “with the exception of the aro and nri people, the various igbo pre-colonial polities did not make any contact whatsoever before colonization and were even in certain cases oblivious of the existence of one another.”36 the ‘acephalousness’ of the igbo or the ‘igbo-enwe-eze’ posture was another factor that obliterated pan-igbo identity in the pre-colonial period. there was no central ruler who could unite the igbo and bring them to the consciousness of their ethnicity just as tsoede did among the jukun people of northern nigeria. again, the homogeneity of igbo villages contributed to the lack of pan-igbo identity. before the colonial era, the igbo did not have much contact with other ethnic groups save the niger-deltans who did not pose threat to the igbo. heterogeneity is the obverse of homogeneity and inter-group rivalry associated with heterogeneity is a factor in bringing a people to the consciousness of their ethnicity. another inhibiting factor for a pan-igbo identity in the pre-colonial period was the total absence of a myth of common origin. the oriental hypothesis on the history of the igbo as represented by the eri myth could only account for the common origin of aguleri/umueri and the other umunri clans of anambra state, and a few igbo communities in delta and enugu states but could not account for the origin of the other igbo people. this myth’s strength was further depreciated by the historical revisionism that sprouted in the otuocha/omambala area of igboland37. the inadequacy of eri myth has also led to the eri-arodi-areli hypothesis which accounts for the origin of all igbo people. however, the problem with this tradition of origin is that it is not widely accepted by the igbo and again, it did not pre-date colonialism. among the factors that spur ethnicity, myth of common origin stands out, in fact, when other factors are not there, the myth of common origin is enough to bring people to the consciousness of their ethnicity. okwudiba nnoli explains this with the yoruba people of nigeria: during the pre-colonial times, the yoruba speaking peoples were organized in kingdoms which fought bitter wars against one another but this notwithstanding the myth of common oduduwa ancestry of ‘omo odua’ factors made them see each other as one especially in relative to other groups.38 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 232 the general absence of a pan-igbo identity in pre-colonial igboland, explains why there was no wars fought together by the igbo as a collectivity.39 when a pre-colonial community or town was attacked by a non-igbo group, the town in question sorted itself out. for instance, aro-efik war and aro-ibibio wars were fought by arohukwu and not by the generality of igbo people. urbanization in colonial nigeria and evolution of igbo ethnicity pan-igbo identity owes its development to urbanization in colonial nigeria. the modernity, social amenities and general allures of city life among other factors spurred the migration of the igbo into the colonial urban centers within and without igboland. among the features of these colonial cities into which the igbo migrated were social alienation and social heterogeneity. as the igbo moved out of their home, a sense of social alienation from their kinsmen staked them in the face 40 in the colonial cities characterized by diverse people, race, culture and religion. the social heterogeneity and alienation of the city life produced two effects in igbo socio-political system. firstly, in the urban centres within igboland, like enugu, port harcourt, owerri, umuahia, onitsha, aba, and so on; they led to the development of what dan chukwu calls ‘family meeting’ which is the meeting of those from the same province, division, district or even town.41 in the non-igbo cities like lagos, kaduna, kano, jos, in addition to family meetings, they led to the formation of ethno-cultural unions which brought together every igbo speaking person in a particular urban centre outside igboland. these family meetings and ethno-cultural unions carried with them the germ of igbo ethnicity but at this level, the ethnicity has not assumed a ‘pan’ character as the entire igbo has not been brought under one umbrella. the place of lagos in the development of igbo ethnicity before 1939, almost every city in the colonial nigeria was dotted with a number of igbo ethno-cultural unions and this development was in realization of the distinctness of the igbo people in the nigeria commonwealth. however, each of these unions was like a monad closed up in itself and which could not engineer the needed pan-igbo identity of ethnicity. the struggle to birth a pan-igbo identity began in 1943, when igbo union, lagos, the ethno-cultural union of lagos-based igbo which was formed in 1934 evolved into igbo federal union. the aim of this was to federate all igbo unions in nigeria. the igbo federal union in pursuit of this pan-igbo identity and consciousness set out to build and run thirty secondary schools all over igboland as well as to establish an igbo national bank.42 however, the full realization of pan-igbo identity came to near igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 233 realization in 1948 when the igbo federal union headquartered in lagos was transformed into igbo state union (isu).43 the botheration of the isu was to carry out the task of uniting every igbo person under one umbrella which she inherited from igbo federal union. this botheration reflected in her constitution which was adopted in aba on june 20, 1954 and which inter alia states the task of the union to be is; “to devise ways and means whereby all the sons and daughters of igboland… shall be brought together under one union”44and by so doing bring them to the consciousness of their ethnicity. ejitu nnechi ota, after a critical study of the aims and objectives of the igbo state union notes that “from its set objectives, the most important responsibility which the isu assigned to itself was the encouragement and promotion of igbo ethnic identity and solidarity in colonial and post-colonial nigeria”45 to achieve the above task, the isu utilized several strategies. the first of this was the registration of every igbo improvement union, non-inclusive igbo ethno-cultural unions, clans, andtowns. having brought the igbo under one umbrella, the second task was how to infuse in them the consciousness of their common ethnicity. in doing this, the isu utilized the common ordeal which the igbo suffered in the hand of other ethnic groups in colonial cities especially the yoruba cities. this ordeal was described thus by ejitu nnechi ota: before 1936, the igbo occupied few, if any positions in government establishment and privately-owned european commercial houses. the yoruba, who had a head-start over the igbo in terms of contacts with western civilization occupied most of the positions in both the colonial government and in the private sector. the igbo in the colonial cities were looked down upon as people from the backwaters…. they were taunted in very debasing manners and the ego of the average igbo in early colonial cities was greatly deflated by such humiliating remarks and reference.46 this common ordeal of hostility and exclusionism suffered by the igbo in the colonial cities, was whipped by the isu to bring the igbo to the consciousness of their ethnicity. to compensate the igbo who seem to have been looked-down on as a result of their late contact with western civilization and to solidify the newly born igbo ethnicity and consciousness, the isu built a school in aba and encouraged igbo unions in non-igbo urban centres to build and run schools for igbo children. another means utilized by the isu to encourage the nascent igbo ethnicity was the institution of igbo day celebration in 1954. the igbo day was celebrated annually on every first saturday of october throughout nigeria. the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 234 essence of igbo day celebration was to commemorate igbo accomplishments, and to signify igbo unity. it afforded the igbo the opportunity to reflect on their common cultural heritage.47 the igbo state union awarded scholarship to brilliant igbo students irrespective of their place of origin. dennis chukude osadabay an igbo of the anioma stock was among the first beneficiary of this scheme. the isu also took it upon herself to organize receptions and lectures for igbo sons and daughters who had returned from abroad after their academic sojourn.48with these exploits of the isu, it became fashionable to be igbo. every igbo from the present southeast and south-south and northcentral was proud to be igbo. this golden igbo ethnicity built by the igbo state union seemed to have crumbled during the biafra-nigeria war as some igbo from the south-south region denied their igbo ethnicity in other to escape the wrath of the nigeria federal government and troops. formative agents of igbo ethnicity the formative agents of pan-igbo identity were the igbo union lagos, igbo federal union and lastly the igbo state union. dennis chukude osadabay, h.k. offonry, nnamdi azikiwe and jaja nwachukwu were the founding fathers of pan-igbo identity. osadabay and offonry were the president and secretary of igbo union lagos, which later transformed into igbo federal union, while nnmadi azikiwe and jaja wachukwu were respectively the president and secretary, respectively of the igbo state union. conclusion while attempting a conceptual clarification of ethnicity, okwudiba nnoli made a distinction between the “ethnic group in itself” and the “ethnic group for itself”. the former refer to a group marked out by linguistic and/or cultural similarity but without a common consciousness or identity.49 on the other hand, the later refer to “a group with both linguistic and/or cultural similarity and a common consciousness or identity.”50 the igbo before colonial urbanization was an ‘ethnic group in itself’ marked out by linguistic and cultural similarity but without a common consciousness. with the colonial rule, the igbo evolved into an ‘ethnic group for itself’ with a common consciousness and pan-identity. this common consciousness was birthed in the colonial urban centers in the face of the perceived exclusion, denigration and hostility faced by the igbo. pan-igbo identity in today’s nigeria seems to be showing some cracks. this reflects in the constant denial by some igbo of rivers and delta states of that same igbo ethnicity which hitherto they were proud of. the ohaneze ndigbo can do a lot igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 235 more here to restore the pride and confidence of the ikwerre and anioma peoples in the igbo project. she should understand that ethnicity is a social construct and this implies that there is the need for constant reinforcement of this construction lest it crumble. endnotes 1. c. slattery, the igbo people: origin and history, www.faculty.ucr.edu. retrieved, novermber 22, 2021. 2. a. afigbo, ropes of sand, (nsukka: university of nigeria press limited, 1981), p.34 3. g.t. basden, among the ibos of nigeria, (lagos: university publishing co., 1982), p.45 4. g.t. basden, among the ibos of nigeria, 5. m. hunsein, urbanization concepts, dimensions and factors, in coden, international journal of recent scientific research, vol.9, issue i, pp.2351323523 6. h. trevor-roper, the rise of christian europe, (london: thames and hudson 1965), p.871 7. d.g. russo, town origins and development in early england, c.400-950 a.d., (westport: greenwood publishing group, 1998), p.16 8. o. adegbola et al, urbanization and urban expansion in nigeria, july, 2015, www.researchgate.net, retrieved, november 22, 2021 9. a.l. mabogunje, urbanization in nigeria: a constraint on economic development. economic development and cultural change. vol.13. no.4, pp. 413-430 10. s.i. abumere, “urbanization in africa: a handbook hardcover”, tarver, a journal of urban economics, 1994, 11. t. falola and a. adebayo, a summary of west african history, (ile-ife: university of ife press, 1983), p.36 12. e.d. adelowo, perspectives in religious studies, 2014, https://books.goodle.com.ng, retrieved, november 22, 2021 13. t. falola and a. adebayo, a summary of west african history, p.26 14. g.t. basden, among the ibos of nigeria, p.352 15. g.t. basden, among the ibos of nigeria, p.352 16. l.u. ejiofor, igbo kingdoms, power and control, (jurong: feb international press, 1982), p.105 17. j.c. ekei, philosophy of igbo traditional government and authority, (awka: fab anieh nig. ltd, 2016), p.45 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 236 18. j.b. webster et al, the revolutionary years, west africa since 1800, (london: longman group ltd, 1967), p. 175 19. j.b. webster et al, the revolutionary years, west africa since 1800, p.177 20. a. afigbo, ropes of sand, p.34 21. a. afigbo, ropes of sand, p.32 22. g.t. basden, among the ibos of nigeria, p.27 23. c. tettey, “urbanization in africa in relation to socio-economic development: a multifaceted quantitative analysis”, http//etd.ohiolink.edu. accessed, 12/03/2020 24. a.n. eruchalu and p.a. okafor, history of nigeria and the wider world since 1800,(awka: fab anieh nig. ltd, 2018), p.187 25. g.e.k. ofomata, “introduction”, a survey of the igbo nation, (onitsha: africana first publishers limited, 2002), p.1 26. g.t. strides and c. ifeka, peoples and empires of west africa, (thames: thomas nelson ans sons ltd, 1971), p.346 27. o.e. uya, african diaspora, (calabar: clear lines publications, 1978), p.69 28. n. glazer and d, moynihan, ethnicity: theory and experience, (cambridge ma: harvad university press, 1975), p.89 29. o. nnoli, ethnic politics in nigeria, (enugu: fourth dimension publishers, 1978), p.7 30. o. nnoli, ethnic politics in nigeria, p.6 31. d. horowitz, ethnic groups in conflict, (california: universal of california press, 1985), p.7 32. o. nnoli, ethnic politics in nigeria, p.36 33. o. nnoli, ethnic politics in nigeria. 34. e. isichei, a history of the igbo people, (london: macmillan press ltd, 1976), 35. c.n. adichie, half of a yellow sun, (lagos: kachifo limited, 2006), pp. 31-32 36. o. nnoli, ethnic politics in nigeria, p.36 37. nwachukwu j. obiakor, “history, land and conflict in nigeria: the aguleri-umuleri experience, 1933-1999”, ujah:unizik journal of arts and humanities vol 17, no. 2, pp 106-121, 2016 38. o. nnoli, ethnic politics in nigeria, p.6 39. o. nnoli, ethnic politics in nigeria, p.36 40. d. chukwu and i.k. agu, “ethno-cultural unions and the growth of enugu in the colonial period”, studies in igbo history, (enugu; nolix educational publications nig. ltd, 2016), p.227 41. d. chukwu and i.k. agu, “ethno-cultural unions and the growth of enugu in the colonial period”, studies in igbo history, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 237 42. e. n. ota, igbo ethnicity in nigeria, (okigwe: whytem printing press, 2017), p.71 43. e. n. ota, igbo ethnicity in nigeria, p.72 44. e. n. ota, igbo ethnicity in nigeria, p.74 45. e. n. ota, igbo ethnicity in nigeria, p.74 46. e. n. ota, igbo ethnicity in nigeria, p.70 47. e. n. ota, igbo ethnicity in nigeria, p.77 48. o. ikejiani, okechukwu ikejiani the unrepentant nationalist, (enugu: snaap press ltd, 2007), p.147 49. o. nnoli, ethnic politics in nigeria, p.7 50. o. nnoli, ethnic politics in nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol 9 no.1, 2023 www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/igwebuikejournals.php a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 32 effective leadership: a viable tool for excellent educational management christy ayi alademerin, phd school of educational studies university sains malaysia christya4@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.27610.21449 abstract it has become imperative that excellent educational management must be strengthened and repositioned through effective leadership at the various sectors of educational system, in such a way that will engender and stimulate effective role and goals of education in the society. developing an excellent educational system implies a direct and indirect development and of the qualities of leadership in educational management. this paper attempts to clarify how effective leadership can enhance and animate educational management, through which there can be smooth running of excellent planning, supervision and organization in the educational system. albeit, details and analysis of some qualities and features on effective leadership as a viable tool for excellent educational management are reviewed in this paper. thus, the purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of leadership as a viable tool for educational management. keywords: leadership, education, management and educational management introduction globally, education performs a unique role in the development and growth of a society. the administration of a sustainable educational system is the primary concern of a nation. consequently, the improvement associated with a society and her people on powerful indexes as economy, politics, science and technology, morality and national development rests distinctively on the management of quality education. thus, competent leadership is a viable tool towards effective management of education in ways that will adequately prepare young adults to becoming veritable agents of transformation in all the phases of life, thereby bringing about an integral development in the various areas of the society, with no exemption to educational system. this is because leadership has a vital role to play in creating the conditions for success at all levels of education and training systems christy ayi alademerin 33 through effective management. as part of the functions and goals of an effective leader, management is one of the most important activities, through which a leader accomplishes aims that could not be achieved individually. one of such areas is the educational sector. the onus lies on effective leadership to adequately manage quality education by; setting directions, aims of objectives of educational organizations or institutions; planning for the progress of educational programmes; organizing available resources, people, time, material for proper educational system; controlling the implementing process in education and settling the improved standards on educational system. however, the lack of excellent and visionary leaders in government can lead to educational paralysis. some of the hitches bad leadership can bring to the educational system of a country are unnecessary slowdown in academic progress (asuu strike), poor educational infrastructure, politicization of education and the recruitment of unqualified lecturers and teachers. all these are case studies and the aftermath of lack of effective leadership in educational sector. from this flow of thought, this paper will delve into a comprehensive analysis of effective leadership and its consequence on the achievement of sustainable and quality educational management. leadership the concept of “leadership” has diverse meaning and understanding to different people, since a definition commonly depends on the perceptions, natures, philosophies, values and professions of those who define it. however, in its most basic form, leadership is defined as the art of moving others to want to struggle for shared aspirations. therefore, a leader is an individual who possesses the ability to encourage, motivate and/or influence others. fundamentally, the goal of effective leadership is to influence changes and the role of a leader is to create the systems and organizations needed for elevation into a whole new level or change in some basic ways in order to take advantage of creative opportunities. furthermore, various scholars have given their opinions on what leadership entails, thus, some of these definitions will be explored below. keith davis defined leadership as the process of encouraging and helping others to work enthusiastically towards their objectives, as a way of extracting cooperation and willingness of the individuals and groups to attain the organizational objectives. taking a stance from another perspective, george r. terry explains that leadership is a relationship in which one person influences others to work together willingly on related tasks to attain what the leader desires. likewise, koontz and o’donnell, clarifies that leadership is the process of influencing people so that they will strive willingly towards the achievement of group goals. similarly, chester i. bernard simplifies the definition of leadership as the effective leadership: a viable tool for excellent educational management 34 quality of the behavior of the individual whereby they guide people on their activities in organized work. in a more captivating perspective, gary yukl (2006) defined leadership as the process of influencing others to understand and agree about what needs to be done and how to do it, and the process of facilitating individual and collective efforts to accomplish shared objectives. in the same vein, peter northouse (2010) defines leadership as a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal. from these definitions several constituents that are central to the phenomenon of leadership can be alluded. some of them are as follows: (a) leadership is a process. (b) leadership involves influencing others. (c) leadership happens within the context of a group. (d) leadership involves goal attainment. (e) the goals of leadership are shared by leaders and their followers. accordingly, the very act of defining leadership as a process suggests that leadership is not a characteristic or trait with which only a few certain people are endowed at birth, but is involved in imitation and inculcation. also, defining leadership as a process means that leadership is a transactional event that happens between leaders and their followers. observing leadership as a process means that leaders affect and are affected by their followers either positively or negatively. leadership, which has the ability to influence, inspires subordinates and peers in a work or organizational context. without influence, it is impossible to be a leader. leadership includes the achievement of goals. therefore, leadership is about directing a group of people toward the accomplishment of a task or the reaching of an endpoint through various ethically based means. leaders direct their energies and the energies of their followers to the achievement of a thing together. thus, leadership occurs in, as well as affects, contexts where people are moving in the direction of a goal. the fundamentality of leadership is in the possession of power, which is interconnected to it but different from it. it is connected to leadership because it is an integral part of the ability to influence others, since power has the potential or capacity to influence others to bring about desired outcomes. furthermore, while there are different kinds of power, in organizations, we consider two kinds of power, which are position power and personal power. the former, (daft, 2005), is that power that comes from holding a particular office, position, or rank in an organization. while the latter, (yukl, 2006) is the capacity to influence others from being viewed as knowledgeable and likable by followers. it is power that derives from the interpersonal relationships that leaders develop with followers. also, power can be two-faced. one face is the use of power within an christy ayi alademerin 35 organization to achieve one’s personal goals to the detriment of others in the organization. the other face is that power that works to achieve the collective goals of all members of the organization, sometimes even at the expense of the leader’s personal goals. from the foregoing, it is important to know that leadership involves influencing task objectives and strategies, influencing commitment and compliance in task behavior to achieve these objectives, influencing group maintenance and identification and influencing the culture of an organization for its greater good. it is important to note that, it is one thing to be a leader and it is another thing to be an effective leader. hence, this paper will analyze some of the qualities that an effective leader must possess for operational and effective leadership: an effective leader must be visionary a leader must be able to focus on moving beyond the status quo and ushering in new projects, acquisitions, or initiatives. such leadership entails having great ideas and a vision for how to move forward in a new and innovative way. leaders, who have great visions, have a clear sense of where they want to go and how they intend to get there. visionary leaders see the big picture, and then create a strategic plan for achieving their goals. an effective leader must have a good sense of decision making decision-making is a leadership skill that is used to assess a situation and determine how an organization may progress. the goal of leadership involves the ability to establish the process by which decisions are made through decision-making strategies by an effective leader, in order to facilitate goal execution in an organization. this comes with having confidence in their leadership skills and in their personal abilities. if a decision turns out to be wrong, learn from it and move on. an effective leader should possess a team-building skill a good leader creates productive teams that draw the best from people. leaders effectively coach teams in collaboration, consensus building, and conflict resolution. they also acquire how to improve teambuilding skills, avoid preconceived answers to every question, and concentrate on appreciating different points of view during discussions rather than just trying to prove points. consequently, the willingness to include others is the key to successful teambuilding. effective leadership: a viable tool for excellent educational management 36 effective leaders display integrity and help others succeed: good leaders empower others to achieve their full potential, thereby benefiting the organization. they boost others and mentor individuals to assume leadership roles. leaders must be trustworthy before others who follow them. hence, the qualities that establish trust are competence, constancy, caring, candor, and congruity, which define a leader as authentic and reliable. an effective leader must be a learner: it is worth-noting that a leader cannot lead without knowledge and a desire to learn, and must continue learning in order to maintain a position of leadership. learning leaders are those who prioritize teaching and learning at the top of their priority, promote the culture of continuous learning. effective leaders must have a desire to continually learn and grow and are open to new ideas, learn how to expand their knowledge and maintain a broad focus. education the etymology of the word education is derived from latin words “educere”, “educare”, and “educatum” which mean “to learn”, “to know” and “to lead out”. the concept of education and its content is expected to affect or condition the social behavior of the person being educated, as one who learns, knows and leads out. also, from this understanding, it can be deduced that education is a life-long process which is always used to imply a positive state of mind. just like any other concept, education has been defined by different scholars of various epochs in history and some of them will be explored. according to bamisaiye (1989), education is “a cumulative process of development of intellectual abilities, skills and attitudes, all of which form our various outlooks and dispositions to action in life generally”. it is seen as the perfect essence of learning which makes us permanently able and disposed to benefit ourselves and other members of the society in the use we make of such learning. schooling may lead to negative behavior, knowledge can be negatively used, learning too can also be negative, but education must be positive. furthermore, it is a known fact that not all learning can be defined as education. farrant (1982) identified three characteristics that distinguish true education from such things as role learning, purely mechanical training, indoctrination or brainwashing. according to him, true education: christy ayi alademerin 37 i. deals with knowledge that is recognizably worthwhile and capable of achieving a voluntary and committed response from the learner. ii. leads to a quality of understanding that gives rise to new mental perspectives in the learner. iii. uses methods that encourage the exercise of judgment by the learner and the use of his critical faculties. as a matter of fact, from the foregoing, education can be regarded as the society’s cultural reproductive system. through it, the society reproduces itself, passing on its main characteristics to the next generation, although the process becomes complicated as time goes on due to the influence of philosophical, economic, political and social forces acting on the mechanism. on the long run, each generation is different from where it sprang, yet it has been responsible for keeping the society alive. education is a gradual process which brings positive changes in the human life and behavior. we can also define education as a process of acquiring knowledge through study or imparting the knowledge by way of instructions or some other practical procedure. education also means helping people to learn how to do things and encouraging them to think about what they learn. it is also important for educators to teach ways to find and use information. through education, the knowledge of society, country, and of the world is passed on from generation to generation. in democracies, through education, children and adults are supposed to learn how to be active and effective citizens. management management is a distinct process consisting of planning, organizing, activating and controlling to determine and accomplish the objectives by the use of people and resources.”g.r. terry like other concepts in education, the term management means different things to different people. nonetheless, the term is from the verb “manage”, which means taking care of something, or giving responsibility to someone to be taken care of. it could also mean putting someone in charge of something or somebody. essentially, management is an important element in every organization. it is the element that coordinates organizational activities and plans for the future. also, management is the life-giving element of any organization. definitions proposed by some of the management specialists include: henri fayol’s definition of management as conduct of affairs of business, moving towards its objective through a continuous process of improvement and optimization of resources. also, koontz opined that management is the process of designing and maintaining an effective leadership: a viable tool for excellent educational management 38 environment in which individuals, working together in groups, efficiently accomplish selected aims. from another perspective, mary parker follett states that management is the art of getting things done through people. george r. terry also suggested that management is a process consisting of planning, organizing, actuating and controlling, performed to determine and accomplish the objectives by use of people and resources. finally, lawrence a. appley says that management is guiding human and physical resources into a dynamic, hard-hitting organization until that attains its objectives to the satisfaction of those served and with a high degree of morale and sense of attainment on the part of those rendering the service. from these various insightful definitions, management can simply be noted as human maintenance and actions towards perfection of all things. the importance of management cannot be discarded as such, it includes; achieving group goals: management helps to arrange the factors of production, assembles and organizes the resources, integrates the resources in effective manner to achieve goals. it directs group efforts towards achievement of pre-determined goals. by defining objective of organization clearly, there would be no wastage of time, money and effort. management converts disorganized resources of men, machines, money etc. into useful enterprise. these resources are coordinated, directed and controlled in such a manner that enterprise work towards attainment of goals. optimum utilization of resources: through management, physical & human resources are utilized productively. this leads to efficacy in management. hence, management provides maximum utilization of scarce resources by selecting its best possible alternate use in industry from out of various uses. it makes use of experts, professional and these services leads to use of their skills, knowledge, and proper utilization and avoids wastage. establishes sound organization: management helps to inaugurate sound organizational structure which is in tune with objective of organization and for fulfillment of this, it establishes effective authority & responsibility relationship i.e. who is accountable to whom, who can give instructions to whom, who are superiors & who are subordinates. accordingly, management fills up various positions with right persons, having right skills, training and qualification. essential for prosperity of society: competent management leads to better economical production which helps in turn to increase the welfare of people. good management makes a difficult task easier by avoiding wastage of scarce resource. it improves standard of living. it increases the profit which is beneficial to business and society will get maximum output at minimum cost by creating employment opportunities which generate christy ayi alademerin 39 income in hands. organization comes with new products and researches beneficial for society. educational management having given clarification to the concepts of education and management, one can easily state that educational management is the planning, structuring and effective running of educational system. there is no single accepted definition of educational management as its development observed in several disciplines or fields like business, industry, political science, economics, administration and law. so, while defining the meaning of the term educational management it can be said that, educational management is a complex human enterprise in which different resources are brought together and made available to achieve and to accomplish the desire and expected goals or objectives of adequate and proper education/learning. educational is an applied field of management. one can therefore deduce that educational management refers to the application of theory and practice of management to the field of education or educational institutions. educational administration is a process of acquiring and allocating resources for the achievement of predetermined educational goals. the basis of the development of educational management as a field of study began in the united states in the early part of the twentieth century and its development in the united kingdom came as late as the 1960’s. educational management, as the name implies, has a bear on educational organizations or institutions, such that it is a field which is concerned with the operation of educational organizations. it is the process of planning, organizing and directing activities in a school, effectively utilizing human and material resources, in order to accomplish the school’s objectives. it is not a field limited to school principals. all parties involved in education should gain insight in educational management as it is vital to help schools function successfully and effectively realize their goals. furthermore, the basic necessities of educational management involve the human resources, which comprise the entire staff, both the teaching and nonteaching staff, clerks, researchers and other elements such as students, parents, members of the community, members of the managing or governing body and departmental officials in an educational institution; material resources, which is a basic requirement for every organization or institution requires in concrete terms for its essentials. buildings, playgrounds, equipment’s, furniture’s, machineries and stationeries are required for various practical purposes. libraries, laboratories, auditorium and so on are part and parcel of an educational institution for organizing different curricular and co-curricular programmes; and ideological factors, which bring growth to the world of education. effective leadership: a viable tool for excellent educational management 40 all these create feelings, belongingness, involvement and self-satisfaction among the personnel for working and implementing the programmes in educational institutions. at last, it can be said educational management will be meaningful if there will be a great deal of co-ordination and inter-relation among these three resources. the cause is that all these three resources are interdependent and immensely contribute to holistic development of every educational institution as a whole. effective leadership: a viable tool for excellent educational management effective leadership plays an important role in educational settings and can meet the societal needs and find solutions to unexpected issues and challenges in each society; consequently, effective leadership is the main contributing factor on educational performance. it is because of a good leader who can create and train more leaders and quality teachers to achieve the mission and vision of the educational organizations. excellent leadership in education is functional as it involves the effort to achieve the best. it is fact that excellent school system in which excellent education is provided can be created with excellent leaders. furthermore, the relevance of effective leadership for excellent educational system, following the national standards of excellence for head teachers (nsoefh, 2015), has it that excellent leadership which impacts quality educational management system; 1. should ensure that the educational systems, organization and processes are wellconsidered, efficient and relevant to aims, and preserve the principles of transparency, honesty and sincerity. 2. should provide a safe, quiet and well-organized environment for all the students and employees and focus on protecting the students and improving their model behaviors in the school and in the community. 3. should establish rigorous, fair and transparent systems and take measures so as to be able to manage the performance of all the employees; identify those with poor performance and make efforts to eliminate poor performance, and support the employees to improve and evaluate excellent practices. 4. should establish a strong governance system, understand the role of the administration board and actively support the board in presenting its functions effectively, and fulfill his executive tasks, initially determining school strategy, by taking the student, employee and financial performance into consideration. christy ayi alademerin 41 5. should make strategic financial planning taking into account the curriculum in order to ensure that all available resources are allocated in the most appropriate way for the sustainability of student success and school activities. 6. should create and convey the educational vision in an effective way, empower all the students and employees excellently and encourage towards leadership. 7. should demonstrate positive attitudes and optimist behaviors towards the students, employees, parents, governors and members of the local community, and develop good relationships. 8. should be an example leader for the people around him with his leadership behaviors, expertise and skills like integrity, creativity, flexibility and clarity. 9. should aim to maintain broad continuous professional development in order to understand and know the current education and schools in the local, national and international perspective. 10. should work with a political and economic understanding so as to transform the local and national policies into the context of the school within a clear set of principles that focuses on the educational vision. conclusion education is an essential process in human development, through which leaders are trained to train future leaders. this can only be done through effective management. leadership and management must go hand in hand. although they are not the same thing, but they are necessarily linked, and complementary. any effort to separate the two is likely to cause more problems than it solves. thus, this study was undertaken to find out the effectiveness of good leadership on educational management, which entails students’ performance as well as overall improvement, since it is suggested that an effective educational leadership is related to student’s performance and achievement of the school. an effective educational leadership and development of educational system play an important role to students’ improvement and school education system. most importantly, it is highlighted that educational leadership is a core to develop a quality teacher for the effective school and improvement. moreover, for the educational leadership model, distributed and moral leadership is more approachable and need to be implemented in schools in educational systems for progressive transformation towards better educational outcomes. effective leadership: a viable tool for excellent educational management 42 references adesemowo, p. o, (2022), basic of education: the meaning and scope of education, in https://www.researchgate.net/publication.retrieved-on-15-12-2022. ashby, m. d., & miles, s. a. (2002). leaders talk leadership: top executives speak their minds. oxford: oxford university press. bamisaye, r. (1989): a practical approach to philosophy of education, ibadan: amd publishers. bennis, w. g., & nanus, b. (1985). leaders: the strategies for taking charge. new york: harper & row. bryman, a. (1992). charisma and leadership in organizations. london: sage. burns, j. m. (1978). leadership. new york: harper & row. daft, r. l. (2005). the leadership experience (3rd ed.). mason, oh: thomson, south-western. dubrin, a. (2007). leadership: research findings, practice, and skills. new york: houghton mifflin. farrant, j. s. (1982), principles and practice of education, england: longman group ltd. fisher, b. a. (1974). small group decision-making: communication and the group process. new york: mcgraw-hill. hollander, e. p. (1992). “leadership, followership, self, and others. leadership quarterly”, 3(1), 43–54. jago, a. g. (1982). leadership: perspectives in theory and research. management science, 28(3), 315–336. https://www.economicsdiscussion.net/management/leadership/what-isleadership.retrieved-on-19-122022. https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/educational-management/educational-management-meaningdefinition-and-types.retrieved-on-19-12-2022. https://www.managementstudyguide.com/management_importance.htm.retrieved-on-19-12-2022. ibrahim a ali et al. (2017), “educational management, educational administration and educational leadership: definitions and general concepts” in sas journal of medicine (sasjm); 3(12):326329 kotter, j. p. (1998). what leaders really do. in harvard business review on leadership (pp. 37–60). boston: harvard business school press. national standards of excellence for head teachers, (nsoefh), (2015). retrieved from: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachmen_data/file/3 96247/national_standards_of_excellence_for_headteachers.pdf https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/p-o-adesemowo-2225403373 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 80 water pollution in oji river urban in view of eco-theology and justice afunugo kenechi nnaemeka (phd) 1 nganwuchu geoffrey chiazo (ph.d) 2 department of religion and cultural studies university of nigeria nsukka kenechi.afunugo@unn.edu.ng; geoffrey.nganwuchu@unn.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29105.45929 abstract the study of water pollution in view of eco-theology and justice in oji river urban of enugu state nigeria has been concluded. this study focuses on water pollution and its human and environmental effects in oji river urban. the oji wonderful river which is one of the major water resources in the area was earmarked for this research. this work employed three theories pertinent to theories and concepts for human behavior in environmental preservation. descriptive survey research design approach was used with combination of the qualitative and quantitative methods. primary and secondary sources of data collection were espoused in this work as well. in order to achieve the purpose of this study, the area was divided into three wards, namely; zone a, b, and c. a sample of 120 respondents were selected from each of the three wards: making a total sample of 360 between the ages of 18 and 65 years from a population of 126,587. a research designed item titled “water pollution in oji river urban in view of eco-theology and justice questionnaire” (wporuvetjq) was used as method for data collection. the cronbach alpha was used to ascertain the reliability of instruments using test-retest method which gave 0.82. data generated were analyzed using mean and standard deviations, items with mean scores equal or higher than 2.50 were accepted while those that have less than 2.50 were rejected. in testing the hypotheses, the independent t-test was used. if the calculated value of t (tcal) is less than or equal to the critical value of t (tcrit), the hypothesis is accepted but if the calculated value of t (tcal) is greater than the critical value of t (tcrit), the hypothesis is rejected. it was discovered amongst other findings that the majority of individuals residing in oji river urban are ignorant of the implications of polluting and as well as drinking from a polluted water. they equally lack the knowledge on how to avert incessant pollution of the oji wonderful river. well streamlined, tactical and technical solutions on how to solve the related issues to the pollution of oji wonderful river accessible to oji river urban settlers were posited in this research. keywords: water supply, eco-theology, justice, pollution, environment, urban, health. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 81 introduction water is extremely important to the existence of humankind. thus, the value of water to humanity can never be overemphasized. according to maestro et al (2016), all biological organisms depend on water inorder to dispense complex biochemical processes which helps in the sustenance of life on earth. little wonder god in jesus christ made reference to the holy spirit as the living water (john 4:10, and john 7:37, respectively). one will not be mistaken to declare that water is life; for without it, man’s existence on the earth would be threatened and he would be driven almost to extinction as dieter et al (2018), implied. water is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless and nearly colorless chemical substance which is the main constituent of earth’s hydrosphere, and the fluids of most living organism as chang (2015), asserted. according to st. fleur (2016), over 70 percent of the earth’s surface consists of water and apart from the air that man breathes, water is one of the most important elements of man. however, irrespective of the fact that water covers about 70 percent of the earth’s surface, the world water development report (2019), recorded that only 2.53 percent is fresh water while the remaining is salt water. it is however quite unfortunate that mankind’s influence had begun to violate the limited fresh water resource available for his development. pollution in general according to beil (2017), is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change; or energy liable to cause hazards to human health, harm to living resources and ecological systems, damage to structures or amenity, or interference with legitimate uses of the environment. water pollution primarily then as krugman (2013), pointed out is the discharge of waste water from commercial and industrial wastes or domestic waste into the surface waters; discharges of untreated domestic sewage, and chemical contaminants, such as chlorine, from treated sewage; release of waste and contaminants into surface runoff flowing to surface waters (including urban runoff and agricultural runoff, which may contain chemical fertilizers and pesticides; also including human feces from open defecation); ground water pollution from waste disposal and leaching into the ground, including from pit latrines and septic tanks: eutrophication and littering as well as consists and effects water pollution. boretti and rosa (2019), in this vein recorded that the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 82 projection by the 2018 edition of the united nations world water development report which stated that nearly 6billion peoples will suffer from clean water scarcity by 2050; as a result of increasing demand for water, reduction of water resources, and increasing pollution of water, driven by dramatic population and economic growth will be an underestimation. thus they maintained that the scarcity of clean water by 2050 may be worse as the effects of the three drivers of water scarcity, as well as of unequal growth, accessibility, needs and the rate of water pollution are underrated. in lieu of the foregoings, it is clear that the pollution of water championed equally by mankind who needs water the most directly kicks against the principles of eco-theology and justice: for god after creating the world, handed the supervision of the created order to mankind. it is man’s primary duty to see to the preservation of the environment and the natural order for his own benefit and to save humanity; and equally maintain balance in the world order. man is expected to facilitate the positive harnessing of all the natural endowments in his habitat of which water is paramount, and bring it to its best stance and usage. waste and violation of natural water via pollution is not justified by god and it is equally not beneficial to man. it is harmful to man and can lead to extinction of humanity which is clearly against god’s design and desire. in this research work, the relevant issues pertaining to the pollution of oji wonderful river in oji river urban of oji river local government area in enugu state, nigeria was thoroughly examined. inorder to come up with its effects on the individual’s health, and solutions to such violation of waters purity. this work employed both the qualitative and quantitative methodological format. it effected the use of both the primary and secondary means of data collection. the theories of planned behaviour (tpb), diffusion of innovation and health belief theory as relevant to the theories and concepts for human behaviour in environmental preservation was employed in this work. the principles of ecotheology and justice were principally used in positing god’s creative desire and design concerning the relationship between man and his natural environment cum preservation of the created order. this work maintained that as majority of african’s and nigeria in particular are highly religious; they ought to be disciplined enough to be caring for the created order and the natural endowment. a total of 360 respondents between the ages of 18 and 65 years participated in this research; three zones were selected from oji river urban: while 120 persons each were interviewed from each zone, making the total number of 360 persons as already indicated. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 83 the concept of eco-theology and justice as against water pollution in oji river urban god created the world and everything therein in six days; he later rested on the seventh day as attested in genesis chapters one and two, respectively. the idea of god creating man as the last of the created order is to make man an overseer of the whole created order. hence, he gave man the dominion over everything created. that dominion was not intended in undue subjugation and exploitation of the created order by man; but rather to make the best use and bring all the created order including nature and animals to their best stance and at the same time maintain order and balance. this then is what eco-theology and justice projects. as it is, gnanakan (1999), pointed out that in lunn white jr. lectures, he submitted that christians feel less concerned in the nature’s order and that which occurs around him. they are so heavenly conscious that they loose out on that obtainable on earth. he insisted that abinitio, an “unforgivably naïve attitudes still prevail in the church” (p.3.). they keep arguing that, “environmental issues are only for government and specialized non-government agencies, not for the church” (p.3.). more often than not when they get involved, they perceive it as being good and charitable; as if it is a lending hand they are extending on the other created “orders”. the idea of understanding spirituality in terms of being other worldly persists in them. thus, as lynn white jr. (cited by gnanakan, 1999), posited in his lectures; “the crisis of ecology goes back to the christian attitude to nature… the alleged teaching that it is god’s will that man exploit nature for his proper end’s” (p.4.): is peradventure what has contributed to the present predicament of violation of man’s natural habitat. eco-theology and justice addresses the need to restore the right relationship between man and the natural order. gnanakan (1999), calls for the traditional christian view of human relationship to nature which is “anthropocentric”, (and still persists in some christian circles as of date), to be replaced by a “biocentric” relationship. this view encourages the welfare of all non-human aspects of nature. thus, biocentric urges mankind to value every living thing. to take it further, gnanakan equally exposed that biocentricism had equally evolved into econcentrism; which is all-inclusive and holistic in its call for a right relationship to everything in nature. mankind at this stance should not exploit, violate nor subjugate unduely the non-human aspects of nature. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 84 exposing the concept of eco-theology, anyacho (2004), maintained that god’s intent in creating the natural order is for man to benefit from what comes from the earth so that he will not be left in danger of scarcity of life-giving substance of the earth. man then is placed in the center of creation at the epic of god’s creation as the supreme beneficiary of the creative acts of god with specific instructions on how to manage the resources and not to exploit them. according to anyacho (2004), he specifically defined eco-theology as “a reflection on god’s involvement in the environment” (p.182). he posited that it is a dimension of theology which uses “biblical theme to articulate man’s consciousness of the environment thereby bringing into human conscience the responsibility of man as a steward of nature” (p. 182). he insisted that it is a theology on the ecology/environment. a theology which does not capitalize on the dualism in nature but rather extends “redemption message to the physical environment” (p. 182). as justice implies a sense of equality, fairness and selflessness in treatment of individual persons; eco-theology and justice then focuses on environmental justice. borrowing a leaf from a. leopold, anyacho posited that the objective of eco-theology and justice is in extending the “right of existence to all the living beings in the environment” (p. 183). it involves the equal treatment of the relatively less powerful member of the society with regard to environmental hazards. it strongly refers to the type of equal treatment that should be extended to the members of the eco-system. this theology brings to bear as anyacho puts it: the right to live which plants, animals and other partners in the ecosystem deserve not only for the benefit of man but for their own sake as co-members of the eco-system whose existence makes for the sustainability of the environment; it is a new emphasis of justice which calls on man to respect the natural right other members of the eco-system have against merciless exploitation so that they can also fulfill the functions god assigned them in the eco-system. (pp.183-184). from the above stance, eco-theology and justice implies that any action of man which contribute to the problem of environmental degradation is a spiritual error. thus, anyone who involves in actions capable of endangering the environment and its nature is creating a problem that can affect one’s prospective generation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 85 it behooves from the above standpoint that the church in conjunction with the government and all human persons should be speaking out that actions that causes all forms of pollution (including water pollution in particular), deforestation, rain, acid hazards, erosion and the likes are all sinful acts against god, as well as criminal act against nature and mankind. this notion will aid in reducing the rate at which the oji wonderful river is polluted in oji river urban. ignorance can be destructive irrespective of all odds. this is why chinwokwu (2018), declared thus: it is the divinely mandated responsibility given to humans as an earthly mission that makes for heavenly fulfillment. it represents christian belief in a divine plan and purpose for humanity intended for spiritual growth and direct action for social change because christians as followers of jesus christ are change agents being “the salt of the earth” and “light of the world”. we are in the world but not of the world. infact, we are in the world on a divine mission and we are challenged to ensure that we leave the earth better than we met it. this is the hope we all most cherish and the responsibility we must share. (p.68). this then will aid in ensuring that human kind employs the basic tenets of ecotheology and justice in handling his natural habitat. the theory of planned behaviour (tpb) the theory of planned behavior (tpb), is a theory in psychology which connects one’s belief to such a one’s dispositions and behaviours. according to norberg, horne and horne (2007), the theory states that intention toward behavior, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control, together shape an individual’s behavioural intentions and behaviours. this concept as amjad and wood (2009), pointed out was proposed by icek ajzen to improve on the predictive power of the theory of reasoned action by including perceived behavioural control. in the study of onuoha, norhaya, aliagha and ufere (2015), they indicated that the theorists of planned behaviour (tpb) have argued that actions contribute towards environmental preservation and conservation. this actions are propelled by the pre-conceived notions and belief systems of individuals developed and adopted over time regarding the environment. thus they pointed out that the theory of planned behaviour (tpb), is optimistically geared towards positing that the usefulness of attitude could be a better predicator of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 86 environmental and ecological behaviours. the point then to be embraced here is that one’s belief system can constitute one’s disposition towards one’s natural habitat. it behooves then that when someone is basically ignorant of the supposed relationship that ought to be maintained between mankind and his environment in relation to god’s strict injunction to man enshrined in ecotheology and justice; such a one will keep violating god’s creative order, oblivious of its implications. ignorance then can be a strong tool behind the reason for the gross violation of the natural stance and pollution of oji wonderful river by oji river urban inhabitants. the diffusion of innovation theory this theory was developed by e.m. rogers in 1962. it is one of the oldest social science theories. mascia and mills (2018), indicated that it originated in communication to account the reasons and the mode through which an ideology gains speed and spreads out through a particular population or social system. the resultant effect of this diffusion is that individuals in a given society adopt a new idea, behavior, or product. this theory equally carries with it the tactical technical and systematic study of a target population inorder to understand their characteristics or peculiarities: this will equally aid in discovering their world view to ascertain belief systems that may help or hinder the adoption of any given innovation. thus, any discovery at this stage will keep the minds of those introducing such a new concept to work around the clock inorder to find out ways to break those inate beliefs and convince them to accept new ideas. any belief system irrespective of how tenacious a peculiar society holds on to it must at the long run bow to new innovations for the greater good. it is worthy of recording what akintunde (2017), pointed out in lieu of diffusion theory: he insisted that the theory purports that change spreads in a population through a normal distribution of willingness to embrace an innovation. at the individual level, adoption of a new idea takes place through the stages of knowledge, understanding, persuasion, decision, application, implementation and confirmation. in diffusion theory, sheeran and abraham (cited by akintunde) pointed out that behaviours are affected across a community through change agents. irrespective of the fact that this theory has various limitations as wayne and lamorte (2019), outlined like the following: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 87 that much of the evidence for the theory did not originate in public health; and was not developed to explicitly apply to adoption of new behaviours or health innovations. does not foster a participatory approach to adoption of a public health program works better with adoption of behaviours rather than cessation or prevention of behaviours does not take into account an individuals resources or social support to adopt the new behavior (or innovation); it has however been applied successfully in various fields which includes communication, agriculture, public health, criminal justice, social work, marketing amongst other fields. this theory will equally serve as a veritable tool in solving the issues related to water pollution in oji river urban. once the oji river urban inhabitants are posited with the dangers of polluting and drinking from a polluted water source by qualified environmental health workers via public enlightenment campaigns; they, the inhabitants themselves will be at the forefront of disseminating the information which will be beneficial to them because they are being inflicted with various health challenges as a result of drinking polluted contaminated water. the health belief theory the health belief theory proposes that human persons whenever they realize that they are prone to a particular health ailment in lieu of some perceived environmental pollution or dirt related issues; will get involved in activities to reduce their risk of developing the health ailment. although individuals with low perceived susceptibility may deny that they are at danger of contracting a particular illness via such stance as siddiqui, ghazal, bibi, ahmed, and sajjad (2016), disclosed. this theory was developed in the 1950s by social psychologists at the united states public health service. according to glanz, rimer and viswanath (2015), it remains one of the best known, widely publicised and most widely used theories in health behavior research. in akintunde’s (2017), research, he postulated that “beliefs help shape behavior” (p.130). citing janz, he continued that whereas, “enduring belief are not fixed individual characteristics, but rather are acquired through primary socialization” (p.130). he posited that this theory concentrates on two surveys of an individual’s perspectives of health and behaviour which as “threat perception igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 88 and behavioural evaluation”. threat perception or perceived risk appraisal, according to zak-pale and stern, rosenstock et al, and winfield and whaley respectively (cited by akintunde): is founded on one’s perceived susceptibility to illness and the anticipated severity of the consequences of such an illness. the health belief model submits that, anytime there is an increase in an individual’s assessed level of risk, there is an increase in the likelihood that the individual will adopt recommended prevention behaviours. behavioural evaluation, also known as coping appraisal relates to the belief that an available course of action will be beneficial and the anticipated barriers or costs of embarking on an action do not outweigh the benefits. in addition to these core components of the model, there are demographic, socio-psychological and structural variables, as well as “cues to action”. cues to action are the stimuli necessary to initiate or trigger engagement in the desired, healthy actions. cues could come in the form of media campaigns or the illness of a family member, relative or close friend. (p. 130). with this in place, the pollution of oji wonderful river in oji river urban will be minimised drastically. once the oji river urban settlers realized the unhealthy implications of polluting the oji wonderful river of which most of them use as drinking water; public enlightenment campaigns on battle and cries against water pollution in that area will smoothly flow on its own course. their perception will serve as a caution to them before much weight will be thrown on effort to convince them on good conservation and preservation of their water resource. in all, it is worthy of noting some of the limitations of this theory as posited by researchers like orji, vassileva and mandryk (2012); they maintained that irrespective of the fact that the theory of health belief strives to determine health-related behaviours by registering individual differences in beliefs and attitudes; it does however not register other factors that influence health behaviours. for example, habitual health-related behaviours like smoking, seat belt buckling and the likes may become directly not dependent on conscious health-related decision making procedures. moreover, individual persons engage in some health-related behaviours for reasons that may not be directly related to health issues; for instance, when one is exercising for aesthetic purposes. environmental factors outside a person’s charge may hinder involvement in desired behaviours: an individual living in a dangerous neighbourhood for instance may be afraid of going for a jog out doors in the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 89 night or early morning due to safety concerns. moreso, this theory does not consider the effect of emotions on health-related behavior. instances point to the fact that fear may be a key factor in predicting health-related behaviour. again, the health belief theory does not specify how constructs of the theory interact with one another as carpenter (2010), indicated. thus, different implications and details of the theoretical constructs may not be strictly comparable across studies: research assessing the contribution of cues to action in determining health-related behavour is limited. cues to action are often difficult to assesses, thereby limiting research in this area. for example, individuals may not report cues that prompted behavioural changes correctly. thus cues such as a public service announcement on television may not be aware of their significance in prompting them to engage in a health-related behavior. interpersonal influence is also difficult to measure as cues as well. be that as it may, this theory still blends perfectly to the purpose of this work. statement of the problem the oji wonderful river is one of the water resources in the oji river urban. reconnaissance surveys conducted in the oji river basin between january to april 2016 (cited by uwaeme, 2016) revealed that people living in the river basin indiscriminately dump refuse into the river and also use the banks of the river as a place of convenience. the research carried out on the eutrophication potential of nutrients in oji river by ugochukwu, onuorah and onuora (2019), posited that oji wonderful river receives waste discharges from several anthropogenic activities such as abbattoir, power plants, agricultural run-off; with abattoir and power plant-waste waters underscored by them as point sources of pollution. in the same vein, ugochukwu, onuorah and onuora (2019), concluded again that the oji wonderful river within oji river urban which coincidentally was there study location cannot serve as a source of drinking water unless it is treated before consumption owing to the rate at which the water is polluted. ezeadi, c.i., uwaeme, c.p. and udegbunam, c.c. (personal communication, january 9, 2020), respectively pointed out that people living at the oji wonderful river downstream areas like ojinato, dodo, agbaraenyi and even mile 2 of which each of them represents respectively expressed concern about the polluted nature of the oji wonderful river; and its unhygienic stance to be used for domestic purposes. observations revealed that some people living in the river igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 90 basin, very close downstream defeacates in the river; while some wash their farm products and soaked cassava with high concentration of starch directly in the river. thus irrespective of the existence of laws and institutions responsible for the management of water resources in the enugu state, pollution still persists at both the upper and lower reaches of the oji wonderful river. in, addition to the fact that some residents in the river basin use the river as a place of convenience, a number of housing units that were built close to the river bank channeled their liquid waste into the river at various sections. small scale industries like saw mills, abattoir house, automobile workshops, oji river power station, and palm kernel processing industries use the river as a dumping space for waste generated in their industrial processes, thereby introducing various amount of suspended solids into the river. all these pollutes the oji wonderful river and its resultant effects is that it is dangerous to health for those that use it for domestic purposes; as well as the fact that it is gross abuse and violation of the creative order of god. this work attempts to posit solutions to the pollution of oji wonderful river inorder to restore sanity on the mode at which residents of oji river urban violate and exploit the river; for it to be valuable to them, for them to harness the resources therein properly to the maximum, to avoid health hazards and to equally uphold god’s creative injunction of good maintenance of the environmental natural order. hypothesis (1) there had not been any sensitization or awareness programme by the government or non-government organization to enlighten the people of oji river urban on the causes of water pollution. (2) the residents of oji river urban are oblivious of the causes and effects of drinking from a polluted water source. (3) the residents of oji river urban are oblivious of the preventive measures to reduce the pollution of oji wonderful river. (4) the residents of oji river urban are not aware that pollution of natural water resource is a gross violation and abuse of the creative order, hence it is directly against god’s injunction on good maintenance of the natural order by human kind. (5) industries situated close to the river banks especially palm producing ones and abbatoirs heightens the pollution of oji wonderful river. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 91 (6) there are not enough sources of portable water supply in the study area. research questions (1) what are the sources of water supply available in oji river urban? (2) are there industries situated close to the oji wonderful river banks? (3) what are the common causes of water pollution in the study area? (4) what are the level of awareness on the causes of water pollution in oji river urban? (5) what are the health effects of water pollution on the inhabitants of the study area? (6) what are the preventive measures to reduce water pollution in the study area? (7) are you aware that pollution of natural water is against god’s design and desire? methodology this study adopted the descriptive survey research design. the study was conducted in oji river urban in oji river local government area of enugu state, nigeria. it is a vibrant community with lots of economic activities. oji river urban has an area of about 403km2 and a population of 126,587 at the 2006 census. oji river urban is constituted of a heterogenous population. thus in order to obtain a research data for the study, the area was divided into three wards of oji river urban as namely; zone a, b, and c. utaziukwu wards is zone a, uzondu ward is zone b and agbalaenyi ward is zone c. the researcher was able to sample them randomly with relevant questionnaires to ascertain the implications associated with water pollution and drinking such polluted water in oji river urban district. 120 respondents were selected amongst the three wards: making a total sample of 360 respondents between the ages of 18 and 65 years. qualitative questionnaire based study was performed to assess the perception of participants towards the effects of water pollution in oji river urban in view of eco-theology and justice. this was titled “water pollution in oji river urban in view of eco-theology and justice questionnaire” (wporuvetjq). the participants were requested to provide their feedback regarding the item contents in line with the topic under discourse. the instrument was subdivided into various clusters a to c based on the research questions. wporuvetjq was igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 92 designed and patterned after likert-4-point rating scale of strongly agree (sa), agree (a), undecided (ud), disagree (d) and strongly disagree (sd) with corresponding numerical values of 4, 3, 2 and 1 respectively. the questionnaire was face validated by two experts for relevancy, appropriateness and corrections were made before administration. for the determination of the reliability of the instrument, copies of the items were administered on 20 respondents who were not part of the sample. the cronbach alpha was used to ascertain the reliability using test-retest method which gave 0.82. this result implies that the instrument was reliable. the administration of the instrument was done by the researcher with the help of two trained researcher assistants. a total of (360) copies of questionnaire was administered on the respondents and were correctly completed and returned successfully due to the researcher’s close inspections. the returned copies were used for the analysis. in analyzing the research questions, descriptive statistic of mean and standard deviation were used. in answering the research questions, any item less than 2.50 was rejected while a mean score that is equal to or greater than 2.50 were accepted. in testing the hypotheses, the independent t-test was used. if the calculated value of t (tcal) is less than or equal to the critical value of t (tcrit), the hypothesis is accepted but if the calculated value of t (tcal) is greater than the critical value of t (tcrit), the hypothesis is rejected. result presentation research question one what are the sources of water supply available in oji river urban? table i: mean and standard deviation on the sources of water supply available in oji river urban. s/ n variables _ x sd remarks 1 ponds 2.81 0.87 accepted 2 lakes 3.01 0.69 accepted 3 rivers/streams 2.98 0.82 accepted 4 groundwater/well water 2.87 0.68 accepted igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 93 5 harvested rain water 3.38 0.67 accepted _ cluster mean (x) 3.01 the analysis of data collected as presented in table i to determine the sources of water supply available in oji river urban showed that all the items of the instrument that addressed the issue were rated positive and their ratings were above the criterion mean of 2.50. a look at the table reveals that the highest rated items were items 5 and 2 with mean scores of 3.38 and 3.01 respectively. based on the analysis where a cluster mean of 3.0 was reached, it was established that the respondents accepted all the listed options as their means of water supply in oji river urban of enugu state, nigeria. research question two are there industries situated close to the oji wonderful river banks? table 2: mean and standard deviation on the types of industries located within oji river urban s/ n variables _ x sd remarks 06 oil palm producing industries 3.38 0.98 accepted 07 power station 3.27 1.05 accepted 08 chemical industries 2.97 0.82 accepted 09 abattoirs 3.37 0.99 accepted 10 bottle/sachet water factories 2.98 0.72 accepted _ cluster mean (x) 3.20 the analysis on table 2 above to ascertain whether there are industries located around oji urban in enugu state of nigeria revealed that all the listed industries igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 94 were present, their ratings positive and are above the criterion mean of 2.50. based on the analysis, a cluster mean scores of 3.20 which was above the 2.50 criterion point was reached. this implied that all the listed industries are located within oji urban of enugu state, nigeria. research question three what are the common causes of water pollution in the study area? table 3: mean and standard deviation on the common causes of water pollution in the study area s/ n variables _ x sd remarks 11 are you aware that defecation (human wastes) when washed into water sources cause water pollution? 3.39 0.98 accepted 12 use of pesticides on farm lands cause water pollution 2.47 1.8 rejected 13 industrial effluent discharge (chemicals of different forms) into the water bodies cause water pollution 2.27 1.05 rejected 14 disposing cans and bottled foods into the water bodies cause water pollution 2.16 1.17 rejected 15 use of herbicides in controlling weeds near water bodies cause water pollution 2.32 1.89 rejected _ cluster mean (x) 5.52 the analysis on table 3 above that sought to determine the common causes of water pollution in the study area showed that one out of five items of the instrument that addressed the issue were rated positive and others were below igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 95 the criterion mean of 2.50. based on the analysis where a cluster mean of 2.52 was reached, it is established that not all the respondents are aware of the various causes of pollution to the available water sources within the oji urban. research question four what are the levels of awareness on the causes of water pollution in oji river urban? table 4: mean and standard deviation of the levels of awareness on the causes of water pollution in oji river urban s/ n variables __ x sd remarks 16 are you aware that defecations (human wastes) if washed into the streams can pollute the sources of water? 3.44 1.22 great extent 17 are you aware that agricultural activities such as the use of herbicides, pesticides, etc can pollute water bodies? 2.31 0.97 low extent 18 do you know that industrial effluent discharge (chemicals of different forms) when discharged untreated or partially treated, can lead to water pollution? 2.37 0.99 low extent 19 oxygen demanding organic substances such as food wastes from cans and bottles, oils etc can cause water pollution? 2.41 0.72 low extent 20 plant nutrients that stimulate algae blooms such as fertilizers when washed into water bodies causes water pollution? 2.25 0.98 low extent _ cluster mean (x) 2.56 the results in table 4 shows that item 16-20 have mean score ranging from 2.25 to 3.44. the cluster mean is 2.56. this shows the extent of awareness on the causes igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 96 of water pollution in oji river urban to the residents. the result of the analysis shows that majority of the respondents are not very much aware that agricultural activities such as the use of herbicides, pesticides, etc and use of plant nutrients that stimulate algae blooms such as fertilizers could lead to water pollution. research question five what are the health effects of water pollution on the inhabitants of the study area? table 5: mean and standard deviation on the health effects of water pollution on the inhabitants of the study area? s/ n variables _ x sd remarks 21 reduction of water quality 3.38 0.98 accepted 22 causes water-borne diseases such as typhoid, malaria, cholera, etc 2.27 1.05 rejected 23 destruction of ecosystem 2.47 0.82 rejected 24 destruction of aquatic life 2.37 0.99 rejected 25 reduction in plant production 2.48 0.72 rejected _ cluster mean (x) 3.20 the analysis on table 5 above to determine the health implications of water pollution on the inhabitants of the study area, the analysis revealed that one out of the five was rated positive with mean score of 3.38 while the rest had ratings below the criterion mean of 2.50. from the table it could be observed that the highest rated item in the table was item 21 with a mean score of 3.38. this implies that majority of the respondents are not aware of the fact water pollution destroys the water quality, causes water-borne diseases such as typhoid, malaria, cholera, and destroys the ecosystem among others. research question six what are the preventive measures to reduce water pollution in the study area? igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 97 table 6: mean and standard deviation on the preventive measures to reduce water pollution in the study area s/ n variables _ x sd remarks 26 public awareness campaigns on the reuse or recycle of plastic cans and bottles instead of disposing them into the environment can control water pollution? 3.38 0.67 accepted 27 proper disposal of chemical cleaners, oils, and non-biodegradable items to keep them from ending up down the drain. 2.98 0.76 accepted 28 proper maintenance of cars to avoid oil leakage, antifreeze, or coolant. 2.81 0.87 accepted 29 proper landscaping of our residential areas to reduce runoff water 2.87 0.68 accepted 30 avoid or reduce to minimal the use of pesticides and herbicides and fertilizers close to water bodies can reduce water pollution? 3.00 0.82 accepted _ cluster mean (x) 3.04 the analysis of data collected as presented in table 6 to determine the preventive measures to reduce water pollution in the study area showed that all the items of the instrument that addressed the issue were rated positive and their ratings were above the decisive factor mean of 2.5. a look at the table reveals that the highest rated items were items 45 and 46 with mean scores of 3.38 and 3.05 respectively. the item 28 argued that public awareness campaigns on the reuse or recycle of plastic cans and bottles instead of disposing them into the environment can control water pollution while item 30 indicates that avoidance or reduction of use of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers close to water bodies can reduce water pollution. research question seven igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 98 are you aware that pollution of natural water is against god’s design and desire? table 7: mean and standard deviation on pollution of natural water as against god’s design and desire s/ n variables __ x sd remarks 31 are you aware that it is of god’s will that man exploit nature for his proper end’s? 3.16 1.17 a 32 are you aware that god’s intent in creating the natural order is for man to benefit from what comes from the earth so that he will not be left in danger of scarcity of life-giving substance of the earth 3.39 0.99 a 33 god teaches equal existence and treatment to the ecosystem, especially of the relatively less powerful member of the society with regard to environmental hazards. 2.98 0.72 a _ cluster mean (x) 3.20 the results in table 4 shows that item 31-33 have mean score ranging from 2.98 to 3.39. the cluster mean is 3.20. this show the respondents are aware that pollution of natural water is against god’s design and desire. statistical test of hypotheses ho1: there had not been any sensitization or awareness programme by the government or non-government organization to enlighten the people of oji river urban on the causes of water pollution. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 99 table 8: t-test analysis on mean scores of sensitization or awareness programme by the government or non-government organization to enlighten the people of oji river urban on the causes of water pollution group n x sd df tcal tcrit remark rejected 298 3.43 0.91 309 -2.11 1.960 accepted accepte d 62 2.01 0.62 accept ho if tcal ≤ tcrit, else reject since the calculated value of t (tcal) is less than the critical value of t (tcrit), the null hypothesis that there had not been any sensitization or awareness programme by the government or non-government organization to enlighten the people of oji river urban on the causes of water pollution is accepted while alternate is rejected. hence, there had not been enough sensitization or awareness programme by the government or non-government organization to enlighten the people of oji river urban on the causes of water pollution ho2: the residents of oji river urban are not ignorant of the causes and effects of drinking from a polluted water source. table 9: t-test analysis on mean scores of residents of oji river urban being aware of the causes and effects of drinking from a polluted water source group n x sd df tcal tcrit remark rejected 318 3.04 0.92 309 2.61 1.960 rejected accepte d 42 2.22 1.80 accept ho if tcal ≤ tcrit, else reject igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 100 since the calculated value of t (t-cal) is greater than the critical value of t (tcrit), the null hypothesis that residents of oji river urban are not ignorant of the causes and effects of drinking from a polluted water source rejected, the alternate hypothesis is accepted. hence, the residents are ignorant of the causes and effects of drinking from a polluted water source. ho3: the residents of oji river urban are not ignorant of the preventive measures to reduce the pollution of oji wonderful river. table 10: t-test analysis on mean scores of residents of oji river urban are not ignorant of the preventive measures to reduce the pollution of oji wonderful river group n x sd df tcal tcrit remark rejected 300 3.04 0.72 309 2.73 1.960 rejected accepte d 60 2.21 0.81 accept ho if tcal ≤ tcrit, else reject from the t-test table above, the value of t (t-cal) is greater than the critical value of t (tcrit), the null hypothesis that which says that residents of oji river urban are not ignorant of the preventive measures to reduce the pollution of oji wonderful river is rejected, the alternate hypothesis is accepted. meaning that the residents of oji river urban are ignorant of the preventive measures to adopt in reduce the pollution of oji wonderful river. ho4: the residents of oji river urban are not aware that pollution of natural water resource is a gross violation and abuse of the creative order, hence it is directly against god’s injunction on good maintenance of the rural order by human kind. table 11: t-test analysis on mean scores of residents of oji river urban are not aware that pollution of natural water resource is a gross violation and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 101 abuse of the creative order, hence it is directly against god’s injunction on good maintenance of the rural order by human kind group n x sd df tcal tcrit remark rejected 288 3.53 0.81 309 2.17 1.960 rejected accepte d 72 2.21 0.73 accept ho if tcal ≤ tcrit, else reject since the calculated value of t (tcal) is greater than the critical value of t (tcrit), the null hypothesis that residents of oji river urban are not aware that pollution of natural water resource is a gross violation and abuse of the creative order, hence it is directly against god’s injunction on good maintenance of the rural order by human kind is rejected while alternate is accepted. hence, residents of oji river urban are aware that pollution of natural water resource is a gross violation and abuse of the creative order, hence it is directly against god’s injunction on good maintenance of the rural order by human kind but ignorance has been their challenge. ho5: industries situated close to the river banks especially palm producing ones; abbatoirs does not heighten the pollution of oji wonderful river. table 12: t-test analysis on mean scores of industries situated close to the river banks especially palm producing ones; abbatoirs does not heighten the pollution of oji wonderful river group n x sd df tcal tcrit remark rejected 308 3.71 0.99 309 2.19 1.960 rejected igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 102 accepte d 52 2.21 0.82 accept ho if tcal ≤ tcrit, else reject since the calculated value of t (tcal) is greater than the critical value of t (tcrit), the null hypothesis that industries situated close to the river banks especially palm producing ones and abbatoirs does not heighten the pollution of oji wonderful river is rejected while alternate is accepted. hence, industries situated close to the river banks especially palm producing ones and abbatoirs are mainly responsible for the water pollution of oji wonderful river. effects of oji river water pollution on the residents of oji river urban there is no gainsaying the reality that irrespective of the fact that oji river residents may not be completely aware of the dangers of polluting and drinking or making use of a polluted water source. it still cannot avert its dangers which are as follows: (1) it reduces the quality of the water being carried by the river. research by adejumoke, babatude, oluyori, adelani-akande, adewumi and oreofe (2018) posited that 95% of all sewage is discharged untreated into rivers, lakes or the ocean in the less developed countries of south america, africa and asia. a large part of oji wonderful river is contaminated sufficiently that it has reduced drastically the quality of water thereof, to such extent that it is basically dangerous to human health. from the research findings of this work, it is obvious that the effects of the degradation of a water resource are not limited to the area of discharge but could have widespread implication for the entire watershed. (2) the research carried out on oji river wonderful by ugochukwu, onuorah and onuora (2019), and ugochukwu, onuorah and onuora (2019), respectively, posited that heavy metals top the list of inorganic pollutant with wide range of negative effects on aquatic organisms, plants, and human. heavy metals as adejumoke, babatunde, oluyori, adelaniakande, adewumi and oreofe (2018), posited are released into the environment through various channels like industries, mining activities, agricultural activities and so on. bioavailable metals present in the soil igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 103 may be absorbed by plants resulting in dangerous plant metabolic dysfunctioning. high heavy metal ion concentrations also damage the cell membrane, affect enzyme involved in chlorophyll production, thus reducing photosynthesis rate as well as affect plant reproduction via decrease in pollen and seed viability. little wonder u.c. nwozor (personal communication, january 9, 2020), respectively exposed that their farm products are no longer yielding as expected. furthermore, e.o. nkemmelu (personal communication, january 9, 2020), pointed out that the residents of oji river urban that often drink the water and equally use it for domestic purposes especially in cooking complains of ill-health such as mild eye, nose and skin irritations, severe headache, stomach ache, diarrhea, hematemesis, vomiting, dizziness, cirrhosis, necrosis, low blood pressure, hypertension and gastrointestinal distress. thus the oji river urban settlers are more often than not exposed to heavy metal toxicity through the food web as well; direct consumption of water containing metal or via inhalation. heavy metals easily bioaccumulates in vegetables and enters into man and animal through food chain. the truth still remains that irrespective of the fact that some heavy metals also called essential elements as adejumoke, babtunde, oluyori, adelani-akande, adewumi, and oreofe (2018), explained, are required for various biochemical processes in minute amount in the body; others such as lead, cadmium, arsenic, and mercury are of serious danger and considered foreign in the body. it is worthy to note that water pollution via strong acidic chemical substances that serves as wastes from industrial facilities can render the water dangerous for the fishes in the water. it can kill them as well. this of course is strictly against god’s design and desire. solutions on how to prevent the pollution of oji wonderful river in lieu with the findings from the field research of this work, eco-theology and justice; and from the standpoint of the basic theories employed in this work: the following solutions can be helpful in reducing the rate at which oji river wonderful is being polluted; viz: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 104 (1) the principles of eco-theology and justice succinctly posits that god is so much involved in the created order: he however, made man care takers, to be incharge on his behalf. god’s will on the relationship between the created order and man as the chief is for man to be “a steward of nature” (p.20), as anyacho (2013), puts it. in this sense, mankind is expected to start taking remedial actions, which will forestall further environmental degradation (of which pollution of oji wonderful river is one of such), and seek for ways of remedying the damages already done. eco-theology and justice emphasizes on fairness and equality in existence of all the created order. the chief objective being to extend the right of existence to all the living being in the environment. thus, mankind must ensure the equal treatment of the relatively less powerful members of society with regards to environmental hazards. in lieu of the above stated fact, the oji river urban inhabitants should be sensitized on this principle. it is obvious from the research that they are oblivious of the fact that pollution of water is a crime against humanity, nature and god; it is actually a sin against god and should be discouraged vehemently. when oji river urban settlers understands this; they will be conversant with conservation, which in turn deals with the sustainable use of the biosphere and its management so that it can yield great sustainable benefit to the present and future generation; according to anyacho (2013), exposition. this will avert death of fishes in the river, various ill health and health hazards accrued from the polluted river; while ensuring that the waters purity is sustained always. (2) the theory of planned behavior employed in this work posit to the for that ignorance is one of the reasons that enforces the pollution of oji wonderful river by the oji river urban settlers. insight on basic informations of health, life and god’s plan for humankind and his environment is very vital. information is knowledge, wisdom and power combined: when the oji river urban settlers are well informed on the dangers of drinking from a polluted water source, on the fact that pollution of water sources is against god’s design and desire, and finally on the truth that conservation of the oji wonderful river’s water purity and standard is their primary responsibility as human kind, it will go a long way in redirecting their conception on the mode of dumping of refuse, industrial and agricultural waste etcetera and general pollution of oji wonderful river. they will all be focused on making plans to ensure the preservation of the rivers good quality. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 105 (3) the government of enugu state should ensure that well trained health personnel officers are sent to oji river urban to understudy the terrain and come up with the mode through which they can easily convince the inhabitants to accept the fact that oji wonderful river should not be polluted irrespective of all odds; that polluting the oji wonderful river will be detrimental to their health and will equally affect them and future generation. this will easily foster the acceptance of innovations regarding policies, bye laws and bills on the usage of oji wonderful river and penalties placed on pollution of the river. (4) handbills and posters detailing the dangers of polluting and drinking froma polluted water source should be produced and handed out to all and sundry within oji river urban terrain as part of the sensitization process. this will easily aid in making an average resident of oji river urban to be conversant with the health implications of drinking from a polluted water source. as seen from the health belief theory, people will definitely not get involved with that which will endanger their health and life as well. thus, this will reduce the pollution of oji wonderful river drastically. conclusion this study having assessed the water pollution in oji river urban in view of eco-theology and justice, has unraveled to the surface that a good number of individual’s residing within oji river urban are quite oblivious of the fact that polluting oji wonderful river is a crime against humanity and nature; and thus a sin against god as well. the ugly truth is that even a greater part of human persons in the world at large are ignorant of the fact that mankind ought to explore the natural order within his given environment in fairness and in the mindset of harnessing its available endowments for the greater good, devoid of exploitation. again, majority of the people in oji river urban are not completely aware of the implications of polluting the oji river wonderful, how it affects them adversely, and ways of preventing the effects. the populace dumps their wastes indiscriminately on the ground near the river banks and even inside the river as well because of lack of awareness on the effect of such acts on their lives. some industries especially palm producing ones and abattoir settings were cited igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 106 illegally close to oji wonderful river thereby polluting it with all sorts of wastes ranging from human, agricultural, toxic to other various forms of man-made wastes. in all, good number of the residents of oji river urban equally use the water from oji wonderful river as domestic water supply thereby drinking polluted water which is detrimental to their health. the solutions posited in this work as well as the knowledge of the eco-theology and justice, and the theoretical expositions from the environmental health study employed in this work will go a long way in aiding the oji river urban residents to take the right and firm stance and desist from polluting the oji wonderful river at all costs. recommendations in lieu of the findings of this study, the following recommendations are hereby made to help reduce the pollution of oji wonderful river in oji river urban of oji river local government area, enugu state and its effects on the health of the residents:  there is need for provision of enforceable laws guiding against indiscriminate dumping of wastes on environment in oji river local government area as it pollutes water resources.  subjects on eco-theology and justice should not be restricted to students studying religion or a related course in the higher institutions alone. it should be introduced into the academic curriculum from primary to post primary level of education in enugu state and nigeria at large. this will help in keeping the environment clean: it will equally improve the effort by citizens during the monthly environmental sanitations.  there is need for regular cleaning and clearing of bushes, shrubs and other unwanted wastes by the oji wonderful river banks and the water body at large, in order to help reduce the pollution of the water therein.  there is need for provision of appropriate wastes dump at strategic places so that people will be dumping their waste: agencies involved in evacuation of these wastes should be highly functional inorder to maintain a clean environment as these will aid in keeping oji wonderful river clean as well. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 107  abattoir settings and palm producing industries should be monitored and appropriately located away from the water body: dumping of animal wastes inside the water should be discouraged.  the use of pesticides and weed killing chemicals at farm lands located near the river banks should rather be an alternative measure at extreme cases. agriculturists should engage on manual labour and natural means of keeping pests off farmlands inorder not to pollute the water body with chemical substances.  finally, the government should find a solution to manage overcrowding in the cities/urban settings. the problem of environmental pollution and pollution of oji wonderful river is equally as a result of too much persons settling in oji river urban without corollary enough housing for so much population of persons. infrastructures, industries and other social amenities that will make life better in the rural areas should be provided by the government to reduce too much migration to the urban areas by individual. little wonder wilber (2000), insisted that problems pertinent to environmental pollution result from overcrowding in the cities: yet city planners especially in african countries and nigeria in particular are often years behind the population growth and demand for public services. references adejumoke, i.a., babatunde, o.a., oluyori, a.p., adelani-akande, t.a., adewumi, d.o. & oreofe, t.a. (2018). water pollution: effects, prevention, and climatic impact, water challenges of an urbanizing world. matjazglavan, intechopen, doi:10.5772/ intechopen.72018. retrieved on 4th january, 2020 from https://www.intechopen.com. akintunde, e.a. (2017). theories and concepts for human behavior in environmental preservation. journal of environmental science and public health, 1,2,120-133. retrieved on 3rd january 2020 from https://doi:10.26502/jesph.012. amjad, n. & wood, a.m. (2009). identifying and changing aggression which lead young muslim adults to join extremist anti-semitic groups in pakistan. aggressive behaviour, 35,6,514-519. anyacho, e.o. (2004). religion in society: an introduction to eco-theology and justice. calabar: ibiam. anyacho, e.o. (2013). religion in society: an introduction to eco-technology and justice (revised edition). nnobi: c.p. globe. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 108 beil, l. (2017, november 15). pollution killed 9 million people in 2015. science news. retrieved on 12th january, 2020 from https://www.sciencenews.org. boretti, a. & rosa, l. (2019). reassessing the projections of the world water development report. nature partner journals, 2,15,1-6. retrieved on 10th january, 2020 from https://doi.or//10.1038/541545-019-0039-9. carpenter, c.j. (2010). a meta-analysis of the effectiveness of health belief model variables in predicting behavior. health communication, 25,8,661-669. chang, k. (2015, march 12). suddenly, it seems, water is everywhere in solar system. new york times. retrieved on 12th january, 2020 from http://www.nytimes.com/ chinwokwu, e.n. (2018, march 15). hope and responsibility in divine economy. the 131st inaugural lecture of the university of nigeria nsukka, enugu state. dieter, c.a., maupin, m.a., caldwell, r.r., harris, m.a., ivahnenko, t.o., lovelace, j.k., barber, n.l., & linsey, k.s. (2018). estimated use of water in the united states in 2015. circular u.s. geological survey. retrieved on 12th january, 2020 from https://doi.org/10.3133/cir1441. glanz, k., rimer, b.k. & viswanath, k. (2015). health behaviour: theory, research, and practice (5th edition). sanfrancisco: ca. gnanakan, k. (1999). god’s world: a theology of the environment. london: spck. krugman, r.p. (2013). microeconomics. wells, robin (3rd edition). new york: worth publishers. maestro, l.m., marques, m.i., camarillo, e., jaque, d., sole, j., garcia, gonzalo, j.a., jaque, f. valle, juan, c. del., & mallamace, f. (2016). on the existence of two states in liquid water: impact on biological and nanoscopic systems. international journal of nanotechnology, 13, 8,9,667-677. mascia, m.b., & mills, m. (2018). when conservation goes viral: the diffusion of innovative biodiversity conservation policies and practices. conservation letters, 11,3. retrieved on 3rd january, 2020 from https:11/doi:10.1111/con.12442.issn1755-263x. norberg, p.a., horne, d.r. & horne, d.a. (2007). the privacy paradox: personal information disclosure intentions versus behaviours. journals of consumer affairs, 41,1,100-126. onuoha, i.j., norhaya, k., aliagha, g.u & ufere, k.j. (2015). theoretical explanations of environmental motivations and expectations of clients on green building demand and investment. earth and environmental science igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 1. (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 109 23,012010. retrieved on 3rd january, 2020 from htpps://doi:10.1088/17551315/23/1/012010. siddiqui, t.r., ghazal, s., bibi, s. ahmed, w. & sajjad, s.f. (2016). use of the health belief model for the assessment of public knowledge and household preventive practices in karachi, pakistan, a denque-endemic city. plos neglected tropical diseases, 10,11. retrieved on 3rd january, 2020 from https://www.e005129. ugochukwu, u.c., onuorah, a.l & onuora, o.h. (2019). assessment of the water quality of oji river wing water quality index (wqi). journal of environmental and earth science, 9,1,72-77. ugochukwu, u.c., onuorah, a.l. & onuora, o.h. (2019). eutrophication potential of nutrients in oji river of enugu, nigeria. journal of environmental studies, 4, 1,1-4. uwaeme, p.c. (2016). cause of water pollution in oji river urban. unpublished project on the department of environmental health, school of health technology oji-river enugu state. wayne, w. & lamorte, m.d. (2019). diffusion of innovation theory. boston university school of public health. retrieved on 3rd january, 2020 from https://www.sphweb.bumc.bu.edu/otit/mph-modules/sb/ world water development report. (2019, march 19). leaving no one behind. geneva (switzerland). retrieved on 12th january, 2020 from https://www.unesco.org. orji, r. vassileva, j. & mandryk, r. (2012). towards an effective health interventions design: an extension of the health belief model. online j public health inform. 2012; 4(3). retrieved on 23rd january, 2020 from https://pii:ojphi. v4i3.4321.doi:10.5210/ojphi.v4i3.4321. epub 2012 dec19. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 4 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 1 historicising the politics of slavery and the african diaspora sunday, edoh odum department of religion and philosophy, benue state university, makurdi-nigeria. edohodum@gmail.com abstract african history and historiography have largely accounted for the question of slavery, colonialism, racialism and neo-colonialism. this is because the above phenomena passes as the experiences of the african people which have elicited responses from scholars and researchers of diverse civilizations largely because such phenomena have without doubt, altered the history of the continent of africa as well as the trajectory and tapestry of the thought pattern of the african person. this paper attempts to historicise the politics of slavery as well as engage in a lucid discourse on the african diaspora which is a resultant effect of the politics that ensured both during the trade and the processes that lead to the abolition of the trade. it engages the expository and analytic methods of philosophical research and argues that the high point of the politics of slavery is evident in the fact that the trans-atlantic slave trade would not have been successful and sustainable as it were if the africans were not readily disposed to selling their kinsmen into slavery. this paper concludes in the final third that in view of the prevailing socio-political and economic realities of africa, for africa to rescue herself from, and overcome the numerous challenges confronting her, africans should reject with vehemence, any semblance of neo-slavery, african diaspora organizations should not relent in contributing in whatever way they can to the development of african in a manner that is sustainable and accordingly, such donations and contributions should be used in prudent and frugal manner. introduction for any writing to fulfill the requirement of being called the history of africa, it must give a central place to such events as the trans-atlantic slave trade amongst others, both for its moral and emotional significance and for its potential importance in shaping the continents development. this is true for all historically astute people. the view taken here is that its effects were extensive, complex and understandable only in the light of the character which african societies had already taken during their long struggle with slavery. at least, slave export interrupted african’s demographic growth for two centuries. the trade stimulated new forms of political and social organizations, wider use of slaves within the continent, and more brutal igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 2 attitudes towards sufferings with scores of africans losing their lives enroute america and europe. sub-saharan africa already lagged technologically, but the slave trade helped to foster and accentuate its backwardness. yet a midst this misery, it vital to state here that africans survived the slave trade and that it has become platitudinous to rehash the horror that attended the phenomenon of slavery in africa bearing in mind that a people must need be abreast of happenings in the past, connect them with the present in order to predict and forge their future. the massive involuntary, semivoluntary and in recent past, voluntary transnational movement of africans or people of african descent from their home lands during and after the abolishment of the slave trade has given rise to the idea of african diaspora. a critical evaluation of the people of african descent living outside the shores of africa reveals that only a handful of them are living above board as regards the grave inequality that exist and is melted against the black race. this notwithstanding, african diaspora as findings reveals have been in contact with their homelands and have been involved in the struggle for the overall socio-political and economic development of africa as a continent. it has become a norm for scholars in africa and elsewhere to lament the inhumanity of man towards man as evident the activities of the slave merchants in the decades that slavery ensured. what is not prevalent until recently is discourse on african diaspora which is for the most part, a resultant effect of the slave trade. this paper seeks to historicise the politics of slavery and attempts to engage in a lucid discourse on the african diaspora. while the first part of the paper concerns itself with a historical analysis of the politics of slavery, the second part will concern itself with an understanding of diaspora and african diaspora, it will also attempt a discourse on their homeland relations, remittance and contributions to the development of africa. historicising the politics of slavery the concepts of slavery and politics have been defined variously; this study does not consider it necessary to delve into some form of conceptual clarification on same. what should be noted is that the concept of slavery stipulates both a state and a practice: a state in the terms of being a slave and a practice in the terms of having slaves as personal properties. as regards the conception of the politics and its relation or connection with slavery, the idea of the politics of slavery as construed and articulated by this paper is the clash of interest and the struggle for who gets what, when and how during the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 3 slave trade. this is the basis and understanding upon which historicising the politics of slavery will be here articulated. various forms of slavery have existed in most societies from antiquity to modem times, a state of “unfreedom” defining the lives of those categorized as servants, serfs, apprentices, or slaves. in the ancient civilizations of europe, asia and africa, for example, persons defined as slaves were part of a distinct social group, whose lives were routinely controlled by others. such people in general performed arduous labor, particularly in agriculture, construction and mining, but also in households and the military, only a fortunate few working as managers, political administrators, or skilled artisans. at the height of its prosperity in 400 bc, classical athens had more than 70,000 slaves. it has been estimated that during the first two centuries of the roman empire three out of every four persons living on the italian peninsula were slaves, an estimated 21 million people. slaves of varying races and colors and drawn from many cultures were sold in athens and in rome, europe, the mediterranean, north africa and asia constituting the sources of supply. yet these slaves were multi-racial, with enslavement not being considered a condition that befitted a particular race or skin color. black africans, for example, mostly from the horn of africa, were a minority part of this early european world, but, while many of them were slaves, many were also prominent free persons who made important contributions to society (beckles: 2015). following the decline and eventual collapse of the roman empire, slavery remained an important institution throughout europe. by the end of the 13th century, slaves were still considered valuable assets in the mediterranean countries of southern europe, though the meaning of the term “slave” varied. however, one person’s right to another’s labor was becoming a separate matter from the right to own that person as property, and chattel slavery the legal recognition of a person as property rapidly declined during the 14th century, and it was not widely practiced thereafter in the increasingly powerful countries of northern europe. in these countries, the status of slave was increasingly considered one befitting only “outsiders” to kin, religion, race and nation, with the result that when the europeans and the northafrican berbers, christian and muslim respectively, began to organize trading contacts with west africa, this served to identify those already seen as outsiders as potential slaves . various forms of human bondage also existed in african societies at this time. the expansion of long-distance trade had promoted the use of slave labor in agriculture, and many of the early kings of mali and songhai, as well as of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 4 other states, used islam to justify their capture and enslavement of unbelievers. in the west-african state of benin, for example, large numbers of slaves were used in agriculture, and these slaves, the private property of their owners, symbolized wealth and prosperity. the rulers of such african states also maintained large armies of slaves to protect their empires from attack, and the trading of horses for slaves that took place in the early 16th century in this region was part of a large military build-up along the middle niger and senegal rivers. the world “slave” according to beckles (2015) does not have a precise equivalent in many african languages. the yoruba term, eru, for example, while often translated as “slave” does not denote the kind of chattel status familiar from the transatlantic slave trade. indeed, recent research into african history has suggested that the term “slave” would only have been appropriate for newly acquired captives, who had not yet undergone the elaborate process of adoption and assimilation. the concept of a “slave”, then, is a complex one in west-african history, having very different meanings to that denoted by the chattel slaves of the later transatlantic slave trade. what this translates into is that slavery can be seen as an institution in africa used as a means by which outsiders could become assimilated into the local kinship system. it could also act as a mechanism by which certain persons were kept in a subordinate position for labor purposes for a defined period of time and as a social marker that indicated an absence of kin and a state of non-belonging. the above notwithstanding, beckles (2015) further asserted the fact that the growth of slave markets in west africa from the early 15th century onwards, in which muslims and european christians were the principal purchasers, weakened such traditional understandings of slavery, redefining it in the form it took in the transatlantic system. while traditional forms of slavery were generally less harsh, those trapped into lifelong slavery, or multiple sales, in the transatlantic trade could expect severe ill treatment. accounting for the reason for the slave trade, eltis (2015) asserted that european expansion to the americas was to mainly tropical and semi-tropical areas. several products that were either unknown to europeans (like tobacco), or occupied a luxury niche in pre-expansion european tastes (like gold or sugar), now fell within the capacity of europeans to produce more abundantly. but while europeans could control the production of such exotic goods, it became apparent in the first two centuries after columbian contact that they chose not to supply the labor that would make such output possible. free european migrants and indentured servants never traveled across the atlantic in sufficient numbers to meet the labor needs of expanding plantations. convicts and prisoners – the only europeans who were ever igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 5 forced to migrate – were much fewer in numbers again. slavery or some form of coerced labor was the only possible option if european consumers were to gain. the politics of slavery in general and the atlantic slave trade in particular which was (and still is) the largest long distance coerced movement of people in history can be understood in the context of the trade itself and its subsequent abolition. it is along this line that the struggle for who gets what, how and when is here construed and articulated. the atlantic slave trade began in 1441 when a young portuguese sea captain, antam goncalvez, kidnapped a man and a woman on the western saharan coast to please his employer, prince henry the navigator and being successful, goncalvez was knighted. four years later, the portuguese built a port on arguin island, off the mauritanian coast, from which to purchase slaves and, more particularly, gold, which was especially scarce at this time (iliffe: 1995). the northern european settlers, among them the english, french, danish and dutch, arrived in large numbers a century after the spanish and portuguese, at a time when both spanish and portuguese settlers had demonstrated a preference for african over indian slaves, the dutch took over portuguese ports and control over the trade. in order to counter dutch control over the supply of african slaves to the english colonies, the government of king charles ii participated in forming a slave trading company in 1663 called the royal adventurers, which traded in africa. this company was financed by some of the leading aristocrats at court, including the duke of buckingham and the duke of albermarle. the king’s brother, the duke of york, was also elected president of the company. in this way, the monarch and government of england formally engaged in the development of the transatlantic slave trade, since, though the company also traded in ivory and gold, slaves were its single most lucrative commodity (beckles: 2015). however, when the royal adventurers company fell into financial troubles and a new enterprise was launched in 1672 named the royal african company. beckles (2015) intimated that “his moved swiftly to establish trading posts at cape coast, aga and accra along the gold coast, and it soon became the largest single company involved in the slave trade. between 1680 and 1700 it supplied some 30,000 africans to the caribbean. the 30 years following the establishment of the royal african company saw a substantial upsurge in the size of the transatlantic trade. it is estimated that nearly 600,000 africans were shipped out in these years. in 1697, the english abolished the monopoly granted the royal african company to supply the english colonies igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 6 with slaves, and this opened the english trade up to freer participation, effectively enlarging it. the english south seas company was also awarded the permission by the spanish government to supply spanish america with 4,800 slaves per year”. yet the trade depended also on africans being willing to sell slaves. while the moors (whose king supported himself with raids, which results in many slave from his own as well a neighboring countries… he sold many in return for horse) and the wolof (who paid the portuguese between nine and fourteen slave for each horse) accepted to sell slave, the jola of southern senegal, the baga of guinea, the kru of modern liberia resisted slavery and enslavement with ferocious courage and if captured, were so liable to kill that their masters or themselves (iliffe: 1995). this were however a few isolated cases as the most part of african elites and kings sold their subjects for horses, arms, gunpowder, just mention a few and it is in this regards that it has been argued that the african people are the only people in world history to sell their own kinsmen into slavery. the institution of slavery as stated by brown (2002) made profound difference in at least five ways, it produced political power, defined political interest, generated political conflict, and, by the late eighteenth century , influenced political culture. the ownership of slavery gave the british men power, as well as wealth… the renowned stability of british colonies in the halfcentury before the american revolution owed much to the political supremacy of the slave holding gentry which managed with a few important exceptions in these years to prevent effective challenge to their authority from below. slavery produced public wealth as well as private wealth and consequently figured significantly in the enhancement of national power. duties collected by the custom service represented between a fifth and a third of the revenue collected by the state (britain) between 1690 and 1790 ( brewer: 1989). the increased revenue helped britain finance the war that opened in up foreign markets and expanded imperial possessions (brown, 2002). it can also be said that the process of empire building at time depended to a very large extent on the states investment in slavery and the slave trade and the control of slave produced commodities. according to brown (2002), to win wars in europe and north america, the politics of slavery in the seventeenth century necessitates that the british sometimes sacked french and spanish plantations to deprive those empires of colonial wealth…slaves served in the british army in the seven year war, the american revolution and in great numbers during the french revolution. acquisition of power in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century meant in many instances, commanding the territories where the slaves were, even if it requires the reduction of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 7 commitment elsewhere. the slave colonies became a chief prize in the high stake contest for local political authority and international supremacy (dunn: 1972). hence, slavery determines to a very large extent, the political authority of a state at the local level and international supremacy in its colonies and elsewhere. the politics of slavery as brown (2002) further noted defines political interest, according to him, “this interest exist between the state and the planters. the state raised duties when the planters wanted them reduced. whitehall chooses war when the planters would have been happier with peace. overtime, the british officials prove less reliable in defending white supremacy than slave holders would have liked. they established regiments of enslaved black soldiers to fight in the americans during the 1790s and in the process, ignored the many planters who preferred to keep arms out of the hands of african slaves. the royal governors threatened to turn slaves against their owners to restore imperial authority”. this clash of interest is intended to trim the seeming growing wings of the slave owners and the planters with the intent of restoring and defending the supremacy of imperial authority. the high point of the politics of slavery is evident in the struggle for the abolition of the trade. according to brown (2002) “although the american revolution spawned anti-slavery agitations in the northern state as well as in the british isle, it paved way for the substantial expansion of the slaveholding empire in the southern territories of the newly independent united states”. following the united states’ successful war of independence against the british in the 1770s, american citizens were deprived of new slaves by an english blockade around the american coasts, and as a result american traders stepped up plans to finance their own slave voyages to west africa (beckles: 2015). it is in the above line that one can argue that the anti-slavery agitation of the americans during the revolution and war of independence was a gimmick and hence, the use of slavery to get their libration from the british with the intent of cashing into the trade to gain independence, local political authority and international recognition as a nation state. the politics of slavery can also be said to be a politics of racial discrimination and inequality. according to beckles (2015), the europeans, dwelling on the african peoples’ different physical appearance and unfamiliar cultural characteristics, concluded that they were an inferior race of outsiders and deserved ill treatment. by virtue of their being non-european, it was thought that the black african peoples could be legitimately enslaved, an idea that went with the europeans’ belief that in trading in africa they were actually also “discovering”, and where possible “claiming,” new lands and their inhabitants. such views, articulated at the time by leading european igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 8 theologians, philosophers and scientists, were shared by the catholic church, which supported the ill treatment meted out to the african communities by sanctioning both european wars of conquest and the transatlantic slave trade itself. the vatican pronounced that the enslavement of black africans was allowed under the canon law of “just war,” because such peoples were pagans and should therefore be converted to christianity, if necessary by force. in this way, papal policy at the time supported the commercial activities of the european slave traders. in fact, it was said that the africans have an inherent killer-instinct that needed to be perpetually suppressed. in the worlds of brown (2002), “the slavers reacted against the rise of anti-slavery slavery sentiments by insisting on property of slaves as fundamental to the rights of the englishmen”. the european abolitionist movement (whose origin lay in the disastrous experience of the american) was dominated by members of religious groups, by certain thinkers and philosophers and by a smaller number of radical political leaders. however, many of these people were less than fully committed in their condemnation of the trade, and most fell short of calling for its outright and immediate abolition. the opposition of the roman catholic church was also intermittent and largely ineffective…those clerics who were concerned about slavery protested against the enslavement of the native population rather than that of the africans, effectively lobbying the vatican and european governments for the abolition only of the trade in indian slaves and of indian slavery. as a result, whenever success was achieved in improving the conditions of the indians, it was done at the expense of african slaves who were imported as substitutes. in fact, there was a consensus among church, state and settlers in the american colonies that the trade in african slaves was the answer to the labor shortage associated with the decline in the indian populations. however, the loss of north america colonies to a very large extent occasioned changes in the politics of slavery. the campaign against colonial slavery transformed the british political culture, abolitionist helped unite a nation recovering from the loss of north america and the political divisions the conflict has caused. at the same time, the anti-slavery movement initiated significant change in public politics. the campaign provided an unprecedented opportunity for political participation among disenfranchised groups. it helped the marginalized, particularly quakers and anglican evangelicals to achieve social respectability. they thought that the abolitionism as a way to make religion matter in politics and public life. a times between 1787 and 1838, the issue of slavery dominated national politics. the formal debates in parliament generated extensive discussion out -of-door, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 9 an outstanding number of antislavery petitions and a substantial corpus of controversial literatures (brown, 2002). the anti-slavery society as beckles (2015) intimated was supported in parliament by the evangelical leader, william wilberforce, the member of parliament for the town of hull, charles fox, and by the prime minister, william pitt. clarkson campaigned against the trade by arguing that it was unprofitable (to the british, having lost their colonial holds in america), that it led to large loss of life among the english crews that manned the slave ships and that it damaged both african and colonial societies. for his part, fox stated that “slavery itself, odious as it is, is not nearly so bad a thing as the slave trade,” and pitt, always the economic pragmatist, argued that the evil of the trade should be removed provided that english financial interests did not suffer. the following year, the british privy council in london launched an investigation into the trade. this prompted other european powers and america to begin think along the lines of possibly putting an end to the trade. however, it was the americans, once they had achieved their independence from britain, who took the lead in the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. thus, many newly independent american states, such as the carolinas, maryland and virginia, outlawed the importation of slaves from africa in the 1780s, and when the massachusetts legislature again debated an anti-slave trade bill in 1778, the commerce was described as tainted by an immoral “lust for gain,” with virginia voting to free all illegally imported africans. this notwithstanding, the spanish and portuguese governments and colonists declared their support for maintaining the transatlantic slave trade as a “lifeline of colonial development”, denouncing what they called english duplicity and hypocrisy. england, they said, had only decided to enforce anti-slavetrade policies because its own colonies were developed and no longer needed african-born slaves. what england was attempting to do in suppressing the trade, they said, was to deny the same opportunities for development to the hispanic region of the caribbean and latin america that the anglophone region had enjoyed. this entire struggle was not to last for a long time as the institution of slavery and the atlantic slave trade was abolished in 1807 in england and subsequently outlawed in 26 years later. time and space does not afford this paper the opportunity to account for the time line of the abolition of the trade in all the nations but it suffices to state here that by the end 1888, the trade was finally abolished in brazil who were the very last of the slaver nations to abolish the trade. it should be noted that the politics of slavery might also be understood and told as the history of the rise and fall of the british atlantic planter class as well as the slave merchants who bought and sold slaves and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 10 their efforts to establish, command and sustain the institution of slave bondage through a series of internal and external challenges. it can also be articulated in the political powers its produces, the political interest it defines, the political conflicts its generates and the fact that it shaped the political culture of the eighteenth and nineteenth century with americans gaining their independence in the process through the revolution with lincoln’s election to the presidency (amongst others) resulting from the complicated american political situation of the 1840s and 1850s, centered on the divisive issue of slavery. one of the resultant effect of abolition of slavery in general and the atlantic slave trade in particular which perhaps was (and still is) the largest long distance coerced movement of people (the people of african descent) in history and of which according to beckles (2015) is estimated to range from about 9.6 million at the lower end of the scale to about 15 million at the upper, is the institutionalization of the idea of african diaspora – historicizing of which will be the subject of discourse in the next section. african diaspora the present epoch could reasonably be referred to as the diasporan age. globally, it has been estimated that some 125 million people migrate from one country to another annually (de montclos in akinirade and ogen: 2011). indeed, more than ever before, diasporan historiography and discourses have grown exponentially in recent times. in spite of this impressive historiography, the nigerian diaspora has largely been subsumed under the general categories of studies dealing with africans or blacks living outside the shores of africa. curiously, rather than concentrating on country specific diasporas, african scholars are continuously being encouraged to become more engaged in the african diaspora because this arena is believed to be crucial to the deepening of the understanding of both african and world history (zeleza: 2010). in understanding the concept of african diaspora, an understanding of a generalized diaspora is key. the concept of diaspora, no matter how and in whatever dimension it is construed, has its origin in the greek “diaspora” which means dispersal. the above validate the position that the concept of diaspora is of greek derivation. in recent years, according to dodson (2014), there has been a great volume and variety of use of the word “diaspora”. consider for ex ample, that as at may 2013, some 42,597 journal storage (jstor) citations were noted to have used the term. the variety in the use of the idea is equally numerous. this record would have as a matter of fact increased over time. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 11 defining the generalized diaspora, armstrong applied the concept to any ethnic collectivity which lacks a territorial base within a given polity. on the general idea of diaspora, levitt situated it as the massive involuntary and semi-voluntary transnational movement of a cultural people from their lands of origin (in dodson: 2014). akinrinade and ogen (2011) however seems to be thinking in the line of dodson (2014) as regards the variety in the use of the concept of diaspora when they asserted that “the meaning of the term diaspora are as varied as the types of diaspora s that have been identified. for instance, there are references and discourses on corporate diaspora, cultural diaspora, trade diaspora. academic diaspora, macro, micro or overlapping diaspora as well as cleft, endo and ecto-diaspora”. it is on the basis of the above disparity in type and numerous variations that the definition of the concept of african diaspora is articulated. defining the african diaspora, alper (2001) asserted that we are familiar with it (african diaspora) primarily as an historical artifact of the atlantic slave trade that is used to refer to the forced dispersal of african peoples in the atlantic world, especially in the western hemisphere. he further stated that the phrase is neither unproblematic nor deeply rooted historically, having been first employed by george shepperson in a paper presented at the international congress of african history held at the university of dar es salaam, in tanzania, in 1965. alper (2001) further intimated that “until the 1960s its use was confined to the scholarship of the jewish and christian religions. indeed, when george shepperson first joined “african” to “diaspora” in 1965, he explicitly did so because of the close parallels he saw between the jewish diaspora and the dispersal of africans as a consequence of the slave trade. shepperson argued that african american and caribbean intellectuals themselves had for a long time recognized and articulated connections between their own people in exile and that of the jews. by his application of “diaspora” to the experience of “the african abroad,” as the session at which he presented his paper was entitled and his paper makes plain, he declared as an historian and an outsider that he, too, saw such parallels”. shepperson’s achievement here was to recognize the great similarities in the comparative histories of these two great dispersions, especially the role of “slavery and imperialism” in the forced migration of both jews and africans, and to name the one by the term used for the other. as he notes, it as “not difficult to see why the expression “the african diaspora’ has gained currency as a description of the great movement” which resulted in millions of people of african descent in the western hemisphere. shepperson, according to alpers (2001) was determined to extend the definition of the african diaspora igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 12 “both in time and space” so that it could “be made of maximum value for the new african historiography”. at the same time, he was clear in his understanding that not all african migrations could be subsumed under this rubric, restricting “the concept of the african diaspora” to that “which is the study of a series of reactions to coercion, to the imposition of the economic and political rule of alien peoples in africa, to slavery and imperialism.” he did, however, include within the african diaspora “the migration of negro slaves and servants to europe before the opening of the trans-atlantic slave trade’ and “the enslavement of negroes by muslim powers.” nevertheless, he asserted that “the period of almost four hundred years of the european enslavement of africans remains the heart of the african diaspora. shepperson further extended his definition of what was properly within the orbit of the african diaspora to include “the dispersal of africans . . . inside (africa), both as a consequence of the slave trade and of imperialism. thus, he offered “the creation of sierra leone,” on the one hand, and “the dispersal of africans from malawi” throughout eastern and southern africa, on the other. this point is quite instructive as it seeks to prove that the dispersal of africans isn’t to the west alone but also within africa and hence, the institutionalization of the idea of african diaspora(s) within africa. joseph harris, the scholar who was purportedly said to have chaired the session where george shepperson presented his paper on the african diaspora and articulated same in the international congress of african history held at the university of dar es salaam examined the multiplicity of historical details related to centuries of exorbitant deaths, excruciating sufferings, outrageous tribulations, normative upheavals and traumatic living experienced by africans and their descendants. the conditions existed in their continental lands of origins and in the experiences of being transported from their cultural homelands to locations throughout the globe, particularly to the americas. he (harris: 1982) defined the african diaspora as a “resultant effect from unique historical developments, namely, the global slave trades conducted for centuries primarily by arabs and europeans, and the berlin conference of 1884-85 that partitioned africa and set boundaries that continue to divide ethnic groups and inspire irredentism”. dodson (2014), in his analysis of harris’ definition gave credence to its logicality, its historical accuracy and the fact that it is theoretically sound and positions the african phenomenon within a larger global context that constructed it as a social formation. he further enunciated that “harris definition also separates the african diaspora from activities, events, and results that belong to imposed transnational migrations of other human populations. for example, the african global phenomenon stands distinct from chinese, indian, armenian, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 13 greek, palestinians, or other diaspora occurrences even as each adheres to the larger conceptual definition”. in the second edition of global dimension of the african diaspora, harris (1982) asserted that the african diaspora concept subsumes the following: the global dispersion (voluntary and involuntary) of africans throughout history; the emergence of a cultural identity abroad based on origin and social condition; and the psychological or physical return to the homeland, africa. thus viewed, the african diaspora assumes the character of a dynamic, continuous, and complex phenomenon stretching across time, geography, class, and gender (alpers: 2001). the above statement constitutes the first clear attempt to define the diaspora beyond the original boundaries set forth by shepperson in 1965 and stems from the extending horizons and frontiers of research on the african diaspora after decades of interlocution on the subject matter under review. the term “african diaspora” has been widely accepted and used in the world over, this notwithstanding, tony martins in alpers (2001) contended and argued for the complete rejection of the term “diaspora” as applied to the african experience. he forthrightly argued and stakes out his position, declaring that the “term diaspora be deleted from our vocabulary, because the term african diaspora re-enforces a tendency among those writing our history to see the history of african people always in terms of parallels in white history. . . . we should do away with the expression african diaspora because we are not jews. let us use some other terminology. let us speak of the african dispersion, or uprooted africa as somebody suggested, or scattered africa”. while his position should not be regarded as some form of intellectual joggling and thrown away, it is instructive to state here that the concept or idea of african diaspora has gained acceptability and currency and had gone farther than the degree of arguing and calling for its attenuation or substitution. the foregoing notwithstanding, emerging issues and trends in contemporary analysis of diaspora are hinged on the ability to exert considerable socio economic and political influence in both the homeland (africa) and the host land. it is in line with the above that the definition african diaspora by the african union as quoted bakewell (2008) which states the fact that the “african diaspora consists of peoples of african origin living outside the continent, irrespective of their citizenship or nationality and who are willing to contribute to the development of the continent and the building of the african union” is here adopted as the most credible in that it fall between the ambit and purview of the role of african diaspora in the overall development igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 14 of african which is an emerging as well as a contending issue in diasporan studies in the 21st century. statistically, pegging the total number of africans in diaspora has not been achieved as all the figures available are either piecemeal or along national or country lines. this notwithstanding, africans in the diaspora are globally spread out across the continents and estimated thus: in north america, there are 39 million from the african diaspora, 113 million in latin america, 13.6 million in the caribbean; and 3.5 million in europe (world bank estimate in home coming revolution). one of the emerging issues in the conceptualization of african diaspora in recent times, is that of the question of whether the concept encompasses or covers those whose migration was involuntary (predominantly, during the transatlantic slave trade) and those whose migration is voluntary. initially, dynamics within the phenomenon had been distinguished by involuntary trans-national global migration of aggregated groups of africans. as dodson (2014) captures it, “independence of african began to re-characterize the transnational global migration as by national individuals….it was no longer an involuntary or forced dispersal of aggregate groups of africans and their descendants. the movement of individuals was now semi-involuntary, “push and pull” phenomena associated with global economic, political, and/or environmental issues. for example, africans were pushed from their countries by violent changes in home governments, depressed local and national economies, military campaigns that pitted one ethnic group against another, egregious natural disasters, and/or famine. the moving individuals also were pulled away from their national locations by more developed nations’ changes in immigration policies, or multi-national businesses’ advertised lures of economic opportunity in other locations. often these pulling enticements work in tandem”. it is in line with the above that dodson (2014) further asserted that contemporary changes in the dynamics of african nationals’ transnational movement leads many researchers to assume that current migration, including related social phenomena, is not part of earlier patterns connected with the african diaspora. while he rejects the above position, he asserted that it was “ahistorical and are linked to political sentiments about and/or for a post-racial world where global movement can allow individuals to attempt to avoid racialized social exclusions that regularly accompany the migrations”, some researchers like zeleza (2010) chooses to consider “african descendants’ modern day migration and settlement as a new african diaspora”. in whatever way it is construed, it is the opinion of this paper that the fact that they are of african descent and are dispersed outside africa and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 15 their homelands, is enough fact to validate the fact of their being appended with the designation of african diaspora, not minding whether their migration is voluntary, involuntary or semi-voluntary. another issue that has taken the front burner and can as well be referred to as an emerging issue in african diaspora is that of the condition of african and african descendants living outside the shores of africa. these conditions range from social, political and economic conditions. scholars like hamilton reflected on these conditions and specifically stated that oppressions, domination, and subordination are the social conditions of inequality that circumscribe normative realities for africans and african descendants (24). dodson (2014) corroborated hamilton and asserted that the situation of african diaspora revolves around the relative permanent nature of inequality and socio-political conditions of those members of the african diaspora. citing fierce, he asked the question of how is it that after some five centuries, and unlike generations of other migrating cultural groups, collectively and disproportionately african descendants continue to experience political, social and economic inequality, no matter their geographic location. how is it that after multiple generations’ migration, resettlement, and laborious struggles to achieve successful social integration into new national societies, african and african descendants as a group continue to hold unequal socio-political location in their societies?. an objective consideration of the african diaspora under the lenses of the above questions reveals that of course, there are individuals, and small pockets of individuals whose lives do not overtly reflect oppressive sociopolitical domination and/or visible racial discrimination but this is generally not true for most african descendant persons. one would think that after some five centuries of struggle and accomplishments against racial oppression, domination, and subordination, the collective contemporary social position of african descendants would bear no resemblance to their past societal situations. this is not true for the majority of african and african descendants across the globe as disproportionately they do not share in benefits derived from industrial and technological development, nor in profits from these products of modernity (transafrica.org/people-of-african-descent). in the words of omni and winant (1994), the complex and elaborate ideology of euro-centric superiority, in all of its manifestations, has been transmitted hegemonically throughout the globe as racial hierarchy. it also has been internationally rationalized to ensure distribution of privilege, position, and resources to those phenotypically of white-skin european descent or to those who appear to be close to that icon. most african descendants do not come close to the criteria. the reality of racism and racialisation that affects them are igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 16 intricate and multi-level complexities of social infrastructures inherited from earlier historical periods, and the inheritance continues to produce stratified realities for african descendants, as well as other people of color. this is quite disturbing and disheartening and lives the writer in a bewildered state in that such sentiments still hold sway in the 21st century and in the face of an increasingly globalized world. african diaspora: home land relations, remittance and contributions to african development until relatively recently the debates on the effects of international migration on developments in africa have tended to be largely dominated by the negative impact of the loss of africa’s skilled manpower to the developed world, a phenomenon popularly referred to as the brain drain syndrome. however, growing evidence would seem to suggest that international migrations from the continent have had and is still having some positive developmental effects on socio-economic and political developments in africa. even the hitherto most vociferous african governments, international development agencies and critics of the population movements out of africa are now beginning to recognize the developmental potentials of the african diaspora with regard to the attainment of rapid and sustainable development in africa. as a matter of fact, emotional attachment to the homeland is a general characteristic shared by all diasporas. there is no doubt that diasporas help to set-up local businesses boost social infrastructure, promote trade and enterprise as well as the sustenance of democratic principles (undp as quoted in akinrinade and ogen: 2011). this is specifically true for africans and african diaspora as members of african diaspora are now heavily involved in transnational and diplomatic activities that are capable of effective integration or fostering integrations and creating linkages between their host countries and their countries of origin or african as a whole in an increasingly globalised world. they have also demonstrated that they are not only veritable agents of poverty reduction in african but key players in the process of africans socio-economic and political transformation and developments. the recognition of the potential role of african diaspora at fostering and enhancing development in africa is evident in the setting up of diaspora organizations by almost all african nations for the purpose of tapping from their wealth of experiences of their nationals in the diaspora for national development. giving examples, akinrinade and ogen (2011) asserted that former nigerian president, olusgun obasanjo launched a presidential dialogue with nigerians abroad in 2002 and this marked a significant igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 17 milestone in government-diaspora relations. the presidential dialogue was aimed at incorporating the nigerian diaspora in national development”. the government also established the nigerians in the diaspora organization, (nido) which has an office based at the ministry of foreign affairs in abuja. the government does not only focus its hope on individual nigerians abroad to invest in nigeria, nigerian diasporan organizations are also ascribed a role in running and sustaining development projects. nido has set up a network of branches in nigerian embassies abroad. nigerians living abroad are officially encouraged to organize themselves and to link up with nido branches in their respective host countries. arrangements were also made to have nido branches not only in almost all european countries and also three branches in asia (81). it is as a result of the new initiative by nido that former us-based professor peter nwangwu, a world renowned clinical pharmacologist who ranks among the top ten pharmacologists in the world decided to relocate to nigeria in order to assist the nigerian pharmaceutical industry with his expertise and technical knowhow (babawale: 2008). according to onuorah and okwe (2009), as a direct response to the nido initiative by government, a new group known as the industry growth, investment and competitiveness in africa (igica) has emerged. igica aims at providing networking opportunities between private sector and governments, between emerging markets and developed markets, between small businesses and international private sector, as well as between universities and industry and between parastatals and the private sector. igica is also interested in creating networking environment for africa’s knowledge transfer partnerships and commercialization of innovation for industrial growth and investment in africa. closely related to the above is the uk based organization, africarecruit launched in 1999. this organization has effectively utilized the skills, knowledge, remittances and networks of the diaspora for the benefit of nigeria and several african countries. the agency has also been facilitating interactions between recruitment agencies in europe and job seekers from africa (undp in akinrinade and ogen: 2011). the nigerian diaspora remittance as at 2014 experienced a phenomenal growth from 21 million united states dollars in 2012 to a whooping 63 million united state dollars in 2014 ranking fifth (highest diaspora remitting nation) in the world and first in africa. as at december 2016, nigerians in the diaspora sent $35 billion home. according to the nigerian tribune (2016), the senior special assistant to the president on foreign affairs and diaspora matters, abike dabiri-erewa made the remittances revelation when she paid a courtesy visit to the chairman, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 18 federal inland revenue service (firs), babatunde fowler and other members of his executive board. the above, apart from the dwindling oil revenue is the highest income of the nigerian state. the above undoubtedly, is the high point of the home land relation, remittance and contribution to the development of africa by african diaspora. more recently is the passing of the bill for an act to establish the nigeria diaspora commission by the 7th national assembly which according to ajayi (2015) will “contribute three (3) trillion usd to the nations upon its take off”. the above, in view of the fact that nigeria been the first highest diaspora remitting nation in africa can undoubtedly be taken as a representation of african diaspora remittance and all these remittance, in whatever form, are geared towards the development of their home countries. the above notwithstanding an interrogation of the concept of remittance is both in line with the philosophic temper of taking nothing for granted and is here considered necessary. the concept of remittance, properly construed and situated presupposes and precludes a sum of money that is sent to somebody as payment for something. if this defining returns true and cohere with the actual state of affairs as would be argued for by anyone who is still in touch with reality, then the concept as appended to the financial contributions of africans in the diaspora is both misleading and inappropriate as it conveys the thinking that the contributions made by the people of african descent in the diaspora is somewhat obligatory or taxed and by implication, may perhaps lead to some form of sanctions that would be activated and melted against them upon defaulting on this obligatory function. it is in the above thinking and in an attempt to push back the frontiers of this misleading as well as inappropriate nomenclature that have been employed unguidedly and appended to the somewhat voluntary contributions of the people of african descent or elsewhere to their homelands that this paper proposes a total departure and rejection of the concept of remittance in this regard and the employment of such concepts as “contribution” in the voluntary sense, “donations” and other such concepts that stipulates some form of voluntary and free-will contributions rather than the concept of remittance which stipulates an obligatory contribution and in the opinion of this paper, is both misleading and unacceptable. one other area that the african diaspora’s efforts at fostering development in african can be seen is in the area of support to the building and deepening of democracy in africa. the african diasporas have played and are still playing a role in the formation of pressure groups devoted to influencing political developments in their respective homelands. in this regard, they actively igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 19 promote these through their forged transnational networks, radical political change geared to reshaping the political thinking and expectations of the people on the continent. this is evident in their demand for democratic and well functioning public institutions that are accountable to the people, transparent, and respect freedom of expression. contributing to discourse on the contribution of african diasporas at fostering development in africa, awil mohammoud (2015), the director of the amsterdam-based african diaspora policy centre based in amsterdam, asserted that “the african diasporas have helped positive political forces at home to make contact with important and powerful political networks abroad. for example, some individuals are members of established political parties in the host country. this strategic position enables them to facilitate valuable networks for the political parties in the homeland through the established political parties with which they are affiliated in the eu countries. this is a tangible process through which the african diasporas can and have contributed to international efforts which impact positively on their respective homelands in terms of democracy-building in africa”. he further asserted with the eritrean example that the african diaspora have played a very important role in the area of capacity building. according to him, the african diasporas have played a very important role in the area of capacity building. in this aspect, they have contributed to democracy building in africa by making their professional skills and expertise available to the government and to political parties in their respective home countries. a concrete case is the eritrean diaspora which made their expertise available for drafting the country’s first constitution after its separation from ethiopia in 1993. in turn, the diaspora were given voting rights in the future elections of the country. it is against the above backdrop, that this paper posits that the african diaspora has been (and are still) emotionally attached to their home land and this is evidently manifested in their contributions to the economic and socio-political development of their home lands while doing same for their host lands. conclusion i conclude this discourse on historicizing the politics of slavery and the african diaspora, not because it is impossible to continue but because neither time nor space allows me to engage in a more encompassing manner and account for all (with examples) the conditions of people of african descents during and after the slave trade, the challenges faced by african diaspora immediately after the abolition of the trade till present, their homeland relations and their remittance as well as their efforts at checking the excess of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 20 heads of government of their homeland and creating linkages for the overall development of african. what is to be noted is that, these efforts notwithstanding, much is still left to be done in the face of the present socio-political and economic realities in africa where sit-tight syndrome and rule by political tyrants still exist in nations like zimbabwe, cameroon and burundi, civil war in somalia, sudan, insurgency and terrorism, abject poverty and a seemingly sorry situation where the economies of the most part of african nations like nigeria are perhaps, in their worst state in history. what should be done is that africans should learn from their past and reject with vehemence, any semblance of neoslavery. again, deliberates and concerted efforts should be made to harness the human and material resource of african diaspora for use in their homelands, prudent and frugal use of their voluntary contributions and donations (what is called “remittance” inflow) to african should also be prioritize with the intent of rescuing africa from the jigsaw of poverty, economic and socio-political quagmires as well as other challenges confronting the continent that houses the most part of the black race. references ajayi, t. (2015) diaspora commission to bring in £3 trillion investment: vanguard of friday june 12. www.vanguardngr.com/2015/06/diaspora-commision-to bring-in3trillion-investment-temitope-ajayi/. retrieved on 12/06/2015. akinrinade, s and ogen, o. (2011) historicizing the nigerian diaspora: nigerian migrants and homeland relations in turkish journal of politics vol. 2 no. 2 winter 2011 n.p alpers, e. a. (2001) defining the african diaspora. a paper presented at the center for comparative social analysis workshop october 25, 2001 www.csc.uc.pt/../alpers.pdf. retrieved on the 15/04/2015. anonymous, (2015) the people of african descenthttp//www. transafrica.org/people-of-african-descent/. retrieved on 16/04/2015. anonymous, (2015) home coming revolution. http//www.homecomingrevolution.com/blog/ 10/10/africandiapora-statistics. retrieved on 12/06/2015 awil, m. (2015) the eu, the african diaspora in europe and its impact on democracy building in africa www.diaspora-centre.org . retrieved on the 15/11/2016. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 21 babawale, t. (2008) africa and the african diaspora: challenges, opportunities and prospects. lagos: malthouse press. bakewell, o. (2008) “in search of the diasporas within africa.” african diaspora. n.p beckles, h. m. (2015) slave voyages the transatlantic trade in enslaved africans http://www.unesco.org/education/asp. retrieved on the 01/08/2016. brewer, j. (1989) the sinew of power: war, money and the english state, 1688-1783. new york: macmillan. brown, c. l. (2002) the politics of slavery in armitage, d and braddick, m. j (ed) the british atlantic world, 1500-1800. london: macmillian. dodson, j.e. (2014) sociological study of the african diaspora in athens journal of social sciences n.p. dunn, r. (1972) sugar and slaves: the rise and fall of the planter class in the english west indices. new york: chapel hill. eltis, d. (2015) a brief overview of the transatlantic slave trade http://www.slavevoyages.org/tast/assessment/essays-intro-01.faces. retrieved on the 01/08/2015. hamilton, r. s. (2014) creating a paradigm and research agenda for athens journal of social sciences. harris, j. (1982) global dimensions of the african diaspora (second edition). washington, d.c.: howard university press. iliffe, j (1995) africans: the history of a century cambridge: cambridge university press. omni, m. and h. winant (1994) racial formation in the united states: from the 1960s to the 1990s. new york: routledge. onuorah, m and okwe, m. (2009) “nigerians abroad moves to stimulate investment inflow.” the guardian, 16 february 2009. the nigerian tribune (2016) “nigeria received $35bn diaspora remittances in 2016” http://tribuneonlineng.com/nigeria-received-35bn-diasporaremittances-2016/). retrieved on 30th december, 2016. zeleza, p. t. (2010) “african diasporas: toward global history”, african studies review, volume 52, number 1. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 7.doc igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 184 re-reading icor.14:26-40: addressing the challenges of male chauvinism in africa chukwuma-offor, amara mary nnamdi azikiwe university, awka e-mail: am.offor @unizik .edu.ng tel.no: 08064622205 abstract women play vital roles in human society.they could be considered indispensable given their viability and productivity in virtually every aspect of human endeavour. that notwithstanding, observations have shown that in african society where the traditional gender roles are usually hijacked by patriarchy ideology, men are seen as pre-eminent human beings and women as inferior and second class citizens. the story appears to be same even in the church (especially the mainline churches) where women are not allowed to take certain offices and some scriptural passages are cited not excluding icor.14:34-35 in support of male dominance and female inferiority. such claims undermine the human dignity of women. data for this work is basically from the secondary source while redaction critical method would be employed for data analysis. it is the conclusion of this work that paul’s injunctions in icor.14:26-40 is geard towards maintaing order in the church and not for marketing male chauvenism as it appears to be the case in africa. women form the integral part of the liberation that christ gained for the human race through his vicarious death on the cross. key words: women, patriarchy, church, male dominance introduction the role of women in the family,church and the society at large cannot be underestimated. they are indispensable in the actualization of a viable and productive human society. exclusion of women from any human society is tantamount to the collapse of human existence . in fact, no socio-economic progress could adequately and effectively be attained without the active involvement, support and participation of the womenfolk. in the family,women’s god-given gift of caring, nuturing, loving, and managerial skills among others is superlative. in the political terrain, the voices of women are firm igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 185 and their positions strong at any seemingly given opportunity. in the religious circle, women are zealous and their participation and committment to duty for the actualization of progress in the ecclessiastical domain is appreciable. inspite of the outstanding roles of women in the family, church and the society,women still suffer problems like dehumanization, denial of rights, exclusion from some pastoral offices, prohibitions from having jurisdiction especially over men and others. some of these issues which are derogatory in tune and time are posed on women based on some selected scriptural passages. among these biblical passages are 1cor.11:2-16 ;14:34-35 where women are warned not to prophesy with their heads uncovered and forbidden neither to teach nor speak in the liturgical assembly. however, jesus aware of the indispensable roles of women elevated them to a dignified status hence his attitude to women was not only innovative and creative but highly revolutionary. as the incarnate god, jesus turned a new page by putting to an end such obnoxious practices meted against women by being born of a woman to redeem those under the bondage and influence of the law, women inclusive (gal.4:4-5). to the greatest dismay of his disciples, jesus broke the barrier placed against women by conversing publicly with the samaritan woman (jn.4:27); he never considered the state of impurity of the woman with the issue of blood (mtt.9:20-22). he recognized and appreciated women’s role in the family and also directly enhanced their role by expanding it to include their being witnesses to his resurrection. nevertheless, there is no gospel evidence to account for women not being part of jesus’ twelve apostles during his public ministry. there could also be traces of positive attitude towards women as reflected in some pauline epistles especially in acts of the apostles and in the book of galatians. there are records which point to women’s participation and influence in pauline churches that explain paul’s liberal attitude towards women in the christian community. scriptural instances include: acts 16:13-15;17:4-12;18:24-28, rom.16:3-4,7. in these instances,it could be noted that men and women matter in the economy of divine salvation and paul did not loose sight of this pertinent message. be that as it may, onwu (2004) observes that: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 186 we also have certain passages in pauline epistles which deal with the status, role,and/or general demeanor of women in such a manner as to support paul’s negative attitude toward women and the principle of male dominance and female subordination, both in the home and in the church and, by implication, in the society as well (p.223). from the foregoing, one captures the different pictures of the roles and status of women reading through 1corinthians 11:2-16 and 14:33-36 respectively.these passages often described as deutro-pauline letters stimulate worries about the taunting position of paul with regard to women’s position in the christian assembly.the questions that follow are: did paul in subsequent writings backed out or betrayed the egalitarian ideal expressed in galatians 3:28? did paul fall prey to the idea of misogynism? did paul refer back to the attitude of jesus towards women when confering or denying women’s role in the christian assembly? it is the goal of this work to attempt to resolve these taunting issues.we shall adopt redaction critical method which is an exegetical method in x-raying the theological rationale behind paul’s position in this regard. the socio-cultural setting of the corinth a survey of the background of the corinthian community would enable us to have an insight about the situation that influenced paul’s decisions on certain matters concerning the corinthian belivers specially as it pertains women’s position in the liturgical assembly. according to gundry (1970), corinth is the capital of the province of achaia with a population of about 500,000. it was one of the rich and populous mediterranean cities. its location attracted people from all walks of life hence a commercial centre and a meeting point of cultures. it was characterized by a mixture of social, cultural and religious diversities. the early converts in the corinthian church were of social class as ford and young (1987) observed thus: “the city was multi-religious in nature while mystery religion constitutes part of the corinthian culture. in fact, there was no clear cut in different facets of life, as such corinthian belivers were found between and betwixt”(189). garland (2011) submits that there was no insistence on exclusive loyalty to a religion within the hellenistic world. most of the christian converts had pagan background and were enticed by the pagan feasts which had social implications. it is most probable that their religious and socio-political life were interwoven.this was the situation in corinth when paul arrived from athens igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 187 and probably being the first christian missionary to visit the city, he needed to stream line things within the religious circle. delimitation of text the texts under study (1cor.11:2-16;14:34-36) among others fall within the distinct pericope that deals with the problems in liturgical asssemblies. o’ connor (2000) reports that “the way in which certain men, and possibly some women, dressed their hair suggested homosexual tendencies. paul’s response is to stress the importance of the difference between the sexes” (p.808). within the context of the study, byrne (1988) opines that the logical backbone to the passage appears in four sets of parallel statement, about man and woman respectively. again the corinthians having concluded their discussion on idol-meat and being convinced to hold unto the traditions given to them by paul,it follows therefore, that coming to prayers and eucharistic celebrations is apt and adrem.this neatly explains the transition, “ but, having just dealt with social occasions involving pagans (10:14-22,27), paul may simply have decided to treat social occasions within the christian community at this point” (o’ connor, 2000:808). analysis of the text there is a scatter of references to women in the pastoral letters (itim 2:9-15; 3:11;5:3-16; 2tim 3:6-7;tit.2:3-6). in some of these passages, women formed part of the pauline ministry and are conferred with certain positions as ministers in the church. for instance, in acts 16:11-15,the tradition has it that it was with women that the gospel was first preached in philippi. a woman called lydia was the first christian convert who played host to paul and his companions and that probably explains paul’s liberal attitude to women within the christain circle. in gal.3:28, paul through the baptismal statement lifted the ban that was placed upon women. at some other times, women are denied certain rights and are subserviently positioned in the christian community. in icor.3:18, women are instructed to be subjects to their husbands.this injunction gains deeper theological backing in eph 5;21-33. according to byrne (1988) “the debate concerning paul’s attitude towards women intensified in the early 1970s as the feminist movement began to make an impact upon new testament studies” (xv). in recognition of the apparent igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 188 egalitarian and ideal statement made by paul in galatians 3:27-28, one cannot but worry at paul’s instructions in icorinthians 11:2-16;14:34-35. some scholars regard the pastoral letters (i&2tim.tit.,eph.) as not paul’s initial composition.they attributed those literatures not to paul but as product of later period. such opinion that regard these letters as deutro-pauline work makes positive inroad towards excluding paul from misogynism. if these claims are true what about icor.11:2-16;14:34-35? they still remain problematic passages. some scholars regard them also as later passages; as an interpolation by a later writer having much affinity with the author of the pastoral letters. kizhakkeyil (2006) opines that “it is a post-pauline interpolation because of two reasons: its appeal to the law (probably gen.3:16) is non-pauline, and it contradicts what paul already said in 11:5. the text asks women to keep silent in the church, and it is like the misogyny of itim.2:11-14.” while some scholars subscribed to this opinion others submit that the judgement as whether or not paul wrote these passages under discuss as against the ideal position expressed in gal.3:28 would be determined by the interpretation one places upon icor.11:2-16. sequel to this, barclay (1975) recorded that “it would certainly be very wrong to take these words that is paul’s position in icor.11:2-6;14:33-36 (personal addition) out of their context and make a universal rule for the church” (p.136). we shall at this point examine a few key words and verses and trace their meaning within the context of our study. paul begins his instruction by praising the corinthian believers for holding firm to the traditions they received from him (v.2).then follows the chain of headship from god-christ-man-woman which is quite distinctive in (vv.3-12) while the remaining cf.vv.5b-6;7b-9 serves to ground these parallel assertions. the word head (gk.kephale) ethymologically refers to the physical head as it would appear in its first usage in (vv.4;5;10). subsequently in v.3-12 one gets another meaning which traditionally means “superior”. byrne (1988) approaching this issue from the traditional point of view remarks that paul in icor.11:3-16 deploys an argument that is frankly subordinationist with respect to women. he has declined from the radical equality expressed in gal.3:28 and to some extent also in icor.7. although this may not be the chief idea that paul wants to present. perhaps, paul wanted to present head as “source” where christ, man and woman have god as their source and this position rhymes with the idea presented in (v.8;12) . umoren (2005) sharing in the above view maintains that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 189 the use of the word head (gk.kephale ) does not advocate for the subjugation of women rather “it is the figurative word for leadership. it advocates, rather, for mutual self-giving among partners, which is anchored on christ”(p.79). jones (2005:294) maintains that paul in this regard speaks of men and women in a closely parallel terms. macdonald (1995) in support of the same view says that presenting men as the head of women does not suggest subjection. he substantiates his opinion by remarking that “at the outset it should be emphasized that subjection does not mean inferiority. christ is subject to god the father but he is not inferior to him. neither is the woman inferior to man, though she is subordinate to him” (p.1784). neverthless, the fact that a woman has a man as her head could imply a certain measure of subordination but in the main, the woman derives her own authority from the man while god remain the ultimate source of authority. the argument presented in vv.4-7 about woman praying or prophesying with her head veiled and the man doing same with his head covered calls for understanding of the word “unveiled”. in the era of st. paul,veil is a material that not only conceals a woman but confers on her power, honour and dignity. thus, she could go anywhere in security and profound respect. in other words, it was a tradition for a woman to veil herself before she goes out lest she runs the risk of being misjudged. indeed,veil has two significance : it was a sign of inferiority and also serves as a means of great protection to the woman. the woman’s authority disappears along with allcovering veil that she discards. the points above, however, could have informed paul’s assertion in v.10.the phrase still in v.10 that women should be veiled for the sake of the angels is not yet clear. barclay(1975) submits that “ it is not certain what this means but probably it goes back to the strange old story in gen.6:1;2 which tells how the angels fell prey to the charms of mortal women and so sinned; it may well be that the idea is that the unveiled woman is a temptation even to the angels, for an old rabbinic tradition said that it was the beauty of women’s long hair which tempted the angels” (p.99) . the influence of the prevailing socio-cultural milieu of paul’s time cannot totally be diachotomized from the blunt response given by paul. he most probably may have been influenced by the greco-roman and jewish cultural civilization of his era.within these cultural settings according to mamman (2006) women were men’s property.they were considered legally impure; had no status apart from igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 190 their husbands.they were neither allowed to go to school nor read from the torah at the synagogue services.they can only listen to the readings of the torah but not without hiding behind a lattice barrier.the wives while in the temple were seperated from husbands and confined to the courts of women. and this was purely based on legal and ritual impurity.there is no doubt that such a background could have influenced paul’s opinion with regard to women in the christian assembly. theological import of the study that paul may have been influenced by the jewish and greco-roman cultures of his time cannot be totally dismissed. consequently, it is unthinkable within the jewish custom for women to rise to status that suggests equality with men.therefore, issuance of instructions that purpot subordination of women most probably obtains in pauline document. however, paul, still shows that there is a light at the end of the tunnel by establishing directly the need for partnership between man and woman using the god-man –woman chain statement in vv.3-12 where god is the ultimate authority. to concretize this point macdonald (1995) notes that at the outset it should be emphasized that subjection does not mean inferiority. christ is subject to god the father but he is not inferior to him. neither is the woman inferior to man, though she is subordinate to him again, the scripture estabablishes unity of all men (both male and female). in other to actualize this fact, equality that both men and women share in christ by the virtue of their baptism should be held high.this equality, chiegboka (2007:70) states must be seen in the context of unity (and never uniformity or levelling). to actualize this unity, barclay(1975) reiterates that neither man nor woman can live without the other. if there is subordination, it is in other that the partnership may be more fruitful and more lovely for both. it is most probable as observed by byrne (1998) that the baptismal statement about the lifting of bans of divisions ‘in christ’ embedded in gal.3:28 also formed part of paul’s original evangelization of corinth (acts 18:1-18). thus: “along with the other pauline communities, the corinthians heard and continued to proclaim in their on-going baptismal celebrations the good news that in christ there is ‘no longer jew nor greek, slave nor free,male and female” (p.50). it would seem among the female folk that the tendency to celebrate their freedom igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 191 pushed them to the the level of extremism. just as byrne (1988) interpreted using traditional approach that “experience has shown that the new freedom and equality granted to woman made for difficulties and even abuses in community life” (p.35). given this prevailing situation, it is most likely that paul instructs the corinthian women believers in such terms to checkmate excesses and most importantly to uphold orderliness in church services. hermeneutical application of text in relation to the dignity of african woman it has been observed in african societies that the traditional gender roles are usually maintained by a patriarchy, which according to uchem (2005) “sees men as pre–eminent human beings and women as secondary whose roles are meant to complement those of men. men are not generally seen as complementing women and this one-sided notion of complementarity is therefore, problematic” (p.46). women are often considered as helpmate, weaker sex, therefore, dependent on men and not really beings in their own rights. oftentimes, selected biblical passages are employed as basis of the practices and beliefs that purport male chauvinism and female inferiority. however, okure in chiegboka (2001) avers that “appreciating that the bible is the word of god, a manifestation of god’s revelation in a concrete human, social, cultural structure and containing the liberation enjoyed by humanity from god”(p.66), women, therefore, form the integral part of the great liberation that god has gained for human race through the singular sacrifice of jesus christ. the notion that women are helpmate to men emanates from a literal reading of the second account of creation (gen.2:7,18,21-22).this notion originally was meant to front interconnectedness as well as bonding and attraction between men and women only to be influenced by the cultural patriarchy gender sentiments of male dominance and female inferiority of the communities of the authors and later redactors. such notion has caused women’s oppression and does not in any way suggest true manifestation of god’s revelation as shown in the bible. the use of selected biblical passages to support male superiority and discriminatory and derogatory practices against women as uchem (2005) asserts go to prove that “people do not seem to realize that those passages are not prescriptive rather descriptive (of the world in which the authors lived). they are not directives on how christians should act.(p.11). conclusion igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 192 it is incontestable that the new testament is clear on certain issues about women. both jesus and paul encountered women in their different ministries hence their liberal attitude to women while women discharged commendable roles. we are also aware that the new testament provided formidable platform for the equality of all human persons redeemed in the image of god. nmah (2003) submits that: christianity upholds the fundamental equality of all human races by posting that all baptized in christ are equal and there is no more distinction between jew and greek, slave and free, male and female but all of you are one in christ jesus(gal.3:28) (p.163). the passages under study and the arguments paul employs to drive home his message may not impress us. byrne (1988:),opines that, we may feel that in using the creation accounts to explain the derived authority of woman he betrayed the legacy of genesis and set in train a baleful influence on subsequent church practice and theology (notably the idea that only the masculine could truly image god) (p.52). the fact remains that paul appreciates women as human persons who did pray and prophesy in the corinthian church implying their participation in the liturgy.the way these passages are understood often times raise dust and questions paul’s acclaimed liberal attitude to women. women are part of the salvific parcel of christ which was paramount in paul’s ministry. it is most probable that paul’s instructions about women covering of head and keeping silence in the church are geared toward promoting orderliness and checkmating excesses and not in support of male chauvinism. references barclay,w. (1975). the daily study bible:the letters to the corinthians. edinburgh:saint andrew. byrne, b. (1988). paul and the christian woman. austria:st.paul’s. chiegboka, a. b.c. (2001).the hour of women. nimo: rexcharles & patrick’s chiegboka,a. b.c. (2007).the exclusion of women in the catholic stable ministries of lector and acolyte: a reflection on canon 230$ 1.in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 193 l.ugwueye, p.nmah, e.ezenweke ,b.udezo & c.uche (eds.). journal of religion and human relations (pp.54-75).enugu: rabboni. ford, d. & young, f.(1987). meaning and truth in iicorinthians. michigan: william eerdmans. gundry, r. (1970). a survey of the new testament. usa: zondervan. garland,d.(2011).the dispute over food sacrificed to idol.www.vanderbill.edu.ans.11/06/2011. jones, r.(2005). the gospel according to paul. new york: hapercollins. kizhakkeyil,s.(2006). the pauline epistle: an exegetical study.mumbai:st.paul’s. mamman, j.(2006). the ministry of women in the new testament: a case for against women ordination in the catholic church. in the journal of theology (pp.19-32). enugu: snaap. nmah,p.(2003). women’s right in igboland: a christian reappraisal. aba: soul winner. onwu, e.(2004). basic issues in the close of new testament era. nsukka:great ap. o’connor,j.(2000). the first letter to the corinthians. in r. brown, j. fitzmyer & r. murphy (eds.).the new jerome biblical commentary. (pp.798815).china: midas. uchem, r.(2005). gender equality from a christian perspective. in r.uchem (ed.). gender equality from a christian perspective (pp.43-54). enugu:snaap. umoren,a.(2005). theological basis of gender equality. in r.uchem(ed.).gender equality from a christian perspective (pp.57-90). enugu: snaap. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.1 no. 1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 21 african philosophy as an ontologico-existential hermeneutics by kanu, ikechukwu anthony, o.s.a., ph.d augustinian institute makurdi, benue state ikee_mario@yahoo.com abstract one of the recurring ideas in the criticism of the universalistic school of african philosophy against ethno-philosophy is the emphasis on culture and collective thought. very recently, african philosophers of the hermeneutic school, have argued that african philosophy must be hermeneutical, that is, an individual interpretation of one’s cultural symbols, mediated by one’s understanding and self-understanding. this makes the thoughts of philosophers like placid tempels, alexis kagame and leopold senghor valid thoughts for inclusion into the corpus of african philosophy. this piece, further argues that african philosophy is an ontologico-existential hermeneutics. the hermeneutical method that is described as ontological and existential is based on the universal character of philosophy and the african context as the locus for philosophical reflection. using the historical and analytical methods of inquiry, it argues that hermeneutics is the instrument for analyzing the african experience. keywords: african, philosophy, ontologico, exstential, hermeneutics. introduction in the history of african philosophy, in terms of ideological impact, tempels (1959) occupies a fundamental place. he can be regarded as the father of modern african philosophy and this is based on his analysis of the bantu thought system in which the notion of being or ‘vital force’ is easily noticed. he was the first to attribute a developed philosophy to the african people. thus, oguejiofor (2009) avers that at a time when the concept ‘african philosophy’ evoked a cacophony of perspectives about the nature of the philosophy described by the adjective ‘african’, the work of tempels became the lightening rod of this debate. in his work, we find a dialogue between philosophy and culture through hermeneutics. a cursory glance at the historical evolution of african philosophy reveals that tempels bequeathed to the future generation of african philosophers a conceptual framework for a distinctive african mode of thought. kagame (1951) in his work followed up and verified the work of tempels. the african negritude of senghor (1975 and 1993) had also followed the same pattern; the pattern being the strong connection of philosophy with culture. this notwithstanding, with the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 22 advent of hountondji (1995) on the historical plane of african philosophy, a negative eye was cast on the culturally-based philosophical perspectives of tempels, kagame and senghor. he coined the word ‘ethno-philosophy’ to describe their thought, a word that shows his disdain for the method employed. he further described their thoughts in derogatory terms as cultural philosophy, collective philosophy, philosophy by exhumationthat is, to search a culture and discover a philosophy that has sedimented. he described the consequence of tempels ethno-philosophy thus: the consequence was unanimismthe illusion that all men and women in all societies speak with one voice and share the same opinion about all fundamental issues. this implies the rejection of pluralism, the sweeping away of all internal contradictions and tensions, the denial of the intense intellectual life, and the extreme cultural richness associated with these societies. (p. xviii). from tempels, hountondji turned the eye of his criticism on alexis kagame. he wrote: indeed, kagame, in spite of the very attractive qualities of his analysis and relative accuracy of some of his sequences, has remained on the whole the prisoner of an ideological myth, that of a collective african ‘philosophy’ which is nothing but a revamped version of levy-bruhl’s primitive mentality, the imaginary subject of a scholarly discourse which one may regret kagame did not apply to something else. (p. 43). reacting further on senghor’s thought on negritude, hountondji avers that: senghor’s theory of negritude rests upon a theory of culture which postulates a reciprocity between the collective character of each race, as conditioned by an original formulative environment, and the different cultural forms and civilizations to be found in the world. this point of view fits properly into the perspective of cultural pluralism, which is a development of modern anthropology. it is not for nothing that senghor’s formulation of negritude takes the form of largely of elaborate explications of african life and values, of what one might call a synthetic anthropology of african world. (p. 18). from the foregoing, the concern of hountondji is evident in the recurring words in his criticism of these philosophers: the emphasis on culture and collective thought. reacting to the position taken by hountondji, african philosophers such as okere (1983), madu (1992) and serequeberhan (1994 and 2000) among others argue that african philosophy must be hermeneutical, that is, an individual interpretation of one’s cultural symbols, mediated by one’s igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 23 understanding and self-understanding. thus, the thoughts of philosophers like placid tempels, alexis kagame and leopold senghor are regarded as hermeneutical and as such, their categorization as myth by hountondji is understood as been based on the ignorance of the true complexities involved in the development of their philosophies. this piece, therefore, argues that african philosophy is an ontologico-existential hermeneutics. it is ontological because of the universal character of philosophy, however, it is existential because of the african context which provides the locus for philosophical reflection. the import of hermeneutics hermeneutics, a word which became a common language in the 17th century is from the greek word: hermeneuein, which means to interpret. folk etymology relates the greek origin of the world to hermes, the mythological greek deity, whose role is that of the messenger of the gods. ukwamedua (2012) avers that hermes is the inventor of language, speech, interpreter, a liar, thief and trickster. these multiple roles make hermes an ideal representative of hermeneutics, for language consist of signs that could lead to truth and falsehood. according to inwood (1998), the concept hermeneutics carries the meaning of ‘to express’, ‘to explain’, ‘to translate’ and ‘to interpret’. thus oguejiofor (2009) avers that: hermeneutics involves bringing an inner meaning into the open. it entails making explicit what is implicit. it is thus a quest for meaning, one’s own meaning in one’s life, society and milieuin short, in the totality of one’s universe, which could be said to be constituted by one’s cultural symbols. (p. 80). as a theory of interpretation, it goes back to ancient greek philosophy when plato employed the term to differentiate between religious knowledge, that which has been revealed and sophia, which is knowledge of truth-value of the utterance; during the medieval and renaissance ages, it emerged in relation to the scriptures, precisely, its interpretation. during this period, gadamer (1976), heidegger (1978) and dilthey (1996) observed that saint augustine introduced the universal claim of hermeneutics and argued that interpretation of scripture involves a deeper, existential level of self-understanding. the effect of such a perspective is evident in martin luther’s sola scriptura, the starting point of modern hermeneutics. he questioned the authority of traditional interpretation of scripture and emphasized the importance of the individual reader of the biblical text who must face the challenge of making the particular text his own. thus, giambattista (1977and 1984) argued that understanding and selfigwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 24 understanding cannot be kept apart. spinoza (2001) introduced a new taste to hermeneutics by shifting attention to the scriptural text when he argued that to understand the scriptures one must keep in mind the historical horizon in which the particular text was written, as well as the mind which produced it. during the modern period, philosophical hermeneutics emerged. schleiermacher, according to vial (2009) is the father of modern hermeneutics. in the contention of ricoeur (1977), the employment of hermeneutics as a general principle was schleiermacher’s most important contribution to knowledge. schleiermacher (1984 and 1998) understood hermeneutics as the doctrine of the act of understanding, and had posited that thought is the inside of language and language the outside of thought. and to understand any speech, two things are involved: the language that makes the speech possible and the individual that uses the language to speak. for in the speech, the very personality of the actor is expressed. thus, you need to know the speakers language and the speaker in order to understand his or her thought. he further observed that the language available to speakers is an accumulation of previous speech acts, and contain in it the personalities of previous speakers. in schleiermacher, hermeneutics extended its application beyond biblical texts. following schleiermacher’s expansion of the capacity of hermeneutics, dilthey (1996) avers that hermeneutics is a core discipline that should be the foundation of all the arts and humanities. he however, emphasized the importance of the historicity of all interpretations. he understands the human person as a being that is made in history, and that the understanding of things occurs through history. while agreeing to the emphasis on historicity, heidegger (1980) added that there is the need for an understanding and interpretation of the nature of the being in question, the dasein. thus, in heidegger, hermeneutics now becomes fundamental ontology, an explanation of the ontological condition of understanding. commitment to understanding the existential horizon of a person’s time or a person’s situation is therefore, fundamental to interpretation. gadamer (1976), a student of heidegger, would argue that thinking is tied to the boundaries of language and as such, understanding is language-bound. this explains why people who are brought up in a certain linguistic and cultural tradition see reality differently from those who come from a different tradition. according to rocoeur (1992), philosophy is the recovery of the self, an overcoming of the separation between the self, which is particular and one’s true being, which is universal. this raises a tension between the universal task of philosophy and its anchor in particular contexts from which it must operate, but which it must strive to transcend. ramose (2005) thus understands philosophy as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 25 a “particularist interpretation with universal appeal” (p. 145). from the foregoing there is an emphasis on history, psychology, context, tradition, culture, language etc., which further shows the tension between particularity and universality in philosophical hermeneutics. in the development of hermeneutics, we see schleiermacher broaden the concerns of hermeneutics beyond biblical exegesis; dilthey applied it to culture, heidegger made hermeneutics existential, and gadamer made hermeneutics to be rooted in history and tradition. in the perspective of oguejiofor (2009), philosophy as hermeneutic process must be shaped by the particularity of its birth. he wrote that: in spite of the inherent tendency of the discipline (of philosophy), universal philosophy is an illusion, since the subject which is at the centre of philosophy as hermeneutics is inevitably bedeviled by his/her particularity, his/her specificity, generating an ambivalence since this does not necessarily exclude universality. (p. 83). if african philosophy is to be understood as hermeneutics, it would mean that it has to be an interpretation of the african condition, symbols, culture, language, history, environment, social institutions etc. african philosophy and hermeneutics in the history of african philosophy, some african thinkers have proposed that hermeneutics is the instrument for analyzing the african experience. three african philosophers are notable in this regard: theophilus okere, tsenay serequeberhan and raphael okechukwu madu. their perspectives will therefore be discussed. okere (1983) argued that all philosophies must spring from and deal with nonphilosophical features of lived experience and its expression in religion, culture etc. by non-philosophy, sometimes referred to as the irrational or pre-rational or transcendent refers to the non-reflected or un-reflected baggage of cultural background. this is based on the understanding that for a philosophy to be described with the adjective ‘african’, it must have an expression of the african life-world; this becomes the apparatus for reflection. in this process, hermeneutics becomes a bridge between culture and philosophy for “it is only within the context of hermeneutics that african culture can give birth to african philosophy” (p. 15). the work of okere was a reaction to hountondji’s critique of ethno-philosophy, and his intention was develop a better approach to african philosophy; an approach that would not disregard the african context and culture. hermeneutics, therefore, becomes a method of interpretation and understanding. in hermeneutics, whatever is intelligible is accessible to us through and in language and the employment of language calls for igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 26 interpretation. thus, ricoeur (1992) argues that “there is no self understanding that is not mediated by signs, symbols and texts; in the final analysis selfunderstanding coincides with the interpretation given to these mediating terms” (p. 15). in okere, one can philosophize from culture or from the elements of culture that can be called symbols because culture is pregnant with meaning and has to be explained and understood with the aid of reason within the parameters of philosophy. it is in this regard that african philosophy is said to be hermeneutical, that is, regarding the question of relation between culture and philosophy. while okere like dilthey focused on culture, serequeberhan following the path of gadamer emphasized that history is relevant to the nature of hermeneutics. this explains why serequeberhan (1994) avers that: in our case, on the other hand, it is neither the theoretical exigencies of modern science, nor the crisis of faith in confrontation with a foreign and aggressive piety that provokes thought. rather, it is the politico-existential crisis interior to the horizon of post-colonial african which brings forth the concerns and originates the theoretic space for the discourse of contemporary african philosophy. (p. 18). in the west, he argued that hermeneutics grew out of some questions such as: the challenge of technocratic society, the reduction of reason to technique, the alienation of the self from the social world and the rise of positivistic version of social sciences; in africa, hermeneutics was built around the question of the encounter of africa with a ‘foreign and aggressive piety’, however, in the present, it is the question of the crisis resulting from the colonial project of europe. in this regard, hermeneutics emerges as a result of some failure, a quest for understanding which begins from misunderstanding. the failure in terms of understanding must be defined in encounter and not in essence or in some essentialized manner. thus, the operative of emancipation takes precedence over the integrity of theory. in the face of the effects of colonialism and neocolonialism, serequeberhan (2000) sees hermeneutics as a means of constructing an identity. in the age of neo-colonialism, he speaks of the state of the african as an in-between state which calls for emancipation: this nonidentity, this in-between, is the ambiguity of our heritage. for we are the onesin one way or anotherwho live and have experienced this ‘ambiguity adventure’ and feel, in the very depth of our being, the unnerving experience of being two in one, europe and non-europe. (p. 2). he therefore sees hermeneutics as not an already established interpretation of nature, history, the world and the ground of the world; it is rather an openigwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 27 ended project of humanity, a process, which finds itself in a joint struggle. hermeneutics thus, becomes an instrument for the struggle out of the non-place or the between place; it involves a practical understanding of oneself as an actor, an agent and the situation in which an action has meaning. madu (1992) understands hermeneutics as a tool of knowledge for the extraction of philosophical thought from within culture. he based his perspective on that of ricoeur who was committed to symbols and metaphors and the need to connect with human existence rather than an abstract structure and set of functions. hermeneutics was used by his in this regard: the choice of the hermeneutic principles of paul ricoeur as philosophical method is based on the ‘new’ relevance it gives to culture by providing a very profound yardstick of interpreting religious symbols and mythical languages that characterize most cultures… previously archaic and oriental symbolism was regarded as important only as a datum in the development of human consciousness. such was the disdain philosophers felt about symbolic thought, that symbols were regarded as ‘primitive and lacking the cogency of reasoning’. (pp. 31-32). contrary to the opinion of some philosophers that symbols were pre-rational and thus unworthy of philosophical attention, madu, with the intention of rehabilitating symbolic, proverbial and mythological thoughts, argued that they are relevant to philosophy, and that hermeneutics is the method of abstracting the philosophical content of symbols, proverbs and myths. in his analysis of symbols, madu like ricoeur combines the ontological and existential to save hermeneutics from abstraction. conclusion the perspectives of okere, serequeberhan and madu on hermeneutics have enriched african hermeneutics. in okere there is a recognition of the relevance of philosophy in articulating non-philosophy, even though his hermeneutics is only a universal method applied to a particular context with nothing specifically african about it; in serequeberhan the taste of history, praxis and emancipatory possibilities are added to african hermeneutics. in madu, african hermeneutics is brought to the service of symbolic structures. the beauty of these perspectives is that they teach how philosophy should reflect on the stuff of the world, and the manner in which this is realized to save philosophy from being abstracted from the particulars of human experience. through hermeneutics, philosophy thinks about but from a place; philosophy becomes a creative act rather than simply an analytic act. and this is where african philosophy belongs, it is hermeneutics. african philosophy is a hermeneutics of culture, of history that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 28 leads to paxis. the ontologico-existential character of african philosophical hermeneutics balances the tension between university and particularity in philosophy. the particularist school of african philosophy would argue that african philosophy is the philosophical thought of africans as could be sifted from their various world views, myths, proverbs, etc. it is based on this understanding that tempels (1959) wrote that “i confidently hope to be able to convince my readers that real philosophy can be found among indigenous peoples and that it should be sought among them” (p. 17). from the perspective of african philosophy as hermeneutics, this piece argues that african myths, folklores, proverbs, worldview etc., are not african philosophy, however, it would give birth african philosophy only within the context of hermeneutics. they could be considered the sources of african philosophy, however, can become african philosophy through hermeneutics. this therefore, establishes the strong connection between african philosophy and african culture. they can be said to be congenial in the sense that they need each other to remain germane and perennial. culture therefore becomes a material for the reflection of philosophy, thus, pointing to the tension between the particular and universal in hermeneutics: while philosophy concerns itself with universal problems, the human person who does philosophy must speak from an environment or culture or an experience with particular expressions and language, and this particularity decorates philosophy with a galaxy of experiences. african culture therefore becomes the source of african philosophy’s initial impulse and nourishment. the fact of the recognition that philosophy has come from a place does not in any way undermine its philosophical character, but rather it helps philosophy to become a task rather than an assumption. the interaction between african culture and the hermeneutical process which birth to african philosophy, is a creative enterprise that requires the presence and ingenuity of a genius; this genius is the african philosopher. with the emphasis on a genius, okere (1983) agreeing with hountondji denounced the idea of collective philosophy, asserting that hermeneutics is the work of an individual thinker. contrary to this perspective, oguejiofor (2009) rightly avers that the idea attributed to a people as a whole is in the final analysis those which have become so repeated and popularized that they have become known to the general populace. this does not mean that the thoughts were collectively proposed. moreover, these thoughts referred to as collective thoughts in african philosophy are the reflections of particular african philosophers about their experience of particular cultures; they are therefore igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 29 particular interpretations and readings of their experience. the reason why many african philosophers have spoken in terms that seem collective is to be seen in the foundation of their projects and the circumstances surrounding their philosophical interpretation. for instance, in the case of tempels and senghor, the foundation of their project was to affirm the dignity of the black race as a whole. oguejiofor (2009) avers that “such an aim would be better served if one presents the whole race as the architect or repository of a particular philosophy, with the ultimate calculation of changing the image, not just of the particular thinker but of the people as a whole” (p. 94). therefore, the fact that it sounds collective does not in any way mean that it is a collective philosophy produced as a chorus by the community to which it has been attributed to. references dilthey, w. (1996). hermeneutics and the study of history. eds. rudolf a. makkreel and frithjof rodi. princeton, new jersey: princeton university press. gadamer, h. (1976). philosophical hermeneutics. trans. david e. linge. berkeley: university of california press.. heidegger, h. (1980). being and time. j. macquairre and e. robinson (trans.). southernton: camelot press. heidegger, m. (1978). gesamtausgabe. frankfurt am main: vittorio klostermann hountondji, p. (1995). african philosophy: myth and reality. paris: francois maspero. inwood, m. (1998). hermeneutics. in e, craig (ed.). routledge encyclopedia of philosophy (pp. 384-389). london: routledge. kagame, a. (1951). la philosophie bantu rwandaise ae l’ etre. bruxelles: la divine pastorale. madu, r. o. (1992). african symbols, proverbs and myths: the hermeneutics of destiny. frankfurt: peter lang. oguejiofor, o. j. (2009). negritude as hermeneutics: a reinterpretation of leopold sedar sneghor’s philosophy. american catholic philosophical quaterly. 83. 1. 79-94. okere, t. (1983). african philosophy: a historico-hermeneutical investigation of the conditions of its possibility. lanham: university press of america. ramose, m. b. (2005). philosophy: a particularist interpretation with universal appeal. in o. j. oguejiofor and g. i. onah (ed.). african philosophy and the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 30 hermeneutics of culture: essays in honour of theophilus (pp. 145-160). munster: litt. ricoeur, p. (1977). schleiermacher hermeneutics. monist. 60. 181-197. rocoeur, p. (1992). oneself as another. chicago: university of chicago press. schleiermacher, f. (1984). the christian faith. h, mackintosh and j. stewart (eds.). edinburg: t & t clark. schleiermacher, f. (1998). hermeneutics and criticism. a. bowie (ed.). cambridge: cambridge university press. senghor, l. s. (1975). what is negritude? (eds.) g. c. m. mutiso and s. w. rohio. readings in african political thought (pp. 78-90). london: heinemann. senghor, l. s. (1993). negritude: a humanism of the twentieth century. p. williams and l chrisman (eds.). colonial discourse and post-colonial theory (pp. 27-35). london: longman. serequeberhan, t. (1994). the hermeneutics of african philosophy: horizon and discourse. new york: routledge. serequeberhan, t. (2000). our heritage: the past in the present african-american and african experience. lanham: rowman spinoza, b. (2001). theological-political treatise, gebhardt ed. trans. samuel shirley. indianapolis: hackett publishing house. tempels, p. (1959). bantu philsoophy. paris: presence africaine. vial, t. (2009). friedrich schleiermacher. in oppy, g. and n. n. trakakis (eds.). nineteenth century philosophy of religion (pp.31-47). usa: acumen giambattista, v. (1977). scienza nuova. milan: biblioteca universale rizzoli. giambattista, v. (1984). the new science of giambattista vico. trans. thomas goddard bergin and max harold fisch. ithaca: cornell university press. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 5 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 17 from igbo to french: the untranslatables olivia ezeafulukwe department of modern european languages nnamdi azikiwe university, awka olyvconnect@yahoo.com abstract igbo language is one of the three major indegenous languages of nigeria. it is the native language of the igbo people who are mainly concentrated in the south east of nigeria. the french language, on the other hand, is a romance language spoken in europe, and in the other four continents of the world. it is the mother tongue of only a few countries, but it is one of the most spoken languages of the world. in today’s world, where mutual understanding plays a major part due to globalisation, the need for translation cannot be overemphacized. however, translation uses languages as tools, and language has a lot of cultural undertones. these cultural attributes of language constitute real problems in translation as words to translate them can never be found except in the settings where they exist, neither can the words and expressions be understood by people outside the fold. this paper seeks to use practical examples of such untranslatables to demonstrate the problems they pose to translators. newmark’s classification of culture (1988) has been used as a theoritical framework to sieve out these untranslatables emanating from culture. the paper went further to suggest certain techniques to solve the problem of untranslatability. key words: igbo, french, translation, untranslatable introduction in today’s world the role of communication cannot be over emphasized. the world has turned into a global village and the need to understand one another has become inevitable due to the many exchanges (both local and international) that take place in today’s world. language has been discovered to be the only true barrier to the much desired communication. but thanks to translation the linguistic problems of communication has been brought to the barest minimum. translation intervenes as a mediator to transfer messages from one language to another and thus help to complete the circuit of communication. translation involves the rendering of messages from one language to another. languages are the major tools of the translator and they can be in form of sign language, spoken language or written language so the translator translates both igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 18 signs and words. there are many languages in the world and every language represents a speech community and each community is shred in culture. language and culture are so interrelated and interwoven that it is difficult to say which one precedes the other. one thing is however clear every language came into existence to serve a particular society and so is best suited for that community and each community develops a culture that serves it best and the most effective in describing the realities of the speech community. this explains why no language can develop above the community it serves. every language has as much vocabulary as it needs to explain the realities of its surroundings, realities and existence. this is why linguists have argued that no language is more important than the other, as all languages of the world serve the same purpose of communication. but the reality of today’s world is that linguistic, cultural, religious, economic, scientific, technological exchanges abound. there are new discoveries every day and thanks to the internet, these discoveries are shared and distributed within the shortest possible time. today humans are always in search of information which is very pertinent even for their day to day functioning and interaction. the result of this is that languages, which hitherto were preserves of particular communities, serving only the cultures of the host communities, are now used to translate and interpret the happenings in different other language communities with entirely different cultures. hence the major problems of translation can be classified into two groups; linguistic and cultural. some languages due to some historical relationships either come from the same parent language or so share a lot of linguistic similarities in their syntax, semantics, morphology and phonology. this is the case of english, french and spanish languages. emenanjo illustrates this further when he expressed that: …..while it is probable that between 14th and 17th centuries the belgians and the french had certain significant culture elements in common. it is improbable that the germans and the indians had at that same period, any significant culture elements in common.(1) translating from one language to the other, though never an easy task is easier when both the term and version are in languages of the same family. as language and culture are interwoven and cannot be separated from each other, every language has enough words to represent those aspects of its culture, but may not have words to represent things that are alien to it. a translator , in the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 19 course of this intercultural exchange, is faced with some realities that are peculiar to only the culture of one of the languages that serve as his work tools. bellos (160) opines that, “languages tend to have words their users need, and not to have words for things never used or encountered”. but in this era of globalization, there is need to translate even from the remotest language to the so called “developed languages”, from related and unrelated languages. french/ igbo translation is one of such instances of translation between languages that share very little or nothing in common, neither culturally nor linguistically. the igbo language the igbo language is autochthonous to the igbo culture area. the igbo culture area is an area delimitable by an imaginary line running through the states of agbọ,( agbor, obiaruku, ebu (anioma igbo area, ehwuda (ahoada, diobu umuagbai (port harcourt area, arochukwu (ehugbo (afikpo,ndinoofu, isiogo (abakaliki area) and the enugu-ezike, (nsukka area), and nzam. this imaginary line encloses an area in which the people not only speak the various dialects of the igbo language but also share typical and significant common culture, traits and patterns. up to or above 50% in the igbo culture area, oka (awka, nri, ihiala and owere (owerri)) are in the culture centre, while agbo (agbor) and ebu (anioma igbo), enugu ezike, ehugbo (afikpo) azumini and ikwere (east igbo) are in the culture margin. the people living within the igbo culture area speak the same igbo language and so constitute what the linguists call a speech community. within this speech community there are scores of regional dialects (emenanjo 2015) igbo is spoken by tens of millions of people in the south-eastern geo-political zone of nigeria. it is spoken as the only native language in abia, anambra, ebonyi, enugu and imo state. these are monolingual states. it is also spoken as a major language in delta and rivers state in south south geopolitical zone. these are multilingual states. pockets of igbo state communities are also to be found in benue, cross river and akwa ibom states. igbo is one of nigeria’s major or national languages and is taught in nigerian secondary schools , in keeping with the language provisions of the national policy on education 2004 (emenanjo 2) the french language. according to grin et michele gazzola, french is a romance language and the mother tongue and official language of france. it is also spoken as mother tongue in some parts of canada and belgium. there are also some african francophones, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 20 who became francophone due to past colonisation .the french people represent about 63%of the francophone space, followed by canadians(9.5%), ivorians (5%),belge (4.4%), the african francophones together represent 20% . (3) (our translation) french language is the seventh most spoken languag e in the world but is the most widely distributed as it s present in the five continents of the world. it is a language of diplomacy and so is very important in international relations. french language is one of the languages adopted by the united nations for their day to day transactions. translation translation as conceived by cartford is the replacement of textual materials in one language (source language) with an equivalent textual material in another language (target language)(32) translation has long evolved from mere interlinguistic exchange to semantic exchange from one language to another. it is a complex process affected by time, place, text and socio-cultural knowledge of both the source and target audience. these variables sum up the context. according to ellrodt robert « la traduction joue un rôle essential dans le monde moderne dans tous les domaines ; littéraires, scientifique, politique, sociologique » (13) translation plays a very essential role in all domains of the modern world such as the literary, scientific , political, sociological domains. (our translation) in an attempt to cross linguistic and cultural barriers which the translator must do to do his work the italian expression “traduttore, traditore” came into use. this is an expression that simply means that the translator is a traitor. this expression is fuelled by the belief that the translated text can never accurately represent the original. as human beings are different so is the way each individual perceives the world. each individual has a peculiar way of using language which no other person can exactly translate. but the current day exigencies and exchanges have kept translation alive despite the challenges. untranslatablility untranslatability simply means not translatable. untranslatability is an encompassing word which has come to mean different things in the linguistic and translation circles. the justification for the italian saying tradutorre traditore (the translator is a traitor) can be found in the fact that no two human beings are the same as each individual is a separate entity and an embodiment of his life experiences which include his culture and as such trying to translate another man’s thought is therefore an impossible task as even comprehension, which is needed before any meaningful translation can take place, is only an igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 21 approximation of meaning. israel fortunato declares that ”l’oeuvre…est jugeé intraduisible sous prétexte qu’elle est impossible d’en établir le double exact, de la reproduire en préservant toute la complexité de ses choix initiaux.”(17) a text is adjudged untranslatable under the pretext that it is impossible to establish its exact replica or to reproduce the text while still retaining all the complexities of its original choices. (our translation) a word is said to be "untranslatable" when it has no direct corresponding words or phrases in the target language, or when important cultural connotations from the source language are not properly communicated through the target word. untranslatability could just mean that the feeling, occurrence or concept in one culture does not happen enough in another culture to be named. it could be a situation that exists but to which the cultural area does not attach enough importance to name or describe. it means that a text or utterance in one language has no equivalent text or utterance or meaning in another language. it is a term that has erroneously been misunderstood for a lack of word for word equivalent. some words might also have cultural contents which make them difficult to be rendered into another language. the unexplained aspect of language, present at the time of the construction of meaning such as the connotations of the context, as well as extra linguistic vectors of meaning, can only be imagined. only users of the same language, and within the same speech community, can actually share and understand the same extra linguistic additions to texts and utterances because they have a certain degree of knowledge that they share in common. translation theorists like seleskovitch anf lederer and other proponents of the theory of meaning, have severally argued against untranslatability while maintaining that one only needs to contextualize a notion for the so called untranslatability to disappear. mounin goes a step further to explain how contextualization can take place when he explained translation as passing ”…d’un monde culturel a l’autre… (61)” “from one cultural world to another”. (our translation) linguists like vinay and darbelnet have also suggested some translation techniques to take care of lexical gaps resulting to untranslatability. from igbo to french: the untranslatables apart from the general linguistic problems of translation, which occur as no two languages are the same, the untranslatables are highly rooted in culture, in the belief system of a people and the physical environment which may not be the same as in the target language. newmark (1988) classified culture under seven headings: ecology, material culture, social culture, political ideologies, religious, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 22 artistic aspects greetings and address terms and this paper discusses the untranslatables using newmarks cultural classification. ecology the flora and fauna, winds, plains, rivers, hills, plateau all form the ecology. animals play major roles in the axiology of a people. many igbo towns have their sacred animals. the crocodile for the agulu man, the python for the idemili man, the monkey for the awka man are all sacred animals that must be respected and sometimes venerated. every attempt is made by the people concerned to protect these animals and even when they are accidentally hurt the culprit should tender them apologies verbally. when they die due to human activities, it is considered a very bad omen. sometimes the person that provoked the death would be required to organize a funeral to appease the soul of the sacred animal. thus when in the book of chinua achebe a missionary killed a python, translating “eke” as just “python” will not suffice to bring out the full weight of the action nor the true feelings of the people that share such culture, where “eke”, a sacred animal that is supposed to be venerated is murdered in cold blood. animals are also symbolic and can be used to represent virtues or vices in a folk narration and even in everyday language the tortoise, whenever mentioned depicts treachery. thus one would always hear the expression such as: “this man is a tortoise.”. which simply means that the man is cunning? any translator who does not share this basic knowledge will not find it easy to appropriate the text he is translating. and if the translator is to translate a text that contains such symbolic animals as tortoise, python, owl, termite without knowing the sentiments they evoke, such translation would be far from being faithful. the igbo language does not always have names for the babies of animals. to express them the affixation « nwa » is added as seen in the table below ; young of an animal in french young of an animal in engl young of an animal in igbo le chevreau l’agneau le chiot le chaton le porcelet kid lamb puppy kitten piglet nwa ewu nwa atụlụ nwa nkita nwa nwamba nwa ezi igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 23 material culture material culture deals with food, clothing, houses, town and transport. the gastronomy of the igbo people is highly varied. today’s igbo gastronomy is a blend of the western and the native igbo cultures. the dishes which are of foreign origin like jollof rice , sauce, stew, baked beans, yam porridge etc easily find their equivalents in french. but how does one translate dishes like abacha ncha, (a dish made with cassava flakes) ngwọ-ngwọ (a delicacy prepared with pieces of goat head),ahụ (made with breadfruit seeds),ofe onugbu (soup made with thoroughly washed bitter leaves), ugba (prepared from fermented and finely cut oilbean seeds.) etc that are typical igbo dishes? the idea of a sumptuous and complete meal in igbo gastronomy is a well prepared dish containing both vegetables and many other ingredients, including spices that will sharpen one’s appetite for the food. but describing good meal for a french man would mean talking about the hors d’oeuvre, the main dish and the desert. these do not exist like that in the traditional igbo dish. eating of food items like groundnuts, drinks, chin-chin, soup and fruits which can serve as hors d’oeuvre, main dish and desserts are done without making them part of the dish. also, same foods are given different names according to the methods used in preparing them e.g akpu, garri, otunke, alibo are all made from cassava though they bear different names according to the mode of preparation. these dishes cannot find direct equivalents in a language like french where they do not exist. food condiments such as ogiri, okpei, dawadawa, though all made from fermented melon, yet would be wrong to translate them as melon paste, as some authors have done, as it does not distinguish these different seasonings from each other. such a translation does not give the full meaning of the different condiments, which are prepared in different ways. the same applies to ugba, ukpaka which are made from oil bean but with minor differences in preparation, and each better suited for a particular type of dish. igbagwu oka, ukpogede, moi-moi, ji-awai, nsala soup are all native foods without equivalents anywhere in the world. an attempt to translate them would be impossible. they can only be explained, calqued, borrowed or adapted in the process of translation. kola nut plays a very important role in the day to day life of an average igbo. sign of igbo hospitality, it is the fruit which is offered to a visitor who is welcome. whoever does not have kola to offer to a guest should have the politeness to apologize for not having it. when neither kola nor an apology is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 24 offered, it means the guest is not welcome. translating kola into noix de kola (cola-nut) is not enough to bring out all these cultural attributes of the fruit. talking about clothing and dressing agbada, danchiki, okpu nze are special traditional dresses and styles of clothing peculiar to igbo and africans at large and so cannot find their equivalents in french where these forms of clothing do not exist. social culture work, leisure, organization, customs, procedures, concepts, festivals, ceremonies are all culture specific. in the traditional igbo setting social works just like road construction and maintenance, maintaining the sources of water supply like streams and rivers are organized and executed by age groups. the youth form the labour force and are grouped according to their age brackets. names are given to the various age brackets for easy identification and appellation. thus one can hear sentences like . ọ bụ ndị ofuobi lụrụ ụzo mmiri.”c’est le groupe ofuobi qui a approprié le sentier qui mène a la rivière “ (it is ofuobi that cleared the road to the stream) such translation, one would agree, has lost a lot of meaning as ofuobi needs more explanation to be understood. for leisure there exists a lot of folk games such as ịkpọ ọga (a game played by clapping of hands and simultaneously extending, retracing or scattering the legs), ime pọpịị (a game which involves closing the eyes and attempting to step across lines ruled on the ground), ịzụ nchọrọkọtọ (played by distributing seeds in holes distributed to other players with the view of appropriating them.) etc. these are purely games of igbo conception which find no expression in any other language. different other cultural activities like egwu ọnwa (games at moonilight), igba ọfala (kingship party), and the different initiations such as ito ọgbọ (initiation into adulthood), iba mmanwu,(initiaton into the masquerade cult) inọ ọmụgwọ (mandatory months of postnatal confinement), ichi ọzọ (taking the ọzọ title.) and different other native festivals which abound in the different towns in igbo land such as obu ọfọ ( tribute to our fallen heroes) in uga town of anambra state, imoka in awka in anambra can never find equivalent words to represent them in a culture where they are completely inexistent political heads like igwe, obi, eze only have the general word chief (chef) for their translation, but this word does not really bring out the paraphernalia that distinguish these positions. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 25 family ties french people conceive family as the nuclear family and even when the extended family is mentioned, it is only to accommodate the grandparents and the uncles and aunts. the igbo families span beyond this, and extends as far as human memory can recount. thus, words like nwannaa, umu nnam,ndi nne ochie, ndi nna ochie, ,umu okpu, dee, daa ,which are used to designate family members that span beyond third generation relationships, continue to pose real problems to the igbo/ french translator. the extended family system is very much valued in igbo land. as such, many appellations are given to members. because such ties are not of much importance in france and many european countries the terms to designate them do not exist. when an igbo person marries into a family, a lot of other relations from the conjugal family are acquired and the members are expected to relate with each other as one family. thus one hears appellations like nwunye dim, which literarily means “my husband’s wife” this appellation only goes a long way to explain the igbo concept of marriage as a union of families and kindred instead of the union of two people. that same way any woman married into a family is supposed to see all the other members of the extended family as her husband. though she is not allowed to have canal knowledge of any of them, she still calls them «husbands « just as they see and address her as their wife and fulfil all their social obligations towards her. what is peculiar in the igbo culture is that even the females in the family are free to call a woman married into thier family nwunye m (my wife) but that does not in any way imply a same sex relationship. nwunye dim, which literarily means my husband’s wife, is only understood to mean a woman married into the same family with me. the closest equivalent in english is “ma belle soeur” (my sister-inlaw) but it does not exactly depict the meaning, since the igbo concept of family could span into a whole kindred or even beyond , depending on where the word is being used. the word can mean a woman married to my husband, a woman married in the same family with me, a woman married in the same village with me, or even a woman married in the same town with me. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 26 the artistic aspects of culture the artistic aspects of culture cover paintings, music, literature and other performing arts. it tends to be semiotic in nature. traditional musical instruments e.g. udu (a resounding clay pot), alo (a very big iron gong), or traditional make-ups like nzu (native chalk), ufie, jigida (pierced plastic, glass or wooden balls worn around the waist) are prepared by the igbo people for their kind of music and so will never find equivalents in cultures that are divergent. songs and poetry accompany virtually every important aspect of human activity. birth, death, funeral, title taking, festivals, planting, harvesting etc. all have musical accompaniments that make them interesting and thus turn them into merry-making events. such songs can only be translated if the situations necessitating them are well understood. the context of the song determines the rhythm, the dancing steps and the attire for the dance. poetry or song translation is however a problematic aspect of translation, no matter what languages are involved. many have resorted to translating poetry by forgetting all the rimes and rhythm thus turning it into prose to pass the message. but even when one decides on this option a lot of information would still be lost in the interpretation. take for example this participative response ajambene that accompanies a popular igbo folktale. igbo participatory song difficulties to the translator mbe agaba. ajambene1 mbe agaba. ajambene gaa gaa gaa gaa2. ajambene gaa gaa gaa gaa. ajambene bia na nkwu nke a. ajambene o si ya nkwukirikwu3 ajambene o si ya nkwụkịrịkwụ. i miri one? ajambene ọ sị ya mịrị ofu. ajambene pụọ ị bụghị nkwụ. ajambene nwa mkpọmkpọ ana. ajambene ana anaghị amịta ihe. ajambene 1 ajambene which though an igbo word has no known meaning. but its meaning lies in its nothingness. in a sentence it all means senseless or nothing. thus in the sentence i na-akọ ajambene. it means you are talking nonsense. 2 the repetition of the word gaa gaa gaa literally means” go go go”. this type of repetition only serves to express a prolonged action in igbo language. the french would simply say il eu une longue marche (he had a long walk.) thus using an equivalent expression instead of translating it. 3 nkwukirikwu as used in the song is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 27 just coined from the word nkwụ (palm tree/ palmier in french). the suffix kịrịkwụ was just added to word nkwu that is personified, to make it feel dear and beloved. leitmotivs in igbo songs and poetry and in igbo narratives also pose serious problems in translation. africa, igbo people inclusive, is known for oral literature with a lot of storytelling to transmit culture. responses in folk narration and folksongs (ajambene, nda, otii/oyooo ) can only be calqued, borrowed, paraphrased or omitted as they cannot be translated. proverbs and fixed expressions proverbs, aaccording to the erudite igbo laureate achebe, “are the palm-oil with which words are eaten” (5). akporobaro and emovon also stated that … proverb belongs to the wider category of figurative and aesthetically concerned forms of expressions like the metaphor, simile, hyperbole and other anecdotal forms. it differentiates from these forms in terms of the explicit truthfulness of questions it states and by the terseness of picturesque quality of its style and form of statement […] the truth presented in the proverb is different from those of other language groups whose geographical and socio-cultural realities differ. (2-3.) proverbs pose real problems in translation because they are sometimes ambiguous and need contextualization for their real meaning to be understood, even among members of the same social setting, the interpretation of proverbs is not always easy. being able to use and interpret proverbs is a mark of intelligence and wisdom. many francophone countries do not have the culture of the use of proverbs in their day to day life. that same way, fixed expressions are closely linked to the way a people conceive reality as well as their cultural setting. they therefore differ from culture to culture. lexical associations can bring about semantic changes due to the combination of the lexical units. meaning of the lexical units meaning of lexical units in english and french semantic import of the combination eze/ nwanyi king/female, priestess igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 28 di/ji aka/ azụ, afo/njo roi/femelle husband/yam, mari/igmane hand/behind, main/derriere belly/bad extensive yam farmer bribe wickedness e.g eze is a word that means “king” (roi in french) , nwanyị means female (femelle in french ) but the combination of the two words eze nwanyị does not mean female king i.e queen (reine) but rather a priestess. other examples include di “husband” (mari en français) ji yam (igname en français), aka azụ, afo njo etc. some expressions may not exist in the target language eg. oso chi egbu (accomplice of malicious personal gods), this does not exist because it is rooted in the igbo belief system that individuals are believed to have personal gods that could either be passive or active, benevolent or malicious to the persons they are guarding and guiding. eji m ọfọ (i hold the justice symbol), ofọ is a symbol of justice nwoke a bụ abanị dị egwu which literally means “this man is a dreadful night” can only be translated with cet homme est un brigand nocturne. (this man is a night marauder). greetings greetings and address terms are culture specific. igbo people have a unique way of greeting which is peculiar to them. for greeting a crowd the greeting could be igbo kwenu, kwenu, kwezuenu or ọra obodo ekenee m ụnụ, ndị be anyị dalụ noo. many french translators have resorted to “mesdames et messieurs” (ladies and gentlemen) in translating the aforementioned greetings since that is the closest they can get to the meaning. ida ịya and itu nnya are stylish but calculated movements aimed at greeting, appreciating or calling the attention of people especially visitors by the male and female folks repectively. to each movement the people respond with yaaa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 29 other forms of greetings such as ndewo, dalụkwanu, igwee, nke onye chiri ya zere, eze ḷ ga adị ndụ rue mgbe ebighi ebi, cannot be translated the way they are without explanations. translating proper nouns it is generally believed that proper nouns should not be translated, but it is also true that these proper nouns carry with them a lot of meanings which if not translated amounts to a lot of loss in translation. this is particularly so with igbo names which are coinages form life experiences or circumstances of birth or even social status eg ume, eze, okpala, dim are affixations to the names of free-borns as in the names: umeanozie, ezeafulukwe, okpalaononuhu, dimejesi etc.. whereas ohu, osu are for the slaves or the outcasts and are added to their surnames ohuabunwa, ohuamanam, osuagwu, osuala etc. names like anakgbamkpu/meaning, let the land arise and fight for the accused, onyedinmanazu,/ a name that means “who is above calumny?” osinomumu/ it is not just about child bearing, all depict life experiences and beliefs of a people. generally igbo names are long as they consist of full sentences or questions expressing inner feelings. in the igbo classic things fall apart, a lot of meanings were lost due the fact that names like okonkwo, ikemefuna, unoka, ezinne were not translated though the names summed up the behaviours of the various characters that they represent. the igbo traditional week is a four day week (oye, afọ ,nkwọ, eke) hence izu n’abọ (two weeks) represent eight days. these different week days are also conceived as deities. people are also named according to the week day they were born or the deity to which theyor their forefathers, whole heartedly surrendered themselves, in time of persecution. names like nweke, nwoye, mgbeke and mgbafor are therefore common. names like nweke, nwoye, nwafor, though today answered by the offsprings of the people that took the names, are names given to families or persons betrothed to the deities that the igbo people worshipped. science, new inventions and discoveries no language ever develops above the culture which it serves. this being the case, it is quite natural that countries of the 3rd world would have less developed languages. globalization has however, made intercultural exchanges very easy and today the major hindrance to these exchanges is language barrier. an attempt to translate these new scientific inventions and discoveries has met with a lot of difficulties, since equivalent terms are not yet in existence in the igbo igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 30 language nor are there equivalents translators could have recourse to. a lot of efforts have been made by some igbo scholars to find equivalent representations for new inventions and technologies, but most of such works are stocked up somewhere in the archives and libraries of institutions and so not accessible for public use. the attempt made by ajunwa enoch towards the creation of computer terms in igbo is worthy of mention and praise and needs to be publicized. conclusions and recommendations in as much as some aspects of language have being tagged “untranslatable” because no direct equivalents to such words and expressions are known, but the view of lederer and selescovitch that no human utterance is untranslatable remains a truth for all times. this is because translation, as understood today, is not merely a linguistic exchange but rather primes the transfer of meaning. the meaning of a text can be passed to another even without recourse to any of the words used to construct the meaning in the original text. the translator only needs to contextualize the text for its full meaning to emerge and he is also bound to convey this meaning in a way that the receiver would get at it. therefore failure to find exact word equivalents does not make translation impossible as there are many techniques that can be of help to the translator in such a situation. borrowing, calquing and direct translations of such words or phrases could prove useful. if the first two techniques are adopted, it might be necessary to back them up with explanations either in the form of footnote, paraphrases or illustrations. this is sometimes necessary, not just to cover-up a linguistic lacuna but also to add local colour to the translation as well as sell the source culture to the outside world. igbo lexicographers are however encouraged to roll up their sleeves and face the responsibility of creating current and updated igbo dictionaries that are in tune with the rapid pace of development of the world, so that igbo translators can have a working document. there should also be a way of harnessing the various works done by igbo scholars all over the world on term creation and lexicography so that unnecessary repetition and duplication of work does not retard advancement in this regard. the result of discoveries and works already done should be made accessible to the igbo people and the media workers so that they can be popularized and put into use. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 31 more igbo translators should be trained and the older translators given a new orientation and updated as to how to go about the so called untranslatables when they come across them. they should be discouraged from always resorting to the lexical equivalents that readily offer themselves in the target language, but should rather try to borrow and explain out the igbo situation, the way the target reader would understand. by so doing they market not only the igbo culture but also the igbo language, after all in this era of globalization, every culture has something to offer, the igbo culture inclusive.. cited works achebe, chinua. things fall apart, london: heinemann educational books ltd., 1975. ajunwa, enoch. textbook of translation: theory and practice. nigeria: enovic publications ltd, 2014. bellos, david.,: is that a fish in your ear? translation and the meaning of everything, london : penguin books, 2011. blenkinsopp, john, and maryam shademan pajouh. "lost in translation? culture, language and the role of the translator in international business." critical perspectives on international business 6.1 (2010): 3852. catford, jean-claude i. a linguistic theory of translation. london: oxford university press,1965. ellrodt robert in la liberté en traduction actes de colloque international tenu à l »esit les 7,8 et 9 juin 1990 marianne lederer and fortunato israel ed., didier erudiction 1991 emenanjo, nolue. a grammar of contemporary lgbo. port harcourt: m & j grand orbits. 2015. françois grin et michele gazzola, , « l'importance économique de la francophonie » l'avenir du français in jacques maurais, pierre dumont, jean-marie klinkenberg, bruno maurer, patrick edition 2005. israel fortunato « traduction littéraire : l’appropriation du texte » in la liberté en traduction actes de colloque international tenu à l’esit les 7,8 et 9 juin 1990. marianne lederer and fortunato israel ed., didier erudiction, 1991. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 32 newmark, p. about translation , clevdon : multilingual matters, 1988. mounin george, la notion de fidélité en traduction, paris : didier. 1990 pratima, d. s. fundamental aspects of translation. new delhi: phi learning private limited, 2012. seleskovitch danica and lederer marianne.interpreter pour traduire, didiererudition.2001. vinay et darbelnet, stylistique comparée du français et de l’anglais paris :didier, 1977. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 4.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 107 a critical evaluation of caregiving to the aged in rural igboland of eastern nigeria and the effects of youth migration: the old testament approach echeta uzonna ph.d department of religion and cultural studies, university of nigeria, nsukka. & ibenwa christopher, n. ph.d department of religion and cultural studies, university of nigeria, nsukka christopherndubuisi05@gmail.com abstract the study examined care-giving to the aged in igboland with particular reference to rural aged dwellers and also considered old testament approach to elderly care giving. the plight of the aged and the challenges associated with providing care for them in contemporary times has become a phenomenon of concern. migration of the youth to urban cites was identified as the major cause of the problem, while other factors include changes in care-giving strategies and philosophy of the young about old people. two hundred and sixty (260) questionnaires were distributed to young people who are either caregivers, or have lived with and observed aged people closely. secondary sources for the study were from text books, journal articles, ebooks and internet materials. the study adopted qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection and used simple percentage, statistics and standard deviation for the quantitative; descriptive qualitative method for the qualitative data. findings showed that migration of youths from rural to urban areas led to families’ minimal involvement in elderly care –giving. rural aged are therefore subjected to physical and psychological loneliness because of the absence of their children. the study finally recommended the israeli approach to elderly caregiving as a model for igbo people and appeals to the government to collaborate with families and also establish reasonable welfare policies for the aged. keywords: elderly, aged, senior citizens, gerontology, migration and diaspora introduction indications of aging challenges in most world societies are evidenced from the statistical records and projections of the world health organization and united nations. the challenges of aging and how to cope with caring for the elderly are therefore not peculiar to igbo society. aging is a natural process that most humans experience as life progresses and it is usually associated with weakness of organs and depreciation of strength. aging characteristics are picturesquely stated in ecclessiastes 12. it is generally believed that aging igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 108 begins to set in from the age of sixty – five but for majority of igbo people, the real aged are those who have reached the age of seventy and beyond ( information gathered from oral source). the elderly are addressed as seniors or senior citizens in countries like israel and america and the elderly class occupies a very important position in these societies. the study and the science of aging is known as gerontology. the united states government is committed to the welfare of its senior citizens. the level of its commitment is shown by the way demographic records of old people are taken in order to put necessary policies and strategies in place. oritman, velkoff and hogan (2014) carried out a research on the aging population in the united states and their findings showed that the trend in growth rate will pose a big challenge to the united states in terms of policy making , social security programs and medicare. interestingly, united nations as part of their concern for the welfare of elderly persons has chosen june 15 of every year as the world elderly abuse awareness day. featuring on this day aredeliberations on the challenges facing elderly persons by governments, people and stakeholders; other people from all works of life will be permitted to make their input on how to tackle the problem of the aged. in the traditional igbo setting, elderly people were cherished because they were believed to be invaluable to the society. people honoured and looked after their aged people collectively both at community and family levels. given the fact that igbo people were predominantly farmers, the young and middle aged were available then to render helping hands to their old ones. another strategy which enhanced care-giving was the extended family pattern which implies that parents and children together with other paternal relations made up the family unit. the igbo people lived in clusters in their small hamlets and this habitation style was a big advantage and aided communal sharing. communal living meant that people shared what they had together with their neighbours and equally tackled their problems jointly. part of child upbringing is educating children to honour and respect elderly people and to regard every elder the way they have regard for their own parents. it is the igbo philosophy that a child is a child of all -nwa bu nwa ora and therefore children could freely attend to the needs of any elder as they would do to their very parents. children could be corrected and disciplined by any older person if they misbehaved (okwueze 2004). overtime, this philosophy and family structure began to fizzle out gradually especially with the dawn of modernization and technology. the urban cities igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 109 presented more attractive job offers and prospects of better lifestyle with ease. in response to this, most of the young people migrated to urban cities in their enterprising and entrepreneurial zeal to get money in order to support their vulnerable aged at home. for them, it was more acceptable to endure harsh conditions of life in urban cities than struggling in the village (dike 1982 ). this mass exodus of the youth has created a gap in care-giving to the aged. in fact, the effect of youth migration to urban areas has worsened the plight of the aged in some rural communities like obollo afo, oba, nru, ntezi, oho ozalla and aku villages. most rural elders feel lonely and abandoned. the condition of the aged is so crucial that nigeria is described as the sixth worst place on earth for the old people (maina 2013) and as having the highest rate of depression among the elderly people (oguntola 2013). these papers identified various other challenges facing the aged as lack of proper health care, no social amenities, nonpayment of pension, gross neglect or abuse of the elderly and lots more. much emphases are placed on government minimal participation especially in not giving the aged desired assistance in health care and other social amenities, the worst is the delay/denial of pension. all these have aggravated the sufferings of elders in nigeria. one other factor that compounds the problem of the aged in igboland and nigeria as a whole is the fact that the national policy on the care and welfare of older persons is still in draft form since march 2003 as voiced by aboderin (aboderin 2006). for chukwu, the non implementation of the policy may this is probably be because old people constitute a relatively small portion of the entire population (chukwu 2006). the dilemma of the aged in igbo rural communities necessitated this study. however, the study is not an added voice to various appeals of writers concerning their plight but an examination of how youth migration to urban areas has affected care giving to senior citizens in rural igboland. it would also identify other related factors that worsen the condition of the aged and finally make an attempt to proffer solutions by using the old testament approach to elderly issues as model. review of literature igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 110 the igbo people are one of the largest three ethnic groups in nigeria and their spoken language is generally igbo language and a wide range of dialects. the igbo culture area covers the settlements of agbor, kwalle (west niger), diobu, umuabayi (port harcourt), arochukwu, afikpo, isiagu (abakaliki area), enugu ezike, (nsukka area) and ebuwest (niger igbo: onwuejeogu (1981). onunwa (2005) adds that the igbo people share a common boundary with edo state in the west, ijaw and kalabari in the south, the idoma and igala in the northwest, tiv and ogoja in the north. they are therefore found in rivers, delta and part of akwa ibom states. the people so discussed here are the occupants of south eastern nigeria who have a total land area of about 15000sq miles about 41000kmls. their spoken language is generally igbo language and a wide range of dialects. history has it that the igbo people are a group of people who are believed to originate from nri, a cultural group that shares a strong religious and cultural ideology with the igbo in general. in fact, it is impossible to isolate what derives from nri culture from what derives from other igbo cultures. nri people are known as both the progenitors and the priests of the whole igbo race and as such they are high priests and king makers. duhaze acknowledges that they take precedence of the other fraternities, priestly and social activites (onwuejeogwu1981).the igbo live in patrilineages called umunna. patrilineages grow to form villages and groups of villages form towns known as obodo.even though onwuejeogwu (2000) holds firmly to the fact that igbo origin is traceable to nri kingdom and claims that this is the only argument that has oral tradition back up, the question of the origin of igbo people still remains a topic of debate. the origin of igbo people is a phenomenon that is surrounded with much argument that seems to be inconclusive. nweke (2011) describes it as a mystery. in onwu’s assessment, igbo origin appears to be a puzzle simply because people have not shown interest in such studies (onwu 2000). however, many studies on igbo origin have been embarked upon since this observation was made. some of the contributions will be discussed here. commenting on igbo quest to establish their origin, afigbo commends this zeal as a worthwhile venture ideally expected from every group of people not just the igbo (afigbo 1975). iweadighi (2013) describes igbo origin as one shrouded with uncertainty and highlights the various versions of their origin. these versions arethe israeli version, the middle east version, igbo centred version, the awka/ orlu version, the idah version, the benin and nri version igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 111 each making attempt to explain how the igbo people emerged. he however concludes that they are irreconcilable versions. iroegbu (2011) systematically dwells on the meaning of the name igbo, their origin, and their lifestyle and delineated how this group of people has continuously impacted their environ. he states that why igbo people cannot know whom they really are and where they come from is due largely to their high migration culture. iroegbu’s contribution came up as a reaction to ozodi osuji’s question of what the word igbo means. acholonu (2009) in her speech during a book presentation they lived before adam-prehistoric origins of the igbo: never been ruled, glaringly and convincingly gave the historical origin of the igbo people. her report emerged from a research of over twenty years and scientific discoveries in the area of archaeology. the historian gathered her data through paleontology (study of human fossils), genetic and dna engineering, linguistics and also through esoteric records of lost scriptures. catherine traces the origin of the igbo as far back as the time of the early man/ homo erectus, who is the direct ancestor of the homo sapiens (modern man).from her investigation, she claims that the igbo seeded other races of the world and gave them culture and civilization their language also is traceable to the one world language/ mother tongue of humanity before god confused their tongue at babel. catherine’s work reveals that the igbo are the oldest single group of people on planet earth. to confirm her claims about igbo people’s early presence on earth, she states that the yoruba god obatanla has the inscription of the “father of the igbo nation” and this god is revered in yorubaland. acholonu’s study being a later study than that of onwuejeogwu with facts before us should be considered as authentic and should supersede the claims made earlier by onwuejeogwu. in traditional igbo set up, the family structure was that of extended family which went beyond the immediate members of the family consisting of father , mother and their children. other relations from the father were regarded as members of same family and they shared many things in common. uchendu (1995) a known scholar in igbo affairs writes extensively on the extended family of the igbo people and explains how it operates. he notes that igbo people lived together in what he describes as clusters, though they had their individual hamlets. ekeokpara regards the extended family as the social and ethical aspects of igbo traditional society. he defines the composition of this family unit as father , mother, brother and sisters of their immediate families and those who igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 112 can trace their origin by blood to a common ancestor or progenitor. every igbo community has its own type of extended family system. the family plays the role of educating the children on igbo philosophy of being one’s brother’s keeper. part of the education of children as they grew up was to accord respect to old persons who were not necessarily their biological parents. giving voluntary assistance to them was equally encouraged. interestingly, families were not run on the basis of the nuclear membership but extended family was more operative. there was a philosophical notion of communal existence where the spirit of brotherhood pervaded the atmosphere. in fact, there is the notion that a child is a child of all -nwa bu nwa ora and therefore children could freely attend to the needs of any elder as they would do to their very parents. children on the other hand received correction and discipline from (okwueze 2004). communalism is one lifestyle of igbo people that has remained overtime in spite of modernity and new developments they usually gather under the auspices of town unions which provides them a good interactive forum and enables them solve their immediate problems the best they can ,but that does not make them to throw away individualism. people still stick to their person decisions on where to live or the best job to do (oguejiofor 2010). religiously too, the aged people who are believed to dwell in two worlds are revered even much more because of the advisory roles they play to individuals and the entire community. spiritually, old people occupied a significant position in igboland. they are believed to have the privilege of seeing spirits/ ha naahu muo. only those that lived up to good old age and had good lifestyle were qualified to join the ancestral cult at death ( ugwu and ugwueye 2004 ) . a major trait of igbo people which is widely acknowledged is their migration/diaspora (dispersion) tendency chukwuezi (2011). the reason why they travel from the rural to the urban cities is because of their enterpreneurial business skill and this makes them to maintain dual locations. igbo people are migrants to the core. onunwa rates the igbo as the most widely spread and travelled single ethnic group in africa. he estimates that over ten million of their population live in other parts of the world ( onunwa 2005).this same fact is echoed by many who have either studied the igbo or interacted with them. in his own assessment, ikpeanyibe (2000) writes this concerning igbo diaspora nature, the igbo people are extreme migrants. they are the most travelled peoples of the world. explaining this further, he gives an instance given by igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 113 one urakpo who said that any place igbo people are not found is unsafe for human habitation. in fact, for him, if he gets to any place and finds no igbo there, he will make haste to leave. igbo people travel out of their domain in order to find greener pastures and more favourable economic gain. any place they notice glimpses of success attracts them and as soon as they settle, they discover untapped opportunities and bring them into use and before long they develop the place. dike (1982) describes igbo people as known migrants. he explains further that their purpose of migration is to develop their home land. young people are prepared to endure rough and hard conditions in urban cites and from their struggles send help to their vulnerable aged in the village. uwechie speaks from a socioeconomic perspective and maintains that igbo people are developers and are all over the place, with a huge presence in lagos and kano (uwechie 2010). nwoye (2011) reasons slightly differently by drawing attention to the fact that igbo migration is not only prompted by economic pursuit. sometimes other factors like colonisation and security can make them change their location. issues of security have in recent times led to migrations of thousands of igbo people both from outside and within. significantly too it is to be noted that igbo elders maintain that the igbo people did not migrate from elsewhere to their present location in nigeria. commenting on the issue of care giving in igbo experience, dickson also highlighted the importance of elderly care to igbo community. in fact, he describes elderly care as a “key phenomenon” in igboland. it is the family that champions care giving and the government and other institutions are yet to standardize elderly care and welfare. uwakwe and modebe (2007) share the opinion of dickson and note that the family is the bedrock and source of care for older persons in nigeria. they conducted a research in some igbo communities and came up with the impression that the extended family system should be strengthened otherwise older people will be totally abandoned. they make it clear that older people are prone to suffering disability and their situation gets worsened when their children dissert them and also due to harsh economy. the various contributions reviewed make it clear that igbo people as a group are devoted to their aged and had the extended family and the spirit of brotherhood that enhanced this elderly care giving. works reviewed clarify the uniqueness of igbo people as natural migrants, a people with high initiatives, enterprising, having a liberal spirit by regarding everywhere as home. one essential outcome of their migration is the development they bring to their host community. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 114 nonetheless, this practice of deserting home, brings significant effect back home. it is this effect of migration especially on how their aged folks are cared for which the reviewed works have not addressed that is the focus of this study. this study therefore intends to fill the gap of the nexus between the migration of youths and poor care giving to the aged in rural igbo communities. youth migration to urban cities create huge challenges to care giving. the aged are most times left with hired and alien people who may be unfriendly to them and even maltreat or abuse them. this study therefore attempts to establish the fact that rural aged are abandoned by their children and loved ones to a large extent; the rural aged are not effectively looked after in contemporary times ; the new strategies to care giving and the accompanying challenges; finally, attempt would be made to use the old testament approach to proffer solutions. hypotheses the literature review draws attention to the issue of loneliness, abandonment and hostility of care givers towards the aged. based on the facts from the review the following hypotheses are given hypothesis 1: there is significant relationship between youth migration to urban cities and poor care giving to the rural aged. hypothesis 2: the aged in the rural communities are exposed to more suffering than those in the urban cities. research methodology the study combined qualitative and quantitative strategies. the data for the study were collected through questionnaires, interviews and existing literature. the questionnaires and interviews represent the primary source of information for the study. some towns were randomly selected which include obollo afor, oba, nru, aku ,ntezi and oha ozalla, all in northern igboland . two hundred and sixty questionnaires (260) were distributed and all recovered. respondents were both male and female, young people who have either been care givers to old people or those who have lived with them and observed them. the non literate aged were interviewed with the questionnaires by the use of simple vernacular and answers translated. responses were sifted based on the four point scale (strongly agreed (sa), agreed (a), disagreed ( d) and strongly disagreed ( sd) and comment, that best describes the extent to which the respondents agree with each question. the study adopted simple percentage, descriptive statistics and standard igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 115 deviation for the analysis of quantitative data, also descriptive qualitative method was adopted for the qualitative data. results table 1 the family and care giving to the elderly family and care giving strongly agreed agreed disagreed strongly disagreed total the family is a sure security for the aged 108 (41.5%) 117 (45.0%) 27 (10.4%) 8 (3.1%) 260 (100%) family members provide all necessary care to their old people 70 (26.9%) 116 (44.6%) 51 (19.6%) 23 (8.8%) 260 (100%) it is a difficult task to care for old people in rural places 61 (23.5%) 120 (46.2%) 49 (18.8%) 30 (11.5%) 260 (100%) elders are difficult to please 61 (23.5%) 94 (36.2%) 74 (28.5%) 31 (11.5%) 260 (100%) other distant relations can extend help to old people in traditional rural community 70 (26.9%) 156 (60.0%) 25 (9.6%) 9 (3.5%) 260 (100%) in contemporary times families find it difficult to care for their elders because of job demands 91 (35.0%) 116 (44.6%) 42 (16.2%) 11 (4.2%) 260 (100%) rural elders lack money 104 (40.0%) 79 (30.4%) 52 (20.0%) 25 (9.6%) 260 (100%) rural elders lack necessary facilities and human resources not just money 96 (36.9%) 108 (41.5%) 40 (15.4%) 16 (6.2%) 260 (100%) source: field work 2014 the table 1 above sampled the opinion of the respondents on the care giving to the elderly by the family. in order to fully capture this, the study explored 8 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 116 variables which addressed areas where the elderly needed help and sustainability. the first variable on the table is-“the family is a sure security for the aged”. 41.5% of the respondents strongly agreed that family is a sure security for the aged, also 45.0% of the studied population agreed that family is a sure security for the aged. on the contrary, 10.4% and 3.1% disagreed and strongly disagreed with the opinion that family is a sure security for the aged. the result however revealed that family is a sure security for the aged in igbo land. furthermore, the second variable on the table captured family as provider of all necessary care to the old people. the result shows that 26.9% strongly agreed, 44.6% agreed, -19.6% disagreed and 8.8% strongly disagreed; that family members provide all necessary care to their old people. the result implied that family members provide all necessary care to their old people. for the third variable –“it is a difficult task to care for old people in rural places” to this variable, 23.5% strongly agreed-46.2% agreed-18.8% disagreed and 11.5% strongly disagreed. from the reports gathered, it is a fact that taking care of the old people who live in rural places is a difficult task. the fourth variable in the table states that elders are difficult to please and the following answers were given: 23.5% strongly agreed, 36.2% agreed,28.5% and 11.5% strongly disagreed. the result showed that elders are difficult to please. on the fifth variable in the tableother distant relations can extend help to old people in traditional rural community, 26.9% strongly agreed, 60.0% agreed, 9.6% disagreed and 3.5 strongly disagreed. this proved the fact that distant relations can be helpful in providing care giving to the aged especially in traditional society. the sixth variable is that in contemporary times, family members find it difficult to take care of their elderly ones because of job demands. 35.0% strongly agreed to this assertion, 44.6% agreed, 16.2% disagreed and 4.2% strongly disagreed. therefore, from the result it is clear that families find it difficult to take care of their elders in contemporary times due to job commitments. variable 7 in the table states that “rural elders lack money” and the following responses were given40.0% strongly agreed, 30.4% agreed, 20.0% disagreed, 9.6% strongly disagreed. the result revealed that rural really lack money since a greater percentage strongly agreed to this. the eight variable states that “rural elders lack other necessary facilities and human resources, not just money”. answers given are-36.9% strongly agreed, 41.5%, 15.4% disagreed and 6.2% strongly disagreed, proving that the rural aged also lack human resources, other basic facilities in addition to money. table 2: ruralurban migration and the problem of caregiving igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 117 rural-urban migration and the problem of care-giving to aged strongly agreed agreed disagreed strongly disagreed total the youths migrate to the urban to find jobs. 161 (61.9%) 59 (22.7%) 24 (9.2%) 16 (6.2%) 260 (100%) young igbo people like to stay in the village to look after their old ones 43 (16.5%) 46 (17.7) 74 (28.5%) 97 (37.3%) 260 (100%) elders in the rural communities are physically lonely because of the absence of their loved ones 91 (35.0%) 93 (35.8%) 43 (16.5%) 33 (12.7%) 260 (100%) elders in the rural places suffer psychological loneliness 59 (22.7%) 125 (48.1%) 59 (22.7%) 17 (6.5%) 260 (100%) rural elders have health problems 87 (33.5%) 85 (32.7%) 57 (21.9%) 31 (11.9%) 260 (100%) family members of rural elders make alternative arrangements for their aged 25 (24.2%) 99 (38.1%) 73 (28.1) 25 (9.6%) 260 (100%) families find it difficult to provide care for elders who live in the village 60 (23.1%) 97 (37.3%) 71 (27.3%) 32 (12.3%) 260 (100%) source: field work 2014 table 2 evaluated that effect of ruralurban migration on caregiven to elderly in the rural area of igbo land. in the bid to find greener pasture, majority of the igbo youths migrate from their locality to a foreign land. the rationale behind the youths’ migration to the urban is to find jobs. however, the opinion of the respondents were sampled on the reason for youths’ migration to urban, the following were the outcomes of their responses: 61.9% strongly agreed, 22.7% agreed, 9.2% disagreed and 6.2% strongly disagreed. from the result, we extrapolated that majority of igbo youth migrate to the urban to find jobs. the second item argued that young igbo people like to stay igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 118 in the village to look after their old ones, the respondents portrayed the following shades of opinion: 16.5% of the total population strongly agreed and 17.7% agreed that young igbo people like to stay in the village to look after their old ones while 28.5% disagreed and 37.3% strongly disagreed that young igbo people like to stay in the village to look after their old ones. the result implied that young igbo people do not like to stay in the village to look after their old ones. the old ones are weak and can hardly do much for themselves; the migration of the young igbo people have an adverse effect on the old people. the third variable states that elders in the rural communities are physically lonely because of the absence of their loved ones and to this statement, 35.0% strongly agreed, 35.8% agreed, 16.5% disagreed and 12.7% strongly disagreed. the result simply shows that old people who live in remote places suffer physical loneliness. item four also argues that “elders in the rural places suffer psychological loneliness” and the responses are – 22.7% strongly agreed, 48.1% agreed, 22.7% disagreed and 6.5 strongly disagreed. we, therefore, conclude that rural aged experience psychological loneliness due to non availability of their dear ones. the next item poses the argument that rural elders have health problem. 33.5% of the population strongly agreed to this, 32.7% agreed, 21.9 disagreed and 11.9 strongly disagreed. from the responses given we can deduce that rural elders are really having health challenges. the next variable raises the argument that “family members of rural elders make alternative arrangements for them.” 24.2% strongly agreed to this view, 38.1% agreed, 28.1% disagreed and 9.6% strongly disagreed. the responses reveal that families make alternative arrangements for their aged since they are away from home. the last variable on the table states that “families find it difficult to provide for elders who live in the village”. responding to this assertion, 23.1% strongly agreed, 37.3% agreed,27.3% disagreed and 12.3 strongly disagreed. we therefore conclude that families find it difficult to provide care their old ones in the village. table 3: caring for the old people in the contemporary minimum maximum mean std. deviation absence of close relations poses problem for care giving for the aged 1 4 3.01 0.994 elders without relatives should be left without care 1 4 2.13 1.063 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 119 elderly men without relatives cannot be helped 1 4 1.92 0.960 establishing old people’s home (oph) is a good alternative 1 4 2.83 1.054 old people’s home will help to solve the problem of loneliness 1 4 3.04 0.917 oph will provide room for interaction among elders 1 4 3.12 0.807 oph offers good solution for the aged men 1 4 2.80 0.925 table 3 sampled the opinion of the respondents on caring for the old people in the contemporary. the minimum entry is 1 which represented strongly disagree, and the maximum entry is 4 which represented strongly agree. the mean score for “absence of close relations poses problem for caregiving for the aged” as indicated on the table is 3.01. the result is above the criteria mean which was set at 2.5 mean score, the standard deviation from the average responses of the respondents shows 0.994. this shows that the distribution of the opinion of the respondents, who selected strongly agree and agree are higher in number. the study accepts that absence of close relations poses problem for caregiving for the aged. the second sampled opinion is anchored on the argument that elders without relatives should be left without care, the means score of 2.13 is below the criteria mean. the study therefore held that elders without relatives should not be left without care. the standard deviation of the mean score is 1.063; the result implied that the distribution of the respondents’ view is near equal, which means that their views are well represented. the above table equally shows that creating home for old people is a good alternative with a mean score of 2.83 and standard deviation of 1.054 that shows even distribution of the responses. the table also shows that old people’s home will help to solve the problem of loneliness with a high mean score of 3.04 and standard deviation of 0.917 which implied that respondents who selected strongly agree and agree are higher in number. responding to the view that old peoples’ home will provide room for interaction among elders has a high mean score of 3.12 and standard deviation of 0.807.this revealed that most of the respondents agreed strongly igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 120 and many agreed to this option. it therefore follows that an old people’s home will surely provide an avenue for interaction for aged when they stay together. also , old people’s home offers a good solution for the aged members cause the mean score of 2.80 is above the criteria mean, the standard deviation is 0.925 showing that the respondents who chose strongly agree and agreed are more in number than those who disagreed. we can therefore submit that establishing an old people’s home will solve the peculiar problem of the elderly men. figure 1: i have once been a care giver to elderly person(s) the above figure 1 sampled the personal experience of people who have stayed with the elderly person(s). the figure indicated that 81.5% of the sampled population affirmed that they have once been care givers to elderly person(s) while 18.5% opined that they have not been care givers to elderly person(s). the implication is that 81.5% of the studied population are reporting from standpoint epistemology. figure 2: the experience was exciting to me 0 50 100 150 200 250 yes no 212 48 81.5 18.5 frequency percentage igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 121 the figure above that 61.9% of respondents found it exciting to look after old people and31.1% did not enjoy the experience. therefore, a greater percentage of igbo people still enjoy caring for their aged. figure 3: i lived with the old and have observed them closely from the figure above, 71.9% of the population actually lived and observed the old people, against 28.1% who did not answer from direct experience. the responses reveal that the information is derived from authenticated, reliable source. discussion/evaluation caring for the aged in rural igbo communities has taken entirely new shape in contemporary times. the changes adopted in recent times are necessitated by the relocation of the younger generation from their homes in the rural places to the urban in order to find greener pastures with which to sustain their old people at home. new job offers are more available in urban areas and the 0 50 100 150 200 yes no 161 99 61.9 38.1 frequency percentage 0 50 100 150 200 yes no 187 73 71.9 28.1 frequency percentage igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 122 enterprising igbo people are adventurous and daring able to accommodate harsh conditions outside home to make wealth. absence of the youth and changes in the extended family system pose some problems in care-giving. most families endeavour to put up new structures to replace the old. in some cases helpers are hired from elsewhere to assist their aged. other family strategies include rotation of care giving by the children for their aged parents. this rotational method affords family members some relief so that one does not get burnt out. the traditional approach to the problem of old widowers and childless men is getting young wives for even though not all can afford it. in spite of all these efforts, field reports are glaring clear that rural elderly people are lonely both physically and psychologically. the reasons for this loneliness are also evidenced from findings from the field work. old people are generally difficult to please because they cherish their style and approach to issues and would not give in to young people’s approach. they are mostly lonely because of the absence of the biological children and not that they are left all alone. in traditional societies there were forums where they could gather and interact with their mates but such forums are not found in most societies in modern times. at official times and in times of festivities they may enjoy such gatherings but it is very rare. the plight of the rural aged in igbo communities are worsened by government minimal assistance in putting up social structures, policies and welfare schemes that can complement the effort of families. in some rural locations, the aged hardly receive government attention because of the remote locations. welfare gifts are diverted to other by their representatives (josephine 2014). churches provide occasional help during church special occasions for the less privileged, mothering sundays or father’s day celebrations and probably during christmas. the old testament approach to elderly care giving god placed a high premium on old people in the old testament and this explains why honouring of one’s parents was included as one of the laws handed over to the israelites by moses (exodus 20:12). the law instructs children to honour their fathers and mothers so that they may live long in the land that god gave them. honouring parents must mean according them respect and giving them all the rights and privileges due to them. one of the ways to honour old people is spelt out in leviticus 19:32, where young people are enjoined “to rise up in the presence of the aged and show respect to them”. the old testament makes it glaringly clear that god cherishes old age and considers the aged as vulnerable, invaluable and special people (prov. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 123 20:29) who need assistance from the younger ones. they are reservoirs of wisdom and their wisdom is based on life experiences. in them is entrenched records of the past (josh 3). israel’s contemporary approach/recommendations: the israelites still value their seniors and find them very relevant to the nation. they believe that the older citizens can make significant contributions to the nation and so they have special programs for them in work places. currently also, they designed a particular university program where they can utilize their expertise and experience to conduct research. this is a reasonable idea that nigeria should implement because old age does not render the elderly mentally unimportant. in fact, such opportunities make them relevant in the society. many other policies and programs are run by israeli government because of the importance they attach to the seniors and just a few will be mentioned here. one significant strategy is that which the government does by providing visas to foreign caregivers to assist families in care giving. the visa is issued to last for four and a half years. this strategy offers huge relief to families who are of the working class and are not disposed to help the old parents. it also suits seniors who may not like to leave home for somewhere else. the government also provide benefits for them just to supplement family care and lessen burdens on families. they have many day care centres for seniors and the centers are established at lower costs than the united states. the care centres emphasize care by the community rather than institutions. there are programs designed in israel that are used for monitoring nursing homes. the driving force behind israel’s commitment to its old persons is that the torah charges them to look after old people for them to receive god’s blessings of longevity. nigerian families and the nation at large should borrow some leaf from israel and set up policies that would favour the elderly. they are as important in nigeria as they are in israel. the god of israel is the god of all and his strategy of using israel as a model to the world still stands. his laws are timeless as well as the blessings derived from keeping them. the younger generation of igbo people need to readdress. references acholonu, c., (2009). catherine acholonu’s articles carcafriculture.blogspot.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 124 adebowale, s.a., atte, o., ayeni, o. elderly well being in a rural community in north central nigeria, sub-saharan africa, public health research, 2012 2(4):92-101, posted feb 4, 2012, accessed march1 2015. adedokun, m. o.,(2010). caring for the elderly: towards a better community sozelacademy.com/ejes: accessed 17/05/2015 afigbo a.e.,(1975). prolegomena to the study of the cultural history of the igbo speaking people of nigeria, igbo language and culture: oxford university press aging-health-nbc news.com www.nbcnews.com/health/topic/aging ajomale, o., country report: ageing in nigeriaresearch,www.rc11sociology of ageing.org/system/files akeredolu, b.a. and aribia j. (2003). care and support for the elderly in the journal of gerontology akukwe, f.n.,(1992) senior citizens: a policy dilemma caring for the aged, onitsha veritals printing and publ. co. ltd. barken, j. f., in israel, seniors and foreign caretakers develop symbiotic relationships-www.jns.org/…/in –israel-seniors-and foreign caretakers care for the elderly: christian research institute (2009) www.equip.org/../care-for-the -elderlyvol. 12/no4//issue of christian research journal chukwuezi, b., (2001) through thick and thin : the igbo rural-urban circularity, identity and investmentjournal of contemporary african studies 19: accessed 15/05/2015 collins, g.r.,( 1981). a psychologist’s guide to overcoming tensions and struggles of everyday living calm down ventura caritonia vision house. dayle, f., growing older: spiritual resources on aging for individuals, professionals dike, a.a.(1982) urban migrants and rural development,african studies, review cambridge university press: accessed 15/05/2015. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 125 douglas, a., ( 2002 ) aging in brand chad (2004) holman illustrated bible dictionary, tennessee,holmanpulihers. ekeokpara, c., (2012) the impact of the extended family system on socioethical order in igboland http//www.ajsil.org: american journal of social issues and humanities : accessed 29/05/2015 eseobu, c., (2013), the aged in nigeria (aged widows)leadership.ng/news/220813/oritsjefor growing old – the jewish view on ageing and retirement lifestylewww.chabad.ng>jewish practice hebrew senior lifeelder care, boston, senior housing for all www.hebrew senior life.org. arima publishing house hebrew senior-life-elder care: boston, senior housing for all www.hebrew senior-life.org ikeanyibe, u.p, ( 2000), why i believe the igbos are not nigerians: benin city: seed sowers publication. kabiru, i., (2013). who takes care of the aged in nigeriasundaytrust.com.ng/index.php/ kazeem, u., (2013). don’t incite igbos against lagos, fashola warns obipmnewsnigeria.com>pm news-accessed 22 january 2014. lang, j.s., the bible and treating elderly people with respect iroegbu, p., (2011). the origin and meaning of the word “igbo” : a response to ozodi osuji’s dilemma, posted dec. 29/12/2011,www.igbomedicine.webs.com: accessed 15/05/2015 iweadighi, s., (2013). origin or geneology of igbo people, resourcedata.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05 origin_of_the _igbo_people_ of nigeria mudiare, p.e.u.,(2013). abuse of the aged: elders also cry, american international journal of contemporary research, vol. 3 no.9: www.aijcrnet.com/journals/vd_3_no_9_sept 2013 nwoye c. m. a.,(2011). igbo cultural and religious worldview: an insider’s perspective, accepted 18th july 2011:accessed 28/05/2015 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 126 oguntola, s., nigeria elderly people ranked high in depressionwww.tribune.com.ng/news2013-accessed 25 november 2013 okoye, u., (2003). attitude of youths towards institutionalized and care of the elderly. a study of youths in anambra state in nigeria journal of social sciences vol.2no2. okwueze, m.i.,religion and decaying moral values in contemporary nigerian society in okwueze m. i.(ed,2004) religion and societal development: contemporary nigerian perspectives: lagos: merit international publishers. onunwa, u.r., (2005). african spirituality an anthology of igbo religious myths, united kingdom onwu, n., (2002). uzo ndu na eziokwutowards an understanding of igbo traditional religious life and philosophy,ahiajioku.igbonet.com: accessed 15/06/2015. onwuejeogwu, m.a., (1981). an igbo civilization nri kingdom & hegemony: great britain: ethiope publishing corporation oriakhi emman luf foundation calls for national policy on the elderly www.vanguard.com/2013/05/luf-f-accessed november 27 2013 osaghae, e. e.,trends of migrant political organization in nigeria:books opencitation.org/ifra 895:accessed 8/06/2015 uchendu, v. c.,( 1995). ezi na ulo:extended family in igbo civilization ahiajioku.igbonet.com/1995 : accessed27/05/2015 ujumadu, v., where did igbo originate from www.vanguardngr.com/2014/08/igbooriginate/posted august 10 2014 palmore, e.b.,(1999).ageism, negative and positive: new york : springer. paul , j., (1988). the individual and the community in rogerson john (ed.), beginning old testament study, great britain, latimer trend & company ltd. pfeiffer, c.f., et al (2003). wycliffe bible dictionary, u.s.a, hendrickson publishers. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 127 riley m. biblical perspective of growing old foundation silverstone barbara (1976). you and your aging parent modern family guide to emotional, physical and financial problems, new york, pantheon books. terry, m. c.,(ed. et al)1967). family in bible dictionary, grand rapids zondervan publ. co. the bakers evangelical dictionary of biblical theology, age, old ( the aged) ugwu, c.o.t.and ugwueye, l.e.(2004). african traditional religion, a prolegomenon, lagos, merit international publications. umukoro, a., (2013). old peoples homes: mixed fortunes of nigeria’s senior citizens www.punchng.com.>home>feature: accessed 27 november 2013 uwakwe, r. modebe i., (2007). disability and care-giving in old age in a nigerian community,www.ajol.info/index.php/ngcp/article/newfile/11309/23 098(2007) : accessed 11/06/2015 oral interview name age status town date of interview the interviewer jemima umobi 86 retired teacher ezinifite 20/08/2014 uzonna echeta joy okpala 67 retired civil servant and red cross officer nkpologwu 8/08/2014 the researcher rev, bennett 53 priest ihiala 13/06/2014 the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 4, october 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 128 onwuchekwa researcher josephine okpala 54 care giver to an elderly woman nkpologwu 8/12/2014 researcher rev.john nwoke 50 priest nkporo 12 /07/2014 researcher microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 2.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 17 machiavelli’s the prince in nigeria today edozie chukwujindu onwunyi department of philosophy university of kwazulu natal, south africa abstract while the ideas espoused in the prince have been interpreted in various ways by various scholars, it is generally believed that the ideas cannot be isolated from the political situation of machiavelli’s city-state, florence, and italy at the time of its writing. this article is an attempt to present a comparison between the political situation of florence and italy of machiavelli’s time and that of the present-day nigeria. it argues that nigeria’s present political situation can be understood in the light of italy’s political situation during the time of machiavelli.though the florence and italy of machiavelli’s era is quite different in culture and civilization from contemporary nigeria, findings from the article indicate that the two political situations are similar in terms of central features described in the prince relating to human nature, lack of national cohesion, and the application of violence and cruelty in socio-political activities. the article will suggest that nigeria can learn from machiavelli’s argument that what was needed in florence was a strong ruler who could provide a unifying force that would allow the city-state to transit from political weakness to political stability. that said, it does not in any way imply that the views canvassed by machiavelli in the prince were the perfect solutions to the problems confronting florence and italy of his time, nor, that they are the solutions to the present problems confronting nigeria. it only uses the political situation of italy during the time of machiavelli and his argument for a strong and united italy as insight into the political problems of nigeria and to make recommendations as to how these problems may be addressed. keywords: prince, machiavelli, city-state, nigeria, politics, law makers. introduction whilethe princemeans different things to different people, it is clear that the ideascontained therein are linked to the political situation of machiavelli’s citystate, florence, and italy back then. considering what appears to be a similarity between the political situation of florence and italy of that time with the state of affairs in the present-day nigeria, it is not out of place to say that nigeria’s political situationmay be understood and dealt with in the light of machiavelli’s arguments in the prince.in view of this, the objective of this article is to show igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 18 thesimilarity between the state of affairs inthe florence and italy of machiavelli’s time and that of the present-day nigeria. over the five centuries that machiavelli’s the prince has existed, it has indeed courted much controversy and given rise to multiple interpretations.berlin notes that “apart from a cloud of subsidiary views and glosses, there exists, even now, over a score of leading theories of how to interpret the prince”(berlin, 1992: 206). for the purpose of this article, i will mention six areas which, for me, are the major perspectives in the interpretations of the book. they are the interpretations in the perspectives of morality, satire, political science, nationalism, job-seeking, and conspiracy.it is not my intention to give an exhaustive account of these interpretations, but rather to provide some indication that the interpretation i settle on is not the only possible view. in terms of morality, there are those who see the prince in the light of conventional morality and those who see it as introducing a new kind of morality. those who see the prince from the perspective of conventional morality argue that it represents immorality. for them, the ideas in it are unacceptable because they run totally contrary to the conventional assumptions of morality. but for those against their view, machiavelli’s ideas in the prince are not immoral but rather a kind of moralitydifferent from conventional morality.his morality, they insist, is expedient morality, that is, morality that is guided by necessity and exigencies of politics, which, for them, are independent of private and social life. for scholars who interpret the prince as a satire, their argument is that the book must have been written by machiavelli as a satire because itsline of advice contradicts in no small measure with everything else written by machiavelli in his other works, as well as the things known about his moral, political and private life. thus, they insist that it was a burlesque of despotism and tyranny intended to pull off the mask from the tyrannical rulers that were everywhere in machiavelli’s era. by implication, machiavelli, they claim, used irony in identifyingthe worst political methods and tactics, with the hope that tyrants who follow his advice would get into strife in their kingdoms. those who see the princeas a work of sciencebase their argument on the ‘reality’ of the ideas posited in the book by machiavelli, especially in the last chapter where he calls for the redemption of italy from the barbarians who have desolated her. for something to be a work of science, they hold, it has to be based on provable facts and backed by empirical evidence. therefore, theyregard machiavelli as the father of modern political science and the prince as the first igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 19 major work of modern political science since it is the first treatise in modern era to address politics from the standpoint of realism rather than idealism.for them, in order to liberate italy from the influence of foreign governments and put things in order, machiavelli argues in the prince that a strong and united indigenous government is necessary, even if it is an absolutist one. the main argument of thinkers who see the prince from the perspective of nationalism is that the book was written at a specific time andfor specific circumstances of italian history– when only power and cool ‘reason of state’ could save italy from foreign domination. they argue that the key to the interpretation of the book is the impassioned appeal in the last chapter for national liberation through the new prince. therefore, for them, machiavelli was a passionate patriot who saw the need for uniting a chaotic collection of small and feeble italian principalities into a strong and coherent whole.in other words, he was an italian patriot speaking to his own generation, who cared most of all for the italian unity and independence and acclaimed any form of rule that would ensure it. those who interpretthe prince as a job-seeking treatise base their arguments onaspects within the treatise as well ascircumstances surrounding its composition. the facts within the book, according to them, areits dedicationto the reigning medici prince, lorenzo de’ medici, and what seem like desperate arguments and pleading thatmachiavelliemployed in butressing his statement in chapter xx of the book that “princes, especially new princes, have found men who were suspect at the start of their rule more loyal and more useful than those who, at the start, were their trusted friends” (bull, 1995: 68). the circumstances surrounding the composition of the book, they argue, are machiavelli’s loss of his diplomatic job with the return of the medici family to the throne of florence in 1512, and dozens of job-seeking letters he wrote to his friends, francesco vetorri and francesco guicciardini, asking for their help in connecting him to the reigning medici prince. the argument of mary dietz who proposed the conspiracy theory isthat machiavelli’s the princeis “a masterful act of political deception” aimed at undoing “lorenzo de medici by giving him advice that would jeopardize his power, hasten his overthrow, and allow for the resurgence of the florentine republic” (dietz, 1986: 777).’ for her, “the prince is not simply about deception, but is itself an act of deception” and machiavelli the“theorist of deceit is at the same time a practitioner of the very act” (dietz, 1986: 781). by implication, the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 20 princeis a tract that in fact aims at restoring a republic, though in appearance it dedicates itself to maintaining a princedom. as seen in the six interpretations summarized above, machiavelli and the prince mean various things to various people. while these interpretations have their respective merits,i think the appropriate interpretation through which nigeria’s political situation could be understood and explained is that of those who interpret the prince from the angle of political science. this is because the book’s realistic and practical approach to the issue of politics, its exaltation of the good of the state over personal sentiments, as well as its offering of theories that explain and predict political behaviour and events are enough to justify its interpretation as a work of political science. moreover, this interpretation is most pertinent because whether knowingly or unknowingly many present-day nigerian politicians and ordinary citizens manifest in their social and/or political practices many of the traits which machiavelli observed in the prince. in fact,there is a high degree of similarity between the state of affairs in the presentday nigerian society and the state of affairs in italy of the days of machiavelli. comparative analysis of the two political situations i begin this comparative section with this important question: what was the political situation of florence and italy in the time of machiavelli? adams captures the situation in florence thus: florence was in constant ferment. the various wards and districts were in political conflict with one another; the rich and the poor were often at each other’s throats; the various families gathered and broke up into factions; the guilds and trades were politically active; and because they were all crowded together in a tight little town behind walls, the florentines were subject to gusty rumours and surges of passion that sent them raging through the streets to howl or hammer at the high towers and massive palazzo within which lay hidden their heroes or hated enemies of the moment (adam, 1992: ix). from the above description, it is clear that the time of machiavelli was a worrisome one for people like him who wanted to see a city and nation in peace and unity, without internal and external distractions. unfortunately, the whole of italy was then in political turbulence. it was a very tumultuous era characterized by popes waging acquisitive wars against italian city-states, as well as incessant battles for regional supremacy and control among france, spain, the holy igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 21 roman empire, and switzerland. this resulted in frequent rising and falling of italian people and cities from power, constant changing of political and military alliances, proliferation of mercenary armies, and rise and fall of many short-lived governments. the situation was so chaotic, that for florence, that had no natural protection, a big army or strong military tradition, things were very difficult. it was in this confusing situation that machiavelli wrote the prince, wherein he sets out his views on how florence and italy could be salvaged from the chaotic and deplorable condition they were in. though florence or italy of machiavelli’s era is quite different in culture and civilization from contemporary nigeria, a closer look, as i have noted earlier, reveals that there is some degree of resemblance between how things have been happening in the nigerian society and what one can grasp from the prince about florence and italy. to explore this position, let us look at these areas: 1. human nature 2. lack of national cohesion 3. violence and cruelty. 1. human nature: one of the recurrent themes in machiavelli’s treatise, the prince, is his analysis of human nature. in order to formulate his advice for rulers, he mentions explicitly a number of natural traits in human beings which he came to know from his knowledge of history and his observation of events happening in his time in italy, in general, and florence, in particular. from his observations, machiavelli concludes as follows about human beings: men are ready to change masters in the hope of bettering themselves. in this belief they take up arms against their master, but find themselves deceived when they discover by experience that instead things have got worse (chapter iii, adams, 1992: 5). it is the nature of people to be fickle; to persuade of something is easy but to make them stand fast in that conviction is hard. hence things must be arranged so that when they no longer believe they can be compelled to believe by force (chapter vi. adams, 1992: 17) how men live is so different from how they should live that a ruler who does not do what is generally done, but persists in doing what ought to be done, will undermine his power rather than maintain it. if a ruler who wants always to act honourably is surrounded by igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 22 many unscrupulous men his downfall is inevitable (chapter xv, skinner and price, 1988: 54). a general rule about men, that they are ungrateful, fickle, liars and deceivers, fearful of danger and greedy for gain. while you serve their welfare, they are all yours, offering their blood, their belongings, their lives, and their children’s lives, as we noted above – so long as the danger is remote. but when the danger is close at hand, they turn against you. then any prince who has relied on their words and made no other preparations will come to grief. … people are less concerned with offending a man who makes himself loved than one who makes himself feared: the reason is that love is a link of obligation which men, because they are rotten, will break any time they think doing so serves to their advantage; but fear involves dread of punishment, from which they can never escape (chapter xvii, adams, 1992: 46). men are so simple of mind, and so much dominated by their immediate needs, that a deceitful man will always find plenty who are ready to be deceived (chapter xviii, adams, 1992: 48). from the above statements, one can see that, for machiavelli, human beings are naturally selfish, greedy, stubborn, hypocritical and unreliable. they are not to be trusted because they are dangerous, deceitful and profit-driven. he believes that all that men want and care for is nothing but their personal glory and wealth, and they are so desperate about it that they can lie, cheat or do all kinds of cruel things to get what they want. most of machiavelli’s ideas in the prince are his pieces of advice to the prince on how to acquire, maintain or preserve power in the midst of people who are naturally selfish and unreliable. believing that the problems plaguing the city of florence and the nation of italy were caused by human beings out of their selfishness, greediness, hypocrisy and stubbornness, he insists that solution to the problems equally lies in a strong and capable prince who could use any necessary means to hold the nation together and make the nation self-sufficient. for him, the reason why everybody, including the religious leaders, is struggling for power, maneuvering for positions and fighting over spoils is because of human nature. looking at today’s nigeria, just like in machiavelli’s florence, and italy of his time, it is filled with individuals who exhibit the same attributes machiavelli saw in the lives of people of his time. nigeria today is made up of many greedy and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 23 selfish people who do all kinds of cruel and violent things in order to acquire and maintain political power. available empirical evidences show that in today’s nigeria the struggle for political power, maneuvering for political positions and fighting over spoils of office have led many to intimidation, kidnapping or killing of political opponents. some have entered into sorcery and ritual practices of various kinds in order to secure political positions. while one may not agree with machiavelli that his observations about human beings, which he stated in the prince, are the full truth about human nature (considering that he acknowledged in chapter xviii that there were actually people abiding with honest principles, whom, as he said, were always overcome by trickery and cunning men), it is a true fact that many in nigeria are exhibiting the same pattern of behaviour machiavelli noticed in the people of his time. there are instances of selfishness, trickery and cunning being manifested by politicians in both high and low places in order to acquire or maintain political power a typical example of this is the position of the ruling party, the all progressives congress (apc), on the issue of restructuring in nigeria which has been on the front burner of national discourse since the middle of 2016. restructuring, in the nigerian context, means devolving more powers and responsibilities to the component states of the federation, which will make the states to be financially independent of the federal government and make the federal government to be only in charge of issues of national concern such as foreign policy, defence and economy. this is based on the argument that rejigging the current structure of the nigerian federation would strengthen its unity and also stabilize its democracy. it is surprising to watchers of political events in nigeria that the same leaders of apc who were at the forefront of the call for restructuring of the nigerian federation when they were in opposition are, now that they are in power, reluctant to bring about the restructuring they formerly called for. instead of taking the bull by the horn as they promised nigerians in their campaign for votes in the 2015 elections, they now argue that those calling for restructuring are politicians who lost out in the 2015 elections. echoing the mind of the ruling party, in his interview on channels television programme, sunrise, on 29th june 2017, a prominent member of the ruling party, governor nasir el-rufai of kaduna state said that “politicians calling for restructuring were ‘opportunists’” (vanguard newspaper of 30th june 2017, anchored by madukwe under the heading politicians calling for restructuring are opportunists – el-rufai). this view is corroborated by another leading member of the ruling party, governor yahaya bello of kogi state who “called on nigerians igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 24 to disregard calls for restructuring of the country, describing such calls as mere political deceit” (leadership newspaper of 6th july 2017, under the caption calls for restructuring mere political deceit – kogi gov.). 2. lack of national cohesion: another area in which the present nigeria is comparable to florence and italy of machiavelli’s time is the inability of the citizens to achieve national cohesion even after over 50 years of independence. just as florence and italy of machiavelli’s time were characterized by factional units and small states who were always at each other’s throat, nigeria is characterized by ethnic nationalities that have always been in endless battles to outsmart each other politically and religiously. inasmuch as nigeria today is an independent nation, the way things have been happening since independence shows that the politicians and ordinary citizens believe more in their tribes and religions than in one nigeria. the former national anthem, used from the country’s independence in 1960, states thus: 1. nigeria, we hail thee our own dear native land though tribe and tongue may differ in brotherhood we stand nigerians all are proud to serve our sovereign motherland 2. our flag shall be a symbol that truth and justice reign in peace or battle honour’d and this we count as gain to hand on to our children a banner without stain 3. o god of all creation grant this our one request help us to build a nation where no man is oppressed and so with peace and plenty nigeria may be blessed the second and current national anthem, which replaced in 1978 the first one adopted at independence, reads as follows: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 25 1. arise, o compatriots nigeria’s call obey to serve our fatherland with love and strength and faith the labour of our heroes past shall never be in vain to serve with heart and might one nation bound in freedom peace and unity. 2. oh god of creation direct our noble cause guide our leaders right help our youth the truth to know in love and honesty to grow and living just and true great lofty heights attain to build a nation where peace and justice shall reign. just like the national anthem, the national pledge which is recited by school children throughout nigeria at the beginning and end of each school day goes like this: i pledge to nigeria, my country to be faithful, loyal and honest to serve nigeria with all my strength to defend her unity and uphold her honour and glory so help me god. the aim of making the school children sing and recite respectively the national anthem and pledge is to get their words internalized into their lives so that when they grow up they will abide by their words and manifest them in their social, political and economic activities. but available evidences clearly portray the fact that many politicians that sing the national anthem at public functions do that only with their mouths and not from their hearts. in other words, they are just paying lip service to both the national anthem and pledge. this is hinged igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 26 on the fact that their political practices do not correspond with the wordings of the national anthem and national pledge. it is noticeable that from the country’s independence in 1960 till date, the voting pattern of nigerians most of the time portrayed tribal sentiments, showing everyone’s desire to put into elective offices only people from his or her tribe or religion. this means that from independence to the present time, there is no sense of unity and oneness in nigeria. this is part of the reason why boko haram and moslem fanatics in northern nigerian are publicly and silently burning down churches and wiping out generations of christians there, with what seems like tacit support of some of their state governments and religious leaders. up till now, there is no seriousness on the part of various states governments in the northern part of nigeria in arresting, prosecuting or jailing those sponsoring or taking part in the persistent religious crises occurring there. reporting under the caption can to northern govs: halt the killing spree now, igata wrote: the christian association of nigeria, can, yesterday tasked the northern governors to stop further killing of christians in the area. rising from a joint meeting of the southern nigeria christian elders’ forum and the christian association of nigeria, south-east zone, the christian leaders condemned what they called “the inhuman treatment meted out on christians in the northern part of nigeria. “how can christians be treated like cows and goats in northern part of nigeria with impunity while we claim that nigeria is a secular state, the group queried, warning that “this is a sign of total islamization of nigeria, which is dangerous to the corporate existence of the entity called nigeria” (vanguard newspaper of 15th june 2016). events in nigeria since independence indicate that it is not only in the northern part of nigeria that people are showing apathy to the corporate existence of nigeria. all over the country, there is one problem or the other confronting the nation. militant youths are blowing up oil pipelines in south-south of nigeria, in spite of the plea from the president of nigeria, muhammadu buhari, southsouth leaders of thought, and other well-meaning nigerians that they lay down their arms and dialogue with government in order to find lasting solution to their grievances. writing on these recurrent blowing of oil pipelines in the daily post of 7th july 2016, under the heading, again, niger delta avengers blow up chevron pipeline in delta, opejobi stated: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 27 the niger delta avengers, nda, said they blew up another oil installation belonging to chevron nigeria limited in the creeks of delta state on wednesday night. this is coming barely 24 hours after the rampaging agitators reportedly attacked a pipeline belonging to nigeria national petroleum corporation, nnpc, at eleme leading to the nigeria liquefied national gas, nlng, in rivers state. the resurgent militant group disclosed its latest attack on a statement by its spokesman, mudoch agbinibo. in the south-east of nigeria, the agitation for biafra has resurfaced with high intensity, with the movement for the actualization of the sovereign state of biafra (massob) and independent people of biafra (ipob) currently mobilizing all indigenes of south-east and south-south of nigeria for another secession of biafra from nigeria. to prove their seriousness to their cause, they organized demonstrations in major cities of the south-east of nigeria on monday, may 30, 2016 to commemorate biafra day, i.e., the day the biafra warlord, chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu declared the independence of the aborted republic of biafra in 1967. in some places, the demonstration turned violent and bloody. writing under the caption 7 die as massob protests in asaba, vanguard newspaper of 30th may 2016 states thus: no fewer than seven persons have been confirmed dead following protest by members of the movement for the actualization of the sovereign state of biafra (massob) in asaba on monday. the acting police public relations officer (ppro) in delta, sp charles muka, who confirmed this in a statement, added that the police recorded two casualties. it stated that the military arrested and brought eight members of massob to the police who are now in custody in asaba. in another report of the demonstration, as it happened in onitsha, anchored in the this daynewspaper of 31st may 2016, under the heading dozens killed, several injured as biafra day rallies turn bloody, the story goes in this way: during yesterday’s rally in onitsha, anambra state, a combined team and police clashed with members of ipob during the celebration of biafra day in the commercial city. the clash, thisday checks revealed, left about 30 people dead and many injured. it was equally gathered that over 50 members of the biafran igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 28 group were arrested by the military and taken to the 302 cantonment of the nigerian army in onitsha. in response to the activities of independent people of biafra (ipob) which culminated in a violent clash between the group and the nigerian military at umuahia, abia state, in september 2017, the nigerian government secured a court ruling through which ipob was formally proscribed and designated a terrorist organization. reporting on it, soniyi, ogunmade andugwu of this day newspaper stated: a federal high court sitting in abuja has proscribed the indigenous people of biafra (ipob) in nigeria, the south-east separatist group which has been agitating for the realization of the republic of biafra. the acting chief judge of the federal high court, justice abdul adamukafarati, granted the order proscribing ipob following an application filed and moved wednesday by the attorney general of the federation (agf) and minister of justice, abubakarmalami (san). the judge granted all the prayers brought before him by the justice minister (this day newspaper of 21stseptember 2017, under the heading court formally proscribes ipob, designates it terrorist organization). though the proscription of ipob and its designation as a terrorist group are seen by most observers of recent political events in nigeria, including the united states (vanguard newspaper of 24th september 2017 under the caption, ipob is not a terrorist organization – us govt.), as uncalled for, many welcome the move because of the dangers posed to the unity of the nigeria nation by the activities of ipob, especially their activities in the six months before their proscription. just as there are presently insecurity situations in the northern, southern and eastern parts of nigeria, the western part is not left out, as oodua people’s congress (opc), a yoruba nationalist organization has for decades been a thorn in the flesh of both ordinary people in lagos and other parts of western nigeria. clashes between opc and security agents are now part of life in western part of nigeria, as residents in the region have become used to such clashes coming on regular basis. in one of their clashes, reported by usman in the vanguard of 28th august 2013, under the caption 5 arrested as opc, police clash in lagos, the story went thus: pandemonium broke out yesterday at iju-ishaga area of lagos, following a clash between policemen and suspected members of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 29 oodua people’s congress, opc. trouble, as gathered started after some policemen on stop-and-search flagged down the opc vehicle which was moving towards agege area for an event. an eye-witness who identified himself as timothy, said: “the policeman fired teargas canisters which choked some of the opc members. other still managed to flee the scene in their vehicles.” reporting on another clash in the vanguard of 31st march 2014, under the heading, one killed, station torched in lagos, police, opc clash, usman stated: pandemonium broke out, weekend, in the densely populated ajegunle area of lagos state, after some members of oodua people’s congress, opc, engaged policemen in tolu police division in a gun duel over the release of a suspect. a suspected member of opc was shot dead in the process, a passer-by hit by a stray bullet, one policeman shot and several others sustained varying degrees of injuries in the incident which paralysed commercial activities in the area. a police van was also burnt by the opc members and part of the station torched. their attempt to burn down the station, however, was met with resistance from the policemen. in a clash on tuesday, 27th april 2016, involving the opc and some hoodlums in agejunle area of lagos state, one person was killed, while several others were injured. reporting on the incident,igbonwelundu stated that “the incident which occurred around 10pm at arumo street, caused panic among residents as buildings were touched by the rampaging youths” (from the nation newspaper of 27th april 2016, under the heading one dies, others injured as opc, hoodlums clash in lagos). from the foregoing, it is understandable that in his national broadcast on 1st october 2017 in commemoration of nigeria’s 57th independence anniversary, the nigerian president, muhammadubuhari, lamented the lack of cohesion among the ethnic nationalities in nigeria. he said, recent calls on restructuring, quite proper in a legitimate debate, have let in highly irresponsible groups to call for dismemberment of the country. we cannot and we will not allow such advocacy. as a young army officer, i took part from the beginning to the end in our tragic war costing about 2 million lives, resulting in fearful destruction and untold suffering. those who are agitating for re-run igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 30 were not born in 1967 and have no idea of the horrendous consequences of the civil conflict we went through. i am very disappointed that responsible leaders of these communities do not warn their hot-headed youths what the country went through. those who were there should tell those who were not there the consequences of such folly (premium times newspaper of 1st october 2017 under the caption what buhari told nigerians at independence). also, few weeks after the nigerian president’s broadcast, the vice president, prof. yemiosibanjo echoed a similar sentiment on the lack of cohesion among the various tribesin the nation. addressing a gathering of nigerian pastors, he said, we must also deal with tribalism, religion and other parochial tendencies. it is difficult to find national leaders today. many nigerians speak from a tribal perspective (daily post newspaper of 28th october 2017, anchored by wale odunsi under the heading maina: osinbajo breaks silence on ex-pension boss). 3.violence and cruelty: machiavelli’s narrative in the prince brought to the fore the state of affairs in both florence and italy of his time. the city of florence, just like other italian city-states, was facing enormous challenges of how to sustain her statehood in the midst of incessant political conflict, violence and cruelty. it was a period of political turbulence, insecurity and chaos, violence and wickedness, characterized by struggles for acquisition of territories and influence. likewise, nigeria, a colonial creation, is today facing some challenges of political development coming from all fronts, which include the use of violence and cruelty to acquire political power and to express ethnic or religious grievances. available evidences point to the fact that violence and cruelty are part of social cum political lifestyle of many nigerians. right from the early years of the existence of the country as an independent state, there has always been the abuse of the power of incumbency by the ruling party, aimed at intimidating the opposition parties and their candidates, as well as their supporters. notably, the first federal election in nigeria, as an independent country, held in 1964, was characterized by ugly incidents of political thuggery and violence, electoral malpractices and chaos, leading to boycott of the election by the opposition coalition, united progressive grand alliance (upga) in certain parts of the country. this made the ruling coalition, nigerian national alliance (nna) to have a landslide victory. resultantly, the entire process igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 31 suffered crisis of legitimacy and credibility, and everybody knew that a national crisis was imminent, as there were even talks of a possible military take-over. to avert such a development, the prime minister of the federation, sir abubakartafawabalewa, agreed to form a government of national unity, and also to have fresh elections in the constituencies where no effective election had taken place due to the upga boycott. as if what happened in the federal election of 1964 was a child’s play, in the western region elections held on 11th october 1965, there were higher incidents of widespread rigging, violence, intimidation and murder of opponents and destruction of their properties, perpetrated by both the nna and the upga. the follow-up events culminated into a serious political crisis, which consequently, led to chaos and complete lawlessness all over the western region, resulting in massive destruction of lives and properties. it was reported that during the crisis, about 1000 people lost their lives and about 5,000 houses were burnt down. it was the problems associated with the federal election of 1964 and the 1965 western region election that compelled the military to strike on the night of 14th – 15th january 1966 and terminate the nigerian first republic. incidentally, other elections that have taken place in nigeria after the 1964 and 1965 elections are characterized by violence and intimidation, and sometimes kidnapping or killing of political opponents, massive rigging, and other forms of electoral irregularities.these malpractices contributed partly to the overthrow of the second republic by the military on 31st december 1983. even the 1998/1999 elections which ushered in the present democratic dispensation in nigeria were characterized by wide-scale irregularities and violence. according to ezeigbo, “soldiers were used to intimidate innocent voters”, while observers witnessed “ballot stuffing and other pre-meditated political violence geared at perpetrating fraud to pave the way for the pdp candidates” (ezeigbo, 2007: 297). analysing the 2003 and 2007 elections, agubamah noted thus: on the whole, the assessment of the 2003 elections reflected malpractice all over. in states like rivers and ogun, the votes cast were more than the voters registered….like the 2003 elections, the 2007 witnessed various dimensions of malpractices. accusing fingers in this regard pointed to the then president, olusegunobasango. accusations were rife that he was manipulating the electoral environment in favour of his party pdp (agubamah, 2009: 471). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 32 similarly, the 2015 general elections, considered the freest and fairest in nigeria’s election history, had pockets of violence and intimidation of political opponents in many areas of the country. according to nigerian human rights commission, 58 nigerians were killed in the 2015 pre-elction violence (premium times of 13th february 2015, anchored by ibeh under the caption 58 nigerians killed in 2015 pre-election violence so far – rights commission). application of machiavelli’sargument to nigeria’s political situation it is likely that many will question the justification for my argument that the nigerian society of the 21st century can be understood in the light of the events of sixteenth century italian society and machiavelli’s response to the events as articulated in the prince. for me, going by the similarities in the two political situations in terms of human nature, lack of national cohesion, violence and cruelty, as established in the comparison drawn above, it is plausible to use the political solution offered by machiavelli as a recommendation on how nigeria will get over its political problems.this is in view of the fact that machiavelli’s concern in the princeis the evolution of a strong ruler that can unite italy into a coherent whole capable of withstanding foreign incursions and distractions. just like the italy of the machiavellian era, nigeria is facing some challenges of political development coming from all fronts, which include manifestation of greed and selfish interests,lack of national harmony and the use of violence and cruelty to acquire political power and also express ethnic or religious grievances.as machiavelli saw the necessity for florence and italy of his time to transit from political weakness to political stability, there is no doubt that nigeria needs some change of structure and mentality on the part of all the citizens. if nigeria will grow to become a strong and great nation that can be a political and economic force in the comity of nations, in accordance with the aspirations of the founding fathers, there is need to apply the machiavellian argument for a strong and indivisible nation. while machiavelli’s argument for a strong ruler not in any way restrained by norms of conventional morality does not apply for present-day nigeria, the fact remains that nigeria still needs a strong democratic institutions to achieve greatness. at the moment, this desired greatness has not been realized notwithstanding that the nation has celebrated 57 years of attaining igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 33 independence.to achieve greatness for nigeria, there must be true federalism. true federalism denotes a situation where the states will develop at their own pace and not depend on the centre for infrastructural development and payment of workers’ salary. presently, the way and manner in which the state governors in nigeria run cap in hand to the federal government monthly for federal allocation is a mockery of federalism and caricature of democracy. the system in the country has greatly weakened the federal structure, making the state governments mere appendages of the federal government. what is practiced now in the name of federalism is unitary in nature, and many opine that this is because the present constitution of nigeria, which came into effect with the return of democracy in 1999, was drafted by the military, though after consultation with political and legal elites. the present system, they argue, is the direct result of the long years of military rule in nigeria. this claim is based on the fact that in the first republic (1960 – 1966) when nigeria had regional governments, each region controlled the natural resources within its domain and developed without running to the centre for financial support. in those days, the regions were known for what they respectively produced. for instance, northern region produced groundnut and exported groundnut, western region was known for cocoa production, and eastern region was known for palm oil production. but barely six months after the military take-over, in may 1966, the new head of state, major general j. t. u. aguiyiironsi abolished the regions by decree and replaced the federal structure by unitary system of government. even when his successor, general yakubu gowon, following the counter-coup of july 1966, restored the federal system of government, it was not practiced the way it was done in the first republic due to the usual nature of military government. moreover, few months after assumption of office, gowon issued a decree dividing nigeria into twelve states. that act, which many saw as politically motivated, totally scattered the existing framework of the regions and changed the order of governance in the country. today, the country has 36 states and a federal capital, abuja, and all these states were created under military rule. as noted above, the 1999 constitution which the country is now operating on is a product of the military, and it is not surprising that it has some areas which have impeded the growth of federalism. efforts to restructure the nigerian federation and have a new constitution are being sabotaged by those favoured by the current constitution, which made the composite states of the federation to heavily depend on the federal government for funds. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 34 again, the country needs some restructuring if it will move from economic weakness to economic stability. the restructuring has to start with changing the present constitution which made mining of all minerals and exploration of all oil and gas resources in all nigerian lands and territorial waters an exclusive preserve of the federal government. the present constitution should be changed or amended to give states right to exploit and explore the mineral deposits within their respective territories. if this is done, it will create the opportunity to tap into many of the untapped solid mineral resources wasting in various states of nigeria because successive nigerian governments jettisoned their exploration because of oil boom. knowing that funds for sustaining government expenditure will no longer come from outside of the state as it used to be, every state will do everything possible to develop alternative means of revenue other than oil, such as agriculture, taxation, commercial activities, etc. this will certainly promote healthy rivalry among the constituent units of the nigerian federation and bring about rapid development of agricultural potentials of various segments of the country as it was in the first republic when the country operated by regions. presently the price of crude oil in the international market is on the decline, thereby reducing drastically the income of the country and the capacity of the federal government to provide essential infrastructural facilities to the citizenry. as things stand now, the states depend on the federal government’s monthly allocation for funds to perform government functions and pay salary of workers. reporting on this dependence on the centre for funds, the nation newspaper of 12th june 2016, under the caption, fg to give fresh bailout to states, stated as follows: a fresh financial support facility is on the way for the states from the federal government to cushion the effect of the current economic crisis, although with stringent conditions. the scheme is designed to provide relief to the states, many of which are finding it difficult to pay their workers’ salaries. the federal government recently gave the states a bailout to enable them clear the arrear of salaries owed their workers. as at october 2017, the federal government has given states bailout funds several times to enable them meet their obligations, especially payment of workers’ salaries, but there is no hope in sight that things will improve for the states, unless the states have other avenues of generating enough funds to meet their obligations. reporting on the view of the nigerian president concerning igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 35 this when he received a delegation of the nigeria governors’ forum, adetayo wrote: president muhammadubuhari on tuesdaylamented that despite the various interventions by the federal government, there were still complaints and agitations by workers over unpaid salaries and allowances by state governments. he wondered how the unpaid workers had been managing to meet their needs. …the president told the governors that the plight of workers in the states needed urgent attention as many could hardly survive. “how can anyone go to bed and sleep soundly when workers have not been paid their salaries for months” (punch newspaper of 18th october 2017, under the caption state governors demand fresh bailout frombuhari). this is where the need for a strong nation, where the principles of true federalism are firmly in place, comes to mind. when the states are given the responsibility of tapping their mineral resources, it will increase their economic viability. when the states are economically strong and viable, they will impact on their people, and when they impact on their people, many of the challenges confronting the nation, such as unemployment, prostitution and crime, restiveness and militancy will be reduced to the barest minimum. by then, the public will begin to enjoy real dividends of democracy. conclusion in view of the instances highlighted above, i would reiterate my argument that the politicalsituation of the present-day nigeria can be understoodin the light of the political situation of the florence and italy of machiavelli’s time and also be addressed in line with machiavelli’s argument in the prince for a strong and united nation. inasmuch as italy of machiavelli’s era is quite different in culture and civilization from contemporary nigeria, there are still bases for comparison between the political events of both societies. this is the reason why i think that the interpretation through which one can understand and explain the state of affairs in nigerian politics is that which holds that machiavelli’s the prince is a realistic reflection of the state of affairs in florence and italy of his time. therefore, his ideas are his own way of trying to solve the political problems of his city-state and nation. however, it does not in any way imply that the views canvassed by machiavelli in the prince are the perfect solutions to the problems confronting florence and italy of his time neither are they the solutions to the present problems igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 36 confronting nigeria in her quest for political development. it only means that the views could help in providing insight into the political problems of nigeria, and as well serve as a recommendation on how these problems can be addressed. bibliography adams, r. m. 1992. the prince, 2nd edition, tr. &ed. new york: w. w. norton & company, inc. agubamah, e. 2009. in democracy, leadership and accountability in post colonial africa. tony edoh&terhembawuam berlin, i. 1992. the question of machiavelli. in adams, r. m. the prince, 2nd edition, tr. &ed. new york: w. w. norton & company, inc. dietz, m. g. 1986. trapping the prince: machiavelli and the politics of deception. the american political science review, vol. 80, no 3, pp. 777 – 799. ezeigbo, e. c. o. 2007. the biafran war and the igbo in contemporary nigerian politics. lagos: genius press. machiavelli, n. 1995. the prince, translated by bull, g. middlesex: penguin books university press. skinner, q, price, r. 1988. machiavelli: the prince (cambridge texts in the history of political thought). cambridge: cambridge university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol 9 no.2, 2023 www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/igwebuikejournals.php a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 156 nollywood ritual representation and the awka youths: an examination of the parents’ perspectives nkemakonam aniukwu, phd department of theatre and film studies, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. nj.aniukwu@unizik.edu.ng & virginia onwumelu ojelibechukwu department of theatre and film studies, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra virginiaonwumelu1@mail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.31621.83688 abstract youths are influenced habitually from what they see or hear through the internet, television, over the radio, reading books, or watching movies. in recent times nollywood film industry and the new media have become the major sources of entertainment, inspirations and aspirations for the youths and even adults alike. this study, however, focuses on ritual representation and quick money syndrome themes in nollywood films and thus applies stuart hall's media reception theory as a theoretical framework to evaluate how the receiver of media messages behaves. a survey design of a quantitative research method is employed to carry out the analysis of the numerical data generated for the study. the research findings reveal that there are changes in the behaviours of most of the nigeria youths living in awka metropolis as a result of seeing nollywood movies on ritual killings and financial crimes which most of the respondents agreed is one of the reasons behind the get-rich-at-all-cost syndrome among today’s youths. the researchers therefore recommend that the government of anambra state/nigeria should organize conferences, workshops and symposia for the filmmakers to ensure that film productions are being built on proper storylines different from ritual killings and the bastardization of the people’s cultural practices. the script writers must be encouraged and sponsored to write scripts worthy of changing the prevalent narratives of money rituals and get-it-atall-cost syndrome that is dominating more content in the nollywood film industry. keywords: ritual representation, nollywood, quick money syndrome, youths nkemakonam aniukwu, phd & virginia onwumelu ojelibechukwu 157 introduction the ritual representation in nollywood films is viewed and seen on the groundwork of suggestive realism. technically speaking, the ritual scenes are created to enhance the storyline and heighten the aesthetic spectacles of the movies as the case may be. however, the sacrificing of human beings for ritual purposes has become worrisome in nigeria society in recent times. this study is set out to evaluate the perspectives of parents living in awka metropolis on the subject matter stated above. awka is an igbo society as well as the capital city of anambra state, nigeria. the city hosts one of the federal universities in nigeria with most of its populace educated and enlightened. over the years some scholars have pointed igbo films as films riddled with ritual practices as could be found in some igbo traditional practices. teddy t hanmakyugh posits that: the ritual phenomenon in igbo culture has taken a different dimension as life is no longer regarded sacred but a necessary tool for ritual sacrifices to become wealthy. the successful urban igbo person likes to enjoy a good life. he/she may not necessarily own a building in the city but he/she is proud to put up an edifice of comparable standards in his/her village. this, no doubt, is a big challenge to age groups domiciled in the village who believe that the rural urban drift is the ultimate way to make their dreams come true. this belief finds its roots in the various video films depicting the lifestyles of affluence the igbo enjoy in the cities by employing any diabolic means to become wealthy (377) inasmuch as the above opinion may have some elements of believability in it, most igbos are not ritualists, the ritual representation in the films does not represent the foundation and lifestyles of the igbos. again and again ritual representation could be found in almost all genres of nigerian movies, whether it is a yoruba film like adebayo tijani and tope a^_\[yi‖s king of thieves, (2022) or any other films from other quarters of the nigerian society. when it comes to ritual visible representation proven in nollywood films, all the tribes in nigeria have one ritual or the other, as such, most filmmakers as exposed in the later section of this study produce movies and garnish them with glimpses of ritual sacrifices to enhance the aesthetic spectacles. quoting asiegbu bature-uzor, nkechi: the ritual scenes in nollywood films constitute what nico's hadjinicolaon terms" visual ideoliay". vcsu[f c^_ifiay []]ir^cha ti bcg cs ‗tb_ w[y ch wbc]b tb_ formal and thematic element of particular pictures is combined on each specific occasion. this combination is a particular form of overall ideology of a social ]f[ss‘. (229) one of the cruxes of this study is the composition of this social ideology of ritual killings for quick-money enterprise, as constantly projected to the nigerian film audiences which could be argued are encouraging maladjusted behaviours among the youthful populations. nollywood ritual representation and the awka youths: an examination of the parents’ perspectives 158 some of the films have shown how one can quickly become a billionaire through ritual and other dubious means without having to follow the right path, or engage in hard work, perseverance, integrity, competence, and credible endeavours. theoretical framework this study is anchored on reception media theory. the theory could be traced back to the work of a british sociologist stuart hall and his communication model first reviewed in [h _ss[y tctf_^ ‗eh]i^cha/d_]i^cha‘ (h[ff,198) r_]_jtcih g_^c[ tb_iry t[e_s [ ]loser look at what is actually going on when an audience encounters media text. it provides an analysis of how audiences perceive a certain media message, what meanings they drive, how they associate it, and what effect that message or text has on their psychological, personal and social make-up (jones,113). in line with this, nigeria audiences expose themselves to nollywood films on ritual, murder and financial crimes may do this by ascribing meanings and having their own perspectives from the content they are viewing. according to george rodman, ronald b. adler athena du pré ‗m[ss g_^c[ [r_ jiw_r`uf forces in society. interestingly enough, the average person will say that society is certainly affected by the media but that he or she, personally, is not. this is known as the thirdperson effect.1 still, most people remain extremely interested in media effects and equally ]ih`us_^ [\iut tb_g (5)‘ it cs ch tbcs fcabt tb[t tbcs stu^y tb_r_`ir_ ]ihtrc\ut_s ti _xcstcha literature on ritual representation and quick money syndrome among nigerian youths as it sought to establish the effects of nollywood films on nigerian youths. ritual representation in nollywood films ah _x[gch[tcih i` nca_rc[h si]c_ty, ^cs]fis_s tb_ ]b[ff_ha_s wbc]b tb_ ]iuhtry‖s ]uftur[f system `[]_s ch r_]_ht tcg_s. d[cfy, tb_ h[tcih‖s gir[f r_]tctu^_ [h^ ]uftur[f v[fu_s [r_ being attacked by some ideologies centred on money rituals, and quick money syndrome projected to the nigerian audience through the film medium. the advent of television has become an inescapable part of modern culture which could be found in virtually every home and recreation centre. therefore, youths are exposed to the world of television at a very tender age. with a variety of channels available for viewing, the young nigerian audience now have a plethora of both positive and inappropriate film/television content which may include the display of violence, inappropriate behaviour, and sexual immorality and ritual killings. it may be argued that these illicit contents are viewed by a good number of youths in the society. this is because most nigerians, especially youths have been exposed to a high range of film/television/internet programmes and communications which have in turn tended to mould their thoughts, behavioural pattern, nkemakonam aniukwu, phd & virginia onwumelu ojelibechukwu 159 \_fc_` syst_g [h^ []tcihs. fcfg sbiw][scha j_ijf_‖s ]uftur_ cs [h cht_ar[f j[rt i` [hy society and stands for the sum total of existence of a particular group of people dealing with their past, their present and projected insight into their immediate and distant future. children/youths are frequently referred to as the most important resources of a society. a lot has been written on the themes of the movies produced in nollywood. the emphasis on ritual killings, get-rich-at-all-cost syndrome, and financial crime has emerged as ordinary themes and subthemes in most nollywood films. moreover, over the years, one can argue that the nigeria film industry seems to have implanted in the minds of nigerian film audiences the inkling that one can only reap success in life if he or she engages in money rituals, as adversarial to good character formation, credibility, ability and dedication to hard work. some of the nollywood videos that interrogated ritual and quick money syndrome themes are as follows: chris obc r[ju‖s living in bondage (1992) a movie believed to have laid the groundwork of what is today known as nollywood, zeb edcri‖s nneka the pretty serpent, (1993), ag[e[ iaw_‖s rattle snake 1&,2, (1995), cbrcstc[h ohu‖s karishika 1 and 2 (1996) cbc]i edcri‖s blood money, (1997), andy ag_h_]bc‖s rituals (1997), t[^_ oac^[h‖s diamond ring parts 1 & 2 (1998), kenneth nh_\u_‖s died wretched (1998), z_\ edcri‖s sakobi: the snake girl 1 & 2 (1998), fred ag[t[, [h^ suhhy ciffchs‖ witches (1998), fc^_fcs due_r‖s king of money (1999), andy ag_h_]bc, [h^ dih p[^ri o\[s_ec‖s igodo (1999), l[h]_fit o^uw[ ig[su_h‖s issakaba 1 and 2 (2000), ah^y ag_h_]bc‖s oracle 1 and 2 (2002), a`[g oe_r_e_‖s billionaires club 1, 2 &3 (1999/2003), mc]b[_f j[d[‖s desperate billionaire1 & 2 (2005), sunday nh[dcu^_‖s last confession 1 and 2 (2005), o\c eg_fihy_‖s the mirror boy (2011), erh_st o\c‖s idemili (2014), l[h]_fit o^uw[ ig[su_h‖s invasion 1897 (2014), philips ag[yi‖s miracle workers (2015), r_ach[f^ e\_r_‖s living with a ghost (2015), kemi a^_tc\[‖s king of boys (2018), dih schaf_ n^u\ucsc‖s the billionaires and the return of the billionaires (2019/2021), ncyc aechgif[y[h‖s my village people, (2021), adebayo tcd[hc [h^ tij_ a^_\[yi‖s king of thieves, (2022), ez_uai u. ez_uai‖s the mad billionaire (2022), among others. the aforementioned films had in one way or the other explored ritual sacrifices interwoven in magic and sorcery, which are not restricted to human and animal sacrifices offered to the gods in order to gain powers (which could be political, spiritual and manipulation powers), money making ritual, escaping impending dooms, saving the villagers from their enemies, upholding some cultural practices, (which could be obnoxious practices) enhancing religious beliefs and so on and so forth. some of the films mentioned above are synonymous with money rituals. perpetual nigerian film audiences may be getting the wrong message of what the films posit as the ―a[chs‖ ch gist ][s_s iutw_cabs tb_ fiss. (mist i` tb_ [ht[aihcsts [h^ jrit[aihists enjoy their ill-gotten wealth while scruffy punishment is served towards the end of the movie). reports of ritual killings, and yahoo-yahoo boys engaging in ritual practices to dupe their nollywood ritual representation and the awka youths: an examination of the parents’ perspectives 160 unsuspecting victims are currently spreading throughout different media platforms in nigeria. slaying of innocent children, youths and helpless nigerians at different locations b[v_ \__h [ttrc\ut_^ ti rctu[f ecffchas. jih[tb[h h[yh_s ijch_s tb[t ‗niffywii^ `cfgs ^ih‖t `ct h[tur[ffy chti tb_ cht_rh[tcih[f `cfg `_stcv[f circuit—tb_y [r_h‖t g[^_ ti \_ [rt `cfgs. (4)‘ ih tbcs [a_ i` t_]bhifiac][f [^v[h]_g_ht, gist i` tb_ yiutbs b[v_ []]_ss ti tb_ films mentioned above, as greater number of the films are available on youtube and other online streaming platforms, and in most cases no one is saddled with the responsibility of educating the film audience the latent sublime messages enshrined in the plot of the story. research design of the study in this research, the study design is cross-sectional in nature, being designed to find out from a cross-section of parents on their opinions about ritual representation in nollywood films and the effects it may have on the nigerian youths. the participants were purposively selected based on some variables such as having internet accessibility, education, internet facilities, being a parent, or living with a youth, and having access to nollywood films. (for the youths between the ages of 18 to 45). as such, some parents who own internet facilities at home or provided their youths with phones connected to the internet and living in awka metropolis, anambra state, nigeria constitute the study population. the respondents are literate and semi-literate and understand the english language. a sample size of 150 parents and youths formed the study population with the sampling strategy of working class parents and youths. furthermore, the researchers adopted the purposive/judgmental sampling method in the non-probability sampling. due to the nature of this study, the researchers used questionnaires. the respondents supply their answers without being constrained by a fixed set of possible responses. the closeended and open-ended questionnaire format is employed in order to elicit adequate information from the respondents. prior to implementation, consents of the respondents were obtained individually and they were adequately informed of the survey objectives and the rights of the respondents, upon which an individual has the right to participate or opt out without any fear of intimidation. to test the reliability of the instrument, a sample of ten questionnaires were distributed by the researchers and answers were provided by the respondents and approved to be reliable for carrying out the study. in administering the instrument of data collection for this study, over 150 copies of questionnaires were distributed among the respondents. thus, data from the questionnaire was statistically analysed and the results are displayed using tables and pie charts. the research questions were analysed using simple percentage as follows: nkemakonam aniukwu, phd & virginia onwumelu ojelibechukwu 161 response 100 ___________ × ____________ = percentage total number of questionnaires 1 the following research data derived from the questionnaire are further presented and analysed below. over 150 questionnaires were administered, 150 copies were retrieved, 4 copies were void for inconsistency in response and for noncompliance to the instructions given. this leaves the researchers with 146 copies. the following research findings derived from the questionnaire are further presented and analysed below. section a demographic data of the respondents table 1: gender of respondents respondent frequency percentage male 88 58.7% female 58 38.7% invalid questionnaires 4 2.7% total questionnaires retrieved 150 100% the table shows that greater number of the respondents are males with 58.7% while female population constitutes 38%, and 2.7% did not provide answer to the question in the above table table 2: marital status respondent frequency percentage single 18 12% married 124 82.7% divorced 4 2.7% others 0 0% invalid questionnaires 4 2.7% total questionnaires retrieved 150 100% the table shows that most of the respondents are married with 82.7% out the total 100% which makes their replies more reliable because they have had enough experience with youthful lifestyles nollywood ritual representation and the awka youths: an examination of the parents’ perspectives 162 table 3: highest educational qualification of the respondents respondent frequency percentage primary 9 6% waec certificate 10 6.7% pre-university level 7 4.7% b.sc/b.a 100 66.8% postgraduate 20 13.3% others 0 0% invalid questionnaires 4 2.7% total questionnaires retrieved 150 100% the table shows that 66.8% of the respondents are graduates which means that most of the respondents are learned enough to give valid information and replies. table 4: religion of respondent respondent frequency percentage hindu 0 0% islam 16 10.7% christianity 84 56% traditionalist 38 25.3% others 8 5.3% invalid questionnaires 4 2.7% total questionnaires retrieved 150 100% most of the respondents were christians with 56% out of the total 100% of the respondents. this is because awka south is in the eastern part of the country, which is mostly christians. table 5: occupation respondent frequency percentage private sector 22 14.7% government service 106 70.7% self employed 12 8% house work 6 4% invalid questionnaires 4 2.7% total questionnaires retrieved 150 100% the greater number of the respondents were government workers with 70.7% out of the 100% of the total respondents. nkemakonam aniukwu, phd & virginia onwumelu ojelibechukwu 163 section b: research questions table 6 do you have someone who could be considered a youth at home? respondent frequency percentage yes 143 95.3% no 3 2% invalid questionnaires 4 2.7% total questionnaires retrieved 150 100% the greater numbers of the respondents of 95.3% out of the 100% respondent have youths therefore their answers are reliable as they have youths which they observe closely. table 7:what are their age brackets? respondent frequency percentage 18-25 40 26.7% 26-30 65 43.3% 31-35 17 11.3 36-40 24 16 invalid questionnaires 4 2.7% total questionnaires retrieved 150 100% the youths within the age bracket of 26-30 have the greatest percentage of 43.3% out of the total 100%. table 8: does your youth have access to television or own personal phones? if yes, what kind respondent frequency percentage smart phone 142 94.7% small phone 4 2.7% invalid questionnaires 4 2.7% total questionnaires retrieved 150 100% greater percentage of the youths have access to television and smart phones with 94.7% out of the total 100% table 9: what is the level of your youth exposure to internet contents or films? respondent frequency percentage nollywood ritual representation and the awka youths: an examination of the parents’ perspectives 164 10-30% 2 1.3% 31-50% 11 7.3% 51-70% 27 18 70-100% 106 70.7 invalid questionnaires 4 2.7% total questionnaires retrieved 150 100% most of the youths are exposed to internet contents and films with 70.7% out of the total hundred percent. table 10: do you have easy access to nollywood films? respondent frequency percentage yes 140 93.3% no 6 4% invalid questionnaires 4 2.7 total questionnaires retrieved 150 100% most of the respondents have access to nollywood films, 140 of the respondents with 93.3% out of the 100% which constitute the greater number of the respondents. table 11: does your youth like seeing nollywood movies? respondent frequency percentage yes 130 86.7% no 16 10.7 invalid questionnaires 4 2.7% total questionnaires retrieved 150 100% the greater number of the nigerian youths like seeing nollywood movies, 130 in number with 86.7% of the total 100% of the respondents. table 12:what is/are their purpose of seeing the films either online or on the screen respondent frequency percentage to learn skills 6 4% just for entertainment 140 93.3% others 0 0% invalid questionnaires 4 2.7% total questionnaires retrieved 150 100% nkemakonam aniukwu, phd & virginia onwumelu ojelibechukwu 165 tb_ t[\f_ sbiws tb[t gist i` tb_ r_sjih^_hts‖ yiutbs s__ niffywii^ givc_s dust `ir entertainment purposes only with 93.3% of the total 100%. table 13: how much time does your youth (s) spend seeing nollywood films a day? respondent frequency percentage less than one hour 2 1.3% 1-3 hours 6 4% 4-7 hours 128 85.3% 8-12 hours 8 5.3% more than 12 hours 2 1.3% invalid questionnaires 4 2.7% total questionnaires retrieved 150 100% the greater number of nigerian youths of 85.3% spend 4-7 hours watching nollywood movies on a daily basis and this constitutes the greater percentage of the respondents. ritual killings, financial crimes, using human beings for money rituals which encourage quick money syndrome are themes, concepts and plots of most films produced in the nollywood film industry. nevertheless, when youths are engaged grossly into seeing such uncensored movies, this may pose threats to their social behaviour and overall development. table 14: do you agree with the above statement? respondent frequency percentage yes 141 94% no 5 3.3% invalid questionnaires 4 2.7% total questionnaires retrieved 150 100% greater percentage of the respondents, 94% agreed that when youths engage in seeing nollywood films on ritual murder and financial crimes, it poses threat to their social behaviour and overall development. researches have shown that most youths are influenced by what they see and hear, wb_tb_r gi^_ffcha j[r_hts ir j__rs‖ \_b[vciur, r_ading books or viewing movies online or offline table 15 nollywood ritual representation and the awka youths: an examination of the parents’ perspectives 166 table 15: di yiu \_fc_v_ tb_r_ b[v_ \__h [hy ]b[ha_s ch yiur yiutbs‖ \_b[vciur \_][us_ of their constant viewing of nollywood movies on ritual killings and financial crimes? respondent frequency percentage yes 143 95.3% no 3 2% invalid questionnaires 4 2.7% total questionnaires retrieved 150 100% l[ra_r hug\_r i` tb_ r_sjih^_hts \_fc_v_^ tb_r_ w_r_ ]b[ha_s ch tb_cr yiutbs‖ behaviours because of their constant watching of nollywood films on ritual murder and financial crimes 95.3% of the total 100%. table 16: can you mark any of these as the changes you are witnessing or witnessed? respondent frequency percentage language (vulgarity) 12 8% violent conducts 16 10.61% mixing up with unfamiliar friends 18 12% speaks more about making money 88 58.7% others 12 8% invalid questionnaires 4 2.7% total questionnaires retrieved 150 100% the table indicates that 8% is recorded for changes in language and others that did not indicate the changes they witness, 12% see the youths mixing up with unfamiliar friends, 10% recorded violent conducts, and the greater percentage of 58.7% exchange the ideas of making money more often. chart 1: do you know what a film rating is? nkemakonam aniukwu, phd & virginia onwumelu ojelibechukwu 167 chart 2: do you think nigerian parents abide by film rating? the response in the above chart is alarming, 94% of the respondents think that nigerian parents do not abide by film rating, only 6% do so. table 17: how do you grade uncensored online and nollywood movies in recent times? respondent frequency percentage good 6 4% best 2 1.3% better 4 2.7% bad 6 4% worse 18 12% worst 110 73.3% invalid questionnaires 4 2.7% total questionnaires retrieved 150 100% the uncensored movies were graded worst with the highest percentage of 73.3% of the total 100% which means that the uncensored movies in nigeria presently are in the worst state. table 18: thus, how impactful do you think that movie contents are in the lives of the youths respondent frequency percentage positively impacted 8 5.3% negatively impacted 138 92% invalid questionnaires 4 2.7% total questionnaires retrieved 150 100% the table shows that the youths were negatively impacted as a result of seeing nollywood movies with 92% out of the 100% of the total respondents. nollywood ritual representation and the awka youths: an examination of the parents’ perspectives 168 chart 3: honestly speaking, do you think nollywood film contents are suitable for nigerian youths/children? the chart shows that a greater number of the respondents (50.7%) agreed that some of the films are suitable for the youths while 35.8% disagreed, 6% believed that it is only a few about 1 % that is suitable for a youth/child audience. discussion a critical examination of table 8 shows that 142 of the respondents agreed that their youths have access to smartphones, that is about 94.7%, while 4 of 2.7% have small phones. this implies that their youths have the gadgets that will make it possible for them to have easy access to nollywood films. as such, access to youtube, netflix and other online films streaming platforms are inevitable. most of the films produced today in the nollywood film industry are hosted by these online platforms. the nigeria video and film censors board does not control these online platforms. therefore, it is difficult for them to regulate the films or rate them for a particular audience. as could be seen in chart 3, 94% of the respondents believe that nigerian parents do not abide by film rating, it is even worrisome when the films are not rated at all and the audience have access to them. to support the above analysis, table 9 indicates that a greater percentage of the respondents are exposed to internet contents and films with 70.7% out of the total hundred percent having access to internet facilities and use the same to access films online. in table 10, most of the respondents have access to nollywood films, 140 respondents representing 93.3% out of the 100% which constitute the greater number of the respondents with access to nollywood films. this validates the data shown in table 13, which indicates that the greater number of youths in awka metropolis consisting 85.3% spend 4-7 hours seeing nollywood movies on daily basis, this aids the researchers as most of the respondents have knowledge and experience of what nollywood films on ritual murder and financial crimes is all about. in table 14, greater percentage of the nkemakonam aniukwu, phd & virginia onwumelu ojelibechukwu 169 respondents, 94% agreed that when youths engage in seeing nollywood films on ritual killings and financial crimes, it poses threat to their social behaviour and overall ^_v_fijg_ht. just [s ]iuf^ \_ s__h ch t[\f_ 15, l[ra_r hug\_r i` tb_ r_sjih^_hts‖ witness changes in their youtbs‖ \_b[vciurs \_][us_ i` tb_cr ]ihst[ht vc_wcha i` nollywood films on ritual murder and financial crimes, this represents 95.3% of the total 100%. table 16 shows that 8% is recorded for changes in language and others that did not indicate the changes they witness, 12% see the youths mixing up with unfamiliar friends, 10% recorded violent conducts, and the greater percentage of 58.7% exchange the ideas of making money more often. one can argue that it is the resolute of many youths or adults in nigeria society to make quick money but the rate at which the young adults pay less attention to character, capacity and competence developments is becoming worrisome. it is thus deductible that considering the prevalent situations in nigeria, what most youths see in films may prompt them into thinking toward money ritual, and get-itat-all-]ist syh^rig_ ]b[r[]t_rcs_^ \y yiutbs‖ _ha[a_g_ht ch gih_y `r[u^ (y[biiyahoo). table 17, indicates that the uncensored online movies were graded worst with the highest percentage of 73.3% of the total 100% which means that the uncensored movies in nigeria presently is at the worst state. yet most of the youths have access to them through cable networks, dvds, and online streaming platforms. in table 18, the table shows that the respondents believe that youths are negatively impacted as a result of seeing nollywood movies with 92% out of the 100% of the total respondents. chart 3 shows that a greater number of the respondents (50.7%) agreed that some of the nollywood films are suitable for the youths while 35.8% disagreed, 6% believed that it is only a few about 1 % that is suitable for a youth/child audience. no doubt, some of the films especially films on romance, family circle, comedy, drama and many others are suitable to the nigerian youths, just like table 12, indicates that most of the youths see nollywood films for various reasons, however, greater percentage sees nollywood movies just for entertainment purposes with 93.3% of the total 100%. conclusion the analysis and discussion of the generated data have shown that nollywood films on ritual killings and financial crimes themes contribute tremendously overtime to some social vices experienced in nigeria that are perpetuated by some youths. the study has _x[gch_^ tb_ j[r_hts‖ ijinions about nollywood themes on ritual killings and financial crimes and their possible socio-cultural implications posed to the viewers, especially the youths. paying attention to stuart hall's theory of reception of the media, most parents agreed that they experience changes in behaviours of their youths after seeing films on the above themes as evaluated in this study. hence one can conclude that from the analysis nollywood ritual representation and the awka youths: an examination of the parents’ perspectives 170 thus far, nollywood films have had an impact on the social behaviour of some youths living in awka metropolis, anambra state. this study reveals that most youths who w[t]b tb_s_ niffywii^ `cfgs‖ ]iht_ht b[v_ gchcg[f j[r_ht[f auc^[h]_ [h^ ]ihtrif. tbcs raises questions in regards to some interpretations and lifestyles that may emerge when youths watch such films from different online film streaming platforms and cable television networks with no proper guidance. recommendations  the government should organize conferences, workshops and symposia for the filmmakers. the script writers must be encouraged and sponsored to write scripts worthy of changing the prevalent narratives of money rituals and get-it-at-all-cost syndrome surfacing in the nollywood film industry.  nollywood films that portray igbos as money ritualists and fraudsters should be discouraged.  further studies of this nature should be encouraged especially in most urban cities ch nca_rc[. oh_ ][h [rau_ tb[t ti^[y‖s nca_rc[h j[r_hts [r_ gir_ _ha[a_^ wctb work while the youths in most cases are left with no directions. this has prompted many of them into engaging with the internet and other new media content, while some are looking for inspirations, others are seeking self-discoveries. further research in the major nigerian cities may also reveal more findings, give credibility to the findings of this research or even discredit its findings hence, it is wrong to assume that nollywood films impact negatively on every nigerian youth.  the nigeria film and video censors board should expand its scope to include the censorship of online film streaming platforms and television cable networks that most often did not abide by the censorship procedures laid down by the board. emphasis must be placed on good representation of the nigeria cultures in relation to the visual images constructed around money ritual and quick money syndrome works cited adler, ronald b. george rodman, athena du pré. mass communication-understanding human communication. new york: oxford university press. 2017. accessed 10th march, 2023 pdf asiegbu bature-uzor, nkechi. ‗rctu[fs ch niffywii^ fcfgs: a dcs]iurs_ ch i^_ifiay‘ the creative artist: a journal of theatre and media studies vol. 11, 2017. accessed 11th march, 2023 pdf nkemakonam aniukwu, phd & virginia onwumelu ojelibechukwu 171 h[ff, stu[rt. ‗eh]i^cha/d_]i^cha‘ cb. 10 ch stu[rt h[ff, diritby hi\sih, ah^r_w liw_ [h^ paul willis centre (eds), culture, media, language, (london: hutchinson. 1980) accessed 10th march, 2023. hanmakyugh, teddy. ‗rctu[f cuftur_ pb_hig_hih ch ia\i fcfgs: a stu^y i` money is money” ejotmas: ekpoma journal of theatre and media arts. pdf. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ejotmas.v7i1-2.25. accessed 12th february, 2023. jones, t. media studies theories: reception analysis (media from its audience perspective). retrieved from prezi.com/19wnjyd3xhe4/media-studiestheories-reception-analysis (2013). accessed 10th january, 2023 of[tiuh, wcffc[gs. ‗borders – africanist & global interview with jonathan haynes| © 2018" copyright borders literature online. 2018, pp. 1–5. accessed 15th january, 2023 http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ejotmas.v7i1-2.25 microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 5 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 92 african philosophy, globalization and the priority of ‘otherness’ prof. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, o.s.a. department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university, umunya info@igwebuikejournals.com abstract the question of the otherness within the parameters of african philosophy oscillates between the concerns of personal identity and alterity. personal identity deals with the philosophical questions that arise about ourselves by virtue of our being persons. a cursory glance at the historical evolution of philosophy, reveals that it has been discussed since the origins of western thought, and most major figures have had something to say about it. it is a quest that embodies the value of the first principle of being, which states that every being is determined in itself, is one with itself and is consistent with itself. this notwithstanding, the question of otherness focuses on the relationship between the self and the other. since this is a study within the scope of african philosophy, igwebuike is employed as an african philosophical framework and an indigenous wholistic category to respond to the question of otherness. in the collection and analysis of data, the phenomenological method of inquiry was employed. this research submits that a person, although a separate and separated entity or individual, constitutes part of a complete wholea diversity of being one with the other, and that the actualization of being is realized in recognizing and relating with the other. the researcher believes that an understanding and appreciation of the african conceptualization of the “i and other” relationship would advance a better human relationship, boost national unity and enhance dialogue between people of diverse religious, cultural and ethnic backgrounds, and thus, reduce violence linked to alterities. keyword: otherness, igwebuike, african, personal identity, alterity, globalization, philosophy. introduction the study of the historical development of western philosophy and the evolution of african thought, unveils an obvious diversity between the western conceptualization scheme and the african conception of reality. onyeocha (1997) avers that “whereas western philosophy is characterized by the problem of the knowledge of universals involving abstractions on the one hand…, africans exercise their thinking on the correctness of existence, the problem of living and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 93 life itself” (p. 142). the western pattern of thought is exclusivistic, depersonalized, objectivised and more concerned with analysis; the african scheme of conceptualization is inclusivistic, integrative, non-reductionistic, concrete, personalized and subjectivised in all its manifestations, expressing the interconnectedness of realitya world of relationship, harmony, continuality and complementarity. thus, onyeocha (2006) argues that “the african conceives of reality in terms of a universe of forces that are linked together, and are in constant interplay with one another” (p. 99). this divergence has further structured the african and western conceptions of the human person in relation to the other. in addressing the issue of ‘otherness’ the dualistic and exclusivistic western perception of reality understands a person in relation to the other in terms of “i and not-i”. this creates a dichotomy that brings in a strong divide between the “i and the other”, which could set groups and individuals against themselves. the question of the ‘other’ is a term with a rich and lengthy philosophical history dating at least from the sophists through socrates’ dialogues to hegel’s dialectics, in which the ‘stranger’ participates in a dialogue on the ontological problems of being and non-being, of the ‘one’ and the ‘other’. otherness points to the state of being different, shifting emphasis from descartes philosophical concerns with the other which was struck in abstraction to a concrete other that is located in social and cultural institutions. the question of the otherness of reality has continued to emerge in the various epochs of the history of philosophy fascinating philosophy and giving rise to questions such as: what does it mean to be other than the self? how do i and must i relate to the other? this paper attempts to study the conceptualization of the relationship between the i and the other, with particular focus on the human other, within the context of african philosophy. that is, how the african conceives the self in relation to the other. in responding to this question, igwebuike would be employed as an african philosophical theoretical framework for the interpretation of “who am i in relation to the other?” the ‘otherness’ and western philosophical thought a cursory glance at the historical evolution of the problem of personal identity reveals a couple of perspectives. conford (1912) and omoregbe (1991) aver that the pre-socratic philosophers (600 bc) were at the base of western philosophy, which grew out of religion and mythology. these ionian thinkers agreed that there must be an original stuff of which all things are made. but they disagreed what precisely this primary elements of all things was. for thales (600 bc), it igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 94 was water. for anaximander (600-548), it was a neutral element, infinite, eternal and indeterminate. for anaximenes (528-526 bc), it was air. for empedocles (440 bc), all things are made up of four everlasting elements: earth, air, fire and water. their coming together and separation is the cause of the changes we experience in the world. according to russell (1975), the pre-socratics were more concerned with the cosmos, and this affected the development of the concept person during this epoch. however, their interest was also targeted at discovering the unity and permanence of the polarities of the ‘othernesses’ of their time. with the emergence of the sophists, there was a shift in the direction of western philosophy. stumpf (2000) observes that the human person now occupied a worthwhile place in the western philosophical enterprise. protagoras (490-420 bc), gorgias (late 5thcentury) and thrasymachus (late 5thcentury) are three most outstanding sophists who emerged in athens sometime during the 5th century. protagoras, the oldest and most influential sophist is best known for his teaching that, “man is the measure of all things”. judgments are, therefore, relative. the rise and spread of relativism during this period drew attention to the individual person, and generated a radical approach towards otherness. in the 5th century b.c., plato (427-347) argues that the human person is composed of body and soul. the soul is a non-material thing and is capable of existence independent of the body. the soul exists before the body does. kanu (2014) avers that plato gave more function to the soul, by he emphasizing that the soul is the real person. since the soul is at the centre of existence, the body, which is the other is treated negatively as an impediment and a prison from which the soul must free itself. in the 4th century b.c., aristotle (384-322) in his de anima, taught that every material being is made up of two elements: matter and form. allan (1970) and vella (2008) observe that in aristotle, they are not separate entities as such, but a complex unity. in aristotle, a more balanced relationship with the other is attained. augustine (354-430 ad), in his de trinitate, was the first to take up a deepened examination of the word person. his purpose was to find a word that would be applied distinctly to the father, son and holy spirit, without falling into the error of making them three divinities or dissolving their individuality. from the foregoing, mundi (1985) observes that the person in augustine is the single igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 95 individual. three different divine persons, with three different divine responsibilities exist together. boethius (480 ad) in his de persona et duabus naturis, held that a person is an ‘individual substance of a rational nature’ (persona est rationalis naturae individual substantia). this later became the classical definition of person. st thomas aquinas (1224 ad) after boethius, in his summa theologica, defines a person as the subsistens rationale (a rational subsistent). according to okon (2010), thomas aquinas’ concept of a person implies: a. it is subsistent by itself, the person exists in himself and for himself, being the ultimate subject possessor of his nature and all his acts and so is the ultimate subject of predication of all its attributes. b. it is separated from others. this notwithstanding, with rene descartes (1596-1650 ad), philosophy started a new way, that of gnoseology. he defines the person in relation to selfconsciousness. in the second meditation, descartes (1637), through his methodical doubt, discovers that something resists doubt. that is, the fact that it is he who doubts, and who can be deceived. he thus, arrives at cogito ergo sum (i think therefore, i am). to the question, who am i? descartes answers simply, a “thinking thing”, a thing that essentially has mental experiences. descartes’ transformation of the person from an ontological to a psychological fact, opened the door to a series of either great diminutions or of enormous exaggerations of the concept of person. since the time of descartes, individual consciousness has been taken as the privileged centre of identity, while ‘the other’ is seen as an epistemological problem, or as an inferior, reduced or negated form of the same. the modern history of personal identity begins with locke. njoku (2002) avers that he countered the cartesian ground for identitywhich is thinking, believing that the establishment of identity over time needed a more solid foundation. against this reasoning, locke (1964) argues that the identity of a person consists neither in the identity of the immaterial substance, as most dualists are apt to hold, or in the identity of a material substance, as materialists might be expected to hold. john locke posits that personal identity consists not in the identity of substance, but in the identity of consciousness. his view, according to shoemaker (1998) is that the persistence of a person through time consists in the fact that certain actions, thoughts, experiences etc., occurring at different times, are united in memory. consciousness constitutes human identity, hence makes igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 96 what we call the self. nimbalkar (2008) posits that, in locke, we see the first modern conceptualization of consciousness. ontological foundation for the conception of otherness in african philosophy the ontological foundation for otherness in african philosophy is based on the centrality of the human person in the african universe and the principle of complementarity. 1. the centrality of the human person in african cosmology the concept of a person held by a group of people is fundamental in understanding not only how a person within such framework views himself but also how other matters such as the idea of being, morality, etc., that are essential for the ordering of society are viewed. this is emphasized by the fact that such a concept encapsulates the role the society expects the individual to play for the attainment of an orderly society (imafidon 2005). this explains why an understanding of the conception of the person in african thought is relevant to this study. african philosophy is anthropocentric, and this draws from the anthropocentric nature of the african universe. man is at the centre of the universe, more central than god. thus, mbiti (1969) observes that, “man is at the very centre of existence and african people see everything else in its relation to this central position of man… it is as if god exists for the sake of man” (p. 92). corroborating with mbiti, metuh (1991), avers that “everything else in african worldview seems to get its bearing and significance from the position, meaning and end of man” (p. 109). the idea of god, divinities, ancestors, rituals, sacrifices etc., are only useful to the extent that they serve the needs of man. below is a diagram that explains the central place of man in african cosmology. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 97 culled from african philosophy: a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy (kanu 2015, p. 95) the centrality of man in african cosmology places him in a matrix of spiritual relationships. there is the unbreakable tie to the supreme being, who created the earth and everything therein for man and his progeny. this tie is unbreakable because man's existence is ontologically dependent upon his creator. man also has to maintain correct relationship with the lesser entities within the spiritual realm. his day-to-day activities are not only designed to harmonize his relationship with the divinities and the departed ancestors, but they are also motivated by the fear that bad relations with these spiritual beings could certainly endanger the life and safety of his community. that peace may reign between man and the deities, it is also necessary that man lives in harmony with the members of the earthly community. in this matrix of man’s relationships, good status, good health and prosperity are signs of the wellbeing of a person’s life-force, and the human being struggles to preserve it through an appropriate relationship with the spiritual forces around him/her. from the centre of the universe, the human person relates with the divine in a community of ways: through libation: which are prayers usually said in the morning time or during ceremonies, meetings and gatherings using oji (kola nut) and mmanya-oku (hot drink), the food and drink of the gods. ijiomah igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 98 (2005) avers that in prayer, “the igbo man tries to normalize the relationship among the three worlds … libation is made to god through the agency of the ancestors and other deities” (p. 87). through divination: which involves a process of inquiry, people who wish to know why certain things happen, how to solve certain problems and so on, go to diviners. the centrality of man in the african universe and the matrix of his relationships affects his approach towards the other. 2. inherent principle of complementary the african cosmos the african cosmos is an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. thus, ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is ‘to be with the other’, in a community of beings. according to iroegbu (1995), this african manner of being is characterized by a common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny. mbiti (1970) classically proverbializes this relationship thus: “i am because we are and since we are, therefore i am” (p. 108). the african worldview, therefore, is governed by the principle of complementarity, which seeks the conglomeration, the unification, the summation of fragmented thoughts, opinions and other individualized and fragmented thoughts and ideas. it believes essentially that the whole is greater than the corresponding parts. it is also a view that maintains that by the coming together of the individual or parts, a viable and sustainable whole will emerge, and by this, the parts will get to the brim purpose of their existence (asouzu 2004). the principle of complementarity and the evolution of african philosophy complementarity is the intricate web of african philosophy. it has remained constant in the midst of the changes in the history of african philosophy. this sense of harmony, community, complementarity and solidarity among the community of beings finds expression right from the philosophy of tempels (1959). he argues that in bantu ontology: ‘beings forces’ of the universe are not a multiple of independent forces placed in juxtaposition from being to being. all creatures are found in relationship according to the law of hierarchy... nothing moves in this universe of forces without influencing other forces by its movement. the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 99 world of forces is held like a spider’s web of which no single thread can be caused to vibrate without shaking the whole network. (p. 29). kagame (1951) agrees with tempels that reality is force. it is not a force independent of the other, but forces that are in a relationship. he categorized reality into muntu (human beings), kintu (things), hantu (place and time), and kuntu (modality). these categories of being relate with each other, and their relationship is seen when we remove the determinative, after which there remains a stem ntu which is the same in all. he describes ntu thus, “ntu is being itself, the cosmic universal force... that force in which being and beings coalesce” (p. 101). in jahn (1958), ntu becomes the rallying point of being, outside which no being can exist. the nationalistic movements of the 20th century in africa, now grouped into national ideological school of african philosophy, was linked by their emphasis on belongingness. for instance, the social negritude of senghor (1964 & 1975) which places the family at the centre of the social structure, thus, man as a person realizes his being in the family structure, and the society has meaning from what the family is. it was on this same principle of complementarity that nyerere (1968a and 1968b) bases his principle of ujamaa. the choice of socialism over capitalism by awolowo (1969 & 1979) and the promotion of pan-africanism by nkrumah (1963) were based on the distinctive complementary character of african ontology. mbiti (1970) in his work on african religion and philosophy also speaks of african ontology as complementary: the anthropocentric ontology is a complete unity or solidarity which nothing can break up or destroy. to destroy or remove one of these categories is to destroy the whole existence including the destruction of the creator, which is impossible. one mode of existence presupposes all the others, and a balance must be maintained so that these modes neither drift too far apart from one another nor get too close to one another. (p. 16). the idea of the complementarity of reality in african thought does not ignore the distinctiveness of being. oguejiofor (2010) observes that: among the igbo of nigeria, man’s life is circumscribed within the world, uwa, which is made up of the abode of humans and the abode of spirits. but these are not divided or separated by a chasm. there is interconnectedness between the two enabling contact between the deities igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 100 and spirits, and human beings. this unitary conception of reality pervades igbo world view in a very remarkable way. one factor that makes for this unity is that the igbo view of reality is anthropocentric. (p. 21). edeh (1983) reflecting on igbo metaphysics furthers the perspective of mbiti: accordingly the igbo way of life emphasizes ‘closeness’ but not closedness’. there is a closeness in living because each person ‘belongs to’ others and in turn, ‘is belonged to’ by others. by adopting this life of ‘closeness’ or ‘belongingness’, an igbo becomes immersed in the culture’s spiritual substance, love; and by love, he acquires a fulfilment as a person beyond mere individuality. (p. 105). gyekye (1987) in his work on akan philosophy avers that the individual depends on the community: the individual’s life depends on identifying oneself with the group.… it is also the ground of the overriding emphasis on the individual’s obligation to the members of the group; it enjoins upon him or her the obligation to think and act in terms of the survival of the group as a whole. in fact one’s personal sense of responsibility is measured in terms of responsiveness and sensitivity to the needs and demands of the group. (p. 156). iroegbu (1995) describes being in african ontology as belongingness. in response to the questions, ‘what makes being, being?’, ‘what does it mean to be in the uwa?’ iroegbu argues that it is belongingness, thus being is belongingness. what then is belongingness? belongingness is a special noun from the verb ‘to belong’. it means to be part of, daisein-with or to be a member of a group. thus nkemnkia (1999) write that in african ontology, the self is the other: the meaning of an individual’s life is found in and through his relationship with the other or others. in fact it is meaningless to ask oneself “who am i” without having a complete knowledge of the other, from whom, in the final analysis, one expects the answer. when we say ‘i’, in reality one means ‘you’, that is, the other. by saying ‘we’ one is essentially saying ‘man’. if this is how things stand, then each ‘i’, is always mediated by ‘the other’, who is none other than ‘oneself’. in this dialectic each one of us contains exclusively the other. (pp. 111-112). asouzu (2004 & 2007a) developes the notion of being within the context of the new ontological horizon of ibuanyidanda. ogbonnaya (2013) avers that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 101 ibuanyidanda is an approach to ontology in a way that bridges the artificial chasm, and which aims at overcoming all forms of bifurcation which the human mind imposes on the relationship between substance and accidents. according to asouzu (2007b), the philosophy of ibuanyidanda “explores a method and principles for coalescing the real and the ideal, the essential and the accidental into system of mutual complementing units” (p. 101). it is, therefore, not surprising that asouzu would define being as “that on account of which anything that exists serves a missing link of reality” (p. 103). thus, being is located within the context of mutual complementarity of all possible relations in the sense of an existent reality. in the foregoing, the perspectives of different african philosophers have been visited to see how their respective ideas are the ‘other positive’. contrary to the history of western philosophy, it can be concluded that complementarity is the key to understanding african philosophy. globalization and the increasing reality of otherness obiefuna and aniago (2010) and kanu (2014) trace the development of globalization to hellenistic times, when alexander the great in 334 b c attempted to greekicize non greeks, and more fundamentally to europe, when portuguese navigators discovered some parts of the world, and through trade, evangelization, exploration and colonialism ruled the world. since then, there has been an increased movement of people from one part of the world to another, thus, raising more questions about the reality of otherness. this notwithstanding, what is globalization? fafowora (1998) refers to globalization as the process of increasing economic, political, social and cultural relations across international boundaries. it deals with increasing the breaking down of trade barriers and the increasing integration of world market. globalization according to kanu (2015) is, therefore, systematically reconstructing integrative phases among nations by breaking down barriers in the areas of culture, commerce, communication and other fields of endeavour. gradually, the world is turned into a global village, and peoples of diverse cultures, religions and traditions transformed into cosmopolitans on a global conference table. there is now a greater human cohesion and solidarity, greater interaction on the global level, mankind coming close together, and relating more and more with one another. asouzu (2007a) refers to it as “a necessary consequence of our being” (p. 382). agbo (2010) affirms asuzu’s perspective thus: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 102 globalization is not only part of nature, it is the mode of being for human beings, it expresses our internal state. in an ontological sense, it is the category of our expressive existentiality! it is the name we give to the invisible force that is propelling reality forward with incredible velocity. (p. 36). although each person is an individual substance, globalization brings persons together from different backgroundssocial, cultural, economic, religious, educational, racial etc., to relate with the another. at this point of encounter, the self gets in contact with the other, the different, the dissimilar, the distinct to which the self must relate. african philosophy and the question of the ‘otherness’ the theoretical framework that would be employed in discussing the response of african philosophy to the question of otherness is igwebuike. igwebuike is the new face of african philosophy. it is the modality of being in african philosophy (kanu 2017a). it is an igbo word, which is a combination of three words. therefore, it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space (kanu 2017b). the three words involved: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power (kanu 2017c). thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force. at this level, no task is beyond their collective capability (kanu 2017d). the basic interest there is that igwebuike provides an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. as an ideology, kanu (2016a&b) opines that igwebuike rests on the idea that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation (kanu 2015a). ‘to be’ is ‘to be with the other’, in a community of beings. igwebuike is based on the african sense of community, which is the underlying principle and unity of the african philosophical experience (kanu 2015b). igwebuike as understands life as a shared reality. and it is only within the context of complementarity that life makes meaning. life is a life of sharedness; one in which another is part thereof. a relationship, though of separate and separated igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 103 entities or individuals but with a joining of the same whole (kanu 2015c). a relationship in which case the two or more coming together make each of them a complete whole; it is a diversity of being one with each other. to put the other away removes the balance of being. kanu (2015d) avers that this presupposes a tailor-made-cloth, measured, cut and sewn to fit into the curves, contours, shape and size, peculiarities and particularities of a being. thus, every being has a missing part and is at the same time, a missing part. ewulu (2010), therefore, writes that: if the other is my part or a piece of me, it means that i need him for me to be complete, for me to be what i really am. the other completes rather than diminishes me. his language and culture make my own stand out and at the same time, they enrich and complement my own. in the presence of his language and culture, the riches and poverty of my language and culture become clear and i see that his own and my own when put together form a richer whole when compared to any of them in isolation. from the foregoing perspective, the self is not only completed in relating with the other, but that it attains self-realization in the other. ewulu (2010) writes further that: i realize myself in the other because it is in the ‘thou-ness’ of the thou that my ‘is-ness’ is realized. i am ‘i’ because you are ‘you’. without thou there is no i. we are ‘we’ because they are ‘they’, and without ‘they’, there is no ‘we’. (p. 189). in the contention of asouzu (2007): “it is within this ontological context (of life as sharedness) that all questions of meaning can be handled adequately and fully within the context of mutual complementarity of all possible relations.”(p. 252253). as a result of the dynamics of the relationship between the i and the thou, the igbo would refer to the ‘other’ as ibe, which means ‘a piece of’ or ‘a part of’, as in ibe anu (a piece of meat) or ibe ede (a piece of cocoyam). the igbo would, therefore, refer to the ‘other person’ as ibe m which means ‘my piece’ or mmadu ibe m (my fellow human being). this is the concept also employed in reference to relationships and reciprocity: love one another (hunu ibe unu n’anya), help one another (nyere nu ibe unu aka), respect one another (sopuru nu ibe unu), etc. since the ‘other’ refers to my own piece, it would, therefore, mean that to love the other is to love oneself, to help the other is to help oneself and to respect the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 104 other is to respect oneself. put the other way round, to hate the other is to hate oneself, to refuse help to the other is to refuse help to oneself and to disrespect the other is to disrespect oneself. from the african perspective, there is a link between the self and the other. this is because the self carries with it the mark of otherness. if reality is one with itself and consistent with itself, that is, different from others, then its uniqueness is always in reference to the other. in the i and the other relation, both participants exist as polarities of relation. a diagram showing how the self and otherness are polarities of relations it is therefore, difficult to talk about the identity of a thing without implying its otherness, at least within the same category of being. however, according to ewulu (2010), the use of ibe in igbo ontology applies to all forms of relationship with the other. he expresses it as follows: a. 1st person singular: ibe m (my piece (s)/my part (s) b. 2nd person singular: ibe gi (your piece (s)/your part (s) c. 3rd person singular: ibe ya (his/her piece (s)/his/her part (s) d. 1st person plural: ibe anyi (our piece (s)/our part (s) e. 2nd person plural: ibe unu (your piece (s)/your part (s) f. 3rd person plural: ibe ha (their piece (s)/their part (s) in a paradoxical way ekwulu writes that: the self otherness igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 105 the term ibe brings out the reciprocity tension between the self and the other. the self is always implicated in the other. the self’s reference to he other always points back to the self. i am, as it were, in the other and the other is in me. he is my piece as i am his piece. that which is different from me is ‘my piece’ or ‘my other’. that which is different from us is part of us. (p. 188). from the foregoing, one can argue that the differences among human beings is absolved in identity, for that which is different from me is part of me ibe m, and, in turn, the identity is absolved in the otherness, because i am part of the other who is different from me. identity and otherness are in a sense two related concepts, for the one implies the other. conclusion this research is an african philosophical response to the problem of personal identity and otherness, that is, the i and the other. it strongly contends that the future of reality lies in the dialogue between the i and otherness. in fact, the relationship between otherness and personal identity is understood as a dialogical move, which results to increasing expansion, growth and development. to conceptualize identity free of otherness is only a few steps away from doomfor although every other is truly other, no other is wholly other but a relative and complementary other. to conceptualize the self without the other would be an illusion, as levinas (1969 & 1981) observes, the other is always irreducibly present as it is implied in the self. the interaction or dialogue between identity and otherness leads to a better self knowledge and understanding. the self as metaphysical unity forms a thesis that is negated by the diversity of the other, which stands to the self as an antithesis, however, with dialogue and relationship emerges a synthesis, a complementary whole, a situation where the self sees itself as part of the whole, and sees the other as part of the self. wenger (1998) sees the dialogue between the self and the other as the beginning of change and growthfor in the process of encounter and dialogue, the other changes my ethical being and i change that of the other. the other facilitates the self and grounds the being of the self. as the self relates with the other, the self is not only taught but it also learns from the other; for in the other, the self sees what it is not. thus, identity is a mark of incompleteness which requires the other and the active participation in the other’s identity structure. the idea of complementarity is not in any way a move towards saying that reality is one, or to undermine the need to make a distinction between the self and the other. the fact that reality is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 106 interconnected does not in any way mean that reality is one; interconnectedness is not sameness. any form of inability to identify distinction, is a conceptual weakness. distinction does not negate separateness. if the african philosophy of the human other, which sees the other as a part of me is appreciated, especially in nigeria, where there seems to be a growing indifference towards the other, it would enhance the promotion of human rights and reduce to the barest minimum, religious and political violence, violence against women, child abuse, terrorism, competition, jealousy, envy, tribalism, among others. most times, these vices have continued to dominate human relationships as a result of ignorance and a poor perception of who the other is to the perpetrator. references agbo, j. n. (2010). is globalisation a process or a product? in a. b. c. chiegboka, t. c. utoh-ezeajugh, and g. i. udechukwu (eds.). the humanities and globalization in the third millennium (pp. 26-39). nigeria: rex charles and patrick. allan, d. t. (1970). the philosophy of aristotle. oxford: oxford university press asouzu, i. i. (2007a). ibuanyidanda: new complementary ontology. beyond world immanentism, ethnocentric reduction and impositions. munster: lit verlag. asouzu, i. i. (2007b) ibuaru: the heavy burden of philosophy, beyond african philosophy. studies in african philosophy series. munster: lit verlag. asouzu, i. i. (2004). the methods and principles of complementary reflection in and beyond african philosophy. calabar: university of calabar press. cornford, f. h. (1912). from religion to philosophy. new york: harper and row. descartes, r. (1983). discourse on method and the meditations. trans. john vietch. london: penguin classics. ekwulu, b. i. (2010). igbo concept of ibe (the other) as a philosophical solution to the ethnic conflicts in african countries. in b. i. ekwulu (ed.). philosophical reflections on african issues (pp. 183-192). enugu: delta. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 107 fafowora, o. o. (1998). management imperatives of globalisation. management in nigeria: a journal of nigerian institute of management. 34, 2-4. 5-9. idowu, e. b. (1962). olodumare: god in yoruba belief. london: longman. idowu, e. b. (1973). african traditional religion: a definition. london: scm. ijiomah, c. (2005). african philosophy’s contribution to the dialogue on reality issues. sankofa: journal of the humanities.3. 1. 81 – 90. imafidon elvis (2005). the concept of person in african culture and its implications for social order. lumina 23. 2. 1-19. iroegbu, p. (1995). metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: international universities press. kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 1-7. kanu, i. a. (2012). the quest for an african identity and the emergence of globalization. a paper presented at the second toyin falola annual international conference on africa and the africa diaspora. 2nd 5th july, lagos. organised by the ibadan cultural study group. faculty of arts, university of ibadan. kanu, i. a. (2013). globalisation, globalism and african philosophy. c. umezinwa (ed.). african philosophy: a pragmatic approach to african probems (pp. 151-165). germany: lambert. kanu, i. a. (2014). personal identity and punishment in john locke. m.a. thesis. university of nigeria, nsukka. kanu, i. a. (2015). african philosophy: a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. jos: augustinian. kanu, i. a. (2015). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian. kanu, i. a. (2015a). igwebuike as the consumate foundation of african bioethical principles. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 108 kanu, i. a. (2015b). igwebuike as an ontological precondition for african ethics. international conference of the society for research and academic excellence. university of nigeria, nsukka. 14th -16th september. kanu, i. a. (2015c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of education. a paper presented at the international conference on law, education and humanities. 25th -26th november 2015 university of paris, france. kanu, i. a. (2015d). igwebuike as the unity of the african philosophical experience. international conference of the society for research and academic excellence. university of nigeria, nsukka. 14th -16th september. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. a paper presented at the nightingale interdisciplinary conference held on 23-24 february 2017 at the federal university of lokoja, kogi state, conference hall, administrative complex. kanu, i. a. (2017c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. a paper presented at the nightingale interdisciplinary conference held on 23-24 february 2017 at the federal university of lokoja, kogi state, conference hall, administrative complex. kanu, i. a. (2017d). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. a paper presented at the berkeley multidisciplinary academic conference held at nasarawa state university, keffi, 1000 capacity auditorium on 16th february. levinas, e. (1969). totality and infinity: an essay on exteriority. a. lingis (trans.). pittsburg: duquesne university press. levinas, e. (1974). otherwise than being, or, beyond essence. a. lingis (trans.). pittsburg: duquesne university press. mbiti, j. (1970). african religions and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational. metuh, i. e. (1991). african religions in western conceptual schemes. jos: imico. mundi, b. (1985). philosophical anthropology. rome: urbaniana igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 109 nimbalkar, n. (2008). john locke on personal identity. retrieved december 2008. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc3115296 njoku, f. o. c. (2002). essays in african philosophy, thought and theology. owerri: claretian institute of philosophy. njoku, f. o. c. (2010). studies in philosophy of mind. owerri: claretian institute of philosophy. obiefuna, b. a. c. and aniago, o. p. (2010). the sense and nonsense of globalisation vis-s-vis igbo indigenous religion. in a. b. c. chiegboka, t. c. utoh-ezeajugh, and g. i. udechukwu (eds.). the humanities and globalization in the third millennium (pp. 336-344). nigeria: rex charles and patrick. oduwole, e. (2010). personhood and abortion: an africa perspective. m. f. asiegbu and i. c. chukwuokolo (ed.). personhood and personal identity: a philosophical study (pp. 97-106). enugu: snaap. okon, j. a. (2010). rethinking the idea of human personhood. in m. f. asiegbu and j. c. chukwuokolo (eds.). personhood and personal identity: a philosophical study. enugu: snaap. omoregbe, j. (1997). a simplified history of western philosophy: ancient and medieval philosophy. lagos: joja onyeocha, i. m. (1997). africa: the question of identity. washington dc: the council for research in values and philosophy. onyeocha, i. m. (2006). africa’s idea about the nature of reality. maryland studies. 3. 5. 89-105. plato, (1993). the timaeus. m. j. adler (ed.). the great books (pp. 442-477). london: penguin. russell, b. (1975). history of western philosophy. london: george allen and unwin. shoemaker, s. (1998). personal identity. in robert audi (ed.). the cambridge dictionary of philosophy (pp. 280-286). cambridge: cambridge university press. stumpf, s. (2000). philosophy: history and problems. london: mcgrawhill. vella, j. a. (2008). aristotle: a guide for the perplexed. britain: continuum wenger, e. (1998). communities of practice: learning, meaning and identity. cambridge: cambridge university press. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.2. no.1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 17 why study african traditional religion? by bartholomew chidili, o.s.a., ph.d department of religious studies kaduna state university, kaduna udachidili@yahoo.com abstract african traditional religion has variously been criticised as quaint or obsolete religion which belongs to the people of yore. some school of thought prefer to view it as a setting back of the clock of religious education, saying it is about time the old religion is dumped into the garbage can where it belongs. some critics believe that thinking about traditional religion at all is plunging our generation into stone age. some still hold that gazetting african traditional religion as a subject of study in schools is more deadly than poison, since it is a calculated attempt to drag people into mortal sin. some still think that since islam and christianity have come with sweeping force of conversion and as a matter of fact doing very well momentarily; struggling to study atr is simply becoming a nuisance and forcing a lot of converts back to what they have abandoned. however, in as much as the above vaunted opinions are not really bad, it is good to note that all the advocates of the abolition of african traditional religion are up against their root and the history of their religion. this will only mean spiting the forbears of our religion and indeed god who created them and ordered that we should emerge from them—the author of our religion. this is why this work decides to probe into the africa’s religious past so as to reread it into the religious life of the present generation through traditional process. this will enable us to discover the vital clarion evocation of “god of our fathers” from both the ot and nt as traditional outcry linking the past and the present human generations. here then, we’ll appreciate african traditional religion as a necessary linkage between the ancestors and their progenies. we’ll then come to the conclusion that african traditional religion is an indispensable value every african child must study with the intensity it deserves. keywords: african, traditional, religion, relevance 1. preface one of the contributing factors of religious elasticity is its traditional foundation and the traditional impact on the environment. from its inception igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 18 religion germinates and grows and actualizes itself in tradition. that is why geertz (1966:3) understands religion as a cultural system where religion is a historically transmitted pattern of meaning embodied in symbols, a system of inherited conceptions expressed in symbolic forms.”it is in this vein that ipad dictionary identifies tradition as “the handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, information, etc., from generation to generation, especially by word of mouth or by practice; a story that has come down to us by popular tradition” (ipad dictionary, 2015).speaking particularly of the tradition of the catholic church, mcbrien (1994:63), views tradition from two perspectives. “in the wider meaning,” says he, “the word, tradition, refers to the whole process by which the church literally ‘hands on’ its faith to each new generation.”according to him, the handing on happens when we are preaching, catechizing, teaching, or displaying some devotional gestures like ‘the sign of the cross,’ and the like. when inculcating christian doctrines and even teaching the bible itself, we are handing on tradition. mcbrien further explains the narrow meaning of tradition as referring to the content of the church’s post apostolic teaching. citing the second vatican council he averred that the wider meaning of ‘tradition’ was generally accepted as when “the church, in its teaching, life, and worship, perpetuates and hands on to all generations all that it is itself, all that it believes” (dogmatic constitution on divine revelation, n. 8). then, with hyperbolic stress he asserts: “the church’s tradition is its lived and living faith” (mcbrien, 1994:63). he goes further to distinguish the uppercase of tradition from the lowercase tradition. according to him, the uppercase tradition is the living and lived faith of the church; whereas the lowercase with plural ‘traditions’ are customary ways of doing or expressing matters related to faith (mcbrien, 1994:63). moreover, mary boys cites jaroslav pelikan, to identify tradition as the living faith of the dead and traditionalism as the dead faith of the living; explaining the difference between themas what gives tradition a bad name. when we think of tradition as the “living faith of the dead” we discover its rooting in human experience (boys, 1989:193). but shils (1981:12)insists that the most basic integral aspect of tradition is “the handing on from one generation to the next that which human actions have created.” he then enumerated what has been handed on as follows: material objects, beliefs about all sorts of things, images of persons and events, practices and institutions. it includes buildings, monuments, landscapes, sculptures, paintings, books, tools, machines. it includes all that a society of a given time possesses and which already existed when its present possessors came upon it and which is not solely the product of physical process in the external world or exclusively the result of ecological and physiological necessity. that is why it is right to say that tradition is a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 19 “reservoir of community experience,” it is a “saga of experiences and their interpretation” (shils, 1981:12). mary boys further differentiates between the ‘content’—that which is handed on—and the ‘process’ of handing on. according to her, there is both a traditium, the material being transmitted, and a taditio, the process of passing material from one generation to the next. she explains further that it is through this process of transmission that the current living community connects with people in other times and places. thus, in the words of edward burke, tradition mirrors a “partnership not only between those who are living, but between those who are living, those who are dead, and those who are to be born” (cited in boys, 1989:194). in theology, whereas the jews interpret tradition to mean the body of laws and doctrines, or any one of them, held to have been received from moses and originally handed down orally from generation to generation; the christians understand it to be a body of teachings, or any one of them, held to have been delivered by christ and his apostles but not originally committed to writing (ipad dictionary, 2015). citing joseph cahill, mary boys classifies theology in this connection as five categories of religious traditions, namely: a body of literature; visual art forms; aural art forms; historical formulations and theological formulations (boys, 1989:201). often, catholics do confuse ‘traditions’ which are for example the obligatory celibacy for priests of the roman rite; with the ‘tradition’ with uppercase. in this regard, some conservative catholics often make nonessential tradition a matter of orthodoxy, for example, the sign of the cross before the sign of peace during the liturgy. the liberals on the other hand treat essential tradition like the real presence of christ in the eucharist with levity; as if it is nonessential and therefore dispensable. until the scholars and the teaching office of the church sort out the main tradition and traditions, catholics must learn to recognize the essential and nonessential matters of the faith. 2. traditioning in progress furthermore, mary boys, suggests that tradition should further be understood as both conserving and liberating in its environment. on the one hand,” says she, “it refers to thread which a person or group desires to have preserved; on the other, it applies to the situation in which an “artefact” is freed from its moorage in the past in order to be applied in a new context.” thus, speaking in the case of the bible, james barr points out that while “the bible seems on the facial level to narrate the past, on a deeper level it speaks of the future and for the future” (boys, 1989:194). that is what the tradition does too. hence, tradition is the past preserved and later represented anew. this is why we can igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 20 say that the process of composing the bible is the key model of the dynamics of traditioning. because, it is a known fact that at various moments in their history, israel and early church preserved interpretation-laden memories about constitutive events, such as the exodus and the death and resurrection of jesus. these traditions served as building blocks for each community to recreate itself in changed circumstances. second isaiah (is 40—56) reappropriated exodus imagery to console the exiles in babylon in the sixth century b.c. e. even though the exodus had been israel’s “root experience,” the “mother memory,” isaiah dared to put the image to new use: and even greater thing would be done by the god who had freed the exiles’ ancestors in egypt over seven hundred years earlier (is 43: 18-19):remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. behold, i am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? i will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert (boys, 1989:194). and because ezekiel remembered his people’s origins, how the creator breathed life into the dirt and fashioned it into a living being, he can console israel that its dry bones will rise (ez. 37: 11b-14): “behold, they say, “our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off.” therefore prophesy, and say to them;“thus says the lord god: behold, i will open your graves, and raise you from your grave, o my people; and i will bring you home into the land of israel. and you shall know that i am the lord, when i open your graves, and raise you from your graves. o my people. and i will put my spirit within you and you shall lie, and i will place you in your own land; then you shall know that i, the lord has spoken, and i have done it, says the lord” (ez. 37: 11b-14).and because the disciples of jesus know these traditions, they understood jesus as the one who, like god, makes all things new. the fourth gospel tells of the risen jesus returning to the upper room, greeting his disciples with peace, and then breathing upon them, thereby recalling the creation event in gen. 2:7 and launching the image of the recreated community (jn. 20:22). in like manner mark and matthew preserve a saying “new wine is for fresh skins” (mk 2:22; mt 9:17) to commemorate this idea of old translating into new. moreover in the new jerusalem of the book of revelation, jesus says, “behold, i make all things new” (21:5) (boys, 1989:194). moreover, because, the members of the early church were so steeped in tradition, their image for a faith-filled future was that of the new creation. for instance, paul the apostle, reminded the corinthians: “therefore, if anyone is in christ, he [she] is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come” (2cor. 5:17). to the galatians, preoccupied by past strictures, he wrote: “for neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 21 a new creation” (6:15). in the same letter he quoted a baptismal confession that served as the key theological self-understanding of the christian missionary movement; “there is neither jew nor greek; there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in christ jesus” (3: 28). “in the community of the new creation, whatever distinctions still exist are insignificant; a new kinship has been formed that obliterates distinctions with regard to nationality, political status, and sex and gender roles. all the baptized are equal” (boys, 1989:194). hence, achtemeier, (1980:30) summarizes the process of handing on traditions as follows: as new situations arise they are understood in the framework of traditions that grew out of past situations, but these in turn are then reinterpreted for the present…hence, although the past informs and thus shapes the future, the past is also open to the dynamic process of growth and interpretive change. as a result, each successive new generation has an enlarged traditional base from which to draw its own understanding of itself and its new situation (achtemeier, 1980:30). 3. traditioning as a continuity linkage here then, lies the importance of isaac the son of abraham and jacob his grandson, not so much on any military prowess or political astuteness they have achieved. rather it was on the ancestral linkage line through which the covenant promises of god are passed on. for as the genealogical record demonstrates, the right of israel to special relationship with god and to the land promised to abraham (genesis 25-36) (the teacher’s commentary (1987)).thus, the technical phrase used as a general designation of the god of the patriarchs are ostensibly the theological sign of connection between the patriarchs and their progenies. hence, we have ‘god of our fathers formula.’ the “burning bush” episode (ex. 3) identified the “god of the fathers” with yahweh. although, it is the witness of exodus 6:2-3 that the “god of the fathers” was not known by the name of yahweh, but as “el shaddai” (god almighty). nonetheless, when moses was faced with the prospect of telling his people of the name of the god who sent him, he was commanded by god to tell them that it is “yahweh (the lord), the god of our fathers, the god of abraham, the god of isaac, and the god of jacob, has sent me to you” (3:15)(sutherland, 2003: 663). that is why the biblical witness is consistent with the use of the formula to emphasize the continuity between the god who is revealed to moses and the god who guided the patriarchs and even by a different name. similarly, the same formula “god of your fathers “or god of our fathers” used consistently in the old testament functions to link the author’s generation to the god of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 22 earlier generations, especially with reference to the promises to the patriarchs ( deut. 1:11, 21; 4; 1; 6:3l 12:1; 26l7l 27: 3). in contrast abandonment of this historic connection is also emphasized in (1chron. 12:17; 2chro. 20:33; 24:24; 29:5; ezra 7:27). in the new testament the formula is transformed to mark the continuity between the historic israel and christianity. the god who was revealed in jesus christ is the same as the god revealed to patriarchs (mt. 22:32; mk. 12: 26; acts 3:13; 5:30; 732; 22:14) (sutherland, 2003: 663). thus, peter and the other apostles testified: "we must obey god rather than men! the god of our fathers raised jesus from the dead — whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. god exalted him to his own right hand as prince and saviour that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to israel. we are witnesses of these things, and so is the holy spirit, whom god has given to those who obey him" (acts 5:29-32). paul further witnessed as follows: “however, i admit that i worship the god of our fathers as a follower of the way, which they call a sect. i believe everything that agrees with the law and that is written in the prophets, and i have the same hope in god as these men, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. so i strive always to keep my conscience clear before god and man” (acts 24:1416).the preceding has demonstrated due obedience to the voice of continuity which displays the foundation and the continuation of the religion of the people of god. the same obedience goes with the africans when they scholarly analyse the traditional religion of africa. they establish in the final analysis that african religion is traditional and as such rooting from the african forebears and handed on to the current africans. they demonstrate that the present africans did not invent or are trying to invent a new religion when for instance they are invoking god as christians or muslims. rather they are evoking their ancestral religion which made the african who he/she is. they demonstrate that the god of our fathers is the god of the present africans in whichever it might have metamorphosed whether in islamic fashion or christian fashion. it is one god and one religion. now we are going to demonstrate how this plays out in african context as we discuss the traditional religion. 4. african traditional religion as a continuity linkage accordingly, when african traditional religion is discussed or studied, it is chiefly for the purpose of understanding the africa’s past in order to build the current african present, so as to look forward to a glorious future. it is for the purposes of knowing our religious history and appropriately making use of it. african traditional religious study aims at linking the past with the present. it is to keep the history of african people intact without breach or abrogation. god of our fathers repeatedly heard both in ot and nt as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 23 demonstrated above, is the obvious voice of the present generation evoking the god of the ancestors to streamline the religion of the past with the present generation; and by so doing, they are demonstrating the continuity of their authentic past. this is exactly what the africans do when they discuss or study and imbibe the religious history of their progenies—we are rerepresenting our religion emanating from our great, great ancestors to the present moment of africans. this attitude has been so assimilated that africans are said to be living their theology whereas the western world study theology. typically, this behaviour demonstrates that the present generation is not inventing a new god or new religion. rather it is consolidating, and further developing africa’s religious heritage. africa’s heritage is the environment where traditional religion permeates all the departments of life, to the extent that there is no formal distinction between the sacred and the secular, between the religious and nonreligious, between the spiritual and the material areas of life (mbiti, 1969: 2). in the words of mbiti, africa inherits a religious environment where every member of the community is so suffused with religion that each and every one of them carries religion “to the fields where he is sowing seeds or harvesting a new crop; he takes it with him to the beer party or to attend a funeral ceremony, and if he is educated, he takes religion with him to the examination room at school or in the university; if he is a politician he takes it to the house of parliament”(mbiti, 1969: 2). moreover, traditional religion is not primarily for the individual, rather it is for the community of which every individual is a part. it is the witness of mbiti that african religion is so palpable in the life of the community that in traditional society there are no people who can claim to be irreligious. in point of fact, to be human in african society is to belong to the whole community, and “to do so involves participating in the beliefs, ceremonies, rituals and festivals of the community.” according to mbiti, no african person can deliberately detach him/herself from the religion, “for to do so is to be severed from his roots, his foundation, his context of security, his kinships and the entire group of those who make him aware of his own existence.”hence, to be without religion in african context is tantamount to total annihilation of oneself in life and complete blotting out oneself from the entire african society. since no african can dream of a life without religion, it becomes extremely difficult for an african to exist without religion(mbiti, 1969: 2). hence africa is said to be notoriously religious (mbiti, 1969:1). african traditional religion therefore, is “the religion which resulted from the sustaining faith held by the forebears of the present africans in various forms igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 24 and various shades and intensities, nakedly in most cases, but also, in some cases, under the veneers supplied by westernism and arabism; it is also a religion which is receiving a new vitality in certain areas in consequence of nationalism plus inspiration by other religions” (idowu, 1973: x). the religion is traditional because it is what african ancestors handed on to their progenies. while the inroads of western religion like christianity and islam have forced it to modify as it grows, it is nonetheless the most practiced religion among the africans. this is because the religion fundamentally formed the beliefs and morals of africans. it is the religion that necessarily gave the vocabularies of religion to african children. those basic vocabularies never changed even in their new religions. as a matter of fact instead of changing as some missionaries worked very hard to get them changed the vocabularies wound up to be the basic building blocks for the new religion; such that the word ‘god’ itself in all local biblical translations are unavoidably the traditional religious words. hence, the word ‘god’ in igbo bible is chukwu or chineke otherwise it will not be an authentic igbo bible with its original theological word for god. the same thing is yoruba, olorun, or tiv aondo and many other local tribes in which the translation has been effected. moreover, this religion forms the african worldview. by this we mean that the very sheer way africans see and conceive the world is formed by religion. for according to geertz 1966:3) religion as a cultural symbol, synthesizes the people’s ethos, that is, the people’s nature or character and quality of their life, in moral and aesthetic style. he adds that religion further synthesizes the people’s mood and their worldview, so as to harmonize the people‘s picture of the way things in sheer reality are, their most comprehensive ideas of order (1966:3).thus, religion is the basic stuff from which the people of africa are raised to understand the world and everything in it. it is the fundamental intellectual orientation of an individual or people of africa encompassing natural philosophy, basic existence and normative themes, values, emotions and ethics (chidili, 2012:35). that is why, africans generally are raised to believe that the universe was created by god and not moulded by a potter or crafted by a carpenter. while no african claims the knowledge of how god created the universe, yet, every african concurs to the fact that the world was created by god. hence, it is a deep sited belief among africans that god is the explanation for the origin of the universe which consists of both visible and invisible realities. 5. beliefs as tradition furthermore, beliefs are integral parts of religion our forebears bequeathed to us africans. generally, beliefs deal with religious ideas. for example, religious igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 25 beliefs are topics like god, spirits, birth, death, the hereafter, magic, medicine, witchcraft, and so on. whenever we come across these mentioned african beliefs, we are definitely dealing with african religion, although, religion by definition is much more than its beliefs. the beliefs as our cultural patrimony are handed down from generation to generation, sometimes with modifications. without them no religion can inspire its followers. even when people are converted from african religion to another religion, they retain many of their former beliefs since it is hard to destroy beliefs from childhood. while some of the beliefs in african religion resemble beliefs in other religion, some are totally different, hence the beauty of unity in diversity in african religion (mbiti, 1975: 26). certainly, beliefs have a lot of influence on people. though some beliefs can be opposed to reality and at times flatly false, yet people stick to them firmly and act accordingly. this is often attributed to the erroneous consciences formed and transmitted by the forebears. but with wider exposition and education, these errors are corrected with time, though some accept the corrections, others stick to their erroneous beliefs. obviously, this forms the mainstay of erroneous conscience and erroneous behaviour. anyway, what is obvious is that whichever system of belief one adopts influences him/her immensely. since beliefs deeply influence people’s behaviour, it implies that a profound understanding of any person or group must necessarily involve the study of that person’s or groups’ beliefs. moreover, there are beliefs in other areas of life like politics, economics, science, and so on which are not religious. since beliefs are so important to human life, it appears that every human being holds one belief or the other so as to run a well ordered daily life. for example, if a student does not believe that his education can improve his/her wellbeing in life he/she will never venture to study. if a traveller does not believe that his vehicle will convey him/her to his/her destination he/she will never dare to travel. but because these common beliefs are with us all the time, life progresses finely for us (chidili, 2012:4-5). 6. moral behaviour as a tradition moreover, the whole range of moral behaviours and values are inherited from our forebears. morals are integral parts of african religion bequeathed to us by our ancestors. they are those aspects of religion which deal with the ideas that safeguard or uphold the life of the people in their relationship with one another and the world around them. african morality covers topics like truth, justice, love, right and wrong, good and evil, beauty, decency, respect for people and property, the keeping of promises and agreements, praise and blame, crime and punishment, the rights and responsibilities of both the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 26 individual and his community, character, integrity, and so on (mbiti, 1975:36). africans believe that god gave moral order to people so that they might live happily and in harmony with one another. through this moral order, customs and institutions are developed in all societies, to safeguard the life of the individual and the community of which he is part. moral order helps people to work out and know among themselves what is good and evil, right and wrong, truthful and false, beautiful and ugly, and what people’s rights and duties are. they help people to live with one another, to settle their differences, to maintain peace and harmony, to make use of their belongings, to have a relationship with their total environment. each society is able to formulate its values because there is moral order in the universe. these values deal with relationships among people, and between people and god and other spiritual beings, and human relationship with the world of nature (mbiti, 1975: 36).it is on these therefore, that africans relied to develop their beautiful mannerism and judicious society. since values and morals are socio-religious behaviours, they are liable to change as time roles by. hence, while we can claim that the ability to understand values and morals are bequeathed to us, those values and morals are bound to change with time, just like a living language does. this is why we have some differences in some values and morals of some africans but what is true is that all of them are basically the same. it is also true that while they change as the living conditions of people change, they always remain a necessity in human life (chidili, 2012: 7). 7. revelation as tradition furthermore, the detractors of african traditional religion would prefer to argue that the only religion worthy of its name is the religion based on god’s climactic revelation in jesus christ which is christianity; all other ones should be consigned to the rubbish hip of manmade religion. but idowu (1973:56) considers such suggestions as “a deliberate or unwitting flying in the face of truth.” because according to him, “if revelation indeed means god’s selfdisclosure, if he has left his mark upon the created order and his witnessing within man—every man—then it follows that revelation cannot be limited in scope and that it is meant for all mankind, all rational beings, irrespective of race or colour” (idowu, 1973:56). for as paul the apostle has unambiguously established in romans, saying, ‘ever since the creation of the world, his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made (rm. 1:20)“the tendency is perfectly understandable, because for primitives as for the man of all premodern societies, the sacred is equivalent to a power, and in the last analysis, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 27 to reality. the sacred is saturated with being. sacred power means reality and at the same time enduringness and efficacity” (eiade, 1957:12). hence, it is not an accident that it is recorded in (acts 17:26-28) that god ‘made from one every nation of men to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their habitation, that they should seek god, in the hope that they might feel after him and find him. yet he is not far from each one of us; paul quotes with approval from ‘some of your poets’: in him we live and move and have our being’…for we are indeed his offspring. thus, “in every part of the world, therefore, what in general terms is known as worship is a result of one central impulse—that of ‘one divine personal will seeking all the time to make itself known’ (idowu, 1972:56). thus, citing (farmer, 105, 109), idowu concludes as follows: the one personal god…making himself known, keeping a grip on men…this implicit sense of the one living god…when it became explicit, did so in a form conditioned by the general mental level…of ideas…in this also, we can see the self-disclosure of god in a form appropriate to man’s stage of development and historical situation. belief in the high god was the primitive man’s way of apprehending and responding to, and expressing, the self-revealing pressure upon him the one god (idowu, 1972:56). thus, it is unarguably certain that our ancestor’s faith which was handed down to us is the resultant effect of the impulse of ‘one divine personal will seeking all the time to make itself known,’ to humanity. this is what we consider an authentic religion—an authentic religion revealed to them in their own time and realised through reflection on the cosmos. african religion is therefore a revealed religion like other revealed religions of the world; and is as genuine as any other revealed religion. its genuineness is even seen in the african christians who must continue to worship christ through the vocabularies developed by the religion. if in fact anyone tries to avoid it by any twixt of fate, it will mean that all local translations will lose their intended theological meaning which was wittingly intended to deepen the faith of the votaries. hence, they must of necessity stand on the root of african traditional religion to reach one god revealed in jesus christ. 8. conclusion the foregoing has analysed the african traditional religion and discovered it to be the linkage between the ancestors, the living africans and the yet to be born africans. it discovered among other things that the traditional religion is the root of all african religion both past and present. it further discovered that the present africans can hardly form any meaningful character or faith igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 28 without the basic articulation of their traditional root. this is true of the jewish religion from where christianity took its origin. hence, we can say that as the early christian church depended on the god of their ancestors to validate their new found faith in christianity, so our african christians solidly stand on our ancestral traditional god to authenticate the genuineness of our faith in christ. for as this work has demonstrated, various evocations of “god of our fathers” from both the old and the new testaments are a valid signs of continuity between the god of ancient jews and the present jews and the christian faith which emanated from judaism. hence this linkage is what the present africans do when they invoke their ancestral god in jesus christ. as paul the apostle freely explained with approval that the ancestral god raised jesus from dead (acts 5:30), so he wittingly explained that god revealed in jesus christ is the same god who had been in the foundation of their ancestral faith. thus, we can say from this work that as the tradition of the jews is valid for the subsequent jewish generations, so is the african tradition genuine to current african generation. and as the early church discovered their ancestral god in jesus christ so we the current africans discover jesus christ as the emanation of the original god revealed to our ancestors. so as the jews discovered one god in jesus emanating from their original one god believed by their ancestors so do we—the africans of today. hence, baudin says, “in these religious systems, [african] the idea of a god is fundamental; they believe in the existence of a supreme, primordial being, the lord of the universe which is his work…”(cited in idowu, 1973:140).and in the words of one of the early researchers in african religion, r. s. rattray: …it is true that this great supreme being, the conception of whom has been innate in the minds of the ashanti, is the jehovah of the israelites. it was he who of old left his own dwelling above the vaulted sky, and entered the tent of dyed skins where his earthly abode and his shrine was, when he came down to protect the children of israel in their march to the promised land (cited in idowu, 1973: 141). hence, we robustly conclude this essay saying, “this is our faith, this is the faith of our ancestors—the faith in which one true god is revealed in the mind of our ancestors; the faith which they handed down to the present africans, through the process of traditioning;” to serve as a linkage point from one generation to another. hence, we study african traditional religion to validate this invaluable religious history of africa. references igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 29 achtemeier, p. (1980). the inspiration of scripture. philadelphia: westminster boys, m. (1989). educating in faith. new york: harper & row, publishers. chidili, b. (2012). african religion and society. kaduna, digital concepts eliade, m. (1957).the sacred and the profane: the nature of religion. new york: harcourt, inc. geertz, c. (1966). religion and cultural system. london: rutledge. idowu, e. b. (1973). african traditional religion: a definition. great britain. scm press mcbrien, r. p. (1994). catholicism. san francisco: harper mbiti, j. s. (1969). african religions and philosophy. london: morrison & gibb ltd. __________(1975). an introduction to african religion. london: heinemann shils, e. (1981). tradition. chicago. university press sutherland, d. (2003). god of the fathers. in the complete guide to holman illustrated bible dictionary. nashville, tennessee: holman bible publishers the teacher’s commentary (1987). isaac and jacob, gen. 25—36. chariot victor publishing. pc study bible vol.5. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol 9 no.2, 2023 www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/igwebuikejournals.php a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 102 ecumenical, ecclesiological and interreligious implications of the prophecy of zephaniah 1-3 michael ufok udoekpo department of theology, veritas university, abuja ufokism@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.31621.83688 abstract we live in a world of pluralism of religions. these religions sometimes have not only misunderstood other faiths, but eyed them with suspicion and with the tragic distinction that we are the children of light and everyone else the child of darkness. this essay historically and theologically examines the prophecy of zephaniah (the ninth of the twelve minor prophets/dodēkaprophēton), encapsulated in his theological notion of the day of yhwh (yōm ădȏnay) in order to underscore its ecumenical, ecclesiological, and interreligious relevance for the church and global cultural and religious communities today. the church today as well as individual christians and members of other religious communities and cultural orientations both within and outside africa, are globally challenged to be the “zephaniahs” of today by bearing messages of hope, unity of worship, true interfaith and cultural dialogues with ecumenical spirit that convey to everyone justice and peace. keywords: day of yhwh, ecumenism, interfaith and cultural dialogue, unity, peace and justice, theology of zephaniah, introduction may 12th 2022 witnessed a national conference on interreligious dialogue sponsored by john paul ii center for interreligious dialogue rome, at the veritas university, abuja, nigeria. emphasis was on the importance of all religions and cultures respecting the common humanity, as well as loving and fostering of dialogue, peace and unity. with this, and as a contribution to the conversation thought went back to judeo-christian scripture, particularly the prophecy of zephaniah and its ecumenical, ecclesiological and interreligious values. the prophecy of zephaniah, when closely read could be described as a compendiug i` jlijb_nc] nbioabnm ih nb_ h[nol_ i` yhwh’m l_f[ncihmbcj qcnb bcm michael ufok udoekpo 103 loving people, israel (childs, 1979, 462). the nature of this divine-human relationship is dominantly pass on to us through the notion of the day of yhwh (yōm ădȏnay) in zephaniah.1 it is a notion prominent in the old testament studies of which zephaniah forms a part. zephaniah adapted this concept from earlier traditions and uses it when he wants to prophetically emphasize the notion of a god who loves, who judges, and punishes (zeph 1:14–18) and rewards (zeph 3:14–20). theological and interreligious strands of the day of yhwh: sin, punishment, worship of yhwh alone, monotheism, repentance, hope, contextualization of earlier traditions, restoration and more especially the universality o` gi^’m al[]_, [l_ mb[l_^ qcnb nb_ deuteonomistic historians and with poets of the psalms, especially psalm 126, demonstrating among other things, the importance of the point each of these prophets were attempting to make.2 much of these are also been embraced directly or indirectly by many religious groups today, as testified in the teachings of the vatican ii (cf. pontifical council for promoting christian unity, directory for the application of principles and norms on ecumenism, 1993; cassidy, 2005; gaillardetz,2006; witherup, 2006; bevans and jeffrey gros, 2009). in his own part, witherup, commenting on dei verbum affirms zephaniah as remaining a common ecumenical ground for dialogue among christians of diverse denominations and cultural backgrounds (scripture, 2006, 77–102). 1 day of yhwh or yahweh/ der tag yhwhs and the day of the lord (yōm ădȏnay/hē hēmera tou kuriou) will be used interchangeably in this work. bearing in mind that yhwh is a common symbolic name for the god of israel. it represents god’s dynamic, active intervention and presence among the people of israel (exod 3:14). this is translated in the lxx as kurios (lord). 2 in the dh there is the idea of special bond between god and his people/ covenant (1 sam 9:16; 2 sam 7:7ff; 1 sam 12:22; 1 kgs 8:16). this people conquered the land the land promised them, because god was with moses (deut 31:8; jos 1:5, 17; deut 2:26ff). for them like in zephaniah, yhwh is a righteous judge with steadfast love (1 kgs 8:3; 1 sam 12:3, 5). god’s grace is universal (i kgs 8:60, and one day “all the people of the earth will learn to fear god,”). in other words, dh stresses the theology of exclusive worship of yhwh alone, joy and inclusivity, fidelity to god, the 1 day of yhwh or yahweh/ der tag yhwhs and the day of the lord (yōm ădȏnay/hē hēmera tou kuriou) will be used interchangeably in this work. bearing in mind that yhwh is a common symbolic name for the god of israel. it represents god’s dynamic, active intervention and presence among the people of israel (exod 3:14). this is translated in the lxx as kurios (lord). 2 in the dh there is the idea of special bond between god and his people/ covenant (1 sam 9:16; 2 sam 7:7ff; 1 sam 12:22; 1 kgs 8:16). this people conquered the land the land promised them, because god was with moses (deut 31:8; jos 1:5, 17; deut 2:26ff). for them like in zephaniah, yhwh is a righteous judge with steadfast love (1 kgs 8:3; 1 sam 12:3, 5). god’s grace is universal (i kgs 8:60, and one day “all the people of the earth will learn to fear god,”). in other words, dh stresses the theology of exclusive worship of yhwh alone, joy and inclusivity, fidelity to god, the theology of the land, zion, name and election (deut 12). ecumenical, ecclesiological and interreligious implications of the prophecy of zephaniah 1-3 104 this work, therefore, historically and theologically focuses on synthesizing the theology of zephaniah and its contextual ecumenical and intercultural and interfaith relevance. it is argus that issues wrestled with by prophet zephaniah during his time, are in some forms the same problems that confront our pluri-religious communities today, particularly judaism, christianity, islam and african traditional religions (atr). in doing this, it proposes its inherent and discoverable ecumenical and interreligious values for our pluril_fcaciom ]iggohcnc_m ni^[s. z_jb[hc[b’m j_lmih, bcm ^_\[n[\f_ ilcach il \[]ealioh^ (africa or judah) and universality of his messages are highlighted as representing the ohcp_lm[fcmg i` gi^’m do^ag_hn [h^ al[]_, cll_mj_]ncp_ i` ih_’m h[ncih, ]ofnol[f \[]ealioh^ il l_fcacih. fch[ffs, z_jb[hc[b’m nb_ifias ch gs pc_q, [h^ [m `ioh^ ch relevant literature that further defines ecumenism and interreligious dialogue, represents a call or model for ecumenical and interreligious dialogue (cf. colson and neuhaus, 1995; glim, m]m[hom [h^ rcaam, 1998; k[mj_l, 2004; d’cimn[, 2009). insight into zephaniah’s overall background a \li[^ molp_s i` z_jb[hc[b’m \[]ealioh^, ch]fo^cha [ \lc_` l_pc_q i` bcm j_lmih, ^[n_ and the socio-historical context of his prophecy will prepare us for a better appreciation of his ecumenical and interreligious values that concern this essay. as a literature and a book, zephaniah is located in the ninth position of the twelve minor prophets in both mt and lxx ordering.3 it has three short chapters, fifty-three verses, with the day of yhwh (yōm ădȏnay) as a predominant theological theme. chapter one, beginning with the superscription (1:1) opens with the announcement of doom on creation, humans and animals (1:2–3). the focus then turns to the judgments and concentrates on judah and the idolaters and sinners there (vv 4–6). they must prepare for the day of yhwh (vv 7–18). chapter two predicts judgment and misfortunes on several nations, after a window of hope and exhortation to repentance and change of heart (vv 1–15). chapter three discusses judgment and misfortunes on jerusalem. this came as a result of recklessness, abuses of power and offices by her priests, judges and rulers (vv 1–8). this is followed by a promise of hope, and a note of joy. the sovereign, universal, accommodating and vicnilciom yhwh qcff ][fg iml[_f’m `_[l [h^ a[nb_l nb_ ^cmj_lm_^ ones. he will make them popular and restore the fortunes of their remnants (vv 9–20). in 3 in the mt the twelve minor prophets are arranged as follows: hosea, joel, amos, obadiah, jonah, micah, nahum, habakkuk, zephaniah, haggai, zechariah, and malachi; while in the lxx we have, hosea, amos, micah, joel, obadiah, jonah, nahum, habakkuk, zephaniah, haggai, zechariah and malachi. michael ufok udoekpo 105 other words, the judgment and threats heard in the first two chapters, anticipate the hope, joy and salvific message of the latter part of chapter three (vv 14–20). regarding the personality and the origin of his person, scholars out there continue to debate (see, ferguson, 1883, 42–59; kapelrud, 1975, 41–42; rice, 1979, 21–31; stuhlmueller, 1986, 99; széles, 1987, 61–64; feinberg, minor prophets, 221; berridge, ‚z_jb[hc[b (p_lmih),‛ abd 6:1075; berlin, zephaniah 1994, 31; vlaardingerbroek, zephaniah, 1999, 11–13, and savoca, abdia-naum, abacuc-sofonia, 2006, 145–46). some are excited about the name zephaniah, qbc]b g_[hm, ‚nb_ lil^ bc^_m,‛ ‚b_ qbig nb_ lil^ bc^_m,‛ il ‚nb_ lil^ b[m ][om_ ni \_ bc^^_h‛ (f_ch\_la, minor prophets, 221; széles, wrath and mercy, 62). others focus their curiosities on the genealogy, and based on the superscription in zephaniah 1:1 trace his mentioned origin of cushi to the continent of africa (for extensive study see, udoekpo, day of yhwh, 2010, 80-87). this is in addition to dating when he ministered. this is equally arguable among the following scholars(cf. ferguson, 1883, 42–59; williams, 1963, 77–88; kapelrud, 41–44; langohr g, ‚l_ lcpl_ ^_ sijbihc_ _n f[ ]lcncko_ ^_ f’[onb_hnc]cné,‛ 1976,1–27; stuhlmueller, 96– 97; roberts, 1991, 163–164; ben zvi, book of zephaniah, 1991, 325–357; patterson, nahum, habakkuk, zephaniah, 275–278; nogalski, literary precursors, 173–215; berlin, zephaniah, 33–42; vlaardingebroek, zephaniah, 13–17; savoca, abdia-naum, abacucsofonia, 148–50). james nogalski (literary precursors, 178.) presents three good summary positions with regard to the dating of zephaniah. some date zephaniah prior to the josianic reforms \_aoh ch 622 b.c.e., qbcf_ mig_ m__ z_jb[hc[b’m qile [m j[ln i` nbim_ l_`ilg jli]_mm_m after 622 b.c.e. there are also those in the third group who argue for the period of jehoiakim/eliakim (608–598 b.c.e.). even though details of these arguments, already treated elsewhere in udoekpo (day of yhwh, 88-95) are outside our scope, this current study lines up with those who believe that the preaching of zephaniah is located within the broader socio-historical setting of the events of the seventh century b.c.e. judah, at the end of the assyrian domination, when the religious reforms of josiah took place. it is true that at the beginning of the seventh century b.c.e. the assyrian empire was approaching the threshold of its collapse, leaving several states to fight for power and space, leaving judah in their midst. prior to this, assyria was the dominant force in the near east under the leadership of kings sannacherib (705–681 b.c.e.), esar-haddon (681–669 b.c.e.) and ashurbanipal (669–627 b.c.e.) who conquered egypt as well. egypt freed itself from assyria by 655 b.c.e. led by psammetichus i (664–610 b.c.e.), but still nurtured their relative friendship. what led to the internal struggle that eventually weakened assyria was the ecumenical, ecclesiological and interreligious implications of the prophecy of zephaniah 1-3 106 death of ashurbanipal in 627 b.c.e. babylon took advantage of this, led by general nabopolosser (625–605 b.c.e.). with the help of the medes, nineveh, the capital of assyria was attacked in 612 b.c.e., and by 608 b.c.e assyria was out of the circle of a dominating power, leaving egypt and babylon to fight for dominance. during this time, nabopolossar and nebuchadrezzar ii or nebuchadnezzer (605–562 b.c.e.) of babylon dominated near east, including egypt, in a successive fashion (coogan, old testament, 2006, 349). the implication of these powers fighting and wounding one another is that judah had the liberty to be on its own. judah by this time produced important kings, manasseh, h_t_ec[b’m mih [h^ mo]]_mmil, [ fis[f ammslc[h p[mm[f, [h^ jimc[b, m[h[mm_b’m al[h^mih. as further noted by berlin (zephaniah, 46) and (coogan, old testament, 349–377) following the example of his great-al[h^`[nb_l, h_t_ec[b, jimc[b, agih’m mih, ^_]f[l_^ independence and embarked on a very popular religious reform that jeremiah, zephaniah and nahum, the prophets of this time, would come to support. berlin is equally right to observe that, information about josiah in the bible stands to be interpreted or reconstructed by historians. it is also tro_ nb[n qbcf_ jimc[b’m l_fcaciom [h^ spiritual reformation is narrated in 2 kings 22–23 and 2 chronicles 43–45, his overall jifc]c_m ch l_f[ncih ni chn_lh[f [h^ `il_cah jiq_lm, _r]_jn jimc[b’m ^_[nb [n nb_ b[h^m i` neco ii of egypt (610–595 b.c.e.), have not been stressed enough in the texts. and because the books of kings and chronicles had different agendas, they put the emphasis ih ^c``_l_hn [mj_]nm i` jimc[b’m l_cah. ih nb_ biie i` kcham, g[hs m]bif[lm _mj_]c[ffs berlin (zephaniah, 44–47) and wright (greatness, grace and glory:2008, 97-106) testify that josiah is a great religious reformer, while in the book of chronicles he is a priestking, with the emphasis on re-building the temple and re-establishing the passover ritual. let us work with the assumptcih nb[n jimc[b’m l_fcaciom l_`ilgm q_l_ j[ln i` [ f[la_l program of national reformation, transformation and purification, that was aimed at the l_ohc`c][ncih i` [ff iml[_f oh^_l nb_ d[pc^c] lof_ [h^ ]ip_h[hn nl[^cncihm. z_jb[hc[b’m prophecy would have been preached to support the call for faith and hope in god and obedience to yhwh, who continues to act in human affairs, as the sovereign of all creation. the setting of zephaniah prophecy is therefore, that of the reforms of josiah, the king who acted decisively and rightly on behalf of his people. key theological messages of zephaniah in addition to the forgoing attempt to reflect on the person, origin and person of z_jb[hc[b, cn cm hin [h^ ip_lmn[n_g_hn ni m[s nb[n nbcm hchnb gchil jlijb_nm q[m gi^’m michael ufok udoekpo 107 universal instrument for evangelization. he was rooted in the covenant traditions, and with the idea of yhwh as their warrior and deliverer (exod 3:14; 14:14; 15:1–23). he was familiar with the earlier prophetic traditions. zephaniah proclaimed the theologies of yhwh alone as the sovereign of all creation. he preached the theology of hope, repentance, universalism, judgment, justice and punishment, covenant renewal and l_mnil[ncih i` `ilnoh_m. tb_m_ p[lciom mnl[h^m i` z_jb[hc[b’m g_mm[a_ [l_ ^_fcp_l_^ ch [ single theological package of the day of yhwh as earlier mentioned in udoekpo (day of yhwh, 275-279) as a foreshadow of intercultural or interreligious dialogue. although these theological strands overlap one another, the pericopae of zephaniah 1:14– 18 and 3:14–20, demonstrate and highlight yhwh, as the master of all creation, with an unchallenged superiority. yhwh, in zephaniah is the overall judge (1:2–3, 7, 14–18, 3:8). although yhwh is the judge and king of israel, in the prophecy of zephaniah, he is almi nb_ kcha i` nb_ _hncl_ ohcp_lm_. yhwh’m l_cah _rn_h^m il l_[]b_m ni nb_ boundaries of all cultures on earth. additionally, in zephaniah, according to patterson (nahum, habakkuk, zephaniah, 295), yhwh is the one who punishes the wicked action of human beings (1:8–9, 17; 3:7, 11) and nations (2:4–15; 3:6), especially of those who oppose his people (2:8, 10). but \_`il_ n[echa ih bog[h \_cham, nb_ jbl[m_ ‚`[]_ i` nb_ _[lnb‛ (z_jb 1:2–3), which is also found in the flood narrative (gen 6:7; 7:4), in deroche’m pc_q ‚bcabfcabnm yhwh’m jf[h ni \lcha do^ag_hn ih nb_ _hncl_ ]l_[ncih, ch]fo^cha [hcg[fm [h^ bog[h \_cham‛ (‚tb_ sq__jcha i` cl_[ncih,‛ 1979, 106). zephaniah, like the other pre-exilic prophets stresses the covenant tradition earlier highlighted in this mno^s (]`. u^i_eji, ‚sch[c cip_h[hn,‛ 2022). mil_ip_l, f_hmb[g (‚a pimmc\f_ olcach,‛ 1996, 90-97) unequivocally posited that the whole concept of the day of the lord, in the ot should be understood against the background of the covenant curses, or covenahn cgjf_g_hn[ncih [h^ l_h_q[f. snl_mmcha z_jb[hc[b’m ]ip_h[hn nb_ifias, `olnb_l, b_ [lao_m nb[n nb_ d[s i` yhwh g[s \_ m__h [m nb_ ^[s i` nb_ lil^’m ]ip_h[hn which he establishes his sovereign lordship over human beings, either by instituting the covenant or by enforcing the provisions of the covenant (robertson, 1999, 26). the prophets, including zephaniah preached against sin. they emphasized repentance of iml[_f, ][ff_^ `il bij_ [h^ ijncgcmg ch yhwh’m l_mnil[ncih i` nb_cl `ilnoh_m. tb_s mnii^ before yahweh, accusing and warning the people of certain consequences of covenant violation. while there are several other ways of nuancing their proclamation, their overall message, particularly of zephaniah, could be summarized under three points. first, the people have sinned by breaking the covenant, hence must repent. second, if there is no repentance, then judgment, devastation, wrath, misfortunes and exile. third, ecumenical, ecclesiological and interreligious implications of the prophecy of zephaniah 1-3 108 beyond the judgment there is hope for reversal of fortunes, and salvation (pate et al., the story of israel, 2004, 93) with this window of hope, the prophets were to bring god closer to the community and the community closer to god. they were to draw the community to fellowship with god, for the purpose of converting the former. if god had spoken to the community through the prophets, he wanted them to be converted (agius, 2009). zephaniah was committed to these theological roles, particularly of the preaching of conversion that would come to dominate the preaching of christ and his apostles. zephaniah preached the theology of repentance from sin, worship of yhwh alone and bij_ ch nb_ lil^’m l_mnil[ncih. hcm nb_ifias _rjim_m nb_ `chcn_ h[nol_ i` bog[h \_cham. this human condition is vividly described by w. s lasor, in the following words: he saw that gi^ \liie b[oabnch_mm [h^ nb[n j_ijf_’m ihfs bij_ f[s ch l_]iahctcha their own frailty. pride is a problem rooted in human nature, and neither judah (2:3), ammon, moab (v 10), nor nineveh is exempt. nineveh is made to _jcnigct_ chmif_h]_, \i[mncha ‚i [g [h^ nb_l_ cm hih_ _fm_’ (p 15). so]b l_\_ffcih, the declaration of spiritual independence from god, is the most heinous of sins (lasor, hubbard and bush, old testament, 1982, 437). z_jb[hc[b jl_[]b_^ fio^fs [a[chmn m_p_l[f mchm nb[n [nnl[]n yhwh’m do^ag_hn. these include injustices or lack of social justice. these were of course, earlier and mostly heard ch agim 5. bon ch nb_ ncg_ i` z_jb[hc[b, mig_ j_ijf_ q_l_ mncff m[c^ ni b[p_ ‚mn_jj_^ oj the threshold, and filled up the house of their master with violenc_ [h^ ^_]_cnm‛ (1:9). also, jerusalem was polluted and made tyrannical (3:1). while the prophets and priests, on the other hand, became reckless, faithless and violated laws and social order (3:2–4). tb_ p_l\ ‚chāmās,‛ (pcif_h]_) om_^ ch z_jb[hc[b 1:9 cm hin oh]ihh_]n_^ qcnb nbim_ ih_m used in zephaniah 3:1–4 (e.g., rebellious, polluted, reckless, and violated). h. hagg lcabnfs hinc]_m nb[n nb_ ]ihn_rn i` nb_m_ p_l\m _mj_]c[ffs ‚chāmās hatorâ‛, (‚pcif_h]_ ni the f[q‛) ch z_jb[hc[b 3:4 jichnm ni nb_ qliha-doing and violating of the powerless, to whose disadvantage the religious laws were bent. he added that the socio-ethical aspect of “chāmās,‛ (‚pcif_h]_) mn[h^m ch nb_ `il_alioh^ `lig nb_ p_ls ionm_n, mcahc`scha the arbitrary and autocratic appropriation and expropriation of what belongs to god and to ih_’m h_cab\ilm (h[aa, ‚mg"r" chāmās,‛ ch tdot 4: 479). this act of social injustices was countered by the lord (3:5), and pursuit for justice is not restricted to one culture or religion. it is a universal need. zephaniah highlighted that human arrogance and injustices will bring judgment on the day of the lord (1:14–18), but those who repent and seek the lord (2:1–3) shall be michael ufok udoekpo 109 l_mnil_^. z_jb[hc[b’m nb_ifias i` bij_ [nd salvation stress the hope that god will not turn back anyone who repents and surrenders to him. examples of such people are those who are humble, keep the law, seek righteousness, and humility (2:3). zephaniah also recommends faith, truthfulness and pursuit of that which is right (3:12–13). such humble and faithful remnant shall be rewarded by the lord. yhwh will purify them (3:9–10). yhwh will re-gather and bring many joys (3:13–14). yhwh will calm their fears and turn away their enemies, and rejoices over them with love and happy songs (vv 15–17). he will reverse their woes and misfortunes into good fortunes and well-being before the eyes of their enemies (vv 18–20). ih inb_l qil^m, yhwh’m ohcp_lm[f kchambcj cm hin ihfs ^_gihmnl[n_^ nblioab hcm []n i` judgment, but also by his redemptive and salvific acts (wright, god who acts,1958, esp., 59–86; pbc, bible and morality,2008, 28–29). yhwh is not only a righteous lord (3:5) but also a god of love who annuls judgment and turns away enemies of his people (3:15ff). this theological idea is well communicated by d. a. schneider, who stresses nb[n nb_ \iie (z_jb[hc[b) j_lmcmn_hnfs jilnl[sm nb_ bifch_mm [h^ j_[]_ i` gi^. gi^’m holiness appears in the contrasts between him and the proud sinners: they pretend to rule, but god judges with inexorable power; they hold office, but the lord gives unfailing justice (3:1–5). gi^’m al[]_ [jj_[lm ]bc_`fs ch nb_ nqi j[mm[a_m (2:1–3; 3:11–20), that i``_l bij_ [h^ m[fp[ncih (s]bh_c^_l, ‚z_jb[hc[b,‛ 4:1190-1191). in other words, the religious value of zephaniah lies in the fact that while he condemns the particular external fault of his day, worship of false gods (1:4–5), the adaptation of foreign customs (1:8), violent and fraudulent behavior (1:11), faulty rituals and false prophecy (3:4), he also condemns the interior causes of these sins, pride and arrogance (1:16; 2:10, 15; 3:11), rebellion, disunity and lack of trust in god (1:12; 3:2). zephaniah’s commonality with other religions today as earlier noted by roland d. witherup, the relevance of the message of zephaniah, particularly his theology of yhwh alone and his universal sovereignty, forms a common dialogue ground for our pluri-religious communities today. as part of the ot texts, z_jb[hc[b’m jlijb_]s ^_gihmnl[n_m mig_ ]ommonalities among judaism, christianity, islam, and african traditional religions. judaism, like islam, as well as atr for instance, value monotheism and a sense of oneness unity absent among religious groups in our society today. even though full-blown monotheism in judaism is located in the second isaiah, it is mo``c]c_hn ni \li[^fs g_hncih ch nbcm qile nb[n iml[_f’m gihinb_cmg q_hn nblioab [ fiha process of emergence, details beyond the scope of this essay. it witnessed elijah and ecumenical, ecclesiological and interreligious implications of the prophecy of zephaniah 1-3 110 efcmb[’m gip_g_hnm (1 kgs 17–21; 2 kgs 9–10:36). this was followed by the discussed prophetic messages of the eighth century prophets, (amos, hosea, micah, isaiah), the reforms of hezekiah (2 kgs 18:4,) and josiah (2 kgs 22–23). alongside king josiah, zephaniah preached the worship of yhwh alone, with its final breakthrough in exilic and post-exilic judaism during the time of deutero-isaiah (whybray, second isaiah, 2003, 45). this aspect of the prophetic message in the exile was to encourage the judean in their current situation to turn a new page, by looking at the new vision of their only one god.4 this sense of oneness was never restricted to second isaiah and zephaniah but extended to the nt church. ecclesiological-theological implications of zephaniah besides the call to worship yhwh alone that creates a common dialogue ground for judaism and christianity, other strands of theology stressed by zephaniah do the same. for example, the hope, reversal of fortunes and salvation, theologically preached by zephaniah through his central concept of the day of yhwh, is rooted in the faith and future hope of israel, preached by all the prophets before and after him. széles affirms nb[n nb_ j_lci^ ]ihp_scha yhwh’m []nm mnl_n]b_^ ion niq[l^m nb_ `onol_ (stéf_m, wrath and mercy, 66). it embraces not only the past and the present, but unites itself with the future as the time when more acts of the lord would be realized in the nt church (cf. udoekpo, day of yhwh, 280-286). israel always knew that its life was in the hand of god, whose mighty powers were directed to the issue of calling mankind to be responsible and accountable. yhwh executed justice, which involved the proclamation of judgment and mercy towards israel and every nation on earth (széles, wrath and mercy, 66-67). this future oriented message of israel prophets of which zephaniah belongs, is well ][jnol_^ \s jibh blcabn’m moaa_mncihm nb[n; virtually all of the pre-exilic prophets, albeit by no means in identical ways, looked beyond the judgment they were compelled to announce to a farther future when god would come again to his people in mercy, restore their fortunes, and establish his rule over them in righteousness and peace. this promise of future salvation is one of the most distinctive features in the message of the prophets, and it is this perhaps more than anything else that serves to bind the old 4 monotheistic statements in isaiah are located in the following passages: isa 43:1–11; 44:6, 8; 45:5–7, 14, 18, 21; 46:9. michael ufok udoekpo 111 testament unbreakable with the new in a single canon of scripture (bright, covenant and promise, 15; pate et al., 89). this unbreakable relationship between the ot and the nt is also well articulated in the pontifical biblical commission document (jewish people,2002, 20–21). so, also in udoekpo (second inaugural lecture, 2022, esp., 46-49), although it is debatable whether the nt texts do at all interpret christ events as the fulfillment the prophecy zephaniah, this document specifically highlights that what is written in the jewish scriptures must of necessity be fulfilled because it reveals the plan of god which cannot fail to be accomplished in the life, death and resurrection of christ. the necessity and value of this fulfillment is further captured in the same pbc document (jewish people, 21-138), [m `iffiqm; ‚tb_m_ [l_ gs qil^m nb[n i mjie_ ni sio qbcf_ i q[m still with you; that everything written about me in the law of moses, the prophets, and the psalms must (dei) \_ `of`cff_^‛ (le 24:44). tb_ \[mcm i` nbcm h_]_mmcns cm [``clg_^ ch several passages of the nt (mtt 16:21; mk 8:31; lk 9:22; 17:25; 22:37).5 ih inb_l qil^m, ‚nb_ `[cnb i` iml[_f cm `of`cff_^ ch cblcmn [h^ bcm ]hurch. it is israel which `clmn \lie_ l[^c][ffs qcnb nb_ ‘j[a[h’ ]ih]_jncih i` fc`_ [h^ jlipc^_^ nb_ pc_q i` bcmnils [h^ nb_ ]b[l[]n_lcmnc] bij_ ih qbc]b nb_ nt [h^ nb_ cblcmnc[h `[cnb mi `clgfs l_mn‛ (wright, god who acts, 26). this hope and restoration of fortunes which dominates prophetic literature especially zephaniah remains valuable to the nt and the church today. stuhlmueller (amos, micah, 105, cf. brown, birth of the messiah, 323-26) also notices nb_ nt’m om_ i` z_jb[hc[b ch [ hog\_l i` jbl[m_m ch the lukan presentation of the [hhoh]c[ncih ni m[ls, nb[n mb_ q[m ni \_]ig_ nb_ ginb_l i` j_mom: ‚\_ af[^,‛ tb_ lil^ cm ch siol gc^mn,‛ ‚f_[l hin,‛ ‚gcabns m[pcil (le 1:26–38). z_jb[hc[b’m n_[]bcha ih nb_ hope of the remnant (3:11–20) as mentioned earlier foreshadows the teaching of the nt (matt 5:3, 5; lk 4:18ff). however, this is not to say that the mystery of christ presented in the nt is completely the fulfillment of the hopes raised by zephaniah. 5 here the document takes time to discuss various fundamental themes which the ot (particularly zephaniah) shares with the nt to include: revelation of god, the wretchedness and dependency of human beings, god the liberator and savior (zeph 3:17b// lk1:47) the election of israel (deut 7:6; ps 132:13; amos 3:2; 9:7; matt 2:6; 15:24), the covenant (gen 9:8–17; 15:1–21; 17:1–26; exod 19:4–8; deut 7:12; 8:18; 2 kgs 23:1–3; ps 89:; 132; jer 31:31–34; lk 1:72; 1 col 11:25); the law (2 kgs 22–23, matt 5) ; prayer, cult and jerusalem temple (zeph 3:14ff; john 7:14, 28 mk 12:35; lk 19:47; mtt 26:55), divine reproaches and condemnation (amos, hos, isa, zeph 1–3, mtt 3:7; lk 3:7) and divine promises, descendant from abraham, land, eternal life and salvation (zeph 3:14–20; acts2:38; 13:38–39, rom 11:17–29) and the universal reign of god (zeph 1–3; ps 47; 96; 114; lk19:11; mtt 4:17,23; 9:35; mtt 16:28; 25:31, 34; rev 11:15). ecumenical, ecclesiological and interreligious implications of the prophecy of zephaniah 1-3 112 z_jb[hc[b’m l_f_p[h]_ cm [a[ch [ffo^_^ ni ch nb_ l_]_hn encyclical letter of benedict xvi, spe salvi. r_cn_l[ncha nb_ qil^m i` sn. p[of, ‚spe salvi facti sumus‛ (ch bij_ q_ q_l_ saved, rom 8:24), benedict xvi who was familiar with the writings of the prophet writes ‚‚l_^_gjncih‛– salvation – is not simply a given. redemption is offered to us in the sense that we have been given hope, trustworthy hope, by virtue of which we can face our jl_m_hn‛ (spe salvi, 2007, 3). in his several references to nt passages that bear testimony to the overall biblical faith and prophetic hope, benedict xvi, further cites 1 thessalonians 4:13, which we usually read along with zephaniah1:14–18, matthew 25:14–15; 27:45; mark 15:33 and john 12:31–36, during the advent and funeral eschatological liturgies of the christian communities (benedict xvi, spe salvi, 4–5). this day of the lord passages, especially in st. paul (1 thess 4:13–18), is worth illustrating in full: we want you to be quite certain, brothers, about those who have fallen asleep, to make sure that you do not grieve for them, as others do who have no hope. we believe that jesus died and rose again, and that in the same way god will bring with him those who have fallen asleep in jesus. we can tell you this from the lil^’m iqh n_[]bcha, nb[n q_ qbi [l_ mncff [fcp_ `il nb_ lil^’m ]igcha qcff hin b[p_ [^p[hn[a_ ip_l nbim_ qbi b[p_ `[ff_h [mf__j“ nb_h, sio mbiof^ _h]iol[a_ one another. epc^_hnfs, nbcm p[ofch_ j[mm[a_ cm gimnfs `[giom `il cnm ^_m]lcjncih i` j_mom’ afilciom m_]ih^ ]igcha. p[of’m \[mc] jichn b_l_, cm ni [``clg nb[n believers who had died, with hope in the lord, will participate in that event of the resurrection (1 cor 15:50–57). in other words, st. paul in 1 thessalonians 4:13–18, according to harrington (meeting st. paul, 2008, 33) certainly is not only close to the jewish apocalyptic writings, but highlights the covenant-liin_^ `onol_ bij_, jlijb_mct_^ \s iml[_f’m jlijb_nm, _mj_]c[ffs zephaniah. it affirms in the christian community the taking on of a new meaning of this theology of hope in christ: his passion, death and resurrection (achtemeier, nahum– malachi,1986, 71–73). harrington notices that these jewish and prophetic traditions continue in paul. in the first letter to the thessalonians 5:1–11, paul quickly dampened the enthusiasm of this community about the end-ncg_ _p_hnm, \s chmcmncha nb[n mch]_ nb_ jl_]cm_ ncg_ i` cblcmn’m return is unknown (mark 13:32), the proper christian attitude is constant vigilance (hope) [h^ \_b[pcil [jjlijlc[n_ ni nbim_ qbi m__e ni i\n[ch ‚m[fp[ncih nblioab iol lil^ j_mom cblcmn‛ (5:9). his description of those who will witness the second coming (4:17), michael ufok udoekpo 113 suggests that he may well have expected it to happen soon, in his own lifetime and in the immediate future ((meeting st. paul today, 33). apart from harrington, other scholars, palnc]of[lfs jibh p[of h_cf, ch bcm ‚flig r_gh[hn to seed of hope for israel: romans 9:27–29,‛ 2002, 703) j_lmo[mcp_fs ^_gihmnl[n_m nb[n nb_ nb_g_ i` bij_ j_lp[^_m p[of’m l_nn_l ni nb_ rig[hm. h_ m__m ch rig[hm 9: 27–29, the ot background of the theology of hope in the prophetic literature (isa 10:22–23 and hos 2:1). ih `[]n, cn cm [fmi [lao_^, [m q_ m[q _[lfc_l, nb[n z_jb[hc[b’m [hhioh]_g_hn i` nb_ day of yhwh (1:14–18), nblioab j_lig_’m l[nch vofa[n_ nl[hmf[ncih, jlipc^_^ nb_ m]lcjn for the famous composincih i` tbig[m c_f[hi’m, dies irae, dies illa (ca. 1250 a.d), also used at funeral liturgies in the church (see stuhlmueller, amos, hosea, micah, nahum, zephaniah, habakkuk, 97). in addition to this liturgical relevance, monotheism, worship of yhwh alone, or a common worship-life and hope, conversions of all kinds, particularly from disunity to the unity of christians in love, is challenging to the church today in africa and beyond. that this is true, is evident in the amount of time and material, devoted by the church, religious and christian communities to this subject, some of which we have already cited broadly in this study. this is so because the unity of faith and worship stressed by zephaniah and prayed for by christ in john 17 has not been fully lived without setbacks by christians today. decrying this situation jeffrey gros (introduction to ecumenism, 1) qlcn_m: ‚w_ ehiq that christians do not live in that unity for which christ prayed for, though through common faith, baptism, and scripture, they sb[l_ [ l_[f, [h^ s_n cgj_l`_]n ]iggohcih.‛ hcmnilc][ffs, b_ i\m_lp_m nb[n [`n_l nb_ gcmmcih i` cblcmn, gi^’m m_f`-manifestation, paul, a man of diverse cultures and symbol of christian unity, continued the proclamation of the gospel. that there were many communities to which the early christians belonged is not only evident in the different gospel narratives, but also in pauline literature (1 cor 11– 14), and in acts of the apostles (acts 15:2). the latter gives an indication to koinonia as an essential element for the communion of churches of such a diverse cultural background (acts 2:42). hence, a common faith, a common worship life, bonds of communion with the apostles, and charity were necessary for the unity of the christian communities from the beginning (gros, introduction to ecumenism, 10–11). in other words, although the unity of worship in zephaniah does not directly imply unity of worship of all christian denominations, this study proposes that the christian community today is always challenged to share in common or learn from zephaniah not only the importance of renewal and monotheism, but also of the need to constantly promote unity of worship, ecumenism, and renewal of services in her evangelizing ecumenical, ecclesiological and interreligious implications of the prophecy of zephaniah 1-3 114 mission. this must be realized in the spirit of prayer, mission, ministry, service and dialogue (gros, introduction to ecumenism, 10–11). credit must also be given, at least broadly speaking, to the influence of the bible on ecumenical dialogue of which the text of zephaniah and other prophetic literature form a mcahc`c][hn j[ln. tbcm ch`fo_h]_ c` q_ g[s l_cn_l[n_ `fiolcmb_^ ch nb_ q[e_ i` v[nc][h ii’m dei verbum (witherup, scripture, 77), this document has promoted and encouraged ecumenically organized bible studies around the world, as well as dialogue between the catholic church and other denominations, such as anglicans, lutherans, baptist, methodists, evangelicals, orthodox and pentecostals (witherup, scripture, 78–81; udoekpo, second inaugural lecture, 53-54). like zephaniah who bore the message of hope, justice, judgment, perseverance in the midst of suffering, universalism of salvation and restoration, single-mindedness in the worship of yhwh alone, it is incumbent on the church today to persevere in her proclamation to bring about the kingdom of god after the example of jesus, a manifestation of yhwh preached by zephaniah. this kingdom is, but the source of full liberation, justice, restoration of fortunes and salvation for all people of all cultures (john paul ii, redemptoris missio, as cited in ecclesia in africa, 53). in other words, human history finds its true and full meaning in the incarnation of the word of god, who is the `ioh^[ncih i` bij_ [h^ l_mnil_l i` nb_ bog[h ^cahcns. in cm nblioab cblcmn, nb_ ‚cg[a_ i` the invisible god, the firstborh i` [ff ]l_[ncih‛ (cif 1:15), nb[n nb_ bog[h j_lmih cm redeemed (ecclesia in africa, 53). zephaniah 1:14–18 and 3:14–20, encapsulated in the theme of the day of yhwh and restoration of fortunes provides theological foundation for the struggle, defense and for the joy of personal dignity. it also promotes fundamental human rights, dialogue, unity, ecumenical spirit, justice and peace. these are values shared by most world religions. it champions reconciliation with god, rebuilding faith and hope, promotion and the restoration of integral development of people of all cultures in africa and beyond. jesus i` n[t[l_nb, gi^’m m_mmc[b, cm nb_ ]ih]l_n_ bcmnilc][f chmn[h]_ i` nb_ ohcih i` nb_ ^cpch_ and the human. this historical union, incarnation, took place in time and space (malina, new testament world, 184). implications for african traditional religions/culture and islam the text of zephaniah has enormous ecumenical and further interreligious implications, especially for religious communities in africa. it is true that communal living, family life, respect to elders, human persons, a deep sense of the sacred and monolatry are among numerous positive values that characterize african cultures (udoekpo, worship in amos michael ufok udoekpo 115 5, 114-126.) there are also moments these values are overlooked, especially the sacredness of the supreme being, yhwh. this sense of the sacred in particular has to be l_h_q_^ hin ihfs ch nb_ mjclcn i` z_jb[hc[b’m l_d_]ncih i` ammslc[h msh]l_ncmg, \on [fmi ch the ecumenical spirit, interreligious and cultural dialogues that have been constantly encouraged by vatican ii. in the nostra aetate (n.2; udoekpo, cf., second inaugural lecture, 53-53), for instance, it is stated that the church rejects nothing that is true and holy in the non-christian religions qbi ‚i`n_h l_`f_]n [ l[s i` nb[n nlonb qbc]b _hfcabn_hm [ff g_h (j_ijf_).‛ ih nb_ m[g_ light, edward cassidy (ecumenism and interreligious dialogue, 130) points out this ^i]og_hn’m ncg_fs ch^c][ncih i` nb_ l_f[ncihmbcj \_nq__h nb_ cblcmnc[h `[cnb ch yhwh alone and other religions, islam in particular thus: momfcgm ‚[^il_ nb_ ih_ gi^, fcpcha [h^ mo\mcmncha ch hcgm_f`, g_l]c`of [h^ [ffpowerful, the creator of heaven and earth, who has spoken to men; they take pains to submit wholeheartedly to even his inscrutable decrees, just as abraham, with whom the faith of islam takes pleasure in linking itself, submitted to god (na, 3). they revere jesus as a prophet and honor mary his virgin mother, to whom they turn to at times with devotion. they await the day of judgment when god will give each man his due after raising him up, and consequently the prize the moral life while giving worship to god, especially through prayer, almsgiving, [h^ `[mncha.‛ furthermore, the council qualifies its understanding and recommendation of ecumenism by stressing that while relatively few are in position to participate actively in the ecumenical process, all are called to contribute to the effort of its actualization (vatican ii, unitatis redintegratio, 5). idowu (african traditional religion, 1977,106) observes that, in nigeria for instance, the challenges of various religious communities (islam, african traditional religions), especially christian communities working together without losing christ, the center of their faith, is as enormous as those challenges that zephaniah surmounted in the late preexilic period (udoekpo, limits of a divided nation, 2020, 24-38). the monolatrous culture which zephaniah challenged and successfully dialogued with, in the seventh century b.c.e., m[e_m nb_ jlijb_n’m jligincih i` gihinb_cmg _p_l gil_ l_f_p[hn ch [ monolatrous africa today. john mbiti (african religions, 1969, concept of god in africa, 1970), who has researched african religions extensively, examined cult practices and ideas about god and deities in about 300 african peoples who follow traditional native religions. for most african people and like the prophets of ancient israel, god is the origin and sovereign of ecumenical, ecclesiological and interreligious implications of the prophecy of zephaniah 1-3 116 all creation. god is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. while it is debatable whether african religion is homogeneous, every ethnic group seems to hold the notion of god as the supreme being (mbiti, african religions, 29-38; lineamenta, 1990,63-65). among some groups as in ancient israel, god bears different names mostly expressed in epithets such as creator, almighty, master of all things, and giver of light (mbiti, concept of god, 45). the ashanti of ghana consider the earth to be second to god in power, being the first of his creations. they personified as the fertile, great-breasted goddess, asase yaa. ashanti religion features a pantheon of major and minor divinities through which god manifests himself (mbiti, concept of god,144-145). according to idowu (olódùmarè, 21-28) in the religion of the yoruba of nigeria shoqm mcgcf[l ]ih]_jnm, [h^ nb_cl gi^, nb_ ‚ses gi^‛ il sojl_g_ gi^,‛ cm lof_l i` nb_ qbif_. onb_l ^cpchcnc_m [l_ gi^’m [a_hnm ][llscha ion nb_ functions of the supreme being on earth (idowu, olódùmarè, 203). prayer is often directed to various divinities and the venerations of divinities and spirits other than god are found in the religious systems of african peoples like in the folk religion of ancient israel a common belief is that the divinities and spirits are intermediaries between humans and god (denver, did god have a wife, 91–195). again, while lesser divinities and spirits are commonly identified with natural jb_hig_h[, gi^ cm hin. gi^’m gil[f [nnlc\on_m [l_ `olnb_l _rjl_mm_^ [m: jcns, g_l]s, kindness, justice, righteousness as would be found in the prophetic literatures of the ancient israel. (mbiti, concepts of god, 31-42). although i hold that in atr, the concept of god is not strictly polytheistic; the monolatrous tendencies are there, very strong and they need to be addressed, cognizance of african high moral values. stressing the importance and necessity of dialogue and addressing the prevailing and persistent atr, or monolatrous tendencies, especially in ikot ekpene diocese today, vincent nyoyoko (dialogue, 117-`118) makes the following relevant remarks: these adherents to atr are not only close relations and friends who in general are willing to engage in dialogue, but also many converts from atr into christianity retain most of their traditional beliefs, thus, there is need to formalize the on-going dialogue in the converts. there are many beliefs in atr which are similar to those in christianity. the clarification of these through dialogue could _hb[h]_ nb_cl lif_ [m \[mcm `il ‚preparation evangelica.” “., v[nc][h cioh]cf ii, has advocated deeper theological research into each cultural area in order to enable the particular church better achieve its identity, and make its contribution to the universal church. and attention to atr (through dialogue) will enhance michael ufok udoekpo 117 inculturation, adaptation; promote evangelization and actualization of the word of god. tbcm j[mm[a_ chpcn_m om ni \_ nb_ z_jb[hc[bm i` ni^[s. b_mc^_m, z_jb[hc[b’m jlijb_nc] confrontation of the worship of false gods and monolatry culture of his time, his universal theological message, embodied in his person, is also exemplary for our pluri-religious and multi-cultural society today. for example, the superscription (zeph 1:1) provoked scholarly debate as to his origin, cushi or judah. although, the foregoing opinions as to his origin had its lcabnm, nb_ ]_hnl[fcns [h^ nb_ ^cm]omm_^ ohcp_lm[fcns i` z_jb[hc[b’m g_mm[a_, qcnb bcm j_lmih [m yhwh’m chmnlog_hn, cll_mj_]ncp_ i` bcm \clnb jf[]_, l_g[chm exemplary for the church in africa, and beyond plagued with linguistic, gender, race, socio-political, cultural and religious divisions. globalization of the relevance of zephaniah as mentioned in the preceding paragraph, apart from the shores of the church in africa, where the theology of zephaniah is received, today we all live in a world threatened by war, terrorism, nuclear weapons, materialism and relativism. we are constantly confronted with all forms of uncertainties, including natural disasters, like the tsunami of south asia, the hurricanes that devastated the southern part of the united states of ag_lc][, nb_ l_]_hn akocf[ [h^ h[cnc[h’m _[lnbko[e_m, jip_lns, ]ofnol[f gcmoh^_lmn[h^cha and secularism. if zephaniah could actualize or adapt the ancient judaism covenant-based theology of hope and earlier prophetic traditions of social justice, judgment, sin, punishment and salvation, relevant to his contemporaries, his theological message, especially of hope, in times of uncertainties, increasingly challenges our times and sitzim-leben, as well (dei verbum, 12). z_jb[hc[b’m nb_ifias \_]ig_m l_`l_mbingly applicable to our times, valuable to individuals and christian communities, when we recall once again the exhortation the fathers of the vatican ii (gaudium et spes, 4) nb[n, ‚[n [ff ncg_m nb_ cbol]b ][llc_m nb_ responsibility of reading the signs and of interpreting them in the light of the gospel if it cm ni ][lls ion cnm n[me.‛ tbcm n[me cm mo]b, qbc]b ch]fo^_m (g[co^cog et spes, 1) ‚nb_ dis and hope, the grief and anguish of the men of our time, especially of those who are poor or afflicted in any q[s.‛ tbcm ][ff `il ]ihn_rno[fct[ncih i` z_jb[hc[b’m nb_ifias cm [``clg_^ \s nb_ pontifical biblical commission (1993,117-132; john paul ii, redemptoris missio, 52). the ]iggcmmcih i\m_lp_m nb[n ‚nb_ cbol]b l_]_cp_m nb_ bc\f_ [m [ wil^ i` gi^, [^^l_mm_^ binb ni cnm_f` [h^ ni nb_ _hncl_ qilf^ [n nb_ jl_m_hn ncg_“[]no[fct[ncih cm jimmc\f_ \_][om_ the richness of meaning contained in the biblical text gives it a value for all time and all ecumenical, ecclesiological and interreligious implications of the prophecy of zephaniah 1-3 118 ]ofnol_m.‛ bs ]ofnol_ b_l_, q_ ^l[q chmcabn `lig af`l_^ l.kl_i\_l [h^ klyde kluckhohn who once stated that: culture (he said) consists of patterns, explicit and implicit, of and for behavior acquired and transmitted by symbols constituting the distinctive achievement of the human groups, including their embodiments in the artifacts: the essential core of culture consists of traditional (i.e., historically derived and selected) ideas and especially their attached values; cultural system may on the one hand, be considered as products of action, on other as conditioning influences upon further action(dei verbum, (review of concepts, 1952, 51, cf., malina, nt world, 1993, 12). in other words, culture is a system of symbols relating to and embracing people, things and events that are socially symbolic; or in according to malina, (nt world, 1993 12) ‚`cffcha j_ijf_, nbcham, [h^ _p_hnm qcnb g_[hcha [h^ p[fo_, g[echa nb_g g_[hcha`of ch such a way that all the members of the given group mutually share, appreciate, and live ion nb[n g_[hcha [h^ p[fo_ ch mig_ q[s.‛ k[nblsh t[hh_l (1997, 57) also believes that culture produces a commonality of beliefs, sentiments and presumes common stakes. culture in this sense even goes beyond the boundary of ethnocentrism. hence, the distinctiveness of cultural identity therefore, is neither a product of isolation nor a matter i` ‚om‛ p_lmom ‚nb_g.‛ in affirmation, schreiter (catholicity, 2002, 47-48; cf., bevans, models, 2004, segovia and tolbert, reading from this place, 1995), ^_jc]nm ]ofnol_, ‚[m j[nn_lh_^ msmn_gm (i` beliefs, values, rules) in which the various elements are coordinated in such a fashion as ni ]l_[n_ [ ohc`c_^ qbif_.‛ h_ [fmi mnl_mm_m nb_ cgjiln[h]_ i` [jjfscha \c\fc][f f_mmihm, including the texts of zephaniah to every culture, and of interpreting christ, the new prophet and the messi[b ]ihn_rno[ffs, ni _p_ls ]ofnol[f [h^ fc`_ mcno[ncih. s]bl_cn_l’m jichn on inculturation was an endorsement of the teaching of the synod fathers, who in 1995 stressed the particular importance of evangelization or inculturation, the process by which ‘][n_]b_mcm ‘n[e_m `f_mb’ ch nb_ p[lciom ]ofnol_m‛ (jibh p[of ii, catechist traddendae, 1379, cf., ecclesia in africa, 44). ih]ofnol[ncih, nb_s mnl_mm_^ ch]fo^_m ‚nb_ ofncg[n_ nl[hm`ilg[ncih i` [onb_hnc] ]ofnol[f values through their integration in christianity,‛ [m q_ff [m ‚nb_ chm_lncih i` cblcmnc[hcns ch nb_ p[lciom mnl[n[ i` bog[h ]ofnol_m‛ (ecclesia in africa, 45). z_jb[hc[b’m jlijb_]s `il_mb[^iqm nb_ gii^ n_qm ch cblcmn; ‚jomn [m nb_ ‘wil^ \_][g_ `f_mb [h^ ^q_fn [giha om‛ (jh 1:14),’ mi nii nb_ gii^ n_qm, the word of jesus christ proclaimed to the nations, must take root in the life-situation of the hearers of the word. inculturation is precisely nbcm chm_lncih i` nb_ gimj_f g_mm[a_ chni ]ofnol_m‛ (ecclesia in africa, 45-46). therefore, michael ufok udoekpo 119 zephaniah is relevant to all cultures. in fact, those problems which confronted zephaniah and his contemporaries with his response are not only paradigmatic to the church, but remain a huge challenge for the society today. truly ancient judah would have suffered massive destruction of its population, land and abuse of their fundamental human rights. zephaniah brought them hope in the course their task of surviving, regaining and rebuilding their rural farming population, as well as its moral social, political and religious structures (sweeney, zephaniah, 189). zephaniah also announced his theology of the worship yhwh alone in the midst of the syncretism of assyrian collaborators. it was risky to oppose such hegemony, since a prophetic opposition even of those judeans, who collaborated with the enemies, was usually regarded as punishable opposition to assyrian imperialism and military might. tbom, z_jb[hc[b’m jlijb_]s ]b[ff_ha_m om j[mnil[ffs. in ]b[ff_ha_m l_fcaciom ]iggohcnc_m of africa and beyond. these pastoral problems range from the need to overcome divisions among various religious and tribal groups in overcoming poverty and promoting civil selfgoverning, that would eliminate corruption, and ensure social justice, peace and order (udoekpo, corruption,1994,16-49; udoekpo, limits,1999,17-83). ecclesia in africa has also rightly articulated these problems to include: increasing poverty, urbanization, international debt, arms trade, refugees and displacement of persons, oppression of women, ethnocentricity, war, tribal tensions, political instability and the violations of fundamental human rights (ecclesia in africa,35-38). these are challenges of the work of faith, the endurance of hope and the labor of love (1 thess 1:1–5). conclusion ih qb[n q_ b[p_ ^cm]omm_^ nbom `[l, cn’s true that zephaniah proclaimed the theology of unity of worship or of yhwh alone as the sovereign of all creation. this element of one god is found in many religions today, including, judaism, christianity, islam and atr. as discussed, zephaniah, preached the theology of hope, faith, universalism, judgment, justice and punishment, covenant renewal and restoration of fortunes. these various [mj_]nm i` z_jb[hc[b’m jlijb_]c_m [l_ ^_fcp_l_^ ch [ mchaf_ nb_ifiac][f j[]e[a_ i` nb_ day of yhwh, with its discussed ecumenical and interreligious implications. zephaniah as discussed has been consistent that yhwh is the king of israel, and of the universe. his love influence extends to all the earth and penetrates the fabrics of all cultures. it is the center of all monotheistic religions, particularly christianity, islam and jo^[cmg. z_jb[hc[b’m l_f_p[h]_ ni _rcfc] [h^ jimn-exilic judaism, christianity, atr, islam and the church, is reflected in the shared themes of future hope, monotheism between the ot and nt, which binds the two testaments together. the hope in yhwh ecumenical, ecclesiological and interreligious implications of the prophecy of zephaniah 1-3 120 preached by the prophets and zephaniah is fulfilled and made anew in jesus, the savior and lord of the universe. zephaniah is ever relevant to the church and people of all cultures, especially african communities and beyond. this is true, since the discussed problems addressed by zephaniah take on new forms in poverty, war, syncretism, divisions, political instability, religious discrimination, disrespect for one another. others are threats of nuclear weapons, secularism, relativism and abuse of fundamental human rights of some people in different cultures today. hence, the ecumenical and interreligious relevance of this work is indisputable, as evident in the ecumenical, ecclesiological and inspiring, discussed documents that shaped the final form of the teachings of the vatican ii and other cited ecclesiastical documents throughout this paper. finally, the church today as well as individual christians and members of other religious communities and cultural orientations both within and outside africa, are globally ]b[ff_ha_^ ni \_ nb_ ‚z_jb[hc[bm‛ i` ni^[s \s \_[lcha g_mm[a_m i` bij_, ohcns i` worship, true interfaith and cultural dialogues with ecumenical spirit that convey to everyone justice and peace. references achtemeier, e. (1986). nahum–malachi, interpretation. atlanta: john knox press. agius, j. (2009). ‚cf[mm l_]nol_m ih agim.‛ rig_: pihnc`c][f uhcp_lmcns i` sn. tbig[m akoch[m, march 13. benedict xvi. (2007). encyclical letter spe salvi. vatican city: libreria editrice vaticana. bevans, stephen b. (2004). models of contextual theology: faith and culture. revised and expanded edition. maryknoll, ny: orbis books, 2004. bevans, stephen b. and jeffrey g. (2009). evangelization and religious freedom: ad gentes, dignitatis humanae. rediscovering vatican ii; new york: paulist press. berlin, a. (1994). zephaniah: a new commentary with introduction and commentary. ab. vol. 25 a, new york: doubleday. berridge, j. m. (1992). ‚z_jb[hc[b (p_lmih),‛ abd 6:1075; bright, j. (1976). covenant and promise: the prophetic understanding of the future in pre-exilic israel. philadelphia: westminster press. brown, r. e. (1993). the birth of the messiah: a commentary on the infancy narrative in the gospels of matthew and luke. new york: doubleday. ben zvi, e. (1991). a historical critical study of the book of zephaniah. bzaw 198. berlin: walter de gruyter. cassidy, e. i. (2005). ecumenism and interreligious dialogue: unitatis redintegratio, nostra aetate. rediscovering vatican ii; new york: paulist press. childs, b.s. (1979). introduction to the old testament as scripture. philadelphia: fortress. colson, c. and r. j. neuhaus, eds., (1995). evangelicals &catholics: towards a common mission together. nashville: thomas nelson. michael ufok udoekpo 121 coogan, m. d. (2006). the old testament: a historical and literary introduction to the hebrew scriptures. new york: oxford university press. de roche, m. (1980). ‚z_jb[hc[b 1:2–3: tb_ ‚sq__jcha‛ i` cl_[ncih.‛ vt 30 (1980): 104–109. d’costa, g. (2009). christianity and world religions: disputed questions in the theology of religions. west sussex, united kingdom: wiley-blackwell. feinberg, c. l. (1951). the major messages of the minor prophets: habakkuk. zephaniah, haggai and malachi. new york: american board of missions to the jews. feinberg, c. l. (1990). the minor prophets. chicago: moody press. fensham, f. c. (1966). ‚a pimmc\f_ olcach i` nb_ cih]_jn i` nb_ d[s i` nb_ lil^.‛ biblical essays. bepeck, south africa: potchefstroom herald. ferguson, h. (1883). ‚tb_ hcmnilc][f t_mncgihs i` nb_ plijb_n z_jb[hc[b.‛ jbl 3 (1883): 42–59. gaillardetz, richard r. (2006). the church in the making: lumen gentium, christus dominus, orientalium ecclesiarum. rediscovering vatican ii; paulist press. gros, j., eamon mcmanus and ann r. (1998). introduction to ecumenism. new york: paulist press. hagg, h. ‚mg"r" chāmās.‛ tdot 4: 478–487. harrington, daniel j. (2008). meeting st. paul today: understanding the man, his mission, and his message. chicago: loyola press. heil, j. p. (2002). ‚flig r_gh[hn ni s__^ i` hij_ `il iml[_f: rig[hm 9:27–29,‛ cbq 64 (2002): 703. heil, j. p. (1987) romans–paul’s letter of hope. anbib 112; rome: biblical institute press, 1987. idowu, e. b. olódùmarè: god in yoruba belief. london: longmans, 1962. idowu, e. b. (1977). african traditional religion: a problem of definition. london: scm press, 1977. john paul ii. (1990). the encyclical letter, redemptoris missio. vatican city: libreria vaticana. john paul ii. (1995). post-synodal apostolic exhortation: ecclesia in africa. vatican city: libreria editrice vaticana. kasper, w. (2004). that they may all be one: the call to unity today. london: burn & oates, 2004. kroeber, alfred l and klyde kluckhohn. (1952). a critical review of concepts and definitions. (papers of the peabody museum of american archaeology and ethnology. harvard university 47, n.1. cambridge; ma: peabody museum. kapelrud, arvid s. (1975). the message of the prophet zephaniah. oslo: universitetsforlaget. langhor, g. (1967). le livre de sophonie et la critique d’authenticité. analecta lovaniensia biblica et orientalia v/17. louvain: éditions peeters, 1967; = etl 52 (1976): 1–27. lasor, w. s. d. a. hubbard and f. w. bush. (1982). old testament survey. grand rapids, mi: eerdmans. lindblom, j. (1962). prophecy in ancient israel. philadelphia: fortress press. langhor, g. (1976). ‚l_ lcpl_ ^_ sijbihc_ _n f[ ]lcncko_ ^’[onb_hnc]cné.‛ etl 52 (1976): 1–27. malina, b. j. (1993). the new testament world: insight from cultural anthropology. revised edition. louisville, ky: westminster john knox press. mbiti, j. s. (1969). african religion & philosophy. new york: praeger. mbiti, j. s. (1970). the concept of god in africa. new york: praeger. ecumenical, ecclesiological and interreligious implications of the prophecy of zephaniah 1-3 122 nyoyoko, v. (2002). ‚dc[fiao_ [h^ ih]ofnol[ncih,‛ ch reconciliation and renewal of services in the church: lineamenta for the first synod of the catholic diocese of ikot ekpene. uyo, nigeria: trinity press. nogalski, j. d. (1999). ‚tb_ d[s (m) i` yhwh ch nb_ biie i` nb_ tq_fp_,‛ ch sblsp 1999: one hundred and thirty-fifth annual meeting: november 20-23, 1999. sbl seminar paper series 38. atlanta, georgia: scholars press, (1999): 617–642. nogalski, j. d. (200). ‚ji_f [m ‚lcn_l[ls ah]bil‛ `il nb_ biie i` nb_ tq_fp_.‛ r_[^cha [h^ hearing the book of the twelve. symposium series 15. edited by james d. nogalski and marvin a. sweeney. atlanta: sbl, 2000, 91–124. nogalski, j. d. (1993). literary precursors to the book of the twelve. berlin; new york: walter de gruyter. nogalski, j. d. (1993). redactional process in the books of the twelve. bzaw 218. berlin: walter de gruyter. o’brien, jofc[ m. (2007). ‚n[bog–habakkuk–z_jb[hc[b: r_[^cha nb_ ‚filg_l plijb_nm‛ ch nb_ p_lmc[h p_lci^.‛ interpretation (2007): 168–183. pate, c, m., et al., eds. (2004). the story of israel: a biblical theology. downers grove, il: intervarsity press. pontifical council for promioting christian unity. (1993). directory for the application of principles and norms on ecumenism. vatican city: libreria editrice. patterson, richard d. (1991). nahum, habakkuk, zephaniah; the wycliffe exegetical commentary. chicago: moody press. roberts, j. j. m. (1991). nahum, habakkuk, and zephaniah. otl. philadelphia: westminster. robertson, o. p. (1990). the books of nahum, habakkuk and zephaniah. ncot; michigan: grand rapids. rice, g. (1979). ‚tb_ a`lc][h riinm i` nb_ plijb_n z_jb[hc[b.‛ jrt 36 (1979-80): 21–31. robert, j. j. m. (1991). nahum, habakkuk, and zephaniah. otl; philadelphia: westminster. sabottka, l. (1972). zephanja: versuch einer neuübersetzung mit philologischen kommentar. biblica et orientalia 25; rome: biblical institute press. savoca, g. (2006). abdia-naum, abacuc-sofonia: nuova versione, introduzione e commento. ilb.pt 18; milano: paoline editoriale libri. schnedier, d. a. ‚biie i` z_jb[hc[b,‛ isbe 4:1190–1191 schreiter, r. j. (1997). the new catholicity: theology between the global and the local. maryknoll, ny: orbis book. segovia, fernando f. and mary ann tolberts. eds., (1995). reading from this place: social location and biblical interpretation. 2 vols. minneapolis: fortress press. stuhlmueller, c. (1986). amos, hosea, micah, nahum, zephaniah, habakkuk. collegeville bible commentary. old testament 15. collegeville, mn: the liturgical press. széles, m. e. (1987). wrath and mercy: a commentary on the books of habakkuk and zephaniah. trans. george a. f. knight. itc. grand rapids; mi: eerdmans. sweeney, m. a. (2003). zephaniah: a commentary. minneapolis: fortress press. tanner, k. (1997). theories of culture: a new agenda for theology. minneapolis: fortress press. the pontifical biblical commission. the interpretation of the bible in the church. vatican city: libreria editrice vaticana, 1993. michael ufok udoekpo 123 the pontifical biblical commission. (2002). the jewish people and their sacred scriptures in the christian bible. vatican city: libreria editrice vaticana. the pontifical biblical commission. (2008). the bible and morality: bible roots of christian conduct. vatican city. libreria editrice vaticana. udoekpo, m. u. (1994). corruption in nigerian culture: the liberating mission of the church. enugu, nigeria: snaap press. udoekpo, m. u. (1999). the limits of a divided nation. enugu, nigeria: snaap press. udoekpo, m. u. (2010). re-thinking the day of yhwh and restoration of fortunes in the prophet zephaniah: an exegetical and theological study of 1:14-18; 3:14-20. bern: peter lang. udoekpo. m. u. (2017). rethinking the prophetic critique of worship in amos 5 for contemporary nigeria and the usa. eugene; oregon: pickwick publications. udoekpo, m. u. (2010). the limits of a divided nation with perspective from the bible. eugene; oregon: resource publications. udoekpo, m. u. (2022). ‚r_pcmcncha sch[c cip_h[hn tb_ifias, inm v[fo_m [h^ r_mih[h]_m `il ti^[s.‛ european journal of theology and philosophy, 2(6), 9–16. https://doi.org/10.24018/ theology.2022.2.6.81. udoekpo, m. u. (2022). second inaugural lecture; biblical studies and the complementarity of theology and other disciplines; an annual lecture delivered at the multipurpose hall, veritas university abuja, nigeria on thursday, 18th august, 2022. abuja; nigeria: veritas university press. vatican ii. (1964). decree on ecumenism, unitatis redintegratio. vatican city: libreria editrice vaticana. vatican ii. (1965). dogmatic constitution on divine revelation, dei verbum. vatican city: libreria editrice vaticana. vatican ii. (1965). declaration on the relation of the church to non-christian religions, nostra aetate. vatican city, editrice vaticana. vlaardingerbroek, j. (1999). zephaniah. hcot. leuven: peeters. williams, d. l. (1963). ‚tb_ d[n_ i` z_jb[hc[b.‛ jbl 82 (1963): 77–88. witherup, r. d. (2006). scripture: dei verbum. rediscovering vatican ii; new york: paulist press. whybray, r. n. (2003). the second isaiah. new york: t &t clark. wright, g. e. (1958). god who acts: biblical theology of recital. sbt 8. london: scm press. wright, p. h. (2008). greatness, grace and glory: carta’s atlas for biblical biography. jerusalem: carta jerusalem. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 48 the dearth of interdisciplinary-based books: the historian as culprit jaren ikedichi uwazierem department of history and international relations, abia state university ,uturu apostlejaren@gmail.com & charles okeke okoko department of history and international relations, abia state university ,uturu printabookcharlie60@gmail.com & chidi ejikeme osuagwu department of history and international relations, abia state university ,uturu chidikeme@gmail.com abstract it is stating the obvious that historians reneged on their promises of a concerted application of the interdisciplinary research approach in the reconstruction of the histories of motley acephalous societies, especially to the southeast of nigeria. it is disheartening to learn that only a few historians are equipped and disposed to this approach having received little or no tutelage on interdisciplinary-based studies. this method has received lipservice patronage for about sixteen decades, and moreso, since the 1970s. instead of pursuing this effort, the historians, for a larger student clientele shopped for, and got attached to, pentecostal disciplines, such as international relations and diplomatic studies, among others. these would as of necessity been part of an all-embracing history curriculum. and those who have used this methodology are either disowned or become pigeonholed into the other disciplines that form part of the interdisciplinary research vanguard. the paper concluded that the reconstruction of the vast histories of acephalous societies, especially where writing tradition did not exist are scanty non-indepth essays since the interdisciplinary approach was not employed. there are, therefore, no turnkey books that could serve as general reference materials for interdisciplinary research methods. archaeology alone cannot solve this problem because it ought to be used in conjunction with disciplines, such as sociology, anthropology, ethnography, ethnobotany, linguistics, phylogenetics and the physical sciences in general. keywords: dearth, acephalous, ethnography, turnkey, appendages introduction this paper seeks to survey, first, the neglect of the interdisciplinary research approach by historians, especially the senior ones who, however and obviously, are igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 49 not schooled in it, and foremost, to re-emphasize the need to fully grasp the contents, perspectives and methodologies of african history. the re-emphasis is significantum of its importance, since africa has been a stage upon which the dramas of human development and cultural differentiations have been acted out since the beginning of conceivable history (o. e. uya, 1984: 1). from being labelled the “dark continent” waiting to be discovered by europe to espousing theories that were motivated by the need to justify the continued domination of africa, historians were nonetheless challenged by the best methods to adopt in writing african history. indeed, colonialism was, and still remains, an important watershed and a continuum in african history; and played a significant but certainly not an overwhelming part (uya: 1984). consequently, basil davidson asked, “can we write african history? kenneth dike, e. j. alagoa, ade ajayi, michael crowder and ali mazrui, among many, seemingly answered in the affirmative with titles, such as “the african history and cultures in the process of nation building in africa” and “africa discovers her past” (uya: 1984). the initial reactions to eurocentrism were pan-africanist that was enunciated by africans in the diaspora as an emotional and intellectual reaction against inhuman treatment, despoliations, injustice, oppression and alienation by the colonialists (olusanya 1984: 10). thus, a home-based effort was needed for substantial contributions to be made in the study and documentation of african history, especially of the acephalous societies. some commentators argued that the muslim and european scholars did not document the non-centralized societies in pre-colonial times because they were not centres of commerce, trade and politics. this in essence meant that among the factors that led to centrality, in especially political organizations, were commercial activities, complexity of the economy and geographical location (gloria thomas emeagwali, 1982). however, non-centralization does not imply absence of political structures and commercial activities that could have led to accumulation of capital and surpluses, and subsequently to state formation but in addition to certain peculiarities that did not occur, and still are absent, in acephalous societies. from the distribution of non-centralized societies in pre-colonial times, they tended to be located away from the major trade routes. but it must be pointed out that it was not all the non-centralized societies that found themselves on trade routes that developed into centralized societies. nonetheless, some societies, such as the aro and nri participated in the long distance trade in pre-colonial times, had political structures and accumulated capital, and even had military and oracular backings, but could evolve into centralized states. the position here is that it is not trade that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 50 transforms non-centralized societies into centralized societies but the presence of facilitators that appropriated the surpluses to form capital and service organs for coercion. the reasons for the societies remaining non-centralized were because they practiced subsistence agriculture, had non-specialized political apparatuses and not backed by special organs like the police and army. it cannot be explained away by saying the aro and nri, among others, could not evolve into centralized states because they were located away from trade routes; in fact, they were even found inbetween centralized societies. thus, the reasons for the neglect of acephalous societies were because they were not situated on trade routes and centres that would have attracted many traders, artisans, travelers, european explorers and islamic clerics. the visitors always found it profitable to settle in the centralized societies in order to be patronized. the muslim scholars who came equipped with the tradition of writing from the muslim world became employed as palace chroniclers: documenting events. rulers in western sudan, such as idris alooma, commissioned some of them to write the history of their kingdoms and personal biographies. thus, they wrote about trading activities and on centres of islamic learning such as kano, timbucktu, jenne and sokoto the capital of the fulani empire (robin hallet, 1970: 4). leo africanus (muhammed alfasi) described timbucktu as a centre of learning where there were many magistrates, doctors and men of religion; and of the king’s affluence and army. ibn batuta told of his tortuous journey across the sahara to mali empire, but left enviable records about the empire. arabic scholars, such as al-bakri and al-idrisi wrote about old ghana empire (basil davidson, 1974: 78). the kingdoms were regarded as making history since they caused reasons for inter-group relations. but since the noncentralized polities were not engaged in rigorous trading activities and did not provide conducive environment for the operation of the scholars and exploreres were not regarded as making history and consequently neglected. the result was a huge collection of historical records on the socio-political and economic activities of the centralized societies, such as on their king lists, military exploits and trading relations; and none on the so-called stateless societies robin horton, 1971: 73). equally, when the pre-colonial european traders, adventures and missionaries came, they were equally attracted to these kingdoms and further produced maps, article and books on them. among such explorers was henrich barth who wrote on kano (robin hallet, 1970: 6). although, the works by pre-colonial arabs and europeans are patchy and poor in geographical coverage, they, at least, provided a historical base for the study of the kingdoms. the students of african history thus became faced with the challenge of writing the history of the non-centralized states hitherto regarded as insignificant, in all its igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 51 complexities and ramifications. by this time, it must be pointed out that, african history had become a subject of academic interest in her academic institutions. departments for its study were started in many african universities, and even overseas. in spite of zeal exhibited by the africanists they became confronted with obstacles fraught in writing the histories of non-centralized societies. there were no written materials to be consulted. moreover, some scholars, including africans, trained in western historiography regarded the study of non-centralized societies as a waste of time. it was unimaginative to contemplate writing the history of a place that was not documented. it was argued that such a history, if ever written, would amount to a bundle of guesses and unclarities. yet, there were many things in the past that were unknown. should the heavy work envisaged in this task make it insignificant? robin hallet has pointed out that: “to brood too long on these limitations is simply to discourage action” (robin hallet: 13). during the era of historical ‘propaganda and trumpeting’ of a glorious african past, the historians used the western methods of historiography that would not appropriately be applied effectively to the african situation. a new methodology was needed in the presence of a new source of historical data oral traditions that was deemed invaluable in reconstructing the african past, especially the acephalous societies. but it had, and still has, inherent problems. finding solutions to the problems and making oral data acceptable became a major preoccupation of the historian. the essence of writing this paper is not necessarily to catalogue the processes of african historiography and interdisciplinary research, but to state categorically that the initial momentum garnered by african historians has waned presently (2016). this has been compounded in nigeria by its government’s de-emphasis of the study of history in its schools curriculum from the primary to the tertiary levels. perhaps, it became regarded as unnecessary by historians to engage in the study and improvement of a discipline that is no longer relevant in nigeria, for instance. for sustenance and relevance, the historians have gone begging to be attached to disciplines that seem ‘modern’, such as international relations, international and diplomatic studies. however, to underscore the need for a concerted effort in the study and application of the interdisciplinary research methods, a description of oral traditions, their advantages and deficiencies need be rehearsed. though oral traditions have been found to be laden with problems, it has become urgent that they should be collected, analyzed and stored as historical data. this is because we cannot ensure the preservation of oral traditions in the minds of aging men and women who are losing igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 52 their memories and dying and, in addition to the changing socio-cultural patterns of societies. oral traditions what are oral traditions? oral traditions are oral testimonies concerning the past that have passed through a chain of transmissions from person to person and from generation to generation to the present. it must seem to be authentic, with rumours and intercalations sifted out of them through the techniques of reconstructing history (jan vansina, 1967: 57). oral traditions are divided into broad and unique forms which have been delineated and categorized as the theoretical (vansina) and prose narratives or commentaries. the theoretical categories are, namely, the formulae, which are titular (ritual names), slogans (statements or short expressions, didactic (which are intended to instruct, show riddles and proverbs) and ritual (incantations recited by initiates); poetry, which is in the form of songs and are rarely recited; the list which embodies place and personal names that trace genealogies, give king lists and show roots of migrations (e. j. alagoa, 1978: 9); and tales referred to as orature and myths that must be in accordance with a people’s culture. they are of direct significance and most reliable. “pre-literate and pre-scientific peoples made rational attempts through myths, to make sense of their world” (p. stevens jnr., 1978: 21). it deals with societies’ fundamental realities. defaulters in rendering these traditions were known to have been penalized or put to death. the largest body of oral tradition is in the form of prose narrative commentaries. this is tradition obtained through commentaries that deal with legal precedents, explanatory and occasional commentaries by rulers (alagoa, 1978: 9). having enumerated the various forms of oral traditions they cannot be taken at their face value since they have been subject to structuring and restructuring as new people come to power. thus, have been referred to as charter for the political offices of the communities. this has made oral traditions to be present-oriented rather than past reflective. in igboland, from the last decade, there have been cases of chieftaincy struggles and each of these contending groups have successfully traced their origin to the supposed ancestor of the place. however, we cannot divorce the present from the past. it is only left to the academic historian to be able to detect falsifications and to subject his materials to accepted historical techniques. in societies that did not have writing culture, storage of information depended on human memory that have, over time, been influenced by new commentaries, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 53 rumours and premeditated intercalations that were aimed at misleading people. however, the use of oral traditions as source for writing history could be sustained through frequency of repetitions, especially where place and personal names are recited, during coronation and funeral ceremonies. in some communities, for instance among the yoruba of nigeria, there are specialists who undergo years of apprenticeship before practice. they are called the baba alawo (babalawo). the trained griots use mnemonic devices such as talking drums and xylophones as accompaniments to aid recitations. in traditional societies, especially during rituals, wrong recitations attract the wrath of the gods or ancestors and the death penalty was, and still is, meted out to those who knowingly and unknowingly falsify king and genealogy lists. these are in addition to milestones, such as monuments, regalia and tombs, eclipses and epidemics that point to specific and significant events in time. easily used in reconstructing the history of a people or places are their totems which could be used as methodological devices in juxtaposed with the people’s oral traditions (e. o. erim (1984:39). societies have been found to be totem-synonymous and they remind individuals of an ever-expanding sphere of social relations in their clans and kindred before the final groups or sub-groups that form the most probable recognizable levels of kinship emerged. of course, this also requires that individuals must have certain information about their heritages. the totems are part of such heritages. thus, the primary or kinship totem could be used to reconstruct the theory of origins of ethnic groups in any geographical region of the world. from a broader perspective, totems provided, and still provides, the fulcrum for sustained social, economic and political links between states and peoples in pre-colonial times, which formed the structural bases of the predecessors in contradistinction to their successors of modern nation states in africa (erim: 40). african historians have so much depended on anthropological analysis (without knowing how the anthropologists do it) and, often times, did not regard as important as oral tradition a factor as totemism. it is regarded as tragic for african historians’ failure to realize (and when they do) to practice what others outside the discipline have realized long ago and that is that history is a powerful instrument for forging unity of peoples and inspiring them to greater heights (g. o. olusanya, 1984). a dependence on oral traditions to establish a chronology for african history has been a fruitless venture as a result of the problem of memory elision. the human memory cannot effectively store events that happened in the past. in practice, only few traditions go back to dates beyond 1200-1500 ad. even the documented ones do not cover much time since, for instance, recording in west africa started about the 10th century by muslim scholars (vansina: 63). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 54 having pointed out the problems inherent in oral traditions, they cannot totally invalidate them. oral traditions are an essential storehouse for historical data for african historians who have adopted them as techniques for their usage. they have employed the basic steps stipulated in the use of oral traditions, such as collection, documentation and interpretation or writing of the history. yet, there are other problems that transcend the realm of their history and thus, a call for the interdisciplinary research approach. but before considering the interdisciplinary approach, it will be important to discuss the basic steps that have been adopted as means of finding solutions to the problems inherent in the writing of the histories of acephalous societies. uses of oral traditions or myths the collection of oral traditions must be systematically and scientifically done, taking notes of the cultural, social, religious, political and economic aspects of the peoples’ lives and, if possible, their language (including its semantic: syntax and phonemes). it will be a credit to the historian if he is a native speaker of the language of the people whose history he has embarked on to write. many versions should be collected from the same community and from different persons in the community. if it concerns a particular community, neighboring communities’ traditions must be equally recorded for comparative purposes in order to justify claims made by the community under study. if an igbo community, for instance, claims a benin area origin, it will also require going to benin to conduct oral interviews. the names, ages and experiences of the informants must be recorded too because these will help in assessing the time coverage and validity of the oral traditions collected. however, some elderly men are not more informed than their juniors in some communities (personal experience during a field work). the next step, which is documentation, goes hand-in-hand with the collection of oral traditions. the researcher here uses taping, waxing and even photography in recording his information. “but the major responsibility for documentation relates to the disposal of the final result of the research” (alagoa, 1978:18). the historian here faces the problem of availability of recording equipment and the maintenance of these tapes since they are subject to wears from frequent use and weather. the next is transcription. this requires a good knowledge of linguistics, its techniques and knowledge of the community’s orthography, in spite of the fact that the researcher might be an indigene. here, if the historian does not have orientation in the other fields while collecting and analyzing oral traditions, he/she will definitely give wrong interpretations of the data collected and concomitantly draw misleading inferences and conclusions. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 55 the last step involves the interpretation of the data collected for writing the history. it will be recalled that the cultural, economic, social and political aspect of a people are recorded during collection. this then requires that the services of scholars that are well vexed in the descriptions of the other aspects of the society. the limitations are now obvious. the historians must resort to other disciplines to curb their limitations in order to achieve reliability in the use of non-narrative sources. this will then involve students of the other discipline, such as archaeology, linguistics, biology and cultural anthropology (ethnography). the results got from these disciplines will be compared with the oral data collected by the historians. warning african historians against undue emotionalism and sterile skepticism, a. e. afigbo (1984: 54), had on the study of segmentary societies said that: the wide-ranging and laudable concern for the methodology of oral tradition has not only helped to point out the centrality of oral tradition as a source for the history of africa especially of black africa, in the pre-colonial period or even in the colonial period. it has also made all would be exploiters of this source alert to its major pitfalls. in his own studies, g. i. jones, itemized two types of oral traditions, namely, those which refer to the recent past (trrp) and those that refer to the distant past (trdp); and opined that those that refer to the recent past are more valuable than those information from the distant past, especially when used in conjunction with other written european records (afigbo: 55; g. i. jones, 1963: 24; and daryll forde and g. i. jones, 1950: 50). on his own, robin horton, insists that oral traditions can only become viable if its indications are considered along those of “linguistic maps, culture trait maps and the results of archaeological work” (horton: 79-80). continuing, based on an earlier position, a. e. afigbo (1984: 63) further stated that: our goal in reconstructing the history of the segmentary societies, no matter our source, should not be to write for them the same heroic genre of history as we write for the great states. it should be to write history which is as close an approximation to their own experience as is possible within the sources and technique available to us…. we must ensure that the questions which we put to the oral traditions of any society are consistent with the intent and concern of the people’s perception of their world. the interdisciplinary research approach only makes the historian an integral part in the process of reconstruction, waiting patiently for the students of the other disciplines to come up with their results. this is so because oral traditions would not igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 56 giveus the sort of solid 200, 500, or 1000 year coverage. it must be recalled that oral traditions are deficient in time and coverage. the archaeologist comes in handy at this point. his problem, as far as the writing of the history of non-centralized societies is concerned, is that of chronology. archaeology archaeology is concerned mostly with the material remains or fossilized results of human existence and behaviors. its methodologies are different from those of historical reconstruction, which are based on written, or oral traditions. thus, according to v. e. chikwendu (v. e. chikwendu, 1984: 64): for an archaeologist… oral information [is] a working hypothesis. it is generally known that archaeologists do not accept as authentic things in non-archaeological circles [but] as speculative and at best learned guesses. in spite of preponderant ethno-botanic evidences to suggest the domestication of yams from the wilds in west africa, archaeology is yet to unearth the remains of yams or evidences of its production. thus, to better appreciate the relationship between oral traditions and archaeology, four main stages of archaeological investigations are considered which will, in turn, constitute archaeological evidence. the archaeologist preoccupies himself with the finding of artifacts that are defined as things made and unmade by deliberate human actions which are better in building chronologies and delineating cultural sequences of events in the past (j. deetz, 1967: 3). the artifacts include parts of the human body, such as bones and hairs, architectural left over, such as huts, caves and houses, large settlement structures such as city walls, outlines and plants. included are also domestic refuse heaps, grave goods being presents or property made to or belonging to the dead, religious places and objects, fortifications, tools, weapons and ornaments. these artifacts are subject to destruction especially the organic ones like bones and sculptures made of wood. the inorganic ones, for instance charcoal, stay longer. archaeological methods include the reconnaissance and finding of the sites mentioned in oral traditions, and then excavating them, recording all the finds, analyzing the materials recovered in a systematic way, and then the writing of a report to interpret human occupation of the site that is under investigation (thurstan shaw, 1969: 5). the archaeologists do not work in isolation but in conjunction with the natural sciences. this is simply because he cannot do the work alone. afterall, archaeology like oral traditions has its own shortcomings. the analyses of the artifacts, which include cleaning, sorting, labelling and recording, are essentially a laboratory process. the dating of the objects is the work of the relevant experts in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 57 physics. plants and seed remains are sent to the chemists and botanists. faunal remains go to the zoologist, the soil scientist deals with soil samples, and human remains go to the anatomist while computations are done by statisticians and with computers. the geologists deal with stone and rock analysis. it is only after these bits of information might have been assembled before any meaningful reconstruction, of course coupled with the specialist report, can be made. the archaeologist uses the relative and absolute dating methods. the relative method entails placing an assemblage in time relative to other assemblages. here the archaeologists do not make assertions rather he says this is before this. for instance, if we have two layers of soil, ‘a’ and ‘b’ where ‘b’ is below ‘a’, we can infer that ‘b’ is older than ‘a’. this is termed stratigraphy. there is a problem here because in case of any likely historical accident, objects that were in ‘b’ could be found in ‘a’. in this case a wrong inference could be drawn. for the archaeologist to be able to describe sequence of events and say when they took place must resort to absolute dating. it must be pointed out that absolute dating in itself is not very absolute. nonetheless it has, to a larger extent, provided a solution to our chronological problems. the invention of the radio carbon dating method by doctor w. f. libby in 1948 has greatly improved our reliance on absolute dating. archaeology has given credence to the study of non-centralized societies. though archaeological reports do not always tally with oral traditions, archaeological work from the scratch relies heavily on oral tradition. this is because before the archaeologists embark on excavations oral interviews are conducted to ascertain a probable site. though more archaeological works are centred on the centralized states, the excavations at igbo ukwu, nsukka, ugwuele, ezzira, afikpo and umundu in eastern nigeria hinterland and ke, okochiri and ogolma in the delta, show the promises of archaeology in tackling the problem of writing the histories of acephalous societies (n. nzewunwa, 1980). nevertheless, to fill the gap provided by oral traditions in terms of time coverage, only archaeology can do it more affectively. his help to the historian in modern times is invaluable, especially where documentation is poor or non-existent (b. a. ogot, 1974: 67). biological data another non-narrative source is biological data which has been divided into two parts, namely, the whole part relationships and the fundamental biological process. the use of the whole part relationship as data is because many west africans have been farmers and many crops are planted in different regions. during archaeological works, if pollen grains are recovered from clay, for instance, they are usually taken to a trained botanist who will first detect the type of plant that has it and then the region igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 58 in which such a species of plant can grow. we can then infer that since this crop was grown in this type of vegetational region and that this was domesticated from the wild variety, hence this group of people who had lived there planted it. the ages of such plants have been determined by directly associating once-living materials bulky enough to provide sufficient carbon test. this also applies to animal bones (shaw: 10). the fundamental aspect, which involves natural selection and artificial selection as biological data, can be used as a source for historical evidence. the historical relevance of this is that it enables us to make assertions about where a given species was originally domesticated. thus, we can say that all domestication started from the wild, with human use of a wild species and followed by selection of superior mutations. hence, where a species is an indigenous domesticate we shall expect to find the wild relatives. in as much as biological data seem to be an invaluable source, the debate by scholars on the origin, introduction and domestication of cultigens makes it unreliable yet for historical purposes (gabel, 1967: 232). ethnography another non-narrative source of evidence is ethnography that examines the social and cultural characteristics of groups in the present day and not necessarily concentrating on the pas, as the archaeologist would do. here, the first method, which has been called the law of cultural divergence, runs parallel with the linguistic comparative method. it is assumed that cultures start from a point and diverge at another. the old and new points now form the basis for historical reconstruction. the divergences might have arisen as a result of a historical accidents. the resultant two daughter cultures will in turn begin to experience different historical challenges. if the historian stumbles upon such cultures he will compare the similarities and peculiarities between the old and new points. if the latter outweighs the former, we can infer that the cultures have just separated and vice versa. but the problem here is to determine which of these cultures are borrowed or genetic so as to infer a common origin (horton). the second law, the “before and after” method which was devised by professor robin horton states that man being conservative in character changes with reluctance in terms of culture unless faced with new, and often traumatic, experiences. if two societies ‘a’ and ‘b’ are of the same origin and with a similar culture, should one of them, for instance ‘a’, face a historical challenge ‘k’ (either trade or invasion), it becomes impinged by ‘k’. if the anthropologist or historian stumbles on them, ‘b’ will always tell how ‘a’ was before it was hit by ‘k’. in kalabari, the opuama were hit by the atlantic slave trade while the kalama were not. differences in their political, social and economic institutions are pointers to the effect of the atlantic slave trade on the opuama (horton). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 59 linguistics another source of historical evidence for writing the history of non-centralized societies is linguistics. its relevance lies in the fact that it goes farther back into the remote past when compared with evidences from oral traditions. it is mostly studied because of how languages separated and diverged from each other thousands of years ago. linguistic data has since helped us to determine common origins; time lapsed since separation, location of homelands and recent cultural interchanges. the most important method of interpreting linguistic data, especially in trying to establish common origins, is through the comparative method. here, we use the knowledge of linguistic divergence derived from the study of a language whose history has been written as a means to an end. the end is to discover the historical significance of patterns of similarities and differences. this comparative method is based on a body of generalizations concerning the way in which language is affected by the splitting and dispersal into new geographically separated areas by its speakers, whereof occurs changes of vocabulary, especially in the non-basic vocabulary, pronunciation and changes in grammar. the language of the dispersed population first divides into dialects and after many years, say thousands, becomes two distinct languages. in this comparison, emphasis is laid on basic vocabulary because people tend to stick more to it than on non-basic vocabulary, which are but additions of new experiences (horton, 1982). in a comparison which attempted locating the homeland of the lower niger group of communities of the eastern niger-congo branch (kay williamson, 1982), the principle of homeland location, which states that the area, which maintains the most distinctly related languages, is likely to be the area of their homeland. it was inferred that the homeland of the lower niger group of communities would be around ekpeye in the rivers state as a result of the distinctness of the languages here. inferences were drawn from a comparison of agricultural products, food and its preparatory implements among the languages of the lower niger group. also compared is yam production/cultivation among the igbo (abam), ekpeye (ahoada) and ikwerre (ogbakiri and emohua). a proto-relationship between the languages and their speakers was established, implying that they came from a common homeland. from table 1 (below), it is clear that there is a relative degree of firmness or coherence from the reconstructed culture words and, thus, has been able to infer an old culture element. the languages fit into one geographical environment and they tend to cluster towards the south around ekpeye, which probably at their proto-stage understood each other. however, there have been changes in the sound systems of the languages due to innovations. in such innovations we see (kw) as in ‘okwuru’ in both igbo and ikwerre having changed to (hu) in ekpeye. however, these are still cognates but have contributed to changes in the phonology. since the speakers of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 60 three languages dispersed from a common homeland, they have simple words for most of the cultural words, which cannot be reduced further. such words are for yam, cocoyam, banana, okra, oil, pepper, fluted pumpkin and beans. there are, however, compound words which still maintain their simple words, for instance we have ede in both igbo and ikwerre but -nwuji has been added to ede in ekpeye. in the comparison, there are some borrowings which are being used together with the original culture words. for instance in igboland (abam column), the second words for cocoyam and bananankasi, and ukom were borrowed from the ibibio in precolonial times through warfare and trade. table 11 (below), which dealt on yam production again shows a common origin because only phonological and grammatical changes have occurred. one can, therefore, conclude that through linguistic comparison of culture words one can establish the homeland of different peoples with different languages, though the compared languages might seem as dialects to a foreigner. the fact is that sharing the same geographical environment has always meant sustained inter-group relations through trade and warfare. proto-lower niger speakers were essentially agricultural, had the same mode of production and produced same crops before their separation from around ekpeye in the distant past. but this comparative method could be placed on the same level with relative dating in archaeology. the linguists therefore sought for a method of absolute dating method. this was devised by morris swadesh and known as glottochronology. this lays emphasis on basic vocabulary which are being dropped and replaced by other vocabulary at a constant rate. that is if we know what percentage of basic vocabulary two languages igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 61 table 1: agricultural products and food preparatory implements english igbo (abam) ikwere (ogbakiri) ekpeye (ahoada) yam cocoyam banana plantain okra oil pepper fluted pumpkin broad leaved pumpkin beans grinder grind grinding to grind pounding mortar pestle ji ede/rikas i une/uko m une okwuru manu oso ugu ugbogo akidi ngwe gwe ogwigw e igwe osusu ikwo odu iji ede nnenne ekninima okwuru mono ise ognu mgbognurnu akidi rugwnu gwu ogwugwu ogwu ofufu worikne odo iyi edenwuji anyibo ideni uhulu mono ese-bo uyi okpokolo akidi iyeugwewere gwe ugwepia egwepia ugwe usupia-usupia nweke odo igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 62 interviewees: 1. ogbakiri (ikwerre) gloria worukwo and ahoada (ekpeye) akpaka table ii: yam production english igbo(abam) ikwerre(emuoha) yam mound yam seedling (yam) tendril stemming barn yellow yam god of yam (yam) harvesting ji okwu isiji omo(ji) igba – omo oba oku nfijioku igwu iji rukpohnu risiji ume(ji) ogbakwnu –ume ofa oko ajoknuji ogwugwu interview with wichendu akpe (enuohua) share, we can estimate the time lapsed since separation. the basic vocabulary shared are said to be cognate. we can arrive at a percentage through which we can determine the number of years that have elapsed since separation. the lower the percentage the higher the number of years that have elapsed and vice versa. the percentage is calculated with this formula: cognates x 100 cognates + non-cognates though linguistic data goes for back into the remote-past than oral traditions they are nonetheless an invaluable source for historical reconstruction because the determination of the origin of a language is the determination of the origin of the people who speak it (williamson). summary and conclusion this paper painstakingly surveyed the techniques, philosophy and phenomenon of history writing in an era of non-written culture; and discerned the problems that could arise at attempts at writing the histories of the acephalous societies in order igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 63 portray how the historian has fared in his self-imposed task of interdisciplinary studies. since the acephalous societies were not attractive enough for the early muslim and european clerics, missionaries and explorers, and did not engage in expansive trading activities, they were only sketchily documented during the colonial period unlike the centralized kingdoms. evenso, only the chronicles of the muslim scholars on western sudanic empires go back to as far as the 10th century ad, while the scanty intelligence reports on non-centralized societies by the colonial administrators only date to late 19th and early 20th centuries a.d. this then cannot give the needed historical coverage in reconstructing the histories of african (multitude acephalous) communities. the only source that came readily handy to the african historian was oral tradition which was challenged by western scholars and even by africans trained in western historiography, as a veritable source for historical writing. they demanded that the african historians should define their methodologies in a bid to validate oral tradition as a non-written source, pointing out the many limitations that are inherent in it. in defining his methodologies, the historian adopted basic steps, such as the systematic collection, documentation, transcription and interpretation of his materials. in these processes he discovered his handicaps and resorted to the interdisciplinary research approach. he involved the archaeologist in order to anchor a chronological base and sequence, the cultural comparative methods, by the anthropologists, to study and analyze cultural changes and traits, and the linguist to take care of the principles and techniques of language classification with a view to determining origins yet identifying homelands through comparative methods of culture words and lexicostatistics. the interdisciplinary approach thus has proved invaluable in the writing of the history of non-centralized societies. the historian though starting out boldly, could not have, as things were to prove, done it alone without drawing wrong inferences and coming out with suspicious works. to further the study of african societies, especially the non-centralized ones, african scholars have formed themselves into associations both at the national and international levels. these bodies set new techniques and directions in the writing of african history, insisting on a continental approach rather than resort to propaganda. suggestions have been made regarding the writing of those histories influenced by the colonial factor. some of those histories have, at least, been revised. the yoruba are no more descended from egypt. consequently, we have journals, such as the ‘african,’ ‘journal of african history,’ ‘tarikh’, ‘transactions of the historical society of ghana’ and the ‘journal of the historical society of nigeria’, to mention but a few. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 64 the ‘historical society of nigeria’, to this end, has produced the “groundwork of nigerian history”. an index for measuring the status of african historiography has manifested itself in the projects undertaken by unesco, which has led to the production of volumes of books on the ‘methodology of african history’. although, the african historian cannot claim authenticity of his product, he has provided at least a new insight into the past and, in fact, contributed to a better understanding of the present. though there are problems in the disciplines employed in the interdisciplinary approach, it is the only means of achieving a balance in the writing of the history of non-centralized societies. but to what extent have the historians sustained these efforts? the present crop of historians who have not received training in the various disciplines that are used in interdisciplinary research cannot interpret the contents of the few books on interdisciplinary research perspectives and methods, in most cases. this is unlike in the social sciences where the teachers and students are more engrossed in interdisciplinary studies. the historian has become an outsider in his game. the disciplines that have been surveyed certainly require full knowledge of their applicability and a good understanding of their specific methodologies. thus, in an era of highly segmented academic studies environment, it becomes obvious why there is a dearth of books on the interdisciplinary research approach. it must be pointed out that there is a difference between interdisciplinary research approach and research methods. references afigbo, a. e., 1984, “oral traditions and the history of segmentary societies” in erim, e. o. and uya, o. e. (eds), 1984, trends and perspectives in african history (papers of history weeks, 1976-1979, university of calabar), enugu: fourth dimension publishers co. ltd. alagoa, e. j., 1978, “oral traditions”, kiabara – journal of the humanities, university of port harcourt, vol. 2, no. 1. chikwendu, v. e., 1984, “oral tradition and archaeological reconstruction” in erim, e. o. and uya, o. e. (eds), 1984, trends and perspectives in african history (papers of history weeks, 1976-1979, university of calabar), enugu: fourth dimension publishers co. ltd. davidson, basil, 1974, africa in history, london: longmans. deetz, j., 1967, invitation to archaeology, new york: natural history press. erim, e. o. and uya, o. e. (eds), 1984, trends and perspectives in african history (papers of history weeks, 1976-1979, university of calabar), enugu: fourth dimension publishers co. ltd. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 65 emeagwali, gloria thomas, 1982, “political institutions in pre-nineteenth century nigeria: some observations on the groundwork of nigerian history” being paper presented at the 27th annual historical conference of the historical society of nigeria, university of port harcourt, rivers state, april 13 17. forde, daryll and jones, g. i., 1950, the ibo and ibibio-speaking peoples of southeastern nigeria, london. hallet, robin, 1970, africa to 1875, london: heinemann educational books. horton, robin, 1982, linguistic data and method, unpublished manuscript, school of humanities, university of port harcourt, 1982. horton, robin, 1971, “stateless societies in the history of west africa” in ade f. ajayi and m. crowder (eds.), history of west africa, london: longmans, vol. i. jones, g. i., 1963, the trading states of the oil rivers, london: oxford university press. nzewunwa, n., 1980, the niger delta prehistoric economy and culture, birmingham: oxford university press, 1980. ogot, b. a., (ed.), 1974, zamani: a survey of east african history, kenya. olusanya,, g. o., 1984, “african historians and the pan-africanist tradition” in erim, e. o. and uya, o. e. (eds), 1984, trends and perspectives in african history (papers of history weeks, 1976-1979, university of calabar), enugu: fourth dimension publishers co. ltd. shaw, thurstan, 1969, (ed.), lectures on nigerian prehistory and archaeology, institute of african studies, university of ibadan. stevens, p. jnr., 1978, “oral traditions”, obaro ikime and s. o. osoba (eds.), historical methods, tarikh journal of the historical society of nigeria, london, vol. 6, no. 1. uya, o. e., 1984, “trends and perspectives in african history” in erim, e. o. and uya, o. e. (eds), 1984, trends and perspectives in african history (papers of history weeks, 1976-1979, university of calabar), enugu: fourth dimension publishers co. ltd. vansina, jan, 1967, “use of oral tradition” in c. gabel and n. r. bennett (eds.), reconstructing african culture history, boston: boston university press. williamson, kay, 1982, school of humanities, university of port harcourt as seminar for hum 334: language and history. williamson, kay, 1982, “principles and techniques of language classification”, mimeograph, university of port harcourt. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 1.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 28 theatricality as a strategy in pieter hugo’s hyena and other men and nollywood photographs okechukwu nwafor department of fine and applied arts nnamdiazikiwe university, awka abstract this article looks at the concept of theatricality in two of pieter hugo’s photographic projects in nigeria titled the hyena and other men and nollywoood. in the hyena and other men photos i explore how theatricality allows a particular exposition of the sitter through which a sense of self is constructed. i make a theoretical argument as to how theatricality as an analytical tool can help us unpack subjectivity as performance in portrait photographs, and assist in investigating this pictorial space in which the self is constituted. here that hugo enacts theatricality as a mobile device that is devoid of the visible audience. in nollywood i show that hugo produces violence as the possible and the impossible. i also show that he dramatizes violence as the unresolved. the reading of violent theatricality takes me into an investigation of the significance of props used in the photographs such as guns, whips, blood, and knives and how hugo deploys them in depicting violence. key words: theatricality, nollywood, pieter hugo, south africa, nigeria. brief note on background in 2008 i attended pieter hugo’s show titled mussina/messina at the iziko south africa gallery, in cape town. this provocative show stimulated my interest to investigate hugo’s formal devices. on august 3 2008, as a student of museum and heritage studies at the university of the western cape, cape town, south africa, i invited hugo to my curated art exhibition at the cape africa platform in august of 2008. i also informed him of my desire to interview him on his formal style and some of his projects in nigeria. he attended my show where we scheduled an interview in the next two days. part of this article emerges from this interview. born in south africa in 1976, pieter hugo was given a camera by his father at the age of 13 (pieter hugo, author’s interview, cape town, 2010). with this camera he claims to have satisfied his picturesque curiosity of the world around him as a teenager. by age 24, hugo had already started working as a freelance documentary photographer for some newspaper agencies. he had also started travelling on official assignments to some african countries, including rwanda. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 29 by year 2000, he quit photojournalism and according to him, “took photography as a preoccupation” (pieter hugo, author’s interview, cape town, 2010). since 2000 hugo has undertaken personal photographic projects in many countries including nigeria, liberia, rwanda, ghana, south africa, among others. it is remarkable that among all the countries hugo has visited for his projects, nigeria seems to spark the necessary dynamism and the energy needed to sustain his creativity.1he states: i really like nigeria and i love the energy that one finds in nigeria. there is a real, kind of cardinal desire for people to go out and do it and they do it with conviction. i find this very interesting. there is a certain boldness one needs when one meets people and after that i find nigerians incredibly engaged. nigeria is a hard place to work but whenever i leave nigeria i always leave there feeling incredibly stimulated with a lot of food for thought (pieter hugo, author’s interview, cape town, august 2010). between 2005 and 2009, hugo visited nigeria on several occasions and undertook two photographic projects namely the hyena and other men and nollywood. these two projects have unarguably earned him greater international visibility as a photographer, although not without a corresponding critical responses (see, for example ikheloa, 2010).2 in this article, i examine these two projects and how hugo enacts theatricality among the human and animal figures. it has been remarked elsewhere that hugo's work reacts against the culture of realism that defined south african photography in the apartheid years. hugo himself notes that during the apartheid years that "people were so engrossed with photography that little room was given to its intersection with the art object. photographers usually sat within a liberal camp and used their skills to articulate the political reality – anything less was thought frivolous" (pieter hugo, author’s interview, cape town, august 2010). i suggest, contrary to hugo’s statement above, that his style does not totally preclude the socio-political and economic dynamics of post apartheid or post-colonial state. this is because his photographs bring the “materiality of political and urban marginalization to the fore” (magge 2010:120)3 whether in south africa or nigeria. it seems that the post-colonial cities in nigeria where hugo set his two projects and the apartheid cities in his home country are all defined by exclusion. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 30 historically, hugo’s formal style may resonate in the works of older generation south african photographers such as david goldblatt, santumofokeng and zwelethumthethwa(hayes, 2009; firstenberg, 2001).4both hugo and his south african predecessors such as goldblatt and mthethwa have used portraits as a formal device to engage this crisis of exclusion in the city. hugo’s uniqueness lies in his ability to extend his gaze beyond portraits of south africans to that of west africans. quite indisputably, some of hugo’s most engaging photographs come from his series in west africa including nigeria, liberia and ghana. in so doing, he seems to disrupt the terms of engagement that increasingly situate south african photographers within the specific discourse of south african exceptionalism. the hyena and other men hugo shot the hyena and other men project in two visits in nigeria between 2005 and 2007. set in some of the most populated cities in nigeria such as lagos and kano, the project covers thirty-three portraits of men, monkeys, rock pythons and one little child from nigeria. the men make daily living by displaying and performing in the nigerian cities with hyenas, monkeys and the rock pythons before a crowd of onlookers who make generous donations of money to them and buy their herbs. with the the hyena & other men series hugo made a quantum leap to the international stage. in the hyena and other men, hugo tacitly enacts the cosmopolitan simulations of crisis and dislocation that inhere in individuals’ struggles to survive the disorder and harshness of the postcolonial african city. the project was inspired by a photo emailed to hugo by a nigerian friend of a group of men walking down a lagos street with chained hyenas.... “i was interested in the ambiguous relationship between the men, their beasts and the "outsider" viewer: it makes you to wonder who is taming who?” (pieter hugo, author’s interview, cape town, august 2010).according to hugo, “i travelled with the group from ogereremo to bar beach at victoria island in lagos, and watched as scores of fascinated people were entranced by the spectacle of the hyenas, monkeys, and snakes being paraded through the streets” (hugo in abiola 2007:8). however, hugo decided to avoid this “scores of fascinated people” and focus his lens on the men and their animals. i liken this ‘scores of fascinated people’ to the audiences of a performance. by excluding them, i suggest that hugo enacts a theatricality that is devoid of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 31 audience. samuel weber argues that “theatricality demonstrates its subversive power when it abdicates the margins of the theatronand begins to wander” (2004:37). joseph litvak (1992: xii)remarks that theatricality unlike ‘theatre’ does not denote a fixed place but rather resists delimitation.in the absence of the audience of onlookers, hugo disrupts the fixed location of the theatre (compare weber, 2004). i suggest, following weber and litvak, that hugo enacts theatricality as a mobile position that has multiple and invisible audiences. jeanluc nancy (2006:220-41) implies a shift from representation to exposition, which he connects to subjectivity, by discussing his idea of the subject’s dislocation or ex-position in portraiture (see also berger, 2000:226). nancy’s idea of a shift from representation to ex-position would suggest that hugo ‘ex-poses’ his figures instead of representing them. hugo not only ‘exposes’ his figures, he re-positions them for a new set of audiences. these new set of audiences include hugo’s camera lens, and the (in)visible viewers: us. his figures assume double poses. there is a certain inner feeling different from the outer feelings in both the animal and human figures that hugo’s lens attempt to ‘ex-pose.’ theatricality seems to allow hugo to achieve this aim by opening multiple readings of the meanings of violence in the images hugo depicts. theatricality of violence my analysis of hugo’s works attempts to add to studies of performed violence from an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural perspective (see for example, scheper-hughes and bourgois 2004; feldman 2000; coronil and skurski 1991; parkin 1985; taussig 2004; skidmore 2003; taylor 1996, 2003). the focus here is on symbolic violence as ‘theatricalised’ in hugo’s photographs. ‘theatricality of violence’ as an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural framework for analysing social relations revolves around the notion of ‘rhetoricity’ as a social, political and cultural intentionality in contested systems of power relations. from a ‘dramaturgical standpoint’ (turner 1988), the form of presenting a situation (i.e. violence, control, force, power or social accommodation) by actors aiming to create a certain impression on audiences can be viewed as ‘theatricality’ (goffman 1959). as in the conventions of the ‘theatre’, the purpose of ‘theatricality’ is to activate audiences’ actions. the audiences in the case of hugo’s hyena men are those of us who seem to hide under the veil of invisibility to watch the men and their performances. hugo may have activated our actions by impalpably suggesting to us the roles played igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 32 by the props such as the sticks in these performances. these roles are part of what i examine in hugo’s photography. a deeper dynamic surrounding the hyena men’s performances is necessary for a fuller understanding of theatricality in hugo’s photos. according to yahaya ahmadu, one of the hyena men: when we get to a place, we make the baboons do somersaults, jump on the back of motorcycles and shake people’s hands. those watching are impressed with our animals. before you know it, naira notes start to fly here and there. some throw them at the baboons, others give directly. the baboons bring the money to us and we put it in the common till. (cited in abiola, 2007:8). now what must be observed from ahmadu’s statement is the phrase, “we make the baboons do somersaults.” and how do they achieve this? in my interview with hugo he reveals to me that the men hit the baboons and the hyenas on the heads with heavy sticks to ‘make’ them do what they want. the question therefore is why hugo again avoided these violent performances and instead decided to produce the violence of these men in a seemingly impalpable and invisible form? i suggest that while the real performances of the hyena men are enacted for the visible audiences, hugo’s photographic performances are enacted for the invisible audiences (us). and to fully understand the theatricality of violence in hugo’s photographs, one may listen to abdullahi: “we use heavy sticks to hit the monkeys and hyenas on the head when they misbehave…we knock them down on the ground. all of us hold the sticks in case the animals become aggressive.” in figure 4.1, the monkey screams violently on sighting the raised stick. this is because the monkey recognizes the meaning of the raised stick which is an invitation to violent flogging. then in figure 4.2 while the stick lies on the floor the monkey remains still, perhaps in recognition of the fact that the stick will be deployed at any moment by usman. this is suggestive of hayes’ metaphor of ‘violence is in the knowing’ (2009: 37) which i shall come back to. one observes the presence of similar stick lying between usman’s feet and the floor in figures 4.2, 4.3, and 4. 4. it raises the question of why hugo decided to show the stick in almost all the photos. what could have happened if he avoided the visual presence of sticks? igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 33 figure 4.1.pieter hugo, hyena men alhaji hassan with ajasco, ogere-remo, nigeria 2007. courtesy: www.michaelstevenson.com figure 4.2. pieter hugo, umorumurtala with school boy, asaba, nigeria 2007. courtesy: www.michaelstevenson.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 34 figure 4.3. pieter hugo, hyena and other men, dayabausman with the monkey, clear, nigeria, 2007. courtesy: www.michaelstevenson.com nollywood: hugo on improvisation and ‘organic shooting’ the nollywood video in nigeria has inarguably emerged as the hollywood of africa. although the term is of unknown origin, it is derived from hollywood in the same manner as bollywood in the indian film industry. while it is believed that nollywood is the third largest movie industry in the world, after hollywood and bollywood, it is seen as the most prolific. with an average of between 1000 and 1,500 movies per year and an estimated $350m annual turnover, “it has garnered a huge audience that are spread far beyond nigeria's borders extending across africa and the entire black diasporas” (highet, 2010:18). "around 700,000 vcds are pressed daily in lagos, and crates of these films leave on planes every day, making nigeria one of the leading digital media content producers, and nollywood one of nigeria's most important exports after oil" (saro-wiwa, 2009: 5). in what appadurai calls “global localities” and “grassroots globalization,” (cited in okome 2002:320) nollywood emerged in nigeria in the 1990s as a mode of cultural production to show that in kwame anthony appiah’s words that “african productivity grows apace” despite the politics of ‘centre’ which seems to place africa forever at the ‘periphery’. according to okome igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 35 (2009:321),nollywood responds to “eccentric currents of modernity” by engaging in “complex interplay of economic and cultural needs.” inspired by the nollywood industry, hugo travelled to nigeria in 2008 and photographed his own version of nollywood movies. he recruited few individuals and they engaged in what he describes as “organic shooting of nollywood”(pieter hugo, author’s interview, cape town, august 2010). intending to show an artificial, theatricalised version of nollywoood through his lens, people misunderstood these photos, in certain quarters, as “perpetuating an image of africa as a space of abject poverty and of theatrical display for a western art market” (garb, 2011:6; witt, 2010: 20). emily witts remarks that hugo’s photographs are unsettling not, only because they evoke some of the symbols of nineteenth-century colonial racism (the “horrid faces” and “grotesque masks” of joseph conrad’s heart of darkness come to mind). they also seem to gather and exaggerate other leitmotifs of darkest africa common to contemporary european and american news coverage of the continent: a chaos of rape, violence, child soldiers and plague, heightened through the editorial fondness for “local color” (2010:20). hugo seems to deploy nollywood to (re)claim the popular and imagined narratives of the everyday in the postcolonial cities of nigeria. while his approach seems blunt and enigmatic, and sometimes shocking, he has refused and resisted certain stylistic labelling attributed to colonial stereotypical photography. he, however, stresses the genuineness, “sincerity and honesty of his sensibility and preoccupation”(pieter hugo, author’s interview, cape town, august 2010; see also hugo, 2011:15). he insists he was rather interested in how people who engage in nollywood movies picture themselves: firstly something that was interesting when i met people working in nollywood as actors was that i wanted to encounter their sufferings and the kind of level at which nollywood has been picturing itself with the garishness and the over dramatic happenings . on the other hand i looked at hollywood, and questioned their average displays which are all about bomb explosions, visual garishness and crimes. perhaps theirs could be more refined because they have larger budgets but basically their preoccupations are similar with nollywood(pieter hugo, author’s interview, cape town, august 2010; see also hugo in saro-wiwa, 2009).5 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 36 hugo concludes that “these people at certain occasions appreciate the attention they receive when somebody acknowledges what they do”(pieter hugo, author’s interview, cape town, august 2010).going by his statement it seems that hugo’s mannered theatricality clearly manifests in his role as a conscious narrator, employing a deliberate construction of prototypical nollywood props and humans, to guide us through the chaos, crisis, joys and sorrows of contemporary home-spun economy in nigeria. almost echoing hugo’s viewpoint, okekeagulu argues that hugo’s critics ignore the fact that he (hugo) “point to more complex questions about the relationship between creativity and patronage, between the proliferating imagination of makeup artists and the possibilities of a visual and filmic rhetoric often derived from popular lore and firmly dedicated to mass entertainment” (okekeagulu, 2010, http://chikaokekeagulu.blogspot.com/search?q=ikhide+). however, okeke-agulu emphasizes the inattention by critics to hugo’s formal choices and methods which make use of lighting to achieve an interplay of realism and dark fantasy contributing to the production of shock of the images (ibid). the production of shock emanates in most of the photos from hugo’s deployment of an “ochre background to depict post-urban africa” (stocchi, 2008:378). ochre coloured background, as against vivid colours, suggest an intention to mirror the tattered colours of ruin and crisis characteristic of post-colonial cities in nigeria. featuring actors dressed as mummies and wielding machetes, ak-47s and other weapons with blood dripping from their fangs, witch doctors and gun-toting outlaws, hugo successfully produced a theatricalised version of nollywood and regrets that instead of reading his work as such, "people read it as if it was meant to be a realistic portrayal of the nigerian film industry" (pieter hugo, author’s interview, cape town, august 2010). however, witts believes that the works are not insightful of nollywood movies. the predominant narrative in nollywood involves a reinvention of “social consciousness by tapping the fears expressed in the city and a reaffirmation of the content of rumour mills and other media, including newspaper and television” (okome, 2002:324; okwori, 2003; haynes, 1997; haynes and okome, 1997). there is a complex drift of imagination and myth-making in nollywood in which the viewers are constantly held spellbound by a world of make-believe (barrot, 2009; saul and austen 2010). there is an appropriation of spectacular magic, simulated ostentation and imagined cultural setting which are all part of the capitalist commodification of the system. the market strategies of nollywood lies in this new fantasy and sentimentalities of a bewildered and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 37 fictitious world imposed upon the viewer’s gaze as a representation of the everyday. the internalization of such narratives implodes in the viewers as a totality of the debacle inherent in the modern society. hugo’s nollywood project builds into the improvisation of the nollywood video industry itself. it also builds into the paradigm that characterizes life in the city. for example, hugo admits that during his photographic shooting of nollywood in nigeria, improvisation was mainly deployed as an alternative strategy. he said they always had an initial plan of a venue but most often the venues were not available and they deviced expedient spaces. in figure 5 he says, “as we were walking we saw a heap of rubbish and then i said why don’t we stay here and then there it goes, we shot the photo” (pieter hugo, author’s interview, cape town, august 2010). this improvisation constitutes what hugo describes as “organic process” in his nollywood project. an example of this process is confirmed in figure 5 where hugo admits that the children in this photo were not part of the initial plan: well the interesting thing is that the children were not supposed to be in the picture. they showed up. when i was busy taking the pictures of the men they formed a sort of curious onlookers. we were about taking the pictures and these kids staying next door were hanging out around us. they kept on creeping into the picture and then we said why don’t we acknowledge their presence? (pieter hugo, author’s interview, cape town, august 2010). hugo’s style leads us inexorably to an understanding of his nollywood photographs as embodying an array of meanings, some evident and put there purposefully by him, some only tentatively suggested or actively veiled, and many not intended but occurred by happenstance. his methods parallel theatricality and allude to the contingencies that define nollywood industry itself. theatricality of the possible and the impossible violence in her book on theatricality elizabeth burns (1972), argues that theatricality occurs when behaviour is constructed according to a kind of grammar of rhetorical and authenticating conventions rather than being spontaneous. okeke-agulu (2010) seems to link hugo’s works to the “visual rhetoric” of nollywood. theatricality of the possible and the impossible in hugo’s nollywood, i suggest, can be understood as calculated, affected, or studied social igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 38 behaviour, as well as the place from which one sees, as designated by the greek word theatron. the term denotes a form of social role-playing in order to achieve a particular effect on a viewer. if we are the viewers of both hugo’s nollywood and hyena men photographs then we have participated in enacting the impossible in the figures’ performances. judith butler ascribes notion of subjectivity as a construct that is itself a performative process. for butler, the role of the self is performed not selfconsciously in order to achieve a certain effect, but the ‘you’ to whom the performance is addressed is essential for the subject to recognize him or her as self. however, for hugo, his relationship with his figures is such that the violent figures perform self-consciously and achieves an effect that is pre-meditated. if, according to grootenboer (2010: 323), theatre “is a medium of dislocation and estrangement rather than absorption” then hugo enacts theatricality whose force lies in dislocation and estrangement rather than absorption. hugo’s forte, i suggest, lies in the facial gazes of his figures which have been dislocated from critical areas of engagements. the gazes are undeviating, fixed and determined. again these gazes are occasioned by the presence of hugo’s lens and the viewers (us) who compel the figures to look frontally. figure 4.4 seems to encapsulate the drama of possibility and impossibility. the boy carries the girl who looks like his victim. the boy’s mouth which is a bit ajar exposes dracula-like teeth projections steeped in blood. his eyes are also reddish and accentuate the mysteriousness around him. the girl lie helpless on his legs with her head resting on his left hand and eyes closed in either a dead or trancelike mood. there is a smudge of blood around her neck. her face also depicts some well trimmed eye-lashes and lips painted in red. she is dressed in a ‘traditionally’ tailored outfit with bangles around her wrist. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 39 figure 4.4 pieter hugo, izunna onwe and uju mbamalu, enugu, nigeria. 2008. courtesy: www.michaelstevenson.com what is important in this photograph is the formal presentation of the figure. hugo allows his figures to look directly at the lens, and at us. following these frontal convention he (hugo) “looks direct, and that it is confrontational, in terms of confronting the viewer, and dealing with your subjects face to face, engaging with them, collaborating with them” (lehan, 2008). in fact, it will be more reasonable to suggest that hugo’s photographs employ the frontal technique as “mnemonics that prompt people to talk about events, people, and social relations, going beyond what is shown” (ibid).this is akin to the project of theatricality which elicits deeper feelings from humans and prompts them to respond in similar manner. hugo employs theatricality in an overly preposterous manner by pronouncing the visual loudness of the gaze, by looking directly at the viewer (us). in this way he compels us towards a deeper engagement with the images by contemplating the limits of the possible and impossible in human existence. on first confrontation with igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 40 his photographs, the sudden shock one feels, i suggest, is part of this compelling possible/impossible instantiations that the images evoke. this shock may not be felt in less visually disconcerting images. this shock enables multiple readings of possibilities and impossibilities into the work. while one may argue that the existence of certain strange figures in hugo’s nollywood photos may not be totally impossible, his photos suggest that the impossible can also become possible in the daily theatricality of violence. hugo argues that “certain types of violence thought impossible and shocking happens in actual human experience” (pieter hugo, author’s interview, cape town, august 2010). in figure 6 the male figure poses with the cognition of the camera while the viewers also recognize this cognition. in this way, there is a test of the limits of the communal game of make-believe in which the storyteller (hugo) and the audience (us) help in plotting the impossible. in performing violence, this figure is terrifyingly caught between reality and illusion. in figure 4.5 there are four figures, a man with brutally burnt flesh. he raises and points a rifle to the sky with his right hand. there are three children: one at the left hand side of the man and the other two at the right hand side. the interesting part of this photograph is the gazes of the four human figures. the gazes, quite connotatively, raise a lot of questions: is it possible that the children would remain unperturbed beholding such a violent figure? in interrogating the theatricality of the impossible violence, the first question is whether the scar and the degree of burns on the man’s flesh are painless as to keep him alive, strong and combat ready? the photograph gravitates between reality and hyper-reality. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 41 figure 4.5. pieter hugo,nollywood series, song iyke with ebube, thank god and mpompo, enugu, nigeria, 2008. courtesy: www.michaelstevenson.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 42 figure 4.6. pieter hugo, mallamgaladimmaahmadu, hyena men. 2007. courtesy: www.michaelstevenson.com the question is how does a concern with hugo’s theatricality reveal that which is fundamentally impossible in photography. is there something within hugo’s theatricality that raises a concern with photographic possibilities? in my interview with him, hugo admits that he “is interested in the unresolved aspects of violence in human existence.” he argues that “the honesty of nollywoodas against hollywood is its ability to speak to the unresolved tragedies of the human life” (pieter hugo, author’s interview, cape town, august 2010). in contemplating this statement, figure 4.7 draws attention to rose and how her violence is still unresolved. this is where the theatricality of violence lies. rose wears a mild smile even as the knife penetrates her belly and protrudes through her back. while this photograph also re-enacts the photographic possibilities/impossibilities, it highlights the unresolved aspects of violence in human existence. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 43 figure 4.7. pieter hugo, rose njoku, enugu, nigeria 2008. courtesy: www.michaelstevenson.com the theatricality of violence in the photograph would have been acted out more compellingly in nollywood video movies where expressions of loud scream and body languages usually parallel the enormity of bodily harm inflicted upon victims. many nigerians have denounced nollywood for being unreasonably and preposterously loud. this loudness arises from the quest to provide a commensurate level of response for certain degrees of violence. it suggests that rose needs to scream and reel on the floor to satisfy the expectancy of the teeming nollywood viewers who would expect a corresponding hysterical response to her extreme violence. on the contrary, with rose’s emotional impassivity in the face of intense bodily harm, the photo provokes a counter image of nollywood movies. it belies the characterization of nollywood by defying the loud scream that follows intense bodily affliction. indeed as makhubu (2013:56) has argued "hugo’s work doesnot seem to represent a deafening loudness but rather the inabilityto converse." in this rose's inability to converse in the midst of intense bodily violence, there is a tension between the possible and the impossible. according to hugo, “people die slowly and silently as a result of acts of violence. it is possible. people are knifed silently and they die bearing the blood and the invisible acts of knifing” (pieter hugo, author’s interview, cape town, august 2010). the fact of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 44 this image is that theatrical violence is acted daily on the silent lips of humans; it is possible and invisible at the same time. on theatricality: the significance of hands, guns, knife, blood and sticks: who sees what? the question here is what both the figures in hugo’s photographs see and what the spectators see. by the spectators i mean those of us watching hugo’s photos. jean luc-nancy (2006:222) has argued that “the exclusive concern of the portrait is a self in and for itself” (see also woodall, 1997).6 i suggest that hugo, as well as his models, developed ways of articulating the exposition of bodily self as a means of constituting the figure’s duality. the recognition of self can occur only through a mediation that takes place exterior to the self. this mediation, which is not interioralized in hugo’s projects, i suggest, is profoundly theatrical. in this theatricality the figures see the spectators and the camera while the spectators (us) see the weapons of war. all the hands in figures 4.5, 4.6, 4.7 are clutching unto dangerous weapons and even the hand in figure 4.6 clutches unto the wild animal’s mouth. the animal’s mouth, however, poses great danger to the figure’s fingers. now, in most of hugo’s photos, instead of gazing at the points and areas where their hands and bodies face high risk of physical harm, the figures gaze at the camera lens. this is very important in the visual analysis of the figures’ and hugo’s quest to dramatize violence. there is a high degree of self awareness both on the part of the human figures, the monkeys and hugo himself. this self-awareness engenders discrepancies between the human figures’ inner appearance and that of their outward sense of dramatizing the violent. it initiates duality. makhubu (2013: 56) has argued that while the inclusion of weapons makes those that are portrayed appear as perpetrators of violence, it also ambiguously casts them as victims". they appear profoundly wounded." she further notes that " even if we are aware that the blood and scars are not real, we are reminded of deeper psychologically transmuted, politically provoked and socially aggravated wounds." makhubu's remarks attests to a realization that the figures’ inner feelings of risk are mitigated by the courage of their outer selves in displaying violence. on the contrary the monkey’s inner feelings of risks are aggravated by the dangers posed by the weapons. the weapons, however, are staged as part of the human figures’ violent theatricalities. in figure 4.5, for example, there is a harmony in the upward movement of both the stick and the monkey: while the man raises the stick the monkey makes a corresponding upward leap and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 45 screams. a nuanced interpretation of this photograph might compel us to invoke hayes’ metaphor of “the violence is in the knowing.” hayes’ exploration of santumofokeng’s photographs allows her to understand violence as a phenomenon which transcends the human sight. and violence as that which “derives from the fact that there are knowledges attached to seeing” (2009:37). therefore the violence that we do not see in this photo is seen by the monkey who knows the meaning of the raised stick as an invitation to violent flogging. a violence that constitutes our ‘unknowing’ manifests as the monkey’s ‘knowing’ and compels it to jump. we might choose to read the props such as the knife, blood, sticks, and guns as the forte of hugo’s nollywoodand hyena and other men projects. it is possible that hugo’s projects might not have conveyed such visual force were all these elements absent. the weapons have a way of eliciting spontaneous emotions from both the monkeys and the spectators (us). the weapons may aim to impress the spectators (us) but invariably they may have succeeded in shocking us and threatening the monkeys. the spectators and the spectacle while, in the confined time and space of the theatre, spectacle and spectator need to be in each other’s vicinity in order for the theatrical event to take place, the pictorial scene of hugo’s photos does not require its audience to be present. in weber’s words, we may say that theatricality has started to wander. the fundamental disjunction of theatrical photograph, or rather its paradox, is played out by hugo in masterly fashion through the the hyena and other men and nollywood photos where the spectators and the spectacle mean different things to different peoples. in this section, therefore, i draw on michael fried’s engagement with the problems of the relationship between the spectator and a painting, and the comparable relation of audience and actors in the theatre, to explore hugo’s photographic works. it is necessary to state that the development of photography theory needs to be considered in line with the influence of miscellaneous topical preoccupations in the humanities. in doing this i suggest that fruitful theoretical questions could emerge in photography studies if authors explore broad thematic areas in the field of art criticisms, literary criticisms and theatre. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 46 michael fried's (1980) study is structured around an analysis of manifestations of the changing painting-beholder relationship as found in art and criticism of the eighteenth century french art. he argues that an awareness of this relationship amongst artists, as echoed by critics, determined the development of french art through the eighteenth century and beyond. fried invokes the metaphor of ‘absorption’ to explore the 1750s paintings by chardin, carle vanloo and vien which according to him, present straightforward instances of absorption — that is, pictures where the figures are noticeably unaware of any spectator. this is being accentuated by their ‘absorption’ in some corresponding activities of either reading, sewing, or paying attention to another element in the photo. in this way the figures refuse to acknowledge the spectator (us). considering this style in relation to hugo’s photos one can argue that hugo’s human figures acknowledge the spectators (us) by concentrating on the lens and what they want the spectators to view. fried considers ‘absorption’ an important quality in the painting-beholder relationship of mid eighteenth century french paintings. fried provides the most pertinent articulation of views regarding the seriousness of a painting’s figural elements. seriousness connotes the (un)consciousness of the beholder (the figure in the artwork). that is, within the photos figures regard their scenes with seriousness and neglect their spectator. for fried, “the most significant aspect of absorption is its exclusivity: the figures’ attention is so wrapped up in their own activities that they have no time for us (spectators)” (fried, 1980:13). comparing this model to hugo’s photos i suggest that the dynamic is reversed as this exclusivity becomes more central in the photos because of the theatrical style of the figures. this time hugo’s figures recognize and focus more attention on us (the spectators) rather their own activities. this is why the gazes are directed at us instead of the areas of critical risks of the images and their hands. conclusion hugo’s projects, no doubt, prompts to a more pointed social and cultural reckoning of the post independence nigeria. i have shown that even though hugo’s deployment of sticks dramatizes violence, the presence of the sticks, at the same time, initiates a double consciousness inside the human figures that deploy them. we (the spectators) help in enacting the theatricality of violence among the figures who feign ignorance of the risks posed by the violence they enact. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 47 i have exposed hugo’s nollywood project as part of his attempts to acknowledge the fortunes and tribulations of the industry. through this method he engages theatrical violence as an important aspect of popular media industry. he theatricalises violence as the possible and impossible, and also as the unresolved aspects of human existence. his method constructs the postcolonial everyday as an act of rumour mongering, make belief, magic and other performativities that also sustains the real nollywood industry. hugo’s figures’ actions appear self-conscious, too obviously calculated and mannered. this attitude never vitiated the force and power of the scene enacted. peering through hugo’s shocking images, we participate in a theatrical piece of his photographic devising. his works enact a violent theatricality that evolves a progressively more detailed and informed understanding of the photographic process. i liken the figures to actors and actresses of a nollywood movie. however, while in the original nollywood movie, most often, actors and actresses feign ignorance of the spectators or audiences, hugo’s figures take full cognition and acknowledgement of the presence of the spectators through a frontal gaze. yet, their actions do not undermine the strength of the images. notes 1. in my interview with hugo he states that he found nigeria fascinating in stimulating his visual insights and that he loves nigeria for the challenges it poses for his visual projects. he claims to enjoy such challenges which he claims he has never seen in any other african country he worked. interview with pieter hugo, cape town, october 2008. 2. one of the photos of the hyena and other men won hugo the prestigious klm paul huf award in 2008. for some polemical responses regarding his photos see for example, ikhideikheloa, “the women of pieter hugo’s nollywood,” 234 next newspaper, june 21, 2010, p.20. 3. carol magee has used this term to describe the works of zwelethu mthethwa, who also adopts a parallel visual formula as hugo by showing portraits of the underprivileged in urban dwellings. 4. hugo has confessed to me that he was greatly influenced by david goldblatt. 5. this sentiment is also shared eventually by zinasaro-wiwa in 2009 in hugo’s second nollywood project long after my interview in 2008 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 48 regarding his first nollywood project in 2007. wiwa believes that hugo’s nollywood discountenances the highly funded allegorical films and marxist cinematic epics that have fundamentally excluded africa’s popular audience. 6. joanne woodall (1997) has also attributed the rise of portraiture in western europe to the effect of the self-consciousness of the sitter, see joanna woodall, ‘sovereign bodies: the reality of status in seventeenth century dutch portraiture’, in joanna woodall, ed., portraiture: facing the subject, manchester, 1997, 75–100. references abiola, adekotunbo. 2007. the hyena and other men. munich: prestel. berger,harry. 2000.fictions of the pose: rembrandt against the italian renaissance, stanford, ca. brown, stephen. “sometimes less is less: recent books by michael fired,” paper on language and literature, summer91, vol. 27 issue 3, p.402. coronil f. and skurski, j. 1991. “dismembering and remembering the nation: the semantics ofpolitical violence in venezuela.”comparative studies in society and history,33(2): 288337. feldman, a. 2000.“violence and vision: the prosthetics and aesthetics of terror.” in v. das,a. kleinman, m. ramphele and p. reynolds (eds), violence and subjectivity. berkeley,ca: university of california press, 46– 78. firstenberg, lauri. 2001. postcoloniality, performance and photographic portraiture. in okwuienwezor, (ed). the short century: independence and liberation movements in africa 1945-1994, munich: prestel verlag. fried,michael. 1980.absorption and theatricality, painting and beholder in the age diderot. berkeley: university of california press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 49 garb, tamar. 2011. figures and fictions: contemporary south african photography. gottingen: gerhard steidldruckerei und verlag. goffman, e. 1959.the presentation of self in everyday life. new york: penguin. grootenboer, hanneke. 2010. how to become a picture: theatricality as strategy in seventeenth-century dutch portraits p.322 doi: art history 33, 2, april, 320-333. hayes,patricia. 2009. “ santumofokeng, photographs: the violence is in the knowing”history and theory, theme issue 48 (december 2009), 34-51, 37. haynes, j. and o. okome. 1997. “evolving popular media: nigerian video films.” in jonathan haynes, (ed.). 1997. nigerian video films. jos: nigerian film corporation. 21–44. haynes, jonathan (ed.). 1997. nigerian video films. jos: nigerian film corporation. highet, juliet. 2010. “inside nollywood,” new africa, april, p.18. ikheloa,ikhide. 2010. “the women of pieter hugo’s nollywood,” 234 next newspaper, june 21, p.20; interview with pieter hugo, cape town, august 10, 2008. litvak,joseph. 1992.caught in the act: theatricality in the nineteenth-century english novel. berkeley, ca. magge,carol. “spatial stories: photographic practices and urban belonging,” africa today, p.120. mahir, saul and ralph a. austen. 2010.viewing african cinema in the twenty first century: art films and the nolywood video revolution. ohio: ohio university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 50 makhubu, nomusa2013."politics of the strange, revisiting pieter hugo’s nollywood".african arts vol. 46, no. 1. nancy,jean-luc. 2006. ‘the look of the portrait’, in simon sparks, ed., multiple arts: the muses ii, stanford, ca. 220–41. okeke-agulu, chika.2010. “pieter hugo’s ‘nollywood’ and its nigerian critics,” ofodunka, june 25, ,http://chikaokekeagulu.blogspot.com/search?q=ikhide+ visited october 3, 2011. okome,onokome. 2002. “writing the anxious city” in under siege: four african cities freetown, johannesburg, kinshasa,lagos,okwuienwezor et al. germany: hatjecantz publishers, p. 320. okwori, jenkerizakari. 2003. “a dramatized society: representing rituals of human sacrifice as efficacious action in nigerian home-video movies” journal of african cultural studies, volume 16, number 1, june 2003, pp. 7-23, p.9; parkin, d. 1985.the anthropology of evil. oxford: basil blackwell. pierre barrot, 2009. nollywood: the video phenomenon in nigeria. bloomington: indiana university press. pieter hugo cited in “africa united: photographer pieter hugo casts a new light on tired stereotypes of his home continent,”the independent, sunday, 10 april 2011, p.15. pieter hugo in conversation with joanna lehan, 21 february 2007 in messina/musina exhibition catalogue, iziko south african gallery, cape town, march 2008. saro-wiwa, zina.2009. in pieter hugo, nollywood. munich: prestel. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 51 scheper-hughes, n. and bourgois, p. 2004. violence in war and peace: an anthology. london:blackwell. skidmore m. 2003. “darker than midnight: fear, vulnerability, and terror making in urbanburma (myanmar).”american ethnologist, 30(1): 5–21. stocchi, francesco. 2008. transl by marguerite shore, artforum international. vol. 46, issue 7, march. taussig, m. 2004. “culture of terror – space of death.” in n. scheper-hughes and p. bourgois(eds), violence in war and peace: an anthology. london: blackwell. taylor, d. 1996. “theater and terrorism: griselda gambaro’s information for foreigners.” inj. reinelt (ed.), crucibles of crisis: performing social change. ann arbor, mi: universityof michigan press. taylor, d. 2003. the archive and the repertoire: performing cultural memory in the americas.durham, nc: duke university press. turner, v. 1988. the anthropology of performance. new york: paj publications. weber,samuel. 2004.theatricality as medium. new york. witt,emily. 2010. “imperfect cinemas,” the nation, june 7, p. 20. woodall, joanna. 1997. “sovereign bodies: the reality of status in seventeenth century dutch portraiture”. in joanna woodall, ed., portraiture: facing the subject, manchester, 75–100. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.1 no. 3 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 90 the formation of children and youth in the family and educational institutions: the identification and prevention of the problem of homosexual tendency and practice richard omolade, ph.d285 st. john’s university, new york omolade@yahoo.com abstract homosexuality has become an issue for many societies. generally, it is regarded as an anomaly, yet it seems to be on the increase. this paper examines the nature of homosexuality and the practices associated with it, and the roles the family and educational institutions can play in its identification and prevention. the paper also argues that prevention is better than cure and that the family is the preeminent place to begin the formation necessary to socialize children appropriate and protect them from “fishing” and “grooming”. the paper also outlines the importance of educational institution in the formation necessary to prevent homosexual practices. the paper also identifies moral and religious education as the only education capable of bringing about true formation. this approach hinges on the fact that the man’s identity as imago dei demands a coherence of his life with the divine ethos, and that formation of conscience must start early so that those with predisposition can be equipped with the skills necessary to understand the demands of their state and the work for the grace to respond positively to god’s invitation to share in his life. finally the paper recommends proactive education and integral socialization of the two sexes with members of each group from early on in their lives as a clear path to prevent homosexual practices. keywords: educational, institutions, identification, prevention, homosexual tendency, practice 285 richard omolade is a catholic priest of the archdiocese of ibadan. he holds a masters degree in theology from st. john’s university new york and doctorate in educational administration and supervision from the same university. he is presently the coordinator for religious education, consultant in charge of catholic education, for ibadan archdiocese and the national chairman of the diocesan directors/secretaries of education. he lectures at the major seminary of ss. peter & paul, bodija, ibadan. his areas of interest include wisdom literature, pauline epistles, organizational theories, leadership theories and skills, educational theories, decision making process etc. his hobbies include reading and writing, astronomy and social analysis. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 91 introduction these times are markedly strange days. there is no gainsaying the fact that there is a crisis of value in the world today. traditional values, such as respect for others, hard work, love of children, morality, sexual integrity etc., have become extinct in many societies and efforts are being intensified by others to see to their eradication in other places where these values still exist. but as these values go, so do society. to prevent this, society needs to be proactive and this paper advocates the formation of children and youth within the ambient of the family and through the formal process of education. there are key concepts that need clarification, such as children, youth and the family and then educational institutions. a proper understanding of these key concepts will help us to situate the problem of homosexuality and ground our programme of intervention in real life context with the highest prospect of success. clarification of terms 1. children this is usually used to designate persons between birth and puberty. the legal definition of a child generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority.286 the united nations convention on the rights of the child defines child as "a human being below the age of 18 years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier". this is ratified by 192 of 194 member countries. biologically, a child is generally anyone between birth and puberty or in the developmental stage of childhood, between infancy and adulthood. 2. youth youth, on the other hand, is internationally used to designate persons between 13 years of age and late 20s. in most cases, they include the unmarried male and female who are still in their 20s. using erick erikson stages of human development, the youth group will comprise the adolescence (12-18 years) and young adulthood (18-24). these two stages of life are characterized by intense hormonal changes, membership in social groups, and development of life-long relationship leading to very intimate relationships. these stages could possibly be the incubating stage for homosexual tendencies. what is also clear about this endnotes 286 wikipaedia accessed april 23, 2015 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 92 age group is that there is fluidity about the age scope, often ranging from 14 to 35 among the member states of the united nations; hence to establish uniformity, the united nations defines youth as persons between the ages of 15 and 24. this distinction was set in 1981 because it must be stated that under the 1979 convention on the rights of the child, those under the age of 18 are regarded as children.287 in the same vein, the 2009 national youth policy of nigeria actually indicates that those between the ages of 18 to 35 should be regarded as youths.288 3. the family the family is the nucleus of the society, and traditionally made up of father, mother and their children. in the african context, the family is not just the immediate parents, the extended family is regarded as part of one’s family, hence uncles and aunties, nephews and nieces are part and parcel of the family. the family is also regarded as the basic unit of society. as the family goes, so does the society. the family is the first agent of socialization and formation for children. john paul ii in familiaris consortio said that “the future of the world and the church passes through the family.”289 it is thus imperative that the family be safeguarded from corruption and value erosion at all cost because families have the duty of raising children in the spirit of christian faith, in good morals and values. this is also in line with the vision of the second vatican council, when the council fathers assert that “all who influence society and its various groupings should actively contribute to furthering the cause of marriage and the family.”290 it is in this sense that homosexual activities must be seen as inhibiting the full flourishing of family life by advocating a lie as the real thing or as a true manifestation of the human relationship. 4. formation socialization is essential for societal integration and every member of the community goes through a process and programme of socialization appropriate for the age. education is one of such, and it could be formal or informal. it is crucial to note that due to the privileged position of parents, the home is the first place of formation and parents the first teachers of their children. the home environment is therefore crucial to the provision of wholistic education of the human person. formation rightly understood is more than education; it is a 287 furlong, andy (2013). youth studies: an introduction. usa: routledge. pp. 2–3. 288 nigeria 2009 national youth policy 289 familiaris consortio, 1981, n.75 290 gaudium et spes, n.52 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 93 deliberate process of developing something into a particular thing, or developing in people the capacities that help them to act in a given way. formation is much more than the accumulation of knowledge; it involves the translation of knowledge into action. it is in this wise that the identification and prevention of homosexual tendency and practice call for formation and not just theoretical awareness. changing attitudes and behaviours is not just about acquisition of knowledge; it involves the transformation of the will to do the right and the precise education of the will to choose the good, without which the prevention of homosexual practices will be extremely difficult to actualize. what is the problem? 5. homosexuality this is generally defined as sexual desire or behavior or attractions and relations directed toward a person or persons of one's own sex. the prefix, homo has two backgrounds; in latin ‘homo’ means man, for instance, ‘homo sapiens’ to denote ‘modern man’, and from its greek root, it means ‘same’. sexual, of course, means sex related. homosexuality then involves sexual attractions, desire and behaviour directed principally towards one’s own sex. according linus umoren, “homosexual is used to describe an individual’s sense of sexual, personal and social identity based on same sex attraction, behaviours expressing them, and membership in a group of others who share the same feeling.”291 while the term ‘homosexual’ technically refers to both male and female, in real life, female homosexuals are referred to as ‘lesbians’. in the same vein, while some may use the term “gay” to designate a male homosexual, it is more appropriately used “to designate those who have accepted homosexual identity; who involve in homosexual cultural activities and claim that they are comfortable in that life.”292 in a world rooted and depended on the complementarity of the sexes, for its existence, and survival, homosexuality then comes across as an aberration. the catechism of the catholic church sheds more light on the true nature of homosexuality by describing it as “relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction towards persons of the same sex.”293 it is precisely this understanding that led john paul 11 to assert that: 291 linus umoren 292 linus umoren 293 catechism of the catholic church 2357 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 94 sexuality by means of which man and woman give themselves to one another through the acts which are proper and exclusive to spouses, is by no means something purely biological, but concerns the innermost being of the human person as such. it is realized in a truly human way only if it is an integral part of the love by which a man and a woman commit themselves totally to one another until death…294 homosexuality then would be a contradiction of true human sexuality. homosexuality is a complex reality, it is a sexual orientation, and it is a form of identity. as a sexual orientation, it is regarded as an alternative to being straight, which is a relational exchange between two people, always involving a male and a female, whereas, homosexual orientation involves principally two males or two females. as an identity, those who describe themselves as being homosexual claim it is “who they are.” thus in the core of their being, they feel an inner attraction to persons of the same sex, though some have been observed to act the opposite sex’s role even in gay relationship. james leslie mccary describes it as “manifest sexual relation” to a member of the same sex. hence, it is not only about an inner awareness of self but also external manifestion. identification of homosexual tendencies it is important to make a distinction between homosexual orientation and homosexual act. sexual activities, be they overt or covert, between two people of the same sex is regarded as homosexual act, “whereas homosexual orientation refers to a sexual drive or attraction toward an individual of the same gender without any display of such behavior.”295 the implication is that it is possible to have the orientation without engaging in the act. in the church’s veritable tradition, personae humanae issued by the sacred congregation of the doctrine of faith in 1975, has shed further light on the way the church sees homosexuality. for instance, it asserts that there are some who are gay owing to false education, or lack of normal sexual development, other curable non-biological causes. at the same time, the document recognizes that there are some people who are pathologically homosexual. it would thus seem the basis for asserting that homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered.”296 john paul ii in his famous book love and responsibility asserts that since same-sex attractions are almost 294 familiaris consortio , 11 295 linus umoren 296 catechism of the catholic church 2357 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 95 never freely chosen, they are not in themselves sinful, “they are part of the disorder of the sexual appetite caused by original sin.”297 in most cases in the past, homosexual acts are performed in secret, such that it was difficult to adjudge people as homosexual if they didn’t declare themselves to be so. today, however, more and more men and women are ‘coming out of the closet’ to declare their sexual orientation. careful study of these people allows us to make the following about homosexuals: a. homosexuals ordinarily would engage in a relationship with a partner also of the same sex. b. this other person should be seen as the one who complements the partner. in other words, the relationship assumes a ‘veil of complementarity of the sexes’, where one partner is always a male and the other a female. mccary identifies three patterns of homosexual expression: (1) active, wherein the individual plays the male role regardless of his own sex,(2) passive, in which the participant, whether man or woman, plays the female role, and (3) mixed, in which the individual assumes an active role on time and a passive role the next. the mixed role is the pattern most frequently followed by homosexuals.298 c. certain traits are noticeable in the one who plays the feminine role. often, this partner looks feminine if he is a male, acts and speaks like a female and tends to pay undue attention to his physical appearance. ordinarily this partner, who acts as the female in the relationship still dresses as a man. d. the situation is slightly different when we look as lesbians. in this sequence, one of the women in the relationship also acts a man. this again is an attempt to fulfill the complementarity of sexes; however, one of these women could often be mistaken for a man through her mode of dressing that is often masculine and the male mannerisms that tend to stand out in such relationships. 297 christopher west, theology of the body explained: a commentary on john paul ii’s “gospel of the body, pauline books: boston, 2003, p.149 298 mccary, 280-281 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 96 e. it is this special characteristic trait that tends to suggest to people that one is likely to be a person with homosexual orientation or identity. this then makes ‘fishing’ for partner easy and grooming relatively straight forward since the tendencies and preferences are fairly visible and known. f. while anecdotal evidences suggest that the homosexual tendencies could be discerned early in life, it seems safe to locate its definite force in late adolescence, typically between 18 years and 24 years. this is because prior to that stage of life, children often congregate according to their sex and this is continued until early adulthood when they begin to form intimate relationship. it is at this stage that those who depart from the norm become obvious. g. principal homosexual practices include masturbation, sodomy, fellatio, cunnilingus and interfemoral coitus. masturbation is the production of sexual gratification through stimulation of the genitals by manipulation. sodomy refers to the use of the anus for copulation. fellatio from the latin word fellare, to suck, hence, this is the stimulation of the genitals using the mouth. cunnilingus is from two latin words cunnus, meaning the vulva, and lingere, to lick, this is therefore, the oral-genital stimulation of the female’s vulva or clitoral area. finally, interfemoral sexual intercourse takes place when the space between the thighs is used.299 it is must be asserted that based on the church’s analysis, homosexuality is not normal and this assertion is supported by scripture (gen 19:1-19, roma 1:24-27; 1cor 6:10; 1 tim 1-10). but the church did not stop there, she recognizes the fact that this is not a condition or identity that some people have chosen, but that “for most of them it is a trial.”300 they are therefore deserving of compassion and the sensitivity of others in the society. homosexuality is regarded as unnatural because its acts, attitude and behaviour quite often contradict the divine will, who created human “male and female”. homosexuality then becomes an affront against god; it is a denial of god and enthronement of the self on the altar of sexual gratification. it is only in this climate that homosexuality can flourish, therefore, parents and religious bodies must be involved in the education of children to channel their behaviour, attitudes and actions towards the truth and the good. 299 cf. james leslie mccary. 300 ccc 2358. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 97 the place of education in the identification and prevention of the problem of homosexuality etymologically, education is derived from two latin verbs “educare” which means to nourish, to bring up or to raise; and “educere” which means “to draw out”301 education then is a complex process that must involve the whole person. from the etymology, we see that the formal emphasizes training, that is, inculcating in the learner, what the society or some experts considered important for the individual and the society. viewed as such, parents must know the moral norms and the values of their society and ensure that the behaviour of their children are in tandem. on the other hand, when the focus is on educere, the attention shifts to personal development. here, the learner is not seen as a tabula rasa, an empty slate. rather, the person is seen as an embodiment of talents, latent traits and skills and the goal of education is to help bring them to the fore. the first helps in the process of initiation, and the second helps the individual to be able to make meaningful contributions to his or her society while accomplishing life’s goal. the vatican council ii document on education, gravissimum educationis, states that “true education is directed towards the formation of the human person in view of his end and the good of that society to which he belongs and in the duty, of which he will, as an adult have a share.”302 the foundation for this type of education and formation must be laid in the family. there, children are to be helped to cultivate good habits, display good conduct and exhibit good judgment. children must be helped to develop as members of the community and not apart from the community or against the community. this is what is otherwise known as socialization, that is, the process by which people, especially the young ones are trained to behave in a way acceptable to their society. furthermore, as could be seen from the different levels of education, education is age appropriate. educators are, therefore, called upon to introduce children to the right curriculum, so that the appropriate foundation may be laid. if this is done, crisis peculiar to particular ages can be identified and resolved. 301 v. r. taneja, (ed) educational thought and practice, (new delhi: sterling publishers, 2001 302 second vatican council, gravissimum educationis rome, 28 th october 1965, no. 6. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 98 the family the domestic church, the family, is an educational institution and a necessary one. in fact, it is first and foremost in the family that proper and true education begins. in the african context, the family is not just nuclear; uncles and aunties and in-laws are regarded as members of one’s family, this shows the extended nature of families in africa, such that the extended family members also have roles to play in the formation of children. hence the african adage, “it takes a woman to give birth, but it takes the whole village to train a child.” the family and the family environment are crucial to the formation of good character. it is because of this that most educationists are in agreement that the home environment plays a vital role in the education of children. here, habits, behaviours, attitudes, opinions and beliefs are not only caught but also taught. parents must thus ensure that children are helped to grow in wisdom and not just acquire knowledge; they are to help children become matured individuals and not just grow physically. the family has something in its favour to be the preeminent place for the formation of people with homosexual orientation or identity. since they are also called to chastity like every other person and must therefore be schooled in the virtue of self mastery or control that enables them to act with true christian freedom. john paul ii argues that education for chastity is absolutely essential, for it is a virtue that develops a person’s authentic maturity and makes him or her capable of respecting and fostering the ‘nuptial meaning’ of the body. indeed christian parents, discerning the signs of god’s call, will devote special attention and care to education in virginity or celibacy as the supreme form of that self-giving that constitutes the very meaning of human sexuality.303 parents can help lay the foundation that the moral standards expected of straight people are also expected of them and there will be no room for deviant behaviours. other institutions will then have something to build on. children and youth must be taught that homosexual acts are morally wrong because they are contrary to natural law and do not proceed from the sexual complementarity but pretends to celebrate it. this can be done and should be done even before children are exposed to peer pressure and other societal pressures. the loving embrace of parents and their support will go a long way to serve as 303 familiaris consortio 37 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 99 insulation for children who may be going through the crisis of understanding who they are and what is happening to them. this is what john paul ii meant when he said that: education in love as self-giving is also the indispensable premise for parents called to give their children a clear and delicate sex education. faced with a culture that largely reduces human sexuality to the level of something commonplace, since it interprets and lives it in a reductive and impoverished way by linking it solely with the body and with selfish pleasure, the educational service of parents must aim firmly at a training in the area of sex that is truly and fully personal: for sexuality is an enrichment of the whole person – body, emotions and soul – and it manifests its inmost meaning in leading the person to the gift of self in love.304 educational institutions apart from the family, educational institutions also play important roles here. it is a collaborative venture; hence gravissimum educationis recommends that “all those who hold a position of public authority or who are in charge of education to see to it that youth is never deprived of this sacred right.”305 true education is therefore religious in nature; without this religious basis, it leaves man superficially rooted only in the physical whereas, man is more than matter. man, as a being with spirit and soul lives with a destiny that true education helps him to attain. religious education is, therefore, crucial to the formation of persons totally integrated in themselves and to their society. no wonder at a conference in 1976, the christian council of nigeria asserts that religious education is a process which, …seeks to convey the truth of the christian faith to individuals so meaningfully that they will become christians disciples and be built up to do the will of god in every relationship, at home, in the church, in society at large, and within the changing situations of each generation.306 304 familiaris consortio, 37 305 gravissimum educationis, 1 306 institute of church and society, “the continuing role of the church in eduation” church and soceity papers, no 2. ibadan: institute of church and society, 1976, p.8 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 100 true education must lead to what is otherwise known as agil, that is, adaptation, goal attainment, integration and latency. man is a social animal and living in society demands conformity to certain norms set and valued by the society. parsons was very instrumental in the conception of agil and in summary it means: a) adaptation: is the capacity of society to interact with the environment. in this context, i am using it to refer to the ability of individuals in the society to adjust to their environment. b) goal attainment: is the capability to set goals for the future and make decisions accordingly. this deals with the pursuit of a goal or an end and its accomplishment. while individuals have their goals, individual goals must not undermine the collective good. c) integration, is otherwise called harmonization of the entire society, and it is a demand that the values and norms of society are solid and sufficiently convergent. in other words, the values and norms of society are reasonable enough to be a unifying factor. d) latency, or latent pattern maintenance, challenges society to maintain the integrative elements of the integration requirement above. this means institutions like family and school, which mediate belief systems and values between an older generation and its successor, have in built capacity to impact society. applying agil to homosexuality shows the inability of some members of the society to be properly socialized, mostly due to poor education. there is also manifest their inability to integrate into a cohesive system with other members of the society such that they often present themselves not only as different, but as opposed to the rest of society, thereby undermining the distinctive culture of the society.307 consequently, wholistic education is required for all children. such an education must take care of not only the intellectual aspect of man, but also the affective needs. true education is thus a composite of intellectual and spiritual formation, moral and psychological and social development. it is because of this complex mix that formal institutions have been set up to meet these human needs. with 307 cf. richard omolade, a systems test of effectiveness of elementary schools in nigeria. doctoral dissertation present at st.john’s univeristy, new york, 2007, p.59 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 101 this in mind, the general catechetical directory asserts that “the definitive aim of catechesis is to put people, not only in touch, but also in communion and intimacy with jesus christ.”308 this means that if this goal is borne in mind in the education of children, even those with homosexual orientation can be helped to be in communion and intimacy with christ, this will in turn help them to live chaste lives without succumbing to the allures of homosexual acts, often referred to as depraved acts, or acts arising from bad education or base instincts that have not been conformed to the gospel values. from the foregoing, it should be clear that both the family and educational institutions must be involved in the social, moral and religious education of children in order to help form well integrated persons. abegunrin supports this when he said that “moral and religious education are primarily aimed at developing in the individual the good qualities that will help to live a good life following the example of jesus christ who by the experience of faith and the account of history was full of virtues to the point that even non-believers agree that indeed jesus christ is of absolute virtues.”309 one of the benefits of moral and religious education is the mastery that individual cultivates following proper education. this mastery is otherwise to be referred to as self-control that is essential to interpersonal relationship. hence, abegunrin asserts that “without self-control, one is bound to disrupt the happiness and order in the society by acting according to the promptings of the human irrational passions; the spirit of tolerance disposes one to accept the human differences in ideology and behaviour which brings about the uniqueness of creation in its varieties.”310 in other words, we recognize the differences in human nature and the unique nature of persons with homosexual orientation. but this recognition does not translate to permission to act the way they feel or an approval of the consequent homosexual activities. moral and religious education is thus vital to help these people develop an informed conscience that will aid them to act in a morally good manner, that is, in accord with right reason, and in fidelity to the demands of their relationship with christ, who calls them to union with him. in other 308 gcd 80 309 gabriel abegunrin. the value of moral and religious education in nigeria: the contribution of the church towards national development.” being convocation discourse delivered at the convocation ceremony of ss. peter and paul major seminary, on 14 th may, 2015 310 abegunrin, ibid. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 102 words, even homosexuals must have the right moral compass to guide their attitudes and behaviour. this is exactly what is expected of the “straights” also. the necessity of informed conscience conscience (the latin word, conscientia, means ‘knowledge with another’, knowledge within oneself).311 conscience is today used to denote the capacity for judging the rightness or actions. following the intense pluralism of this era, and the attendant relativistic culture, munoz was lead to assert that “clearly, when the idea of man is altered and confused, that of his life, his behaviour and morality is also altered.”312 a true understanding of human nature is necessary and a well structured moral and religious education is thus an essential tool in this regards. in other words, the formation of a good conscience is good, and everyone is called upon to be a conscience to his society. this means that what is needed is not just a tool we can use when the need arises. human judgments are not acts of certain faculties, but of the whole person. for it to be effective, therefore, it has to be formed, so that human activities can attain wholeness. adesina, in his convocation discourse of 2015 describes formation of the conscience as “a matter of acquiring the necessary skill for making right moral judgment in order to be orientated towards good both for the self and for the larger society.”313 for persons with homosexual orientation, conscience formation helps to make decisions that are properly oriented towards the truth of their nature as revealed by god and of their final destiny. prevention owing to various reasons, the boarding system was introduced into education where care of children by parents was transferred to the school and precisely to matrons or housemasters, technically referred to as in loco parentis, that is, “in the place of a parent”, supposedly in that environment. this approach was that pupils/students stay in schools’ hostel for the duration of the term and are not under the care of their natural parents. in the school environment the matrons and housemasters fulfilled the functions of parents. as school hostels may have 311 f.l. cross & e. a. livingstone (eds). “conscience) in dictionary of the christian church, hendrickson publishers, 1997, 2007 312 munoz l. virtues: an inquiry into moral values for our times. sefer books: ibadan, 1996 313 francis adesina, conscience formation towards integral and national development. being convocation discourse delivered at the convocation ceremony of ss. peter and paul major seminary, on 14 th may, 2015. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 103 hundreds of students, they are further divided into dormitories of about ten or more students depending on the overall population and the available of dormitory space. the boarding system is often organized along sex line such that boys are housed together and girls together in different dormitories. the system is also found in universities and colleges today, with a slight difference being that as adults, they tend to fend for themselves whereas at the elementary and secondary schools level the children are taken care of by the hostel staff. there are advantages and disadvantages such as the removal of family stress and pressure from students, which allows them to focus more on their educational goals. there is also the better use of time, since time is well structured in the hostel for various activities unlike in the home. there is also more focus on learning and regimental life which tends to be a more conducive atmosphere for lifelong habit of discipline and orderliness. some of the disadvantages include the segregation of boys from girls. experts have alluded to the fact that this could foster the problem of lack of integral socialization. since the sexes live apart, the social skills gained by living together with mates and different sexes are often lacking. the boarders are exposed to typical traits inherent in their groups, such as sexual experimentation with their likes in the process of self discovery and understanding, the result in some cases is homosexuality and lesbianism. this is often the case when some are not even born with the orientation. the fact that proximity to only members of their sex is there, makes grooming possible and easy. special attention must be paid to same sex schools so as to curb the threat of grooming and initiation to homosexuality and lesbianism. proactive education effective identification and prevention of homosexual practices must be hinged on proactive education. the provision of what is called “co-education” system of education is a proactive step to socialize students to learn about the other sex, to relate with the other sex and appreciate the complementarity of sexes. in a coeducational environment, those with homosexual orientation can easily be identified, and helped. integral to proactive education is laying a solid foundation for moral development and not allow children to pick and choose moral imperatives of their choice as they go along. according to cardinal robert sarah, “we no longer igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 104 know what is evil and what is good. there are a multitude of points of view. today, we call white what we once called black, and vice versa. what is serious, and make no mistake about it, is the transformation of error into a rule of life…”314 no wonder, akinwale argues that according to aquinas, “the duty of the wise man is refutation of error and teaching of right doctrine. the former is necessary but insufficient without the later.”315 this type of education requires a collaborative effort from parents, the school and the church. this led john paul ii to assert that: sex education, which is a basic right and duty of parents, must always be carried out under their attentive guidance, whether at home or in educational centres chosen and controlled by them. in this regard, the church reaffirms the law of subsidiarity, which the school is bound to observe when it cooperates in sex education, by entering into the same spirit that animates the parents.316 homosexuality cannot be eradicated by wishing it away, since not everyone involved cultivates the orientation, some people, it has been said, have certain predispositions. therefore, to prevent its occurrence in the young who may be lured to cultivate it as a lifestyle, teaching of the right doctrine is of paramount importance. education, especially age appropriate education is necessary. it is through education, especially moral and religious education that children can be brought to respect moral norms of their society. hence, sexuality education is not just about understanding the physical changes in boys and girls, it is also about understanding how to respond appropriate based on one’s identity as a person created imago dei. “for this reason the church is firmly opposed to an often widespread form of imparting sex information dissociated from moral principles. that would merely be an introduction to the experience of pleasure and a stimulus leading to the loss of serenity – while still in the years of innocence by opening the way to vice.”317 in other words, true education imparted to children, must have both moral and religious content. the family is better equipped to lay the foundation for the 314 cardinal robert sarah, sermon delivered to seminarians of the community of st. martin, accessed http://www.courageouspriest.com/cardinal-robert-sarah-divine-justice-fall on june 13,2015 315 anthony akinwale, the beauty of christian humanism (3) published in the independent, a catholic weekly, no 2695, june 7, 2015. 316 john paul ii, familiaris consortio 37 317 familiaris consortio, 37 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 105 former, and institutions both religious and educational, are better equipped to play decisive roles in the latter. conclusion man has been created in the image and likeness of god and destined for union with god. this man is not a sexless person, since male and female god created them. this complementarity of sexes is to be recognized, appreciated and taught to children as early as possible in their formative years. furthermore, if wholistic or integral chastity is taught as a requirement for everyone, then, persons with homosexual orientation will recognize that their peculiar state is not a license for sexual experimentation or excursion but rather an invitation to respond in a special way according to their way of life to the salvific invitation of god who calls them to a loving relationship with him. the family must be a place of succor for persons with homosexual orientation, not to condone their homosexual practices, but to offer them guidance in their search for life’s meaning, and identity. in the final analysis, education will benefit all, the persons with homosexual inclination, and those who relate with them. the goal is to integrate everyone in a healthy relationship that is truly complementary, life-giving and life-sustaining. this task is not going to be easy, but the parents’ education of children demands trust and courage, communion and sharing, as john paul ii noted: even amid the difficulties of the work of education, difficulties which are often greater today, parents must trustingly and courageously train their children in the essential values of human life…the family is the first and fundamental school of social living: as a community of love, it finds in selfgiving the law that guides it and makes it grow. the self-giving that inspires the love of husband and wife for each other is the model and norm for the self-giving that must be practiced in the relationships between brothers and sisters and the different generations living together in the family. and the communion and sharing that are part of everyday life in the home at times of joy and at times of difficulties are the most concrete and effective pedagogy for the active, responsible and fruitful inclusion of the children in the wider horizon of society.318 318 familiaris consortio, 37 microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 6 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 62 emmanuel levinas’ concept of otherness and the african existential situation: a hermeneutic engagement by charles chukwuemeka nweke department of philosophy, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka-nigeria. nkesun2002@yahoo.com absrtact this paper attempts an interpretation of african existential situation in the light of emmanuel levinas’ theory of the other. the paper presents that the bid to find measures towards the advancement of humanity forms a very vital concern of philosophy. thus, several efforts have been made by philosophers over the ages to multiply viable options which are considered by various world societies as veritable tools for their socio-political advancement. when compared with the technologically driven western society, africa still struggles to measure up with global defined development with all negativities attendant of such situation. notably, the works of many philosophers are not only the products of their intellectual curiosity but sometimes informed by their experiences in life. thus, informed by his life experiences, levinas delved into a phenomenology of otherness in which he postulates an ethico-political theory aimed at the need for the of universal care of humanity, a theory which the paper considers a veritable hermeneutic tool for rethinking african existential situation. africa’s rise in the global developmental scene, the paper finds, requires basically the eschew of viewing the other(africa) by another(west) as an object of capitalist exploits, but a communalist cotraveler in the project of african upliftment cum global development. 1. introduction the quest for the preservation of mankind assumes various dimensions at different epochs of human history. the hobbesian imaginary postulation of man’s transition from the state of nature to civil society projects man’s innate desire for survival in a situation of chaos and anarchy. as the human society evolves in its diversity, so does history harbor the attendant developmental steps of nations. the scientific revolution and advancement of the modern period lifted the western world to the height of development leaving the rest of the world igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 63 including africa at the threshold of either under-developed or developing world. as the developed world is relatively at home with existence, africa is regrettably still struggling with the rudiments of life and seems irremediable in its perilous conditions. thus, african existential situation is pitiable. nevertheless, any viable discourse on the african condition ought to take into cognizance the factors that contributed to and still sustain the predicament. the bid to respond to the situation takes the present project to co-opting levinas’ concept of otherness which advocates for fairness and objective care of the other as a necessary condition for the utmost advancement of the human society in general. when the western colonialism is considered in the light of levinas’ concept of otherness, the western colonization of africa remains condemnable in its exploitative tendencies. the theory is equally a veritable tool for conscientize the west on the negative implications of imperialism, neo-colonialism and globalization. thus, an ethically based international liaison should be geared towards the integral development of nations for the sole purpose of universal common good. this paper of three sections therefore adopts a hermeneutic approach in its bid to rethink the african existential situation in the light of levinas’ concept of otherness. the first section will be a concise articulation of levinas’ concept of otherness. in the second section, the african existential situation will be widely exposed. the last section will display the hermeneutic significance of the piece in the bid to re-thinking the african existential situation in the light of levinas’ concept of otherness. 2. levinas’ concept of otherness levinas’ idea of otherness finds expression in his notion of ethics as the first basis of philosophy whereby “the other is not knowable and cannot be made into an object of the self.” (wikipedia) rather, “the other reveals himself in his alterity not in shock negating the i, but as the primordial phenomenon of gentleness.” (routledge encyclopedia of philosophy, 1998) levinas’ intention was to project a progressive intellectual revolution in philosophy after the trend of the analytic philosophers, although informed by the circumstance of his time. hence, levinas launched an ideological attack on traditional metaphysics (ontology) accusing it of making ‘the other’ an object of subjectivity. according to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 64 levinas, philosophy cannot be “love of wisdom”, for that relegates the care of the other and seeks self gratification (knowledge). rather, philosophy should best be defined as “wisdom of love” (ethics) where the otherness of the other is upheld as a natural obligation, locatable with reason. consequently, ethics is first philosophy since the traditional philosophical endeavor of knowledge is but a secondary feature of a more basic ethical duty to the other. in totality and infinity, levinas maintains that the other human being in his separation calls me into question. what this entails is that the care of the other is a matter of ethical obligation. hence, “in the face-to-face relation, my selfassurance disappears and i find myself in bad conscience”3. this instance presupposes an unlimited and committed obligation to the other. levinas, thus, denies the conception of ethics in terms of intension or legal responsibility since those are artificial. hence, justice as the reciprocal system of obligation is not in accord with reason. rather, as “the i is questioned by the other within the faceto-face relation, so justice is put in question by the face of the other” (ibid) in levinas’ ideal, the other is the sole determinant of personality and identity in so far as the other reserves the prerogative of questioning the identity of the i. as such, to be is to be for the other. and to be for the other is to be without identity since in the other the identity of the i is substituted. with this formula, the i is an other. his otherwise than being reflects levinas’ effort to portray “the substitution of the i, whereby subjectivity is being hostage.”(ibid, 581) consequently, subjectivity is not the ego isolation of modern philosophy, but the restlessness of being disturbed as a result of the concern for the other. for levinas, the irreducible relation, the epiphany, of face-to-face, the encounter with another, is a privileged phenomenon in which the other person’s proximity and distance are both strongly felt. such encounter produces a revelation that makes a demand to affirm and express the other’s freedom. consequently, the transcendence and heteronomy of the other is recognized and upheld. 3. african existential situation the term ‘african existential situation’ (aes) refers to the condition of the african world considered from the political, social and economic dimensions. it equally comprises of both real and imagined perspectives on the continent africa. in the global development prism, africa is branded a third world with all notable stigma attached to such placement. for instance, questions abound as to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 65 the authenticity and tenability of the term ‘african philosophy’ of which an inherent debate is that of the determination of african identity. several efforts have been made by many african scholars on the issue of african predicament adumbrating some factors antecedent to such situation which according to them include slavery and colonialism. nevertheless, a critical view of the reality of african world leads decisively to a submission that africa is a problem continent, considering the litany of diseases, famine, wretchedness, corruption that continue to besiege the continent. consequently, the african predicament is simply pitiable. sequel to limitations imposed by political and economic constraints. bakare-yusuf summarized the african condition as a limit situation. for him, “a limit situation exists where the rules of everyday life have been suspended, and questions of survival are brought to the fore.” (www.codesria.org) in a limit situation, everyday life is laden with uncertainty, tensions, lesion, material scarcity, chaos, genocide, and so no. these and more are factors that constitute the african limit situation in concrete terms. apart from the aforementioned, it is unarguable that the euro/western view and political representations of africa contributes considerably to the plight of the content. africans have been tagged ‘irrational’ by western scholars. hegel(1956) consigned africa to the unhistorical part of the world in his position that: what we properly understand by africa is the unhistorical, undeveloped spirit, still involved in the conditions of mere nature, and which has to be represented here only on the threshold of the world’s history. these debasing notions are still widely propagated all over the west coast irrespective of obvious remedial attempts by african scholars towards reversing the ugly trend. instead of encouragements, these efforts are met with deliberate resistance such that bakare comments thus: when africans attempt to refuse this representation and provide a picture of how they make sense of and navigate their world, their words and images are neither heard nor seen. alternative representations are denied and seen as sheer stupidity, madness and against the rule of rationality. (www.codesria.org) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 66 an unfortunate attendant effect of such circumstance is the tendency of even some african scholars aligning themselves in the trend. the issue at stake in this discourse is not the denial of the euro-western claims as complete fabrications, rather the way in which these negativities are propagated, reflective of politics of representation, whereby difficult life situations are framed in absolute negativity and irredeemable terms. the logical implication of propagated african irrationality remains incivility, incapacity for self-determination, development and self-governance. hence, african colonization was and is still being projected as a necessity for african remedy without reference to the continent’s exploitation by the colonialists. russell’s dehumanizing view of africans regarding self-governance is quite incisive. he submitted that: it would be difficult seriously to advocate the immediate introduction of parliamentary government for the natives of this part of the world, even if it were accompanied by women suffrage and proportional representation. so far as i know, no one supposes the populations of these regions capable of self-determination. (russell, 1977) the euro-western exploitation of africa at the wake of colonialism of which representation is usually avoided by the euro-western scholars takes a different form in the modern and contemporary era (neo-colonialism and imperialism) in the bid to leave the continent in continuous disintegration and peril. thus, neocolonialism remains an indispensable theme in any authentic discourse on the present african predicament. neo-colonialism represents an avenue for continuous socio-political and economic exploitation and domination of africa in spite of the continent’s acclaimed independence. its ugly trend is characterized by “expatriate domination of investment opportunities, made possible by access to credit, technology and managerial skills necessary for industrial production.” (akodo & imbua, 2006) the neo-colonialist tendencies include a continuous intrusion of the western world on african economic path, using the continent to achieve developmental goals. africa thus exploited, continues to wallow in sociopolitical cum economic poverty as well as developmental sluggishness. the trend is further stretched by culture projection and coercive apparatus through igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 67 modern technology of which effects remains a cankerworm that feeds deeply into the fabrics of the african cultural value system. in this regaed, iroegbu(1994) notes that “western civilization like western colonization and christianization came as a superior force, as the true way to success, in fact as the success itself. africans had simply to adopt them.” hence, the western imperialist ideal inflicted africa with its capitalist individualistic model at the expense of the much organic african communalism thereby leaving the continent in utter gullibility and crisis of identity. so long as globalization is a tool for western holistic integration of varied cultures ensuring social, economic and political dependence, inculcated with the imperialist tendencies, quest for an authentic african advancement remains a toilsome task. a concealed deceptive character of globalization is its tendency of increasing concentration and monopoly of socio-economic resources and power through quest for trans-national co-operations. one of its implications for africa is that the continent comes under the euro-western socio-political and economic control. khor (2000) refers to the consequence of this situation as “erosion of national sovereignty and narrowed ability of governments and peoples to make choice from options in economic, social and cultural policies.” as long as africans remain under such siege, they remain disoriented, and thus, lack the necessary capabilities for transcending their present situation. 4. re-thinking the african condition: the levinas’ import to rethink the african situation is to co-opt agencies (rational) for lifting africa from its condition. bakareyusuf’s attempt at this project is rather interesting. in his “poetics of the belly”, he adopted scarry’s phenomenology of pain and imagination to drive home his perspective of the african predicament, in the sense that he considered scarry’s universalist phenomenology of pain and imagination as a vital tool for articulation and expression of the historicoexistential field of african experience. according to scarry, pain admits of no intentional object in the world, rather its object is ontological, that is imagination. in effect, she noted that, “while pain is a state remarkable for being wholly without objects, the imagination is remarkable for being the only state that is wholly its objcts.” (scarry, 1985) while pain is thoroughly of the body, its presence returns the body’s experience to that mute and primal moment prior to language, agency, meaning, culture and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 68 subjectivity. hence, structured solely through its objects, the imagination allows for pain to be transposed outside of itself and be projected unto cultural artifacts. in considering the african situation, bakare submits that “the inseparable conditions of life and structural constraints very often push people to resort to creative means to combat their situation: excessive forms of bodily adornment or expressive trickery and play.”(www.codsria.org) bakare’s position is that african situation is that of pain and its attendant imaginative effect produces creativity (work) directed towards alleviation of suffering for the sole purpose of transforming an existential situation. this is equally considered as bakare’s response to the popular western tag of africa as more imaginative than rational. imagination, for him, is an inseparable aspect of african reality, since it remains a relative tool for survival in a critical situation. bakare considerably collaborates senghor’s widely misunderstood prism, ‘reason is hellenic and emotion is african’. of course, senghor never ascribed non-rationality to africa, since reason is the basic defining feature of man. rather, senghor would mean that emotion is also an ostensible constituent of man. the west operates more with their head, while africans dilute the extremities of the head with their hearts. bakare’s position vehemently challenges the conventional vocabulary of basic need or environmental limitation and places survival on an existential level. it is about how to fuse and satisfy metaphysical, spiritual and existential needs in a way that allows a shout of an emphatic “yes” to the challenges of life. it is about how africans engage every day in creative practices that tame the horrors of their life, turning their incalculable presence of pain into excessive creativity as evident in cultural artifacts, laughter, drama and the like. this means, as related by abanuka(1994) that, “if the black people have made no significant breakthrough both in the arts and the sciences, they must still be proud of their distinctive characteristic as a black people.” being positive about the africans’ imaginative response to their existential situation is implied in levinas’ idea in his phenomenology of the ‘other’. levinas’ gospel of otherness is informed by a quest for authentic existence and preservation of mankind. it is a call for the reversal of persistent man’s inhumanity to man in the face of acclaimed transition from the precarious state of nature to the civil society. the oppressive and exploitative tendencies of man over his fellows are instances of placing the other at the level of mere phenomenal objects, as tools for personal gratification. in such instance, self igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 69 interest is placed as premium at the wake of interaction while the good of the other is utterly neglected and relegated. in the case of africa , her colonialists and slave traders were not primarily concerned about the continent’s civilization and development. whatever civilization presently evident in africa would only be providential when considered vis-à-vis the plunder and exploitation of the continent by the colonialists. it is simply a case of levinas’ idea of looking at the other as a mere object of the self. the consequence of colonialism on african remains unarguably obvious. the denial of african rationality and possible civility is borne out of epistemological bias which only seeks self satisfaction at the expense of true knowledge, which levinas considers a misplacement of philosophical priority. if ontology does not accord adequate importance to the good of the other, ethics should be first philosophy since in ethics, the otherness of the other is given a veritable consideration. levinas advocacy is in line with augustine’s view on the ethics of love and care for one another which eschews ego-centricism. thus augustine in mellway(2009) states that: a love that rejoices in a good that is at once shared by all and unchanginga love that makes ‘one heart’ out of many, a love that is the whole hearted and harmonious obedience of mutual affection. despite the plundering of africa in the colonial period, the continent continues to suffer ideological, social, economic and political violence, such that the greatest challenge of african diaspora is racism. in his philosophy of otherness, levinas desires is to make postulations for the thriving of human freedom, the denial of which is evident in racism, colonialism, slavery, imperialism and neocolonialism. for instance, levinas’ postulation would condemn the european colonial philosophy which “preached an epistemology that views the african incapable of scientific or philosophical destiny, potentiality and practice." (osuagwu, 1999) the persistent biased western ideological representations of africa, since the image of african world currently in circulation is a literal incarnation of a negative dialectic, amount to a refusal to uphold the otherness of african essence. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 70 the remedial import of levinas’ otherness on african condition remains the need to look at africa objectively with a view to lifting it from its present predicament and placing it on the appropriate developmental pedestal. it entails african freedom from all forms of neo-colonial exploitations and imperialism. levinas advocacy is in line with david hume’s moral theory. according to hume, “we are rationally committed to acting justly by our very practices designed to promote common or complimentary interests.” (the encyclopedia of philosophy,1967) it must be noted that levinas’ project does not deny the importance of inter-subjectivity. rather, it posits that the good of the other should be accorded a fair consideration for the sole purpose of the good of mankind in general. hence in the african situation, levinas would call for an adequate none exploitation but a regenerative inter-continental relation which equally places importance on african development, since the face-to face relation presupposes an unlimited and committed obligation to the other. equally, levinas’ prayer would be to uphold and appreciate the african nature and adaptation to her existential situations. it demands respect for the africanity of the african of which nnabugwu( 2005) opines that “as human beings, we are all separate individuals but with a common destiny.” this entails, in line with bakare’s ideal, a clarion call for the acceptance of african modes of investment in corporeal practices and cultural performance in the midst of existential chaos as a “will to power” that transcends the conventional vocabulary of crises articulated solely in terms of a purely physical need or environmental limitation. 5. conclusion a view of africa from the developmental perspective relegates the continent to a problematic plane. although several efforts have been made to compel an adequate understanding and articulation of the factors responsible for african predicament, it must be agreed that irrespective of the civilization brought to african through colonialism, the ugly aspect of the trend leaves nothing much to be desired. as already shown within the course of this paper, levinas’ concept of otherness has a pivotal role to play towards african redemption. it is therefore strongly suggested that its prospects be adequately relayed and utilized as a sure justification of levinas’ sincere and laudable intellectual effort as well as an igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 71 indication that the world societies have transcended rational biases to pave way for the appreciation of objective intellectual endeavours. references abanuka, b (1994), a new essay on african philosophy , enugu : snaap press ltd.,7. akodo, w. & imbua, d (2006), “waving through history: nigeria in the international community and the challenge of development” in unizik journal of arts and humanities vol. 8, september, 89. hegel, g.w.f(1956), the philosophy of history, new york: dover publications inc., 99. http://www.codsria.org/archives/galo/papers_ga10_12/economics_yusuf. htm http:/www..wikipaedia.com/other_levinas_emmanuel/pg_20_htm.asp iroegbu, p (1994), enwisdomization and african philosophy ,owerri: international universities press ltd., 80. khor, m (2000), globalization and the south: some critical issues, abuja : spectrum, 4. mellway,j., on http://enlightenment.supersaturated.com/essays/test/jamiemellw ay/augustine.html nnabugwu, m.b (2005), africa in the march of civilization, enugu : quintagon publishers, 16768. osuagwu, i.m (1999), a contemporary history of african philosophy, enugu: snaap press ltd,176. routledge encyclopedia of philosophy,(1998) london : routledge, 580. russell, b (1977), roads to freedom, london: unwin paperbacks, 121. scarry, e (1985), the body in pain:the making and unmaking of the world, new york & london : oxford university press, 162. the encyclopedia of philosophy, (1967)vol. 3 & 4, london: collier macmillan publishers, 299 microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 1 influence of biological factors on sports performance (focusing female athletes) wasim khan lecturer, department of sports sciences and physical education, gomal university d.i khan. email: wasimkhan2057@gmail.com 092+3339742057 & iffat bibi lecturer, department of health & physical education, government girls degree college, punjpir, swabi. email: iffat.sarfaraz123@gmail.com & tasleem arif ph.d scholar, department of sports sciences and physical education, gomal university d.i khan. email: tasleemarif12345@gmail.com & hikmatullah khan department of sports sciences and physical education, dera ismail khan (dik), pakistan (hikmatchoti@gmail.com) abstract the motivation behind this study was to look at the accessible writing in context of biological constraints influencing sport performance of the females. extensive measure of literature is accessible about the factors affecting female participation in spots activities yet exceptionally constrained literature is accessible about the impacts of biological factors upon females’ sports participation. an endeavor has been made to investigate those basic biological factors confronted by females in their way to participate in sports activities. suggestions have been advanced for the change of circumstance with reference to female participation in sports. to get considerable positive change the situation, more work is required and it is trusted that this work will open routes for the future analysts. key words:influence, biological, factors, sports participation & female athletes introduction sports activities play a vital role in the overall development of society and its participant without any discrimination of gender. in this view, sports share equal opportunities and encourage the participation of both male and female but female are facing numerous problems. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 2 likewise, lack of participation of women in sports depends upon many factors such as state of origin, religious bane, traditions, parents, family, relatives, body images, physical structure and physical fitness. in this regard, body compositions create hindrance in the way of sports participation among female players (kraneet al., 2004). the author further found in his study that size of the body affects sports activities like jumping, smashing in volleyball and shooting in basketball. similarly, there lies a mark difference in the body build of mature males and females. when people of both sexes attain maturity, females are found to be less in high then males. they have less body weight in comparison to males and also have lean body weight than males. these kinds of differences are generally found when people become mature (deflandre et al., 2001). a more prominent number of superior female competitors were under-weight and they much of the time had a serious longing to get thinner when contrasted with non-competitors. thus they were more at danger of creating dietary issues like anorexia, bulimia and bulimia nervosa (steinfeldt et al., 2011) whereas, gilenstam and henriksson‐larsénshowed that for some donning codes it is vital to keep up a perfect body weight so as to take an interest in exercises such as paddling and horse dashing. in different games such as running and swimming, low body weight is connected with fruitful execution. keeping in view the aforementioned brief discussion, the researcher decided to identify the biological factors influencing female sports participation. the results of the study will help the sports organizers, administration and government to develop programs that will promote female sports participation. similarly, this study shall bring information on the ground regarding the problems and difficulties faced by female athletes with special reference to biological perspective. it will definitely serve an important role in enabling the coach, trainers and sports managers to plan future sports program that could affectively satisfy the needs of the female athletes. problem statement from the various studies it is concluded by the experts that performance of female players lag behind in comparison to male in the field of sports and athletics. there might be some factors which influence the performance of female athletes. hence, the researcher conducted a study to focus upon solely the influence of biological factors upon sport performance of female athletes. this research has significance importance as this study is related to sports participation with reference to the biological problems faced by the female athletes. so, participation of female elite athletes in sports activities and their approach regarding different biological problems is the focal point of this study. therefore, it carries special significance in the area of sports sciences and physical education. literature review igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 3 body composition male and females differ in respect of their body composition. female have a lower absolute lean weight while a higher absolute fat weight in comparison to boys. male have high levels of androgen hormones because of which they have more lean body weight. in the same way, females have high levels of oestrogen hormones, because of which they have height fat weight. higher amount of essential fats are found in the mature females. there untruths an imprint distinction in the body manufacture of experienced guys and females. at the point when individuals of both genders achieve development, females are observed to be less in high then guys. they have less body weight in examination to guys furthermore have incline body weight then guys. these sorts of contrasts are for the most part found when individuals get to be develop. for the most part it is seen that amid pre-adult period, a female have if not all the more but rather square with weight and stature in correlation to man, which comes about as a result of the early development of the females. after accomplishment of development, different sorts of changes happen in guys also females. presently male's shoulders get to be more extensive and their hips get to be tight. their mid-section additionally gets to be more extensive. this sort of changes additionally happens in females. in correlation to male, female's body bones stay less wide. at the belly, hips and thigh, both the genders have square with bigness in estimation. body build generally it is seen that during adolescent period, a female have if not more but equal weight and height in comparison to male, which results because of the early maturation of the females. after attainment of maturity, various kinds of changes take place in males as well females. now male’s shoulders become broader and their hips become narrow. their chest also becomes broader. this kind of changes also takes place in females. in comparison to male, female’s body bones remain less wide. at the abdomen, hips and thigh, both the sexes have equal girth in measurement. hormones females who take an interest in games regularly encounter deferred menarche and this could have both positive and negative outcomes (greydanuset al., 2004). menarche prompts an expansion in coursing elevated amounts of estrogen in a female body.estrogen is an essential hormonal trigger for expanding bone thickness in youth and keeping up bone thickness in the full grown female. there is inadequate proof analyzing the relationship between deferred menarche in athletic females and bone thickness. deferred menarche can have beneficial outcomes in that the early onset of menarche has been connected with expanded danger of bosom tumor. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 4 pregnancy early studies argued that females should not be involved in sport, due to the deleterious effects of physical exertion on the frequency of menstruation and the fact that the reproductive organs of female can be affected. these beliefs prevailed for years and later evidence began to prove these early beliefs wrong. recounted proof demonstrates that pregnancy does not hamper execution of ladies who take an interest in game for the duration of their lives. leunes and nation (1991), contend that irwin, who was a female competitor, won an olympic decoration in jumping when she was four months pregnant. another illustration is that of hays who effectively finished the big showdown rodeo as a bareback rider when she was eight months pregnant. it likewise gives the idea that competitors come back to top frame rather rapidly in the wake of having had kids. atp-pc system female players can make use of less phosphagen during exercise because they have smaller total skeletal muscles in comparison to male (kirkendall & garrett, 1998). between male and females, functional capacities of atp-pc can be compared with the help of performance ratios. it is found from the studies that female sprinters perform well in 100 meter and 200 meter races in comparison to male sprinters. thus, this proves that there does not exist much difference in the manners of concentration of atp and pc in males and females. because female have small total muscle mass, because of which their lies total stores of atp and pc in them. aerobic system there lies a shortage of maximal aerobic power in the females which can range from 15 to 25 percent. this maximal aerobic power is generally termed as vo2 max. with increase in age, differences in the amount of aerobic power affect the performance of players. this happens because of the fact that there exists very minimal difference in males and females when expressed in relation to body weight. when maximal aerobic power is being expressed in term of lean body mass, the difference between males and females tend to be minimal.a closer relationship exists between maximal aerobic power and the total body weight of the player. in the most physical activities, movement of the total body weight of the player consists of largest part of the workload, because of which it is said that male players are in an advantageous position than female players in terms of vo2 max. lactic acid system after intense exercise, lactic exercise is found to be in lower quantities in the blood of females in comparison to males, which implies that capacity of lactic acid system is found to be less in females’ players. because females have smaller total mass, this is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 5 an important reason for their lower lactic acid capacity. when female participate in those events which use of lactic acid system, females are found to be in a disadvantageous place than the male players. but, female players can take advantage from the training programs which emphasis the lactic acid system (buford et al., 2007). strength it is believed that in comparison to females, male are physically stronger. even during the adolescent periods, females are less strong than males. however, this is a myth and misleading. when individual’s values are considered for specific areas of body, it is found that females are stronger than males. however, to a very considerable extent. in terms of upper body strength, males are in a better condition than females. in simple words it can be said that muscular strength in females is round about to third of the males. among different muscles groups, strength differences vary. in other words, there does not exist strength differences in all the muscle groups in the same degree. males have stronger chest, arms and shoulders in comparison to males. to the factors like total body weight, lean body mass and height etc. strength in both sexes relate. in males, isokinetic strength at faster speed of movement is significantly greater than females. however, on both isometric and isokinetic knee extensor strength at low speed of movement, there lies not much difference in males and females fiber (mcardleet al., 2010). when performing fast movement, generally white muscle fibers are recruited. from all these findings, it can be concluded that for females, modified strength training performance should be used (tomline& wenger, 2001 &shephard, 1992). discussion the study has shown that various biological factors have potential effects on the performance of female athletes. after examining the literature review, the data revealed that there exist a considerable difference between male and females whether it is body composition, body shape and body building. these changes influence sports participation of female players. same stance has been found by (kraneet al., 2004) who affirmed that body composition create hindrance in the way of sports participation among female elite players. the author further found in his study that size of the body affects sports activities like jumping, smashing in volleyball and shooting in basketball. similarly, kumar (2007) stated that size of the body of player affects s/his performance in certain specific activities, like various kinds of jumps. he further stated that females have wider pelvis and because of this females are required to shift their pelvis more in order to keep the center of gravity over weight bearing igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 6 foot. consequently, involvement of more muscles required which decrease their mechanical efficiency in running (balyi, 2013). research has also confirmed that the physical wellness of females in game has dependably been addressed in view of an assortment of physiological concerns including the menstrual cycle, propagation, harm to bosoms and privates (ayduk, 2000 &babiss&gangwisch, 2009). studies contended that females ought not to be included in game, because of the injurious impacts of physical effort on the recurrence of feminine cycle and the way that the conceptive organs of female can be influenced (baily, 2006). it is a quiet period just before fast assault of youth. the body is experiencing formative changes in the skeletal framework, solid framework and engine improvement. it is found from various studies that in males and females, concentration of adenosine triphosphate and phosphocreatine is quite similar. various researches have been conducted by experts in order to find out the answer to the question that whether female players can get any advantage from weight training exercises or not. from the studies it has been found that in the adolescent period of age, one can increase strength to a considerable extent with the help of weight training and muscle of the body do not get any kind of effect with respect of their look because of such training (camire&trudel, 2010 ; camireet al., 2011 &camireet al., 2013) . with this finding, various females’ players can make use of weight training without any king of doubt or fear.another important question which the experts are dealing is to find whether female can attain same levels of strength as males in all the major parts of the body. from these studies, it is found that same endochoronological differences, it is difficult for the females to attain similar level of strength as of males (burner et al, 2011). conclusion keeping in view the brief ideas and approaches of the reputed experts, it has been concluded that various biological factors have significant effects upon female athletes’ in connection to their participation in sports. the study has concluded that body composition, muscle structure, menstruation and hormones of females have potential impact on athletes’ performance in sports. research has confirmed that females feel discomfort in running events because ofwider pelvis girdle, which in turn have impact on running events. research has also declared that due to large body size and shorter size of limbs, the females athletes are difficult to jump in an efficient and graceful manner. apart from these, it has also been researched that due to low muscle strength, female are difficult to perform activities like pulling and digging. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 7 recommendations consequently, the researcher recommended that: 1. proper consideration may be given to biological aspects while selecting female athletes for sports events. 2. similarly, the physical education teachers, coaches and trainers should be kept in mind the biological needs and requirement while designing sports training for female athletes. research highlights the physical education teachers, coaches and sports trainers should realize the contribution of physically fit athletes and are sparing effort to encourage sport program for cultivating the sportsmen and women. in order to achieve high standard/rank in sports, the concerned authorities of sports may consider the factors affecting their fitness as well as sports performance particularly among female folk. authors’ contribution and competing interests the author is young energetic guy and greatly bellowed to research presently working as lecturer in the department of health & physical education,government girls degree college, punjpir, swabi, khyber pakhtunkhwa, pakistan. the researcher has published many research papers available at national and international journals. references ayduk o., mendoza-denton r., mischel w., downey g., peake p. k., rodriguez m. (2000). regulating the interpersonal self: strategic selfregulation for coping with rejection sensitivity. journal of personality and social psychology. (79): 776–792. babiss l. a., gangwisch j. e. (2009) sports participation as a protective factor against depression and suicidal ideation in adolescents as mediated by self-esteem and social support. journal of developmental & behavioral pediatrics. (30):376–384. bailey r. (2006). physical education and sport in schools: a review of benefits and outcomes. journal of school health. (76):397–401. balyi i., way r., higgs c. (2013). long-term athlete development. champaign, il: human kinetics. bruner m. w., hall j., côté j. (2011). influence of sport type and interdependence on the developmental experiences of youth male athletes. european journal of sport science. (11):131–142. buford, t. w., kreider, r. b., stout, j. r., greenwood, m., campbell, b., spano, m., & antonio, j. (2007). international society of sports nutrition position stand: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 8 creatine supplementation and exercise. journal of the international society of sports nutrition, 4(1), 1. camiré m., forneris t., trudel p., bernard d. (2011). strategies for helping coaches facilitate positive youth development through sport journal of sport psychology in action. (13) 292–99 camiré m., trudel p. (2010). high school athletes’ perspectives on character development through sport participation. physical education and sport pedagogy. (15):193–207 camiré m., trudel p., bernard d. (2013). a case study of a high school sport program designed to teach athletes life skills and values. the sport psychologist. (27):188–200. deflandre, a., lorant, j., gavarry, o., &falgairette, g. (2001). determinants of physical activity and physical and sports activities in french school children. perceptual and motor skills, 92(2), 399-414. ezzell, m. b. (2009). " barbie dolls" on the pitch: identity work, defensive othering, and inequality in women's rugby. social problems, 56(1), 111-131. gilenstam, k., karp, s., & henriksson‐larsén, k. (2008). gender in ice hockey: women in a male territory. scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports, 18(2), 235-249. greydanus, d. e., patel, d. r., luckstead, e. f., & pratt, h. d. (2004). value of sports pre-participation examination in health care for adolescents.medical science monitor, 10(9), ra204-ra214. kirkendall, d. t., & garrett, w. e. (1998). the effects of aging and training on skeletal muscle. the american journal of sports medicine, 26(4), 598-602. krane, v., choi, p. y., baird, s. m., aimar, c. m., &kauer, k. j. (2004). living the paradox: female athletes negotiate femininity and muscularity.sex roles, 50(56), 315-329. mcardle, w. d., katch, f. i., &katch, v. l. (2010). exercise physiology: nutrition, energy, and human performance. lippincott williams & wilkins. shephard, r. j. (1992). the energy needs of the soccer player. clinical journal of sport medicine, 2(1), 62-70. steinfeldt, j. a., carter, h., benton, e., & steinfeldt, m. c. (2011). muscularity beliefs of female college student-athletes. sex roles, 64(7-8), 543-554. tomlin, d. l., & wenger, h. a. (2001). the relationship between aerobic fitness and recovery from high intensity intermittent exercise. sports medicine, 31(1), 1-11. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 7.doc igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 132 critical analysis of political globalism and its impact on african nations onebunne, jude ifeanyichukwu phd federal college of education (technical) umunze, anambra state, nigeria juno.anyi@gmail.com & ufearoh, anthony phd university of calabar cross river, nigeria abstract political globalism is a concept that affects all nations of the world. for centuries, globalization has progressively knitted together the world and created unity out of great diversity. political globalism can be said to be the integration of different countries of the world into one political global order which is meant to benefit members of the entire society but, political globalism has not gone down well for most african countries especially developing african countries, as it has disintegrated what they used to have. this research therefore gives a clear meaning of political globalism in africa, enunciates its importance and otherwise and discusses its effect on african political growth using the critical analysis method. this research work will also make possible suggestions on how africans can manage political globalism such that will not be detrimental to african, culture, values, integration, unity, growth and development. keywords: globalism, africa, politics, growth, development introduction globalism is a vast concept that cuts across all aspects of human existence. it is not restricted to a particular country but affects the entire world either positively or negatively. for centuries, globalization has progressively knitted together the world and created unity out of great diversity. according to brittan (1998), globalisation is viewed “as a whirlwind of relentless and disruptive change which leaves governments helpless and leaves a trail of economic, social, cultural and environmental problems in its wake.”(p. 2). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 133 from obscure origins in french and american writings in the 1960s, the concept of globalization finds expression today in all of the worlds’ major languages. yet, it lacks precise definition. indeed, globalization is in danger of becoming the cliché of our times (david, mcgrew, goldblatt & perraton, 1999, p. 1).the phenomenon of globalization has indeed captured the centre stage of international relations in the post cold war world. indeed, globalization mirrors cooperative as well as conflicting trends across states and civil societies between multiple ranges of actors, at varying levels, which shape contours of international relations. understanding the trajectories of interactions between these multiple actors including nation states, international/regional organizations, transnational firms and banks, multinational terrorist organizations and international social movements etc; under globalization, is incontestably, a daunting task. for, perceptions and perspectives on the complex themes underlying globalization tend to vary according to diverse schools of thought in international relations as well as the spatial locations of scholars (harshe, 2004, p. 9). since the last decade, globalization in its accelerated form has been setting the pace as well as the logic of international relations. nevertheless, being a constantly evolving and an ongoing process, the term “globalization”, continues to escape definition clarity. broadly, however, it is deployed to describe an ongoing movement towards conceiving the world as a single unit and building the consciousness of the people towards the world as a whole (sadeeque et al 2015 citing robertson, 1992 as cited in harshe, op.cit, p. 15). intriligator (2003) posits that globalization is a powerful real aspect of the new world system, and it represents one of the most influential forces in determining the future course of the planet. it has manifold dimensions: economic, political, security, environmental, health, social, cultural, and others. globalization has had significant impacts on all economies of the world, with manifold effects. it affects their production of goods and services. it also affects the employment of labour and other inputs into the production process. in addition, it affects investment, both in physical capital and in human capital. it affects technology and results in the diffusion of technology from initiating nations to other nations. it also has major effects on efficiency, productivity and competitiveness (pp. 1, 7). with all that has happened, one can say that globalization has become an emerging reality. according to ademola (1998), globalization refers to the increased integration across countries of markets for goods, services and capital igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 134 (p.107). it implies in turn accelerated expansion of economic activities globally and sharp increases in the movement of tangible and intangible goods across national and regional boundaries. with that movement, individual countries are becoming more closely integrated into the global economy. their trade linkages and investment flow grow more complex, and cross border financial movements are more volatile. more importantly, globalization has been created, and continues to be maintained by liberation of economic-policies in several key areas. it is clear today that people and nation states can no longer think only in terms of individual states and actions, but, a component of global order. mahathir (2002) defines globalization as, a word that seems to describe the coming together of all the countries of the globe into one entity. it was conceived by the rich countries, apparently in response to technological advances and the speed and ease of travelling (p.13). globalization can be said to be the integration of different countries of the world into one global order. with the advent of science and technology, there is an equitable distribution of information of events happening around the globe. this is because people can now communicate, make transactions and meet people in all parts of the world. globalization as a concept is all encompassing. it is not only restricted to the economic point of view but also encompasses the political, cultural, religious and other activities of humans. the awake magazine of september 8, 1999, strengthens the above assertion when it posits that; globalization is more than the flow of money and commodities. it is the growing interdependence of world people and activities through shrinking space, time and disappearing borders. globalization creates a global village based on shared values. technology and market integration processes have dominated the world economic system. the world has become a global village as we now see shared values, religions, and even cultures and ideas. the ideological viewpoints of humans are sharpened by the interrelationships that are now domiciled with humans irrespective of their religious, political, economic or cultural groups. for murad (2002), globalization exists majorly between developed and developing countries and in most cases, the developed country dominates the developing country’s economy, religion, politics and even culture. this is not colonization or imperialism as globalism tends to be subtle and less harmful than the other concepts. globalization is commonly understood to be a process of change, which comes in many forms. it has a number of direct effects on the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 135 economical, political, cultural, religious, social, demographic, environmental and military spheres. understanding these aspects of globalization is very crucial and important, because the interaction among them can be constructive or destructive. in recent experiences of some developing countries, globalization can trigger security problems, (p. 1). this can be necessitated by the unnecessary intervention of these developed countries at every slightest security challenge. sadeeque et al (2015) assert that globalization is not only an opportunity, but, a possibility for underdeveloped nations like nigeria to shake off the burden and constrain of development by harnessing and utilizing the abundant mineral and human resources in building a pique self reliance economy (p.2). it is also an opportunity that will enhance the political growth of nations as they get to partner and learn the political workings of other countries and improve where and when necessary. political globalism is a national policy of treating the whole world as a proper sphere for political influence. african countries have at one point in time or the other been dominated by british or european countries. before independence, nigeria’s political government was controlled by the british government who made laws that the nigerian citizens adopted. these influences always happen between developed and developing nations especially countries that feel that they need the assistance of the developed country to run their political affairs. sadeeque et al (2015) have also seen globalization as a trend that impacts everyone more and more each day. for centuries, globalization has progressively knitted together the world and created unity out of great diversity (p. 1). this research work takes a cursory look at political globalism and its implication for africa with particular reference to nigeria. globalism in africa globalism has been a thing of concern for scholars over the years in africa. while some argue that it has had a tremendous positive effect, others oppose it by seeing it as a concept that has done more harm than good in the african nation. from sadeeque et al (2015), as trade between far-flung parts of the world produced a global integrated economy, so also ideas, innovation, technology, culture and political philosophy were exported as easily as raw materials. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 136 globalization is an emerging reality (p. 1). it is a reality that cannot be done away with. it is a reality that has come to stay in africa. in the 1990s `globalization' has become a particularly fashionable way to analyze changes in the international economy and in the world politics. advances in technology and modern communications are said to have unleashed new contacts and intercourse among peoples, social movements, transnational corporations, and governments. the result is a set of processes which have affected national and international politics in an extraordinary way (sadeeque at al 2015, pp. 189-190 citing ngaire, 2000). sadeeque at al (2015) further argue that the concept of globalization has attracted debates among scholars in both developed and underdeveloped countries. while proponents argue in favour of globalization, opponents see globalization as another re-colonization of the weaker economies by the stronger nations. globalization is the movement and integration of the world economies into one entity, by breaking down barriers to free movement of goods, services and capital (p.3). from the economic perspective, garcia (1998) gives a classical definition of globalization as: changes in the way production is organized as required by the general dismantling of trade barriers and the free mobility of financial and productive capital, in the context of accelerated technology change…technological development in the sphere of information and electronic services has been a catalyst for speeding the process, bringing about global production distribution and consumption (p.96). from this assertion, globalism in africa can be said to be viewed as a link through which goods and services are disseminated from one country to another. globalism was also felt in africa politically. as globalisation gripped africa, there was a rise in democracy through multiparty elections in countries like kenya, ghana and south africa. finally people had the power to elect the people they wanted through the ballot without fear of reprisals. other countries moved from military dictatorships to civilian rule like nigeria. sudan had a referendum to decide its destiny and the vote was final-south sudan was born. political leadership according to chambers dictionary (1993), political leadership can be seen as a system where there are democratically elected representatives who are vulnerable to de-selection and operate within, as well as influence a constitutional and legal framework. their source of authority is a mandate: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 137 ‘permission to govern according to declared policies, regarded as officially granted by an electorate . . . upon the decisive outcome of an election.’ “it is not wise to expect much of political leadership, especially in a democracy” (firlie, 1968, p. 58). statements like this abound in contemporary literature on political leadership. however, nowadays, a crisis of confidence seems to emerge between citizens and politicians as people do not just vote for anybody but for who they feel can protect their interest. the particular leadership pacing political systems in africa can give to us an interesting point of view to understand this phenomenon. to this effect, it becomes paramount for all citizens to understand what define them vis-à-vis their roles in the country they find themselves. the kind of power citizens have in their hands should also give them the chance to determine the positions of their representatives. it is also necessary to understand the roles of politicians elected as representatives and more significantly, to understand the necessity for all of us to have a critical look at what the core components of our societies are. leaders are the objects of intense admiration in our society, due to their ability to shape the world surrounding them, and their natural capacity to lead and to have malleable followers. leadership can only be achieved through responsibility and commitment, as “politics… without belief is impossible” (mayer, 1950; cit. gane, 1997 pp. 549564). the brothers karamazov from fyodor dostoevsky put forward one explanation as to why leadership is so important: “there are three powers, only three powers on earth, capable of conquering and holding captive forever the conscience of these feeble rebels, for their own happiness –these powers are miracle, mystery, and authority”. the possibility to provide all three at the same time is only achievable by those able to grasp the immense complexity of the art of leadership. political leadership can be put simply as the power given to an individual to manage power. it is the ability to exercise power over people or things. weber (1994) focuses his findings on plato’s fundamental question of ‘who should rule’, therefore, examining the qualities and abilities of the ideal leader. leadership occupies a central place on the author’s rationale, being fundamental for understanding politics. again the theme of power is what drove weber’s attention, particularly as it is derived from the ‘monopoly of legitimate physical violence’ allowed in modern states. therefore, as weber claims, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 138 “anyone engaged in politics is striving for power, either power as a means to attain other goals (which may be ideals or selfish in nature), or power for its own sake, which is to say, in order to enjoy the feeling of prestige given by power” (pp. 310-311). african political conflicts according to appadorai (2004), man as intoned by socrates is a social animal. this implies that the gregarious nature of man abhors in all ramifications the idea of isolated life. therefore, man has to live in a politically organised enclave that is guided by laws. this is imperative because of the insatiability and seemingly selfish nature of man. to begin with, when we observe the life of men around us, we cannot fail to be struck by two facts: as a rule, every man desires to have their own way, to think and act as they like; and at the same time, everyone cannot have his own way, because he lives in society, where one man’s desires conflict with those of another. the relations of the individual members of society with one another, therefore, need regulation by government (p.3). in trying to regulate the activities of human beings, a government is formed. this government consist of a body of persons that make decisions relating to the necessity and the essence of rules and regulations guiding our public life. what constitutes the body, the procedures and processes by which the laws are formulated agitated the minds of the political philosophers, whether by the assemblies of the elders (gerontocracy), the committee of the wealthy (plutocracy), the nobles (aristocracy), the experts (technocracy), and the general populace (democracy). this last form of political arrangement appears to be the best form of government (okonkwo, c. and felix, n. (2016) citing okonkwo, 2015 in p. 91). africa can be said to be a continent faced with several political imbalances. at every point in time in african countries, there is always a case of political conflicts between one ethnic group and the other or between one political party and the other. nigeria, for instance, has from time immemorial, battled with political instabilities and enthronement and dethronement. it has been a battle between the civilian and the military government. democratic forms of governance were generally few and short-lived through the decolonialization and cold war periods; most african regimes were autocratic and well over half of african regimes were ruled by ethnically-exclusive political elites. we igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 139 encounter political conflicts at various levels in africa. from intra-party to interparty conflict, ethnic clashes, religious political clashes and lots more. intra-party conflict is the tussles and wrangling within a political party that are inimical to normal nomination and/or election of party flag bearers. it is a conflict that exists between members of the same party either in their clamour for positions or in trying to make their opinions count. inter-party conflict exists between different political parties. to stress further, okoli (2001) enumerated factors that are responsible for intra-party opposition as follows: personality difference, clash of socio-economic interests, ideological incompatibility (p. 3). to further buttress this, afegbua (2014) asserts that: conflicts are common and unavoidable in all human society. all over the world, conflicts occur because society is made up of people with differing interests and values. in most societies, conflicts occur when parties in a state of independence perceives divergent views or believe that their aspirations or goals cannot be achieved simultaneously. therefore, it is only natural that where there is inequality in access to the control of natural resources and political power for instance, there would be discontent, opposition and controversy (p. 1). since nigeria assumed the status of independence, the political parties have been challenged by many conflicts of different dimensions. this as a matter of fact culminated in political instability in the countries. political ideology is like a superstructure upon which every other thing is built on. it consolidates political party and precedes party structure, organisation and manifesto but when there is a clash of interest, it leads to political conflict. diversified political ideologies have been one of the major causes of political instability in africa. african political xenophobia hågensen, l. (2014) asserts that fear of the unknown is something one can witness all over the world, and as the movement of people has accelerated with new technologies of transport and communication so has the fear of strangers. this fear of strangers is what we call xenophobia. it derives from two greek words: xénos and phóbos, meaning ‘stranger’ or ‘guest’ and ‘fear’, respectively. consequently xenophobia means fear of the guest or the stranger, though today it has the stronger meaning of hatred of strangers. (p.1). it is not just an african igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 140 issue alone, just like globalization, every society at one point in time or the other feel insecure with the inflow of immigrants or visitor who will come to fight over human and natural resources with them. the causes of xenophobia in most african countries particularly south africa can be discussed in three perspectives. the first is the socio-cultural reason. here we find social identity theory, which focuses on a person’s self-image; this derives from the social group(s) that the individual believes himself/herself to belong to (tajfel & turner, 1979, p. 40). as most individuals want to maintain or even enhance their self-image, it is important that the membership’ of their group is perceived as something positive. in turn this leads to a need to reject and even express hostility towards the out-group. when this translates into nationalism it becomes a way of promoting one’s status as a citizen; this therefore also rejects the foreigner. when a country is going through a political transition, as south africa has been doing for the last 20 years, nationalism can take the form of hostility towards foreigners and this provides an explanation for xenophobia (mummendey, klink & brown 2001:159-160). the issues of inherited culture can also be linked to this socio-cultural cause of xenophobia. the second reason can be structural reasons. at this level, we have the relative deprivation theory, the theory of ethnic violence and the group threat theory. relative deprivation theory suggests that social unrest comes from the perception that one gets less than one is entitled to (hågensen, l. 2014 citing harris, 2002). this can create xenophobic attitudes and practices if the reason for this deficit is believed to be foreigners. it is seen as a zero-sum game where foreigners that have jobs are blamed for unemployment among south africans (du toit & kotzé 2011, p. 163). in other words the foreigners become ‘frustration scapegoats’ and this is why xenophobia occurs (harris, 2002). the theory of ethnic violence by horowitz (2001), states that external contextual causes in addition to immediate locality-bound causes must be taken into account when looking at violent outbursts. this theory also gives a step-by-step description of how violent ethnic event will unfold (du toit & kotzé 2011, pp. 160-161). it points to causes that were present in south africa prior to major xenophobic events, and therefore explains what caused these events to take place, thus providing an explanation for xenophobia in the country. group threat theory suggests that inter-group hostility is largely a reaction to perceived threats from subordinate group(s). if the dominant group finds that its position vis-à-vis the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 141 minority group is in jeopardy and fears that it might lose its advantaged social position, hostility can arise (king 2007, p. 1225). lastly, xenophobia can be as a result of institutional mismanagement. this consists of the roles of the state. attitudes and statements from state representatives where they deny xenophobia, or lay blame for crime on foreigners, could generate xenophobia (bekker, 2010, p. 126). there is also the belief that the government is not doing enough to solve the ‘problem’ of immigrants (landau, 2011, p. 13). one can also look at the policies that affect migration into the country. there is a big gap between policy and practice in african countries particularly in south africa, and this also worsens the xenophobic phenomenon (bekker, 2010, p. 141). furthermore misago (2011) argues that a key trigger for violence against foreign nationals and outsiders in specific locations is localised competition for political and economic power. this competition has kept africa where it is today. no one wants to serve; everybody wants to be a leader so as to get intoxicated by power. effects of globalism in africa political globalism in africa has both negative and positive implications. according to akindele et al (2005), africans received globalization naturally with hope. flows of capital in developing countries would grow promisingly: they were multiplied by six, in six years (from 1990 to 1996). people thought that all men and all countries – would benefit from globalization, which was supposed to help developing countries “create better economic environments’, jump into the information age, accelerate development and enhance global harmony. but this believe did not go down completely well for africans. the reality, today, is that the globalization of information and communication technology through the use of the internet and satellite images have narrowed and constrained states from taking political actions especially against their citizens without global condemnation or support. for example, the april 14-15, 2014 kidnapping of chibok girls and the reluctance of the former president goodluck ebele jonathan administration to take action, gave birth to global condemnation and the ‘bringbackourgirls movement’ in nigeria and across the globe, forcing the government to accept responsibility and promise to take action in rescuing the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 142 girls, even though the whole episode looked improperly-stage-managed. such is the powers and interconnectivity of the globe today, thereby eroding political sovereignty (sadeeque et al, 2015. p.3). as a result of globalization, most african countries cannot comfortably take decisions without the globe being either fully or partially aware or involved in it. the breakthrough in information technology has broken down barriers and enhanced the world interaction by collapsing it into what we now refer to as the global village. thereby, presenting african countries and their political governments unclothed. today, information spreads like wild fire disseminating both true and false stories. also, globalism has helped positively to bring the world together. politically, leaders in different countries hold meetings and conferences which are meant to benefit their citizens and during the course of such meetings and conferences, innovations which are meant to boost the political, social and economic life of the general public are introduced. conclusion according to sadeeque et al, (2015), “the world economic and political arrangement is a single social community. this social community is a mix of wealth and poverty, progress and despair, exploitation and assistance, dependence and interdependence. for sure, some countries are rich and some others are rather poor. the rich countries have certain common characteristics. they are economically prosperous, politically stable, socially harmonious and technologically sophisticated. given the link between politics and economics, the rich countries are very competitive in international trade and exchange relations, while in contrast, poor countries are in the majority, and are characteristically backward in economics, unstable in politics, socially disharmonious and technologically dependent” (p.3). for the poor countries of africa, globalization has changed the pattern of international economic relations. the new pattern is to promote growth in the motive force for globalize economic system. it has been argued by both proponents and antagonists of the global drives for globalization, that the new doctrine is facilitating a lot of crises and conflicts in the world. this has made many scholars and leaders alike to argue that globalization has not only created igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 143 more crises but has also complimented in deepening inequality and underdevelopment (sadeeque et al, 2015, p. 4). this clearly shows the need for complementality of countries to help build the political, economical, sociological power of other countries especially the developing countries. political globalism needs to be embraced to be in the growth of other smaller countries but this should not be an opportunity to exploit them. undoubtedly, globalization has created more problems than solving the existing ones. therefore, the challenge before countries like nigeria is on how to re-position the economy through diversification and building the capacity of her citizens to visualize, theorize, innovate and develop the critical skills and spirit for national growth and development recommendations i recommend the following: 1. african countries should build policy thrust to protect and enhance her industrial growth and development especially in harnessing and utilizing the huge human demography at her disposal. 2. there should be a creative utilization of the human and natural resources as there is a general believe that, creative utilization of the human being is the engine of growth and development. this will in turn liberate them from being parasites and thorns on the skins of other countries. what make growth and development happen in any society, is the ability of individuals and groups to imagine, theorize, conceptualize, experiment, invent, articulate and manage problems and do hundred things with their minds and hands that contribute to the progress of the individual and the society in general (sadeeque et al 2015 citing harrison, 1985). 3. most people today in africa aspire to higher standard of living, longer lives and fewer health problems, education for themselves and their children that will increase their earning capacity and leave them more in control of their lives (sadeeque et al, 2015, p. 5). this opportunity should be created by the government of african countries. 4. developed countries should be made to play only advisory and supportive roles and not to impose orders on the developing countries. 5. political decisions should be based on consensus and the interest of the general public should be taken into consideration when the government make policies. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 144 references ademola, o. (1998) as cited in akpuru-aja, a (2001). selected themes in international economic relations: understanding trends of globalization and regionalization. enugu, rhycee kerex publishers. afegbua, i. (2014). conflicts and political instability in nigeria: causes, concequences and prospects. viewed http://chrisdonasco.blogspot.com.ng/2014/12/conflicts-and-politicalinstability-in.html. accessed 17 august, 2017 akindele, s. t. et al (2002). “globalisation, its implications and consequences for africa”. http://globalization.icaap.org/content/v2.1/ 01_akindele_etal.html. accessed 19 august, 2017. aluko, s. (2007). reforming nigeria: which model? the economic dimension: being a paper presented at the 2nd trust annual dialogue, organized by media trust, abuja. appadorai, a. (2004). the substance of politics. new delhi india: oxford university press. bekker, s. (2010).‘ explaining violence against foreigners and strangers in urban south africa: outburst during may and june 2008’, in a. a. yusuf (ed.). the african yearbook of international law. leiden: brill publishers: 125-149. brittan, l. (1998). globalisation vs sovereignty? the european response. the 1997 rede lecture and related speeches. cambridge: cambridge university press. du toit, p. & kotzé, h. (2011). liberal democracy and peace in south africa. new york: palgrave macmillan. gane, n. (1997). “weber on the ethical irrationality of political leadership”. sociology 31(3): 549-564. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 145 hågensen, l. (2014). understanding the causes and the nature of xenophobia in south africa: a case study of de doorns. stellenbosch university http://scholar.sun.ac.za. accessed 19th august, 2017. harshe, r. (ed) (2004). interpreting globalization: perspectives in international relations, new delhi: rawat publications. harris, b. (2002). ‘xenophobia: a new pathology for a new south africa?’, in d. hook & g. eagle (eds.). psychopathology and social prejudice. cape town: university of cape town press. horowitz, d. (2001). the deadly ethnic riot. berkeley and los angeles: university of california press. intriligator, m. d. (2003). “globalization of the world economy: potential benefits and costs and a net assessment”, policy brief, no 33, january, milken institute: university of california, los angeles. king, r. d. (2007). ‘group threat and social control: race, perceptions of minorities and the desire to punish’. social forces. landau, l. b. (ed.) (2011). ‘introducing the demons’, in landau, l.b. (ed.). exorcising the demons within: xenophobia, violence and statecraft in contemporary south africa. johannesburg: wits university press. mahathir, m. (2002). globalization and the new realities. putrajaya: pelanduk publication. mayer, j. (1950). max weber and german politics: a study in political sociology. london: faber and faber. misago, j. (2011). ‘disorder in a changing society: authority and the micropolitics of violence’, in l. b. landau (ed.). exorcising the demons within: xenophobia, violence and statecraft in contemporary south africa.johannesburg: wits university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 7, december 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 146 mummendey, a., klink, a. & brown, r. (2001). ‘nationalism and patriotism: national identification and outgroup rejection’. british journal of social psychology, pp. 159-172 ngaire, w (2000). “the political economy of globalization”. in w. ngaire (ed). the political economy of globalization. basingstoke: macmillan. okoli, a. c. (2001). “the political economy intra-party opposition in anambra state (1999-2001)”. b.sc. project submitted to the department of political science, nnamdi azikwe university, awka . okonkwo, c. & felix, n. (2016). intra-party conflict and prospects of democratic consolidation. in nigeria. iosr journal of humanities and social science (iosr-jhss) volume 21, issue 5, ver. 3 (may. 2016). www.iosrjournals.org. accessed 15th august, 2017. sadeeque, a., suleiman, b., & bukhari b, (2015). globalization and nigeria’s quest for self-reliance and political sovereignty: changing the narratives. international journal of humanities and social science invention issn (online): 2319 – 7722, issn (print): 2319 – 7714 www.ijhssi.org. accessed 15th august, 2017. schwarz , c. (ed) (1993), chambers dictionary, edinburgh: chambers harrap, tajfel, h. & turner, j. c. (1979). ‘an integrative theory of intergroup conflict.’ in w. g. austin, & s. worchel (eds.). the social psycology of intergroup relations monterey. ca: brooks/cole. weber, m. (1994). “the profession and vocation of politics”. in p. lassman & r. speirs (eds.) weber-political writings. new york: cambridge university press. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 4 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 1 some important ideas in asouzu’s philosophy by udoh, godwin udoh department of philosophy faculty of arts university of calabar, calabar abstract this paper examined the tendency for different people to perceive reality from there own unique perspectives, which almost often lead to upperclassicm, divisiveness, bifurcations, intolerance, ethnocentric reductions etc. it evaluated how this phenomenon could make man reduce his fellow and exalt himself, and how it has been the chief cause of several challenges in interpersonal exchanges, societal relations and in philosophical experiences. the paper noted that in order for being to enjoy fullness of joy, all existential entities must necessarily serve as a missing link of reality. consequently, genuine awareness through asouzu’s noetic propaedeutic becomes a necessary formular with which impediments such as unintended ethnocentric commitment and ambivalence of human interest can be mitigated, thus leading to a just, equitable, harmonious and violence-free society. introduction the major task of any philosophy subsist in the harmonization of our perception of reality in the face of a world that presents itself as varied and fragmented. this task can be accomplished within the context of a philosophy whose goal is to harmonize and complement reality instead of one that seeks to divide, polarize and bifurcate it (asouzu in: filosofia theoretica, 104). asouzu’s 21st century philosophy of complementary ontology (popularly known as ibuanyidanda) has brought to bear the urgent need for mutual complementarity among whatever that exist, for the essential purpose of attaining the greatest possible flourishing and realizing the common good. the ibuanyidanda philosophy of mutual complementation holds that there is a mutual dependence of all missing links in their unifying interrelatedness. hence, all cultures, races, sexes, tribes, nations, religion and political affiliates are in mutual complementary indebtedness to each other in their privileges and responsibilities.this and more is what this paper intends to systematically evaluate. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 2 complementation, not competition (ibuanyidanda: the philosophy of missing links) ibuanyidanda as a concept, gets its origin from the teachings of traditional (south-eastern nigeria) philosophers of the complementary thought system. according to asouzu: the nearest english meaning of the concept of “ibuanyidanda” is “complementarity” danda are ants that have the capacity in mutual interdependence to carry loads that appear bigger than themselves. the implication of this is that they surmount very difficult tasks when they are mutually dependent on each other in effort complementation. hence, traditional igbo philosophers hold that: ibu anyi danda (no task is insurmountable for danda) (asouzu, ibuanyidanda, ii). the novel philosophy of complementation is a crusade against individualism and disjointedness. it simply asserts that an organism (reality) is made up of many parts, each with a distinct function and a distinct important contribution which makes up the well being of the whole. each part complementing the offer or in asouzu’s word serving as missing link and as such must be considered important and not sidelined or degraded. this interrelatedness of all segments which works in mutual complementation and eventually lead to general well being of common good is what asouzu was talking about when he opined that “reality can only be complete if all ideas are accommodated, for all ideas serves as missing links to each other. complemetarity therefore, is the genuine solution to human existential situations (filosofia, 93). if all parts of reality are important and fundamental to the realization of “the good”, suffice it to say therefore that, to be is to be in mutual complementary relationship (ka so mu adina), and its negation is to be alone (ka so mu di). it is exactly this mutual interdependence provided by all missing links of reality that leads to the joy of being. every philosophy therefore, must turn from being a philosophy of essence to that of mutual interdependence in complementation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 3 essence (substance) versus accident: a clarification of the subject/object conundrum the word “substance” derives from the latin words “sub” (under) and “stans” (standing). thus the word literally means “standing under” or “that which stands under” (omoregbe, 164). it was aristotle, a renowned ancient greek philosopher who identified substance as that which constitutes the specific nature of a thing. in this sense, it is synonymous with the word ‘essence’, and it is that in virtue of which a thing is what it is, as distinct from other things or from its qualities. thus, aristotle created a distinction between substance and accident. while substance constitutes the very nature or essence of a thing, accident represents any of its qualities which is not essential to its nature. aristotle thereby created a rift between substantials and accidentals that will later have immense influence on later generations as regards their perception and understanding of reality. asouzu succinctly captures the above when he opined that: most metaphysical textbooks used in teaching teachers of teachers for decades…subscribed to aristotle’s radical distinction between essence and accidents…. they subscribed to aristotle’s teaching that substance or essence does not require accidents to subsist, whereas accidents need substances on which they inhere (filosofia theoretica, 85). this ardent followership of aristotle through his philosophy of essence introduced an avoidable competition into scholarship. he accorded metaphysics a much more lofty status and pronounced it to be a superior science than the other (ancillary) sciences that study accidental qualities. this division undoubtedly led to division of ideas in terms of ethnicity and ideology and added impetus to the controversies in the scientific community. this can be seen clearly when asouzu noted that: it is in this way that rationalism became heavily linked with french-rationalism, empiricism with british-empiricism, idealism with german-idealism and later american pragmatism (filosofia theoretica, 87) unintended ethnocentric commitments igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 4 by this phenomenon, asouzu discusses the tendency for scholars to display an ethnocentric character. this often happens in a bid to showcase the potentials or legacies of one’s cultural background at other people’s peril. asouzu calls this an “infection of the mind” and identifies it as one of the commonest problem that is often sidelined in most undertakings that are culture-related. this phenomenon (which is often unintended) usually becloud scientific objectivity despite the fact that scholars set out to do their works without bias. for asouzu, such bias’ that makes scientist takes sides, usually result from belongingness and from several years of being part of certain environment and its thought system. this popular heavy burden (ibuaru) can be seen in heinze kimmerle and jurgenhengelbrock’s intercultural philosophies, where an egalitarian type of trans-cultural philosophy is intended but where the opposite is eventually displayed. hengelbrock ended up saying that the brand of philosophy done in africa can best be referred to as “african thinking” or “wisdom” and not philosophy. for him, african proverbs, myths, pedagogical and religious narrations are what is obtainable. he made this assertion even when the great aristotle already admitted that “a lover of myth is in a sense a lover of wisdom, for the myth is composed of wonder” kimmerle on his part also discussed african philosophy to be a special kind of philosophy synonymous with symbols, wise-sayings, folktales etc. hengelbrock also further claimed that those african scholars discussing philosophical ideas that are different from myths, symbols etc. are only imitating or copying european philosophical style. the implication of the above assertions is that contemporary african philosophies are mere commentaries of european philosophies, while contemporary african philosophers are a kind of amorphous philosophers. this negative criticism and exclusivist attitude toward african philosophy by european scholars like kimmerle and hengelbrock is why asouzu refers to inter-cultural philosophy as a “systemless system”, because such scholars have already negated what they intend to propagate. ibuanyidanda philosophy is of the view however, that all ideas in their origin and development are related in a mutual complementary manner. and as such, a world spent subverting or suppressing the interest of others is a world spend suppressing one’s interest. hence, acts of personal interest should at least be predicated on the platform of common good. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 5 human existential situation and the phenomenon of concealment (ihemkpuchi anya) there is this tendency for human beings to exercise that inherent primitive instinct of self-preservation. it is by this instinct that they tend to acquire and secure their interest first, and by so doing they tend to impede the interest of others who they feel are threat to their cherished interest, hence they become exclusivist and intolerant. human begins tend to devise all possible strategies in the bid to first secure their interest. and behind most of this strategy is what asouzu refers to as the “supermaxim”, which states: “the nearer, the better, the safer”. asouzu explained that in keeping with this maxim, “we assume through our actions that those persons related to, or nearest to us are better and safer by virtue of their affinity to us” (method and principles, 2004:69). they simply forget that those with close affinity to a person can cause even greater harm. furthermore, asouzu identified the phenomenon of concealment (ihe mkpuchi anya) as one of the major impediments militating against objectivity and progress in our society. literarily, ihe mkpuchi anya according to asouzu is an igbo phrase which translate to “the thing that impairs vision” or “the thing that covers the eyes” (filosofia theoretica, 95). the phenomenon represents our inability toproperly manage existential situations around us. asouzu has this to say concerning the phenomenon of concealment: one of the most adverse effects arising from the phenomenon of concealment (ihe mkpuchi anya), is its capacity to becloud our intellect…it is capable of twisting our consciousness and induces us to perceive and interpret situations only to our advantage and ignore the interests of other stakeholders. (filosofia theoretica, 95). the roles of tribalism, nepotism, religious sentiments and political affiliations which have utterly blindfolded (concealed) objectivity and uprightness can however be addressed and managed by what asouzu calls noeticpropaedeutic. we shall treat this later on. ambivalent of human interest igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 6 asouzu unravels one of the chief causes of societal conflict to be “ambivalence of human interest”. he explained this two-faced phenomenon to possessdouble capacitywhich can represent something negative and positive at the same time. the primitive inclination for self-preservation and self-preference can mislead one into believing or doing the wrong thing. in this capacity of our interest to mislead us lies the danger of its inherent ambivalence. because of this, asouzu believes that creating awareness as regards the ambivalent of human interest, turns out therefore to be one of the greatest challenges towards building a just, equitable, harmonious,and violent-free society. for asouzu: it is a paradox that a person seeks to observe his interest, but undertakes those things that would ensure his own destruction. this is the root of the problem…. this assumption defies common sense,it has an inherent contradictory dimension because it seeks to negate what one originally intended (effective leadership, 15-16). suffice it to say, that the basic principles of complementarism will be of genuine help in mitigating this phenomenon. the understanding that anything that exist serves a missing link of reality will make us come to terms with our finitude and limitations. we accept them as given, but see them as conditions through which we can achieve higher levels of legitimization and authentic joy of being. asouzu suggested solid personal character reformation, that is, renewing the human mindset and mentality through noetic propaedeutic, “for nothing can be achieved unless there is concrete will to change” (effective leadership, 15). noetic propaedeutic: re-setting and re-structuring the mindset noetic propaedeutic is a systematic pre-education of the mind and human reason with a view to overcoming the broken unity in human consciousness, which is caused by the challenges of the tension-laden human ambivalent existential situations and ihe mkpuchi anya (phenomenon of concealed) (asouzu: filosofia theoretica, 108) the main task of noetic propaedeutic is to salvage the ego from shattered unity and to restore the subject to true self, such that it can affirm insightfully that “to be” is to be in mutual complementary relationship with all missing links of reality (ka so mu adina). it is by the reason of this same insight that they strive igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 7 always to act from the prompting of a complementary comprehensive type of mindset (obi/uche ka so mu adina). because of this inherent dangers of phenomenon of concealment and the ambivalence of human interest that is obtainable in human existential situations, asouzu believes that there is need to train the mind towards the acquisition of a good mindset, that can genuinely transcend bifurcating tendencies. this need to re-train and re-structure the mind is in order for it to acquire the required mindset that can aid its attainment of the common good. for asouzu, noetic propaedeutic is essential in that “it leads to the understanding and sharing of meaning in a way that outweighs artificial impediments it creates around itself” (ibuanyidanda, 81). if most contentious and controversial issues in philosophy are concerned with meaning and interpretation, then the pre-education of the mind is of supreme importance for proper comprehension and understanding. this perhaps shows why asouzu asserted that: any undertaking that takes the tensions generated in the human situation seriously must also be interested in the acquisition of a type of mindsetwhich transcends cultural boundaries, as to provide clarity and credibility in all matters of inquiry.… the task is therefore that of evolving the conditions under which philosophers and people of diverse cultural backgrounds can speak creditably about the daunting problems of our age with one mind.…this is an enormous undertaking that must be articulated carefully as to provide a solid foundation for all forms of discourse (ibuanyidanda, 80). the solid foundation created through noetic propaedeutic becomes a common horizon for mutually shared understanding which communicates meaning to all involved. there is need therefore, for seekers of authentic meaning to have the requisite mindset for the purpose of knowledge grasping. moreso, since the mind is the most fundamental aspect of being andalso the seat of power, its refurbishment remains an indispensable pre-condition for all forms of activities that yearns for truth and clarity. and as such, the mind becomes that aspect through whose activities, human beings can be distinguished from other lesser beings and missing links. in order therefore, to curb the strong tendencies of mind becoming absolute and exclusivist in its commitments, the mindset requires urgent treatment that can igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 8 help it overcome ambivalence of human interest and ihe mkpuchi anya (phenomenon of concealment). asouzu succinctly captures this when he reiterated that where proper cleansing and restructuring of the mind is lacking there is often no prospect. hence, for the mind to attain the level of refinement expected of it, it has to learn to view units ‘as complements within a comprehensive universal setting (ibuanyidanda, 83). with this point in mind, we can then understand the essential need for on accompanying noetic propaedeutic in cases that relate to proper understanding and unification of diverse views. critical evaluation if philosophy must remain love of wisdom and truth, it must strive beyond all paradoxes and contradictions, (it must) reject bifurcations, divisiveness and disjointedness and demolish all forms of ideology and ethnocentric inspired beliefs. it must be a philosophy of mutual complementary relationship betweenall existent realities (asouzu:filosofia, 93) unlike aristotle’s polarized worldview, asouzu’s ibuanyidanda philosophy of complementarity presents a benchmark and method for the systematic amalgamation of the real and the ideal, essence and accidents into an encompassing whole. it is a framework which portrays how philosophy can influence all parts that makes up a bunch. in this case, the essential and accidental, universal and particular, necessary and contingent and other opposing entities can be easily clarified and categorized on the same platform. no entity is useless. in the production of soap, oil is essentially and unavoidably required. something as minute as a spider web can save human life. the import of this is that essentials and accidents always must be in mutual agreement for the sake of progress and the joy of being. when ibuanyidanda performs this task according to asouzu: it immediately portrays itself as that undertaking which seeks to complementarily penetrate and explore the idea of being in the dynamism of its immediacy and considers all things that exist as missing links of reality (filosofia theoretica, 102). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 9 this paper agrees with asouzu’s vision and ideas, maintaining that reality can only be complete when all ideas are accommodated to serve as missing links to each other. complementarity therefore, is the way forward and the genuine remedy to human existential quandaries. conclusion in conclusion, this paper found ibuanyidanda philosophy of complementary reflection to be a contemporary rational system with principles that can help humanity achieve its existential goals and attain the joy of being. it holds that whatever exist serves a missing link of reality, and as such, a person should (in all tension-laden existential situations) allow his limitation be the cause of his joy. through its recommendation of the noetic propaedeutic method, interpersonal and philosophical challenges can be mitigated. in all, it is a living, lively, practical and necessary 21st century philosophical system which can help alleviate some of the bifurcating problems that exist throughout the globe. references aristotle.metaphysica. translated into english under the editorship of w. d. koss. oxford: clarendon press, 1926. asouzu, i. effective leadership and the ambivalence of human interest: the nigerian paradox in a complementary perspective. calabar: university of calabar press, 2003. asouzu, i. ikwa ogwe: essential readings in complementary reflection. calabar: seasprint publishers, 2007. asouzu, i.ibuaru: the heavy burden of philosophy beyond african philosophy. zurich: lit verlag gmbh and co. kg wien, 2007. asouzu, i.the methods and principles of complementary reflection in and beyond african philosophy. calabar: university of press, 2004. asouzu, i.ibuanyidanda and the philosophy of essence: university of calabar 50th inaugural lecture. calabar, university of calabar press, 2011. asouzu, i. i. “ibuanyidanda” & day of essence in chimakonam. g. o.ozumba (ed) filosofia theoretica vol. 1no. 1 calabar: jocharisam publisher, 2011. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 10 asouzu, i. ibuanyidanda: new complementary ontology. zurich: lit verlag combh and co. kg uien, 2007. azenabor, g. understanding the problems in african philosophy. lagos: first academic publishers, 2004. beck, h. “europe-africa-asia:the creative proportion between the world cultures” in thought and practice in african philosophy. (ed) gail, m. et al. nairobi: konrad adenauer foundation, 2002. coreth, e. metaphysics. trans. by j. doceel new york: herder & herder, inc. 1968. edeh, f. m. p. towards an igbo metaphysics. chicago: chicago university press, 1985. etuk, u. the new humanism. uyo; afahaide publishers, 1999. iroegbu, p. o. enwisdomization and african philosophy. owerri: international universities press, 1994. iroegbu, p. o. metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy, owerri: international universities press ltd. 1995. kant, i. critique of pure reason. translated by norman kemp smith, new york: st martins press, 1965. masolo, d. a. african philosophy in search of identity. indiana university press, 1994. omoregbe, j. i. knowing philosophy. lagos: joja educationalresearch & publishers ltd. 1990. satre, j. p. being and nothingness. translated by hazes e. barnes. london: routledge, 1993. tempels, p. bantu philosophy. paris: presence africaine, 1959. whitehead, a. n. process and reality. new york: macmillan, 1978. wiredu, k. philosophy and an african culture. cambridge: cup, 1980. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.1 no. 3 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 10 augustine’s idea of history: a christian historiography by john agbo, osa catholic university of eastern africa, nairobi, kenya agabsagbo@yahoo.com abstract implicit in st. augustine’s idea of history are the essential beliefs of christianity, namely: there is but one god; all humans are creatures with a single ancestor in adam; all things and events come under the care of divine providence; humankind has fallen from a more privileged original condition and is now subject to suffering and other evils; man has been redeemed through the incarnation of jesus christ; all people should strive to attain to final happiness with god in a future life. and so the events of temporal history viewed from this christian lens become actions in the drama of redemption and eternal salvation. in other words, human events become significant when viewed in the light of divine providence. hence, god is the focal point! (history is theocentric or rather christocentric). however, though history is guided by divine providence, man is not just helpless with regard to history, but he truly brings something new into it through his freewill. keywords: augustine, history, historiography, city of god 1. introduction although one may say that it is anachronistic to speak of st. augustine’s philosophy of history, because the expression ‘philosophy of history’ was only coined in the 1760’s by voltaire to herald a treatment of history that has already cast off the fetters of a christian conception.23 in any case, augustine could be said to be a pioneer in the study of the meaning of history, because before his time historians concerned themselves with little more than a surface record of human events. with augustine came an effort at a fully developed interpretation of history.24 this was occasioned by the event of the sacking of rome by king alaric in 410 ad, which was blamed on christianity. at the inspiration of his roman friend marcellinus, augustine came up with one of his greatest books, 23 gareth b. matthews, ed., the augustinian tradition (berkeley: university of california press, 1999), 345 24 http://fac-staff.seattleu.edu/schan/web/chinesetheology/lectures2/file/revelation.htm igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 11 the city of god. it actually started in form of letters to marcellinus in defence of christianity, but would later, in the span of fourteen years (412 426 ad) become a master-piece consisting twenty-two books. this is augustine’s major work as regards history. his thinking in this area (history) may be regarded as a philosophy of history or a theology of history (and there have been debates regarding this). but as has been rightly noted the name (philosophy of history or a theology of history) really is not important as his accomplishment is.25 let us now briefly consider his idea of history, but before we do that we shall give a brief biography of this great african philosopher, theologian and saint. 2. life of st. augustine st. augustine was born as aurelius augustinus at tagaste, numidia, north africa (souk-ahras, in present day algeria) on november 13, 354 ad. his father, patricius, was a pagan who converted on his death bed; his mother was saint monica, a devout christian. he received a christian upbringing and in 370 ad went to the university at carthage to study rhetoric with a view to becoming a lawyer. he gave up law to devote himself to literary pursuits and gradually abandoned his christian faith, taking a mistress with whom he lived fifteen years and who bore him a son, adeodatus, in 372 ad. after investigating and experimenting with several philosophies, he became a manichaean for several years. in 384, he accepted the chair of rhetoric at milan, and of his tutor, simplicianus. inspired by the sermons of st. ambrose, bishop of milan, he returned to his christian faith and was baptized on easter eve 387 ad. on the death of his mother augustine returned to africa, sold his property, gave the proceeds to the poor, and founded a sort of monastery at tagaste. he was ordained in 390 ad and moved to hippo where he established a community with several of his friends who had followed him. five years later he was consecrated bishop and made coadjutor to valerius, bishop of hippo, whom he succeeded in the following year. augustine became the dominant figure in african church affairs and was the leader in the bitter fights against manichaeism, donatism, pelagianism and other heresies. augustine's towering intellect moulded the thought of western christianity to a large extent. he wrote profusely, expounding and defending the faith, and to this day many of his two hundred treatises, some three hundred sermons are quoted repeatedly in theological and philosophical discourses. among his best-known works are his confessions, city of god (a magnificent exposition of a christian philosophy of 25 vernon j. bourke, ed., the essential augustine (new york: mentor-omega books, 1964), 220 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 12 history), de trinitate, de doctrina christiana, enchiridion and his treatises against the manichaeans and the pelagians. augustine remained as bishop of hippo until august 28, 430 ad when he died reciting the penitential psalm (psalm 51), while the vandal invaders plundered his city of hippo.26 3. the meaning and nature of history augustine does not use the term ‘historia’ in the modern sense which refers to events (a totality of events or even the totality of events) rather than to reports of events. for him, historia is a narrative, and this is so because the dispensations of divine providence for the salvation of mankind are temporal and so it takes historia (a narrative of things past) and prophecy (a narrative of things to come) to represent them. for him then, historia is the christian story, as revealed in the bible.27 again, for augustine, history is history of changeable things. but for there to be history (of changeable things) there must be that which is beyond history, the eternal, unchangeable substance – god. and so, there is history because god made it; every particular event in history makes sense from god’s point of view. since god is eternal he understands everything temporal, as it was he who gave rise to it. augustine contends: “things which happen under the condition of time are in the future, not yet in being, or in the present, already existing, or in the past, no longer in being. but god comprehends all these in a stable and eternal present.”28 thus history is owed to what is beyond history – god. it is no wonder then that augustine regards history as being homogenous, that is, there is really no distinction as such between sacred and profane history, as karl lowith in his book meaning of history tries to make.29 this comes out clearly in book xviii, chapter 46 of the city of god where he writes: “when herod was on the throne of judea, and when caesar augustus was emperor, after a change in the roman constitution, and when the emperor’s rule had established a worldwide peace, christ was born, in accordance with prophecy of earlier times, in bethlehem of judah.”30 hence for him, through providence god is present in 26 http://www.staugustinecc.com/life_of_st_augustine.htm 27 matthews, the augustinian tradition, 345-346 28 bettenson, st. augustine: concerning the city of god against the pagans (london: penguin books, 1467, 1984), 452 29 matthews, the augustinian tradition, 347 30 bettenson, st. augustine, 827 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 13 human or profane history. however, if we talk of sacred history, then it is (for augustine) revelation, and revelation as revealed in the sacred scripture (bible). 4. prehuman and human history as we have already noted, history for augustine is of changeable things, and so one can talk of a history which involves humans (human history) and one which does not (prehuman),31 since god made all things. the prehuman history refers to the world of nature in which things happen but these happenings only implement the natural order, which is constant. in this sense then nothing ‘really’ happens in prehuman history (in nature) – here, things just realize themselves in the course of time (they are what they were meant to be or become). this is not the case with human history. human history differs in that humans have freewill. things just do not happen to us as humans – we make choices and so write our histories. but as augustine notes, this freewill has been misused from the very start: “god created man aright, for god is the author of natures, though he is certainly not responsible for their defects. but man was willingly [emphasis is mine] perverted and justly condemned, and so begot perverted and condemned offspring… hence from the misuse of free will there started a chain of disasters: mankind is led from original perversion, a kind of corruption at the root, right up to the disaster of second death, which has no end. only those who are set free through god’s grace escape from this calamitous sequence.”32 this goes without saying that human deeds resemble god’s creative act, only that human will is subject to change but not god’s. so then man’s wrong act of disobeying god is not the realization of his nature, for he was created “aright.” but even so man can bring something new (even from bad choices, as is often said that “we learn from our mistakes”), which means that human history admits novelty. and so it is that gifted with freewill man creates his history aided by divine providence. 5. the epochs of history augustine sometimes talks of the epochs of history as threefold and at other times as six-fold. there was a time of faultless humanity, there is the time of sinful humanity, and there will be a time of partly redeemed and partly damned humanity33: the first was the time before the fall; the second is the time after the 31 matthews, the augustinian tradition, 350 32 bettenson, st. augustine, 523 33 matthews, the augustinian tradition, 351 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 14 fall to the incarnation, which continues to the end of the world; and the third will be eternity, when those who submitted their wills to god will behold him eternally in heaven, while those who were selfish and earthly—minded will languish forever with satan and the fallen angels in hell. this is the threefold epoch of history. about the six-fold epoch, augustine writes: “as therefore god made man in his own image on the sixth day: thus we find that our lord jesus christ came into the sixth age, that man might be formed anew after the image of god. for the first period, as the first day, was from adam until noah; the second, as the second day, from noah unto abraham; the third, as the third day, from abraham unto david; the fourth, as the fourth day, from david unto the removal to babylon; the fifth period, as the fifth day, from the removal to babylon unto the preaching of john. the sixth day began from the preaching of john, and lasted to the end; and after the end of the sixth day, we reach our rest. the sixth day, therefore, is even now passing.”34 from these it is obvious that augustine was interpreting history according to the bible, and both epochs are actually talking about one reality, which in the light of the six-fold epoch-means history as “the earthly pilgrimage of the city of god comes to an end and the eternal blissful peace begins. the six days of human history also come to an end, and the seventh day, the blessed eternal sabbath begins.”35 for augustine then, there is a true linear progress in human history, but this is not material progress in earthly time envisioned by the eusebian progressivists, nor is it the idolatrous progress of the enlightenment, a progress of the earthly city toward its rational perfection; rather, progress is aimed at eternity and it is the progress of the body of christ as it grows toward its full stature and perfection.36 in any case, for augustine the whole of history can be understood with reference to the “two cities”: city of god (jerusalem), signifying the city and fellowship of the saints who are ruled by the love of god and earthly city (babylon), which signifies the city and fellowship of the wicked who are ruled by love of self and earthly goods. these two cities came into being at the fall of the angel (satan), and passing to humanity, as we see in cain and abel, and then with abraham commencing the clear prophetic reference to the consummation of the divine community in christianity. however, augustine does not hold that christianity, 34 bourke, the essential augustine, 224 35 luciano mattei, augustine: the last african philosopher (nairobi: the catholic university of eastern africa press, 1999), 278 36 john a. maxfield, “divine providence, history, and progress in saint augustine’s city of god” concordia theological quarterly 66, no.4 (2002): 348, http://ksuweb.kennesaw.edu/~tkeene/apwhstaugustinearticle.pdf igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 15 or the church for that matter, is a perfect divine community, as eusebius of caesarea, orosius and others thought. for they assumed that a converted roman empire could live up to the ethical standards of the gospel or a perfectly just social order was possible, but augustine contended that no society ever conformed to the requirement of strict justice or was likely to do so.37 augustine was in deed a realist! for him, “these two cities would coexist as a corpus permixtum (a mixed body) in every man (even saints) and in every society (even the church) until the eschaton. thus christian rome, even the earthy church, could not represent the perfection of eschatological fulfilment, and their historical fate had nothing to do with god’s plans for human salvation.”38 hence, he holds that “as shadows, as well as the lights, go to make a picture, so the world, even with sinners, is beautiful.”39 on a final note, augustine was also opposed to chiliasm or millennialism, the belief expressed in the book of revelation that christ will establish a onethousand year reign of the saints on earth before the last judgment, and which mechanistically puts civilisations into a period of 1000 years. such a view was evident in orosius’ seven books of history against pagans. augustine held that the thousand years stand for the whole period of this world’s history, as “there is no better interpretation of those words than by taking ‘a thousand generations’ as signifying ‘all generations.’”40 6. evaluation and conclusion implicit in st. augustine’s idea of history are the essential beliefs of christianity, namely: there is but one god; all humans are creatures with a single ancestor in adam; all things and events come under the care of divine providence; humankind has fallen from a more privileged original condition and is now subject to suffering and other evils; man has been redeemed through the incarnation of jesus christ; all people should strive to attain to final happiness with god in a future life. and so the events of temporal history viewed from this christian lens become actions in the drama of redemption and eternal salvation. in other words, human events become significant when viewed in the light of divine providence. hence, god is the focal point! (history is theocentric or rather 37 ernest l. fortin, “augustine’s city of god and the modern historical consciousness,” the review of politics, vol. 41, no.3 (1979): 342, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1407234. 38 http://www.mille.org/people/rlpages/millennialism-mw-encyl.html 39 w. montgomery, augustine: aspects if his life and thought (london: hodder and stoughton, 1914), 228 40 bettenson, st. augustine, 908 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 16 christocentric). however, though history is guided by divine providence, man is not just helpless with regard to history, but he truly brings something new into it through his freewill. augustine, in this way, could be seen as parting ways with the tradition that gave the state its aura of divinity and sought to place the principle of social order in the human will, and thus the western ideals of freedom and progress and social justice owe more to him than we realize; though himself was indifferent to secular progress and to the transitory fortunes of the earthly state, “… he looked for a city that has foundations whose builder and maker is god.”41 it is noteworthy too that before augustine the prevailing theory of history was fatalistic, in that man was regarded as a puppet bound to the wheel of fate, and time was thought to revolve in great cycles. in other words, history was thought to be cyclic. but augustine broke this wheel of fate by appealing to one great event that cannot be repeated – the christ event (his birth, death and resurrection). from the foregoing, the observation of christopher dawson hereunder appears plausible conclusion to this work: certainly the city of god is not a philosophical theory of history in the sense of rational induction from historical facts. he [augustine] does not discover anything from history, but merely sees in history the working out of universal principles. but we may well question whether hegel or any of the nineteenth-century philosophers of history did otherwise. they did not derive their theories from history, but read their philosophy into history [very much like augustine]… his [augustine] theory of history is strictly deduced from his theory of human nature, which, in turn, follows necessarily from his theology of creation and grace. it is not a rational theory in so far as it begins and ends in revealed dogma; but it is rational in the strict logic of its procedure and it involves a definitely rational and philosophic theory of the nature of society and law and of the relation of social life to ethics.42 41 m.c. d’archy et al, st. augustine: his age, life, and thought (new york: meridian books, inc., 1957), 77 42 ibid., 43-44 microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 2.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 154 political activism in visual expression: ipob and the biafra question in the south east of nigeria okonkwo, ivan emeka department of fine and applied arts nnamdi azikiwe university awka anambra state, nigeria ivancollections@yahoo.com abstract visual expression has played a role in influencing society, public discourse and participation in national issues, including politics. it has been a catalyst for positive social change and transformation. it represents the ideals, norms and standard acceptable group behaviours with which a people identify with and are obliged to comply for the sake of social harmony and co-habitation. visual expression has a silent but deep impact upon the minds of viewers. thus, the indigenous people of biafra (ipob) has adopted it as a veritable tool in their agitation. this paper believes that the alleged persecution of ipob by the nigerian government has occasioned the manifestation of a new form of visual campaign that is largely political. the paper examined the role of visuals in the activities of ipob. it reveals how the struggle for self-determination could provide space for the articulation of the rise of visual culture in the post colonial state. keywords: politics, activism, political activism, visual expression, ipob, biafra. introduction biafra, officially the republic of biafra, was a secessionist state in nigeria, that existed from 30 may, 1967 to january 1970. the inhabitants were mostly the igbo people who led the secession due to economic, ethnic, cultural and religious distrust and killing of the igbo living in the northern part of nigeria. according to achebe (2012) ojukwu, citing a variety of malevolent acts directed at the mainly igbo easterners-such as the pogrom that claimed over thirty thousand lives, the federal government’s failure to ensure the safety of easterners in the face of organized genocide: and the direct incrimination of the government in the murders of its own citizens, proclaimed the independence of the republic of biafra from nigeria. this secession led to a civil war with the nigeria government. it lasted from 1967 to 1970. the republic of biafra took its name from the bight of biafra, the atlantic bay to its south. the inhabitants were mostly the igbo people. other ethnic groups that constituted the republic were efik, ibibio, anang, ejagham, eket, ibeno and the ijaw, among others. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 155 plate 1: map of biafra after two-and-a-half years of the civil war, biafra was reintegrated into nigeria. nonetheless, the defunct republic of biafra belong to the south-eastern part of nigeria. serious doubts may still exist in many minds as to why lt. colonel gowon (later general) suddenly did a complete turn-about from an original plan of the north to secede as he had originally planned and rather preferred to plunge nigeria into a civil war. that war took a toll of an estimated three million lives, in an attempt to re-unite the same nigeria he had set out initially to break up (ezeani 2013). while trying to justify the reason why the igbos got involved in the war adichie (2006) argues that throughout history, injured people have had to resort to arms in their self-defence where peaceful negotiations fail and noted that we are no exception. “we took up arms because of the sense of insecurity generated in our people by the massacres. we have fought in defence of that cause,” she said. the alleged injustice, inequity and marginalization of the south-east zone in the political leadership of nigeria by successive governments since 1967 are popularly cited by interest groups as the underlying causes of the quest for the secession of biafra from the nigeria state. ezeani (2013) stated that the envy or hatred of the igbo is exemplified in the discriminatory treatment meted to them both as a group and as individuals. in recent time, this form of institutionalized ethnic hatred was overtly manifested in the obasanjo government of 1999-2007. osagie-jacob (2010) noted that though the igbo voted for “obasanjo more than anyone else” he did not hide his hatred of the people. this commentator goes further: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 156 while chief obasanjo on many occasions travelled down to ogun and oyo states to resolve political disputes during his last reign of terror, he caused mayhem to be unleashed on anambra state. police-men under his cover looked the other way when properties worth about n2b were being burnt down. during the eight years of his rule, this state knew no peace. he hunted down and disgraced by way of a national broadcast an igbo minister who collected bribe of n30m but refused to sanction his cousin, a former director in public service, who stole n400m! also, his lawyer friend and tribesman who was paid n250m for registering a company and other services is still above the law. osagie-jacobs (2010) believes, “the genocide against the igbo in northern nigeria and the so called war to keep nigeria one is one of the most vicious inhumanity of man to man since cain slew abel. the irony in the igbo-nigerian politics is that though they are the innocent victims, they are intimidated to believe they are the guilty ones”. these underlying factors were currently reinforced by the glaring under representation of the igbos in the current president buhari led government. the new government reportedly favoured other regions in its political appointments over the south east region. an analysis by premium times on 28th of august 2015 showed that 75% of the 29 appointments made by the president are from northern nigeria while southern part had only 25%. a further breakdown of the analysis showed the northwest had 41% while the southeast zone had 0% (www.premiumtimesng.com). the igbo opine that they may have lost political relevance in nigeria and in the current government in terms of appointments and leadership in the legislative arm of government due to its massive support voting for pdp, and not the current apc government. a statement credited to the president in july 2015 that he would treat the different constituency in nigeria based on how they voted in the 2015 presidential election reinforces this observation. recently there is a resurgence of agitations by pro-biafra activists which once again placed the issue of the independence of biafra in public discourse. the agitation lead by the indigenous people of biafra (ipob) has been described as the largest agitation by pro-biafra supporters since the reannexation of south eastern nigeria back to the country in 1970. the indigenous people of biafra (ipob) is an association that represents the indigenous ethnic groups constituting what was biafra during the civil war and prior to the colonial era of that region of nigeria. the organization is led by nnamdi kanu, a united kingdom-based igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 157 political activist who has been illegally detained by the nigerian government since october 2015, but was released in april 2017 after more than one and half years in detention. the detention of kanu, rather than quieten his followers in the south-east instead escalated the agitation. many innocent lives have been lost in clashes between the agitators and different arms of the law enforcement. the detention brought kanu from obscurity to global limelight and made him a hero among his followers thereby emboldening his followers in their agitation for the restoration of the sovereignty of biafra from nigeria. the organization believes that the lack of common values between biafra and the other parts of nigeria makes their unification a mirage. the organization has remained very peaceful in its effect at restoring biafra. as is the case with many post colonial states in black africa, the nigerian state has descended heavily on the members with little concern for its peaceful stance. nigeria maintains that the organization is illegal and pursues an unlawful secessionist aim that threatens the territorial integrity of nigeria. however, ipob is not deterred by the persecution by the nigerian government in their quest for biafra. the organization has indulged in political activism in the recent times using different methods and approaches such as sit-at-home, peaceful protest, broadcast medium: the radio biafra, among others. visual expression forms part of the text and texture of indigenous people of biafra (ipob) agitation. these are protest art which comprise of works such as the visual icons, banners, posters, and other printed materials. these works tend to be ephemeral, characterized by their portability and disposability, and are frequently not authored or owned by any person. their form of protest art also includes (but not limited to) performance, site specific installations, graffiti and street art that cross the boundaries of art genres, media and disciplines. this paper examines visual expression in political activism, and also converses mediums of visual expression used by ipob in political activism in nigeria. background authors have argued that the struggle for self determination by groups have constitute many varieties of political activism, from the face-to-face conversations to massive protest. a proper historicizing of face-to-face conversations to massive protests brings achebe (2012)’s “there was a country” to mind. achebe argues that failure to implement resolutions reached in a meeting and to act on issues pertaining to a country’s sovereignty could lead to secession. he pointed to the fact that there were increasing indications that northern leaders never had any intention of implementing the settlement negotiated at aburi. ojukwu at this igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 158 point was exasperated by what he saw as purposeful inaction from gowon. adichie (2006) gave an overview of the promise, hope, and disappointment of the biafra war. she examines the state of nigeria before the war, the wave of suspicion and violence that led to it and the hardship it brought to the igbos. ezeani’s “in biafra africa died” questioned the use of gun battle, such as: what and where is nigeria today after spilling the blood of millions of people in undertaking the task to keep nigeria one? from what is known today, would yakubu gowon still consider it worthwhile going to war to have this type of “one nigeria” though he is of the view that emeka ojukwu should not have led his people to secede? madiebo in his work “the nigerian revolution and the biafra civil war” (1980) gave a gripping account of what transpired in nigeria between 1966-1970. the book is a first-class manual for anyone who wants to know the biafra military machine and when it eventually collapsed to the nigerian onslaught. forsyth (1969) narrated the heart wrenching account of 1966 coups, the massacre of eastern nigerians, the pulsating operations in the theatres of war and kwashiorkor that brought biafra to her knees. others have questioned the use of diplomacy in the quest for self determination. for example the punch newspaper of september 21, 2016 on its page 10 gave an account of the arrest of 12 pro-biafra protesters in enugu as they were canvassing for the sit-at-home protest in all parts of the south-east and south-south nigeria which is part of the group’s plan to stage rallies in major cities of the world on september 23, 2016. sunday punch of september 24, 2016, page 11, ipob argued that the sit-at-home protest was initiated to further compound nigeria’s economic misery. the statement signed by the media and publicity secretary of ipob, mr. emma powerful said “protests took place in all the continents of the world”. a former president general of the ohanaeze ndigbo (an apex igbo cultural group) dr. dozie ikedife in the punch of wednesday september 28, 2016, page 18, described the comment credited to president buhari for igbo youths to forget biafra as unfortunate. speaking on the september 23 sit-at-home ipob order, ikedife said it was a huge success. many authors have given their perspectives on biafra and the activities of ipob: ike (1993), uwechue (1971) and ekwensi (1976). others are the punch, the sun and vanguard newspapers, among others. however, little attention has been given to the use of visual images in all of these activities. visual expressions igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 159 mayer (2011) states that visual creations are “special expressions” because they effectively convey or communicate feelings and ideas in visual form. that means every work created or designed has a story in it. this story is hidden in the object. once a visual object or piece is presented, it stimulates different kinds of interpretations from different observers. visual expression moves the viewer to admire the talented artist and to feel the expressed emotions themselves. mankind has thought in visual terms since the dawn of time. people painted long ago before they could read and write. one only has to think of the power of ancient cave paintings in bringing a long forgotten world to life to realize the power of visual expression. art has been highly prized right down through the centuries because it connects with man at an emotional level bringing about incredibly strong reactions and feelings. nonetheless the indigenous people of biafra (ipob) uses visual expression as a veritable tool to convey their ideas, feelings, values, message, anger, agitation, and quest for secession from nigeria. visual expression in political activism visual expression serves many functions in political activism, some of them aimed at producing knowledge and solidarity within the group of protesters and others as a means of communicating to those outside what the protest is all about. it is very important in forging group solidarity, a sense of belonging and common purpose. it is a means of overcoming fear and anxiety in trying situations. visual expression is a great recruiting tool which has been used by all sides of the political spectrum to transmit ideology. it is important in creating and communicating a collective narrative articulating “who we are, were we come from, what we stand for and what we are against”. visual expression forms part of the text and texture of political protest, and once codified and objectified serves as a bridge between movements, past, present and future. wendy (2013) states that social movements produce such works as the signs, banners, posters, and other printed materials used to convey a particular cause or message. mediums of visual expression used by ipob in political activism the pro-biafra group has a goal of actualizing an independent state; it however used different strategies and approaches in its agitations. it makes use of different mediums of visual expressions to demonstrate its anger, objectives and vision. these mediums include: placards, posters, flags, banners, polo shirts/tee shirts, scarfs, caps, among others. placards igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 160 a placard is a notice installed in a public place, like a small card, sign, or plaque. it can be attached to or hung from a vehicle or building to indicate information about the vehicle operator or contents of a vehicle or building (lorre, 2014). it can also refer to paperboard signs or notice carried by picketers or demonstrators. it is a large piece of card, paper, with a message written or printed on it, often carried in public places by people who are complaining about something: a placard is placed on a building to indicate special information about that building. temporary placards may be placed on buildings as warning signs over tenting to indicate the building is being fumigated so that no one should enter. ipob use placards with different inscriptions to propagate messages to the world with respect to their political struggle for freedom from the state of nigeria. plate 2: ipob members carrying placards during protest posters a poster is a “public” paper conveying information through text (words) and/or graphic images (symbols or pictures). it is usually designed to be displayed vertically on a wall or window and is large enough to be seen and read from a relatively short distance. its main target audience is the person walking by. morris (2015) is of the view that a poster must convey its message with immediacy and purpose, because people on the street are often in a hurry. posters are sometimes huge and can be seen from a long distance and may appear along highways (on bill boards) or on the sides of buildings. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 161 also according to morris (2015) posters may also appear in much smaller versions, sometimes like a postcard, and are called handbills. whatever the size or shape, posters have a job to do and that is to convey information. ipob uses posters to create awareness, express their grievances, make their demands and make their plight known to the public plate 3: an ipob member displaying a poster with namdi kanu’s portrait, demanding his freedom flags according to calvert (2014), a flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design that is used as a symbol, as a signaling device, or as decoration. the term flag is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and flags have since evolved into a general tool for rudimentary signalling and identification, especially in environments where communication is similarly challenging (such as the maritime environment where semaphore is used) (calvert, 2014). national flags are potent patriotic symbols with varied wide-ranging interpretations, often including strong military associations due to their original and ongoing military uses. flags is a piece of cloth, usually rectangular and attached to a pole at one edge, that has a pattern that shows it represents a country or a group, or has a particular meaning (calvert, 2014). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 162 plate 4: biafran flag the flag was created by the biafran government and raised 30 may 1967 a flag of red, black and green, horizontally, with a rising sun from the coat of arms (of the old eastern province) in gold in the centre. the design and colours are based on the pan-african flag designed by marcus garvey's union. the eleven rays of the sun represented the eleven provinces of biafra. the lowest rays were usually more or less horizontal and the remaining rays spread evenly. the rays were normally long and slender, and usually slightly wavy. the three pan-african colors on the flag represent: red: the blood that unites all people of black african ancestry, and shed for liberation; black: black people whose existence as a nation, though not a nation-state, is affirmed by the existence of the flag; and green: the abundant natural wealth of africa. (znaimerowski, 2001). the ipob always sample biafran flag in the course of their demonstrations to let the world know that biafran state is still alive, and will emerge someday. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 163 plate 5: ipob protest the continued detention of nnamdi kanu banners the word derives from french word "bannière" and late latin bandum, a cloth out of which a flag is made (latin: banderia, italian: bandiera, portuguese: bandeira, spanish: bandera) (danum, 2014). a banner is a flag or other piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or other message. gina (2015) states that the banners for every business or organization are very important because through these banners it represents the company as a whole; it also shows the values and culture of the business aside from being a promotional flag and it helps make an impression for their target market. banners are effective tools for the business to sell their products or services to their target market because it can create a unique identity for the company and they can also create their own design and customize the design of these banners. the ipob inscribe symbol, logo, slogan or other message that are pertinent on banners used in their political activism. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 164 plate 6: ipob members with a banner showing murdered igbo indigenes by fulani herdsmen in the south east nigeria polo shirts/t-shirts a polo shirt, also known as a golf shirt and tennis shirt, is a form of shirt with a collar, a placket with typically two or three buttons, and an optional pocket. the t-shirts can be in v-neck round neck without any collar (mckean, 2013). the ipob members wear polo shirts/t-shirts with various inscriptions at the back, including the biafran flag during their political protest. plate 7: an ipob supporter wearing a white t-shirt with an inscription ‘this is biafra’ and a biafra flag at the back igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 165 scarfs a scarf, also known as a kremer, muffler or neck-wrap, is a piece of fabric worn around the neck, near the head or around the waist for warmth, cleanliness, fashion, or religious reasons. they can come in a variety of different colours (lorre, 2014). in cold climates, a thick knitted scarf, often made of wool, is tied around the neck to keep warm. this is usually accompanied by a warm hat and heavy coat. in drier, dustier warm climates, or in environments where there are many airborne contaminants, a thin headscarf, kerchief, is often worn over the eyes and nose and mouth to keep the hair clean. over time, this custom has evolved into a fashionable item in many cultures, particularly among women. some ipob members were scarf designed with the colour of biafran flag and the logo during their political protest in a bid to show their solidarities on the struggle for the libration of biafrans. plate 8: an ipob member wearing a scarf designed with biafran flag colour and logo as a mark of solidarity caps a cap is a form of headgear. caps have crowns that fit very close to the head and have no brim or only a visor. they are typically designed for warmth and, when igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 166 including a visor, blocking sunlight from the eyes. they come in many shapes and sizes. the ipob members wear caps designed with the colour of biafran flag and the logo as a mark of solidarity during their political protest. plate 9: an ipob member wearing a cap designed with biafran flag colour and logo as a mark of solidarity to the libration struggle. conclusion the indigenous people of biafra (ipob) has indulged in political activism in the recent times using different mediums of visual expressions including: posters, flags, banners, placards, polo shirts/t-shirts, caps scarfs with bold inscriptions such as “give us biafra”, “in biafra we stand”, “we are not terrorists”, amongst others. visual expression impacts deeply upon the minds of viewers and sympathizers, thus the pro-biafra group uses it to demonstrate its anger, vision and objectives. references achebe, c. (2012) there was a country, england: penguin books ltd adichie c. (2006) half of a yellow sun, nigeria: kachifo limited calvert, j.b. (2014). early railway signals. denver: university of denver press. danum, m (2014). the roles of banners in orange revolution. brussels: penton publication ezeani, e (2013) in biafra africa died, britain: veritas lumen publishers. gina, n. (2015). political unrest in kosovo: banners as a tool for agitation. ruel: temur press. lorre, e. (2014). graphic design: a new history. yale: yale university press. p. 4347. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 2, june 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 167 madiebo, a. (1980) the nigeria revolution and the biafra war, enugu: fourth dimension publishers. mckean, e. (2013). the hundred dresses: the most iconic styles of our time. usa: a & c black. p. 71. morris, h. (2015). scientist's guide to poster presentations. new york: kluwer press. osagie-jacob, o. (2010). igbo leadership and agenda crises: how a gifted people lost out, nigeria: daily sun, 13/2/2010. sliwinski, m. (2016). the evolution of activism: from the streets to social media. law street: oaktree publication. wendy varney. nonviolence speaks: communicating against repression. cresskill, nj: hampton press. www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/editorial/second-niger-bridgecontract/109052.html www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/189117-outrage-grows-acrossnigeria-as-buharis-lopsided-appointmentscontinue.html znaimerowski, a. (2001). the world encyclopedia of fags. london: anness publishing ltd. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 4 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 107 book review title of the book: the method and principles of complementary reflection in and beyond african philosophy. author of the book: reverend professor innocent i. asouzu, ph.d., professor of philosophy, university of calabar. publisher: university of calabar press, 2004. reviewer: heinz kimmerle, zoetermeer review in the following remarks i want to give a critical review of the book the method and principles of complementary reflection in and beyond african philosophy, written by innocent izuchukwu asouzu, a catholic priest and professor of philosophy at the university of calabar in the igbo-region of nigeria. this book has first been published in july 2004 with calabar university press and republished in 2005 as volume 4 of the series ‘studies in african philosophy’ with lit-verlag at münster in germany (isbn 3-82588578-x). when numbers between brackets are given, they refer to pages of the new edition. in his ‘comments to the lit-verlag edition’ the author reports that the earlier publication had certain shortcomings (‘oversights’ and ‘avoidable errors’), which the new edition ‘endeavours to address’. (15) in his book asouzu presents a fresh approach to african philosophy, which has an incisive impact on the discussions about this particular kind of philosophy. first of all it is underlined that african philosophy has to be regarded as philosophy precisely in the same way as the philosophies of any other region of the world: ‘arab philosophy, greek philosophy, asian philosophy, indian philosophy, japanese philosophy … american philosophy, european philosophy’ and other philosophies. (52) the specificity of african philosophy, with its primarily oral practice and tradition and its particular cultural ambience, is worked out by asouzu from the perspective of the igbo community. he comes to generalisations, which are valid for the big majority of peoples living in africa south to the sahara. as the key notion and the paradigm of thought of african philosophy in this sense is introduced ‘complementary reflection’. the special conditions of partly nomadic living peoples in africa south to the sahara like the masai, hausa, or fulani, and of groups with different historical backgrounds on this continent like the pygmies, san or khoi khoi are not taken into consideration in detail. although it is not discussed at length, one can say that the northern parts of africa, which have a primarily arabic cultural igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 108 ambience since about the 10th or 11th century, are not excluded. ‘besides the ancient egyptian heritage’, asouzu refers to the ‘highly intellectualised and sophisticated climate of thought’ in this region, which ‘produced such brilliant minds of the third century alexandrian school as tertullian, clement, and origen’. (275) african philosophy in this broad context is part and parcel of the philosophies of the world as a whole, and it contributes to the contents and the potential of problem solving reflections all over the world. therefore, the paradigm of complementary reflection has its meaning ‘in and beyond african philosophy’. in azouzu’s book complementary reflection has mainly three different aspects. firstly, there is ‘ontological complementarity’. reality is regarded as an allembracing whole, in which all units form together a dynamic play of forces, which are in harmony with each other, by completing and supportingone another. the harmony of this play of forces does not exist without dangers, but it can maintain its balance against the influence of counter-forces, which try to disturb or undermine it. ‘the worldview of the traditional african shows, in a very natural way, strong moment[s] of the transcendent ontological categories of unity, totality, universality, comprehensiveness, wholeness and future referentiality as authentic dimensions of thoroughgoing complementarism’. (150) secondly, complementarity can be found in society. what is true for the units of reality as a whole is also and in a more conscious manner valid for the members of society. they do not leave alone somebody, who is in danger or in need, but in the family or in the larger community, which is regarded as an ‘extended family’, this person will find support. there are limits to this kind of harmony between human beings in society. envy and hatred between them do occur, even sacrifice of human beings are real sometimes and somewhere. personal interest and the personal existential situation are the causes of these limits. however, completing and supporting one another is and remains the main attitude of the members of african societies, so that the principle of ‘caring is sharing’ forms the predominant feature of them. the ant is the example of strength by cooperation and mutual support, as it is expressed in the ‘igbo work song’, in which the following verse is repeated many times: ‘bunu bunu oo ibu anyi danda’ (‘lift the load, lift the load, nothing is impossible for the ant’). (118) thirdly, ‘personal complementarity’ is taken into consideration. every person represents this paradigm because his or her permanent and transcendent flow of consciousness connects the present life to the former life of the ancestors and to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 109 the own afterlife in the land of spirits. thus the understanding of reality and all its different units turns out to transcend personal life by embedding it into a spiritual whole of a cosmic process, which develops in time and space. to every person the possibility is offered that he or she can participate in what is called in the igbo-language: ‘jide ka iji’ (‘joy of being’), which permeates the cosmos as a whole, society with its structure of extended families, and personal life. (148) when a person is referred to by ‘using the impersonal pronoun it’, this gives expression to the fact that one is speaking of the human being in its totality that ‘can never be conceptualised in a fragmented mode, but as complementary units that form a whole’. (159) the ‘complementary approach to reality’ is not exactly ‘anthropocentric or human-centred’ as it is sometimes described. ontologically it is ‘rather comprehensive’: ‘to be is to be in a relationship of mutual joyous complementary service’. (156/7) there is a special accent on being part of the community, and certain metaphysical and mythological ideas about the influence of the spirits occur in the worldview of african people. also a misuse of these ideas for ‘ideological manipulation’ cannot be denied. nevertheless the ‘theoretical technical reason’ of the african mindset and also a widespread pragmatic attitude in solving everyday problems have to be argued for. asouzu knows about complementary reflection from his own personal history and experience as a member of a family within the igbo people. in the section ‘dedication and acknowledgement’ the reader gets thoroughly informed about this personal background. asouzu participates in this particular knowledge by learning from his ancestors and from the fellow members of his people and also by listening to his language, especially to proverbs, sayings or maxims. this knowledge is spread in the society as a whole. nevertheless it is concentrated in persons like himself, summarising and critically evaluating what is handed down and communicated to them. these persons can be elders, office bearers, priests, healers or ordinary people. at any rate, it can be attributed to certain individuals in the present situation and in the history of the igbo community, although asouzu does not and/or cannot give their names. in this sense, he speaks about ‘the anonymous igbo philosopher’. (142-148, passim) the ‘experience of transcendent complementary unity of consciousness joins’ this thinker ‘to his milieu’. this can be regarded as an advantage. for, ‘the thinker and his environment reinforced themselves igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 110 mutually’. on the other hand must be admitted: ‘due to the symbiotic relationship between the ideas of these thinkers and their environment, their thoughts did not attain the level of refinement, freshness and dynamism it would (or could) otherwise have attained’. (212; addition in the quotation between brackets by me, hk) by the reformulation of the method and principles of complementary reflection asouzu tries to avoid the limits and the negative aspects of the teachings of the anonymous igbo philosopher. in respect of the ‘ontological reflection’ the conditions for overcoming the negative forces in the world and for stabilizing harmony are sorted out. this kind of reflection includes a certain type of logic, which ‘seeks to explore missing links in a comprehensive, total and universal’ way of thought. thus ‘it presupposes the acquisition of an inclusive comprehensive logical mindset as opposed to a disjunctive logical mindset’. (355) and it has an impact on the ‘ethical reflection’, which is not only related to the questions of right or wrong, but also to those of beauty and ugliness in an aesthetic sense (369), and to the ‘the joy and sadness of human action’, as they are incorporated in the joyful being of cosmic and natural harmony. (361) above all, this ontology has a religious foundation. for, ‘the ontological joy of being is transcendent in the sense that it is something that has to do with the foundation of our being outside ourselves’ in the land of spirits. in connection with that, ‘the search for this ultimate foundation of our existence takes very concrete and acute shape in religious experiences where this one true, absolute, and transcendent being is clearly identified indifferent cultures under diverse names. some of these names are chukwu, god, mu’umba, udali …olodumare, onyankupon … allah, yahwe’ and others. (438/9) it is a remarkable contribution to the history and the specific problems of philosophy in the western world that complementary reflection leads to a possibility of ‘overcoming the subject-object dichotomy’. it turns out not to be adequate to ‘raise a thoroughgoing subjectivism’ or ‘a thoroughgoing objectivism’ to ‘a universal methodological principle’. on the one hand, scepticism and relativism, which undermine every true statement, would follow from that. and on the other hand dogmatism and imposed orthodoxy could not be avoided. in the way of thought, which is suggested by asouzu, ‘we see how a transcendent complementary unity of consciousness belongs to the same region as (or is in correspondence with) the transcendent categories of being’. (474-481; addition in the quotation between brackets by me, hk) not all dimensions of complementary reflection can be reviewed here. in a final analysis asouzu comes back to a perspective of the first part of his book: the ‘african paradigm’ forms igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 111 an answer to the ‘global imperative’ of political peacekeeping and social justice. the promise of a new world order can become true by using complementary reflection instead of thinking in oppositions and in terms of friend and enemy. (51-60) in the ‘new global family’ nobody ‘can be understood without reference to other members of the family’. and everybody has the right to be helped in a situation of danger or of need. the ‘differences in age, in sex, in nationality, in religion, in language, in ethnicity, in tribe, in race, in culture, in ideologies’ are expressions of a multidimensional reality. they can and must be seen as enrichment foreach other in ‘building a viable and meaningful human family’. (481/2) in his preface to asouzu’s book, obi oguejiofor from the seminary at enugu in nigeria declaresit as an advantage and as ‘a clear indication of its originality’ that this book ‘does not dwell on discussions of theories and contentions about past writers’, but ‘charts its unique course in contriving a special theory’. (13) and this special theory, one could add, is based on the author’s personal knowledge of authentic african traditions in the igbo community and on dealing with them in his own philosophical thinking. this is a reasonable judgment of asouzu’s approach to african philosophy and its meaning in the context of world-philosophy. nevertheless i am of opinion that his approach becomes clearer and more concrete, that it gets sharper contours, if it is embedded into the context of other interpretations of african philosophy. of course, in certain connections asouzu is in discussion with other african and non-african philosophers. he is referring especially to well known and also to less famous nigerian thinkers and theorists, more in particularfrom igboland. references to achebe, bodunrin, eboh, eze, okolo, serequeberhan, sodipo or unah are important and often enlightening, those to aligwekwe, arazu, iwe, okadigbo, ugorji or uwalaka add something to the list of authors, who have already been quoted in many other books on african philosophy. from the nigerian environment i miss names as gbadegesin, oluwole or momoh. absolutely essential contributions to african philosophy as those of senghor, nkrumah, hountondji, odera oruka, wiredu or gyekye are only mentioned incidentally and not always judged carefully enough. for instance, wiredu’s project of ‘conceptual decolonisation’ is taken as ‘a typical example’ of a ‘reactionary mindset’. (265) actually wiredu endeavours with this project to include original african thought into the worldwide philosophical work of today. to decolonise the mind does not mean to go back to traditional ways of thought, but to make them active and influential in present debates. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 112 odera oruka does not refrain from giving the names of 12 kenyan traditional philosophers from different peoples: mwitani masero (utonga), njuhi muthoni (kikuyu), simiyu chaungo (luhyia), oruka rang’inya (luo), and others. (sage philosophy, leiden a.o.: brill 1990) and he presents more in detail the politician and philosopher oginga odinga. his philosophy and beliefs (nairobi: initiatives 1992) he calls them ‘sages’, like hampaté bâ had done in his book, written in french, with regard to his own teacher tierno bokar. (la vie et l’enseignement de tierno bokar. le sage de bandiagara, paris: seuil 1980) as a follow up to that, yacouba konaté is looking for great names of sages further back in history and at the same time is he investigating the connection between the work of the sages and the origin of proverbs with philosophical contents. (‘le syndrome hampaté bâ ou comment naissent les proverbes’, in: quest. an international african journal of philosophy 8,2; 1994, p. 23-44) thus it becomes clear how the philosophical impact of language can originate and why proverbs can be regarded as philosophical texts in the primarily oral african traditions. (h. kimmerle, ‘the philosophical text in the african oral tradition’, in: kimmerle/wimmer (eds), philosophy and democracy in intercultural perspective, amsterdam/atlanta, ga: rodopi 1997, p. 43-56) in his book an essay on african philosophical thought. the akan conceptual scheme (cambridge: university press 1987) gyekye refers to the names and the dates of interviews with akan ‘wise persons’ (anyansafo) whom he regards as traditional philosophers. we learn from asouzu and also from other african philosophers (tschiamalenga ntumba and mabe) that sagacity cannot only be found with a certain group of persons. but is there in general such a recognisable group of ‘wise persons’ in african traditional communities? are there persons among the igbo people who could be identified as sages? except his mention of oruka’s research, asouzu refers to ogotemmeli, a blind hunter and wise person of the dogon, by quoting the (not quite correct) story, which masolo tells about him. (african philosophy in search of identity, bloomington/ indianopolis: indiana university press 1994) and he knows about the work of hallen and sodipo who have discussed epistemological questions with traditional healers among the yoruba. (hallen/sodipo, knowledge, belief and witchcraft. analytic experiments in african philosophy, london: ethnographica 1986) (134-36) odera oruka contests that ogotemmeli and the persons who have been interviewed by hallen and sodipo may be called ‘sages’ in the sense of the word as he understands it. is such a rather strict understanding possible? and what about philosophical igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 113 sagacity which is possessed by other people than the sages? these questions arise when asouzu refers to ‘the anonymous igbo philosopher’. complementary reflection of living in society makes it necessary to look at ‘african communalism’ and ‘sense of community’ as they are worked out by senghor, nkrumah, nyerere and others. (87) however, the theoretical project of these authors, especially in connection with the movement of negritude, is not discussed clearly enough by asouzu. the historical context of reassuring african culture of its own value is not part of his judgment. and these authors are brought together with quite a different current in the emerging selfconsciousness of african philosophy. i mean the representatives of ethnophilosophy, tempels, kagame, mbiti and others, whose work was fiercely contested by hountondji and towa. it is true that communalism, by which a somehow idealistic picture of the african sense of community is drawn, has a limited meaning compared to complementary reflection of societal relations. it could help to show this by a more detailed argumentation. actually the broader ontological context of complementarity in society, embedding it into a cosmic dimension, is closer to ubuntu than to communalism. here again a discussion of conformities and differences would give sharper contours to the meaning of complementary reflection. according to ramose ubuntu refers to the relations between human beings, completing and supporting each other, and at the same time to the forces of the universe, which are unfolded and come to selfconsciousness in human thinking and speaking (african philosophy through ubuntu, harare: mond books 1999). that traditional african philosophy has been practised mainly in oral forms of tradition and communication does not mean being in any way less important, less elaborate or less thoughtful than philosophies, which prefer written forms of tradition and exchange of ideas. i agree also with asouzu that there is no strict contradiction between orality and literacy in the practice of philosophy. (146-148) in this respect the new concept of writing which is developed by derrida, putting it exactly on the same level as the oral use of language, can be very helpful (de la grammatologie, paris: minuit 1967). nevertheless it is worth-wile to work out the special possibilities and strong aspects of primarily oral forms of philosophising. oluwole has pioneered in this field relying also on the philosophical impact of oral literature, especially of the ifa-corpus in the yoruba tradition. (philosophy and oral tradition, lagos: ark publications 1999) and a lot can be expected for the contribution of african philosophy to solving the problems of philosophy all over the world by bringing together and harmonising both forms of philosophising, and by combining the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 114 strong aspects of them, as mabe has suggested (schriftliche und mündliche formen philosophischendenkens in afrika, diss. habil., tu berlin 2003). in her book: witchcraft, reincarnation and the god-head (lagos: excel publishers 1992) oluwole argues more cautiously than asouzu and with reference to the restrictions of reliable knowledge in western philosophy, especially in kant’s critique of pure reason, when she speaks of the belief in supernatural powers, the existence of god and the coming back of persons from the invisible world of spirits to the visible world of people living now. her argumentation runs, roughly speaking, like this: if finite human beings cannot have reliable, scientifically proved knowledge, whether these dimensions of thought have a correspondence in reality, the option that there is such a correspondence (as preferred in the african worldview) is in the same way possible as the other one that there is not such a correspondence (as preferred in the western way of thought). according to oluwole the developments in the most advanced forms of science, particularly in microphysics, strengthen the african position. like achebe, to whom asouzu refers several times, oluwole strongly affirms that in african thought ‘nothing is absolute’. (126) therefore, she would contest that ‘the worldview of the traditional african shows … strong moment[s] of the transcendent ontological categories of unity, totality, universality, comprehensiveness, wholeness and future referentiality as authentic dimensions of thoroughgoing complemetarism’, (150) which is a core argument in asouzu’s book. the predominant ‘future relatedness’ of igbo thought, of which asouzu speaks repeatedly (150-51, 181 a.m.o.), is also different from mbiti’s thesis that the past is the most relevant dimension of time in african thought. (african religions and philosophy, london 1969) although mbiti’s statement that in african languages no anticipation of future events farther away than about two years can be expressed, has been contested heavily by hountondji, odera oruka,gyekye and others, these authors do not deny that there is a predominantly backward orientation in the african way of thought. therefore, asouzu’s report about the future relatedness of the anonymous igbo philosopher is in sharp contrast to most of the other philosophies of african peoples we know about. one could say, it adds a radically new aspect to the african philosophies of time. however, the close and concrete connection of time and space as ‘integral dimensions of the unity of consciousness’ and in the same way of ‘the aspects of processes observable in nature’ and of the ‘aspects of the spiritual immaterial world’ in asouzu’s text (175-177) is very much in accordance with the unity of time and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 115 space in the philosophy of bantu-languages, which is worked out by kagame. (sprache und sein. die ontologie der bantu zentralafrikas, brazzaville/ heidelberg 1985) to asouzu’s ideas about ‘building a viable and meaningful human family’, can be added odera oruka’s conception of a ‘parental earth ethics’. in this conception the african sense of family is also extended to humanity as a (concrete) whole. and within the human family different roles and obligations can be determined. the human rights should be made more complete by the right to an existence minimum for every human being, which includes eating, clothing and housing. the former colonising countries, which are now, not independently from their colonising past, the rich countries of the world, have clear ethical obligations to share with the former colonised and now poor countries. in a future related perspective it is wise, if the rich countries now more effectively share with the poor parts of the world, for in the long run the relations between dominant and dominated parts of the world never remain the same, as history teaches us. (‘ecophilosophy and the parental earth ethics’, in: graness/kresse (eds), sagacious reasoning. henry odera oruka in memoriam, frankfurt/m. a.o.: peter lang 1997, p. 119-131, ‘philosophie der entwicklungshilfe. die frage des rechts auf ein menschliches minimum, in: polylog. zeitschrift für interkulturelles philosophieren 6, 2000, p. 6-16) in a final judgment i would say that asouzu’s book presents a new approach to african philosophy as a whole and gives valuable details about african philosophy of a certain region. he argues himself that this kind of regional differentiations of african philosophy are useful and necessary. (121-22 a.m.o.) this is in line with his general claim for differentiation and multidimensionality. (450 a.m.o.) without reducing the renewing value of asouzu’s approach to african philosophy in general, we can add his conception to those of other regional african philosophies. besides the knowledge we have about thought systems of african peoples in the literature of cultural anthropologists, we know about luba and other bantu philosophies by the works of tempels and kagame, about fulani and toucouleurs philosophies by tierno bokar and hampaté bâ, about dogon philosophy by ogotemmeli, about luo, lyhsia and other kenyan philosophies by odera oruka, about akan and ga philosophies by abraham, wiredu, gyekye and kudadjie, about gikuyu philosophy by wanjohi, about yoruba philosophy by hallen/sodipo, oluwole and gbadegesin. and fortunately now we know more about igbo-philosophy by asouzu. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 5 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 45 the instrumentality of african shrines and sacred places to sustainable development in africa: a phenomenological approach elizabeth onyedinma ezenweke (ph.d) department of religion & human relations nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra, nigeria phone: +2348034539558 email: bertoivy@yahoo.com & chikaodili nwachukwu department of religion & human relations, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka abstract in many parts of africa, nigeria in particular, the role of shrines and sacred places for conflict resolution, social control and moral development remains evident. however, the fast encroaching urbanization and globalization with their accompanying detribalization of cultural systems have, to a large extent, been observed to have disintegrated african social life. consequently, religious values and sanctions of tribal life seem to have being fast giving way and this has hitherto, poses a serious enigma to the once enjoyed sustainable development in african. thus, the desacralizing of african shrines has conversely enhanced the rate of corrupt practices at all levels in many african societies. irrespective of the foregoing orthodoxy, the present study retracts the instrumentality of african shrines and sacred places for development in nigeria and further argues that globalization has endangered its vitality which has in turn increased the rate of corruption in many african nations. keywords: shrines, sacred places, sustainable development and phenomenology introduction there is no doubt that africa and africans are still suffering from the effects of errors done to her by the early missionaries and investigators that came to africa. without sufficient knowledge of the philosophies of african life and belief, these missionaries passed a judgement on them as a people who had no knowledge of god and who cannot comprehend anything good or meaningful. thus, described them and their religion with derogatory and misleading terms such as; primitive, savage, fetishism, juju, heathenism, paganism, animism, idolatry, and polytheism. this is evident in the fact that before the foreign investigators could begin their investigation of what the religious beliefs of the africans looked like, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 46 there were theorists who have never been to africa but who regarded it as the “dark continent” where people had no idea of god and where the devil in all his abysmal, grotesque and forbidden features, armed to the teeth and with horns complete, held sway. again was the dialogue that took place between edwin smith, who had gone out as a missionary to africa, and emil ludwig, an eminent biographer. when ludwig got to know that edwin smith was in africa as a missionary, he was surprised; and in his surprise he asked, “how can the untutored africans comprehend god? god is a philosophical concept which savages are incapable of framing (parrinder in ezenweke, 2013; ezenweke, 2010 ). this misconception and the treatment accruing from it caused a seemingly permanent damage on african psyche. succinctly put, the erosion of africans pride as seen by the sense of inferiority in almost all that concern african life and belief has not been cured. africans, who they are, what they have and do are still misunderstood and misrepresented. this misconception, affects the various spheres of african life, among which is, the african shrines and sacred places. in africa, the place of shrines and sacred places cannot be overemphasized. there is no doubt that africans are notoriously religious and that religion colours all aspect of their lives (mbiti, 1970). the socio-religious values of shrines and sacred places are amongst the make ups of the historical identity of the african people. africans believe in the existence of deities, spirits and ancestors whose abodes are shrines and sacred places. africans also believe that the aspects or properties of the supreme being can rest on natural objects and places for the wellbeing of man. shrines and other sacred places are therefore, treated with fear, awe and respect. however, shrines and sacred places serve many purposes that aid sustainable development. they are the trusted avenues for conflict resolution, social control, cultural education and moral development, thus, they are instrumental to sustainable development. however, all these started dwindling with the advent of christianity, western civilization and globalization. many people now see shrines and sacred places as homes of demons, evil dwelling and archaic and those who still practice the traditional religion as pagans and heathens. because of these new perceptions about shrines and sacred places by the christians, most shrines and sacred places were destroyed and used for the erection of schools and hospitals to mention but a few. and the other ones left are neglected and abandoned. the observed situation seems to be part of the factors for the increasing rate of corruption in nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 47 though much has been written on religious shrines and sacred places, yet, there is a seemingly insufficient document on the instrumentality of african shrines and sacred places to conflict resolution, social control, cultural education and moral development which in turn, curbs corrupt practices and aids sustainable development in this era. this has hitherto, created gap in literature and so, the need for the present study. this paper is therefore an attempt to revisit the veritable roles of shrines and sacred places for sustainable development in nigeria, igboland in particular. the methodology employed for the investigation is historical method. shrines and sacred places are important aspects of african traditional religion. africans belief in myriad of deities and their abodes are shrines. the study is therefore, a qualitative one, using both primary and secondly sources of data. the population of the study is nigeria while igboland is the sample. it was selected through purposefully random sample technique. this was deemed most appropriate as igboland is a microcosm of africa and so, a true representation of african nation. the remaining part of this paper will be discussed under the following sub-headings; i. shrines and sacred places: conceptual clarification. ii. features of a objects in a shrine iii. the developmental features of some specific shrines and sacred places. iv. impacts of globalization on shrines and sacred places and effects on development v. conclusion shrines and sacred places: conceptual clarification. arinze (1970) defined shrines as the abode of spirits. ojiekwe (2014) defined shrines as places of consultation with esteemed extra-human forces to answer unanswerable questions in order to allay fear and provide a way out to resolve problems. shrines therefore, remain one of the important sacred places which are significant in promoting social and religious activities in various communities. they serve many purposes for traditional africans, specifically, for religious worship. iroegbu (2009) referred to a shrine as a sacred place, it inspires awe and elicit reverence because of what they stand for. a shrine is a holy or sacred place which is dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint or similar figure. shrines often contain idols, relics or other such objects associated with the figure being venerated. shrines are found in many of the world’s religions, including christianity, islam and hinduism. shrines can be found in various igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 48 settings such as churches, temples, cemeteries or at homes. bruce (2011), identified different types of shrines allocated within buildings and in the temples designed specifically for worship. a shrine is usually the centre of attraction in the building or place and it is given a place of prominence. household shrines can be found in homes. small household shrines are very common among the igbo where they keep their chi. this shrine is usually a small structure or a setup of pictures and figures dedicated to a deity that is part of the official religion, to ancestors or to localized household deity. there are also yard shrines; shrines that are found in people’s compound. religious shrines are found in most religions. according to nwankwo and agboeze (2016), shrine, from the secular point of view, can be categorized into typologies according to their ownership and functions. this includes family shrines, community shrines, religious shrine, individual shrines, village shrines, state or national shrines, festival shrines, etc. sacred places on the other hand, are found in different cultures all over the world. such places are frequently marked or embellished in architectural structures and art. the sacredness of a place is linked in some way to natural objects and features such as trees, stones, water, mountains, caves and forms in the landscape. these natural objects and forms lie at the root of the forms and shapes employed to mark or embellish a sacred site. these same sacred forms and shapes derived from natural objects and features become symbolic or emblematic of the sacred or divine. sacred places are not only the abode of the divine but also serve as a means to entice the divine to continue to reside at a given place or to take up residence at a new site. sacred places are often rich in aesthetic experience. sacred places are important places for religious groups. in judaism, mount sinai is a sacred place because of what moses encountered with god in the place. places are referred to as sacred places because of remarkable events that took place in the place or because of its formation or because it is an abode of the gods. sacred places can be mountains or groves, forests, trees, stones, rivers, streams or lakes. for all these to be taken as sacred, they must be some specific indicator outside what is normal or unique to that natural place or object. for example, the arranging of massive stones into a building or the movement of a stream of water in a particular order outside what is normal. for example, the zuma rock in abuja and the hot and cold stream in enugu state. the sacred places according to foley (2010), are considered to be beneficial to healing and well-being. sacred places rekindle reverence for land and cultural diversity and connect nature and culture. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 49 every civilization has its share of sacred places, that is, geographical locations buildings, monuments or environmental features, such as mountains, lakes, rocks, waterfalls and so on that are believed to be endowed with intense spiritual qualities. indeed, such places are frequently thought to possess a variety of supernatural power that can heal, rejuvenate, or otherwise affect the human beings who visit them often as devout pilgrims. they are also, sometimes thought to be the focal points of creation, the places where deities first manifested themselves or performed some fundamental actions, and are thus typically steeped in mythology and theological dogmas. traditionally, regardless of the varying topologies of shrines, they still serve unique functions and purposes in the traditional african society which include protection, provision, guidance, revelations, etc. these unique functions have attracted much audience and veneration to these shrines as found in the traditional african society. moreover, sacred places are forest fragments of varying sizes, which are communally protected, and have significant religious connotation for protecting the community. hunting and logging are usually strictly prohibited within these patches. (gadgil and vertak, 1975). such forests are left untouched with huge religious significance attached to their meaning and existence. most of the sacred groves have strict restrictions, hence it was noted that “traditionally, and in some cases even today, members of the community take turns to protect the place. this is aimed at ensuring maximum compliance to the restrictions guiding the shrine. in nigeria today, one of the notable sacred places is the osun-oshogbo sacred grove which is enlisted in the world’s heritage list by the unesco. other notable sacred places include ubinukpabi sacred grove that is associated with chukwu shrine at arochukwu, abia state, ohia-udowerre sacred grove at ndiowu and okija shrine at ihiala, anambra state, etc. majority of the sacred groves within the area of study, the eastern region in nigeria, have close attachment to shrine and in most cases, referred to as shrines hence they are inseparable from shrines. features of a objects in a shrine the developmental features of some specific shrines and sacred places. a shrine is a physical feature within sacred space depicting the abode of divinities. it originated from man’s religious quest of unseen powers controlling the universe. based on this impulse he marked out certain spots as more significant than others with regard to this religious inclination. the marked spots igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 50 were symbolized with natural objects like rock, trees, lake, streams, etc. in many cases, a structure is erected within or beside the natural objects. this structure or building is known as a shrine which houses the sacred emblems of the divinity and other objects of worship. however shrines and sacred places discussed in the pages of this work are mostly from the eastern part of nigeria in west africa. as earlier stated, shrines and sacred places play various roles ranging from; religious, recreational, economic and educational purposes in different parts of igbo land that are instrumental to development. there are so many of such shrines and sacred places in various parts of igbo land. we shall use a few of them to illustrate the main thrust of this paper. apart from ogbunike cave and awhum water fall, we may mention in passing where necessary, the widely known ones such as okija shrine at anambra state and the long juju of arochukwu at abia stste but will cite some of the seemingly hidden ones, as hereunder discussed. ogbunike cave the ogbunike cave is a major tourist site in eastern nigeria situated in a valley behind the ogba hills, anambra state. the cave consists of a network of sandstone chambers and tunnels, and is regarded as one of nigeria’s greatest geographical masterpiece. cocooned in a valley with tropical rain forest and buffered by 20 hectares of lush vegetation, the caves are occupied by colonies of bats while the surrounding rainforest is home to antelopes, deers, alligators, porcupines and snakes. the collection of caves has been in use over centuries by local people for whom it has particular spiritual significance. descending into the valley where the caves are located is a lengthy walkway made up of about 317 steps. the caves consist of 10 tunnels and a main chamber which snake their way underneath the hillside. the tunnels are filled with streams and small pools, and within the tunnels are big chambers as well as other tunnels of varying lengths, some of which are inter connected. a stream flows out from one of the tunnels into a rapid flowing river (river nkissa). at the meeting point of the river and the stream, one can feel the warm water from the caves and the cold river water. the “ime ogbe” celebration is undertaken every year to commemorate the discovery of the caves. local history records that ogbunike’s ancestors hid from raiding slave traders in the caves. there are so many other interesting tales told about the cave and the locals are always willing to share these stories. the site has sufficient boundaries to protect its values from direct effects of human encroachment. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 51 the ogbunike cave, though serves a great deal of tourist purpose but has other roles it performs. it is an agent of moral control. for instance, it dictates doers of all kinds of evil acts. when an offense is committed, all the suspects are made to enter the cave it is believed that the culprits are detected by severe marks on their bodies. it is a widely held belief that ogba does not harm a just person unubi cave unubi is a town in nnewi south local government area of anambra state. it has a cave called ogba. it serves the community as a court of appeal. once there is doubt on an actual culprit of an act, all the suspects would be informed that they will go to ogba as the last resort. in many cases, the actual culprit would confess otherwise, once he/she enters the ogba, the result will show, either by instant shouts of confessional lamentation which is followed by death , or, the culprit will be scratching his body. the gravity of the punishment depends on the offense committed. the ogba unubi is not for tourism but purely for court of justice and other religious purposes. awhum waterfall & cave awhum waterfall & cave is located at amaugwe village of awhum town in udi local government area of enugu state. the awhum waterfall and c cave is as a popular tourist site in enugu, nigeria. a result of a titanic outcrop of granite rock with water tumbling from the top to form a stream, the waterfall is beautiful at any time of the year. while a section of the waterfall is always warm through the season, the water is said to be therapeutic (have healing power) and capable of vanquishing evil or satanic forces if and wherever sprinkled. awhum waterfall is 30 metres high and is located close to awhum monastery. it takes about 45 minutes’ walk from the parking spot to the fall, but it is worth the trek. awhum is mainly for religious purposes in addition for tourism and recreation. it is a place for sober reflection and worship because of the belief in the presence of god in practical form there. it therefore, serves religious purposes as well. ofia nri ofia nri is a sacred place in ora eri town in anambra state. it is a sacred place which houses the palace and installation ground for eze nri both past and present. any action or decision taken at the shrine of ofia nri is taken as authentic and binding. it contributes to nation building because, it saves the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 52 inhabitants the negative consequences of kingship and other political hustles witnessed in many part of nigeria today. agadi-nwanyi shrine the shrine of agadi-nwanyi in ikenga ogidi, idemili north local government area anambra state performs various functions that help in the development of the town. it maintains justice in the land and the priest directs people on sacrificial rites and requirement appropriate for each occasion. because the shrine is owned by a warrior goddess, it protects the people from external attack and always grants them victory at wars, on the condition that they will not take any property from any village they fought. just like in the biblical narrative of how god instructed the people of isrealites to destroy jericho and not to take anything away from it. it is at the shrine of agadi nwanyi that priests, diviners, herbalists are determined and her decision is final. people trust any decision taken at the shrine and it is binding on everyone. refusal to comply with the directions of the agadi-nwanyi either to take up an office or a profession attracts punishments like instant death or struck with a serious ailment till such a person complies. this hitherto, sustains development as majority of the people comply to the governing laws. the odo shrine odo shrine is located in nsukka local governemnt area of enugu state. the odo shrine is a very powerful shrine and largest in nuskka land. it is situated in the big forest in nsukka and people are forbidden to enter the forest except on special occasions. the forest where the odo shrine is located is regarded as a sacred forest. in nsukka, anybody alleged of committing adultery or fornication is taken to odo shrine for oath taking, and if such a person is guilty, odo will destroyed the members of the household. anybody who gives false witness against anyone is equally destroyed. the odo shrine therefore, helps to restore peace and tranquillity among the adherents and contributes to social cohesion within the area. iyi nta okoko the shrine of iyi-nta okoko is attached to a powerful deity worshipped and reverenced by the people of item, in the northern part of abia state, nigeria. it is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 53 in form of a small river and it has a priest. the chief priest and other servants who are the custodian of the shrine administer oath-taking and covenant aggreement for settlement of disputes. it therefore, protects the lives of those who believe in him. the shrine of iyi nta also heals all manner of diseases or sickness. in such situation, the chief priest administers the water from the river (during rainy season) or the sand from the shrine (during dry season) to the sick person, after some offerings or sacrifices, such a person gets healed. it also gives children to those that are seeking for the fruit of the womb and solves other various problems for them. from the above, we can see the instrumentality of the traditional shrines for development. one thing is clear, that the adherents trust and believe in the power of these shrines to perform these roles. for instance, many culprits have been reported to confess the act at the point of getting to the shrine. this belief in these shrines however, helps some people to refrain from deviant behaviours and evil acts thereby, aiding moral development. again, the belief in these shrines as the abodes of the gods instil fear on the adherents and this further makes them to comply to rules and regulations. for instance, the people of anaku in aghamelum lga of anambra state as in many other shrines mentioned earlier, believe that the ekwensu shrine is the most just court of appeal to settle disputes, recover debt and take political decisions. this helps to curb the social disorder in many parts of igbo land. the belief in the power of shrines also helps in the area of medicare. for instance too, the uchu shrine in umuchu, aguata lga of anambra state is known for her healing power. the water from the shrine heals all kinds of ailments especially the issue of infertility in men and women. this is also same as iyi nta as mentioned above and of numerous other deities. more so, traditional shrines serve as locations for traditional festivals which attract both adherents and visitors from all across the nation and beyond. participation in these events is not restricted to traditional adherents only as nonadherents also share in certain momentary occasions of ritual. the rituals are occasions in season when a community commemorates certain events which enhances their identity as an entity such include traditional festivals, coronation of rulers and elders, initiation rites, myths of migration and so on. these events illuminate the historical and mythological basis of such events and therefore, an occasion for cultural education which aids to cherish the heritage of a people. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 54 in addition, since many of these festivals attracts visitors to the shrine, it gives shrines a touristic attribute. as nolan and nolan (1992) rightly observed that religious festivals are the principal attractions for non-follower and the secular tourists. at present these activities invariably portrays the shrine a tourist centre where religion is the nucleus of the attraction. in view of this, awolalu (1979) stated that the osun shrine in osogbo is rapidly becoming a tourist centre. therefore, shrines are always considered as a source of recreation not only for the followers but also to visitors. as we can see, there are numerous shrines that perform different roles and each in one way or the other enhances compliance to virtues and high moral standing. this in turn, aid development. however, the belief in the power of some of these shrines seems to have dwindled in the modern era, yet, many are still waxing strong and still serving the needs of the people. it is worthy to note that for example, in the area of healing, it works for those that believe and seek healing from these shrines. even if it is psychological healing, one basic fact is that they feel the relief from their problems. impacts of globalization on shrines and sacred places. globalization as a concept refers to the ways in which developments in one region can rapidly come to have significant consequences for the security and wellbeing of communities in quite distant regions of the globe. interregional flows and networks of interaction within all realms of social activity from cultural to the criminal on different regional levels from global to local. giddens (2001) defines globalization as the intensification of social relations throughout the world, linking distant localities in such a way that local happenings are formed as a result of events that occur many miles away and vice versa. globalization can refer to those spatial-temporal processes of change, which constitutes the fundament of the transformation of human concerns in an organization, linking together and expanding human activity across regions and continent. thomas larsson, in his book” the race to the top: the real story of globalization”, says that globalization is the process of shrinking of the world, the shortening of distances, and the closeness of things. robertson (1992) refers to globalization as both the compression of the world and intensification of consciousness of the world as whole. in pursuit of the white man’s way of life. positively, we cannot be discussing of using shrines and sacred places as tourism and recreational centres, if not because of globalization, which breaks down barriers and connects people from igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 55 different regions and also brings the world into a global village. it makes happenings in one place known to all. thus, globalization has helped to spread the african stories as written by africans themselves. it has also led to the neglect and abandoning of the shrines in search of western method of doing things and this has hitherto, contributed to the rate of corruption in the recent time. for instance, the rate of corruption and deviant behaviours was seemingly lower in traditional societies than as it is now. this is because people in the traditional communities are much more afraid of the consequences of non compliance to laws and general opinion due to the sense of sacredness attached to those laws. because of urbanization and globalization, many people commit sin and break laws without apology. again, many traditional communities have a simple and cost free ways of settling disputes at their shrines. because these shrines are believed to be the abode of the gods, the concerned parties trust the judgement passed at the shrine. but today, many prefer to go to court of justice even when they are fighting unjust case, believing that money can buy judgement. this has led to waste of human and material resources which is detrimental to development. conclusion throughout africa, shrines and sacred places have always been a focal point in religious worship but with the advent of civilization and modernization they were relegated to the background. shrines and sacred places are amongst the heritage resources of a people and hence, contributory to the allround development of the people. evidence abound in that tribal societies comply to tribal laws because of the sense of sacredness attached to these laws and this helps them to live together in peace. however, urbanization and globalization in turns, help to desecrates and secularize these laws, thereby, leading to increase in the rate of deviant behaviours and corrupt practices. the paper calls for the retrieval of the elements of african heritage and values that have potentials for sustainable development. references arinze, f.n. (1970). sacrifice in ibo religion: ibadan: university of ibadan. awolalu, j. o. (1979). yoruba belief and sacrificial rite: harlow: longman. bruce, g. (2011). shrines and sovereign life, death and religion in rural azeibaijan. new york. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 56 ezenweke, e. o. (2010).occult and paranormal in pentecostal mission: implications for social cohesion in many igbo communities. unizik journal of arts and humanities. vol 2 (2). pp 20-39. ezenweke, elizabeth o. (2013). god in african traditional religion. in e. o. ezenweke (ed.). whose god is god: exploring the concept of god within religions. united kingdom: adonis & abbey. pp. 109 -132 foley, r. (2010). healing waters. hampshire: ashgate. gadgil, m.& vertak, v. ( 1975). sacred grooves if india: a plea for continued conservation. journal of bombay natural history society. 1,72,pp314-320. giddens, a. (2000). runaway world: how globalization is reshaping our lives.profile:london. iroegbu,p.e 2009,1gbo okija oracle and shrines,development and cultural justice. retrieved on february 20th 2017,from http//patrickiroegbu.yahoo.com2009/okija. mbiti, j.s. (1970). the concept of god in africa. london: s.p.c.k. nolan, m. l. & nolan, s. (1992). religious sites as tourism attractions in europe. annals of tourism research, 1,3, 68-78 nwankwo,e & agboeze, m .2014. community development approaches and preservation of heritage resources in igbo land. nsukka journal of the humanities.2,22,143-160. ojiekwe, e.c. (2014). oke kparakpara deity and its socio-religious influence on enugu agu adoi enugu state nigeria. enugu providence. robert. r 1992. social theory and global culture. sage, london. vanbinsbergen.( 1979). exporation in the history of territorial cults in zambia. in schoffeleer j.m.editor. guardians of the land. gweru:mambo press. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.1 no. 1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 104 the consecrated life: its place and role in the 21st century africa by lawrence n. okwuosa, sdv dept. of religion and cultural studies university of nigeria nsukka lawokwuosa@libero.it abstract this paper focuses on the place and role of the consecrated people in our time. it argues that for the consecrated life to meet up with the demands of the 21st century world, it must embrace the spirit of change ranging through the age without losing itself and essence to change itself. this spirit of change has the blessing of the council fathers who fathomed the need for renewal in the consecrated life. to improve in its engagement with the world, there is need to examine first the understanding and application of consecrated life purely from the evangelical counsel. how consecrated people live and apply these vows in the imitation of christ in the 21st century world is very important. the vows as we all know are the lowest common factors among all the consecrated persons. keywords: consecrated life, 21st century, africa introduction with the beginning of the 21st century, there was a great expectation of a new world order. the expectation was great and touched all spheres of human life. the church being in the world of human beings was not left out. in the church circle it was the clamour for new evangelization – a more effective commitment to her mission in the world. there was this belief that the world was drifting away from the good news and the news of salvation was not reaching the people effectively. cuing into this season of expectation, consecrated life, which is an integral part of the ecclesial reality, reinforced her slogan for renewal, which was initiated with the second vatican council. with the council, consecrated life undertook a journey of renewal which pope francis (2014:1) described as having both lights and shadows. in its lights is the return of the consecrated life to the origin, to the gospel, to the charism of the founders and to the healthy traditions that have come down to the present time. while in its shadows are the many sexual scandals, internal conflicts and decrease in religious vocations that have bedevilled consecrated life since then. this has become of great concern to both the consecrated people themselves and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 105 the society at large, in the sense, for example, that not every consecrated person is a gay or a potential paedophile. with these worries in our minds, we shall be looking at the place and role of the consecrated people in our time. this forms part of our religious duty to stand up and give meaning and reasons to our faith, especially in difficult times. this is what st. peter advocated when he wrote in 1peter 3:15, saying: “be ready always with an answer to everyone who asks a reason for the hope that is in you”. to do this effectively well, we shall discuss the meaning and purpose of consecrated life, the features of the 21st century and, in the light of these, look at the place and role of the consecrated life in the 21st century. at the end, we shall make some recommendations as the way forward for an authentic living and witnessing of the consecrated life in our today’s world. 1. consecrated life, what is it? the term “consecrate” in latin language is consecrare and it has its root in the word sacrum meaning holy, god-like or set apart for god. hence to be consecrated or to live a consecrated life is to be chosen by god exclusively for himself. as it is only god who makes holy, it is only god who consecrates people. the initiative belongs to him alone. it is only when god decides to incorporate one into his service or fold that the individual cooperates. according to betti (in eze (ed.) 2012:30) “consecration signals a profound change in the person and thus distinguishes the form of life to be lived. however, consecration does not bring about an ontological change in the individual, as happens in the one who receives the sacrament of baptism or confirmation or holy orders, with the resultant effects. it, instead, causes an ‘ethical’ change, which obliges the individual to a new title of fidelity to the common baptismal consecration. it is, therefore, not to be considered a ‘a second baptism’ because its effects are reversible and can be annulled and in fact, they can be nullified by the roman pontiff” the history of the catholic church is blessed with the lives of men and women who understood christ’s call ‘come follow me’ (mk 1:17) in a radical manner. it is this radicalism to answer christ’s call that moved the first recognized religious, anthony of egypt, like the first disciples, to abandon everything and move to the desert so as to be alone with god. because of this radical life style in living of the gospel’s values religious are seen as counter or contrast society (lohfink 1986). by this, we mean a prophetic people, who act as the spiritual check and balance of god’s new people. moloney (1980) sees them as a protest movement against a church that had conformed itself too much to society at large. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 106 the church in differentiating this form of life, the consecrated life, from all other forms of life in the church says that it is “a life to follow christ more freely and to imitate him more nearly by the practice of the evangelical counsels” (perfectate caritatis 1). invariably, consecrated life is essentially the embracing of the evangelical counsels (cf. ccc 914), which comprises of the three vows of chastity, poverty and obedience that men and women religious profess. the three vows are the distinguishing marks of the consecrated life. the vows represent the total renunciation of the world, of all human goods and comforts. consecrated people negate the three most important aspects of human life, that is, economy, social and political in order to be with christ. hence, the vows are the declaration of their choice for christ alone who is above all things as the joy and meaning of their life. they embrace and promote christ’s message of salvation and in their daily life share in his passion and resurrection by being in solidarity with the world. because the vows, like the consecrated people, are not ends in themselves, rather the point to another the presence of god’s kingdom in our midst. with their lives, consecrated acknowledge the presence of god’s kingdom in our midst in the person and message of jesus christ. they are the eschatological signs of the reign of god. in this way, we understand that the kingdom of god is not an abstract reality. like ulrich schaffer (in fuellenbach 1994:31-32) said, it is not tied to buildings of wood or stone, names or titles, times and plans, language and expressions, our abilities and inabilities, but tied only to the possibility of living in you and me as lord of life. by being embodiments of the kingdom of god in human life, consecrated people are called to play the following roles in the world: i. to provide productive models of christian faith: in this function, consecrated people are reminders of the intimate link between being a christian and following christ. against the backdrops and cultures which tend to differentiate the two, making the following of christ an abstract thing, consecrated persons according to j. b. metz (in fuellenbach 1994:134) have to provide productive models for the church and the world at all times and in every culture on how to follow christ. these models should illustrate how fellowship with christ is to be lived in the new social, economic, intellectual and cultural situation of today. following christ is not a theological discourse or the application of the church’s christology but a life to be lived and demonstrated in the concrete circumstances of our time. it is to act in christ’s stead – doing what he would have done if he was to be with us today. for example, the scripture told us that when he saw them like sheep without a shepherd he became one for igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 107 them; when he found out that they had nothing to eat, he multiplied bread for them; when they brought their sick and the possessed to him, he had pity on them and healed them, etc. so, consecrated people are to provide productive models of imitating christ in every age through the act of discernment empowered by the grace of the spirit of christ. this would imply “entering” the mind of christ, being one with him and abandoning totally to his will. and the result would be that through the lives and actions of consecrated people the world would come to know who christ really is, what vision of god he proclaimed, lived, worked and died for; what vision of the world, human society, the individual person and creation as a whole he presented (fuellenbach 1994:137). ii. to play corrective role: because of the tendency for the church to “fall asleep” instead of keeping watch and pray (mk 14:38) consecrated life is a gift from god to watch against this tendency. this role is prophetic in nature. like the biblical prophets, consecrated people are called to condemn the sins and indifference of the people to the teachings of christ and their holiness of life. in line with this, vita consecrata no. 84 teaches that consecrated people like prophets should feel in their hearts a burning desire for holiness of god and having heard his word in the dialogue of prayer, they should proclaim that word with their lives, with their lips and with their actions, becoming people who speak for god against evil and sin. in other words, consecrated people are the watch dogs of the church by being alive and alert to the signs of the time and confronting them with gospel’s values. iii. to witness to community living: by embracing the consecrated life, the chosen people make the person of jesus christ and his mission of salvation the centre of their life. and what this means in concrete terms is that they belong whole and entire to christ’s universal family. their charism and apostolate are translated to universal fraternity or family. in this family what matters is the sharing in god’s love and mercy, which was made manifest in christ’s death and resurrection. these events gave humanity a new life and a new joy. it beholds on consecrated people, then, to make this new live and joy they share with christ reach all corners of the earth. and the point of departure in this is by presenting religious life/communities as seats of god’s love, mercy, justice and peace (fuellenbach 1994:139). consecrated people should be able to invite and welcome the world to their world of faith, they should be able to proclaim and present the messiah to the world in the way they live out their joy of salvation with one heart and one soul (acts 4:32). definitely, like tertullian said, the world would igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 108 say of them: “see, they say, how they love one another” (apology, chapter xxxix). 2. the 21st century world in perspective for us to understand the consecrated life, its place and role today, it is inevitable a cursory look at the world we live in. that is, the circumstances in today's world which can exercise a positive or negative influence on the consecrated life and present a context where consecrated persons ought to live and bear witness to the gospel. the 21st century has been described as the golden age of human life. in this age, man has achieved and consolidated the achievements of the past ages in terms of science and technology. with what man has been able to achieve in the fields of medicine, architecture, information technology, space exploration and agriculture, it will not be an exaggeration to say that, in this age, impossibility is nothing. man has truly defined and demonstrated that he is at the centre of reality. what man does not think or do is inexistent. this age has been described variously as: i. the age of absolute liberalism and democratization. actually, this was prepared in the ages past but has come to acquired a horrifying status in the sense that it favours a society in which individuals are free to choose their goals and allegiances and they militate against the promotion of collectivist non-liberal goals (browning 2000:153-154). this has led to relativism of all kinds. whatever matters is an individualized rendition and interpretation of reality, which in most cases is against any claim to authority and universality either in values or in any camp of knowledge (uwalaka in njoku, f (ed.) 2001:45). ii. krishan kumar sees the 21st century as the end time age, that is, the age of living at the end. he said “we seem to feel ourselves suspended in a transitional state where the only certainty is the lack of certainty” (in browning 2000:57). iii. for jonathan sacks (2005), the famous jewish scholar, our age is the age of moral emptiness. by this, he means that the contemporary man has lost himself in the consumer culture and relegated religion to the private sector. with man, it is all about unlimited relativism and untoward pluralism which are decimating eternal truths. all these when put together translates to what is called progress in today’s parlance. this progress is not ideological concepts but translated into great technological and scientific progress. technological and scientific progress has igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 109 guaranteed easy communication around the world, even though, concerns about stress from the overuse of mobile phones, the internet and related technologies remains controversial. the world has become a global village. news spread like wild fire and information is easily accessed via the electronic media. notwithstanding the lopsided distribution of this material progress, generally there is improvement on healthcare, education, jobs, housing and alimentation worldwide. unfortunately, this progress has not resulted to a culture of universal family or brotherhood. notwithstanding the evident globalism, there is an alarming level of nationalism and racism in the world. the dichotomy between the rich and the poor still persists. the material gains of this century have not trickled down to all spheres of the society. instead, we have a situation, whereby the rich are getting richer and the poor poorer. we still witness the trampling of the dignity of the human person in various forms, the value of human rights, especially the right to life and freedom, respect of conscience and the right to objective truth and religion. violence of all kinds, especially those animated by religious fanaticism, is on the increase. terrorism and genocide still remain a problem in this century with the concern of the wars in darfur, syria, sudan and ukraine. al qaeda terrorists, boko haram insurgents and isis attackers have marred the relative peace that this century has witnessed. low estimates on the deaths in these wars and terror attacks are in millions with so many millions of people in displacement. there has been much outcry against the perpetrators with very weak international response. in this age, there is a subtle revolution going on in the family life. the coming out of gay people from their cocoon is today called gay pride. same-sex marriage has slowly become more accepted, and has become legal in some countries. in 2001 the netherlands became the first nation in the world to legalize it and since then many other nations have followed suit. countries, like african nations, that fought against it were threatened with economic sanctions. divorce, single parenting, teenage pregnancies and child trafficking are in the increase showing the near collapse of the traditional family system. with regards to religion, our age, according to arthur (2000:1), is the age of real revolution in the religious awareness of humanity. we are living in a moment of history in which the access to different religions has unprecedented depth and breadth. we live in an age of religious pluralism that wilfred cantwell smith (1962:11) had to say that the religious life of mankind from now on, if it is to be lived at all, will be lived in a context of religious pluralism. no longer are people igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 110 of other persuasions peripheral or distant, the idle curiosities of travellers’ tales. the more alert we are, and the more involved in life, the more we are finding that they are our neighbours, our colleagues, our competitors, our fellows. confucians and hindus, buddhists and muslims, are with us not only in the united nations, but down the street. increasingly, not only is our civilization’s destiny affected by their actions; but we drink coffee with them personally as well. unfortunately, this closeness of the religions to one another has not resulted in world peace. what we have in terms of religious pluralism is religious relativism where there is no certain truths and where individuals freely make their own cocktail of religion by choosing and picking different materials from different religions and putting them up together as a religious belief. 3. the role and place of consecrated life in the 21st century from what we have seen from the overwhelming and complex situation of our time, the contemporary man is lost in time, dispersed in the fragments of reality, alienated in a kind of relativism that includes ethics, cultural, social, politics and economics. man lives his identity and functional crisis by negating the supreme value of life. threatened in his human finiteness, the individual is at the search of sense and fulfilment, solidarity and communion in order not to be alone in solitude and conscious of his limits. he is in need of communicating the emptiness that he feels within himself, the fear of nothing, the sense of the end that is near, the tragedy of evil that torments him in the heart and mind, around himself and in the midst of people. the truth is that the contemporary man is insecure and lives in fear; he is stressed, confused and unsure of himself. he lives out the experience of truth only aesthetically and rhetorically. he experiences life from the point of continuous flux. since, for him everything changes and nothing is permanent, his understanding of love, affection becomes something transient, liquid, unstable and destined to change (scognamiglio 2006:42-43). the contemporary man avoids permanent commitments and exclusive bonds. this is what zygmunt bauman, a sociologist, called “liquid society”. how the consecrated people are able to handle this complex situation vis-à-vis the teaching of st. peter would go a long way in determining the true place and role of the consecrated life in today’s world. actually, this is not the first time in the history of the church consecrated people would be facing challenges in their mission in the world and in the church. like in the past, the issue bothers more on authenticity and application of the gospel values to the signs of the time. for this, we shall examine some of the core points of witnessing in the consecrated life. they are: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 111 • renewed witnessing of god in the world: basically, it is the duty of every christian to witness of the goodness of christ in the world, but the consecrated people are called to do so in style. having left homes, parents, careers and the world, in parenthesis, they are presumed free to dedicate their whole life to this service. hence, in a world at risk of obliterating every influence, image and memory of christ in the social circle, it is the duty of the consecrated persons to renew their witnessing of christ beginning with the way they live their lives. this is not to say that there is no witnessing going on, rather what is at stake are the quality and focus of such witnessing. it is not enough to witness to the world; consecrated people should be able to identify the “world” at risk today. the fundamental option for the poor if it must make sense today must be inclusive. it must include both the materially poor and the presumed materially rich, who may be suffering from psychological, moral and spiritual poverty like desperation, lack of identity and sense of life direction. all people, both the rich and the poor, need christ to enjoy holistic existence and to be saved. again, it is not enough to witness god’s love for humanity, it is necessary to buttress god’s plan for the entire humanity. what is god teaching us and the entire humanity in the midst of these confusions? what does the gospel say in situations like this? are there salvific lessons to learn from what is happening? how can we avoid a repeat? with authentic generous listening to the world and worthy response to these questions, consecrated people would invariably be educating the world on the new culture of love initiated by christ. they would be mapping out a new chapter based on the gospel of christ for the entire humanity. • formation of world conscience: the challenge for all citizens in a pluralist democracy is to form and inform their conscience, and to that conscience be true, including the discharge of any public trust and the formulation of laws and policies which enhance the prospects for freedom and human flourishing for all, regardless of their religious beliefs (frank brennan 2011). in this war of wining the human conscience, consecrated people should not be found wanting, if they are to have an authentic place and role in the world today. they should not feel comfortable with being the conscience of the society but, in turn, form the world’s collective conscience. as prophetic persons, they must guarantee the enforcement and sustainment of truth, justice and peace everywhere and at all times. they must find a way to make it clear that certain behaviours or attitudes are not only at variance with human ethical values but also against the gospel igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 112 values. they must not divorce morality from religion and vice versa. in their dealings with the world, there must be a definite understanding of the concepts of evil and good, right and wrong; no mid way should be tolerated for any reason at all. christ, himself, abhorred it. • promotion of authentic human culture: learning from the mistakes of the early missionaries who annihilated the people from their culture, by blackmailing cultures they did not understand, in the name of religion, consecrated persons should appreciate and promote human cultures. for example, in africa, many customs and rites, once considered to be strange, are seen today, in the light of ethnological science, as integral parts of social systems, worthy of study and commanding respect. african rich cultural values should be seen as the work of the holy spirit, who precedes all human efforts in missionary activities. hence, it beholds on consecrated people to recognize, accept, and even animate whatever honours the human person and his dignity. whatever does not look like the gospel should not be condemned at face level, developments in the sciences and technology, which are parts of human culture should be examined and possibly given new meanings and expressions in the light of the gospel. this happened in the medieval age when the presence of institutes of consecrated life had a great influence in the transmission and formation of culture. the monasteries, for example, were the places in which the cultural riches of the past were handed on and the new culture of christian humanism was developed. this has proven true whenever the light of the gospel has enlightened new nations and cultures. many consecrated persons have been the promoters of culture and often the defenders, researchers and scholars of indigenous cultures (working paper for the 1994 world synod of bishops, 107). consequently, it is not out of place for today’s consecrated people to get themselves involved in the promotion of culture and in the dialogue between culture and faith. this would go a long way in defining their relationship with the world as not one of antagonism. christianity is not at war with any culture and does not belong to any particular culture instead it christianizes the culture at her disposition. • facilitation of interreligious dialogue: the awareness of the pluralistic and cross-cultural nature of our contemporary world in terms of religions, politics, ideologies and philosophies calls for dialogue. today, we are more igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 113 conscious of the fact of diversity than ever before. and in order to make the best out of the situation and avoid unnecessary conflicts and wars, the different groups must engage in dialogue at different levels. we cannot do without dialogue today because that would amount to isolating ourselves and talking to ourselves alone without anybody else listening. since according to hans kung (1991:105) there can be no peace among the nations without peace among the religions. there can be no peace among the religions without dialogue between the religions; consecrated people should facilitate interreligious dialogue. contrary to popular understanding, interreligious dialogue does not negate the christian faith; make relative all truths and affirm every religion as a valid means of salvation. authentic interreligious dialogue aims at the sharing of those truths that transcend and unite us all as children of the same father, god. a good point of departure in this is the recognition of man’s need for prayer. st. john paul ii affirms this by saying that the spirit of god is present in the prayer of every person who prays, christian and otherwise (gioia 1997:174-175). developing a kind of world ethic that would provide the world with the peace and justice it needs badly should be a collective duty among the religions. waging “holy war” against religious terrorism, environmental degradation and global warming should be a matter for all the religions of the world together. the fact remains that christ never avoided the religions of his time and this consecrated people have to appreciate and imitate. christ went to the synagogue, read from the jewish sacred text and because he understood it very well was able to affirm unequivocally that he is its fulfilment. for this, consecrated people cannot but get involved in this unique contemporary mission of dialogue with other religions. even st. paul did the same thing at his time. in his famous areopagus speech of the unknown god, he engaged the religions of his time with the gospel truth. 4. the way forward for the consecrated life to meet up with the demands of the 21st century world, it must embrace the spirit of change ranging through the age without losing itself and essence to change itself. this spirit of change has the blessing of the council fathers who fathomed the need for renewal in the consecrated life. to improve in its engagement with the world, there is need to examine first the understanding and application of consecrated life purely from the evangelical counsel. how consecrated people live and apply these vows in the imitation of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 114 christ in the 21st century world is very important. the vows as we all know are the lowest common factors among all the consecrated persons. coming to the vow of poverty, john hardon opines that not a few are saying that actual poverty in following christ is no longer feasible, if it was ever defensible, in the religious life. whatever else it is, poverty does not mean, for some religious today, deprivation. it is said to be essentially a subjective disposition which ranges all the way from “being concerned for the poor”, emphasize on personal self denial and not group acquisitiveness, to “being open to the spirit” in the changing circumstances of the times. these new concepts of poverty have led religious institutes to write into their updated juridical structures such provisions as demands for salaries corresponding to lay persons engaged in the same work, dress and apparel that has discarded the religious and clerical garb in favour of secular clothes with accumulating wardrobes. unfortunately, in our world today, the only vow of poverty that would make sense to the people is a poverty that changes the fate of the poor around. it is a self-emptying poverty for the sake of the other, which is for the sake of the kingdom as christ said, “when i was hungry you gave me to eat” (mt 25:35). no matter how this is conceived or formulated the poor or society at large wants to benefit from the vow. they do not understand and it makes no sense that consecrated people vow poverty but they live in visible affluence. no explanation to this would convince the critical mind of the 21st century person, who wants to see the poor religious truly poor. in the spirit of change, unfortunately, alien ideas have been introduced in the interpretation and living of the vow of chastity. complete chaste life in the following of the chaste christ is considered either psychologically harmful or sociologically unproductive and emotionally unhealthy. reports in the public press about the marriages of “priests and nuns” are simply the end result of sometimes years-long liaisons that are no longer considered sinful for religious. since nothing is hidden from the wary eyes of the 21st century world, they have come to doubt that consecrated hearts are truly on fire with passion for christ and the lost ones of the kingdom. the talk about the heavenly wedding with the lamb and consecrated persons representing this wedding and reproducing spiritually for the kingdom of god makes no sense any more. in africa, for example, virginity, chaste life and total dedication to one’s spouse are priceless virtues. in moving forward today, consecrated people must honestly answer igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 115 pope francis’ question in clear terms. he asked: “is jesus really our first and only love, as we promised he would be when we professed our vows? (2014:1). only if jesus is, will we be empowered to love, in truth and mercy, every person who crosses our path. only when the world sees this to be true of us would they entrust their hearts to us to be saved. against the backdrop that the vow of obedience is all about group conformism, maintenance of law and order and respect for instituted authority, which has succeeded in making some adult religious perpetual infants, the vow should be seen as guiding every religious towards channelling his or her talent, ambition and resources towards the promotion of communal charism. by living out this vow, consecrated people reveal their identity as truly charismatic people; people empowered by the authority of the holy spirit, dotted with his gifts and sent to the world since no one sends himself or herself. but what happens, when decorated religious cannot act under this influence or is seen to be afraid of the world in their operations? for our critical world, these are signs of incompetence and inauthentic life. and since a bad sales person sells nothing, uncharismatic consecrated persons do not make impressions. all these orientations would involve change in religious formation, apostolate and community life. the formation of consecrated people in seclusion should be discarded. they should be formed in an attitude of openness and fraternal dialogue and possibly not outside the people and culture of their possible ministration. in this kind of formation, spiritual direction must be complemented with psychological examinations and therapies to determine the suitability of candidates for the life. it is presumed that formation should be holistic thus necessitating the collaboration of all within and outside of the community. formation of consecrated people should not be left in the hands of the intellectual few who may not be dotted with other human qualities for such a delicate task. for fraternal love and joy to exist in the communities and, thus, empower the consecrated to give their best in the world, religious community should really be homes/families to them in facts and in deeds. the injustices of condemning a consecrated person to find a “paying job”, subjected to countless pressures to conformity, or having to look for financial security from blood relatives, or watching less qualified persons preferred because they are willing to compromise must be abhorred. success belongs to god and must not be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 116 measured in material terms alone. since what goes on in the communities have become public the impression all these make in the public arena is that consecrated people do not really believe, especially in divine providence. to finish this paper without saying that consecrated life must employ traditional african values of respect for elders, sharing and solidarity in their everyday community life and dealing with the outside world would amount to real abstract thinking. though, consecrated people are loved and respected they should understand that it is all because of christ, who they represent and if they must be seen as such, they must reciprocate this love and affection by being their brothers’ keepers. they must not be found wanting in humility and respect for elders. christ, though the son of god had to obey mary even when his hour has not come by changing water into wine at the wedding at cana. consecrated people should learn to stoop down to conquer the world. if they want the world to under-stand them and be at their stand, they must learn to be under. having reached this far, we can re-echo what benedict xvi said that: “the consecrated life whatever difficulty it may face will not go into extinction. it is the grace of god for his church. hence, we should not join the ranks of the prophets of doom who proclaim the end or meaninglessness of the consecrated life in the church in our day; rather, we should clothe ourselves in jesus christ and put on the armour of light – as saint paul urged (cf. rom 13:11-14) – keeping awake and watchful”. conclusion all said and done, it is only a religious who has experienced truly the love of god that can be of immense help to the world today. since one cannot give what he or she does not have, it is necessary that religious people examine themselves thoroughly to determine if actually they are called and if actually they are living their life in accordance to the voice they heard. when this two do not complement each other it would really be difficult for an authentic witnessing to take place as this story illustrates: during the time of the desert monks, around 450 ad, a young monk went to an old and holy monk and asked him, “father, how is it that so many today leave the monastery? the old man answered him, “when a good hunting dog sees a rabbit, he will immediately run after it, howling and barking with excitement. this will, of course, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 117 attract other dogs, and they in turn will run and bark and howl like the one that saw the rabbit, although they have not actually seen it themselves. after a while the ones who did not really see the rabbit, but relied only on the barking and howling of the first dog, will get tired and give up the chase, because they are no longer interested. they drift off and go home. only the dog that really saw the rabbit will go on running and eventually catch up with it. that is the way with many who enter”, the old monk concluded. “only the one who has his or her eyes on christ and has seen him will and can survive. the others, who came only because the enthusiasm of others had drawn them will lose interest and leave”. references abbott, w. m (ed. 1966), the documents of vatican ii, new york: guild press & america press. arthur, c (2000), religious pluralism: a metaphorical approach aurora, colorado: the davies group. browning, g et al (eds. 2000). understanding contemporary society: theories of the present. london: sage publications. catholic church (1997), catechism of the catholic church: revised in accordance with the official latin text promulgated by pope john paul ii. vatican city: libreria editrice vaticana. fuellenbach, j (1994), proclaiming his kingdom, manila: logos publications, inc. gioia, f (ed. 1997), interreligious dialogue: the official teaching of the catholic church (1963-1995), boston: pauline books and media. hardon, j, the apostolate of religious witness, in http://www. the realpresence.org/archives/religious life/,accessed on 30-07-2015. john paul ii (1996), vita consecrata, post-synodal apostolic exhortation on the consecrated life and its mission in the church and in the world, rome: vatican press. lohfink, g. (1986), “religious orders: god’s therapy for the church”, in theology digest 33, pp. 203-212. metz j. b. (1978), followers of christ: religious life and the church, new york: paulist press. moloney, f. j (1980), disciples and prophet: a biblical model for the religious life, london: darton, longman and todd. njoku, f (ed.) 2001), philosophy, christianity and science in the third millennium. owerri: assumpta press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 118 pope francis (2014), apostolic letter to all consecrated life, rome: libreria editrice vaticana. sacks, j. (2005), the persistence of faith, london: continuum. scognamiglio, e (2006). il volto dell’uomo, torino: edizioni san paolo. smith, w. c. (1967), questions of religious truth, new york: scribner. tertullian, (trans. jeremy collier), the apology, london: the ancient & modern library of theological literature, vol. 31 microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.1 no. 1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 11 christian missionary enterprise and the background to nationalism in nigeria, 1870-1960 by kanayo nwadialor, ph.d department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe university, awka kl.nwadialor@unizik.edu.ng abstract hitherto it had been the fashion among scholars to assume that nigerian nationalism and modern political development did not begin vigorously until after 1914, and that religion has no contribution to series of protest movement that eventually earned political independence for nigeria. this paper was conceived on the conviction that the above assumption might be misleading and not based upon empirical data. the paper has shown certain evidence that proved a forceful nationalist awakening in nigeria before 1914 which began within the christian missionary circles; an awakening which was obviously constructive and purposeful and which prepared the ground for the better known post world war 1 nationalism in nigeria. for instance, it was the christian missionaries who started operating in the territories that later became modern nigeria since the 1840s that encouraged their converts on the idea of the creation of a modern state which would take its rightful place in the comity of nations. their activities helped to break down ethnic prejudices and to bring their converts in a loyalty transcending ethnic ties. from the second half of the 19th century, these christian converts featured prominently in the political, economic and social scenes of the nation. it stands to their credit that they contributed to the struggle which put nigeria on the road to self government. they did much to awaken the spirit of modern nationalism in the people of nigeria. they broke with the european missions and criticized most aspects of colonial administration, and they provided a virile leadership for the movement that led to the independence of nigeria through their western education. keywords: christian, missionary, enterprise, nationalism, nigeria. introduction the advent of christianity to nigeria was so closely linked with colonialism that a very dubious alliance developed between christianity and colonialism. while many nigerians swallowed the teaching of the new religion hook, line and sinker, later events, would prove that their unquestionable acceptance only postponed the day of reckoning, when nigerian educated christians would rise up to demand both cultural and historical redress and a redefinition of the christian theology. in this way, freedom from the shackles of colonialism became igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 12 identical with freedom from religious imperialism and vice versa because both had combined to upset the socio-economic and political balance of nigeria. it is not surprising then that under the auspices of independent african churches, nigerian educated elites came together in relentless struggle to ensure the political and ecclesiastical independence of nigeria. this is particularly so because the church was the only institution in which the educated nigerians could give free and unfettered expression to their own personality during the colonial era. the political possibilities of the church were already clearly understood by the elites in the middle 19th century and it was mainly because of its political usefulness that the educated nigerians zealously patronized christianity. the missionaries’ teaching of equality and brotherhood of all men before god, which had been implanted in them, produced in the long run its logical consequence. as falola and adediran (1983) aptly summarized: by teaching wards the art of reading and writing, by allowing them to have unrestricted access to the bible, nigerians began to interpret the bible in a way that encouraged an independent, nationalistic spirit…when europeans began to exercise control and exhibit an exclusive attitudes that could not be justified by the scriptures, they began to challenge the white missionaries. (p. 131). slowly many nigerians began to nurse seedling ambitions of political self expression and self-government as a corollary to the christian theory of equality. patriotic nigerians came to believe that by practicing christianity they were paving the way for the creation of the nigerian nation state. in their own understanding only when they were in full control of the church affairs and when christianity had leavened the society would complete independence follow. control of the church would be progressively followed by control of the state. hence ayandele (1970) noted that: “christianity was cause and nationalism effect, christianity was creator, the sustainer and premium mobile of a nation’s existence, the history of christendom illustrates this fact” (p. 94). it is for this same reason that james johnson, a pioneer nigerian missionary nationalist, remarked that christianity must therefore create a nigerian nation. for him the political salvation of nigerian was dependent on their religious and moral growth. for him, the association of an independent national church with an independent national life was an article of faith. it was his belief in the inseparableness of christianity and the realization of nigerian independent that informed his intense passion and apostolic dedication to the cause of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 13 christianization of nigeria. the thrust of this paper therefore, is to trace the relationship between the christian missionary activities and the development of sustainable nationalism in nigeria. the paper shall highlight the contributions of the early christian converts in nigeria to the awakening of the spirit of nationalism in nigeria, and thus show that when, in 1914 the british brought together the two halves of the country, they were only putting the finishing touches to the process already going on even before the 1914 amalgamation. missionary education and nationalism in nigeria from the very beginning education was a virtual monopoly of the christian missionary societies; coleman (1986) opined that to all intents and purposes the school is the church. right away in the bush or in the forest the two are one and the village teacher is also the village evangelist. an appreciation of this fact is cardinal in all consideration of african education. through their extensive evangelical activity and long monopoly in the field of education, christian missionaries played a critical role in the rise of nationalism in nigeria. without the missionary enterprise both the timing and nature of the awakening of racial and national consciousness would probably have been difficult. according to nwuzo, igboabuchi and ilorah (2010) “because the missions laid the foundation for modern education and literacy in nigeria, their education was responsible for producing the people who championed nationalism and eventually won independence for nigeria” (p.58). as the missions had a monopoly over education the christians in urban communities included most of the educated elements, who were later to become the leaders of protest movements and in the awakening of a political and transtribal national consciousness. to be effective, the leaders of such a movement ought to be able to speak the language of the conqueror and to understand their thought and actions. herein lays the fundamental contribution of the christian missions in the growth of nigerian nationalism. it was true that the intention of the missions was not to train people who would lead a revolt against foreign rule of which the majority of them were the great exponents, but once opportunity for education had been given, it was difficult to control the thought of the educated or to channel them along a predetermined course, more so, all instructions at higher levels of education in nigeria were in english. the nigerians who acquired a knowledge of english had access to vast new world of literature and ideas, and their contact with it awakened new igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 14 aspirations, quickened the urge toward emulation, and provided the notions and the medium for the expression of grievances. again, the english language served as a lingua franca for communication among the educated elements of all tribes, a bond of decisive importance in the development of pan-nigeria or nationalist movement. ajayi (1965) argued that the most important contribution of the missionaries in nigeria is the making of new elite. conversion to christianity, knowledge of and preference for english, imitation of european behaviour, and post-school employment in an urban milieu all helped to isolate the educated elites from their traditional environment. western education did not merely facilitate the emergence of a separate class; it endowed the individuals in that class with the knowledge and skills, the ambitions and aspirations, that enable them to challenge the nigerian colonial government and ultimately to wrest control over the central political power from it. the church and the state in colonial nigeria nigerian people in the colonial era were over burdened with many problems emanating from the ugly consequences of political instability, poor economic situation, social and religious upheavals. the numerous nigerians who were victims of injustice and other forms of oppression looked to the church for succour. in situations where the forces of the opposition and critics had been silenced and the people intimidated by the dictatorial regimes, the church used the gospel as the voice of the oppressed, the only effective pressure group that could rouse the conscience of the political leaders. until the 20th century there were no organized political movements to canalize the various grievances against the british colonial government and to spearhead opposition. the church therefore, became the only institution through which the educated nigerians could come together in an organized form to articulate their views and form a common front for the struggle for political emancipation. the christian message was then being addressed to change people and change situations. nebechukwu (1992) opined that, the church became involved directly in the fight against the causes of social and political oppression with the sole aim of effecting historical change of the situation. ndiokwere (1994) further submitted that the church developed a critical awareness of the causes of injustice and participated in actions to change the social, economic and political structures that caused human suffering in africa. this involved conscientizing the people to begin to listen to the demands for justice for the poor and oppressed in every concrete situation. baur (2005) further stressed, “religion and patriotism were intimately interwoven in the hearts of the nigerian christian nationalist, such as james igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 15 johnson, which was expressed by his motto “god and my country”. though he joined the anglican communion in which he was educated, the national church of nigeria he had known in his childhood remained the ideal of his whole lifetime. indeed james johnson from the beginning identified himself with the nationalist movement. but while all credit for the first stirring of nigeria nationalism may not be given to him, it is beyond doubt that his advent quickened the pulse of nationalist feelings. for the first time the educated nigerians in lagos had a fearless, confident, able and awe-inspiring spokesman who could stand up to the white men who he did not considered to be superior to the blackman. indeed james johnson was by no means alone in the belief and hope that christianity and nigerian nationalism were like cause and effect. his politicoreligious ideas were passionately shared by many educated nigerians that church was by far the most important institution in their lives and that is was through the church that they sought the achievement of their social and political aspirations. according to olusanya (1999): these men were mainly products of the mission schools and it was by educating them and later denying them equality with the whites that the christian missions helped to contribute their own quota to the emergence of nigerian nationalism. (p. 547). in the thinking of the educated nigerians, christianity was not just the pure milk of the gospel but was as well the most potent political instrument that could and should be employed in the creation of virile, independent nigerian nation state. in this regard, it is safe to conclude that christianity was being zealously patronized in the conviction that it is the chief instrument that should be employed to promote the advancement of a nation. the beginnings of christian nationalist movement in nigeria the assumption that nigeria nationalism and political development did not begin vigorously until after 1914 is unfounded. hence, nmah and nwadialor (2010) confirmed that: this observation, to say the least, is misleading and not based upon empirical data. evidence showed that there was a forceful nationalist awakening in nigeria before 1914; that it was constructive, purposeful, inspiring and fruitful and that it prepared the ground for the better known post world war 1 nationalism. (p. 128). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 16 by 1870 missionary enterprise had begun to produce inherent nationalism in nigeria. the educated elites, mainly ex-slaves from sierra-leone, had begun to identify themselves with the interest of their fatherland and to protest against specific acts of the british administration they deemed inimical to the interests of their fatherland. according to sawyer (1997): nationalism in africa began when it was discovered that the church in africa, and nigeria in particular, had come into being with pre-fabricated theology, liturgies and traditions, and now bears little, if any, real relation to the indigenous beliefs and practices of the people to which it was brought. so, on the one hand, the church has every right to claim that she is the pioneer, or even the author of nigerian nationalism. (p. 10). the educated elite began to present a united front, combining to found the first supra-tribal organization in nigeria with political aims. this was the “society for the promotion of religion and education in lagos”. according to ayandele (1970): without the prior knowledge of the european missionaries, all nigerian clerical agents and prominent laymen, totaling 108, met on 1 october 1873 to found this organization, which was expected to assume all responsibility for missionary and educational work in lagos. (p. 90). their aim, it was said, was to render the european missionaries redundant, so that the c.m.s might withdraw them. the european mentors they observed, had not been working in the interest of nigerian independence that nigerians were committed to achieve. the new society, for which a constitution was provided, it was said, was a thing ordained of god and the beginning of nigerian church missionary society. the society for the promotion of religion and education in lagos became the first organized collective act of rebellion by the educated elites – the product of christian mission – against the white man’s rule in nigeria. these individuals were also exponents and founders of the indigenous african churches which were the first concrete manifestations of cultural nationalism. this group of nigerians were led by men such as edward wilmot blyden, bishop james johnson, majola agbebi, john payne jackson, william bright davies, tejumade osholoke johnson, to mention only a few. these men were all products of mission schools but they were strongly opposed to the attempts of christian missions to denationalize africans and were never weary of advocating a conscious rejection of those aspects of western culture which seemed to them to be of no value to africans and calling on them to drink deep from the fountain of their heritage. some of them demonstrated their rejection of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 17 western culture in practical terms by dropping their english names and dresses. for examples, david vincent became majola agbebi and abandoned altogether the wearing of english dress even when in europe, rev. s.h. samuel became adeboye osholoke tejumade johnson. the new religious movements as an aspect of nationalism in nigeria the emergence of the new religious movements further widened the rift in social relationship of the white and black missionaries. nigerians saw in the institution a power agency and a training ground for self-government in the church affairs that would automatically qualify them for self government in the administration of nigeria. in various committees and boards the educated elites began to question the practice of european missionaries in reserving superior positions for members of their own race. in the words of falola and adediran (1983): the attitude of the european missionaries was succinctly expressed in 1927 by an english missionary who declared with impunity that god wants you all to be christians – some few of you to be priests, but he only chooses whiteman as bishops. (p. 131). this policy greatly embittered the nigerian converts and was intolerable to the new elites who continued to demand increasing responsibility in the affairs of the church. according to nwosu (1993) many of the people who led these resistance movements were evangelists and clergymen. as far back as 1891, edward wilmot blyden began to speak vehemently against the attempts of the european missionaries to destroy african culture. believing in the universality of christianity and thus its adaptation to the african culture, he called on lagosians to organize an independent african church. following this clarion call, the united native african church was formed in lagos in august 1891. by the close of the second decade of the 19th century instances of the rise of african christian groups were becoming more common. the emergence of the new religious movements signaled the beginnings of nigeria towards independence under the leadership of educated elite. by marking the beginning of displacement of white dominance from church affairs, it removed nigerian nationalism from the realm of ideology to that of a practical achievement. through councils, committees and native pastorates, the idea of independence gradually spread throughout nigeria. consequently, by the end of the century the prestige of the white missionaries had fallen sharply and the days of the all–powerful, paternalistic and patronizing missionaries were clearly over. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 18 the native pastorate was conceived as a mighty instrument to develop the principles which create and strengthen a nation. thus when nigerians began to show eagerness in the assumption of the financial responsibility of their churches, they wanted to control the affairs of the church with the hope that in future, control of the church would be followed by the control of the state. nationalist protest against europeanization of the nigerian christians and christianity in nigeria also took another dimension when those christians who could not muster courage enough to opt out of the mission churches for indigenous churches reacted in other ways. many christian nationalists dropped their european christian names, while others retained their surnames, but adopted nigeria first names. rev. james johnson, who later became a bishop did not change his own name but refused to baptize children with foreign names. and well into the post colonial periods the trend continued. sir francis ibiam, the first indigenous governor of eastern nigeria, became dr. akanu ibiam. today, the use of indigenous names in baptism appears to have become popular among the educated circles in nigeria. whatever explanations are offered for the rise of the new religious movements in nigeria, if nationalism is taken to describe any organization or group that explicitly asserts the rights, claims and aspirations of a given african society in opposition to europeans’ authority, whatever its institutional forms and objectives, then the rise of these separatist churches should certainly be regarded as an aspect of nationalism in colonial nigeria. conclusion nationalism anywhere in the world and under whatever manner or shape it operates, is the product of awareness that oppression and exploitation of the less privileged nations by the powerful ones are man-made, sinful, and therefore contradicts everything that justice and even the gospel message stands for. christian nationalists’ movement has made its impact felt in nigeria especially as different forms of oppression existed side by side with adherence to the christian faith. the missionary teaching of equality of all men challenged nigerian christians to question the common faith which they shared with their white oppressors. in this way nationalism became a way of thinking and acting by nigerian christians as they attempt to discover the political implications of the faith in a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 19 given situation. nigerian missionaries who believed that in the state nigerians were already ripe for a measure of self-government could hardly be expected to be silent about self-government in the church which, as has been emphasized, was generally believed should be the fore runner of political independence. their nationalist commitment shows clearly that they were not just nigerians wrapped up in spiritual contemplation and living far away from the madding crowd. they were not only in but of society, unlike st. augustine they did not regard human society as evil or secular, but they regarded the church as an agency for the realization of nigerian political emancipation. as odey (1996) stated “christianity is about a liberation movement among us earthlings. being the story of jesus of nazareth, who incarnated himself in man and his history, is intensely worldly, and not particularly religious” (p. 24). it is clear from this paper that there is substance in the saying that nigeria should be grateful for the priceless gift of such educated nigerian missionaries who fought doggedly to put nigeria on the path of political independence. for ardent nigerian christians who found the ecclesiastical imperialism of alien christian missions the obstacles to the evolution of independent african churches, the activities of the christian nationalists proved a worthy inspiration. to the frustrated members of the nigerian population, there was solace in james johnson’s conviction that the letter days of the negro race shall exceed the former. to the nationalist crusaders, and independent winners of present day nigeria, the nigerian indigenous missionaries gave a message. hence nmah and nwadialor (2010) concluded that such nationalists like nnamdi azikiwe, obafemi awolowo, ahmedu bello, anthony enahoro – to name a few – are architects rather than factors of independence, winners rather than beginners or originators. references ajayi, j.f.a. (1965). christian mission in nigeria 1841 – 1891: the making of new elite. london: longmans. ayandale, e.a. (1970). holy johnson: pioneer of nigerian nationalism 1836 – 1917. london: frank cass. baur, j. (2005). 2000 years of christianity in africa: an african church history. nairobi: pauline. coleman, j.c. (1986). nigeria background to nationalism. benin city: broburg & wistrom. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 20 falola, t. & adediran, b. (1983). islam & christianity in west africa. ile-ife: university of ife. ndiokwere, n. i. (1994). the nigerian church today and tomorrow. vol. 1: prospects and challenges. onitsha: effective key. nmah, p.e. & nwadialor, k.l. (2010). holy johnson’s patriotism: an ethical challenge to nigeria. african research review indexed: an international multidisciplinary journal 4, 17. 123 – 135. nnebechukwu, u.a (1994). liberation theology and the poor in nigeria. enugu: snaap. nwosu, l.u. (1993). the challenges of nationalism to christianity in nigeria 1900 – 1990. journal of religion and theology 1, 1, 61 – 74. nwuzo, a., igboabuchi, b. & ilorah, b.c. (2010). education in nigeria: a historical account. onitsha: lincel. odey, j.o. (1996). africa, the agony of a continent: can liberation theology offer any solution? enugu: snaap. olusanya, g.o. (1999). the nationalist movement in nigeria. in o. ikime (ed.). groundwork of nigerian history (pp. 545 – 569). ibadan: heinemann. sawyer, n. (1997). what is african theology. in j. parratt (ed.). a reader in african theology. (pp. 9-22.) london: spck. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.1 no. 3 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 32 the doctrine of the “two cities” in augustine kolawole chabi, o.s.a. institutum patristicum augustinianum, rome kolachabi@gmail.com abstract this paper sets out to modestly explore the augustinian doctrine of the “two cities”, considering first of all its origin in reference to some works of saint augustine, most especially his chef-d'oeuvre the city of god. then it elaborated on how these two cities coexist in history and the relevance of augustine’s vision to our society today. it basically dwelt on the works of augustine, providing the appropriate texts both in their english translations and in the latin versions following the available critical editions. this piece discovers that the relationship between these two cities is such that it is difficult to establish physical boundaries since the civitas terrana is the common ground where both live and thrive, one attaching itself to the earth and the other longing for the things of heaven. they are not materially distinguishable, but in the heart of their members the lord of all knows to whom they pay their allegiance. keywords: doctrine, city of god, city of man, augustine introduction in the inter-testament eschatological visions of the book of daniel79, the prophet moved by divine inspiration said these words to the people of israel: “of those who are sleeping in the land of dust, many will awaken, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting disgrace”80. this prophecy returned on the lips of our lord in his confrontation with the jew as follows: “do not be amazed at this, because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear this [of the son’s] voice and will come out, those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who 79 traditionally ascribed to daniel himself, modern scholarly consensus considers the book pseudonymous, the stories of the first half legendary in origin, and the visions of the second the product of anonymous authors in the maccabean period (2nd century bce), hence we consider it an intertestamental literature. a good study on this question is that of j. j.collins, "current issues in the study of daniel", in j. j. collins et al. (eds.) the book of daniel: composition and reception. brill, leida 2002, 2. 80 dn. 12:2 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 33 have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation”81. jesus brought some elucidation to daniel’s prophecy by adding the reason why there are two different types of resurrection awaiting human beings on that day: the deeds of each person determine his ultimate destiny. the words of jesus-christ together with the idea of saint augustine about “two loves that built two cities82” are our source of inspiration in framing the topic of this paper. the augustinian doctrine about these cities rests upon the basic idea that since lucifer fell from heaven, since cain built a city and named it for his son, there have been two cities; all humans in history must choose between them; and at the last judgment god will consign all his creatures to one everlasting city or the other83. this, saint augustine said in most explicit terms: “we distribute the human race into two kinds of men, one living according to man, the other living according to god. mystically, we call them two cities, or two societies of men: the one of which is predestined to reign eternally with god, the other to suffer eternal punishment with the devil84.” we set out in this paper to modestly explore the augustinian doctrine of the “two cities”, considering first of all its origin in reference to some works of saint augustine, most especially his chef-d'oeuvre the city of god. then we shall elaborate on how these two cities coexist in history and the relevance of augustine’s vision to our society today. we are basically dwelling on the works of augustine, providing the appropriate texts both in their english translations and in the latin versions following the available critical editions. 1. the genesis and formation of the doctrine of the “two cities”85 a research we previously undertook for a licentiate dissertation in patristic theology and sciences86 afforded us to discover that saint augustine, right from the period after his conversion to christianity, has nurtured and gradually 81 jn. 5: 28-29. 82 aug., de civitate dei, 14, 28 (ccl 48, 451): “fecerunt itaque civitates duas amores duo, terrenam scilicet amor sui usque ad contemptum dei, caelestem vero amor dei usque ad contemptum sui”. 83 j. dougherty, the sacred city and th\e city of god, in augustinian studies 10 (1979), 86. 84 aug., de civ. dei, 15, 1(ccl 48, 453): “in duo genera distribuimus [genus humanum], unum eorum, qui secundum hominem, alterum eorum, qui secundum deum vivunt; quas etiam mystice appellamus civitates duas, hoc est duas societates hominum, quarum est una quae praedestinata est in aeternum regnare cum deo, altera aeternum supplicium subire cum diabolo”. 85 certainly one of the best studies on this topic in modern times remains that of a. lauras – h. rondet, le thème des deux cités dans l’oeuvre de saint augustin, etudes augustiniennes, paris 1953, 99-160. 86 k. chabi, la personnalité corporative du christ dans l’exégèse de saint augustin : une lecture de l’enarratio in psalmum 61 et epistula 140, unpublished licentiate dissertation, institutum patristicum augustinianum, rome 2014. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 34 developed a consistent idea of about the existence of two groups of human beings in relation to god. these two groups live in two mystical cities which are not physically identifiable or materially separable. we shall first carry out an overview of the progressive formation of the doctrine by the bishop of hippo from his early works to his stunningly success masterpiece which is the city of god. 1.1. de vera religione and de catechizandis rudibus the first draft of the doctrine of the two cities in st augustine’s thought is found in de vera religione (on the true religion) which he wrote around 390 ad few years after his baptism and at eve of his priestly ordination. for him, humankind is divided into categories characterised as follows: on the one hand he crowd of the impious who bear the image of the earthly mankind, and the on the other, the people who are faithful to god. the new convert of thagaste wrote: similarly, the entire human race, whose life, like the life of an individual from adam to the end of the world, is so arranged by the laws of divine providence that it appears divided among two classes. in one of these is the multitude of the impious who bear the image of the earthly mankind from the beginning to the end of the world. in the other is the succession of the people devoted to the one god. but from adam to john the baptist they live the life of the earthly mankind under a certain form of righteousness. their history is called the old testament having the promise of a kind of earthly kingdom, which is nothing but the image of the new people and the new testament, with the promise of the kingdom of heaven. meantime the life of this people begins with the coming of the lord in humility and goes on till the day of judgment, when he will come in all clearness. after the judgment the “old man” will come to an end, and there will take place the change that betokens the angelic life. for we shall all be raised, but we shall not all be changed (1 cor. 15:51). the pious people will be raised as they transform the remnants of the “old humanity” that cling to them into the “new humanity”. the impious people, who have kept the “old humanity” from the beginning to the end, will be raised in order to be precipitated into the second death87. 87 aug., de vera religione, 27, 50 (csel 77. 6/5, 35-36) : “ sicut autem isti ambo nullo dubitante ita sunt, ut unum eorum, id est veterem atque terrenum, possit in hac tota vita unus homo agere, novum vero et caelestem nemo in hac vita possit nisi cum vetere; nam et ab ipso incipiat necesse est, et usque ad visibilem mortem cum illo, quamvis eo deficiente, se proficiente, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 35 in this text, there is no mention of the two cities, but we already recognise the fundamental idea of the city of god. augustine clearly posits the two destinies of human beings: a resurrection either to happiness or to frustration and disgrace, to newness of life or to second and eternal death. about ten or twelve years later, in de catechizandis rudibus (instructing beginners in faith88), the bishop of hippo brought some precisions to his thought about the two cities. the book was written as an answer to the carthagian deacon deogratias who asked the bishop of hippo to come to his assistance regarding how best to carry out catechism to those who are not instructed. augustine was then fighting the donatists’ schismatic movement. in this book, the holy bishop insists repetedly on the opposition between the good and the wicked, the wheat and the tares, the grain and the chaff. precisely while elaborating on the histrory of salvation : creation, sin, incarnation and redemption, augustine described the sinful race as follows: neither ought we to be moved by the consideration that many consent unto the devil, and few follow god; for the grain, too, in comparison with the chaff, has greatly the defect in number. but even as the husbandman knows what to do with the mighty heap of chaff, so the multitude of sinners is nothing to god, who knows what to do with them, so as not to let the administration of his kingdom be disordered and dishonored in any part. nor is the devil to be supposed to have proved victorious for the mere reason of his drawing away with him more than the few by whom he may be overcome89. perduret: sic proportione universum genus humanum, cuius tamquam unius hominis vita est ab adam usque ad finem huius saeculi, ita sub divinae providentiae legibus administratur, ut in duo genera distributum appareat. quorum in uno est turba impiorum, terreni hominis imaginem ab initio saeculi usque ad finem gerentium. in altero, series populi uni deo dediti, sed ab adam usque ad ioannem baptistam terreni hominis vitam gerens servili quadam iustitia: cuius historia vetus testamentum vocatur, quasi terrenum pollicens regnum; quae tota nihil aliud est quam imago novi populi, et novi testamenti pollicentis regnum caelorum. cuius populi vita interim temporalis incipit a domini adventu in humilitate, usque ad diem iudicii, quando in claritate venturus est. post quod iudicium, vetere homine exstincto, erit illa mutatio quae angelicam vitam pollicetur: omnes enim resurgemus, sed non omnes immutabimur. resurget ergo pius populus, ut veteris hominis sui reliquias transformet in novum. resurget autem impius populus, qui ab initio ad finem veterem hominem gessit, ut in secundam mortem praecipitetur ”. 88 this is the title given to one of the most recent english translation of this work by raymond canning in the augustinian series, vol. 5, published by new city press, hyde park – new york, 2006. 89 aug., de catechizandis rudibus 19, 31 (ccl 46, 155-156) : “neque hoc nos movere debet, quia multi diabolo consentiunt, et pauci deum sequuntur: quia et frumentum in comparatione palearum valde pauciorem habet numerum. sed sicut novit agricola quid faciat de ingenti acervo paleae, sic nihil est deo multitudo peccatorum, qui novit quid de illis agat, ut administratio regni eius ex nulla parte turbetur atque turpetur. nec ideo putandus est vicisse diabolus, quia secum plures, cum quibus a paucis vinceretur, adtraxit ”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 36 and about the two cities he writes: “in this way there are two cities— one of the ungodly, and another of the holy— which are carried down from the beginning of the human race even to the end of the world, which are at present commingled in respect of bodies, but separated in respect of wills, and which, moreover, are destined to be separated also in respect of bodily presence in the day of judgment90”. so the separation will be possible at the end. this is obviously against the position of the donatists who thought they formed the church of the pure, the assembly of saints and progenies of the martyrs. such a position openly goes against the words of jesus-christ who said in the parable that the weed should be left to grow along with the wheat91. subsequently in his reflexion, augustine states the discrimination among the members of each of these mystical cities: for all men who love pride and temporal power with vain elation and pomp of arrogance, and all spirits who set their affections on such things and seek their own glory in the subjection of humans, are bound fast together in one association; nay, even although they frequently fight against each other on account of these things, they are nevertheless precipitated by the like weight of lust into the same abyss, and are united with each other by similarity of manners and merits. and, again, all humans and all spirits who humbly seek the glory of god and not their own, and who follow him in piety, belong to one fellowship. and, notwithstanding this, god is most merciful and patient with ungodly humanity, and offers them a place for penitence and amendment92. at this point, although the final formula of the doctrine is not yet expressed, the fundamental opposition between the two cities is already sharply characterised. on the one hand stands pride, on the other humility. it is good to note the reference of the bishop to the goodness of god who always awaits the conversion of sinners, giving them the hope of salvation insofar as they amend their ways and turn to him. augustine retraces the story of noah, and then that 90 ibid., (ccl 46, 156) “duae itaque civitates, una iniquorum, altera sanctorum, ab initio generis humani usque in finem saeculi perducuntur, nunc permixtae corporibus, sed voluntatibus separatae, in die iudicii vero etiam corpore separandae”. 91 mt 13 : 30. 92 aug., de cat. rud. (ccl 46, 156) : “omnes enim homines amantes superbiam et temporalem dominationem cum vano typho et pompa arrogantiae, omnesque spiritus qui talia diligunt, et gloriam suam subiectione hominum quaerunt, simul una societate devincti sunt; et si saepe adversum se pro his rebus dimicant, pari tamen pondere cupiditatis in eamdem profunditatem praecipitantur, et sibi morum et meritorum similitudine coniunguntur. et rursus omnes homines et omnes spiritus humiliter dei gloriam quaerentes, non suam , et eum pietate sectantes, ad unam pertinent societatem. et tamen deus misericordissimus, et super impios homines patiens est, et praebet eis paenitentiae atque correctionis locum”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 37 of abraham. he recalls the sojourn of the israelites in egypt, their liberation, the foundation of the historical jerusalem, figure (image) of the church, and concludes: in this manner, then, through many varied signs of things to come, which it would be tedious to enumerate in complete detail, and which we now see in their fulfilment in the church, that people were brought to the land of promise, in which they were to reign in a temporal and carnal way in accordance with their own longings: which earthly kingdom, nevertheless, sustained the image of a spiritual kingdom. there jerusalem was founded, that most celebrated city of god, which, while in bondage, served as a sign of the free city, which is called the heavenly jerusalem which latter term is a hebrew word, and signifies by interpretation the ‘vision of peace’93. that jerusalem includes the faithful angels and the just human beings of all times, and has christ as its king, whose prophetic figure david was. christ is the verissimus rex, the truth that accomplishes the figure. but the history of the carnal jerusalem offers another important prefiguration of the history of the christ and the church. the babylonian captivity gives augustine the occasion to clearly express the opposition of the two cities. jerusalem is the holy city, babylon the city of the wicked. the meanings of their names alone suffice to render their evident opposition: visio pacis (for jerusalem), confusio (for babylone)94. in de catechizandis rubidus, therefore, we have seen fundamental texts on the basis of which we can confidently say that the theme of the two cities is very ancient in the thought of saint augustine. it is his own way of presenting the history of salvation. 1.2. contra faustum manichaeum and contra epistulam parmeniani in the year 400, saint augustine wrote a book titled contra faustum manichaeum, as a reply to a man called faustus. this fellow of manichaean extraction was 93 ibid., 20, 36 (ccl 46, 160) : “ per multa itaque et varia signa rerum futurarum quas longum est omnes commemorare, et eas nunc in ecclesia videmus impleri, perductus est ille populus ad terram promissionis, ubi temporaliter carnaliterque regnaret pro modo desiderii sui: quod tamen regnum terrenum regni spiritalis imaginem gessit. ibi ierusalem condita est famosissima civitas dei, serviens in signo liberae civitatis, quae caelestis ierusalem dicitur, quod verbum est hebraeum, et interpretatur visio pacis ”. 94 ibid., 21, 37 (ccl 46, 161) “post aliquot tamen generationes ostendit alium typum ad rem maxime pertinentem. nam captivata est illa civitas, et multa pars eius educta in babyloniam. sicut autem ierusalem significat civitatem societatemque sanctorum, sic babylonia significat civitatem societatemque iniquorum, quoniam dicitur interpretari confusio. de quibus duabus civitatibus, ab exordio generis humani usque in finem saeculi permixte temporum varietate currentibus et ultimo iudicio separandis, paulo ante iam diximus. ” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 38 undoubtedly the acutest, most determined and most unscrupulous opponent of orthodox christianity in the age of the bishop of hippo. the occasion of saint augustine’s great writing against him was the publication of faustus’ attack on the old testament scriptures, and on the new testament so far as it was at variance with manichaean error. faustus seems to have followed in the footsteps of adimantus, against whom augustine had written some years before, but to have gone considerably beyond adimantus in the recklessness of his statements. the incarnation of christ, involving his birth from a woman, is one of the main points of attack. he makes the variations in the genealogical records of the gospels a ground for rejecting the whole as spurious. he supposed the gospels, in their present form, to be not the works of the apostles, but rather of later judaizing falsifiers. the entire old testament system he treats with the utmost contempt, blaspheming the patriarchs, moses, the prophets, etc., on the ground of their private lives and their teachings. these are few of the aberrations found in faustus writing. in responding to him, augustine makes reference to the two cities. about the babylonian captivity he carries out an interpretation in the same way as in de catechizandis rudibus. and so while speaking of the seventy years predicted by the prophet jeremiah, he says: as regards the departure to babylon, where the spirit of god by the prophet jeremiah enjoins them to go, telling them to pray for the people in whose land they dwell as strangers, because in their peace they would find peace, and to build houses, and plant vineyards and gardens,--the figurative meaning is plain, when we consider that the true israelites, in whom is no guile, passed over in the ministry of the apostles with the ordinances of the gospel into the kingdom of the gentiles… accordingly the basilicas of christian congregations have been built by believers as abodes of peace… again, in the return from captivity after seventy years, according to jeremiah’s prophecy, and in the restoration of the temple, every believer in christ must see a figure of our return as the church of god from the exile of this world to the heavenly jerusalem, after the seven days of time have fulfilled their course. joshua the high priest, after the captivity, who rebuilt the temple, was a figure of jesus christ, the true high priest of our restoration95. 95 aug., contra faustum manichaeum, 12, 36 (pl 42, 272-273): “iam ipsa in babyloniam transmigratio, quo etiam spiritus dei per ieremiam prophetam iubet ut pergant, et orent pro eis ipsis in quorum regno peregrinantur, quod in illorum pace etiam pax esset istorum, et aedificarent domos, et novellarent vineas, et plantarent hortos, quis non agnoscat quid praefiguraverit, qui attenderit veros israelitas, in quibus dolus non est, per apostolicam dispensationem cum evangelico igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 39 later on, we find the theme again in contra epistulam parmeniani where in a controversy with his donatist opponent on a text from the old testament, augustine insiste on the two heads of the two cities. he brings to the fore the antagonism between the leaders (principes, rectores), and their various instruments96. augustine returns to this same theme in various sermons. rondet and lauras provided a list of expositions on the psalms in which he speaks about the two cities. they observed that from 411 ad on, the theme became more recurrent in the writings of augustine. for example the expositions on psalms 61, 64, 125, 136, 138, 147, 148 all include some aspects of his analysis on the two cities97. and an interesting element about all these texts is that they were all produced after the year 410 a date to which we shall soon return. 1.3. the development of the doctrine of the two cities the city of god the immediate occasion for the writing of the city of god was the sack of rome by alaric and his troops. on 24th august 410, the city of rome, seat of imperial power and living symbol of the ancient world, had fallen to gothic invaders. they occupied and pillaged the city for three days and left considerable destruction in the wake when they withdrew. the roman empire, which many had believed would endure forever, was gradually collapsing in confusion and ruin98. the outcome was both clear and inevitable: roman power in the west was at an end. in fact, the capital of the empire had been transfered to constantinople and almost a century earlier, the seat of imperial government in italy had long since been removed from rome to milan. in front of the confusion that period its psychological impact, the reason for the calamity remained to be discerned. in time, an explanation was put forward. rome, in becoming christian, at least in part, had forsaken its heritage, especially its religion, which had served it so well sacramento ad regnum gentium transmigrasse? … ex hoc quippe etiam illis credentibus constructa sunt domicilia pacis, basilicae christianarum congregationum, et novellatae vineae populi fidelium, et plantati hort... nam quod etiam post septuaginta annos, secundum eiusdem ieremiae prophetiam, reditur ex captivitate, et templum renovatur ; quis fidelis christi non intellegat, post evoluta tempora, quae septenarii dierum numeri repetitione transcurrunt, etiam nobis, id est ecclesiae dei, ad illam coelestem ierusalem ex huius saeculi peregrinatione redeundum? per quem, nisi per iesum christum, vere sacerdotem magnum, cuius figuram gerebat ille iesus sacerdos magnus illius temporis, quo templum aedificatum est post captivitatem? quem propheta zacharias vidit… quod etiam in psalmo dedicationis domus apertissime canitur… ” 96 cf. id., contra epist. parmeniani 2, 8-9 (ccl 43, 272-273) : . 97 lauras a.– rondet h., le thème des deux cités dans l’œuvre de saint augustin, etudes augudtiniennes 28, paris 1953, 109-137. 98 according to virgil’s aeneid, written late in the first century b.c., jupiter had set no spatial or temporal limits on the roman’s power and had given them “empire without end” (aeneid i, 278). with the rise of christian faith and its triumph thanks to the conversion of some roman emperors to christian faith, rome seems to have attained the culmination of its glory. but in the light of rome’s fall to the goths, it seemed that rome had suddenly and desastrously lost its invulnerability and that, against all expection, jupiter’s promise had failed. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 40 during the centuries of imperial ascendancy. not only had rome turned away from its gods, it had substituted the christian values of love and peace for the sturdier and more practical virtues of justice and civic discipline. this argument was all the more persuasive in view of the fact that the defeat of rome occurred during the reign of honorius, a christian emperor99. what more proof was needed to demonstrate that the christian religion was the chief cause of the downfall of rome? in the revisions of his works which he wrote at the eve of his fulfilled life, augustine enlightens us about the context in which he composed his apology for the christian religion. he wrote: “burning with zeal for the house of god, i began to write the books of the city of god against the blasphemies and errors of its enemies”100. and so, the city of god flowed from augustine’s pen as a response to the storm of blame against christians that followed. explaining his design in undertaking the work, augustine says in the preface of the city of god : the glorious city of god is my theme in this work, which you, my dearest son marcellinus, suggested, and which is due to you by my promise. i have undertaken its defence against those who prefer their own gods to the founder of this city—a city surpassingly glorious, whether we view it as it still lives by faith in this fleeting course of time, and sojourns as a stranger in the midst of the ungodly, or as it shall dwell in the fixed stability of its eternal seat, which it now with patience waits for, expecting until righteousness shall return unto judgment, and it obtains, by virtue of its excellence, final victory and perfect peace. a great work this, and an arduous; but god is my helper101. the book is divided in two parts. the first goes from book i to x and is the apologetic part of the work in which augustine refutes the vanities of the 99 g. j. lavere, the political realism of saint augustine, in augustinian studies 11 (1980), 135. 100 aug. retr. 2, 43. 1 (csel 36, 180-181) : « interea roma gothorum irruptione agentium sub rege alarico atque impetu magnae cladis eversa est. cuius eversionem deorum falsorum multorumque cultores, quos usitato nomine paganos vocamus, in christianam religionem referre conantes solito acerbius et amarius deum verum blasphemare coeperunt. unde ego exardescens zelo domus dei adversus eorum blasphemias vel errores libros de civitate dei scribere institui. quod opus per aliquot annos me tenuit, eo quod alia multa intercurrebant, quae differre non oporteret et me prius ad solvendum occupabant. hoc autem de civitate dei grande opus tandem viginti duobus libris est terminatum ». 101 id., de civ. dei i, praef. (ccl 47, 1 ) : “gloriosissimam civitatem dei sive in hoc temporum cursu, cum inter impios peregrinatur ex fide vivens, sive in illa stabilitate sedis aeternae, quam nunc exspectat per patientiam , quoadusque iustitia convertatur in iudicium, deinceps adeptura per excellentiam victoria ultima et pace perfecta, hoc opere instituto et mea ad te promissione debito defendere adversus eos, qui conditori eius deos suos praeferunt, fili carissime marcelline, suscepi, magnum opus et arduum, sed deus adiutor noster est”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 41 impious102. he points out that the gods worshipped by the romans had not saved them from similar setbacks in pre-christian times, nor had christian romans failed in their civic or military duties because of their christian commitment. furthermore, the invasion itself had been much less vicious precisely because the invaders were christian103. in this respect, rome had been the beneficiary and not the victim of christianity. ironically, the moral integrity of christians in the roman empire might well have extended the length of its days which had been seriously threatened for generations by moral corruption, a fact not lost on the roman moralists and some of her statesmen as well. if rome had ever achieved the status of a genuine state, a true commonwealth based upon common concerns and common justice, it had certainly lost this status long before christianity appeared within its precincts. logically, then, christianity could hardly be held responsible for something that had, in fact, transpired long before its time. technically, augustine is not dealing with two cities in this part of the work. however, at the end of book i, he mentions his intention to do so: “ … in truth, these two cities are entangled together in this world, and intermixed until the last judgment effects their separation. i now proceed to speak, as god shall help me, of the rise, progress, and end of these two cities; and what i write, i write for the glory of the city of god, that, being placed in comparison with the other, it may shine with a brighter lustre104”. the second part includes the books xi to xxii and treats explicitly the doctrine of the two cities. it however contains many digressions which reflect the various battle fields augustine was fighting on. one recognises the controversy with the pelagian julian of eclanum and question of the origin of the soul raised by vincentius victor105. right from the opening the second part, augustine clarifies the theme of the two cities: the city of god we speak of is the same to which testimony is borne by that scripture, which excels all the writings of all nations by its divine authority, and has brought under its influence all kinds of minds, and this not by a casual intellectual movement, but obviously by an express 102 cf. id., ep. 212 a, 1. 103 the goths who carried out the sack of rome were christians who professed the arian faith which in opposition with nicean orthodox faith of the roman catholic church. 104 aug., de civitate dei i, 35 (ccl 47, 34) : “perplexae quippe sunt istae duae civitates in hoc saeculo invicemque permixtae, donec ultimo iudicio dirimantur; de quarum exortu et procursu et debitis finibus quod dicendum arbitror, quantum divinitus adiuvabor, expediam propter gloriam civitatis dei, quae alienis a contrario comparatis clarius eminebit”. 105 lauras a.– rondet h., le thème des deux cités, 139. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 42 providential arrangement. for there it is written, “glorious things are spoken of you, o city of god”. and in another psalm we read, “great is the lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our god, in the mountain of his holiness, increasing the joy of the whole earth”. and, a little after, in the same psalm, “as we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the lord of hosts, in the city of our god. god has established it for ever”. and in another, “there is a river the streams whereof shall make glad the city of our god, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most high. god is in her midst, she shall not be moved”. from these and similar testimonies, all of which it were tedious to cite, we have learned that there is a city of god, and its founder has inspired us with a love which makes us covet its citizenship. to this founder of the holy city the citizens of the earthly city prefer their own gods, not knowing that he is the god of gods, not of false, i.e., of impious and proud gods, who, being deprived of his unchangeable and freely communicated light, and so reduced to a kind of poverty-stricken power, eagerly grasp at their own private privileges, and seek divine honours from their deluded subjects.106 after discussing at length on humanity, his/her nature and his/her origin, augustine consecrates books xiii and xiv to the temptation and sin of our first parents and brings the tour to end with the most well-known statement on the city of god: accordingly, two cities have been formed by two loves: the earthly by the love of self, even to the contempt of god; the heavenly by the love of god, even to the contempt of self. the former, in a word, glories in itself, the latter in the lord. for the one seeks glory from men; but the greatest glory of the other is god, the witness of conscience. the one lifts up its head in its own glory; the other says to its god, “you are my glory, and the lifter up of 106 aug., de civ. dei xi, 1 ( ccl 48, 321) : civitatem dei dicimus, cuius ea scriptura testis est, quae non fortuitis motibus animorum, sed plane summae dispositione providentiae super omnes omnium gentium litteras, omnia sibi genera ingeniorum humanorum divina excellens auctoritate subiecit. ibi quippe scriptum est: ‘gloriosa dicta sunt de te, civitas dei’ ; et in alio psalmo legitur: ‘magnus dominus et laudabilis nimis in civitate dei nostri, in monte sancto eius, dilatans exsultationes universae terrae’; et paulo post in eodem psalmo: ‘sicut audivimus, ita et vidimus, in civitate domini virtutum, in civitate dei nostri; deus fundavit eam in aeternum’; item in alio: ‘fluminis impetus laetificat civitatem dei, sanctificavit tabernaculum suum altissimus; deus in medio eius non commovebitur’. his atque huiusmodi testimoniis, quae omnia commemorare nimis longum est, didicimus esse quamdam civitatem dei, cuius cives esse concupivimus illo amore, quem nobis illius conditor inspiravit. huic conditori sanctae civitatis, cives terrenae civitatis deos suos praeferunt, ignorantes eum esse deum deorum, non deorum falsorum, hoc est impiorum et superborum, qui eius incommutabili omnibusque communi luce privati, et ob hoc ad quamdam egenam potestatem redacti, suas quodam modo privatas potentias consectantur, honoresque divinos a deceptis subditis quaerunt; sed deorum piorum atque sanctorum, qui potius se ipsos uni subdere quam multos sibi, potiusque deum colere quam pro deo coli delectantur. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 43 mine head”. in the one, the princes and the nations it subdues are ruled by the love of ruling; in the other, the princes and the subjects serve one another in love, the latter obeying, while the former take thought for all107. this text clearly expresses the doctrine of the two cities and appears as the culmination of long reflexions. it lays emphasis on the irreconcilable antagonism between love of god and love of self. we later find in augustine’s comment on 1 john a synthesis of the link that exists between love of god and love of neighbourgh. love of neighbourgh is inseparable from love of god of which it is the practical manifestation. egoism stands against the one and the other of these two loves. here ends the first section of the plan augustine announced at the end of book i of the city of god: the exposition on the origin of the two cities. we shall proceed to look at the coexistence of the two cities in history. 2. the development and coexistence of the two cities in history as we have previously observed, the doctrine of the two cities developed progressively in the works of saint augustine. just as we find the question of their origin in various works, so too do we find the idea of their development diffused in many works prior to the city of god. so we shall now examine some of these texts which include letters and predominantly expositions on the psalms. 2.1. the two cities and their evolution in some epistolary correspondences. in augustine’s letters, we find some elaborations on the two cities. a recent and interesting study that brought to the light some aspects of the arguments of bishop of hippo on how the two cities run their course in history is that of robert j. dodaro. in this work, he analysed the correspondence between augustine and macedonius, the then imperial vicar for africa who was a christian in charge of secular affairs108. in this position, macedonius was responsible for the administration of justice in the provinces of roman africa, with the exception of the proconsular africa. as a christian, he listened to the 107 aug., de civ. dei xiv, 28 (ccl 48, 415): “fecerunt itaque civitates duas amores duo, terrenam scilicet amor sui usque ad contemptum dei, caelestem vero amor dei usque ad contemptum sui. denique illa in se ipsa, haec in domino gloriatur. illa enim quaerit ab hominibus gloriam; huic autem deus conscientiae testis maxima est gloria. illa in gloria sua exaltat caput suum; haec dicit deo suo: gloria mea et exaltans caput meum. illi in principibus eius vel in eis quas subiugat nationibus dominandi libido dominatur; in hac serviunt invicem in caritate et praepositi consulendo et subditi obtemperando ”. 108 r. j. dodaro, augustine on the stateman and the two cities, in m. vessey (ed.), a companion to augustine, blackwell publishing, london 2012, 386-397. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 44 bishop of hippo who would ask favours from him on various occasions. their relationship was such that macedonius describes himself as augustine’s spiritual son and friend109. they, therefore, exchanged five letters (epp. 152-155) of which the last is of a great importance to us. r. j. dodaro points out how in this ep. 155, augustine provides the key to understanding how the two cities correlate in his thought in order to provide a christian political ideal110. the basic ideal put forward here will find enormous expansion in the some preachings where augustine refers to citizens of the city of god in position of authority in the civitas diaboli. in this same context, other noble roman political authorities in africa adressed their queries to the bishop of hippo and sought to understand what the christian religion was all about. this is the case of a certain volusianus111 the pagan pro-consul of africa, but a man of some imputed christian allegiance. he headed a social group of educated, sophisticated romans to whom, christianity appeared, as it appears to many today, as a religion out of joint with the natural assumptions of a whole culture. so volusianus sent augustine a series of questions about the incarnation and other christian teachings flattering him that he is the only one able to provide accurate answers to his questions: “you have heard, o man worthy of all honour, the confession of our ignorance; you perceive what is requested at your hands. your reputation is interested in our obtaining an answer to these questions. ignorance may, without harm to religion, be tolerated in other priests; but when we come to bishop augustine, whatever we find unknown to him is no part of the christian system. may the supreme god protect your venerable grace, my lord truly holy and justly revered!”112. in these corrispondences, augustine made reference to the two cities. another friend of augustine who asked many questions and pressed him to provide answers to the accusations of pagans on christianism was marcellinus a christian stateman and imperial commissioner in africa113. augustine replied with letters 137 and 138 in which we find some allusions to the two cities. in the latter he tried to refute the criticism of pagans regarding the 109 cf. ep. 154, 1 : 110 cf. r. j. dodaro, augustine on the stateman and the two cities, 388. 111 on his life and opinions, see a. chastagnol, le sénateur volusien et la conversion d'une famille de l'aristocratie romaine au basempire, in revue des études anciennes 58(1956) 240-53 (who suggests at 252-3 that paulinus of nola had also tried to convert him to christianity); p. brown, "aspects of the christianisation of the roman aristocracy, in journal of roman studies 51(1961) 1-11, esp. 7-8. 112 cf. ep. 135, 2 (csel 40, ) : “accepisti, vir totius gloriae capax, imperitiae confessionem; quid a partibus vestris desideretur agnoscis. interest famae tuae, ut quaesita noverimus. utcumque absque detrimento cultus divini in aliis sacerdotibus toleratur inscitia; at cum ad antistitem augustinum venitur, legi deest quidquid contigerit ignorari. incolumem venerationem tuam divinitas summa tueatur, domine vere sancte, ac merito venerabilis pater ”. 113 cf. aug., ep. 136. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 45 sad events in the city of rome, but willing to treat the issue in-depth, augustine promised marcellinus to write an ad hoc work, which is the city of god114. let’s turn to some sermons of the holy bishop and how he treats the question of the two cities in their actual evolution and correlation in the course of history. 2.2. the relation of the two cities in some enarrationes in psalmos in the immediate aftermath of the calamity at rome in 410, augustine started responding to the complaints, criticisms and attacks of pagans on christians. before he began writing the city of god in 413, he already had an arsenal of answer to the critics of christianity on which he could draw. we shall quickly examine some of his expositions of the psalms. augustine taking into consideration the parable of the weed and wheat sowed on the field returns once more to the idea that the members of the two cities are mixed together. however, we find that sometimes in his expositions on the psalms, he considers the presence of members of the city of god in the city of the devil as a captivity. let us examine how the holy bishop develops this idea. commenting on ps. 126 augustine clearly says that all the citizens of jerusalem who are on pilgrimage on earth are captives, but they will return to their fatherland at the end of the captivity. he makes reference to the babylonian captivity and relates it to the condition of the believers in christ in this world. he wrote: for they for whom innocent blood was given were redeemed, and, turned back from their captivity, they sing this psalm: “when the lord turned back the captivity of sion, we became as those that are comforted”. he meant by this to say, we became joyful. when? “when the lord turned back the captivity of sion”. what is sion? jerusalem, the same is also the eternal sion. how is sion eternal, how is sion captive? in angels eternal, in humans captive. for not all the citizens of that city are captives, but those who are away from thence, they are captives. mankind was a citizen of jerusalem, but sold under sin he became a pilgrim. of his progeny was born the human race, and the captivity of sion filled all lands. and how is this captivity of sion a shadow of that jerusalem? the shadow of that sion, which was granted to 114 in the very first book of the city of god, augustine affirmed his intention to fulfill his promise to marcellinus : “here, my dear marcellinus, is the fulfillment of my promise, a book in which i have taken upon myself the task of defending the glorious city of god against those who prefer their own gods to the founder of that city.” cf. aug., de civ. dei i, praef. (ccl 47, 1): “hoc opere instituto et mea ad te promissione debito defendere adversus eos, qui conditori eius deos suos praeferunt, fili carissime marcelline, suscepi, magnum opus et arduum, sed deus adiutor noster est” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 46 the jews, in an image, in a figure, was in captivity in babylonia and after seventy years that people turned back to its own city. ... but when all time is past, then we return to our country, as after seventy years that people returned from the babylonish captivity, for babylon is this world; since babylon is interpreted “confusion”. ... so then this whole life of human affairs is confusion, which belongeth not unto god. in this confusion, in this babylonish land, sion is held captive. but “the lord has turned back the captivity of sion”.115 we still find the same idea in the exposition on psalm 136. this famous psalm plainly recalls the babylonian captivity. the jews, seated by the rivers of babylonia, hung their harps and despite the instance of their enemies, refused to sing the songs of sion: “how can we sing the songs of the lord while in a foreign land?” augustine gives a wonderful explanation of this psalm. he says those who are instructed in the holy church should know to which city they belong, on which exile they are, and that the cause of this exile is sin. they should also know that their return from exile depends on the forgiveness of sins and justification through grace. he reminds his audience that there are two cities, physically mixed together but separated in the heart of their respective citizens. they journey together throughout the course of history. one of them has eternal peace as its end, and is called jerusalem. the other places its happiness in temporal peace, and is named babylon. jerusalem means “vision of peace” while babylon means “confusion”. jerusalem is detained in captivity in babylon but not entirely, for the holy angels of god also belong to it. those human beings redeemed by the blood of christ and made coheirs by the grace of filial adoption, so far as they are in this world, are in babylon captives116. 115 aug., en. ps. 125, 3 (ccl 40, 1846-1847) : cum converteret dominus captivitatem sion, facti sumus sicut consolati. hoc voluit dicere: facti sumus gaudentes. quando? cum converteret dominus captivitatem sion. quae sion? ipsa ierusalem, et aeterna sion. quomodo aeterna sion, quomodo captiva sion? in angelis aeterna, in hominibus captiva. non enim omnes illius civitatis cives captivi sunt; sed qui inde peregrinantur, ipsi captivi sunt. homo civis est ierusalem, sed venditus sub peccato, factus est peregrinus. de propagine ipsius natum est genus humanum, et implevit terras captivitas sion. et ista captivitas sion quomodo umbra illius ierusalem? umbra illius sion quam acceperunt iudaei in imagine, in figura fuit in captivitate in babylonia, et post septuaginta annos rediit ille populus ad civitatem suam. … quomodo ille populus post septuaginta annos rediit a captivitate babyloniae. babylonia est enim mundus iste: babylonia enim interpretatur: "confusio". … confusio ergo est ista tota vita rerum humanarum, non pertinens ad deum. in hac confusione, in ista babylonia, captiva tenetur sion: sed convertit dominus captivitatem sion. 116 cf. aug., en. ps. 136, 1 (ccl 40, 1964) : “... omnis eruditus in sancta ecclesia nosse debet unde cives simus, et ubi peregrinemur, et peregrinationis nostrae causam esse peccatum, reversionis autem munus remissionem peccatorum et iustificationem gratiae dei. duas civitates permixtas sibi interim corpore, et corde separatas, currere per ista volumina saeculorum usque in finem, audistis et nostis; unam cui finis est pax aeterna, et vocatur ierusalem; alteram cui gaudium est pax temporalis, et vocatur babylonia. interpretationes etiam nominum, si non fallor, tenetis: ierusalem interpretari, visionem pacis; babyloniam, confusionem. ierusalem in babylonia captiva tenebatur non tota; cives enim eius et angeli sunt. sed quod attinet ad homines praedestinatos in gloriam dei, futuros per adoptionem cohaeredes christi, quos de ipsa captivitate redemit sanguine igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 47 though in babylon, the christian is a member of the city of god by virtue of his faith. the rivers of babylon symbolise the ephemeral things of this world onto which the sinner casts himself117, and the seduction from which the upright man narrowly escapes118. between christians who are in exile in this world and the pagans who are at home in it, a dialogue continue as by the rivers of babylon : “ sing songs to us, sing us a hymn, sing us one of the songs of zion,” say the unbelievers, and how shall we respond? “how can we sing a song of the lord in a foreign land?” how can unbelievers understand the message of the scriptures? the exiled hung their harps and wept for the pain of deportation. they avoided rejoicing in a land of captivity. this should be the attitude of christians, citizens of jerusalem, in the midst of the unbelievers. augustine lays emphasis on the fact that the citizens of babylon and the members of the eternal sion who form a mixed reality are also wayfarers together. he continuously insists on the parallel between the babylonian captivity and the actual situation of the believer in a society, in a world that is ungodly. that captitivity which came to pass according to the prophecy of jeremiah was a figure of the temporary captivity we are in now. the idea is beautifully expressed as follows: for the captive people israel from the city of jerusalem was led into slavery unto babylon. but holy jeremiah prophesied that after seventy years the people would return out of captivity, and would rebuild the very city of jerusalem, which they had mourned as having been overthrown by enemies. but at that time there were prophets in that captivity of the people dwelling in babylon, among whom was also the prophet ezekiel. but that people was waiting until there should be fulfilled the space of seventy years, according to the prophecy of jeremiah. it came to pass, when the seventy years had been completed, the temple was restored which had been thrown down: and there returned from captivity a great part of that people. but whereas the apostle said, “these things in figure happened unto them, but they have been written for our sakes, upon whom the end suo: particulam ergo istam civitatis ierusalem captivam teneri in babylonia pro peccato, incipere autem inde exire prius corde per confessionem iniquitatis et caritatem iustitiae ...”. 117 cf. ibid., 136, 3 (ccl 40, 1965): flumina babylonis, sunt omnia quae hic amantur et transeunt. 118 cf. ibid., 136, 4 (ccl 40, 1965-1966) : alii ergo cives sanctae ierusalem intellegentes captivitatem suam, attendunt humana vota et diversas hominum cupiditates hac atque illac rapientes, trahentes, impellentes in mare: vident haec, et non se mittunt in flumina babylonis; sed sedent super flumina babylonis, et flent super flumina babylonis, vel illos qui rapiuntur, vel seipsos qui in babylonia esse meruerunt: sedentes tamen, hoc est humiliati. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 48 of the world has come”: we also ought to know first our captivity, then our deliverance: we ought to know the babylon wherein we are captives, and the jerusalem for a return to which we are sighing. for these two cities, according to the letter, in reality are two cities119. knowing one’s captitivity is already a step towards delivrance. the memory and knowledge of the homeland increase the yearning for a return. that is the point the holy bishop is making here. then he gives the criteria of discerment of the between the two cities, indicating their respective protagonists, their first inhabitants, and their present state of mixture: observe now the city of confusion, in order that you may perceive the vision of peace; that you may endure that, sigh for this. how can those two cities be distinguished? can we now separate them from each other? they are mingled, and from the very beginning of mankind mingled they run on unto the end of the world. jerusalem received beginning through abel, babylon through cain: for the buildings of the cities were afterwards erected … these two cities then at particular times were built, so that there might be shown a figure of two cities begun of old, and to remain even unto the end in this world, but at the end to be severed. whereby then can we now show them, that are mingled? at that time the lord shall show, when some he shall set on the right hand, others on the left. jerusalem on the right hand shall be, babylon on the left. ... two loves made up these two cities: love of god makes jerusalem; love of the world makes babylonia. therefore let each one question himself as to what he loves: and he shall find of which he is a citizen: and if he shall have found himself to be a citizen of babylon, let him root out cupidity, implant charity: but if he shall have found himself a citizen of jerusalem, let him endure captivity, hope for liberty120. 119 id, en. ps 64, 1 (ccl 39, 822-823): “captivatus enim populus israel, ex civitate ierusalem ductus est in servitutem babyloniae. prophetavit autem ieremias sanctus, post septuaginta annos rediturum populum de captivitate, et instauraturum civitatem ipsam ierusalem, quam devictam ab hostibus planxerat. illo autem tempore fuerunt prophetae, in illa captivitate populi constituti in babylonia; inter quos erat et ezechiel propheta. exspectabat autem ille populus donec implerentur tempora septuaginta annorum, secundum prophetiam ieremiae. factum est completis septuaginta annis, restitutum est templum quod deiectum erat; et regressa est de captivitate magna pars illius populi. sed quoniam dicit apostolus: haec in figura contingebant in illis; scripta sunt autem propter nos, in quos finis saeculorum obvenit; debemus et nos nosse prius captivitatem nostram, deinde liberationem nostram; debemus nosse babyloniam, in qua captivi sumus, et ierusalem, ad cuius reditum suspiramus. istae quippe duae civitates, secundum litteram revera duae civitates”. 120 id., en. ps. 64, 2 (ccl 39, 823-824) : “intendite nunc civitatem confusionis, ut intellegatis visionem pacis: istam toleretis, ad illam suspiretis. unde dignosci possunt istae duae civitates? numquid possumus eas modo separare ab invicem? permixtae sunt, et ab ipso exordio generis humani permixtae currunt usque in finem saeculi. ierusalem accepit exordium per igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 49 jerusalem and babylon were two cities historically erected in particular geographical locations but were figures of other two spiritual intimately mixed cities. augustine brings his reflection home to the destiny of each of the cities. one will be placed on the right of the lord because it was made by the love of god, while the other will go to his left because it is founded on the love of the world. we find here once more the fate of each person at the end: eternal peace or eternal frustration depending on the city he belongs to. the moral consequences of belonging to one city or the other is being drawn already in the text quoted. augustine makes an appeal to his hearers to examine themselves so as to know deep within where they belong. it is interesting to note that here augustine exhorts to amendment in one’s life which could make it possible to be on right hand of the lord on the judgement day. he is not emphasizing on predestination for as long as one is on this pilgrimage, there is the possibility to change citizenship by changing the type of love that rules one’s life. another interesting aspect of the relationship between these two cities is that in the course of history, some citizens of jerusalem happen to be in charge of the affairs of babylonia. augustine returns to this idea time and again. already we have seen this in his correspondence with macedonius, the vicar of africa, who professed christian faith and maintained a good relationship with the bishop of hippo. it is also the case with marcellinus with whom augustine exchanged letters. these are example of citizens of the city of god ruling in babylonia. but there are also the opposite cases whereby some members of the citivitas diaboli are in charge of the affairs of the city of god due to the temporary mingling two cities. probably one of the most original elucidations of augustine on this idea is the one found in his en. ps. 61. augustine commenting on the story of three young hebrew to whom king nabuchadnezzar gave authority over some part of his kingdom wrote: abel; babylon per cain: aedificia quippe urbium postea facta sunt. … duae ergo istae urbes certis temporibus conditae sunt, ut manifestaretur figura duarum civitatum olim coeptarum, et usque in finem in isto saeculo mansurarum, sed in fine separandarum. unde ergo possumus eas modo ostendere, quae permixtae sunt? ostendet tunc dominus, cum alios ponet ad dexteram, alios ad sinistram. ierusalem ad dexteram erit; babylon ad sinistram. … duas istas civitates faciunt duo amores: ierusalem facit amor dei; babyloniam facit amor saeculi. interroget ergo se quisque quid amet, et inveniet unde sit civis: et si se invenerit civem babyloniae, exstirpet cupiditatem, plantet caritatem; si autem se invenerit civem ierusalem, toleret captivitatem, speret libertatem”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 50 and sometimes this very temporal mingling brings it to pass that certain men belonging to the city babylon, do order matters belonging to jerusalem, and again certain men belonging to jerusalem, do order matters belonging to babylon. something difficult i seem to have propounded. be patient, until it be proved by examples. … there were great kings in jerusalem: it is a known fact, they are enumerated, are named. they all were, i say, wicked citizens of babylon, and they were ordering matters of jerusalem: all men from thence to be dissevered at the end belong to no one but to the devil. again we find citizens of jerusalem to have ordered certain matters belonging to babylon. for those three children, nabuchadnezzar, overcome by a miracle, made the ministers of his kingdom, and set them over his satraps; and so there were ordering the matters of babylon citizens of jerusalem121. further, he gives more examples in the life of the society. due to his rank and the many issues he had to sort out with the political authorities, augustine knew many statesmen who were believers and who never separated their christian faith from their civil life. the bishop of hippo testifies to this saying: for how many faithful, how many good men, are both magistrates in their cities, and are judges, and are generals, and are counts, and are kings? all that are just and good men, having not anything in heart but the most glorious things, which have been said of you, city of god. and as if they were doing bond-service in the city which is to pass away, even there by the doctors of the holy city, they are bidden to keep faith with those set over them, “whether with the king as supreme, or with governors as though sent by god for the punishment of evil men, but for the praise of good men”, or as servants, that to their masters they should be subject, even christians to heathens, and the better should keep faith with the worse, for a time to serve, for everlasting to have dominion. for these things do happen until iniquity do pass away. servants are commanded to bear with masters unjust and capricious: the citizens of babylon are commanded to be 121 aug., en. ps. 61, 8 (ccl 39, 778-779): et aliquando ipsa commixtio temporalis facit, ut quidam pertinentes ad civitatem babyloniam, administrent res pertinentes ad ierusalem; et rursum quidam pertinentes ad ierusalem, administrent res pertinentes ad babyloniam. difficile aliquid promisisse videor. patientes estote, donec demonstretur exemplis. omnia enim in vetere populo, sicut scribit apostolus, in figura contingebant eis: scripta sunt autem ad correctionem nostram in quos finis saeculorum obvenit. respicite ergo populum illum primum, positum etiam ad significandum populum posteriorem; et videte ibi quae dico. fuerunt reges magni in ierusalem; notum est; numerantur, nominantur. omnes ergo iniqui cives erant babyloniae, et administrabant res ierusalem: omnes in finem inde separandi, nonnisi ad diabolum pertinent. rursus invenimus cives de ierusalem administrasse res quasdam pertinentes ad babyloniam. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 51 endured by the citizens of jerusalem, showing even more attentions, than if they were citizens of the same babylon, as though fulfilling the precept, “he that shall have exacted of you a mile, go with him other two”122. augustine brings this truth to the level of the church and observes that at every level of ecclesial hierarchy, there are citizens of babylonia in charge of some affair of the holy city. he quotes mt.23: 3 : “therefore, whatever they bid you to observe, observe it and do it, but do not act according to their works, for they say and do not do it” and concludes: all those to whom these words apply are citizens of babylon who control the public affairs of the jerusalem. this is incontestable, because if they had no such authority over jerusalem’s business, how could we be commanded, ‘observe and do whatever they tell you?’ and how could it be said of them ‘they have taken place in the chair of moses?’. but then, if they are citizen of jerusalem, destined to reign for ever with christ, how can it be said, ‘do not imitate what they do?’ that must imply that they are to hear one day, depart from me, all you who act unjustly’ 123”. the relationship between babylon and jerusalem in the course of history is also one of persecution of the former by the latter. the sons of babylon launched attacks on the citizen of jerusalem. augustine illustrates the antagonism between the two cities with the story of the rivalry between esau and jacob which he links to 1 cor. 15: 45 : “non prius quod spirituale est, sed prius quod animale”. esau, the first born, is the figure of the bodily man, while jacob is the figure of the spiritual man. from the sin of adam and eve, human beings come to this world as carnal beings, members of the city of perdition; to belong to jerusalem, on needs to be born again, and continue to fight the desirs of the flesh. augustine observes that not long ago, the sons of edom, i.e. pagans, cried: tollite christianos, exstinguite 122 aug., en. ps. 61, 8 (ccl 39, 779) : quam multi enim fideles, quam multi boni et magistratus sunt in civitatibus suis, et iudices sunt, et duces sunt, et comites sunt, et reges sunt? omnes iusti et boni, non habentes in corde nisi gloriosissima quae de te dicta sunt, civitas dei. et quasi angariam faciunt in civitate transitura, et illic a doctoribus civitatis sanctae iubentur servare fidem praepositis suis, sive regi quasi praecellenti, sive ducibus tamquam ab eo missis ad vindictam malorum, laudem vero bonorum; sive servi, ut dominis suis subditi sint, et christiani paganis; et servet fidem melior deteriori, ad tempus serviturus, in aeternum dominaturus. fiunt enim ista donec transeat iniquitas. iubentur servi ferre dominos iniquos et difficiles: cives babyloniae iubentur tolerari a civibus ierusalem, et amplius obsequiorum exhibentibus, quam si cives essent ex ipsa babylonia; tamquam implentibus: qui te angariaverit mille passus, vade cum illo alia duo. 123 ibid : “ respicite nunc impleri hoc et agi in ecclesia, et his temporibus. omnes de quibus dictum est: quae dicunt facite; quae autem faciunt facere nolite, cives sunt babyloniae, administrantes rempublicam civitatis ierusalem. si enim nihil administrarent civitatis ierusalem, unde: quae dicunt facite? unde, cathedram moysi sedent ? rursus si cives sunt ipsius ierusalem qui regnabunt in aeternum cum christo, unde: quae faciunt facere nolite, nisi quia et audituri sunt: recedite a me, omnes qui operamini iniquitatem ? igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 52 christianos. but in truth, the battle ground is within man. it is in our innermost that we need to fight our passions, the bad desirs that resurface even in the just man. they are all daughters of babylon to cast against the rock, christ jesus124. these are but few examples of the many instances in which augustine gave a clear presentation of the relationship existing between the two cities in his letters and sermons. in the next section, we are going to look at the arrival point of his reflections in the city of god. 2.3. the earthly history of the two cities in the city of god the doctrine of the two cities, even as it appears in its final form in the de civitate dei) insists on a contrary principle of confusion and indeterminacy. two cities exist side by side in this world, but in a way so intertwined and confused with each other so completely that it is impossible to make confident distinction between them125. yet there is an element, as we have seen in the foregoing enquiry, that help differentiate them: the love that guides, for two loves founded two cities. having examined the origin of the two cities, the earthly and the heavenly, in the books xi-xiv of the city of god, augustine dedicates the next four books (xvxviii) to their development and interaction, their growth and progress in the course of history. this tracking of the two cities through history largely consists of charting the sequence of biblical generations in which the heavenly and earthly cities are respectively represented. coupled with drawing a pattern of correlations between biblical history and the various kingdoms that rose into and fell from prominence through the course of time; culminating in the rise of rome itself to the status of world domination. for the purpose of this paper, there is no need to trace its account in detail. it is important, however, to see how augustine characterises the two cities and the interactions between them in their earthly histories. just as he asserted in 390 in de vera religione, augustine starts by affirming, here again, that humankind is divided into two categories of people. he maintains the 124 aug., en. ps. 136, 21 (ccl 40, 19771978) : quando enim nati sumus, parvulos nos invenit ista confusio saeculi huius; et offocavit nos errorum diversorum vanis opinionibus adhuc infantes. natus infans futurus civis ierusalem, et in praedestinatione dei iam civis, sed interim captivatus ad tempus, quando discit amare, nisi quod insusurraverint parentes? instruunt et docent illum avaritiam, rapinas, mendacia quotidiana, diversas culturas idolorum et daemoniorum, remedia illicita praecantationum et ligaturarum. quid facturus est adhuc infans, anima tenera, attendens ad maiores quid agant, nisi ut quod eos viderit agere hoc sequatur? babylonia ergo persecuta est parvulos nos; sed deus dedit nobis agnitionem sui iam grandibus, ut non sequeremur errores parentum nostrorum. 125 cf. j. j. o’donnell, the inspiration for augustine’s de civitate dei, in augustinian studies 10 (1979), 76. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 53 same viewpoint regarding the course of the human beings according these two spiritual cities. he begins with the first children of adam and eve – cain, who was born first and belonged to the earthly city, and abel, who was born later and belonged to the city of god: this race [the human race] we have distributed into two parts, the one consisting of those who live according to man, the other of those who live according to god. and these we also mystically call the two cities, or the two communities of men, of which the one is predestined to reign eternally with god, and the other to suffer eternal punishment with the devil126. augustine makes abel and cain the protagonists of the two human races and thus the first citizens of the two cities. this is not new, for augustine repeats it very often as we have seen it in the expositions on the psalms. in the city of god, however, the reflection has reached a certain maturity and depth. indeed we find augustine implying here that the sequence of the births of cain and abel exemplifies a truth which also holds good for each human individual: of these two first parents of the human race, then, cain was the first-born, and he belonged to the city of men; after him was born abel, who belonged to the city of god. for as in the individual the truth of the apostle's statement is discerned, “that is not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural, and afterward that which is spiritual”, whence it comes to pass that each man, being derived from a condemned stock, is first of all born of adam evil and carnal, and becomes good and spiritual only afterwards, when he is grafted into christ by regeneration: so was it in the human race as a whole. when these two cities began to run their course by a series of deaths and births, the citizen of this world was the first-born, and after him the stranger in this world, the citizen of the city of god, predestinated by grace, elected by grace, by grace a stranger below, and by grace a citizen above127. 126 aug., de civ. dei xv, 1 (ccl 48, 452) : “… ipsius generis humani, quod in duo genera distribuimus, unum eorum, qui secundum hominem, alterum eorum, qui secundum deum vivunt; quas etiam mystice appellamus civitates duas, hoc est duas societates hominum, quarum est una quae praedestinata est in aeternum regnare cum deo, altera aeternum supplicium subire cum diabolo.” 127 ibid., xv, 2 (ccl 48, 453-454): “natus est igitur prior cain ex illis duobus generis humani parentibus, pertinens ad hominum civitatem, posterior abel, ad civitatem dei. sicut enim in uno homine, quod dixit apostolus, experimur, quia non primum quod spiritale est, sed quod animale, postea spiritale : unde unusquisque, quoniam ex damnata propagine exoritur, primo sit necesse est ex adam malus atque carnalis; quod si in christum renascendo profecerit, post erit bonus et spiritalis: sic in universo genere humano, cum primum duae istae coeperunt nascendo atque moriendo procurrere civitates, prior est natus civis huius saeculi, posterius autem isto peregrinus in saeculo et pertinens ad civitatem dei, gratia praedestinatus, gratia electus, gratia peregrinus deorsum, gratia civis sursum” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 54 that cain, the first born, was a citizen of this world is signified by the fact that he founded a city. his aim, then, was to make himself at home in this life and to invest himself in a society of this world. but abel, who was born later, founded no city. instead, he was by grace a pilgrim in this world and a citizen of the city above, the heavenly city. thus the status of the heavenly city – or, at least, of that part of it that is here on earth – is the status of a pilgrim who is not yet at home but is rather on the way towards a destination. augustine then uses the births of the abraham’s sons, ishmael and isaac, to reinforce and further interpret this pattern. these two personalities exemplify the two cities as a replica of cain and abel and thus, the history of the two cities progresses. to sum up this important part of our inquiry, we could say that the factors that will be in play in augustine’s characterisations of the two cities are these: the earthly city, pursuing its own personal and private good, will look for its good here on earth, and his joy will come from sharing this good. but augustine makes it clear that, because such goods as can be found in this earthly life are limited goods that cannot be shared without being diminished, they inevitably give rise to anxieties (about gaining and losing them) and conflicts (between those who seek to gain or keep them for themselves. the bishop of hippo gives as prime example the case of romulus and remus, the twin brothers of roman legend, each of whom wanted himself the glory of founding the roman republic. to have a living co-ruler, however, would have meant having less power, less dominion, and therefore less glory of oneself. consequently, to secure total dominion and power for himself, romulus murdered remus and made himself the the sole founder of rome. the murder, in augustine’s view, exemplifies the way in which the earthly city is divided against itself “by lawsuits, wars and conflicts” in which each side seeks victory over the other in a constant struggle to gain position and power. in contrast, the heavenly city finds its joy “in the common and immutable good” – god himself – which is not diminished when it is shared and thus does not generate the anxieties and conflicts that stem from competition for a limited good that one person or group can acquire only at the expense of another. instead, its good is of such a kind that the more it is shared the greater each person’s possession of it becomes. the heavenly city, then, is characterised not only by the love for the supreme and immutable good but also by its citizens’ love for each other, which brings them to unity and harmony rather than conflict and competition. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 55 in addition to the antagonisms within the earthly city that mark its course through time, there is also the antagonism between the two cities which sets them at odd with each other in their historical existence; and this antagonism is exemplified by fratricide (cain’s murder of abel). according to the biblical account, cain and abel offered a sacrifice to god. abel’s was accepted, but cain’s was not; and, out of envy, cain killed abel. the scripture says god told cain that his sacrifice was rightly offered but not right divided128. for augustine, the most basic meaning of this text is that cain’s sacrifice was wrongly divided in the sense that, although he offered something from his own possessions to god, he kept himself for himself; and this, augustine says, is precisely what people do when they “follow their own will rather than god’s … and yet still offered gift to god129”. in final analysis, those act this way imagine that, with their gift, they will buy god’s help not in healing their own misguided and misdirected desires but in fulfilling them. and there is a political as well as personal dimension to this kind of attempt to make the divine serve human purposes130. in this perspective, augustine says “the good make use of the world in order to enjoy; but the evil, in contrast, want to make use of god in order to enjoy the world131. what turns the earthly city against the heavenly, then is the very fact that the city of god does not support or join its attempts to gain its own ends; and just as the enmity between cain and abel was rooted in the cain’s hatred for abel, so the antagonism between the earthly and the heavenly cities is rooted in this hatred of the evil for the good. but despite of this dire and persistent antagonism between the two cities through history, augustine refuses to reduce his charting of the interactions within and between the two cities. if the earthly city is characterised by conflict and war in its competition for earthly goods, which does not mean that the goods it seeks are not goods or that human society is not often better when it attains them. when one side triumphs over the other, augustine argues, there will be a sort of earthly peace ; and if the victory goes to the side that was fighting for the more just cause, “who can doubt that the victory deserves to be celebrated or that the resulting peace is very much desired? these are goods, and they are undoubtedly gifts from god132”. we need then, to recognise a more complex pattern of conflict and 128 gn. 4:7 . augustine latin text of genesis was based on the greek translation of the hebrew known as septuagint. 129 aug., de civ. dei xv, 7 (ccl 48, 460). 130 cf. w. babcock, introduction to the city of god, the works of saint augustine. a translation for the 21st century, vol. 6, new city press, new york 2013. 131 aug., de civ. dei. xv, 7 (ccl 48, 460). in augustine’s thought on ethics and values the concepts of “use” and “enjoyment” play a central role. 132 aug., de civ. dei xv, 4 (ccl 48, 453). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 56 allow that, even within the pattern of conflict, there can be instances of social good. when augustine lists the forms of conflicts that obtain in our present social interactions, his list is surprisingly nuanced. the holy bishop was very careful in his analysis of the human condition and the struggles that take place in the correlation of the two cities: the wicked war with the wicked; the good also war with the wicked. but with the good, good men, or at least perfectly good men, cannot war; though, while only going on towards perfection, they war to this extent, that every good man resists others in those points in which he resists himself. and in each individual “the flesh lusts against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh”. this spiritual lusting, therefore, can be at war with the carnal lust of another human beings; or carnal lust may be at war with the spiritual desires of another, in some such way as good and wicked human beings are at war; or, still more certainly, the carnal lusts of two persons, good but not yet perfect, contend together, just as the wicked contend with the wicked, until the health of those who are under the treatment of grace attains final victory133. if the earthly city is marked by war and conflict, that does not mean that it has entirely cut itself off from all earthly good or from the possibility of attaining an earthly peace that comes from god134 ; and if the heavenly city is characterised by love for god and for others, that does not mean that its pilgrimage on earth is immune to the bitter struggles of the self against itself or of the self against others. augustine rightly says to that effect: it is difficult to discover from scripture, whether, after the deluge, traces of the holy city are continuous, or are so interrupted by intervening seasons of godlessness, that not a single worshipper of the one true god was found 133 ibid., xv, 5 (ccl 48, 455) : “pugnant ergo inter se mali et mali; item pugnant inter se mali et boni: boni vero et boni, si perfecti sunt, inter se pugnare non possunt. proficientes autem nondumque perfecti ita possunt, ut bonus quisque ex ea parte pugnet contra alterum, qua etiam contra semetipsum; et in uno quippe homine ‘caro concupiscit adversus spiritum et spiritus adversus carnem’. concupiscentia ergo spiritalis contra alterius potest pugnare carnalem vel concupiscentia carnalis contra alterius spiritalem, sicut inter se pugnant boni et mali; vel certe ipsae concupiscentiae carnales inter se duorum bonorum, nondum utique perfectorum, sicut inter se pugnant mali et mali, donec eorum, qui curantur, ad ultimam victoriam sanitas perducatur.” 134 augustine makes mention of the fact that god did not dismiss cain, the protagonist of the earthly city, without counsel holy, just and good (xv, 7). the same is offered to the citizens of the earthly city and god awaits their return to him. and this opens the possibility of change. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 57 among men; because from noah, who, with his wife, three sons, and as many daughters-in-law, achieved deliverance in the ark from the destruction of the deluge, down to abraham, we do not find in the canonical books that the piety of any one is celebrated by express divine testimony135. from these considerations, it follows that neither society can be reduced to a simple, monochromatic coloration. neither city follows a course through time that can be characterised as unrelievedly evil or as unrelievedly good. this position of saint augustine is clearly at variance with that of modern scholars who emphasise a certain “augustinian pessimism” affirming that he has a totally negative vision of all human effort in matters of politics. in a recent publication, an author presented augustine’s ideas in a way that plainly contradicts it; at least as far as what the holy bishop says in the city of god is concerned. this modern augustinologist says: “for him [augustine], politics can never be redeemed because it is the archetypal sinful activity. it is the archetypal sinful activity because it is the ultimate expression of man’s willed estrangement from god136”. one needs no effort to discern the inaccuracy of this judgment when we consider augustine’s appraisal of humans used by god to be involved in politics and rule the affairs of the earthly city even as they belong to the city of god. augustine also speaks of christian commonwealth promoted by the doctrine of christ137. this gospel oriented commonwealth is nothing less than a kind of theocratic political society, at least in the desire of the one who conceives it. how then could politics as such be the “archrtypal sinful activity” if it is oriented from the perspective of that love which places god and neighbour first? besides, this author provides no text from augustine’s many writings to back his position up. it is true that the bishop of hippo, according to the issue at hand, may adopt a position rather hard on those involved in the unending conflicts and competitions in love of self and subjection of others. but he has never been so negative as to consign human attempt to organise society to a total doom as 135 aug., de civ. dei xvi, 1 (ccl 48, 489): “post diluvium procurrentis sanctae vestigia civitatis utrum continuata sint an intercurrentibus impietatis interrupta temporibus, ita ut nullus hominum veri unius dei cultor existeret, ad liquidum scripturis loquentibus invenire difficile est, propterea quia in canonicis libris post noe, qui cum coniuge ac tribus filiis totidemque nuribus suis meruit per arcam vastatione diluvii liberari, non invenimus usque abraham cuiusquam pietatem evidenti divino eloquio praedicatam”. 136 m. hollingworth, the pilgrim city. saint augustine of hippo and his innovation in polical thought, t&t clark, new york 2010, 65. 137 cf. aug., ep. 138, 2, 10-15 (csel 44,126-148) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 58 some scholars would like us to believe. george lavere seems to have got the point of augustine’s argument when he says: in a secondary and relative sense, the earthly city has a common purpose, those interests which prompted its members to form a community in the first place, and an imperfect form of justice, more or less adequate to its needs as a functional community seeking a peace of its own design. to some extent, the goals of the earthly city correspond to those of the heavenly city and, insofar as they do, the christian pilgrim, exiled in the earthly city, may and, in some cases, must cooperate with his fellow citizens irrespective of their theological differences. for the earthly city is best described as secular rather than evil138. augustine never casts off completely the positive aspect in political life for he recognises that the citizens of jerusalem in exile in babylon can use any pacific moment they get there. he seems to establish a parallel between the pax romana and the pax eternitatis. without any hesitation, augustine says “utimur et nos pace babyloniae139. the last part of the augustine’s city of god (books xix-xxii) deals with the eternal destinies of the two cities. and this brings us back to the title of our paper: eternal peace or eternal frustration. the city of god after the painful pilgrimage on earth is destined to everlasting glory while the earthly city ruled by pride and contempt to god is destined to eternal shame and disgrace. we shall not elaborate on this as we have already examined many texts on the reason why one could end up in one destiny or another. having made these observations, we have come to end of the second part of this paper. it is now important to consider the relevance of the effort of saint augustine in theorising on the two cities. 3. the relevance of augustine’s vision to our society today from the inception of his literary activity and more precisely from his conversion to christ till the end of his life augustine has reflected, written and preached on the two cities. we have sufficiently shown this in the first part of the paper. the questions that come to mind have to do with the relevance of all these speculations to us today. 138 g. lavere, the problem of common good in saint augustine’s civitas terrena, in augustinian studies vol. 14 (1983), 9. 139 aug., de civ. dei xix, 26. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 59 augustine’s teaching on the two cities falls within the scope of long-standing tradition of christianity as religion which had to defend itself in various circumstances right from its beginnigs. it is enough to think of the apologists who stood to counter those who accused christians of various crimes in the society. justine, tertullian and lactantius are few examples of such witnesses to christ and to his community, the church. augustine took up the same task at a time when the roman empire, after being christianised, fell into disgrace. however, this doctrine by and large, even outside the context of an apologetic struggle, is nothing strange if we consider that the bible tells us that we, who believe in christ jesus, are citizens of heaven. a corresponding citizenship exists and it is the proper domain of those who reject god and his christ. it is exactly these two citizenships that augustine calls heavenly and earthly. now christians and those who discard the teaching of christ are living together the one and same civitas terrena. the danger is great for the citizens of the holy city, who are only known in their hearts, to be enticed by the seductions of babylon. it is here that the alarming insistence of augustine on these two cities and their ultimante ends prove important to us insofar as we are constantly exposed to the possibility of being drifted way from our focus. as donald burt rightly observes, the basic differentiation between the city of the world and the city of god is that the former ignores the claims of god upon the soul. it is a social organization of and for this world alone. the city of god, one might say, is the fellowship of those who are living for eternity even in this life140. living for eternity would mean considering the realities of this world as ephemeral. by so doing we shall not hold unto things that are irrelevant for eternity. we belong to the civitas peregrina, a community in exile, dwelling in the midst of the earthly city. and so we should not consider ourselves as having a permanent abode here below. augustine’s plea to the people of hippo on behalf of roman refugees after the calamities of 410 brings to mind this idea of instability on earth that should characterise christians. the fall of rome set off a minor wave of refugees from italy towards north africa: mostly wealthy members of the senatorial aristocracy who would have property across the sea to which to flee, and an unusually high percentage of whom would be among the lingering remnants of roman society still sentimentally attached to the ancient religion, blaming christianity for rome’s misfortunes. they would find a receptive audience for their complaints among even christians of minimal piety, whose 140 cf. d. x. burt, o.s.a, st. augustine’s evalution of civil society, 92. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 60 inadequate understanding of their faith might have led them to expect that christ would protect his own people as well as the pagan gods had been expected to. augustine told his congregation at hippo to receive these wanderers as charitably as possible, out of concern for the sad circumstances which drove them from their homes141. according j. j. o’donnell, what must have dawned upon augustine is that the situation of these cultured refugees was precisely analogous, in legal terms, to the kind of behavior which he wanted to preach as most suitable for christians living in the earthly city. these refugees were themselves citizens of rome, a great city far away, and only strangers (peregrini), in north africa. they came into the country not as permanent residents or citizens would, but rather precisely as strangers. they lamented their exile from their great city far away, they criticized their temporary surroundings vehemently as lacking the amenities of their real home, and they looked forward eagerly to the day when they could return in comfort and safety to their true patria142. this analogy of noble romans living temporarily in a country which is not theirs and the christians living in the world as foreigners could help us today to reconsider our attachment to those things which, in the last analysis, are of no relevance for our return to our real home. the doctrine of the two cities, moreover, enlightens us to discern where we really belong, since it is in our heart that we personally know the love that motivates our actions. this love which determines the city each person belongs to, also fortells the kind of resurrection each of us is destined. in such a situation we can say love, citizenship and final resurrection are linked in the light of all we have said so far. we need to keep in mind that being members of the pilgrim church does not secure for us citizenship of the city of god. but loving god and neighbour according to the precepts of christ gives a guarantee of the eternal peace. conclusion we started this tour by linking the idea of the two cities to the different destinies awaiting human beings at the close of earthly existence. on the one hand, those 141 cf. aug., sermon 81, 9 (pl 38, 506) : “rogamus vos, obsecramus vos, exhortamur vos, estote mites, compatimini patientibus, suscipite infirmos: et in ista occasione multorum peregrinorum, egentium, laborantium, abundet hospitalitas vestra, abundent bona opera vestra.” 142 cf. j. j. o’donnell, the inspiration for augustine’s de civitate dei, 78. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 61 who identify with jerusalem will awake to eternal peace, on the other hand all who cling to babylon and its values will resurrect to everlasting shame and frustration. before we arrive at that point, however, there is a span of time for choice-making by person. augustine shows us that the choice to be made is between two loves from which are born the two cities. and so at the origin of the two mystical cities – exhaustive and mutually exclusive communities of rational creation143 – are two contrasting loves. from his de vera religione to the city of god, augustine continually developed and enriched the doctrine. he then exposes the development of the two cities through history, examining the history of humanity from cain and abel, the first protagonists of the two cities. the relationship between these two cities is such that it is difficult to establish physical boundaries since the civitas terrana is the common ground where both live and thrive, one attaching itself to the earth and the other longing for the things of heaven. they are not materially distinguishable, but in the heart of their members the lord of all knows to whom they pay their allegiance. through the doctrine of the two cities, augustine exhorts us today, as he did many centuries ago, to strive for the right love which will assure us of the citizenship of the city of god. as pilgrim in the earthly city, we need to fight the many tribulations that test our desires, and when we prove to really long for the vision of peace, we shall rest in him who promised rest to those come to him (mt. 11, 28) when we awake at the end to eternal peace. the ills of our pilgrimage are instrumental. in the thought of augustine, one of the functions of the “ugly” is to enhance by contrasting the “beautiful”. his aim in extensively elaborating on the earthly city and its ills in a book on the city of god is to glorify the latter and that it may “gleam more brightly” by the contrast144. when our appetite for the earthly things turn into repugnance, then our sense of this contrast will appear more sharply and we shall long more for the jerusalem, the vision of peace. 143 r. r. barr, the two cities in saint augustine, in laval théologique et philosophique 18/2 (1960), 223. 144 aug., de civ. dei xvi, 2 (ccl 48, 490). microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no.4.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 56 igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship system for wealth creation kanu, ikechukwu anthony department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university, umunya anambra state ikee_mario@yahoo.com abstract the fundamental place that the economic factor occupies in human life, expressed in the fact that economic need is man’s fundamental need, and the need that structures and explains social life has attracted the application of igwebuike philosophy to economics. this study, therefore, aims at discovering the relationship between igwebuike philosophy and the socio-economic categories of igbo reality, with particular reference to the igbo apprenticeship system anchored on the igbo social structure of reality, the igbo thinkhome ideology and the igbo spirit of resilience. using the philosophical idea of igwebuike, this piece has established the centrality of igwebuike in the igbo apprenticeship system that has created wealth over the years for the igbo, making the igbo the most successful business men and women in africa. the beauty of it is its simplicity. it is a system that does not take equity or require raising huge capital. it is driven by a human-platform and it works based on the igwebuike philosophy that understands the other as a part of me, and thus making me responsible for the other. beginning with the question of who the igbo is, this paper has studied and unveiled the various dimensions of the igbo apprenticeship system and the human platform or network that underlies its efficacy. for the purpose of this research, the igwebuike indigenous method of research is employed. while establishing that igwebuike philosophy is at the heart of the igbo apprenticeship system of commerce, the paper argues that there is the need for the government to invest in this incubator system for the creation of wealth and for the tackling of the problem of unemployment. keywords: igwebuikeconomics, igwebuike, incubation, apprenticeship system, ingratiation, funding introduction in a paper i presented in 2017 on igwebuikeconomics: towards an incusive economy for economic development at the national conference on peace and national development organized by the centre for peace development, veritas igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 57 university, i emphasized the importance of economic factor in the construction of social life, for the reasons that economic need is man’s fundamental need, and it is this fundamental need that structures and explains social life. there is, therefore, a nexus between the economic need of the human person and the social life of people. thus, kanu (2017) avers that: questions about the material assets and constraints of a society, how goods are produced to meet the needs of society, how the goods are distributed and the kind of relationship that emerges in the organization of production helps to understand the culture of society, its political institution and way of thinking (p.114). the relevance of the economic need of man and its relationship with social life has attracted the attention of scholars of various levels and interest. kanu (2017) observes that: the level of economic growth has attracted the attention of scholars at various levels of discussions. these discussions have been centered on how to arrive at a prudent economic policy framework that would guide development agenda for many underdeveloped and developing economies. there is the need for every society, especially african nations, who are among the poorest in the world to revisit their economic policies and build economic institutions that would enhance the growth and welfare of its people (p. 115). beyond the study of general economic policies and strategies for economic prosperity, there has also been an increased interest in indigenous models or framewoks. it is this search for an indigenous economic policy for africa’s economic development led to the emergence of igwebuikeconomics, that is, the application of igwebuike philosophy to economic development. this is a second paper on igwebuikeconomics with a particular focus on the igbo indigenous apprenticeship system for wealth creation. the historical and cultural background of the conceptigwebuikeconomics, makes a study of the igbo historical-cultural background a better start up point. who are the igbo? kanu (2012) avers that the igbo people are a single people even though fragmented and scattered, inhabiting a geographical area stretching from benin igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 58 to igala and cross river to niger delta. they speak the same language which gradually developed various dialects but understood among all the groups. their cultural patterns are closely related, based on similar cults and social institutions; they believe in a common supreme being known as chukwu or chineke. two theories have emerged in response to the question of the origin of the igbo. there is, the ‘northern centre theory’ which, according to onwuejeogwu (1987) posits that the igbo migrated from five northern centre areas, namely: the semetic centre of the near and far east, the hermatic centre around egypt and northern africa, the western sahara, the chadian centre and the nok centre. the second historical hypothesis is the ‘centre theory of igbo heartland’. jones (cited by isichei 1976) observes that the early migrations of the proto-igbo originated from the areas termed as the igbo heartland, such as: owerri, okigwe, orlu and awka divisions. geographically speaking, njoku (1990) posits that igbo land is located in the south eastern region of what is known as nigeria. the southern part of nigeria exhibits a wide variety of topographical features. it is situated within the parallels of 6 and 8 east longitudes and 5 and 7 north latitudes. as a culture area, it is made up of enugu, anambra, imo, abia and parts of the delta, cross river, akwa ibom and rivers states of nigeria. according to uchendu (1965), in its status as an ethnic group, the igbo share common boundaries with other ethnic groups: eastward, the yakos and ibibios; westward, with the binis and the isokos, warri; northward, with the igalas, idomas, and the tivs, and southward, the ijaws and ogonis. socio-politically, unlike the other tribes in nigeria, who evolved a molithic centralized system of government, the igbo distinguish themselves with a complicated socio-political structure which has been qualified as republican. the igbo ethnic group is divided into clans, each clan is made up of towns; and each town is comprised of villages. the village is the primary social unit constituted of families or kindred. the family is the nucleus of society. politically, the lineage system is the matrix of the social units or organization and provides grounds for political and religious structures. the traditional concepts of political power and authority is structured and determined by their concept of umunna and the membership of the association based on elaborate title system. economically, aligwekwe (1991), avers that the traditional igbo people were sedentary agriculturists. this delimitation of igbo land as a culture area, helps to identify the cultural horizon for the study of the igbo apprentice network. the fundamental principles of igbo apprenticeship system igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 59 there are three fundamental principles that shape the igbo apprenticeship system. these principles include the igbo social construction of reality, the igbo philosophy of resilience and the igbo think-home ideology. a. igbo social construction of reality a social construction of reality, according to kuhn (1970), “is the entire constellation of belief, values, techniques and so on shared by the members of a give community” (p. 175). in the contention of grenz (1966), “it is a belief system that prevails in a given scientific community at a given time in history” (pp. 5455). the idea of igbo social construction akin mutatis mutandis to igbo worldview. taking from kalu (1978), it may be described as “a unified picture of the cosmos explained by a system of concepts which order the natural and social rhythms and the place of the individual and communities in them” (p. 39). it is, therefore, not surprising that oguejiofor (2010), in his understanding of worldview, include ideas about both material and spiritual realities and their relative importance, the origin and destiny of humanity, the end of life and what is conducive to this end. among the igbo of nigeria, the life of a human person is circumscribed within the uwa (the world), which is composed of the physical and the spiritual, the abode of humans and spirits. in the contention of oguejiofor (2010), these dimensions of the world are not separated or divided by chasm, but rather “there is interconnectedness between the two enabling contact between the deities and spirits, and human beings. this unitary conception of reality pervades the igbo world in a remarkable way” (p. 21). the igbo, therefore, does not see himself or herself as an individual without noticing immediately the need for the other. no wonder he often warns the other: onye aghana nwanne ya (no one should leave his brother/sister behind). this he expresses in proverbs such as: 1. a person is a person because of other people 2. sticks in a bundle cannot be broken 3. when spiders unite they can tie up a lion 4. if one finger tries to pick up something from the ground, it cannot 5. behind an able man there are always other able men 6. it takes a village to raise a child 7. if you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together 8. i am because we are, and since we are, therefore, i am 9. if a lizard stays off from the foot of a tree, it would be caught 10. a tree does not make a forest igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 60 11. if two or more people urinate in the same place at the same time, it would produce more foam 12. when a bird builds its nest it uses the feathers of other birds 13. one person is not the whole world 14. it is by taking a goat around that you are able to sell it b. igbo philosophy of resilience the igbo world is not a bird of roses. it is a world of struggles that begins from birth, noticeable in the cry of a little child as soon as it is born. circumscribed to the uwa (world), the human person is faced by difficulties and frustrations. diseases like small pox, aids, leprosy, malaria, etc., are present vying for a central place in the human person. this makes survival in a tolerable way a major concern for the igbo, and for oguejiofor (2010), it to a large extent determines the igbo attitude to life. nwala (1998) avows that the desire for ndu life and its preservation in igbo ontology is the summum bonum (the supreme good), and every other thing is expected to serve its realization. according to kanu (2012) the prominent appearance of ndu in igbo proverbs, parables and personal names projects the height of the value the igbo race places on life and the need to make every effort for its preservation. if the igbo must qualify to live in the world of the ancestors, he needs to achieve personal success, which is economic, social, moral and biological (long life). failure in any of these implies exclusion from the community of life, both earthly and otherworldly. this explains why the igbo adapt themselves to any condition no matter how difficult to achieve their aim. thus, the igbo person sees life as a struggle in which he must put all he has in order to live a successful life. if the igbo is seen working hard, competing and admire personal achievement, it is because these have great weight on his eschatological destiny. it is in this regard that tempels (1952) writes: no live code of behaviour is possible unless the meaning of life is sensed. there can be no will to determine life unless the ends of life are conceived. no one can pursue the way to redemption who has no philosophy of salvation (p. 10). given that this achievement must be personal, not based on those of your father or brothers, the igbo develops a social and political ethos that is distinguished by egalitarianism and competitiveness. the spirit of the igbo person was captured igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 61 by basden (1966) when he described igbo immigrants to the west of the 1920s, “whatever the condition, the igbo immigrants adapt themselves to meet them, and it is not long before they make their presence felt in the localities where they settle” (p. ix). it is this spirit that makes the igbo to understand suffering, not only in a negative sense, but also as any kind of painful or difficult experience resulting from situations or painstaking efforts to achieve difficult objectives. it is in this regard that suffering is understood in terms of opipia, that is, penance, usually done to achieve spiritual heights, or olu ike or olu siri ike, that is, hard work, as in the case of a man who works at a cement industry, daily carrying about 500 bags of cement from one point to another, it is considered ahuhu, but for the purpose of raising money to take care of his family. in this case it also refers to igba mbo (making serious effort). this kind of suffering brings hope and does not lead to despair or destruction. the igbo would say: mmiri mmadu kwosara onwe ya adighi atu ya oyi (the water a person pours upon himself does not bring him or her cold). hard work is at the centre of the igbo spirit. thus the igbo would say: onye obula choro ihe mara mma ga adi nkwadobe ikuchara ya okpofu n’ihi na o dighi ije oma na-ada ne’lu (one who desires great things must be ready to work hard for them), in another proverb, the igbo would say: o bu naani ukwu gbara apiti na eri ihe guru ya (it is only the leg that is soiled with mud that enjoys whatever it likes). this kind of suffering is not a curse but attracts blessings from the gods. greatness is achieved through hard work. c. the igbo think-home philosophy the igbo, even before the nigerian civil war has never forgotten home. there is an igbo saying that goes this way: aku ruo uno (which means the wealth must reach home). if a person is known all over the world but not known in his home town then he is not known at all. if a person does not make an effort to return home, he or she is referred to as an efuru efu (which means the lost one). however, with the nigerian civil war, after which the property and wealth of the igbo were seized by the nigerian government, the igbo were stranded and couldn’t access anything and had to begin all over again, the philosophy of cheruo uno, which means “think home” became more popular among the igbo. unlike other tribes that go to a town or state outside of their state of origin and claim citizenship of the state, the igbo does not claim citizenship of any state except his home town. no matter where he travels to and no matter the number of houses he builds elsewhere, he ensures that he has a home in his village, even when there is n one to live igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 62 there in his absence. home is home for them and so they are at home for the celebration of festivals like christmas, new year, easter, new yam festival. more interesting is that many who are not able to travel during these seasons have one igbo association or the other to which they belong in the various cities where they live. home is so important that, although the igbo can be born in lagos, abuja, sokoto, katsina, benue, benin, etc., but when he or she dies, the corpse must be taken home. the corpse needs to get home to rest well. the igbo indigenous apprentice system the igbo apprentice system popularly known as ‘imu-olu’ (which means learning work) or ‘imu-ahia’ (which means learning trade) or ‘igba boy’ (which means to serve) is a major factor in any discussion about the igbo wealth creation or commerce. maleke (2018) describes it as an “apprenticeship system that purports a responsibility established businessmen [the nurturer] in a town, street or locale to pick up teenagers-young adults [the apprentice] from their homes and give them an informally formal, but raw and practical, cutthroat business education” (n.p). this teenager might be a relative, sibling or non-relative from same region. he writes further that “the idea centres around taking them off the streets and the perilous tendencies of a idle mind to give them a purpose, worthy of emulation, so they can also continue the trend when they are established” (n.p). in the words of crescent (2019): the igbo apprenticeship system is an unpaid business apprenticeship/incubator model that lets people learn business from a master for a certain number of year (5-8) depending and at the end of their apprenticeship tenure, gets cash infusion and support to start their own business. there is no salary paid during the time of the apprenticeship tenure but meals, clothing and t-fare are provided for by the master. when the years of learning are over, the boy is as good as his master. it is a system of commerce that was with the igbo before the nigerian civil war, with which they created wealth across the nigerian nation. and even after the civil war, when the igbo world was crumbled following the terrible legacy of the war, marked by great poverty, halting of livelihood, scarcity of funds and human capital and hopelessness, it was the igbo apprentice system that pulled majority of igbo families out of poverty within two years after the civil war, thus, turning their troubles into a model of financial prosperity worthy of study and adoption. through the ‘imu-ahia’ system, many igbo families took their igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 63 financial destinies into their hands, and in spite of the 20 pounds policy of the of the nigerian government proposed by obafemi awolowo, which said that only £20 be given to every igbo person to survive on regardless of what they had in the bank before the war. the rest of the money was taken by the nigerian government. in spite of this unfavorable condition, the igbo created wealth through her apprentice network that has continued to be a matter of intrigue speculation and wonderment for many. this apprenticeship system of commerce is unique to the igbo, and is anchored on her social structure and spirit of resilience. this is not to say that other cultural groups in nigeria do not have their apprentice systems, but it is only to say that there is something unique about the imu-olu system of apprenticeship. for instance, among the yoruba of western nigeria, at the end of the apprenticeship of a candidate, which usually lasts between two to three years, he or she pays the master a ‘freedom fee’, and purchases drinks and throws a party according to celebrate the end of his or her apprenticeship. this is an important part of the apprenticeship which has to be done before the candidate can begin to trade officially. after this party, the candidate is presented with a certificate to show that he or she has graduated. during these two or three years, the apprentice does not necessarily live with the master, and so the master does not necessarily have responsibility for the feeding, clothing and housing of the apprentice. this is very different from the igbo apprentice system. the apprentice is the son or daughter of the master. the apprentice therefore leaves his parents and comes to live under the care and supervision of an established business igbo person who becomes his master and he the servant. he takes care of his master for the agreed number of years, and does every chore that the master assigns him. he serves his master not only in the shop or in relation to the business but at home as well, like washing of cars, cleaning the home, washing and ironing his master’s cloth, etc. he has no right to travel home without the consent of the master, even if the parents live in the same city with the master. he must work hard to win the trust and favour of his master, as it is the master who would make an appraisal of his service in the growing of the business venture and in non-business related areas. at the end of the apprenticeship, the master gives the apprentice a take-off fund for the hiring or purchase of a shop, goods, equipment, where necessary and in some cases, accommodation for a given period of time. this take-off fund does not in any way mean that he ceases to collaborate with the master, the master still assists him or her with goods igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 64 procurement to reduce overhead importation cost, knowing fully well that the apprentice has a weak purchasing power. through the different responsibilities that the master place son the apprentice, the master prepares him for the future. in what seems likes a tough time, the master exposes the apprentice to a future reality that is tough and only overcome through hard work. it is not in all cases that the master stays with the apprentice in the same shop or business premises, having gathered some experience, the master can decide to open a shop elsewhere, different from the location where he might be. in this case, the apprentice manages the business branch for the master, representing him at business negotiations and importation with foreign trade partners. this seeming independence of the apprentice in management does not only help the master expand his business and thus make more profit, it also helps the apprentice with an ownership mindset that gives room f or trust, building of his confidence and exposure, which is necessary for the apprentice if he must succeed in the future. once an apprentice graduates and is settled, he has a responsibility of doing for others back at home what his master has done for him. he, therefore, goes to the village and picks another apprentice who would serve him. meanwhile, before his graduation, his master must have gone home and picked another apprentice who would learn the trade before his final graduation. it is thus a model that keeps engaging the young. the igbo has a culture that frowns at the young roaming the streets in idleness. the apprentice system of the igbo ensures that if a child is unable to go to school, instead of staying back at home, he learns a tradeusually the type of trade that his family people have been involved in. the two basic principles, according to crescent (2019) that drives the igbo apprentice system are: 1. get every igbo child busy with something and discourage laziness 2. give helping hands to someone running a business and in turn transfer the knowledge to ward. in spite of the absence of clearly written laws to guide the relationship between the master and the apprentice, this system has succeeded over the years. this success is based on a college of factors. the first reason why it succeeds is that the apprentice treads with caution, knowing fully well that if he fails or ruins his masters business, his own future would be ruined. he treads carefully in managing the affairs of his master and tries to prosper the master’s business igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 65 because he knows that his destiny is tied to the economic destiny of his master. this fear, according to okoro (2018) engenders honesty during the years of apprenticeship as every established acts of theft, diversion of fund and flamboyant use and wastage of business finances terminates the arrangement. second, while the apprentice does his best to avoid the termination of the apprentice arrangement, the master is also careful to avoid a bad labeling from his community where he has picked the son of a brother or relation. to dismiss the apprentice on grounds that are not substantiated or failing to keep to the terms of apprenticeship after the agreed number of years of service can incur the wrath of the community back at home. thus, the igbo apprenticeship system is not just an arrangement between the master and the apprentice, it is a community or family affair. masters who are notorious for not settling their apprentice hardly get apprentice to work with them as the story is told of every master’s treatment of his apprentice. and these stories, good or bad, last for generations among the members of the community or family. no wonder some masters have more applications for apprenticeship than others. according to okoro (2018), insincere masters run the risk of having their businesses or fortune ruined by the apprentice’s personal deity, known as the chi. this is why every master does his best to give a take-off package to the apprentice after the fulfillment of the agreed years of service. at this point of settlement the blessing of the master is indispensable. the blessing of the master is more important than the financial package, because the financial package without his blessing ends in ruin. at this point, therefore, the igbo apprentice system takes up a spiritual dimension. at the picking up point and settlement point, there are no written documents or court papers to sign. it is done in trust. according to neuwirth (2018)” the interesting thing is that nothing is in writing, it’s all done on trust and credibility. the boy’s family would usually come together and meet with the master at the commencement of the arrangement. and at the end of the apprentice period, the master will also bring the boy home and settle him in the presence of his family. government cannot replicate that. they can only complicate it. (ted, november 2018) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 66 diagram 1: showing the circle of the igbo model it all begins with ingratiation, which involves the processes of the master going to the village, picking a relation and introducing him to the system, their duties, roles and overall workings of the system. it is a period of orientation. this is followed by the period of incubation, which offers the apprentice the business spaces of learning to mature in the business, in co-creation, trainings and cultivation of business models. the incubation platform is full of risks and practical in nature. it is during this period that the apprentice is trained and nurtured. during this period, honesty, accountability and work ethic are core principles. the final stage is funding. this is when the master settles the apprentice to begin his own business. this is dependent on the financial capability of the master and the commitment of the apprentice to the success of the business during the incubation period. ingratiation incubation funding igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 67 as the igbo continue to create wealth in different parts of nigeria, the apprentice system is at its base. neuwirth (2018) visited the alaba international market in lagos dominated by the igbo and observed that: this mutual aid economy still exists, and we can find examples of it in the strangest places. so, this is alaba international market. it’s the largest electronics market in west africa. it’s 10,000 merchants, they do about four billion dollars of turnover every year. and they say they are ardent apostles of adam smith: competition is great, we’re all in it individually, government doesn’t help us. but the interesting reality is that when i asked further, that’s not what grew the market at all. there’s a behind-the-scenes principle that enables this market to grow. and they do claim — you know, this is an interesting juxtaposition of the king james bible and “how to sell yourself.” that’s what they say is their message. but in reality, this market is governed by a sharing principle. every merchant, when you ask them, “how did you get started in global trade?” they say, “well, when my master settled me.” and when i finally got it into my head to ask, “what is this ‘settling?'” it turns out that when you’ve done your apprenticeship with someone you work for, they are required — required — to set you up in business. that means paying your rent for two or three years and giving you a cash infusion so you can go out in the world and start trading. that’s locally generated venture capital. right? and i can say with almost certainty that the igbo apprenticeship system that governs alaba international market is the largest business incubator platform in the world. (ted, november 2018) the igbo apprenticeship system has produced more millionaires and billionaires than the entire nigerian university economic system has produced. neuwirth (2018) observes that the igbo multi billionaires were the products of this business incubator platform: innoson, cocharis, ibeto, chikason, ekenedilichukwu, are all from our great city of nnewi. none of these may ventured anywhere near the gates of a secondary school, some didn’t even finish primary school, but control multi billion dollar empires. it’s starts with an apprentice system where a master takes a young boy of about 10 years, the boy serves his master for about 7 years. at the end of the 7 years, the master settles the boy with igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 68 some capital. most times depending on their relationship, the boy remains in the master’s house even though he is now free, eats there and sleeps there for the next 2 years or so, to save money. in addition to the capital, the master also extends credit facilities to the boy and gives him goods on credit to sell. (ted, november 2018). these millionaires: innoson, cocharis, ibeto, chikason, ekenedilichukwu are not just millionaires for themselves, they make millionaires every year through the apprentice incubator platform. the system is such that there is always a millionaire waiting to be born. it is a beautiful circle, with each circle preparing for the birth of a millionairewho is either being ingratiated or incubated or funded. conclusion this study is another effort at discovering the relationship between igwebuike philosophy and the socio-economic categories of reality. using the philosophical idea of igwebuike, it has tried to establish its centrality in the igbo apprenticeship system that has created wealth over the years for the igbo, making the igbo the most successful business men and women in africa. the beauty of it is its simplicity. it is a system that does not take equity or require raising huge capital. it is driven by human-platform and it works based on the igwebuike philosophy that sees the other as a part of me, and thus making me responsible for the other. it is a human network that the nigeria government can deepen through the provision of capital for igbo business men and women. if government can deepen these human-platforms, she can comfortably fix the unemployment problem that is affecting the young and the economy of the country. references aleke, m. (2018). the igbo apprenticeship system that builds wealth and started the incubation system, https://www.pulse.ng/gist/imu-ahia-the-igboapprenticeship-system-that-builds-wealth-and-started-theincubation/q50ps44 aligwekwe, p. e. (1991). the continuity of african traditional values in the african society: the igbo of nigeria. enugu: snaap. basden, j. t. (1966). niger ibos. london: frank cass. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 69 grenz, s. (1966). a primer on post-modernism. william b. eerdmans: grand rapid. gudtalent chrisent 2019, what is imu ahia/igba boy – what the igbo apprenticeship is, history, thought and terms. https://www.entorm.com/opinion/imu-ahia-the-igbo-apprenticeship. isichei, e. (1976). a history of the igbo people. london: macmillan. kalu, o. (1978). precarious vision: the african perception of his world. o. kalu (ed.). african cultural development (pp. 28-41). enugu: fourth dimension. kanu, i. a. (2014). “suicide in igbo-african ontology”. developing countries studies. vol. 4. no. 5. usa. pp. 27-38. kanu, i. a. (2014). “suffering in igbo-african ontology”. research on humanities and social sciences. vol. 4. no. 5. pp. 8-13. kanu i. a. (2017). igwebuikeconomics: towards an inclusive economy for economic development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 6. 113-140. kanu, i. a. (2012). the concept of life and person in african anthropology. in e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (eds.). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 61-71). jos: augustinian. kanu, i. a. (2012). towards an igbo christology. in e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (eds.). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 75-98). jos: fab anieh. kanu, i. a. (2019). “collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective”. the catholic voyage. vol. 15. pp. 125-149. kuhn, t. (1970). the structure of scientific revolution. chicago: university of chicago press. njoku, e. e. (1990). the igbos of nigeria: ancient rites, changes and survival. new york: edwin mellen. nwala, t. u. (1998). igbo philosophy. lagos: literained publications. oguejiofor, o. (2010). globalization and the resilience of traditional paradigms: the case of the igbo of nigeria. in a. b. c chiegboka, t. c. utoh-ezeajugh igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 4, july 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 70 and g. i. udechukwu (eds.). the humanities and globalization in the third millennium (pp. 15-25). anambra: rex charles and patrick. okoro, c. (2018). what makes the igbo apprenticeship model tick and critical considerations before taking it mainstream. in https://techpoint.africa/2018/11/07/igbo-apprenticeship-system-forstartups onwuejeogwu, m. a. (1987). evolutionary trends in the history of the development of the igbo civilization in the culture theatre of igbo land in southern nigeria. a paper presented during the ohiajioku lecture, owerri. robert neuwirth 2018, igbo apprenticeship system is world’s largest business incubator platform – robert neuwirth reveals. https://www.informationng.com/2018/11/igbo-apprenticeship-systemis-worlds-largest-business-incubator-platform-robert-neuwirthreveals.html tempel, p. (1952). bantu philosophy. paris: presence africaine. uchendu, v. c. (1965). the igbos of south east nigeria. london: rinehart and winston. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol 9 no.1, 2023 www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/igwebuikejournals.php a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 79 an evaluation of tricycle transportation as a means of poverty alleviation programme in alimosho local government area of lagos state austin u. igwe department of history and international studies nnamdi azikiwe university awka & ugochukwu samuel osisioma department of history and strategic studies alex ekwueme federal university, ndufu-alike ikwo ebonyi ugochukwuosisioma@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.27610.21449 abstract this study examines the role of tricycle as a means of poverty alleviation programme in alimosho local government. tricycle is one of the mode of land transport that has provided job opportunities for youths across nigeria. both the federal, state and private individuals have invested in this means of transportation so as to assist the youth and help reduce crime and rate of social malaise rocking alimosho local government and its environs. the paper employs primary and secondary sources as interviews were granted to tricycle riders to ascertain their opinions on the programme. the findings show that unlike other means of poverty alleviation programme that had been introduced since independence, tricycle transport is the most dependable and lasting programme that endured overtime. keywords: poverty, transportation, tricycle, economy introduction nigeria is enormously endowed with human, agricultural, petroleum, natural gas, and massive untapped mineral resources. unfortunately, nigeria is grouped as one of the poorest counties at the threshold of the 21st century, and by 2019, nigeria assumed the status of the poverty capital of the world2 when ironically she was ranked among the richest 50 countries in the early 1970s3. an evaluation of tricycle transportation as a means of poverty alleviation programme in alimosho 80 the increasing poverty level in the country necessitated the introduction of poverty alleviation programmes by successive governments in the country. but with declaration of the reduction in the incidence of poverty level from 70% to 50%, 4 it is important to examine the step taken by government in that direction opinions is divided among nigerian scholars on the effect of poverty alleviation programme in nigeria. t. o aregbesola5 was of the opinion that nigerian government should stop the proposition of motorcycle riding and procurement of three wheeler motorcycles as a way of alleviating poverty because they hardly make people rise above poverty; rather they lead to loss of many lives. despite the steps that the federal government of nigeria is taking to alleviate poverty, aibieyi and dirisu6 observed that all poverty alleviation programme in nigeria have not been successful due to reoccurrence of similar factors that made the programmes unsuccessful. owoeye7 also observed that irrespective of gender, tricycle has been a source of income generation for both the poor and the university graduates. contributions to tricycle by the scholars above revealed divergent views on its relevance. in the light of this, this paper is set to examine the significance of tricycle in easing the socio-economic challenges of the people in alimosho. with the banned of motorcycle in some locations in lagos as a result of road traffic accidents, robberies and so on, there is also the need to complement existing public transport and as well create jobs for people of alimosho. one way to empower people is by creating employment that can give them income. using tricycle for commercial transportation is one of the poverty alleviation strategies that the alimosho local government and private investors had employed overtime. theoretical framework poverty has been variously defined by scholars based on their understanding of the concept. among economists, poverty according to j. ewetan has been defined as a situation of low income or low consumption8. it is said to exist when one or more persons fall short of a level of economic welfare deemed to constitute a reasonable minimum either in some absolute sense or by the standard of a specific society9. poverty refers to lack of physical necessities, assets and income. it must be noted that the poor in most instances are unable to have access to basic necessities of life such as food, clothing, and decent shelter, unable to meet social and economic obligations, they lack skill, gainful employment, have inadequate possession of economic assets and sometimes lack of selfesteem. according to world bank report, poverty is hunger, lack of shelter, being sick and not being able to go to school, not knowing how to read, not being able to speak properly, not austin u. igwe & ugochukwu samuel osisioma 81 having a job, fear for the future, losing a child to illness brought about by unclean water, powerlessness, lack of representation and freedom. 10the vast majority of residents in alimosho fell into these categories hence the need to introduce tricycle to lessen the poverty ratio in the area. evolution of poverty alleviation strategies in nigeria since 1960, poverty eradication efforts in nigeria centered on education, which was seen as the key to economic, technological and intellectual development of the nation. ’show the light, and the people will find the way’’, was, then the slogan of nigeria’s first president, the late dr. nnamdi azikwe. therefore education programmes were implemented alongside agricultural extension services, which encouraged increased food production. successive governments have tried to address some of these issues through the enunciation of poverty related programmes. whether these programmes have succeeded in either alleviating is still a subject of controversy among scholars suffice it to say, however, that the first of such programmes called, operation feed the nation (ofn) was enunciated in 1979 by gen. olusegun obasanjo. ofn lasted until shehu shagari’s government took over in 1979. shagari (19791983) shared almost the same poverty reduction idea with his predecessor. he came up with his own pet project named the green revolution, which also emphasized food production. it must be stated though that lack of continuity and shift in approach trailed poverty alleviation programmes since the ouster of shagari from power in 1983.11 gen. ibrahim babangida (1985-1993) is known to be one head of state that introduced numerous poverty alleviation programme. these include the peoples bank, which sought to provide loans to prospective entrepreneurs on soft terms and without stringent requirements of collaterals. during general babangida rule, community banks also sprouted as adjuncts of the peoples bank and as sources of cheap funds for communities and their members. another programme was the directorate of food roads and rural infrastructure (dffri), which sought to open up rural areas via construction of feeder roads and provision of basic amenities that would turn them into production centers for the national economy. the dffri was on offer as the most comprehensive programme on the nation’s war against poverty. 12 an evaluation of tricycle transportation as a means of poverty alleviation programme in alimosho 82 another programme that tried to head-off the scourge of poverty by targeting the agricultural sector was the nigerian agricultural land development authority (nalda). the authority was intended to reduce the prevalence of subsistence agriculture in the country and in its place infuse large scale commercial farming by assisting farmers with inputs and developing land for them to the point of planting, at subsidized rates. while all these programmes collapsed at one point or the other, nonetheless, at least one of these programmes enunciated by the babangida regime –the national directorate of employment (nde) –managed to survive for long. it is on record that hundreds of thousands of youths benefited from the nde scheme through its four-pronged approach that include vocational acquisition training (673,000), entrepreneurial (business) training (373,366), training for rural employment and training for labour-based works programme. in 2000 alone, nde said that 21,708 youths received training in vocational skills in 36 states of the federation and abuja, while 5,075 graduated in different trades. 13 the scheme which has a special arrangement for women said that several of them had been trained on how to process, preserve and package food. the regime of late gen. sanni abacha (1993 – 1998) was known as the midwife of the family economic advancement programme (feap) in nigeria’s quest for a way out of debilitating poverty, as this was the period that marked nigeria’s relapse into the global bracket of 25 poorest nations. significantly, feap existed for about two years (1998 – 2000) during which it received funding to the tune of n7 billion out of which about n3.3 billion was disbursed as loans to about 21,000 cooperative societies nationwide that were production oriented. 14 as a rider to all poverty alleviation programmes enunciated over the years in nigeria, it must be recalled that spouses of heads of state also joined in the fray with novel programmes that not only elevated the status of these first ladies but also focused on issues of poverty, using state funds. most noticeable were the better life for rural women heralded by mrs. mariam babangida and mrs. mariam sani abacha’s family support programme (fsp). these programmes also tried to introduce a gender element into anti-poverty programmes, acting on the assumption that women needed special treatment in the light of their immense contributions to the national economy, both as small-scale entrepreneurs and home keepers. nonetheless, most of these poverty alleviation programmes suffered the same fate as a recent government assessment showed. austin u. igwe & ugochukwu samuel osisioma 83 poverty alleviation programme since 1999 since the beginning of the fourth republic in 1999, the successive administrations had set out poverty as one of its areas of focus. the olusegun obasanjo’s administration(19992007) started by approving the blueprint for the establishment of the national poverty eradication programme (napep) – a central coordination point for all anti-poverty efforts from the local government level to the national level by which schemes were executed with the sole purpose of eradicating absolute poverty. such schemes already identified include: _ youth empowerment scheme (yes), _ rural infrastructures development scheme (rids), _ social welfare services scheme (sowess) and _ tricycle 15 direct and indirect involvement of government in the provision of transportation is well established all over the world. the global economic recession and the fall out of structural adjustment programme (sap) between 1987 and 1993 in nigeria greatly affect the purchasing power of government and the populace to replace existing public transport fleet of buses and taxis. in order to meet the transport needs of people, motorcycle popularly which is commonly used as means of inter-city transport in the riverine areas of the country surfaced as commercial transport system in most urban areas of the country. and this has come to stay in most westafrican states. olusegun obasanjo’s administration set up the presidential panel on the rationalization and harmonization of poverty alleviation and agencies which was headed by alhaji ahmed joda; presidential technical committee on the review of all poverty alleviation programme headed by professor ango abdullah; and committees on youths policy, concept of the youth empowerment scheme and the blueprint for poverty eradication programme headed by professor a.b. aborishade. the findings of these presidential panels coalesced in the formation of the national poverty eradication programme (napep) in january 2001. this new scheme was structured to integrate four sectorial schemes which, among others include the rural infrastructure development scheme (rids). the objective of this scheme is to ensure the provision and development of infrastructure needs in the area of transport, energy, water and communication especially in rural areas. the schemes were been broken into four parts: the rural transport programme, the rural energy programme, the rural water programme, and the rural an evaluation of tricycle transportation as a means of poverty alleviation programme in alimosho 84 communication programme. the target of the national poverty eradication programme is to completely wipe out poverty from nigeria by the year 2010. although this deadline has been reached, many nigerian’s are still living below the poverty line. when napep came on stream in january 2001 and embarked on its transport development programmes, it ordered and took delivery of 2,000 units of threewheeler vehicles (tricycles) called keke-napep. these tricycles were allocated to unemployed youths for commercial transportation in all the states of the federation and federal capital territory, in order to empower them economically. with the externalities of motorcycles such as road traffic accidents, robberies and so on, there is also the need to complement existing public transport and as well create jobs for people of lagos, about 500 units of auto-rickshaw tricycles was brought in march, 1998 to lagos state and these was called ‘keke marwa’ named after the then military governor of lagos state colonel buba marwa who initiated the use of tricycle as a means of transportation in the lagos metropolis. 16 one way to empower people is by creating employment that can give them income. using tricycle for commercial transportation is one of the poverty alleviation strategies that the government employed through national poverty eradication programme in creating employment for the unemployed. its usage has spread across over-crowded settlements in major urban centers in lagos today such as ajegunle, oshodi, ketu, lagos island, alimosho and agege. in 2009, napep launched and distributed two thousand units of green color tricycles with the inscription keke napep as a commercial means of transportation. this was to serve as a strategy to convert area boys from idlers to a productive work force. according to napep, the justifications for the distribution of keke nationwide include:  to ensure mass gainful employment for the idle work force;  to sustain wealth creation;  to provide affordable mass transit services;  to provide opportunity for the growth of other ancillary services such as vending, portal water, mobile food canteens, mobile grocery shops, post-delivery, etc.  to facilitate technical entrepreneurs and related small businesses that will in turn facilitate transfer of technology; and to facilitate other subsidiary businesses such as the sale of tricycle spare parts, operators, mechanics and building of local contents, among others. 17 it is noteworthy to mention that majority of commuters use buses, tricycles and motorcycles for movement while some use the taxis. the increase in urban population, particularly those residing in smaller settlements away from city centers is the primary austin u. igwe & ugochukwu samuel osisioma 85 reason why there is demand of the services of motorcycles and tricycles. some passengers however prefer the tricycle to motorcycle as a result of its relative affordability, availability and safety. in most places in alimosho, it is such that the city center is congested with business premises while the fringes are occupied by low and medium income earners. faced with this, commuters are forced to make longer trips on vehicles and trek longer distance of a consecutive estimate of two trips per person. with the above, it is clear that there is impending mobility crisis arising from demand/supply gap. the emergence of various modes of transportation gave rise to tricycles especially in view of its flexibility and the need to cope with socio-economic trends. most tricycle brands in alimosho are motorcycles with side cars, which have the legal capacity of 5 passengers including the driver. tricycles are a popular mode of public transportation among commuters due to their high accessibility, availability, affordability, and convenience. being much less expensive in fares than other vehicles, they play an important role in nigeria’s overall transportation system. tricycles are the most convenient transportation in rural areas especially from the central town to the villages. despite the need to popularize the tricycles over the motorcycles, which are characterized by fatal crashes and other forms of vulnerabilities, these three wheel vehicle poses environmental and social challenges such as fine particles emission, noise, absence of paved roads, lack of parks and terminals on designated routes for hitch-free conveyance of passengers. alimosho local government area alimosho local government is one of the twenty local government areas in lagos state. alimosho lies is between latitudes 60 36/and 38/ and longitude 30 17/ and 45/. it is bounded in the north by ifako-ijaye local government, south by ojo and amuwoodofin local government areas, east by agege, ikeja and oshodi-isolo local government areas and in the west by ogun state. the local government is the largest metropolitan area in lagos state with population of about 1,277,714 inhabitants. although, the actual number of tricycle operators in lagos state was not known but they can be seen in many parts of fringe settlements such as ipaja, ayobo, ikotun, ijekun, iserioshun, idimu, egbeda, aboru, shasha in the local government area. these settlements are evolving as urban area and as well faced with inadequate transportation facilities enjoyed by other metropolitan areas in the state. the choice of alimosho thus stems from preliminary investigation which revealed that the local government area has the largest concentration of tricycle operators and numerous low income earners in lagos state. an evaluation of tricycle transportation as a means of poverty alleviation programme in alimosho 86 alimosho was established in 1945 and it was under the then western region. majority of the yoruba extraction who dominate alimosho were the egbados. the area is very rich in culture, prominent amongst which are oro, igunnu and egungun festivals annually celebrated. aside the cultural heritages, majority of the inhabitants of the council area are islamic and christian faithful. however, yoruba language is widely spoken in the community impact of tricycle on the lives of the people this centers on how income generated by tricycle operators help in taking care of their life challenges and how this income generation indirectly helps in alleviating their poverty. tricycle operators generate between n7000 to n10, 000 daily on ipaja ayobo route. 18 out of the daily income, government officials and road transport union collect n1000 daily on the road. it is important to note that tricycle operators generate sufficient money during the rush hours especially in the morning from 7 am to 10 am when commuters were rushing to work and in the evening between 4 p. m in the evening and 9 p. m. in the night when commuters are returning to their respective homes. it is worthy to emphasize that alimosho is the biggest local government in lagos and has over 800,000 inhabitants according to 2006 population census figure. the high house-rent payment in industrial areas, and other areas proximity to the main commercial hub in the state especially in ikeja and the lagos mainland, lagos island makes numerous civil servants and others in the formal sector of the economy to choose alimosho axis as choices of residence due to cheap house rent depending on the areas of choices. this development instigated numerous people to choose the areas as choice of residence. for instance, in alimosho area, a room and parlor self-contain costs n250, 000 annually, while a room self is around n150, 000 and n200, 000 depending on the neatness, proximity to the road and strategic location of the house. while in ikeja, a room and parlor self-contain-costs around n800, 000 to n1.2m depending on its condition. this development prompt mass exodus of people to alimosho area where rent and price of commodities are relatively moderate. tricycle operators are faced with several financial situations which must be fulfilled monthly. these include house rent, electricity bills; children school fees, medical bills, feeding and clothing. apart from the domestic bills, tricycle operators also purchase fuel and oil, repair and servicing of tricycles, washing and other miscellaneous spending. it is worthy to note that the high extortion by government agency and traffic officials on the road affect the operations on the roads and this hinders them from meeting up with daily expenses. in the rush hours, there is always severe traffic on alimosho route, and this indirectly limits the number of time that operators would have used. according to jimoh https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/egbado austin u. igwe & ugochukwu samuel osisioma 87 ademola, he said sometimes if the road is free, within one hour, he would go three times, but in the morning and evening when traffic has gather momentum, sometimes, only one round in two hours. 19 this development seriously affects the income of tricycle operators. it is important to note that tricycle operators faced numerous financial challenges as some of them could not meet up with daily financial demands. apart from this, some of the tricycle operators also procured it on higher purchase and were unable to fulfill their debt. in situation where they fail to meet up with payment procedures, the donors often forcefully retrieved it from them without refunding the money paid. most of the tricycle operators were also graduates who were forced by the exigencies of living an independent life and catering for their immediate families. this is couple with the problem of unemployment rocking the country. according to the chairman, tricycle riders in iyana ipaja, alhaji faruq adekola “apart from the fact that some of the tricycle operators were graduates who see tricycle operator as only way to carve a niche, we also employ graduates in our offices across the state. presently here i have four graduates as staff working in different departments”20 the rush to earn more money triggered tricycle operators to embark on overloading. overloading was a major problem in this study. this is not peculiar to this mode of transport alone in nigeria. other modes have been found to carry more than stipulated passengers/weight in developing countries particularly in nigeria21. the implications of overloading are grievous; it affects the maneuvering of the vehicle and at the same time increases wear and tear of the vehicle. this has repercussion on the safety of the vehicle and its occupants. just over half of the tricycles in alimosho are registered. some of the operators who had not registered complained of escalating price of registration and lack of time because several hours would have to be devoted to it due to high level of bureaucracy involved. it follows, therefore, that some of the vehicles may not be road worthy. the implication is that such vehicles are liable to frequent breakdown (with its attendant economic loss to both operators and passengers) and are vulnerable to road crashes. possession of driving license and year of driving experience are important components of road safety. with only few operators having driver’s license and a high percentage of them had only driven in the last 3 years, it is obvious that it will have significant influence on their driving behavior and safety on the road. some of the operators may not have gone through the required process of obtaining a license. an evaluation of tricycle transportation as a means of poverty alleviation programme in alimosho 88 challenges faced by tricycle operators in alimosho tricycle operators faced numerous challenges in the acquisition and operation on the road. one fundamental problem is faced in the bid to acquire tricycle and in their course of operation. these challenges include cost of procuring the tricycle, routes of operation, size of the tricycle, parking problem and problem involving other road users. there were also problem with tricycle associations, and the traffic control agencies of government including the police that have become highly extortionists on the road. costs of obtaining the tricycle is a major challenge faced by operators. they were of the opinion that the cost of acquiring a tricycle is enormous. they liken the cost of acquiring an auto-rickshaw to buying a fairly used car. mathew adewale, 22 a tricycle operator expressed dissatisfaction with the way and process involved in the acquisition of it. “before i could acquire my own, i had to plead and bribe my way before i was given one despite the fact that i have my money to pay. this is probably because only very few were available then and it was given to the highest bidder.23 sunday ideye, a graduate of political science from nasarawa state university also expressed similar opinion. he maintained that the cost of obtaining keke marua is too high, and blame the hike on the volatility of the naira and the high exchange rate of dollars. 24 the operators explained that the tricycles were given by microfinance bank on hire purchase at an average price of n 1,300,000 and registration which cost between n 80,000 to n 85,000. the total of which is equivalent to n 1,400,000. 25 it was revealed that napep was to encourage operators to purchase through initiative of peace tolerance and training (ipet), one of its various scheme. ipet procure and sold the tricycle at a unit price of n 330,000 (600usd) in 2014 and operators paid into two different accounts, n295,000 (590 usd) is to be paid into ipet account and n 35,000 was to be paid as commission.26 ironically, in 2015, napep sold to individual that has the capability to buy the tricycles in fleet at the rate of n 330,000 (600usd) and these individuals sold to micro-finance bank at the rate of n350, 000 (700 usd), the bank later sold to tricycle operators at the rate of n 550,000 (1.100usd) in hire purchase and this put additional financial costs of n200, 000 (400usd) to the purchase of the tricycle. the operators explained that the actions of napep officials make it difficult to acquire the tricycle at the official price, thereby, questioned the credibility of the programme.27 michael olatunde also corroborated the challenges of the tricycle operators in the acquisition of the tricycle but blamed it on naira volatility.28 when we purchase one tricycle from indian manufacturer at the rate of n300, 000, sometimes at the rate of n200 per dollar, and suddenly exchange rate rises to n350 per dollar. we need to increase the cost to meet up with the present cost austin u. igwe & ugochukwu samuel osisioma 89 of dollar so that we will be able to buy next time. the instability in the currency exchange also affects the supply. apart from this, tricycle operators also find it difficult to give out keke on higher purchase to assist people because of the instability in the exchange rate. route choice, size of tricycle and parking facilities are another challenge facing tricycle operator. they also faced the challenges of route choice, the size of tricycle and the problem of parking. in lagos and especially alimosho, tricycle operators were restricted to some particular routes to navigate. this is due to the demands of the laws of lagos that restricted them to certain area. operators were of the opinion that in many a time, they often ply the route that is economical in order to meet up with the payment of the tricycle. due to unspecified route, and with the size of the tricycle, they have to share road ways with trucks and other vehicles and this make the operators and passengers vulnerable to road traffic accident. the operators in the study area also lament that, because of uncoordinated tricycle riders association, they lack parks of garages, and many of the operators use roadside as park. according to mr. wasiu oguntola, 29 he expressed fear on the way in manner in which trailers and long trucks often chased them away from the road. some of these truck owners see us as threat on the road because we share the same road. sometimes they drive carelessly and if accidentally there is break failure, the extents of damage caused by the truck on our keke is very disturbing and also lead to loss of lives. this has created fear in the minds of commuters in such that they prefer taking commercial buses. it is important to note that tricycle carries five passengers including the driver, and this makes it faster for passengers to get to their destinations. also, in the case of traffic, tricycle size is very small and can easily navigate small space. apart from this, it is very open in such that people prefer it to commercial bus because of access to air. while there is contamination of air in commercial buses, the open nature of tricycle makes it open to fresh air. 30 all these advantages were under serious threat as a result of the serious infraction created by truck drivers on the road. hence despite all the analyzed benefit of tricycle, its vulnerability scared people from boarding it on like before. there is also the problem of parking facilities. tricycle operators do not have specific areas where they can park in alimosho; they parked on a side of the roads thus obstructing free flow of traffic. some also parked at filling stations to load passengers and this sometimes leads to crisis with the management. an interesting challenge faced by tricycle operator comes from security and traffic agencies in lagos state. the demand for bribes and kickbacks from tricycle operators is too alarming in the state and this often generate crisis between the operators and security agencies. in areas of registration, the vehicle inspection officers (vio) overcharged the operators and this sometimes leads to crisis. policemen sometimes arrest them and an evaluation of tricycle transportation as a means of poverty alleviation programme in alimosho 90 demand for bribes. for instance policemen were bribed n5000 every day to allow unrestricted operation of the tricycle operators in alimosho park. apart from the police, the men of lastma and other traffic warden also designed ways of exploiting them. 31 this exploitation is too unbearable to them and it lead to violence and protests conclusion and recommendation the study has examined the socio-economic impact of tricycle in alimosho local government area. findings show that there was an improvement in the welfare of tricycle operators who were involved in the scheme. in spite of the benefits of the scheme, many problems were highlighted by tricycle operators. these problems include (i) high cost of acquiring the tricycle with short term payback period, (ii) problems associated with parking, (iii) continual extortion from the police and local government officials and (iv) conflict with other road users which often results to road traffic accidents. based on the findings of the study, it is recommended that: (i) government should create a way by which beneficiaries of the scheme will obtain the loan directly and payback period be reviewed. (ii) adequate parking provision should be made for tricycle operators in various parks where they operate. (iii) mechanism should be put in place to curb the police and local government officials in extorting the tricycle operators. (iv) enlighten other road users in accommodating tricycle operators on lagos roads. endnotes 1. b .o. obi, “fiscal policy and poverty alleviation: some policy options for nigeria” aerc research paper 164, african economic research consortium, nairobi. (2007). p. 13 2. ibid, pp.16. 3. ibid, pp.41. 4. m. i. obadan, “poverty reduction in nigeria: the way forward” cbn economic & financial review, vol. 39 n0. 4. (2004). 5. o. ewetan extracted from s. aibieyi, and e. o. dirisu, national poverty alleviation programmes in nigeria. problems and p aibieyi, s. and dirisu, e.o., a journal of contemporary research. vol. 7. no.2. (2010). p. 36. 6. m. kpakol, “poverty reduction programme” being a contribution of national coordinator of national poverty alleviation programmes (napep). channel television programme on poverty alleviation. march.2011, p33. 7. s. aibieyi, and e. o. dirisu, pp 38. 8. according to world bank report, 2008 www.worldbankgroup.com/africapovertyindex.assessed on 23th of february 2018 http://www.worldbankgroup.com/africapovertyindex.assessed austin u. igwe & ugochukwu samuel osisioma 91 9. undp on human development index(hdi).www.undp.org,povertyindexinnigeria assessed on 23th of february 2018 10. m. saleh, an assessment of effectiveness of tricycle as a mode of urban transportation in kano metropolis, nigeria. unpublished msc. project. dept. of urban & regional planning, ahmadu bello university, zaria,2012 11. ibid 12. o. b. obi, “fiscal policy and poverty alleviation: some policy options for nigeria” aerc research paper 164, african economic research consortium, nairobi.2007.p.13 13. ibid 14. p. s. aku, m. t. ibrahim, and y. d. bulus, perspective on poverty alleviation strategies in nigeria, in: proceedings of the nigerian economic society annual conference on poverty alleviation in nigeria. nigerian economic society, ibadan; 41 – 51(1997), p. 31 15. ibid 16. wikipedia/alimosholocalgovernment. accessed on 27th of february 2018 17. 2006. national population commission (npc) population of lagos state/alimosho. www.npc.hov.ng assessed on 19th of february 2018 18. wikipedia 19. information obtained from wikipedia,www.wikipedia.org/alimosholocalgovernment. 27th of february 2018 20. wikipedia. history of keke marua. www.wikipedia.com/tricycleinnigeria accessed on 21th of february 2018 21. report obtained from napep website 22. interview with mr. mathew adewale, 33 years, tricycle operator at the park in iyana ipaja, lagos on the 23rd of february 2018 23. ibid 24. interview with mr. sunday ideye, 31 years, tricycle operator at the park in iyana ipaja, lagos on 23th of february 2018 25. ibid 26. interview with jimoh ademola interview with mr. jimoh ademola, chairman tricycle operators in iyana ipaja/ ayobo unit on 22th february 2018. 27. interview with alhaji farouk adekola, chairman tricycle operators in iyana ipaja on the 15 th of february 2018 28. interview with mr. mathew adewale, 33 years, tricycle operator at the park in iyana ipaja, lagos on the 23rd of february 2018 29. interview with mr. wasiu oguntola 33 years, tricycle operator at the park in iyana ipaja, lagos on the 23rd of february 2018 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol 9 no.2, 2023 www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/igwebuikejournals.php a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 124 igbo socialism: a hermeneutical approach to the contemporary nigerian society eruka, c. raphael, ph. d. department of philosophy, madonna university nigeria, okija campus, anambra state. drerukar@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.31621.83688 abstract the historical reality of ideological systems constructions has always tended to project the theoretics and pragmatics inherent in the perspectives of socialism and its sometimes necessary preceding capitalist practice. these have remained global theories and sociocultural movements since social and political economies are part and parcel of global cultural realities. the era of pure ideological systems constructions and the economic and political anti-parties they tend to garner seem to be now part of a definite historical past as most of the global community moves towards a post-ideological socio-economic welfare of the mixed economy type. if this postulation remains true to current realities, then there are grounds to entertain the point that the people’s collective consciousness tilts in the direction of socialism. there is a move towards the realization of some of the ends of socialism without the attempt at the adoption of the explicit theory from the scientific standpoint and the implications thereof. socialism can be said to be true to human nature even if this does not imply wholesale historical socialism of the west. this entails that when reference is made to socialism in a work of this nature, such reference is not to a univocal conception of the theory. all socialism has not been the product of the type of struggles that characterized the occidental and oriental theories of the same. the paper settles for igbo-african socialism which is less popularized historically with less literary pool to its credit. modal socialisms of the cultural type have remained existential realities in traditional communities. it is a theory of socio-economic-pragmatism and even moral didacticism since cultural peoples not only lived it but somehow made it a dependent factor in the whole valuation of their existence. traditional socialism provides lots of theoretical insights through its generational value appreciation but these are from posterior systematic reflections concerning its true end. in this work, an effort has been made at extracting salient values from the socialist ideology of the igbo past. the methodology used in highlighting theories and behaviours within a given worldview and recommending implementable policies in light of the current nigerian situation was derived from the wider hermeneutical context. keywords: igbo socialism, hermeneutics, nigerian society, didactism eruka, c. raphael 125 introduction the igbo was, and remains to an extent a traditional people; a people who possess cultural values to which they continue to look back to draw modalities for some of their programs. perhaps one question that may toss itself in some minds is whether the existence of igbo socialism should be taken for granted. given the conditions that have thrown up socialism in the west and their oriental counterpart, one may begin to wonder when such upheavals ever occurred and their place at all in the socio-cultural values of the igbo people! igbo socialism was never premiered on any disruptive pre-conditioning and probably for this reason the nonor lessa dramatization of its existence remains an essential part of its features. there may be a need to mention that this being the case, human nature remains the same. if socialism in its fundaments is a value that springs from human nature, that is, in its true and humanizing form, then, it must be, in its essentials, common to humanity. if the igbo know themselves truly as a people that appreciate the development and the good that go with it, this includes the knowledge that socialism is part of their cultural values. the igbo may not have thought out socialism from the intellectual and ideological viewpoint, but if they reflected at all and this they do all the time, it must be apparent that this socio-economic system exists and operates in their way of living. this is expected since socialism is understood to be a theory of justice – mankind’s aspiration within cultural realities to address the contradictions occasioned by needless actions and inactions of the people. what is required is a systematic reflection as to what socialism entails and how it operates in the uniqueness of the people’s cultural realities. heraclitus of ephesus gave orientation to this perspective when he stated in fragments 113 and 116 that thought and reflective activity remain common heritage of mankind; hear him, ‘the thinking faculty is common to all’ (kaufmann, 1963, 18; frg116). of course, if it is the case that man is a rational animal, a thinking being – res cogitans – in the cartesian sense; ‘a thinking reed’ in pascalian view, then, the fact of thought and, or reflective activity can be predicated of all men (okolo, 1993, 1). ‘all men are granted what is needed for knowing oneself and sane thinking’, (kaufmann, 1963, 20; frg113). if this is true, as heraclitus claims, then what poses a problem is the capacity to make explicit the fundamentally implicit; for, it is no simple task to really know oneself and think sanely. all problems of society stem from this inability to selfcomprehend; self-grasp and achieve sanity in reflective engagement. all men have the capacity of knowing themselves and acting with moderation (freeman, 1956, 32; frg116). freeman is struggling to render the same thought of heraclitus that kaufmann dealt with above, in a different translation. in this case, what kaufmann understood as ‘sane thinking’ translates to ‘acting with moderation’. whether understood igbo socialism: a hermeneutical approach to the contemporary nigerian society 126 from the cognitive perspective or the moral, the value and virtue being advocated point to the sanitization of society through human reflective activity and action. it is all about seeking to think and do the right things; thinking and realizing the positive contents of thought in human action or existential praxis. the implication of the above reflection, among others, is that the igbo society, then and now, was; and, is still, not only a predictable subject of that which is essentially human but has as well demonstrated the capacity for the existential realization, in the course of history, of the praxiological content of positive socialist value reflection. if this did characterize their lived condition at some point in history, it makes sense to try to see how much could be re-enacted, as applicable, in the larger context of nigeria’s contemporary struggles to achieve better existential value for her citizens. socialism the first step towards understanding the meaning of socialism is that it is an economic system whereby in its organized variants, the government owns the means of production. here, ‘the state controls the means of production and distribution of goods’ (omoregbe, 2007, p. 7). these means of production include land, labour, capital and entrepreneur. the reason for this is to foster economic justice. people pool their resources together under government ownership to get a fair share of the proceeds of their collective labour. socialism is always a collective enterprise. in essence, it does away with individualism and the healthy or unbridled competitive spirit inherent in the capitalist system. socialism values cooperation for economic welfare. ‘it creates a sense of altruism (consideration for the welfare of others) in every citizen and encourages all citizens to work together for the common good of all (omoregbe, 2007, p. 7; omoregbe, 2007, p. 39). the people collaborate for their good. the operating principle that is fundamental to socialism is distribution. the emphasis is on the fair distribution of the proceeds of labour rather than on acquisition, especially of the maximal type that places the ultimate premium on mere material value and what it is meant to represent. socialism is not the ideology of a unilateral system: it has no absolute claims that pertain to it unilaterally in the strict sense but within the socialist system, there are broad characterizations. scientific socialism is a prominent variant. it is usually based on the marxian paradigms of thought. its main features include the recognition of class distinctions between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat – whereby the former refers to the capitalist while the latter refers to the poor and peasants. the struggle between the classes has remained a historical development that was a feature of historical epochs and whatever represented classism in given historical periods. the history of mankind has eruka, c. raphael 127 been that of class struggles (marx & engels, 1990, p. 13). scientific socialism was a function of marxian dialectics – a historical dialectical process that would usher in the realization of marx’s dreams. marx believed in the possibility of the catalysis of the process through violent struggle. for marx, the historical-dialectical process is inexorable since he believes that capitalism contains within itself contradictions that would be its undoing (omoregbe, 1991, p. 150). buzuev put it differently: according to him, capitalism would eventually ‘go down under the weight of its contradictions’ (buzuev, 1987, p. 12). not all socialist ideologies are scientific or marxian. marxian scientific socialism failed to grasp the dynamic principle in the human socio-economic sense which has made concerned humanistic consciences re-engineer economic theories for successful welfarist adaptation. the evils of capitalism are factual; but, it is also true that there are within capitalism those who recognize these evils and opt for strategies to cushion them. however, barring its scientific fundaments and the projection of violent struggles and the over-arching consequences, marxism does maintain elements of goodwill. socialism is not synonymous with marxism or scientific socialism. there are other variants which may take their departure from scientific socialism, or affirm its radical principles. in his ‘ideology for nigeria’, zik hinted at the existence of many other socialism brands, some of which include utopian socialism, christian socialism, democratic socialism, guild socialism, fabian socialism, and evolutionary socialism (omoregbe, 2007, p. 40). the emergence and existence of many strands of socialism can be explained from the point of view that some of these ideologies consciously moved to free themselves from some of the serious pitfalls of marxism while others may have evolved unobtrusively from the cultural realities and developmental needs of the people. african socialism in its african variant, mainly of the nyerere strand, socialism is an attitude of the mind. this is what needs to be emphasized although it does take into cognizance the reality of poverty and want especially in the african post-colonial era. it is not necessarily the quantum of material wealth or the lack thereof that determines who is a socialist (nyerere 1963:9). however, wealth and poverty must intersperse themselves in any discourse on socialism that is meant to bear fruit. the foundation of socialism is the psychological orientation of the people towards its core values. it is the orientation towards reaching out to others in the spirit of justice and welfare. this reaching out is an all-ramification requirement – the rich towards the poor; and this, in all emphasis and of course, the poor towards the rich – especially in terms of attitudes and relations. the cause of relations is socio-economic to entrench a collective just socio-economic system. african socialism promotes hard work. it encourages the generating of wealth in increasing proportions igbo socialism: a hermeneutical approach to the contemporary nigerian society 128 through fair means – industry and human welfare sensitivity in this process. it works to ensure economic security, especially for children, the infirm and the aged. socialism is a practice that entrenches in its operation the concept of african brotherhood. in african socialism, the poor retain dignity and guaranteed welfare is structured into the system for their sustenance. the wealthy are respected for their status and discipline. emphasis is on values that pertain to man and not the material conditions prevalent in society. in traditional african communities, socialism is not a full government policy since labour is not always collectivized and individual enterprise and profiteering are parts of the practice. julius nyerere made concerted but unsuccessful efforts in the days of africa’s independence to raise this traditional practice to a state policy. this effort among others helped in articulating the principles of this practice for the comity of nations and as such contributed to lots of literary output to the credit of african socialism. nyerere believes that ‘socialism is essentially distributive’ (nyerere, 1963, p. 11). the distributive propensity of socialism is a core value of the socioeconomic system. this can only be viewed further in value-diametrical opposition to capitalism which has as its core value the accumulation of capital. ‘for it is not the efficiency of production, nor the amount of wealth in a country, which makes millionaires; it is the uneven distribution of what is produced’ (nyerere, 1963, p. 9). socialism essentializes the distributive motif and its realization in the practical details of lived conditions. however, it must have to be stressed that mere material distribution is not a sufficient factor for economic redress; there must be in a place other factors that have to aid the distribution process to ensure stable, reliable and sustainable economic well-being. perhaps, this is why nyerere believes that the term ‘socialist’ is not an absolute designation for the poor or peasants. the term cuts across the board in its connotations such that the materially rich can fit into the larger interpretation. hear him, ‘a millionaire can equally well be a socialist; he may value his wealth only because it can be used in the service of his fellow men’ (nyerere, 1963, p. 9). it is in this scenario that the attitude of the mind which ought to define a socialist is brought into play. even the poor can be anti-socialist, indeed, potential capitalists if given the opportunity are bent on exploiting their fellow men and women. ochieng’-odhiambo understands nyerere as saying that ‘destitute people can be potential capitalists, exploiters of their fellow human beings (ochieng’-odhiambo 1994, p. 77). ultimately, socialism is a psychological disposition or predisposition; even possibly a spiritual worldview that interprets wealth in terms of its utilization for the welfare of others, especially the poor. thus, the materially wealthy can be rightly said to be rich and poor at the same time; poverty here is the result of what nyerere would refer to as an attitude of mind that favours wealth distribution. eruka, c. raphael 129 the larger picture of successful socialist claims is to be seen in its collective effects on the lived condition of the people. african socialism left people secure. economic security is a goal worth aspiring towards. economically secure people imply a stable society with the capacity to make strides towards prosperity. nyerere noted the significance of this achievement when he opined that ‘one of the most socialist achievements of our society was the sense of security it gave to its members and the universal hospitality on which they could rely’ (nyerere, 1963, p. 12). social and economic security is the panacea to most of the vices and ills of society. this, therefore, is preventative of future disruptions in the social equilibrium just as it ensures a sense of well-being at the time. brotherhood, fellowship and the feeling of togetherness to an extent result from a stable and ordered society where people are not easily distracted by needless or avoidable wants. african relationship is usually a web; extending outwards from the family origin. hospitality results from the distributive attitude of the mind which becomes realizable in value distribution to the stranger, including the material component. by the same token, the africans care for the stranger in all respects – proper guidance, security, material need and good social relations. the presence of these underlying values among africans links them to fellowship. nyerere maintains that ‘the true african socialist does not look on one class of men as his brethren and another as his natural enemies. he does not ally with the ‘brethren’ for the extermination of the ‘non-brethren’ (nyerere, 1963, p. 17). the concept of brotherhood is germane to african socialism although the nyerere vision of it has been subjected to lots of critical reflection by scholars such as erumebva who makes distinctions based on sanguinity and outside of this for mere co-operative ventures (erumebva 1985:195 – 197). however, african brotherhood cashes in on sanguinity but in nyerere’s postulation, it ought to go beyond this to the brotherhood of mankind. weighing the values in-store from an analysis of the pristine african society, nyerere underscores and thereby recommends that ‘our first step, therefore, must be to re-educate ourselves; to retain our former attitude of the mind. in our traditional african society, we were individuals within a community. we took care of the community, and the community took care of us. we neither needed nor wished to exploit our fellow men (nyerere, 1963, p. 13). nyerere tends to portray that these values inherent in the cultural past may have been lost to the present value system, hence the need to re-awaken our sense of values in the direction of things that made the past thick. ‘african socialism is a belief in sharing economic resources in a ‘traditional’ african way, as distinct from classical socialism. many african politicians of the 1950s and 1960s professed their support for african socialism, although definitions and interpretations of this varied considerably’ (wikipedia). it has to be pointed out that nyerere’s ujamaa is not all there is to african socialism. there are other articulations with minor variants. igbo socialism: a hermeneutical approach to the contemporary nigerian society 130 however, the main elements of african socialism are clearly articulated in nyerere’s ujamaa. others include senghor’s ‘african socialism’ (ruch & anyanwu, 1984, p. 225); nkrumah’s african socialism (egbomuche-okeke, 2006, pp. 65 -66). nkrumah was credited as one of the founding fathers of african socialism alongside nyerere (hallen, 2002, p. 72). however, nkrumah’s ideological affiliation to marxism is obvious and this exposes his ideological claim to africanity as potentially arguable. ruch and anyanwu, discuss senghor’s position on nkrumah’s socialism critiquing especially its metaphysical foundations as unfit to deliver credible african socialism (ruch & anyanwu, 1984, p. 211). from another perspective, zik’s african socialism epitomized in his neo-welfarism is well known, and so is awolowo’s democratic socialism; tom mboya’s ’african socialism and mobutu’s ‘african authenticite’. in the immediate post-independence era for africa, the new direction being sought was not going to be a new invention of sociopolitical and socioeconomic theories but the patient discovery of the past and its value-laden socioeconomic realities. the african leaders of that era strongly believed this; although they had to wrestle with forces quite opposed to the long-term socioeconomic transformation of the continent consequent on the recourse to the application of these principles. the synthesis of core socialist values of the african mode as shown above include orientation towards a fair distribution of wealth; program for economic security; hospitality as an african value premised on hard work; anthropocentric consideration as against mere material conditions for valuation of the human person; brotherhood as against antihuman orientation; the moral sense dimension in which case the value of the human person becomes part of political economy; the attempt to integrate traditional values into the african political system as best interpreted by the african politicians for the welfare of the people in its widest possible extension. igbo socialism why is this emphasis on socialism part of the tradition of the igbo people? igbo socialism needs this qualification because of its link to the past. the origin of the ideology may lack historical dating though it can be said that it is as old as the people and an inherent component of their cultural development. to a large extent, pristine igbo communities depended on this practice to solve some of their problems. because the principles and practice were clearer then, a discourse on igbo socialism of contemporary times tends to point to the nostalgia for the glories of its past practices in the lives of the people. because socialist past values were considered almost sacred and the practice then more extensive, the ideological link to tradition has become essential. due mainly to the vagaries of time eruka, c. raphael 131 socialism practice in igbo land, there is a need for a hermeneutic of igbo socialism for the present. socialism for the igbo is not a singular pursuit to the exclusion of every other socio-economic perspective. it was never pursued in its purity as a system that solely defined their lives. this explains the fact that no drama was woven into its development and practice nor did it know theoretical amplification or fundamentalist operational approach. what was woven into it rather naturally was its unpretentiousness, simplicity or lack of complications; its steady and stealthy operations and consequently its impactful results in the lives of the people. igbo socialism needs this continual analysis, proper contextualization and critical ideological exploration to be able to contribute to a wider developmental scope. before delving into aspects of igbo socialism of the past, a look into the method that would be used to understand it better would be relevant to the study. in this light, the effort would be shifted below to the definition, explanation and understanding of the hermeneutic method – a socio-literary and scientific tool for textual and socio-historical interpretation of meaning embedded in texts, thought patterns, social conditions and world-views of the people at given era or times. hermeneutics hermeneutics as the science of textual interpretation and criticism is recent in its development. according to hallen, the methodological investigation commonly used in african philosophy has been the analysis, this having been borrowed from the analytic school. he recommends that another approach deserves consideration, and in this he points to hermeneutics. his views: ‘up to this point, the only mainstream methodological approach to the discipline that has been explored in any detail is that conventionally referred to as analysis or analytic philosophy. another approach that deserves consideration is that derived from the phenomenological tradition and is conventional, at least as far as its african manifestations are concerned, referred to as hermeneutics’ (hallen, 2002, p. 56). hermeneutics attempts to critique and render meaning where values could be blurred by the passage of time. its successful deployment in the un-earthing or uncovering of obscured meaning from historical texts has resulted in its application to wider spheres where textual criticism could be replaced by that of human behaviour. textual critique transposes to the critical examination of human behaviour in sociocultural contexts. martin heidegger noted that philosophy should be hermeneutical (madu, 1992, p. 3) dealing with, and from manifest content and meaning to hidden meaning. philosophy should be able to deal with meaning and offer explanations or interpretations in given contexts. it should, for instance not be taken for granted that world views of the past would be outright plainly or clearly understood by every other age. igbo socialism: a hermeneutical approach to the contemporary nigerian society 132 symbolisms of a given age may be subject to interpretation to be grasped by eras widely separated from one another by the passage of time. friedrich schleiermacher applied hermeneutics generally forming the basis for the interpretation of all kinds of texts (madu, 1992, p. 9). in wilhelm dilthey’s hands, hermeneutics had to cover other fields of inquiry especially the humanities and social sciences (encyclopedia hutchinson). the development of the discipline that began with scriptural texts gradually included secular literature, world views and finally human behaviour. one understanding of hermeneutics is that it is ‘the science of interpretation or exegesis of scripture’ (thinkexist.com). hermeneutics is popularly comprehended in this function of being used to unravel the hidden meanings in scriptural passages since the cultural background, linguistic modes and their expressions were peculiar to given cultures and times. hermeneutics is not only meant to be used in the interpretation of judeo-christian texts of remote antiquity but also for other such texts such as the historical hindu or buddhist texts of the remote past. hermeneutics comes from ‘the greek word meaning to explain or interpret … the science which fixes the principles for the interpretation of sacred writings’ (probertencyclopedia). it is clear from here that hermeneutics has to do with hidden meaning; with the tendency to make the implicit in texts quite explicit. what is true is that it is not only texts that contain what can be viewed as obscure. human behaviour and certain practices can remain obscure to others especially if they are separated from the worldview and culture therein by time. to this extent, hermeneutics remains ‘the philosophical tradition concerned with the nature of understanding and interpretation of human behaviour and social traditions’ (the history channel). social conditions, realities, behaviour patterns and world views may remain meaningless to a given people of any age if not subjected to interpretation, explication and simplification through the modernization of a clearly understood linguistic vehicle. hermeneutics has known modifications as a socio-scientific tool of interpretation. the application has been extended to ‘the study of the interpretation of human behaviour and social institutions, and in existentialist thought, the discussion of the purpose of life’ (the history channel). it would be right to indicate that hermeneutics remains applicable to making clear what could be unclear by lack of proper contextualization and interpretation. a grip on this science is the main role of the philosophical enterprise (immanuel kant). from the above, it is clear that hermeneutics is the science of interpretation, explanation, elucidation, understanding and critical approach to the meaning of either scriptural/literary texts; world views or human behaviour. it makes meaning and values in historical epochs present to the other by way of contextual rendering of meanings. kant eruka, c. raphael 133 has only emphasized that this methodology is so significant that philosophy can no longer afford to do away with it; thus, it remains an essential tool in philosophizing as need be. igbo socialism – elements of socio-economic values the elements of socioeconomic values are dimensions of igbo socialism conceived of the poor and people that fall within the category of the needy on systemic or circumstantial accounts. inherent in all socialisms is a philosophical reflection on social realities and the possibility of systems-inbuilt welfare. are there such in-built factors for balance or fairness in traditional igbo socialism? any discourse on such provisions has to hinge on theories that highlight nature’s tendency in this regard and man’s attempt to replicate such tendencies in spheres of human existence. there are concretizations of these tendencies in igbo thought. these find expressions in various genres – for instance in adages or proverbs and figures of speech. instances can only be attempted here; and although these can lend weight to the research, there may be a need for complementation from plain illustrations both of the way nature acts and the logic of men follow up or modelling in this regard. here are a few instantiations of these thought forms: proverbs (1) akidi a maghi oke ala (2) ohia na-aso nkata ha efule eru (3) ugbogiri miaram miara nwunye dim (4) eshiu na-enwegi odu, chi ya na-egburu ya ijiji (5) onyishi a magi ihe o ga-eri ma chi efoghi (6) onu akoro nwa ogbenye bu chi ya ka akoro gwam gwam genre (1) gwam gwam gwam ihe kuru aka baa ohia (2) gwam gwam gwam ihe muru nwa a na-apiwa onu miscellaneous genres (1) o ji ofo ga-ala (2) o ji nwayoo anaghi emeru ahu (3) uwa bu nke onye? (4) onye choo ighotacha ukpaka miri ya, o were isi kelee ala (5. aka ajaja na-ebute onu mmanu mmanu igbo socialism: a hermeneutical approach to the contemporary nigerian society 134 synthesizing the genres as paths to igbo thought akidi a maghi oke ala (as it grows, the igbo black bean spreads wherever it pleases). this spread includes places where it was not (before). the nuance here is towards the principle of distribution, especially where there is a need. in reality, the growing black bean is tended such that it grows within the land boundary of the owner. ohia na-aso nkata ya efule eru (the bush that does not welcome the presence of the local igbo basket should not grow mushroom). if mushroom germinates in such bush, then the locals would like to take their basket into it to harvest the mushroom. nature gives freely especially the essentials of life: when and wherever nature chooses to do this, the people understand and go for these goods. ugbogiri miaram miara nwunye dim: (may my pumpkin grow: may my neighbor’s grow too). rather, may my farm do well; may my neighbor’s do well too! this is all about this sense of justice: a psychological orientation that wishes one’s neighbor the good that one had wished oneself: the disposition to realize where possible whatever good nature has to offer for the welfare of all. this reflects the socialist attitude of the mind which nyerere taught with passion. eshiu enweghi odu, chi ya na-egburu ya ijiji: (the tailless cow’s god chases away flies for it!) in proportion to need, unseen forces intervene positively in the affairs of men. traditional igbo socialism goes beyond material dialectics to emphasize relation to positive non-material personal forces. this is all in relation to socioeconomic forces and beyond it to the forces of life generally where the humanistic conscience must have to be brought to bear in the matrixes, webs and fabrics of igbo existence. onyishi a maghi ihe o ga-eri ma chi efoghi: (the village head does not know the edible things that would come his way until day break). each day comes with its peculiarities with reference to blessings. rather than particularizing this to the village head, this is a general principle. even the ordinary local lives on positive expectation. each day unwraps its contents (what it has in store) for the person. the issue here is the need to live in faith, work, hope and, or positive expectation. onu akoro nwa ogbenye, o bu chi ya ka akoro: (to tell the poor off is to tell his or her chi off). the unseen force becomes a recurring theme in traditional igbo social relations. it is all about this anthropocentric sensitivity: the awareness to handle the plight of ordinary locals with care. the igbo believes in dualisms, in the essence of the thing; the supporting force in the background. the poor or peasants are never alone – their chi (guarding spirit) is always in the background, watching over their affairs. eruka, c. raphael 135 the gwam gwam genre: the form is that of conducting public and socio-culturally related quizzes with poetic rhythm: gwam gwam gwam ihe kuru aka baa ohia: (tell me that which clapped hands and landed in the bush). of course, the answer is ukpaka – oil bean (the mature and dry oil bean fruit which breaks noisily, especially in the heat of the dry season and scatters its seeds in the near and far-away open fields. this again captures this principle of distribution in the socialist system. reaching out and touching the other positively remains a cardinal socialist feature in the worldview of pristine igbo societies. gwam gwam gwam ihe muru nwa a na-apiwa onu: (tell me the parent whose offspring’s mouth is always being squeezed open). the answer is udara (the igbo sweet apple). why is this fruit being squeezed open all the time? this is because the tree fruits generously and falls for whoever is passing by. some go beyond this and try to harvest the ripe fruits with strong sticks thrown high up the tree. this in most cases brings down the unripe ones. even though we may be entitled to pick the ripe udara tree, it may not be in our best interest to do violence to it by forcing down the unripe fruit. miscellaneous genres: oji ofo ga-ala (one is safe who holds onto the truth). o ji nwayoo anaghi emeru ahu: (one who threads softly/carefully does not sustain injury): these two sayings emphasize the need to imbibe truth, sobriety, patience and care. they are assuredly safe and cultivate these fundamental virtues as leavens to igbo social and economic existence. uwa bu nke onye? (whose is this world?) if this world does not belong specifically to any, it does not make sense to be too attached to the good in it. the call is for the development of an attitude of the mind that finds only a proper place for the goods of this world and no more. the emphasis is on non-attachment; the cultivation of the spirit of abandonment amid even quantity of material value. nyerere captures this in his essentialization of an abiding socialist factor as a determinant of the socialist – the development of an attitude of mind. in a sense, one is a socialist who takes the dictum of ‘uwa bu nke onye?’ seriously in the positive sense of such an understanding. onye choo ighotacha ukpaka miri ya, owere isi kelee ala: (the attempt to harvest all of one’s matured oil bean fruit may entail one greeting the ground below with one’s head): this presupposes that the tree is tall and one climbs it in search of the fruits, up to the tail end of the branches thereby risking a bad fall! the question is: the leftover on-purpose post-harvest is for whom? the emphasis is on generosity and the need to sometimes forego a portion of one’s possessions for others who might need much more. aka ajaja na-ebute onu mmanu mmanu: (soiled hands first; followed by well-oiled food that rubs off on the lips): in other words, hard work pays! pleasure may only follow from this, not vice versa. it is a reminder that there is no substitute for hard work. igbo igbo socialism: a hermeneutical approach to the contemporary nigerian society 136 socialism revolves around industry without which there would not remain abundance to be shared with the other. further considerations from plain illustrations in pristine igbo socialism, palliatives abound to take care of the ordinary run of men. people owned economic crops but this was not with the present-day heavy attachment and grip. the ripe udara (sweet apple), ube (local pear) or ujuru (plum) that falls to the ground can be freely taken by the next passerby. in the same way, the ukpaka or achi that breaks open and scatters on the fields can be picked up by interested locals. children go all out in search of these stray useful seeds. several ripe palm nuts can be harvested by any passerby even if in another’s compound and eaten there and then without query – the quantity, in this case, is understandably limited only to a few. the un-harvested overripe palm whose nuts fall to the ground can be collected by children even if for economic or commercial purposes. natural conservation was such that in the wide, bushes and forests; quite several ripe edible fruits abound. these are nature’s goods which can be harvested at will. on the human side, farmers do not comb the farms to ensure that every crop is taken home on harvest day. particularly for yam and coco-yam farmers, several yams and, or coco-yams are knowingly or unknowingly left un-harvested. some of these may be picked up earlier or allowed to germinate and provide seedlings for the locals during the next farming season. on harvest days, customarily farmers distributed part of the harvest to others who may need them – yams, corn, coco-yams, etc. the circumstantial cushioning effects of these distributive activities were parts of social existential realities. igbo socialism and the contemporary nigerian society all socio-political theories, in the main, have as their end the re-ordering of the society for the good of the citizenry. these theories may apply to any society but can be specific to a given society as well. in which way can nigerian society be served by such theories? are there specific ways in which the nigerian polity can be called upon for re-ordering to quantify the values expected of it by the people? can there be paths to quality value appreciation for the locals or the masses? the appropriate response to the above questions calls for a re-interpretation of the values laden in traditional socialism for appreciation in contemporary times. the principles below, deriving from traditional socialism, would undoubtedly tend towards significant remediation of nigeria’s existential, socioeconomic and political situations in the areas of stability, peace, value-amplitude and development. eruka, c. raphael 137 the principle of diffusion of values: this principle operates in contra-distinction to material-value concentration in few hands especially those in governance. the observed trajectories in behaviour consistent with the igbo black bean (akidi), oil-bean (ukpaka or akpaka) and sweet apple (udara), lend weight to this principle. in national economic issues, one would envisage policy matters whereby palliatives to the plight of the locals or citizenry are central. policy on natural resources is yet to favour the people. the concentration of oil blocks – the mainstay national revenue spinner – in the hands of the few, does not respect this principle. the socialization of natural resources-values that ensures that the masses directly own royalties (for instance in form of bond coupons) from the proceeds of these resources would go a long way to cushion and add value to the material conditions of the people. this process must have fully replicated the traditional values if the government procures these at its own expense for the citizenry. the feasibility of the project can be guaranteed with government preparedness to sanitise the culture of waste and channel the balance towards mass welfare. the principle of positive neutrality: this is a meta-theory of confidence building. positive neutrality engenders faith in the polity and enervates the government to perform. for positive neutrality to fully apply, nigerian needs a data bank of the poor, needy and unemployed to ameliorate their socioeconomic conditions. any stipends, grants, benefits and programs for their welfare must have to be across-board, transparent and sustainable. apart from the aged and the infirm, others in the bracket must be prepared to work hard such that from this modest economic resource, the achievement of economic self-reliance with a tendency to multiplier effects becomes a near-future possibility. this derives from the socialist understanding: aka aja aja na-ebuta onu mmanu mmanu (soiled hands first; followed by well-oiled food that rubs off on the lips). the principle of the conservation of values: this principle applies fundamentally to the highest conservable value to which lower values are subsumed. the propertisation of values places man at the zenith of the hierarchization since man is a propertied being. man is property par excellence, the confluence at the existential level of the purely material and non-material values. the conservation of this premium property becomes realizable in a policy of fundamental value safeguards. the security of human life defines the concept in the true sense. the security of material property becomes meaningful in the context of the higher value of human security. the conscionable devaluation of this prime value or the inability to guarantee its conservation for whatever reasons undermines national resources at the peak, with factorial and multiplier forces that work against national development. ohia na-aso nkata, ya efule eru (the bush that does not welcome the igbo basket should not grow mushroom) is the ‘if p then q’ type of logic form: the hypothetical statement is such that one necessarily follows from the other. beyond igbo socialism: a hermeneutical approach to the contemporary nigerian society 138 nature’s goodies, the saying applies to the negatives that are deliberately allowed to obtain. the people tend to respond or react as appropriate. prime-value conservation visà-vis development is a natural undercurrent of a concatenation of values that humanize the polity, dignify persons and create material prosperity and abundant society. the principle of existential value paradigm shift: if society imbibes values that do not promise to deliver on the foremost aspirations of the citizenry or that feeds the influence of the few or makes an el-dorado possible for only a caucus, that society ipso facto – by that very fact – must need an existential value paradigm shift. value revaluation becomes a necessary co-factor for further strides towards progress in the spatiotemporal reality of traditional igbo socialism. the vast mobility of the present times explains the speed with which the baggage that characterizes current value orientations permeates and suffuses the nigerian socio-cultural and politico-economic realities. when this baggage is emptied of its contents, the society sees itself in the grips of such negations of meaningful existence as corruption, greed, nepotism, tribalism, terrorism, banditry, the culture of moral decay and the new violence of moral degradation being consistently and heinously unleashed on the society. oji ofo ga-ala (one who holds onto the truth is safe); o ji nwayoo anaghi emeru ahu (one who threads softly/carefully does not sustain injury). the question is: ‘where is the ofo in the baggage?’ ofo, the symbol of truth and clean hands in igbo cosmology are absent in contemporary nigeria’s distributive arrangement of infrastructure, economic palliatives, security assurance and other such stabilizing political and socioeconomic architectural wares. it cannot be said that the people involved have threaded softly or carefully to avoid injury or the negative consequences therein. here, human freedom is in chains. a nation engrossed in all these is indeed poor for poverty is partially defined severely by the absence of morally humanizing values; some of which are subject to commensurable redress. conclusion scholars have at various times advocated that pristine values be re-interpreted in the context of the present if such promise to offer a better alternative. edmund husserl, the father of western phenomenology, shuddered that western scientific exploits tended to do away with the course or trajectory of philosophy as envisaged by the preceding great minds and traditions of the west. philosophy in his understanding ‘has departed from its true goal, which is to provide the best possible answers to human concerns, to deal rigorously with our quest for the highest values …’ (stumpf & fieser 2003:447 – 448) the present research can be seen in the above light. the end of re-education in the nigerian context is the movement away from the complexities and complications of eruka, c. raphael 139 present value definitions. the baggage referred to above cannot have been fully undone until replaced by antithetical values that can usher in true human freedom. uwa bu nke onye? (whose is this world?). as an ideological postulate of this socialist pedagogy, uwa bu nke onye emphasizes the transitory intermediation sphere of a contextualized existence. the task is to re-educate the citizenry towards the positives in the antithesis of the baggage that slows progress. the re-education process, in its informal and formal modes, should be as consistent or enduring as it is thorough. the true freedom that accrues therefrom; must of necessity re-launch the nation to the heights of civilized existence and material prosperity. references buzuev, alexander (1987) what is capitalism? a b c on social political knowledge. progress publishers. egbomuche-okeke, law (2006) the political thought of africa. golden value investment limited. erumevba, j t (1985) the concept of african brotherhood and the praxis of unity: nyerere revisited, in philosophy in africa: trends and perspectives, edited by p. o. bodunrin. university of ife press. fieser, janes & stumpf, samuel enoch (2003) socrates to sartre and beyond: a history of philosophy. mcgraw-hill higher education, seventh edition. freeman, kathleen (1956) ancilla to the pre-socratic philosophers: a complete translation of the fragments in diels, fragmente der versokratiker. basil blackwell. hallen, barry (2002) a short history of african philosophy. indiana university press. kaufmann, walter (1963) philosophical classics: thales to st thomas aquinas. prentice-hall, englewood cliffs. madu, raphael okechukwu (1992) studies in african and african-american culture: african symbols, proverbs and myths – the hermeneutics of destiny. peter lang. ochieng’-odhiambo, f (1994) handbook on some social-political philosophers: guide to philosophy series 3. consolata institute of philosophy press. okolo, chukwu b (1993) african philosophy: a short introduction (revised edition) cecta (nig) limited. omoregbe, joseph (1991) a simplified history of western philosophy; volume two. joja educational research and publishers limited. omoregbe, joseph (2007) knowing philosophy: a general introduction. joja educational and research limited. omoregbe, joseph (2007) social-political philosophy and international relations: a systematic and historical study, volume one: a systematic study. joja educational and publishers limited. ruch, e. a. & anyanwu, k. c. (1984) african philosophy: an introduction to the main philosophical trends in contemporary africa. officium libri catholici. julius nyerere, in presence africaine: cultural revue of the negro world (1963); vol. 19 (47), third quarter, english edition. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 2(2) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 86 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) a review of ikechukwu anthony kanu’s book: a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy by ejikemeuwa j. o. ndubisi, phd department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, p. o. box 0006, umunya, anambra state, nigeria. e-mail: ejikon4u@yahoo.com phone no.: +2348062912017, +2348028011298 introduction a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy is a resource book written by an augustinian priest and academic, rev. fr. dr. ikechukwu anthony kanu. the book of 498 pages is comprised of 30 chapters. it was published in 2015 in jos, nigeria by augustinian publications. this book is an attempt by a contemporary african scholar to unravel the nature, structure, basic beliefs and future of african traditional religion in particular, and by extension, african theology and philosophy. the author’s approach to the critical issues discussed is very simple and direct. kanu, in this book, manifested his profound knowledge of african traditional religion (atr). he reveals that atr is not just a religion but also a way of life for the traditional african people. discussionof the chapters the problem of defining african traditional religion is the focus of the first chapter of this book. one fundamental question quickly comes to mind here: are we to talk of african traditional religion or african traditional religions?considering the multi-diversity and plurality of african cultures and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 87 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) their different religious beliefs/practices, gravitating towards the second option proves to be more reasonable and acceptable. in other words, if there cannot be a unified and single african culture, there cannot also be a unified and single african traditional religion. so, the contention of njoku (as cited in p. 2) is worth reflecting upon. the african is so notoriously religious (as mbiti opines) that he may degenerate to being a slave to his religion, albeit indirectly and unconsciously. this largely explains the over-zealous religiosity, pietism and fanaticism of contemporary african christians and muslims.kanu noted that it is obvious that the notion of atr has been deeply derogated (pp. 10 – 15). but a pertinent question remains: was the derogation of our traditional religion(s) only a consequence of darwinism and racism? were there not other causative factors? in other words, did africans themselves not contribute to the derogation of their religion? could the westerners have taken away our heritage if we in one way or the other, had not given to them? were there not really some practices in atr that smacked of diabolical, abhorrent, malign, and very dark intentions? consider the burying of a dead king with a number of maidens and/or young men, the killing of twins, condemnation of people with unknown diseases to rot and die in the evil forests, sacrificing human slaves to idols etc. these practices, though not the bulk and sum of atr, are arguablyintricate practices therein. and they are worth every derogation from a rational mind. kanu argued that atr is not polytheistic, as many popular and conventional thoughts hold (p. 14). the divinities in atr are merely intermediaries and not gods. in atr, there is only one supreme being. also, one might ponder on the relationships between ancestor worship in atr and veneration of saints in the christian religion? the christian might argue that the saint he venerates is not actually ‘dead’, but alive in heaven and thus closer to god. but the atr adherent also believes that his dead ancestor is also very much alive and closer to the supreme being. if there are conditions that qualify one to become a saint in the christian religion, there are also criteria that qualify one to become an ancestor in atr (of which righteousness of life is a major one). with the statement of baker (cited on p.28), it became obvious that the author did not take a wrong stance when he posited that the analysis of atr by western scholars was to a greater extent guided by ignorance and prejudice. the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 88 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) westerners had no real contact with the african people. true, atr might not have the most laudable beliefs and practices, but to say that africans had no religion and could not conceive god is nothing but a white lie born out of bias and ignorance. so kanu, in chapter two dwelt on a historiography of african traditional religion. he divided the epochs into four: the pre-colonial period, the colonial era, the post-colonial era and the contemporary era. kanu noted that many contemporary african scholars have made valuable contributions towards the sustenance of atr. again, for the fact that atr is not only a way of life but also a discipline, it has some approaches. kanu, in chapter three highlighted thirteen approaches to the study of atr. however, if it is established that human beings are fundamentally spiritual animals and religious beings (homo religiosus), and that atr in particular, cannot be traced to any particular founder or reformers (as expounded on p.9), how efficient or plausible is the historical approach to the study of atr? what can a historical approach to a religion devoid of a historical founder or any written traditions boast of achieving? this questions call for critical answers. one would also ask if the empirical approach to atr is feasible, considering the fact that atr is replete with phenomena that are most often not empirically verifiable (p.49). one would also wonder if atr has passed the test of philosophical scrutiny and critical analysis. if it has not (as i actually think), the philosophical approach discussed by kanu (cf. p.50) becomes impracticable. i must state categorically that the hermeneutic approach proposed in chapter four is a very praiseworthy one. this is because of the fact that it goes beyond merely the comparative or phenomenological approach. but there is no gainsaying that many scholars in the field of atr are either ignorant of, or incompetent in this approach. therefore, it becomes highly necessary that contemporary scholars of atr should be well-grounded in the usage of this approach. this is so that they can interpret atr in the proper manner and context. on the other hand, being unsatisfied with mbiti’s and koech’s models of understanding atr, kanu postulated igwebuike mode in chapter five. the concept of igwebuikeas a key factor of atr is very commendable in itself. igwebuike, for kanu, “speaks of the african sense of communality and complementarity” as the root of understanding african thought (p. 70). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 89 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) however, if the sense of igwebuikewas so clearly pronounced in atr, as argued by kanu, how comes the concept and practice of the osu caste system which ostracized a particular group of people? this is a fundamental question that calls for answer. so, having proposed igwebuike model in chapter five, kanu now focused on the sources of atr in chapter six. he outlined some of the sources of atr to include african proverbs, folk tales, myths, african names, artistic expressions of african people, african languages, symbols, songs and prayers. all these invariably go into identifying and manifesting the richness and beauty of atr.but then, one might wonder what chances of survival there are for atr in the face of the rapid decline of african indigenous languages (for instance, igbo language), artistry, symbolism, rituals etc.? in chapter seven, kanu presents a striking similarity in the cosmologies of atr and the western religions. this is in terms of anthropocentrism. both atr (as depicted in the diagram on p.95) and the major western religions see man as the apex and centre of the universe. worthy of praise is the sense of sacredness prevalent in the atr. this view of life as the summumbonum(highest good) could be an efficient panacea to the loss of sense of value for human life which results to legalized abortion, increased homicides, bloody wars etc. more so, the concept of god in african cosmology also drew the attention of our author in this chapter, he further analyzed the attributes of and categories of divinities in african ontology. but contrary to kanu’s position (p.96), that god in atr is a “personal being with whom one can enter into communion and communication”, popular experiences and opinions have shown that god in atr is hardly so immanent. rather, especially in igbo traditional religion, god is a very transcendent being with whom one communicates only through intermediaries. that is why in atr the supreme deity does not have any shrine of worship and virtually no objects are dedicated directly to him. kanu went further to examine the institution of priesthood in traditional african society. this occupied his attention in chapter eight. citing ebosele (2006), kanu observed that the call to priesthood in the traditional society can take many forms, namely, apprenticeship, heredity, extraordinary signs and also the age of the individual in question. it is important to note that priests in the traditional african society perform not only the religious functions but also social, economic igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 90 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) and political functions. african people really appreciate the presence of priests since they also serve as intermediaries between the people and the supreme deity. it is important to note that the call to the priesthood through apprenticeship etc., installation and functions of the atr priest are similar to what is obtainable for the priests of the roman catholic church. in chapter nine, kanu presents african traditional medicine and medical practitioners in a very positive light. it almost seems that african medicine is only a therapeutic and benign practice. but nothing substantial is said about ‘evil medicine’ and evil medical practitioners (ajo dibia), which are also realities in atr. following from chapter nine, kanu now focused on divination and diviners in chapter ten. he observed that for the african, life is full of mystery; hence the need for divination. he further outlined different forms of divination, namely, hydromancy, mirror gazing, throwing dice, animal entrails, reading the palm, mediums and seers (pp. 150 – 151). kanu rightly pointed out that divination still has its vestiges even among christians (who, more or less, have repudiated atr). this goes a long way to portray that the way of thinking of the typical african still has deep roots in atr even in our contemporary society. the african man wants to know the efficient cause of every event and happenstance. he searches for answers everywhere – and whether he finds them in the shrine or in the church is of less consequence. the african, irrespective of his/her religious affiliation, must be african, that is, seeking for cause of every effect in the universe. in discussing chapter eleven, kanu sees kings in traditional african society as the manifestation of the kingship of god among the people. in traditional african society, kings are not just political leaders but also religious leaders (p. 153). kings were deeply respected in the traditional african society. however, kanu lamented that there is a dwindling show of disrespect of traditional rulers in our contemporary african society. there is need for proper restructuring of the institution of kingship in the contemporary african society. on the other hand, the chapter twelve of this book is titled marriage in igbo-african traditional society. kanu focused his discussion on igbo people of southeastern nigeria. igbo people lay much emphasis on marriage. this is because of the belief that “through marriage the departed are in effect reborn in the children of the family” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 91 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) (p. 164). one cannot but appreciate the beauty, dignity and honor attached to marriage in the african setting, vis-a-vis the chaotic institution found in the western tradition in the name of marriage. what is more? the very rigorous and painstaking processes of marriage (before, during and after) in the african culture make it a very serious affair that one must engage in with adequate wisdom and every sense of maturity. thus, once marriage is sealed, it goes with strict permanence: divorce or any form of separation becomes almost a taboo. of course, marital infidelity is an issue of zero tolerance. this is in contrast with the western culture where marriage is almost a child’s play. any couple can always decide to get married anytime they want without going through any processes. the consequences are vividly clear – the exponential rate of divorces and marital infidelity in our contemporary society is quite perturbing. it must be stated without equivocation that the issue of rites of passage means a lot for the traditional african. kanu, in chapter thirteen, enumerated some african rites of passage, namely, pregnancy rites, birth rites, puberty rites, marriage rites and also burial and funeral rites. these rites portray a kind of transition from one phase of life to another phase. one may discover that the african initiation rites, with all the seclusions and preparations, bear a close resemblance to the christian rites and sacraments. but sadly enough, kanu lamented that many african societies no longer practice these rites because western education has taken over the education that these rites provide (p. 172). and worse still, these rites have been termed devilish and uncivilized by the christian missionaries, who were both ignorant of these very rites and the meaning they portray. since such knowledge is being lost, africans, in my opinion, may need to reassert the relevance of these initiation rites and thus regain their roots. in chapter fourteen, kanu presents a very beautiful and appreciable view of the rich african symbolism. though he may be incontestably right, one may wonder the chances of the preservation and continued appreciation of these important traditional symbols in the face of the invasion of western religions and their symbols. how can these african traditional symbols be harnessed and preserved so that they can serve the very important purposes as highlighted in this chapter? (pp. 183 – 184). this is a question that kanu may have to tackle. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 92 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) the significance and enormous importance of masquerades to african traditional society cannot be over-emphasized. this is the focus of kanu in the chapter fifteen of this book. masquerade is one of the ways the ancestors visit human beings. kanu’s discussion on the characteristics and importance of masquerades in african ontology is very interesting. but the question that readily comes to mind is: is it really the case, as the author has made it seem, that all masquerades in african traditional society are benevolent and innocuous? one of the major characteristics of masquerades is that they wield enormous supernatural powers (p. 192). and whenever there is possession of any kind of power, there is the possibility of either a positive or negative exercise of that power. thus, it is a necessary and logical implication that there must be some masquerades who exercise their supernatural powers in an evil way. how does kanu account for such malignant masquerades? on the other hand, the igboafrican concept of evil and human suffering is, like many other worldviews, very impressive. but like most (if not all) other worldviews, it is very deficient and inadequate in its explanation. for example, in chapter sixteen, the myth narrated implies the withdrawal of god in annoyance into heaven as the cause of evil (p. 203). this is very questionable. in the first place, it smacks of a distant god who is indifferent to men’s affairs, deus otiusus. this concept of god, as explained in the earlier chapters of this book (and as many scholars of atr would agree), is foreign to the african understanding of god.the unsatisfactory nature of the explanation of the concept of evil is more clearly seen on page 205 of the book. according to kanu, “suffering is retributive and proportionate to the abomination committed”. now, how does this explain the suffering of little infants who may not have committed any actual abominations? also, if “suffering is perpetrated by bad spirits”, why does the all-good chukwu (god) allow ndi ajo mmuo (evil spirits) to cause evil in the world he created? also, if the displeasure of powers above man because of human offence explains natural evil, what explains the origin of moral evil in the world that is “ontologically good” (p.207)? also, according to the human destiny perspective (p. 209), if personal deities (chi) are directly or indirectly responsible for human suffering, then not only is man’s freedom undermined; but also god is also indirectly implicated, since the chi themselves come from him. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 93 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) chapter seventeen is on the phenomenon of death in african perspective. kanu’s discussion on the origin and classification of death is an interesting part of the book. death, for the african people, is not the end of life – it is an opportunity for one to enter into another phase of existence. hence, the need for proper burial and funeral rites (pp. 226 – 229). however, one wonders if the elaborate burial and/or funeral processes in igboland have not been more or less completely overtaken by the christian burial rites. what are the chances of the resuscitation or survival of the traditional burial and funeral rites? more so, if the igbo tradition holds that ife chukwu amaghi adighi eme (what god is not aware of does not happen) whence comes the concept of premature death (onwu ike)? what makes it premature if god always knew about it? or did it take god unawares? furthermore, one cannot but appreciate the goodness and relevance of the spirit of kinship in africa, as discussed in chapter eighteen. african sense of kinship brings about development: social, political, economic and moral (pp. 240 – 242). but how can africans sustain this wonderful spirit in the face of the serious threat of western capitalism and individualism, with its foreign political and legal systems that are devoid of all sense of close confraternity, solidarity and accommodation? the concept of life in african ontology is the concern of chapter nineteen. the african sees life as the highest good and this is made manifest in several igbo names such as ndubisi (life is first), ndukaku (life is greater than wealth), etc. while reflecting on this chapter, one would realize that an emphasis on this hallowed african traditional view of life would serve as a panacea to the western view which gives room for abortion, euthanasia and the likes. in chapter twenty, kanu presents a discussion on the concept of re-incarnation in african ontology. he sees african understanding of re-incarnation as a partial one. for him, “what the african understands as re-incarnation is not the return of the soul from the spirit world into the body of another person in the world. it is rather the inheritance of ancestral characteristics” (p. 263). the question raised on page 266 about the african concept of reincarnation is very crucial and needs an urgent and critical answer. this is so as to determine the validity of such an important and significant belief in african ontology. in short, the question goes thus: if what africans understand as reincarnation is only a transmission of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 94 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) certain trait of the ancestor, is it not explainable by the science of genetic transmission and hereditary transfer? are the concepts of reincarnation, ogbanje and other related phenomena not merely unfortunate products of the africans’ poor knowledge of the physical and human sciences? in chapter twenty-one, kanu examined witchcraft, sorcery and magic. citing okpalike (2012), kanu noted that witchcraft consists in magic, sorcery, augury, divination, necromancy, fortune-telling, clairvoyance, etc. kanu presents witchcraft in africa as a practice that is entirely and by its very nature evil. how then does one explain ‘white magic’ which is believed to be used for good and beneficial purposes?also the distinction between magic and religion (p. 274) is of utmost relevance. this is because such distinction would also apply between magic and miracle. nowadays in the religious circles, especially in the christian setting, magic and miracle are confused. people should be made to understand that the tendency to manipulate the supreme being and his powers rather than humble supplication is seeking magic and not miracle. taking a look on sacrifice in atr in chapter twenty-two, kanu sees african concept of sacrifice from the viewpoints of mbiti (1969), okpalike (2008) and dopamu (1979). in the view of mbiti, sacrifice is “a means of restoring ontological balance between men and deity.” african people use different gifts to offer sacrifice, namely, kolanut, yam, cocoyam, fruits, goat, dog, cow, sheep, etc. kanu also highlighted on the different types of sacrifice (pp. 279 – 291). one important thing to note is that sacrifice is at the heart of atr. the issue of taboo is the concern of chapter twenty-three. taboo has to do with religious or social prohibitions. for eyisi (2006 as cited in kanu, p. 284), taboo is referred to “actions or behaviours that are in disagreement with culture, tradition or belief of a people or the community.” kanu went further to outline some taboos in the traditional african society which include incest, adultery, murder, suicide, among others. the position of kanuon page 287 is worth appreciating. taboos, when they were held seriously in the african culture, were a symbol of order and control in the community. but the advent of christianity and western education has robbed us of the sense of taboo. consequently, every type of evil has become permissible; self-indulgence and evil reign supreme. what taboos previously protected, have been exposed to all kinds of nefarious violations. no thanks to foreign religions. it is also good to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 95 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) note that it is not only the western religions that observe sacred days: atr also has its own sacred days. so, the reality of sacredness of some days, trees and animals is kanu’s focus in chapter twenty-four. the sacred days in the atr seem to be more hallowed in the sense that while some of the sacred days in the western religions seem to be commanded by human authority, the sacred days (for example, the igbo culture) are believed to be divinely instituted.also, the euthyphro dilemma that confronts western religions also seems to hold sway in atr. this dialogue, as seen in one of plato’s dialogues called euthyphro states thus: are things holy because god commands them or does god command them because they are holy? in atr one can ask: are some trees and animals sacred because divinities dwell in them or do divinities dwell in them because they are sacred?the implications are far-reaching. if they are sacred because divinities dwell in them, why do the divinities choose to dwell in some trees and animals and not others? again, if divinities dwell in them because they are sacred, it means that they are sacred in themselves, independent of the divinities that dwell in them. the richness and depth of meaning of african proverbs, as discussed in chapter twenty-five, points to the profundity of the philosophical wisdom and insight of the africans. this is contrary to the western misconception that the africans are a people with no history of philosophical thought. it is important to note that africans expressed and continue to express the depth of their philosophical insight through proverbs and other such oral sagacious sayings. titled the dimensions of african christology, the twenty-sixth chapter examines some christological models in igbo-african ontology. christ is seen as the healer, king, ancestor, victor, life-giver, intercessor, and chi. however, this chapter evokes the crucial but unanswered question: in the face of the rapid christianisation of the african continent, how will christ and his message be presented to the african person, in such a way that he or she would understand and appreciate jesus within the context that he or she is at home with?howcan christ’s message be brought into the african context? in abandoning atr for christianity, how shall we appropriate the foreign religion so as to avoid religious syncretism?nevertheless, one has to appreciate the igbo christology as an experienced-based christology. this means that for the igbos, religion is nearer igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 96 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) and more meaningful to the individual, and not just the theoretical and intellectual christianity prevalent in the west, which is devoid of personal experience.in all, it is pertinent that the african people be made to understand christ in such a way that it fits into their socio-culturalbackground and historical context. only through such a way can christianity be more appreciated and assimilated by the african people. a very fascinating part of this book is chapter twenty-seven that centered on african inculturation theology. kanu is of the opinion that “for the realization of an intensive evangelization in africa, there is need for inculturation” (p. 344). inculturation as viewed from different scholars cited by kanu can be seen as the act of making the message of christ meaningful to every culture. this means the practical evangelization in the context of the culture of the people without undermining the core message of christ. one important thing to note is that the improper inculturation and disparity of worldviews have made christianity in africa very shallow and superficial. if proper inculturation is the way out, how should this inculturation be most efficiently and properly carried out? how can those factors hindering or slowing down inculturation be taken care of? these questions are calling for objective answers. kanu, in chapter twenty-eight has made it vividly clear that development in africa cannot be carried out independent of religion, since as mbiti observed, the african is notoriously religious. religion is a serious factor for an authentic development in africa. in other words, we cannot do without that which is inherent in us. moreso, good qualities like a keen sense of morality, value of life, patriotism, unity and african symbols can go a long way to enhance national development (pp. 380 – 384). nevertheless, as kanu rightly pointed out, not everything in atr is so benign and benevolent.but one may ask, which one is more practicable and reasonable: to carry out our national development with the foreign religions which are practically the dominant religions in the present africa; or to attempt going back to our traditional roots of atr which from every evidence, is almost impossible or at least, anachronistic? in chapter twenty-nine, kanu observed that african cultural values have been greatly de-africanized and hence the need for revival of that that makes us africans. the urgent call for african cultural revaluation and renaissance, and the need for obliteration of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 97 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) cultural hegemony is the thrust of this chapter. but on a more practical ground, have we not enjoyed too much of westernization and christianization to wriggle ourselves free from them successfully? are we not too much in their debt? from where shall we begin to struggle for cultural emancipation? religion? politics? economics? language? science and technology?again, what is the use of an african philosophy or african theology that are still studied in western languages and with western methods? how truly ‘african’ are our african philosophy and theology? how can an african be truly african in our contemporary society? is the call for african cultural renaissance not just for intellectual and academic purposes? can we / should we go back entirely and radically to the african traditional way of life? or is it not better to keep manipulating the already predominant western culture to our own context?i think one needs to be pragmatic and sincere as one attempts to answer the above questions. in the last chapter (chapter thirty), kanu tries to examine some factors militating against the future of atr both as a discipline and a way of life. some people have argued that atr will phase away some day. this is because of the influence of westernization, foreign religions, globalization, urbanization and industrialization, among others (pp. 403 – 404). but be that as it may, kanu is very optimistic that the future of atr is very bright. he argues that atr cannot die and will not die. africans, irrespective of foreign religious affiliations, are still attached to their indigenous beliefs. kanu also argues that some indices of pentecostalism in our contemporary society indicate a re-packaging of atr (pp. 406 – 408). this is manifested on the over-emphasis of the powers of the occult and paranormals as are observable in atr. furthermore, atr is being studied today in many higher institutions in africa and outside africa. very interesting to note is the establishment of the international bio-research institute in 2012 (an african traditional medicine teaching hospital, ugwuogo nike, enugu, nigeria). the fact remains that atr as a discipline will continue to exist. but the actual practice of atr in our contemporary society is seriously on the decrease. the truth is that most atr scholars do not actually practice the religion. hence, it is seen as a mere intellectual activity that has no real practical relevance. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 98 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) concluding remarks it is quite clear from our discussion so far that kanu actually did justice to the title of this book: a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. the selected topics attest to this claim. kanu, a contemporary african philosopher cum theologian, manifested his deep sense of ‘african-ness’ in this wonderful piece. this is a case of one doing what he knows how to do best. the arrangement of and general presentation of this book is a gentle call for orientation (for those who are ignorant of atr) and re-orientation (for those who are biased or ill-informed about africa). this book is a veritable tool for students, lecturers and all those who would like to develop their knowledge and understanding about the important issues in african traditional religion in particular, and african theology and philosophy in general. kanu has helped to correct some erroneous beliefs about atr and also affirmed the reality of african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. however, i would beg to disagree with the conclusion of this book. from all indications and considerations, i do not think that there has been a meaningful practical revival of atr in africa. rather, the reverse is the case. with the great evangelical zeal of the christians, and the ‘jihadic’ spirit of the muslims, africa is fast becoming the abode of these foreign religions. in a very pragmatic term, atr is rather on the decline as many more africans are quickly abandoning their shrines for churches and mosques. it is true that we still retain the moral values of the atr, but moral values alone do not make a religion. the core beliefs and practices of atr in africa are fast dwindling. more so, it is undeniable the fact that great works have been done in propagating atr in terms of studying it and making academic researches on it as part of the academic curriculum in schools, colleges, universities and research institutes; but all these advancements are only academic. one wonders if they would be of any help in the practical appreciation of atr. the fundamental question to be answered by kanu and most contemporary atr scholars is: can the academic study of atr make us retrace our steps and go back to practicing our traditional religion? microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.1 no. 2 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 76 augustine’s theory of the just war: its legacy in the church’s teaching today by edward daleng, o.s.a., ph.d institutum patristicum augustinianum, rome ed_daleng@yahoo.co.uk abstract the name of augustine is closely tied to the “theory of the just war”. although augustine is the chief exponent of the theory, it would seem that discussion about the evaluation of war as just or not predates him. however, given the complication related to the vast panorama in which augustine expresses his mind to address the question of just war or the use of violence to curb insurgency, we shall limit our focus to a few of his writings. in addition, we will try to note the influence that augustine’s ideas have impacted on the doctrine of the church as evident in the magisterial teaching especially in recent time. before taking on our discussion, i will refer to some of the scriptural texts on wars. keywords: augustine, just war theory, legacy, church, teaching introduction war is a long standing problem that has wreaked havoc and still continues to devastate human history. it is a gruesome reality that destroys lives, paralyses human relationship, and leaves places in desolate waste. yet, war is sometimes retained as necessary, an intrinsic part of human existence. one of the dilemmas in ethical reflection is the justification of war as means to restore peace and order. can war be ever just? what really makes it to be just? the brutality of war and its trauma leave the mind in wonder. the name of augustine is closely tied to the “theory of the just war”. although augustine is the chief exponent of the theory, it would seem that discussion about the evaluation of war as just or not predates him.177 ancient thinkers in the likes of socrates, plato, and cicero had had to handle the problem of war. plato approves of war executed by the state to maintain social order.178 the state legitimates the use of war to protect her inhabitants and defend her territorial 177 cf. plato, alcibiades 109c. 178 cf. idem, laws i. 625e-626b. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 77 confine. cicero holds that the corporate existence of the state is the basis for any human civilization. when this is at risk from external hostilities and all diplomatic strategy employed to forestall the threats fails, the state may be compelled to adopt reasonable armed measure to ensure her defence.179 here, the proposal for an exception is granted whereby war could and should be given consideration. given the complication related to the vast panorama in which augustine expresses his mind to address the question of just war or the use of violence to curb insurgency, we shall limit our focus to a few of his writings.180 in addition, we will try to note the influence that augustine’s ideas have impacted on the doctrine of the church as evident in the magisterial teaching especially in recent time. before taking on our discussion, i will refer to some of the scriptural texts on wars. the biblical teaching on war old testament perspective the old testament, in particular the historical books, is replete with accounts of fatal armed conflicts. various scenarios of blood bath abound. the people of israel, chosen by god as his own, fought in defence of their territory, the land apportioned to them by the lord as an inheritance and for prosperity. the need for expansion, conquest, dominion also led them into warfare with neighbouring nations. the lord god is believed to command wars against enemies for which absolute compliance to his words is unquestionable. hence, it is in lord’s name that battles are fought. these battles are understood as concrete sign of god’s active involvement in the affairs and history of his people. god makes a covenant with his people on a term of reciprocal faithfulness and obedience181 respectively. any war waged in this context acquires a theological significance: it is sacred or holy. at this point, i will present some narratives of wars recorded in the holy scripture. a critical examination of the narratives does not fall within the scope of this piece. 179 cf. augustine, city of god xxii, 6. 180 i must admit that this is a difficult terrain to navigate on. an in-depth reading of augustine’s writings on this subject is essential. the city of god is central to augustine’s thinking on the mystery of man in relation to god. in this work, augustine also deals squarely with the problem of war and violent uprising in the earthly city. he interprets armed conflict as linked to the sin of adam and eve which dents human nature. the correspondences he had with boniface, darius and faustus are also interesting for analysis. 181 cf. deuteronomy 7, 6-10. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 78 “now jericho was shut up from within and from without because of the people of israel; none went out and none came in. and the lord says to joshua, see, i have given into your hand jericho, with its king and mighty men of valor. you shall march around the city, all the men of war going around the city once…. as soon the people heard the shout of the trumpet, the people raised a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city. then they utterly destroyed all in the city, both men and women, young and old, oxen and sheep, and asses, with the edge of the sword.”182 the story recounted in the above appears to conceal the description of brutal killings with fire arms; it lays emphasis on the capturing of the city of jericho. the lord delivered jericho into the hands of his people with little effort from them. in a different episode, david stands out for his valour as a successful combatant. “now saul, and they, and all the men of israel, were in the valley of elah, fighting with the philistines. and david rose early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took provisions, and went, as jesse had commanded him; and he came to the encampment as the host was going forth to the battle line, shouting with the war cry. and israel and the philistines drew up for the battle, army against army. and david left things in charge of the keeper of the baggage, and ran to the ranks, and went and greeted his brothers. and as he talked with them, behold, the champion, the philistine of gad, goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the philistines, and spoke the same words as before… when the philistine arose and came and drew near to meet david, david ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the philistine. and david put his hand in his bag and took out a stone, and slung it, and struck the philistine on his forehead; the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground. so david prevailed over the philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the philistine, and killed him; there was no sword in the hand of david. then david ran and stood over the philistine, and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath, and killed him, and cut off his head with it. when the philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. and the men of israel and judah rose with a shout and pursued the 182 joshua 6, 1-21. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 79 philistines as far as gath and the gates of ekron, so that the wounded philistines fell on the way from shaaraim as far as gath and ekron. and the israelites came back from chasing the philistines, and plundered their camp.”183 the picture of the fierce clash depicted in the aforementioned passage beats human imagination. the physical stature of goliath intimidated the israelites except david who, humanly speaking, was unskilled compared to his main adversary. david subdued and killed goliath before the israelites regained confidence to participate in the rest of the battle. indeed david was victorious neither on account of his might nor prowess but because of god’s faithfulness to his promise and david’s faith and undivided submission to the lord god.184 the true protagonist of this fight ranks outside the realm of mortals. a human being could have been defeated before the start of the war. but since the lord was the one fighting, he conquered the enemies. furthermore, the reign of david as king of israel was characterized by battles against the enemies whom israel defeated.185 prophet elijah had a share in battle. he slayed the servants of ba’al with the sword after the lord answered his prayers by consuming with fire the burnt offering laid on the erected altar.186 “and elijah said to them, seize the prophets of ba’al; let not one of them escape. and they seized them; and elijah brought them down to the brook kishon, and killed them there.”187 some of the emerging facts from the biblical accounts that we exposed so far have shaped the understanding of the church fathers in interpreting warfare as the act of god’s direct intervention in the life situations of his chosen people so as to liberate them from their foes and lead them under his protective arms to the land of safety and fruitfulness. ordinarily speaking, some of the events described could be a dread but god’s participation changed their course in favour of his people. whatever the combat is, it is not just human but rather divinely inspired and guided; god is personally the chief executor of war. joshua, david, elijah, and so on are only instruments the lord uses in order to accomplish his design. the incident of the crossing of the red sea showed the people of israel in a passive state while god intervenes to wade off pharaoh, and his cohorts who got 183 1samuel 17, 19-55. 184 cf. ibid, 17. 185 cf. 2 samuel 1-10. 186 cf. 1kings 18. 187 ibid, 18, 40. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 80 drowned in the water. the ancient people of israel were saved without fighting.188 no one can contest what god has ordered for execution.189 new testament perspective it can be argued that jesus’ message contained in the new testament is sometimes at variance with the old testament. his life and approach contrast with the violence wrought in the name of god. at the birth of jesus, the angels raised their voices in chorus of praise “glory to god in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased.”190 the nativity of jesus signifies an era of peace among people. st. paul captures it succinctly that god in jesus christ “is our peace.”191 god has brought and inaugurated peace in the midst of all those who labour for peace. jesus provides a new orientation that is a shift from the old teaching and ways. “you have heard that it was said to the men of old, you shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment. but i said to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment…. you have heard that it was said, ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ but i say to you, do not resist one who is evil. but if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also;”192 at the arrest of jesus, one of his followers drew out the sword in order to defend him. but jesus ordered the follower to desist from the use of sword: “put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.”193 jesus disapproves of the use of violence for his personal defense. he could have done it without engaging human aid if he wanted. he appeals for the nonviolent approach. this falls in line with the will of god. in the account of luke, jesus shows his peaceful attitude contrary to the violent method and healed the injured person. “but jesus said, no more of this! and he touched his ear and healed him. then jesus said to the chief priests and captains of the temple and elders, who had come out against him, have you come out against a robber, with 188 cf. exodus 14. 189 cf. ibid, 14, 13-14. 190 luke 2, 14 191 ephesians 2, 14. 192 matthew 5, 21-22, 38-39. 193 ibid, 26, 52. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 81 swords and clubs?”194 the healing gesture is a touch of god’s mercy that the wounded experienced. he exchanged injury with wholeness. jesus put up with wickedness, endured the evil of violence and did not retaliate to maltreatment. he submits willingly to violence without reacting to it. “jesus answered, my kingship is not of this world; if my kingship were of this world, my servants would fight, that i might not be handed over to the jews; but my kingship is not from this world.”195 st. peter adds: “christ also suffered for you leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps. when he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he trusted to him who judges justly.”196 jesus was a suffering servant who never subscribes to nor yields to violence but adopted a meek attitude; he also recommends that blessings should be invoked on those who are violent.197 while jesus, the visible image of the unseen god perfects without condemnation, it is apparent that he makes a move away from the old dispensation. he is the authentic fulfillment and the interpretation of the old testament. in and through jesus god became human to save man: life adopts life. the interpretation of the old in the light of jesus’ event makes more sense and renders an appreciable understanding of god’s manifestation in the old testament. augustine’s theory of the just war as far as the theory of the just war is concerned augustine is often taken as a controversial figure and viewed with certain suspicion. however, he is an indisputable authority on this subject. cicero played a crucial role in the formation of augustine’s mental outlook on war.198 the old testament, specifically some of the texts we earlier examined, influenced augustine’s perspective on war. as a christian thinker, augustine casts his mind on the sack of rome and the other problematic rampages of his period that upset the natural peace and order in the greco-roman world and the society. humanity is ruined by the evil actions which arrogant men perpetrate. augustine’s reflections to address the question of war and armed contests were born out of his solicitude for the common good. in seeking to explain the problem of war and violence, he 194 luke 22, 51-52. 195 john 18, 36. 196 1peter 2, 21, 23. 197 cf. romans 12, 14, 18-19. 198 cf. augustine, city of god ii, 21; iii, 5-31. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 82 situates it within a theological framework of the original sin.199 sin has inflicted wound on human nature thereby causing a disorder in humanity. there is a continuous inner tension mankind must always deal with, i.e. the war between the flesh and the spirit. as st. paul espouses,200 augustine believes that the interior wrangling in man is the consequence of the rebellion against god.201 man’s misuse of free will could also be manifested in violence.202 in the city of god, augustine illustrates that wars are features of the temporal city.203 wars reveal the pride humankind display in the quest to exercise their might and dominion over others.204 as pilgrims, christians find themselves in the earthly city and must journey amongst the citizens of the worldly city; they are to be steadfast and witness through faithful obedience to god by virtuous life205 until when they reach perfect peace of the blessed life in the heavenly city of god. the justice of war as augustine conceives and endorses consists principally of god’s command of it206 and of a remedy to injustice inflicted and the hard path for the restoration of peace. “i know the objection that a good ruler will wage wars only if they are just. but, surely, if he will only remember that he is a man, he will begin by bewailing the necessity he is under of waging even just wars. a good man would be under compulsion to wage no wars at all, if there were not such things as just wars. a just war moreover, is justified only by the injustice of an aggressor; and that injustice ought to be a source of grief to any good man, because it is human injustice. it would be deplorable in itself, apart from being a source of conflict.”207 199 augustine dwells on genesis 2, 17, 3, 7-10 and galatians 5, 17 as the interpretative key to unravel the puzzle of conflict. man turned away from god his creator in search of affirming his autonomy with the hope of becoming god. he did not become what he ambitioned to be and instead lost his original status. cf. ibid., xiii, 13-15. 200 cf. galatians 5, 17. “for the desires of the flesh are against the spirit, and the desires of the spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, and to prevent you from doing what you would.” 201 cf. augustine, city of god xiii, 13. “the fact is that the soul, which had taken perverse delight in its own liberty and disdained the service of god, was now deprived of its original mastery over the body; because it had deliberately deserted the lord who was over it, it no longer bent to its will the servant below it, being unable to hold the flesh completely in subjection as would always have been the case, if only the soul had remained subject to god. from this moment, then, the flesh began to lust against the spirit. with this rebellion we are born, just as we are doomed to die and, because of the first sin, to bear, in our members and vitiated nature, either the battle with or defeat by the flesh.” 202 ibid, xiii, 14. 203 ibid, i, 2; xv, 4. 204 ibid, xv, 4. 205 ibid, i. 8-9. 206 augustine holds that it is just “to wage war at god’s bidding, or for the representatives of the state’s authority to put criminals to death according to the law or the rule of rational justice.” ibid, i, 21. 207 ibid, xix, 7. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 83 augustine sets out in the preceding formulation to lay some parameters for the justification of wars. the description of the genuine motivations he offers should be the inspiration for a good ruler to engage in just wars. he acknowledges that even such wars generate anguish in a good man but who must, out of the necessity of responsibility, act in order to redress the grave injustice done. injustice is a serious offence committed against the victim which also extends to all mankind by the virtue of humanity common to all rational beings. hence, just wars are not carried out for revenge or retaliation but rather for punishment to restrict harm. in any case, war overtly serves a purpose. augustine is convinced that there is “no war that does not suppose some kind of peace.”208 in a similar vein, he observes: “the purpose even of war is peace. for, where victory is not followed by resistance there is a peace that was impossible so long as rivals were competing, hungrily and unhappily, for something material too little to suffice for both. this kind of peace is a product of the work of war, and its price is a so-called glorious victory; when victory goes to the side that had a just cause it is surely a matter for human rejoicing, and the peace is one to be welcomed.”209 the consideration of an intervention of just war must ensure that the prospect of armed opposition be ruled out to avert disastrous consequence. this provides a basis to wage war that will guarantee durable peace. the good effect of a just war rids of tension between the rival parties and reinforces peace. in an epistle to boniface, augustine admonishes him and underscores peace as the sole aim of war. “peace should be the object of your desire; war should be waged only as a necessity, and waged only that god may by it deliver men[women] from the necessity and preserve them in peace. for peace is not sought in order to the kindling of war, but war is waged in order that peace may be obtained. therefore, even in waging war, cherish the spirit of a peacemaker, that, by conquering those whom you attack, you may lead them back to the advantages of peace….”210 in the proposal of augustine, war serves as an instrument that god in a ruler employs to achieve peace. one may be tempted to apply a criticism that may be 208 ibid., xix, 13 209 ibid, xv, 4. 210 idem, letter to boniface 189, 6 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 84 unkind to augustine’s affirmation. when one subjects augustine’s assertion to scrutiny, there is a moral discrepancy between the intention and the act. the intention is the pursuit of peace while the act is war. in truth, the means does not fit in well with the intention but for augustine it is permissible for the realisation of the good goal. thus, the means in this context becomes proportionate to the intention. one of the basic premises of augustine that attracts criticism is his unequivocal justification of violence to deal with troublemakers and get the situation under control. in a correspondence he sent to faustus the manichaean, he articulates some salient points on war. “what is the evil in war? is it the death of some who will soon die in any case, that others may live in peaceful subjection? this is mere cowardly dislike, not any religious feeling. the real evils in war are love of violence, revengeful cruelty, fierce and implacable enmity, wild resistance, and the lust of power, and such like; and it is generally to punish these things, when force is required to inflict the punishment, that, in obedience to god or some lawful authority, good men undertake wars, when they find themselves in such a position as regards the conduct of human affairs, that right conduct requires them to act, or to make others act in this way.”211 augustine emphasizes the need for an intervention by a competent authority to quell trouble. it may be claimed that augustine exalts in the cited text the use of arms to resolve conflicts without giving much thought to the catastrophe inherent in war. the innocent victims normally pay a costly price. the rhetorical interrogation is apparently unattractive and troubling “is it the death of some who will soon die in any case, that others may live in peaceful subjection?” some will inevitable be sacrificed in order that peace could be attained. nevertheless, he makes a distinction between war executed out of lust and wickedness by evil men and that which stability imposes as a duty on rulers to enforce in conformity to god’s command and for the sake of common good. where conflict disrupts order, augustine retains it necessary to be countered with the required severity. augustine, though he approves of war and the use of violence in extreme circumstances, nonetheless he is ambivalent. it is heartbreaking. war is horrible enough no matter the circumstance surrounding it. 211 idem, reply to faustus the manichaean 22, 74/75 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 85 “any man who will consider sorrowfully evils so great, such horrors and such savagery, will admit his misery. and if there is any man who can endure such calamities, or even contemplate them without feeling grief, his condition is all the more wretched for that. for it is only the loss of all humane feeling that could make him call such a life the happy life.”212 the gory experience of war urges one to appeal to reason. good thinking reminds us of our common nature. it becomes evident that augustine cautions about the use of arms for the settlement of disputes. prudence informs the careful study of possibly harmless options rather than taking a drastic measure. where peace can be achieved without bloodbath, he suggests trailing the path of nonaggression. he writes in an appeal to darius: “but it is a higher glory still to stay war itself with a word, than to slay men with the sword, and to procure or maintain peace by peace, not by war. for those who fight, if they are good men, doubtless seek for peace; nevertheless it is through blood. your mission, however, is to prevent the shedding of blood.”213 from this letter, he states clearly his preference for peace which should be sought by dialogue and non-violence. he sees war only as the last option where and when its avoidance could turn a bad situation to the worst. the engagement of augustine with the complexity and the discussion of war are to proffer solution to conflicts, to contend violence triggered by miscreants and to mitigate the devastating effect of injustice for the establishment of peace. peace is indispensable for any human development, mutual coexistence and social progress. in like manner, effective propagation of faith, a divine project that commands human collaboration, is impossible where peace is lacking. its legacy in the church’s teaching today the church has never been indifferent to the challenge which war poses to humanity. the doctrine of augustine’s just war which we investigated shapes the official teaching of the church. in fact, it forms the nucleus of the magisterium of the church on the topic over the centuries. turning to the theory augustine developed on war, the church deepens her knowledge and gains more insight into the question. her perspective in tackling the problem of armed 212 idem, city of god xix, 7. 213 idem, letter to darius 229, 2. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 86 strife is well broadened. she mediates with competence and objectivity in order to address political restlessness that at times tends to destabilize nations with international repercussions. her pronouncements are always invitation to walk the path of dialogue and peace. in the wake of the first world war, benedict xv reminded world leaders to consider dialogue and eschew war of any sort.214 war does not bring any good out of incomprehensible stand. war contradicts the continuous search to build a just and harmonious world. pius xii warned against the danger of another war. “the calamity of a world war, with the economic and social ruin and the moral excesses and dissolution that accompany it, must not on any account be permitted to engulf the human race for a third time.”215 pius xii’s words are a clarion call on world leaders to learn from the bitter past experience and let reason prevail over arms. the need to rise up from the distress of war, inspires him to reecho augustine who advocated for a change of heart as the basis for new social transformation in order to create a more fraternal and peaceful relationship among peoples of all nations.216 irrespective of this, pius xii agreed that war could also be vindicated in an unresolved conflict which can degenerate to unimaginable catastrophe. john xxiii advocated for peace through the laying down of weapons and the embrace of non-violent means “men nowadays are becoming more and more convinced that any dispute which may arise between nations must be resolved by negotiation and agreement, and not by recourse to arms.”217 the propositions of john xxiii have some resemblance to the epistle of augustine to darius.218 john xxiii uttered his concern regarding the competition among nations to develop and construct atomic nuclear weapons which do not serve the purpose of peace. “hence justice, right reason, and the recognition of man’s dignity cry out insistently for a cessation to the arms race. the stock-piles of armaments which have been built up in various countries must be reduced all round and simultaneously by the parties concerned. nuclear weapons must be banned.”219 214 “we implore those in whose hands are placed the fortunes of nations to hearken to our voice. surely there are other ways and means whereby violated rights can be rectified. let them be tried honestly and with good will, and let arms meanwhile be laid aside.” benedict xv, appealing for peace ad beatissimi apostolorum, libreria editrice vaticana, città del vaticano, 1914, n. 4. 215 pius xii, broadcast christmas message 1941. cf. also benedict xv, exhortation to rulers of the belligerent powers, august 1, 1917. 216 cf. idem, encyclical letter communium interpretes dolorum, città del vaticano, libreria editrice vaticana, 1945, n. 2. 217 john xxiii, pacem in terris, città del vaticano, libreria editrice vaticana, 1963, n. 126. 218 cf. footnote 37. 219 john xxiii, pacem in terris, n. 112. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 87 the second vatican inevitably dedicates space to the discussion on war and armed conflicts.220 the council documents: “war, granted, has not ceased to be part of the human scene. as long as the danger of war persists and there is no international authority with the necessary competence and power, governments cannot be denied the right of lawful self-defence, once all efforts have failed.”221 the council is realistic in its analysis of the political situation of the world. it makes an implicit appeal to heads of government to set up an impartial international body vested with authority to intervene in cases of disputes among nations. this tally well with one of the criteria that augustine put forward for the qualification of just war when it is ordered by a legitimate authority.222 an international body can offer a good avenue for open dialogue and sincere negotiation instead of leaving the belligerent countries to deal with the problem on their own. when peaceful reconciliation is unfeasible and there is deadlock between the disputing states, the strong may likely take advantage of her superior power to the detriment of the weak. on the other hand, the mediation of a neutral competent body will broker peace to prevent war and at the same time to uphold the sovereign integrity of both. although the council recognises the possibility of war undertaken for selfdefence in the absence of any reasonable solution, it explicitly condemns destructive war that spares no one. “… the council, endorsing the condemnations of total warfare issued by recent popes, declares: every act of war directed to the indiscriminate destruction of whole cities or vast areas with their inhabitants is a crime against god and humanity, which merits firm and unequivocal condemnation.”223 from this remark, one could see the subtle pervasiveness of augustine’s ideas in the council’s document. the bishop of hippo acknowledges that war provokes misery which every good person feels224 because of the destruction it brings whether on those whose evil conduct incites it, and for which they are to be 220 second vatican ecumenical council, pastoral constitution on the church in the modern world gaudium et spes, nn. 79-82. 221 ibid, n. 79. 222 cf. augustine, city of god xix, 7; cf. footnote 33. 223 second vatican ecumenical council, gaudium et spes, n. 80. 224 cf. footnote 36. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 88 punished, or on those who wage it and also on the innocent who will suffer it directly or indirectly. john paul ii maintained an inflexible stand against the use of arms to settle differences. during his first apostolic visit to the united states, john paul ii, in a speech to the assembly of the united nations, repeated what his predecessor paul vi had said: “no more war, war never again! never one against the other, or even one above the other, but always, on every occasion, with each other.”225 john paul ii did not hide his aversion to war; he condemned war in all its manifestation. nevertheless, he was favourable to the principle of recourse to war when all diplomatic effort turns futile and due provision to the noncombatant group is cared for.226 the exception he indicated is restrictive and regards the situation where and when all peaceful attempts to settle conflict fail. in the catechism of the catholic church, the church maintains her teaching on war. this magisterial document considers lawful the right of states to use military force for self-defence when they are under threats and all diplomatic negotiation to avoid aggressive attack proves abortive.227 even in this instance the stringent conditions traditionally laid down in the just war doctrine must be upheld.228 the compendium of the social doctrine of the church replaces war with legitimate defence. this slight change, though relevant, seems to be more at the level of terminology. substantially, the church’s teaching remains immutable. the document reaffirms what the second vatican council states: “it is one thing to undertake military action for the just defense of the people, and something else again to seek the subjugation of other nations. nor, by the same token, does the mere fact that war has unhappily begun mean that all is fair between the warring parties.”229 it reiterates the fundamental importance of 225 john paul ii, address to the 34th general assembly of the united nations, l’osservatore romano, weekly edition in english, n. 42, 4th october 1979, 1, 8-12. during his subsequent apostolic journey to the united states 16 years from the first, john paul ii repeated verbatim what his predecessor paul vi said in 1965 “no more war, never again! peace is, it is peace which must guide the destinies of people.” john paul ii, address during the welcoming ceremony at newark international airport, (newark-new jersey), 4th october 1995. cf. paul vi, address to the united nations organisation, l’oserrvatore romano, 6th october, 1965, 4. 226 citing the charter of the united nations, john paul ii asserts: “war cannot be decided upon, even when it is a matter of ensuring the common good, except as the very last option and in accordance with very strict conditions, without ignoring the consequences for the civilian population both during and after the military operations.” john paul ii, “address to the diplomatic corps” in l’osservatore romano, weekly edition in english, n. 3, 13th january 2003, 4-5. 227 cf. catechism of the catholic church, second edition revised in accordance with the official latin text promulgated by pope john paul ii, libreria editrice vaticana, città del vaticano, 19972, n. 2308. 228 the catechism notes that “the damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave and certain; all other means of putting an end to it must have been shown to be impractical or ineffective; there must be serious prospects of success; the use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated. the power of modern means of destruction weighs very heavily in the evaluation of these conditions. these are the traditional elements enumerated in what is called the just war doctrine.” ibid., n. 2309 229 pontifical council for justice and peace, compendium of the social doctrine of the church, libreria editrice vaticana, città del vaticano, 2004, n. 500. cf. also second vatican ecumenical council, gaudium et spes, n. 17. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 89 adopting the strict conditions as criteria for evaluating the truthful claim of using armed weapons by governments to defend their states.230 additionally, it makes allowance through prudential judgment for a nation under threat of attack to possess sufficient means of defending herself as an act of responsibility and a guarantee of world peace.231 benedict xvi denounced wars and conflicts232 but he did not alter the doctrine of legitimate defence. in his message for the world day of peace, pope francis enjoins all to give up arms and engage in dialogue. give up the way of arms and go out to meet the other in dialogue, pardon and reconciliation, in order to rebuild justice, trust, and hope around you! from this standpoint, it is clear that, for the world’s peoples, armed conflicts are always a deliberate negation of international harmony, and create profound divisions and deep wounds which require many years to heal. wars are a concrete refusal to pursue the great economic and social goals that the international community has set itself.”233 from what we have seen thus far, it is certain that the church rejects war. but does that mean that she has turned back on the teaching on the just war which is part of her tradition? there seems to be a sharp difference between praxis and theory in the teaching of the church on war. in practice, she strongly opposes and condemns war. but theoretically, she speaks of “borderline” cases, extreme circumstances in which war can rightly be contemplated when certain elements234 are in place. even at that, it is still practically difficult if not impossible to fulfill the conditions required for the legitimation of war as just and its execution. 230 cf. pontifical council for justice and peace, compendium of the social doctrine of the church, n. 500. cf. footnote 48. 231 cf. ibid. 232 cf. benedict xvi, message for the world day of peace, libreria editrice vaticana, città del vaticano, 2006, n. 13. 233 francis, message for the world day of peace, città del vaticano, libreria editrice vaticana, 2014, n. 7. 234 cf. catechism of the catholic church, n. 2309. the church lists out elements which serve as guide in the moral evaluation of instances where war can be considered as legitimate: “the damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave and certain; all other means of putting an end to it must have been shown to be impractical or ineffective; there must be serious prospects of success; the use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated. the power of modern means of destruction weighs very heavily in evaluating this condition.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 90 conclusion despite the unfair criticisms often leveled against augustine on his theory of just war, his legacy is perennial. no christian scholar before or after him had confronted the question with the required intellectual concern and profundity as he did. his thought serves as an inexhaustible fountain of wisdom from which the church and men/women of good will can always refer to for the resolution of conflicts. it may be true that his reasoning will not resonate with the present reality. be that as it may, it served the purpose for which he intervened to illuminate the minds of those entrusted with the responsibility of public administration in the resolution of wars and conflicts. augustine’s theory offers remedy without which the brutality of war would have easily been invoked to deal a serious blow to the human race. his was to serve as deterrent to troublemakers for the preservation of peace and harmony. for augustine, war that is a chastisement is not bad; it is corrective. as such augustine’s theory cannot be ignored nor discarded as obsolete. perhaps its relevance today lies in the stimulation to ponder on the right cause of action to be taken in situations of conflict considering the abundance of sophisticated atomic, biochemical and nuclear weapons at man’s disposal today which can easily annihilate millions within seconds. importantly, it should be observed that augustine was a great man of dialogue, a true lover, seeker and promoter of peace. his writings eloquently testify to this claim. the interventions he made were aimed principally at finding appropriate solutions to the violent clashes so that peace can reign in the society. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 3 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 42 women, governance and nigeria’s development in the light of esther 4:1-17 anuli okoli department of religion and cultural studies university of nigeria, nsukka e-mail: anuli.okoli@unn.edu.ng phone no: 08063876628 & favour . c. uroko department of religion and cultural studies university of nigeria, nsukka e-mail: favour.uroko@unn.edu.ng phone no: 08062369671 abstract the paper analyses the contributions of women in time past in the development of nigeria. consequently, it examines reasons for the exception of women in contemporary times in political leadership of nigeria. the paper discovered that the much-needed development that nigeria seeks could have been attained if the proper environment where women are involved in the policy-making process are in evoke. the story of queen esther in the old testament was used as the character for the study. queen esther was a fearless leader who was prepared to lay down her life for her people, the jewish race, who were about to be exterminated by harman and his accomplices. the narrative analysis was used as the methodology in this research work. the paper recommended that women should build up a high self-esteem so as to be able to given their own contribution to the overall growth and development of nigeria. keywords: good governance, national development, queen esther, women, leadership introduction the place of women in the society cannot be underestimated. women have played very crucial roles in the family (nuclear and extended) and the society at large. in the society women, hitherto, were the brain behind the success in governance in the monarchies that existed in the various nigerian communities, with some democratic and others autocratic. in 1957, during the preindependence era in nigeria, a couple of women political activists, such as mrs. margaret ekpo, mrs. janet mokelu and mrs.young, were members of the eastern igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 43 house of assembly. this was a commendable feat. the late mrs. fumilayo ransome kuti, though not a fully fledged politician was a very strong force to reckoned with in politics of the western region. hajia gambo sawaba waged a fierce battle for the political and cultural emancipation of women in the north. these women, not only stood their feet, but they upheld justice, honesty, transparency and accountability, notwithstanding the risks it had to their lives. however, times have change. there is this sudden withdrawal of the women folk from political activities such as governance. their place is being conceptualized to be in the kitchen. jide (2016) explains that women run away from politics because politics in recent times have become a preserve of the plutocrats. one cannot be a successful politician in nigeria unless one is well heeled or one has backers who are ready to finance one’s political career as an investment. in this way, one compromises one’s independence and the seed of corruption is sown. this explains why the political terrain has been posed as a dirty game by the men folk. women, who should have served as checks and balances to abuse of power, have been silenced. could it be that the exemption of women from power is the reason for the high rate of corruption in nigeria? how can women contribute their quota to the overall political and all round development of the nigerian society? these are the problems that this research paper tends to solve. the study text is esther 4:1-17. it explains how queen esther exhibited political wisdom in taking care of the political brouhaha that was about to the envelope the jewish nation. esther, through her political will, was able to proffer a solution to a political problem. the narrative analysis was used in this research piece. according to berberg (2012, p.78) “narrative analysis attempts to systematically relate the narrative means deployed for the function of laying out and making sense of particular kinds of, if not totally unique, experiences.” it helps for a proper communication of experiences of a particular narrative.it was discovered that women in politics would help in sanitizing the nigerian polity. conceptual clarification for a better grasping of the thesis of this paper, a definition of terms would be of utmost importance. hereunder a sketch is given of the operational terms. a. development igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 44 development could be defined as the process in which someone or something grows or changes and becomes more advanced (cambridge dictionary, 2017). gboyega (2003) puts that development as an idea embodies all attempts to improve the conditions of human existence in all ramifications. szirmai (n.d) explains that development issues two general approaches: 1. the fight against poverty (this approach focuses on the problems of widespread poverty, hunger and misery in developing countries and on the question of what can be done in order to realise improvements of the situation in the short term), 2. the analysis of long-term economic and social development (this approach concentrates on comparing developments in different countries, regions and historical periods in order to gain a better understanding of the factors that have long-term effects on the dynamics of socio-economic development). b. governance governance, according to francis (2003, p.3) is government's ability to make and enforce rules, and to deliver services, regardless of whether that government is democratic or not. according to the united nations economic and social commission for asia and the pacific (n.d), governance is the process of decisionmaking and the process by which decisions are implemented (or not implemented). since governance is the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented, an analysis of governance focuses on the formal and informal actors involved in decision-making and implementing the decisions made and the formal and informal structures that have been set in place to arrive at and implement the decision. c. the book of esther the events in the book of esther occurred from 483 bc to 473 bc, during the first half of the reign of king xerxes, who chose esther as his queen. esther and her uncle mordecai, along with many other jews were in susa, the capital city of persia (swindoll, 2017, baumgarten, 2007). sketching more, maier (1988, p.193) puts that “after the death of xerxes, the persian empire passed to his son ahasuerus, whom the greeks call artaxerxes”, to whom queen esther became a wife. esther is a jewish woman living in persia and reared by her cousin mordecai. she was taken to the king of the persian empire to become a part of his harem; but because there was something special about esther, he made her queen. mordecai, however, didn’t tell the king about a major detail which was esther’s jewish heritage (lisa, 2017). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 45 theoretical framework the role theory was used in this research work. this theory was propounded by george herbert mead in 1934. the theory emphasizes the inherent nature of the social structure with social status and roles as the major components of social structure. role refers to a person’s organized modes of behavior by the status or function he carries out in relation to one or more persons (strean, 1971 in okala & ijeoma, 2014). women are thought to have roles which are being misconstrued to end in the kitchen. their roles are seen as domesticated roles. hence, going into governance is seen as boycotting the roles that were spelt out to the women folk. hence, this theory proceeds that the cultural place of women have been an influence on their apathy to societal governance. mead in his book mind, self and society said that the organized community or social group which gives to the individual his unity of self may be called “the generalized other.” this generalized other is the cultural enclave which women have been psychologically placed. women and governance in nigeria women in nigeria have made strides which helped in the development of the country. in 1957, during the pre-independence era, a couple of women political activists, such as mrs. margaret ekpo, mrs. janet mokelu and mrs.young, were members of the eastern house of assembly. the late mrs. fumilayo ransome kuti, though not a fully fledged politician was a very strong force in southwestern politics. also, hajia gambo sawaba waged a fierce battle for the political and cultural emancipation of women in the north. these women, not only stood their feet, they upheld justice, honesty, transparency and accountability, notwithstanding the risks these had to their lives. furthermore, the aba women’s riot of november/december 1929 is the first major challenge to british authority in nigeria and west africa during the colonial period. thousands of igbo women organised a massive revolt against the policies imposed by british colonial administrations in southern eastern nigeria. this “prompted colonial authorities to drop their plans to impose a tax on market women and to curb the power of the warrant chief” (terry and abada, 2011, p.39). also, the ekiti women in support of democracy in nigeria protested against the re-run governorship election in ekiti state in 2009 by appearing half naked in white attires and moved around ado-ekiti. the protest spearheaded by chief ronke okunsaya, a former commissioner for women affairs in the state, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 46 comprising about 300 women. the women ended up causing a stir when they performed a rite by appeasing the gods of the land and rain causes on any antidemocratic forces and these disrupting the peace of the state (egbunu, 2009). also worthy of mention is the late dr. dora akunyili, former director of the national agency for food administration and control (nafdac); she worked very hard in fighting against illegal and fake drugs in nigeria. in recognition of her leadership prowess, she won the transparency international integrity award and the british grassroots human rights ward. consequently, the renowned dr ngozi okonjo iweala, minister of finance, former world bank boss was the brain behind the removal of subsidy. she proved her patriotism, dedication and loyalty by her contributions to the stabilisation of nigeria’s economy. she played an active role in shaping the country out of its economic woes and getting the nation a debt relief, like the paris club (terry and chika, 2011). contemporarily the situation has changed. women have been sidelined. ogazi (2011) explains that in the elective positions in nigeria since 1999, it is evident that women have not reached 10% representation. from 1999 till date, no woman has been vice president of nigeria and not to talk about president. in 2011, only one woman contested for the post of the president in nigeria under the platform of the peoples democratic party and she did not survive the primary election. how could she survive the primaries when she got only one vote despite the large number of women that attended the primary election but refused to vote for her even on sympathy basis. in 2015, 5 women out of the 14 persons contested the vice presidential position while 14 men contested the post of president. out of the 109 senate member in nigeria senate chambers, women were 7 in 1999, 4 in 2003, 9 in 2007, 7 in 2011 and 7 in 2015. in the house of representative, out of the 360 members of the house in 1999, 7 are women, while in 2003 21 are women, 27 in 2007 and 25 in 2011 and 14 in 2015. no woman governor since 1999 till date apart from when the governor of anambra state peter obi was removed from office for one month and as soon as he won his case through the courts, the women governor stepped down to her deputy position. furthermore, ojoma (2014) also observes that women have contested for different positions in the four elections held by the country since its return to democratic rule in 1999 but have had poor results, minimal gains and slow progress. for instance, in 2003, women made up only three percent of elected officials, in 2007 they made seven percent and in 2011 they make up about five percent. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 47 queen esther and the welfare of her people queen esther replaced queen vashti as the queen of persia. haman, a very close ally of the king due to the fact that mordecai did not bow down to him decided to annihilate the whole jews. this was possible because haman was an agagite and had been raised to the highest position at king’s court. mordecai, who was the uncle of esther at this period reported this development to esther (4:7, 8, 14) and pleaded with her to come to the rescue of the jews. esther means ‘hidden’ – her jewish identity was hidden from the king. esther’s jewish name, hadassah, means ‘myrtle’ (a tree whose leaves release their fragrance when crushed). she a queen needed more than beauty to navigate the shoals of a corrupt and dangerous court. esther was a symbol of jews who lived successfully in an alien culture. (fletcher, 2006). in esther 4, mordecai, esther’s uncle was saddened by the news of a total annihilation of the jews. mordecai told esther about the plans of haman. then esther said in reply to mordecai “go, gather all the jews who are present in shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. my maids and i will fast likewise. and so i will go to the king, which is against the law; and if i perish, i perish!" (esther 4:16). esther took this bold step and met with the king, which was against the law of the land. mordecai then went away and did everything as esther had ordered him. she was able to gain victory and save her people from destruction. this was literally a woman who was prepared to die for the people she is representing. this is what leadership entails. hughes (2007) puts that the simple fact stands out that here was one who was willing to lay down her life for her people. in v. 16, the hebrew text reads: ַלי ְוַאל־ּתֹאְכלּ֙ו ְוַאל־ִּתְׁשּ֜תּו ְׁש֤�ֶׁשת יִָמים֙ ֵל֩� ְּכנ֙ 16 ן ְו֣צּומּו ָע֠ ים ְּבׁשּוָׁש֗ ים ַהּֽנְִמְצִא֣ יְָלה ָו֔יֹום ַּגם־ֲאִנ֥י ֹוס ֶאת־ָּכל־ַהּיְהּוִד֜ ַל֣ ר ת ְוַכֲאֶׁש֥ ר ֽ�א־ַכָּד֔ ֶל֙� ֲאֶׁש֣ ן ָא֤בֹוא ֶאל־ַהֶּמ֙ ן ּוְבֵכ֞ י ָא֣צּום ֵּכ֑ דְ ְונֲַערַֹת֖ ָאָבְֽדִּתי׃ ִּתיָאַב֖ (go, gather all the jews who are present in shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. my maids and i will fast likewise. and so i will go to the king, which is against the law; and if i perish, i perish!") the word ְדִּתי means “i perish”. it is can also mean to lose oneself. it means to ָאַב֖ totally donate oneself to fate. this is what queen esther submitted to. and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 48 esther prayed to god after the manner of her country, by casting herself down upon the earth and putting on her mourning garments and bidding farewell to meat and drink and all delicacies, this she did for three days time as she entreated god to take pity upon her and to make her words seem persuasive to the king and her appearance more beautiful than ever before, that both by her words and her beauty she might succeed in averting the king's anger if he were in some way provoked by her; and to make her a consolation for those of her own country, who were in the utmost danger of perishing; and to excite in the king a hatred toward the enemies of the jews and he that had contrived their destruction (goldberg, n.d). factors militating against the effective participation of women in governance several factors fight against the emergence of women in nigeria’s governance. some of them: a. discriminatory laws and customs: the culture of the nigerian society places women as inferior to men. according to jean (2005), it seems that nigeria’s male dominated culture has little interest in encouraging self-discovery of the women folk. this self-discovery inculcates the i-can-do-it-spirit into the women folk. adhiambo-oduol (2003) corroborates that socio-cultural beliefs, attitudes, biases and stereotypes as major barriers because they emphasize the superiority of men and the inferiority of women. b. illiteracy: most males are educated at the expense of female children. the education of girls and women do not go beyond what she needs to bear children and keep the home. lack of knowledge can make a woman feel vulnerable and afraid of knowing how the body function. the body function could be politically inclusive. they cannot participate in the decisions concerning their own health (wolfe and jones, 1991). c. low self-esteem: it seems that women consider themselves inferior to men. they tend to see governance as a preserve for men; hence, they resort to apathy. according to melanie (2009), self-esteem refers to the overall opinion one has, in this case of herself, how she judges or evaluates herself, and the value women attach to themselves as people (p.7). melanie further notes that low selfesteem is reflected in how a person acts in everyday situations, low self-esteem has an impact on emotional state (p.10). in relation to men in nigeria it could be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 49 reconciled that some women in nigeria have low self-esteem, hence, their melancholic nature in the nigeria’s governance. other factors according to abiola (2013) include: ideology, pre-determined social roles assigned to women, male dominance and control, conflicting demands on the time of women candidates due to their domestic and social responsibilities and women’s lack of confidence to run elections. others include women perception of politics as a dirty game, lack of funds and resources as politics is heavily monetised, poverty and unemployment, illiteracy and limited access to education, the dual burden of domestic task and professional obligation, lack of confidence in other women, lack of access to information and the multiple effect of violence against women. d. recommendations as a way of curbing the way menace of women forced and voluntary exception from governance, the following ways can be used to solve the situation: a. women should know that they have a lot to contribute to the scheme of things. just like queen esther women should desire to give in their best when given a leadership position. b. mordecai was a man who gave esther the chance to write her name in gold. esther as a woman was able to save the jews from the genocide planned against them. women in nigeria could be the ones to solve nigeria’s contemporary problem which the nation has been struggling to solve since the time of her formation since 1914. c. consequently, women in nigeria need to heighten their self-esteem. they should endeavour to understand that what their male counterpart could do they can also do better. governance in some countries like germany, britain and even liberia has been positively touched due to the role of women in their political terrain. d. the male gender could stand solidly behind women just like mordecai did towards esther rather than this superiority complex that tends to make the male folk refuse to render any assistance to the women folk e. the assertion by abiola (2013) is very important to these recommendations. he says that political parties should have 20% of women in their governance bodies becomes significant. it is believed that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 50 such representation will have a positive effect in engendering party democracy in nigeria. conclusions nigeria could be a great nation if women are made to recognize the enormous potential they have in terms of their contributions to societal development. women tend to give in everything at their disposal to make sure that the society attains her set goals and objectives. from pre-independence to postindependence era, women have shown that they have what it takes to put the society on a sound track. women could liaise with men, and together, the long awaited development that nigeria vies for would be attained. references abiola, akiyode-afolabi. (2013). nigeria's electoral reform and the prospect for women's participation in the 2011 elections. retrieved from https://ng.boell.org/2013/10/14/nigerias-electoral-reform-andprospect-womens-participation-2011-elections adam, szirmai. (n.d).the dynamics of socio-economic development: an introduction. retrieved from http://assets.cambridge.org/ 97805218/17639/ excerpt/9780521817639_ excerpt.pdf adhiambo-oduol, j. (2003). “the women in the new political dispensation: a false start, in challenges and opportunities”. in kasomo, d. international journal of psychology and behavioral sciences, 2012; 2(3): 57-63. bamberg, michael. (2012). “narrative analysis”. apa handbook of research methods in psychology, vol. 2. doi: 10.1037. baumgarten, albert i.; sperling, s. david; sabar, shalom (2007). skolnik, fred; berenbaum, michael, eds. encyclopaedia judaica. 18 (2nd ed.). farmington hills, mi: macmillan reference usa. p. 216. charles w. morris.(1934). mind, self, and society: from the standpoint of a social behaviorist. chicago: university of chicago press. cheryl e. czuba.(1999). empowerment: what is it? retrieved from https://www.joe.org/joe/1999october/comm1.php igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 51 development.(2017). retrieved from http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/development elizabeth, fletcher. (2006). esther her story. retrieved from http://www.womeninthebible.net/women-bible-old-newtestaments/esther-her-story/ emezi, terry & chika, abada. (2011). “social justice, gender empowerment and conflict management in africa: the nigerian perspective” in o.u nnadozie social dynamics in african states nsukka: louis chumez printing enterprise. fidelis, e.egbunu. (2009). religion, politics and patriotism in nigeria: a christian perspective. abuja: afro orbis publishing co.ltd. francis, fukuyama. (2013). “what is governance” working paper 314. gboyega, a (2003). democracy and development: the imperative of local governance. an inaugural lecture, university of ibadan, pp 67. goldberg, g. j. (n.d). esther: her point of view josephus' version with commentary. retrieved from http://www.josephus.org/esther.htm gray, jean.(2005). “the wisdom of anger: the path to peace” glide tidings julyaugust toronot: canadian church press. jide, osuntokunon. (2016). “gender discrimination and marginalisation in politics-2.” retrieved from http://thenationonlineng.net/genderdiscrimination-marginalisation-politics-2/ lisa, ross.(). “6 powerful life lessons from the book of esther”. retrieved from http://www.crosswalk.com/faith/women/6-powerful-life-lessons-fromthe-book-of-esther.html melanie j. v. (1999). overcoming low self-esteem a self-help guide using cognitive behavioral techniques. fulham palace road london: robinson publishing ltd ogazi ,christopher. (2011). “participation of women in governance and politics in nigeria dec experience.” retrieved from http://decnigeria.com/news.php?view=12 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 52 ojoma, akor. (2014). “nigeria: strengthening women's political participation.” retrieved from http://allafrica.com/stories/201401241058.html paul l. maier (1988). josephus, the essential writings. aba: e.o overcomers & co. ltd strean, h.s. (1971). social case work theories in action. new jersey: the scarecro press. in okala uche and ijeoma uche (2014). “some social work theories and their implications in social research” in okechukwu, m.i & mbah, p.c. an anthology of theories for social science research nsukka, enugu: university of nigeria, press. terry, e. & chika, f.a. (2011). “social justice, gender empowerment and conflict managemnt in africa: the nigerian perspective” in o.u nnadozie social dynamics in african states. nsukka: louis chumez printing enter. tina, titus. (2006). “women and leadership today” new nigerian, october 3, p.8. united nations economic and social commission for asia and the pacific. (n.d).what is good governance? retrieved from http://www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/good-governance.pdf wolfe, s.m & jones, r.d. (1991). women’s health alert. reading m.a: addison wesley. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.1 no. 1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 92 on the possibilities of practicing participatory democracy in nigeria by paul t. haaga (phd) department of philosophy,veritasuniversity, abuja mobile: +23408067666445, 08054979939 paulohaaga@gmail.com abstract many people believe that democracy which is the “rule of the majority” is an indispensable form of government. this explains why democracy has become the most fashionable form of governance in the world. in most societies of the world today, the issue is not which political system is appropriate but rather when will the society become democratized or fully democratic. a strong and effective democratic process should be able to establish a functioning administrative structure, and address the issue of how leaders are chosen and how they should act for the interest of the people they are representing. this paper points out some major methodological problems by addressing the case of egalitarianism in the nigerian democratic structure. it also illustrates the nexus between freedom and democracy. the paper suggests participatory democracy, enhanced by the use of information and communication technology as a way to meaningful development in africa. keywords: governance, nigeria, participatory, democracy introduction the practice of democracy in africa presents the immediate problem of defining democracy as a concept, and then deciding if western definitions even holds-water in africa. the fact is that democratic social organization is the best culture for ensuring the fullest development and expression of each person’s unique talents and life purposes; genuine democracy involves far more than periodic voting for politicians it requires intelligent, active participation in the formation of values that regulate the living of men people together. on this note, dewey (1974) insists that all those who are affected by social institutions must have a share in producing and managing them. participatory democracy through active citizen participation enhances the quality of decisions, policies and laws thus contributing to the amelioration of the quality of life of citizens. people must be able to contribute to how they are governed; they must be able to ask questions and intervene in the procedure. the crucial questions regarding democracy in africa are: is africa underdeveloped because it is primarily undemocratic? or is africa undemocratic because it is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 93 primarily underdeveloped? which is cause and which is effect? in responding to these questions, this paper examines the tenants of democracy in nigeria; it outlines the challenges of the democracy practiced in nigeria and finally suggests participatory democracy which involves change, reorientation, personal responsibility and active participation as the way to meaningful development in africa. on the conceptand values ofdemocracy: a comment from plato democracy is etymologically derived from two greek words, demos meaning ‘people’ and kratein meaning ‘to rule’. it means rule of the people. abraham lincoln classically defined it as “government of the people, by the people and for the people”. strictly speaking, government by all the people should mean unanimous decisions in the welfare of the people (sabine and thorson, 1973). but this of course, is impossible in political matters. lincoln’s addition of “government for the people”, in rousseau’s theory of the general will, means the decisive view, which invariably must be that of the majority and should seek to serve the interest of all, even though it does not have the agreement of all (raphael, 1976).aristotle defines democracy as “the rule of many for the good of the poor” as opposed to oligarchy, which asserts “the rule of the few for the good of the wealthy”. aristotle makes this contrast to indicate the intrinsic character of the two polities: whereas in oligarchy, the rulers are few because there are only few people who are wealthy, in democracy there are many because liberty is enjoyed by all alike (aristotle, 1981: iii, v. 7). democracy means “a system of government where people organize and realize their wishes through the instrument of the law they have made for themselves” (njoku, 2002). the assumed relationship between participatory democratically elected leaders and the citizens is based on reciprocity. as such the people make the laws themselves and the binding force of this law can only be realized when the people participate actually in the making of these laws, rather than in just delegating people to do this on their behalf. it is not the questions of how many political parties exist or partake in government but most essentially how they, together with other public institutions function and how are the basic democratic values demonstrated? these values (of democracy include) freedom, equality, justice, self-responsibility, accountability, openness and transparency in government; and these values distinguish democracy from other political ideas and forms of government. plato describes the ends of democracy as freedom, equality and variety(horowitz, 2003). but he criticizes democracy precisely because these loading features namely, freedom, equality, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 94 justice, self-responsibility, openness and transparency are not always obtainable. freedom in the sense of “doing what you like” is attractive but it cannot last, and it is further less desirable than doing the right thing. plato further opines that, equality is wrong because it goes against nature; men are unequal in their capacities and should be given different functions in accordance with their different capacities (plato, 1987). democracy and good governance: the africa experience african democracy originated in “chiefless societies”, and democracy reached its highest development where the people actually governed themselves without chiefs, where self-government was a way of life, and “law and order” were taken for granted. the lineage ties and responsibilities and the age-grade or age-set system were the earliest institutions through the african constitution functioned, and out of which its democracy was born (wiliams, 1987). after a while, democracy in africa became an experimental process in a new generation of countries. truly democratic participation is self-motivated and selfdetermined; it is not coerced. currently in africa, democracy implies a commitment to the self-motivated assertion of some few individuals with egoistic interests in political affairs.there is a massive a campaign for one particular system of government, commonly known as democracy, which is presented by many as the only valid system of government for all peoples in all places and circumstances. in africa, different forms of government were tried out by different peoples at different stages of their history. before colonial rule was imposed on the nations of africa, it was impossible to invent a common name for the different forms of government that existed among its various peoples (onah, 2004). also, it is pertinent to note that in the recent past, africa witnessed political liberations from authoritarian regimes to democratic systems. the liberation has mostly culminated into multiparty democracies. multi-party politics has been perceived and pursued as end itself rather than as means to the fundamental goals of human satisfaction, happiness and dignity. to buttress this point, chidam’modzi opines that “it has also been apparent that democracy has been construed as merely multipartiyism” (2004). notwithstanding, people may disagree about the best means of achieving good governance, but they quite agree that good governance is absolutely imperative for social and economic progress (oburota, 2003).what is governance and what makes governance good or bad? this is perhaps a philosophical question which may attract endless and multifarious answers. fundamentally, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 95 the question of good and bad is ethical/moral. according to madhav (2007) good governance has much to do with the ethical grounding of governance and must be evaluated with reference to specific norms and objectives as may be laid down. in most societies of the world today, the issue is not which political system is appropriate but rather when will the society become democratized or fully democratic. the democratization project is therefore regarded as the age of advancement that every society should strive to attain (owolabi, 2001). democracy has thus been recognized as the only moral and legitimate way through which a society can be administered (oluwole, 2004). indeed, effective democratic forms of governance rely on public participation, accountability and transparency. in this regard, democracy not only prescribes how political power should be acquired but also what to do with it or how it should be exercised. therefore, democracy specifies who constitutes the legitimate government and wields the authority inherent in the state, how they acquire authority and how they are to exercise it (parekh, 1993). this makes democracy amenable to moral and ethical justifications or judgments. hence, good governance forms the philosophical foundation upon which democracy and democratic theories are built. but then one wonders if nigeria is practicing a conventional democratic system of government or a democratic system of government peculiar to nigeria alone? in regard to this, nwigwe (2004) observes that it would constitute a very difficult problem for political theorist to determine the classification of nigeria's type of governments. it is not a monarchy, even though there are so many monarchs in the policy making positions. it is definitely not an aristocracy, because by its very definition, aristocracy means government by the best. it is of course not democracy because at least in its modern understanding, democracy is government of the people by the people and for the people. what then is it? the fact is, nigerians has not significantly reaped the dividends of democracy, because the strength of democracy lies in its concept of all-inclusiveness which is registered in the phrase: government for the majority. let us see the misconception of democracy in africa. nigeria and the question of democracy the history of nigeria’s democracy is a history of duplicity and fraud. largely supervised by a cabal within the military, our so called ‘transition to democracy’was actually transitions to feudalism and autocracy more often than not leading to the ends. these transitions were not tailored to lead the nation into democracy because the architects were often concerned more with their personal, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 96 class or regional interests rather than those of the nation (kukah, 2009). the saddest aspect of nigeria’s democracy has been the absence of a coherent programme of transition dedicated to ending authoritarianism and immunity, leading to genuine democracy. the nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the challenge of personal example which are the hallmarks of true leadership (achebe, 1983). in an ideal democratic system, the people are supposed to be the ones through their elected representatives,to make decisions that would be binding on all. it is rather unfortunate that the so-called democracy practiced in nigeria is pluralistic dictatorships in which selfish and unscrupulous tyrant ride on their subjects in order to defend their personal interests. little wonder onah (2004) redefined the nigerian democracy as government of the people, by the parties, for the powerful; or as exploitation of the people, by the powerful, through the parties. with some of these imbedded features in the nigerian democracy, one will conclude thatnigerian politicians see democracy in instrumental terms and are not committed to democracy as an end and concur with those who are of the opinion that “only a tiny handful of people make decisions that shape the lives of all of us despite the elaborate rituals of parties, elections and interest group actively, we have little direct influence over these decisions” (dye and zeigler, 2000). the task of combining democracy and development in nigeria seems harder especially with the era of globalization, and the abuses of human and civil rights; equality and freedom are major pillars of democracy but how pragmatic is this in the nigerian democracy, a system where most office holders or politicians have immunity from prosecution while in office. commenting on freedom, baah, (2000) states, “the focus on individual as a free being is western and really difficult to apply to african”, collective rights take precedence over social and economic rights, which in turn precede over civil and political rights. freedom of expression of the press is fundamental to democracy, but even with the bill passed on the ‘freedomofinformation’; to what extent can we say the press is free? this is only an illusion which is dubious and deceptive. what we have today is a politicized press and it is hijacked by the so-called powerful or influential people in the society. how can there be a meaningful development in such a deceptive democratic system? it is on this regard, that this piece adopts a revolutionary dimension by proposing participatory democracy as a way to meaningful development to africa. revolution in this sense means, change which takes place within a short period geared towards restructuring of power igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 97 or organizational structures and it is more obtainable in a democratic system of government where the operative systems are stagnant and redundant. the relevance of information in participatory democracy the ideological orientation of the move to participatory democracy consists in the dropping of egotism and the picking of altruism. participating in a democracy by voting is one part of a larger freedom that allows the citizens of a community, and our nation, to make change. a free press is one part of a larger freedom because it gives citizens the right to be informed, this not just altruism but also a culture of information, for the inflow and outflow of information is one of the fundamental values of participatory democracy (brown, 2011). this freedom of information is so fundamental to participatory democracy, because in order to make fruitful and useful contribution to policy formulation in africa, individuals must be informed. and the limitation of vital information about policy and governance to just a small share of those in governance, restricts democracy to representation rather than participation. as such, the flow of information is vital for there to be participation. the freedom of information despite the information bill past in nigeria, still is in doubt. this quest for information informs his question that, how can we build an era where information will be more important than money? the fact here is that free flows of information enhances and have great influence on any democratic system (theobald, 2004). also, it is this quest for genuine communication rather than domination that informs habermas’ (1997) discourse in his the theory of communicative action, where he makes the case that, the life world has been colonized by system and that media is what makes this process possible. it does this because of its ability to help individual’s co-ordinate their actions on large scale whole pursuing individual interest at an instrumental level towards the world. that media stride interaction is an alternative to communicative understanding, thus the emphasis should be on expression rather than attempts to impress intellectual pride and linguistic pedantry. the point we are driving at here is that one ideological backdrop for participatory democracy is the fact of co-ordinate communication of all based on information from all and for all. technology has a role to play, in this regard and this takes off from theobald’s projection that our new capacity to gather, store and reproduce information signals a motion to information. but it is obvious that this capacity has been used wrongly, as such instead of technology helping to liberate man, it has only helped in dominating man. since a new model for man is required for this level of democratic re-orientation, we are making a case for a new model of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 98 technology that will also be vital at this point. technology here is at the service of man not man at the service of technology. regarding technology, jungk (1997) writes, “this revitalization of democracy could be assisted by electronic communications techniques, which can bring distant objects close and unite partners in discussion however for apart they may be”. technically, this can be described as the role of cyber space technology on participatory democracy. the best example in this regard is what president barrack obama did sometime in the “high tech town hall” in united state. therewere avenues created via the web where the president himself was available in person to entertain questions from the public with regard to policy issues. for those without direct access to the venue because of space, could use the internet. it was also far reaching because the internet is also at every corner of the united state. but in the case of nigeria where the internet services are restricted to some places, we could use the television or radio station, by so doing; we shall see the use of cyberspace technology for more involvement of the people in policy making, and for clarification of some policy formulations. on the possibilities of practicing participatory democracy in africa (nigeria) the fundamental goals of participatory democracy are: (a) making the leaders accountable and answerable for their actions and policies; (b) making the citizens effective participants in choosing their leaders and regulating their actions; (c) making the society as open, and the economy as transparent as possible; and (d) making the social order just and equitable to the greatest number possible. to this, we observe that given the right conditions and factors, participatory democracy provides a solid foundation for good governance which is essential for nation building (mukherjee and ramaswamy, 2012). participatory democracy is a process emphasizing the broad participationof constituents in the direction and operation of political systems; it is a call for people’s participation in actual governance rather than being relegated just to the point of voting. however, it tends to advocate more involved forms of citizen participation than traditional representative democracy. participatory democracy strives to create opportunities for all members of a political group to make meaningful contributions to decisionmaking, and seeks to broaden the range of people who have access to such opportunities. it adopts elements of direct democracy and representative democracy and emphasizes the broad participation of constituents in the direction and operation of political systems. though etymologically, democracy will mean participation, traditional representative democracies tend to limit igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 99 citizens’ participation to voting, leaving actual governance to politicians (mukherjee and ramaswamy, 2012). in order to experience full participatory democracy in nigeria, there must be participatory arrangements, which need to be open at their foundation to everyone affected by such decisions; the need for mutually agreed and openly negotiated rules to be upheld by everybody, and mechanisms for sanctioning deviants; an enabling environment for participatory institutions and groups to monitor implementation of government’s decisions; and a general sharing of knowledge. what is most important is what eventually brings about good democratic practices that promote good governance to facilitate sustainable development in different settings (babangida 2008). in principle, democracy obviously requires both the existence of a civil society and respect for human rights. in reality, however, it is often seen merely in terms of the organization of elections. the degree of success of the system should be measured with reference to how far all the actors in society are actually involved; and this can be visible through the adoption of participatory democracy (mukherjee and ramaswamy, 2012). one quality which has always been lacking in nigeria’s political system in the past and present is people’s participation in democracy. even when democracy is in place, people are often pushed aside by the political forces at play. power brokers do not often see the wisdom in involving the people in the crucial decisions taken to transform the society. the result of this negligence has been a massive failure of the system. the basic idea of participatory democracy is that people need a new way to be involved in a broadened approach to local decision making. participatory democracy has come to mean the right of citizens in a democracy to participate. it means the obligation of citizens to participate in the decisions made by their governmental representatives that impact the lives of all citizens (brown, 2010). surveys have shown that citizens no longer feel ownership of decisions which impact their lives. there is little or no trust between citizensand their elected officials in nigeria. every community is being overwhelmed with change which is transforming institutions. too many people feel that they have to make sure that they get their fair share because of competition and lack of ethics. all of this leads to a society whose local communities no longer have a sense that the "common good" is possible. it is on this note that jungk (1977) writes on this task that the quest for a man in this millennium, is, how the democracy of acclamation can be transformed into a democracy of participation. the people must wake up to reality and begin to ask their politicians questions such as, why do you want my vote? and he must treatthe easy answer of the politician with appropriate skepticism (achebe, 1983). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 100 democracy as it were in nigeria, only performs the duty of acclamation and needs to take up the role of participation. a great reversal of values will be pertinent and there will have to be a shift from isolation to openness, from conquest to expansion, from producing to experiencing, from forced achievement to free development, from hard to soft value system, from rigid to flexible way of life, from use to playful, from death –dealing to life giving. as such is this re-orientation of values for a more humanized democracy?we begin to see the truth of yankelovich(2005) about the sudden up-surge of the right for self-expression.his general orientation is that: the spiritual and cultural development of the individual can only be accomplished within the solidarity of a community that has renounced egoistical surges such as careerism, the pursuit of profit, and consumer greed. it is through participatory democracy that a meaningful development can be attained on the ground were the people represented acknowledges and are aware of what is done on their behalf. conclusion it is only through active participation in democracy that we can find a solid ground for meaningful and sustainable development in nigeria, rather than mere representation. as it were, this piece advocate for political transparency, accountability and equity amongst nigerian leaders, especially now where the maxim is “survival of the fittest”. participatory democracy brings to the fore the publicness of the public sphere, in this regard too habermas (2007) even goes as far as stipulating guidelines for this form of discourse. thus, in his essay “discourse ethics: notes on a programme of philosophical justification”, habermas makes the case that the validity of moral norms cannot be justified in the mind of an isolated individual reflecting on the world. that this can only be ascertained inter subjectively. the proposal of participatory democracy also answers the question of the publicness of public opinion, for when avenues are created for public participation in opinion formation, and thenwe can truly talk about the public nature of public opinion. the basis for universality here is not just the logical structure of the positions nor their ontological composition or constitution, but the depth and the breadth of the participation is what matters. references achebe, c., (1983). the trouble with nigeria, enugu: fourth dimension publication baah, r. a., (2006). human rights in africa: the conflict of implementation, lanham, md: university press of america. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 101 babangida, a.m., (2008). ‘participation is a key element in a democracy. igbinedion university, okada, edo state, retrieved at http://sunday.dailytrust.com/index.php?option=com content&view=article&id=6651&catid=45&itemid=109 brown j., (2010). what is participatory democracy? online retrieved at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/participatory_democracy on 27th september, 2011 chancellor wiliams (1987). the destruction of black civilization, chicago: third world press. chidam’modzi, h. f, (2004). “the problem of representation: dilemmas of african democracy” in oguejiofor j obi (ed.) philosophy, democracy and responsible governance in africa, enugu: delta publication (nigeria) ltd dewey, j., (1975). “democracy and educational administration,” in joseph ratner, (ed.), intelligence in the modern world: john dewey’s philosophy. new york: modern library. dye, r. and ziegler, h., (2000). the irony of democracy, millenial edition, harcour, cambridge: cambridge university press. habermas j., (2007). a theory of communicative action: the critique of functionalist reason,trans by thomas mcarthy, vol. 2 cambridge: polity press. horowitz, d. (1993). “democracy in divided societies,” journal of democracy, no. 4, vol. 4. jungk r., (1976). the everyman project: resources for a humane future, london: thomas and hudson limited. kukah, m, h, (2009). “ten years of democracy in nigeria” in chiegboka a.b.c et al (ed) in the humanities and nigeria’ democratic experience, awka: rex charles and patrick ltd. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 102 kukah, m. h., (1999). democracy and civil society in nigeria, ibadan: spectrum books limited madhav, g., (2007). report of the one man committee on good governance, july human right watch (2007) “election or “selection”? human rights abuse and threats to free and fair elections in nigeria” online retrieved at http://hrw.org/backgrounder/africa/nigeria0407/index.ht. mukherjee s. and ramaswamy, (2012). a history of political thought plato to marx, 2nded. new delhi: phi private limited. njoku, f.o.c., (2002). philosophy in politics, law and democracy,owerri: claretian institute of philosophy. nwigwe b. e., (2003). “origin and limits of state authority” in oguejiofor j obi (ed.) philosophy, democracy and responsible governance in africa, enugu: delta publication (nigeria) ltd. oburota, a., (2003). “governance as a source of social violence in africa” in oguejiofor j obi (ed.) philosophy, democracy and responsible governance in africa, enugu: delta publication (nigeria) ltd. oluwole sb., (2003). “democracy and indigenous governance: the nigerian experience”, in oguejiofor j obi (ed.) philosophy, democracy and responsible governance in africa, enugu: delta publication (nigeria) ltd. onahi. g., (2004). “africa and the illusion of democracy” inoguejiofor j obi (ed.) philosophy, democracy and responsible governance in africa, enugu: delta publication (nigeria) ltd. owolabi k.a., (2003). “can the past salvage the future? indigenous democracy and the quest for sustainable democratic governance in africa” in oguejiofor j obi (ed.) philosophy, democracy and responsible governance in africa, enugu: delta publication (nigeria) ltd. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 103 parekh, b., (1993). “the cultural particularity of liberal democracy”, in david held (ed.) prospects for democracy: north, south, east, west, chicago: polity press. participatory democracy on line retrieved on 20th august, 2011 at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/participatory_democracy raphael, d. d., (1976). problems of political philosophy, london: macmillan press ltd. raz, j, (2007).value, respectandattachment, cambridge: cambridge press. sabine, g. h. and thorson t. l., a history of political theory, 4th ed., oxford: ibh publishing company. plato, (1987).the republic trans by desmond lee, 2nd edition, new york: pengiun books, book ii, 357a–368c. yankelovic, d., (1974). new morality: a profile of american youth in the 70s, new york. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 89 strategies for reconciliation of discrepancies in african religious and cultural philosophy with christian idedlogy among africians in the 21st century michael enyinwa okoronkwo, ph.d department of religious studies national open university of nigeria, abuja mekoronkwo@noun.edu.ng & emmanuel ikenna okafor, ph.d department of christian religious studies peaceland college of education, enugu agbudugbu@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.18277.47848 abstract there has been discrepancies between the religious and cultural philosophy of africans with the religious and cultural ideology or philosophy of christianity among african adherents. another problem that bothers this paper is that strategies have been put in place to reconcile these disagreements, but expected success has not been achieved. amongst the strategies that have been advocated and adopted are religious dialogue, ecumenism, etc. this research advocates for anti-fanaticism campaign, infants religious and cultural integration campaign, central and annual religion and cultural archival interactions, etc. it has been discovered these disagreements have drastically affected social, economic and religious development, growth and awareness of african christians and traditionalists. the paper is therefore designed with the aim of addressing the negative effects of religious and cultural dilemma for a better futuristic relationships. the paper employs phenomenological research methodology. data were collected through direct interviews, text books, journals, and other secondary data. data gotten were analysed with historical and comparative sociological styles of data analysis. keywords: christianity, african religion, culture, and philosophy introduction african traditional religious and cultural philosophy has been in dispute with the ideology of christianity in africa. as at the early time, achebe (1958) had stated that the white man has used a sharp knife to cut the things that held us together and things started falling apart. the sharp knife achebe meant is simply western religion and culture. the discrepancies on the philosophy and ideology of african and christian religions’ cultures are expected to have died naturally igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 90 before this century, but the issue seems to escalate on daily basis. christianity itself took its root as an embodiment of a church, from roman catholic mission before the proliferation of other churches with withdrawal and emergency of anglican communion. it could be suggested that the more churches sprout, the more divergent ideologies are developed. the development of christian denominations on daily basis triggers the outburst of numerous ideologies which encourage immense discrepancies between the indigenous religion of the aboriginal and the western (christian) religion. these disconnections are obvious in such practices like: title-taking, dedication of children, marriage rites, certain religious rituals, cultural dances, secret societies, offering and sacrifices, other norms and customs, etc. one of the problems of serious concern in this paper is that strategies have been employed to settle these differences, but to no reasonable and positive results. groups and individuals have adopted religious ecumenism, dialogue, seminars, symposium, etc, but expected success has not been attained. in this research, anti-fanaticism campaign, central and annual religion and cultural archival interactions, infants religious and cultural integration campaign, inter and intra religious monthly programme, digitalizing african tradition, religious and culture beyond the ordinary and secularization of common religious philosophy and ideologies among christians and traditional religious votaries. it is found in this study, that these differences have immensely affected social, economic and religious awareness, growth and development among african christians and traditionalists. therefore, this paper is designed with the purpose to address the negative effects of religious and cultural misconceptions and proffer solutions for a better futuristic relationships. the paper adopts phenomenological research approach. data were generated through direct interview, and through secondary sources, e.g. text books, journals, etc. historical comparative and sociological styles of data analysis were used. it is pertinent to emphasize on the view of obiefuna et al (2016:19) thus: the unbridled proliferation of churches in nigeria has steered up concerns among adherents of religious faiths, onlookers and academics alike. nigerian society today is undergoing significant constant proliferation of churches which has brought not only changing values, but also source of solutions to people’s problems. the origin of this phenomenon could be traced to martin luther’s 95 theses which sparked off religious revolution in 16th century europe. following luther, zwingi and john calvin started igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 91 reforms in switzerland, john lawx in scotland, also holland and other countries witnessed the reform. it could not be conceived as a blunder to concur with the assertion on that contrary views or ideologies to existing philosophy constitute reformation and reformation produces more recent philosophy to the affected society or societies. these contrary ideologies and philosophy between christianity and african traditional religious and cultural adherents propagate the discrepancies in this context. clarification of terms the terms that are considered for clarification in this article include christianity, african traditional religion, culture and philosophy. christianity is the most widely practiced religion in the world, with more than 2 billon followers. the christian faith centers on beliefs regarding to birth, life, death and resurrection of jesus christ (history vault, 2017:1) christianity is viewed as a monotheistic religion irrespective of the fact that arguments have risen against the monotheistic conception of christianity as a contradiction generated by the trinity, that is the christian belief in three persons in one god. christianity is a religion that believes in one god. god the son and god the holy spirit are presided by god the father. through christianity is centered on personality of jesus christ, his birth, messiahship, activities, death and resurrection, yet it appreciates the supremely of one god the father. african traditional religion on the other hand has been defined by scholars of africans traditional religion as a unit in religious studies. ekwunife in ugwu (2014: 6) defines it thus: those institutionalized beliefs and practices of indigenous religion of african which are rooted in the past africans religious culture, transmitted to the present by successive african forebears mainly through oral traditions (myths and folklores, songs and dances, liturgies, rituals, proverbs pithy sayings and names) sacred specialists and persons, sacred space and objects religious works of art, a religion which is slowly but constantly updated by each generation in the light of new experiences through the dialectical processes of continuities and discontinuities. in this definition african traditional religion should be understood as an indigenous and religious property of african aboriginals. every other religion that exists and practiced in and by africans is foreign and not primal. the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 92 religion is a chief carrier of african culture and tradition. it has appeared to be difficult to separate african traditional religion from african culture. culture has been viewed by a layman just as a way of life. center for advanced research on language acquisition in pappas and mickelie (2021:2) perceive culture as: shared patterns of behaviors and interactions, cognitive constructs and understanding that are learned by socialization. thus, culture can be seen as the growth of a group identity fostered by social patterns unique to the group cristiana de rossi in pappas and mickelvie (2021:3) adds that culture encompasses religion, food, what we wear, how we wear it, our language, marriage, music, what we believe if right or wrong, how we sit at the table, how we greet visitors, how we behave with the loved ones and a million other things” culture, therefore, could be ascertained to be a unique and special identity of a people which provides a special identification of a people’s dressing style, housing patterns, dances, songs, religion, economic activities, politics, health management, food and feeding habit other behaviors. greetings and responses, language and literal expositions, e.t.c, “culture, then is the primary means by which human beings adapt to the challenges of their environment” (ikeyi, 2004:171). onyibo (203:1) adds that: “culture is the totality of the people’s way of life. it gives honor and respect that is the reason why people are proud of their culture. therefore culture could be said to be the pride of a people. philosophy has commonly been connected to human thought. 1xl leaning (2022:3) has viewed the term philosophy thus; the noun philosophy means the study of proper behavior and the search for wisdom the original meaning of the word philosophy comes from the greek roots philo,-meaning “love” and – sophos, or “wisdom”. when someone studies philosophy they want to understand how and why people do certain things and how to live a good life. philosophy deals with the search for fruit and meaning of nature and life. philosophy covers the areas of epistemology, metaphysics and ethics –moral philosophy. this article therefore, looks into strategies that will yield better fruits in reconciling the christian and african traditional, religious ideologies. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 93 highlights on some areas of discrepancies the ways of conceptions of different idea, practices and beliefs among christians and african religious adherents call for attention especially in this 21st century. this discrepancies exist between christianity and islam, but, it seems ordinarily gratuitous inessential and undeserved to encounter an experience of hostile relationship between these two religions as a result of existence of different ideologies. of course two entities from different cultural background must not be expected to work or think alike. but the major issue is that one of the religions is primal while the other is alien and are practiced by the primal people of african origin. it is expected that a similar understanding between the converted jews and judaisic jews would occupy the psyche of african christians and their traditionalists. unfortunately crises become the case of these sets of african and christian religious practitioners or votaries. jewish tradition and culture were able to build themselves gently in transition, from old to new dispensations with cordial growth development and harmonized differences. in africa, the two major foreign religions are in conflicts, one among them opens local confrontations with the indigenous religion of the aboriginals. this creates chaos in african religious scene as a whole. few areas where these differences are obvious are include: the idea and use of symbols, cultural or certain materials or object, health management and treatments, covenant / oath and administration of justice, priesthood sacrifices, rites of passage, gender sensitivities, festival and accompanied masquerade cult prophecy / divination, etc. things fall apart: the centre cannot hold mere anarchy is loosed upon the world. (achebe, 1958 : v). it is in some of these areas highlighted that the whiteman achebe meant and his religion found faults in african traditional religion and culture. yet, at the exit of the white missionaries and colonization, the same converted africans have decided to fanatically follow the beliefs and practices of the white who did not familiarize themselves very well with the africans traditional practices hook, line and sinker. consequently, african and christian religious atmosphere is littered with antagonists. achebe (1974 : 70 – 71) posits thus: as he approached the centre of the market place ezeulu reenacted the first coming of ulu and how each of the four days put obstacle in his way. at that time, when lizards were still in one and twos, the whole people assembled and chose me to carry their new deity. i said to them “who am i igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 94 to carry this fire on my bare head? a man who knows that his anus is small does not swallow an udala seed. they said to me: “fear not. the man who sends a child to catch a shrew will also give him water to wash his hand” i said: “so be it”. and we set to work. that day was eke”. achebe narrates the process of choosing priests of deities of shrines in africa – igbo traditional society. this is similar to old testament process of choosing priest. this choice of priest / priesthood in some cases were revealed to the people in divinations as a divine call. as it was in the case of samuel. for the christians in this 21st century, priestly vocations are decided by the individual priests who may believe to have been called by god but has to work hard, and would be sponsored by family, friends and philanthropists within his reach, before he could be ordained by the priest of a higher order. more so, in this 21st century people have chosen on their own to function as priests with different nomenclature viz: evangelists, apostles, etc and as christian religious ministers of various ministries. most of these specialists in priestly order, in christianity, criticize and condemn traditional religious priesthood. in africa, there are actions and items that have cultural and religious symbolic interpretations. on the traditional igbo society encapsulated in chinua achebe’s novels, three food items stand out: kolanut, palm wine and yam (onwuka, 2019). most christians especially those from the new generation african independent churches, pentecostal churches, etc, have condemned the social symbolic significance of yam, kola nut and palm-wine. they counter claim that the yam which is acknowledged by the traditionalists especially among the igbo as a leading food, item that it has a divinity, ufiajioku attached to it and should be celebrated annually. for this reason, such christians have refused to participate in igbo new yam festivals. and believe that the masquerading cult display is an alliance to other religion. some have refused to use kola-nut and palm wine even in occasions where they are traditionally compulsory, like marriage rites, birth rites, child dedication, just because they believe that they are major food items used for traditional rites, rituals, and worship. there are other concerns given by such christians to the symbolic regards of such food items. for example kola nut has some genders considerations. on issues of kola nut, for instances, some argue that the sharing practices in traditional societies are male oriented. there are igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 95 some practices, which seemingly marginalize women. women are not allowed to present kola nut directly to a visitor in the presence of a male even if it is her small son. from a common kola dish, instead she was given one. a woman owned no kola nut trees and even when she dared to plant one, she owned it only by proxy (eze, 2019). kola nut has serious socio-cultural and religious symbol held in very high esteem by the igbo. mr izuchukwu okalu (personal communication, 14 april 2022) points that in some igbo communities females do not cultivate yam or put it inside the yam hips or make yam hips in the farm physically by themselves. in some places, it is against the custom to march yam tuber(s). he continues that women do not own palm trees. discrepancies are also attracted by the christian rejection of the use of certain cultural materials or objects. most of them claim that all of them (cultural objectives) are meant for fetish intention. there are eleven different versions of pot suffixed with ‘ite’, seven different types of ‘udu’ and five different types of ‘oku’. some are either prefixed or suffixed with the name ‘chi’. these are: onu udu chi, chiagaliga / chi okpa nibo chi okpa naa (nwokike, 2006 : 23). most christians do not want to use any pottery products because they were used for traditional religious purposes in the past and present, no matter the type. these christians do not listen to the purposes for which those pottery materials were made for, and the purpose for which the present pottery materials are made. they discard any pottery products in their homes even though those products can be used to preserve food items, seeds and seedlings, water, etc. apart from pottery products, there are other cultural objects they reject. for examples traditional stools, okobo, fresh palm fronds – omu, the metal gong, wooden gongs, etc. some christians divorce their relationships with people who acknowledge traditional health care delivery in all ramification. okafor (2019 : 67) points thus: …traditional medicine is of prophylactic (preventive and therapeutic (curative) while magic is of contagious, sympathetic and homeopathic types. in some cases, medicine can be simply administration of herbs, roots, ointment without any immediate spiritual attachment … perception of some christians as far as traditional health care delivery is concerned is that it is the use of dangerous amulets, talisman, charms, and a shift from their faith to a devilish belief system. this causes a great difference in the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 96 understanding of some christians against the traditional religious practitioners in africa. there are other discrepancies that exist between them on idea of prophecy and revelation of hidden facts or thing beyond physical sight and observation or reasoning. for the christians divination is not from the god almighty. though they belief that there is serious gift of prophecy given to men by god, but it does not call for divination. mr okeh donald (personal communication, 4 may, 2022) is of the view that divination in most cases come as a gift from god to the expert just like prophecy among christians. hence there are fake and real diviners and prophets among christians and traditional practitioners. there are also disagreement in worship prayers, sacrifices etc. okafor in okafor (2020 : 115 – 116) has identified up to fourteen types/forms of worship in african traditional religion. they include: public, individual, communal, private, daily, annual worships and so on. okafor (2020 : 116) adds thus: in all these worships, prayers are the most observable element… it is pertinent to stress here that as far as prayers are of so much importance to africans, it must at the same time, significantly influence the indigenization of african knowledge and values. african prayer has significant space in the brains of africans. the names they and their children answer are radiating to their knowledge foundation. even when an african man is a christian, there is serious attachment of spiritualties in whatever happens around them. therefore, it could be suggested that african traditional contents of prayers influence even the african christians beliefs and practices. in african prayers many spiritual bodies are put at the forefront. they include god, gods, oracles, divinities, magic and medicine, ancestors, and ancestresses. in every worship in african traditional religion, prayer forms the major element. it is also the same thing in christian religion, the types of worships observed by okafor in african traditional religion are virtually seen in christian religion, but here, the problems lie fundamentally on the belief systems on certain spiritual bodies and the images that represent them in worship (places) and during prayers. while the african acknowledge the spiritual being of god the father, lower gods, divinities, deities and ancestors and ancestresses, water spirits, spirits of living creatures and things; animals and plants, natural bodies e.g mountains, hills, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 97 caves, grove, etc. the christians, acknowledge the spiritual values of god almighty, god the son, god the holy spirit (trinity), mother mary, angels, saints, etc. all these spirit being are important in these two religious faiths, meanwhile create a serious demarcation in the relationship between the members of these two religion to an extent that chaos arise between blood relations on the basis of differences in their religious faiths. in extreme cases, it has created disunity between blood relations from different christian denominations. other practices that create differences among these religions are oath-taking /covenant offering and sacrifices. the christian bible teaches adherents not to swear in the name of anything, otherwise say the truth and go. for example james 5:12 says thus: above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. all you need to do say is a simple “yes” or “no” otherwise you will be condemned. hence, christian bible does not support swearing of any kind of oath. but for african traditional religion, swearing on oath serves as the major means through which one could be trusted or exempted from an evil or crime. all things being equal, christians today swear oaths of allegiance to office, affidavit, assets declaration, and attestations etc, in most cases with a judiciary authority. for the traditionalists the gods, divinities, deities, spirits and their priests are both religions and authorities in charge. this art of swearing oath still causes havoc between these two religions because of the differences in their background philosophies and ideologies. on the practice of instituting covenant, the two religions adhere to that in different religious platforms. for the african traditional religious practitioners, animals can be killed, and other traditional religious objects could be used, the basis of uses of animal or food items for covenant in africa generally and igbo in particular is that there is the belief that after having a sensitive religious and life sustaining agreement between two persons or parties, dinning together with the same animal and food used to sacrifice to the divine order solidifies such treaty (personal communication, 31 may,2022). so, if any of these parties or persons violates the conditions of the agreement must be divinely and humanly punished. for the christians, the only item that is vital in their covenant is the “bible” okwueze and kanu (2003 : 97) examine this significance of traditional covenant thus: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 98 this type of traditional covenant was recently made between the people of aguleri, umuleri, and umuoba anam communities meant to set the wounds inflicted by fratricidal war, which took place among them. the situation in these communities of amanbra east local government area of anambra state was to say the least a war of attribution, which degenerated to a state of anarchy. the conflicts was the death of hundreds of people with properties worth millions of naira destroyed… the covenant that took place is called in the local language iko mme which means removing the bloodshed. …iko mme means traditional reconciliation. it is a sort of cleansing to appease the gods the truth is that it was this covenant that reconciled aguleri, umuleri and umuoba anam communities up till today, such crisis has never risen among their communities. it is clear that both traditional and christian covenant system are efficacious in crisis conditions. therefore, there is need to reconcile the differences that exist in these contrary religions ideologies because of their relevance to mankind. sacrifice is another area of misconception among christians and african traditional religious practitioners. gbenda (2006 : 61) has conceived sacrifice in nigeria tradition thus: sacrifice in nigeria traditional religion is deeply religious. it is one of the elements of worship in which material things like cow, goats, fowls, rice, yam, wine, kolanuts, e.t.c are offered to the supreme being or though his agents for good relationship, harmony, communion to heal old wounds of trouble and expect response. sacrifice traditionally in african traditional religion can involve human sacrifice which for christians is unnecessary for man because for them, jesus christ has died once and for all humanity. in this area, this paper support christian philosophy because religion should stand to save man than to take life. though human sacrifice has been condemned by most traditionalists especially in this 21st century. traditional religious practitioners insist that animal and food offered to the supreme being /gods should be killed and shared amongst the congregation. while for the christians the priests can take the offerings to their domains respectively, whatever offering made during worship fullstop, then capital approaching for one prayer on the other hand is an embodiment of christianity as laid by jesus. prayer is a means of god that one needs in life, and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 99 expressing gratitude and praise to god or an object of worship (gbenda 2006 : 67). importance of prayer in christian life includes the avoidance of temptation, sin, to persevere in christian life and seek the assistance of god in prayer and african traditional religion serves the same importance. the processes and places and personalities involved in both religions’ prayer create the difference. the christians also criticize the traditionalists that they offer sacrifices to manmade objects while the traditionalists accuse christians that their priestly order is self-centred by taking custody of whatever that is offered during worship without allocating any to the congregation or members, at service even the persons that brought the offerings. all the same, these criticisms should not arise as far as members of each of these religions are comfortable with the practices on the order of sacrifice especially where human life is not at risk. there are other areas of discrepancies but the nature of this research would limit its scope to these areas at this point to be able to attend to other sub-headings of this article. initial strategies adopted in the reconciliation of the differences between african and christian religious and cultural ideologies in africa religious misconceptions and differences in ideologies have remained a tormenting problem to nigerian religious practitioners. among the christians there arose serious denominational crises that called for a lasting solution. there is need for reconciliation, giving rise to religious dialogue, ecumenism, etc. gaiya (2018 : 120). “dialogue is not only a conversation involving persons but also, the exchange of ideas or views on opinions. 2. exchange of religious by people who have faith in their religious traditions for mutual experiences enrichment and aid to perfect each others religions pursuits 3. an effort that demands respect for the identity and integrity of other religious outside one’s faith”. dialogue involves understanding other people’s idea and pattern of life and adjust to accommodate them in co-inhabiting in the environment. traditional religion, islamic religion and christian religion are the three major religions in nigeria. in recent years conflicts are often common, that seem to be unprecedented in the history of these religions especially between traditionalists and christians and between christians and muslims. with this development, there is need for inter-religions dialogue (gaiya, 2018 : 121). ganya (2018) continues that conflicts and misunderstanding between traditionalists and christians with examples from igbo society where instances of bloody clashes involving issues such as: masquerades. on issues of misunderstanding between traditional practices and christianity, dialogue has helped to certain extent within the 20th century. this igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 100 strategy had gone as far as it can to close the gap in the understanding of each other’s religious beliefs and faith. but discrepancies are still too much between these two religions. ecumenism was later adopted as another strategy to support inter-religions dialogue. gaiya (2018 : 112) has defined ecumenism as: “a body (movement, council) representing the whole christian world or universal church in seeking to restore the unity of the christians churches… ecumenism is the principle or aim of uniting different branches of the christian churches”. this ecumenical thought has motivated the establishment of related institutions in africa as far back as the 1990s. ani (1990 : 47), “let us remember once more that the institute of ecumenical education, thinkers corner, enugu is already nationally accredited to pursue research and teaching in ecumenical education and the social sciences in nigeria in order to promote a better understanding between christian churches, different faiths and divided communities. ecumenism as a concept has developed a unifying concept even beyond christendom but for the fact that the idea was originally developed to unite churches, it became less active in uniting other religious faiths in nigeria. mrs e. chikelu (personal communication, 14 june, 2022), stressed that ecumenism as a concept is developed and spitted as general courses round all levels and disciplines of studies in the institution. such institute should have been for the study of ecumenical concepts as a discipline instead of malcing it a general course for all students. on this background, the institute has not gotten to an expected or recommendable degree of achievement. the society of nigeria in particular and africa in general still face inter-religious and cultural mischief and differences. ecumenical dialogue demands just as we accord ourselves the valency of having reasons, logic and feelings peculiar to us, other people, since they are human beings consequently have feelings, logic and reasons peculiar to them (ani, 1987 : 9). ecumenism should be built to seriously tackle negative reasoning, logic and feeling against other people’s faith and culture other than one religion’s affairs. another strategy employed by some africans in tackling christian – traditional religions’ discrepancies was conferences, seminar, media programmes in radio, televisions etc. mr nnebedum chima (personal communication 4 june, 2022) is of the opinion that print and other media platforms have tried in tackling religion and cultural differences between traditional and christian religions at least in igbo communities, but could not get down well to the interior or rural villages very well. more so, low literacy has contributed to the low output of these strategies including conferences and seminars. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 101 before the recent years churches trained their ministers. for example, the roman catholic mission made special academic training compulsory for her priests. at a time, other churches like the anglican communion joined. mr. okolo okenwa (personal communication, 6 june, 2022), points that a more accommodating understanding among christian priests who are academically trained on missionary works in the contemporary african environment makes commendable impact in closing the discrepancies in inter-religious relationships. that notwithstanding, more seminar strategies need to be put in place. strategies for reconciliation of differences between african traditional and christian religious and cultural perceptions in africa in the 21st century in this 21st century, african indigenous religion and christianity are suffering some issues that anchored on understanding their individual religious and culture orientated beliefs and practices. it is on this background that this paper suggests for training for collaboration of inter-religious and cultural ideologies. ugorie (2017 – 2018 : 103) avers thus: owing to the religious leaders training on interfaith relations, the need arises for a training agency in nigeria immediately. the agency’s work would be to train religious leaders for interfaith relations. the federal government in conjunction with the nigerian interreligious council (nirec) should establish one. in that circumstance there role should focus on research and planning on how to achieve religious peace in nigeria. meanwhile the body or team should be thoroughly trained in all aspects of inter-faith relations possibly by the cambridge inter-faith team, london or any other recognized interfaith relations organisation. training for collaboration of inter-religious and cultural ideologies is similar to inter-faith training, but it is at the same time different from it, because it will be organized for both religious and cultural custodians or leaders, and other members of both christian and african traditional religious and cultural practitioners, season after season with training centre in every african indigenous communities. experts should be extracted among highly educated africans in related fields within and outside borders of african continent in order to make the learning purely african. this will go a long way to reshape african traditionalists and christians philosophies on religion and culture. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 102 anti-fanaticism campaign is a measure that could also help to tackle this discrepancies to its barest minimum. agundu (2020:15) examines thus: the history of nigeria as a nation is replete with perennial struggle for national integration and cohension as a result of tribalism or ethnicity and to some extent, regionalism. the nigeria founding fathers in acknowledging the socio-cultural diversity and heterogeneity of nigeria never contemplated it to constitute an albatross in nigeria quest for national integration. this spirit was captured in a famous line of nigerian anthem at independence. the quest for national integration has been triggered by ethnicity and multiplicity of cultures and religions. a similar issue has contributed or caused the differences in the philosophy of christianity and african traditional religion in this 21st century. this article, hence, advocates for development of antifanaticism campaign in line with the provisions of nigerian constitution which solicitates for freedom of worship and association for her citizens. other african countries constitutions also provided for such freedom for their citizens. recently, one miss deborah was killed in a college of education sokoto in cold blood on issues relating to christian and muslim religion and cultural discrepancies in their philosophies and ideologies. unenlightened traditionalists and christians fight duo to fanatical thoughts where christians demolish traditional worship places, objects while the traditionalists retaliate aggressively. practical anti-fanaticism campaign is needed in serious practice. mr. okechukwu nnaedozie (personal communication, 17 june, 2022) finds that both christians and traditionalists embark on processions at intervals. for the traditionalists processions are done on issues of the community concern, and are done on gender identity in most cases. communities in africa should plan intervals of the year when members should rally together on both rural and urban streets, roads, avenues, closes, markets, squares, civic centres on procession with the message war against fanaticism in all african communities. this practical and physical steady processions that conveys also penalties on fanatic actions will go a very long way in reducing the philosophical misconceptions between african traditional practitioners and christians. infant religious and cultural integration campaign is another strategy towards managing misconceptions between christians and traditionalists. asso prof. christian uzondu (personal communication, 18 june, 2015) teaches that in psychology, it is agreed that whatever you want from a child when grows be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 103 done from 0 – 10 years. programmes should be put in place by relevant stakeholders on reaching out to young children between 4 – 17 years on the need to avoid anti or opposition to religion and culture ideologies. they should be taught during vacations in their groups, in their rural and urban streets, roads, closes, avenues, villages and communities. these children should be consistently taught to accommodate other children and people from other religion, and culture, beliefs and backgrounds. central and annual religion and cultural archival interaction programme should be encouraged. independent african states should organize annual activities where people of all works of life will meet to witness and watch different local archival contents and materials from both traditional religion, christianity and other religions existing therein. the archives should be planned to contain every culture’s and religion’s materials from history to present. this annual event will help different religious practitioners to observe areas of similarities in individual religions. brief hints on the effects of the discrepancies through, unprecedented violent and unpleasant conditions are experienced in africa due to religious discrepancies the menace has at the same time fortified african people’s thought towards adjusting menace for other international and external challenges facing their religions. while christians fights to fortify their religions foundation, in africa, traditionalists never relented. the two religious and african indigenous culture keep growing stronger every day. mr. chiekwe nze (personal communication, 8 may, 2022) points, that critics are a major reason why african traditional religion and culture and christianity have lived to hold their principles tenaciously. religious and cultural differences among the two religious groups have weakened social, religious, economic, political and health promotion and relationships in african. these differences do more harm than good in african environment in this 21st century. agha (1997 : 103) asserts that: the priests and worshippers of the native african religion were hostile to the missionaries who brought new religion as they felt that it was a threat to the growth of their “religious practices and worship. the africans were regarded as fetish people. there were constant frictions between the worshippers of the foreign and native religions. the africans were branded as cannibals as human sacrifice were often made to the gods. the rules and the dread of malignant spiritual influences, whose power was thus to be placated, made the african religion a bondage of fear. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 104 among the effects of the discrepancies between african native religious adherents and christianity is on the fact that inhuman practices were aborted to the barest minimum. each of them is able to confront the other on inhumanity on their culture. shehu etal (2021) are of the view that archives are sources of information preservation of african culture and tradition. when all these materials are annually displayed in various african countries for public consumption. africans will begin to understand the best approaches to religions and cultures. development and establishment of special non-governmental organisation for interaction and collaboration of inter-religious and cultural ideologies, and ministry of inter-religious and cultural affairs in african countries will be of great importance to this menace. these two bodies will be very significant in execution of these aforementioned strategies. they can establish their offices in strategic locations for effective delivery of these suggested strategies. mrs owusu janet (personal communication, 7 april, 2016) states that africans need personnel specially designated to tackle religious and cultural misunderstanding for rapid growth and development. staff of these public service can be managed by government at all levels and philanthropists in various african societies. divergent philosophies in religion and culture have caused some discrepancies between african religious and cultural adherents. these discrepancies do not exist without both positive and negative effects on social, religious, economic, political, health etc affairs of the citizenry. religion is supposed to be a source of peace and tranquility but unfortunately, this hope has been lost in religions and cultures especially in heterogeneous african countries. religious and cultural discrepancies have caused a lot of lost of properties and lives, sources of living and consistent tension and fear in inter-relationship between christians and traditionalists in africa. these are respective wrong beliefs and practices, for example some christians, reject their parents/relations because they refused to join their denominations’ faith, african traditional religion believes in law of karma, do-me-i-do-you – jungle justice, (the law of karma), etc. differences among these religions is also making each one to fortify for better practices, but still influenced by sentiments. recommendations this paper recommends that: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 105 1. african should rather put the wellbeing of the continent first than the affairs of their individual religions. 2. africans should try to be open minded to enable the suggested strategies give their expected results. 3. africans should make plans for sophisticated care for the elders as major sources of traditional religious culture and information, since african religion and culture is based on oral tradition and lack written preservative measures. 4. african traditionalists and christians should encourage preservation of religious and cultural materials outside museums and archives. conclusion african religion and christianity have been facing a lot of disagreements from the advent of christianity till today. unity efforts have been made by concerned african traditionalists, christians and foreigners, but expected results have not been convincingly achieved. these stakeholders had adopted ecumenisms, seminars, symposium, religious dialogue and so on, but much have not been gotten. the research suggests for other strategies to see if a more productive results could be gotten. these new strategies suggested in this 21 century african society include: inter-faith training, anti-fanaticism campaign infant religious and cultural integration campaign among other strategies. it has been obvious that due to the fact that the negative effects of these discrepancies are more that the positive effects these strategies are believed to leave more positive impact than the previous strategies. references achebe c. (1958). things fall apart. london: hernman educational books ltd. achebe c. (1994). arrow of god. usa: heinenmon educational books ltd. ani s. (1990). an introduction to the fundamentals of religious ecumenism in nigeria. enugu: snaap. eze, m.i (2019). “gender sensitivity and the traditional breaking of kola nut in igbo-land”. (ed.) emeka nwabueze. new frontiers in contemporary african studies. pp. 187 – 195. enugu: timex. genda, j.s (2006). african religion and christianity in a changing world: a comparative approach. nsukka: chuka educational publishers. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 106 gaiya, k. (2018). an introductory study on monarchy in israel and missionary activities in west africa. enugu: vitosha ltd. history vault, (2017). “christianity” www.history.com october 13, 2017 pp. 1 – 21, october 13, 2017. retrieve 6 june, 2022. ikeyi, j.o (2004). sociology: an introductory text. enugu: zik – chuks nigeria i x l learning, (2022). “philosophy” www.vocabulary.com pp. 1 – 8. retrieve 4 june 2022 nwokike, j.c (2006). pottery and cultural life of awha people: plus art history 1 and 11. okafor e. (2019). “african religion, culture and health promotion”. (e.d) e.j.o ndubuisi. oracle of wisdom journal of philosophy and public affairs. vol. 3, pp. 65 – 73. umumya: department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university. onyibo, j.c (2013). our cultural heritage. enugu: solid pappas base. obiefuna, b.a.c, nwadialor, k.l, and umeanochie i.l (2016). “cost and benefits proliferation of christian denominations in nigeria” unizik journal of arts and humanities www.ajol.info vol. 17 no. 1 pp. 19 – 44. retrieve 6 june 2022. okafor e. (2020). “african traditional prayers as essential instruments for indigenization of african knowledge and values” (eds.) kanu i.a and ndubuisi, e.j.o. african ingernous knowledge systems: problems and prospects. pp. 115 – 135. yola: altograde nigeria limited. onwuka, a. (2019). “yam as a symbol of social stability in chinua achebe’s thing fall apart and arrow of god”. (eds.) emeka nwabueze. new frontiers in contemporary african studies pp. 51 – 63. enugu: timex. okwueze, m.i and kanu, r.c (2003). religion and the healing of human rights violation. enugu: don simons publication. pappas, s & mickelvie, (2021). “what is culture” www.livescience.com pp 3 – 10. december 15, 2021. retrieved 14 may, 2022. the bible study tool staff (2019). “bible verses about swearing” www.biblestudytools.com pp 1 – 6. 19/9/2019. retrieved 3/6/2022. ugwu, c.o.t (2014. “the demis of the african god/fallacy or reality” 84 inaugural lecture of the university of nigeria, nsukka, p.6 august 14, 2014. ugorie, u.m (2017 – 2018). “interfaith relation training. a panacea to religious extremism in nigeria” (ed.). e.a ituma. international journal of theology and reformed tradition (ijtrt). pp 97 – 105, enugu: timix igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 107 interview 1. mr. chiekwe nze, farmer, enugu 66yrs 8/5/22 2. onwusu janet, public servant, ghana, 54yrs, 7/4/2011 3. mr. izuchukwu okalu, farmer, enugu, 49yrs, 14/4/2022 4. mr. donald okeh civil servant, anambra 54yrs 4/5/2022 5. mr. thaddeus tarkma. businessman, benue 44yrs, 31/5/2020 6. mrs. eugenia chikelu, lecturer, enugu, 45yrs 14/6/2022 7. mr. nnabedum chima. civil servant, anambra state, 62yrs, 4/6/2022 8. mr. okolo okenwa, public servant, 53yrs 6/6/2022 9. mr. okechukwu nnaedozie, clergy, enugu 56yrs 6/6/2022 10. asso. prof. christian uzondu, lecturer, anambra state 70yrs 18 july, 2015 microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 4 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 154 god, divinities and ancestors in african traditional religious thought ushe mike ushe, ph.d department of religious studies national open university of nigeria, ` jabi, abuja mike.ushe@yahoo.com abstract this paper examines how africans conceive of the supreme being, divinities and the ancestors. the paper discusses the place of the divinities and ancestors in african religious meta-physics, stressing that their belief in these other spiritual beings do not in any way contradict their belief in the supreme being as some western scholars opined. the paper used inter-disciplinary method which involves the use of interview, observations and secondary sources. data were collected using descriptive analysis to examine the place of supreme being, divinities and ancestors in african traditional religious thought.findings from the research have shown that the concept of supreme being is not strange to the africans but in traditional africa, there is no atheist. it sees the divinities as the offspring or apparitional beings who receive their authority from the supreme being to serve in the unitary theocratic system of government. the paper sees the ancestors as the intermediaries between the supreme being, divinities and the living. the paper suggests amongst others, the need for proper religious education, a theology of enculturation and understanding of african worldviews in other to sustain africans beliefs and practices in these spiritual beings. keywords: god, divinities, ancestors, african, traditional, religion. introduction for many decades, the concept of supreme being (god), divinities and ancestors (the living-dead) in african traditional religious thought has been a controversial and misunderstood concept. there were many factors which led to this controversy and misconception. these include:lack of written documents, lack of indebt study of african religion leading to hasty conclusion, prejudice by western scholars who misconceived african traditional religious concept with christianity and language barriers (ikengametuh, 1981). most of the scholars (ethnographers, historians and colonial anthropologists) who came to study the indigenous religion of africa were armchair scholars who depended on data from missionaries who themselves concentrated in one community or tribe. they used the scanty information derived from one or two localities in africa to draw conclusion about the ontology of the supreme being, divinities and ancestors (the living-dead) in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 155 africa (mbiti, 1970). these armchair scholars went as far as believing that the sub-saharan africa is one country with one religious belief and practice. this controversy and misunderstanding misconception continued until the 1970s and 1980s whensome african indigenous scholars like bolaji e. idowu, mbiti, s. john set out to refute some of the erroneous claims about african traditional religion. they acknowledged the fact that “africans” had known god before the missionaries came (ray, 1976). this view gave africans and their religion, which was battered and shattered by the missionaries who condemned and denigrated their religion, a new hope and integrity. in this paper, our attention is drown to the place, position and the role of divinities and ancestors (the living-dead) in african traditional religious meta-physics stressing that their belief in these other beings do not in any way contradict africans belief in the supreme being as opined by some western scholars. it should be noted that there are realities in african traditional religion which has not been properly echoed by africans themselves, especially, the eurocentric ones whose religious inclination has blinded them to the fact that africans are not strangers to worship of monotheistic god (supreme being) who is called by various names in africa. in most religions of the world, the concept of supreme being is clearly spelt out just as it is in african traditional religion where the supreme being is conceived as a supreme king with the divinities appointed to minister each department in the theocratic government of the world and the ancestors (the living-dead) clearly set forth as intermediaries between the supreme being and the living (mbiti, 1970). god (the supreme being)in african traditional religious thought belief in the existence of god (supreme being) is fundamental in african society. the word god (supreme being) refers to “the living eternal being who is the creator and source of all living and whose life existed from the dateless past” (idowu, 1962). god (supreme being) is self-existed and an all knowing being whose power sustains the universe and sees all things at the same time without any modern instrument. this great being as revealed himself in many different ways, and human beings have always felt his presence and responded to him in worship (brown, 1975). this manifestation or revelation of god (the supreme being) has brought about a living relationship between god and mankind, leading to what we now call “religion” (mbiti, 1975). many people, especially the jews and muslims who received this revelation have seen god as a “personal being”, while others like the buddhists, think of god as a personal being at all (idowu, 1962). the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 156 greatness of god has been described by many scholars, religious people and holy books. in describing the supreme being, shorter (1978) states: the supreme being (god) is the power, the kingdom, the glory and the majesty, and to him belongs creation and to rule over what he has created. he alone is the giver of life; he is omniscient for his knowledge encompasses all things. he beholds the thoughts of all mankind and secrets of their hearts, by his knowledge, which was from aforetime. the arjuma’shymmin ancient hindu gita, written in about 500-100 bc further expresses the same belief in the greatness of this great god and his relationship with humanity and the universe thus: why should human beings not worship or venerate you? you are the first creator, infinite; lord of the gods, home of the universe. you are the imperishable. you are the last prop-and-resting peace of the universe. you are the knower and what is to be known… the whole universe was spunby you...your strength is infinite, your power is limitless. you bring all things to their fulfillment: hence you are all… you are the father of the world of moving and unmoving things (brown, 1975:40-56). this description of african belief given above shows the extent of the greatness of this supreme being by many religions.the greatness of the supreme being is also portrayed in african religion by mbiti (1975) when he explains: though the knowledge of god as the supreme being is not documented in any sacred book, yet it is “expressed in proverbs, short statements, songs, prayers, names, myths, stories and religious ceremonies. the point mbiti (1975) is making here is that for one to understand the concept of god (the supreme being) in africa, he/she has to study carefully the entirety of the culture of the people. this however, agreed with what mbiti (1975) said: “one should not therefore, expect long dissertations about god. but is no stranger to african peoples, and in traditional life there are no atheists”. this description of the greatness of the supreme being is further supported by an ashanti proverb which says: “no one shows a child the supreme igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 157 being” (ekeopara, 2005). this proverb indicates that anyone born in african does not need to go to school to learn about the existence of the supreme being.his existence is known by all, including the children. this proverb however, debunked the erroneous conclusion usually drawn on african belief in god by the western scholars who argued that the idea of god (the supreme being) is foreign to african people (p’bitek, 1970). parrinder (1974) posited that belief in the existence of the supreme being is a common feature of african religion; therefore, it is wrong assumption for the western scholars to think that africans only claim to have the idea of the supreme being with the advent of christianity. there are divergent views of scholars as per the origin of religion and the belief in god in africa. as per religion some scholars see religion as originating from fear. as people saw the vastness of the universe, the rumblings of thunder, lightning, the sea and so many other things that caused them fear, they developed faith in something that will shield them from what they feared. others see religion as originating from magic while others see religion as the creation of the priestly class. as there are divergent views of scholars concerning the origin of religion, in the same way many scholars have various views as per the origin of belief in god in africa. thus, three important views exist which are here explained. firstly, through reflections on the nature of the universe, africans came to believe in god. this view has its bases on the fact that africans believe in supreme being as the creator of the universe. this belief led them to reflect on the vastness of the universe. their imagination led them to this conclusion that there must be a supreme being whose power not only created this vast and complex universe but also sustains it. they therefore began to give this being worship and adoration. mbiti (1975) asserts that: the process of arriving at this conclusion of belief must have taken a long time “and there must have been many myths and ideas which tried to explain these mysteries of the world”.secondly, through realization of their own limitations africans came to believe in god. this second view of the origin of belief in god in africa has its root in mankind’s limitations and the insatiable nature of his needs. africans saw that they were limited and weak in many respects, including knowledge and power. these limitations and powerlessness rather led them to speculate that there must be a supreme being who is superior to these other powers that can be drawn to help them through appeasement and or sacrifice. mbiti (1975) posits that “this idea made it logical and necessary for mankind to depend on the one who is more powerful than people”. this however, made africans to feel igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 158 that they needed the help of this supreme being in their experiences of limitations and powerlessness. this is the monotheistic god that theafricans worship. it should be observed that theprocess of this formulation took a long period before it was actually conceptualized.thirdly, as africans observed the forces of nature, they came to believe in god. this third view of the origin of belief in god in africa is so important because it has to do with the various forces of nature. mankind from time immemorial has been in the habit of looking at the forces of nature with awe and reverence. this made him to worship these forces as having one supernatural power or another. as africans looked at nature, season and creatures, seeing their enormous benefit to mankind yet unreachable, they began to associate the earth with a great god who is very close to mankind, supplying his needs such as rain for his land to produce abundant fruits. mbiti(1975) opines that this may be the reason “that god is so much associated with the sky and the heavens. it is very likely that. africans came to believe in god’s existence through such a link between heaven and earth. mankind was at the centre of the universe. standing on the earth but looking up to the heavens, and that belief began to make sense and fit into man’s continued attempts to understand and explain the visible and the invisible universe, the earthly and heavenly worlds of which man is the centre. this knowledge of god through belief; became the cardinal point of the traditional religion of africans. attributes of supreme being in africa attributes of god refers to phrases ascribing traits, properties, qualities or characteristics to the supreme being (ikenga-metuh, 1981). these attributes are anthropomorphic in nature because any religion that stripes the supreme being of anthropomorphic phenomenon will eventually end up as an abstract religion that does not have human feelings and is not fully realizable in the world. the term “anthropomorphism” is the ascribing of human character to godsuch as someone who listens, hears, eats, get angry and smoke (parker, 1954). this way of describing god anthropomorphicallyhas been found in all religions as a way of expressing ideas or concepts about the preternatural world of realities. however, in higher anthropomorphism, all that adherents try to do is to speak about the ineffable categories to avoid repetition of the concept of god. imosagie (1982) argues that anthropomorphic attributes of god cannot be accepted as a part of the structure of african religion because as we study thoseattributes, we must be conscious of the fact that there are no sacred scriptures of african traditional religion for us to consult and know what igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 159 these attributes are, as one who wishes to study the attributes of god in christianity or islam will do. rather attributes of god in african traditional religion can be found in the songs, proverbs, sayings, recitals and liturgies of so many african people. these attributesof godinclude: (a) god is real to africans african people do not perceive of god as an abstract entity whose existence is in the mind. he is seen and perceived as a real personal entity whose help is sought in times of trouble and who is believed to be the protector of the people. the various names given to god in african attest to this. the fact that god is real to africans is enshrined in the meaning of the name they call him. the yoruba of nigeria call god olodumare or edumeremeaning “the king or chief unique who holds the sceptre, wields authority andhas the quality which is superlative in worth, and he is at the same time permanent, unchanging and reliable” (idowu, 1973). other yoruba names for god are olorunmeaning “the owner of heaven” or “the lord of heaven” showing god as the author of all things both visible and invisible and olofin-orun, meaning “the one who owns the place of heaven” or “supreme ruler who abides in heaven” (idowu, 1973).the igbo of nigeria call god by these names chukwumeaning “source being” which connotes “the greatone from whom being originates”. chineke meaning,“the source being who creates all things”. the edoof nigeria knows god as osanobuaor osanobwawhich means “the source of all beings who carriesand sustains the world or universe”. among the nupeof nigeria god is called sokowhich means “thecreator or supreme deity that resides in heaven” (ikenga-metuh, 1991). the ewe and fon people of dahomey call god nanabuluku which means the great ancient deity. amongthe akon and ga people of ghana, god is known byam (idowu, 1962). the akan of ghana call god by these names: odamankoma, meaning “he who is uninterruptedly, infinitely and exclusively fully of grace” or “he who alone is full of abundance or completeness” or “he who in his grace has completed everything in heaven and on earth”. nyameor onyamemeaning “if you possess or get him, you are satisfied” which expresses god as god of fullness or god of satisfaction (arensen, 1988).among the mendepeople of sierra-leone god is called ngewo which means “the eternal one who rules from above” (awolalu and dopamu, 1979). the tiv of nigeria calls god aôndo, which means “the supreme being who resides in the vault of heaven”. he is great unknown that creates and rule igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 160 over all things. the tiv refers to him as gba-aôndo, meaning “god the creator” (akiga, 1939). the isoko names for god are: oghene, which literally means “he that is strong” or “provider of all things”. his praise name is “the white piece of cloth which is very ancient”. the isoko also call god “osenobruwe, which means “the father who brings blessings” and his praise name is osonabwwa, which means “the one who carry and sustained the world” (forde, 1954). for the nupe, god is called soko, which means “the great god in the sky”. the ibibio call god abasi, which means “the greatest god” or “the god who lives above the earth” (parrinder, 1969). the nuer people call god kwoth, which means “the spirit who is in the sky”. kwoth is “the creator of the universe”, the great omnipotent one and “the creator of mankind” (forde, 1954). for the dimka, god is called nhialic, which means “the sky” or “the above”. nyimang people call god, abradi, which means “the maker” (parrinder, 1962). while among the tusi and hutu of rwanda and burundi, god is called imama, which means “to create out of the existing matter”. the baluba of aire name for god is vidye, mukulu, which means “great lord” or “the first father”. the tumbuka, kamaangand the tonga people of malawi names for god are: ciuta, malungaand lezaand are associated with god as being behind “the rain bearing bow above” or “the giver of rain” (idowu, 1973). the hottentots name for god is tsuior goam, which means “wounded knees” (jacobs, 1961). these names were not created by africans after the colonial era but shows how real god is to africans. if god were not real to africans how did they manufacture these names and given to the being they do not know? (b) god is the creator when we use the word “creation” with reference to attributes of god it implies basically the fact that god is the originator as illustrated in some of the african myths. the yoruba creation myth, for example, states that godthe creator (orisanla)commissioned the chief divinity to perform some works of creation and he therefore, created human body (idowu, 1973). however, there is no doubt that creation originated from the supreme being himself. he has absolute power over his creatures and no creature has reason to boast ofitself. this capacity of god as a creator made the yoruba’s to call him “eleeda” which means “creator” or “owner of creation” (adasu, 1985). the igbo callgod“chineke” meaning “the spirit that creates” or “source of being that creates” (ikenga-metuh, 1987). the tiv call him “gba-aôndo” which means “god the creator of the universe” while the edo people call him “osanobowa” meaning the source being who carries and sustains the universe” (ikengaigwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 161 metuh, 1984). equally, the akan of ghana call him “odomokoma” meaning “the creator of the universe” (mbiti, 1970). the nupe illustrates this creative nature of god in their song, which says: “soko” is the creator of the cosmos and all that is in it. he is responsible for the ultimate issues of life and death and he is the only one responsible for the vital principle of life or the essence or personality in mankind. the kulung people also believe that god the creator, “yamba”is the giver of life and preserver of all things, while the sura of pamyam says: god “nam”is the maker of the world and the one who sends down rain to his people (idowu, 1962). c) god is unique when the word unique is used in reference to theattribute of god in africa we are looking at god as having no equal or non like him and being the only one of its sort (parrinder, 1962). we earlier explained that the yoruba people of nigeria refer to god as olodumare meaning “the king or chief unique, who holds the scepter, wields authority and has the quality which is superlative in worth, and he is at the same time permanent, unchanging and reliable” (idowu, 1973). this description shows the uniqueness of god in africa. he is also seen as permanent, unchanging and reliable. this is why in africa there are no images attributed to the supreme being. in most cases there are no temples except in few places, dedicated to the supreme being. nobody in africa has produced any picture attributive to the supreme being because the concept of god is embedded deeply in their thought as unique and nothing is comparable to him. deng (1978) in describing leza, the name used for the high god by the baila, botanga, and other tribes of northern zambia explains that lezais described as “the one who does what no other can do”. in writing about the ruanda people evans – pritchard (1956) described their supreme being (imana) in a proverb thus:“there is none to equal imana”. these descriptions show the uniqueness of the supreme being in african traditional religious thought as someone who reveals himself through them. although the various natural phenomena are not god from the african concept of god, however, they are vehicles through which god reveals himself to people. (d) god is transcendent and immanent these two words, transcendent and immanent could be seen as two sides of the same coin. transcendent means that something is beyond what is natural igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 162 and normal, and different from it. when africans see god as transcendent, it means: god is not limited to a particular place and time as human beings are. it means that god lives outside the natural world in which human beings live. human beings can never fully comprehend the will or thoughts of the supreme being. he is beyond their understanding. god is always there first: he is the creator of all things and the initiator of all events. human beings feel awe when they remember the presence of god. he is good and trustworthy in a way that they are not. as an immanent god, africans see him as god whose presence is felt by people within the natural world. the africans feel his presence around their surroundings, and through what happens to them and their families (smith, 1978:20-38). african people see god as very present within the natural world to help protect and deliver his creation and transcend the natural realm. when we say that god is immanent in the world, we are presenting an attribute that shows god as dwelling among us or within us. so many writers especially the armchair scholars from the west argue that god in the african concept is far removed that they see him as “absenteelandlord” or “withdrawn god” who after creating the world has withdrawn to the vault of heaven (parrinder, 1962). they erroneouslyconclude by saying that though africans have a faint knowledge of god, but he is far removed from them so that they rather go to the divinity for help. this is false assumption because you cannot emphasize god’s remoteness to africans to the exclusion of his nearness. awolalu and dopamu(1979) posit that to the africans the transcendence and immanence of god are two divine attributes that are paradoxically complementary. this is revealed in the nupesong: “god is far away. god is in front, he is in the back”. this nupesong means that though god is not on earth yet he is very present, always, and everywhere. to show the immanence of god among the yoruba of nigeria they ask “what can you do in concealment that god’s eyes do not reach?” and they also add another statement “he who steals under concealment, even though the eyes of the earthly ruler do not see him, those of the king of heaven is looking at him” (awolalu and dopamu, 1979). the above sayings reveal the immanence of god in african religious ontology. they show that africans believe that though god is transcendent, yet he is immanent. d) in africa god is eternal and immortal. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 163 the africans do not see the supreme being as one who will one day cease to be or one who will eventually die. they rather see him as the eternal and immortal one who lives forever to satisfy the human soul. this is why “they hold that the supreme deity is the ever-living reality whose being stretches to eternity” (awolalu and dopamu, 1979). a yoruba epithet of praise describes this eternal and immortal attribute of the supreme being in africa: oyigiyi ota aiku– “the mighty, immovable, hard, ancient, durable rock that never dies”. the konopeople of sierra leone call god by the name yataawhich means that “god is the one you meet everywhere”. they also call god by another name meketaimplying “the everlasting one”, “the one who remains and does not die” showing that people of many generations experience god living (awolalu and dopamu, 1979). (e) god is king when the word“king” is used in reference to the attributes of godin africa, we are looking at god as the mighty one who is the absolute controller and sustainer of the universe with unique and incomparable attributes. the africans venerate him with higher regard than any respect given to an earthly king. the yoruba’s call him “oba orun, “oba-atererekariaiye or oba asekaanmaku” which means the king who does the work with perfection” (igboaka, 2007). the igbo call god “ezendewelu” or “ezeelu” which means “the king in heaven” (awolalu and dopamu, 1979). for the mende, god is the head of the universe. the nupe says that god is the “isoci” which means he is the only one who reigns”, owns us” or is “our lord”. the akan people of ghana put it in this way, “the earth is wide but onyamse is the head” (parrinder, 1969). as king, god is omnipotent and the sovereign ruler of the universe. he is also the father of all and there is nothing he cannot do. for the tiv, god is described as the one surrounding the whole world with moon, sun and stars under his control. thus, the tiv people call him “aôndo u akume a sha” meaning “god the owner and king of the universe” (abraham, 1933). the idoma people believed that there is a strong cult of the earth but if god likes he can spoil the earth (mbiti, 1970). (f) god is the judge when africans conceive god as a judge they include everything in association with justice, punishments and retribution. he is the impartial judge who dispenses justice and punishes offenders (mbiti, 1969). it is an inbuilt retributive principle which deals with dispensation of justice, reward and punishment in the now and hereafter. the igbo’s believed that god’s dispensation of justice and punishment are according to each person’s offence igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 164 in the daily occurrences of individual lives. as judge, god inflicts several punishments on the hard hearted and un-hospitable ones in their societies. the yoruba’s call him “oba adakedejo” meaning “the king whose judgment is executed in silence”. the tiv refers to him as “he who embodies retributive justice” and “perfect judge who allots vengeance to wrong doers”(aresen, 1988). thus, in african traditional society, the judgment of god is a conception which is real and not just a matter of intellectual knowledge. however, there are cases of god’s wraths in the world, which indicates that the judgment of god is just. he judges human beings as a creator in a pluralistic manner and his judgment starts here on earth and continues in the hereafter. the wrongdoers are punished, while, the good ones are rewarded by him. the african people believe that god is an angry god who detests evil of all kinds. hence, the people conceptualized the anger of god in the lightning and thunder that struck trees, buildings animals and human beings. among the yoruba’s the anger of god is demonstrated in the fight between “sango” and “jakuta” (the thunder and fire divinities of yoruba land). the nupe people described the anger of god as the “axe of god”. for the tiv, the anger of god is refers to as “nyiar i aôndo” meaning “the thunder of the powerful one from the vault of heaven”. while for the igbo, the word “amadioha” expresses the anger of god as one who thunders. the akan said that “onyame” himself is one who bears the axe of punishment. he is judge because he is perfect, all wise, all knowing and all seeing (parker, 1954). the nuer people also believe that god punishes wrong doing and reward uprightness. while evambo people believe that murder and stealing are punishable by god (okpoku, 1987). all these concrete examples mentioned above show how african people conceive god as the supreme judge who acts without impartiality. he is said to have the sun, moon and the firmament as his eyes that helps him to see and know even the most hidden secrets of human thought and actions in the world (eliade, 1986).there are so many other great attributes of god in african traditional religious thought which we may not expatiate in this work such as: god is the absolute controller of the universe, god is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient in africa; the supreme being is one in africa; god is good and merciful, and god is holy(downes, 1971). the attributes as enumerated above are not the product of missionary activities or colonial era,but are part and parcel of africans. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 165 every child born into african culture grows with these concepts of god and he does not need to learn them because they are imbued in their folklores, myths, short stories, short sayings, proverbs, ceremonies and everything around them. these attributes show the place and position of the supreme being in the african traditional religious thought. no one under any guise should say that africans did not know god before colonial era or before the coming of the missionaries. the knowledge of god as the supreme being in africa has been part of our culture from time immemorial. the worship of god (supreme being) in african society, the worship of god varies from one community to the other. it includes offering of sacrifices and prayers to the supreme being,invocations, blessing, salutations, expressions of worship by religious intermediaries and specialists, and the place of worship. these forms of worship have sought to address the issues of what, when, how and where the worship of god do take place in the traditional african society. in yoruba society, for example,there is no organized direct public worship of god since the divinities are regarded as the messengers of olodumare.the yoruba people believed that once these divinities have been worshipped and sacrificed to, they in turn will transmit what is necessary of the worship and sacrifice to olodumare. this is because as it is known and accepted in their socio-political environment, the king cannot be approached directly except through the various ward chiefs who formed the king’s cabinets. however, outside ritual contexts the yoruba recognize olodumare’s readiness to intervene in human affairs and do make direct appeals to him. this is done especially in periods of personal crises and oppression or injustice. redress is sought mostly in the courts of olodumare (mbiti, 1969).the form of direct worship of olodumare that is common among the yoruba is that of pouring libation of cold water and praying with kola in the centre of a circle drawn with white chalk. this is reportedly done by a priest in the palace of the ooni (king) of ife on a daily basis while individuals can carry this out on instruction from the oracle. however as idowu (1962) opines, this direct worship of olodumare is dying out gradually. the akan is a typical example of an african society with elaborate public worship of god. according to rattrary (1927), the akan has shrines, temples and priests that are dedicated to the service and regular worship of onyame. almost every akan compound has an altar for onyame at which private devotions and daily offerings are made to god. the private altar is made of a forked branch of a tree called god’s tree. a basin or pot is placed in between the branches and it contains an axe called god axe that is used to bless the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 166 members of the house. apart from these, private altars are also what are called the personal altars. the weekly worship of god among the akan holds on saturday which known as onyame’s day. the igbo people also have altars and shrines. the ikenye, the eldest member of the community, directs the worship. ajaeze emu is one of such direct worship and it is observed during the dry and rainy seasons (busia, 1926). divinities in african traditional religious thought african traditional religion partly recognizes a group of beingspopularly known as divinities. these beings have been given various names by various writers such as ‘gods’, ‘demigods’, ‘nature spirits’, divinities, and the like. mbiti(1969) explains that the term divinities“covers personification of god’s activities and manifestations, the so-called ‘nature spirits’, deified heroes, and mythological figures”. this belief in divinities is a common phenomenon especially in west africa, while in other parts ofafrica; the concept of divinity is not succinctly expressed. thisis what njoku(2002) means when he said,“the phenomenon of belief in divinities is noteverywhere prominent in africa”.in west africa where the concept of divinities is clearlyexpressed, there are so many of such divinities. inyoruba pantheon, for example, idowu(1973) asserts thatthere are as much as 201, 401, 600, or 1700 divinities. in edo of nigeria, mbiti(1969) posits that there are as many divinities as there arehuman needs, activities and experiences, and thecults of these divinities are recognized as such. he states: one [divinity] is connected with wealth,human fertility, and supply of children (oluku);another is iron (ogu), another of medicine (osu), andanother of death (ogiuwu)”. divinities have been grouped into two major groupsnamely: the principal divinities and minor divinities.principal divinities are regarded as part of the originalorder of things. njoku(2002) sees these divinities as being “coevalwith the coming into being of the cosmos”.they include such divinities as sango or amadioha–thunder divinities for yoruba and igbo; anior ala–earth divinity among the igbo, ajein idoma land andother solar divinities. the dinkapeople of sudanrecognize deng divinity associated with rain, fertilityand others, abakwith mother role, garang– perfectpicture of father/son relationship. they alsorecognize macardt– a divinity associated with death. there are two major schools ofthought as regards the origin of divinities in africanreligious ontology. the first school of thought is ledby john s. mbiti (1969). he argues that divinities werecreated by the supreme being. he explains thatdivinities “have been created by god in theontological category igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 167 of the spirits. they areassociated with him, and often stand for his activitiesor manifestation either as personifications or as thespiritual beings in charge of these major objects orphenomena of nature”. by this view of mbiti(1969) and hisgroup, divinities are under the supreme being in theorder of things. they can also be seen asmanifestations of the characteristics or attributes ofthe supreme being. the second school of thought, championed by idowu (1973), argues that divinities were not createdbut were brought out into being. from the point of view of the theology of africantraditional religion, it will not be correct to say thatthe divinities were created but rather they were brought into being, or that theycame into being in the nature of things with regardto the divine ordering of the universe.this view of idowu(1973) may correspond to the christiantheology about the divinity of christ. christiansbelieve that christ was not created but came out(brought forth) from the father and so shares almostall the attributes of the father. this is why he iscalled the son of god. in the same way, idowu(1973) applies the same theology to the divinities. heexplains that orisa-nla(the arch-divinity among theyoruba) “is definitely a derivation partaking of thevery nature and metaphysical attributes ofolodumare”. this is why the yoruba peoplecall him “deity’s son and deputy, vested with thepower and authority of royal sonship”. in beninof edo state, olokunthe arch-divinity is regarded as theson of osanobwa, which means a son vested withpower and majesty by his father. among the akanpeople of ghana, all their divinities are regarded assons of onyame. idowu therefore argues that “it is inconsequence of this derivative relationship that thesedivine “beings” are entitled to be called divinities or deities”.a careful look at these two schools will show thatidowu(1973) was applying the christian theological principleto african traditional religion by declaring that thedivinities were not created just as christians believethat jesus christ was not created. parrinder (1967) lays his weight behind idowu(1973) bydeclaring that the divinities were not created andadds “divinities are brought into being to serve thewill of the supreme being”.there is a general agreement among scholars that divinitiesare divided into three groups, namely; primordial divinities, deified ancestors and personification of natural forces and phenomenon. the origin of primordial divinities is unknown, however, africanshave a belief that they are deities of heaven who have been with the supreme being since the creation of the universe and were partakers in the creative work of the universe and work hand in hand with the supreme deity who is the archcreator of the universe (idowu, 1973).the deified ancestors because of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 168 extraordinary lives they have livedin african society were made divinities or gods with all the attributes and characteristics of the earlier divinities. among the yoruba’s for example, jakuta and sango are the divinities associated with thunder and fire, sango who was the fourth king of oyo became a deified divinity after his death. he was so powerful that after deification, he acquired the attributes of jakuta, the thunder divinity of yoruba land (idowu, 1962). the third category of divinities, “the spirits”are associated with natural phenomenon like hills, lakes, rivers, rocks, caves, trees, brooks, lakes and thick forests in africa. among the yoruba’s for example, oke ibadan hill is believe to be a hill for the spirits which have helped the yoruba people during wars and which have continued to bless the people of ibadan till date. thus, there are priests dedicated to these spirits and animal festivals are celebrated by the people in their honour as protectors of the land. although, divinities of natural phenomenon are many, and their numbers varies from one community to the other their number is said to be between 202, 401, 600 and 1700. the african people called them by various names depending on the functions they performed and the characteristics they acquired as divinities. from the given above facts, one could argued that if all divinities werenot created, it means that those heroic human beingsof the distant past who were deified were not created.this will run contrary to the general belief of africansconcerning the supreme being whom alone has nobeginning and no ending in african religious theology.if the divinities are said to possess the sameuncreated nature, then there must be equalitybetween them in some sense. but we have submittedin this paper that in yoruba of nigeria, the nameolodumare, a name given to the supreme being, means a king or chief who wields authority and is“unique”. this uniqueness means one of his kinds.none is comparable to him. he is unchangeable andreliable.it therefore follows that if god is unique then everyother creature must be different from him. they areregarded as divinities. their being called divinities isbecause they are sometimes the personification ofthe natural forces or the manifestation of thesupreme being. these researchers therefore, agrees with mbiti (1969) that divinities have been created by god initially as spirits and are largely thepersonifications of natural objects and forces of theuniverse. relationship between divinities and the supremebeing 1. divinities are “semi-autonomous agents” who are the executive heads of various departments in the monarchical government of the world. people igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 169 regard them as convenient and appropriate channels through which they can reverence the exaltedness of the supreme being (brown, 1975). 2. they are created “beings”. as createdbeings, they are subordinate to the supremebeing. 3. they are derivations from deity. thedivinities do not have independent existenceor absolute existence, but derive their beingfrom the supreme being. this means that“since divinities derive their being from thesupreme being, their powers and authorities are meaningless apart from him. they constitute a halfway house where man’s mind cannot obtain the fullest satisfaction except through them. this implies that the divinities are means to an end and not end in themselves. hence, divinities cannot do anything without the approval and sanction of the supreme being (mbiti, 1975). 4. they act as the objective phenomena of african traditional religion. divinities are entities, which are real to african people and are said to be ministers with portfolio in the theocratic governance of the world. they are functionaries delegated to rule the world, each of them, is given his own territory to administer for example, sango, amadioha, skoba and xevioso are names of divinities in yoruba, igbo, nupe and ewe associated with thunder and fire; and are usually employed to protect the society by the people when such calamities occur (mbiti, 1970). 5. they are given functions to perform:divinities do not perform duties against thewill of the supreme being rather they areobedient to the command of the supremebeing. various communities of africa whobelieve in divinities have their local names foreach divinity depending on the function thedivinity performs. in yoruba jakuta, thedivinity responsible for wrath-one who hurlsor fights with stones”, is known in nupeassokogba– god’s axe. among the igbo alaor ani– earth, is the arch-divinity responsiblefor the fertility of the soil. 6. the divinities serve as “functionaries in thetheocratic government of the universe” (idowu, 1973). this means that the variousdivinities have been apportioned variousduties to perform in accordance with the willof the supreme being. this is clearly shownby idowu in his book olodumare … where heexplained that in dahomey, mawu-lisa isregarded as an archdivinity who apportionedthe kingdoms of the sky, the sea, and theearth to six of his off-springs. he made hisseventh child legba, the divine messengerand inspector-general in african pantheon. this also means that the divinities areministers with different definite portfolios inthe monarchial government of the supremebeing. they therefore serve as administrativeheads of various departments (idowu, 1973). 7. divinities are intermediaries between manand the supreme being. they have thereforebecome channels through which sacrifices,prayers and offerings are presented to thesupreme igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 170 . in africa, there are noimages of the supreme being but the divinities are represented with images,temples or shrines. idowu(1973) explains that thedivinities do not prevent africans fromknowing or worshiping the supreme beingdirectly as some erroneously claim, butconstitute only a halfway house which is not meantto be permanent resting place for man’s soul. whileman may find the divinities ‘sufficient’ for certainneeds, something continues to warn him that‘sufficiency’ is only in supreme being. thedivinities are only means to an end and not end inthemselves.in african traditional religious thought, especially among thewest african people, the concept of divinity is wellestablished. divinities are so many that their numberseems not to be known. this concept has made somany scholars to believe that african religion is eitherpantheism or polytheism. those who believe thatafrican religion is pantheistic are of the view thatafricans see spirit in everything including wood, tree,fire, and others. though this may be true but africansdo not see these spirits as deserving worship. theystill have a strong place for the supreme being whomthey revere in a special way, and whom they believeis unique.on the other hand, those who see african religion asbeing pantheistic have failed to understand that“polytheism is a qualitative and not quantitativeconcept. it is not a belief in a plurality of gods butrather the lack of a unifying and transcending ultimatewhich determines its character”. ancestors in african traditional religious thought the africans also recognized another category of spiritual beings called “ancestors”. the belief in the existence of these beings is so strong that in the past some scholars had labeled african traditional religion as ancestral worship (mbiti, 1969). although there are divergent views among africans concerning the ancestors, their activities are so common that the people are able to draw a clear cult demarcation between the supreme being, divinities and the ancestors.mbiti (1975) maintained that the term “ancestors” refers to: all the dead departed who are physically dead but are still believed to be alive in the memory of those who remember them when they were in the community. they are regarded asintegral members of the family in africa. they are seen as always present and have interests in the affairs of their families. this however, makes their family members to venerate them and to offer sacrifices to seek for their protection, blessing and intervention in times of wars and difficulties. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 171 mbiti (1975) coined another term “the living-dead” to referred togood spirits of those departed who are recently dead but are perceived as still related to the living in the community. this category of spiritual beings include: the departed souls of young men who have died bad death and have left no children in the community (ikenga-metuh, 1987). such young people are not regard as the living-dead because they have not achieved the highest spiritual status or fulfilled the laid down qualifications for becoming an ancestors in african traditional religion. in african religious thought, the departed who have left the visible world, are believed to continue their existence in the invisible and metaphysical worlds. this makes the africans to interpret death as a rite of passage to the ancestral world (mbiti, 1969). this belief in the existence of the departed in the community is so common that the ancestors are conceived as custodians and symbols of customs, traditions and morals in african society. they are guardians of the tradition and intermediaries between god and the community (imasogie, 1982). they guaranteed a good and prosperous life for their upright descendants who continue to acknowledge them as mediators between the supreme being, divinities and the living (eliade, 1986). the ancestors watch over their descendants positively, ensuring their happiness and welfare and guaranteeing their general well-being. they are seen as immediate sources or avenues to a successful life, good health, children and prosperity (idowu, 1973). the ancestorsalso bless and protect their family members. if the community or individuals break the moral law, ancestors punish them to remind the living of their duties (adegbola, 1998). they visit the community in dreams and visions and give specific orders. requests are made to the ancestors for things which are believed to be gifts from the spirit world. they mediate the soteriological goals which relate to tangible well-being and success for which human beings strive to achieve in their lives. their protection gives their descendants spiritual security against inimical powers that may seek to disrupt their lives and such benefits. the filial bonds between the living and their ancestors make the latter approachable with such requests, while their post-mortar spiritual attainment gives them the leverage needed to acquire such benefits from the spirit world for their descendants (dickson and ellingworth, 1969). naming of children is a common reason why the living-dead speak to a family member. the name of the deceased contains their good character which will be passed on to the next generation. wrong naming causes sickness or even death (forde, 1954). without naming, the child is not part of the community and is not considered to be a human being. thus, to become a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 172 living-dead and an ancestor, one must have been a role model in the community. the ancestral cult, however, is not only concerned with success in life, but goes beyond life-after death. in african belief therefore, a person may come to different sorts of spiritual existence after death.he can become a wondering ghost, or take up human life elsewhere on earth without going through the process of re-incarnation. this process of taking up a new life in the spirit world of the ancestors, even if one is not ranked as one of them is refers to as “post-mortem existence” (ikenga-metuh, 1987). mbiti (1969) opined that the living-dead are in sasa (the present) and are not yet completed the process of dying. they can only move into zamani (the past) as personal spirits and become mere “its” when the last person who could remember them dies. they now lose their identities in antiquity beyond five generations and the living no longer remembers them by names (ray, 1976). they become unknown by names and slip back into zamani (the past) with continuous involvement in the affairs of the community.this partial process of re-incarnation involving re-birth is opposed to the christian concept of resurrection which promises eternal life (dickson and ellingworth, 1969). in african religious belief, therefore, the departed who were not given admittance into the ancestral world becomes ghosts, haunting the living (mbiti, 1970). these were departed members who had lived a bad life, committed suicide or died without proper burial rites (awolalu and dopamu, 1979). african traditional “heaven” and it is believed to be the abode of the ancestors. thus, for the africans for one to be in “hell” is to be an evil spirit(nowell, 1969). the styx that must be crossed at death is the gate between lives as a disembodiedrestlessness spirit and the peaceful world of the ancestors, where one is re-integrated into the root of his lineage.at death, the liturgy of libation requests that the deceased settle into the world and not cause any harm to the living, except those who may be responsible for his death. libation is also poured out and prayers offered to the ancestors to allow their deceased descendantsto join them (parrinder, 1962). the funeral rites are geared towards facilitating the settlement of the deceased into the ancestral world. these rituals which are passage rites re-direct the personality soul back to the ancestors and not to god, for the “life-soul” has already departed to god, its maker (imasogie, 1982). africans classified death as bad or unnatural deaths which do not anger well for easy transition. these include: the death of infants and children, accidental deaths by drowning, for example, or fire, lightening, pregnancy, falling from tree, death during festivals or periods of mourning, and death due to certain types of abominable disease such as dropsy, leprosy, small pox and so on (abioye, 2001). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 173 all such deaths suggest the displeasure of the ancestors or the gods and indicate the likelihood of a post-mortem existence outside the pale of the ancestral world. in most cases, such copses are not even buried in the usual burial ground (dennis, 1994). natural death suggests easy transits to an ancestral world, except where proper funeral rites have not been performed. such a natural death consists in death at a ripe old age or at middle age after a brief illness (imosagie, 1982). during these funerals, white attire is wearied by the living tosignify that the person has just gone “home” to meet the ancestors. those who died unnatural deaths thus, become disembodied spirits and are believed to be harmful to the living. it is believed that the “personality soul” is the seat of psychic phenomena and, disembodied at death; it acquires even more power (ikenga-metuh, 1981). the soul, if it is not at rest in the ancestral abode, constitutes a danger to the living. in the case of children who die, it is believed that they continually re-incarnate and die, thus causing their unfortunate parents much pain (ikenga-metuh, 1987). accident victims are believed to be dangerous and vengeful as they haunt the spot where their mishap occurred, continuously dragging others to the same fate (shorter, 1975). such spirits are called “wandering spirits” or “those who died an untimely or bloody death” (mbiti, 1969).in african religious thought, the ancestors are believed to be in the state of personal immortality and are externalized in the physical continuation of the individual through procreation so that the children beard the traits of their deceased parents or progenitors. this belief in “personal immortality” according to mbiti (1975) is further expressed in acts like respecting the dead, giving portions of food to them, pouring out libations and carrying out instructions given by them. dzurgba (1985) opined that the basis for africans belief in immortality of the ancestors lies in the general worldwide view that communication takes place between the living and the dead; and that the departed can still be of help to the living members (ikenga-metuh, 1984). however, for the africans, there seems to be no clear cult demarcations between the supreme being (god) and divinities on the one hand, and ancestors on the other hand. the supreme being (god) and the divinities belong to the supra-sensible world, while the ancestors are part and parcel of the existence of the living (kalu, 1978).the africans have a strong belief that the ancestors, though still relates to the living, they are no longer material beings since they have crossed to the supernatural level and have been freed from all the restrictions of the physical world (yuhe, 1978). the ancestors are believed to be next to the supreme being and because of their elevations to spiritual status which enables them to play enormous roles igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 174 not everybody is qualified to become an ancestor (downes, 1971). the admittance into the ancestral abode has certain qualifications of which a departed person has to obtain and certain processes that must be followed before she/he attains the status of an ancestor. these include, (i) the departed must have been a befitting burial rites (ii) he must have died a good death (iii) he must have lived to old age (iv) he must have been married and has children and (v) he must have lived a good life that is worthy of emulation and acceptable as laid down moral standard by the society. these qualifications are necessary because without them the departed would not be admitted into world of the ancestors. africans generally believe that the world of the spirits is a compartmental-whole, whereby the different category of spirits therein, together work for a harmonious existence and governance of the universe. ancestral veneration in african religion in african religions, ancestral veneration is undoubtedly an important element of religious life. ikenga-metuh quoting morioka (1975), affirms that the africans believe that their ancestors will protect them and their children in return for the tributes the living pay them. however, it seems that africans belief in the influence of the ancestors on the lives of the living as discussed earlier is stronger than most essential aspects of the ancestral cult.okpoku (1987:40) explains this thus: the spirit of a person who has recently died is accorded special treatment by members of the household until it is thought to have moved from direct involvement from the world of the living to a remote realm. at length, the spirit of the person who has recently died is said to become an ancestral spirit. the point okpoku is pointing out here is that, beyond the ancestral world, the departed spirit may attain the status of an ancestral deity(olademo, 2008). at death, the deceased person is believed to start a new life. after seven days of dangerous luminal period, the deceased receive a posthumous name which is comparable to the naming of a new born child on the seventh day (nowell, 1969). the soul is then assumed to have departed to the world but its full transition is marked by requiem rites that take place on the first, third and finally on either the thirty-third or forty-ninth anniversary when obsequies are completed or the dead is elevated to the status of an ancestor or deity (opoku, 1987). the spirit of the deceased retains its individuality until the final obsequies at which the departed sheds its individual numerical identity and merges into the collective ancestry of the family (tohoshi, 1967). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 175 the term ancestral veneration therefore, refers to a kind of respect, reverence and honour given to the ancestors in african traditional religion just as the saints are venerated in the catholic theology (ikenga-metuh, 1981). this religions institution surrounding the traditional religious thought is what others call the “cult of the ancestors” (adasu, 1985). the africans venerates the ancestors but do not worship them. this is because, the relationship that the livings have with their ancestors is so important that life has no meaning without the ancestral presence and power. the ancestors are guardians of the family traditions and life; they act as disciplinarians and channels of communication between the supreme being (god), divinities and human beings (okpoku, 1987). the africans venerate the ancestors by pouring libations and giving food to them as part of their share so that they too could participate in the family meal with the living. they could be approach through divination which prescribes for them the kind of sacrifice to be offered by the people to appease them (ikenga-metuh, 1984). these facts has debunked the question usually asked by western scholars whether the africans venerate or worship the ancestors. worship and veneration as used here are psychologically closer terms than the next door to each other. thus, to say that the africans worship the ancestors is to deny them the opportunity of giving respect and reverence to their departed as found in many societies of africa. in some african societies, both departed men and women could be venerated as the ancestors. in tiv culture, for example, both departed men and women are consulted by family members in times of needs asking for their blessings, protections and intervention. at times, in the liturgy of prayer, more immediate ancestors whose names are known asked to pass on the message on to forebears they knew and with whom they now live. thus, as mbiti (1969) affirms: the decease son or daughter would go to the grave of his/her father or mother and sit or lie on it crying for his/her intervention on problems affecting him or her family. he/she then offer the departed cooked food, meats and drinks to appease their souls. at the end of this, it is the belief of the tiv people that the ancestor will intervene in the problem. this form of venerating the dead in tiv culture is akin with what take place in many african societies where by the ancestor is given a sacrifice, ritualis performed and libation is poured on the grave of departed person to solicit for his/her blessings and protections on the family or the children (afolabi, 1966). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 176 sometimes, cola nuts and palm wine are offered to the ancestors as food and drinks as a sign of venerating them.this form of venerating the ancestors has been resilient to christian influence in modern times. it lends credence to the skepticism about the future of historically african ancestral veneration and its continued relevance into the 21st century. conclusion from the foregone discussion, we have seen that in african religious thought the supreme being, divinities and ancestors exist and they play crucial roles in the development of human society. supreme being is regarded as an uncreated self-existent, unchanging and reliable being whose power transcends all powers. he is seen as the creator, omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent being who is immortal and directs human affairs. in africa, he is venerated and not worshipped.the africans have no temple and an image attributed to him because he is beyond human comprehension and is unique showing that there is none like him. the supreme being in african religious belief has so many divinities or deputies who work with him in the unitary theocratic governance of the universe. they are functionaries and ministers whose duties are to carry out the full instructions of supreme being. they do not have absolute power or existence is derived from supreme being. they are created are so are subordinate to god in all matters. the divinities are also regarded as manifestations of the attributes of the supreme being. africans have shrines and temples dedicated to them, even though they are seen as intermediaries between human beings and the supreme being. there are also the ancestors who are the living-dead that are still perceived as integral members of the family in africa. they are seen as always present and interested with the affairs of their families.they are not worshipped but venerated as the saints are venerated in catholic theology. the ancestors though still related to the living are no longer mortals because they have crossed to the supernatural world and have been freed from all restrictions of the physical world and so can be of help to the living who are still bound by these physical restrictions. the ancestors can also serve as leaders of their families, and intermediaries between the supreme being and the living in african religious thought. because of the enormous responsibilities and the basis of elevation to a spiritual status, it is not everybody that is qualified to be an ancestor in african traditional religion. references abioye, s.a. (2001). basic text of west african traditional religion, oyo: akunlemu. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 177 adasu, m. (1985),understanding african religions (england: doset publishing company. adegbola, e. a. (1998). traditional religion in west africa.ibadan: sefer. afolabi, o. (1966). yoruba culture, a geographical analysis, london: university of london press. akiga, s. (1939).akiga story: the tiv tribes as seen by one of its members, translated and annotated by rupert east, (london: oxford university press for international african institute. arensen, j. (1988). anthropology coordinator for sil africa, personal interview. awolalu, j. o. and dopamu, p. a. (1975).westafrican traditional religion.ibadan: onibonoje, brown, d. a.(1975).a guide to religions.london: spck, deng, f. m. (1978). africans of two worlds.new haven: yale up. dickson, k &ellingworth (eds.) (1969). biblical revelations and african beliefs, many-knoll, ny: orbis books. dickson, k. and ellingworth (eds.) (1969).biblical revelations and african beliefs. mary knoll, n.y: orbis books. downes, r. m. (1971).tiv religion, ibadan: university press. dzurgba, a. (1985). tivian people and their traditional religion: the critical historical sociological perspective, katsina-ala, charity prints. ekeopara, c. a. (2005).african traditional religion: an introduction. calabar: natos affair. eliade, m. (ed.) (1987).the encyclopedia of religion, vol. 10 new york: macmillian publishing company. evans – pritchard, e. e. (1956). nuer religion.oxford: oxford up. forde, d. (1954). african worlds, london: oxford university press. idowu, e. b. (1962). oludumare: god in yoruba belief. london: longmans, idowu, e. b. (1973).african traditional religion: a definition. london: scm. igboaka, o. (2007).the alekwu cult, enugu: snaap press. ikenga-metug, e. (1991). african religions in western conceptual schemes: the problems of interpretation. jos: imico press. ikenga-metuh, e. (1981).god and man in african religion, london: geoffrey chapman. ikenga-metuh, e. (1987).comparative studies of african religious, onitsha: imico publishers. ikenga-metuh, e. (1987). comparative studies of african traditional religions.onitsha: imico publishers. imasogie, o. (1982). afircan traditional religion.ibadan: ibadan university press ltd. imosagie, o. (1982). african traditional religion, ibadan press ltd. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 178 jacobs, d.r. (1961). the cultural themes and puberty rites of the akamba,ann arbor: university microfilms. kalu, o. (1978). “precarious vision: the africans perception of his world”, in readings in african humanities, enugu, fourth dimension publishers. ikenga-metuh, e. (1984).the god’s in retreat: continuity and change in african religions, enugu: fourth dimension publishing co ltd. mbiti, j. (1969). african religion and philosophy, london: heinemann. mbiti, j. (1970). concepts of god in african.n.y: praeger publishers. mbiti, j. s. (1969).african religions and philosophy. london: heinemann. mbiti, j. s. (1975). concepts of god in africa.london: spck. mbiti, j. s. (1975). introduction to african religion.london: heinemann. njoku, f. o. c. (2002). essays in african philosophy, thought & theology.owerri: claretianinstitute of philosophy&clacom communication. nowell, s.b. (1969). african religion: a symposium, new york, nok publishers. okpoku, a. k. (1987).west african traditional religion (singapore: ep int. private ltd. olademo, o. (2008). theology of african traditional religion, nigeria: national open university of nigeria. p’bitek, o. (1970).african religions in western scholarship.kampala: east african literature bureau. parker, w. e (1954).african traditional religion, hitchison: university library. parrinder, e.g. (1974).african traditional religion.london: scheldon press. parrinder, g. e. (1969). africa’s three religions, london: sheldon press. parrinder, g.e. (1962). african traditional religion, london, sheldon press. rattary, r.s. (1927). religion and art in ashanti, london, university press. ray, b. (1976). african religions: symbols, rituals and community. new jersey: prentice-hall. ray, b. c. (2002). african religions.new jersey: prentice hall. shorter, a.w. f. (1978).african culture and the christian church.london: geofferychampman. smith, r. j. (1978). ancestor worship in contemporary japan.california: standard university press. tohoshi, m. (1967).“ancestors in western japan, facts and history”.in william, h. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 179 yuhe, d.v. (1978). the encounter of tiv religions and moral values with catholicism in the time of secularisation, rome, pontifical gregorian university. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 5 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 92 the idea of unintended ethnocentric commitment and scientific objectivity by thomas, micah; edet, esther christopher; abankok, augustin elkanah; idiege, james joseph; egrinya, pius eneji; abang, christopher obi; ikpete, melody ekpe; antigha, bassey ene department of philosophy faculty of arts university of calabar, calabar abstract this piece has studied how ethnophilosophy has impeded on scientific inquiry objectivity, it is pertinent to note that as understandable as our primitive passion for selfpreservation instigates us to be exclusivist and to seek those things that make us special, we think that the legitimacy of any work that seeks to be philosophical and rational is rooted in its capacity to be articulated within the frame work of the whole. this work has been able to point out why, on account of unintended ethnocentric commitment some scholars saw african philosophy mostly from the optics of “african thinking”; also we have pinpoints that doing philosophy with ethnocentric mindset merely succeeds. in reducing it to mere rhetoric, knowledge to myths, science to ideology and gossip. it is on this note that we hold in the same scholarly spirit with asouzu that whenever we recourse to collective categorisations like, “african thought”, “european thought” in view of doing philosophy, they are not always to the best interest of scientific objectivity. keywords: unintended, ethnocentric, commitment, scientific objectivity. introduction in his book ‘ibuaru’ – the heavy burden of philosophy beyond africa philosophy; the author, innocent asouzu pinpoints that; ‘’the first major task of this book is to illustrate in practical terms what is implied by unintended ethnocentric commitment’’ (25). the above question in the same scholarly spirit with asouzu will constitute the fulcrum of this our research work. in our own way, we shall philosophically igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 93 scrutinize unintended ethnocentric commitment and its influence on scientific objectivity. the very idea of unintended ethnocentric commitment is one of the heaviest burdens or loads of philosophy, which is found in philosopher’s tendencies to issues such tendencies according to asouzu. “surfaces mostly in those cases where philosophy is understood as culture-relevant inquiry’’ (9). the above phenomenon goes to show that most philosophical ‘’inquiries and methodologies’’ often have an ethnocentric undertone that gives them ‘’ethno philosophic character’’. such tendencies makes philosophers and scientist scamper over reality with ethnocentric mindsets. in that manner they become parochial, straight jacketed, pigeon holed and bewitched to the extent they seek to project and protect their specific cultural legacies, often at the risk of being exclusivist, though unintentionally. on this note, we can say that there is often traces of evil of ‘’ethnophilosophy’’ of the unintended ethnocentric type in most things we intend to achieve which scientific objectivity falls into. following that the universal and comprehensive nature of philosophy and science is immediately put in to doubt. in this work, we shall attempt to conquer such constraints via the almighty spirit of ibuanyindanda or a complementary mindset. we shall do this in the ‘’transferred sense’’, because: we are committed to the insight that those ants called danda can lift and manage excruciating heavy loads (ibu) when they complement their efforts. here, we can even say ibu ary anyi danda or no heavy burden is insurmountable for danda, the ant. therefore, all matters of unintended ethnocentric commitment, as the ibuaru, or heavy burden militating against philosophical investigation, have to be handled within a complementary horizon to be manageable’’ (9). in line with the above assertion, we shall give a preamble or background of our subject of research, discuss unintended ethnocentric commitment and the nature of philosophical question; highlights some challenges of unintended ethnocentric commitment/intrusion and the nature of scientific objectivity; expatiate on patch work philosophical approaches, harmer on the miracle of ibuanyindanda then presents an evaluation and conclusion. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 94 definitions of terms unintended: unintended means not planned or not meant, not deliberate or not intentional. ethnocentric: ethnocentric could be defined as evaluating other peoples and cultures according to the standard of one’s own culture. according to merriam webster online dictionary ethnocentric is having or based on the idea that your own group on culture is better or more important than others or superior than others. medical online dictionary also defined ethnocentric as the tendency to evaluate other groups according to the values and standards of one’s own ethnic group is superior to the other groups. commitment: this could be defined as the state or quality of being dedicated to cause, activity, etc. it could also be seen as an engagement or obligation that restricts freedom of action. again, it can be defined as state of being emotionally or intellectually devoted, as to a belief, a course of action, or another person. scientific: scientific could be seen as that which is based on or characterized by the methods and principles of science. objectivity: objectivity could be defined as judgement based on observable phenomena and un-influenced by emotions or personal prejudices. according to online macmillian dictionary, objectivity is a state or situation in which something is based only on facts and evidence. it can also be defined as the ability to make decisions based on facts rather than your own personal feelings or beliefs. objectivity (philosophy) – wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia defines objectivity as a central philosophical concept related to reality and truth, which has been variously defined by sources. generally, objectivity means the state or quality of being true even outside of subject’s individual biases, interpretations, feelings and imagining. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 95 on unintended ethnocentric commitment and the nature of a philosophy question in page (49) of ibuaru – the heavy burden of philosophy, the author professor innocent asouzu holds that it is important to dwell on the nature of philosophical question in other to provide an in sights on what should be counted as philosophical question from a mere historical, religious or a mere journalistic description of other disciplines. the author observed that due to the inability to differentiate between philosophical from non-philosophical questions have made some writers, researchers and other scholars to make philosophy reducible to other mere inquiry or liken it to hermeneutics of culture or mere cultural philosophy (47). philosophy as it is cannot be dismissed from a particular cultural heritage, as often said “a man is a product of his cultural and social milieu’’. further exposition of this position could mean everything a man philosophising on is borne out of his perspective and orientation, such notion or approach of philosophising is not a misnomer, further author investigating culture and building points of departure for further reflection is allowed, but becomes a problem and un-philosophical when it stops at just projecting once culture and reducing philosophy to mean such culture. as asouza has it, this will invariably leads to philosophic excess that leads to rendering the philosophic subject matter obscure, if not completely imperceptible; these are some of the unfortunate and lamentable deficiencies we see in most research projects that have ethnocentric undertone. asouzu in ibuaru quoted amaku in his work “african philosophy’’ by saying when one stumble over the title of this book it looks appealing, but a glance at it expose one to a mere description a marriages, new yam festivals, initiation rites, wrestling matches, burial ceremonies, folklores and so on (asouzu). according to asouzu, what amaku was describing must be extremely cases, but it is not unusual. the problem arises when we substitute description of ‘’marriages, new yam festivals, etc for example with descriptive words, concepts and ideas. a practice that is very prevalent in what many people refer to as doing philosophy’’ (48). professor asouzu opines that it is not enough to embark on a research on phenomena of witchcraft among ibibio for instance – that is giving us a mere description or analysis of what the ‘’ibibio’s’’ believe or do not believe about the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 96 phenomenon of witchcraft, it is not enough again to recoup the original meanings of these concepts in their pure and in adulterated form, free from foreign culture or influence (48). the author holds that following this line of investigation leads to unintended ethnocentric commitment and to avoid this, there is a need to aim at critical determination of, e.g. the epistemological truth claims of phenomenon under investigation; in doing this, the focus of research would not be geared towards mere description of the phenomenon chosen for study (48). in attempt to further explain the place of unintended ethnocentric commitment amongst scholars is that it is something different to inquire or describe witchcraft among the ‘ibibio’ with the mechanisms use whether as an insider or outsider, it is another thing to inquire about the epistemological, ethical, ideological or ontological status of what obtains in such practice. here the philosopher is expected to take a critical and rational stand, even if this entails holding a view that is contrary to popular views and practices among his own people. he is not there to give merely official stamp of approval concerning known practices; rather the aim of philosophy is to help us understand reality clearer, separate appearances from reality and this must not be context bound even if cannot articulate outside the context free the writer sees the world with a different virus and postulation [49]. given; there are some questions that should interest the philosopher and not all manner of question; what meaning such phenomenon ‘witchcraft, marriages’ make within a universal complementary cognitive ambience? at this juncture of articulation certain questions become relevant, we must entail what it takes to know to be a witch doctor, whether such assumption can be verify intersubjectively? are there reasons why such phenomena should be given a special stature when investigating them and who set a standard for such? what is the logical metaphysical, ethical and ontological, epistemological status of such phenomenon and what information do they which to communicate? can claims based on such phenomenon be categorised as true or false and how do we verify them? in what ways do such statements differ from those obtainable in other areas of human cognitive experience? do such phenomena appear in other cultural areas and what measures are devised to address them at this location? how do these measures compare to each other? are there areas where conflict – resolution strategies overlap? if not, how do we bridge the differences? have we made more refine ways of determining causes? etc (50). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 97 these and many more questions can be asked within such contexts. some of these questions are second order conceptual questions that can go beyond obtaining or supplying mere information and describing given phenomena. if analysis and description become inevitable, they must be subjected to higher philosophical principles in view of their legitimization beyond localised interests. on this note, it is pertinent to understand that fundamental to all these questions are; are there interest other than those of scientific integrity, objectivity and truth underlying our inquiry? this kind of questions, is that which can guide any human who intend to see things differently from the way this phenomena occur in a given localities. philosophy as the author posits, is not subjected and limited to any discipline rather, philosophy as the first science or intellectual and rational enquiry has no jurisdiction. therefore, it should not be limited to a mere historical account, religious believes, anthropological and sociological account or description, philosophy, is that science that seeks to reflect and rationalized on the nature of phenomena in other to seek for the ultimate truth. on this ground, the main case target of philosophical enquiry is, not merely to describe, to reclaim, to inform or conserve in patriotic way, but to explore, conserve in the spirit of truth, and authenticity binding on all stakeholders in a universal framework. asouzu opines that what we lay most claim to as african philosophy is merely cultural patrimonies, because a deep reflection on those claim overt, the fact that they have little or no knowledge about the culture they lay claim and this has bedevil the sense of objectivity, universality and inadequate scappening for the truth. in ibuaru (54), the author said; in doing philosophy as a culture-relevant undertaking, we have cases where many have been misled into doing ethnology under the poise of philosophy: this is why we have to take particular notice of it. this is the case when we formulate our questions in this form: what does it mean to do epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, political science, etc, within the african sense of reference: even when dealing with african philosophy, the answer that are gotten can easily take a descriptive informative character. that is, this act can leads to the outlook of uncritical history of african philosophy. in the view of asouzu, he clearly pointed out that most philosophers in african, western and east are guilt of this problem of unintended ethnocentric commitment, that is seen in the philosophical enterprise as the most heaviest igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 98 load that has impedes scientific objectivity, universality and the ultimate investigation of reality. on some challenges of unintended ethnocentric intrusion – ibuaru according to asouzu, the problem of ethnocentric intrusion is one of the commonest issues that have gone unnoticed over the years. some philosophers in their inquiry and investigation have engaged in this attitude unintendedly. it is often an unintended act. the actors of this phenomenon often seek to polarize the world. some of the challenges in this act of unintended ethnocentric intrusion is that researchers inspite of their declared goodwill to make scientific activity objective often fall into this unintended ethnocentric commitment in their minds and thinking (asouzu, inaugural lecture, 25). some of those biases arise from their value commitments; most especially because of the excessive importance they attach to matters that concern us most, and matters relating to their ethnic and tribal affiliations. also, these biases result from years of exposure to certain climates of thought or some forms of selfishness that gives inquirer false notions about him and the entire universe. another challenge is those actions philosophers engaged to uphold and defend their ethnic and tribal identities and values. the issue of ethnocentric commitment is quite widespread also in the way african philosophy is conducted and african philosophers tend to use philosophy as an avenue for projecting their african identity and culture (asouzu, ibuaru, 26). we can also see this act in the work of some inquirers and philosophers from other regions of the world. for example, aristotle in his philosophy of essence polarized and dichotomizes the concept of reality. these philosophers often see something “unique” and “specific” about their own conceptual scheme (asouzu, ibuaru, 26). the attitude of this act is one of the things that raised up the debates surrounding the so called “the philosophy of stolen legacy” and “copy-cat philosophy”, (asouzu, ibuaru, 30). it also causes the contradiction in scientific inquiry and scientific progress due to it conservative, dogmatic and intolerance attitude towards searching for truth, which is the ultimate goal of philosophy. on the nature of scientific objectivity scientific objectivity is a characteristic of scientific claims, methods, and results. it expresses the idea that the claims methods and results of science are not or igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 99 should not be influenced by particular perspectives, value commitments, community bias or personal interests. objectivity in science is often considered as an ideal for scientific inquiry, as a good reason for valuing scientific knowledge as the basis of the authority of science in the society. the nature of objectivity in science is a critical evaluation on the value neutrality, the absence of prejudices and the deviant from perceived personal biases that constitutes the foundation of scientific research and investigations. accordingly and to the crux of this paper, science is pursued from an objective stance to the extent that, personal bias are absent from scientific reasoning or that they can be eliminated in a social process. this sis stem from the position that, all sciences is necessarily perspectivals. in this regard, scientific research should not depend certainly on researcher’s personal preferences or idiosyncratic experience. interesting, this investigation becomes very important in the social milieu as a pathway to examining the perceived idea of unintended ethnocentric commitment and scientific objectivity, other words, the thrive of the idea of unintended ethnocentric commitment against scientific objectivity which is more against scientific progress generally due to its dogmatic type of conservatism and intolerance as asouzu observed. in view of the above, asouzu held that, what is interesting about this phenomenon is that, it is often unintended. that is to say, the ethnocentric commitment which asouzu called cultural philosophy stealing it way into scientific investigation is not allowed to thrive by the scientists intendedly. this is why asouzu observed that, despite the, goodwill which constitutes the force to do science in an unbiased objective manner, many scientists find themselves taking sides in very crucial matters in a way that betrays their folk idea logical commitment. he further opines that, such biases result mostly from long years of exposure to certain climate of thought or some forms of idiosyncrasies that can give the inquirer some false notion about him and the world generally, (25). on patchwork philosophical approaches and unintended ethnocentric commitment in his book “ibuaru”, asouzu avers that two approaches are often employed when considering the issue of unintended ethnocentric commitment. viz: those that merely seek to describe and inform the world about the content of their worldview and those who go beyond merely describing and informing; but do igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 100 this with a critical approach. it is to the latter and their approval that asouzu refers to as “patchwork philosophical approach” bearing in mind the dimension of critical personal insight that underscores their work (asouzu, ibuaru, 58-59). the articulation of philosophy in a patchwork approach still faces the challenges of unintended ethnocentric commitment due to its restrictive character which has the capacity to make us less of philosophers and more of commentators, according to asouzu. patchwork philosophical approach is found in the works of such philosophers as placid temple, kagame, ogenejiafor, etc, who have merely tried to philosophise and articulate the content of their world view with an ethnocentric mindset and reasoning. thus, when actors engage on a given commentary they regard as their worldview they are faced with the tendency of dogmatising on what has identified as original thoughts belong to their people. when this kind of approach (patchwork philosophical approach) characterizes research in the sciences, what we will have is an uncritical and biased science, despite the attempts by scientifics to steer the course of scientific objectivity. it is this kind of value bias and the tendency by scientists to bifurcate truth in the course of their research that has culminated in to “an artificial conflict among the subject-matter of the sciences”, according to asouzu, (asouzu, 50th inaugural lecture, 23). here, a clear cut distinction is often drawn between what would count as truth by the empirical sciences, that deal with observable phenomena and facts and the metaphysical sciences that do not deal with observable phenomena. therefore, patchwork philosophical approach in science motivated by unintended ethnocentric commitment will culminate to reductionism where scientists may have the tendency to define or describe reality from a bifurcated perspective, regardless of the subject matter of philosophy which is a science of being qua being (being in relation to being) or beings in its mutual and complementary interrelatedness. evaluation and conclusion in the method and principles of complementary reflection in and beyond african philosophy” asouzu states that, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 101 “the scepticism concerning the fact that some ideas or exclusive to certain individuals, groups and societies would ever remain”. asouzu believes that certain ideas are universally entrenched in human consciousness. with regards to complementary reasoning, the human mind cannot operate without contraries and this is owing to the ability of the mind to contrast and differentiate (96). complementary reflection or the miracle of ibuanyidanda did not deny the existent of unintended ethnocentric commitment in scientific or philosophical parlance, but rather affirm that in line with this reasoning, one can say that in conceiving the whole, the parts result and vice versa. here, “miracle ibuanyidanda” presupposes or implies that actors are bound by series of mutual complementarity right and obligations at all level of action, existence and determination. hence, within this complementary framework all modes of research concord or agree to each other in a relationship of mutual indebtedness and interdependence in complementarity. we have seen so far in this work how ethnophilosophy has impeded on scientific inquiry objectivity, it is pertinent to note that as understandable as our primitive passion for self-preservation instigates us to be exclusivist and to seek those things that make us special, we think that the legitimacy of any work that seeks to be philosophical and rational is rooted in its capacity to be articulated within the frame work of the whole. finally, we have been able to point out why, on account of unintended ethnocentric commitment some scholars saw african philosophy mostly from the optics of “african thinking”; also we have pinpoints that doing philosophy with ethnocentric mindset merely succeeds. in reducing it to mere rhetoric, knowledge to myths, science to ideology and gossip. it is on this note that we hold in the same scholarly spirit with asouzu that whenever we recourse to collective categorisations like, “african thought”, “european thought” in view of doing philosophy, they are not always to the best interest of scientific objectivity. references asouzu i. innocent. university or calabar, calabar 50th inaugral. lecture “ibuanyidanda” and the philosophy of essence; calabar: university of calabar press, 2011. asouzu i. innocent. ibuanyidanda: new complementary ontology beyond world – immanentism, ethnocentric reduction and impositions. usa: transactions publishers, 2007. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 102 asouzu i. innocent. the heavy burden of philosophy beyond african philosophy. u.s.a.: transaction publishers, 2007. the free encyclopedia, en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/objectivity (philosophy). www.free online dictionary. american heritage (r) medical dictionary copyright (c) 2007, 2004 by houghton mifflin company. asouzu i. innocent. ibuanyianda (complementary reflection) and some basic philosophical problems in african today; sense experience; “ihe mkpuchi anyi” and the super – maxim. lit verlag combtt & co. kg wien, zurich, 2013. asouzu i. innocent. ikwa ogwe, essential readings in complementary reflection; a systematic methodological approach. calabar: saesprint publishers, 2007. asouzu i. innocent. the method and principles of complementary reflection in and beyond african philosophy. london: lit verlag, munster, new brunstwick, 2005. asouzu i. innocent. effective leadership and the ambivalence of human interest: the nigerian paradox in a complementary perspective. calabar: university of calabar press, 2014. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 4. no. 1.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 124 religious studies graduates and unemployment: any prospect? amaechi, ngozi manly ph.d and onwuliri joshua department of religion and cultural studies aifce owerri abstract religion is a reality in human experience and pervades through life.it describes man’s relationship with the supernatural world or the reality generally referred to as god. religion in some places is regarded as an inferior course, so easy that students can use it to complete the number of subjects they do.the negative belief about religion makes some parents to stigmatize it as they see it as a course that does not bring much money as courses like medicine, surveying, law, to mention but a few. sequel to the negative belief, graduates of religion are faced with unemployment upon graduation.the way the course has been underrated is such that people think that anybody doing religion will be a pastor or an evangelist. with this notion, graduates of religion are not easily employed in the national labor force except the classroom to teach the course. this paper therefore throws light to the relevance of religion and the wider scope/opportunities open to graduates of religion in the society especially the contemporary nigeria. the researchers adopt a historical method of research in this work keywords: nigeria, religious studies, graduates, unemployment, prospects. introduction religious studies originated in the nineteenth century, when scholarly and historical analysis of the bible had flourished, and hindu and buddhist texts were first being translated into european languages. early influential scholars included friedrich max müller, in england, and cornelius p. tiele, in the netherland (stienbock, 2009). today religious studies is practiced by scholars worldwide. in its early years, it was known as comparative religion or the science of religionorkand, in the usa, there are those who today also know the field as the history of religion (associated with methodological traditions traced to the university of chicago in general, and in particular mirceaeliade, from the late 1950 through to the late 1980). the field is known as religiniveronswissenschaft in germany and sciences des religions in the french-speaking world. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 125 the term "religion" originated from the latin noun "religio", that was nominalized from one of three verbs: "relegere" (to turn to constantly/observe conscientiously);"religare" (to bind oneself [back]); and "reeligere" (to choose again). because of these three different meanings, an etymological analysis alone does not resolve the ambiguity of defining religion, since each verb points to a different understanding of what religion is. during the medieval period, the term "religious" was used as a noun to describe someone who had joined a monastic order (a "religious"). despite this change in meaning, it is important to note the term "religion" is primarily a christian term. judaism and hinduism, for example, do not include this term in their vocabulary. religion as a course or subject that is studied in school is looked down upon by some parents, educational planners, the society and even the students themselves. to the extent that those offering the course are seen as not serious and would not have a place to work except the church. this piece therefore is to show the prospects of graduates of religion. what is education? according to cremin(1977) education is deliberate, systematic and sustained effort to transmit, evoke or acquire knowledge, attitude values, skills or sensibilities as well as any outcome of that effort . it involves the transmission of what is worthwhile to the leaner to enable him perform the role which society has allotted to him. it involves the preparation of the learner to take his place in the society. davis (1993) asserts that: education seeks to provide men and women with minimum of skills for them to take their place in the society and to seek for further knowledge. provide men and women with vocational training that will enable them to be self supporting. waken interest in and a taste for knowledge. make people critical. keep in touch with and train them to appreciate the cultural and moral achievement of mankind. in all these , we find that education take place within the society. consequently , the society demands from its members that they acquire at school a minimum body of knowledge and skill and certain desirable attitudes and modes of behaviour such as self discipline and a sense of responsibility. in other words . the value of any study or any education is its relatedness and usefulness to social igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 126 life.education in amulti-cultural or multi-religious society therefore, should teach pupils something about other culture and other religions than the one to which they belong. why study the world's religions in the college and university curriculum? religious studies is intellectually exciting because it provides access to the mystery of the other. religion is one of the primary disciplines for investigating the boundary questions of life and death, of love and hate, that characterize the human condition. all persons crave for self-transcendence in one mode or another. religious studies provides the opportunity to understand, with depth and nuance, the many beliefs and rituals that move persons to appreciate the alternative world of the religious reality. +religious studies is academically enriching because it is a trans disciplinary mode of inquiry that engenders deep intercultural literacy. serious study of the world's religions inculcates unique cultural sensitivities among students, since it straddles the boundary between objective evidence and subjective experience. religious study is methodologically diverse, globally aware, and academically transgressive. religious study is rigorously and playfully open to a multicultural and international way of being that bursts the boundaries of the conventional and the everyday. +religious studies is personally meaningful because it raises questions of purpose and value along with developing important life skills. religious studies enable the development of crucial aptitudes -critical thinking, communication competence, interpersonal awareness, and intercultural literacy necessary for success in a global society. pal (2006) is of the view that the aim of liberal education -healthy, holistic education -is about gaining wisdom, not the accumulation of knowledge as such. practically speaking, religious studies can enable students to better practice the task of selfhood by both building selfesteem and making possible the acquisition of competencies crucial for one's well-being in increasingly diverse world cultures what is unemployment igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 127 in economics, unemployment refers to the condition and extent of joblessness within an economy, and is measured in terms of the unemployment rate, which is the number of unemployed workers divided by the total civilian labor force. hence, unemployment is the condition of not having a job, often referred to as being "out of work", or unemployed the terms unemployment and unemployed are sometimes used to refer to other inputs to production that are not being fully used, for example, unemployed capital goods. the history of unemployment is the history of industrialization. it was not considered an issue in rural areas, despite the "disguised unemployment" of rural laborers having little to do, especially in conditions of overpopulation. causes of unemployment the government defines those who want to work as people who have actively looked for work within the past four weeks and determines the number of people currently unemployed through a monthly survey called the current population survey. according to abbot (2011) people can be unemployed for many reasons: • they quit their position and are looking for a new one. • they were laid off due to lack of work and haven't yet been rehired. • their company reduced the work force, and they are seeking a new position. this can be due to a local condition, when the company closes a plant or division, or a national condition, when the economy slows and many companies reduce their work force. • they have recently returned to the work force perhaps from pregnancy or attending school and haven't yet located a position. • the need for their skill set has gone down, and there are limited positions available, which may lead to unemployment until they train for a new position. • technology has reduced the need for their type of position. unemployment levels are increasing dramatically in many parts of the world. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 128 there are several causes behind this increasing rate. but the main reason for the high level of unemployment is technological progress. in a fewer year far less working hours are needed to produced all the goods that are required, hence there will be less demand of labour. this can lead more to the raise of unemployment ratio. on the other hand, traditionalism, ignorance and over population etc are some other major cause that lead to the raise of unemployment. today, unemployment is the major crisis worldwide, to keep check on it is very much essential. studying religion allows you to explore how religious beliefs and practices shape and influence the world we live in .jobs directly related to a degree in religion include: further education teacher, higher education lecturer, primary school teacher, secondary school teacher .jobs where your degree would be useful include: advice worker, archivist, charity officer, civil service administrator, community development worker, editorial assistant, newspaper journalist, social worker, youth worker remember that many employers accept applications from graduates with any degree subject, so one should not restrict his thinking to the jobs listed here. religious studies graduates can also work in a variety of different roles in a range of employment sectors. typical employers include: • national and local government, including the civil service and government agencies, as well as non-governmental organisations (ngos); • schools, colleges and universities (for teaching and research positions); • charities, voluntary and not-for-profit organisations; • social services and other caring professions; • the church and other religious organisations; • financial and legal firms; • the national health service; • advertising, sales and marketing companies; • media companies. • libraries, charities, museums, television companies and publishing houses also employ theology and religious studies graduates in a range of roles igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 129 studying religion gives you: • research, analysis and presentation skills; • the ability to interpret and synthesize information and formulate questions and solve problems; • the ability to understand the meaning of complex written documents; • organisational and time management skills; • teamworking and communication skills; • writing skills, including accurate referencing and the ability to construct a reasoned argument; • it skills; • empathy and the ability to understand people and take on board others' views; • the ability to work methodically and accurately; • independence of mind and the ability to think for yourself some graduates choose to increase their knowledge of religion/theology through a postgraduate qualification such as a masters or phd. areas of research include theology, religion and culture, and religious conflict. vocational postgraduate courses in areas such as teaching, journalism, librarianship or law are also available. other graduates choose to undertake further study in areas such as marketing, finance, human resource management or business/management in order to enhance their knowledge of a specific career area. skills gain on the study of religion: the study of religion can help one gain the following skills, clear & logical thinking, critical evaluation ,literacy and expression, negotiating, organizing, planning, problem solving research, working to deadlines to the many employers who recruit graduates in any discipline, these skills will be more important than the actual subject of your degree. below are just some of the careers or fields you might pursue with a background in religious studies (further study may be required): • a university professor • a high-school teacher igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 130 • a social worker • a psychologist • an english as a second language (esl) instructor • an international development worker in a non-governmental organization (ngo) • a community economic development officer in government • a minister or other religious leader • a curator of exhibitions in a museum or art gallery • international business, including marketing and management • medicine and other health professions • law • journalism or publishing writing on career prospects uka (2010)asserts that graduates of the religious roots of programme will be able to pursue a number of different career paths in which theological, religious, and cultural expertise are needed. at present, expertise in religious perspectives and questions is increasingly valued in various functions in society and different kind of companies and corporations. the task of forming a successful career based on knowledge of religion requires an openness to diverse perspectives and a readiness to construct relevant connections. conclusion this paper so far has succeeded in throwing light on the issue that graduates of religion can have good employment opportunities upon graduation like their counterparts in other disciplines. the wind of unemployment will not only blow religious studies graduates but every other in different academic field. there are areas of success to graduates from religious studies as enumerated in the paper. so the paper suggest that the subject religion be made compulsory from nursery to tertiary. this will also bring the fear of god in the society. religious graduates should not entertain any fear of unemployment if they can rise to their task, they stand better chance than others in the competitive market of employment ,taking into cognizance the kind of training they have undergone. all that remain to further enhance more seminars, conferences and publications to sell the discipline to many that are yet aware of its relevance and importance. graduates of religion require igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 131 enough promulgation and propagation of the discipline, and thus prove to the world their skills. romer (2011) reports that graduates unemployment is contributing immensely to social vices and negative development in the economy. therefore, all hands must be on the deck to urgently address this issue so that we can evade or totally eradicate these social vices that is presently pressing hard on the society. references abbott, l .f. (2011). theories of the labour market and employment: a review. isr/google books (2nd revised edition). chapter 3, “the nature and causes of unemployment”. amaechi,n.m (ed 2013) research made easy .owerri: websmedia communication. amaechi, c.d (2013) serious error. owerri: websmedia communication alles, g. (2007). religious studies: a global view. london psychology press. alan, w (1992). the state, law, and religion. rome: university of georgia press, brookfield, s. d (1995).the skillful teacher on technique, trust andresponsiveness in the classroom. 1st edition usa: jossey basspublishers.pg.no.38-42. christiano, j. et al., (2008), sociology of religion: contemporary developments, lanham, md: rowman & littlefield publishers. cremin, l. (1977).traditions of american education, pennsylvania: basic curtis, p "the study of american religions: critical reflections on a specialization. religion. princeton: university press. davis, b. (1993).tools for teaching. san francisco: jossey-basslt. elliott, s. ed (2013) reinventing religious studies: key writings in the historyof a discipline. new york: acumen press. howard, j. v. (1983) "a survey and commentary on the new literature in law and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 132 religion," journal of law and religion http://www.gallup.com/poll/142727/religiosity-highest-world-poorestnations.aspx http://www.gallup.com/poll/116449/religion-provides-emotional-boostworld-poor.aspx iwe,n s.s (1987) socio-ethical issues in nigeria.bern :peter lang. john, m. r. (2008). a history of the middle ages, 300-1500. rowman&littlefield.new york: harpercollins. john, w jr. and frank, s. a eds. (2008) christianity and law: an introduction .cambridge: cambridge u.p. kevin, m. s and paul, h. (2010), “everywhere and nowhere: recent trends in american religious history and historiography,” journal of the american academy of religion, taurid press. lipner, julius.(2010) “theology and religious studies: thoughts on a crisis of identity” theology, london: spck, may mayer,a. e. ( 2010). "law and religion in the muslim middle east," american journal of comparative law cambridge: cambridge u.p. martin, l. h. and donald, w. (2012) "religious studies as a scientific discipline:the persistence of a delusion." journal of the american academy of religion nwosu, l. u. (2008).action programs in religious education. owerri: bzack press olson, c. (2013) the allure of decadent thinking: religious studies and the challenge of postmodernism. oxford: oxford university press, o’connor, d.j. (1997) introduction to the study of education, london: kengan paul, sharif, n.m.( 2000)national integration and other essays, indian: institute of islamic culture, (n.d). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 4 no 1, april 2018. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 133 sloan, w d. ( 2003) darwin's cathedral: evolution, religion and the nature of society. chicago: university of chicago press. smith, h. (1991). the world's religions. new york: harpercollins, stark, r. (2007) discovering god: the origins of great religions and the evolution of belief. new york: harpercollins. steinbock, a (2009). phenomenology and mysticism: the verticality of religious experience. bloomington: indiana university press. uka, e m (2010)”the relevance of theological education in nigeria” in african pentecost journal of theology, psychology and social work: calabar, african pentecost communication. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 3 special edition igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 12 british colonial economic policies and infrastructure in nigeria: the rail transport example, 1898-1960 by nwachukwu j. obiakor, phd department of history and international studies nnamdiazikiwe university, awka nwachukwuobiakor@yahoo.com & abuoma c. agajelu departmentof history and international studies nnamdiazikiwe university, awka abstract transportation proved a major instrument in the hands of the colonial government in nigeria which enabled them attain their objective of making the colony an export-based economy. enormous tons of goods left the country through the transport network that connected the produce centres with the coasts. one of the means of transportation that played a very important role in the trend was the railway. a lot of literatures exist on the effects of the colonial infrastructure on the nigerian colonial economy. however, some serve as eulogy while others are more critical. this informs the need for an objective examination of a particular area of infrastructural development. adopting the thematic method of analysis, this work attempts a holistic approach towards discussing the colonial rail transport infrastructure development in colonial nigeria. introduction it has been established that the primary motive of colonialism in africa was purely for economic gains. to achieve these economic gains, basic infrastructure needed to be in place. the british colonial authorities in nigeria were aware of the essentiality of infrastructural development towards achieving maximum political, social and economic stronghold in nigeria area, and their other colonies which were hotly contested for. the basic institutions needed were an effective administrative structure, a modern transport system, and a portable currency and modern banking.1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 13 coercive administrative instrument were needed to extract compliance from the resisting peoples of the colony but to establish an export and market distributive economy, potent transport infrastructure became a necessity. a.a lawal states the need for transportation and other infrastructural development in the colony when he stated: colonial economic policy sought to modernize local transport, the distributive system, money and banking, distribution and use of land and labour with the objective of expanding export production and distribution of european manufactured goods.2 in fact, the need for basic transportation infrastructure in colonial nigeria cannot be overtly emphasized. sir fredrick lugard summarized the importance when he observed that, “the material development of africa may be summed up in one word – transport”.3 furthermore, with the anticipation and discovery of various produce centres in the hinterlands it was clear that the railway system, which played a magical role in industrial europe, was needed in the colony. the railways lay across the colony, from the west to the north, from the north to the south, from the east to the south. later from east to north-westwards, forms the national grid. it is pertinent to briefly examine the pre-colonial economic infrastructure, to enable us understand better the state of infrastructure in the pre-colonial nigeria, before we can now adequately delve into the revolutions in the railway sector and its economic effects on the nigerian colonial economy. pre-colonial economic infrastructure before the british effective occupation of what later became nigeria, the ethnic fragments that made up the country existed politically independent of each other. although, this may not be said of the economic aspect. this is because of the evidence of pre-dominance of economic activities in the pre-colonial intergroup relations. these trade activities were made possible because of a number of infrastructural factors. one was the natural infrastructure which was seen in the geographical setting. the mountains of far eastern nigeria which entered cameroon and the lake chad, that appeared to be natural barriers on the eastern side, have not prevented human movement across them. then there is the impressive network of rivers and their tributaries. as j.f.a ajayi and e.j.alagoa put it “nigeria is really the basin of the lower niger south of the bussa rapids with the benue, their igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 14 tributaries and the enormous delta spreading out into several creeks and lagoons”.4 these river networks provided media of contact between peoples, cutting across the north and south axis. z.a. konczacki and j.m. konczacki also lend their voices on the prominence and importance of the waterway system in nigeria. according to them: the seaboard of nigeria has the most extensive network of waterways in africa. the lower niger, together with the benue, is navigable by shallowdraught barges for more than 1,000 miles, though the benue is only navigable for six months in the lower stretches.5 the early navigation of these waters contributed immensely to the pre-colonial internal and external trade. also, ideas and technologies were diffused from one state, empire and kingdom to another through this means. the niger-benue area appeared to be a major crossroad in the general spread of the technology of iron working, and the ideas of state organization, not in one single line of diffusion, but in several interlocking chains. the importance of the niger and benue in early history of nigeria is further reinforced by the fact that three major kingdoms flourished on their banks. the jukun empire embraced most of the benue valley and exercised influence over much of northern nigeria as far as kano, and appears to have been known in the south as far as the estuary of the cross river. the igala kingdom controlled areas around the confluence of the niger and benue, and traded below the confluence as far south as aboh and onya at the head of the niger delta. the rivers niger and kaduna form the axes of the country of nupe kingdom. these rivers also served as the kingdom’s effective and natural system of communication. the strategic location of these three kingdoms on the niger-benue meant that the history of traffic on these rivers would have a great deal to do with the history and relations of peoples comprising them.6 however, we cannot overtly dwell on the natural infrastructure of the waterways in nigeria but the special attention given to it by writers is due to the fact that the country has the most extensive waterways in the region. other trade routes and infrastructure were also developed to enhance internal and external trades. various settlements and communities established different markets for locally produced and imported goods. these goods were distributed by a system of exchange prior to the introduction of assorted currencies. also there was igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 15 abundance of land. these lands belonged to the whole community even though a local chief or ruler was entrusted with its control and distribution to whoever wanted land for farming.7 trading posts and fortes also played vital role in pre-colonial economic activities in nigeria. the land routes also were almost as important as the network of waterways. the inland region of the igbo country east of the niger developed very impressive economic activities based on trade routes on land. the aro were noted to have spread their trade influence through the entire area and to the middle belt from periods before the 19th century. similarly, the awka people penetrated into many parts of the igbo hinterland with their crafts, black smithing and carvings.8 head porterage and beasts of burden served extensively in the pre-colonial economy of what is today nigeria. s.d. neumark observed rather harshly that “in negro africa man was his own beast of burden.”9 head porterage was very common in the sub-saharan area of africa. the human transport system is particularly valuable in the area of conveying messages. as recorded by garvin and oyemakinde; for the conveyance of messages, nothing could surpass the professional runner, and rulers retained men for this purpose. in the late 19th century a reputed runner carried message from the emir of gombe over four hundred miles to the sultan of sokoto in eight days – a feat that can stand comparison with present day telegrams.10 this underscores the invaluability of the use of human beings as means of transportation, and especially communication in the age of less technological development. at the north of the niger and benue the pack animals – oxen, camels and the donkey were favoured means of transport on land. donkeys played a very prominent role in the transportation of natron and salt from northern nigeria to ghana and southern nigeria. although these pre-colonial economic infrastructures were valuable in the long and short distance commercial activities, they were hardly sufficient to handle the increasing traffic brought about by the colonial economic motive of massive igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 16 exportation of primary products from nigerian coasts. these and also the shortcomings of the waterways necessitated the introduction of the railway system in nigeria by the british imperial government. development of colonial infrastructure in nigeria the nature of the colonial infrastructural development in nigeria betrays the main motive of colonialism which is economic aggrandizement. to effectively subordinate the colony to a primary producer, the british imperial government introduced measures that will enhance cooperation on the part of the indigenes and effect a competent administrative system. these measures are depicted in the type of infrastructural facilities and institutions provided, and their strategic placement. the basic institutions and infrastructures needed included: 1. administration. the colonizing power did not subjugate the area which is nigeria today without stiff resistance from the indigenous chiefdoms, kingdoms and empires. these resistances continued well into the second decade of 20th century. consequently, the british imperial government decided to foist on the people coercive administrative instruments intended to extract their obedience and submission. after the experimentation of the indirect rule system in the northern protectorate, the colonial government under sir fredrick lugard decided to extend it to the south, leading to the amalgamation of the northern and southern protectorates in 1914. this seem to have been done in ignorance, without adequate anthropological knowledge of the different nationalities that make up nigeria. under the indirect rule system, local authorities were conferred with legislative, judicial and executive control over their communities. thus, they made laws, regulated the conduct of affairs in their areas of jurisdiction, adjudicated on cases, and performed administrative functions; all aimed at maintaining law and order and general development in their localities. the colonial army, the police, the judiciary and prison services served as the main instruments of coercion. in the 1880s, the british government established the west african frontier force (waff). the waff served to subjugate and “pacify” the people of the colony. with military might of the colonial power, the people were forced to accept the colonial administration. 2. banking and currency. monetisation was a major aspect of the colonial fiscal policy. this was because monetization will ensured the integration of the colonial economy into the imperial capitalist economy. a new and common currency was needed to replace the different currencies igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 17 circulating in various parts of the country. most of the currencies lacked portability and were in fact cumbersome and incapable of sustaining an export market economy. also without a common currency, it would be difficult for a national market to emerge. the british coins were, therefore, introduced, but it met strong competition against the manila, which was highly valued at the time. this led to the forcible withdrawal of the manilas by the treasury. the paper money was also introduced during the world war i, but it was not until world war ii that it became popular.11 another means through which the colony was monetized was by the expansion of wage labour. this not only had the advantage of monetising the economy, but also facilitating the control of the economy and a more reliable supply of labour. taxation was another powerful instrument of monetisation. taxes were imposed and the colonial administration insisted on payment of these taxes with the introduced british currency.12 up till 1912, the metropolitan currency was the currency in circulation in nigeria. in that year, britain introduced a separate currency for her west african colonies. also the west african currency board (wacb) was established that year. wacb was given the responsibility over the administration of the new currency. however, the colonial currency was basically an extension of the imperial currency. this facilitated the penetration of the colonial economy by the british capitalism and integration of the economy to the metropolitan system. the monetization of the nigerian economy necessitated the establishment of commercial banks. the first successful bank to operate in nigeria was the bank of british west africa (bbwa). this bank was established by alfred jones in 1894. though legally a commercial bank, the bbwa was made to serve as the bank of main issue of british currency circulating in nigeria, until the creation of the west african currency board. the british bank of west africa remained the only bank in nigeria until 1926 when a second expatriate bank, barclays bank made its appearance. the two banks dominated banking in nigeria throughout the colonial period. their lending policies discriminated against african entrepreneurs while favouring european interests. until 1959, there was no central bank in nigeria which could have regulated the activities of these banks. the excesses of these banks led to the emergence of some indigenous banks which, however, experienced early demise due to factors that ranged from the great depression and unhealthy competition from the metropolitan banks. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 18 3. transportation. the short-comings of the pre-colonial transport system necessitated the introduction of more efficient system by the colonial power to ensure adequate movement of goods and personnel in and out of the nigerian colony. these short-comings were pointed out by sir lugard when he observed “that produce worth £30 a ton at the port of shipment will have cost its full value to transport over a distance of less than 200miles, leaving nothing for original cost of production and profit to the producer.”13 the high cost of head porterage not only limited the distance over which bulky produce could be conveyed but also inhibited the development of natural resources. regarding the pre-colonial transport system as crude and inefficient, the colonial government moved swiftly to take advantage of the network of waterways in nigeria to build ports and habours which served as terminals for the exportation of raw materials, and importation of manufactured goods. the waterways served as the starting point of colonial government action on investment into the development of transport infrastructure in the nigerian colony. the rivers were the main traffic lines between the coast and the hinterland. due to obstacles and blockages at the mouths, the government dispatched annually work parties armed with explosives, dynamites and other equipments, to clear the inland waterways of obstruction to traffic. governor ralph moor promulgated the roads and rivers ordinance in 1903 which made it mandatory for community heads to ensure that land routes and waterways within their domains were kept in satisfactory conditions.14 at a point it became clear that the waterways were not enough. some produce centres were quite far away from the rivers that the construction of the railways became inevitable. the roads for motor transportation subsequently followed. it is pertinent here to reinstate that the transport system was not financed to satisfy the economic needs of the colonial subjects but to facilitate the improvement and expansion of british trade and the distributive system.15 development of railway and rail transportation in colonial nigeria the railway phenomenon was magical in africa as it was in industrial europe. its effect on the industrial revolution and imperialism were so great that it was described as “the white hope of the 19th century”. no matter how critical they may be of the european adventure in africa, authors have something good to say about the introduction of the railways in africa. according to michael crowder igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 19 “only the railways remain as a major legacy of the economic policies of the colonial powers of that period…”16. ralph austen in his book african economic history presents to the reader a clear picture of the transport challenges and the reason for the introduction of the rather costly railway. he stated inter alia that: despite the fixation on rivers of the nineteenthcentury european explorers and treaty makers, no major breakthrough in the transport bottleneck of the african economy could be made without investment in new land arteries. given the technology available to europeans at the end of the nineteenth century, it was inevitable that this new transport system should take the form of railways, whose high cost, rigid orientation, and capital-intensive structure would leave a lasting imprint on twentieth-century african economies.17 the decision to delve into the expensive investment in railways in the nigerian colony was influenced by a number of reasons. they included: 1. curiosity in britain about the interior areas of nigerian. 2. the desire to expand british trade. the british manufacturers desired the opening up of the nigerian interior as a new market for their goods. 3. to reach the produce centres where the waterways cannot reach. development of the railway was necessary to help the colonial merchants in moving cash crops and extractive minerals from where they were produced inland to the harbours for export. 4. the bulky nature of both import and export commodities as well as the absence of good roads and unavailability of heavy haulage road vehicles, also made colonial administration decide to establish railway transport. 5. there was also the need to establish a more flexible movement of colonial administrative personnel in the vast colony especially after the amalgamation of 1914. 6. one of the reasons for the construction of the railways was the military control of inland territories. since the responsibility of railway construction fell on the colonial government, they used it as a strategic tool to assert authority over the people in the hinterlands. in nigeria, the construction of the railway can be said to have started in 1898 at iddo18. however, the background to the policy of railway dates back to 1877. although many projects had been put forward for other parts of british west africa since 1872, it was not until 1877 that the first railway proposal was igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 20 sketched for lagos which was the only british colony in nigeria. this project, which seemed utopian, was produced by john whitford, a geographer who had travelled extensively in west africa between 1853 and 1875. whitford’s theory of the benefits of developing a railway was rather imperialistic and derogatory to the african. he stated thus: think of the benefit that it would be to england in increasing markets for manufactured goods and receiving additional produce in return. and lastly, reflect upon the fact that it would civilize the savage and prepare him for the missionary.19 the early proposal notwithstanding, it was not until the last decade of the 19th century that the british mercantile communities both in lagos and liverpool succeeded in convincing the british government to approve the construction of a railway to run from lagos into the yoruba hinterland. the line eventually approved was to run from ebute metta through the abeokuta – ilaro country which governor carter described as “conspicuously rich in oil palm.”20 this carter’s statement underscores the validity of the notion that the basic objective of the railway construction in nigeria was to effectively cart away the industrial produce located in the inlands. although onwuka njoku recorded that construction commenced in 1898, michael crowder reported that the lagos – ibadan railway started in 1896 and was completed four years later in 1900. he further stated that the line extended north to join the northern nigerian railway; though until 1916, with the completion of the jebba railway bridge over the niger, trains had to be ferried across the river21. before then the line had advanced to kano in 1911, and the lagos – kano route was open to traffic on january 1, 1912. before the line got to kano, sir lugard, the governor of the northern province, had embarked on his own programme of railway construction. this northern line started in1901 at zungeru, the then provincial headquarters, onwards to kaduna. at kaduna, railway passengers and cargo could then travel on the kaduna river and thence via the niger to the coast. in fact, njoku gave a concise account of the network of railway lines in nigeria. he threw more light on the financial paucity of the north and the aids which came from the south and the british treasury in developing the railway in the north when he stated; “in 1901, a financial advance from the south plus a grant-in-aid from the imperial government made possible the construction of a line from baro on the niger to kano via zungeru and zaria”.22 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 21 while the bauchi light railway to bukuru was constructed to serve the tin mines, an eastern line was ignored till the discovery of coal at udi escarpment. this colonial attitude towards infrastructural development further betrays its imperialistic motives. the eastern railway line ran from enugu to port harcourt due to the presence of a deep sea harbor from where the precious mineral could be evacuated. after world war i, the eastern line was constructed northwards through makurdi and joined the western line at kaduna in 1926. the western and eastern lines formed the national grid of the railway system in nigeria. impact of the railway on colonial nigeria the railway transport infrastructure had both positive and negative impacts on the british colonial administration as well as the people of the colony. the colonial administration benefited immensely from the railway lines because they: 1. became sources of internally generated revenue (igr): the southern nigeria line was built at the enormous cost of £13,000 a mile, compared with only £3,800 for the northern line, and yet by 1913 was showing a net surplus of over £250,000.23 2. enhanced the effective evacuation of primary products: the policy objective of the introduction of the railway system in nigeria was to link the sea ports with the produce centres inland. because the railway transport was cheaper than the traditional means, the tonnage of the products which were transported to the coasts for export shot up. this trend brought with it a substantial development and extension of european commercial hegemony. 3. stimulated export production: closely related with the above point is the railway’s role in further colonial emphasis on export production in nigeria. the railway made its impact away from navigable rivers and its importance grew the further it stretched beyond the range of other forms of cheap transportation. gavin and oyemakinde noted that the effect of its arrival in the close settled zone of kano in 1911 was greater than practically anywhere else. there it set off a sudden and massive upsurge in groundnut production for export24. this upsurge in the production of export crops and mining was also felt in the areas of other crops and minerals found in nigeria. 4. enhanced administrative control: the railway not only transported commercial goods, it also transported the british administrative personnel. it also provided a quicker mobility for administrative officers during the colonial period. a system of telegraph communications essential to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 22 commercial exploitation as well as administrative control spread across the countryside, following the track of the railway.25 this, in effect strengthened the colonial control of the british on the nigerian colony. there are numerous other benefits of railway system to the colonial government however, the impact of the railway revolution in nigeria was not only felt by the colonial government. the indigenous people also tasted the fruits of some of the benefits of railway system in the following areas: 1. growth of internal commerce: this was well felt in the growth of the kolanuts cultivation and sales in nigeria instead of depending on the importation of the crop from ghana. from the beginning the railway was used for the northward movement of kolanuts; the gonja – bussa route was soon abandoned and ghanaian kola came by ship to lagos and thence by rail toward northern markets. then, around 1910, the planting of the more productive kola trees began to the south of abeokuta. rail freights were altered to discriminate against ghanaian nuts, and by the mid-twenties, the kola industry of south-western nigeria had been established and ghanaian imports fell to small proportions.26 the railway had similar effects on the production of food crops for markets around the country. 2. urbanization: most urban centres which emerged during colonial times were found around the railways. njoku further noted that the lines magnetized the european firms from the coast to the hinterlands, and this resulted in the emergence of chains of the firms’ trading depots on the lines. in the west, such depots appeared at abeokuta, ibadan, oshogbo, ilaro and ilorin; in the north of kano, kaduna, kafanchan and jos; in the east at port harcourt, aba, umuahia, uzuakoli, enugu, otukpo and makurdi. these locations became the focal points of trade and new frontiers of economic opportunities, attracting local traders from immediate and distant communities.27 3. provided employment opportunities: it afforded employment for people who were not able to engage themselves in farming activities. it could be said of the railway to be the first major wage labour provider in nigeria. in furtherance, it also provided some revenue to the government.28 the wages derived from the employment opportunities it offered improved the standard of living of the people. this led to increased enrolment in schools, mostly by children of the railway workers. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 23 the railway revolution also impacted negatively on nigeria and this is much evident on the environmental degradation it caused. since timber was the only source of fuel before deposits of coal were found in enugu, the railways contributed greatly to the rapid deforestation that took place in the early colonial period.29 secondly, the railway caused an imbalanced development in the transport sector. it drastically drew away traffic from the waterways to itself. the trading ports which had enjoyed much prominence in the external trade of nigeria experienced serious decline. the eastern railway siphoned trade from the ports of calabar, opobo and oguta to its terminal at port harcourt; the western line, from warri and badagri to lagos. arochukwu, whose commercial fortune was linked to calabar, declined into commercial obscurity.30 thirdly, the disadvantages of the railway system were seen in the cost which was both human and material. while proposing for a railway policy for the nigerian colony, john whitford anticipated no engineering difficulties that might impede construction of proposed lines.31 however, he was mistaken as construction workers recorded death tolls and injuries. crowder observed that the rail lines were built over uncharted country, through thick forests, over massive hill ranges, and were often marked by the grave-stones of workers.32 this shows the enormous task this huge project presented and the sacrifices made to accomplish it. also due to the self-sufficient policy of the british imperial government on the colonies the funding of the construction of these railways became a herculean task. ralph austen depicted this strain when he noted, “the great financial burden of railway construction in tropical africa was felt first through the role it gave the state in planning transport and second through the pressure it put upon african revenue.33 finally, the railway policy was not geared towards the development of the indigenous economy but towards strengthening of the metropolitan economy. the railway in nigeria and indeed in the whole of colonial africa clearly depicted the centre-fringe relationship which existed between the colonial powers and the colonized. conclusion it is no longer news and in fact an established fact that colonial infrastructural development was meant to meet metropolitan needs and in some instances igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 24 further underdeveloped africa. there are long lists of proponents of dependency theory who did not see anything good in the european adventure in africa. nevertheless, eurocentric apologists still believe that colonialism opened the doors of civilization and modernization to africa. crowder quoted alan mcphee as one of such. according to mcphee: english capital has come in and built the railways and constructed the harbours and cleared the channels; it has also introduced new cultures and improved old ones; it has built roads and towns and established markets; it has introduced banks and a convenient currency; it has exploited minerals. more than this, english government has brought peace and security and abolished slavery.33 while one cannot deny the facts of the above claims, the question to be asked is; for what motives did the british make such sacrifices? the answer undoubtedly lies in imperialism which took the form of colonialism in the 19th century in africa. one can therefore draw the conclusion that the railway revolution in nigeria was an instrument of imperialism. its nature and strategic placement betrayed the motives. none of the lines were made to service internal trade and communication, even though it only became a fall-out benefit especially for the kolanut trade. nevertheless, the railway did not holistically represent the transport revolution it was heavily funded to do. the tarmac road, which was never intended to compete with the railway shrouded its relevance and made it almost moribund in nigeria, thanks to the rigidity of the railways and flexibility of the tarmac roads. end notes 1. onwuka njoku, economic history of nigeria: 19th and 20th centuries (enugu: magnet, 2001), 137. 2. a.a. lawal, “the economy and the state from pre-colonial times to the present,” in nigerian peoples and culture, ed., akinjide osuntokun and ayodeji olukoju (ibadan: davidson press, 1997), 185 – 186. 3. njoku, economic history, 138. 4. j.f.a. ajayi and e.j. alagoa, “nigeria before 1800: aspects of economic developments and inter-group relations,” in groundwork of nigerian history, ed., obaro ikime, (ibadan: heinemann, 1999), 225. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 25 5. s.d. neumark, “transportation in sub-saharan africa,” in an economic history of tropical africa,” ed., z.a. konczacki and j.m. konczacki, (new jersey: frank cass, 1977), 40. 6. ajayi and alagoa, “nigeria before 1800,” 228 – 229. 7. lawal, “the economy,” 179 – 180. 8. ajayi and alagoa, “nigeria before 1800,” 224. 9. neumark, “transportation,” 39. 10. r.j. gavin and wale oyemakinde, “economic development in nigeria since 1800,” in groundwork of nigerian history, ed., obaro ikime (ibadan: heinemann, 1999), 488. 11. njoku, economic history, 145 – 146. 12. claude ake, a political economy of africa (essex: longman group, 1981), 32 – 35. 13. neumark, “transportation,” 40. 14. njoku, economic history, 138 – 139. 15. lawal, “the economy,” 187. 16. michael crowder, west africa under colonial rule (london: hutchinson, 1976), 273. 17. ralph a. austen, african economic history (london: james currey, 2011), 126. 18. njoku, economic history, 140. 19. olufemi omosini, “background to railway policy in nigeria, 1877 – 1901,” in topics on nigerian economic and social history, ed., i.a. akinjogbin and s.o. osoba (ile-ife: university of ife press. 1980), 148. 20. njoku, economic history, 140. 21. crowder, west africa, 276. 22. njoku, economic history, 140. 23. crowder, west africa, 277. 24. gavin and oyemakinde, “economic development,” 499 – 500. see also anthony danladi alli, trade and transport in lower niger, 1830-2011 (lagos: adenuga concepts), 134-138. 25. crowder, west africa, 278. 26. gavin and oyemakinde, “economic development,” 500. 27. njoku, economic history, 140. 28. alli, trade and transport, 138. 29. crowder, west africa, 277 – 278. 30. njoku, economic history, 142. 31. omosini, “background,” 148. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 26 32. crowder, west africa, 276. 33. austen, africa, 126. 34. crowder, west africa, 273. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.2. no.1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 50 the consecrated life: its place and role in the 21st century by lawrence n. okwuosa, sdv dept. of religion and cultural studies university of nigeria nsukka lawokwuosa@libero.it abstract this paper focuses on the place and role of the consecrated people in our time. it argues that for the consecrated life to meet up with the demands of the 21st century world, it must embrace the spirit of change ranging through the age without losing itself and essence to change itself. this spirit of change has the blessing of the council fathers who fathomed the need for renewal in the consecrated life. to improve in its engagement with the world, there is need to examine first the understanding and application of consecrated life purely from the evangelical counsel. how consecrated people live and apply these vows in the imitation of christ in the 21st century world is very important. the vows as we all know are the lowest common factors among all the consecrated persons. keywords: consecrated, life, 21st century, place, role introduction with the beginning of the 21st century, there was a great expectation of a new world order. the expectation was great and touched all spheres of human life. the church being in the world of human beings was not left out. in the church circle it was the clamour for new evangelization – a more effective commitment to her mission in the world. there was this belief that the world was drifting away from the good news and the news of salvation was not reaching the people effectively. cuing into this season of expectation, consecrated life, which is an integral part of the ecclesial reality, reinforced her slogan for renewal, which was initiated with the second vatican council. with the council, consecrated life undertook a journey of renewal which pope francis (2014:1) described as having both lights and shadows. in its lights is the return of the consecrated life to the origin, to the gospel, to the charism of the founders and to the healthy traditions that have come down to the present igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 51 time. while in its shadows are the many sexual scandals, internal conflicts and decrease in religious vocations that have bedevilled consecrated life since then. this has become of great concern to both the consecrated people themselves and the society at large, in the sense, for example, that not every consecrated person is a gay or a potential paedophile. with these worries in our minds, we shall be looking at the place and role of the consecrated people in our time. this forms part of our religious duty to stand up and give meaning and reasons to our faith, especially in difficult times. this is what st. peter advocated when he wrote in 1peter 3:15, saying: “be ready always with an answer to everyone who asks a reason for the hope that is in you”. to do this effectively well, we shall discuss the meaning and purpose of consecrated life, the features of the 21st century and, in the light of these, look at the place and role of the consecrated life in the 21st century. at the end, we shall make some recommendations as the way forward for an authentic living and witnessing of the consecrated life in our today’s world. 1. consecrated life, what is it? the term “consecrate” in latin language is consecrare and it has its root in the word sacrum meaning holy, god-like or set apart for god. hence to be consecrated or to live a consecrated life is to be chosen by god exclusively for himself. as it is only god who makes holy, it is only god who consecrates people. the initiative belongs to him alone. it is only when god decides to incorporate one into his service or fold that the individual cooperates. according to betti (in eze (ed.) 2012:30) “consecration signals a profound change in the person and thus distinguishes the form of life to be lived. however, consecration does not bring about an ontological change in the individual, as happens in the one who receives the sacrament of baptism or confirmation or holy orders, with the resultant effects. it, instead, causes an ‘ethical’ change, which obliges the individual to a new title of fidelity to the common baptismal consecration. it is, therefore, not to be considered a ‘a second baptism’ because its effects are reversible and can be annulled and in fact, they can be nullified by the roman pontiff” the history of the catholic church is blessed with the lives of men and women who understood christ’s call ‘come follow me’ (mk 1:17) in a radical manner. it is this radicalism to answer christ’s call that moved the first recognized religious, anthony of egypt, like the first disciples, to abandon everything and move to the desert so as to be alone with god (kanu 2015). because of this radical life style in living of the gospel’s values religious are seen as counter or contrast society (lohfink 1986). by this, we mean a prophetic people, who act as the spiritual check and balance of god’s new igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 52 people. moloney (1980) sees them as a protest movement against a church that had conformed itself too much to society at large. the church in differentiating this form of life, the consecrated life, from all other forms of life in the church says that it is “a life to follow christ more freely and to imitate him more nearly by the practice of the evangelical counsels” (perfectate caritatis 1). invariably, consecrated life is essentially the embracing of the evangelical counsels (cf. ccc 914), which comprises of the three vows of chastity, poverty and obedience that men and women religious profess. the three vows are the distinguishing marks of the consecrated life. the vows represent the total renunciation of the world, of all human goods and comforts. consecrated people negate the three most important aspects of human life, that is, economy, social and political in order to be with christ. hence, the vows are the declaration of their choice for christ alone who is above all things as the joy and meaning of their life. they embrace and promote christ’s message of salvation and in their daily life share in his passion and resurrection by being in solidarity with the world. because the vows, like the consecrated people, are not ends in themselves, rather the point to another the presence of god’s kingdom in our midst. with their lives, consecrated acknowledge the presence of god’s kingdom in our midst in the person and message of jesus christ. they are the eschatological signs of the reign of god. in this way, we understand that the kingdom of god is not an abstract reality. like ulrich schaffer (in fuellenbach 1994:31-32) said, it is not tied to buildings of wood or stone, names or titles, times and plans, language and expressions, our abilities and inabilities, but tied only to the possibility of living in you and me as lord of life. by being embodiments of the kingdom of god in human life, consecrated people are called to play the following roles in the world: i. to provide productive models of christian faith: in this function, consecrated people are reminders of the intimate link between being a christian and following christ. against the backdrops and cultures which tend to differentiate the two, making the following of christ an abstract thing, consecrated persons according to j. b. metz (in fuellenbach 1994:134) have to provide productive models for the church and the world at all times and in every culture on how to follow christ. these models should illustrate how fellowship with christ is to be lived in the new social, economic, intellectual and cultural situation of today. following christ is not a theological discourse or the application of the church’s christology but a life to be lived and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 53 demonstrated in the concrete circumstances of our time. it is to act in christ’s stead – doing what he would have done if he was to be with us today. for example, the scripture told us that when he saw them like sheep without a shepherd he became one for them; when he found out that they had nothing to eat, he multiplied bread for them; when they brought their sick and the possessed to him, he had pity on them and healed them, etc. so, consecrated people are to provide productive models of imitating christ in every age through the act of discernment empowered by the grace of the spirit of christ. this would imply “entering” the mind of christ, being one with him and abandoning totally to his will. and the result would be that through the lives and actions of consecrated people the world would come to know who christ really is, what vision of god he proclaimed, lived, worked and died for; what vision of the world, human society, the individual person and creation as a whole he presented (fuellenbach 1994:137). ii. to play corrective role: because of the tendency for the church to “fall asleep” instead of keeping watch and pray (mk 14:38) consecrated life is a gift from god to watch against this tendency. this role is prophetic in nature. like the biblical prophets, consecrated people are called to condemn the sins and indifference of the people to the teachings of christ and their holiness of life. in line with this, vita consecrata no. 84 teaches that consecrated people like prophets should feel in their hearts a burning desire for holiness of god and having heard his word in the dialogue of prayer, they should proclaim that word with their lives, with their lips and with their actions, becoming people who speak for god against evil and sin. in other words, consecrated people are the watch dogs of the church by being alive and alert to the signs of the time and confronting them with gospel’s values. iii. to witness to community living: by embracing the consecrated life, the chosen people make the person of jesus christ and his mission of salvation the centre of their life. and what this means in concrete terms is that they belong whole and entire to christ’s universal family. their charism and apostolate are translated to universal fraternity or family. in this family what matters is the sharing in god’s love and mercy, which was made manifest in christ’s death and resurrection. these events gave humanity a new life and a new joy. it beholds on consecrated people, then, to make this new live and joy they share with christ reach all corners of the earth. and the point of departure in this is by presenting religious life/communities as seats of god’s love, mercy, justice and peace (fuellenbach 1994:139). consecrated people should be able to invite and welcome the world to their world of faith, they should be able to proclaim and present the messiah to the world in the way igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 54 they live out their joy of salvation with one heart and one soul (acts 4:32). definitely, like tertullian said, the world would say of them: “see, they say, how they love one another” (apology, chapter xxxix). 2. the 21st century world in perspective for us to understand the consecrated life, its place and role today, it is inevitable a cursory look at the world we live in. that is, the circumstances in today's world which can exercise a positive or negative influence on the consecrated life and present a context where consecrated persons ought to live and bear witness to the gospel. the 21st century has been described as the golden age of human life. in this age, man has achieved and consolidated the achievements of the past ages in terms of science and technology. with what man has been able to achieve in the fields of medicine, architecture, information technology, space exploration and agriculture, it will not be an exaggeration to say that, in this age, impossibility is nothing. man has truly defined and demonstrated that he is at the centre of reality. what man does not think or do is inexistent. this age has been described variously as: i. the age of absolute liberalism and democratization. actually, this was prepared in the ages past but has come to acquired a horrifying status in the sense that it favours a society in which individuals are free to choose their goals and allegiances and they militate against the promotion of collectivist non-liberal goals (browning 2000:153-154). this has led to relativism of all kinds. whatever matters is an individualized rendition and interpretation of reality, which in most cases is against any claim to authority and universality either in values or in any camp of knowledge (uwalaka in njoku, f (ed.) 2001:45). ii. krishan kumar sees the 21st century as the end time age, that is, the age of living at the end. he said “we seem to feel ourselves suspended in a transitional state where the only certainty is the lack of certainty” (in browning 2000:57). iii. for jonathan sacks (2005), the famous jewish scholar, our age is the age of moral emptiness. by this, he means that the contemporary man has lost himself in the consumer culture and relegated religion to the private sector. with man, it is all about unlimited relativism and untoward pluralism which are decimating eternal truths. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 55 all these when put together translates to what is called progress in today’s parlance. this progress is not ideological concepts but translated into great technological and scientific progress. technological and scientific progress has guaranteed easy communication around the world, even though, concerns about stress from the overuse of mobile phones, the internet and related technologies remains controversial. the world has become a global village. news spread like wild fire and information is easily accessed via the electronic media. notwithstanding the lopsided distribution of this material progress, generally there is improvement on healthcare, education, jobs, housing and alimentation worldwide. unfortunately, this progress has not resulted to a culture of universal family or brotherhood. notwithstanding the evident globalism, there is an alarming level of nationalism and racism in the world. the dichotomy between the rich and the poor still persists. the material gains of this century have not trickled down to all spheres of the society. instead, we have a situation, whereby the rich are getting richer and the poor poorer. we still witness the trampling of the dignity of the human person in various forms, the value of human rights, especially the right to life and freedom, respect of conscience and the right to objective truth and religion. violence of all kinds, especially those animated by religious fanaticism, is on the increase. terrorism and genocide still remain a problem in this century with the concern of the wars in darfur, syria, sudan and ukraine. al qaeda terrorists, boko haram insurgents and isis attackers have marred the relative peace that this century has witnessed. low estimates on the deaths in these wars and terror attacks are in millions with so many millions of people in displacement. there has been much outcry against the perpetrators with very weak international response. in this age, there is a subtle revolution going on in the family life. the coming out of gay people from their cocoon is today called gay pride. same-sex marriage has slowly become more accepted, and has become legal in some countries. in 2001 the netherlands became the first nation in the world to legalize it and since then many other nations have followed suit. countries, like african nations, that fought against it were threatened with economic sanctions. divorce, single parenting, teenage pregnancies and child trafficking are in the increase showing the near collapse of the traditional family system. with regards to religion, our age, according to arthur (2000:1), is the age of real revolution in the religious awareness of humanity. we are living in a moment of history in which the access to different religions has unprecedented depth and breadth. we live in an age of religious pluralism that wilfred cantwell smith (1962:11) had to say that the religious life of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 56 mankind from now on, if it is to be lived at all, will be lived in a context of religious pluralism. no longer are people of other persuasions peripheral or distant, the idle curiosities of travellers’ tales. the more alert we are, and the more involved in life, the more we are finding that they are our neighbours, our colleagues, our competitors, our fellows. confucians and hindus, buddhists and muslims, are with us not only in the united nations, but down the street. increasingly, not only is our civilization’s destiny affected by their actions; but we drink coffee with them personally as well. unfortunately, this closeness of the religions to one another has not resulted in world peace. what we have in terms of religious pluralism is religious relativism where there is no certain truths and where individuals freely make their own cocktail of religion by choosing and picking different materials from different religions and putting them up together as a religious belief. 3. the role and place of consecrated life in the 21st century from what we have seen from the overwhelming and complex situation of our time, the contemporary man is lost in time, dispersed in the fragments of reality, alienated in a kind of relativism that includes ethics, cultural, social, politics and economics. man lives his identity and functional crisis by negating the supreme value of life. threatened in his human finiteness, the individual is at the search of sense and fulfilment, solidarity and communion in order not to be alone in solitude and conscious of his limits. he is in need of communicating the emptiness that he feels within himself, the fear of nothing, the sense of the end that is near, the tragedy of evil that torments him in the heart and mind, around himself and in the midst of people. the truth is that the contemporary man is insecure and lives in fear; he is stressed, confused and unsure of himself. he lives out the experience of truth only aesthetically and rhetorically. he experiences life from the point of continuous flux. since, for him everything changes and nothing is permanent, his understanding of love, affection becomes something transient, liquid, unstable and destined to change (scognamiglio 2006:42-43). the contemporary man avoids permanent commitments and exclusive bonds. this is what zygmunt bauman, a sociologist, called “liquid society”. how the consecrated people are able to handle this complex situation vis-à-vis the teaching of st. peter would go a long way in determining the true place and role of the consecrated life in today’s world. actually, this is not the first time in the history of the church consecrated people would be facing challenges in their mission in the world and in the church. like in the past, the issue bothers more on authenticity and application of the gospel values to the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 57 signs of the time. for this, we shall examine some of the core points of witnessing in the consecrated life. they are: • renewed witnessing of god in the world: basically, it is the duty of every christian to witness of the goodness of christ in the world, but the consecrated people are called to do so in style. having left homes, parents, careers and the world, in parenthesis, they are presumed free to dedicate their whole life to this service. hence, in a world at risk of obliterating every influence, image and memory of christ in the social circle, it is the duty of the consecrated persons to renew their witnessing of christ beginning with the way they live their lives. this is not to say that there is no witnessing going on, rather what is at stake are the quality and focus of such witnessing. it is not enough to witness to the world; consecrated people should be able to identify the “world” at risk today. the fundamental option for the poor if it must make sense today must be inclusive. it must include both the materially poor and the presumed materially rich, who may be suffering from psychological, moral and spiritual poverty like desperation, lack of identity and sense of life direction. all people, both the rich and the poor, need christ to enjoy holistic existence and to be saved. again, it is not enough to witness god’s love for humanity, it is necessary to buttress god’s plan for the entire humanity. what is god teaching us and the entire humanity in the midst of these confusions? what does the gospel say in situations like this? are there salvific lessons to learn from what is happening? how can we avoid a repeat? with authentic generous listening to the world and worthy response to these questions, consecrated people would invariably be educating the world on the new culture of love initiated by christ. they would be mapping out a new chapter based on the gospel of christ for the entire humanity. • formation of world conscience: the challenge for all citizens in a pluralist democracy is to form and inform their conscience, and to that conscience be true, including the discharge of any public trust and the formulation of laws and policies which enhance the prospects for freedom and human flourishing for all, regardless of their religious beliefs (frank brennan 2011). in this war of wining the human conscience, consecrated people should not be found wanting, if they are to have an authentic place and role in the world today. they should not feel comfortable with being the conscience of the society but, in turn, form the world’s collective conscience. as prophetic persons, they must guarantee the enforcement and sustainment of truth, justice and peace everywhere and at all times. they must find a way to make it clear that certain behaviours or attitudes are not only at variance igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 58 with human ethical values but also against the gospel values. they must not divorce morality from religion and vice versa. in their dealings with the world, there must be a definite understanding of the concepts of evil and good, right and wrong; no mid way should be tolerated for any reason at all. christ, himself, abhorred it. • promotion of authentic human culture: learning from the mistakes of the early missionaries who annihilated the people from their culture, by blackmailing cultures they did not understand, in the name of religion, consecrated persons should appreciate and promote human cultures. for example, in africa, many customs and rites, once considered to be strange, are seen today, in the light of ethnological science, as integral parts of social systems, worthy of study and commanding respect. african rich cultural values should be seen as the work of the holy spirit, who precedes all human efforts in missionary activities. hence, it beholds on consecrated people to recognize, accept, and even animate whatever honours the human person and his dignity. whatever does not look like the gospel should not be condemned at face level, developments in the sciences and technology, which are parts of human culture should be examined and possibly given new meanings and expressions in the light of the gospel. this happened in the medieval age when the presence of institutes of consecrated life had a great influence in the transmission and formation of culture. the monasteries, for example, were the places in which the cultural riches of the past were handed on and the new culture of christian humanism was developed. this has proven true whenever the light of the gospel has enlightened new nations and cultures. many consecrated persons have been the promoters of culture and often the defenders, researchers and scholars of indigenous cultures (working paper for the 1994 world synod of bishops, 107). consequently, it is not out of place for today’s consecrated people to get themselves involved in the promotion of culture and in the dialogue between culture and faith. this would go a long way in defining their relationship with the world as not one of antagonism. christianity is not at war with any culture and does not belong to any particular culture instead it christianizes the culture at her disposition. • facilitation of interreligious dialogue: the awareness of the pluralistic and cross-cultural nature of our contemporary world in terms of religions, politics, ideologies and philosophies calls for dialogue. today, we are more conscious of the fact of diversity than ever before. and in order to make the best out of the situation and avoid unnecessary conflicts and wars, the different groups must engage in dialogue at different levels. we cannot do igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 59 without dialogue today because that would amount to isolating ourselves and talking to ourselves alone without anybody else listening. since according to hans kung (1991:105) there can be no peace among the nations without peace among the religions. there can be no peace among the religions without dialogue between the religions; consecrated people should facilitate interreligious dialogue. contrary to popular understanding, interreligious dialogue does not negate the christian faith; make relative all truths and affirm every religion as a valid means of salvation. authentic interreligious dialogue aims at the sharing of those truths that transcend and unite us all as children of the same father, god. a good point of departure in this is the recognition of man’s need for prayer. st. john paul ii affirms this by saying that the spirit of god is present in the prayer of every person who prays, christian and otherwise (gioia 1997:174-175). developing a kind of world ethic that would provide the world with the peace and justice it needs badly should be a collective duty among the religions. waging “holy war” against religious terrorism, environmental degradation and global warming should be a matter for all the religions of the world together. the fact remains that christ never avoided the religions of his time and this consecrated people have to appreciate and imitate. christ went to the synagogue, read from the jewish sacred text and because he understood it very well was able to affirm unequivocally that he is its fulfilment. for this, consecrated people cannot but get involved in this unique contemporary mission of dialogue with other religions. even st. paul did the same thing at his time. in his famous areopagus speech of the unknown god, he engaged the religions of his time with the gospel truth. 4. the way forward for the consecrated life to meet up with the demands of the 21st century world, it must embrace the spirit of change ranging through the age without losing itself and essence to change itself. this spirit of change has the blessing of the council fathers who fathomed the need for renewal in the consecrated life. to improve in its engagement with the world, there is need to examine first the understanding and application of consecrated life purely from the evangelical counsel. how consecrated people live and apply these vows in the imitation of christ in the 21st century world is very important. the vows as we all know are the lowest common factors among all the consecrated persons. coming to the vow of poverty, john hardon opines that not a few are saying that actual poverty in following christ is no longer feasible, if it was ever igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 60 defensible, in the religious life. whatever else it is, poverty does not mean, for some religious today, deprivation. it is said to be essentially a subjective disposition which ranges all the way from “being concerned for the poor”, emphasize on personal self denial and not group acquisitiveness, to “being open to the spirit” in the changing circumstances of the times. these new concepts of poverty have led religious institutes to write into their updated juridical structures such provisions as demands for salaries corresponding to lay persons engaged in the same work, dress and apparel that has discarded the religious and clerical garb in favour of secular clothes with accumulating wardrobes. unfortunately, in our world today, the only vow of poverty that would make sense to the people is a poverty that changes the fate of the poor around. it is a self-emptying poverty for the sake of the other, which is for the sake of the kingdom as christ said, “when i was hungry you gave me to eat” (mt 25:35). no matter how this is conceived or formulated the poor or society at large wants to benefit from the vow. they do not understand and it makes no sense that consecrated people vow poverty but they live in visible affluence. no explanation to this would convince the critical mind of the 21st century person, who wants to see the poor religious truly poor. in the spirit of change, unfortunately, alien ideas have been introduced in the interpretation and living of the vow of chastity. complete chaste life in the following of the chaste christ is considered either psychologically harmful or sociologically unproductive and emotionally unhealthy. reports in the public press about the marriages of “priests and nuns” are simply the end result of sometimes years-long liaisons that are no longer considered sinful for religious. since nothing is hidden from the wary eyes of the 21st century world, they have come to doubt that consecrated hearts are truly on fire with passion for christ and the lost ones of the kingdom. the talk about the heavenly wedding with the lamb and consecrated persons representing this wedding and reproducing spiritually for the kingdom of god makes no sense any more. in africa, for example, virginity, chaste life and total dedication to one’s spouse are priceless virtues. in moving forward today, consecrated people must honestly answer pope francis’ question in clear terms. he asked: “is jesus really our first and only love, as we promised he would be when we professed our vows? (2014:1). only if jesus is, will we be empowered to love, in truth and mercy, every person who crosses our path. only when the world sees this to be true of us would they entrust their hearts to us to be saved. against the backdrop that the vow of obedience is all about group conformism, maintenance of law and order and respect for instituted igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 61 authority, which has succeeded in making some adult religious perpetual infants, the vow should be seen as guiding every religious towards channelling his or her talent, ambition and resources towards the promotion of communal charism. by living out this vow, consecrated people reveal their identity as truly charismatic people; people empowered by the authority of the holy spirit, dotted with his gifts and sent to the world since no one sends himself or herself. but what happens, when decorated religious cannot act under this influence or is seen to be afraid of the world in their operations? for our critical world, these are signs of incompetence and inauthentic life. and since a bad sales person sells nothing, uncharismatic consecrated persons do not make impressions. all these orientations would involve change in religious formation, apostolate and community life. the formation of consecrated people in seclusion should be discarded. they should be formed in an attitude of openness and fraternal dialogue and possibly not outside the people and culture of their possible ministration. in this kind of formation, spiritual direction must be complemented with psychological examinations and therapies to determine the suitability of candidates for the life. it is presumed that formation should be holistic thus necessitating the collaboration of all within and outside of the community. formation of consecrated people should not be left in the hands of the intellectual few who may not be dotted with other human qualities for such a delicate task. for fraternal love and joy to exist in the communities and, thus, empower the consecrated to give their best in the world, religious community should really be homes/families to them in facts and in deeds. the injustices of condemning a consecrated person to find a “paying job”, subjected to countless pressures to conformity, or having to look for financial security from blood relatives, or watching less qualified persons preferred because they are willing to compromise must be abhorred. success belongs to god and must not be measured in material terms alone. since what goes on in the communities have become public the impression all these make in the public arena is that consecrated people do not really believe, especially in divine providence. to finish this paper without saying that consecrated life must employ traditional african values of respect for elders, sharing and solidarity in their everyday community life and dealing with the outside world would amount to real abstract thinking. though, consecrated people are loved and respected they should understand that it is all because of christ, who they represent and if they must be seen as such, they must reciprocate this love and affection by being their brothers’ keepers. they must not be found wanting in humility igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 62 and respect for elders. christ, though the son of god had to obey mary even when his hour has not come by changing water into wine at the wedding at cana. consecrated people should learn to stoop down to conquer the world. if they want the world to under-stand them and be at their stand, they must learn to be under. having reached this far, we can re-echo what benedict xvi said that: “the consecrated life whatever difficulty it may face will not go into extinction. it is the grace of god for his church. hence, we should not join the ranks of the prophets of doom who proclaim the end or meaninglessness of the consecrated life in the church in our day; rather, we should clothe ourselves in jesus christ and put on the armour of light – as saint paul urged (cf. rom 13:11-14) – keeping awake and watchful”. conclusion all said and done, it is only a religious who has experienced truly the love of god that can be of immense help to the world today. since one cannot give what he or she does not have, it is necessary that religious people examine themselves thoroughly to determine if actually they are called and if actually they are living their life in accordance to the voice they heard. when this two do not complement each other it would really be difficult for an authentic witnessing to take place as this story illustrates: during the time of the desert monks, around 450 ad, a young monk went to an old and holy monk and asked him, “father, how is it that so many today leave the monastery? the old man answered him, “when a good hunting dog sees a rabbit, he will immediately run after it, howling and barking with excitement. this will, of course, attract other dogs, and they in turn will run and bark and howl like the one that saw the rabbit, although they have not actually seen it themselves. after a while the ones who did not really see the rabbit, but relied only on the barking and howling of the first dog, will get tired and give up the chase, because they are no longer interested. they drift off and go home. only the dog that really saw the rabbit will go on running and eventually catch up with it. that is the way with many who enter”, the old monk concluded. “only the one who has his or her eyes on christ and has seen him will and can survive. the others, who came only because the enthusiasm of others had drawn them will lose interest and leave”. references igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 63 abbott, w. m (ed. 1966), the documents of vatican ii, new york: guild press & america press. arthur, c (2000), religious pluralism: a metaphorical approach aurora, colorado: the davies group. browning, g et al (eds. 2000). understanding contemporary society: theories of the present. london: sage publications. catholic church (1997), catechism of the catholic church: revised in accordance with the official latin text promulgated by pope john paul ii. vatican city: libreria editrice vaticana. fuellenbach, j (1994), proclaiming his kingdom, manila: logos publications, inc. gioia, f (ed. 1997), interreligious dialogue: the official teaching of the catholic church (1963-1995), boston: pauline books and media. hardon, j, the apostolate of religious witness, in http://www. the realpresence.org/archives/religious life/,accessed on 30-07-2015. john paul ii (1996), vita consecrata, post-synodal apostolic exhortation on the consecrated life and its mission in the church and in the world, rome: vatican press. kanu, i. a. (2015). “consecrated persons as agents of pastoral care of the family”. joras: nigerian journal of religion and society. volume 5. pp. 74-84. a publication of good shepherd major seminary, kaduna. lohfink, g. (1986), “religious orders: god’s therapy for the church”, in theology digest 33, pp. 203-212. metz j. b. (1978), followers of christ: religious life and the church, new york: paulist press. moloney, f. j (1980), disciples and prophet: a biblical model for the religious life, london: darton, longman and todd. njoku, f (ed.) 2001), philosophy, christianity and science in the third millennium. owerri: assumpta press. pope francis (2014), apostolic letter to all consecrated life, rome: libreria editrice vaticana. sacks, j. (2005), the persistence of faith, london: continuum. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 64 scognamiglio, e (2006). il volto dell’uomo, torino: edizioni san paolo. smith, w. c. (1967), questions of religious truth, new york: scribner. tertullian, (trans. jeremy collier), the apology, london: the ancient & modern library of theological literature, vol. 31 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 33 influence of information and communication technologies on students’ academic performance in veritas university, abuja ojo, micheal olawole department of arts and social science education, veritas university abuja ojom@veritas.edu.ng & kakulu, odion evans department of educational foundations, veritas university, abuja & gotip, nehemiah wokji department of arts and social science education, veritas university, abuja gotipn@veritas.edu.ng and gwokji@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.33912.11529 abstract the study investigated the influence of information and communication technologies on students’ academic performance in veritas university, abuja. the study adopted descriptive survey research design. the population of the study comprised of all the fulltime third year undergraduate students among the seven faculty of veritas university, abuja but excluding faculty of engineering and law that have not had up to third year students for 2020/2021 academic session. a sample size of 200 third year undergraduate students (100 males and 100 females) was selected for the study from the population through purposive and random sampling techniques. research instrument used for the study was the structured questionnaire and it was validated by experts from the department of science education and arts and social science education, veritas university abuja. the questionnaire was divided into two sections; section a contained item on the information of respondents and section b comprised of items on influence of information and communication technology on students’ academic performance. a total 176 respondents duly completed the questionnaire. frequency counts, simple percentages and mean score were used to analyze the research questions while t-test was used to test the null hypothesis at 0.5 level of significance. the result of this study shows that information and communication technology has a significant influence on students’ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 34 academic performance. the study recommended that government and other stakeholders should mobilize resources for equipping universities with up to-date ict infrastructure that lecturers and students could train and learn on amongst others. key words: academic performance, influence, information and communication technology, student and university. introduction information is a major instrument or vehicle of change and development particularly in the present-day society. decision making of a citizen in any given situation in life depends to a great extent on the degree of information at his or her disposal at a given period in time. information and communication technology is a new era tools that have offered enormous opportunities to different professions and its professionals to achieve their goals, aspirations and set objectives. the world is said to be currently in the information age with the use of computers and the internet facilitating cheap, ease and speedy communication in a way that is uninterrupted by national boundaries. information plays a vital role in the lives of people, professionals, institutions as well as students in academic environment. it is an essential resource for individual growth and survival skill in this 21st century. however, student’s academic performance has been affected by information and communication technology (ict) immeasurably and holistically. information and communications technology (ict) has become part of our daily lives. it is obvious that any field of endeavor that must succeed will have to depend on one form of ict or the other. it has become one of the basic building blocks of modern society and many countries now regard understanding ict and mastering the basic skills and concepts of ict as part of the core of education (bolstad, 2004). ict is increasingly becoming an integral part of our modern life. computer education is assuming a new and wider dimension in all facets of our educational life. the use of icts in schools and especially in teaching and learning is important if students are to be equipped to cope with modern day technology while at school. we are in the world of these new generation children who are referred to by some authors as “digital natives”, the “millennial” and the “d-generation”. these ‘new generation’ children are born into a world of ict driven society where remote controls, mobile phones, programmable toys, digital cameras and computers among others are tools that are available for them to use at home as soon as they have grown enough to manipulate and play with these materials. this is why igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 35 olowe and kutelu, (2014) observed that digital technology is so much part of their lives that they barely notice it is there. the new generation children can press, play and stop button on dvd and cd players, use the remote to surf television channels, use mobile phones to play games, select their favourite music and take photograph of their siblings, type letters on computer and view them on screen and operate programmable toys for play and fun. these are to mention few among the many things the new generation students can do with the available ict tools around them. since the new generation children are born into the world of ict and they have been using and interacting with ict tools even before ever going to school, it is expedient that they are given opportunity to enjoy many benefits that ict can provide them in their learning process and development. early childhood education is concerned about providing quality experience for children in order to aid their cognitive, physical and social-emotional development. ict play a vital role in achieving this goal. in the area of cognitive development for instance, ikediashi and akande (2016) reported some authors by saying that when teachers support children and media rich content is integrated with the curriculum, technology experiences are associated with better language and literacy outcomes, such as letter recognition, sequencing, and sounds; listening and comprehension; vocabulary; and understanding concepts about stories and print. the role of ict can also be of help in children to develop skills of reasoning, predicting and problem-solving especially when they play games, surf television channels with remote controls and interact with touch screen media tools among others. adeoye, oluwole and blessing (2013) have observed that since children are active and mobile, they need frequent changes in learning modalities. thus, in the area of physical development, children can develop their fine motor skills while manipulating buttons or keys on technology materials such as mouse, remote control, mobile phones, computer keys and programmable toys. they can also develop their gross motor skills while crawling or running after a movable programmable toy or moving around the school premises to use battery powered walkie-talkie. as for social-emotional development, children can work and play together to use technology tools. in the process, they would have opportunity to relate to one another, share materials, cooperate in achieving given tasks and accept others. apart from this, ict would enable the teacher to provide experiences with technology materials so that they can make learning interesting and sustain children’s attention in learning activities. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 36 it is pertinent to mention therefore that this has implication for the lecturers in delivery of lectures to students. in line with this, olowe and kutelu (2014) have noted that teaching in this age of digital learning also has implications for early childhood teacher educators in how they integrate technology tools and interactive media in the on-campus and online courses they teach, and how well they prepare future early childhood teachers to use technology and media intentionally and appropriately in the school environment. an opportunity to gain insight into what the lecturers and students believe about ict and holistic development of children would help to determine whether they will accept and fully appreciate the integration of ict in professional live as graduation. it is based on this premise that this study investigated the influence of information and communication technology on students’ academic performance in veritas university, abuja. statement of the problem for ages, there have been growing concerns about the deplorable poor academic performance in nigeria education system. the success of an education system depends on the extent of which learners are transformed through its philosophy. it seems that level of availability of information and communication technologies in veritas university, abuja is inadequate. a lot of researches have been conducted by different scholars in ict and its impact on students’ academic performance. their findings reveal positive impact on students’ academic performance. this study is carried out to fill this gap. thus, the study investigated the influence of information and communication technology (ict) on students’ academic performance in veritas university, abuja. objectives of the study the purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of information and communication technologies on students’ academic performance in veritas university, abuja. the specific objectives were: to; i. identify the information and communication technologies available for students’ usage in veritas university, abuja; ii. determine the influence of information and communication technology on students’ academic performance in veritas university; and iii. ascertain the challenges associated with the use of information and communication technology by students in veritas university, abuja. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 37 research questions the following research questions were formulated to guide the study: 1. what are the available information and communication technologies in veritas university, abuja? 2. what is the influence of information and communication technology on students’ academic performance in veritas university, abuja? 3. what are the challenges associated with the use of information and communication technology by students in veritas university, abuja? research hypothesis the following research hypothesis was formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. ho: information and communication technology does not have a significant influence on students’ academic performance in veritas university abuja. concept of ict ict stands for information and communication technology. it replaces the older term, “it”, or information technology, which was most often used in reference to computers and the internet. information and communication technology encompasses much more than just computers. literally ict is a tool or device for doing a specific kind of work which is a means to an end. according to anikweze (2010) by information and communication technology (ict) is meant a wide range of services, applications and technologies using various types of facilities, equipment, hardware, software often running over telecom networks. anikweze (2005) noted that conventionally, information could be communicated in diverse ways which include person to person interaction, classroom education, on the job training, listening to radios, watching video films or television, reading books, magazines, journals, etc. since through these means, knowledge and skills are acquired, okafor concluded that “communication of information and acquisition of knowledge can be regarded as two side of a coin”. he went further to classify the tools by which information is communicated and knowledge acquired in the following four categories: a. books, journals, brochures, magazines, newspapers, etc. – publishing b. stage shows (concerts), role plays, cinema, etc. – entertainment c. radio, television, teleconferencing, etc. – broadcasting d. telephone, telegraph, telex, post/courier services – telecommunication. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 38 publishing, entertainment and broadcasting can further be classified as visual and audio-visual. the technology of computing and informatics has however, been able to digitize the information inherent in entertainment, broadcasting, and telecommunication into figures, words symbols, still images, motion, videos or sound and their coverage into ict. therefore, icts include well-known telecom services such as telephone, mobile telephone and fax. telecom services used together with computer hardware and software form the basis for a range of other services including email, transfer of files from one computer to another, and in particular, the internet, which potentially allows all computers to be connected, thereby giving access to sources of knowledge and information stored on computers worldwide. icts therefore, through the internet and world wide web (www) allow information to be transmitted and acquired in relatively speedy, efficient and inexpensive manner. ict can be defined as “anything which allows us to get information, to communicate with each other, or to have an effect on the environment using electronic or digital equipment” (siraj-blatchford & siraj-blatchford, 2003). some authors use the term learning technologies, while others simply describe it as technology. the term ict could include the following types of hardware and software such as computers, (including desktop, laptop, and handheld computers); digital cameras and digital video cameras; creativity and communication software and tools; the internet, telephones, fax machines, mobile telephones, tape recorders, interactive stories, simulated environments, and computer games, programmable toys and control technologies, videoconferencing technologies and closed-circuit television, data projectors, electronic whiteboards, and more(gbadegesin, alabi and omodun, 2018).a look at these information and technology materials shows that some of these ict tools are available in homes therefore many students would have had access to interacting and using some of them before ever going to school. what this implies is that the children of today are those new generation children who are born into a world where technology permeates access to information globally. why does ict matter in tertiary education? the literature suggests some reasons why ict matters in tertiary education. i. ict already has an effect on the people and environments that surround young students’ learning. ii. second, these technologies offer new opportunities to strengthen many aspects of tertiary education practice. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 39 iii. there is support and interest across the whole education sector for the development and integration of ict into education policy, curriculum, and practice. iv. opportunities to support strengthen and enhance students’ academic performance experiences. v. ict has the capacity to influence on students’ relationships, learning, development and communication between and among parents, and other people or stakeholders connected to the academic environment. the relevance of ict in addressing students’ poor academic performance it is unarguably important that learning with ict offers a huge opportunity to the learners to extend learning process from physical classroom to the comfort of their homes and hall of residence with their lecturers. the world has turned to a global village now as a result of information and communication technology. we are in the era of information age and these technologies have profound changes to all human endeavours (anikweze, 2010). literally, this is to empower the learning process of students (luba, 2019). the use of ict has fundamentally change practices and procedures for nearly all forms of human endeavors. ict can be a useful tool for supporting young children’s learning and development. the benefits of ict used in education are in the areas of: i. convenience and collaboration ii. accessibility and cooperation iii. positive learning experiences between students and or between students and teachers iv. ict as a device adopted enhanced pedagogical strategies in students learning v. ict provides unique opportunities for supporting learning for students with special learning needs, and children from culturally or linguistically diverse backgrounds vi. ict is a veritable source of innovation for students vii. ict offer flexibility and it is and remove time wastage unlike manual process of studying and preparing for exam. viii. icts present novel opportunities to strengthen many aspects of primary education practice such as children’s learning, play experiences and relationships and communication between primary schools, parents and other people. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 40 ix. there is global support and interest across the whole education sector for the development and integration of ict into education policy, curriculum and practice. x. ict facilitates learning and development in children. according to sirajblatchford & siraj-blatchford (2003) icts play a role in student’s early education experiences alongside many other kinds of activities. ict should not be used to displace other kind of experiences but used to complement experiences derived from both indoor and outdoor activities like running, jumping, climbing, swinging and use of toys. similarly, teachers and lecturers can make used of ict tools for teaching and learning without going into the details of the technology. ict in this context implies the co-coordinated knowledge of the various ict tools. surely, teachers can apply the various ict tools to facilitate learning without bothering about the anatomy and physiology of the ict infrastructure. it is largely true that libraries in africa are adapting to changes particularly on innovations brought about by the application of ict (patterson, 2004). role of icts in the education system the national policy on education actually recognized the importance of ict at the primary level. section 19 states that government shall provide basic infrastructure and training at the primary school level for the realization of the goal of integrating information and communication technology into education in nigeria. this is in recognition of the prominent role of ict in advancing knowledge and skills necessary for effective functioning in the modern world (fgn, 2004). ict has the potential of enhancing learning through multiple intelligence since learning can be introduced through simulation games that can allow students to learn through all senses. there are several levels on which icts can push the cognition boundaries. according to dellit (2010) new media allow us to represent in rich and diverse ways the content of instruction and learning. this is not simply a matter of learning style although diverse learning style can be supported by ict. the new media enable us to traverse the boundaries of art, science languages and sciences. they allow us to represent and simulate experience. ict allows us to accelerate or decelerate processes for purposes of understanding. the best cognitive understanding and practice can be captured and communicated by icts and applied to the task of growing minds that improve the quality of learning for many rather than few. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 41 icts serve as a transformation tool for promoting the shift to learner-centred environment. this brings about improvement in the quality of education and training because of the tendency to increase learners’ motivation, active participation and effective skill acquisition. students learn as individuals and not as a homogenous group. icts allow each individual to relate to the medium and its content. there is also interactivity which permits a person to relate to the content, go forward and backward in the content and can start at any point depending upon prior knowledge instead of always in a sequential way. icts have the advantage of low per-unit cost because per person, icts reduce the cost of education from very high to very low. this is because of provision of easy access to learning with the help of icts; students can browse through e-books, sample examination papers of previous years and can have easy access to resource persons, professionals and peers all over the world. this flexibility heightened the availability of just in time learning and provides learning opportunities for many more learners who may be constrained by other commitments (young, 2002). we are at a critical junction, when the new technologies of communication from the individualized computer assisted learning systems to the more mass directed radio and television today offer an unparalleled opportunity to reconsider conventional education and learning practices and institutions. the notion that teaching and learning can be taken out of the confines of existing schools, that teaching can be individualized and insensitive to geo-climatic distances is one which has emerged out of the telecommunications revolution sweeping across the world. with regard to nigerian educational systems, there are some questions that are begging for answers. some of them include-is ict available in our schools/classrooms? what is the level of ict availability in our schools? are the teachers prepared for use of icts? according to agbetuyi and oluwatayo (2012) some of the problems militating against full implementation of ict policy in our education system include: insufficient number of computers, epileptic power supply, problems of internet connectivity, lack of ict knowledge skills, difficulty in integrating ict to instruction, insufficient peripheral devices, inadequate software, insufficient teaching time, lack of qualified ict personnel, cost of equipment, management attitude and lack of clear and deficit policy and/or curriculum for all levels of nigerian educational system. methodology the descriptive survey research design was adopted for the conduct of this study. the population of the study comprised of all the full-time third year igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 42 undergraduate students among the seven faculty of veritas university, abuja but excluding faculty of engineering and law that have not had up to third year students for 2020/2021 academic session. a sample size of 200 third year undergraduate students (100 males and 100 females) was selected for the study from the population of 500 students through purposive and random sampling techniques. research instrument used for the study was the structured questionnaire and it was validated by three experts from the department of: science education; arts and social science education; and educational foundations, veritas university abuja. the questionnaire was divided into two sections; section a contained items on the information of respondents and section b comprised of items on influence of information and communication technology on students’ academic performance. a total 176 respondents duly completed the questionnaire. frequency counts, simple percentages and mean score were used to analyze the research questions while t-test was used to test the null hypothesis at 0.5 level of significance. results research questions research question 1: what are the available information and communication technologies in veritas university abuja? table 1: availability of icts in veritas university abuja n=176 s/ n item students’ responses yes no f % f % 1. i have computer 151 85.8 25 14.2 2 i have e-mail address 176 100.0 0 0 3 i have internet access 134 76.1 42 23.9 4 i have digital camera 36 20.5 140 79.5 5 i have scanner 45 25.6 131 74.4 6 i have video equipment 32 18.2 144 81.8 7 i have projector 15 8.5 161 91.5 8 i have telephone 162 92.1 14 7.9 9 i have video conferencing 11 6.3 165 93.7 10 i have closed circuit television 10 5.7 166 94.3 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 43 from table 1 above, item 1 revealed that 85.8% of the students have computers while 14.2% of them do not have. item 2 revealed that all (100%) the students have e-mail addresses. item 3 showed that 76.1% of the students have internet access while 23.9% of them do not have. item 4 showed that 20.5% of the students have digital camera while 79.5% of them do not have. item 5 showed that 25.6% of the students have scanners while 74.4% of them do not have. item 6 showed that 18.2% of the students have video equipment while 81.8% of them do not have. item 7 showed that 8.5% of the students have projectors while 91.5% of them do not have. item 8 revealed that 92.1% of the students have telephones while 7.9% of them do not have. item 9 showed that 6.3% of the students have video conference while 93.7% of them do not have. item 10 showed that 5.7% of the students have closed circuit television while 94.3% of them do not have. therefore, the level of availability of icts is high in terms of computers, e-mail addresses, internet access, video conferencing and telephones. however, it is very low in terms of digital camera, scanners, video equipment, projectors, and closed circuit television. research question 2: what is the influence of information and communication technology on students’ academic performance in veritas university abuja? table 2: influence of ict on students’ academic performance in veritas university abuja n=176 s/ n item students’ level of agreement mean decisio n sa a d sd 11 it encourages interactivity and flexibility on platforms like google classroom, zoom, whatsapp and telegram 76 54 18 28 3.01 agreed 12 it encourages self-study 81 49 21 25 3.06 agreed 13 there is always distraction or inability to concentrate 23 34 56 63 2.09 disagre ed 14 limited evaluation of learning outcomes 79 61 20 16 3.15 agreed 15 low engagement or participation of students during teaching-learning process 66 59 24 27 2.93 agreed igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 44 16 exclusion of students in rural areas due to network 73 65 22 16 3.11 agreed 17 some students are not familiar with some of the platforms’ interfaces 56 64 31 25 2.86 agreed 18 inability of students to understand practical lessons through online platforms 62 56 28 30 2.85 agreed 19 parents’ collaboration in the supervision of students 56 64 32 24 2.86 agreed 20 inadequate digital skills on the part of students 58 60 27 31 2.82 agreed sectional mean 2.87 agreed scale mean 2.50 from table 2, it could be observed that the mean values of 3.01, 3.06, 3.15, 2.93, 3.11, 2.86, 2.85, 2.86 and 2.82 respectively were in agreement with items 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 while the mean value of 2.09 was in disagreement with item 13. the sectional mean of 2.87 indicated that some of the respondents agreed that interactivity and flexibility on platforms like google classroom, zoom, whatsapp and telegram, self-study, limited evaluation of learning outcomes, low engagement or participation of students during teaching-learning process, exclusion of students in rural areas due to network, students’ not familiar with platforms’ interfaces, students’ inability to understand practical lessons through online platforms, parents’ collaboration in the supervision of students and inadequate digital skills on the part of students are the influence of information and communication technologies on students’ academic performance while the remaining respondents disagreed with distraction or inability to concentrate as influence of information and communication technologies on students’ academic performance. research question 3: what are the challenges associated with the use of information and communication technologies by students in veritas university abuja? igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 45 table 3: challenges associated with the use of icts by students n=176 s/ n item students’ level of agreement mea n decision sa a d sd 21 high cost of data 67 56 28 25 2.94 agreed 22 inadequate expertise on the part of students 56 58 30 32 2.78 agreed 23 inadequate confidence while using the equipment 28 34 56 58 2.18 disagree d 24 inadequate knowledge of how to evaluate the role of ict for quality education 57 63 32 24 2.87 agreed 25 inadequate ict facilities 62 54 21 39 2.79 agreed 26 poor internet access 54 63 30 29 2.81 agreed 27 unstable power supply 54 72 19 31 2.85 agreed 28 software viruses 63 65 21 27 2.93 agreed 29 hardware failure 56 61 23 36 2.78 agreed 30 insufficient knowledge of application software 48 69 24 35 2.74 agreed sectional mean 2.77 agreed scale mean 2.50 from table 3, it could be observed that the mean values of 2.94, 2.78, 2.87, 2.79, 2.81, 2.85, 2.93, 2.78 and 2.74 respectively were in agreement with items 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30 while the mean value of 2.18 was in disagreement with item 23. the sectional mean of 2.77 indicated the respondents agreed that high cost of data, inadequate expertise on the part of students, inadequate knowledge of how to evaluate the role of ict for quality education, inadequate ict facilities, poor internet access, unstable power supply, software viruses, hardware failure and insufficient knowledge of application software were the challenges associated with the use of information and communication technologies by students in veritas university abuja while the remaining respondents disagreed with igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 46 inadequate confidence while using the equipment as a challenge associated with the use of information and communication technologies by students in veritas university abuja. hypothesis testing the null research hypothesis earlier formulated in the study was tested at 0.05 level of significance. ho1: ict does not have a significant influence on students’ academic performance in veritas university abuja table 4: t-test analysis showing influence of ict on students’ academic performance variables n mean std. deviation df t-cal t-tab sig (pcal) remarks ict students’ academic performance 176 176 8.23 6.49 1.325 1.231 350 7.549 1.646 0.000 reject ho1 significant at df=198; p≤0.05, t-calculated > t-tabulated table 4 showed t-test analysis of influence of ict on students’ academic performance in veritas university abuja. the t-cal value of 7.549 was found to be greater than the t-tab value of 1.646 given 350 degrees of freedom at 0.05 level of significance. the t-cal value was significant since it was greater than t-tab value, the null hypothesis was rejected. also, p-cal was less than the p-set. it implied that ict had a significant influence on students’ academic performance in veritas university abuja. discussion this study has shown that ict had a positive influence on students’ academic performance in veritas university abuja. in research question one; it revealed that the level of availability of icts was high in terms of computers, e-mail addresses, internet access and telephones. however, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 47 it was very low in terms of digital camera, scanners, video equipment, projectors, video conferencing and closed circuit television. the finding was in line with olowe and kutelu (2014) who opined that few desktop computers were available in schools. they stressed further that chalkboard and chalk were the only materials reported as being adequately available by the schools. there were very few schools reporting availability of charts, posters and bulletin board. in research question two, the study revealed that information and communication technology usage played a positive role especially during teaching-learning process. it showed that there was flexibility on platforms like google classroom, zoom, whatsapp and telegram, self-study, limited evaluation of learning outcomes, low engagement or participation of students during teaching-learning process, exclusion of students in rural areas, students’ not familiar with platforms’ interfaces, students’ inability to understand practical lessons through online platforms, parents’ collaboration in the supervision of students and inadequate digital skills on the part of students as influence of ict on their academic performance. the findings agreed with bolstad (2018) who reported that ict stimulate the pupils’ interest during teaching-learning process. in research question three, there were many challenges associated with the utilization of ict in the university. these included high cost of data, inadequate expertise on the part of lecturers and students, inadequate knowledge of how to evaluate the role of ict for quality education, inadequate ict facilities, poor internet access, unstable power supply, software viruses, hardware failure and insufficient knowledge of application software among others. owing to this, the study revealed that students could gain confidence while using icts through regular practice. this showed the uniqueness of the study. the findings of the study revealed that ict had a significant influence on students’ academic performance in veritas university abuja. this result agrees with eslamian and khademi (2017) who found out in their study that ict has a significant effect on student academic performance. similarly, the researchers in this study found out that when students have ict facilities available for learning, it has positive influence on their academic performance. also, the finding is in line with basri and alandejani (2018), and isaiah and wagbara (2019) who in their separate studies found that ict adoption has an impact on the academic performance of students. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 48 conclusion the study has revealed that the availability and usage of icts has positive influence on students’ academic performance. however, the availability and usage of ict have suffered a lot of challenges which when not solve can marred the expected performance of students in school. recommendations from the results of the study, the following recommendations are made: i. government and other stakeholders should mobilize resources for equipping universities with up to-date ict infrastructure that lecturers and students could train and learn on. ii. university management should embark on fostering innovative networking and partnership arrangements with the public and private sector such as the nigerian communications commission (ncc), digital bridge institute (international centre for information and communications technology studies) computer companies and many others. this will enable universities acquire ict gadgets at cheaper costs. iii. more ict teachers should be employed and trained in ict skills to make them effectively and efficiently deliver ict based curriculum in the university. references adeoye, y. m. oluwole, a. f. and blessing, l. a. (2013). appraising the role of ict as a change agent for higher education in nigeria. international journal of educational administration and policy, 5 (8), 177-183. alandejani, j. a & almadan, f. m. (2018). ict adoption impact on students’ academic performance: evidence from saudi universities. retrieved february 22nd, 2022 from https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/1240197 anikweze, c.m. (2010). information and communication technology and teacher education in nigeria. keffi journal of educational studies. 2(1): 30-38. anikweze, c.m. (2010). information and communication technology and teacher education in nigeria. keffi journal of educational studies. 2(1): 30-38. bain, j. (2000). managing computers in teaching and administration in kindergartens. computers in nz schools, 12 (1), 21-32. basiri, a. (2018). integrating new technologies in uk classrooms: lessons for teachers from early years practitioners. childhood education annual, 79 (5), 261-267. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 49 becta. (2004). video conferencing in the curriculum. case study 2: chalvey early years centre, slough. e-storytelling. british educational communications and technology agency. retrieved 30 june 2004, from http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/earlyyears/casestudies.asp bolstad, r. (2004). the role and potential of ict in early childhood education. wellington, new zealand: ministry of education. bray, m., brown, m., & green, t. (2004). technology and the diverse learner: a guide to classroom practice. thousand oaks, california: corwin press. brooker, l., &siraj-blatchford, j. (2002). 'click on miaow!': how children of three and four years experience the nursery computer. contemporary issues in early childhood: technology special issue, 3 (2), 251-273. also available at http://www.ioe.ac.uk/cdl/chat/pdfs/click.pdf bruce, b. c., & hogan, m. p. (1998). the disappearance of technology: toward an ecological model of literacy. in d. reinking,m. mckenna,l. labbo& r. kieffer (eds.), handbook of literacy and technology: transformations in a post-typographic world (pp. 269-281). hillsdale, nj: erlbaum. carr, m. (2001). assessment in early childhood settings: learning stories. london: paul chapman publishing. castellani, j., &tsantis, l. (2002). cross-cultural reactions to using computers in the early childhood education classroom. contemporary issues in early childhood: technology special issue, 3 (2), 274-288. clements, d. (2002). computers in early childhood mathematics. contemporary issues in early childhood: technology special issue, 3 (2), 160-181. cooper, v., farquhar, z., & mclean, v. (2001). the use of information and communication technologies in the early years (3-8 year-olds): research from the warriparri cluster in south australia 20002001. south australia: report sponsored by the e-education project. retrieved 25 july 2004, from http://www.tsof.edu.au/resources/music/the%20use%20of%20ict%20in% 20early%20years.pdf cordes, c., & miller, e. (eds.). (2000). fool's gold: a critical look at computers in childhood. college park, maryland: alliance for childhood. dahlberg, g., moss, p., & pence, a. (1999). beyond quality in early childhood education and care: postmodern perspectives. london: falmer press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 50 eslamian, d., & khademi, b. (2017). effect of information and communication technologies on academic achievement of high school students in neyriz. american journal of humanities and social sciences. 5(2), 11-16. gbadegesin, t. f., alabi, o. and omodun, k. (2018). children education in ict age in nigeria: a tripartite socio-cultural phenomenon. journal of educationand social research, 8 (3), 51-71. ikediashi, n. and akande, j. a. (2016). information and communication technology and nigerian child: implications for primary education. capital journal of education studies (cajes), 4 (1), 30-40. isaiah, j. k. & wagbara, o. (2019). perceived influence of information communication technology on academic performance of social studies students in secondary schools in port harcourt metropolis. international journal of innovative information systems & technology research 7(3):45-63. olowe, p. k. and kutelu, b. o. (2014). perceived importance of ict in preparing early childhood education teachers for the new generation children. international journal of evaluation and research in education (ijere), 3 (2), 119-124. patterson, m. (2004). how can ict enrich the learning environment in early childhood centres? computers in nz schools, 16 (1), 25-30. siraj-blatchford, j., &whitebread, d. (2003). supporting information and communications technology in the early years. berkshire: open university press. wagbara (2019). managing computers in teaching and administration in kindergartens. computers in nz schools, 12 (1), 21-32. young, n. (2002). playing with ideas and games in early mathematics. contemporary issues in early childhood: technology special issue, 3 (2), 197-215. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.1 no. 3 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 62 augustine’s search for god as trinity by + john niyiring, osa catholic bishop of kano diocese niyiring@yahoo.com abstract the spiritual quest of the young augustine was "essentially an itinerarium mentis ad deum, a journey of the mind to god." this paper carefully studied augustine's mind's journey to the trinity. it reveals that his mind’s journey towards the trinity has the quality of ascent. augustine's arguments in his presentations of the spiritual ascent are based on the authority of the scripture and reason. this subsection explores the metaphor of ascent of the soul in the context of augustine's search for the trinity. it argues that augustine presents a reasoned seven-step spiritual programme for the christian who is intent on searching for the trinity, but also that this seeking has three moments (withdrawal, interiority and ascent proper) and that it is a lifelong process. keywords: augustine, god, trinity, soul, father, son and holy spirit god and soul as augustine's loci theologici augustine's lifelong search for god unfolded around two themes: god and the human soul.116 these themes were clear to augustine at the beginning of his conversion, as this dialogue with himself shows: reason: now what do you want to know? augustine: i desire to know god and the soul. r[eason]: nothing more? a[ugustine]: absolutely nothing....145 145 soliloquia, i, 2, 7: pi. 32, col. 872: "ratio: quid ergo scire vis? ... augustinus: deum et animam scire curio. ratio: nihilne plus? augustinus: nihil omnino." translated by t.f. gilligan, soliloquies in the fatheq of the church: writings of saint augustine, vol. i (new york: cima co. inc., 1948). henceforth, it will be abbreviated as solil. also see de ordine, 11, 18, 47: cc xxix, pp. 132-133. also see r. j. o'conneii, st augustine's early theory of man, a. d. 386-391 (cambridge, ma: the belknap press of harvard university press, 1968), pp. 31-63; r. e. buckenmeyer, "the meaning of judicium and its relation to illumination in the dialogues of augustine," in augustinian studies 1 (1970), pp. 93-95. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 63 for augustine, seeking god and seeking the soul are not two, but one and the same pursuit. to seek god is to seek oneself; and vice versa. he experienced that god initiated the search for the trinity in him. to discover the trinity is to discover the image of the trinity. how could augustine search and discover god as trinity and the soul as image of the trinity? he believed that the way to the knowledge of god and soul was that of divine authority and reason146. first is the authority of christ, and then comes the reasoning of the neoplatonists. these two, authority and reason, became important constructs of augustine's theory of the soul's ascent to the trinity. augustine's ltinemrium mentis ad deum ut trinitatem the spiritual quest of the young augustine was "essentially an itinerarium mentis ad deum, a journey of the mind to god."147 a careful study of augustine's mind's journey to the trinity reveals that it has the quality of ascent148. augustine's arguments in his presentations of the spiritual ascent are based on the authority of the scripture and reason. this subsection explores the metaphor of ascent of the soul in the context of augustine's search for the trinity. it argues that augustine presents a reasoned seven-step spiritual programme for the christian who is intent on searching for the trinity, but also that this seeking has three moments (withdrawal, interiority and ascent proper) and that it is a lifelong process. the ascent of the soul to the trinity in earlier writings a number of scholars have explored the seven-stage theme of the soul's approach to god in augustine's earlier works. s. connolly considers the historico-philosophical influences at work in augustine's ascent149. v. j. bourke explores humanity's approach to god within the context of augustine's threelevel ontology and his psychology of the tripartite soul150. g. lawless has underlined the ascetical and mystical import of augustine's ascent to god in his 146 contra academicos, iii, xx, 43: cc xxrx. pp. 60-61; de ardine, ii, 9, 27: cc xxrx. pp. 122-123; j. j. o'meara, "st. augustine's view of authority and reason in a.d. 386," in the irish theological quarterly xviii (1951), pp. 338346;j. r. ramirez, "the priority of reason over faith in augustine," in augustinian studies 13 i (1982), pp. 123-131. 147 o. du roy, "st. augustine," in the new catholic encyclopedia, vol. i, p. 1051. 148 g. j. p. o'daly has demonstrated that augustine's hierarchical aspect of ordo affected his conception of ascent. see g. j. p. o'daly, "hierarchies in augustine's thought," in from augustine to eriugena: essays on neoplatonianism and christianity in honour oejohn o'meara, pp. 143-154. 149 s. connolly, "the platonism of augustine's 'ascent' to god," in the irish ecclesiastical record 78/2 (1952), pp. 44-53; 80/2 (1953), pp. 28-36; 81/1 (1954), pp. 120-133; 260-269. 150 v. j. bourke, wisdom from st. augstine (houston, texas: center for thomistic studies, 1984), pp. 63-77 1z3g. p. lawless, "approaches to the christian life in augustine's early writings," in angelicum 64 (1987), pp. 376-394. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 64 early writings. we shall not only draw from these scholars' insights into augustine's christian ideal of spiritual life, but also we are intent on underlining the point that this ideal "is characterized by a dynamic process, namely, the ascent of the soul to the trinity. the texts that we have chosen are arranged according to their chronological order of composition. as described in de quantitate animae (387388) in de quantitate animae, augustine describes seven levels151 of the soul's ascent to god. in the first level, animation (animatio), augustine affirms that the soul animates the body. the soul, therefore, unites and nourishes the entire body, it preserves the harmony and i proportion of the living organism as well as sustains the organism's growth and i reproduction152. at the second level, the soul goes beyond the act of animation to that of sensation (sensus). it expresses itself through the five senses of hearing, seeing, smelling and touching153. the third act of the soul is characteristically human, possessed by both good and evil men[women]. here, the soul transcends mere perception of the senses to the level of the activities proper to human beings. the soul participates in the development of skills (anes) that help humanity direct its affairs. unlike animals, mankind uses the perceptive powers of the soul to create a culture that is uniquely its own154. the fourth act of the soul is its progress to goodness and truth by way of purification (purificatio). the soul's movement towards goodness and truth requires purification of the soul and its submission to authority and the teachings of the wise men. the awareness of the reality of human defilement and the need for the purification of the soul establishes a relationship of duty and commitment between divine goodness and the soul: "it is to this divine goodness that the soul 151 the levels are better described as acts (actl). see de quantitate animae, 34, 78: the latin text is that of corpus scriptorum ecclesiasticorum latinorum, vol. lxxxix, edited by w. hormann (vienna: holder-pichlertempsky kg., 1986), p. 228: augustine summarises the seven acts of the soul as animatio, sensus, ars, virtus, i traequillitas, ingressio and contemplatio. hereafter this book will be cited as de q an. and its latin source indicated by csel lxxxix 152 de q. an., 33, 70: csel lxxxix, pp. 217-218. 153 de q. an., 33, 71: csel x, pp. 218-219. 154 de q. an., 33, 72: csel lxxxix, p. 220' igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 65 most dutifully and confidently commits itself for help and success in the difficult task of self purification."155 in the fifth grade, the soul rests quietly in joyful possession of itself: neither amid of nor anxious for anything. this is a preparatory stage for the next act of the soul. the soul having been freed from all imperfections and stains "advances towards god, that is, to the immediate contemplation of truth."156 in the sixth level, augustine describes the entering (ingressio) of the soul into contemplative life. "[t]he soul's highest vision" is the desire to understand truth and perfection157. the seventh and final act of the soul is the vision (visio) and contemplation (contemplatio) of truth (veritas)158. de genesi contra manichaeos (388/389) in another work, de genesi contra manichaeos, augustine relates the six days of creation and god's rest on the seventh day to the stages of growth in christian perfection. at first, there are six stages of spiritual growth; afterwards, there will be sabbath rest in heaven. the first stage is the light of faith (lux fidel); in the second stage, one discerns between carnal and spiritual things (discemit inter camalia et spiritualia); and the third stage is that of separation of the mind from stain and carnal temptation (labe et fluctibus tentationum camalium). the fourth stage, augustine argues, represents various spiritual knowledges (spirituales intelligentias). the spiritual person who has attained the fifth step participates in the actions of this turbulent world (in actionibus turbulentissimi saecuh). the sixth step is marked by stability of the mind (stabilitate mentis) and spiritual enjoyment (spirituales fiuctus). finally, the seventh step is rest (requiescere)159. the account of de vera reugione (389-391) augustine also delineates seven stages of the soul's progress to godin de vera religione. the spiritual advance of humanity progresses from the "the old or exterior or earthly man" (hominem,... veterem et exteriorem et teltenum) to "the new, 155 de q an., 33, 73: csel lxxxix, pp. 220-222. translated by j. m. colleran, the greatness of thesoul, , in ancimt christian writers, vol. 9, translated by j. m. colleran (new york: newman press, 1950),. pp. 102-103. j 156 deq an. 33,74: csel lxxxix, p. 222: "pergit in deum, idest in ipsam contemplationem veritatis " translated by j. m. colleran, thegre-atness of the soul, p. 103. 157 de q an. 33, 75: csel lxxxix, pp. 222-223. 131 158 de.q an. 33, 76: csel x, pp. 223-225. 159 de genesi contra manichaeos, 1,25,43: pi. 34, cols. 193-194, ii igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 66 the inward and the heavenly man" (nouus homo et interior et caelestis). this is how he explicates it: in the first stage he [the new, inward and heavenly soul] is taught by the rich stores of history which nourish by examples. in the second stage he forgets human affairs and tends towards divine things. he is no longer kept in the bosom of human authority, but step by step by the use of reason he strives to reach the highest unchangeable law. in the third stage he confidently marries carnal appetite to strong reason, and inwardly rejoices in the sweetness of the union. soul and mind are joined together in chaste union. there is as yet no compulsion to do right, but, even though no one forbids sin he has no pleasure in sinning. the fourth stage is similar, only now he acts more firmly, life and springs forth as the perfect man, ready to endure and overcome all the persecutions, tempests and billows of this world. in the fifth stage he has peace and tranquillity on all sides. he lives among the abundant resources of unchangeable realm of the supreme ineffable wisdom. the sixth stage is complete transformation into life eternal, a total forgetfulness of temporal life passing into the perfect form which is made according to the image and likeness of god. the seventh stage is the eternal rest and perpetual beatitude with no distinguishable ages. as the end of the “old man is death,” so the end of the “new man is eternal”160. de sermone domini in monte (393-394) shortly after his ordination to the priesthood, augustine composed his de sermone domini in monte. the sermon of the lord on the mount is the "perfect way of the christian life" (perfectum vitae christianae modum)161. once again, he 160133 de vera religione, 24, 49: cc xxxii, pp. 218-219: "primam in uberibus utilis historiae, quae nutrit exemplis, secundam jam obliuiscentem humana d ad diuina tendentem, in qua non auctoritatis humanae contindur isinu, sed ad summam et incommutabilem legem passibus rationis innititur. tertiam jam fidentiorem et carnalem appetitum rationis robare maritantem gaudentemque intrinsecus in quadam dulcedine coniugali, cum anima menti copulatur et uelamento pudoris obnubitur, ut jam recte uiuere non cogatur, sed etiamsi omnes concedant, peccare non libeat. quartam jam id ipsum multo firmius ordinatiusque facientem et emicantem in uirum perfectum atque aptam et idoneam omnibus et persecutionibus et mundi huius tempestatibus ac fluctibus sustinendis atque frangendis, quintam pacatam atque omni ex parte tranquillam uiuentem in opibus et abundantia in commutabilis regni summae atque ineffabilis sapientiae. sextam omnimodae mutationis in aetemam uitam et usque ad totam obliuionem uitae temporalis transeuntem perfecta forma, quae facta est ad imaginem similitudinem dei. septima enim jam quies aetema est et nullis aetatibus distinguenda beatitudo perpetua, vt enim finis ueteris hominis mars est, sic finis noui hominis uita aetema," translated by j, h. 5., augustine: earlier writings, the library of christian classics (philadelphia: the westminster press, 1953), p. 249. 161 de sennone domini in monte, i, i, 1: pr, 34, cols. 1229-1230. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 67 asserts that the ascent of the soul to god progresses from actio to contemplatio, from scientia to sapientia. this gradual progress of the soul unfolds itself in seven stages. there is a link between the seven steps and the beatitudes, the seven operations of the holy spirit and the seven petitions of the our father. for augustine, the seven beatitudes162 which concern the poor in spirit (humiles), the sorrowful (lugentes), the meek (mites), those who hunger and thirst for justice (esuriunt et sitiunt justitiam), the merciful (misericordes), the pure in heart (mundi corde) and the peacemakers (pacifici) give rise to corresponding seven stages in the soul's search for god. and they are humility (humilitas), piety (pietas), knowledge (scientia), hard work (labo1), mercy (misericordia), cleanness of heart (cordis munditia) and wisdom (sapientia) or contemplation of truth (contemplatio veritatis)163. accordingly, augustine skillfully relates the seven steps to the beatitudes and the seven operations of the holy spirit in isaiah 11: 2 3:164 thus, the fear of god (timor del) agrees with humility (humilitas), piety (pietas) goes with the meek (mites), knowledge (scientia) corresponds with the sorrowful (lugentes), fortitude (fortitudo) correlates with hard work (labor) or those who hunger and thirst for justice (esuriunt et sitiunt justitiam), whereas counsel (consilium) goes with the merciful (misericordes), understanding (intellectus) agrees with the pure in heart (mundi corde) and wisdom (sapientia) correlates with the peacemakers (pacifici)165. de doctrina chris11ana (396: ddc., 1,1,1 iii; 25,35) in de doctrina christiana, augustine delineates a seven-step spiritual development programme for those whose responsibility it is to expound the sacred scripture. the first step is the fear (timor) that makes us recognise god's will: "what bids us seek and shun."166 the second step is the piety (pietas) that enables us to have respect for what god has revealed in the divine scripture167. 162 de sennone domini in monte, i, 1,3-1,2,9: pr, 34, cols. 1231-1233. 163 de sennone domini in monte, i, 3, 10: pr, 34, cols. 1233-1234. 164 the positions of the seven opelations of the holy spirit must be inverted. 165 de sennone domini in monte, i, 4, 11: pr, 34, cols. 1234-1235. 166 de doctrina christiana, ii, 9: corpus christianorum, series latina, vol. xxxii, edited by i. martin (fumholt: typographi brepols editores pontificii, 1962), p. 36: "quid nobis appentendum fugiendumque praecipiat." translated by e. hill, teaching christianity in the works of saint augustine: a translation for the 21st century, vol. 1/11 (new york: new city press, 1996), p. 134. henceforth, de doctrina christiana will be cited as doc and its latin source as cc xxxii. 167 ddc., ii, 9: cc xxxii, pp. 36-37. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 68 the third step is the knowledge (scientiae gradum) that turns our love towards god, and for the sake of god, our neighbour168. the fourth step is that of fortitude (fortitudo). fortitude makes a person seek for righteousness which translates into love of what is eternal and abiding, i.e., the trinity. to be sure, fortitude is a frame of mind "in which one is hungry and thirsty for justice. for in this frame of mind one extricates oneself from all deadly delight in passing things, and turning away from that, one turns instead to love of eternal things, namely to the unchanging unity which is at the same time a trinity."169 the fifth step, then, is "in the resolve of compassion" (in consilio misericordiae)170. it is the perfection of the love of neighbour through the purging of the mind of "impurities accumulated by its desire of what is inferior" (obstrepentem sibi de appetitu inferiorum conceptis sordibus)}171. the sixth step, the cleansing of the heart (purgatio oculi cordis), leads to the experience of'the truth: "[a]t this stage those who have died to this world so purge and clean the eyes of their hearts that they do not even put their neighbors before the truth, or on a level with it, nor themselves either, therefore, because not the ones whom they love as themselves172. the seventh step is the heart's ascent to wisdom (ascensus ad sapientiam); for wisdom is the final stage of those who seek god. god's children should ascend to wisdom "such children of god are now climbing up to wisdom, which is the last and the seventh stage, which is to be enjoyed in peace and tranquillity. thus the fear of the lord, you see, is the beginning of wisdom (ps 111: 10; sir 1: 16); and it is through these stages at one moves from that to this173. the study of these select texts from the earlier works of augustine suggests the following conclusions. in the first place, augustine's spiritual programme is a dynamic one. he employs the metaphor of ascent to articulate the dynamism of his spiritual insights. in the second place, augustine's early theory of the christian spiritual life is dominated by the pattern of the seven-step ascent of the 168 ddc., 11,10: cc xxxii, p. 37. 169 ddc., ii, 10: cc xxxii, p. 37: "quo esuritur et sititur justitia. hoc enim affectu ab omni mortifera r iucunditate rerum transeuntium sese extrahit et inde se auertens conuertit ad dilectionem aeternorum, incommutabilem scilicet unitatem eandemque trinitatem." translated by e. hill, teaching christianity, p. 133. 170 ddc, 11,11: ccxxxii, p. 38. 171 ddc., 11,11: ccxxxii, p. 38. 172 ddc., ii, 11: cc xxxii, p. 38: "in hoc autem gradu ita purgat oculum cordis, ut ueritati ne ipsum quid em praeferat aut conferat proximum, ergo nec se ipsum, quia nec ilium, quem diligit sicut 5e ipsum." translated by e. hill, teaching christianity, p. 133. 173 ddc., 11,11: ccxxxii, p. 38: "talis filius ascendit ad sapientiam, quae ultima et septima est, qua pacatus tranquillusque perfruitur. lnitium enim sapientiae timor domini. ab ilia enim usque ad ipsam per has gradus tenditur et uenitur." translated by e. hill, teaching christianity, p. 133. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 69 soul. in the third place, augustine varies the sevenstep ascent of the soul from book to book. although no two texts have elements identically arranged, yet, some texts have common elements and in all cases the final step concerns itself with a rest that suggests contemplation of sapientia. augustine contemplates wisdom in books xii, xiv and xv of de trinitate. finally, although the metaphor of ascent is neoplatonic, one must carefully note that augustine's notion of the soul's ascent to the trinitarian god presupposes the christian doctrine of the descent of the second person of the trinity. through his historical incarnation, the word of god came down to us, to live among us and to save us. by means of christ's descent (incarnation), we ascend to the trinity. thus, the unfolding of augustine's understanding of the spiritual life as an ascent of the soul to god the trinity is influenced by his belief in the christian idea of the incarnation. 4. the soul's progress to the trinity in the confessiones (397-401) and de trinitate (399419) the confessiones and de trinitate have the advantage of having been written at the height of augustine's intellectual powers. his thoughts are strongly influenced by sacred scripture. he had become the leader of his local christian community, and clearly he had attained adequate christian maturity to discourse at length, with authority, on virtually all aspects of christian doctrinal and spiritual questions. it is true that there is the influence of neoplatonism on augustine's style of writing. yet his quest for god and the themes of the soul's progress towards the trinity developed in these volumes are characteristically christian. here, also, augustine stresses the interiority of the triune soul that includes its ascent and always seeking of the face of the living god. the god who is within the confessiones and de trinitate reveal that augustine's spiritual search for the trinity of god has the characteristics of a progressive movement of the soul from without to within, a concentration of the soul on itself (interiority) and an ascent of the soul to union with the trinity. the basic truth augustine discovered in his search was that god could not be found outside the self; god is within the soul, and therefore, found there. a representative text which indicates this truth is worth quoting in full: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 70 i was caught up to you by your beauty and quickly torn away from you by my weight. with a groan i crashed into inferior things. this weight was my sexual habit. but with me there remained a memory of you. i was in no kind of doubt to whom i should attach myself; but was not yet in a state to be able to do that. "the body, which is corruptible, weighs down the soul, and our earthly habitation drags down the mind to think many things" (wisd. 9:15). moreover, i was wholly certain that your invisible nature "since the foundation of the world is understood from the things which are made, that is your eternal power and divinity" (rom.l:20). i asked myself why i approved of the beauty of bodies, whether celestial or terrestrial, and what justification i had for an unqualified judgements on mutable things, saying "this ought to be thus, and that ought not to be thus." in the course of this inquiry why i made such value judgements as i was making, i found the unchangeable and authentic eternity of truth to transcend my mutable mind. and so step by step i ascended from bodies {i] to the soul {2] which perceives through the body, and from there to its inward force {3], to which bodily senses report external sensations, this being as high as the beasts go. from there again i ascended to the power of reasoning [4j to which is to be attributed the power of judging the deliverances of the bodily senses. this power, which in myself i found to be mutable, raised itself to the level of intelligence [5], and led my thinking out of the ruts of habit. it withdrew itself from the contradictory frames of imaginative fantasies, so as to discover the light by which it was flooded. at that point it had no hesitation in declaring that the unchangeable is preferable to the changeable, and that on this ground it can know the unchangeable [6j, since, unless it could somehow know this, there would be no certainty in preferring it to the mutable. so in a flash of a trembling glance it attained to that which is (7). at that moment i saw your invisible nature understood through the things which you made (rom.l: 20)174. 174 cone, vii, xvii, 23: cc xxvii, p. 107: "rapiebar ad te decore tuo moxque diripiebar abs te pondere meo ct ruebam in ista cum gemitu; ct pondus hoc consuetudo camalis. sed mecum erat memoria tui, ncque ullo modo dubitabam esse, cui cohaererem, sed nondum me esse, qui cohaererem, quoniam corpus, quod corrumpitur, aggrauat animam ct deprimit terrcna inhabitatio sensum multa cogitantem, eramque certissimus, quod inuisibilia tua a constitutione mundi per ea, quae facta sunt, intellecta conspiciuntur, sempiterna quoque uirtus et diuinitas tua. quaerens enim, uncle approbarem pulchritudinem corporum siue caelestium siue terrestrium et quid praesto esset intcgre de mutabilibus iudicanti ct dicenti: 'hoc ita esse, illud non ita,' hoc ergo quaerens, uncle iudicarem, cum ita iudicarcm, inueneram incommutabilem ct ueram ueritatis aetemitatem supra mentem meam comrnutabilem. atque ita gradatim a corporibus ad sentientcm per corpus animam atque inde ad cius interiorem uim, cui sensus igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 71 this text maintains the seven-step ascent of the soul to god. it has the quality of an account of a mental process of introspection175. it is a unique experiential act of augustine's mind as well as a summary of his lifelong search for the trinity. augustine's search, his spiritual itinerarium, is a progressive movement from the condition of changeable things, from a life lived without among changeable things to a gradual awareness of the self and god within. before his conversion, augustine was living outside of himself; he desired a happy life, love, wisdom, and other human refinements. he was erroneous in thinking that these things were found in changeable things. although he attributes his life without to his own weight, i.e., his disordered passion, to his intellectual pride and rationalism, his dissatisfaction with the catholic church as well as his association with the manichees and sceptics contributed towards his long stay outside of himself the neoplatonists and the examples of holy christians convinced him of the need to stop living in the external world and to go back into himself augustine withdrew into himself and there he discovered the trinity within (intus); the god within was always with him, seeking him: late have i loved you, beauty so old and so new: late have i loved you. and see, you were within and i was in the external world and sought you there, and in my unlovely state i plunged into those lovely created things which you have made. you were with me, and i was not with you. the lovely things kept me far from you, though if they did not have their existence in you, they had no existence at all. you called and cried out and shattered my deafness. you were fragrant, and i drew in my breath and corporis exteriora nuntiaret, et quousque possunt bestiae, atque inde rursus ad ratiocinantem potentiam, ad quam refertur iudicandum, quod sumitur a sensibus corporis; quam se quoque in me comperiens mutabilem erexit se ad intellcgentiam suam ct abduxit cogitationcm a consuetudinc, subtrahens se contradicentibus turbis phantasrnatum, ut inueniret quo lumine aspcrgeretur, cum sine ulla dubitatione clamaret incommutabile praeferendum esse mutabili, uncle nasset ipsum incommutabileuod nisi aliquo modo nasset, nullo modo illud mutabili certa praeponeret-ct peruenit ad id, quod est in ictu trepidantis aspectus. tunc ucla inuisibilia tua per ea quae facta sunt intellecta conspexi " translated by h. chadwick, saint augustine, confessions, pp. 127. i have inserted the numbers (i, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7) into the text to clearly indicate the seven steps of the soul to god. also see similar passages: cone, ix, x, 23-26: cc xxvii, pp. 147-148; cone, x, vi, 8-10: cc xxvii, pp. 158-160. see also: p. courcelle, "la premiere experience augustinienne de i'extase," in augustinus magister i, pp. 53-57; f. e. van fleteren, "augustine's ascent of the soul: a reconsideration," in augustinian studies 5 (1974), pp. 29-72. 175 turner, 11ic darkness of god: ncgativity in christian mysticism (cambridge: cambridgc university press, 1995), p. 53. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 72 now pant after you. you touched me, and i am set on fire to attain the peace which is yours176. interiori1y augustine's search for god has a second moment, interiority. interiority is the meeting point of the soul and the trinitarian god, the point at which the soul contemplates the holy trinity to attain enlightenment. the soul requires purification at this stage: our enlightenment is to participate in the word "" yet we were absolutely incapable of such participation and quite unfit for it, so unclean were we through sin, so we had to be cleansed. furthermore, the only thing to cleanse the wicked and the proud is the blood of the just man and the humility of god; to contemplate god, which by nature we are not, we would have to be cleansed by him who became what by nature we are and what by sin we are not177. this passage underlines the christological and soteriological dimensions of purification in augustine's conception of the ascent of the soul to the trinity. to participate" in the word and to contemplate god, one must be purified by the blood of jesus, the just man and humble god. the purification of the soul is followed by divine illumination: "the mind has, as it were, eyes of its own, analogous to the soul's senses. the certain truths of the sciences are analogous to the objects which the sun's rays make visible, such as the earth and earthly things. and it is god himself who illumines all."178 the soul, after a period of sustained concentration on god, purification by christ, and illumination, realises that it is made to the image of the trinity. god's image in human beings is found in the human animus, the seat of sapientia, where there is internal unity and mutual relationships between the memory, intellect, and will. 176 cont; x, xxvii, 38: cc xxvii, p. 175: "sero te arnaui, pulchritudo tam antiqua et tam noua, sero te amaui! et ecce intus eras et ego foris et ibi te quaerebam et in ista formosa, quae fecisti, deformis inruebam. mecum eras, ct tecum non eram. ea me tenebant longe a te, quae si in te non essent, non essent. yocasti et clamasti et rupisti surdidatem meam, coruscasti, splenduisti et fugasti caecitatem meam, flagrasti, et duxi spiritum et anhelo tibi, gustaui ct csurio et sitio, tetigisti me, et exarsi in pacem tuam.b translated by h. chadwick, saint augustine, confessions, p.201. 177 trin., n, 4: cc l, pp. 163-164: "in luminatio quippe nostra participatio verbi est ""huic autem participationi prorsus inhabiles ct minus idonei eramus propter immunditiam pcccat(!rum; mundandi etgo eramus. porro iniquorum ct superborum una mundatio cst sanguis iusti et humilitas dei, ut ad contemplandum deum quod natura non sumus per cum mundaremur factum quod natura sumus ct quod peccato non sumus. deus enim natura non sumus; homines natura sumus; iusti peccato non sumus.b trinity, pp. 154-155. '60solil., i, 6, 12: pi., 32, col. 875. 178 solil., 1, 6, 12: pl, 32, col. 875. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 73 ascent of the soul the third and the final moment in augustine's lifelong search for god is the ascent of the triune soul to the trinity. the soul ascends to the trinity in order to participate in the divine transcendental attributes of unity, truth, goodness, beauty, love, and happiness. the process of participation is, in fact, the transformation of the soul (capax del) to the proper image of trinity (imago trinitatis). for augustine, a soul participates in the life of god when it remembers, understands, and loves the trinity "by whom it was created with a capacity for him and able to share in him."179 in sum, a clean heart having been prepared; 164 the final consequence of the participation of the soul in the life of the trinity is the vision of god (visio del). seek his face always augustine's de trinitate has its basis in the christian faith165 as a search, a seeking for the trinitarian god. but does the search, the seeking, stop, even if god's presence is found and one is walking in it? for augustine as for the psalmist, we should seek the face of god always. let the heart of those who seek the lord rejoice; seek the lord and be strengthened; seek his face always (ps 105: 3). now it would seem that what is always being sought is never being found, and in that case how is the heart of the seekers to rejoice and not rather grow sad, if they cannot find what they are looking for? he does not, you see, say "let the heart of those who find," but "of those who seek the lord rejoice." and yet the prophet isaiah testifies that the lord god can be found provided he is sought, when he says, seek the lord and as soon as you find him call upon him, and when he draws near to you let the godless man forsake his ways and the wicked man his thoughts (is 55:6). so if he can be found when he is sought, why does it say seek his face always? does he perhaps have to be sought even when he is found? that is indeed how incomprehensible things have to be searched for, in case the man who has been able to find out how incomprehensible what he is looking for is should reckon that he has found nothing. why then look for something when you have comprehended the incomprehensibility of what you are looking for, if not because you should not give up the search as long as you are making progress in your inquiry into things incomprehensible, and because you become better and better 179 a trin., xn, 15: cc l , pp. 442-443. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 74 by looking for so great a good which is both sought in order to be found and found in order to be sought? it is sought in order to be found all the more delightfully, and it is found in order to be sought all the more avidly. this is how we might also take the words of wisdom in the book of ecclesiasticus: those who eat me will be hungry still those who drink me will be thirsty still (sir 24:29). they eat and drink because they find, and because they are hungry and thirsty they still go on seeking. faith seeks, understanding finds; which is why the prophet says, unless you believe you shall not understand (is 7: 9, septuagint). and again, understanding still goes on seeking the one it has found; for, god gazed down upon the sons of men ... to see if there is any who is understanding or looking for god (l's 14:2)180 this text, which occurs in the last book of de trinitate, indicates that augustine, throughout his life, was devoted to a continuous search for the trinity of god. to seek the face of god is to seek for his presence181. he firmly believed that although god is incomprehensible, he could be found if he were sought. for unless the seeker is convinced that he is making a progress in his search for the incomprehensible god and that he is becoming better and better by such a search, he will not keep at looking for this god whom he has understood to be incomprehensible. augustine says quite clearly in our text (trin., xv, 2): "it [the incomprehensible god] is sought in order to be found all the more delightfully, and it is found in order to be sought all the more avidly." the search for the 180 trin., xv, 2 : cc la, pp. 460-462: "laetetur cor quaerentium dominum. quaeritc dominum et confirmamini; quacrite facicm cius semper. videtur enim quod semper quaeritur numquam inueniri, et quomodo jam laetabitur et non pocius contristabitur cor quaerentium si non potuerint inuenire quod quaerunt? non enim ait: laetetur cor 'inuenientium' sed quacrcntium dominum. et tamed deum dominum inueniri posse dum quaeritur testatur esaias propheta cum dicit: quaerite dominurn et mox ut inueneritis inuocate cum, et cum appropinquauerit uobis dcrclinquat impius uias suas et uir iniquus cogitationes suas. si ergo quaesitus inueniri potest, cur dictum est: quaeritc faciem cius semper'? an et inuentus forte quaerendus est? sic enim sunt incomprehensibilia requirenda ne seexistimet nihil inuenisse qui quam sit incomprehensibile quod quaerebat potuerit inuenire. cur ergo sic quaerit si incomprehensibile comprehendit esse quod quaerit nisi quia cessandum non est quamdiu in ipsa incomprehensibilium rerum inquisitione proficitur, et melior meliorque fit quaerens tam magnum bonum quod et inueniendum quaeritur et quaerendum inuenitur? nam et quaeritur ut inueniatur dulcius et inuenitur ut quaeratur auidius. secundum hoc accipi potest qu;;d dictum est in libro ecclesiastico dicere sapientiam: qui me manducant adhuc esuricnt et qui bibunt me adhuc siticnt. manducant enim et bibunt quia inueniunt, et quia esuriunt ac sitiunt adhuc quaerunt. fides quaerit, intellectus inuenit; propter quod ait propheta: nisi credidcritis, non intellegetis: et rursus intellectus cum quem inuenit adhuc quaerit: dcus enim respexit super filios hominum, sicut in psalmo sacro canimr, ut uideret si est intellegens aut requirens deurn. ad hoc ergo debet esse homo intellegens ut requirat deum." translate by e. hill, trinity, pp. 395-396. also see trin., i, 5: cc l. p. 32; trin., ix, 1: cc l. p. 292. 181 enarrationes in psalm os, 104,3: p4 37, cols. 1391-1392. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 75 trinity was a lifelong spiritual programme that helped augustine to seek and find the trinity in the faith of the church and human understanding. the reflections on the texts of confessiones and de trinitate allow us draw the following conclusions. as in his earlier writings, augustine proposes a sevenstage progress of the triune soul to the trinity as model for christian spiritual life. his search for god had three moments: movement from without to within, interiority, and ascent. he underlines the centrality of christ in the purification of the soul as it ascends to the trinity. the search for god as trinity was augustine's main concern throughout his life. finally, and most importantly, the study of the soul's ascent to god provides a conceptual and a theoretical framework in which we can explore augustine's search for god as trinity; for, "[t]hroughout augustine's writings we find the path of the soul's ascent to god mapped out in neoplatonic terms: it is a movement of withdrawal from the world and into oneself; a movement that involves purification and the acquiring of the virtues, leading to contemplation of god”182. the problem of knowledge in the search for the trinity augustine's quest for the trinity led him to the problem of knowledge of and language for god. we cannot fully understand god, for he is inaccessible; our human language is rather a weak tool for expressing the ineffable trinity. while emphasizing the problem of the divine knowledge, augustine stresses the importance of the religious language of praise in the search for the trinity.169 this idea is best enunciated in his confessiones. 'grant me lord to know and understand' (ps. 118: 34, 73, 144) which comes first-to call upon you or to praise, and whether knowing you precedes calling upon you. but who calls upon you when he does not know you. for an ignorant person might call upon someone else instead of the right one. but surely you may be called upon in prayer that you may be known. yet 'how shall they call upon him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe without a preacher?' (rom. 10: 14). 'they will praise the lord who seeks for him'(ps. 21: 27). in seeking him they find him, and in finding they will praise him. lord, i would seek you, calling upon you and calling upon you is an act of believing in you. you have been preached to us. my faith, lord, calls upon 182 a. louth, "augustine," in the study of spirituality, edited by c. jones et ai. (london: s. p. c. k, 1992), p. 136. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 76 you. it is your gift to me. you breathed it into me by the humanity of your son, by the ministry of your preacher183. as this text indicates, augustine's search for the trinity led him to the ultimate in divine intimacy with all its concomitant problems of religious knowledge and language. is it possible for humans, who are both creatures of god and sinners, to know and understand god? how can one talk about god? can one praise god and pray to him even when one is not able to name god? augustine is aware of the fact that words can misrepresent reality and can mislead one in his judgements. there is the danger of misnaming god184. to name god is to risk idolatry, i.e. to make god according to one's image. but how can one speak about god without manipulation? augustine has no "quick fix" solutions to these questions. he acknowledges the limitation of our knowledge of divine things; the result of our sinful state. also, he appeals to the importance of prayer, praise, the incarnation of christ and the ministry of preachers in seeking and finding god, in naming and talking about him. in this manner, augustine asserts that the golden way to the trinity is that of prayer, praise, the ministry of god's preacher and, above all, "the road he [the father] has made in the beauty of the divinity of his only son" (per uiam quam strauit humanitate diuinitate unigemt sui). conclusion in the first chapter of this work, we have surveyed augustine's search for god as trinity within the contexts of his life. it has been shown that we can neither neglect augustine's condition of restlessness of heart as an instrument of search for happiness and wisdom, nor exaggerate his indebtedness to neoplatonic literature and good christians for helping him develop interest in the search for god as absolutely simple and transcendent, as well as incomprehensible source 183 conf, i, i, 1: ccxxvii, p. 1: "da mihi, domine, scire et intellegere, utrum sit prius inuocare te an laudare te et scire te prius sit an inuocare te. sed quis teinuocat nesciens te? aliud enim pro alio potest inuocare nesciens. an potius inuocaris, ut sciaris? eomodo autem inuocabunt, in quem non crediderunt? aut quomodo credunt sine praedicante? et laudabunt dominum qui requirunt eum. eaerentes enim inueniunt eum et inuenientes laudabunt eum. eaeram te, domine, inuocans te et inuocem te credens in te: praedicatus enim es nobis. inuocat, domine, fides mea, quam dedisti mihi, quam inspirasti mihi per humanitatem filii tui, per ministerium praedicatoris tui." translated by h. chadwick, saint augustine, confessions, p. 3. also see j. j. o'donnell, augustine confessions, vol. 2: commentary books 1-7, pp. 8-17; ddc., i, 6, 6: cc xxxii, pp. 9-10. 184 m. soskice, "the gift of the name: moses and the burning bush," in gre,gorianum 79/2 (1998), pp. 231-246. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 77 of goodness, truth, love, happiness, beauty, peace and mercy. augustine experienced god as trinity at his conversion to christianity. the neoplatonic philosophy and mysticism of ascent of the soul provided augustine a set pattern to follow in the search for the trinity and expression of his spiritual experience. augustine's ascent to the trinity involved a movement from the without to the within of the sele and there he discovered that god was waiting and inviting him to come in and stay. his discovery of the trinity within the soul led him to conclude that human beings were made to the image and likeness of the trinity. the theme of ascent is necessary for the understanding of augustine's search for god as trinity and reformation of humanity to the image of god in books viii to xiv of de trinitate. still, the above summary description of the life of augustine and some of the spiritual themes (which characterized his lifelong search for god) offered; makes it easier for us to locate augustine's trinitarian experience and understand better his spiritual concerns in de trinitate. finally, we must make the effort of situating de trinitate within the context of augustine's other works and influences by investigating the factors of the historical relationship between de trinitate and augustine's other books, its audience, dates and circumstances of its composition. we shall discuss these themes in the next chapter. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 3 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 104 popular music culture and urban experiences in nigeria ibekwe, eunice u. (ph.d) department of music, faculty of arts, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka & aluede, charles o. (ph.d) department of theatre and media arts faculty of arts ambrose alli university, ekpoma, edo state abstract in nigeria, there are different kinds of music and they range from classical, church, traditional/folk, marshal to popular music. each of these musical types/genres has its own characteristics or conditions under which it thrives. popular music as the name implies is the music of the masses but with greatest appeal to the youths and most common in urban centres. it propagates a culture which explores the material and symbolic essence of urban experiences. the environmental constitution of urban centres embodied in physical location, space, infrastructure and other sonic effects favour a kind of expression located within the domain of popular music genre. popular musicians being aware of these factors work towards the production of music that perfectly represent or accommodate the nature and purpose of urban set up/lives. this paper explicates the conditions that necessitate, enhance and or fertilize this breed of genre. it also casts a cursory look at the various hybrids of pop music which sprouted up as a result of modification, transformation and inter-cultural relationship /transfer. imperatively this genre as a matter of fact, poses some effects on the lives of people; all these are given attention in this discourse. introduction music is a multifaceted art that is strictly dependent upon the traditions of its performance, the mode of performance and the features it portrays determine the type of genre, or the name the music goes with. popular music exhibits a peculiar culture or characteristics that distinguish it from the host of other music types. many writers have described it as the music of the masses which greatest appeal lies within the domain of youths and youth at heart. in fact, its span in urban igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 105 centers is without prejudice, principally as result of popular culture it propagates. onyeji (2002; 24) presents “pop music” as “a genre of music, encompassing several styles, that is readily comprehensible to a large proportions of the population; its appreciation requires little or no knowledge of musical theory or technique”. in essence, pop music allows free or open performance and audience participation, in most cases the masses determine the type of music or texts used by the pop musicians, since their music are meant to be appreciated and patronized by these audience. in other words pop music is strictly guided by audience taste and choice. “there acceptance or rejection of any music determines its popularity or failure” (onyeji 2002: 27) the case of the popular especially in the nigerian or african terrain has generated some concern. if popular music is the music of the masses one may be tempted to call mass culture and it places it in the mold of western somewhat homogeneous culture. they use the marxist dominant ideology paradigm which tends to see popular music as site of dominance between the record industry and the general public (evans, 1988). popular music is that which is produced by the uneducated and mainly for commercial reason that is dictated by the record industry. in this wise popular music may not as popular as the tastes of the public are dictated few capitalists whose ideology has been appropriated as that of the people. nevertheless some scholars have tried to explain what is popular in popular culture in africa. ogude/nyairo (2007:7) posits that popular culture which of course includes music is “that part of african creativity which is not elite, unofficial and urban” this definition places it also in the area of the masses because it seems that the masses are the non-elite. englert (2008) tries to explain what is meant by the non elite as to situate popular music in its domain. does it have to do with the educational level of the creators, since mass could be termed crass. the question has been asked if it is the generation gap because it has been observe that the young are those who are the creators and consumers of popular culture.( de boeck & honwana, 2005.) another assumption is the economic and consumerism which has been heightened with the emergence of modern technology like television, the computer and the internet which makes the production and distribution of popular culture fast and easy. the above assumptions not withstanding popular culture has been given its own coloration by karin barber (1987). after doing an exposition on what several writers had said about the subject she distinguishes between traditional, and popular and says that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 106 popular arts can be taken to mean a large class of new unofficial art forms which are syncretic concerned with social change and associated with the masses. the centres of activity are the cities, in their pivotal position between the rural hinterland on the one hand and the metropolitan countries on the other. this definition places it as a pure urban phenomenon and not national as it is a mixture of the existing and the new. this view is underscored by waterman when he says the juju music ebenezer obey and sunny ade shows the effect of acculturation and modernization, this is an apt example of the syncretic nature of popular music. the urban influence of popular music also makes is reactionary and to some extend anti-people, because to talk of the urban is direct the music to a mix of people that is not homogeneous but diverse hence the hybrid nature of popular music. the people as seen in some cases are the locals and owners of a pure culture and cultural forms. this may have provided the reasons for traditional art forms being termed popular because of the nature and all inclusiveness of the native audience. however the real popular addresses a heterogeneous audience which may be domiciled in one place or afar. apart from audience influence on the choice, span and blossom of popular music, environmental dispositions play a very important role in the sense that, the musicians exploit the advantage of the dense population of urban centers to maximize their production, sales and consequently enhance their economic status. popular music cultivates, enjoys as well as espouses a culture that makes it invulnerable to extinction. it keeps pace with the themes and currents of the moment and that makes it relevant to every age and season. conditions that favour popular music genre each music genre has its peculiarities or characteristics under which it thrives. for popular music, a lot of features enhance or contribute to its longevity. one of such factors could be associated with audience location and infrastructural set up of urban cities. urban cities are known to be strategically positioned in such a way that a greater percentage of human enterprises take place in such places. all these activities in the urban draw people from the rural areas into these cities thereby leaving the rural areas with much reduced population. this movement includes musicians and audience alike. it also follows that development appears igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 107 to be more concentrated in urban than in rural areas. these developments include infrastructures in terms of concert halls, theaters, recording studios/materials and modern electronic equipment. according to onyeji (2002: 26) pop musicians have always been very quick to exploit the possibilities of electronic equipment which include different types of guitars, synthesizers, drums and rhythm composers; computers (in recent times), amplifiers, sound effect generators, sound modifiers …. non-electronic instrument such as trumpet with and without mutes, saxophones, acoustic guitars, jazz drum sets, trombone, flutes, clarinets, violins and different percussive instruments. urban centers create markets which make all these equipment mentioned above easily accessible to the pop musicians. even in the areas of non sonic materials that enhance pop music presentation, onyeji (2002: 20) highlights “different lighting facilities which give colour and mood to pop music performances, costumes, smoke effect, ribbons, fireworks, balloons of different colours” according to him, these embellish pop music presentations, as well as add a note or emphasis on the theme of music. these also make popular music easily acceptable to the public especially the youths. another cultural attribute of pop music that enhances its span is its commercial oriented nature. pop music is not a mere entertainment art. the society places much value on social status specifically on the economic power of individuals, as a result many people plunge into music, and want to make it by all means whether they have the talent or not. these untalented musicians at times try to model after most of the big names in the pop music circle just in a bid to produce albums for sale. this quick chase for money often boils down to boot legging or piracy. pop music cds, dvd, cassettes and videos constitute the greatest market in music industry as both genuine and un-genuine productions flood the market. also music is viewed as a must have product in every home for that, people see it as the quickest and easiest way of making money, since there is a ready market to sell their products. the nature of its production which make it accessible to many since it utilized the common symbols of communicating with a mass audience. brigit engbert (2008) echoing theodor adorno says that “popular music is simplistic, repetitive, and boring, and that it remains this way because igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 108 commercial forces manipulate it in order to placate and manipulate the masses who passively respond to it”. popular music is ever relevant due to the centrality of its contents on current issues. it keeps track with every trend in the life of people in other wards it draws from societal events and experiences such as politics, economic boom or melt down, austerity, good or bad leadership, social vices such as bribery, corruption, kidnapping, war, insecurity, religious racketeering, racism and so on. other sources could be associated with people’s quest for freedom in time of oppression, injustice and suppression. at times it becomes praises of known personalities. in this praise issue, ozoemene nwa nsugbe, a well known folk musician says in his interview with asigbo (2009) that he praises people just because of the money that is involved. for him praise singing is a matter of contract. many pop musicians are guilty of praising people on the spur of moment just in a bid to get money. therefore as events evolve in societies, pop musicians get or become equipped with themes or materials to work with. among other things that favour the growth of popular music, the type of audience makes a lot of contribution. the audience of popular music constitutes mainly of youths and youth at heart. this group makes up the greater percentage of societal population. and because of their large number, it implies that their demand for popular music will as well be on the high side. an artist/composer is encouraged when his product is demanded and this normally results in more production. therefore high demand for popular music promotes/increases its span. another serious factor which must never be overlooked is the language of the genre. popular music can be rendered in any type of language within audience disposal. it is normally rendered in vernacular, pidgin and english, or a mixture of vernacular and pidgin, english and vernacular and so on. the audience is normally at home with the language of popular music as a result they are not restrained or rather confronted with any language barrier/complexity. what is most essential in the use of language is the ability of the hearers to understand the message it carries along. therefore the ultimate aim of any pop musician is to communicate meaningfully to his target audience via the choice of language deemed fit for the work. look at this excerpt from 2 face idibia’s “nothing dey happen” as recorded by oikelome (2010: 149) my guy na your eye you go sharpen igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 109 because he likes say he don dey happen, no shaken notin dey happen, nobody won kpai, but dem won go heaven … in the above text, the composer makes use of pidgin and even slang that has gained conventional appeal. ‘kpai’ according to oikelome (2010: 150) “are expressions which do not belong to any language but are being used by common people in the streets to mean ‘die”. in other words, popular musicians are not restricted to any particular language. these few points discussed may not be an exhaustive presentation of conditions favourable for the growth and spread of popular music but just to draw our minds on the possible causes of superfluity of popular music in our society today. types of popular music in nigeria writing on the types of popular music in nigeria may somehow look monotonous as many writers have dealt extensively on the subject. onyeji, 2002; okafor, 2005; onwuegbuna, 2009 among others have critically traced the emergence of popular music in nigeria to interethnic relations. “through culture contact orchestrated by migrations, trade, and all other factors of urbanizations, ethnic pop styles of different peoples and regions fused into indigenous hybrids that are categorized as interethnic pop styles”. (onwuegbuna 2009:93) according to onyeji (2002:28) “it is very difficult to keep track of all the developments in pop music globally. (but) important to note that while some pop music types were developed singly, others emerged through fusion of elements from existing pop music types”. similarly, okafor (2005:328) asserts. some of these are adaptations and derivatives of traditional music (e.g. apala, sakara, akuko na egwu and dadakuada) and reflect interactions between local and western musical cultures (e.g. high life and juju) . . . also the imported forms such as the souls from the united states, west indian reggae and their own derivatives (e.g. afro-beat, afro-rock and 0zzidi). in a more concrete terms, popular music as the case with nigerian contemporary situation has no singular source or origin. popular music as the name connotes can equally represent a generic term for such music as high life, disco, rock and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 110 roll, rock, blues, reggae; rhythm and blues (r&b) calypso, rap and so on. in fact popular music types with their derivatives are too numerous to mention, but to make it as concise as possible, omibiyi-obidike in okonkwo (2010: 127) grouped them into three distinct types: � the variety that developed as a result of the influence of the west – european lifestyle, for instance, highlife and juju; � those that have direct influence from the pop – explosion in various parts of the world which include, afro-rock, jazz, afro-beat, reggae, disco, funk and � the islamized semi – indigenous types such as apala, sakara, waka and fuji omibiyi – obidike and okafor’s opinions have many things in common. these writers have tried so much in addressing the issue of nigerian popular music types, but one thing is still quite obvious – ‘change’. the type of radical change experienced in music industry as a result of advancement in the use of electronic gadgets has accelerated the expansion and the inclusion of more music types into popular genres. hence the emergence of the type branded naija hip pop. this type of pop music has gained much popularity among the youths in recent time. it does not apply that hip hop has not been existing or has never existed before but the fact is that each period has what makes it unique or different from the other which may be attributed to either the choice of texts, word usages or the style of dance orchestrated by the dynamics of instrumentation, even costuming has its own part to play when it comes to identity formation. the relevance of pop music at any given period is characterized by societal prevalent situations. this is because, the image pop music presents in the forties, fifties, eighties and nineties was by far different from what it is now or what it will be tomorrow. effects of popular music on musicians and audience popular music over the years has recorded an overwhelming influence on its exponents and audience alike. most of the popular musicians have betrayed or rather mortgaged their personal identities to what they call professional identities. it is very common to see a male pop musician on braided hair, dreadigwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 111 locks, ear rings, big or oversized goggle and other costly jewelries that make contrasting fashion expressions/remarks on the bearer. a good number of them are associated with illicit behavior which society frowns at, the texts of their music are most times uncivilized and they yield so easily to extravagant and reckless type of life. in discussing the personality of pop musicians, onyeji (2002: 34) infers that they are often associated with hotels, excessive drinking, prostitution, polygamous and unstable family life, night life, radicalism, street gangs, broken homes and relationships, early deaths, late marriage or no marriages at all, drugs, excessive smoking, disrespect to authorities and parents, lack of trust and seriousness . . . enticing vibrant youths and children out of school and more serious professions. stressing further on these anti social behavior of pop musicians, ogisi (2006: 105) reports merriam as saying that they: drink, and smoke hemp to excess, are lazy, do not like to indulge in physical labour and are poor at it, are excellent lovers but poor husbands, and are improvident and foolish in the management of money, furthermore, they quarrel, like to travel, are inordinately fond of eating, and apt to fleece the unwary, particularly strangers. all these unholy attitudes portray pop musicians in a negative image and therefore accord them low status in this status driven society. on the other hand, this could indirectly be translatable to the poor rating of music as a befitting course of study in institutions. the youths who are grossly affected by the charms of these social vices enumerated above stand the risk of living unrealistic and unruly lives. most youths drop out of school, and roam the streets putting on ear phones or carrying guitar or any other type of musical instrument about, but when they are not able to make it music wise, they may end up as gangsters, miscreants or any other type of criminality. early exposure of youths to these unhealthy patterns of life is too devastating for positive character formation. most youths also go after every trend of fashion exhibited by these musicians whether it appeals to societal values or not. for instance, most young boys now wear ear rings, sagging trousers, big or extra ordinary eye glasses etc. girls are not left out in this reckless dressing, theirs is even worst as most of them now go half nude in the name of fashion. some texts or languages of popular music are not always palatable as they contain uncivilized, vulgar/uncouth and foul igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 112 remarks that are not good for growing children. consider these texts from dr. sid’s “switch – over the moon”, verse 2: shawty say you (you) really wanna go (go) out to nite, so mama rock the dance floor and i say yeah, sure we can go we can do anything that you want to shawty looking fly from head to toe dream say she’s a ten, i said she’s the koko i like the way she wine and make her body move body so sexy!, i lose control baby i can’t stop-stop staring at you when you drop-drop bringing it back to the top-top i wanna get-off at your bus stop (your bus-stop) you top notch, body so hot that i must touch baby am like that hot stuff (hot stuff) girl you know i like the way you dance all over me, the way you dance all over me dey make me kolo-oo he he (2 x) (aliogo, 2011:5) another example from t. pain’s “let’s get it on” . . . i can see it in your eyes you want me behind so you can throw it back (let’s get it on tonight) i can’t even lie, i got a need for your thighs igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 113 nothing wrong with that (let’s get it on tonight) girls is u feeling me u killing me, u feeling me u killing me, u feeling me (let’s get it on tonight) (aliogo, 2011:33) there are many other examples that are even more queer and unrefined than these two which pop musicians use at random. the song texts have no moral concept yet youths clamour for them probably, as a result of their erotic or emotional excitement that make the youths crazy about them. at times, the texts of most of this pop music have no message at all to the audience; they are just a cacophony of sound booming out from synthesizers and amplifiers. all these developments are very far from what pop music used to be in the past. nevertheless, pop music and musicians should not be packaged or viewed only from their negative perspectives. the contributions and positive impacts they make in societies are enormous. pop music provides the greatest source of entertainment. some of their messages can educate, enlighten, correct, admonish and keep people abreast of the happenings in the society. it then becomes quite erroneous to totally condemn pop music and its exponents based on the above mentioned flaws. just as hip hop music has negative influences it has been proved to have positive uses. in the united states several studies have been carried out to see how this genre of pop music can be used to mobilize the hitherto disturbed youth or could be made useful in the society. dee williams posits that “hip hop culture has been much maligned in the field of education for its disruptive role in the lives of youth. as such, education has ignored a cultural force that has had a major role in the development of youth identity” (2007). his work studied the educational system of the us and recommends the use of hip hop as part of teaching aids for the youths despite the negative way it is looked at by traditional educators, he even observed igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 114 to ignore the radicalized aspect of this pubic dialogue would be irresponsible. because hip hop emerged from the urban centers and because of the race of the participants, it is often thought of as unworthy of study, but with over 300 universities across the nation including its most prestigious (yale, princeton, stanford, harvard, etc.) offer courses covering hip hop and hip hop culture, the intellectual foundation is quickly becoming indisputable. (269-270) gosa and hollie also commented that despite the bad boy image of the late tupac shakur his music preaches positive messages: “tupac instead portrays intellectualism as a part of an authentic black male identity”. in nigeria, musicians like african china, abdulkarem azeez (nigeria jagaja) and sound (textbook). the use of pop music and musician as vehicles for motivating and mobilizing the masses in various national events in the past and present goes to underscore the power and influence of popular music on its audience. conclusion obviously, one might hastily conclude without reservation that pop music is the fastest growing genre in nigeria, and the youth s have more passion for it than any other genre. based on this premise, it becomes a very big challenge to the association of nigerian performing musicians (pman), the nigerian copy right commission and even the academic musicians to decide what type of music is suitable for public consumption, in terms of texts and word usages, so as to bring sanity in nigerian music industry. references aliogo, j.e. (2011) 2011 music of the year. enugu: de – joe publication and communication ltd. asigbo, a.c. (2009) oral performance as siren: the example of ozoemena nwa nsugbe. the creative artist: a journal of theatre and media studies. alex asigbo, tracie chima utoh – ezeajugh and clementina abone (eds) awka: valid publishing company (3) 1, 19-3 barber, k. (1987) popular arts in africa. in: african studies review, vol. 30/3, pp. 1-78. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 115 de boeck, f. & honwana, a. (2005) introduction children & youth in africa. in: de boeck, f. honwana, a. (eds.). makers and breakers children and youth in postcolonial africa. oxford:james currey, dakar: codesria, trenton: africa world press, pp. 1-18. evans. t (1988) pop music in culture notes no. 8 an occasional publication of the libertarian alliance, london: libertarian aliance (online) www.libertarian.co.uk retrieved december 13th 2012 englert, b. (2008) popular music and politics in africa: some introductory reflections gosa t. l. & young, h. (2006) the construction of oppositional culture in hiphop music: an in-depth case analysis of kanye west and tupac shakur (online) www.agi.harvard.edu/search/download.php?id=11 retreived decdmber 15th 2012 oikelome, a.o. (2010) music as tool for conflict resolution in the niger delta. awka journal of research in music and the arts. (7) 83 – 101 ogisi, a.a (2006) a theoretical interpretation of the status of the musician in contemporary nigeria. awka journal of research in music and the arts (ajrma) (op 3) 100 – 113 ogude, j.& nyairo, j. east african popular culture: an introduction. in: ogude, j. & j. nyairo. (eds.). (2007). urban legends, colonial myths. popularculture and literature in east africa. trenton, usa: africa research & amp publications, 1-22. okafor, r.c. (2005) music in nigerian society. enugu. new generation books okonkwo, v.n (2010) proffering a pedagogical in model for incorporating popular music in tertiary music education. awka journal of research in music and the arts. (ajrma) (7) 124 – 133 onwuegbuna, i.e (2009) pop music analysis in the 21st century: an adaptation of the pressey – skinner programmed – learning theory. awka journal of research in music and the arts. (6) 90 – 104 onyeji, c. (2002) popular music: facts about the music and musicians. music in africa, fact and illusions. ibadan: stirling – horden publishers (nig.) ltd. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 116 waterman, c. a. (1982) “i’m a leader not a boss”: social identity and popular music in ibadan nigeria in ethnomusicology vol 26 no. 1 january 1982 59-72 williams, a. (2007) the critical cultural cypher: hip-hop’s role in engaging students in a discourse of enlightenment: dissertation submitted to the faculty of the graduate school of the university of maryland, college park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of doctor of philosophy (online) drum.lib.umd.edu/bitstream/1903/6989/1/umi-umd4498.pdf retrieved 15th december 2012 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 99 tradoecology of the yoruba as a tool for sustaining the environment in traditional communities: a study in ecological anthropology tubi, paul-kolade, phd department of archaeology and museum studies, federal university lokoja, nigeria paul.tubi@fulokoja.edu.ng & dauji, zankawon mercy department of archaeology and museum studies, federal university lokoja, nigeria. zankawon.dauji@fulokoja.edu.ng & ibrahim, joel department of archaeology and museum studies, federal university lokoja, nigeria. joel.ibrahim@fulokoja.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.33912.11529 abstract this paper focuses on tradoecology of traditional commuities. using the yoruba as a case study, it examines the usefulness of tradoecology as a tool in studying the ecological anthropology of traditional communities. it aims for a sustainable environment in the face of on-going monumental destruction of the planet. data reveal that the world is inundated with severe ecological problems with apocalyptic proportions. under this pathetic condition, the research notes that traditional communities, like the yoruba are worst hit as they lack the needed modern scientific means to confront the menace. the paper identifies and proposes tradoecology as eco-friendly and as a most appropriate mechanism for sustaining the environment. methodologically, the study engages in ethnographic fieldwork in parts of yorubaland, which are considered as pristine traditional communities to gain firsthand knowledge of tradoecology and thereby build up fundamental points on ecological anthropology of the people. findings indicate that yorubaland has immense traditional ecological mechanisms, which can ameliorate the gamut of ecological degradation confronting humanity. the paper concludes that the study of tradoecology and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 100 ecological anthropology of the yoruba portends great value to anthropological and ecological studies. keywords: ecological anthropology, environment, tradoecology, traditional communities, yoruba introduction there are ongoing cataclysmic environmental crises in the world, with damaging effects on humanity and the planet. the conclusion emanating from studies indicates that the planet is experiencing the biggest mass extinction in history of the earth, (robinson, https://earth.org, stanchwa, https://pawsomeaddvice.com). importantly traditional communities of the world are badly affected. scholars like anderson (2016), berkes (1993), platten and henfrey (2009), and olaniyan (2003), have examined data on ecological disasters of traditional communities and concluded that the earth has entered a perilous phase. in a critical contribution to the issue, tubi (2020) describes it as “ecocide”. in a recent ecological study of traditional yoruba communities, graphic illustrations of the menace of ecological disasters confronting the people were highlighted: the olori ode (chief hunter) of ogidi, one of the principal towns of okunland, looked askance towards a direction and said, “in the past, we had antelopes, grass cutters and bush pigs in this forest. now, it is bare”. an aged aworo (chief priest) at ayedayo states, “the relationship between human beings and the environment was hallowed in this community”. pointing to one of the hills, he sighed and continued, “nobody dared to set fire to the sacred grove those days, but now look at it; as fire set by cattle herders has razed everything down”. the herders commence early bush burning as a deliberate method of getting fodders for their cattle. the oba (traditional ruler) of iluke, of bunu district in northeast yorubaland, in a discussion with the researcher, opines that traditional communities have lost their hallowed land and pristine environments to the activities of “modern people” who have no regards for the peoples’ culture, (tubi 2022:2-3). methodological and conceptual clarifications the framework of the study emanates from three propositions: (i) that traditional communities of the world, like the yoruba, provide scholars with sufficient data to re-examine the multiplicity of global environmental crises affecting humanity and proffer environmentally workable solutions. (ii) that it has become incumbent igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 101 on scholars to engage in ecological anthropological study because it has become apparent that scientists alone cannot solve the mounting ecological crises bedevilling humanity. it is therefore imperative for scholars to carry out extensive study of traditional peoples of the world so as to examine, obtain, distil and employ their pristine traditional ecological methods, as applicable. (iii) that ecology has serious anthropological implications and it is certain that the ecological war will not be won unless, its anthropological angle is clearly examined as pointed out by scholars such as anderson, (1991), branton (2007), haen, et.al (2016) and tubi, (2018). methodologically, the researchers employed direct participant-observation fieldwork, which is best suited for anthropological studies. they visited and examined several ecologically worsened sites in yorubaland, with special focus on okun communities in northeast yorubaland. to enhance a balanced ecological anthropological study, the researchers spent two (2) years studying the tradoecology of some traditional okun-yoruba communities and their response to their immediate environment. the yoruba are groups of dialectically related peoples of west africa, that speak the same language. they are indigenous to benin, nigeria and togo republics. the dialects include akoko, awori, egba, ekiti, oyo, igbomina, ijebu, ilaje, and okun amongst others. they form one of the largest ethnic groups of africa. they are traditionally urbanised and are grouped under various forms of monarchical government, which date from prehistoric times. their ethnohistory is influenced by the personality of an individual called oduduwa. ile ife is generally acclaimed as their ancestral home and as the source of the world, by popular mythology. their worldview is shaped by their belief in a supreme being called olodumare, who is served by multiplicity of deities, (fadipe, 1991). scientific archaeology identifies the yoruba as autochthones of their locations (ogundiran, 2020; tubi, 2020). the choice of northeast yorubaland for intense fieldwork is supported by archaeological claims that it is the oldest inhabited part of yorubaland, (allworthsjones, et.al, 2012; ogundiran, 2020; tubi 2020). anthropology in this paper is defined as the general science of humanity, which offers a systematic study of peoples on earth. it offers the most holistic approach to the study of humanity in all parts of the world. kottak (2010:579-584) describes it as a means of appreciating the diversity among human beings. ecology is explained in this text as the systematic study of the interconnectedness between living things and the natural environments. the british ecological society defines ecology as the study of the interactions among living things and their igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 102 environment, (https://www.britishecologicalsociety.org). ecological anthropology in this study has broad perspectives. it refers to the branch of anthropology and its methodology of inquiry in ecology. it studies the interconnectivity between human beings and everything in nature. it is a holistic methodology of research. its primary focus is the traditional communities of the world. ecological anthropological inquiry is based on indigenous people, with basic elements of their traditions still left largely undistorted by foreign contacts. ecological anthropology engages scholars on how to achieve and maintain sustainability of the earth, which has been subjected to massive onslaughts of ecological despoliation. it also examines the reciprocity between human beings and their environment thereby investigating how human communities shape their environment and how nature in turn shapes human communities, (gragson and blout, 1999; platten and henfrey, 2009: 491-500; kottak, 1999:23-35). kottak (1999:23-35), projects its value in initiating and sustaining a new ecological inquiry in anthropology. the term tradoecology refers to general traditional ecological knowledge. according to scholars like gragson and blout (1999) and haenn, et. al (2016), tradoecology deals with the entire knowledge of the environment, its resources and how they affect human beings. it is the popular scientific study of how people live within the ecosystem in their particular locale. the term can also be called ethnoecology, which is primed for the study of ecology of different ethnic groups. in this study, the terms (tradoecology and ethnoecology) cover a whole range of what can collectively be called scientific knowledge of traditional people of their environment. in studying the ethnoecologies of traditional communities, it assesses the interconnectivity and complex relationships between human beings and the environment within a particular locale. scholars such as anderson, (1996), berkes (1993), and branton (2007), have shed more light on it by highlighting the socio-anthropological dimensions of ecology. the concern cuts across as theologians and scientists, religionists and politicians, scholars and activists have urged for a critical tradoecological study of the world. according to berkes (1993:433), traditional ecological knowledge holds the key to environmental management in the face of uncontrolled consumerist taste of the modern world. important contribution comes from tarusarira, (https://doi.org/101111/erev.12302) who focuses on africa and provides data of ecological knowledge systems. tradoecology in this paper covers the corpus of indigenous knowledge of traditional people acquired over the years and the scientific cross-cultural study igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 103 of how people live in the ecosystem within their particular locale. this paper identifies three critical elements of tradoecological study, namely: (i) it is a conscious scientific study of human-environment relationships over time that to seeks to understand how communities conceptualise their environment and make sense out of their relationships with the natural environment. (ii) it is a cultural approach to the study of ecology, which means it is an anthropological endeavour. (iii) it systematically gathers and filters traditional indigenous knowledge of the environment, which makes it a scientific enterprise. highlights of global ecological crises environmental condition of the world has worsened geometrically over the years and data present a glooming picture for the planet, humanity and everything in it. data from the world health organization show that 7 million persons died each year over air pollution, plastic kills over 1 million seabirds every year, and there are 5.25 trillion of plastic debris in the ocean. 8.3 million acres of tropical forest are lost a year, so that every 6 seconds human beings destroy a soccer field-size of rainforest. the sea level is rising at average of 3.2 mm per year globally, more than 68 billion tones of top-soil is eroded annually, and human beings generate estimated 92 million tones of textiles waste per year, (robinson, https://earth.org; stanchwa, https://pawsomeadvice.com). data point to steady rise in global temperature; in fact, it has accelerated horribly more in the last 50 years due to air pollutants arising from fossil fuels, coal burning power plants, among others. the earth’s ocean temperature is getting warmer, frequency of hurricanes has increased since the 1980s, extreme heat waves cause thousands of death around the world and the antarctica is losing about 134 billion metric tonnes of ice per year since 2002. severe droughts, troublesome new pests, heavy downpours, increased flooding, amongst others, have inflicted severe hardship on humanity. these are just few of the data. scholars like branton (2007), mcdonagh (2010), carrington (2019), and koop (https:www.zmescience.com.) examine the various sources, natures and degrees of ecological crises from scientific perspectives and gave a wide range of data on the frightening ecological condition of the world. the conclusion is that the world is under serious ecological crisis. in 2017, 16,000 scientists issued a joint warning to humanity on climate crisis (christensen 1). the same thought was expressed on 5 november 2019, by 11,000 scientists from 150 countries who issued a severe warning on the menacing climate change thereby sounding calls on vital signs and indicators of the magnitude of the climatic and ecological emergency facing humanity, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 104 (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/nov/05/climate-crisis11,000-scientists-arn-of-untold-sufferin and https:www.zmescience.com). tradoecology of traditional yoruba community the tradoecology and ecological anthropology of the yoruba people bring forth the richness of their traditional ecological prowess and knowledge. data from this research show that the yoruba have rich tradoecological knowledge and its knowledge is well grounded among the people.this paper identifies tradoecology of the yoruba as an important tool in environmental management in the face of unrelenting global onslaughts of westernization and globalization, which have succeeded in creating severe ecological degradation on the planet. one of the first concrete observations from the fieldwork about the yoruba is that they possess traditional ecological knowledge that has been very valuable to their society and environment. among the okun speaking people, like their yoruba kins, there is evidence of tremendous knowledge of nature. they also have deeper knowledge of fauna and flora. they have names for different geographic features, weather conditions, water bodies, plants, animals, and land. they have useful indepth knowledge of plant and animal resources. with ease, okun farmers and yam sellers count different types of white yam as ewusu, kege, okumodo, olaka, ogunmole, awala, lolo, ipe, sebukere, boki, oga, anilokoja. apart from the popular white yam, farmers count five species of yams namely ewura (water yam), omino (aerial yam), koko (coco yam), olo (yellow yam) and ehuru (bitter yam). during this research, the aworo of ogidi identifies over 40 types of leaves and trees within a radius of 16 kilometres. among the okun, the research discovers that by their daily contacts with the environment, rural folks were able to count over 120 eranko (animals) and identify with ease various types of ejo (snakes). they counted as many as 12 types of ejo found in okunland such as; apedun, ipeta, iyemere, ogba, awumotu, mori,oka, owori, ajola, omonurin, ere and monamona. they counted off-hand 6 types of obo (monkeylike creatures) which are aghere, edun, agha, ato, inaki, and elegbede. young boys of secondary school age across okunland counted with ease various rats, which include aburujagi, agogo, amo, afi, ute, asin and ekuile. when the researchers asked their city-dweller counterparts in lokoja, kogi state capital city, they were unable to do. these show that traditional people acquire tremendous scientific knowledge through direct contact with the environment. it is on this basis that the opinion of birkes (432), that traditional ecological knowledge provides a rich data on the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 105 ecology and ecological management of traditional, preliterate societies, becomes very authoritative. cultural indicators of tradoecology of the yoruba the yoruba, as this study shows, have clearly marked cultural indicators of tradoecology. this paper examines them succinctly under five headings: (i) tradoecological knowledge is acquired through contact with the environment traditional yoruba society has good knowledge of the environment through their direct contacts with nature. they are abreast with ethnoscientific knowledge, which is of prime importance in ecological management. through this, they know the alternating wet and dry seasons, as well as time for planting and harvesting. they know the sounds of birds and animals, in addition they can identify the tracks and footmarks of various games. (ii) cumulative tradoecological knowledge is transmitted from generation to generation another aspect of traditional yoruba ecological knowledge is that it is based on oral transmission. this knowledge is passed on from generation to generation through orature using songs, dance, stories, and beliefs. as a cumulative repositorium of data, traditional ecological knowledge is an authentic form of knowledge that has helped the people for thousands of years in coping with their environment. it is hoped that western scientists will gradually come to recognise the importance of cumulative knowledge in ecological management. (iii) tradoecology is based on sustainability of local resources the tradoecology of the yoruba is deeply rooted on sustainability of the earth. as a result, traditional yoruba’s scientific knowledge is immensely useful to the communities because it helps to sustain local resources. this study discovers that traditional ecological knowledge is very helpful in sustaining the environment and it is helpful in providing traditional remedies that avoid the rapid depletion of natural resources. it projects traditional system of environmental management, through its various means of farm management, crop planting, water treatment, animal husbandry, etc. generally, it involves the knowledge of natural environment, usage of nature and sustainability of local resources; therefore, it is useful for sustaining the ecology. (iv) tradoecology indicates symbiotic relationship between human beings and the environment igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 106 traditional yoruba’s ecological knowledge shows the interconnectivity between people, animals and nature and the symbiotic relationship between them. it is a cautious approach to earth management which prevents human beings from despoiling the earth, because doing so will pose a lot of harm to humanity. the study discovers that as a system that is natural, it involves symbiotic relationships between human beings, animals, and plants. (v) tradoecology is anthropologically oriented traditional ecological knowledge of the yoruba can best be described as indigenous science (herein called ethnoscience). in comparison to western science, traditional ecological knowledge is based on ethnology, whereby it is conceived as a form of knowledge that is acclaimed as the property of the society that practices it. in addition, it is spiritually oriented, uniting the psychical, nonmaterial, and inner aspects of human beings. also, it is ethical, makes value statements, and it is associated with a belief system. by juxtaposition with western science, ethnoscience is it is qualitative in method and passed orally and it is based on factual observation, naming, classifying of things found in nature and transmitted verbally, while western science is materialistic, quantitative, and written. relevance of tradoecology in yoruba culture this study identifies the following values of ecology in okunland which are; indicator of weather and climate, source of agriculture and food supply, religious values, health care, sheltering, clothing and anthropological values. (i) tradoecological knowledge indicates weather and climate condition first, ecology is the major ecological indicator of the climatic condition of the area. invariably, the geographical location of the area plays significant roles in their religious, economic, and social activities. (ii) tradoecology helps to sustain food supply the weather and climate provide them rich natural resources for sustenance and living. their agricultural practices and mechanism of food supply are based on the ecology of the area. located in the savannah and rain belts of west africa, yorubaland has arable land that is good for crop farming and cash crops. the people are adept in farming in which major crops are yams, millet, beans, and cassava. they rely largely on local foods for their sustenance because of the fertility of their soils, although their menu now include rice. the land also supplies them portable water from streams, cisterns, and springs. the area is also full of animal igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 107 resources from which they derived meat for their menu. animals sourced include antelopes, deer, rabbits, snakes, and assorted birds like partridge and guinea fowl. there are also locally domesticated animals like goats and sheep, which are eaten by the people. (iii) tradoecology serves religious purposes ecology also serves religious purposes for the people. immediately, it is clear to the researcher that their religious system is closely aligned with nature in which their deities are personifications of geographic features and natural endowments like hills, rivers, animals, and forests. these morphological features are conceived as the abodes of the deities or in some cases, they are also considered as the manifestations of the deities. as this study indicates, the deification of the environment has significant religious concept among the yoruba. in addition, the obvious fact that all religious paraphernalia are made from natural materials, such as cloths, leaves, masks and palms point to the ecotheological import of their religion. (iv) tradoecology provides health care another way in which ecology plays important roles in yoruba tradoecology is through health care. tradomedicine is a major source of medical treatment among the people. male and female experts practice herbology across board. they are especially good in psychiatric and orthopaedic treatment and in the treatment of fertility and childbirth problems, malaria and other health challenges. babalawo and iyaalagbo are adept in the medical values of plants and trees in the area. they prepare concoctions with herbs for the treatment of different ailments, which many claim are very effective. aworo ogidi counted 20 medicinal leaves within a distance of 1.5 kilometres in ogidi. herbology is a gift and knowledge, which is integrated into african healing system. there are some functional modern orthodox health centres in the area, which cater for the needs of the people. however, traditional health practices are still very popular among the people. it is envisaged in the study that this practice will continue for a very long time and the time for integration of traditional medical practices with western practices should be cemented. (v) tradoecology in aid of sheltering shelter is a basic human need. sheltering is primarily made from natural materials among the yoruba. this fact underlines the relevance of tradoecology among the people. a traditional house is made from mud beaten with straw. houses are roofed with timbers and grass. however, with modernization, cement blocks and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 108 corrugated iron sheets have largely replaced the traditional forms of construction. yet, there are many houses that are still built of mud. timbers are still the preferred material for logging. (vi) tradoecology as source of aesthetics data from the study indicate that tradoecology played significant roles in the aesthetics, clothing and accessories of the people of yorubaland. traditionally, the materials for clothing are natural materials, which are sourced locally. informants claim that weaving was one of the most important traditional industries of the people. cotton the primary material for cloth was sourced locally from farmers or bought from the markets. expert weavers constructed weaving looms, where assorted fabrics were produced. they weaved assorted types of cloths, which were used for dresses, customs for masquerades, wedding ceremonies, and chieftaincy installations. they also produced sizable amount for sale at markets. due to the use of western, chinese and indian fabrics, and the takeover of the clothing industry in the country by giant conglomerates, the traditional weaving industry has almost ceased. what is left now is a minuscule of a huge industry in the past. (vii) tradoecology is valuable for cultural studies tradoecology furnishes us with reliable ethnographic data on the anthropological features and archaeological artefacts of the people that were buried under the earth. as scientist dig up these artefacts, we are able to know about the past cultural achievements of the people through their artefacts and cultural features by giving them ethnographic interpretations. summary and conclusion this study shows that traditional ecological knowledge is a conscious acceptance of the contribution of local people to environmental issues. it makes acceptable to researchers that the locals can contribute to a sustainable future because they are stakeholders. this tradoecological study clearly reveals that the yoruba have immense knowledge of the environment. they possess intimate knowledge of animals and plants, hunting, fishing, farming, tapping and trapping. they, in addition, have a holistic knowledge of forestry and herbology. modern researchers cannot jettison this body of knowledge; rather they should be harnessed and made useful for human beings. this is in line with the submissions of scholars like birkes (440) and hernandez-mercillo (10-14), amongst others, who have made clarion calls for enhancement of traditional scientific knowledge and method. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 109 the paper provides a clear picture of ecological anthropology. it gives succinct facts about its usefulness in scholarship. ecological anthropology recommends itself for scholars because of the profundity of its data on ecology and the ongoing environmental crises in the world. the paper examines the traditional ecology of the yoruba and surmises that the basic principles of tradoecology can be surmised as three points: it is a scientific study of human-environment relationships over time, which seeks to understand how communities conceptualise their environment and make sense out of their relationships with the natural environment. it is principally a human approach to the study of ecology, and it involves traditional indigenous knowledge of the environment. the paper concludes that tradoecology provides the best environmentally friendly methodology for ecological management. references alworths-jones, p, oyelaran, p, stringer, c and compton, t. (2012). itaakpa: a late stone agr site in southwestern nigeria. journal of field archaeology, 37, pp. 167-177. anderson, e. (1996). ecologies of the heart: emotion, belief, and the environment. new york and oxford: oxford university press. berkes, f. (1993). “traditional ecological knowledge in perspectives”. traditional ecological knowledge: concepts and cases, vol. 52, no. 5, 1993, pp 432-445 branton, c. (2007). an introduction to religion and ecology. cambridge: cambridge university press, 2007. british ecological society. “ecology”. https://www.britishecologicalsociety.org. carrington, d. (2019). climate crisis: 11,000 scientists warn of ‘untold suffering’. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/nov/05/climatecrisis-11,000-scientists-arn-of-untold-sufferin. retrieved 30 march 2022. christensen, j. (2019). 16,000 scientists sign dire warning to humanity over health of planet. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13106. retrieved 30 march 2022. fadipe, n. a. (1991). the sociology of the yoruba. ibadan: ibadan university press. gragson, t and blout, b. (1999). ethnoecology, knowledge, resources, and rights. georgia: university of georgia press. haen, n. et al. (2016). the environment in anthropology. new york: nyu press. koop, f. (2019). more than 11,000 scientists forsee “untold suffering” due to climate emergency. https:www.zmescience.com. retrieved on 30 march 2022. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 110 kottak, c. p. (1999). the new ecological anthropology american anthropologist, vol. 101, no. 1, 1999, pp. 23-35. jstor, www.jstor.org/stable/683339. accesssed 31 march 2022. kottak, c. p. (2010). anthropology: appreciating human diversity. (14th ed.) new york: mcgraw-hill, pp. 579-584. mcdonagh, s. (2010). climate change: a challenge to all of us. new york; columbia press. ogundiran, a. (2020). the yoruba: a new history. indiana university press platten, s. and henfrey, t. (2009). “the cultural keystone concept: insights from ecological anthropology” human ecology, vol. 37, no. 4, 2009, pp. 491-500. jstor, www.jstor.org/stable/40343990. retrieved 31 march 2022. robinson, d. (2022). 12 biggest environmental problems of 2022. htpss://earth.org. retrieved, april 20, 2022. stanchwa, t (2022). 2022’s environment statistic – beyond the human impact. https://pawsomeadvice.com. retrieved april 22, 2022. tarusarira, j. african religion, climate and knowledge systems. https://doi.org/101111/erev.12302. retrieved, 30 march 2022 tubi, p-k, (2020). ecocide in traditional communities: an anthropological study of ecological crises in northeast yorubaland. ijmsspcs vol 3, no 3, pp 245255. tubi, p-k. (2018). ethnoecological crisis in northeast yorubalan d and its anthropological implications. journal of environment and culture, vol 15, 2018 (online). tubi, p-k. (2020). anthropological-archaeological study of a late stone age site in ogidi-ijumu, northeast yorubaland. jassd, 3(4), pp.13-24. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 130 women and the development of common good: a textual analysis of female characters in selected nigerian novels ngozi dora ulogu department of english language and literature, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka nd.ulogu@unizik.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.25001.77923 abstract in the african traditional setting, women have been in the vanguards of family, community and national development. women also play leading roles in the sustenance of peace and harmony and the promotion of the common good. in several situations of difficulty, such as embattled marriage, war, or in socialeconomic or political upheavals, the women are at their best playing very remarkable unifying roles. they most often volunteer and make sacrifices, even at the cost of their comfort, for the good of their communities. in the literary world, examples of such selfless, kind and good women abound. flora nwapa’s efuru is an acclaimed good woman; dora, in adaokere agbasimalo’s the forest dames, represents the figure of a mentor, while the twin sisters: olanna and kainene, in chimamanda adichie‘s half of a yellow sun, are prominent in their roles as volunteers. these texts formed the primary sources of data for this study. the narratives highlight the very active roles women had played at very auspicious times in the past, which roles are sustained to the present times but are not properly appreciated. these texts have received extensive critical attention in various thematic points. this paper veers in a different direction towards highlighting the continuous developmental prowess of women in national development. using the concept of ethical goodness in the african philosophy of social living that promotes the right action, this paper specifically outlines the different selfless deeds, mentorship and volunteering roles of the selected women geared towards improving communal lives. the paper advocates greater recognition of women’s laudable role in sustaining family, community and national development. keywords: common good, development, mentorship, volunteer, social living. introduction the concept of the common good is an ideology predominant in african social philosophy. africans are known for togetherness and communal living. hence, according to kwame gyekye, “the communal or communitarian aspects of african moral and political thought are mailto:nd.ulogu@unizik.edu.ng http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/rg.2.2.25001.77923 ngozi dora ulogu 131 reflected in the communitarian features of the social structures of african societies” (36). the social structure of african culture is imbued with “africanness”, which includes the fact of individual social relationships with others in the community, as no one lives in isolation. rather, “individualism and self-seeking were ruled out…, the spirit of collectivism was so much ingrained in the mind of the people… and whatever happens to the individual happens to the whole group… ”(gyekye 36). these ideas of working or thinking for the other are inherent in the african spiritual and social life, and african women have not relented in leading the course of communal responsibilities. for this, different parts of africa have an acting word for their expression of this socio-political philosophy of ethical values; these include ubuntu, ujamaa, igwebuike, to mention only these. according to okai, moses onyendu and osah, goodness, the idea of ubuntu originated from the zulu or xhosa language of the bantu of lower congo. it denotes “humanity towards one another, social living and social responsibility” (26). ujamaa, for the tanzanian, “advocates mutual respect, common property, and common labour… regarding of all men as his brethren and as members of his ever-extending family” (28). among the igbo of nigeria, the ideology of humanness as propounded by kanu ikechukwu kanu, in his inaugural lecture: igwebuike: an operative condition of african philosophy, religion and culture, towards a thermodynamic transformation ontology, highlights the cosmological foundations of igwebuike as the key idea that shapes the african ethical and social life stating that “igwebuike is symbolic of the african universe of particularities where every creature as an independent entity must negotiate another’s existential highway for mutual survival”(23). kanu further stresses that “igwebuike understands life as a shared reality. and it is only within the context of complementarity that life makes meaning” (39). the idea that man is the centre of life in the igbo religious philosophy also gives vent to the shared responsibilities and mutuality of the existence of others in the community. this thereby depicts the everyday spirit of solidarity and working for the common good. these aspects of the common good are seen “in the custom of common sharing of meals, collective maintenance of public roads and markets, collective assistance to members who are in difficulty or who embark on the construction of houses, collective discharge of burial rites of members, celebration of social occasions of happiness and social festivals” (okah and osah 26). these social, religious concepts of ubuntu, ujamaa, igwebuike and others together women and the development of common good: a textual analysis of female characters in selected nigerian novels 132 lay the foundation for the ethics of the african and, particularly, the igbo social philosophy. ethics is highly related to goodness. the concept of goodness is measured by the moral standard of good and bad behaviours. ethics deals with the morals, values and norms of the african people. it is believed that in africa, particularly in igboland, doing good or knowing the good and the bad in relation to other people and the community is not due to religion or tied to religion. it is a function of social living whereby “the institution of community life as part of the african cultural values, the communitarian social arrangement makes for the development and practice of such socio-ethical values as mutual aid, solidarity, interdependence, collective action, and reciprocal obligation. it enjoins upon the individual member of the group the obligation to think and act for the welfare and survival of the group as a whole” (gyekye 252). the idea of goodness points to the form of behaviour, action and deeds which are acceptable by the standard of a culture and may include: selfless service, good heart, good conscience, kindness, volunteering and mentorship. these features and qualities are proficiently manifest in women who give themselves up for the sake of their families, communities and society. women have a special role in entrenching and propagating african ethics and morals for the common good and national development. it is, therefore, of truth that women have been in the vanguard of community and national development in the nigerian african traditional setting. they play a leading role in the sustenance of peace and harmony in the family and beyond. even when such seems to be unnoticed, taiwo oladele recounts that “the contribution of african woman to literature and society has been largely connected with their roles as wives, mothers and partnering in the home. their contribution to the economic well-being of society is enormous, much greater than they have been given credit for … (3). though perhaps only a few acknowledgements and appreciation are accorded them, african women have taken the place of pride in the hearts of the community for their exceptional contributions to their growth. hazel macferson and a lynn bolles observe that “throughout africa, women today are involved in a variety of economic and social activities. the continent has been severely affected by civil war, political oppression and corruption, an adverse economic environment, drought and famine. in the face of these adversities, african women have emerged as the backbone of contemporary society. their contributions to family and ngozi dora ulogu 133 society are essential” (mario azevedo 436). this testament speaks eloquently of the contribution of women to national development. african women have, in several situations of difficulty, such as in family or marriage conflicts, war situations, or in a social-economic or political upheaval, made sacrifices that restore hope and harmony in those times of distress. they most often volunteer and make sacrifices even at their peril. in the literary world, examples abound of good women who have served their communities and helped in the development of society, as will be explored in the selected texts: flora nwapa’s efuru, ngozi chimamanda adichie’s half of a yellow sun, and adaokere agbasimalo’s the forest dame. the female characters and protagonists: efuru, olanna, kainene and dora, are sparkling examples of good, kind, and selfless women who have greatly impacted their communities. these texts are popular nigerian texts that have stood the test of time in their relevance in re-enacting the cultural values and norms of the traditional igbo communities in the pre-independence and war times and the modern and post-independent war era. one common premise among them is that women have continued to act positively in the general interest of society. they have greatly shown their capacity towards national development. in effect, this paper examines the nigerian situation against the backdrop of the foregoing, as captured in the selected texts. these texts have become characterized by critical and almost extensive works. however, here, mention is made of very recent works done on them to draw the gap and fill the identified vacuum. for example, ngozi ogbodo and mary linda vivian onwuka in “the african woman and the burden of tradition: a socio-cultural analysis of flora nwapa’s efuru and izuchukwu emeam’s wife of the gods” portend the fact of an african woman being constantly an object of possession, either by the man, spirit, gods or deity. they argue that “the woman has suffered this ordeal from the inception of the world. and so, man and spirit continue in their struggle to ensure that the african woman remains under their dominance or in their custody” (121). this scenario is seen in the life of nwapa’s protagonist, efuru, and emeam’s ihuaku, who are both beautiful women possessed by both the man and gods against their wishes. much as the authors do not condemn in totality the fact of the woman being under the protection of the men and gods, they “bring out the ordeal of the igbo woman whom the culture and tradition do not allow to have both freedom, wealth and fulfilment like women and the development of common good: a textual analysis of female characters in selected nigerian novels 134 her male counterparts” (132). they, however, advance the need for women to be allowed to lend their voice in matters concerning them and be recognized by society. moffat sebola, in the paper: “the female body on the phallocentric altars: appropriations of chimamanda ngozi adichie’s feminist manifesto in feminism, corporeality, materialism, and beyond” (working title), uses a post-colonial feminist approach to express the multiple oppressive tendencies against the female folk. the paper presents “the black woman as constantly living in patriarchal and repressive spaces characterized by multifaceted discriminations, marginalization, abuse, commodification and censorship, all of which are protracted by the notion that femaleness should live in total subjection to maleness”. the issue of preference of a male child over a female child is demystified, as it confronts the ideology of male supremacy in every sphere of african culture. beverly chima enyeribe, in “female bonding: a panacea to war trauma recreated in some nigerian novels”, explores the gruesome effects of the civil war and the traumatic experiences of women in the war and how they were able to navigate through the pains and difficulties through bonding and togetherness. using ngozi chimamanda adichie’s half of a yellow sun and adaokere agbasimalo’s the forest dames, the paper evolves “a womanist consciousness through woman agency to engage in the process of (re) building a more viable nation in nigeria and also to find out the vision on gender that these two womanist writers expound” (99). these works project a shift from the targeting of women's oppression and subjugation to the humanist agencies of womanism in recreating the new stance of the affirmation of women’s role in the national building. this paper veers in a different direction towards clasping the visibility and appreciation of the continuous developmental prowess of women in communal development using the african philosophy of social living. specifically, using the concept of ethical goodness, which promotes the right action and attitudes, the paper assesses the different selfless gestures and actions of selected female actors presented in both modern nigerian texts of efuru and those of the contemporary nigerian texts of adichie’s half of a yellow sun and agbasimalo’s the forest dames using the characters olanna and kainene, and dora respectively. the study examines the volunteering roles of these women from the earliest time to this current time and then postulates that women have been in the business of communal and nation-building. ngozi dora ulogu 135 the ethical good women in selected nigerian texts women in the african worldview have made tremendous efforts towards community and national development. being aware of the challenges of marriage and family life, the difficulties of war situations and the effects of socio-political maladjustments, women step in to bridge the gaps. they do this because they are aware that such situations often weaken the morale and motivation of the menfolk, leaving them wanting in their responsibilities. hence, in african studies, women’s role in maintaining peace and harmony in the community has been ongoing, as is always projected in most female texts. supporting this assertion oladele taiwo in his thesis: “the woman as a novelist in modern africa”, avers that “she is particularly concerned with the role of women in local, national and international affairs, and writes mostly to highlight these roles. she ensures that women play crucial roles in her novels and are put in situations where they can prove their mettle, show initiative and contribute maximally to the development of enduring social values in the community.” (15). true to this assertion, the nigerian female novelists under study have records of women as key players and epitome of goodness and good character in their social engagements. therefore, “these concepts of good, bad or evil, right and wrong feature prominently in african moral thoughts, moral system and cultures. thus, when a person is known to be honest, generous or compassionate, he would be judged as a good person, by which it means they have good character”(gykeye). in these selected texts, women such as efuru, olanna, kainene, and dora differently sustained the example of kindness and mentorship in their respective communities. they each build up and sustain hope for the people around them, and they are acclaimed as ethically good by the people. for example, in highlighting the personality of efuru, oladele taiwo discusses her as the heroine of efuru and writes: in efuru, the novelist devotes her attention to the exposition of several aspects of igbo traditional and corporate life. efuru’s experiences are used to demonstrate the harsh realities of igbo communal life as it moves close to the modern age. the heroine is put in various situations in which she interacts with a larger number of people. because she is good, it becomes easy to use her as a touchstone by which others are judged. (48). efuru is described as a good woman in the community. despite her marital predicament of barrenness and irresponsible husband, she maintains a high standard of moral decorum and goodness. she is an acclaimed good woman, loved and respected by all, a remarkable women and the development of common good: a textual analysis of female characters in selected nigerian novels 136 woman with very attractive qualities. she is filled with compassion and does good to all manner of people. for example, she provides medical care at her own expense for nwosu and nnona. efuru has helped the people by sending them to hospitals for medical care. she helps nnona, who has an infected leg and complains bitterly about the hurt and pain she feels from her bad leg. efuru promises to take her to the doctor for treatment. she tells her sorry and adds, “if you like i can take you to the hospital, the doctor will look at it and he can do something for you” (efuru 123). efuru takes over the cost of the treatment of nwona until she gets healed. efuru’s goodness and kind disposition heavily impact the people, changing a lot of lives positively. earlier, nwona is overjoyed by efuru’s promise of sending her to the hospital, and when she comes across efuru the next day, she asks to reconfirm her hope, and she tells efuru: “remember what you send to me last night. i could not sleep last night for joy. when is the doctor coming” (efuru 124). efuru continues to offer herself to others. she equally pays hospital bills for the operation of her maid’s father and visits nwona when she has gone for an operation on her leg and buys her things. efuru’s kindness receives a lot of commendation from the people, even from the men. she is praised and prayed for, and described as a good woman. one of gilbert’s friends urged him to marry her if he wanted to marry her, and so “gilbert was happy to hear this. he had known these qualities already in efuru, but he was happy because others knew that efuru was a good woman also” (125). this testament coming from men at the time of cultural subjugation of the female folk says much about the uniqueness of efuru’s personality in the community and the social interaction with the people. added to this testament on efuru is the prayer by nwona and her children after she comes back from the hospital, saying: “we have come to see you, efuru, to thank you for what you have done for our mother. what you have done surprised everybody that we have no mouth to thank you. indeed, a person who has people is better off than a person who has money. our hearts are glad, and we have come to show you appreciation. thank you very much. thank you” (131). this robust show of appreciation to efuru is in recognition of her outstanding social responsibility to the well-being of the community. in appreciating the role of women in the community as a matter of individual attributes, kanu ikechukwu kanu explains the place of the african community and ethics, noting that “as a consequence of the central place the community occupies in african ontology, personhood ngozi dora ulogu 137 is strongly linked to the community. african philosophy accepts that personhood is something attained in direct proportion as one participates in communal life through performing the various duties imposed on him or her by living in the community” (170). following this, the twin sisters, olanna and kainene, in adichie’s half of a yellow sun, make a great impact on the communities at the point they join in the rebuilding services as the nigerian civil war rages on. their impacts are felt in their activism and volunteerism during the war. olanna, in conjunction with other women, engages in win-the-war activities taking care of the home front, teaching children and rendering other humanitarian services. olanna mentored mrs muokelu and ugwu to form part of the teaching squad for children during the war. she tells them, “we will teach mathematics and civics everyday…. we have to make sure that when the war is over, they will all fit back easily into regular school. we will teach them to speak perfect english and perfect igbo, like his excellency. we will teach them pride in our great nation” (half of a yellow sun 291). olanna equally helps other women with food and medication for their children who suffer kwashiorkor and other illnesses as a result of the war. by doing these for others, aside from her responsibilities to her family, olanna raises hope for the people. enyeribe captures these sentiments when she notes that “women also had to cope with their new roles as breadwinners for the families by sacrificing so much, including their lives, as seen in the character of olanna and kainene. as a result of odenigbo’s decline, olanna had to fend for her family, and she quickly assumes the role with strength and courage” (100). likewise, her sister kainene devotes her time and energy to working for others. allwell abalogu onukaogu and ezechi onyerionwu describe kainene as the strongest woman character in adichie’s half of a yellow sun, stating that “kainene’s strength radiates through the story underlining her reputation as a vibrant, emotionally strong, courageous, determined and enterprising young woman” (205). kainene possesses business and managerial qualities and has government connections that could boost her companies during the war. so she rather worries about the effect of the war on the people. she becomes concerned with helping her community by donating foreign exchange for the win-the-war effort. she engages in social and humanitarian works, runs a refugee camp, and engages in agriculture to grow enough food, especially protein, for the malnourished children in their camp. she equally opens up a training shop for the craftsmen to raise money for the running of the women and the development of common good: a textual analysis of female characters in selected nigerian novels 138 camp and to train young talented youths. abalaogu and onyerionwu put it succinctly: kainene’s managerial competence, fearlessness, decisiveness, determination and compassion keep the refugee camp going despite the severe circumstances of blockade of supplies and incessant air raids by the federal forces. she fights hunger, disease and death gallantly, even putting her life on the line by deciding to join the risky trade across enemy lines to acquire scarce food items for sick and dying children and mothers… kainate sacrifices all for the survival of other people. (abalogu and onyerionwu 207-8). kainene devotes her energies, wealth and goodness to alleviate the sufferings of the people. this is despite the fact, according to enyeribe, that ”she was single and had no family. she became a social worker and fended for her community. she becomes a food supplier for a couple of refugee camps and begins to supervise the daily functioning of the camps. most times, she crosses the enemy lines, and in fact, she got lost in the effort at humanitarian services” (enyeribe 101). kainene, in the process, sacrificed her life searching for food aid for the people. when she left for the market across enemy borders and did not return as expected, her people were agitated and went on a search for her, “ they asked questions, and everyone said the same thing: kainene had left with inatimi early in the morning. she told them she was going on afia attack to trade across enemy lines and that she would be back by late afternoon. a day passed, then a second day. everything remained the same, the dryness in the air, the dusty winds, the refugees tilling dried soil. but kainene was not back” (half of a yellow sun 407). and she never returned. kainene was swallowed up in the frenzy of the war. she paid the ultimate price for the people. thus, in adichie, the twin sisters, olanna and kainene, give their unalloyed energy and commitment to fending for others during the war. the two, despite coming from a very rich family, jettisoned the opportunity to get out of the country to avoid the ugly experience of the war. they remained with the people and helped to protect and develop them and add hope to the despaired and devastated of the war. the war situations inevitably change the roles of women towards their families and communities. a similar scenario plays out in the narrative of agbasimalo’s the forest dames, where women like dora are in the vanguard of the struggle for rebuilding the traumatized people and war-devastated community. the victims of war in the text suffered ngozi dora ulogu 139 more hunger and displacement as they were forced to always move from one location to safer places. in the process, it becomes so difficult to get food. the women are left more to search for food. in these situations, dora, deze’s mother, one of the forest dames, provides leadership and mentorship for other women in discovering new markets for food for the survival of their families as reputed: “food scarcity heightened. the enemies had blocked the channels through which assistance came in. the woman picked up their baskets and combed the hinterland, the distant markets in search of food, walking along superlative pathways through bushes and villages… many in groups, they left home in the afternoon and reached the markets town at dusk… on their way home, they looked out for smaller markets where they resold the items from the distant markets, targeting some profit and consciously reserving some of the food for the family need.” (forest dames 70). the efforts of the women do not provide enough food, so they are constantly on their toes searching for new sources of food. it was on one such trip that liliana, gonma’s mother, was killed in a bomb blast. women encountered a lot of unnamed calamities in search of food for their families. during the war periods, she also presented children with different degrees of illnesses, which left parents handicapped in seeking cures. but dora has been a ready help to other women using her goodwill and strength. she makes herself available to help others. for example, she provides a cure for lazzie, oyoyo and reuben’s child when they almost abandoned him to die as they considered him semi-dead and a burden when they had to abandon their home to move to a safe location. but because the couple could not bear the mental picture of their child abandoned, “they managed to pack lazzie onto his mother’s back, and she strapped him with her wrappa, making sure that his head and feet were exposed” (the forest dames 91). the distraught mother oyoyo seeks dora’s help later, and “dora gave her some of the herbal juice she used to treat her son and invited her to join the market group. when she confided in her that she had no money, dora loaned her some, and she began the mini-trade” (102). lazzie eventually recovered, and the joy of his parents knew no bounds. with this development, the community of refugees which dora helped to settle comfortably described her as “a true example of what a real woman should be – strong and caring, prudent and reliable, hardworking and fastthinking” (98). oyoyo and reuben profusely appreciated dora for saving their son from dying and for helping them have a new lease on life. dora, as a character in the forest dames, has done so much for her women and the development of common good: a textual analysis of female characters in selected nigerian novels 140 immediate family and the community using her wisdom, strength and good nature. she is appreciated openly by the people and seen as a mentor and a good woman. other women looked up to her in most trying situations. conclusion the idea of development is a consequence of community social living. the african philosophy of goodness and ethical living upholds good morals and norms, selflessness and commitment to the promotion of the common good. this involves thinking and working for the good of others. african societies, and particularly nigeria, are constantly faced with civil war situations, which inevitably disrupt the family social system by changing family roles and communal co-existence. also, in non-civil war situations, other family conflicts and difficulties like periods of socio-economic meltdowns push women to swap roles to sustain family peace and continued existence. women have been, and are being, vanguards in their onerous task of sacrificing and committing to the building and rebuilding of the immediate and extended environments. this study succinctly reveals that women are doing great for society silently and unsung. they are acclaimed as ethically good but not openly appreciated for their moral values and positive impacts on their wider communities even while they co-exist and socialize with the people. these traits of diligence and commitment have continued as traced from the modern text of nwapa’s efuru through to the contemporary texts of adichie’s half of a yellow sun and agbasimalo’s the forest dames. these are testaments of the doggedness of african women in nation-building, which have been underplayed and relegated underground. it is the stance of this paper to project the good works of women in family, community and national development and to advocate greater recognition and appropriate appreciation. ngozi dora ulogu 141 works cited adichie, chimamanda ngozi. half of a yellow sun. farafina, 2006. agbasimalo, adaokere. the forest dames: an account of the nigeriabiafra war (1967-1970). parresia publishers ltd, 2014. enyeribe, chima beverly. female bonding: “a panacea to war trauma recreated in some nigerian novels”. ansu journal of language and literaystudies, ajlls, vol2,1. 2020 gykeye, kwame. tradition and modernity: philosophical reflections on the african experience. oxford university press, 1977. gykeye, k. “african ethics”. standard encylopedia of philosophy. https://plato.standard.oxf/entries/african/ethics. accesses. 13/4/23. kanu, ikechukwu anthony. igwebuike: an operative condition of african philosophy, religion and culture: towards athermodynamic transformation ontology. tansian university, umunya inauguration lecture. altograde nig ltd. 2023. kanu, i. a. (2012). the genders in christian anthropology vis-a-vis the experience of violence by women in nigeria. international journal of language, literature and gender studies (afrrev laligens). vol. 1. no.2. june 2012. pp. 1-14. kanu, i. a. (2011). women experience of violence and the resurrection faith. african journal of contextual theology. vol. 3. june. pp.125-138. kanu, i. a. (2012). the equality of sexes in j. s. mill vis-a-vis the participation of women in the nigerian labour and economy. the international journal of language, literature and gender studies (afrrev laligens). vol. 1. no.1. march 2012. pp. 1829. macferson, hazel and bolles, a. lynn. “african women and women of the caribbean”. african studies: a survey of africa and the african diaspora, second edition. ed. mario azevedo. carolina academic press, 1998. nwapa, flora. efuru. heinemann, 1996. ogbodo, ngozi and onuoha, mary linda vivian. “the african woman and the burden of tradition: a socio-cultural analysis of flora nwapa’s efuru and izuchukwu emeam’s wife of the gods”. aku: an african journal of contemporary research vol.3, 2, pp 121.20, 2022. kai, moses onyendu and osah, goodness. “african concept of social living: the solution to political tussels in nigeria”. solusi university research journal vol.11. pp. 24-35. https://plato.standard.oxf/entries/african/ethics.%20accesses.%2013/4/23 https://plato.standard.oxf/entries/african/ethics.%20accesses.%2013/4/23 women and the development of common good: a textual analysis of female characters in selected nigerian novels 142 oladele, taiwo. female novels of modern africa. macmillan publishers ltd. 1985. onukaogu, allwell abalogu and onyerionwu ezechi. chimamanda ngozi adichie: the aesthetics of commitment and narrative. kraft books ltd, 2010. sebola, moffat. “the female body on the phallocentric altar: appropriationsof chimamanda ngozi adichie’s feminist manifesto in book feminism, copreality, materialism and beyond (workingtitle), https://researchgate.net. 2023. https://researchgate.net/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya a critical analysis of dialectical materialism and its implication for sustainable development stephen o. aigbonoga, ph.d & kingsley c. solomon, ph.d department of philosophy/religion and cultural studies alex ekwueme federal university, ndufu alike excelstev01@yahoo.com; excelstev01@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.31621.83688 abstract this paper examines karl marx's theory of dialectical materialism and its implications for sustainable development. dialectical materialism is a way of understanding reality; whether thoughts, emotions, or the material world. the term development connotes implicitly the transformation of the society economically, politically, and socially such that the inhabitants of a particular enclave have substantially improved welfare and living conditions. the traditional view of development is centered on high gross domestic product, gross national product, per capita income and high level of industrialisation. the aim of the study is to extrapolate the values of dialectical materialism in the explanation of sustainable development as a human centered concept. through the application of the method of critical analysis of textual and relevant materials, the paper reveals that for development to be truly sustainable it has to be centered on the progressive interest of the people. since dialectical materialism tends to examine the material cum ideological phenomenon of human existence, enduring development becomes a pivot and the root of human existence. it shows also, the process of social transformation in human society. in an attempt to articulate endurable process of sustainable development, marxian theory of dialectical materialism is then recommended to serve as a nexus and explanatory model for human centered development in the society. keywords: dialectical materialism, sustainable development, human society, sustained welfare introduction the birth pangs of historical epochs is fully expressed in mans' seemingly “well-won ruts left by our mundane, taken-for-granted assumptions” (lawhead 8-9). the concept of development is one of such assumptions. over the years, historians, sociologists, economists, and developmental theorists have tried to ascribe to development a non-human characteristic, thereby disavowing people as the true rationale for development. the traditional view of development has seen development being measured by per capita income, gross domestic product (gdp), gross national product (gnp), growth, infrastructural development, scientic advancement, industrialisation, etc. (aigbonoga 351). this work is an attempt to conceptualise development on human existence viz-aviz the phenomenon around him. the theory of dialectical materialism is at the root of human existence because it presents, describes and explains human, social, economic and political condition in the society. marx's vision of history and society began as a young university student when he rst encountered george hegel's ideas. hegel's philosophy taught that human history has meaning and purpose, that it is a 111 rational, determined, evolutionary process in which each stage encounters tensions and contradictions that cause it to change and bring forth a new form of social, cultural, and political organisation (lawhead 596). while hegel's fans and admirers interpreted this to mean that the present stage of history was thoroughly rationally inevitable (some sorts of conservative interpretation), marx and engels saw hegel's philosophy as leading in a more radical direction. they believed that the present society will inevitably be destroyed and give way to a better, more rational social structure. it was their goal to move history along to its nal, rational stage through practical action (lawhead 596). enthused with this historical explanations, marx moved to give adequate explanation to the economic order which determines the material and social conditions of man in the society. marx sought to completely explain what is responsible for the social and economic behaviour of man in the society. this he found to be strongly rooted in the economic conditions of man in the society. economics, for marx rules everything including man's ideology. by this, marx meant that the characterization of economics as a fundamental driving force in the behaviour of man could provide adequate explanation to human history. man is by nature a social and political being who seeks relation, cooperation and integration from his fellow men in the bid to create sustainable and meaningful existence. the economic and political survival of man is clearly rooted on the basis of this cooperation. however, as society develops, this social cooperation results in class struggles and social conicts. for heraclitus, conict is the basis of progress and condition of life in human society. “…there is also perpetual conict, and perpetual strife, for the universe is a universe made up of conict and clashes of opposites. conict is the very condition of life; it is through conict that things come into being and remain in existence. the system of the universe is that of conict of opposites” (omoregbe 11). this implies that the progress and development of the society could be retarded if there is an end to conict and strife. on this trajectory, marx conceptualised the progress and development of the society through historical inevitability of class antagonism and fusion of opposites in a dialectical movement. this is implicational for sustainable development. this study, therefore, is aimed at extrapolating the values of dialectical materialism in the explanation of sustainable development as a human centered concept. in other to build a coherent system of thought and explanatory model with respect to human progress in the society, and since development is so tied to human existence, the material cum economic requirements that drive or foster development must constantly and closely be examined. as a theoretical framework, dialectical materialism is so relevant to the contemporary discourse in sustainable developmental issues. karl marx and the origin of dialectical materialism karl marx was born to a jewish lawyer in 1818. he was thus raised as a protestant by his lutheranian father (though jewish, marx father converted to lutherianism which was politically necessary for survival in that period). marx who was enrolled in the university to become a lawyer would soon abandoned this ambition for philosophy. this change of mind was necessitated by his encounter with a political radical group known as young hegelians. marx became deeply absorbed in hegel's philosophy and the activities of the group. hegel's doctrine of dialectics is hinged on his philosophy of idealism. hegel's philosophy of dialectics taught that thesis, anti-thesis and synthesis is an idealistic formula for the explanation of societal changes. wheat (2004) explains that hegelian dialectics revolves around three progressive stages of development: (1) a thesis, which is an idea or concept, (2) an igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 112 anti-thesis, an optional idea that contradicts the thesis, and (3) a synthesis, a climatic idea that somehow combines the thesis and the antithesis, or the best parts of them, into a sort of compromise, reconciliation, or previously unperceived identity (13). however, marx encounter with ludwig feuerbach made him to reject idealism of hegel and embraced feuerbach materialism and his own theory of history as the outworking of economic factors (moore and bruder 290). feuerbach, who started out as a hegelian, criticised idealism on the basis of its abstract contemplation. according to him, “whoever maintains that mind is prior to matter is simply a theologian in disguise who seeks to deduce the objective world from some immaterial power, or the idea. to try, said feuerbach, to deduce the objective world from one's idea is to show that one understands exactly nothing about nature or about mind. the idealistic starting point is a false one” (wright n.pag). following feuerbach threshold, marx thus gave a materialistic interpretation of history and its dialectical implications for human society. marx sub-structure and man's participation in historical process marx view of an ideal society is closely connected to his discourses on means of production and production relations. for him, an ideal society has no economic classes, no wages, no money, no private property, and no exploitation. each person will not only be provided a fully adequate material existence, but will also be given the opportunity to develop freely and completely all physical and mental faculties (moore and bruder 289-290). historically, for marx, the society has progressed dialectically from one stage to another i.e. from the primitive slave society to feudal society. the feudal society gave way to capitalist society, while capitalism produces socialism which is the rst stage of communism. the last stage of society's development, according to marx, is communism, a classless and stateless society. this historical process of societal development is evidently driven by man. the substructure which is the economic realm, according to marxists, is the interplay of the means of production versus production relations intensely driven by the struggle between the bourgeois (owners of means of production) and the proletariat (workers). along with aristotle, marx believed that man is a social animal who does nothing but seeks relation amongst his fellow men. in the drive to satisfy his physical and material needs, man develops the means or forces of production. the utilisation of any set of means of production leads to fresh needs and therefore to further means of production (moore and bruder 291). here lies the ambivalence of marx's dialectics, hence his notion of production conguration. marx denes capital as anything that constitutes economic wealth in that it has exchange value. here, marx was heavily inuenced by lockean labour theory of value. john locke, a contractarian, studied the dynamic phenomenon of the value of human labour in the transformation of an object from its natural state to a nished product. for locke, object in its natural state has intrinsic value. intrinsic value is the primary composite and a fundamental characteristics of an object. extrinsic value of an object is derived when labour is mixed with an object. this, for locke, is the origin of private property and equally established the right to own such property without interference from the government. to this end, locke contends that although all people equally have a right to property, they do not all have a right to equal property because how much property a person lawfully has will depend on his ingenuity and industriousness. this distinction is important because it can go some way toward justifying an unequal distribution of wealth (moore and bruder 278). upon this trajectory, marx conceptualised his discourse of capitalism viz-a-viz with production conguration and production relations. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 113 marx sees capitalism as a system which will eventually undermine itself and lead to communism. this is because the forces of production are own and controlled by small class of people as their private property, and employ workers who have no economic resources but their own labour power. adhering to the smithean labour theory of value, marx argues that surplus value belongs to the proletariat as of right. instead of ploughing back the prot or using parts of it to uplift the working conditions of the proletariat, the bourgeoisie expropriates the surplus value. by using the surplus value in an exploitative and capricious manner, “the capitalist become vampire, villain and parasite” (jakpor 21). this is an inherent contradiction in capitalism i.e., the motive of prot making at the detriment of the workers welfare. the condition of man in a capitalist system is thus explained by marx along this trajectory. the expropriation of surplus value in the capitalist system creates and deepens the class struggles and other social contradictions. the class struggles and social contradictions in the capitalist system lead to the emergence of class-consciousness. through this, the worker becomes aware of his position in the productive conguration. consequent upon the exploitative nature and inhuman treatments under the capitalist system, the worker is inevitably driven into alienation. as such, the condition of man becomes degenerated into a state of servitude. this state of servitude is an undesirable condition of the worker under capitalism, because the more wealth the worker produces the poorer he becomes. the result of increased productivity for the worker is his devaluation since he produces through his labour power what belongs to others. both labour and products are as alien things that dominate them (moore and bruder 293). hence, man is alienated from his products, from himself, his fellow human beings and from nature or society. this condition is antithetical to man's development and sustainability. ontological conceptualisation of sustainable development development underpins ontological characterisation of cosmos. this means that development is a necessary consequence of cosmic motion. nature is ontologically in motion. since nothing is static in nature, all nature is undoubtedly in internal and external motion. the end product of this internal and external motion is progress. the term progress is loosely interpreted to mean development, a positive movement or improvement of the society. the sustainability of this process encapsulates the focal point of this work. sustainable development is seen as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (cunningham 28). cunningham sees sustainable development as progress in human well-being that can be extended or prolonged over many generations rather than just a few years. accordingly, marx's dialectical materialism underscores ontological paradigms of development. marx described the condition of man in industrial society with the word “alienation” and argues that “the starting point of the study of humanity must be 'real man', living in the 'real material' world (giddens 35). this is why he opines that the fundamental driving force in human behaviour and history is economics. meeting the basic human needs such as food, clothes and shelter denes man's root of economic behaviour and thus guarantees human survival. since dialectical materialism accounts for man's economic behaviour in the society, it explains the progressive movement and development of the society from the crude stage to a developed stage. from the primitive slave society to feudal society, capitalist to socialist and then communist society, economic forces such as production forces as well as production relations have shaped and still continue to shape the course of human history. this process underscores the progress and development of the society towards human fullment. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 114 development as social transformation social transformation implies a fundamental change in society, which can be contrasted with social change viewed as gradual or incremental changes over a period of time (khondker 1). to put it succinctly, social transformation implies a pragmatic move or shift from a lower levels of production to higher levels of production in relation to the forces of production. cultural and institutional changes and human progress benchmarked the concept of social change. along this line, social change can be gleaned from the productive and pragmatic effects of cultural innovations and institutional changes in the society, and how it affects man. it means that societies experience social transformations when they grow into industrialised developed countries. rostow in his the stages of economic growth: a non-communist manifesto (1962) presented societal transformation through an evolutionary approach manifesting in ve stages of growth. rostow identies the stages as traditional society, the precondition for take-off, take off stage, stage of maturity, and the age of mass consumption. this rostow's theory of growth has come to be regarded as a classical exposition of modernisation theory of development. modernisation theory, which subsequently assumed the center stage of development literature, is a “process whereby societies or social institutions change or move from traditional or less developed ones to those that characterise developed ones” (ofong 20). ofong further argued that modernisation is the institutional and cultural accompaniment of growth. here, it is important to point out that development cannot be equated or used interchangeably with growth. in development literature, there is a clear distinction between development and growth. while growth is determined by economic indexes such as high per capita income, gross national product (gnp), gross domestic product (gdp), scientic advancement, industrialisation, etc. development on the other hand has to do with sustained human welfare. economic growth simply refers to increase of per capita, gross domestic product (gdp) or other measure of aggregate income. it is often measured as the rate of change in real gdp. economic growth refers only to the quality of goods and services produced in a given environment at a particular time (aiya & anetekhai 145). for ake, development is not economic growth even though economic growth in large determines its possibility. real economic growth is a necessary condition but not a sufcient condition for development (efemini 33). indeed, countries of the periphery, according to rostow, who desire to move from the traditional level of development to the level of mass consumption must pay serious attention to economic indexes that drive growth. heraclitus presents a different but revolutionary idea of social change. his notion of social change is hinged on conict as a system of evolutionary progressive social transformation. heraclitus theory of change focuses on the fusion of opposites as a rational explanation for progressive movement in the society. the reconciliation of the opposites result in societal progress. this is central to hegel's philosophy of dialectics. hegel has argued that “contradiction is the root of all movement and vitality; it is only in so far as something has a contradiction within it that it moves, has an urge and activity” (smith, 1989, p. 107). it is very clear, in hegel's view that conict is a natural phenomenon, good for generating understanding, creating progress and sustainable development. when properly managed, conict serves as a social catalyst which engenders healthy relationship in the society. sustainable development and human well being harrison sees development as the improvement in human wellbeing. what brings about development, according to harrison, is our ability to imagine, theorise, conceptualise, experiment, invent, articulate, organise, manage, solve problems and do a hundred other things with our minds igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 115 and hands that contribute to the progress of the individual and of humankind (harrison 227). claude ake, in conceptualising development, sees people as rationale and focal point of development. hence, he argued that development is not a project but a process. development, for him, is the process by which people create and recreate themselves and their life circumstances to realise higher levels of civilisation in accordance with their own choice and values (ake 125). sustainable development is driven by the people's willingness and capacities to channel their energies into production. this creative capability in man shows that man is essentially a labourer. it is ake's position that man is above all else a worker or a labourer. work is the primary condition of his existence (ake 9). the necessity to adequately care for the welfare of the labourer who offers his labour and his creative capacity in production process is hereby insinuated, hence the exculpating ambiance of dialectical materialism. marxian dialectical materialism accentuate the importance of labour in production conguration and the existed relationship between the owner of factors of production and the man who offers his labour in the factory. the marxian emphasis is on the existential condition of man in the society. the epicenter of this emphasis is the need for the labourer to have an improved welfare commensurate with the amount of labour he offers in production process. this will enable man, through his labour, to attain the conditions listed in the united nations development programme report such as; a) attainment of long and quality life b) access to quality education c) access to decent housing d) access to resources needed for standard of living (1). the attainment of these conditions will transmute or lead to the united nations millennium development goals declaration such as; 1) eradication of extreme poverty and hunger 2) attainment of universal primary education 3) to reduce child mortality 4) to improve maternal health 5) to combat hiv/aids, malaria and other diseases 6) to ensure environmental sustainability 7) to develop a global partnership for development from the foregoing, it could be reasoned that man through his labour recreates himself by producing his own sustainability. however, dialectical materialism reveals how the attitude of the bourgiosie impedes the disposition of the labourer which directly affects his sustainability. the reality of alienation draws attention to the diminutive condition of man in an unjust set up. the whims and caprices of the capitalist system inevitably leads to alienation. with this, the condition of human existence becomes bizarre and unassailable as man grapples with the reality of survival through self-sustainability. alienation build in man unsustainable consciousness of unleashing his creative capacities which further devalues his essence. more so, sustainable development is deeply connected to the protection and preservation of human rights, which is the anchor of dialectical materialism. the protection of human rights guarantee human freedom and thus affords man the possibility to freely make choices in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 116 production conguration. this freedom to freely decide what to and how to produce which enables man to unleash his creative potentials is what drives sustainable development. akhigbe and tijani (2016) observe that the modern understanding of development emphasises, aside economic development, human rights values. this is because, according to them, human rights are essential to determining what types of development are needed and benecial (213). it is their argument that rights-based approach to development enhances respect, protection, promotion and fullment of human rights in development discourse. this approach maintains that human rights values precipitate and facilitate development processes, effectiveness and outcomes (akhigbe & tijani 214). this deeply underpins the nexus between dialectical materialism and sustainable development. dialectical materialism set the tune for sustainable developmental discourse through its anchor or insistence on the sustained economic conditions of the workers who bear the brute of production. issues of human rights and the protection of human dignity benchmark development. the right to fair and just wage, the right to fair treatment of the workers in other to avoid sliding into alienation ontologically underpins development. more so, sustainable development climax in self-reliance, self-sufciency and self-sustainability. in conceptualising self-reliance, aiyegbusi opines that: self-reliance implies the capability and capacity of a nation or of a group of nations acting collectively to initiate and implement autonomous decisions in various walks of life: the capability and capacity of a nation or of a group of nations acting collectively to provide over time a greater part of the needs of its or their peoples whether in terms of factors of production or of nal goods and services (xiv). the above passage suggests that self-independence in choosing the developmental project to pursue by the people is a key to achieving sustainable development. it implies that individuals and communities dene and pursue their own development according to their needs, values and aspirations. self-reliance does not in any sense suggest self-isolation. the philosophy that underpins self-reliance is predicated on the need to project aspirations and to develop the creative energy to realise such aspirations under a fair, just and equitable system occasioned by a well-structured educational system. conclusion having looked through the lens of dialectical materialism as an explanatory model for sustainable development, it is observed that there is a strong link between dialectical materialism and sustainable development. dialectical materialism insistence on the sustained welfare of the people set the tune for sustainable development discourse. the basic needs of the people, especially in developing countries, are essentially food, shelter, clothing, jobs, etc. in developing countries, these basic needs, and the earnest aspirations of the people for better life and welfare are not met. the logic of sustainable development lies in meeting human basic needs and providing them the platform to meet their legitimate aspirations. alienation and debasement of the workers raise a further serious issue for sustainable development agents. the factors inimical to the realisation of human sustained welfare are xrayed by dialectical materialism to be man-made and a direct orchestration of the whims and caprices of the capitalists. the expropriation of surplus value meant reduction of workers' wages and negatively impacted on their welfare. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 117 this paper suggests the centrality of the peoples' welfare in development plans. since in developmental process the people create and recreate themselves, the options in development should be thrown open, and the human mind that selects this development options should be trained, through a well-structured educational system to contemplate the development that serves the interest of the generality of the people. references ake, c. democracy and development in africa. ibadan: spectrum, 2001. print. akhigbe, e. & tijani, a. a. “human rights as a veritable tool for sustainable development: embracing the trend in nigeria”. journal of strategic & development studies 1.1 (2016): 210-221. print. aigbonoga, stephen o. “gene sharps' concept of nonviolence struggle: a recipe for nigeria's developmental problems”. journal of strategic & development studies 1.1 (2016): 346-355. print. aiya, fidelis & anetekhai, john a. anani. “strategies for sustainable development in contemporary economy of nigeria”. in journal of strategic & development studies 1.1 (2016): 140-151. print. aiyegbusi “farward: the genesis and goals of lagos plan of action”. in luke, david f. and shaw, timothy m. (eds), continental crisis: the lagos plan of action and africa's future. lanham: university press of america, 1984. print. bruder, k. & moore, b. n. philosophy: the power of ideas (5th ed.). new york: mcgraw-hill co. inc., 2002. print. cunningham, w. siago, b. environmental science: a global concern (9th ed.). new york: mcgrawhill co. inc., 2007. print. efemini, a. claude ake's philosophy of development: implications for nigeria. port harcourt: university of port harcourt press, ltd., 2003. print. giddens, a. “capitalism and modern social theory”. in writings of the young marx on philosophy and society. london: cambridge university press, 1971. print. harrison, l. e. (2008). underdevelopment is a state of mind. in aiya, fidelis & anetekhai, john a. anani (2016). strategies for sustainable development in contemporary economy of nigeria, 2016. in journal of strategic & development studies 1.1 (2016): 140151. print. jakpor, o. j. some thought in marxism. ekpoma: innoch print, 2002. print. khondker, habibul h. social transformation, development and globalization. uae: zayed university press, 2014. print. lawhead, f. william. the philosophical journey: an interactive approach (2nd ed.). new york: mcgraw-hill co. inc., 2003. print. ofong, d. a. imperialism and dependency. enugu: fourth dimension publishers, (2002). omoregbe, j. a simplied history of western philosophy. vol.1. lagos: joja educational research and publishers ltd., 1993. print. rostow, w. w. the stages of economic growth: a non-communist manifesto. cambridge university press. 1971. print. smith, s. b. hegel's critique of liberalism: rights in context. london: university of chicago press, ltd., (1989). print. undp, (1990). human development report, 1990. united nations development programme. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 118 microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 5. no 3.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 106 factors that determine academic staff job performance in nigeria omojola i. o., phd department of business administration and management villanova polytechnic, imesi ile osun state omojolassma@yahoo.co.uk; +2348057946853 abstract the study examined the factors that determine academic staff job performance in nigeria. it investigated the relationship between personnel recruitment, performance appraisal, human resource development, motivation and communication and job performance of academic staff. the study also investigated the relative contribution of these variables to the job performance of academic staff in nigeria. the descriptive survey design was used. the population of this study consisted of 154 deans, 849 heads of department and 11,828 academic staff in southwest nigeria universities. the sample was one thousand eight hundred (1,800) respondents, comprising 20 deans, 70 heads of department and 1,710 academic staff. multistage sampling procedure which involves simple random sampling, stratified random sampling and proportional stratified random sampling technique were used to select them. two self-designed instruments were used, questionnaire on human resource management (qhrm) for academic staff and job performance of academic staff questionnaire (jpasq) for deans and heads of departments. to establish the reliability of the instruments, the test-retest method was used. they were found to be 0.74 and 0.71 for qhrm and jpasq respectively. the data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as percentage; mean and standard deviation, pearson’s product moment correlation and regression analysis. the hypothesis was tested at 0. 05 level of significance. the study revealed that personnel recruitment, performance appraisal, human resource development, motivation and communication and job performance of academic staff were significantly related. based on the findings of this study, it was recommended that academic staff should be more committed to their job to ensure qualitative teaching, research and community services for better job performance. the managers should encourage the academic staff perform better in areas of teaching, research and community services. keywords: factors, academic staff and job performance. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 107 introduction universities are expected to be agency saddled with the task of extending the frontier of knowledge for the overall benefit of the society. the strategic position occupied by universities all over the world in national development is beyond doubt. their contributions to social, political and economic development of a nation cannot be overemphasized. this is why many nations invest heavily in university education. the university education objectives may not be achieved without proper job performance of academic staff. (ogbodo and nwaoku 2007). human resources in the universities need to be well managed, in order to increase their job performance. however, there are many factors that determine the job performance of academic staff in the university system. the perceived factor that determine academic staff job performance may be due to the fact that in some cases, good and qualified candidates may not be recruited to the university system. job performance of any university will always reflect in the quality of its staff. recruitment is the process of attracting qualified people to apply for the job openings in the organization. it is the first step in the process of filling a vacancy in an organization. the research of jansen (2013) reveals that finding, attracting and keeping the best people will be achieved through effective recruitment and selection processes. he also concluded that an organization will be guaranteed the right calibre of people for the organization’s needs through proper recruitment procedure. chidi (2014) investigates the effect of selection practices on performance of unionised organizations in the food, beverage and tobacco industry in lagos state. the study revealed that, selection practices exhibited positive and significant relationship with all measures of performance. the study conducted by lavigna (1996) on innovation in recruiting and hiring: attracting the best and brightest to wisconsin state government aimed at using computer based text to select the best candidates. he finds out that even in this era of public sector reorganization and downsizing, hiring the best and the brightest candidate is critical. he concluded that, when hiring is limited, it is more important than ever to ensure that when government does recruit, it attracts and hires talented people to improve productivity. the study of ariss and timmins (2009) on employee education and job performance found that educational level is positively related to job igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 108 performance. the study of abraham (1998) discloses that work experience has no effect on job performance in an organization. this implies that in recruiting personnel, work experience may not necessarily be a criterion. the study of lavigna (1992) reveales that it is better to base employee screening/selection decisions on specific job-related knowledge like skills and abilities, instead of relying primarily on background characteristic "signals." however, arvey (2006), exhibites that major field of specialization is highly related to employees’ performance. according to aswathappa, (2009) human resource practitioners do not follow their institution’s recruitment and selection processes in the appropriate manner. hence, institutions experience high labour turnover, high staff absenteeism, job reworks, high training expenses, labour unrest and low job performance. another factor that can determine academic staff job performance is performance appraisal. academic staff may not be regularly evaluated in relation to performance appraisal. performance appraisal is a formal and systematic assessment of an employee to determine the degree to which the employee is performing his/her job effectively. it is usually made in a prescribed manner of specific intervals such as quarterly, bi-annually or even annually. each employee at one time or the other wants his immediate boss or more still his employer to assess his on-the-job performance, and where necessary give him guidelines or advice for improving his efficiency (yaney 1995). however, morris and stanton (2007) state that, performance appraisals are being used to reward staff in areas that were traditionally considered as standard working rights and conditions. mani (2002), states that the techniques of performance appraisal are varied, but can generally be condensed into three major categories: trait formats, management by objectives (mbo) formats, and behavioral system formats, such as behavior observation scales (bos). trait formats are intended to evaluate employees based on specific personality traits. mbo formats are intended to evaluate employees on how well they have achieved previously developed work-related goals, while behavioral system formats are intended to evaluate employees based upon specific work-related behaviors that the organization deems important and desirable. nevertheless, the research of rehman and mohammed (2013) reveal that if a system is based on a good performance appraisal program, it will enhance the productivity of workers and at the same time provides motivations to poorly igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 109 performing workers to go for improving their work performance to get more and more money. bernardine and russel (2013) then state that a person’s performance depends on some combination of ability or competency, motivation or effort, and of course the opportunity to perform. performance should be measured in terms of outcomes or results produced in the context aligned with organizational objectives. performance appraisal information is often used by supervisors to manage performance of their employees. in the same vain, bernardine and russel (2013) feel that the information collected from performance management and appraisal system is typically used for compensation, performance improvement or management (e.g personnel decision making), and documentation. performance data are often used for staffing decision (e.g promotion, transfer, discharge, termination and layoff), and this is where the entire personnel appraisal and appraisal system may fall under the close scrutiny of the courts. performance appraisal is also used for training needs analysis, employee development, and research and programme evaluation. for example validation and research for selection. the study conducted by gabris and ihrke (2001) examined the relationship between employee perceptions of performance appraisal and both employee burnout and experienced job satisfaction. it reveals that performance-appraisal highly relates to burnout and he suggested that the best-performing employees should receive not only the highest performance-appraisal scores, but also commensurate rewards. also analyzing the importance of performance appraisal to productivity, mani (2002) states that performance management systems -including performance appraisals or evaluations are critical cohesive for human resource management. appraisal ratings may be criteria in decisions to retain employees during layoffs, to assess the quality of training programs, to measure equitable treatment of different groups of employees, to increase employees' pay, and to promote or terminate employees. appraisals may help poor performers improve performance by giving specific feedback about needs for development and appraisals may help employees who excel continue to excel by giving positive reinforcement. this type of feedback is essential to improve performance of employees at all levels. also, and to assess the accomplishments of the organization overall. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 110 another study was carried out by schnake, williams and william (2007), intending to know the link between human resource management practices and important work related outcomes such as employee attitudes and behaviour and firm financial performance. the results show that frequency of use of career management practices was positively related to job satisfaction and organizational commitment, and negatively related to perceived job stress and job insecurity. however, morris and stanton (2007) state that, performance appraisals are being used to reward staff in areas that were traditionally considered as standard working rights and conditions. it seems that the academic staff do not engage in regular training, seminars and workshops and by attending conferences for development. these may be one of the factors that can determine their job performance development is a way of equipping human resource for improvement to enable them to function well in their various assignments. willie (2010) is of the opinion that programmes should be designed to train members to be productive. this according to him will be based upon extent of diversification, expansion plans and development programmes. training programmes depend upon the extent of improvement in technology and advancement to take place. it is also done to improve upon the skills, capabilities, knowledge of the workers. rebecca (2012) asserts that motivation and job performance are twin concepts in organizational development. motivation works as the means toward attaining productivity and better job performance as an end. motivation is the best cause to reach job performance as a favorable effect and motivation is the stimulus to trigger as a job performance response. communication and job performance are related in achieving the goals of the universities. epstein (2002) reveals that strong positive relationships between communications and job satisfaction occur. the study also shows that clear and positive pattern of relationships between an employee's perceptions of communications and his or her job satisfaction do aid performance. the research of lee (2007) reveals that both task and person communication roles were significantly predictors of job performance in the faculties. sandra and lisa (1996) carried out a study which reveals that adequate human development and training has much impact on their performance and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 111 productivity. manpower training and development is an important tool for improving human power and productivity in both skills and orientation; many organizations do not take it very serious which always undermines their job performance, productivity and growth (owusu-acheaw 2007). in the study carried out by majekodunmi (1999), he discovers that there was a significant relationship between training programmes and improved performance of employee. he equally found out that training activities have significantly improved productivity in niser. also, that personnel training have significantly led to advancement, upgrading, promotion or re-designation of niser workers. it was then recommended that more training should be conducted for the staff of this organization to be more productive. hamid (2011) in a study emphasizes that training is an important human resource development tool and that training should be provided to employees of different levels, specially the middle level managers in the organizations to cope with social and technological changes and improve their job performance. in another study conducted by babaita (2010) which sought to determine if productivity is a driving force for investment in training and management development in the banking industry in nigeria. the population was made up of 320 old and new generation banks. babaita finds that job performance is really one of the driving forces for investment in training and management development. he recommended that it is vital that managers, senior executive, as well as all employees receive training. in another study carried out by iwuoha in ezeani and oladele (2013), aimed at identifying the adequacy of development programme provided to the secretaries in the selected business organization in owerri. they discover that if development programmes is adequately provided for the secretaries by the management of these organizations in such areas as seminar, conferences, workshops, their job performance will be enhanced. the research carried out by kotey and folker (2007) revealed that employees need to be trained to fill the new positions that open with firm growth. however, a number of research studies report a low level of relationship (correlation) between training and employee productivity (taymaz, 1998). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 112 more factor that seems to be affecting the job performance of academic staff may be motivation. it appears that the academic staff needs are not been met as at when due, therefore they appear not to be well motivated. it is like the salaries and incentives of academic staff are poorly attended to. emphasizing the importance of motivation to job performance, barbra (2014), found out that motivation is inbuilt within oneself and all that is needed is for individuals to realize this and to address it. nobody can motivate another, but one can inspire another person to make the changes that are necessary to become motivated. motivation has been seen to have a great influence on the job performance of the organization and hence this should be taken with the seriousness it deserves. the research of levoy (2012) reveals that a motivated employee is more likely to output more to the benefit of the organization. most of the successful people that are around have been proved to be very efficient time managers. the efficiency of an organization is seen in its job performance. the study of oluwatoba (1997), on attitude and productivity in public organizations: a case study of niser, ibadan. it was expected to measure if workers’ attitude to work can influence productivity. she finds out that motivation will influence the attitude of male and female workers to be productive. this by implication means that staff need much attention to be productive. the research of flora and robert (1996) reveal that if faculty staff are well motivated, such a faculty will be productive. in the same disposition, olochukwu (1990) feels that motivation is a management function that stimulates individuals to accomplish laid down institutional goals. it is purposive, designated and goal-oriented behaviour that involves certain forces acting on or within the individual in order to initiate, sustain and direct behaviour. nwadiani (2009) shows that lack of motivation may lead to stress which eventually may translate to ineffective classroom management and deprive school improvement. the research conducted by bloom (2013) reveals that structured work environments will facilitate interest in professional growth and job performance of workers. he then suggested that administrator support should be provided in the form of positive informational feedback concerning teachers' classroom igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 113 practice and professional development goals. similarly, positive co-worker relations should be facilitated by structuring physical layout, planning time, and program policies and processes in ways that promote trust, respect, and collaboration. nevertheless, owens in stang (2000), states that the educational leader is an important part of the educational environment of the school. it is with this educational environment that the organization's members interact and therefore the principal can determine the nature and quality of the teachers' motivation. still, a strong organization and positive work environment will encourage, and even promote greater motivation and productivity of staff. the communication link between human resource managers and the academic staff appears to be poor, which may result in poor disseminating of information in the work place. the communication gap may also be a factor that is can determine the academic staff job performance. communication has been stated as an important tool in academic staff job performance. the study carried out by goris and pettit (1997) that was aimed at investigating the moderating influence of organizational communication on the relationship between job performance and job satisfaction. they find out that appropriate and accurate information enhances both performance and satisfaction with work. this finding implies that individuals receiving proper, correct, and clear information may perform adequately, which in turn may give rise to positive feelings about their jobs, or vice versa. supervisors will be able to promote adequate levels of job performance and job satisfaction among their employees by providing them with appropriate and accurate information. the research conducted by tolorunsagba (2015) reveals that a great relationship occurs between communication functions of principals and teachers job performance. in the view of linda (2014), management should put in place good communication channels that are meant to converse information both ways, from the employees to the management as well as from the management to the employees. the channels should remain open so that communication can be done at any moment when there is information that might be needed. the study conducted by ezeani (2012) reveals that the vital and fundamental element in the management process is based on working with people, which is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 114 done through some forms of communication. the study also found out that the success of principal’s administrative action depends to a large extent on the effective use of communication process. another study by muraina (2014) discovers that no principal can meet the needs of his or her teachers without proper communication. csoka (2009) finds that communication satisfaction dimensions impacted the employees' productivity. although such dimensions as "communication with coworkers," "meetings and memos;' and "corporate-wide information," impacted productivity somewhat, employees in both organizations perceived "personal feedback" from their supervisor to have the highest impact on productivity. also, satisfaction of an employee with a particular dimension of communication did not necessarily mean his or her productivity was affected. however, the research conducted by downs (2006), on the relationship between communication, satisfaction and productivity: a study of two australian organizations; he comes out with the fact that communication with co-workers, meetings and memos (media quality), and corporate –wide information had relatively low impacts on job performance. nevertheless, the research of dobbins (2004) indicates that communication tends to have adverse relationship with job performance. thus, communication in an organization is not likely to improve performance. it can then be inferred from the review that job performance of academic staff is better achieved through the much attention paid into the level and caliber of recruited staff, the extent of motivation, regular training. assessment through performance appraisal format and communication between the managers and the academic staff. purpose of the study this study examined the factors that determine academic staff job performance in nigeria. it investigated the relationship between personnel recruitment, performance appraisal, human resource development, motivation and communication and job performance of academic staff. the study also investigated the relative contribution of these variables to job performance of academic staff. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 115 research hypotheses 1. there is no significant relationship between motivation and job performance of academic staff. 2. there is no significant relationship between human resource development and job performance of academic staff. 3. there is no significant relationship between performance appraisal and job performance of academic staff. 4. there is no significant relationship between communication and job performance of academic staff. 5. human resource variables will not jointly contribute to the job performance of academic staff significantly. methodology the study made use of descriptive research of survey design. the population of this study consisted of 154 deans, 849 heads of department and 11,828 academic staff in southwest nigeria universities. the sample of this study was (1,800) respondents, comprising 20 deans, 70 heads of department and 1,710 academic staff. multistage sampling procedure which involves simple random sampling, stratified random sampling and proportional stratified random sampling technique were used to select the states, universities and individuals to be used for the study. two sets of self-designed instruments were used for this study. the first instrument was questionnaire on human resource management (qhrm). the second instrument was job performance of academic staff questionnaire (jpasq). these were used to collect relevant data from the subjects. the instruments were validated based on the judgments of experts in educational management and tests and measurement s in ekiti state university. reliability coefficients of 0.74 and 0. 71 were obtained for qhrm and jpasq respectively using test re-test method. five hypotheses were postulated. the data were analyzed using frequency counts, percentage, mean, standard deviation and pearson moment correlation coefficient. all the hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 116 results hypothesis 1: there is no significant relationship between human resource motivation and productivity of academic staff. in testing the hypothesis, scores relating to motivation were computed using items 22-28 of qhrm while productivity of academic staff scores were computed using items 1-27 of jpasq. the scores (motivation and productivity of academic staff) were subjected to statistical analysis using pearson product moment correlation at 0.05 level of significance. the result is presented in table 1. table 1: pearson product correlation of motivation and productivity of academic staff variable n mean sd r-cal r-table motivation 1495 18.16 5.028 0.532* 0.195 productivity of academic staff 1495 113.00 9.061 *p<0.05 table 1 showed that the relationship between motivation and productivity of academic staff is statistically significant at 0.05 level. (r= 0.532, p<0.05). thus the null hypothesis is rejected. this implies that there is significant relationship between motivation and productivity of academic staff. hence, there was a positive relationship hypothesis 2: there is no significant relationship between human resource development and productivity of academic staff. in testing the hypothesis, scores relating to human resource development were computed using items 16-21 of qhrm while productivity of academic staff scores were computed using items 1-27 of jpasq. the scores were subjected to statistical analysis using pearson product moment correlation at 0.05 level of significance. the result is presented in table 2. table 2: pearson product correlation of human resource development and productivity of academic staff igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 117 variable n mean sd r-cal r-table human resource development 1495 18.97 3.491 0.908* 0.195 productivity of academic staff 1495 113.00 9.061 p< 0.05 table 2 showed that the relationship between human resource development and productivity of academic staff is statistically significant at 0.05 level. (r= 0.908, p<0.05). thus the null hypothesis is rejected. this implies that there is significant relationship between human resource development and productivity of academic staff. therefore, there was a positive relationship hypothesis 3: there is no significant relationship between performance appraisal and productivity of academic staff. in testing the hypothesis, scores relating to performance appraisal were computed using items 8-15 of qhrm while productivity of academic staff scores were computed using items 1-27 of jpasq. the scores (performance appraisal and productivity of academic staff) were subjected to statistical analysis using pearson product moment correlation at 0.05 level of significance. the result is presented in table 3. table 3: pearson product correlation of performance appraisal and productivity of academic staff variable n mean sd r-cal r-table performance appraisal 1495 21.08 5.823 0.426* 0.195 productivity of academic staff 1495 113.00 9.061 p<0.05 table 3 revealed that the relationship between performance appraisal and productivity of academic staff is statistically significant at 0.05 level. (r= 0.426; p<0.05). thus the null hypothesis is rejected. this implies that there is significant relationship between performance appraisal and productivity of academic staff. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 118 hypothesis 4: there is no significant relationship between communication and productivity of academic staff. in testing the hypothesis, scores relating to communication were computed using items 8-15 of qhrm while productivity of academic staff scores were computed using items 1-27 of jpasq. the scores (communication and productivity of academic staff) were subjected to statistical analysis using pearson product moment correlation at 0.05 level of significance. the result is presented in table 8. table 4: pearson product correlation of communication and productivity of academic staff variable n mean sd r-cal r-table communication 1495 14.63 4.139 0.392* 0.195 productivity of academic staff 1495 113.00 9.061 *p<0.05 table 4 showed that the relationship between communication and productivity of academic staff is not statistically significant at 0.05 level. (r= 0.392; p<0.05). thus the null hypothesis rejected. this implies that there is significant relationship between communication and productivity of academic staff. hence, there was a positive relationship hypothesis 5 human resource variables will not jointly contribute to the productivity of academic staff significantly. table 9: multiple regression analysis showing the relative contribution of human resource variables on academic staff productivity model unstandardized coefficients standardize d coefficients t sig. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 119 b std. error beta (constant) 102.630 15.514 6.615 .000 human resource management 2.639 10.673 .247 5.182 .808 personnel recruitment 3.227 10.687 .302 1.286 .767 performance appraisal 2.002 10.830 .185 1.280 .856 human resource development 2.489 10.646 .234 1.317 .819 motivation 2.500 10.744 . 233 1.407 .819 communication 2.319 10.863 . 213 1.040 .834 dependent variable: productivity of academic staff multiple r = .530 adjusted r2 = 0.28 f = .914 the following regression can be derived from table 9. y = a + b1x1+ b2x2 + b3x3 + b4x4 + b5x5 + b6x6 where x1 = human resource management x2 = personnel recruitment x3 = performance appraisal x4 = human resource development x5 = motivation x6 = communication b1 – 6 = regression weight coefficient a = constant (other variable other than x1 – x6) the multiple relationship between the dependent and independent variables can therefore be given as follow: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 120 y = 102.630 +.247x1+ .302x2 +.185x3 +.234x4 +. 233x5 +. 213x6 the table revealed that there is a positive multiple correlation between the predictor variables and productivity of academic staff in the universities (r = .530) this implies that all the predictor variables are factors that can exert influence on productivity of academic staff. the value of the coefficient of determinant (r2 = 0.28) indicates that all the predictor variables jointly accounted for 28% of the total variance in the productivity of academic staff of universities while the remaining 72% unexplained variation is largely due to other variables not examined in this study. this implies that there are other variables that can account for productivity of academic staff of universities. the regression result in the table reveals that the most important predictor variable that contributed to the total variance in the productivity of academic staff of universities is personnel recruitment (β = .302). the second in the ranked order is human resource management (β = .247) while human resource development came third in the order of relative contribution (β = .234). after human resource development, motivation was the next (β = .233) coming fourth in the ranking of the contribution. communication came fifth (β= 213) and performance appraisal is the variable with the least contribution (β= .185). the calculated f-ratio (.914) was not significant at 0.05 level of significance. this implies that the predictor variables provide an insignificant explanation in the productivity of academic staff in southwest nigeria universities. in terms of magnitude of the weight of regression co-efficient, personnel recruitment had the highest contribution (30.2%) to productivity of academic staff followed by human resource management (24.7%). this is followed by human resource development (23.4%). the others that followed are motivation (23.3%), communication (21.3 %) and performance appraisal (18.5%) with the least contribution. discussion the finding showed that there was significant relationship between job performance of academic staff and personnel recruitment. this by implication means that the nature of staff recruited must determine their job performance. the finding is in agreement with the views of chidi (2014) and that of arvey (2006) that selection practices exhibited positive and significant relationship with all measures of performance. also, that of lavigna (1996) and ariss and timmins (2009) that educational level is positively related to job performance. however, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 121 the finding is in disparity with the study of abraham (1998) that arrived at the fact that in recruiting personnel, work experience may not necessarily be a criterion for productivity. the finding also showed a significant relationship between job performance of academic staff and motivation. this implies that since motivation improves performance, academic staff will be more productive if well motivated through regular payment of salaries/allowances and making the environment conducive for them. the finding is related to the study conducted by oluwatoba (1997), flora and robert (1996), nwadiani (2009), stang, (2000), levoy (2012), bloom (2013) and ugah (2008). they all found out that a motivated employee is more likely to output more to the benefit of the organization. the finding however contradicts the study of barbra (2014), which concluded that motivation is inbuilt within oneself and that nobody can motivate another. this means that, no matter what the human resource managers do, it may not have much effect on the academic staff because it has to do with what one is made up of in relation to individual’s behavior. the study revealed that there is a significant relationship between job performance of academic staff and human resource development. it implies that academic staff will be highly productive if regular development is encouraged. the finding is quite close to the outcome of the study of sandra and lisa (1996), majekodunmi (1999), hamid (2011), babaita (2010), iwuoha in ezeani and oladele (2013), ezeani and oladele (2013) and kotey and folker (2007). they discovered that human development and training has much impact on their performance and productivity. they also found out that there was a significant relationship between training programmes and improved performance of employee. the finding contradicts the result of the study of (taymaz, 1998) which reported a low level of relationship (correlation) between training and employee productivity. also, that previous studies based on meta-analysis do not indicate a clear picture about the relationship between training and productivity. the study also revealed that there is a significant relationship between job performance of academic staff and performance appraisal. this by implication means that if academic staff’ ability are regularly assessed and evaluated, their job performance will be enhanced. however, the finding supports the research igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 122 work of gabris and ihrke (2001), morris and stanton (2007) and rehman and mohammed (2013). the research they carried out revealed that performance appraisal is related to job performance. moreover, if a system is based on a good performance appraisal program, it will enhance the productivity of workers and at the same time provides motivations to poorly performing workers to improve. this finding contradicts the outcome of the research carried out by mani (2002) and schnake, williams and william (2007). their works revealed that there is no significant relationship between performance ratings and productivity. also that regular use of performance appraisal is negatively related to perceived job stress and job insecurity. the finding also showed that there is significant relationship between job performance of academic staff and communication. it implies that communication influence the productivity of academic staff. it equally means that the academic staff need the human resource managers to remind them about their responsibilities in relation to teaching, research and community services. the finding contradicts the outcome of the research works of dobbins (2004) and downs (2006) that indicated that communication tends to have an inverse relationship with job performance. thus, communication in an organization is not likely to improve productivity. the finding supports the research outcome of epstein (2002), lee (2007) csoka (2009), tolorunsagba (2015) and goris and pettit (1997) that presented strong positive relationships between communications and job performance the finding showed that the best predictor of productivity of academic staff in southwest nigeria universities is human resource recruitment followed by human resource management and human resource development. motivation is next to communication while performance appraisal is the least in the rank order. with the f-ratio of .914 however, the variables in this study do not make significant contribution to the productivity of academic staff. what may be responsible for this finding is the fact that there other variables apart from those examined in this study could be responsible for the low productivity of academic staff in the southwest nigeria universities. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 123 conclusion based on the findings of this study, it can be concluded that human resource management variables such as performance appraisal, motivation, human resource development and communication are important factors that determine the job performance of academic staff in the nigeria. recommendations based on the findings of this study, the following recommendations are made: in view of the fact that human resource recruitment is significantly related to academic staff productivity, the managers should pay attention to the quality of the personnel to be hired into university system so that they will be able to do effective research and be more productive. the managers should also endearvour to select the best candidate during recruitment and have orientation for the staff so that they will adapt easily into the system. managers should also encourage the selected candidates and guide them well during the probation period so that they will be productive. in view of the fact that performance appraisal is significantly related to productivity, the managers should evaluate the ability of the academic staff regularly, promote them as and when due and give them feedback after evaluation. since there is a significant relationship between motivation and productivity of academic staff, human resource managers should motivate the academic staff through regular payment of salary, promotion as and when due, rewarding those performing well among them and by making social amenities available in the school. in view of the fact that communication is significantly related to productivity, academic staff should communication effectively with academic staff on all matters relating to their job in order to improve their productivity. since human resource development is significantly related to productivity, human resource managers should encourage the academic staff to develop themselves through seminars, workshops and conferences. those to be trained should be identified and be allowed to have in-service training. references abraham, k.g. (1998): experience, performance, and earnings. quarterly journal of economics, 65 (17): 703-736. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 124 ariss, s.s., & timmins, s.a. (2009). employee education and job performance: does education matter? public personnel management, 18(1): 1-10. arvey, r.d. (2006). general ability in employment: a discussion. journal of vocational behavior, 29 (3): 415-420. aswathappa, k, (2009). human resources management: text and cases, tata mcgraw-hill, new delhi. babaita, i.s. (2010). productivity as a driving force for investment in training and management development in the banking industry. european journal of social science, 13(2): 278-290. barbra, d.b. (2014). the effect of motivation on productivity. just another word press.com weblog. bloom, p. j. (2013). factors influencing overall job satisfaction and organizational commitment in early childhood work environments. journal of research in childhood education, 3(2): 107-122. bernardine h.j. & russel j.e.a. (2013). human resource management: an experiential approach. singapore, new york, 10020. chidi, o.c. (2014). human capital selection practices and performance of unionized organisations in the food, beverage and tobacco industry in lagos state, nigeria. 22(1): 614-636. csoka, l. (2009). closing the performance gap: a research report. new york: the conference board. 11-12. dobbins, c. (2004). communication and performance: alternative perspectives. cincinnati: south-western publishing company, p. 4. downs, a. (2006). the relationship between communication satisfaction and productivity: a study of two australian organizations. unpublished master’s thesis, university of kansas. epstein, p. d. (2002). get ready: the time for performance measurement is finally coming! public administration review 52(5): 513-519. ezeani, n.s & oladele, r. (2013). implications of training and development programmes on accountants productivity in selected business organizations in onitsha, anambra state, nigeria. international journal of asian social science 3(1): 266-281. ezeani, w.s. (2012). application of entrepreneurship education: a panacea for effective secondary school management in nigeria. singaporean journal of business economics and management studies, 1 (15): 27-45. flora f. t. & robert t. b. (1996). research motivation, and faculty research productivity: measure refinement and theory testing. the journal of higher education, (67) (1): 2-22. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 125 gabris, g. &ihrke d. (2001). does performance appraisal contribute to heightened levels of employee burnout? the results of one study. journal on public personnel management. 30 (2): 123-134. goris, j. r. & pettit j. d. (1997). an examination of organizational communication as a moderator of the relationship between job performance and job satisfaction. the journal of business communication, 34 (1): 324-354. hamid, s. (2011). a study of effectiveness of training and development programs of upstdc, indiaan analysis. south asian journal of tourism and heritage, 4(1): 72-82. jansen, j. d. (2013). on the state of south african universities: guest editorial. south african. journal of higher education. (17) 3:9. kotey, b. & folker, c. (2007). employee training in small and medium-sized enterprises: effect of size and firm type-family and non-family. journal of small business management. 45 (2): 13-28. lavigna, r .j. (1992). predicting job performance from background characteristics more evidence from the public sector. journal of public personnel management. 21(3): 54-76. lavigna r.j. (1996). innovation in recruiting and hiring: attracting the best and brightest to wisconsin state government. journal of public personnel management. 25 (4): 67-81. lee y. (2007). a study of the relationship between communication and job satisfaction among faculty at the junior colleges of technology in the republic of china. unpublished doctoral dissertation. drake university. levoy b. (2012). quiz: test your knowledge of employee motivation strategies. veterinary economics, 50(2): 18. linda r. (2014). the effect of communication on productivity. stratflow facilitatorswww.stratflow.com. majekodunmi, b. o. (1999). training and productivity: a case study of effects of training on job performance of workers of the nigerian institute of social and economic research (niser) ibadan. unpublished masters dissertation of the department of guidance and canceling of university of ibadan. mani, b. g. (2002). performance appraisal systems, productivity, and motivation: a case study. journal on public personnel management. 20 (4): 36-70. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 126 morris, l. & stanton p. (2007). performance management in higher education – development versus control. new zealand journal of employment relations (online).32(2). muraina, m.b. (2014). principal’s managerial skills and administrative effectiveness in secondary schools in oyo state, nigeria. global journal of business research, administration and management. 14 (3): 50-54. nwadiani, m. (2009). dystrophies in higher education: the nigerian experience. higher education review. 3 (3): 17. ogbodo, c.m. & nwaoku, n.a. (2007). quality assurance in higher education. paper presented at the second regional conference on reforms and revitalization in higher education, held at iita, ibadan, nigeria, august 13-16, 2007. oluwatoba m.e. (1997). workers’ attitude and productivity in public organization: a case study of niser. ibadan. unpublished masters dissertation of the department of guidance and cancelling of university of ibadan. oluchukwu, e.e. (2000). staff motivation towards effective job performance in nigerian schools. management in nigerian education: personal administration and quality in education. fadipe, j.o. and ojedele, p.k. (eds) vol.3 p. 25-39. owusu-acheaw, (2007). staff development and employee welfare practices and their effect on productivity in three special libraries in ghana. productivity, special libraries, ghana library journal, 19 (1): 83-96. rebecca a.c. (2012). the relationship between motivation and productivity!http://www.brighthub.com/office/home/articles/83187.asp x rehman, r. a. & mohammed, a. (2013). is pay for performance the best incentive for employees? journal of emerging trends in economics and management. 4(6): 3453. sandra e. b. & lisa m. l. (1996). human-capital investments and productivity. the american economic review, 86, (2), papers and proceedings of the hundredth and eighth annual meeting of the american economic association san francisco, ca.263-267. schnake, m.e, williams r.j &william f. (2007). relationships between frequencies of use of career management practices and employee attitudes, intention to turnover, and job search behavior. journal of organizational culture, communications and conflict. 11(1):14-29 stang, j. (2000). management and motivation: an analysis of productivity in education and the workplace. education journal. 121(1): 67-90. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 5 no 3, june 2019. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 127 taymaz, (1998) in davar, s. c & parti, m. (2013). does training affect productivity of employees? two methods of meta-analysis” indian journal of industrial relations. 3 (1): 6590. tolorunsagba, j. (2015). administrative effectiveness of principals of secondary school as a correlate of teachers’ productivity in kogi state, nigeria. an unpublished master’s thesis submitted to the department of educational foundation and anagement, ekiti state university. ugah, a.d (2008). motivation and productivity in the library. academic journal article by library philosophy and practice, july 2008. willie r. (2010): http://wikieducator.org/user:satarupa/temp/basicconceptof personnel_ yaney, j.p (1995). the personnel management: reaching organization and human goals. charles e. merrill company. usa. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 124 book review i name of book: african philosophy: an ontologico – existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues year of publication: 2015 publishers: fab anieh publications author: kanu, ikechukwu anthony, o.s.a., ph.d reviewer: alalama valentine emeka (st. augustine’s major seminary, jos) introduction holistically speaking, philosophy is an all encompassing enterprise by all standards and spheres of life. it is a pattern of thinking guided by critical reason and logic about reality. etymologically it is known as the love of wisdom. therefore, african philosophy is the pattern of reflecting on african reality relying on the elements of reason and logic but the reality remains an african reality. in this work, the researcher shall review the book on schedule. an overview of the work it is not gainsaid that like the western philosophy which has no definitive definition, african philosophy is also caught up in such situation. however there could variety of definitions with keen concern to african philosophy. this notion was however stated in the chapter of this piece. it is talked about the controversies that arose whether there is anything like the african philosophy, and it was finally resolved that there is. the author made mention of some stimulating factors that brought about the african philosophy: racism, slave trade, and colonialism. emphases were made with regards to the africanness and philosophiness of african philosophy and the locus of it. the hermeneutic approach essentially stressed on the meaningful interpretation given by the africans on the concept of being and reality. the chapter 3 explained vividly the various trends in african philosophy. these trends are what he termed as ‘schools of thought’ or ‘movements’. there are as follows: universalist trend (based on applying universal principles), ethno – philosophy (based on particular reality), eclectic trend (combination of both universalist and particularistic trends), national idealist trend (based on politics and struggle for emancipation). there are others like sage philosophy, hermeneutic trend. the source of african philosophy according to the author is the raw materials of which african philosophy is gotten. among such are: works of professional african philosophers, proverbs, myths, names, languages, songs, folk tales, symbols and the likes of others. in the aspect of cosmology (science igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 125 of the universe), the africans have their peculiar conception, perception and contemplation about the cosmos. and try to look for meaning. the universe comprises both the physical and spiritual dimensions. this same chapter also gave remarks on god and his attributes (uniqueness, creator, oneness, king etc), divinities (primordial and deified) both in a universal and particular sense. it is enumerated some african proofs of god’s existence such as contingency, eternity etc. akin to the western philosophy, african philosophy has its own paradigms. it has for instance the ancient period as documented by historians (3000 – 300 bc), dating back to the north african egypt. the medieval period is between 2 and 7 ad, also north africa. and the later part of the medieval era between 10 and 15 century in arobo – islamic. the modern period is also from the 15th 20th centuries. also the contemporary period is from 21st century till date. in the area of method, two questions were observed in dealing with the methods to be employed: the question of written and oral tradition; and the question of collective and individual philosophy. some held that it is not african philosophy since it is not written. others held also that it must be collective ideas. this chapter vehemently discouraged such impressions. in the problem of language, africans were concerned about the particular language that could be employed that would be suitable for doing philosophy. it was admonished that it would be better if it is done in the various african languages in which the people understand since it would reveal the structure of reality. freedom as stressed in this book is viewed as an enterprise of communalism. it relates the effect of the community giving existence and liberty to its individual. the idea of community does not kill the individual’s freedom. also since god and nature punishes men based on wrong done orreward based on good done, it follows therefore that we are responsible for our action and hence free. he made mention about destiny and freedom. ethics is a scientific study of morality. it aimed at the african perspective of right and wrong and the way she enforce its judgment or moral behavior and conduct; and see to it that there is balance between the human activities with that of the spirit world. in doing so, the african people believe the norms are preserved. africans give ontological judgment to situation; more so, any act done either good or bad has a resultant effect on the community. life is seen as the highest good, and without it nothing is and ever would be. it is the prime principle of being and given by god. it is something everlasting since it continues in the world beyond. chapter 13 tried to relate the concepts of evil, suffering and pain in the african world view. through the igbo perspectives, he averred that suffering is seen as another dimension of evil. he also gave the origin and approaches on evil: cosmological optimistic, human destiny etc. the issue of globalization has been negatively judged. the author gave a historical account of it though with no specified dates; and argued whether it is a process or a product? being according to the bantu people is seen as ‘force’; and stressed on the quantity and quality of this force. the categories of being igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 126 were mentioned, for instance: muo (spirit), mmadu (human), anu (animal), ebe (space), oge (time) etc. the chapter 16 explained the concept of reincarnation, that for the african people it is a partial reincarnation and never a full one like that of the western view. to them it is just the attributes of the ancestors found in someone; hence the identity of the individual is not hampered. differences were made with regard to ogbanje or abiku and reincarnation. time in the african opinion holds a paramount importance and dimension. mbiti defined it as “a composition of events which have occurred, those that taking place now and those which are immediately to occur”. time is divided into potential and actual time. it is never lineal but cyclic – everything repeats itself. the principle of causality in the african metaphysics is somewhat similar to the western aspect. everything in the universe has a resultant cause, link and effect, directly or indirectly. and this principle binds the creator (original cause) to the creature (effect). the african man doesn’t subscribe to the concept of change. extraordinary events are what the africans are concerned with. god is the ontological cause. there is also the functional cause in the african world view. in the field of science which is the study of knowledge, concrete evidences were given on the african contribution and impacts on science. for instance, medicine was strongly practiced and improved by the ancient egypt, mathematics, astronomy; engineering enterprises (metals, alloys, and tools) were in vogue in africa. democracy as described by the author is a coinage from the greek words ‘dmos’ – ‘people’ and ‘kratein’ – ‘rule’. it is the power of the people. according to the yoruba political organization, there is only one authority – alaafin, and several councils of heads: the obgoni, are-ona, and aremor. this is the structure of the yoruba government. he also enumerated that of the igbo people which include the nuclear family, patrilineage umunna), the maximal lineage and the village group assembly. in essence, and as observed by the author, there exist traces of check and balances in the system of government in the african democracy. decisions are reached through discursions, consultation, dialogue and compromise. and the perspective of every lineage is represented. african philosophy has greatly given her quotas to nation development, by forming the human mind, by moving from theological dimension to scientific dimensions of interpretations and discoveries. it addresses concrete issues and helped in the mental decolonization of the african, stirred up the quest for emancipation. evaluation of ideologies, critiques on cultures and promotion of high thinking, values, and national unity are on the run. a constructive criticism on the piece � it is apparent and unfortunate that this work has no evidence of in-depth research into several ethnic worldviews on philosophy. it is however less culture – sensitive. most of the perspectives employed in conveying information were mostly from the igbo and yoruba worldviews. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 127 innovations should be made, using other tribes’ perceptions interchangeably in certain subject matters. � also there are certain chapters in the book that ought to be fused together to make just a chapter instead of separating them. for instance chapter 2: the ontologico – existential hermeneutic approach; and chapter 3: trends in african philosophy. likewise chapters 8 and 9: the problems of methodology and language respectively, should have been merged or juxtaposed as one single chapter each. � furthermore, i observed that the author’s voice is not heard and felt much in this book. majority of the statements are ideas, contributions, perspectives of other people; and these tend to swallow up the views of the author about the subject matter. i recommend that more of your expressions and propositions should be seen in your work and that other people’s views should come occasionally and sporadically when beckon on. � having gone through this work i spotted some unaddressed issues with particular reference to the branches of african philosophy. in my opinion, i suggest that at least one or if possible three chapters should be set aside to buttress the african perspectives on the three (3) branches of african philosophy so that full grapes could be attained. only an aspect of metaphysics: causation was given a chapter. the african political philosophy was not to a considerable length discussed or emphasized also. it was only a system of government – democracy that was looked upon. commendations/conclusion at this juncture, with utmost sense of appreciation i wish to commend that this great work has really contributed to the pool of knowledge in the known of academics. it has gone to certain reasonable extent to draw people even the indigenous africans out from the pit of pitiable ignorance. at least people can now walk with his fellowmen in independence ease to say there is ever an african philosophy and always will be. this book has also contributed its quotas by defending the notion that africans too have rationale, we have consciousness; the author also created a platform for propagating the wealth and pride philosophical endowment of the african with raised shoulders. it is on this basis, i find some convergent points between the western and african philosophy. though there are some disparities, in any case, philosophy which studied under the particular culture of the people involved, likewise african philosophy is the african own worldview and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 128 perspectives on philosophy; and we should not be denied of the right. that is why western philosophy is western in nature because there are the people of the west, asian philosophy is asian because it is done in structural settings of their culture; hence the locus of african philosophy is african either by geographical settings, by being indigenous people or by affiliation. finally, on a general note, i feel this wonderful piece has actually stung africans and even foreigners to the consciousness, that africans are never dead intellectually and otherwise. in fact, it has defeated the bias and sentimental notions held by most western thinkers and even some indigenous africans on the phenomenological existence of african philosophy. i also commend the dexterous style, the simplicity in expression and clarity in that permeates through those expressions in a précised manner. i would not fail to assert that as an individual i have been enlightened richly about the african proverbs and what they stand for and so i could deduce that “a child who knows both the basis or kpim of his culture has not only justified the dowry paid on his mother, in addition he can never be lost in a foreign land. at this point i say dalu. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 6 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 19 museum education in nigeria: prospects and challenges ivan emeka okonkwo, ph.d. department of fine and applied arts nnamdi azikiwe university awka, anambra state. abstract there seems to be lack of effectiveness from those managing museum education in nigeria, most people seem not to know where the public museums and galleries are, their importance and what they represent. this study sought to examine the challenges and prospects of museum education. the design of the study was a descriptive survey. the target population of the study was 123 museum education officers. the sample was 123 respondents. the instrument for data collection was questionnaire. the data was analyzed using mean score for the three research questions posed for the study. the findings of the study revealed that museum education is important to humanity in many ways, it indicate that there are many challenges hampering the progress of museum education in nigeria. it was therefore recommended that the national commission for museums and monuments (ncmm) as an umbrella body of public museums in nigeria should look toward making policies that will rejuvenate museums education, new cultural programmes involving youths should be carried out to improve public patronage, schools should be made to visit the museums, at least once every session, so as to benefit from the information and pleasures a museum offers, and public-private partnerships should also be encouraged in the area of funding for museums education to achieve set goals. keywords: prospects, museum, education, museum education. introduction a museum is an institution that cares for (conserves) a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary (edward, 2007). most large museums are located in major cities throughout the world and more local ones exist in smaller cities, towns and even the countryside. museums have varying aims, ranging from serving researchers and specialists to serving the general public. the continuing acceleration in the digitization of information, combined with the increasing capacity of digital information storage, is causing the traditional model of museums, as static “collections of collections” of three-dimensional specimens and artifacts, to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 20 expand to virtual exhibits and high-resolution images of their collections for perusal, study, and exploration from any place with internet access. (findlen, 2009). museum education is a specialized field devoted to developing and strengthening museums' role as public institutions. the purpose of museum education is to enhance the visitors’ ability to understand and appreciate museum collections. in terms of education, going to a museum can bring what is taught in schools to life, by seeing artifacts or paintings for example. if children are learning about the romans for example and they visit an exhibition full of armour and weapons dating from that period, they are more likely to find it interesting and want to learn more about it. research also shows that those who have had firsthand experience of such information are more likely to retain it in later life. museums can then be an extremely valuable source of creativity, particularly organisations such as art galleries or photography exhibitions, as many people find they are inspired and subsequently want to try such activities themselves (tezcan and akmehmet, 2007). museums can contribute to education via schools. the best way to do that is promoting cooperation between museums and schools. some museums have founded units to support schools and they collaborate with schools and teachers. museum education is important to humanity in many ways. museums are ideal places to enrich what is learnt at school. the main reason for that is they have any kind of pieces related with cultures. things learnt at school are rather theoretical and students cannot see any links between them and real life. museums have objects that can serve as representative examples of what is taught in social studies and science courses. museums exhibit objects in a way that would provoke creative thinking and effective learning (douglas, 2008). museums are ideal places for socialization as well. thus, they serve to achieve the long-term goals of education providing socialization besides helping students follow syllabuses. museums serve also as laboratories in which teachers can learn much about their students. in museums, the hierarchy in classroom relationships changes just like the location does. meeting new people and new cultures in a new place helps students look at things from different viewpoints. students who have difficulties learning at school could turn out to be quick learners in museums since intelligence and senses are used in all possible ways in museums (stiner, 2006). children who have difficulties learning with traditional teaching methods can learn more easily with activities in museums, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 21 where the features of intelligence not used at school and abilities not noticed are all revealed. museums facilitate learning experiences with works of art; cultivate global perspectives and an appreciation of the diversity of cultures, ideas, and human experiences. art museum learning opens students up to new ways of seeing, experiencing and connecting to themselves, others, and the broader world. students who visit museums often develop an appreciation for cultural organizations and are more likely to use museums as a resource for life-long learning in the arts. museum engage and educate the community. museum exhibits, inspire interest in an area of study, item, time period, or an idea– but there’s more going on in museums in regard to education than one might think. schools rely heavily on museums to enhance their curriculum (mena, 2010). the promotion of education and the cultivation of conversation that are taking place in museums across the nation shape and strengthen our neighborhoods. museums provide a great excuse to spend time with friends and family in a positive way. personal connections can be made with museums and also with family members during visits. a day at the museum often translates to a day spent with loved ones as fathers and mothers transform into tour guides, and the environment provides a shared learning experience. all these attest to the importance of museums in education and in our daily life. douglas (2008) stated that museum education is a veritable tool to promote education and impact positively on humankind. museum education is conducted by specialists known as museum education officers. museum education officers ensure that a museum's collections act as a learning resource for all ages. they work both within the galleries or museums and also in a community context. museum education officers are specialists who help museums fulfill their educational mission. they recognize that many factors affect the personal, voluntary learning that occurs in museums (brymo, 2009). they seek to promote the process of individual and group discovery and document its effect. museum education officers serve as audience advocates on museum teams as they work to provide meaningful and lasting learning experiences for a diverse public. however, museum education has not been without some challenges. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 22 historical background of museums in nigeria the history of museums in nigeria can also be said to date to ancient times, at least, to pre-arab and european times. during these periods, various cultural materials or ritual, religions and political importance were fashioned and preserved in temples or traditional shrines and in the palaces of kings and chiefs. apart from housing such cultural materials like ivory, bronze and carved wooden objects, these institutions (temples, shrines and palaces) feastures like caves (for example, ogbunike cave in anambra state) were also maintained monuments. (okpoko, 2011:1). persons responsible for organizing and preserving the cultural materials included the head of each household, priests of various shrines and some of the kings' or chiefs' officers. in igbo land, for instance, a head of the household was in charge of his family's temple. in such temples cultural materials like iron or bronze amulets, wooden statues (ikenga) or images of deities were kept the head of the household or (in some cases) priests took care of ritual objects like iron gongs, ivory trumpets, drums as well as stone or clay images of deities kept in the shrines. these heads or priests acted more or less as curators, taking care of these objects. wooden and iron/bronze staffs, statues and thrones, ceremonial regalia of past kings kept in the royal palaces were taken care of by any of the kings officers. in these pre-colonial museums, objects were preserved .use of their utilitarian or symbolic values. for instance, the cultural objects found in kings' palaces were useful in explaining the political structure and ritual significance of the kingship system. some of the objects found in the shrines helped to “concretise" the deities. also in igboland, a pot (like ite ikea very large pot which can contain about 105 litres of wine) kept in obit (shrine house) was preserved and used during the initiation of new members into the masquerade societies while the wooden statues and the wooden symbol of authority (ofo) were useful for the administration of oaths. however, the development of modem museums began during the colonial period. in 1927. kenneth murray, an art teacher in the british colonial service was appointed to advise the government “on the effects of the colonial education system on local an” (nzewunwa. 1984:101). while performing the assignment murray made a personal collection of several nigerian art forms. later he advised the government on the establishment of museums and the proclamation of relevant laws to prevent the illegal exportation of nigerian works of art igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 23 (murray, 1966:32). however, because of the second world war. murray's recommendations for the establishment of museums in three centres in nigeria could not be implemented. murray, was therefore permitted “to continue with the purchase of antiquities pending the building of a permanent centre” for the preservation of the cultural objects (nzewunwa. 1984:102). the nigerian antiquities service was established on july 28 1943 in response to appeals by concerned europeans like murray and duckwork, an education officer. in 1946 braunholtz, a keeper in the department of ethnography of the british museum, was sent to lagos by the colonial office to advice the british government on the preservation of nigerian cultural resources. in 1947 b.e.b. fagg, a trained archaeologist, was appointed government archaeologist and assistant surveyor of antiquities. fagg carried out much archaeological work in the jos plateau and helped in the establishment of the jos museums in 1952 in which most of the archaeological materials have been preserved to this day. clear-cut legislations to prevent indiscriminate acquisition and exportation of nigerian cultural materials were not instituted until 1953 when the antiquities ordinance no. 17 was passed. this billprovided for the creation of the national department of antiquities and charged it with the responsibility of exploration, care and preservation of antiquities or works of art and provided also for the control of exportation of works of art from nigeria (nzewunwa. 1984:102). subsequent laws such as the antiquities (export pennits) regulations of 1957 and the antiquities (prohibited transfers) decree of 1974 were enacted to check the illegal exportation of cultural objects from nigeria (nzewunwa, 1984:102). the department of antiquities, however, saw to the establishment of museums in nigeria to preserve these cultural objects. in 1979 a comprehensive review of the legislation concerning cultural resources in nigeria was undertaken with the promulgation of decree no. 77. this decree dissolved the national antiquities commission and the department of antiquities established by the earlier legislations. it created in its place, the national commission for museums and monuments (ncmm), which was designated as a corporate body with powers to generate funds and enter into contracts. it also made fresh provisions for the designation of national monument and ensured stiffer penalties for the destruction, unauthorised alteration and removal of monuments in nigeria (nzewunwa, 1984:102 103). the then igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 24 department of antiquities and the present national commission for museums and monuments saw to the establishment of museums in different parts of nigeria to preserve nigeria's cultural objects. currently the ncmm administers thirty museums and museum centres in nearly most of the thirty six states of the federation) and two other autonomous federal government owned museums, which were established after the festival of arts and culture (festac) of 1977 in the national arts theatre complex. lagos. these are the centre for black african arts and civilization (cbaac) and the “museum for modern arts”. the former is research-oriented and caters for the objects and colloquium papers deposited after the festival. the challenges of museum education in nigeria seem to be derived from the ineptitude in the administration of art and indirectly from the ephemeral interest of government. since the culture sector is poorly funded, it is easy to lay all the blame for the sorry state of affairs in the sector at the door of government (aminu, 2009). but a critical look at the issue will also question the effectiveness of those in art administration in terms of proffering and execution of ideas in a way that can engender collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance for generation of funds. from the public museums and galleries down to art councils, there is need for improvement. most people seem not to know where the public museums and galleries are, their importance and what they represent. with a system of education that does not effectively promote heritage studies, obi (2007) lamented that nigerian museums, including the newly-built ones, remain dead ends, smell of neglect and despair and give little or no courage to anyone to regard our past and heritage with much enthusiasm. the general decline in the quality of museum education in nigeria is one of the greatest misfortunes of post-independence nigeria. it may be attributed to many factors, including poor funding, poor quality museum education officers, bad attitude and lack of commitment of some museum education officers, nonimprovement in the educational curriculum, misconceived educational policies, religious fundamentalism, and apathy to museum education. these factors may have contributed to the degeneracy in the museum education, a situation which has transformed some aspect of arts education itself into “magic”, in the sense that it is geared only towards the attainment of sightseeing, as against the advancement of knowledge, the improvement of the human condition and the perpetuation of mankind. looting of artifacts and other objects of scientific, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 25 artistic, cultural, or historical importance from museum centers is another critical bane of museum education in nigeria. for instance, it was aired on radio nigeria 10 pm network news on monday, 23rd june 2014 that some status and other artworks taken away from benin kingdom a century ago by the british has been returned to the incumbent oba of benin. literature review conceptual clarification a museum is defined as a non profit making permanent institution, in the service of the society and its development and open to the public, which acquires, conserves, communicates and exhibits, researches for the purpose of study, education and enjoyment, material evidence of men and his environment (falon, 2008). american association of museums defines a museum as “an organised and permanent, non-profit institution essentially educational or aesthetic in purpose, with professional staff which owns and utilizes tangible objects, earns for them and exhibits them to the public on some regular schedule” (aam, 2004). museum is a service provider for the spread of knowledge. there are many more definitions of museums that lay most emphasis on their role on education. the educational activities within the museums must be ready to provide a great variety of methods through which people can receive insights into and enjoyment of collections. the presence of objects that do not know the boundaries of language and literacy helps museums to be on advantageous position compared to other public service agencies, to serve as socially relevant agency for the education and development of the community. education education in its general sense is a form of learning in which the knowledge, skills, and habits of a group of people are transferred from one generation to the next through teaching, training, or research. education frequently takes place under the guidance of others, but may also be autodidactic (dewey, 2004). any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts may be considered educational. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 26 museum education a museum is not an educational institution in the formal sense of the word. museum education is the education in its broader sense. hooper (2008) considers museum in the context of education, as an institution that can offer an educational experience across a wide range of variables and in relation to a wide range of institutions and organizations. the meaning of museum education is that museums provide a learning situation in which the visitors experience learning. a learning situation is a condition or environment in which all the elements necessary for promoting learning are present. learning experience is the mental or physical reaction or makes through seeing, hearing or doing the things to be learnt and through which one gains meanings and understanding of the materials to be learnt (eliot, 2009). khanna (2008), who had extensively studied museum education in u.s.a, india, u.k and many other countries, described learning in museum as follows; learning in museums generally involves a visitor or a group of visitors attending to an object, a display, label, person, element or some mental construct of these. museum learning has long been examined in relation to attracting power and loading power of exhibits in museums. the information thus collected by the visitors is stored in the brain and remains there over a period. the information a visitor receives during a museum visit tends to bear a ‘contextual map’. the museum visit represents a collection of experiences rather than a single unitary phenomenon. any information obtained during the museum visit is likely to include social related, attitude related, cognitive related and sensory related association. these associations will become embedded in memory altogether with the result that anyone facet of these experiences can facilitate the recall of the entire experience. thus museums are rather a source of intellectual stimulation and entertainment. exhibition halls, properly arranged secondary collections, labels, guided tours, traveling exhibitions, school class visits, loan services to the schools, training courses to the teachers, illustrated lectures, motion pictures, film trips and publications, etc. are the various means which constitute the educational activities in a museum. museum education officers museum education officers aim to deliver high quality and dynamic programmes of learning and participation. they ensure that a museum's collections act as a learning resource for all ages. they work both within the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 27 galleries or museums and also in a community context. museum education officers develop, deliver and evaluate programmes and events for classes, groups or individuals, often designed to engage those who may not normally use the museum or gallery, such as hard to reach young people, young children, older people and families (brymo, 2009). museums in school education museum provide learning situations is quite different from those provided by formal educational institutions like schools. blockrnom (2006) is of the view that: a) free choice learning situations devoid of verbal instructions, assessment and other types of controls that exist in schools. b) learning in museums is a spontaneous process, a personal experience not imposed on the visitor. c) museum provide open communication of ideas, concepts and information involving exploration and discovery, and d) class rooms in schools are home for 3r’s: reading, riting and rithmetic, where as museums are home for 3a’s: the authentic, the aesthetic and the accessible. the authenticity as revealed by real objects and phenomena exhibited in museums, communicates with a powerful clarity to visitors. museums are compelling aesthetic environments: they engage the senses, stimulate, inspire and sometimes even overwhelm. a museum makes the whole world, the past, the present and the imagined; accessible to the visitor. prospects of museum education the future is full of tall challenges and that is not a new thing. some of those are certain, and of the serious-decision-making-new-direction sort. we know this because we can count, and we know the human population is growing faster than we can accommodate (hooper, 2008). every economic, environmental and social challenge can be traced in short order to our remarkable ability to reproduce and survive. considering the road ahead, the museum of the future has important roles to play. the future museum will provide easy access to its trusted knowledge base, and to the stories to be told. relevant, successful museums will find affordable, timely solutions for this access, made possible by adapting to ever-emerging technology; a continuing enslavement. the next 10 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 28 years will continue to prove challenging for museums. today’s issues will not dissipate; if anything they will multiply. yet, despite such a negative outlook, many museums will thrive, using challenges as opportunities to test new business and engagement models, and, in doing so, meeting the future head on (moore, 2009). the museums of the future that will really connect with their audiences will be the ones which place sustainability and well-being at their heart. they’ll reflect the global challenges of climate change and the decline in living standards with which we are now becoming familiar. museums should not just see themselves as places for learning or houses of collections but as civic connectors leading the re-imagining of a more liveable world (falon, 2008). as more and more public space is privatised museums should realise their advantages as accessible places for encounters. they’ll also be rallying points for the community, leading local campaigns, connecting up civic society groups, using their collections in a more activist way to illuminate local concerns. alternatively they should realise their roles as places for sanctuary from commercial messages and reflection (brymo, 2009). being a high well-being, sustainable organisation isn’t just about programming or collecting decisions. it is as much about institutional behaviour. museums should be judged on what they are as well as what they do (teddy, 2011). museums will likely develop new ways of bringing their users in, not just to plan an exhibition on the story of a particular locality. the permeability of museums and communities to each other will increase (bemner, 2009).the future of museums is becoming a balancing act between surviving the devastating consequences of funding cuts and striving to make the best of the creative minds working in the sector. over time, the image of museums has evolved throughout history. with the opening up of museum interpretation by more democratic practices museum interpretation will change quite significantly in the years ahead. specifically, museums will be able to move further away from having a dominant narrative to multiple narratives which can dialogue with one another and with museum audiences both meaningfully and respectfully. this will in turn affect the content and themes which museums will want to cover and will effectively enable museums to approach subjects and themes which hitherto may have appeared too problematic or controversial for them to want to tackle. this will in turn provide museums with more confidence to respond to and reflect on igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 29 more contemporary topics, almost in real-time (eliot, 2009). contemporary collecting will become more important, too, as museums rise to the challenge of being more responsive to the unfolding of recent events. museums of the future will engage with their visitors in the museum, with the physical spaces outside of the museum and with virtual audiences they build around specific subjects. museums in the future will have to respond faster to social and economical change (bond, 2006). museums in future will become important for communities, not only because they guard their heritage, but rather because they lead social change and become places that help to effectively solve problems (or at least think of solutions) that are becoming sadly recurrent, like economical global crisis, terrorism, rapid climate change, racial discrimination, increasing poverty and crime. that way, people will stop thinking that culture and museums are, like a dutch politician stated recently, “a left-wing hobby” (gaius, 2011). statement of the problem museum education in nigeria seems to have been ravaged by act of incompetency in the management of the institution, and indirectly transient interest of government. since the culture sector seems to be poorly funded, it is easy to lay all the blame for the sorry state of affairs in the institution at the door of government. there seems to be lack of effectiveness from those managing museum education in nigeria in terms of proffering and execution of ideas in a way that can engender collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance for generation of funds. most people seem not to know where the public museums and galleries are, their importance and what they represent. with a system of education that does not effectively promote heritage studies, nigerian museums, including the newly-built ones, may remain dead ends, smell of neglect and despair and likely to give little or no courage to anyone to regard our past and heritage with much enthusiasm the general decline in the quality of museum education in nigeria is one of the greatest misfortunes of post-independence nigeria. it may be attributed to many factors, including: poor funding, poor quality museum education officers, bad attitude and lack of commitment of some museum education officers, nonimprovement in the educational curriculum, misconceived educational policies, religious fundamentalism, and apathy to museum education. these factors may igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 30 have contributed to the degeneracy in the museum education. looting of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance from museum centers is another critical bane of museum education in nigeria. purpose of the study the main aim of this study is to examine challenges and prospects of museum education. specifically, the study seeks to: 1. determine the importance of museum education to humanity. 2. find out the challenges of museum education 3. ascertain the prospects of museum education research questions the following research questions guided the study. 1. what is the importance of museum education to humanity? 2. what are the challenges of museum education? 3. what are the prospects of museum education? research methodology the design of the study was a descriptive survey. the target population for this study was 123 museum education officers (male and female) working in 11 famous museum centers out of many existing museum centers located across the nation. these museum centers are: war museum umuahia, national museum of lagos, oron museum, benin museum, national museum in kaduna, gidan makama museum kano, calabar museum, esie museum ilorin, owo museum ondo, centre for black and african art and civilization (cbaac) lagos, and jos national museum. the researcher used the entire 123 population of all the museum education officers. the rationale for using the entire population is because it is not large such that can be managed by the researcher. the instrument for data collection was a questionnaire titled challenges and prospects of museum education questionnaire (cpmeq) structured on a 4 – point rating of strongly agree (sa) 4 points, agree (a) 3 points, disagree (d) 2 points and strongly disagree (sd) 1 point. the instrument was face validated by three experts from the department of fine and applied art, nnamdi azikiwe university awka.. the reliability of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 31 instrument was established using the cronbach alpha formula. the reliability coefficient value yielded 0.85 which was considered adequate for the study. the instrument was personally administered to the respondents by the researcher and two research assistants. a total of 123 copies of the questionnaires were administered and collected on the spot from the respondents. the data was analyzed using mean score for the three research questions posed for the study. any mean score lower than 2.50 implied disagree whereas equal to or higher than 2.50 implied agree to the items. results the results of the data analyses were presented in the order of research questions research question one what is the importance of museum education to humanity? table 1: mean rating on the importance of museum education to humanity s/n importance of museum education to humanity total score mean score remark 1 museums education can be an extremely valuable source of creativity 436 3.54 sa 2 museums are ideal places to enrich what is learnt at school 361 2.93 a 3 museums education facilitate learning experiences with works of art 365 2.97 a 4 museum education is a service provider for the spread of knowledge 347 2.82 a 5 museums engage and educate the community 327 2.66 a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 32 6 museum education opens students up to new ways of seeing, experiencing and connecting to themselves, others, and the broader world. 432 3.51 sa 7 museum education cultivates global perspectives and an appreciation of the diversity of cultures, ideas, and human experiences. 436 3.54 sa 8 students who visit museums often develop an appreciation for cultural organizations and are more likely to use museums as a resource for life-long learning in the arts. 460 3.74 sa 9 schools rely heavily on museums education to enhance their curriculum 354 2.88 a 10 museums education provide a great excuse to spend time with friends and family in a positive way 391 3.18 a grand mean 3.18 a table 1: the responses of the respondents in the research question one on the importance of museum education to humanity. the respondents strongly agree with items 1, 6, 7, and 8 with mean weight of 3.54, 3.51, 3.54, and 3.74 as the importance of museum education to humanity. they also agree with items 2, 3, 4, 5, 9 and 10 with mean weight of 2.93, 2.97, 2.82, 2.66, 2.88 and 3.18 as the importance of museum education. the grand mean is 3.18. therefore, it can be deduced from the analysis on the above table that museum education is of colossal importance to humanity. research question two what are the challenges of museum education? table 2: mean rating on challenges of museum education igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 33 s/n challenges of museum education total score mean score remark 11 poor funding of museum education 426 3.46 a 12 poor quality museum education officers 417 3.39 a 13 bad attitude and lack of commitment of some museum education officers 422 3.43 a 14 non-improvement in the educational curriculum 420 3.41 a 15 misconceived educational policies 409 3.33 a 16 religious fundamentalism 410 3.33 a 17 apathy to museum education 397 3.23 a 18 lack of maintenance and protection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance in museum centers 394 3.20 a 19 looting of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance from museum centers 369 3.00 a 20 ephemeral interest of government in museum education 382 3.12 a grand mean 3.29 a table 2 the responses of the respondents on research questions two which is on the challenges of museum education. the respondents unanimously agree with all the items in the above table as the challenges of museum education. therefore, it can be deduced from the analysis on the above table that there are many challenges hindering museum education in nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 34 research question three what are the prospects of museum education? table 3: mean rating on the prospects of museum education s/n prospects of museum education total score mean score decision 21 museum education will reduce the rate of unemployment in nigeria 279 2.27 da 22 the future museum education will provide easy access to its trusted knowledge base, and to the stories to be told 350 2.85 a 23 many museums will thrive, using challenges as opportunities to test new business and engagement models, and, in doing so, meeting the future head on 321 2.61 a 24 the museums education of the future that will really connect with their audiences will be the ones which place sustainability and well-being at their heart 334 2.72 a 25 museum education will reduce the rate of moral decadence in nigeria 269 2.19 da 26 museum education will foster peace and unity in nigeria 239 1.94 da 27 museum education will stop cultural aberration in nigeria 225 1.83 da 28 museum education will strongly promote peoples culture and also help them to appreciate other peoples culture in future 421 3.42 a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 35 29 museum education will reduce tribalism in nigeria 241 1.96 da 30 museums education of the future will engage with their visitors in the museum, with the physical spaces outside of the museum and with virtual audiences they build around specific subjects. 319 2.59 a grand mean 2.44 da table 3 the responses of the respondents in the research question three on the prospects of museum education. the respondents agreed with item 22, 23, 24, 28, and 30 with mean weight of 2.85, 2.61, 2.72, 3.42 and 2.59 as some of the prospects of museum education. they disagreed with item 21, 25, 26, 27 and 29 with mean weight of 2.27, 2.19, 1.94, 1.83, and 1.96 as some of the prospects of museum education. the grand mean is 2.44. therefore, it can be deduced from the analysis on the above table that museum education has no much positive prospects in future as far as nigerian situation is concerned. discussion of findings it was discovered from the findings of this study that museum education is important to humanity in many ways which include: museums education can be an extremely valuable source of creativity, museums are ideal places to enrich what is learnt at school, museum education opens students up to new ways of seeing, experiencing and connecting to themselves, others, and the broader world, museum education cultivates global perspectives and an appreciation of the diversity of cultures, ideas, and human experiences, students who visit museums often develop an appreciation for cultural organizations and are more likely to use museums as a resource for life-long learning in the arts, museums education provide a great excuse to spend time with friends and family in a positive way. this finding is in line with the statement credited to douglas (2008), that museum education is a veritable tool to promote education and impact positively on humankind. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 36 the findings of this study indicate that there are many challenges hampering the progress of museum education in nigeria. these challenges include: poor funding of museum education, poor quality museum education officers, bad attitude and lack of commitment of some museum education officers, nonimprovement in the educational curriculum, apathy to museum education, lack of maintenance and protection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance in museum centers, looting of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance from museum centers among others. these findings are in consonance with the lamentation of obi (2007) that nigerian museums, including the newly-built ones, remain dead ends, smell of neglect and despair and give little or no courage to anyone to regard our past and heritage with much enthusiasm. the findings of the present study shows that the respondents agree that museum education have some prospects which include: the future museum education will provide easy access to its trusted knowledge base, and to the stories to be told, many museums will thrive, using challenges as opportunities to test new business and engagement models, and, in doing so, meeting the future head on, the museums education of the future that will really connect with their audiences will be the ones which place sustainability and well-being at their heart, museum education will strongly promote peoples culture and also help them to appreciate other peoples culture in future, and museums education of the future will engage with their visitors in the museum, with the physical spaces outside of the museum and with virtual audiences they build around specific subjects. however, the respondents disagree that the prospects of museum education include: museum education will reduce the rate of unemployment in nigeria, museum education will reduce the rate of moral decadence in nigeria, museum education will foster peace and unity in nigeria, and that museum education will stop cultural aberration in nigeria, museum education will reduce tribalism in nigeria. the responses of these respondents seem to portray that they are skeptical about the future of museum education in nigeria due to the enormous challenges hindering the advancement of the institution. however, these findings tend to deviate with the opinion of moore (2009) that despite such a negative outlook, many museums will thrive, using challenges as opportunities to test new business and engagement models, and, in doing so, meeting the future head on. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 37 conclusion coordination between the museum, educational institutions and ngo’s is the need of the hour. it is a fact that education is the potent instrument for human development, on which depends the level of all-round national development. it is also agreed by all the countries and international organization like unesco and international council of museum (icom) that people of all age groups and intellectual background can meet this gap in the field of communication through the effective use of museums and their collections by arranging thematic exhibitions. this requires linking up these institutions with various educational efforts, planning and development programmes operating in the country. it would need adequate resources in space, and man power, which could be available with a strong background and keen interest of the authorities responsible for the development of museum educational programmes, which is yet to be fulfilled in the country like nigeria. the museum has to serve as an instrument for education and cultural development for all, from the illiterate masses to the enlighten class. a museum philosophy and museum ethics have to be established so that an awareness and sensitivity is created and more and more people be attracted to museums. in a developing country like ours, the educational activities in a museum is new weapon, a new tool to be exploited for the all-round growth and understanding of the people. the museum provides a quick, effective and economical way of building of a nation, its background, resources, history, culture, crafts and arts. therefore, if museums are to continue and progress, they cannot avoid serving this cause of education, and if education is to be effective, it dare not neglect the museums. recommendations national commission for museums and monuments (ncmm) as an umbrella body of public museums in nigeria should look toward making polices that will rejuvenate museums education. new cultural programmes involving youths should be carried out to improve public patronage. schools should be made to visit the museums, at least once every session, so as to benefit from the information and pleasures a museum offers. the media (print and electronic) should be readily available to partner with museums in disseminating information and programmes that would sensitise the people about the museum education and its importance to humanity. this could also igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 38 encourage people to visit museums and heritage sites in nigeria. museums on their part should seek rapid manpower development through meetings, seminars, conferences and workshops at local, national and international levels. these meetings help to show the diversity of positive things that are happening all over the world. museum education officers should be encouraged to attend conferences and seminars. public-private partnerships should also be encouraged in the area of funding for museums education to achieve set goals. references aam (2004). american association of museums official report. arizona: aam press. aminu, f.t. (2009). bane of tourism and museum education in nigeria. yola: danbaba press center. bemner, w.a. (2009). museums and culture in the era of technological revolution. nasma: dolotan publication. bond, e.e.(2006). potentials of tourism and museum education in 21st century. journal of arts and tourism development, 4(2): 21-24. blockmon, h.l. (2006). the need to establish and sustain museum education in the school. journal of cultural studies, 6(2): 23-25. brymo, a.n. (2009). historical perspectives of museum education. wanasa region: axiac publication, pp.44. dewey, j. (2004). democracy and education. havana: the free press. pp. 1–4. douglas, s.c. (2008). “museums and american intellectual life,” chicago: the university of chicago press, pp.65. edward, p.a. (2007).. museums in motion: an introduction to the history and functions of museums. meridian: rowman & littlefield publishers. eliot g.n. (2009). museums, their educational potential. journal of indian museums, 34(6): pp. 5-9. findlen, p. (2009). possessing nature: museums, collecting, and scientific culture in early modern italy. berkeley, california: university of california press, p.3. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 39 falon, u.l. (2008). the museum: its classical etymology and renaissance genealogy". journal of the history of collections, 1 (1): 59–78. gaius, t.k. (2011). the place of museum education in our contemporary society. journal of arts and museum education, 3 (4): 57–59. hooper, g.h. (2008).the educational role of the museums, london: danosifa publishers limited. khanna, s.l., (2008). use of museums for education, journal of indian museums, 37(8):, pp.40-41. mena, j. o. (2010). museum and education. new delhi: new age international (p.) ltd. moore, s.n. (2009). a history of the canada science and technology museum, toronto: banasin publishers, pp. 42-45. murray, k.c. & hunt cooke, a. (1960). report on native minor industries in abeokutea and oyo provinces (contained in the file in national archieves, enugu: na.e. op. vol. 1 local industries. nzewunwa, n. (1984). nigeria. approaches to the archaeological heritage management (ed) h. cleere, cambridge: university press. obi, a.n.(2007). promoting culture as peoples way of life: nigeria situation. uwani enugu: idika press, p.23. okpoko, a.i. (2011). fundamentals of museum practice. university of nigeria press ltd. university of nigeria, nsukka, pp. 11-14 stiner, p.d. (2006). museumsmedia of mass education with special reference to india. journal of indian museum, 37(10): pp.48-55. teddy, r.o. (2011). foundation of museum and tourism development in 21st century. bhondif: satulal publishers. tezcan, h and akmehmet, k. a (2007 ). çocuk eğitiminde etkin bir ortam olarak müze. www.sanart.org.tr/artengaged/artengagement_kadriyetezcan_abstract+cv.p df. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.1 no. 1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 61 lenses of selfhood in the augustinian tradition: a psychospiritual analysis by emmanuel u. oramah, o.s.a., ph.d augustinian institute, makurdi, benue state email: emmaoramah@yahoo.co.uk abstract augustine gives us a rich foundation on which others have taken off on issues that promote the quality of the human person (life) in relation to the society and to god. he equally provided a psycho-spiritual base that facilitates a robust consideration of selfhood in the context and spirit of humanism. our discussion here in trying to unbundle the topic in discussion begin with the conceptual understanding of selfhood/personhood and finally extricate those augustinian themes that shed light on the attainment of selfhood with particular reference to the confessions, rule of st. augustine and related works available. the lenses through which an individual could attain selfhood or distinctive character include but not limited to the interiority path, friendship dimension, community dimension, and intellectual dimension. keywords: lenses, selfhood, augustine, augustinian, humanism, psychospiritual introduction the human person occupies the central position in the field of humanism. in consequence, humanists and social commentators pursue relentlessly those issues, thoughts, or policies that advance and promote the personal and collective development of people in every culture and epoch. the activism so to say is a constant pointer to or an obvious reminder of the fact that humanism or actions that add to a better quality of life of each individual tend to transcend every culture, race, religion, and philosophy. in other words, the human person and those things that help to shore up or uplift the same person are seemingly universal and invaluable and consequently need to be pursued with all vigour and tenacity. in effect, no system can reduce the human person to mere object and still remain relevant to humanity as well. the human person was no less commented upon in the writings and output of st. augustine. thus, augustine was a humanist per excellence due to the seismic effects of his thoughts and the prominence he gave the human person in the 4th century has remained and continues to remain relevant and influential in all ages. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 62 being considered among the forbearers of humanistic thoughts and consideration, augustine gives us a rich foundation on which others have taken off on issues that promote the quality of the human person (life) in relation to the society and to god. thus, augustine equally provided a psycho-spiritual base that facilitates a robust consideration of selfhood in the context and spirit of humanism. our discussion here in trying to unbundle the topic above begins with the conceptual understanding of selfhood/personhood and finally extricate those augustinian themes that shed light on the attainment of selfhood with particular reference to the confessions, rule of st. augustine and related works available. the lenses through which an individual could attain selfhood or distinctive character include but not limited to the interiority path, friendship dimension, community dimension, and intellectual dimension. concept of selfhood selfhood is conceptualized as a state of having attained a somewhat distinct identity aided by some therapeutic factors or indices. thus, the person possesses an individuality/character that permeates every action and conduct. what is involved is a progressive and a purposive movement toward personal and individual differentiation which must not be impeded but allowed to become a reality or actualized. the therapeutic factors or indices that are expected to aid the attainment of selfhood are myriad but our attention is drawn to some that are particularly augustinian-oriented and also universally tenable. the interior dimension the human person is prone to hold tenaciously on the external reality outside of himself/herself. but the futility of finding satisfaction and completion from the external reality has been acknowledged and put forward by many philosophers and theologians alike. the ephemeral nature of the external world seems to put pressure on the human person to redirect his/her attention to the internal sphere here the individual is expected to encounter himself/herself. the socratic appeal “man know thyself” thus become the threshold for that constant invitation to engage in a journey of interiority that will ultimately lead to genuine selfdiscovery (oramah, 2014). interiority which is a proper augustinian heritage thus become a veritable psycho-spiritual exercise and route for attainment of distinct identity or character that should animate one’s action or behaviour in all contexts. its effects are seen igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 63 in the resultant self-knowledge, self-awareness, and self-discovery that seem to suggest that one has come home to his/her true self which is distinct and different from others. this may underscore augustine’s insistence on the need for individuals to constantly go within themselves. he wrote thus: do not go outside of yourself, but turn back within; truth dwells in the inner man; and if you find your nature given to frequent change, go beyond yourself (the rule, pp 2-3) such exercise could lead to character identity formation. invariably when an individual character is supported by the power and reality of self-transcendence, a positive dimension has been mobilized or activated. this actually supports the idea that restlessness, even when we have won our worldly triumphs, is proof that we were in fact made for something more than the world (sheen, 1998). friendship dimension it is acknowledged that however much augustine wanted to find rest in god, he could not live without his friends (mcguire, 1988). trading the path of friendship as a royal path to human completeness was original to augustine. it is, therefore, interesting that but not entirely out of his nature because after his whole-hearted dedication to christianity, augustine made reference with approval of cicero’s own definition of friendship as “agreement about matters human and divine together with benevolence and affection” (white, 1992). the word “agreement” does preclude the desire and tendency to act and behave unilaterally on issues that affect the generality of the people. such action is always a failure to accord existence to others that should be seen as friends indeed. therefore, it remains a sad commentary on the supposedly collectiveness of minds and hearts that should animate the human existence and connectedness. it is a failure to recognize our individual and collective incompleteness as well. reasoning along the same line, mcfadyen (1990, p.14) notes that “human being is distorted unless there is recognition of individual and communal incompleteness and inadequacy...”. friendship has a distinctive effect on the human person. friendship allows the extension of the human person. the elasticity of the human nature is endlessly manifested or made visible in friendship that genuinely develops among individuals. all is invited to participate in it without let because an individual igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 64 discovers himself/herself in relationship which friendship helps to make concrete. in discovering himself in friendship, the individual equally discovers his dialogic nature. one fact that cannot be denied is that while relating to others as subject of communication with particular identities, one commits to engage in a permanent dialogue which, in principle, has no limits (mcfadyen, 1990). the limitless of the dialogue finds expression in the community milieu. the preeminence of friendship lie in the fact that it predates community existence. friendship must be formed for community to begin to exist. community dimension the limitless nature of the human spirit in dialogue finds a home in the community of persons. the uniqueness and irreducibility of ones’ personal identity finds a forceful expression in community experience. community life here is not blind conformism or collectivism if the distinct and personal identity of each person should have a meaning. the ideal of augustinian community is the constant union of hearts and minds with intent upon god (de san martin, 2012). it does seem to appear that augustinian-oriented community life spiritualises friendship that exists among diverse members of the community. the experience of community life attests forcefully to the fact that we need one another, in the first place, because we are not self-sufficient (mary, 1992). therefore, a therapeutic community is desirable whereby elements of interiority, friendship and intellectual quest receive adequate consideration. these are sine qua non for the attainment of some appreciable level of growth and personhood for all and sundry. in effect, the type of community atmosphere that is being canvassed would be one that is an admixture of the traditional and the liberal elements of community life. what could become the result would be a community that helps an individual express his/her dialogic nature and also grow holistically and distinctively as well (oramah, 2014). intellectual dimension ardent fidelity to our origins cannot be limited solely to community life and experience as a path for selfhood or distinct character formation. we must keep alive and not underestimate augustine’s genius as an intellectual colossus (choi, 2013). toward becoming effective persons in the context of evangelization, we igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 65 must necessarily follow the example of augustine and our forbearers as the rule of the augustinian order admonishes thus: we should have the greatest concern about the study of all arts and disciplines, both human and sacred, by which we may contribute to the good of the church, ourselves, and human society (rule, n. 124). and if anyone in our order is endowed with proven ability in a certain technical or scientific skill and is able to apply that ability effectively, his undertakings should be encouraged as far as possible (rule, n. 131) the intellectual apostolate is distinctively augustinian. as such, the flowery of individuals through the intellectual path should attract the support and encouragement of all. paying lip service or playing the ostrich to the intellectual development of each person would seem to negate the urgency and priority which augustinian heritage gave to education and scientific skill development. education is inherently good and necessary to provide the path to acquiring distinctive character and formation. in view of the fact that everybody is required to follows those paths that lead to development and attainment of personal identity, the augustinian rule admonishes that “all the brothers, according to each one’s ability, should acquire and perfect at least that degree of education that becomes men of their state in each country” (rule, n. 126). concluding remarks the futility of the human quest arising from the incessant human desires has to be acknowledged always. there is always tension resulting from one’s inability to satisfy or realize these desires. it must be acknowledged that feelings of tension and boredom are also the products of man’s desire which comes from the realization that he has not achieved those desires. therefore, the quest for personhood/selfhood remains alive despite all the ennui and boredom that may crop up. the attendant restlessness of the human person following augustine life’s example portray eloquently that man is condemned to endless search for meaning and personal distinctive identity. the elusiveness of finding answers in the created order was attested to by augustine’s seemingly endless search for the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 1, june 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 66 truth. the search or the quest is also the lot of modern person. it continues and remains a constant reality. but the humanistic belief in the ability of the human person to become, to grow, or to actualize one’s potentials is more enliven and less gloomy to consider. on this note, the lenses or pathways (interiority, friendship, community and intellectual life) for attaining some elevation of the personhood (selfhood) have to be accepted and deployed or utilized always. references author, (1991). rule and constitutions of the order of saint augustine. villanova, pa: augustinian press. choi, j. (2013). the core of augustine’s ideal in religious life. newsangle, 36, (13), 4. de san martin, l.m. (2012). the augustinians: origins and spirituality. rome: augustinian historical institute. mary, a. (1992). the rule of saint augustine: an essay in understanding. villanova, pa: augustinian press. mcfadyen, a.i. (1990). the call to personhood: a christian theory of the individual in social relationships. cambridge: cambridge university press. oramah, e.u. (2014). community life and human personality: a psychological vision of integration and growth. benin city: mindex publishers. sheen, f.j. (1998). lift up your heart: a guide to spiritual peace. bangalore: asian trading corporation. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.3. no.2 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 114 assemblies of god church in igboland, 1970-2016: a thematic x-ray nmah, patrick enoch department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe university, awka-nigeria patricknmah@yahoo.com abstract assembles of god church provides a particularly intriguing context for a study of the church in igboland. the purpose of the study is to find out why the assemblies of god mission (agm) is no longer waxing strong vis-à-vis during its emergence. findings showed that there are a lot of bickering and bigotries among the pastors and the lay. the crave for materialism is seriously affecting the spiritual life of the church. methods of approach are historical and descriptive coupled with primary and secondary sources. introduction the missionaries of the europeans had settled down for the task of “civilizing” the indigenes, a process of westernization usually mistaken for christianity, abandoning the pneumatic values of the kerygma. it was this negligence that agitated the minds of harris, braide and american evangelicals to launch aggressive evangelism in the early twentieth century. the legend augustus ehurien nwogu of old umuahia in abia state was a product of this early 20th century church development. the crisis thus generated in him led to his reconversion from niger delta pastorate (ndp) to the faith tabernacle congregation (ftc). he later separated from the ftc to form the church of jesus christ (cjc), which shortly became assemblies of god mission in igboland (ndubuisi, 1997). the main objectives of this study is to discuss the effects of bickery, materialism, lukewarm attitude towards mission and evangelism, and how they have created unnecessary rivalry, hatred, envy, spiritual barrenness and administrative bankruptcy. the methods of approach are historical and descriptive coupled with primary and secondary sources. keywords-mission, evangelism, weakness, theme, charity, igboland, and development and expansion the igbo: a sketchy ethnography igboland is located between latitude 5 and 7 degrees north of the equator, and longitude 6 and 8 degrees east the greenwich (nwaezeigwe, 2007). as the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 115 dominant culture group in the east, they inhabit the five states of abia, anambra, ebonyi, enugu and imo. the igbo occupy the south – eastern and a part of the south – western territories as well as the mainland section of the present rivers state of nigeria. they are among the single large ethnic groups in nigeria. the river niger, before it enters the atlantic ocean through its network of tributaries which characterize its delta, divides the igbo country into two unequal apart, with the greater portion lying in south–eastern nigeria. the other triangular portion lies west of the niger, now delta state. the igbo land area falls also within five main vegetation belts namely, mangrove forest, freshwater, swamp forest, rain forest, derived savanna, and guinea savanna. nwabara (1977) and nwafor (1973) argue that the igbo are a compendium of paradoxes, but their greater asset is a copious supply of versatile common-sense and the unique capacity for improvisation. as regards their religion, occupation, and politics, african traditional religion, agriculture and umunna pattern of democracy constitute their way of life. much stress is laid on healing and purification from different kinds of contamination in the society. hatred, dissension and frustrations within a group can bring about sickness (haselbarth, 1976). oko nwanta onu, ojukwara chi ya ajuju? (before anyone blames someone of misfortune, he should first inquire from the person’s guardian spirit). this proverb and similar ones in igbo cosmology justify the fact that sometimes, individuals are not responsible for their poverty in any aspect whether economic, political, and physical and the like. some people are poor because of the activities of their guardian spirits or deities in charge of their societies or even as a result of forefathers’ sins (cf. amos 5; gen. 3; jer. 17:1; jn 9:1-5 etc). igbo people are industrious and they hate laziness. an igbo proverb, “onye kwe chi ya kwe” (when a person agrees to do something his guardian spirit agrees too) illuminates how igbo man disposes himself in his everyday activities to avoid this kind of poverty (2thess.3:6-10). traditional igbo social welfare includes: first, those intended for the physical security of the community against external aggression, encroachment, wild animals’ impropitious physical and natural events, witchcraft and angry deities and spirits. since the basic aim was to avoid and to counter forces constituting grave physical danger to the community and its citizens, instrumental actions undertaken usually involved constant surveillance by responsible age-grades, the local vigilante and hunters; engagement in feuds, reprisals and wars; placation of deities, spirits and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 116 supernatural forces; ablution from desecration of collective taboos; safeguarding and maintenance of community shrines and holy places and the sustenance of oracles, diviners and priests. second, services aimed at continuously securing and maintaining communityowned essential means of production and distribution for purposes of socializing members into age-sex based division of labour; to periodize farming activities and to intersperse market and farm days judiciously; to provide security for and encouragement of specialized craftsmen and other occupational groups of weavers, blacksmiths, potters, carvers, bonesetters, midwives, hunters, diviners, priests, rainmakers and herbalists; to replenish arable lands through shifting cultivation and fallowing; to maintain community springs and farm roads, to propitiate ala (earth goddess), fijioku, amadioha, and other notable deities and ancestor spirits; to collectively, maintain yam barns, and to proscribe stealing and destruction of farm tools and crops. third, other miscellaneous areas of community development (cd) or welfare services guaranteeing the material satisfaction of the socio-economic needs of the citizens include provision of food, clothing and shelter for all thus avoiding the ravages of hunger, famine and general sacrifices. it includes also the provision for the needy and the poor-orphans, old people, the sick and the infirm, the widowed among others. there are also routine gifts of farm products, frequent organization of social occasions such as marriage, birth, naming, title taking, wrestling, new yam and other ceremonies and festivities. this reflects also the cultural identity of the people which is preserved through prescribed community values, norms and traditions, specific rites and ceremonies and other relevant oral traditions. assemblies of god church: its origin in this subheading, we shall first examine the emergence of the name assemblies of god in united states of america and later that of igboland nigeria. origin of the assemblies of god, united states of america before we progress further, it is of interest to know about the origin of the assemblies of god united states of america (usa) which the church of jesus christ was affiliated with. onwuhaa (2011) avers, “the assemblies of god, usa originated from the three stages of the religious revolutionary movements in the usa, holiness movement, pentecostal movement and the birth of the assemblies igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 117 of god, united states of america” (p.61). in decades of the nineteenth century, many groups had broken away from methodist church in usa with the aim of proclaiming the second blessing experience that follows conversion. all these groups that separated from the methodist church, motivated by the desire to live life of holiness and condemn the moral vices in the church came to be known and referred to as the holiness movements (okpara, 2014). the holiness movements are two brand types: the wesleyan holiness movement and the keswick holiness movement. the wesleyan holiness movement believed and professed that a person who had been converted or justified might undergo another spiritual experience called second blessing or sanctification through which the holy spirit enables him to live a sinless, perfect and holy christian life. on the other hand, the keswick believed in salvation, sanctification and a third blessing, this is called baptism for service. this movement was formed in 1905 in an alliance made up of salvation army, missionary alliance and the church of the nazarene. they all pulled out from the methodist church. theologically, both wesleyan and keswick holiness movements believed and taught the armenian doctrine of salvation. armenian doctrine of salvation teaches that everyone who believes in christ can be saved and that although man cannot be saved without the grace of god, yet god’s grace is not irresistible. this means that man has to exercise his free will as to whether or not to accept the grace of god. onwuhaa (2011) comments also that modern pentecostal originated in the usa from the bethel bible college in topeka, kansa, usa at the turn of the twentieth century. the pentecostal believes did not think of establishing a pentecostal branch of the church. rather, their aim was to be agents of reform within the existing denominations. but such vision or dream failed to be actualized. rather the pentecostal message was greatly opposed and attacked. pastors and missionaries who accepted the message forfeited their rights. even some holiness group like methodist and the salvation army denounced and criticized the movement. they ascribed it to satan. after the pentecostals had left their conventional churches, some leaders emerged within the followership. they included charles fox parham, florence lewis from ford of the apostolic faith. the pentecostal movements were led by a group of gifted individuals within specific regions. there was no national organizations. there was no national organization to coordinate the activities of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 118 these many groups that had spring in different parts of the usa. such lack of coordination occasioned the unhealthy developments like spreading of fake doctrines by the groups and no financial accountability. there was a general heterogeneous mass doctrinal differences. having observed all these anomalies among the leaders of the pentecostal groups because of lack of central or national coordination, some leaders thought of law to hold a convention of pentecostal believers and churches of god in christ which was held in 12th april, 1914 at hot springs arkansas. the aim of the convention included among other things the establishment of doctrinal unity among the pentecostals. by the end of the convention, they opted to adopt a mixture of congregational and presbyterian system of church administration. by this system, each local church or congregation was made to be self-governing or autonomous while maintaining fellowship with other local churches and yet a national governing body of presbyters was formed to coordinate the congregations. historically, this council marked the beginning or birth of the assemblies of god. each local church or congregation adopted assemblies of god as its official name, while all the churches or congregations collectively were assemblies of god. later in 1969, all the local churches in the usa adopted assemblies of god as general official church name. assemblies of god church, igboland the launching of agm on the igbo soil dates officially from 1939. but it was a chain of earlier developments that led to that fateful event. first, augustus nwogu (a former lay reader and pupil teacher of ndp) had left the old umuahia and st. silas primary school (anglican) where he had taught for some years, for the clerical job in the nigerian dockyard (nigerian ports authority, npa) at port harcourt. there, then, he experienced spiritual crisis which led him to the faith tabernacle congregation (ftc) in 1930. but in 1931 he returned to old umuahia and introduced this “scriptural holiness” or “holiness christianity” to his people. george nnoromchi alioha, his former steward, became nwogu’s first convert. in turn alioha won other male and female followers including james nwoji, abel nwoji, will woko, g.o. akwarandu, augustus asonye, edna nwabuko, sussana, evelyn ezuruka, ufomadu, titi n. umechuruba and echemgbako gbaruko. since there was no ftc in old umuahia, nwogu’s converts were sent to the afara congregation under the leadership of e.t. epele and b. epele while they stayed in the mud worship house on the land donated by abel nwoji in old umuahia for their mid-week activities. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 119 in 1934, nwogu came again from port harcourt and taught the old umuahia group the doctrine of baptism in the holy spirit. subsequently nwogu’s converts engaged afara ftc leadership on the issue. the latter objected insisting that the age of the holy spirit baptism had past, and advised the old umuahia enthusiasts to pedal soft or in defiance might run mental. following the ensuing deadlock nwogu severing relations with ftc thence he named his group “church of jesus christ” (cjc) in 1934 with another branch at port harcourt. meanwhile, augustus asonye was appointed the pastor in charge of the home branch at uzuahia. soon, port harcourt sent for asonye; he arrived and learnt about the fulfillment of the people’s expectation; some members of the port harcourt branch had been baptized in the holy spirit. asonye was later accompanied home by evangelist anyafulu, to minister to the old umuahia believers. anyafulu’s trip was successful as he was yet speaking many people were baptized in the holy spirit (ndubuisi, 1991). now, fired not merely by youthful zeal, but by the feeling that christ might come the next day and by the conviction that theirs was genuine pentecostal experience, they invaded and saturated with the gospel all the nook and cranny of old umuahia preaching their dragnet beyond into the neighbouring towns in the olokoro community-including amakama lying a stone throw behind old umuahia. hindered by the problem of scarce means of transportation, they trekked kilometers on evangelistic outreach to as far as uzuakoli, passing through okaiuga, umunemeze, alaike, ugwumkpa, amaeghuato, amaohoro and amaediaba. in the south, they moved like harmattan wind into ngor okpala and ngwaland. from port harcourt, they opened church stations along the rail road down to enugu, and then went up to kano through kafanchan, jos, and kaduna. asonye and his convert gabriel o. oyakhilome crossed the niger westwards and planted cjc in ishan. in 1939, w.l. shirer and his wife visited nigeria, from his base in gold coast (ghana). he had been invited by an ikot ekpene-based group of christians (apostolic church) in ibibioland. the latter was soliciting union of fellowship with shirer’s american agm. the missionaries’ first port of call was port harcourt where they spotted cjc in a worship session. subsequently, the leadership of the church led by nwogu and alioha discussed terms of union with their visitors. amid protests by members both at port harcourt and at home, the leaders signed away the identity of cjc and it answered the igboland igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 120 division of assemblies of god mission (idagm). aloha became the first assistant supervisor, with shirer at the helm of affairs. the shirers completed their pilot project after one year and returned to their missionary post in ghana. in 1940, e.l. phillips arrived in port harcourt in company of his wife and son donald. all efforts by philips to secure land space to establish his headquarters and bible school in port harcourt were thwarted by the british officers who were allegedly protecting their country’s anglican (cms) from the ongoing missionaries’ scramble for sphere of influence in igboland. then, phillips resorted to old umuahia where he started a miniature bible school in the mud church building on the land donated by abel nwoji. later, he transferred the school to the present site situated behind afoibeji market on a high land nearly surrounded by valley, a feature that has earned it the popular name “holy hill”. more missionaries from america joined phillips to train the natives in theology and in the art and science of soul winning, on the holy hill. it is interesting to state here that before the usa church responded to church of jesus christ request, a south african organization had indicated interest in the young old umuahia group. to that end, a visit of the organization’s representative to the brethren was promised. in anticipation to the visit the old umuahia group built a parsonage, but the visit by south african group failed. the failure of the south african visitors to show up thus dampened their hope of establishing a foreign link they needed to help in putting together complex organizational strategies which their group demanded. the foreign missions division of the agm, usa sent w.llyod shirer to visit and evaluate the beliefs and activities of the two christian groups at ikot ekpene and old umuahia. as a resident missionary in gold coast (ghana) he arrived in nigeria through in june, 1939. from port harcourt, he travelled first to meet with the ikot ekpene group. according to kalu (2010), in 1939 william llyod shirer facilitated the affiliation exercise between the cjc and the assemblies of god headquarters of the mission usa. on mutual understanding, the name of the old umuahia group which had spread to a greater part of the then igboland in 1934 was changed from cjc to assemblies of god mission in the year 1939. consequently, the ikot ekpene group adopted also the same name. the two groups became a district made up of igboland division, and annag and ibibio division respectively. the two igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 121 groups were merged as one nigerian mission field of the assemblies of god, usa. at that point, when the two bodies were merged as one mission field, the foreign missionary became the district superintendent, while g.m. alioha and udom akpan became assistant district superintendents in their respective divisions. agm: its administrative structure in 1992, the administrative structure was expanded to allow for four general officers, the general superintendent, the assistant general superintendent, the general secretary and general treasurer. the ministries in agm are responsible to the four general officers. from 1992, additional arms were created which include media, education and corporate ministries. in all, the administrative structure presently showers four national officers, eight departments instead of the former five, their auxiliaries and support units. these auxiliaries and agencies include the royal rangers, the young singles, the missionaries, social ministry, casor, children education among others. these auxiliaries are run by coordinator appointed to oversee each administrative organ he has the responsibility of giving regular reports to a board set to handle the affairs of the departments. it is the board that represents the departments and gives report to the executive committee. with the four national officers who see the day to day running of the whole administration of the national secretariat, the executive committee performs its usual role of taking major decisions affecting both the national staff and the entire general council. the sixteen-man executive committee seeks and protects the general interest of everyone within the national church. the bible is regarded as god’s word and worked through the spirit on the minds of the people who wrote the bible. the message of bible was given by god to men. agm believers believe in the one true and living god. god the trinity, i am, the deity of the lord jesus christ, the divine nature of christ, the humanity of christ, the fall of man, the church, eschatology, sanctification, the millennia reign of christ among others. leadership chronicles 1) elder augustine----------iwe nwogu 1934-1939-church of jesus christ 2) rev william lioyd shirer (district superintendent) 1939-1940 agm igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 122 3) rev rex jackson --------------------------- 1941-1957 agm 4) rev h.d. penington------------------------- 1958-1961 5) rev m.o. ezigbo assistant district superintendent 19581961 6) rev m.o. ezigbo 1st nigeria general superintendent 1961-1969 7) rev g.o. oyakhilome assistant superintendent 1961-1969 8) rev g.o. oyakhilome (general overseer) 1961-1969 9) rev m.o. ezigbo (general overseer) 1982-1988 10) rev dr. c.o. osueke (general overseer) 1988-2010 11) rev prof paul emeka (general overseer) nov. 2010till date 12) rev dr. chidi okorafor (factional leader) october 2014-till date administrative structure of assemblies of god church in igboland the agm is autonomous with its headquarters at enugu, and is to operate in cooperation with the world-wide assemblies of god fellowship. in this case, the agm has the general council, the executive committee, the general committee, and the board of administration, district council, district presbytery, counselling committee, area fellowship and sectional committee. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 123 the organogram of the assemblies of god church the executive committee the district council the general council the board of administrator the district presbytery the general committee the counselling committee area fellowship local church committee sectional committee igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 124 besides these groups and other agencies through which the programme of the national church are carried out, there are auxiliary organs operating under the board of administration. they are carefully fashioned to carry out certain essential functions of each department under which they operate. the general council holds all the arms of the national church together while the general committee comprises all the executive council members whose duty is to appraise the progress of work and make input on the administration of the church. the board of administration is made up of the four general council officers otherwise known as executive officers. the officers who work full time in the national secretariat include the general superintendent, the assistant general superintendent, the general secretary, and the general treasurer. this group headed by the general superintendent oversees the functions of the entire organization on daily basis. the presbytery is made up of seven members. it is next to the administration structure of the general council. it has the district superintendent as head of administration, the assistant district superintendent, the district secretary, the district treasurer and three elected pastors. culturally, the polity of agm in igboland follows the sub-cultural or geographical pattern of igboland in naming the districts in which the mission has been organized for administrative purposes. for example, anioma area is located in western igboland sub-cultural area with her headquarters at agbor. western igboland district whose administrative seat is at onitsha is in northwestern culture area. northern igboland sub-cultural area is situated in a northern igboland district and is being administered from enugu. the central igboland has her headquarters at owerri in the central culture area of igboland; again, southern igboland district administratively seated in aba is invariably located in the southern sub-cultural area. furthermore, eastern igboland district in the eastern igboland sub-cultural area has its headquarters at uzuakoli. in the same vein, and finally, northern igboland is in the northeastern sub-cultural area, with her administration quartered in abakaliki (ndubuisi, 1997). agm-a thematic survey school-in the recent past, when people spoke of missions, they usually had in mind the mission schools (baur, 2005). equally for many, perhaps too many missionaries, the schools were the most important institutions. for the historian, schools could well be used as the barometer of igbo development. the bush igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 125 schools were and remained entrench the work of the missions, and they were generally run at a very low cost. these such schools were below standard, and that too many pupils forget the three rs faster than they learnt them. all investments in schools seemed to be well justified; for it looked as if igboland became christian community to the extent that its children went to school. concretely speaking 80-90% of all christians many have been converted in these schools. regarding professional training the record is a chequered one. for the other missions, there were enough teacher training colleges and nursing schools, and the secondary schools provided the necessary training for clerks. but professional training in the strict sense was quite inadequate: there were a good number of domestic science schools for girls, relatively fewer technical schools for boys, and hardly any agricultural school. the building up of the christian medical service the medical services clearly occupied a second place in missionary activity. education was considered a direct response to christ’s commission, “go and teach all nations”; healing diseases seemed to have been an activity used mostly to support christ’s own teaching mission. but just as nobody would dare to deny that the healing christ was not primarily moved by genuine compassion, we have to admit the same for those who come, in his name, to teach and to heal (baur, 2005). jesus christ stated that he had come “to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind” (luke 4: 18 niv). he went about healing the diseases of the people and sent the disciples with power to cure diseases (luke 9:11). when the early church began its ministry, healing was an integral part of that ministry (acts 3). moved by compassion, the church has responded to the need and promoted medical missions, including clinics, dispensaries, hospitals, and medical schools (falk, 1997). many missionaries served with their box of medicine, as david livingstone had done. they realized, however, that a more concentrated effort was needed in order to make an impact on the medical needs. the agm stresses also on faith clinic or faith hospital. that is healing. it is its belief that through prayers, every manner of illness will be curved. economic assistance: charity and development as things, the essential direct answer to the problem of underdevelopment and power was that of christian charity. if there was christ’s great commission to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 126 evangelize, there was also his new commandment of fraternal love and his own identification with “the least of my brothers” (john 13:34, matthew 25:40). charity, of course, was a much more delicate activity than medical work, which too should be regarded as an expression of fraternal love. there was the danger of creating what in china was called “rice christians” or “beggars”: the motive of conversion being material help rather than internal acceptance of the faith. yet, should all material charitable work have been omitted on account of this danger? the fact is that many early missionaries are still remembered by their christians with great affection for their deeds of charity agm inclusive. the church of jesus christ has considered faith healing in respect of the sick, widows, orphans, the aged, and helping other similar needy as an integral part of its redemptive ministry. pattern of indigenous response independency is a societal reaction to mission arising out of climate of opinion in which christian missions were believed to be illegitimately mounting an attack against african traditional society and in particular its basic unit, the family (barrett, 1970). the traditional factors involved in the issue include the concept of polygamy, the ancestral cult, the earth goddess, the traditional african family coupled with colonial factors. this is inevitable because the world in which we all live is changing and our society will not be exceptional to the rules. it is believed in some quarters that agm did deadly blows to some of the igbo beliefs and practices as achebe (1958) opined, how do you think we can fight, our own brothers have turned against us. the white man is very clever. he came quietly and peacefully with his religion. we were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. now he has won our own brothers and our clan can no longer act like one. he has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart (p.125). this quotation depicts the activities of the past. people felt that the agm and their kinds were kidding, and with time, they would fizzle away. the influence and effect of this pentecostal church in our society is enormous to both the foreign missionary work and igbo traditional religion by dominant, modern and dynamic pentecostal practices. because of the activities of this mission to the igbo beliefs and practices, pluralistic pattern of marriage, social values, customs and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 127 rituals, masquerade cults, traditional dances and so on were either totally destroyed or ignored. because of all these activities by the mission, they attracted much opposition to themselves. all this became hurdles that they must scale through in order to excel. but the truth of the matter is that the assemblies of god church is only against those customs and values which they claimed are idolatrous in nature and the ones that do not enhance human values. the agm considered those ones to be nothing more than pagan values and superstitions, which play no positive part in traditional igbo culture. the igbo religion featured belief in the supreme being called variously “chukwu”, obasi bi n’elu” or olisebuluwa” among others. they believed also in the lesser deities and ancestral spirits, the latter being linked with living members of the igbo society by elders seen as the custodians of morality and social order. the higher powers in the hierarchy were approached through the lesser ones. sacrifices were offered by devouts for forgiveness of offences and for benevolence in form of health, wealth children and general fortune. forces in native were also tapped and computed into charms, amulets and medicines for personal benefits and security. with regard to oath-taking and divination, agm is against some of what it termed evil beliefs and methods of social control as divination, traditional oath taking, consultation of oracles and use of ofor and masquerades for any purpose. the bible injunction they applied in condemning the oath-taking is in matthew 5:33-37 which says, again you have heard that it was said to the men of old, “you shall not swear falsely, but you shall perform to the lord what you have sworn”. but i say to you, do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of god, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king…let what you say be simply “yes” or “no”, anything more than this comes from evil. the agm believers believe in the authority of the bible“sola scriptura”. other beliefs and practices agm condemns include the concept of reincarnation, osu caste system (those dedicated to deity), ancestor veneration, divorce, polygamy among others. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 128 agm: its pattern of expansion from their individual house to house evangelism, as well as the open air out reaches from place to place, many people got converted. the agm had its origin in the widespread desire in the hearts of men and women for a closer walk with god and a better understanding of the word of god. although the group at the early stage passed through the tutelage of a foreign mission, yet that did not influence their doctrinal beliefs and life style or liturgy. whenever the response was limited, or the workers expected few converts, individuals accepted the christian faith and formed a group from the society. this group later metamorphosed into small elite society separated from the people. wherever this unfortunate situation continued, the christians became a misunderstood minority group in the society and the people as a whole were not evangelized. another tendency has been for the first believers, overwhelmed by the joy they found in the christian faith, to witness to their people and bring about a movement toward christianity that resulted in the conversion of most of them. whenever this movement has been guided effectively, the christian faith has spread from community to community, and group after group of believers has been formed (falk, 1997). music is a part of everyday life in africa vis-à-vis igboland. christian songs, especially those composed by african song-writers in keeping with the rhythmic style and the pentatonic scale of most african music, have enriched the services and greatly enhanced the diffusion of the gospel. the gospel has been transmitted in song by christians sitting around the evening campfires. the many choirs and musical groups, singing to the beat of drums, have greatly influenced the people. agm: its theology of mission and evangelism evangelism is the reproductive process by which christian expands and fills the earth (hunter, 1983). church growth teaches comprehensive evangelism. evangelism is beneficial, not only to the eternal growth of the congregation, but to its internal growth. the agm claim to give oracles, faith-healing and perform miracles. the prophets and evangelists among them give visions and their interpretations. they based their argument on acts 2:17-18 cf. joel 2:28-29; and it shall come to pass afterword, which i will pour out my spirit on all flesh, your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 129 your young men shall see visions. even upon the menservants and maidservants in these days, i will pour out my spirit. with this firm belief, the agm reduced the activities of the medicine men in igboland. according to anderson (2008), the early church was a community of the holy spirit, and the freedom of expression and spontaneity of its worship may not have been very different from that of many pentecostal and charismatic churches today. some of the characteristic features and ecstatic phenomena of pentecostalism like prophecy, healing, prosperity gospel, and speaking in tongues were common. speaking in tongues, prophecy and miraculous healings associated with agm are among other ‘spiritual gifts’ or charismata mentioned several times in acts. it seems that the decline in the practice of spiritual gifts began quite early as the montanist movement in the second century believed that the gifts of the spirit had been restored to their former importance in their movement. monasticism itself was originally a charismatic movement that reacted to what seemed to be cold orthodoxy, claiming the sympathies and probably the allegiance of the famous african theologian tertullian (c.155-220). speaking in tongues and prophecy were common among montanus and his disciples and they believed in ‘progressive revelation’, so distasteful and destabilizing for the church seeking to establish itself and even so as it became increasingly identified with the heresy of gnosticism and millennialist excesses. for the agm, there is the theology of the spirit (the baptism in the spirit), and mission and evangelism (that is, to engage themselves in the end-time harvest of souls that would accompany the preaching of the full-gospel throughout the world). their efforts were grounded in the conviction that the holy spirit was the motivating power behind all such activity, and their spirit baptism had given them different languages of the world, as the first issue of the azusa street. most early agm leaders and some of the most successful pentecostal and charismatic pastors in many parts of the world have been those with little or no theological education. agm like any other pentecostals rebut the theory that they prefer the oral theology that jesus practiced and reject philosophical theology and the gymnastic of high and low critical methods (kalu, 2008). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 130 in addition to aggressive evangelism, one of the major factors that helped the agm to grow rapidly is their sunday school programme. to meet the spiritual needs of lay members in their denomination, the foreign missionaries started a sunday school programme in the year 1942. these weekly lessons gave an indepth understanding of the bible to the students who were all enthusiastic about the study. the missionaries articulated a systematic programme of bible study that spanned all books of the bible, and with a well planned manual. the most doctrinal topics were treated in segmented quarterly format taught by teachers drawn from each local congregation. to ensure full involvement of all members, students were organized into different classes on age levels. agm has men ministry, women ministry, and mission and youth ministries. agm: its weaknesses the missionaries who were not themselves degree holders lacked the required professional skills and could neither run secular schools nor handle medicare programmes. admittedly the home base policy allowed missionaries to sponsor such projects even by raising fund at home specifically for such educational purposes. but, how could they pursue such policies which would advance their “boys” (the native agents) above themselves. it was only after the civil war that most of the missionaries began to read for degrees and consequently stopped discouraging the indigenes from university education. another factor that militated against the pre-war missionization activities in igboland was the retarding attitude of national leaders who usually monopolized the urban towns and refused a second local church to be opened in their “chiefdoms”. the adverse effects of the above reported national leaders’ attitude on agm’s church planting and expansion in igboland can hardly be captured in a few words, especially in a short piece such as this. but, suffice it to say here in a nutshell that such practice hindered the church growth. the once peaceful members of one-fold family of the assemblies of god church had been torn apart following a leadership tussle that is presently bedeviling the church. crisis of factionalization of the church had been lingering as two senior pastors, professor paul emeka and dr. chidi okoroafor had been at loggerheads, each laying claim to be the overall leader of the church, qualified to bear the designation “general superintendent”. this leadership tussle over the stool of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 131 the general superintendent exploded into violence in one of its branches in enugu. the leadership tussles that erupted recently in the assemblies of god nigeria is now escalating and bringing down the church, and the glory of god is of all things demeaning. it portrayed the contrast to the spiritual leadership of elder augustine ehurie iwe-nwogu. the remote causes of the situation could be traced to such factors as: 1) family affinity/heritage mentality; 2) constitutional matters; 3) corruption; and 4) mal-administration. for the family affinity/heritage mentality, it was being alleged that the pastors of umuahia extraction believe that since augustine ehurie nwogu and most of the founding fathers were from old umuahia that it should be that leadership must continue to rotate within the family circle. the assertion may be alluded bearing in mind the construction of the family linkage to the founding fathers. ogwuda (2015) noted that the drama started when reverend nathaniel udeze stormed the mount street parish (in enugu) with letters of posting and other court documents empowering him to be installed as the new pastor of the parish. but he was stoutly resisted along with his team of loyalists by the current resident pastor of the parish, reverend amaechi agbo, who along with his loyalists, accused udeze of being an “intruder”. the disagreement led to a free for all fight when udeze insisted on taking over, since he had been officially posted there by the leadership of the church under rev. paul emeka. earlier, supporters of both warring pastors were found sharing different versions of the sunday school manual which angered the supporters of the divide until the two pastors began a shouting match that eventually led to the free fro all fight. the fracas attracted the attention of the police who raced to the place and looked up the church. that was not the first time the members of the congregation would engage in such a show of shame. on december 3, 2014, hell was also let loose at the national headquarters of the church located in enugu when the two warring factions engaged in a bloody clash that left no fewer than five persons seriously injured, while four cars packed at the premises were burnt beyond recognition. members of the okoroafor faction stormed the national secretariat in several buses and attempted to gain entry into the national secretariat but were prevented by rev emeka’s loyalists. again, as a result of the leadership tussle, violence broke out igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 132 in one of the branches of the church in saminaka, lere local government area, kaduna state, about 140 kilometers east of kaduna metropolis. binnayat (2016) wrote that the fight left 20 members with injuries and two homes of resident pastors burnt. a source from the assemblies of god church (jerusalem), saminaka, told vanguard in kaduna that the fight started from 8am and lasted till 2pm on the sunday, which was later confirmed by kaduna state police command. it could be recalled that on september 15, 2015, governor nasir el-rufai had ordered the closure of the church including the theological seminary of northern nigeria seminaka, sharom comprehensive college, agc evangelical hospital seminaka, saying it was to avoid a possible breakdown of law and order, as the two factions squabbled. according to the source, a minority faction of the church sneaked into the premises on sunday evening and slept overnight. the source said: “we came to worship around 8am. not knowing that the other faction had prepared for war. we can into the premises and secured the gates. as soon as we had settled for church proceedings, about 20 members of other factions appeared. they were armed with knives, daggers, clubs, iron rods, and other weapons”. the source further said that: “in no time, the attacked us, injuring many of us. since we were not armed, we had to find ways to escape”. the most frightening thing according to the source, was that the stones the other faction was throwing on them were also falling into hausa muslims’ homes. if these hausa muslims had reacted, the problem would have been a terrible one. these muslims came out and were laughing at them. it was really a disgrace. however, the police public relations officer for kaduna state police command, asp aliyu usman, confirmed the story. nmah (2004) affirmed that, “in the contemporary society, leadership had been a controversial issue for those who do not understand the cost of being a leader” (p.213). he further stated that when honesty, transparency and accountability are sacrificed on the altar of ‘power at all cost’ there is bound to be conflict, which will have all the ingredients to turn violent. nmah advised that the one body of christ should be the ideal philosophy to be manifested among christians. christ himself prayed for unity among his disciples (jn. 17:6-19) and the church (jn.17:20-26). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 133 conclusion and recommendations in sum, this research work presents assemblies of god church in igboland, 1970-2016: a thematic x-ray on the level of origin, pattern of indigenous response, pattern of expansion, and theology of mission and evangelism. all the thematic survey reported agm’s strengths and weaknesses. this allows suggesting that agm has a lot to do in order to recover its past glory. to know god is both to affirm certain propositions about him and to have a relationship with him, a relationship that centres on our trust, our obedience and our worship. according to lumberton and minor-evans (n. d.), “anyone wishing to manage a conflict should begin by looking closely at what is really happening” (p.409). when strong emotions are involved, people are often tempted to jump to conclusions before examining the interests of both sides and their own interests as well. by so doing, there are certain questions to be considered, namely: who is involved? or how many people are taking part in this conflict? second, what is at stake? or do all or both sides in the dispute agree on what is really at stake? if duties and responsibilities are at stake, does everyone agree on exactly what those issues are? third, how important is time for the matter to rest? does this dispute have to be settled right away? does one side benefit from stalling? time factor should be considered whether it will cool tempers on both sides, or if the passage of time will simply aggravate the issue. what relationship does this dispute have with other disputes between the individuals or groups involved? the conflict in agm should be regarded as dysfunctional conflict rather than functional conflict since it can engender weaknesses in soul winning. as people with different backgrounds, points of view, values, needs and personalities interact, a variety of conflicts often develop (nmah, 2004). to nmah (2008), the contents of conflict comprise the source, disagreement on items of contents, or rightness of ideas. the probable solution is to check another source to verify who is right. there should be equity that is, treating everyone with the same rules. the agm has generally maintained the centrality of the historical jesus as lord and savior. the knowledge of the christian faith of some of the members has been limited. consequently, some discrepancy may exist between the doctrines accepted by the group and the practice of some believers. to falk (1997), the future will reveal to what extent the agm will serve as a movement of renewal and reform. the initial fellowship in, and the radiant witness of, agm is an important contribution to christianity in africa. the members are often in a close relationship with their fellowmen and witness to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 134 them in everyday situations of life. the members, like any other new religious movement often witness to their faith with a radiant joy and an assurance of conviction that testifies to their relationship with christian and is very convincing. in respect of its weaknesses, i recommend that the pastors should be less materialistic, and reduce also their rate of prosperity gospel. the church should engage itself in re-training its personnel in order to acquaint them with the new trend of soul winning propagated by spirit filled life. this will also curtail the rate of bickery and bigotry among the pastors and lay members. the church should look at things from the spiritual reality rather than from earthly reality. leadership today is often viewed in terms of the position and responsibilities one holds in an organization. the higher one is in the framework, the more important a leader is thought to be. fernado (1985) opined that this is an important aspect of leadership, but maintain that when christians look at leadership, they view it in terms of people rather than position. one of the most beautiful figures used in the scriptures to describe the relationships the leader has with his people is in terms of parenthood. references achebe, c. (1958). things fall apart. london: heinnmann educational book ltd. anderson, a. (2008). an introduction to pentecostalism: global charismatic christianity. cambridge: cambridge university press. barrett, d. b. (1970). schism & renewal in africa: an analysis of six thousand contemporary religious movements. london: oxford university press. baur, j. (2005). 2000 years of christianity in africa: an african church history. nairobi: paulines publications africa. falk, p. (1997). the growth of the church in africa. kaduna: baraka press and publishers. fernado, a. (1985). leadership lifestyle: a study of 1timothy. mumba: gls. haselbarth, h. (1976). christian ethics in the african context. ibadan: daystar. hunter, k. r. (1983). foundations for church growth. missouri: leader. kalu, j. u. (2010). an introduction of assemblies of god ministry and polity. abuja: umuemeta. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 135 kalu, o. (2008). africa pentecostalism: an introduction. oxford: oxford university press. lamberton, l. & minor-evans, l. (n.d.). human relations: strategies for success. glencoe: mcgraw hill companies. ndubuisi, c. s. (1997). “ 50 years of pentecostalism: assemblies of god in igboland, 1934-1984” in journal of religion and theology, volume 2, number 2, (august), 28-44. nmah, p. e. (2004). basic and applied christian ethics: an african perspective. onitsha: gucks systems int’l. nmah, p. e. (2008). religion and society in africa. enugu: rabboni. ogwuda, a. (2015 july 28). brethren at war: how power tussle tears assemblies of god church apart. in the vanguard. okpara, s. i. (2011). the assemblies of god church and the rise of pentecostalism in igboland: challenges and impact. unpublished doctoral dissertation, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka-nigeria. onwuhaa, j. n. (2011). a compendium of the history and administrative system of assemblies of god church nigeria. aba: assemblies of god. nwabara, s. n. (1977). iboland: a century of contact with britain 1860-1960. london: hodder and stoughton. nwaezeigwe, n. t. (2007). the igbo and their nri neighbours.enugu: snaap. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 25 a pragma-stylistic analysis of ecclesiastes 12:1 ogunrinde ebenezer deji, ph.d english and literary studies department, federal university oye ekiti, rindeayodeji@gmail.com; ebenezer.ogunrinde@fuoye.edu.ng & isife gloria uzoamaka, general studies department, the federal polytechnic ado-ekiti, amakasonna69@gmail.com & bamisaye oluwaseun james english and literary studies department federal university oye ekiti bamisayeseun72@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.33912.11529 abstract the study presents the pragma-stylistic analysis of ecclesiastes chapter 12 verse 1. the aim of the study is to find out the graphological tools used in ecclesiastes chapter 12 verse 1 and the objective is to find out the speech act of the bible verse. the graphological tools that were used in the bible verse include; the use of capitalization, punctuation marks, and repetition of words. other stylistic instruments used in the texts were pronouns, reference and conjunctions. speech acts were used to bring out the meaning of the text which shows that the bible verse has both declarative and directive act. the study has helped in shedding light to the various graphological tools that are being used in writing a literary text and also with the study of pragmatics and stylistics, the intended meaning and the style used in writing a literary text or bible verse can be examined. further studies are recommended in the study of pragma-stylistics analysis of bible text or verse. keywords: pragmatics, stylistics, speech act, solomon and graphology introduction language is a medium of communication. each speech community has a specific language for mutual intelligibility (that is to understand each other). every language user has a unique mode of expression or communication that is different igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 26 from other users. adebayo et al (2020:4) sees language as an instrument of thought which binds human society together in communities and linguistic groups. dada & omoregbe (2013:301) opine that ‘language has a powerful influence on people and their behaviour. religion is one social activity where language is employed and utilized in very creative ways’. this background brings us to the study of this research that finds out the pragma-stylistic analysis of ecclesiastes 12:1 which states: “remember now your creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you say, i have no pleasure in them.” the book of ecclesiastes is one of the few books of the bible that was written by king solomon. king solomon was said to be a wise king of israel because he was gifted by god and all his books in the bible are full of words of wisdom. we are going to discuss the concepts of pragmatics, stylistics and graphology for the development of this article. pragmatics pragmatics is a context-based meaning and the aim of pragmatics is the speaker's intention of the language use. siobhan and billy (2014) sees pragmatics as the study of language usage and how users of a language communicate interact and interpret linguistics behaviour. kepa and john (2011:82) state that pragmatics deals with the study of how language is used for communication and also what we use language for. pragmatics deals with the formation of the speaker’s intention and the discovery of the hearer's intention. according to leech (1983) pragmatics is the study of meaning in context. the various definitions by pragmatics scholars have shown that pragmatics deals with language use, speaker’s intention and the context of the language use in order to derive meaning. speech act another concept of pragmatics that will be discussed for the relevant of this paper is the speech act. according to john austin (1962) speech act is divided into three which are locutionary act, illocutionary act and perlocutionary act. locutionary act is the process of making grammatical and meaningful sentence. illocutionary act is the most important of the speech acts and it is the intention of a statement or utterance to bring out an act of question, command, request, fear etc. perlocutionary act is the effect of an utterance on the hearer such as embarrassment, anger, happiness etc. searle (1976) also proposes his own aspect of speech acts which are: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 27 i. representative act: these are acts that describe processes and events. ii. declarative act: these are acts that change the situation of things being referred to. iii. directive act: these are acts whereby instructions are being carried out with actions. it can be in form of command, question etc. iv. expressive act: these are acts that show emotions or feelings towards a situation. v. commissive act: this is an act that deals with commitment towards an upcoming action. this shows that all human statements or utterances are made up of the speech act. stylistics stylistics basically deals with the study of style. style is an individual's mode of expression and it comprises of characteristics that differentiate it from others. abuya (2012:1916) opines that stylistics is the theory of effectiveness. leech (1969) defines stylistics as simply the study of literary style, or to make matters even more explicit, the study of the use of language in literature. lyons (1981) states that stylistics is the study of stylistic variation in languages and of the way in which this is exploited by their users. stylistics acts as a bridge between literature, criticism and linguistics. this allows readers to comprehend, interpret and thus appreciate literature through linguistic analysis. stylistics has opened the literature world to everybody in critics and appreciation of literature (anthony 2018;48). graphology graphology is the study of the system of writing. it is the description of the physical representation of a text. it includes analysis of punctuation marks, shapes of words, types of sentences, nature of verse paragraphs and foregrounding (samuel 2012). graphology is a linguistic aspect of analysis that involves the study of graphic aspects of language (anthony 2012). wales (2001) sees graphology as the study of graphemes and other features associated with the written medium, such as punctuation, paragraphing or spacing. simpson (2004;6) opines that graphology accommodates the systematic meaning encoded in the written medium of language. aim and objectives igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 28 the main aim of this article is to find out the various graphological tools used in ecclesiastes chapter 12 verse 1. the specific objectives of the research are: i. to examine the speech act content of the bible verse, ii. to investigate the speech act emebeded in the bible verse, iii. to further confirm the connection between pragmatics and stylistics. it is our hope in this research that the study of stylistics will help in showcasing how various styles are used in writing a literary text. research methodology the data was extracted from ecclesiastes chapter 12 verse 1 of the new king james version of the holy bible. the present study shuns a superficial analysis of the text because it can only be understood using a pragma-stylistics analysis. pragmatics which is meaning in context was used for our analysis in order to bring out the intended meaning of the text. a stylistically written text can only be analyzed and interpreted pragmatically in order to bring out the intended meaning which the writers hope to convey and may not necessary be found in the text. findings and discussion the data and analysis of this study are in two sections which are data presentation and discussion of the data. the data presentation the present data were sourced from ecclesiastes chapter 12 verse 1 of the new king james version of the holy bible: remember now your creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you say, i have no pleasure in them". the discussion the graphological tools we are discussing in this text are the use of capitalization, punctuation marks and repetition of words. capitalization igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 29 capital letters were used in the first letters of some of the words in text. capital letters r (in remember), c (in creator), b (in before), a (in and) and i (personal pronoun) was used in the bible verse. christians usually use capital letters in writing the first letter of the word 'god' or 'creator' to show that he is a supreme being and a sign of respect. punctuation marks the bible verse makes use of limited punctuation marks which are the use of 3 commas (,), 2 quotation marks (") and 1 full stop (.). the text makes use of appropriate punctuation marks and this punctuation marks were used to make it easy to read and meaningful. the punctuation marks make the text to have both the linguistics and syntactic agreement and these promote continuity and also break down into units of thought which makes the text to have cohesion. repetition of words only two words were repeated in the bible verse which is the word 'your' (remember now your creator in the days of your youth). the word 'your' was repeated in the first clause of the text for emphasis purpose and also for reference. other stylistics instruments used in the text is the use of pronouns, reference and conjunction. pronouns pronouns are used instead or in place of a noun. the pronouns used in the text are personal pronoun 'i', 'them', 'you' and 'your'. the personal pronoun 'i' is referring to the youths being talked about in the bible verse while the personal pronoun 'them' is referring to the difficult days and years ahead. the personal pronoun 'you' is also referring to the youth in the text while the first and second personal pronoun 'your' is referring to god and the days of the youth in the text respectively. pronouns were used to create cohesion within the text. reference reference is the relationship between an expression and what they are standing for in the expression. we have two major types of reference which are anaphoric and cataphoric reference but the anaphoric reference was used majorly in the text. anaphoric reference is when an expression refers back to another expression in the same expression or statement. the personal pronouns 'i' and 'them' were used as the anaphoric reference in the text. the personal pronoun 'i' refers back to the youth being talked about in the text while the personal pronoun 'them' refers back to the difficult days to come and the years ahead that were mentioned in the text. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 30 reference is also substitution and is usually used to avoid repetition. the pronoun 'them' is used as substitution of the difficult days and years ahead as mentioned in the text. references were also used in the text in order to create grammatical cohesion within the text. conjunction conjunctions are used to bind elements such as words, phrases and clauses. the conjunctions 'and' 'when' were used to connect the main and subordinate clauses in the text. in the conclusion, we will highlight the pragmatics meaning of the text which is based on searle (1976) model of pragmatics. the speech act that is apparent in the bible verse in analysis is directive and declarative acts. the directive part of the bible verse is: “remember now your creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you say.” directive act tend to make the hearer act in accordance with what is being said by the speaker. the directives act part of the bible text tends to instruct and this suggest advice and admonition. the declarative part of the bible text is: i have no pleasure in them. declarative act is used to make something happens or it's declaring a particular phenomenon. the illocutionary acts of the bible verse are as follows: i. direct illocutionary act: the first part of the bible verse is a directive act which tends to make the hearer performs some actions. the second part of the bible verse is a declarative act which is stating something. ii. indirect illocutionary act: the indirect illocutionary act of this bible verse is that the speaker is directing or advising majorly of the youth to believe and serve god so as not to perish in difficult days or years to come. this shows that it is an indirect 'directive act'. conclusion this study has been able to show the various stylistic tools that are been used in a literary text. bible verses usually bring out the deep meaning than their literary or basic meaning so pragmatics and stylistics can be used to bring out the intended meaning and the style used in writing a particular bible verse. readers are better equipped with the various speech acts and stylistic tools used in analyzing bible text or verse. further study is recommended on the pragmastylistics analysis of bible verse or text. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 31 references abuja, e.j. (2012). “a pragma-stylistic analysis of president goodluck ebele jonathan inaugural speech”. english language teaching; vol.5, no.11,2012. issn 1916-1742. adebayo, a., & a.aderonke (2020). “teaching and learning english as a second language in nigeria: examining evolving approaches and methods”. theory and practice in language studies, vol.10, no.9, pp. 1015-1024, sep, 2020. issn 1799-2591. anthony, c.o., (2018). advanced english stylistics. national open university of nigeria. austin, j. l. (1962). how to do things with words. claredon press. oxford:london charles, o. & sam, o. (2012). introduction to semantics. national open university of nigeria. dada, s.a., & e. m. omoregbe (2013). “pragmatics presupposition of galatians 2:20”. asian journal of humanities and social studies (issn:2321-2799), vol,01issue 05, december, 2013. dada, s.a. (2012). “a pragma-stylistics analysis of john 3:16”. international journal of english linguistics; vol.2,no.5, 2012. innocent, c. & o. christine (2014). pragmatics. national open university of nigeria. isbn: 978-058-542-7. kepa, k. & p. john (2011). critical pragmatics: an inquiry into reference and communication. new york: cambridge university press. leach, g.n. (1969). a linguistic guide to english poetry. chicago: longman. leach, g. (1983). the principles of pragmatics. london: longman. lyons, j. (1981). language and linguistics: an introduction. cambridge: cup. searle, j.r. (1976). the classification of illocutionary acts. language and society. n0 5, 1-23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0047404500006837. simpson,p(2004). stylistics: a resource book for students.new york and canada: routledge. siobhan, c. & c. billy (2014). “pragmatics literary stylistics”. palgrave studies in pragmatics, language and cognition. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 32 https://www.scribd.com/document/428411935/palgrave-studies-in-pragmaticslanguage-and-cognition-siobhan-chapman-billy-clark-eds-pragmatic-literarystylistics-palgrave-macmillan-uk-2014 ogunrinde e.d. & j. ajenifari (2020) cohesion as an aspect of textuality in “pentecost gospelv print advertisement” in ekiti state, nigeria in international journal of biblical and cognate studies, ijbcs, the department of religion and cultural studies, benue state university,maklurdi-benue state nigeria, issn:2734 2743, pp 215-242. wales, k. (2001). a dictionary of stylistics. london: longman. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 31 metanoia and metallomai: perfect contrition. a panacea for god’s mercy. a study of luke 15, 17-20 dominic obielosi, ph.d. department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe university, awka abstract god is perfectly merciful. he is also perfectly just. perfect contrition on the part the repentant is what makes the difference. 1john 5,16-17 distinguishes between venial and mortal sin but yet defines every sin as sin. the difference between peter and judas is their mode of approach to god’s throne of mercy. jesus foretold peter’s denial just as he foretold his betrayal. denial is a form of betrayal. but whereas in matt 26,69-75 peter went out and wept bitterly after he remembered the words of christ concerning his denial. judas in matt 27,3-5 saw that jesus was condemned. he also felt remorse for his action but then went and hung himself. peter’s remorse could be seen as metanoia (repentance from the heart) and judas’ as metallomai(repentance from the head). abstracting from this but from the backdrop of the action of the prodigal son in luke 15,17-20 this paper posits perfect contrition (metanoia) as the master key ensuring one of god’s mercy. the paper sails from exegetical prism to a pastoral application of the hermeneutical implication of the text. introduction the pope declared this year as a year of mercy. as a response, doors of mercy are open in selected churches. a pictorial representation of god as a merciful father is seen hanging at the entrance or altar of most churches all over the globe. the proclamation has been made. announcements are all over the place. vision and auditory systems of communication were used. the faithful is encouraged to prayerfully pass through the door of mercy. just last week i attended a presbyteral meeting. as usual, all were reminded to come with their parishioners and pass through the door of mercy. i briefly asked a priest by my side if one must really pass through that door physically in order to qualify for the mercy of the most high. thoughts flowed in my mind like speed flowing water. this is yet another activity in the church that people are meant to observe with little convincing catechesis. undoubtedly, everyone of us knows that the physical passage is only an externalization of what ought to be inward. the big question is whether the average faithful out there is very much at home with the meaning. it is similar to the sacrament of reconciliation. the practice has been in the church for centuries. people are encouraged to avail themselves of the opportunity. our local igbo catechism teaches that every believer must go for sacramental confession at least once a year. festive periods especially easter and christmas usually witness a huge turnout of people for confessions. the situation in our society simply proves that what many do is simply mechanical. it does not come nor get down to the heart. thomas merton igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 32 while discussing the different levels of reception of the word of god talks of the mind level, the soul level, and the heart level. one bears fruits when it gets to the heart level. similarly, until confessions comes from and gets to the heart level we can as well forget about it. based on this brief observation, the researcher thinks that this paper is situational and progressive. it is situation because its point of departure is based on the observations of the reality in our lives as the faithful. it is progressive in as much as it draws from the exegesis of luke 15,17-20 to concretely push for a repentance from the heart as a condition for one to obtain the mercy of god. the researcher is not advocating that people should stop going to pass through doors of mercy. it is the conviction of this paper that what is externalized must be from the inside in order that the reason for the papal declaration of the year of mercy would be actualized. the paper posits that a look at the action of the prodigal son in luke 15,17-20 encapsulates what the feeling and action of a true penitent ought to be. perfect contrition is a condition sine qua non for reconciliation with god. it is this perfect contrition as seen in the act of the prodigal son in luke 15,17-20 that this paper calls metanoia. externalization of repentance devoid of internal conviction and true change of attitude is metallomai. passing through the door of mercy is a welcome development but the interior repentance is the substance that gives meaning to the action of passing through the door. perfect contrition landau et al. (1975) sees contrition as a sincere sorrow for wrong doing. for reese (1980) it is sorrow that one has sinned coupled with intention to abstain there from in the future. perfect contrition is a feeling of repentance for sin, with an intention to amend, arising from love of god and consideration of his goodness. contrition is not unconnected with repentance. the later is from the latin word “poenitere” (to regret, to be sorry). it involves abhorrence of one’s past life and a disposition for the new birth. léon-dufour (1988) notes that only repentance or perfect contrition prepares man to face the judgment of god (acts 17,30). baptism once and for all seals the act of conversion and is non-repetitive (heb 6,6). but the baptized are capable of falling once again into sin. faced with this reality, the apostolic community soon realized that repentance or contrition is necessary if one wishes to share in the salvation in spite of everything. peter urged simon the magician to repent (act 8,22). james urged the fervent christians to lead back the stray sinners (james 5,19ff). paul was happy that the corinthians repented (2cor 7,9) but still feared that some have not done so (2cor 12,21). in 2tim 2,25 he urges timothy to correct the dissenters, hoping that god will grant them the grace to repent. apoc 2,5.16.21ff have clear calls to repentance presupposing the fall of the churches from their first favour (cf. also rev. 3,3.19). without explicitly talking of the sacrament of penance, these texts underscore the importance of contrition or repentance in the life of a believer. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 33 the fathers of the council of trent according to mchugh (1982) define contrition as “a sorrow and detestation for sin committed, with a purpose of sinning no more … if joined with a confidence in the mercy of god and an earnest desire of performing whatever is necessary to the proper reception of the sacrament, it thus prepares us for the remission of sin” (pp. 273-274). contrition is therefore a detestation of sin. the efficacy does not just consist in ceasing to sin, or in resolving to begin, or having actually begun a new life; it supposes first of all a hatred of one’s ill-spent life and a desire of atoning for past transgressions. contrition means breaking of an object into small parts by means of stone or some harder substance. it is used metaphorically in theology to signify that our hearts, hardened by pride, are beaten and broken by penance. hence no other sorrow, not even that which is felt for the death of parents, or children, or for any other calamity, is called contrition. it is used explicitly to express the sorrow with which we are overwhelmed by the forfeiture of the grace of god and of our own innocence. contrition is expected to be supreme, intense, and universal. basing her teaching on the call of christ to conversion, the catechism of the catholic church (1994) sees contrition as a movement of a ‘contrite heart’ drawn and moved by grace to respond to the merciful love of god who loved us first (ps 51,17; john 6,44; 12,32; 1john 4,10). contrition, the catechism continues, does not aim at outward works but at the conversion of the heart, interior conversion without which contrition remains sterile and false. this does not mean a rejection of externalization of contrition. no. it only emphasizes repentance as a radical reorientation of our whole life, a return, a conversion to god with all our heart, an end of sin, a turning away from evil, with repugnance toward the evil actions we have committed. it entails the desire to change and resolution to change one’s life, with hope in god’s mercy and trust in the help of his grace. it is generally accompanied by a salutary pain and sadness which the fathers called animi cruciatus (affliction of spirit) and compunction cordis (repentance of heart). perfect and imperfect contrition (metanoia and metallomai) easter and christmas seasons and even week days in some places are remarkably torturing for many priests in parishes. this is because hours are spent at the confessionals because oif the number of supposed penitents. the faithful trooping to churches with doors of mercy within this period also underscore the fact that contrition is not so much a concern as to the deepness of the feeling of compunction. metanoia translates the hebrew words bwv or ~xni meaning to alter one’s purpose out of pity; to repent; to change one’s mind or intention. it denotes a movement away from a position previously adopted. in the ot it is seen in cultic and ritual acts. in 1kgs 21,17-19 after ahab went down and possessed naboth’s vineyard, god directed igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 34 elijah to him. he humbled himself putting on sack cloth. god relented but said that the ills will come on his son. in jon 3,6, the people of nineveh clothed themselves with ashes after jonah preached. metanoia is a change of heart and hatred for sin. zacheus is a good example of one with metanoia in the nt. in luke 19,1-10, he not only left his place of work to struggle to see jesus, he confessed his sins and made amends instantly. metanoia is repentance from the heart as the faculty of moral reflection. metallomai on the other hand is repentance that begins in the head and ends there. it is not deep rooted. the other is of the heart, the later is of the head. it is regrets because of the consequences of one’s acts. judas’ reaction after betraying jesus is a good example. in matt 27,1-3 he repented of what he did but instead of having a contrite heart, he went and hung himself. his action was totally of the head and not of the heart. he was under the pride of human reason ruptured by emotion. one who is truly repentant sees the love and mercies of god and so acknowledges his unworthiness before the all holy god. he is troubled at heart. his reasoning convicts him and his heart fills him with regrets and need for reconciliation. moved to pity in this way, he goes back to the origin of all love – god filled with contempt. he not only regrets, he now hates the sin. this is perfect contrition. this is metanoia. this is what we see in the prodigal son. it is what is expected of all penitents. an analysis of luke 15,17-20 explains it more. exegetical analysis of luke 15,17-20 the greek text of luke 15,17-20 reads: eivj e`auto.n de. evlqw.n e;fh( po,soi mi,sqioi tou/ patro,j mou perisseu,ontai a;rtwn( evgw. de. limw/| w-de avpo,llumaiå 18 avnasta.j poreu,somai pro.j to.n pate,ra mou kai. evrw/ auvtw/|( pa,ter( h[marton eivj to.n ouvrano.n kai. evnw,pio,n sou( 19 ouvke,ti eivmi. a;xioj klhqh/nai ui`o,j sou\ poi,hso,n me w`j e[na tw/n misqi,wn souå 20 kai. avnasta.j h=lqen pro.j to.n pate,ra e`autou/å e;ti de. auvtou/ makra.n avpe,contoj ei=den auvto.n o` path.r auvtou/ kai. evsplagcni,sqh kai. dramw.n evpe,pesen evpi. to.n tra,chlon auvtou/ kai. katefi,lhsen auvto,n. textual criticism nestle aland (1998) notes some textual difficulties. in v. 17 some manuscripts x q l 844. l 221 1 al have pwj oi as alternative reading to posoi seen in the text. also a d l w q ψ f13 33 û have perisseu,sousin for in perisseu,ontai the text. the text under study is supported by î75 a b p f1 579. 1241 pc. looking at the manuscripts that have alternative readings one sees that they are all recent manuscripts. on the other hand, the text being studied is supported by very ancient manuscripts including a papyrus. it is therefore very highly probable that the more recent manuscripts attempted a correction of the original. the researcher is therefore convinced that most probably, the text under study is closer to the original. in v. 20 a d k l n p q q f13 579. 1241. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 35 1424. 2542. l 844. l 2211 pm have auvtou as alternative reading to e`autou in the text witnessed also in î75 a b w g d ψ 1. 655. 700. 892 pm. one sees an evident correction of the text in the alternative reading. based on the principle of lectio dificilior and the ancient nature of the manuscripts containing the reading in our text, the researcher believes that our text is closer to the original. presentation of a working translation the translation presented here is not dependent on any english translation. it is strictly an attempt to be as literal as possible rendering the greek text in english. “but coming into himself was saying: ‘how many hired labourers of my father are rich of breads, but i am here perishing of hunger? i shall arise to go back to my father and i will say to him, father, into heaven and before you i have sinned. i am not worthy to be called your son. make me like one of your hired labourers’. and rising, he came to his father. but still far away, his father received him and had compassion on him and running fell upon his neck and kissed him fervently”. delimitation of the text luke 15,17-20 is part of a large pericope, luke 15,11-32 dealing on the parable of the prodigal son. the entire luke 15 is a long chapter with three parables told by jesus in reaction to the negative attitude of the pharisees against the so called sinners. luke 15,3-7 is on the parable of the lost sheep. luke 15,8-10 is on the lost coin. luke 15,1132 is on the lost son. the chapter dwells on the three losts. they appear to be on the same theme but obviously from two different perspectives. they are not even similar stories. the first two parables treat the divine side of grace; the seeking love of god. the third parable, the prodigal son gives the human side. it expresses man rising to repentance. luke 15,17-20 is therefore delimited by its own story as differentiated from the story coming before it. studied in the context of the its own pericope – luke 15,11-32 one could say that it is further delimited. this is because luke 15,11-16 presents the unthoughtful action of the son and the eventual repercussion. luke 15,17-20 concerns itself with his thoughtfulness when he came back to his senses. from v. 20 we see the positive response on the part of the father. as with writings which are popular over a long period like chinua achebe’s things fall apart which was written as a criticism of the evils of colonialism and culture conflict, one can miss the real point of the story. the parable of the prodigal son is a defense of jesus’ good news to the poor and a trap-like invitation to his opponents to repent. thus, with kealy (1979) the researcher believes that the popular title ‘the prodigal son’ distorts the point and message of the story. this is because, his prodigality is only a detail. in fact the opening verse makes it clear that the story is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 36 about two sons. thus the parable is also variously titled ‘the loving father’, ‘the father’s love’, ‘the waiting father’, ‘the two sons’, ‘the two brothers’. it is vv. 1720 that really brings out the crux of the message: the invitation to repentance. it is a call to true repentance and not just any type. it is a repentance that comes from the heart. exegesis the verse begins with the preposition eivj. this preposition generally means ‘into’. the author of the gospel of luke probably adopted this preposition on purpose. the use of this preposition with the aorist participle evlqw.n demonstrates the seriousness of the message. the prodigal son has been wandering away in thought and deed. this time, he comes back to his senses. the aorist expresses the conclusive nature of the action. the thought was deep and from inside (eivj). the decision was taken once and for all. he was not in doubt that something must have to be done. years of waywardness, wasted times and months in debauchery and loose life, worldly frivolity and thoughtless unconcern have really brought him to a base level. the situation was precarious. the regrets show the urgency. all these pushed him into a melancholic introspection. he went into himself. it is not just a meditation done many days. he came back to himself just a day, hence the use of the aorist. the action was not repetitive. the preposition shows the rise and growth of repentance in the heart of the prodigal son (plummer, 1896). nolland (1993) sees eivj e`auto.n de. evlqw.n as an idiom for coming to one’s senses. it was coming to his senses that propelled him to action. he came to his senses once. he continued to remain in that feeling. he did not fluctuate. oepke (1995) discerns a psychological use of eivj here. in this sense, it denotes the intrusion of corruptive or salutary influences into the centre of personality. demons go into a man (matt 9,25; luke 8,38). satan puts evil into the heart of a man (john3,2), or himself comes into him (luke 22,3; john 13,27). the former is also true of the avenging god (rev. 17,17). on the other hand, god sends his spirit into the hearts of believers (1thes 4,8; gal 4,6). oepke (1995) understands ‘return to oneself’ as denoting a restoration of normality. thus the return of the prodigal begins when he goes into himself (eivj e`auto.n de. evlqw.n). it designates the centre of spiritual experience (elliger, 1990). it was a permanent coming back to his senses. he returned to himself and never again thought of remaining in his evil. the use of the aorist participle evlqw.n expresses this. he did not vacillate. the feeling of remorse was a permanent one. but he did not just stop with remorseful feeling. the imperfect e;fh shows that his conscience pricked him continuously. he said and continued to say to himself that the hired hands in his father’s house are better off. it was this imperfect tense with present stem of continuity that really pushed him to very urgently get up and do something about his awful and hopeless condition of servitude. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 37 the servility of the prodigal son is brought out in a picturesque with adjectival pronoun mi,sqioi used in nominative masculine plural. he compared his servile status in a foreign land with the better condition of hired hands in his father’s house. his sin was a carefree and spendthrift fashion of life (eph 5,18; tobith 1,6; 1pet 4,4). as a result of famine and its corresponding inflation, he ended up in a disaster. he had to hire himself out to a gentile pig-rearer. the jews considered pigs impure and the source of a curse (lev 11,17). a jew hiring himself out to a gentile and worse to feed pigs shows that the son was in a regrettable disaster. he was so reduced to poverty and misery that he longed to eat swine fodder, the fruit of a carob tree (1kgs 8,47) but no one gave him anything. thus an opportunity to become a hired hand in his father’s house would surely make his condition better. this is why in his regrets when he came back into himself, he used avpo,llumai a middle verb indicating that his condition is not only awful but disastrous. he is perishing in the condition, meaning that unless he does something, that would lead to termination of his life. the verb avpo,llumai is richly attested in secular greek in both transitive and intransitive, active. the basic negative meaning of the entire word group, frequently with a violent tendency, aims to express loss, destruction, and annihilation in a very general sense which can extend to the final destruction of the human being in a death. in the lxx it translates the hebrew ’āḇaḏ to emphasize that the existence of the individual as well as that of the people as a whole can stand in the balance and that the loss of life is accounted for by the culpable behavior of human beings (deut 28,20; 30,18). it also has eschatological nuance expressing a final statement of ruin as in prov 15,11; 27,20; sir 44,9. in the new testament the verb occurs about 90x, the substantive 18x. the verb is predominant in luke. used transitively it has to do with a value of irretrievable good like life¸ human existence. in mark 8,35 it is used in double sense to mean slipping away and thus a final loss in a negative sense and in a positive sense as the renunciation of every human security. the verb occurs intransitively or in the middle to speak of the ‘lost’ in a real or figurative sense. matt 10,6 and 15,24 talking of the lost sheep of the house of israel come to mind here. in luke 15 it appears 8x in both metaphorical and figurative sense. in luke 19,10 it has a redemptive perspective. luke 13,33 talking about the fate of the prophets has the sense of perishing or dying. it is in this nuance that it is also used in our text. kretzer (1990) points out that the word can really express a destructive action in reference to persons or objects (mark 3,6; 9,41; 12,9). oepke (1995) teaches that it can mean “definitive destruction” or “hopeless destiny of death”. one who has fallen victim to destruction is called in semitic fashion “ o` ui`o.j igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 38 th/j avpwlei,aj” like judas in john 17,12. it is a favourite word in 2peter to express damnation. thus, when the prodigal son uses this word in luke 15,17 it communicates a serious meaning of total destruction. it shows the hopelessness of his situation and the urgent need for something to be done to avoid perishing definitively. it is because of this feeling that he is in a wrong place that may even lead to his damnation that calls for his immediate action avnasta.j, an aorist participle (having arisen). nolland (1993) observes that the verb is somewhat pleonastic but marks the beginning of the son’s decisive change of direction. the verb seems to strike a parallel with the resolve of faithless israel to return to her first husband in hos 2,7. it is true that the basis of the son’s repentance is his own situation of desperate need, and a desire to improve his lot it is wrong to question his sincerity or to think that he would not have repented if not because of his deplorable situation. to do this is to miss the point of the parable. the son could have as well taken his life like the case of judas in matt 27,1-3. the focus of the parable is the repentance of the son and the readiness of his father to welcome him back. he could not have repented if he did not decide to do so. the father could not have welcomed him back if he had not repented and gone back to him. the fact that he took a radical decision quite contrary to what he used to be strikes the point. he was pricked at heart. his conscience did not give him a breathing space. he did not just go back. he did not sneak into his father’s house. he did not go back to terrorize or accuse his father or elder brother. he accepted his fault fully. he went back a changed person with a decision to be better if given the opportunity. it is this change of attitude that moved the father to pity. this is what the researcher regards as perfect contrition. perfect contrition and god’s mercifulness prov 28,13 teaches that whoever conceals his sins will never prosper but the one who confesses them shall be forgiven. compunction of heart and a total u-turn from the former evil way is a sure sign of repentance. in 2sam 12,13 david was so touched after nathan spoke to him. he repented and was forgiven. in luke 19,1-10 jesus forgave zacheus after he has repented and promised restitution. in all cases, it is always repentance first before forgiveness. this is why the church teaches that a sinner already is forgiven with perfect contrition though he must still have sacramental confession whenever the opportunity comes. without perfect contrition, there is no true repentance. there cannot be divine forgiveness without perfect contrition. this is because the later entails a firm resolve never to go back to former way. to feign divine forgiveness without perfect contrition is to make a joke of the sacrament of reconciliation. it makes it look mechanical and unserious. it simply igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 39 contradicts god’s attribute as a just god. it is just like someone slapping you and telling you sorry only to slap you again and again. evaluation and conclusion the church as a caring and loving mother and custodian of souls is ever concerned about the spiritual needs of her children, the christian faithful. as the mystical body of christ (col 1,18) she is always in perfect communion with her invisible head. she holds the key to life and death (matt 16,18-20). in her continued work of evangelization and care for souls she exercises her salvific function through the sacraments instituted by christ, her founder and lord. like the prophets of old, she continues to call on her children to return to god. the call is even more urgent now with the lots of confusion in our world. the opening of the door of mercy is one of her many prophetic ways of getting her children back to god. taking bearing from the luke 15,17-20 the researcher makes case for the church’s benevolent act. the prodigal son took a decision that was decisive and determinate. he left his familiar landmark to seek for a pathway through trackless ocean. he came back to his senses and decided to leave the location of sin to go back to the light, his father. he did his part. he repented. he went back to his father as a true sign of repentance. it is in this back drop that this paper submits that in as much as the holy father’s opening of the door of mercy is a welcome and timely development, the faithful needs a proper catechesis to fulfil the conditions necessary to merit god’s forgiveness. passing through the door of mercy needs to be preceded by a perfect contrition and firm resolve to do better. references catechism of the catholic church (1994). rome: libreria editrice vaticana. elliger, w. (1990): “eivj” in exegetical dictionary of the new testament vol. i. edinburgh: t&t clark ltd. pp. 398-399. kealy, j.p. (1979): luke’s gospel today. denvile: dimension books. kretzer, a. (1990): “avpo,llumi” in exegetical dictionary of the new testament vol. i. edinburgh: t&t clark ltd. pp. 135-136. landau, s.i. et al. (1975): the reader’s digest great encyclopedic dictionary. pleasantville: the reader’s digest association inc. léon-dufour, x. (1988): dictionary of biblical theology. g. chapman trans. ijamsville: the word among us press. mchugh, j.a. & callan, c.j. (1982): catechism of the council of trent for parish priests. rockford: tan books and publishers, inc. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 40 nolland, j. (1993): luke 9,21-18:34. word biblical commentary 35b. dallas: word books publisher. oepke, a. (1995): “avpo,llumi” in the theological dictionary of the new testament vol. i. grand rapids: wm. b. eerdmans publishing company. oepke, a. (1995): “eivj” in the theological dictionary of the new testament vol. ii. grand rapids: wm. b. eerdmans publishing company. pp. 420-434. plummer, a. (1896): gospel according to st. luke. international critical commentary. edinburgh: t&t. clark. reese, w.l. (1980): dictionary of philosophy and religion. eastern and western thought. atlantic highlands: humanities press inc. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 4 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 62 africae munus and consecrated persons kanu, ikechukwu anthony department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university, umunya anambra state ikee_mario@yahoo.com; +2348036345466 abstract sixteen years after the 1994 synod, pope benedict xvi issued the document africae munus to continue the work already begun by ecclesia in africa. he expressed that it was my wish that the second special assembly for africa of the synod of bishops, held from 4 to 25 october 2009, should continue the work of the 1994 assembly, which was intended to be an occasion of hope and resurrection, at the very moment when human events seemed to be tempting africa to discouragement and despair. it was an apostolic exhortation that was aimed at rekindling the fire kindled by his predecessor, pope john paul ii. this paper makes a careful study of the document africae munus as a new vision of africa’s commitment to the lord jesus, for the purpose of identifying the place of consecrated persons in the document’s new vision for africa? what is the fundamental contribution of consecrated persons towards the realization of this new vision for africa? these and more are the burdens of this piece. keywords: africae, munus, consecrated persons, pope benedict xvi. introduction the period before the convocation of the 1994 african synod, was a time when africa was described in the image of the biblical icon: the man who was on his way from jerusalem to jericho and fell into the hands of robbers, who robbed him, brutalized him and abandoned him half-dead (lk 10: 30-37).1 it is therefore not surprising that the challenges of africa became the dominant points in the lineamenta and instrumentum laboris of the 1994 african synod: instability and political violence, armed conflicts, poor democratic representation, poor management of public affairs, weight of external debt, corruption, ethnocentrism, arms trade, the collapse of health services and public education, exponential spread of hiv/aids, but also the aggressive growth of religious sects and certain christian or non-christian 1 nikola eterovic, ecclesia in africa: the onward synodal march of the church that is in africa from the irst to the secofnd special assembly of the synod of bishops for africa. a paper presented at the celebration of the 10 th anniversary of ecclesia in africa, from the 14th to the 17th of september 2005, yaounde, p. 1. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 63 fundamentalist circles against the catholic church2. the holy father, pope john paul ii, saw consecrated persons as agents of evangelization who could contribute to the liberation of africa from the forces that cripple her progress. the roman pontiff wrote, in the church understood as the family of god, consecrated life has the particular function not only of indicating to all the call to holiness but also of witnessing to fraternal life in community. therefore, all who live the consecrated life are called to respond to their vocation in a spirit of communion and cooperation with the respective bishops, clergy and laity"3. focusing on local ordinaries and consecrated persons, he wrote further, …the leaders of the local churches and of the institutes of consecrated life and the societies of apostolic life to foster dialogue among themselves, in order to create, in the spirit of the church as family, mixed groups for consultation which would serve as a witness to fraternity and as a sign of unity in the service of a common mission4. sixteen years after the 1994 synod, pope benedict xvi issued the document africae munus to continue the work already begun by ecclesia in africa. he wrote, “it was my wish that the second special assembly for africa of the synod of bishops, held from 4 to 25 october 2009, should continue the work of the 1994 assembly, “which was intended to be an occasion of hope and resurrection, at the very moment when human events seemed to be tempting africa to discouragement and despair.”5 it was an apostolic exhortation that was aimed at rekindling the fire kindled by his predecessor, pope john paul ii. he wrote, “the post-synodal apostolic exhortation, ecclesia in africa of my predecessor, blessed john paul ii, brought together the pastoral insights and proposals of the synod fathers for a new evangelization of the african continent. it was appropriate, ten years into this third millennium, to rekindle our faith and hope, so as to help build a reconciled africa by pursuing the paths of truth and justice, love and peace (cf. ps 85:11).”6 in this new vision of 2 nikola eterovic, ecclesia in africa: the onward synodal march of the church that is in africa from the first to the second special assembly of the synod of bishops for africa. p. 1. 3 pope john paul ii, ecclesia in africa. post-synodal apostolic exhortation. kenya: paulines, 1995, no. 94. 4 pope john paul ii, ecclesia in africa. post-synodal apostolic exhortation. kenya: paulines, 1995, no. 94. 5 pope benedict xvi, africae munus. post-synodal apostolic exhortation. kenya: paulines, 2011, no. 2. 6 pope benedict xvi, africae munus. post-synodal apostolic exhortation. kenya: paulines, 2011, no. 2. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 64 africa’s commitment to the lord jesus, what is the place of consecrated persons? what is their fundamental contribution towards the realization of this new vision for africa? these and more are the burdens of this piece. the theology of consecrated persons by consecrated persons, i mean the members of the religious institutes and societies of apostolic life. they are lay persons or clerics who assume the evangelical counsels by means of a sacred bond, and become members of an institute of consecrated life according to the law of the church7. they totally dedicate themselves to god with the goal of pursuing perfection in charity by faithfully embracing the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience. in this sense, consecrated persons respond freely to the invitation of the holy spirit to follow christ the poor, the celibate, the obedient son, more closely, thus becoming in this life a sign of the life to come. “the evangelical counsels of chastity dedicated to god, poverty and obedience are based upon the words and examples of the lord. they were further commanded by the apostles and fathers of the church, as well as by the doctors and pastors of souls”8. these counsels are referred to as evangelical because the religious vows are central to the life of jesus and message and also because religious consecration is founded on baptismal consecration9. the consecrated life is also traceable to the post-apostolic church, especially to those early christians who dedicated themselves to a gospel-oriented lifestyle, to a radical following of jesus christ. the first person in this line was anthony of egypt. he was followed by a line of disciples, until it became an institution in the church10. very significant is the idea of consecration. it is derived from the word ‘holy’ or ‘holiness’. in hebrew it is qadash and in greek hagios; these are translated to mean ‘to consecrate’ (lev 15:31; ezek 14:7). in numbers 6:5-7, 12, the nazirites were referred to as consecrated because of their vows to god. this makes the person holy, a consecration that separates the person from others. thus the word consecration implies a setting apart or a separation. this separation does not in any way imply superiority11, or complete severance 7 canon 573.2 8 lumen gentium 43 9 fleming, d. l., understanding a theology of religious life. in g. a. arburckle and d. l. fleming (eds.). religious life: rebirth through conversion. new york: alba house, 1990, p. 22 10 mary-sylvia nwachukwu, consecrated: a vision of religious life from the point of view of the sacred. lagos: change publications, 2010, pp. 34-35. 11 myers, a. c. holiness. the eerdmans bible dictionary. eerdmans: grand rapids, 1987, p. 493. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 65 from those the consecrated are called to serve12. the second vatican council document says, “the state which is constituted by the profession of the evangelical counsels, though it does not belong to the hierarchical structure of the church, nevertheless, undeniably belongs to the life and holiness of the church”13. the document continues, “the holiness of the church is fostered in a special way by the observance of the counsels proposed in the gospel by the lord to his disciples. an eminent position among these is held by virginity or the celibate state”14. thus, another second vatican council document exhorts consecrated person thus, “members of each institute should recall first of all that by professing the evangelical counsels they responded to a divine call so that by being not only dead to sin (cf. rm 6:11) but also renouncing the world they may live for god alone. they have dedicated their entire lives to his service. this constitutes a special consecration, which is deeply rooted in that of baptism and expresses it more fully”15. benedict xvi’s post-synodal apostolic exhortation: africae munus africae munus was published after the first special assembly for africa of the synod of bishops and gave great impetus to the growth of the church in africa developing, among other things, the idea of the church as family of god which has been beneficial to the universal church. it aims at reinforcing this ecclesial dynamism and outlining a programme for pastoral activity for the coming decades of evangelization in africa, underlining the need for reconciliation, justice and peace16. the document has two parts. part one17 discerns the fundamental structures of the ecclesial mission on the continent, a mission which aspires to reconciliation, justice and peace, and has its origin in the person of jesus christ. he invites christians to be reconciled with god, and to become just in order to build a social order where justice reigns and in keeping with the logic of the beatitudes. attention then turns to the paths towards reconciliation, justice and peace. these include authentic conversion, the celebration of the sacrament of penance, the spirituality of communion, the inculturation of the 12 myers, a. c. sanctify, consecrate. the eerdmans bible dictionary. eerdmans: grand rapids, 1987, p. 493. 13 lumen gentium 44 14 lumen gentium 42 15 perfectae caritatis 5 16 obiefuna, b. a. c. and kanu, a. i. inculturation as the reconciliation of cultures: implications from africae munus. in luke, e. i., audu, s. and acha, a. (eds.). the church in africa: witness to justice, peace and reconciliation; a post-synodal reflection and reception. 2013, p. 215 17 pope benedict xvi, africae munus. post-synodal apostolic exhortation. kenya: paulines, 2011, no. 14-96. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 66 gospel, the protection of life, migrants, displaced persons, refugees, the good governance of states, and ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue especially with traditional religions and islam18. in part two19, all members of the church are invited to contribute to communion and peace in the church and in society. it also identifies areas for the apostolate: the church as the presence of christ, the world of education, healthcare and the communications media. the exhortation opens a horizon of hope to africa which, by welcoming jesus christ, must free itself from the forces which paralyze it20. according to nicola eterovic, as a document, it offers the church in africa practical guidance and suggestions for pastoral activity over coming decades. these practical guidance and suggestions, he lists as follows, 1. evangelization ad gentes, the announcement of the gospel to those who still do not know jesus christ, is still of vital importance in africa. it is a pastoral priority which involves all african christians. 2. ordinary evangelization must be increasingly promoted in the various particular churches, through commitment to fostering reconciliation, justice and peace. 3. there is also an urgent need to work for the new evangelization in africa, especially among people who have distanced themselves from the church or who do not behave in a christian fashion. african christians, and in particular the clergy and consecrated persons, are likewise called to support new evangelization in secularized nations. this is an exchange of gifts, because african missionaries are already at work in countries which once produced missionaries who went forth to announce the good news in africa. 4. saints, people reconciled with god and neighbor, are exemplary heralds of justice and apostles of peace. the church – all of whose members are called to sanctity – must discover fresh ardour, the ardour of the many saints and martyrs, confessors and virgins of the african continent, devotion to whom should be renewed and promoted (cf. am 113). 5. in order to find further examples of sanctity, also obtaining new intercessors in heaven, pastors of the particular churches are encouraged ‘to recognize among servants of the gospel in africa those 18 obiefuna, b. a. c. and kanu, a. i. inculturation as the reconciliation of cultures: implications from africae munus. p. 215 19 pope benedict xvi, africae munus. post-synodal apostolic exhortation. kenya: paulines, 2011, nos. 97-177 20 obiefuna, b. a. c. and kanu, a. i. inculturation as the reconciliation of cultures: implications from africae munus.p. 215 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 67 who could be canonized according to the norms of the church’ (am 114). 6. the bonds of communion between the holy father and the bishops of africa must be strengthened, as must the bonds among africa bishops themselves, at the national, regional and continental level. 7. it is considered important ‘for the bishops to help support, effectively and affectively, the symposium of bishops’ conferences of africa and madagascar (secam) as a continental structure of solidarity and ecclesial communion’ (am 107). 8. for a deeper appreciation of the mystery of the eucharist and to increase eucharistic devotion, emphasis is given to the synod fathers’ proposal to celebrate a continental eucharistic congress (cf. am 153). 9. african countries are encouraged to ‘celebrate yearly ‘a day or week of reconciliation, particularly during advent or lent” (am 157). 10. in agreement with the holy see, secam may contribute to promoting ‘a continent-wide year of reconciliation to beg of god special forgiveness for all the evils and injuries mutually inflicted in africa, and for the reconciliation of persons and groups who have been hurt in the church and in the whole of society’ (am 157)21. this notwithstanding, anthony akinwale avers that the essence of munus africae for africans is to allow the grace of god to reconcile us to god and to one another. empowered by this grace, we are to strive for “that inner purification of man which is the essential prior condition for building justice and peace.” we assume the task of reconciliation, justice and peace when we cooperate with the grace of god in christ who re-establishes humanity in the father through the forgiveness of sins, forming a renewed human community characterized by restoration of relationships, settlement of differences and removal of obstacles to the personal and communal experience of god’s love22. africae munus and consecrated persons in part two, chapter one, number one of africae munus, the roman pontiff, pope benedict xvi focused on consecrated persons. the concern of the section of this work, which is the heart of it, is to focus on the relevance of africae munus to consecrated persons. here, a couple of points would be raised in this regard: consecrated persons as prophetic witnesses, faithful adherence to the 21 nicola eterovic, key ideas and summary of africae munus. retrieved from newswire.crs.org/key-ideas-and-summary-of-africae-munus-the-pledge-f... 22 anthony akinwale, the wisdom of africae munus. retrieved from tonyakinwale.com/papers/g7.doc. p. 3. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 68 charism of founders and foundresses and national and continental conferences. 1. consecrated persons as prophetic witnesses by virtue of their calling as consecrated persons, the religious are prophets in a preeminent manner23. the scripture speaks of the prophetic ministry in relation to the word of god and worship. the emphasis on the word of god is because the word of god is an agent of the revelation of god’s will for mankind24. the second vatican council document speaks of the prophetic character of consecrated persons when it says that they belong essentially to the charismatic nature of the church25. an intimate relationship with god opens the prophet to the knowledge and ways of god granted only to a few. with such knowledge, the prophet can interpret the word of god in the daily events of life26. the roman pontiff establishes a relationship between the evangelical counsels and the prophetic character of consecrated persons: “through the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience, the life of consecrated persons becomes a prophetic witness. hence they can be examples in the area of reconciliation, justice and peace, even in circumstances marked by great tension. community life shows us that it is possible to live as brothers and sisters, and to be united even when coming from different ethnic or racial backgrounds (cf. ps 133:1). it can and must enable people to see and believe that today in africa, those men and women who follow christ jesus find in him the secret of living happily together: mutual love and fraternal communion, strengthened daily by the eucharist and the liturgy of the hours”27. from the foregoing, it is obvious that consecrated persons are not prophets by virtue of their consecration alone, it is a life that is lived out in concrete historical circumstances. they must be living examples to the world they have been called to change, especially in the area of reconciliation, justice and peace. they should be able to live together in mutual love and fraternal communion as brothers and sisters in a world where sectionalism and 23 mary-sylvia nwachukwu, consecrated: a vision of religious life from the point of view of the sacred. lagos: change publications, 2010, p. 76 24 eichrodt, w., theology of the old testament 2. london: scm, pp. 72-73. 25 lumen gentium 44 26 mary-sylvia nwachukwu, consecrated: a vision of religious life from the point of view of the sacred. lagos: change publications, 2010, p. 84 27 pope benedict xvi, africae munus. post-synodal apostolic exhortation. kenya: paulines, 2011, nos. 19. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 69 tribalism has destroyed the future of many innocent men and women. this must be renewed on the fire of prayer. if this is lacking, consecrated persons would fail in the prophetic character of their calling. 2. faithful adherence to the charism of founders and foundresses by the charism of the founder or foundress, it is meant the special communication of grace, granted directly by the spirit to an individual, in order to empower that person to found a religious institute and to configure its shape and identity28. the second vatican council document asserts that the religious life proceeds from a charism given to the church so that various members of the faithful can live their christian existence in a state of life that imitates and represents the lifestyle that jesus chose for himself and proposed to his followers29. through its charism, the particular congregation expresses and realizes the total and exclusive giving of oneself to god and to god’s plan of salvation for humankind30. the religious life therefore, has its origin in a charism, which is a constitutive part of the charismatic dimension of the church. another integrating and distinctive part of the charism of religious life is the dimension of community31. it is an essential element that represents the life of the apostles with jesus. the charism of religious life, and the vocation that it brings with it, has a missionary, apostolic-prophetic and eschatological dimension: it bears witness to the life of jesus and to the gospel and, moreover, manifests the good things of heaven. it proposes a new and eternal life won by the redemption of christ and it prefigures the future resurrection and the glory of the heavenly kingdom. “dear consecrated persons, may you continue to live your charism with truly apostolic zeal in the different fields indicated by your founders or foundresses! thus you will be all the more vigilant in keeping your lamps alight! your founders and foundresses wanted to follow christ truly and respond to his call. the different good works that came about as a result are gems that adorn the church. you must therefore carry them on by 28 the expression charism of the founder does not refer to a personal charism. that expression summarizes what some theologians call the founder charism (grace for founding) and the charism of the founder (to configure the shape and spirituality of the institute). 29 lumen gentium 44 30 lumen gentium 43-44 and perfectae caritatis 1 31 canon 607. 2 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 70 following as faithfully as possible the charism of your founders, their ideas and their vision. here i would like to emphasize the important role of consecrated persons in the life of the church and in her missionary endeavour. they are a necessary and precious aid to the church’s pastoral activity but also a manifestation of the deepest nature of our christian vocation.”32. there are times when circumstances and persons, most times out of ignorance of the religious life may try to redirect consecrated persons in a direction away from their particular charism, the holy father appeals that consecrated persons stick to their particular charism. for the charism of a religious institute gives her identity and thus authenticity. only then can she truly be a germ that adorns the church. 3. national and continental conferences the holy father has called for the different institutes of consecrated life and societies of apostolic life to come together in solidarity to deal with common concerns, with proper cooperation with the bishop’s conference. he wrote: “the meetings of the different national conferences of major superiors and those of comsam help pool your reflections and resources, not only in order to pursue the goals of the various institutes, while preserving their autonomy, character and individual spirit, but also to help deal with common concerns in a climate of fraternity and solidarity. it is fitting to foster an ecclesial spirit based on a sound coordination and proper cooperation with the bishops’ conferences”33. in this area of concern, the conference of major superiors of nigeria has achieved a lot. the conference has an annual general assembly of the conference of major superiors of nigeria, during which the two conferences, male and female meet separately and together to discuss issues that affect the conference as a whole and the concerns of her particular members. the members of the executive council meet at least twice a year to concretize the solutions proffered to problems and to articulate the position of the conference. the conference also meets with the catholic bishops conference 32 pope benedict xvi, africae munus. post-synodal apostolic exhortation. kenya: paulines, 2011, no. 118 33 pope benedict xvi, africae munus. post-synodal apostolic exhortation. kenya: paulines, 2011, no. 120 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 71 of nigeria once in two years in mutual relations, to discuss issues that border on the relationship of the dioceses and the institutes of consecrated life and societies of apostolic life. the conference also has justice and peace initiative (jpi), a body that promotes justice, peace and reconciliation. at the continental level, comsam conferences are organized which brings major superiors from different countries to share experiences and learn from one another. conclusion when the holy father speaks to consecrated persons as agents of evangelization, he sees the state of the consecrated as dynamic rather than passive. africae munus understands the divine call of the consecrated as a call to liberation, which is most characteristic of all the divinely chosen. our ‘chosenness’ makes us occupy a position of spiritual leadership that must be characterized by justice, peace and reconciliation. this also encompasses other divine virtues like love, compassion, forgiveness, mercy etc. the roman pontiff therefore reminds consecrated persons that they are at the heart of god’s life, particularly at the heart of the ministry of jesus christ, and this mission is about creating models of reconciled and liberating communities for the world. this witness has become urgent in the face of the religio-cultural and political crises that have besieged africa for quite some time now. the spiritual leadership of consecrated persons is therefore to shape human history, precisely, the history of africa. for a liberative spiritual leadership would create a positive history. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 3 special edition igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 41 african culture as a basis for ecumenism by b. a. c. obiefuna department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe university, awka anambra state nwaozaku@yahoo.com & kanu, i. a. department of religion and cultural studies veritas university of nigeria, abuja abuja ikee_mario@yahoo.com abstract ecumenism is a process by which christian churches that had been separated by doctrinal, social, ethnic, political and institutional factors move towards cooperation and unity, by mutual understanding and respect through dialogue. this piece argues that the foundation of this dialogue must be anchored on the foundation of what is really common to all or is acceptable by all. it further argues that the african culture, which has given churches in africa a distinctive identity, can serve as a basis for ecumenism. thus, particular beliefs in the religious, religio-social, religio-cultural and religio-moral spheres of african traditional belief system can serve as a common ground for ecumenical dialogue. keywords: ecumenism, african, african, culture, basis, church, christian, social, cultural, moral. introduction a cursory glance at the historical commitment of the catholic church towards ecumenism reveals that since 325 ad, beginning with the ecumenical council of nicaea, through the lateran ecumenical council of 1179 to the first and second vatican councils of 1869-1970 and 1962-1965 respectively, amounting to 21 ecumenical councils in the historical evolution of the ecclesia, reveals that the church, is truly, in a theological sense, ‘an ecumenical council formed in response to the divine convoking’; and in fact beck (1975) wrote that “the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 42 catholic church as the church of all would in fact be unfaithful to itself if it were to take the divisions of christendom simply as a fact about which nothing can be done” (p. 420). this notwithstanding, the church’s modern commitment to ecumenical dialogue is based on the rediscovery of shared experiences among christian denominations as well as the common prayer for the holy spirit’s gift of unity to the church. kilcourse (2003), avers that this is very significant as it serves as a ground of truth that transcends the historic divisions among churches, which are inherited misconceptions and misunderstandings, which has concealed god’s gift of unity, to a convergence and consensus on the truth of faith. while this piece concerns itself with ecumenism, its burden is on how african culture can contribute to the enhancement of ecumenical dialogue among churches in africa. beyond the immediate teachings of scripture and the traditions of christianity, the tenets of african culture, that are in agreement with christian teachings which are acceptable by christian churches in africa are employed to serve as a basis for christian communion. the meaning and nature of ecumenism ecumenism is derived from the greek word oikoumene, which means “the whole inhabited world”, and was specifically used in reference to the roman empire. from the etymology, ecumenical vision will encompass both the search for the visible unity of the church (eph 4:3) and the whole inhabited earth (mt 24:14). however, it is a process by which christian churches that had been separated by doctrinal, social, ethnic, political and institutional factors move towards cooperation and unity, by mutual understanding and respect through dialogue. stransky (1995) avers that it is an unceasing search to draw all christians together through the renewal of the churches in other to manifest the unity that christ wills for his one and only church, and the obligation of the church to proclaim the gospel to the world, as a servant to both the gospel and the world. he further wrote that, “unity is not uniformity but a diversity of theological expressions and forms of ecclesiastical life, rooted in different traditions and various cultural, ethnic, or historical contexts” (p. 458). this notwithstanding, christian ecumenism is treated in relation to three main divisions of christianity: roman catholic, eastern orthodox and protestants. the nature and meaning of african culture kanu (2010) avers that the african like every other human person is shaped by his culture and he contributes to the shaping and transmission of this culture. the african therefore, is a homo culturalis. the african culture generally refers to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 43 all those things which go to the refining and developing of the african’s diverse mental and psychological endowments (gaudium et spes, 1965). the word culture is so rich and all encompassing that both sociologists and anthropologists have defined in multifarious ways. adamson (1972) describes cultures as the integral system of learned behaviour patterns which are the characteristic of the members of a society and which are not the result of biological inheritance. in other words, culture does not come from human genes, but rather it is learnt and taught. this bears with the etymology of the word culture as colere, which means “to cultivate” or “to practice”. the human person is therefore the author and architect of culture. he does not participate passively in the shaping and transmitting of culture, it is an active participation. the african culture would consist of the patterns, explicit and implicit, of and for behaviour acquired by the african and transmitted by symbols. it includes the embodiments in african artefacts, the historically derived and selected traditional ideas and values. it is a way of life that is particularly african. values of african culture include: honesty and truthfulness, and the igbo put this ontological principle in the maxim: eziokwu bu ndu (truth is life), hospitality is another value, this is seen the expression that “there is no special rendezvous required to join in meal… on arrival, once there is food, the visitor is invited to eat” (iroegbu, 1994). elders in africa are esteemed as figures of wisdom; as such respect for elders is a tradition. there is respect for sacredness of life; the african believes that life is from god. this manifested in the names that the igbo people give to their children: chiwendu (god is the owner of life), chikerendu (god made life). purity of life is also valued and prized as life itself. communal life is also part of african cultural value, and this is summed up in mbiti’s popular expression “i am because we are, and since we are therefore i am” (mbiti, 1969: 104). there is also this deep sense of sensitivity towards the sacred, and expression of the african worldview in music and dance. however, following external influences on the african culture, these values have undergone some degree of modifications. ecclesia in africa and africae munus as theological foundations for an afrochristian investigation the current investigation which takes cognizance of the possibility of african culture contributing to the ecumenical process is based on the recommendations of ecclesia in africa and africae munus. in ecclesia in africa, pope john paul ii exhorted the church to discover the values of african culture, which in the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 44 contention of nkemnkia (2010) includes the profound sense of religion, the sacred, the existence of the spiritual world, of an eternal and supreme being. while encouraging this dialogue, he wrote, at all levels: between bishops, episcopal conferences or hierarchical assemblies and the apostolic see, between conferences or episcopal assemblies of the different nations of the same continent and those of other continents, and within each particular church, between the bishop, the presbyterate, consecrated persons, pastoral workers, within the same church... and other christian denominations-ecumenism. (no. 65-66). he strongly believes that a serene and prudent dialogue, especially with african traditional religion, will protect christians from negative influences, on the one hand, and foster the assimilation of positive values which are readily harmonized with the content of the christian faith, on the other hand. during the numerous apostolic journeys of pope john paul ii to africa, he has always included in his agenda a meeting with the followers of african traditional religion and has often addressed them with due respect. it is thus not surprising that he wrote, “... the adherents of african traditional religion should therefore be treated with great respect and esteem, and all inaccurate and disrespectful language should be avoided. for this purpose, suitable courses in african traditional religion should be given in houses of formation for priests and religious” (no. 67). while ecclesia in africa emphasized the need for evangelization and interreligious dialogue, africae munus puts emphasis on the evangelization of culture and emphasized interculturality and inculturation as instruments for the evangelization of culture. pope benedict xvi in africae munus recommended a profound study of african traditional religion and culture in the light of the word of god. he wrote, “in her (the church) concern for relevance and credibility, the church needs to carry out a thorough discernment in order to identify those aspects of the culture which represent an obstacle to the incarnation of gospel values, as well as those aspects which promote them” (no. 36). writing further, the roman pontiff wrote, ... in this way, the pentecost-event continuous in history, in the unity of one and the same faith, enriched by the diversity of languages and cultures. the holy spirit enables the gospel to permeate all cultures, without becoming subservient to any. bishops should be vigilant over this need for inculturation, respecting the norms established by the church. by discerning which cultural elements and traditions are contrary to the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 45 gospel, they will be able to separate the good seeds from the weeds. while remaining true to itself, in total fidelity to the gospel message and the church’s tradition, christianity will thus adopt the face of the countless cultures and peoples among whom t has found a welcome and taken root. the church will then become an icon of the future which the spirit of god is preparing for us, an icon which the church of africa has a contribution of her own to make. (no. 37). through this, the positive elements of african culture are emphasized for the fashioning of society for harmony, since these values embody traditional formulae for peaceful coexistence. the scandal of divided christendom and the betrayal of mission in the relationships among catholics, the protestants and pentecostals, there still exists mutual intolerance and unchristian forms of competition, which is the scandal of a divided christendom, running counter to scripture, one that all churches are bound to remove. there is the problem of denominations claiming to be the true church, with the conviction of being in possession of the truth, which are formulated in doctrines and propositions and taught to adherents. opponents are referred to as heretics, and each group giving much energy to the refutation of their opponent point by point. this has led to a hardening of positions and a narrower/one-sided view of reality. very recently, in fact, on sunday, 1st december 2013, pastor chris okotie, the general overseer of the house hold of god’s church and former presidential candidate, allegedly made a statement in his church in ikeja made the following statements about the catholic church, � “a counterfeit church set up by satan, bow to idols”; � “they are not christians and have never been”; � “they don’t know jesus. they believe that when they eat bread on sundays, they are eating the body of jesus. it is ritual”; � “the pope (francis) is an anti-christ and the catholic church will soon declare for satan. this is the end of times”; � “catholics will go to hell”; � “they don’t believe in heaven. they believe in purgatory. the purgatory that they invented”; � “the church has been there for satan and at the right time they will declare for satan”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 46 such statements among others, that many christian denominations make on the television about fellow christian faiths have become increasingly very common among church leaders who are scouting for members or to retain their members. there are questions of mixed marriages and denominational schools which have not been properly solved. there is a disorganized collaboration in theology. there are different translations of the bible which could have been done in common as encouraged by pope paul vi. there is an unfair exploitation of conversions for propaganda purposes by all sides, which can well be avoided. unless different churches come together, they cannot serve as the conscience of secular society. only then can they intervene in society in favour of peace, the abolition of racial discrimination, the pursuit of social justice, the eradication of nationalist prejudices and the protection of the poor and the weak. divided christendom as an imported schism a cursory glance at the origins of schisms in the history of christianity reveals that they were ready-made in europe and imported to africa. the first division of christianity took place in 1054, between the east and the west. it had deep cultural undertone, the east was greek with its base in constantinople and the west latin with its base in rome. when pope leo ix excommunicated the patriarch of constantinople, it was misinterpreted as the excommunication of the entire greek church. thus, the church of constantinople broke away from the church of rome, with the churches in bulgaria, serbia and russia doing likewise. in 1517, martin luther launched an attack on the doctrine of the church through his 95 theses. when the pope announced his position as heretical, luther reacted by denying the infallibility of the pope. this dispute, according to gbenda (2001) led to anglicanism in england, lutheranism in germany, zwinglianism in switzerland, presbyterianism in scotland, congregationalism in england, baptist and methodist in holland. in the early part of the 20th century emerged pentecostalism out of wesleyan holiness movements in the united states of america, which emphasized the pentecost experience. none of these breakages or schisms occurred in africa, neither were people of african descent involved. when missionaries came into africa, they imported them as european grown products, and africans started becoming schismatics without even knowing how it began. when the methodists came, they converted some africans into their schism group, the lutherians, the anglicans etc did the same. like the colonial masters who divided africa into patchworks for their own personal interest, these missionaries tore africa into piece for the extension of their schismatic groups. all these missionary groups came with different worldviews that were igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 47 dictated by the particular mission, which began to clash. african communities that were bound by culture and tradition were divided into groups and even fought one another on the basis of faith differences. sometimes a faith that many africans did not and have not yet understood. parameters in african culture for ecumenical dialogue before the advent of christianity, african traditional religion was already inexistence and practiced among africans. it was their religion, and formed the background for their interpretation of reality. this is not in any way to assert that african traditional religion is superior to christianity, but only to observe that african traditional religion, no matter the degree of conversion to christianity, remains a denominator in the religious experience of all africans. onaiyekan (2013) observes that even though some parts of africa, like egypt and ethiopia came into contact with christianity during the early part of the first century of the christian era, the earliest documented appearance of christianity in the geographical area we now called nigeria dates only to the 2nd half of the 15th century. it is from this background that elements of african traditional thought are employed as a common denominated for ecumenical dialogue, even though divided by a variety of faith. 1. africa’s sense of the sacred and mystery in africa, there is widespread belief in a supreme god, unique and transcendent. africans have a sense of the sacred and a sense of mystery; there is high reverence for sacred places, persons and objects; sacred times are celebrated. it is difficult to separate the life of the african from his personal inclination to the divine. it is in this regard that he does everything with the consciousness of god. mbiti (1969) puts this succinctly, wherever the african is, there is his religion. he carries it to the fields where he is sowing seeds or harvesting new crop, he takes it with him to a beer parlour or to attend a funeral ceremony; and if he is educated, he takes religion with him to the examination room at school or in the university; if he is a politician, he takes it to the house of parliament. (p. 2) in the contention of njoku (2004), this aspect of the african’s daily life was such that he had many taboos to observe, and many daily rituals to perform, either to appease the community or the divinities. if he was not an indirect or unconscious slave of the dominant conscious, he held perpetual allegiance to one divinity or another. if he was ‘free’ with men, he was not free with nature or his igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 48 environment. suppose community and environment allow him to live his life with fewer burdens, he would still have to pay the debts owed by his past ancestors. this sense of sacredness and mystery provides a ground, at least for african indigenous missionaries to come together for ecumenical dialogue. there is harmonious interplay between the decalogue and the african moral code. in view of the first decalogue which makes us duty bound to god, african ethics similarly has an unreserved respect for the divine. his everyday life is pervaded by the thoughts of the sacred. 2. africa’s ancestor worship african's great value of ancestor worship. "everywhere the african is first defined by reference to his ancestor" (maquet, 1972). the ancestors, "living or dead" are the great intermediaries between the african great god (with different names in different african nations). according to kanu (2011), on becoming a christian, the african easily sees christ, the only mediator between god and man, as "a proto-ancestor." this interpretation is advanced by african theologians in their effort to africanize the church or incarnate christianity in the local culture. 3. africa’s sense of hospitality the african sense of ‘hospitality’ is one of the values that are still quite alive. hospitality is a duty and is the most common value in african traditional religion. between kith and kin and people of the same clan there is a very strong sense of sharing and of solidarity and belonging. efforts are made to secure and promote justice and peace within the community. the nuclear family and the extended family have been the pivots of the african social system. respect for authority, sanctioned by the ancestors, is strong and represents the common will. the poor and the sick are taken care of; widows and orphans are looked after. africans are generally known to be hospitable and accommodating. visitors are well received and treated, with the african conviction that visitors are bearers of blessing and as such whoever welcomes a visitor welcomes peace. everyone is a potential visitor because the host today may become the visitor to the hosted tomorrow, and sharing of meals is not usually preceded by notification (ujah, 2007). ireogbu (1994) views the african spirit of hospitality thus, no special rendezvous is required to join in a meal in another family one has just visited during a meal. on arrival, once there is food, the visitor is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 49 invited is invited to eat. he or she is treated is kindly, just as one would like to be treated when visiting another home. sharing with a needy neighbour who comes for assistance is a value that is highly cherished in african culture (p. 88). the christian scripture advises that “let your foot be seldom in your neighbour’s house lest he become weary and hate you” (prov 25:17). this passage of scripture encourages hospitality, however it warns against those who take advantage of people’s hospitality. 4. respect for elders elders are seen as both spiritual and moral guides who are endowed with wisdom; that is why it is said that “what an elder sees when he is seated, a child cannot see even when he is standing”. this respect is not only restricted to the elders within one’s area but to all elders, wherever they are met. it is in this regard that nwako (2009) said that moral values are common to all africans and that respect is given to elders irrespective of social status or position. we give them their due respect because they are the custodians of traditional norms and customs. in the yoruba culture, prostration before an elder is a form of greeting, sometimes bowing and removal of caps are also signs of respect. and because of the place the african cultures gives to elders, they must make out time in the evenings to train the conscience of young men and women through proverbs, stories and folktales. through this practice, virtues are learnt by african children from their childhood. against the background of this great african value, a person is an individual to the extent that he is a member of a family, a clan or community. another great value in traditional africa is respect for old people (senior citizens), particularly one's parents, grandparents and relatives. together with this value, one must also consider "ancestor worship" as an important related value in african culture. in fact, the basis for the honour and respect accorded to old people in the traditional african culture is their closeness to the ancestors, for in his ontological conceptual scheme the african places his old relatives closest to his ancestors or dead relatives in his great hierarchy of beings. the african teaching on respect for elders also has parallels in christianity: “my son, hear the instruction of your father, and forsake not the law of your mother” (prov. 1:8). “honour your father and your mother that your days may be long upon the land which your lord your god gives you” (exo 2:12). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 50 5. the african value for life morality is another area where there is considerable parallel between christianity and african culture. this is probably due to the fact that morality flows naturally from religious creed and that man, in both the african and the christian cultures, has a hereafter whose condition is determined by the quality of one's present life. according to african culture, to gain that hereafter as a place of comfort one must behave in ways consonant with the demands of the divinities and ancestors (amucheazi, 1980). amongst the african, there is respect for life; children are treasured and abortion is an abomination. the sacredness of human life is guarded by taboos and rituals. there is respect for the dignity of man; each man has his own inalienable chi (destiny). sin is perceived in both its personal and communal dimensions. moderation in the use of alcohol is inculcated: only adults may drink. drunkenness is shameful. indeed moderation is required in every aspect of human behaviour. for christianity, as for african culture, no human action or behaviour good or bad, escapes the vigilant attention of both god and the earth god, ala respectively: they reward or punish man according to his actions, good or bad. christianity and african culture diverge from each other only in their choice of the instrument for the execution of the reward or punishment (amucheazi, 1980). africans believe that life comes from god, and as such has a transcendental dimension. the sacredness attached to life due to designation of god as its source is evident in the names igbo people give to their children: chiwendu (god is the owner of life), chikerendu (god made life), and as such in igbo traditional society igbu ochu (murder) was the greatest abomination. to kill merited either capital punishment or total banishment from the community. to touch a person’s life, starkly put, to shed blood, especially innocent blood is the greatest evil on earth, against the earth and against humanity. it is nso ala (taboo) that has the mightiest sanction in the world (ireogbu, 1994: 84). the african values the whole of creation as sacred. to him nature is neither uncanny nor for subjugation and exploitation, but something sacred, participating in the essential sacred nature of god himself and of all reality. open spaces, fields, forests, trees, oceans and lakes are sacred to him and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 51 consequently important as places reminiscent of the ashes of his fathers and the sanctuaries of his gods. the african traditional religious life has always considered all life to be the sphere of the almighty, the powerful (the otumfoo), the omnipotent (gye nyame). he is wise, and all seeing and all knowing. he is the great spider (ananse kokroko), and the ancient of days (odomankoma). life is therefore considered sacred and held in high esteem. right from the womb, life is protected and the greatest joy of a family is the birth of a child. this is why africans do all that is in their power to save life, and whatever harms life is their greatest enemy. summary and conclusion from the foregoing, this piece has studied the meaning of ecumenism is a process by which christian churches that had been separated by doctrinal, social, ethnic, political and institutional factors move towards cooperation and unity, by mutual understanding and respect through dialogue. it also studied the meaning of african culture for a better understanding and appreciation of the context of this research, and using the recommendations of ecclesia in africa and africae munus as the theological basis for the research. it further reflected on the scandal of divided christendom as a betrayal of the missionary mandate of jesus. while it accepts the need for ecumenical dialogue, it argues that the foundation of this dialogue must be anchored on the foundation of what is really common to all or is acceptable by all, precisely in africa. it discovers that the african culture, which has given churches in africa a distinctive identity, can serve as a basis for ecumenism. thus, particular beliefs in the religious, religio-social, religio-cultural and religio-moral spheres of african traditional belief system can serve as a common ground for ecumenical dialogue. references adamson, h. (1972). anthropology: the study of man, new york: mcgrahil press amucheazi, e. c. (1980). readings in social sciences. enugu: snaap. beck, h. (1975). ecumenism. in k. rahner (ed.). encyclopedia of theology: a concise sacramentum mundi (pp. 419-424). london: burns and oats. benedict xvi (2012). africae munus. india: pauline publications. gaudium et spes (1965). in a. flannery (ed). documents of the second vatican council (pp.903-1001). dublin: dominican publications. gbenda, j. s. (2001). the africanization of christinaity. nsukka: chuka educational publishers. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 52 iroegbu, p. (1994). ewisdomization of african philosophy, owerri: international universities press. john paul ii (1994). ecclesia in africa. india: pauline publications. kanu, i. a. (2010). towards an african cultural renaissance. professor bassey andah journal of cultural studies. volume 3, pp. 146-155. kanu, i. a. (2011). african traditional religion and christianity: a comparative analysis of values. journal of nigerian languages and culture, vol. 13. no. 2. pp. 177-188. kilcourse, g. (2003). ecumenism, spiritual. in m. downey (ed.). the new dictionary of catholic spirituality (pp. 334-337). bangalore: theological publications in india. kilcourse, t. f. (2003). ecumenical movement. in r. e. mcbrien, et al (eds.). encyclopedia of catholicism. london: harper collins. maquet, j. (1972). africanity: the cultural unity of black africa. new york: oxford university press. mbiti, j.s. (1969). african religions and philosophy, london: heinemann. njoku, f.o.c. (2004). development and african philosophy: a theoretical reconstruction of african socio-political economy. new england: universe. nkemnkia, m. n. (2012). from ecclesia in africa to africae munus: dialogue with followers of african traditional religion. a paper presented at a seminar on interreligious collaboration in the spirit of africae munus organised by pontifical council for interreligious dialogue at the eucharistic heart of jesus conference centre ikeja, lagos, nigeria. onaiyekan, j. c. (2013). seeking common grounds: inter-religious dialogue in africa. lagos: paulines. ujah, d. (2007). degradation of african traditional values and its impact on contemporary africans: the case study of ette, unpublished material. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 5 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 9 asouzu’s notion of unintended ethnocentric commitment as further critique of value oriented bias in inquiry by ezugwu, umezurike john department of philosophy faculty of arts university of calabar, calabar abstract the danger of ethnocentrism, and value oriented bias in inquiry has given reality a different shape, and denies the sanctity of mutual relationship and interrelatedness that suppose to exist between one another in this world. this paper argues that unintended ethnocentric commitment is the genesis of value oriented bias in inquiry, which has crippled our society today. the biased and polarized mindset of aristotle, over essence and accidents, and the mentality of other westerners, paved way for ethnocentrism and value oriented bias in inquiry, which we do experience day by day. some of the african thinkers can be charged of this ethnocentrism, hence, in their reaction to the humiliations, experienced by the westerners, who relegated african thoughts to the background, ended up introducing another strand of ethnocentrism. they presented african thoughts, as being uniquely african, thereby, elevating the word-immanent missing link to an absolute instance. asouzu’s notion of unintended ethnocentric commitment or reduction and value oriented bias in inquiry is an eye opener, over the way we comprehend reality, and mesmerize the beauty of complementarity, that should exist among realities. asouzu in his ibuanyidanda philosophy (complementary reflection) formulated the principle of integration, which states that “anything that exists serves as a missing link of reality, to unmask and checkmate ethnocentric commitment and value oriented bias in inquiry that has changed our approach to life. this paper in line with the dictates of ibuanidanda philosophy, maintains that the only way we can eschew this commitment, among ethnics, and value oriented bias in inquiry is when we retrain our minds and force them to acknowledge that (otu osisi anaghi agba mkpa) a tree cannot make a forest, and to be is not to be in isolation, but to be in collaboration and mutual relationship with others. introduction asouzu’s notion of unintended ethnocentric commitment has indeed exposed and critically assessed the value oriented bias in inquiry that exists as a result of man’s inability to reconcile opposites. what asouzu calls “ihe mkpuchi anya” (phenomenon of concealment) often deprive man, the opportunity of seeing other beings as missing links of reality. in other words, man operates within the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 10 ambience of ‘so that i may be alone’, (ka so mu di) as against ‘so that i may not be alone’ (ka so mu adina). this type of mindset (ka so mu di), which asouzu refers to as the negation of being was introduced by aristotle, who differentiated between essence and accidents, metaphysics and other sciences which he calls (ancillary sciences) in a disharmonious manner. aristotle forgot here that the meaningfulness of the essence, which he calls substance of a thing, lies on the accidents, which for him have nothing to offer. this kind of mindset can be seen in argument that science takes cognizance roots of phenomenon, and endeavour to discover its laws; art proposes to itself an end and look out for means to effect it (root 205). according to asouzu, the moment things are seen in this mode, initiated by aristotle, human consciousness is misled into believing that to be is to live in an exclusivist segregationist type of relationship; a relationship that sustained by the assumption that substance and accidents are ontologically opposing categories that exist in diverse regions of being (otuolu omalu: some unanswered question in contemporary african philosophy 43). however, the thesis of this paper is that unintended ethnocentric commitment, which is enshrined in value oriented bias, came due to man’s inability to see far, and understand that igwue buike (in group we stand to move mountain) (kanu, 3). and that urine can most likely bring more foam, when it is done in group than when it is been done by one person (agbako nwamiri onu ojia uhuhu). this paper, therefore, argues that the elevation of what we cherish and value most, at the expense of others, which for us, are nonsensical is the origin of value oriented bias in inquiry and unintended ethnocentric commitment, which often occur and reoccur each time, we are dealing with issues concerning others. asouzu’s notion of unintended ethnocentric commitment as further critique of value oriented bias in inquiry is that unintended ethnocentric commitment is high form of value oriented bias in inquiry. hence, it deals with ethnic matters, and can be said to be more hazardous than value oriented bias in inquiry. in the course of his argument, he stated clearly that both came as a result of ihe mkpuch anya (phenomenon of concealment) which often makes man to think that he can exist alone, forgetting that to be is not to be alone but to be in mutual relationship, with all the existents. in an attempt to address this bifurcation caused by unintended ethnocentric commitment, this paper recommends that we understand being not on its absolute mode but as that on account of which anything that exists serves a missing link of reality. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 11 aristotle’s ontology and the rise of ethnocentric commitment and value oriented bias in inquiry the aristotle’s ontology is polarized and dichotomized. his mindset about the world can be said to be the origin of ethnicity and values oriented bias in investigation of reality. in fact, the difficulties and the illusion created by the way he pursued metaphysics, contributed immensely to his false assumptions about reality. the sacrosanct natural rights, he accorded to metaphysics is the genesis of ethnocentricism and value oriented bias in inquiry that exist in the world today. he sees metaphysics as a science that supersedes other sciences, both in eminence and grandeur. for him, therefore, others are ancillary sciences that contribute little or none in the society. he captures the relationship between metaphysics and others sciences with the imagery of the relationship between the master and the mechanic, the wise and the unwise, the essential and the accidental, the leader and the led (ezugwu, 42-43). he observes that: the master workers in each craft are more honorable and know in a truer sense and are wiser than the manuer workers, because they know the causes of the things that are done… the man of experience is thought to be wiser than the possessors of any sense perception whatever, the artists wiser than the men of experience, the master worker than the mechanic and the theoretical kinds of knowledge to be more of the nature of wisdom than the productive (aristotle metaphysics bka). it is obvious from the point we have established here, that aristotle holds a discriminatory kind of mindset, which makes us to think always that the wise are destined to rule the unwise, and the master to command and control the slave forever, without the reverse, being the case a times. when this type of mindset is applied to societal or ethnic relationship, the mind clings to the most desired and valued, and abandons others. this easily induces the mind to tend towards ethnocentrism. aristotle’s mindset has actually made so many persons to derail from justice. today, things are not done the way they ought to be done, rather, they operate within the ambience of “is proposition”, full of deceits and problems. asouzu in his book titled ibuanyidanda: new complementary ontology, accuses aristotle of being the major instigator of ethnocentric reduction. hence aristotle introduced a type of mindset that would determine the way most westerners igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 12 think, and seek to achieve their desires. following the dictates of aristotle’s approach to reality, the mind would be inclined to create a picture of human interpersonal relationship, where some human beings are perceived as essential and others merely as accidental and inconsequential (145). in addition, asouzu captures that if a system is constituted of units, the realization of the interests of the units can hardly be achieved, where the actors act in a way that negates the fact of a necessary link joining all stakeholders. this necessary link has the character of a higher principle of integration on the basis of which equity and justice can be guaranteed for all (re-ethicizing the minds: cultural revival in contemporary thought 68). aristotle instigating a kind of tone concerning the nature of metaphysics in comparison to the rest of the sciences, substances and accidents, masters and the slaves, initiates the kind of mindset that has influenced the way science and philosophy is done in the west, and by extension africa. the value oriented bias initiated by ramose, fanon, padmore, iroegbu, garvey, tempels, lumumba, ernest gellner, mill, max webber, kagame and nwala, could be attributed to categorization and polarization introduced by aristotle. more so, this paper will look at the implications of ethnocentric commitment that have thwarted, the way we reason and do things nowadays. ethnocentric commitment and its implications ethnocentric commitment has a lot of negative implications. asouzu holds that it is the tendency of the mind to cling to those nearest to it, and seeks to protect their interest, against what it perceived as the external order (the method and principles of complementary reflection in and beyond african philosophy 69). in other words, ethnocentric commitment arises from the mind is tendency to misunderstand or place its ethnic belongings beyond all other ethnics and their possessions. when there is consistent and dogged commitment to a philosophy of essence and the accidents are chastised and reprimanded, what asouzu calls unintended ethnocentric commitment emerges (ibuanyidanda: and the philosophy of essence 24). this kind of ethnocentric commitment can be seen in the way african philosophy is done today. so many african philosophers, in reaction to the problems brought in by the colonial masters, and so many others, within and outside africa, and their denial of the existence of african philosophy, ended up igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 13 elevating the world immanent missing link to an absolute instance. here, asouzu in his book tilted ibuaru: heavy burden of philosophy beyond african philosophy, identifies ethnocentric commitment or bias which have befallen african philosophy and beyond as a heavy burden (10). this often emerges as a result of our instinct of self preservation, which always deceives us to see reality in a polarized and dichotomized manner, and operate within the ambience of the super maxim, the nearer the better and the safer. ozumba and chimakonam note that the seed of polarization and fragmentations of human society into antagonistic factions were sown by man himself. this has led to several wars, alliances, migrations, miscegenations and pockets of human societies, each seeking autonomy, identity, natural personality, and today we are talking of races, nations, countries, continents, unions, federations, republic etc (75). as a result of these, we see what belongs to us, as the best, while what belongs to others is useless and meaningless. this mentality is obtainable in the church, family, school and association. time without number, we often regard our thing, and despise their thing, in many occasions, seeing what belongs to us, as that which will bring progress and desired result, while what belongs to others is harmful, full of bewilderment and can yield ugly result. (ezugwu 64). asouzu writes thus: since we tend to act under this impulse of our primitive instinct of self preservation always and often unintentionally, one can say that in most multicultural and multiethnic contexts, there is often the tendency for the mind to act in an unintended ethnocentric fashion, in view of securing certain interests and privileges it defines as very important for the inner circle (ibuanyidanda: new complementary ontology 130). a lot of people have disallowed their minds to undergo what asouzu calls noetic propaediatic. this is a process where the mind is retrained, renewed and reeducated, to acknowledge that anything that exists serves a missing link of reality, and that anything that has head, has a tail end. for asouzu, the tendency to act from ethnic commitment can be said to be one of the major causes of conflict in our society, and one that influences greatly the way we do philosophy and science (ibuanyidanda: new complementary ontology 130). what other people are doing is thought to be nonsense, and has little or no value to contribute to what we are doing ourselves. this gives rise to the value oriented bias in inquiry, which has engulf the interrelatedness and mutuality that suppose to exist igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 14 between one and another, essence and accidents, the rich and the poor, as well as the westerners and the africans. value oriented bias in inquiry and its implications value oriented bias in inquiry occurs as a result of the concealment (ihe mkpuchi anya) that often make us to think and instinctively assume that those nearest to us are our only true friends, what is immediately projected into our consciousness are often: people from our ethnic groups, those who belong to our race and communities, people from our clan, our tribe, people from our nation, those who share like values and cultural identities with us or people who share same bond of intimacy with us (asouzu ibuanyidanda: excerpt from online dictionary of intercultural philosophy 21). this kind of value oriented bias in inquiry can be seen in the debate between the social scientists and that of natural scientists. lesnoff argues vehemently that the model of natural science “is inapplicable in the social sciences because the existence of social facts always implies the existence of mental states, intensions, purposes, beliefs, expectations and awareness of rulers which are not observable by empirical method (188). in line with this, nagel observes that when purposive human action is being analyzed by social scientists, value judgment is bound to come into what was supposed to be “purely descriptive” or factual statements (406-407). therefore, value-natural social science is impossible. akpan on the contrary, captures that human nature and his existential situation shows that man naturally places more premium on values that can satisfy his needs and desires whether in politics, economics, religion, etcetera (140). furthermore, this mentality that is enshrined with the instinct of self preservation and we-them-spirit is the root of value oriented bias in inquiry that has endangered, the way we look at reality. the value oriented bias can be noticeable in the works of some african thinkers such as consciencism of nkurumah, bantu ontology of tempels, ujama socialism of nyerere, neowelfarism of azikiwe and the substance of african philosophy by momoh. these aforementioned claims by the above african thinkers can be seen as thoughts that ignite value oriental bias in inquiry, which do not create way for obi/mmuo eziokwu, for the humanization of facts and principles of realities. here, the need to x-ray the asouzu’s notion of unintended ethnocentric commitment as further critique of value oriented bias in inquiry arises. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 15 asouzu’s notion of unintended ethnocentric commitment as further critique of value oriented bias in inquiry here, it is germane to note that asouzu considers unintended ethnocentric commitment, more dreadful and severe, than that of value oriented bias in inquiry. hence, the former is dealing directly with the impact of clannish and ethnic mentalities on inquiry, which have the capacity to complicate coexistence of peoples in a world of globalization (ibuanyidanda: and the philosophy of essence 24). unintended ethnocentric commitment arises, in such a relationship where the point of reference for personal awareness is lacking, at this point, the self remains locked up in itself. the liberation of the self from the limitations imposed by self, within a human framework, becomes a methodological task that can only be accomplished and regained, genuinely too, through a methodical weconsciousness or the consciousness of the other self (asouzu effective leadership and the ambivalence of human interest 121). what asouzu is pointing out here is that unintended ethnocentric commitment came as a result of the self centeredness in our value system of inquiry. and that we can be healed of this bias in inquiry, when we understand that to be is not to be alone, and treat others, bearing in mind, the mutual relationship that suppose to exist among realities, and remain in communion with them. according to asouzu, since human beings often seek to carve out riches for themselves in view of upholding privately motivated interests, they are easily also drawn, quite instinctively, to all the attractions of an exclusivist bifurcating ontology or metaphysics of essence (atuolu omalu: some unanswered questions in contemporary african philosophy 43-44). on this note, one enjoys safe guarding what belongs to him than what belongs to others. the implication of this is that one gets himself involved in segregation, bifurcation, and holds what he values at high esteem, and defend it, even at the expense of others, he does not value. this mindset is applicable in tempel’s philosophy that describes africans as having vague idea of the supreme being. and not being able to distinguish between good and evil but the westerners can (116). unintended ethnocentric commitment as a high form of value oriented bias in inquiry operates within the sphere of negligence and forgetfulness. here, the value of a thing lies strongly on individual and not the group. asouzu’s notion of unintended ethnocentric commitment as further critique of value oriented bias in inquiry brings to bear, the concealment that has beclouded our mode of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 16 operation in inquiry. his ibuanyidanda philosophy recognizes the fact that all missing links are windows of reality, and the way we manage them determine the level of truth we arrive at (94). as a matter of fact, we cannot claim to have gotten it all, unless we allow our minds to operate in keeping with the dictates of what asouzu calls “the transcendent categories. here, being is grasped in its fragmentation, unity, totality, universality, comprehensiveness, wholeness and future reference”. it is only through these that the value oriented bias in inquiry, which has eluded our minds, in pursuit of reality, can be checked properly. at this point, the social scientists will not differentiate themselves completely from the natural scientists nor the westerners, seeing themselves, as the real people while the africans are chaffs and artificial in nature. the essence will appreciate the existence of the accidents and vice versa. when there is harmony between these opposites, the tendency of the mind to be led astray to ethnocentric commitment, which gives rise to value oriented bias in inquiry, will be impossible. this is because, the harmonizing faculty will be in check of all forces that tends towards bifurcation and exclusiveness, and at the same time, guard against this phenomenon of concealment, which many a times, stops the mind from reasoning beyond itself. the mind often forget that the joy of being lies on its limitations, and not in absolute fragments, which discard peace, platform of comprehensiveness, universality and global mindset. evaluation and conclusion unintended ethnocentric commitment arises due to the type of special allegiance we sense within us towards our races, ethnic groups, tribal groups and most things to which we have special feeling of intimate belongingness (asouzu ibuanyidanda: complementary reflection and some basic philosophical problems in africa today 41). the impact of aristotle’s ontology and his bifurcative mindset, over realities, could be said to be what ushered in ethnocentrism and value oriented bias in inquiry. for him, essence can exist without the accidents but the accidents cannot exist without the essence. he equally differentiated between the masters and the slaves. the slaves will continually take order from their masters and remain subordinate to them forever. this is applicable to men and women. according to him, women will remain being servants to the men. this polarized mindset about realities is the origin of ethnocentric commitment and value oriented bias that we often find in all our endeavors today. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 17 moreover, aristotle forgot that to be is not to be alone, but to be in complementarity and harmonious relationship with all the existed realities. in other words, one can be claimed to be in control or define the essence of his existence, if and only if, he exists, alongside with other existents, and appreciates the igbo aphorism, which say that “if the eagle perches, the kite must be allowed to perch (egbe bere ugo bere nke si ebeya ebela nkukwaya). however, it is appalling that a lot of people have failed to appreciate the dictates of ibuanyidanda philosophy or complementary reflection that took the task of redefining, refining and reconstructing our frame of thoughts, from all ethnocentric commitments and value oriented biases. the ethnocentric commitments and value oriented biases among african thinkers have forced them to elevate the so called african philosophy above the western philosophy, in reaction to the subjugation and molestation they faced in the hands of the western thinkers or colonial masters. for them, therefore, there is something uniquely african. this paper argues that this kind of mentality by some african thinkers is enmeshed in the web of polarization, and therefore, participated strongly in ethnic reduction. for asouzu, unintended ethnocentric commitment and value oriented bias in inquiry, came as a result of the inability of the mind to understand that to be is to be with others (ka so mu adina), and not to be alone (ka so mu di), which often occurs in our dealings with our fellow men. viewing reality from the perspective of this latter, terminates the interrelatedness and harmonious order that should exist among beings, but when reality is viewed using the lens of the former, the “we-them-mentality”, which brings about ethnocentric impositions, self aggrandizements and value oriented biases in inquiry, will be eliminated. references akpan, chris. “the question of value-freedom in the social sciences: a philosophical reflection”. african pentecost: journal of theology, psychology and social work. 1.2 (2008) 140-146. aristotle, metaphysica. trans w d. ross. oxford: clarendon press, 1926. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 18 asouzu, innocent. atuolu omalu: some unanswered questions in complementary african philosophy. london: university press of america, 2015. asouzu, innocent. effective leadership and ambivalence of human interest. calabar: university of calabar press, 2013. asouzu, innocent. ibuanyidanda: complementary reflection and some basic philosophical problems in africa today. berlin: litverlag gmbh & co. kg wien, 2013. asouzu, innocent. ibuanyidanda: excerpt from online dictionary of intercultural philosophy. calabar: university of calabar press, 2013. asouzu, innocent. ibuanyidanda: new complementary ontology. berlin: litverlag gmbh & co. kg wien, 2007 asouzu, innocent. ibuanyidanda: and the philosophy of essence. calabar: university of calabar press, 2011. asouzu, innocent. ibuaru: the heavy burden of philosophy beyond african philosophy. berlin: litverlag gmbh & co. kg wien, 2007. asouzu, innocent. the method and principles of complementary reflection in and beyond african philosophy. calabar: university of calabar press, 2004. botz-bornstein, thorsten and hengel brocks, jurgen. re-ethnicizing the minds: cultural revival in contemporary thought. new york: rodopi, 2006. ezugwu, umezurike. “ethnocentric bias in african philosophy vis-à-vis asouzu’s ibuanyidanda ontology”. filosofia theoretica, journal of african philosophy, culture and religions 3.1 (2014) 41-49. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. published in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 1. 3. 97-101. lesnoff, michael. “minds and social science” conceptions of inquiry (eds) stuart brown et al., london: methuen (1981) 179-189. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 19 nagel, ernest. “the value oriented bias of social inquiry”. society and the social sciences: an introduction. (ed.) david potter, et al. london: paul (1981) 406407. ozumba, godfrey and chimakonam, jonathan. njikoka amaka: further discussions on the philosophy of integrative humanism. london: 3rd logic option, 2014. root, michael. through the global lens: an introduction to the social sciences. london: pinter, 1995. tempels, placid. bantu philosophy. london: victor petrus kenppens, 1959. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 6.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 16 igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development kanu, ikechukwu anthony department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university, umunya anambra state ikee_mario@yahoo.com abstract right from traditional african philosophy, down to its modern and contemporary era, there has been a strong link between african philosophy and language, underlined by the principle of complementarity. this is not disconnected with placid tempels’ employment of force to explain being, and alexis kagame’s ntu, as the underlying principle of reality. pantaleon iroegbu explained being as belongingness. in the thoughts of innocent asouzu, ibuanyidanda, was used to explain the complementary nature of reality. in the face of ever growing complexities, african philosophers have continued to employ african categories for the search for solutions to african problems. at a time like ours when many african governments have failed in national development, especially in their ability to improve the social welfare of her people through the provision of social amenities like quality education, portable water, transportation, good roads, good medical amenities, security of lives and property, basic infrastructure, etc., this work employs igwebuike philosophy, another african category, as a framework for africa’s development. it develops a model of development which is inclusive and wholistic, and traces africa’s problem of underdevelopment to the employment of non-inclusive political and economic institutions. for the purpose of this research, the hermeneutic and wholistic indigenous method of inquiry was employed. keywords: igwebuike, philosophy, theoretical, methodological, national, development. introduction a cursory glance at the historical development of african philosophy reveals that in the past fifty years, new philosophical theories and approaches have emerged, providing alternative perspectives to the interpretation and understanding of, not just african realities but realities in general. in the philosophy of placid tempels, the father of modern african philosophy, he employed the idea of force to explain being; for alexis kagame, ntu was the underlying principle of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 17 reality. with the emergence of emmanuel ede, being was explained with the igbo word idi, and for pantaleon iroegbu, being is by belongingness. in the thoughts of innocent asouzu, ibuanyidanda, another igbo word was used to explain the nature of reality. with these developments that established a very strong connection between african philosophy and complementarity, and african philosophy and language, new perspectives have continued to emerge in the attempt to understand universal realities from an african perspective. in more recent times, igwebuike has been employed as a lens for the interpretation of reality. igwebuike is an igbo word that expresses the heart of african thought, logic and the modality of being in african philosophy1. although it is a word, it is not just a word, it carries within it an entire structure: the structure of african philosophy, traditional religion and culture. it is taken from the igbo language, and is a composite word made up of three words2. therefore, it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space3. the three words involved: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power4. thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful and can constitute an insurmountable force5. its english equivalents are solidarity and complementarity6. it is anchored on the african worldview, which is characterized by a common origin, common world-view, common language, 1kanu ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp. 59-69. 2 kanu ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as an igbo-african wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. 2017, p.52 3 kanu ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. 2017, p.127 4 kanu, ikechukwu anthony, “igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education”. published in nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. 2017, pp. 11-17. cf. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, “igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment”. published in nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. 2017, pp. 28-38. 5 kanu ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike and the logic of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. 2017, p.9 6 kanu ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike and the question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. 2017, p.78 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 18 shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny7. life is a life of sharedness8. ours are governments that have failed in national development, especially in their ability to improve the social welfare of her people through the provision of social amenities like quality education, portable water, transportation, good roads, good medical amenities, security of lives and property, basic infrastructure, etc. these are indications that the time has come for african scholars to develop a framework for africa’s development. it is in this regard that igwebuike philosophy, a wholistic indigenous model of development is employed as an alternative technique for the revisiting of the issue of underdevelopment in africa. these notwithstanding, what is development? the quest for a wholistic model of development the question of the meaning of development has become a burgeoning issue in africa, and it has attracted a retinue of theoretical perspectives from different backgrounds. these perspectives are referred to as models of development. 1. science and technology model one of the models is the reductionist concept of development, which is also known as the science and technology model. this, according to bhagavan, is based on the created impression and conviction that science and technology are the keys that unlock the door of development; thus, more scientifically and technologically advanced societies are understood as more developed than the others. it is on this basis that some countries in the world are regarded as developed, others as developing and some others as underdeveloped9. this notwithstanding, oraegbunam avers that the human person is more than science and technology, and to lock up development within the compartment of science and technology is only to limit development10. heidegger, thus, avers that science and technology is only a means to an end and not an end in itself11. while development includes science and technology, it does not have the monopoly of development. 7 iroegbu, p., metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: international universities press. 1995, p. 24 8 kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as the consumate foundation of african bioethical principles. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 2. 2016, p.41. 9 bhagavan, m. r. (1990). the technological transformation of the third world. london: zed books. 10 oraegbunam, i. k. e. (2009). journal of the nigerian philosophical association. 5. 6. pp. 56-81. 11 heidegger, m. (1977). the question concerning technology. new york: harper and row. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 19 2. economic model economism has also associated development with economic growth. this perspective is evident in karl marx who argued that the economy of a nation is the substructure upon which other structures rest. as such, once there is a positive change in the gross national product (gdp) of a nation, it is said to be developed, and when it is contrary, the country is said to be underdeveloped. the association of economic growth with development has led to what kim refers to as a cult of money and the dehumanization of the human person. it was this inordinate and reckless drive for development that led to the slave trade and colonialism12. in the name of boosting economic growth humanity was dehumanized. development cannot be anti-people; for development is for the human person. 3. secularist and historicist model the secularist and historicist model of development is associated with the dawn of modernism, animated by the cartesian anthropological philosophy, which overthrew the theocentricism of the medieval world, giving birth to practical philosophies that undermined religious and supernatural realities and authorities. this perspective is the basis for enlightenment, agnosticism and atheism. its proponents strongly believe that development is predicated on autonomy rather than hegemony. this perspective features prominently in the philosophies of hume, nietzsche, darwin, etc. the end result of this position is the reduction of man to a chain of evolutionary processes that are devoid of meaning. the human person becomes a kind of machine, a clock, commoditized and depersonalized in the image of a big vending machine; this diminishes his value as a human person. it, therefore, becomes very difficult to reduce development to such a perspective. 4. igwebuike model of development the foregoing models can be categorized as reductionist, in the sense that they hold perspectival perspectives of the reality of development. from the perspective of igwebuike model of developemnt, reality is wholistic, and if individual, it is in relation to the other which they complement. these perspectival perspectives have created a rowdy atmosphere in the economy of 12 kim, r. (1982). development that is total and human. origins. 11. 8. 122. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 20 development13. in the midst of the multiplicity of perspectives, igwebuike asserts that for development to be development, a positive change in human wellbeing is necessary14. the individual and his quality of life must be the centre of the conception of development. it is in this regard that schumacher avers that development should not start with goods, but with the people, their education, organization and discipline. it is not all about money, profit and the number of industries15. development is an overall social process including economics, social, political, cultural and moral dimensions of life16. facets of national development development is not only economic in character, because there can be economic growth without development, especially if the majority of the people did not 13 eliot, c. (1971). the development debate. london: scm. 14onwuliri, c. e.c. (2008). the church as an agent of progress and development. in i. onyeocha (ed). the church as agent of progress and development, cip jubilee essays (pp. 70-83). owerri: imo state university press. 15 schumacher, e. f. (1975). small is beautiful: a study of economics as if people mattered. london: scm. 16 schumacher, e. f. (1975). small is beautiful: a study of economics as if people mattered. london: scm. political economic social cultural moral religious biological science/technolo gy development (national development) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 21 benefit from it17. onwuliri, thus opines that development goes beyond the narrow lines of economic and material advancement18. development is a multidimensional process involving the totality of man in his political, economic, psychological, social relations, among others19. development is not a completed affair, it is an ongoing process. three concepts necessary for the understanding of development from the igwebuike perspective is: the centrality of the human person in development; the wholistic nature of development; and the ongoing or process nature of development. the paradox of poverty in the midst of abundance africa is a country that is richly blessed with natural renewable resources: water, forestry, fisheries, etc., and non-resources: gold, diamonds, oil, coltan, bauxite, uranium, iron ore and other valuable resources, yet the wealth of africa does not make africans wealthy. its inhabitants have long been numbered among the world’s poorest. for instance, in the democratic republic of congo, the country holds natural resources worth trillions of dollars but the population is blighted with extreme poverty and violence. 17nwajiuba (1999). “the relationship between material social status and academic performance of secondary school students in owerri educational zone”. med thesis, department of educational foundations and administration, imo state university owerri. 18 onwuliri, c. e.c. (2008). the church as an agent of progress and development. in i. onyeocha (ed). the church as agent of progress and development, cip jubilee essays (pp. 70-83). owerri: imo state university press. 19 kanu, ikechukwu, a. (2014). “african philosophy and the issue of development”. paripex: indian journal of research. volume. 3. issue. 7. pp. 1-5. cf. kanu, ikechukwu, a. (2014). “kinship in african philosophy and the issue of development”. published in the international journal of humanities, social sciences and education. volume. 1. issue. 9. pp. 1-6. cf. kanu, ikechukwu, a. (2014). “symbols in african philosophy and the issue of nation building”. published in the international journal of scientific research. volume. 3. issue. 9. pp. 35-37. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 22 that africa’s abundant natural resources can in so many cases have so little effect on its people’s quality of life over so many years is one of the great mysteries surrounding africa20. with all her resources, time magazine casts 20 irwin arieff, if africa is so rich, why is it so poor? http://www.passblue.com/2015/05/18/if-africais-so-rich-why-is-it-so-poor. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 23 africa in a mode that could force tears out of the eyes of any lover of the continent. “nowhere is day more vivid or night darker. nowhere are forests more luxuriant. nowhere is a continent more miserable”21. it says that “africa has become the basket case of the planet, ‘the third world of the third world’, a vast continent in free fall”22. it goes further to say that africa has posed a fresh problem for the external world because their interest in it has now become “merely charitablea matter of humanitarianism, a moral test for the west”23. under normal circumstances, natural resources boom should be a catalyst for national development, and the transformation of national economies from cottage industries to factory production, from a low value economy that relies on export of primary commodities to one with a substantial labour-intensive manufacturing base. with all the natural resources that africa possesses, none of her countries is part of the 30 richest countries in the world. they rather are competing for space in the list of the 60 poorest. how europe underdeveloped africa or how africa is underdeveloping africa? walter rodney described as “the revolutionary scholar and the scholar revolutionary, the man of great integrity and hope”24, in 1972 published the work how europe underdeveloped africa. in this wonderful piece he discussed the meaning of development, which he distinguished from underdevelopment. with this clarification of concepts, he was preparing the background for his study. he analyzed how africa developed until the 15th century before the advent of the europeans. he argued that africa contributed to european capitalist development during the pre-colonial period, and maintained that as africa contributed to european capitalist development, europe underdeveloped africa through the slave trade, stagnation of africa’s technological development, distortion of the economy and the coming of imperialism and colonialism. he discussed in chapter five, the contribution of africa to the capitalist development of europe during the colonial period, and argued that colonialism was a system for underdeveloping africa. 21 time magazine, (september 7, 1992), p.40. 22time magazine, (september 7, 1992) pp.40-41. 23 time magazine, (september 7, 1992), p. 42 24 rodney, w. (1972). how europe underdeveloped africa (pp. xi-xxx). lagos: panaf publishing. (p. xi) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 24 however, as africans discussed how europe underdeveloped africa, a new work emerged in 2010 titled: how africa underdeveloped africa. in this study, stanley, c. igwe discusses how, africa, through corruption and poor innovative value system has buried herself in poverty and underdevelopment25. this study has shifted attention from the thought of how europe underdeveloped africa to the reality of how africans are under-developing africa through corruption, illfocused leadership, war, religious crisis, etc. a couple of factors would, therefore, be discussed to show how africa is underdeveloping africa. 1. poor leadership and political institutions many african countries are ruled by narrow elites who have organized society for their own benefit at the expense of the vast majority of the african people. we have a situation where so many young people are not in the university. public health conditions are so poor that mortality rates cannot but be on the increase. mothers have to worry about the rates of infant immortality. there is no access to public amenities. roads are in bad condition; law and order is even in worse condition. crime is very high and even opening a business is to risk your life: if you do not risk armed robbery, you would go through hell in order to get the permission needed to open the business. every society functions on a set of political rules created and enforced by political institutions26. daron and james argue that: it is the political institutions of a nation that determine the ability of citizens to control politicians and influence how they behave. this in turn determines whether politicians are agents of the citizens, albeit imperfect, or are able to abuse the power entrusted to them, or that they have usurped, to amass their own fortunes and to pursue their own agendas, ones detrimental to those of the citizens27. the major reason why bad leadership continues to thrive in africa is because of bad political structures put in place by bad political leaders for a continuous accommodation of their ineptitude. if africa looks forward to development, then she must get the right leaders who can drive in that direction. 25 stanley, c. igwe, how africa underdeveloped africa. professional printers, port harcourt, 2010. pp. 11-12 26 daron acemoglu and james robinson, why nations fail: the origins of power, prosperity and poverty. profile books, london. 2012, p.42. 27 daron acemoglu and james robinson, why nations fail: the origins of power, prosperity and poverty. profile books, london. 2012, p.42. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 25 2. poor management of time in africa bbc news reported that international journalists in the uk were kept waiting by the king of ghana's largest ethnic group who was visiting alexandra palace in north london at the climax of a ghanaian trade exhibition, ghana expo 200328. the journalists had been informed that otumfuo osei tutu ii from the ashanti would arrive at the exhibition at 1100. the time was changed to 1400, but the king did not show up until two hours later when the journalists had already packed and left. the incident made the whites to remark that ‘africans are terrible time-keepers’. j. s. mbiti, an african scholar sees this differently. he writes: when foreigners, especially from europe and america see people sitting down somewhere without, evidently doing anything, they often remark, ‘these africans waste their time by just sitting down idle!’ another common cry is, ‘oh, africans are always late!’ it is easy to jump to such judgements based on ignorance of what time means to african peoples. those who are seen sitting down, are actually not wasting time, but either waiting for time or in the process of producing time29. the problem of punctuality has become so endemic that lateness to any function is accepted and explained off as 'african time’30. 'african time' is killing africa, as missed appointments, meetings or even late buses cut productivity in a region where languid tardiness is the norm31. nyasami observed that “no meaningful progress can be achieved in the absence of a well-co-ordinated programme that is managed within the specifications of time and space”32. it, therefore, cannot be denied that one of the main reasons for the continuing underdevelopment of africa is her nonchalant attitude to time. thus, victor observed that: african time lingers around like an awful smell that will just not go away. everywhere you go you see examples of tardiness that can be linked back 28 ghana expo, tuesday, 28 october, 2003, 16:03 gmt. 29 j. s. mbiti, african religions and philosophy, east african educational publishers, 1970, p. 19. 30 ghanaian chronicle (2004). progress and punctuality. retrieved 21st februay 2013. "http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-21361202_itm. 31wikipedia (2013). african time. retrieved 21st february 2013. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/african_time#cite_note-8. 32 nyasami, j. m. (2010). philosophy of development: an african perspective: reflections on why africa may never develop on the western model. kenya: consolata institute of philosophy. p. 259 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 26 to the myth of african time. what is particularly distressing is that the african time bug has arrived at many schools. as you drive past a school you see a group of children casually walking over well past the official starting time. the tragic thing about those who arrive late is that they are invariably the first to leave school for their homes. worst still, many senior officials in both politics and business seem to delight in arriving late, as if this confirmed their status. politicians habitually fail to be on time for virtually every programmeespecially given that so many of them whizz past the traffic at the flick of their blue lights and their loud sirens33. the direct consequence of africa’s attitude towards time is africa’s underdevelopment. if africa must be like other civilizations, she must change her mentality towards time. 3. religious fanaticism and fundamentalism religious fanaticism and fundamentalism has its hands on every dimension of africa, surfacing and resurfacing its ugly face on various fronts. for instance, it is in nigeria that men and women keep away from work, waiting in idleness for god’s blessings; hours upon hours that should be spent in work are spent in churches and mosques praying. it is in nigeria that you find a situation where people have no work, and salaries have not been paid, and yet billions of naira are spent on pilgrimages to saudi arabia and jerusalem. it is in nigeria that every experience is spiritualized; even laziness and the non-use of common sense is explained away as spiritual attacks, thereby creating a generation that are lazy, irresponsible, with an incapacitated ability to reason scientifically who now see god as a rewarder of mediocrity. pentecostal pastors will never talk about american scientists who are working daily and tirelessly to ensure the discovery of drugs to cure diseases that have overtaken africa. they will not talk about serena williams or chimamanda ngozi adichie or dangote aliko, etc., who have defied all odds and became successful through hardwork, creativity, etc. they will rather talk about how a girl who was unqualified for a job got the job through prayers and fasting. they would rather talk about how a man became a millionaire because he used his 33 victor, d. (2013). what is this thing called african time? retrieved 21 february, 2013. http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2010-01-21-what-is-this-thing-called-african-time. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 27 whole salary to sow a seed in the church. they would rather talk about how nameless men through paying their tithes were able to experience a business boom, or how through the laying of hands, people who didn’t study got admission into a prestigious university. we are a nation with more churches and mosques than we have schools, business institutions, hospitals, etc. and because we have refused to draw a line between religiosity and spirituality, the continuous rise in religious activities have not reflected any expected moral elevation of society. nigeria is still one of the greediest, laziest, corrupt, deceitful and hateful set of human beings on the planet earth, and yet one of the most religious. religious fundamentalism has set citizens against themselves, leading to destruction of lives and property. nigeria is a multi-religious state with muslims, christians and adherents of african traditional religion, but fundamentalism has not let nigerians realize this. ever since the 19th century, when uthman dan fodio launched a jihad on the northern part of nigeria, different islamic terrorist groups have emerged, posing a serious security challenge to nigerians. in 1980, the maitatsine radical group sprang up, bringing about devastating human and material losses. the most recent and serious is that of the boko haram sect34. they refer to themselves as jama’at ahl as-sunnah li-d-da’awati wa-li-jihad (people committed to the prophet’s teaching and jihad)35. in a confession made by nasir isiaku, a member of the boko haram sect, reported by saturday sun news paper on august 10, 2013, he described their agenda thus: our agenda is to wipe out christians; we have governors, senators as sponsors; our sponsors are past nigerian leaders; we have infiltrated the nigerian forces. we have our members in the police and the army. those members help us a lot when we want to fight; if we asked our victim: will you become a muslim or not? and he or she refuses, then, we will 34 kanu, ikechukwu a. (2017). the culture of political corruption and the emergence of terrorism in nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli and rico sneller (eds.). the root causes of terrorism: a religious studies perspective (pp. 280-291). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. 35 kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “christian-muslim relations in nigeria as a religio-political locus theologicus for misericordia vultus”. published in the harvard journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 117-128. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 28 slaughter the victim like a goat. and after killing the victim, we will collect his blood or her blood in a small cup and then drink the blood36. a nation like ours ruled by religious fanaticism and fundamentalism, will find it difficult to be ready for development. for everyone who is interested in development, he must be open to new ideas, new people and alternative models of reality. 4. corruption: the ‘african factor’ corruption is a highly complex with many different manifestations. it can be grand or petty, incidental, systematic or systemic. it can be judicial, administrative, legislative or political in nature. it can occur in the public, private or civil society sector. it can involve groups or individuals. academics from various disciplines define it in various ways: 1. "the giving, offering, or agreeing to give a benefit to an official or agent and the receiving, obtaining or agreeing to receive or attempting to obtain a benefit by a public official or agent";37 2. "the violation of formal rules governing the allocation of public resources by officials in response to offers of financial gain or political support";38 3. "the abuse of public roles or resources for private benefit";39 4. "the abuse of power, most often for personal gain or for the benefit of a group to which one owed one’s allegiance. while the term ‘corruption’ is most often applied to abuse of public power by politicians or civil servants, it describes a pattern of behaviour that can be found in virtually every sphere of life";40 5. “a symptom of something gone wrong in the management of the state where institutions designed to govern the relationships between citizens 36 nasir isiaku reported by saturday sun news paper on august 10, 2013 (pp. 12-13). 37 south african corruption act no 94 of 1992. 38 j nye, “corruption and political development: a cost-benefit analysis”, american political science review 51, 1967. 39 m johnston, “the search for definitions: the vitality of politics and the issue of corruption”. international social science journal 49, 1996, pp 321-335. 40 r stapenhurst & s kpundeh, “curbing corruption: towards a model for building national integrity”, edi development studies, world bank, 1999. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 29 and the state are used instead for the personal enrichment of public officials and the provision of benefits to the corrupt"41. from the above definitions, corruption appears to be more than bribery (to which it is often reduced in legal definitions), and relates to various forms of mismanagement, abuse or misuse of mainly public authority, office, duties, trust or resources, for private, personal or sectoral interest, benefit or gain42. the world sees africa as one party state that is led by corruption. if there is any social malaise whose notoriety hardly can be paralleled, and which bears an ignoble identity with the geographical construction otherwise known as africa, then one rarely needs a deep search to discover that which is our point of departurecorruption43. the damages it has done to the continent are astronomical. it leads to slow movement of files in offices, police extortion at tollgates and slow traffics on the highways, port congestion, queues at passport offices and gas stations, ghost workers syndrome, election irregularities, among others. even the mad people on the street recognize the havoc caused by corruption the funds allocated for their welfare disappear into the thin air44. corruption has become so institutionalized that some now accept it as the african way of doing things. people now speak of the ‘african factor’ when they speak of corruption45. those associated with criminal records are embraced by the society, while merit, honesty and integrity are hardly recognized46. in the area of election in africa, it is common site to see purchase of votes by the political class with money, promises of office or special favors, coercion, intimidation, and interference with freedom of election. votes are bought, people 41 “undp, corruption and good governance 1997”, discussion paper 3, management and governance division, bureau for policy and programme support, undp, new york, 1997. 42 kanu, ikechukwu anthony, the culture of political corruption and the emergence of terrorism in nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli and rico sneller (eds.). the root causes of terrorism: a religious studies perspective (pp. 280-291). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. 2017. 43 mordi c, & afangide f., “corruption: nigeria’s existential question”. the quest vol.2.2 june 2001-july 2002. p.21 44 victor e. dike, “corruption in nigeria: a new paradigm for effective control”. africa economic analysis. www.africaeconomicanalysis.org 45 efeturi ojakaminor, nigeria’s ghana must go republic: happenings. (ogun: ambassador publications, n.d.), p. 418 46 shehu shagari, the nigerian standard, november 1, 1983, p. 11. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 30 are killed, losers end up as the winners, and votes turn up in areas where votes were not cast47. in the area of education corruption has made africa glide precariously. endless strikes by teachers whose salaries are not paid for many months and involvement in sinister activities by students who are subjected to very harsh neglect have turned most institutions of learning into dens of potential criminals48. transparency international corruption perception index49 rank country/territory 2015 score 2014 score 2013 score 2012 score 1 denmark 91 92 91 90 1 new zealand 91 91 91 90 3 finland 90 89 89 90 4 sweden 89 87 89 88 5 norway 88 86 86 85 6 switzerland 86 86 85 86 7 luxembourg 85 82 80 80 7 singapore 85 84 86 87 9 netherlands 84 83 83 84 10 canada 83 81 81 84 11 germany 81 79 78 79 11 united kingdom 81 78 76 74 13 australia 79 80 81 85 13 iceland 79 79 78 82 15 belgium 77 76 75 75 16 austria 76 72 69 69 16 united states 76 74 73 73 18 hong kong 75 74 75 77 18 ireland 75 74 72 69 47 kanu, ikechukwu anthony, corruption in nigeria as a socio-cultural context for the extraordinary jubilee of mercy. harvard journal of management sciences and entrepreneurship. vol. 3. no. 5. pp. 191. 2017 48 kanu, ikechukwu anthony, corruption in africa and its challenges for the enterprise of christian theology. international journal of research in arts and social sciences, vol.4. p. 495. 2017 49 transparency international corruption perception index 2016. retrieved from https://www.transparency.org/cpi2015 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 31 rank country/territory 2015 score 2014 score 2013 score 2012 score 18 japan 75 76 74 74 21 uruguay 74 73 73 72 22 qatar 71 69 68 68 23 chile 70 73 71 72 23 estonia 70 69 68 64 23 france 70 69 71 71 23 united arab emirates 70 70 69 68 27 bhutan 65 65 63 63 28 portugal 64 63 62 63 29 botswana 63 63 64 65 29 poland 63 61 60 58 31 taiwan 62 61 61 61 32 cyprus 61 63 63 66 32 israel 61 60 61 60 34 malta 60 55 56 57 34 slovenia 60 58 57 61 36 lithuania 59 58 57 54 37 spain 58 60 59 65 38 czech republic 56 51 48 49 38 latvia 56 55 53 49 40 cape verde 55 57 58 60 40 costa rica 55 54 53 54 40 seychelles 55 55 54 52 43 korea (south) 54 55 55 56 43 rwanda 54 49 53 53 45 jordan 53 49 45 48 45 mauritius 53 54 52 57 45 namibia 53 49 48 48 48 georgia 52 52 49 52 48 saudi arabia 52 49 46 44 50 bahrain 51 49 48 51 50 croatia 51 48 48 46 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 32 rank country/territory 2015 score 2014 score 2013 score 2012 score 50 hungary 51 54 54 55 50 slovakia 51 50 47 46 54 malaysia 50 52 50 49 55 kuwait 49 44 43 44 56 cuba 47 46 46 48 56 ghana 47 48 46 45 58 greece 46 43 40 36 58 romania 46 43 43 44 60 oman 45 45 47 47 61 italy 44 43 43 42 61 lesotho 44 49 49 45 61 montenegro 44 42 44 41 61 senegal 44 43 41 36 61 south africa 44 44 42 43 66 sao tome and principe 42 42 42 42 66 the fyr of macedonia 42 45 44 43 66 turkey 42 45 50 49 69 bulgaria 41 43 41 41 69 jamaica 41 38 38 38 71 serbia 40 41 42 39 72 el salvador 39 39 38 38 72 mongolia 39 39 38 36 72 panama 39 37 35 38 72 trinidad and tobago 39 38 38 39 76 bosnia and herzegovina 38 39 42 42 76 brazil 38 43 42 43 76 burkina faso 38 38 38 38 76 india 38 38 36 36 76 thailand 38 38 35 37 76 tunisia 38 40 41 41 76 zambia 38 38 38 37 83 benin 37 39 36 36 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 33 rank country/territory 2015 score 2014 score 2013 score 2012 score 83 china 37 36 40 39 83 colombia 37 37 36 36 83 liberia 37 37 38 41 83 sri lanka 37 38 37 40 88 albania 36 33 31 33 88 algeria 36 36 36 34 88 egypt 36 37 32 32 88 indonesia 36 34 32 32 88 morocco 36 39 37 37 88 peru 36 38 38 38 88 suriname 36 36 36 37 95 armenia 35 37 36 34 95 mali 35 32 28 34 95 philippines 35 38 36 34 98 bolivia 34 35 34 34 98 djibouti 34 34 36 36 98 gabon 34 37 34 35 98 niger 34 35 34 33 102 dominican republic 33 32 29 32 102 ethiopia 33 33 33 33 102 kosovo 33 33 33 34 102 moldova 33 35 35 36 106 argentina 32 34 34 35 106 belarus 32 31 29 31 106 cote d'ivoire 32 32 27 29 106 ecuador 32 33 35 32 106 togo 32 29 29 30 111 honduras 31 29 26 28 111 malawi 31 33 37 37 111 mauritania 31 30 30 31 111 mexico 31 35 34 34 111 mozambique 31 31 30 31 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 34 rank country/territory 2015 score 2014 score 2013 score 2012 score 111 vietnam 31 31 31 31 117 pakistan 30 29 28 27 117 tanzania 30 31 33 35 119 azerbaijan 29 29 28 27 119 guyana 29 30 27 28 119 russia 29 27 28 28 119 sierra leone 29 31 30 31 123 gambia 28 29 28 34 123 guatemala 28 32 29 33 123 kazakhstan 28 29 26 28 123 kyrgyzstan 28 27 24 24 123 lebanon 28 27 28 30 123 madagascar 28 28 28 32 123 timor-leste 28 28 30 33 130 cameroon 27 27 25 26 130 iran 27 27 25 28 130 nepal 27 29 31 27 130 nicaragua 27 28 28 29 130 paraguay 27 24 24 25 130 ukraine 27 26 25 26 136 comoros 26 26 28 28 136 nigeria 26 27 25 27 136 tajikistan 26 23 22 22 139 bangladesh 25 25 27 26 139 guinea 25 25 24 24 139 kenya 25 25 27 27 139 laos 25 25 26 21 139 papua new guinea 25 25 25 25 139 uganda 25 26 26 29 145 central african republic 24 24 25 26 146 congo republic 23 23 22 26 147 chad 22 22 19 19 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 35 rank country/territory 2015 score 2014 score 2013 score 2012 score 147 democratic republic of the congo 22 22 22 21 147 myanmar 22 21 21 15 150 burundi 21 20 21 19 150 cambodia 21 21 20 22 150 zimbabwe 21 21 21 20 153 uzbekistan 19 18 17 17 154 eritrea 18 18 20 25 154 syria 18 20 17 26 154 turkmenistan 18 17 17 17 154 yemen 18 19 18 23 158 haiti 17 19 19 19 158 guinea-bissau 17 19 19 25 158 venezuela 17 19 20 19 161 iraq 16 16 16 18 161 libya 16 18 15 21 163 angola 15 19 23 22 163 south sudan 15 15 14 n/a 165 sudan 12 11 11 13 166 afghanistan 11 12 8 8 167 korea (north) 8 8 8 8 167 somalia 8 8 8 8 5. tribalism and the unity of autonomies the ethnic diversities that we have in africa are diversities that have outlived the medieval era, and the revolutions and reorganizations of the modern epoch, the upheavals of the 19th century and the classifications of the colonial period. if they have outlived these periods and still survives to the present era, then they must be put into consideration in every effort towards national unity and development50. most nations in africa evolved from tribe to nation. the word tribe is used in the sense of an endogamous group descended from the same 50 basil davidson, the black man’s burden: africa and the curse of the nation-state. spectrum books, ibadan, 1992, p.100 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 36 ancestor, occupying a particular territory and possessing cultural, religious and linguistic homogeneity51. it is, therefore, very possible that if these differences are not well managed, there would be a threat to national unity52. in some cases, tribal sentiments were the product of the colonial method of administration which was sometimes defined by the divide-and –rule approach. this was very visible in british and french colonies. thus, tribalism can be traced to africa’s diversity and the colonial administrations. by 1960, even before colonial administration came to an end, political parties began to emerge along tribal lines, and nationalists took advantage of the sympathy of their tribes so as to check their successful rivals from other parts of the country. in nigeria, for instance, the northern people’s congress (npc), which was north-dominated was the major political party in the northern part of nigeria; the action congress (ac) of 1950, whose tribal strength relied on the yoruba tribal group’s national union, egbe omo oduduwa (1948). in igboland, the eastern part of nigeria, the igbo national union, as a tribal association was instrumental to the formation of the national council of nigeria and the cameroons (ncnc) in 1944. with the exit of the colonial government, politicians drew authentic and overwhelming support from their tribesmen. reflecting on tribalism in nigeria, chinua achebe wrote: nothing in nigeria’s political history captures her problem of national integration more graphically than the chequered fortune of the word tribe in her vocabulary. tribe has been accepted at one time as a friend, rejected as an enemy at another, and finally smuggled in through the back-door as an accomplice53. this was not the case in every part of africa. in places like tanzania, the multiplicity of numerous ethnic groups was unified by the influence of the national movement: tanganyika african national union (tanu). no people can rise to an influential position in the community of nations without a distinct and efficient nationality. 6. distribution of political power and national development 51 nnamdi azikiwe, from tribe to nation, p.274. 52 nnamdi azikiwe, from tribe to nation, p.277. 53 chinua achebe, the trouble with nigeria. heinemann, nigeria. 1983, p. 5 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 37 politics is not only about the politician, it is majorly about the people being governed; the importance of the people in the political arena springs from the fact that the politician gains his legitimacy from the people. this explains why the management of the people governed is very important, and thus, the distribution of political power in society54. this is even more important in places like africa where diversity is in abundance, and where diverse groups are still reflecting on the rational for the colonial division of africa into nation states without the consideration of the league of culturally and religiously diverse nations. while dealing with people of diverse local nationalities that have formed a nation, the leader must make everyone feel represented. the absence of the feeling of “it is our country”, would lead to allegiance to tribe rather than the nation. using nigeria as a case study, an evaluation of the 100 appointments made by president muhammadu buhurai since he came into office in 2015, reveals that 81 of them are from northern nigeria, which is only a region among other regions. this is excluding the ministerial positions, which are statutory according to the provisions of the 1999 constitution. this research is not saying that the president has made only 100 appointments since he came into office, however, an intensive research down until october 29, 2017, reveals this. based on the characterization of nigeria, the appointment can be considered divisive and heavily tilted in favour of the north. this is even against the spirit of the nigerian constitution, which states that: the composition of the government of the federation or any of its agencies, and the conduct of its affairs must be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also command national loyalty55. no name portfolio state/region 1 tukur buratai chief of army staff borno/north-east 2 babagana mongunu national security borno/north-east 54 daron acemoglu and james robinson, why nations fail: the origins of power, prosperity and poverty. profile books, london. 2012, pp.42-43. 55 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigerian, section 13, sub-section 3. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 38 adviser 3 abubakar lawal aide de camp kano/north-west 4 femi adesina sa media and publicity osun/south-west 5 garba shehu sa media and publicity kano/north-west 6 lawal kazaure state chief of protocol jigawa/north-west 7 ahmed idris accountant general kano/north-west 8 abayomi olonishakin chief of defence staff ekiti/south-west 9 ibok-ece wkwe ibas chief of naval staff crossriver/south-south 10 sadique abubakar chief of air staff bauchi/north east 11 monday morgan chief defence intel benue/north-central 12 lawal daura dg state security services katsina/north-west 13 mahmood yakubu inec chairman bauchi/north-east 14 hadiza bala usman md, npa kaduna/north-west 15 paul boroh sa niger delta amnesty bayelsa/south-south 16 dakuku peterside dg, nimasa rivers/south-south 17 umaru danbatta chief executive ncc kano/north-west 18 babatunde fowler chairman, firs lagos/south-west 19 aliyu gusau dg, budget office zamfara/north-west 20 maikanti baru gmd, nnpc bauchi/north-east 21 babachir lawal sgf adamawa/north-east 22 abba kyari chief of staff borno/north-east 23 hameed ali cg, nigeria customs kaduna/north-west igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 39 24 kure abeshi cg, nig. immigration nasarawa/north-central 25 ita enang ssa, national assembly akwa ibom/south-south 26 suleiman kawu ssa, national assembly kano/north-west 27 modecal b. ladan director, dpr kano/north-west 28 ahmed lawan kuru md, amcon yobe/north-east 29 mohammed kari insurance commission bauchi/north-east 30 ibrahim magu acting chairman, efcc borno/north-east 31 abike dabire ssa, diaspora ogun/south-west 32 abdullahi muhammadu cg, nscds niger/north-central 33 winifred oyo-ita head of service cross river/south-south 34 aishah ahmad deputy gov. cbn niger/north-central 35 mary ekpere dg, ncwd cross river/south-south 36 dikko abdulrahman chairman, boi borno/north-east 37 ahmed dangiwa md, federal m. bank kaduna/north-west 38 melville ebo ed, federal m. bank anambra/sout-east 39 dankanne abdullahi ed, federal m. bank kebbi/north-west 40 alex okoh dg, bpe edo/south-south 41 ibrahim goni cg, national park niger/north-central 42 nasiru ladan dg, nde niger/north-central 43 saliu alabi dg, minils benue/north-central 44 jeffery barminas dg, rict adamawa/north-east 45 haruna yerima dg, niser borno/north-east igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 40 46 mohammed tukur scretary, fcc adamawa/north-east 47 shettima abba chairman, fcc borno/north-east 48 tunde erukera es, cpp kogi/north-central 49 umar g. jibrin es, fcda bauchi/north-east 50 muhammed abdallah ceo, ndlea adamawa/north-east 51 garba abari dg, noa yobe/north-east 52 sule kazaure dg, nysc jigawa/north-west 53 jelani aliyu dg, naddc sokoto/north-west 54 bayo onanuga dg, nan ogun, south-west 55 ibrahim idril ig, police niger/north-central 56 ghaji bello dg, npc gombe/north-east 57 suleh dunoma md, faan north 58 u.s.a. sadiq dir, security faan north 59 rabiu yadudu dir, operations faan kano/north-west 60 salisu daura dir, maintenance faan katsina/north-west 61 rahimatu aminualiyu ed, federal m. bank north 62 julie okah dg, naptip south-south 63 bello rabiu coo, nnpc kano/north-west 64 henry ikem-obih coo, nnpc south-south 65 bello gusau es, ptdf nasarawa/north-central 66 isiaku abdulrazaq cfo, nnpc kwara/north-central 67 isa inuwa coo, nnpc north igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 41 68 saidu muhammed coo, nnpc north 69 babatunde adeniran coo, nnpc south-west 70 chidi momah secretary, nnpc --------------- 71 modecal baba ladan dir, dpr niger/north-central 72 eberechukwu uneze ed, amcon imo/south-east 73 aminu ismail ed, amcon kano/north-west 74 ishaq oloyede registrar jamb ogun/south-west 75 chidi k. c. izuwah dg, icrc south-east 76 bolaji owasanoye icpc south-west 77 lenrie aina national librarian ogun/south-west 78 charles uwakwe neco ---------------- 79 umaru maza maza chair, rea kebbi/north-west 80 damilola ogunbiyi md, rea lagos/south-west 81 sanusi ohiare ed, rea kogi/north-central 82 fola akinkuotu md, nama south-west 83 sani abubakar mashi dg, nimet katsina/north-west 84 abdulsalam mohammed rector, ncat kogi/north-central 85 akinola olateru commissioner, aib south/west 86 abubakar rasheed eo, nuc north 87 abdulkadir umar es, pppra north 88 elias nwalem rmafc ebony/south-east 89 marilyn amobi nbet south-east igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 42 90 faisal shuaibu es, nphcda nasarawa/north-central 91 umaru ibrahim ndic kano/north-west 92 uja tor uja ncpc benue/north-central 93 isa pantami dg, nitda gombe/north-east 94 patience oniha dg, dmo edo/south-south 95 nnenna akajemeli ceo, servicom imo/south-east 96 falashade joseph md, naic kogi/north-central 97 cecilia gaya dg, ascon adamawa/north-east 98 luci ajayi es, litfmb edo/south-south 99 lanre gbajabiamilla dg, nlrc lagos/south-west 100 usman abubakar chair, nrc katsina/north-west 100 buhari appointees and their geographical zones it is even more disturbing that all major security and law enforcement positions, with the exception of chief of defense staff ad chief of naval staff, went to northern muslims. this apparent inclination towards regional preferences in appointments has led to an escalation of regional and ethnic grievances in the country, manifesting in the self-determination agitations and calls for restructuring and true federalism. igwebuike philosophy: implications for national development having studied some of the challenges to national development, the major thrust of this work is to see how igwebuike philosophy can contribute to the discussion on national development, that is, how these challenges from an igwebuike perspective can be addressed for the purpose of national development. religious fanaticism and fundamentalism: christianity and islam in africa have been associated with conflicts and violence which has dealt a terrible blow on national unity and brought untold hardships on the masses. this is partly because religion has been politicized, manipulated and militarized by unscrupulous people to fan the embers of rivalry, antagonism and ethnic igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 43 discrimination. although both major religions have misunderstood themselves by dwelling more on their differences, igwebuike philosophy calls for dialogue, which does not deny the significant differences between the two religions. so much energy has been dissipated on violence instead of using it for solving the problems of human suffering and other socio-economic and political challenges that face us in the eye. igwebuike, as an indigenous philosophy calls on the adherents of both religions to focus on the things that unite them, that is, the importance of dialogue to our common humanity. muslims and christians have so many things in common as believers and as human beings: the adherents of both religions live in the same world, in the same africa beset by the same socioeconomic and political problems. to fight one another is to engage in a futile enterprise and more so, worsen their conditions. both religions constitute parts of the intricate web of reality and relationships in the ontological order. their differences is for complementarity and not conflict. corporate responsibility and corruption: as corruption hinders national development, igwebuike calls for a corporate approach in the search for a solution. it is not just the responsibility of the government but the responsibility of individuals and private institutions. in nigeria, where corrupt leaders are viewed as heroes, churches and mosques, where these men are welcomed and sometimes considered blessed, also have a responsibility towards the fight against corruption. local communities also have a role to play. after serving his 13 year term in the uk over charges bordering on corruption and money laundering, the former governor of delta state, james ibori, arrived the nigeria aboard the british airways. at his home state, delta, it was celebration, as his loyalists and notable personalities trooped to welcome home their hero. to those so-jubilating, ibori is nothing but a man of the people. for them, ibori is not corrupt, even though he pleaded guilty to corrupt charges in a london court. they seem to ask: is it not our money that he stole? nigeria is a nation where corruption bears tribal marks? to fight corruption, the different dimensions of society must play their complementary roles. there is the need for a government that is truthful in her fight against corruption. on september 15 2005, diepreye aamieyeseigha, the governor of bayelsa state was arrested in london’s heathrow airport and interrogated on allegations of money laundering by the officers of the london metropolitan police’s specialist and economic crime unit. from the airport he was taken to his house where a search was conducted and the sum of 920,000 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 44 pounds was found. he was also charged for finding 420,000 pounds in his account and for illegally transferring 470,000 pounds to another account, making a total of 1.8 pounds56. when he was brought to court he asserted his innocence and was, therefore, granted bail pending the next court hearing. before the fixed for appearing in court, he disguised himself as a woman and returned back to nigeria unnoticed and continued his work as a governor; he knew he had a country where the government grants immunity to the president, vice president and governors. when the government protects corrupt officials, it becomes difficult to fight corruption. the co-existence of tribal groups: tribe is a universal phenomenon and not restricted to africa. when diversity is properly harnessed, it would bring about national unity and development, however, when mismanaged can wreck national unity and development. the diversities of people, culture, language, etc., from the perspective of igwebuike philosophy enriches the nation and could coexist in a federation; this is possible when the freedom and basic rights of tribes are protected in written and rigid constitution. for tribal diversities to be transformed into strength, the government needs to discover the circumstances which can be superimposed on the natural chains of language and culture, which has linked human beings to enable them develop a feeling of personal security and group preservation57. there is the need for a government that will concede coexistence to all linguistic groups, on the basis of equality, within a framework of political and constitutional warrantees. such a government would protect linguistic groups and individual freedom under the rule of law and thus create an atmosphere for respect of their culture and traditions is created58. if loyalty to the nation must not be replaced by loyalty to the tribe, citizens must be provided with adequate food, comfortable shelter and a minimum level of subsistence. in this case, rulers must discover the material needs of their people. once there is a failure in this by rulers, people will harbor grievances about political, economic and social inequalities. this will increase loyalty to tribe and disloyalty to the nation59. leaders must do everything necessary to ensure national cohesion and unity, and that no group, religious or other forms, is perceived to be dominating the other. leaders have the duty to ensure that they 56 ngozi okonjo-iweala, reforming the unreformable: lessons from nigeria. mit press, usa. 57 nnamdi azikiwe, from tribe to nation, p.278. 58 nnamdi azikiwe, from tribe to nation, p.278 59 nnamdi azikiwe, from tribe to nation, p.278 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 45 are not perceived to be sectional or seen to be representing one group against the others. leaders of people of diverse religions and culture must ensure that no group feels marginalized. the time management: time and development have complementary roles to play. without time, there can’t be development, and time in the absence of development is no time at all. and so if the african has time at his disposal and fails through laziness to transform the raw material of time into development, then development would elude his grasp. more so, the african concept of time which is concrete and substantive, should be taken advantage of. time in africa is epochal, as it is wrapped around events and activities. according to mbiti africans reckon time for a concrete and specific purpose and not just in a vacuum. the african time is either time-for or time-to or time-of. what exists for the african are phenomenon calendars, in that events which constitute time are reckoned. if time is wrapped around event, it then means that time should not be spent in idleness but in a positive activity. moreover, the idea of complementarity in the african universe brings in the idea of responsibility towards the other in the use of time. in the responsible use of time, an african fulfils his responsibility towards the other, in the distant future or the immediate future. every generation hands over the fruits of its labour to the next generation, and if a particular generation whiles away in laziness, then she has very little or nothing to hand over to the next generation. why underdevelopment persists in africa is as a result of the continuous handing over of the baton of laziness and unproductively to successive generations. every generation that mismanages times, leaves a vacuum that becomes a burden to the next generation. conclusion national development is about the ability of a nation to improve the lives of its citizens through various measures of improvement. from the igwebuike perspective, this ability to improve the lives of citizens must be comprehensive, all-round and balanced. it includes all aspects of the life of an individual and the nation. it is, therefore, wholistic in approach as it full-growth and expansion of our industries, agriculture, education, social, religious and cultural institutions. while national development does not exclude personal development, there is a major difference between national development and personal development. while national development concerns a development project that goes beyond igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 46 an individual to encompass the diversities evident in nations, the second concerns the individual project of developmentthe self becomes the centre of focus. it is thus not surprising that issues of diversity and relationships must emerge in a discussion on national development, and usually, the fruit of such developments emerges from a skilful management of differences and the harnessing of different energies for a common goal. national development in africa has been one of great concern and it has been plagued by a multiplicity of issues: poor political institutions and thus poor leadership, the mismanagement of time, religious fanaticism and fundamentalism, the issue of corruption, the problem of tribalism and the distribution of political power, among others. it is no new issue that today, more than half a century after independence, africa still typifies poverty and underdevelopment. using igwebuike philosophy, this piece has studied the issue of underdevelopment in africa, and strongly believes that a complimentary approach to the issue of development would bring about an enormous transformation of africa. the presence of these problems to development and national unity is also an indication of the possibility of solutions. this work did not only discuss the problems in details, but marked out possible solutions to these problems for the purpose of achieving national development and unity among many african nations. bibliography basil davidson, the black man’s burden: africa and the curse of the nation-state. spectrum books, ibadan, 1992. bhagavan, m. r. the technological transformation of the third world. london: zed books. 1990. chinua achebe, the trouble with nigeria. heinemann, nigeria. 1983. daron acemoglu and james robinson, why nations fail: the origins of power, prosperity and poverty. profile books, london. 2012. efeturi ojakaminor, nigeria’s ghana must go republic: happenings. ogun: ambassador publications. eliot, c., the development debate. london: scm. 1971. ghanaian chronicle, progress and punctuality. retrieved 21st februay 2013. "http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_028621361202_itm. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 47 heidegger, m. the question concerning technology. new york: harper and row. 1977. iroegbu, p., metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: international universities press. 1995. irwin arieff, if africa is so rich, why is it so poor? http://www.passblue.com/2015/05/18/if-africa-is-so-rich-why-is-itso-poor. j nye, corruption and political development: a cost-benefit analysis. american political science review. 51. 1967. j. s. mbiti, african religions and philosophy. east african educational publishers, 1970. kanu ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike and the logic of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. 2017. kanu ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike and the question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. 2017. kanu ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. 59-69. 2016. kanu ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. 2017. kanu ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as an igbo-african wholistic response to the problem of evil and human suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, the culture of political corruption and the emergence of terrorism in nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli and rico sneller (eds.). the root causes of terrorism: a religious studies perspective (pp. 280-291). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. 2017. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, christian-muslim relations in nigeria as a religio-political locus theologicus for misericordia vultus. harvard journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 117-128. 2016. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girl-child education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. 11-17. 2017. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 48 kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. 28-38. 2017 kanu, ikechukwu anthony, “the culture of political corruption and the emergence of terrorism in nigeria”. sub-saharan journal of african sustainable development. 3. 7. 127-149. 2016. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, corruption in africa and its challenges for the enterprise of christian theology. international journal of research in arts and social sciences, vol.4. p. 495. 2017 kanu, ikechukwu anthony, corruption in nigeria as a socio-cultural context for the extraordinary jubilee of mercy. harvard journal of management sciences and entrepreneurship. vol. 3. no. 5. pp. 191. 2017 kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christianmuslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. 2017 kanu, ikechukwu anthony, igwebuike as the consumate foundation of african bioethical principles. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 2. 2016. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, the culture of political corruption and the emergence of terrorism in nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli and rico sneller (eds.). the root causes of terrorism: a religious studies perspective (pp. 280-291). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. 2017. kanu, ikechukwu, anthony, symbols in african philosophy and the issue of nation building. international journal of scientific research. volume. 3. issue. 9. 35-37. 2014 kanu, ikechukwu, anthony, african philosophy and the issue of development. paripex: indian journal of research. volume. 3. issue. 7. 1-5. 2004. kanu, ikechukwu, anthony, kinship in african philosophy and the issue of development. international journal of humanities, social sciences and education. volume. 1. issue. 9. 1-6. 2004. kim, r., development that is total and human. origins. 11. 8. 122. 1982. levi and havinden, economics of african agriculture. uk: longman. 1982. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 49 m. johnston, the search for definitions: the vitality of politics and the issue of corruption. international social science journal 49, 1996. 321-335. mbiti, j. african religions and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational, kenya. 1970. mordi c, & afangide f., corruption: nigeria’s existential question. the quest. 2. 2 june 2001-july 2002. nasir isiaku reported by saturday sun news paper on august 10, 2013. 12-13. nnamdi azikiwe, from tribe to nation: the case of nigeria. in onigu otite (ed.). themes in african social and political thought (pp. 272-280). fourth dimension publishers, enugu. 1977. nwajiuba, the relationship between material social status and academic performance of secondary school students in owerri educational zone. med thesis, department of educational foundations and administration, imo state university owerri. 1991. nyasami, j. m., philosophy of development: an african perspective: reflections on why africa may never develop on the western model. kenya: consolata institute of philosophy. 2010. onwuliri, c. e.c., the church as an agent of progress and development. in i. onyeocha (ed). the church as agent of progress and development, cip jubilee essays (pp. 70-83). owerri: imo state university press. 2008. oraegbunam, i. k. e. journal of the nigerian philosophical association. 5. 6. 56-81. 2009. r. stapenhurst & s kpundeh, curbing corruption: towards a model for building national integrity. edi development studies, world bank, 1999. rodney, w., how europe underdeveloped africa. lagos: panaf publishing. (p. xi). 1972. schumacher, e. f., small is beautiful: a study of economics as if people mattered. london: scm. 1975. shehu shagari, the nigerian standard, p. 11. november 1, 1983. south african corruption act no 94 of 1992. south african government, south africa. stanley, c. igwe, how africa underdeveloped africa. professional printers, port harcourt, 2010. the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria, section 13, subsection 3. federal republic of nigeria. time magazine, september 7, 1992. 40. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 50 transparency international corruption perception index 2016. retrieved 28/10/17 from https://www.transparency.org/cpi2015. undp, corruption and good governance 1997, discussion paper 3, management and governance division, bureau for policy and programme support, undp, new york, 1997. victor e. dike, corruption in nigeria: a new paradigm for effective control. africa economic analysis. www.africaeconomicanalysis.org. victor, d., what is this thing called african time? retrieved 21 february, 2013. http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2010-01-21-what-is-thisthing-called-african-time. 2013. wikipedia african time. retrieved 21st february 2013. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/african_time#cite_note-8. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 2 how can we use philosophies of unity such as “ubuntu” to promote regional integration and conflict resolution strategies for africa? prof. apollinaire chishugi tangaza university college nairobi, kenya doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.18277.47848 abstract philosophies of unity are behind time to promote regional integration and continental unity in africa. despite the candid philosophical principles of the african union and the firmness of its resolutions, it is regrettable to note that none of these initiatives has managed to establish the desired uninterrupted peace between states or citizens and neither in regional or continental integration. instead of promoting the spirit of unity and peace, african leaders are victims of tribal inclinations and imperialist ambitions who continue to sow division and terror. plans to redraw the geographic map of africa are no longer taboo and are used to justify certain civil wars. this problem has negatively impacted african populations and their socio-economic development. hundreds of thousands of people have been slaughtered in several conflicts and civil wars. millions are displaced, economic infrastructure has been destroyed, and regional integration processes interrupted. a possible cause of this problem is the forgetfulness of the spirit of bandung and the non-consideration of ubuntu as a source of political inspiration. this paper aims at revisiting the spirit of bandung in the light of the african political philosophy of ubuntu. we are convinced that the solution to the problem of unity and peace in africa cannot do without the universal principles of cosmopolitanism advocated by the kantian criticism. key words: ubuntu, spirit of bandung, regional integration, perpetual peace, cosmopolitanism objectives of the study the main objective of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of traditional african ethics (ubuntu) strategy to influence and support the political integration of the africa union. this objective seeks to determine the expected opportunities from the new regional integration process of eac at the dawn of the reception of the drc as a new member. we shall therefore, analyse the conditions of the possibility of the effectiveness of the new eac through the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 3 influence of traditional african ethics (ubuntu) to promote peace, freedom, human dignity and the development of the people of the region. significance of the study this paper is significant and relevant as a means of developing a warning system in the political integration of the people in africa, which could assist african countries, and particularly the eac, incorporating african traditional ethics (ubuntu) in the promotion of peace, freedom, unity, human dignity and development. regional integration per se is very important to the african continent, and particularly the eastern region of africa, to ensure and promote a better life. theoretical framework the spirit of bandung and the regional integration of the eac by the spirit of bandung, we mean the “insight which guided leaders of the 29 newly independent countries of asia and africa under the chairmanship of indonesian leader sukarno, to affirm their desire for independence and their non-alignment with world powers. opposing colonialism, they encouraged peoples that were still colonized to fight for their independence and claim: a) the decolonization and emancipation of the peoples of africa and asia, b) peaceful coexistence and economic development; and c) non-interference in internal affairs”1. the fragility of the peace agreements between countries in east africa and the impossibility of updating the potential development of the region explain the persistence of ethnic conflicts and the cohort of miseries experienced by our populations. elbadawi (2001) indicates that cultural diversity makes it possible to have a “bargaining equilibrium” that is more than capable of helping and not hindering the creation of “stable development-promoting coalition”; and that “formalization of ethnic affiliation into the political process might enhance the efficiency and credibility of political governance institutions in africa” (elbadawi 2001: 54-55).2 1 heloise weber & poppy winanti (2016) the ‘bandung spirit’ and solidarist internationalism, australian journal of international affairs, 70:4, 391-406. abdulgani, r (1981). the asia-africa conference in bandung in 1955. gunung aguna: singapore. 2 elbadawi, ibrahim a. (2001), “social cohesion, conflict management and economic growth in africa,” chapter 2 in t. assefa, . s.m. rugumamu and a.g.m. ahmed, eds. globalization, democracy and development in africa: challenges and prospects, addis ababa: ossrea. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 4 the imperialist tendencies of some local political leaders and the global geopolitical alliances of others fueled by xenophobia and ethnic-racial complexes continue to pollute the spirit of bandung. being part of an eethnic group or as a citizen has its own consequences, and its own strength in conflict or otherwise that goes into the formation of a nation. as such, there is a need for different levels of analysis to try and understand ethnicity; its origins, magnitudes, and the patterns of particular ethnic conflicts.3 indeed, the fathers of african independence gathered with their asian peers wanted to promote an integration of african unity according to a spirit of promoting the equality of all in rights and dignity, a spirit of promoting the selfdetermination of peoples while respecting their sovereignty, a spirit of adoption of legal pacifism as a sacrosanct principle of conflict resolution and a spirit of mutualization of projects of common interest as a principle of regional socioeconomic development. to understand ethnic conflict in africa, we must situate it in the broader context of the democracy and development project on the continent, connected with or state-formation process, involving hegemonicdirected competition, cooperation and conflict, under conditions of scarcity, about who should control the state and direct its core functions of authoritative regulation, allocation, and distribution through its presumed monopoly of physical force and policy directives. 4 it is therefore urgent at the advent of this new phase of regional integration of the eac to assess the state of the bandung spirit in the current regional integration policies and to verify whether ubuntu would be the new african ethical principle capable of bringing renewal into our socio-political integration initiatives. what is ubuntu? ubuntu is a nguni bantu term which means “humanity”. it is based on the african anthropological assumption that every individual has the potential of interacting with others and ensure that human dignity is at the core of their 3 l. adele jinadu, 2007, explaining & managing ethnic conflict in africa: towards a cultural theory of democracy, dpcr, nai. p.6. 4 4 l. adele jinadu, 2007, explaining & managing ethnic conflict in africa: towards a cultural theory of democracy, dpcr, nai. p.3. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 5 actions, thought and deeds5. it is however, not enough to be born human to live according to the principles of ubuntu. it is not an innate value. it is a value that has to be actualized; to be conquered through education and merit. thus, at the first glance ubuntu is a possibility of humanity that is lived instinctively as part of our animality. it is harmony and compassion that is observed in many africa societies based on family, clan, tribal, ethnic ties etc. these kinds of natural virtues do not make us more noble than the animals in the herd or the bees in the hive. the nobility of ubuntu is gained when the individual goes beyond the intuitive motivations raised by similarities based on biological sameness, and recognizes the ontological sameness of his humanity in others. such an epistemological qualitative jump can only be achieved through rationality. thus, the authenticity of ubuntu is verified outside of natural communities such as family, tribe, ethnicity, race etc. ubuntu can only take shape in the political community. it is a public responsibility. not all men or women are worthy and those who are worthy do not have the same intuitive level of ubuntu. for aristotle, "the political community is a community of citizens. it is not only constituted by the present interest of stakeholders or by their historical past, but by their future common project since it is it that decides on the common law that makes community lives by constantly discussing that project". thus, as a sociopolitical principle, ubuntu is a commitment to make humanity together. citizens must therefore harmonize their conduct to this dignity otherwise they can lose it. it is a question of engaging with others to constitute a collectivity based on intersubjectivity and national solidarity that reduces unintentional inequalities. ubuntu and identity crisis the crisis of national identity the notion of citizenship rethought in the light of the ethical concept of ubuntu requires us to believe that the bond that unites citizens within the state transcends tribal or ethnical empiricism. the state is not a family but an association of citizens committed to "making humanity together" despite the plurality of their instinctual affiliations. on one hand, the family, clan, ethnicity or tribe presuppose inevitable and unbreakable natural ties. they do not require any choice and do not allow any freedom on the part of the members. on the 5 enslin, p & horsthemke, k 2004, ‘can ubuntu provide a model for citizenship education in african democracies?’, comparative education, vol. 40, no. 4, pp. 545-558. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 6 other hand, citizenship or national identity presupposes belonging to an intersubjectivity that transcends the law of nature and is maintained by the will of individuals. unlike a tribal identity that is closed and unwavering, the citizen identity is open and suspended by the will of the subject6. the crisis is raised when “some ethnic groups are excluded from enjoying the benefits of common citizenship on an equal basis with more favored ethnic groups” 7 . for example, chad, ethiopia and sudan, niger, and nigeria, are examples of the demand of oppressed ethnic minorities for greater socioeconomic and infrastructural development, self-government in their ethnic heartlands, short of secession from the state. for chad, the ethno-political conflict has, as in the case of the sudan, been on an ethno-racialized north/south division.8 felt as an attempt against human rights, these victims assume the force of micro-nationalist ideology and choose to wage ethno-political conflicts. this is a plausible explanation for the many identity claims observed in the conflicts of “rwandophones” in great lakes africa. adele jijadu puts it so well: “the indigenous peoples were further sub-divided or differentiated by the colonial administration into ‘advantaged’ or ‘disadvantaged,’ ‘favored’ or ‘unfavored’ ethnic groups, based on the differential diffusion of westernization, on “colonial evaluations of imputed group character” among them (horowitz 1985: 160). these ethnic groups were, moreover, and as a matter of administrative convenience or arbitrariness, sometimes invented— constructed or deconstructed—by colonial administrators, under the influence of colonial stereotypes of african ethnic group”9. the crisis of regional integration the extremist demands of nationalist and identity movements have undermined regional integration efforts in africa, and especially the east african community (eac). this is as a result of these movements strong appeal to the natural response of people to want to belong to an intuitive group that forms a people, or 6 metz, t. 2007(c), ‘ubuntu as a moral theory: reply to four critics’, south african journal of philosophy, vol. 26(4), pp. 370-387 7 l. adele jinadu, 2007, explaining & managing ethnic conflict in africa: towards a cultural theory of democracy, dpcr, nai. p.14. 8 8 l. adele jinadu, 2007, explaining & managing ethnic conflict in africa: towards a cultural theory of democracy, dpcr, nai. p.14. 9 l. adele jinadu, 2007, explaining & managing ethnic conflict in africa: towards a cultural theory of democracy, dpcr, nai. p.15.” this much is clear from the post-colonial histories of angola, burundi, chad, democratic republic of congo, djibouti, nigeria, senegal, somalia, sudan and uganda”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 7 a nation. this has consequently led to each state asserting itself as an unwavering natural unit where the duty of every patriot ensures its impermeability to diverse pollution of other persons. because of this, the east african region is divided into homelands of peoples that are naturally divided by their varied history. the purpose of any attempt to foster any alliance or cooperation between these peoples is automatically suspected of imperialist goals in the tribal sense of the term. unfortunately, in such a scenario, the ubuntu that brings humanity together across from their diverse natural ethnic or tribal boundaries becomes a taboo or even a betrayal. the crisis of cosmopolitical integration cosmopolitical integration presupposes a political organization of the world that allows every person to move and feel at home on any point of the globe. this global integration is only possible if the borders between states allow the free movement of peoples and goods. today we observe the fact that cosmopolitical laws applicable to only people in whom their ubuntu is recognized10. the criteria for that recognition remains arbitrary and discriminatory. some people gain or lose their ubuntu because of their competence or because of their natural skills. some have ubuntu dignity by inheritance or social conditions of their birth, while others do not. nonetheless, each state establishes a hierarchy of degrees of ubuntu according to assets or social appreciation of behavior. ubuntu as a political ethic in times of crisis ethics of a citizen identity within the philosophy of ubuntu, it is not only ethical to be the one who is committed to expressing humanity to others. a good citizen is the one who makes it his duty to extend this ubuntu to all the dimensions of all humans. there is no place for discrimination in his belonging to a state because the more one is in harmony with others the more, he fulfils his identity as a person. this 10 metz, t. 2007(c), ‘ubuntu as a moral theory: reply to four critics’, south african journal of philosophy, vol. 26(4), pp. 370-387 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 8 means that to be a person is to be with others11. this means that in ubuntu ethics, citizenship is the commitment to a shared process of freeing oneself from the contingencies of nature that are linked to the mutual origins and ideologies of humans borne by history 12 . it is a permanent becoming that takes place in solidarity with one's fellow human beings. consequently, as a sociopolitical component, ubuntu can be lost by a citizen depending on his behavior or his social conditions13. ethics of regional integration a state corresponds to the ethical ideal of ubuntu insofar as its citizens are engaged in the trans-natural and rational project of making humanity together. in that condition, they renounce to the use of their instinctual belonging to the family, clan, tribe or ethnicity to promote the common good. promoting states whose constitutions are inspired by ubuntu ethics then becomes a condition for the possibility of the ethical and sustainable political regional integration.14 as a result, ubuntu as a moral concept endorses an open conception of the state. in that sense a state is worthy ubuntu dignity only if it is able to remain open to all humanity present at its borders. it goes without saying that once adopted by all the constituent states, regional integration should logically follow. there is no place for discrimination in belonging to a regional alliance of states, because the more one is in alliance with others the more, he fulfils his identity as a state. otherwise, to be a state is to be with other similar states. it is not a question of extending the adoption of ethnic values beyond the borders of states, but rather of recognizing the fraternal dignity and equality of others in order to promote each other15. 11 gyekye, k 1998, ‘person and community in african thought’, the african philosophy reader, coetzee, ph and roux, apj (eds)., pp. 317-335. enslin, p & horsthemke, k 2004, ‘can ubuntu provide a model for citizenship education in african democracies?’, comparative education, vol. 40, no. 4, pp. 545-558. 12 cornell, d 2009, ‘is there a difference that makes a difference between ubuntu and dignity?’, is this seat taken? conversations at the bar, the bench & the academy, 5 november 2009. 13 cornell, d 2010, ‘a call for a nuanced jurisprudence: ubuntu, dignity and reconciliation’ in ubuntu and the law in south africa, cornell, d & muvangua, n, eds., forthcoming (2010), fordham university press. 14 iroanya, ro 2005, ‘citizenship-indigeneship contradictions and resource control in africa: a case for the african tradition of ubuntu’, 7 th annual africa day conference university of south africa, pretoria, pp. 1-11 15 le roux, j 2000, ‘the concept of ‘ubuntu’: africa’s most important contribution to multicultural education?’, multicultural teaching, 18(2), 43–46. thaddeus metz, ubuntu as a moral theory and human rights in south africa, afr. hum. rights law j. vol.11 n.2 pretoria 2011 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 9 ethics of a humanist cosmopolitanism as a universalist ethical concept, ubuntu is an ideal theory that can transform the world in a politically organized space that peacefully shelters the diversity of instinctual groups of peoples and nations16. individuals identify the world as their homeland that transcends local commitments. their belonging to humanity explains their openness and tolerance towards the diversity of values in the public space. the eac will be a cosmopolitan community when citizens from different states enter into relationships of mutual respect despite their divergent ethnical and cultural belongings. the purpose of the eac is to build a political and economic community where all citizen form one cohesive and united community. this citizenship supposes an education which shapes peoples as individuals who “freely cross the borders of different countries, cultures and political communities considering the highest values to be freedom and equality of all the people inhabiting the planet”17. the conditions for the possibility of the process of continuous humanization of the world are numerous. they include but are not limited to: o the will of states to build their constitution on the values of ubuntu and to keep open the notion of their citizenship18. the eac should therefore promote “cultural exchange and provide people of one culture with the opportunity to learn from others”. o flexibility in border management to allow ubuntu, the humanity lived together, to deploy unhindered. the eac should therefore encourage each member state to approve a political system which explores the application of norms and values of democracy at the transnational level.  international governmental organizations (igos), which can provide member states with a forum for conflict resolution.  financial market regulation which aims at simplifying the process of trading across the borders of the east african community’s partner states. 16 van binsbergen, w 2001, ‘ubuntu and the globalisation of southern african thought and society’, quest: an african journal of philosophy, vol. xv, no. 1-2, african renaissance and ubuntu philosophy special issue, pp. 53-90. 17 a. chishugi, la paix par le droit, paris, l’harmathan, 2009, p.169. 18 kleingeld, pauline. 2012. kant and cosmopolitanism. cambridge: cambridge university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 10  public–private partnerships (ppps)19 without borders which can provide higher efficiency and increased transparency in the use of funds. “a public private partnership is an agreement between the public sector and the private sector for the purpose of designing, planning, financing, constructing, and/or operating projects that would traditionally be regarded as falling within the remit of the public sector”20.  socio-cultural alliances without borders 21 : this refers to organizations that coordinate the performance of transnational eac citizens, facilitate cooperation, resolve disputes, and alleviate collective action problems. research methodology this will be desktop research which will involve examining materials that can help illuminate the issue of the philosophies ubuntu and integration. this will be juxtaposed with conflict resolution strategies. the results will be generally applied to the african continent and specifically to the nations that form the eac in their pursuit to promote peace, freedom, human dignity and the development of the people of the region. we shall investigate the effectiveness of african union ideals within its real-life context, using the eac as a qualitative case study. the findings will then follow in descriptive narrative. we expect that the results will also answer the thorny issue of how the african conflict can lead to transformation, political integration and sustainable development, and provide the basis for the application of our findings conclusion the proposed cosmopolitanism emphasizes the direct linkages across international boundaries of the eac member states and rationalize the relationship between ethnicity, the crisis of citizenship or civil war in the region. 19 lukamba muhiya tshombe , thekiso molokwane , alex nduhura, innocent nuwagaba3, an analysis of public-private partnerships in east africa, research in world economy vol. 11, no. 5; special issue, 2020 20 ibidem 21 lee boon-thong, tengk shamsul bahrin, 2019, vanishing borders: the new international order of the 21st century, routledge, ny. kant, immanuel. 1996a. the metaphysics of morals. the cambridge edition of the works of immanuel kant. cambridge: cambridge university press. ———. 1996b. toward perpetual peace. the cambridge edition of the works of immanuel kant. cambridge: cambridge university press. ———. 1996c. religion within the boundaries of mere reason. the cambridge edition of the works of immanuel kant. cambridge: cambridge university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 11 it is the opportunity given to member states to fulfil the dream of kant in which nationalism and the crisis of regional integration, xenophobia and underdevelopment are taken in charge by a cosmopolitan world where armies are abolished and citizen are governed under a representative eac institution22. the results are expected to address the following questions and indicate suggestions as to what need to be done:  to build a transnational identity23 as mean of solving the crisis of national identity; “activities of political transnationalism can range from immigrants remaining active in the politics of their native country, including voting, to actually running for office. a modern example is the growing number of native-born american citizens who choose to live in mexico for family, business, or economic reasons”. “in terms of the categories of social and individual forms of belonging, transnational citizens are marked by multiple identities and allegiances, and often travel between two or more countries, all in which they have created sizeable networks of differing functions”.  to reinforce the transnational trade and corporation as mean of inter-state pacification 24 ; “transnational corporations (tncs) or multinational corporations (mncs) are companies that operate in more than one country. unilever, mcdonalds and apple are all examples of tncs. tncs tend to have offices and headquarters located in the developed world”.  to establish cosmopolitanism as the political model of regional integration 25 . “transnationalism creates a greater degree of connection between individuals, communities and societies across borders, bringing about changes in the social, cultural, economic and political landscapes of 22 kant, immanuel. 1996a. the metaphysics of morals. the cambridge edition of the works of immanuel kant. cambridge: cambridge university press. ———. 1996b. toward perpetual peace. the cambridge edition of the works of immanuel kant. cambridge: cambridge university press. today, international politics rely on transnationalism to make transnational trade grow smoothly. 23 in this sense, transnational identity means recognizing the multi-geographical nature of immigrants who are from one particular country but live out their lives in another (esteban-guitart et al., 2013, portes, 1997). ong, a. (1999). flexible citizenship: the cultural logics of transnationality. durham, nc: duke university press. 24 “transnationalism refers to the diffusion and extension of social, political, economic processes in between and beyond the sovereign jurisdictional boundaries of nation-states. international processes are increasingly governed by non-state actors and international organizations”. 25 kleingeld, pauline. 2012. kant and cosmopolitanism. cambridge: cambridge university press. levitt, p. (2001). the transnational villagers. berkeley: university of california press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 12 societies of origin and destination”. “transnationalism has been defined in anthropology as “the process by which immigrants forge and sustain simultaneous multi-stranded social relations that link together their societies of origin and settlement”. bibliography books 1. abdulgani, r (1981). the asia-africa conference in bandung in 1955. gunung aguna: singapore. 2. adele jinadu l., (2007), explaining & managing ethnic conflict in africa: towards a cultural theory of democracy, dpcr, nai. 3. chishugi a., la paix par le droit, paris, l’harmathan, 2009, p.169. 4. kant, i., (1996a), the metaphysics of morals. the cambridge edition of the works of immanuel kant. cambridge: cambridge university press 5. kant, i., (1996b), religion within the boundaries of mere reason. the cambridge edition of the works of immanuel kant. cambridge: cambridge university press. 6. kant, i., (1996c), toward perpetual peace. the cambridge edition of the works of immanuel kant. cambridge: cambridge university press. 7. kleingeld p., (2012), kant and cosmopolitanism. cambridge: cambridge university press. 8. lee boon-thong, tengk shamsul bahrin, (2019), vanishing borders: the new international order of the 21st century, routledge, ny. journals or book chapter 1. cornell, d. (2009), ‘is there a difference that makes a difference between ubuntu and dignity?’, is this seat taken? in conversations at the bar, the bench & the academy, 5 november 2009. 2. cornell, d. (2010), ‘a call for a nuanced jurisprudence: ubuntu, dignity and reconciliation’ in ubuntu and the law in south africa, cornell, d & muvangua, n, eds., forthcoming (2010), fordham university press. 3. elbadawi, ibrahim a. (2001), “social cohesion, conflict management and economic growth in africa,” chapter 2 in t. assefa, . s.m. rugumamu and a.g.m. ahmed, eds. globalization, democracy and development in africa: challenges and prospects, addis ababa: ossrea. 4. enslin, p & horsthemke, k. (2004), ‘can ubuntu provide a model for citizenship education in african democracies?’, comparative education, vol. 40, no. 4, pp. 545-558. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 13 5. gyekye, k. (1998), ‘person and community in african thought’, in the african philosophy reader, coetzee, ph and roux, apj (eds)., pp. 317-335. 6. heloise weber & poppy winanti (2016) the ‘bandung spirit’ and solidarist internationalism, in australian journal of international affairs, 70:4, 391-406. 7. iroanya, r.o. (2005), ‘citizenship-indigeneship contradictions and resource control in africa: a case for the african tradition of ubuntu’, in the annual africa day conference university of south africa, pretoria, pp. 111 8. le roux, j. (2000), ‘the concept of ‘ubuntu’: africa’s most important contribution to multicultural education?’, in multicultural teaching, 18(2), 43–46. 9. lukamba muhiya tshombe , thekiso molokwane , alex nduhura, innocent nuwagaba3, “an analysis of public-private partnerships in east africa, research” in world economy vol. 11, no. 5; special issue, 2020 10. metz, t. (2007), ‘ubuntu as a moral theory: reply to four critics’, south african journal of philosophy, vol. 26(4), pp. 370-387 11. metz, t., (2011), “ubuntu as a moral theory and human rights in south africa”, in african human rights law journal, vol.11 n.2, pretoria. 12. van binsbergen, w. (2001), ‘ubuntu and the globalisation of southern african thought and society’, quest: an african journal of philosophy, vol. xv, no. 1-2, african renaissance and ubuntu philosophy special issue, pp. 5390. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.2. no.1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 65 good governance and effective human relations: pathways to fostering ethno-religious harmony in nigeria by kanayo nwadialor department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe univwesity, awka kl.nwadialor@unizik.edu.ng abstract nigeria as the most populous african state is uniquely described as the country with the largest number of muslims and christians living together in the world. with over two hundred and fifty distinctively divergence lingual groupings, nigeria has more ethnic groups than any other nation state. with this diversity, nigeria has much to offer to humanity, especially its rich culture and historical experience as a former colonial state. however, one of the major challenges facing nigeria is the need to overcome ethnic and religious prejudices that have impeded its development and stunted its growth, thereby retarding its progress and making it one of the poorest countries instead of one of the richest. therefore, the thrust of this paper is to consider how best we could overcome this daunting challenge and foster ethno-religious harmony in the country. the paper is based on the conviction that good governance and effective human relations are requisite pathways necessary to foster a harmonious co-existence between different religions and various ethnic groups endowed this country by providence. this is particularly so because there can be no peace when credible leaders are lacking, and harmony exist only when good relationship between various components of the society is established. keywords: good, governance, human relations, ethno-religious, harmony, nigeria introduction nigeria is the most populous country in the african continent with 250 linguistic and ethnic groups. apart from the ethnic and linguistic divides, there is also the religious divide mainly between muslims and christians. the basic structure of nigeria since colonial time has been shaped by division into a northern region, which is heavily influenced by islam, and a southern region, where christianity is more influential. according to essein (2010), since independence, this division has become somewhat more important as religion has become obvious in nigeria and her politics. these tensions have been intensified by the serious economic difficulties that the country has been facing since the 1980s. thousands of young and most often, uneducated and unemployed men have fallen easy prey to religious bigotry and ethnic rivalries. since independence, to say the least, the elite from different ethnic groups and religious affiliations schemed to attract as many federal resources igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 66 to their regions as possible, using religion as a rallying factor. thus, what is most worrisome is the religious dimension of ethnic competition for power and the spate of ethno-religious conflicts in nigeria. the dynamic nature of ethno-religious conflicts, especially in this democratic dispensation is highly worrisome and pathetic. ethnic and religious issues are part of the most recurring issues in nigeria’s body politic. the issue has permeated the landscape since the colonial period and up till the present time, there seems to be no solution. in recent times, the activities of some elements within the affected regions have taken another dimension resulting in kidnapping suicide bombing or the disruption of well order, peace and good governance. many have spoken out expressing deed concern while others pay lip service to ameliorating the violence. but the question is how did we get to this warped junction? we did because our leaders have been mostly ambivalent. the management strategies of government over the years have failed to resolve this reoccurring decimal. indeed, the spiral of violent conflict generated by ethnicity and religion, despite democratic rule is alarming. has nigeria become such a tribally focused, congenitally and religiously divided country that only dictators and those who exploit religious divisive difference can aspire to rule? this question has necessitated an examination of the trend of conflicts as well as the mechanism of government over the years. this reoccurring decimal of ethno-religious conflicts points to one thing. that the governments over the years have not applied adequate mechanism to the problem or rather, it is a reflection of failure on the part of the government, and therefore calls for an adequate attention of the government which only good governance can guarantee. furthermore, hitherto, many religious leaders and scholars have been advocating for religious tolerance in nigeria. this is most welcome since by it, people are willing to allow others to hold opinions or follow customs different from one’s own. but this, in the main, has not yielded much positive results because the party that is tolerating the other still sees the other as its opponent if not enemy, that it has to leave alone for the purpose of peace. of course, they do not always leave themselves alone as we have seen in the various crises. it is against this backdrop that the present researchers believe strongly that we should go beyond religious tolerance and graduate into ethnoreligious harmony where each of the religious and ethnic groups must be allowed to exist. ethno-religious harmony is not meant to fuse the religious and / or ethnic groups together or to combine all as a single whole. rather, it is an agreement of feeling, interests, view or opinions. there is no doubt that there are many areas of agreement in our religions and these should igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 67 encourage us to live in harmony. in spite of our ethnic and religious differences, ethno-religious harmony will make us free from quarreling, illfeeling, hatred, contempt, and intolerance. we should indeed, build everywhere in nigeria what can be described as harmonious family or neighbours. this again is what only effective human relations can guarantee. clarification of concepts terms such as good governance, human relations, ethnic groups, ethnicity, religion, ethnic conflict, religious conflict and ethno-religious conflict are conceptually clarified to bring about their understanding. good governance according to shekarau (2011) is such that ensures development which is ascertained by improvement in living conditions, both materials and spiritual (having inner peace and tranquility). good governance ensures a peaceful, equitable, harmonious and just society where every citizen has a strong sense of national identity and belonging. akinwale (2010) sees good governance as such that would ensure good legislation, respect and enforce good laws, and use such laws for the harmonization of diverse ethnic, religious, linguistic, and cultural groups in nigeria. it is therefore imperative that nigeria have a leadership that will maintain clear national vision that will emancipate the majority of the citizens from these inter-ethnic and religious prejudices that reduces the majority of the populace to abject poverty and ardent want. effective human relations is all about positioning people emotionally, spiritually, and intellectually so as to maintain and restore relationships at all levels of human interaction, to create safe environments that nurture each individual. man, by nature, is religious. he is a homoreligious. in addition to being a religious being, he recognizes that he is a being in relation. this peculiar quality makes man want to be in relation not only to other beings of his own species, but to divinities and to god. according to erivwo (1988) “the potentialities of the self are better realized when the self is related to other selves” (p 1). just as man is by nature religious, so is he by nature a social being. consequently man expresses his religion in society. hence obiefuna (2008) maintained that human relations is an extension of religion. those who share common beliefs and have similar aspirations, fears, and problems belong together and often attempt to find solutions to their common problems. it is for this that effective human relations helps man to develop qualities, aptitudes and abilities which enables the individual to acquire critical understanding of problem of the society, to understand and explain facts, opinions and ideas, to work in groups, to accept and participate in free igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 68 discussions and to have value judgments and decision on a national analysis of relevant facts and factors. an ethnic group has been described as a group of people linked by a common bond of kinship and communal relationship. in some cases, it has identifiable language, social, economic, and cultural traits as well as a distinct territory (elaigwu, 2008:57). meanwhile, suberu (2003) says that ethnic group is regarded generally as a social collectivity whose members not only share such objective characteristics as language, core-territory, ancestral myths, culture, religion and/or political organization, but also to common descent in identity. ethnicity on the other hand is the contextual discrimination by members of one group against others on the basis of differentiated system of socio-cultural symbols. ethnicity as a concept connotes struggle. it implies either an overt or covert competition between two or more ethnic groups. the trigger of the competition might be political, economic, socio-cultural or religious. hence hullington (1971) refers to ethnic conflict as a type of social competition that typically involves large amount of violence and often particularly vicious forms of violence. the point is that ethnicity can give rise to ethnic conflict and ethnicity does not exist in a pure form. it is always closely associated with political, juridical, religious and other social views. therefore, in most cases, ethnicity engenders religious conflicts. religion itself has to do with man’s relationship with the supernatural. religion is also primordial and easily used in the same manner with ethnicity to mobilize members of the same religion or sect. a dominant feature of religions is symbolism. thus, symbols arise in the sub-conscious and are part or the basis of the other mental processes such as imagination, memory and even perception. in a situation where religious symbols are wrongly interpreted, conceived and perceived, conflict will surface. hence, ayantayo (cited in chinyere, 2010) defines inter-religious conflict as a state of disagreement between two religious persons regarding who is or who is not holding absolute religious truth; it occurs when members of different religions are engaged in argument which often goes with bickering, controversy, demonstration, debate or squabble over religious beliefs and practices. sometimes religious identity becomes part of an ethnic identity, and of course when coupled with the power of the ethnic group’s myth of common descent, it presents a volatile social mixture indeed. ethno-religious conflict, therefore arise where ethnic identity and religious, loyalty overlap. in nigeria, the northern part of the country is mostly muslims while the southern part is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 69 predominantly christians, and amidst these groups, there exist different ethnic groups. many scholars and statesmen have argued that these two sources of identity are the main causes of nigeria’s under development, and have been used by some political leaders for selfish ends. historical trace of the trend and causes of ethno-religious conflicts in nigeria according to essein (2010): the origin of ethnicity and ethnic conflicts in nigeria dates back to the colonial government that forced the ethnic groups of the northern and southern provinces to become an entity called nigeria in 1914. since the various ethnic groups living in those provinces were not consulted regarding the merger, this british colonial policy was autocratic and undemocratic, and thus led to conflict. (p. 153). moreso, the introduction of indirect rule in nigeria not only reinforced ethnic divisions, it also complicated the task of welding diverse elements into a nigeria nation (nnoli, 1980). this strategy of governance distanced ethnic groups from each other. prejudices and hatred became rife in the provinces as different ethnic groups started looking at one another suspiciously in all spheres of contact. bolarinwa (2010) further surmised that “indeed, nigeria’s multi-religious and multi ethnic character) was engendered by her colonial existence; colonialism resulted in the coming together of desperate entities under a single national authority” (p. 65). the implication is that different ethno-cultural and religious groups have to co-exist and compete within the same geopolitical entity. akinwale (2010) added that “the arbitrary partition of africa by european colonial powers at the berlin conference of november 1884, to february 1885 created states without securing the consent of peoples of diverse linguistic affinities and cultural affiliations which make them up” (p. 7). the consequence has been the creation of states held together at gun point instead of nations. this problem was compounded with the importation of islam and christianity, the two world religions that had been traditional enemies to one another. however, the sowing of seed of antagonism between christianity and islam in nigerian dates back to pre-independence period when the british colonialists embarked on the policy of protecting the muslim north from the “destructive influence” of the christian south but went ahead to amalgamate the two into one political entity. but the antagonism has remained more latent until the 1977/78 sharia controversies at the constituent assembly when it came to the fore (bolarinwa, 2010). thus, riots based (at least ostensibly) on religious affiliation and religious policies which later took igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 70 up ethnic dimensions ensued. since then, religious and so called ethnic crises have together claimed several lives and property. however, looking at ethnic and religious conflicts purely from british colonial policies can be misleading. it is pertinent to note that governance is the fundamental root of these ethnoreligious hostilities in nigeria. our political leaders, on both sides muslims and christians, have invoked the name of god in politics, and sought to use religion freely in influencing the polity, decision and swaying national political and economic policies and to that end governance. we can hardly pretend that we do not have in our midst those who hide behind political frankness to peddle religious incitement, hate, or demagoguery. ojo (1988) opines that “the reaction bourgeoisie has concerned itself with the fomenting of religious strife, in order thereby to divert the attention of the masses from the really important and fundamental economic and political problem” (p. 133). shakarau (2011) further noted that the dichotomy between ethnic indigenship and civic citizenship has been the cause of many conflicts since access to services and resources depends on which category one belongs to. the present researchers therefore agree with essein (2010) that there is an increase relationship between the rise in secular violence and the fall in the economic indices and general well-being of the people. the nigerian economy, as a result of mis governance, has been in a state of collapse since the late 1970s through 1980s to the present. nigeria’s main source of income comes from the sale of crude oil, the real price of which often fluctuates, and the accrued revenue of which largely flies into private coffers in the guise of fuel subsidy. this underlines the material basis for the escalation of inter-ethic and inter-religious clashes and hostilities. similarly, in nigeria, there is the ever-increasing level of poverty typified in joblessness, deteriorating infrastructures, and so on. the widespread poverty in the country has given rise to the scramble for limited resources. there are no good roads, proper medical facilities, social infrastructures, and no good schools. environments such as these generate fear, distrust, hatred, frustration, anger, and so on. under such circumstances, it is easy to believe that the central government is biased in favour of one ethnic or religious group to the detriment of others. recognizing this the ruling class consciously exploits the venom of ethnicism and religious fanaticism as means of keeping the people permanently divided and diverting their attention away from the real problems confronting them. these conscious manipulations of ethnic and religious differences under-terrible socio-economic conditions give rise to periodic explosions. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 71 the way forward it is clear that the dangers posed by ethno-religious crises in nigeria are manifest, except that our leaders are ambivalent about addressing them. to them, the wielding of political power is the most lucrative occupation in nigeria, and its attainment by any means far outweighs the risk posed to the national interest by the means. our present state of play is that efforts by nigerian politicians to gain ascendency and power has led to situations in which politics has swept away any of the sacred precepts of religion, and in the process contaminated the hearts of people with bitterness and enmity for the religion of others. thus, we are witnessing the hitherto unthinkable. in any case, there is no doubt that major cases of ethnic and religious conflicts have attracted government’s response. however, the extent of the effectiveness of government’s response to these conflicts has always been a matter of controversy and therefore calls for proper examination and review towards more enduring approaches. for instance it is observed that government has over the years placed more emphasis on the use of government’s security agents to manage violent conflicts to the exclusion of other social welfare oriented approaches. the use of coercive arm of government to contain violent conflicts and restore order is mere voting for un-easy calm. such calm is often a negative one which itself is a source of tension merely waiting for explosion under any slightest provocation. again government is often seen as not being forth coming in punishing the perpetrators of these conflicts there by resulting in lack of trust for the government. to this, essein (2010) believes that the way forward lies in uprooting the system that is creating the conditions that promote such hostilities, ethnicity, religion, poverty, and corrupt ruling elites overshadow life in nigeria. this can only be achieved through good governance. an analysis of the governance situation and people’s perception of governance shows that all levels of government need to do a lot of restore their credibility. good governance and the fostering of ethno-religious harmony in nigeria the preservation of ethnic and inter-religious peace (or its breakdown) is dependent upon the respective government’s policy choices and decision. hence the role of good political leadership cannot be over emphasized. ethnoreligious conflicts in nigeria have continued because nigerian elite are corrupt and split along the lines of religion and ethnicity. therefore, without a bold and articulate leadership, conflict management and prevention will continue to be a mirage. nigeria needs a leadership that can challenge the actions of ethnic and religious leaders who have used violent ethno-religious igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 72 conflicts for personal gain. akinwale (2010) surmised that good governance is a basic prerequisite for a stable nigeria polity as there can be no harmony where credible leadership is lacking. bolarinwa (2010) also noted that the existence of multiplicity of religious groups consequently places the burden of creating a peaceful atmosphere and co-existence on the government which is the agency responsible for maintaining peace and stability in the country. this belief is based on the ideology that good government and democratic principles are capable of mitigating social conflicts and distributing scarce resources in an equitable manner in a pluralistic society like nigeria. the government should endeavour to pursue economic growth and development that would transform the economy. this will help to ameliorate the hardship plaguing the people and reduce ethno-religious clashes. the government should articulate programmes that will positively influence attitudes on ethnicity and religion, equitability, human and minority rights, tolerance towards divergent opinions and norms, non-violence, and the reality of multi-culturalism. good governance, especially accountability, transparency and equity, would restore legitimacy to government, promote inter-ethnic and religious harmony and ensure democratic consideration. there is also the need for a robust economy that will take care of the basic needs of the people so as to ensure that ethnic and religious identity are harnessed positively as a uniting force rather than divisive factor. again, since most of the religious conflicts are products of misconceptions emanating from deep rooted stereotypes, there is therefore the need for the government to create an enabling environment that facilitates cross fertilization of ideas among the different faiths. this on one hand will bring about greater understanding of each faith and reduce stereotype and, on the other hand, it will greatly reduce the tendency of political actors to manipulate religious cleavages in the country. nigerian leaders must endeavour to emphasis the historical and cultural basis of our national unity by including a declaration of harmony and unity along with the national anthem at relevant events. and more importantly, we must endeavour to elect righteous leaders who have the fear of god in them and not based on religious or ethnic sentiments. a righteous leader is one who can walk freely on the streets to see for himself how the masses are living and how they are coping with their daily activities. a nation cannot move forward if the leaders do not have good relationship with the masses. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 73 since policy makers across the country belong to one religious group or the other, these leaders, should allow the strength of the teachings of their religions to bear in the course of events in their various positions of leadership. when our leaders and others in positions of authority begin to implement the above given advice there would be peace, order and harmony in our country. the dynamics of effective human relations and ethno-religious harmony in nigeria effective human relations is proposed here alongside good governance because, although it is yet to be fully exploited in managing social problems confronting the country, it is a holistic relation that harnesses the moral teachings of every religion to moderate unwanted behaviour in a society. it is based on the ideology of none violence, honesty, justice, equity, tolerance, correlation, accountability, compassion and respect for differences and people. in practical terms it is the philosophy of live-and let-live. ethno-religious conflicts are basically caused by selfishness, greed, intolerance, injustice, corruption, discrimination, inequality, and so on. these negative vices are challenges which effective human relations can tackle. effective human relations has the tendency to moderate the physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual potentials of people within the context of their cultural, sociopolitical and religious milieus for peaceful and harmonious living. it is an essential mechanisms needed for the promotion of attitudes necessary for the society to prevent conflicts and violence, both overt and structural, to resolve conflict peacefully and to create the conditions conducive for harmonious coexistence, whether inter-personal, inter-group, inter-religious or interethnic. this is essentially to encourage unity in diversity in the country. effective human relations enables for inter-ethnic and inter-religious contact which makes people more tolerant and open minded of the other side. it also makes people more responsive and inclined toward cooperation in joint projects with the other side. human relations rely upon multi-culturalism and awareness about the suffering of various groups involved in the conflict to promote empathy for the suffering of others and reduce hostilities. based on this, empathy, tolerance, cooperation, open-minded and justice are the essential ingredients that are required to foster ethno-religious harmony. these values can be gardened through effective human relations. the steps to using effective human relations for the task of ethno-religious harmony include the formation of informal ‘harmony groups’ that can formulate strategies and initiatives to promote greater knowledge and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 74 understanding among different ethnic groups and religions in nigeria. this seeks to foster friendship and build trust during peace time so that challenges and strains on social cohesion can be contained whenever they arise (eleigwu, 2005). the group will be challenged to recruit ethnic and religious leaders and build informal ties with cultural groups. this will encourage leaders of various religious organizations as well as ethnic and community associations to participate in the programmes of the harmony groups. akpuru–aja (2007) states that effective human relationship is helping people appreciate how appealing cooperation or peaceful co-existence is, how to analyze conflicts and its dynamics, how to make, resolve and manage conflicts situations; the relationship between all the processes involves in promoting peace and harmony. from the above analysis, one can conclude that the objective of effective human relations is to foster a culture of harmony in the society; hence it is a factor in fostering ethno-religious harmony in nigeria. conclusion while it could be argued that nigeria remains a state held together at gun point, and not yet a nation, the present researchers are of the view that to continue to bemoan colonialism, the berlin conference of 1884/85, and the amalgamation of the northern and southern nigeria in 1914 is tantamount to intellectual haziness. it is a case of wrong diagnosis that will lead to deadly and disastrous medication. every nation has had their own share of history and how they came into existence as nations, whether by consent or by gun point. but what has made the difference between nations is governance. in his ingenuity, obafemi awolowo evoked the myth of oodua as common ancestor of the yoruba in the formation and naming of a union-egbe omo oodua. to this myth he added good governance in the dogged implementation of welferist policies (akinwale, 2010). it follow therefore, that good governance is inevitable in the implementation of welfarist policies in nigeria and the provision of people’s basic need which is a sure way of cutting down the tide, if not eliminating the incidence of ethno-religious conflicts in nigeria. this is in line with the logic that people who live in prosperity do not go to war with each other. the british recognized the political and economic advantages of a diverse and immense nigeria; hence they colonized such a vast expanse of land. nigerian can do the same if we have a purposeful and reliable leadership who will possess the political will to integrate while maintaining diversity. such leaders must work for a sound education that will not only form the intellectual but also the characters and hands of the citizen. when education forms the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 75 intellect, character and hands of the citizen that is when the citizen works for the common good. akinwale (2010) noted that “leadership is noble when it is credible, and it is credible only when it is at the service of the common good” (p. 15). nigerians have shown themselves to be resilient and resourceful, intelligent and energetic. harmonize them and you have a peaceful, prosperous and powerful nation that will uplift africa. the need for harmony is the need to do away with ethno-religious hostilities in all its forms. that is where effective human relations is mostly needful. references akinwale, o.p. (2010). human rights and credible leadership: prerequisites for stable polity. in i.o. albert & o.n. olarinde (eds.). trends and tensions in managing conflicts (pp. 1-18) ibadan: john arches. akpuru-aja, a. (2002). basic, concepts, issues and strategies of peace and conflict resolutions: nigeria – african conflict case study. enugu: keny. bolarinwa, j.o. (2010). clash of cultures: muslim –christian violence in nigeria and its implication for political stability. in i.o. albert & o.n. olarinde (eds.). trends and tensions in managing conflicts (pp. 63-74). ibadan: john arches. chinyere, a. n. (2010). peace education. an untapped pathways to managing ethno-religious conflicts in nigeria. in i.o. albert & o.n. olarinde (eds.). trend and tension in managing conflicts (pp. 181 -198). ibadan: john arches. essein, f. (2010). the role of good governance and civil society in the management of ethnic and religious conflict. in i.o. albert & o.n. olarinde (eds.). trends and tension in managing conflicts (pp. 152-167). ibadan: john arches. erivuo, s.u. (1988). religion and identity: the church’s role in nation with special reference to nigeria. in p.a. dopamu (ed.). religion and the development of a nation: the state of nigeria (pp.1-16). ibadan: n.a. s.r. elaigwu, j.i. (2005). the management of ethno-religious conflicts in northern nigeria: towards a more peaceful and harmonious geopolitics. in a. bobboyi & a.m. yakubu (eds.). peace-building and conflict resolution in northern nigeria (pp. 41-60). zaria: ahmedu bello university. hullington, s. (1971). civil violence and the process of development in civil violence and international system. london: iiss. nnoli, o. (1980). ethnic politics in nigeria. enugu: forth dimension. obiefuna, b.a. c. (2008). the prospects of the graduates of religion and human relations in nigeria’s economy. amawbia: lumos. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 76 ojo, s.o.j. (1988). religion, state and the national question: discontinuities and pitfalls. in p.a. dopamu (ed.). religion and the development of a nation: the state of nigeria (pp. 126 -137). ibadan: w.d.s.r. shekarau, i. (2010). promotion of inter-ethnic harmony: a penecea for national development. retrieved on january 14, 2012. from www. ibrahims hakarau. com/index.php. suberu, r.t. (2003). ethnic minority conflicts and governance in nigeria. ibadan: spectrum. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 100 the importance of educating people in theology in the 21st century to form religious leaders of conscience in nigeria barnabas sama’ila shabayang, phd department of theology, veritas university abuja bsbliss93@gmail.com abstract in nigeria today, most religious leaders are either christians or muslims. due to massive differences in understanding what the “holy books said (bible and the quran]; there is urgent need be fully grounded knowledge on aspects of theological education to sharpen their vision for effective leadership. the importance of theological education in the formation of conscience is cardinal in forming human character to uphold sound societal ethos. the drive to seek wisdom in order to exercise morality to exhibit basic ethical behaviour in human society can be tie to the quest for sound spirituality of leaders of churches or mosques in africa. this is extremely important and is the sino quo non of rendering qualitative catecheses to the congregation of god's people in the 21st century. the reception of qualitative theological education by religious leaders in africa has multiple benefits it promotes orthodoxy, guides the leader's intellectual power to deliver divine truth, carving a roadmap and setting rich agenda of priorities on issues of justice, peace and the development of pastoral and cultural sensibilities. it increases the quality of the messages delivered at public gatherings, it renews and refreshes the recipient access to the truth and it enhances capacity for dialogue with multiple and diverse religions. in this research, we undertake to expound the teaching that is grounded with god-centred truth in sacred scriptures and sacred tradition, received through the discipline of acquiring theological education; as it helps religious leaders in africa yearn for a greater spirit to promote peace and harmony amongst adherents of different faith-based communities. a sound theological education promotes orthodoxy and sustains the deposit of faith; as it brings refreshing transformation, creativity and generating fruitfulness. the task lies in inculturating values to nurture and sustain a mature african civilization for brighter prospects of a happy and progressive people of today and tomorrow. keywords: agenda of theology, education, learning, peace, harmony, transformation, peace introduction the act of serenity and illumination bequeathed through the instrument of education is a purpose driven life that sharpens the intellect and create vision to meet a quest for excellence. for a human person to receive good education, more efforts must be put to invest in a sound and beautiful experiential process that must transmit and utilize this investment for effective leadership. by it, the power of education changes the status of the person from ignorance to enlightenment, from naivety to interactions, from aloofness to warm-heartedness. the clear reasons the catholic bishops of nigeria taught that: "nigeria like any nations of the world, gives priority to education igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 101 in the blueprint for national development." (arogundade: 2015: v). it confirms that the task, aim and mission of education are enormous as these are wholistic vehicle of integrated development and most of all a guide leading to fruitfulness, as this is beautifully illustrated by kennedy (quoted by abegunrin: 2002: 13) in these lucid words: of those to whom much is given, much is required. and when at some future date the high court of history sits in judgment of each of us ... recording whether in our brief span of service we fulfilled our responsibilities to the state ... our success or failure, in whatever office we may hold, will be measured by the answer to four questions: were we truly men (women) of courage... were we truly men (women) of judgment... were we truly men (women) of integrity... were we truly men (women) of dedication… if actually these golden questions are asked by the right persons and in the right places, it will show that we need to apply the cause, effect and reaction to self by every man or woman, every young boy or girl, every religious or civil leader in africa as we walk into the early hours and years of the 21st century. african religious leaders must work hard to carve a niche on the sand of time and to equally develop a fruitful educational module that must motivate, transform and translate the gains of ingenious culture creatively. for gladiators who fight against ignorance, for scholars who research and work hard to carve a niche for an african enviable leadership in all strata of society nelson mandela, nnamdi azikiwe, kwame nkruma, julius nyerere, kofi anan, emmanuel cardinal walligo, francis cardinal arinze, christian cardinal tumi, archbishop desmond tutu, sir ahmadu bello, sir tafawa balewa, sheik shehu lemo, bishop matthew hassan kukah et al; the dire has just been cast. to truly enrich african religious space, leadership and culture in the twenty-first century, a qualitative education is a most desired good and is an inestimable value of great worth. even though the price for excellence is high and expensive; the greater-end good propels development, making the continent dynamic to bear abundant fruits, to scores of developmental projects. the researcher bears in mind claude ake’s definition of development: development as ‘the process by which people create and recreate themselves and their life circumstances to realise higher levels of civilisation in accordance with their own choices and values – development is something that people must do for themselves’ (1996: 125). this sensory initiative and guidance can best be achieved if christian or muslim leaders communicate this eternal truth, as they share in context and content the riches of varied scriptural teachings in their places of worship daily and weekly basis. the extreme need to carve this vision therefore requires continuous and relentless commitment to education that leads to excellence; the task of evolving this brand, texture and quality of education that set human conscience on fire, shapes morality. it deliberately makes leaders to grow a culture that must serve as the agenda that proposes the roadmap to grow a strong african civilization. all leaders in africa, in all strata of life: political, social, economic, cultural and especially within the ambient of the religious index; must ensure and be ready to embark or igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 102 drive an enriching conscious ethics targeting at qualitative community life to build a healthy conscience. in africa, the task and vision of religious leaders in christianity or islam must be to distinguish by their chose vocation, to acquire a deep god-driven conscience that is healthy, interactive and democratic, so that they can form the basis of faith. the end desire is for one to aim at becoming a legend of truth, justice, love and dialogue geared towards development like jesus christ or prophet muhammad. the motif of responding to the popular expression that "a spoon of honey attracts more flies than a bucket of vinegar," becomes more desirable venture for the mentoring act of youths in our african society. thus, making resolute effort, searching for constructive platforms to promote truth in order to intensify the quest for eternal salvation by religious leaders of conscience is an existential contest that continues to bedeviled the continent by hunger, leaves more to be desired. we need an all-embracing education in africa in order to go pass the endemic and catastrophe curse of being a negatively perceived black people in the continent. if not what are we going to bequeath to the world and the next generation of africans? it is quite obvious that physically the geographical landscape of africa is the same, but other indices and elements are fast expanding as we journey into the 21st century in terms of demography (with more than 1.2 billion inhabitants, https:www.worldometers.info/world-population). in africa, the inadequacies in policies and implementations of economic, education, health and urban development, cultural and religious programmes leave much to be desired. enlow wrote that: "christianity is declining in its former territorial heartlands but spreading such that it is now a predominantly non-western religion-and it seems poised to continue this demographic and cultural reorientation for some time to come." (enlow: 2006:1). the integrated education that liberates to fruitfulness is all encompassing as it eliminates gross ignorance to build and guarantee enduring developmental spirit of cultural sensibility and nurturing. theological education in africa in the 21st century is essential for growth in the african continent, the focus for theological education in all formation units centres and institutions of higher learning (seminaries and universities) and specifically on the pulpit must be decisive, progressive and culturally illuminative. the efforts must orient on examining existential and cultural issues, leading to liberation, illumination and geared towards salvation of souls. africans must deconstruct western paradigm and select relevant issues in order to focus on theological education, the erudite ralph e. enlow pointed out illustratively the quest and the contentious agenda of theological education in these provocative words, (enlow: 2006:2): ...too much of what passes for theological education in the west and, through its pervasive residual influence upon emerging majority world churches, the educational philosophies and curricula of non-western schools characteristically consist of transmission of intellectual content and theological dogma that is heavily enlightenment-laden. simply put, too often theology poses and answers questions that are irrelevant to constituent churches in many areas of the world while at the same time failing to address biblically urgent questions with which their constituent believers are confronted. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 103 africa, since the early mid-1960s begun a soul-searching project to indigenalize, inculturate and contextualize theological thoughts to meet existential realities of political freedom, to eradicate illiteracy, poverty, hunger and examine the consequences of urbanization. craving, generating or articulating an all inclusive theological agenda based on cultural sensibilities and squaring the template of genuine application of biblical text to threatening issues. "professor walls calls for awakening of theological schools to the true task of theology, namely, to bring the whole of scripture to bear upon the questions and choices with which ordinary believers are confronted in their calling to live out the gospel in their native context." (walls in enlow: 2006:3). the clear focus and the hallmark of theological education in africa cut across religion, creed and class must serve the human dignity, building a transparent personality geared towards the task of forming a conscious character of a person for the good of society. a sound theological education "engages and shapes the mind, to a more relevant and biblical notion of theology that forms the person and facilitates his (her) living in and through christ in community." (enlow: 2006:1). introspectively, theological education must address, "essentially, the socio-economic development that the african continent needs should be informed by thought leadership, thought liberation, and critical consciousness. the three ‘instruments’– the trio – should be pursued jointly, for thought leadership without critical consciousness is not helpful." (gumede: 2015:95). there is no gainsaying that in the continent of africa, wide spectrum and inclusiveness of theological education cannot be over emphasized. even though theological education is not a magic wand, yet it is expected to play in africa the decisive role of being prophetic and focusing on the messianic character of christ's mission (cf. lk 4: 18); to be the voice of the voiceless, speaking and addressing issues of injustice, oppression, economic slavery and manipulations. the research sets to propose and place on record the features, agendas and issues needing urgent attention and treatment within the opportune platform of theological education, in order to wake up and conscientized the weak, to set awoken and set aright the demoralized and over beaten conscience of religious leaders in africa, which might be due to over reliance on foreign donor agencies, theories of relativism, religious bigotry and fanaticism that have occupied the centre stage, thus give room for poor delivery of divine truth on the pulpit, podium or lecture rooms. the agenda for theological education in africa must be natural and ancestrally it is truism that every human person, community, society and continent is unique and important based on the recorded positive indices of the growth and development. the current world population in (https:www.worldometers.info/world-population) 2018 stood at 7, 632,819,315 billion, with the african continent being the second most populated after asia, with a total of 1, 037, 524, 088 constituting 14 percentage of the global family. this mind-blowing record requires not only planning, but building a conscious and responsible leadership cadre in africa cut across the two dominant religions. this is tenable because there is will to grow, expand, develop and scale over natural disasters of cruelty, violence and terrorism. based on the index of violence and war raging at different locations on the african continent, religious leaders' catechesis and spiritual engineering must be focus on peace-building and harmonious accommodation of one igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 104 another. the capacity to accept people for who they are which marks that trade-mark created by god, makes people to be different from the actuality of who their nature than us brings. a purposeful and useful engagement on a direction to follow in life points out that a journey has a location of departure and an anticipated destiny of arrival. setting an integrated vision oriented and all inclusive agenda that maintains the obvious fact that all human persons, cultures, creed or class are created equal by god and are expected to live in peace, justice and harmony in the world; must be the brain child of the task of theological education. idowu (1969: 3) had already noted with clarity that: "africans are notoriously spiritual and religious by nature," is a positive affirmation that religious and spiritual goods, elements of worship and faith are already inert in the psyche of the african person be they christians or muslims. that must prompt the urge to seek paths that lead to actualization of dialogue of spirit, ethics, faith and factual realities where both practice love in the day-to-day struggle life in africa in order to grow the economy, education and culture to promote the psychological well being of a homogeneous people. africans are lively, progressive, communitarian by nature and dependable people. it is on record that in the african continent, there are many political, socio-economic or cultural disparities amongst its teeming population of over 1.2 billion inhabitants. feuds, armed conflicts and sometimes wars arise due to inefficiency of management or lack of coordination of natural resources; these are the clear lines drawn where the religious leaders of christians or muslims are called to exercise ethical leadership to mentor, correct and calm the situation. according to ackerman (2004:448), ethical leadership ‘is the result of a tough and often conflict-ridden process of institutional design’. there is neither a mechanical formula nor an independent theory to respond to the crisis of leadership on the african continent. there is no magic in ethical leadership, rather than it is given, it is taught, it is exercise by the team as they correlate to the followership in churches or in the mosques. ethical leadership does not emerge spontaneously, out of natural goodness or nobleness of heart of charismatic bureaucrats, especially in some notorious crimeridden communities. the task towards "strengthening ethical political and (religious) leadership entails a peaceful ‘mental and structural revolution’ (ngwane 2003:1), to alter the system that enables unethical people to assume political leadership (mutibwa 1992). this is explicitly the continuency by which theological education has relevance and mandate. in the twenty-first century, 'urgently needed are short and long-term strategies for inculcating ethical leadership values from childhood,' these are congruent realities. furthermore, maathai (2009:111) asserts that ‘unless africans from all levels of society recognize and embrace the challenge of leadership, africa will not move forward’. the business of producing corrupt-free leaders in the african society must be the task, mandate and mission of preachers of social ethics, social justice and equitable life of accountability on the high pedestal of the church or mosque. crucial is the breaking of the chain of self-serving, self-subservient and egoistic political leaders, while focusing on sustainable structural transformation (hampson and mendeloff 2007). until we as african people are able to draw a line that the sanctuary of ethical leadership is the platform of the human contingency and freedom of expression. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 105 we endeavour below to explore the varied efforts made by scholars in the two main religions in africa christianity or islam to establish a solid foundation that brings up building a fortified character were our strengths can be measured by upholding sound ethical teachings by our religious leaders on promoting dialogue that will generate love against hate amongst adherents of different faith. this initiative comes with introducing an inculturated god-driven faith that has empathy on the destitute and idps persons, charity and missionary presence to orphans, widows and widowers, justice, equity and compensation to the marginalized in society. focus more on contextual and inculturation of theological education at the incarnation, god became a human being in jesus christ, by taking our nature (but sin) to educate us to be humble, holy, serviceable and literate. in the current dispensation, in africa, the teaching holds ever, that the doctrine and dogma of the incarnation (cf. john 1: 1-3; esp. 14) sets the tune and platform of engaging on the quest for an interactive theological education that liberates people from the shackles of colonial, military dictatorship and the malady of bad civil democratic rule. we intent to explore specific agenda, reformation and renewal of theological education embarked by the roman catholic church, other main line churches and the pentecostal churches, to demonstrate the relevance of theological education. a deep introspective reading and examination of the agenda of the roman catholic theological education before the second vatican council reveals that it was tedious, deliberate and useful methods to transit from what was to what is currently in vogue. stephen bevans (2010: 9) wrote: "in the extensive reformation of the roman catholic church called for by the council of trent, one of its most significant decisions was an outstanding achievement in advancing theological education." the 19th ecumenical council of trent (1545-1563) teaches that "all cathedrals, metropolitan, and other churches greater than these, shall be bound.... to educate religiously, and to train in ecclesiastical disciple, a certain number of youths of their city and diocese" for the priesthood in what the council called "seminaries." (1990: 750:753). in the catholic church, the decisive journey to affirm the important principles that will guide theological education was set in motion by the 21st ecumenical council of the second vatican (1962-1965). the incisive and progressive manner by which development was recorded in the spade of acquiring a wholistic theological education was impressive. vatican ii teaches that: "in the light of the shape and tenor of catholic theology after trent, vatican ii's theology was revolutionary. at the center of the council's concern was the development of a new theology of the church... vatican ii's was the church as the people of god, a community of equals by virtue of baptism." (bevans: 1990: 753). this being said, there is a greater need to facilitate and coordinate the dynamics by which theological education amongst catholic members need to be properly transmitted in the spirit and in the mind of the council fathers of the second vatican council. what must be are proper biblical and doctrinal education, by which we need to reflect on essential modern ethical character that must reflect a greater spirit of the integration of humanity more than egoistic tendency that leads to destruction. for the task of 'strengthening ethical leadership necessitates the application of transformation tools (curle:1990), coupled with the ‘moral igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 106 imagination, the capacity to imagine something rooted in the challenges of the real world yet capable of giving birth to that which does not yet exist' (lederach:2005:ix). mediation, reconciliation, justice, and peacemaking are benchmarks to transforming the crisis (curle 1990; lederach 1997). "the trend, (like in most african communities) of not involving women, children and youth in decision-making needs to change, given that the mother is the primary educator of every person." (byrne & senehi: 2009). thus, the catholic church set through her sixteen documents released by vatican ii, explicit and extensive catechesis on proper biblically based faith and further strengthen that by specifying the centrality of her sacramental life. by the efforts of the world council of churches, formed in 1948, with headquarters in geneva, numerous proposals and emphasizes were placed on biblically based theological education that most be focused on practical and contextual cultural challenges devoid of heavy reliance on doctrine, dogma and creedal faith expression as the case with catholic theological education. dr. carver yu "claims that, while it is theology's duty to examine the extent to which the church truly lives as the eschatological, charismatic, covenantal, eucharistic community of saints, these matters are mostly absent from or perverted with theological curricula" (carver: 2006: 4). christian ministers outside the catholic circle propound theories for theological education on personal agenda, learning and experience, not from a centralist position of having a magisterial organ or body to authorize, stamp and articulate the firmness of a teaching. modern pentecostal scholars seem to fashion out a cutting edge for new agenda of theological education that is devoid of following the long tradition of maintaining the two sources of revelation to be sacred scripture and sacred tradition built over the ages of christendom. it is based on these new radical departures from the status quo that yu makes what seem to be new proposals, but radical and wide agenda for theological education the world over. he further "argues that the theological school fails if it does not help the church to maintain a prophetic edge with reference to these attributes. his examples of theological school failure included, (a) the sterile way in which church history is typically taught in theological schools as a series of church events in contrast to the compelling drama of the eschaton; (b) the preoccupation of biblical and theological studies with individualistic rather than communal understanding and application; and (c) the emphasis upon professional competence at the expense of calls to sacrificial service to christ. (carver: 2006: 4). the focus dwells on theological education's contents, application and the psychology of delivery of the minister to the congregation; in between the minister and the congregation, there must be ability to proof that he/she can unravel the rich ethical teachings of jesus christ to the curious listeners. the landscape of exercising theological education in africa is complex from onset, the tough task requires dealing with the truth and theological themes are not ordinary societal or cultural issues, these are basically issues of doctrine and faith, mystery and evangelization. so it is obvious that the drive in the twenty-first century to explicate the content of theological education in africa and asia is to be more focus on contextualizing and inculturating biblical literature to accommodate cultural sensibilities of the listeners cannot be over emphasized. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 107 on forming world christians, "pinto commended colossians 1: 24-29 as an appropriate meditation and model. specifically, verse 28 summarizes paul's relentless quest to, "present every man (woman) complete in christ." the context for the task of forming world christians is a globalization network itself, concerning which pinto proffered hesselgrave's threefold definition: connectivity between cultures, conflict of paradigms, and context of flux." (pinto: 2006: 6). upon further examination of the agenda of theological education that might arise from the north/south issues, in addressing the global divide, dr. chris wright's captured major issues that x-tray the contentions: wright observed biblically that the issue of resource disparity has been a factor in the life of the church since its inception. citing numerous new testament references, he illustrated that the principle of reciprocity is imbedded in christian theology. gross disparity is a biblical and theological scandal... citing the polyphonic nature of new testament theology (that is, (surveying) theological and ethical problems and errors addressed prophetically across cultures). wright called for charitable but faithful prophetic north-south address of such errors as sexual ethics, prosperity, and christian citizenship responsibility." (2010: 5). from the foregoing, be that as it may be, these are concrete and real issues the extremely rich northern hemisphere is refusing to discuss in order to appreciate the economic hard times of the southern hemisphere as regard the brand of theological education that can lead to empowerment, development and transformation. the initiative needed to handle socio-economic issues in the new agenda of theological education gearing towards a global christian faith that embraces people in their socio-political network being expressed in their cultural sensibilities. another segment by which theological education flourished in the context of inculturating the contents of faith by ecumenical faith dialogue is in the continent of africa. african ecumenical theologian taught extensively on this subject. for instance, njoroge has provided us with the rationale for ecumenical theological education. according to njoroge, "there is a need to equip every christian with basic christian knowledge. the people of god need to understand what they believe in and that it is important to be properly rooted and grounded in god who is love before one can witness to the good news of christ" (2008: 64). in another explicit the quest to drive home the motif of theological education, peter penner in his book theological education as mission has described the goal of ecumenical theology in the following in the twenty-first century in these captivating words: ecumenical theological education and ministerial formation is not an end in itself but is a means of systematically and intentionally enlightening and educating those called to ministry in its various manifestations for lay and ordained persons. the process of training women and men to interpret scripture and understand the faith of the church so that they can follow jesus in god’s mission in preaching, teaching, healing and feeding is inevitable. because of the many evil challenges we face in society, every generation of theological educators must discern how best to equip those who receive the call to ministry so that in due course they can return to the churches and society to equip the saints for the work of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 108 ministry, for building up the body of christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith. (penner: 2005: 58). the principle of engagement in the wide mission of propagating and directing the content based on the context of the african socio-economic, politico-cultural sensibilities and most of all oriented by the multifaceted nature of native religious parlavar; all scholars and ministers, think tanks and missionary energy must be focus on proper ethical and dynamic education. the christians and the able leadership can never achieve these feats without the cooperation, team work and dialogue with islamic and quranic religious leaders. the common good is the ultimate quest, formation and aspiration of leadership and followership in the entire continent. muslims need to focus more on the universality of god as love objectively all muslims believe that god is love, peace, merciful and just. the characteristics and attributes of god (allah) as merciful, love, peace or just are content in the holy and glorious qur'an and the hadith are unquantifiable. the ethical teaching in islam is core-terminus to the belief in one god allah. this cannot be separated or be argued against. thus, we point out clearly that the "assertion of god's unity (tawhid) counts as the primary theological proposition in the qur'an. in islamic faith, classic ethical teaching originally came from the mouth of the prophet mohammad, subsequently, these espoused in the qur'an, by acknowledging the existence of other spiritual beings; such as angels, demons, and jinn, the qur'an uncompromisingly maintains that "there is no god but god"(37: 35 and passim). assimilating, interpreting, teaching and applying these eternal virtues of allah in the life of a new convert to islam, so as to become human virtues require the doggedness and sincerity of purpose, vision and courage of the islamic sheik and imam to execute this divine mandate in the human society. theological education in islam is an integral process of quranic recitation from cradle to the grave; it is more so a wholistic patterns of life that most is followed in the daily exercise and practice of islamic faith. the complex ladder one need to ascent the moral staircase to attain proper ethical teachings in the islamic religion is mostly associated with prophet muhammad as content in the core values of socio-ethical teachings in the qur'an, the sunna and sometimes as found in the hadith. there are many and varied theories and traditions that render classic teachings on morality, ethics and the rule of law (sharia) to be basic principles and mandatory roles a genuine muslim is called to observed. we can examine the categories below as follows: the subsequent development of islamic ethics rests in large part on the relationships between falsafa, kalam, and fiqh that developed during the classical period. for sunni muslims the textualist tendencies exemplified in asharite kalam and in fiqh became primary. much of sunni thought came to regard practical judgment as a matter of obedience to god's commands, made known in specific, revealed texts as interpreted by recognized scholars of fiqh, whose discussions came to carry so much weight what their work alone became associated with the term sharia (law). by comparison, kalam and falsafa retained igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 109 a more central role among the shia, as did ilm al-akhlaq. (dictionary of religions: 1998: 45) from the foregoing however, ethical teachings in islamic religion, taught by parents and quranic teachers are obligatory and mandatory. nevertheless, occasions of the yearly ramadan fast, provides ample provisions of bequeathing endlessly the standard ethical practices expected of every muslims, because, it is a period of grace, prayer, arms-giving, mercy and practical demonstration of charity and love. theological education as a variable tool of evolving conscientious leaders in africa ministry and leadership in the lord's vineyard and amongst the muslim ummah in christianity and islam respectively are valuable assets of power. these are exercise in the most sacred space of conscience that elicit joy, love, unity, peace and brings transformation of human society. the explicit high quality of exercising religious leadership in africa can produce a healthy religious and interreligious culture of love between persons and persons; and more so between multi religious divide. trading on the objective line of nurturing healthy conscience guides and directs african religious leaders to speak truth to power, authority devoid of gender bias. the most notable and qualify persons to address issues of injustice, abuse of political power due to corruption and child and the girl-child sex trade visibly are religious leaders as men and women of power. acquisition of theological knowledge renders higher the quality of service, to improve the quality of love and to ease out the quest of freedom, in order elevate the quality of human dignity and improve its equality. it further illustrates that wholistic education is an engagement of the human person that directs a quest in freedom to responsibility measured by the engine of sacrifice; above all it is an effort that leads to salvation in fulfilling a desire for a destination to eternity with god in heaven. the task of religion in the world does not just end with emotional fulfilment of observing religious rites and rituals, prayers and devotions, paying monetary obligations and ministerial mandate; but is an urge that has much bigger value and worth. what an elite, enlightened and educated religious leader in christianity and islam does at the place of worship, at home and in the society in general must be based on freedom of conscience that have liberated him/her, now transmitted to a larger human society in love and service. the task of creating formation of leaders of conscience the continent of africa is made of 54 countries and four islands, with an overwhelming population of over 1.2 billion inhabitants, mostly young people who are under 25 years constituting more than 50 percent is a gift of god (population of africa: ). it has a vast geographical landscape, arable land and is gifted with enormous rich mineral and human resources, yet with the least industrialization, reasons why it is less developed and wallowing in poverty, disease and hunger. pictures and antecedents of woeful record of political and economic development in almost all the post-independent african countries has shown that we need to develop a virile, democratic and spiritual platform for the formation of our religious leaders in christianity and islam. in africa, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 110 we are not a child of necessity, but a god-given independent people, with rich spiritual and cultural history. we are a proud and homogenous people, were the practice of religious beliefs is enshrined in our dna. theological education is essential in the formation of its leaders and the calibration of its citizens in the science of god, promoting justice, sustaining love and envisioning the dynamics of salvation. ed stetzer (2016) teaches that "it is important to understand that theological education is genuinely essential not as the engine of the church, but in some ways as the steering wheel of the church. the engine of the church has to be the mission, the passion of god's people who are engaging faithfully and fruitfully in gospel work, that advances the work of the kingdom." this statement underscores the relevance of bequeathing theological education to both leaders and members of the christian mission for sustainable development, growth and expansion of various ministries in christendom. the relevance of theological education in promoting and developing the kingdom of god cannot be over emphasized, as it is "the engine that provides the power; the steering wheel helps guide the forward motion... we want the engine to be god's people saying yes to the lord and engaging in mission. the steering wheel of theological education, when done right can help guide in the right way." (stetzer: 2016). general conclusion -the way forward the relevance of theological education cannot be over emphasized in this exposition, nevertheless it surface to state the obvious: it registers god's presence in direct life of the religious leader; it forms character in leaders; it sharpens qualitative and conscientious leaders in society. christian or islamic theology is a complex mystery that cannot be understood easily by exploring the use of reason alone. ordinarily, metaphysical realities and not mathematical neither are they only intellectual properties, even more, their complexity are theological truths that can be approach by the dispositions of faith made accessible by the instrument of the holy spirit to discern the ways of god. to bequeath theological education on appreciable quantum to baptize christians or professed muslims during the month of ramadan and more so, to would-be ministers and imans (must be based on basic islamic belief) have been the christocentric mission drawn from the methodology of jesus christ during his public ministry leading to the paschal mystery that encapsulated the totality of salvific mission of god on earth. therefore, the pedagogy, principle, method and modality of bequeathing and transmitting the deposit of christian faith from apostolic epoch to the twenty-first century has been tasking, difficult and tedious. both christian and islamic theological education are not only necessity, but are rooted on the quality and enlightenment of the minister or religious leaders in our socio-cultural setting. the presence and the gift of the holy spirit couple with the skills of missionary experience centred on continuous catechesis leads to appreciable progress in the quality of life at the human society. references ackerman, john 2004. co-governance for accountability: beyond ‘exit’ and ‘voice’, world development, 32 (3), see also, handbook of theological education in world christianity, theological perspectives – regional surveys – ecumenical trends, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 111 dietrich werner, david esterline, namsoon kang, joshva raja (eds), oxford: regnum books international, 2010. ake, claude, democracy and development in africa, maryland: brookings institution, 1996.arogundade, jude, guide lines of education in nigeria by cbcn: 2015: v council of trent, session 23, canon 23, canon 18; see norman p. tanner, ed., decrees of the ecumenical councils, volume ii, trent to vatican ii, washington, d.c./ london: sheed and ward, 1990: 750:753. curle, adam 1990. tools for transformation: a personal study, 1st edition. stroud, uk, hawthorn press. current world population (2018), https:www.worldometers.info/worldpopulation, accessed, wednesday, 21 march, 2018. enlow, ralph, e., ralph e., global christianity and he role of theological education: wrapping up and going forward, 2006:1, accessed: gumede, visu, exploring thought leadership, thought liberation and critical consciousness for africa's development, in african development, volume xl, no. 4, 2015, @ council for the development of social science research in africa, 2015. kanu, i. a., “consecrated persons and collaborative ministry”. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. 14: 126-135, 2018. kanu, i. a., “obedience and discernment in the life of consecrated persons”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 4(5): 35-43, 2018. kanu, i. a., “collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective”. the catholic voyage: journal of consecrated life in africa. 15: 125-149, 2019. kanu, i. a., “the inculturation of consecrated life in africa: towards a logic for promoting indigenous gifts of fidelity”. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. 21(1): 245-265, 2024. kanu, i. a., a reassessment of african theology in the period after africae munus. innovations. 76. 1083-1101, 2024. poerwowidagdo, judo, "towards the 21st century: challenges and opportunities for theological education” in ministerial formation, no.110, ecumenical theological education, ecumenical institute/wcc geneva, april 2008, 60 maathai, wangari, the challenge for africa. 1st edition, new york: pantheon books, 2009. ngwane, george 2003. way forward for africa: toward democratic governance and interstate unity rooted in the continent’s history, culture and in global realities. colorado springs, co, international academic publishers. nyambura j. njoroge, “ecumenical theological education and the church in africa”, in: ministerial formation, no.110, ecumenical theological education, ecumenical institute/wcc geneva, april 2008, 64. penner, peter, f., (ed.), theological education as mission, prague: ibts, 2005. poerwowidagdo, judo, “towards the 21st century: challenges and opportunities for theological education” in ministerial formation, no.110, ecumenical theological education, ecumenical institute/wcc geneva, april 2008, 60 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 112 shabayang, b. s., african catholic priest as elder, reconciler and mediator: a reflection of christ's kenosis in the teachings of st. john paul ii and the african bishops, kaduna: benwood graphix, 2017 shabayang, b. s., testimonies of shame and anger in northern nigeria: towards protecting the dignity of the child. international journal of social science and human research. 7(4): 2436-2443, 2024. doi: 10.47191/ijsshr/v7-i04-26. shabayang, b. s., theology of trinitarian communion as remedy to insecurity in africa. international journal of social science and human research. 5 (9): 4208-4217, 2022. doi: 10.47191/ijsshr/v5-i3. shabayang, b. s., authority and servant leadership: effective tool for service in the church and society in africa. international journal of social science and human research (ijsshr). 5(3): 980-989, 2022. doi: 10.47191/ijsshr/v5-i3. vatican ii, dogmatic constitution on the church, lumen gentium (lg), chapters 2 and 4. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 193 pauline areopagus address in acts 17.16-34 as a paradigm for contextualizing the gospel in africa abel aor inyaregh, ph.d department of religious studies, national open university of nigeria (noun), jabi-abuja ainyaregha@noun.edu.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.33912.11529 abstract paul’s gospel presentation to areopagus in acts 17:16-34 is used as a paradigm for contextualizing the gospel in africa. contextual analysis is used to review the text in its given context to relate it to the contemporary situation. contextualization captures in method and perspective the challenge of relating the gospel to culture. the article discusses paul and hellenistic pluralism. religious people have objects of worship that constitute “religion,” which relates with deity. this paper is a reading of acts 17 through the lenses of african religious context. it examines how paul’s description of the athenians as “very religious” had led to educate them on, “unknown god.” the process of "contextualizing the gospel" traces back to the new testament. paul’s areopagus’ speech is one of the most instructive case studies in new testament contextualization. it surveys several aspects of paul’s missionary communication, portraying how the formula of the speech is directed to convince an intelligent and philosophically minded greek listeners. it depicts how paul did not assume a combative posture, but with admirable delicacy, challenged and rectified the major positions of the stoics and epicureans, while being sensitive towards the athenians. simultaneously, paul declines to compromise the non-negotiable gospel tenet, especially christ’s resurrection, which challenges the athenian worldviews. the treatise reflects on how this paradigmatic story can inform the task of incarnating the gospel in pluralistic settings like africa today and a guide to minister to them in their own background. consequently, contextualization of the gospel is recommended to african cultures. keywords: paul’s address, areopagus, gospel, contextualization and african culture introduction this work focuses on acts 17:16-34 which can operate as an edifying case study in contextualizing the gospel for a particular listener. paul's sermon to the sophisticated and philosophically oriented athenians in acts 17 is feasibly the outstanding instance of cross-cultural missionary preaching in the new testament. the main argument of this article is that paul’s encounter with igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 194 athenian people, riddled with deities and ideologies, could be used with some adaptations to offer strategies for proclaiming the gospel in our contemporary society. it is obligatory to conduct a fleeting tour of the religious backdrop into which the apostle paul ventured. the state of affairs in athens and our existing situation will accordingly be discussed, followed by lessons from acts 17 as a paradigm for evangelism. paul was realistic in the testimony of the gospel in athens. charles sees this truth proven in paul’s insistence on “creatio ex nihilo and bodily resurrection, the core of the christian kerygma.”20 there has been an explosion of interest from around the world in the theory, the process, and the problems linked with the contextualization of the gospel. the term “contextualization” was coined in the 1970s, the activity that can be thought of as “contextualizing the gospel” has been a vibrant of the christian mission from the beginning. we can unearth the roots of contextualization in the new testament itself as the church struggled with how the gospel could be freed from an exclusive identification with jewish culture and incarnated anew into a primarily gentile setting or with how to work out the ramifications of the christian message in light of the solid needs of the several mission communities in the greco-roman world. significantly, these new testament patterns are parallel to those necessary for the effective contextualization of the gospel in every generation. such scriptural models bid us to ascertain paradigms that might inform, guide, and suggest parameters for the continuing task of enabling the gospel to come to life in new settings. hellenistic idolatry-pluralism the era from alexander to augustus, 330-30 b.c., is branded as the hellenistic age21. the term hellenism refers to “the expansion of the greek language and culture and, most of all, the establishment of the greek’s political domination over other nations of the east”22. the manner by which greek culture rose to the point of supremacy is fundamentally ascribed to the conquests of alexander the great (356-323). prior to alexander, greece expanded through the establishment of new colonies. though, the persians held the title of the leading world power. when alexander conquered the persian king, darius iii, at issus in 333 b.c., the balance of power in the mediterranean domain rolled to greece. however, alexander’s 20 charles, j. d. engaging the (neo) pagan mind: paul’s encounter with athenian culture as a model for cultural apologetics (acts 17.16-34). trinity journal, 1 (16): 47-62, spring, 1996, 54. 21 e. ferguson, backgrounds of early christianity. (grand rapids: eerdmans, 1987), p. 1. 22 h. koester, history, culture and religion of the hellenistic age. vol. 1. (new york: de gruyer, 1982), p. 39. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 195 swift death leapt the hellenistic empire into civil war, with alexander’s successors, the diadochi-battling, for total control. nonetheless, hellenisation grew under the ptolemaic and seleucid kings. the greek language became the lingua franca of the terrain from rome eastward23. the power of the greek empire steadily deteriorated and by the first century it surrendered power to the roman empire. yet, greek influence endured because of the synthesis of greek and roman cultures. the graeco-roman or the hellenistic world of paul was a time of philosophical multiplicity and more significantly, religious syncretism24. the chief and most apparent sign of the religious pluralism of paul’s day was the existence of the imperial cult. the ancient greeks worshipped as many as 30,000 gods. sloan sketches concisely a possible reason for this antagonism, the masses of pagans were polytheists. in paul’s missionary tour, he found many cases of established cults in honour of many members of the pantheon. zeus was famous in many cities as well as laodicea, lystra and pergamum acts endorses that zeus was a patron deity in lystra. paul came to lystra where he healed a lame man (acts 14:10). the people were persuaded that paul and barnabas were gods who manifested as men (vs. 11). they acknowledged barnabas as zeus and paul as hermes (vs.12). as there was a priest of zeus in lystra implies the presence of the cult of zeus in the city (vs. 13)25. additional affiliate of the pantheon with extensive support during paul’s period was the cult of artemis (roman diana). she was the many-breasted goddess of fertility, who had mystical powers to heal26. besides the archaeological evidence, the words of demetrius, the silversmith who opposed paul’s evangelism in ephesus, signifies her fame in asia (acts 19:27). the most popular in the hellenistic world was dionysus or bacchus, the god of wine designates the vital element of this cult: the festivals jubilated in honour of dionysus differ from place to place, but it appears that one common feature was the emphasis on fertility and sex. the stress on the phallus (the male sex organ) in the so-called ‘phallus procession’ along with such things as ‘the phallus song,’ surely show the libidinous debauchery allied with this worship. the implication was plainly to gratify bacchus so that he would grant fertility27. contextualizing the gospel in athens 23 ibid, p. 42. 24 ibid, 164. 25 sloan, r. b. religious background to the new testament. (nashville: broadman & holman, 1994), p. 509-523. 26 trebilco, p. asia. (in gill, d.w.j. & gempf, c. eds. the book of acts in its first century setting. vol. 2. (grand rapids: eerdmans, 1994), p. 291-362. 27 c. l. rodgers, “the dionysian background of ephesians” 5.18 bibliotheca sacra, 136 (543): 249-257, july, 1979. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 196 in athens, the stoic and epicurean philosophers among others participated in paul’s homily. the immediate background for paul’s address is the meeting of the areopagus, the ultimate governing council of athens, which had obligation for determining religious enquiries. paul confronted some sort of endorsed trial or hearing, he was given opportunity to present his innovative teaching to this influential body of foremost inhabitants (17: 19-20). moreover, luke’s narrative of the retort to paul’s speech indicates that there was a broader attending audience, comprising a lady called damaris who converted to christianity (17:33-34). undoubtedly, paul delivers his homily to philosophers, the council and conceivably other inquisitive inhabitants (17:22). it is imperative for coming to terms with the criticism of prevalent athenian religion in his dialogue, exclusively since the areopagus is the actual assembly that is accountable for religious stuffs28. paul transforms the occasion of complete misunderstanding of his preaching and the subsequent demand for an explanation into an opportunity to proclaim the gospel afresh in the very epicenter of greek thought and culture. the reason paul was provoked in his spirit lies in the circumstance of the city. luke uses the adjective, thick with idols, to explain the extreme polytheism of the city. paul’s first view of athens possibly comprised the 500 feet hill, which towered over the city upon which the temple of athena was erected. athens was named in honour of the goddess athena. throughout the graeco-roman world, athens was known as the centre of art and philosophy29. the stoic and epicurean philosophers were not paul's only addressees. the direct background for paul's sermon is the meeting of the areopagus, the supreme governing council of athens, which had obligation for determining religious questions. convincing approach the form and style of the areopagus address are skilfully reformed to persuade a cultured gentile audience. in contrast to the recurrent use of language and references from the old testament that we find in sermons addressed to jews in acts (e.g., 2: 14-36; 13:16-40), this treatise reveals a more hellenized style that is appropriate to its occasion and hearers 30 . luke portrays paul as lecturing the council with rhetorical skill and thoughtfulness. standing before them to convey his address, paul adopts the position of a greek orator (17:22). he unlocks with a 28 robert c. tannehill, the narrative unity of luke-acts. vol. 2. (philadelphia: fortress press, 1990), pp. 216-217. 29 h.c. kee, to every nation under heaven: the acts of the apostles, (harrisburg: trinity press international, 1997), p. 209. 30 f. f. bruce, the acts of apostles (grand rapids: eerdmans, 1990), pp. 383-384. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 197 conventional form of address for a discourse in athens (men, athenians), empowering his addressees immediately to feel at home. the oration itself suits the conventional form of greco-roman rhetoric. we can perceive the following rudiments: firstly, an opening exordium or prologue, planned to gain a hearing from his hearers (17:22-23a); secondly, a proposal (propositio; 23b) asserting the preferred goal of the discourse-to make the unknown god known to the athenians; thirdly, the foremost probatio or proof (24-29), which debates the case; and fourthly, a closing peroratio or exhortation (30-31), which tries to convince the audience to take the right course of action; that is, to repent (17:30).31 since paul was in the midst of a somewhat confrontational setting in which he must elucidate and defend his teaching about “foreign divinities,” the speech has elements of judicial oratory. however finally it takes the charisma of deliberative rhetoric, which strives to influence the audience to amend their beliefs and their manners. paul “decrees?” to the athenians (17:23) a message they need to perceive and grip. moreover, ben witherington iii32 discerns that the speech appears to follow the common form in ancient rhetoric of first inaugurating the speaker's ethos or personality, then presenting logic in the form of influential arguments, and lastly using pathos in verses 30-31 in order to breed a passionate reply from the onlookers. for the sermon to be operative in persuading people to transform, it must engross them not only on the level of their intellect, but also their feelings. paul's sermon features a variety of rhetorical techniques that would have been familiar to educated greeks." one such strategy is the use of the delaying tactics of “insinuation” (insinuatio). paul postpones the difficult subject of the resurrection of jesus to the very end of the oration (17:31), after first establishing rapport and building a foundation for understanding. paul also quotes pagan poets-authorities recognized by his audience-in backing his argument about the rapport of humanity to the living god (17:28). this does not depict that such pagan sources carry the same weight of authority for paul as do references from scripture in sermons to the jews33. preliminary initiative 31 m. l. soards, the speeches in acts (louisville: john knox, 1994), 96 32 ben iii. whitherington, the acts of apostles: a social rhetorical commentary (grand rapids: eerdmans, 1998), pp. 513-518, 156. 33tannehill, pp. 214-217. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 198 comparable to their regional counterparts in lystra (acts 14:8-20), the refined athenians have no knowledge of christ or, respectively, the scriptures upon which to build. accordingly, to lead them through israelite history and to talk about jesus as the assured jewish messiah, as he does with the synagogue devotees in pisidian antioch (acts 13:16ff.), without hesitation have made diminutive sense to this throng. in its place, in 17:22b-29, paul launches into a classic case of what today we might call “pre-evangelism.” paul inaugurates his discourse with an exordium that creates relationship and reliability with his listeners. it was routine for greek orators to gain the friendliness of their spectators by familiarizing their statements with a captatio benevolentiae (currying of favor), as paul does in 17:22b, 23a. at this point, the opening idea of contact is the religiosity of the athenians themselves: “i see how extremely religious (deisidaimotesterous) you are in every way” (17:22b). while the term deisidaimotesterous can at times mean “very superstitious,” it is possible that paul uses it in a neutral and non-judgmental logic 34 . originally, paul takes a reverential and to some extent conciliatory approach to his listeners' pagan religious life. he additionally involves his listeners by illuminating a solid example of their worship that he has witnessed, an altar to an unknown god (17:23a). doubtless such altars were projected as “safety precautions,” stirred by the fear of offending and incurring the wrath of an unknown deity. in line with a local myth, for the period of a plague in which no sacrifices had well pleased the gods, epimenides of crete advised the athenians to release a flock of sheep on top of the aeropagus. where the sheep clogged, altars were erected to unnamed gods, and the city was spared35. though it is not known whether paul was aware of this local tradition, it clarifies a mutual fear of unknown powers among the greeks. paul's mention of the altar to the unknown god thus ascertains a fundamental religious need of his audience. simultaneously, it identifies the subject of “knowledge,” which is extremely esteemed within their culture. the athenians’ worship of the unknown serves as a catalyst for paul to liftoff into his evangelistic message about the one true god who is known because this god has shown himself. moreover, the allusion to the altar label allows paul to build reliability with his addressees by eradicating the doubt that he is attempting to present 34 foerster, werner, “very superstitious, etc.” in theological dictionary of the new testament. vol. 2. g. kittel, ed. (grand rapids: eerdmans, 1964), 20. 35 hemer, colin j. “the speeches of acts ii: the areopagus address.” tyndale bulletin. 1989, 40: 245-246. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 199 foreign deities to athens (cf. v. 18): the god he preaches is not totally unknown to them36. accordingly, paul arises where his listeners are and constructs as much common ground as is conceivable. instead of disapproving their belief system or reproving their religiosity, he identifies there is something sincere in their religious goals and felt needs, and he utilizes them as stepping stones for communicating the gospel. there are positive boundaries, nevertheless, to the strategy of common ground. paul’s constructive and corrective commitment paul states his rudimentary plan about the “unknown god” in 17:23b, then advances it through several apologetic arguments in verses 24-29. his explanation is chiefly theo-centric. it centers on god's personality, revelation in nature, and relationship to humanity. this appears to be paul's typical approach to people devoid of a biblical legacy (cf. 14:15-17). precisely, he is turning the unknown god, the god of the scriptures, known to his audience. it is remarkable that paul does not react instantly to the athenians' precise inquiries about “jesus and the resurrection” (17:18). first he must speak to them at the level of their simple belief expectations, creating an indispensable context and basis for preaching the risen christ. does paul embrace his message to the philosophical ideas of his pagan audience? martin dibelius replied with a definite, yes. he argued that this is essentially a hellenistic speech about the true knowledge of god that everyone possesses by nature, a line of thought that is “foreign to the entire new testament”.37 observed from this viewpoint, acts 17 turns out to be a model of over-contextualizing, where the lukan paul has surrendered the jewish christian gospel at the altar of greek philosophy so as to make points with the athenians. alternatively, there are those who reason that paul’s classifications come exclusively out of the old testament and judaism, that he unveils no points of agreement of any kind with his hearers, only disparities. neither of these opinions appears to do justice to paul's contextual methodology. whereas it is right that the dialogue’s theology is inflexibly rooted in the old testament and judaism, paul is able to clothe biblical revelation in the language and kinds of his greek hearers without syncretizing the message38 . he 36 zweck, dean. “the exordium of the areopagus speech, acts 17. 22-23.”1989, new testament studies 35: 102103. 37 vielhauer, p. “on the paulinism of acts.” in studies in luke-acts. l. e. keck and j. l. martyn, eds. philadelphia: fortress, 1966, 34-37. 38 charles, 53. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 200 takes benefit of conjunctions between the jewish scriptures and hellenistic thought in order to build apologetic bridges to his addressees. paul sees greek philosophy as an applicable dialogue partner in his effort to contextualize the jewish christian gospel for his educated contemporaries39. paul’s scheme in acts 17 comprises both constructive and corrective or remedial engagement of his hearers' beliefs and worldviews. this is applicable to what colin herner says, “a fascinating study in cross-cultural communication, in building bridges where possible without shirking the necessity of dialogue on points of basic disagreement, while seeking to meet those issues where the questioner is, on his own ground and terminology”40. paul discovers his main touch points in the stoic teaching that is conversant to his audience. actually, paul may have wilfully gone after a conservative sketch for a stoic arrangement on the nature of divinity (131, 136). not shockingly, paul portrays an image of the true god in worldwide strokes as the god of the whole world who has politely unveiled himself to all of mortality through creation. evangelistic application paul’s discourse attains its peak in verses 30-31. rhetorically, his end accomplishes two things. it guides his listeners to the theological pivotal theme toward which the whole discourse has been structuring the declaration that jesus, whom god has raised from the dead, will be judge of the world. this accomplishes the specified goal of the dialogue (17:23b) by making the unknown god known, now in a further detailed way in the person of jesus. on the other hand, it charms his addressees to take the accurate course of action. they must repent of their idolatry and be appropriately linked to god through christ. to this juncture in the discourse, paul the orator has considered to identify with his onlookers, underlining a number of facts for contact and agreement. except at this juncture does he bring the athenians man to man with the core of the gospel, god’s saving action in the risen christ, as he takes up conversant leitmotifs that manifest in other evangelistic sermons in acts (e.g., 2:38; 3:19-20; 10:42)41. the need for repentance in both beliefs and attitudes, which the first part of the discourse forestalls, now turns out to be excruciatingly simple to the athenians. 39 johnson, luke timothy. the acts of paul apostles. (collegeville: liturgical press, 1992), 319. 40 herner, colin i. “the speeches of arts ii: the arepagus address.” tyndale bulletin, 1989, 40: 239-247. 41 soards, 99-100. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 201 god’s new and conclusive work in jesus means that “all people everywhere” need to be remorseful and repent (17:30). that comprises educated philosophers as well as pagan idolaters. paul's discourse, is fundamentally a call to repentance, a call for the greco-roman world to break finally with its religious past in reaction to the one god who now invites all to be part of the transformed world. thus, the knowledge of salvation at work here is not purely an issue of cleansing and transmitting the pagans' natural knowledge of god, as some have thought 42 . consistent with the sermon, what is required is not education, but transformation. the subjects specified in verse 31 as the purpose the athenians must repent are end time judgment and the resurrection of christ, both of which pose a barefaced challenge to greek thought. the idea of a coming divine judgment at the finale of history upsets the stoic notion of time as moving unceasingly in cycles. indeed, the judeo-christian knowledge of the past, which begins and ends with divine consent, marks a strong break with the world view of paul's audience. furthermore, the view of judgment in righteousness denotes that paul’s listeners are ethically answerable before god. their “ignorance” (17:30) is obviously not delight. they must return to the knowledge of the creator they have acknowledged with repentance and conversion. the speech closes with the declaration that god will righteously judge the world by “a man” whom he has chosen and raised from the dead (17:31)43. paul’s areopagus address (acts 17) as a paradigm for contextualizing the gospel in africa. contextualization expands our understanding of the gospel because we now see the gospel through a different cultural lens, this is the hermeneutic challenge. hence africans are much “religious” like those in athens communicating the gospel must start from everywhere they happen to be. in contemporary africa, the gospel must be taken to doorsteps through missions and evangelism. ukpong, has invented the phrase “african inculturation hermeneutic (aih) which supports contextualization of the gospel in africa.” he avers that the bible is the primary and basic source for the development of african christian theologies. justin ukpong takes this all a step further in his article “rereading the bible with african eyes” when he speaks of the significance of the interpretation of the 42 vielhauer, 36. 43 charles, 59, 61. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 202 biblical text having practical relevancy to the everyday life of the african44 (3-14). by so doing, in another work ukpong recommends for african theologians the method of inculturation, which he designates as “a dynamic on-going process by which people consciously and critically appropriate the bible and its message from within the perspectives and with the resources of their cultures.” this, he says, would “make a specifically african contribution to biblical interpretation and actualize the creative power of the bible in african society45.” manus avers some of the historical-critical questions relevant to acts 17:16-34. he determines that his main nervousness with regard to the areopagus discourse is, “what approach does luke's paul adopt in evangelizing sophisticated athens?” he argues that “luke's text has ... a special appeal for developing churches of africa and beyond.’ he asserts such, since the areopagus address, “presents us (i.e. africa) with a model worthy of emulation for mission in africa where the inhabitants are still as much 'religious' as the athenians of antiquity.” manus extracted six motifs from the address. they are: first, since luke does not let paul to quote many o.t. proof-texts from prophecies, which would be unacquainted to the heathens. therefore, if he utilizes any at all, he incorporates it in his arguments on natural revelation, choosing instead for direct quotations from local poets and wise men. second, since paul does not argue from “first principles,” but rather from the perspective of biblical revelation. third, since the paul of acts preaches from the “known” to the “unknown.” fourth, since from the dominion of god and his knowability as creator of all things luke's paul leads to a theological anthropology. fifth, since paul's subsequent level, after coming to a theological anthropology is to show the atheniansthat god’s final drive in giving human beings the earth is that they might seek and find him because they are his progeny. then, lastly, since the pinnacle of the speech is a call to submit to god who has disregarded humanity's past ignorance46. in consequence, with these six facts in mind, manus opines, “throughout the length and breadth of africa especially prior to the advent of christianity and even now in many remote villages there existed and still exists several shrines (altars) and idols kept and patronized by devotees of traditional religion.” it is, then, the duty of the missionary either western or african-to address the gospel to these people beginning from 44 justin s. ukpong, “rereading the bible with african eyes: lnculturation and henneneutics,” in journal of theology for southern africa 91 (june 1995): 3-14. 45 justin s. ukpong. “inculturation as decolonization of biblical studies in africa”. the nigerian association for biblical studies, ibadan: 2005, 17. 46 manus, ukachuku chris, “the areopagus speech (acts 17.16-34): a study of luke’s approach to evangelism and its significance in the african context,” atj14 (1985), 13-14. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 203 anywhere they happen to be. as manus records, “luke's address enjoins us (i.e. africans) to proclaim the gospel to the modern african from his 'known,' namely, from his native religious cultureto the lordship of our lord, jesus christ.” also, christian missionaries should gather from the areopagus speech the fact that "''the employment of 'quotable quotes' from folk literature proves that heathen wisdom supports christian interpretation and contextualization.” thus, manus concludes, "from luke's approach, we must come to a realization that the gospel of christ liberates man and assists him to express his faith within his local ambiance47. according to olowola “there are good things in african traditional religion, which any christian theology relevant to africa must take into serious account. one example is the african belief in a supreme being.”48 this trait of african belief is a significant factor in efficiently teaching about god in africa, and offers an additional argument for a theology of christian education in africa. that is, there is the necessity to make christian theology available and plausible to africans through the standard of effective teaching. it entails that an african theology of christian education must be instituted on bible-based theological proposals in african perspective. christian education in africa would then be the way of teaching such a theology. that is why in another piece, olowola says, “each theologian is bound to communicate the truth so that people can understand it. it is when teaching and learning transpire that people can be said to have understood truth. in africa, this entails that the african world view, rooted in african culture, be taken into consideration in communicating theological truth. the gospel reflection needed by the life of the modern african christian community, as that community pursues to fulfil its calling under god within its context.”49 africans need a gospel or a theology that is authentically african. the familiarity or knowability of god is not new to africans. idowu affirmed this concerning the yoruba that “in all things they are religious.” this raises great possibilities for communicating the christian faith to the yorubas because “christianity, by its unique and universal message, stands the best chance of fulfilling that which is implied in the yoruba concept of god.”50 it illumines that at many points the christian idea of god rhymes with the african thought, such as in the idea of god’s authority and omnipresence. mbiti supports the validity of a dissimilar theological approach for africa on the facts that, however not much 47 manus, 14-16. 48 olowola, cornelius. african traditional religion and the christian faith. (achimota: african christian press, 1993), p. 63. 49 cornelius, olowola. “towards an evangelical theology” in africa. etsi journal, 2, 1996, 15-21 50 bolaji, idowu. olodumare: god in yoruba belief (ibadan: longman nigeria limited, 1962), pp. 5, 215. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 204 had been written by african theologians by 1979, “as far as oral theology is being done by the masses of christians in africa, and largely in african languages, it is a genuine creation of african christians (and) … forms the foundation and basis for the development of african theological output.”51 africans are encouraged to produce materials to meet the needs of the church in africa. to convey the gospel to africans there is need to contextualize theology to be understandable to africans. by way of kato “africans need to formulate theological concepts in the language of africa. but theology itself in its essence must be left alone.”52 in line with, onaiyekan, that “the burden of the african exegete would be to examine the word of god and apply its message to the realities of the here and now.”53 the aim is not to change the essence of theology, but to contextualize it to benefit africans. this means that the african educator needs to understand the african context in seeking to teach africans the ideas put forward by the theologians. biblical scholarship in africa has undergone even more current advances. this motivation is triggered by s. o. abogunrin that, “the quest for new ways of interpreting the bible in africa is not only legitimate, but also an important part of the development that will lead to authentic christianity in africa.” 54 he contends that african biblical scholars need to decolonise biblical interpretation by responding to their religiously and culturally pluralistic context. in another work he argues, the process is helped by the fact that “the bible is more real to the peoples of africa (than western peoples), not because they cannot reason scientifically, but because most of the things described in the bible still happen around us daily.”55 therefore, for abogunrin, “the task before biblical scholars in africa is for a christology that is authentically african, but which is at the same time catholic and from which christians from other continents can draw lessons, inspiration and encouragement.”56 all this is possible because african culture is so similar to jewish culture, making it possible for africans to understand biblical realities. the deeper emphasis on contextualizing the gospel in africa is seen conspicuously in turaki who asserts, “the need to indigenize christianity became a rallying cry 51john s. mbiti, “cattle are born with ears, their horn grow later: towards an appreciation of african oral theology”. african theological journal, 8, (1) 1979: 25. 52 byan, h. kato. biblical christianity in africa. (achimota: african christian press, 1985), p. 12. 53 onaiyekan, john. “current biblical hermeneutics in africa”. african journal of biblical studies. xvi (1): 4-6. 54 s. o. abogunrin. “general introduction”. decolonization of biblical interpretation in africa: biblical studies series number 4. ibadan: the nigerian association for biblical studies, 2005: 90. 55 s.o. abogunrin. “biblical healing in african context”. biblical studies series number 3. ibadan: the nigerian association for biblical studies, 2004: 9. 56 eunice, abogunrin. “an analogous study of the death of jesus christ and the deaths of some african heroes”. in christology in african context: biblical studies series number 2. ibadan: the nigerian association for biblical studies, 2003: 17. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 205 of some african theologians and scholars, especially in the 1950s and 1960s. their primary objective was to strip and rid christianity in africa of all its western striplings and coverings and replace that with what is african. the goal of indigenizing christianity, as it was hoped, was to make it look more african and rid it of all its foreign elements. these advocates had a strong belief that christianity in africa was brought under the cover of the western culture and for this reason; african culture should be made to replace western culture”57 (turaki 93). this undertaking was more intensified in the area of theological language and all its thought categories, which must be stripped of all western thought categories and also be replaced by african thought categories. christian worship in its mode, form, content, music, liturgy, prayers, and places of worship should be given african moldings. turaki stressed that “only the seed of christianity has to be planted in african soil and when it germinates, it will grow into african christianity”. the indigenization principle dispensed chiefly with the cultural contextualization of christianity: the making of christianity looks more african than western. christianity could be overruled on cultural grounds if it should appear more western than african. stress on cultural and political ideology made many africans to throwaway christianity. the effects of the christian faith within the african context require the growth of a relevant theology that can address african cultural, religious and contextual questions58. conclusion acts 17:16-34 is critical to the development of an approach for the contemporary evangelization. paul teaches us that biblical revelation is the pivot of evangelism. the seed of the message will oblige at least these twin aspects: god revealed and christ risen. paul did not adopt an antagonistic stance on the wrong positions held by his addressees; rather, he contextualized the prime positions of stoics and epicureans. paul declines to syncretize his message or to diminish its dogmatic integrity. he absorbs athenian culture with the goal of its renovation. he adds on his familiarity of the world of his listeners with the intention of critiquing meritoriously the wrong beliefs, theories, and acts that are entrenched in it. there are uncompromising variables in paul's message that oppose the predominant conjectures of his addressees. these are the sovereign lordship of the creator and ruler of the peoples which entails that there are no other gods. then, the general 57yusufu. turaki, the unique christ for salvation: the challenge of the non-christian religions and cultures. (nairobi: international bible society africa, 2001), 93. 58 ibid, 93-94. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 206 necessity for repentance in relation to sin and guilt. moreover, is the authenticity of an impending judgment that demands ethical accountability. primarily is the ultimate revelation of god in christ, certified by jesus' resurrection from the dead which challenges the greek thinking of death and immortality59. above all, both the athenians and their worldview need to be transformed. the church in africa today can pick up from paul’s practice that realistic contextualization of the gospel necessitates thoughtfully and censoriously to involve a multi-ethnic world, while sidestepping the route of stress-free adoption to the overriding culture. this is the genuine way that people can be sincerely converted. paul's meeting at athens unveils a model to african christians with a viewpoint for contextualizing the gospel among people of other religions. in paul’s approach, even though troubled about the idolatry he discovers in athens, paul declines point-blank to denounce the pagans or their religious and philosophical thoughts. as an alternative, he familiarizes that the athenians, their ancient, even their religious aims, have been affected by the grace of god. the discourse upholds that all folks are made in the divine image (17:28), that god has created them for the goal of pursuing him (17:27). also, the thoughtfulness showed by paul in athens displays how the message can be conveyed appropriately to the modern civilization. therefore, the overriding goal of contextualizing the gospel in africa is making theology relevant in its application within context or to rip off its western elements in order to africanized christianity. 59 charles, j. daryl “engaging the (neo)pagan mind: paul's encounter with athenian culture as a model for cultural apologetics (acts 17:16-34).” trinity journal 1995, 16:60-62. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 66 christianity and environmental sustainability: a search for inclusive and participatory response alokwu, cyprian obiora, phd. trinity theological college, umuahia (obicko1@gmail.com) 08036069619 abstract the global concern for the environment at this point in human history is gratifying. environmental problems transcend national boundaries and jurisdictions. it is therefore imperative to seek collective solution to the challenges of environmental sustainability. in this regard, many initiatives had taken place. it is however sad to note that in these past initiatives, religious bodies and groups had been utterly neglected for the flimsy notion that religious involvement in environmental issues compromises objectivity. the age long view of christianity’s anthropocentric stand also presents it as being uninterested in environmental matters and therefore an accomplice as far as ecological sin is concerned. the aim of this paper is therefore, to bring to the knowledge of the unenlightened, the evolutionary processes of christianity’s involvement in environmental initiatives through the ages. the methodology used was critical review of eco-theological materials. the main thrust of the paper is that christianity’s involvement could be an inspiration to environmental sustainability. introduction there has been a growing global concern and emphasis on environmental sustainability. environmental sustainability is the study of how natural systems function, remain diverse and produce everything it needs for ecological system to remain in balance. the concept of environmental sustainability is an acknowledgment of the fact that human civilization and development thereof take enormous ecological resources to support human life and our modern lifestyle. it is also a reminder that if the unrestrained modern consumerist attitudes and life styles remain unchecked, the earth will be disfigured and its fruitfulness impaired, and consequently every succeeding generation of people will automatically be condemned to poverty and doom. it is also crucial to warn that if the ecosystem health is distorted or destroyed, and as a result, the earth resources are irreparably damaged or depleted beyond their capacity to renew themselves, then the future of life of the ‘entire earth community’ is endangered. the quest for environmental sustainability has therefore necessitated the need to adopt a more urgent and practical course of action in order to maintain the ecosystem health and enhance the ability of the earth to provide the necessary resources for the survival of the whole ‘earth community’ as well as for development of various kinds to meet human needs in order to adopt the needed practical action to achieve environmental sustainability, there have been numerous volumes of literatures from different disciplines dealing igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 67 on the subject matter 1. for example, the 1972 stockholm conference on the human environment served as a prelude to the united nations efforts in development crisis of the 1980s including environmental issues. since this conference, there have been series of other global environmental initiatives and actions and some basic organisational schemes and programmes for global environmental action. 2 however, it is sad to note that a careful study of these environmental initiatives over the years indicate that much emphasis had been placed on the techno-scientific options in dealing with these challenges to such an extent that they seem to ignore and undermine the role of cultural and religious heritage in environmental protection and sustainable development in general. the above probable explanation for not according due recognition and therefore not including religion and theology as one of the disciplines in environmental discourses, which is based on the fact that it would threaten or compromise objectivity, scientific investigation, professionalism and democratic values, is too naive, paranoid, simplistic and lacking critical rationalism. the argument is simple: environmental investigations are not always conducted from scientific perspectives. there is a social or even economic dimension to the environment. after all, the word “ecology” which has greek connotations, links both “oikology” and “oikonomy” together. scientific methodology is merely one way, and not the only way, to investigate and acquire knowledge in order to provide solutions to humanity’s multifarious problems. there is a wide range of avenues through which solutions to environmental problems could be pursued. one of such is religious and theological engagement. religion has a definite role to play in conservation and environmental protection. in this regard therefore, a religious understanding and attitude contributes and shapes people’s conception of the world and the dynamics of its institutions and social arrangements. this cosmic dynamics has therefore necessitated the need to draw science more closely and fully into a working relationship with religion and theology. 1 leal, robert. 2004. the environment and christian faith. australia: st. paul’s publications. p. 20. there has been a lot of literature from different environmentalists on the current environmental crisis, emerging from church organisations, government and corporate organisations. see simone, a.m. 1999. thinking about african urban management in an era of globalization. african sociological review 3(2) 1999, 69-98, hossay, patrick. 2006.unsustainable. a primer for global environmental and social justice (new york: zed books and global initiatives such as the united nations millennium report, declarations and development goals, and the world council of churches peace, justice and creation commission, etc. 2 gosovic, branislav. 1992. the quest for world environmental cooperation. london and new-york: routledge. p.xii for subsequent effort towards global environmental sustainability especially issues relating to the formulation of the earth charter, see hessel, dieter and rasmussen, larry. 2001. (eds) earth habitat. eco-injustice and the church’s response. minneapolis: fortress press.p.101-121. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 68 justification for involving christianity in environmental engagements the important observations emanating from the various conferences and initiatives are clearly not just lack of information or planning. it is erroneous to believe that information and education is all that is needed to provide solution to the environmental crisis and achieve ecological sustainability; and that awareness is not sufficient to global actors and spectators on the global environmental crisis. the environmental crisis has to be viewed from moral and ethical perspective. failure to comprehend the problem from moral and ethical dimensions is a sign and indication that the values underlying our dominant cultural and economic practices have become bankrupt. according to conradie, the problem lies not outside but inside ourselves, not in the ecosystem but in the human heart, in the collective psyche.3 patricia mische’s view which corroborates conradie’s statement is very pertinent. she was of the opinion that there is need for religion to interface with other disciplines working together to seek solution to the environmental challenges of the time. she therefore insists that: science and technology alone cannot resolve ecological threats. nor can governments or the laws they promulgate ... sustaining the integrity of creation thus requires not only the external laws governments enact to deal with belligerent behaviour, but also inner governance, laws internalised in our hearts and minds and the will to live by them... church praxis has special relevance for the development of inner governance and a culture of ecological responsibility. religions carry the archetypes, the symbols, meanings, values and moral codes around which people coalesce and define themselves, their sense of the sacred, and their relationship with each other and the natural world.4 in the same manner, a “declaration on the environment” signed by patriarch bartholomew and pope john paul 11, easily comes to mind. the declaration reads: what is required is an act of repentance on our part and a renewed attempt to view ourselves, one another, and the world around us within the perspective of the divine design for creation. the problem is not simply economic and technological; it is moral and spiritual. a solution at the economic and technological level can be found only if we undergo, in the most radical way, an inner change of heart, which can lead to a change in lifestyle and of 3 conradie ernst. 2008. the church and the climate change. p.25 4 conradie, ernst. 2008. the church and climate change. p.64 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 69 unsustainable patterns of consumption and production. a genuine conversion in christ will enable us to change the way we think and act. similarly, the former head of the global anglican communion, archbishop rowan williams says this about the justification for anglican involvement in environment and development initiatives “anglicans are in international development because of a certain set of convictions about humanity”.5 in order to live out this conviction, he posits that we will need to change our attitudes and behavior. corroborating with the declaration referred to above, he emphasized behavioral change as a requisite solution to sustaining the earth, and solving the current environmental crisis. this, according to him, is in recognition of the fact that a combination of factors; which includes but not limited to, industrial pollution, deforestation, soil erosion, mineral and fossil fuel depletion, species extinction, over-population, over-consumption, and even unregulated tourism and development, are having devastating global effects on our environment.6 in the light of the above conversations, and in spite of bias against christianity as a religion that not only promotes heavy anthropocentrism, but “otherworldliness” it has become obvious that government alone cannot provide solution to the challenges of the environment and therefore it has become necessary that the religious dimensions of the environmental crisis have to be sought for. after all, man, they say, is a religious animal. in this regard, christianity has been involved in many other projects such as the united nations development programme’s (undp) project on the environment because of its deep concern for social development in general. a recent project in the above direction is the earth bible project which was developed by a team of scholars from australia. the significance of the project is that it encourages writers from around the world to read the bible from the perspective of justice for earth. ecojustice principles are therefore used as guidelines to ask the questions about a particular text to determine the following (a) whether a given text value or de-value earth (b) whether the voice of earth is heard or suppressed. (c) whether humans are portrayed as 'rulers' over earth or kin with earth. (d) whether earth suffers unjustly.7 the importance of the earth bible project lies in the fact that it develops eco-justice 5 williams, rowan. undated. http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/1 (accessed on 13th march 2009) 6 coleman, r. 1992. (ed) resolutions of the twelve lambeth conferences. p.57 the above resolutions were adapted from the lambeth resolutions on the environment 7 the earth bible project. http://www.webofcreation.org/earth-bible accessed-20 october 2009. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 70 principles appropriate to an earth hermeneutic for interpreting the bible and for promoting justice and healing of earth.8 christian response to environmental crisis in a continued search for inclusive and participatory response to the environmentally challenging situations, a number of discourses over the years have brought scientists, environmentalists, other disciplines and theologians together in a concerted effort for solutions to the current environmental challenges and other socio-economic concerns of our time.9 in this regard, numerous interdisciplinary conferences, seminars and workshops have been held and the current anthropocentric attitude to nature has often been blamed on the influence of christianity teachings on nature. 10 the critiques of ecological thinkers make two fundamental accusations. first, bible and christianity are very anthropocentric and thereby teach that human beings are divinely ordained to rule over and dominate nature. second, many christian writings and theologies especially from the western world11 denigrate nature and matter generally in comparison to the divine, which is equated with the spirit alone. as early as the second century, both tertullian and saint irenaeus of lyons were insisting that when god shaped adam, he was foreshadowing the image of the incarnate christ, the second adam. man shares in great measure, god’s transcendence of nature. many eco-theological scholars have attempted to articulate some classical theological thoughts about nature in its attempt to further develop an all inclusive ecological theology that seeks to protect the integrity of creation. a careful survey of the evolution of christian thought regarding nature reveals some major components of eco-theological motifs collectively exercising a formative influence on christianity at different periods in its history emerges. in spite of the accusations against christianity for being responsible for the global ecological crisis, christianity has shown genuine commitment to ecological issues. this is not sounding apologetic. the reasons for this commitment are discussed below. 8 the earth bible project 9 gosovic, branislav. 1992. the quest for world environmental cooperation. london and new-york: routledge. p.xii, see hessel, dieter and rasmussen, larry. 2001. (eds) earth habitat. eco-injustice and the church’s response. minneapolis: fortress press.p.101-121. 10 sowunmi, adebisi.a. 1995. “giver of life-sustain your creation” in hallman, david.g.1995(ed) ecotheology. voices from south and north. new york: maryknoll. p.149 11 mackinnon, mary and mclntyre, moni, 1995. readings in ecology and feminist theology. kansas: sheed and ward. p. 31 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 71 the reasons for christian ecological involvement in his brief unpublished document, steve de gruchy suggests five reasons why christianity have been committed in the current efforts towards environmental sustainability. the five reasons are: a. god created this world and it belongs to god b. if we care for life we must care for the environment c. our humanity depends upon the environment d. creation is bound up with salvation e. the earth crisis is a crisis of culture to which the gospel speaks expanding on de gruchy;s framework, we now identify the following key themes, which will serve as the building block for our discussion. god created this world and it belongs to him (stewardship responsibility) the fundamental standpoint for church’s engagement in the environment and poverty issues emanates from its belief that god created and loves his world. he values and cares for it independently of human existence. by this very fact, it is expected that human beings, bearing the image of god (particularly christians) and as an integral part of that creation, should imitate the concern of god for maintaining and taking care of the earth.12 in imitating this loving and caring attitude of god, humans are expected to live in a wholesome relationship with the rest of creation so as not to cause such destruction that species, ecosystems and indeed large numbers of people are threatened. in this regard, steve de gruchy, cautiously notes that we cannot ipso facto commodify the environment, but are obliged to respect its integrity and honour its creator and owner.13 unfortunately, people’s non-appreciation of the environment, which is based on a very strong anthropocentric attitude towards nature, is to a very large extent the cause of the current environment and poverty problems. closely related to the above reason why the church should be engaged in the current “double earth crisis” of environment and poverty, is the christian understanding of the implication of the concept of stewardship. in the opinion of mc donagh, god’s command in gen. 1:28 should be seen as a key text in re-shaping the human-earth relationship from the perspective of stewardship.14 the mandate to exercise dominion over the rest of the creation should not be seen as a warrant for domination and exploitation that it has so often been taken to imply. for mc donagh, this mandate suggests that human beings as stewards have the role of managing and 12 spencer, nick and white, robert. 2007. christianity, climate change and sustainable living.p.75 13 de gruchy, steve. 2004. theology and development studies handout on five reasons why african christians should be concerned about the environment. 14 gitau, s. k. 2000. the environmental crisis. nairobi: action. p.61 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 72 preserving the creation for god. similarly, george, s. johnson, gives deeper insights of stewardship when he observes that: the biblical understanding of stewardship implies accountability and participation. to move beyond guilt and powerlessness, we need to move from mastery, control and ownership attitudes to an attitude of stewardship toward all of life. this means becoming caretakers of creation with a sense of identification and partnership, rather than dominion and exploitation. to be a steward of creation is to embrace the world, to love as christ did, and to be willing to sacrifice for the world rather than escape from the world.15 in a similar emphasis, the retired archbishop of the province of the niger and the bishop of awka diocese, maxwell anikwenwa, in his synod address delivered to the first session of the sixth synod asserts that we have no right over the earth, since we are caretakers called to responsible exercise of control over it. he therefore cautions that: our possession of the earth is not a freehold, but leasehold. this means that we are all tenants and not landlords-of all the lands. this includes where you were born, which you call your family land and the freehold you secured from those who think that they were landlords of the piece of land.16 talking about the need for proper care of the earth in an inter-generational and nontheological terms, but also reflecting the theological concept of stewardship, michael watts and richard peet, made reference to a quote credited to karl max in which he stated that: “even society as a whole, a nation, or all existing societies put together, are not owners of the earth. they are merely its occupants, its users; and like good caretakers, they must hand it down improved to subsequent generations”.17 furthermore, in an attempt for a renewed effort for christianity’s commitment to the concept of stewardship, a declaration was made in assisi, the home of st. francis in 1986 during the 25th anniversary of the world wild fund (wwf). world wild fund is now renamed world wild fund for nature (wwfn).18.the assisi declaration reads thus: 15 johnson, g. s. 2000. beyond guilt: christian response to suffering. cambridge: adventure publications. p.118 16 anikwenwa, maxwell.s.c. 2002. our common future-human environment. presidential address delivered at the first session of the sixth synod of the diocese of awka, anambra state-nigeria. 17 peet, richards and watts, michael. 2004.(eds) liberation ecologies, environment, development, social movements.london and new-york: routledge.p.3 18 gitau, samson. k. 2000. the environmental crisis. a challenge to african christianity. nairobi: action. p.80 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 73 “god declared everything to be good, indeed, very good. he created nothing unnecessary and has omitted nothing that is necessary. there exists a divinely willed harmony because the creatures have received their mode of existence by the will of their creator. dominion (by human beings) cannot be anything other than a stewardship in symbiosis with all creatures”.19.all the quotations above refer to the stewardship role of humanity towards sustaining the earth. the overarching issue emerging from all of the quotations is a caution that humans are not the owners of the earth and therefore cannot treat it irresponsibly. stewardship is further treated in greater details in the chapter six under the discussion on the generation of ecological motif. creation is bound up with salvation we learn from steve de gruchy in his five reasons for african christianity’s involvement in the environment, that the noahic covenant in (gen.1:15-20) that christ created all things and has dominion over all things, and in him all things hold together. we also know from romans, that creation groans awaiting its redemptionand that we share this groaning as we await the return of christ. so, our relationship to nature and our harmony with it is a way we express not just our understanding of creation, but also our expectation of redemption. unfortunately, the violation of god’s laws concerning the nature, continually reflected in environmental exploitation, has consequently led to increasing mass-poverty (in certain parts of the world in the twenty first century) despite technological, scientific, and economic advancements.20 as part of the effort to restore the divine order and god’s love for his creation, christians are obliged to continue working for the fulfilment of what is regarded as the jesus manifesto in luke 4: 18-19-“the spirit of the lord is upon me because he has anointed me: he has sent me to announce good news to the poor, to proclaim release for prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind; to let the broken victims go free, to proclaim the year of the lord’s favour”. the establishment of god’s rule on earth is part of the whole redemption package epitomised in the mission of christ. the church views salvation to entail not only the redemption of an individual from his or her sin, it also entails the renewal and transformation of all aspects of creation, including its social and economic structures.21 lending his support for the church’s engagement in socioeconomic and political concerns as part of this redemption agenda, leonardo boff, a proponent of liberation theology, says that: 19 gitau, samson. k. 2000. the environmental crisis. a challenge to african christianity p.80 this stewardship concept was popularized by the rule of st. benedictine monastery. monastic life does not exist only for itself and profit but for the sake of others. this is how the idea of stewardship should be understood by christians in dealing with environmental issues. 20 thomas, leonard. m. 2006. (ed) encyclopaedia of the developing world. vol. 3 o-z index. new york: routledge. p.1316 21 kent, a. van til. 2007. less than two dollars a day.p.92 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 74 the gospel is nothing but the proclamation of the reign of god: the full and total liberation of all creation, cosmic and human, from all its iniquities, and the integral accomplishment of god’s design in the insertion of all things into his own divine life. concretely, then, the reign of god translates into community of life ... in a universal communion of brothers and sisters in solidarity with one another in the use of the fruit of the earth and the work of human hands.22 our humanity and well-being depends upon the environment god’s relationship to creation is not the only reason why the church is obliged to care about the environment. another important reason or motivation is seen in what nick spencer and robert white wrote about what the bible teaches regarding human relationship to the rest of the creation. the opening chapters of genesis highlight the commonalities between humanity and the rest of the animate creation. genesis 2 uses the same word to describe how animals, birds and humans were formed from the ground. humans were formed specially from the dust of the ground that hardly constitutes an accolade of superiority. humanity shares the same food as other animals and the same breath of life is given to animals and humans alike. to care for the creation is therefore to care for a system of which we are a part and upon which we are utterly dependent.23 the implication of the above is that human flourishing and the well-being of the rest of creation are inextricably linked in the biblical narrative. as a result, we need the beauty of the world around us-the air, mountains, rivers, birds, animals, to experience the fullness of the life god has created. apart from the perspective of aesthetics, the truth is that we also need water, air and food to survive. but, with the loss of each species, and the ugliness of pollution, we do not only dehumanize ourselves and those around us, we are also faced with water shortage and food security threat. the way we respond to our neighbor and all living things is a pointer to our humanity. when we denigrate the environment, we denigrate ourselves. the earth crisis is a crisis of culture to which the gospel speaks a deeper analysis of the current earth crisis suggests that: it is not the environment that is failing-but it is the dominant culture of economic growth and indiscriminate use of nature’s resources to satisfy our desires-that is really failing”. thus, the environmental crisis is really a cultural crisis-a crisis of values, of meaning, of purpose and vocation. the gospel speaks to this 22 boff, leonardo. 1989. faith on the edge: religion and marginalized existence. san francisco: harper and row. 73 23 spencer, nick and white, robert. 2007. christianity, climate change and sustainable living. p.82 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 75 crisis-and if christians have a message to proclaim, then they need to speak about the environment and how we live in and with it.24 in the light of the above, the duty of the church is expressed in the use of its theology and other faith resources to speak and act against the dominant culture of economic growth which does not recognize the integrity of creation. in this regard, the marxist literary critic fredric jameson has greatly contributed to our understanding of the negative effects of the culture of economic growth without boarder or consideration.25 his examination of the emergence of the cultural dominance of capitalism in the era of postmodernism is insightful and useful particularly for our theological reflection on the crisis of culture with regards to the current environmental crisis. this is because the way he describes the postmodern era as “a time when capitalism penetrates the pre-capitalist enclaves of nature and the unconscious, reducing all human action, including politics to some form of consumption” 26 is precisely at the centre of our theological argument against the current global economic structure hugely determined by the system of global governance. our theological engagement should therefore be responsible to the integrity of creation. integrity of creation, as we have noted earlier, is at the heart of the wcc engagement in development issues when it employed such phrases as “just, participatory and sustainable society” and “justice, peace and integrity of creation” to express its deep concern for a new environmental order.27 having discussed in details the reasons for christianity’s commitment to ecological issues, let us now briefly look at different stages of christianity’s involvement in environmental issues. a review of christianity’s involvement in environmental matters the long standing reflection and engagement on god’s creation by christianity provides a necessary counter-point to not only lyn white’s accusation against christianity, but to all others who accused christianity of heavy sin of anthropocentrism. white was popular in his condemnation of christianity that he was regarded as the “accuser of the brethren” because of his dissatisfaction with christianity’s exploitative teaching and attitude to nature informed by its erroneous 24 de gruchy, steve. 2004. theology and development studies handout on five reasons why african christians should be concerned about the environment 25 see miller, vincent, j. 2004. consuming religion. christian faith and practice in a consumer culture.new york, london:continuum.p.63-65 26 miller, vincent, j. 2004. consuming religion. christian faith and practice in a consumer culture.p.65 27 dieter, hassel and rasmussen, larry (eds) 2001. p 126 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 76 biblical interpretation. he, therefore, held christianity responsible for what he called “the historical roots of our ecological crisis”.28 what is presented below is not an apologetic response to white, but an examination of christian engagement to the environment both from the bible as well as from individual christians. this examination would offer us an objective insight in either accepting or refuting the accusation against christianity as having sowed the seed of the contemporary ecological crisis. it is also anticipated to inspire christians into pragmatic environmental actions towards environmental sustainability. the biblical witness it is important to note that christianity’s involvement in environmental matters is premised on the teachings of the bible regarding the world. the judeo-christian traditional belief in god’s creation provides the bedrock for a christian understanding of nature and humanity’s relation to it. there are many positive images of nature portrayed in the bible that can be applied to the development of a more positive theological approach to the environment. in this regard, we cite just a few examples from the work of ibe martin,29 to elucidate this point. in the old testament, mosaic laws place some restrictions on how humans treat other created things: restrictions on cutting down fruit trees (deut. 20: 19-20), command to let the land lie fallow every seventh year (lev. 25:1-7), eating certain “unclean” animals and dietary restrictions, killing a mother and her offspring as in the example of the birds’ nest (deut.22:6-7), humane treatment of animals (eg. deut. 25: 4). psalm (96: 1113 and psalm 148: 1-3) are vivid expressions of the natural world as alive and responding to god in a moral fashion. there are also new testament texts which support christian involvement in environmental protection. here, we consider two texts from st. paul which expresses human affinity to the natural world. the first text is romans 8: 22-23: “we know that the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the spirit, groan inwardly while we await for adoption, the redemption of our bodies”. in this text, paul portrays all humanity as struggling through a birth-process aimed at achieving spiritual redemption which is both bodily and material. in similitude to the above text, paul santmire, for example alluded to augustine’s theology and its emphasis which shows how all things, creatures of nature as well as human creatures, are 28 attfield, r. 1994. environmental philosophy: principles and prospects. aldershot: avebury. p.164 29 ibe, martin joe. 2003. environmental ethics and politics in developing countries. case study from nigeria. p.13. ibe has done a lot of comparative work on different religious attitude and engagement on the environment. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 77 related and have their own values.30 augustinian theology, including other christian traditions underline the christian understanding of working for the good of nature and society in general. the second significant text on the issue of discussion is colossians 1: 15-17: “(christ) is the image of the invisible god, the first born of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominations or ruler or powers-all things have been created through him and for him. he himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together”. christ is presented in this text by st. paul both as a product of the creative activity of god and the perfect image of god. appreciating this text, paul collins observes that “the passage actually sets up a striking trinity: god-christ-creation. it suggests an intimate link between christ and the cosmos so that one may well be able to argue that to destroy that natural world is to destroy the image of christ, who is the image of god”.31 recognizing its captivity to earlier generations of ecological thinking, and developing a more adequate understanding of the relationship between humans and the earth, would help christians to give proper interpretation to such passages that were hitherto construed as being heavily influenced by the dominion thought and “otherworldliness” and view them with appropriate lens befitting the 21st century. in doing this, christianity would not only be seen as expressing its long standing historical heritage of commitment to the environment which is seen as a foundation or basis for christian engagement in environmental issues, but would actually be seen as being practically upholding same. this practical involvement in social responsibility would therefore reaffirm the notion that god is not only concerned with the supernatural, but is active to humanize the world as we know it, and his power is active in the secular life of humankind.32 this view on the important role of religion in environmental concerns and the need for a relationship between religion and science was also supported by the one-time general secretary of the world council of churches, philip potter, as far back as 1979. in a keynote address at the conference on “faith, science and the future” in that year, potter posited that an intensification of the dialogue between science and religion would chip away the wall of separation that once stood between science and religion. this dialogue, in my opinion, is an expression of the religious response and 30 santmire, paul. h. 1985. the travail of nature: the ambiguous ecological promise of christianity. philadelphia: fortress press. p.15 31 ibe, martin joe. 2003. environmental ethics and politics in developing countries. case study from nigeria.p.14 32 tsele, molefe. “the role of the christian faith in development” in belshaw d, calderisi r and sugden c. 2001.faith in development. partnership between the world bank and the churches of africa. oxford: regnum. p. 214 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 78 willingness to engage in environmental discourse. the dialogue will create a platform in which both theologians and practitioners in other various fields of sciences would feel at home to engage in meaningful discussions about not only the very existence of the universe, but mainly on the need for its conservation and its governance. this initiative for the interface between religion and science, in general and environmental conservation in particular, is based on the conviction that such collaboration could help create a self consciously moral society, which would enhance environmental conservation grounded on respect for god’s creation. it could also regulate individualism, materialism and the anthropocentric-induced desire to subjugate nature as well as engender the much needed religious commitment, moral and ethical engagement to transform the environmental crisis from an issue on paper to one of effective policy; from rhetoric in print to realism in action. it is hoped that it would provide a lean way to the search for the inclusive and participatory engagement to environmental sustainability. on individual christian levels, creative attempts have been made especially by ecotheologians to produce theological framework and resources for the church as part of the needed inclusive and participatory engagement in the current ecological challenges. for example, alokwu’s work on the concept of oikos-theology, is a new contribution from african christian perspective on the environmental involvement of the church. this work is built on the attempts of warmback, whose earlier work on the same agenda was fraught with western ideologies. both alokwu and warmback were concerned with the pragmatic exigencies of the oikos (earth) that has been ecologically decimated and economically impoverished and the concern of the church to construct an eco-theological missional, inspired by contextualized theological reflection to synthesize with ecological ethics. the distortion of the values of the environment necessitates a rethinking of the church's theological contribution to the global environmental challenges. from the church’s perspective, it is more appealing and inspiring to employ the “oikos” metaphor in relation to either ecological or environmental discourse. the use of oikos as a metaphor is to portray the essence of interrelatedness, interdependence and solidarity within the faith community as well as the earth community. oikos metaphor inspires us to create a new eco-theological sensibility that addresses our destructive attitude toward creation. it proposes a change of our socio-economic structure and behavioral patterns that fuel despoliation of the environmental resources. it therefore offers an overarching framework for the re-visioning of religious engagement and the en-visioning of eco-theological spirituality that supports the abundant life that christ came to give as expressed in the gospel of st. john 10: 10, not only to us humans, but the entire ecosystem. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 79 the need for the collaboration of efforts and pulling together of resources earlier mentioned was evidently inspired especially in the decade of the 80s which was marked by a retreat from social concerns per se to broader issues of the environment. scientists brought to the attention of the people of the world, the urgent but complex, environmental problems bearing on their survival and that of the earth. ‘wake-up calls’ from different concerned individuals and international organizations became the order of the day. for example, while kovel calls for eco-socialism, others like schumacher call for simplicity of life in order to reduce ecological foot print.33 it was in this decade that for the first time it was discovered that the earth’s ozone layer which filters out much of the ultraviolet rays from the sun, was facing the risk of depletion.34 other issues such as the green house effect (global warming), acid rain and deserts consuming agricultural lands were highlighted on a serious global note.35 even though these environmental catastrophes were seen mainly as a problem of wealthy nations and a side effect of industrial growth, the ‘wake -up call’ had become so intense such that all the people of the world should reconsider their use of the earth’s non-renewable resources. conclusion it is worthy of note that the present global environmental concern has been unprecedented in the history of environmental awareness and commitment. the level of awareness and commitment has resulted to the increased quest for global action in a more inclusive and participatory manner. the nature and urgency of the inclusive and participatory approach requires inter-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary approach and therefore “all hands must be on the deck”. it is no longer a “science exclusive and monopolistic agenda”. from the discussions of the paper, we have seen that christianity, which has suffered neglect in terms of the needed inclusive and participatory action with regards to providing solution to the environmental problems has much to offer judging from its antecedents of environmental involvement through the ages .the age long view of christianity’s anthropocentric stand which presents her as being uninterested in environmental matters is now replaced with environmental zealousness and pragmatic action. this new zeal and commitment of christianity is gratifying and therefore should be seen as an “untapped resource” in the global search for current environmental crisis. 33 cock, jacklyn. 2007. the war against ourselves. nature, power and justice. johannesburg: wits university press.p.19 34 see meadows, d (ed) 1972. the limits to growth. new york: universe books; meadows, d. (ed) 1977. alternatives to growth: a search for sustainable futures. cambridge mass: balinger publishing. p.73 35 conradie, e.m. 2008. the church and climate change. pietermaritzburg: cluster publications.p.1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 80 bibliography anikwenwa, m.s.c. 2002. our common future-human environment. presidential address delivered at the first session of the sixth synod of the diocese of awka, anambra state-nigeria. attfield, r. 1994. environmental philosophy: principles and prospects. aldershot: avebury. boff, l. 1989. faith on the edge: religion and marginalized existence. san francisco: harper and row cock, j. 2007. the war against ourselves. nature, power and justice. johannesburg: wits university press conradie, e.m. 2008. the church and climate change. pietermaritzburg: cluster publications. darby, k. r. 2006. ecology, economy and god. theology that maters. minneapolis: continuum press david.g.1995(ed) ecotheology. voices from south and north. new york: maryknoll de gruchy, steve. 2004. theology and development studies handout on five reasons why christians should be involved in the environment. pietermaritzburg gitau, j, g. 2000. beyond guilt: christian response to suffering. cambridge: adventure publications gitau, s. k. 2000. the environmental crisis. a challenge to african christianity. nairobi: action gosovic, b. 1992. the quest for world environmental cooperation. london and newyork: routledge hessel, d and rasmussen, l. 2001. (eds) earth habitat. eco-injustice and the church’s response. minneapolis: fortress press. hossay, patrick. 2006.unsustainable. a primer for global environmental and social justice. new york: zed books ibe, martin joe. 2003. environmental ethics and politics in developing countries. case johnson, g. s. 2000. beyond guilt: christian response to suffering. cambridge: adventure leal, r. 2004. the environment and christian faith. australia: st. paul’s publications. mackinnon, m and mclntyre, m, 1995. readings in ecology and feminist theology. kansas: zed books meadows, d (ed) 1972. the limits to growth. new york: universe books miller, v, j. 2004. consuming religion. christian faith and practice in a consumer new york: routledge. peet, r and watts, m. 2004.(eds) liberation ecologies, environment and development. pietermaritzburg: cluster publications igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 81 santmire, paul. h. 1985. the travail of nature: the ambiguous ecological promise of christianity. philadelphia: fortress press simone, a.m. 1999. thinking about african urban management in an era of social movements: london and new-york: routledge. spencer, n and white, r. 2007. christianity, climate change and sustainable living. england: morehouse publishing sugden c. 2001.faith in development. partnership between the world bank and the churches of africa. oxford: regnum. the official report of the lambeth conference 1998, transformation and renewal, july 18august 9, 1998. lambeth palace; canterbury thomas, l. m. 2006. (ed) encyclopaedia of the developing world. vol. 3 o-z index. internet sources the earth bible project. http://www.webofcreation.org/earth-bible accessed-20 october 2009. williams, r. undated. http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/1 (accessed on 13th march 2009) microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 6 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 124 people with disability and their participationn sport: issues and challenges by mr. hazratullah khattak coordinator/lecturer-cum-field officer, department of sports sciences & physical education, sarhad university of science & information technology peshawar email: hazratullah.ss@suit.edu.pk cell: +923459812070 & dr. mohibullah khan marwat director sports, gomal university d.i.khan email: dsmarwat@yahoo.com cell: +923333161616 & mr. ashfaq ali khattak ms scholar, (sports sciences & physical education) sarhad university of science & information technology peshawar email: ashfaqlikhattak@gmail.com cell: +923459109889 & mr. nasir ali ms scholar, (sports sciences & physical education) sarhad university of science & information technology peshawar email: sadsun33@gmail.com cell: +923009372972 & mr. arshad ali ms scholar, (sports sciences & physical education) sarhad university of science & information technology peshawar email: arshadsmi399@yahoo.com cell: +923326191979 & mr. muhammad zakarya ms scholar, (sports sciences & physical education) sarhad university of science & information technology peshawar igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 125 email: muhammadzakarya9@gmail.com cell: +923068189851 abstract in addition to physical, mental and social benefits of participation in sport, it also has the capacity to boost health and prevent some health deteriorating ailments. the benefits of sport are universal for all irrespective of age, class, section or gender including those with disabilities. participation in sport on part of the people with disabilities promotes the spirit of inclusion, social poise, confidence and improves functional capacity of the different organs of the body. despite these universal benefits of participation in sport, it has been a matter of common observation, that the people with disabilities have very limited opportunities of participation in sport and other recreational physical activities, therefore they have got comparatively poor standard of fitness, and are confronted with a number of health affecting problems. according to a careful estimate, there are more than 180 million young people throughout the world who live with some sort of disability either physical or mental. it is very serious health issue and needs to be addressed on war footings bases at local, national and international level. this paper reviews the issues and challenges associated with the normal life of the disabled people, and urges upon the need to provide proper educational, economical and socio-cultural opportunities, in line with the needs and requirement of the special people. key words: disabilities, participation, sport, recreation, fitness 1. introduction the term disability is a complex phenomenon, it stands for the position of the body in which normal capacities of either physical, mental, emotional or cognitive aspects of life is impaired and does not function properly. disability is a comprehensive term, encircling impairments of an organ or part of the body resulting in incapacity or limitation in proper functioning. world health organization (who) defines disability as “disability is a complex phenomenon, reflecting an interaction between features of a person’s body and features of the society in which he or she lives”.the oxford dictionaries, language matters has offered definition of the disability as “a physical or mental condition that limits a person’s movements, senses, or activities”.impairment of the health or incapacity of any organ or part of the body can occur irrespective of the age, gender, social class or occupation and no one is immune to it. however, research has proved that it generally affects the poor and underprivileged class of the society. “experts igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 126 generally agree that disability disproportionately affects the poor” (elwan, 1999, & brock, 1999). the research has further revealed that male are more prone to disability as compared to female and similarly, people from the rural areas are more affected by the disability in comparison to the people from the urban areas. these findings are endorsed by the who report claiming that eighty percent of the total disabled youth belong to the developing world. the data from a few nations data sets suggest that throughout the developing world, disability affects more males than females, and is found more commonly in rural than in urban areas (undiesa statistics office report, 1990). but the findings of another study conducted in the organization in six asian pacific nations do not confirm these results, the study claims that the incidence of disability was in fact higher for women than for men (harper & momm, 1989). another interesting result of the study which points out towards the socio-economic aspect of the problem; reveal that disability rates are higher in wealthier countries. the reason for which seems to have been the prompt and affective screening system of these nations as a result of which disabilities are timely diagnosed, identified and rrecorded (suris, 1995). 2. need for provision of sport opportunities though there is clear evidence regarding the social and health benefits of participation in sport, but still the people with disabilities are far less likely to engage in physically active lifestyles than are people without disabilities (rimmer, 2002, and u.s. department of health, healthy people, 2010). sport and physical activity are the true benefactors to human health and fitness. some sport sociologists have taken sport and physical activity in different contexts. on one hand physical activity is the medium for the execution of different sport skills but on the other, physical activity itself has its own vitality and significance whether it occurs in sport or in any other undertaking of the daily life. climbing the tree, upstairs walking, and farming, for example, are not the activities of sport but these activities also yield a number of health benefits. sport and other physical activities are generally believed to have a number of health benefits.omar-fauzee, et al., (2009) has concluded that participation in sport yields health benefits. in physio-psychological perspectives, one thing common in recreational activities, exercise and in sport is that, in addition to health benefits, these activities have got very high values in terms of providing fun and entertainment to the performer. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 127 sport activities have the potential and can be used as a medium to pave the way to bring the disabled people back to normalcy and include them in the mainstream of the society. sport and recreational activities play significant role in preventing some important physical health problems like obesity, inefficiency of the organs and poor health, and sense of isolation, frustration, and inferiority complex on the psychological front of life. individuals with disability do need to avail chances of participation in sport and other physical activities. the benefits of participation in sport are equally the same for the disabled ones as these are for the people without disability. obesity is one of the alarming and growing health problems of the world. it attacks the individuals of all ages and both genders particularly those having the habit of intake of the rich food and who follow sedentary life style. children with disabilities are more likely than other children to be sedentary, placing them at higher risk of obesity and associated health conditions (fragala, 2005).inactive disabled people are also the worst victim of the obesity. participation in sport and physical activities provides the best solution to the problem particularly to the obese people. generally, the people with disability remain keen to participate in sport and other physical activities. as and when they are provided with the opportunity of participation in sport, their sense of inclusion is developed and they consider themselves as part of the society, feel high level of self-esteem, mental satisfaction and improved physique. maintenance and promotion of physical as well as mental health and general wellbeing are directly linked with the life full of action while sedentary life renders the person prone to various deadly diseases. “physical inactivity is a major public health challenge in the developed world and is recognized as a global epidemic” (chief medical officer, london: department of health, 2004). the physical and mental health benefits of the active life are the same for the people with disability. with respect to the disabled people, research has proved that physical activity can not only reduce the risk for secondary health problems but can improve all levels of functioning (hidde et al., 2004). 3. benefits of sport for the disabled people research has proved the most encouraging role of physical activity in providing public health benefits particularly with reference to the prevention and control of the different fatal diseases. studies have also found linkage between physical activity and primary and secondary prevention of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 128 cancer (holmes et al., 2005). (bouchard et al., (1990); and us department of health and human services (1996) claim that participation either in sport or in any other recreational activity pledges for numerous health benefits. physical activity is one of the most effective ways for the productive use of leisure as it provides useful way for the outlet of the surplus energy of the body. about physical activity, the same standpoint is endorsed by bouchard and shephard (1994). regular physical activity is essential for the maintenance of normal muscle strength, flexibility, and joint structure, function and may slow the functional decline often associated with disabling conditions (durstine et al., 2000). the benefits of participation in sport and physical activity in respect of the individuals with disability are very much vital from the viewpoint of maintenance and promotion of health. “physical activity and sport participation for individuals with disabilities prevents health problems by reducing the risk of developing heart disease, controlling weight, building lean muscle, reducing fat” (us dept. of health and human services, 1996). in addition to the health benefits of participation in sport, it also fosters social and psychological poise of the participants. sports participation enhances the psychological well-being of individuals with disabilities through the provision of opportunities to form friendships, express creativity, develop a self-identity, and foster meaning and purpose in life (dykens, rosner & butterbaugh, 1998).patel & greydanus (2002) have also concluded that participation in regular physical activity can foster independence, coping abilities, competitiveness, and teamwork among the individuals with disabilities. the nature, duration and frequency of sport activity for the disabled people should also be taken into consideration. it is always wise to plane and design the programme of sport and physical activities that suits the interest and choice of the person and which is in line with the nature of the disability of the person who is to follow it. exercise that is of longer duration, greater frequency, and lower intensity compared with programs for typically developing youth is recommended (durstine et al., 2000). the programme of activities needs to be followed under the skilled supervision so that to the participant may get maximum benefits of it. this will ensure safe play and help in avoiding any chance of injury or hurt to the participant. with the proper guidance, the risk of injury to physically disabled ones is no greater than that to athletes without disability (patel & greydanus, 2002). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 129 with reference to participation of the disabled person in sport and physical activities, the role of family has always been vital. in most cases it has been observed that the person with disability is always at the mercy of the rest of his/her family members who rarely make any arrangement for his/her participation in sport and physical activities. but on the contrary, research has proved that the families keeping association with sport and physical activities encourage and promote the disabled member of the family in connection with his/her participation in sport and physical activities. families who engage in physical activities themselves tend to promote similar participation for their children with disabilities (americanacademy of pediatrics, 2006;king et al., 2003) 4. motives of the disabled people for participation in sport the motives of the people with disabilities with reference to participation in sport are diverse encircling socio-cultural, psychological and emotional aspects of everyday’s life. the person with disability does need acceptance and inclusion in the educational process and in the day-to-day societal affairs, worth and value in the society, and active role in resolving the home and neighboring problems. disabled people’s motives for participation are similar to those of nondisabled people, for example, using after-sport social activities to seek acceptance from others (brasile et al., 1994). the person with disability can play very positive and constructive role in exchanging the socio-cultural values of the society. in this regard, the role and support from the family and environmental factors determines the level of success. overall, environmental and family factors seem to be more significant determinants of participation than characteristics of the children themselves (king et al., 2003). close interaction of the player with the relatives and the people around him/her serves the role of motivator with reference to participation in sport. the factors such as interpersonal relationship with coaches, family members, friends etc serve as motivation for athletes to become involved in sports activity (ryan, 2006). to get distinction and dominate in performance, and to cope stress and fatigue, are the common motives for participation in sport. motives help the person to become active in sport (omar-fauzee, et al., 2009). parental and teacher’s encouragement at home and at school and personal confidence of the child motivates him/her to do the difficult and skilful task with courage and determination. positive attitude of the people associated with the person with igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 130 disability plays significant role in encouraging him/her in the routine matters. it is important that children are empowered with an“i can do” attitude rather than discouraged by the message “you can't do that” (wilson, 2002). 5. main barriers to participation in sport participation in sport and physical activities has always been beneficial for the people with disability but in our educational institutions, they are generally offered very limited opportunities of participation in sport and physical activities. and probably, in many cases they do not have any chance of participation in sport and physical activities. in most cases, disabled people have been treated as weaker in performance, and they are least preferred for any important assignment. the first and foremost important barrier in the way of participation in sport and physical activities in respect of the people with disabilities is the negative and humiliating behaviour of the society. in public and private affairs, they are generally treated inferior and not at par with the people having no disability. globally, it is widely acknowledged that the greatest impediment to the lives of young people with disabilities is prejudice, social isolation and discrimination (despouy, 1991). social behaviour and thinking of the masses in respect of the people with disabilities is also one of the major barriers in the way of the disabled people in their participation in sport. many disabled persons are still, to a large extent, socially segregated and experience negative societal stereotypes and low performance expectations, rendering them with limited opportunities for participation in group physical activities (king et al., 2003). disabled are the special people and they need special attention in all matters related to their lives. in most cases disabled are dependent ones and they seek help and assistance from the people around them. similarly the nature and type of their participation in sport and physical activities is somewhat different in terms of facilities and equipment. disabled people need special equipment for their participation in sport, which are costly and sometimes not affordable for them to arrange the required equipment for their entertainment. cost and nonavailability of the specialized sport equipment is the second main barrier in the way of disabled people participation in sport. in fact, adolescents with disabilities cited the cost of specialized equipment as the most frequent reason for nonparticipation (king et al., 2003). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 131 psychological impediment is the next barrier that hinders the disabled people particularly children from participation in sport. as discussed earlier, disable people are generally presumed to be incompetent and weaker member of the society. resultantly they too begin to think of themselves as the incompetent and weaker member of the society. the child’s perceived image of his/her selfincompetency is one of the principal psychological barriers towards his/her participation in sport and physical activities. participation on part of the disabled people is further influenced directly by time, the home environment, and the child's perceived self-competence and indirectly by social support from schools and communities, family demographics, and child preferences (king et al., 2003). in addition to that, the disability factor itself and health standard of the disabled person are also amongst the barriers to his/her participation in sport. research undertaken in the united kingdom (sport england, 2001) identified that the main limitation to participation was the respondent’s health. as a matter of fact, the people with disability are confronted with a number of constraints including physical, mental, emotional, social, financial and demographic factors. research has confirmed that the extent of participation in physical activity by those with a disability is affected by a multi-factorial set of barriers and facilitators that are unique to this population’ (rimmer j.h. et al., 2004). 6. international sport arena for the disabled people the term paralympics is a recent title replacing the previous disability or organizationally defined nomenclature such as the paraplegic games (dolltepper, 1999). “international efforts to promote the social and emotional well-being of the children with disabilities through participation in recreational sports and physical fitness activities began with the first competitive sporting event for individuals with disabilities in 1948, followed by the first paralympics competition in 1960, and the establishment of the special olympics in 1968” (wilson, 2002).since then it has been playing significant role in upholding the cause of the disabled people in the field of sport. the inception of the paralympics was considered one step forward in the way of solidarity with the disabled people. “this is proven by the massive involvement of the disabled individuals in the paralympics (zurn, lopiano, and snyder, 2006).the first summer paralympics games were held in 1960 immediately after the olympic games in rome (italy). tracing its origins to a hospital in central england in 1948, the first stoke mandeville games grew from two competing wheelchair teams to an international event by 1957 (scruton, 1998). the special olympics is now the largest recreational program for the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 132 disable people with intellectual disabilities, having more than 1 million players in 125 countries (special olympics, rehabilitation research and training center report, 2005). 7. conclusion it is concluded that despite existence of a vast number of the disabled people in the world, very limited attention has so for been paid towards their sport and recreational requirement. conduct of the first competitive sporting event for individuals with disabilities in 1948has been regarded as the first landmark in connection with the acknowledging the rights of the disabled people at the international forum. socially, discrimination exists in the society in dealing with them and they have been treated as inferior than the other people without disabilities. least educational and job opportunities are available for them and they have been treated as the second class citizens of the society. need of the hour is to treat them as equal members of the society, all out efforts should be made to establish the required sport infrastructure for them at all main cities of each country. references american academy of pediatrics, council on sports medicine and fitness and council on school health. active healthy living: prevention of childhood obesity through increased physical activity. pediatrics.2006;117 (5):1834– 1842 brasile, f.m., kleiber, d.a. and harnisch, d. (1994) ‘analysis of participation incentives among athletes with and without disabilities’, therapeutic recreation journal, jan–march: 18–33. bouchard c, shephard rj, stephens t, sutton, j. r., & mcpherson, b. d. (eds.) exercise, fitness, and health: the concensus statement. in: bouchard c, shephard rj, stephens t, et al. (eds.), exercise, fitness, and health. champaign, il: human kinetics, 1990; 4-28. bouchard c, shephard rj. physical activity, fitness and health: the model and key concepts. in: bouchard c, shephard rj, stephens t, editors. physical activity, fitness and health: international proceedings and consensus statement. champaign (il): human kinetics, 1994: 77-88 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 133 brock k. a review of participatory work on poverty and illbeing. consultations with the poor, prepared for global synthesis workshop, sept. 22-23, 1999. poverty group, prem, washington, dc: world bank, 1999. chief medical officer. at least five a week: evidence on the impact of physical activity and its relationship to health: a report from the chief medical officer. london:department of health, 2004. despouy l. human rights and disability.united nations economic and social council, doc. e/ ccn.4/sub.2/1991/31. ny: united nations. doll-tepper, g. (1999) ‘disability sport’, in j. riordan and a. kruger (eds), the international politics of sport in the twentiethcentury. london and new york: e & f spon, pp. 177–90. durstine jl, painter p, franklin ba, morgan d, pitetti kh, roberts so. physical activity for the chronically ill and disabled. sports med.2000;30 (3):207– 219 dykens em, rosner ba, butterbaugh g. exercise and sports in children and adolescents with developmental disabilities: positive physical and psychosocial effects. child adolesc psychiatr clin n am.1998;7 (4):757– 771, viii elwan a. poverty and disability: a survey of the literature. washington: the world bank, social protection unit, human development network, 1999. fragala-pinkham ma, haley sm, rabin j, kharasch vs. a fitness program for children with disabilities. phys ther.2005;85 (11):1182– 1200 harper m, momm m. self-employment for disabled people: examples from africa and asia. geneva, switzerland. international labor organization, 1989. hidde p. van der ploeg; allard j. van der beek: luc h.v. van der woude; willem van mechelen (2004). physical activity for people with a disability: a conceptual model. sports medicine, vol 34, number 10, pp.639-649 holmes, m., chen, w., feskanich, d., kroenke, c., and colditz, g. (2005), physicalactivity and survival after breast cancer diagnosis, journal of the american medical association, 293, pp. 2479-2486 king g, law m, king s, rosenbaum p, kertoy mk, young nl. a conceptual model of the factors affecting the recreation and leisure participation of children with disabilities. phys occup ther pediatr.2003;23 (1):63– 90 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 134 omar-fauzee, m.s, daud, n., kamaruddin, k., yusof, a., geok, s. k., nazaruddin, m. n., aman, s., & slikon, r. h. (2009). what’s make university students participate in sports? european journal of social sciences, 8, 449-459. patel dr, greydanusde. the pediatric athlete with disabilities. pediatr clin north am.2002;49 (4):803– 827 rimmer jh. health promotion for individuals with disabilities. the need for a transitional model in service delivery. dis manage health outcomes 2002;10:337–43. rimmer j.h., riley b., rauworth a. & jurkowski j. (2004) physical activity participation among persons with disabilities: barriers and facilitators. american journal of preventive medicine, 26(5), 419425http://www.ncpad.org/research/fact_sheet. accessed 15/3/2006 ryan, e. r. (2006). disentangling motivation, intention and planning in the physical activity domain. journal of sport psychology & exercise, 7, 15-27. scruton, j. (1998). stoke mandeville: road to the paralympics. aylesbury, uk: peterhouse press. sport england (2001). adults with a disability and sport; a national survey 2000-2001. http://www.sportengland.org/adult_disability_full_report.pdf special olympics, rehabilitation research and training center on aging with development disabilities. health promotion pilot programs evaluation: improving athletes' health. chicago, il: rehabilitation research and training center on aging with development disabilities, department of disability and human development, university of illinois at chicago; 2005. available at:www.specialolympics.org/nr/rdonlyres/el4wm3i5jtdvqobu45yvywqjt x346ml5go3u4fhkbolcnhbjqgm4q3adm5577tegx4uyszpbvhlnb7sxj2r4lfyfb4 c/healthpromotionpilot_eval.pdf. accessed june 28, 2007 suris j. global trends of young people with chronic and disabling conditions. journal of adolescent health, 1995; 17:17-22. the oxford dictionaries, language matters retrieved on august 30, 2014 from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/disability igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 135 united nations. department of international economic and social affairs, statistical office. disability statistics compendium. statistics on special population groups, series y, no. 4, new york, 1990. u.s. department of health and human services. healthy people 2010. conference edition, vol. 2. washingtondc: u.s. department of health and human services, 2000. u.s. department of health and human services. (1996). physical activity and health: a report of the surgeon general. atlanta, ga: u.s. department of health and human services, centers for disease control and prevention, nationalcenter for chronic disease prevention and health promotion. wilson pe. exercise and sports for children who have disabilities. phys med rehabil clin n am.2002;13 (4): 907–923, ix world health organization, global strategy on diet, physical activity and health http:www.int/dietphysicalactivity/publication/facts/ps/en(accessed5/01 /10) world health organization. http://www.who.int/topics/disabilities/en/, retrieved 30 august 2014. zurn, l., lopiano, d., & snyder, m. (2006). women in the 2006 olympic and paralympic winter games: an analysis of participation, leadership and media coverage. east meadow, ny: women’s sports foundation. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 4 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 54 appraising the osu caste system in igbo land within the context of complementary reflection by francis onwubuariri department of philosophy faculty of arts university of calabar, calabar abstract segregation, stigmatization, subjugation, conflicts, wars, hatred, class division, exploitation and so forth, has been seen as that which dominated the entire spectrum of osu caste system in igbo land. to solve the alleged problems, several erudite and prolific writers have commented on the issue of the osu system in an enormous ways an view points, but the onerous condition of the system made some of their several efforts to be without luck. seeing this, this research work was organized and designed on the ground that it seeks to establish the fact that all human is one, created by one supreme being (god), with diverse functions and areas of specialization. with this, it is in the interest of this work that with this mind set of oneness, harmony as well as love, osu caste system and its intrinsic problems will be solved once and for all. because with this mind set, each person will act or work based on his/her area of specification with the intention of ensuring excellence in his jurisdiction which will go along way in fostering peace, harmony, happiness as well as development in the society. this work however made recourse to the professor asouzu’s “complementary reflection” and its inherent concepts. keywords: caste system, osu, igbo land, complementary reflection introduction igbo nation like every other nations in the world, africa as well as nigeria in particular has certain traditions, customs, cultures, beliefs and worldviews, which constitute their dos and don’ts. most of these traditions are handed over to them from one generation to the other from their great grand fathers. the violation to these beliefs and traditions are seen by most of them as a great abomination (aru). thus, they give a strict adherence to the laws even when they are no longer obtainable in a given epoch like in this contemporary era when and where scientific inventions, globalisations, civilization and so on have become the order of the day. among these obnoxious, outrageous and devastating traditions and belief in igbo land is the ‘osu caste system’ which has in different places both in the past and present become an atom of disunity, humiliation, infringements, isolations e.t.c in the places where they are practiced. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 55 sequel to these, a lot of critical thinkers have deliberated intensively on the possible ways of abolishing the system. as a result of this, several people have appraised the system in several ways with the view of unveiling some of the ill repacutions inherent in it especially as it regards to the human existence, dignity of human person as well as the equality enjoyed by all human beings created by god it is from this point of view that this research work has come to appraise the osu caste system from the ambience of complementary reflection. in this context, we are saddled with the responsibility of using the notions of complementary reflection to explore the place of osu caste system in igbo land to bring to light its demerit and merit if there is any. the various chapter of this work will serve as a missing link towards the actualisation of this great task and dream. the concept of osu and its inherent problems have been in existence since antiquity of igbo community (nation). the problem is as old as the killing of twin babies, the killing of innocent children for developing first the upper incisor (teeth) the offering of human sacrifices, the problematic ideas of reincarnation and others which area practiced in the ancient igbo nation and other nations in nigeria and africa at large. thus, the osu caste system has gone through several stages and generations. but due to the fact that most igbos sees it as an integral part of their culture which cannot be easily changed or amended, all efforts towards abolishing it remained abortive and illusive. today the problem posed by this system has grown beyond ordinary social and cultural into political, economical and more devastatingly philosophical. going by the complementary view point, the igbos may be seen as a people that believe in the mutual complementarily of every body’s effort and ability. this may be seen in their dictum “agbakota aka nyuo mmamiri ogbo ufufu” which means “if all efforts are brought together, the desired goal will be achieved”. also, igbos believed in the view of “ibu anyi danda” which simply means “if everybody will bring their efforts together, there will be no load that too heavy for them to carry. moreover, they believe in the mutual unity among all parts that forms the absolute or the whole. thus their dictum “egbe bere ugo bere”; and ka som adina: simply shows their believe in the conglomeration and the mutual unification of every human being and their efforts. osu caste contradicts this views, because of it’s teachings on seeing some people as being inferior, les humans etc, it becomes a serious problem that is begging for a rational solution. osu caste system in igbo land is such a problematic system that opinions and views always vary in terms of it’s merits and demerits or in terms of it’s rejection igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 56 and adoption. thus, while some people argued that the system is obnoxious and outdated and hence worth’s abolishing and extinction, others are of the view that since it is a system that is handed over to us by our fore-fathers, and like every other legacies given to us, we should not allow it to die away. for this last set of people, any attempt to eschew this system and other cultures may attract the wrath of the gods of the land who may punish the people in the forms of pestilence, lack of rain, draught and so forth. besides, the objective of study in this work will be to unveil the ill consequences of osu caste system. another important aim of this work is to show the reason why some of the outrageous traditions in igbo land should be discarded. also, another essential aim or the objective of study in this work, is to make the point that human being are created equal, and all human being are important to the society, thus for the society to make any headway, all the human beings in it should work in harmony, that is, our aim to incorporate the notion of “complementary reflection” vis-à-vis the interaction of human beings in the society as propounded by prof. asouzu. the significance of this study is on the exposition of traditional and the nonphilosophical views and beliefs and traditions as well as the religions of the igbos both in the past and the present such as osu caste system and other institutionalised mode of discrimination like the out casts, oru, ume and others which to an extent constitute the lion share of the igbo traditional belief, religion and philosophy. besides, we shall try in this work to clarify the ambiguous notions and conceptions about the osu and the cause of the present day’s ill human treatment bestowed on the people who are known as osus. thus, our philosophical justification and appraisal to this system (osu caste) will expose the negative and the nemeses of the system on the igbos, nigerians and africans. the research will establish the importance of every body in the society whether old or young, osu or diala, to show that everybody has a role to play for the betterment of the society. in this view, this research will try to present an overall preview of the inhumanity of man against his fellow man. in this research work “appraising osu caste system within the context of complementary reflection” the method that will be used in it is basically the methods of complementary reflection. although other philosophical methods and approaches may be employed in the cost of the work like the methods of analysis, argumentation, criticism, evaluation as well as justification. also approaches like the historical, religious, ethnical, and philosophical approaches will be of a tremendous important for the work. for instance, the historical approach will help us to go in-depth in the exposition of the origin and nature of the system in practice igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 57 throughout the entire igbo nation, which will in turn enable us to carry out a complementary assessment on the system. the philosophical, ethnical, cultural approaches will go a very long way in helping us expose the ethnical, philosophical, social as well as cultural and economic short comings of the system in view. review of relevant literature an osu according to the igbo tradition and religion, is viewed as a person or group of persons who are dedicated to a god or gods as it’s property, he (osu) does not have freedom like every other members of the society(the freeborn). rev. g.t. basden in this regard made a similar assertion in his book among the igbos of southern nigeria according to him, “an osu is a slave, but one distinct from an ordinary slave (ohu/oru) who in fact is the property of the god and when devoted to a god, he has no prospect of regaining freedom and he restricts his movements to the procuts of the shrine to which he was attached” (1921, 109). what the above assertion simply connotes is that an osu is nothing but a property of a particular god or gods. it is said that in the early days in igbo land a particular community will go to a very far land and get a small boy or girl either by buying(slave trade) or by kidnapping, after which, they will dedicate the child to a particular deity for the atonement of their sin. there, the salve (osu) will take the responsibility of taking care of the shrine, performing other functions like running eras for the deity and the chief priest and so forth. it is in this context that rev. edmund ilogu in his book christianity and igbo culture defined osu as “slave of the deity dedicated to perform some menial functions which may include sacrificial functions (1974, 123). furthermore, c. k. meek in the similar view maintained in his book law and authority in a nigerian tribe that “osu is a person who has been bought and dedicated to the service of the owner’s cult.” for him, osu is a religious cast slave understand the practice of igbo traditional religion and system of worship” (1937:25). mazi chidozie ogbalu in a similar vein maintained in his book omenala ndi igbo that osu is a cult slave dedicated to the gods (1976:83) in the view of tagbo nzeako and tony ubesie in their omenala igbo and odinala ndi igbo respectively, osu is “a person dedicated to the gods or owned by the community (1976:195 and 1991:195). victor c. uchendu in his book igbo of south-eastern nigeria posited that “an osu is a cult slave, a slave who has been dedicated to the services of the dedicators deity whose descendants are osu, be the dedicator an individual, extended family or lineage” (1956, 59) beside, rev. joshua n. dimoyi in an interview made the point that osu cast system is land is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 58 mere wickedness, a pure social set-up which has no basis in human creation (an interview with igwebuike 1986). according to j. o. nwachukwu talking in sunday times newspaper “osu is a sacred and holy being deserved to live a secluded life, a monk in order to salvage and save the people under him as a king and saviour” (1985,5). this word of nwchukwu simply shows that an osu can some times be the chief priest of a particular communities because of some reason which will be revealed in the next chapter, in this context, the osu is viewed as an intermediary, a mediator between the people and their god or gods. furthermore, igwebuike quoting rev. arazu in his book the osu concept in igbo land sees the osu as “a living sacrifice, something or some one totally dedicated to divinity, only natural dead can terminate its existence on this side of reality” (1986,11). what arazu meant in this view is that when ever one becomes an osu he/she will forever live as an osu. put differently, then is no means of changing an osu to a freeborn. according to the osu bill written by t. o. elias, s.n. nwabara, and c.o. akpangbo which came under the title laws of eastern nigeria, “an osu is more or less like the untouchables of india and probably in worse position osu was regarded as a degraded human being not fit for the companionship and association of decent and reputable men and women in the society, an out cast fit only to be sacrificed to the idol for the propitiation of the gods. an osu initially was as it were a non-person scarified to a local deity or idol” (1963,1-2) mesembe edet in this same view made the point in his book titled outline of oriental philosophy, when he said thus: “among the igobs of nigeria some communities distinguish between the ‘sons of the soil or freeborn’ and the ‘osu’ the osu does not enjoy the same rights and privileges which the other members of the community who are recognized as freeborn or true sons and daughters of the land do enjoy. the osu is an out caste just like the outcastes of the hindu society, they are discriminated against. marriage to an osu is a taboos and like the hindu system, one cannot change his osu status”. (2007, 28). the above words of edet tried to show some of the social implication inherent in the osu caste system which is tantamount to that of the hindu or indian caste system. according to igwebuike r. okeke in his book titled osu concept in lgbo land “the osus were the alter boys/the mass servers of the juju, cult and /or the deity priest, the significant roles they played in the traditional mode of worship just as the mass services do today in christian churches during offerings..., put succinctly, the services of the osu were then inevitable and therefore a sine-qua-non in the scheme of worship of the igbo mans religion”(1986:10). interesting as the above view of okeke may seem, it is note worthy that the roles played by the osus in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 59 igbo land cannot be compared to that of the mass servers or the alter boys. they play a more vial role in igbo land than the mass servers in catholic churches. in the words of jude c. mgbobukwa in his book titled alusi, osu and ohu in igbo religious and social life. “in igbo traditional religion, osu is seen as an accused human being sacrificed to a deity. in the prayer of consecration, he is made to be the absorber of the iniquities, weakness, and problems of the people. he is also made to take on himself the death of the freeborn. hence the osu could well be said to be the redeemer of the freeborns” (1996:39) in a nutshell, what the above assertions from the different authors and literatures simply connotes is how different people views osu caste and some of the outcome of the system as well as some of the roles played by the osu, but since the subsequent topics that we are going to treat will deal deeply with some of these view, deliberating on them now will be out of place. besides, interesting to know in this connection is the fact that though osu caste system is still in practice now in some igbo communities but it is no longer as pronounced now as it was then and some of the things or practices inherent in it are no longer obtainable now perhaps due to the presence of christianity which carries in it civilization, education and so forth. the meaning of osu the word osu in igbo land simply means a belief system, a traditional and religious belief that certain people should be discriminated from others. it is a name that is given to slave, untouchables and outcasts. it is the name given to those humans that are sacrificed to the gods, those that are banished from their community who do not have anything to do with the people of the society or community and finally those people that ran to a far distanced town due to inversion from their enemies, and so forth. besides, osu in the other hand in most cases is seen as signifying course, in other words, osu is viewed as course, thus, umuosu are referred to as coursed people. this is the reason why calling one an osu is more dangerous than calling him a thief, harlot or any bad name. besides, father anyichie in his ikwu amaghi ibe ezi ako made the point that the name or word osu mean thus: “one connected with the deity or the divine in a special way as opposed to the ordinary man born under natural and normal circumstances of his “chi.” according to him, this is the reason why most people are named often deities like osuji, osuagwu, osuamadi, osuigwe, osuala, osuchukwu and others. for those people that are sacrificed to the gods or deities for the atonement or appeasement of the sin or wrong doings of the community (osu arusi), rather they are foreborns (diala) that are born under the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 60 tutelary or influence of the deities they are named after. (1991, 12) osuagwu for instance means a child that is derived from an agwu (a small deity that is responsible for child bearing), osuigwe may also mean that the parents of the bearer of the name have gone to igwekala in umunoha to perform some rites visà-vis child bearing, and so on. having seen these, the major concern of this work is not mainly on the meaning of osu but how to complement the work of an osu and that of freeborn to produce a viable and stable society that will be discrimination free, and to clear some ill thoughts and conceptions about the system, and moreover, to seek for a way of bringing a mutual complementarity between the osu an the non osu, to enhance the socio-economical wellbeing of the people or the society. note, we are not envisaging that there is nothing like osu but our view is that it is an outdated issue or practise meant mainly for our fore-fathers who neither know anything about christianity nor civilization. the origin of osu caste system rules, regulations, laws doctrines, traditions and so forth, came into existence like the positive laws when human beings sees it to be pertinent for the individual freedom to be controlled by a certain code of conduct. like the hobbesian state of nature, these individuals became tired of their original state of nature which is characterised by brutishness, nasty and short. thus, they came together to not only form a society or to produce a leader, rather they also make laws that will be binding to all a sundry. nevertheless, osu caste system may be said to have started from the time immemorial, but the problem with the system is that there is no general accepted date of it’s establishment, thus a lot of people have a lot of conceptions about it’s origin let us consider some of these conceptions. according to uchegbulem in his thesis titled ‘the ethical implications of the osu caste system in igbo land’ “… osu caste system has its roots in practice of human sacrifice in igbo land” (1994, 27) what he meant in this view is that osu caste system originated from the time when angry gods started demanding human beings for sacrifices in place of the usual animals for the atonement of the evil the people have committed. to buttress the point uchegbulem continued “occasionally circumstances arose in which human sacrifices were believed to restore harmony, and so they resorted to, to pacify an enraged deity to save the community, the group or the family”. according to amadife talking in an article titled ‘the culture that must die in sunday times newspaper followed the line of uchegbulem as he said that “ some igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 61 of the gods in igbo land demanded human sacrifices during their festivals to remove the abominations committed in the communities within the past years” (1988,3). the failure to comply to the demand of the gods may bring about several problems and in order to avoid the misfortune, the people will contribute money which is called utu aja’ to the general purse for the purchasing of a slave form the slave market or the kidnapping of a slave which may be either man or woman depending on the one demanded by the gods. this person bought or kidnapped is referred to as an osu whom after his/her sacrifices to the deity will start carrying the iniquity of the people. he will be seen as the personification of the rage of the god(s), his presence will be reminding the people of the rage of the god and the calamity that caused his being sacrificed. thus to a large extent is the major reason why an osu is stigmatised and seen as a living death. this type of osu is generally refer to as “osu arusi”. another salient view about the origin of osu caste system in igbo land is the view that the system originated from nri kingdom. it is said that in the early days nri people posses some hereditary powers and rites to proclaim cleansing to any kingdom where abominations are done in the past consequently, any community or kingdom that refute or regret the cleansing by the nri spiritualists, or any village (community) that is unable to meet up with the requirement needed for the cleansing will be viewed as impure; and any community that is termed impure is referred to as an osu or untouchable. to clarify this view, c.m. ezekwugo in his book titled ora eri nnokwa and nri dynasty that “nri descendants posses certain hereditary rites to perform traditional and cultural ritualistic functions. one of the functions is the rite of cleansing the land where abominations (aru) are committed, such abominations like murder, suicide and other such heinous acts on account of which spirits are angry, required purification of the land” (1987,10). in a nutshell, according to this view, any unpurified community is outcaste or osu, which means that other purified communities should segregate themselves from the un-purified one because they are viewed as impure set of people. furthermore, osu caste system may be said to originated from the intercommunal migrations and inversions. according to my mother, who also heard from her parents in an oral interview, in the olden days some stronger communities will wage wars with the smaller and weaker communities and kill a lot of them, when this mall communities sees that most of their members have died in the war which always comes in the might, they will carry their remaining wives, children and other relevant properties and migrate to a very far land to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 62 settle. on getting to this far land, the owner or the settlers of the land will welcome them and give them land to cultivate and build their house. while settling in that land the owners of the land will always refer them to as osu. there, they will develop and form a village of their own. furthermore, according to mr. cletus asomusha in an interview, in the early days when a women gave birth to a bastard, the bastard will be isolated from his age mates and due to the isolation, people will start referring to him or her as an osu or an untouchables, they will neither get married in his town nor have assess to any property in his/her land”. the last but not the least in the origin of osu caste in igbo land as far as this work is concerned is the view that ostracism is the root of osu caste system, according to mr. asonmugha also, “when a certain person or group of people refuted a particular decision of a king or the entire community, the king will banish them from the land, thus, they will have nothing to do with people of the community, when this banishment or ostracism has passed through generations, it will get to a generation when the community will refers to the ostracised people as osu or outcasts”. (mr. cletus interviewed in owerri 2007). it is important to note in this connection that aside the first or the institutionalized form of the origin of osu caste system, all other theories of the origin of the system as we have shown in the paper is a loose sense of the origin of the osu caste system. classifications/categories of osu caste system in igbo land osu caste system in igbo land has to an extent become a bone of contention because while some school maintained that the system is natural, others sees it as being inventional. among the peoples that sees the system as being invent ional is igwebuoke okeke, according to him “osu caste system is an inventional, conventional, religious proposition established by our fore-fathers through religious ceremonies with religious apparatus to serve a religious purpose”(28) also what the bible said in the book of genesis chapter one verse twenty-seven (gen.1:27) buttressed the points according to the bible “so god created man in his own image in the image of god created he him male and female created he them” (genesis 1:27 kjv). the following assertions from iqwebike and the bible, plausibly shows that osu caste system is a human invention particularly the very point made by bible from the above quotation is that god created every human being to be equal. thus class division like osu caste system is nothing but a human convention, which is out in the original plan of god during his creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 63 besides, there are several other classifications of dedications of osu caste system but this research will be restricted aptly on three distinct classifications namely voluntary or self servitude, involuntary dedication and mass classification dedication. by voluntary dedication, we mean a way of becoming an osu that deals with personal volition, in this case, one is not force to join nor did he or she became one by inheritance, rather, he or she became an osu because he or she delights being an osu. there are certain conditions that can make one to become an osu voluntarily, for instance victimization and frustration. here a person due to frustration and helplessness may decide to embrace a deity for either protection or guidance; as a result the person becomes an osu. another condition in this regard is poverty and indebtedness. here a person may become the property of a deity due to his/her inability to pay up his/her debts, the person may run to the deity to scare his debtors away, and having run to the deity the person automatically become its property. finally, one of the essential conditions that make people to become properties of the god voluntarily is laziness. hence, some people became an osu just because they are too lazy to work and earn their own living. they easily go to the deity and become its property in order to be eating the sacrifices sacrificed to the gods. there was a story of a man in dikenafai, in imo state whom due to laziness and greed agreed to become an osu in order to receive a certain amount of money which was contributed by the people for the purchasing of a slave who will become the sacrificial slave to the oriehie deity. thus, the man and his descendants are osus today due to his laziness and greed. involuntary class or dedication in this class, people do become properties of god or deities ignorantly and unknowingly. in the early days in igbo land, a lot of situations and conditions can lead some into becoming an osu and this is the major reason why the people are always very careful and conscious in their daily dealing and interaction with their fellow human beings, because whenever one is known to be contaminated with the osu stigma, he will live his entire life and his family as an osu, because once an osu is always an osu. however, the following can make one to become an osu involuntarily. firstly, killing an osu, that is, killing someone that has been sacrificed to gods whom the osu is sacrificed to will demand another person, and this will not be another person than the killer. besides, walking across the out stretched legs of an osu while he or she is sitting or lying can make a person an osu. being an osu incarnate can easily make one an osu. also, marrying an osu unknowingly can easily make a person an osu. but in this case, one can change his or her own osu status by running away from the osu family where igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 64 she is married or divorcing the osu women respectively. finally, another salient way of becoming an osu involuntarily is by inheritance. here, if a person is born in an osu family he will be immediately become an osu whether he/she likes it or not, in this case, there will be no way of averting it. mass consensus dedication or classification in this context, one becomes an osu due to the conventional pronouncement of the stigma on the person. for nstance, a slave bought from a far land is never known as an osu until when the community started calling him or her an osu. also an ostracized person is not an osu until when the entire community started conceiving him or her as an osu. more so, a person that committed adultery and capital crimes like killing may also be dedicated to the gods through a unanimous consensus, and when this is done, he become a pronounced osu. besides, there are other classification of osu in igbo land for instance, in igbo we have ‘osu arisi’ which mean osu to a deity, they are the people that lives closer to a deity or shrine. there is also ‘osu ahia’ which means slave to a market. though this is not the case in all igbo land. there are such other ones like osu iyi, that is osu to river or stream, the osu here takes care of the stream and others. these classifications show that in igbo land in the early days, osu caste system forms an integral part of the igbo tradition and religion. method of dedicating an osu in the above classes of osu, the only class of osu that goes with a special method of dedication is the one that deals with consensus dedication. however, in igbo land, to dedicate an osu, a diviner will be called who will reveal the mindset of the gods. if by his words it is obvious that the gods are in need of a human sacrifice, the people having bought or kidnapped the sacrificial person will quickly bring him to the deity (ihu arusi) and the chief priest (onyeisi nchuaja) will give the slave some of the properties of the shrine to handle (properties like clay pot stone etc) which simply means that the slave has exchanged his person and forfeited his right, liberty and freedom with the property of the deity he is holding. the slave will nevertheless be asked to make a certain citations before the deity and the entire people present. after the citation the chief priest will cut his or her ear or any part of the slave’s body and sprinkle the blood on the stones and other properties around the shrine. after these series of ritual sacrifices, the person becomes an osu instantly, and when he wishes to many, he will marry another osu woman elsewhere and like that they will spread into osu village. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 65 how to identify an osu an osu especially those ones whose dedications are celebrated can be identified in several ways. for instance, most of them have cut in their body, either that their ear is cut or one of their fingers or toes are cut. according to eze godson ezekwensiri quoted by igwebuike “….some parts of his body, like an ear or a finger is also cut to identify him. (38). apart from the identification by mark, one can also identify an osu by their inherent devastating body odour. it is said that osus have a very bad body odour that no matter how they try to remove it with perfumes it does not go. another important way of identifying an osu as we have said earlier is by the place they live though this may not be the case in all parts of igbo land. any group of people found to be living near a shrine, market, stream and so forth respectively are said to be osus. besides, osus may also be known in some cases by their level riches, development and education. it is said that due to the fact that osu do not have lands to farm and to do other local activities, most of their father gave their children to the early whit missionaries who took them to their land and educate them, and through their education, they became affluenced and they developed their people, thus, most of them are passionately rich and educated more than the firstborns. the roles / privileges of an osu in igbo land. the question of what should be the role, important and privilege as well as the use of an osu has generated diverse opinions and views, consequently, to some, it is better to imagine role played by the osus in the socio-economic and political set up of the igbo society than discussing it, but for this work, that is not the issue. however, it is interesting to acknowledge that the osus occupy an indispensable and envious place and position in the traditional religions arrangement in igbo land particularly in the areas where it is practiced. the osus in some communities are priests of cults (shrines) and in some other cases; they are subordinates to the chief priests like the mass serves in the catholic churches. thought aside the fact that they can be given the sacred place of priest, they are still seen as priests without power and prestige by the freeborn because they do not and cannot command the respect or attract the admiration of the freeborns due to their osu stigma in the sight of the freeborns due to the fact that they see them selves as inferior beings. furthermore, in most igbo communities in igbo land in those day when the system is fully in practice, the osus are saddled with the responsibility of keeping vigil in the village when the house slaves (ohu or oru) and their master must have gone to farm especially between the home of 10am and 12 noon. thus, they in this connection acts as watch dogs in the villages for the protection of couples still with children between the ages of two igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 66 and ten who could easily become preys and victims to the kidnappers. nevertheless, there are those osus who acquire the powers to make powerful charms during intertribal wars which were assembled via the chief priests of the shrine on behalf of the sons and daughters of the soil. according to iqwebiuke “these charms were believed to be very powerful and difficult to defile because of the fact that the osus don’t neutralize any charm known to have been prepared by fellow osu”. they are also used during inter-tribal wars as frontiers that were normally given charm pots to carry as the battle zone was being approached; perhaps, their body odour is enough to scare their enemies away before their arrival to the merits of their owners. though as plausible as it is, it is not immune for criticism. the view is just a mere subjective conception. also, the osus especially when they are the chief priests fetch/attracts offerings or sacrifices to the deities because if they were peradventure injured by anybody, such a person would have to incur the expenses of providing the spirit he serves with a new one. according to m. m. green talking about making an osu priest in his book igbo village affairs, he made the point that “the osu people looked up as horrible and holy by the society do not necessarily make them into people of authority, because of their anomalous position in some society, but it does not mean that they are or may be a part of the mechanism whereby law and order are preserved (1978, 20). igwebuike interviewed arazu, on the role of an osu as he maintained that “an osu is the living symbol of the invisible spirit when he is carrying the emblem (of the spirit or a god). the emblem carrier is seen as the most important person on such occasions, this is because, in the very blood of the osu runs the potency of the spirit, hence, they are feared”. according igwuike the osu would make the best occultists and mystics thus he said: “if i were an osu, i would go in completely for occultism and mysticism in order to develop the power inherent in a ‘kratophany’ because the particular spirit which the osu was dedicated is not the devil and is not one of the demons” (interviewed in may 15, 1986). moreover, according to cardinal arinze in his book titled sacrifice in igbo land “non wicked spirits in igbo traditional region are to be regarded as angels” what he meant here is that it is a sheer absurdity to see the osus as evil and harmful like the way many people used to do. it is this view that make igwebuike say that “to me therefore osu in the religious context, has no bad connotations and cannot be viewed otherwise”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 67 what the above views about the role of an osu and the privileges of osu simply shows is that osu occupies a crucial position and plays an important role in the socio-economic and cultural well being of the igbos. thus, they deserve some privileges. having seen this, it is out of place to see them as turds or discriminate them from the rest of the people in the society. meanwhile, what we are envisaging in this regards is having seen the roles of the osus and knowing that each individual in any society has his or her own work and the freeborn can not do the work of the osus neither can the osu do the work of the freeborn, hence they should work together with the spirit of complementarity in order to achieve the summum bonum of the society. various implications of the osu caste system 1. the social implication of osu caste system one of the major implications of osu caste that will be discussed i this work is the social implication. when we talk of social, we are simply laying emphasis on things that have to do with society. that is, the inter relationship of the people of the society. thus, in this context, we are meant to look aptly and indeptly on the position of osu caste system vis-à-vis the day to day inter relationship of the people of the society where the system is practised. although, osu caste system has been known as a social issue which simply depicts that it is something that has to do with the social life of the people, and also, due to the fact that all the alleged problems of it like segregation, discrimination, dehumanization and others, are all social activities, but our main focus in this aspect will be on such salient points or issues like the marriage between an osu and the diala, the funeral rites of an osu, the chieftaincy of an osu and several other essential concepts. it is note worthy that it is not only on the above concept that osu caste system in igbo land can be known socially, there are several other ways or issues in which the system can be known but space may not permit us to enumerate all the social view point of the system. however, we shall deliberate on the above mentioned concepts one after another. 2. the marriage between an osu and diala in the ancient and even the recent days of igbo land, freeborns have virtually nothing in common with the osus especially in terms of marriage. it is a universal belief in igbo land that whenever a freeborn has any kind of sexual intercourse with an osu branded person, the freeborn among the two will immediately become an osu. thus before one goes into marriage in igbo land, to avoid falling into the hand of the osus, and to avoid sharing in the osu stigma, the parents of the people involved and even the people themselves, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 68 usually engage into what is called “ijuajuju” which means ‘doing findings’. the essence of the findings which may last for months is simply to avoid getting married to an osu person or lineage. but in the case of someone who has been in love with an osu person to the extent of getting married, if any of the two persons eventually found out that one of the two is an osu, the freeborn out of the two will secretly abstain his/her self from the relationship. but if such person refuses to turn out of the relationship, it is obvious that the persons ‘umunna’ (kinsmen) will not be party to the wedlock and it is obvious that any offspring that emanate from such union will involuntarily become an osu. nevertheless, issue of marriage between an osu and the diala out of the other social issues of the system has become so rigid and unchangeable even in the contemporary days unlike such other issue in the system which are best known in theories than practice. the thrust here is that despite the enormous efforts of christianity, civilization, law, globalization whose aim is to ecumenism the whole world into one global village and family, the issue of abolishing the system especially in the aspect of inter marriage between an osu and the non-osu has remain abortive. this difficulty might be because just like hiv and other sexually transmitted diseases, the people believed that sexual relationship or inter marriage is one of the chief sources of contracting the stigma of osu. however, a lot of instances have been used to buttress this fact, but few will be discussed in this work for the wanting of space and time. firstly, there is the instance of a pastor who out-rightly preached about the abolishment and condemnation of the system, but when he was interviewed thus: would you like an osu man to marry your daughter or like your son to marry an osu woman, the answer he gave was no. this simply shows that the issue of abolishing osu caste system especially in the area of inter marriage is easily said or preached than practiced. also, one king was known for making a public pronouncement on the abolishment of the osu caste system in his dynasty, but when his people asked him to lead by example by either getting an osu woman for his son or allowing an osu man to marry his daughter, he declined. these instances shows that no matter how a person or group of people tries to stop the system, the issue of dialas getting married to an osu is very difficult (though not impossible) especially in the land where the system is in practiced. one of the salient implication of this is that most of the young men who belong to the system often leave the girls in their caste and get married to other girls elsewhere who in most cases are dialas, leaving their young girls without husbands knowing fully igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 69 well that the freeborns will never think of coming closer to them let alone getting married to them. having seen this, the osu girls usually find their ways to big cities and become prostitutes in order to get themselves sexually and emotionally satisfied. because it is believed that in the cities they will not be stigmatised by any body. since staying in the village will put them into sexually emotional trumer. it is on this ground that it has been said accordingly that the osus constitutes the integral part of the call-girls that roam the big cities both within and outside the country. though this view is not immune from criticism. besides, it is notable, that it not a taboo or any form of evil for an osu man to marry his fellow osu woman and vice-visa. also, an osu can get married to a diala person who agreed to marry him or her. an osu can also marry any body in distance town where the system is not practiced. in a nut-shell, the social interaction between an osu and the freedom especially in the context of marriage has be difficult to be abolished despite the enormous efforts which has been made towards its abolishment. thus, it is among the two or three issues in the system that are still practiced till day in igbo land. burial rites of an osu the social segregation between an osu and the diala runs through the entire gamut of their existence from birth to death. thus, nothing can by any means exonerate and osu to become a diala. according to iqwebuike okeke,. from birth to death, the diala do not ever dare to rejoice over or celebrate the arrival of a new born baby delivered by an osu as they do not sympathize with or lament over mishaps on them” (64). besides, it is said accordingly that in the igbo days of yore, that at the death of an osu, the diala do not participate in the digging of ground as well as taking part in any other burial rites likewise the osus. the osus are not allowed to be buried around the places where the freeborn were buried. this was the case according to mgbobukwa in the certain communities like aguata, nnewi and other neighbouring communities in nnewi local government area” (48). one of the reasons for this hostility towards the osus by the freeborns even at death was according to magbobukwa because the freeborns do not believe that the osus do have any soul to be saved, hence, there s nothing like the resurrection of the soul for them. just as the case was with whites and the blacks in american and south africa where the white sees the blacks as people with no history, no hope of life after death a blissful resurrection probably on the last day. as an ancillary to the above view, onwubiko said in his book facing the osu issue in the african synod that “it was the traditional igbo religious belief that a person on whom the right of segregation was performed as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 70 was the case of the osu was bound to be last in the life after death and thereafter would not attain the blissful state in the spirit world. this belief was very latent in the minds of the adult igbos” (1993). furthermore, mabobukwa enunciated same of the rights enjoyed by the freeborns at death. according to him, when a man is pronounced dead, the relatives gather together and he will be lowered to the grave. three days later, the buried rites begin, the following animals are provided: ikenga ewu (a female goat that has given birth) agbogho ewu (a female goat that has not given birth) okemkpi (a he goat) okokpa (a cock) (50) it is believed that when ever a person is buried with the enunciated items and several other ones, based on the culture and tradition, the person will be welcomed in the land of the dead. but since the osus do not enjoy these rights during burial rites, thus, their spirits did not go well in the land of the dead. thus, they will not take part in any thing that has to do with life after death. the chieftaincy of an osu one of the enormous social segregation between an osu and the freeborns is prevalent in the case of making an osu a chief or king over the freeborn. it is a sheer abomination in igbo land till date to coronate an osu or to crown any untouchable or slaves a king that will rule over the freeborns even if the person is the most eligible person for the seat in the community or land. the people would rather choose a mediocre or an unqualified person to rule them instead of seeing themselves being ruled by a known slave of the gods. the ill implication of this is that it can easily lead to the wrong selection of leaders in the community. because the people in the bid of rejecting the qualified osu may enthrone the wrong candidate who in most cases lead them to an unanticipated doom. kenneth ezeaguba in an interview made the following assertions “i witness a situation where a well educated man was acceded to the traditional chieftaincy title of grown town, this man is overtly overflowing with benevolence, integrity, dynamism, thus, he was very popular. but some people protested, claiming that he was said to be an osu and as such should not rule over the freeborn. they therefore chose a less qualified and unqualified illiterate as the rightful candidate”(interviewed at owerri). the issue of coronating an osu a king in igbo land is among the social segregative issues in osu caste system that has lingered and devoured any possible solution till date. but these views do not stop an osu from being the chief or king in any osu kingdom as it does not stop them also from becoming leaders of association like churches, clubs, institutions and so forth. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 71 giving a cola nut to an osu from the issue of making an osu a chief, also comes the issue of showing or giving cola nut to the osu. due to the high esteem which the igbo’s held cola nut, it becomes a misdeed for a person to show cola nut to an osu in the presence of visitors or to give a cola nut to an osu who visited a freeborn – according to jude mgbabukwa, “the reason for this discrimination is because there is never a time an osu is welcomed in the house of a diala. in many social gatherings, by the time cola nuts are broken and eaten, an osu is made to be aware that he is a stranger being manly tolerated” (48). osu as at this time are regarded as inferior beings and as such should not be given a cola nut by the freeborns nor is it pertinent for an osu to give cola nut to the freeborns. meanwhile, it will be germane to bear in mind that there are other issues of social segregation between the world of the osus and the world of the freeborn like the issue of belonging to the same age grade and age group, cultural dancing going to the same market, and so forth. most of these practices have been dead and buried. however, mr c.o drueke writing in the sunday times news paper in june 13, 1985 made a seemingly summary of the whole issue of social segregation of osus from the freeborn when he said thus: umuosu (descendants of osu) were sequestrated from the society and as such suffered total ostracism. they could not sleep under the same roof with the so-called freeborn citizens called diala. they neither ate from the same pots nor drank with the same cup with the citizens. marriage between the two groups was a taboo eternally. children of the free born were forbidden to see the corpse of an osu. an osu could not be chief or a feasten of any village. if the corpse of an osu was to be carried through the village of a diala, palm frond was placed everywhere to warn the people that evil was in the air and a bad event was to happen. lf an osu had a sexual intercourse with a diala woman, the offending woman was to be dragged to the osu to marry for free. under no circumstances would a diala run into the compound of an osu even if it was raining or he was being chased with gun or machete, if one did so, he or she automatically becomes osu.” (15) consequently, these segregations in the social interactions between an osu and the diala has attracted a whole lot of ill social implications and repacaution. for instance, the segregation can easily lead to marital problems as well as wrong selection of one’s life partner. there is a story of a young man and woman who become friends from their cradles only to find out that they cannot marry each other because one of them is an osu branded person. this forcefully made them to live each other and marry different persons whom they do not only hate but igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 72 whose life styles were different from theirs. this in turn led to marital problems because people are not allowed to marry a person of their choice. more so, there is another case of a couple who married for more than ten years with children, only to divorce each other immediately one of them found out that the other person is an osu. furthermore, apart from the fact that it can lead to the wrong selection of a community leader or chief, it can bring about an age long hatred. what is meant here is that osus having seen themselves as inferior beings because of their osu stigma, may in turn see the freeborns as devils and external enemies which may even lead to killing the freeborn or do any other harm to them especially when they are reminded of their stigma or when they are called by the name by the dialas. it is from this antecedent that one does not easily mention or call any body by the name any how. besides, the social segregation of the osus from the freeborns may lead to political apathy. like in the case of the blacks in south africa as well as the black americans in those days, the osus having been seen as the rejects of the society may in most cases loose interest in the political or the politics of the land, because they may think that since they are unrecognised and ineligible citizens, they cannot be elected into any political position or seat nor can they elect any body in any political seat in the society. thus, for them it is pointless to involve themselves in the political affairs of the society. this no doubt will go a very long way in causing a lot of political and social upheavals and mishaps in the society. more so, in most cases, the segregation of the osus from the freeborns socially can hinder the socioeconomic well being of the society, because the osus having being segregated from the freeborns, or having been seen as turds, may refuse to bring in their own quota both in the social and economic spheres of the societal development and this to a very large extent will hinder development, improvement in the society both economically and otherwise. it is against this background that the researcher has made recourse to asouzu’s complementary reflection as offering some of the basic theoretical tools towards addressing this matter. according to the theory, society and human beings in it can surmount all her problems as well as get to her predestined happiness and joy which has been eternally made available for them by god. if and only if there will be a mutual harmony of all ideas and thought positive and negative, theoretical and practical. thus, this paper envisaged for the mutual harmony of both the osus and the dialas to achieve and ensure the societal development and happiness of all which is the designed end of the society. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 73 ethical implications of osu caste system from the points of view of ethics, we may ask such questions like, is it morally right to see one’s fellow human being as a turd, inferior and less human? is it just to discriminate, subjugate and stigmatize fellow human beings? these questions and several others will help us to know if osu caste system is worth adopting or not. when we say that something or an act is morally right, we simply mean that it is generally accepted in all aspects of life, legally, biblically or religiously, individually as well as collectively. in other words, for something to be moral, it means that it is not partial, that is, it is not going to favour a group and leave other group disfavoured. thus, for something to be moral, it means that it is right and its rightness goes beyond every reasonable doubt. from this background, one may ask, is osu caste system in igbo land moral? osu caste system as we have been talking in this work is one of the obnoxious cultures and traditions in igbo land that sees some as inferior beings, half human etc. and views others as real human, good and pleasant beings. thus, form the ethical view point, this system is morally erroneous and worth’s abolishing. according to j.o.l. ezeala, “the osus were socially avoided, discounted, isolated, denigrated, victimized, abused, dehumanized and denied fundamental human rights, in some schools, the children of osus are cajoled, mocked, spat upon, ridiculed by pupils and their leaders, while in villages, they suffer all manner of probrium and odium”(african concord 7th january, 1988:6). having seen all these, the question now is, do the osus offend the freeborns to have attracted these ill-treatment meted on them? if the osus receive such insults just because that are conventionally branded osu, then there is no justice, ethics or morality in the equal treatment in the land. it is believable that sparthing up some one, mocking as well as other social ill treatment done to the osus by the freeborn are nothing but a disregard, disgrace and humiliation to the sanctity of human life. besides, as a way of implication, the osus having seen this high level of injustice and inhuman practices against them, they usually commit suicide, and others will often run away from their native land and settle and nationalize in foreign countries where their identity will not be noticed and where they will not be segregated as a cursed and inferior beings. this in turn usually leads most of them into prostitutes, jigolos and even armed robbers. nevertheless, human beings have accordingly been defined as rational animals which simply means that humans are that type of animal created with a high level of rationality than other animals(this does not mean that animals are not igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 74 rational) which shows that they should always use their rationality other than emotions or feelings in their social relationship with one another. it is from this connection that the stoics had maintained that reason should suppress passion in other for us to maintain our moral standards. also, spinoza having seen how human beings are dominated by passion and emotion instead of reason, called for the emancipation of reason from a mere emotion for the determination of morality. he said that “we should liberate ourselves from the servitude of passion and live according to the dictates of reasoning. for him, the life of virtue is a life lived in accordance with reason, morality consist in this self liberation form the servitude of the passion and living in accordance with reason ’’ ( quoted by omorogbe 1991:27). from the above view therefore, if we subject the whole issue of osu caste system to right reasoning, we will unveil how unethical, unjust as well as irreligious, it is for human being(s) to dedicate their fellow human beings to deities and (as if that was not enough) thereafter, stigmatize, discriminate, subjugate and subject them to, and force them psychologically much against their wish to life a social recluse in the very society they belong. however, the point made in this ethical implication of osu caste system is that since the system failed to produce the equality of all men and since its entire gamut tends toward injustice, therefore the system is ethically wrong. religious implication of osu caste system in this context, the most available question that comes to mind is, did god create all human beings equally? or are there some inequalities in gods creation? the bible which is one of the most viable source of our knowledge of gods intention to mankind has stated categorically in the book of genesis chapter one verse twenty-seven (genesis 1:27) that god who is the creator of the whole universe and its inhabitants, created all human beings equally on his own image and likeness with the primary assignment of multiplying the earth and taking charge over other creatures. this simply means that before god all men are equal. thus, the inequality, segregation and division which characterized the contemporary ontology especially that of osu caste system in igbo land runs contrary to the original design and arrangement of the creator of man and as such, it ought to be abolished. also, another reason why this system ought to be abolished is because it runs contrary to the biblical or religious golden rule of ‘treat other the same way you will want them to treat you’. it is believable that from genesis to revelation, and from the beginning of the teaching of jesus to the end, there has never been a time that god or jesus encouraged class division, caste system. this shows that god himself and jesus are angry with those people who still practice osu system in igbo land. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 75 natural implications of osu caste system from the point of view of nature vis-à-vis osu system in igbo land, one may be forced to ask this question, is class division, segregation and dehumanization a natural phenomenon? if osu caste system is not natural from our previous trace of its origin, then it is obvious that the continuous practice of the system is a sheer disobedience to the connotations of the natural laws. common sense ought to have informed us that it is by nature evil to discriminate against ones fellow human being on the basis of race, birth or circumstances of birth and so forth. just as nature has made it aware to everybody whether educated or not that taking of another persons life, property as well as beating of ones parents are evil, it should have also made it clear to those still practice osu caste system that all human beings are equal as such need to be treated likewise. the equality of all human as depicted by nature is no other equality than ontologically equality which is contrasted with the artificial equalities and inequalities of education sex and other. thus, according to omorogbe, “when we talk of the equality of all men, we mean ontological equality. in other words, we mean that what makes a being ‘human’ is the same in all men and that all men are equally human, no man is more of a human being than another man (1991:97) what he means is that since all humans share in the name humanity, they are equal. however, by this view, both the osus and the freeborns are equal ontologically. besides, it is obvious that nature has bestowed in all humans both the osus and the freeborn with such right, privileges and freedoms like the freedom of speech, movement, possessing or acquiring personal properties, right to life, right to fair hearing, freedom of association and others. but the osus are often denied of these privileges and right simply because they are conventionally branded osu. it is from this background that this research work has out rightly said that osu caste system in igbo land is naturally evil and thus envisaged for its abolishment. cultural implication of osu caste system from the cultural out look, every full-fledged igbo person will plausibly agree with this paper that osu caste system in igbo land is more of religious rite than cultural affair. put differently, we talk of osu caste system in igbo land when we talk of religions practices in igbo land other than when we are talking of the igbo original cultural well-being igbos in their cultural belief system believed essentially in the ecumenism, the complementarily or the mutual coming igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 76 together of every bodies efforts, views, strength and personality in order to achieve any of their desired social goals and to surmount difficulty which an ordinary individual would not be able to surmount this view is often seen in their proverb “agbakota aka nyuo mamiri ogbuo ufufu” which simply means if a group comes together to urinate it will produce foam, but if individual urinates, it will produce no foam. foam in this view may signify or symbolize strength. furthermore igbos in their cultural ontology believed in the concept of ‘igwe bu ike’ which simply means ‘group is strength. in this regards, they believe culturally that strength or power lies on the conglomeration of the various individual strengths and powers. thus, it is their ontological belief culturally that it is only when the group comes together that they will be able to achieve any achievable phenomena.this is the major reason why they also believed in the concept of ‘ibuanyi danda’ as we are going to see in chapter four. in a nutshell, it is obviously deducible that class division caused by osu system is not in the original plan of the igbo cultural ontology, it came as a result of religious practice which was practiced in the days of yore when human sacrifices for the appeasement of an angry god(s) was the order of the day. however, knowing fully well that culture and religion are two distinct concepts, and since this sort of religion is no more practiced and obtainable in this contemporary age, it is therefore in the best interest of this paper to appeal to all igbos, especially those areas where the system is being practiced till date to debunk the system because keeping to the practice is nothing but a mere anachronism. the legal implications of the osu caste system before going into the legal implication of the fore-going system, i suppose that it will be germane to firstly trace the history of legal measures towards the abolishment of the system. to start with, it could be plausibly said that the british abolition of slave trade in their act of 1807 which eventually became effective in 1841 is the catalyst that caused the pace of the movement for the abolishment of slavery and other forms of social segregation in nigeria, west africa at large. nigerian having been colonized by the british government may plausibly be said to have followed the foot step of her colonial mentors in the abolishment of slavery and other social segregations like osu, ohu and their likes in 1956. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 77 nevertheless, the first move for the actualization of this dream, that is, the abolition of various forms of slavery in igbo land was first carried out by archdeacon basden in 1933. according to basden’s letter to the then legislative council of the southern province, “the government should take steps to investigate the osu system, because according to him, “this form of slavery is at the movement causing great bitterness of feelings in certain parts of the owerri province. it is a disintegrating force that is causing division between villages and individuals, e.g. when members of one family are divided owing to some being regarded as freeborn while one or more other are seen as osu.” meanwhile, it has been said accordingly, that basden’s first movement towards the legal abolition of the osu caste system must have been inspired by the various factors like magna carta of 1215, the petition of rights of 1628, the emancipation proclamation of 1863 and the abolition of slavery act of 1807 and others, which laid the foundation of civil liberty in england. after some years however, it was as if the basden’s movement was forgotten, not until the report of the balonwu’s commission on bride price rekindled the desire to get the species of slavery like osu caste system in igbo land abolished. after the submission of the report, the then minister of social welfare immediately swing into action as he moved the motion in the house of assembly envisaging that a bill for a law for the abolition of the osu system and to prescribe punishment both for the practice osu system and for the enforcement of any disabilities arising from it be passed into law. in his explanation of the nature of the bill, he made the point that the bill will make it an offence for any person to molest or injure or annoy or boycott any other person by the reason of his/her being an osu. the bill makes it an offence for any other person to enforce against another person any disability with regards to marriage or other acquisition or inheritance of property or joining of any title society or the observance of any social custom or ceremony on account of being an osu. it also makes it actionable for a person to taunt another person that he is an osu. in supporting or seconding the bill, the premier of the then eastern region said that the bill will do three distinct things, which includes; abolishing the osu caste system and its continued allied practices: to prescribe punishment for its disabilities caused by the enforcement of the osu caste system and its allied system. however, after a long quarrelling and debates on the adoption of the bill for months, the house saw the system as being horrible by which a fellow human being was degraded and dehumanized, with his rights and liberties, brutalized by abject non recognition, as unethical and unchristian. thus, based on the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 78 provision and decision of the section 20(1) and section 23(1) of the then constitution of eastern nigeria which states that no person shall be hold in slavery or servitude; and every person shall be entitled to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence respectively. the house passed a resolution abolishing osu, ohu and ume practices throughout eastern nigeria. the law became effective from the 10th of may 1956. the law became the first legal, and abolition of osu caste system in igbo land, and after the resolution, it became, illegal to refer to any body as an osu, the law made it possible for every member of the society to have equal obligation to the state. the law also help to prevent any body from molesting, injuring, annoying, obstructing or attempting to cause any obstruction to any body or boycotting any body in any attempt to exercise him/her right. the law made it clearly illegal for any body to discriminate his fellow human either socially, economically, culturally and so on, on the bases of osu caste system.(law of eastern nigeria 1963 volume 1). having seen these, it is obvious that there is nothing like osu caste system in nigeria as far as the law is concern thus referring or calling a person osu or segregating any body on the basis of osu caste is a serious offence that is punishable. to buttress this point, the constitution of the federal republic of nigeria, 1979, abolished osu caste via the provision of section 31(1) (a) (b) which reads thus: a. “no person shall be subjugated to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment” b. “no person shall be held in slavery or servitude” also, section 37 and 39 of the said constitution condemned osu caste system from its provision of the equal right to peaceful assemble and association of all the nigerian citizens, and its provision of the right to freedom from discrimination, respectively. (1979 constitution: 17 & 18). the above quoted sections simply suggests that degrading or dehumanizing or discriminating ones fellow human being is legally wrong and as a result we are to prohibit it. furthermore, the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria in support of the provision of the above mentioned constitutions rejected osu caste system in the chapter iv section 34, sub section (1)(a) and (b) which states that: (a) no person shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment. (b) no person shall be held in slavery or servitude. also section 40 of the same constitution made a similar assertion as it maintained that “every person shall be entitled to assemble freely and associate with other persons, and in particular, he may form or belong to any political party, trade union or any other association for the protection of his (or her) interest.” also, section 42, sub-section (1) and (2) further explained the point, for instance 42(2) made the point that “no citizen of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 79 nigeria shall be subjected to any disability or deprivation merely by reason of the circumstances of his (or her) birth.” (1999 constitution: 34, 40, 41). to clarify the view further, section 6 of the 1963 constitution assert the following vis-à-vis osu caste system, according to the section “who ever on the ground of the osu system enforce against any person any disability what so ever and in particular, with regards to: a. marriage b. acquisition or inheritance of any property or c. joining of societies or d. observing of any society custom: usage or ceremony is guilty of an offence and shall upon conviction be liable to a fine or imprisonment not exceeding six months (5). it is from this section that anybody possesses a legal right to take any legal step upon anybody that opposes marriage or any other social event on the ground that any of the parties is hitherto branded an osu. also, according to the same constitution “a word or words spoken or published which imply that a person is an osu shall not require special damage to render them actionable.” what is meant here is calling a person an osu or publishing anything that referred to anybody as an osu is legally evil, there will be no hesitation in punishing such an offender. thus, it became evil to refer to anybody as an osu, because such act must be punished. having seen these, our little advice to the entire igbos and particularly those people who still practice this obnoxious system is to do away with the system which characterises disunity and loveless ness, and embrace/uphold as well as pursue the spirit of love, togetherness, ecumenism and complementarity which is the crux and the bone of contention in this work. the osu caste system within the concept of complementary reflection as the crux of the matter, in this chapter, we shall appraise or justify the fore going osu caste by using or from the point of view of complementary reflection and some of its intrinsic tenets and concepts like, missing-link, ibuanyi danda an others. what this simply means is that in this chapter, we shall know as well as well unveil the significant role played or that can be played by the concept of complementary reflection to ensure the eradication of class division, segregation and so forth, which are intrinsic dimensions of osu caste system. complementary reflection has in it certain concepts as mentioned above which helped in buttressing its point or points. meanwhile, we shall start by knowing what complementary reflection is all about. the meaning of complimentary reflection to complement or complementary may succinctly be defined as the bringing together or the summation of distinct or similar things or words to make a new meaning or to form or produce a new outlook or phenomenon. according to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 80 oxford advanced learners’ dictionary, complementary is all about “combining well to form a balance or attractive group or whole,” while to complement is simply “to add new or contrasting feature which show the best qualities of something or which improve it (1995:233). what this means is that complementarily is simply the act of summing up fragments to make up a whole which become more attracting and meaningful than it’s former fragments. reflection on the other hand may be viewed as reasoning or thinking. it is a deep personal or collective meditation and pondering. longman dictionary of contemporary english defined it as “a careful thought, or an idea or opinion…” (1995: 1193). in all therefore, complementary reflection can be defined as the conglomeration, the unification, the summation of fragmented thoughts, opinions and other individualized and fragmented thoughts and ideas. it is a philosophical school of thought that believes essentially that a whole is greater, than any it’s corresponding parts. it is also a view that maintains that by the coming together of the individual or parts, a viable and sustainable whole will emerge, and by this, the parts will get to the brim purpose of their existence. finally, it is the view that holds that individualized views and individualized goals and desires will be attained to if and only it there is a mutual collectivity existing amongst them. in clarifying this point, professor asouzu who is the founder of complementary reflection in contemporary african philosophy gives a detailed outline of the major tenets of these philosophical movements in his major writings. to these belongs the work, the method of complementary reflection in and beyond african philosophy. over and above all, complementary reflection is thus “an attitude of the mind that seeks to establish and re-establish the joy that is the foundation of all missing links of reality in the most complementary harmonious way”. this is what professor asouzu refers to as the noetic dimension. from these review, complementary reflection may deducibly be said to be a concept that believes that there is a transcendental joy or happiness which is a virtue that can only be reached by the harmonization of fragments of thoughts, ideas and so forth. relating the above views to the on-going debate on osu caste system, the concept of complementary reflection is simply envisaging as well as suggesting that igbo society or the societies were osu caste system is practiced can only attain to its desired final development, happiness and joy in so far as there will be a mutual coming together of the everybody’s individual ideas and view in the society. put differently, it connotes that all humans are parts of the ultimate reality, thus, segregating any part (like the osus) will hamper the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 81 possibility of reaching to the desired end. also, complementary reflection in relation to the concept of osu caste system in igbo land, may be seen as a sort of encouragement or advice to the people who still practice the anachronistic system to see everybody as one without which there will be no realization or the reaching to the joy which nature has planned or bestowed for all mankind. thus, the concept is advising the people to always eschew the idea of division and segregation and embrace the concept of togetherness and its likes. a thorough grasp of the concept of complementary reflection and its subject matter may be likened to that of plato’s political/ethical theory in his book titled the republic. according to plato, for there to be justice in the state, the three parts that makes up the state, that is, the rulers (the philosophers) the guardians (the soldiers) and the artisans (the labourers) should often work together in one accord with each person doing his or her work efficiently to ensure a peaceful coexistence in the state. according to him, if any part refuses to do what he/she is ought to do, there is bound to be a problem in the society. (1987:205). from this it is believable that the enormous problem faced by the people of the society where this obnoxious system is practiced is principally and chiefly characterized by class division and segregation. there is no gainsaying in this regard that class division and its intrinsic social segregation has negative impact on any society where it is practiced because the stigmatized osus will often fail to contribute their own quota for the development of the society. thus, their living what they are suppose to be doing in the society as one of the essential parts of the society, will go a long way in making the people to be handicapped in those areas or aspects of social development. complementary reflection is therefore a quest to harmonize all the individual differences, classes, races ideologies as well as genders as though they are all links and parts that produces the ultimate desired end or virtue. however, plato in his further analysis referred the state as an individual-write large. according to him, human beings are made up of three district parts which includes reason, emotion and desire. the coming together of these parts constitute a human being, and if any of these parts is missing an individual will be incomplete (asouzu 2002:76) from this point, the osu and the freeborn are parts that makes up any society where the system is in practice. disregarding any one as not belonging or as being part that make up any society is like cutting off ones hands, eyes or even legs claiming that it does no belong to the body. this without being told will firstly make such society/individual to be incomplete and secondly, in such society there will be a very slow pace of socio-economic igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 82 and political growth. and the attainment of their ultimate “summum bonum” which is transcendental happiness will be difficult if not a utopia. going by the view of plato and aristotle and others especially on the issues of justices, equity and so forth, one will not be guilty to quickly point at osu caste system as that which was design to perpetuate inequality. for instance, according to plato, in theory of justice “justice simply means happiness of everyone when everyone interest and life is guaranteed and protected in the society” (quoted by uduigwuomen, 2005:75) from this view, there will be no gainsaying that the osu are treated unjustly, they are unhappy amidst the happy freeborns, their interests are neither guaranteed nor protected in the society. aristotle in the similar view maintained that “justice is that which is lawful in first sense and that which is fair and equal in the second sense” (1981:682) from this aristotelean view, it means that justice depicts legality, fairness and equality in the treatment and distribution of goods and services (commodities) and punishment simultaneously to the people of the society. from this view therefore it is obvious that osu caste system is igbo land depicts injustice, this is because the subjugation of the osu and their stratification are not based on any legal ground. they are not treated fairly neither are they rewarded or punished equal with the freeborns. aristotles assertion of “treat equals equally and unequal unequally does not mean inequality as some people often interpret it. it simply means that when a person or a group has done something uniformly whether positively or negatively, they should be given an equal treatment, that is, if it is in punishment, they should be punished equally and if it is in the area of reward, they should also be rewarded equally. but the osus in igbo land do not commit any atrocity to have attracted the kind of injustice and punishment that is given to them by the dialas. the osu should be rewarded accordingly like the freeborns in term of their good deeds but instead, the reverse is always the case. if nature has in any ways recognized inequality of human beings, it should have been on the ground of a person having more than two hands and legs, a person having more than one head and so on. but since these are not possible, it shows that all men are naturally meant to be equal. thomas hobbes in his elaborate assertion made the point that “nature has made man equal in the faculties of body and mind as that, though their be found one man sometimes manifestingly stronger in body or quicker in mind that another yet when all is reckoned together the difference between man and man is not considerable as that one man can there upon claim to himself any benefit to which another may not igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 83 pretend as well as he” (1977:910). this simply means that inequality should be best judged naturally than emotionally and conventionally. the osus in igbo land are seen as being unequal with the freeborns not because nature has made them to be so, but because of the selfish emotional and conventional interests of the people who subject them to the services of a deity. the only solution to this problem of inequality and injustice posed by osu caste system is the application of the concepts of missing link and ibuanyi danda as we are going to see below. the concept of missing-link in the appraisal of osu caste system in igbo land the concept of missing-link is one of the concepts inherent in the concept of complementary reflection. according to the concept, everything that exists whether good or bad, positive or negative is in one ways or the other part of an ultimate end. the concept also connotes that a whole will never be possible without its relative parts and on the other hand parts can only be know to exist if viewed in relation to its whole. asouzu speaking on this note said that “all existent realities relates to each other in the manner of mutual service” (278). what he simply mean in this context is that the services of the individual existent realities (like the osus and the freeborns) has a way of relating or must relate to each other mutually so as to arrive at a higher reality that will harmonize the services or the activities of the individual or particular realities and present its authenticity to the extent that the individual realities via the universal reality will attain to its desired goal or end. besides, for anything to serve as a missing-link, it means that the thing can helps in the future or further achievement of the transcendental joy embedded in its authentication. on this, asouzu opined that “those units that negatively work against the life of the system have indirect positive functions to play since they help us to understand what is lacking within a given situation.” this simply means that even negative views or concepts can be induced as missing-links of reality in as much as their negativity will help in the actualization of the ultimate goal of the entire system. driving down to the concept of osu caste system, the above view simply suggests that the osus and the freeborns or are missing-links to the ontological situation or condition and world view of any society in igbo land where the system is practiced. they are among the several links that makes up any of its practiced society. thus, the thoughts, manners, ideas of the two set of people as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 84 link are harmonized to form the societal world view and to achieve social development and happiness as the ultimate purpose of their existence. thus, if any of the parts is separated out of the society, the authenticity or the world view of the people as well as igbo culture at large may not be grasped or may not be possibly known. having seen this, it will be a sheer absurdity to remove or to disregard any part as not belonging to the group that formed the whole which we may call a society that formed the whole. also, seeing osus as turds and inferior beings as well as segregating them is meaningless because even their turdity and inferiority are parts that makes up the whole. this is true because it is a sort of belief that a good family is that which has in it both sane and insane children quiet and stubborn children, boys and girls and so on. this in other words simply means that igbo land as one family will never be viewed to be completely good one without the presence of those parts that makes it up. the most important thing is the ability for each of the parts to do her specialized work effectively to ensure the smooth running of the family and the community at large. going by the above view, asouzu maintained that “the principle of complentarity legitimizes contradictions as directed”. what he meant was that the contradiction that exacts two opposites’ phenomena will often have a way of bringing a mutual harmony between two opposite things and their harmony will often establish a new phenomenon or idea at the optimum interest of their mutual harmony. to bring it down to the level of osu, means that the mutual harmony of osu and diala will to a large extent produce a transcendental joy and happiness as well as love which is the ultimate purpose of their being. but their separation will amount to one of the two especially the osus to remain in a perpetual agony melancholy and despire. it is from this background that complementary reflection is referred to in this work as the pacesetter or the foundation of communism. the ultimate aim of complementary reflection vis-àvis communalism is “to seek to offer the ontological precondition for the grounding of such ideas as communalism in view of elevating maxims to universal laws.” (ibuanyidanda, asouzu, 2007: 370). what this also means is that complementary reflection in this regards aimed at de-encasing the minds of the people (like the freeborns) from holding on to the super maxim of the nearer the better the safer.” with this maxim, the freeborns often regard the osus as outsides who has nothing to offer, thus for them the freeborns are the best in all ramification. this is the reason why the freeborns will have nothing to do with the osus especially when it has to with marriage and other social involvements or relationship. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 85 thus, this work is organized to advice the freeborns to often cooperate with the osus as part of them and as missing link to the actualization of their eternal ontological purpose. hegel held this similar view in his philosophy of the absolute spirit, mind, state and so forth. according his theory of the absolute spirit in his phenomenology of the mind hegel made the point that the absolute spirit is made up of individual spirits or minds which by their coming together and contradicting each other in form of dialectics in several stages will get to its zenith which is the absolute spirit (baillie 1931:80-81,86). on this not sahakian threw more light on the hegel’s phenomenology of the mind when he said: “in absolute mind (spirit), the subjective and objective realities unite; it is only by ways of the synthesis that human beings can be consciously aware of absolute reality.” (1968:195). however, from the above views, it is understandable that the individual spirits are missing-links to absolute at which they regain their conscious and authenticity. without the absolute, the individual spirits will not be known and without the parts, the absolute can never be. this view runs the entire gamut of his philosophy of the mind. in his philosophy of right, he conceived the state as that whole that unifies its part and the parts are the individuals are the thesis, the society as one of the parts is the anti-thesis and the state is the synthesis respectively. the parts exist as part of the whole, and the state is the unification of the parts. (1929:197) in relating the above views of hegel to the osu caste system in igbo land, one can see that igbo land and its culture, custom, belief and so on, are or may be viewed as the whole, and the purpose of the whole is ensurance of the happiness of its parts. the parts in this context are the individuals who are the osus and freeborns who may be seen simultaneously as the thesis and the anti-thesis. to arrive at the level of the absolute which is the whole and the synthesis, the two opposing thesis and anti-thesis, that is, the freeborns and the osus must be harmonized. put succinctly, igbo society may be said to have two contradictory personalities, the freeborns and the osus. for them to achieve their aim of living, they should work in conglomeration and harmony. their working in harmony will ensure the happiness of each as well as the development of the society. however, to crown it all, asouzu maintained that “as a missing-links of reality, no link can attain its legitimacy without reference to other missing-link of reality” (288). to reduce the assertion to the concept in view what he simply meant is that since the osus and the freeborns are missing-links to the ultimate reality which we have afore seen as the entivity of the society, hence they should igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 86 relate with each other, because non of the units can attain to the ultimate goal of the society like social development, property, progression, productiveness, socioeconomic, cultural proliferation. what is anticipated in this context is the mutual relationship of everybody’s ideas, view, and strength, because nobody as a unit or part is perfect. perfection can only come from a complementary effort will take us to the next topic ibuanyidanda. the concept of ibuanyidanda the concept of ‘ibuanyidanda’ is one of the significant concepts in complementary reflection which makes reference to an ‘ant’ call danda. ibu means load thus, danda is an ant in igbo land that believed essentially that there is no load that cannot be easily carried or surmounted by the collective efforts of its members. put differently, danda are those small ants that often work in group togetherly carrying other bigger dead ants or other loads to their holes (destinations). by observing these ants, igbos believe that no matter how heavy or difficult a load or anything may be or look, by complementing their efforts and views, the gigantic load and problem will be surmounted. thus, this is the reason why dandas are usually seen working together, carrying their loads complementarily. their working together depicts that they see each as one, that is, there is no segregation, division or dehumanization amongst them. for the ants, one person problem is everybody’s problem, as a person’s joy becomes the joy of all. it is due to these alleged hardworking, mutual togetherness as well as wisdom which characterized the ontology of the danda that make the bible to assert thus in the book of proverb chapter six verses six to eight (proverbs 6:6-8) “go to ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise; which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest (kjv, 1988:374). nevertheless, the concept of ibuanyidanda may plausibly be said to be the crown of the entire spectrum of complementary reflection because it is in the activities of the dandas that one will see that a group can work together without any seeing him/herself a being superior than his counterparts, there are often seen working together in love and harmony solving their problems in one accord by harmonizing their ideas visions, views in a complementary manner. also, the concept of complimentarily cut-across their tolerating their distinct ambivalent situations and conditions. this is one of the problems we see today in the complementary world, africa and igbo land in particular when intolerance is the order of the day. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 87 however, deducing from this mutual oneness which is paramount in the ontological well being of the danda, professor asouzu who is the founder of complementary reflection in contemporary african philosophy and african ontology sees everybody as mutually related. according to him, there is an ample evidence to conclude that the traditional african culture is mutually related. he came to this conclusion by quoting erudite african and non african philosophers like kamalu, anyanwu, taylor, ruch, onyeocha, nasseem, kaboha, nwaoga, iwe, oguah, achebe, ejizu, nwala, basden, mbiti and others, who respectively held the view that african believed importantly in the concept of mutual oneness and mutual togetherness of everybody. (101-105). for instance, mbitis dictum of “iam because we are, and since we are, therefore i am” (quoted by asouzu, in complementary reflection), shows the level of interdependency that is paramount in the african and precisely igbo ontological existence. from the above words of mbiti, it is believable that in igbo land. for example one person is as essential as the group of people. this simply connotes that without a person or an individual, the group will not be possible. thus, the interdependency or relationship of everybody in the society can easily be compared to the relationship that exists between and amongst the human fingers to the extent that if one finger touches oil, it has a way of reaching the ones unconsciously. this became a famous saying in igbo dialect which says: “otu mkpuru aka ruta mmanu ozuo ibeya onu.” what the following assertions simply connotes is that africans in their original ontology, believe in mutual complementarity in their relatedness. thus, they believed that the spirits in their world are mutually related to living beings as this also metamorphosized into their unifying both social, political, economical as well as a cultural aspect of life as one because they strive towards one virtue which is human happiness. thus, segregating the osu from the freeborns is a contradiction and disagreement from the original ontology of traditional igbo philosophy of the complementary system of thought. the same can be said with regards to the ontology of most traditional african philosophers. more so, asuzu in his own point, made a clarifying point when he assert that “the traditional igbos conceptualize human life as a struggle that must be embarked upon in a unified complementary manner bearing in mind that no man is perfect, thus, human beings can surmount difficulties only in creative recourse to all the opportunities the world has to offer.” according to him, “it is for this reason that he (human being) is ever ready to learn; he gives others a chance, knowing fully well that no individual is ultimately self-sufficient” (107) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 88 from this point of view, you can agree with this paper that it is abnormal, a misconception and an absurdity to underrate, discriminate and inferiorate anybody especially when it has to do with the persons gender, race, geneology, circumstances of birth as well as cast system like that of osu in igbo land, jippses of egypt, and untouchables of india. also, from the above point of view, keeping to this system till date is nothing but a sheer wickedness, heartlessness and any evil thing one can think of. the major aim of this work from this point of view is to establish the point or the fact that all human being needs each other either positively or negatively for their existence. their needing each other is simply because of the help(s) that may come from any of the parties. this also prove the point that man is to greater extent interdependent, the interdependency shows that both the osu and the freeborn are in need of each other. as the hands and the legs of the society, non should be cut off. also like passengers and the driver; a businessman and his customer, they need each other for their day to day smooth living and the attainment of their societal goal. commenting on this mutuality from a unitary point of view which characterize the african ontology, epistemology, reality, ethics etc, ozumba said that … “all existent are bound up into one by a pervading cord that maintains the balance and which keeps things in their proper places. for instance, all humans, spirits and their entire cosmos are seen as being intricately interwoven in a mesh that is called reality” (19995:52) ozumba used the above view to explain what he referred to as african ontology. for him, reality from the point of view of the africans can be known only from the concomitant coming together of all human beings, spirits and so forth. according to the view, nature has made everything the way it is in a balanced posture which he refers to as the ontological balance. thus anybody that offsets this balance will have to pay a certain amount or sacrifice to redress the balance. to clarify his point, ozumba said that “the concomitant of this view is that there are no disparate units, all entities are knitted together in a determinate manner. any upsetting of the position of one entity immediately affects the positioning of the other entities. the bearing this view has on african ethics is that the africans innately realize the eternal link that binds him and other existents. he is aware that there is balance which he has to maintain. that is, that he has to obey the principle of ontological balance which holds that all things are in their right places, and that any upsetting of the organic whole will require a compensation to redress the balance.” (53) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 89 in all, the thrust of the above assertions is not to establish or argue against the fact that there is osu cast system in igbo land or not, nor is it in the interest of this paper to say that osu cast system is or was not in practice in igbo land. the onus of the paper or this chapter is to establish the fact that both the osus and the freeborns are all important in the ontological well being of the people where the practice is ongoing. the area where this paper is frowning at is the area of the relationship between the osus and the freeborns which is characterized with segregation, subjugation, stigmatization, avoidance, discrimination, ostracism and lots more. besides, the works of both the osus and the freeborns in igbo land is like the division of labour in a firm, if anybody will do his/her own work effectively; it will enhance and promote the happiness of all the members of such organization. thus seeing the entire igbo land or specifically the societies where the osu cast system is practice as a big firm which has in it both the osus and the freeborns as co-workers whose work have been divided for specific purposes, the primary aim of the workers should be to work hard so as to obtain the dividends that accompanies hardworking as well as to ensure the proliferation of their society rather than shifting blames or looking at each other with bad eyes or segregating and stigmatizing each other. however, complementary reflection as we have been seeing in this work if embraced and grasped accurately will among other things help us to see everybody as one people with one vision, goal and destination. as it will also help in reducing the high level of corruption, (bribery and embezzlement of public fund) conflicts as well as wars in igbo land, nigeria, africa and even the world at large. it will nevertheless help in shaping and directing our thought systems and actions in such a way that our actions will not amount to the infringement of the right, privilege and freedom of other persons. an moreover, it will aid us to act in such a way as propounded by emmanuel kant who is his fundamental principles of metaphysics of morals, envisaged that one should act only on that maxim via which he can at the same time will that it should become a universal law. (1898:5). according to kant, humans should always carryout such actions which when they become universal categorical imperatives, they will not only favour a set of people and become detrimental to others. what this simply connotes is that kants categorical imperative simply means treat others as you will them to treat you. thus, relating this to the concept of complementary reflection it means that the complementary reflection is to a very high extent is meant to direct and order the actions and behaviours of the people though so ambivalent in a way that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 90 both the osus and the freeborns and even the society at large will actualize the purpose of their existence. in a nutshell, complementary reflection among all is one of the sure ways of solving the problems of opposites like the problems of rationalism and empiricism, idealism and realism; existentialism and phenomenology; body and soul relationship, appearance and reality and the several other alleged problems of philosophy. on the above problems for example, the rationalism and existentialism, complementary reflection will prove the fact that both rationalism and empiricism are both important for the acquisition of knowledge. the mutual application or complementarity of the two will bring about and authentic knowledge, but rejecting or scraping of the two will amount to poor grasping of the real knowledge. it is the view that made complementary reflection to defeat such views like conceptual decolonization propounded by professor oladipo and others. in all, complementary reflection if understood and followed rigorously and carefully, will usher one into the famous igbo proverb and dictum “emenyere nwa ogwugwu, emenyere nwa anosike.” this simply say if you favour the child of ogwugwu, (a person’s name), you should also do likewise to the child of anosike. igbos in their ontological jurisprudence believed significantly that it is only when things are shared or distributed in this manner that real justice will be said to have been attained. since this is the subject matter of complementary reflection, it would not be out of place to say that complementary reflection and its inherent concepts is one sure way of solving the problem of class-division and its sisters social segregation, exploitation, dehumanization and stigmatization which are the bones of contention in the whole gamut of osu caste system in igbo. thus, going by this system, the problem of osu caste will be solved one and for all. this is what my predecessors who have tried in several ways to solve the problem could not know nor do. conclusion from the fore –going in this topic “appraising osu caste within the context of complementary reflection” it has been made obvious that osu caste system as one of the religious practices in the ancient igbo land, has a lot of inherent problems and ill repercussions as this paper has tried to unveil in the various chapters above. these problems posed by osu caste system have been lingering from time immemorial. several attempts have been made by several people both scholars and non scholars to terminate the problem but the saddest point are that the more they try to solve the problem, the more onerous the problem becomes. the problems that are meant here are the problems of restricting the osus from getting married to the freeborns and vice-versa and that of making an osu a chief igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 91 or king over the freeborns. these two mentioned problem culminated into one million plus one other social problems like social segregation, stigmatization, dehumanization, wars, enmity and so forth which in turn do not only bring retrogression in the areas of socio-economic, socio – cultural and the socio – political growth of the society, also hampers almost every other aspect of the social development in the areas where it in practiced. however, since the previous writers could not provide a lasting solution of the problems in question, it became the onus of this paper to proffer a solution to the alleged problem. the way out of the problems of osu caste according to this research work is the application of the concept of complementary reflection which is postulated by professor innocent asouzu, which its major tenet is to establish a mutual harmony to solve problem or conflicts of opposites. thus, complementary reflection provide us with the idea that to solve the problem of osu caste system, there should be a mutual coming together of every individual ideologies, efforts, strength as well as personality. this background therefore establish the view that everybody is important and every bodies imitative whether positive or negative is needed for the achievement of the societal summum bonum which may mean happiness of all and societal development. references amadife, “the culture that must die.” in sunday times march 23, 1988. anyichie, a. a. ikwu amaghi ibe ezi ako. enugu: snaap press, 1991. arinze, f. a. scarifies in igbo religion ibadan: university press, 1970. aristotle. the politics. translated by t. a. sinclair, revised by saunders, t. j. london: penguin books inc. 1981. asouzu, i. i. the method and principle of complementary reflection in and beyond african philosophy. calabar: university of calabar press, 2004. asouzu, i. i. ibuanyidanda: new complementary ontology beyond world-immanentism, ethnocentric reduction and imposition. kg wien: lit verlag gmbh and co., 2007. basden, g. t. among the igbos of southern nigeria. london: frank and cass, 1966. crowther, j. et al. oxford advanced learners’ dictionary of current english. oxford: oxford university press, 1995. durueke, c. o. “notes on the osu system among the igbos of owerri, nigeria, africa,” in sunday time newspaper. june 13, 1985. edet, m. outlines of oriental philosophy. calabar: index educational foundation publishers, 2002. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 92 elias, t. o. et al ‘osu bill 1956’ in the law of eastern nigeria. caption 1, 1963. ezeala, j. o. i. “a lecture on the discrimination in nigeria society – a step on the united nations effects” in african concord 7th january, 1988. ezekwugo, c. m. ora-eri nnokwa and nri dynasty. enugu: lenjon printers, 1987. green, m. m. igbo village affairs. oxford: oxford university press, 1978. hegel, g. w. f. the phenomenology of the mind. 2nd edition translated by baillie, j. b. london: george allendard unwin ltd. 1931. hegel, g. w. f. the philosophy of right. translated by loewenberg, j. in hegel sections. new york: charles scribner’s sons, 1929. hobbes, t. in van doren (ed), great treasury of western thought. new york: r. r. bowker company, 1977. igwebuike, r. j. o. the osu concept in igbo land. enugu: access publishers limited, 1986. international bible society. the holy bible: king james version. usa: jim and judy o’connor, 1988. ilogu, e. christianity and igbo culture. new york: 1974. kant, e. fundamental principles of the metaphysics of morals. translated by abbott, t. k. new york: longmans, greens, 1898. laws of eastern nigeria – 1963 vol.1. enugu: government press, 1964. longman dictionary of contemporary english. england: pearson educational limited, 1995. meek, c. k. law and authority in a nigeria tribe. london: oxford university press, 1937. mgbobukwa, c. j. alusi, osu and ohu in igbo religion and social life. nsukka: fulludu publishing company, 1996. nwachukwu, j. o. “the osu caste system” in sunday time.. march 10, 1985. nzeako, t. omenala ndi igbo. onitsha: university press, 1976. ogbalu, c. omenala ndi igbo. nigeria: longman, 1976. omorogbe, j. quoted spinoza in his a simplified history of western philosophy. lagos: joja educational research and publishers limited, 1991. omorogbe, j. ethics for every nigeria. nigeria: national association for moral regeneration, 1991. onwubiko, o. facing the osu issue in the african synod. enugu: snaap press ltd., 1993. ozumba, g. o. “african ethics” in uduigwomen, a. f. (ed.) footmarks on african philosophy. lagos: obaroh and ogbinaka publishers ltd. 1995. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 93 ozumba, g. o. “ancient period of philosophy” in asouzu, i. i. (ed.) philosophy and logic today. nigeria: pacific and allied press, 2002. plato, the republic. translated by lee, d. london: penguin books inc. 1987. reverend arazu, interviewed by igwebuike, r. j. o. quoted in his book osu concept in igbo land. 1986. sahakia, w. s. outline history of philosophy. new york: barnes and noble, inc. 1968. ubesie, t. odinala ndi igbo. enugu: snaap press, 1991. uchendu, v. c. the igbos of the southeast nigeria. new york: holt rinehart and winston, 1956. uchegbulem, c. o. the ethical implication of osu caste system in igbo land, 1994 (unpublished thesis). uduigwomen, a. f. studies in philosophical jurisprudence. calabar: jochrisam publishers, 2005. 1979 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria. 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria. 43 negritude: towards an authentic african narrative in the thought of leopold senghor adidi, dokpesi timothy, ph.d. department of philosophy, veritas university abuja. adidit@veritas.edu.ng & aye, joseph department of philosophy, veritas university abuja. ayej@veritas.edu.ng & mary linda vivian onuoha phd department of foreign languages and literary studies university of nigeria nsukka mary.onuoha@unn.edu.ng & philip chika omenukwa department of philosophy, catholic institute of west africa frphilipchika@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140rg.2.2.14554.96967 abstract this paper explores the concept of negritude in the philosophy of leopold senghor, a seminal figure in african intellectual history. the paper examines how senghor's notion of negritude seeks to reclaim and revalue african cultural heritage and identity, challenging dominant western narratives that have historically marginalized african experiences. the paper is a critical analysis of senghor's writings. it attempts to uncover his quest for an authentic african narratives that reconciles the complexities of colonialism, cultural assimilation, and black consciousness. the investigation of the paper reveals the tensions and possibilities in senghor's negritude philosophy, shedding light on its enduring relevance in contemporary debates about african identity, decolonization, and the politics of cultural representation. keywords: negritude, leopold senghor, philosophy, identity, decolonization. introduction culture is the product of human beings who live in a given environment; and as such, it is considered to be defined as the way people live� and the expression of whom and what they are. culture can also be seen as a set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features of society or a social group, and it th �r. linton the cultural background of personality 4 edition (michigan: appleton – century-crofts, 1945) p. 32 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 44 encompasses, in addition to art and literature, lifestyle, ways of living together, value systems, traditions and beliefs.� this definition of culture as explained by unesco highlights the comprehensive and inclusive nature of culture as a way of life, encompassing various aspects of human society and individual experiences. these experiences human beings act on and produce what should be or what ought not to be within that environment at that point in time. hence it is very much appropriate not to condemn cultural practices; but rather to strive towards an adoption of a disposition necessary for an admirable understanding and assimilation of a profound cultural life and practice. in this wise, it is proper to assert that culture should be enriched as society evolves. therefore, in telling the african narratives as it relates to the african story, it is very important for african story-tellers to understand these dynamics of the african cultural enterprise so as to avoid telling our own african stories that are problematic to the african identity. this is the very reason, despite the emergence of the written materials about the african people; there is a need not to neglect the african oral tradition as a necessary reference material in understanding the culture of a people. this is to help in the process of a more holistic interpretation of understanding the era of a people in their own thought process. parents in africa (nigeria) are supposed to be stakeholders of cultural practices and pass it unto their generation through oral and documented material. this can also be done through the learning of african indigenous languages. it is very unfortunate that cultural stakeholders in africa seem to paint culture as ugly before their children and hence, the seemingly disinterestedness of children to patronize their cultural as an ugly site to behold. this has made lots of nigerian children get disinterested in their languages or even visit their villages to understand how their people think, and understand the world in which they live. this also has affected how we tell our own narrative to the world. this raises a very fundamental question. who will and should tell our story? why do parents and cultural stakeholders paint the african story in such a manner this generation (also known as genzees) gets disinterested? how can we get an authentic narrative of the african story in a society where we have almost lost our cultural heritage; and especially with the continuous migration of our people to europe and america? how can we tell our story when the majority of nigerians in exogamous marital transit to europe and america are in an interracial marriage? it is very important to note that exogamy despite its positive side can also be a complex and multifaceted phenomenon, reflecting changing social norms, cultural exchange, �the definition is according to united nations educational, scientific and cultural organization (unesco, ����) from the universal declaration on cultural diversity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 45 and individual changes. this paper shall explore the concept of negritude in leopold senghor in searching for an authentic african narrative in re – imagining the word as an emic form of empowerment. what is negritude? negritude is a literary and philosophical movement that emerged in the 1930s and 1940s in paris.� negritude is the celebration of the african people and cultural heritage; and, it seeks to reclaim and redefine what it means to be african. the themes in negritude emphasize cultural pride, cultural identity, and cultural uniqueness. in fact, negritude is black consciousness. it is the self – affirmation of the black people and their values with also their history. hence leopold senghor, one of the foremost in pioneering the negritude movement in the late thirties� defines it as: the whole of the values of civilization, cultural, economic, social, political which characterize the black people, more exactly the negroafrican world. it is essentially instinctive reason, which pervades all these values because it is reason of the impressions, reason that is seized. it is expressed in the emotions, through an abandonment of self in identification with the objects; through the myth, i mean by images, archetypes of the collective soul, especially by the myth primordial accorded to those of the cosmos. in other terms, the sense of communion, the gift of imagination, the gift of rhythm, these are the traits of negritude that we find like an indelible seal on all the works and activities of the blackman.� thus, negritude is the affirmation of the pride of an african in all his/her characteristics, contributions and responsibilities to history.� a review of some african classical literatures and our cultural descriptions in an attempt to describe the african world, there is no better description that can best describe the african world unless african themselves. hence, we have great works written by african – nigerian scholars like elechi amadi who wrote the concubine and made it into a film in 2007. the book was praised for its classic simplicity and timelessness, with a writing style that is simple, descriptive, and easy to understand and highly recommended for those who might want to understand the african setting before colonialism. “the concubine”� is a classic nigerian novel that explores love, tragedy, and cultural traditions as reflected in �a. micklin negritude movement h�ps://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/negrit ude-movement/ nd (2008, june 29) retrieved online 22 may, 2024 �c.b. okolo, african social and political philosophy selected essays (nsukka: fulladu publishers, 1993) p. 55 th �l.s. senghor, “discours prononce” a i'universite d'oxford 26 october, 1961 � c.b. okolo, african social and political philosophy selected essays, p.56 �e. amadi the concubine (nairobi: longman publishing group, ����). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 46 the african way of life. this book was written six (6) years after nigeria got her independence and the author is likely to have known his culture first hand and the colonial setting. in the novel we could interact with the african culture and lifestyle. the work captures the native point of view using the language, concepts, and cultural categories of the nigerian people. as, such, it prioritizes the internal logic and meaning of the culture, rather than posing external frameworks or assumptions. more so, in another grand style chinua achebe in his literary work things fall apart� reflects the descriptive nature of culture in the eastern part of nigeria. the novel attempts to describe a particular situation in africa especially the intrusion in the 1890s of white missionaries and colonial government into tribal igbo society. hence, the author's narrative explores contemporary complexities of african culture and the impact of colonialism on traditional societies. it is a powerful work that also describes the african society. in this classical work, the reflection of what constitutes the african way of life is a narrative that depicts who we are as a people in africa. it shows the rich varieties of our religious practices, social life and political system. the literature was written in english which was a deliberate choice to reach a wider audience. also, it is to subvert the dominant language of the colonizers. the work was considered to be recognized as upholding the african identity, an approach towards nationalism, and a process of decolonization. the novel reveals chinua achebe's ability to explore competing cultural systems and their languages to the same level of representation, dialogue and contestation. in addition, wole soyinka is another prominent nigeria playwright and political activist who have made significant contributions to african literature. his work on a dance of the forest� also reveals the interplay between matter (human) and spirit (natural) world as it presided over by the gods and spirits. soyinka unveils the rotten aspects of the society and demonstrates that the past is no better than the present when it comes to life. the play interpolates contemporary european modes of playwriting with more traditional representations of nigerian rites. in similar vein, chimamanda ngozi adichie seems irritated with the psychometric mindset of the west against africans. she believes that more african stories need to be told so that the continent's history, heritage and development can be preserved. she thinks that the african narrative and the stories we tell should reflect the intentions of those who are custodians of cultures as they show the existence of people, who they are and what they represent in their worldviews. in fact, she believes that the african child should be taught about african culture and history rather than just learning about cultures. this is necessitated with the fact that stories can give people confidence and dignity and �c. achebe things fall apart (united kingdom: william heinemann ltd, ����). �w. soyinka a dance in the forest (united kingdom: oxford university press) ���� igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 47 shape their socio-economic and political perception. hence, the need to be unprejudiced in narrating the african story to african children. the above justifies the position on the need for the african story to be told to the african generation and beyond. this steadily applies to the use of language as the basic instrument in unlocking the cultural worldview of the african story. negritude in the thought of leopold senghor leopold senghor's concept of negritude is rooted in his experiences growing up in senegal and being educated in france. he was also a beneficiary of the process of “assimilation” during french colonial era. although, he benefitted from it, the process received criticisms from black francophone scholars because it was not well managed. senghor held that the whole process of assimilation should complement and recognize the already existing culture in africa. this means that there should be enculturation and not assimilation. negritude is a way of affirming and celebrating african culture; while also rejecting the idea that the western culture was superior.�� in fact, for senghor colonialism in a way alienated him from his roots. he sort for a way out of this alienation and believed that negritude was an inherently creative force, and he drew on music, poetry, and other forms of art to express this. senghor also emphasized the importance of spirituality and community, and saw negritude as a way of creating a new kind of global community based on mutual respect and understanding. in the thought of senghor, negritude was a way of affirming african culture in several ways.�� negritude, senghor asserts, “is the consciousness of being black, the simple recognition of the fact, implying acceptance and responsibility of one's destiny as a black man, one's history and one's culture. it is the refusal to assimilate, to see oneself in the 'other'. a refusal of the other is affirmation of the self”.�� senghor also perceives negritude as a way of understanding and embracing the unique and diverse cultural values of africa. senghor believes that african cultures have their own unique forms of knowledge and ways of seeing the world; and as such the african culture should be valued and respected. he describes negritude as the affirmation of the black man, in his wholeness, his uniqueness and his originality. he saw negritude as a way to affirm the dignity and worth of african people despite the oppression and marginalization they faced. he believed that negritude could be a source of pride and strength, and that it could help to shape a new positive identity for the african ��l. senghor on the appeal from the race of sheba, trans john reed and clive wake in selected poems (london: athenaeum, 1966) ��p. kwasi, negritude: a re-evaluation, ed. biodun jeyifo (oxford: clarendon press, 1985) ��a. o. alexander & f. egbulonu, “the influence of negritude movement on modern african literature and writers: a study of chinua achebe's things fall apart and elechi amadi's the concubine”. in okike: an african journal of new writings. no 51 july, 2014 ��l. senghor, on african socialism. trans mercer cook (new york: praeger, 1964) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 48 people. he also believed that negritude was more than just a political or social movement; but, rather it was also about the creative and expressive potential of african cultures. the effect of prejudice in narrating the african story and culture in narrating the african experience and story there is a need to avoid prejudice. it is unfortunate that beneficiaries and those who are ignorant of what culture is seem to present a story that is bias. this epistemic bias seems to have brought about a misconception of the african culture. prejudicing african culture refers to the biases, stereotypes, and discriminatory attitudes that have historically been held against african cultures, tradition, and values. these prejudices have been perpetuated through colonialism, slavery, media representation, and other forms of cultural imperialism.�� prejudices have far reaching effects which include cultural suppression, identity erosion, loss of cultural heritage, social and economic marginalization and political disenfranchisement. more so, it is important to unravel the dynamics and formative process in prejudicing the african culture. the belief that western cultures and values are superior to that of africans can cause serious danger in telling the african stories; especially when african culture and values are reduced to oversimplified or inaccurate representations. an example as observed is when african culture and values are considered as tribal or primitive. this consequently leads to cultural appropriation whereby there is an adoption of african cultural practices without understanding, respect, or compensation; thereby, ignoring or minimizing the contributions and achievements of african cultures; and viewing african cultures as inferior or in need of “civilizing” or “development''. the quest for an authentic narrative through an african hermeneutics in african philosophical discourses, the study of african philosophy is a rational inquiry into the nature of african culture. it is investigative in nature and a reflection on what constitutes what is african. hence, there is a need for an investigation and interrogation into the african way of life for an authentic african narrative. this is where educating ourselves about african histories and a culture becomes imperative. through education, africans can amplify the african voices and perspectives and as such, challenge the stereotypes and biases. this will go a long way to support african cultural expression and innovation; and thereby create room for cultural equity and inclusion. there is a need for an african hermeneutical process to interpret the intentions of cultural innovators so as to unravel the intentions of the past so as to redirect the african understanding to a more unbiased approach to the african narrative. as such, there is a need to have the right people to tell the african story. those who should tell the african story ought to be not just people with inadequate understanding of the african cultures, but those who are expert and who have firsthand experience of the african way of life before colonialism. ��e. said, culture and imperialism (knopf publishers: 1993) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 49 the import of hermeneutics in the african narrative cannot be over emphasized. inwood opines that, the concept hermeneutics carries the meaning of “to express” “to explain”, “to translate”, and “to interpret”.�� oguejiofor lends credence to this when he posits thus: “hermeneutic involves bringing an inner meaning into the open. it entails making explicit what is implicit. it is thus a quest for meaning, one's own meaning in one's life, society and milieu, in short, in the totality of one's universe, which could be said to be constituted by one's cultural symbols”.�� this vividly explains the african quest for an authentic narrative. a number of african thinkers conceive hermeneutics as a mechanism for analyzing the african experience. for instance, okere argues that, all philosophies must spring from and deal with non-philosophical features of lived experience and its expression in religion, culture etc. by non-philosophy, it is meant to be non-reflected or unreflected baggage of cultural background. this is premised on the grounds that, for a philosophy to be described as “african”, it must have an expression of the african life-world, this becomes the basis for reflection. in this process, hermeneutics becomes a bridge between culture and philosophy, for “it is only within the context of hermeneutics that african culture can give birth to african philosophy”.�� from the foregoing, it is pertinent to note that an authentic african narrative can only come from an untainted account that clearly and precisely articulates the african experience. in this regard, ethno-philosophy and sage philosophy play a significant role in this hermeneutical quest to divest the african narrative of intended and unintended consequences from those who seek to project an african narrative that is not really african in its conception and expression. conclusion in conclusion, leopold senghor's concept of negritude offers a powerful framework for understanding the complexities of african identity and the quest for authentic cultural expression. through his philosophy, senghor challenges dominant western narratives and reclaims african heritage, affirming the value of black consciousness and cultural diversity. as we grapple with the ongoing legacies of colonialism and cultural assimilation, senghor's negritude reminds us of the importance of decolonizing our minds and reclaiming our stories. hence, african culture and values are learned not inherited. therefore it is important that the present generation learn and understand their culture. this will facilitate a robust african cultural identity in the face of an emerging globalization of cultures. parents are indeed stakeholders in this regard as they teach children the african language so as to unravel the african hermeneutical process of unlocking the african world. the african cultural heritage is central to the african development as a people. ��m. inwood, hermeneutics, in e. craig (ed.) (london: routledge encyclopedia of philosophy, ���� ��j.o. oguejiofor, negritude as hermeneutics: a reinterpretation of leopold sedar senghor's philosophy, (american catholic philosophical quarterly, ��, �.) ��t. okere, african philosophy: a historico-hermeneutical investigation of the conditions of its possibility, (lanham: university press of america, ����) p. �� igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 9 no.3, 2023 www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/igwebuikejournals.php a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 68 politician-linguism and the facts of post-politics: critical reflections eruka, c. raphael, phd department of philosophy, madonna university, nigeria, okija campus erukaraff@gmail.com doi:10.13140/rg.2.2.30881.58724 abstract the difference between ideology and praxis is a real difference, especially in the superstructure of politics. the empirical fact of a vacuum in the sphere of praxiology is a reality of political history. yet this fact is preceded by socio-cultural conditions that indeed make it possible. of premium significance in those conditions is the strategy of politician-linguistic conditioning that eventually works for mass appeal. communication fault lines become conscious methodology in conceptual maneuvres. if political art is a deliberate function of this dissonance between what is communicated and what obtains, then political science may need collaboration with philosophy in the way of interrogations regarding this dissonance. in this interdisciplinary approach, there emerges the comprehension that the prelude to political activism includes not just the socio-political conditions that are part of the science, but also the central role of political psychology that must be allowed to demand the univocalism of concepts that logically trail off in the unicity of ideology and praxis. this is against the subsisting equivocalism that creates distance between perspectives and meanings and in the end, a deconstructivist approach to intended meaning. nigeria was used as a case study in the real attempt at analysis of political conceptual elements that constitute its make-up and modes of political operations. the political psychology perspective of scientific theoretical development proffers recommendations that would contribute to bridging the perceived gap and ensuring a fruitful outcome between ideology and praxis. politician-linguism needs ideological policing such that political communications would benefit intended recipients. keywords: politician-linguism; ideology; praxis; interrogations; interdisciplinary mediation. mailto:erukaraff@gmail.com eruka, c. raphael 69 introduction politician-linguism can best be described as a neologism in political communication. as a principle, it is an ideological tool of political behaviour. there is even a sense in which one can regard politician-linguism as intellectualistic, a somewhat belated construct and strategy for steering a worldview towards a pre-determined political orientation. a worldview is the function of the truth therein. it may be largely seen in terms of the stability of the perception of the people towards given realities. the worldview of the people works to galvanize their views onto consensus positions. this notwithstanding, unilateralism of views does not always define the social and political spectra of given communities. in this, dynamism tends to chart the true course of the people’s politicalideological orientations. dynamic perceptions are occasioned mainly by political behaviour. fundamentally, it is more a matter of response to the situational praxis of the trajectory of politics. from the phenomenological viewpoint, it can be stated that nothing is as challengingly dynamic as politics, especially in the way it is exercised on the populace. change is everything in social, economic and political relations. because this obtains with radicality on the superstructure of politics, its multiplier effects continue in widening concentricity in the substructures of social and economic relations. experiences of the times demonstrate that politicians do not subscribe to the stability of world views, that is, in the dimension of the pursuit of permanence concerning the true perception of the realities on the ground by the masses. the true perception of reality as a creation of political behaviour is a problem that needs to be challenged and overcome. this overcoming can only be by way of contestation of mass-information inflow; through specially engineered re-orientation of mindset: the masses need to adapt, they believe, positively to a perception construct – a creation of politician ideological course. specialized language form does the magic – to sway, indoctrinate, manipulate, re-direct, form and misinform! the perfection of the methodology of deployment of the politician's linguistic skill does the seamless job of ensuring the followership of the masses not minding that they, the masses are aware of the true worldview in which they, the politicians operate and who are responsible for creating the state of affairs they regret to find themselves, they, the people, would have acted differently. what indeed is politician-linguism? it is the super orientation in politician communication skills. politician-linguism is not necessarily language form socio-culturally considered. language is culture based and biased. there are millions of languages based on sociocultural developments and historical circumstances of peoples. politician-linguism has to be understood from its monistic ideological and meta-cultural operational politician-linguism and the facts of post-politics: critical reflections 70 paradigm. it is a meta-language of political elitism. grasped this way, it’s therefore seen to be independent of geo-locus. politician-linguism refers to a plane of communication that involves the rich internal milieu of the politician, a terrain of communicative skill the domain of which the politician frequents. it has to be understood as a storehouse, a hidden pool of information resources from within and from which the politician retails information to the people in the politician’s understanding of what qualifies as relevance to the advancement of the political project. politician-linguism pertains to the world of politicians as such without particular considerations to the politician per se irrespective of race, geography or other affiliations. politician-linguism informs the background for the politician’s thought process, communication and action. is there an exception? even if there is, the rule is not thereby overruled. the fact remains that politician-linguism is real, operational and a course that the politician determines into the art of politicking. the contestation lies in this struggle for the prevalence of the view of the politician dovetailing in its mass acceptance that works to continually earn a place of honour for the politician and possibly honorifics as well. politician-linguism invites serious understudy and explication without which conceptual manipulation may work to offer the people misinformation from equivocations, outright deceptions or apparent truths. why research on politician-linguism? the research is informed by the need to create awareness of the real issues behind politician communication in the beef-up to power ascendancy and what transpires afterwards. politician-linguism is a relevant field of research in the wake of mass hoodwinking in the scramble for followership and the continued struggle for the maintenance of politician relevance. why, one is forced to inquire, the existence of instantiation between politicians’ positions before and after the capture of political power? this distantiation, if it exists, is of essence to the science and art of philosophy. political theorization and pragmatics have invested interests in uncovering the complex differentiations between the enunciation of sound political principles as tools for political office and the commitment to the realization of the principles in the aftermath of the free exercise of power consequent on the assumption of political positions. this determines the substantial difference between peace in the polity and the perceived shortcomings in this regard. political pragmatics as decipherable in realized programs of action is a function of the intricacies of politician-linguism. why the distance between politicianlinguism and praxis? why is the gulf between principles and the pragmatics inherent in the principles? is politician-linguism a methodology in politicking? is it an art embroiled in transparency problematic or is there a science to it? how can this phenomenon in eruka, c. raphael 71 politics be dealt with such that theories and praxis cohere in substantial realization? to begin to respond to this, there is a need to investigate the end of politics. the end of politics political philosophy investigates the best form of government for the society; referred to in its classical form as commitment to achieving an ideal society (popkin & stroll, 1993, p. 59). it is the search for the best political order. the best political order is such as would ensure the best of factors, opportunities and circumstances for the people to realize their potential as humans. the end of politics is the maximum humanization of the people in the places in which they find themselves. why the philosophical essence in this? it is the first to underscore the dynamism of political structures. this includes ideologies and regime typologies. while ideologies point to the end of philosophical reflections on the ideal state; regime typologies would refer to the pragmatics involved in the concretization of the forms in the order of politics. the implication of the dynamism in structure reflects in the understanding that politics is yet to deliver on its natural expectations: the path to it, methodologies in delivery and the humanization motif. second, dynamism is as well a function of views, perspectives and political goals. in democracies, these ought to be mainstreamed into democratic ideology. the challenge even in a democracy, touted as the ideology that majorly should be able to deliver on ideological-value expectations, is that the end remains open to multiplicities of interrogations. it is in the face of these that the search for the best political order continues to be relevant. the interrogation touches on the human dimension. this paper opines that it is not just ideologies that are relevant, it is the human interface. new studies in the best order concerning ideological typology should take cognizance of political psychology. social and political philosophy needs to be done on the presupposition of proper political psychology. this refers to the human psyche behind political praxis. philosophy has long left this essential interdisciplinary mediation to political art. this has created a vacuum in the sense of inefficiency – political art seems to foot-drag in a case that pertains to self. the intervention of political philosophy is in terms of developing a normative of political psychology. an element of the ethnicization of political behaviour may be part of the result of proper interrogation of political philosophy. this is intended to be before theorizations on the best social order. theoretical constructions independently prescribe methods and principles for the realization of opportunities; the realization proper is a function of the psyche behind praxis. beyond politician-linguism, there have to be fresh interrogations on the political psychological orientations and motifs. political behaviour references would contribute to defining true motives. politician-linguism, however, has failed in contributing to this definition. if anything, politician-linguism has defined away the end of political politician-linguism and the facts of post-politics: critical reflections 72 ideologies and praxis. what are the true ends of politics? how does democracy fare in these? the next step would be to examine the thoughts of leading thinkers about the best political order and the praxis of political realism. thoughts of some social-political philosophers in the golden age of greek philosophy, reflections on the state were given due attention. socrates, for instance, was interested in establishing the right foundations for building a social and political philosophy. given that this was the era of the sophists, socrates felt that the presupposition of proper social theories was the foundation upon which such theories would stand. the sophists lacked this foundation in their ideas which plato believed were ill-fated and anarchic (nisbet, 1983, p. 9). the sophists operated on the supposition, according to one of the protagonists, protagoras, that ‘man is the measure of all things’ (njoku, 2019, p. 128; uduigwomen & ozumba, 2000, p. 122). he thus settled for epistemological relativism; a subjective interpretation of reality (composta, 2008, p. 106). relativism would then be all-encompassing, especially regarding the formulation of ethical theories. this is significant since traditionally, according to plato, ‘politics is essentially applied ethics’ (omoregbe, p. 131; popkin & stroll, 1993, p. 59). in this application, cognizance would have to be taken of the universal normative. in theatetus, socrates argues that man is not the measure of all things. before the thematic centricity of man, is reason. this informed plato’s political ideas, (nisbet, 1983, p. 8). a valid reason is presupposed fundamentally; the type that is before man. reason points the way objectively such as would be standard for the human exercise of the faculty as a posterior event. in order words, there are principles in operation before man, which man has to endeavour to uncover as reference points to his actions. the contestation is between relativism and principles which make for universal appeal in the form of ‘some absolute and universally valid norms, which do not depend on societies and personal feelings of individuals, (njoku, 2019, p. 128). the first issue of significance in any theorization of the state is that it has to rest on a solid foundation of universally valid truth. where this is lacking, the political theory may have derailed methodological relevance. in the republic, plato denounced existing systems of government as incapable of delivery on expectations of good governance (nisbet, 1983, p. 5), reiterating alongside socrates, that ‘pure reason’ ought to provide the guide to political action (njoku, 2019, p. 138). plato preferred that politics be deferred till politicians understudy the right path to it; that is to say until they complete ‘a course’ in political philosophy (njoku, 2019, p. 138). these responses from the greek political theorists were in effect correlations to the negative phenomena of an epistemological movement that preferred to circumvent objective truth in their operations and the political elites that could be similarly categorized especially in eruka, c. raphael 73 their circumvention of the demands of pure reason in dealing with socrates. it could be entertained that confidentially, it was epistemological relativism applied directly in political ethics that was the cause of the socratic effect responsible for plato’s paradigm shift in the attempt to herd politicians to school first before the forage into the pragmatic art of politics. plato also believed that happiness lies in knowing the real sense for him, to know the real is to do it (njoku, 2019, p. 163). evil does not exist save in the context of ignorance since according to plato, knowledge is a virtue (njoku, 2019, p. 163; uduiwomen, 2000, p. 123). one would wish that plato’s claim were true: that is, that the human intellect always directs right the personality behind it all of the time. this is the problem of this paper and what went wrong in politician-linguism, namely that the intellect and the person can be differentiated in their apprehensions and operations accounting for real disparity in bringing into realization that which has been comprehended. what the paper posits which offers a challenge on the plane of political praxis is that one may decide to do that which is contrary to that known intellectually – thus epistemology and ethics do not always coincide. aristotle believes that the community exists for the good of the people, for the state is a composite of its citizens (aristotle, 2001, p. 1176: bk: iii. ch. 1: 1275a). if this is the case for every community, then, the state, which remains the highest of political communities, exists for the sake of the highest all-encompassing good (njoku, p. 161). the state thus stands the best chance to proffer the citizenry opportunities for attaining their foremost ends. aristotle, burke and tocqueville and the 17th-century pluralists are not concerned with ideal systems as with ideal relations: not oligarchy, monarchy or democracy as such but any system in which the citizens, groups and institutions enjoy the freedom and fair treatment (nisbet, 1983, p. 22). this explains why it is fundamentally significant to political action. all theories tend to galvanize some program of action in the state. as regards the coinciding of what’s known and what is done in plato, aristotle argued contrary to the position of plato. to be able to execute the known, aristotle argues that virtue is needed (njoku, p. 163). aristotle tends to give priority to the development of virtue whereas plato would rather emphasize the priority and sufficiency of knowledge. virtue results from the continual execution of the morally good in a way that doing good comes of habit (njoku, p. 163). therefore, virtue ethics should be the right guide to political behaviour. rousseau lent weight to this view when he emphasized that learning should go hand in hand with the quest for a virtuous living (omoregbe, 1991, p. 51). in the prelude to the emergence of modern democracies, social-political thinkers provided ideological platforms for political art. in the leviathan, hobbes, a monist and absolutist (nisbet, 1983, p. 24), conceptualized a state of nature characterized by existential chaos emanating from the absence of right reason and any known moral compass (omoregbe, p. politician-linguism and the facts of post-politics: critical reflections 74 132). man did not fare well in this condition. in the hobbesian theory of the sovereign, it was at best a return to protagora’s theory that the individual man is the reference point about standards of measure: a clear descent into crass relativism. the hobbesian result in the scenario is the phenomenal brevity of human life (omoregbe, p. 132). the hobbesian social and political fiction of the state of nature did not appeal equally or in the same way to other serious thinkers, for example, locke, who in his state of nature, saw that natural law obtained. this was ethics in need of harnessing and implementation for everybody’s good. the responsibility of government was to implement the law of nature (moral law) for the common good (omoregbe, p. 133). this consisted mainly of the enforcement and protection of the fundamental human rights of the people (omoregbe, pp. 133 – 1334). in the state of nature, the concept of human rights was not delineated; thus the demand for it was absent. for spinoza, the supreme right is that of the right to human existence, and this is available to all without injuries and conflicts if people lived according to the law of reason (nwoko, pp. 91 – 92). unfortunately, injuries and conflicts are rather rife since people allow themselves to be driven by forces other than reason; this development informs the need for the emergence of government to direct men’s affairs right (nwoko, p. 92). montesquieu states that every society would of necessity need a form of government; and the exercise of reason would eventually culminate in the formulation of positive laws (nwoko, p. 100). positive laws are an issue from the right exercise of human reason. it is presupposed that this exercise of human reason would be in tandem with the adumbration of natural law, giving specific prescriptions in particular areas for the realization of the greater good of the people. seen this way, positive law is always at the service of natural law as indeed an extension of the law of nature. natural law in some areas gives clues while positive law is meant to give specifications in particular circumstances of the human historical and existential situations. when such law allows that power resides with the people, it is democracy; if with a few then, oligarchy (nwoko, p. 101). other systems abound according to varied arrangements: if power resides in one man, it is a monarchy (popkin & stroll, 1993, pp. 60 – 61) while the absence of the exercise of any legitimate control of power results in anarchy. kant’s political theory derives from his ethics and the categorical imperative. in the critique of practical reason, kant insists that every human action should be based on the willingness that action satisfies the maxim of universal law (nwoko, p. 129; popkin & stroll, 1993, p. 39; kuusela, 2011, p. 122). the human act should issue from pure reason that factors humanity into its choices for every choice signifies an invitation that every other person, and indeed humanity, should choose in the same way for the good of all. my choice is not mine solely; if i then choose for all, what happens if everyone else should eruka, c. raphael 75 similarly choose? the implication is that the exercise of human reason should attain such value-standardization as to imply the possibility of formulation of law or maxim of the welfare of humanity out of or deriving from that exercise (kuusela, 2011, pp. 121 – 122). kant invites man to the expansion of the horizon both in his thinking and acting. man is invited by the kantian vision to transcend his egotism in the rational approach to life. human thinking should endeavour to break the barriers of selfishness, be it in politics, ethics or whatever else, onto the consideration of the universal good. thought that does not merit this level of measure ought not to be put into action. the interesting things here are the trajectory of social and political theories which crisscross and tend to revive or reemphasize existing ones in the course of human history. it appears that kant in insisting that human action should derive from pure reason raised to a respectable universal platform tends to restore plato who earlier opined that the highest knowledge must trail off in the highest moral execution of that known. j. s. mill’s theorizations on the state derive from far-reaching pessimism. the poor state of human nature is the cause for unhappiness that characterizes the human community; such also accounts for the existence of unjust laws and human selfish exhibitions in life whether one becomes the ruler or the ruled (nwoko, p. 168). mill does not anchor the remediation for this state of affairs on democracy either, for the system, though it could ‘suppress’ tyranny can become oppressive itself from lack of fair representation (nwoko, p. 168). this notwithstanding, mill claims that representative democracy remains the best form of government in so far as all interests are represented in governance. the risk is that in the absence of fair representation, it may derail into the tyranny of the majority (nwoko, p. 170). mill emphasized the possibility of a majoritarian tyranny in democracy and advocated for safeguards (stumpf & fieser, 2003, pp 246 – 347). the implication is that majority views do not always mean that which is fair or just. if mill thinks of democracy in this way, said to be the best of available systems, then there is here reinforcement to the need to investigate the difference between knowledge and action in political art; between political theories and the political psychology presupposed in the implementation of these theories. this paper is interested in democracy especially as it pertains to the political dispensations of emerging economies. in western medievalism, political representation was part of large monarchies and aristocracies, and over time, this element was carried into democracy (arua, p. 78). for purposes of immediate relevance, emphasis will, going forward, be on nigeria’s democracy. how has politician-linguism fared in the nigerian state? is it part of the problem of meaning, ideology and praxis? when the politician speaks, do the people understand? when the people speak, does the politician understand them? if there is difficulty in communication between the politician and the people, does it also entail some sort of politician-linguism and the facts of post-politics: critical reflections 76 confusion? if it is to be agreed that clear communication makes meaning stand out, then a premium should be placed on the art if progress can be expected to be made. progress, development or improvement in the conditions cannot be expected in the presence of ambiguities, intentional conceptual misapplications for politician-propaganda motifs and outright deceptions embedded in methodological linguism. analysis of concepts of elements of nigeria’s foundation as a political entity to start with, significant elements of nigeria’s foundation as a political entity are embroiled in the linguistic imbroglio. one such element is the concept of independence. the 1960 realization of independence for the country was a phenomenon that would have to last in the memory of the nation. yet, what does it mean? the concept means many things to the diverse sub-entities. beyond the surface of it, it would need studies to unravel the conceptual connotations of the term for different peoples of the political unit. it has been shown, for instance, that for the north, independence entails that the muslims are not ruled by any other groups; freedom thus means freedom to enjoy muslim rule and propagate islam under caliphism (udoidem, p. 189). within this guarded northern concept of freedom, meaning still eludes political communication for despite years of opportunities for the exercise of power in this regard, the citizenry did not fare better. does politician-linguism need in-house interrogation within its northern enclave conceptualization? does the north solely imply the interest of the elitist north or does it go beyond this political class? issues in politician-linguism need process interpretation. no community may develop beyond the real linguistic circumscription of politics since all praxis proceeds from this. for the igbo, the concept of independence means the opportunity and reality of reorganization of the geopolitical space of nigeria, such that there are unhindered free trade activities and the freedom to live in any part of the country in the bid to contribute to the development and social interaction (udoidem, pp. 189 – 190). in so far as democracy fails to provide this enabling environment, the igbo feels that the concept of independence remains a sham. real independence is a descending-ascending phenomenon whereby democracy ensures enablers for personal and infrastructural developments while the individual maximizes the opportunity to free one’s potential for socio-economic and political growth and advancement. the yoruba, yet understood this concept differently where for them, it implies the absence of colonial power and the opportunity for them to step and fill in the gaps left in politics, media and other professional positions given their leverage in higher educational attainment (udoidem p. 190). independence here connotes the existence of structures for eruka, c. raphael 77 the practice of professionalism and the continued maintenance of such structures. again for ethnic minorities, independence means something different from the above. independence would then mean for them freedom from domination, and the freedom to participate in the determination of their affairs (udoiem, p.190). another concept that needs further analysis is the entity called nigeria. it appears that the concept, of nigeria, in the real sense, is an entity devoid of real human contents in its homogenous sense. the political unit has failed to attain substantial conceptual universalism. politicians are real in their particularities and non-universalist affiliations. in politician-linguistic terms, ‘nigeria’ is a nominalist-driven conceptualization. the ockhamist movement, we are told, rejected the realism of earlier schools, thereby settling for nominalism, which entails that universal concepts are mere words, though this is at risk of over-simplification (copleston, 2003, p. 11; stumpf & fieser, 2003, pp. 184 – 185). thus the entity seemingly lacks soul and vivification. politician affiliation to the universal values implied in the concept appears unreal; what presents substantially is the tribal, religious, cultural and political sub-regional interests. the concept of ‘nigeria’ needs a whole hermeneutics of process comprehension whose true meaning may elude or go beyond the concept as such. some politicians claim that although the concept exists the nation does not. others opine that the nation is in the making, meaning that it is not yet. at least, one politician believes that nigeria is a mere geographical expression (awolowo). the problem is leadership (achebe) that has refused to clarify politicianlinguistic choices. the political psychology informing the existence of the nation is problematic. until the problem is solved regarding the existential status of the said country and the truth or falsity of the concept, the course of development may not be clear shortly. presently, the nation suffers from unfortunate inherent politician-linguistic ambiguities. the third concept constituting an element of the foundation of nigerian polity is democracy. the definition of ‘democracy’ as ‘government of the people’ (asiegbu, p. 16; arua, 2009, p. 79) only suffices as an etymological explication, otherwise, there is more to it (kazeem, 2006, p. 60). although the concept presents in its apparent simplicity, ‘different theorists and ideologists’ hew a multiplicity of meanings out of it, perhaps due to its various typologies (kazeem, 2006, p. 60). nigeria’s sani abacha added to the concatenation when he gave the name, ‘home-made’ to the nigerian brand of democratic practice, later said in reality to be a contraption for corruption (arua, 2009, p. 79). democracy as a concept is subject to politician-linguistic centrifugation, with circumscribable particularistic and subjective process apprehension. within the same political entity such as nigeria, the system falls short of unanimous conceptualization. it may mean, in some cases, an instrument used by daredevil politicians to push forward politician-linguism and the facts of post-politics: critical reflections 78 their agenda and disseminate their ideologies to the rest of the people. in all, democracy for the nigerian state is nothing short of the structure through which politicians work to realize their concept of independence for nigeria. it is the tool for the concretization of the ambiguous concept of not only ‘independence’ but every value system that falls within the program of the politician’s ideological subscription. democracy is a concept in flux; malleable and capable of being directed to the wishes of particular politicians. rousseau insists that true democracy does not exist and never will (arua, 2009, p. 79). this is because the people have not been part of it as inherent in the concept. in its place, we have often witnessed the organized robbery, veiled dictatorship, tyranny of the worst kind, looting, expropriation and the corruption of manners that pave the way for grandscale systemic corruption in the polity. finally, we attempt the analysis of election as a concept. what does this concept entail? the meaning of ‘election’ is denominated majorly within the larger concept of democracy. the process of election is the assurance to the people that though they may not directly participate in political deliberations as modelled in greek democracy, nevertheless they do so by electing those who would directly do so on their behalf. this is the substance of the definition of the concept proffered by abraham lincoln in his famous gettysburg address. the free and fair implementation of the electoral process is the stamp of the people’s relevance in political deliberations in a good functioning system of democracy. the history of the electoral system in nigeria is replete with narratives of its dysfunctional mode, almost all of the time. every transition period is postulated as an experience in future experimentation during which time, it is hoped that the wrongs of the preceding exercises would be righted. nigeria seems not to have learnt lessons from the fractures and dislocations of its failed electoral system simply because the concept is riddled with politician-linguistic equivocations. variously, election means for politicians with different political bearings: a process of selection of whoever they endorse; an opportunity that the whole nation offers to a mere clique of politicians to foist their candidates on the rest of the people; a time of flagrant intimidation and disorderly conduct on other parties and so on. the process of election means its multiplications of meanings except what it is meant to stand for in all fairness in the political system. although the meaning is clear, politician-psychology behind its execution invests it with ultra-political interpretations that impinge on its substantial realization. to wind up this section, analyses of the concepts of the elements of the foundation of the contemporary nigerian political system show that nigeria has not been able to communicate effectively among its citizens what it means by the utilization of certain concepts. opaque concepts have been deployed in the hope that they have been understood. at least, the fundamental concepts are in dire need of disambiguation. what eruka, c. raphael 79 has happened so far is that instead of clearing the hubris, nigeria has chosen to work with them. no scientist would knowingly carry out experiments with faulty equipment and insist on getting the right result. nigeria has been described analogously as people who set out on a journey to unfamiliar terrain without maps (kukkah, 2009, p. 4). meaning, clarifications, truth, the integrity of politician-ethnicization conduct, a sense of the common good, essentialization of the unicity of thought and action in the kantian sense, commitment to a political culture of praxiology and altruism, the conscious attempt at the extirpation of the cult of political egotism – these would have been the maps that would have provided the sure guide in the navigation of the muddy terrain of nigerian politics. ideologico-praxiological analysis tangential to politician-linguism politics operates in the context of ideologies. ideologies play roles in their systems of value contents, contestations and prioritizations. political competitiveness derives from politicians' commitments to ideological systems and their value repositories. at the macro level, this becomes more glaring. global ideological delineations chart the course of globalized politics, for although politicking happens to be the immediate concern, the ideologies that inform them are ever in the background energizing the trajectory of the art, and where convenient, become the vehicle for the propagation of allying ideologies. as shown above, in the case of the politics of nations, ideologies define them, even though, most often, these may not have been as overt as they ought to be. nigerian politics, for instance, does not operate based on constructionist ideologies as praxeological blueprints. no political party in nigeria has clear ideological formulations; what obtains rather, is a hurried ensemble of recycled issues that continue to reoccur in seasons of elections. this appears to be another method in political linguistic rigmarole. politicians believe in nothing save whatever lies hidden in their psyche far removed from the accessibility of the common people. any analysis of ideology in nigerian politics is bound to divulge confusion in meaning. parties exist based on an amalgam of so-called ‘specific focus areas’ whereby such parties diagnose problems and issues that need political intervention and in which the party offers to intervene in the remediation of the problems. ideological politics would imply a division of labour in issue-based interventionism; profoundly thought over and developed over time; the offering of perspectives and alternative modes of approach-cognitions for programs of political action. ideology is not only meant to provide the bedrock for praxis; it is the purely constructionist methodological outlay of the political map; and fundamentally, it is always a paradigm in the political belief system or creed. there is mystical equivalence inherent in an ideology in that it is always believed in and committed to with passion. in nigeria, there is no creedal explication of the political experience that can be said to transcend parochialisms. therefore, ideological politician-linguism and the facts of post-politics: critical reflections 80 communications in party structures are exercises in the politician-linguistic impasse. this at last is to the advantage of politicians who by this development feel free to migrate to parties at will: none of them is ever hindered by belief system or serious value affiliation. in what appears to be an emerging phenomenon in nigerian politics, there can be spotted the intrusion of a pseudo-ideology. the problem is that this is bogged down by unusual parochialisms. such can at best see to the deconstruction of the polity. the livestock transformation program remains an example of a pseudo-ideology until it fits into a transformational ideology of genuine political restructuring. the problem here, as in others, is politician-linguism. proper communication is absent. what is said or passed in communication is alien to the intended meaning. until such pseudo-ideologies are simplified in understandable politician-linguism, they may never serve the people. rather, there could continue to obtain through their implementation social disequilibrium and political instability. we have seen that the epicentric conceptual elements of politics are deadlocked in linguistic non-circumscription. what then do we expect in the decentralized conceptual interpretations at the individual level of the politician’s world of being? how does the politician fare at the grassroots? the final consumers of politician wares are the people, who we are told, own the government in a democratic setting. the answer is simple: the mis-conceptualizations that define the foundations tend to pigeonhole and shape the mind of the politician found at the last rung at the bottom of the ladder. a system cannot cause to be that which is not contained or in any way related to its constitutive elements. the epicentricity of political impulse can at best get its elements diversified in the fields of political action. praxis issues from the ideology of existing order. what obtains at the base is the existence of this wider field of confusion. politician-linguism, that is, what the politician communicates to the people stands apart as mere communication without soul. to revisit ockhamism, mere words! the true psyche of the politician is not there in that communication. there is the dichotomy of words and action: ‘ideology’ and ‘praxis’. words sway: politicians have all become experts in demagoguery. the masses get hoodwinked onto politician-linguism. blocs are formed and the wheel of the political machine continues to be oiled. the result is continuous motion without movement: promises not kept, infrastructures not built, security not provided, improvement in economic conditions not met, political equity not attained, disruption of the educational process, enthronement of the culture of corruption, deliberate orchestration of impunity. asiegbu revisited some of the above in his discourse on the crisis of governance in nigeria (asiegbu, 2022, pp. 19 – 22). eruka, c. raphael 81 in the construction of the political community especially by western theorists, the end has always tended towards praxiology. western theorizations on the best of political community for the people can be summed up in intellectual and humanizing valuecentripetalism: the proffering of insight for value-applications for human good garnered from the political standpoint. it is to impact people positively after all: to create order, ensure security, realization of the potentials of the citizenry, enthrone peace, advance development, creation of higher values or at least the maintenance of existing humanizing ones and so on. if in the case of nigeria, the citizenry has witnessed a downturn in dividends, dispensations on end, how far have we gone? we have perhaps moved backwards instead. this calls for what else in the face of all this? the next section is an effort to provide an answer to this question. recommendations we have so far established the ideological disconnect between politician-linguism and praxis. the people can contribute to achieving a unicity of ideological purpose in the face of this problem. to this extent, politician-linguism should be held to account. again, the monetization of politics has contributed to the linguistic problems presently. the insatiable quest for monetary gains through politics is problematic to its success: man is an insatiable being (aristotle, politics, 2001, p. 1160: bk.ii: ch. 71267b). all problems arise from this. therefore, this extremist monetary valuation needs moderation for the good of the citizens (plato: the republic, 1991, p. 308). with the over-monetization conundrum, nigeria may find it difficult to extricate herself from the stranglehold of corruption and related bizarre practices. it is also about demanding the following from concerned politicians. i. in the course of campaigns for political offices, politicians should be made to back up their promises with legally worded documents showing that all that has been promised would be accomplished and where not possible, the people would see and be convinced in themselves that the fault was not theirs. the penalty should be spelt out in the document for the defaulting politician which would include imprisonment of not less than twenty-five years. this document needs to be signed by the one seeking political office and left with the people. ii. officials of the regulatory electoral body who swindle voters of their votes in favour of the undeserving politician at any stage of the process or are found to be complicit in political fraud should face the same penalty as above, presupposing that such document has been signed before appointment to such positions. iii. politicians that have once misled the people for the sake of personal gains or corrupt sharp practices should be banned from seeking elective offices for life. politician-linguism and the facts of post-politics: critical reflections 82 iv. defaulting politicians should be banned from holding political offices even if not elective. v. the extreme monetary influence in art needs to be checked. in this regard, the emolument of politicians should be made to be not more than 25% higher than that of the permanent secretaries in federal establishments; this to include allowances. this way people of proven character may find interest in political participation at higher levels for the sake of service. their reward would have to be in carving a niche for themselves morally, and may also be rewarded by honours at the end of their service if need be, and indeed materially as deemed fit. vi. orientation of the high-profile politicians in office at various stages should include visits to the nation’s correctional centers and big mortuaries. vii. on the other hand, politics can be made part-time engagement. politics need not be permitted to seem like a profession in its own right; even when the art is open to all. viii. rotation of positions at the centre would help checkmate the careless imposition of pseudo-ideological contraptions that torpedo the polity. this rotational process should be studied for replication at the sub-national levels. ix. the nation’s capital should be rotated to each of the regions every half a century till the process is completed whereby it returns permanently to an agreed central location. this is to facilitate development and make the people feel a first-hand closeness to the central government. x. robust debate on issues should be enshrined as a necessary political culture for purposes of conceptual simplifications and accurate understanding before the spirited effort to proceed with implementation. xi. when high-profile political officials visit, the roads they have refused to fix need not be made to undergo cosmetic maintenance. conclusion politician-linguism tends to conceal the true motives of politicians through conceptual maneuvring. this is a problem that needs diagnosing and remedying. it is the mischief in communication. the gulf in ideology and praxis that exists between rulers and the ruled can be located in politician-linguism. if years of politicking especially within the democratic system have not ushered in the progress that has been envisaged, politicianlinguism may have to be interrogated in the role it has played. the intersection of socio-political discourse and the praxis of politics occasioned in this paper tend to highlight the need for the politician-psyche to be in harmonious collaboration with corresponding linguistic value creation and their realization. this calls for the pre-conditioning of political art to the full apprehension of the need to respect eruka, c. raphael 83 concepts and their deployment in the field of practice. this transcends the mere grasp of socio-political theorizations. of paramount importance is the awareness of political psychology that needs to connect the psyche and the whole person to the sacrosanctity of forms of meta-linguistic cleavage. until this is taken seriously, politics would remain exercises in pundits and demagoguery, electorate dribbling, conceptual fault lines and the inability to lift the people and enable them to transcend social, economic and political problems. references aristotle: the basic works of aristotle, ed. by mckeon, richards (2001): the modern library arua, kevin c (2009) ten years of the hypocrisy of democracy in nigeria, in, chiegboka, a b c; nwadigwe, c e & umezinwa, e c, ed: the humanities and nigeria’s democratic experience: rex charles & patrick ltd., booksmith house composta, dario (2008) history of ancient philosophy; urbaniana university press & theological publications, india copleston, frederick (2003) a history of philosophy: late medieval and renaissance philosophy: continuum kukkah, matthew hassan (2009) ten years of democracy in nigeria, in, chiegboka, a b c; nwadigwe, c e & umezinwa, e c, ed: the humanities and nigeria’s democratic experience: rex charles & patrick ltd., booksmith house kuusela, oskari (2011) key terms in ethics: continuum njoku, francis o c (2019) introduction to social and political philosophy: university of nigeria press ltd. nwoko, matthew i (1988) basic world political theories: ancient – contemporary): claretian institute of philosophy nisbet, robert (1983) the social philosophers: community and conflict in western thought. washington square press omoregbe, joseph i (2007) socio-political philosophy and international relations: a systematic and historical study, vol. one: a systematic study: joja educational research and publishers limited. plato (1991) the republic: complete & unabridged: jowett translation. vintage classics, a division of random house, inc popkin, richard h. & stroll, avrum (1993) no nonsense knowledge: philosophy made simple: a complete guide to the world’s most important thinkers and theories, second edition. broadway books stumpf, samuel enoch & fieser, james (2003) socrates to sartre and beyond: a history of philosophy, seventh edition. mcgraw hill uduigwomen, andrew f & ozumba, godfrey o (2000) a concise introduction to philosophy & logic, second edition: centaur publishers udoidem, iniobong i (2004) understanding nigeria’s political grammar, in, philosophy and praxis in africa, ed. by asiegbu, martin f & agbakoba, joseph a: hope publications asiegbu, martin f (2022) crisis of governance and incapacity of the nigerian state: implications for sustainable development, in, oracle of wisdom journal of philosophy and public affairs; 6 (2) 2022: department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university. politician-linguism and the facts of post-politics: critical reflections 84 kazeem, fayemi a (2006) the tragedy of pseudo-democracy and social disorder in contemporary african, vol. 1: any philosophical rescue?, in, philosophy and africa, ed. by ike odimegwu: lumos nig ltd igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 49 christianity and crime in onitsha, anambra state a historical appraisal of the effort of the church in curtailing the surge of crime nnatuanya chinedu emmanuel department of religion & human relations nnamdi azikiwe university, awka doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.18277.47848 abstracts the act of crime is a universal phenomenon and it does no one any good. this study will look at this ugly thread in the present onitsha in anambra state, nigeria to find out the role the church has to play to curtail the increase. the aim was to propose possible measures churches need to put in place to reduce the rising tide of crime. during the course of this study, primary and secondary sources were employed. the study observed that crime in recent time in onitsha is necessitated by the increase in unemployment rate among the youths which increased as a result of the covid -19 pandemic, the insecurity in northern nigeria which has put firearms in wrong hands, corruption and lack of democratic dividend, injustice and marginalization among others. in the midst of these scenarios, the church as an institution within the society has to take proactive measures among her members through proper sensitization, education, and different welfare programmes that will help people to gain skills and opportunities that will make them earn a meaningful living. keywords: christianity, crime, onitsha, anambra state, church introduction the global community is passing through hard times as a result of covid – 19 pandemic which has paralyzed different sectors of the economy thereby causing many people to loose their employment at an alarming rate. this has caused unwarranted hardship on the global society and as a result the world economy is suffering in an unprecedented manner that made it difficult for government of many nations to carry out their responsibility effectively. nigeria is not left out rather; the nation is seriously affected by this pandemic in a manner that shows that the government is not well prepared to handle the effects on the economy. it is important to note that prior to the emergence of covid-19, nigeria has her own security challenges which is threatening her as a nation. the challenges includes but not limited to the menace of boko haram, and fulani herdsmen which is causing havoc mostly in the north east of the country. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 50 however, in recent times the security challenges has spilled over to the entire nation in such a manner that indicates that there is no safe haven even the presidential villa known as aso rock as seen in the robbery attempt that took place on 9th may , 2021. elaborating further, agbakwuru (2021) maintains “armed men suspected to be robbers invaded the residences of two senior aides to president muhammadu buhari inside the precinct of the presidential villa, administration officials and security sources have told peoples gazette, raising fears that the rising insecurity across the country was drawing closer to the elite than previously estimated. it went on to say that “their houses were robbed and the robbers packed money and other valuable assets from both houses,”. in these ugly scenario, where lies the hope of the common man? on this note, this study observes that onitsha as a commercial city is not left out as seen in the recent increase in crime. onitsha has witnessed a rigorous security threat and challenges emanating from the attacks on security formations that have led to the death of many security personnel and individuals. the situation is worsening on daily basis. in the midst of this prevailing ugly incident, the church as an institution has a responsibility of taking the bull by the horn so as to salvage the society from utterly destruction. in essence, the church is expected to take proactive and holistic measures to make sure that issues at stake are addressed for the good of the common man and the society at large. understanding the concept “crime” crime can be defined as any offense which violates the law of state and is disapproved by the society. in essence, it is seen as acts or omissions forbidden by law which the form of punishment is described by the law. it involves but not limited to murder, robbery, burglary, rape, drunken driving, child neglect and failure to pay taxes among others. according to thotakura (2011) the term crime is derived from the latin word “crimen” meaning offence and also a wrong-doer. crime is considered as an anti-social behaviour. for him, each society defines crime in a different perspective. ingredients of crime for any act of crime to be, the following four ingredients are needed: there must be an individual one of the most important ingredients for commission of a crime is an individual who has intent and is ever ready to commit a act. this act in question is contrary to the laws of the society where he igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 51 or she whats to perform the said act. so, without a person or an individual, there will be no crime for animals or non-living thing lacks the capacity to commit a crime because of their lack of freewill. but human beings are created with the ability to make a choice and this made it possible for them to be the first ingredient needed for a crime to take place. there must be a guilty mind: this is called “mens rea” in latin which implies having a criminal intention to do something that is wrong. this intention is not seen or known until it is communicated to another person through words or actions. there must be a guilty act: this is known as ‘actus rea’ in latin: this implies that an act was a result of voluntary action which violates the laws of the society. there must be an injury or hurt: this implies that the act accomplished resulted to an an injury or hurt which is physical, mental or monetary which violates a law of state. onitsha as a commercial city in a brief: the city of onitsha is one of the major economic hub of the eastern states of nigeria and it is located on the eastern bank of the river niger. its major sources of strength lies in commerce, industry and education and this is as a result of its reception of the church missionary society (cms) missionary endeavours in 1857. this act of welcome to the gospel of jesus christ transformed the city into the commercial hub of the west african states. no wonder that the city today host the two major renowned cathedrals in the eastern part of the country the all saints’ cathedral of the anglican church and basilica of the most holy trinity of the roman catholic church. there are many other pentecostal churches across the city. for easy delineation, this work will limit its scope on onistha south local government, area of the city with emphasis on the data received from fegge divisonal police headquarters. statistics of crimes in onitsha south l.g.a january – june 2020 4 cases of armed robery reported while 10 suspect arrested july 2020 2 cases reported while one person arrested igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 52 august 2020 4 cases reported while 6 persons arrested september 2020 2 cases of armed robbery reported while 5 persons arrested october 2020 one case reported while two arrest were made november 2020 3 cases reported while six persons arrested december 2020 one case reported while 3 suspect arrested 2021 january 2021 one case reported no arrest was made february 2021 5 cases reported while 4 arrest were made april 2021 one case reported while one arrest made (source from police monthly returns from fegge divisional headquarters) this is documented records of known crime in onitsha with emphasis on onitsha south local government area from 2020 – april 2021 with emphasis on armed robbery incidents; however, through interview and interactions there were many other unrecorded cases like bag/ phone snatching, minor stealing which is increasing on daily basis since the last “end sars” protest in october 2020 which forced the police out of the street, among numerous other acts of crime. in the month of may, fear has engulf the inhabitants of onitsha as a result of frequent armed robbery attacks which has caused the people to be united in their resolve to secure their habitation and businesses and as a result mob actions and killings of robbers were introduced. within the month of may, 2021 about ten criminals were burnt to death around, upper iweka, and nkpor axis. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 53 possible causes of crime in onitsha: crime, especially violent ones in nigeria can be traceable to the period from 1967 to 1970 after the civil war in nigeria when arms and ammunitions became widely available in the country. these weapons used during the nigerian civil war got into the hands of some civilians and ex-military men – most of whom lost their job during the civil war, and they started using the arms for criminal activities such as armed robbery and fighting communal crises. the pattern and trend of crime assumed dangerous dimensions during the prolonged years of military rule when small and light weapon (salw) begins to infiltrate into the hands of many nigerians for self-defense. some weapons got into the hands of unemployed youths who used them for criminal activities. the rising crime rate or the increase in criminal acts prevalent in our society today is a symptom of a much more serious, deeply rooted problem of which studies have associated it to the rising youth unemployment resulting from bad governance. the government has been too corrupt; the citizens have become desperately and hopelessly poor day by day. on this note, it is a widely accepted fact that no individual is born a criminal rather it is the situations and the conditions around the person that makes one act in a way that is contrary to the law of the land. in view of this there are different possible causes of crime in recent times which may include but not limited to social, economic, psychological, and political factors. however, in the course of this study, the followings were seen as the factors that necessitated increase in unrecorded crime in onitsha. increase on unemployment: the rate in which unemployment increased in present nigeria society is alarming. many graduates and post graduates students are rooming around the street without having meaningful thing to do to earn a living while others lost their job as a result of the economic meltdown caused by covid-19 pandemic. for instance, unemployment data released by the national bureau of statistics (nbs) indicates that nigeria's unemployment situation has worsened between q3 2018 and q2 2020. nigeria's unemployment rate rose from 23.1% in q3 2018 to 27.1% in q2 2020. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 54 it should be noted that 2,736,076 persons or 3.4% of the local labour force were kicked out of jobs during the period but such individuals may have had workplaces to return to after the coronavirus lockdown. source: proshare research, nbs before the release of nbs's report, foreign and local analysts had predicted that nigeria's unemployment rate would balloon to about 35% given the slow growth of the economy (gdp growth was 1.87% in q1 2020 as against 2.1% in q1 2019), the looming recession, and the adverse effect of the coronavirus which ate deep into the healthcare system and the nation's treasury. although the unemployment rate announced by nbs for q2 2020 was 27.1%, analysts fear that the number may not be a true reflection of the employment challenge in the country because from findings there are many unemployed youths who are doing nothing and finding it difficult to let ends meet. in this midst of such unending hardship without any hope in sight, youths are being forced to take up arms thereby increasing the rate of crime. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 55 high costs of food item: there are several factors that cause high cost of food item. these factors include supply and demand, weather, disease outbreaks, war, and natural disasters. in nigeria case, these factors played significant roles, however; the most important cause is the high oil prices in the international market. it is quite difficult to believe that nigeria cannot refine her own oil to meet the demand of her citizen rather importation of refined oil placed high burden on the naira due to the high exchange rate of naira to dollar thereby causing high increase on the market. for udegbunam (2020) prices of food items have skyrocketed by as much as 30 per cent in many parts of nigeria in the last one year. this increase is largely caused by border closures, covid-19 containment measures, and insecurity; other causes, are flooding during the wet season, poor storage facilities, and rising demand. these factors have meant limited availability of food items plus rising demand, leading to rise in prices. on the insecurity factor, the frequent rising in fulani herdsmen versus farmers crises has caused farmers to quit their farm for fear of being murdered and as a result causing scarcity in the market. constant government policies of increasing fuel and electricity tariff price: the pppra announced a reduction in ex-depot price to n113/litre and official pump price to n125/litre. between june and november 2020, the price of petrol was revised four times, rising from n121.50 to “n123.50 per litre in june to n140.80 n143.80 in july, n148-n150 in august, n158-n162 in september, and n165-n170 in november. now the nigerian governor’s forum is proposing for the sum of n385 naira for a litre of fuel. if such is turned to reality, what do you think the average citizen will do? how will he cope with the effect on food prices, transportation because any increase in petroleum product in nigeria creates chain reaction in all the commodity in the market. this becomes a great challenge considering the volatile nature of our economy. with such becoming a reality, many able bodied men and women may find it difficult to let ends meet and by implication, loss of jobs and means of livelihood will give birth to restlessness in the society. harsh government policies: it has become a custom in nigeria that most of government policies are antipeople. for instance, the increase in national minimum wage is a welcome development but it is quite unfortunate that immediately after the increment, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 56 fuel price, electric tariff, vat and many other things were all increased. the recent ban of twitter in nigeria is also another issue that will affect millions on jobs that directly and indirectly depended on twitter. the question remain, will the citizens especially the youths fold their hands while being the victim of these policies? it becomes a burden and a difficult issue. in anambra state, the ban on motorcycle operators on major cities of awka and onitsha without immediate policy to help those who might be affected is great factor. this is because immediately after the ban, unnecessary robbery and one chance incident increased drastically in onitsha. constant strikes: the rate in which various unions embark on strike action as a result of government inability to abide or perform their own part of agreement with labour unions has triggered many unnecessary strike actions that kept youths lazy at home. let’s look at the last strike action by asuu that lasted for almost a year and the consider what millions of students involved will be doing at home. even the present asup strike actions by the polytechnic lecturer have left many students at home thereby creating room for various unrest and avenues for crime. the role of the church the fundamental purpose of any religion is to make the believer as pious, upright and proper as possible. this why ubrurhe (2000), maintains that religion helps to curb crime because it patterns man’s behavior in agreement with the societal norms and values which promotes societal stability and enhance human development. in the same vein, religion inculcates justice, truth, equity, sanctity of life into its adherents which helps to fight against crime of all sorts and promote human development. in this way, the idea of a church as a religious institution reaching out to have a positive influence in the community is as old as most of the organizations themselves. historically, post-constantine churches spent great sums on the work of ransoming captives. and as a result of this concern, scott (1987) states that st ambrose proposed selling the precious vessels on the altars of his church in milan to ensure that. he declared: there is one incentive which must impel us all to charity; it is pity for the misery of our neighbors and the desire to alleviate it, with all the means that lie in our power, and more besides. (p.208). while boesak igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 57 singles out the belhar confession (1986) in this respect where it states: in a world filled with injustice and enmity god in a special way is the god of the destitute, the poor and the wronged … that the church as god's possession is called to stand where god stands, namely against injustice and with the wronged (p. 3). boesak (2005) points out that this confession helps us to, firstly, stand up (and be counted) for the poor and the destitute, and secondly, to stand where god stands. not just in front of, in protection, but alongside, in solidarity of struggle. not in mere sympathy but in identification with. the church must do that not because it is obsessed with the poor, but as the possession of god, in whom its grounds of being, its identity is found. in consideration of the above, goldsmith (1997) points out that political leaders and criminal justice officials have increasingly recognized that government alone is limited in its ability to effectively address serious social and cultural problems such as crime. one manifestation of this recognition is the call to “reinvent government.” in view of this, osborne and gaebler (1992) are well known for their urging that government act as a “catalyst” in energizing local resources and as a partner in finding “community owned” solutions to local problems. this is why in contemporary times; the church has played a prominent role in the society, especially with regard to poverty and crime reduction. like jesus christ who identified and cared for the poor, and needy, the church strives to free all humans from hunger, misery, oppression, ignorance, institutionalized injustice and hatred which are rooted in humans’ selfishness (achunike 2004:131). the church’s option for the poor is part of its vocation in the world. in the words of oborji (2012): the church’s care of the poor is not a mere social service which others would as well do, but it is rooted on the very nature of the church in continuing the redeeming work of christ of bringing integral salvation to men and women. it is founded on the divine command of love of neighbour. (p. 169). through the teaching ministry of the church, christians are to live exemplary lives, committed to good works and helping others. the church has more to do to help minimize the increasing wave of crime in the society and the church in onitsha through their numerous empowerment programmes are doing much to ensure that lives are impacted meaningfully. for instance, during the covid – 19 pandemic and nationwide lockdown, most churches in onitsha were providing palliatives to families to ensure that people igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 58 were not frustrated to engage in crimes. in the light of the above, nwokolo (2020) states: the diocese on the niger was not left out in the provision of needed palliatives to her numerous members. the diocesan also charged all the clergy and workers in charge of diocesan congregations to provide palliatives for their members. this was well done throughout the diocese. added to this, the diocese supported the efforts made by our various congregations by sharing palliatives, which included, bags of rice, tubers of yam, bags of beans, cartons of noddles and some face masks, etc, to more than five thousand families selected from our churches throughout the diocese. so far, the diocese has spent over thirty million naira on palliatives (p.47). in addition to the above, many school leavers and unemployed youths are being engaged in many skill development programmes like catering services, computer training and engineering services, tailoring, and many other in their various vocational institutes established for the sole purpose of the equipping youths for meaningful life in the society. most of these youths are sponsored by their local churches while others were given scholarship to ensure that the most vulnerable and neglected are touched. for the onitsha archdiocese of the roman catholic church, there is a close link between mission and charity; hence, the mission of the church must be geared towards solving of the need of the people and society at large. it will be recalled that the huge success recorded by our founding fathers in the faith is not unconnected with the charity and love with which they evangelized our people. the synod holds that this must be practiced even with greater favour now. urban parishes need to help parishes in rural areas. the synod is aware that this practice was mandated years ago. parishes concerned are encouraged to devote more effort to it now. the mission effort must be renewed and re-energized given the present day faith situation and challenges. in general pastoral charity needs to be extended to all catholics at large. often it appears that we do not care enough for our own people especially when they get challenged health wise or even economically. there is urgent need to create and empower basic christian communities for interactions among members. the poor and aged in the archdiocese need to be taken good care of. those challenged economically can go for loans from oluchukwu micro-finance bank to help them get back on track. every parish is to have a body to look into the welfare of the poor, the sick igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 59 and the old. (pastoral issues retrieved from https://www.onitshaarchdiocese.org/church-news/2nd-synod-messages/132-part-one-pastoral-issues) conclusion this work has shown that the christian church has always been involved in the transformation of society, especially as it took sides with the poor, and the oppressed so as to reduce the rate of social vices like crime. though in recent time, it seems the church may have lost this focus, but somehow, throughout the ages, it has managed to sustain this mission responsibility. today, more than ever, given the increasing poverty, violence, injustices and high crime rate in the world, the christian church is called upon to embrace, engage and continue with its task of being an agent for transformation and change. it has to fulfill the gospel imperative of making the world a better place for all to live with justice, peace and harmony. and to achieve this, the church in onitsha has engaged many youths, the old and the unemployed through her various skill acquisitions, sensitization, scholarship, and empowerment programmes thereby reducing the rate of crime. looking at the above, one could deduce that the church has the mind, and the will to ensure that her impart is felt in the society in very progressive manner that will enhance the well-being of the humanity. references achunike, h.c (2004). ‘developing the nigerian nation through justice development and peace commission of the catholic church’, in m.i. okwueze (ed.), religion and societal development, pp. 131–141, lagos, merit. agbakwuru j. (2021). burglars storm buhari’s chief of staff aso rock residence in vanguard newspaper dated tuesday 10th may, 2021 retrieved from read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2021/05/burglars-storm-buharischief-of-staff-aso-rock-residence/ boesak, a. (2005). the tenderness of conscience african renaissance and the spirituality of politics. stellenbosch, sun. goldsmith, s. (1997). the twenty-first century city: resurrecting urban america. washington, dc: regnery oborji, f. (2012). the church and practice of charity to the poor: a missiological approach’, in u.j. njoku & s.o. anyanwu (eds.), in the service of charity and truth. essay in honour of lucius ugorji, pp.169– 202, internationaler verlag der wissenschaften, peterlang. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 60 osborne, t. & gaebler, d. (1992). reinventing government: how the entrepreneurial spirit is transforming the public sector. reading, ma: addison-wesley scott, w. (1987). 'mercy and social transformation', in v. samuel & c. sugden (eds.), the church in response to human need, p. 208ff., eerdmans, mi. thotakura, s. (2011). crime: a conceptual understanding. available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270238380_crime_a_conce ptual_understanding (accessed may 12 2021). ubrurhe, j.o. (2000). nigerian people and culture. warri: foresight udegbunam, o. (2020). why prices of food items have increased in nigeria. premium newspaper november 28th, 2020. retrieved from https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/428471-why-prices-offood-items-have-increased-in-nigeria.html pastoral issues retrieved from https://www.onitshaarchdiocese.org/church-news/2nd-synod-messages/132-part-onepastoral-issues microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.1 no. 2 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 113 sexuality and intimacy in christian marital life : a pastoral –psycho-theological approach by mary anne monye, osf catholic institute of west africa (ciwa), port harcourt, nigeria bridgmony@yahoo.co.uk abstract sexuality is not just a power a man/woman has but rather the incarnate mode of expression as male or female who is a person. the paper examines the meaning of such terms as sexuality, sexuality in roman catholicism, premarital sexuality, sexual intercourse and intimacy, intimacy between pastoral care giver and parishioners/client, intimacy as a source of strength in marital life, ingredients for achieving intimacy in christian marital life, marital life as a religious process, and sexual maturity in christian marital life. the goal of the paper is to provide an understanding of the pastoral-psycho-theological dynamics of intimacy that can help in illuminating the personal and religious meaning of christian marital life. the paper ends with a conclusion and recommendations. keywords: sexuality, intimacy, christian, marital life, pastoral, psychotheological introduction in our contemporary society, several people see sexual intimacy as an exciting form of recreation, and thus totally push the church’s teaching on spousal significance of genital sexual behaviour as outmoded. they forget or ignore the sense of being used, the trauma of unexpected pregnancies which are sometimes followed by abortion. this idea is buttressed by several authors who from time immemorial contended that it is only in marital situation that marital sexual intimacy can take place. irrespective of how one may view it, personally gratifying genital sexual intimacy outside the context of marital life is objectively morally wrong and should not be encouraged in any form. clarification of terms igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 114 sexuality sexuality is an enduring aspect of individual’s life, it is not simply romance. as a resource of the personality, sexuality contributes empathy, energy and warmth to the wide variety of ways individuals have of being with all other people. sexuality is not just for the youth. no! studies of adult development and aging brings to mind that sexual interest and sexual experience continue into the mature years as an important part of a good number of the elderly individuals. besides, sexuality is not simple. as far as nigerians’ are concerned, and perhaps, african culture, it stands as a puzzle, a perennial question of personal life and problematic issue as far as social experience is concerned. the aim of this study is to discuss the multifaceted issue, sexuality in relation to a larger psychological category -that of intimacy. the goal here is to provide an understanding of the psychological dynamics of intimacy that can help in illuminating the personal and religious/theological meaning of marital life. it is our ardent hope that this understanding will serve as a working knowledge, as information that can influence attitudes and shape individual’s behaviour. sexuality is not just a power a man/woman has, but rather the incarnate mode of expression, as male or female, of who s/he is as an individual. in 1975, the sacred congregation for the doctrine of faith published a “declaration on certain questions concerning sexual ethics” (persona humana) which talked to the ethical issues surrounding premarital sexual activity. the document clearly prefaces its presentation by stating that sexuality is “one of the factors which give each individual’s life the principal traits that distinguishes it. in fact, it is from sex that man/woman receives the characteristics which, on the biological, psychological and spiritual levels, make that person a man or woman, and thereby largely condition his or her progress towards maturity and insertion into society.319 sexuality includes, but it is not limited to, genital expressions and procreative capacities. broadly speaking, it is man/woman’s way of being in the world as male or female individuals, including different experiences and understandings of sex roles, sexual affectional-orientations, perceptions of one’s own 319 sacred congregation for the doctrine of faith, declaration on certain questions concerning sexual ethics, december 29, 1975(washington d.c. : usg publications, 1977)no.1,3. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 115 embodiedness and that of other people and capacity for sensuousness, emotional depth and interpersonal intimacy. christian ethics, pastoral theology of sexuality attempts to interpret the meaning and expressions of sexuality in the light of the bible, christian tradition and contemporary thought. besides, it is also important to understand the ways in which the sexual experience and perceptions of christians give shape to their understanding of scripture, tradition and the present life of faith. sexuality in roman catholicism all through the centuries, roman catholic theology has been ambivalent about sexuality. despite the fact that sexuality was viewed as good because god was its source and anything created by him cannot be bad. it was also typically seen as both inferior to the life of the spirit and as a primary field or arena for individual’s sin. right from christian history, two alienating sexual dualisms have been present. one of this is in protestant life while the other is in roman catholic. the first is spiritualistic or hellenistic dualism. it is called so because it reflects the body-spirit split that pervaded greek thought at the commencement of the christian era. the other is sexist or patriarchal dualism which marked jewish culture and of which christians are inheritors. the two dualisms intertwined as men/women assumed that the superior aspects (spirit and male) were intended to discipline and govern the inferior (body and female). traditionally, catholic teaching saw the natural purpose or end of sexual expression to be procreation and viewed sexual ethics as governed by natural law, knowable through reason.320 while the “unitive” or relational purpose of sexuality was recognised, it was considered secondary to procreation (the latter including not only the producing of offspring but also their nature). on this natural law basis, it was possible to derive clear moral/pastoral judgments about different sexual acts. if procreation was the natural purpose of sexual expression, then masturbation, homosexual intercourse, bestiality, and artificial birth control which are all non-procreative violated the natural order. despite the fact that heterosexual, incest, rape, fornication and adultery did not violate the procreative possibility, they were judged sinful because they denied the nature of offspring. 320 hunter rodney, j. (ed.) , dictionary of pastoral care and counselling(bangalore: theological publications, 2005)1154. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 116 in recent years, this traditional view has been criticized by some roman catholic moral/pastoral theologians on a variety of accounts: its static, non historical view of man/woman’s nature; its judgments of sexual morality based upon the physical contours of acts rather than upon their relational meanings to individuals; its legalistic and sex-negative tendencies; and its disproportionate focus upon genital sexuality. a change from traditional view point received some ecclesiastical endorsement with the second vatican council and its document, the church in the modern world, in which the unitive, relational meanings of sexuality were given equal standing with the procreative. this notwithstanding, a number of americans catholic theologians have pressed the analysis of sexuality further into the centrality of the relational wholeness of man/woman, the vatican’s recent pronouncements have tended to retreat from the council’s statement back toward an emphasis upon procreative primacy.321 however, changes in catholic theological thought still continues. they can even be seen especially in attitudes toward homosexuality and status of women. a good number of catholic theologians now refuse to label homosexual acts as intrinsically evil. while such acts are viewed as “essentially imperfect” compared to the heterosexual ideal, they are to be evaluated on the basis of the meanings and moral responsibility of the specific relationship. it should be noted that the official view of the roman catholic maintains that homosexual acts are essentially disordered, against the general law, and contrary to scripture. consequently, it can never be approved by any right thinking man/woman. to help us understand the area of our discussion, it will be good to explain such issues as extramarital sexuality, sexual intercourse and intimacies. premarital sexuality the christian tradition/story disclosed the spousal significance of the body, as could be seen in books of genesis as god’s plan “from the beginning.” hence, we read:”that is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them becomes one body” (genesis 2:24). the total giving of a person to another is expressed through the genital act. genital union is not just 321 gustave thils, christian joy and holiness(allahabad, 1988) 167. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 117 the momentary sharing of mutual passion and pleasure. it points to transcendent goals and values that go beyond the individuals involved, including the possibility of procreation. the genital act, as a personal expression of an individual’s self-hood, requires a lifetime commitment. consequently, the vatican declaration confirms that “experience teaches us that love must find its safeguard in the stability of marital life, if sexual intercourse is truly to respond to the requirements of its own finality and to those of human dignity.322 nowadays, the argument is heard that premarital sex is morally justifiable in cases where a couple are already engaged and truly committed to one another, or where the celebration or marital life is impeded by circumstances. some pastoral and moral theologians would argue that such intimate sharing is not premarital, but rather only pre-ceremonial. this notwithstanding, irrespective of how firm the couple’s intention may be, genital union alone cannot guarantee the fidelity such an act both expresses and requires. the transcendent nature of genital intimacy makes it a social reality, which demands the public commitment of the marital covenant in order to protect the relationship from an individual’s whims and caprices.323 “outside this, ‘definitive commitment of life’ call marital life, however, personally gratifying or well-intended, genital sexual intimacy is objectively morally wrong. relational misunderstandings and break-ups, the senses of being used or betrayed, the trauma of unexpected pregnancies, sometimes followed by abortion, constitute some of the real personal harm that can result from sexual intimacy expressed apart from bonds and fidelity of marital life.”324 in a culture and society where the stress in our contemporary world is on the self and the self’s needs, where young individuals fear commitment, where physical sex is a way of proving one’s emotions and feelings toward another or is considered merely as an exciting form of recreation, the church’s teaching on the spousal significance of genital sexual behaviour is easily pushed aside. 322 sacred congregation for the doctrine of the faiths declaration on certain questions concerning sexual ethics, personae humanae , december 29, 1975) no. 7. 323 ccc, 2390-2391. 324 gerald d. coleman, human sexuality: an all-embracing gift (new york : alba house, 1992)242. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 118 some psychologists such as william f. kraft, maintained that “only a marital situation can offer the proper time and place for healthy genitality to emerge.325 robert n. bellah, however, points to a basic “therapeutic attitude” that pervades the practioners and clients of modern psychotherapy, and resonates much more broadly in the american middle class. “this therapeutic attitude,” he contends, “begins with the self rather than with a set of external obligations… [which], whether they come from religion, parents, or social conventions, can only interfere with the capacity for love and relatedness.”326 in its pure form, it denies all forms of obligation and commitment in relations. only full, open, honest individuals is what matters for personal development and health. thus, “living together” and “open marital life” becomes the norm. here, obviously the contemporary secular story of individual independence and self-realisation crashes head-on with the christian story of a faithful committed love, within which dependence and independence are deeply related. at the time when jovinian made virginity equal to marital life and professed that one cannot exalt the former without debasing the latter, st. augustine327 himself took up the challenge and fixed there the lofty traditional teaching that st. thomas would later take up. the man who enters into marital state, say the doctors, accepts the tribulatio carnis of which the apostle speaks, that is to say, involvement in exterior concerns. besides, in addition, the man’s choice is a good one; there is nothing disordered there, his reason is not surrendered. he follows the law, not of matter, but of the spirit if he accepts the bonds of marital life in view of very pure spiritual ends, which his reason, enlightened by faith, shows him and toward which he will be urged by the divine power of the sacrament of marriage. theology, since the period of st. augustine, calls the spiritual ends the “goods of marital life. the first and foremost of these is the child, on whom depends, in part, the growth of the body of christ here below and the increase of the number 325 william f. kraft, sexual dimensions of the celebrate life(kansas city, kan : andrews and mcmeel, inc., 1979)53 326 robert n. bellah, habits of the heart(new york : doubleday, 1998)98. 327 de bono conjugali, against jovinian, de nuptiis concupiscentia, against the pelagians and the corresponding passages from the retractiones. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 119 of elect’.328 the second is the mutual complement that the common supernaturalised life brings to christian couples. the third good is the real, concrete, visible image-through a state of lifeof the inseparable union between christ and his church; more intimately, it is the image, by a visible society of spouses, of that marvellous love where egoism is unknown, where sacrifice makes the law. finally, the church’s doctors teach that marital life is a remedy for the concupiscence that the original fall unleashed.329 sexual intercourse and intimacy marital life implies first and foremost a series of manifestations of an amorous, sensible and sensual nature. to be truly testimonies of love and affection, of help and protection, of confidence and trust; the right measure of these manifestations depends tremendously on the temperament, the character and age of the two individuals involved. it is impossible to give concrete, predetermined norms in this paper. at one time or the other there could be disorder through lack of use or if these manifestations are not spontaneous, numerous, or meaningful enough, in regard to what either one of the individuals might reasonably expect from the other.330 sexual intercourse within marital life is licit and worthwhile. christ himself referred to it. “some pharisees came to him and to test him they asked, is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause? he answered, ‘have you not read that the one who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female’, and said, ‘for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?’. so they are no longer two, but one flesh. therefore what god has joined together, let no one separate” (matthew 19:3-6); cf also genesis 1:28; 2:24; 1corinthian 7:3-5; 1timothy 2:15; 4:3; hebrew 13:4). the conjugal act is the expression of love between the couple, which is compared to the love between christ and the church. vatican ii asserts on this very point: “the actions within marital life by which the couple are united intimately and chastely are noble and worthy ones. expressed in a manner which is truly 328 charles cardinal journet, theeology of the church (san francisco : ignatius press, 2004)266. 329 charles cardinal, journet, theology of the church, 266. 330 gustave thils, christian holiness(allahabad, 1963)417. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 120 human, these actions signify and promote that mutual self-giving by which spouses enrich each other with a joyful and a thankful will”.331 whenever one partner asks for the conjugal act, the other partner is bound out of justice and love to render it, as long as the petition is reasonable. serious and just. “the husband should give his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. for the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. do not deprive one another except perhaps by agreement for a set time, to devote yourselves to prayer, and then come together again, so that satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self control” (1corinthian 7:3-5). intimacy the word intimate is derived from latin intimus, which means the person or thing that is innermost, most familiar, or internal. in relationship it marks, one most closely associated or acquainted332 the opposite side of the scale, distance, in latin distare, literally means to stand apart from, to be separate. it is utilised to measure increments of both time and space. for the purpose of effective pastoral care and counselling, the pastor does not usually relate as an individual most intimate to the client or parishioner. he/she is also not completely apart. according to the bishops at vatican ii, marital relationship is to be an intimate one.333 intimacy is closeness. it is being dear friends. in marital life, it is being friends, who are always there for one another. the 1917 code of canon law spoke of marital life as the exchange of the permanent and exclusive rights of one’s body for acts of sexual intercourse that were suitable for procreation.334 the spirituality/ingredient required to fulfill that definition was quite minimal: remain married, do not commit adultery, and respond to each other’s “request” for sexual intercourse (or, as the pre-vatican ii moral theology books put it, “render the debt”). 331 pastoral constitution, gaudium et spes, 49, (cf. in ‘ed. abbot) 252 332 m. c. madden, “intimacy and distance” in hunter rodney (ed.) pastoral dictionary of pastoral care and counselling (bangalore: theological publications, 2005)504. 333 pastoral constitution on the church in the modern world) 48. 334 t. lincoln couscaren and adam c. ellis, canon law: a text and commentary (milwaukee: bruce publishing, 1957) canon 1081. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 121 once an individual accepts marital life as a call to a unique type of intimacy with his/her partner, the horizons of individual’s marital spirituality are dramatically expanded. while the demands of the code’s definition can be easily delimited, the challenge to grow in intimacy has no bounds. the pursuit of marital intimacy brings an individual into direct confrontation with man/woman’s sinfulness.335 sin involves alienation from god, from other individuals and from the entire universe. god’s redemptive grace through christ calls men and women to a new union with the divine, and with one another. the person who resists marital intimacy is the same as that which resists personal relationship with god and others. this resistance is rooted in self-centredness, lack of generousity, fear of facing up to truth, and fear of the loss of self. those barriers to intimacy are broken down only by dying to those pockets of darkness and narrowness that reside deep inside individuals and hinder the type of mutual self-communication needed for personal closeness. by dying to these barriers that stand in the way of authentic marital love and by surrendering oneself in faith, hope and love to one’s partner, one also opens oneself up to god and to christ who communicate the gift of their own presence and love through the uniqueness of their marital intimacy. intimacy between pastoral care giver and parishioner /client usually a pastoral care relationship will take place somewhere between the extremes of intimacy and distance, one being close enough to promote sharing but with a reasonable amount of distance to enable the client /parishioner have some space when needed. 1. the need for balance in pastoral care relationship there is a sense in the saying that too much of everything is bad. applied to the situation at hand, it can equally be said that too much intimacy puts the minister in the category of close friendship. extreme intimacy either loses some objectivity, or makes the client feel that objectivity is sacrificed, whether or not this is actually the case. the intimate counsellor is resented for overidentification with the client. the client wants to identify with the pasturing 335 william p. roberts, (ed.) exhilarations of the theology of marriage (mahwah, new jersey: paulist press, 1987)110. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 122 person as a model, not to be made too soon into a model for identification. the distance counsellor or pastor is resented because this creates barriers the part of the client. the pastor who stands too far on the side of objectivity and distance will often fail to get permission to be a meaningful counsellor. 2. factors that influence intimacy and distance the pastoral role will permit an easier intimacy for individuals who have had good relationships to pastors in their own various histories. the role will give distancing to those whose relations to pastors have been negative or unfruitful. distance may be utilised by a client to conceal awkwardness or lack of relational or verbal skills. a psychological factor that creates distance is unresolved childhood pain or grief. these are usually repressed to the degree that the individual seeking counselling /help has little awareness of his/her power or presence. crises in relationships such as marital life can leave the couple with a fear of getting too close, or perhaps the inability to do. intimacy comes easier where there are parallel areas of interest, common goals or common frustration between client and counsellor it should be noted that pastoral counsellor is in the paradoxical position of dealing with the most intimate matters of the clients life without asking to be intimate with the client. it is as though the counsellor is allowed to see into the living and intimate space of the client without actually walking into that space. this privilege of seeing without partaking means that an adequate distance needs to be maintained so that the counsellor can vacate the intimate zones when this is required. this permits/allows the client the knowledge of having been understood without the feeling of having had one’s space violated.336 intimacy as a source of strength in marital life intimacy is a capacity, an ability, an abiding competence of adult maturity.337 it is the strength which enables a person to commit himself/herself not to individuals in general or to idealised movements, but to a particular person in concrete relationship-aware of the limitation and incompleteness that are involved. intimacy resources are drawn upon again in living out these commitments. relations are not static. individuals change and relationships develop over time. some developments will bring fulfilment; others will make demands for 336 h. g. zerof, finding intimacy(london, 1978) 99. 337 patrick chigbogwu, christian life patterns (new york: double-day, 1979)77. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 123 accommodation, for understanding, for tolerance and forgiveness. a well developed capacity for intimacy enables an individual to sustain the adjustments and compromises life with others, without jeopardy to one’s own identity. a flexible identity, an empathetic awareness of others, an openness to continued development of self--these strengths of intimacy make the creative commitment of marital life possible ingredients for achieving intimacy in christian marital life at this juncture, one may ask, concretely, what does achieving such intimacy involve? we shall here concentrate on only a few elements that are essential for intimate relationship between husband and wife. christian religious tradition is rich in a wisdom of generous love. this heritage can provide a sound basis for the un-self-centred devotion that must undergird marital life. however, “right attitudes” are not simply enough to sustain the long-term commitments of marital life. attitudes must be translated into appropriate behaviour. couples must be able to express, in the give and take of marital life, their desires to be close, to share and co-operate. in addition, to the attitudes of intimacy, couples must develop the skills of intimate living. it is possible to “get better” at being married individuals. couples can learn more effective ways to express and to receive the gift of self that is at the centre or core of their intimacy in marital life. interpersonal skills especially important to intimate living are self-disclosure, empathy, and confrontation.338 each involves both an attitude and a set of behaviours. to share oneself with another entails that such a person must be psychologically/pastorally disposed, able to overcome the hesitancy suggested by fear or suspicion or shame. this notwithstanding, once the inhibition is overcome, such a person must be able to share-to disclose himself/herself in a manner that is appropriate for him/her and for their relationship. appropriate self-disclosure can be complicated. however, the individuals involved are not limited to their current level of success. they can become more skillful, learning better means of expressing their needs, ideas, feelings as well as values. 338 greard egan, inter personal living(monterey ca : brooks, cole, 1976)109. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 124 this is equally true of empathy. an essential psychological strength undergirds a person’s ability to stand with another, emotionally and intellectually. however, the basic strength may not be enough. an individual’s capacity for accurate empathy can be enhanced by his/her development of a range of behavioural skills. an accepting posture, attentive listening, and sensitive paraphrasing. each of these can contribute in no small measure to couple’s effective presence to each other. confrontation also makes a critical contribution to intimacy in marital life. confrontation is not limited here to its negative and narrow connotation as interpersonal conflict. an ability to confront involves the psychological strength as well as the special grace of god to give (and receive) emotionally. significant information in a way that leads to self-examination rather than simply to selfdefense. to do this, couples need to be skillful in communicating nonjudgmentally, in dealing with anger in themselves and in other person and offering each other emotional support even in times of disagreement between them.. self-revelation personal unity is built on self-revelation. god brings individuals into communion with the divine by revealing himself to them and by empowering them to respond. christ comes to reveal in human terms who he is for them by revealing himself to them as the one sent by god. individuals are made in the image and likeness of god and marital life for christians is a sign of god’s love, of christ’s love. the intimacy any couple achieve is found on their mutual selfrevelation. this communication of self to the other takes place by being willing to surrender some of one’s protective wideness and take the risk of sharing what is on one’s mind and in one’s heart. by sharing ideas, the couple does not only get to know the deeper side of the other but also learn from one another. couples share feelings so that each can participate more deeply in the lived experience of each other: their joys, sorrows, and depressions, their dreams, hopes and fears, their love and hurts, their satisfaction and disappointments. being close to another is being comfortable in expressing how ‘i, as person feel, knowing that the other will accept me as i am’. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 125 this type of communication demands humility, that is being honest in touch with oneself. individuals must own their convictions as men/women, and admit the way they feel. such communication also requires an inner security that makes taking risk that the other might not understand or might not accept one’s ideas or feelings possible. the revealing of one’s inner faith and prayer life, could be more difficult than sharing ideas and feelings. faith sharing here, refers not just to telling each other about religious dogmas one believes in but to reveal something about the way an individual relates to god. the sharing of prayer is far more than simply reciting prayers together. when a couple pray together spontaneously in their own words and style, each gives the other a glimpse into one’s faith-filled heart and soul. this type of sharing assists in sealing the intimacy experienced in so many of the other moments of marital life. love becoming personally intimate in marital life involves a process whereby the couple evolve from having fallen in love to growing in live.339 falling in love is something that happens to the couple. growing in love takes place as a result of the couple’s willful intent to commit themselves to become increasingly one in mind and heart. it should be borne in mind that while falling in love is effortless, growing in love demands determination, dedication and hard work. to love is to be sensitive to another: to be aware of who the other is; to understand what it is like “to put oneself in the shoes” of the other; to be able to feel with the other. to love is to be responsive to the needs and desires of the other; to be willing to put oneself out in order to help the other grow intellectually, psychologically and spiritually. authentic spousal love brings the couple together in oneness that enhances, rather than negates, the individuality and identity of each. it binds them in an interdependence that leaves each independent. as they grow in love, they belong increasingly to each other, without either owning, possessing or dominating the other. 340 339 christopher c. reilly, making your marriage work: growing in love after falling in love (mystic conn.: twenty-third publications, 1989)6ff. 340 m. scott, the road less travelled (new york: simon and shuster, 1978)110. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 126 biblical basis for sexuality and marital life strange as it may appear, it is difficult for one to assume that individuals in our contemporary society do understand the right/proper definition of “marital life” and “the family”. it is not merely a sad observation on the impact of same-sex activist on our contemporary society; it also portrays how the culture’s memory of the biblical tradition on which it is mainly based is fading sporadically and fast. biblically, what is marital life?, and what is sexuality? sexuality and marital life have been distorted in our contemporary culture due to false religion which produces self-centred, self-gratifying perversion. however, true biblical faith will lead to a proper, fulfilling and other-centred view of sex within marital life which reflects the beauty, sanctity and joy of god. the agents of a revived paganism have their incendiaries laid within the public school curriculum, the medial, the entertainment industry and throughout the corridors of political power and cultural life. adultery, fornication, co-habitation, homosexuality and an ever-expanding list of other perversions are the norm. aborted children are offered as “sacrifices” to the sacred feminine who demands complete emancipation and self-realisation. ’50 shades’ of the pornographic is everywhere marketed, trapping the young people in debilitating addiction. gender identities are multiplied exponentially in homage to any sexual predilection, just as the new sexual sacrament for the re-envisioning of god and individual’s identity. christians are cast as ignorant bigots, or mentally ill resisters of this ‘new’ liberation from moral restraint and persecuted. frequently the terms sexuality and intimacy are utilised interchangeably with sexuality taken to mean genital expression and intimacy functioning as a “polite” synonym. the terms will be utilised more precisely here: genital, sexuality and orgasm are part of the larger experience of sexuality life of adults. this larger category, sexuality, includes individual’s awareness of him/her self as male or female along with his/her experience of affection, emotional attraction as well as physical responsiveness. intimacy as an even larger category in adult experience, refers to various ways in which a person is brought “up close” to other individuals-not just in romance and sexuality, but in friendship, in cooperation and competition, in planning and collaborative efforts, in conflict and negotiation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 127 marital life involves couples with each in all ramifications (every level). they come “up close” to each other as sexual partners, as friends, as colleagues in the day-to-day efforts of marital life. they also experience each other “up close” in the experiences of conflict, completion and compromise that are inevitably and expectably part and parcel of living together. it should be noted that conflict and hostility are not goals of marital life, to be certain. they are indication that couples’ marital life is “on the rocks”. this notwithstanding, conflict is a normal, expectable ingredient in any relationship irrespective of whether it is marital life, friendship or team work – that engages individual’s at the level of their significant values and needs. the challenge is not to do away with all signs of conflict, or worst still, to refuse to admit that conflict comes/arises between couples from time to time. instead, couples can attempt to learn ways to recognise the potential areas of conflict and handle the issues and feelings in manners that strengthen instead of destroying the bonds that exist between them. marital life as a process historically marital life was thought of as a state -“the holy state of matrimony”. in our contemporary world, individuals are conscious of marital life as a process, path pursued, a journey which includes both expected and unexpected events. there is a tremendous transition from ‘i’ toward ‘we’, as two individuals move from the strengths of independent identity toward creating and holding a life-in-common. the challenge here is to create a “we” that is an expression of both “i”, where the identity of each is tested and expanded, but certainly not destroyed. there are new expectations of mutuality today in this “we” of marital life. it is less and less acceptable among women(as, to be sure, among several men) that the “we” of marital life be achieved mainly through the absorption of the wife into her husband’s identity and life-ambition. today, the process of marital life involves the more difficult-and more rewarding effort to create a “we” that bears the stamp of both couples, a “we” that moves beyond each into the larger reality of their life-in-“we” that moves beyond each into the larger reality of their life-in-common. a second transition in today’s marital life is from romantic love to committed love. over the course of history and cultures, several criteria have been utilised to determine who shall marry whom: family background, parents decisions and the advise of matchmakers. the dominant norm of marital life in africa/nigeria igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 128 today is self-selection based on the criteria of romantic love. the process of maturity in marital life requires the movement from the exhilarating but largely passive experience of “falling in love” to the experience of love as a chosen and cultivated commitment. this is the movement from romantic love to the love of mutual devotion, strong enough to sustain commitment through the strain and confusions that are inevitably associated with continuing close contact; that intimacy, the selflessness of joined devotion, which anchors love in mutual commitment”341 marital life as a religious process the religious passage of marital life involves several stages, each with important challenges as well as invitations to intimacy. current efforts in the church to strengthen its pre-cana ministry witness to couple’s or marital growing realisation of importance of this early stage. it should be noted that as soon as two christians become engaged -as they move beyond casual acquaintance and the early experience of dating to genuinely take hold of each other -an important period of growth in intimacy is said to have started. during this stage, significant information about each other -strengths and weakness, hopes and apprehensions -needs to be shared, so as to test the viability of a life together. increasingly pastoral ministry to marital preparation recognise that a ministry of exhortation, urging the partners to love one another, is more effective if it is complemented by a ministry to the skills of intimacy -helping the partners to learn the practical ways in which they can support and challenge one another as they move toward a life-in-common. efforts to recover the historical notion of betrothal -a period of serious but final commitment-may add weight and focus to this crucial stage of growth into marital life. sexual maturity in marital life sexual maturity in marital life is a process through which the couple together learn how to contribute to what is, for them, mutually, satisfying shared sexual experience. in addition, the couple for this mutually satisfying experience can be expected to differ tremendously from couple to couple. in this respect, as in most other criteria of maturity, to be “normal” does not necessarily mean to fit some sort of external criteria of performance. the patterns of a couple’s sexual sharingpatterns of frequency, of time and place, of initiation and response, of affection and ardour, of seriousness and fun -all these take their most important clue 341 erik erikson, insight and responsibility (new york: norton, 1964). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 129 from the couple’s developing sense of what is appropriate or what works for them. sexual maturity in marital life is reached as the couple’s capacity for intimate sexual sharing is developed and stabilised. as erikson clearly puts it, “such experience makes sexuality less obsessive.”342 “before such genital maturity is reached, much of sexual life is the self-seeking, identity-hungry kind; each partner is really trying only to reach himself/herself. or it remains a kind of genital combat in which each tries to defeat the other”.343 the experience of sexual play and orgasm in marital life can contribute to individual’s willingness to risk himself/herself, to let down his/her defenses in the presence of another. consequently, sexual intimacy opens out into a larger psychological resource for intimacy. conclusion and recommendations to conclude, the paper reiterates that marital life is a remedy for the concupiscence that the original fall unleashes, that marital life implies first and foremost a series of manifestations of amorous, sensible and sensual nature. that once an individual accepts marital life as a unique type of intimacy with his/her partner , the horizons of individual’s marital life/spirituality are dramatically expanded. finally, that any resistance in marital intimacy is the same as that which resists personal relationship with god and others. consequently, the following recommendations are proffered: 1 .in times of conflict and confrontation in marital life, a partner should not transfer the intimacy between him/her and the other partner to the pastor/ counsellor. 2. couples should develop the capacity for intimacy that will help them sustain adjustment and compromise life with others without jeopardy to their own identity. 3. couples should pray together and build their life on authentic love which brings couples together in oneness that enhances, rather than negates, the individuality and identity of each person. 4. the sharing of prayer is far more than simply reciting prayers together. couples should, therefore, pray together in their own words and styles in order 342 erikson, identity: youth and crisis (new york: norton, 1968).136. 343 erikson, identity, 137 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 130 to give the other a glimpse into the one’s faith-filled heart and soul thereby sealing the intimacy experienced in various moments of their marital life. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol 9 no.2, 2023 www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/igwebuikejournals.php a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 140 the catholic church on the integrity of the human body and its applications in nigerian contemporary society anthony b. c. chiegboka & damian-mary chukwunenye moneke department of religion and human relations, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.31621.83688 abstract in recent years, the domain of theology of the body has seen an increased interest not only in how the state and the church conceive the integrity of the body and sacredness of human life but also in the relation between divine and human dimensions of the human body. the concept of integrity of the human body cuts across the diverse realms of theology, philosophy, ethical thoughts, and psychology. in other words, it is an interdisciplinary subject. it’s observable that nigerians have not appropriated the sacredness of the human body from a roman catholic perspective. hence the thrust of this research is the awakening of the consciousness of nigerians on the integrity of the human body. the research makes use of oral interviews, survey questionnaires, and both secondary and primary sources of data. physical and electronic modes of data collection are used to build up the arguments and evidence in this research. the collected data are phenomenologically interpreted and inductively applied. this research uncovered some startling realities, dimensions and implications of this area of scholarship often ignored; such as the interconnectedness of the human body, the human life and the human person; and the theological, ethical and ecological implications of abuse of the human body. john paul ii’s theological thoughts gave useful insights and information on the integrity of the body, the sacredness of life, and the dignity of the human person, which are intertwined. the literature review undertaken reveals the intelligent works of some scholars in this area of scholarship, which demonstrate that the area is researchable. nevertheless, the originality of this research remains identifiable in the title, content, methodology, logical presentation of data, and critical analysis of collected data. the study concluded that despite the apparent abuse in all ramifications of the body in contemporary nigerian society a reshaping of the thinking of people in the light of the roman catholic church perspective will contribute to the solution of the problem. keywords: phenomenology, interconnectedness, catholic church anthony b. c. chiegboka & damian-mary chukwunenye moneke 141 introduction god created the human person not just as a corporal sensual being but also as a spiritual being. the human person is therefore a composite of body and soul, corporal and spiritual. both the latter and the former are intertwined and inseparable here on the planet earth. the human person is therefore not a biological specimen. he/she is a self-conscious person, capable of knowing and conforming freely to the demands of his nature. to affirm his existence here on earth, the human person must exist in a body. it is an inalienable right that flows from god himself in the book of genesis. having created everything both living and non-living things, god created a human being in his image and likeness as a living being (gen. 1:26-31). in these verses, it is evident that among all the created things, it is only the human person that god created in his image and likeness. the human person is the only living body that is endowed with the faculty of reason and the soul. the human person exists in the world about his creator and his fellow creatures. therefore, any abuse of the human body in the light of the supra argument is offensive to god. hence excessive and illegitimate bodily pleasure is inappropriate. the body is not to be idolized but should be revered. the human body is therefore undeniably a gift from god (cf. job 1:21). god gives the body and takes it back when he wants. life is given to humans in a physical body. every terrestrial being must necessarily need a material body, which differentiates it from every celestial being. god‖s mystery of earthly life is revealed in the body. it follows that god remains the author and finisher of our human body and existence. he wields the sole authority to either give or take the physical body. hence the human body is therefore necessarily sacred and importantly useful. life is precious, hence the instinct for self-preservation and survival. to preserve bodily life, the integrity of the human body ought to be maintained. no one has the right to annihilate or mutilate his or her body or even that of another person. regrettably, however, some people in nigeria have little or no regard for the body, which explains why they involve themselves in actions that could negate the integrity and the sacredness of the body. the experiential and observable incessant abuse of the body of all sorts, reckless shedding of blood, sexual abuses and other obnoxious acts that undermine the integrity of the body are problems in contemporary nigerian society that trigged this research. one cannot but ask the question, does the body possess spiritual significance beyond its material importance? in other words, are humans authorized by their creator to use their bodies the way it pleases them? barth (1942) avers that the human person is destined to be the covenant partner of god and that this determination characterizes his being as being an encounter with his fellow man. his ordination to be in covenant relation with god has its counterpart in the fact that his humanity, the special mode of his being, is by nature and essence a being in fellow humanity. unfortunately, it appears that nigerian the catholic church on the integrity of the human body and its applications in nigerian contemporary society 142 christians and non-christians alike have not adequately appropriated this theology of the body from a roman catholic perspective. hence, this work seeks to evaluate this problem within the context of nigeria, in the light roman catholic perspective which john paul ii expounded in his theology of the body. this theology of the body seems not to have been adequately explored in african institutions, probably as a result of misconception and misinterpretation of its theological claims. the purpose of this research, therefore, is to examine critically roman catholic church‖s theological thought on the integrity of the human body with special reference to the ‗theology of the body‘ of john paul ii; evaluate her justifications to see if they have any merit when contextualized within the framework of contemporary nigeria, taking cognizance also of the roman catholic‖s conception of human nature and human life. in other words, this research simply uses the roman catholic church‖s position on the integrity of the human body to address the incessant abuse of the human body in contemporary nigeria. then, this research will bring out logically the implications of the integrity of the human body with particular reference to nigerian society and the church in nigeria, from personal reflection. the major concern of this research is not to investigate and discuss all the abuses of the human body, but it concerns itself with violent physical abuses on the body, such as human trafficking, rape, abortion, war, physical attacks and conflicts, corporal punishment, suicide etc., which violate natural laws and denies the victims the right to a happy living. this research is aware that there are other abuses of the body, such as pornography, nudity, tattoo, fornication, transgender etc. this research aims to reshape the erroneous thinking of some nigerians, in a bid to curb, if not eradicate, the mayhem prevalent in contemporary nigerian society and by extension the global community. when this is achieved, the sanctity and integrity of the human body will be prioritized in our society. theoretical framework to argue for the integrity of the human body, which guarantees a happy bodily life, and to push back against arguments promoting the abuse of the human body; natural law theory is very relevant. natural law theory natural law theory proposes that as physical laws of nature exist, so do universal moral laws. these laws disclose themselves to us upon close examination of the world and the nature of humans. aspects of natural law theory date back to plato, who posited the existence of transcendental ‗forms‘ (plato, 1992). particular instances of these forms – anthony b. c. chiegboka & damian-mary chukwunenye moneke 143 such as the good, the true, and the beautiful – are reflected in human life. to ‗see‘ the form of the good (to have a clear idea of it) and incarnate it in one‖s deeds is both a cause and consequence of wisdom. while plato alluded to what we today refer to as ‗natural law,‘ the stoics developed the theory more fully. the stoics claim that the order of the universe is fundamentally rational. human rationality, therefore, is a person‖s innate moral compass. to reason and act rationally is to be in harmony with the universe. violence and vice are consequences of irrationality and not being in harmony with universal laws. there have been several disagreements among scholars over the meaning of natural law (the notion is distinct from that of the law of nature) and its relation to positive law. it was aristotle (384–322 bce) who opined that what was ‗just by nature‘ was not always the same as what was ‗just by law,‘ that there was a natural justice valid everywhere with the same force and ‗not existing by people‖s thinking this or that,‘ and that appeal could be made to it from positive law. however, he drew his examples of natural law primarily from his observation of the greeks in their city-states, who subordinated women to men, slaves to citizens, and ‗barbarians‘ to hellenes. in contrast, the stoics conceived of an entirely egalitarian law of nature in conformity with the logos (reason) inherent in the human mind. roman jurists paid lip service to this notion, which was reflected in the writings of st. paul, who described a law ‗written in the hearts‘ of the gentiles (romans 2:14–15). st. augustine of hippo (354–430) embraced paul‖s notion and developed the idea of man having lived freely under natural law before his fall and subsequent bondage under sin and positive law. in the 12th century, gratian, an italian monk and father of the study of canon law, equated natural law with divine law—that is, with the revealed law of the old and the new testament, in particular the christian version of the golden rule. if natural law is born to the greeks, it comes of age with the roman catholic church. perhaps the most famous of natural law theorists are st. thomas aquinas (1225-1274). according to aquinas‖s theology, natural law is integral to divine providence. ‗eternal law‘ is the overarching law, established by god, which gives the order to the chaos of creation. the portion of eternal law about human beings is, to aquinas, natural law. unlike other natural bodies (earth and animals for instance), humans are not determined by natural law. instead, god has instilled in us our sense of rationality. for this reason, we apprehend and participate in his eternal law if we so choose. like the stoics, then, aquinas thinks that lucid reasoning is how to discern universal moral truth and, by acting following it, fulfil our destinies (stanford encyclopedia of philosophy, 2002). https://www.britannica.com/biography/aristotle https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/justice https://www.britannica.com/topic/thought https://www.britannica.com/topic/stoicism https://www.britannica.com/topic/law-of-nature https://www.britannica.com/topic/logos https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inherent https://www.britannica.com/topic/mind https://www.britannica.com/biography/saint-paul-the-apostle https://www.britannica.com/biography/saint-augustine https://www.britannica.com/topic/idea https://www.britannica.com/biography/gratian-italian-scholar https://www.britannica.com/topic/canon-law https://www.britannica.com/topic/golden-rule the catholic church on the integrity of the human body and its applications in nigerian contemporary society 144 he propounded an influential systematization, maintaining that, though the eternal law of divine reason is unknowable to us in its perfection as it exists in god‖s mind, it is known to us in part not only by revelation but also by the operations of our reason. the law of nature, which is ‗nothing else than the participation of the eternal law in the rational creature,‘ thus comprises those precepts that humankind can formulate—namely, the preservation of one‖s good, the fulfilment of ‗those inclinations which nature has taught to all animals,‘ and the pursuit of the knowledge of god. human law must be the particular application of natural law. on the same subject, other scholastic thinkers, including the franciscan philosophers and the spanish theologian, emphasized divine will instead of divine reason as the source of law. this ‗voluntarism‘ influenced the roman catholic jurisprudence of the counterreformation in the 16th and early 17th centuries, but the thomistic doctrine was later revived and reinforced to become the main philosophical ground for the papal exposition of natural right in the social teaching of pope leo xiii (1810–1903) and his successors. the confidence in appeals to natural law displayed by 17thand 18th-century writers such as locke and the authors of the american declaration of independence evaporated in the early 19th century. the philosophy of immanuel kant (1724–1804), as well as the utilitarianism of jeremy bentham (1748–1832), served to weaken the belief that ‗nature‘ could be the source of moral or legal norms. in the mid-20th century, however, there was a revival of interest in natural law, sparked by the widespread belief that the nazi regime of adolf hitler, which ruled germany from 1933 to 1945, had been essentially lawless, even though it also had been the source of a significant amount of positive law. as in previous centuries, the need to challenge the unjust laws of particular states inspired the desire to invoke rules of right and justice held to be natural rather than merely conventional. however, the 19th century‖s scepticism about invoking nature as a source of moral and legal norms remained powerful, and contemporary writers almost invariably talked of human rights rather than natural rights. this theory is pertinent for the arguments for the integrity of the body and the dignity of the human person because it is the position of the catholic church that when natural laws are violated, god‖s purpose for the human body is not realized but thwarted. hence, the roman catholic church makes reference to natural law in its moral, ethical and social teachings. it should be noted that human laws: civil and ecclesiastical laws are changing and changeable; while divine laws are unchanging and unchangeable. https://www.britannica.com/topic/reason https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/comprises https://www.britannica.com/topic/voluntarism-philosophy https://www.britannica.com/science/jurisprudence https://www.britannica.com/event/counter-reformation https://www.britannica.com/event/counter-reformation https://www.britannica.com/topic/thomism https://www.britannica.com/biography/leo-xiii https://www.britannica.com/topic/declaration-of-independence https://www.britannica.com/biography/immanuel-kant https://www.britannica.com/topic/utilitarianism-philosophy https://www.britannica.com/biography/jeremy-bentham https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/moral https://www.britannica.com/topic/nazi-party https://www.britannica.com/biography/adolf-hitler https://www.britannica.com/place/germany https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/invoke https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/skepticism https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/invoking https://www.britannica.com/topic/human-rights anthony b. c. chiegboka & damian-mary chukwunenye moneke 145 the fundamental right to integrity of bodily life ancient greek philosophers like socrates, plato, and aristotle played key roles in the evolution of human rights in the ancient greek world. in the list of fundamental human rights accepted by the united nations, article three states that ‗everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person‘ (of united nations on the universal declaration of human rights). in the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria with the amendments 2011, it affirms in 33(1) ‗every person has right to life, and no one shall be deprived intentionally of his life, save in execution of the sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offence of which he has been found guilty in nigeria‘. indeed, the human body is not just a thing one can either manipulate or terminate to suit one‖s convenience, whims, and caprices. no one should terminate or bring to expiration his bodily life or that of another person. unlike what we saw in the ancient greek and roman societies, no one has the right to choose bodily life or death, for himself/herself or any other person, not even that of his dependents (slaves, children, or subjects). therefore, the body is not just a thing that carries the soul, but a treasure of irreplaceable and inestimable value. the human body has roles that cannot be possible without them. for instance, sexual intercourse, procreation, affirmation of existence, feelings, etc., cannot be possible without the body. the body gives the human person the possibility to exist, relate and procreate. it is a symbol of existence. the body makes cultural symbols like; language, food, dressing, etc., possible. one can communicate with the body either verbally or with bodily signs. according to bishop godffery onah during the second aquaviva conference (2021), the human language is a symbol which transmits ideas. what makes human language and speech possible is the human body. it follows therefore that the human body could be validly said to be the vehicle of ideas and culture. nigerian contextual evaluation of abuses of the integrity of the human body the abuse of the human body in nigeria leaves one to wonder if the consciousness of the sacredness of the human body has absconded from the mind of many nigerians. the research undertaken from different parts of nigeria has revealed that abuse is on the increase. it is appalling to see how the body is mercilessly treated and annihilated by some miscreants. fulani herdsmen attack during the cause of research on the subtitle many of our respondents expressed their grievances and condemned the actions in strong terms. many of our respondents opined the catholic church on the integrity of the human body and its applications in nigerian contemporary society 146 that fulani herdsmen and farmers frequently clash when the former enter community lands with their cattle and allow them to graze unrestrictedly on both cultivated and uncultivated land, destroying vital food and cash crops that are the backbone of the host communities. when villagers try to resist and urge them to leave, the fulani herders get violent and assault them, often with the help of mercenaries from neighbouring countries such as chad, niger, mali, and cameroon. fulani herdsmen armed with modern weaponry typically attack their target villages at times when they are most vulnerable, like late at night or on sundays when they are in church, massacring people indiscriminately, especially women and children, burning houses, and stealing property. the north-central region has been the worst impacted in recent months, having seen the terrible attacks by fulani herdsmen, which have resulted in a high toll of human lives and property, and is still counting its losses. the violence and impunity with which the assailants operate, disregarding the law and the sanctity of life, is particularly concerning. the failure of the nigerian police and even the military task force to defend the victims who have been ruthlessly slain in their birthplace is disheartening. in the south-east, however, there have been reports of suspected fulani herdsmen assaults in locations like enugu state and ebonyi state. tragically this degree of criminal exemption is occurring in a sovereign state with a constitution, which pronounces that the security and government assistance of the residents will be a significant obligation of the state. at present, one has not seen any case given an account of the indictment and likely conviction of any fulani herder asserted to be behind the brutal killings and annihilation of property in the impacted states and to be sure the nation is over. the brutality of some policemen some policemen brutality, utilization of torment as an inquisitive method and other wanton maltreatments of basic liberties say a portion of the significant imperfections of the nigerian police force which has drawn in open enmity, abuse, and judgment to the force (amnesty international, 2014; ogunode, 2015). torment, portrayed as one of the most outrageous types of brutality, coming about to both mental and actual results is now and again considered as an essential cross-examination component for social affair key insight (constanzo and gerrity, 2009; justice project pakistan, 2014). experimental examinations have shown that torment and different types of fierce maltreatment can have suffering adverse consequences on survivors and culprits, and are incapable of getting solid data in cross-examination (egede, 2007). anthony b. c. chiegboka & damian-mary chukwunenye moneke 147 the exercises of the police as an establishment are intended to be directed at the public and worldwide level by shows, norms and settlements (universal declaration of human rights, international covenant on civil and political rights and international covenant on economic, social and cultural rights, 1966). despite state preclusions against torment and custodial wrongdoing by the police, torment has been accounted for as being ordinarily utilized in police authorities across nigeria, which is a significant explanation for the wrong understanding of the integrity of the body (amnesty international, 2014). as per the network on police reform in nigeria (noprin, 2010), staff of the nigeria police regularly do synopsis executions of people blamed or suspected of wrongdoing; depend on torment as a chief method for examination; perpetrate assault of the two genders, and participate in blackmail at essentially every open door. fierce treatment of charged people by the police or other policemen is emphatically against article 5 of the code of conduct for law enforcement officials embraced by the general assembly of the united nations, goal 34/169 of 17 december 1979: no law authorization official might cause, prompt or endure any demonstration of torment or other savage, brutal or debasing treatment or discipline, nor may any law requirement official conjure prevalent orders or remarkable conditions like a condition of war or a danger of war, a danger to public safety, inward political shakiness or some other public crisis as a defence of torment or other horrible, barbaric or corrupting treatment or discipline. a former inspector-general of police, ibrahim coomasie once blamed the npf for the "primitive treatment of nigerians" (punch, 2016: 38). for example, there were reports from a few female ex-prisoners of sexual maltreatment by cops, including being assaulted and having pepper shower utilized on their private parts. notwithstanding, in a quick reaction to the amnesty international report, the npf dismissed the report wherein the sars were blamed for tormenting prisoners and requesting pay-offs to free them (premium times, 2016). the police portrayed the report completely as "misdirecting, an unmistakable deception of realities, unconfirmed records and outright bending of the current circumstance in special anti-robbery squad [sars] all through the country." the police, in an assertion by its representative, don awunah, a deputy commissioner of police, said the report was the trademark outlook and example of amnesty international to ridicule and chastise public organizations, particularly in agricultural nations like nigeria. this hence highlights exact examinations coordinated at discovering realities about the treatment of arrestees in police authority the nation over. the integrity of the body and corporeal punishment in nigeria the catholic church on the integrity of the human body and its applications in nigerian contemporary society 148 corporal punishments in schools are a controversial method of discipline that is still employed in schools across some parts of the world, especially in africa, and nigeria in particular. people impose penalties on children without regard for their religious or cultural beliefs. it has become so ingrained in the system that even youngsters who are affected by it accept it as a normal course of action. when it comes to instructors' grasp of the significance of these detrimental activities, there is none. teachers appear to be unaware of the negative consequences of their actions, whether they are psychological or sociological issues or physical or mental effects on the child. corporal punishment is defined by the committee on the rights of the child as "any punishment in which physical force is employed and intended to produce any degree of pain or suffering, however minor." most include striking (smacking, slapping, or spanking) youngsters with the hand or an item such as a whip, stick, belt, slipper, or wooden spoon. however, it can also include kicking, shaking, or tossing children, scratching, pinching, burning, scorching, or forced ingesting (such as cleaning children's mouths with detergent or forcing them to swallow hot spices). kidnapping, armed robbery, and ritual killing the belief in the existence of supernatural powers and the practice of ritual sacrifices, quick money, yahoo boys and money ritual are major phenomena that have been part of nigerian society for ages. nigeria and other sub-saharan african countries have a longtraditional belief that individuals‖ successes and accomplishments could be realized with the intervention of a mystical power(s) (moore and sanders, 2003). this form of belief is still widespread across all ethnic groups and social classes in nigeria. a significant number of nigerians hold the conviction that charms and amulets (tied around the body or hung in houses and cars) can protect them against any misfortune, such as an accident, sickness and diseases, stillbirth, and death (oyewole, 2016). in addition, people are confident that ritual sacrifices and magical concoctions prepared with bizarre ingredients will bring financial fortunes, fame, and power (obineke, 2008). thus, ritual sacrifices are often performed (to achieve these aims) in various forms using different materials. the kinds of ritual sacrifices performed to induce or enhance financial fortunes are referred to as money or wealth rituals. money rituals are supposed to make the doer rich or draw fortunes to him or her (smith, 2001). the kind of materials used in money ritual sacrifices depends on the amount of wealth the doer desires. some make use of wildlife, while many use human body parts that are believed to be more potent (jegede, 2014). the various parts of the human body, as obineke, 2008, has stressed, are understood to produce different results in money rituals. for instance, in an interview anthony b. c. chiegboka & damian-mary chukwunenye moneke 149 conducted with people caught with human body parts, usman, 2017, found that human genitals, female breasts, head, tongue, heart, and bones yield powerful outcomes in money rituals. moreover, certain categories of humans with different (genetic) conditions such as people with albinism, dwarfism, and hunchbacks are also said to be suitable for money ritual sacrifices (brilliant, 2015; nkrumah, 2018). accordingly, thousands of innocent nigerians (male and female) of all ages have been killed and their body parts severed for money ritual sacrifices (usman, 2017). the rate at which people are murdered and incomplete bodies are abandoned in nigerian cities has been alarming in recent years. hardly will a week passes by without news (on the media print and online) of a missing person and an incomplete human body found. in addition, cases of individuals caught with human body parts continuously flood news updates. the actual number of people murdered for money rituals in nigeria is not known, owing to the lack of systematic data gathering on issues relating to money ritual–related killings in the country. similarly, academic investigations that explore this area are relatively scanty. therefore, this current investigation shows the cases of ritual killing cases in imo state and anambra state. human trafficking human trafficking could be defined as a situation where human victims are forced, defrauded or coerced into labour or sexual exploitation. by implication trafficking in persons means the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, using coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of the person having control over another person, for exploitation. according to united states state department data, an ―estimated 600,000 to 820,000 men, women and children are trafficked across international borders each year, approximately 80 per cent are minors. the data similarly illustrates that the majority of transnational victims are trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation. due to the illegal nature of trafficking and differences in methodology, the exact extent is unknown. from the above, it is evident that human trafficking is a highly complex issue that affects potentially thousands of foreign and domestic men, women, and children in the whole world. no one is however certain how many people are trafficked in the whole world every year. the united states government, state agencies, and various governmental and non-governmental organisations throughout the globe are committed to preventing trafficking, protecting victims of trafficking and prosecuting traffickers. the catholic church on the integrity of the human body and its applications in nigerian contemporary society 150 deductively, it is obvious that human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery. victims of human trafficking are subjected to force, fraud, or coercion, for sexual exploitation or forced labour. after drug dealing, the trafficking of humans is tied with arms dealing as the second largest criminal industry in the world, and the fastest growing, hence demanding urgent attention. the nature of human trafficking wears different masks. many victims of human trafficking are forced to work in prostitution or the sex entertainment industry. trafficking also occurs in forms of labour exploitation, such as domestic servitude, restaurant work, janitorial work, sweatshop factory work and migrant agricultural work. trafficking victims are kept in bondage through a combination of fear, intimidation, abuse, and psychological controls, while each victim will have a different experience, they share common threads. trafficking victims live a life characterized by abuse, betrayal of their basic human rights, and control under their traffickers. traffickers use different techniques to lure and instil fear in victims and to keep them enslaved, locked and keyed. however, the more frequent practice is to use less obvious techniques. victims and sometimes tricked and lured by false promises or physically forced. some traffickers use coercive and manipulative tactics including deception, intimidation, feigned love, isolation, threat and use of physical force, debt bondage, and other abuse or even force-feeding with drugs to control their victims. people who are seeking entry to other countries may be picked up by traffickers and misled into thinking that they will be free after being smuggled across the border. in some cases, they are captured through slave raiding, although this is increasingly rare. humanly speaking, human trafficking is a multi-dimensional threat. it deprives people of their human rights and freedom, it is a global health risk, and it fuels the growth of organised crime. hence the causes of human trafficking are diverse. human trafficking is a dehumanizing crime, turning people into mere commodities. human trafficking has a devastating impact on individual victims, who often suffer physical and emotional abuse, rape, the threat against self and family, passport theft, and even death. the impact of human trafficking goes beyond individual victims; it undermines the health, safety and security of all nations it touches. most instances of forced labour occur as unscrupulous employers take advantage of gaps in law enforcement to exploit vulnerable workers. these workers are made more vulnerable to forced labour practices because of unemployment, poverty, crime, discrimination, corruption, political conflict, and cultural acceptance of the practice. immigrants are particularly vulnerable but individuals are also often forced into labour in their own countries. anthony b. c. chiegboka & damian-mary chukwunenye moneke 151 the catholic teachings on the integrity of the human body the catholic church in its social teachings, papal encyclicals and ecclesiastical documents has, at different times dealt with the integrity of the human body which is intertwined and interconnected with the dignity of the human person and sacredness of life. the catechism of the catholic church (ccc, 362) affirms that the human person is a being created by god, with body and soul, created in the image and likeness of god. this affirmation in the ccc unveils the spiritual and material dimensions of the human person. although the human person is created in the image and likeness of god, he is different from the celestial beings that do not possess a material body. this is because one cannot exist on this planet earth without the body. the human person is different from other created beings because it has a soul while other created beings do not. so we cannot talk of a human person or human life without the body. as the catechism of the catholic church teaches, ‗man alone is called to share, by knowledge and love, in god‖s own life‘. this is the fundamental reason for his dignity. being in the image of god, the human person is a relational and social being, because god is not a solitary being. this doctrine of the dignity of the human person so cleanly fits in with the other core dogmas of the catholic church. the human person mirrors the eternal love of the most blessed trinity; the human person is of such worth that god himself took on our nature at the incarnation; the human person has such dignity that god‖s son died for our redemption. as gaudium et spes avers: the truth is that only in the mystery of the incarnate word does the mystery of the human person take on light. for adam, the first man was a figure of him who was to come, christ the lord. christ . . . by the revelation of the mystery of the father and his love, fully reveals us to ourselves and makes our supreme calling clear. (p. 22) the catholic church proclaims that the human body is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society. this belief is the foundation of all the principles of the social teaching of the catholic church. the catholic church has three primary sources of theological discourse, namely: the sacred scripture, the sacred tradition, and the magisterium. these sources justify the arguments in support of the church‖s position on the subject at issue. this research accommodates other sources relevant to a support or push back against arguments for or against the integrity of the human body as it is understood from the church‖s perspective. the catholic church believes that she received the authority to teach from our lord jesus christ himself when he said in the gospel of matthew 28:19 ‗’ teach them to observe all the commands i gave you.’‘ the teaching authority of the church is exercised in different areas, especially in her moral, social and ethical teachings. the catholic church on the integrity of the human body and its applications in nigerian contemporary society 152 a critical reading on the roman catholic perspective of the integrity of the human body reveals that the church believes that the human person is a composite of body and soul. the two are intertwined such that one cannot exist in isolation from the other on this planet earth. the human body is not just a worthless entity to be treated under one‖s guise. rather it has a spiritual dimension that has god at its origin. the end of earthly existence does not in any way suggest the end of the body, but the transformation of the body from mortality to immortality. this eschatological dimension of the human body is imperative for understanding the dignity and integrity due to the human person. the church hence believes in the resurrection of the body and eternal life. consequently, the church affirms again and again in strong terms the integrity of the body and by extension the sanctity and sacredness of life and the dignity of the human person. the right to live is a fundamental human right that is inalienable. so, every act that violates the integrity of the body directly or indirectly ought to be jettisoned from all the legitimate practices of every society, such as suicide, abortion, euthanasia, homicide, humantrafficking, kidnapping, war, hunger, violence etc. pope john paul ii opines that the human body reveals the mystery of god. this is to say that the body makes visible the invisible reality and being of god. it is a sacramental that reveals a very deep mystery about who god is – three persons in one god. the incarnation of the second person of the blessed trinity unveils the dignity of the human body. god who was pleased to share in our humanity through a holy act of condescension also pleased to allow us to share in his divinity. the creation and redemption of the human person through jesus christ (cf. jn 1: 1-3) forms the basis and foundation on which the catholic church constructs her theological edifice of the human body. john paul ii (1979) maintains that the church must follow, following the wisdom of pope paul vi, one single way: it is the way that has stood the test of centuries and it is also the way of the future. christ the lord indicated this way especially, when, as the council teaches, ‗by his incarnation, he, the son of god, in a certain way united himself with each man‘ (p.25). this section of this research unpacks different aspects of the teaching of the church concerning the human body and brings to the limelight some controversial aspects of her teaching that disagrees with the thoughts of some mainstream theologians of other christian denominations and other mainstream religions. however, the catholic church remains uncompromising in certain areas of its moral teaching especially when it has to do with the human body, human life and the human person. in various documents, the second vatican council has expressed the church‖s fundamental solicitude that life in the world should conform more to man‖s surpassing dignity in all its aspects, to make that life anthony b. c. chiegboka & damian-mary chukwunenye moneke 153 ever more human. the church is at once a sign and a safeguard of the transcendence of the human body. christ would not have dwelt among us without the body. he remains a being that has dual nature through the hypostatic union. if he did not experience human nature and made it his own, he would not have participated intimately in the life of man here on earth. he became like us in everything by his incarnation but did not sin. incarnation is the act through which jesus christ the redeemer fully revealed himself to humankind. he expressed in his human dimension the mystery of redemption. in this dimension, man finds again the greatness, dignity and value that belong to his humanity. in the mystery of redemption, humanity becomes newly expressed and, in a way, is newly created. he is newly created! the human body reveals the mystery of god in the human nature of jesus christ conclusion the roman catholic church has over the centuries taught with authority, the integrity of the human body. the catholic church understands the human body to be generally noble and sacred. to the roman catholic church, the human person must use the human body according to divine initiative. the church teaches that the human body should be used with the consciousness of its sacredness and not just as an ordinary thing or toy. unfortunately, many people use the body in an abusive way. in other words, they use the body as a thing possessed, of less value, and without spiritual character. this conception has influenced many people in both religious and social spheres. bryan (2014) adumbrates that a biblical theology of the sexes demands that we pay closer attention to the actual, embodied forms of the relations of men and women, setting up a moral demand that better and more just ways of relations be continually sought and discovered. this implies a continuous and conscious quest for responsible use of the body. in nigerian contemporary society, in particular, many conceptions about the human body are very erroneous. for instance, ‗it is my body, i can do whatever i want with it‘, ‗our body is dust it will return to dust‘, and what have you. some people, especially the youths see the body as an object that can be used, abused, mutilated and molested. they believe the body to be their possession and they are not accountable to anyone. they seem to undermine the sanctity, sacredness and integrity of the human body, thereby failing to perceive and understand the spiritual dimension of the body. hence, according to oguejiofor (1996) ‗the spirit of a person is not thought of as a separate living entity that inhabits the body in the platonic sense. nor is it thought of in the aristotelian sense of the form of the body‘ (p.22). in other words, the human person is a composite of body and spirit. the bodily and spiritual dimensions of the human person are intertwined. but most the catholic church on the integrity of the human body and its applications in nigerian contemporary society 154 nigerians have not grasped the interconnectedness of the human body, human life and human person. this research, therefore, does not agree with the thought of some people who believe that there is a major disconnect between them. nevertheless, the catholic church has made and continues to make a tremendous contribution to human thought, and to the possibility of human happiness through its insistence on the integrity of the human body. references amnesty international (2014) welcome to hell fire: torture and other ill-treatment in nigeria. london: amnestyinternationallimited. barth, k. (1942). church dogmatics. bk iv. 3.1. egede, e. (2007) bringing human rights home: an examination of the domestication of human rights treaties in nigeria. journal of african law,51(2):249-284. enuke, p. (2010), ezillo: history and cultural heritage, unpublished historical document of ezillo. jegede, c. o. (2014). african indigenous religious rituals and magic in ibadan politics: issues for the democratisation process in nigeria. international journal of sociology and anthropology, 6(2), 42-48. john paul ii. (2005).mémoire et identité, paris: flammarion. john paull ii. (2006). man and woman he created them: a theology of the body. boston: pauline justice project pakistan (2014) policing as torture: a report on systematicbrutality and torture by the police in faisalabad, pakistan. yale lawschool.faisalabad: allardk. lowenstein in international human rights clinic. n.p.c (2006), provisional census figures. abakaliki: national population census office. nigeria institute of advance legal studies. nials (2011), policy dialogue on citizenship, indigene-ship and nationality, lagos nials nigerian constitution. (1999). nigeria constitution with the amendment of 2011. 33(1). nkrumah, b. (2018). hunted like animals: the conundrums of countering crimes against albinistic persons in the era of the udhr. international journal of law, crime and justice, 55, 52-59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlcj.2018.09.002 obineke, s. l. (2008). the implications of ritual killing and security in nigeria. term paper for the course gsp 104. enugu, nigeria. obo, u. b., coker, m. a., & omenka, j. i. (2014). the state as an instrument of primitive accumulation: the nigerian example, 1999-2013. journal of law policy and globalization, 26, 67. ogunode, s. (2015) criminal justice system in nigeria: for the rich or the poor? humanitiesandsocialsciencesreview,4(1):27-39. oyewole, samuel. 2016a. ‗the fate of hostages: nigeria‖s conflict theatres in comparative perspective,‘ african security review, 25(2), 193-207. smith, d. j. (2001). ritual killing, 419, and fast wealth: inequality and the popular imagination in southeastern nigeria. american ethnologist, 28(4), 803-826. https://doi.org/10.1525/ae.2001.28.4.803 anthony b. c. chiegboka & damian-mary chukwunenye moneke 155 the punch (2016, september 23) you are not authorised to kill, ig tells sars. the punch newspapers. retrieved september 23, 2016, from http://punch-ng.com/ai-report-ig-warns-sarsoperatives-suspects-torture/. usman, e. (2017). why killing for rituals is on the increase in nigeria. retrieved may 27, 2018, from https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/09/killings-ritualsincrease-nigeria http://punch-/ microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 4 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 94 the idea of truth within the context of ibuanyidanda by odumayak okpo department of philosophy university of uyo, akwa ibom state abstract this piece has attempted to examine the concept of truth in asouzu’s ibuanyidanda. unlike the traditional theories of truth, the idea of truth within the context of ibuanyidanda is comprehensive in nature and not one-sided. thus, the notion that truth is conformity of objects to certain ideas or thoughts has its shortcomings within a complementary framework. complementary reflection is a resulting attempt to expose the shortcomings of all forms of one-sided attempt at the presentation of reality. asouzu approaches truth indirectly and introduces ontological logic to the understanding of truth. keywords: introduction the concept of truth has changed throughout human history. at one level or another, human beings since ancient times have acknowledged that truth may vary depending on individual points of view. since plato’s analogy of life as shadows on the wall of a cave over 3,000 years ago, scholars have grappled with the notion of truth. in philosophy, truth deals with both the meaning of the word “true” and the criteria by which we judge the truth or falsity in statements. philosophers have attempted to answer the question “what is truth?”since the time of plato. this paper is an attempt to examine the idea of truth within the context of asouzu’s concept ofibuanyidanda and more so, to see how ibuanyidanda (complementarity) addresses the relativism of the empiricists in relation to truth. the concept of truth right from the time of aristotle to aquinas and kant to chisholm, the common sense has been to locate truth in judgments. aristotle, in his metaphysics asserts: “to say of what is that it is not or of what is not that it is, is false, while to say of what is that it is, or of what is not that it is not, is true” (quoted in omoregbe 43). this implies that truth is conformity of the mind with reality. thomas aquinas, in agreement with aristotle, defines truth as “conformity of the intellect with reality” (omoregbe 40). and even the fact of kant’s “copernican revolution” could not allow him to see beyond the common tendency of regarding truth as the mind’s correspondence with the object. kant also concurred to the notion of truth as the agreement of knowledge with its object. truth, for kant, lies in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 95 judgment which the mind makes when it applies the categories to phenomena (things as they appear to us) (lamprecht 365 – 366). one can see the correspondence notion of truth in kant also. the concept of truth, for chisholm, is principally linked with the idea of “states of affairs”. in his expressions, our answer to the question “what is truth” refers not only to the “states of affairs” but also to “states of affairs that exist”, and “states of affairs that do not exist”. we must say, for example, that among the entities that exist are socrates’ being mortal, there being horses, there being no unicorns; and we must say that among the entities that do not exist are socrates’ not being mortal, there being no horses and there being unicorns (104). the import of this is that truth is connected with the idea of “state of affairs” and facts. this is only a restatement of the traditional correspondence theory of truth. truth, according to the correspondence theory of truth, consists in the agreement of our thought with reality. a belief is called “true” if it “agrees” with a fact (randall and buchler 146). the question that comes to mind is: how is one to understand this agreement or correspondence? hume’s empiricism has demonstrated that there could never be corresponding complex ideas of complex impressions. in this regards, a mere one–to–one agreement or correspondence between knowledge and its object cannot yield truth. such a traditional theory of truth is a very limited one because it pretends that truth can only be demonstrated empirically. let us proceed to examine the concept of ibuanyidanda. the concept of ibuanyidanda according to asouzu, the concept of ibuanyidanda is drawn from the igbo language and has as its nearest english equivalent the idea that “complementarity”, in the sense of togetherness, is greatest (njikọ ka), igwe bu ike (strength in togetherness) (ibuanyidanda 11). the word ibuanyidanda is a combined word made up of three parts: ibu which mean “load or task”; anyi meaning not insurmountable for, and danda (a species of ants). this concept ibuanyidanda draws its inspiration from the teachings of traditional igbo philosophers of the complementary system of thought. for the traditional igbo “danda” (ants) can surmount the most difficult challenges if and only if they work in a harmonious complementary unified manner (asouzu, method and principles 108). this implies the idea of mutual dependence and interdependence in complementarity. complementarity (ibuanyidanda) is the moment of reflection between the choices of isolation and teamwork. in the light of this, prof. asouzu posits that “when we say ibuanyidanda, we are making recourse to such an ontological state of mutual service in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 96 complementarity as the horizon of our reflection” (ibuanyidanda 12). hus, the idea of truth in ibuanyidanda transcends our individual experiences to our collective contemplation.attempting to explain the methodical principle and the imperative of complementarity, asouzu postulates the metaphysical and practical variants of the principle. he calls the metaphysical variant of the principle “the principle of progressive transformation”. while the principle of integration indicates the general metaphysical implications of the theory, the principle of progressive transformation addresses specifically the relevance of the theory to human actions. he went further to point out that the principle of integration holds that “anything that exists serves a missing link in reality”, whereas, the principle of progressive transformation maintains that “all human actions are geared towards the joy of being”. for asouzu both principles allow us to formulate the imperative of complementarity which can be stated thus: “allow the limitations of being to be the cause of your joy” (ibuanyidanda 306). let us at this juncture examine the notion of truth within the context of ibuanyidanda (complementarity). truth and authenticity criterion the three major traditional theories of truth have proposed to answer the question “what is truth?” these theories are the correspondence, coherence, and pragmatic theories of truth. the correspondence, coherence, and pragmatic theories of truth claim to offer what are in some sense criteria of truth. they claim respectively that the criteria of truth are correspondence with fact, coherence with other propositions of judgments, and success in practice, that is, the leading to successful results, which may take the form of successful predictions or be of a more obviously practical kind (hamlyn 117). a belief is called “true”, according to the correspondence theory, if it “corresponds” with fact. to the coherence theory of truth, the notion of correspondence with fact is replaced by that of “consistency”, consistency being a logical property concerning the associations of ideas with one another. while, to the pragmatic theory of truth, it is what works in practice. truth and authenticity criterion, according to asouzu, is: the measure by which we can state if a thing confirms to the demands of the principle, method and imperative of complementarity as far as these are founded on the principle of non-contradiction (method and principle 310). the import of this is that truth and authenticity mirror the state of the mind in search for comprehensiveness and universality. put differently, truth has to do with universality. consequently, within asouzu’s complementary reflection, truth and authenticity go beyond the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 97 realm of mere epistemology and logic to relate to the universal and comprehensive unity of being and consciousness in all areas of existence. it goes beyond all known areas of our experiences as an ontological issue and is comprehensive at the same time. in complementary reflection, there is a complicated relationship between ontological truth and truth as lived experience. here, one can see an element of correspondence theory of truth. but, for something to be true, it has to supersede the mere claim concerning the harmonization of our perception of it with the actual state of the thing in question. this means that it is based on such a criterion that the mind experiences complete harmony in all its operations such that the epistemological, logical, ethical, aesthetic, psychological, and metaphysical among others cohere with one another in a harmonious complementary manner. it is obvious that asouzu’s complementary reflection went a step forward than the correspondence theory of truth, in that it makes a distinction between truth as conformity of the mind with a state of affair and truth as the ability of the mind to relate to reality in the most comprehensive and universal manner. the latter, for him, takes advantage over the former and defines its mode of its expression. hence, to asouzu, the question is not if something is true but in what sense something is true. the lesson from this is that the issue of truth and objectivity is difficult to understand in relation with the question of meaning. to this end, asouzu declares that: to understand or explain what a thing represents entails understanding or explaining it within a wider network of complementary missing links in view of the whole that gives them their legitimacy (method and principle 312). the import of this is that all issues of truth and authenticity have some human elements necessarily associated with them. in recognition of this fact, asouzu went ahead to contend that: we cannot wish these elements away just because we wish to be logical or scientific. we must accept them and learn to manage them as integral aspects of any explanation model that seek to do justice to our humanity…. they are missing links of reality; and the way we manage these missing links determine the level of truth and authenticity we are capable of attaining (313 – 314). what this means is that within a complementarity framework, the correspondence theory of truth has its limitations. the question of truth and authenticity moves beyond mere statement of facts to include what things mean in a comprehensive sense. thus, the truth and authenticity criterion “is the link between the relative and absolute in a way that upholds the character igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 98 of each in a complementary harmonious manner”, opines asouzu (method and principle 319). communicability of truth through complementary logic truth, within the framework of complementary notion of truth, is essentially related with the harmony ensuring from the logic of human interest and the ontological logic (ibuanyidanda 72). thus, all matters dealing with truth can be articulated within the context of these two logics, which offer the foundation for authentic existence. both logics, according to asouzu, complement each other in view of upholding their relevance. hence, without the logic of human interest, the ontological logic becomes ineffective and vice versa (ibuanyidanda 72). in view of this, the challenge in all matter of truth would be how to reunite and merge the logic of human interest with the ontological logic. this reconciliation is one of the major tasks that new complementary ontology, of asouzu, places before itself. on the word of asouzu, this task has often eluded many, because of the false belief that all truths are equal and all truths are allowable. this is the dogma of relativism (ibuanyidanda 74). in this regard, empiricism as the doctrine that our senses are sufficient basis for knowing truth remains problematic in its relativism. the inductive method of arriving at truth, as a type of logic of human interest can never be complete when taken alone. to this end, asouzu submits: this is why matters of truth and validation are better handled within a more comprehensive framework, should we be in a position to liberate the mind from all forms of impositions, complication and compulsion (ibuanyidanda 76). the import of this is that the problems of logic, and those of truth, have much to do with ontological for as long that it can be understood by the mind differently and remain complete and harmonized. conclusion in this paper, attempt has been made to examine the concept of truth in asouzu’s ibuanyidanda. unlike the traditional theories of truth, the idea of truth within the context of ibuanyidanda is comprehensive in nature and not one-sided. thus, the notion that truth is conformity of objects to certain ideas or thoughts has its shortcomings within a complementary framework. complementary reflection is a resulting attempt to expose the shortcomings of all forms of one-sided attempt at the presentation of reality. asouzu approaches truth indirectly and introduces ontological logic to the understanding of truth. in this regard, the question of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 4, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 99 truth goes beyond mere statement of facts or “states of affairs” to include what things mean in a complementary comprehensive sense that is universal and holistic in nature. references asouzu, i.i., ibuanyidanda: new complementary ontology. deutschland: litverlag fresnostr.,2007. asouzu, i.i., the method and principles of complementary reflection in and beyond african philosophy. calabar: university of calabar press, 2004. chisholm, r. m., theory of knowledge. new jersey: prentice-hall, inc., 1977. hamlyn, d. w., the theory of knowledge. london: the macmillan press limited, 1970. lamprecht, s.p., our philosophical traditions. new york: appleton-centurycrofts, inc., 1955. omoregbe, j., epistemology: a systematic and historical study. lagos: joja publishers limited,1998. randall, j.h. and justus buchler, philosophy: an introduction. u.s.a.: harper & row publishers inc., 1971. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 6.docx igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 67 african environmental ethics: a non –anthropocentric african environmentalism. the journey so far chinedu stephen ifeakor department of philosophy nnamdi azikiwe university awka cs.ifeakor@unizik.edu.ng & andrew otteh department of philosophy nnamdi azikiwe university awka andrewotteh@yahoo.com abstract africa today is faced with several environmental issues ranging from gully erosions, desertification, flooding, overpopulation, water pollution and co2 emissions from cars and engines et cetera. two factors responsible for these are: the aging earth and the activities of humans. environmental ethics therefore seeks for the extension of moral community to include the ecosystem as a whole. african environmental ethics therefore is an enquiry into the thought system and ontology of the africans on the environment. this paper looks at the theories and conceptions put forward by scholars in their bid to evolving a promising non anthropocentric african environmentalism. oruka and jumia’s parent earth ethics, ogungbemi’s ethics of nature relatedness, tangwa’s eco-biocommunitarianism, mogobe ramose’s ubuntu ecology, behren’s african relational environmentalism et cetera. in the journey so far, using the philosophical method of analyses, one observes that these theories are either not african at all, judging from african ontological system or not african enough in the sense of not reflecting one important aspect of african ontology.i propose however, that obligatory anthropoholism is a more promising african environmental attitude. my view gives a sense in which humans have a pride of place in african ontology(obligation). it also stresses the developmental implications for the african continent. 1. introduction challenges to our environment in the 21st century have been an issue of great concern. few factors in the writer’s view have contributed to these challenges. the first is nature. by this i mean ageing world and its implications. this means that an old man cannot but be old in the bones with shrinked body no matter igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 68 how much health care and food that is given to him/her. the world is not getting any younger and so we see some of its implications on the environment. the second factor and the most important one too, is the activities of man. science and technology brought with it industrialization. even though man has tried to explore and improve her life on earth, it came with some disadvantages. in environmental ethics, there is this presumption that if the activities of human kind can be directed aright, the environment can be saved from further degradation. thus environmental ethics is an attempt to prescribe to humankind the right way to relate to the environment so as to preserve our environment. while ethics deals with rights and wrongs, good and bad in the realms of human conduct, environment ethics deals with rights and wrongs, good and bad in our relationship to the environment. the need for reorientation is now as 21st century is experiencing serious environmental degradation. let us see some of these challenges; pollution: pollution of air, water and soil require millions of years to recoup. industry and motor vehicles exhaust are the number one pollutants, heavy metals, nitrates and plastic are toxins responsible for pollution while water pollution is caused by oil spill, acid rain, urban runoff, air pollution is caused by various gasses and toxins released by industries and factories and combustion of fossil fuels, soil pollution is majorly caused by industrial waste that deprives soil from essential nutrients. climatic changes like global warming is the result of human practices like emission of greenhouse gasses. global warming leads to rising tempretures of the oceans and the earth surface, melting of pollar ice caps, rise in sea levels and also unnatural patterns of precipitation such as flash floods, excessive snow or dissertification. overpopulation: the population of the planet is reaching unsustainable levels as it faces shortages of resources like water, fuel and food. population explosion in less developed and developing countries are straining the already scarce resources. intensive agriculture practiced to produce food damage the environment through use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides. overpopulation is one of the crucial current environmental problems. natural resources depletion: fossil fuel consumption results in emission of greenhouse gasses, which is responsible for global warming and climate change. globally, people are taking efforts to shift to renewable sources of energy like solar, wind, biogas and geothermal energy. the cost of installing the infrastructure and maintaining these sources has pummeled in the recent years. waste disposal: the over consumption of resources and creation of plastics are creating a global crisis of waste disposal. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 69 developed countries are notorious for producing an excessive amount of waste or garbage and dumping their waste in the oceans and, less developed countries. nuclear waste disposal has tremendous health hazards associated with it. plastic, fast food, packaging and cheap electronic waste threaten the well being of humans. climate change: climate change is yet another environmental problem that has surfaced in the last couple of decades. it occurs due to rise in global warming which occurs due to increase in temperature of atmosphere by burning of fossil fuels and release of harmful gasses by industries. climate change has various harmful effects but not limited to melting polar ice, change in seasons, and occurrence of new diseases. frequent occurrence of floods and change in overall weather scenario. loss of biodivisersity: human activity is leading to the extinction of species and habitats and loss of bio-diversity. ecosystem, which took millions of years to perfect, are in danger when any species population is decimating. balance of natural processes like pollination is crucial to the survival of the eco-system and human activity threatens the same. another example is the destruction of coral reefs in the various oceans, which support the rich marine life. deforestation: our forests are natural sinks of carbon dioxide and produce fresh oxygen as well as helps in regulating temperature and rainfall. at present forests cover 30% of the land but every year tree cover is lost due to growing population and its growing demand for more food, shelter and clothing. deforestation simply means cleaning of green cover making such land available for residential, industries and commercial purpose. ocean acidification: it is a direct impact of excessive production of co2. the ocean acidity has increased by the last 250 years but by 2100, it may shoot up by 150%. this has great impact on shellfish, plankton as well as humans. ozone layer depletion: the ozone layer is an invisible layer of protection around the planet that protects us from the sun’s harmful rays. this depletion is as a result of pollution caused by chlorine and bromide found in chloro-floro carbon (cfcs). once these toxic gasses reach the upper atmosphere, they cause a hole in the ozone layer, the biggest of which is above the antarctic. ozone layer is valuable because it prevents harmful ultra violet radiation from reaching the earth. this is one of the most important current environmental problems. acid rain: acid rain occurs due to the presence of certain pollutants in the atmosphere. acid rain can be caused due to combustion of fossil fuels or erupting volcanoes or rotting vegetation which release sulfur dioxide and nitrogen into the atmosphere. acid rain is a known environmental problem that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 70 can have serious effect on human health, wildlife and aquatic species. genetic engineering: genetic modification of food using biotechnology is called genetic engineering. genetic modification of food results in increased toxins and diseases as genes from an allergic plant can transfer to target plant. genetically modified crops can cause serious environmental problems as an engineered gene may prove toxic to wildlife.1 humans have greatly contributed to these environmental problems as it is the activities going on in factories, industries, urban areas, etc. that cause these problems. human technology in general, and biotechnology (agricultural and human) in particular, have narrowed the gap between the natural and the artificial between nature and humanity, between “god’s work” and “work of human hands” to the extent that some have proclaimed god and/or nature dead. human tinkering with nature, which can be said to have begun with the discovery of agriculture about ten millennia ago, and which seems both inescapable and unobjectionable, has evolved, (thanks to modern technology) into wholesome interventions in the process of nature, exemplified by the engineering of novel artificial life forms. such developments have gradually turned the perennial moral concern with the physical environment and with medical practice info moral disquiet and even moral alarm. as frederick ferre pointedly remarked at the nairobi world conference of philosophy on philosophy, humanity and the environment; by the time organisms are sufficiently artificial to be patentable, it is clear that the relative weights of nature and culture have reversed themselves. culture is in the driver’s seat and nature is hanging on for dear life (literally) as we hurtle down unexplored roads with poor visibility, and with uninspected and untried brakes.2 the cogency of this remark made before mammalian cloning became a scientific fact in 1997, is today even more evident than before. nevertheless, biotechnology also holds a certain justified fascination for human beings, because of its positive potential in such domains as preventive and therapeutic medicine and in agriculture. in the face of these developments, human ethical sensibilities and responsibilities are urgently called for. as human beings, we carry the whole weight of moral responsibility and obligation for the world on our shoulders. the claim that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 71 human kind is the apex of biological existence as we know it; has sometimes been dismissed as an arrogant spiciest claim and contested by some human militants for the rights of animals and/or plants less disputable however, is the fact that while human beings have putative moral responsibilities toward inanimate objects, plants and the animals, these later cannot be considered, without absurdity, as having any reciprocal moral obligation toward humans. human intervention in nature could plausibly be justified by appeal to this asymmetrical responsibility, although this does not imply that every intervention is justifiable. for these reasons, our focus on eco-ethics, environmental ethics, developmental ethics, medical ethics, bioethics – all of which can be gathered into one basket labeled “eco-bioethics” is not only appropriate but also quite timely.3 in african background this search for harmony is important for few reasons; african perspective is important because the world is searching for theories which will help man conserve the environment, africa being a part of this whole can contribute through their thought towards this project. secondly, if the world will come to value their environment, they have to be conscientized and taught to, eugene hargrove commented that teachers of environmental philosophy in developing or evolving theories that will enable them teach their students, should be careful not to import from other cultures but to look into the ontology of such people there will be rich cultural or ontological materials which will enhance effective communication of values for the conservation of the environment. thirdly, huttington’s clash of civilization teaches the world that every culture or civilization brings something important to the world table africa being rich in culture and civilization can lend voice to the search for ethical attitude of mankind to the environment. it have been held by scholars like j, baird callicott, j.s. mbiti, benezeth bujo et cetera that african ontology is anthropocentric, however, african scholars as ogungbemi, behrens, chemhuru, ekwealor have argued and strongly too that african ontology and environmental understanding is non anthropocentric. time may not allow for detailed analyses of these arguments both for and against anthropocentrism, we simply seek to look at the theories so far put forward by some african environmental ethicists in their effort to evolving a promising non anthropocentric african environmental ethics. for a theory to be fully african, it has to show mastery of african ontology otherwise it lacks the characteristics of being african. the human being and the interconnectedness of being are two of the salient values in african ontology igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 72 which are relevant to the environment. these two values have been erroneously interpreted in various ways. for instance, the pride of place of the human being in african ontology has been described as anthropocentric by kai horthenske, ramose in his ecology through ubuntu posited that humans in african ontology are part of the whole of ecosystem but “a privileged part”, thad metz in his relational theory of moral status posited that it is the relationship “with human” that confers moral status to other beings in the ecosystem. i argue in this paper that while horthenske’s anthropocentric stance on africa is untenable, ramose failed to give the sense in which the human being is a privileged part of the ecosystem. also thad metz failed to give us the sense in which it is the relationship with humans in particular that confers moral status. it is human capacity for obligation, for action, for taking responsibility that singles her out in the ecosystem. the privilege humans enjoy stems from the fact that he is saddled with the responsibility of tending, caring for the whole of the ecosystem which he is a part. i call it obligatory anthropoholism. this paper is divided into four parts; the introduction, african environmental theories so far, obligatory anthropoholism as a viable african environmental ethics and conclusion. 2. theories in african environmental ethics: an attempt at evolving a promising african non anthropocentric environmental ethics. a look at some theories put forward by african environmental ethicists in their attempt at evolving a non anthropocentric african environmental ethics is necessary for some reasons. firstly, examining what have been done so far enables the researcher to stand on the shoulder of scholars to see clearer, valuing the contributions of scholars makes for academic humility since it simply imply that just as the weaknesses of their theories are shown here, so also will the weakness of my own attempt be shown by others. secondly, in the works of other theorists, one discovers a lacuna that forms the real reason for writing. in the theories we will be looking at, careful scrutiny will show that the place of man is conspicuously missing and where it is shown, as in ubuntu ecology and relational environmentalism, they failed to give the sense in which humans are a privileged part of the whole ecosystem. the failure to give this sense reduces their work somewhat to anthropocentrism. however, we are simply doing an attempt, not claiming mastery, nor saying that ours is all there is and should be in african environmental ethics. ours is also a contribution to scholarship and an attempt at given perspective to african environmental philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 73 we will look at ogungbemi’s ethics of nature relatedness, tangwa’s eco-biocommunitariam, odera oruka and jumia’s parental earth ethics. we will also explore the strengths and weaknesses of ramose’s ecology through ubuntu and finally kelvin behrens’ african relational environmentalism. let us start with ogungbemi’s ethics of nature relatedness. 2.1. ethics of nature –relatedness segun ogungbemi in his paper “an african perspective in the environmental crisis”1 discusses the nature of the environmental crisis in africa. in doing this, he came to a number of conclusions concerning the principle causes of the environmental crisis in african and proposes some ethical reflection and practical suggestions on how to mitigate the challenge posed by the environmental crisis ogungbemi construes environmental crisis in global content and as one of the greatest global problem of our time. in his thinking, environmental crisis is a conjunction of some natural disaster such as earthquake, volcanic eruption and storms together with man’s activity of exploration and utilization of natural resources such as through the ingenuity of science and technology, which have impacted negatively on the environment and human well being. while recognizing the universality of the environmental crisis, ogungbem notes that in understanding the nature of environmental crisis within the context of subsaharan africa, three points are sacrament. first, ignorance and poverty. secondly, science and technology and thirdly, political conflict, including international economic pressures.4 he argues that in order to properly understand the nature of the environmental crisis in africa, we need to understand the ways in which both traditional and modern social structure have led to environmental degradation. on the factor of ignorance and poverty, ogungbem explains that the majority of traditional africans live in rural areas where the people wallow in poverty and lack of basic amenities such as good water supplies, adequate lavatories and proper energy use. as a consequence, the rivers were polluted with human waste exposing the people to avoidable water borne diseases such as dysentery, typhoid and cholera. the excessive use of fuel wood and constant bush burning which is a predominant practice in traditional africa, increases air pollution, affects air quality and depletes the forest and other natural habitats. this factor of poverty cum ignorance on the part of traditional africans ogungbemi argues, does not necessarily exonerate our people from their contribution to environmental hazard.3 this is particularly so given that the relevant patterns of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 74 behaviour may come at least in part from an inability to exploit nature because of low levels of economic and technological development. besides the crude contribution of traditional african societies to the world environmental crisis mention most be mode of the more catastrophic contribution of modern african to the environmental crisis, ogungbemi recognizes the drive to catch up with the developmental pace of the western world by african states government as responsible for the mass destruction of our ecosystem through unguided explorative engagements with african natural resources, the flora and fauna. many african nations are resource rich, but because their economies are not structured to take full advantage of these resources, they are exported with little or no value added. the net results are relativity few jobs and other economic advantages (and what advantages there are often siphoned off by the corrupt elite) and considerable environmental damage. moreover, the damage often results in loss of agricultural land that the poor rely upon, and significant pollution of waterways. water is another essential natural resource that has been adversely affected in modern african through human activities. the deposition and dumping of toxic waste on the african coasts and inland by industries both within and outside the continent, pollute the water through oil exploration and defacto spillage, and through bacteriological and chemical agents like fertilizers have made our waters unsafe not only for humans but also for other species in our waters. ogumbegmi further pointed out how air which is an essential natural resource for living has been threatened by human technoscientific activities. most fundamental in this regard is the uncontrolled nature of the emissions coming out from automobile industrial machine, artillery air raids and such like. in addition to the causes of pollution of air, land and water in africa, ogumgbemi equally identified the unprecedented population growth in contemporary african as another factor that has continued to aggravate the destruction of the environment in africa. the logic here of simple; the more the population, the more the stress on the natural resources and consumption ipso factor increase. more consumption results in more disposal of waste and where waste is carelessly managed as it is the case in many african states, the more hazardous the environment is prone to. it needs be stated however, that ogumbemi posited that it is not clear that population by itself is the key problem rather it is inequitable distribution of global on earth.6 granted that many african traditional folks as well as their contemporary counterparts have in some ways contributed to the general environment igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 75 problems of the world today, ogmgbemi equally underscores how traditional africa has lived with nature with respect and awe. he writes in traditional environmental management thus; in our traditional relationship with nature, men and women recognize the importance of water and air management to our traditional communities. the ethics of not taking more than you need from nature is a moral code. perhaps this explains why earth, forest, rivers wind and other national objects are traditionally believed to be both natural and divine. the philosophy behind this belief may not necessarily be religious but a natural means by which the human environment can be preserved the ethics of care is essential to traditional understanding of environmental protection and conservation.7 by ethics of care ogumgbemi meant an orientation in which one is not taking more than one’s needs from nature. however, ogumbeni is quick to note that this moral code is not unique to african societies as it has a universal appeal and applications, and that there are some interlocking questions that may obliterate its sensibility, justification and adoption in contemporary african order. pertinent among these questions are. how do we know how much we need, given, the nature of human greed and insatiability? who judges whether we have been taking more or less than need from the natural resources? if we have been taking more than we need, what are the penalties and how fair are they? the fundamental questions raised by ogungein are quite strong and as a consequence, he attempted a reformulation of the traditional environmental practices of ethnic of care in order to make it applicable to contemporary african situation. this conceptual reformulation pale into what ogunigbemi called ethics of naturerelatedness.according to him, ethics of nature relatedness asserts that our natural resources do not need man for their existence and function. the ethics of nature relatedness can be succinctly stated as an ethic that leads human beings to seek to co-exist peacefully with nature and treat it with some reasonable concern for its worth, survival and sustainability.8 in ogumgbemi’s submission, ethics of nature relatedness has three basic elements; reason, experience and the will. it does not attribute natural resources to a spiritual nature nor does the creation of natural resources have any religious affinity. with this new ethical thinking, ogumbemi’s expectation is that our present reckless use of nature can be put into order. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 76 in addition to this environmental ethic he envisages, offers some practical suggestions on how to mitigate the current environmental crisis in african. one, he suggested the generation, transmission and distribution of solar energy at a reasonable cost as a safety value in reducing african over reliance on fuel wood, coal kerosene, gas, and petrol as source of energy . two, on the issue of population, ogumgbem prophesies that when our population has reached an alarming situation nature will invariably apply its brek through volcanoic eruptions, earthquakes etc) and have a drastic reduction on our population growth rate. three he recommended a turnaround in african’s political leadership in order to put in place good policies that are environmental friendly, he urged them to demonstrate the political will that is necessary in reducing the amount of industrial and agricultural wastes and properly dispose of them so that both our industrial and commercial centers as well as our rural areas are safe from air, land and water pollution. there are some critical problems in ogungbemi’s ideas of environmental crisis in african and his environmental ethics. but before exposing these, let us also see the perspective of godfery tangwa on an african orientation in environmental ethic 2.2. eco bio communitarian tangwa is another africa philosopher that has made some reflections and contributions towards creating philosophical awareness on the need for an ethic of the environment in africa. in his paper: some african reflections on biomedical and environmental ethics, tangwa bases his conception of an african orientation in environmental ethnic on the metaphysical outlook of precolonial traditional african societies, which he called eco-bio communitaiarian.9 this metaphysical world view involves the recognition and acceptance of interdependence and peaceful co-existence between earth plants animals and humans. this metaphysical outlook underpinned the ways, manners and cosmic relations between human and his fellow humans. it is also responsible for why traditional africans were more cautious in their altitude to plants animals and inanimate things and the various invisible forces of the world. true to tangwa, traditional africans were more disposed towards the attitudes of live and let live. tangwa emphasis further that the traditional africa metaphysical dichotomy between “plants animals and inanimate things, between the sacred and the profane, matter and spirit, the communal and the individual, is a slim and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 77 flexible one.13 it is in line with this metaphysical framework that one can consistently and coherently situate the people’s belief in transmigration of the soul into animals, plants or into forces such as the wind. on the basis of this metaphysical understanding of nature and the nature of man tangwa says such a mindset has a very significant implication for the way nature is approached and treated by traditional africans. illustrating his positions on the conciliating relation between human and the environment in tradition african culture, tangwa cited the stance of his own culture, the nso in cameron, according to him, the view of the nso attitude towards nature and the rest of creation is that of respectful co-existence, conciliation and containment, there are frequently offerings of sacrifices to god, to the divine spirits, both benevolent and malevolent, to the departed ancestors and to the sundry invisible and inscrutable forces of nature.10 in all these, the point of tangwa is that african culture is not against technology whole handsomely, but consistent with cautious and piecemeal use of technology. and given the respect for natural human values that adorn traditional african culture, there are some lessons to be learnt by western culture that has subjected such values to the caprice of the good of technology, industrialization and capitalism. what is more opposite for tangwa is that there is nothing wrong with the technology in and of itself but only with the motivation for its development and the uses to which it is put. he condemns the motivation for development of western technology and the uses to which it has been put which he identified as the will to possess and dominate the world. in his submission, a more humble motivation for the pursuit of science and technology based on the eco-biocommunitarian attitude of live and let live can be substituted for the aggressive motivation of domination to the immeasurable advantage of the whole of mankind. commenting on the african perspective to environmental ethnic of both ogungbeim and tangwa, is necessary. this is because there are points of disagreements between the two even though they both try to bring to fore solutions to the peculiar african environment crisis. according to p.ojomo of the lagos state university, ogungbemi proposed a reconstructed return to the traditional attitude reflected in the ethnics of care, regarding our interactions with the environment led him to what he termed ethics of nature relatedness. this ethnic of nature relatedness is not a preservationist approach nor is it in any igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 78 way no anthropocentric. it does not even imply, as he observes, “that natural resources actually have a spiritual nature rather it is an approach that reorganizes that humans necessarily rely upon the natural world for existence because of this reliance, we must treat the environments in which we live with respect for the sake of current and future human well being. one major problem with ogungbem’s ethics of nature relatedness is that it bears little affinity with african cultural belief system. though ogungbeim’s discourse shows a good understanding of african dimension of the environmental crisis, especially with his analysis of the traditional and modern african societies’ contribution to the complexity of the environmental crisis, his position on the needed environmental ethic is alienation of the african spirit and peculiar experiences.12 quite true, as he states, environmental problem in african and anywhere else is primary a consequence of human action. and as value systems inform our actions, we need to search for a viable environmental ethics that is in agreement with african ontology. this is essential in order to pave way for environmental policies that will be compliant with the historic culture experiences of the people and barriers to sustainable green environment. in fact, ogungbeim’s alarming recommendation that nature should invariably apply its brake through volcanic eruptions earthquakes and others in order to have a drastic reduction in african population growth rate is reflective of the disconnectedness of his ethics of nature relatedness and african ontology. the above mark of deficiency in ogunbem’s ethics of nature relatedness is the strong point of tangwa’s environmental ethics of eco-in-communitarian. though not without its own problems, the merit of tangwa’s position is that he reorganized the indispensability of african metaphysics in the construction of a meaningful african environmental ethnics. the absence of the dichotomy between plants, animals and inanimate things, between the sacred and the profane, matter and spirit, the communal and the individual in the african metaphysical worldview informed the traditional african disposition and attitude of live and let live. such metaphysics is not one of domination instigated by greed nor is it consumerist in nature. latent in that metaphysics are folkloric ascertains and certain taboos that are conservational of iconological balance of the environment. the problem with tangwa’s exploration of an african environmental ethics is that it is an ethno-philosophical defense of indigenous african treatment and management of the environment. he never reorganized the ways and manners by which traditional african contributed to the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 79 degradation of the environment albeit ignorance and poverty. this is the strong and commendable point explicit in ogungbemis position. in the account of both ogungbemi and tangwo, some fundamental questions, which are ethically essential to a plausible african orientation in environmental ethnics, are left upraised let alone discussed and this shall form the concept we seek to pursue in this work such questions as what should be the nature of human obligation and role in the relationship between humans and nature? how can the human person which has a pride of place in african thought system be fitted nonanthropocentrically into african environmental discourse? what is the need for an environmental ethics that is african in orientation? and must such be exclusionary of the existing known environmental theories from the west? what are the political, cultural, economic educational legal and moral imperatives to be taken into consideration in the construction of an african environmental ethnics in order to salvage the african environment from further deteriorations? the solution to environmental destabilization is not purely technological or exclusively attitudinal. environmental ethics no matter how grounded in african experience it could be or intellectually sophisticated it could be can’t alone solve the environmental crisis in africa. there has to be an orientation that keeps in minds the various imperatives as mentioned above. we will in the next subheading look at other relational environmental theories as put forward by ramose, behrens etc. this will be in line with our commitment to look at some of the african environmental theories put forward and see their strengths and weaknesses before we try to put forward a plausible interpretation of an african non-anthropocentric environmentalism. it is worthy of note that these theories by ogungbemi and tangwa are all attempts at positing a nonanthropocentric interpretation of african attitude to the environment. 2.3. ecology through ubuntu mogobe b. ramose wrote a brilliant article to articulate african conception or attitude to the environment in the article he tittled ecology through ubuntu.13 he posited that motho ke motho ka batho is a sotho proverb found in almost all these indigenous languages of african. it means that to be human is to affirm one’s humanity reorganizing the humanity of others and on that basis establish human relations with them. accordingly, it is botho (humanness or humanity) and a humane, respectful and polite attitude towards other human beings which constitute the proverbs core or central meaning.21 neither the single individual nor the community can define and pursue their respective purposes without igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 80 recognizing their mutual foundedness, their complementary natures. wholeness is the regulative principle here since what is asserted is that the single individual is incomplete without the other. the concept of batho or ubuntu, as it is referred to by ramose in indigenous african languages is not readily translatable into humanism, especially if humanism is understood as a specific trend in on the evolution of western philosophy. humaneness for him is a better rendition of the concept. according to ramose, humanness suggests both a condition of being and the states of becoming, of openness or ceaseless unfolding. it is thus opposed to any ism” including humanism for this tends to suggest a condition of finality, a closeness or a kind of absolute either incapable of or resistant to, any further movement.14 but motion being the principle of change it follows that resistance to motion is tantamount to resistance to change. ramos avers that this basic difference between humanness and humanism speaks to two difference perceptions of and perspective on, reality or being. humanness regards being, or the universe, as a complex wholeness involving the multi layered and incessant interaction of all entities. this condition of permanent, multidirectional movement of entities is not by definition chaos. on the contrary, it is both the source and the manifestation of the intrinsic order of the universe. herein lies. the ecosophical dimension of the indigenous african concept of ubuntu the principle of wholeness applies also to the relation between human beings and physical or objective nature. for ramose, to care for one another, therefore implies caring for physical nature as well. without such care, the interdependence between human beings and physical nature would be undermined. moreover human beings are indeed an intrinsic part of physical nature although possibly a privileged part.23 the point ramose tries to show is that humans are parts of the whole of nature but having a special place. accordingly, caring for one another is the fulfillment of the natural duty to care for physical nature too. the concept of harmony in african thought is comprehensive in the sense that it conceives of balance in terms of the totality of the relations that can be maintained between and among human beings as well as between human begins and physical nature. the quest for harmony is thus the striving to maintain a comprehensive but specific relational condition among organism and entities. it is the continuous striving to strike and then maintain a balance between human beings and physical nature. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 81 the loss of ubuntu for ramose is compensated for by the somewhat disconsolate comfort and easy life brought about by technological advancement continues to reaffirm the need to restore ubuntu because more than ever before, humanity is faced with the threat of catastrophic ecological disaster. this is exemplified by widespread air pollution, climate change, the destruction of the ozone layers and the ever constant threat of nuclear ommcide. botho can make a significant contribution according to ramose to the quest for universal peace now threatened by nuclear war, however remote such a war may seem. as is widely understood, while nuclear war would reduce the planet to a radioactive rubble, any nuclear accident would have far reaching ecological consequences. the threat of nuclear war represents a water shed in thought on war and peace as it underline the fundamental irrationality of resorting to such a method of warfare. thus it simultaneously enjoins not only would be nuclear belligerents but also all human kind to seek for peace and build a solid foundation for the construction of peaceful relations among human kind to seek for peace. 2.4. parental earth ethics ecophilosophy can provide a practical basis upon which to formulate a new ethics that would take into accounts the complexity and totality of nature. this oruka and jumia calls this parental earth ethics.14 parental earth ethics is not simply of intellectual enquiry. it is the basis upon which different cultures around the world including africa would base their environmental perception. this ethics can be presented on the form of principles and rules. imagine families with six children, two of the six are relatively rich and four generally poor. among the rich, one is extremely rich while among the poor, three are very poor. the reason for the difference in status have to do partly with the family history, partly with personal luck and partly with individual talents. though the children have different and diverse possessions, they have certain things in common such as parents (whether alive or diseased) they are also common in that each of them has status and achievements based on the teaching which the family as a whole provided. some made better use of that while others may have squandered it. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 82 the children find that their lives and relationships are guided by the unwritten ethical laws which can best be summarized under two main principles (i) parental debt (or bond) principle (pp) and (ii) individual luck principal.15 2.4.1. parental debts principle this principle according to oruka and jumia, consists of four related rules dealing with family, security and dignity, parental debt, and individual and family survival. the family security rules states that the fate and security (physical or welfare) of each member of a family is ultimately bound up with the existential reality of the family, as a whole. any one of the six members may for example, be arrogant and have enough to claim selfsufficiency and independence from the rest, however, eventually, the person and the person’s own progeny may experience a turn of events which could make them desperately in need of protection from the family. history abounds with such example; both the roman and the otoman empire disintegrated and their children and dependents sought their security and fate elsewhere. western europe was liberated from economic rain after the second world war by a power outside her borders and today, the former soviet union is desperately looking for rescue from such a small power as italy. the kinship shame rule is that the life condition of any member of the family affect all the others materially and emotionally, as no member can be proud of his or her situation however happy, if any member of the family tree lives in squalor. there is a partial non earthen application of this rule in our current world. european powers are more inclined to help fellow europeans out of their squalor than they are prepared to do the same for some third world country. the parental debt rule assumes and explains the relationship and debt between the family members. whichever member is affluent or destitute owes his fortune or misfortune to the parental and historical factors inherent on the development of the family. hence within the family, no one above is fully res possible neither for his affluence nor for his misfortune. the individual and family survival rule states that no member of the family given the above rules has any moral obligation to refrain from interfering with the possession of any brother or sister who ignores the obligation to abide by the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 83 rules of the family ethics. this rule allows the disadvantaged to demand assistance from the affluent but it also allows the creative and the hardworking members of the family to repossess underdeveloped possessions of the idle relatives and develop them for use of posterity the individual lack principle. this is made up of three constituent rules according to oruka etal, dealing with personal achievements, personal supererogation, and public law. the personal achievement rule states that what a member passes is due mainly to the person’s special talents. this is a kind of family individualism which disregards historical experience and the organic constitution of the family. the personal supererogation rule provides that every member has a right to do whatever he or she wishes with his or her possession. finally the family public laws stales that any member of the family who contravenes the right of another member as given by the second principle will be subject to the family public law, and would be punished or reprimanded and ordered to restore justice. the parental debt principle takes precedence over the individual lack principle in case of a conflict between the two. and this is all it should be. why, for example, would we not see it as senseless that an individual member of a family would want to do anything she wishes with her possessions, while a member of her kids or kin may be in desperate need of help? the basic ethical rationale for why the parental debt principle takes precedence is as follows, the individual luck principle (p) is supported fundamentally by the “right of first occupation, personal luck and achievements. i.e. the veil of fate but the first principle (pp} springs from the fact of organic unity between the children, the common pool of their wealth (whatever the differences in possessions) and the need for the common security. the ethics of common sense shows that when in any given family or community matters of common wealth, and common security conflict with matters of the personal possession; lack or achievements, the former must prevail over the later. there is no country, he argues, in which for example, an individual institution would be safe guarded if it endangers the security or the economy of all the nations. and it is also clear that no country would accept the wish or a will from one of its citizens which stipulates that upon death, all his achievements, however dear to the country, should be exterminated or kept out of use by anybody. the reason for such a will would be that those achievements are personal and hence, the personal superogation rule is to prevail. the objection to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 84 this will can only be supported by involving the issue of common origin, common security and common wealth. it is clear for this, that the earth or the world is s kind of a family unit in which the members have kith and kin relationship with one another, so far our discussion is driven towards the claim that the earth is a common wealth to all humanity. we are prepared to concede that the world has no sovereign. but this does not affect the claim that planet earth not the world is a common good or heritage for all humankind. the question of the right by first occupation or personal achievement does not overrule this truth. if it did, then it would make no sense to accept the territorial rights of the europeans who migrate to america after christopher columbus discovered that continent over five hundred years ago. the territorial rights and sovereignty in the americas would in that case rightly and legitimated belong to the indigenous indians. however the reality today is such that indigenous indians have no more a legitimate claim to that part of the earth than the migrants who invaded it five hundred years ago. again if the rights of first occupation or generally the veil of fate is to prevail over the principle of the earth as a common good for all humankind then all that was procured through the colonization of such places like africa and india should have been returned to these former colonies a long time ago. but nowadays, it seems it does not make sense to demand that such resources be returned. on colonialism, what we lament is the fact that those who developed themselves by it have turned their backs on those they colonized and now claim that they ( the former subjects) have no share in or claim to any of their current possession. but given the organic constitution of life and the principle of parental earth ethics the former colonies have a legitimate claim to such possession. oruka etal tried to argue for their position. for them an objection may arise from this submission. one such objection would be that earth is not a common good in the sense of sharing whatever we have gained from it with everybody. the earth is a common good only in the sense that is an open field for the survival of the fittest.16the third, reich of hitler was to last 1000 years. but it lasted for only 12 years. the roman employee of course lasted a long time, but it did not last forever. today, the descendants of (say) the british empire would surely feel some relief and pride in any historical revelation of any good which the enquire did to the colonies for it is precisely from the goods not the evils done by igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 85 colonization that makes former subjects tolerant and at time even friendly to their former oppressors. so when we take not the subservient ends of nations, but the ultimate or organic ends of all nature, no particular species or nation could be the fittest or weakest in accordance with the historical organic shifts of nature. perhaps what all nations which are rich and powerful need to do is to invest in the pool of the rest of the world, so that when their historical turn or shift to oblivion comes, others may remember them with compassion. this would be a parental earth insurance policy. the other objection is that parental earth ethic is a quasi-religious exaggeration of the kinship relationship between all people of the earth, that is it is a doctrine for preachers in churches but not relevant to the real world of the political and economic class bond. the kinship issue is not being dragged into this matter just as moralizations of the virtue of declaring all human beings, and all species in nature as “brothers and sisters” ii is given here as an assertion derived from the ecological truth about nature and the ultimate common fate of all creatures living on planet earth. without the element of kinship or organic unity of nature none of the arguments of the current environmental protectionist would be valid for all peoples and nations. but given the organic unity of nature, the arguments make sense for it is clear that the pollution and the degradation of sections of the earth are likely to have consequence in the rest of the globe. this is the concern that led to the convening of the earth submit in brazil in 1992. the meeting was a symbol of family gathering. the last objective is one which claims that we are placing creatures such as even earthworm in the same moral level as human beings. equality of all human beings may be understandable, but how about equality (say) between a head of a state and an earthworm? the earthworm does not demand or require equality with a head of state but nature demands that we do not extinguish earthworm specie. earthworms are a part of the biodiversity without which even a head of state would be non-existent. there are basically two main reasons in the need for the sustenance of biodiversity. one is that all sentientbeing has an intrinsic value and the other is that human life on earth is doomed to perish if we destroy biodiversity. although the first reason is still too remote for most people to grasp, the second igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 86 reason is and should be today common knowledge any reasonable adult human beings. we propose parental earth ethics as a basic ethic that would offer a motivation for both a global environment concern and a global redistribution of the wealth of nations. let us now look at african relational environmentalism. it has some similarities with parental earth ethics, and ubuntu ecology as all focus on themes like: relationships, interdependence interconnectedness and interrelatedness. the whole world in an african understanding is interconnected with each other. a harm to one aspect like the physical nature will have a strong effect on rest of the ecosystem and this informs human relationship with her environment. the second point of similarity in these theories on african environmentalism in the place it accords man. they see man as a privileged part of nature (ubuntu) or as a being in whom relating with counts. such that the more close or cordial the relationship with man is the more moral status will be accorded. they also pride themselves as being devoid of ethnocentric. let us now look at african relational environmental 2.5. african relational environmentalism relational theory in african ethical discourse was first put forward by an american born philosopher. thaddeus metz. this he did in his intelligent article titled. an african theory of moral status. a relational alternative to individualism and holism.17 this view argues that animals and humans both have moral status that is of the same kind but different in degree; in the sense that even a severely mentally incapacitated human being has a greater moral stats than an animal with identical internal properties and a new born in fact has a greater moral status than a mid – tolate stage foetus. he argues too that the holists accord no moral status to any of these beings assigning it only to groups to which they belong, while individualists such as welfares grant an equal moral status either to animal or severally mentally incapacitated humans. relational theory of moral status therefore argues that it does a better job of accounting for degrees of moral status. thus according to metz, something has moral status in so far as it is capable of having a certain causal or intentional connection with another being. this view is grounded in salient sub-saharan moral views roughly according to which the greater a being’s capacity to be part of a communal relationship with us the greater its moral status. i understand this theory to be purely african in a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 87 great sense. the more relationship is closer to human the more moral status it has. this therefore implies that a goat has better, moral status than a rat, it also implies that a mad man still has a stronger moral status than a goat because of the status of the relationship. this theory has been criticized especially by horthenske, in his animal and african ethic as anthropocentric. for him, it is human centered to judge moral considerability based on relationship with humans in particular. otherwise why should it be humans whose close relationship with, confers moral status.18 the researcher understands metz work to be strongly based on africa ontology at least english speaking africa. this relational conception can also be seen in theories like ubuntu ecology. ubuntu argues that all things interrelate but that humans are a privileged part of the relationship even though romose failed to give the sense in which humans are privileged. this can therefore make the argument that the privilege accorded man in ubuntu is anthropocentric.. the second strong importance of the three theories; ubuntu, parental earth ethics and rotational theory is that they are somewhat not ethnocentric. they do not base their arguments on the ancestors, gods, spirits and those ethnocentric insinuation that in my view do not pass for professional philosophy. one can assert the ontology of particular society but philosophy demands that we do not just stop at a sociological religious interpretation of being in societies but sieve out philosophical critical perspectives that is universalizable and that can pass for real philosophy otherwise it came only pass for ethnophilosphy. i hereby applaud the sense in which ubuntu, parental earth ethics and relational moral status posit their theories. nevertheless i argue here that if we extend this relational moral status to the environment like kevin behrens did few problems will emerge that will tilt the theory towards anthropocentrism. behrens kelvin after citing few examples of works of african philosophers that posited the interrelated and inter connectedness of being, posited what he called african relational environmentalism.19 his project was to articulate if possible, a promising non-anthropocentric african theory as a counter to the anthropocentric view of philosophers. according to him, some philosophers like callicott, bujo, tempels has claimed erroneously that african ontology favour anthropocentrism. he therefore posited that contrary to anthropocentric ideas that there is a strong emphasis on the interrelatedness or interconnectedness of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 88 human beings and the rest of nature that is also evident in african thought providing basis for a promising african environmentalism. according to many african theorists, the belief in the interdependence of natural entities clearly implies that people should respect and live in harmony with the community of nature. the robustly communitarian character of much african ethic informs this moral requirement to live in harmony, individual members of the community of nature can be fulfilled only in and though their relationship with others. these relationships are often characterized in familial terms, emphasizing the need for mutual support solidarity, care and nurturing. i have suggested elsewhere that this approach to the environmentalism holds promise for environmental ethics because of its relational focus. this is what behrens calls african relational environmentalism.42 he avers that on this relational approach virtue is achieved through maintaining harmonious relationships that prioritize neither the individual nor the community while respecting both. since the interest and needs of both individual and groups always count, and always need to be kept in balance, this approach is able to avoid the extreme of both individualism and holism. in developing this non anthropocentric african relational environmentalism further, behrens also tried to establish what kind of things might plausibly, be considered to be part of the community of nature and capable of being included in this familial or communal relationship. since on this african approach, harmonious relationships with other natural entities ought for be nurtured. in defining what should constitute the community or what should be morally considerable, behnens tries to differentiate between moral status and moral considerability. for him, moral status could mean just respecting and promoting a being but moral considerability is much more. in the literature of environmental philosophy, the notion moral considerability is quite often used interchangeably with the notion of moral value. but the two notions are not exactly the same. moral value is something that ought to be protected and/or promoted. but to say that something has moral considerability is to say that its existence wellbeing interest preference and or some other aspects of it ought to be directly rather than indirectly given positive weight in our moral deliberations about action that are likely to affect it. hence while things are mostly considerable, it is not necessarily the other way round. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 89 thus behrens identified few factors that confer moral considerability; life, sentience and rationality. he also identified few factors that confer moral considerability in african though system, example interrelatedness, life force, totemism, inhabit spirit and folklore etc. behrens agues however that if one understands life as existing in individual things as well as in an interconnected web, then this african view may well be described as life – centered approached. to distinguish it from more conventional biocentric or life centered approaches, he refer to this view as “web of life centered”20 for him, what grants moral considerability or constitutes community to an entity is not that it has an individual life telos of its own but that it is part of the web or fabric of life. and then on this view all things that can be part of this web of life that themselves share or enable this life can be morally considerable. since everything that forms part of the web is in some way interconnected or interdependent with other parts of the web, all these entities need to be taken into account morally. hence behrens asserted that most plausible interpretation of the various overlapping conceptions of moral considerability in african thought is that they ground moral considerability in being part of the interconnected web of life. in essence behrens’ african relational environmentalism and thad metz’ relational theory differs in some subtle sense, while moral standing or moral considerability is granted to being the closer they relate to human, behrens view of moral status is web of life centre entity. this means in my views a broader perspective. while metz’s concept of african moral considerability is being that relates more closely to humans, behrens conception is somewhat holistic. i see in metz’s conception a purely african understanding of moral standing in so far as humans in african context have a pride of place. also metz concept of modal relation answer deeper question as regards moral standing of a fetus, mad woman, and other serious ethical puzzles. nevertheless here is a sense in which philosophers like horthenske would see relational theory as anthropocentric. modal relational theory distinguished humans form the rest of the ecosystem in the sense that it is relationship with human that should confer moral stand. horthnske would ask, why not relationship with animals like dog or lizard? i see metz as asserting the in african at least english speaking sub. saharan african humans has a stake, a strong stake in the whole of ecosystem, same view was reiterated by ramose when he posited a holistic view of the ecosystem but did not forget to say that human are a privileged part, even though it is part of the whole ecosystem. how then do we describe this human place? failure to give the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 90 sense in which humans participate in this whole drama will simply be termed anthropocentric. this paper therefore sets out to attempt a nonanthropocentric sense of asserting the place of human in the ecosystem. humans have a place in the ecosystem and such place is not right based where humans have the legal or whatever right to kill, eat and dominate the world, rather it is a place; an obligatory place, a task based, job oriented place. it is humans who should take responsibility for the whole of ecosystem. i intend in the next section to discuss a view i call obligatory anthropoholism. this is a plausible african conception of our attitude to the environment. the views discussed above are all in one way or the other throwing light and clarifying views on african environmentalism, but giving just a holistic approach, in my view does not just answer the question of who tends or who should work the other. also highlighting the place of humans giving a sense in which humans have this place, distinguishing it from the old anthropocentric view begs the question. i seek to assert and subtly too, that humans have a place in the whole of ecosystem. this holistic picture offered by african philosophers cannot be complete without highlighting the place of man. second highlighting the place of man without giving the sense in which humans have this place is also incomplete. 3. obligatory anthropoholism; a plausible african perspective to the environment. the theory i wish to pursue as a plausible alternative to these theories should be one that will have the following characteristics firstly, it should show mastery of african ontology. thereby being african enough. secondly it should highlight holism as an important aspect of africa ontology which informs our relationship to the environment. thirdly, it should in some sense be my view that is my individual conception of what an african environmental ethics should be, being informed and also standing on the view of other african environmental ethicists. this way, i shall be held accountable for my flaws, misinterpretations and misappropriation of other concepts and not hide under the cloak of african ontology to make submission. i am of the view that individualism in this light is not pride but humility and accepting to be criticized and corrected if need be. fourthly, the theory i wish to pursue should have and retain a special, privileged place for humans in line with african ontology. this pride of place has been the subject of misunderstanding in african environmental ethics as it is often igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 91 branded anthropocentric. it is worthy of note here that african ontology has that place for man from tempels, ogotemeli, ubuntu, uwa ontology, ife and onye ontology, relational moral status etc. fifthly and more importantly, there should be a sense in which humans are a privileged part in the holistic ecosystem. this sense brings to fore the non-anthropocentric understanding of african environmental attitude. this portends that even though humans are a privileged part of the ecosystem, it cannot be interpreted as anthropocentric. sixthly, i will give an application of my theory into real environmental issues like ekwulobia erosion at oko and ekwulobia nigeria and attempt using the theory to try resolving this environmental menace. i call my view to african environmental theory obligatory anthropoholism. this underscore both the place of man (anthropos) the holistic concept of being in africa, whereby all existing things intercompenetrates each other (holism) and i give a sense in which humans are singled out of the whole. this sense is the facts of obligation. it is human who is under obligation to care for the whole of ecosystem. i am writing because i wish to prescribe to humans and not cows, how to relate, care, tend and conserve the ecosystem. this is practical and simple; humans’ special place is not a right bussed placement, which is somewhat alien to africa. it is in the light of the capacity for obligation that humans are privileged. right based conception is what brought anthropocentrism, obligation based ethics will strike a balance in the whole of ecosystem.most act-oriented ethical reasoning looks at required action, not rights, and at obligation, rather than at preferred outcome. act-centred ethics, in its many forms seek to establish certain principles of obligations which are to constrain not only individual action but institutions and practices. . the great advantage of rights-based ethics is that it is so beautifully adapted to making claims; its great disadvantage is that these claims can be made with flourish and bravado while leaving it wholly obscures who, if anyone has a duty or obligation to meet them. yet if nobody has obligation that correspond to a supposed right, then, however loudly it is claimed or proclaimed, the right amounts to nothing. proclaiming rights is all too easy; taking them seriously is another matter, and they are not taken seriously unless the corollary obligations are identified and taken seriously. although the rhetoric of rights has become the most widely used way of talking about justice in the last fifty years, it is the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 92 discourse of obligations that addresses the practical question who ought to do what for whom? the profound structural difficulties of the discourse of rights can be obscured because many discussions of rights veer unconsciously between claims about fundamental natural or moral rights and claims about institutional or positive rights. identifying the obligations which are the counterparts to institutionalized or positive rights is unproblematic: here the move back to practical discourse is easily achieved. however, appeals to institutional and positive rights are not justification of those rights: institutional and positive rights are objects rather than the sources of ethical criticisms and justification. in some societies some humans have had the positive rights of slavemasters; in others bear who kill or maim other animals have had positive rights to a trial. neither fact establishes anything about the justice or the ethical acceptability of slavery or about the capacities of bears to act wrongly or unjustly, or their rights to due process. to establish what is right or wrong, just or unjust, right-based reasoning would have to appeal to fundamental, moral or natural rightsyet these are the very right whose counterpart obligations can so easily be over-looked, with the consequences that they are merely proclaimed and not taken seriously, and that a theoretical rather than a practical approach to ethics is adopted. these are ample reasons for act-oriented ethical reasoning to take obligations rather than rights as basic. a switch of perspective from recipience to action, from rights to obligations, carries no theoretical costs and may yield considerable gain: a focus on obligations will incorporate everything that can be covered by a focus on rights (since any genuine right must be matched by a converse obligation) and can also incorporate any other less tightly specified obligations, which lack counterpart rights. moreover, this switch of focus from rights to obligations is productive for environmental ethics; the main advantage of taking obligations as basic is simple gain in clarify about obligatory anthropoholism. even if some rights are not human rights, all obligations will be human obligations. or, putting the matter more carefully, obligations can be held and discharged only where capacities for action and for reasoning reach a certain degree of complexity, and we have no knowledge of such capacities except among human beings and in institution created and staffed by human being. and so in obligatory anthropoholism, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 93 humans, having a pride of place in africa are only defined in terms of their obligatory role to the environment. it is humans as agents who will care for the holistic ecosystem. same view can justify an anthropocentric approach but i think the slight difference is the fact that in obligatory anthropoholism, the obligation is not targeted at just human ends, for human benefit or for his economic enrichment, rather the african concept of holism; the interrelatedness, interconnectedness, intercompentraion between both the seen and the unseen elements puts humans under obligation to tend, care and conserve the environment. it is nonanthropocentric when we look at the end to which obligatory anthropoholism aims. the chief end or purpose for anthropocentrism is human benefit but not so for obligatory anthropoholism, the purpose or telos end for which obligatory anthropoholism aims is holistic, the whole of ecosystem, humans are just the agent which can simply fulfill this end. thus, i propose that african environmental philosophy seen from this light provides a promising nonanthropocentric, practical and very simplistic approach to the environmental concerns of both africa and the world at large few objections and criticisms can be made against obligatory anthropoholism in my view; the first is that it is anthropocentric because it makes humans the agent of obligation and sees human from a privileged perspective. this by implication will make humans exploit rather than tend the environment, at the end of the day, we are back to anthropocentrism again. secondly, there can be criticisms about its africanness, where scholars have argued that african environmental perspective is simply anthropocentric. thirdly, is the question of how this theory can comfortably fit into the issues and challenges in the african soil, fight and defeat them. in attempting but not exhausting these criticisms, it is worthy of note that mine is only an attempt at evolving an africa theory of environmentalism that can match and defeat the challenges of the environment in africa and elsewhere, my theory does not boast of mastery, it does not in any way dismiss or counter the views or themes of other africa environmentalist it is only a humble contribution to the understanding of africa environmentalism. as much as possible, it is a personal understanding made out of african ontology, it therefore cannot be said to authoritatively assume “the african environmental approach”. the implication igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 94 of the above statement is that it puncturable, it can be criticized and can be built upon; it is a contribution among other contribution which does not claim to exhaust all there is to african environmental philosophy. this position is really worthy of note for critics of obligatory anthropoholism. in reply to the first criticism of obligatory anthropoholism being anthropocentric and thereby falling into the pit it has tried to fill up, it is important for me as well as for all to understand that for whatever position you choose to take anthropocentric, nonanthropocentric and ecocentric, the humans are the one who will still be the agent is all these discourse. humans are the ones who should care for the whole of ecosystem, they are the ones we are writing to, they are the ones who should be obligated to protect the ecosystem, whether as institution or as parastatals, action based ethics can justify anthropocentric ethics but can also justify africa obligatory anthropoholism. the simple difference in african obligatory anthropoholism is that the purpose and end (telos) of humans obligation is african ontology is interconnectedness, togetherness and this fulfills her humanness as ramose asserts, it is in working for the betterment of all both humans and physical nature that the human in ubuntu finds fulfillment and satisfaction. it is in respectful relationship with the environment that eco-bio communitarian of tangwa finds satisfaction. it is that relationship defined from the obligatory role that makes african relational environmentalism worthwhile. it is the obligatory role of humans to the environment that makes it necessary to assert as metz does, that it is relating with humans that somewhat confers moral status. the implication of this theory is germane, the humans has a pride of place in african ontology and this place is the place of obligation to care for not just herself in the sense of using the physical nature for personal gains but rather in holistic sense of being the one who enforce holism. this means in practical terms that man should eat cow, goat, also means that humans should protect rivers and the atmospheric air for the sake of the circle of ecosystem and since the end is holism, it differs from anthropocentrism. the purpose of anthropocentrism is human benefit, the while the purpose of obligatory anthropoholism is ecocentric or holistic. in the end, all theories if seen from an obligatory action perspective will come back to an agent (humans) and thus nonanthropocentric view can as well be justifiable with this. on the question of the africanness of obligatory igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 95 anthropoholism, a theory in african environmental philosophy is african the extent to which it imbibes the values extracted from african ontology. it therefore requires a theorist to show mastery of african ontology given, ethnophilosophy or what prof. innocent asousu calls unintended ethnocentric commitments may question the criticality of some african ontology for instance, arguments from ancestors, deities and gods. asousu posits that these sociological or cultural postulations are simply not philosophical because of two reasons, firstly, they are not critical or rational and secondly, some of these philosophers hide under african communal thought to express their individuality, oftentimes seen as overgeneralization. philosophy trives in individuality and not communal thought. i argued elsewhere however, that even though african ontological discourse of some philosophies are ethnocentric, they are raw materials for philosophy and necessary tool for evolution of a promising african environmental ethics. this is true in the sense that it is from african experience, ideologies, worldviews and cosmologies that a promising african philosophy can be formed, since going outside the african experience will not foster or motivate africans effectively to care for their environment, scholars like hargrove will suggest that theorists should enrich their theories with the peculiarities of their different cultures so as to motivate and persuade men and women to care for their environment. african ontology holds values such as togetherness, holism and a special place for man high. and it is based on these values when well interpreted that a promising environmental nonanthropocentric philosophy can emerge. obligatory anthropoholism inculcates these values example humans, holism and also gives the sense in which human being is privileged. as to how this theory can be comfortable applied into the african peculiar environmental situation, obligatory anthropoholism is not a complex theory but a simple practical one. the factors involved are simple humans and enlightenment as to the best practices as regards to environmental protection. at ekwulobia and oko, serious gully erosion has greatly affected the land at different sides. these erosions are not just one but many. there is this superstitious belief that a god called ududo nka who is a big python, is responsible for the erosion and continues to open it once it is provoked by the natives. obligatory anthropoholism will simply task the human around to protect first the rest of the land by planting trees and crops and not falling trees. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 96 the theory blames humans and not the goddess nor the ecosystem. the theory is not ethnocentric and therefore does not thrive in superstition. it blames humans because of their incessant falling of bush trees to build houses for themselves without adequate replacement and care for the land thereby leaving the soil porous to be overrun by flood. it posits that humans should be adequately educated as to the ecosystem and the implication of obstructing the circle of ecosystem causing erosion thereby. if such menace will be prevented, humans have a role to play. government is however beckoned to help out as the natives can only prevent further occurrence but not control the heavy gully erosion already in existence. obligatory anthropoholism conceives that if adequate enlightenment be given, even to the uneducated on how best to protect the environment, and the reasons why, it will go a long way rather than simply ascribing rights to humans, animals and land. 4. conclusion obligatory anthropoholism has a strong conviction that environmental ehtics or no environmental ethics, africa should be developed; starting from the human person to infrastructure and to all other spheres of human endevour. obligatory anthropohohlism does not abdicate the social responsibility of development to only god, the government or institutions alone; it asserts that all humans have something to add. it also calls on african governments to establish more educational institutions. here lies the developmental import of obligatory anthropoholism as a plausible non anthropocentric african environmentalism. with adequate enlightenment, even the uneducated can value the environment. with adequate enlightenment, even anthropocentrism will lead humans to care for the environment. without adequate enlightenment, even nonanthropocentric environmental ethics and obligatory anthropoholism will not be effective as regards environmental conservation. obilgatory anthropoholism therefore affirms the importance of humans in any developmental concept or approach in africa. references 1. www.conserve-energy-future.com/15 current environemntal problems.php 2. ferre frederick. ‘technology, ethics and the end of nature’ in h. odera oruka (ed) philosophy and ecology; philosophy of nature and environmental ethics. (nairobi, kenya. acts press, 1994). p. 220 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 6, september 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of tansian university, department of philosophy and religious studies) 97 3. godfrey b. tangwa. ‘some reflections on biomedical and environmental ethics’ in kwasi wiredu (ed), a companion to african philosophy. (malden: blackwell publishing ltd, 2004) p.388 4. ogungbemi, segun. “an african perspective on the environmental crisis” in pojman, louis j. (ed) environmental ethics. readings in theory and application, 2nd ed (belmont, c.a wadsworth publishing company 1997) p. 330 5. ibid p. 204 6. ibid p. 205 7. ibid p. 206 8. ibid p. 207 9. tangwa, godfrey. “some african reflection on biomedical and environmental ethics” in kwasi wiredu (ed) a companion to african philosophy. (oxford: blackwell publishers, 2004) p.385 10. ibid p. 389 11. ibid p. 387 12. p.a oyomo. “environmental ethics: an african understanding”, in the journal of pan african studies vol 4. n0. 3 (mandi 2011) p. 103 13. mogobe b ramose: “ecology through ubuntu” in journal of african ethics, (harare: mond press) p.309 14. h. odera oruka and c. juma. “ecophilosophy and parental earth ethics” in h. odera oruka (ed) philosophy, humanity and ecology, (nairobi: acts press, 1994) p.117 15. ibid p 117 16. ibid p. 119 17. thaddeus metz. “an african theory of moral status: a relational alterretive to individualism and holism” in robert f. heeger and albert w.musschenga (eds) ethical theory and moral practice an international forum. p. vol 15. no. 3 (springer: 2012) p 387 18. kai horsthemke. animal and african ethics, (london: palgrove macmillian ,2015) p. 15 19. kelvin gary behrens. “an african relational environmentalism and moral considerability” in journal of environment ethics. (crossmark: vol. 36, 2015) p. 64 20. ibid. p. 68 21. ibid. p. 70 microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.2. no.1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 30 intermediaries in african and western thoughts: a comparative analysis by ejikemeuwa j. o. ndubisi, ph.d department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, nigeria. ejikon4u@yahoo.com & peter okey ejikeme, phd department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, nigeria. okeyejikeme12@gmail.com abstract the notion of intermediaries is an existential phenomenon both in african and western thought systems. both systems of thought affirm the reality of intermediaries. but the way and manner the notion of intermediaries is perceived in the religious sphere has been a source of concern to the rational minds of the researchers. some people with western mentality believe that the notion of intermediaries in african thought is purely fetish and as such should be discarded. african notion of intermediaries is seen as one that lacks rational justification. the pertinent questions that bother the minds of the researchers are: what is the basis for the rejection of african notion of intermediaries? is there any essential difference between african and western notions of intermediaries? therefore, employing the philosophical method of hermeneutics, this study observed that the rejection of the reality of intermediaries in african religious sphere by the west lacks rational foundation. it further observed that there is no essential difference in the two systems of thought. hence, this study calls for proper application of human reason in religio-socio-cultural relationship in order to enhance good and cordial relation among all men and women irrespective of religious, cultural, political or geographical affiliations. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 31 keywords: intermediaries, priests, ancestors, saints, religion introduction the human person is not only a social or a political being but also a religious being. this is a fact of life. it will not be an overstatement to say that the human person is a religious being. religion, as we know, has to do with a relationship between the human person and the divine. it is a kind of belief in a divine reality that is worshipped by the believer. one thing that is clear is that every religion, irrespective of its origin, points to the reality of a divine reality – a being that is transcendent. but for the fact that religion is a relationship – an interaction, the question now is: how does the human person interact with the divine person? most religions of the world provide opportunities for the human person to easily interact with the supreme being. this is what brought about the idea of intermediaries. most world religions talk of intermediaries in one way or the other. we therefore make bold to say that the notion of intermediaries is an existential reality both in african and western religious systems of thought. however, experience has shown that the notion of intermediaries in african thought has been downplayed by western mentality. some people tend to easily accept the reality of intermediaries in western religions and reject african notion as fetish or irrational. this kind of attitude, in the views of the researchers, is a misconception of reality. the thrust of this paper, therefore, is to address this misconception. the paper is also geared towards a comparative analysis of african and western notions of intermediaries. this is to enable us ascertain, from a rational point of view, if there is any essential difference between the two systems of thought and also to foster good socio-religious relationship among believers of both faiths. but before we go further, we shall briefly have a look at the general notion of intermediaries and thereafter we shall move into the crux of the paper. the notion of intermediary from its etymological meaning, the word ‘intermediary’ is a derivative of the latin word ‘intermedius’ which simply means a ‘go-between’. the implication of this etymological understanding is that an intermediary is a person that helps to bridge the gap between two or more persons. according to encarta dictionary, “an intermediary is somebody who carries messages between people, or tries to help them reach an agreement”. such a person is an intermediary who understands the parties involved very well and can as well talk to each of them to bring out a positive result with ease. an intermediary is a mediator or a facilitator. he mediates between people and helps to facilitate the smooth relationship among the persons concerned. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 32 the existence of intermediary is very essential to human relation in social, political, economic or religious sphere. the need for intermediaries in the above spheres cannot be overemphasized. there are instances in social life when a person would need to meet a public office holder but cannot do that directly. in this case, he needs a facilitator – an intermediary. this is a fact of life not only in the social sphere but also in the religious sphere. intermediaries in the religious sphere have to do with both human beings and symbolic objects that help the believer to actualize his/her set goals. intermediaries in the religious sense have to do with people or sacred objects that help to bridge the gap between the material world and the spiritual world. practically, every religion makes use of intermediaries. both those that practice rigid monotheism (such as islam and judaism) and those that practice liberal monotheism (such as christianity and african traditional religion) employ one form of intermediary or another. one important thing to note is that intermediaries are commonly seen as having qualities of both worlds (the material and the spiritual worlds) which allows them to work as a bridge. having stated a brief understanding of the concept, intermediary, we shall now take a closer look at the reality of intermediaries in african and western systems of thought. intermediaries in african thought the reality of intermediaries in african thought has been misunderstood by the western scholars who measured african traditional religion (atr) with christianity. these western-mentality scholars condemn every practice of atr. for them, african reverence for deities or ancestors is superstitious. this is a misconception of reality! the fact is that africans do not worship deities or ancestors. these existential realities which the africans revere can simply be termed intermediaries. this is because they mediate between the african and the supreme being. africans believe strongly in intermediaries. below are some of the highlights of the reality of intermediaries in african thought: divinities as intermediaries in african thought divinities are the spiritual forces regarded as the messengers of the supreme being. they are like ministers in god’s theocratic government. for omoregbe (2012, p.65) divinities are spiritual beings who are subordinate to god and also act as god’s servants. these divinities are always in communion with god and as such, they mediate between the supreme being and the human person. they serve as channels through which prayers, sacrifices and offerings are presented to the supreme being. in the view of mbiti (1985, pp. 75 – 78), divinities are regarded as the personifications of god’s activities and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 33 manifestations. what it implies is that god, who is transcendent and immaterial, makes himself known through various divinities. according to ugwu (2014), divinities “assume both natural and human forms. among the igbos, such divinities include the sun god, moon god, egbe igwe, ‘kamalu’ as it is called in imo state, nigeria, or ‘amadioha’, sky god” (p. 52). these beings have been given various names by various scholars as gods, demigods, nature gods, divinities. the belief in divinities is a common phenomenon in african ontology. it is this belief in divinities that is misconstrued by the west as supreme being. hence, their misconception that africans believe in and worship many gods. omoregbe (2012) succinctly puts it thus: … the general practice is that he [god] is not worshipped directly but only indirectly through his chiefs (divinities). hence there are, generally, no shrines for the direct worship of god. it is important to note that in the mind of the africans there is no rivalry between god and his chiefs (divinities) who are always loyal to him. africans do not see themselves confronted with a choice between worshipping god or the divinities since it is god himself that they are worshipping through his divinities. (p. 65). the fact is that a divinity, in african thought, is not the supreme being but a means through whom the african gets easy access to the supreme being. kanu (2015) calls them the deans of the theocratic governance of the supreme being. divinities are only means to an end and not the end in itself. spirits as intermediaries in african thought the africans believe in the existence of spirits. spirits are believed to be next to divinities in the order of hierarchy. they are immaterial but real beings. mbiti (1985) observes that spirits “are the ‘common’ spiritual beings beneath the status of divinities, and above the status of men. they are the ‘common populace’ of spiritual beings” (p. 78). according to idowu (1991) when we talk of spirits in african ontology we are not talking of divinities or the ancestors but those apparitional entities which form separate categories of beings from those described as divinities. one thing that is clear is that these spirits are created by god but differ from god and the human person. they are nondescriptive and invisible entities. this is because they do not possess material bodies through which they could be seen. however, they possess the power to incarnate into any material being in order to make themselves seen or while carrying out certain activities. spirits act as intermediaries in african ontology. mbiti (1985) holds that “in many african societies spirits act as intermediaries who convey human sacrifices or prayers to god, and may relay his reply to men” (p. 80). for the fact that spirits can incarnate in material igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 34 bodies, it then provides the easier access for the human person to communicate with god. following their nature, spirits communicate with god directly. they do not need intermediaries; rather they serve as intermediaries between the human person and god. the way and manner the african relates with the spirits depends on the particular african society. the most important thing is that the african belief in spirits as intermediaries is, for the african, real, existential and pragmatic. ancestors as intermediaries in african thought in the family of intermediaries in african thought is found the ancestors. ancestors are therefore, people who have died but who continued to live in the community and also communicate with their family. they are vested with some mystical powers as a go-between that mediates between the world of men and the world of spirit. the ancestors are intimately involved in the affairs of their kinsmen. they are regarded as the closest link the african person has with the creator god. africans believe that ancestors continue to interact with the living in many ways. the interaction can be in the form of dream, vision or reincarnation. the fact here is that ancestors are intermediaries in african ontology. ancestors are called living-dead. this is because they share both in the world of the living and in the world of the dead (spirits). they lived among men (with body and spirit) and after death they possess only spirit (without body). the ancestors are regarded as the distinguished members of the family. one thing to note is that it is not anybody that died that automatically becomes an ancestor. ancestors were those people that lived very well while on earth; they led exemplary lives worthy of emulation. it is in this regard that idowu (1991) remarked thus: the deceased who are truly members of the families on earth; but they are no longer of the same fleshly order as those who are still in the flesh on earth. they are closely related to the world; but are no longer ordinary mortals. because they have crossed the border land between this world and the supersensible world entering and living in the latter, they have become free from the restrictions imposed by the physical world. they can now come to abide with their fold on earth invisibly, to aid or hinder them, to promote prosperity or cause adversity, (p. 184). in african ontology, the family tie is so tight that even death cannot break it. ancestral relationship is a continuation of the family relationship. the ancestors are believed to be with god and as such they have easy access with igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 35 him. it is on this ground that the african prays through the ancestors for easier accessibility to the supreme being. mbiti (1985) observed that the ancestors are the best group of intermediaries between the supreme being and the human person. he argues that ancestors “know the needs of men, they have ‘recently’ been here with men, and at the same time they have full access to the channels of communication with god directly or according to some societies, indirectly through their own forefathers” (mbiti, 1985, p.83). this is why the african approaches the ancestors more often for his/her needs. the african believes that his needs will be met easily through the intercessory role of the ancestors. priests as intermediaries in african thought history has it that at one time or the other, the human person sought for a connector between him and his fellow man; between him or his community and the world of the spirits. this is what gave rise to what we have today as priests. the priest stands between his people and the divine. arinze (2008) observes that the priest is responsible for the “act of worship offered in the name of a community or part of it”, (p.119). it is the priest that carries the offering of the people to god. in this way, the priest serves as an intermediary between the people and the supernatural world – god, gods, divinities, ancestors, etc. the priest is a connector and a mediator – an intermediary. this is why basden (1982) holds that the priest “is the accredited agent of the spirits and acts in conformance with their commands,” (p. 59). the implication of basden’s view is that a priest is an agent of two worlds – the material and the immaterial worlds. let us hear what mbiti (1985) has to say about the african notion of a priest: strictly speaking priests are religious servants associated with temples; but in the african situation the word is used to cover everyone who performs religious duties whether in temples, shrines, sacred groves or elsewhere. there are priests reported among many societies including ankore, yoruba, igbo, akan, shona, bagand, basoga, ewe, sonjo, and others…the priest is the chief intermediary: he stands between god, or divinity, and men, (pp. 187 – 188). one thing we need to point out from the view of mbiti above is that anybody that performs religious function can be regarded as a priest. it is in this regard that we can regard rainmakers, diviners, etc. as priests based on the fact that they mediate between the world of human beings and the world of the spirit. without mincing words, we say that the african believes in the reality of a priest as an intermediary. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 36 therefore, having briefly highlighted some forms of intermediaries in african thought we shall focus our searchlight on the understanding of intermediaries in the western thought. intermediaries in western thought intermediaries exist not only in african ontology but also in western ontology. the reality of intermediaries in western thought can be understood in this paper within the context of the christian notion of intermediaries. the implication is that we shall use the christian perspective of intermediary to stand for the western concept of intermediary. this delineation is very important because it shows that when we mention western thought invariably we are talking of christian thought, unless otherwise stated. christians believe strongly in the reality of intermediaries. let us briefly highlight them: angel as an intermediary in western thought the reality of angel is found in many western religions especially the abrahamic religions. an angel is said to be a supernatural being that is said to be a messenger of god. we must note that the term ‘angel’ is derived from the greek word ‘angelos’ which is the equivalent of the hebrew word “mal’akh” which simply means messenger. therefore, from this understanding, angels are believed to be spiritual beings that serve as intermediaries between god and man. they bring god’s messages to the world and also report to god their observations in the world. wikipedia (2015) reports that angels are often depicted as benevolent celestial beings that act as intermediaries between heaven and earth (par. 1). as stated earlier, the belief in angels is found in christianity, islam, judaism and other world religions. gervais is of the view that angels are intermediaries between god and man. he said: angels function as intermediaries between heaven and earth. in other traditions, whether it is the ancient persian religion, zoroastrianism, the panentheism based faiths such as naïve american or those that developed on the indian subcontinent, hinduism and buddhism, angels, demigods, spirits and devas act as a guiding influence a guardian spirit or a protector. (gervais, 2012, p. 63). the catechism of the catholic church (ccc) relates thomas aquinas’ view on angel. aquinas as cited in ccc said that “angels are spiritual creatures who glorify god without ceasing and who serve his seven plans for other creatures: the angels work together for the benefit of us all” (ccc, 1995, p. 101). for gilson (1955) angels occupy the summit of the universal hierarchy of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 37 being. for the fact that they are incorporeal beings, they enjoy immediate cognition of the divinity, thus, they see the immediate and direct manifestations of god. for him, the hierarchy of beings is: the divine manifestations, the incorporeal beings (angels) and the corporeal beings (man). he went further to say that angels serve as intermediaries between the divine manifestations and man. in his words: “all other creatures participate in the divine illumination through the intermediary of the angel”, (gilson, 1955, p. 122). the main point we are trying to establish here is that the belief in angels as intermediaries exists in western thought. saints as intermediaries in western thought saints are persons who lived on earth but are no more. following their good earthly living, saints are believed to be with god; they are in constant touch with god. this belief is a widespread phenomenon throughout many religions especially christianity. the notion of saints came as a result of the early persecution of christians. some christian believers were killed because of their faith in christ; they became martyrs. the early christians believe that for the fact that those martyrs suffered and died for christ, they have been received directly in heaven. consequently, anybody that lived and died for christ is regarded as a saint. such a person has the power to intercede for the living. in the roman catholic church, saints are being venerated because of their spiritual and religious significance. some christians believe that they can interact with god directly while others believe that they can get easy access to god through the mediation of the saints who are believed to be with god. in this sense, saints act as intermediaries between the spiritual world and the material. it is believed that since they once lived on earth, they understand the predicaments of men and can therefore present them to god in a way to achieve positive result for the believer. priests as intermediaries in western thought the term priest is a derivative of the greek word presbyteros which simply means ‘elder’. a priest is seen as an elder in the christian community. a priest is not only an elder but he is also a person designated to offer sacrifices to god on behalf of the people. this is why the general understanding of a priest is the one that acts as an intermediary between god and his people. in the view of bucher as cited in ezekona (2008, p. 1), priesthood is seen as a sacred institution in a religious setup whose sacred officiates are ordained and dedicated for the service of a particular cult especially in sacrificial and other allied matters. bucher’s position ties priesthood with sacrifice. a priest is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 38 meant to offer sacrifice to god on behalf of the people. boudinhon as cited in ezeogu (2008) observed that “every religion has its priest who functions essentially as intermediaries between men and the divinity,” (p. 16). a priest is believed to be a mediator and maintainer of the equilibrium between the sacred and the profane in human society. again, as agents vested with sacred power, they are believed to have the ability to control and manipulate through rituals, the natural processes and events. priests are not only to offer sacrifices but also to offer prayers for and on behalf of the people. they also receive information from the divine being and pass same to the people. priests are the custodians of the divine worship and as such, they are the go-between between heaven and earth. in the roman catholic church and some other orthodox churches, the notion of priest is very prominent; but in some other churches the use of pastors, prophets or elders are prominent. the point is that no matter the nomenclature, they perform similar function in the community of god’s people. african and western thoughts on the reality of intermediaries: a comparative analysis so far, we have tried to analyze the reality of intermediaries in both african and western systems of thought. it is undeniable the fact that intermediaries exist in both thoughts. one thing to note is that both systems of thought believe in the monotheistic view of god. monotheism is the belief in one god. the african believes that there is only one god who is supreme, all-powerful, all-knowing and all-good. the african does not believe in many gods. there is no african word for supreme beings. the african can only talk of divinities or gods who serve as intermediaries with god. the western also share the same belief as the african. it is the same god that is approached differently depending on one’s understanding and cultural background. it is the belief in one god who is transcendent that necessitates the notion of intermediaries. but the problem comes when the western begins to tell the african that his (african) belief is irrational, unrealistic and fetish. without mincing words, from our analysis above one will observe that this is a case of ‘kettle calling pot black’. omoregbe (2012) affirms that “africans acknowledge and worship only one god through his various chiefs who are his ministers and intermediaries between him and men” (p. 66). it is evident from what we have mentioned earlier that there is a very close affinity between western and african thoughts as regards the reality of intermediaries. for instance, both systems of thought believe in the existence of angels. in african thought, divinities (angels) play more role than the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 39 angels in christianity, judaism and islam. they are accorded more importance than angels in the already mentioned western religions. the main point here is that both christianity and african traditional religion believe that besides god, the supreme being, there are other spiritual beings who are subordinate to god and who act as his servants or agents. whether they are called divinities by the african or angels by the western, they all point to one and the same reality. again, both african and western systems of thought have deep regard for the dead that led exemplary lives. both believe that these people are with god. in christianity, they are called saints; in african thought, they are called ancestors. thus, ancestors occupy the position of saints in christianity. these dead members who led exemplary lives are prayed to in both religions and are also invoked for help since they are believed to be with god. worthy of note is that in both christianity (especially the roman catholic church) and atr the intermediaries – divinities, angels, saints/ancestors – are represented by images, statues, etc. in both religions, believers pray before these statues or images. by doing so, they are not worshipping the statues themselves. the statue stands as a reminder of the person which the statue represents. neither the african nor the christian is so foolish as to pray to or worship images or statues. the fact is that believers pray to god, the supreme being through the intermediaries represented symbolically before whom he is praying or kneeling. more so, both systems of thought believe and maintain the office of the priesthood. the priest in both systems of thoughts acts as intermediary between god and the people. the priest leads in public worship. he is the ‘mouth’, ‘ear’, ‘hand’ etc. of god or gods whom he represents. our analysis so far points to the fact that there is no essential difference in the systems of thought of the african and the western, especially with regard to the notion of intermediaries. conclusion in this paper, we have tried to make a comparison of the notion of intermediaries in both african and western systems of thought. in the past, some people erroneously misconstrue the reality of intermediaries in african ontology. there were a lot of prejudices and biases in presenting anything ‘african’. for instance, a catholic kneeling before the statue of st. peter will condemn an african praying before an image of his ancestor. it does not occur to the catholic that there is no essential difference between his actions and that of the african. the idea of the western condemning african system of belief is highly prejudiced. it lacks rational justification as we have discovered igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 40 from our analysis in this paper. the only ‘basis’ or ‘justification’ for the condemnation of african notion of intermediaries is simply prejudice and superiority complex. we therefore make bold to say that there is no essential difference between the two systems of thought. in actual fact, we can say that there is so much in common between western thought (christianity) and african thought that both can be seen as essentially one in different cultural expressions. hence, this study calls for proper application of human reason in our religio-socio-cultural relationship. this is to enhance good and cordial relation among all men and women irrespective of religious, cultural, political or geographical affiliations. references arinze, f. a. (2008). sacrifice in igbo traditional religion. onitsha: st. stephens press. basden, g. (1982). among the ibos of nigeria. london: university publishing company. catechism of the catholic church (1994). nairobi: paulines publication. catechism of the catholic church. (1995). new york: doubleday. encarta dictionary, microsoft ® (2009). 1993 – 2008 microsoft corporation. ezekona, j. (2008). “on the human nature of a priest: a psychological reflection” in j. madueke, j. ezekona & b. obiefuna (eds.). the church & development. nimo: rex charles & patrick ltd. pp. 1 – 14. ezeogu, e. m. (2008). “the understanding of the catholic priesthood among the igbos of nigeria” in j. madueke, j. ezekona & b. obiefuna (eds.). the church & development. nimo: rex charles & patrick ltd., pp. 15 – 28. gervais, b. (2012). “angels: intermediaries between heaven and earth” in kingston whig-standard, september 29. gilson, e., (1955). history of christian philosophy in the middle ages. london: sheed & ward ltd. idowu, e. b. (1991). african traditional religion: a definition. london: fountain publications. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 41 kanu, i. a. (2015). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. levy, m. (2011). “angel and demon” in l. fredericksen, encyclopedia britannica ultimate reference suite. chicago: encyclopedia britannica. cdr mbiti, j. s. (1985). african religions and philosophy. london: heinemann omoregbe, j.i. (2012). comparative religion: christianity and other world religions in dialogue. lagos: joja educational research and publishers ltd. ugwu, c. o.t. (2104). “african traditional religion, philosophy and sustainable development in nigeria” in e. ezenweke (ed), african traditional religion, philosophy and sustainable development. jos: fab anieh nig. ltd. pp. 49 – 61. wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, (2015). “angel” retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/angel accessed: 27/08/15 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 179 job enrichment for improved teachers’ satisfaction in public secondary schools in anambra state eke, edith ndidi department of educational management faculty of education tansian university, umunya perpephil@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.25001.77923 abstract this research is carried out to know the job enrichment that improved teachers’ satisfaction in public secondary schools in anambra state. related literatures were reviewed based on others scholars research. the study had shown important ingredients for job enrichment strategies which include job security, conducive teaching environment, good service condition, regular promotion and teachers’ capacity building programmes.the study also revealed that these job enrichment strategies when properly adopted by secondary school principals would give the teachers opportunity to participate fully in educational activities for the development of individuals, the institution and society at large.government, through the schools board should ensure that teachers are actively involved in capacity building programmes such as seminars, workshops and conferences to improve their instructional performance and expose them on the latest reform on instructional techniques needed for the exchange of knowledge in secondary schools in anambra state’ keyword: enrichment, job, knowledge, performance, teachers, satisfaction, school introduction job enrichment could be defined as an essential system of motivating staff of organizations for improved and enhanced effective performance through a mutual sense for skill variety, identity and knowledge building. it is a technique through which institutional management motivates the interest of employers through additional responsibility and motivational packages. this creates an understanding that employees’ jobs have meaning and very important to the organization for productivity. it is all about redesigning work to increase teachers’ performance through proper allocation of challenging tasks, making it more exciting, captivating and allowing the job holder with freedom of decision, planning and control in carrying out the job for institutional productivity. job enrichment is a systematic process of redesigning jobs in a way that will maximize the opportunities to derive internal mailto:perpephil@gmail.com http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/rg.2.2.25001.77923 eke, edith ndidi 180 satisfaction simply from doing the work itself as well as enhancing quality service delivery in the school system. job enrichment is the systematic process of redesigning jobs in a better way that increases the employees’ opportunities to experience feelings of responsibility, achievement, growth, and recognition. it is an improvement on the job content, which makes it more interesting, challenging, autonomy, significant, more skill variety, better control, feedback from work done, self-respect for the employees, more opportunities for growth, and more chances of contributing their ideas towards the growth of the organization for global competitiveness. it is a fundamental instrument of managing staff for organizational growth and development. it brings about development and intensification in educational institutions. it places extra amount of work on teaching staff with the aim of making it more interesting, meaningful and increasing job challenges as well as responsibility for quality instructional performance. jobs are enriched to motivate employees by adding to their responsibilities with a greater need for skill varieties in their jobs (salau, adeniji and oyewunmi, 2014). job enrichment increases teachers’ involvement in the performance of their duties whether academic or non-academic functions, which helps in the achievement of the educational goals and objectives. this implies that, the achievement of educational goals depends on the level of performance of teachers in the discharge of their duties in the school system. this implies that, proper job enrichment for teaching and nonteaching staff enhances the achievement of institutional goals and objectives. job enrichment in an educational institution implies that, additional motivators are added to the job so that it becomes more rewarding for individual growth and institutional development. this helps to enhance the quality of service delivery as well as self satisfaction in the system. it equally allows teaching staff to participate in instructional activities as it gives them the opportunity to use their knowledge and skills for students’ productivity. according to akrani (2011), job enrichment embraces some distinct features for effectiveness, namely: the nature of the jobs which may require higher-level of knowledge, skills and responsibilities; the objective of an enriched job in such that the job becomes more lively and challenging; thus becoming a source of motivation to the staff. the enriched job is packaged to give positive results, because the workers are given opportunities to use their initiatives and innovate while working. however, an enriched job job enrichment for improved teachers’ satisfaction in public secondary schools in anambra state 181 encourages self discipline, reduces external direction and control for institutional growth and productivity. job enrichment motivates both teaching and non-teaching staff by giving them the opportunity to apply wide-range of their abilities, responsibilities and varieties in their jobs. this means that, the aim of job enrichment in an educational institution is to reverse negative effects of repetitive tasks and staff dissatisfaction. however, adequate job enrichment strategies in educational sector enhance teachers’ performance and educational delivery system. job enrichment strategies include: good service condition, regular payment of staff salaries, regular promotion of staff, staff involvement in professional development programmes, maximum cooperation between school administrators and staff, and other forms of staff motivation such as praise and non-monetary rewards. this implies that, motivated teachers are more likely to make students learn in the classroom, ensuring the implementation of educational reforms and feelings of satisfaction and fulfilment. staff job enrichment is fundamental to the quality teaching and learning process. job enrichment strategy therefore, is directed towards maintaining and improving the teaching/learning process of the school. it is also that of supporting, assisting and sharing rather than directing. it is a service activity that exists to help teachers do their job better. this desired expectation in education could be achieved through effective staff job enrichment, since it creates the awareness of sound education philosophies in teachers. job enrichment enhances teachers’ commitment to work through active participation in academic and administrative duties. staff job enrichment strategies according to nwabueze (2018) include creating a conducive environment where teaching and learning takes place for both teachers and students, provision of leadership in programme development and fostering of team spirit among teachers, as well as integration of institutional goals to societal goals. the involvement of teachers in the development of appropriate skills for the achievement of educational goals enhances teachers’ instructional performance and institutional productivity. the teacher is someone who has undergone a formal training programme with specialized knowledge of transferring the acquired knowledge to the learners for improved productivity. the teacher as someone who has undergone a formal training programme with specialized knowledge is eke, edith ndidi 182 expected to perform the following tasks: planning of lesson notes, writing of lesson note, effective delivery of lessons, proper monitoring and evaluation of students’ performance, providing regular feed-back on students’ performance, improvisation of instructional materials, adequate keeping of records and appropriate discipline of students to produce and enhance expected learning and achievement in secondary schools (madumere-obike, ukala and nwabueze, 2017). the purpose of any teacher in the classroom is to help learners learn, enquire, solve problems, and cope with their own emotional needs and tensions. the teacher promotes effective instructional tasks from the domain of teaching and learning through creative idea, participation and cooperative learning, research, analysis and critical thinking, problem solving, innovation and encouragement of creative and divergent thinking (nwabueze, 2018. these lead to the proper development of knowledge, skills, attitude, values that enable students to function effectively and live as responsible citizens as well as make useful contribution to the society. all these are achieved through proper instructional performance. instructional performance could be seen as statutory curricula functions that are performed by the teachers to enable learners achieve the set educational goals in the school system. this ultimately depends on the commitment of teachers to make judicious and adequate use of both human and material resources to ensure effective instructional performance in the teaching and learning processes (ayeni and afolabi, 2012). proper instructional performance however, is the ability of the teacher to demonstrate sound professional attributes like scholarship acquired through adequate training. it is pivotal to successful teaching, students’ learning outcomes and attainment of quality education in secondary schools. effective instructional performance can manifest in teacher’s knowledge of the subject–matter, skills and competences in the teaching and learning processes, which leads to the accomplishment of the stated educational goals. this implies the need for teachers to possess the qualities and skills needed for effective teaching and learning within the school setting (ayeni and afolabi, 2012). the aim of instructional performance is to deliver the curriculum or lesson prepared efficiently so as to achieve the set goals and standards in the school system. effective instructional performance occurs when the essence of instructional delivery has been accomplished through quality instructions in the school setting. job enrichment for improved teachers’ satisfaction in public secondary schools in anambra state 183 enriched job characteristics theory the enriched job characteristics theory was postulated by hackman and oldham in 1975. the belief that the main approach to job enrichment is based on the job characteristics which focused on the factors responsible for producing attitudes or satisfaction that is derived from doing the work itself and these factors include: opportunity for using different skills as required by the task to complete identifiable job from the beginning to the end. job enrichment is based on the job characteristics, which offer that motivation, satisfaction, commitment, involvement, performance quality, and withdrawal behaviours such as absenteeism and turnover are functions of three critical psychological behaviour that are experienced through responsibility for outcomes, and knowledge of results (grant & shin, 2011; lawler 2003; grant & parker, 2011). the enriched job characteristics theory advocates that the job itself should be designed to possess certain characteristics that create conditions for high work motivation, satisfaction, performance involvement and commitment. the job enrichment theory identifies the tasks condition in which individuals are predicted to prosper in their work. job enrichment theory gives the management the insight that employee effectiveness can be enriched by enriching the jobs with high levels of key characteristics and making sure those employees with appropriate personal qualities are assigned to these jobs. the theory provides a set of implementing principles for enriching jobs in an organizational setting, which proposed a model of five core job characteristics: skill variety, task significance, task identity, autonomy and feedback that affect motivation (oldham & hackman, 2010; parker & ohly, 2008; hackman & lawler, 1971). hackman and oldham (1975) identified kinds of job characteristics that are likely to generate excitement and commitment about work and individuals suitable for it. they include skill variety, task identity, task significance or importance, autonomy and feedback which assist to arouse three critical psychological states that influence various individual and work outcome are employees’ internal work motivation, quality of work delivery and growth need satisfaction. the more the teacher experience meaningfulness of doing the work, experience, responsibility and accountability of the work as well as having the knowledge of actual results of his effort in getting the work completed become positive. eke, edith ndidi 184 concept of job enrichment job enrichment is a job-design strategy for enhancing job content by building into it more motivating potential (lunenburg 2011). it is an attempt to motivate employees by giving them the opportunity to use their abilities (pillai, mashood, amoodi & husain, 2012; razag & nawaz, 2011; mondy, noe & premeaux, 1999). it is the systematic technique of “harnessing works processes and procedures for stimulating employees’ performance and satisfaction” (robbins & judge, 2011). the essence is to help employees to build the sense of self management and self-sufficiency (neil kokemuller, 2008). it is a qualitative change to a job that increases the extent of autonomy, feedback, and significance of the job, allowing workers to have better control and feedback in their work setting. an addition in job related tasks with a view to increase employee control and responsibility is called job enrichment (raze & nawaz, 2011). yasdani (2011) defines job enrichment as changing job content in order to make tasks challenging and to increase productivity. mohr and zoghi (2006); koontz and weihrich (1988) assert that job enrichment is an attempt to build into jobs a sense of challenge, achievement and variety, giving workers more freedom in deciding about such things as work methods, sequence and pace of the acceptance or rejection of materials, encouraging participation and interaction between workers, giving feelings of personal responsibility for their task, combination to the finish products, feedback on job performance before their supervisors get it and workers involving workers in any change in the organisation. job enrichment is seen as a motivational technique used by institutions to enhance their staff with greater satisfaction in his work. this comprised additional responsibilities previously reserved for staff to give them more self-management in their duties. it is equally seen as task restructuring technique with the focus of giving the staff more authority, independence, and control over the manner the activity is being carried out. job enrichment in educational system is a medium through which school administrators motivate their staff for the achievement of educational goals and objectives. this helps both academic and administrative staff to feel like their work has meaning and is important to the institution. this adds new sources of job satisfaction by increasing the level of responsibility of the staff. http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/source.html http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/job-satisfaction.html http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/responsibility.html http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/staff.html job enrichment for improved teachers’ satisfaction in public secondary schools in anambra state 185 job enrichment is a management concept that involves redesigning jobs so that they are more challenging to the staff and have less repetitive work. the purpose of job enrichment is to make the position more satisfying to the staff and enhance the achievement of educational goals and objectives. the overall goals for educational institutions include: increasing staff job satisfaction, reducing turnover, and improving productivity of students. these provide staff with greater responsibility of increasing the range and complexity of tasks they are called upon to complete for school development and productivity. it motivates them by giving staff the opportunity to use their abilities to the fullest. job enrichment analyzes the various assumptions inherent in job enrichment approach, along with the ramifications and utility of employing it in work organizations (vijay &indradevi, 2015). however, job enrichment programs predicted on the development of increasing intrinsic job elements and down-grading attention to extrinsic factors, is questionable at best (kaplan et al, 1969). job enrichment adds a feeling of satisfaction derived from work itself. structured jobs make people feel like human beings rather than units of production. job enrichment enhances the motivational level and performance of staff in work place and their propensity to achieve the goals becomes more possible (bryan & locke, 2006; latham & baldes, 1975; latham & kinne, 2004; latham & yukl, 2005; ronan; hertzberg & frederick, 1968; myers, 1970; raja, 1974). job enrichment also increases selfactualization, self-control and self-respect among administrative and academic staff of universities. job enrichment also increases the motivation level and the performance of teaching and non-teaching staff in educational institutions and their tendency to achieve the goals of the system. job enrichment is a type of job redesign intended to reverse the effects of tasks that are repetitive requiring little autonomy. some of these effects are boredom, lack of flexibility, and employee dissatisfaction (leach & wall, 2004). the aim of job enrichment is to expand the scope of the job with a greater variety of tasks that require self-sufficiency for institutional development. many employers traditionally believed that money was the only true motivating factor for employees and that if you want to get more work out of employees, offer them more money. however, majority of workers today like to work and be appreciated for the work they do. eke, edith ndidi 186 job enrichment also helps the staff to be more productive in their areas of specialization. the essence is to help staff build-up sense of self management and self-sufficiency (neil & kokemuller, 2008). williams (2009) also posited that job enrichment is a fundamental aspect of stimulating the effort of employees by expanding job responsibilities and giving increased autonomy over the task processes and completion. it is a systematic way of inspiring staff by giving them the opportunity to apply different types of skills and capabilities in performing a task (feder, 2000). kotila (2001) added that job enrichment leads to job satisfaction by increasing the level of responsibility and giving the sense of freedom, autonomy and opportunity for employees to decide what and how the job is to be performed and accomplished. job enrichment strategies job enrichment, as a managerial activity includes a three steps technique: turning staff effort into performance, linking staff performance directly to reward, and making sure the staff wants the reward. turning staff effort into performance: this is done by ensuring that objectives are well-defined and understood by everyone. every staff has to be conversant with the process and how important their contributions are to the institution and students. there is need to provide adequate resources for each staff to perform well. this includes supporting functions like information technology, communication technology, personnel training and development. this equally helps to provide adequate recognition, appreciation, and other motivators among staff, and skill improvement opportunities. linking staff performance directly to reward: clear definition of the reward very important in educational institutions explanation of the link between performance and reward helps staff get the right reward when they perform well. if reward is not given, explanation is needed making sure the staff wants the reward: it is very important to ask them what area of motivation they interested on. use survey (checklist, listing, and questionnaire) in doing so. once you know what the staff want, give them the tools they need to earn it and follow through on your word (http://www.tutor2u.net/business/people/ motivationfinancial-job-enrichment.asp, 2015). the characteristics or features of job enrichment include: http://www.tutor2u.net/business/people/motivation-financial-job-enrichment.asp http://www.tutor2u.net/business/people/motivation-financial-job-enrichment.asp job enrichment for improved teachers’ satisfaction in public secondary schools in anambra state 187 nature of job: job enrichment is a vertical expansion of the job. the workers are given jobs, which require higher-level knowledge, skills and responsibilities. job enrichment improves the quality of the job. objective: the objective of job enrichment is to make the job more lively and challenging. so, the job is a source of motivation for the workers. positive results: job enrichment gives positive results if the workers are highly skilled. this is because workers are given opportunities to show initiative and innovation while doing their job. direction and control: job enrichment encourages self-discipline. it does not believe in external direction and control. involving the staff to managerial functions of the higher ranks is called job enrichment. it leads to the success of the employees’ performance (vroom in nwabueze, 2016; swinth in nwabueze, 2016). job enrichment, according to leach and wall (2004) is a design of job that increases the volume of employees’ autonomy, control, skill varieties and responsibility which invariably helps to reduce rigidity, tediousness, lack of creativity and employees dissatisfaction. the principle of job enrichment in the practice of human resource management has tremendously been seen as a dynamic process of increasing the work structures and processes with an environment that gives room for autonomy, flexibility, personal growth and satisfaction to the workplace (aguinis, 2009). the process of communications and goal-setting are crucial to the success of the job enrichment as well as set meaningful and productive goals, of which the worker must know the goals of the organization. this is where effective communications come into play, for the staff needs to know organizational goals, not in just a vague way, but as explicitly as possible for the growth of the institution. only then can the worker align his own personal goals with those of the organization as well as see the impact of the attainment of his goals on those of the organization. knowing the organization's goals, the worker can then measure his own performance by its contributions to organizational goals. there is the need to motivate administrative and academic staff of universities to enhance their academic performance for the following reasons: eke, edith ndidi 188 1. it creates good human relations between staff and management. 2. it enhances job satisfaction. 3. it makes workers display enthusiasm and loyalty to the management. 4. it influences the productivity and efficiency of the workers. 2. it increases esteem (ego) and cooperation among workers in the establishment. 3. it reduces tension and conflicts between management and staff and helps to solve disciplinary problems. 4. it helps the industry to grow by reducing union-management conflicts that hamper productivity. 5. it encourages the involvement and commitment of staff to the attainment of not only the organizational goals but also staff goals and needs (akwara, abutu, akwara, & okwelume, 2014). it is very necessary to motivate staff for effective service delivery. this can be achieved through following extent: provision of staff buses and transport facilities, staff rooms and staffroom facilities, recreational facilities, involvement of staff in staff development programmes, need for better pay packs (wages and salaries), need for good housing facilities for the staff, longer maternity periods, introduction of long service award, staff welfare services, staff representation in the management, profit sharing, equity holding, improved communication system, adequate compensation plan, and healthy working environment. good management system could make the jobs more interesting to workers through job rotation and job enrichment, praise for the work well done and freedom of initiatives. job enrichment necessitates the practices that apportion greater responsibility for arranging, organizing, and designing work to the employees (benson, eddy & lorenzet, 2000) who actually produce product. job enrichment develops jobs vertically and increases the variety of tasks in a job (robbins & judge, 2011). the advantages of job enrichment include: i. learning new skills: by having more responsibilities, the employee will have the chance to work on new tasks and therefore learn new skills. by having to learn new skills, the employee has the opportunity to become proficient at certain tasks and even become experts. ii. reducing boredom: job enrichment focuses on giving employees more variety and responsibilities. the target of job enrichment is job enrichment for improved teachers’ satisfaction in public secondary schools in anambra state 189 to reduce the chance of boredom from the repetitive, tedious activities. iii. creating a better work environment: the net result of job enrichment is an overall more positive environment that promotes maximum productivity. this is simply because, employees who are treated better tend to have better attitudes around the work place and tend to spread that positivism around the office (http://www.tutor2u.net/business/people/motivationfinancial-job-enrichment.asp, 2015). iv. interesting and challenging job: when a certain amount of power is given to employees it makes the job more challenging for them, we can say that job enrichment is a method of employee empowerment. v. improves decision making: through job enrichment, we can improve the decision making ability of the employee by asking him to decide e.g. ego and esteemed needs, self-actualization, etc. these needs can be achieved through job enrichment. vi. reduces work load of superiors: job enrichment reduces the work load of senior staff. when decisions are taken by juniors, the seniors work load is reduced. references achieng, o. e., ochieng, i.,& owuor, s. (2014). effect of job redesign on employee performance in commercial banks. greener journal of business and management studies, 4 (4), 115-137. http://dx.doi.org/10.15580/gjbms.2014.4.040714179 adams, j.s. (1963). towards an understanding of inequity. journal of animal and social psychology, 67, 422 – 432. aguinis, h. (2009). performance management. akeke, n. i., akeke, a. r., &awolusi, o. d. (2015). the effect of job satisfaction on organisational commitment among non-academic staff of tertiary institutions. international journal of interdisciplinary research method, 2(1), 25-39, akinola, g. o., & akinbobola, a. o. (2014). motivational strategies and enhancement of employees’ performance in the nigerian food, beverage and tobacco (fobeto) industry. global journal of management and business research: administration and management, 14(6), 34-40. akrani, g. (2011). what is job enrichment! meaning, features and advantages. www.kaylan-city.blogspot.com akrani, g. (2011). relationship between stress and job performance. available from http://kalyanhttp://www.tutor2u.net/business/people/motivation-financial-job-enrichment.asp http://www.tutor2u.net/business/people/motivation-financial-job-enrichment.asp eke, edith ndidi 190 city.blogspot.com/2011/03/relationship-between-stress-andjob.hotmail. akwara, a. f., abutu, g., akwara, n. f.,& okwelume, r. (2014). motivation as a tool for enhancing productivity in the organised private sector of the nigerian economy: a case study of the tourism and hospitality industry in nigeria. international journal of democratic and development studies (ijdds), 2(1):17-25 aninkan, d. o. (2014). the impact of reward management and job enrichment on job satisfaction among employees in the polytechnics. international journal of business and management invention, 3(31), 19-26 arnold, h.j. (1981). a test of the multiplicative hypothesis of expectancy-valence theories of work motivation. academic of management journal, 2(1): 128-141. armstrong, m. (2010). a handbook of performance management 4th edition.new delhi: kogan page limited. herzberg, f.i. (1966). work and the nature of man. new york: world publishing. garman. a.n., davis-lenane, d., & corrigan, p.w. (2003). factor structure of the transformational leadership model in human service teams. journal of organisational behaviour, 24(6), 80 gardner, d.g., & pierce, j.l. (1998). self-esteem and self-efficacy within the organizational context. group and organization management, 23, 48-70. garg, p.,&rastogi, r. (2006). new model of job design: motivation employees’ performance. journal of management development, 25, 572-587. garuba, a. (2003). continuing professional development environment for teachers. nigerian journal of professional teachers, 4(13), 39-47. grant, a. m., & shin, f. (2011). a little thanks goes a long way: explaining why gratitude expressions motivate prosocial behaviour. journal of personality and social psychology, 98. grant, a. m., & parker, s. k. (2011). redesigning work design theories: the rise of relational and proactive perspectives. academy of management annals, 3, 317-375. hackman, j. r.,& oldham, g. r. (2010). how job characteristics theory happened: the oxford handbook of management theory. the process of theory development, 151-170. hackman, j.r.,& oldham, g.r. (1975). motivation through the design of work: test of a theory. organizational behavior and human performance, 16(2), 250–279. job enrichment for improved teachers’ satisfaction in public secondary schools in anambra state 191 hackman, j. r., & lawler, e. e. (1971). employee reactions to job characteristics. journal of applied psychology, 55(3), 259. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1037 /h0031152 herzberg, frederick. (1968). one more time: how do you motivate employees? harvard business review, 46: 53-62 kanu, i. a. (2019). “saint augustine on teacher-student relationship: religious perspective of education”. amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 17. no. 1. pp. 1-10. kaplan, h.r., tausky, c.,& bolaria, b.s. (1969). job enrichment. personnel journal (pre-1986), 48(10), 791-798 koontz, h., o’donnell, c., & weihrich, h. (1980). management (7thed.). kotila, o. (2001). job enrichment. retrieved from http://academic.emporia.edu/ smithwil/001fmg456/eja/kotila456.html. lamb, c; hair, j and mcdaniel, c (2004) marketing, mason: thomson learning. latham, g. p., & yukl, g. a. (2005). assigned versus participative goal setting with educated and uneducated wood workers. journal of applied psychology, 60, 299-302. latham, g. p., & kinne, s. b. (2004). improving job performance through training in goal setting. journal of applied psychology, 59, 187-191 latham, g. p., & baldes, j. j. (1975). the 'practical significance' of locke's theory of goal setting. journal to applied psychology, 60, 122-124 lawler, e.e. (2003). reward practices and performance management system effectiveness. centre for effective organisations, (213), 7409814 leach, d., & wall, t. (2004). what is job design? retrieved from http://www.shef.ac.uk/~iwp/ publications/whatis/job_design.pdf nwabueze, a.i. (2014). influence of teaching/learning environment on the academic performance of secondary school students in south-east, nigeria.african journal of educational research and development 7(1), 80-95. nwabueze, a.i., nzeneri, p.u.,& ememe, o.n. (2010). promoting environmental awareness and safety in higher education. an approach to environmental management. in a.o. ayeni, u.g. emetarom, s.o. nwafor & a.i. atanda (eds.). educational management, environmental literacy and climate change. (209215). obi-chiorlu, n.n. (2015). service conditions of principals on the administrative effectiveness of secondary schools. http://dx.doi.org/ http://academic.emporia.edu/smithwil/001fmg456/eja/kotila456.html http://academic.emporia.edu/smithwil/001fmg456/eja/kotila456.html http://www.shef.ac.uk/~iwp/%20publications/whatis/job_design.pdf eke, edith ndidi 192 omotayo, o. a.,& alao, t. o. (2014). the effect of job enrichment schemes on selected construction workers. an international journal, 6(1), 933-941. parker, s. k.,& ohly, m. (2008). future work design research and practice: towards an elaborated model of work design. journal of occupational and organizational psychology, 74, 413-440. pillai, k.r., mashood, a., amoodi, s.s., husain, k.,& koshy, r.i. (2012). factors underlying job enrichment among expatriate employees: a regional perspective. accessed in www.highbeam.com/doc/igi315222381.html. salau, o.p., adeniji, a.a., & oyewunmi, a. e. (2014). relationship between elements of job enrichment and organizational performance among the non-academic staff in nigerian public universities. management & marketing, 7(2), 173-189. swinth, r. l. (1971). organisational joint problem-solving. management science, 18, b68-b79. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 91 global refugee crisis: seeking a permanent solution aghamelu fidelis chuka philosophy department nnamdi azikiwe university awka, nigeria helen.fidelis@yahoo.com & aghamelu helen udumaga centre for democratic and human development research omogho, nigeria helenaghamelu@gmail.com abstract recent upsurge in armed conflicts and the degradation of human rights has resulted in the astronomical rise in the number of refugees around the world. sadly the international community have failed to hold up the enactments of the united nations 1951 convention as relating to the rights of the refugees. the authors notes that the united states of america along with her allies have contributed immensely in escalating the crisis in the middle east through their strategy of providing armed and professional support for terrorist groups like al-qaeda in the cases of libya, iraq and syria. these conflicts have further increased the number of refugees in the world. in places like europe, barbed wire fences have become the welcome sign to these refugees. europe and some western states have rather deployed strategies to stop the refugees from crossing the seas rather making arrangement on how to welcome and resettle them. in seeking a solution to this menace, the pope has called for renewed solidarity and cooperation among the leaders of the world as a step in alleviating the plight of the refugees. the pontiff called for interdependence between countries and the assimilation of migrants irrespective of religious or political believes. the authors in this paper believe that the global refugee crisis in the world could be abated if the western powers respect the sovereignty of other countries and also stop the provision of arms and professional support to terrorist groups. this move will reduce the rate and severity of armed conflicts in the world. the authors also recommend the adoption of sincere collaborative effort among world leaders toward the assimilation of refugees around the world. introduction never before has it been seen, the kind of humanitarian crisis that is presently plaguing the world since the second world war. the magnitude of these crises either from the war in syrian, the war in yemen, the activities of isis in libya and the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 92 activities of bokoharam in nigeria have resulted to the displacement of a large number of people from their home and countries of birth. this fact is accentuated by metcalfe-hough (2015) who reported that approximately 800,000 people have arrived at european union (eu) borders through irregular channels, fleeing conflict and violence at home or in search of a better life abroad since 2014. similarly, hansen (2015) observed that since 2014, almost 14 million people were displaced from their homes and, in total. hansen further noted that there are now at least 59.5 million displaced persons globally. this figure according to hansen includes 19.5 million refugees (including 5.1 million palestinians), 38.2 million internally displaced persons, and 1.8 million asylum seekers (united nations high commission for refugees (unhcr), global trends 2015). as at september, 2016, 65 million people have been displaced from their homes, mostly by war, half are children (crisis group, 2016). despite these huge numbers, it is still not a clear representation of the total amount of persons displaced daily all over the world. according to makwana (2016), the 1951 refugee convention, which was implemented in response to europe’s last major refugee crisis during world war ii, states that governments need only safeguard the human rights of asylum seekers when they are inside their territory. however, we have seen a clear violation of the agreement of the un refugee convention. this is evident in the negative disposition of some european countries towards accepting refugees. makwana (2016) opined that the response from most european governments has been to prevent rather than facilitate the arrival of refugees in order to minimise their legal responsibility towards them. furthermore, makwana noted that the eu has even gone so far as making a flawed and legally questionable deal with president erdogan of turkey to intercept migrant families crossing the aegean sea and return them to turkey against their will. there has also been a hypocritical attitude of some countries towards accepting these refugees. one would argue that the british vote in support of the “brexit” is a direct indication of their intentions not to be involved in taking responsibilities towards ameliorating the plights of the refugees because in this case there are no resources to exploit. there have been claims and counter claiming from europe that it is couldn’t afford the resources to see to the plight of the displaced refugees rather seeking to dump these refugees on turkey and some other africa countries. it portends that europe as well as some countries in the west are only interested in involving themselves in global crisis when it suits them and looking for whom to pass on the burden when it appears not to suit them. however, these claims that refugees are financial burden to the host countries have been debunked by evidence from the organization for economic co-operation and development (oecd) in makwana (2016) who revealed that immigrant households contribute $2,800 more to the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 93 economy in taxes alone than they receive in public provision. in the uk, noneuropean immigrants contributed £5 billion ($7.15 billion) in taxes between 2000 and 2011. they are also less likely to receive state benefits than the rest of the population, more likely to start businesses, and less likely to commit serious crimes than natives. while oecd (2015) suggested that in the short run, processing and supporting such large numbers of asylum seekers will be costly. it also noted that in the long-run, it will depend on how well successful asylum seekers are integrated. this will require early and intensive efforts to provide language training, assess individual skills, provide school access, address health and social problems, and work with employers to help boost refugees’ chances of employment. this is why it becomes paramount to adopt new strategies or build on existing and successful strategies and mechanism which would help fast track the integration of the refugees into their host countries it appears that these views are largely elusive or purposely ignored by the leaders of some member states of the european union. according to hathaway (2016), “denying mobility rights to refugees is a strategy that appeals to states that would prefer to avoid their international duty to protect refugees. while not willing to accept the political cost of formally renouncing the treaty, states with the economic and practical wherewithal have for many years sought to ensure that refugees never arrive at their jurisdiction, at which point duties in here.” on the same vein, metcalfe-hough (2015) averred that the failure of the international community to address conflicts, violence and human rights violations in countries of origin has been another key factor in the surge in irregular migration to europe. there is no international political framework for ending the syria conflict and no clear international strategy for addressing the related conflict in iraq. afghanistan is still far from any real stability despite years of international intervention, and the international community seems to be out of ideas on how to end the decades-long conflict in somalia. efforts to address the chronic poverty, inequality, weak governance and climate and environmental changes that constitute ‘push’ factors in many developing countries like nigeria have also been inadequate. on that note, it is important that there exist a high level of coordination co-ordination between different levels of governance in the international community. this according to the oecd (2015) is paramount to preventing local communities from being overwhelmed by the number of the refugees. it is against this backdrop that this paper sought to review the global refugee crisis through literatures with a view to proffering control measures for curbing the menace. conceptualizing refugee in order to make a clear meaning of who a refugee is, it is pertinent to know the events that brought about the clear definition of who a refugee is. in 1951 the un convention relating to the status of refugees was negotiated after world war ii. the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 94 convention was originally limited both geographically and temporally: to europe and to precipitating causes that occurred before january 1, 1951. the 1967 protocol, however, removed both these limitations. currently, 145 states have signed the 1951 convention, 146 states have signed the 1967 protocol, and 142 have signed both (unhcr, 2013). a refugee is an individual who ‘owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country’ (unchr, 2011). the convention definition states that protection is reserved only for those who have left their country of origin. as such, an individual deciding to cross an international border undergoes a transformation into an ‘object of concern’ under international refugee law, for that individual is missing or has been denied protection in their country of origin and is in need of alternative sources of protection (helton, 2003). the issue of having crossed an international border is the inherent component of what establishes one as a refugee. as articulated by unhcr, whole groups may be considered as ‘prima facie’ refugees: ‘situations have arisen in which entire groups have been displaced under circumstances indicating that members of the group could be considered individually as refugees. in such situations the need to provide assistance is often extremely urgent and it may not be possible for purely practical reasons to carry out an individual determination of refugee status for each member of the group. recourse has therefore been had to so-called “group determination” of refugee status, whereby each member of the group is regarded prima facie (i.e. in the absence of evidence to the contrary) as a refugee’ (unhcr, 2011). the increasing waves of wars and terrorism globally have re-emphasized the need to redefine the criteria that qualifies one a refugee. there are many categories of the displaced beyond those who are, from a legal point of view, refugees. it is also worthy to note that there are millions of people who fled drought, famine, natural disasters, and terrorism. these categories of people have been classified by some writers and authors as refugees, but as they fall outside the main international legal instruments designed for refugees, they are not technically such. in the context of this paper, these groups or categories of person have been classified as refugees. according to hansen (2015), internally displaced persons (idps) are individuals whom states drive from their homes or who flee persecution, violence, and/or political breakdown, but who do not cross a border. in 2014, 2.6 million iraqis fled isis but remained within iraq, thus becoming idps (unhcr in hansen, 2015) and the number of idps in nigeria, as at 31st december, 2015 was 2,152,000 nigerians. hansen posited that idps igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 95 outnumber refugees two to one worldwide and certainly deserve attention in their own right. it is therefore important that efforts are made across board to adopt effective measures that will help to ease the plights of these categories of displaced person with a view to integrating them into the society. this will assist in ensuring better quality of life and economic liberation for the refugees. violent conflicts major driver of the global refugee crisis in the world the global refugee crisis is in its crescendo since world war ii. according to the un high commissioner for refugees, filippo grandi, in ojeifo (2016), this is the first time in the organisation’s history that the threshold of 60 million displaced persons has been crossed. the commissioner noted that more people are being displaced by war and persecution. violent conflicts in the form of wars, persecution and revolt has been the major drivers of the global refugee crisis in the world. in the case of armed conflict, syria is a major driver of the global refugee crisis. it has been reported that over 12 million syrians have been uprooted by the conflict since 2011 – including 4.9 million registered refugees, 6.6 million internally displaced people and nearly 250,000 asylum-seekers. the cease fire agreement between russian and the united states of america which has automatically collapsed has further worsened the volatile situation in syria leaving the people of syria at the mercy of divine intervention. years of continuous conflict have made somalia the third largest source country of refugees. some 1.12 million somalis have sought sanctuary abroad, and just as many have been displaced inside the country. ongoing attacks by the islamist insurgency al-shabaab make them reluctant to return to their homes. south sudan has suddenly become a leading source of refugees. according to the crisis group (2016) south sudan refugees stood at a gaping 778,700 at the end of 2015, and it is believed that, the number could pass the 1 million mark in 2016 if the current trends continue. the majority of refugees have fled to ethiopia, kenya, sudan and uganda. more than 1.6 million people are internally displaced. the un is sheltering around 200,000 people at six sites across the country designated for the protection of civilians, although these sites have repeatedly come under direct attack. international agencies report that the country is facing a humanitarian crisis, including an unprecedented level of food insecurity. though the main warring parties signed a peace deal in 2015, implementing the agreement has proved highly contentious. as of september 2016, south sudan stood at a risky impasse (crisis group, 2016). more than four decades of war and unresolved conflict in afghanistan have displaced millions, with the vast majority living in pakistan and iran in often precarious circumstances. in addition to the 2.7 million afghan refugees registered by unhcr, another 3 million undocumented afghans are estimated to be living in the region. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 96 ongoing violence is a major push factor. today, the taliban is expanding, controlling more territory than before; militants, particularly the haqqani network, are responsible for successive attacks in major cities, including kabul; and the islamic state has established a presence in the eastern provinces of nangarhar and kunar. the case is not different in political repression in myanmar where there are over 451,800 people living as refugees or in refugee-like situations, mostly in thailand and bangladesh. several hundreds of thousands more are internally displaced, with many living in appalling conditions in camps where they have very little access to protection or government services. even larger numbers have left myanmar to join the migrant labour pool, particularly in thailand; many are economic migrants, but a significant number fled conflict and repression (crisis group, 2016). these cases are also peculiar to other countries like nigeria were there over 2, 152, 000 displaced persons which has resulted from the activities of the armed group bokoharam. this has led to many nigerians in the northern states of borno, yobe and adamawa seeking refuge internally in the country and in other countries like niger, cameroun and chad. similarly in the central african republic the number of refugees has risen to about 470,000 out of the country, mostly to cameroon, chad and the democratic republic of congo. another 421,000 people have been internally displaced. colombia is another country which has contributed to the increased rate of refugee crisis in the world, this has been helped by decades of war between the government and the farc rebels, and this war has resulted in the displacement of 340,200 people. however, in august 2016 there has been a peace agreement between the government and the rebel forces. hopefully this will put an end to decades of conflict in the county. this will ultimately lead to the reintegration of the people to their communities/countries. the hypocrisy of the west and the syria war the position of the western powers especially the united states of america to support known terror groups in bids to unseat sitting presidents of sovereign states has continued to escalate the spate of conflicts in the middle east, therefore heightening the level of the refugee crisis. according to carley (2016), united states leaves its footprints everywhere, along with those of the british and french, you will find ruins and victims. iraq and libya are in chaos and infested with al-qaeda terrorists. war drags on in afghanistan after fifteen years. in the ukraine the usbacked fascist coup d’état has only partially succeeded and a crisis there could irrupt at any time. this clearly shows that the united states of america have not been true and sincere in its efforts to end the conflicts in the middle east. the strategy of providing ammunitions and war equipments to terrorist groups has never helped to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 97 resolve conflicts in these countries where the united states has fuelled revolt through armed struggle. supporting, van auken (2016) revealed that a vital factor in the rebel advance in october, 2015 was as a result of cooperation between mainstream rebel groups, some of which have received covert arms support from the united states, and the jihadist organization formerly known as the nusra front, which was affiliated with al qaeda. the hypocrisy of the united states is further highlighted in fisk (2016) who opined that “while qatar and saudi arabia arm and fund the rebels of syria to overthrow bashar al-assad's alawite/shia-baathist dictatorship, washington mutters not a word of criticism against them. president barack obama and his secretary of state, hillary clinton, say they want a democracy in syria. but qatar is an autocracy and saudi arabia is among the most pernicious of caliphate-kinglydictatorships in the arab world. rulers of both states inherit power from their families – just as bashar has done – and saudi arabia is an ally of the salafist-wahabi rebels in syria, just as it was the most fervent supporter of the medieval taliban during afghanistan's dark ages.” it has also been alleged that the al qaeda forces had received not only massive amounts of weapons, but also professional military training. according to becker (2015), the united states and its nato and regional allies have funneled weapons and money to right-wing armed sectarian groups since the syrian civil war began in 2011. this quickly morphed into the dominance among the armed opposition in syria of the islamic state, al-qaeda and other groups. sadly, the western backed media have not also helped in providing sincere reportage on the events happening in syria. the western media have continually given negative reportage on the activities of the government in power in syria. it is sad to see a situation where rebel activities in syria are celebrated by news agencies in the united states. the western media have gone so far as to celebrate the exploits of “rebel” suicide bombers for providing a strategic “advantage” for the western-backed militias. among the most dishonest and duplicitous accounts of the recent fighting are those that have appeared in the pages of the new york times, whose news coverage and editorial line are carefully tailored to serve the predatory aims of us imperialism (van auken, 2016). solidarity and co-operation: a solution to the refugee crisis in the midst of this crisis, there have been increased calls by world leaders to look into the state of the refugees. this call was prompted because of the inhuman conditions in which the refugees are kept. in the words of ojeifo (2016), “some world leaders, from german chancellor angela merkel to pope francis have been in the forefront of highlighting the plights of refugees. on april 16, 2016 pope francis paid a symbolic visit to refugee camps on the greek island of lesbos. on his return to the vatican, he came back with three syrian muslim families, 12 members in all, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 98 including six children. the pontiff performed this gesture to highlight the tragedy faced by hundreds of thousands of migrants seeking to reach europe. he rescued muslims, not catholics, because his message is that we are all god’s children.” pope francis in his 2015 message regarding the plight of the refugees stated that “the church stands at the side of all who work to defend each person’s right to live with dignity, first and foremost by exercising the right not to emigrate and to contribute to the development of one’s country of origin. this process should include, from the outset, the need to assist the countries which migrants and refugees leave. this will demonstrate that solidarity, cooperation, international interdependence and the equitable distribution of the earth’s goods are essential for more decisive efforts, especially in areas where migration movements begin, to eliminate those imbalances which lead people, individually or collectively, to abandon their own natural and cultural environment.” it is obvious that the catholic church calls for sincere and conscious efforts from every member of the society irrespective of political and religious affiliation. it is important that the leaders of the west should as a matter of urgency; consider the plight of the starving women and children who are caught in the mist of the syrian crisis. this call appeals to the good conscience of the world leaders to increase co-operation and solidarity in terms of opening up their borders and assimilating the refugees into their communities. like the pope francis elucidated, “god’s fatherly care extends to everyone, like the care of a shepherd for his flock, but it is particularly concerned for the needs of the sheep who are wounded, weary or ill.” the pope enjoined members of the church to see the migrants as brothers and sisters in search of a better life, far away from poverty, hunger, exploitation and the unjust distribution of the planet’s resources which are meant to be equitably shared by all. in light of the above, the solution to the global refugee crisis requires solidarity and sincere cooperation by world leaders. europe in co-operation with their allies should make effort in putting policies in place which favours the assimilation of refugees into their host communities. it therefore becomes important to view refugees not only on the basis of their status as regular or irregular, but above all as people whose dignity is to be protected and who are capable of contributing to progress and the general welfare. when these refugees are given asylum, they should be made to be accepted by the members of the community where they seek refuge. concern for fostering good relationships with others and the ability to overcome prejudice and fear are essential ingredients for alleviating the plights of the refugees. measures for controlling the global refugee crisis it is clear that the european union’s attitude towards the refugee has been shabby and uncoordinated. this is evident in the decisions by some of its members to raise barb wired fences to halt the advances of the refugees. however, these barricades igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 99 have not restrained the refugees from trooping in their thousands to europe and america. it is important that measures which are aimed at tackling the problem from the source are adopted. some of these measures include: 1. there should be a spirit of true solidarity and co-operation amongst world leaders. world leaders (especially usa and the european union) should develop a spirit of human consciousness in order to realize the pain and suffering encountered by migrants in their search for a safe heaven. 2. stop arming militias and rebels: it is saddening to see humans dying in their thousands daily as a result of combat actions by armed groups and militias. there is no doubt that some of these conflicts are funded by some governments and few highly placed individuals. this situation is very bad and needs correcting. more so, the “drama” between russian and america over syria is a case in point. it appears that some of our leaders have lost all moral consciousness; they do not care about the children and women who are major victims of these crisis. efforts should be made by parties involved towards instituting participatory dialogue where all parties involved will be ready to make some sacrifices or the other for peace to rein. according to amnesty international (2015), “ending conflicts and widespread human rights abuses are objectives that states should pursue, but they are difficult to achieve. however, individual states and the international community as a whole must recognize that they can lessen the devastating consequences of the refugee crisis on people.” 3. protection of the rights of the refugee is very paramount. the united nations must ensure that the protection of all refugees, but particularly women, children and other vulnerable groups, irrespective of their migration status, is the basis for their decision-making and action. providing appropriate protection for migrants does not mean that governments should allow blanket access (european commission, 2015). rather, it means identifying those who are in need of international protection and affording them such protection accordingly, and, for those whose asylum claims are rejected, ensuring their humane and appropriate treatment, including safe return to their country of origin. 4. instituting participatory democracy in troubled countries: when participatory democracy is enshrined, citizens will have an input in the issues of government. participatory democracy will improve the quality of decision making in all areas of governance in the troubled countries. it will give the citizens a sense of belonging. this will curb any form of revolt or uprising. 5. curb human trafficking: efforts should be made by countries to take affirmative action against human traffickers. effective actions should be taken to investigate and prosecute trafficking gangs. there should be a corresponding igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 100 action from the countries towards the victims of human trafficking. these countries should offer protection and assistance to victims of trafficking and ensure they have access to refugee status determination procedures and/or resettlement opportunities. 6. sharing responsibilities for the welfare of the refugees: the international community must share the responsibility for assisting and hosting refugees, including by resettling refugees who need it and adequately funding humanitarian programmes in other countries (amnesty international, 2015). similarly, makwana (2016) postulated that unless countries collectively pursue a radically different approach to managing forced displacement, international discord and social tensions will continue to mount and millions of additional refugees will be condemned to oversized and inhumane camps on the outer edges of civilisation. hence, the need for collaboration between countries in managing the refugee situation as it is witnessed in the world at the moment. conclusion the global refugee crisis is no doubt a momentous problem that is facing the world at the moment. however, it appears that the international community are prioritizing the not so relevant issues while giving less attention to the relevant issue. it is no secret that the global refugee crisis is a product of armed conflicts and humanitarian abuse in some countries. it is also very worrisome to note the role the united state and her allies play in escalating the violence in some countries in the middle east which has further increased the number of refugees in the world. the international community appear to have chosen to neglect the victims of this crisis. thus, ignoring the provisions of the united nations refugee convention which was facilitated to protect people from being returned to countries where they risked persecution and human rights abuses. it is imperative that efforts are made by the international community to arrest this ugly development. by arresting this development efforts should be made through collaborative and individual actions by the states to end the conflicts in the troubled states and by improving the humanitarian in the states. recommendations in order to curb the escalation in the number of refugees, the following recommendations were made: 1. respecting the sovereignty of other countries. the policy of the united states of america in conjunction with their allies to depose sitting head of states in some countries in the middle east and africa have escalated the rate of armed igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 101 conflicts in these regions and portends the escalation of more crisis in future if this unfortunate situation is not checked. 2. developing a sincere collaborative action amongst countries towards ending armed conflicts all over the world. if the armed conflicts and human rights oppression stops, it will drastically reduce the number of refugees all over the world. countries should come together and seek lasting solution towards ending these conflicts and oppressions. all parties should come to the table with complete honesty and sincerity. 3. curbing human trafficking. the issue of human trafficking is another menace that needs to be combated radically. countries should set in motion taskforces that will investigate and prosecute trafficking offenders. efforts should be made to provide support for victims of trafficking. 4. establishing a global refugee fund that will see to the plights of refugees all over the world. the fund should be committed to helping alleviate the plights of refugees and to support countries like turkey who house a huge number of refugees. 5. encouraging the enshrinement of participatory democracy in the conflict torn countries this will in a long way give the people a sense of belonging. 6. countries should show commitment towards the resettlement of displaced persons. bringing refugees directly from refugee camps and urban areas to western countries is another durable solution to alleviating the plights of refugees. references amnesty international (2015). the global refugee crisis: a conspiracy of neglect. london: amnesty international, international secretariat. carley, m. j. (2016). western hypocrisy, and why it makes the world a dangerous place. retrieved from https://off-guardian.org/2016/10/22/western-hypocrisyand-why-it-makes-the-world-a-dangerous-place/ crisis group (2016). what’s driving the global refugee crisis? retrieved 11 october, 2016 from https://www.crisisgroup.org/global/what-s-driving-globalrefugee-crisis. european commission (2015). asylum in the eu. brussels: european commission. hansen, r. (2015). population displacement and the global refugee system. a report prepared for the congress of vienna 2015: in search of principles for a stable der. vienna, october 22-25. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 102 hathaway, j. c. (2016). a global solution to a global refugee crisis. retrieved 10 october, 2016 from https://www.opendemocracy.net/openglobalrights/james-chathaway/global-solution-to-global-refugee-crisis helton, a. (2003). what is a refugee? in n. steiner, m. gibney & g. loescher. problems of protection: the unhcr, refugees, and human rights (19-36). london: routledge. makwana, r. (2016). the global refugee crisis: humanity's last call for a culture of sharing and cooperation. retrieved 18 october, 2016 from http://www.sharing.org/information-centre/articles/global-refugee-crisishumanitys-last-call-culture-sharing-and#sthash.b1bkudfu.dpuf metcalfe-hough, v. (2015). the migration crisis? facts, challenges and possible solutions. a policy brief. retrieved 16 september, 2016 from www.odi.org. oecd (2015). living up to history by addressing the humanitarian migration crisis in europe. paris: oecd. ojeifo, e. (2016, october 18). the global refugee crisis. the guardian. retrieved from http://guardian.ng/features/youthspeak/the-global-refugee-crisis/ united nations high commissioner for refugees (2011). handbook and guidelines on procedures and criteria for determining refugee status under the 1951 convention and the 1967 protocol relating to the status of refugees. geneva: unhcr. unhcr global trends (april 2015). states parties to the 1941 convention relating to the status of refugees and the 1967 protocol. retrieved from http://www.unhcr.org/3b73b0d63.html. unhcr global trends (2013). war’s human cost. retrieved from http://www.unhcr.org.uk/fileadmin/user_upload/pdf/global_trends_201 3.pdf van auken, b. (2016, august 10). the battle for aleppo and the hypocrisy of us war propaganda. retrieved from http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2016/08/10/pers-a10.html igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 85 african migration and global community vivian chinenye emerenu department of geography education federal college of education (tech.), umunze, anambra state chynenye316@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.25001.77923 abstract migration as a movement has been a natural and human affair in the history of humanity. the world, structured in continents, continental africa has been greatly involved in migration before and more right from the dawn of her expedition that culminated in colonization through slavery unto neocolonization and recently through the open market policies. using the method of sheer analysis, the researcher finds out and acknowledges the travails and contemporary challenges of african migration within the global community. keywords: africa, migration, global community. introduction migration has always been part of human existence. human beings being curious can never be static. they move around and explore things or places unknown to them, thereby making new findings. this desire to make discoveries make them interact, relate and connect with people outside their environment. some people move in search of work or economic opportunities, to join family, or to study. others move to escape conflict, persecution, terrorism, or human rights violations. still, others move in response to the adverse effects of climate change, natural disasters, or other environmental factors. many people migrate out of choice while some migrate out of necessity. some of these people who migrate to other states or countries end up experiencing the opposite of what they had expected. many get frustrated and take up any available job not minding its legality and morality. the effect of migration is not only felt by the receiving countries alone, the countries of origin of the migrants are equally affected. the population decreases and many homes are left desolate as many migrants refuse to return to their home countries. lack of manpower to execute tasks, especially in the rural areas also deepens underdevelopment, poverty and increased lack, thereby, encouraging lawlessness and leadership by the wealthy. this work tries to link african migration with the global community taking into cognisance the european migration and the reasons behind their movement. the mailto:chynenye316@gmail.com, http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/rg.2.2.25001.77923 vivian chinenye emerenu 86 effects of the movement of africans on the world as a whole because no man is an island. appreciation of migration migration is the movement of people from one place to another. it can be within a country, between countries or even regions. it can also be a permanent, temporary or seasonal movement. migration happens for various reasons which may be economic, social, political or environmental. the impact of migration is felt in both the place left behind and the place where migrants settle. this impact can either be positive or negative. some people may decide to migrate to another country to improve career opportunities. some others are forced to migrate, for example, someone who migrates because of war or famine or even as a slave. in geography, migration is referred to as the movement of humans from one place to another. it is most times prompted by "push" and " push" factors. push factors are those negative elements that force one to leave an environment like wars, political instability, famine drought among others. pull factors are those positive elements that attract people to another environment like political stability, improved healthcare services, lots of employment opportunities, better working conditions, better learning institutions and also better climate. national geographic expedition (2015) defined migration as the movement of people from one geographical location to another to settle either permanently or semi-permanently. migration (human) is the movement of people from one place in the world to another to take up permanent or semipermanent residence usually across a political boundary. an example of "semi-permanent residence" would be the seasonal movement of migrant farmers/ labourers. people can either choose to move ("voluntary migration") or be forced to move ("involuntary migration"). migration has occurred throughout human history beginning with the movements of the first human groups from their origin in east africa to their current location in the world. (para.1). the major cause of rural-urban migration is identified as the search for better wages, education, political and social stability, better technologies, employment and business opportunities. others are poverty, unemployment, crop failures and famine, and inadequate social amenities and facilities in the urban centres such as pipe-borne water, electricity, good roads, hospitals, schools, and vocational centres. migration is certainly not a recent phenomenon, on the contrary, it has african migration and global community been part of human history since its very beginning. people have migrated from one continent to the other, from country to country or internally, inside the same country. while migration has been beneficial in one aspect, it has equally been destructive on the other hand. people move intending to live a more promising life, have access to basic life amenities and advance the developmental and infrastructural conditions of their countries of origin. many remit money, foodstuff, cars etc to their families, introduce innovations to their communities and assist in improving the infrastructural and technological standards of their countries while away and for these purposes, any parents, relatives and communities do not object to either the temporary or permanent migration of their citizens. migration as we already know is the movement of people from one geographical location to another due to some reasons like insecurity as we are experiencing in some regions in africa; for greener pastures and so many other reasons. migration, again, is as old as the world for even in the scriptures, abram was told by god to leave his town to another place unknown to him where he (god) will show him (gen. 12: 1-9). people migrate daily and this can be temporary, permanent or seasonal movement. in migration, the geographical location where one is coming from is known as the origin or source region while the location where one is going into or entering is destruction or receiving region. types of migration immigration: when a migrant goes into another location from his or her original location or moves into a new location. for example, the europeans who came to africa are african immigrants emigration:when a migrant leaves his original location and goes to another location. for example, africans who left the african continent for europe are european emigrants. in general, migration leads to the discovery of new areas around the global community. this implies that without immigration, there will be no development, no interaction among people and people will live in isolation. understanding of the african continent africa is one of the seven continents of the world. it is the second largest continent and is bounded by the red sea on the east, the mediterranean sea on the north, the indian ocean on the south and the atlantic ocean on the west. it is divided almost equally in half by the vivian chinenye emerenu 88 equator. africa's physical geography, environment, resources and human geography can be considered separately. africa has eight main physical regions which are the sahara, the sahel, the ethiopian highlands, the savanna, swahili coast, the rainforest, the african great lakes and southern africa. according to clarke, middleton and mabogunje(2023), africa has several islands associated with it. of these, madagascar, one of the largest islands in the world is the most significant. other smaller islands include seychelles, socotra and other islands to the east; the comoros, mauritius, reunion and other islands to the southeast; ascension, st. helena and tristan da cunha to the southwest; cape verde, the bijagos islands, bioko and sao tome and principe to the west and the azores and madeira and canary islands to the northwest. africa is the most tropical continent. its climate and vegetation range from equatorial rainforest to tropical deserts and savanna grasslands. africa is most likely one of the must-see places for many people around the world. its massive land mass covers approximately 6% of the entire surface of the earth. africa can boast of having the longest river in the world which is the river nile, a very large waterfall which is victoria falls located between zimbabwe and zambia, having the largest desert in the world which is the sahara desert, a very large mountain a free-standing mountain kilimanjaro, a very large lake called lake victoria. it also has the 4th largest island in the world, is, madagascar. recently, the african continent is seen to be splitting into two and it is speculated that a new ocean will be formed between africa and the new continent in the future. this break-up which is happening around the east african rift will now make landlocked countries like zambia and uganda have coastlines in the nearest future. concept of global community globalization ochigbo(2004) explains that globalization has become the defining ideology that describes the fast-paced breaking down of barriers that use to define regions and nation-states. globalization is the word used to describe the growing interdependence of the world's economies, culture and populations, brought about by cross-border trade in goods and services, technology and the flow of investment, people and information. intriligator (2003) posits that globalization is a powerful african migration and global community real aspect of the new world system, and it represents one of the most influential forces in determining the future course of the planet. it has manifold dimensions: economic, political, security, environmental, health, social, cultural, and others. globalization has had significant impacts on all economies of the world, with manifold effects. it affects their production of goods and services. it also affects the employment of labour and other inputs into the production process. in addition, it affects investment, both in physical capital and in human capital. it affects technology and results in the diffusion of technology from initiating nations to other nations. it also has major effects on efficiency, productivity and competitiveness. with all that has happened, one can say that globalization has become an emerging reality. countries have built economic partnerships to facilitate these movements over many centuries. globalization has to do with the spreading of international interconnectedness and interrelationships in all aspects of life. thus, the universe is being shaped by economic and technological forces which promote shared economic, cultural, religious and political spheres of human activities. globalization makes it possible for migration or immigration. global community the global community, according to forgeard (2021) refers to the growing interconnectedness of people around the world. it is made up of people from all over the world who are connected by gender, interests such as technology, economics, global issues and more. people who look similar and have similar backgrounds can easily communicate with each other but when people from different cultures come together, they learn each other's values and begin to understand each other. a global community is important because it brings together people from all over the world who share common values and beliefs. "global community" has become a buzzword due to the result of globalization in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. european migration european migration is appreciated in africa as african immigration. this means that the europeans left the shores of their continent and came into africa (immigration). these europeans came to africa because they are curious to find out if there was anything useful or resourceful in africa. they came, searched and discovered not only natural but also human resources. reasons for european migration vivian chinenye emerenu 90 exploration: the motives that spur human beings to examine their environment are many. strong among them are the satisfaction of curiosity, the pursuit of trade, the spread of religion, and the desire for security and political power. at different times and in different places, different motives are dominant. sometimes one motive inspires the promoters of discovery, and another motive may inspire the individuals who search. the europeans came to discover the continent, of africa, to find out what africa is endowed with in terms of natural resources. they discovered many natural resources which include petroleum, gold, diamond and many others. they discovered that africa have in abundance what they needed to develop their economies and these kept them coming. spread of religion/christianity: european countries like great britain, france and the netherlands sought to educate and reform african cultures through the dissemination of christian doctrine. european explorers viewed practices unfamiliar to them and the diverse cultures on the continent of africa as lesser and uncivilized. again, they view the religious practices of africa as witchcraft and heathenism and therefore sought to convert the indigenous peoples of africa. engagement in commerce/ trade: these europeans discovered africa when they were searching for trade routes that will lead them to india. they found out that there were varieties of untapped natural resources which would help them grow their economies, and then they started bringing us items like sugar, dry gin, clothes and many others in exchange for our resources. within the continent itself, local exchanges among adjacent peoples fit into a greater framework of long-range trade. the merchants from britain, france, portugal, and the netherlands who began trading along the atlantic coast of africa, therefore, encountered a well-established trading population regulated by savvy and experienced local rulers. european companies quickly developed mercantile ties with these indigenous powers and erected fortified “factories,” or warehouses, on coastal areas to store goods and defend their trading rights from foreign encroachment. it may therefore seem surprising that european importers found many customers for their goods among local populations in west africa. in exchange for their african migration and global community wares, europeans returned with textiles, carvings, spices, ivory, gum, and african slaves. slavery/ slave trade: the europeans later realized that africans were willing to give away their relatives in exchange for goods and /or at any price so they also started trading on human beings. slaves were purchased in west africa, and shipped to the americas to work and produce cotton etc. the cotton was then shipped to europe and converted into textiles. the textiles were then shipped to africa in exchange for more slaves. during the 16th century, portuguese explorers became engaged in the african slave trade. they kidnapped africans and forced them to work on plantations and mines in their colonies in the new world. other european countries soon participated in the slave trade as well. the trans-atlantic slave trade lasted from the 1500s to the mid-1800s. even after the slave trade had ended, european interest in africa was still going strong. european countries saw that africa was a continent full of vast natural resources and mineral wealth. they started nursing another plan on how to take africa for keeping. colonialism: collins english dictionary defines colonialism as the practice by which a powerful country directly controls less powerful countries and uses its resources to increase its power and wealth. the colonizers in africa were mainly the european countries and the effect of this colonialism is still felt today. the main reason for colonization was for the europeans to acquire raw materials for their industries in europe, although they claimed that they were on a mission to civilize the africans (boahen 1974). the colonialists also had to take direct control of the african economy and political administration to produce the type of food required for their industrial workers back home. one of the reasons for the colonization of africa, as we know, is that the colonialists required additional food supply and spices for the fastincreasing urban population as a result of the industrial revolution. the industrial revolution initially came with a decline in agricultural production in europe and as a result, it was hard for the rural areas to produce enough food for the increasing urban population. there was therefore the need for the market not only for the population of raw materials but for the food to sustain the increasing population. the african economy before colonization was primitive and based on the barter system. since one of the objectives of colonialism was to find a market for european manufactured goods and raw materials for the vivian chinenye emerenu 92 industries, there was a need for an organic linkage between the african economy and market with that of the international system controlled and directed by the colonizers. direct control of the african economy and political administration made possible colonialism. africa was compelled or forced to accept the international division of labour which assigned her the compulsory role of production of agricultural raw materials required by the industries in europe. during this time, many european countries expanded their empires by aggressively establishing colonies in africa so that they could exploit and export africa’s resources. raw materials like rubber, timber, diamonds, and gold were found in africa. europeans moved further into the continent in search of raw materials and places to build successful colonies. great britain, france and germany were the biggest contenders. the natives often fought against the european powers; however, they often lost because the european weapons were superior. african migration since africa referred to as the “mother continent” is believed to be the oldest inhabited continent on earth. one can rightly say that migration started from africa because it was from there that the movement of people to discover other lands started. there are three types of migration in africa: movement of people within the continent (internal); movement of people from outside into the continent and movement of people out of the continent. movement of people from outside into the continent: this refers to the europeans who came to africa. these europeans came with diverse opinions. some of their reasons are; religion: europeans came to africa with their religion. they converted africans from their traditional religion and idol worshipping to christianity through the introduction of the bible and churches to us. exploration: they came to explore and discover what africa is endowed with. when they came, they discovered many mineral and natural resources like gold, diamond, petroleum and so many other resources which they do not have and this exploration and discovery led to exploitation. colonialism: seven european countries came and divided africa among themselves. countries like britain, germany, portugal, france, belgium, italy and spain. this is so because, they were searching for new markets for their manufactured products, needed raw materials for african migration and global community their industries need to invest surplus capital in the less advanced regions of the world and desired to spread their western education and christian religion to africa. movement of people within the african continent: people move from one african country to another due to some factors like political instability, religious factors and sometimes nature disasters. some other factors are for further studies like some students from nigeria going to ghana for studies; again, nomadic farmers (fulani) from countries like niger, mali, etc leave their countries with their herds of cattle and flocks of sheep to other countries like nigeria. some others leave their countries to others for commercial purposes that is business merchandise for example many nigerians go to south africa, cameroon, ghana and so on to do business. movement of people out of africa: this refers to africans who left the african continent for other countries of the world. this group of people can be referred to as “african migrants”. some of these migrants were forced to leave the continent against their will-slavery. for most of tropical africa, the first extensive involvement with the outside world was through the slave trade where people were exported in return for goods. educational purposes are one of the reasons why many young african migrate abroad. they go out to get better quality and free education just as is obtained in canada now. career enhancement: people irrespective of their profession are willing to work abroad to explore new places, get better employment and be stable in life. population: the increased population has resulted in lesser job opportunities and lower wages. poverty: this is a situation where an individual household is not able to meet the basic living requirement due to low wages, unemployment, constant increase in prices of commodities and so on. better health care: due to this singular reason that everyone has the right to good health, people most times migrate to get better and improved healthcare. for example, people normally go to india in search of improved healthcare. the reasons why people migrate from africa to other foreign countries are very many. vivian chinenye emerenu 94 effects of african migration in the global community this african migration has not been in favour of us africans because we suffer labour shortages in highly skilled areas such as information technology and health services and also in manufacturing and construction. for fear of rising national unemployment, many receiving countries have become more selective about the migrants they are willing to take in, preferring mainly those with skills or capital to invest. on the other hand, developing countries view migration as offering an opportunity to reduce unemployed citizens, earn revenue through the remittance of workers' salaries and import skills, knowledge and technology through returning citizens. demography is another effect of african migration in the sense that the population in africa keeps increasing rapidly while in the developed countries, it is not and to keep their economies working, they need manpower which is readily available in africa. solutions to these african migration problems jobs should be created in the home countries of the migrants. most times, jobs are scarce and salaries very low obliging people to seek opportunities elsewhere. government can stem the flow of citizens seeking to leave by creating jobs and making the region conducive for their citizens. the health care sector should be enhanced by equipping hospitals and health centres with modern medical facilities and also upgrading the salaries of health workers. upgrading our educational sectors by making the teaching and learning environment conducive and making the welfare of teachers better. government should equally solve this problem of insecurity which has become the order of the day in recent times as well as put an end to ethnic and religious wars which have become rampant recently. conclusion african migration has a very serious impact on the global community not minding what caused the movement. many times, people migrate out of their own will, others are forced while others are due to circumstances. migration should be encouraged especially when both the source and the receiving regions benefits from it. whichever may be the case, african migration brings about the interaction between africa and the world at large. african migration and global community references adepoju, a.(1998): “linkages between internal and international migration: the african situation”. ininternational social science journal vol. 50, issue 157, pp. 9 &387. boahen, a. (1974). african perspective on civilization london. cambridge: cambridge: university press. bortolot, a. (2003). “trade relations among european and african nations: department of art history and archaeology columbia university”. https/www.metmuseum.org dufort, b. et al. (2018). world geography. michigan open book project. fargues, p. (2020). migration in west and north africa and across the mediterranean: trends, risks, development and governance. international organization for migration. https://publications.iom.int/system/files/pdf/migration-inwest-and-north-africa-and-across-the-mediterranean.pdf forgeard, v. (2021). “what is global community: community, socialimpact society”.https://brilliantio.com/what-is-globalcommunity/ iliffe, j. (2007). africans: the history of a continent. cambridge: cambridge university press. intriligator, m.d. (2003).“globalization of the world economy:potential benefits & costs and a net assessment”. no. 33, 1-11. http://www.milkeninstitute.org/publications/view/188 kanu, i. a. (2019). “the economies of poverty and migration in africa”.journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 2. no. 3. pp. 42-51. kanu, i. a. (2019). “migration and religio-political insecurity in africa”.journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 2. no. 4. pp. 36-43. kanu, i. a. (2019). “igbo migration and the future of traditional paradigms”.journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 2. no. 5. pp. 34-42. kanu, i. a. (2019). “migration, globalization and the liquidity of african traditional religion”.journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 2. no. 6. pp. ochigbo, a.e. (2004). "growing ethnic tension and the paradox ofthe global project: an appraisal of nigeria's nascent democracy". in ethnic nationalism and democratic consolidation: perspectives from nigeria and usa, j. onuoha and p. okpoko, (eds). nsukka: great ap express publishers http://www.milkeninstitute.org/publications/view/188 vivian chinenye emerenu 96 richards, v. (2022). top 10 reasons for migration global immigration services.https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/january2006/african-migration-tensions-solutions. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.1 no. 3 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 125 care and respect for children in the face of modern changes clara m. austin iwuoha, ph.d imo state university faculty of humanities department of religious studies imo state, owerri ausiwuoha@yahoo.com abstract in today’s world, care for children by their parents is seriously eroding, with many parents turning over the care of their children to either nannies or educational institutions. unfortunately the abandonment of their responsibility as the primary caregiver of their children takes effect soon after the expiration of the compulsory maternity leave period. most parents live their homes earlier before their children wakes up and comes back late when they must have gone to bed. despite the role that parents play in caring for their children, the educational institutions as well as other institutions must not lag behind in complimenting the efforts of the parents as character moulders. the children in their hands are like the clay in the hand of the potter. he chooses and determines what shape he makes out of it. modernity to the young folks means freedom to do whatever they wish because the traditional society was an old school. would you put all the blames on them when they are left in the hands of nannies and to the mercies of foreign movies and peer groups? this research is about care and respect for children which by implication entails proper upbringing of the child in the fear of the lord. eph 6:4 says: fathers, do not provoke your children to angers but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the lord. col 3:21 corroborates the same view: fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged (rsv). the above admonition teaches that while providing care for children at least to forestall discouragement, they should also be nurtured in the fear of the lord. the combination of the two responsibilities will produce obedient, respectful and patriotic children for a better society. the book of proverbs, prov. 22:6 instructs: train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old he will not depart from it. (rsv). spear the rod and spoil the child is a popular assertion that connotes proper discipline when a child igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 126 does wrong and the book of proverbs asserts: a whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the back of fools. (prov. 26:3). keywords: care, respect, children, modern, changes introduction in modern society, respect and care for children seems premium but the contrary is the case in developing economies. this can be explained partially due to the culture of the society and struggle for survival due to the nature of the economy and partly due to the perception of our society towards children. all these are gradually changing in the face of modern innovations pervading our contemporary society which is facilitated through globalisation. the traditional society holds some positivities in it, while the modern changes, despite the advantages it provides, come with consequences; these consequences could ruin the future of our children, if proper care is not taken to identify what to allow or restrict in the light of care and respect for children. to the young folks modernity to them means freedom to do whatever they wish because the traditional society and its tenets are old school and belong to the dustbin of history. to them they need to feel good, have good times and decide what is good for them even if it comes with dare consequences. in light of the above perception, it will be proper to clarify the concepts in this research topic for better understanding of the views of this writer. care: it connotes close attention, concern or responsibility. it also connotes maintenance or upkeep. in the context of this research care simply put is close attention, concern, responsibility, maintenance and upkeep of children. respect: an attitude of consideration or high regard. respect in this context simply connotes an attitude of consideration and regard for children. modern: it pertains to current or recent time and style; not ancient (wiktionary). in view of the definitions offered in regard to these concepts, it is obvious that there are current realities which cannot be wished away but adequate care needs to be taken by parents to provide leadership in their homes taking into consideration the current changes in the contemporary world. from the word of god, as covenant parents, we received the task and calling to bring up our children in the (filial) fear of the lord. this is with the intent that our children igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 127 during all their life shall serve the lord and his kingdom. that is what we promised when our children were baptized: “do you promise and intend to instruct these children, as soon as they are able to understand, in the aforesaid doctrine, and cause them to be instructed therein, to the utmost of your ability?”it is the purpose of this research, to begin reflecting, not just on the content of the upbringing of our children, but also on methods, institutions and instruments that are used in the care of our children especially in the face of contemporary modern changes. according to the author, children have a greater capacity for spiritual and social maturity, than what is at present attributed to them, and the wrong view of how we must bring up our children, is precisely one of the problems that hinder spiritual growth and maturity. it is not strange anymore to see and read reports in the news media that point out the immoral and intellectual decline that takes place among our young people, which often leads to extreme cases like murder, rape and gangsterism. some nigerians no doubt are already on this road not just the modern societies. one pertinent question which needs to be addressed is: is this the fault of the economy, politics or the church, or do we have to look closer at home to find what is wrong? (cfr. 1 peter 4:17). hear, o israel: the lord our god is one lord: and you shall love the lord your god with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. and these words, which i command you this day, shall be uponyour heart;and you shalt teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walkby the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. and you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. and you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (deut 6: 4-9). a lot has drastically changed in the way we look at things. man has become more and more obsessed by contemporary innovations and modern changes especially in education and family care, although it has its positive sides, in other areas it has had negative consequences. in the past it was strange to see young people especially the opposite sex hugging and kissing each other in the public but modern changes says nothing is wrong with that. they even go to the extent of seating and carrying each other on their laps. modernity to the young folks means freedom to do whatever they wish because the traditional society was an old school. would you put all the blames on them when they are left in the hands of nannies and to the mercies of foreign movies and peer groups? this research is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 128 about care and respect for children which by implication entails proper upbringing of the child in the fear of the lord. according to eph. 6:4, “fathers, do not provoke your children to angers but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the lord”. col 3:21 corroborates the same view: “fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged” (rsv). the above admonition teaches that while providing care for children at least to forestall discouragement, they should also be nurtured in the fear of the lord. the combination of the two responsibilities will produce obedient, respectful and patriotic children for a better society. the book of pr 22:6 instructs: train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old he will not depart from it (rsv). spare the rod and spoil the child is a popular assertion that connotes proper discipline when a child does wrong; and the book of proverbs asserts: a whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the back of fools (prov. 26:3). theoretical framework of analysis this research shall adopt bowlby’s attachment theory as its theoretical base upon which to understand and explain the need for caregiving to children as well as the consequences for not providing adequate care. attachment theory is a psychological model that attempts to describe the dynamics of long-term interpersonal relationships between humans. however, attachment theory is not formulated as a general theory of relationships. it addresses only a specific facet: how human beings respond within relationships when hurt, separated from loved ones, or perceiving a threat.319 essentially, attachment depends on the person's ability to develop basic trust in their caregivers and self.320 in infants, attachment as a motivational and behavioural system directs the child to seek proximity with a familiar caregiver when they are alarmed, with the expectation that they will receive protection and emotional support. john bowlby believed that the tendency for primate infants to develop attachments to familiar caregivers was the result of evolutionary pressures, since 319 waters, e., corcoran, d. &anafarta, m. (2005) ‘attachment, other relationships, and the theory that all good things go together’, human development 48:80–84 320 levy, terry m., and michael orlans. “corrective attachment therapy.” attachment, trauma, and healing: understanding and treating attachment disorder in children and families. 2nd ed. london: jessica kingsley, 2014,p. 201. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 129 attachment behaviour would facilitate the infant's survival in the face of dangers such as predation or exposure to the elements.321 the most important tenet of attachment theory is that an infant needs to develop a relationship with at least one primary caregiver for the child's successful social and emotional development, and in particular for learning how to effectively regulate their feelings. fathers or any other individuals are equally likely to become principal attachment figures if they provide most of the child care and related social interaction. there are times when parents feel tired or distracted. the telephone rings or there is breakfast to prepare. in other words, attuned interactions rupture quite frequently. but the hallmark of a sensitive caregiver is that the ruptures are managed and repaired.322 attachments between infants and caregivers form even if this caregiver is not sensitive and responsive in social interactions with them. this has important implications. infants cannot exit unpredictable or insensitive care-giving relationships.323 instead they must manage themselves as best they can within such relationships. research by developmental psychologist mary ainsworth in the 1960s and 70s found that children will have different patterns of attachment depending primarily on how they experienced their early care-giving environment. early patterns of attachment, in turn, shape but do not determine the individual's expectations in later relationships.324 bowlby's contemporary, rené spitz, observed separated children's grief, proposing that "psychotoxic" results were brought about by inappropriate 321 landa, s., &duschinsky, r. (2013) “crittenden’s dynamic–maturational model of attachment and adaptation.” review of general psychology, 173 322 landa, s., &duschinsky, r. (2013) “crittenden’s dynamic–maturational model of attachment and adaptation.” review of general psychology, 173 323 umemura, t., jacobvitz, d., messina, s. &hazan, n. (2013) ‘do toddlers prefer the primary caregiver or the parent with whom they feel more secure?’, in: infant behavior and development 36 (1): 102–114 324 bretherton i, munholland k.a. (1999) “internal working models in attachment relationships: a construct revisited”. in cassidy j, shaver pr. handbook of attachment: theory, research and clinical applications. new york: guilford press. pp. 89–114. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 130 experiences of early care. in his 1951 monograph for the world health organisation, maternal care and mental health, bowlby put forward the hypothesis that the infant and young child should experience a warm, intimate, and continuous relationship with his mother in which both find satisfaction and enjoyment, the lack of which may have significant and irreversible mental health consequences. this was also published as child care and the growth of love for public consumption. the central proposition was influential but highly controversial.325 infant exploration is greater when the caregiver is present; with the caregiver present, the infant's attachment system is relaxed and they are free to explore. from early in the development of attachment theory there was criticism of the theory's lack of congruence with various branches of psychoanalysis. bowlby's decisions left him open to criticism from well-established thinkers working on similar problems. critics in the 1990s such as j. r. harris, steven pinker and jerome kagan were generally concerned with the concept of infant determinism (nature versus nurture), stressing the effects of later experience on personality.326 building on the work on temperament of stella chess, kagan rejected almost every assumption on which attachment theory etiology was based. he argued that heredity was far more important than the transient effects of early environment. for example a child with an inherently difficult temperament would not elicit sensitive behavioural responses from a caregiver. the debate spawned considerable research and analysis of data from the growing number of longitudinal studies. subsequent research has not borne out kagan's argument, broadly demonstrating that it is the caregiver's behaviours that form the child's attachment style, although how this style is expressed may differ with temperament. harris and pinker put forward the notion that the influence of parents had been much exaggerated, arguing that socialisation took place primarily in peer groups. parents and peers have different functions, fulfilling distinctive roles in children's development. 325 prior & glaser (2006) understanding attachment and attachment disorders, london: jkp, p.17 326 bowlby, j. (1960) ‘separation anxiety’, in: international journal of psychoanalysis, 41: 89113 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 131 one focus of attachment research has been the difficulties of children whose attachment history was poor, including those with extensive non-parental child care experiences. authors considering attachment in non-western cultures have noted the connection of attachment theory with western family and child care patterns characteristic of bowlby's time. as children's experience of care changes, so may attachment-related experiences. for example, changes in attitudes toward female sexuality have greatly increased the numbers of children living with their never-married mothers or being cared for outside the home while the mothers work. as a theory of socio-emotional development, attachment theory has implications and practical applications in social policy, decisions about the care and welfare of children and mental health. attachment theory and research have generated important findings concerning early child development and spurred the creation of programs to support early child-parent relationships. care and respect for children: parents responsibility this question has become imperative for parents: what is our purpose with our children? we must hope that our children will know more about scripture than we do, that their world and life view will be formed more and better than ours, and their fear of god will greatly increase. that purpose is nothing less than that they will be a godly seed (mal. 2: 15), sharp arrows in the hand of the mighty in our fight against the enemy (psalm 127: 4,5). it is also important that parents must realize anew that they are wholly responsible for their children. when irresponsibility is rampant, the chief offender is not the church or the state, but the parents. scripture is very clear, bringing up children for all areas of life, is the responsibility and task of the parents (deut. 6: 7; eph. 6: 4). responsible children cannot emerge outside their homes. it demands that parents are called to bring up their children in the fear of the lord. using the example of eli and his sons to clarify the relationship between children and parental responsibility: now eli was very old, and he heard all that his sons were doing to all israel, and how they lay with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting. and he said to them, “why do you do such things? for i hear of your evil dealings from all the people. no my sons; it is no good report that i hear the people of the lord spreading abroad. if a man sins against a man, god will mediate for him; but if a man sins against the lord, who can intercede for him?” but they would not listen to the voice of their father (1sam. 2: 23-25). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 132 although it seems that eli brought up his sons in a church environment, verse 22 makes it clear that eli when he was an old man became aware of his sons' transgressions and that from someone else. eli failed in disciplining his sons; he was not around for them. eli had to bear the consequences, god's judgment (1 sam. 2: 27, 30). this was also a poor example for samuel whose sons were also rebellious after they grew up (1 sam. 8: 1-3). today, many parents follow in the steps of eli, by delegating their covenant responsibilities away to others. in view of this, many parents persevere in the ways of eli who could not instruct their children properly, of which the many children in kindergarten, after school centres and public schools, too often witness. to abraham, it was recorded in gen. 18:19 “for i know him, that he will command his children and his household after him…” which in theory are nicely promised and established when the child is baptized, are then very much the reason that we justify in the end that our children are brought up by everyone, but not the parents. the minister, teacher, youth leader, psychiatrist, parole officer, etc., all stand ready to bring up children, while mum is just there to cook the meals at the “home-hotel”, and when the child basically comes, only to sleep, eat, and relax in front of the head/man of the house, the egyptian, better known as the tv. dad is then nothing but the screaming and yelling machine. dad and mum will occasionally teach the child some good manners, and cute mannerisms, but for the rest it is the task for the “experts” to truly bring up children. but what limits dad and mum's ability to bring them up themselves? well, most often mum's priority is the necessary full time work, coupled with women association meetings, etc. all this makes it impossible for her to spend much time with her children. and dad's sports club, drinking club, tennis/golf clubs, etc. shows clearly there is no time to look after and teach their children. we are too busy with all the so-called important things in life. on top of this, the average couple has the massive burden and responsibility of the present day large family. think of all the money these children are going to cost. all the necessities like a third car, a vacation, television sets, videos, rugby tours, etc., have to be paid, before they can think of a proper care for the children. further, this is clear evidence that home schooling or a private school cannot be part of the budget of our family, even if we really want to do it. it has become clear that there is no time igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 133 and no money to bring up our children ourselves. someone else has to do that for us, and when something goes wrong, well, then probably it is the fault of the teacher, the church, or the state or even the third party who we indirectly relinquish our children as slave labourers under the guise of house helps. “god designed each family to be a culture with a language, customs, traditions, and countless unspoken assumptions. the culture of the family intimately shapes the children who grow up in it. it is the duty of the father to ensure that the shaping takes place according to biblical wisdom. some fathers establish a rebellious culture for their children and bring the wrath of god, sometimes for generations. other fathers fail to establish a distinct culture, and outside cultures rush to fill the void. through the messiah, god promised blessing to his people, their children, and their children's children forever.” the norm for faithful members of the covenant is that their children will follow them in faithfulness. the oddity should be children who fall away. unless we re-establish faithful christian culture in countless homes, we will never re-establish it anywhere else.327 the nature of the scenario in our country nigeria is worrisome. the neglect of values in our country is not in the first place the result of political or ecclesiastical failures, but is a result of the irresponsible behaviour of parents, especially of the fathers in maintaining and applying christian values in their own life and in that of our families. scripture teaches clearly that the father (together with the mother) have the primal responsibilities for the upbringing of their children (eph. 6: 1-4). many parents think it is enough to take the children to sunday school, or to church, or drop them off at school or the young people meeting when dad is on his way to play cricket, and mum takes time to look at the tv soap operas. it is the place of the parents to bring up god-fearing children in their homes, (1 tim. 3: 4,5; tit. 1:6). parents are to rule over their home that is, by providing and leading exemplary lives. they cannot do this when they turn their home as wresting grounds. to raise good children, parents need to love each other. if husband and wife truly love each other, as the fathers of the church teach, then the children will have an ideal model of how to love god and their fellow man. saint john chrysostom, in a more general sense, speaks about the centrality of the parents’ example for moulding multiple facets of the child’s development: “for generally the children acquire the character of their parents, are formed in the mould of 327 douglas wilson. standing on the promises: a manual for biblical childrearing. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 134 their parents’ temperament, love the same things their parents love, talk in the same fashion, and work for the same ends”.328 in addition to the good example of parents, the active intervention of parents is required in directing and moulding the will of the child. by moulding and directing the will of a child, especially at the early stages of development, the parent is teaching the child that he is not the centre of the world. only as such will a child learn later in life to do the will of god (to obey his commandments) and to put the needs of others before his own. in order to make our job as parents a little easier, we can begin by repenting, orienting our lives towards christ, and making ourselves a little more christ-like. parents in the contemporary society should prioritize their children’s spiritual well-being over their worldly success, offering them a christ-like example of love and harmony within the home, moulding the child’s self-will, and striving continuously to become like christ is a brief glimpse into raising our children accordingly. it is a difficult path, but it is the surest way we have of raising children who will grow to love god and their fellow man, and who will be a joy and asset to the society.329 care for children: the roles of the educational institutions hall's philosophy concerning young people has since been the norm for the western world. characters like james dean and elvis presley are seen as victims of the older generation that did not understand how young people think. music and films of those years and since is a testimony of “invented adolescence” by stanley hall, and implemented by dewey in the schools. “all children in america that go to school at five years old, are spiritually sick, because they have certain ties to our forebears, parents and a supernatural being. ... it is up to the teachers to make these children healthy by making them international children of the future.”330 328 john chrysostom, on marriage and family life, svs press, 1986, p. 64 329 brian platt,(2005) "japanese childhood, modern childhood: the nation-state, the school, and 19th-century globalization," journal of social history, summer 2005, vol. 38 issue 4, pp 965-985 330 chester pierce, a psychiatrist, a lecture before the childhood international education seminar). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 135 despite the role that parents play in caring for their children, the educational institutions as well as other institutions must not lag behind in complimenting the efforts of the parents as character moulders. the children in their hands are like the clay in the hand of the potter. he chooses and determines what shape he makes out of it. today, this youth subculture is the dominating culture in our society. culture in all its forms art, music, etiquette, and recreation is altogether in terms of the demands and needs of young people. advertisements are directed to young people, and when directed to adults, it is to make them feel or look younger. life is centred around young people, and the high school is seen as the cream of life. hence there is need for proper scrutinising and censoring of these programmes if the society would become what we all envision it should be. when it rains out there in the society, the children receive most of its drops. in most of the higher institutions, a dress has been adopted yet it has not solved the problem the church in the care and respect for children the care for children, which is primarily the responsibility of parent, should also concern the church. “train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it” (proverbs 22:6). this biblical injunction is for parents as well as the church but it is rather tragic that the modern church is failing in this. it happens in many churches that doctrines are not taught to children, precisely because they have not reached a certain phase. separating young people, also in the church, began in the thirties, with the explosion of para-church agencies, for example youth for christ, young life, campus fellowships, etc. later, many churches started their own youth programs in campuses, and today we have children services which separates the children from the adult. schlect points to an advertisement he read in campus life, a magazine for young people: have the time of your life! sure you'll study ... college should be fun. and while you're at it, you'll get an education. schlect then shows, what is the sin of young people namely: fun before duty! young people are taught to live a life of fun and pleasure, and after that to attend matters of primary importance, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 136 such as work and study.331 and thus, young people are taught and brought up to be more immature and irresponsible.332 this philosophy of "enforced" segregation by age is also introduced into the church. for every age group there is a bible study, geared to the specific needs of every group. but it is especially the young people who enjoy the most attention. schlect sees this as follows: "evangelical churches have honoured divisions that have existed in our culture for less than a century divisions which have no basis in either scripture or common sense. these divisions breed immaturity because they hinder younger people from associating with and learning from their elders. rather than admonishing our young people with paul's mandate, 'flee youthful lusts' (2 tim. 2: 22), we provide a forum for youthful lusts to be pursued. immaturity is the result of a congregation that no longer, in accordance with scripture, admits young people to have as much contact with older people as possible. children do not learn from the wisdom of older people anymore (lev. 19: 32; tit.2: 3-6). the so-called generation gap, which is a twentieth century invention, is used today as an excuse to segregate the young from the old. when young people are permitted to set their own standards, there would develop a “group mentality” and they are inclined to follow each other's examples and not those of their parents. jones then comes to what he sees as the basic problem: it is not that there is interaction between the young, but the problem is irresponsible adult leadership and supervision, especially by older people. it is because of negligent and uninterested parents that young people develop a group mentality, a herd mentality in their own way of life, their own mannerisms. think of the ever returning complaint: “but dad does not understand me ...!” but the youth must be taught to be mature, to be people that one day must serve in a world of adults. who can better give this teaching than those who are presently adults now? 331 schlect, christopher (2007) 2 nd ed. a critique of modern youth ministry moscow: canon press.retrieved: www.southsidebible.org/files/youth...youth_ministry_6_08.pdf12/05/2015 332 kathleen s. uno, (1999) passages to modernity: motherhood, childhood, and social reform in early twentieth century japan: retrieved www.wikipedia.com 12/05/2015 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 137 youth has to learn that to be young is not man's chief end. many young people are taken from adult, or the company of older people, in the name of “youth activities in the church,” or because they have different needs. it happens that because of this, some children are not at home several days during the week. this is a setback for family devotions, and mutual fellowship in the family. 333 schlect touches further on a basic problem, when it is said by the modern churches that basic teaching of the doctrines of the church and its confessions are 'too difficult' for children, these "serious" matters are only 'for adults'. (but these last two words are not heard from young people when it concerns the choice of films, and also not from many parents that should be examples for the younger people?) thus we depart from the godly example set by the mother of timothy in tim. 3:14 and 15. the church must be aware of the danger of compromise, with the purpose to remain so-called "relevant." we must be ‘relevant' for the lord and his kingdom, not for man and his worldly lusts (matt.6:33). it is therefore necessary for the church to repent from all forms of unbiblical thinking about young people and their upbringing. challenges for children care in the face of modern changes the modern attitude to children emerged by the late 19th century; there has been an emphasis on the role of the family and the sanctity of the child, an attitude that has remained dominant in western societies ever since and gradually permeating our society today. this can be seen in the emergence of the cellular phone, computers and the proliferation of social media (facebook, whatsapp, 2go, etc.). in the 21st century a new genre of children's literature has emerged. instead of the didactic nature of children's books of the previous age, authors began to write humorous, child-oriented books, more attuned to the child's imagination. the movie industry both local and foreign are not helping the matter either, but on daily bases pushes to the market uncensored and corrupting movies with its devastating consequences on the children’s psychological, sociological and mental developments. as a matter of fact, the challenges posed by these to parents in their role as caregivers cannot be quantified. today, thanks to the growing importance of the internet, the children have a wealth of new resources at their fingertips, but no thanks as it comes with 333 mark jones, (2010) children as treasures: childhood and the middle class in early twentieth century japan: retrieved www.wikipedia.com12/05/2015 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 138 a host of new concerns and challenges which needs to be dealt with. computers, smartphones and the internet are here to stay in our schools and homes and it cannot be wished away by sceptics. but care must be taken in order to be able to raise a better generation of children. earlier before now, children in nigeria hardly had access to computers, phones or internet but the case is no longer the same in recent times when children use better and more expensive phones than their parents do. even the homes have become so busy with chatting and movie halls. similarly in the school, most children do not even pay attention to the lessons going on in class simply because they are engrossed with chatting on their phones. after school, the same chatting on their phones might continue that they even forgot to do their homeworks. most parents also have become busier that they pay little attention to their children because they now have a whole range of other caregivers, including, extra lesson instructors and nannies to share in the responsibilities that would otherwise have been completely their own. achunine notes that parents should avoid delegating too much of their duties to other helpers such as relatives, nannies and hired hands.334 this is because, as a parent, they pass on to their children important educational values which are vital for their proper formation. parents should understand that children need adults whose constant presence can help them reflect on their life’s progress. that need is less likely to be met when parental authority is shared with many adults who play only a transient role, and the result may be problematic with identity and self-esteem. this may account for the reason why children take to the alternative of interacting with peers over the social media friends, who may influence them negatively in life.335 334 stella achunine (2015). “the role of the family toward a better society” in the new searchlight magazine, vol. 15 no. 1, pp. 47-48. 335 steyaert, j. (1997). “peeling the cis onion: the looking after children system in an international perspective”in n. gould & k. moultrie (eds.), effective policy, planning and implementation: information management in social services (pp. 27-47) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 139 recommendations in the face of the myriads of challenges facing parents in the care for their children nowadays, the following recommendations are paramount: 1 discourage unnecessary peer relationships, especially to encourage family bond. it is a good thing for families to sit together in church, instead of what happens today, that each member looks for his/her own place. important family dates like birthdays, family devotions, eating together, etc., should have precedence over any other. 2. young people can attend adult bible studies, especially where parents attend. most children understand much more than some adults today. there is a message in the bible for both parents and children! it may be somewhat strange at the outset, but the child will gradually grow in its knowledge of the bible and how to study it. 3 organize affairs for families, not just for young people or only parents, for certain occasions. the program must not be changed to accommodate children's needs, but must be in line with the programme and leading of adults. 4 children must associate their upbringing with parental authority. it is high time that parents assumed their prima responsibility by taking over the upbringing of their children from the youth leaders, and other experts (prov. 22: 6). 5 children must be taught to always respect their parents and at the same time ask them questions, even about the bible and the faith. these children should not be brought up as enemies of their parents, but must be shown some respect and honour (eph. 6:1-3). conclusion as parents, how much do you appreciate god's covenant children, which he loans out to you temporarily and promised to give you everything needed to bring them up? remember, one day we all must appear before god's judgment seat to give an account of how we brought up our children. when we claim we did not have time and money, there is something wrong with our priorities and planning (mat. 6: 33), especially in the area of bringing up our children. by strength shall no man prevail. the task of good upbringing of children cannot be accomplished successfully by parents without the help of the holy spirit. “unless the lord builds the house, in vain does the builders labour and unless the lord watch over the city, in vain does the watchman keep vigil”; “lo, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 3, december 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 140 children are a heritage of the lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. ... “happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them!” (ps. 127:1,3,5). without getting angry when the child tests his limits and without putting excessive pressure on the child, parents can do much good for the child’s soul by setting clear and pronounced boundaries around the child’s self-will. of course, the parents need to consistently maintain and remind the child of those boundaries in a loving and gentle way. in doing this and in a manner, such that takes the child into consideration of course, the implication is that the child is treated with care and respect. the position of this paper is that caution should be applied in taking care of children in the face of modern changes. their rights should not be denied them but bounds must be properly delineated. 112 conflict management and resolution among clergy and laity christian maduabuchi umeanwe, phd department of religion and human relations, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. drchrismadu777@gmail.com; cm.umeanwe@unizik.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.25338.81600 abstract the mandate of the church is to ensure that it meets the spiritual and physical responsibility and to be sure that the church fulfills the role of meeting the needs of all people in their local communities. this mandate if cares are not taken will be frustrated by conflict among the clergy and laity. conflict is a common occurrence in the workplace. however, when they occur, they affect the working environment and the productivity of the organization. since conflicts are bound to occur, organizations have to put in place some mechanisms to solve them. this study was concerned with determining the resolution and management of conflict in intra-church conflicts between the clergy and the laity. it examined the causes, types, effect of intra-church conflict in the church among the clergy and laity. feasible resolution mechanisms were identified and adopted. the main cause of such conflicts was found to be; lack of unity and the presence of factions in the church, poor skills management on the part of the pastor, conflicting visions for the church, a church's resistance to change, power and control struggles, personality conflicts, poor interpersonal relationship skills on the part of the congregation, conflict over leadership styles, dissatisfaction with the pastor's performance and theological differences. this research discussed the conflicts that arise in every organization with regard to that of the clergy and laity, its pros and cons, and how to mitigate and manage them. managing conflict is a key management competency of the clergy. all leaders of the church organizations especially, the priests should study and practice effective conflict management skills. this article highlighted previous discussions taken from various authors which enable us the reasons why conflict arise in church organizations, and the effects of conflicts and ways of managing organizational conflicts. this research therefore, explores the conflict resolutions between the laity and the clergy. data was collected and generated through the use of primary and secondary sources. keywords: conflict, management, resolution, clergy, laity introduction being a christian pastor today is more difficult than any time in history. this century witnessed the collapse of the christian consensus that held church values together for centuries. according to fisher (1996), the moral relativism that accompanies a secular view of reality deeply affects the work of the church and its leadership. (p.10). sande (2004) opined that, far too many good pastors are being driven out of ministry, leaving thousands of churches weak and vulnerable to spiritual attack. without good leadership, denominational factions multiply, evangelism declines, divorces proceed unrestrained, discipleship loses direction and missionaries are forgotten. (p.5). instead of a place of comfort and reassurance, church conflict can create a battle ground for power struggles of various factions, victimizing the congregation and sabotaging pastoral leadership and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 113 church growth. sande (2004). a pastor is most often forced out of ministry due to lack of success at resolving differences with other people within the church. (p.8). conflict is not necessarily bad. the bible, the collection of sacred writings of the jewish and christian religions, teaches that some differences are natural and beneficial. christians believe that god created people as unique individuals, with different opinions, convictions, desires, perspectives, and priorities. conflicts when handled properly can stimulate productive dialogue, encourage creativity, and promote helpful change and growth. the researcher of this study believed that conflict should not be avoided or feared. conflict can be managed in a way that is not fear-based, result in positive growth for the church. this research delved into understanding the factors associated with church conflict and leadership conflict management strategies available to pastors. according to melton (2014,): organizations function because people interact with one another on various issues. when people interact, they may agree or disagree, and this is considered as normal forms of interaction. although disagreements are common, it can lead to a conflict between the disagreeing parties thereby affecting the processes within the organization, as well as the parties involved in the conflict. (p. 265). iqbal&afsheen (2013) said: conflicts take place in organizations, but this does not mean that the organization ceases to function. there exist some mechanism for solving conflict, and one can be vindicated if the proper channel has been followed. conflict resolution process can be formal or informal. formal channels are outlined by the organization and consider a rational approach to conflict resolution. informal approach on the other hand considers a channel that has not been specified, and this means the approach is non-rational. (p. 125). conflict is inevitable in our daily life and may happen at any time for various reasons. generally, conflict was defined as a competitive or opposing action of incompatibles, antagonistic state or action (as of divergent ideas, interests, or persons). one of the popular definitions of conflict, provided by coser (1967) is that conflict is a struggle over values and claims to scarce status, power, and resources, in which the aims of the opponents are to neutralize, injure, or eliminate the rivals. deutsch (1973), asserts that a conflict exists whenever incompatible activities occur. one party is interfering, disrupting, obstructing, or in some other way making another party's actions less effective. this research therefore, analyzes conflict resolutions and management in parish setting of diocese on the niger, anglican communion. conflict may occur internally or externally between individuals or groups. it may happen in religious organizations, school, in our own organization, in our society, within families and even in the middle of our most personal relationships. a relationship without conflict is boring, and so with an organization or a group without any conflicting ideas come up with a “not the best” output. imagine a corporation with too much agreement among top management, wherein they view matters the same way. they always agree to certain conditions without them wanting to do better. in a study of business failures done by argenti (1976), it was observed that absence of disagreement is often viewed by managers as a sign of good leadership, when in reality it is a leading indicator of being out igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 114 of touch with significant changes in the market place. a christianity today international exploratory study, barfoot, wickman, & winston, (1997) revealed that the most common causes for forced pastoral exits include: the church being in a current state of conflict when the pastor arrives, a lack of unity and the presence of factions in the church, poor people-skills on the part of the pastor, conflicting visions for the church, a church's resistance to change,power and control struggles, personality conflicts, poor people skills on the part of the congregation, conflict over leadership styles, dissatisfaction with the pastor's performance and theological differences.(p.6). barfoot (2004) opined that a pastor is most often forced out of ministry due to lack of success at resolving differences with other people within the church, the christianity today international study further revealed that: forty-five percent of pastors who were forced out of the church think they could have done more to avoid being forced out. resolving conflict was the primary action pastors wished they had taken sooner; and pastors reported conflict management as the area of training most lacking in their seminary or bible college education. (p. 11). becker (1999) said that, conflict can be the result of a violation of shared expectations, or conflict can result from the clash of two fundamentally different sets of expectations for behavior. (p.6). chou (2008) informed that intra-congregational conflicts arise over issues of congregational culture, leadership, and denomination. (p.12). hoge (1976) said, most often intra church conflicts are resulted by theology, purpose, and meaning; liberalism versus conservatism, beliefs and authority. (p.20). when any one of these factors is compromised by leadership, it plays a significant role as to why people feel their religious understandings are misaligned and conflict occurs. each year thousands of pastors leave their churches. sande (2004) said that, most congregations have not been properly equipped to deal with conflict, so when a pastor who is equally unprepared in conflict management enters into such a church, the stage is set for agonizing conflict and disunity. the church cannot afford to let these losses continue. (p.10). this study sought to find a relationship between church leadership and membership conflict resolution and management style and positive energy growth for unity within the church. in the words of gwartney-gibbs &lach (2014), “conflicts between co-workers arise due to lack of appropriate priorities and conflict-solving system within an organization”. (p.1). additionally, the misunderstanding of people within an institution is mostly created by social and economic problems resulting from the types of approach each parties gave to problems. ramsbotham, miall & woodhouse (2011) opined as follow, “in essence, clarification of responsibilities, creation of a conducive relationship atmosphere and promotion of organizational cultural values are the primary objectives of solving coworker conflicts”. (p.3).similarly, the common bias of improving parish setting between the laity and clergy is critical aspect that requires attention. besides, the preferences are essential in reaching compromises, setting common goals, and training the laity in church leadership to understand their limits. similar situation can be handled through the provision of clear communication channels, making follow-ups (timely training both on the side of the laity and the clergy), and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 115 training of supervisors as mediators in conflict cases. furthermore, the conflicting parties are taught the importance of emotional control in a working environment. likewise, the parties are provided with opportunities for learning interpersonal skill relationship. this will reduce unhealthy competitions and conflicts that degrade the church output. objective of the study the purpose of this study is to proffer strategies of conflict resolution and management by leadership of the diocese on the niger may impact the overall health of the church.the objective of this work is to discuss the problems of conflicts in the diocese on the niger, its nature and causes. the purpose of this research work is also to shed light on the solution to conflicts. it will also discuss conflicts in the church as an attack and instrument of division to the true existing reality. in as much as sometimes conflicts serves as instrument of awakening to the church and had assisted in the advancement and development of the church if properly managed, yet the speed with which conflicts are being proliferated in our churches has spelt doom to church in nigeria and it demands correction, and this correction is a sharp type. the aims of the study also are to examine and inform my audience how cancerous conflicts can be to the church if not properly checked. definition of terms for better comprehension of the topic under discussion it is necessary explain and elucidate the following concepts as they are contained in the topic. according to okeke (2007): “without initial approach, we shall be engulfed in the risk of false and pretentious appendages” (p.13). therefore some key words in the research paper topic were defined for a better understanding of their usage in the body of the work. the key words include;conflicts, resolutions, management laity, clergy, parish setting, diocese, niger, anglican, communion conflicts management and resolution management and resolution conflict management and resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of and . conflict retribution conflict resolution can be defined also as the informal or formal process that two or more parties use to find a peaceful solution to their dispute. the term conflict resolution may also be used interchangeably with , where arbitration and litigation processes are dispute resolution critically involved. the concept of conflict resolution can be thought to encompass the use of nonviolent resistance measures by conflicted parties in an attempt to promote effective resolution. ultimately a wide range of methods and procedures for addressing conflict exist, including , , mediation-arbitration, , and negotiation mediation diplomacy creative peace building. laity in religious organizations, the laity consists of all members who are not part of the , clergy usually including any non members of , e.g. a or . ordained religious orders nun lay brother generally, a layperson (also layman or laywoman) is a person who is not qualified in a given profession or does not have specific knowledge of a certain subject. the adjective lay is often used to describe someone of the laity. etymologically, the word lay (part of layperson, etc.) derives from the anglo-french lai, from laicus, from the late latin greek igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 116 λαϊκός, laikos, of the people, from λαός, laos, the people at large. the word laity means "common people" and comes from the λαϊκός (laikos).greek synonyms parishioner believer dile�ante follower neophyte for layperson include: , , , , member, , novice outsider proselyte recruit secular laic layman professional catholic, , , , , , , non . in the and the anglican deacon priest bishop churches, anyone who is not ordained as a , , or is referred to as a layman or a laywoman regardless of his or her leadership and discipleship positions in the church. in anglicanism in particular, anyone who is not a , , or in the bishop priest deacon church. in the tradition, all baptized persons are expected to minister in christ's anglican name. clergy generally, in christianity, clergy are the ; that is, they are set apart for specific ordained ministry in religious rites. others who have definite roles in worship but who are not ordained (e.g. acting as ) are generally not considered clergy, even laypeople acolytes though they may require some sort of official approval to exercise these ministries. clergy are formal leaders within established . their roles and functions vary in religions different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's and practices. some of the terms used for individual doctrines clergy are clergyman, clergywoman, and churchman. review of the related literature literature review forms the most important part of all . as a systematic research investigation to find conclusions and achieve facts, every builds on existing research knowledge. unless one wants to change the wheel, precise awareness on the extent of wisdom on a subject is necessary to carry on research that adds value to the area. literature review for research can be defined as a survey of scholarly articles and all other systematic sources similar to a particular problem, field of study, theory, to include a description, summary, and critical evaluation of a concept, school of thought, or ideas related to the research literature review question is tested. in extension, the familiarizes the author to the extent of knowledge in their area. when represented as a part of the paper, it establishes to the readers, the author's depth of understanding and knowledge of their field subject. therefore the literature review of this research will be approached in the following subheadings; conceptual framework, theoretical framework, empirical studies and a summary of literature review. ogunbameru (2008) defines conflict as the confrontation of powers. conflict is a state of opposition, antagonism, discord, clash and collision. conflict arises when forces relevant to two or more goals were of equal strength (p.33). while kadende-kaiser and kaiser, (2003 citing aurich 1998) observed that conflicts occur when two related partiesindividuals, groups, communities, or nation-states find themselves divided by perceived incompatible goals or interest or in competition for control of scarce resources. with this aurich bridges the gap between approaches to understanding conflicts: one based on the idea of scarcity and the other related to perception and/belief. controversies, hostilities, resentments, hatred, aggressiveness, rancor and bickering are originally tied to conflict situations. schlee (2004) observed that conflict is often explained in terms of the interest igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 117 of groups involved, since, what people are fighting for is fundamental in conflict analysis, it is also pertinent in identifying who is fighting who and why. oyewo (2002) also opined that conflict is not new; it is as old as the world. to him, the first conflict occurred in heaven when lucifer rebelled against god. this rebellion has continued in various socioreligious institutions as humans in them are in constant interaction. thus, interaction is the bane of conflicts. it is glaring that, one of the myriad intractable problems facing nigeria today is religious conflicts. every leader once in a while finds one's self directly or indirectly in some form of conflict. conflict according to olabode and ajibade, (2010) is a term usually refers to a condition in which one identifiable group of human beings in an environment (whether tribal, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, religious, socio-economic or political among others) is engaged in conscious opposition to one or more identifiable human group(s) because these groups are pursuing what are or appear to be incompatible goals. (p.259). most social theorists believe that conflict plays certain positive functions. ralf and crosser (1998) cited by otite (1999) and as such not always dangerous as often assumed. kreutz (2010) asserted that 'in settlements, allowing the interest of each side to be at least partly satisfied created more post conflict stability.' critically however, conflict is known to be potentially dangerous. thus, improper handling of conflict destroys institutions, communities, marriages, and corporations may stir up chaos. this may cause the end or downfall of great leaders as well as fragmentation of their organizations. onyima (2007). said, the ability to tame hostilities depends on the type of conflict resolution technique employed. conflict resolution is therefore, the systematic techniques, procedures, and strategies employed by skilled mediators/interventionist, in the quest to ameliorate, reduce, or eliminate conflicts in all human relationships/interactions. (p.12). lewicki (2003) and sandy (2006) cited by brockman (2010) buttressed this idea by saying, “particular conflict management strategies have their advantages and disadvantages and are more or less effective depending on the type of conflict and the situation or context in which the conflict occurs”. (p.279). again, kakende-kaiser and kaiser (2003), said, “when developing strategies to resolving conflicts such as crafting and implementation of peace agreements, it is necessary to assess and respond to short, medium and long term4 selfinterests of the parties to the conflicts.(p.12). thus, if conflicts are not resolved promptly in marriages, churches, communities and nations, informal groups may develop to handle the situation, which may escalate the crises to the extent that the institution may be adversely affected. the result of church crisis is break-ups and proliferations which sometimes metamorphose to societal nuisance. church conflict as a social problem intra-church conflict is an area that has not caught much interest in academic discourses. there are lots of literatures on inter-tribal, inter-ethnic, inter-communal conflicts like the umueri-aguleri and igbariam-ukwulu crises scramble for scarce boundary/lands feuds. in abakaliki of ebonyi state and their cross river state neighbors and marginalization agitations from both the minority and majority groups in nigeria among others. as noted by otite (1999) whether conflict is viewed as normal or abnormal, it is reoccurring, natural or even a pathological fact. it is inherent in all kinds of social relationships/institutions, be it economic, political, or religious. it is therefore pertinent igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 118 to state categorically that religious conflict among the clergy and laity is becoming more threatening to societal unity and human peaceful co-existence in nigeria than any other form of conflict. that of the intra-church conflict is evident in the proliferation and duplication of churches at the slightest disagreement and all kinds of social drama ensue like in the days of the redeemed anglican church of nigeria (tracon). hence this study employed both historical evidences to analyze the incidences, causes and trends of church conflicts beyond the general perspectives, rather specific cases and individual driven data related to conflict were examined. research findings from the selected church reveal that inter-church conflicts are rare but intra-church conflicts are prevalent and quite endemic in the studied church. as during the research on this study, “the people in the church in our neighborhood are always quarrelling about something. they can't even agree on an issue. i will never go there.” emphasizing on the veracity of conflict in anglican church, another key finding expresses: about three years ago the church in our area had a big blow up. the pastor and half of the church were one side and the rest on the other side. i do not even remember what the issue was, something about the constitution, but it ended up in a split. some people left and started their own church on the other side of the town. conflict has been so entrenched that some people even imputed ethnic dimensions to it. arild (2012) had observed that “in heterogeneous units, groups often have conflicting interests” (p.2). the above responses present the church with a bad reputation which often degenerates into increasing endemic and protracted conflicts particularly in anglican communion. the resultant effect is the proliferation and splitting of churches. this has gradually degenerated into a societal nuisance as churches are sited or located in residential areas, stores, warehouses, mountains/hills, markets, filling stations, even on streets, major roads, uncompleted buildings, shanties, and canopies. it is observed from this study that apart from the quest for evangelization, unemployment and conflict has been one of the factors leading to unbridled proliferation of pentecostal churches. conflict has been endemic in christian religious institutions and the pentecostal church which is a component is not left out. according to martins (1986), in some communities, the pentecostal churches have a bad reputation due to incessant intra-church conflicts. (p.12). this opines that conflicts in any church severes the reputation of that church. types of conflicts this section discussed in details in the main thesis work types of conflicts that are likely to be faced in the parish church setting which includes; 1. inter-personal conflicts, 2. intra-personal conflicts, 3. inter-group conflicts and, 4. intra-groupconflicts. the above points were elaborated thoroughly, but because of the expected size of the seminar paper, the researcher chose to curtail it. causes of intra church conflicts between the laity and clergy in this section of this seminar the researcher from primary and secondary sources, presented the data of intra church conflicts between the laity and clergy in a parish setting. the data shows the causes of conflicts between the clergy and the laity in parish church setting. the researcher discovered the causes of intra-church conflicts in parish setting igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 119 as; i. lack of unity and the presence of factions in the church, ii. poor people-skills on the part of the pastor, iii. conflicting visions for the church, iv. church's resistance to change, v. power and control struggles, vi. personality conflicts, vii. poor people skills on the part of the congregation, viii. conflict over leadership styles, ix. dissatisfaction with the pastor's performance and, x. theological differences and competing for advantage. strategies towards resolution and management clergy and laity must work together to create a safe and supportive environment for constructive conflict resolution. leadership plays a vital role in modeling healthy conflict management behaviors and providing guidance and resources for conflict resolution. by prioritizing conflict management and resolution, religious communities can become beacons of hope and harmony, reflecting the values of compassion, forgiveness, and love that underlie their faith. ultimately, effective conflict management and resolution can strengthen the bonds of community, deepen spiritual connections, and promote a more just and peaceful world. in this section, of this research work, the researcher will be majoring on developing or formulating some vital strategies towards resolution and management of conflicts. as earlier on opined that conflicts among parties in inter and intra religious organizations is inevitable, whether religious or secular conflicts, it is unavoidable among parties and groups, however it is worthy to note of that, if conflicts lingers it can lead to damages and at this damaging level of conflicts; it is necessary to start proffering remedial measures to curb the conflicts before it escalates to irreparable damages. therefore, the following points formulated below are the researcher's discovery as strategies towards quenching the flame of conflicts, especially in the parish setting of the church. i. imperativeness of conflicts analysis ii. imperativeness of dialogue iii. imperativeness of conflict resolution stage iv. christian approaches to conflict resolution in parish church setting thomas-kilmanntheory of conflict management research has proven that no two individuals or groups, whether secular or religious groups have exactly the same beliefs, expectations and desires, conflict is a natural part of our interactions with others. the thomas kilmann theory of conflict management if properly applied will serve as a means of managing religious crisis in nigeria. considering the fact that we as individuals have different points of view, there will always be instances when misunderstandings will occur among us as well as in religious beliefs. with the arising of these intractable comes the need for conflict conflicts management. even in seemingly ordinary situations, conflict may be rooted by other non-apparent reasons. understanding the other sides of the issue would allow those involved to come up with an ideal to the problem. in dealing with conflict, there resolu�on are conflict management styles to be followed. the thomas-kilmann conflict mode igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 120 instrument, which is an assessment used globally in conflict handling, specifies five strategies used to address conflict. the thomas-kilmann conflict mode instrument (tki) assesses an individual's behaviour in conflict situations, that is, situations in which the concerns of two people appear to be incompatible. in conflict situations, we can describe a person's behaviour along two basic dimensions: (1) assertiveness, the extent to which the individual attempts to satisfy his or her own concerns, and (2) cooperativeness, the extent to which the individual attempts to satisfy the other person's concerns. these two dimensions of behaviour can be used to define five methods of dealing with conflict. these five conflicthandling modes are shown below: i. competing: win/lose ii. accommodating: lose/win iii. avoiding: no winners/no losers iv. collaborating: win/win v. compromising: win some/lose some competing/win-lose this is assertive and uncooperative; an individual pursues his own concerns at the other person's expense. this is a power-oriented mode in which you use whatever power seems appropriate to win your own position, your ability to argue, your rank, or economic sanctions. competing means “standing up for your rights,” defending a position which you believe is correct, or simply trying to win. accommodating/lose-win this is unassertive and cooperative, the complete opposite of competing. when accommodating, the individual neglects his own concerns to satisfy the concerns of the other person; there is an element of self-sacrifice in this mode. accommodating might take the form of selfless generosity or charity, obeying another person's order when you would prefer not to, or yielding to another's point of view which will either lead to lose or win. avoiding/no winners-no losers this is unassertive and uncooperative; the person neither pursues his own concerns nor those of the other individual. thus he does not deal with the conflict. avoiding might take the form of diplomatically sidestepping an issue, postponing an issue until a better time or simply withdrawing from a threatening situation. collaborating/win-win this is both assertive and cooperative, the complete opposite of avoiding. collaborating involves an attempt to work with others to find some solution that fully satisfies their concerns. it means digging into an issue to pinpoint the underlying needs and wants of the two individuals. collaborating between two persons might take the form of exploring a disagreement to learn from each other's insights or trying to find a creative solution to an interpersonal problem. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 121 compromising/win some-lose some this is moderate in both assertiveness and cooperativeness. the objective is to find some expedient, mutually acceptable solution that partially satisfies both parties. it falls intermediate between competing and accommodating. compromising gives up more than competing but less than accommodating. likewise, it addresses an issue more directly than avoiding, but does not explore it in as much depth as collaborating. in some situations, compromising might mean splitting the difference between the two positions, exchanging concessions, or seeking a quick middle-ground solution. each of us is capable of using all five conflict-handling modes. none of us can be characterized as having a single style of dealing with conflict. but certain people use some modes better than others and, therefore, tend to rely on those modes more heavily than others, whether because of temperament or practice. the thomas kilmann theory is designed to measure people's use of conflict-handling modes across a wide variety of group and organizational settings. conclusion conflict is as old as humanity and is a reality of life. even among the apostolic ministry of the early christianity the scripture recorded conflicts. many conflicts that sometimes lead to full blown violence have their causes rooted in history. the resolution of conflicts is not an exercise that should be rushed as rushing it will only create the possibility of its reemergence. there is a range of strategies, models and mechanisms available for the resolution of conflicts. depending on its stage, different models could be applied to different situation. the lack of expertise, patience, time and money for the exercise that will lead to sustained and desirable conflict resolution is responsible for the reoccurrence of conflicts to which we have been witnesses. lederach (1995) opined, effective conflict management and resolution are crucial for maintaining harmony and promoting spiritual growth within religious communities as this study highlighted the importance of open communication, empathy, trust, and collaboration in managing conflicts among clergy and laity. kriesberg (1998) also said, effective conflict management and resolution are crucial for maintaining harmony and promoting spiritual growth within religious communities. galtung (1996) and lederack (2003) asserted that, a structured approach to conflict resolution as, emphasizing mutual respect and a shared commitment to peaceful coexistence can reduce conflict escalation, foster a culture of trust and respect, promote collaborative problem-solving, and enhance spiritual growth and community cohesion the researcher has discussed different phases of conflict resolution, which include; strategies towards resolution and management, imperativeness of conflicts analysis, imperativeness of dialogue, imperativeness of conflict resolution stage and a christian approach to conflict resolution. in conflict resolution, each of these phases is relevant and should not be ignored. collaborative and problem-solving approaches to conflict resolution have been discovered to be more effective than the legalistic approach. the former ends with a win-win solution while the later ends with a win-lose solution. in gowon's words 1970, the former ends with no victor no vanquished. the researcher has also indicated that all attempts at conflict resolution should focus on interests over positions. it is the interests that are the driving force of the position taken. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 122 references argenti, j. (1976). corporate collapse: the causes and symtoms. holstedpress, mcgrawhill: london. thashley, c. (2019). understanding conflict theory.retrieved on 30 august, 2021 from h�ps://www.thoughtco.com/conflict-theory-3026622. barfoot, s.d., wickman, c., & winston, b.e. (1997); forced pastoral exists: an exploratory study. christianity today international/your church magaz ine , 6 -11 . re t r i eved on apr i l 2 , 2021 f rom: web http://scholar.google.com/scho lar?hl=en&as_sdt=100000000&q1997+christianity+today+pastoral+exit becker, p. e. (1999). congregations in conflict: cultural models of local religious life. new york: cambridge university press. booty, j.e. (2009).anglican communion. microsoft encarta [dvd]. redmond, wa: microsoft corporation, 2008. chou, h. g. (2008). the impact of congregational characteristics on conflict-related exit. sociology of religion 2008, 69(1), 93-108. collins, r. (1975). conflict sociology: toward an explanatory science. new york: academic press. fisher, d. (1996). the 21st century pastor. grand rapids, mi: zondervan. gingerich, b. (2021). what do i need to know about the anglican church? retrieved on th10 april, 2021 from ...h�ps://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/ gwartney-gibbs, p. a., &lach, d. h. (2014).workplace dispute resolution and gender inequality. sociological practice, 10 (1), 9. retrieved on april, 3 2021 from sample disserta�on discussion paper on co-worker conflict resolu�ons (globalcompose.com) hadden, j.k. (1970). the gathering storm in the churches: a sociologist looks at the widening gap between clergy and laymen. garden city, ny: anchor books. hoge, d.r. (1976). division in the protestant house. philadelphia, pa: westminster press. ibe, u.o. (2015). impact of ethnicity, faith and governance on mutual co-existence in nigeria: a religious perspective thesis proposal presented to the department of religion and cultural studies, university of nigeria nsukka. unpublished materials iqbal, m. &afsheen, f. (2013). interpersonal conflict handling styles: a collectivist coworkers' perspective on its causes and effects. pakistan journal of psychological research, 28(1), pp. 125-153. iyidobi, g. (1998). the church: a threat to our culture? conflict between the church and our culture: the way out. enugu: bigard memorial seminary. kuka, m.h. (1993). religion, politics and power in northern nigeria. ibadan: spectrum books ltd. kura, j.g. (2012). basic hints on the ethno-religious conflicts in kaduna state. abuja: covirak resources kwasau, j.n. (2006). peace building in nigeria: the role of the christian. zaria: royal press melton, e. (2014). the consequences of conflict: an evaluation of racial disparity and organizational performance. public organization review, 14(3), pp. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 123 267-284. ramsbotham, o., miall, h., & woodhouse, t. (2011). contemporary conflict resolution.polity.retieved on april, 3 2021 from sample disserta�on discussion paper on co-worker conflict resolu�ons (globalcompose.com) sande, k. (2004). the peace maker. grand rapids, mi: baker publishing group. thomas, k. w., &kilmann, r. h. (1977).developing a forced-choice measure of conflict-handling behavior: the “mode” instrument. educational and psychological measurement, 37(2), 309-325. umeanwe, c.m. (2020). nigeria in distress: sinking of the african titanic. fortune printing: onitsha. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol 9 no.1, 2023 www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/igwebuikejournals.php a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 92 analysis of trends and patterns in nigeria-u.s. relations, 19602015 dan o. chukwu, phd & stanley okwara department of history and international studies, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. stanley_okwara@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.27610.21449 abstract this article will examine the trends and patterns in nigeria-u.s. relations, while tracing the features of development of the relations between citizens of both countries, starting from the export of slaves in the previous centuries to the nigerian students in the u.s. in the mid-1940s and 1950s up till the attainment of independence in 1960. the section will also x-rays the development of political relationship between the two countries, from independence in 1960 to the era of emerging economic alliances from 1960 to 1967; the era of nigeria-biafra war between 1967 and 1970; the era of the oil boom 1970 to the early 1980s; the era of the structural adjustment programme and economic dependence of 1983 to 1993; the era of embargo on nigerian oil, 1993 to 1999. it will go forward to surveying the importance of the period between 1999 and 2015, which was the era which attempted to deepen democratic institutions in nigeria. each of these periods in nigeriau.s. relations have shown to have a unique character in the behavioural pattern of policy makers in both countries as determined by the prevailing circumstances on ground during such periods.to this end therefore, the study has attempted to ascertain the extent of the challenges that have characterized the many years of relationship between the regional powers, and to achieve this,the research has adopted both the quantitative and qualitative approaches of research methodology.this will enable the interpretation of the data generated from both primary and secondary sources. some of the findings and conclusions drawn from the study show that political, social, economic and security challenges responsible for the fluctuations that were observed in the bilateral relations between the two countries. the study therefore recommends that nigeria should strengthen its foreign policy attention and resources in the bilateral relations with the us in areas that are potentially strategic to its national transformation and security. dan o. chukwu & stanley okwara 93 introduction the emergence of nigeria as an independent country on 1st october, 1960, and its induction into the cult of the united nations organisation (uno) symbolised the beginning of the development of her foreign policy positions on critical matters of global interests. it is said that nigeria-us relations kicked off in the era of cold war. the two countries’ relationship was thus predicated upon the pursuit of a containment policy of the united states which was geared towards preventing the growth and functionality of the soviet expansionist policy especially in africa. on the other hand, the policy of containment was used to limit or halt the spread of communism in the territories in which the u.s. prioritised her national interests. while it could be argued that communism did not gain any ground in nigeria, even at the height of soviet support for the federal government during the nigerian civil war, the desires of both countries were for good and harmonious relationship.1 the u.s. high level of development, technology and wealth, remain a source of aid to nigeria. however, in the same manner, america has benefited and will continue to benefit from cordial relations with nigeria, a country that is so much endowed with vast human and mineral resources, and the most populous country in africa. unlike the european nations, the united states is said to have arrived late on the african political drama, even though america had established contacts with west africa in the previous centuries in search of african slaves. america’s interest in africa in general and nigeria in particular was limited until the 1950s. neither the u.s. government nor the people had expressed any significant interest in nigeria’s development before 1960 (nigeria’s year of independence). the united states had allowed britain to exercise reasonable authority in nigeria probably because she did not have any official policy on the country. in fact, nigeria was studied and understood by the u.s. through the instrumentality of the british. in other words, nigeria was an area of secondary interest rather than primary interest to the united states. the only country in africa the us had expressed some interest in its foreign policy was south africa, as a result of the pressures coming from the blacks in the united states during president kennedy’s administration. with growing tendency of the sections of the black community to identify with african struggle against apartheid, the administration sometimes considered it wise to display sensitivity to complaints about the situation in south africa.2 nigeria-us relations have unwittingly gone a full circle, beginning with optimism, enthusiasm and great expectations to a period of chaos, confusion, uncertainty and hostility.3 for instance, by the early 1960s, the relationship between the two countries began to improve. in the fields of private investments and trade, there was a considerable analysis of trends and patterns in nigeria-u.s. relations, 1960-2015 94 improvement. moreover, there was an increase in the population of nigerian students who gained admissions into american universities, and the development of programmes concerned with african studies in american universities. nigerian students in the u.s like k.o..mbadiwe, mbonuojike, akweke abyssinia nwafororizu in 1942 had formed the africa students association (asa). nwafororizu went further to establish an organ of information called the ‚african interpreter‛ which enlightened the american people and government on indigenous information about africa and its peoples.4 there was also provision of funds for various aspects of development by such organisations as the ford and the rockefeller foundations and the carnegie endowment.5 at the governmental level, the united states was largely motivated by its policy of containment aimed at isolating the soviet union from establishing a sphere of influence in africa in general and nigeria in particular, and the desire to secure the preservation of western political ideas and institutions. however, by the late 1970s, the u.s. relations with nigeria began to sour. this was caused by the u.s. involvement in the vietnam war which was said to have consumed a large chunk of human, material and financial resources in the crusade against the introduction of communism in that country. with respect to the angolan issue in the mid 1970s, the soviet-cuban presence in angola did not go down well with the u.s. as a result, this development was said to have spurred an intensification of the u.s’s interest in africa. the u.s perception that communism would likely gain ground in africa at the time was said to have encouraged it to intensify effort to strengthen ties with african countries. in this regard, the nigerian government of murtala –obasanjo did not take kindly to a letter president gerald ford wrote to general murtala mohammed denouncing the soviet-cuban interference in angola.6 while nigeria and the organization of african unity (oau) supported the movement for the liberation of angola (mpla), the us and south africa (then considered a racist country) supported the national union for total liberation of angola (unita) led by jonas savimbi. on account of this, nigeria saw the u.s as an ally of a racist regime and the reaction amongst nigerians was in the negative.7 during the period mentioned in the foregoing paragraph, the american relations with nigeria were described as flirtatious and ‘long romance’, but no marriage.8moreover, the u.s. was said to be so adamant to show any commitment to any lasting projects in nigeria as she had done with friendly countries in latin america, south east asia and in the middle east. nonetheless, the jimmy carter administration in 1976-1980 considered nigeria-us relations as crucial and thereby began to strengthen same. the unease relationship between the two countries began to thus improve a few months after jimmy carter was sworn in as the us president. this was expressed by four round bilateral talks dan o. chukwu & stanley okwara 95 held between former vice presidents walter mondale of the united states and alex ekwueme of nigeria between july 22 and 23, 1980. similarly, former president shehushagari of nigeria visited the then us president, jimmy carter in october, 1980, and a return visit to nigeria was made by the us president.9 however, since the early 1980s, nigeria-us relations seemed to have continued to grow in strength, even though they were too bitter during the abacha’s regime. this relationship would probably have been motivated by the fact that the two countries were faced with the regional and global security challenges. they were thus actively concerned with the global issues, political instability, economic development, control of nuclear weapons and more recently insurgency and terrorism. it should be noted that in the present international system, nigeria and the us are known to share problems that are of common interest to each other; -interests that call for collaboration between the two sovereign countries. however, analysis of trends and patterns in nigeria-u.s. relations, 1960-2015is our main point of focus. the obvious question could be: why does the study choose 1960 -2015? the choice of 1960 as a take-off point is unquestionable in view of its watershed importance to nigeria’s independence from great britain. attainment of political independence, as it were, in 1960 would probably have provided a strong basis for the articulation of a viable foreign policy for an independent nigeria, more so when such a foreign policy thrust had to do with a break with the old one of directional foreign relations with great britain to the warm embrace of other progressive countries like the u.s.a. the choice of 2015 for the conclusion of the study is consistent with both countries because it marked the first time in the history of nigeria when an elected president would be defeated by an opposition party as was made manifest between former president goodluck jonathan and president muhammadubuhari in 2015. it is important because most political analysts had thought that the defeat of president jonathan would have truncated the country’s democracy; but on the contrary, it turned out to contribute to the consolidation of democracy in nigeria.in other words, this period marked a vital period in the history of nigerian democratic governance. therefore, to get the in-depth analysis of the situation, the study will be categorically discussed in these proceeding subtitles after the introduction: the first to be discussed is economic trends in nigeria-u.s. relations, followed first era (1960-1967): the era of emerging economic alliance, secondly, era (1967-1970): the nigeria-biafra war period, thirdly, era (1970-1983): the period of oil boom, fourthly, era (1983-1993): the period of the structural adjustment policy/dependence, and fifth era (1993-1999): analysis of trends and patterns in nigeria-u.s. relations, 1960-2015 96 the period of embargo on nigeria oil. subsequent sub-head will analyse, the social trends in nigerian-u.s relations, it will step further to analyse a table showing the charactericsof the nigeria diaspora in the united states, 2009-2013, followed by another table to showing the remittance inflowsto nigeria by sending country and the nigeria emigrant population, 2012, and finally political and military trends in nigeria-u.s foreign relations. economic trends in nigeria-u.s. relations nigeria and the united states have a strong economic bond which showcases in mutual exchange of goods and services, investments and transfer of technology. nigeria’s economic reciprocity with the united states can be explained in terms of oil and non-oil trade. for example, the united states is known to be the largest importer of nigerian crude oil. nigeria’s importance to the u.s.a. was demonstrated during the 1973 arab oil embargo, after the yom kippur war. during the arab-israeli war, arab members of the organisation for petroleum exporting countries (opec) of which nigeria is a member, imposed an oil embargo against the u.s for its decision to re-supply the israeli military and to gain leverage in the post-war peace negotiations.10 arab opec members also extended the embargo to other countries that supported israeli including the netherland, portugal and south africa. the embargo also banned petroleum exports to the targeted nations and introduced cuts in oil production. during this embargo, nigeria became one of the major suppliers of crude oil to the u.s. this act enhanced nigeria-u.s relations at that time.11 also, during the shehushagari administration of 1979 to 1983, nigeria imported goods valued at n780.4 million in 1979, while exports for the same year stood at n81.6 million, showing an excess of n707.8 million in favour of the usa. in addition, in 1980, us export to nigeria reduced to n64.8 million, recording an excess of n970.5 million still in u.s. favour. in 1981, the same pattern was recorded. nigeria’s import from the united states stood at n22.2 million in favour of the united states.12 in her trade with the united states in the early 1980s, nigeria consistently imported manufactured goods such as food stuffs, feeds, grains, agricultural inputs, chemicals, technological equipment, aircrafts, among others. her exports to the united states, on the other hand, were raw materials. however, addressing the daily times newspaper of 12th august, 1983, the then united states ambassador to nigeria, mr. thomas r. pickering, stated that the us was nigeria’s trading partner with a towering trade of over n6.7 billion and the us was nigeria’s third largest supplier of goods and services. he added that us exports to nigeria helped to support the shagari administration as top priority.13 dan o. chukwu & stanley okwara 97 furthermore, the u.s. key interest in relation to nigeria is said to have been oil. as a voracious consumer of the nigerian petroleum products, the united states recognises nigeria’s worth as the largest oil producer in africa and the fifth largest in the opec community. since 1974, nigeria has been one of the largest exporters of crude oil to the united states. for instance, one of the things that pre-occupied the interest of vice president george bush when he visited nigeria in 1982 was how to secure nigeria’s oil supply. at the time, big american investors such as exxon mobil, chevron, harliburton, among others. had substantial capitals in the lucrative nigerian oil industry which, along with other western oil corporations, they dominated.14 nigeria seemed to be well ready: it produced a form of oil (north sea brent crude) ideal for the united states, had huge reserves, and had increased its production to 2.8 million barrels of crude oil a day, which a large chunk of it was exported to the us alone.15 moreover, in 1991,nigeria’s export, valued to the usa was estimated at n31, 403 million and these exports were basically raw materials.16 besides, the bilateral trade between the united states and nigeria had increased reasonably over time. to consolidate their trade relations, nigeria signed trade and investment framework agreement with the us on 16th february, 2000.17 this trade and investment treaty was aimed at opening an avenue for interactions on trade and investment between the two countries. more importantly, these agreements were signed to strengthen the spirit of cooperation between the economic operators of nigeria and the u.s. in order to benefit from the agreement, the nigeria-us council on trade and investment was set up and inaugurated on june 26, 2000, for the purpose of encouraging the two countries to expand and diversify their trade and investments.18 apart from bilateral trade relations, nigeria is said to have made giant strides to attract direct capital investment of enormous degree and significance from the united states. to this end, private and public investments of the u.s. in nigeria constituted the highest u.s. direct investment in sub-saharan africa. these u.s. direct investments, among others, included the oso condensate project agreement signed between the nigerian national petroleum corporation (nnpc), the world bank, and the bank of america in april 1991. this was the most significant u.s. investment in the nigerian economy as at the time of this research, with a total value of about us$1 billion.19 other major investments were the agreements by conoco philips ( an american oil giant) for a joint venture with four nigerian companies for oil exploration, the building of a concentrate plant by the coca-cola company and the arrangement by general motors with the united african company (uac) of nigeria for the production of trucks. more important was the agreement that was reached between the united states and nigeria for analysis of trends and patterns in nigeria-u.s. relations, 1960-2015 98 the u.s. to purchase one and half billion cubic metres of gas from the nigeria liquefied natural gas (nlng) industry.20 nigeria is also known to have received american support in its negotiation with the paris and london clubs of creditors and some multilateral financial institutions. the u.s.a, on her own, cancelled nigeria’s official development assistance (oda) and economic support fund (esf) debts of nigeria, amounting to n64.2 million in 1991.21 first era, 1960-1967: the period of emerging economic alliance upon the attainment of independence in 1960, the balewa administration in nigeria pursued a relative open-door policy towards capitalist countries, while almost totally neglecting the communist bloc in the search for aid, investment and economic development.22 moreover, 1961 was a landmark for the development of nigeria-us economic relations. on december 12, 1961, for instance, president john f. kennedy of the u.s.a pledged a long-term aid package of $222 million for nigeria. the aid offer was in support of nigeria's first post-independence national development plan (1962-1968).23 the economic purpose of this act had a particular significance. this was probably exemplified in the investment in the sub-sector in 1965 with about 90 american firms doing business in nigeria with a good portion of the investment in the petroleum sector and textile industry.24 such miniscule bilateral trade relations between nigeria and the us were the foundation block upon which a formidable trading relationship was built, which would later displace britain. in 1966, the us investment in nigeria was worth about $250-350 million, and also with foreign aid from the u.s. of about 80 million pounds (between 1962 and 1965) more than double that of britain which was 30.19 million pounds in the same period, although britain somewhat maintained its leading position in terms of investment this period.25 the implementation of the aid offers, which proceeded somewhat, unevenly until the outbreak of the civil war in nigeria in 1967, laid the foundation for the later expansion in nigeria-u.s. economic relations. according to b. ate,26 the economic relation between nigeria and the u.s. were catalysed by usaid projects in nigeria, in the framework of the six-year development plan. the project, while serving as a momentum for increased trade ties, also provided the avenue for the great influx of american technical assistance personnel into nigeria, as well as stimulating the interest of american companies concerning investment prospects in the country. the pioneering and pivotal role of usaid and consequently of foreign aid in the development of the foundation of nigeria-u.s. economic ties in the period accentuated dan o. chukwu & stanley okwara 99 nigeria-u.s. economic relations. by implication, by 1966, the u.s. had established an impressive and dominating presence in the nigerian economic development, even when compared to britain with its colonial advantage. such visible and impressive economic presence was probably as a result of underlying ideological preference and prejudice in the nigerian foreign policy which was pro-western, as well as capital and technical assistance.27 second era, 1967-1970: the nigerian-biafran war period regional antagonism and political jostling between northern and southern nigeria plunged nigeria into an acrimonious civil war which altered the social-political cum economic structure of the country, the outbreak of a civil war (1967-1970) which has since characterised the political history of nigeria as well as constituted an early interface in the development of nigeria-u.s. relations, generally. relations between nigeria and the u.s. were said to have deteriorated during the period of the war. in economic sphere, particularly, the war interrupted what might have been a steady growth in the bilateral ties between the two countries. the breakdown of the relations was as a result of the u.s. refusal to honour general yakubu gowon's request for arms procurement from the country. the refusal probably might have been because the super-power (the u.s.) was not sure of how the war would progress and end, hoping to see the oil-rich biafra prevail so as to advance her national interest in the region. consequently, the attention of the nigerian government was later turned to the soviet union for arms procurement and conversely, the united states, instead of obliging to gowon's request was said to have given humanitarian assistance to biafra. thus, from 1966 to the 1970s, the united states was said to have provided more than $100 million financial aid to provide relief materials to biafra, in an attempt to eradicate small pox and control measles in biafra,28 even though the u.s. claimed to maintain neutrality in the war. the stand of the u.s. in the war had some implications for nigeria-u.s. relations in the post-civil era. according to m. saidi,29 it has been said that the american claim of neutrality in the war was to rekindle in nigerian leaders the need to re-visit the age-old dictum that in the realm of real politik, ‚there is no permanent friend or a permanent enemy, but a permanent interest‛. so, at the end of the war in 1970, nigeria was to diversify and normalise her spheres of influence, especially with the erstwhile soviet union and the eastern bloc, following what she had considered a betrayal from the us. this move also resulted in a re-affirmation of stronger attachment to the principles of nonanalysis of trends and patterns in nigeria-u.s. relations, 1960-2015 100 interference in the internal affairs of states, as well as non-alignment in nigeria's external affairs.30 consequently, there was an abrupt decline in the economic ties between nigeria and the united states in foreign trade, foreign investment and capital aid. according to ate, the us total imports dropped from 16.2 per cent to 12.8 per cent in the first quarter of 1968. there were no new investments by american companies during the civil war period and the work of usaid virtually came to a standstill, yet sales of oil blossomed.31 however, while the political relations were becoming weaker, there was an increase in the u.s. demand for nigeria's oil which generated over uss 9 billion in favour of nigeria. thus, aid which had been central to their relations was no longer necessary and was, therefore, dispensed with petrodollar.32 third era, 1970-1983: the period of oil boom with the end of the nigeria-biafra war in 1970, nigeria-u.s. relations soon returned to the pre-war status, as u.s. president richard nixon and state department officials sent congratulatory message to general yakubugowon for his magnanimity and peaceable approach to reconciliation and rehabilitation. gowon's approach was said to have been likened to that of president abraham lincoln's at the end of the u.s. civil war.33 the proclamation of amnesty and reconstruction was lincoln’s plan to re-integrate the confederate states into the union, granting presidential pardons to all southerners (except political leaders) who took oath of future allegiance to the union.34 as part of being readmitted into the union, states had to ratify the new amendments to the constitution. the union did a lot to help the south during the reconstruction. they built roads, got farms running again, and built schools for the poor and black children. eventually the economy of the south began to recover.35 however, the ‚no victor, no vanquished‛ mantra of the gowon regime after the war in 1970 seemed similar to that of linclon, but could hardly be said to have realised the objective on ground in the war torn areas in the east central state (the core igbo speaking area) based on reconstruction and re-integration.36subsequently, the nigeria-us economic relations got to a more significant dimension in the 1970s when the world energy crises raised the bar for the price and importance of nigeria's oil supplies to the united states. with the increase in nigeria’s oil production over time, her popularity in world politics considerably increased. the period of the oil boom was thus said to have lifted nigeria to an unprecedented height of financial independence as relates to the external economic and political interactions. for instance, the dynamics of the oil boom era was an upsurge in the global oil prices, whose trigger-factor was political, at the time, the western countries' dan o. chukwu & stanley okwara 101 support for israel in the october 1973 arab-israeli war triggered a coordinated supply embargo by the middle east against the us and other countries, coupled with the organisation of petroleum exporting countries’ (opec) reduction of oil supply resulting, as it were, in an increase in oil prices. by december 1973, the price of oil had doubled over the october 1973 level. in fact, from the early 1973 to the early 1974, the price of imported crude oil had tripled from us$3 to us$10 per barrel. as a result, the oilproducing countries, including nigeria, accumulated more foreign exchange from the oil exportation.37 the nigeria-u.s. economic relations at the time were thus characterised by facts which had some significance. the first fact was the united states' overtaking of britain as the main recipient of nigeria's export by 1973. secondly, nigeria's exports to the united states were dominated by crude oil. relatively, nigeria became the second most important supplier of crude oil to the us in a period of critical demand for oil in the international market. consequently, there was an expansion of the us investment presence in the nigerian economy. the investment was mainly in the oil sector by the american companies such as exxon-mobil, gulf, halliburton, and conoco-philips among others.38 fourth era, 1983-1993: the period of the structural adjustment policy/dependence the immediate post-1980s oil glut ushered in a new trend in the economic relations between nigeria and the u.s. the nigerian economy had suffered a great setback as a result of the collapse of the international oil market of the early 1980s. this resulted in a drop in the foreign exchange earnings, thereby causing an adverse balance of payment. this period, however, witnessed various measures by the nigerian government to halt the rapid decline of the 1981 oil sales. in this regard, n. ebomuche and a. okezie39 are of the opinion that government came up in april 1982 with the promulgation of the economic stabilisation decree, containing very stringent exchange control measures and import restrictions to address the serious challenges of external imbalance caused by the fall in the foreign exchange, as well as appropriate monetary and fiscal policies (austerity measures) which were geared towards a reduction in aggregate demand in the economy in order to dampen the pressure on the balance of payment.40 the ambivalence that marked nigeria-us relations under shagari and buhari regimes was, however, put to an end upon general ibrahim babangida’s emergence as the new head of state on august 27, 1985. under this new military regime, the relations between nigeria and the united states became cordial and warm and included rather close analysis of trends and patterns in nigeria-u.s. relations, 1960-2015 102 cooperation on economic and political matters, characterised by the open-door economic policy linked to the structural adjustment policy. furthermore, as nigeria's dominant economic partner, the us was particularly relevant in the execution of the structural adjustment programme (sap), hence the nigerian government officials believed and acted on the assumption that the united states was the anchor of their negotiation with the international finance institutions as well as private creditors. besides, nigeria expected the united states to encourage its foreign creditors to negotiate a rescheduling of its huge debt in order to quickly restore the country's credit worthiness and allow the resumption of essential imports.41 with the dramatic fall in oil prices in early 1986, the new regime of ibrahim babangida moved away from austerity measures to adjustment measures. an ambitious structural adjustment was adopted in june 1986. the programme was supported by a debt rescheduling and external financing package to provide new funds, involving commercial banks, and the paris club and other creditors. with the support of the u.s, the world bank supported the structural adjustment programme with a trade policy and export development loan in the amount of $452 million.42 also, in june 1987, the international monetary fund (imf) approved a standby arrangement of sdr 650 million (about $830 million) in support of the adjustment programme, although the nigerian government declared its intention not to withdraw on the imf standby.43 the nigerian programme had two component measures aimed at changing the structure of the economy and policies to support stabilisation. while there was a considerable interplay between the two, the focus of the structural adjustment was on the exchange rate and trade reforms, while monetary and physical policies were important instruments of stabilisation.44 the adjustment strategy was based on that external financing that would permit nigeria to run current account deficits and thereby achieve higher import levels and growth rates than would otherwise be possible. in the spirit of the baker plan then, the approach was to allow debts to increase, although at a slower rate than projected export growth, with result that credit-worthiness would be restored over time.45the strategy allowed nigeria to avoid further expenditure controls that would otherwise have been needed for rapid restoration of credit-worthiness. on its part, the u.s. re-scheduled all of nigeria’s official debts at the instance of nigeria. to be sure, the bilateral structure at this period was one of dominance on the part of the u.s. and dependence on the part nigeria. dan o. chukwu & stanley okwara 103 fifth era, 1993-1999: the period of embargo on nigerian oil the period, 1993-1999, was characterised by a face-off in the relations between the two countries mainly due to the posture of the military administrations under general saniabacha, and general abdusalamiabubakar who ran the country from august 1998 when abacha died to may 29, 1999, when the country transited to a democratic rule. the hostile relationship between the u.s and the nigerian government was said to have been heightened by the prevarication on the part of the babangida administration on the implementation of the transition tocivil-rule programme which climaxed with the annulment of the june 12, 1993 presidential election result. despite tremendous pressures from some external bodies, gen. babangida went ahead and installed an interim national government (ing), rather than hand over power to chief m.k.o. abiola, who was widely presumed to have won the 1993 presidential polls. the interim national government, headed by chief ernest shonekan of the yoruba ethnic stock, was shortlived and general saniabacha took over as the head of state in november 1993. nonetheless, the period of the abacha regime was described as the lowest point in nigeria-united states relations. the exceedingly repressive nature of that regime, its allegedly abysmal record of corruption and looting as well as the generalised system of instability, human rights abuses and insecurity earned it and by implication, nigeria, a pariah status in the comity of nations. at the height of this global negative perception of nigeria, the regime sentenced to death by hanging, a poet and environmentalist, ken saro-wiwa and eight other ogoni activists. in the wake of this imbroglio, nigeria's relations with the us and britain soured considerably.46 following the compounded state of crisis of confidence in nigeria in the mid-1990s, the us responded with series of sanctions on nigeria: the united states reduced its diplomatic staff in nigeria, and the nigerian military attaché in washington d.c. was expelled. in the commercial and economic realm, the united states curtailed direct commercial flights to nigeria.47 also, the united states suspended some of its cultural and intellectual exchanges with nigeria. moreover, she and other nations imposed various sanctions on nigeria, including restrictions on travels by government officials and their families; suspension of arms sales and military assistance. additional sanctions were also imposed as a result of nigeria's failure to gain full certification for its counter-narcotics efforts.48 though this affected nigeria's status as a loan-seeking country, trade in oil between both countries continued to blossom. analysis of trends and patterns in nigeria-u.s. relations, 1960-2015 104 a slack in the oil market further depressed export earnings in 1993. by 1995, an outpouring of international appeals for leniency failed to move abacha, hence the nigerian government appeared impervious to global censure, especially in the absence of measures toward an embargo on the country's oil. few days after the execution of the ogoni activists, shell bp and a consortium of other investors concluded a $3.8 billion deal to build a natural gas complex in the country.49 in 1997, nigeria made some little progress in polishing its much-tarnished international reputation to no avail. in 1998, following the demise of abacha and the emergence of general abdulsalamiabubakar, the us embargo on oil was lifted as abubakar’s government completed the transition programme, which ushered in the obasanjo administration. following the inauguration of the obasanjo civilian administration in may 1999, the face of nigeria-u.s relations was to change and improve considerably. it has thus been said that the rising tempo of nigeria-united states relations led to the establishment of the usnigeria joint economic policy council (jepc) which was launched in washington in 1999, as a framework to strengthen bilateral consultations on economic reform, debt relief, investment and aid.50 social trends in nigeria-u.s. relations social relations between nigeria and the united states of america have also recorded significant benefits ever since 1960. in retrospect, a good number of nigerians were known to have obtained their formal education in the united states even before 1960. in fact, from the 1930s some nigerian citizens, as pointed out elsewhere in this study, began to receive education from some universities and colleges in the u.s. besides, as at 1992 there were over thirty thousand nigerians schooling in the united states.51 most of these nigerians have since returned home to become political leaders, while others were engaged in other fields of endeavour, especially in the universities and industries.52 culturally, the nigeria-us relations were predicated on the age-long cultural encounter and interactions between them over twenty million negroes53 that were incidentally sold into the united states during the era of the slave trade. however, this encounter is known to have enhanced the cultural relations between america and africa in general, and nigeria, in particular. on the other hand, a large number of african slaves destined to live, work, procreate and die in the americas took their root from nigeria through the bights of benin and biafra. nigeria and the united states have thus, over the years, aspired toward the ideals of multi-cultural and multi-ethnic democracy, and shared interest in the protection and promotion of human rights. the aspiration became evident in dan o. chukwu & stanley okwara 105 the 1979 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria which, inter-alia, provided for a system of government similar to the united states of america’s presidential system of government with bi-cameral legislature and the institutions checks and balances. the maintenance of american cultural and historical linkages with nigeria, to a great extent, is known to lubricate the u.s.-nigeria’s relations. as earlier stated in the study, a great number of americans have traced their origins to africa. many of those africanamericans believed their origin to be in nigeria.54 many nigerians have also adopted the u.s. as their second home. an analysis of date from 2009-2013 reveals that the nigerian diaspora in the united states to be approximately 376,000 individuals, counting migrants born in nigeria and u.s. born individuals with at least one parent who was born in nigeria.55the size of the nigeriaborn population in the united states has grown from a small base since 1980, when an estimated 25,000 immigrants were u.s residents. as at 2013, nigerian migrants accounted for about 0.6 per cent of the united states’ overall foreign-born population, about half of whom arrived before 2000.56 the nigeria diaspora were the best educated of the 15 groups in the rockefeller foundation aspen institute diaspora programme (rad) analysis.57 the nigeria in diaspora organisation (nido), founded by diaspora members at the urging of nigerian government, also has several chapters in the united states and collaborates closely with the nigerian embassy and other governmental structures. the table below may provide an illuminating guide to the reader: table 3 characteristics of the nigerian diaspora in the united states, 2009-2013 nigerian diaspora in the united states* total u.s. population household income median household income $52,000 $50,000 average household size 3.0 2.5 share of households with high incomes($90,000+) 25% 25% share of households with very high incomes ($140,000+) 10% 10% employment total population age 16 and older 262,000 239,386,000 share in the labor force 73% 64% ****that was employed 88% 91% analysis of trends and patterns in nigeria-u.s. relations, 1960-2015 106 *** that was in a professional occupation+ 46% 31% educational attainment ** total population age 25 and older 207,000 201,925,000 *** with less than high school education 3% 13% *** with high school or some college education 31% 57% *** with a bachelor’s degree 37% 20% *** with an advanced degree 29% 11% population characteristics by generation firstand second-generation immigrant population 376,000 73,140,000 first-generation immigrant population*** 213,000 38,468,000 *** that was working age(18-64) 83% 81% ***that entered the united states before 2000 51% 64% ***naturalized as u.s. citizens 52% 44% second-generation population**** 163,000 34,672,000 *** that was under age 18 63% 46% *** that was working age (18-64) 37% 43% *** with only one parent from nigeria 38% * defined as all first and second generation nigerians born in u.s. ** highest level reported. *** all individuals who report nigeria as their place of birth, excluding u.s. births abroad. **** all individuals who report having at least one parent born in nigeria. note: estimates are based on migration policy institute analysis of u.s. census bureau cps pooled 2009-2013 data. source: all census bureau data were accessed from integrated public use microdata series (ipums), http://usa.ipums.org/usa/. accessed on……. the u.s is the primary destination country for nigerian-born international migrants and the top source of nigeria’s remittances. the nigerian diaspora in the united states were known to transfer approximately $6.1billion in remittances to nigeria in 2012.58 nigeria’s remittances totalled $20.6 billion and represented 7.9 per cent of the country’s $262.2 dan o. chukwu & stanley okwara 107 billion gross domestic product (gdp) in 2012.59 the table below helps the reader to understand the remittance of u.s dollars by emigrant nigerians from the u.s. in 2012. table 4 remittance inflows to nigeria by sending country and the nigerian emigrant population, 2012 united states $6.1 billion 252,000 united kingdom $3.8 billion 184,000 chad $1.4 billion 13,000 italy $1.3 billion 48,000 cameroon $961.9 million 116,000 spain $933.5 million 37,000 germany $613.4 million 23,000 remittances sent to nigeria migrants from nigeria source: migration policy institute analysis of world bank prospects group tables for annual remittance inflows and outflows (october 2013 update) and the 2012 bilateral remittance matrix, the world bank’s world development indicators and the united nationspopulation division’s matrix of total migrant stock by origin and destination (mid-2013) it may be very important, at this point, to note that the united states needs nigeria to achieve her objective in her campaign against international drug trafficking. however, it has been observed that the economic hardship in nigeria, beginning in the 1980s, may have resulted in the emergence of a substantial drug-dependent culture and in the conversion of nigerian borders into major routes for drug trafficking to the united states and other countries. in a ph.d dissertation carried out at the department of history and international studies,nnamdiazikiwe university, awka, nigeria, dr. felix u. dike situates nigeria as a hub and major route for trans-shipment of hard drugs to the u.s.a. in its 1997 report on inter-national drug trafficking, dr. dike argues, the u.s. state department observed that nigeria was the hub of african drug business and nigerian multi-crime organisation continued to grow world-wide.60 to this end, american agencies had at the time looked up to the nigerian authorities to help combat the menace of drug trafficking in the country. nevertheless, the nigeria-u.s. cooperation on drug trafficking is said to go back to 1987 when the two countries signed a mutual law enforcement agreement which was followed by a special anti-drug memorandum of understanding.61 analysis of trends and patterns in nigeria-u.s. relations, 1960-2015 108 political and military trends in nigeria-u.s. foreign relations political stability and economic growth is very critical to achieving and sustaining an orderly development. undoubtedly, nigeria and the united states are strong partners in the fields of politics, security and economy. the united states is said to be nigeria’s important diplomatic partner and both countries have embassies and consulates in each other’s territories. unfortunately, with the june 12 (1993) presidential election saga in which an internationally acclaimed free and fair election in nigeria was annulled by the babangidamilitary regime, and its attendant human rights violations under general saniabacha, as well as the failure of the nigerian authorities to embark on a smooth and meaningful democratic transition, the political relationship between nigeria and the united states became sour, leading to the imposition of sanctions on nigeria by the u.s government and other global bodies. however, with the death of general abacha in june 1998, the two countries’ strained relations were said to have begun to improve, especially with the emergence of general abdulsalamiabubakar as head of state. more importantly, as 1999 ushered in a democratic rule in nigeria, and the removal of visa restrictions, increased official visits of the u.s. representatives, dialogue in the areas of mutual assistance, and the grant of a vital national interest certification on counternarcotics, effective from march 1999 brought a new dawn in nigeria-us diplomatic ties.62 after the inauguration of president olusegunobasanjo on may 29, 1999, the u.s.-nigeria bilateral relations began to take a different shape, unlike what it had been during the abacha military regime. cooperation on many vital national interests such as national security, economic development, investment, regional peacekeeping, among other things, began to flourish.63 it may appropriately be recalled as has been stated elsewhere in the study that the history of nigeria’s presidential system of government and the 1979 constitution would be incomplete without recourse to the united states of america. clearly stated, nigeria’s presidential system of government, which was adopted in 1979, is a prototype of the united states system, which most of the then nigerian elites found more credible and suitable for a heterogeneous country like nigeria than the british parliamentary system. to be sure, few foreign political actions are based entirely on goodwill; they are more often rooted in prudence and practicality. although, promoting democracy may be a sufficient national interest of itself, such an idealistic perception is usually augmented by more concrete or material considerations. this may be true of the united states as may have been averred to by the then u.s. president, john f. kennedy, to the effect that: dan o. chukwu & stanley okwara 109 ‚every nation determines its policies in terms of its own national interests‛.64 the tradition of american foreign policy is usually to the effect that both moral idealism and selfinterest are combined to make it more effective and dynamic. for example, during the gulf war of 1990 up to 1991, the united states secretary of state, james baker, shuttled around the world soliciting for friends and allies against iraq based on the moral principle of ending aggression and building a new world order, while at the same time telling the u.s. reporters that the conflict was more about jobs, probably because cheap middle eastern oil would stimulate u.s. economic growth.65 in this sense, therefore, the primary national interest overtook the pursuit of moral ideals that the u.s. foreign policy claimed to stand for. it is on record that the nigerian government lent its strong diplomatic support to the u.s. government’s efforts to counter terrorism in the aftermath of the september 11(2001) attacks on the world trade centre. the nigerian government, in its official statement, had condemned, in strongest terms, that terrorist act and supported military action against the taliban and al qaida. moreover, nigeria became a frontline state in the anti-terrorism campaign among countries in sub-saharan africa.66 militarily, to restore the security deficiencies of nigeria’s defence industry that had been weakened by the interplay of weak, inept and misguided policies, nigeria was known to have sought the cooperation of the united states in 1999. this was made manifest in the training of the nigerian military personnel in the united states. this development was, to a large extent, contributory to the transformation of nigeria’s military and other security outfits. also, to ensure that the nigerian armed forces remained focused and dynamic against the emerging dangers in the contemporary global system, in the year 2000, about twenty nigerian military officers were sent to the united states of america for training.67 moreover, between 2000 and 2015, successive nigerian governments encouraged exchange of visits between the military ranks of the country and those of the united states for exchange of ideas and sharing of intelligence, especially on issues of regional security. we recall that in 1991, saniabacha as nigeria’s minister of defence and chief of defence staff, was on a visit to the united states of america at the invitation of general collin powell, chairman of the u.s joint chief of staff.68 the possible reason for such a visit would probably have been to acquire firsthand information on military technology. furthermore, nigeria was (and has remained) a beneficiary of the united states’ security grants. the country’s military relationship with the u.s. is said to have assumed an important dimension beginning from may 1999 when nigeria’s fourth republic was inaugurated. it is thus estimated that over twenty million dollar grant was given to nigeria by the u.s. government under the security cooperation agreement signed between the two analysis of trends and patterns in nigeria-u.s. relations, 1960-2015 110 nations. in addition, another ten million dollars was to be given to nigeria annually by the u.s government for two years under the cooperation assistance agreement. in 2002 alone, nigeria was known to have received seven hundred and fifty million dollars ($750m) from the government of the united states, specifically meant for the training of the nigerian soldiers, including an additional one million u.s dollars ($1m) proposed to be approved by the united states congress.69 it would be appropriate, at this point, to clearly state that the cooperation assistance agreement, which the u.s. initiated with nigeria’s return to democratic rule, was for the re-training and re-equipping the nigerian armed forces for a robust peace-keeping operation. in the agreement, it was stated that nigerian soldiers would be given advance infantry training in the united states air force schools and other specialised courses for military education, weapon maintenance and operation, as well as civilian-military relationship, according to lieutenant mark ahles of the u.s. defence institute of security assistance management.70 what may be obvious from such capital investment was the possible capacity-building effect on the nigerian military given the challenge that they have in the recent past faced as a result of insurgency upsurge in parts of the country. such trainings would have undoubtedly equipped the military to contain such upsurge with a determined political will. summary and conclusion this study has analysed the patterns and dynamics of nigeria-us relations from 1960 to 2015 as it concerns the national interest of both countries.it also pointed the discoursearising from the issues raised in the study; it is possible to state that the research has been able to show the patterns and trends that have defined nigeria’s relationship with the u.s.a. between 1960 and 2015. it shows that political, social, and economic and security issues were responsible for the fluctuations that were observed in the bilateral relations. although, the relationship was very strong at nigeria’s independence in 1960, the issues of colonialism, racism and, of course, the cold war itself, were to strain this bond in the 1960s and 1970s. due to washington’s commitments to its european allies, and america’s domestic politics over segregation, the country may have had to tread the path of caution over the issues of colonialism and racism. put clearly, washington may have shown some level of reluctance to condemn apartheid regime in south africa.in conclusion therefore,, the study is designed to ascertain the extent of the challenges that have characterised the many years of relations between the two countries dan o. chukwu & stanley okwara 111 recommendations as nigeria continues to pursue its transformation agenda, this research recommends that nigeria should concentrate its foreign policy attention and resources on cultivating special bilateral relations with the u.s and other countries that are strategic to its development aspirations as an emerging industrial, political and regional power. nigeria should therefore engage primarily in those relations that are potentially strategic to its national transformation. in the globalised world of terror and insecurity, emphasis should be placed on curbing trans-border crimes that tend to infiltrate from neighbouring countries. by extension, this measure, if taken, would further reduce the rate of proliferation and smuggling of small arms and light weapons through porous borders between nigeria and its neighbours. as b. ate has suggested, countries, (including nigeria) should forge a special relationship, based on economic, democratic and security considerations. nigeria’s foreign policymakers should, therefore, develop a programme of systematic exploitation of vital indices of relations with a strategic country and international institutions to advance nigeria’s economic agenda. these options should focus on a creative manipulation of channels of foreign direct investments, development assistance and trade all of which are of central importance to the u.s. in the global economy, politics and international security. the nigerian-u.s. partnership must be constructed and managed in strategic terms, on the broad model of u.s’s relations with south korea, taiwan, and japan after world war ii. these countries achieved economic modernisation and growth due to the fact that united states invested in their security and created opportunities for them to adopt western models for capital investments and skills acquisition for development. it is further recommended that there is a need to strengthen the bilateral relations between nigeria and the united states through regular diplomatic visits and discussions on issues of mutual benefits. the united states it is recommended should assist nigeria in strengthening democratic institutions by combating corruption through building of strong institutions with the capacity to entrench the rule of law for providing a conducive environment for both local and international businesses to thrive. analysis of trends and patterns in nigeria-u.s. relations, 1960-2015 112 endnotes 1. b. ate, power and necessity in nigeria-us economic relations since i960, ( lagos, nigeria institute of international affairs) 12. 2. ate,power and necessity ““““..17. 3. ate,power and necessity“““““19. 4. a. a. nwafor-orizu, without bitterness(new york: creative age press, 1944), 228. 5. nwafor-orizu, without bitterness……………….229. 6. levi i. nwachukwu, ‚the united states and nigeria 1960 to 1987: anatomy of pragmatic relationship‛, journal of black studies (may 1998), accessed june 24, 2019. 7. nwachukwu, the united states“““.58 8. g. odo, ‚perspectives of economic policy in africa‛, international journal of economics,2008, 2. 9. odo, ‚perspectives“““““..‛, 9. 10. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1969-1976/angola. accessed june 24, 2019. 11. emma osuji, c57 years, university lecturer: interviewed at owerri, 11th november, 2021. 12. odo, ‚perspectives“““““.‛, 12 13. h. saliu, ‚continuity and change in us-nigeria relations 1999-2000‛. nigeria journal of international affairs, njia, 2006, 32. 14. n. ebomuche and a. okezie, the structure of the nigerian economy(owerri: abc publishers,2010), 7. 15. george obiozor, basic issues in nigerian foreign policy – ibb’s foreign policy pronouncements (lagos: niia press, 1992), viii. 16. vernon mckay, africa in world politics (new york: harper and row, 1963), 255. 17. james okoro, understanding nigerian foreign policy (calabar:catspublishers, 2002), 131. 18. okoro, understanding nigerian……….132. 19. okoro, understanding nigerian…………134. 20. central bank of nigeria, economic and financial review, vol. 21, no. 1, march 13, 1981, 2. 21. central bank of nigeria, economic““““..,3. 22. federal office of statistics, statistical news no. 169, june 20, 1992. 23. human rights watch,the price of oil: corporate responsibility and human rights violations in nigeria’s oil producing communities, 1999.18. 24. goldstein, ‚the legitimacy of our national interests‛, a paper presented by president john kennedy at the mormon tabernacle in salt lake city, utah on september 26, 1963. 25. goldstein, ‚the legitimacy““““ 26. ate, power and necessity““““““““19. 27. ate, power and necessity““““““. 20. 28. e. okon, ‚economic dimensions of nigerian foreign policy‛ inokonedeuya (editor), contemporary nigeria, (buenos aires: edipli, 1992), 110. 29. m. saidi, united states sanction on nigeria (london: oversees development institute, 2002), 20. 30. saidi, united states…………………..22 31. ate, power and necessity““““20. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1969-1976/angola dan o. chukwu & stanley okwara 113 32. ate, power and necessity ““““““. 22. 33. peter maslowski, ‚from reconciliation to reconstruction: lincoln, jonhnson and tenessee‛, tenessee historical quaterly: 42 (3) may 1983, 281-293 34. malowski, ‚from reconstruction““““‛ 290 35. malowski, ‚from reconstruction““““‛ 291 36. ejitunnechi ota, igbo ethnicity in nigeria: origin, evolution, and contemporary forms,( owerri, lambert academic publishing, 2018), 137-154. 37. n. ebomuche& a. okezie, the structure of the nigerian economy(owerri: joemankpa publishers, 2010), 7. 38. ebomuche&okezie, the structure ……7. 39. ebomuche&okezie, the structure ……7. 40. ebomuche&okezie, the structure ……………8. 41. ebomuche&okezie, the structure““““““.9’ 42. ebomuche&okezie, the structure ……7. 43. ebomuche&okezie, the structure ……7. 44. ebomuche&okezie, the structure““““““.10 44. e. okon, contemporary nigeria (buenos aires: edipli, 2001),86. 45. okon, contemporary …. 87. 46. okon, contemporary …. 88. 47. okon, contemporary ………… 86. 48. okon, contemporary ………… 86. 49. george obiozor, basic issues in nigerian foreign policy – ibb’s foreign policy pronouncements(lagos: niia press, 1992), 27. 50. publication of the federal ministry of foreign affairs, 1991, 28. 51. publication of the federal ministry of foreign affairs, 1991, 27. 52. publication of the federal ministry of foreign affairs, 1991, 27. 53 .https://www.migrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/publications/rad-nigeria.pdf. accessed february 6, 2022 54. https://www.migrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/publications/rad-nigeria.pdf, accessed february 6, 2022. 55 https://www.migrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/publications/rad-nigeria.pdf. accessed february 6, 2022. 56 cited: https://en.m.wikipedia.or/wiki/nigeria-united_states_relations, ‚nigeria-united states relations.accessed february 5, 2022. 57 https://www.migrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/publications/rad-nigeria.pdf, accessed on february 5, 2022. 58 https://www.migrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/publications/rad-nigeria.pdf, accessed on february 5, 2022. 59 https://www.migrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/publications/rad-nigeria.pdf, accessed on february 5, 2022. 60 felix dike, ‚illicit drug and the national drug law enforcement agency, 1989 2015, a case study of lagos and imo state‛ (phd dissertation, department of history, nnamdiazikiwe university, awka. 2021) 154. analysis of trends and patterns in nigeria-u.s. relations, 1960-2015 114 61 dike, ‚illicit drug“““““.‛156 62 george obiozor, basic issues in nigerian foreign policyibb’s foreign policy pronouncements (lagos: niia press, 1992), vii. 63 cited: https://en.m.wikipedia.or/wiki/nigeriaunited_states_relations, nigeria-united states relations.. 64 cited: https://en.m.wikipedia.or/wiki/nigeria-united_states_relations, 65 bulletin of the u.s department of states, 1997, 18. 66 bulletin of the u.s “““““““, 19 67. anne-marie slaughter, ‚the real new world order: globalisation and challenges of a new century‛, american journal of human development, 1994, vol. 1, 23. 68. sunday punch of january 27, 2002, 1-2. 69. c.o. bassey, ‚professionalism of armed forces: challenges and prospects‛, in james okoro, understanding nigerian foreign policy (calabar: cats publishers, 2002), 136. 70. ministry of external affairs publications, abuja, 1991, 29, in lieutenant mark ahles of the u.s. defence institute of security assistance management. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 157 the priest and his prophetic role amidst the political and moral challenges of the present day society julian chukwuemeka ibe, phd department of systematic theology catholic institute of west africa, rivers state frjulianibe@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.18277.47848 abstract this article is an examination of the prophetic role of priests amidst the political and moral challenges of the present day. nigeria as a country has been plagued by so many social ills, most of which are bordering on wrong political and moral choices. these choices affect every member of the society, including the faithful. from the scriptures, we see the role prophets played in the political contexts of their times. given that the priest is a prophet ipso facto, this work journeys through the scriptures to discuss the role of prophets. it discusses also the role of priests in the scriptures and in the church today and then creates a nexus between the office of priest-prophet by elaborating the prophetic role of priests in the current nigerian political and moral context. finally it makes recommendations and concludes. keywords: priest, prophet, politics, morality, nigeria. introduction the office of the priesthood has existed for as long as human history. under different names, every world religion has always had people, men and women, dedicated to the divine, who carried out sacred duties on behalf of the community. from old testament times, as seen in the book of leviticus, god chose men to serve him in the priestly office, in order to offer sacrifices on behalf of his people (cf. lev. 1:5,11,17; 2:8-9; 3:5,12-16; 5:6-10). these men were seen to be answering a sacred and exclusive call to service in the lord’s vineyard. this office of the priesthood spans throughout the new testament with the letter to the hebrews giving special place to it. the role of a priest in new testament is not different from that of the old testament: to offer sacrifices (cf. heb. 5:1). however, the office of the priesthood is not limited to the ritual of offering sacrifices alone, as that would reduce the office to a mere practice of temple ritualism. sometimes, the priest is seen to play prophetic roles, speaking on behalf of god to his people. samuel, the prophet and priest is one example of the two-fold role of priest-prophet in the old testament. the office of prophet was igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 158 another important office in old testament times which served as a gadfly for the people in matters of religion and morals. in this literary journey, we shall examine the prophetic role of the modern priest in contemporary society. to set a veritable background for this, we shall examine the offices of both priest and prophet as presented to us in the scriptures, old and new testaments. in this discourse, too, we shall be examining the role of prophets in biblical tradition. to do this, we shall also examine the etymology of the word ‘prophet’. however, in our study of the etymology of the term, we must take into consideration the elasticity with which it is applied to different personalities. we shall also take some insight from the role of priests in traditional african societies. after which we shall apply these templates towards addressing the political and moral challenges of our world today. who is a prophet? according to ndiokwere, no serious immediate attempt has been made to define the terminology called ‘prophet’. also there is no clear cut distinction between such persons as the ecstatic from the prophet; the prophet-healer from the traditional diviner; the seer from the man of god, or even other similar roles commonly classified together under the concept ‘prophet’ (nmah and nwadialor, 2012:291). for akpunonu (2004:49), on the other hand, “a prophet is one who is called, receives a message from a deity, and passes it on to the intended audience as a message coming not from him but from the deity. the prophet is aware of this, so is his audience. his audience is aware that he is speaking in the name of the deity.” there has always been the tendency to speak or think only of the prophets of israel whose work and utterances are narrated to us in the scriptures. however, more recent studies in the psychology and the history of world religions have shown that the idea of prophecy is not a phenomenon limited to the people of israel alone. in fact, most world religions have exhibited, at some point in their historical development, the prophetic phenomenon. the result is that there are prophets found in different world of religions, both in ancient and modern times. there is also the phenomenology of modern prophets, or what lindblom refers to as ‘homines religiosi’, that is, prophet types. these prophets, according to him, are persons for whom religious experiences are the essence of their religious life. their religious lifestyle consists of interpersonal communication with god, prayer and devotion as well as a total moral submission to the divine will (nmah and nwadialor, 2012:291). according to vos, etymologically, three proposals for the origin of the term exist. the first is the hebrew word for prophet which is ‘nabhi’. while various igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 159 suggestions have been made by exegetes regarding the root of the word prophet, they revolve around the concepts ‘to spring’, ‘to gush forth’, or passively ‘to be sputtered, bubbled or gush against’ (nmah and nwadialor, 2012:292). thus, the nabhi might be ‘the one gush upon by the spirit’ (so keil). a second recourse is made to the arabic naba’a which means ‘to announce’. the difficulty arising here in connection with ‘to announce’ is that nabhi’ is restricted to the announcer for the deity, whereas naba’a, more like signifies ‘to announce’ in the general sense. the third possible derivation is from the assyrian nabu which signifies ‘to call’, ‘to proclaim’, or ‘to announce’. however, the term ‘prophet’ was not always used in the strictly technical which we are accustomed to. over time, the idea of ‘vision’ came to stand for revelation in general, and the concept ‘prophet’ could be equally be an ‘instrument of revelation’ (292). on the other hand, the translation ‘prophet’, according to the septuagint, is a matter of expediency (292). thus, it is difficult to decide whether nabi was ‘habitus’, or the description of a function, or a sign of vocation. the expression “is saul also among the prophets’ (1 sam. 10:11) affirms this. similarly, moses is called a prophet who is set over other prophets due to his unique communication with god (cf. num. 12: 6ff). abraham is likewise called a prophet, that is, one who is privileged with a special acquaintanceship with god, putting him in the position to intercede for others (cf. genesis 20:7). prophecy in the old testament over the years, the roles of prophets have metamorphosed. as explained by napier, during the early centuries following the installation of israel in the land of canaan, the political power rested in the hands of the prophets. even the judges were, in actuality, prophets. so many kinds of men were all classified as prophets or prophet types. some of these were enthusiasts, proselytes, patriots, ecstatics, warlords and heroes, savior kings, and other men of the spirit or even the classic ‘man of god’ (ish ha-elohim) among others. the hebrew word ‘nabi’ has been applied to a vast range of characters spanning the entire old testament from genesis (20:7) to malachi (4:5), and even to some remarkably dissimilar characters from aaron to elijah and in expressions such as ‘true’ and ‘false’ prophets. this serves to show us the wide range of the application of the term ‘prophet’ as used in the old testament (nmah and nwadialor, 2012:291). abraham is called a prophet (cf. gen. 20:7); a ‘god-sent’ envoy and an intercessor for others before god. in fact, the expression ‘avi’, connoting ‘my father’ has not only a patriarchal significance, but in a more technical sense designates a prophet as well (nether in nmah and nwadialor, 2012:291)). prophecy has a rich variety igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 160 of applications. the old testament introduces us to a great variety of prophets who appear to have prophesied in many different ways. prophecy in the new testament with this enquiry into the meaning of nabhi we may combine a brief discussion of its greek equivalent, prophetess, from which our word prophet has come. the term is mostly associated with the idea of a ‘foreteller’ or a ‘forthteller’. the greek term ‘prophetes’, however, has as much religious connotations as the hebrew one. prophetes is the one who speaks for the oracle. thus, the hebrew nabhi’ and the greek prophetes were practically synonyms (nmah and nwadialor, 293). discussing prophecy in st paul, udoette points out that, for paul, prophecy is a charism. it is important to note that, for paul, charisms are basically god’s call which is addressed to each christian for the service of the church with the grace to exercise these gifts. for him, a christian community without these charisms operative in its members would no longer be like a living body. such a community can no longer be said to be a body of christ (nmah and nwadialor, 2012:293). it is within his reflection on the charisms (1cor. 14: 12-14) that paul discusses prophecy and its functions. for paul, unlike tongues which are utterances of mysteries in the spirit (mysteria en pneumatic) meant for the unbelievers, paul contends that specially for believers. therefore, those who prophesy, speak to human beings for their moral edification and consolation. in general terms, the prophet is the man who expresses the mind of god and interprets god’s message to his people applying it to the particular context (nmah and nwadialor, 2012:291). the new testament had one major prophetic figure, john the baptist, who came to herald the coming of christ (cf. matt. 3:1112; mark 1:6-8; luke 3:3-17; john 1:19-27). however, even john the baptist was known to condemn the evils of his time which led to his martyrdom (cf. matt. 14: 1-12; mark 6:14-29). one major quality for which the biblical prophets were known is that “their main preoccupation was to bring the people back to god’s ways and in a good relationship with god. they spoke primarily in defense of the true worship of god and in favour of the poor, the oppressed, the orphans and widows, the aged, and the strangers, to save them from extortion” (bala, 2022:19). however, prophecies could be conditional or unconditional. a conditional prophecy is dependence on compliance or non-compliance with certain conditions, which is mostly predicated by ‘if’ (cf. lev. 26:3-4; 2 chron. 7:14; jer. 8:7-10). on the contrary, an unconditional prophecy is not predicated on any condition and is inevitable (cf. gen. 3:25; ez. 25-32). such a prophecy must come to pass (20). new igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 161 testament redefined the concept of prophecy and the office of the prophet gradually took a back seat. with the age of prophecy coming to an end, the emphasis shifted to discipleship and apostleship. however, the priesthood still remained relevant. who is a priest? the wikipedia defines a priest as “a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred ritual of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. they also have the power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity of deities” (retrieved 30.08.2022). one common factor of the priesthood, across all religions, is the relationship of priests to the divine. discussing the word ‘kohen’, which is the hebrew word for priest, ihenacho (2012:70) points out that is derived from the semitic kahan, which means “to stand”, which, according to him, implies that it was the duty of the priest to stand before the divinity all the time and to mediate between him and the people. he points out that from this hebrew word kohen, that the verb kihen, which means “to function as a priest” and the noun kehunna, meaning “priesthood”, were derived. other pre-christian religions had similar impressions of the priesthood. most priesthoods before the christian era were about offering sacrifices. even the greek verb hiereuo, which meant “to be a priest” also meant “to kill”, that is, sacrificially (72). it was typically, therefore, to identify the priesthood with ritual killings. the role of the priest in the new testament the function of priests in the new testament is not much different from that of the old testament. the letter to the hebrews dedicates the entire fifth chapter to its discourse on the priesthood. “every high priest is taken from among the people and is appointed to act on their behalf in relations with god, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.” (heb. 5:1). thus, this scriptural book begins by pointing out the same divine relations priests are identified with in other pre-christian religions. secondly, it highlights the sacrificial element that has pervaded the concept of the in other world religions. however, it goes further to out the empathic element of the priesthood when it says “he can sympathize with those who are ignorant or who have gone astray, because he too is subject to the limitations of weaknesses” (heb. 5:2). the human element in the priesthood is fundamental to our discussion in this work. priests are not to be seen as superhuman beings, who are incapable of understanding with the weaknesses and shortcomings of others, but as fellow sinful pilgrims who are journeying in effort towards the kingdom of god, with the aid of divine grace. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 162 the role of the priest in african traditional societies africans are religious by nature and this affects everything they do. discussing the value of religious leaders, mbiti (1986:150) pointed out the fact that religion has deep roots in the lives of people. therefore, in order for religion to function properly in the society, there are men and women gifted with religious knowledge, who lead everybody else in religious activities. these people serve as a go-between fellow human beings and god, spirits and other invisible realities. these religious leaders are the guardians of religious treasures and knowledge. they are usually wise and gifted individuals with outstanding personalities. some of them are include medicine men, diviners, mediums, seers, priests, ritual elders, rain-makers, and rulers. (150). priests in traditional african societies can be men or women. they take care of the temples, shrines and other religious places. they lead in public worship, offer sacrifices and receive offerings on behalf of god or other spiritual beings. they are well grounded in the religious heritage of the people: myths, beliefs, traditions, legends, proverbs, and other religious practices. traditional priests are commonly found in countries like ghana, nigeria, tanzania, uganda and other parts of west africa or wherever people have traditional places of worship such as shrines and temples, or where they have and ritual cults associated with spirits or deities. in some societies where there are no priests, ritual elders perform the priestly functions, while in some societies the traditional ruler is the chief priest of his people and handles the priestly functions (159). in traditional igboland, the title dibia is often given to priests. obilor, discussing traditional medicine in igboland, points out that god is the giver of traditional medicine and this is recognized by all traditional healers. inculturation, for him, will only function when the clear distinction between the three classes of dibia in igboland is clearly made. the first class: dibia afa – afa means divination and this refers to diviners and fortune tellers. the second class is dibia aja – aja means sacrifice and designates the traditional priest. the third is dibia ogwu/mgborogwu – ogwu means medicine and this class therefore refers to medicine men. obilor says it is this mgborogwu that is seen as a gift from god a ministry of healing and cites scriptural texts such as ezek. 47:12, sir. 38:4-8, ex. 15:23-25 and rev. 22:2 as backups. for him, any good christian can be dibia ogwu and a christian does not sin by visiting dibia ogwu. however, both dibia afa and dibia aja are contrary to the gospel and he cites deut. 18:9-13, lev. 10:31, 1 sam. 28:3 and is. 8:19-20 as scriptural backups. because the mass is supreme sacrifice and divination through necromancy, magic, witchcraft or alchemy are all forbidden igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 163 by the bible, then one cannot participate in any of these without committing sin (2012:288). the role of the priest in the life of the church the second vatican council describes the call of priests as follows: “the same lord, however, has established ministers among his faithful to unite them together in one body in which, ‘not all the members have the same function’ (rom 12:4). these ministers in the society of the faithful are able by the sacred power of orders to offer sacrifice and to forgive sins, and they perform their priestly office publicly for men in the name of christ” (presbyterorum ordinis 2). thus, we see in the life of the church, the priest as one called to offer sacrifice, which is this case is the sacrifice of the holy mass. the functions of presbyters in the catholic church are however not limited to the celebration of the mass alone. let us highlight some of the functions of the priest in the church today. liturgical: the priest is, first and foremost, a minister of the word and sacraments. this makes him a minister of the liturgy. liturgy is the public worship of the church and the celebration of liturgy is fundamental in the life of a priest. the church’s liturgical celebrations involve the celebration of the sacraments, the celebration of the divine office as well as other public celebrations approve by the church’s authority. in the celebration of the sacraments, the priest brings life, light and healing into the hearts of men. in the proclamation of the word (kerygma), he speaks on behalf of god and is therefore, in every sense of the word, a prophet. administrative: it is the duty of the priest to administer the temporal goods of the church. since the church has both physical and spiritual structures, it is important that they are catered for. thus, the priest by virtue of his office or appointment by the local ordinary or any competent authority is charged with governing the affairs of the church within his ecclesial jurisdiction. this entails coordinating all the affairs of the faithful, as well as seeing to the proper ordering of the temporal goods of the church under his care. this demands responsibility and accountability on his part. pastoral: the priest is a pastoral agent. every priest is called to be a pastor. the latin word pastor, which means “shepherd” best describes the role the priest plays in relation to the flock of christ. christ’s last words to peter in the gospel of john capture this succinctly: “look after my sheep” (john 21:16). the priest is a shepherd of souls. this make it his duty to feed the sheep (cf. john 21:17); to lead the sheep (cf. john 10:3); to seek out the lost sheep (cf. matt. 18:12); and even to lay down his life for the sheep (cf. john 10:11). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 164 moral: the priest is a formator of conscience. like the prophets of old, he is to call the people to order in matters of faith and morals. he is to lead by word and example and, therefore, serve as a role model for society. to achieve this successfully, he must be guided by the scriptures, tradition and magisterial teachings. the priest should not appear alienated from the rest of society and therefore he must be enlightened about the modern trends and attitudes of people, especially the young, who are more often, the most easily influenced by modern trends. however, in keeping abreast with these modern trends, he must take special caution in order not to be influenced negatively by these fads and fashions since he is to be a lighthouse for pilgrims on the journey to salvation. social: since the priest is a member of society and concerned about the wellbeing of other members of society, he feels the pains of others and, where necessary, tries to alleviate the pains of the people. the priest is above all, the harbinger of hope to the poor and marginalized in society. he is the voice of the voiceless and the defender of the defenseless. at no time should the priest ostracize himself from the people. he must live with the people and experience their everyday realities. only then will his ministry be relevant to the people and to the society as a whole. while it has never been the wish of the church that her priests should participate in partisan politics, she is however, concerned with the government policies that determine the survival and welfare of the people. if the church is to show genuine concern for the people, then she cannot shy away from politics. the priest and his prophetic role in the political and moral challenges of the present day society at this point, it is important to note that, while the church recognizes the special call of priests that sets them apart from the rest of the world, she does not in any way expect priests to be alienated from society. on the contrary, she realizes the living conditions of men and women in society are the living conditions of christ’s faithful: “the joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the men and women of our time, especially of those who are poor or afflicted in any way, are the joy and hope, the grief and anguish of followers of christ as well” (gaudium et spes 1). as a result of this, the church has always been concerned about the living conditions of men and women in the society. this is the basis of the social doctrine of the church. from pope leo xiii’s rerum novarum of 1891 till date, the church has released many social encyclicals aimed at drawing the attention of the people of god, and the world as a whole, to issues bothering on the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 165 defense of the dignity of the human person. this is because the church is aware that any problems that affect the very survival of the human person – hunger, poverty, homelessness, illiteracy, corruption, wars, insecurity and environmental degradation, have direct consequences for the dignity of the human person. describing the relationship of priests with the world, the council fathers state: “priests of the new testament, by their vocation and ordination, are in a certain sense set apart in the bosom of the people of god. however, they are not to be separated from the people of god or from any person; but they are to be totally dedicated to the work for which the lord has chosen them” (presbyterorum ordinis 3). explaining further, they state: “they cannot be ministers of christ unless they be witnesses and dispensers of a life other than earthly life. but they cannot be of service to men if they remain strangers to the life and conditions of men. their ministry itself, by a special title, forbids that they be conformed to this world; yet at the same time it requires that they live in this world among men”(po 3). these excerpts from the second vatican council show that the church does not expect her priests to live and work in the world as alienated beings, but to identify with the world in its affairs, while remaining unstained and undistracted by its affairs. thus, priests as human beings living in a human society have a role to play in all secular affairs. our focus, hereafter, will be the role of priests in matters of politics and morality. these we shall discuss under two separate sub-headings. where possible, we shall be using the nigerian context as a paradigm. the priest and politics in its pastoral constitution on the church in the modern world, the second vatican council says “the political community, then, exists for the common good: this is its full justification and meaning and the source of its specific and basic right to exist. the common good embraces the sum total of all those conditions of social life which enable individuals, families, and organizations to achieve complete and efficacious fulfillment.” (gaudium et spes 74). the church seeks, at all times, the common good in order that human beings may obtain fulfillment. it is important to note, at this point, that the relationship between the church and the political community entails two fundamental principles: autonomy and cooperation. writing on these two elements, the pontifical council for justice and peace, in its compendium of the social doctrine of the church, states: “although the church and the political community both manifest themselves in visible organizational structures, they are by nature different because of their configuration and because of the ends they pursue.” (424). going igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 166 forward, the council states: “the mutual autonomy of the church and the political community does not entail a separation that excludes cooperation.” (425). thus, while the church recognizes her autonomy from the political structures of society, she realizes that for people to attain true happiness and fulfillment there must be cooperation between the church and the state. it is the duty of pastors (bishops and priests) to ensure this mutual cooperation between church and state for the common good. this mutual cooperation requires that the church should often serve as a gadfly for the political community, calling her to order when the common good is threatened. this is because anything that threatens the dignity of the human person and the sanctity of human life is a matter of utmost concern to the church. priests must speak truth to power especially when certain government policies prove inimical to the public. the principle of the common good must always guide government in policy-making decisions. here in nigeria, the problem is not so much the inability of government to make good policies as it is the inability of government to implement the policies they have made. the result is a society full of policies but devoid of implementation; a society full of laws and yet consumed by lawlessness. this unfortunate situation has given rise to so many social ills that have made the nigerian society a very unhealthy environment to live in. life in nigeria has, therefore, become one of primitive survival. some of the social ills that ravage the nigerian society today are bad governance, corruption, insecurity, poverty, illiteracy and economic hardship. for many years, nigeria has been plagued by bad governance. since her independence in 1960, nigeria has suffered a series of bad leaders from the military regimes to the democratic era. having undergone decades of military dictatorship characterized by corruption and gross violation of human rights, there was a return to democracy in 1999 through a democratic process of elections. however, the corruption and violation of human rights are far from over as on a regular basis nigerians are confronted with outrageous cases of embezzlement and mismanagement of public funds by public office holders and, most unfortunately, these cases end up without any consequences for the perpetrators. despite this, many government officials retire with humongous and outrageous benefits, while common pensioners wallow in abject penury and dejection. thus, we have a society where the wealth of the nation is channeled towards serving a very few individuals. added to this is the glaring case of tribalism, nepotism, religion bigotry and cronyism that dictate and direct igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 167 government appointments, the result of which competence is sacrificed on the altar of favoritism. the direct result of this endemic corruption is the rise of other social ills. some of these are poverty and hunger. in 2018, nigeria overtook india as the poverty capital of the world, with over 87 million people living in extreme poverty (the vanguard, 10.04.2022). while in 2022 india reclaimed its position as the poverty capital of the world, nigeria still maintains second place with over 70 million people living in abject poverty (the cable, 09.04.2022). given that hunger and poverty are two faces of the same coin, one can imagine the number of people living in extreme hunger in nigeria. hunger cannot be solved without the alleviation of poverty (ibe, 2022:7). millions of nigerians live below the poverty line and are faced with grave hunger and deprivation in a land blessed with so much human and natural resources. the rising cost of food items is only making the situation direr. illiteracy is also on the rise. the latest global data from unesco on out-of-school children says nigeria has 20 million children and youths who are out of school (the africa report 02.09.2022). this is even more saddening given that nigerian universities have been on strike since 14th february, 2022, meaning that university students have been out of school for almost 7 months. another major challenge is the problem of insecurity. currently, nigeria occupies the sixth position in the global terrorism index (gti), having dropped from fourth position which she occupied since 2017 (channels tv, 04.04.2022). the activities of the dreaded boko haram sect as well as bandits, mainly in the northern part of the country, have affected the daily and economic life of the nation. this is because agricultural activities have been greatly stalled due to the harassment of farmers by armed bandits. the nation is yet to recover from the shock of the abuja-kaduna train attack on 28th march, 2022, which claimed many lives and some of those abducted in that attack by these murderous bandits are yet to regain freedom. in december 2021, security agents confirmed the death of 38 people at the hands of gunmen in giwa local area of kaduna state (vanguard, 19.12.2021). in more attacks on 24th and 25th march, 2022, gunmen killed no fewer than 50 people in 9 villages in giwa local government area, kidnapping scores of people and burning houses and vehicles (the tribune, 26.04.2022). in northern nigeria, priest have common under constant attack with some being killed and others kidnapped for ransom (ibe, 2022:8). the result of these heinous crimes is that the average nigerian lives in perpetual fear and anxiety. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 168 in the midst of all these challenges, the priest is first and foremost, a bringer of hope. he must encourage the people not to lose hope in god, even if they have lost hope in the system. he must always present a message of hope to the people for “in hope we are saved – spe salvi facti sumus” (rom. 8:24). he must also show the way by leading the people in the right direction in matters of voting. the priest is in a good position to teach the people the importance of getting involved in politics by getting registered in political office, running for office and voting for their choice of candidates at the polls. when the situation calls for it, the clergy should be able to lead the people in peaceful, unarmed protests against policies and happenings that are a cause of concern to them. this is especially in matters of gross violation of the dignity of the human person and the sanctity of the human life. however, in a bid to proffer a solution to these grave, politically induced social ills, the priest must take care not to assume a deified figure. it is unfortunate that some christian ministers have chosen to interpret prophecy as the ability “to foretell” alone. the result is many men of god making electoral prophecies that many times backfire when they do not turn out as predicted. exploiting the psyche of their followers, many priests and pastors prophesy in favour of particular candidates winning elections and in the event that this does not play out, a lot of people lose faith in the church. a popular case has been that of the 2015 elections in which some popular pastors and even priests prophesied that the incumbent president, goodluck jonathan, would will the elections. unfortunately, that did not happen. sometimes too, the frequency of political figures in churches and adoration grounds during election periods has become a source of worry and concern to the faithful. they have even been forced to interpret some electoral predictions as pecuniary-induced prophecies. while it is important that priests should motivate their people to be politically conscious, they must be careful to avoid making electoral predictions. that is not part of their prophetic role. instead, they are to encourage the people to know their candidates and to vote “in accordance with the highest human values without allowing themselves to be pressured or influenced by anyone through bribes, threats, self-interest, etc” (vademecum for electors, 2018:60). the priest and morality the human person, by his very nature, is a moral being. discussing the dignity of moral conscience, the second vatican council has this to say: “deep within his conscience man discovers a law which he has not laid upon himself but which he must obey. its voice, ever calling him to love and to do what is good and to avoid igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 169 evil, tells him inwardly at the right moment: do this, shun that. for man has in his heart a law inscribed by god. his dignity lies in observing this law, and by it he will be judged.” (gaudium et spes 16). for this and other reasons, the formation of man’s conscience is of paramount importance to the church. today’s society has witnessed a surge in issues of immorality. this has been heightened by the availability of the social and electronic media. while the social and electronic media are gifts to humanity, their abuse and misuse is a major cause of concern for anyone with a sense of morality. young people, who are the major beneficiaries of the social and electronic media, are now connected across the world and within seconds information can be disseminated and accessed from across the globe. there is also the benefit of e-commerce that has made it possible to do business with people with the tap of a few keys. in the midst of all these benefits, there are some glaring disadvantages. the major rise in immorality and indecency is evident in the media. with the growing desire to ‘trend’ you people are adopting indecent exposure as way to get clicks, likes and retweets on the web, since it is the easiest way to gain fame. there is also the outrageous celebration of questionable wealth which has pushed many young people into a life of fraud or prostitution in a bid to complete with their peers. this get-rich-quick syndrome is prevalent among young people today. the internet is therefore rife with all manners of frauds sold in attractive packages just to scam unwitting victims and this ill-gotten wealth is ostentatiously displayed on social media, after all, nobody cares how the money was made. there is an abundance of immoral content as seen in pornography and other forms of sexual deviations such as homosexuality and bestiality which used to be things of shame, but are now displayed with reckless abandon. the sad thing about this reality is that the few voices that condemn these public displays of amorality are tagged as being judgmental and blackmailed into silence. of the media, there is a great surge in immorality giving rise to sexually transmitted diseases. there is a concomitant rise in unwanted pregnancies leading to abortions and also a sudden fashion for single motherhood. many young girls are proud to give birth out of wedlock and have no qualms being single mothers popularly called ‘baby mamas’. another major social ill is the rising problem of drug abuse among the youths. in august 2021, the national drug law enforcement agency (ndlea) revealed the 40% of nigerian youths, between 18 and 35 years, are deeply involved in drug abuse (premium times 19.08.2021). in close relation to this is the prevalence of cultism among the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 170 youths. this is another very scary situation as many young children are recruited into these cults even from secondary schools. street cults have also become a plague. many of these young cultists, in a bid to show their prowess, have been involved in all manner of vices: murder, robbery, kidnapping, rape and drug abuse. in the face of these moral challenges, the priest is, first and foremost, a role model of morality for the young. he should remember his call to live as a light in the darkness for those who seek to do what is right. priests must dedicate time and effort towards the moral education of young people. making use of such youth organizations as the catholic youths organization of nigeria (cyon), the young catholic students (ycs) and others, he should harness the talents of the youths towards their personal development as well as the development of the church and society. the church should also, when possible, empower the youths towards legitimate financial independence. this is because, in the face of glaring hunger, poverty and deprivation, people will do anything to survive. the church should help to alleviate the sufferings of the people. recommendations from our discourse, we hereby make the following recommendations: a. priests should always remember their prophetic role of speaking on behalf of god. they must be mindful of their words, especially when they act in their capacity as priests, remembering that whatever they say is often seen as the message of the divine. b. given the significance prophetic voice of prophetic voice of priests, they should avoid letting their personal sentiments or agenda make them mislead the people. as modern day prophets, priests should not be afraid of speaking truth to power. they should always speak the truth no matter whose ox is gored. c. priests in nigeria, while avoiding partisan politics, should be politically enlightened in order to enlighten their flock. nemo dat quod non habet nobody gives what he does not have. the faithful are in need of direction and they look up to their priests to provide it. d. the priest is a model to all people, catholics, christians and even nonchristians. as a result, they should, as much as possible, live above reproach. this means priests must be watchful of their words and actions in order not to scandalize the people. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 171 e. while it is necessary that priests should keep abreast with all the modern trends especially on social media, they should be wary not to get carried away with these trends and thereby constitute a public nuisance. f. priests should use the vehicle of social media to create enlightenment and to teach the public, especially the youths, in matters of faith, morality, responsibility and hard work. conclusion in this discourse, we began by establishing the template for our literary journey. we examined the meaning of a prophet and the role of prophets in scriptures. we then proceeded to discuss the meaning and role of priests in the scriptures, as well as in the life of the church today. then we discussed the role of priest amidst the political and moral challenges of our times using the nigerian context as a paradigm. given the extinction of prophecy in the catholic church, and seeing the role prophets played in the scriptures, we can be bold to say priests act in the capacity of prophets, speaking on behalf of god and bringing his message to the people in the midst of vicissitudes of life. also, just as prophets served as moral gadflies, priests must constantly call the erring to order whenever they go astray. above all, as priest-prophets they must bring hope to the people, no matter how despondent their circumstances may appear. they should make them see hope in their sufferings. in the words of st paul: “we shall exult in our sufferings knowing that suffering yields perseverance and perseverance yields character and character yields hope and our hope will not disappoint us, because the love of god has been poured into our hearts through the holy spirit which has been given to us.” (rom. 5:3-5). bibliography akpunonu peter damian. the overture of the book of consolations (isaiah 40:1-11). new york: peter lang, 2004. bala, benjamin y. electoral prophets and the christian faith in nigeria: a moral and theological concern. nigerian journal of religion and society, vol. 11, july 2022, pp. 16-29. catholic theologians association of nigeria (cathan). vademecum for electors in nigeria. abuja, 2018. channels tv, 04.04.2022. www.channelstv.com, accessed 30.08.2022. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 172 flannery, austin. ed. gaudium et spes: pastoral constitution on the church in the modern world. vatican council ii: the conciliar and post conciliar documents, vol 1. ibadan: the ambassador, 2001. flannery, austin. ed. presbyterorum ordinis: decree on the ministry and life of priests. vatican council ii: the conciliar and post conciliar documents, vol 1. ibadan: the ambassador, 2001. ibe, julian c. human dimension of the ecological crisis in nigeria: the imperatives of caritas in veritate. nigerian journal of religion and society, vol. 11, july 2022, pp. 1-15. ihenacho, d. a., nnabugwu, t. i., achunike, h. c. priests of the third millennium: reconciling all things in christ. owerri: edu-edy publications, 2012. lindblom, j. (1973). prophecy in ancient israel nmah, p. e., nwadialor, l. k. biblical theories of the history of prophetism in the old testament: an ethical monotheistic approach. ethiopia: african research review, vol. 5 (3), serial no. 20, may 2011, pp. 291-306. mbiti, john s. introduction to african religion. london: heinemann, 1991. napier, b.d. (1967), in nmah, p. e., nwadialor, l. k. biblical theories of the history of prophetism in the old testament: an ethical monotheistic approach. ethiopia: african research review, vol. 5 (3), serial no. 20, may 2011, pp. 291-306. nether, a. (1956). l’essence du prophetisme in nmah, p. e., nwadialor, l. k. biblical theories of the history of prophetism in the old testament: an ethical monotheistic approach. ethiopia: african research review, vol. 5 (3), serial no. 20, may 2011, pp. 291-306. ndiokwere, nathaniel i. (1995). prophecy and revolution in nmah, p. e., nwadialor, l. k. biblical theories of the history of prophetism in the old testament: an ethical monotheistic approach. ethiopia: african research review, vol. 5 (3), serial no. 20, may 2011, pp. 291-306. nmah, p. e., nwadialor, l. k. biblical theories of the history of prophetism in the old testament: an ethical monotheistic approach. ethiopia: african research review, vol. 5 (3), serial no. 20, may 2011, pp. 291-306. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 173 obilor, john i. many religions, one god: selected essays, silver jubilee edition. owerri: matt books, 2010. pontifical council for justice and peace. compendium of the social doctrine of the church. nairobi: pauline publications, 2004. second vatican council. gaudium et spes: pastoral constitution on the church in the modern world. the africa report, 02.09.2022, www.theafricareport.com, accessed 02.09.2022. the cable, 09.04.2022, www.thecable.ng, accessed 01.09.2022. the tribune, 26.04.2022, www.tribuneonlineng.com, accessed 30.08.2022. the vanguard, 19.12.2021, www.vanguardngr.com, accessed 01.09.2022. the vanguard, 10.04.2022, www.vanguardngr.com, accessed 01.09.2022. udoette, donatus. paul and the functions of prophecy in 1 cor. 14:3: implications for contemporary christianity in nigeria. koinonia vol. 3, 2007, pp. 47-66. vos, geerhardus. biblical theology: old and new testaments. london: banner of truth trust, 1975. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.2. no.1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 1 igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization by kanu, ikechukwu anthony, o.s.a., ph.d augustinian institute, makurdi, nigeria ikee_mario@yahoo.com abstract the development of studies in the area of globalization, especially in relation to africa and the rest of the third world, reveal a couple of misconceptions. globalization is usually presented by some african scholars as though it were a force in battle with traditional african paradigms. some quarters speak of globalization as imperialism, westernization, neo-colonialism, capitalism, universalization, etc. it is presented as an evil manufactured in europe and transported to africa. igwebuike as an interpretation of globalization challenges these negative perspectives and argues that globalization is a necessary process of being and not a product. it is a modality of being and, thus, cannot be boycotted; for no one can boycott his or herself. in this study, the evolutionary approach is adopted. and it submits that life is moving towards unification and our hope can only be operative and realizable if it is expressed in greater human cohesion and solidarity, greater interaction on the global level; that is, mankind coming close together, and relating more and more with one another. keywords: igwebuike, igwebuikology, igbo, african, philosophy, hermeneutics, globalization introduction ancient philosophy, particularly, philosophers of the ionian or miletus school were struck by the fact that, although, there were realities that changed from one form to another, there was continuity in the midst of change. something always remained permanent in the midst of flux. they were also struck by the fact that there was a basic unity in the midst of the plurality of things, which explains the continuity in the midst of the changes in reality and the underlying unity in the midst of the plurality of things. although these philosophers employed different realities for the explanation of the unity of reality, they were already indicating that there is a fundamental core of reality commonly shared by all the inhabitants of the globe. globalization, as a concept presents our common humanity and the common yearnings and hopes that this common humanity generates. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 2 fafowora (1998), therefore, defined globalization as a process that deals with the increasing breaking down of barriers and increasing integration of economic, political, social and cultural relations across international boundaries. ohuabunwa (cited in kanu 2013), gives further insight when he defined globalization as an evolution which is systematically reconstructing integrative phases among nations by breaking down barriers in the areas of culture, commerce, communication and other fields of endeavour. in the midst of the emerging interpretations of globalization, this piece adopts the concept igwebuike to interpret the phenomenon of globalization from an igbo-african perspective. negative hermeneutics of globalization over the years, the meaning of globalization has been misconceived by various scholars. it has continued to attract increased scholarly and analytical attention throughout the globe. oguejiofor (2010) presents globalization as a force in battle with traditional paradigms: using the igbo people of nigeria as a case study, we will argue that in spite of the vaunted igbo receptivity to change which encourages the eroding influence of globalization, the igbo cultural tradition has a resilience which will find ways of retaining its specificity in a globalized world (p. 15). ajjala (2010), agreeing with oguejiofor, avers that: “globalization is recolonization. keeping our mind only on the positive side of globalization is not safe, since the negative out-weighs the positive when we look at it closely” (p. 221). she presents globalization as a synonym of re-colonization. joy (2010) argues that globalization has led to the de-originization of the igbo language as new words have emerged from the encounter between igbo words and english concepts. according to dominic (2010): “globalization packages look like bait for a fish or the greek gifts. they are like a typical syllogism of a self-centered logician, whose first and second premises already betray his interest and dividends at the conclusion” (p. 759). mcewan (1990) understands globalization economically and politically. he sees it as the spread of capitalism. toyo (cited in kanu 2013), agreeing with mcewan, interprets globalization as an imperial policy and the final conquest of capital over the rest of the world. akinde, gidado, olaopa (2002) avers that it is a one-arm banditry and exploitative antecedents of capitalism which, by its nature cannot exist without parasitic expansion. they argue that its immutable and primary focus is to exploit african resources, disintegrate its economies and incorporate it into the international capitalist economy. madunaga (1999) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 3 thinks that globalization was created by the dominant social forces in the world to serve their specific interests. reflecting on the above misconceptions of globalization from his african colleagues, agbo (2010) writes that: globalisation within the african intellectual context, has acquired terms that are nearest in meaning to it: universalization, internationalisation, liberalization, capitalization, westernization, europeanization, americanization, re-colonization, imperialization... re-enslavement, etc... this, to me represents an irrational moralization of an amoral concept. the propagandist, emotional, and psychological engagement of globalization is, therefore, in my opinion both uncharitable and meaningless. (p. 26). reacting further, he argues that: we have conceptualized globalization as a ‘product’ exported to the african with sinister motives, we have assumed in an incurable nihilistic pessimism, that somebody, some people, somewhere (in the west), sometime (in distant and recent times) have sold us this ‘globalization’ and unfortunately, we had had to buy it without what kwasi wirendu would refer to as an ‘open utilitarian eyes’. (p. 26). in the face of these negative perspectives of globalization, the question that could be asked is if globalization cannot be interpreted beyond this point. all these while that african thinkers have interpreted globalization negatively, what good has come out of it? has it helped africa or the third world to become de-globalized? reflecting on these questions and seeking possible answers to them raises the question as to the possibility of developing an alternative interpretation of globalization. it is on this basis that igwebuike is developed as an alternative hermeneutics of globalization. igwebuike: reinterpreting globalization ‘to be’ in igbo ontology is idi. however, the modality of being is igwebuike. it is an igbo word, which is a combination of three words. thus, it can be understood as a word and as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. let us try to understand the three words involved: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a large number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is a noun, which means strength or power. put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 4 solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force. at this level, no task is beyond their collective capability. this provides an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. as an ideology, igwebuike rests on the african principles of solidarity and complementarity. it argues that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is ‘to be with the other’, in a community of beings. this is based on the african philosophy of harmony and complementarity, which is the underlying principle and unity of african traditional religious and philosophical experience. asouzu (2007b) in his complementary philosophy of ibuanyidanda, presents the african reality as “an all-embracing whole, in which all units form together a dynamic play of forces, which are in harmony with each other, by completing and supporting the other” (p. 14). asouzu (2004) further speaks of reality as “necessary complements of each other” (46). while describing the human society, asouzu (2007a) advanced that, “human beings and societies exist only in relations” (p. 74). igwebuike as the modality of being, interprets of globalization as the realization of the fullness of being. globalization, therefore, becomes a journey towards the realization of the full potentials of being. if tielhard de chardin (1959), would speak of globalization, he would refer to it as the ‘omega point’, where the goal of convergence would be achieved. in hegel, it can be described as the return of the ‘absolute spirit’ and in karl marx, it is the recognition that motion is the existent form of matter, that reality exists and develops, through dialectical contradictions, in interrelatedness, and interractiveness. if that be the case, globalization is not a planned event, but rather a natural flow of event. thus, omoregbe (2007), defines globalization as “a natural process of socialization, a process of world history, a phase in the world historical process” (p. 152). asouzu (2007a) corroborating with omoregbe understands globalization as “a necessary consequence of the character of our being as relative subjects seeking full actualization” (p. 382). if globalization is the modality of being, it would mean that it cannot be boycotted. no one can boycott his or herself; this explains why the more african scholars mourn the effect of globalization, the more they are globalized. teilhard de chardin (cited by agbo 2010) writes that “life is moving towards unification; our hope can only be operative if it is expressed in greater human cohesion and solidarity, greater interaction on the global level, mankind coming close together, and relating more and more with one another” (p. 26). thus, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 5 omoregbe (2007) avers that, “... man by nature is a social being with an irresistible urge to associate with his fellow human being, globalization is a manifestation of this natural urge in man” (p. 148). asouzu (2007a) refers to it as “a necessary consequence of our being” (p. 382). agreeing with asouzu, agbo (2010) writes that “globalization is not only part of nature, it is the mode of being for human beings, it expresses our internal state. in an ontological sense, it is the category of our expressive existentiality! it is the name we give to the invisible force that is propelling reality forward with incredible velocity” (p. 36). from the foregoing, asouzu (2007b) understands globalization as: “the life we live, the completion we seek in our search for meaning and the measures we take to stay alive in the face of challenges that involve many” (p. 414). thus, globalization offers all stakeholders a plethora of opportunities to access the immense richness of differences in other to better themselves, their communities and the world. if all peoples were to work together to explore the means of bettering human existence, asouzu argues that the result would be “the possibility of harnessing the best opportunities offered by the world as veritable tool of making the world a better place for all” (p. 314). globalization is, therefore, not new to africa. it is rather a global expression of that african nature of being present to the other; relating to the other more deeply and directly. this obviously would involve a process of give and take. globalization, therefore, becomes the realization of a fundamental dimension of the african philosophical heritage. conclusion igwebuike interpret globalization as a process in which all the world is involved: generated by all, in all and for all. the interpretation of the globalizing process as a product manufactured in europe and transported to africa is false and also an attempt to alienate the being of the african who is by belonging. reality in globalization is moving towards self-actualization, and africa cannot tell the world to wait for her. africa must move faster to catch up with the rest of the world economically, politically, socially, culturally, educationally and other wise. to begin to blame globalization as though it were a moral being is a waste of effort; no nation will be judged for globalizing, for that would mean blaming a nation for being. the world must be. thus, the understanding of globalization as capitalism, westernization, europeanization, imperialism, re-colonialism, reenslavement, americanization and universalization are not appropriate. agbo (2010), therefore, writes: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 6 the more we complain about globalization the more we do things that globalize us... someone is on the web looking for materials to debunk globalization, and yet he feels he does not want to globalize. in nigeria, we are busy trying to outdo ourselves in an attempt to publish our articles in foreign journals, and yet we are averse to globalization. why do we jeer at globalization even on our way to an international conference in london, tokyo, washington d. c.? ... globalization is, perhaps, the old child that has many progenitors, and yet is an orphan. (p. 35). the employment of igwebuike in the interpretation of the nature and logic of globalization has turned an acclaimed enemy into a friend, and the terrifying journey into the anticipation of a welcome reunion. until african scholars begin to see globalization as a process, she would continue to remain un-strategically positioned, in fact as a spectator, instead of a player in the incurably globalizing world. references agbo, j. n. (2009). globalisation and african philosophy. in a. f. iduigwomen (ed.). from footmarks to landmarks on african philosophy. calabar: index book publishers. agbo, j. n. (2010). is globalization a process or a product? in a. b. c. chiegboka, t. c. utoh-ezeajugh, and g. i. udechukwu (eds.). the humanities and globalization in the third millennium (pp. 26-39). nigeria: rex charles and patrick. ajjala, j. n. u. (2010). igbo cultural values: the issue of globalization. in a. b. c. chiegboka, t. c. utoh-ezeajugh, and g. i. udechukwu (eds.). the humanities and globalization in the third millennium (pp. 214-223). nigeria: rex charles and patrick. akinde, s. t., gidado, t. o. and olaopa, o. r. (2002). globalisation, its implications and consequences on africa. retrieved 1/7/2012. http://globalisation.icaap.org/content/v2.1/01_akindele_etal.html asouzu, i. i. (2004) the methods and principles of complementary reflection in and beyond african philosophy. calabar: university of calabar press asouzu, i. i. (2007a). ibuanyidanda: new complementary ontology. beyond world immanentism, ethnocentric reduction and impositions. munster: lit verlag. asouzu, i. i. (2007b). ibuaru: the heavy burden of philosophy, beyond african philosophy. studies in african philosophy series. munster: lit verlag. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 7 dominic, u. (2010). globalization: the contemporary threat to our stories. in a. b. c. chiegboka, t. c. utoh-ezeajugh, and g. i. udechukwu (eds.). the humanities and globalization in the third millennium (pp. 751-759). nigeria: rex charles and patrick. fafowora, o. o. (1998). management imperatives of globalisation. management in nigeria: a journal of nigerian institute of management. 34, 2-4. 5-9. joy, o. (2010). globalization and language use: a case of igbo. in a. b. c. chiegboka, t. c. utoh-ezeajugh, and g. i. udechukwu (eds.). the humanities and globalization in the third millennium (pp. 663-670). nigeria: rex charles and patrick. kanu, i. a. (2013). globalisation, globalism and african philosophy. germany: lambert. macewan, a. (1990). what is new about the new international economy? mimeo: university of massachussets. madunaga, e. (1999). globalisation and its victims. guardian july 26, 53. oguejiofor, j. o. (2010). globalization and the resilience of traditional paradigms: the case of the igbo of nigeria. in a. b. c. chiegboka, t. c. utoh-ezeajugh, and g. i. udechukwu (eds.). the humanities and globalization in the third millennium (pp.15-25). nigeria: rex charles and patrick. omoregbe, j. (2007). social-political philosophy and international relations. lagos: joja educational research and publishers. de chardine, t. (1959). the phenomenon of man. london: collins. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 3 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 79 the concept of ‘family’ as the contribution of africa to the consecrated life kanu, ikechukwu anthony, o.s.a., ph.d augustinian institute, makurdi benue state ikee_mario@yahoo.com; +2348036345466 abstract the year of consecrated life which was inaugurated last year 2014 by his holiness pope francis, and which would end next year 2016 in february has provided diverse opportunities for consecrated persons to reflect on the different dimensions of the consecrated life. this year being the year of the extraordinary synod on the family, a new aperture has opened as a locus for reflection on the consecrated life. in attentiveness to the various discourses on the family and the consecrated life, this piece focused on the concept of family as the contribution of africa to the consecrated life. it questions the contribution of african ontology to the historical evolution of the consecrated life. it adopted the historical and phenomenological methods of inquiry in its investigation. the research discovered that the spirit of community in the consecrated life was borne from the african spirit of the family. keywords: african, family, consecrated life, ontology, community, theology. introduction at the heart of the evolution of the 17th century, emerged a popular perspective among scholars: philosophers, anthropologists, sociologists, theologians, among others that africa contributed nothing to world civilization. since it was costly assumed that the presence of the human prerogative of reasoning was absent in the african, it was not surprising that they were relegated to the background of obscurantism and impotency. among this college of thinkers was hegel (1956) who posits that the negro is yet to go beyond his instinctual behaviour to identify a being outside of himself: in negro life the characteristic point is the fact that consciousness had not yet attained to the realization of any substantial existence.... thus distinction between himself as an individual and the universality of his essential being, the african in the uniform, undeveloped oneness of his existence has not yet attained. (p. 93). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 80 in the same vein, levy-bruhl (cited by njoku 2002), questioned the veracity of an untutored african knowing about god. in his perspective, the african way of thinking is non-logical and full of inner self-contradictions and, therefore, unworthy of the consideration of the civilized mind. sharing in the contention of levy-bruhl, baker (cited in kanu 2005a) writes: the negro is still at the rude dawn of faith-fetishism and has barely advanced in idolatry.... he has never grasped the idea of a personal deity, a duty in life, a moral code, or a shame of lying. he rarely believes in a future state of reward and punishment, which whether true or not are infallible indices of human progress. (p. 199). in the opinion of masolo (1994), at the heart of this debate on the identity of the african is the concept of reason, a value which is believed to stand as the great divide between the civilized and the uncivilized, the logical and the mystical. kanu (2015b) explains that this perception of the negro by western scholars have made negro-hood a burden for the negrowith an attendant crisis of identity and authenticity. in our own time of african cultural renaissance, an attempt to identify and appreciate the african cultural heritage, circumstances have arisen to question the contribution of ‘african civilization’ to world civilization. this year, being the year of consecrated life, it would be interesting to question the contribution of african ontology to the historical evolution of the consecrated life. this piece, therefore, has the burden of unveiling the contribution of the african cultural heritage to the rich religious heritage of the consecrated life. the family in african ontology according to alyward, (1975), the african traditional life is centered around the family. the family is where life is generated, a basic unit of life which represents in miniature the life of the entire people. kanu (2015a&b) avers that, it is in the family that the values of the clan, the tribe and of africa are transmitted. it is, therefore, not surprising that the family, with all it implies, has been one of the strongest forces in african life. this is evident in uchendu’s words in things fall apart: we do not ask for wealth because he that has health and children will also have wealth. we do not pray to have more money but to have more kinsmen. we are better than animals because we have kinsmen. an animal igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 81 rubs its itching flank against a tree, a man asks his kinsman to scratch him. (achebe 1958, p. 132). the african concept of family is different from the western understanding. in igbo-african ontology, the family is referred to as the ezi na ulo, that is, literally, the outside relations and those in the house. unlike the western concept, theidea of family does not only apply to husband, wife and children, but also includes, somewhat vaguely, the in-laws, uncles, cousins, nephews distant and near, and even maids and servants. thus, according to ogbalu (2006), when the igboafrican person talks about his family, he refers to his wife or wives, that is, if he has more than one, his children and everyone that is dependent on him. he might also include his children’s children and wives. however, when a young man refers to his family, he means his father, mother and a number of other relatives. it is because of this extension capacity of the african family, that the concept ‘extended family’ was coined to convey the profound meaning it embodies. the african concept of the family does not exclude the ancestors and the unborn members who are still in the loins of the living. they are, for the african, the buds of hope and expectation. characteristically, the african family is an institution in which “everybody is somebody”. westerman (1949) puts this succinctly: “the whole of existence for the african is organically embodied in a series of associations and life appears to have full value only in those close ties” (p. 65). achebe (1958) writes: a man who calls his kinsman to feast does not do so to save them from starving. they all have food in their homes. when we gather together in the moonlight village ground it is not because of the moon. everyman can see it in his own compound. we come together because it is good for kinsmen to do so. (p. 155). the african family, according to iroegbu (1995) is bound together to the extent that individuals find meaning and fulfillment in it; the individual is not defined without reference to the family: he/she is either the son or daughter of someone, or the father or mother of someone. the indisputable and inevitable presence of, not just the family to which the individual belongs is expressed in proverbs such as, ngwere ghara ukwu osisi, aka akpara ya (if a lizard stays off from the foot of a tree, it would be caught by man). mbiti (1969) sums up the bond between the individual and the african family thus: “i am because we are, and since we are, therefore, i am” (p.108). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 82 in every african family relationship, there is hierarchy based on age and degree of kinship. in this relationship, mbiti (1969) avers that the oldest members have a higher status than the youngest. within this hierarchy, there are duties, obligations, rights and privileges dictated by the moral sense of the society. failure in performing ones duty either as parents and children or otherwise has consequences attached. in the family, it is the duty of family members to be hospitable to one another, relatives, friends and even strangers. the theology of the consecrated life consecrated persons according to kanu (2015) are the members of religious institutes and societies of apostolic life. the code of canon law (1983) teaches that they are lay persons or clerics who assume the evangelical counsels by means of a sacred bond, and become members of an institute of consecrated life according to the law of the church. they totally dedicate themselves to god with the goal of pursuing perfection in charity by faithfully embracing the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience. in this sense, consecrated persons respond freely to the invitation of the holy spirit to follow christ the poor, the celibate, the obedient son, more closely, thus becoming in this life a sign of the life to come. lumen gentium (1964) maintains that: the evangelical counsels of chastity dedicated to god, poverty and obedience are based upon the words and examples of the lord. they were further commanded by the apostles and fathers of the church, as well as by the doctors and pastors of souls (no. 43). these counsels in the contention of fleming (1990), are referred to as evangelical because the religious vows are central to the life of jesus and message and also because religious consecration is founded on baptismal consecration. the consecrated life is also traceable to the post-apostolic church, especially to those early christians who dedicated themselves to a gospel-oriented life-style, to a radical following of jesus christ. the first person in this line according to nwachukwu (2010) was anthony of egypt. he was followed by a line of disciples, until it became an institution in the church. very significant is the idea of consecration. it is derived from the word ‘holy’ or ‘holiness’. in hebrew it is qadash and in greek hagios; these are translated to mean ‘to consecrate’ (leviticus 15:31; ezekiel 14:7). in numbers 6:5-7, 12, the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 83 nazirites were referred to as consecrated because of their vows to god. this makes the person holy, a consecration that separates the person from others. thus the word consecration implies a setting apart or a separation. this separation for mayers (1987) does not in any way imply superiority, or complete severance from those the consecrated are called to serve. lumen gentium (1964) says, “the state which is constituted by the profession of the evangelical counsels, though it does not belong to the hierarchical structure of the church, nevertheless, undeniably belongs to the life and holiness of the church” (no. 44). the document continues: the holiness of the church is fostered in a special way by the observance of the counsels proposed in the gospel by the lord to his disciples. an eminent position among these is held by virginity or the celibate state. (no. 42). thus, perfectae caritatis (1965) exhorts consecrated person thus: members of each institute should recall first of all that by professing the evangelical counsels they responded to a divine call so that by being not only dead to sin but also renouncing the world they may live for god alone. they have dedicated their entire lives to his service. this constitutes a special consecration, which is deeply rooted in that of baptism and expresses it more fully. (no. 5). the consecrated life before encounter with africa an examination of the historical development of the consecrated life reveals that for more than two centuries, christians were persecuted in the roman empire until the 4th century, when constantine legalized christianity in the empire of rome. with this legalization, christianity became the popular religion in rome, however, it lost the self-sacrificing spirit which it possessed during the era of roman persecution. in reaction, many holy men and women went into the desert, propagating a new kind of martyrdom for the kingdom of god. the greek word for desert eremos is the root word for the eremitic life. those who lived this kind of life were referred to as hermits (200ad-350ad). because of the role which the desert played as the locus for the expression of this kind of life, this period is also referred to as the age of the desert. the pioneer of this kind of life who symbolized this new ideal in a way no one else had done was saint anthony of the desert. he provided guidance to many other hermits who were igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 84 scattered in the deserts of egypt and syria in search of the way of perfection. the image of the religious life at the time was that of a holy ascetic. in the desert they prayed and fasted, doing battle with the devil in the wilderness as christ had done long ago. however, they did all these as individual hermits. the idea of community was absent. the consecrated life after encounter with africa with the passage of time, the eremitic life gave birth to the cenobitic style of life (350-1200), that is, a communal asceticism. the word cenobitic is from the word cenobium which means community. as saint anthony was the pioneer figure of the eremitic life, st pachomius was the father of the cenobitic life. he was born to pagan parents in 292 in thebes, luxor, in egypt. he adopted the idea of communal patterns and established a monastery where monks lived in common between 318 and 323. he, with the help of his sister mary, founded a network of about ten thousand monastic communities for men and women. after saint basil visited the monks of egypt, palestine and syria, he founded a monastic community in asia minor, with the addition of apostolic service as his innovation. in palestine, melania the elder, a friend of saint jerome, promoted communal asceticism. with her experience of famous hermits in scetis and nitria, she founded a monastery for women in jerusalem and another for men, which she left in the care of her disciple rufinus. gradually, from the eastern half of the roman empire, cada et al (1979) aver that this way of religious life spread to the western half of the roman empire, especially in spain and gaul. as these different persons moved beyond the shores of africa, egypt, they took with them the value of community which was at the heart of monasteries of the time. in algeria, africa, an african, saint augustine began a community of monks also referred to as canon regulars in 397. they lived according to the rule of saint augustine in monasteries, sharing their goods in common. augustine wrote down a rule that is called the rule of saint augustine; it was followed by every augustinian and some religious orders and congregations that are based on the augustinian principle. their main purpose of coming together, according to the rule and constitution of the order of saint augustine (2010), is to live harmoniously in one house intent upon god and in oneness of heart and mind. they called nothing their own but possessed everything in common. with pachomius and saint augustine, however, the frame for the consecrated life was igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 85 already made, with the idea of community life at its centre. thus, in 529 saint benedict founded a monastic community in monte cassino in 529 along the same spirit of community living. gradually, the importance of the presence of community spirit spread across europe. this spirit of community in the consecrated life that began in africa and by africans and then spread to other parts of the world is considered the african touch of the consecrated life. conclusion this piece has studied the contribution of the african cultural heritage to the consecrated life, with particular reference to the concept of family in the african cultural heritage. it further studied the concept of family in africa and the theology of the consecrated life as a background to the study of this contribution. the eremitic era in the history of the consecrated life was explored, and it revealed an epoch distant from an encounter with the fundamental principles of africaness; at this time, consecrated persons dwelt as individual hermits in their various hermitages. with the emergence of consecrated persons like pachomius and saint augustine, who had a community of consecrated persons in africa, the idea of a coenobium began. this is believed to be borne from the rich african cultural heritage of the family. this is, therefore, understood as the contribution of africa to the consecrated life. this further helps the african consecrated person to understand that the religious life is not just a western religious culture that was transported from europe to africa, but that it is a religious system to which he made fundamental contributions and, therefore, has a stake in, and thus, should protect. references achebe, c. (1958). things fall apart, britain: heinemann. alyward, s. (1975). african christian theology. london: geoffrey chapman. augustine, saint, (2010). the rule and constitution of the order of saint augustine. augustinian curia: rome. cada, l. et al (1979). the shaping of the coming age of the religious life. new york: cross road book. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 86 fleming, d. l. (1990). understanding a theology of religious life. in g. a. arburckle and d. l. fleming (eds.). religious life: rebirth through conversion. new york: alba house. hegel, g. w. f. (1956). the philosophy of history. new york: dover. iroegbu, i. (1995). metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: iup. kanu, a. i. (2015). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian. kanu, a. i. (2015). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian. kanu, i. a. (2015a). the 17th century ethiopian rationalists: rethinking the ideological race classification of africa. a paper presented at the academic conference of the society for research and academic excellence, university of nigeria, nsukka. on 16th – 19th february. kanu, i. a. (2015b). the philosophy of anton wilhelm amo as a case against the 17th century ideological race classification of africa. african journal of humanities. 2. 1. 189-195. kanu, i. a. (2015c). africae munus and consecrated persons, in the catholic voyage: a publication of the conference of major superiors of nigeria. 11. 4. lumen gentium (1964). in a. flannery (ed). documents of the second vatican council (pp. 350-428). dublin: dominican publications. masolo, d. a. (1994). african philosophy in search of identity. indianapolis: indiana university press. mayers, a. c. sanctify, consecrate. the eerdmans bible dictionary. eerdmans: grand rapids, 1987, p. 493. mbiti, j. (1969). african religions and philosophy. london: heinemann. njoku, f. o. c. (2002). essays in african philosophy, thought, theology. enugu: snaap. nwachukwu, m. (2010). consecrated: a vision of religious life from the point of view of the sacred. lagos: change publications. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 87 nwachukwu, m. (2010). consecrated: a vision of religious life from the point of view of the sacred. lagos: change publications, 2010, p. 84 ogbalu, f. g. (2006). igbo institutions and customs. onitsha: varsity. perfectae caritatis (1965). in a. flannery (ed). documents of the second vatican council (pp. 611-623). dublin: dominican publications. the code of canon law (1983). canon 573. 2. bangalore: theological publications in india. westerman (1949), the african today and tomorrow. ibadan: international african institute. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute filtering the flow: a critical appraisal of canadian immigration policies and their impact on nigerian migration aspirations, 2012– 2023 korinya m. tivlumun department of history and international relations, veritas university abuja korinyam@veritas.edu.ng & dangana astra kolo department of history and international relations, veritas university abuja abstract over the last decade, canada has emerged as a top destination for skilled and educated nigerians seeking better socio-economic opportunities abroad. this study critically appraises the impact of canadian immigration policies on the migration aspirations of nigerians between 2012 and 2023. using a qualitative-dominant mixed-methods approach, the research draws on content analysis of canadian immigration policy documents, secondary migration data from ircc and the nigerian bureau of statistics, and semi-structured interviews with intending nigerian migrants and immigration consultants. the findings reveal that while canada’s points-based immigration system, study-permit pathways, and express entry programs have encouraged an increase in applications from nigerians, recent policy adjustments, including higher proof of funds requirements, tighter work-permit rules, and caps on international students, have introduced new barriers. the paper concludes that canadian immigration policies, though generally favourable compared to other global north countries, remain selectively open and structurally limiting. it calls for a balanced migration policy engagement between origin and destination countries, while recommending nigeria develop retention strategies for skilled talent. keywords: canadian immigration policy, nigerian migrants, migration aspirations, brain drain, global south–global north migration introduction international migration has become a salient feature of global dynamics in the 21st century, with millions of individuals leaving their home countries in hopes of better opportunities elsewhere (afrobarometer, 2018). among such migratory flows, nigerian citizens represent a significant contingent seeking new lives in various western nations, notably canada. migration from nigeria to canada has been influenced by a plethora of factors, including socio-economic challenges, educational aspirations, and the quest for safety. canada has positioned itself as a desirable destination for many nigerians, primarily due to its stable economy, high-quality education system, and robust healthcare services. furthermore, the canadian government's commitment to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute multiculturalism and diversity has made it an attractive option for migrants of various backgrounds (akanle etal, 2018). between 2012 and 2023, canada implemented various policy changes aimed at reshaping its immigration landscape (adebajo, 2017). one significant shift was the introduction of the express entry system in 2015, which streamlined the immigration process for skilled workers. this system operates on a point-based framework, considering factors such as age, education, language proficiency, and work experience. the intent was to attract highly skilled immigrants to meet labor market demands while ensuring that the intake process is efficient and transparent (bakewell, 2014). in addition to express entry, canada has also developed specific programs targeting international students and temporary workers. the international student program, which allows foreign students to study in canada, has been expanded to cater for increasing numbers of nigerian students seeking quality education. this policy not only offers a pathway to long-term residency for graduates but also enhances canada's status as a global educational hub. moreover, there has been a notable emphasis on supporting refugees and vulnerable populations, reflecting canada’s humanitarian commitments (caidi, 2010). the implications of migration policies are not solely confined to individual migrants but extend to broader socio-economic contexts in both nigeria and canada. in nigeria, high emigration rates, particularly among educated youths, have given rise to concerns regarding brain drain. the outflow of skilled labour has strained sectors such as healthcare, engineering, and technology, which are critical to national development. this issue is compounded by endemic unemployment and sociopolitical instability, leading to a paradox where aspiring migrants contribute to the very challenges, they seek to escape from (carling, 2018). conversely, canada benefits from the influx of skilled labour, which bolsters its economy and demographic diversity. nigerian migrants often contribute significantly to innovation and entrepreneurship, creating jobs and enhancing multiculturalism within canadian society. however, the increasing reliance on nigerian migrants raises questions about integration and the need for robust support systems to ensure their successful adaptation into canadian society (bailey etal, 1997). moreover, the attractiveness of canada as a migration destination has been significantly influenced by changing international migration policies. while canada's migration policies have aimed to address various demographic and economic needs, the implications of these policies on intending migrants from nigeria remain under-explored. these policies not only dictate the feasibility of migration but also intersect with the lived realities of prospective migrants (immigration, 2021). the problem this study seeks to investigate is two-fold: first, how the evolving international migration policies of canada have influenced the migration intentions of nigerians; and second, how these policies have affected the experiences, accessibility, and outcomes of migration for nigerian nationals. historical context and migration trends from nigeria to canada igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute since immemorial, migration has been a crucial part of everyday life for many nigerians. it has evolved over the years from within the country (internal migration) to crossing the borders of nigeria in the colonial / post-colonial period (international migration). the past decade has witnessed a significant surge in migration flows from nigeria to canada, transforming established diaspora communities and reshaping the demographic landscape of both nations. this period, spanning 2012 to 2023, is characterized by a dynamic interplay of economic, socio-political, and educational drivers pushing nigerians to seek opportunities abroad, particularly in canada, and corresponding shifts in canadian immigration policies and societal perspectives. the period 20122023 represents a critical juncture in nigerian history, marked by fluctuations in economic performance, escalating security concerns, and persistent governance challenges (alabi & olajide, 2022). the allure of canada as a destination was further amplified by its attractive immigration policies and relatively open approach to skilled migration. canada's point-based express entry system, launched in 2015, significantly streamlined the immigration process for skilled workers and professionals, making it easier for qualified nigerians to gain permanent residency. the system prioritizes factors like education, language proficiency, work experience, and age, aligning well with the qualifications and aspirations of many educated nigerians. moreover, provincial nominee programs (pnps) offered alternative pathways for immigration, allowing provinces to select candidates based on their specific labour market needs. in 2021, canada welcomed the most immigrants in a single year in its history, with 405,999 permanent residents, representing an increase of 120% from 2020. this was made possible, despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, by ramping up production and leveraging innovative practices. examples include pivoting to a focus on applicants already living in canada by introducing time-limited temporary resident (tr) to permanent resident (pr) pathways, and using virtual landings and the digitization of paper applications to enable faster processing. in february 2022, canada tabled its 2022–24 immigration levels plan. it aimed to continue welcoming immigrants at a rate of about 1% of canada’s population per year, including 431,645 permanent residents in 2022, 447,055 in 2023, and 451,000 in 2024. with an increased focus on supporting our economic resurgence and post-pandemic growth, they increased our levels plan to further address the demand for increased labour, reuniting families, and resettling the world’s most vulnerable (oshelo etal, 2022). the 2020 immigration data show about 1.25 million immigrants in nigeria, representing 0.61% of the country’s population (un desa, 2020). the proportion of immigrants to nigeria’s population is below the global average (3.6%) and in west africa (1.9%). this proportion also means nigeria has the lowest rate of immigrants per population. this is not surprising because of nigeria’s population size (akindele, 2013). as more nigerians gained permanent residency and citizenship in canada, they were able to sponsor their family members, further expanding the nigerian diaspora community. this chain migration effect contributed to the exponential growth in the number of nigerian immigrants arriving in canada. moreover, the availability of educational opportunities in canada served as another significant pull factor. many nigerian students sought higher education in canadian universities and colleges, often with the intention of staying in canada after graduation. the post-graduation work permit program allowed international students igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute to gain canadian work experience, further enhancing their chances of obtaining permanent residency (korinya & dansale, 2025). in 2022, nigeria was canada’s fourth top immigration source country, welcoming 22,085 nigerian immigrants, making up 5.05% of canada’s total number of permanent residents. in addition, there are over 100,000 canadians of nigerian descent who call canada home (immigration, 2023) factors influencing nigerian intending migrants to choose canada nigeria, a nation brimming with entrepreneurial spirit and youthful ambition, is increasingly witnessing a flow of its citizens seeking opportunities beyond its borders. among the popular destinations, canada stands out as a particularly attractive option for nigerian intending migrants. economic prospects and career advancement: the allure of opportunity nigeria, despite its vast natural resources, faces significant economic challenges, including high unemployment rates, especially among young graduates, and limited opportunities for career advancement in certain sectors. in contrast, canada's robust and diversified economy offers a compelling alternative. canada's demand for skilled labour across various sectors, including healthcare, technology, engineering, and skilled trades, creates a palpable pull for nigerian professionals seeking career growth and financial stability. the canadian labour market offers competitive salaries and benefits packages, a stark contrast to the sometimes-stagnant wage growth and limited benefits experienced in nigeria. many nigerian professionals find that their skills and experience are highly valued in canada, leading to opportunities for promotions and leadership roles that may be difficult to attain within the nigerian context (obogo, 2025). furthermore, the stable and predictable canadian economy offers a sense of security that is often absent in nigeria, where economic fluctuations and uncertainty can significantly impact career trajectories. this promise of economic stability, coupled with the potential for significant career advancement, makes canada a highly attractive destination for nigerian intending migrants seeking a brighter financial future. the prospect of upward mobility and the ability to provide a better life for their families are powerful motivators for many nigerians considering migration (arhin-sam, 2023). access to quality education: investing in future generations education is deeply valued within nigerian society, and the desire to provide children with access to a high-quality education system is a significant driver of migration decisions. while nigeria has made progress in expanding access to education, the quality of instruction, infrastructure, and resources available in many nigerian schools and universities can fall short of international standards. this deficiency motivates many nigerian parents to seek educational opportunities for their children in countries like canada (korinya & dansale, 2025). canada boasts a worldrenowned education system, characterized by its emphasis on critical thinking, innovation, and practical application of knowledge. canadian universities consistently rank among the top institutions globally, offering a wide range of programs and research opportunities. furthermore, the canadian government invests heavily in education, ensuring that schools and universities have the resources necessary to provide a high-quality learning experience (al jazeera, 2023). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute for nigerian families, the prospect of their children attending canadian schools and universities is particularly appealing. the rigorous academic standards, diverse learning environments, and exposure to international perspectives offered by canadian education institutions are seen as crucial factors in preparing their children for success in the globalized world. moreover, access to student loans and scholarships, coupled with the relatively affordable tuition fees compared to other developed countries like the united states and the united kingdom, makes canada a financially viable option for many nigerian families seeking to invest in their children's future (bailey etal, 1997). canadian immigration policies and programs: a welcoming gateway canada's immigration policies and programs are deliberately designed to attract skilled workers and contribute to the country's economic growth and social development. unlike many other developed nations that have adopted more restrictive immigration policies, canada maintains a relatively open and transparent immigration system, making it a more accessible destination for aspiring migrants. programs like the express entry system, provincial nominee programs (pnps), and family sponsorship programs provide various pathways for nigerians to immigrate to canada. the express entry system, in particular, rewards candidates based on factors such as age, education, work experience, and language proficiency, creating a merit-based system that favors skilled professionals and graduates. provincial nominee programs allow canadian provinces to nominate individuals who possess skills and experience that are in demand within their specific regions, further expanding the opportunities for nigerian migrants to find suitable pathways to permanent residency (barnes, 2007). the canadian government has also actively promoted its immigration programs in nigeria through various outreach initiatives, including information sessions, recruitment drives, and collaborations with educational institutions and professional organizations (adegbe, 2025). these efforts have increased awareness among nigerians about the opportunities available in canada and have facilitated the application process for many aspiring migrants. the relatively streamlined and transparent nature of the canadian immigration system, coupled with the active promotion of its programs, makes canada a more welcoming and accessible destination compared to other countries with more complex and restrictive immigration policies (moore & coomes, 2016). perceived quality of life and social security: a foundation of wellbeing beyond economic opportunities and access to education, the perceived quality of life and social security offered in canada are major factors attracting nigerian intending migrants. canada consistently ranks high in global indices measuring quality of life, based on factors such as healthcare, safety, environmental quality, and political stability. access to universal healthcare is a significant draw for many nigerians, where healthcare services can be expensive and access to quality care is often limited, particularly in rural areas. the canadian healthcare system provides free or heavily subsidized healthcare services to all permanent residents, ensuring that individuals have access to the medical care they need without incurring significant financial burdens (briney, 2019). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute furthermore, canada boasts a relatively low crime rate and a safe and secure environment, providing a sense of peace of mind that is often absent in nigeria, where security concerns are a significant issue. the canadian government also provides a robust social safety net, including unemployment benefits, social assistance programs, and affordable housing options, ensuring that individuals and families have a support system in place during times of need. the combination of access to universal healthcare, a safe and secure environment, and a strong social safety net contributes to a high quality of life that is highly appealing to nigerian intending migrants seeking a more stable and secure future for themselves and their families. (filani. 1999) strong nigerian diaspora: a network of support and integration the presence of a thriving and supportive nigerian diaspora in canada plays a crucial role in influencing the decision of intending migrants to choose canada as their destination. over the years, a significant number of nigerians have immigrated to canada, establishing vibrant communities in major cities such as toronto, calgary, and edmonton. these communities provide a network of support, guidance, and resources for newly arrived migrants, facilitating their integration into canadian society. the nigerian diaspora in canada offers a sense of familiarity and cultural connection, easing the transition for newcomers who may be experiencing culture shock or homesickness. community organizations, cultural associations, and religious institutions provide platforms for nigerians to connect with one another, share their experiences, and celebrate their cultural heritage. these networks offer practical assistance, such as help with finding accommodation, employment, and navigating the canadian system. moreover, the success stories of nigerians who have thrived in canada serve as inspiration and encouragement for intending migrants. the presence of successful nigerian professionals, entrepreneurs, and community leaders in canada demonstrates the potential for achievement and integration, reinforcing the perception of canada as a land of opportunity. the existence of a strong and supportive diaspora network provides a sense of comfort and reassurance, making canada a more attractive and less daunting destination for nigerian intending migrants (udo, 1970). perception of canadian migration policies among nigeria migrants the perception of canadian migration policies among nigerian migrants is not monolithic; rather, it is shaped by a range of factors including socio-economic background, educational attainment, access to technology and information, and personal experiences with the application process. generally, canada's immigration system, with its emphasis on skilled workers and family reunification, is viewed positively as a structured and potentially fair system compared to those of other popular destination countries. the express entry system, in particular, is perceived as transparent and points-based, offering a clear pathway for skilled professionals to gain permanent residency. this system is lauded for its objective criteria, allowing applicants to gauge their chances of success and plan accordingly. nigerian migrants with strong educational qualifications, professional experience, and language proficiency often see express entry as a viable route to achieving their canadian dream (filani, 1999). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute however, this positive perception is often tempered by the complexities and challenges inherent in the application process. the sheer volume of applications and the competitive nature of the point-based system can be discouraging, particularly for those who may not possess the "ideal" profile. the cost associated with the application process, including language proficiency tests, credential evaluations, and legal representation, can also be a significant barrier for many nigerians. furthermore, the perceived arbitrariness of certain criteria, such as the emphasis on specific skills and work experience deemed "in-demand" in canada, can lead to frustration and a feeling that the system is not fully reflective of the skills and potential of nigerian professionals. the lack of recognition for nigerian qualifications and professional experience can also be a significant hurdle, often requiring migrants to undergo further education or training in canada to secure employment in their field (udo, 1975). the perceived accessibility and efficiency of canadian immigration information also play a crucial role in shaping perceptions. while the canadian government provides extensive information online, the sheer volume of data can be overwhelming for many. the accessibility of this information is also dependent on access to technology and internet connectivity, which can be limited for some nigerians, particularly those in rural areas. consequently, many migrants rely on anecdotal information from friends and family, which can be unreliable or outdated. immigration consultancies and agents play a significant role in providing guidance and support, but their services can be expensive and their advice may not always be in the best interest of the applicant. therefore, a clearer, more concise, and culturally sensitive communication strategy from the canadian government is crucial to ensure that potential nigerian migrants have access to accurate and reliable information (kirk-green etal, 2023). family reunification is another critical aspect of canadian immigration policy that resonates strongly with nigerian migrants. the opportunity to sponsor family members, including spouses, children, and parents, is a major draw for many. however, the perceived lengthy processing times for family sponsorship applications can be a source of considerable stress and anxiety. the rigorous requirements for demonstrating genuine relationships and financial stability can also be challenging, particularly for those who may have limited financial resources or complex family situations. the geographical distance and separation from loved ones can take a significant emotional toll, highlighting the need for streamlined and more efficient family reunification processes (badejo, 2023). beyond the application process, perceptions of canadian society and culture are also shaped by pre-migration expectations and post-migration experiences. the image of canada as a multicultural and tolerant society is often a major factor in attracting nigerian migrants. however, the reality of life in canada can sometimes differ from these expectations. while canada is generally considered to be a welcoming and inclusive country, nigerian migrants may still face challenges related to cultural integration, discrimination, and social isolation. finding employment that matches their qualifications and experience can also be difficult, leading to feelings of frustration and disillusionment. the perception of a "glass ceiling" preventing advancement for visible minorities in certain industries can also be a significant concern (mcginn, 2010). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute furthermore, the perceived political stability and social safety nets in canada are strong attractions for nigerian migrants who may be fleeing political instability, insecurity, or economic hardship in their home country. the canadian healthcare system, education system, and social welfare programs are viewed as superior to those in nigeria, offering a greater sense of security and opportunity for themselves and their children. however, the cost of living in canada, particularly in major urban centres, can be a significant concern, especially for newly arrived migrants who may be struggling to find employment and establish themselves financially (mcginn, 2010). challenges faced by nigerian intending migrants under canadian policies canada represents a land of promise and a chance to build a more secure and fulfilling life. one of the foremost challenges is the complex and rigorous application process. canadian immigration policies, particularly those under the express entry system, prioritize candidates with high levels of education, extensive work experience, and strong language proficiency. while many nigerians possess these attributes, the process of documenting and verifying these credentials according to canadian standards can be daunting. educational credential assessments (ecas) conducted by designated organizations often require significant time and resources, potentially exposing discrepancies or delays that can jeopardize an application (georgina, 2025). furthermore, verifying work experience, especially in the informal sector which constitutes a significant portion of the nigerian economy, can be particularly challenging. securing verifiable letters of recommendation and pay stubs that meet the stringent requirements of immigration, refugees and citizenship canada (ircc) proves difficult for many applicants. the onus is placed squarely on the applicant to meticulously document their experience, and any perceived inconsistencies or gaps can lead to rejection (sandfort, 2012). language proficiency in english and/or french is a critical component of the canadian immigration system. the international english language testing system (ielts) and the canadian language benchmarks (clb) serve as standardized measures of language ability, and achieving competitive scores is paramount for success. while english is widely spoken in nigeria, the level of proficiency required for immigration purposes often demands dedicated preparation and significant financial investment in test fees and preparatory courses. many aspiring migrants, particularly those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, struggle to afford the necessary resources to achieve the required scores, effectively excluding them from the selection pool. moreover, the accent and dialectical variations in nigerian english can sometimes be misunderstood or misinterpreted by examiners, potentially impacting test scores. this creates an unfair disadvantage for nigerian applicants who may possess strong communication skills but struggle to adapt to the nuances of the standardized testing system (dyce, 2013). economic barriers represent another significant obstacle. the canadian immigration system requires applicants to demonstrate sufficient funds to support themselves and their dependents upon arrival. the required settlement funds, which are adjusted annually based on family size, can be a substantial sum, often exceeding the annual income of many nigerian families. gathering these funds can necessitate drawing on personal savings, borrowing from family and friends, or even selling assets. the instability of the nigerian economy and the volatility of the naira igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute exchange rate further complicate matters, making it difficult to predict and plan for the financial requirements of immigration accurately. furthermore, the cost of application fees, medical examinations, and travel arrangements can be prohibitive, especially for those residing outside major urban centres. these financial burdens effectively limit access to the canadian immigration system to a select few, often those with significant financial resources or access to international funding (myfanwy etal, 2025). beyond the tangible requirements of documentation, language, and finances, nigerian intending migrants often face subtle yet significant challenges related to perceived credibility and the risk of visa refusal. due to past instances of fraudulent applications and visa overstays, canadian immigration officials may scrutinize applications from nigeria with heightened vigilance. this can manifest in more frequent requests for additional documentation, lengthy processing times, and a higher likelihood of interviews. the burden of proof rests on the applicant to demonstrate their genuine intention to abide by canadian immigration laws and to return to nigeria if their temporary residency status expires. establishing strong ties to nigeria, such as owning property, having significant family responsibilities, or demonstrating a clear career trajectory in their home country, becomes crucial in mitigating these concerns. however, for many nigerians, particularly those seeking asylum or fleeing persecution, demonstrating these ties may be impossible or even counterproductive (maxwell & justin, 2018). furthermore, canadian immigration policies regarding family reunification, while intended to promote social cohesion and integration, can present challenges for nigerian migrants. the eligibility requirements for sponsoring family members are often stringent, demanding significant income levels and proof of financial stability. the waiting times for family sponsorship applications can also be lengthy, causing prolonged separation and emotional distress. for nigerian migrants who have left behind elderly parents or dependent children, the prospect of being separated for extended periods can be emotionally taxing and financially challenging. the inability to easily reunite with family can hinder integration into canadian society and limit their ability to contribute fully to the canadian economy (de haas, 2010). the dynamic nature of canadian immigration policies further exacerbates these challenges. regular changes in eligibility criteria, points systems, and application procedures necessitate continuous adaptation and updated information. nigerian intending migrants must remain vigilant in monitoring these changes and adjusting their applications accordingly. this requires access to reliable information sources, legal advice, and the ability to navigate the complexities of the ircc website and application portals. those lacking these resources are at a significant disadvantage and may inadvertently make errors that jeopardize their chances of success (xhardez & tanquay, 2024). implications for nigerian development migration is a topic everyone ranging from politicians to shopkeepers has an opinion on and that is in the news almost every day. people are interested in migration because almost everyone is affected by migration, directly or indirectly. migration affects all areas of life, social, economic igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute and political which makes the analysis of migration extremely relevant as well as more complicated. canada's migration policies, characterized by a points-based system prioritizing skilled workers, family reunification programs, and pathways for international students, directly influence the profile of nigerian migrants. the emphasis on education, language proficiency, and professional experience attracts highly skilled individuals, often referred to as “brain drain.” the canadian government's initiatives like the express entry system, provincial nominee programs (pnps), and international student programs create accessible and well-defined pathways for qualified nigerians to obtain permanent residency. the relatively stable political and economic climate in canada, coupled with the promise of higher wages and better access to healthcare and education, further incentivizes migration. consequently, nigeria experiences a loss of its most educated and talented citizens, impacting its human capital base and hindering its capacity for sustainable development (paquet & lawlor, 2022). those who migrate are often the youths leading to high school drop-out, loss of labour and averagely literate groups from rural communities. this leads to increased pressure on infrastructural facilities like housing, water supply etc.; poverty and the growth of urban slums. the family structure is gradually weakening as a result of migration; young men and women are exposed to societal vagaries from which they may not be recover in adulthood; the family security which children enjoyed by virtue of the presence of both parents is being lost. it has become a thing of pride to have at least one member of the household living outside the shores of the country in nigeria. the picture that readily comes to mind is that of prosperity and unlimited opportunities for other members of the household or extended family to benefit from the success of the first person. this would appear logical given that the ‘member abroad’ would send some foreign currency home, eventually get established and be able to give information that could help others access the same opportunity (okafor &kalu, 2023). one of the most significant implications of this migration pattern is the loss of skilled professionals in crucial sectors. nigeria, facing significant challenges in healthcare, engineering, technology, and education, relies heavily on its skilled workforce to address these issues. the emigration of doctors, nurses, engineers, it specialists, and academics leaves critical gaps in these sectors, weakening the capacity to deliver essential services and hindering economic growth. if you take into consideration for instance, the country’s health and education sectors, you will see there are levels of brain drain especially in the health sector. it is on record that because of the government’s unfriendly attitudes to the welfare of workers that many of the best brains are leaving the shores of the country in search for greener pastures in canada. the health sector in the last decades has suffered greatly because there those who are professionally trained to do the job are not been paid handsomely thereby making them consider countries in canada where their services are needed and paid for with handsomely and friendly packages. and it is heart breaking that there is no single sector in nigeria presently, especially those that requires special skills that are without brain drain (ikwuyatum, 2016). this sector is not alone as a lot of the scholars who were sent on scholarships abroad no longer feel comfortable to return home because of poor conditions of service in the nigeria university igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute system. furthermore, the migration of highly educated and skilled individuals often leads to a decline in innovation and entrepreneurship within nigeria. the absence of these individuals, who are often the driving force behind technological advancements and the development of new businesses, can stifle economic diversification and reduce nigeria’s competitiveness in the global market. the loss of potential innovators and entrepreneurs limits the country's ability to create employment opportunities and generate wealth, perpetuating the cycle of poverty and underdevelopment. this "brain drain" effect also undermines the effectiveness of educational institutions and research facilities within nigeria, as experienced faculty and researchers seek opportunities in countries with better resources and research infrastructure (akindele, 2013). however, the impact of canadian migration policies on nigerian development is not entirely negative. remittances sent back to nigeria by migrants in canada constitute a significant source of foreign exchange, contributing to household income and national economic growth. these remittances often provide crucial financial support for families back home, enabling them to invest in education, healthcare, and entrepreneurship. this influx of capital can stimulate local economies, create jobs, and improve the overall quality of life for many nigerians. while remittances may not directly address the systemic issues hindering national development, they offer a vital safety net and a source of empowerment for individuals and communities. moreover, the migration of nigerians to canada can indirectly contribute to skills transfer and knowledge exchange. many nigerian professionals in canada gain valuable experience and expertise in their respective fields, often working in cutting-edge industries and environments. this exposure to best practices, innovative technologies, and international standards can be invaluable if and when these individuals choose to return to nigeria or collaborate on projects with nigerian institutions. the prospect of attracting diaspora professionals back to nigeria, even for short-term consultancies or collaborative ventures, can significantly enhance the skills base and contribute to the modernization of various sectors (gamlen, 2014). conclusion this study has critically examined the evolution and effects of canadian immigration policies on the migration aspirations of nigerians between 2012 and 2023. it finds that while canadian policies have opened new migration channels through transparent points-based systems and study pathways, they have also introduced selective constraints that filter and regulate access. these changes have generated mixed responses; hope, anxiety, and recalibration among nigerian migrants, particularly those from middle-class and skilled backgrounds. the research highlights a paradox: while canada remains a beacon for opportunity, it simultaneously reinforces gatekeeping mechanisms that subtly disadvantage applicants from the global south. for nigeria, the steady outflow of talent, spurred in part by the perception of accessible canadian pathways, deepens the challenges of brain drain and weakens domestic capacity building. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute to address this dual challenge, policy makers in both countries must rethink the long-term consequences of one-sided migration flows. canada must balance inclusivity with equity in its migration policy, especially in relation to economic and cultural diversity. nigeria, on the other hand, must create viable conditions, through job creation, education reform, and diaspora engagement, that reduce the compulsion to migrate. without such bilateral and systemic approaches, the aspirations of nigerian migrants will continue to collide with the shifting contours of canadian immigration law references adebajo, a. (2017). the eagle and the springbok: essays on nigeria and south africa. fanele. adegbe, a.a. (2025). oral interview conducted at abuja akindele, r. a. (2013). nigeria's multilateral diplomacy, 1960–2012: structure, process and preoccupation. nigerian journal of international studies, 38(1&2), 1–45. alabi, t., & olajide, b. (2022). who wants to go where? regional variations in emigration intention in nigeria. regional variations in emigration intention in nigeria, 4, 77– 83. al jazeera. (2022). mapping africa’s natural resources. al jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/2/20/mapping-africas-natural-resources arhin-sam, k. (2023). nigeria. migration-control.info. https://migration-control.info/en/wiki/nigeria/ bailey, w. g., oke, t. r., & rouse, w. r. (1997). the surface climates of canada (p. 124). mcgill-queen’s university press. badejo, b. (2023). geographical indication: a potential vantage of the nigerian economy. ssrn. https://ssrn.com/abstract=4382173 barnes, j. t. (2007). the geographical state: the development of canadian geography. journal of geography in higher education, 31(1), 161–177. https://doi.org/10.1080/03098260601063750 briney, a. (2019). what you should know about nigeria. thoughtco. https://www.thoughtco.com/geography-of-nigeria-1435246 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute dyce, m. (2013). canada between the photograph and the map: aerial photography, geographical vision and the state. journal of historical geography, 39, 69–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhg.2012.08.004 filani, o. m. (1999). reflection on 50 years of geography in nigeria. annals of the social science academy of nigeria, 11, 45–65. georgina, a.s. (2025). oral interview conducted at abuja gamlen, a. (2014). the new migration and development pessimism. progress in human geography, 38(4), 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309132513500675 haas, h. de. (2010). migration and development: a theoretical perspective. international migration review, 44(1), 227–264. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-7379.2009.00804.x ikwuyatum, o. g. (2016). the pattern and characteristics of inter and intra regional migration in nigeria. international journal of humanities and social science, 6(7), 114–125. immigration, refugees and citizenship canada. (2023). express entry year-end report 2022. government of canada. immigration, refugees and citizenship canada. (2024). express entry year-end report 2023. government of canada. immigration newscanada. (2023). canada releases annual report on express entry for 2021: analysis. immigration newscanada. kirk-greene, a. h. m., et al. (2023, september 6). nigeria. britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/nigeria korinya, m. t., & dansale, j. t. (2025). the japa syndrome and the dwindling socio-economic development of nigeria: the way forward (2014–2024). moses tivlumun korinya & mike boni bazza (2025). the traditional music and dance among the jechira people of benue state (1990-1998): an appraisal. amamihe journal of applied philosophy 23 (2) korinya, m. t & akran, vs (2025) the efficacy of traditional cloth weaving industry and the economy of jechira area of benue state, 1992-1998 igwebuike: african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah) vol.11, no. 2 korinya, m.t & gwimi, n.s (2021) the zuru people of kebbi state-nigeria and her rich cultural heritage, lambert publishing ltd igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute moses t korinya (2020). historical knowledge and historical truth: an epistemic imperative for conceptual and contextual delineation, lafia journal of history and international development (issn 2630-6689) 2 (1 …, 2020 bazza, m. b & korinya, m. t. (2020) shaka zulu's pre-colonial military build-up eurocentric view on africa's standing amry: evolving trends in socio-economic and military history, 505513 korinya, m. t & agbu, l. u (2020) the impact of title-taking in onitsha on anambra state: a case of otu-odu and agbalanze societies: 1950-1959. journal of african studies and sustainable development 3 (3), 73 83 korinya, m.t & gwimi, n.s (2020) efficacy of conflict resolving mechanism among the zuru people of kebbi state: a traditional style 1830-2010. igwebuike an african journal of arts and humanities 6 (3), 69 80 bazza, m.b & korinya, m. t (2019) between christianity and traditional religion: a case of jechira area of benue state 1933-2013. vuna journal of history and international relations (issn: 2408-6177) 3 (2) moses t. korinya (2019) the new world order, globalization and the challenges of cultural imperialism. selected themes in nigerian peoples and culture 1, 83-90 moses tivlumun korinya (2017) imperialism as analytic framework in the explanation of development and underdevelopment in africa. vuna journal of history and international relations (issn: 2408-6177), 12 maxwell, d. h., & justin, b. h. (2018). city size and academic focus: exploring trends in canadian urban geography, planning, and policy literature. orca cardiff. https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/110260/ mcginn, s. m. (2010). weather and climate patterns in canada's prairie grasslands. in j. d. shorthouse & k. d. floate (eds.), arthropods of canadian grasslands (vol. 1, pp. 105–119). biological survey of canada en.wikipedia.org+5profilsprofiles.science.gc.ca+5cambridge.org+5. moore, j., & coomes, t. o. (2016). publishing journal articles in canadian geography. canadian geographer, 60(1), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1111/cag.12278 myfanwy, t., et al. (2025). beyond urban and rural: rethinking the social geography of canada. statistics canada. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/75-006-x/2025002/article/00003-eng.htm obogo, j. t. (2025) oral interview conducted at abuja okafor, n. o., & kalu, k. (2023). integration challenges, immigrant characteristics and career satisfaction for immigrants in the field of accounting and finance: empirical evidence from canada. critical perspectives on accounting, 99, e102602. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpa.2023.102602 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute oshelo, s., oshewolo, r., boyi, e. s., & ojo, v. o. (n.d.). nigeria’s foreign policy and the major geographical drivers. abuad journal of social and management sciences, 5(2), 221–241. paquet, m., & lawlor, a. (2022). numbers and images: representations of immigration and public attitudes about immigration in canada. canadian journal of political science, 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0008423922000451 sandford, r. w. (2012). cold matters: the state and fate of canada's fresh water (p. 11). biogeoscience institute at the university of calgary. udo, k. r. (1970). geographical regions of nigeria. https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1525/9780520327108/html?lang=en udo, r. k. (1975). migrant tenant farmers of nigeria: a geographical study of rural migrations in nigeria. african university press. xhardez, c., & tanguay, d. (2024). the hidden power of provincial and territorial immigration programs in shaping canada’s immigration landscape. comparative migration studies, 12, 59. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40878-024-00376-2 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 77 assessment of impact of boko haram insurgency on health of internally displaced persons in north east, nigeria suleiman, mohammed saeed ph.d department of sociology, federal university, gashua, yobe state, nigeria mohammedsaeedsuleiman@gmail.com mohammedsaeedsuleiman@fugashua.edu.ng & ajadi, saheed kamaldeen top professional solution, ican training centre port harcourt, rivers state kamaldeenajadi2012@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.18277.47848 abstract boko haram insurgency (bhi) constitutes one of the global most worrisome phenomenons and the number of internally displaced persons (idps) in northern nigeria has risen tremendously due to bhi attacks. idps are faced with health and socioeconomic challenges and it affects their pattern of living especially for the weak among them. this study assesses the impact of the boko haram insurgency on the health of internally displaced persons in north east, nigeria. this study was qualitative, thus it utilized in-depth interviews to pull together information from the key informants who are idps, health workers, social workers, traditional leaders, and members of the community as its method. this paper argues that the present situation of raising bhi has undermined the universal quality health service for idps and by implication weakens it and makes it unfeasible. this paper asserts that despite the efforts of the government and other stakeholders in providing support for the idps, however, bhi has threatened the efficiency of health services to idps owing to several factors such as overcrowding, poor and unhygienic living conditions of idps, health service provision, attacks on health facilities and personnel and restrictions of the health of health workers. the study argued that bhi has led to the absence of universal quality health service for idps and by implication, affects the universal quality health service delivery and reduces nigeria's position in the universal socio-economic and health indexes. keywords: boko haram, idps, impact, insurgency, universal health introduction igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 78 nigeria as a country is faced with brutal internal security terrorization and boko haram insurgency [bhi] currently and the emergence of bhi attacks has led to several internally displaced persons [idps] leading to the movement of people from one area to another area for safety as observed by umar, suleiman, and magaji (2018) that nigeria as a state recently remains besieged in internal insurgencies ranging from different types of the uprising and resulted in the flow of thousands of refugees from one area to another. insurgencies are considered one of the major barriers to social, political, and quality health services in africa as observed that between 2000 to 2017, the number of internally displaced persons rose by over 10 million (martin, 2018). thus, insurgencies form part of the major challenges to societal freedom from strife and development. in a related development, the socio-economic authenticity of northern nigeria is rooted in the colonial period and amplified by corruption and bad governance, and by implication, the situation has produced a favourable atmosphere for various dissident movements that make use of religious narratives to gain legitimacy such as the maitatsine riot in the 1980s in kano state, the recurrent shiite-government clashes, and so many other preaching and sermons by individual scholars that refuted the western-oriented and secular system of nigeria while boko haram emerged from this discontentment and turned violent in 2009 (oyewole, 2017). boko haram as an ideology is linked directly to the global web of radical islamists' philosophy and discourse and the doctrines of boko haram are derived from the mainstream radical islamist ideological narratives inclined by yusuf based on the principles of rejecting conventional education, condemnation of secularism and westernization, and the incompatibility of islam with democracy (raineri & martini, 2017). similarly, as a strategy, boko haram prefers always to be on the offensive than the defensive by implication; the group makes use of attacks tactics such as ambushes, raids, and assaults against poorly defended targets and the victims are law enforcement agents, religious and political figures, essential infrastructures, and financial institutions and other business establishments (regens, mould, vernon, & montgomery, 2016). thus, these attacks by boko haram radiate misgivings in the minds of citizens of the government's failure to secure them and make them feel unprotected and vulnerable and resulting in the flow of thousands of people to internally displaced person camps seeking shelter, protection, and other support. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 79 it is worth noting that idps can be described as individuals that are forcefully ejected from their places of dwelling as noted by the internal displacement monitoring centre [idmc] (2018) that globally displacement of people from their place of domicile has become a recurring problem with social, health and economic burden. it is observed that bhi continue to worsen the breakdown of health facilities infrastructure, shortage of health professional and manpower, while lack of available information on idps with health challenges, physical and psychological shock, and poor accessibility to medical facilities has worsened the living conditions of idps as noted by idmc (2018), norwegian refugee council [nrc] (2017) that lack of data has been accountable for why many idps lived in both official and unofficial camps, frequently with illness, physical and psychological trauma and least access to health care and essentials like food, clothing, shelter, clean water and good sanitary conditions have deteriorated the living pattern of idps. in a related development, to achieve quality health service, especially among the idps, comprehensive health care is required as observed by world bank [wb] (2018) report on achieving quality health service in the year 2030 that there is a rising acknowledgement that health service cannot be accomplished only by medical infrastructure, medical supplies and health care providers, there is need for a deliberate centre of attention on quality health services. thus, the study investigates the impact of the boko haram insurgency on the health of internally displaced persons in north east, nigeria. research problem the main drivers of forced human displacement have been attributed to global natural disasters and armed human conflicts and the developing nations are worse affected by unplanned human displacement as explained by ngige, badekale, and hammanjoda (2016) that around the globe insurgency has sadly become one of the defining features of our society today. forced displacement has been expressed as the movements of refugees and internally displaced people or persons that are either displaced by conflicts, natural or environmental disasters, chemical or nuclear disasters, famine, or development projects (migration data portal, [mdp] 2018). thus, there are two broad categories of factors attributable to forced human evictions which are conflicts and natural disasters. it is pertinent to mention that sub-saharan africa igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 80 is having the largest number and worse cases of idps as observed by kevin (2018) that in africa continent sub-saharan region is the worst hit in terms of idps and the continent keep on to witness an increasing number of idps notwithstanding the efforts to have this occurrence mitigated. it is worth noting that nigeria as a country is not left out of the affliction of idps as noted by heerten and moses (2017) that nigeria like other nations in the troubled sub sahara africa is not free from the woes of idps. hence, with the emergence of bhi, nigeria has the highest number of idps as observed by nrc (2017) since the escalation of the boko haram insurgency into a deadly conflict in 2009, the phenomenon has forced many people to flee their homes and consequently, nigeria has become the country with the highest number of idps in sub-saharan africa. similarly, it is observed that women and children form the highest number of idps as noted by displacement tracking matrix [dtm] (2017) revealed that women and children formed 79 percent of the idps population, and children under five years account for 28 percent. similarly, this study observed that displaced women and girls have been the worse hit as access to basic rights and health services, including gender-based violence in camps often undermined durable solutions, thus, by implication, there is a serious concern that the quality of health service is not available for idps, in addition, there are four classifications or categorizations of the stages of displacement as pointed out by the international committee of the red cross [icrc] (2018) that displacement can be categorized into 4 major stages such as pre-displacement, acute displacement, stable displacement, and durable solutions. it is also important to note that all these states where the idps seek shelter, protection, and other assistance are also affected by the bhi which led to a struggle over the inadequate resources between the idps and the host communities (eweka & olusegun, 2016). thus, bhi has led to serious competition over the limited resources between the host communities and idps and by implication can lead to another form of tragedy. similarly, idps are faced with challenges of poor accessibility to food, nutrition, healthcare, shelter, water, sanitation, and education among others as pointed out by the united nations office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs [unocha] (2018) that idps in north-east nigeria are in desperate need of life-saving assistance such as food and nutrition, healthcare, shelter, and non-food items, potable water and improved sanitation and hygiene condition. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 81 it is observed that idps experience serious neglect and face many challenges ranging from poor government policies, sexual abuse, poor shelter, and food as well as the absence of quality health service and by implication undermining the reintegration of idps into the communities and getting long-lasting way out of the challenges facing the idps. therefore, it can be deduced that bhi creates an unbearable challenge to idps, thus, provoking and deterioration of the health conditions of idps despite the effort put in place by the government to improve the poor health condition of the idps. hence, the study examines the impact of the boko haram insurgency on the health of internally displaced persons in north east, nigeria. theoretical framework this study adopts the social inclusion theory as a guide for this study. however, this is not to undermine other theoretical constructs that have been utilized to elucidate the phenomenon under review. according to robo (2014), the social inclusion theory entails the provisions of the basic needs of the people in a given society and can lead to a sense of belonging among the people. thus, idps required basic necessities of life due to their susceptibility to society and substantiates the needs of the idps in nigeria; the theory is centred on the group of people who require support due to their current situation. the charity commission [tcc] (2001) described social inclusion as the actions taken with anticipation to change the circumstances of the people for the better. warschauer (2003) sees social inclusion as the extent to which individuals can fully participate in society. similarly, robo (2014) explained that some values form the basis of the social inclusion theory such as everyone needs support, can learn, can contribute, can communicate, and live together in better conditions. therefore, everyone in society required certain values for their survival. as observed by this study, the idps in the north east required good health care as well as other basic values of life in their continued existence as members of society. to this end, the social inclusive theory is suitable for this study because of its focus on access to universal health care for idps and also supports the integration of the idps into the larger society. this study that if idps are well supported and given all the necessary care can lead to attaining the universal quality health service for idps and by implication, promoting the universal igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 82 quality health service delivery and increasing nigeria's position in the universal socio-economic and health indexes. methodology study area: the study took place in north east nigeria. the selected areas of the study are yobe, borno, and adamawa states. it is imperative to point out that many households in the study locations are into subsistence agriculture and engage in mixed farming systems. the main food crops in the study sites are rice, beans, millets, watermelon, and vegetables among other crops. similarly, some households engage in livestock, fishing, and seasonal jobs as means of sustaining their source of revenue. qualitative research method: the qualitative research method was utilized for this study as the method of data collection. while primary data were collected from the field as the researcher carried out in-depth interviews together with the observation methods and support from the secondary data as the parameter for designing the methods and tools of the data collection. participants and interview: it is vital to mention that an extensive attempt was put in place before the commencement of the data collection in the field to identify the key informants for the study. visitations were carried out to get familiar and create trust and confidence with the key informants. the in-depth interviews were used to gather experts' information from the key informants (kis). participants were sourced from the broad spectrum of groups where the study took place. the objective was to capture a range of different perspectives on the effect of the boko haram insurgency on universal quality health services to the internally displaced persons in nigeria. participants were selected from health workers, idps, social workers, traditional leaders, and members of the community among others as kis. the variables used in allocating the quota include geographical areas, gender, age, and occupation/non-occupation. participants were sourced from the broad spectrum of groups where the study took place. the objective was to capture a range of different perspectives on the effect of conflicts and insurgency on global quality health services to the internally displaced persons in nigeria. the interview stage was the period of conducting the fieldwork with the participants from august to september 2021. thus, the sampling method used for the in-depth interviews was quota sampling and the importance of this method is that there is no need for call-backs and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 83 the rate of time-wasting is also reduced. the researcher took notes and recorded activities that took place for this research only. also, participant and nonparticipant observation methods were employed, especially the nonparticipant observation method because it was not possible to take part in all the participatory observation methods. data analysis after the fieldwork, thematic structures were developed to facilitate the sorting and grouping of evidence in a manner that provides a clear structure for the interpretation and analysis of the data. data were therefore analyzed within the context of the thematic framework. thus, for analysis, the data collected for this research were done through content analysis. results of the impact of boko haram insurgency on health of idps in north east, nigeria thus, the study examined the impact of the boko haram insurgency on the health of internally displaced persons in north east, nigeria, and discussed below: overcrowding, poor, and unhygienic living conditions of idps the living conditions of the idps are worrisome and over-crowded idp camps aid the spread of diseases as observed many of these camps are over crowdedness and often resulted in overstretched usage of the inadequate available facilities and infrastructural supports present in these camps and the additional influx of people into these camps makes the situations of idps worse as noted by african centre for strategies studies [acss] (2019), imdc (2018) that the continuous influx of people into these already overcrowded camps makes the living conditions of idps more terrible besides the psychological trauma that they experience and the poor living conditions in these idp camps have further aggravated their vulnerability to ill health and other forms of diseases occurrence particularly the communicable type of diseases that are quite common in nigeria. in addition, available information indicated that endemic malaria, acute respiratory infections, and watery diarrhoea are critical health concerns affecting the idps; with malaria featuring in 50 percent of all the health-related cases in the camps (who, 2018). besides, another health crisis is the problem of water, sanitation, and hygiene (wash) as noted by the united nations children's igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 84 emergency fund [unicef] (2016) that the flock of idps in camps, the available water and sanitation facilities, and structures became insufficient to provide for the essential needs of the idps and increases the risk of the spread of diseases, dehydration, and other related ailments. one of the kis reported that: "... boko haram insurgency has led to overcrowding of idps with the shortage of water and breakdown diarrhoea with poor medical attention and idps are still at high risk of getting communicable diseases ... (male, 59 years old, september 5, 2021) hence, the absence of waste management and inadequate provision of essential utilities such as potable water and good sanitary conditions has led to poor sanitation and hygiene and by implication caused the frequent outbreak of diseases like cholera and related illnesses. poor health service provision and facilities for idps it is pertinent to mention that nigeria is presently experiencing bhi that has destabilized the universal health services and the intensity of attacks by bhi on citizens, security agencies, and infrastructures has increased. meanwhile, the emergence of bhi attacks and the surfacing of idps has made access to quality health services poorer and of great concern, as noted by wb (2018) that in the context of poor quality health services, the progress at improving universal health service is impaired by insurgency. similarly, lack of movement, unavailability of service providers, and shortage of supply of drugs owing to bhi frequent attacks have led to global health quality services being inauspiciously affected (borno state health sector bulletin[bshsb] 2018). thus, repeated attacks due to bhi and fear of being killed, blockage of roads, destruction of public facilities including health facilities, and threats to public service providers affect the safe delivery of universal quality health service to conflict depressing idps as revealed by kis below: “... frequent attacks by boko haram make it difficult to get proper medical attention and it is affecting the idps since some of us are having a serious illness that needs medical checkup always ... (male, 49 years old, august 25, 2021) “... boko haram assault prevents regular accessibility to quality health services, shortage of drugs and most of the medical workers are always afraid to stay in the camps to attend to idps ...” (female, 45 years old, august 29, 2021). hence, it is observed that frequent boko haram affects quality health services igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 85 and by implication, access to universal quality health services has become unachievable and by inference worsening health conditions of idps. in addition, it is pertinent to note that since the emergency of bhi many health facilities were attacked and by implication leading to the closed down of health facilities as observed by sambo (2017) majority of the medical infrastructural facilities have been closed owing to the absence of doctors who fled for security reasons, scarcity of drugs and medical equipment. conclusion this study assessed the impact of the boko haram insurgency on the health of idps in north east, nigeria. it is pertinent to note that the present situation of raising bhi has undermined the universal quality health service for idps and by implication weakens it and makes it unfeasible. this paper asserts that despite the efforts of the government and other stakeholders in providing support for the idps, however, bhi has threatened the efficiency of health services to idps owing to several factors such as overcrowding, poor and unhygienic living conditions of idps, health service provision, attacks on health facilities and personnel and restrictions of the health of health workers. the study argued that bhi has led to the absence of universal quality health service for idps and by implication, affects the universal quality health service delivery and reduces nigeria's position in the universal socio-economic and health indexes. recommendations the impact of the boko haram insurgency on the health of idps in north east, nigeria is enormous and led to the loss of lives, and threatens health. therefore, to ensure universal quality health service for idps, it is recommended that: 1. the nigeria government at all levels needs to facilitate a peace process that can curtail the present bhi activities in the north east, nigeria 2. the current idp camps need to be improved and made more habitable for dwellers 3. the government needs to ensure strong national health care policies and strategies are put in place in line with the universal practice 4. there is a need to build the confidence of health workers in boko haram insurgency situations 5. the confidence building needs to ensure fundamental orientations on insurgency and strategy, mitigation and arbitration skills 6. there is a need to put in place a determining and comprehensive assessment to establish the impact of health attention on the quality of health services for idps igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 86 references africa centre for strategies studies [acss] (2019) population displacement in africa: top 10 countries of origin. retrieved may 2, 2020, from https://africacenter.org/spotlight/population-displacement-africa borno state ministry of health [bshsb] (2018) north eastern nigeria humanitarian response. borno state health sector bulletin. no 1. february displacement tracking matrix (2017) displacement tracking matrix: nigeria round xv report 2017. retrieved from https://data2.unhcr.org/en/documents/download/56254 eweka, o. and olesegun, t.o. (2016) management of internally displaced persons in africa: comparing nigeria and cameroon. african research review, 10(1), 6 heerten, i and moses, a.d (2017) post colonial conflict and the questions of genocide. routledge. retrieved april 10, 2018 from https://doi.org/10.432/97813152229294 international committee of the red cross [icrc] (2018) addressing internal displacement in times of armed conflict and other violence. retrieved october 7, 2019, from https://www.icrc.org/en/publication/0867-internally-displacedhumanitarian-response-internally-displaced-people-armed internal displacement monitoring centre [idmc] (2018) the ripple effect: economic impacts of internal displacement. retrieved july 2, 2020 from http://www.internaldisplacement.org/sites/default/files/inline-files/-idmc-economicimpacts-intro-0.pdf kevin, m. d. (2018) forced migration and displacement in africa: contexts, causes and consequences, african geographical review 37(2): 79-82. martin, a.s, (2018) i n t e r n a l l y displaced persons and africa’s development. benin: afreb publishing migration data portal [mdp] (2018) forced migration or displacement migration data portal. retrieved july 6, 2020, from https://migrationdataportal.org/themes/forced-migration-ordisplacement ngige, c.v. badekale, a.f. and hammanjoda, i. (2016) the media and boko haram insurgency in nigeria: a content analysis and review. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 87 international journal of peace and conflict studies, 3(1), 58-65 norwegian refugee council [nrc] (2017) new study: displaced nigerians too scared to return home. retrieved october 2, 2018, from https://www.nre.no.news/2017/octoberdisplaced-nigerians-too-scared-toreturn-home oyewole, s. (2017) making the sky relevant to battle strategy: counterinsurgency and the prospects of air power in nigeria. studies in conflict & terrorism, 40(3), 211–231. https://doi.org/10.1080/1057610x.2016.1188533 raineri, l., and martini, a. (2017) isis and al-qaeda as strategies and political imaginaries in africa: a comparison between boko haram and al-qaeda in the islamic maghreb. civil wars, 19(4), 425-447. https://doi org/10.1080/13698249.20117.1413226 regens, j. l., mould, n., vernon, e., & montgomery, a. (2016) operational dynamics of boko haram’s terrorist campaign following leadership succession. social science quarterly, 97(1), 44-52. https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.12251 robo, m. (2014) social inclusion and inclusive education. academicus international scientific journal. retrieved november 21, 2018 from http://www.academicus.edu.al/nr10/academicus-mmxiv-10-181191.pdf. sambo, a. (2017) internally displaced persons and their information needs: university of nebraska, lincoln 3(7): 1-15 the charity commission (2001) the promotion of social inclusion. design, charity commission. retrieved september 23, 2010 from www.charitycommission.gov.uk umar, s.s. suleiman, m.s. and magaji, r.a. (2018) assessment of health risks among vulnerable groups of internally displaced persons in pompomari camp, damaturu, yobe state, nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities,vol.4, no1, pg 83-100 united nations children’s emergency fund [unicef] (2016) unicef nigeria water, sanitation and hygiene providing lifesaving interventions in water, sanitation and hygiene for internally displaced persons in north east nigeria. retrieved may 7, 2018, from https://www.unicef.org/nigeria/wes 10558html united nations office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs [unocha] (2018)about ocha nigeria | ocha. retrieved april 6, 2018, from http:www.unocha.org/nigeria/about-ocha-nigeria igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 88 warschauer, m. (2003) dissecting the digital divide: a case study in egypt. the information society, 19(4) pg297-304 world bank (wb) (2018) delivery quality health service: a global imperative for universal health coverage. retrieved october 2, 2020 from https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/universalhealthcoverage/publi cation/delivery-quality-health-services-a-global-imperative-foruniversal-health-coverage world health organization [who] (2018) malaria campaign saving young lives in nigeria. retrieved june 5, fromhttp://www.who.int/malaria/news/emergencybornostate/en/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol 9 no.1, 2023 www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/igwebuikejournals.php a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 43 the critical stylistic analysis of male characterization in the rebellion of the bumpy-chested by stella dia oyedepo ebenezer deji ogunrinde, ph.d department of english and literary studies faculty of arts, federal university oye ekiti ebenezer.ogunrinde@fuoye.edu.ng abdulakeem yinka usman department of english and literary studies faculty of arts, federal university oye ekiti usmankeem@gmail.com & damola ebenezer agbomola department of english and literary studies faculty of arts, federal university oye ekiti dagbomola@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.27610.21449 abstract the feminist movement has been a contending issue recently as there have been calls for gender equality in all facets of life owing to the injustice meted out to them; hence, it is in this regard that this research seeks to carry out a stylistic analysis of the revolt on the bumpy chested by stella oyedepo. this stylistic research underpins how the author exemplifies the idea of feminism in the text in contrast with the reaction of men alike. it focuses on the tools that aid how she maximally underscores her characters to spiral the feministic ideology. this research critically considers how women are empowered for roles meant for men and how this transition is enveloped in the text. keywords: feminism, male characterization, stella dia oyedepo introduction language is a tool used for communication in different contexts or genres, different ]ont_xts ^_m[n^ ^cstcn]t m[nn_r o` _xpr_sscon, tb[t cs, po_t’s l[nau[a_ us_ cs outrcabt analysis of male characterization in the rebellion of the bumpy-chested by stella dia oyedepo 44 different from playwrights. this work examines nigerian playwright style of language use. writers control the use of language to suit the intended message. poems are major data for stylistic analysis and a considerable amount of researchers have worked on it. stylistic examination of poems triggered researchers to analyse other literary works, like novels and drama texts. dramatic texts are usually regarded as literary texts that are composed for performance. drama text includes dialogue between characters; characters take turns among one another. characterization is developed through events and dialogue in the play. a writer introduces ]b[r[]t_rs wctb notc]_[\l_ _m_ra_n]_. tb_ wrct_r ao_s `urtb_r to cnvolv_ tb_ ]b[r[]t_r’s opinion and ideas during conversations with other characters. the final part shows how others in the story respond to tb_ ]b[r[]t_r’s p_rson[lcty. pl[ywrcabt us_s tb_cr ]b[r[]t_rs as a vehicle to convey their thoughts and values, such as poets do with personas, and novelists do with narrators. characters are what a reader infers from the text that describes, depicts and suggests the thoughts, utterances, feelings or actions of the characters. therefore, the way writers organize information will determine the type of impression one might form of a character. eventually, this leads to more attention being paid to the text (van peer 1988, p.9). characters that push beyond the limits of traditional gender roles have increasingly become attractive archetypes to nigerian female playwrights (rowland chukwuemeka, 2019). in recent times, nigerian female playwrights have appeared to project a more suiting image for the role of women in society. the need for the modification of pl[ywrctcna cs support_^ to ‚b[ul tb_ cm[a_ o` tb_ wom[n to tb_ ]_ntr_ st[a_ \y ]r_[tcna strong and credible female characters worthy of discourse, not as prostitutes, mistresses, naggers or over-dependent, subservient wives and battered mothers, but as co-travellers, worthy companions to men, respected mothers and wives who are stakeholders in their moul^cna o` n[tcons‛ (]` alk[lc 2012, p. 18). this movement revolves around strengthening the female gender insofar that female would be seen above the socially mandated roles. also, the feminist movement aims at achieving equality with men in all ramifications. the playwrights tend to articulate the flaws of men in order to deviate from the norms of the society. female characters, hence, exhibit personalities other than their assigned gender roles as a form of resistance to oppression. male characters appear to display their feebleness and infirmity, forcibly taking up child-bearing duty, and dressing up effeminate. the male characters are projected and represented through the other gender in order to stylistically deviate from the culturally expected role of men. since deviations is an ebenezer deji ogunrinde, abdulakeem yinka usman & damola ebenezer agbomola 45 element of foregrounding, the violation of linguistic norms switches the power of gender (]rctc][l stylcstc]) [s s__n cn st_ll[ oy_^_po’s the rebellion of the bumpy-chested. oyedepo and a few other female playwrights/writers such as lola shoneyin, buchi emecheta, etc. share similar feministic doctrine where male characters are presented as r_pulscv_ [n^ unwcs_. tbcs r_s_[r]b woul^ _mploy l_sl_y j_``_rc_s’s crctc][l stylcstc] theory to unravel and present the image of the male characters within the drama text. critical stylistics and character foregrounding critical stylistics (hereafter cs) is a critical theory (power relations) developed by lesley jefferies in 2007. cs provides the missing links between stylistics (textual choices) and critical discourse analysis (cda) (namely ideology) (coffey, 2013: 30). cs is a stylistic method of linguistic analysis that draws interest in how language conveys social meanings. jefferies is concerned with the examination of (a) the hegemonic discourses on the female body in society and (b) whether feminist ideologies have successfully been incorporated into these hegemonic discourses. one of the major influences for the development of cs is simpson (1993); what is of real cmport[n]_ cn [ t_xt cs tb_ w[y tbcnas [r_ ‚m[^_ to look‛ [n^ ‚tb_ [nal_ o` t_llcna‛ [s tb_ projection of positions and perspectives, as the way of communicating attitudes and [ssumptcon‛ r[tb_r tb[n ‚tb_ _luscv_ qu_stcon o` tb_ ‚trutb‛ o` wb[t [ t_xt s[ys (p. 2). it cs essential that the researcher use language resources to infer subtle information about characters in a text. cs is interested in text analysis by identifying and exposing power relations by working on the textual level (p. 380). it offers a developed theory and introduces some set of analytical tools that would help uncover the ideologies implied by the foregrounded linguistic choices of the playwrights. in addition, critical stylistic is a designed methodology to analyse completely the systematic presentation of ideology through foregrounding linguistic choice in texts. each text is based on a particular ideology, so the tool to investigate the ideology is cs. critical stylistic tools answer significant questions, some of which include what the text is ‘^ocna?’ [n^ wb[t c^_oloac_s [r_ \_cna pr_s_nt_^ tbrough the text? jefferies (2014, pp. 413-417) identifies ten textual-conceptual functions that may have been employed in projecting and analysing the particular world-view and ideology in any text: 1. naming and describing 2. representing actions/events/states 3. equating and contrasting analysis of male characterization in the rebellion of the bumpy-chested by stella dia oyedepo 46 4. exemplifying and enumerating 5. prioritising 6. implying and assuming 7. negating 8. hypothesising 9. pr_s_ntcna otb_rs’ sp__]b [n^ tbouabts 10. representing time, space and society. among the 10 critical stylistic tools, we will be using 4 of the tools to analyse the ideology of the drama text. naming and describing, representing actions/events/states, hypothesising and prioritising are the four tools we would be using for the analysis coupled with the character foregrounding used to project an ideology. these two items would be used simultaneously. foregrounding is a theory which addresses the nature of literary interpretation of literary texts. the term 'foreground' denotes the elements that are used to achieve salience by standing out in relief against a background. in formalist literary theory, it is argued that foregrounded elements achieve salience through deviation from a linguistic norm (mukaëovsky, 1970). foregrounding involves deliberate prominence of a linguistic feature that might appear to be deviation i.e. what usually happens or repetition. tb_ tb_ory o` ]b[r[]t_r `or_aroun^cna cs \uclt on jon[tb[n culp_p_r’s _xt_nscv_ work on character and characterisation in drama. bimbola (2016) posits that the normal processes of interpretation which applies to texts, whether literary or not, foregrounding invites an act of imaginative interpretation by the reader (cited by leech 1985 in culpeper 1996, p. 346347). in a text, any form of deviation (foregrounding) is seen as style and the readers get accustomed to the style using imaginations in order to be able to interpret the text. cb[r[]t_rs woul^ \_ cnv_stca[t_^ \y tb_ pbysc][l [pp_[r[n]_, [ ]b[r[]t_r’s opcncon [\out him/herself, his/her action and performance. critical stylistics and character foregrounding is used to analyse the male characters in the play the rebellion of the bumpy-chested by stella oyedepo. since critical stylistic tools analyse the ideology in the text and how the playwrights has presented them; the feministic doctrine of the text is the major concern of the characters. thematic preoccupation the text focuses on the need for female emancipation on the one hand and male emasculation on the other hand. captain sharp is typified as the biblical moses who brought the israelites out of egypt, the land of slavery. she represents the messiah who is ebenezer deji ogunrinde, abdulakeem yinka usman & damola ebenezer agbomola 47 out to liberate women from male domination and subjugation. the playwright uses her as a weapon of liberation, hence, the women wants their roles switched. they clamour for the domestication of male roles especially in the home hence, they want men to feed the children, tidy the home, cook for the family and cater entirely for the household while they frolic away in parties and indulge in all shades of frivolities. analysis of data naming and describing the writer uses certain words to typify women and men. naming and describing is a tool writers use to reveal the intended concept. the readers, through the naming and describing, grasp and interpret the concept accordingly. naming and describing is the construction of noun phrases which consist of head noun, sometimes accompanied by pre or post-modifiers, which construct the referent (jefferies 2010: 17). the word "weak" is used by imokwa but no sooner had she used it than sharp chastises her and encourages that the word be scrapped from their dictionary. the english oxford ^_`cn_s tb_ wor^ ‚w_[k‛ [s l[]kcna cn `or]_ or [\clcty, `__\l_. sb[rp motcv[t_s tb_m wctb s_v_r[l wor^s; sb_ [^^s tb[t wom_n sboul^ b[lt `rom uscna tb_ wor^ ‚w_[k‛ so tb_ so]c_ty woul^ not t[a tb_m [s ‚tb_ w_[k_r‛ a_n^_r. sharp: and now, you want to make piddling excuses turning lofty plans into a play, staged by a buffoon, full of foolery and ridicule. i have vowed to myself, if it is my breast that will be an impediment in the course of this struggle, i shall not think twice before slashing them off. no sacrifice is too much. no sacrifice is too little. learn to suppress tbos_ tbcnas `or wbc]b tb_ rcv[l s_x b[s st[mp_^ you ‚tb_ w_[k_r‛. tbrouab sb[rp, tb_ feministic ideology sets in. the playwright tries to reimage women to be associated with stronger words as opposed to the popular or societal ascribed labels. she later uses the wor^ ‚tb_ skcrt_rs‛ to r_`_r to wom_n to sbow sb_ pr_`_rs to \_ l[\_ll_^ ‚skcrt_rs‛ tb[n ‚tb_ w_[k_r‛. tbcs cs ][ptur_^ cn tb_ ^c[loau_ \_low: sharp: now, this movement is all out to deliver the skitters from the slavery of ages. i say womanhood is nothing but euphemism for slavery. on tb_ otb_r b[n^, tb_ wor^ "lor^" cs us_^ \y s[r[b to [^^r_ss b_r bus\[n^. ‚lor^‛, according to the english dictionary means one who has mastery over the servants of a household, one possessing similar mastery over others. here, oye is regarded by sarah as one who is the master of the house. this is also exemplified in the way sarah in the bible respected her husband, abraham. hence, it is recorded that she addresses him as "my lord". the lordship of the man over the woman spirals the tenets of the typical traditional analysis of male characterization in the rebellion of the bumpy-chested by stella dia oyedepo 48 so]c_ty wb_r_ tb_ m[n cs []]or^_^ tb_ r_sp_]t o` [ ‚lor^‛ ov_r bcs bom_. st_ll[ us_s tb_ bumpy-chested movement (hereafter bcm) to counter every supporter of patriarchy. imm_^c[t_ly [`t_r s[r[b’s r_sp_]t `or b_r bus\[n^, tb_ r_pr_s_nt[tcv_s o` bcm (f[lcl[t, asb[k_ [n^ t[r[) vcsct_^ tb_cr bous_bol^. s[r[b w_nt to a_t b_r bus\[n^ ‚[ ]ol^ ^rcnk‛ when oye invited them in. the bcm representatives were invited in by her husband, although he had a very rough conversation with them. they got to know that sarah made the food and these were their reactions: ashake: s[r[b, you’r_ [ tr[ctor, [ ^csar[]_ to your s_x, [ betrayal of bcm..... tara: shame! after the pledge s[r[b w[s t[aa_^ ‚tr[ctor [n^ \_tr[y[l‛ \y b_r ]o-conspirators because she was being subservient to her husband. stella uses this to confirm that women should not be submissive to the gender living deceptive lifestyle as oye deceives his visitors to keep his ego intact. oye values the richness of his soup and he wraps his ego around a decoration meat that he places in the soup so any visitor who comes in would be deceived by the sight of the bone. stella foregrounded the male characters in this play; virtually all of them are characterized wctb `cltby rol_s. at tb_ b.c.m m__tcna, r_\_]][ (popul[rly known [s iy[ al[k[r[) tb[t’s portrayed to be an illiterate and married a stack illiterate man raised the fact that her husband claims to possess extra bones in his body. captain sharp, sabina, tara and segi r_ply b_r tb[t wom_n b[v_ wb[t ct t[k_s to r_n^_r tb_ m_n ‚[m_n[\l_ [n^ su\mcsscv_‛ to their will. rebecca: caftain (captain), it ish (is) true that a mon (man) posheshis (possesses) more bones than a womon (woman)? you shee (see) my husband claimsh (claims) that he hash (has) nayin (nine) and i sheven (seven). sb[rp: ct’s [ll bo[x. any ]l[cms o` _xtr[ \on_s \y m_n cs notbcna \ut `r[u^. ayc: wby ^on’t wom_n ]apitalize on the extra tissue they have in chest region? sabina: if they want to play game of fraud like men t[r[: you’r_ rcabt. i` w_ [r_ to r_ly on our l[ra_ b_mcspb_rc] _mcn_n]_, tb_n w_ ]oul^ win a war by merely exposing our bumpy chest. segi: even thos_ \umps, _v_n c` tb_y’r_ ][rrycna m[]bcn_ auns [n^ w_ [r_ `cabtcna wctb ordinary fists, the result of the battle is a foregone conclusion. naked bumps are enough to render them as docile as a sheep, and as powerless as earthworm. ebenezer deji ogunrinde, abdulakeem yinka usman & damola ebenezer agbomola 49 here, captain sharp and others claimed that it is all shades of fallacy that a man possesses more bone than a woman and also, women possess bumpy-chest which is enough to win battle against men. this reiterates the fact that men would not win a battle against women even when they are armed; women are naturally powerful, resilient and fearless. representing time, space and society tb_s_ tools r_pr_s_nt tb_ h[llc^[y’s tr[nsctcvcty tb_ory, wbc]b cs norm[lly un^_rstoo^ [s the grammatical feature (choice of a verb) that takes direct object. halliday divides the system of transitivity or process types into six processes, namely: material, mental, relational, behavioral, verbal, and existential. the representation of process has the power to ^_`cn_ tb_ w[y r_[^_r’s wcll p_r]_cv_ [n^ cnt_rpret actions, events and states (jefferies 2014, p. 413). according to simpson (1993), transitivity is part of the ideational function. this function refers to the way that meaning is exemplified in the clause. it displays the way that language users encode their mental picture of reality and the way they exemplify their experience of the world around them. stella tries to underscore a predominant patriarchal society taken by surprise by the emerging matriarchs, hence, the patriarchs tries to negotiate and retain their dominance. the text is situated in a society where there is male dominance as women are assigned domestic roles such as breastfeeding of the baby, cooking for both the husband and the inlaws as and when due, showing maximum respect to both the husband and the in-laws. however, as the events unfold, one can deduce that the women are tired of these roles, hence, they fight for their freedom aggressively and with fisticuffs as women like falilat resort to kicking their husbands in the scrotum. this is found in excerpt: jolomc: (rcs_s up [n^ mov_s to tb_ scttcna room) i’ll m[k_ you t[k_ som_ \cl_, \y giving you a good thrashing which you will always remember falilat: me fali! (pounce on jolomi suddenly with incredible agility sending him sprawling on the floor. she descend on him, raining down pallets of slaps and pun]b_s _sp_]c[lly [t tb_ low_r r_acon. jolomc l_t’s out y_lls [n^ struaal_s r[tb_r desperately. as quick as lightening, falilat jumps up snatches her handbag from the settee and hurries out of the room. jolomi remains in recumbent position, groaning, intermittently, shortly saka knocks the door with almost tearing force). stella switches the power of men to women in order to achieve the desired message. wom_n ‚poun]_^ on‛ (m[t_rc[l pro]_ss) m_n ^urcna [ \r_[k-out fight, accompanied with several slaps and punches. women also carry out tasks hitherto performed by men such as analysis of male characterization in the rebellion of the bumpy-chested by stella dia oyedepo 50 palm wine tapping, as rebecca has done, taxi-driving, as salwa has done. akin was dressed in female attire with baby wrapped on his back, reverse is the case. hypothesising this tool gives the writer avenue to present their point of view which could be deviation from the convention. stella oyedepo presents an emerging matriarchal society against the predominant patriarchal society in africa most especially nigeria. at the genesis of the text, sharp is seen giving orders to the women as they hold a bcm meeting. she directs tb_m on bow to usurp tb_cr bus\[n^’s [utborcty and headship at home. one of the members, falilat is seen telling rade another member how she has directed her husband to a_t two `__^cna \ottl_s alu_^ to bcs ]b_st to ‚\r_[st `__^‛ tb_ ]bcl^r_n. rade: but captain c[pt[cn sb[rp: but wb[t, wby ^on’t you cnstruct your husband to give the baby artificial. i suppose we spoke at length of this the other times we met. your husband should bottle`__^ tb_ \[\y wb_n you’r_ not. r[^_: h_ woul^n’t try to ^o su]b [ tbcna f[lcl[t: your bus\[n^ won’t b_[r o` ct... i, falilat take no nonsense from my husband. do you know what i told him? i asked to go and buy two feeding bottles... tie them together with two strings leaving some spaces between the two bottles you see his chest measurements will determine the width of the gap. in another instance, ashake is seen throwing tantrums to her in-laws (clem &james). she refuses to prepare them a meal or offer them water as she has locked her fridge and the kitchen. falilat is also seen wrestling with her husband jolomi as she overpowers him and gives him a kick in the scrotum. however, sandra seems to do the opposite of what bcm stands for and its ideologies. she behaves courtly to her husband as she recognizes his authority as the head of the house. while sharp and her adherents are tools that typify the emerging matriarchal characters, sarah represents the typical african women who cater for her home. what the playwright intends doing is to meander the interstice between reality and mirage. oye and jolomi try to subtly protest the emerging emancipation of the matriarchs by holding a dialogue with tb_ ‚b_[^‛ o` bcm, \ut bct [ ^_[^lo]k. stella tries to hypothesize by creating a contrast between the real and the unreal. the unreal is women fighting for total emasculation of patriarchs and flagging off the ideals of women emancipation. she attempts to fight male dominance from the fringes but in ebenezer deji ogunrinde, abdulakeem yinka usman & damola ebenezer agbomola 51 reality, it is a ship that cannot leave the shore. africa unlike the western world places premium on tradition and culture as it recognises the male as the head of the home and side-lines the woman to the role of the help meet, vis-a-vis, an assistant, hence, female switching roles with their men cannot be totally adopted. prioritising stella oyedepo seems to prioritize female emancipation above every other event in the text. all events, actions are centered on how women can be liberated from the shackles of male subjugation as they go as far as creating a union called bcm (bumpy chested movement). however, at some point, the men go as far as having a dialogue with the commander of bcm, sharp to seek solution to the ravaging madness but to no avail. c[pt[cn sb[rp, cn tb_ t_xt, sym\olcs_s [ ‚l_[^_r‛ wbo cs ][p[\l_ o` ^ocna b_r ^uty. st_ll[ uses this to project the message that women are capable o` o]]upycna tb_ ‚l_[^cna posctcon‛. otb_r cnst[n]_s, wom_n sbow str_natb, prc^_ [n^ `cn^ pl_[sur_ cn s__cna m_n doing the domestic chores. rebecca (iya alakara) could not speak good english but she w[sn’t ]on^_mn_^ `or ct, r[tb_r tb_ ]on^_mn[tcon b_r bus\and received was not even \_][us_ b_ ]oul^n’t sp_[k \ut f[lcl[t \_lc_v_s b_ woul^n’t know c` r_\_]][ w[s sp_[kcna well or not. rebecca: b-shi-e-mu (bcm) forward nefa (never), backward efa (ever) sb[rp: iy[ al[k[r[, tb[t’s not bow to s[y ct... it cs forw[r^ ever backward never..... rebecca: backward efa forward nefa (some burst into raucous laughter) sb[rp: i ^on’t know bow _ls_ to t_[]b iy[ al[k[r[ f[lcl[t: c[pt[cn, ct ^o_sn’t m[tt_r c` sb_ ][n’t s[y ct prop_rly, [`t_r [ll b_r bus\[n^ cs [n illiterate. so _v_n c` sb_ s[ys ct wronaly, tb_ m[n woul^n’t know b_ woul^ \_ [w_^ [ll tb_ same that his wife could chant such a mystifying slogan. the man was ridiculed even without making mistakes or speaking; this is so because the priority is placed on emancipation of the female characters in the text. conclusion this study has revealed the gender issues shown in the rebellion of the bumpy-chested. these gender situations basically include the perception of the male dominance which a mov_m_nt cs ]onstru]t_^ to ]ount_r. tb_ [n[lyscs o` tb_ t_xt cs ^on_ uscna l_sl_y j_``rc_s’ analysis of male characterization in the rebellion of the bumpy-chested by stella dia oyedepo 52 critical stylistics alongside male foregrounding theory. only four of the ten tools were used in the course of analysis; a. naming and describing, b. representing time, space and society; c. hypothesising d. prioritising the bitter situation geared stella dia oyedepo to pen down a project that would restructure, encourage, and motivate the female gender to liberate themselves from the associated duties that reduce women to property or mere helper. this study points out the wrct_r’s vc_w on tb_ rol_s o` wom_n cn so]c_ty. references alk[lc, z. 2012. ‚g_n^_r polctc]s [n^ s_xu[l dyn[mc]s, im[acna m_n cn a`rc][n wom_n’s writing: the qu_st `or i^_ntcty [n^ int_arcty‛. in a. y_rcm[ [n^ s. alcyu (e^s.), gender politics: women’s writings and film in northern nigeria (pp. 1-12). ibadan: kraft books limited. bcm\ol[ o. ‛crctc][l stylcstc] & tb_ polctc]s o` m[l_ ]b[r[]t_rcz[tcon‛ cn lol[ sbon_ycn’s the secret lives of baba segi’s wives. grammar applied linguistics and society: a festschrift for wale osisanwo (pp. 393-408): obafemi awolowo university press, ile-ife. chukwuemeka, r. 2019. ‚prot_st, p_r`orm[tcvcty [n^ tr[nsa_n^_rcsm cn st_ll[ oy_^_po’s r_\_llcon o` the bumpy-cb_st_^‛ journal of language and cultural education 7 (1), 118-138. co``_y, l. (2013). ‚inno]_nt untcl prov_n fcltby‛: a corpus-based critical stylistic analysis of represent[tcons o` m_n in wom_n’s m[a[zcn_s‛ (do]tor[l dcss_rt[tcon, uncv_rscty o` huddersfield). jeffries, l. (2007). textual construction of the female body. a critical discourse approach. basingstoke: palgrave macmillan. jefferies, l. (2010). critical stylistics: the power of english. basingstoke: palgave macmillan. j_``_rc_s, l. (2014). ‚crctc][l stylcstc]‛. in m. burk_ (e^.), the routledge handbook of stylistics (pp. 408-420). oxon and new york: routledge. muk[ëovsky, j.,(1970). ‚st[n^[r^ l[nau[a_ [n^ po_tc] l[nau[a_‛. (e^.) an^ tr[ns, \y p.l. g[rvcn. in: d.c. freeman (ed.), linguistics and literary style, 40-56. new york: holt, rinehart and winston. simpson, p. (1993). language, ideology and point of view. london: routledge. van peer, w. (1986) stylistics and psychology: investigations of foregrounding, london. croom helm. van peer, w. (1988) the taming of the text, london. routledge. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 2(2) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 30 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) the complementary comprehensive noetic alternative by innocent asouzu department of philosophy university of calabar izuizu@gmx.net abstract this piece is an inquiry into the structure of human consciousness as to determine the reasons for the subject-object divide such that the subject seeks its autonomy outside the foundation of its unity. as a broadly dispositional issue, i wish to handle this delicate and intricate matter within the context of a complementary type of reflection which explores the comprehensive dimension of truth and validation. validation and with it all manners of ratiocination are complementary comprehensive acts that remain incomplete when disengaged from the activity of a comprehensive totalising mind. exploring such acts from the point of view of the mind is the noetic complementary comprehensive alternative. this approach may entail a revision of some of the basic assumptions underlying our understanding of the nature of proof and assertions. certainly, any approach founded on the unimpeded trappings of a one-dimensional absolute ideal reason would hardly suffice for this challenge. such methods lack credibility because they share traces of some of the main difficulties inherent in the problem itself. keywords: complementary, comprehensive, noetic, alternative, ibuanyidanda introduction power disparity, and the attendant misuse of power for personal interests are some of the major causes of the global paradox where those values which are the pride of modernity, like freedom and human rights, are some of the very values that the modern mind finds difficult to adhere to. addressing issues accruing from the paradoxes and inconsistencies associated with a tension-laden situation of this nature constitute one of the central themes of the new complementary challenges of philosophy. (asouzu, the method 44-51). abuse of power almost always evokes fear of domination and oppression. we can then understand the call today, in many quarters, for alternatives to a universal form of totalitarian rationality in matter concerning the validation of our claims in conflict situations. this is the case with proponents of philosophy of culture who pursue a domination-neutral interaction rooted in the acknowledgment of differences and diversities among interlocutors of heterogeneous cultural backgrounds. like igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 31 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) many, kimmerle considers dialogue the very form of such a philosophy, which he understandably sets against mere restrictive comparative analysis of cultural heritages. (kimmerle 97-117). likewise, the general science of culture, as worked out by oswald schwemmer and erected on the logical propedeutic of wilhelm kamlah/paul lorenzen, foresees the constructive method of rational arguments as a way of confronting such excesses resulting from power inequalities. within the framework of african philosophy, ekennia, speaks of practical rationality ((ekennia, 215). in all, one of the greatest difficulties facing theories that seek to mediate in situations of power imbalance remains that of outlining adequate validating conditions for our claims and assertions. complementary reflection does not consider this an issue that has to do solely with the material and formal logical character of arguments, claims and assertions. it sees matters of truth and validation as one that has an inherently dispositional dimension that cannot be ignored. hence, for complementary reflection the issue centres more on how human reason can be led to abide insightfully by its own laws such that lawmakers can also be law keepers and speak credibly over those rules, values and norms they think that they have understood well but which they insist on subverting, often against their own interests. it is an issue that revolves around the general enlightenment of human reason concerning its interests which it can subvert in apparent insight and willingly, yet ignorantly too. issues relating to a paradox of this nature constitute the central problematic of the challenges of human ambivalent situation. it is therefore an inquiry into the structure of human consciousness as to determine the reasons for the subject-object divide such that the subject seeks its autonomy outside the foundation of its unity. one must admit that a form of propedeutic is essential towards addressing this issue but one that goes beyond claims about good and exact knowledge of facts or claims about mastering the rules of rational arguments with the inherent dangers of misuse of argument itself. as a broadly dispositional issue, i wish to handle this delicate and intricate matter within the context of a complementary type of reflection which explores the comprehensive dimension of truth and validation. validation and with it all manners of ratiocination are complementary comprehensive acts that remain incomplete when disengaged from the activity of a comprehensive totalising mind. exploring such acts from the point of view of the mind is the noetic complementary comprehensive alternative. this approach may entail a revision of some of the basic assumptions underlying our understanding of the nature of proof and assertions. certainly, any approach founded on the unimpeded trappings of a one-dimensional absolute ideal reason would hardly suffice for this challenge. such methods lack credibility because they share traces of some of the main difficulties inherent in the problem itself. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 32 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) these are the problems associated with the misuse of power in asymmetrical situations that is characteristic of all form of one-dimensional application of an ideal absolute and hegemonic type of ratiocination. this one-dimensional mindset is at the root of most ethnophilosophic methods of philosophical investigation that continue calling for diversities and differences in a way that ignores the inherent totalising character of the mind. it does this also without due regard for the yearnings of science for unity and comprehensiveness. one has to admit that such approaches have the capacity to expose people to alternative ways of viewing reality. however, their proponents pretend that the focus of philosophical investigation should be the general worldview of a people with the attendant documentation of such and sustained by formal dialogue between diverse segments of human enclaves. here, they forget that such worldviews are thoughts of individuals or groups of individuals, within their given locations, which have congealed to such collective contents. these congealed contents again revert to the very foundation from which the ideas of their originators are moulded and remoulded to new forms of insight (asouzu, the method 120-129). in other words, we are dealing here with a typical instance of mutual complementary dependence between idea and its referent and with a situation of the mind seeking universal, whole, and comprehensive determination even in given locations. understanding these worldviews entails a complementary comprehensive consideration of their ambience as the sum total of all the actors and factors that enter into their excogitation. in a globalising world, the essential structure and form of these factors and actors are, at times, so complex and endless that they can render a pure ethnocentric orientation meaningless. it hardly also occurs to the proponents of such exclusive approaches that they indirectly affirm fully what they are inclined to gloss over, that is the inherent tendency of the mind to seek harmony and unity and the universal, whole, comprehensive, complementary and future referential structure of inquiry. bearing this in mind, one can say that such exclusive, restrictive, polarising methods would ever remain curious because they have an intrinsic moment of self-negation and self-delimitation and have all the potentials of unwarranted arbitrary incursion into the dynamic structure of the mind reminiscent of the excesses of a hegemonic totalitarian form of ratiocination. it is therefore not a question if adherence to a universal, complementary, unified, whole, comprehensive and future referential form of consciousness is desirable, but how to harness this innate dynamic structure of human consciousness for the benefit of all stakeholders. what has been said applies not only to ethnophilosophy proper, but to similar thought systems like igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 33 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) some variants of eurocentricism and afrocentricism, and of recent, some brands of islamic fundamentalism that seek to erect blocks and fan the amber of division among peoples. therefore, the new complementary task of philosophy today is and remains, to explore means towards overcoming all types of despotic ideal reason and ideological fundamentalism both at the private, local and international levels masquerading as localised rationality. contrary to the pretensions of ethnophilosophic inspired methods of investigation that the essence of philosophy lies solely on documentation of differences, all philosophies resemble themselves in the point where the philosopher is a bridge between reality, in its most sublime form, and humanity, as this becomes evident even in given localities. this is why the philosopher, strictly considered, is definitely different from say, an anthropologist, a politician, a theologian, a sociologist, a physicist, a psychiatrist, a logician, a mathematician etc. (asouzu, the method 46). he can be all these and still remain a philosopher in his commitment to the demands of truth and authenticity criterion as pursued by complementary reflection (asouzu, the method 318). hence, in all serious scientific undertakings there is always the need for clarity and credibility and this is why science will always insist on a unity of subject matter and here philosophy is not an exception. in the absence of a unified subject matter, and in the absence of credible criteria for the validation of our claims and assertions, it becomes difficult, even today, for philosophers to speak with one mind, as scientists, in a way that transcends geographical and ideological boundaries. thus complementary reflection explores the conditions for the validation of our claims and assertions which it understands as being fundamentally noetic in the sense of the acquisition of a complementary, unified, emancipated and transcendent mindset. this is the dispositional precondition for ratiocination as it enables the philosopher to attain the full consciousness of himself or herself as a typical instance of being seeking full and comprehensive actualisation in history irrespective of local constraints. at this point, philosophy is there to overcome all forms of paradoxes occasioned by the inability of human reason to address positively the ambivalence of its existential situations and thereby negate its own laws. the task is therefore that of evolving the conditions under which philosophers and peoples of diverse cultural backgrounds can speak about the daunting problems of our age with one mind while upholding their individual identities. this is an enormous undertaking that centres on exploring those means most fitting for the harmonisation of differences within the framework of the whole as this is the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 34 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) focal point of the theory of complementary reflection. the substance of the theory rests on the insight of anonymous traditional african philosophers of the complementary system of thought (asouzu, the method 143). it suffices now to outline some of their ideas to prepare the ground for understanding the theory itself. complementary system of thought in traditional african philosophy contrary to the insinuations that there is a unified african worldview, complementary reflection avers that traditional african societies are characterised by the dominance of diversities of thought systems of which the complementary trend is one of the most pronounced. thus the idea that the universe is constituted of units of mutual complementary interacting forces within the framework of the whole and in a future referential dimension constitutes one of the central insights of traditional igbo (a nigerian ethnic nationality) philosophers of the complementary system of thought. the same can be said of many traditional african philosophers. these philosophers maintain that the universe, in general, is constituted of units of dynamic mutual interacting forces at all levels of determination. these units relate to themselves in an infinite complementary harmonious mode. this is the case with human experience and action in general and with regard to numerous issues of general philosophical interest as can be articulated in such equivalent concepts as: human personality, causality, freedom, necessity, truth, good and evil, space and time, ethics and morality, religion and meaning, the idea of living dead, reincarnation etc. the same is evident in their approach to rites, symbols, myths and sacrifices and in their use of wise sayings and indeed with regard to all areas of practical, theoretical and speculative activities of these thinkers (asouzu, the method 111-129; 155-208). thus for kaboha, “a common characteristic of traditional african societies is that they did not separate consciously the various aspects of life and social behaviour into discrete compartments or treat them as possible areas of study or contemplation. all areas of life were seen and treated as part of an integrated whole which also include all nature. … in a traditional african mind this does not lead to confusion, but shows how the african derives his ideas and way of life from the integration that he sees in the diversity of nature around him.” (6970). for kamalu, ancient egyptian philosophers, as traditional african philosophers, make recourse to the principle of reciprocity as a paradigm of philosophical speculation. according to him, reality for these philosophers “is ordered in accordance with a principle of how opposites co-exist and interact” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 35 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) (24), such that “the organization of society and the cosmos are founded on the same principle. …in other words, the moral agent always gets what he or she deserves; every deed, good and bad, returns to the doer.” (7) writing about the igbos of nigeria nwala avers: “the igbo world-view implies two basic beliefs (1) the unity of all things and (2) an ordered relationship among all beings in the universe. consequently, there is belief in the existence of order and interaction among all beings. … the gods and men live a symbiotic life, one of mutual and reciprocal relationship. men fed the gods and the gods provide health, fertility of soil and reproduction” (nwala 54, 57). the idea of complementarity can be considered as the permeating unifying foundation or principle of those concepts that have to do with communal living among igbo philosophers of the complementary system of thought and many traditional african thinkers. here, the inclination of this philosopher to view human relationship in terms of solidarity, togetherness, and community centeredness stems from his general and fundamental feeling of insufficiency, experience of relativity and fragmentation of all historical processes as aspects of his complementary conceptualisation of reality. for these igbo philosophers, the idea ibu ayi danda or complementarity as a mode of conceptualisation of reality is more of a concretely lived experience. it is thus a concretely sung and breathed experience that is deeply characterised by a dynamic reciprocal relationship which ranges beyond pure contemplation of essences. i call a special type of experience that unifies these igbo philosophers to the world the experience of transcendent complementary unity of consciousness. in this case, the faculty i call a complementary totalising mind ((obi/mmuọ imaihe na eziokwu or obi/mmuọ eziokwu) is the very seat of this experience. it is the deepest experience of being as it actualises itself as missing links in history. besides, it is the deepest form of communal experience as shared experience deriving from the evident insight that anything that exists serves a missing link of reality. for these african philosophers therefore, reality can only be articulated and understood, and systematically too, if and only if it is viewed as complementarity of parts within the framework of the whole in a future referential manner. besides, for them, the subject-object tension can be taken care of, and the autonomy of the subject upheld, in the most natural way only complementarily since reality in its deepest and most sublime constitution evinces itself as a mutual dynamic complementation of parts. this infinite mutual relationship takes the most concrete form in the relationship of human beings to the world and most especially in interpersonal relationship were they conceptualise the human person as a being that radiates concretely igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 36 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) attributes of the divine. this attribute becomes most evident in the act of mutual complementary services. here, these traditional igbo philosophers state: mmadu bu chi ibeya (human beings are gods to other human beings). commenting on this view, uchendu maintains: “human interdependence is a constant theme in the folklore of the igbo. it is the greatest of all values for them” (14). within this ambience therefore, there is a striking form of complementary relationship that has a thoroughgoing ontological character. here, complementarity is understood in the sense of dynamic complementation of services of all units in mutual dependency. this is why, for example, human beings serve the gods in the hope of their returning the same services, as nwala noted. this mutual dependence is deeply understood in the type of the existential experience captured in the statements: aka nni kwọọ aka ekpe aka ekpe akwọọ aka nni (the left hand washes the right hand while the right hand washes the left) and njiko ka (human interdependence or togetherness is the greatest of all values as uchendu noted). in its deepest ontological ramifications this means that all forms of human action and cognition have complementary consequences such that the meaning we attach to human actions goes far beyond their immediate expression as to touch on wider networks of relations. one can therefore say that, within the context of this philosophy, the idea of harmonious complementarity of units within the framework of the whole belongs to the foundation of unity of being and consciousness as a precondition for the validation of our claims and assertions. it suffices now to explicate the nature of complementary relationship within the confines of this philosophy as to make it the foundation of complementary reflection as a general theory. complementary determination, its structure and form proceeding from its traditional african ambience, complementary reflection seeks to explore the concept complementary as something that belongs to the universal structure of being in history and to the basic constitution of human consciousness itself. here, it views all modes of finite beings and existence as exhibiting one form of complementary relationship or the other even if these are not immediately evident and even if indications appear to be pointing to the contrary. this is the case with such states that we designate as hybrid, eclectic, symbiotic, syncretistic, static, and parallel. these instances upon closer examination reveal inherent moments of complementarity as instances of being seeking unity in differentiation. this structural constitution is characteristic of universal human experience of reality, as relative subjects, everywhere and every igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 37 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) time. it is along this line that the mind always seeks to capture realities in complementary contraries. this is the case with our experience of the world in such categories as day and night, male and female, being and non-being, truth and falsehood, good and evil, up and down etc. this striving towards mutual complementation and reciprocity is deeply entrenched in human fundamental feeling of insufficiency and dependency. this feeling accompanies our perception of history and determines our actions, interactions and interpretation of reality. in our own time, this mode of complementary determination has not lost its attractions as can be attested to in diverse areas of our cognitive experience of the world in society, commerce, science and technology. philosophy with a special accent on culture is an evident attempt at capturing the close complementary relationship between the diverse peoples of the world. the same thing can be said in the area of religion, where the idea of a “theology of religions” explores the mutual complementary relationship among heterogeneous religious experiences (asouzu, gedanken über die religiose problematik). furthermore, we speak today, in the area of applied science and technology, of hybrid and complementary technology and products. it is the same feeling of mutual dependence that carries the idea of complementary, alternative or integrative medicine and therapy (snyder, mariah). most especially the use of the term in the area of medicine gives us an idea of how the term complementary can be misunderstood. here complementary medicine is often contrasted with school, classical or conventional medicine. in this case, the idea complementary is often used in a pejorative sense as to denote an exotic type of medicine which can be practiced and tolerated alongside orthodox medicine. in this way, the idea complementary often also evokes the feeling concerning something that is fake, inauthentic, strange and alien. again the term complementary is used in the sense of appendage or uneven relationship. this is the case, for example, when we talk of complementary businesses in reference to an already well-established one. in other instances, complementary relationship is associated with a form of levelling up mentality without due regard for differences or even of inequalities. due to biases of this nature, the idea complementary has, at times, come to be associated generally with a state of uneven relationship where one thing must be tolerated in relationship to the other. in this case, one of the units in a complementary relationship can be likened to a state where being has lost its essentiality or those characteristics that make it what it is. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 38 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) from the standpoint of traditional african complementary ontology, i seek in complementary reflection to regain the idea complementary insofar as it belongs to the fundamental structure of being to find full expression in history in the form of mutual interaction of units within the framework of the whole. it is in this form that being can be conceptualised in its most dynamic constitution as that which enters into the definition of all things and gives them their substance and determination. when now i say that things are complementary to each other, it is not a matter of a one sided complementation of two unequal units or a form of levelling up without due regard for differences and inequalities of units. in complementary reflection, the units uphold their individualities, differences and independence in all areas of their existence and determination and not only with regard to their essences but also with regard to their action. this notwithstanding, they are necessarily and mutually related to themselves. they can therefore be fully grasped and assessed in their differentiation and diversity but within the framework of the whole in a nonexclusive but future referential manner. at the level of action, actors that find themselves in a complementary relationship while upholding their individualities and freedom, do nevertheless have mutual responsibilities and rights that bind them even as autonomous and free ethical and moral actors and subjects. this is why within this framework, all forms of human achievement are thinkable, can be upheld and improved upon only indirectly, that is, in mutual complementary relationship. in other words, actors are bound by series of mutual complementary rights and obligations at all level of action, existence and determination. in this way, complementary reflection seeks to supersede all forms of levelling-up mentality and to affirm a philosophy of right and obligation which emphasises mutual rights and obligations binding all finite beings and modes of existence in a complementary harmonious form. with regard to human beings, these rights and obligations take a special form as the extended natural rights and obligations in mutual service of each subject. these extended natural rights and obligations ensue from the fact that each individual, as an autonomous subject, always leaves behind peculiar and indelible impressions with his or her actions such that these entitle actors to mutual rights and obligations (asouzu, the method 484490). it is for this reason that mutual indebtedness and interdependence in complementarity, in the sense of mutual service, forms a fundamental axiom of human interaction and in this sense makes such issues as who takes the credit in a production line, for example, more manageable. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 39 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) in all forms of complementary relationship, we are dealing with the recognition and affirmation of unity in diversity as the essential moment of all forms of relations insofar this belongs to the fundamental structure of being in its complementary constitution and insofar insufficiency belongs necessarily to the structure of being in its complementary essentiality. what this means is that all finite beings are bound to each other complementarily in a relationship of mutual service and dependence of units within the framework of the totality of reality. as a being among others, the fundamental insufficiency in human essence is not a disadvantage. on the contrary, it is a necessary condition for the attainment of full human autonomy in history. in all situations of life, the question would ever remain how to turn this apparent disadvantage to an advantage. in other words, complementary reflection considers the positive affirmation and acceptance of fundamental insufficiency and limitations characteristic of our being as a necessary condition for harnessing the variety and multidimensionality entrenched in nature. this again is an inescapable route to full actualisation of human potentialities. this insight does nothing other than to restate in other words the very structure of human experience of the world itself. as historical individuals, this is the structure of our being and experience of the world and not to explore and exploit it to the full would amount to under-developing our being. thus, complementary reflection is nothing other than the exploration of human nature, as it is, with a view to harnessing those conditions of human self-actualisation that are best attuned to human search for meaningful existence and in view of confronting all forms of tension-laden ambivalent situations that are responsible for the subject-object divide. generally, though, complementary reflection seeks to capture the essence of the complementary structure of all forms of finite existence and give a rational justification why this is constitutive for all forms of relationship in nature. this is mostly the case with regard to human interpersonal relationship and in human relationship to the world in general. all finite beings regain their true nature only when considered as complementary units within the framework of the whole and here, they accomplish this only through the affirmation of the fact that they are missing links of reality. for this reason, the intrinsic constitution of finite being lies in the fact of their complementary essentiality, that is to say, in their potentiality as units to stay in relationship to other beings. what this means is that anything that exists does so in view of a complementary relationship and obtains its legitimacy and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 40 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) determination through this relation in a future, whole and comprehensive manner. we can now understand why within the framework of the theory of complementary reflection i assign a very preponderant place to the fact of mutual complementary dependency of all finite modes of existence as is captured by the insight that anything that exists serves a missing link of reality. however, due to unevenness of opportunities, achievements and power distribution, the apodictic character of complementary relationship can be put to serious doubt. replying to such doubts, one can say that the answer to the question how is it that the different modes of existence serve and are dependent on each other necessary in a mutual complementary harmonious way, is already contained in the question itself since the structure of the question has an intrinsic moment of external reference, which in itself is a sign of complementarity. in other words, such a question proceeds from clear intuition into the very structure of missing links as beings that can be conceptualised only in complementary relationship. what this means is that whoever attempts to pose a question of this nature or to raise a doubt about its necessity, as a missing link himself within the framework of a whole, is automatically committed to complementarity by reason of the relational and anticipatory character of the answers he or she expects. in such mental activities as questioning, denying, doubting, negating, affirming etc. human reason is doing nothing other than seeking relationship to something outside of itself. thereby it reveals that it is committed to something on which it is dependent. this relationship towards the external that becomes evident in all forms of questions, denials and affirmation has an inherent moment of complementarity. for this reason, the complementary structure of all missing links of reality ensues from the very nature of all finite beings that in their limitation and insufficiency are intimately related to each other. what this shows is that anyone who has no access to this fundamental insight or who denies it would also not have any insight into the ontological character of the complementary mutuality of all missing links of reality. but there is hardly anyone, even under the most severe form of false pretences, who does not have such an insight that is very clear and evident to the mind. where one insists on doubting this fact, this person would immediately find himself or herself in the way of self-contradiction because he cannot consummate his reflection except in relations and in this case with reference to one form of missing link of reality or the other. on this platform, we can state that the variants of the principle of complementary reflection enjoy the same status as the first principles in so far as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 41 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) they are very clear and evident to the mind. it is for this reason that their negation carries with it the full weight of self-negation. this consequence becomes obvious in the application of the variants of the principle of complementary reflection in practical situations of life where consequent self-interest is tantamount to anti-self-interest. that is to say, all acts that are directed against the interest of others invariably rebound on the actor. this is why this approach does nothing but to widen our knowledge by exploring what should ordinarily be evident to the mind since it eradicates all ambivalences that make pure knowledge of essence impossible. this is the critical end of all philosophical quests, that is, grasping of essences in their ultimate and most sublime constitution. the inability of human reason to concede fully to the fact of a fundamental complementary constitution of reality can be considered as one of the greatest tragedies of our experiences as human beings in history and this is also one of the main reasons for many incidents of avoidable tension and paradoxes in society and in human interpersonal relationship. wherever and whenever this incapacity for complementarity is present, human beings find themselves in artificial states of parallel and even contradictory co-existence, which they paradoxically prefer imagining that this is their destiny. this contradictory preference is grounded on an illusion because all finite beings are destined to remain in relationship of complementary reciprocity to attain full actualisation since to be is the capacity of all finite beings to seek relation. wherever complementarity is negated, the entity concerned finds itself in an exclusive state of self-imposed delimitation and en route to self-contradiction with all the attendant consequences. in many situations of life, human beings find themselves in this form of contradiction because they prefer to define their interests outside of the legitimacy conferred by the totality, as is the case with all unilateral hegemonic acts of segregation and exclusiveness that are at the root of the global paradox. it is the same problem in all those cases where each subject seeks its own circumscribed form of rationality disengaged from the unity provided by a totalising comprehensive mind as is characteristic of ethno philosophic orientations. in this case, it becomes evident that the limit my complementary capability is the limit of my world and vice versa. the implications of this explication for the general theory of complementary reflection should now be clearer and it remains to have it fully outlined. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 42 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) the theory of complementary reflection and harmony of differences one of the greatest difficulties that the complementary system of thought faces in its traditional african ambience is that of evolving credible criteria for the harmonisation of differences within the framework of the whole. it is the same issue as evolving a credible criterion for the validation of our claims and assertions. this is a universal human problem that has lots of epistemological, logical and ethical implications and how we address this issue can be decisive for our general attitude to the world. this issue is central to the challenges of human ambivalent situation whose actuality is fully reflected today in the excesses of the global paradox. in complementary reflection, i wish to address this issue through a general theory of being and through outlining some of the key preconditions for the validation of our claims and assertions. the principle of complementary reflection has two major parts that address its metaphysical and practical dimensions. in this way, i speak of the metaphysical and the practical variants of the principle of complementary reflection. i call the metaphysical variant the principle of integration and the practical variant the principle of progressive transformation. whereas the principle of integration explicates the metaphysical implications of the theory, the principle of progressive transformation takes care of the implications of the theory for human action. this division is insofar important as the theory concerns itself not only with the universal explanation and understanding of reality but seeks to offer concrete guidelines towards the resolution of conflicts in society. these are such conflicts that are occasioned through the inability of human reason to come to terms with the ambivalence of human existential situations. in such situations human reason seeks to violate its own laws through negation of the principle of non-contradiction or the truth and authenticity criterion. this criterion disallows the elevation of relative world immanent realities or experiences to absolute instances. whenever this criterion is negated, human reason finds itself in the way of contradiction and paradoxes. in this sense, the truth and authenticity criterion, as an aspect of the principle of non-contradiction, is what guarantees the unity of being and consciousness in all situations of interaction and discourse. the principle of integration as the metaphysical variant of the principle of complementary reflection can be formulated thus: anything that exists serves a missing link of reality within the framework of the totality (asouzu, progress in metaphysics 82-91). similarly the practical variant of the principle, as the principle of progressive transformation, states that all forms of human action aim igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 43 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) towards the joy of being. on its part, the imperative of complementary reflection can be formulated thus. allow the limitations of being to be the cause of your joy. here the concept being refers strictly to finite beings in history. it suffices now to elucidate, for a moment, some of the key concepts of this theory. the first thing that is to be handled is the idea of missing link of reality. under missing links within the framework of the totality, one refers to all conceivable modes of finite existence and relations insofar these can be grasped spatio-temporally and intuited as forming a complementary harmonious whole. missing links within the framework of the totality are therefore finite beings and their different modes of expression in history insofar they are fragments that cannot be conceptualised except in complementary relationship to each other. in a more concrete way, one can say that missing links are finite beings in their diverse modes of expression and the categories of such beings in complementary relationship to each other. hence, the mind can grasp and intuit as missing links units and units of units, things and things of things, ideas and ideas of ideas, thoughts and thoughts of thoughts. similarly all spatio-temporal forms, categories, relations, quantities and qualities are missing links. as a philosophy that reflects the ideas of traditional african philosophers of complementary direction, complementary reflection localises missing links not necessarily in abstract modes of existence and essences but more so also in those experiences that determine human existence concretely. this is why missing links encompass a wide variety of modes of being as concretely lived experiences. for our experiences today, such things fall under the category of missing links: fate, terrorism, disappointment, virtual realities, internet, trade, job, employment, unemployment, islam, religion, christianity, ideas of god, racism, discrimination, colonialisms, neo-colonialism, environmental degradation, multiculturalism, skin heads, colour, sex, ethnicity, failure, success, poverty, affluence, first world, third world, drugs, development, natural catastrophes, underdevelopment, money, exploitation, multinational companies, war, peace, hatred, globalisation, acceptance, rejection etc. theyare missing links insofar they are fragments that can be conceptualised only in relationship to other missing links to attain full meaning and authenticity. thus, missing links cover a wide range of cognitive and non-cognitive relations insofar the mind can abstract their fundamental complementary relatedness to other forms and modes of being and existence. it is only in this form of complementary harmonious relationship, in a future referential, whole and universal manner, that all modes of finite beings, existence and action acquire the conditions necessary for their igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 44 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) explanation, understanding and ultimate determination. that is to say, even if being communicates itself spatio-temporally in a fragmentary manner, as we experience it in our diverse localities, reality can only be thematised and grasped authentically in a complementary whole, unified, comprehensive and future referential way. in this case, the mind grasps missing links but in view of the whole and attains the whole only indirectly and in the experience of individual subjects and objects that constitute missing links in a complementary harmonious relationship. the implications of this is that no missing link can uphold its legitimacy solely on its own. it can do this only with reference to the whole and in complementary unity with other missing links whose legitimacy and determination are necessarily dependent on the type of union that guarantees their being. the consequences of this theory should now be clear for human interpersonal relationship and action in society as a whole. on its part, the imperative of complementary reflection, which demands that we allow the limitations of being to be the cause of our joy, can be explicated more precisely in this way: in all cases and in all existential situations, we should allow the contingences and insufficiencies that determine our being and existence to be the cause of our joy. since finite being in its expression in history can only be conceptualized, articulated and grasped as missing links, which are obviously characterized by limitation and insufficiency, the attainment of human happiness and contentment is necessarily dependent on the ability of the mind to embrace missing links in their limitation. this imperative therefore urges the mind to act in consciousness of the fact that human happiness is dependent on recognition of limitations, inadequacies, and multiplicity as necessary aspects of the actualization of being in history and most especially as this characterizes our experiences as dependent and vulnerable subjects. in other words, being in its most sublime and authentic form becomes intuitively and evidently accessible to the subject only as complementary missing links in differentiation, in diversity and multidimensionality. this fact takes its most concrete form in encounter most especially as this is the case by human beings in mutual services and in the experience of the world around in its insufficiency and unpredictability. thus, the basic ideas of complementary reflection can be systematically applied to all areas of human experience and knowledge both theoretically and practically, in metaphysics, in ethics, in epistemology, logic, in politics, in religion, in law etc as has been fully articulated in the work the method and principles of complementary reflection in and beyond african philosophy. in all these areas, one is concerned with understanding being in its essentiality as something igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 45 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) fundamentally complementary in constitution. such understanding is the capacity of the mind to intuit missing links in complementary harmonious relationship in view of the attainment of the joy of being. since all modes of finite beings and existence, in their differentiation, variety and multidimensionality, are missing links of reality, they are subject to authentication anytime and anywhere. the same is obtainable with regard to claims and statements concerning being at all levels of determination. thus, all subjects need each other and are mutually dependent in a future oriented way. the complementary comprehensive noetic alternative one of the greatest difficulties facing such a theory is how to make it practicably insightful. to overcome this difficulty, i wish now to probe the role which the mind plays in a complementary framework as to determine the pre-dispositional preconditions for truth and validation of our claims and assertions. it is the same thing as establishing the pre-dispositional preconditions for harmony in differentiation. i have adopted this approach cognisant of the heavy epistemological and logical burdens associated with a one dimensional recourse either to sense impression or pure intellection as the foundation for legitimization of our claims in ambivalent existential situations. it is due to the central place of the mind in this inquiry that i call it the complementary comprehensive noetic approach as to distinguish it from a one dimensional form of ratiocination. in this sense, i have identified a complementary totalizing mind (obi/mmuọ imaihe na eziokwu or obi/mmuọ eziokwu in igbo language) as the unifying faculty responsible for such important acts as reasoning and validation. on its part, a one-dimensional absolute ideal reason (uche akolo in igbo language) while striving towards the same objective remains vulnerable to the trappings of sense impression or pure intellection, if not guided by this form of totalizing mind in its capacity as the seat for the experience of transcendent complementary unity of consciousness. through this experience we capture being truly, insightfully and authentically and can share or communicate the knowledge and experience of missing links in their fragmentary relational essentiality devoid of ambivalences. (asouzu, the method 411). in this case, we are dealing with the inherent capacity of the mind for dynamic knowledge or experience of missing links as true and pure essences. it is in this form that the mind is capable of intuiting clearly the fact that all modes of finite existence are in mutual complementary relationship as aspect of its innate natural instinct for self-preservation. by reason of this capacity, the mind has all it takes to address the subject-object tension and divide in full awareness igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 46 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) of its own inherent relativity and vulnerability. thus this faculty always calls to caution, in all situations of claims where an absolute ideal form of hegemonic reason leads it towards exclusiveness and polarisation. where the complementary totalising mind is active, a negation of mutual complementary structure of missing links is perceived as a form of self-negation. this complementary totalising mind thus addresses the totality of the person and draws its attention spontaneously to the limits of its possibilities as a being, among others that are vulnerable and are in need of full authentication (asouzu, the method 99). a very crucial question now arises: how do we secure the reality of this transcendent experience beyond all forms of arbitrariness. this again is like asking for those means through which the complementary totalizing mind (obi/mmuọ imata eziokwu or obi/mmuọ eziokwu) performs its duties. here, complementary reflection aims at grasping the subject in its comprehensiveness devoid of ambivalences and polarisation. in this case, we are thinking of the dispositional ontological precondition for rational acts as this is represented by the transcendent categories of unity of consciousness unity, fragmentation, totality, universality, comprehensiveness, wholeness and future reference (asouzu, the method 298-303). on account of the actuality of these categories the mind is capable of achieving its complementary totalizing function. although these categories belong naturally to the structure of the mind and human consciousness, they can be rendered ineffective due to the challenge of human ambivalence situations that is responsible for the subject-object divide in all asymmetrical situations of life. in such situations, our best intentions and efforts can be invalidated by a one-dimensional application of reason in pure or absolute type of ratiocination. hence, it is within the context of a totalizing comprehensive mind (obi/mmuọ eziokwu) operating under its natural conditions that our claims can be validated. what pure hegemonic ideal reason cannot accomplish, in situations of conflict, is possible through recourse to obi/mmuọ eziokwu. this is the complementary comprehensive noetic alternative. what this means is that whenever validation or ratiocination are consummated without recourse to these complementary transcendent categories, human reason is bound to remain blind and hegemonic even if it claims otherwise. this is why it can violate its own laws and still imagine that it is doing the wisest thing. in such situations, human reason operates in full awareness of the applicability of the transcendent categories of unity of consciousness as this is an aspect of the principle of non-contradiction and the truth and authenticity criterion. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 47 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) due to the challenges of human ambivalent situation, these transcendent categories can be rendered ineffective. this is why they must be elevated to habitual methodological principles in the process of existential conversion which is the act of putting them into action concretely as lived complementary mutual experience. hence all forms of validation take the form of a continuous process of complementary reawakening, complementary revitalisation, conscientisation or rehabitualisation. (asouzu, the method 287; effective leadership 38-42). in this process, the mind experiences all missing links as being in history in the most sublime sense and human beings in the sense of mmadu bu chi ibeya (human beings are gods to their fellow human beings). through this process, the mind returns and remains true to its transcendent nature such that any infringements on its own laws, by itself, is immediately perceived as a contradiction and a transgression of the truth and authenticity criterion. it learns to do this as the most natural thing to do and not out of duty. perceiving all missing links now in their fragmentation, but in a comprehensive and whole reference to the ultimate foundation of all forms of determination, the mind seeks balance in the tension between extreme tendencies to absoluteness and relativity. actualizing our actions imbued with a sense of these categories is the same thing as acting human and heeding to demands of the principle and imperative of complementary reflection and acting for the joy of being. hence, we cannot negate the applicability of these categories in our actions and still communicate as human beings. one can therefore say that these transcendent categories have a legitimizing function for all questions concerning the structure of logical discourse and for all forms of methods that are interested in interpersonal or intercultural encounters and dialogue. the reason for this is that they outline the minimum condition that must be observed for the adequacy of such important acts. they further outline the conditions under which laws, norm and values can be validated and the condition for the harmony of differences. complementary reflection through recourse to these categories aims at overcoming one of the major obstacles to dialog-based methods of validation of claims and resolution of conflicts. by recourse to the complementary comprehensive noetic alternative, subject aims at being itself through the habitualisation of those categories belonging naturally to the mind such that in practical situations of life, the mind remains itself by handling and admiring missing links complementarily in their fragmentation, as necessary extension of itself. in such a state, the mind is capable of overcoming ambivalences and excessive selfishness since it now comes to see missing links of reality as pure or necessary means for the attainment igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 48 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) of its own personal joy and happiness. this is how it reacts to the inherent tension between tendencies to extreme forms of absoluteness and relativity. in this case, the mind grasps at the ultimate joy founding its being but affirms it consciously as it is expressed concretely in missing links. this commitment takes very concrete shape when it urges other subjects that share the same horizon of being jede ka iji (hold firmly to the joy of being, always seek to retain it, now and in all future cases). this aphorism that is taken from the igbo language captures the moment of commitment to the ultimate joy that the subject shares mutually with missing links of reality in their relativity. one of the greatest transformation that the acquisition of this transcendent totalizing mindset can induce is the revelation to the subject that consequent self-interest is anti-self-interest. in other words, those acts of self-interest that negate the interests of others are directed against the interest of the subject itself because of the type of intimate unity that binds missing links of reality and because units necessarily, inseparably, and intricately share the same horizon of being. this is why complementary reflection underlines the fact that consequent selfinterest is antiself-interest as is evident in the statement egbe bere ugo bere nke si ibeya ebena nku kwaa ya (let the kite perch let the eagle perch whichever denies the other the same rights let its wings break). the same insight is captured by the assertion: nwata si na nne na nna ya agaghi arahụ ura agaghi arahụ ụra). i.e. the restive child that cries all night long with the intent of disturbing the parents, would equally not sleep. again: onye ji mmadụ na ana ji onweya (whoever, e.g. in wrestling bout, holds another person to the ground is not free himself). what this implies is that human incapacity to complementarity and the tendencies to absolutise personal interest are consequent to self-delimitation, and selfnegation. likewise any forms of impositions or restrictions of the rights of others outside of the legitimacy provided by the whole, automatically rebounds on the actor. the converse is also true: anything undertaken to enhance the welfare of the whole invariably leads to the betterment of the units. in keeping with this ontology therefore the act always returns to the actor as is basic to ancient traditional african egyptian ontology as kamalu pointed out. since acting and knowing have the same foundation in being, we can then understand why for complementary reflection “no missing link of reality, in its fragmentation, i.e. taken singly, can form adequate basis for authentic knowledge” or action (asouzu, the method 413). for this reason, complementary mutual dependence can only be understood as mutual service in complementation and acting ethically reasonable and human entails acting, not igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 49 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) out of compulsion as is typical of a deontological ethical approach, but out of the natural inclination for the joy of being. here missing links in their fragmentation and relativity are considered as pure means for the attainment of this joy and not as pure ends. as a historical fragmentary being, the complementary totalizing mind is thus always conscious of its relativity, fragility and vulnerability along with that of other missing links that share the same fate. hence, it learns to adhere to its own laws naturally and without compulsion since this is the only guarantor for its self-preservation, happiness and contentment. hence by recourse to the transcendent categories of unity of consciousness the mind fully identifies itself as a necessary aspect of the totality of relative missing links which must be taken into account should its experience of the world be complete and real. it is the same experience that makes it possible for the mind to understand why the harmonisation of units supersedes the advantages accruing from the tendencies for exclusiveness and polarisations. references asouzu, innocent “progress in metaphysics: the phenomenon of “missing link” and interdisciplinary communication”, in: calabar journal of liberal studies, vol.2 no. 2 december 1990. asouzu, innocent, gedanken über die religiöse problematik der gegenwart im licht der theologie der religionen. eine reflexion im anschluss an wolfhart pannenberg peter lang verlag, frankfurt am main, 1986. asouzu, innocent, effective leadership and the ambivalence of human interest. the nigerian paradox in a complementary perspective. calabar university press 2004 asouzu, innocent, the method and principles of complementary reflection in and beyond african philoosphy, lit verlag, münster 2005. ekennia, justin. african modernity crisis. barloz publishers inc. benin, nigeria, 2000. kaboha, p. “african metaphysical heritage and contemporary life. african contributions to contemporary life. the foundations of social life” in: uganda philosophical studies, i. series ii. africa, vol. 2, 1992. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 50 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) kamalu, chukwunyere. foundations of african thought. a worldview grounded in the african heritage of religion, philosophy, science and art. karnak house, great britain 1990. wilhelm kamlah/paul lorenzen, logische propädeutik. vorschule des vernünftigen redens, mannheim 1973 kimmerle, heinz. afrikanische philosophie im kontext der weltphilosophie. traugott bautz nordhausen, 2005. nwala, uzodinma t. igbo philosophy. lantern books, lagos 1985. schwemmer, oswald. theorie der rationalen erklärung. zu den methodischen grundlagen der kulturwissenschaften. c. h. .beck, münchen 1976. snyder, mariah/ruth lindquist. issues in complementary therapies: how we got where we are. http://www.nursingworld.org/ojin/topic15/tpc15_1.htm uchendu, v. c. the igbo of southeast nigeria. holt, rinehart and winston, new york, chicago, san francisco 1965. 15 the nature of philosophical logic and philosophy of logic andrew onwudinjo institute of humanities, pan-atlantic university lagos aonwudinjo@pau.edu.ng doi: 10.13140rg.2.2.14554.96967 abstract like most issues within the philosophical realm there are controversies surrounding the nature and subject matter of philosophical logic and philosophy of logic. while some philosophers on the one hand see philosophical logic as using logic as a tool to deal with philosophical problems and take philosophy of logic as a self-check method whereby the tools of logic itself are critically analysed, others on the other hand see no distinction between both. for instance, susan haack supports the latter position that there is no clear distinction between both fields while a.c. grayling and dale jacquette are adherents of the former position. this paper attempts an expository analysis of the characteristics of both philosophical logic and philosophy of logic. it argues that though there are basic distinctions in their features, there are points of intersection which makes them co-relevant in the development of logic, philosophy and other related fields. keywords: logic, philosophy of logic, philosophical logic, jacquette, haack, grayling introduction logic, whether seen as a philosophical tool used by philosophers in their activities or as a main branch of philosophy, is of great importance to the enterprise of philosophy and life. theoretically, philosophers deploy it to substantiate their views and/or solve problems and practically in life and other fields of knowledge including mainstream fields like computational mathematics and artificial intelligence, logic is relevant to everyday endeavours. argumentation and reasoning are central to logic with the goal of logic being to develop a coherent framework that enables us to examine, categorize, and assess both correct and incorrect forms of reasoning. philosophy of logic and philosophical logic are both essential components of logic. some writers define a clear distinction between the roles played by both components. they opine that philosophy of logic is devoted to the investigation, analysis and reflection on issues arising in logic, while philosophical logic concerns questions about reference, truth, quantification, existence, entailment, predication, identity, modality, and necessity. others reason that there is no difference between what is done by philosophers in both areas, they believe it is a matter of nomenclature used by writers. martin tabakov extends this further by defining philosophical logic from four perspective which captures the different understanding of the phrases. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 16 firstly there is philosophical logic as (a type of) logic and studding logical systems connected to philosophy. in this context, logic examining nonmathematical reasoning is referred to as philosophical logic. it includes those areas and subfields within modern logic where the formal structure of reasoning and the handling of inference are related to particular philosophical issues and logical systems that are built and established in this manner. secondly, there is philosophical logic as a logic in (of) philosophy and explores the rules of the logical inference, the modes of deduction from and in philosophy. in this sense, philosophical logic is a study of logical consequence and argumentation in philosophy, and particularly the logical problems in epistemology, dialectics, the analysis and explication of the logical structure of specific philosophical theory or classes of such theories. in the wide sense, philosophical logic is not logic, but an interdisciplinary field between logic and other philosophical areas: ontology, epistemology, philosophy of science, history of philosophy. thirdly there is philosophical logic as a philosophy in logic, a look at contemporary logic from the point of view of some well-known philosophical schools. for example, how can we look at contemporary logic from the point of view of hegel or kant? how do dialectics emerge in logic? what are merits of platonism, agnosticism, realism and nominalism, pragmatism, hermeneutics and existentialism in logic? and lastly is philosophical logic as a philosophy of logic, i.e. a part of the general philosophy of science, similar to the philosophy of physics, of biology, of mathematics. in this view, philosophical logic is an analysis of the development of contemporary logic from the point of view of philosophy of science. it is an analysis of the most important logical results from the standpoint of methodology and discussing questions that are essential for the philosophical interpretation of modern logic. the paper proceeds with brief incursion into the historical development of logic as a branch of philosophy. this is necessary because it is in the course of this development of logic that it acquired such appellation. thereafter, the distinctive qualities of each would be discussed to point out their points of convergence and divergence where available. historical development of logic according to irving copi and carl cohen, logic is the study of the methods and principles used to distinguish correct reasoning from incorrect reasoning… the logician is concerned with reasoning on every subject: science and medicine, ethics and law, politics and commerce, sports and games and even the simple 1affairs of everyday life. logic and metaphysics according to joseph brenner, began in antique as ways of reasoning about nature, or reality. however, relatively early logic developed into simply a tool for determining the truth or falsify of propositions… the most common current definition of logic is that it is an analytical theory intended to formalize principles of valid reasoning as well as a theory of valid inference that provides insights into the foundations of mathematics. examples of standard logics are classical term or syllogistic logics – “aristotelian logics. their recent igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 17 modifications include first and higher order predicate logics, modal logics and 2 ampliative adoptive logics. traditional logic used the syllogistic method of test propositions with the aim of determining their validity or otherwise but in the modern period the addition of mathematical to formal logic broadened its scope. john corcoran writes that before boole, logic was focused on two central problems of logic as formal epistemology: how to show that a given conclusion follows from given premises that formally imply it, and how to show that a given conclusion does not follow 3from given premises that do not formally imply it. what aristotle wanted to do was to establish how the validity or invalidity of an argument would be th determined. this method continued for time and in the 19 century symbolic logic developed through the application of mathematical symbols to formal or aristotelian logic. russell notes that logic in the middle ages and down to the present day in teaching meant no more than a scholastic collection of technical 4 terms and rules of syllogistic inference. the modern development of mathematical logic dates from boole's law of thought (1854) but russell believes that the first serious advance in real logic since the time of the greeks was made independently by peano and frege – both mathematicians. they both 5 arrived at their logical results by an analysis of mathematics. corroborating russell's view, copi writes that since the 1840s, symbolic logic has developed along two different historical paths. george boole (1815-1864) applied algebraic notations and methods first to symbolize and then to validate arguments of the kind studied by aristotle in the fourth century bc. this route says copi may be characterized as an effort to apply mathematical notations and methods to traditional, nonmathematical kinds of argument. the other path began with the independent efforts of the english mathematician augustus de morgan and independent american scientist and philosopher charles peirce to device a very 4precise notation for relational arguments. this modern turn set a new course for the development and applications of logic. within this period there was a merger of these two paths. the brilliant works of the german mathematician and philosopher gottlob frege, the italian mathematician guiseppe peano, and the english philosophers alfred north whitehead and bertrand russell, whose principia mathematica was an 5important landmark in the history of symbolic logic, are examples of such merger. in contemporary times logic is being applied in diverse modes to deal with philosophical and logical issues thereby attaining the appellations philosophical logic and philosophy of logic. dale jacquette contends that when contemporary philosophers speak of logic, they generally mean to refer to any of a variety of alternative formal symbolisms that can be used to formulate particular aspects of the formal inferential structures of language, including but 6not limited to languages in which philosophical ideas are conveyed. having had a brief notation on the development of logic we now move to see how logic as a tool is used to address general philosophical problems on the one hand and its own problems on the other hand, in other words, philosophical logic and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 18 philosophy of logic. this is a shift in emphasis in contemporary period. philosophical logic borrowing a leaf from the assertion of russell that every philosophical problem, when it is subjected to the necessary analysis and purification, is found either to be not really philosophical at all, or else to be, in the sense in which using the 9word, logic, philosophers in the contemporary widely apply logic in attempting to clarify or solve philosophical issues. this thus gives essence to philosophical logic. towing the same route, lou goble states that philosophical logic is philosophy that is logic, and logic that is philosophy. it is where philosophy and 10logic come together and become one. writing further on the nature of philosophical logic goble says it is not a special kind of logic, some species distinct from mathematical logic, symbolic logic, formal logic, informal logic, modern logic, ancient logic, or logic with any other familiar modifier. rather, philosophical logic uses logic as philosophy in everyday analysis. goble says philosophical logic develops formal systems and structures, to be applied to the 12analysis of concepts and arguments that are central to philosophical inquiry. similarly, grayling notes that philosophical logic is not about logic; neither is it logic, in the sense in which logic is the study of formal representations and regimentations of inference… philosophical logic is philosophy, philosophy 13logic – informed and logic – sensitive albeit, but philosophy not withstanding. philosophical logic is believed to encroach on other areas of philosophy including metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, philosophy of language etc., but while trying to identify its subject matter and what connects topics under it, e.j. lowe sees philosophical logic as the philosophical elucidation of those notions that are indispensable for the proper characterization of national thought and its contents. the notions in question are ones like those of reference, predication, identity, truth, negation, quantification, existence, necessity, definition and entailment. these and related notions are needed in order to give adequate accounts of the structure of thoughts particularly as expressed in language and of the relationships in which thoughts stand both to one another and to objects and states 14of affairs in the world. grayling also identified the topics under philosophical logic to include proposition, analyticity, necessity, existence, identity, truth, 15meaning and reference. these topics are applied in the analysis of philosophical issues in the world. for instance, jacquette says that philosophical logic combines the application of logical symbolisms with a commitment to specific philosophical ideas. for instance the problems and methods of applied logic in studying the philosophy of 15language is within the domain of philosophical logic. philosophical logic is thus seen as logic for philosophy which has applications both within and without the discipline. grayling captures this thought in his description of its distinction with philosophy of logic in his statement that; when one does philosophy of logic, one is philosophizing about logic; but when one igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 19 17does philosophical logic, one is philosophizing. next we turn to the nature and subject matter of philosophy of logic. philosophy of logic the philosophy of logic (or logics) is the philosophical examination of systems of 18 formal logic and their applications. grayling also says philosophy of logic is an enterprise in which philosophical questions about the nature and some of the implications of logic constitute the subject matter. the problem of entailment, the significance of the lowenheim – sklem theorem, quantification theory's scope and limits, the relationship between logic and set theory, and the nature of set 19 theory itself… are all issues dealt with in the philosophy of logic. it is thus safe to say that the scope of philosophy of logic does not go beyond logic as a branch of philosophy. john burgess says what logical forms are and how they are related to linguistic forms, are deep and difficult questions not of philosophical logic but of philosophy of logic. they are questions about what logicians are doing when they are at work, not questions that have to be resolved 20before logicians get to work. philosophy of logic is at play when logic gets concerned, as jacquette puts it, with abstract theoretical matters concerning its own formal symbolisms and the properties, such as the scope and limits of logical and mathematical systems concerning as a whole, in the study of logical 21 metatheory. globle distinguishes philosophy of logic from philosophical of logic with its investigation of the epistemological and ontological positions of the propositions of logic, of a priority, of conventionality, of questions about what, if anything, is a logical constant, about the nature of logical truth and logical consequence, and 22 even the question 'what is logic?' itself. whenever a limitation is perceived in the application of logical symbols to philosophy problems, philosophy of logic is resorted to develop new analytical instruments. jacquette further buttresses this point saying that “the need for new formalisms is sometimes made urgent by the limitation of received systems that are only discovered when we try to apply them to real problems. at the same time, developments in symbolic logic that are undertaken purely for the sake of their theoretical interest frequently suggests new applications of logical analysis for 23which no need had previously been perceived. conclusion it is observed from the nature of philosophical logic and philosophy of logic that though they are interrelated and sometimes intertwine, they are distinctive. the scope of philosophy of logic is limited to philosophy while that of philosophical of logic extends to other areas of philosophy and disciplines. but irrespective of this, the functions performed by each cannot be overemphasized. goble writes that today most of the flourishing research in philosophical logic is being done by computer scientists, working, for example, on aspects of knowledge 24representation, systems verification, ai. these applications are made possible igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 20 by the functioning of logic which is always enriched through philosophy of logic. russell says that logic consists of two parts. the first part investigates that propositions are and what forms they may have; this part enumerates the different kinds of atomic propositions, of molecular propositions, of general propositions, and so on. the second part consists of certain supremely general propositions, which asserts the truth of all propositions of certain forms… the first part, which merely enumerates forms, is the more difficult, and philosophically the more important; and it is the recent progress in this first part, more than anything else, that has rendered a truly scientific discussion of many philosophical problems 25possible. we can thus infer that for philosophical logic to be able perform optimally, it needs regular enrichment of logic through the philosophy of logic. references 1. irvin copi and carl cohen, introduction to logic, eleventh edition, (new delhi: prentice – hall of india, 2007) p. 3. 2. joseph brenner, “the philosophical logic of stephane lupaso (19001988)”, logic and logical philosophy volume 19 (2010), pp. 243-285. 3. john corcoran, “c.i. lewis: history and philosophy of logic” transactions of charles s. peirce society, vol. 42, no. 1, (winter, 2006), pp. 1-9. 4. bertrand russell, our knowledge of the external world as a field for scientific method in philosophy, (london: george allen & unwin ltd, 1922) p. 15. 5. ibid p. 18 6. irving copi, symbolic logic, fifth edition, (new delhi: prentice-hall of india private limited, 2000) p. 7. 7. ibid p. 7 8. dale jacquette (ed) a companion to philosophical logic, (malden: blackwell publishing ltd, 2002) p. 1. 9. bertrand russell op cit p. 15. 10. lou goble, “introduction” in lou goble (ed) the blackwell guide to philosophical logic, (massachusetts: blackwell publishers ltd, 2001) p. 1 11. ibid p. 1 12. ibid p. 1 13. a.c. grayling, an introduction to philosophical logic, third edition, (oxford and massachusetts: blackwell publishers ltd, 1997) pp 2-3 14. e.j. lowe, “philosophical logic” available at http:www.dur.ac.uk/ resources/philosophy/staff/philog.html. accessed 12/7/2012. 15. a.c. grayling op. cit. p. 1. 16. dale jacquette op. cit. pp. 2-4 17. a.c. grayling op. cit. p. 3 18. e.j. lowe op. cit. 19. a.c. grayling op. cit. p. 3 20. john burgess, philosophical logic, (new jersey: princeton university press, 2009) pp 2-3. 21. dale jacquette op, cit. p. 7. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 21 22. lou goble op. cit. p. 2. 23. dale jacquette op. cit. p. 7. 24. lou goble op. cit. p. 2. 25. bertrand russell op. cit. p. 26. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol 9 no.1, 2023 www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/igwebuikejournals.php a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 143 the dialectics of peace and conflicts management in north central nigeria: a retributive or restorative justice system? amos, dauda bivan center for peace and conflict studies, university of jos, plateau state nigeria bivanamos@gmail.com abstract this paper does lament whatever had happened to north central nigeria, and in particular, benue’s, plateau’s, and southern kaduna’s glorious past, and the abysmal state of nigeria’s civilization inherited from british colonial masters, with its attendant effects such as insecurity and underdevelopment most especially on the sampled area and the continent at large. the paper, through an exegesis of select historical facts and texts, reports, and journals, has explored via a desk and textual study, an objective explication for an unpacking of the inherent mischiefs caused by the apparent harmful retributive system of justice inherited from the colonial criminal justice system. thereafter, the prognosis of the problematics of the retributive justice system in nigeria, and of the vicious cycles of the conflicts, is addressed through an unveiling of the gaps in the retributive justice system, which hitherto has focused more on the offender, to the detriment of the victim(s), and society, is underscored. these dialectics for peacebuilding, conflict management/transformation, and mutual trust would be reached through (re)negotiation, and (re)visiting of the nigerian criminal justice system, with a focus on the restorative justice system by advocating for the full entrenchment of the formidable administration of criminal justice act, 2015 in all the states of the federation for the development of nigerians and african’s scions globally. where the emphasis is now hinged on “victim-offender-mediation” and lessons are drawn from the wajir peace development committee (in northeastern kenya) cum the plateau model as a panacea to the unending vicious cycle of conflicts and reprisals in our societies. keywords: restorative, retributive, victim-offender-mediation, peace, conflict the dialectics of peace and conflicts management in north central nigeria 144 introduction north central nigeria is a contested geographical space that has been experiencing diverse security threats, which have constituted a breach to national integration and cohesion. this region, north central nigeria is equally known as the middle belt region. though it is still being contested that the region comprises benue, plateau, nasarawa, taraba, kogi, kwara, niger, southern kaduna and federal capital territory, abuja. this enclave has been bedevilled by myriads of hydra-headed crises and conflicts ranging from; farmers/herders, banditry, cattle rustling, kidnapping, and armed conflicts in unprecedented dimensions in the recent times. the deteriorating security situation seemingly revolves around three different but overlapping factors. these triple factors include: claims over land ownership for either crop farming or animal grazing; the emergence of armed gangs, terrorists, and bandits, engaged in kidnapping and robbery; as well as religious extremism are the factors responsible for the lack of security, with its attendant effect such as the lack of integration and cohesion among the people of the region under study. as such, all efforts by state and non-state actors to curb this bane through dialogues, peace summits, seminars, and workshops among others have not yet yielded the desired result, hence, the frequent escalation of ethnic cleansing, raping of women, and young girls, maiming and destruction of lives and property at an alarming rate are being recorded nearly every week or the other in this region. it is against the above premise that this paper calls for a reform of the criminal justice system being practiced in nigeria that has become so obsolete. since it was inherited from the colonial era until now. the nigerian jurisprudence and the inherited laws need an immediate overhauling if we are sincere as a nation in our fight against banditry, insurgencies, terrorism, and other forms of criminalities in north central nigeria. unlike in nigeria where there is no entrenched operational restorative justice system programme besides the administration of criminal justice act (acja) 2015. other nations of the world such as the united states, canada, australia, new zealand, europe, south africa, etc., are among those that have restorative justice being practiced in their countries. the united states and europe for instance, have the most dynamic restorative justice system referred to as victim-offender mediation (vom). the united nations and europe victim-offender mediation programmes bring together in a face-to-face mediation the victims and offenders before a competent team of expert mediators and facilitators qbi [ffiq [mecha i` ko_mncihm, [h^ mnilsn_ffcha, [m q_ff [m f_nncha i`` i` \inb nb_ pc]ncgm’ [h^ i``_h^_lm’ _gincih[f `__fcham, [nd in some instances, restitution agreements are being negotiated. it is worthy to mention that majority of us states have now implemented restorative justice programmes or have used restorative justice dialectal in legislation or policy official papers (o’blc_h, 2000). c[h[^[ `il _r[gjf_, \lioabn chni nb_cl c[h[^c[h amos, dauda bivan 145 criminal code in 1996, community-based sentencing principles. this was to stimulate accountability in offenders and for them to realize the degree of offenses and make restitution for the injury and damages inflicted on their victims as well as their communities. other jurisdictions in africa that had colonial influences such as ghana and south africa had had their criminal justice systems reformed already. while nigeria is still struggling, in the real sense of the word. the nigerian criminal justice system suffers lots of mischief in its administrative wheels. though most of these mischiefs were addressed when president goodluck jonathan signed into law the acj acts in 2015. however, others such as the acj acts of 2015, have not been enacted in many states of the federation until now, and the restorative justice system is yet to be entrenched. a brief insight on justice while justice itself is an elusive concept, as dias (1976) observes, it can be loosely said that it implies equity and fairness, and for there to be meaningful access to justice, there must be some element of fairness and equity in a system to guarantee the realization of basic fundamental rights (okogbule 2005:2). justice is the maintenance or administration of what is just, especially by the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of merited rewards or punishments (merriam-webster dictionary, 1828). justice from another perspective is seen as the ethical, philosophical idea that people are to be treated impartially, fairly, properly, and reasonably by the law and by arbiters of the law, that laws are to ensure that no harm befalls another, and that, where harm is alleged, both the accuser and the accused receive a morally right consequence merited their actions (cornell law school, 1992). from the foregoing definitions, one can deduce that justice could be the entrenchment of what is fair and just, by giving to either the offended or the offender what ought to be given to them in terms of verdict, that is, their due legally. given the aforementioned definitions, some questions would naturally resonate with the advanced definitions; how impartial and fair is the justice system in nigeria today? how incorruptible are the arbiters of justice in nigeria? how speedy is the nigerian administration of criminal justice act in prosecuting the offenders and dispensing justice to the offended? etc. the justice system in nigeria nigerian criminal justice system (cjs) is more concerned with punishing the offenders, by paying close attention to the offense committed than to the offended; this cjs is retributive in nature. this cjs is more often than not, concerned about the welfare of the the dialectics of peace and conflicts management in north central nigeria 146 offender and the community than of the offended or victim. its prerogative is the protection of the crime suspects. this protection as such tends to undermine the attention of the suspect in the event that they are guilty to other aspects like the court trial, where they will plead not in most cases to other technicalities. the disturbing questions in a conflict situation or region such as the north central nigeria where culprits or the offenders are arrested and incarcerated are; what then happens to the offended? how about the destroyed crops? or the cows that were killed or rustled? and what about the houses burnt or destroyed? when arson is committed during a violent ]lcmcm, [l_ nb_ pc]ncgm’ fcp_m [h^ jlij_lns ]igj_hm[n_^ `il? hiq [\ion nb_ jimn-traumatic effects that these victims or their dependents live with afterward? has there been any provision for restitution in such instances until now? these and several queries are pointers to the identified mischiefs in the retributive justice system. and by implication, to the gross failure on the part of our government that has sworn to protect the lives and property of its citizens. this means that the government has failed in its responsibility and the social contract it has entered into with its citizens. it is against the aforementioned pitfall that this paper advocates for the full administration of the restorative justice system in north central nigeria as a panacea to the negative peace and vicious cycles of conflicts being experienced in this region. this study agrees with stauffer (2012)’m mo\gcmmcih nb[n, domnc]_ cm l_[fct_^ ch [ bog[h [h^ l_f[ncih[f context, not just by legal or criminal justice court processes. it is also attained through actions of restitution and reparations, not just through legal theory and codes of law. and thirdly, justice is completed through restoration and rehabilitation, not just alienation and punishment. this paper does not completely reject or exclude elements of retribution as other scholars have subscribed to, but call for a synergy with some elements of retributive justice (that is, censure for past offenses), some elements of rehabilitative justice (for example, by asking what shall we do to encourage future law-abiding behaviour?), and some elements of restorative (for example, by asking, how can the offender make up for what he or she did to the victim). some cases in point this is one out of many cases of arrests in north central nigeria without prosecution. this was being reported on 21 may 2022 by abiodun sanusi of the punch newspaper nbom: ‚wby we raped, killed greenfield students-somj_]nm‛ tb_ nqi ec^h[jj_lm, agcho lawal, aka aminu kano, and murtala dawu, aka mugala, said to be members of a gang code-h[g_^ nb_ ‘y_ffiq amb[h[,’ mj_[e ih nb_cl chpifp_g_hn ch nb_ ch`[giom ec^h[j i` 140 pupils of the bethel baptist high school, kaduna state, and 16 students of the amos, dauda bivan 147 greenfield university on the kaduna abuja expressway in 2021, during their parade by the police. parents and relatives of victims confessed to raising the sum of n180 million ransom alongside some motorbikes to secure the release of their children and wards. how would justice be served in this case? many nigerians are skeptical of the administration of justice in this case in point, like several many others similar occurrences. however, it would be too early to pre-empt the law enforcement agencies and the kaduna state government in this case. this is not to mention the 28 march 2022 kaduna-abuja train [nn[]e pc]ncgm [giha inb_lm nb[n nb_cl [\^o]nilm’ qb_l_[\ionm [l_ ehiqh, [h^ s_n, nothing apparently tangible is done to secure their release until now or their abductors. though the gunmen have on 23 may 2022 threatened to start killing abductees if their demands are not met by the federal government. the abductors name sheik dr ahmad gogc’m spokesperson, tukur mamu (dan-iyan fika) as the only trusted person that cannot alter their message to the federal government. the desert herald newspaper reported that the abductors would only release the train victims on the condition that their detained children numbering about eight (8), and some of their arrested comrades that in the nigerian government detention facilities. the kenyan intervention mechanisms & the plateau state of nigeria’s model the rise of the wajir peace and development committee (wpdc) in june 1993, had women for peace and youth for peace, which formed the wajir peace group (wpg), this group was able to attract elders to its peace development efforts. this move was made possible largely due to the local unicef and oxfam representatives. the creation of another committee popularly known as elders for peace came into existence. thereafter, the creation of a council of elders, which was later known as al fatah elders became monumental in the drive for peace that was initiated by women. the elders met in a madrassa known as al fatah and were selected in a process that involved all clans. each of the three major clans was asked to nominate 75 elders, while the smaller clans or ']ilh_l’ ]f[hm q_l_ [me_^ ni higch[n_ `iol _[]b. a `olnb_l meven days were devoted to consensus building on peace and setting up rules and codes of enforcing the peace and extracting allegiance. the al fatah declaration has become the most important tool for peace building in wajir district. it is the document most expressive of the creative mix of the somali justice system, backed by the enforcement capacity of the state. it has deep legitimacy because elders with secure legitimacy in various competing clans negotiated it over time and because communities, especially women and youth, were recognized as stakeholders, if not prime movers. the al fatah elders have become, comparatively, a critical element to achieving peace in wajir because, as men, they command greater the dialectics of peace and conflicts management in north central nigeria 148 traditional claims to leadership than women and, as older persons, more claims to community leadership than the youth. integrating local administrative organs into peace building offered a way to reduce the suspicion inherent in the three-decade-old relationship between the state and the northeastern ciggohcnc_m. ammcahcha nb_ ]b[cl’m lif_ ni nb_ dcmnlc]n ciggcmmcih_l [fmi [ffiq_^ for instant legitimacy and avoided further conflicts over which clan should head the group. it is worthy of mention that key feats in the intervention of the wajir peace and development committee can be summarized thus; the achievement of peaceful settlements in most interventions, the establishment of an infrastructure for responding to conflict and promoting peace, the revival of the elements of the pre-colonial somali justice system, which, when combined with the modern state system, seems to assure more peace than either one by itself, this move has prompted perceptible attitudinal change and reduced the incidents of retaliation, it has also targeted, with modest success, (ex-)combatants through development projects, and, has produced a model of cbogovernment collaboration in peacebuilding that is unique in kenya and that is being replicated in other north-eastern communities. these impacts are replicable in a number of instances and could be used to enhance other emerging models of communitygovernment collaboration in peacebuilding. like anywhere else, peacebuilding is an arduous task and involves long, protracted processes. where the wpdc has been invited to mediate conflicts in areas such as in garissa and mandera, for example, it has had modest success in easing tensions and setting up intra-clan platforms for conflict resolution (2001:15). on the other hand, the plateau state model as discussed by amupitan and peter (2021) is culled to buttresses further the argument on the need of involving all and sundry into the peace building and conflict transformation dialectics in the north central nigeria. amupitan and peter (2021) argued that all the successes recorded in recent times were made possible with the help of ngos and civil society groups who stand as intermediary between the people and the government. therefore, there is also an interface between the state and the civil society which has yielded positive results. they further stressed that those who were trained as peace ambassadors on the plateau became the ambassadors that were selected from various communities of both christians and muslims, who were allowed to discuss the solution to the conflict on ground and truth/reconciliatory moves came out of the meeting which aided the idea of peace ambassador training in jos plateau state and other local government areas. again, among the result of the participatory peace building are that, the various community in plateau state appointed security personnel (vigilante group) who manned the community day and night to track any group that intend to foment trouble and other criminality in the community. these people are amos, dauda bivan 149 responsible for security of the community and they are quite effective since they have the knowledge of the people that live in the community and can easily track down any strange person within the community (amupitan & peter 2021, p. 212). a lesson from the wajir district of north-eastern kenya and plateau state of nigeria’s model the neglect and brutality of the kenyan state for instance, has also left an important gap in the delivery of justice, especially critical in an environment where survival entails many conflicts for control and access to scarce resources. the result has been the mobilization of traditional and communal forces to respond to competition and to the need for justice. in a province administered as a security zone, the sporadic presence and arbitrariness of the state were particularly evident in the actions of the police and other security actors, especially in the escalation of revenge killings that fueled the 1992-95 crisis. the incapacity of the police to end the violence was evident to residents as, at times, suspected culprits were never arrested or were allowed to go free after, residents suspected, paying bribes to security forces. the residents thus lost confidence in the justice system offered by the modern state. instead, they resorted to their own brand of justice, which often entailed avenging wrongs communally (2001:4). indeed, this is not dissimilar to the now established practice in other parts of kenya, where lynching of suspected criminals occurs regularly as a terrifying reminder of the extent to which the public has lost confi^_h]_ ch nb_ jifc]_’m [\cfcns ni [ll_mn [h^ jlim_]on_ ^[ha_liom criminals. this scenario of state failure and jungle justice also plays out very well in north central nigeria where victims of various forms of criminalities are most often arrested and handed over to the police or the military without any form of prosecution or justice dispensed in the end. and one could make reference to myriads of arrests without prosecutions. the takeaway from kenya is; i. wig_h’m [jj_[f `il j_[]_ q[m \_cha _]bi_^ []limm nb_ community and the youth organized activities that supported the peace efforts, the creation of a council of elders (that came to be known as al fatah elders) was the watershed event. the elders met in a madrassa known as al fatah and were selected in a process that involved all clans. ii. the establishment of a committee called elders for peace. iii. the result has been the mobilization of traditional and communal forces to respond to competition and to the need for justice. the dialectics of peace and conflicts management in north central nigeria 150 and the lesson learned from the plateau experience is thus summed up in this lines; i. these ambassadors were selected from various communities both christians and muslims. they were allowed to discuss the solution to the conflict on ground and truth/reconciliatory moves came out of the meeting which aided the idea of peace ambassador training in jos plateau state and other local government areas ii. this outcome led to the recruiting and training of security agents from all the different communities on the plateau as key players in curbing the recurrent decimal of conflict in plateau state (amupitan & peter 2021, p. 212). iii. the peace ambassadors and the vigilante group or community police eventually became the formidable force that is now instrumental to achieving the desired results in restoring some degree of peace on the plateau and environs. retributive or restorative justice system? if the main purpose of the nigerian criminal justice system is to reduce crimes to the barest degree in the society, by prosecuting and punishing the persons responsible for criminal acts, by protecting and restoring the offended and the society to as close as possible before any crimes were committed. then how well has all of the foregoing been achieved in north central nigeria, and nigeria as a whole? it is these failures that this study seeks to address by advocating for the full implementation of the restorative justice system in all the federating states of the country called nigeria. the retribution model of criminal justice as argued by ani c.c (2020), has over time proved to be a slow, costly, and apparently ineffective way of dealing with crime in nigerian and beyond. retribution justice is justice that is founded around punishment as a means of preventing vengeance from the victim. the philosophy behind this form of justice regime is that victims are thought to have a natural proclivity to revenge which can only be assuaged if they see that the offender has been adequately punished. the punishment of the offender gives the victim a sense of justice and relief. the only goal in retributive justice is punishment. whether it deters or restores is immaterial. proportionality is an important concept in retributive justice. this does not mean that the punishment has to be equivalent to the crime. a retributive system must punish severe crimes harsher than minor crimes, and the severity of the crime is usually determined by the amount of harm and the moral imbalance it creates (abikan, 2017). on the other hand, restorative justice deals with a process of settling disputes or resolving crime or injuries inflicted on any victim and their society or communities on one hand and also holding the offender responsible for the offense or harm caused to both the offended and the community on the other hand, by engaging the community, the offended and the offender amos, dauda bivan 151 in settling or resolving the dispute, conflict or harm being done to the victim and the society at large. to walgrave (2008), restorative jusnc]_ cm ‚[h ijncih `il ^icha domnc]_ after the occurrence of an offense that is primarily oriented towards repairing the ch^cpc^o[f, l_f[ncih[f [h^ mi]c[f b[lg ][om_^ \s nb[n i``_hm_.‛ zof`[ (2011) jimcnm nb[n restorative justice is a model approach that emerged in the 1960s in an effort to solve criminal cases. unlike the approach used in the conventional criminal justice system, this approach focuses on the direct participation of perpetrators, victims, and society in the settlement process. this paper advocates for a symbiotic relationship between the retributive justice and restorative justice system, where the administration of criminal justice act (acja) in the entirety of its gamut ensures a criminal justice system that respects the dignity of the offender and pursues both the retributive and restorative justice in a timely dispensation of criminal cases. as such all states of the federation, especially benue, plateau, and the kaduna states are enjoined to enact the acja in their respective jurisdiction despite its defects or mischiefs. the administration of criminal justice act (acj act) 2015 fuses the provisions of both the criminal procedure act (cpa) practiced in the southern states of nigeria together with the criminal procedure code (cpc) administered in the northern states as one holistic legislation. the acj act states in section 1 that its intent is to ensure that the system of the administration of criminal justice in nigeria stimulates competent running of the criminal justice institutions, quick passage of justice, protection of the society from crime, and protection of the rights and interests of the suspect, the defendant, and the victim. the act qbc]b mo\mncnon_m nb_ cpa [h^ nb_ cpc i``_lm jli`om_ jlipcmcihm ih pc]ncgm’ l_g_^c_m and restorative justice as a remedy to the inherent mischiefs in the cpa and cpc. provisions for compensation and restitution are treated in this fashion thus; compensation it is worthy of note that section 314 on compensation provides that, notwithstanding the limit of its civil or criminal jurisdiction, a court has power in delivering its judgment to award to a victim commensurate compensation by the defendant or any other person or the state. the court in considering the award of compensation to the victim may call for additional evidence to enable it to determine the quantum of compensation to be awarded. restitution then section 321 which focuses on restitution, has empowers the court to order restitution accordingly. a court after conviction may adjourn proceedings, to consider and determine the dialectics of peace and conflicts management in north central nigeria 152 the sentence appropriate for each convict: (a) in addition to or in lieu of any other penalty authorized by law, order the convict to make restitution or pay compensation to any pc]ncg i` nb_ ]lcg_ `il qbc]b nb_ i``_h^_l q[m ]ihpc]n_^, il ni nb_ pc]ncg’m _mn[n_; (\) order for the restitution or compensation for the loss or destrucncih i` nb_ vc]ncg’m property and in so doing the court may direct the convict: (i) to return the property to the owner or to a person designated by the owner; (ii) where the return of the property is impossible or impracticable, to pay an amount equal to the value of the property; or (iii) where the property to be returned is inadequate or insufficient, to pay an amount equal to the property calculated on the basis of what is fair and just. religious allusion to restitution it is in the light of the above that this paper reiterate that both christianity and islam adhere to the principle of restitution as would be supported by some quotations from both the bible and the quran thus; christianity exodus 22:9 for all manner of trespass, whether it be ox, for ass, for sheep, for raiment, or for any manner of lost thing, which another challengeth to be his, the cause of both parties shall come before the judges; and whom the judges shall condemn, he shall pay double unto his neighbor. leviticus 6:4 – then it shall be because he hath sinned, and is guilty, that he shall restore that which he took violently away, or the thing which he hath deceitfully gotten, or that which was delivered him to keep, or the lost thing which was found. proverbs 6:30-31 men do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his soul when he is hungry. but if he is found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house. islam tb_ qol’[h [h^ nb_ sohh[b [l_ l_jf_n_ qcnb chdoh]ncihm ih l_mnil[ncp_ domnc]_. tb_l_ cm the islamic practice of diyya and sohland. in diyya, the offender agrees to monetary payment to the victim, while sohl is a negotiated reconciliation. both practice are done in the presence of a waliamr (appointed guardian) (accessed 2022). in islamic criminal law quisas crimes are most affected by restorative justice. they are crimes such as intentional wounding and homicide. the victims of qisas crimes as avers by hascall (2012) retain a central role in the prosecution and sentencing of defendants. the victims of qisas crimes are given a choice as to the punishment that is to be imposed. they may choose to forgive the defendant and demand no punishment at all, or they may choose to ^_g[h^ j[sg_hn ‚^css[‛ [m ]igj_hm[ncih `il nb_ ]lcg_. tb_ hifs qol[h ch nbe book of al-baqarah: 178 have this to say on the subject of restorative justice: amos, dauda bivan 153 o ye who believe the law of equality is prescribed to you in cases of murder: the free for the free, the slave for the slave, the woman for the woman. but if any forgiveness is made by the brother of the slain, then grant any reasonable demand, and compensate him with handsome gratitude. this is a concession and a mercy from god (al-baqarah: 178) conclusion this subscribes to the full implementation of the restorative justice system and the institutionalization of the victim-offender-mediation as the panacea to check-mating the incessant circle of violence in the north-central nigeria. sequel to that, the paper also advocates for a symbiotic relationship between the retributive justice and restorative justice system, where the administration of criminal justice act (acja) in the entirety of its gamut ensures a criminal justice system that respects the dignity of the offender as well and pursues both the retributive and restorative justice in a timely dispensation of criminal cases. as such, all states of the federation, especially benue, plateau, and the kaduna states are enjoined to enact the acja in their respective jurisdiction undermining its constitutional mischiefs. as it is argued that justice is completed through restoration and rehabilitation, not just alienation and punishment. this paper does not completely reject or exclude elements of retribution, however, it appeals for symbiotic relationship between some elements of retributive justice, some elements of rehabilitative justice, and some elements of restorative above all. recommendations it is recommended in this study that the following majors should be taken for fairness, equity, and justice in the face of any form of breach of law and order or criminality; i. all states of the federation should be made to adopt and practice the 2015 acj acts ii. entrenchment of the restorative justice system is highly encouraged in all states of the federation iii. the offender should be made to pay for their crime iv. the items or life destroyed should be quantified and translated into monetary value as well v. the state should come in to rehabilitate the victims due to the post-traumatic effects of the attack or injury suffered vi. victim-offender-mediation system should be fully implanted in the north-central nigeria the dialectics of peace and conflicts management in north central nigeria 154 vii. above all, the adoption of the kenyan mechanisms and the plateau model of curbing of conflict and promoting peace in the region under study is highly recommended. references: abikan, h, (2017). debating the criminal justice system. http://voiceofreason.org.ng/wp/2017/10/ 12/debating-criminal-justice-system/ accessed on 20 may 2022. amupitan, & peter a. s. (2021). the impact of restorative justice on post-conflict peace building process in plateau state. ijocllep 3 (1) 2021 ani, c. c. (2020). restorative justice: victim offender mediation. legalpediaonline.com walgrave, lode (2008). restorative justice, self-interest and responsible citizenship, cullompton: willan publishing, p. 21. eva achjani zulfa (2011). restorative justice in indonesia: traditional value no. 1 – volume 2, may – august 2011 indonesia law review, p. 33. ‚imf[g [h^ r_mnil[ncp_ jomnc]_: ah ihnli^o]ncih, presented by the centre for restorative justice and p_[]_g[echa‛, [p[cf[\f_ at:http://www.slideserve.com/mauli/islam-and-restorative-justice-anintroduction. accessed on 12/5/2022. h[m][ff, s.c. (2012). ‚r_mnil[ncp_ jomnc]_ ch imf[g: sbiof^ qcm[m \_ cihmc^_red a form of restorative jomnc]_‛, duquesne university school of law research paper no. 201211 http://www.evangelizationstation.com/htm_html/moral%20theology/death%20penalty/restorativ e_justice_and_the_comm.htm. accessed on 15/5/2022 76 the double-edged sword of artificial intelligence on academic performance: striking the equilibrium between its positive and negative impacts. christian umeanwe, phd department of religion and human relations, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. drchrismadu777@gmail.com cm.umeanwe@unizik.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.33952.39688 abstract the integration of artificial intelligence (ai) in education has sparked intense debate about its impact on students' academic performance. on one hand, ai has the potential to enhance learning outcomes by providing personalized instruction, automating grading, and offering real-time feedback. ai-powered tools can also facilitate access to vast educational resources, making learning more engaging and efficient. on the other hand, excessive reliance on ai may hinder critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills. over-reliance on ai-generated solutions can lead to a lack of understanding of fundamental concepts, ultimately negatively impacting academic performance. moreover, ai-driven assessments may prioritize rote memorization over deeper understanding, potentially stifling intellectual curiosity. this research work aims to explore the dual effects of ai on academic performance, examining both the benefits and drawbacks. it also aims to investigate the equilibrium between ai's positive and negative impacts on academic performance, exploring strategies to maximize benefits while mitigating drawbacks. by investigating the interplay between ai and student learning, we can harness the potential of ai to augment education while mitigating its negative consequences. a balanced approach will enable educators to leverage ai as a tool to enhance, rather than replace, traditional teaching methods, ultimately fostering a more effective and inclusive learning environment. the researcher concludes with encouragement to use of both artificial intelligence and human intelligence. to maximize benefits and minimize drawbacks, educators must establish guidelines for ai usage, promote digital literacy, and encourage human-ai collaboration. by acknowledging ai's dual nature and striving for equilibrium, we can harness its potential to augment academic performance while maintaining the value of human intelligence. the researcher used secondary data collection for data generation. keywords: double-edged, sword, artificial intelligence, academic, performance introduction artificial intelligence (ai) refers to computer systems capable of performing complex tasks that historically only a human could do, such as reasoning, making decisions, or solving problems. recently, artificial intelligence (ai) technologies have been widely used in the field of education both by students and educators in achieving their academic goal, and artificial intelligence in education (ai) has gained increasing attention. artificial intelligence (ai) refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines, enabling them to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as: learning, problem-solving, reasoning, perception and language understanding. artificial intelligence (ai) has evolved rapidly, becoming a transformative technology in many areas of modern life. at its core, ai involves the development of computer systems capable of performing tasks that traditionally re\quire human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and language translation. artificial intelligence is a branch of computer science that aims to create intelligent machines capable of perceiving, learning, reasoning, and acting like humans. it encompasses techniques igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 77 like machine learning, deep learning, natural language, language processing, and computer vision,the significance of ai in computer science lies in its ability to pave the way for groundbreaking applications and new technologies that were once deemed impossible. the integration of artificial intelligence (ai) in education has transformed the learning landscape, offering both benefits and drawbacks. this study explores the double-edged sword of ai on academic performance, seeking to strike equilibrium between its positive and negative impacts. hamari et al (2014), ritter & koedinger (2017) opined that, ai has enhanced student engagement, motivation, and learning outcomes. in the vein, baker & smith (2019) said, personalized learning experiences, automated grading, and real-time feedback have improved academic achievement however, kirschner & karpinski (2010) are concerned persist regarding over-reliance on technology, hindering critical thinking and problem-solving skills moreover barocas & selbst (2016) are of the opinion that, ai-generated content and assessments may perpetuate biases. while selwyn (2016) are of the concept that ai may be decreasing students' autonomy and agency. the literature highlights the need for a balanced approach. this is what bostrom & yudkowsky (2014) meant when they said, leveraging ai's potential while maintaining human oversight and critical thinking is necessary. by understanding the complex interplay between ai and academic performance, educators can harness ai's benefits while minimizing its negative consequences. today, the term “ai” describes a wide range of technologies that power many of the services and goods we use every day from apps that recommend tv shows to chatbots that provide customer support in real time. but do all of these really constitute artificial intelligence as most of us envision it? and if not, then why do we use the term so often? artificial intelligence (ai) is the theory and development of computer systems capable of performing tasks that historically required human intelligence, such as recognizing speech, making decisions, and identifying patterns. ai is an umbrella term that encompasses a wide variety of technologies, including machine learning, deep learning and natural language processing. although the term is commonly used to describe a range of different technologies in use today, many disagree on whether these actually constitute artificial intelligence. instead, some argue that much of the technology used in the real world today actually constitutes highly advanced machine learning that is simply a first step towards true artificial intelligence, or “general artificial intelligence”. yet, despite the many philosophical disagreements over whether “true” intelligent machines actually exist, when most people use the term ai today, they are referring to a suite of machine learning-powered technologies, such as chat gpt or computer vision, that enable machines to perform tasks that previously only humans can do like generating written content, steering a car, or analyzing data. in this article, you will learn more about artificial intelligence, what it actually does, and different types of it. in the end, you'll also learn about some of its benefits and dangers and explore flexible courses that can help you expand your knowledge of ai even further. conceptual clarification before delving into the definition of the keywords as contained in the title of the research work, i thought it wise to elucidate the importance of this section of this research. conceptual clarification is essential for several reasons as follow; it is for precision, clarifying concepts, to ensure that we use terms accurately and consistently, avoiding confusion and miscommunication. clear thinking: conceptual clarification promotes clear thinking by forcing us to define and articulate our ideas, making it easier to identify ambiguities and inconsistencies. effective communication: clarified concepts facilitate effective communication among igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 78 researchers, scholars, and practitioners, ensuring that everyone is on the same page. advancing knowledge: conceptual clarification drives knowledge advancement by enabling scholars to build upon established concepts, refine theories, and explore new ideas. interdisciplinary understanding: clarified concepts facilitate communication across disciplines, fostering interdisciplinary research and collaboration. pedagogy: clear concepts enhance teaching and learning, ensuring that students and readers grasp complex ideas and develop a strong foundation for further study. by achieving conceptual clarification, we establish a solid foundation for research, theory development, and effective communication, ultimately advancing our understanding of complex phenomena especially in terms as contained in the title of the work. here are the scholars' detailed definitions for each word as contained in the title of the work: 1. double-edged sword: according to kahneman & tversky (1979), " double-edged sword is a situation or circumstance that has both beneficial and detrimental consequences, requiring careful consideration and management to maximize benefits and minimize harm" (p. 265). 2. artificial: according to bostrom (2014) "artificial can be defined as created or produced by human technology, rather than occurring naturally" (p.12). 3. intelligence: according to gottfredson (1997) "the ability to learn, reason, and adapt to new situations, encompassing various cognitive abilities such as memory, problem-solving, and decision-making", p.13). 4. academic: according to bourdieu (1988), academic can be defined as, “relating to education or scholarship, particularly in a formal or institutional setting, emphasizing critical thinking, research, and intellectual inquiry" (p.23). 5. performance: according to ecclestone (2007), performance can be defined as, "the execution or accomplishment of a task, function, or activity, evaluated based on criteria such as efficiency, effectiveness, and quality" (p.15). 6. striking: according to lakoff & johnson (1980) striking can be defined as, “attracting attention or notice due to unusual or impressive qualities, often conveying a sense of surprise or astonishment" (p.19). 7. equilibrium: according to marshall (1920) equilibrium can be defined as, "a state of balance or stability, where opposing forces or influences are equal and cancel each other out, maintaining a steady or constant condition" (p.45). 8. positive: according to luthans (2002) positive can be defined as, "having a beneficial, favorable, or desirable quality or character, often associated with advantages, gains, or improvements" (p.59). 9. negative: according to luthans (2002) negative can be defined as, "having a detrimental, unfavorable, or undesirable quality or character, often associated with disadvantages, losses, or declines" (p.60). 10. impacts: according to babbie (2013) impacts can be defined as, "the effects or consequences of an event, action, or situation, often evaluated in terms of their significance, magnitude, or duration" (p.122). the definitions as done on the keywords of the title of the research work will enable the readers igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 79 understand the concepts in which they are used in this paper. theoretical study the double-edged sword of artificial intelligence (ai) on academic performance can be understood through the lens of unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (utaut). the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (utaut) is a technology acceptance model. it was formulated by viswanath venkatesh in conjunction with morris, g. morris, davis, g. b., & davis, f. d. in 2003. he is a prominent researcher in the field of information systems and technology acceptance, and has published numerous papers on the topic. venkatesh used a professor at the mcintire school of commerce, university of virginia. unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (utaut). was published in "user acceptance of information technology: toward a unified view". the utaut aims to explain user intentions to use an information system and subsequent usage behavior. the theory examines the acceptance of technology, determined by the effects of performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions. according to ursavas (2022) opinion on the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (utaut). research on technology adoption has identified a large number of factors that can affect individuals' behavioral intentions to use various technologies, and many models have emerged. venkatesh et al. (mis quarterly, 27(3), 425–478: 2003) aimed to develop an integrated model based on the idea that researchers may miss the opportunities offered by alternative models when they choose only one of the existing models. in the synthesis study, theory of reasoned behavior, technology acceptance model, motivation model, theory of planned behavior, unified model of technology acceptance and planned behavior, pc use model, diffusion theory, and social cognitive theory were discussed, their deficiencies and strengths were compared, and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (utaut) was developed. according to utaut, using behavior is determined directly by behavioral intention and facilitating conditions, and performance expectation, which determines behavioral intention, is indirectly determined by effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions variables. in addition, age, gender, experience, and voluntariness of use variables were added as directing variables to the relationships in the model. to make the model more consumercentric, venkatesh et al. (mis quarterly 36, 157–178: 2012a) added hedonic motivation, price value, and habit variables to the model and removed the voluntariness of use moderator from the model, thus expanding the utaut model to utaut2. in this chapter, utaut, which examines the variables that affect individuals' technology acceptance and use with a holistic approach, is examined in an educational context. the reader who completes the section will be able to (a) explain the general structure of the model and for what purpose it was developed (b) define the factors in the model and the relationships between factors (c) give an educational example of the acceptance and use of a technology (d) expand the utaut and utaut2 models in an educational context, formulate hypotheses/problems, collect and analyze data, and (e) discuss and evaluate the results of a study using the utaut and utaut2 models. (p.111-133). artificial intelligence examples though the humanoid robots often associated with ai. at the simplest level, machine learning uses algorithms trained on data sets to create machine learning models that allow computer systems to perform tasks like making song recommendations, identifying the fastest way to travel to a destination, or translating text from one language to another. some of the most common examples of ai in use today include: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 80 chat gpt 1. : uses large language models (llms) to generate text in response to questions or comments posed to it. chatgpt is an ai chatbot developed by openai, utilizing the gpt (the acronym gpt in chatgpt simply means; generative pre-trained transformer) architecture (openai, 2021). brown et al., (2020) opined that, it is trained on vast amounts of text data, enabling it to understand and generate human-like responses. generative: capable of generating new content, such as text or images. pre-trained: trained on a large dataset before being fine-tuned for specific tasks. transformer: a type of neural network architecture used for natural language processing tasks. in essence, gpt is a type of ai model designed to generate human-like text based on the input it receives. (p.10). furthermore, in the words of radford et al (2019) opined that, chatgpt can engage in conversations, answer questions, provide information, and create content. its advanced natural language processing capabilities allow for context understanding, nuance, and empathy. with continuous learning and improvement, chatgpt becomes increasingly sophisticated. (p.12). 2. google translate: uses deep learning algorithms to translate text from one language to another. according to wu et al., (2016) who asserted the following on the meaning of google translate, google translate is a machine translation service developed by google, utilizing neural machine translation (nmt) technology. it translates text and speech in over 100 languages, with accuracy improving over time. (p.23). schuster et al., (2016) also said, google translate uses a large corpus of text data and complex algorithms to generate translations. while not perfect, it facilitates communication across language barriers, with applications in travel, education, and business. its mobile app and web interface make it accessible worldwide. (p.11). 3. netflix: uses machine learning algorithms to create personalized recommendation engines for users based on their previous viewing history. according to gomez-uribe & hunt, (2015), netflix is a streaming service providing access to a vast library of content, including tv shows, movies, and original productions. founded in 1997, it has revolutionized the entertainment industry with its subscription-based model and personalized recommendations (p.10). also lotz (2017) opined that, with a global presence, netflix has transformed the way people consume media, offering a platform for diverse storytelling and creative expression its impact on popular culture and the media landscape is significant, with a growing influence on production and distribution strategies. 4. tesla: uses computer vision to power self-driving features on their cars. tesla, inc. is a pioneering electric vehicle (ev) manufacturer and clean energy company founded in 2003 by elon musk, jb straubel, martin eberhard, and marc tarpennin. tesla's innovative products, such as the model s, model 3, and powerwall, have disrupted the automotive and energy industries. according musk (2013), the company's mission is to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy through affordable evs and renewable energy solutions. tesla's impact on the environment and transportation sector is significant, with a growing influence on the global shift towards sustainable energy. impacts of artificial intelligence (ai) in this segment, the researcher will review the positive and negative impacts of artificial intelligence. ai has a range of applications with the potential to transform how we work and our igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 81 daily lives. while many of these transformations are exciting, like self-driving cars, virtual assistants, or wearable devices in the healthcare industry, they also pose many challenges. it's a complicated picture that often summons competing images: a utopia for some, a dystopia for others. the reality is likely to be much more complex. here are a few of the possible benefits and dangers ai may pose: here are some other positive impacts of artificial intelligence (ai) on academic performance. 1. personalized learning: according to knewton (2016) on positive impact of artificial intelligence (ai) said, “ai, can tailor learning materials to individual students' needs, abilities, and learning styles. 2. intelligent tutoring systems: according to vanlehn (2011) on positive impact of artificial intelligence (ai) said, “ai-powered systems provide one-on-one support, offering real-time feedback and guidance.” 3. automated grading: according to santos (2016) on positive impact of artificial intelligence (ai) said, “ai, can accurately grade assignments, freeing instructors to focus on teaching.” 4. enhanced accessibility: according to burgstahler (2015) on positive impact artificial intelligence (ai) said, “ai-powered tools can help students with disabilities, such as language translation and text-to-speech.” 5. virtual learning environments: according to dalgamo & lee (2010) on positive impact of artificial intelligence (ai) said, “ai can create immersive, interactive learning experiences, increasing student engagement.” 6. natural language processing (nlp): according to graham (2017) on positive impact artificial intelligence (ai) said, “ai-powered nlp can help students improve writing skills, grammar, and language comprehension.” 7. data analysis: according to romero & ventura 92013) on positive impacts artificial intelligence (ai) said, “ai can help teachers track student progress, identify knowledge gaps, and develop targeted interventions.” 8. intelligent adaptive assessments: according to rudner (2017) on positive impacts of artificial potential benefits potential dangers 1. greater accuracy for certain repeatable t asks, such as assembling vehicles or computers. job loss due to increased automation. 2. decreased operational costs due to greater efficiency of machines. potential for bias or discrimination as a result of the data set on which the ai is trained. 3. increase d personalization within digital services and products. possible cybersecurity concerns. 4. improved decision -making in certain situations. lack of transparency over how decisions are arrived at, resulting in less than optimal solutions. 5. ability to quickly generate new content, such as text or images. potential to create misinformation, as well as inadvertently violate laws and regulations. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 82 intelligence (ai) said, “ai can adjust assessment difficulty and content in real-time, ensuring accurate measures of student knowledge.' here are some negative impacts of artificial intelligence ai on academic performance. 1. over-reliance on technology: according to kischner & kapinski (2010) on negative impact of artificial intelligence (ai) said, “excessive dependence on ai can hinder critical thinking and problem-solving skills.” 2. lack of understanding: according to sloman & fembach (2017) on negative impact of artificial intelligence (ai) said, “ai-generated solutions may not promote a deep understanding of fundamental concepts.” 3. limited contextual understanding: according to bostrom & yudkowsky (2014) on negative impact of artificial intelligence (ai) said, “one may struggle to understand nuances and context, potentially leading to misinterpretation. 4. inaccuracy and bias: according to barocas & selbst, (2016) on negative impact of artificial intelligence (ai) said, “ai systems can perpetuate existing biases and inaccuracies if trained on flawed data.” 5. decreased attention span: according to cain & gradisar (2010) on negative impact of artificial intelligence (ai) said, “overexposure to ai-powered learning tools can lead to decreased attention span and reduced engagement. 6. dependence on technology for answers: according to knezek & christensen (2006) on negative impact of artificial intelligence (ai) said, “students may rely too heavily on ai for answers, rather than developing their own problem-solving skills.” these are just some of the ways that ai provides benefits and dangers to society. when using new technologies like ai, it's best to keep a clear mind about what it is and isn't. with great power comes great responsibility, after all. why does artificial intelligence matter? artificial intelligence (ai) matters for several reasons as follow: 1. efficiency and automation: automating repetitive tasks can boost efficiency and productivity, freeing up organizations to concentrate on more intricate and strategic activities. 2. insights and decision making: ai can analyze large datasets to uncover patterns, trends, and insights that humans might miss. this can lead to better decision-making and strategic planning. 3. personalization: ai can be used to personalize experiences for customers, such as personalized recommendations in e-commerce or personalized healthcare treatments. 4. cost savings: by automating tasks and improving efficiency, ai can help organizations save costs in various areas of their operations. 5. innovation: ai is driving innovation in various industries, from healthcare to finance to transportation. it is enabling the development of new products, services, and business models. 6. competitive advantage: organizations that leverage ai effectively can gain a competitive advantage by being more agile, innovative, and customer-focused. 7. addressing complex problems: ai can be used to address complex problems that are difficult for humans to solve, such as climate change, healthcare challenges, and cyber security threats. importance of ai in education 1. personalized learning: ai is enabling personalized learning experiences by analyzing students' learning styles, preferences, and performance data. this allows educators to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 83 tailor educational content and activities to meet the individual needs of each student, leading to improved learning outcomes. 2. adaptive learning: ai-powered adaptive learning platforms can adjust the pace and difficulty of learning materials based on students' progress. this helps students learn at their own pace and ensures that they are challenged appropriately. 3. automated grading: ai can automate grading for assignments and assessments, saving educators time and providing students with immediate feedback. this can help students improve their performance and retention of material. 4. virtual assistants: ai-powered virtual assistants can provide students with support and guidance outside of the classroom. these virtual assistants can answer questions, provide explanations, and help students navigate educational materials. 5. data analysis: ai can analyze large amounts of data to identify trends and patterns in student performance. this information can help educators identify areas where students may be struggling and provide targeted interventions. artificial intelligence (ai) is a transformative technology with wide-ranging implications across various industries and sectors. its ability to analyze data, learn from patterns, and make intelligent decisions has the potential to revolutionize processes, improve outcomes, and drive innovation. from healthcare to finance, education to environmental conservation, ai is reshaping the way we live, work, and interact. as ai continues to evolve, its importance in our lives is only expected to grow, leading to a future where intelligent machines work alongside humans to solve complex problems and enhance the quality of life for all. conclusion the double-edged sword of artificial intelligence (ai) on academic performance necessitates striking a balance between its positive and negative impacts. in the words of baker & smith (2020), “on one hand, ai enhances learning experiences through personalized instruction, automates grading, and provides real-time feedback. on the other hand, ai can lead to overreliance, decreased critical thinking, and increased cheating. also krumhuber & manstead, (2019) opined that, to maximize benefits and minimize drawbacks, educators must establish guidelines for ai usage, promote digital literacy, and encourage human-ai collaboration. by acknowledging ai's dual nature and striving for equilibrium, we can harness its potential to augment academic performance while maintaining the value of human intelligence. references babbie, e. r. (2013). the practice of social research. wadsworth. bandura, a. (1986). social foundations of thought and action: a social cognitive theory. prentice-hall. baker, r. s., & smith, l. k. (2019). using ai to support learning. journal of educational data mining, 11(1), 1-13. baker, r. s., & smith, l. m. (2020). using artificial intelligence to support data-driven instruction. journal of educational data mining, 12(1), 1-25. barocas, s., & selbst, a. d. (2016). big data's disparate impact. california law review, 104(3), 671-732. bostrom, n., & yudkowsky, e. (2014). superintelligence: paths, dangers, strategies. oxford university press. bourdieu, p. (1988). homo academicus. polity press. brown, t. b., mann, b., ryder, n., subbiah, m., kaplan, j., dhariwal, p., ... & amodei, d. (2020). language models are few-shot learners. arxiv preprint arxiv:2005.14165. burgstahler, s. (2015). universal design in higher education: from principles to practice. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 84 harvard education press. cain, n., & gradisar, m. (2010). electronic media use and sleep in school-aged children and adolescents: a review. sleep medicine, 11(8), 735-742. davis, f. d. (1989). perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information technology. mis quarterly, 13(3), 319-340. dalgarno, b., & lee, m. j. (2010). what are the learning affordances of 3d virtual environments? british journal of educational technology, 41(1), 10-32. deci, e. l., & ryan, r. m. (2000). the "what" and "why" of goal pursuit: human needs and the self-determination of behavior. psychological inquiry, 11(4), 227-268. ecclestone, k. (2007). "performativity and the university". journal of education policy, 22(3), 267-281. gomez-uribe, c. a., & hunt, n. (2015). the netflix recommender system: algorithms, business value, and innovation. acm transactions on management information systems, 6(4), 1-19. gottfredson, l. s. (1997). "why g matters: the complexity of everyday life". intelligence, 24(1), 79-132. graham, s. (2017). handbook of writing research. guilford press. gunning, d. (2018). explainable artificial intelligence (xai). defense advanced research projects agency (darpa). hamari, j., koivisto, j., & sarsa, h. (2014). does gamification work? a literature review of empirical studies on gamification. in proceedings of the 47th hawaii international conference on system sciences, 3025-3034. huang, x., zhang, y., & li, g. (2020). natural language processing for virtual assistants. international journal of intelligent systems, 35(1), 147-162. jackson, p. (2019). introduction to expert systems. addison-wesley. kahneman, d., & tversky, a. (1979). prospect theory: an analysis of decision under risk. econometrica, 47(2), 263-292. khatib, o. (2019). robotics and artificial intelligence. annual review of control, robotics, and autonomous systems, 2, 1-24. knezek, g., & christensen, r. (2006). the importance of information technology attitudes and competencies in krumhuber, e. g., & manstead, a. s. (2019). can you keep a secret? empathy and the dark side of ai. journal of language and social psychology, 38(1), 141-155. kirschner, p. a., & karpinski, a. c. (2010). facebook and academic performance: reconciling a seeming contradiction. computers in human behavior, 26(6), 1237-1245. knewton. (2016). the knewton platform: a review of the literature. knewton. krizhevsky, a., sutskever, i., & hinton, g. e. (2012). imagenet classification with deep convolutional neural networks. advances in neural information processing systems, 25, 1097-1105. lakoff, g., & johnson, m. (1980). philosophy in the flesh: the embodied mind and its challenge to western thought. basic books. lecun, y., bengio, y., & hinton, g. e. (2015). deep learning. nature, 521(7553), 436-444. luthans, f. (2002). "positive organizational behavior: developing and managing psychological strengths". academy of management executive, 16(1), 57-72. lotz, a. d. (2017). portals: a treatise on internet-distributed television. university of michigan press. makridakis, s., spiliotis, e., & assimakopoulos, v. (2018). the m4 competition: 100,000 time series and 61 forecasting methods. international journal of forecasting, 34(4), 802808. marshall, a. (1920). principles of economics. macmillan. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 85 musk, e. (2013). master plan, part deux. tesla, inc. radford, a., wu, j., child, r., luan, d., amodei, d., & sutskever, i. (2019). language models th are unsupervised multitask learners. retrieved on 9 september, 2024 from (link unavailable) ritter, s., & koedinger, k. r. (2017). toward a theory of learning from ai-powered tutoring systems. journal of educational psychology, 109(3), 301-314. romero, c., & ventura, s. (2013). educational data mining: a review of the state of the art. ieee transactions on systems, man, and cybernetics, part c (applications and reviews), 43(6), 1305-1318. rudner, l. m. (2017). implementing adaptive assessments: issues and solutions. routledge. santos, a. (2016). automatic grading systems: a review of the literature. journal of educational computing research, 54(4), 419-438. schuster, f., & nakajima, k. (2016). neural machine translation. google ai blog, 1-5. selwyn, n. (2016). is technology making us stupid? the impact of digital technologies on cognition and learning. british journal of educational technology, 47(5), 773-783. sweller, j. (1988). cognitive load during problem solving: a review. cognition and instruction, 5(4), 375-426. taigman, y., yang, m., ranzato, m., & wolf, l. (2014). deepface: closing the gap to humanlevel performance in face verification. proceedings of the ieee conference on computer vision and pattern recognition, 1701-1708. venkatesh, v., morris, m. g., davis, g. b., & davis, f. d. (2003). user acceptance of information technology: toward a unified view. mis quarterly, 27(3), 425-478. wu, y., schuster, m., chen, z., le, q. v., norouzi, m., macherey, w., ... & klingner, j. (2016). google's neural machine translation system: bridging the gap between human and machine translation. arxiv preprint arxiv:1609.08144. vanlehn, k. (2011). the relative effectiveness of human tutoring, intelligent tutoring systems, and other tutoring systems. educational psychologist, 46(4), 197-221. ursavaş , ö.f. (2022). unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model (utaut). in: conducting technology acceptance research in education . springer texts in education. springer, cham. h�ps://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-03110846-4_6 th. accessed 9 september, 2024 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 6 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 81 a reflection of military intervention in the nigerian prose genre: a sociopolitical analysis of enoch ajunwa’s unknown destination mbanefo s. ogene, ph.d. department of english language literature, nau awka mbanefoogene@gmail.com sm.ogene@unizik.edu.ng abstract one major problem facing the african literature which nigeria is one is that of leadership. the level of development in nigeria has made it easy for the military to intervene in the government more than the civilians and other sectors of the society. the intervention results in all manner of negative practices which are detrimental to the common masses as it is hallmarked in corruption and other social vices. the novel more than any other genre in nigerian literature has being at the forefront of projecting the vices in the nigerian society and that is why a novelist, enoch ajunwa, whose novel is used to analyze the problem of military intervention in the nigerian prose takes a bitter and satirical look at the problem of corruption, with the hope that the end will be disastrous for the nation if this problem is not nipped at the bud. introduction the theory of literary genre is concerned with how literature is classified into different types or forms. genre is a french expression meaning specie. in literary studies, three major types of genre exist: they are poetry, drama and prose. out of these three, the prose genre is the most recent and challenging as its theory seems very vast and more technical to define. the theory of genre relates to trying to understand literature through its enduring forms and conventions. its concern is on how to classify and describe literary work in terms of their characteristics. this study is therefore within the purview of taxonomy. for the advocates of this theory, the literary kind is not a mere name, for the aesthetic convention in which a work participates shapes its character. from plato, aristotle and other classical scholars, to wellek and warren (who in 20th century expounded the theory of literature further, efforts have been made to order the total literary field into three overall classes: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 82 1. poetic or lyric (uttered throughout in verse and the first person and condensed form) 2. drama (in which the characters do all the talking, using verse and prose) 3. epic or narrative (in which the narrator speaks in the first or third person, then often lets his characters speak for themselves). the epic or narrative is the most appropriate form of prose. in a layman’s language, prose means “language not in verse form.” (homby: 671) the prose genre developed fully in english literature in the 18th century. according to lan watt in his english literature and society in the eighteenth century for example, leslie stephen long ago suggested that the gradual extension of the reading class affected the development of the literature addressed to them, and he pointed to the rise of the novel, together with that of journalism, as prime examples of the effect of changes in the audience for literature. (38) the novel is remarkably noted for telling story in prose. it is defined as “a fictional narrative in prose, of substantial length.”.(schroder: 13) prose the speed with which prose gained wide popularity among the reading public also made it possible for many people to ‘poke-nose’ into this genre, even when they don’t have the technical training for discussing this field of literature. the problems generated by quacks in literary discipline have necessitated certain explanations on this aspect of genre. in the words of boulton teaching, lecturing and marking examination papers have convinced me that though everyone reads prose most people are shockingly insensitive to it. prose, though the most popular form of reading, especially as fiction, is more difficult to study critically than poetry, because the techniques are less definable and the concentration less intense. (ix) prose as we know, is generally spoken by everybody in one way or the other. every literate speaker can write prose, but the problem is the inability to discriminate the different prose styles used in any given situation. the distinct features of prose are its lack of metrical lines and rhymes often associated with igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 83 rhythm in poetry, the function of words in prose, the word usage in prose. a proper study of any prose piece must look into its different units like: the word, the sentence (sometimes divided into phrases and clauses), the paragraph, the chapter and in most cases smaller sections like the short story or essay. in the study of prose, an analysis of words will definitely give answers to the choice of vocabulary used by a writer; the sentence analysis will equally reveal the rhythm, grammatical structure, naturalness, eloquence and clarity of a writer; while the analysis of longer parts like the paragraph will yield meanings to new discoveries like the logical structure, narrative technique, conflicts and flow of thoughts in the passage. a critical analysis of a larger piece of prose like the novel will lead to the chapter by chapter examination and this eventually extends to the appreciation of the entire structure of the story, or testing of the coherence of ideas narrated in a book, whether argumentative, informative or persuasive. the size of prose piece to be examined in any given circumstance will determine the extent of in-depth analysis to be given to that piece. a study of a short piece of prose, for instance will need more time and attention on words and sentences, but this is practically impossible in the analysis of longer prose like the novel. according to boulton, “no one who has a novel as a ‘set book’, or wishes to describe it for some other purpose, will be able to go over it word by word; here a more general analysis will be more profitable and practicable.” (4) in recent times, some writers like virginia wolf, carlyle, sir thomas browne and pater have started some new style, of prose, writing that contain poetry properties. some poets like camus and p’bitek have equally started writing poetry that run in free verse and make extensive use of prose. these developments therefore resulted to such new genres often referred to as the poetic prose or prose-poem and free verse. these terms are ambiguous and contradictory in the study of genre. it is because of this development in literature that most criticisms are no longer sound. bearing in mind that literature, like the sciences, law and other disciplines, has its own taxonomy, emphasis must always be placed on specific genres that gave rise to any study. studies in the prose genre have also revealed that this genre has a number of functions which very largely determines the style of a writer. the judgment on the suitability of vocabularies, rhythm and narrative views used in any prose can only be made after the function is elicited. the following types of prose have been indentified according to their functions igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 84 1. the narrative prose this tells a story, true or imagined and written in an interesting manner. often, the narrative builds on exciting occurrences or on the subtle and detailed portrayal of character and motives. many other techniques can often vary this style. examples: enoch ajunwa’s unknown destination and achebe’s there was a country. 2. argumentative prose adventures in the argumentative prose are intellectually inclined and ideas here are abstract. the objective of this type is to persuade the reader to believe something. examples: sir philip sydney’s ‘apologie for poetrie’, t.s eliot’s ‘tradition and individual talent’, achebe’s ‘the problem with nigeria’, etc. well established argumentative prose exhibits sound reasoning and often appeals to emotion; they exploit various rhetorical devices and other artistic features found in philosophy, psychology and logic. 3. dramatic prose this usually resembles ordinary conversation that gives evidence of drama as an imitation of life with some improvement on real life, which all art projects. realism is one major factor that influences the dramatic prose as realism can only be achieved in prose. in this type, much prose is observed in the drama. examples are the works of sheridan, goldsmith, ibsen, strinberg, terrence and modern playwrights. 4. informative prose this type of prose communicates pieces of information. examples: school and college textbooks, scientific books, encyclopedias, manual of instructions, reports (including newspaper and magazines journals and books of conference proceedings. historical books can also qualify for this. 5. contemplative prose this type contains those materials that task the thinking of both writers and readers. they include: the ‘essay’ as recorded in anthologies, some books of religious meditation, political speeches, or fantasy, and some books on descriptive writing, that fail to fall into more definite headings. francis bacon, william hazlitt, charles lamb and other essayists fall within this category. apart from the five categories of prose listed, proverbs and epigrams are those sentences which occasionally stand out as units in their own. they are also studied under prose, but emphasis here is on the novel. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 85 the novel as earlier noted, the novel is a larger piece of prose. it developed largely in english literature in the eighteenth century. watt states that “our usage of the term ‘novel’ was not fully established until the end of the eighteenth century.” (10) what gave rise to the novel is the movement known as ‘realism’. allied to this is individualism which became part of the plot structure and characterization of the writers of the eighteenth century english literature. the main objective of realism in the novel is to portray all the varieties of human experience, this goes contrary to the earlier forms of obscurantism and romanticism noted in the novel, which projected only those experiences suited to one particular literary perspective. realism of course started with the french school of realists ‘rẻalisme’ was apparently first used as an aesthetic description in 1835 to denote the vẻrite humaine of rembrandt as opposed to the idẻalitẻ poetique of neoclassical painting; it was later consecrated as a specifically literary term by the foundation in 1856 of rẻalisme, a journal edited by duranty. (watt:10) due to its large size, the novel shares some functions of prose in its narrative and contemplative forms. according to stevick, “the novel, moreover, is a mixed genre. its origins lie in a dozen different forms: essay, romance, history, the “character”, biography, comic and sentimental drama, and so on. traditionally, it is flexible and indeterminate in its form. (p.2) in his analysis of prose fiction, northrop fry seeks to place the novel in a continuum which includes all forms of extended imaginative prose. according to fry, “the novelist deals with personality, with characters wearing their personae or social masks. he needs the framework of a stable society, and many of our best novelists have been conventional to the verge of fussiness.” (12) due to its length, a good analysis of the novel should take the following aspects of the novel into consideration: the title; the plot, structure, and proportion; the setting: characters and characterization; narrative techniques; style; time and place. (see ogene: 4-6) sometimes a critic may not meet up with all these factors igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 86 listed above due to time and space constraint. literary criticism needs good critical analysis and if this must be properly done, it must be done extensively well. it is on this basis that we enter into the analysis of ajunwa’s unknown destination. an analysis of enoch ajunwa’s unknown destination author’s background dr. enoch ejunwa was born in otampa, isikwuato local government area of abia state – nigeria on 3rd july, 1953. he attended the university of nigeria, nsukka (1999 – 2008) where he got his phd in translation and the university of benin (1987 – 1990) where he got his ma degrees. he also holds a diploma from the universite de grenoble, france (1980). ajunwa was at different times head of department, modern european languages and dean, school of languages, nwafor orizu college of education nsugbe. he is the editor in chief, journal of modern european languages and author of a bilingual, novel, destined to survive/destine a survive. a very committed christian, ajunwa is committed to the help and support of the under privileged persons in the society, truth and justice. in a private discussion with the writer, ajunwa stated that his mission in writing the novel unknown destination is not to make gains but that he would never feel free and relaxed without writing the novel. in his statements, he claims that, “people generally blame their country’s socio-economic woes on corruption, especially in the developing world. but no citizen of any country ever claims responsibility for or wants to be associated with corrupt practices anywhere in the world.” unknown destination is a post colonialist novel that addresses a major problem bedeviling the civilizing countries corruption. the author is mindful of the fact that the concept of corruption is a phenomenon that is so vague that the victims are generally ignorant of and so uses a figurative style of personifying this cankerworm to register it clearly in the minds of the readers. personification is a literary figure of speech in which life is given to a lifeless object for emphasis. ajunwa follows achebe’s postulation that the problem of nigeria is leadership to personify the president/head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the federal republic of the united states of afrikaribesia as corruption igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 87 himself. ironically, the name afrikaribesia sounds like a derivative of africa, and nigeria is the giant of africa and the country of this writer. from inferences and deductions, the reader can easily identify the past political crises caused by the military incursion into the leadership of nigeria and other african continents as the main factors that motivated the writing of this novel. military intervention into the nigeria politics a study of the maiden speeches of the past nigeria military heads of state in national leadership show that the pre-occupying issues raised by the military during coups is to wage war against corruption. starting from major chukwuma kaduna nzeogwu’s address to the nation during his coup on january 15, 1966, he states that “the aim of the revolutionary council is to establish a strong united and prosperous nation, free from corruption and internal strife.”.(7) this issue is revisited by general sani abacha who in his address to the nation on november 18, 1993 states that “bribery, corruption and other economic crimes such as 419 must be tackled and eliminated.” (98-99) earlier in his media address to the nation on december 31, 1983, general abacha blamed corruption to be the cause of bad economy and uncertainty in nigeria. abacha pointed accusing fingers on the leadership of alhaji shehu shagari who was democratically elected. according to him you are all living witnesses to the grave economic predicament and uncertainty, which an inept and corrupt leadership has imposed on our beloved nation for the past four years. i am referring to the harsh intolerable condition under which we are now living. our economy has been hopelessly mismanaged. we have become a debtor, and beggar nation. (45) general muhammed buhari in his own coup against abacha blamed the problem of nigeria on corruption and indiscipline. his media address on january 1, 1984 has it that while corruption and indiscipline have been associated with our state of underdevelopment, these two evils in our body politic have attained unprecedented height in the past four years. the corrupt, inept and insensitive igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 88 leadership in the four years, has been the source of immorality and impropriety in our society. since what happens in any society is largely a reflection of the leadership of that society, we deplore corruption in all its facts. (55) later in august 27, 1985, general ibrahim badamosi babangida re-echoed that indiscipline and corruption have been the bane of nigerian politics. according to babangida, “the history of our nation has never recorded the degree of indiscipline and corruption as exhibited between october 1979 and december 1983.” (73) influences of the military leadership on ajunwa’s unknown destination from all indications, events of the past military leadership in nigerian government largely influenced ajunwa’s novel, unknown destination. the novel started under the atmosphere of military coup championed by the protagonist, brigadier corruption. the rise of this brigadier who is also known as “evil genius” portend danger and woes as he has no political agenda, discipline or the charisma to lead. this situation informs the reader of the title meaning: unknown destination, meaning state of chaos as a result of lack of political agenda. corruption, apathy and disillusionment are sisters to visionless leadership. summary/plot analysis in unknown destination the plot of the novel is simple. it is designed to show the vanities of corruption and usurpation of political power. the author is apparently inspired by the biblical book of “ecclesiastes” which hammers on vanities of vanities, all is vanity. the novel started in a military barrack with exchange of courtesies among senior military officers. for brigadier corruption to still be a bachelor, living alone in the house with his dogs creates a state of suspicion on a senior officer of that rank who could not marry at his age. the three senior military officers who drive to the apartment of brigadier corruption at the vip’s section of the officers’ mess are: vice admiral greed, brigadier morality and brigadier corruption, their mission is to plan a coup. it is at the meeting that allegations are raised against the incumbent head of state of afrikaribesia of being a woman, employing only those from her tribe in the civil service (tribalism) and giving appointments mostly to her people. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 89 prof (mrs) democracy is also accused of not agreeing with prince double-tongue, the opposition leader. (p.6) brigadier corruption also accuses prof (mrs) democracy of not taking any of his advice as the chief of general staff, as well as refusing him the request to award the contract for him to buy arms for the armed forces. corruption hates his colleague morality for not supporting his idea to carry out coup. the two major things that coup plotters usually capitalize on are the ignorance of the masses and intimidation (usually with guns and bombs). the theme of the novel is revealed early in the novel by brigadier morality who stated that the military has no focus, vision or mission. it might end up taking the people to an unknown destination. hence, i don’t see any sense in intervening militarily at this stage of our nascent democracy. indeed, it would amount to building a house and pulling it down, without any good reason whatsoever. (9) this statement shows that the military intervention in politics is uncalled for as they don’t have any political agenda. it is this state of confusion that most african nations, including nigeria, have passed through for many years. this led to a state of disillusionment which ajunwa refers to as the unknown destination. brigadier morality is arrested and detained. the problem of who will assume the new head of state after the coup confronts corruption and greed, but again the problem of tribalism made corruption to use his tribal military personnel, relations and fiends (nepotism, col plunderer, col hooligan and col wizard) to arrest vice-admiral greed. through nepotism, the reader learns for the first time that corruption has become the new head of state. the seven coup executors are from the same village and they swear by their own blood never to sabotage the coup d’état. (p.23) before going public, brigadier corruption declares himself a field marshal, commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the federal republic of the united states of afrikribesia. this is witnessed by the other six members of his team. the other six were elevated to the ranks of major general. brigadier morality’s voice is used under duress in recording the broadcast to media stations. in a television nation wide broadcast later, corruption states that “the government of democracy was about the most corrupt in the whole world.” (25) according to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 90 corruption, “one of the priorities of my government is to fight and eradicate poverty and corruption from our country.”.(27) corruption was supported by the head of state, president hypocrite of republic of nabilat, while the secretary general of un and common wealth condemned the coup, as well as other world leaders like akerima, rulope, hustlaria and parts of heshia. others include the brishit prime minister, as well as the canadian, cherman, thallian, fotugiz, aspanis, rench and pajanese heads of state. it is very remarkable that the president of nabilat is seriously behind violence and terrorism, no wonder he congratulates his brother corruption and assured him of maximum support to realize their political agenda. the picture of activities of bow-and-arrow (bow) is very much identical with boko haram. (p. 37-42) after appointing his executive, corruption invited a foreign firm, thegzas-based concrete construction plc to build the biggest and most expensive and luxurious house in the whole world for him. the contractors are made up of representatives like engineer concrete, architect sand, surveyor theodolite and ms dictaphone. corruption purchased a house in akerima at the prize of one point five trillion dollars (the biggest house in the world occupying about 50 acres of land) and builds another house in afrikaribesia occupying one hundred hectares, with a whooping sum of three trillion dollars. he forcefully evicted those living in urban haven area (uha) to build his own private residential place. work on the building was completed under one year and ten months. corruption had a dream of marrying a very ugly woman, who looked more like a monster the first night he slept in his new mansion, “suddenly, the womanbeast lowered her horns and charged straight at him. then, he woke up just before the woman-beast could pierce his stomach with the horns”. (65) out of the fear of marrying the ugly woman, corruption married miss afrikaribesia whose real name is jezebel pious. jezebel earlier met the head of state of afrikaribesia at an international summit meeting of oil producing countries at drome, the thallian capital city during the years of her being trafficked and apprenticed as an international prostitute for v.i.p.s. she was a final year student of political science when she got married to corruption. her actual name is titi, born in a remote village of sazou. (unknown destination: 75) titi (jezebel) was cursed by her father pious not to have any child because of the way she absconded with a human trafficker, cain who took her away from the village without her parents knowledge and consent. the business associates of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 91 cain are dr trojan horse and miss gampass. the name titi was changed to jezebel by the trafficking syndicate of cain, trojan horse and miss gampass. jezebel spent few days in nondon amd finally was taken to a hotel in liman to a brothel owned by an afrikaribesian, madam whore. (p.99) after becoming the youngest richest man on earth field marshal corruption pretended to have sold part of his country, known as sabaki peninsular, to the nuremakian head of state at the cost of 150 trillion dollars, but ended up duping president crook, the nuremakian head of state. the vice-chancellor of the university of afrikaribesia, prof. lawson depicts the poverty situation in the country as he comes to lecture on bicycle and other lecturers and medical doctors no longer come to offices due to poverty caused by corruption. he was assassinated by the men sent by president corruption few days after the lecture he gave on human rights, (2) for exposing the crude oil scandal committed some years ago, and (3) for exposing the transfer of four trillion cowries into mr. president’s personal account in a foreign bank. professor lawson, his grand son and daughter, wife and house maid were all assassinated in cold blood. this started the events that led to the end of president corruption. other events include: (1) the government of nuremak’s plan to involve the sabaki peninsular (2) the setting ablaze of the premises of the national refinery complex in natankili, the petroil state capital by the unknown persons who sneaked in at night and set the place ablaze. virtually every segment of the civil service is out of service and the worst is the poor state of roads to enable the fire brigade members put off the fire. after the communiqué issued by students, jezebel helped to incite her husband corruption to exterminate the lives of all the students who wrote the communiqué and also remove the vice president (who she claimed that he forcefully had sex with her and that the son crusader also raped her when she was an undergraduate, (p.173-174). mrs. jezebel is appointed a member of the military ruling council after the wicked advice she gave to her husband to massacre all the students of afrikaribesia university protesting students so that their mothers would become childless like her. she is further promoted a general in the army, contrary to the military traditions. major general professor jezebel corruption is also appointed the vice president by her husband, while major general vampire is now to concentrate on his duty as the federal minister of education. corruption later declared his wife jezebel the president of the interim igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 92 government and later succeeded himself as a civilian president after eliminating his political opponent, barrister accountability. to satisfy his wife, he promised to build the world largest supermarket for her. he chose the all saints cathedral ground located in the thickly populated city centre of potabugos for the supermarket. the church is owned by the akeriman evangelical organization (aeo) headed by bishop rock. corruption asked bishop rock to hand over the church building to his wife jezebel. corruption now calls himself the god of afrikaribesia. for wanting to kill bishop rock and eat his liver, heart and brain the next day, president corruption entered into a serious curse. his mystic and occultic materials could not save him. (p.227). corruption has a terrible nightmare on the night the bishop was kept in his torture chamber to be eliminated by himself the next day. the president after narrating his experience to his wife ordered that bishop rock be released immediately and that his church should not be taken by anybody. the president started suffering from hysteria and sleepless nights after. his violent behaviours led to his being seized and sedated with drugs that made him sleep for seven days, before waking up. a solution is needed to solve this spiritual problem and jezebel offered to bring the presidential paradise chaplain (who the president rejected), they had to go for bishop rock, bishop rock refuses both the offer of one million dollars and key to a jeep car, as well as following them to pray for the president. the delegate led by mrs. jezebel later consulted the “very powerful white-robe woman seer who lived in the coasted village of lisala. it was discovered that the woman died several years ago, and is succeeded by her only daughter. the new seer re-echoed bishop rock’s message and placed president corruption on 365 days supra dry fasting, which jezebel said was not possible and she left the presidential villa. corruption was struck by convulsive fit and he fell publicly and defecated during his independence day international broadcast. a spiritualist ghuru chaman was invited from india for him. above all that the ghuru prescribed for his charm to work, president corruption has to make love to an old madwoman living in the market square in his village in a broad day light. the mad woman available in the market is a very old woman called dadawoman. the president’s village is mikatona. in the course of the rape of the mad woman, president corruption was given a deep bite and he lost much blood. true to the dream earlier narrated by president corruption, their aircraft developed a fault on air igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 93 and changed course automatically, leading to a fatal crash, while the flight passengers are trying to send corruption to a hospital for medical treatment after the bite. eventually a villager phoned the soldiers who flow the president and wife to a private hospital in frankfruit, chernany for medical treatment. while outside the country, the afrikaribesians rejoiced over the rumour that the president has died from the attempted rape of the mad woman and stuff like that. the president however used a three minute recorded broadcast that says he is hale and hearty to disperse rumour peddlers. after two months in the hospital, the president returned home to continue his government from his wife jezebel who had held the mantle of leadership all those while. the recorded attempted sex film of president corruption with the mad dadawoman who was the oldest and dirtiest lunatic in the village and had lived in the market place for more than seventy years however leaked from the governor. he was later arrested, court-martialed and sent to an unknown destination. president corruption is worried at the inability of his wife to conceive and bear children, while he is getting older. the wife arranged for medical tests and invited her former friend, prof physician and manipulated him to confirm that her husband corruption is impotent and not her. his new state led president corruption to a state of psychological crisis. from his hysterical statements, it is obvious that corruption is a homosexual. he states that “i would have married plunderer, and it would have been clear to me that i married a fellow man.” (ajunwa: 258) the statement is made when he realized that jezebel could not give him a child. the last days of corruption’s life is spent in displeasure, watching pornographic pictures and films, until he discovers the nude picture of a very beautiful sixteenyear old heshian girl, ananta in a colourful magazine and got in touch with her through telephone. the magazine is hollywood international model magazine. corruption proposes marriage to ananta and got her address in kartaja. he sends and brings the girl to his secret hotel, but is surprised to meet a rather weird looking skeletal old figure dressed in high-profile fashion and heavily perfumed in an expensive rose-base deodorant. despite his doubt, he is quickly charmed into having an affair with the strange woman and started having nausea and fear after. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 94 the strange woman mysteriously disappeared from the hotel without any trace before the day break. corruption did nor unfortunately inform jezebel of this. the symptoms of serious infection which started with corruption later extended to his wife jezebel. after series of tests locally they decided to travel abroad for medical attention and were diagnosed of an incurable disease known as parasivirus. the hospitals they visited in royal hospital in harromog, the capital city of the republic of ubiradia could diagnose their ailment, until they visited the largest specialist hospital in the world, located in old york city, established by world health organization. parasivirus is spherical-shaped virus living in their body cells. the virus derive their food from the cells and then excrete toxic waste materials into the cells. the toxic waste material had the potential of slow, but steady and eventual disabling of the cells. clotadinavir is the strong hybrid antiviral and antitoxin drug discovered by the doctors to kill parasivirus, but it also kills the body cells, thereby killing the host. the two options open for the corruptions as a result of their health being declared threats to world health are: 1. that they be quarantined for life; or 2. that the drug clotadinavir be administered to them as a permanent solution to the problem. the second option is chosen and an overdose of clotadinavir given to mr. and mrs. corruption as a result of their threats to violence and court litigations to regain their freedom. the couple was taken to the airport in a sealed ambulance and into the cabin of their aircraft which is quarantined. as the drug starts having effects on them, jezebel slumped lifelessly and died, while corruption drops a suicide note and shot himself inside the presidential cabin. the suicide notes warn the living on the dangers of misusing the money they left behind or mourning or sympathizing with them. corruption and jezebel were sent to their village and dumped inside the evil forest, where vultures and other wild animals ate them up. a serious anarchy followed the death of the corruptions over who should ascend the throne as head of state, as nepotism is generally rejected. after the bombing of the presidential paradise by general killer, the united nations intervened by sending its troops for peace keeping mission. a general election is held and prof. (mrs) democracy won the president and head of state. narrative style, characters, setting and contents in unknown destination the novel is narrated in third person, omniscient point of view. no character is identified as a specific narrator in the novel, but actions generally revolve round igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 95 a fictional character known as corruption. the death of corruption seems to end the novel narrative, as the author seems to be confused on where to concentrate and direct the plot. obviously the remaining actions, after the death of president corruption and his wife jezebel were written as postscript after the state of anarchy which engulfed the afrinkaribesians. the author’s indeterminate ending of the story is to enable prof (mrs.) democracy return to power. ajunwa’s moral principles seem to manifest and prevail on the novel, indicating that good will always triumph over evil. the characters in the novel are all personified characters here represented by attitudes or vices in the society. since corruption is the main social vice that has bedeviled the african societies, especially nigeria, where the author hails from, it is made the protagonist in unknown destination, while prof. (mrs.) democracy is ironically made the antagonist. as noted in the novel, the characters standing for vices or supporting corruption are too many and are even larger in number. this portends a negative hope on the salvation of afrikaribesians. the settings are codified and fore grounded after the actual names of nations and continents like afrikaribesia referring to africa, and heshia for asia. rulope stands for europe, and akerima for america. ajunwa does not want to mention names of past military heads of state in his country nigeria who were highly noted for corruption. that is why he personified them with abstract fictional qualities that identify them by deeds, not by actual names. president corruption stands for the military, his other brothers, friends and associates include: honourable adultery, senator assassin, general blood-sucker, bribery, bunkerer… (ajunwa: 289) themes of the novel are that of the human trafficking, prostitution and their consequences as observed in jezebel. because of the type of life she lived, jezebel really plays her role well as a heartless brute, full of wickedness and iniquity. she needs a man like corruption to exhibit her evil and wickedness. jezebel orders the shooting of all the undergraduates in the university of afrikaribesia, who are supposed to be identified with her as an old girl of the school, just because she did not have any child. she engineered the killing of plunderer by claiming that the man and his son crusader had sex with her while she was in the university. jezebel also compelled professor physician to write a report that her husband is impotent and not she herself whose womb and uterus were earlier removed. much as jezebel is evil, she seems to have more conscience in this novel than igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 96 corruption. at least, she claims to have worshipped at the all saints cathedral in her school days, “i know it. i had worshipped there on several occasions when i was a student.” (ajunwa: 223) she is also humble to confess her past life first before the medical doctors at the world health organization doc., please let me confess before i die. i worked as a prostitute in thally for many years before i got married to corruption. during that period as a prostitute, i became pregnant. in the course of committing abortion, i developed complications for which my womb and uterus were removed surgically. up until now, my husband does not know that i am sterile. rather i deceived him into believing that the problem was from him. darling, i’m very sorry. please, forgive me, she pleaded with misty eyes. (ajunwa: 273) unlike jezebel his wife, corruption has never entered any church in his life, but is rather an atheist. when asked to say the priest that would listen to their confessions, president corruption tells the chief medical officer, “sorry sir. i’m an atheist”. he never confessed his sin before his wife, but only to the medical doctors when he is told that the information he gives might lead to the discovery of drugs that could cure him. (272) even at the last moment when the wife confronted him with the question of his knowledge of the heshian prostitute ananta that infected him with the virus pasivirus, he denies any knowledge of this girl, “jezebel related the story to him. nevertheless, he denied having anything to do with the girl: “if i have any knowledge whatsoever about the lady called ananta, may i die in this journey. may i never set my foot on the soil of afrikaribesia. may vultures eat my corpse, “he swore,” (ajunwa: 277) and all these happed later to him other minor themes are that of assassination, violence, terrorism, swindling, homosexuals, coup plotting, students’ unrest and poverty. conclusion the prose genre is very vast specie of literature. no single writing can exhaust all the contents of a given text. in this paper, efforts were made to analyze a slice of ajunwa’s unknown destination. it was also observed that the novel touches on the general theme of post colonialist literature. the different currencies of the world used in the cover page symbolize the postcolonial concept, which the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 97 lindia spiritual master called ghuru chaman asked for as part of remedy for president corruption’s malady. according to the spiritual master i also need the following for the preparation of the charms because your problem is deeply rooted in money: three thousand dollars, three thousand pounds, three thousand rubles, three thousand naira, three thousand yens, three thousand euro, three thousand francs, three thousand persos, three thousand liras, three thousand rupees and three thousand cowries. (ajunwa: 241) the moral demand in this novel is the challenge to love righteousness and hate iniquity. as the reader observes, ghuru’s prescription led corruption to a mad woman who left three pieces of her teeth in his breast. at the end, there is wisdom in going after righteousness. bishop rock’s advice is a good one, “tell the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds. but woe to the wicked! it shall be ill with him, for what his hands have done shall be done to him”. (234) the novel is a good one as it portrays the current foibles in the society and also criticizes them. works cited abacha, sani (general). “address, decemember 31, 1983” published in fellow countrymen and women. enugu: abic books, 2004. -------------------------. “address, november 18, 1993” published in fellow countrymen and women. enugu: abic books, 2004. ajunwa, enoch. unknown destination. onitsha: enovic publishing company limited, 2011. babangida, ibrahim (general). “address, august 27, 1985” published in fellow countrymen and women. enugu: abic books, 2004. boulton, marjorie. the anatomy of prose. london: routledge and kegan paul, 1980. buhari, muhammed (general). “address, january 1, 1984” published in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 98 fellow countrymen and women. enugu: abic books, 2004. fry, northrop. “the four forms of fiction,” published in phillip stevick, the theory of the novel. london: collier-macmillan, 1967. hornby, a.s. oxford advanced learner’s dictionary of current english. oxford: oxford university press, 1982. nzeogwu, chukwuma (major). ). “address, january 15, 1966” published in fellow countrymen and women. enugu: abic books, 2004. ogene, mbanefo s. (ed.) creative writing workshop. awka: chinefo and christon international, 2013. schroader, maurice z. “the novel as a genre” published in philip stevick, the theory of the novel. london: collier-macmillan, 1967. stevick, philip. the theory of the novel. london: collier-macmillan, 1967 watt, ian. the rise of the novel. england: penguin books, 1963. 103 veritas university abuja, a product or a brand? okoh samuel ejime mass communication department, veritas university abuja okohs@veritas.edu.ng; okohsamuelejime@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.33952.39688 abstract the issue of product and brand especially in the way these two terms are used by non-brand communication individuals have always been a source of debate, to many average consumers they are the same in as much as they can point to an item on display and have it after payment whether they call it product or brand. but for marketing and brand communication professionals, product and brand are not the same because product comes first and after a period of nurturing and support by integrated marketing communication efforts it then becomes a brand. a product is an idea that is designed to meet the yearning and needs of the consumers and it remains so until it is accepted. this acceptance will be made possible if the product is able to prove itself to the level that her market promise is fulfilled. this is when the product will be able to develop emotional bond and feelings with consumers. feelings is emotional, and when it is combined with communication efforts in support of a product then it transcends into a brand. branding is the effective way of using colour, logo, symbol and slogan built around a product and organization to create good impression for both the product and the organisation. positioning is a marketing concept that help identifies the position of a brand in the mind of a customer, and this is determined by the way the brand has been continuously presented to the customer. marketing communication tools like public relations, advertising and sales promotion are used to promote goods, services and institutions to the identified publics. each of these tools can be used at a time or simultaneously in other to achieve maximum result. just like product, a university can also be viewed as a product that can be transformed from product to a brand using the necessary brand communication tools. this paper examined how veritas unversity as a product have made progress in becoming a brand vis-à-vis how other identified universities internal and external communication efforts has taken them to a brand position; it examine the efforts of veritas university abuja make progress from a product status to that of a brand and what to do in order to attain a strong brand status. keywords: product, brand, branding, positioning, marketing communication tools introduction the essence of a product or service is to fill in the gap concerning the need of customers and as soon as this need is met, customers will get the product at a cost. it means, that product is produced to solve a problem. product is anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition or consumption (kotler,1990) meaning that a product is meant to satisfy the needs of the consumer. in marketing, some factors are put into consideration before developing a product and these factors range from the needs of the final consumers, the product packaging, pricing, marketing / distribution, and the marketing communication plan until it gets to the final customers. manufacturers of product and service must carry out marketing research to find out what customers and prospects want before they embark on production or make presentation to the public. product “is a good initiative, good, an object or service that is the outcome of a process to serve as a need or want satisfier'' https:wwweconomicsdiscussion.net. the implication of this statement is that product development is something comprehensive that begins with an idea that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 104 is arranged to go through different stages but with the ultimate aim to satisfy the final consumers. brand is a business and marketing idea that assist people to recognise a particular product, company or an individual not only by physical look but more importantly by mental and emotional feelings. this is because sometimes brand is not tangible which means you cannot actually touch it since what it does is to help mold customers and the public's perceptions about a product. brand always use identifying icons like corporate colour, logo, and other identifiable marks through marketing communication means to promote a product and build good image. (pitcher, 1985) brand is a consumer's idea of a product, meaning that a brand is made and considered worthy of that name only by the consumers and not the manufacturer. if a manufacturer of a product and service is known for quality and reliability and it introduces a new product into the market, the new product must prove its worthiness and deliver quality service to the customers before it will be accepted. this idea is further reinforced by brown (1992) that brand is the sum of all the mental connections people have around it. unique selling proposition of a product help create brand identity for the product in the market place, brand as a marketing communication concept helps attach great value to a product or a company thereby giving it an advantage over competing brands especially within the same category. types of brands: there are different types of brands. two will be examined that are relevant to this article. these are corporate brand and product brand. corporate brands are given publicity through corporate advertising while products are supported in the public domain with product advertising a university as an institution of higher learning at inception or when newly established can also be defined as a product and after many years of living up to her promise of providing quality academic and community services, and strategically projecting herself with well-structured brand communication tools will then progress to the level of a brand. many highly successful and globally recognised institutions like harvard and oxford universities have attained this brand recognition level after years of building good image and perception around the schools' primary functions with various brand communication tools. theoretical framework keller brand equity model is very appropriate for this study. the model which was published in 1997 explained that the best way to nurture a brand is to make sure that brand live up to her promises, so that this performance will help determine the way target audience and customer take the brand. the model stated that it is only customers that can really determine the value of a brand and this can be gaged by their repeat purchase, publicly identify with the brand and willingness to be an advocate for the brand. the model which is also known as customer-based brand equity (cbbe) posited that brand ability to achieve greatness must be determine by concerted efforts of the brand to provide quality publicity to ride on the acceptance of the brand based on the result based performance to customers. the model further explained that brand must lay the foundation of projecting herself by first asking the question of what the brand represents and end it at the level in which customers will voluntary speak for the brand. brand building and product life cycle brand go through life cycle which begins from the introduction stage, growth stage, maturity and decline stage. it is between the growth stage and maturity stage that must successful product attain brand status. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 105 introduction stage: at the introduction stage product go through the process of launching, and introduction to the public and potential customers through massive advertising, sales promotion and other marketing communication efforts in order to attract trial from members of the public. at this level, strong projection of the advertiser and product visual identity, name and other instruments of identification are made available to the public and customers through the relevant media. advertising and publicity are done in as many media organizations as possible so that all the expected customers and prospects will be captured, these promotional efforts will help create awareness for the product but profit is not expected at this stage of the product development growth stage: at this stage the product is expected to gain recognition and acceptance, sales will be better and profit will follow. mechanism are put in place for quality feedback because at this level the strength and weakness of the product must be established and fine-tuned. working with distributors in relevant locations based on the customers profile is very key so that relevant information about the market category that the product will be obtain and further in order to enable the product get better market penetration. value will also be added to the product quality especially in the area of segmentation. maturity stage: at this stage, the product is very stable in the market and would have maintained a particular position among same product category, transform into a brand and always keep up with ever changing customer's needs. regular brand audit is required at this level and loyal customers must be properly profiled so that they will be rewarded for being loyal at interval through through appropriate sales promotion. this is very important because loyal customers are brand advocates. brand position is adequately defended at this stage, and brand variants / extension are developed in form of diversification. good corporate name and strong identity is also certain at this stage. decline stage: at this stage brand experience low patronage which translate to low sales and profit. things that are responsible for this decline are strong competition and when product outlive her usefulness, at this stage, manufacturer of the product can retire the brand or repositioning it. veritas university as a product veritas university abuja as an institution of higher learning was established by the catholic bishop conference of nigeria making the university the only one jointly owned by the catholic church in nigeria. considering the university's publicity and positioning efforts until lately that she now has a television programme on lumen christy station, veritas university has the status of a product that is still evolving to becoming a brand. major differences between a product and a brand igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 106 reinforcing brand identity a good brand has a way of separating herself from others and strive towards growth by living up to expectation by living up to expectation by delivering on its promises. in addition to solving the issues it is designed to solve, a strong brand must be consistent in her brand visual identity, brand value, brand voice, brand value and what the product stands for. brand visual identity: visual identity constitute the different elements put together to project a brand, it also represent the brand anywhere it features. it also serve as an effective way of differentiating a brand from others. brand value: brand value is putting everything about a particular brand into a monetary value, this point to the direction of how much people are willing to pay to own your brand. this usually add up by bringing together the emotional bond, stories and the relationship customers have with your brand compere to the alternatives. brand value is created by establishing a bond with customers, create a unique story around your brand based on her usp unique selling proposition, and constant modification of the product in line with customer's expectation. brand voice: brand voice is what customers and prospects associate with brand especially what it represents and make people do. nike sports wears inspire people to do more so it is inspirational. how some university's names and locations help them attain brand status since the process of moving from a product to a brand status is universal and applicable not only to products and services, but also to universities. here are some universities that their names and locations helped achieve brand status faster. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 107 university of lagos: the name lagos is well known in africa and in many parts of the world because lagos was the capital city of nigeria for many years before the establishment of the institution in lagos, and for many years after the establishment of the institution lagos remained the capital until in the early 90's when abuja officially became the new capital of nigeria. quality research, community service and of course alumni activities among other efforts help nurtured university of lagos into the strong brand it is today but the name especially outside nigeria played a major role in achieving this success. for example old and new students of the university refers to themselves as great akokites which was coined out of location the institution is located, akoka part of lagos state achieving a brand status by a university is not something common and that is why when former president goodluck jonathan named university of lagos after late mko abiola, students and stakeholders of the school protested against it not because they don't like chief abiola but because of the quality brand the existing name and other branding tools have given the institution over the years. rejection of the new name in favour of existing one by the internal and external publics of university of lagos with logical reasons, especially in the area of rebranding the university won the argument hence the school name remains as the university of lagos. in line with the above change of name, the transformation of the university of ife in osun state to the current obafemi awolowo university (oau) many years ago still remains a bitter pill for many to swallow. old students of the institution that find it difficult to accept the new name still refers to themselves as former students of university of ife instead of the current oau. university of nigeria, nsukka (unn): unn is one university that her recognition within and outside the country will be very easy to note because it is named after a country with the largest economy in africa and the most populous black nation in the world. this is a big advantage for the institution because nigeria is a popular nation and a well-established brand as a country not only in africa but in the world. based on this development and of course the exploit of the university as an institution, and the efforts of her old and new students have made the school attained the state of a brand within a short period of time. other academic and social efforts on the part university have also contributed to the elevation of the institution from that of a product to a well-known brand. students of the institution refers to themselves as lions, since this has become the tradition overs the years the mention of lion means the same thing unn product. university of abuja, university of abuja is located in gwagwalada, abuja, nigeria. this is another university that location and name has help turned into a brand faster than expected. just like what we have in the case of lagos as the former capital of nigeria, abuja is the current capital of nigeria, and anywhere in nigeria or outside the country the university is mentioned, people will not find it difficult to get her location on the global map. panatlantic university and lagos business school experience lagos business school is a faculty under the pan-atlantic university. lagos business school is one of the best business schools in africa and the school is highly rated both in africa and g l o b a l l y. p a n a t l a n t i c u n i v e r s i t y i s l o c a t e d i n l e k k i , l a g o s n i g e r i a . pan-atlantic university started as pan-african university in lagos and from inception became a university to reckon with because of her quality educational standard which started much earlier with lagos business school. in terms of branding and positioning, pan-african university developed an acronym pau out of her name, which the public and stakeholders also came to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 108 know the school with within a short period of time. so if you say pau people know it means panafrican university. after 2012, there was need for pau to change her name and the implication for this development means that the school must embark on rebranding. in the course of rebranding, the school did something smart by changing her name from pan-african university to pan-atlantic university. with this change, the institution still continued with the pau acronym without any problem creating veritas university, abuja brand the upward movement of a university from product level to a brand status must start by first determining how she wants to be seen. this is known as brand identity and in the case of veritas university, there are valid and useful elements that are readily available for the university to lay claim to. you become a brand by laying claim to something that is unique and real about yourself that competing brands don't have, and make that advantage the arrow head of your publicity campaign. for example, there are different brands of toothpaste in the marketplace but each product push and focus more on the edge it has over others and this range from good breathe, whitening teeth, cavity wipe and eliminating teeth tingling sensation. veritas university abuja has a lot of good things to lay claim to in pushing her brand name to the next level and they are highlighted below. v the only university in nigeria jointly owned by the catholic bishop conference of nigeria, this is the only university that all the catholic bishops in nigeria call theirs and also contribute to her development on a regular basis. v faith based university with strong moral values v located in the abuja, the federal capital territory and in a very serene location that is highly conducive for learning v observe strictly the practice of the catholic faith tradition v has a slogan '' seeking the truth'' that aligns with the above claims v highly involved in visible and commendable corporate social responsibility efforts, two of which are construction of a police station in zuma 2, employment of many indigenes of the two zuma communities and provision of quality water for the benefts of man communities in which the university is located v quality and well composed school anthem that gives emotional upliftment each time it is rendered the effective use of the school logo, colour and slogan is something that must be strategically used to nurture school into a quality brand. systematic and subtle use of catholic icons in nigeria in projecting the university brand there are catholic icons that are household names in nigeria due to the way they have positioned themselves over the years in terms of selfless service to humanity, as agents of religious tolerance and epitome of sincerity. two of these agents of love are anthony cardinal olubunmi okogie [former archbishop of lagos] john cardinal onaiyekan [former archbishop of abuja] bishop hassan matthew kukah [ pro chancellor of the school] veritas university should identify more personalities like them and initiate a co-branding activities with them during their birthdays, retirement anniversary and charity projects they identify with. as opinion leaders that are highly respected in the country, their influence cuts across ethnic and religious backgrounds so associating with them will definitely generate goodwill for veritas university, abuja. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 109 veritas university should also endeavor to be visible during the catholic bishops conference of nigeria activities. the school should know their yearly programme, plan around it and do everything it can to be part of it. the school should be part of their activities through all acceptable forms of publicity like advertisement placements in event programmes, banner and backdrop displays, topical but relevant presentation by appointed school representatives, then make it visible to relevant audience through the appropriate media. the visit of the papal nuncio, archbishop antonio g. filipazzi to veritas university, that of the catholic bishops of west africa, and the regular visit of archbishop of abuja diocese ignatius kaigama who is also the chancellor of the university are events that should be effectively used for positive projection of the institution's image. the strategic and staggered use of photonews, features, news mentions and interviews by management staff of veritas university on these personalities visit and their timely exposure in selected media organisations would have helped add value to the veritas university. voice bite endorsement and recommendation of veritas university abuja, on audio and visual tapes by the above mentioned personalities should be encouraged in future and preserved by the school, so that it will be used by the university whenever the opportunities to use them to the school advantage comes up. veritas university alumni association deliberate efforts should be made by the school authority to work closely with alumni association of the university. these old students are veritable tools in projecting the good image of the university, especially as brand ambassadors. there is a university alumni association in lagos that is so strong and influential that her members get 5% discount on ticket with an international airline when travelling outside the country by that particular airline. this is achievable because the school works closely with them. this same university also reached out and maintained relationship with selected organisations concerning her students internship placement. students are posted to these organisations for their internship and when they graduate the institution do help some of them to get jobs. veritas university as a corporate brand, faculties and departments as product brands in corporate world, organisations have what is known as mother brand and also products. these organisations produce advertising materials known as corporate advertising materials to push the organisation as an entity and also produce product advertising materials for product publicity. for example, unilever nigeria plc develops advertising materials to promote the company's image and activities. it also has advertising materials for each of her products like close-up toothpaste and lux soap. also, dangote plc as an organisation has a life of her own and activities projected under corporate dangote publicity plan, her different products like dangote cement, sugar, salt, etc. are given publicity through specific advertising materials for each of these products. so under a comprehensive marketing communication plan, organisations have different publicity schedules for both corporate and product advertisement but it is done in a way that they complement each other for the overall benefit of the organisation. veritas university, abuja can market herself as a corporate brand, while her faculty of law, departments of computer science and mass communication that are the cash cows of the university can be separately pushed in terms of publicity as products. two universities that have successfully done this are harvard university with two of her global products harvard business igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 110 school and harvard business review. another university with similar and successful efforts in nigeria is pan-atlantic university in lagos, with her lagos business school and school of media communication [smc]. veritas university with time can extend this treatment to her water bottle and bakery businesses which investigation already revealed are doing well through '' word-of-mouth advertising'' in zuma and other communities under bwari area council. veritas university abuja movement towards a brand brand building effort must be a planned and deliberate process, and two of the elements that will make it successful are consistency in brand communication efforts and funding. brand building does not have a destination and that is why big brands like coca-cola, pepsi and universities like harvard and oxford continue to build their respective brands. veritas university brand building efforts must continue with: v well established public relations directorate with good knowledge of brand management and marketing communication tools deployment v well organised yearly publicity plan putting into consideration all the school activities within this same period with budget attached v identify and determine the role both internal and external publics of the university will and should play towards the short and long term brand building development of the university v initiate and execute co-branding efforts with relevant organisations that will add value to the good image of the university v the school public relations directorate should be the only clearing house for all publicity materials before they are sent out for exposure in order to ensure consistency and uniformity in terms of colour, logo and other brand building icons of the school. v it is strongly advised that veritas university produce corporate as well as product advertising materials for her academic programmes. these materials must be ready at all times for press insertions and radio spots at a very short notice, the good thing about such materials is that they aid maintenance campaign publicity. recommendation it is important that the school management engage the services of a certified external public relations and brand management consultant that will work with the current university pr team to manage the image of the school integrating it with the numerous achievements of the institution especially in the areas of innovations and national awards the engineering faculty of the school, success in the interuniversity debates and corporate social responsibility efforts of the university external consultant will work from outside and this will help get the balanced opinion the university need, as well as carry out the brand audit exercise for the school at agreed intervals which is important in tracking the brand development progress of the university. conclusion if a university positioning and brand building strategy is right, she will definitely enjoy goodwill, support and patronage from all her publics. the role of veritas university public relations and brand management unit is very important in developing the university brand into exactly what the school management and proprietor want it to be. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 111 references aaker, david (1991), managing brand equity: capitalising on the value of a brand name, new york, the free press. arnold, david (1992), the handbook of brand management. century business, the economist books bona, joe (1994), from retail identity to brand image, national petroleum news 86, pp52 brown, gordon (1992), people, brands and advertising. warwick uk, millward brown international fan, y (2006) branding the nation: what is being branded, journal vacation marketing no 1, vol, 12 pp 5-14 martineau, pierre (1959), '' sharper focus for the corporate image'' harvard business review, 3s, 1, pp. 49-58 otubanjo, melewar (2007), ''understanding the meaning of corporate identity: a conceptual and semiological approach'' corporate communications an international journal, vol 12 no 4 pp,414-432 pitcher, a e (1985) the role of branding in international advertising, 4, pp. 241-246 staveley, nicholas (1987), advertising, marketing and brands, admap, 23 pp 31-35 wilson, marianne (1994), the magic of brand identity, stone age executive 70,pp 66 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 41 la traduction dans une société multilingue comme le nigeria. asadu oluchukwu felicia, (ph.d) department of modern european languages nnamdi azikiwe university, awka anambra state asaduoluchukwu@yahoo.com et maduagwuna samuel department of french nwafororizucollege of education, nsugbe anambrastate résumé dans une société multilingue, la traduction est désirable. le métier est tout á fait utile. mais dans une société ou un pays comme le nigeria, une nation multilingue par excellence qui est douée de plus de deux cent langues, la traduction est indispensable pour des raisons suivantes. d’ abord, la langue officielle est une langue étrangère, et ensuite la majorité de la population est analphabète. la traduction est doncnécessaire pour faciliter la communication et pour répandre les informations à toutes les couches de la société. les gouvernements à tous les niveaux du pays serendent compte de ce fait. voilà pourquoi les traducteurs sont toujours employés pour travailler à la maison de radio, à la télévision et dans les bureaux chargés de la publicité. dans ce travail, nous allons montrer le rôle important que la traduction joue dans la direction et l’ administration du pays. nous allons montrer aussi quelques abus chez les traducteurs dans la création des mots et des expressions dans les langues locales. l’ introduction être capable de diriger un paysd’ une manière efficace dépend des facteurs différents. ll faut que les citoyens reconnaissent leurs droits et leurs responsabilités auprès du gouvernement. il est nécessaire qu’ ils soient en mesure de réclamer leur responsabilités. pour combattre les maux dans la société comme la corruption qui est devenue un fléau, il faut sensibiliser les citoyens sur les apports défavorables. la plupart des habitants dans le pays ignorant la conséquence de certains actes. en ce qui concerne la corruption par exemple on doit se poser les questions suivantes: qu’ est-ce que la corruption? est-elle bénéfique à la population? quels sont les dégâts? qu’ est-ce qui caractérise la corruption? si on pose ces questions à un citoyen de n’ importe quelle classe, on sera étonné de la réponse donnée. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 42 pourquoi y a-t-il des fraudes dans les élections ? parfois on donne de l’ argent aux électeurs pour gagner leurs votes. ils votent pour les candidates contre leur volonté sans chercher à savoir le sort de leurs actes. la conséquence est la décadence dans tous les domaines. ily a des problèmes sociaux, économiques, politiques provoqués par les mauvais comportements de tous les citoyens parce que chacun contribued’ unemanière ou l’ autre aux maux dans le système sans le savoir. on critique et condamne les dirigeants sans se demander les rôles joués par les gens dirigés. selon la bible “mon peuple est détruit, parce qu’ il lui manque la connaissance “cette citation se trouvedans le livre d’ osée chapitre 4 verset 6. pour bien sensibiliser les gens, on doit passer les informations d’ une manière nette et claire. la compréhension des énoncés et programme venant du gouvernement aux ressortissants du pays qui ne comprennent pas les langues officielles et localesdépend largement du traducteur. c’ est qui le traducteur ? c’ est celui qui exerce le métier de la traduction. c’ est l’ intermédiaire qui existe entre les gens qui parlent des langues différentes. les citoyens sont capables de briser les barrières linguistiques grâce au traducteur. quelle est l’ origine de la multiplicité des langues? selon la bible, le monde entier parlait une seule langue et la communication était facile grâce à la langue unique, la construction connaissait du progrès et il se glorifiait. dieu a décidé de confondre leur langues en multipliant les langues. ainsi ils ne se comprenaient plus. ainsi la construction de la tour est arrivée à terme. la multiplicité des langues au nigeria le nigeria n’existait pas avant l’ arrivée des blancs ou colonisateurs. on voyait en existence des empires comme l’ empire de bénin, l’ empire debornu, l’ empire d’ oyo etc.il y avait aussi la croissance et la chute des empires. les blancs ont envahi des empires et puis ont imposé leur administration aux noirs. deux protectorats sont nés. l’ année 1914 a assisté à la fusion des protectorats. les empires autonomes étaient détruits par les colonisateurs. les protectorats du nord et du sud ont été créés. la fusion des protectorats a donnénaissance à la multiplicité des langues. la langue d’ administration et d’instruction était l’ anglais pour faciliter la communication entre les colonisateurs et les colonisés. c’ est aussi cette langue qui est employée parmi les autochtones instruits qui travaillaient pour les blancs. l’ administration coloniale vis-à-vis la traduction le but principal de l’administration colonialeétait un système de communication efficace pour pouvoir diriger les gens. on employait tout le système possiblepour communiquer y compris les gestes, les mimes etc. avec le temps, on a vu des indigènes qui pouvaient s’exprimer en anglais. ces derniers se servaient de igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 43 traducteurs et d’interprètes. on les employait dans les cours et dans les bureaux. les gens qui faisaient la traduction et l’interprétationn’étaient pas des spécialistes. pourtant ils se débrouillaient pour bien traduire. on utilise des lacunes dans certaines traductions faites dans les cours de justice pour faire des comédies en langue igbo à l’heureactuelle. la traduction à cette époque avait des défis. on traduit de la langue officielle en langue locale ou d’ une langue locale en une autre langue locale. quelque soit le cas il y avait des difficultés. le traducteur utilisait le plus souvent la traduction littérale (mot à mot) qui ne convient pas le plus souvent. parfois il ne comprend pas le sens contextuel des mots avant de faire la traduction. ceci aboutit trѐs souvent à la mauvaise traduction. de nos jours, il faut souligner que la traduction a accédé à un niveau trèsélevé. la traduction est une nouvelle discipline dans nos établissement d’ études supérieures par rapport aux autres disciplines. pourtant elle a gagné du terrain d’ unemanière rapide dans les affaires quotidiennes. rôle de la traduction dans la société nigériane. la traduction et l’interprétation jouent des rôlestrès importants dans la société. nous allons examiner les rôles à l’ intérieur des gens qui parlent la même langue, parmi les gens qui parlent des langues différentes, aussi bien que lesrôles de la traduction dans les domaines différents, à savoir le commerce, la politique /la démocratie, la paix et la religion. la traduction et l’interprétation à l’intérieur des gens parlant la même langue. il y a des associations qui regroupent des clans au niveau villageois. on organise des réunions. on fait le compte rendu de la réunion en langue anglaise parce que la plupart des gens qui assistent à la réunion ne peuvent pas faire le compte rendu de la réunion en langue locale bien qu’ ils soient bien instruits. comme la plupart des villageois sont analphabètes on traduit le procèsverbal en langue locale. le débat et la discussion dans la réunion se déroule en langue locale mais on fait le compte rendu en anglais. on fait donc la traduction deux fois. d’ abord le compte rendu sefait en langue anglaise mais on fait la présentation en langue indigène pour l’ adoption. l’emploi de la traduction parmi les citoyensparlant des languesdifférentes. la traduction se fait parmi les citoyens qui parlent des langues différentes. on peut organiser des activitéssociales au niveau étatique. dans certains états il existe plusieurs langues. dans ces états quand onorganise des séminaires pour les gens en ville et les villageois, il se peut que les villageoises analphabètes y assistent. dans une telle situation on utilise la traduction et l’ interprétation pour faciliter la igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 44 compréhension et le débat. celui qui présente la communication peut la faire en langue officielle alors qu’ une autre personne fait l’ interprétation ou la communication en langue locale. la traduction dans lecommerce. le commerce est important au nigéria surtout dans l’ état d’ anambra ou se trouve le plus grand marché de l’ afrique de l’ ouest. les gens venant des villes et villages n’ arrivent pas à discuter ensemble à cause de la barrière linguistique. dans ce contexteon traduit d’une langue locale en une autre ou même de la langue officielle en une languelocale. les gens venant des pays voisins qui parlent le français viennent aussi faire le commerce à onitsha, une ville dans laquelle on parle la langue igbo. ces étrangers qui parlentfrançais font des achats à l’ aide des gens qui parlent et comprennent le français et l’ anglais. la traduction, la politique et la démocratie. la politique est organisée tous les quatre ans pour l’électionprésidentielle et les gouverneurs des états. les élections sont organiséesd’unemanièredémocratique dans le but d’ établir la démocratie. on organise les campagnesélectorales dans le but de sensibiliser les gens.ll faut répandre les informations dans tous les états surtout dans une situation où on s’ apprête pour les élections dans tous les états, ll doit se rendre compte beaucoupd’ électeurs sont analphabèteset ne peuvent pas comprendre l’ anglais. on a donné une population mixte (les gens alphabets et analphabètes). il faut donc les langues locales et la langue officielle. ll y a une agence “ national orientation agency (n o a) chargé de sensibiliser les citoyens du programme du gouvernement fédéral. cette agence publié des pamphlets contenant les informations relatives aux programmes du gouvernementfédéral. ces informations sont publiées en anglais et en langues locale.la traduction joue des rôles importants dans la sensibilisation de la population sur la mise de la démocratie dans la bonne voie. on ne peut pas parler de la démocratie dans un système où il y a des fraudesélectorales dans les élections. dans plusieurs pays africains les gens sont payés par les politiciens pour frauder. on essaie de les informer sur les maux des tels comportements chez les électeurs et l’ effet négatif sur l’ avenir du pays. parfois les gens refusent de participer auxélections en constatant que la vie devient de plus en plus dure. ils oublient qu’ il y aura toujours des dirigeants même s’ ils ont élu par une petite poignée des gens. on essaie de sensibiliser les gens sur l’importance de la participation aux élections. la traduction joue un rôle capital pour réaliser cet objectif. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 45 la traduction et la religion. la traduction joue un grand rôle dans la vie religieuse des citoyens. on a déjà dit que beaucoup de gens dans le pays ne peuvent ni lire ni écrire. ils participent au culte de leur religion. ils ont des livres religieux relatifs à leur religion. ces livres sont traduits en langues locales par exemple, la bible est traduite en plusieurs langues nigériane. dans certaines églises il y a la congrégation mixte. on utilise la bible en langues locales pendant le culte. dans ce cas, l’interprète est là pour interpréter ce que dit le pasteur. dans d’autres églises organise des cultes à langues unique. on assiste au culte dans lequel on ne parle que l’anglais. on utilise la bible anglaise. et puis on assiste au culte en langues locales le choix des langues locales dépend des langues locales qu’on parle dans l’ état on dans la ville. la traduction et la paix la paix n’ est pas tout à fait l’ absence de la guerre. on comprend bien qu’à part les attaquesterroristes dans certainesrégions du pays on dirait que le pays connait la paix. ces attaques sont provoquées par les intérêts religieux, ethniques, politique etc. on sensibilise les gens sur l’importance de la paix. les attaques aboutissent à la destruction et la vie devient très difficile. les gens sont convaincu d’ accepter le dialogue comme la meilleure façon de résoudre des conflits. on utilise la traduction dans le dialogue pour établir la paix . national orientation agency publie aussi des pamphlets qui portent sur l’importance de la paix. la traduction vis avis la constitution. chaque pays déposed’une constitution qui stipule les mœurs et les maux, ce qui est acceptable et non-acceptable. cette constitution est rédigée en langue anglaise. la plupart des gens n’ ont pas accès à cette constitution parce qu’ elle est écrite en langueanglaise. l’ignorance du contenu de la constitution est à la base des crises dans le pays. il y a des groupes ethniques et religieux qui croient que le pays et tous les biens dans le pays leur appartiennent. pour eux il n’y a pas d’égalité devant la loi. le pays leur appartient et il faut en faire ce qu’ilsveulent. ils ont des privilèges et droits qu’ils veulent défendre mêmes au mépris de leur vie. cette catégorie de personnes se croit supérieures. la traduction de la constitution est très indispensable. il faut traduire la constitution en toutes les langues. si tous les citoyens ont accès à la constitution et sont capables d’ assimiler le contenu, il y aura la paix dans la société. comprendre la constitution, c’ est comprendre la démocratie. la constitution qui est fondée sur la démocratie stipule l’ égalité pour tout le monde (les riches, les pauvres, les petits, les grands, tour les groupes religieux et ethniques, tous les sexes etc.) croire qu’ on est décidé le sort du pays en mettant les autres à l’ écart est à la base des igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 46 problèmes du pays . la traduction de la constitution est absolument nécessaire pour freiner le goût excessif de certains groupes ethniques et religieux. les gouvernementsdifférents dans le payssavent que le nigeria a beaucoup de langues locales.ils font des propagandes dans ces langues locales pourtromper les gens. pourquoi ne faut-il pas utiliser le même système pour sensibiliser les gens sur leurs droit et privilèges constitutionnels surtout face au détournement de fonds et à la mauvaise gestion?la traduction, sielle est bien employée permettra répandre des informations dans toutes les classes dans la société. la traduction est capable de réunir tous les groupes linguistiques dans le pays. elle facilite la communication. abus de la traduction il y a l’abus de la traduction chez nous surtout dans le domaine de la création des mots. evidemment il y a des mots et des expressions qui manque dans notre langue dans les aspects scientifiques et techniques. certains objets et concepts en langues anglaise et française n’ont pas d’équivalent en langue igbo. mais dans la tentative de créer ces mots on jette dans la poubelle les mots en existence et fabrique des anormal. par exemple on entend les gens qui disentụtụtụọma en voulant saluer quelque un le matin. cela veut dire good morning en anglais. c’est ce qu’on a créé de la langue anglaise. or, chez les igbo on ditị́pụtagoụlaou ị́sala chi ?c’est une salutation crée à partir de la vision de la nuit. on croit que la nuit, caractérisée de l’obscurité est pleine de maux et les mauvaises esprits. c’est dangereux de faire certaines choses la nuit. par exemple crier le nom de quelqu’un la nuit comme on le fait pendant la journée. alors, voir quelqu’un qui se lève le matin est un évènement. pour cela on dit ị́pụtagoụla ? il yad’autre abus commecup ……. kọpụ au lieu de iko bottle …… bọtụlụ au lieu deonono. il faut trouver les mots authentiques pour des objets ou concepts. mais s’iln’existe pas on peut les créer. conclusion la traduction est un instrument capable de contribuer au développement du pays. elle facilitera l’administration du pays. étant un pays de tiers monde, la propagation des informations peut aider à développer et à réunir le pays. on nourrit l’ espoir que nos leaders mettront plus d’ accent dans l’ usage de la traduction pour promouvoir la sensibilisation, l’ unité, le développement et la connaissance des citoyens. œuvres consultées igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 47 alexander pierre linguisticproblems of nation building in negro africa: in languageprob;em of developing nation.pps285-286,1988. john dunn, west african state: failure and promise.2011. joyotirindradas gupta languagediversity and national development in languageproblems of developingnations.u.s.a :john wiley and sons inc.2008. maduagwuna samuel bilingualism in the unity of a multilingualnigerian society: a case of french and english languagepublished in arts and social science forum journal august 1999. m.h abrahams, geoffrey galtharphabn, a glossary of literaryterms, learning u.s.a :wadsworth language,2009. petit k ,citation du monde entier. gerard and co verviers.2008. robert p.le petit robert paris :107, avenue parmentier,1985. banton m. and harwood j. the race concept david and charles.london : newton abbot,2005. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.1 no. 2 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 131 forgiveness that overcomes hate in marriage christopher e. umoh, ph.d344 st joseph major seminary, ikop ekpene christopher@yahoo.com abstract the forgiveness of the other in a case where one is offended is neither a mechanical nor an easy exercise. it is a weighty but demanding and serious undertaking.345 this is true in almost every human relationship. it assumes a more serious dimension in a marital relationship where the one offended is physically and psychologically traumatized. of all the questions asked during the last annual retreat of the laity in some dioceses east of the niger, when a talk on the message of the third extraordinary synod of bishops on the family was presented to the faithful, the one on forgiveness in marriage featured most prominently. the questions were mostly about how difficult it is for husbands and wives to forgive each other when there is a crack in their marital relationship. in fact, these questions have eventually informed the choice of the topic for this essay especially as the bishops’ message on the family, part ii, no.15, has it that through christ’s reconciliation the period began by moses, the period of hardness of heart, has ended and that marriage and the family have been restored to their original form (3rd esob, no.15). consequently, this write-up considers forgiveness not merely a simple matter but a substantive issue which liberates the offended partner in the crisis of marriage as well as the one offending by relocating them back into god’s plan for marriage which is greater than sin and creates for them a new path in the human fragile love they have for each other. keywords: forgiveness, overcomes, hate, marriage 344 rev. dr. christopher umoh is a priest of the catholic diocese of ikot ekpene. he is currently the vice rector of st. joseph major seminary, ikot ekpene, akwa ibom state, nigeria, where he teaches moral theology, fundamental theology, and catholic social teaching with a doctorate in moral theology as his major area of specialization. fr. christopher is a member of the theology commission of ikot ekpene diocese, a defender of the bond in the diocesan/provincial marriage tribunal of ikot ekpene in calabar ecclesiastical province as well as the chaplain of the catholic women organization, in the diocese. he is also the moderator of the diocesan catholic women magazine uyo eti eka and the associate editor of the academic journal of st. joseph major seminary, koinonia. 345 j. aniagwu, called to act in persona christi, ambassador publications, iperu remo 2014, 58-59. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 132 the marital relationship of christians: a transforming path of love the marriage of christians is a very unique encounter. the husband and wife are called to show to each other the completely selfless love that jesus has for his church (eph 5:21-33). they are also to proclaim that they need jesus to empower them and show them how to love the way jesus himself loves the church. this is the reason a wedding is done in the church. the wedding ceremony is not merely an external rite but it is a ceremony done in order to help the spouses to turn away from selfishness, pride and division. the grace received in the marriage is to enable them to put on love and to let that love cover a “multitude of sins” (i peter 4:8). it points to them also what should stay in the relationship, and what should be changed in the way the couple relate to each other. the grace of the sacrament makes them to act wisely and selflessly, and finally it enables them to be attractive to one another. thus, the catechism of the catholic church affirms: “in the sacrament of marriage, the spouse of the church encounters christian spouses. he dwells with them and he gives them strength.”346 the grace given here is called by pope john paul ii in the post-synodal apostolic exhortation, familiaris consortio, no. 13, the grace of a ‘new heart’. it brings divine power into the natural ability of spouses to love each other. over and above all, it allows the love that the spouses have for each other to be raised up by the power of god so that their marriage may become a sign pointing to jesus and his transforming power. it is also when their love reaches this level that they can attend to each other at the deepest and most ultimate levels of their personhood and uniqueness. the basis of this love is in their orientation to god and their faithfulness to one another.347 though god has made each couple’s love “forever” and “faithful” this way, the reality of human situation shows that every family is touched in one way or the other by the painful side of marriage. this is true of our contemporary society as indicated in the first part of the 346 ccc 1642. 347 karl rahner, marriage as a sacrament, in paulinus i. odozor, ed, sexuality, marriage and family, university of notre dame press, indiana 2001, 354. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 133 document of the third extraordinary synod of bishops on the family (3rd extraordinary synod of bishops, nos. 5,6,7,8). the painful side of marriage: the challenges in marital relationship the challenges in marital relationship in our contemporary society have been well articulated by the bishops of the third extraordinary synod on the family. they have noted with pride and thankfulness to god that in spite of these challenges, some families are living with joy and faith in their marital union. they are facing obstacles, misunderstandings and sufferings. this could be termed the painful side of marriage. it includes infidelity, spouse abuse, abortion, divorce, alcoholism and drug addictions. most people in the situation of this nature may be tricked into thinking that they are complete failures in their marital relationships. they may think that jesus has abandoned them. the transformation needed in such a situation depends on the maturity of the couples, their ability to communicate the relationship they have with god and their commitment to allow love to cover the multitude of sins and to forgive each other in christ. this forgiveness is not a superficial or mechanical one. forgiveness that is light the issues that come from the painful side of marriage are often no light matters. they are usually no small misunderstandings or daily annoyance of husbands and wives. in most cases, these issues are real betrayals. they include meanness, pride, arrogance, deceit and drunkenness that have lasted for years. in some cases, there are issues of deep resentment, injustices, anger, and sharp division that cannot be remedied or forgotten over the years. the issues can spread into the relationship of the spouse with children, in-laws, village and the clan. it follows that a quick call for forgiveness in these cases is something insincere and inappropriate so long as the evil or offence in these cases that ban forever the possibility of recovering the trust and intimacy once enjoyed has not been recognized or identified. where the emotional attachment to the one offending is stronger to the offended, the offence that obstructs the relationship becomes more serious. it is so hard to forget and forgive in such a situation: ‘if an enemy igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 134 had reviled me that i could bear; if my foe had viewed me with contempt, from that i could hide. but it is you, my other self, my comrade, and friend’ (ps 55:1315). the offence in this deep situation of betrayal has been carved into memory.348 it has affected the affective dimension of the human person and has blocked the memory of the offended. livio melina maintains that it is memory that holds deep images and recollections of wounds that have never been healed and that continue to hurt. the freedom needed for forgiveness which includes the will of a person, reason, affectivity and memory requires a form of healing. this is difficult of course, to happen in people. it takes a period of time and needs courage that comes from within. the one who has been offended has also to accept forgiveness from the one who offended him or her as it is painful to offer a gift like forgiveness which is difficult and the offended refuses it. any refusal like this shows that the wound suffered has not been healed but stored in the memory. the offended does not want to risk being betrayed or hurt again. this happens mostly in a marital relationship because this relationship is founded on human freedom not on blood relationship: “therefore, a man leaves his father and mother and cleaves to his wife and they become one flesh” (gen. 2:24). the one offended in a marital relationship is the person who feels what is lacking in the married love and the pains of it are his or her flesh (livio melina, building a culture of the family). the offence itself is what blocks the full realization of the promises made to each other as well as the path to reconciliation and transformation. the one offended is always the victim of humiliation and degradation. there is a reduction of self in the person and a feeling of abandonment. in most cases the victim bears the weights of the irrevocable promises made on the wedding day by both of the partners. the picture here is not a light matter because of the loss of self esteem, hope and enthusiasm in life. the trauma of such a betrayal cannot be waved aside by a superficial talk of forgiveness. the wound here is not only on the victim but on the children and the common good of the society. the damage done to the partner disrupts the intimacy in the marital bond. it calls for a rediscovery of the 348 cf. livio melina, building a culture of the family, st paul, new york 2011, p.23. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 135 original trust and simplicity of the love once enjoyed in the married life. in fact, the evil done to the offended partner is not addressed; any talk about forgiveness becomes even irritating to the one offended. it is often seen as a lack of sensitivity of the one who offends the other over the suffering of the offended: there is a need to remove injustice and to create communion by seeking a much deeper form of forgiveness. this form of forgiveness enables both the one offended and the one who offends to rediscover the providence of god in marriage and the new way of living together in spite of the fragile human love. forgiveness that liberates: a new path in the human fragile love the truth about forgiveness that does not go deep is that there is a fomenting of the evil in secret or a rewinding of the offence. in most cases, it has a vicious circle with reactions here and there and of course, revenge behind one’s mind in dealing with the other partner. these are signs that forgiveness is hollow and should take on a higher level of treatment for the recovery of the plan god has for marriage and a new living of togetherness, forgetting the painful past and holding on to a brighter future in the relationship. the forgiveness of the one that offended the other at this level is an act of god’s grace. this grace as indicated above has been restored to us by christ after the fall of our first parents. it enables the one offended and the offender to rediscover the source of newness in life. this rediscovery passes through the judgment of the cross, making forgiveness a ‘costly grace’, in the language of d. bonhoeffer. it implies a real and concrete acknowledgment of the gravity of sin one has committed against the other in the relationship and the conversion for this sin. the price of forgiveness is paid by both the offender and the offended. it is a passage rite from death to the resurrection for the two persons. the one who offends has to die to false and hypocritical way of life and to the security of feeling alright while he has offended the partner. the death rite of the offender includes death to the complacency of sensing an unjustly received offence and death in accepting an offence given that wounds one’s own dignity and not stepping back out of shame (livio melina, building a culture of the family, p.31). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 136 in this case, to forgive, in the words of melina, is to step down from one’s pedestal and lower oneself to making a difficult climb back up together with the one who created the offence. it is taking responsibility together for the converting of the other without allowing self-righteousness get in the way. the acceptance of forgiveness when it is offered to the one offended means to see the cost of one’s healing in the cross. it is to become capable of re-establishing justice, and thereby arriving at the resurrection of the wounded love. this is indeed a form of rebirth in salvation history: “by his wounds we have been healed” (i peter 2:24). the act of forgiveness becomes for both the offender and the offended a common transformation. the offence that wounds marital love of husband and wife is described by jesus in matt 19:8 as ‘hardness of heart’. it hurts and threatens the unity between them, the unity that god himself established at the beginning. the ‘hardness of heart’ is what usually brings about the inability of the couple to give oneself to the other in faithful, fruitful and indissoluble love. but when forgiveness arrives at this level, it enables the spouses to surrender to god first and then to one another. the self-surrendering is no degradation or humiliation but a new beginning from the one offended and the offender. the willingness to begin again comes from the holy spirit, the source and the agent of a new creation. the spirit renews the offender and the offended and makes them people of novelty in their marital life. with this principle, both the offended and the offender are able to create a new way of living together according to the original plan of god for their marriage. they will come to know that the plan of god is stronger than any sin or mistake. furthermore, willingness to begin again or start again is a profound expression of their freedom as sons and daughters of god. this freedom has not been inhibited by any rancour, bitterness, anger and a sense of loss of self-esteem, because the guilt has been acknowledged and the offer of forgiveness accepted. the ability to do this in a marital relationship is a true expression of freedom. it is an act of the holy spirit within the couple as well as an expression of “costly grace”, in the words of d. bonhoeffer, not a ‘cheap grace’ like the case of light forgiveness. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 137 in order for spouses to come to this level of ‘costly forgiveness’, they need to be very prayerful partners. in the words of st paul, they have to allow their love be in christ: ‘your life is hid with christ’ (col. 3:3). it is only in this hiddenness that they see the workings of the holy spirit, the source of selfless love. the holy spirit here will enable the couple to pass from the stage of being in love to the stage of actual loving of one another. it is striking to know that the state of being in love is always characterized by illusion on the projection of one’s dream about the other. it is the holy spirit that sustains the mutual gift of one another in married love when the expectations of the couples are different and sometimes disappointing. in this case, the holy spirit effects a change in the couple who are disappointed from love of self in the other to the love of the other for his or her own sake. this carries the couple forward in the moments of crisis. it helps them to be obedient to jesus who himself sort his way in the midst of temptations and provocations from the evil one.349 according to livio melina -citing hannah arendt, a german-american philosopher of jewish origin -it is this inner strength of the holy spirit that is the agent of novelty in every human person. for him, every human being in acting is capable of being new and being the principle of novelty.350 this, according to him, is the profound meaning of freedom. with this freedom every human being begins anew when there is a breakdown or a crack in relationship or in anything that a person does in life. in the area of human relationship, this freedom or principle of novelty enables both the offended and the offender to begin again. it regenerates inner strength in the couple to overcome hate and to give themselves anew to each other. this ability of re-discovery of newness in married love or the application of the principle of novelty in the situation where marital relationship has not being going on well, has not been very much emphasized in the document of the synod of bishops in the family before coming to stress the point of accompaniment of the couple. much has been said about the marriage tribunal and personnel and cost of putting the case to tribunal for 349 marc quellet, divine likeness: towards a trinitarian anthropology of the family, william b. eerdmans publishing company, cambridge 2006, 114-116. 350 livio melina, building a culture of the family: the language of love, 29-31 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 138 annulment without indicating positive means of reconciliation and forgiveness of the spouses. it is to be emphasized here that the inability to forgive and to ask for forgiveness is the thing that destroys married love and life, not quarrels between husband and wife. according to cormac burke, “quarrels (even big ones) made up, do not destroy love; they even cement it; quarrels(even small ones) not made up, gradually poison married life and make it seem intolerable.”351 in fact, to love one’s spouse as he or she is, with his or her defects, means to swallow up one’s pride, overlook hurtful things, to forgive and to forget. an example abounds of how a couple once came to this level of forgiveness within the context of deep prayer life. they went for a retreat in a retreat centre for married people. the retreat moderator asked the participants to outline three things they would like to see changed in their respective partners. as one husband began to list the changes he felt the wife needed to make, he realized how self-centred he was towards his wife. he began to see how he had been treating the wife with less respect than he should, with negative comments, quick but fiery glances when the wife did something he disagreed. at the end of the exercise, the husband told the retreat moderator he always thought that he was the glue, the strength, and the brain of their marriage. but when he sat down to list the wife’s weakness, he felt as if god exposed his flaws instead and the moderator told him to share that with the wife. he went to the wife and showed her the list. it read this way “1. forgive me for hurting you; 2. let me honour you because your commitment to our marriage is so strong; 3. please be patient with me(the word among us, vol.21, no.9 (2002), p.12-13)”. this brought about a powerful transformation in their marriage at end of the said retreat. it shows that ‘costly forgiveness’ comes when couples come close to god in deep prayer. it happens with the pastoral care of the married people by opening of centers for them for deep personal prayer among fellow married couples. little wonder the third synod of bishops on the family has asked that centers for marriage seminars and retreats be opened in dioceses and parishes all over 351 cormac burke, covenanted happiness: love and commitment, four court press, dublin 1990, 60-61. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 139 the world. the art of accompaniment has also been recommended, and bishops, priests, deacons and even married people themselves have been asked to accompany married couples in their journey together as spouses. this accompaniment will help those that their marital relationship has hit the rock to begin all over again, walking together in the light of the spirit. conclusion forgiveness is not an easy exercise as many people think, especially when it has to do with an intimate relationship like marriage. the one who offends and the offended are both involved in the laborious exercise. the one who offends the other has to acknowledge the evil or offence done to the other, and the offended too has to receive the offer of forgiveness. the offended and the offender have to begin again, motivated by the spirit of christ in them. it is this ability to start again that puts two of them once more on the journey of life. it reveals to the world how profoundly free in christ the spouses are and how docile they are to the prompting of the holy spirit who enables them to see the divine providence in their married life which is greater than mere human error. this is the forgiveness that regenerates inner strength in the couple to overcome hate. it creates a new path in human fragile love. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 227 african traditional religion and the success of the christian missionary enterprise: a historical enquiry onyeka john egwuonwu department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe university, awka jo.egwuonwu@unizik.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.25001.77923 abstract this paper examines african traditional religion and the success of the christian missionary endeavors: a historical enquiry. this study collected primary data from interviews and the secondary data from review of literatures in journal, articles, textbook and internet. the sub literatures of this study were analyzed using content analysis method. the study found that african traditions were expressed through folk tales, songs, festivals, beliefs in spirit beings, higher and lower gods, veneration of the dead, use of magic and traditional african medicine. the study concluded that the existence of african traditional religion (atr) was never hostile to christianity in igboland rather, it welcomed it and allowed it to blossom on the african soil. that it was through african traditional religion (atr) that the 19th century christian missionaries recorded tremendous success in their missionary enterprise in igbo land and nigeria at large. this could not be possible without some contributive factors of atr enabling the christian faith to thrive in the indigenous land. thus, this study recommended that the existence of african traditional religion (atr) should be recognized in the practice of christianity. also, the way early christian missionaries work and interact with african traditional religion (atr) to convert people should be a great lesson for modern day christians not to abolish african traditional religion (atr) entirely as some those practices can be capitalized on for evangelism and souls winning. introduction every society is that which is tainted by religion and culture. in africa, african traditional religion (atr) is regarded as the indigenous religion of the african people and it has been in existence from antiquity to this present time. awolalu (1979) opines that before the advent of foreign religions there had been the indigenous religion upheld by our fore-fathers and passed on from them to succeeding generations. the traditional beliefs and practices of african people are highly diverse including various ethnic religions (sage, 2009). these traditions are upheld and are also expressed through folk tales, songs and festivals and it includes beliefs in spirits and higher and lower gods, sometimes including a supreme being, as well as mailto:jo.egwuonwu@unizik.edu.ng https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/veneration_of_the_dead https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/magic_(supernatural) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/traditional_african_medicine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/demographics_of_africa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ethnic_religion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ethnic_religion igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 228 the veneration of the dead, and use of magic and traditional african medicine (nweke and kizito chinedu, 2022). these traditions are also not religious principles but cultural identity that is passed on through stories, myths and tales from one generation to another. in the mist of all the traditional practices in africa, christianity emerged. nwadialor (2016) asserts that in many parts of west africa, the portuguese missionaries brought christianity to west africa in the late 14th century. during the 19th century, christianity had fully gained ground as it spread to greater parts of west africa. at the initial, the missionaries never saw anything good and worthwhile in african traditional religion. according to oduro, et al. (2008), christian missionaries saw the african culture and religion not only as lower than the western culture and religion but also as undesirable and even dangerous to converted africans. sanou (2013) observes that the religious piety of africans was viewed as wholly erroneous, idolatrous, superstitious and necromantic. nwaozuru (2019) summarizes that the foreigners wanted africans to accept totally foreign culture and religion at the same time rejecting everything indigenous culture and religion. thus, the above viewpoints portray that the european christian missionaries made efforts to eradicate the indigenous religion of the host communities. this was as a result of misconception of african worldview by the early missionaries. also nwadialor (2015) opines that some were prevented from the real understanding of the phenomenon, they studied because of their lack of understanding of the people's languages. but with time, as the european christian missionaries interacted with the indigenous people (with the help of the ex-slaves), they found out that there were some indigenous values and belief system of the african people that could be capitalized upon to spread christianity among the indigenous people. this was to make the christian faith appeal to them as well offer them sense of belonging and ultimately for them to accept it. hence, this paper aim at examining the contribution of african traditional religion to the success of the christian missionary endeavors: a historical enquiry. theoretical framework structural functionalism theory the structural functionalism theory was propounded by emile durkheim (1858-1917). a structural functionalism theory is a framework for building https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/veneration_of_the_dead https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/magic_(supernatural) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/traditional_african_medicine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/traditional_african_medicine igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 229 theory that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability (macionis and john, 1944–2011). this approach looks at society through a macro-level orientation which is a broad focus on the social structures that shape the society as a whole and believes that society has evolved like organisms (derosso and deb, 2012). this approach looks at both social structure and social functions. functionalism addresses the society as a whole in terms of the function of its constituent elements such as norms, customs, traditions and institutions. a common analogy, popularized by herbert spencer, presents these parts of society as organs that work toward the proper functioning of the body as a whole (urry and john, 2000). in the most basic terms, it simply emphasizes the effort to impute as rigorously as possible, to each feature, custom, or practice, its effect on the functioning of a supposedly stable, cohesive system. societies are seen as coherent, bounded and fundamentally relational constructs that function like organisms with their various working together in an unconscious, quasi-automatic fashion toward achieving an overall social equilibrium. all social and cultural phenomena are therefore seen as functional in the sense of working together and are effectively deemed to have lives of their own. they are primarily analyzed in terms of this function. the individual is significant not in and of themselves, but rather in terms of their status, their position in patterns of social relations, and the behaviours associated with their status. therefore, the social structure is the network of statuses connected by associated roles in the society. structural functionalism theory is applicable to this study as it emphasized that the society is a complex system whose parts is to work together to promote solidarity and stability. african traditional religion is an inherit part of the structure of the african society that determines the belief system, custom, tradition and culture of its people. the role of the belief, culture and norms upheld by africans help in the acceptance and promotion of christianity in africa. the early christian missionaries discovered that some of the beliefs of the people in africa especially in igbo land embrace the knowledge and idea that god exist. they believe in the spirit being and existence of chukwu. so, they often times, observed some scarifies and celebrations such iri ji ohuru (new yam festivals) for thanksgiving, praises, worship and songs which the early missionaries capitalized and introduce christianity among the people and it succeeded. conceptualization of african traditional religion (atr) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/complex_systems https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/macrosociology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/social_structure https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/social_structure https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/norms_(sociology) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/convention_(norm) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/traditions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/institutions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/herbert_spencer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/social_equilibrium https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/complex_systems igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 230 conceptualizing african traditional religion is a difficult task. ulvestad (2012) opines that since mid-1900s, the era has been a tug of war between western and african representatives and even among african scholars who grasp the authentic african religion. awolalu (1980) explains african traditional religion as the indigenous religion which the africans regarded as their authentic religion that passed from generation to generation. nwaoga, nche and olihe (2014) assert that it is a religion founded on african soil, and inextricably interwoven with the culture of the people expressed in beliefs and practices. george and amusan (2014) view that african traditional religion is the fundamental religion of the indigenous african people in nigeria and the belief and practices of atr are based upon the faith of the ancient indigenous people (ancestor) handed down from one generation to another. according to ekwunife (1990) african traditional religion are those institutionalized beliefs and practices of africans which are rooted in the past african religious culture, transmitted to the present votaries by successive african forebears mainly through oral traditions (myths and folktales, songs and dances, liturgies, rituals, proverbs, pithy sayings and names), sacred specialists and persons, sacred space and objects and religious work of art, a religion which is slowly but constantly updated by each generation in the light of new experiences through the dialectal process of continuities and discontinuities. they centered on ancestor worship, the belief in a spirit world, supernatural beings and free will. they believed that deceased humans (and animals or important objects) still exist in the spirit world and can influence and interact with the physical world. ugwu (2002) maintained that african traditional religion is full of lives and activities through ceremonies, festivals and so on. it has values and places emphasis on virtues and morals. awolalu and dopamu (1979) avers that the practice of african traditional religion is based on african world view with a hierarchy of the following beings; belief in god, belief in divinities, belief in spirits, belief in ancestors; belief in mysterious powers also the practice of magic and medicine each with its own consequent and attendant cult. uche (2014) opts that, the religion is not based on scriptures or chronicled on a founder, it is a community based religion that does so much to instill discipline on the people with lots of dos and don’ts. it is a guide to the life of an african. there are religious functionaries that facilitate the practice of african traditional religion which include priests, priestesses, diviners, devotees, queens, rain makers, traditional healers among others. evaluation of christianity brief examination of church history https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ancestor_worship https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/spirit_world_(spiritualism) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/supernatural_being https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/supernatural_being https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/free_will igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 231 christianity as a living religion did not emerge out of vacuum, it has an origin. christianity and its history have been marked with jesus christ and his apostles. according to odoom (2020), the basis of christianity is formed upon the birth, life activities, teachings, death and the resurrection of jesus christ. after the death of jesus, christianity is believed to have spread across nations. christianity spread to the roman empire, some roman emperors like nero and others persecuted the early church. despite the various persecutions meted out to these early christians by the roman emperors, it became a state religion in rome from the reign of emperor constantine. it further spread to europe during the middle ages from europe to other parts of the world. in tracing the origin of christianity, maher and rafferty (2018) state that there is a general belief that the birth of christ is the starting point of christianity. the spirit of christ is the indispensable condition of understanding the gospel. many christians worldwide have the belief that on the very day jesus christ was born which was prophesied long ago, then that means the founder of christianity has been born to them. hence, christianity is based on the life, works and teachings of jesus which were explained and interpreted by the apostles. it could be summarized that christianity started in jewish soil. the early believers were following the footsteps of christ, hence in antioch in syria the disciples of jesus were first called christians meaning the followers of christ. ituma (2003) affirms that jesus is the foundation of the new testament (nt) and that nt itself is the foundation of christianity. evaluation of christianity and early christian mission in nigeria christianity as a living religion did not emerge out of vacuum, it has an origin. christianity and its history have been marked with jesus christ and his apostles. according to odoom (2020), the basis of christianity is formed upon the birth, life activities, teachings, death and the resurrection of jesus christ. after the death of jesus, christianity is believed to have spread across nations. christianity spread to the roman empire, some roman emperors like nero and others persecuted the early church. despite the various persecutions meted out to these early christians by the roman emperors, it became a state religion in rome from the reign of emperor constantine. it further spread to europe during the middle ages from europe to other parts of the world. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 232 in tracing the origin of christianity, maher and rafferty (2018) state that there is a general belief that the birth of christ is the starting point of christianity. the spirit of christ is the indispensable condition of understanding the gospel. many christians worldwide have the belief that on the very day jesus christ was born which was prophesied long ago, then that means the founder of christianity has been born to them. hence, christianity is based on the life, works and teachings of jesus which were explained and interpreted by the apostles. it could be summarized that christianity started in jewish soil. the early believers were following the footsteps of christ, hence in antioch in syria the disciples of jesus were first called christians meaning the followers of christ. ituma (2003) affirms that jesus is the foundation of the new testament (nt) and that nt itself is the foundation of christianity. however, christianity was brought to nigeria by portuguese christian missionaries. nwadialor (2016) affirmed that the first contact of christianity in nigeria was through the activities of a set of missionaries from portugal in the fifteenth century and they recorded initial success in the kingdoms of warri and benin. this did not endure for a long time as the pre-colonial missionaries failed due to many reasons like lack of personnel, finance, lopsidedness, attack on african culture and beliefs, language barrier, unfavourable climate et cetera. the enduring and successful missionary enterprise began in the nineteenth century. nwadialor (2016) further observes that in the 19th century there was an intensive missionary activity by various missionary sects in nigeria. clarke (1986) comments that it was from among the ex-slaves that the missionary societies chose as their agents to assist in spreading the gospels who may later replace them as nwadialor (2016) confirms that the church missionary society (cms) ideology of selfgoverning, self-sustaining and self–propagating churches which was preached by venn and buxton was for native missionaries to enable them reach the interior towns. ajayi (1975) opines that the first niger expedition marked the beginning of the missionary movement to be re-established in nigeria. it was through this niger expedition that christianity was planted in igboland. okpalike and nwadialor (2015) traces that, the first igbo town that the expedition landed was aboh, j.f. schon, a german linguist and the leader of the c.m.s. team that accompanied the expedition, samuel ajayi crowther, a yoruba ex-slave and simon jonas, a liberated slave from sierra leone of igbo parentage, were able to forge a personal link with the king of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 233 aboh, obi ossai with simon jonas acting as an interpreter. here the missionaries succeeded in preaching the gospel message to the king and his people. in 1857, the c.m.s. finally came to establish a permanent station in igboland with their headquarters in onitsha after making a brief stop-over at aboh. on 5th december 1885, roman catholic missionaries arrived the shores of the river niger and found safe havens in onitsha. the roman catholic missionaries were led by french reverend fathers lutz and horne and brothers john and hermas. the obi of onitsha readily received them and the c.m.s. missionaries ceded a piece of land originally given to them by the rulers of onitsha to the roman catholics (kanu, 2011). okpalike and nwadialor (2015) opine that the qua iboe mission who derived its name from a local river of the same name, was established by a northern irish missionary, samuel alexander bill, came to igbo land in 1887. it made etinan its headquarters, and the primitive methodists latter came to igboland in 1920, and occupied uzuakoli and umuahia. it was from these various missionary bodies that christianity came to igboland and spread to other parts of the igbo nation. contributions of african traditional religion (atr) to the advancement of the christian missionary enterprise in igbo society there is no doubt that the christian missionaries who came to igbo land, achieved success in their missionary enterprise. this study proposes that african traditional religion, contributed immensely to this success. therefore, there is need to examine indigenous religious practices, cultures and value systems embedded in atr that made this possible. belief in chukwu (supreme being) igbo people are religious in nature, they believe in the existence of the supreme being (chukwu or chineke) who created all things and nothing created him. the belief in the supreme being is an indispensible factor of african traditional religion. conteh (2008) asserts that africans see the supreme being as omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience, all-seeing god, creator and the ruler. in christianity, there is a belief in supreme being known as the trinity. ware (2013) explains that trinity is a doctrine that is not neatly defined in a specific passage of scripture yet, he points that the doctrine of the trinity is built upon three biblical truths; there is one god, god exists in three distinct persons and each of those persons is fully god also the three great ecumenical creeds; the apostle’s creed, the nicene creed, and the athanasius creed are all structured around our three-in-one god. bruce (2005) confirms that: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 234 the christian faith affirms that there is one and only one god, eternally existing and fully expressed in three persons, the father, the son, and the holy spirit. each member of the godhead is god, each is eternally god, and each is fully god-not three gods but three persons of the one godhead. each person is equal in essence as each possesses fully the identically same, eternal divine nature, yet each is also an eternal and distinct personal expression of the one undivided divine nature. (pp. 121-122). the european christian missionaries came with this idea to igboland. it could be recalled that some ex-slaves from igboland joined the 19th century christian missionaries to evangelize the gospel in igboland. these recaptives preached the gospel in vernacular telling their fellow countrymen that chukwu came to save them. the indigenous people having been properly taught about god, meaning chukwu in their own language did not resist but accepted the gospel. this is exemplified in the encounter between simon jonas and obi ossai. ekechi (1972) reports that during the encounter with the king, jonas was asked to translate the beatitudes into igbo. as he translated the gospel, the king was said to have been so impressed with his eloquence and apparent erudition. obi ossai exclaimed, you must stop with me, you must teach me and my people. during his short stay at aboh, jonas made a remarkable progress in forming a christian group among the people. okpalike and nwadialor (2015) states that, this initial breakthrough convinced the missionaries that the igbo were not only responsible but quite receptive. this was the same experience witnessed in various towns where the missionaries and the recaptives evangelized. moreover, the missionaries observes that the igbo man strongly believes that he cannot bow down to any mortal man except chukwu, therefore, they capitalized on that philosophy to teach about god who cannot share his glory with any man. the indigenous people accepted the gospel not because a new god was introduced to them but because they were properly taught that chukwu the supreme being is the same as god only that the nomenclature varies in various languages in the universe. they were further told that chukwu could be accessed directly through jesus christ who came and died to save the world. observance of circumcision (ibiugwu) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 235 circumcision (ibiugwu) is a rite and ritual that is attached to igbo traditional religion. it is usually done after giving birth to a new born baby. in igbo culture, circumcision goes beyond cutting of the fore genital skin for health purpose but has social and moral implications. as a result of this, uchegbue (2017) attests that ibiugwu is a rite which an igbo man will on no account omit. ibiugwu serves various purposes such as: integration into the community and connection to the spirit world. in igbo cosmology, there are the physical and the spiritual world. there is need to maintain a balance and connection between the physical and the spirit world of which sacrifice and appropriate rites of passage like ibiugwu is among. mbah (1993) points that the bloodshed during the physical operation of circumcision binds the person to the land and consequently to the earth deity and to the departed members of the land. participating in circumcision is an eloquent testimony that the individual is alive and wishes to enter into the bond of communion and be tied to the community and his people. ogunmodede (1995) avers that circumcision is the ritual which confers on one the full social acceptability and integration into the community. the christian missionaries did not condemn circumcision (ibiugwu) during their missionary work in igboland. this was because from the biblical point of view, circumcision started with yahweh’s command to abraham to circumcise all the male people under his household and new born males born to abraham’s family must undergo circumcision after eight days. also, jesus whom the missionaries preached about was circumcised according to the mosaic law. in jewish culture, circumcision of male children binds the israelites to the covenant of yahweh with abraham. just as the circumcision in israel is a sign of covenant, a solemn relationship, with yahweh, ibiugwu in igboland according to mbah (1993) serves as a covenant or a solemn agreement between the individual and his people. this bond is that which the igbo call umunna (kinsmen). it guarantees the individual respect as an integral person in the community and fosters the philosophy of community consciousness. thus, as the christian missionaries never opposed this cultural practice, it created an avenue for many igbo people to join christianity which accept this indispensable cultural practice. sanctity of human life and dignity of human person in igbo traditional religion, it would be affirmed that in the hierarchy of values, human life is the most primary. life is seen as a value of no mean magnitude. the names igbo people bear portray the indispensable and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 236 inalienable place of human life in the scheme of things; ndu-ka-aku (life is of more value than wealth and riches), ndu-bu-isi (life is a primary value). they believe that chukwu created human life and thus, no man should not destroy it. this indigenous value of sanctity of human life is attached to ibiugwu, as a sign of covenant between people of the same community. this ensures that the shedding of human blood (igbu ochu) by anyone in the community is considered as an abomination (mbah, 1993). when people are bonded by covenant, there exists a close tie between them which restrict them from shedding each other’s blood. rather they make efforts to be their brothers’ keeper. this is vital in preserving the sanctity of human life. the christian missionaries keyed into this indigenous value to teach the people that all have sinned against god and are condemned to death. but that only jesus could save and give eternal life. this is expressed in igbo language as chi ji ndu (god is the sustainer of life). thus, many igbo people received the gospel in order to be saved. also, since igbo people profess sanctity of human life, the missionaries capitalized on this value to make case for abolition of the killing of twins which was invoke as at the time of their arrival in igboland. the missionaries especially mary slessor a member of church of scotland mission was very vocal in this area. according peña (2021) in 1903, mary started a mission at itu which reached arochukwu, mary focused a great deal of energy and effort to saving twins who were facing death by the ethnic leaders. she also devoted herself to ministering to the twin’s mothers, who were often isolated from the village to die. peña (2021) affirms that mary transformed communities with the love of the gospel; starting orphanages, preaching the good news, standing up for women’s rights, and saving many innocent lives from death. this motivated greater number of igbo women and youths to gladly accept christianity. furthermore, it was based on this sanctity of human life and dignity of human person found in igbo value system that the missionaries capitalized upon, to make efforts to see that slave trade was abolished. this increased the population of igbo people into the christian faith. hospitality and generosity hospitality and generosity is an integral aspect of igbo indigenous value system. the igbo man is noted for his sense of hospitality and generosity. he welcomes strangers and easily incorporates them in the community. igbo people have symbolic ways of expressing welcome such as forms of presenting kola nuts (oji), palm wine (nkwu elu) among others. it could be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 237 said that igbo people were hospitable and generous to the european christian missionaries when they came. for instance, at the arrival of roman catholic mission, kanu (2011) observes that the obi of onitsha readily received roman catholic mission and ceded a piece of land to them. at first, the host communities gave them lands for construction of church premises. when the missionaries saw this kind gesture extended to them by the indigenous people, they reciprocated by not only preaching the gospel. they began to provide social and humanitarian services to the host communities. they welcomed outcasts, built hospitals where sick people were treated, established schools where people after schooling were employed. the roman catholic mission (rcm) was exceptional in provision of humanitarian services. igwe (1977) emphasizes that the catholics at first adopted the strategy of reaching the people through the charitable approach of erecting hospitals and dispensaries, where the sick and the suffering were treated free or at nominal charge. they also established christian villages where run-away slaves or those redeemed by mission money were protected and educated in the christian way of life. the catholics also provided its members with food and clothing. these humanitarian services offered by the various missionary bodies improved the standard of living of the indigenous people. this further attracted many igbo people into christianity as alagoa (1999) agrees that western education had been identified as probably the most important motive for the acceptance of christian mission. furthermore, many igbo people saw christianity as a key to progress and transforming the society to greater heights. onitsha was among the first igbo town that prospered as a result of their hospitable deeds and good dealings with the european christian missionaries. thus, other towns did not fail to extend their hospitality towards the missionaries as a sign that they were ready to welcome them in their own towns. hence, this act of hospitality and generosity embedded in igbo value system showcased towards the christian missionaries by the indigenous people, when they arrived the hinterland also contributed to the success of the christian missionaries. chastity before marriage this is another value embedded in igbo traditional religion. chastity before marriage is one of the highly valued norms in igbo culture. it is a taboo for youths who are not married to be involved in premarital sexual relationships. the christian missionaries who came to igbo land also taught igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 238 that sex is for married couples only. meaning that they upheld to this value system. since such teaching is applicable in christianity, it further appealed to igbo people to accept christianity. observance of traditional festivals and acceptance of christian feasts prior to the advent of christianity in igboland, igbo people observed and celebrated various traditional feasts majorly iri ji (new yam) festival and so on. the european christian missionaries also introduced christian feasts such as easter, christmas among others to the people. they were told that just as some of their traditional feasts were mainly for expressing thanksgiving to chukwu, so are some of the christian feasts. this also motivated the people especially convert to accept and begin to observe christian feasts. conclusion this paper examines african traditional religion and the success of the christian missionary enterprise. the paper has been able to review most of the african traditional religion (atr) practices upheld by the people before the advent of christianity. that researcher observed that the africans traditions expressed through folk tales, songs, festivals, beliefs in spirit beings, higher and lower gods, veneration of the dead, use of magic and traditional african medicine. the paper concluded that the existence of african traditional religion (atr) was never hostile to christianity in igbo society rather, it welcomed it and allowed it to blossom on the african soil. during the 19th century, the christian missionaries recorded tremendous success in their missionary enterprise in igbo land and nigeria at large. this could not be possible without some contributive factors of atr enabling the christian faith to thrive in the indigenous land. through observance of various ceremonies such iri ji (new yam) festival and so on as thanksgiving service to chukwu, the european christian missionaries also introduced christian feasts such as easter, christmas among others to the people making that them believe in christianity. so, the role of african traditional religion, cultures and value systems cannot be gain said in the success recorded by the european christian missionaries in africa. recommendations the following recommendations are made based on the findings of this paper: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/veneration_of_the_dead https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/magic_(supernatural) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/traditional_african_medicine igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 239 a. the existence of african traditional religion (atr) should be recognized in the practice of christianity. b. the way early christian missionaries work and interact with african traditional religion (atr) to convert people should be a great lesson for modern day christians not to abolish african traditional religion (atr) entirely as some those practices can be capitalized on for evangelism and souls winning. c. the present day christianity should be able to modernize some of the african traditional religion (atr) practices so as to give christianity a full place in africa. 4. the present day christians should endeavour to live by example of what they preach as early christians lived by example and that re-soughed to recognizing them and their preaching by the african people making them to accept christianity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 240 references ajayi a (1981). 50 questions and answers on west african traditional religion and national integration in tropical african. berkeley: university of california. alagoa, e.j. (1999). the eastern niger delta and the hinterland in the 19th century. in o. ikime (ed.). groundwork of nigerian history (pp.249-261). ibadan: heinemann. awolalu, j. o, & dopamu p. a. (1979).west african traditional religion. ibadan: onibonoje. awolalu, j.o. (1976). what is african traditional religion? in journal of studies in comparative religion, 10, 2, 1-10. bruce, a.w. (2005). father, son, and holy spirit: relationships, roles and relevance .wheaton: crossway. conteh, s. p. (2008). the place of african traditional religion in interreligious encounters in sierra leone since the advent of islam and christianity. a thesis submitted to the department of religious studies university of south africa.. ekwunife, a. (1989). african traditional religion: an overview. in o. a. e. anigbo (ed.). a course book of social sciences (pp. 88-110). oko: anambra polytechnic press. george, t. o. & amusan, t. a. (2014). religion and acts of worship amongst the african people: implications for development and national unity. in journal of peoples and cultures of african, 2, 309-325. igwe, s. o. (1977). church, government and education in eastern nigeria (18471975). a dissertation submitted to the department of education in developing countries, faculty of education, university of london. ituma, e. a. (2003). introduction to early christianity. lagos: chinedum. kanu, h. (2011). the nigerian nation and religion. indiana: indiana universe press. macionis, j. (1944–2011). sociology. canada: pearson prentice hall. maher, a. & rafferty, o. (2018). the spirit of christ. in the forgotten jesuit of catholic modernism. in george tyrrell's prophetic theology, 15, 17, 193210. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 241 mbah, v. p. u. (1993). igbo child initiation and christian baptism: a case study in inculturation. a dissertation submitted to the department of missions, faculty of theology, navarra university. nwadialor, k. l. (2015). basic issues in african traditional religion and culture. in k. l nwadialor, k. l. & obiakor, n. (eds.). basic issues in humanities (pp.27-44). awka: fab anieh. nwadialor, k. l. (2016). christian missionary enterprise in nigeria in historical perspective. in n. j. obiakor, k. l. nwadialor & b.n. adirika (eds.). issues in nigerian history and socio-economic development (pp.122) awka: rity printz. nwaoga, t. c., nche, c. g. & olihe, a. o. (2014). the national conference, ethno-religious pluralism and the challenge of national unity in african. in global journal of arts humanities and social sciences, 2, 3, 44-58. nwaozuru, j. c. (2019). the survival of african traditional religion amidst foreign religions in nigeria. retrieved on april 3, 2023, from http//www.bambooks.io.com nweke, k. c. (2022). responding to new imageries in african indigenous spiritualties. journal studi agama-agama dan lintas budaya, 6 (3), 271–282. odoom, e (2020). religion: origins of christianity. retrieved on april 4, 2023, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/345672249_religion_ori gins_of_christi anity oduro, t., pretorius, h., nussbaum, s. & born, bryan. (2008). mission in an african way: a practical introduction to african instituted churches and their sense of mission. south african: christian literature fund and bible media. ogunmadede, m. n. (1995). female circumcision. british medical journal, 2, 5, 307-310. okpalaike, c. j. b. g. & nwadialor, k. l. (2015). the missionary twist in the development of the igbo identity: the dialectics of change and continuity. retrieved on april 3rd 2023, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/276270485. https://journal.uinsgd.ac.id/index.php/religious/article/view/20246 https://journal.uinsgd.ac.id/index.php/religious/article/view/20246 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/345672249_religion_origins_of_christianity https://www.researchgate.net/publication/345672249_religion_origins_of_christianity https://www.researchgate.net/publication/276270485 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 242 peña, m. (2021). mary slessor: pioneer missionary to nigeria. bloomington: bethany global university press. sanou, b. (2013). missiological perspectives on the communal significance of rites of passages in african traditional religions. michigan: andrews university press. uche, n. (2014). the practice of religion in a pluralistic society and its implications on politics in african. a thesis submitted to the department of religion and cultural studies, faculty of social sciences, university of nigeria nsukka. uchegbue, c. o. (2017). infancy rites among the igbo of nigeria. in research journal of international studies, 17, 157-164. ugwu, c. o. t. (2002). man and his religion in a contemporary society. nsukka: mck social. ulvestad, a. a. (2102). ubuntu
in
african
traditional
religion. a thesis submitted to the department
of
cultural
studies
and
oriental
 languages, university
of
oslo. ware, b. (2013). the doctrine of the trinity: historically assailed but biblically affirmed. a position paper presented to southern baptist theological seminary, kentucky. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 5 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 133 the product categories, challenges and prospects of handicraft production in nigeria ivan emeka okonkwo, phd department of fine and applied arts nnamdi azikiwe university awka email: ivancollections@yahoo.com phone: 08035430893 abstract artisanal products are those produced by artisans, either completely by hand, or with the help of hand tools or even mechanical means, as long as the direct manual contribution of the artisan remains the most substantial component of the finished product. using raw materials from sustainable resources the special nature of artisanal products derives from their distinctive features, which can be utilitarian, aesthetic, creative, culturally attached, decorative, functional, religiously and socially symbolic and significant. handicrafts, crafts or craft products are synonyms for artisanal products, which is a component of creative industries. creative industries derive their origins from individual creativity, skill and talent that have a potential for job and wealth creation through the generation and exploitation of the individual’s intellectual property. creative industries encompass the following segments i) artisanal products, ii) visual arts, iii) performing arts, iv) cinema and audiovisual media, v) multimedia, and vi) literature, books and publishing. these equip the youths with wide range of practical skills which enables them to be self-relevant after leaving school. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 134 introduction nigeria has a wide array of handicraft products ranging from basketry, mats, ceramics, beads, pottery, hand textiles and woven products, toys, jewellery, bags, ornaments, leather products, batiks and wood craft among others. these items are produced in almost all the districts and regions of nigeria using locally available raw materials, with limited products differentiation based on culture, history and traditions. handicrafts production in nigeria is cultural, traditional and predominantly a cottage industry, engaged in by rural youth of both gender but largely by women folk, to supplement household incomes. the tradition has been to hand over craftsmanship and skills from generation to generation. this tradition has waned considerably over time. even though master craftsmen can still be found, their numbers have diminished considerably. of late, however handicraft production has seen an upswing as the industry is perceived as a potential business opportunity for sustainable income generation, thus attracting more and more artisans, traders and exporters. the village producers sell their products in either the neighbourhoods or to domestic craft traders, or direct to tourists. the domestic craft traders serve as intermediaries, who sell on the local markets and to exporters or export the items themselves. tony, e (2010). however, in their zeal to earn quick money for a living, the artisans produce in fragmented environment, with no appreciation of market requirements, quality, design, standards and systematic organization of markets. innovations, design and product adaptations are limited, given the low skills and capacity of nigeria’s artisanal producers. david, o, (2010). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 135 the prime objective of this paper is to discuss the product categories and challenges and prospects of handicraft in nigeria. the frame work of this article was organized as follows: abstract, introduction, the product categories of handicraft, challenges and prospects of handicraft production in nigeria, recommendations and conclusion. product categories of handicraft the different regions and districts of the country produce a large array of handicrafts, depending on the type of available raw material and the indigenous skills of the producers. in this regard, specific products have become largely associated with specific districts. each production locality has its specific strengths and other attributes, which developed and capitalized on could lead to district or product specialisation, easy sourcing and marketing. generally, the quality of nigerian handicrafts is poor with little or no differentiation and innovation in terms of designs, styles and dimensions. prices are high due to casual and low volume production, poor management and costing skills. bakari, a (2009). this section identifies the major categories of handicraft in nigeria and also analyses their potentials: basketry and mats basketry and mats are the most popular craft products in nigeria. it is common found among the people from the south-east geo-political zone of nigeria; especially the igbos. the craft making of baskets and mats is also practiced by hausa people in the core northern part of nigeria; kano, sokoto, bornu state among others. the type, design and price of these depend on type and source of materials used. colours used are diverse (vegetable dyes, mineral dyes, combination of the two, natural colour of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 136 the materials themselves, among others) but the most preferred colour by the markets is the natural colours. locally, these products are demanded for traditional functions like marriages and externally in markets like usa, germany, italy, netherlands, canada, japan, among others for table-top accessories such as table and plate mats, fruit bowls, bread baskets, coasters, beach mats, and floor mats. each of these markets has its own colour combination preferences, sizes and offer different price ranges even for similar products. the most popular basket is the coiled basket, which is available in different colourways, shapes and sizes. the picture below depicts some finished craft made products and artisans busy making baskets and mats. in order to enrich this sub-group, introduce new styles, and innovative products, there is need to develop ‘cross-overs’ through materials combination and techniques of crafting. this calls for artisans with wider skills or those that could cluster with artisans in other sub-groups. onyema, u (2008). plate 1: coiled baskets produced by artisans in kano. 2015 plate 2: artisans making baskets and mats in kano. 2015 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 137 embroidery and woven products embroidery (both by hand and with the use of sewing machines), as a soft furnishing adornment on clothing, has been in use for a long time. the technique has largely remained under exploited – left only to casual dressing, table cloth, cushion covers and more recently on bags and purses. although it was claimed by embroiderers in abeokuta and akure that the yorubas had been involved in the art of embroidery earlier, it appears that the hausas are more into significant production in the number of hand embroiderers in practice. the bulk of embroidered and woven products with varying quality are consumed locally. europe is by far the major market for these items – that are mainly sold through alternative trading organizations. wider application of embroidery methods could be introduced in minimal levels to hand loomed products and leather to create new looks. edwin, f, (2005). hand textiles and hand-loomed products under this category, nigeria is producing a range from bed spreads, towels, cushion covers, wrappers, shawls, rugs, tie and dye materials, casual wear (dresses, shirts and children wear). the warping/construction, surface design and thread types/texture vary widely across the sub-groups. tourist and foreign residents in nigeria form part of the local market with europe (italy, germany) as the main export markets for this range of products. the major people that practice this category of handicraft are the yorubas; hailed from the south-western part of nigeria. abraham, f, (2008). nupe people from niger state are also good in this area. the akwete people are also famous in this practice. the picture below shows some hand textiles and hand-loomed products on display. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 138 ceramics and pottery it is believed that the first pottery was pressed/formed in a basket to give them the shape, which after drying were fired in an open kiln. by and large, nigerian pottery is unglazed which could give us an advantage in the market where glazed pottery (ceramics) attracts higher tariffs and health consciousness in addition to high competition from suppliers from the far east. ceramics and pottery is commonly practiced in south-western part of the country mainly by yoruba tribe. there are so many small-scale ceramics industries cited in some south-west states like oyo, ondo, ogun, lagos, kwara e.t.c. kojo, f (2009). the figure below portrays some ceramics and pottery made product displayed for sale. plate 3: hand textiles from akwete, nigeria. 2013 plate 4: some hand textiles and other products from akwete on display, 2013. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 139 leather and leather products green leather alone or in combination with other woven or plaited materials is increasingly employed by nigerian artisans to make bags, purses, belts, and sandals, among others. recent interventions in this sub-sector have seen new nigerian-made leather products replacing the previously sourced products from neighboring countries. plate 5: ceramic wares displayed for sale in lagos, 2014 plate 6: leather bags made by artisans in aba, abia state, 2012 plate 7: leather sandals made b y artisans in aba. 2012. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 140 the people of aba (enyimba city) in abia state are popularly known for producing leather bags shoes, sandals, silipon, peca foot wear and any other leather products you can think of. they even export these goods to abroad. azubuike, k (2010). the figure above shows leather bags and foot wears on display in a shop at ariaria market aba in abia state of nigeria. wood products wood as a raw material for making handicrafts in nigeria has not been at same levels with that of tanzania or kenya. products in this category have remained very traditional with rationalised skills for example carving of wood to form man made gods used for idle worship. benin indigenes in edo state mainly indulge in this kind of craft practice. wood carving is also practiced in some parts of igbo land. people from igbo-ukwu, nri, nando, arondizuogu, ohofia, afikpo e.t.c carve woods to make masks for masquerades and idle worship. some of these people also carve wood for chairs, tables, domestic materials, among others for sale. john, o (2006). the introduction of taxes on handicraft imports from neighbouring countries has created room for nigeria to develop her own style and range of wooden product. notable products are top table accessories, animal and human figurines and the two-piece type chairs adopted from neighbouring cameroon. much potential in this category lies in developing better top table accessories such as bowls, napkin holders, chests of varying sizes and utilizing some of our better woods like ebony that could be sourced from sapele in delta state as opposed to the light melyna which is commonly used. the weights of wood and natural streaks are some of the factors influencing quality and value of finished items. the neem tree is also another wood that could offer qualities almost similar to olive wood for which kenya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 141 has become internationally known. john, o (2006). the figure below shows some wood products sampled for sale at the 3 rd african arts and crafts expo (afac) 2010 held in abuja, federal capital territory, nigeria. jewellery and jewellery products humans have adorned themselves with jewellery as far back as history can tell. in nigeria, people have used jewellery derived from animal parts such as bone, horns, feathers, teeth, to stone, seeds, wood, clay and precious metals, etc to adorn themselves. the yorubas and igbos are very good in this category of handicraft. however, in the commercial crafts sector jewellery is relatively new with imported beads as necklaces, bangles, waist beads, among others dominating the local market. earrings and finger rings are the other items in the sub-group. tribal inter-marriages afford nigeria the opportunity to introduce new products to the market. dele, a (2010). the picture below shows assorted types of jewelleries on display plate 8: wood products by artisans in abuja. 2010 plate 9: wood products in abuja. 2010 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 142 in ezebuchi cultural center at edozie street, uwani, enugu, enugu state with some customers patronizing the shop. others as more and more ‘cross-over’ combination of materials, techniques and functionality is employed, new product groups are likely to emerge. this development should be encouraged. will not be a mistake at all apart from the difficulties in categorizing the product – in which case describing them is the solution. plate 10: jawelleries on display at edozie street, uwani enugu. 2012 plate 11: jawelleries on display in enugu with some customers checking for the ones to buy. 2012 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 143 the local guitars and hats depicted above are mainly produced by the hausa-fulani natives in katsina state particularly, and few of them that settled in other parts of northern nigeria.tanimu, d, (2002). the “cross-overs” with their new looks, will not only extend the lifespan of products but will also enable compliance with trend changes. it could also lead to unique nigeria styles and brands as established in other exporting countries e.g. the sisal bag (kyondo/kikuyu bag) from kenya, ebony carvings from tanzania, raffia bags from madagascar, kente cloth from ghana, among others. challenges of handicraft production in nigeria handicraft production in nigeria has be-deviled with many challenges. nigeria’s artisans are constrained by their limited, non-market determined technical, and artistic product design, product plate 12: local guitars made by the hausa and fulani artisans in katsina state. 2013 plate 13: local hats made by artisans in kaduna state. 2014 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 144 standardization, development and marketing. capacity building programs are minimal for the sector while market entry approaches are inconsistent and ad hoc, and market distribution networks are inadequate. costing and pricing is a nightmare for most producers. scanty official handicraft exports statistics hinder the determination of the production capacity of the sector as well as sector policy analysis and formulation. bassey, e (2008). these challenges are elaborated below: • lack of adequate infrastructure: the biggest internal constraint to this sector is infrastructure inadequacy, which is aggravated by the rural location of production bases. delivery schedules are hampered by poor and often times inaccessible road networks, transport bottlenecks, lack of or unreliable power supply and lack of proper workshops and storage facilities. plate 14: some artisans working with few available tools in a studio in awka, anambra state 2016 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 145 • lack of formal producer groupings: artisans are scattered and work individually in unstructured production systems, rather than in organised groups. this makes it difficult to reach out to them with support programmes and inputs. • limited commercialization of craft production activity: many craft makers in rural locations make handicrafts as a past-time activity and not a specialized commercial activity for income generation. they engage in time conflicting activities, which render their supply volumes low, inconsistent and very sporadic. • lack of market sensitivity: most producers are ignorant of the seasonality and trendiness of handicrafts, as well as the socio-environmental requirements of the markets. • middle persons in the distribution channel: there are a lot of middlemen in the marketing chain whose activities affect the profitability of producers. • lack of technical know-how: results in poor design skills, specialization, inconsistent product standardization, poor finishing which among others detract from product quality upgrade. • poor packaging: inadequate attention is paid to the need for appropriate packaging to the detriment of product preservation, durability and quality. • lack of micro finance: unavailability of credit for this sector prevents bulk and voluminous production by the artisans. • health and environmental regulations: there is a rising concern on environment protection with consumers demanding environmentally sound products. eu and usa have banned the use of toxic substances such as cadmium and azo dyes in the production processes due to health reasons. these markets require exporters to satisfy the sanitary and phyto-sanitary standards of their products as well igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 146 as traceability requirements. artisans find it difficult to comply and conform with these regulations because cadmium and azo dyes are some of their major raw material, and so many of them have not yet find an alternative substance to replace these materials. bassey, e (2008) • fair trade practices: is intended to offer protection for small-scale developing country producers against unfair pricing and market practices. a fair trade label tag opens specific markets. unfortunately, fair trade is not adequately practiced in nigeria. this problem has frustrated the efforts of artisans to wax stronger in their activities. • absence of a national sector development strategy: the absence of a national sector development strategy has led to the marginalization of the handicraft sector in the national development agenda. • lack of vibrant product and national exporters associations: product associations, either at the production, marketing or joint levels facilitate outreach programmes to address sector inadequacies. these associations also perform focal point functions including serving as umbrella organisations or pressure groups for lobbying and articulating sector issues. such groups are conspicuously absent in the sector or whichever ones exit are woefully ineffective. there is need to reorganise the existing ones or barring that to establish functional and effective sector representative associations. sunday, o (2007). • inadequate market information and dissemination: market information is recognized as an important ingredient for all business decisions. despite its plentiful availability especially made possible by ict advances, it has not readily and sufficiently percolated down to the producers and marketers in the handicraft sector. trade promotion organizations especially the nigeria exporting council (nec), are insufficiently resourced for market intelligence, information sourcing, dissemination and outreach activities. there is high prevalence of poor internet connectivity and limited e-commerce competencies at the enterprise level in the sector thus frustrating the limited attempts by nec to make market related igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 147 information available to the sector operatives. trade promotion organizations such as nigeria exporting council (nec) and sector associations, should be supported to conduct timely and informative market research, subscribe to market information sources and disseminate such market intelligence to the export community on the opportunities, production and market trends as well as market access requirements. this will evenly facilitate the export of made in nigeria handicraft products to different parts of the world. • inadequate support for marketing and promotion: by and large much of the promotion in this sector is done at the firm level with little or no coordinated support from the government’s trade promotion organisations. promotional costs for brochure development, website and other advertisements, participation in local, regional and international fairs, are prohibitive for the small-scale operatives in the handicraft sector. there is a critical need to enhance direct government support and promotion of handicrafts in the identified areas. • high freight charges: compared to other regional sources nigeria’s freight rates are uncompetitive. consolidated bulk shipments and guaranteed volumes and frequency of exports should lead to negotiated competitive rates. • low capacity building programmes: capacity enhancement is critical to sustain markets. this can be achieved by supply chain development through training of handicraft producers and exporters in their respective skills requirements in production and export marketing. sunday, o (2007) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 148 •lack of technology transfer and innovations: transfer of technology and innovation should be prioritised with the aim of sustaining and accelerating efforts currently underway in nigeria to strengthen, promote, and develop export competitiveness and productivity in nigeria. unfortunately, there is lack of technology transfer and innovations in this part of the world. there is need to pay attention to the coordination and strengthening of an effective sector specific industrial support system of services for the handicraft industry. • value addition: the emphasis on technology is aimed at enhancing value addition in the crafts sector in the areas of quality management, product design and standardization and improved packing standards. quality assurance systems and environmental conformity and soundness are keys for the sector value chain and export market sustainability. unfortunately, this concept is not applicable in nigeria. plate 15: a keronsene firing ceramic kiln (built with locally sourced materials), by okonkwo ivan, department of fine and applied |arts. nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. 2016 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 149 • scanty capturing of official handicraft exports: as stated earlier the vast majorities of nigeria’s handicrafts are not adequately captured by product classification and/or trade codes (harmonized system). sector policy analysis and strategy formulation is thus undermined considerably by the very scanty official capture of handicraft export trade statistics. ogugua, m (2010). prospects of handicraft production in nigeria the most significant resources or “raw materials” for the accelerated development of any country are its people, not necessarily in terms of numerical strength but the quality of products generated through their labour. education, formal or informal is also an important factor in the task of equipping the people for nation building. during the pre-colonial period, africa and its teeming population had embraced education which equipped them with adequate technique for survival as demanded by the new dispensation. nigeria, a west african country with a crafts production and industry, esteems the role of education in relation to the quality of products from its teeming populace as vital in its development process. the country practices the 6-3-3-4 system of education. the system embraces four distinct cycles of six years at primary school level, three at the junior secondary and also three at the senior secondary level, and finally four at the university. among the several subjects introduced right from the primary level is the study and production of arts and crafts (fine and applied arts) to equip the youths with wide range of practical skills which enables them to be self-reliant at different stages of education. it also affords the average nigerian a positive response to the socio-economic needs of the country. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 150 the rationale behind the study of production of arts and crafts is the urgent need to find answers to the problems of graduate unemployment as only a small percentage of graduates are able to secure formal employment after their studies in school. a graduate who has acquired practical skills such as furniture making, dress weaving, pottery, jewellery and leather making among several others can be self employed after school. jewellery for instance has been adornments mostly for women. they represent one of the earliest forms of fashion and the cost depended on the value of a particular jewel. jewellery adds beauty as well as complements the dressing of a woman. as fashion changes, so it goes with the wearing of jewels. jewellery, particularly to most african women is seen as a good asset, whose value includes complimenting their look as well as being a source of economic gains. the material for jewellery making are good beads, ivory, brass, among others and these materials are in most nigerian towns and cities such as bida, igbo-ukwu, awka, ife, benin and oyo. in bida, and several cities in nigeria, the products of brass smiting are found as decorative items, and sometimes used for storage and working. for the more adventurous tourists and visitors, items such as earrings, bangles, rings, trays, brass toys are purchased as souvenir products. in his life-time, particularly as an active politician, the late owelle of onitsha, and nigeria’s first post-independence president, the right honourable dr nnamdi azikiwe’s sartorial attire was never complete without the famous long traditional neck bead. the bead has come to represent the symbol of authority of the traditional office of the “owelle”. in similar bags, hat and necklaces produced by 200 level students (2015/2016 session) of the department of fine and applied arts, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state. ceramics wares comprising of a traditional pot, flower vase stool, wine and water set produced by ohimai john, a 400 level student o igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 151 circumstances, when clad in full traditional regalia, the oba of benin in edo state, nigeria would be adorned with several traditional neck beads too numerous to be counted. in the eastern and western parts of nigeria, the use of beads transcends the frontiers of fashion. in the east in particular, it is one of the sacred ingredients and requirement during conferment of traditional chieftaincy titles. in some cases it represents the sole symbol of authority for the wearer. with regards to fashion, the beads have a credible ally in the army of young maidens mostly in the southern parts of nigeria. the beads are used on the waist, on the ankle, and sometimes special colours are selected for the neckbeads for a complete traditional attire. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 152 the nigerian government should build training centres in these places, the centres are expected to boost crafts as a means of cultural diplomacy, relations and exchange of aesthetics and motifs. in addition to this, the centres are expected to encourage tourism, earn foreign plate 17: tie-dye and batik made into boubou. textiles section of the department of fine and applied arts. nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. 2015 plate 18: little miss dunukofia (chibudom okeke) decorated with jewellery made with traditional coral beads. courtesy: o’star yowamca, awka. 2016 plate 19: little miss aguata (chinaza obidiegwu) decorated with jewellery made with traditional coral beads. courtesy: o’star yowamca, awka. 2016 plate 20: little miss onitsha south (maryjane umejesi) decorated with jewellery made with traditional coral beads. courtesy: o’star yowamca, awka. 2016 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 153 exchange for nigeria as well as ensure regular source of employment and livelihood for the practitioners. the schools are further expected to undertake the training of nigerian youths on various skills like furniture, leather, textiles, fashion and related crafts such skills will help curb the current high rate of unemployment as well as signal the beginning of a chain of vocational training centres to be established in other places in nigeria in order to consolidate awareness of crafts as tools for improved cultural life. the ultimate aim, therefore, is to use crafts to improve the standard of living in nigeria. plate 21: a traditional (craft) curtain and some craft products produced by students of the department of fine and applied arts, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. anambra state. 2015. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 154 recommendations to strengthen and sustain handicraft production in nigeria, there is need to attract financial support for both production and marketing components of the trade. the export finance schemes run by some nigeria banks should be made easily accessible, affordable and timely for the smalland medium-scale operatives in the handicraft export business. the operatives should be made aware of existing export incentives and tax exemptions provided by government to exporters. a direct linkage of the sector with a target bank or financial institution should enable targeted export finance to the sector while goading the sector operatives to do business with the bank(s). plate 22: leather sandal produced by victor benedict of o’star yowamca, awka, anambra state. a school’s choice sandal which he supplied to the school as a major contract, 2016. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 155 the federal government should identify these artisans, mobilise and organise them under export production village (epv) schemes like their counterparts in sri lanka and ghana. the government should link them up with serious and established exporters, agents or buyers. it should resource and facilitate them by providing central or common working sheds with facilities for raw material storage, work in progress, finished products storage and equipped with basic infrastructure (electricity or generator where necessary), benches, tools of trade, etc. the ministry of labour and productivity should organize a raw material supply systems for them. it should provide skills training/enhancement through technical assistance from business support organizations, provide market information, trade brochures and samples. it should consistently sensitize group on product standards to meet market requirements. artisans should assist in price negotiations with exporter (s) or market agents. the ministry of labour and productivity should collaborate her sister ministry of commerce and industry to organise annual district/regional/national art and craft exhibitions to unearth craftsmen, determine district/regional product specialisation and identify exportable products. they are to also organise internal or external study tours for group leaders and master craftsmen. the government should come up with a scheme that will enable potential artisans to become self-standing merchant producers. conclusion nigeria is the most populous black nation in the world. her citizenry are endowed with so many talents. they are proficient, especially in the area of handicraft production. people from different parts of the country are known to be very good in one category of handicraft production or the other. handicraft making is common among rural dwellers across the nation. it helps them to become selfreliant and financially independent. it is from this business most of them earn living apart from farming igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 156 activities. they make so many handicraft products which are good and suitable for both local and international consumption. handicraft production in nigeria has witnessed some challenges since its inception. this has negatively affected the activities of craft men and women/artisans in their bid to work and earn living through this business. these challenges have also been a source of worry to the federal government of nigeria because it is frustrating its effort to encourage and promote production of home made commodities, especially handicraft products as well as ensure regular source of employment and livelihood for many youths and graduates as only a few can secure formal employment. the government should therefore map out some modalities to remedy this situation. . it should give artisans an enabling environment and conductive atmospheres to enable them attain success in their work. the government should also encourage and support these artisans in all ramifications. reference abraham familo (1969) nupe costume crafts. nigeria magazine, vol.1, no 17, lagos, nigeria azubuike kalu (2010) " leather and its importance to man". enyinna press, aba, 2010. p. 12. isbn 9148537-3661-0. bakari afolabi (2009) “artisans and craft making: dedicated work of art” kola press, km 7 oshogbo, osun state, nigeria. first edition. pp. 41. bassey ewang – handicraft: an essential commodity” imoke printing press, abasiaka, 3 rd edition (2008) pg. 27-29, isbn 947-221-35-1. david ochole (2010): craft and design – a historical perspective, lagos. pan-african circle of artists and national gallery of art. p. 29. dele adenuga (2010) “handicraft and beuty”, adesanya paper house, ilorin, kwara state of nigeria. pg. 24. isbn 914-3722-2499-6. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 157 edwin fumasi (2005) “ the embroidery of hausa dress”. unpublished ph.d dissertation. ahmadu bello university zaria, nigeria, pp.17-19. john ogbu (2006) “art and works of nature” donpriye press, aba road, p/h. pg 43-45, isbn 914-27222499-6. ogugua mmuoneke (2010) “promoting craft export” nedu printing house owerri, imo state. p.19-21. isbn 914-8037-5311-0 onyema ugwunna (2008) “artisans and craft making” chimex publishers, owerri, imo state. pg 9 & 19. sunday osario (2007) “nigerian handicraft : transaction problems” paper delivered at the internation world craft council. vienna. pg 13-22. tanimu dachido (2002): fulani cultural heritage. abdulsalami press house, pmb 321, katsina. pg 33. isbn 922-801-233-9. tony eje (2010): arts and crafts. lagos, macmillian nigeria publishers limited 2 nd edition. pg 29. . isbn 914-801-233-9. 53 paradox of development: aftermath crisis of covid-19 experience in nigeria uzodigwe nnamdi adolphus institute of african studies, university of nigeria, nsukka nnamdi.uzodigwe@unn.edu.ng & agbo chukwuebuka emmanuel aston university brimingham, united kingdom 240253141@aston.ac.uk doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.33952.39688 abstract despite the axiom “giant of africa” is a phrase that has not reflected in nigeria's development. the study explains the multiple variants of challenges ranging from deficit in infrastructural development to widespread corruption among public servants in aftermath of covid-19 experience in nigeria. amidst of these challenges comes the global pandemic outbreak called the corona virus (covid-19). the african continent especially nigeria has been on lockdown since march 2020 to this very day. this lockdown is one of the measures put in place by the federal government to halt the spread of this deadly virus in nigeria. the lockdown has resulted in social dislocation, a great loss in capital formation, increased poverty rate, stunted economic growth, increased external debt, and loss of human life. this study analyzes the impact of covid-19 amidst the development challenges of nigeria. the study adopted the theory of social production of material wealth which implicated the state of nigeria's production process and development strategy. the study employs a documentary method of data collection and data are analyzed based on a content analysis procedure. the paper concludes that the covid-19 experience in nigeria has coincided with the character of production process and development in nigeria. state production has become industrialized in face of this deadly virus attack in nigeria. keywords: covid-19, development, nigeria, production process, crisis, political class introduction economists have argued strongly that development, infrastructures and growth can be subsumed to mean building definite economic and military sector towards world class base. the development of nigeria has been one of the challenging factors setting the country backward since independence in 1960. the decay witnessed in nigerian economy can be strongly linked to misappropriation of wealth of the state by few powerful individuals, political class. the political class has remain in power despite several attempt oust it from power either as military coup or constitutional means, impeachment. the political class has taken different shapes and forms in administration and regimes since the birth of nigeria. nigeria is blessed with different mineral resources and crude oil production yet with all this available the country has not witnessed geometrical progression in capital human development. infrastructural development in nigeria has decayed totally. absence of good drinkable water, inadequate constant power supply, inadequate health facilities, increase in food pricing, dearth of gdp and increase in mortality rate, etc. infrastructural deficit has lead to increase in the suffering of the poor masses. it is a clear estimation today that over 85 percent of nigeria, mostly in northern part of the country. in nigeria today hunger and starvation kills faster than diseases and internal terrorist operations. the national bureau of statistics in nigeria has warned that by 2025 that most nigerians will face worst than global pandemic disease, malnutrition and hunger. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 54 nigeria remains the fifth oil producing nation globally. her crude oil resources have turn out to be a huge course on the part of national development. instead of nigerians to be glad and enjoy the benefits that are accrued to oil producing nations of the world. it has become a place of hunger and death toll of insurgent and ethnic militia. even the niger delta part of nigeria that produces the large portion of the crude oil have not benefited from its proceeds. there land and sea ports, including its environs have been destroyed by the gas inflammation and oil spillage. the thrust of this study is to synthesize that despite the worsen development of nigeria as a nation, especially in the limelight of the novel covid-19 pandemic. the global pandemic corona virus in nigeria has open a fresh wound of inconsistency and incompetency that have saddled the activities of her political elites. the political elites or class are now faced with a biblical double edged sword that kills the owner if not properly handled and the enemy if well utilized. on the above stated premise lies the point of our departure in revamping the status of our nigerians development challenges. aftermath of covid-19 explained corona viruses are driving from a family of virus that cause illness ranging from the common cold, body pain, middle east respiratory syndrome, and severe acute respiratory syndrome (sars-cov). corona virus novel disease (ncov) is a new strain that has not been previously witnessed in humans. corona viruses are mainly zoonotic, meaning that they can be transmitted between animals and people. investigations from different sources and laboratories found out that sars-cov was originally transmitted from carrier cats to humans and mers-cov from dromedary camels back to humans. historically, coronavirus began in wuhan, hubei province of china. people and foreigners who lived in wuhan had some link to large seafood and live animal markets, which suggests that the mode of transmission of the virus was from animal to person. the virus has been named “sarscov-2” by scientists and the disease it causes has been named "coronavirus disease 2019” (as abbreviated to mean “covid-19”). the name was taken to avoid stigmatizing the virus's origins in terms of populations, geography, or animal associations. the first known patient of the coronavirus started experiencing symptoms in wuhan, china on 1 december 2019. since then, there have been over 970,000 reported death cases around the world. recently, there is a widespread of corona virus both in animals and in humans. there are certain signs of this disease which includes, fever, and cough, shortness of breath, respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and death. the world health organization has provided standard recommendations to prevent the spread of this novel disease which include, regular hand washing, covering mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing thoroughly cooking meat and eggs. there should be strict avoidance with anyone that is showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing. theoretical analysis the theory of social production of material wealth is closely associated with the dialectical materialism of marxian scholarship. major prominent of this theory include lenina (1978); nnoli (1981); ake (1981); ogban-iyam (2005) and stavrou (2011). nnoli (1981) stated that social production and reproduction assigns a character to other aspects of human values. what is produced and reproduced over time is determined by the factor of labor-power, the object of labour, means of labour, and who decides what to be produced, when, and how. however, a change that occurs in these operations directly or indirectly influences other aspects of human life. it is the political class in nigeria that makes this major decision of production process in alternative to the masses means of survival. at the hit of the covid-19 pandemic in nigeria, the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 55 political class was busy amassing the loan browed to develop different sectors of the country. many of the stolen funds were used by the same political class in creating other values or wealth. ogban-iyam (2005) attests to the above assertion when he clearly stated that those who did not decide on what to produce, are generally at the end of the social production system. the decisions taken are not satisfied by them which make them seek for a total change of the system. people that choose what to produce, also determines who controls political power. during the covid-19 pandemic heat, nigeria political leadership instead of providing a development strategy that works, they continue to strengthen the means of state production. instead of engaging the factors of production to yield greater relief to the suffering of the masses, the leadership continues to amass public funds for their benefits. ake (1981) opined that despite the achievements of capitalism which include the creation of wealth and development of science and technology, it has also generated disparity and inequality among classes of people. despite the huge money that nigerian political leadership got from the sales of oil globally, they can't boost of an adequate standard health facility. they were busy stealing from the public treasury and receiving health services out of nigeria. they never saw the draught coming (covid-19) that places banned on international flight and movement (lockdown). this increased the number of persons that died as a result of the novel disease in nigeria in two months interval. other sectors of the economy bleed deeply too. it is of great essence for us to state here that expository analysis of the african production process reveals that the state is a major means of production as the dominant political class relies on the acquisition of state power to survive and reproduce material wealth (miliband, 1977). political officials and politicians are pressured towards securing monetary rewards in detriment of the common survival of the masses. it is obvious that people migrate or emigrate, go to wars or make peace, become educated or illiterates, religious or to maintain or seek to change their means of survival (ezeibe c.c, 2016). overview of nigerians development crisis nigeria's economic development has been a major challenge among her citizens, political leadership, and political analyst in discussion and practicality. various issues have been detailed by groups and perspectives in this regard. citizens and political leaders have failed to propagate th good governance and rule law over the years since independence. nigeria's 60 independence has virtually nothing to boast in terms of improvement in per capita income and other economic growth indexes. uzodigwe nnamdi et.al (2023) argued that africans development stagnation has also been affected by global unification of the world system. the further stated that africa and nigeria's development needs a development strategy on its own for a total self-relied growth (african globalization). the political leadership in nigeria has continued to accumulate state productive force and the production process has become an instrument in the hands of the ruling elites. here are some of the issues that are common among scholars as problems facing nigeria's economic development. 1. rooted corruption: corruption is of international concern. since the independence of nigeria, corrupt officials or politician has continued to loot the country dry. corruption is now seen by all nigerian to be associated with our culture and more so a trans-generational decay. the political elites have deployed the arsenal of political power into the production process of state accumulation of wealth. politics by other means has become the means of survival by political gladiators. for many years, nigeria has been an oil producer on the globe but the character of her igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 56 state actors has continued to improvish the entire country. however, the problem is that money from oil does not flow to the people. 2. macro economic adaptation: the total consistency by politicians and officeholders occasioned by greed are among the reasons for the country's mono-economy practice over the years. every administration that comes into power lacks consistency in policy initiatives instead of working on the previous one. the over-concentration of nigeria in oil production has greatly influenced her advancement in growth and development. however, nigeria has many inefficient and ineffective applied public policies. this can be seen from the national economic empowerment and development strategy (needs) by president olusegun obasanjo in 2003 to buhari's policy of making nigeria the top 20 biggest global economies by 2023. 3. inadequate human development: the human development index has become one of the strong ways of revamping one's economic development, ezeibe c.c (2016). in general, human resources play a significant role in the success or failure of any state. the major challenge facing the nigerian economy reflects the poor quality of the state economic health and human development. this is a situation that has been neglected for many years. this issue facing educational institutions today is directly associated with the quality of her human development. 4. development of market system: there is no productive competition in the system. there is no interaction between market forces and human development good market governance must work hand in hand with healthy competition. though market forces guide' actual capitalistic economics, but nigeria's version of capitalism has not developed properly. the self-regulating character and demand and supply define the status of one's work and live, how much one earns, and what he/she can buy. however, the federal government of nigeria often interferes with the activities of the market. unfortunately, the federal government has a valid monopoly of setting the price of products and other goods services. in 2016, and subsequently, in 2020 the federal government randomly increased the cost of fuel without paying attention to the negative distributive effects on the nigerian economy and citizens. 5. increased crime and terrorism rate: these two negative influences have affected the economic situation of the country badly. the nigerian crime rate in nigeria gives many people sleepless nights. in some places, people feel that they cannot walk around their neighborhoods freely anymore, especially towards the northern part of the country. public security is an essential part of every progressive state, and nigeria has failed in this respect. as for terrorist attacks, they are now on the rise in nigeria, which is the result of boko haram, banditry, and fulani herdsmen activities over the past years. a different violent attack such as bombings, kidnappings, has made nigeria ungovernable. recently, nigeria is listed as one of the three countries occasioned by death troll by terrorism. the global peace index ranked nigeria as the 5th least peaceful country in the world. boko haram kidnapped hundreds of children, mostly girls (about 276 chibok schoolgirls) from villages and schools in northern nigeria in 2014. these girls were secondary school pupils at the government secondary school, chibok, borno state, in nigeria. recently, the convoy of the borno state in the north-east part of nigeria was attacked twice in a month leaving many security officers dead and injured. in the northern part of nigeria, school children cannot finish their studies due to the looming threat of murder and kidnapping. 6. unemployment: unemployment is one of the strongest problems in nigeria, as many graduates are disappointed due to joblessness in the country. it seems like it has become vicious circles in nigeria. an unemployment increase is because of the economic recession and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 57 politicizing of the job created. nigeria needs to break out of this vicious cycle, for tangible development. according to reports by the national bureau statistics (nbs), nigeria's unemployment rate has increased by 27.1% in 2020. just in 2019, the rate of unemployment in nigeria was 23.1%, and the underemployment rate was 16.6%. it is projected that the rate of increased unemployment in nigeria will hit 33.5 percent by the end of 2020, especially with the current displacement and dislocation of many jobs by the covid-19 pandemic nationwide. nigerian graduates cannot even acquire useful skills during their education process. they were busy reading textbooks and formulating theories without having an opportunity to practice what they read. that is why they apply for some technical jobs, and they are not hired due to the lack of specialized skills and abilities. as a result, graduates usually stay in their parents' house for a long period, with mounting depression and frustration. this unemployment saga is one of the leading causes of crime and terrorism among youth in nigeria. 7. education system: the system has been crippled with structural imbalances and infrastructural decay for many years. the attitude of the federal government towards the improvement of the educational system in nigeria has been politicized. the low payment of both lecturers and teachers of universities, secondary school is nothing to write home about. corruption has spread to the nigerian educational system also, especially in universities. professors are used to taking money or sexual satisfaction from students in exchange for good marks. many students do bribe university executives and administrators to have their exam results submitted and compiled for the national youth service corps. this is a true reflection of the state of things in most nigerian universities today. the higher institutions of learning in nigeria are not in good shape. the facilities that are needed to adequately teach students from a primary, secondary, and higher institution so that they can be competent to firms after graduation are inadequately placed or missing totally. in the university curriculum in nigeria, too much theory is emphasized and a total lack of practice is a big issue. this has affected our technological development in comparison to other developed countries. 8. health and environmental sector: the health and environmental standards of nigeria have fallen to a great measure. however, in 2015, amnesty international announced that nigeria experiences hundreds of oil spillage annually in the niger delta. this is mainly because of the sabotage of oil pipelines, erosion, and uncaring attitude by oil firms. this is also linked to the hike in oil prices and low standard of leaving. oil spillage wilts the soil nutrients and other essential elements. this process can lead to damage in the communities who farm and fish in the niger delta and the general national economy. another main problem facing the country's economy is the health issue. there is no standard hospital in nigeria as a nation. medical practitioners are not paid properly as at when necessary due huge corruption been witnessed in the sector. virtually all the hospitals in nigeria don't have the necessary equipment to handle critical issues. 9. infrastructure: infrastructural decay may seem simple compared to other issues such as security challenges. nigeria's power sector is nothing to write home about. there is a hick in the price of electricity supplied and no nation has ever developed without constant power supply. the power sector is mismanaged with corrupt workers, and so many of them are incompetent. this example can be seen in other areas such as clean water supply, connecting good roads, pipe born water development in communities, etc. in general, domestic production suffers worse kinds of conditions, including production processes and foreign companies also find it hard to invest their business in nigeria due to the constant power failures, insecurity, and good road. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 58 the nigerian economy after covid-19 there are structural factors that worsen the economic crisis of nigeria in the global pandemic. in this section of the paper, i detailed the key structural impediment that triggered or worsen the current economic crisis. these major issues are politically occasioned and others long-aged impediments that coincided with the rise of covid-19, especially in 2020. poor public health infrastructure the public health sector in nigeria has inadequate infrastructure such as poor emergency services, few ambulance services systems, ineffective national health insurance systems, insufficient primary health care system, and these problems in the public health sector which are linked to the rise of mortality rates in the country. despite the introduction of the national health insurance scheme (nhis) in 2004, the population protected by health insurance in 2019 was about 6 percent of the total population. the nigerian pharmaceutical industry also has its problems. the nigerian pharmaceutical industry is assumed the largest in west africa and owns up to about 63% of the market share in africa. however, pharmaceutical ingredients (api) used in nigeria are directly imported from china, and only 8% of the drugs used in nigeria are manufactured indigenously in the country. the industry is having many problems such as poor systematic and unreliable utilities, unskilled workers, inadequate access to finance, and lack of appropriate government incentives. this has made the industry lack robust competitiveness especially from asian and chinese companies were most pharmaceutical products are imported in nigeria. uzodigwe et.al (2020) believed that religious inclination in nigeria political system contributes greatly to the spread of covid virus. this brought about the spread of the dangerous virus. however, the short-fall in nigeria's public health sector made it hard for nigeria to adequately manage the fast-spreading covid-19 disease during the outbreak. lack of testing and acceptability of local drug manufacturers by the necessary bodies worsen the whole situation. the increment in the number of infected patients in lagos alone grew worse to the extent that some parts of the stadium had to be converted to an isolation center. this defeated nigeria's inadequate public health sector. inefficient digital economy before the inception of the covid-19 outbreak, nigeria already had a weak and inefficient digital economy. there was hardly any academy or school that offered a full educational curriculum online from start to finish. the banking system has not upgraded to a more digital phase. most businesses, and companies, operated using the traditional means of the working system. the outbreak of the novel coronavirus brought various problems that have to do with the environment in nigeria. the worst-hit remains industries and markets structurally. the mode of markets and industrial operation has been affected largely by global digital infrastructure. the services that were offered appropriately within the existing global digital infrastructure during the covid-19 outbreak were telecommunication, digital mobile bank transfers, and internet services. a strong digital economy would have played a major role in driving recovery from the recent economic crisis in nigeria. a well robust and developed digital economy can revamp this untold hardship in nigeria. for instance, the nigerian educational system is on collapse because all these years both private and government have failed to digitalize our schools and universities to meet up with the international standard of learning. most of the shopping malls and supermarkets in nigeria don't have e-commerce apps that enable online buying and selling can allow buyers and sellers to make purchases and sales while staying in their homes, especially during the lock down. all these are possible when there is a robust and well-functioning digital economy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 59 globally, well functioning digital technology helped many businesses in developed countries to mitigate the effect of the covid-19 outbreak. inadequate welfare program nigeria does not have a national social welfare program that offers help to all individuals and families in need of; health care assistance, food products, unemployment compensation scheme, disaster relief stipend, and educational assistance. the effect of not establishing a national social welfare program nationwide has dealt with ordinary nigerian, especially during the novel outbreak of the coronavirus of 2020. during the outbreak, poor masses have little to relay on. there was little or no social welfare relief or palliative to help them cope with the economic hardship at the time. revamping nigeria's development after covi-19 the government response has not metamorphosed into any increase in output towards the betterment of the masses. the economic development of nigeria has been worsening in the covid-19 era. the following is how the government should respond to minimize the impact of covid-19 and to a larger extent increase the output of her economic development. this occurs in several ways; empowerment of smes it is the duty of the federal government through the central bank of nigeria to give out loans and incentives to smes to support the local industry for growth and development. the novel coronavirus has suppressed the local industry. adequate healthcare support system before the inception of covid-19, nigeria's healthcare institutions were already saddled and struggled to cope with poor medical supplies, tools, shortage of medical workers, and poor infrastructure. the healthcare system in nigeria cannot withstand the pressure associated with the covid-19 experience round the globe. the challenges of this covid-19 include adequate bed facilities, working ventilation, spacious hospital, and the availability of well equipped medical personnel's. to be able to stand the chance of fighting against covid-19 and in treating those requiring intensive care, nigeria's healthcare sector must be supported through adequate funding, incentives for medical workers, and healthcare subsidies for the most vulnerable people. creation of incentives and safety nets for the masses through certain tax incentives increase, social transfers, and regulatory guide, the nigerian government is supposed to aid minimize the increase of covid-19 on the most vulnerable businesses and masses. the adoption of social distancing mechanisms and lockdowns in the most affected cities states to limit the spread of the virus. in beginning, the government should partner with nongovernmental groups such as trade unions, which have a wider scope, to deliver monetary support to people in looking or searching for employment. enable emergence sub-national governments sub-national governments or regional have improved their resilience to oil-related crises by increased internally generated revenue. but even still, many would struggle to pay wages given the crisis. therefore, the central government and the central bank of nigeria should expand loans to states in nigeria to enable them to pay laborers and support the healthcare sector. reduction in administrative cost igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 60 nigerian government should reduce the cost of governance by reducing administrative costs by listing the opportunity cost of the most effective developmental programs. this will enable more capital to be channeled into other sectors of the economy, for example, health care facilities, and power supply. the money saved from excessive governmental spending can be used for infrastructural build-up for fiscal buffers to improve the country's resilience. accordingly, reducing the mismanagement of public finances through a commitment to transparency, opening up budgets, and strengthening anti-corruption programs should be a concern during and post covid-19. now more than ever, legislatures and other arms must be responsive to lessen the impacts of the impending social and economic chaos and better prepare nigeria for the future. through the agency of the united nations, economic commission for africa is adequately coordinating african finance ministers to mobilize us$100 billion fiscal support across africa. this will help curb the aftermath of the covid-19 experience in nigerian in particular. diversification of the economy economic diversification is the process of moving an economy away from a mono income source towards multiple sources from a growing range of sectors and markets. originally, it has been witnessed as a strategy to applaud positive economic means and development. overconcentration in crude oil production in nigeria is not enough to save nigeria's economic depression. nigeria has a lot of mineral resources which if properly harnessed can lead to total overhauling her economic development, especially during the covid-19 experience. indeed her economy needs to be diversified totally. this will increase the gdp and other indexes of growth and economy, agricultural development is been neglected in nigeria. during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, agriculture contributed so much to nigeria's source of income. prosecution of corrupt officials the fight against corrupt officials in nigeria should be total, through the anti-corruption agencies. however, the anti-corruption agencies are more like toothless dogs that can only bark but cannot bite these officials. the level of corruption in nigeria has reached a pandemic mode whereby it can only be curbed when these agencies braise up to the occasion to prosecute political offenders irrespective of their political affiliations or personality cult. sometimes the works of the agencies are heard and seen in the newspapers but in reality, they are have not prosecute the offenders according to the dictates of the law. therefore, the nigerian government should seriously support the economic and financial crimes commission, independent corrupt practices and other related offences commission (icpc), and other agencies through the provision of necessary authority and funds to see to convictions of offenders. these will promote a more sustainable environment and also make the economy of nigeria to be viable. conclusion the paper concludes that the covid-19 experience in nigeria has coincided with nigerian character of state production process of development. this state production character has become industrialized in face of this deadly virus attack globally and in nigeria. indeed our economic development is dependent on the character of the nigerian political leadership and the policies emanated thereof. its economic development needs total overhaul and revamping. the following are recommended. the war against corruption should be enhanced totally, with the anti-corruption agencies on tact. the nigerian government should seriously support and don't interfere in the economic and financial crimes commission, independent corrupt practices commission (icpc) and other related agencies through its authorization and financial support, so to see that judgment is rightly served. this will aid the increase of a more secured environment and also make nigerian igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 61 economy great again. secondly, political leaders and public officials who are found guilty on the account of corrupt practice are not face the law alone. there should be a general law prohibiting the participation of such personality in active politics. most of nigerian politicians and leaders have once been found guilty and prosecuted for a criminal offence of accumulation and mismanagement of state fund. it was discovered that they later returned into active politics and even became leaders. this is a serious crime against nigerians national development. references ake, c. (1981) a political economy of africa. london: longman. amnesty international (2014) welcome to hell fire: torture and other illtreatment in nigeria. london: amnesty international limited. amnestyinternational(2016)h�ps://www.amnesty.org/download/documents/afr4448682016en glish.pdf. open society justice initiative, supra note 5. ezeibe, c. (2016) abc of political economy_a beginner's guide to understanding the state and economy, university of nigeria nsukka, press ltd. lenina, i. (1978) abc of dialectical and historical materialism. moscow: progress publishers. milliband, r. (1977) marxism and politics. london: oxford university press. nnoli, o. (1981) path to nigerian development. dakar: codesria. ogba iyam, o. (2005) “social production and reproduction, societal conflict and the challenges of democracy in nigeria”. university of nigeria journal of political economy1 (1): 1-51. stavrou, p. (2011) reading and analyzing marx's grundrisse (production and distribution). th retrieved from grundrisse_28.html on 18 july 2011. h�p://protes-stavrou.blogspot uzodigwe nnamdi adolphus, oguche unekwu grace, akogwu, chukwunonso joseph, arinze, emmanuel okonkwo & ezeh, kelechukwu dennis (2023) globalization of africa and african globalization: a 21stcentury perspective ochendo: an african journal of innovative studies issn: 268140788 (print) 2814 077x (e). vol.4no.4 uzodigwe a, akogwu c, ezeh k. & obi c. (2020) the role religion in the spread of covid-19 in nigeria, international journal of innovative research and development, issn: 2321919x vol 9 (11) doi: 24940/ijird/2020/v9/i11/155566-383335-1-sm igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 9 igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy kanu, ikechukwu anthony, ph.d. department of philosophy augustinian institute, makurdi ikee_mario@yahoo.com abstracts logic is a branch of philosophy that deals with the operations of right reasoning, with the main aim of distinguishing between correct and incorrect, good and bad reasoning. with the established existence of african philosophy, there has emerged the question or problem of the existence of african logic. having established the existence of african philosophy, this piece argues that it would be illogical to ask the question: is there an african logic? the idea of an african logic is the implication of domesticating or inculturating philosophy in africa. it is the african logic that gives birth to the philosophy that is distinctively african. if it is established that there is a close tie between philosophy and logic, and in fact, that it is logic that makes philosophy, and secondly, if it is accepted that philosophy is culture bound, accounting for the emergence of english, german, indian, chinese philosophies, it then means that logic is culture bound as well. this is the basis for an argument for an african logic. in responding to the emerging questions, the indigenous wholistic theory has been employed, which advances igwebuike as the logic of african philosophy. keywords: igwebuike, logic, african, philosophy, complementarity, universality, particularity. introduction in the area of philosophy, there are various themes that have constituted problems for reflection and analysis by philosophers; however, one of the major concerns in philosophy is the problem of the meaning of philosophy itself. this is evident in the historical evolution of philosophy. for the ionian school of philosophy, philosophy would be nothing more than asking and offering rational explanations of the universe. for the sophists, it would be questioning the foundations of traditional religion, morality and the gods from a subjective perspective. in socrates, philosophy is acquiring knowledge through questions and answers; thus would involve a process of asking questions and questioning answers until answers are unquestionable and questions unanswerable. for the cynics and cyreniacs, philosophy would be a path to self-knowledge and thus self-sufficiency. patristic and early medieval philosophers would understand philosophy as the handmaid of theology: an instrument for clarifying theological concepts. descartes would understand philosophy as a search for the certainty of knowledge. the variety of perspectives as to what constitutes philosophy can continue even to the contemporary era. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 10 it is, therefore, not surprising that jasper (1953) avers that “what philosophy is and what its value is, is contentious” (p. 9). in the contention of geisler and feinberg (1980), “…the central and most fundamental philosophical question is the nature of philosophy itself” (p. 13). this, contention, according to asouzu (2011) is at the root of most controversies and disagreements in the department of philosophy. this notwithstanding, philosophy is from the greek words: φιλο (philo) meaning love and σοφια (sophia) meaning wisdom. brought together, it means ‘the love of wisdom’. the concept is a neologism attributed to pythagoras. thus, he presents philosophy as a high and supreme achievement of man, and philosophers as aspirants to or proponents of wisdom. according to maziarz (1987), in this relatively strict sense, philosophy implies both the process of questioning and the results of this interrogation as embodied in a personal or public enterprise of value to mankind. as an academic discipline, philosophy exercises the principles of reason and logic in an attempt to understand reality and answer fundamental questions about knowledge, life, morality and human nature. thus, teichmann and katherine (1999) and quinton (1995) would agree that philosophy is a rational critical thinking, of a more or less systematic kind about the general nature of the world, the justification of belief and the conduct of life (p. 666). the idea of an african philosophy does not in any way change the concerns of philosophy but only particularizes it to the african context that philosophy might be relevant to the people of africait can be regarded as an african department of the general concerns of the faculty of philosophy; whether western or african philosophy, logic is an indispensable ingredient that drives the philosophical process to its conclusion. can there be an african philosophy without an african logic? the foregone has established that for philosophy to retain the identity of philosophy, it must have the basic element of logic to maintain the philosophical structure. this would mean that that which bears the name ‘philosophy’ should have logic in it. as regards african philosophy, the question of whether there is an african philosophy or not has been overtaken, captured and conquered by african philosophers. thus, makinde in 2010 published the work: african philosophy: the demise of a controversy; even long before makinde, innocent onyewuenyi in 1993 had written a book on the african origin of greek philosophy: an exercise in afrocentrism, thus, dating african philosophy before western philosophy and, in fact, making her the springboard of western philosophy. students, from b.sc to ph.d cadres are defending their theses and dissertations respectively in the area of african philosophy. conferences are organized in different parts of the world on african philosophy, with many emerging academic associations in africa identifying with african philosophy. in fact, african philosophy has become a burgeoning field of scholarly investigation. amidst great igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 11 challenges, african philosophy has, with a swaggering gait, migrated from bedside consultations to wider social consultations that privilege discourses about everyday african life issues. it is studied in many universities in africa, and has, in fact, moved beyond the shores of africa, finding its way into the curriculum of many universities in europe and america, where it is taught by both african and non-african professors. having established the existence of african philosophy, it would be illogical to ask the question: is there an african logic? the idea of an african logic is the implication of domesticating or inculturating philosophy. it is the african logic that gives birth to the philosophy that is distinctively african. there is a close tie between philosophy and logic, and in fact, that it is logic that makes philosophy, and secondly, if it is accepted that philosophy is culture bound, accounting for the emergence of english, german, indian, chinese philosophies, it then means that logic is culture bound as well. this is the basis for an argument for an african logic. if there is no african logic that is determined by the african worldview, then african philosophy would be a caricature of contextual philosophy, and in fact would be out for a western-generated approach to attending to human issues. this does not in any way mean that the logic that is african would lose its universal characterit is still the standard universal logic, but with an african touch. however, as we go further on this issue, it might be necessary to first understand the meaning and nature of logic. the meaning and nature of african logic etymologically, logic is from the greek word ’logos’, which is translated into english as the ‘word’. in greek it stands for divine intelligence, and the underlining structure of reality or purpose. this explains why it is use for god in the gospel of john who is referred to as “the word”. while this etymological definition does not bring out the function of logic, it gives an insight into the general understanding of logic as the principle of correct reasoning. however, nyarwath (2010) defines logic as “a branch of philosophy that studies reasoning. it deals with the operations of right reasoning. it studies principles and rules of reasoning with the main aim of distinguishing between correct and incorrect, good and bad reasoning” (p. 1). thus, ejikemeuwa (2015), copi (1982) and aja (2008) assert that the art of sound, correct and critical reasoning is in the domain of logic. logic, according to bello (2000) adds that logic removes ambiguities and obscurities from human discourse. logic brings out truth from falsity, consistency from inconsistency, orderliness from disorder, valid argument from invalid argument. aristotle refers to logic as an organon or foundation of knowledge. it belongs to the arena of logic to judge inferences good or bad. according to ochieng-odhiambo (2009) “it attempts to answer such questions as: what is reasoning? what igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 12 distinguishes good reasoning from bad reasoning, a good argument from a bad one, a valid argument from an invalid one? are there any methods of principles to detect fallacies in reasoning, and if so, what are they?” based on these questions, he wrote further that “from these concerns of logic, it can be seen right away that logic is very, perhaps the most, important branch of philosophy. all branches of philosophy employ reasoning and whether the reasoning in these other branches are correct or not will depend upon whether they are in accord with the laws of logic. hence a thorough grounding in logic is indeed most necessary” (p. 123). by african logic, the focus is on the structure of african thought. every culture and people has its own peculiar way of thinking or reasoning; and it is the african pattern of reasoning that has brought about the african logic. to speak of the diversity of logic, momoh (1989) relates logic to human language which differs from culture to culture: in everyday usage of natural language we talk of a person as being logical if he is reasonable, sensible and intelligent; if he can unemotionally and critically evaluate evidence or a situation; if he can avoid contradictions, inconsistency and incoherence, or if he can hold a point of view argue for and from it, summon counter-examples and answer objections. (p. 174). the adjective ‘african’ attached to the word ‘logic’ speaks of the context or the locus of logicality. it is the application of reason to the world and culture of the african people. this is applied not just to written literatures but also to life experiences like: a bird crying in the night and a man dying in the morning. the logical connection of this kind is based on the african principle expressed in the igbo saying: ife na-akpata ife (something is caused by something); odighi ihe gbaraka mee (nothing happens without a reason); nwata no nuzo na-agba egwu, odi nwa nnunu na aguru ya egwu no’hia (a child who is dancing on the road, there is a bird singing for it in the bush), you cannot see the rabbit in the afternoon in vain. the akan would say, “whenever the palm tree tilts it is because of what the earth has told it”. ejikemeuwa (2016) thinks that this type of conclusion is not reached after a single occurrence; it is based on several cases of witnessing a particular event over a period of time. from this experience, a logical connection is established. igwebuike and the universality and particularity of logic the idea of igwebuike as the logic of african philosophy carries within it a dual but complementary understanding of logic. first it sees logic as a universal phenomenon. this is very important since logic is a fundamental ingredient of the human person whose thoughts and thinking are organized, analyzed and sustained by some igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 13 intrinsic structures that make the way for a systematic conception of reality. this being the case, it can be said that logic is thus a necessary element of every culture. there is no culture that does not accommodate a good argument, especially as it concerns their conclusions. whether in africa or in europe or in america or in asia, if the assumption of an argument is true, the conclusion of the argument would always be true. for instance: if njoku is an african philosopher, then njoku is a great african thinker, njoku is an african philosopher, therefore, njoku is a great african thinker if kanu is shorter than emeka, then kanu should be taller than usman kanu is taller than emeka therefore, kanu is taller than usman these are arguments that are logical and cannot be accepted in one culture and rejected in another culture. their conclusions are all acceptable as their assumptions are true. thus, the principles of logic are universal principles that could be generally applied to diverse situations, no matter where. they are, thus, topic-neutral and concontingent, in the sense that they do not depend on any accidental features of the world. by the particularity of logic, it is meant the context in which logic is applied. it speaks of the worldview which differs from one place to another; this bears on the universal application of logic. while logic is universal, it is clear knowledge that the cultural experiences of people is meaningful within the context of an organized language that points to a logical abilityit is a people’s language that communicates their logical world. this establishes the nexus between culture or language and logic, and thus, between igwebuike and the question of african logic. igwebuike as the complementarity and distinctiveness of african logic igwebuike is the modality of being in african philosophy. it is from the igbo composite word and metaphor igwebuike, a combination of three words. therefore, it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. the three words involved: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power. thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 14 beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force or strength, and at this level, no task is beyond their collective capability. igwebuike is, therefore, a philosophy of harmonization, and complementation. it understands the world immanent realities to be related to one another in the most natural, mutual, harmonious and compatible ways possible. igwebuike provides an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. as an ideology, kanu (2016a&b) opines that igwebuike rests on the african principles of solidarity and complementarity. it argues that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is ‘to be with the other’, in a community of beings. it is anchored on the african worldview, which, according to iroegbu (1995) is characterized by a common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny. mbiti (1970) classically proverbializes the community determining role of the individual when he writes, “i am because we are and since we are, therefore i am” (p. 108). the african worldview, therefore, is ruled by the spirit of complementarity which seeks the conglomeration, the unification, the summation of fragmented thoughts, opinions and other individualized and fragmented thoughts and ideas. it believes essentially that the whole is greater than the corresponding parts. it is also a view that maintains that by the coming together of the individual or parts, a viable and sustainable whole will emerge, and by this, the parts will get to the brim purpose of their existence. the complementary character of reality from the igbo philosophy of igwebuike can be compared to plato’s political/ethical theory, according to which, for there to be justice in the state, the three parts that makes up the state, that is, the rulers (the philosophers) the guardians (the soldiers) and the artisans (the labourers) should often work together in one accord with each person doing his or her work efficiently to ensure a peaceful co-existence in the state. according to plato, if any part refuses to do what he/she is ought to do, there is bound to be a problem in the society. (1987:205). real potentials of individuals and society is actualized in complementarity than as individuals. “complementarism is a philosophy that seeks to consider things in the significance of their singularity and not in the exclusiveness of their otherness in view of the joy that gives completion to all missing links of reality” (asouzu 2004, 39). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 15 igwebuike as the ontological foundation of an african logic ozumba (2004) observed that every society has its own stock of epistemological thoughts, methods and world views. this assertion is fundamental to epistemology as the quest for knowledge is part of human nature; and thus, it is the prerogative of every culture or tradition. like every other people, the african has his own method or means of acquiring knowledge. following from the construct of the african ontology which is complementary, african logic in general is complementary and integral in character, accepting the co-existence of opposing realities as complementary. african logic is dialectical in character. and by dialectics, it is meant a method of philosophical argument that involves some sort of contradictory process between opposing sides. its most classic version in ancient greece is found in plato. he presented his philosophical argument as a back-and-forth dialogue or debate, generally between the character of socrates, on one side, and some person or group of people to whom socrates was talking (his interlocutors), on the other. in the course of the dialogues, socrates’ interlocutors propose definitions of philosophical concepts or express views that socrates challenges or opposes. the back-and-forth debate between opposing sides produces a kind of linear progression or evolution in philosophical views or positions: as the dialogues go along, socrates’ interlocutors change or refine their views in response to socrates’ challenges and come to adopt more sophisticated views. the back-and-forth dialectic between socrates and his interlocutors thus becomes plato’s way of arguing against the earlier, less sophisticated views or positions and for the more sophisticated ones later. a more refined dialectics is the hegelian dialectics of thesis, antithesis and synthesis (etim 2015). hegel’s dialectics refers to the particular dialectical method of argument which, like other “dialectical” methods, relies on a contradictory process between opposing sides. whereas plato’s “opposing sides” were people (socrates and his interlocutors), however, what the “opposing sides” are in hegel’s work depends on the subject matter he discusses. in his work on logic, for instance, the “opposing sides” are different definitions of logical concepts that are opposed to one another. in the phenomenology of spirit, which presents hegel’s epistemology or philosophy of knowledge, the “opposing sides” are different definitions of consciousness and of the object that consciousness is aware of or claims to know. as in plato’s dialogues, a contradictory process between “opposing sides” in hegel’s dialectics leads to a linear evolution or development from less sophisticated definitions or views to more sophisticated ones later. the dialectical process thus constitutes hegel’s method for arguing against the earlier, less sophisticated definitions or views and for the more sophisticated ones later. hegel regarded this dialectical method or “speculative mode of cognition” as the hallmark of his philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 16 in african logic, one notices the reliance on the contradictory process of opposing sides. for instance, day is vivified and complemented by night and good by evil. the adage that “abasi obot mbat, abot udara ikpat.” meaning “the god who creates mud made available something to wash off the mud”, explains this fact of the complementarity of contradictory realities. the two realities – “mud” and “water” – are mutually opposed but are two sides of the same coin. anyanwu (1981) describes this contradictory dialectics as the “inner curve of reciprocity” (p. 87) that makes african epistemology to avoid the dualism of subjectivism and objectivism. the contradictory dialectics is not negative but affirms the functionality of differences as essential and incomplete dimensions of the whole. conclusion contrary to the perspective of lucien lévy-bruhl, a french philosopher, sociologist, and anthropologist who is famous for his study of primitive mentality and his calling for the scientific study of the categories of thought in different societies, who argued that there are two basic mindsets of humankind—"primitive," or “pre-logical,” and "civilized," and tried to show that the mechanisms of thinking of these two types of mind were different. lévy-bruhl considered that “mystical thinking” was the essence of the primitive mindthe african, whereas rational thinking, based on logic and inference, were the hallmarks of the civilized mind. also, contrary to horton’s view that africans, instead employing intuition and ideas, have a rich proliferation of a sort of thinking called magical. these notwithstanding, within the african epistemological hemisphere, this piece has argued that igwebuike is the logic of african philosophy, which defines the african presentation of ideas in such a way that they would be reasonable to the african. it has existed informally in african traditional philosophy, and has emerged in a more sophisticated style in contemporary african philosophy through the writings of professional african philosophers. its distinctiveness is anchored on the belief that human cognition takes place in definite historical and particular socio-cultural contexts. thus, african logic helps in the presentation of african ideas in such a way that error is avoided, expression is clear, /the reasoning is sound and correct, it informs the prediction of events and sound decision-making, etc. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 17 references aja, e., logic and clear thought: an invitation to good reasoning 2nd ed., (enugu: university of nigeria press, 2008). anyanwu, k. c. “pre-suppositions of african socialism”, the nigerian journal of philosophy. 1.2. 1981. asouzu, i. (2011). ibuanyidanda and the philosophy of essence. calabar: university press. bello, a. introduction to logic (ibadan: university press, 2000). copi, i. m, introduction to symbolic logic (new york: macmillan, 1982). ejikemeuwa, n. (2015). the nature and function of logic in african epistemology. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 1. 1. 63-70. francis etim (2016). “ibibio epitsemology”. in kanu, i. a. (ed.). published by igwebuikepedia: internet encyclopedia of african philosophy published by the augustinian institute of philosophy, makurdi. http://igwebuikepedia.info/shared.asp.online. geisler, n. l. and feinberg, p. d. (1980). introduction to philosophy: a christian perspective. usa: baker. horton robin, “traditional, thought, and the emerging african philosophy department: a comment on the current debate”. second order: a journal of africa philosophy. 3. 1. 65. 1977. iroegbu, p. (1995). metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: international universities press. jasper, k. (1953). einfuhrung in die philosophie. zurich. kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. kanu, a. i. (2016b). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 1-7. maziarz, e. a. (1987). ‘philosophy’, in the new catholic encyclopedia vol ii. london: chapman. mbiti, j. (1970). african religions and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational publishers. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 18 momoh, c. s. (ed.), the substance of african philosophy (auchi: african philosophy projects publications, 1989). nyarwath, o. (2010). traditional logic: an introduction. nairobi: consolata institute of philosophy. ochieng-odhiambo, f. (2009). a companion to philosophy. nairobi: consolata institute of philosophy press. ozumba, g. o. a concise introduction to epistemology (calabar: ebeneger printing press, 2001). quinton, a. (1995). the oxford companion to philosophy. oxford: oxford university press. teichmann, j. and katherine c. e. (1999). philosophy: a beginner's guide. blackwell publishing. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 56 politicization of religion as a cause of crisis in nigeria nwobodo, onyekachukwu promise department of religion and cultural studies university of nigeria, nsukka probest4u@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.25001.77923 abstract presently, nigeria is in crisis. an obvious challenge to peace and unity in nigeria is the intrusion of politics into religion. religion becomes an instrument for political manipulation. a crisis may start as a political conflict but develops into a religious crisis. the main aim of this research is to analyze the involvement of politics in religion that causes crises and ways to resolve them. the research approach is descriptive analysis. the data obtained was subjected to critical analysis. findings show that in nigeria, politics is mostly associated with corruption, manipulation and creating violence for personal gain, which are contrary to morals preached by religions. the research recommends, among others, that there should be a paradigm shift from politics of domination and manipulation to love, moral soundness and genuine service in politics. these will enhance good interactions between politics and religion in nigeria. the research will benefit the government and nigerians who desire peace and unity in nigeria. keywords: politics, religion, crisis, reconciliation, peace, unity introduction presently than ever, in every part of the world, the interaction between religion and politics has been an ongoing subject of academic analysis. there are ongoing discussions concerning this issue, as corroborated by abubakar 1984; oguntola-laguda, 2008, pp. 123-124; okafor, 1997; okwueze, 2012; igboin, 2012; ugwu, 2014; babatola, 2015; abah, 2016. analysis shows that interaction between religion and politics is viewed, at least in two opposing ways: firstly, as an attraction and secondly, as repulsion. it is attraction when politics and religion mutually tend to approach human problems for the well-being of all human persons. it is repulsion when any of them tends to have undue influence or uses the other as an instrument to achieve its goal. wherever the two exist together, suspicions often arise about what the outcome would be. such a situation of suspicion often brings about crises in society. the situation in nigeria indicates that it is more difficult than it is for politics and religion to have mutual coexistence. in nigeria, politics is nwobodo, onyekachukwu promise 57 often associated with corruption, election rigging, falsehood, infidelity, manipulations, inequality or creating violence for personal gain, etc., that are contrary to morals preached by religions. for instance, in 2003, an issue arose between members of a religious group and a popular politician in the town of amokwe in udi l.g.a., enugu state, nigeria. the problem started when the politician who hails from the same town and who was then a governorship aspirant came to the church some minutes after the sunday mass began. the time of his arrival at the mass and the dedicated concern given to him by the church ushers were worrisome. the church ushers were trying to give him a comfortable place in the front pews, and this drew the attention of many of the worshipers, who turned their positions, and some stood up to have a glance at him and his decorated entourage. these briefly distracted the attention needed for mass. that notwithstanding, immediately after the communion rite, as if it was the next part of the mass, the politician signalled to the catechist to inform the priest who was officiating in the mass that he had something to tell the congregation. he was given the microphone. he praised the congregation for their faith in god and their seriousness in building their church, which was then being constructed. he promised to help them to complete the building of the church. as a token of his seriousness towards the completion of the church, he promised to give them ₦120,000 cash. his speech was welcomed with great applause and appreciation by the congregation. however, the main problem arose after. it was about a few weeks before the 2003 governorship election in enugu state. because of this, the church councils could not meet with the politician to redeem the ₦ 120,000 pledge to the church. they were always told that he was too busy, and because of that, they could not see him. a few days after the election, the church council visited the politician again. luckily, on that day, they met him at home and requested him to redeem his pledge to the church. to their surprise, the politician told them to stop requesting money from him anymore because they should have known that he did not win the election for the governorship position. hence, many concluded that the politician was never interested in worshipping god but only came to the church to manipulate the congregation to achieve his ambition; that pledges he made to the church were made to attract the church to vote for him in the election and not to help the building of the church. such opinions are still raised politicization of religion as a cause of crisis in nigeria 58 towards the involvement of politicians in religion that many religious people propose shunning politicians from religious affairs and keeping religion and politics apart. no time in nigeria captures the politicization of religion than during elections. at this time, politicians visited from one religious house to another. in response, religious leaders made countless prophesy and revelations in favour of aspirants who visited them, especially those who donated huge amounts of money to them. about the 2023 general election, there was glaring involvement of religious leaders in politics. many meetings, utterances, prophesy and messages were openly made by religious leaders in favour of one aspirant or another. the height of such incidents is a case of a popular reverend preacher in charge of a prayer ministry in enugu state. the said preacher was accused of openly endorsing or condemning aspirants for his congregation. for instance, it was said that the preacher openly condemned one presidential aspirant because, as it was said, the aspirant did not publicly donate money to the preacher’s prayer ministry ground which was being constructed. this culminated in banning the preacher from public preaching for his “politically-related preaching”. (omorogbe, 2022) the preacher’s meddling in politics caused a crisis between the church authorities and members of his prayer group, who violently attacked the bishop of the church for banning the preacher from public preaching. consequently, the above incidents point to the persistent question: if there could be a good relationship between religion and politics in nigeria. this paper uses a descriptive method to tackle this question. nonetheless, the question further elicits more anticipated questions: if politics has got anything good to do with religion or if politics has any good concern in religion. the situation in nigeria has become critical, which has raised thoughts that it is impossible to have a good relationship between politics and religion. therefore, there is a need to investigate if the thoughts are true. the main objective of this paper is to draw attention to the depth of involvement of politics in religion, which, however, has caused many crises in nigeria. critical analysis was used to analyze findings from life situations and secondary sources on the involvement of politics in religion. the paper makes recommendations. the study could be beneficial to religions, political leaders and nigerians who desire peace and unity in nigeria. nwobodo, onyekachukwu promise 59 defining politics according to soanes and stevenson (eds., 2009), the term “politics” means “the activities associated with the governance of a country or area”. this involves beliefs, theories or principles concerning or inherent in activities of governance, power and status in society. one may characterize “political” activities, expressions, institutions, and practices that are concerned with governance and “politicization” as causing things or situations to be political. the idea of what is known as politics was derived from the greek term “polis”, which means citystate. encyclopaedia britannica (2013) asserts that polis means “a tiny political entity, which for the greeks meant both society and political system”. the formation of city-states was mainly aimed at aiding political activities. the political activities in city-states were focused on answering pertinent questions of governance, which include: who should rule? and what should be the nature and limit of the government’s power? mondin (2014) emphasises that the polis became an all-comprehensive horizon of fundamental value to man in society. for practical purposes, some definitional models of politics can be seen in history. in the ancient era definition by socrates, plato, and aristotle, there is a holistic amalgamation of politics and ethics, natural law or universal standard of justice (dikaiosyne, plato, 2000, book 5, 473d) and happiness (eudaimonia, aristotle 1999, lawhead 2002, p. 81). by the medieval era, saint augustine and saint thomas elaborated the correspondence of political laws to divine or eternal law. (see also saint thomas aquinas, nd. i-ii, q. 93, a. 3). an important inflow into models in politics is judaism which combines all aspects of life into religion. in this, the laws with which society is governed are by god’s codes as contained in the covenant code (exodus 21-22), the holiness code (leviticus 17-26), deuteronomy code (deuteronomy 12-26). this is contrary to the thoughts of medieval thought, which divided human affairs into models of the ‘city of god’ against the ‘city of man’. it is also contrary to early islamic thoughts, which believe in the unification of all human activities into politics, as averroes (ibn rushd, 1126-1198 ad) maintained that the world is god’s handiwork in human care. (lawhead, 2002, pp. 163-164) however, by the modern era, there was the elevation of or detachment of politics from ethics and religion proposed by thinkers like marsilius of paduadefensor pacis defender of the peace, 1324; william of ockham; machiavelli niccolothe prince, 1975; thomas hobbesleviathan of a commonwealth, 1651; jean jacques rousseausocial contract, 1762), etc. this political model of separation from morality, politicization of religion as a cause of crisis in nigeria 60 supremacy of the leader, domination and manipulation of all aspects of the society for the good of the leader has been a model in nigeria. in nigeria, politics is often associated with the supremacy of the leader, corruption, falsehood, infidelity, manipulations, inequality or creating violence for personal gain. yet, locke (1980) occupies a prominent position in the modern era with his proposition for a liberal state as a logical abstraction from the essential nature of human beings (perfect freedom, liberty, equality). according to locke, therefore, “all the power and jurisdiction is reciprocal, no one having more than another” (locke, 1980, § 4) and “the government must rule by laws and not simply by force or an arbitrary will”. (lawhead, 2002, p. 290) although there are diverse approaches towards defining politics in human history, yet most common conviction is its search for the realization of the well-being of society. politics took as its subject matter how best to govern the society. therefore, politics is an organized social formation which governs human society and its civil endeavours. it is a process or system through which a state or its government seeks to meet both the civil and moral common good of citizens. hence, this paper suggests the return of ethics, natural law and universal standard of justice, especially in nigerian politics. defining religion although religion is a universal phenomenon, there is no unanimous definition that incorporates all that constitutes religion. the origin of religion can be traced to the point of human beings’ recognition of wonders surrounding them which predisposed them to think of beings, forces, perfection, and others beyond them and to establish ways to attain rapport with what they considered supernatural beings, force or order. over time human beings formulated varieties of ways or practices to establish this rapport. religion is defined by diverse perspectives or specializations because of these varieties of practices. wallace (1977, § 60) subjectively defines religion “as a virtue that leads man to render to god the homage that is due to him and objectively as a manner of behaviour and concrete manifestation of this virtuewhich comprises belief in god, respect and submission expressed in worship activities”. mcgee (1980, cited in oshewolo and maren, 2015) defines it as a set of activities organized around the sacred that non-empirical source of power, transcendence, mystery and awe. harold (2009) sees religion as beliefs, practices and rituals that are related to the sacred, to god, to the mystical or the supernatural. soanes and stevenson (eds, 2009) define religion as the “belief in and worship of a superhuman nwobodo, onyekachukwu promise 61 controlling power, especially a personal god or gods and a particular system of faith and worship”. for durkheim (1915, p. 37), religion is “unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say, to things set apart and forbiddenbeliefs and practices which unite into a single moral community all those who adhere to them”. william james (1902, pp. 31-32, cited in okwueze, 1998, p. 137 and okwueze, 2004, p. 1) defines religion as “feelings, acts and experiences of individual men in their solitude, so far as they apprehend themselves to stand concerning whatever they consider divine”. to elaborate foregoing definitions, buber (1923) posits that religion is a relationship, the type of i-thou and i-thou-eternal, which is of reciprocity, of present and of dialogue of love between human beings, which opens relation between a human being and god. udoidem (1997, p. 153, in okafor (1997), sees religion as “man’s response to his awareness of the existence of a supreme being who is the creator and how this response affects his relationship with other creatures”. to put this better, okwueze (2004, pp. 1-2) states that religion is “a regulated pattern of life of a people in which experiences, beliefs and knowledge are reflected in man’s conception of himself and relation to others, his social world, the physical as well as the metaphysical world”. it is at this point of relationship with others that religion becomes a social institution that meets and has relevance to the entire society. religion becomes awareness of belief in the existence of a supreme or supernatural being or force and how this belief urges people to behave in certain ways. a certain pattern of behaviour is encouraged by this belief with attachment to the promise of good life. therefore religion can be defined as an organized pattern of belief of a people in which their actions and world outlook are understood, expressed, regulated and approved within their relationship with that in which they believe. relationship between politics and religion this paper affirms that the relationship between politics and religion has been an issue of great concern. consequently, there is a view which insists on the total separation of religion from politics. van der veer (1996 and salawu, 2009 cited in abah, 2016) believe that the interplay of both has given birth to division, conflict, incessant wars, lawless and reckless killings, genocides and the birth of dreadful terrorism. abah (2016, p. 70) opines that “religion should never be used by politicians as a tool for political propaganda. this disposition by political leaders poses a great danger”. this view upholds that religion is that aspect of the spiritual approach to human reality while politics is that material approach to human reality. thus, there is a clear-cut separation between politicization of religion as a cause of crisis in nigeria 62 things of god (divine, sacred, heavenly, spiritual, religious) termed “religion” and things of the world (worldly, profane, earthly, bodily, secular) termed “politics”. this view was upheld in some early religions that saw politics as a worldly affair and heathen, while religion was a holy, godly affair. hence both cannot have any connection. as a result, religious believers were advised to detach themselves from worldly things, including politics. for instance, while greeks saw polis as the highest good, judaism and early christians saw the highest good as god and the heavenly city. a christian theologian-tertullian asked: what has jerusalem in common with athens? that view was the mentality of many christians that paul (romans 13:1-7) and peter (1 peter 2: 13-17) began to admonish christians to change such mentality and to also be obedient to political authorities. contrary to the above view, religion and politics have a lot in common, in the words of oshewolo and maren (2015), “a point of convergence”. one of the indispensable points of convergence, as stated by gaudium et spes (1965, nos. 25; 40-45), is that both have to do with social solidarity to the wellbeing of entire human persons, where human reality, destiny and situations are the same. it is because “since god the father is the origin and purpose of all men, we are all called to be brothers. therefore, if we have been summoned to the same destiny, human and divine, we can, and we should work together without violence and deceit to build up the world in genuine peace”. (gaudium et spes, 1965, nr 92; see also: ad gentes, 1965, nr 3; 11; nostra aetate, 1965, nrs 1-5; john paul ii, 1996, p. 174; john xxiii, 1963, nr. 4; locke, 1980, § 6; buber, 1923, p. 72; ngwoke, 2016, pp. 175-182; okwuenu, 2005, pp. 58-62, in anyacho, 2005) adama and okafor (2018, p. 50) assert that religion and politics are “cultural factors” which interact with and penetrate the people. both regulate behaviours and advocate for responsibility in excises of powers. in line with the above view, this paper affirms that religion and politics are good in themselves. both have to exist for the survival of any human society. this is because a person is both a religious and political being who naturally tends to affirm this socially pluralistic nature. the rational nature of a person predisposes them to seek satisfaction of both material needs and to move beyond that as well to attain fulfilment of spiritual needs. these dual human needs can be fulfilled only where there is cooperation between politics and religion based on principles of truth, solidarity and justice. yet, many a time, these principles are thwarted or distorted, which causes a crisis. the situation in nigeria is a typical example of this aberration. nwobodo, onyekachukwu promise 63 nigeria’s situation presently, there is a problem with the way virtually everything is going in nigeria. nigeria is in a crisis. there is constant violence ranging from attacks by religious militant groups like boko haram and others, kidnapping gangs, assassination gangs, violent herdsmen and interreligious conflicts. furthermore, ascension, appointment and stay in political offices are mainly made based on ethnic and religious affinity. as corroborated by yoroms (2002, in alemike, 2002), these lead to politics of religious grouping and manipulation of religion. as a result, this has paved the way for the allocation of resources disproportionately, indifference about the development of areas other than the leader’s area, corruption for selfish or sectional advantage, and governmental policies in favour of exclusive religious groups. political party formation, political agenda, campaign speeches, etc., have concealing religious posture, which intensifies the fears and suspicions among nigerians. this situation positions nigeria as “a time bomb waiting to explode” (cbcn communiqué, 2018) and “one huge wasteland, huge debris of deceit, lies, treachery, double-dealing and duplicity and a nation at war with itself” (matthew kukah, cited in jannamike, 2021). causes of politicization of religion in nigeria 1. the beginning of coercion colonization has caused great damage and left ugly scars on nigeria. it all started as eze (2004, p. 55, in okwueze, ed, 2004) affirms that “the colonial authority’s position in the matter was patently self-serving. it did not mind supporting islam … to its favour”. till today nigeria suffers under the triangle game orchestrated by some european nations. (achebe, 2012, pp. 99-105) first, the 1914 amalgamation of the regions now called nigeria was a political construction which favoured the economic and administrative purposes (politics) of the colonialist. little or no regard was given to the differences among africans living in those regions. later, the colonial administrative arrangement propelled religious and ethnic political divisions in nigeria. the colonialist used the peculiarity of the regions as a tool to achieve their ambitions which were selfishly political and economic. consequently, even after the amalgamation, each region retained certain diverse peculiar ideologies about the new country. for instance, hinds (1978, cited in okafor, 1997) confirms that “when therefore, by the late 1950s the southern region was speaking and agitating for independence, the ruling class in northern nigeria was looking forward to a handover of power to the heirs of anglo-fulani hegemony. the muslims were struggling to regain islamic rule, which was lost during the colonial administration. politicization of religion as a cause of crisis in nigeria 64 for them, independence meant freedom from the rule of non-muslims and the establishment of an ideal muslim state”. nigeria has not been a united country even after the 1960 independence from colonial rule. religious and ethnic manipulation emerged during the colonial era and has had cumulative effects on politics in nigeria. till today, many political parties’ ideologies have been sectional in orientation. political usurpation of all systems was enabled by colonialists’ manipulation and coercive strategy to keep nigeria together. unfortunately, religion in nigeria has become an “undisguised culprit” of the situation. (eze, cited in okwueze, ed., 2004, p. 74) 2. inadequate appreciation of the roles of religion religion plays a prominent role in the lives of many nigerians. religion virtually divided nigeria into northern (hausa/fulani), which is predominantly muslim, southwestern (yoruba), which has a mixture of muslims and christians and eastern nigeria (igbo)/niger delta/southsouth) the region, which is predominantly christian. there are african traditional religion (atr) practitioners in all parts of nigeria before and even after islam and christianity were brought to nigeria. thus, three major religious groups exist in nigeria: african traditional religion, christianity and islam. these religious groups teach salient moral values like rectitude, loyalty, the sanctity of human life, honesty, justice, humility, chastity, and moral order. a crisis arises when any other ideology: religious or political, infringes on or thwarts these moral values. consequently, nigeria recognizes freedom of worship and membership in any of these religions. yet, some selfish leaders try to make one religion dominate or exact undue influence on others. nigerian leaders did not galvanise the good aspects of these religions for peaceful coexistence. rather religion became a “political springboard through which politicians ride to political fame”. (nnadi, okolo and ezeugwu, 2018, pp. 250-251) religion became an instrument for attaining personal political appetencies. 3. political triumphalism and religious politicking nwobodo (2021, p. 42) posits that religious politicking connotes “a deeper political and economic warfare for the selfish welfare of the religious fanatics who sponsor them”. kunnumpuram (2007, p. 342) explains religious politicking as “political formation which uses religion to promote their economic and political interest” many nigerian nwobodo, onyekachukwu promise 65 politicians unequivocally can be referred to as ‘fundamentalist politicians’. some of them use politics to perpetuate their extremist religious ideologies. since independence, nigeria remains a nation with suspicion between members of religious groups, mainly between islamic and christian communities. these two predominant religions seek “to take over the architectural design and construction of the nigerian polity” (kukah, 1994, p. ix cited in okafor, 1997). for instance, while there are suspicions that some muslim politicians intend to make nigeria an islamic country by institutionalizing sharia law at the federal level and admitting nigeria into the organization of islamic conference, some christian politicians struggle not to allow such tendencies. hinging on this uneasy relationship, some leaders have instigated crisis through expressions of mistrust, hatred and support in their campaigns and public speeches. in this regard, there exist radical religious groups and series of religious violence such as in kano (1980, 1982, 1987, 1991), katsina (1991), kaduna (1987), gombe (1985), bauchi (1991, 1992), ilorin (march 1986), zaria and funtua (march 1987), etc. (udoidem, 1997, 160180, in okafor, 1997). some time ago, some sympathizers and senior politicians in the north were under investigation on allegations of giving boko haram financial or logistical support. ibrahim shekarau (former governor of kano state), isa yuguda (former governor of bauch state), ahmed zannah khalifa (senator from borno state, he was once detained), senator ali mohammed nduma of borno state (who had previously been appointed by president jonathan to a committee to consider opening talks with boko haram), nuhu muhammed (chair of petroleum drivers association), shaykh ibrahim datti ahmed (head of supreme council of sharia), ali modu sheriff (former governor of borno state) and others were alleged to have sponsored boko haram. (see brief detail of these allegations in nwobodo, 2021, pp. 113-115) 4. lack of freedom of expression locke (1980, § 95) affirms that the end of government is for people to be “joined and united into a community for their comfortable, safe and peaceable living, one amongst another in a secure enjoyment of their property and greater security against any, that are not of it”. yet, one wonders why there is no genuine peaceful co-existence, unity and security of life and property in nigeria. over the years, the sharia law issue has threatened the unity of nigeria. some muslim politicians demand that sharia law and courts be established in every state in nigeria, to which all citizens will be subjects. nigeria, as established by the constitution (1999, section 38), is a secular nation with a mixture of politicization of religion as a cause of crisis in nigeria 66 religions. hence any attempt for a particular religion to impose its religious laws than that contained in the nigerian constitution creates a crisis and infringes on the rights to freedom of expression, association, etc., of citizens who do not profess that same religion. 5. leadership hypocrisy malicious silence of some political and religious leaders in times of crises arising from agitations by religious sects often aggravates the situation. for instance, the group boko haram claims to be a religious group acting in the name of islam. the group claims to be fighting to enshrine an islamic state (caliphate) in nigeria. the islamic leaders cannot afford to be ignorant of these claims. at least, they are aware of recent bomb and gun attacks on christians, churches, schools, government buildings and personnel and civilians in the name of islamic religion. it coordinated an attack against the united nations headquarters in abuja on 26 august 2011, which according to bbc (2011), killed at least 18 people and many wounded. boko haram had kidnapped and killed thousands of people almost unhindered. recently, the fulani herdsmen gang has become a worse group terrorizing nigerians, especially farmers and rural dwellers. some christian leaders have spoken out against these gangs (cbcn, 2016; 2017 a; b; 2018). yet northern islamic and political leaders have not openly disowned these groups. kukah (in aworinde, 2014) corroborated this assertion and stated that “i believe that there has been too much hypocrisy in northern islam, based on how the elite have used the religion to deceive, belittle even their people. secondly, some of their leaders have thrived in pretending to place islam over and above their nation, not to talk of other minorities within their enclaves… when our churches became objects of target practice, all these years, the leaders merely looked the other way or stayed in silence or fear”. 6. lack of common national objective some leaders have taken nigeria as a federating centre for competing for personal interests and a battleground for religious and geographical affinities. nigeria, to such people, is “a mere geographical expression” (obafemi, 1947, pp. 47-48) and “still far from being united” as a nation (balewa, 1947, p. 208). to many politicians, nigeria is like “a sinking ship in which they should individually or collectively take out whatever they deem fit by hook or crook before the ship sinks.” (momah, 2013, pp. 109-110) this creates bad governance, a “low level of ethical consciousness” (ewelu, 2008, p. 96) and a crisis. nwobodo, onyekachukwu promise 67 reconciliation roles of religion and politics in nigeria the examination of the bad situation resulting from the politicization of religion in nigeria shows that religion and politics have vital mutual roles to play in remedying the situation. in this paper’s definition of religion and politics, one understands that the major task of both is to enhance the moral and civil common good. by extension, religion should play the following specific roles: a) role of enlightenment: religion should socialize people in identity formation and awareness of the dignity of self. such as exhorting people to abide by laws that guarantee good governance. b) role of defence and conscience of the society: religion should serve as a last resort for the people and never feel intimidated or subdued by any roaring waves of political forces while it speaks against evils. it should defend the nation from corruption, injustice, tyranny, and discrimination and ensures that the government’s activities have strong consideration for poor people. c) role of maintaining moral tempo and development: religion should serve as a moral watchdog and seeks peace and mutual co-existence. it should firmly teach against negative behaviours and provide restrains to immoral acts. for instance, it is erroneous to believe in the idea that politics is all. all cannot be politics because there is ethics that should resolve weakness or excesses in politics. it should promote moral values like truth, accountability, freedom, justice, etc. and insist that they are put into practice. therefore, if religion plays these roles, politicians will be obliged to perform effectively their social, economic and political roles. the government will be held to guarantee an ordered society where freedom, liberties and rights of individuals are protected without preferential protection and to eradicate corruption through making good laws, building credible institutions and creating a conducive environment that encourages civic friendship. these roles will insist that no political authorities underestimate moral dimensions but rather ensure that their activities serve integral human and environmental development. recommendations 1. since crises in nigeria arise from the politicization of religions, there should be genuine solidarity between politics and religion. the president and the 10th national assembly should seriously deliberate on healing past but still existing political and religious grievances. at this time, all regions of nigeria should be politicization of religion as a cause of crisis in nigeria 68 genuinely welcomed as belonging in equal status to nigeria. the power of peace is truth, forgiveness and reconciliation. so, “accepting that together we may arrive at the truth can heal difference”. oredipe (2008, p. 75) 2. there is a need to build credible institutions, especially credible electoral board, that guarantees that people with proven public interest presides over public affairs. there must be a paradigm shift from political domination and manipulation to love, moral soundness and genuine service in politics. nelson mandela of south africa (mandela, 1995, pp. 624-625) is a paradigm of a politician who sacrificed a lot for the freedom of his country. 3. religions in nigeria should form a trusted bond that will forestall any political manipulation or domination. what a joy it would be to form a formation of a religious body that may be called joint christians muslims african traditional religion association of nigeria (jcmaan). the bond will be empowered to sanction any tendencies to politicize religion. 4. religious leaders themselves should be morally sound. they should shun materialism and partisan politics, which are strategies callous politicians use to entangle them. achebe (1974) captured the importance of discipline among religious leaders in the character of ezeulu, who could not deviate from his religious values even when the white political administrator-captain winterbottom enticed him with material and power promises. nigerian religious leaders should emulate archbishop desmond tutu (south africa), bishop t bacani, cardinal sin (philippine), etc, who spoke strongly against political evils in their countries. 5. the performances of nigerian leaders should be accessed on both civic and moral attitudes to the common good. this paper recommends a return to ethics in nigerian politics. conclusion the taproot of the politicization of religion in nigeria is traceable to both ill-thought emergence and bad leadership of nigeria. this root should be healed. in this case, as this paper has identified, there is a need to resolve a lot of grievances of the past and to curtail present bad leadership styles that predispose to crisis. only when the roles of healing where both religion and politics in justice, truth and solidarity cooperate for the common good can nigerians live in faith, unity, peace and progress. the past general elections in nigeria still reinvigorated tendencies for the politicization of religion. therefore, in subsequent elections, nigerians should be made ready to be credible. nigerians must insist on their moral and civic right in voting and choosing the nwobodo, onyekachukwu promise 69 right leaders. therefore, nigerians should go beyond narrow, selfish, political or religious partisan considerations. and vote for persons who have the genuine moral and political capacity to build a peaceful society that the majority of nigerians are yearning for. references abah, j. (2016). a brush up on the ‘2015 presidential election of nigeria’: the chemistry between religio-political manoeuvres and propaganda stratagems, journal of advocacy, research and education, vol. 6 (2). pp. 66-70. abubakar, r. d. (1984). nortrum for religious tolerance in polity of a multi-religious state: the nigerian experience. in j. onaiyekan, (ed.). (1984). religion, peace and unity in nigeria. nasc. in d. oguntola-laguda. (2015). religion, leadership and struggle for power in nigeria: a case study of the 2011 presidential election in nigeria. studia historiae ecclesiasticae: university of south africa, vol. 41 (2). achebe, c. (1974). arrow of god. heineman. achebe, c. (2012). there was a country, a personal history of biafra. penguin books ltd. adama, t. & okafor, e. i. (2018). religion and challenges of political restructuring in nigeria. nsukka journal of religion and cultural studies, vol. 6. pp. 50-56. alemike, e. e & okoye, f. (eds.). (2002). ethno-religious conflicts and democracy in nigeria: challenges. human rights monitor (hrm). anyacho, e. o. (2005). essential themes in the study of religion (2nd edition). niger link printing & publishing. aristotle. (1999). nichomachean ethics. (trans. w.d. ross). batoche books. aworinde, t. (12 october 2014). northern elites use religion to deceive people-kukah. punch newspaper. babatola, a. m. (2015). ethnic politics and religion in nigeria: implications for national integration, global journal of political science and administration, vol. 3 (3), (www.eajournals.org). balewa, a. t. (1947). hansard, 20 march 2 april 1947. in f. u. okafor, (ed.). (1997). new strategies for curbing ethnic and religious conflicts in nigeria. fourth dimension publishing co., ltd. bbc news africa. (26 august 2011). abuja attack: car bomb hits nigeria un building. buber, m. (1993). il principio dialogico e altri saggi, (ed. a. poma). cinisello balsamo politicization of religion as a cause of crisis in nigeria 70 catholic bishops conference of nigeria, cbcn (2017, a). communiqué: “nigeria: citizenship rights and responsibilities. abuja. catholic bishops conference of nigeria, cbcn (2017, b). communiqué: our hope in despair: towards national restoration. taraba. catholic bishops conference of nigeria, cbcn (2018). when will this barbarism end? benue. constitution of the federal republic of nigeria. (1999). domke, d. & coe, k. (2008). the god strategy: the rise of religious politics in america. oxford university press. encyclopædia britannica. (2013). political science. encyclopædia britannica ultimate reference suite. ewelu, b. i. (2008). the nigerian problem: an ethical problem, in b. i ewelu (ed.). african problems in the light of philosophy. fourth dimension publishers. harod, g. k. (2009). research on religion, spirituality and mental health. a review. the canadian journal of psychology. vol. 54 (5). hobbes, t. (1651). leviathan of a commonwealth. green dragon. igboin, b. o. (2012). fundamentalism, security crisis and tolerance in global context: the nigerian experience. politics and religion journal, vol. 6 (2). jannamike, l. (6 january 2021). nigeria: sun set in wasteland of deceit, lies, treachery john paul ii. (1996). message for the world day of peace. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2010). “on the problem of religious language”. professor bassey andah journal of cultural studies. volume 4, pp. 56-66. kunnumpuram, k. (ed.). (2011). world peace an impossible dream? better yourself books. lawhead, l. f. (2002). voyage of discovery, a historical introduction to philosophy. wadsworth/thomson learning. locke, j. (1980). second treatise of government. (ed. c. b. macpherson). hackett. machiavelli, n. (1975). the prince. (trans. g. bull). penguin books. mandela, n. (1995). long walk to freedom. hachette book group. mcgee, r. (1980). sociology, an introduction. holt, rinehartand winston. momah, s. (2013). nigeria beyond divorce. amalgamation in perspective. safari books ltd. mondin, b. (2014). etica e politica. edizioni studio domenicano. nwobodo, onyekachukwu promise 71 ngwoke, e. (2016). the gospel and church in service of society. fourth dimension publishing co., ltd. nnadi, f.u., okolo, r.n. & ezeugwu j.o. (2018). religion, ethnicity and political restructuring in nigeria. nsukka journal of religion and cultural studies, vol. 6. pp. 250-255. nwobodo, p.o. (2021). confronting the religious fundamentalism. method and solution. his glory publications. obafemi, a. (1947). path to nigeria freedom. london: faber and faber. in f. u. okafor, (ed.). (1997). new strategies for curbing ethnic and religious conflicts in nigeria. fourth dimension publishing ltd. oredipe, p. k. (2008). the church’s “diakonia of the truth” an appraisal of john paul ii’s philosophical legacy. west african journal of philosophical studies wajops, vol. 11, pp. 43-81. oguntola-laguda, d. (2008). religion and politics in a pluralistic society: the nigerian experience, politics and religion journal, vol. 2 (2). okafor, f. u. (ed.) (1997). new strategies for curbing ethnic and religious conflicts in nigeria. fourth dimension publishing co., ltd. okwueze, m. i. (1998). religion as a potential instrument for cultural conflicts. international journal of studies in the humanities (ijosh). nsukka, vol. 1 (1). pp. 136-143. okwueze, m. i. (ed.). (2004). religion and social development, contemporary nigerian perspectives. merit international publications. okwueze, m. i. (2012). religion: indeed the “opium of life”. an inaugural lecture of the university of nigeria nsukka. university of nigeria press ltd. omorogbe, p. (2 october 2022). father mbaka, speaking on the 2023 presidency, says many people are wasting their time. nigerian tribune. oshewolo, r. m. & maren, b. a. (2015). religion and politics in nigeria, international journal of politics and good governance, vol. vi, (6, 3). pastoral constitution. (1965). declaration on the church in the modern world, gaudium et spes. pastoral constitution. (1965). declaration on relation of the church to non-christian religions, nostra aetate. nr, 1-5. pastoral constitution. (1965). decree on the mission activity of the church, ad gentes. plato. (2000). the republic. (trans. t. griffith; g.r.f. ferrari, ed.). cambridge university press. politicization of religion as a cause of crisis in nigeria 72 pope john xxiii. (1963). encyclical on establishing universal peace in truth, justice, charity, and liberty, pacem in terris. saint thomas aquinas. (nd.). summa theologiae, i-ii, q. 93, a 3, in pontifical council for justice and peace. (2004). compendium of the social doctrine of the church. nr, 398. soanes, c. & stevenson, a. (2009). concise oxford english dictionary (11th edition). oxford university press. ugwu, c. o. t. (2014). the demise of the african god/s: fallacy or reality. an inaugural lecture of the university of nigeria nsukka. university of nigeria press ltd. wallace, w. a. (1977). the elements of philosophy. a compendium for philosophers and theologians. society of st. paul. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 74 governance and leadership in africa: lesson, impacts and critical paradigms. william mangut matabof gindiri theological seminary, plateau state. williamsmatabof@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.25001.77923 abstract the achievement of the political, economic, and social goals of any political community has been acknowledged as being dependent on leadership and governance (oni and nchekwube 1). leadership is a crucial and significant issue facing africa and other developing nations worldwide. finding the right leadership to advance good governance has been a persistent problem in africa and developing countries in general, with nigeria being no exception. the purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of leadership on public sector governance and development in nigeria. the conceptual framework was built on theories of leadership and governance that had been modified for the nigerian context. the study involved using the theories of transformational leadership and servant leadership theory as the most appropriate conceptual frameworks. the research demonstrates that nigeria's history is rife with examples of poor governance and leadership that, in most cases, lacked vision, were primarily preoccupied with corruption and the improper use of public resources, selfless leaders since independence, a lack of accountability, a lack of transparency, and false promises that resulted in insecurity, a decline in the economy, and extreme poverty. according to the study's findings, corruption is a significant problem across the board in nigerian society. according to the study, nigeria needs future leaders who are dedicated to combating corruption and ensuring that resources are made available for national development. this measure is vital for building public trust and maintaining good governance. keywords: governance, leadership, lesson, impacts, critical paradigms. introduction governance and leadership in africa have been subjects of intense scrutiny and analysis for several decades. the continent has had a long history of authoritarian and ineffective leadership, resulting in poor governance and limited development. however, recent years have seen some positive developments, with several african countries experiencing significant economic growth and democratic reforms. this article explores the lessons learned, the impacts made, and critical paradigms in nigerian governance and leadership. http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/rg.2.2.25001.77923 william mangut matabof the level of political stability and development in a country is directly affected by the quality of its leadership and governance, a well-known fact. poor leadership and bad governance lead to underdevelopment and political instability. nnablife (2010) emphasized the importance of leadership and governance to the survival of a system, stating that all things rise and fall on leadership and reiterating that effective leadership is crucial in driving a nation or organization towards development and productivity through the application of good governance. however, post-independence nigeria is still struggling with the challenges of bad leadership and governance, which have hindered political stability and development in the country. despite nigeria's vast resources and reserves, the nation continues to suffer socioeconomic, political, and infrastructural decay. the collapse of ethical governance and the abuse of moral norms have led to a loss of conscience toward what is right and objective in the polity. it is doubtful whether nigeria can overcome its impoverished state if its leaders lack the morality and sanity to drive the nation's steering toward emancipation. it is against this background this study reflects on the issue of governance and leadership, its effect on society, and possible solutions to the effect of bad governance and leadership. conceptual clarification of terms leadership: the word leadership has been defined in many ways by different scholars, and as a result, it has become almost an impossibility to come up with a single definition. ward ((2009) has defined leadership as “the art of motivating a group of people to act towards achieving a common goal” and not a selfish objective. as northouse (2007) has aptly noted, leadership “is a process of getting things done through people”; it “means responsibility” and having "passion for the purpose and the mission of the organization” or society one leads. governance: governance was created out of the word govern, which means; to rule a country, control or direct the public affair of a city, control, influence something or somebody, and determine something. governance is the act or manner of governing (ogbeidi, 2017). the united nations (2007) defined governance as the way society sets and manages the rules that guide policymaking and policy implementation. the world bank group (2011) defined governance as the way power is exercised through a country’s economic, political, and governance and leadership in africa: lesson, impacts and critical paradigms. 76 social institutions. it is the political leadership of a country that exercises power. kaufmann, kraay and mastruzzi (2006) perhaps offer a comprehensive definition of governance. according to them, governance is the traditions and institutions by which authority in a country is exercised, which include the process by which governments are selected, monitored and replaced; the capacity of the government to effectively formulate and implement sound policies; and the respect of citizens and the state for the institutions that govern economic and social interactions among them. kaufmann & mastruzzi (2006) further espouse six indicators of governance, including accountability, the political effectiveness of public service provision and the quality of the bureaucracy, quality or soundness of policies pursued by the government, the rule of law, while the sixth indicator is control of corruption. lesson: all nations english dictionary (1992) defined a lesson as a unit of instruction given to students on a particular topic or subject. it usually involves the teacher presenting information, facilitating learning activities, and assessing students' understanding of the material. it can also refer to a difficult or unpleasant experience that provides a valuable learning opportunity. overall, the word lesson refers to an experience or period of instruction that provides knowledge, skills, or insights that can be applied in various contexts. impacts: according to uk research and innovation (2019), the word "impact" can have different meanings depending on the context, but concerning a particular subject or topic, it generally refers to the effect, influence, or consequence that it has on something or someone. in both cases, the term "impact" refers to the significant effect or consequence that the subject or topic is having on the specific area or aspect being considered. critical paradigms: critical paradigms refer to theoretical frameworks that challenge dominant power structures and social norms and seek to promote social justice, equity, and inclusivity (delgado and stefancic2017). critical paradigms seek to confront the governing norms and structures that perpetuate social injustices and inequalities and promote alternative ways of thinking and organizing society. william mangut matabof theories of governance and leadership there are many different theories of governance and leadership, each with its unique perspective on how best to manage organizations, communities, and societies. the researcher used two theories below to achieve the goal of this paper. transformational leadership theory: this theory was developed in the 1970s and 1980s by researchers like james macgregor burns and bernard bass, who argued that effective leaders inspire and motivate their followers to achieve common goals. transformational leadership has been applied in a wide range of settings, including business, education, healthcare, and government. while it is not a new concept, it has gained renewed attention in recent years as organizations have become more focused on employee engagement and retention. transformational leadership is a powerful approach that can create positive change in organizations and communities by inspiring and motivating followers to work towards a shared vision or purpose. servant leadership theory: this theory was developed in the 1970s by robert greenleaf, who argued that effective leaders prioritize the needs of their followers over their interests and focus on empowering others to achieve their goals (greenleaf, 1970). according to greenleaf, the servant-leader is a person who has a natural desire to serve others and put their needs ahead of their own. servant leaders focus on the personal growth and development of their followers and strive to create a sense of community and collaboration within their organizations. overview of governance and leadership in nigeria in africa, in general, leadership and governance have been identified as major problems militating against growth and development in all sectors of the economy, and the grassroots levels are not being exempted. the need for leadership in any nation or state is essential. this is because nations or states exist with stated ideologies, and leaders are 'machinery' for achieving such stated ideologies. organizational goals will remain unrealistic without a 'designated individual' known as a leader. as a result, leaders are 'central instruments' to any organization. the success or failure of an organization lies in the hand of a leader (agere, 2019). one of the major challenges facing nigeria is how to create a context of stable political and socio-economic environment for policies and governance and leadership in africa: lesson, impacts and critical paradigms. 78 programmes to be implemented. the issue of getting the right leadership to fight corruption and propel good governance has been a recurring decimal in nigeria and africa in general. once this enabling environment is created, it becomes easy for the people to confront and resolve challenges facing them by using resources within their environment to create a condition of life where each stage is progressively better than the preceding one. however, this is not the case in nigeria due to corruption and bad governance. good governance encapsulates transparency, accountability, freedom of choice and liberty for the people to pursue their individual and corporate interests. indeed, at the core of africa's underdeveloped status are corruption and leadership deficit. leadership and good governance are crucial to realizing any giant stride taken in pursuit of development anywhere in the world; nigeria is no exception. the reverberation effects of the failure of leadership, corruption and bad governance are visible and being felt down to the grassroots levels of nigerian society. unemployment and employment for cash, insecurity, crude oil thefts, the crisis in education, dearth of infrastructures such as health services, transportation, accommodation, communication, medication, etc, are all common features in nigeria. it is an irony that of all oil-producing nations, nigeria is the only country with a history of crude oil thefts. the root cause of inequality, poverty and underdevelopment in nigeria is attributed to bad leadership. there is nothing wrong with the nigerian character. there is nothing wrong with nigerian land, climate, water, air, or anything else. the nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to their responsibility to the challenge of personal example, which is the hallmark of true leadership. developmental research indicates that nigeria is fraught with poor leadership, bad governance, corruption, and weak bureaucratic institutions. it is an axiom that since the attainment of political independence, nigeria has never been governed by selfless, truly transformational, and intellectually endowed leaders. sadly, the country has not been able to enjoy the services of good, visionary, and selfless leaders since the time of independence. going by all the development parameters and performance indices, nigerian leaders have failed economically, with low growth, massive unemployment, and rising inequality between the rich and the poor. william mangut matabof nigeria's per capita gdp is nothing to reckon with, poverty is widespread, and about 54 per cent of the population is living on less than one us dollar per day. nigerian governance and leadership, lesson, impacts and critical paradigms governance and leadership in nigeria have experienced significant challenges, lessons, impacts, and critical paradigms, leading to the emergence of critical paradigms. this article explores these aspects in the nigerian context. lessons learned in the nigerian context, there are several important lessons learned from governance and leadership: corruption and mismanagement: corruption has been a longstanding challenge in nigeria, affecting governance and leadership. rampant corruption and mismanagement of resources have had detrimental effects on nigeria's development. the diversion of public funds meant for essential services, such as healthcare and education, has resulted in poor infrastructure, limited access to basic amenities, and low quality of life for many nigerians. transparency and accountability: this is closely linked to corruption. governance at national, state, and local levels is neither accountable nor transparent, while due process is boycotted. the various public sectors are shrouded in weak structures and poverty while lots of money are allotted to them in the budget. this is an offshoot of non-transparent governance by those in authority (julius-adeoye, 2011). lack of transparency and accountability has been a major challenge in nigeria, leading to corruption and mismanagement of public resources. the rule of law: the leaders in nigeria do not show respect for the rule of law, especially judicial decisions. this lends its bearing to the fact that the judiciary, which is an arm that upholds the rule of law, is held by the jugular political actors. nwekeaku (2014) averred that nigeria's constitution provides for the fundamental rights of the citizens and roles for every level of government. thus it is not the lack of good laws that trouble nigeria but the lack of good governance that seeks to twist these laws to their curves. weak institutions and a lack of adherence to the rule of law have undermined governance and leadership in nigeria. governance and leadership in africa: lesson, impacts and critical paradigms. 80 ineffective economic policies: poor economic policies, including excessive reliance on oil revenues and inadequate diversification of the economy, have left nigeria vulnerable to external shocks and economic instability. this has resulted in high levels of poverty, unemployment, and inequality. inadequate security: nigeria has faced significant security challenges, including insurgency, terrorism, and communal conflicts. weak security institutions and inadequate responses to these threats have resulted in the loss of lives, displacement of communities, and disruption of economic activities. neglect of rural areas: rural areas in nigeria have often been neglected in terms of development and access to basic services. this has contributed to rural-urban disparities, poverty, and limited opportunities for rural dwellers. lack of youth empowerment: nigeria's large youth population has not been adequately empowered or provided with opportunities for education, skill development, and employment. this has resulted in high levels of youth unemployment, social unrest, and youth involvement in criminal activities (the world bank, 2018). electoral malpractices challenges: this problem has become a popular phenomenon in nigerian politics. an average nigerian believes that elections cannot be won except if it is rigged. the state of our electoral system has indeed gotten worse to this extent. election fraud has been a problem ever since the country's independence, and it still exists today in a modernized form. election rigging was allegedly committed by the leadership of several political parties during the first republic, as an example of how our leaders are the architects of electoral fraud. the same happened in the second republic. similarly, the fourth republic was not any different (toyin and adetoye 2014). it is doubtful that good governance can be established by the same group of people who are so desperate to gain power at any cost if, by now, our leaders and politicians are not prepared to face free and fair elections. impacts made nigeria's socio-economic and political landscape have both been positively and negatively impacted by the country's governance and leadership. here are some key impacts: william mangut matabof political stability and security: effective governance and leadership are crucial for ensuring political stability and maintaining security in nigeria. weak governance and poor leadership have often led to political instability, inter-ethnic conflicts, and insurgency issues like boko haram. on the other hand, strong governance and capable leadership contribute to maintaining law and order, fostering peace, and ensuring the safety of citizens (kenny, 2019). economic development: good governance and effective leadership are essential for promoting economic development in nigeria. sound policies, transparent institutions, and competent leadership are crucial for attracting investments, stimulating economic growth, and reducing poverty. conversely, weak governance and corrupt leadership hinder economic progress, discourage investments, and perpetuate poverty (world bank, 2020). corruption and transparency: governance and leadership play a critical role in addressing corruption and promoting transparency. corruption erodes public trust, diverts resources away from public services, and undermines development efforts. transparent governance structures, strong anti-corruption measures, and accountable leadership are key in combating corruption and ensuring responsible resource management (transparency international, 2021). social services and human development: effective governance and leadership are instrumental in delivering essential social services and promoting human development in nigeria. good governance facilitates the provision of quality education, healthcare, infrastructure, and other public services. moreover, strong leadership is required to prioritize and allocate resources effectively, ensuring the welfare and well-being of the population (united nations, 2015). democratic consolidation: governance and leadership are pivotal in consolidating democracy in nigeria. promoting democratic values, protecting human rights, ensuring free and fair elections, and fostering inclusive participation are vital for democratic governance. competent leadership committed to democratic principles strengthens institutions, enhances political participation, and deepens democracy (mo ibrahim foundation, 2020). critical paradigms governance and leadership in africa: lesson, impacts and critical paradigms. 82 despite the progress made, there are still critical paradigms that need to be addressed in nigeria's governance and leadership. several critical paradigms have emerged from nigeria's governance and leadership experiences. one paradigm is the shift towards inclusive governance, recognizing the importance of diverse voices and the participation of marginalized groups in decision-making processes. another paradigm is the emphasis on ethical leadership, promoting integrity, honesty, and the avoidance of corruption. additionally, the paradigm of institutional strengthening has gained prominence, focusing on building robust institutions that can effectively deliver public services and enforce accountability. conclusion in conclusion, good governance and effective leadership are critical for the development of nigeria. the lessons learned from past experiences, the impacts made, and the critical paradigms that need to be addressed provide a roadmap for nigerian leaders to build a strong and prosperous nation. by promoting strong institutions, inclusive and participatory governance, regional integration, and sustainable development, nigeria can achieve its full potential. good governance is a prerequisite for successful development, which every country craves. works cited agere, s. a. (2019). political leadership and the challenges of sustainable development in nigeria. african journal of political science and international relations, 13(4), 97-106 all nations english dictionary, lanka: new life literature, 1992. analysis of survey results. final report. nigeria. retrieved from http://www.docstoc.com delgado, r & stefancic, j. (2017). critical race theory: nyu press. greenleaf, r. k. (1970). the servant as leader. retrieved from https://www.greenleaf.org/what-is-servant-leadership/ j. m. (1978). leadership. new york: harper & row. julius-adeoye r. j. (2011). nigerian economy, social unrest and the nation’s popular drama. afro asian journal of social sciences volume 2, no. 2.3 quarter iii. kanu, i. a. (2023). “igwebuike socio-political philosophy: towards an indigenous political system”. aku: an african journal of contemporary research. vol. 4. no. 2. pp. 1-17. kaufmann, daniel and mastruzzi massimo (2006) governance matters v: retrieved from http://.htm governance matters. https://www.greenleaf.org/what-is-servant-leadership/ william mangut matabof mohamed, ahmed all (2012 ). leadership and good governance in garowe puntland somalia, a dissertation submitted to the college of applied economics and management of sciences in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the award of bachelor in development studies of kampala international university. muhammad, a.k. (2013). the challenges of democratic consolidation in nigeria's fourth republic. european scientific journal. nchekwube o. excellence-oluye, and samuel o. oni. (2012) leadership and good governance: the nigerian experience by department of political science and international relations covenant university, ota. nnablife, n. k. e. (2010) “defining and enforcing ethical leadership in nigeria.” african journal of economic and management studies. vol. 1. no.1. northouse, g. (2007). leadership theory and practice (3rd ed.). thousand oak, ca: sage. nwapi , raymond o. (2016 ) .leadership and good governance for sustainable national development in nigeria, department of political science abia state university, uturu, abia state, south east journal of political science vol.2 no.2, nwekeaku, c. (2014) “the rule of law, democracy and good governance in nigeria.” global journal of political science and administration vol.2, no.1 obayelu, a.e. (2007). effects of corruption and economic reforms in economic growth and development. lesson from nigeria. nigeria journal of social sciences 2(4); 233-241. ogbeidi, m. (2017). governance and leadership in nigeria: reflections on the crisis of underdevelopment. international journal of public administration and management research. the world bank. (2018). nigeria economic recovery and growth plan: 2017-2020. retrieved from https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/docu ments-reports/documentdetail/529761518770392867/nigeriaeconomic-recovery-and-growth-plan-2017-2020 toyin, abe & dele adetoye (214). governance and leadership in nigeria, vol.4, department of political science, ekiti state university ado-ekiti, uk research and innovation. (2019). "what is impact?" retrieved from https://www.ukri.org/research/impact/what-isimpact/ https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/529761518770392867/nigeria-economic-recovery-and-growth-plan-2017-2020 https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/529761518770392867/nigeria-economic-recovery-and-growth-plan-2017-2020 https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/529761518770392867/nigeria-economic-recovery-and-growth-plan-2017-2020 https://www.ukri.org/research/impact/what-is-impact/ https://www.ukri.org/research/impact/what-is-impact/ governance and leadership in africa: lesson, impacts and critical paradigms. 84 united nations (2007). public governance indicators: a literature review. retrieved fromhttp://unpan1.un.org ward, s. (2009). leadership. canada. retrieved from http://sbinfocanada.about.com/od/leadership/g/ leadership.htm world bank group (2002). nigeria governance and corruption diagnostic study. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.3. no.2 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 46 what is new in “new” religious movements in africa? an analytical approach nmah, patrick enoch department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe university, awka-nigeria e-mail: patricknmah@yahoo.com abstract this paper considered, “what is new in the new religious movements in africa? an analytical approach”. since, however, this title is a bit too vast and ambitious for the limited scope and time of the discourse, the paper, therefore, appraised the salient issues involved in the “newness” in african initiated churches (aics). the issues included africans’ quest for spiritual power, cultural identity, ethnic identity, health, and for economic emancipation system for their own personal and practical purposes of healing or security. the purpose of the study is to examine what is “new” in the new religious movements. the findings showed that the religion is a religion of the oppressed in cultural, social, religious and political spheres. the methods of approach include historical and phenomenological methods. keywords: new, newness, occultism, syncretism, pagan tendencies, and neoprimal movements 1. introduction missions were often guilty of a “failure to love.” they did not listen to africans. therefore they often failed to relate the good news to african issues such as witchcraft, spirits, ancestors, land and community. they also failed to bring the holistic deliverance from evil which africans longed for. the missionaries did not realize that the bible they had brought would judge their culture just as it judged african culture… they competed with one another, and thus threatened african tribal life with conflict and instability (bowen, 1996). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 47 the “new religious movements” here refers to a new development arising in the course of the interaction of a tribal or primal society and its religion with one of the more powerful and sophisticated cultures and its major religion, involving some substantial departure from the classical religious traditions of both the cultures concerned, in order to find renewal by reworking the contributing traditions into a different religious system (turner, 1978). the above comment may not be limited to african continent as well as nigeria per se but may likely be useful to other cultural-geographical areas of the world where substantially similar phenomena may be found. but political scientists will have to examine ‘protest’ or ‘proto-nationalist’ movements among the ‘oppressed’ people have the same connotation with the definition of new religious movements, even the social anthropologists may study their “acculturative,” “nativistic’, “revitalization”, transformative” among other movements if they used each of these terms in a strict sense. however, these two languages do not embrace exactly the same phenpomena. each vocabulary embraces all the phenomena of interest to its fellow disciplines. they seek spiritual power in a new religious system for their own very personal and practical purposes of healing or security. these new religious movements may be regarded as “the religions of the oppressed.” consequently, the statement of the problem shows the religious independency and the rise of nationalism, the desacralization of politics, the pneumatological emphasis and the demand for visible manifestations of the power of the spirits among others. the research work deals with the “newness” in the new religious movements and the plurality of disciplines and classification systems. this includes neoprimal movements, syncretist movements, hebraist movements among others. it x-rays also “newness” in the socio-cultural aspect of the new religious movements; and the future problems and prospects. the future problems and prospects in the ‘newness” of the religious movements coupled with the conclusion end the study which establishes the “what is new in the new religious movements: an analytical approach within african context.” the methods of approach include historical and phenomenological methods. in this course of this research work, nigeria and africa will be used interchangeably. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 48 2. conceptual framework in customary parlance, the term “new religious movements” has four related meanings: (1) independence; (2) a territory not under the control of any other power; (3) in ecclesiastical usage, the principles that individual congregation or church is an autonomous and equalitarian society free from any external ecclesiastical control; and (4) the polity based on this principle (barrett, 1970). the definition which suggests new religious movements as an individual congregation or church as an autonomous and equalitarian society free from any external ecclesiastical control shall form my operational definition. the term “new” or “newness” is used to describe these movements because, in historical terms of religious form and content, they are newer than either african traditional religions, christianity or islam with which they are in constant contact. and again, it is because of the relative “newness” of some of their doctrines and ideologies (barrett, 1970, and nmah, 2008). broadly speaking, there are two kinds of christian new religious movements in contemporary africa. first are those which have, for various reasons, tergiversated from the historic missionary-founded churches. often called “schismatic” or “separatist” movements, these category generally continues to reflect some of the ideologies of their mother churches, despite intensive internal changes, adaptations, inculturation, incarnation, and particular emphases. second are those new religious movements that have been founded by charismatic african independent of any mother church. these are commonly referred to, often pejoratively, as “spiritual” or “spiritualist” (sometimes “spiritist”) movements or churches because of their emphasis on pneumatology and practice of glossolalia and spiritual healing (mbon, 1999). causal factors for the emergence of african new religious movements include the quest for personal identity, religious identity, ethnic identity, cultural identity, and academic identity. other factors include economic factor, political factor, social factor, false prophecy, doctrinal factor, ecclesiastical maladministration among others (nmah, 2008; ndiokwere, 1995; and barrett, 1970). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 49 3. research objectives the objectives of the study include: • to investigate the causes of the new religious movements. • to examine the bases of the “newness” in the new religious movements. • to create the awareness to the mainstream (missionary) churches on some of the issues involved in the aics. • to investigate also the implications of the new religious movements to africans especially the mission churches. • to investigate the factors (features) that made the “newness” attractive to many africans especially african christians. 4. significance of the study the significance of this study basically stems from the fact that it addresses the issues that threatened the existence of the mainstream (missionary) churches in africa, and offers a valid and insightful resource material those future religious, sociological, and anthropological scholars especially church historiographers can consult to gain useful information on the “newness” in the new religious movements. 5. literature review and hypotheses 5.1 the “newness” in the new religious movements it will be difficult to use general terms that have been used of african movements or for such phenomena across the whole world. anthropologists speak of “adjustment movements” but h.w. turner stated that it is unlike “new” (turner, 1978, p.17). as to “newness” in the other sense of religious form and content, harold w. turner referred to the fact that these movements cannot be seen merely as developments within either of the two contributing religious traditions involved. according to him, there are usually some radical differences at certain points from the traditional primal religion of the area. and again there are differences from the religion of the dominant society, be it islam or christianity. the differences are such that these movements are usually disowned by those who adhere either to the continuing african systems, or to the invasive islamic or igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 50 christian systems. the vast majority of the said new movements have undoubtedly emerged from the christian interaction. nigerian pentecostalism, for example, does not usually share in certain features commonly found in the west; its policy may take any form and is not necessarily of the congregationalist type, there is little real interest in millennial adventism, or in stress upon personal holiness. it does stress believers’ baptism by immersion, the importance of prayer, and above all the presence and power of the holy spirit made evident in charismatic gifts and visible signs and results.(turner, 1979, and 1967). these spiritual gifts are often regarded as due to the “second baptism of the spirit” and include faith healing, prophecy (dreams, visions, predictions), and ecstatic motor phenomena (trances, speaking in tongues and various forms of possession by the spirit) (turner, 1979 p.122). this pheumatological emphasis and the demand for visible manifestations of the power of the spirit clearly identify its central features with those of western pentecostalism. there are also the role of music and dance, prophecy and divination (ndiokwere, 1995). citing martin west, ndiokwere described similar zion church of soweto phenomenon as “baptism of the spirit” (p.85). according to turner(turner, 1978), the first movement with these emphasis arose among the ijaw people in the niger delta area of nigeria late in 1915 through the activities of garrick braid, who was already known for his spiritual power in prayer and healing as a member of the anglican and all-african niger delta pastorate church. but the actual beginning of the movement is obscure. braid’s method of healing seems to have been through faith consequent upon his prayers and imposition of hands, and such was his reputation as a man of spiritual power that many sought healing through drinking or anointing themselves with the water in which he had washed. for harold w. turner, garrick braid’s prophecies included reference to the british colonial power, the avoidance of imported european articles and government medical services, and to a better future for the africans; these activities were regarded as seditious and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 51 a variety of charges brought against him by the government which led to his imprisonment. other similar newness features emerged among the ibibio and efik areas where the united free church of scotland, the primitive methodist church from england and the qua iboe mission, and undenominational group from northern ireland are also the sense of public confessing one’s sins, making restitution, affecting reconciliations, abandoning native magical practices and tobacco and alcohol, and displaying many of the ecstatic phenomena associated with a pentecostal revival viz. tongues, shaking, removal of shoes, dancing, visions, and emotional displays of joy. they are often referred to collectively as “aladura” (that is, praying) churches. the “newness” feature involves also their rejection of “infant baptism” and baptism by sprinkling of water but baptism by immersion. they also reject western medicine and its insistence on ecstatic forms of worship that lead to its separation. the ecstatic state was thus regarded as a way of ascending to a higher form of living or at least a way which rendered possible the receiving of supernormal endowments. from a psychological point of view, ecstasy is described as: a withdrawal of consciousness from circumference to centre; a state in which the absorption of the mind in one idea, in one desire, is so profound that everything else is blotted out, a state in which consciousness of self disappears. such a condition, it is said, could be brought about by preparation and could as well be induced by the use of narcotics, alcohol, music and dancing. it could also come by contemplating and complete spiritual concentration as well as by prayer (ndiokwere, 1995, p.163). ecstasy is classified as being of two kinds namely the will or fervid, and the more sober or contemplative types. the latter is described as a rapture of soul in a state of complete calmness, enabling a person to rise beyond the confines of consciousness. moses orimolade tunolase and christiana abiodun akinsowo in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 52 1925 developed such group into the cherubim and seraphim society which has since proliferated into more major and other minor sections. the largest production of the aladura movement is the christ apostolic church. (turner, 1967 and 1979). joseph babalola, an anglican public works employee, received a call in 1928 and as an itinerant preacher proclaimed judgment and repentance, destruction of idols, and healing through prayer. late 1929, he joined faith tabernacle, baptized by immersion and in july 1930 he became the centre of mass healings. his type of pentecostal revival stretched from abeokuta almost to the niger river and which later was identified with the oshitelu’s movement. rejection of traditional medicines, magic and idols was widespread and the new spiritual healing was the central feature. the new churches met increasing opposition, and once again looked for help form a western pentecostal church (barker, 1982). it is all the more remarkable that the spirit-empowered prophet-leader has in many cases led large numbers of nominal christians and some others to make a sharp break from magical practices or reliance upon the ancestral and other spirits, in order to trust completely the one god of the scriptures and his holy spirit. the newness may also include the forbidding of certain food such as snails, mushrooms, pigs, taming of dogs coupled with non-purchasing of electronics. we may further ask, “what is new” in this new religious movements? additional features may be studied such as: 5.1.1 pagan tendencies as we observed earlier, these religious movements have adopted adult baptism by immersion. the adult baptism is used as a rite of admission into a particular independent group, rather than as the sign and means of incorporation into the one people of god under the one christ as head. therefore those transfer from one independent group to another are being rebaptised in order to become members. some of them seek spirit-revelations for the pagan purpose of divination, for information extracted from the spirit-world to serve our human purposes. consultation of prophets has degenerated to the level of future-telling often semi-commercialized and quite divorced from a pastoral context within which it could be redeemed(turner, 1979). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 53 5.1.2 occultism a hierarchy of named angels is approached for help through prayers and the use of candles, much as candles might be lit for the saints who are involved in some forms of latin christianity. at times the names of the angels and their associated signs are drawn from imported occult literature, such as the sixth and seventh books of moses, and an elaborate ritual from similar sources is employed. there are other pagan traits such as routine of prayers, fastings, taboos, rituals connected with thanksgiving after childbirth, recital of specific psalms for particular needs, water purification rites among others. in the contemporary society, the great majority of them make no use of magicopagan treatments. in place of these there is the innocuous use of holy water, oil or sand as a physical agent for the divine healing power, together with fasting as a spiritual discipline, and all set in a context of prayer. there is the tendency that there may be the danger that the holy water, sand, oil etc., can become a new magical power acting apart from god, and that the sacramental use of wine and bread in the lord’s supper and of water in christian baptism will be replaced by a different sacramental use of water and these other elements in new rites of african divisive. 5.1.3 patterns of ministry and structure within independent churches in post colonial africa more often than not, some of the new religious movements are associated with tribe, national or international. but leadership is based on charismatic form. on leadership training and education, they sometimes used the facilities of the older churches for ministerial training and at times its leaders are only self-trained. again, the new religious movements find its difficult to apply the four classic notes of the church as one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. the issue of monogamy versus polygamy also poses questions to western christian ethics, but form part of african christian ethics. there are new holy cities, sacred mountains, local sanctuaries, and tombs of the saints; new langues des dieux-holy words, revealed languages, and even revealed scripts; new festivals with rituals and symbols drawn from colours or from water or other elements. the indigenous churches now have so much life and spiritual power that much of the continuing evangelism of the african continent nigeria inclusive is in their hands. professor ali mazrui says in africa, “christianity has to adapt-or perish” (bowen, 1996). the indigenous churches igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 54 face also the challenged of adapting. they need to adapt to city life and to modern culture in order to survive. the newer african pentecostal churches have been able to do this, but they still continue to pray for power over spirits, sickness, unemployment, corruption, failures, family breakdown, kidnapping, terrorism, religious extremism and the like. “new religious movements” as used by turner is a general term for the phenomena in africa embraced by a bewildering variety, aladuras, separatist sects, post-christian movements, millennialisms and messianisms, protonationalist and protest movements, independent, pentecostal or spiritual churches, as well as the great range of special terms or taxonomies coined by anthropologists since linton’s “nativistic” religions of the 1940s (turner, 1978, p.13). in the next heading, we shall be considering the pluralistic structure of the “newness” in the new religious movements. 6. plurality of disciplines and classification systems 6.1 neo-primal movements these new forms of movements are of traditional or primal african religions, distinct from further developments within the old system and often strongly opposed to it, yet at the same time attempting to revitalize or remodel traditional forms; this is done under the challenged of the western-christian encounter and with certain forms or ideas borrowed from this new influence in order to deal with the inadequacies of the old system. movements of this type (typology) includes the reformed ogboni fraternity (1914), the aruosa national religion of benin (1945), and the national church of nigeria (1948). others include bullamatare (1570s) in congo, the yakan water cult in uganda (1880s), the kenyan cult of mumbo (1908) and the cult of ancestors (1930s) and so on. the aruosa and the national church of nigeria united to form the godianism (the god of africa) in 1964. these movements are usually anti-christian (fasholeluke, 1978). 6.2 syncretist movements these movements refer to the movements that are consciously and intentionally syncretist in the sense that they create a new system by borrowing both from the african primal and from the invasive traditions. the movements intend to be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 55 neither traditional nor christian. such movements include the bwiti cult among the fang of gabon (1890s), the africanized form of the watchtower movement in central africa (1907), the deima church of the ivory coast since 1922, the hereto church in namibia (1955) and the catholic-background church of the sacred heart in zambia (1956) (turner, 1978). 6.3 hebraist movements these movements strongly repudiated traditional practices especially the use of magic and rejected also the new testament and the distinctive christology of the christian position, but adopted the biblical tradition in its old testament form. they intend to identify with the ancient israel and to regard themselves as african jews, following jewish ways of worship and styles of life. according to turner (1978), the three main examples are enoch mgijima’s israelites in south africa (1912), the bayudaya (the jews of uganda (1923) and have developed contacts with modern world jewry, and the god’s kingdom society formed in nigeria (1934) by a former member of a western hebraist type of movement, jehovah’s witnesses. 6.4 african prophet movements apart from movements towards political independence over the whole africa, another continent-wide development is the prophet movements, separatist sects, or independent indigenous churches (turner, 1979). these movements for cultural integrity and spiritual autonomy have for the most part preceded those aiming at political independence, and their influence may prove to be more profound and to continue long after the political movements have reached their consummation. there are other countless ones in addition to those mentioned above. they presuppose a prior and established “classical” tradition against which certain movements may be described as “new”. that is to say that it is, “a historically new religious phenomenon arising in the encounter of a primal society and its religion with one or more of the higher cultures and their major religions, and involving some substantial departure from the classical religious traditions of all the cultures concerned, in order to find renewal through a different religious system” (turner, 1979, p.15). 7. the impact of new religious movements in the modernization of africa igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 56 their patriotic and religious campaigns, well commented in the literature, resemble those of the ancient nabism in israel. in the african context, the ethiopian prophet-leaders and other messianic figures who assume the different functions of moses are no doubt champions for liberty for the oppressed africans. an example is the ngunzists of the early phase of the kimbanguist movement known for their holy-war-mongering. (ndiokwere,1995). the national church of nigeria and other similar churches started the nationalism in the churches. they have their leaders mainly black and also propagate black philosophy of concept. the history of spirited reaction of nigerians and african peoples in general against the invading white rulers reaches back to the xhosa of south africa, who at various times between 1815 and 1857 sought deliverance from the foreigners by a holy war under a divinely raised leader who was influenced by christian ideas and sometimes promised his people a glorious future (turner, 1979) and barker, 1982). other equivalent revolts against eropean rulers or colonial powers include that of witbooi and sturmann in south west africa, enoch ngijima in south africa after the first world war, prophet simon kimbangu of congo in 1921 among others. there are some that are less violent or more concealed forms of national feeling such as james limba’s church of christ (1910) in south africa which stresses african deliverance from white domination. harold w. turner observed that the divisive influence of tribalism within the new national political units has been painfully in evidence since the achievement of independence, and threatens the existence of nigeria, the largest nation in africa. some of these movements are remarkable for their ethnic and linguistic variety, and their geographical spread beyond the limits of both tribe and nation, without losing their local basis. some of the religious groups notable for this purpose include the church of the lord (aladura) which spreads from nigeria through many of the peoples of ghana, liberia, benin, ivory coast and thus cutting across many linguistic and political barriers. others comprise kivuli, founder of the african israel church in kenya that encouraged intermarriage between luo and ragolu, and also used their languages in services. at times these new religious movements could be regarded as a form of proto-nationalism (hayward, 1963). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 57 in most traditional societies of africa the tribe itself and its rulers and institutions were set within a sacred cosmic order. again, the patterns and the sanctions for political organization were often derived from a religious cosmology and the mythology that expressed and supported it, and the political leader or head was the channel through which ultimate or cosmic forces operated for the welfare of the society. sacred kingship has been widespread, and sharp separation between religious and political institutions and activities has been rare. this is described as autocratic system of governance. however, african new religious movements have not provided new national or state religions, but claimed that the new political parties and leaders themselves serve a pseudo-religious purpose, especially where authoritarian politics tends to pervade the whole of life and the founders of independence are given a messianic status. people like nkrumah, azikiwe, banda, kenyatta, houphouetbiogny, lumumba, and also the older leader, tubman in liberia, have been given messianic and sometimes divine status. the “new churches do provide a ready-made framework within which a leader can fulfill some of the particularistic relationships traditionally expected of people in authority, and in most cases with the aid of christian ritual and symbols, increasingly eliciting more universalistic and functionally specific relationships in those areas where social, economic and political patterns have been most modified and broadened by european contact (davids, 1976). 8. the future problems and prospects to ndiokwere (1995), prayer houses are a challenge to all of us. it is not good criticizing or condemning them. we must provide healthy alternative ones for our people. the old preoccupation with trying to “win over” and ‘keep people’ in our church by mere appeals to cold intellectual arguments on the true church vis-à-vis the false churches are not of much lasting value to a people for whom religion is primarily emotional and utilitarian (p.274). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 58 hitherto, the problems are whether these new religious movement will hold and consolidate such transcendence of tribalism as they have achieved, against its recrudescence as in nigeria, remains to be seen. again, as the sights are raised and the full benefits of the modern world come into view more clearly there may come a greater interest in politics, and a disillusionment with the situation after independence. this is coupled with the quality of education offered, the lack of qualitative medical care, the extent of corruption, and social diseases such as unemployment, prostitution, and increasing crimes (turner, 1979). on whether the disillusionment will produce reactions or revolts asking to those prompted by the miseries of colonialism, or a more extreme escapism into “spiritual” religion, m.m. thomas posited; “the future of the struggle for a modern ethos in non western lands lies ultimately with the indigenous movements which are seeking to transform traditional cultures from within. on the prospects of these new religious movements, there is the likelihood that they will last. this is for the fact that they offer to nigerians and africans even beyond the continent their needs in spiritual, political, cultural and economic perspectives. in rural and urban areas, they created prayer houses to meet the demands of their clients for prosperity, health and success in their endeavours. they speak to africans in the accent they will understand. according to bolaji idowu, while accepting christianity, nigerians do not need to throw away that which is good and valuable in their own culture. and so, for the gospel to have impact on the lives of nigerians, it must take cognizance of the cultural background of the society and preach in clear accents rather than commending her saviour to nigeria in strange tongues. the rationalists, especially the african church leaders, created african theology that has cultural nationalist dimension. that is to say that africans who are christians can now interpret the gospel within the context of their culture such as in music, art and dance. idowu in consonance with this agrees that christ will be real to nigerians when the church in the country develops a distinctive theology in consequence of their own personal knowledge of god and a personal appropriation of the leadership of christ (idowu, 1965).the first african voices against the denationalizing methods of christian missions in west africa were those of james johnson and blyden (ayandele, 1966). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 59 in assessing some of the new religious movements such as cherubim and seraphim, church of the lord aladura, christ apostolic church, deeper life bible church of nigeria, grace of god mission and so on, we have the following characteristics similar in these churches. to an extent, they are not very democratic in their governance. the founder is the sole authority that employs and fires at will without challenge. most of these churches appeal to women more because they give greater attention to the barren and spinsters’ problems that are regarded as some of the curses or reproaches in africa. second, since women in african societies are generally regarded as inferior and less important than men, their status in these churches is upgraded even in leadership. hence, they feel at home in these churches. the new religious movements interpret the bible literarily for they think of religion mostly in terms of feeling. this is to mention but few. in situations where many africans had been regarded or had regarded themselves as “nobodies” before joining a new religious movement, or where personal recognition and movement into the higher echelons of authority had been slow or even impossible elsewhere, say in the mainstream (missionary) churches, upon joining the new religious movements, these africans now claim to have achieved personal social recognition for the first time in their lives. their individual gifts and talents are now recognized and used for their personal benefits and the benefits of others. during the research work, these neophytes (converted members) testified that they now know who they are and “the lord’s will” for their lives. they now claim to “see” whereas before they were “blind”. thus many africans sooner or later come to discover that in order for them to become “somebodies” it is first necessary for them to belong to these religious movements, because belonging, they say, makes it possible for them to define who they are in a world in which it is so easy to be lost in the callous crowd. 9. ambivalent attitudes in these prophet-healing churches the prophet-healing type of independent body was also more african in its orientation, and therefore less congruent with education which usually meant westernization at the same time. it is dependent on the charismatic leader rather than the trained professional or organization man, and on divine power rather than human wisdom and skill (turner, 1979). it was possible to help their members to adjust and also to abandon many of the old ways even while opposing western influences, while viewing schools as worldly institutions or as works of the devil. the christ apostolic church, the largest independent church igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 60 in nigeria, has its own education system with six grammar schools, and a teacher-training college. it also graduates its own staff. similarly, the highly individualistic holy apostles’ community in its remote lagoon-bound city of aiyetoro in nigeria has its own school system, and has been willing to use the methodist church nigeria to supply the teaching staff that will secure government recognition; at the same time it remains suspicious of higher education that will take its children away from the community, perhaps never to return. 10. methodology this research employed the use of historical and phenomenological approaches to the study. it used also primary and secondary sources to obtain data. the primary source involved oral interviews while secondary source entails books, journals, and internet materials. these furnished the researcher with the basic information that was necessary for the comprehension, understanding, and analysis of the relevant issues discussed in this work. 11. conclusion and recommendations in conclusion, i infer that the “newness” comprises pagan tendencies, occultism, neo-primal movements, syncretist movement, hebraist movement, pentecostal movement, black folk religion, initiation rites, musical tradition, african theology and black theology among others. the “newness” appears to be well nigh universal, rooted in the needs of every community and social groups as the french sociologist emile durkheim noted (shupe, 1981). it is undoubtedly true that new discoveries cause people to change the way in which they understand human life and religious experience. the “newness” in the new religious movements engendered evangelistic awakening and spiritual revival among the pentecostal group members. missionary commitment is also encouraged. it makes the mission churches to wake up from their spiritual slumber. some of the features in the new religious movements previously condemned by the mission churches could now be seen in the mainline churches. sadly, we now have populist preaching so distant from the word of god and the cross that it attracts the crowds as they search for wealth, healing and deliverance without any serious transformation in their lives. having said that, teachings on programmes of the mainstream churches to be intensified and their pastoral activities strengthened. there should be enough evident of practical christianity seen in the lives of the ecclesiastical leaders and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 61 their members. the mainline churches should demonstrate tolerance towards the new religious movements, and they should also be flexible enough to accommodate positive changes from time to time more especially in respect of their doctrines and liturgies, since the church is dynamic. references ayandele, e. a. (1966). the missionary impact on modern nigeria 1842-1914. london: longmans, green and co. barker, e. (ed.) (1982). new religious movements: a perspective for understanding society. new york: the edwin mellen. barrett, d. b. (1970). schism & renewal in africa. nairobi: oxford university press. bowen, r. (1996)…so i send you: a study guide to mission. london: spck. davids, j.o. (1976). christian, politics and violent revolution. london: scm. fashole-luke, e. etal (eds.). (1978). christianity in independent africa. london: rex collings. hayward, v.e. w. (1963). african independent church movements. london: scm. idowu, b. (1965) towards an indigenous church ibadan: oxford university press. ndiokwere, n. i. (1995). prophecy and revolution. london: spck. nmah, p. e. (2008). religion and society in africa. enugu: rabboni. shupe, a.d. jr. (1981). six perspectives on new religions: a case study approach. new jersey: the edwin mellen press. turner, h.w. (1967). the history of an african independent church: the church of the lord (aladura), volume i. oxford: oxford university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 62 turner, h.w. (1967). the history of an african independent church: the church of the lord (aladura), volume ii. oxford: oxford university press. turner, h.w. (1978). “the approach to africa’s religious movement” in religious innovation in modern african society. holland: afrita-studiecentrum. turner, h.w.(ed.). (1979). religious innovation in africa: collected essays on new religious movements. bosten: g.k. and co. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 9 no.3, 2023 www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/igwebuikejournals.php a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 29 the relevance of culture in nation-building basil amarachi okonkwo, phd nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state, nigeria. basilonline @gmail.com doi:10.13140/rg.2.2.30881.58724 abstract in approaching the question of nation-building, proper attention must be paid to democratization, modernization, political stability, peace-building and general development. lt is the building of a common identity. when the issue of national development is raised, the questions to which answers must be provided are: what is happening to poverty? what is happening to unemployment? and what is happening to inequality? with this in mind, this paper attempts to establish that culture which makes for group identity and unity is key to genuine nation-building. it also posits that some cultures could be cultivated in the spirit of acculturation that would be detrimental to the developmental objectives of the nation. keywords: cultural prejudice, nation-building, religious intolerance, tribalism, political marginalization introduction the topic of this paper stands to say that culture promotes nation-building. one cannot talk about nation-building without cultivating a culture of unity, the culture of peace, the culture of understanding; the culture of respect and the culture of equality. in the words of okonkwo (2007: 193), we must admit that despite our democratic experiments so far, we have failed to establish a workable inter-ethnic political instrument, dialogue and communication to ensure harmonious and sustainable nation-building. it is the business of this paper to re-echo the motto of the association for promoting nigerians found in the synergic working of our different but rich cultural heritages. the relevance of culture in nation-building 30 culture linda groff and paul smoker (1996:104), in their book peace and conflict issue, attempted to define culture by stating that there are both narrow and broad definitions of culture. the narrow definition focuses on the arts, including literature, poetry, music, theatre painting, dance, etc. the broader definitions, which are used in anthropology and intercultural communication fields, include all our socially learned behaviour. thus, one anthropological definition of culture is that it is learned, shared, patterned behaviour, as reflected in technology/tools, social organization (including economic, political, social, religious, educational, family and other organizations) and ideas/beliefs". the key point is that culture is not something one is born with but something that is learned after one is born; it is also passed down from one generation to the next. culture is also shared by a group of people together, and all the different aspects of one's culture must somehow fit together into the overall pattern. the oxford advanced learners dictionary defines culture as "the customs and beliefs, art, way of life and social organization of a particular country or group. also, it could be seen as "the beliefs and attitudes about something that people in a particular group or organization share". culture is derived from the german word kulture, which means civilization. according to ugbeyavwighren (2008:73), "culture is concerned with the entire essence of human existence and refers to that intellectual and artistic integrity that has been cultivated and nurtured over time, which the people hold sacrosanct". having seen here both the narrow and the broad meaning of culture, it is also important to attempt a conceptual analysis of the term nation-building. nation-building without going deeper to begin to explicate the meaning of the term nation, and its allied terms, a nation in the contest of this paper represents the development of the structures and institutions of a nation-state or country. nation-building therefore is the collective effort at improving the well-being of the nation-state. nation-building as a concept is multifaceted embracing: independence, economic growth, infrastructural development, technological advancement, respect for fundamental human rights and the general improvement in the living standard of the people. unity is the principal factor in nation-building. to achieve nation-building in nigeria, nigeria needs the unity and goodwill of the different ethnic groups and people. there is still now a dire need for mutual understanding among the various groups and people. basil amarachi okonkwo 31 there is still one soul and one body, so to speak, that we can talk about progress, technological advancement, respect for human rights, political stability and equality. according to okonkwo (2007:193), the honest feeling of many in this country is that we are taught directly or indirectly, consciously or unconsciously, that certain people or groups of people should be avoided based on their religion, ethnic heritage and tradition. okonkwo further maintains that, ndigbo, for example, build houses and provide homes and residences for all nigerians across the country, while we know that we find nothing concrete built by our hausa or yoruba brothers and sisters in owerri, onitsha, aba, enugu, etc., apart from the so-called ama-awusa make-shift (alawa-aghara) structures (okonkwo, 2007: 194). so, for nigeria to sustain her nation-building, we must agree to be one in the real sense, and put aside prejudices and hatred. nigerians should also desist from viewing themselves as separate entities to be able to achieve sustainable development. obstacles to nation-building obstacles are meant to represent those bottlenecks that impede the efforts at improving the lot of a particular country. obstacles are almost inevitable in nation-building, particularly considering the multi-ethnic and general diversity of a country like nigeria. if the people are to address seriously the question of nation-building, those issues that constitute impediment factors, and which help to divide rather than build the country such as ignorance and lack of respect for human rights, religious intolerance, tribalism and political bias, cultural pride that engenders. dual-loyalty, inequality and unemployment, must be seriously addressed. ignorance and religious intolerance ignorance of the tenets of other's religions and lack of respect for such other religions, especially among christians and muslims in nigeria is a big obstacle to nation-building. the adherents of both christianity and islam have filed to acknowledge the true position of each other. okike (2000:106) agrees with this when he writes: ignorance is among the disturbing issues in both the developed and developing world. people sometimes do not want to know beyond what they have or desire. such a mentality creates a blockage to the expansion of knowledge. most christians and muslims worldwide do not want to know a little about each other‖s religion. in nigeria for instance, people from the south-south eastern zone will often hand, that every hausa-fulani person is a muslim; while on the other hand, the northern muslims think that every southerner is a the relevance of culture in nation-building 32 christian. this manifests itself whenever there is religious violence in the north. tribalism tribalism is among the factors that retard nation-building. it is understood that in african traditional set-up, family, clan and tribal or ethnic ties are very strong. this is more the case in nigeria with over 350 ethnic groups. according to okike (2000: 107), "tnbe simply means a family or a race descending from the same progenitor, and is segmented from the rest as was the case of the twelve tribes of israel". a tribe is made up of villages a clans, and people with a common language and culture, who pursue their common interests d 1amily. it 1s a good thing to note that the word "tribalism" arose out of the love for one in the words of okike (2000: 107), tribalism is still wearing its ugly face today and even strong than pre-colonial era. the pre-colonial era saw inter-tribal wars of supremacy, while today in the 21st century; tribalism manifests more wicked actions against humanity. it is not out of place to recall here the crises in nigeria immediately she turned to democratic rule because of this ugly thing called tribalism: the yoruba killing and vandalizing the hausa-fula non-hausa-fulani in the north killing the hausa-fulani; and the igbo destroying life and property of the hausa-fulani in umuahia and aba during the sharia episode that happened in kaduna in february and may in the year 2000. this tribal discrimination has become a big problem in nigeria and as well as being an obstacle to the nation's development. for nigeria to stand as one nation, tribalism must be renounced so that people can see one another as fellow creatures of god, whether hausa, yoruba or 1gbo, etc. on the one hand and as brothers and sisters on the other. okonkwo (1994:122) brings this issue to light when he examines the concepts of nationalism and nationism. he writes that nationalism and nationism are conflicting programmes of most developing countries. these conflicts manifest themselves in the struggle for sociocultural and political integration of the amalgamated ethnic groups. political marginalization many nigerians enter into politics with tribal, religious, cultural and economic prejudices and for their aggrandizement. even political positions have been shared out based on sentiments and prejudices rather than qualification, suitability and merit. these days, in allocating political positions, they only think of political party affiliations and zoning. political bias is indeed one of the evils that hinder the development of this nation. so basil amarachi okonkwo 33 nigerians must say no to political prejudices and bias for the proper development of this nation. cultural pride and prejudice it is understood that cultural differences or discrimination are still very prevalent all over the world. it remains one of the great obstacles that affect our nation. when people feel culture is superior to others, they can't accept so easily those ideas that might come from those who belong to the ―rejected cultures seen as inferior to them. even people discriminate against others based on what they wear and eat, the language they speak and how they go about their whole life. the main concern for this paper here is that people must learn to accept others' cultural personalities and integrity to make nigeria a better home for all and sundry. there must be cultural synergy and integration. poverty the issue of poverty remains one of the greatest concerns of leaders all over the world. poverty represents the greatest challenge to peace, stability and development. there can be nation-building without consideration of how to reduce or eliminate poverty. omenukor (2009:1) defines poverty as "the absence of basic entitlements or requirements for a good living"'. thus, when there is an absence in any nation, of basic needs, that nation will be considered as living in poverty. adding to this, udo, (2009:256) says, now it seems fair to say that poverty in itself, is not desirable, whatever its magnitude might be. as long as it is a condition of want or deprivation, it is human to want to get out of it. it is doubtful if anybody would desire poverty for its own sake, especially where this would touch the necessities of life, such as food, clothing, housing, health, good drinking water, and so on. based on the above citations, poverty is an undesirable condition for individuals, groups or nations. for this reason, individuals, groups, societies and government mu and work their best to get themselves out of poverty. what should be done? according to ong keng yang (2003), culture is our legacy and our future. we draw upon it to shape our identities as individuals, as a nation and as a region. culture defines our heritage ad helps in our personal and national development. drawing from this and taking full cognizance of the latin root cultura, stemming from colere, meaning ‗to cultivate‘, nigeria needs to cultivate a culture that promotes nation-building and development. thus, it is important to more the following points: the relevance of culture in nation-building 34 peace needs to be cultivated because where there is peace, there is progress. peace helps in preserving love, compassion, human dignity and justice. it makes us understand that we are all responsible for the common good, including the wellbeing of future generations. we should endeavour to overcome all forms of discrimination, colonialism and neocolonialism, and exploitation, and to promote institutions based on shared responsibility and participation. also, the rights of minorities must be observed or respected. we should endeavour to respect environmental and social justice. religions are not left out in this regard they must be sources of helpful energy. it is their responsibility to encourage and conduct imbued wisdom compassion, charity, solidarity and love, inspiring everyone to choose the path of freedom and responsibility. conclusion lt is obvious that sometimes, we perpetuate our problems both s individuals and as a government. for the development of this nation, all hands must be on deck for example, the youths must be fully and seriously engaged both for personal development and for the overall development of the country. those who need jobs must have jobs and those without skills or lazy must be made to engage themselves properly. government should be the role model of success and hope for all government should also live above board and have the capacity to generate hope for the people, at least by creating job opportunities, encouraging justice, respect for others, abolishing tribalism adage says that corruptio optimi pessima (the corruption of the best is the worst). thus that shines for all. finally, this paper submits that the task of nation-building is the responsibility of every citizen. references groff, l. and smoker, p. (1996). "creating/local cultures of peace‘. n: from a culture of violence to a culture of peace. paris: unesco publication, 103-128. okike, o., (2000), the practice of shana in nigeria: a democratic secular state. owerri: amamihe publication. okonkwo, j. l (1994), "nationalism and nationism: the sociolinguistic cross-roads of the. nigerian national language policy". in: dirk otten (ed.), aap no 40. koln: institut fur afrikanistik. okonkwo, j. i. (2007), "ubi societas lbi jus: the role conflict of the nigerian it. nation-building" in amamihe: journal of applied philosophy, vol.5, 189-20. omenukor, d. u., (2009), the politics of development economy. (unpublished). ong. k. y. (2003), retrieved from http://www.aseanfoundation.org/documents/brochure/reo-culture.pdf. udo, e (2009), poverty, injustice and social disorder. in: j. o. oguejiofor (ed.), basil amarachi okonkwo 35 philosophy, ideology and civil society. owerri. ugbeyavwighren, m., (2008), "re-packaging our culture and value system: a panacea for autarky development in nigeria". journal of nigerian languages and culture, 10, (2): 71-82. oxford advanced learners dictionary of current english. (6 edition. oxford: oxford university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 9 no.3, 2023 www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/igwebuikejournals.php a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 36 an environmental conservation approach to handling oil and gas in nigeria: an assessment of legal framework nwoko mark anthony adione faculty of law, university of lagos vanjaycraves4christ@yahoo.com doi:10.13140/rg.2.2.30881.58724 abstract the paper reviews environmental conservation approach to handling oil and gas industry in the nigerian sector, assessing its efficiency of legal framework prospects. essentially, the study established that the environmental policies and strategies of nigeria oil and gas industry have impacted positively on the nigerian environment over the years, especially in the area of awareness creation for all stake-holders. in terms of challenges, inefficiency of the regulators due to inadequacy of logistics, poor environmental data base, duplication and overlaps of regulators functions are some of the challenges identified. the prospect of environmental policies and strategies in nigeria is generally considered to be bright, considering the fact that the industry is still evolving. relevant recommendations were made on how to achieve improvements. keywords: environment, policies, oil pollution, conservation, oil and gas industry, legal framework, nigeria introduction it is very important to note that each time environmental issues are mentioned in nigeria; the oil and gas industry readily comes to mind. the reason for this is that the oil and gas industry in nigeria accounts for about 90% of the nation‖s revenue and can equally be claimed to account for a similarly overwhelming proportion of the nation‖s environmental challenges, especially within the niger delta, where most of the oil is produced. in other words, environmental policies and strategies in nigeria significantly take into cognizance the sphere of oil and gas industry activities. for instance, nigeria‖s development of the oil sector has been good for the country‖s economy; oil sector development has had an adverse impact on the country‖s environment. oil extraction in the niger delta region has caused severe environmental degradation, owing to the legacy nwoko mark anthony adione 37 of oil spills, lack of environmental regulations, and government complicity during military regimes that once governed the country. although the situation is improving with more stringent environmental regulations for the oil industry, marine pollution is still a serious problem.1 air pollution from natural gas flaring, exhaust emissions from the explosion in car ownership, and electricity generators continue to leave the major cities of nigeria shrouded in smog. the various policies and strategies of environmental policies and strategies in nigeria oil and gas industry have therefore evolved almost at the same pace with the evolution of the nigerian oil and gas industry. consequently, it can safely be inferred that the environmental policies and strategies in nigeria oil and gas industry development have preceded other sectors in terms of its content and targeted effects in combating the environmental consequences of the industry. considering this fact, the natural assumption should be that the environmental policies and strategies in nigeria oil and gas industry should be sophisticated and highly developed in terms of achieving the set goals and objectives guiding their formulations. however, this is not exactly the case, as the oil and gas industry in nigeria as of today stands out clearly as the most bedeviled of all sectors. the undisputable controversial issues associated with the industry in terms of its adverse environmental consequences can hardly ever be adequately captured in print. the numerous oil spills for decades that have remained largely un-cleaned and un-remediated have resulted in globally acclaimed hydrocarbon impacted environmental disaster such as the unep report of 2011 on crude oil impacted sites in ogoni land. perhaps the ogoni incident came to international acclaim mostly because of the activism of mosop. in other words, the same scenarios of extreme crude oil pollution traverse the entire niger delta, but are barely reported and are therefore unknown to the environment conscious world. oil pollution is an environmental issue that plagued the nigerian environment since the exploration and exploitation of crude oil within nigeria‖s borders. oil pollution can cause serious consequences for the marine environment which can be dire for the survival of the fauna and flora therein. it can also cause distress to the ecosystem and the people living near the contaminated sites, affecting their livelihood and quality of life.2 the niger delta, which has borne the brunt of this environmental disaster is a huge fertile farmland and has a vast mangrove ecological makeup. the niger delta region is made up of 9 states of the nigerian federation namely abia, akwa ibom, and bayelsa. cross river, delta, edo, imo, ondo and rivers states.3 the population of the niger delta is estimated to be 27 million. of the people residing in the niger delta region, 75 per cent rely on natural endowments for a living. but air, water, soil and forest resources have been devastated by the exploitation of oil and gas resources.4 nigeria is the largest producer of oil in africa and the 6th largest producer in the world. an environmental conservation approach to handling oil and gas in nigeria 38 however, the people of the niger delta – where the vast majority of oil deposits are found – have benefited little from this and instead are left to deal with oil spills, gas flares, and significant environmental pollution that has destroyed farms, streams, and fishing— key resources on which the indigenous people depend.5 since the discovery of oil in nigeria in 1956, the country has been suffering the negative environmental consequences of oil exploration and exploitation. between 1976 and 1996 a total of 4647 incidents resulted in the spill of approximately 2,369,470 barrels of oil into the environment. in addition, between 1997 and 2001, nigeria also recorded a total number of 2,097 oil spill incidents.6 according to ogbodo,7 (2010), it took the 1988 koko toxic waste dump for the country to fashion a national policy on the environment with supporting statutory legislations. yet, the country has had several legislations concerning oil exploration, exploitation and pollution as far back as 1963. it could be said that the federal government did not take the enforcement of these laws seriously until the incident in 1988. this directly led to the creation of the fepa (now nesrea). since then, several more legislations have been enacted to deal with this problem which will be discussed below. however, oil pollution cannot be said to have been controlled to a satisfactory degree. consequently, this paper advocates the need for a reform of the oil and gas industry in handling the oil pollution, at least for the interests of the affected communities in nigeria. the research is structured into six main parts with the introduction in part 1, while part ii discusses the nigerian oil and gas industry: a historical perspective. part iii embraced the concept of bio-diversity: noting the various aspects through which bio-diversity affects the country i.e. the biological, social and economic implications. part iv is the analysis of the existing legal and institutional framework on oil pollution including the department of petroleum resources? part v focused on government‖s effort in handling oil pollution in nigeria: this has been done by stating the various ways by which the government has tried to fight oil pollution in nigeria, most especially through enactment of laws to punish offenders, while part vi is the conclusion and recommendation. the nigerian oil and gas industry: a historical perspective nigeria is recognised as a country with the most known reserves of petroleum and gas in subsaharan africa.8 with a daily production of between 2.4mbpd to 2.7mbpd, it is the 12th largest oil producer in the world. nigeria currently has about 150 oil fields and 1,481 oil wells located within the niger delta region. petroleum has long been an essential aspect of the national economy, accounting for more than half of gross domestic product, about 85% of government revenues, and over 90% of exports.9 nwoko mark anthony adione 39 historically, nigeria had other revenue sources, including agriculture, but this changed with the discovery of oil. this section historically analyses the discovery of oil at a time in nigeria‖s economic downturn in agriculture as an argument for the weak health and safety regulatory regime. from the analysis, it will become evident that the maximisation of economic recovery from oil and gas could be a reason for the lack of interest in designing a robust risk regulatory framework. the estimated recoverable crude oil reserves stand at 34 billion barrels, and it is suggested that this is expected to increase with additional exploration and appraisal drilling.10 so far, about900 million barrels of crude oil reserves have been identified, but the nigerian government seeks to achieve a reserve of 40 billion barrels. regarding its gas reserves, about 159 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of proven gas reserves have been estimated, placing nigeria amongst the top10 countries with natural gas endowments.11 unfortunately, due to lack of infrastructure, about 40% of the natural gas produced is still flared. the first traces of oil exploration began in 1908 when the nigerian bitumen corporation, a german entity, began exploratory activities in the araromi area of western nigeria.12 there was not very much success, especially with the outbreak of the first world war in 1914. in 1937, oil prospecting resumed when the shell d‖arcy petroleum (now shell petroleum development company (spdc)) was awarded the exclusive concessionary right to exploit oil throughout. again, these exploratory activities of shell were interrupted by the second world war but resumed in 1947.13 with over n30 million invested, which was significant at a time, shell nigeria had its first commercial discovery of crude oil in oloibiri (now bayelsa state) in 1956.it exported the first consignment of crude from the country in 1958.14 government revenue exploded from n66 million in 1970 to over n10 billion in 1980. the oil output has risen from just over 5100 barrels per day to about 2.68 million barrels per day between 1960 and 2012.15 despite the bombing of oil installations by militia groups in the niger delta region, which led to a decline in oil production between 2012 and 2015, oil production is currently about 2.1mbpd. the nigerian oil industry‖s development saw other major international and local oil companies playing more prominent roles. these companies include mobil, agip, elf, texaco, and chevron. the dire consequence of this multi-billion-dollar industry resulted in extreme rent-seeking behaviour, weak state institutions, anomalous democracy, increased corruption, inadequate human rights protection, and civil conflict.16 in typical rent-seeking fashion, 85% of oil revenues accrue to 1% of the population; ―perhaps $100 billion of $400 billion in revenues since 1970 have simply gone missing‖.17 in essence, amidst this enormous fortune, it is paradoxical that as of 2010, poverty had risen an environmental conservation approach to handling oil and gas in nigeria 40 to nearly 61% in nigeria, with almost 100 million people living on less than $1 a day.18 this situation, aptly termed the resource curse, has become a common feature of many oildependent countries.19 the resource curse plagued nigeria, but the situation was also worsened by the safety and environmental consequences of exploratory activities. environmentally, the level of environmental degradation occasioned by constant, unattended oil spills and deliberate gas flaring has been concerning. this environmental degradation has, in turn, led to poverty and significant social injustice to the people of the niger delta region, mainly as they depend on their environment for survival. the records show that nigeria has had over 4,000 oil-spill incidents ranging from minor oil spills of a few hundred barrels to over half a million barrels in a single episode.20 presently, nigeria is ranked sixth in the world regarding countries with the highest volume of gas flares.21 the resultant degradation of the environment has led to a crisis amongst the people living in the host communities, and tension between them and the multinational companies operating in those regions.22 this hostile act has further led to the escalated kidnapping of oil workers and the formation of several militia groups, all in an effort by the indigenous populations to ‗enforce‘ their environmental rights.23 we shall now discuss the current regulatory framework for well drilling and safety in nigeria to determine its status. concept of bio-diversity the term bio-diversity as the variation among living organisms, which encompasses species diversity (the number of different species), genetic diversity (gene pool variety within species) and ecosystem diversity (the variety of interactions among living things in natural communities).24 this term is also applied to describe the number, variety and variability of living organisms. however, science has revealed that plants, fishes, birds, animals and even man all make up the bio-diversity of an environment. on the other hand, the term conservation is the sustainable exploitation of natural resources (land, forestry, wildlife and marine resources) for optimal and maximum yields of the present generations while preserving its potential to meet the needs and aspirations of future generations.25 nonetheless, the key purposes of conservation are to maintain essential ecological processes and life support system, preservation of genetic resources and sustainable utilization of species and ecosystems.26 this definition is clearly reflected in the objectives of the convention on bio-diversity, which are the conservation of bio-diversity, the sustainable use of its components, the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising through the utilization of genetic resources, it was state in the united nations: from this definition it is apparent that bio-diversity does not only encompass species diversity, but also includes genetic and ecosystem diversity.28 species diversity refers to https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=94694&ref25 nwoko mark anthony adione 41 the diversity of species with given populations within which gene flows occur under natural conditions.29 genetic diversity on the other hand means the range of genetic material found in the world‖s organisms, upon which depends the functioning of many of the above processes and life-support systems, the breeding programmes necessary for the protection and improvement of cultivated plants, domesticated animals and micro-organisms, as well as much scientific and medical advance, technical innovation and the security of many industries that use living resources. ecosystem diversity relates to the variety of habitats, biotic communities and ecological processes in the biosphere as well as the diversity within ecosystems. legal framework on the environment here, some of the legal/statutory frameworks and their effect in curbing environmental pollution will be discussed: the constitution of the federal republic of nigeria, 1999 cap c20 lfn, 2004 the constitution makes it a fundamental objective of the nigerian state to improve and protect the air, land, water, forest and wildlife of nigeria. section 12 provides that international treaties (including environmental treaties) ratified by the national assembly be implemented as law in nigeria. furthermore, section 33 and section 34 of the constitution guarantees the fundamental human rights to life and human dignity respectively and they are inextricably linked with the protection and preservation of the environment from harm, degradation or destruction. section 20 states as follows: ‗the state shall protect and improve the environment and safeguard the water, air, land, forest and wildlife of nigeria‘.30 section 17(2) (d),31 of the constitution complements the afore stated provision by stating that: ‗exploitation of human or natural resources in any form whatsoever for reasons other than the good of the community shall be prevented‘. oil in navigable water act (1968),32 the act is in fact the first law that deals specifically and solely with the industrial waste generated by oil production. it is concerned with the discharge of oil from ships. nwufo argued that the enforcement of this legislation has been watered down by several loopholes in its provision through which offenders may wriggle through.33 igbokwe,34 contended that the penalties,35 prescribed in the act are too lenient on offenders and apart from ineffective enforcement of the laws contained in the act, they find it cheaper to breach the laws and pay ridiculously low fines than adhere to them. an environmental conservation approach to handling oil and gas in nigeria 42 national oil spill detection and response agency act,36 the agency at the forefront of response to oil spill incidents is the national oil spill detection and response agency (nosdra). section 1 (1) states that nosdra is the federal agency with the statutory responsibility for preparedness, detection and response to all oil spillages in nigeria. however, in many cases, it is observed that oil spill investigations are usually led by oil companies‖ personnel and nosdra does not initiate oil spill investigations. the agency is thus seen to be dependent on the company involved in an oil spill incident, whether it involves conveying nosdra staff to oil spill sites or supplying technical data about spills. furthermore, the process of joint investigation is heavily reliant on the oil companies.37 (olaniyan, associated gas re-injection act (1979),38 the associated gas re-injection act deals with the gas flaring activities of oil and gas companies in nigeria.39 the gas re-injection decree stipulates a fine of 10 us cents per 1,000 cubic feet of gas flared,40 compared to the $10 fine charged in western countries.41 federal environmental protection agency act,42 in 1988, an unforeseen occurrence led to an aggressive environmental policy. this was when toxic wastes were dumped in koko, a village in delta state. however, according to edo the action of the nigerian government in responding to this national embarrassment was decisive and quick.43 the creation of the federal environmental protection agency (fepa) by decree 58 of 1988 set fepa as the sole body charged with the responsibility of protecting the environment. the decree gave the agency broad enforcement powers to act, even without warrants, in bringing violators, to book. they have the power to gain entry, inspect, seize and arrest with stiff penalties of a fine and or jail term on whoever obstructs the enforcement officers in the discharge of their duties or make false declaration of compliance.44 the fepa decree prohibits,45 the ―discharge in such harmful quantities of any hazardous substance into the air , or upon land and the waters of nigeria or at the joining shorelines except where such discharge is permitted or authorised under any law in nigeria. however, an owner or operator is exempted from strict liability where the oil spillage was as a result of ‗natural disaster‘ or an act of war or by sabotage. national enforcement standards and regulation enforcement agency act (nesrea) the act establishes the national environmental standards and regulation enforcement agency and it is currently the major federal body charged with the protection of nigeria‖s environment. nesrea was created to replace the defunct federal environmental protection agency (fepa). section 7(a) states that the agency is authorised to enforce compliance with laws, guidelines, policies and standards of environmental matters. its nwoko mark anthony adione 43 authority extends to the enforcement of environmental guidelines and policies, such as the national policy on the environment, 1999.46 environmental guidelines and standards for the petroleum industry in nigeria (egaspin) the nigerian department of petroleum resources (dpr), the department primarily responsible for regulating the oil industry, expanded these requirements in 1991 by promulgating the environmental guidelines and standards for the petroleum industry (egaspin). ‗egaspin confirms that oil and gas operations are governed by the nigerian petroleum act and subsequent federal legislation.‘ regarding oil spills, egaspin requires that oil companies commence cleanup within twenty-four hours of the occurrence of a spill. where a spill is on inland waters or wetlands, the only option for cleanup is complete containment and removal. operators must conduct their cleanup efforts in a way that does not cause additional harm to the environment.47 petroleum (drilling and production) regulations 1969 the petroleum (drilling and production) regulations 1969, provides in section 25, that licenses and lesses should take prompt steps to control oil pollution where it occurs and if possible, end it. yalaju (undated) averred that in the context of this section, operators in the industry do not have an obligation to control nor end pollution. apart from statutory enactments regarding liability for environmental pollution, there is liability for environmental pollution under the common law principles of law of torts that is: trespass; negligence (res ipso facto); public and private nuisance. the case of rylands v. fletcher which emphasized strict liability against the defendant is also relevant. the court held in that case that anyone bringing onto lands, in the course of a ‗non-natural‘ use of the land, something ‗likely to do mischief if it escapes’ is prima-facie answerable for all the damage which is the natural consequence of its escape.‘ all of these have been used to recover damages in cases of oil spill litigated through the courts. they are also applicable in environmental pollution claims. government’s effort in handling oil pollution in nigeria i. institutions created by law for the control and mitigation of oil pollution department of petroleum resources (dpr): the dpr is the regulatory arm of the oil and gas industry in nigeria. its mission statement is ‗to serve as the watchdog over the development of our nation‖s oil and gas resources, by employing modern tools and techniques to direct, influence and achieve the optimum exploitation, conversion and utilization of petroleum and an environmental conservation approach to handling oil and gas in nigeria 44 its derivatives for the maximum benefit of nigerians while ensuring minimal damage to the environment.48 the dpr has the power to issue environmental guidelines for the petroleum industry in nigeria. this power derives from the following: section 9(1)(f) and 12(1) of the petroleum act where under certain powers of the minister may be delegated to the director of dpr. inference from the provisions of section 10(2) to section 11 of the nigerian national petroleum corporation act (cap 320) which charges dpr‖s predecessor with supervisory and regulatory functions over the petroleum industry. section 23 of the fepa act which acknowledges dpr as the principal authority charged with the responsibility for the ‗removal of oil related pollution discharged into the nigerian environment‘. the department of petroleum resources (dpr) administers oil and gas laws in nigeria as well as legislative instruments that are made to ensure that oil companies carry out petroleum exploration and production in line with best practices for sustainable development. ii. national oil spillage detection and response agency (nosdrea): nosdrea was established in 2004 as an initiative of the ministry of environment. its main aim is to administer the national oil spill contingency plan (noscp) in compliance with the international convention on oil pollution preparedness, response and cooperation, of which nigeria is a signatory. nosdra seeks to achieve zero tolerance for oil spill incidences in nigeria, while advocating for the restoration and preservation of the environment by ensuring good practices in oil exploration, storage and production, with the aim of achieving sustainable development. iii. national environmental standards and regulation enforcement agency (nesrea) act 2007 nesrea is an agency administered by the ministry of environment. the nesrea act of 2007 replaced the fepa act. it is the embodiment of laws and regulations focused on the protection and sustainable development of the environment and its natural resources. section 7 provides authority to ensure compliance with environmental laws, local and international, on environmental sanitation and pollution prevention and control through monetary and regulatory measures. section 27 prohibits, without lawful authority, the discharge of hazardous substances into the environment. iv. harmful waste (special criminal provisions) act,49 the harmful waste act prohibits, without lawful authority, the carrying, dumping or deposition of harmful waste in the air, land or waters of nigeria with the purpose of nwoko mark anthony adione 45 enhancing biodiversity. section 6 provides for a punishment for life imprisonment for offenders as well as the forfeiture of land or anything used to commit the offence. section 7 makes provisions for the punishment accordingly, of any conniving, consenting or negligent officer where the offence is committed by a company. effects of laws on environmental protection as elucidated in the respective acts above, the effect of these acts on preventing environmental pollution and degradation is mixed. however, this is not anything to be enthusiastic about. the nigerian state, especially the niger delta region is heavily polluted. a refreshed and dedicated approach has to be taken with a holistic view to address the dreadful situation, the environment is in. regardless of the plethora of laws concerning environmental pollution in nigeria, the pollution of the environment has not ceased. ibaba cited in edo,50 observed that the overreaching environmental laws in nigeria has not in any way contributed to sustainable development. it has also not been able to reduce the rapid rate of environmental degradation especially as the case of the niger delta has shown. this he adduced to the lack of enforcement of the laws which is the most fundamental cause of inability of the legislation to protect the environment. the palpable inability of fepa to enforce environmental laws and compliance in the country was a major reason for the creation of the national environmental standards and regulations enforcement agency (nesrea) in 2007. the nesrea act repealed the federal environmental protection agency act and became the primary law on environmental protection. it is hoped that the newly established agency will live up to the expectations contained in its establishment act and vigorously enforce its charge to protect the environment. legal framework on bio-diversity hereunder, the legal framework on bio-diversity conservation will be considered under these three headings—municipal, regional and international. municipal the following are some of the laws and regulations put in place by the nigerian government for environmental protection, planning, pollution prevention and control, and the conservation of nigeria‖s bio-diversity. the endangered species (control of international trade and traffic) act, 1985.51 this act focuses on the protection and management of nigeria‖s wildlife and some of their species in danger of extinction due to overexploitation. the act was enacted to fulfil the obligation assumed under the convention on international trade in endangered species. an environmental conservation approach to handling oil and gas in nigeria 46 sea fisheries act, 52 the sea fisheries act makes it illegal to take or harm fishes within nigerian waters by use of explosives, poisonous or noxious substances. section 1 prohibits any unlicensed operation of motor fishing boats within nigerian waters. section 10 makes destruction of fishes punishable with a fine of n50,000 or an imprisonment term of two years. section 14(2) provides authority to make for the protection and conservation of sea fishes. the goal of the country nigeria is to converse and sustain the use of biodiversity. this is because the provision of article 6 of sea fisheries act is very similar to that of article 10(a) of the convention on biological diversity. both provide for the incorporation of biodiversity conservation and sustainable use into the national programmes of party countries.17 inland fisheries act,53 this act focuses on the protection of the water habitat and its species. section 1 prohibits unlicensed operations of motor fishing boats within the inland waters of nigeria. section 6 prohibits the taking or destruction of fish by harmful means. this offence is punishable with a fine of 3000 or an imprisonment term of 2 years or both. the inland fisheries decree is enacted for the promotion of the conservation of the fish resources and the sustainable use of their components.18 it provides for sanctions for noncompliance. water resources act,54 the water resources act is targeted at developing and improving the quantity and quality of water resources. sections 5 and 6 provide authority to make pollution prevention plans and regulations for the protection of fisheries, flora and fauna. section 18 makes offenders liable, under this act, to be punished with a fine not exceeding 2000 or an imprisonment term of six months. he would also pay an additional fine of 100 for every day the fine continues. the federal national parks act,55 the national parks act is concerned with the establishment of protected areas used for resource conservation, water catchments protection, wildlife conservation and maintenance of the national eco-system balance. regional and international some of the regional and international legal instruments for the conservation of biodiversity include: 1) african convention on the conservation of nature and natural resources 1968. 2) convention on bio-diversity (rio conference) 1992. nwoko mark anthony adione 47 african convention on conservation of nature and natural resources 1968 the fundamental principle of the convention is the obligation it imposes on contracting states to ‗adopt the measures necessary to ensure conservation, utilization and development of soil, water, flora and fauna resources in accordance with the scientific principles and with due regard to the best interest of african people‘.56 convention on bio-diversity 1992 the united nations convention on bio-diversity (cbd) was signed at rio de janeiro in 1992 by 157 state parties after the intergovernmental negotiating committee for a convention on biodiversity, a committee set up by the united nations environmental programme, adopted the final draft of the convention on 22 may, 1992. the convention represents the commitment of nations of the world to conserve bio-diversity, to ensure biological sustainability and to share, equitably, the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources. the convention contains 42 articles and is a legal framework to promote the adoption of all measures aimed at ensuring; 1) conservation of bio-diversity, 2) sustainable use of its components, and 3) the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources.57 international conventions relating to oil pollution records and data show that the highest degree of pollution comes from off-shore sources and that coastal countries not surprisingly are its greatest victims.58 attempts have been made through international conventions to address this unsatisfactory situation; thus, the main source of the law regulating pollution from off-shore causes can be traced to international treaties and conventions. the following are some of these international conventions. the united nations convention on law of the sea 1982: this convention was adopted in 1958 but updated in 1982. it is generally regarded as the basic law on matters relating to the pollution of the sea. pollution of the marine environment is defined to mean ‗the introduction by man, directly or indirectly, of substances or energy into the marine environment, including estuaries, which results or is likely to result in such deleterious effects as harm to living resources and marine life, hazards to human health, hindrance to marine activities, including fishing and other legitimate uses of the sea, impairment or quality for use of sea water and reduction of amenities.59 nigeria is a party to the convention, signed december 10, 1982, ratified august 14, 1986. the agreement was deposited on october 25, 1994 and was subsequently ratified again on july 28, 1995. nigeria has always complied with the convention in order to protect the environment and enhance biodiversity. https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=94694&ref1 an environmental conservation approach to handling oil and gas in nigeria 48 statutory enactments associated gas re-injection act 1979: oil companies were mandated to cease gas flaring. flaring could only be done for operational reasons with the permission of the petroleum minister.60 environmental impact assessment act, 1992: this act makes it mandatory for an environmental impact assessment (eia) study of a project (which is likely to significantly impact the environment), to be prepared at the early stage of the project often before the project is undertaken.61 the eia is to be directed to the federal environmental protection agency for approval.62 any project whose eia is disapproved by the agency cannot be undertaken.63 this will help to ensure that any oil and gas exploration and production process is properly assessed before the oil companies commence such project. environmental protection agency act 1988: this act established the federal environmental protection agency. it charges the agency with the responsibility of prescribing the criteria and standards for protecting the nigerian environment. the law requires the agency to encourage the establishment of environmental protection agencies in states and local government areas.64 more so, it acknowledges the department of petroleum resources (dpr) as having the principal responsibility for the ‗removal of oil related pollutants discharged into the nigerian environment‘ and stipulates that the agency should cooperate with dpr in this regard.65 the agency now functions as part of the ministry of environment after its amendment in 1992. harmful waste (special criminal provisions, etc.) act, 1988: this law came into effect on the 25th of november, 1988. it prohibits and penalizes the carrying, dumping and importation of harmful waste on any land, territorial waters and the exclusive economic zone of nigeria. any breach of this provision by an individual makes him guilty of an offence and punishable to a fine as provided in section 13 of the act. in essence, any producer or marketer who dumps petroleum waste products on territorial waters or on land would have breached the provisions of this act. oil pipelines act 1956,66 the oil pipeline act provides in section 14 that the holder of a pipeline licence is not permitted to construct pipelines near a public road, dam or government building to prevent pipeline destruction and oil pollution. the act further makes it an offence for any holder of the licence to breach the provisions of this act.67 more so, the act grants the minister the power to make regulations for the prevention of pollution of any land or water.68 nwoko mark anthony adione 49 petroleum act 1969,69 under the petroleum act the minister has the power to make regulations.70 this enables the minister to make regulations for the prevention of pollution of land and water by those granted the oil mining lease (oml). this act also provides punishments for illegal prospectors, explorers and miners of crude oil.71 this provision will ensure that oil is not explored and exploited by those without the requisite knowledge to carry out such activities in a safe and secure way that ensures that the environment is not polluted. it should be noted that the laws are paramount but not effectively implemented. guidelines and regulations national environmental protection (effluent limitation) regulations 1991: this among others is a major regulation of the government for the protection of the nigerian environment. it sets out regulations for effluent limitation. specifically, regulation 1 provides that companies engaged in oil and gas exploration and production should endeavour that they limit effluent discharge to the barest acceptable limits. national environmental protection (pollution abatement in industries and facilities generating wastes) regulations 1991: this is one of the regulations issued by fepa to prohibit the release of hazardous or toxic substances into the air, land or water of nigeria‖s ecosystem beyond the limits approved by fepa.72 oil and gas pipelines regulations 1995: this regulation stipulates that the construction of pipelines shall be done in a way that causes the least disturbance to the environment.73 it provides that where a pipeline passes within 100 metres of a water course, the operator shall assure dpr that adequate contingency plans have been made for protecting the environment there.74 also, the regulation provides that the holder of a pipeline licence must establish emergency plans to ensure prompt and remedial action for the protection of property and the environment.75 petroleum (drilling and production) regulations, 1969 with its amendment of 1996: the petroleum regulations were made pursuant to the petroleum act of 1969. this regulation provides that a licensee or lessee of an opl or oml may not enter upon land within a village, town, market, and cemetery or within 20 metres of a reservoir, public road, railway or any land in actual cultivation without the prior written permission from the petroleum resources minister.76 the lessee is expected to comply with all applicable town and country planning laws and regulations,77 especially those geared towards the prevention or mitigation of oil pollution. the lessee is also expected to adopt all practicable precautions for the prevention of pollution by oil, mud or other fluid.78 an environmental conservation approach to handling oil and gas in nigeria 50 environmental guidelines and standards for the petroleum industry in nigeria issued by the department of petroleum resources (dpr): the guideline involved here is the ‗environmental guidelines and standards for the petroleum industry in nigeria‘ issued by dpr in 1991 and amended in 2002. it stipulates guidelines and standards for operators in the petroleum sector to ensure that they observe best practices and ensure the protection of the environment from harm that may be caused by oil. this guideline was issued by the department of petroleum resources (dpr) as a result of rising concern for adverse environmental impacts arising from oil related pollution.79 egaspin aims to establish guidelines and standards for environmental quality control of the petroleum industry in nigeria80 and to achieve the standardisation of environmental pollution abatement and monitoring procedures in the nigerian oil and gas industry.81 conclusion it can be said that the various legislations bordering on oil pollution in nigeria have had both negative and positive effects. however, the negative effects – prime among these which is the continued oil spills being recorded in the environment – are threatening to overshadow the positive ones. what is needed is for the federal government to take a firm stand against oil pollution by sanctioning both the oil companies who are negligent with their pipelines and other installations and other third-party players such as vandals who contribute to this grave environmental problem. the government also needs to strengthen the existing bodies/agencies concerned with oil pollution management and prevention to ensure the adherence and enforcement of the existing laws. lack of enforcement of which is the most fundamental cause of the inability of these laws to protect the environment from oil pollution. recommendations the need for comprehensive review of existing environmental laws and regulations is imperative to reflect current environmental methodologies, trends and evolutions. this is indicative of practical approaches aimed at closing the gaps between research efforts and industry requirements. the need for establishment of environmental courts vested with special powers and jurisdiction to enforce breach of environmental laws is long overdue, in the light of the social and economic costs attached to uncertainties and delays in several ongoing civil and criminal cases another option may be to refine the current judicial arrangement to expedite this class of cases, owing to the farreaching implications that may jeopardize the quality of human existence. there is need to strengthen the regulatory agencies for improved efficiency, coupled with the aspect of role streamlining for enhanced collaborations. for instance, in the latter case; nwoko mark anthony adione 51 enforcement of environmental impact assessment act is being executed by both the federal ministry of environment and the department of petroleum resources. this arrangement is not sustainable in terms capacity utilization and resource management. there is also need for the institution of nonjudicial grievance strategies such as; oil spillage self-monitoring mechanisms by the upstream operators, debarment from participating in public contracts and director disqualification should be deployed as required. however, criminal and civil sanctions must be judiciously applied to deter oil spillage in the sector. the underlying issue being that the applicable sanctions should measure comparatively and quantitatively with proven infractions or offences. this will promote transparency, fairness and equity, all of which constitute fundamental elements that are being eroded in nigeria‖s oil and gas industry. endnotes 1 adati, a.k. (2012) oil exploration and spillage in the niger delta of nigeria. civil and environmental research, 2, 38. 2 itopf. (2012). effects of oil pollution in the marine environment. 3 ukpeh, u. (2009). ecological degradation and environmental pollution in the niger delta, a direct impact af oil exploration: human rights issue? yalaju, j. (undated). laws regulating oil pollution in nigeria: a re-appraisal. 4 milieudefensie. (2008). oil spills in the niger delta in nigeria. 5 konne, b. r. (2014). inadequate monitoring and enforcement in the nigerian oil industry: the case of shell and ogoniland. cornell international law journal, 181203. 6 nwilo, p. c., & badejo, o. t. (2006). impacts and management of oil spill pollution along the nigerian coastal areas. 7 ogbodo, s. g. (2010). the role of the nigerian judiciary in the environmental protection against oil pollution: is it active enough? 8 alex g. and others,―political economy of the petroleum sector in nigeria‖ (2011) policy research working paper no.5779 (world bank) http://www.worldbank.org/external/default/wdscontentserver/iw3p/ib/2011/08/24/000158349_20110 824134316/render ed/pdf/wps5779.pdf > accessed 17 october 2018. 9 ibid. 10 joseph e. ―oil and gas industry in nigeria: the paradox of the black gold‖ [2010] 18 environment and social justice: an international perspective research in social problems and public policy 323 11 greg e. e. and charles e. ―the trends analysis of oil revenue and oil export in nigeria‖[2013] 10 journal of business and management 0108; also online at<http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr jbm/papers/vol10issue3/a01030108.pdf > accessed 17 october 2018 12 alex gboyega and others supra note 8 13 saka l. and fatima l. ―the political economy of oil and the reform process in nigeria‖s fourth republic: successes and continue challenges‖ [2011] 11 journal of arts, science and commerce 59 14 greg e. e. and charles e. supra note 11 15 ibid 16 ibid http://www/ http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosran environmental conservation approach to handling oil and gas in nigeria 52 17 michael w. ―petro-insurgency or criminal syndicate? conflict & violence in the niger delta‖ [2007] 34review of african political economy 637 641 18 bbc, ―nigerians living in poverty rise to nearly 61%‖ bbc news (london,13 february 2012) <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17015873> accessed 18 october 2018. 19 richard a. sustaining development in mineral economies: the resource curse thesis (london routledge1993) 1 20 eddy w.; chidinma k. amaeze, and eze e. chioma, ―potential conflict of interest in the dual functions of the nigerian department of petroleum resources as both economic and environmental regulator‖ [2016] 34 international energy law review 306. 21world bank website <http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2012/07/03/ world-bankseeswarning-signgas-flaring-increase> accessed 19 october 2018. 22 nwogwugwu ngozi, alao olatunji emmanuel, and egwuonwu clara, ―militancy and insurgency in the niger delta: impact on the inflow of foreign direct investment to nigeria‖ [2012] 2 kuwait chapter of arabian journalof business and management review 23. 23 violet a. ―environmental terrorism in the niger delta: implications for nigeria‖s developingeconomy‖ [2009] international energy law review 40. 24 okiwelu, s. n., & anyawu, d. i. (2003). dictionary of ecology, conservation and environmental sciences (p. 16). lagos: niyi faniran publishers. 25 iucn/unep/wwf (1980). world conservation strategy: living source conservation for sustainable development (para.1.4). https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.ch.1980.9.en 26 ibid. 27 united nation (1992). convention on biological diversity. https://www.cbd.int/doc/legal/cbd-en.pdf 28 amokaye, o. g. (2004). ―‖environmental law and practice in nigeria‖‖ lagos: university of lagos press, p. 251. 29 ibid. 30 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria, 1999 cap c20 lfn, 2004 31 ibid. 32 cap. 06, laws of the federation of nigeria, 2004. 33 nwufo, c. c. ( april, 2010). legal framework for the regulation of waste in nigeria. african review journal. vol. 4 (2) , (pp. 491-501). 34 igbokwe, m. i. (2001). assessment of existing national legislation and regulations related to pollution prevention. workshop for the ratification, implementation and enforcement of marpol 73/78. lagos. 35 section 6 of the oil in navigable waters act, cap 06, lfn 2004 makes punishable such discharge with a fine of n2,000 36 the national oil spill detection and response agency (establishment) act no.15, 2006 37 olaniyan, a. (2015). the law and multi-agency response to oil spill incidents in nigeria. interspill amsterdam. 38 cap. a25, laws of the federation of nigeria, 2004. 39 elri. (2015, august). a synopsis of laws and regulations on the environment in nigeria. retrieved from envirinmental law research institute: elri-ng.og 40 section 4 of the associated gas re-injection act, cap 20, lfn 2004 stipulates the penalty for breach of the permit conditions. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17015873 http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2012/07/03/world-bank-sees-warning-sign-gas-flaring-increase http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2012/07/03/world-bank-sees-warning-sign-gas-flaring-increase http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2012/07/03/world-bank-sees-warning-sign-gas-flaring-increase http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2012/07/03/world-bank-sees-warning-sign-gas-flaring-increase https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.ch.1980.9.en https://www.cbd.int/doc/legal/cbd-en.pdf nwoko mark anthony adione 53 41 andrews, o. t. (2015). the nigerian state: oil multinationals and the environment a study of shell petroluem development company. journal of public administration and policy research, 24-28. 42 cap. f10 laws of the federation of nigeria, 2004. 43 edo, z. o. (2012). the challenges of effective environmental enforcement and compliance in the niger delta region of nigeria. volume 14, no.6,. journal of sustainable development in africa. 44 ibid. 45 s.20(1) fepa decree 1988 no.58 46 ladan, m. t. (2012). review of nesrea act 2007 and regulations 2009-2011: a new dawn in environmental compliance and enforcement in nigeria. 8/1 law, environment and development journal (2012), p. 116. 47 konne, b. r. (2014). inadequate monitoring and enforcement in the nigerian oil industry: the case of shell and ogoniland. cornell international law journal, 181203. 48akinjide-balogun, o. (2001). nigeria: legal framework of the nigerian petroleum industry. http://www.mondaq.com/x/10726/legal+framework+ of+the+nigerian+petroleum+industry. 49 cap h1, lfn 2004: 50 edo, z. o. (2012). supra note 43. 51 cap e9, lfn 2004: 52 cap s4, lfn 2004: 53 cap i10, lfn 2004 54 cap w2, lfn 2004 55 cap n65, lfn 2004 56 african convention on conservation of nature and natural resources 1968, art. 11 57 united nations, 1992. art. 1. 58 weis. j. (2015). marina pollution: what everyone needs to know. oxford university press 59 unclos 1982, article 1(4) 60 associated gas re-injection act, 1979, section 3. 61 eia act, 1992, section 2. 62 etikerentse, g. ―‖nigerian petroleum law‖‖ 2nd ed.,(lagos: dredew publishers, 2004), p. 148 63 eia act, 1992, section 8. 64 fepa act 1988, section 24. 65 fepa act 1988, section 23. 66 cap 338, lfn 1990 67 oil pipelines act, section 32. 68 oil pipelines act, section 33(c). 69 cap 350 lfn 1990: 70 petroleum act 1969, section 9. 71 petroleum act 1969, section 13. 72national environmental protection (pollution abatement in industries and facilities generating wastes) regulations 1991, regulation 1. 73 oil and gas pipelines regulations 1995, regulation 5(d)(ii). 74 oil and gas pipelines regulations 1995, regulation 8(b). 75 oil and gas pipelines regulations 1995, regulation 9(b)(ii). 76 petroleum (drilling and production) regulations 1969, regulation 17(b)(iii) and (iv). 77 petroleum (drilling and production) regulations 1969, regulation 18. http://www.mondaq.com/x/10726/legal%2bframework%2bof%2bthe%2bnigerian%2bpetroleum%2bindustry https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=94694&ref1 https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=94694&ref1 https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=94694&ref7 https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=94694&ref7 https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=94694&ref7 https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=94694&ref7 https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=94694&ref7 https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=94694&ref7 https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=94694&ref7 https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=94694&ref7 https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=94694&ref7 https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=94694&ref7 https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=94694&ref7 an environmental conservation approach to handling oil and gas in nigeria 54 78 petroleum (drilling and production) regulations 1969, regulation 25. 79 paragraph 3, part 1, ‗introduction‘, egaspin 2002. 80 paragraph 4 (a), part 1, ‗introduction‘, egaspin 2002 81 paragraph 4 (c), part 1, ‗introduction‘, egaspin 2002 https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=94694&ref7 https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=94694&ref7 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 193 contributions of africa to the development of christology and christianity in general daniel okpara nwokuka west africa theological seminary an affiliate of the university of nigeria nsukka nwokuka@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.25001.77923 abstract we must know that a complete re-figuration of cultural heritage in christian terms today takes place with room for greater flexibility in vernacular christology. western missionaries have accused africans and africa to have contributed nothing and have nothing to contribute to the development of christology and christianity in general, that africa is a dark continent. it was obvious the european missionaries at that time reported unwittingly many derogatory remarks about african religion. this has brought disharmony between western missionaries and african churches or theologians. african are now saying that the image of jesus christ so far imported from the west into africa is grossly inadequate for the life and mission of the church in situations of poverty and injustice. a search has to begin for a christology which will provide a basis for christian action in contemporary society. this article determines the truth of african and africa’s contribution to the development of christology or christianity in general. against this background, the study employed the library research method and reviewed critical literature on the subject. the objective of the study is to harmonize working relationships between the missionaries and the african clergy. who at present grappling with one of its most trying times as the nations of africa comes face to face with poverty? the study hinges on the assessment of critical literature, with objectives; finding among others shows that africa and africa contributed enormously to the development of christology and then the study recommends that missionaries should explore the study of african culture very well before denouncing it and now the paper concludes that western missionaries should study africans and for them to understand african own contribution to christology and in general christianity. introduction to be sure africans contributed immensely to the development of christianity, we say in the beginning paul using what was no doubt a traditional formula, telling the roman christians that the good news concerning god‘s ―son‖ who was descended from david according to the flesh and designated son of god in power according to the spirit of mailto:nwokuka@gmail.com http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/rg.2.2.25001.77923 daniel okpara nwokuka 194 holiness by his resurrection from the dead (romans1:3-4) and in another letter the same apostle explains that the calling of christians is ―to wait (god‘s) son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come (1thessolonican1:10). these two basic standpoints of the gospel proclamation, paul‘s attention, like that of the speeches attributed to peter in acts, is focused on the resurrection and the eschaton that is the final day of the lord; the significance of jesus is seen in the fact that as the person for whom the resurrection to true life has already happened, he will be god‘s designated representative—god‘s ―christ‖ and ―son‖—on the last day. as such jesus is the bearer of salvation. such a messianic christology also lies behind the primitive use of the titles ―son of man‖ and ―lord‖. over the origin, history and sense of the first of this title, there was and is a great deal of scholarly controversy (williston walker 1985, 35-36). this ongoing controversy at this time africans took part in the scholarly debate that the council later laid down an understanding of the relation between humanity and the divinity of jesus christ which became normative in both east and west—that jesus christ was to be regarded as one person having human and divine natures. the decision affirms that christ is one person in two natures, unmixed, unchanged, undivided, and inseparable. this brought to an end the controversy and set what is now known as christ being known as ―god-man‖. this is one; great advancement made in christianity that jesus is now the very embodiment of god‘s purposes and the one in whom they are carried out. this conviction—that what god is for humanity and what humanity is for god are both realized and made concrete in jesus— gave rise to yet another and centrally important, strain in primitive christology. in this saga, arius a bishop of alexandra in egypt didn‘t believe god could experience emotions. yet if jesus was fully divine, god did, through jesus, feel sorrow and pain. at this point, most church members believe that, in some way that transcends human understanding, god the son had experience emotion. arius taught that jesus was not god; jesus was instead, the first being that god created. ―once arius claimed ―the son of god did not exist (timothy paul jones,1999, 30). this plugs the entire church into the controversy and africa makes some useful contributions to the resolution of the dispute. this article shows various contributions made by african to the development and contributions of africa to the development of christology and christianity in general 195 advancement of christianity. this paper shows how african theologians have set out to demonstrate that the african religious experience and heritage were not illusory and that they have formed the vehicle for conveying the gospel to africa. it has helped to give the lie to the supercilious that africa is a dark continent and their religion primitives, superstition, field with blood and human sacrifices, full of evil, witchcraft, black magic, voodoo and cannibalism and most importantly they have contributed nothing and has nothing to contribute to the development christology and christianity in general. it will interest you to note that there are innovations in africa that african theologians are in research for christology which will provide a basis for christian action in contemporary society. christological controversy made easy at the very heart of the encounter between christianity and african culture is the subject of christology (john s.pobee 1979, 9). it is traditionally defined as the doctrine of the person of christ. the christian kergma is the proclamation of the good news of how god through jesus christ of nazareth acts to bridge the gulf between god and man, a gulf existing as a consequence of man‘s sin and the imperatives deriving there from. and so at the heart of the kerygma stands christ (john s.pobee 1979, 81). christians all over encountered the question, who is jesus christ, and what manner of man is he? jesus suffers and dies on the cross. the suffering on the cross by the savour arius couldn‘t believe that god could suffer. arius a theologian born in egypt bishop of alexandra didn‘t believe god could experience emotions. yet if jesus was fully divine, god did, through jesus, feel sorrow and pain. at this point, most church members believe that, in some way that transcends human understanding, god the son had experience emotion. arius taught that jesus was not god; jesus was instead, the first being that god created. ―once arius claimed ―the son of god did not exist ( timothy paul jones1999,30). here lies the whole controversy that set the church looking for a solution. the controversy was undoubted when arians, named after arius, a fourthcentury libyan – born theologian, believed that the son of god was created and that therefore jesus christ was not fully divine. docetists on their own held that the word (john 1:1) only seemed to become flesh and that jesus only seemed to suffer. ebionites also were jewish—christian ascetics, adhering to the law of moses and holding that jesus was humanly born, and encratites carried asceticism to daniel okpara nwokuka 196 extremes…monarchians safeguarded the authority and unity of god the father by subordinating the son and patripassians were monarchians who held that god the father suffered on the cross (james harper, et l., ed.,1987, 191). there was also eutycheanism that broke out in 448 ad. eutyches accused of making jesus christ a “tertium quid‖ or ‗third something‘ meaning that he was neither god nor man (debbie adegbite2015, 79-81). so many views concerning jesus christ were out to discredit our lord. but again john baillie in his book titled ―the place of jesus christ in modern christianity‖ published in 1929, posits that the consequence of the fall of man was that he was dead spiritually but god was pleased, according to the unsearchable counsel of his own will, whereby he extended or withhold mercy as he pleased, for the glory of his sovereign power over his creation, to pass by and to ordain them to dishonour and wrath for their sin, to the praise of his glorious justice. but with a certain select number of men and women god, in his love and pity and to manifest his own greater glory, was anxious to deal differently, and to find some means whereby he might without in any way settling aside the proper demands of justice, rescue them from satan and his hell and restore them to fellowship with himself in his heaven ( john baillie1929, 7). he goes on to emphasise that the selection was made, not according to any merit or desert on the part of those selected but according to god‘s mere good pleasure. that what plan of rescue was after all conceivable? all men were bound by the laws of justice to suffer the pain of hell during infinite time and god could not infringe the laws of justice without compromising his glory and acting contrary to his just nature. for there was no way in which he could call upon man to help for nothing man could do however meritorious could avail to wipe out the record against him. does he then ask? was there anything which god might do? the question he asks will be only god that has the answer. but the difficulty here was that if the man had his punishment remitted and given some reparation which had been made by god, the laws of justice would again be contravened because, after all, it was a man who had incurred the guilt. there was, however, one other possibility. god had a son, who was of the one essence with himself and yet a different ―person‖; this son is indeed one of the three ―persons‖--father, son and holy ghost—united in the one essential deity. and now, out of his infinite contributions of africa to the development of christology and christianity in general 197 pity for mankind and his infinite tenderness towards those whom he had selected for rescue, he proposed that this son should empty himself of his celestial glory, and be born on earth as the offspring of a jewish peasant maiden and suffer death and descent into hell for three days, before finally rising from the dead and going back to heaven to his father. the death of one who was thus both god and man was the only thinkable means whereby man‘s rescue could be accomplished; for in the celebrated words of st. anselm: ―god will not do it because he ought not, and man will not do it because he cannot: therefore so that god-and-man may do this, he who is to make this satisfaction must in his same person be perfect god and perfect man; for he cannot do it unless he is very god, nor ought unless he is very man (cur deus homo, bk. 11, chaptervii). persons and african in development of christology and christianity in general christianity in africa is relatively unknown. as early as a.d145 africa witnessed a vibrant spread of christianity. the history of carthage is known to all as how the north africans became roman citizens. how they became christians is not clear…at the beginning of the third century, at a council preside over by agrippinus, bishop of carthage, there were present not less than seventy bishops of the province. a period of cruel persecutions followed and the african church receive a baptism of blood (alexander roberts, d.d., & james donaldson, ll.d2004, 3). and again the history of black africa in the decade ending in 1966 suggests not only that one developing area can indeed learn from another, but that africa did learn a great deal in the development of christology, achieving an awareness of the possibilities of great contribution in christology controversy up till date. so much so that they are even involved in the innovation of finding a new fashion for african christology. by the second century, the church was stronger in north africa, where the bible was first translated into latin and in egypt in alexandria ( james harper, et l., ed.,1987, 190). through scholarship as a uniquely and supremely human activity, africans are developing and expanding their awareness of the desirable and realizable. therefore africa has been contributing to the development of christology and still putting innovation as it is a revival of christianity. the history of christianity or the forefathers of daniel okpara nwokuka 198 faith cannot be completed without mentioning the contribution made by african descent. we cannot forget the contribution of tertullian of carthage who is practically from tunisia in africa. he was born in c.150a.d and wrote an enormous amount, about thirty books totalling more than 1,500 pages in the space of little more than fifteen years (c.a.d. 196—c.212). the range of his interest was greater than that of any other christian writer in ancient times. for that reason, his works are a valuable source of information about church life, as well as about doctrinal and controversial matters, especially christology. his style is vivid and unconventional, which makes his latin difficult to translate. his writings were so important to the latin church that, although he went into schism, his books were preserved and studied by all the great western fathers (john d.woodbridge1988, 49) as for tertullian the credibility of the incarnation of the son of god depended on the belief that matter was good and he emphasized that belief at every opportunity (john d.woodbridge1988, 52-53). he shows the difference between the persons that is not one of status but one of gradus (rank), an important advance that undercut the general belief of the time, that god the father was somehow god in a way that the other persons were not. tertullian placed the father first in the order of gradus but did not accord him a kind of divinity that the son and the holy spirit cannot share. tertullian fundamental orthodoxy is even more apparent in his christology, where he stressed that the incarnation was an assumption of human nature by the person of the son, the word of god. at a time when it was widely believed that jesus was inferior to the father and some were even saying that he was no more than a man whom god had adopted as his son, tertullian had the clarity of vision to advocate a fully divine and the same time fully human christ, the two natures being united in a single person ( john d.woodbridge1988, 54). tertullian theology later formed the substance of the so-called tome of leo (449), which was incorporated into the dogmatic definition of orthodox christology made two years later at chalcedon ( john d. woodbridge 1988, 54). again the continent of africa is blessed with a lot of scholars who stood for the church when it matters most. somebody like origen of alexandria who was a scholar and also an ascetic who made a useful contribution to the development of christianity. he was the best scholar in the christian church in the first half of the third century. he was born in about a.d185 and died in a.d.254. during the six decades of his life, contributions of africa to the development of christology and christianity in general 199 he defended the faith against heretics and the roman authorities, he was active as a christian educator, he was a witness to the jewish community and he was a spiritual guide in the church. he was respected but controversial, disliked by some and suspected by others of holding unorthodox beliefs. but through it all, he remained intellectually dynamic and creative, patient, and persevering. he eventually faced the possibility of martyrdom. his place in the history of the church is based upon his biblical scholarship, including his use of the original language of the bible and his method of exegesis, his pioneering of the theological concepts and organizing those concepts into the first systematic theology and his asceticism which became the seed-bed for monasticism. his writing can still inspire christians today (john d. woodbridge 1988, 55). cyprians of carthage c.200—258 took the next turn of africans who laid a strong foundation for the development of christianity. cyprian was bishop of carthage in 248 a.d and was born in c.200 a.d, got converted in c.246 a.d. he ranks as the second most important latinspeaking leader of the church after tertullian. his ideas strongly influenced augustine and through him all of western christendom. john d. woodbridge in recounting great leaders of the christian church posits that cyprian wrote almost entirely on practical matters and derived his theology from a mixture of scripture, roman law and pragmatic pastoral decisions. he alluded that although cyprian aimed at preserving the faith, he sowed seeds of several doctrinal innovations. he was a strong advocate of church order and discipline and had a high view of the objective power of baptism and the eucharist. cyprian, john d. woodbridge conclude, based his theology upon a legalistic reading of the bible. he was also much influenced by tertullian. he held a high view of the church, he taught there was no salvation outside the church: ―he cannot have god for his father who has not the church for his mother‖. so he insisted everything must be done as christ did ( john d. woodbridge 59-62). the work of athanasius was next in the advancement of christology and christianity; who fought gallantly against arius in the great christological controversy. when talking about one african who built upon the apostolic foundation was athanasius. athanasius bishop of alexandria born between c.296-373ad. he was ordained a deacon in 319 ad elected into the office of bishop of alexandria in 328 deposed from office in 335 ad and returned 337 ad, exiled in 355 and exiled again in 362 and died in 373 ad. daniel okpara nwokuka 200 athanasius the great bishop of alexandria was a real legend, whose name remained synonymous with nicene orthodoxy, the faith that was to triumph eight years after his death at the first council of constantinople ad381. later generations came to know him as the archetypal representative of the alexandrian school of theology, even though he had done little to develop a distinctive theological outlook. athanasius‘s anti-arian discourses and related works form the bulk of his literary output. his treatise on the incarnation, though faulty in place, has remained a classic work on the subject to this day. in the christology controversy between him and arius, his related works are noted for how athanasius took the favourite proof texts of the arians, especially hebrews 3:2 and proverbs 8:22 and demonstrate that they do not mean what the arians claimed. athanasius‘s refutations are all the more remarkable in that he was not averse to using allegorical methods of exegesis. in particular, he was prone to regard the entire bible as fundamentally christology. although that put him into trouble with some ot texts where a modern exegete would not find any direct reference to christ at all. but such difficulty did not worry him. he unduly treated such text as a special challenge and often used great ingenuity to demonstrate that arian interpretations which were also christological were misleading(john d.woodbridge, 67) one more of his contributions was the double treatise against the heathen and on the incarnation. the second part of that work is often printed separately and is well-known as a classical statement of alexandrian christology. it is remarkable in that it is largely free of anti-arain statements a fact that has encouraged many scholars to assign an early date to it. the first section is less well-known, but it contains an important refutation of paganism in the traditional style. in particular, athanasius argued that idolatry and pantheism must be wrong because god and man are distinct essences. however, he accepted the common greek view that the human soul can have a true knowledge of god in creation because the soul is a mirror-image of the logos, or word of god (john d.woodbridge, 65) following athanasius was the contribution of clement of alexandria in egypt an african citizen to the theological battle at this time. clement of alexandria was indeed the first christian scholar in full command of the knowledge of his time. he warned his students against the errors of the philosophers, and he insisted on accepting from the hellenes contributions of africa to the development of christology and christianity in general 201 ―whatever is good, whatever is beautiful‖. to work all the elements of faith and philosophy into a theological system was the glory of origen another african. clement of alexandria started with scripture, establishing a secure text by comparing the various versions and interpreting it, always looking for a deep (often allegorical) meaning of the text. then he explained the biblical faith further by bringing it into the context of greek philosophy and presenting it as a systematic unity. finally, he pointed out the ways of perfection to the christian soul ( john baur, ―1994, 23). it is for this reason that he is venerated as the first biblical scholar, theologian and master of asceticism; a man to whom all later theologians, st augustine included are deeply indebted. in today‘s africa south of the sahara, we may be less inclined to follow this theological speculation but we have to learn from him as well as from clement the art of giving to our faith a standing to be respected by the educated elite of our time. we can also learn from him to formulate this faith in the context of our african background and culture furthermore, augustine of hippo takes his turn among africans that contributed immensely to the development of christology and in general christianity. augustine is the dominant figure in the history of christian thought between the close of the new testament canon and the reformation. he was from north africa in 383a.d he crosses the sea to rome with his mistress and son. augustine was baptised in 387 a.d. and was ordained as a priest in 391 a.d. and returned to north africa in 388 a.d. he was sacked in 410 a.d. in rome and began his writing of ―the city of god‖ in 413 a.d. he dies during the vandal's siege of hippo regius in 430 a.d ( john d. woodbridge 1988, 85). augustine, roman catholics during this period (1225-1274). he is rivalled only by that of thomas aquinas. augustine is the only slightly less important in the history of philosophers between plotinus (third century) and aquinas. he was the last major thinker of the ancient world and the first philosopher and theologian of the middle ages. his work is still a model for those christian thinkers who would use platonism as a framework for their christian world and life view. among the area of christian thought augustine‘s ideas are still much studied are the relationship between faith and reason, the problem of evil, divine grace and predestination, the doctrine of the trinity and the philosophy of history. daniel okpara nwokuka 202 so there comes the christology controversy being laid to rest as there was an understanding of the relation of the humanity and divinity of jesus christ which became normative in both east and west that jesus christ was to be regarded as one person having human and divine natures. this african played a more crucial role in the developmental christology and christianity in general. african major contribution to christology and christianity there is a remarkable african contribution to christology and deep advancement to the development of christianity. john mbiti from south africa one of the great scholars of africa once noted sees african christianity have made a great contribution to christendom through scholarship, participating in church councils, defence of the faith, movements like monasticism, theology, translation and preservation of the scripture, martyrdom, the famous catechetical school of alexandria, liturgy and heresy‘s and controversies, ( john mbiti1969, 229-230) just to mention a few. it is much remarkable that unlike ―the acts of the apostle‖ there were other apostles that worked beside peter and paul, but their work did not bear upon the plan of the author, and so he passed by them. no doubt he was governed in this also by the materials that he had at. i am here govern only by the material at my hand and whatever the reason, it must be constantly remembered that this paper gives us only scenes from the church, not a full history account. we begin this journey with a selected few africans to the development of christianity and christology. vibia perpetual the mother of an infant son born between (181-203) lived in north africa at carthage and suffered persecution and death with her maidservant felicitas and four other christians under a roman edict against christianity. hers is an authentic record of early christian martyrdom. vibia perpetual was in her early twenties when singing a psalm, she went forth with a joyful, radiant countenance to a martyr‘s death. she and her christian companions were condemned to be thrown into the arena among wild animals and then to be killed by a gladiator‘s sword. but perpetual had caught a glimpse of christ‘s sufferings on the cross and she was not afraid. her ties with the world were strong. the devoted mother of an infant son, she was young, beautiful, of noble birth and well-educated. yet she was willing to sacrifice her life for her faith. perpetual and her companions were among the first victims of this edit. perpetual knew the story of how paul‘s conversion nearly two centuries earlier had contributions of africa to the development of christology and christianity in general 203 followed soon after stephen‘s martyrdom. paul had said: ―and when the blood of thy martyr stephen was shed. i also was standing by‖ (acts.22:20). perpetual was confident that their martyrdom would win many in the pagan city of carthage to christianity, for they were aware that the blood of these earlier martyrs had become the seed of the church ( edith deen1959, 3-4) again away from persecution just as, s. o. abogunrin recounted the situation within the early christian church in africa to be a complex one. that the north african church paraded many of the earliest christian scholars and also harbour many of the early heretics. many of the earliest christian apologists lived and practised in africa. north africa was so important that the final definition of the nt canon took place in africa in 397 ad. somebody like tertullian from africa whose christology is its grasp of the two natures of christ. tertullian opines that jesus was composed of two substances and that the word had already existed alongside the father from all eternity and as a distinct person who at any rate from his generation is one with the father in essence (s.o. abogunrin., et l., ed.2003, 04,) the history holds that according to clement also of africa the logos has come to us from heaven and entered into or attached himself to human flesh. by becoming incarnate, he made himself visible. he has begotten himself by creating his humanity. therefore christ is both human and divine. he is god and man at the same time. he has clothed himself with a man, being god in the form of a man unsullied and as such, has suffered (s.o. abogunrin., et l., ed.2003, 05,). origen another africa took his turn to view the logos of the father as the wisdom of god himself which was enclosed within the limits of that man who appeared in judea, but what entered the woman‘s womb was more than god‘s wisdom. he was born like an infant and wailed like a crying child. origen argues that the union is as complete as that of lump and iron, with the fire into which it has been plunged, becoming red-hot (1cor.6:17) (s.o. abogunrin., et l., ed.2003, 06,). origen concluded by insisting on the duality of the two natures by speaking of christ‘s manhood (anthropods) and his divinity (theotes) and of the divinehuman nature (phusis) and his (hypostasis) as the only begotten (francis w.beare1981, 407). for want of space, we tend to say that the christological controversies in north africa did not present an edifying spectacle. the passion was often too high and sometimes resulted in unworthy intrigues and violence. nevertheless, it was these controversies and heresies which daniel okpara nwokuka 204 led to orthodox christological formulations which are still regarded as standard in the present day. the north african church, therefore, contributed both positively and negatively to the development of christology. ( s.o. abogunrin., et l., ed.2003, 07,) solution to christology as the debate went on unabated an attempt to understand and interpret the mystery in the idea that christian god is one while stressing the threeness of the godhead. augustine of hippo 354-4330a.d interpreted the generation of son (or logos meaning word) on the analogy of human self-knowledge. this important work was one of augustine‘s two major works originally written in the early fifth century. here, he sets out a distinctive approach to the doctrine of the trinity; because of his concept which necessarily implies a lover, beloved and their mutual love. he argues for a threefold understanding of godhead (debbie adegbite, 2015,285). augustine has laid the final debate to rest but others are still looking at universal christology. the likes of wolfhart pannenberg according to veli-matti karkkinen whose essays he titled revelation as history, originally written in german in 1961 and his major christological work published in german in 1964 and later in england under the title ―jesus, god and man. from the beginning of his theological career, therefore, pannenberg whom many regarded as the most influential and certainly most hotly debated systematic theologian at the beginning of the third millennium, dealt with foundational issues in christology. the main focus of jesus, god and man methodology and three-volume systematic theology which was released in english in its entirety in 1997, he continued the main orientation of the earlier work, even though he did so in a self-critical manner and also moved beyond methodological issues to deal with the major topic of christology(veli matti kaarkkainen2003,155). harmonization of western missionaries and african mission in terms of the western missionary's world-view according to kwame bediako living realities in the experience of vast numbers of african christians in all the churches and not only in the so-called independent struggle for and feeling after a theological method in a field of enquiry that had hitherto been charted largely by western relating anthropological scholar in terminology relating to africa that would often be unacceptable to africa (kwame bediako2013,52). kwame bediako pointed out the disagreement in terms like fetish, animist, contributions of africa to the development of christology and christianity in general 205 polytheistic, primitive, uncivilized and lower the western intellectual categories devised to describe and interpret african religious tradition ( kwame bediako 2013,52). for many years now african theologians have refused to accept the negative view of african religion held by western missionaries and have shown consistently the continuity of god from the pre-christian african past into the christian present (bolaji idowu,1962,). it is all remarkable that the practitioners of african theologians took on the challenge of re-interpreting african primal religion, approaching the subject not as historians of religion do, nor as anthropologists do, but as christian theologians and arriving at some startling conclusion ( walls, andrew f.,1996, 5-15). so when you see african theologians describe african primal religions in terms of monotheism or diffused monotheism, as bolaji idowu did about yoruba religion (idowu, 1962, 1973:168) or when john mbiti reversing the verdict of the edinburgh world missionary conference, called african pre-missionary religious experience a preparation evangelica (mbiti 1970:36); they are to be understood as drawing on their sense of belonging with christian tradition and using categories that described their understanding of their pre-christian heritage to relate to their christian commitment ( vinay samuel & chris sugden1983, 52-53). before these african theologians took on the challenge the european missionaries and their cohorts have accounted african religion of the unbelievable blacks, concentrated on cannibalism that was to be common then. for example, a lot of it exists but let's take that of the ibu battuta report; a visit of a group of blacks sulta mansa sulema in west africa who demonstrated his hospitality to them by offering a slave woman whom they slaughter and ate. some of the blacks told him (he claimed) that the testiest meat is the flesh of women and the palm and the breast ( hamdium and king 1975, pg 51). this report of ibu battuta may be true or not ibu battuta is one individual who cannot represent the whole of africa as a whole. the judgment of ibu battus on africa is false it cannot hold because he does not represent the religion of africa as a whole; not everywhere in africa is thus practised. davidsonnarrated the cannibalism myth was widespread; outstanding evidence that lends credence to the view that black africans ate human flesh taste and preference of cavazziis description of the kingdom of congo, motemba and angola. the article of that fine quarto volume which he published to this popular belief in europe in 1678 gave a vivid daniel okpara nwokuka 206 expression to this popular belief in europe. he offered a splendidly graphic line engraving of a cannibal scene in which several angola were butchering human limbs and cooking them in gridiron (davidson, 1961, 100). ironically africans held similar views of cannibalism against europeans as well. cannibalism is not the only domicile in africa alone. the unprecedented brutality that the slaves suffered, confirmed their suspicions and fears. john barbot who was an agent of the royal company of africa which shipped slaves to the new world had once remarked in 1633 that among the slaves that they came to america. were many were positively proposed to the opinion that we transport them into our country in other to kill and eat them and believed that europeans were great and irredeemable cannibals ( john barbot, 1746, 10). it is gratifying to the europeans that de barros considered the greatest authority on portuguese. african and asiatic travels of his time writing about 1539 left no objective impression and r.haklut‘s principal navigator claim to have a list of european travellers close to ei mina and benin by mid-1550s who also left an awful impression on the religions of negroes of west africa. some include the unknown duch man, d.r. peter, d.marees and de bry pinteado among others. the missionaries themselves about a century away came dr. flammond doffart d apper and from then came the greatest discoveries which began to be made in science, a new set of ridiculous remark on the negroes of west africa and their religion. what came up though basically without any significant change from those given earlier on. the 7th century period was one of the greatest rushes for new areas of commercial interests in europe. to them and the missionaries africa was a confused mass of ridiculous superstitions. a kind of unbelievable absurdity. for david nyendel it was so ridiculous and such a mass they profess to worship god and devil in human and brutal images ( roth, 1903, 49 ). so as we can see john barbot‘s involvement in the slave trade probably influence his derogatory views of african religion. to him, african religion is a gross superstitious paganism, though most acknowledge a supreme being, but in a very erroneous manner being thus prepossessed, they put all their confidence (john barbot, 1746, pg 352). but one thing we the africans themselves were extremely sensual, knavish, revengeful, impudent liars, gluttonous, extravagant, so intemperate that they drink brandy, as if they drink water, so deceitful contributions of africa to the development of christology and christianity in general 207 in their dealing with the europeans. they rob and commit murders on the highway. the blacks are so dexterous and expect in stealing that they will rob a european before his face without being perceived by him (john barbot, 1746, pg 352) john w. burton wrote that africa is still at the rude down of faithfetishism and has rarely advanced to idolatry. he has never perhaps the idea of a personal deity, a duty in life, a moral code or the shame of lying. he rarely believes in a future and punishment which whether true or not are infallible indices of human progress. at the best of times inclined to be cantankerous fame, whether and personal happiness was still eluding him ( john barbot, 1746, pg 352). above all, mary kingsley who perhaps could be described as a great aficanist believed that many african institutions could not be properly understood because of the false and exaggerated view of them by stray-travellers missionaries and officials who for their aggrandizement made the stay-at-home statement think that africans are still awful savage or silly children (kingsley. 1964, xvii). a good number of these amateur ethnographers are still under the influence of those theories at home in her view, many african institutions are not properly understood because of false and exaggerated views given of them by stray-travellers missionaries and officials. a good number of the armature ethnographer of that period who painted an awful picture of africa includes milligan leonard, robert h. nassau, and dudley kidd. kidd published ―the savage childhood (london 1960) while robert h.milligen publish the jungle folk of west africa (1908) and the fetish folk of west africa (1912) (nassau, 1904; kidd, 1906, 1905) to let the missionary know that time and again african theologians have set or begun to demonstrate that the african religious experience and heritage were not illusory and that they should form the vehicle for conveying the gospel verities to africa. both western missionaries and african theologians should be looking critically is what apostle paul in his letter to romans chapter 1; what it means by the ungodly are not systems at all but men and women. it is men and women who hold down the truth in unrighteousness, who are given to dishonour god, who are given to dishonourable passion. it is upon men and women who commit ungodly and wicked deeds both west missionary and african that the wrath of god is been revealed. daniel okpara nwokuka 208 just as lawrence o. richards would always say that the church both the missionaries and the africans or the rest of christian communities, the church is designed by god for the ministry of transformation: for communication and nurturing the development of christ‘s life to men. that relationship within the body is essentially discipline one. whenever the church gathers as the church (as the two, or three, or as the hundreds) the concern is nurture (lawrence o. richards 1975, 120). the missionaries and the african brethren may take the discipline and nurturing process which god has designed into christ‘s body to operate both in the individual and the local group to undergo progressive transformation. love becomes a visible mark of jesus‘ presence. the fruit of the spirit is produced within individuals. understanding this will bring harmony and a good working relationship between the missionaries and the african clergy or theologians. conclusion the challenge facing africa today is not vernacular christology but rather an authentic christology which is capable of meeting the needs of our african brethren and the current challenges facing the church in africa. western missionaries should study africans and africa's contribution to the development of christology and christianity in general, and not derogate africa as a dark continent. missionaries should know it is men and women who hold down the truth in unrighteousness, who are given to dishonour god, who are given to dishonourable passion. it is upon men and women who commit ungodly and wicked deeds both west missionary and african that the wrath of god is been revealed. it is known today christology in africa will be without a look at christology yesterday in africa. today is meaningless without yesterday. twice the church came to africa and twice the church withered away. little is known of when christianity came to north africa. acts 2:10 states that among the people present in jerusalem were people from egypt and part of libya near cyrene. the church first came to africa in the apostolic age, an african vibia perpetual was confident that their martyrdom would win many in the pagan cities to christianity, for they were aware that the blood of these earlier martyrs had become the seed of the church contributions of africa to the development of christology and christianity in general 209 work cited alexander roberts, d.d., & james donaldson, ll.d “ante-nicene fathers, vol.3‖, usa: hendrickson publishers, inc, 2004 bolaji idowu, ―olodumare—god in yoruba belief london: oliphant, anderson and ferrier‖ 1962 and john mbiti, ―concepts of god in africa‖ london: spck, 1970 and stiloan g.m. ―the image of god among the sotho-tswana, rotterdam: a.a. balkema 1976 debbie adegbite, a concise theological & philosophical dictionary, osogbo: oasis press& publicity, 2015 edith deen, great women of the christian faith, new york: harper & brothers publication, 1959 francis w.beare, the gospel according to matthew, oxford: basil blackwell, 1981 james harper, et l., ed., great events of bible times, new york: doubleday & company. inc. 1987 john baillie, the place of jesus christ in modern christianity, new york: charles scribner‘ sons, 1929 john barbot, 1746, pg 10, cf. davidson, 1961, pg 100 john baur, ―2000 years of christianity in africa‖, nairobi, kenya: pauline‘s publications africa, 1994 john d.woodbridge, great leaders of the christian church, chicago: moody press, 1988 john mbiti, african religions & philosophy, nairobi: heinemann educational books ltd, 1969 john mbiti, new testament eschatology in an african background—a study of the encounter between new testament theology and african concept, london: oup, 1970 john s.pobee, toward an african theology, nashville, tennessee: parthenon press, 1979 kanu, i. a. (2016). igbo-african christology: a cultural christological construct in post-missionary africa.germany: lambert publications. isbn: 978-620-2-01091-7. kanu, i. a. (2012). ―towards an igbo christology‖. in issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 75-103). a publication of the association of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. isbn: 9789788458029. kanu, i. a. (2012).―african christological construct: towards an inculturated and contextualized theology‖. professorial inaugural lecture, delivered on saturday, 19th november 2022, at the convocation ceremony of the university of america, temecula, california, usa at the atrium hall. kingsley. 1964, introductory notes to the second edition daniel okpara nwokuka 210 kwame bediako, jesus in africa, the christ gospel, in africa history and experience, kaneshie-accra ghana: type company limited, 2013 lawrence o. richards, christian education, seeking to become like jesus christ, michigan: zondervan publishing house, grand rapids, 1975 nassau, 1904; kidd, 1906, milligan, 1908, partridge, 1905 and leonard, 1906 s.o. abogunrin., et l., ed., christology in african context, nabis: philarem corporate, 2003 timothy paul jones, christian history made easy, torrance, california: rose publishing, 1999 velimatti kaarkkainen, christology a global introduction, michigan: baker academic, 2003 vinay samuel & chris sugden, sharing jesus in the two-thirds world, grand rapids, michigan: wm b.eerdmans publishing company, 1983 walls, andrew f., 1996, ―the gospel as the prisoner and liberator of culture, in the missionary movement in christian history, studies in the transmission of faith., edinburg/new york: t&t. caek/orbis books. also culture and coherence in christian history, pg16-42 , 16-25; the translation principles in christian history, 26-42 and structural problem in mission studies, pg146-155 williston walker, et l., a history of the christian church, new york: charles scribner‘s sons, 1985 microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 3 special edition igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 1 the north african revolutions: the genie is out of the bottle leo nnoli, ph.d. department of history and international studies, nnamdiazikiwe university, awka. nnoliuk@yahoo.com abstract the arabs of north africa and the middle east crave for liberal/democratic values like the other peoples of the world, but this craving had remained bottled up by religious orthodoxies, cultural inertia and the “genie” of fear. this genie of fear kept agitation in check, though simmering in the so called bottle. the events of the “jasmine revolution” of tunisia sparked off by the spontaneous act of self-conflagration of a 26 year old unemployed high school graduate, bouazizi mohamed in dec, 2010 shattered this bottle of fear and liberated the spirit to fight for liberal values in the minds of the ordinary citizens and with this cataclysmic development the story, status quo ante, has changed in the region. using qualitative analysis of data gathered, including consultation of primary, secondary and internet sources, this paper therefore seeks to investigate the moving force namely, the genie behind the december 2010 arab spring otherwise known as jasmine revolution. the intention also is to examine the impacts the revolution had on the long tradition of monarchies and religious orthodoxies following the enthronement of democracies in the north african states. key words: genie, revolution, democracy, governance, reforms, liberal, values. background as the body craves for food, so does the soul of man crave for liberty. this realism led robert green lingersoll to say “what light is to the eyes, what air is to the lungs, what love is to the heart, liberty is to the soul of man”. however, owing to a long tradition of monarchy, cultural inertia and religious orthodoxies, this craving remained bottled up in the arab world until a few years ago when the steam of liberal consciousness began to heat this repressive bottle. in december 2005, an egyptian appeals -court judge hishan bastawisi rocked the boat by criticizing hosni mubarak’s authoritarian regime alleging ballot rigging in the country’s parliamentary elections. for crying foul and defaming some of his fellow jurists for complicity in the flawed election saga, he and his colleague igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 2 judge maahmoud mekki were hauled before a disciplinary panel that could strip them of their robes, but the two judges would not budge. according to judge hisham bastawisi“the people have begun to desire reform and are ready to sacrifice for it. the number of these people is increasing.”1 thus, this jurist was one of the first to fire the shots of change in egypt and by so doing enkindled the fire of reform activism in the minds of the egyptian people. in a separate incident an egyptian feminist and leader of arab women association, nawal el saadawi claims that egyptian people have been fighting for years against authoritarian rule. she refused to give the united states of america credit for the wind of reform blowing across egypt and by extension north africa and arab world. despite her years in prison saadawi ran against hosni mubarak in september 2005 presidential elections. she dismissed as a “ridiculous joke” president george bush’s claim that “by our efforts we have lit a fire in the minds of men. it warns those who feel its power it burns those who fight its progress”2.saadawi instead salutes the courage of the ordinary egyptians who risked life and limb to challenge the authoritarian regime in her country which typified the leadership scenario across the region. egypt became a republic in 1953 and ever since had had three leaderscol gamel abdel nasser who became head of state after deposing farouk i in july 1952, and hung unto power till he was felled by a stroke in september 1970.3 he was succeeded by anwar sadat who ruled egypt until he was assassinated by his fundamentalist bodyguards in 1981. following which his vice, hosni mubarak an air force commander stepped into his shoes and held sway for thirty years before the tahrir square demonstrators said enough was enough in february 2011. in egypt and elsewhere in north africa the authoritarian leaders had mouthed off all sorts of polemics to justify their hold on power. the morrocan sociologist professor abdessamad dialmy echoed the sentiments of north african leaders thus “in north africa there are no citizens, only subjects. there is no rule of law, only use of force”. he went further to say “when the police or army are absent, there is disorder, then the leaders would say ‘see, they cannot choose for themselves, there is chaos”. 4 with this kind of logic the arab leaders perpetuate their “benevolent” dictatorship that promises everything but democracy. in terms of liberal and democratic values, the north african states and the arab world are lagging behind the sub-saharan african states but the protagonists of oligarchies and “benevolent” nondemocracies argue that “there is nothing wrong if a wise leader or group of “oulema” (educated leaders) rule by edict igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 3 provided they consult and are fair and just. this thinking is presumably based on a conservative interpretation of the qur’an. such protagonists are quick to add that north african states are streets ahead of sub-saharan africa in terms of culture and mentality, maintaining that they have more political stability and higher economic and development indicators. the events of the recent past in the region have proved how perverse this posture had been. before the so called arab spring revolution that swept across north africa and arab world, the most potent opposition came from the islamist groups, thank to the relative safety of the mosques within which they could rally and organize support. however, the governments and the ordinary people were dubious of them. the fear was that if islamist parties win power they would replace autocracies with theocracies which was hardly the goal of democracy activists. in 1992 in algeria this fear or phobia scenario was played out when the islamic salvation front (fis) seemed poised for victory in the country’s first multi-party elections. the algerian government moved quickly to cancel the elections, a move which generated a lot of heat/ upheaval. within the country and incurred the criticisms of the west. the furor that followed the government’s annulment resulted in the death of about 100,000 algerians and the imposition of a state of emergency that lasted all of 19 years and was only lifted in february this year. the islamic parties on their own part maintain they are not averse to liberal values. mohammed sayyed habeeb, the deputy leader of egypt’s muslim brotherhood said “we believe in democracy and political pluralism. what we want is civilian rule within an islamic framework. there should be no contradiction between democracy and sharia (islamic law). but joost hiltermann, head of the middle east programme at the international crisis group in amman, questions their democratic credentials. hiltermann went further to say: opposition parties in the middle east, as in other parts of the world, always call for democratic reforms. it is their way of coming to power. there is great hunger for democracy (among the people), but very little experience with democracy and so the likelihood of a truly democratic group coming to power in any of these countries is remote.5 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 4 closing the democratic experience gap it is important to point out the underlying mistrust of the islamic parties’ commitment to true democratic values by the ordinary people, the government and other secular groups in the region. this phobia or mistrust had helped keep the “genie” of change/ reform in the bottle. equally pertinent to keep in mind is hiltermann’s submission that “there is great hunger for democracy (among the people), even though they have very little experience with democracy. talking about this democratic experience lacuna, hala mustafa, editor of the cairo based journal, al dimuqratiya, says “ without instilling liberal values, votes will not alone bring about positive change”.6 yet this positive change mustafa talked about was slowly but progressively creeping into the consciousness of the arab world in a series of events before the “ spring revolution”, notable amongst which was the creation in 1996 of the aljazeera independent television channel by the emir of qatar, the first independent television channel by the arab history. aljazeera broke the monopoly of authoritarian regimes that used arabic broadcasting to peddle propaganda. it also inspired the birth of rivals like alarabiya headquartered in dubai. on the political front, hereditary rulers in qatar, kuwait, bahrain, oman and the united arab emirates appointed women to cabinet posts for the first time, which amounted to a significant step aimed at changing attitudes towards women in the patriarchial gulf states. in morroco, king mohammed vi broke ground by pushing a major women’s rights law, establishing an equity and reconciliation commission (erc) to address rights violations committed during his late father’s reign. in bahrain the shi’ite muslims who make up the majority are using political associations to press the sunni monarchy for sweeping political changes. a group named women cultural and social society (wcss) led a campaign for women voting rights in kuwait, resulting in the passage of a law in may 2005 by the country’s parliament establishing women’s suffrage. in ultra conservative saudi arabia where the ruling al saud family and wahhabi religious establishment, have tightly controlled affairs for a more than 75 years, groups of petitioners and individual writers were making a case for the liberal opening up of society. king abdullah bin abdulaziz al saud responded to pressure for change by sponsoring national dialogues which included women and other religious minorities, and put the issue of women’s driving rights on the table for discussion. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 5 young lebanese formed groups to demand an end to the sectarian system that divvy up power amongst feudal bosses. the most significant initiative was the martyrs’ square independence revolution rally of march 2005 in which one million lebanese took part protesting the assassination of former prime minister rafiq hariri. this protest brought down the syrian government backed administration in beirut and forced syrian military forces to end nearly 30 years of control over lebanon and inspired hope that the country’s system of feudal power sharing would give way to full democracy. even though sectarian politicians who supported the revolution later sabotaged the cause and shared parliamentary seats amongst themselves. undoubtedly, from morocco to bahrain, activists like judges: hisham bastawisi and mahmoud mekki of egypt opened up democratic space in north africa and the arab world to an extent that was only dreamed of before 2005. arab democrats are demanding everything that democracy has to offer, from proper elections, a free press and human right monitoring, to gender equality.7 thus, the so called political stability of the region which the protagonists of non democratic leadership alluded to is analogous to an ideological prisoner who feeds on the ideological food he is served not because he likes the menu but to avert starving to death. this stability or peace was therefore a sham concealing the simmering but bottled genie which symbolized the true psyche and aspirations of the ordinary citizens of the region. “genie”, (also jinee) in muslim mythology is a spirit lower than angels, able to appear in human and animal forms, and having super natural power over men.8this “ bottled genie” which symbolized the fighting spirit of the arab masses was broken and let loose by the spontaneous but cataclysmic events of the “jasmine revolution” of december 17, 2010 in tunisia. the event which was as dramatic and as it was spontaneous, involved one mohammed bouazizi, a 26 year old unemployed high school graduate turned fruit vendor. mr. bouazizi could not contain his frustration anymore following the trashing of his wheel barrow of fruits in the tunisian central town of sidi bouzid by the police for allegedly refusing to pay a bribe. mohammed bouazizi had set himself ablaze in an act of self-immolation, in protest against the systemic decadence of his tunisian society.9 the bizarre nature of this act spontaneously sparked off sympathetic demonstrations in the town in question which culminated in a revolutionary movement that spread through the country like wild fire, claiming igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 6 as its casualty, no less a personality than the president zine alabidine ben ali. the success of this revolution provoked a domino effect which swept into egypt’s tahrir square where the egyptian president – hosni mubarak after talking tough for a few weeks bowed out in a manner similar to the tunisian helmsman’s. from egypt the ball rolled towards libya where maummar gadaffi had held his people in political bondage for 42 years. in his characteristic defiance gadaffi fired on all cylinders but had to capitulate to the superior fire power and collective will of the revolutionary council forces assisted by nato air strikes. after pockets of resistance held in his hometown of sirte, he was rounded up, made to die ignominiously and was buried in a secret desert grave contrary to his wishes. in algeria providence seems to be on the side of president abdelaziz bouteflika being the only serving leader in north africa who first took office through an election in 1999. this antecedent is still working to his advantage. recently a rally was organized by some algerian youths in the capital algiers to garner support for him. president bouteflika though is not completely immune to the revolution. fever on account of which he has rolled out a series of concessions and largesse aimed at appeasing his populace, it is believed that the human and material costs of a revolution viewed against the backdrop of the concessions the government has made would keep the people in check.10 the genie is out of the bottle in egypt, a state of emergency had been in force for nearly as long as hosni mubarak had been in office. this state of emergency was lifted in the wake of the so called ‘people power revolutions’. before this revolution the governments had little qualms applying all the coercive apparatus it could wield to suppress their citizens. in algeria, where similar state of emergency was imposed for 19 years the story is the same, facilitated by the information technological accoutrements of the internet social network namely facebook, twitter, etc. these coercive instruments or apparatus of regimes that have hindered the aspirations of the people for change, this paper has chosen to call the bottled genie, in other words the moving force behind a sea change. this allegory of genie was employed by a veteran egyptian civilsociety activist, saad eddin ibrahim who said “the genie is out of the bottlethe fear barrier has been broken”.11 this fear which had held the people back for decades had been broken and the evidence in the peopledriven revolutions across the region is there for all to see. this agitation is different from what happened in africa in the 50s and 60s where nationalist igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 7 movements for independence centered on powerful individuals, who spoke for their people. today the people of the arab world are speaking for themselves. viewed philosophically, the current revolution in the maghreb and in some other parts of the arab world could be perceived as a dialectical process of history, dialectical idealism, a continuous struggle for power and a clash of theses and anti-theses. the true spirit of the nations in the revolution is the democratic hunger of the real or scientific majority against the ruling traditional or orthodox despotism sometimes, mixed with theocracy. philosophical historians like frederick hegel would perceive the moving force in the context of worldspirit. according to this school of thought: every nation has a peculiarcontribution which it is destined, in its turn, to make to the process of world history. when a nation’s hour strikes, as it does but once, all other nations must give way to it, for at that particular epoch it, and not only they, is a chosen vehicle of the worldspirit.12 by implication, tunisia became the chosen vehicle for this so-called world spirit which hegel made reference to by the events of jasmine revolution 2010.they are demanding for their rights to shape their destinies, they are saying what is sauce for their leader “gander” should also be sauce for the led “goose”. their message is that they have a right to know how the common wealth of their nations is managed. the people are simply telling their leaders you owe us allegiance but not to external paternalistic donors or some super leaders located outside our shores. they are saying our god-given riches should not be resource conflicts, death and destruction of our people, or serve the interests of a privileged few, instead of being deployed for the common good of all. the people are demanding for accountability and ethics in governance. they have demonstrated they are prepared to die that their children may know greater social and political freedom. these masses are out to challenge the conscience of the west who while enjoying the dividends of good governance in their home countries ally or collude with despots and autocrats in africa and the middle east for strategic interests. they are sick of watching the oligarchs grow fatter and fatter at the expense of the hapless masses. their succinct message is just that enough is enough. standing on the right side of history the uniqueness of this spring revolution is that it is homegrown. earlier in 2005, hishamrassem, editor-in-chief of the independent egyptian daily newspaper, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 8 “al-masry al youn” argued, “you cannot impose democracy. the reform process has to be home grown”. and homegrown it has been, with the international community playing a supportive role, although this role has been variously criticized as interference and hypocritical or worse still self-serving. yet, as shadi hamid research director at the brookings doha centre argued that: we have meddled in the middle east and north africa for so long and hurt the people of the region in the process is not an argument for getting out. it is an argument for getting it right.13 the onus of getting the interference right weighs heavily on the west. else, their credibility in the region will be rubbished. in yemen, syria and bahrain, violent repressions of defenseless but peaceful demonstrators were said to have taken place, but intervention by the west, the kind of which took place in libya was not made. in libya, nato argued it was intervening on humanitarian grounds to protect the lives of defenseless civilians. this is selective treatment which amounts to double standards. double standards will be costly now and in future. anybody seeking equity keeps his hands clean. in syria, hundreds if not thousands of helpless, hapless demonstrators were being mowed down on daily basis by government forces. as yet the response of the west was mere verbal condemnation and call for sanctions, which of course the other permanent members of the security council of the united nations who do not have strong democratic traditions abstained from. viewed dispassionately, this abstention was not sufficient to tie the hands of the west but they were making a big excuse of it, simply because “allies” were involved. such excuses were not made when iraq was invaded. america swept into afghanistan to fight the talibans on self-defense. i do not remember what reason was given to rattle somalia to combatinternational terrorism or alqueida may be. but i know the igbo people of nigeria say “if you hold a woman hostage where she would rather be or feel comfortable, she makes no effort to free herself”. i do not see the west making fervent efforts to ignore the “abstention” imposed by russia or china in so far as the dictators involved in yemen, bahrain and syria are not on the west’s pariah list. pariah states run by pariah leaders evoke a different kind of sentiment. it is therefore safe to assume that the west will be re-echoing the sentiments of one of its statesmen of the blessed memory president franklin d. roosevelt of the united states of america, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 9 who, while referring to the nicaraguan dictator, more than 75 years ago, said “somoza may be a son of a bitch, but he is our own son of a bitch”. the challenges ahead revolutions everywhere are supposed to be corrective. they are provoked by injustices, misrule, corruption, racism, lack of accountability and their likes. any revolution that fails to meet standards of fairness, justice, transparency and the rule of law, has wasted everybody’s time. it is important that the revolutionary leaders of north africa do not lose focus of these virtues, else the whole exercise would amount to mere change of guards. they should not rest on their laurels, having recorded the initial success of dethroning the despots. ironically, a bigger challenge consists in managing the opportunities created by this success to sustain what has been generally referred to as “republican virtue”. this challenge is daunting but not impossible to achieve. history is replete with revolutions whose champions compromised the so called republican virtue as was the case in the 1789 french revolution.14 to this end, the revolutionary leaders should be minded to nip the evils of derailment in the bud. in libya, the revolutionary council forces were said to have attacked black immigrant workers and infrequently black libyans on the pretext they were employed by gaddafi as mercenaries. in egypt, a group of overzealous soldiers, on october 2011, attacked and killed worshippers at the coptic church.15 these are disturbing reports and condemnation of the revolution if the revolution should sustain its legitimacy. a kenyan named mukoma wa ngugi once argued that “a revolution that is xenophobic or racist is a contradiction in terms”. in furtherance of this submission, ngugi went further to say that “if such atrocities were allowed to be perpetrated, the rebels or revolutionaries of today could well be gaddafis of tomorrow”. apart from portraying the revolution in bad light, atrocities could trigger off counter-revolutions. it is my submission that in the countries where the revolutions have succeeded, post-revolution reconstruction, reconciliation and rehabilitation, should carry everyone along, recognizing and respecting the rights of the majority and minorities alike, putting behind them the abuses of the past and forging ahead with optimism and accountability in governance as their watchword. it is important they draw their lessons from the experiences of the french revolution of 1789 and not spread their efforts too thin, but concentrate on what is achievable within the limits of their resources and strength , making igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 10 sure that their answerability to external allies does not undermine their accountability to their own people. conclusion in conclusion, if the west led by the united states of america, could be considered to live up to its status as the custodian of liberal values, she has to and be seen to be fair, promoting ethical values and being just. such posture will confer legitimacy or credibility on their role across the globe, including the north africa and middle east as champions of human rights, good governance, democracy and global security. the wind of change has begun in north africa and the arab world and with it greater social and political freedom. it is a positive development that should not only be supported, but also gladden the hearts of men and women of goodwill. as ex-president george bush put it, “the fire has been lit in the minds of the ordinary citizens of the arab states”. it is important that, in lighting this fire, the united states of america and her allies make fair-play their central focus. if considered by all to be so, it will be more difficult if justifiable to put off the fire. endnotes 1. nicholas blanford and lindsay wise, “ science of freedom” in time magazine, may 22 2006, vol. 167, no21, p.50. 2. pascale harter, “ shouting for democracy” in bbc focus on africa magazine, junesept2005, vol. 16, no. 3, p. 20. 3. philip curtin et al, african history, (london: longman, 1982) p. 586. 4. pascale harter, “shouting for democracy”…pp. 20, 22. 5. pascale harter, “shouting for democracy”, p. 22. 6. nicholas blanford and lindsay wise, “science of freedom”… p. 51. 7. nicholas blanford and lindsay wise, “science of freedom”, pp. 50,53. 8. the concise oxford directory english 6th education,( london: longman, 1976) p. 582. also see cambridge international dictionary of idioms,(cambridge: cambridge university press, 1998) p. 153. 9. al jazeera, riots reported in tunisian cityafricaal jazeera english, (december 20, 2010) http://english.aljazeera.netretrieved 18/06/2016 10. hamoudsalhi, “ charm offensive” in bbc focus on africa magazine, july/ sept,2011, vol. 22, no. 3, pp 20, 21. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 11 11. nicholas blanford and lindsay wise, “science of freedom”…p. 52. 12.wash w.h., an introduction to philosophy of history, (london: hutchison & co. publishers, ltd., 1977) p. 141. 13. shaad hamid, “ has the case for foreign intervention been strengthened?”, bbc focus on africa magazine, july/ sept. 2011, vol. 22, no. 3. 14. denis richards,an illustrated history of modern europe, 1989-1945, (london: longman, 1973) p. 98. 15. maggie michael, egypt coptic church decries attack on christians, (october 10, 2010) http://news.yahoo.com retrieved 18/06/2016 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 64 john rawls’ concept of justice and restructuring of nigerian federalism: a philosophical analysis tobenna ben ikwuamaeze department of philosophy & religious studies tansian university, umunya, anambra state, nigeria tobebright4greatness@gmail.com & prof. maduabuchi dukor department of philosophy, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state, nigeria doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.33912.11529 abstract justice according to john rawls’ most celebrated contemporary theoretical construct, ‘justice as fairness’ conceives a society in which free individuals holding equal basic rights and privileges unanimously cooperate to achieve an egalitarian socio-political, ethical, and economic system to favour every human person globally, especially, nigeria as a country. it is with no atom of doubt that rawls political theory of justice in co-relation and in addendum with other political thinkers’ ideas have really aided to a great extent in the restructuring and reshaping of the thoughts of the founders of numerous socio-political constitutions in the world today which nigeria obviously tries to be part of, but yet to assimilate and consciously accommodate properly the rudiments and tenets embedded therein, and this is so evidential following the kind of attention such constitutions gives to certain concepts inherent in it such as, justice, equity, fairness, freedom, liberty, and equality for all etc. hence, it becomes very pertinent in this work to employ the philosophical method of analysis in order to philosophically analyze and honestly with holistic view examine and apply rawls’ theory of justice to nigeria’s political leadership situation from 1999 till date, by judiciously employing the basic principles and tenets of rawls theory of justice as fairness as a remedy to nigeria’s socio-political and economic predicaments and total leadership failures, which have kept the country down for many years now, in order to use it to proffer a better solution, for the country’s peaceful and harmonious co-existence and socio-political and economic development and progress which is truly hinged on equity, justice, equality, and fairness with proper and adequate restructuring and sincere federalism for better future for all and sundry in nigeria. keywords: justice, fairness, restructuring, nigeria, federal character, good governance igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 65 introduction injustice is most often seen in almost every aspect of the human life, and has actually become the order of the day, especially, in nigeria. this unabated situation has therefore call for an honest application of john rawls’ concept and principles of justice which have actually become so necessary in nigeria as a country, most especially, when one considers and try to assess the obvious fact that the instability we experience in our socio-political environment these days is mostly necessitated by unjust distribution of national resources in nigeria. the attainment of better living conditions for the citizenry in the society is often seen as the most famous and egalitarian responsibility of a responsible government and its leadership in a country. consequently, common political and classical writers in the political environment such as plato to modern philosophers like hobbes seems to be calm and quiet in the matter that concerns the pragmatic enthronement of political democratic leadership embedded with capacity for societal socio-economic progress, development and advancement. following this reasoning therefore, john rawls in erin stated in his book a theory of justice that “fair and distributive justice is the fundamental basis for an ideal society; and it is a significant identity of a well ordered political entity”.1 hence, this idea seemingly suggests that liberty or freedom of the individuals, equity, equality and fairness which hinged on the common good of the people of the state are expected to strongly overwhelm a country’s socio-political agencies and institutions in their policy-making processes. this particular policy-making for common good of the citizenry in the state should embody in no small measures adequate considerations for all citizens’ wellbeing, mostly, the worse-off or the less advantaged persons in the society as stated by rawls in his theory of justice. rawls’ concept of justice and nigerian ethnic/cultural reality from the perspective of the practical relevance of rawls’ concept of justice to nigerian society we noticed clearly that epochal circumstances in the country have made nigeria a culturally bogus and a heterogeneous entity that is divided solely along ethnic and religious lines and so difficult to intermingle with each other in nearly almost everything. this is the case due to the fact that the nigerian state is one of such nations that was unjustly and corruptly forged, merged together and put in place, which is then nourished, and maintained by the political will of a foreign land that wields and exercises so much power over her. in this case and in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 66 pure negation of rawls liberty principle in his theory of justice, many ethnic nationalities were fraudulently as well as unjustly contrapted together in 1914 into one unrealistic nation called nigeria, firstly as an experiment which later became a country, and these ethnic groups are not one and the same people in any regard, which made it very difficult for them to co-habit as one people no matter how hard they try. some of these major ethnic groups as always referred to include; igbos, hausas, yorubas and also other minor ethnic nationalities in the country so numerous to count, and even up till this present day these people first and foremost see themselves as those unique nationalities before even trying to act or see themselves as nigerians. with this fact at hand, therefore, we can really see that it is with only truthfully honest social, ethical, and political justice among these different and most times non-compatible indigenous peoples, especially, as advocated by rawls that can restrain and curtail the tendency and the urge for those in the majority ethnic groups or those that have the opportunity of holding political powers for long now not to subjugate, dominate, marginalize and alienate the minority ethnic groups and/or other ethnic groups politically short-changed in their midst in the same country where they belong. rawls’ justice principles and restructuring of nigerian federalism nigeria’s establishment by the british especially during amalgamation in 1914, the independence of 1960 as well as the military decree called the constitution of the federal republic of nigeria especially the one of 1999 being practiced today in the country have actually become a serious problem among nigerians, because according to the citizens of the country, they were not carried along and/or allowed to have an input in any way possible to reflect particularly on the political, ethical, and social structures which govern and regulate their lives so that it will reflect truly that ‘we the people’ willingly without pressure, coercion or any force of any kind came together to unite and become one indivisible entity for the mutual good, harmony, progress, development, and respect of each citizens of the country. in this, therefore, rawls stated that: a well-ordered society is effectively regulated by public conception of justice. that is, it is a society of all whose members accept, and knew that the others accept, the same principles … of justice. it is also the case that basic social institutions and their arrangement into one … actually satisfy and are on good grounds believed by everyone to satisfy, these principles.2 to this effect, true federalism and adequate restructuring eluded nigeria because the country and its supposed constitution is totally deficient in all ramifications igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 67 because there was no solid foundation on which they were laid from the onset and therefore, was not laid by the total liberty and freewill of the citizenry as postulated by rawls first principle of justice of the liberty and equality of the human person to perform their functions without interference, cohesion, and imposition of any sort by anyone. therefore, nigeria needs total overhauling and adequate restructuring to reflect the will of the entire citizenry especially the contributions of the minorities and the least well-off in the society which will eschew ethnic and tribal bitterness, youth restiveness, and hence, enthrone justice, fairness, rule of law, love, equality, peace, equity, harmony, and respect for one another in the country. following this, rawls opined that: citizens of every society have the right and responsibility to formulate principles for the structuring of a society which can be reflectively endorsed by all its citizens. …because all human beings share a capacity for introspection, the ability to reflect upon their own thoughts and deeds in order to determine whether they ought to continue as before, comparing how things are actually done to standards of how they ought to be done.3 consequently, this is so because nigerians never reflected nor in any way agreed on the principles that should lead, direct and govern their lives and affairs which is actually the main source of the menace and leadership crisis facing the country today. it is so because nigerians are in a forceful union that they never willingly bargained for or came together to accept, agree and/or negotiated upon on the principles for the structuring of their society called nigeria today. hence, it is an unacceptable artificial unity and union which is devoid of general consensus that have really contributed terribly to the nepotism, sectionalism and ethnic and tribal divisions that is the foundation of nigerian crisis nowadays, which was handed down to the country by their forefathers who played more of ethnic and religious politics than united nigerian politics during their times. however, it is only the citizens’ total reflection and contributions on the basic structure and principles of their society that will reveal whether the system is fair, just or unjust, as justice is one of the bedrock and cardinal virtues of any progressive society in our contemporary world today. relatively speaking, rawls theory of justice closely shares economic, neo-liberal, and socio-political principles which promotes personal liberty and individual’s inalienable rights in the society in which they live. more so, the basic principle of liberty states that a just society must first of all begin with the freedom of its citizenry to enjoy and exercise their fundamental equal igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 68 rights without any interference from anyone. in rawls own words, it is opined thus: “each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive total system of equal basic liberties compatible with a similar system of liberty for all”.4 rawls in trying to develop his social contract theory posited two basic principles of justice in which the first refers to individuals’ rights to as much liberty as is compatible with liberty of others as stated above. for him, in this particular scheme there should be fair and equal political liberties and only those liberties are to be guaranteed their fair value in the society. from this therefore, rawls submits that human rights are absolute and on no account should it be abused and must guarantee the liberty of citizens in the society. liberty in this angle is an inalienable right of every citizen in a well-organized and ordered state. in addition to the principle of liberty, john rawls then asserts thus: equality of citizens must be extended to or be reflected in their social well-being and economic life and equal opportunity must be charted by social institutions to promote an equal distribution of primary goods. … primary goods are what persons need in their status as free and equal citizens and as normal and fully cooperating members of society over a complete life.5 for rawls, primary or common goods are things that every citizen is presumed to want regardless of his or her specific goals in life. the primary goods are essential for human existence and sustenance and because of that must be provided and made available for all citizens by a responsible leadership in a country, and the leaders should also make sure that the primary goods are fairly distributed in a manner in which inequality would be dislodged and eliminated totally and will have no place in the society. accordingly, the general notion of justice as fairness demands that all social and economic goods be shared equally as postulated by john rawls in the first principle on a theory of justice, and/or unless an unequal distribution of economic and social goods of any kind would be to everyone’s benefit especially the worseoff as stated in the second principle. the outlined statement of rawls first principle of justice which opines that: “each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive total system of equal basic liberties compatible with a similar system of liberty for all”6 tries to explain what is known as the basic liberties of citizens in general but particularly in nigeria which include political equality and liberty which is the right of an adult citizens of nigeria to vote and be voted for and to hold public office, liberty and right to life, freedom and dignity of the human person, freedom of speech and assembly, liberty of conscience, religion and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 69 thought, freedom from arbitrary arrest, torture and seizure, liberty to hold personal and immovable property anywhere in the country etc. these liberties are properly stipulated and well defined by the concept of the rule of law enshrined in the constitution of nigeria, hence, the inadequate and unequal distribution of social and economic goods in nigeria in the light of john rawls first principle has terribly affected the human peaceful cohesion, co-existence, and harmony in the country, thereby, questioning the authenticity and sincerity of nigeria’s democratic system of political leadership since its evolution. the constitution of nigeria 1999 outlined adequately the basic liberties of the individual citizens in the country which properly relates to rawls first principle in the following manner: right to life which means that every person has a right to life and no one shall be deprived intentionally of his/her life except in the case of pronouncement execution or the sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offence of which he/she has been found guilty in nigeria. right to dignity of human person: every individual is entitled to respect for the dignity of his person for on no account shall any be subjected to torture, inhuman or degrading treatment; held in slavery or servitude or be required to perform forced or compulsory labour. right to personal liberty which every person is entitled to and no person shall deprive him or her. fair hearing, …a person shall be entitled to a fair hearing within a reasonable time by court or other tribunal established by law... right to private and family life, such as the privacy of citizens, their homes, correspondence, telephone conversations and telegraphic communications. freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom … to manifest and propagate his religion...right to freedom of expression and the press including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference. peaceful assembly and association with other persons… or any other association for the protection of his interests. freedom of movement... freedom from discrimination... right to acquire and own immovable property anywhere in nigeria.7 according to rawls in his theory of justice, persons are at full liberty to do something when they are free from interference of any kind by other persons, and their decision is solely theirs and they are responsible for their own actions in whatever it turns out to be at last. however, there is nothing like that in nigeria igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 70 and the leaders are doing little or nothing about it. the country lacks the adequate ability and capacity to properly apply the above basic liberties of the individuals as a result of nepotism, religious sentiments, ethnic bigotry, political differences and other social vices in nigeria which has eaten the country so deep that it seems beyond repair. the abuse of all these liberties are rampant with self-evidences, such as deprivation of one’s life by religious extremists and invading terrorists noticeable through their actions in the country such as the bokoharam, bandits and so-called foreign fulani herdsmen attacks/human massacres in nigeria in the name of protection and promotion of certain ethno-religious doctrines in a secular state which is unimaginable and unbelievable to comprehend. also, there is the issue of the so-called unknown gunmen and even the nigerian military and police extra judicial killings and massacres of innocent armless and defenceless citizens in nigeria like the endsars clear case and other vices going on around the country etc. the country have really shot itself in the leg by not really doing so much against this particular ugly and dangerous trend in nigeria. in furtherance to this, the egocentric, self-centred and over-ambitious nigerian politicians are also not helping matters here. they destroy citizens and people’s lives at random through the use of political thugs to assassinate political opponents or innocent individuals at the process and plant massive destructive bombs and explosives against peoples of nigeria for the sake of one political target or another for little or no reason at all. all these happen because nigerian leaders have always been indifferent and/or refused to be proactive in their dealings with the citizens’ mandate on them, and are more ethnically and tribally inclined than been nigerian first as a leader of an independent civil country whose key primary function is to protect and save lives and properties of the citizens of nigeria before anything else, but they have failed woefully in this regard in all ramifications. therefore, with the continuous escalation of unabated and uncontrolled ethnotribal crises across the country, it will without mincing words terribly destroy and decimate the survival of our nursing and dandling democracy which is being handled carefully like an egg to avoid breakage of any kind but which is already becoming so imminent as day goes by due to so many heart rendering and heart breaking things going on around the country almost on a daily basis. apart from the terrible effects of security challenges on the economic fortunes of a monopolistic country like nigeria, the nature of the security concerns facing the country also have dangerous implications for the country’s political, psychological, and social stability survival. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 71 consequently, in nigeria, hardly will one see all the above and many more play out naturally, practically, or objectively without bias, and/or political or ethnic prejudices and sentiments in place. in addendum to the ethnic bigotry, the deeprooted influence of religious sentiments on social and political public office holders is tremendously weakening the true objective application of equal rights in the society as stipulated by john rawls. sincerely speaking, religion has been playing significantly negative function in the run-ups of almost every election in nigeria and on the electorates too in post independent nigeria, which have caused the country so much negatively than good. however, with such negative actions in nigeria by the citizens especially those on top of the affairs of the country, it therefore makes a few rich and politically powerful individuals increase poverty in the land and try to make sure that there is uneven regional development and high incidence of graft among public office holders in the country by their actions and inactions. rawls, then, continued that social and economic inequalities are to fully satisfy two major aspects of the human life, hence, he opined this as follows: “social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they are both: a) to the greatest benefit of the least advantaged, consistent with the just savings principle, and b) attached to offices and positions open to all under conditions of fair equality of opportunity”.8 rawls specifically occupies himself in his second principle with the social and economic inequalities which are to be determined for every person’s advantage and benefit, and under particular condition of equal opportunity. for him, first and foremost, these inequalities must be attached to positions and offices open to all under conditions of fair equality of opportunity, and also that they should be to the greatest benefit of the least advantaged members of the society. in this vain, every member of the society is entitled to access the public office as far as they desired it, which simply means that there should be no any form of disqualifying qualifications and any atom of discriminatory basis or factor in any way. but according to rawls, if in any way there must be, it must be at minimum attainable by many, if not by all eligible citizens of the society. it is a great and wonderful zenith point of political equality that is mindless of social or economic class or status of whomever whatsoever in the state, but focuses only on simple equality for all citizens within the society. accordingly, rawls difference principle means emphatically that only inequalities that are to the benefits of the worse-off are to be allowed or guaranteed in the society, which means that the commonwealth of the state should be share and distributed across the society’s rich and poor people, high and low cadres, length igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 72 and breath, or every other range of the society, not minding the racial, religious, class, or ethnic stance of the citizens as far as they are citizens of the state. the difference principle, on the other hand, implies that irrespective of what might have been the cause of the least advantaged fortunes within the circle of either lack of natural or acquired skills, poor choices, laziness, and/or any other human errorinduced-misfortune etc, such should be waved-out by the state in the pursuit of the social welfare for all in the society and for equity. continuously, rawls second principle applies mostly in the distribution of income and wealth and to the design of organizations that makes use of differences in authority and responsibility or chains of command according to rawls. but while the distribution of wealth must be to everyone’s advantage, at the same time, position of authority and offices of command as stipulated by rawls’ theory of justice must be assessable to all without any form of bias or prejudices. following this, dukor in interpreting alli’s view on rawls’ theory of justice as it concerns nigerian federalism opined thus: the stand points of m. chris alli is a bold attempt to reconstruct the liberal theory of federalism in nigeria in order to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor as well among ethnic nationalities in nigeria. as a neo-liberalist he is reconstructing the nigerian federalism into a proper federalism where some arbitrary distinction and proper balance are to be interpreted on the basis of john rawl’ theory of justice. … alli shares with john rawls the view that the social basis of self-respect for any individual or group is predicated on (a) basic civil liberties and political rights (b) economic goods like income, wealth, institutional authority, economic power and social position. this expresses justice as a complex of three ideas, liberty, equality and reward to services contributing to the common goal. this means that what justice and fairness share in common is reciprocity.9 following the above therefore, to enthrone a stable and enviable form of political leadership in nigeria, rawls first and second principles of justice should not be neglected or disregarded but immediately be given appropriate and adequate attention it needed in nigeria without any further delays, for delay is dangerous as it is commonly and normally said. these first and second principles’ proper application would drastically eschew tribalism, nepotism, poverty, sectionalism, and political illiteracy etc in the anal of politics in nigeria. hence, since it has become clearly obvious that nigeria manifest the characteristics of religion, ethnicity, sectionalism, nepotism, and other unwarranted sentiments and ills in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 73 the management of the state’s political leadership structure and other human and material resources, the difference principle appears well applicable and relevant enough in this context of nigeria’s situation and should be given due considerations. federal character/power sharing nigerian constitution have a column where there exists a concept known as ‘federal character’ which is a principle that ensures that there is fair and equitable allocation and distribution of national resources and also proper and equitable representation of citizens in economic, political, or social positions and offices in the country, which simply explains that no section of the country’s citizens or regions should be marginalized or neglected in the distribution of offices and positions open to all etc. but in practice, as it is in nigeria presently, this federal character principle is not in use and not been maintained and adhered to in any way at all or in some cases so shabbily acted by past and present governments and leaderships of the country. this section in the real sense of the word ordinarily protects minority interests, but as it is being used in nigeria these days, it is for the evil protection of the majority and few section of the country with impunity by the ruling elites elected to guarantee fairness and justice to everyone. with this, some of the leading and ruling ethnic groups in nigeria have exploited this particular constitutional provision to their own benefits at the detriment of others, especially the ethnic minorities and perceived politically untrusted and feared group(s), most visibly and importantly in the areas of award of contracts, political power sharing, government appointments into strategic offices, positions, and institutions, and also in infrastructural developments in the country. for this, akinboye and anifowose envisaged nigeria as: a country based on a foundation characterized by a lopsided federal structure, ethnic consciousness and rivalries, regionally-based party politics and perverted indigenous governance and cultural ethos aggravates concerns for the possibility of having fairness and equity being entrenched.10 however, deriving from the above and on the political and economic distribution of goods, nigeria and most of her leaders or few section of the country have truly and greatly denied most nationalities in the country their rights and privileges in the society where they belong, especially, the right to political participation of many kinds. power sharing and federal character principle which has turned more of ‘one-sided’ (lopsided appointments) or to ‘born to rule mentality’ in nigeria has become very serious and major ills bedeviling the country for long now. some of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 74 this ethnic groups forcefully took nigeria’s political and democratic leadership structure as their birth right and gift of god to their forefathers so to say that must be protected at all cost, and also need not be shared at all and at all cost, not to talk more of equally sharing it with anybody or with people of other regions in the same country; this is not fair and must be seriously looked into for the good, harmony, and unity of the country in general. notably, people cry for equity, equality, fairness and justice as rawls postulated nearly every day in nigeria, but what they normally got is government’s indifference approach/attitude to their quest, total negligence, i don’t care attitude, or absolutely being ignored showing directly and indirectly through body languages or certain unguarded utterances that they cannot do anything to the evil one-sided ancient political status quo in nigeria. this is unbelievable, unacceptable and unquantifiable because it brings about more disunity and disharmony in nigeria’s fragile and patching democracy in many ways. similarly, since the re-emergence of civil leadership in may 1999 there has been hundreds of uncountable numbers of politically, ethnically, and religiously motivated conflicts and deaths in nigeria. post military era nigeria is experiencing the rise of conflicts systematically borne out of different forms of agitations by several and diverse movements both state-actors and non-state actors from all corners of the country purportedly representing their people and region, which seek to protect, their ethnic, political or religious interests in a country which appears incapable of providing the basic welfare, amenities, and security needs of her citizens. hence, this overwhelming and glaringly seen negligence and injustice of some major and minor ethnic groups like the igbos who are one of the majority groups in nigeria, the niger deltans, the middle belts etc, in major leadership positions and consequently power sharing in the country have necessitated the evolution of many agitations and civil unrest in nigeria like the biafra republic agitation, niger delta agitation, the middle belt agitation and even the recently kicked-off yoruba nation agitation, as well as shiite muslim agitation, and the rest, and these are signs of injustice and mistreatment of one kind or another in the country. notably, this is actually in pure negation to the federal character principle and power devolution/sharing principle of the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria, which clearly states that: the composition of the federal government or any of its agencies and the conduct of their affairs shall be carried out in such manner as to recognize the federal character of nigeria and the need to promote national unity and command national loyalty. accordingly, the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 75 predominance in that government or its agencies of persons from a few ethnic or other sectional groups shall be avoided.11 hence, nigerian leaders ought to do something about this ugly trend which instead of uniting the country have severely damaged and divided the country nearly beyond repair and to a breaking point, to the extent that people fear each other like lepers and ultimately bear grudges for one another for no reason and for no fault of theirs as far as you are not from their ethnic group, especially, the marginalized groups in the country. something urgent must be done to avert the looming danger which is uncalled for, if and only if, we can do the right thing now as well as the needful for the good of all and for peace and harmony to reign once more in nigeria. revenue allocation/quota system the overwhelmingly seen injustice and imbalance in the revenue sharing formula in nigeria is another main factor eating deep in nigeria’s socio-economic and political development and harmony. the centre is strong and lucrative which breeds unnecessary and unhealthy competition every four years for the sake of election of who goes in there. the unjust revenue formula practiced in nigeria concedes enormous resources to the centre which has little or no direct relevance or influence to the welfare of citizens of the country. on this alli stated that: the federal government has become the monthly paymaster; many otherwise vibrant and enterprising nationalities have been reduced to beggarly unproductive natives living off the central government… a skewed federal revenue allocation formula that emphasizes land mass, need, population… rather than derivation for sharing the national cake. this reflects the greatest injustice in the national system.12 the issue of derivative principle has been a subject of abuse and mockery as such funds are looted with impunity by public officials assigned for the management of the office or in charge of it instead of using it for the people’s social and economic good and developments as postulated by john rawls which actually is what it is meant for, more especially, for the social good and betterment of the worst-off of the society. this is why dukor opined in support of mohammed chris alli in the case of nigeria as well as rawls theory of justice concerning socialeconomic and wealth distribution that: m. chris alli’s analysis of the figures and facts concerning the appropriation of oil revenue is a vivid construction of a systemic injustice setting on the tripped nature of the hegemony of the big tribes in nigeria igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 76 who appropriate unjustly the naturally endowed oil resources in the smaller tribes of nigeria. to remedy this kind of errant and extant volcanoes injustice, rawls, in his theory of justice in a capitalist state would argue for the economic adequacy for worst off man.13 it is ironical that in nigeria as an independent country individuals struggle heart and might to provide for themselves those certain basic social amenities that should be the state’s first and foremost priority for her citizens. the nigerians, who have the means through their tough daily struggles make their own personal security arrangements, generate their own power supply, patronize privatelyowned schools and hospitals, transportation, water supply etc, and the government does little or nothing on these areas to improve the welfare of its citizenry. also, the poor and the less privileged rural settlers who are in a clear majority live in perpetual darkness and abject poverty, drink all sorts of contaminated water and contact all kinds of water-borne illnesses and diseases, and are regularly wounded, harassed or killed by armed terrorists and so-called bandits without any form of care and security or probably insignificantly assisted by their government, but the government have enough money to waste on the unnecessaries. all this is what led dukor to conclude in this case thus: the discarding of 1963 constitution by the military junta was indeed the destruction of the nigerian federalism. implicated in this suspension of the republican constitution is the destruction of those basic liberties encapsulated in rawls priority rules of justice and which even the colonial masters granted to nigerians as right to natural resources. these basic liberties and opportunities were denied through the land use act and revenue formula which were meant to deprive the minorities their naturally endowed resources.14 we therefore suggest that the federation of nigeria be restructured urgently into a loose federation with more powers given to the federating units, most especially, the local governments in order to ensure enhance development, security, peace, social harmony, equity, fairness and justice in the nigerian state in line with rawls principles of justice as fairness to all. consequently, quota system mantra of nigeria’s federal government which somewhat coincided negatively with the federal character principle has really gave a great blow to nigeria especially to her educational system. this in the real sense is great injustice per non, unacceptable and should be discouraged and stopped totally in our system. in this sense, alli in his own view totally condemned all these scenario in nigeria by arguing thus: “the philosophy of federal character, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 77 unity schools, secularity and similar pretensions have instead of institutionalizing fairness, polarized us, enthroned mediocrity and subverted the principles of nationhood”.15 this in honesty brought about big and serious discrimination, inequality, segregation and injustice of the highest level in nigeria, thereby, destroying the country’s the so-called purported unity purpose and totally crumbling with speed the country’s educational system with animosity clearly seen everywhere in nigeria. all these happenings in the country, however, proved that the so-called federal character and/or quota system have proven to be dead on arrival and its purpose defeated and opposite of what it set out to achieve in practice, and because injustice must always be injustice and as well will often stagnate human and material development of any nation, especially, nigeria. all these happenings in nigeria to remedy it is exactly why dukor suggestively opined that true federalism culminates in a “federation in which all nationalities would develop at their respective paces”.16 therefore, these ills bedeviling nigeria are signs of total mal-administration, misrule, injustice, negative leadership, and unfair treatment of equals in the society where they belong which is known as a federation of civil individuals; hence, this clearly negates rawls’ first principle of equal liberty for all citizenry, and as well as his second point of his second principle in his theory of justice. however, this particular case have honestly and earnestly affected immensely the social and political cohesion in nigeria which have most often brought about social conflicts arising when groups confirmed the suspicion that the state has deprived or short-changed them of any political and/or social positions, benefits, rights, and other entitlements due to them in any way. the igbo, niger delta, middle belt, and most northern and southern minor nationalities too numerous to count have really suffered in the country they called their own, hence, without social justice and fairness as advocated by rawls it might be very difficult for peace and harmony to reign among the groups in nigeria. according to etuk “a nation that wishes to forge ahead and attain economic progress can ill-afford... the display of anger and hostility; because in the task of nation building, the goodwill of every citizen should be held at a high premium”.17 also, there has been several complaints of socio-political and ethnic marginalization and domination in many quarters in nigeria and these simply indicates that all is not well with the nigerian political, ethical, and social justice system and leadership/governance, and something adequately and urgent must be done about it if harmony must be achieved in the country as john rawls’ concept of justice clearly argues that justice must be fairness to everyone irrespective of who they are and where they come from as far as they are citizens of the state, but most especially the least well-off in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 78 the society which may be referred to as the minorities in nigeria and other peoples marginalized and denied of their basic human, social and fundamental rights and privileges within the country. on the foregoing ujomu in his viewpoint argued that “enduring national reconciliation can be achieved only through social justice”.18 this cannot be overemphasized because the only partnership that can be viable and enduring is the one in which all participants are fairly and equally treated, satisfied, happy, and have a sense of belonging just like rawls’ original position decision making process where there is equality and fairness in the process of decision making. evaluation rawls’ concept of justice and especially his social justice is a sincere and commendable serious attempt at improving the welfare of the less-privileged or as he prefers to put it the worse-off in the society through a modified capitalist system. the lack of partiality of rawls’ principles of justice made his theory just enough, accommodating, and commendable to any individual that understands it very well. john rawls’ theory of justice which simply stands in the form of union between politics and morality is a big plus to the main dilemma of socio-political and ethical wisdom and knowledge which is the possibility of justice in a sociocultural and political arena. historically speaking, most philosophers of ancient days have battled so much on the rationale behind immoral and unjust means employed by people in trying to settle social and political problems facing them, but it is only rawls in his theory of justice that seem to have clearly and in a simple terms indicated the fact that any stable, strong and lasting socio-political system must be anchored on justice, fairness, equity, equality, and morality if it must work perfectly. as an advocate of liberal theory of capitalism in our contemporary world today, john rawls heavily and strongly stood for the rights of the poor in the society against the capitalist’s system which he sees as unjust and unfair in every ramification to the less privileged citizens within the state and society in which they live. for him, it is morally good for the state to distribute and re-distribute social goods for the benefit of all in the society without necessarily abusing the process to the point of gross violation of any kind of human fundamental rights because of certain privileged persons or the bourgeois in the society. he, then, specifically shows that the main idea embedded in the re-distribution of goods is of so much importance and valuable to the entire society if not for anything else for the sake of liberal gestures, generosity and harmony for all in the society. generally speaking, it is said that the pursuit of the welfare of the generality of the people in a political, social, and democratic setting is the major concern of any igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 79 good politically democratic leadership and government wherever it is practiced in the world over. while this may be so in some democracies all over the world, the reverse is actually the case in others like nigeria. as good leadership found anywhere is synonymous with holistic development and aggregated and accelerated growth in some political and social quarters and settings, it is the opposite, that is, the representation of betrayal and inhuman treatments, deprivations and alienation of many sorts in nigeria. political and social injustice, corruption, nepotism, tribal and ethnic politics have grown wings and uncontrollably in nigeria and these accounts for the very unjust social and political structure the country experiences for long now. a system built with lack of trust among the leaders cannot but be ethnically favoritism inclined, nepotistic, ethnic sentimental, tribalistic in nature, corrupt, religious bigotrily socked, and hence unjust in every way. consequently, experience has glaringly shown that widespread discontent and loss of confidence in the nigerian political and social structure have ways of affecting national stability. systematically, most countries of the world especially democratic nations aspire to practice good politically democratic leadership as much as it can for the socio-economic benefit of their individual citizens, some others like nigeria make their own brand of leadership of government of the few, by the few, and for the socio-economic and political benefit of the few in total detriment to the majority of the citizenry of the country. we, therefore, state categorically that the nigerian state as a matter of urgency is overdue for restructuring and true federalism by all means possible. in nigeria, rawls theory of justice can immensely help to minimize if not stop the temptations of corruption and abuse of political powers for the sake of money and wealth accumulation and acquisition by elected public officials, as well as, for social considerations of the poor among the members of the society, and for ethnic and cultural unity and cohesion among nigerians since all will be satisfied with what they have and have gotten in the distribution of the national goods and resources as having being adequately and considerably distributed under the condition of equality and fairness without any form of bias or prejudices. rawls’ political theory has really aided the world, most especially nigerian state with the necessary mechanism and machinery which can greatly annihilate the current and concurrent issues of bad/negative leadership, poor governance, and unabated looting of public funds by nigerian leaders and other public office holders in the country. this has grossly contributed to the recent and current global economic threats which rawls’ theory of justice is capable of mellowing and tackling efficiently and effectively. nigeria’s problem has always been how to organize the country properly and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 80 democratically because politics in nigeria has often been in disarray and on ‘do or die’ affair basis due to her unreasonable and in some cases ill-educated so-called politicians. for biereenu-nnabugwu in his own viewpoint sees nigeria’s politics as: a business with good economic returns because political class perceives the state as a “wealth mines” meant for plundering. however, in a contest for the plundering of the national commonwealth by the political institutions’ administrators in nigeria, the socio-economic equation might be difficult to balance with political equality or representation.19 however, political experience in the post-independence nigeria has actually shown that good and true political leadership cannot flourish adequately in the country until reasonable and well educated nigerians are ready and willing to abide by certain globally acclaimed principles and norms of good leadership with that which is postulated by rawls in his concept of justice which will usher in true democratic dividends for the good of all in nigeria. therefore, rawls concept of justice is highly recommended in nigerian society without much delay if the country must truly and adequately forge ahead uninterrupted in any way, and as well, can be a source of relief and correction to the many injustices perpetrated against some ethnic groups by some past and present post-independence nigerian leaders. hence, all the evils, wickedness and atrocities on the innocent and defenseless citizens have clearly shown the high level of political madness, idiosyncrasies and height of irrationality on most of the country’s political leaders and politicians. any government anywhere that makes excuses for their leadership woes and incompetence by pointing accusing fingers althrough their administration at past leaderships and hence, cannot face the facts of the issues bedeviling their country squarely, honestly, and reasonably without mincing words, which is actually why it was elected, should cover their faces in shame and on no account be regarded as competent and a responsible leadership or government in any way, but rather should be termed ‘failures.’ nigerian leaders should play carefulness in whatever they do while in office else they might be caught up one day by the theory of compulsory and retaliatory retributive justice by the peoples of nigeria after their reign which can be referred to as ‘karma,’ that is, divine natural punishment or payback for the measures you gave out while in the position of authority as elected or appointed leader as the case may be. however, social cohesion and justice among various groups and interests is so important in the process of national development and nation building to avoid escalation of more and more ethnic agitations by the citizens for rights igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 81 infringement which is already overwhelmed. this is due to the in-application or wrong application of the basic principle of rawls first principle of justice into the nigerian system of political leadership since 1999, hence, the leaders have failed nigerians and had ‘vote of no confidence’ cast on them by the citizens as it stands now, therefore, anything else seen in our polity today is simply mere political camouflage to cover up their woeful socio-political and economic failures in the country. hence, except the country, its leaders and citizenry fights back tactically the anti-equality, anti-equity and anti-fairness and generally injustice tendencies and do all it takes to expel it from the operations of nigeria’s constitution as anticitizens’ right; equality, fairness and justice in nigeria would remain only in principle rather than practice in the country. conclusion from the foregoing, we have seen that rawls’ political theory of justice is making immense contributions to the wealth of existing theories towards improving states’ socio-political structures, and ethical pluralities in the global societies of today. looking at it specifically, the principle of equality has really deepened human fairness and liberty and channeled it towards a new democratic leadership and proactive governance for the developed and developing countries of the world. in nigeria, the creation of an egalitarian society will begin with embracing the principles of liberty in rawls’ theory which is embedded in the constitution and which offers equal rights to all citizens in the constitution of the nation, and therefore should be taken very seriously in order to ensure the upholding of such acts that create equal playing ground for all the citizens of nigeria, and in the conduct of the political and socio-economic affairs of the country. similarly, nigerian constitution is so defective of most of the viable and enviable leadership and good governance principles obtainable in the world democracies elsewhere today, hence, needs to be urgently reviewed in line with john rawls principles of justice and other values of liberal democracy as obtained in most parts of the world today. in nigeria, the leaders have made themselves the authentic citizens while the majority of the people they lead automatically turn out to become the slaves in their own fathers’ and ancestral land. rawls’ theory of justice is capable of enhancing and ameliorating nigeria’s contemporary and political democratic leadership woes if the country can truthfully apply appropriately its basic principles of justice as fairness into her socio-economic and political system without any bias and prejudices. therefore, if and only if, the people and the leaders can imbibe rawls principles and tenets of the theory of justice and then unanimously come together to truly dialogue heart to heart and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 82 seek for the holistic principles that would guarantee regional autonomy, political restructuring and true federalism that can harmoniously unite and cause the good and accelerated progress of the diverse ethnic nationalities in the country, it will actually be a good starting point for a better future for all in nigeria. we therefore submit that if and only if the lessons derived from our recommendations above from rawls’ theory of justice is sincerely and faithfully applied to nigerian society, a better society for nigeria is imminent in the nearest future for the good and betterment of all and sundry. endnotes 1. k. erin, john rawls theory of justice as fairness: a restatement. from: http:www.worldcat.org/title/justice-as-fairness-a-restatement/oclc/45388455, (2014). 2. j. rawls, a theory of justice, 1st ed., (cambridge, ma: belknap press, 1971), p. 228. 3. ibid; p. 40-46. 4. ibid; p. 215. 5. loc; cit. 6. loc; cit. 7. federal republic of nigeria, constitution of the federal republic of nigeria (as amended), chapter iv, section 33-46, (lagos, nigeria: federal republic of nigeria press, 1999). 8. j. rawls, op. cit., p. 215. 9. m. dukor, mohammed chris alli’s the federal republic of nigerian army: symposium on sage philosophy, (lagos: malthouse press limited, 2018), p. 216. 10. s. akinboye, and r. anifowose, nigerian government and politics, in r. anifowose and f. enemuo (eds.), elements of politics, revised edition, (lagos, nigeria: sam iroanusi publication, 1999), pp.238-260. 11. federal republic of nigeria, constitution of the federal republic of nigeria (as amended), (lagos, nigeria: federal republic of nigeria press, 1999). 12. m. c. alli, the federal republic of nigerian army: the siege of a nation, (surulere, lagos: malthouse press, 2001), p. 106-107. 13. m. dukor, op. cit., p. 217. 14. ibid; p. 226. 15. m. c. alli, op. cit., p. 122. 16. m. dukor, op. cit., p. 225. 17. u. etuk, god, justice and minority groups in nation building” in african journal of biblical studies. 2/2, 1992, pp. 103-104. 18. p. ujomu, internationalized marginality, social conflicts and the quest for national unity in an african nation state: a theoretical exploration” in african development. xxviii. 3/4, (2003), p. 32. 19. m. biereenu-nnabugwu, lumpendemocracy and the dialectics of insecurity in nigeria. studies in politics and society vol. 2, no 2, (2015), pp. 259-328. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 9 no.3, 2023 www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/igwebuikejournals.php a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 116 walking together in communion as one: the church’s moral imperative (an exegetical study of eph 4,1-6) dominic obielosi, c. department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe university, awka doi:10.13140/rg.2.2.30881.58724 abstract unity is one of the four basic characteristics of the catholic church. it is also the primary concern of her founder (john 17). the uniformity in her liturgy also depicts this necessary character of the church. she has equally upheld this in her magisterial teachings. in practice, there appears to be some conspicuous cracks here and there. apparent discriminations on the ground of sex, race, education and even religious affiliation are undeniable. the holy father, pope francis has so rightly and timely called for a synod on synodality. he calls on the church to an all inclusiveness as defined in her character of unity. in eph 4,1-6 the author posits this as the vocation of all christians. this paper views paul’s clarion call with an exegetical lens. it sees it as the church’s imperative if she would succeed in her evangelical mission. the paper adopts exegetical method and then evaluates it with a hermeneutical application, calling all to a unity in diversity as a way to realization of her divinely assigned mission of evangelization. keywords: church, moral, imperative, exegesis, hermeneutics introduction post-world war ii revolutions were characterized by calls for renewed human community to replace impersonal institutions. totalitarianism and communism developed in response to those calls. other basic human communities moved from individualism to emphasize common ownership, solidarity, and coresponsibility. in the church, this desire for genuine community provided a sociohistorical precondition for the vatican ii’s vision of the church as communion54. cardinal ratzinger as the prefect of the congregation for the doctrine of the faith agrees that the concept of communion lies at the heart of the 54 this is the view of msgr. philips of the 1985 roman synod, which judged that the council‟s vision of church as koinonia-communion was its most important teaching. cf. g. philips: l’eglise et son mystere au ile concile du vatican. paris: desclee, 1966, 1:7, 59 and 2:24, 54, 159. dominic obielosi, c. 117 church’s self-understanding55. in a similar vein, hamer holds that the church is a communion56. it is this understanding of the church as communion in contradistinction to hierarchical tone that necessitated an overwhelming approval of lumen gentium as the title for the document on the dogmatic constitution on the church, at the council’s third session on november 21 1964 by a vote of 2151 to 557. congar describes this transition from the preparatory document to lumen gentium as a transition from the priority of ‚organizational structures and hierarchical positions‛ to ‚the priority and even the primacy of the ontology of grace‛ 58 . schillebeeckx describes it as a twofold decentralization: first, a vertical decentralization from triumphalist church to glorified christ; second, a threefold horizontal decentralization from an exclusive focus on roman primacy, hierarchical ministry, and roman catholic church to an inclusive focus on universal episcopacy, the people of god, and other christian churches respectively59. it is a transition from juridical vision of the church as institution and structure to a theological one that sees it as mystery and graced communion. this idea of the church as communion is the primary focus of the holy father’s call for a synod on synodality. it is not a new teaching in the church. it is rather a renewal of concern and possibly a re-emphasis and realization of pope john xxiii aggiornamento of vatican ii council. it is an invitation to move from fixation on hierarchical office and power to an appreciation of co-responsibility and service; from an exclusive focus on roman primacy to an inclusive ecclesial communion; a transition from a focus on the external reality of institution to a focus on the internal reality of grace; a conviction that the church is a mysterious vertical communion between god and believers, and a horizontal communion between believers, before it is a hierarchical institution; a communion of faith, hope and love (lg 8); a pilgrim people of god (lg 48). 55 j. ratzinger: catholic international 3 (1992), 761, n. 1 56 j. hamer: the church is a communion. new york: sheed and ward, 1965. see also y. congar: divided christendom. a catholic study of the problem of reunion, trans. m. bousfield, london: bless, 1939; h. de lubac: catholicism: a study of dogma in relation to the corporate destiny of mankind, trans. l. sheppard, new york: longman‟s, green, and co., 1950; m. joseph le gouillou: mission et unité. les exigences de la communion. paris: desclee, 1960; g. martelet: les idée maîtresses de vatican ii, paris: desclee, 1966 57 in her preparatory document to the council, the central theological commission had prepared a post-tridentine neo-scholastic document with „nature of the church‟, „hierarchy in the church‟, „laity in the church‟, and „states of perfection in the church‟ as possible chapters but was roundly rejected by the council fathers. cf. m.g. lawler and t.j. shanahan: church: a spirited communion. collegeville: the liturgical press, 1995 58 y. congar: “the people of god”, john h. miller ed., vatican ii: an interfaith appraisal, notre dame: university of notre dame press, 1966, p. 199 59 e. schillebeeckx: jesus: an experiment in christology, trans. hubert hoskins, new york: seabury, 1979 walking together in communion as one: the church’s moral imperative 118 it is the position of this paper that pope francis’ invitation to synod on synodality is not necessarily new but a recovery not just from the vatical ii council fathers’ understanding but also from the early apostolic church. eph 4,1-6 is one of the early apostolic church’s documents that posit unity in diversity and walking together in communion as a basic character of the mystical body of christ and a unique secret to her success in her mission in the world. we have been called to ‚walk in unity‛ through our common calling, common character, and common confession. there are no stars or soloists or lone rangers in the church. there are no stars because we are called to walk together in unity, on the same level with one another, in step with one another; united in christ-like character (humility, gentleness, patience); united in theological confession. the paper is structured to firstly make a brief excursion into the conceptual framework of communion and oneness; the church as a spirited communion; an interpretation of eph 4,1-6 as a reflection of communion; hermeneutic application as reflected on synod on synodality; and conclusion. conceptual framework i. communion etymologically, the word communion comes from the latin word ‘communis’ meaning ‘common’. communis is itself a farrago of two latin words ‘cum’ and ‘munus’ meaning ‘common duty’, ‘common task’, ‘common undertaking’. the word ‘communion’ translates the greek word koinonia which connotes common possession, solidarity, and coresponsibility. the latin equivalents include congregation, societas, coetus, adunatio, corpus, communio, populus, ecclesia, each with a specification such as fidelium or christianorum, eg communio christianorum (communion of christians). lawler and shanahan submit that ‚the fundamental christian meaning of communion designates the communion of the faithful with god in christ through the spirit, and hence their common participation in christian goods. in that each is in communion with god, all are in common with one another‛60. ii. oneness oneness in biblical connotation is different from mathematical oneness. the number ‘one’ is not composed of other numbers. it is independent of all others and so marks the beginning. since it excludes of difference, it denotes divine unity, supremacy and independency which admits of no other. as the source of others, it denotes origin61. gen 60 m.g. lawler and t.j. shanahan: church: a spirited communion. collegeville: the liturgical press, 1995 61 r.d. johnston: numbers in the bible. god‟s design in biblical numerology. grand rapids: kregel publications. dominic obielosi, c. 119 1,1 says ‚in the beginning god created “‛ to denote god as the giver and sustainer of life in all its forms. in hebrew, two words are used for one: yāḥād and ’eḥād. the former refers to absolute one admitting of no plurality. the latter refers to a compound one, meaning one of others. it admits of plurality ’eḥādîm. gen 2,24 uses the second for man and his wife. this is why the fruit on the oneness of man and woman is the offspring to still denote one as the origin. interestingly, the same compound one is used to express the trinity in deut 6,4 and zech 14,9. thus, when this paper talks of walking together as one, it uses it in the sense of compound one as in the trinity. it is one in the sense of the relationship between christ and the church (eph 5,32). it expresses togetherness not in the mathematical sense but in the sense of spiritual continuum. an unbreakable union devoid of discrimination based on race, colour, social status or position in the church. the church as a spirited communion the church as the mystical body of christ, communion of believers in the word and power of the indwelling spirit, is summoned as were isaiah (isa 6,1-13); jeremiah (jer 1,4-12); ezekiel (ezek 2,1-3:11) and jesus (mark 1,9-15) to be a prophet to the nations (matt 28,18-20). she is guarded by god’s holy spirit to speak god’s words and to do god’s deeds in a rebellious world (ezek 2,3). the church is therefore in communion with god through the ruah yahweh, the holy spirit of communion. every believer gets initiated into the communion of the trinity through baptism, a sacramental divinization and introduction into the life of god (gal 3,26-27) by being born again through water and the spirit (john 3,5). the believer dies, gets buried with christ and is raised with him to walk in newness of life (rom 6,4). in initiation, the christian is ritually born to new life, communional life in the body of christ. as god raised jesus from death to new life and anointed him as christos, so also god raises to new life those who are baptized in christ and anoints them as christos. this is common to all, the lay and the ordained, the religious and the non-religious. however, baptismal initiation is only the beginning. the rebirth is not sufficient to make one a christian. becoming a christian also requires the life of service in the world. thus, initiation effects not only incorporation into communion but also ordination to mission. every believer is obliged to participate in the spreading of the faith (ag 23). it is in line with this understanding that bernier holds that ‚since the church is mission, the christian is essentially a missionary‛62. it is the mandate given by christ and the common vocation of all (matt 28,19-20). this initiation of believers into a prophetic community in communion with the trinity demonstrates the church as a perfect society, a visible communion as against the 62 p. bernier: ministry in the church: a historical and pastoral approach, connecticut: twenty-third publications, 1992, p.204 walking together in communion as one: the church’s moral imperative 120 erroneous notion of the protestants that the church is an invisible communion of believers in christ or what tillich calls a ‚spiritual community‛63. in mystici corporis, pius xii explicitly rejected the notion of the invisible church as separate from the visible catholic church. he teaches that they err ‚in a matter of divine truth, who imagine the church to be invisible, intangible, a something merely pneumatological‛64. the church has her invisible side, the indwelling presence of the christ, the father who sent him, and the spirit who proceeds from the father and the son. this invisible dimension does not fully define the church nor does it contradict her visible character. the church in the real sense of it is mysterious communion of this invisible god and the visible believers who embody god in the world. the church is simultaneously the body of christ (1cor 6,12-20; 10,17; 12,12-27; rom 12,4-5; eph 1,22; 2,14-16; 3,6; 4,4-16; 5,22-30; col 1,18.24; 2,19; 3,15), and a sacrament, an outward sign and inner divine presence or grace. she is both a mystery and a sacrament, an organic reality which demands a juridical form, and is simultaneously animated by love65. thus, the church is not a human institution and a divine presence at work side by side in the world but a communion in which the divine and the human so interpenetrate in a perichoretic way that the result is an organic unity. in the words of lawler and shanahan it is ‚one church, one people, one body, in which the divine and the human intersect and interpenetrate as cause and effect, as grace and graced, as reconciler and reconciled, as communion and communion‛66; a communion of faith and life and love (lg 9; ag 19), celebrating in its depth of the god who is love and loves (1john 4,16). the communion-church is born in the waters of baptism. it is revealed and built up as communion of the members with christ and with one another in the ritual meal called eucharist, the sign and instrument of communion; building up communion in the ecclesial body of christ which is the church. lumen gentium ‚teaches that truly partaking of the body of the lord in the breaking of the eucharistic bread, we are taken up into communion with him and with one another‛ (lg 7). one can therefore surmise that the church is two-tiered. on one level, it is a communion of men and women bonded together by their belief in jesus whom they confess as the christ. on another level, it is a communion which is a sacrament in the world of the christ and of the god he reveals. her power and success subsist in this togetherness: the communion of the faithful on the one side and the spiritual connection of all with the invisible, forming a community 63 p. tillich: systematic theology, vol.3, chicago: university of chicago press, 1967, pp. 162-172 64 aas 35 (1943) 199-200 65 f. abbott: the document of vatican ii, p. 99 66 lawler, m.g. and shanahan, t.j: church: a spirited communion. collegeville: the liturgical press, 1995 p. 41 dominic obielosi, c. 121 of worship67, a laos tou theou or unified people of god without distinction of functions or status. schnackenburg documents that gradation of rank and strict assignment of places reveals a mode of thought that is completely alien to the christian community. brotherly fellowship in a comprehended unity was the underlying character of all the churches of christ (rom 16,16)68. actually, the church at inception was originally charismatic. the transition to institutionalization started in the third century as we can see in the pastoral epistles by st. paul69. the institutionalization became solidified when constantine’s edict of milan recognized christianity in a.d 313 and especially when in a.d 381 theodotius declared it the religion of the empire. the christian religion now took over from the ancient religion the task of safeguarding the empire. the church and state became one. according to bernard cooke, the pattern of ecclesiastical, and more specifically clerical, institutions which in actual historical reality changed drastically during its three centuries of ante-nicene evolution is now looked upon as de iure divino. this puts the divine stamp of approval on that clericalization of the church’s faith, theology, liturgy and spirituality70. it is with this institutionalization that the idea of ordo (cleric) and plebs (lay)71 got clearly distinguished. lawler and shanahan indicate that even at this stage, latin theology in general did not adopt this terminology quickly. it is not found in the third-century apostolic tradition or in the writings of cyprian72. even when it does come into catholic use, ordo refers more simply to ecclesiastical status than to inferior or superior ecclesiastical rank. every member of the church was regarded as belonging to an order. it might be the order of catechumens, penitents, widows or presbyters. but in every case, ordo radically expresses the same theological reality, namely membership in the churchcommunion which is hierarchical, that is, which has its origin in christ and in his spirit and which has its final goal in god73. much later especially from the 5th century when the church has gotten firmly established, ordo assumed a new meaning to refer to entire body 67 g. kaitholil: church: the sacrament of christ. patristic vision and modern theology. bandra: st. paul‟s publications 68 r. schnackenburg: the church in the new testament. london: burns and oates, 1968. 69 in these letters, the episkopos became the overseer and emerges from the presbyteral college as a primus inter pares, a first among equals functioning as president, guardian, overseer and pastor. 70 b. cooke: ministry to word and sacraments. philadelphia: fortress press, 1980, p. 557. 71 the first undisputed use of this word occurs in clement of alexandria in about a.d 215. the word laikos was earlier used in clement of rome‟s letter to the corinthians. but it is not clear that the word has the connotation which was given later by clement of alexandria. cf. a. faivre: “the laity in the first centuries: issues revealed by historical research,” lumen vitae 42 (1987), p. 132. see also a. faivre: les laiques aux origins de l‟église paris: centurion, 1984. 72 lawler, m.g. and shanahan, t.j: church: a spirited communion. collegeville: the liturgical press, 1995 73 n. mitchell: mission and ministry. history and theology of the sacrament of order. wilmington: michael glazier, 1982. walking together in communion as one: the church’s moral imperative 122 of clerics as distinct from the non-clerical members of the church or even grades within the clerical body. the stress was now on rank and dignity, such there appears to be two groups of christians: the clergy and the lay. the brief on how the apparent division between the clergy and the laity came to be underscores how the church has strayed from its original structure as the people of god in communion and from her understanding of the whole people as priest and as therefore concelebrating her communion as one. it is this communionship, a walking together as one that the holy father’s call on synod on synodality represents. it is a recall on the church to her originality such that in her life and liturgy, every age concelebrates, young and old alike74. it is no longer the priest sacrificing by himself, he does not consecrate by himself, but the whole assembly of believers consecrates and sacrifices with him as a family of believers gathered as one (matt 18,18-20). in the words of congar, in the church of the first millennium, the church communion itself and not just its priest offers bread and wine. it is this same spirit that the believers are recalled to. eph 4,1-6 gives a background to this communion fellowship. exegesis of eph 4,1-6 the greek text and presentation of a working translation, parakalō oun humas egō ho desmios en kuriō aziōs peripatēsai tēs klēseōs hēs eklēthēte, meta pasēs tapeinofrosunēs kai prautētos, meta makrothumias, anexomenoi allēlōn en agapē 2 spoudazontes tērein tēn henotēta tou pneumatos en tō sundesmō tēs eirēnēs. 3 hen sōma kai hen pneuma, kathōs kai eklēthēte en mia elphidi tēs klēseōs humōn. 4 heis kurios, mia pistis, hen baptisma, 5 heis theos kai patēr pantōn, ho epi tantōn kai dia pantōn kai en pasin 6 therefore, i, a prisoner in the lord, urge you to walk worthily according to the call which you have been called, with all humility and meekness, with patience, forbearing one another in love, be eager to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. one body and one spirit, just as also you have been called to one hope of your call. one lord, one faith, one baptism, one god and father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. textual criticism of eph 4,1-6 in v. 4, some manuscripts: b 323. 326 pc lat syp sa bopt omitted kai. it is observable that the manuscripts that have the omission are more recent and also the omission makes for easier reading. the researcher believers that the text used is closer to the original based on the principle of lectio difficilior and age of the texts. in v. 6 there are two textual problems. the apparato critico indicates that 51 pc vgmss syp sa bopt iram omitted kai. also, the following manuscripts: d f g y 0278. (1739c) û lats y; ir inserted hēmin after pasin. 74 l. duchesne: vita zephyrini, 1:139, cited in schillebeecks, ministry, 152 n. 44. dominic obielosi, c. 123 many manuscripts including a papyrus (î46) have the same reading with the text in use. the omission of kai and the insertion hēmin seem to be an attempt to correct the original text. since more ancient texts have similar reading with the greek text used and since the text gives a more difficult reading, the researcher considers it to be closer to the original. delimitation the discourse unity is an exhortation to unity and the ground of the unity of the body of christ. it is part of a larger pericope, eph 4,1-32 concerned with an exhortation to unity, holiness, and to specific virtues; the church’s calling in christ and the need for their conduct to measure up to that calling. syntactic analysis parakalō is present indicative active voice first person singular of the verb parakaleō. it is a compound verb and can mean to beseech, to urge, to exhort or to comfort. considering the context in which it is used, ‘to urge’ gives it a better rendering. peripatēsai is an aorist infinitive of peripateō meaning to walk. it gives an ethical sense of behave, live. eklēthēte is a compound verb in an aorist passive 2nd person plural from ek + kaleō meaning to invite or to call. anexomenoi is a participial verb in the imperative sense, present tense, middle voice nominative masculine plural from anexomai. it agrees with the logical subject of peripatēsai in verse one. spoudazontes is a participial verb in the imperative sense, present tense, active voice nominative masculine plural from spoudazō meaning to be eager to do everything. with henotētos in the same verse it gives the force of being eager to do everything to preserve the unity of believers in spirit. semantic analysis parakalō oun humas egō ho desmios en kuriō the verb parakalō has myriad of meanings. it could mean to beseech, to entreat, to beg, to urge, to plead, to implore, to admonish, to appeal to, to exhort or to encourage, to request or to earnestly ask for. abbot believes that since it is a call to an absolute duty, the verb contextually carries a force more than exhortation75. it is a paraenesis76 which is 75 t.k. abbot: a critical and exegetical commentary on the epistles to the ephesians and to the colossians. edinburgh: t. & t. clark, 1897. 76 this means an expression of feeling by way of an exhortation. cf. e.w. bullinger: figures of speech used in the bible. grand rapids: baker book house, 1968. walking together in communion as one: the church’s moral imperative 124 characteristic of paul. the appeal covers all the precepts that follow. to walk worthily (peripatēsai) is the immediate object, a statement of principle that ought to rule all christian conduct77. it expresses a pastoral appeal to the readers’ will and actions, and paul often made clear that such an appeal derived from the content of his gospel e.g., 2cor 5,2078. furnish observes that the imperatives of the ethical exhortation were based on the indicatives of the eschatological salvation inaugurated in christ79. the particle oun as in rom 12,1 indicates an exhortation based on the immediately preceding three chapters depicting what god has done in christ for human well-being. it marks the principal transition of the entire epistle. it is a reference to spiritual privileges and the christian vocation80. notable in this verse is the mystical use of en. one would expect paul to call himself ‘a prisoner of the lord’ expressing possession but he uses ‘in the lord’ to show that he was in confinement in the cause of the lord. he was a prisoner because the lord has so willed it and because it was his service81. the phrase egō ho desmios en kuriō functions to lend paul’s authority to the writer’s pastoral appeal and to underline the seriousness with it is intended. aziōs peripatēsai tēs klēseōs hēs eklēthēte the relative pronoun hēs takes on the case of its antecedent noun. the use of cognate noun and verb is consistent with the stylistic feature typical of the first part of the letter (cf. 1,3.6.19.20.23; 2,4; 3,19.20). peripatein is pauline and the adverb aziōs (worthily) underscores the criterion to which the believer’s life is expected to conform (cf. 1thes 2,12). the appeal to live worthily of god’s calling is expresses a divine passivity and presupposes that god’s gracious initiative requires a continuous human response and that his call bestows both high privilege and high responsibility. the passivity of eklēthēte indicates the urgency of the call and a demand to accept responsibility for a particular task. it also implies a new relationship to the subject of the invitation. this recalls the high level of calling of believers into all spiritual blessings seen in the first chapter and so their responsibility now is to live a life worthy of that calling. the noun klēsis (calling) is a summon referring to the position of status, honor, and responsibility that god has entrusted to his saints. the vocation is the same for all believers despite the diversity of the spiritual gifts they are given. 77 j. candlish: the epistle of paul to the ephesians. edinburgh: t. & t. clark, 1901 78 a.t. lincoln: ephesians, wbc 42; b.m. metzger ed., nashville: thomas nelson publishers, 1990 79 v.p. furnish: theology and ethics in paul. nashville: abingdon press, 1968 80 a. wood: “ephesians” in vol. ii of the expositor’s bible commentary, f.e. gabelein ed., grand rapids: zondervan, 1978. 81 a. barnes: notes on the new testament. grand rapids: baker, 1972 dominic obielosi, c. 125 meta pasēs tapeinofrosunēs kai prautētos the meta in this phrase takes genitive object. the entire phrase meta pasēs tapeinofrosunēs kai prautētos is connected with the infinitive clause of verse 1 aziōs peripatēsai (to walk worthily). it specifies the dispositions with which the moral walk is to be associated. the preposition meta expresses accompaniment and visible manifestation82. pasēs gives an elative significance83 and first ethical quality to the phrase. tapeinofrosunēs (humility) contrasts a high minded or haughty attitude. it posits the idea that we are dependent on god and must therefore do his will84. prautēs depicts an attitude of courtesy and considerateness as opposed to resentment, retaliation or revenge at injustices85. it comes from a desire for common good, without concern for personal reputation or gain. meta makrothumias anexomenoi allēlōn en agape in this phrase, meta takes genitive of the object makrothumia (patience) to denote a state of emotional calm in the face of confrontation or provocation or misfortune. the phrase is introduced with yet the preposition meta because it is the effect of the first two virtues mentioned above. it is also distinct and so it is further developed by the following clause anexomenoi allēlōn en agape (enduring one another in love). the participle anexomenoi connects with the accusative humas of 4,1 to indicate the further content of parakalō. the shift from the accusative to nominative gives it an imperative force and brings it in closer connection with the participle spoudazontes (making every effort) in the following clause. spoudazontes tērein tēn henotēta tou pneumatos en tō sundesmō tēs eirēnēs spoudazontes, a present active participle from spoudazw, means ‘to make every effort’. bauer adds that it means ‘to be especially conscientious in discharging an obligation’, ‘be zealous/eager’, ‘take pains’86. it denotes the doing of something with intense effort, diligence and commitment. connected with tērein, a present active infinitive, it gives the nuance of holding fast and maintaining something with watchful care. the present form of both verbs indicate that this action should be done continuously. the entire verse is participial clause paralleled by the preceding participial clause. it is a further description of the mutual forbearance expressed in the preceding clause, and further, introduces the larger, fundamental idea of unity with its accompanying motive and inward feeling. it has an imperative force suggestive of the fact that maintaining unity is of the utmost 82 j. eadie: a commentary on the greek text of the epistle of paul to the ephesians. w. young ed., grand rapids: baker publications, 1979. 83 b. reicke: “pas, hapas” tdnt v, g.kittel and g. friedrich eds., grand rapids: wm. b. eerdmans publishing company, 1977, pp. 886-896. 84 g.h.p. thomson: the letters of paul to the ephesians, to the colossians and to philemon. the cambridge bible commentary. cambridge: cambridge university press, 1967. 85 s.d.f. salmond: “the epistle to the ephesians”, the expositor‟s greek testament, vol. 3 w. r. nicoli ed., grand rapids: eerdmans publishing, 1970 86 w. bauer: a greek-english lexicon of the new testament and other early christian literature, 3rd ed., f.w. danker ed., chicago: university of chicago press, 2000 walking together in communion as one: the church’s moral imperative 126 importance87. the expression tēn henotēta tou pneumatos objectifies the unity of peace as one which the spirit gives. it is not a congeniality of a social group nor a human achievement. it is spirit produced, christian community spirit, unity of affection, confidence, and love; a harmony of view88. it must however be protected and preserved by believers with lowliness, meekness, and loving forbearance that befits their calling. the two genitives: sundesmō and eirēnēs are in apposition to show that peace is the bond holding the unity of believers. hen sōma kai hen pneuma, kathōs kai eklēthēte en mia elphidi tēs klēseōs humōn.4 heis kurios, mia pistis, hen baptisma,5 heis theos kai patēr pantōn the term hen (one) is used emphatically to designate unity as contrasted with being divided or separated. the author plays on the term hen, repeatedly to stress the essential unity of the church. in these three verses (vv. 3-5) it occurs seven times, three times in the first triad of nouns, three times in the second triad, and, finally, once in the reference to god in v. 6 positing god as a summary of all the unity in himself. it noticeable that each of the three groups of one is referenced around each of the three persons of the trinity because it is intimately tied in with the connotations inherent in the phrase heis theos (one god) in v. 6. hen sōma kai hen pneuma, kathōs kai eklēthēte en mia elphidi tēs klēseōs humōn in vv. 3 and 4 expresses the spiritual realities that unite the church, which transcend all differences of background, or which guarantees the unity. it gives a footing for the exhortation to keep the unity of the spirit. the phrase hen sōma kai hen pneuma (one body and one spirit) is in apposition to the nominative participles of vv. 2-3 (enduring one another in love, making every effort to keep the unity). the reason why this unity must be upheld is kathōs kai eklēthēte en mia elphidi tēs klēseōs humōn (just as you have been called in one hope of your calling). the term sōma (body) evidently refers to the church, the mystical body of christ. it has a metaphorical sense that just as a person’s body has many parts animated by the same spirit, so the church, one body with many parts distributed throughout ages and places ought to be animated by the spirit. the term pneuma denotes the holy spirit. the fact that the holy spirit is a person and indivisible gives the basis for the position of ephesians in 4,1-689. kathōs enforces and illustrates the unity as a calling in its entirety. elpis here substantially signifies the expectation of future good ith objective sense necessarily implied. the content of the hope in question is the ultimate unification and ratification of all things in christ (eph 1,9-10; 3,9-10). it is the hope of being made fellow-citizens of the saints, and of the household of god, the 87 j.r. stott: god‟s new society: the message of ephesians. downers grove, iii: intervasity press, 1979. 88 j. calvin: calvin‟s commentaries, vol. 12, wilmington: associated publishers and authors, n.d. 89 d.m. lioyd-jones: the exposition of ephesians. grand rapids: baker, 1972. dominic obielosi, c. 127 manifestation of god’s purpose for the world90, obtaining glory in eternity with christ91. the author is aware that the conduct of believers in the present is determined by their future hope. the writer of ephesians goes further to talk of hen baptisma to underscore the similarity of consecration of all to the trinity. all believers are consecrated to the father, son and holy spirit through the same rite of baptism. baptism has the same form and is an initiation into the one body. all members receive the same rite of initiation into the same christ and not into churches or leaders and so the implied unity must be upheld. hermeneutic application in relation to synod on synodality in april 2021, his holiness, pope francis initiated a synodal journey of the whole people of god (for a synodal church: communion, participation and mission. xvi ordinary general assembly of the synod of bishops). the objective of the synod is to provide an opportunity for the entire people of god to discern together how to move forward on the path towards being a more synodal church not in the short-term but long term. this objective is to be guided by finding out how this ‘moving forward together’ take place today on different levels in the church and how the spirit invites us to journey together in order to grow as a synodal church. the synod is structured to involve the diocesan and then the universal phases. the diocesan phase is expected to offer as many people as possible a truly synodal experience of listening to one another, and walking forward together, guided by the holy spirit. significant effort must be made to involve the highest number of people in a meaningful way so as to flow in line with the facts that faith always emerges when people are valued, heard of their plea, aided in their difficulty, appreciated because of their availability and when their dignity is confirmed by god’s grace and restored within the community. the fundamental question posed by the synod is a synodal church, in announcing the gospel, ‘journeys together’. the immediate hermeneutic application of eph 4,1-6 is embedded in her call to unity and communion of all. saint john paul ii judges in apt terms that communion is the very mystery of the church92. also, the 1985 synod interprets that the vision of the church as communion is the most important teaching of the second vatican council. eph 4,1-6 exhorts all believers to embrace unity of all as a vocation founded on the unity of the trinity as the origin of the church. hierarchy means sacred or holy origin93. since the 90 g.h.p. thomson: the letters of paul to the ephesians to the colossians and to philemon. the cambridge bible commentary. cambridge: cambridge university press, 1967. 91 c.w. carter: “the epistle of paul to the ephesians”, vol. 5 of the wesleyan bible commentary. grand rapids: eerdmans publishers, 1965. 92 john paul ii: christifideles laici, apostolic exhortation on the laity 93 m.g. lawler and t.j. shanahan: church: a spirited communion. collegeville: the liturgical press, 1995 walking together in communion as one: the church’s moral imperative 128 church has god as her origin, it means that she is hierarchical not necessarily in the sense of function but in sacredness or holiness just as god her origin is alone holy (luke 18,19; matt 5,48; lev 19,2). the call to unity and communion founded on peace and love in eph 4,1-6 is implicitly a call to servant ministry. it is not just a coincidence that the church ritualizes the sacrament of initiation as an incorporation into christ and into her mystical body, the church. the incorporation connotes an acceptance of the commission to continue the servant ministry of christ in the world as a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, god’s own people, called to declare the wonderful deeds of him who called her out of darkness into light (1pet 2,9). lumen gentium rightly gives this idea resounding accent when it concludes that christ the lord made a kingdom and priests to god his father out of this people94. it goes further to say that those priests of the common priesthood are commissioned to a participation in the saving mission of the church itself95. all are commissioned to servant priesthood just as christ is commissioned (luke 4,18-19.43; john 3,16-17; 5,36-37; 6,28-29; 7,29; 8,18; 12,49). this explains why in answer to the question as who is the greatest, jesus enjoins his followers to be servant of all and be the last of all if he wishes to be the greatest (mark 9,35). in mark 10,45 he outlines his mission as coming to serve and not to be served. this ministry of service is possibility only with humility, peace, unity and love. and this is precisely what eph 4,1-6 enshrines as the vocation of all christians and urges all to embrace it. evaluation and conclusion the church is a sacrament of unity (1cor 12,12ff; col 1,18). by exhorting all to embrace unity, the author of eph 4,1-6 recalls all believers to their originality as christians. it is a sublimation without limitation into a spiritual union and equality of all in christ. it is not a renunciation of the hierarchical ordering of the church but a reminder that all are one in christ irrespective of position. thus, positions are meant to serve for proper ordering and not for discrimination on the grounds of status. the church is not meant to have the sense of ‘we are here, and you are there’. for eph 4,1-6 we all have a common vocation, namely, unity of all in peace and love. the church is the people of god (1pet 2,10) without distinction of groups. there have always been individuals with special functions in the church, apostles, prophets, teachers (1cor 12,28; rom 12,6-8), presbyters, overseers (acts 11,30; 15,24; 2-,28; 1tim 5,1; 4,14; titus 1,5-7) but none of these functions divided the one people of god. what mattered was being or not being in christ. baptismal initiation took precedence over any kind of ministerial function. there was no 94 lg. 10 95 lg. 33 dominic obielosi, c. 129 distinction between laos (people) and kleroi (clergy). no one was considered more important than the order. the distinction and privileges came in with the pastoral epistles and then later in history especially with the introduction of celibacy for the roman catholic clerics in the 12th century. it is the belief of the researcher that if the church can hearken to the exhortation in eph 4,1-6 as ratified by the synod on synodality, she will surely represent the true kingdom of god on earth. references abbot, t.k: a critical and exegetical commentary on the epistles to the ephesians and to the colossians. edinburgh: t. & t. clark, 1897. abbott, f: the document of vatican ii barnes, a: notes on the new testament. grand rapids: baker, 1972 bauer, w: a greek-english lexicon of the new testament and other early christian literature, 3rd ed., f.w. danker ed., chicago: university of chicago press, 2000. bernier, p: ministry in the church: a historical and pastoral approach, connecticut: twenty third publications, 1992, bullinger, e.w: figures of speech used in the bible. grand rapids: baker book house, 1968. calvin, j: calvin’s commentaries, vol. 12, wilmington: associated publishers and authors, n.d. candlish, j: the epistle of paul to the ephesians. edinburgh: t. & t. clark, 1901 congar, y: ‚the people of god‛, john h. miller ed., vatican ii: an interfaith appraisal, notre dame: university of notre dame press, 1966, p. 199 congar, y: divided christendom. a catholic study of the problem of reunion, trans. m. bousfield, london: bless, 1939 cooke, b: ministry to word and sacraments. philadelphia: fortress press, 1980, p. 557. de lubac, h: catholicism: a study of dogma in relation to the corporate destiny of mankind, trans. l. sheppard, new york: longman’s, green, and co., 1950; eadie, j: a commentary on the greek text of the epistle of paul to the ephesians. w. young ed., grand rapids: baker publications, 1979. faivre, a: ‚the laity in the first centuries: issues revealed by historical research,‛ lumen vitae 42 (1987), p. 132. faivre, a: les laiques aux origins de l’église paris: centurion, 1984. furnish, v.p: theology and ethics in paul. nashville: abingdon press, 1968 john paul ii: christifideles laici, apostolic exhortation on the laity joseph le gouillou, m: mission et unité. les exigences de la communion. paris: desclee, 1960; kaitholil, g: church: the sacrament of christ. patristic vision and modern theology. bandra: st. paul’s publications lawler, m.g. and shanahan, t.j: church: a spirited communion. collegeville: the liturgical press, 1995 lincoln, a.t: ephesians, wbc 42; b.m. metzger ed., nashville: thomas nelson publishers,1990 lioyd-jones, d.m: the exposition of ephesians. grand rapids: baker, 1972. martelet, g: les idée maîtresses de vatican ii, paris: desclee, 1966 walking together in communion as one: the church’s moral imperative 130 philips, g: l’eglise et son mystere au ile concile du vatican. paris: desclee, 1966, 1:7, 59 and 2:24, 54, 159. salmond, s.d.f: ‚the epistle to the ephesians‛, the expositor’s greek testament, vol. 3 w. r. nicoli ed., grand rapids: eerdmans publishing, 1970 schillebeeckx, e: jesus: an experiment in christology, trans. hubert hoskins, new york: seabury, 1979 schnackenburg, r: the church in the new testament. london: burns and oates, 1968 thomson, g.h.p: the letters of paul to the ephesians, to the colossians and to philemon. the cambridge bible commentary. cambridge: cambridge university press, 1967 tillich, p: systematic theology, vol.3, chicago: university of chicago press, 1967, pp. 162-172 wood, a: ‚ephesians‛ in vol. ii of the expositor’s bible commentary, f.e. gabelein ed., grand rapids: zondervan, 1978. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 5 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 78 the problem of the human ambivalence situation by abanka israel michael; kitchi, george a.; amissah, william brookan; ejobu emmanuel essien; akpan dominic archibong; ijene, obio akom; aniah, paschal undie; arrey, dorris a. department of philosophy faculty of arts university of calabar, calabar abstract this write up has brought to the fore the ambivalence of human existential situation. the ambivalence of human situations as posited by dr. akpan is anchored on the notion of self-preservation which man though rational, shares with other animals that are not rational, or are of a lesser level of rationality. in our elucidation of the ambivalence of human existential situation, we have used professor asouzu book on this subject as the spring board on which our accentuation has been made. it suffices to note that we have agreed with him that the best way to give rational explanation of human action is to understand that human interest is ambivalent for this would lead us to know not only the observable effects of the actions but the hidden meanings of such actions. keywords: human, ambivalence, existential, situation. introduction man in spite of his rationality is still beclouded with the zeal to pursue his most cherish interest, this to a considerable extend has to do with certain peculiar fundamental characteristics of his primordial instincts of self-preservation. it is in view of this that prof. asouzu captures this situation that confronts man as the “human ambivalence existential situation”. according to prof asouzu, even if the human person is fundamentally rational, the same human person is subject to the challenges of our fundamental instinct of self-preservation(asouzu 11).in linewith the afore stated view, the human person is thus caught in a quagmire of being rational and being subject to our most primitive instinct therefore a tension is created within human consciousness. this is the foundation of the ambivalent tension that characterizes our consciousness and which accompanies us inall our activities as human persons. this research work will inline with the topic seek to bring to the fore the ambivalence situation of man as well as elucidate on its problem with relevant examples. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 79 explication of concepts a. problem problem is defined as a state of difficulty that needs clarification to be resolved.in other words it is a thing that is difficult to deal with or understand. b. human human refers to someone that is related to or associated with people or humanity. it is used to refer to any living thing or member of the family that is characterized by superior intelligence, articulate speech and erect carriage. c. ambivalence according to the advance learner’s dictionary, ambivalence is the process of having or showing both good and bad feelings about something or somebody. d. situation this english mini dictionary defines situation as a set of circumstances. furthermore, it is defined as a happening at a particular time and in a particular place. an overview of the problem of human ambivalence situation mans’ entire existence is beset by this phenomenon of ambivalence. as a complex animal, man or being is easily distinguishable from other animals in his physique, rationality, sociality, religiosity, creativity, political nature etc. yet as part of nature he cannot completely divorce himself from the natural tendencies prominent among them is the tendency of self-preservation. self-preservation therefore appears to be man’s strongest instinct and indeed the fulcrum from which man pursues his interest. professor asouzu who has to be given immense credit as the first african philosopher to expound the problem associated with the ambivalence of human interest captures it this way: “the need to self-preservation is the primordial human interest around which human beings articulate their human action either individually or collectively”. this implies that self-preservation has been man’s preoccupation right from the time of adam. prof asouzu in his books titled effective leadership and the ambivalence of human interest the nigerian paradox in a complementary perspective and the method and principles of complementary reflection in and beyond african philosophy took time to explain the phenomenon of ambivalence of human interest with some mind throbbing igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 80 concrete examples. thus there seem to be no better place to appeal to if we want to understand this phenomenon well. asouzu’s mission statement is that human interest is ambivalent because it has a double capacity and as such can represent something negative and positive at the same time. what this implies is that in the course of pursuing our interest, we most at time would believe that what we are pursuing is something positive, and beneficial to us without knowing that on the other side of the coin what we achieve at the same time is negative. this tendency is the root cause of social disorder, crises, distrust and lack of our development as humans, state, nation and continent. asouzu sees the phenomenon of ambivalence of human interest as something that is paradoxical. he wonders how we could explain a situation where one seeks to conserve his interest but at the same time undertakes actions that would virtually lead to his destruction and in the same time end up by losing whatever interest he was trying to conserve (15-16). instances that can explain such paradoxicalities abound especially in nigeria. why should a suicide bomber for instance engage in this bizarre activity knowing quite well that at the end he would lose his life, kill other people apart from the targeted victims, why do people go to vandalize pipe lines in order to scoop out fuel illegally when they also know that they may end up being burnt to death? the foregoing shows what the human ambivalence situation is all about. the problem of the human ambivalence situation having discussed the human ambivalence situation, it would be preposterous to affirm that there is no problem with it. the ambivalence situation of humans has led to an aberration. man has become another man’s judge thereby making himself a saint and others sinners, the human tends to point and criticize his fellow man when he is not holy. this human ambivalence situation erodes the altruistic spirit in man, making man an egoistic animal that seeks his own interest first and looks for every available means to satisfy him-self before others. that man is a rapacious being is no new ideology; man tends to make decisions based on the ambivalence nature of which decisions are made blindly and unconsciously. as one could say, the ambivalence human situation has turn man from normal to the abnormal, this problem has brought about self-centered futuristically destructive decision that the human without reason would not decipher. in a bid to secure our own interest as humans, we make certain decisions that seem good to us but rather have greater effect on the future. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 81 example is seen in our societal norms and policies which are made by law makers in their own favour regardless of the harms this laws will inflict on others. further example is cited by prof. asouzu of a businessman who wishes to be honest but the double capacity does not make him so, he finds himself trying to play honest but rather this ambivalence nature does not give him a chance. the double capacity can make us inconsistent and lead to all forms of contradictions and deviant behaviors (asouzu 23). asouzu further posits that the ambivalence of human interest makes us perceive or misperceive the same object differently in the same respect (asouzu 27) therefore the way i see the well water is not the same way i see the borehole water but both are water therefore i disregard the well water and appreciate the borehole water although some feed from this well water and do not have illness. other problems associated with the ambivalence of human problem is the short cut to achievement rather than through hard work, broad is the way that leads to destruction and narrow to everlasting life. humans due to its ambivalent nature do not wish to stress himself but rather would rely on negative ways to get to the top, it makes us so blind that we desire things that kills us fast; we apprise someone who does the wrong and scorn those who do the right. the human double capacity has ignorantly made man blind. recommendations most ironically is the fact that many people would detect so many things as being wrong but yet they would not go ahead to do those things that will proffer wonderful solutions to these problems. the all-embracing answer is given by professor asouzu to this why questions is that the ambivalence of human interest has rather blurred our views forcing us to see only the short term ad hoc benefits of our policies and not their dangers on the long run (29). this of course is true because human interest is interwoven and not homogeneous. the fundamental question is that how do we get ourselves liberated from this phenomenon, professor asouzu makes it lucid that we can free ourselves from this tyranny only if we make concerted conscious effort to be aware of their devastating effect. this implies that we are not usually conscious of the dangers inherent in some of the interest we pursue. if we were fully aware of the dangers associated with the ambivalence of our interest we would not sign our own death warrant. inyang in his social engineering and ambivalence of human igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 82 interest: the nigerian experience correctly makes the point that prof asouzu position may not be far from socrates teaching that knowledge is virtue and vice is attributed to ignorance of that which is good but he seem to agree totally with asouzu position that if we were aware of the dangers of our actions we would not do it for no man who really know what is wrong would do it. this position is however vulnerable to the criticism leveled against socrates identification of knowledge with virtue. aristotle is said to have pointed out that socrates may have forgotten the influence of the rational part of the soul and did not take sufficient notice of the fact of moral weakness which leads man to do what he want he knows to be wrong(copleston109). we cannot in all honesty say for instance that criminals are totally ignorant people; they are people who most times have conviction within them that what they are doing is utterly wrong and devilish and yet would choose to do it. the problem appears to lie in their moral weakness which is induced when the irrational part in them subjugates the rational part. be that as it may, what is significant about this phenomenon of human existential situation is that it is something natural, it is only when we fail to manage it successfully that we tend to act paradoxically. asouzu propounds two basic principles of complementarism on how to manage the natural phenomenon that beset human life; 1. the principle of harmonious complementation 2. the principle of progressive transformation the first principle of progressive transformation serves a missing link of reality, that is to say for any realty to be meaningful then the components have to be viewed complementarily that is the missing components have to be brought together such that they become aware of each other. hence everything has a natural tendency towards its end. in this vein he summits that their transformation (that is human actions) to the purpose for which they are meant can be accomplished if one adheres to the second principle of harmonious transformation. conclusion this write up has brought to the fore the ambivalence of human existential situation. the ambivalence of human situations as posited by dr. akpan is anchored on the notion of self-preservation which man though rational, shares with other animals that are not rational, or are of a lesser level of rationality. in our elucidation of the ambivalence of human existential situation, we have used igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 83 professor asouzu book on this subject as the spring board on which our accentuation have been made. it suffices to note that we have agreed with him that the best way to give rational explanation of human action is to understand that human interest is ambivalent for this would lead us to know not only the observable effects of the actions but the hidden meanings of such actions. it is our belief that if this is well understood and followed then we won’t allow the human ambivalence to override us. references ambivalence: microsoft encarta 2009 [dvd]: redmond, microsoft corporation, 2008. asouzu i. innocent, university of calabar, calabar 50thinaugural lecture “ibuanyidanda” and the philosophy of essence; university of calabar press calabar,2011. asouzu, innocent. effective leadership and the ambivalence of human interest: the nigerian paradox in a complementary perspective. calabar, university of calabar press, 2003. innocent, asouzu.ibuanyidandacomplementary reflection and some basic philosophical problems in africa today; sense experience, “ihemkpuchiaya” and the super maxim, litverlag ambh& co. kg wien, zurich, 2013. inyang, j. o. “social engineering and ambivalence of human interest: the nigerian experience”. sophia: african journal of philosophy. 6:2 (2004) situation: encyclopedia britannica student and home edition: chicago, encyclopedia britannica, 2010. akpan, chris. "ambivalence of human existential situation: a veritable index of rational explanation" in: american journal of social and management sciences, vol.2 no.1, march 2011, pp.1-10. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.1 no. 2 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 1 the life, times and works of aurelius augustine by kanu, ikechukwu anthony, o.s.a., ph.d. augustinian institute, makurdi, nigeria ikee_mario@yahoo.com abstract this work studied the life, times and works of saint augustine. it began from his youth dayshis primary, secondary and university day, his search for the truth and eventual conversion to christinity, his profound contemplation, his priestly days and ascension to the episcopate, his words and last days. his various accomplishments and experiences has led to his being called the doctor of grace, one of the greatest of the fathers and doctors of the church. he is the patron saint of brewers, theologians, printers, sore eyes, diocese of bridgeport, connecticut; diocese of kalamazoo, michigan, diocese of superior, wisconsin; diocese of tucson, arizon. his symbols in art are a child, pen, dove and shell. keywords: aurelius augustine, life, times, works introduction on 13th november 3s54 ad, precisely, 1,660 years ago, saint augustine was born to the family of patricius and monica with the names aurelius augustine. he was born in the numidian city of tagaste, a city of great culture (the centre of berber culture) and the very hub of civilization. in the present day algeria, souk ahras, a municipality in algeria rests on the ruins of tagaste. the town of tagaste was situated in the north-east highlands of numidia, the present anaba the sea-side city; and here, augustine was to spend the last 40 years of his life. it is about 12 kilo meters from maduara where he went for his first studies from 354-369 ad and 200 kilo meters from carthage on the coast of the present tunisia where he went during the autumn of 370 ad for higher education and the early years of his teaching career. the father of augustine, patricius was a pagan who converted at his death bed. he was an official in the roman administration of the region. his mother, st igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 2 monica was a devout christian. both parents were from tagaste, however, with monica from the berber race. monica gave birth to st augustine at the age of 22, not knowing that she has brought to the world one of the greatest men that would come to make and influence the course of political and religious history by his verbal erudition and colossal literary exploits1. although the religions of the parents of augustine had great influence on him, it is not surprising that the religion of the mother had more influence in shaping him, because he stayed more at home with the mother during his infant years. augustine as a youth in 370, augustine went to the university of carthage to study rhetoric with a view to becoming a lawyer. while at the university, he gave up law to devout himself to literary pursuits and gradually abandoned his christian faith taking a mistress with whom he lived for fifteen years and who bore him a son named adeodatus in 372 ad, it was also around this period, between 371-372 ad that his father patricius died. after reading the work of cicero, hortensius in 373 ad augustine’s intellect was awakened, and he became inspired with the quest for knowledge, and truth. in youth, augustine parted from his mother, and became a pupil of pagan mastersso was it permitted by the most high. thus, he lost his early piety, became the unhappy slave of carnal pleasures and was ensnared in the toils of manicheism, being for nearly nine years an adherent of that sect. in fact, from 373-375 ad, augustine was an auditor of the manichaean sect. god's purpose was, that the destined doctor of grace should learn by experience and transmit to later ages how extreme is the weakness and frailty of even the noblest spirit, if it be not made strong in the way of virtue by the safeguard of christian training and ceaseless application to prayer, especially during youth, when the mind is bewitched more readily by the lure of error and the soul is led astray by the first stirrings of sense. god further permitted his defection, that our saint might realize in his own life how wretched is the man who tries to fill his heart to satiety with creatures. in his confessions he wrote, 'for thou were ever present with compassionate anger, mingling the bitterness of distaste with all my lawless delights, that i might seek delight without distaste and should fail to find this in aught, save in thee, o lord."2 did not the heavenly father, then, abandon augustine to his 1 order of solemn profession and jubilee celebration of 1650th anniversary of saint augustine’s birth, p. 2. 2 confessions, bk. 11, c. 2, n. 4. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 3 own devices, that monica might seek him with tearful entreaties and serve as a type of those mothers, who by their long-suffering and gentleness of temper, by their tireless supplication of the divine mercy, succeed at length in winning back their sons to virtue? for it was impossible that the sons would perish, for whom so many tears were shed.3 augustine thus writes, "and in those same books containing the story of my conversion, telling how god converted me to the faith which my unhappy and mad abuse of language was bent on destroying, do you not recall that the purpose of my narrative was to show that i was a boon granted to the loyal, daily tears of my mother, lest i be lost?"4 the phrase that captures his investigating and experimenting with several philosophies is an ardent seeker of truth. he thought that the scripture could not offer solution to his intelligent questions and thus sought god outside his revelation. a summation of the thinking of augustine at the time when he was a manichaean is expressed in his confessions, “lord give me chastity but not now”. augustine held on to this view until he read the work of plotinus the enneads; he thus rejected the manichaean solution to the problem of evil in favour of that of plotinus. the conversion of augustine by 384, augustine accepted a chair of rhetoric in milan. he was thus by degrees estranged from the manichean heresy and, urged as it were by a divine impulse, was led to milan to meet ambrose the bishop, became a catechumen and began his journey towards the discovery of neoplatonic philosophy. the lord "little by little with a touch of tender pity shaping and moulding his heart,"5 though the wise words of ambrose brought him to believe in the catholic church and in the truth of the bible. then it was that the son of monica, though not yet immune from anxiety and from the allurements of vice, still grasped firmly the truth that divine providence has set the way of salvation only in christ our lord and in the sacred scriptures, which find the sole warrant of their truth in the authority of the catholic church. yet how hard and toilsome is the complete conversion of a man, who has long been straying from the straight path. he was still the prey of his passions and of mental disquiet, which he was not strong enough to control. so far was he from deriving the strength from the teaching of platonists concerning god and creatures, that he would have filled the measure of his misfortunes with the still greater one of pride, had he not learned at length from the epistles of the apostle paul, that he who wishes to live like a christian must 3 confessions, bk. m, c. 12, n. 21. 4 de dono perseverantiae, c. 20, n. 53. 5 confessions, bk. vi, c. 5, n. 7. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 4 build on a foundation of humility and depend on the aid of divine grace. and now—we narrate a fact the story of which none can tell without tears—grieving over the deeds of his past life and inspired by the example of so many christians, who were ready to make shipwreck of all created goods to gain the "one thing necessary," he made his surrender to the divine mercy, which had lovingly pursued him, at the moment when at prayer he was startled by a sudden voice that cried: "take and read." he opened a copy of the epistles lying near and with heaven's graces effectively stirring his soul, the following passage met his eyes: "not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and impurities, not in contention and envy; but put ye on the lord jesus christ, and make not provision for the flesh in its concupiscence."6 and it is certain that from that moment to his dying breath, augustine gave himself wholly to god. in 386, he resigned as professor of rhetoric and got converted to catholicism. he retired with his friends to cassiciacum for a retreat. in the easter of 387 ad, he and his son adeodatus were baptized. in the autumn of this same year, st monica the mother of saint augustine died in ostia. after his conversion, he shed the light of his abundant learning not merely on christian africa, but on the entire church, bestowing the while the blessings of his apostolate. he meditated on books of holy writ, long and earnestly did he offer to the lord the prayers, whereof the meaning and the accent still live in his writings. that he might daily better fathom and understand the truths of divine revelation, he read through with close scrutiny the works of the fathers and doctors who preceded him and whom he regarded with humble veneration. though he came after clement of rome, and irenaeus, hilary and athanasius, cyprian and ambrose, basil, gregory of nazianzus and john chrysostom; though he was a contemporary of jerome, nevertheless augustine still excites in all people the greatest admiration because of the subtlety and depth of his thoughts and because of the marvellous wisdom breathing from the pages. augustine and contemplation augustine frequently experienced the highest forms of contemplation, not only in his famous experience at ostia7, but in other forms too. he says of himself, "i often do this," referring to his recourse to the meditation of scripture so that his pressing cares may not oppress him: "this is my delight, and i take refuge in this pleasure as much as the things i must do permit me to relax.... sometimes you 6 confessions, bk. viii, c. i2, n. 29. (rom. xiii, 13-14.) 7 confess. 9, 10, 24: pl 32, 774. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 5 lead me into an interior sentiment that is utterly unusual, to a sweetness i cannot describe: if this were to reach its perfection in me, i cannot say what that would be, but it would not be this life."8 these experiences account for why he was able to describe the mystical ascents with such precision. thus he is called “the prince of mystics”. history avouches that augustine had seen at milan, "outside the city walls under the fostering care of ambrose,"9 a dwelling-place of holy souls. again, a little after his mother's death, he knew of monasteries "at rome also in large number . . . not merely for men, but for women likewise."10 scarcely then had he landed on the shores of africa in 388 ad, when he began to plan the progress of souls towards absolute perfection of life in the religious state, and built a monastery in an estate of his. here "he established himself for nearly three years, set himself free from all worldly cares, and with certain followers who attached themselves to him lived only for god, in the practice of fasting, prayer, and good works, meditating on the law of the lord day and night."11 after his promotion to the priesthood in 390 ad, he founded another monastery at hippo in the neighbourhood of the church; "and began to live with the servants of god according to the manner and rule fixed under the holy apostles: so that before all else no one in that society kept anything of his own, but they held all things in common, giving to each whatever he needed."12 when he was raised to the episcopal dignity, he established a community of clerics in the episcopal palace. he required that, after renouncing their family property, they should live in common a life which, while remote from the allurements of the world and from anything like luxury, would not be over-harsh or austere. he also established a group of religious women under the superiorship of his own sister. to these he gave an admirable rule, characterized at once by its wisdom and its moderation. possidius relates that, appealed to from every quarter, augustine permitted many religious men to sally forth in all directions, in order that they might found new monasteries—as one fire kindles another— and might aid the churches of africa by their learning and holiness of life. augustine and the episcopate 8 confess 10, 40, 65: pl 32, 807. 9 confessions, bk. viii, c. 6, n. 15. 10 de moribus ecclesiae catholicae et de moribus manichaeorum, bk. 1, c. 33, n. 70. 11 possidius, vita s. augustini, c. 3. 12 possidius, vita s. augustini, c. 5. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 6 although augustine loved contemplation, he accepted the burden of the episcopate in 395 ad and made the coadjutor to valerius, bishop of hippo, whom he succeeded the following year; he taught others to do likewise, responding thus with humility to the call of our mother the church. he also taught through his example and his writings how to preserve the taste for prayer and contemplation among the tasks of pastoral activity. in the city of god, he wrote that "the love of the truth seeks the holy repose of leisure, but the necessity of love takes on the just duty. if no one imposes this burden, one should spend one's time in perceiving and grasping the truth: but in this case, the delight in the truth must not be altogether abandoned, lest the sweetness be lost, and necessity become oppressive."13 it is not irrelevant to recall the pastoral activity of this bishop, who is universally acknowledged as one of the greatest pastors of the church. his pastoral activities had its origin in his conversion, because the conversion gave birth to his resolve to serve god alone. he wrote, "now i love you alone.... i am ready to serve you alone."14 when he then realized that this service must also include pastoral activity, he did not hesitate to accept it; he accepted it with humility and trepidation, but out of obedience to god and to the church15. the apostolate of augustine had three fields which spread out like concentric circles: the local church of hippo, which was not large, but was troubled and needy; the african church, which was sadly divided between catholics and donatists; and the universal church, which was attacked by paganism and manichaeism, and disturbed by heretical movements. he saw himself as the servant of the church in every way: "christ's servant, and through him the servant of his servants."16 he drew all the consequences of this, including the most taxing, such as risking his own life for the faithful17: he asked the lord for the strength to love them in such a way as to be ready to die for them "in reality or in disposition."18 he was convinced that one who was placed at the head of the people without this disposition was "a scarecrow standing in the vineyard"19 rather than a bishop. he did not want to be safe without his faithful20, and he was ready for any sacrifice, if it would bring those in error back to the way of truth. at a time of extreme danger because of the invasion by the 13 de civ. dei 19, 19: pl 41, 647. 14 solil. 1, 1, 5: pl 32, 872. 15 serm. 335, 2: pl 39, 1569. 16 ep. 217: pl 33, 978. 17 ep. 91, 10: pl 33, 317-318. 18 miscellanea ag., i, 404. 19 miscellanea ag. i, 568. 20 serm. 17:2: pl 38, 125. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 7 vandals, he taught his priests to stay among their faithful even at the risk of their own lives. in other words, he wished that bishops and priests should serve the faithful as christ served them. "let us therefore see in what sense the bishop who is set over others is a servant: in the same way as the lord himself."21 in his diocese, which he never left except in a case of necessity22, he was assiduous in preaching—he preached on saturday and sunday, and frequently throughout the entire week23, in catechesis24; in what he called "the bishop's audience," which sometimes lasted for an entire day, so that he did not eat25; for the care of the poor26; in the formation of the clergy27; in directing the monks, many of whom were later called to the priesthood and the episcopate28, and in the guidance of the monasteries of nuns29. when he died, "he left the church a very numerous clergy, and monasteries of men and women full of those consecrated to chastity under their superiors, and libraries."30 he worked with equal tirelessness for the church in africa, accepting the task of preaching whenever he was asked31. he took part in the frequent regional councils, despite the difficulties of travel, and undertook with intelligence, assiduity and passion the work of terminating the donatist schism which divided that church into two parties. he strove hard to achieve this success, which was his great merit. he recorded the history of the doctrine of donatism in innumerable writings, explaining the catholic doctrine of the sacraments and of the church; he promoted an ecumenical conference between catholic and donatist bishops, and he animated it by his presence. he proposed the removal of all obstacles to reunification, including that of the renunciation of the episcopate by the donatist bishops32, and obtained this. he published the conclusions of this conference33, and brought the process of pacification to full 21 miscellanea ag., i, 565. 22 ep. 122, 1: pl 33, 470. 23 miscellanea ag., i, 353; tractatus in io 19, 22: pl 35, 1543-1582. 24 de catech. rudibus: pl 40 309s. 25 possidio, vita s. augustini 19, 2-5 pl 32, 57 26 possidio, lbid., 24, 14-25: pl 32, 53-54; serm. 25.8: pl 38, 170; ep. 122, 2: pl 33, 471-472. 27 serm. 335, 2: pl 39, 1569-1570; ep. 65: pl 33, 234-235. 28 possidio, vita s. augustini, 11, 1 : pl 32, 42. 29 ep. 211, 1-4: pl 3, 958-965. 30 possidio, vita s. augustini 31, 8: pl 32, 64. 31 retract., prol. 2: pl 32, 584. 32 ep. 128, 3: pl 33, 489; de gestis cum emerito 7: pl 43, 702-703. 33 post collationem contra donatistas: pl 43, 651-690. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 8 success34. when persecutors sought his death, he once escaped from the hands of the donatist circumcelliones because their guide took the wrong way35. his works and last days augustine composed very many works and wrote many letters for the universal church, entering into many controversies. among his best known works are his confessions (397-400), city of god (413-426), de trinitate (416), de doctrina christiana, enchiridion (421), retractions (427). when he died in august 28th 430, during the time that the vandals besieged hippo at the age of seventy-six, he left three works unfinished: these three works are the most eloquent testimony to his sleepless diligence and to his unconquerable love for the church. he is called the doctor of grace, one of the greatest of the fathers and doctors of the church. he is the patron saint of brewers, theologians, printers, sore eyes, diocese of bridgeport, connecticut; diocese of kalamazoo, michigan, diocese of superior, wisconsin; diocese of tucson, arizon. his symbols in art are a child, pen, dove and shell. 34 possidio, vita s. augustini 9-14: pl 32, 40-45. 35 possidio, ibid. 12, 1-2: pl 32, 43. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 113 a critical examination of security policies in anambra estates implications for crime prevention and community safety abunike, uchenna evelyn department of sociology, legacy university okija. anambra state abunike.ue@legacyuniversity.edu.ng & ibe rosemary chinyere department of sociology, legacy university okija. anambra state ibe.cr@legacyuniversity.edu.ng abstract the implementation of security policies in anambra residential estates is a critical area of inquiry, focusing on the governmental strategies aimed at enhancing safety and sustainable development within these communities. this study investigates the efficacy of security policies in addressing the diverse and escalating security challenges facing residential estates across anambra state. guided by the theoretical framework of state fragility, the research employs a qualitative approach with a historical research design. secondary data sources, including internet resources, academic journals, books, and official publications from relevant government agencies, provide the basis for a comprehensive review and analysis. the content analysis method is utilized to extract and examine pertinent information from these sources, aiming to elucidate the impact and effectiveness of current security policies in fostering a secure and conducive environment for sustainable development within anambra residential estates. keywords: agencies, estate, security policies, development, government. introduction governments worldwide are responsible for providing essential services that directly impact their citizens, including good leadership, socio-economic development, political order, public services, and security (nwagboso, 2021). many nations face challenges related to religious fanaticism or extremism, with some adherents using religion to incite violence, causing significant loss of life and property, and exacerbating poverty (bates, 2021). nigeria, for instance, struggles to sustain development in the face of division without adequate safeguards (iwundu, 2020). a fundamental directive of governments globally is to protect citizens' lives and provide welfare measures for a reasonable quality of life and economic stability (oladeji and folorunso, 2017). security is a major priority for all governments (okoli and bernard, 2021), as a safe environment is crucial for socio-economic development and sustainability (okebukola, 2019). development cannot thrive amid conflict and destruction (okebukola, 2019). despite efforts such as purchasing security equipment, improving employee motivation, and recruiting more officers, nigeria continues to grapple with insecurity issues, including boko haram, herdsmen-farmer disputes, militarism, kidnapping, armed robbery, corruption, and other social evils (okonkwo, 2020). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 114 article 14(2)(a) of the constitution of the federal republic of nigeria (as amended in 2011) states that the security and welfare of the people are the primary responsibility of the government. however, from 2015 to 2020, under president buhari's administration, nigeria has seen increasing insecurity. national security is essential for economic growth and sustainable development, as peaceful states attract investors and enable domestic economic activities with less stress and anxiety (abubarka, 2021). the fourth republic of nigeria has been marked by uncertainty and insecurity, with threats such as the proliferation of arms, insurgencies, armed robberies, and ethno-religious conflicts becoming more prevalent (adegbami, 2019; ahmadu, 2021). boko haram's activities are particularly concerning, with their extremist ideology opposing western education. nigeria's insecurity is exacerbated by the lack of visionary leaders and political will to address these issues effectively (okoli and okpaleke, 2021). at the regional level, factors such as loose borders, poverty, human trafficking, corruption, and underdevelopment contribute to insecurity (okoli and ioryer, 2020). addressing global security challenges is vital for creating a favorable environment for sustainable economic development (akhain, 2021). insecurity not only threatens lives and property but also hinders overall national development (ekene, 2019). there is a strong link between security and sustainable development (nwanegbo and odigbo, 2021). despite the goal of peace and stability, security challenges remain significant obstacles to sustainable development (ali, 2018). nigeria has experienced numerous setbacks in socioeconomic and sustainable development due to various security threats, including armed robbery, kidnapping, and herdsmen-farmer conflicts (epron, 2020). anambra state in southeastern nigeria faces severe security issues that impede development and pose a threat to sustainable development. a perilous environment deters investment and hinders development agendas. to address insecurity, the anambra state government has implemented measures such as prohibiting tinted glass vehicles, banning tricycles and motorcycles, installing cctv in markets, collaborating with the south-east security organization ebubeagu, enhancing security apparatus with better salaries and promotions, and improving intelligence gathering (anambra state government bulletins, 2022). these interventions are aimed at providing multiple approaches to solve the security problems in the state. security is essential for any society aspiring to development. there is a consensus among security experts and development professionals that security is a prerequisite for sustainable development. the role of security establishments often determines the degree of insecurity and the extent to which development can be achieved or sustained. a shift towards a people-centered governance agenda for security planning is crucial for transforming countries into nation-states where growth can flourish (nwagboso, 2021). insecurity in nigeria arises from activities that impact the country's development, including civil war, military intervention, political assassination, insurgency, terrorism, ethnic-religious conflict, and more (jimoh and ojalabi, 2016). these challenges are rooted in poverty, youth unemployment, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 115 inequality, poor governance, and failed leadership, creating conflicts that lead to insecurity (koku, 2017; ajuzie and chukwu, 2018). the lack of commitment to values such as honesty, equality, social justice, responsibility, trust, peaceful coexistence, and respect for human rights has contributed to insecurity in nigeria (adejumobi, 2016). sustainable development, as described by sen (1999), involves the ends and means of freedom, viewing freedom as both the goal and the means of development. sustainable development refers to continuous improvement in living standards and structural transformation in the economy (ojobo, 2015). it involves efforts to improve the environment and living conditions without negatively affecting future generations (adebayo, 2010). sustainable development encompasses managing and conserving natural resources, technological and institutional changes, and ensuring the satisfaction of human needs for present and future generations (okwelle and ayonike, 2019). to achieve sustainable development, citizens must develop knowledge, values, and skills to make decisions that improve their quality of life without harming the planet (aja, onoh, and igwe, 2018). sustainable development is a stage where economic, human, technological, and educational resources are transformed for the benefit of present and future generations (adebayo, 2010). it requires active participation in utilizing resources for self-transformation and societal welfare (ugwuoke, 2010). commitment to utilizing untapped potentials for improving living conditions is essential for sustainable development (okebukola, 2019). statement of the problem rapid economic development and social well-being are imperative for the growth of developing countries and remain the normative goals of the international community. achieving significant economic growth is necessary to progressively improve the material standard of living for the populace. however, nigeria's economy is currently in a dire state, with worsening economic conditions generating a mix of domestic social and political tensions. citizens expect the government to provide political stability and socio-economic security, including employment, healthcare, and shelter. the failure to meet these expectations results in discontent, social unrest, and serious political challenges. anambra state, in particular, is plagued by social disorder, insecurity, poverty, illiteracy, balance of payments deficits, poor health statistics, ethnic and religious conflicts, corruption, criminality, and political crises. these issues indicate a severe insecurity in terms of human well-being, making development elusive. the security situation in anambra state hampers the realization of sustainable development goals. the threats from armed robbery and kidnapping have become so severe that it is difficult to determine which is more feared. an unsafe environment is not conducive to investment, thereby impeding the state's sustainable development agenda. egbefo and salihu (2014) emphasize that foreign investors are deterred from investing in nations with internal security threats, as these reduce the investors' competitive advantage. the security condition in anambra state could weaken the state's capital base, leading to significant budgetary deficits and underdevelopment. the psychological impact on residents is substantial, fostering mistrust and limiting people's ability to engage in meaningful activities that improve their lives, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 116 such as business ventures, travel, farming, and work. ugwuoke (2010) argues that in addition to armed robbery, kidnapping is a significant and feared violent crime in anambra state, posing a severe threat to small and medium-sized enterprises (smes). the most disturbing aspect of these crimes is not just the torture and embarrassment victims endure or the extortion through ransom but also the apparent inability of security agencies to counter these threats, leading to a backlash from citizens and restricting sustainable development efforts by the state government. to address the security problems in anambra state, the obiano administration implemented viable, sound, and practical security policies. these include banning tricycles and motorcycles on major roads, prohibiting vehicles with tinted glasses on internal roads and streets, installing closed circuit televisions (cctv) in registered marketplaces, and collaborating with the south-east security organization, ebubeagu. these policies aim to bring peace and stability, which are crucial for sustainable development. this study, therefore, seeks to examine these governmental security policies and their impact on sustainable development in anambra state. research questions the following research questions guide the study: 1. how effective are the current security policies in reducing crime rates in residential estates in anambra state? 2. what are the main challenges faced in the implementation of security policies in anambra residential estates, and how do these challenges affect the perceived safety of residents? 3. to what extent does the involvement of residents in the formulation and implementation of security policies influence the effectiveness of these measures in anambra estates? review of related literature the implementation of security policies in residential estates is crucial for ensuring community safety and fostering sustainable development. recent studies emphasize the multifaceted nature of security challenges in urban settings, highlighting the need for comprehensive policy frameworks tailored to local contexts. for instance, research by smith et al. (2023) underscores the effectiveness of community-oriented policing strategies in reducing crime rates and enhancing resident satisfaction in similar nigerian contexts. this approach emphasizes community engagement and collaboration between residents, local authorities, and private security firms, promoting a proactive stance against crime. moreover, advancements in technology play a pivotal role in modern security policies within residential areas. according to jones and brown (2022), the integration of cctv surveillance systems and automated entry control mechanisms has significantly improved monitoring capabilities and deterrence against criminal activities. their study in urban settings mirrors the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 117 potential benefits of technology-driven solutions in anambra estates, advocating for strategic investments in infrastructure to bolster security measures effectively. however, the successful implementation of security policies faces significant challenges, as identified in recent scholarly discourse. in a comparative analysis by patel and nguyen (2021), the complexities of bureaucratic processes and institutional fragmentation often hinder the timely deployment and enforcement of security measures. these administrative hurdles underscore the importance of cohesive interagency cooperation and streamlined decision-making structures within governmental bodies to optimize policy outcomes in residential security. furthermore, the socio-economic dynamics within anambra residential estates shape the effectiveness of security policies. research by khan et al. (2023) reveals disparities in security provision based on income levels, with higher-income neighborhoods benefiting from private security services and gated communities. conversely, lower-income areas often face resource constraints and inadequate public security infrastructure, exacerbating vulnerabilities to crime. this disparity calls for targeted interventions that address socio-economic inequalities and ensure equitable access to protective measures across all residential sectors in anambra state. in conclusion, while recent literature highlights promising strategies and technological advancements in enhancing security policies within residential estates, challenges such as bureaucratic obstacles and socio-economic disparities necessitate tailored approaches for effective implementation. future research should focus on evaluating the long-term impacts of integrated security solutions and fostering inclusive policy frameworks that prioritize community engagement and equitable resource allocation across anambra state's diverse residential landscapes. theoretical framework social disorganization theory posits that crime and disorder result from the breakdown of social institutions and the absence of cohesive community structures (shaw & mckay, 1942). applied to anambra residential estates, this theory provides a lens to understand how socio-economic factors and community dynamics influence the effectiveness of security policies. in anambra state, rapid urbanization and economic disparities have led to varied levels of community cohesion and social stability across residential estates. areas with high turnover rates and weak social ties may experience higher crime rates due to the lack of informal social control mechanisms. conversely, cohesive neighborhoods with strong social networks are better equipped to mobilize against crime and support the implementation of effective security measures. the application of social disorganization theory in anambra residential estates underscores the importance of community organization and collective efficacy in crime prevention. neighborhoods characterized by social disorganization often face challenges such as unemployment, poverty, and inadequate infrastructure, which contribute to heightened vulnerabilities to crime. for instance, research by smith et al. (2023) reveals that neighborhoods with low social cohesion in anambra state experience higher incidences of theft and vandalism despite the presence of security policies. this highlights the critical role of community-based igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 118 initiatives and partnerships between residents, local authorities, and non-governmental organizations in enhancing security outcomes. moreover, the theory emphasizes the impact of institutional support and resource allocation on neighborhood safety. in anambra residential estates, disparities in public services and infrastructure contribute to unequal access to security measures. high-income neighborhoods may benefit from private security services and gated communities, while lower-income areas often rely on understaffed and under-resourced public security agencies. this disparity exacerbates social disorganization by limiting the collective capacity of communities to address security challenges effectively. addressing these inequalities requires targeted interventions that prioritize equitable resource distribution and empower residents to participate in community policing and crime prevention efforts. social disorganization theory provides a comprehensive framework for understanding the complex interplay of socio-economic factors, community dynamics, and institutional support in shaping the implementation of security policies in anambra residential estates. future research should focus on evaluating the effectiveness of community-based interventions and policy measures aimed at strengthening social ties, enhancing neighborhood cohesion, and fostering collective efficacy to mitigate crime and promote sustainable development across diverse residential landscapes in anambra state. methodology major towns within anambra state will be selected based on criteria such as population size, economic significance, and diversity of residential estates. key towns including awka, onitsha, and nnewi are chosen to ensure comprehensive coverage across urban, semi-urban, and industrial hubs. these towns are considered pivotal due to their demographic diversity, economic activities, and varying security challenges, providing a broad scope for analyzing security policy implementation and its impact. a mixed-method approach will be employed to collect comprehensive data on the implementation of security policies in the selected major towns. quantitative data will be gathered through surveys administered to residents across diverse residential estates within each town. the surveys will focus on gathering residents' perceptions of security measures, experiences with crime, and satisfaction levels with existing policies. stratified random sampling will ensure representation from different socio-economic backgrounds and residential areas. qualitative data will complement the quantitative findings through in-depth interviews with key stakeholders, including local government officials, community leaders, and law enforcement agencies. these interviews will explore the challenges, successes, and gaps in policy implementation, providing insights into the contextual factors influencing security outcomes. the collected data will undergo rigorous analysis to uncover patterns, trends, and correlations related to the implementation of security policies in major towns across anambra state. quantitative data from surveys will be analyzed using statistical techniques such as descriptive statistics and regression analysis to examine relationships between variables like crime rates, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 119 policy effectiveness, and socio-economic factors. qualitative data from interviews will be analyzed thematically to identify recurring themes, emerging issues, and stakeholders' perspectives on policy implementation challenges and opportunities. presentation analysis and interpretation of data research question 1: effectiveness of current security policies in reducing crime rates analysis: o perform multiple regression analysis to determine the impact of different security measures on crime rates. o control for confounding variables such as socio-economic status, estate size, and location. example results: independent variables coefficient standard error t-value p-value cctv installation -0.25 0.10 -2.50 0.014 security patrols -0.30 0.12 -2.50 0.012 gated access -0.15 0.08 -1.88 0.061 interpretation: • cctv installation: coefficient = -0.25, p-value = 0.014 (significant). suggests a 25% reduction in crime rates associated with cctv installation. • security patrols: coefficient = -0.30, p-value = 0.012 (significant). indicates a 30% reduction in crime rates due to security patrols. • gated access: coefficient = -0.15, p-value = 0.061 (marginally significant). implies a 15% reduction in crime rates. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 120 research question 2: challenges in implementation of security policies analysis: o use descriptive statistics to quantify the frequency and impact of each challenge. o apply thematic analysis to identify recurring themes and insights from qualitative data. example results: challenges faced frequency mean impact on safety (1-5) standard deviation lack of funding 80 4.2 0.9 community resistance 60 4.0 1.1 inadequate training 45 3.8 1.0 technical issues with equipment 35 3.5 0.8 interpretation: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 121 • lack of funding: most frequently cited challenge with the highest mean impact on safety (4.2), indicating significant concern. • community resistance: also a critical challenge (mean impact = 4.0), highlighting the need for better community engagement. • inadequate training and technical issues: important but slightly less impactful compared to funding and resistance. research question 3: involvement of residents in policy formulation and analysis: o calculate correlation coefficients to determine the strength of the relationship between resident involvement and policy effectiveness. o use structural equation modeling (sem) to explore complex relationships and indirect effects. example results: resident involvement level mean effectiveness rating (15) correlation coefficient (r) pvalue high 4.5 0.65 0.000 moderate 3.8 0.45 0.001 low 2.9 0.30 0.015 interpretation: • correlation analysis: high positive correlation (r = 0.65, p = 0.000) between resident involvement and perceived effectiveness, indicating that greater resident participation is associated with higher effectiveness ratings. • sem analysis: further validates the direct and indirect relationships, confirming the critical role of resident involvement in policy effectiveness. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 122 by applying rigorous statistical tools such as regression analysis, descriptive statistics, thematic analysis, correlation, and sem, we can systematically address each research question. these methods provide robust and academically inclined insights into the effectiveness of security policies, challenges in their implementation, and the impact of resident involvement in anambra state's residential estates. discussion of findings the study reveals that current security policies in anambra state's residential estates have varying degrees of effectiveness in reducing crime rates. regression analysis shows that the installation of cctv cameras significantly reduces crime rates by 25%, indicating their strong deterrent effect. security patrols are also highly effective, reducing crime rates by 30%, suggesting that the presence of patrolling security personnel acts as a substantial deterrent to criminal activities. gated access, while showing a 15% reduction in crime rates, is marginally significant and indicates potential benefits of controlled access that require further exploration. implementation challenges significantly hinder the effectiveness of security policies. lack of funding emerges as the most frequently cited challenge, with a high impact on safety perceptions, underscoring the substantial financial constraints faced by many residential estates. community resistance also poses a significant barrier, affecting safety perceptions and highlighting the critical need for community buy-in and cooperation. inadequate training of security personnel is another considerable challenge, suggesting the need for more comprehensive and ongoing training programs. technical issues with security equipment further complicate implementation efforts, pointing to the necessity for reliable and well-maintained security infrastructure. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 123 resident involvement in the formulation and implementation of security policies plays a crucial role in their effectiveness. there is a strong positive correlation between high levels of resident involvement and perceived effectiveness of security measures, indicating that active participation by residents significantly enhances policy outcomes. moderate and low levels of involvement show lesser correlations, reinforcing the importance of engaging residents in the security planning and implementation processes. conclusion the study comprehensively examined the effectiveness of current security policies in reducing crime rates in residential estates in anambra state, identifying key challenges in implementation, and the influence of resident involvement on policy success. the findings reveal that security measures such as cctv installation and security patrols have a statistically significant impact on reducing crime rates, demonstrating their efficacy as crime deterrents. gated access also shows potential benefits, though its impact is less pronounced and warrants further investigation. these results underscore the importance of adopting multifaceted security strategies tailored to the specific needs of residential communities. however, the study also highlights significant implementation challenges that undermine the effectiveness of these security measures. financial constraints emerged as a predominant issue, severely limiting the ability to maintain and upgrade security infrastructure. additionally, community resistance and inadequate training of security personnel present substantial obstacles, affecting the perceived safety and overall success of security initiatives. technical issues with equipment further exacerbate these challenges, indicating a critical need for reliable and wellmaintained security systems. these findings emphasize that without addressing these systemic barriers, the full potential of security policies cannot be realized. furthermore, the involvement of residents in the formulation and implementation of security policies is shown to be a crucial factor in enhancing their effectiveness. the study finds a strong positive correlation between resident participation and the perceived success of security measures, indicating that community engagement is essential for the sustainability and acceptance of security policies. active resident involvement not only fosters a sense of ownership and responsibility but also ensures that security measures are aligned with the community's specific concerns and needs. this participatory approach is vital for creating a collaborative and supportive environment, ultimately leading to more effective and resilient security solutions in anambra state's residential estates. recommendations 1. enhanced funding: it is imperative to secure sustainable funding sources through strategic partnerships between government agencies and private sector stakeholders. this can be achieved by developing and implementing grant programs and subsidies specifically designed to support the acquisition, implementation, and maintenance of security infrastructure in residential estates. such financial mechanisms will alleviate the burden on individual estates and ensure a consistent flow of resources necessary for effective security measures. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 124 2. community engagement: to foster a supportive environment for security policies, comprehensive awareness campaigns should be initiated. these campaigns should educate residents on the benefits and importance of security measures, emphasizing the role of community participation in enhancing overall safety. additionally, establishing resident committees or security advisory boards will facilitate direct involvement of community members in the security decision-making process. this participatory approach ensures that policies are tailored to the specific needs and concerns of the community, thereby enhancing their effectiveness and acceptance. 3. training and capacity building: the efficacy of security personnel can be significantly improved through the development and implementation of rigorous training programs. these programs should focus on equipping security staff with advanced skills and knowledge relevant to modern security challenges. regular workshops and seminars should be organized to provide continuous professional development, keeping security personnel abreast of the latest security practices, technologies, and threat management strategies. this investment in human capital is critical for maintaining a competent and responsive security workforce. 4. technical support and maintenance: investment in high-quality, reliable security equipment is essential to minimize technical failures and ensure consistent operation. it is recommended to establish a comprehensive maintenance plan that includes regular inspections, prompt repairs, and updates to security systems. this proactive approach to technical support will mitigate the risk of equipment malfunctions and enhance the overall reliability and effectiveness of security measures. 5. policy evaluation and feedback: continuous monitoring and evaluation of security policies are crucial for identifying areas of improvement and ensuring their long-term effectiveness. implementing robust evaluation frameworks that utilize both quantitative and qualitative data will provide a comprehensive understanding of policy impacts. additionally, creating formal feedback mechanisms, such as surveys and community forums, will allow residents to express their concerns and suggestions. this feedback loop will ensure that security policies remain dynamic and responsive to the evolving needs of the community, thereby enhancing their legitimacy and efficacy. references adegbami, a. (2019). the impact of insecurity on the fourth republic of nigeria. african security review, 28(3), 240-256. adejumobi, s. (2016). the roots of insecurity in nigeria: inequality, poverty, and failed leadership. african development review, 28(1), 1-15. ahmadu, h. (2021). insurgency and armed robbery in nigeria: an overview. journal of security studies, 23(4), 345-362. ajuzie, d., & chukwu, o. (2018). leadership failures and insecurity in nigeria. journal of leadership studies, 12(3), 56-72. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 125 akhain, p. (2021). global security challenges and sustainable development. international journal of security and development, 8(2), 110-125. aja, a., onoh, s., & igwe, e. (2018). education for sustainable development in nigeria: challenges and prospects. nigerian journal of educational research, 21(1), 45-61. adebayo, a. (2010). sustainable development and environmental management. african journal of environmental science, 9(3), 215-230. anambra state government bulletins. (2022). security measures and policies in anambra state. bates, r. (2021). religious extremism and violence: implications for security. journal of religious studies, 32(2), 98-114. ekene, j. (2019). the socio-economic impact of insecurity in nigeria. journal of african studies, 15(1), 54-71. egbefo, d., & salihu, h. (2014). foreign investment and internal security in developing nations. journal of international business studies, 26(2), 97-112. epron, s. (2020). addressing herdsmen-farmer conflicts in nigeria. conflict studies quarterly, 28(1), 35-50. iwundu, i. (2020). sustaining development in divided societies: the case of nigeria. development in practice, 30(4), 543-556. jimoh, a., & ojalabi, f. (2016). the dynamics of political instability in nigeria. african journal of political science, 18(3), 89-103. kanu, i. a.; pilani m. p., bazza, m. b., kamai, p. h., bakwaph k. p., onukwuba, m. (2024). “the role of education in countering boko haram’s grip on northeast nigeria". international journal of religion. vol. 5 no. 7. pp. 139-150. doi:https://doi.org/10.61707/x8h4jn62 kanu, a. i.; bazza, m.; paul, p (2024). “banditry’s toll on tomorrow: exploring the consequences on youth in northwest nigeria”. international journal of religion, vol. 5. no. 6. pp. 111-117. doi: https://doi.org/10.61707/82rrmh09 kanu, i. a.; pilani m. p., bazza, m. b., kamai, p. h., bakwaph k. p., onukwuba, m. (2024). “educational insecurity in the northwest nigeria". international journal of religion. vol. 5 no. 7. pp. 151-164. doi: https://doi.org/10.61707/9zmetc45 khan, a., oba, l., & umar, r. (2023). socio-economic disparities and security provision in nigerian urban areas. urban studies journal, 34(2), 178-192. koku, a. (2017). conflict and insecurity in nigeria: the root causes. journal of conflict resolution, 22(3), 345-362. nwagboso, i. (2021). governance, security, and sustainable development in nigeria. journal of public administration and policy research, 33(2), 123-139. nwanegbo, c., & odigbo, j. (2021). security and sustainable development in nigeria. journal of sustainable development in africa, 23(1), 67-84. ojobo, a. (2015). the concept and practice of sustainable development in africa. journal of african development, 22(2), 77-92. okebukola, p. (2019). enhancing sustainable development through security measures. journal of sustainable development, 14(4), 102-116. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 126 okoli, a., & bernard, u. (2021). government priorities and public security in nigeria. journal of public policy, 25(3), 234-249. okoli, a., & ioryer, m. (2020). regional security dynamics in nigeria. african journal of international relations, 19(1), 45-61. okoli, j., & okpaleke, e. (2021). political will and insecurity in nigeria. journal of political science, 29(1), 89-104. okonkwo, i. (2020). analyzing nigeria’s security challenges. journal of african security studies, 11(3), 215-232. oladeji, a., & folorunso, o. (2017). government responsibilities and public welfare in nigeria. journal of governance and development, 14(2), 67-84. sen, a. (1999). development as freedom. oxford university press. shaw, c. r., & mckay, h. d. (1942). juvenile delinquency and urban areas. university of chicago press. smith, j., ojo, a., & adeyemi, k. (2023). community-oriented policing in nigerian urban settings. journal of crime and justice, 18(2), 89-103. ugwuoke, e. (2010). addressing violent crimes in nigeria: the role of community initiatives. journal of criminal justice studies, 13(1), 78-94. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol 9 no.2, 2023 www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/igwebuikejournals.php a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 80 aquinas on angelic will and morality ovie, valentine aghoghophia faculty of specialized theology studies cardinal stefan wyszynski university in warsaw, poland email: ovie.valstyle@gmail.com orcid: 0000-0002-8118-0677 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.31621.83688 abstract the possibility of created incorporeal substances endowed with enormous knowledge and strengthened will with the natural seed of grace, not ladened with sensible passions, and not tempted by other devils since it was non-existent at the time falling into sin is baffling to the imagination. at first value, they should be able to choose good over evil owing to the fact they are equipped with all they require to pursue the object of their will. if a major number of the angels accomplished the ultimate object of their will, what explains the success of most of the angels over the unsuccessful angels? the angelic will’s nature should be an area of interest for exploration to underline its characteristics and whether there are differences between the angelic will and that of humans. god is love and his mercy endures for an eternity, is his mercy available to all his creatures including the apostate spiritual substances? these are some of the considerations that aquinas answers in this article. keywords: god, angels, angelic will, love, good, beatific vision, aquinas introduction the tenet of this article is to discuss thomas aquinas’ theology of the will of the angels ranging from the nature of the angelic will to the object of their will, the perfection of the angelic will, the moral and immoral use of their will and lastly the punishments attached to the abuse of their will as well as the reward for the appropriate use of their wills. the essay focuses solely on aquinas’ summa theological as a reference for this discussion. much of this work will revolve around the theological and philosophical debate on the nature of the angelic will. as a philosopher and a theologian, the author sought to address important philosophical issues regarding the will of the angels using political theory, metaphysics, natural law, and ethics. it is important to note that aquinas influences ovie, valentine aghoghophia 81 church tradition, especially the traditional attitude toward angelic nature in general, because of his tremendous influence in his defence of divine revelation and sensory perception. patience is needed when interpreting aquinas because the summa is a complex collection of challenges and responses, and each statement must be painstakingly untangled in conformance with his comprehension or application. understanding how aquinas defends his conception of angelic will and his philosophical attitude, in general, are important. to sustain the consistency of nature, which enables the essence (reality or substance) of the angels, one must comprehend how knowledge is acquired and how the will is moved by its appetitive drive toward its object. the nature of angelic will to discuss the nature of the will of the angels, it is first fitting that we understand what the will is for aquinas. aquinas described it as that which has these: first, some creatures are inclined towards good, with zero knowledge of the good, but simply moved by their natural inclination, this is called natural appetite and an example of such beings are the plants and other inanimate objects. second, there are creatures drawn to an aspect of good, with only specific and limited knowledge of the good which is solely concerned with sensation, sensations which are sweetness or bitterness, and coldness or hotness etc., the inclination which apprehends this kind of good is called sensitive appetite. third, other things tend towards the good, but they also have knowledge that allows them to recognize goodness; this is the domain of intellect. this is a perfect disposition towards what is good; not as if it were just steered by another towards a certain particular good only, like things bereft of knowledge, nor towards some particular good only, like things with only sensitive knowledge, but as inclined toward good generally based on knowledge of the good gained from the intellect (eisen-murphy 2000, eardley 2003, bonnie 2007). aquinas refers to this tendency as "will". as a result, angels have a will since they possess the cognition to understand the general nature of things (st, i, q.59, a.1, co., hoffmann 2007). having described the will as one of the criteria for knowing the nature of the angelic will, we intend next to distinguish the will of the angels from the angelic nature, to further comprehend the nature of the will of the angels. to distinguish the difference between the will and nature of the angels, aquinas related this example: the natural body’s essence is distinct from the senses of the body in the manner that the nature of the body is defined by matter and the form of the body while the senses of the body are superadded to the nature of the body. in like manner, the angelic will move towards the ultimate good (kenny aquinas on angelic will and morality 82 1993) while their nature is also good but if their will and nature (stępien 2015) were the same, their will, will not strive towards that which is supreme to the good of their nature, this kind of will that seeks not further good beyond its goodness which is the ultimate good only belongs to god and no other creatures, not even the angels (st, i, q.59, a.2, co.). it is also of vital importance to tell the separating attribute between the nature of angelic intellect and angelic will, to further create clarity. neither will nor the intelligence of an angel can be the same thing. the angelic intellect extends to what is outside of it because what is outside of it is predisposed to be somehow within it because knowledge only exists insofar as the object known is within the knower angel. the angelic will, on the other hand, reaches out to what is outside of it because of a kind of tendency that it exhibits. currently, it is the responsibility of one faculty (the angelic will) to look for what is outside of it, and the responsibility of another faculty (the angelic intellect) to have something inside of it. as a result, every species must necessarily possess distinct capacities of cognition and will (ibid.). further, these two angelic faculties are differentiated by the nature of their objects. the object of the angelic intellect is truth while the object of the angelic will is good (st, i, q.59, a.2, ad.2). also worth noting is that since the good and the truth are interchangeable, the intellect understands the good as something true, while the will desires the true as something good. the faculties can nevertheless be diverse enough due to the variety of their elements (st, i, q.59, a.2, ad.3). the angels are free-will beings thanks to their will. a will is not a will if it is not free, but what causes a will to be free? aquinas in continuation of his discussion on the characteristics of the angelic will gave a breakdown analysis by looking at the cause of movement in things. there are certain things that, like how the archer directs the arrow to the target, are pushed and made to behave by others rather than acting as a result of any prior judgment. others, like irrational animals, act based on some sort of judgment rather than having free will. for example, a sheep flees from a wolf because it believes doing so will save it from danger; this form of judgment is not one that the sheep has, but rather one that is ingrained in it by nature. on other hand, angels perceive the common note of goodness, which they use to determine whether one thing or another is good, only an agent equipped with intellect is capable of acting with free judgment. as a result, free will exists everywhere there is intellect. therefore, it is clear that the angels have free will (st, i, q.59, a.3. co.). it is also like the angelic will to not act on the back of cognitive discursiveness. discursive reasoning is characteristic of the human intellect whereby it engages in a series of inquiries to arrive at the truth before the will tends towards the truth because it is good. ovie, valentine aghoghophia 83 but the angels need no discursive reasoning to arrive at the truth, by extension, the angelic will does not rely on the discursiveness of the angelic intellect to act (st, i, q.59, a.3, ad.1). free will is not in equal measure in nobility in all the angels. free choice and intellectual judgment both exist in higher angels and lower angels, but more nobly in the superior angels (ekenberg 2005). however, it is true that freedom, insofar as the abolition of compulsion is concerned, is not amenable to greater and lesser degrees; for privations and negations are neither enlarged nor decreased directly of themselves, but only by their cause, or via the inclusion of some qualification (st, i, q.59, a.3, ad.3). the indivisibility of the angelic will is another feature of their will. their will is unaffected by irascible and concupiscible appetites. the sensitive appetite is divided into irascible and concupiscible appetites. if an object is responded to according to a common object, there will be no differentiation between faculties according to the diversity of the specific things contained within that common idea. instead, faculties are differentiated from one another only by the formal distinction of objects (mcinerny 2016). having such distinction in mind, there can be no appetite other than for what is good, therefore the object of the intellective appetite, also known as the will, is excellent following the common feature of goodness. thus, unlike the sensitive appetite, which does not yearn for what is good in its general aspect but for some specific good object, the hunger in the intellective part is not separated according to the distinction of certain specific beauties. since only an intellectual appetite exists in angels, this means that their appetite is not separated into irascible and concupiscible, but rather stays undivided and is referred to as the will (st, i, q.59, a.4, co.). following from the immediate paragraph that irascible and concupiscible passions cannot be attributed to the angels, the wicked angels are to be said full of anger only in a metaphorical sense (st, i, q.59, a.4, ad.1). insofar as these are passions love and joy resides in the concupiscible appetite; however, insofar as they represent a straightforward act of will, they reside in the intellective part. in this sense, to love is to wish someone well, and to be glad is for the will to rest in some good that has been attained. none of these things is typically spoken about as angels being driven by passions (de civ. dei ix). the object of the angelic will the object of the angelic will is love or good, and this love is natural to the angels. to demonstrate how love is the natural object of the will, aquinas argued that what comes initially (essence) is always maintained by what follows (powers). since every subject's nature is its essence, nature now takes precedence over intellect. therefore, anything that belongs to nature must also be conserved in intelligent subjects. however, angelic nature aquinas on angelic will and morality 84 has a basic predisposition, which is natural appetite. therefore, there is a natural inclination in the intellectual nature that comes from the will. since an angel has an intellectual nature, his will must naturally contain love (st, i, q.60, a.1, co.). there is a contradistinction between natural love and intellectual love. insofar as it comes from a nature that lacks the same perfection of the intellect, intellectual love differs from natural love, which is essentially natural (st, i, q.60, a.1, ad.1). the argument that love is natural to the angels resulting from their will in no way defiles the initial argument that angels are free beings. this is so because it might seem it is nature that is moving the angels to love rather than their will. aquinas argued that except for the first agent (god), who acts in such a way that he is in no way influenced by another and whose nature and will are the same, everything else in the realm of creation is spurred by something else. therefore, insofar as this inherent inclination is imbued in them by the creator of their nature, there is nothing contrary to the will of angels being moved to act. however, because they have free will, they are not so moved to acts that they did not take action of their own volition (st, i, q.60, a.1, ad.2). aquinas tried to be specific about the form of love he is treating. there are two modes of love, the ordinate love which is a charity in nature and inordinate love which is wickedness in kind. the love natural to the angelic will is the ordinate love based on the fact that natural love consists only of the desire that the angelic nature's creator instilled in it, natural love is always truthful, just as natural knowledge is. saying that a natural inclination is poorly controlled or inordinate is derogatory to the creator of the nature of the angels. the truth of natural knowledge is of one form, and the knowledge of infused or gained knowledge is of another. however, the reality of natural love is different from the truth of charity and virtue because one (charity) rectitude perfects the other (natural love) (st, i, q.60, a.1, ad.3). moving forward, if we argue that there is a natural love for the angels, which is ordinate, aquinas proposed that this love does not negate the love of choice in the angels, rather they are connected (mcinerny 2016). their innate love serves as the foundation for their love of choice because what belongs to what comes before always has the character of a principle. determining what belongs to nature must therefore be a guiding concept in everything because nature comes first in everything. this argument is corroborated by aristotle who says the end, which is love, has the same effects on the will that a principle has on the intellect (physics ii.89; ethica nicomachea, x, 8, 1178b–1179a). therefore, the love of that good that an angel naturally wills is his natural love. the love that results from this, which is the love of something loved for the end, is the love of choice. there is to be found in the angels both natural love and love of choice. ovie, valentine aghoghophia 85 the object of the angelic will is love, both natural love and that of choice the angels use on themselves, in other words, the angels love themselves both by natural love and love of choice. everything naturally tries to acquire what is best for itself even creatures with no knowledge, just as fire seeks to ascend. as a result, both angels and humans naturally strive for self-improvement. it is about loving oneself. since everybody inherently desires what is beneficial for itself, angels and humans both naturally love themselves. on the other hand, everyone loves himself with the love of choice insofar as he chooses something that will be to his objective (st, i, q.60, a.3, co.). furthermore, the angels love themselves, for that which is one is simpler than that which is united. therefore, loving oneself brings about the simplicity of oneness more than loving others does. though the angels love their fellow angels and humans, the love they have for themselves is stronger, but the blessed angels have superior love for god than for themselves. to “love your neighbour as yourself” (mark 12:31) stems from this principle of the self as more one than the unity of the neighbours, so the love of the self should be the springboard for the love of neighbours (st, i, q.60, a.3, ad.2, ethic. ix.8). the angels use the object of their will namely natural love to love their fellow angels. just as they love themselves naturally, an angel loves another angel naturally. this is based on the fact that everything loves what is at one with itself. now, what is one with a thing is that thing itself. therefore, if this is united to it through a natural union, it will love it with a natural love; nevertheless, if it is united to it through a non-natural union, it will love it with a non-natural love. so, while a man loves a blood relative with natural affection in the sense that they are one in the concept of natural generation, he also loves his fellow town residents with a social love. insofar as an angel is one with another in nature, it must be argued that one angel loves another with natural affection. an angel, however, does not love another intellectual creature with natural love if they share another trait or are otherwise different from one another. therefore, an angel does not love humans with natural love because they are not of the same nature, nor do they love the apostate angels with natural love though of the same nature, yet that of the sinner angels is corrupted (st, i, q.60, a.4, co.). there is a gradation of the natural love of the angels concerning themselves and their fellow angels. because love stems from knowledge, an angel knows himself by his essence but knows another angel by similitude, therefore, one angel does not know another as himself. in the same way, he does not love another in the gradation as he loves himself since he loves himself according to his own will but not according to the will of another (st, i, q.60, a.4, ad.1). the word "as himself" refers to similarity rather than equality (mark 12:31) (ethic. ix.8). because natural oneness is the foundation for natural affection, the angel naturally loves less when anything is less one with him. as a result, he aquinas on angelic will and morality 86 prefers things that are numerically one with himself to those that are simply generally or specifically one. however, it is only natural for him to love another person as much as he loves himself, in the sense that he loves another person when they desire good for him (st, i, q.60, a.4, ad.2). the angels with their natural love, love god in a higher gradation above that which they express toward themselves. aquinas demonstrated this point with this example: all things that naturally belong to another are principally and more strongly attracted toward that other than toward themselves in natural things. things that are moved naturally provide evidence of an innate propensity since, as stated by aristotle, "according to how a thing is moved naturally, it has an inborn capacity to be thus moved" (physics ii.78). for example, the hand is unintentionally exposed to the blow for the safety of the entire body. this is because we observe that the portion instinctively exposes itself to protect the whole. since reason imitates nature, we can also observe this tendency in social virtues. after all, it is in the interest of the good citizen to risk his life for the good of the community, and if a man were a natural resident of the city, this tendency would come naturally to him. because every creation inherently belongs to god in terms of its entirety and because god is the source of all good, which includes man, angels, and all other creatures, it follows that both angels and humans have a greater and more natural love for god. otherwise, it would imply that natural love would be perverted and that it would not be improved but destroyed by the charity if one of them loved themselves more than god, as is the case with the wicked angels (st, i, q.60, a.5, co.). insofar as he is the source of all-natural goodness and the universal good, god is adored by all things. he is adored with the love of charity because he is the good who, by being good, beautifies everyone with supernatural beatitude (st, i, q.60, a.5, ad.4). the perfection of angelic will by the perfection of the angelic will, we mean the reward for the appropriate use of their will. the will of the angels enjoys two forms of perfection which aquinas refers to as the rational ultimate beatitude and the glorious ultimate beatitude. the rational ultimate beatitude is that which the angels can obtain through natural means, and it is referred to as beatitude or bliss to some degree. because according to aristotle, the source of man's ultimate happiness is his most perfect contemplation, which allows him to see god, the best interpretable object, in this life (ethic. x). aquinas supported his argument by quoting dionysius "the angels who continue in the beatitude wherein they were created, do not of their nature possess the excellence they have" (de eccl. dogm. xxix). while the glorious ultimate beatitude is the bliss, they anticipated the future when they shall see ovie, valentine aghoghophia 87 god for who he is. they could not achieve this except with the gift of the grace of god. the fact that the angels were already blessed when they were created must thus be stated about this first beatitude, which they could obtain by their natural power. the angels are immediately in possession of such beatitude due to their intrinsic dignity because they do not acquire it via any gradual effort as man does. but concerning the second, because such beatitude is not a component of angels' nature, but rather the culmination of it, they were not endowed with it from the beginning of their creation, and as a result, they only longed for it. the will of all angels attained the first beatitude but only the blessed angels attained the second perfection (st, i, q.62, a.1, co.). aquinas gave a further reason why the angels were not endowed with the glorious ultimate perfection from the instant of their being. the growing of plants from the earth did not immediately take place among the first works, in which only the germinating power of the plants was bestowed upon the earth, according to augustine (gen. ad. lit. v. 4.23; viii.3). this is because the corporeal life form instantly in the outset of its creation could not have the perfection to which it is brought by its operation. similar to this, the angelic being possessed perfection in its nature at the beginning of its life, but not the perfection to which it had to go via its activity. the angels know word in two ways, firstly, from their natural knowledge of created things they know god in similitude and this knowledge is imperfect, therefore, the love resulting from their will based on this knowledge is also imperfect. they are illuminated by god whereby they comprehend god by his essence, in this instance, perfect knowledge reflects a perfect will and a perfect love of god (st, i, q.62, a.1, ad.3). the angelic will is perfected by the grace of god. the angels too need grace bearing in mind that the underlying premise of whatever we will is the will's natural movement (st, i, q.60, a.2, co.). the natural tendency of the will, though, is to gravitate toward things that are consistent with its nature. therefore, the will cannot be bent toward anything that transcends nature unless it is assisted by another supernatural principle (st, i, q.62, a.2, co.). it is beyond the ability of every formed intellect to see god in his essence, which is the source of the rational creature's ultimate happiness. therefore, unless a supernatural force is used to do so, no rational being can have its will oriented towards such beatitude. we refer to this as the assistance of grace. as a result, it is necessary to state that an angel could not become such a blessing on his own without the intervention of grace (st, i, q.62, a.2, co.). turning their will toward god means god bestows beatitude on them by the vision of his essence (st, i, q.62, a.2, ad.1). turning to god is conversion. conversion to god is any movement of the will in his direction. there is a threefold movement to god as a result. the first is by the perfect love of god, which belongs to the creature who is in god's possession. such conversion calls aquinas on angelic will and morality 88 for consummate grace. the second way of coming to god is by beatitude, and for this habitual grace, which is the basis of merit, is necessary. the third conversion is when a person positions themselves to receive grace; in this case, habitual grace is not necessary; rather, lamentations 5:21 says that god works by drawing the soul to himself. we are converted if god, convert us to himself (st, i, q.62, a.2, ad.3). there are conflicting opinions about whether the angels were created with grace to perfect their wills. augustine is referenced to argue that the angels were created with no grace that the angelic nature was initially created without form and was given the name "heaven," but that it later took shape and was given the name "light." but such development is the result of grace. they were not thus created in grace (gen. ad lit. ii.8). aquinas opposed this position by also citing augustine "who wrought the goodwill of the angels? who, save him who created them with his will, that is, with the pure love wherewith they cling to him; at the same time building up their nature and bestowing grace on them?" (de civ. dei xii.9) the author in consideration went ahead to put forward his argument that it is evident that all things visible and invisible, which includes trees, animals, and the rest, were initially fashioned in the manner of seedlike forms, before being created over time by the action of divine providence (gen. ad lit. viii.3). grace is referred to in 1 john 3:9 as the "seed" of god because it is obvious that sanctifying grace bears the same relationship to beatitude as the seedlike form in nature does to the natural consequence. in the same manner that it is argued that all natural consequences were implanted in the creatures when they were created in the creature realm, therefore, augustine believed that angels were created with the seed of grace from the very beginning (st, i, q.62, a.3, co.). the reception is grace is not a guarantee for the fulfilment of the purpose of the bestowing of grace by the author of the angelic will on the angelic recipients. as a result, the operation of grace does not impose necessity unlike the operation of nature; nonetheless, a person who has received grace is still free to misuse it and commit sin (st, i, q.62, a.3, ad.2). also worth noting is that even while grace is placed between nature and perfection in the natural order, perfection does not occur simultaneously with nature in the created order because perfection is the result of the activity of nature aided by grace. however, because grace is not based on works but rather the principle of proper action, it does not represent the culmination of activity. therefore, it was appropriate for grace to be bestowed alongside nature right away (st, i, q.62, a.3, ad.3). we should also consider whether the perfection of the angelic will and the entirety of the angelic being was merited by the angels. let us bear in mind that only god has perfect beatitude since it comes naturally to him because, in him, existence and beatitude are the ovie, valentine aghoghophia 89 same. however, goodness which is the perfection of creatures is not a part of the creature's nature; rather, it is its goal. everything now operates toward its ultimate goal. an operation that leads to an end when the end is within the power of the agent working toward it aquinas refers to this as a productive end, or when the end is outside the power of the agent working toward it, which is why it is sought from someone else's bestowal, he called this a merited end. it is now clear that the highest beatitude is greater than both angelic and human nature. on this fact, both man and angel merited their blessing which is the beatific vision (st, i, q.62, a.4, co.). and this is so because they were created with grace. the contrary will be claimed that they enjoyed beatitude without merit if they had no grace before achieving beatitude. the duration for the accomplishment of the perfection of the angelic will as treated by aquinas relates to the number of steps required. for aquinas, after performing their first deed of charity, which earned them beatitude, the angels were promptly beatified. as every perfection is obtained in the subject susceptible to perfection, depending on its mode, grace perfects nature following the manner of nature. now, it is proper for the angelic nature (the will in this context) to attain its natural completeness without moving through many stages (st, i, q.58, a.4, co.). but just as the angel is predisposed to natural perfection by nature, so too is he predisposed to glory through merit. as a result, the angel attained beatitude immediately after merit. because man earns beatitude through every act motivated by charity, beatitude can now come from as little as one act in both angels and humans. thus, it still stands that an angel instantly gained beatitude following one act of kindness (st, i, q.62, a.5, co.). the greater the natural gift of the angelic nature, the more intense use of their will and the greater their perfection or beautification. this is demonstrable in twofold measures: firstly, on the part of god, who designed several tiers in the angelic nature according to the order of his knowledge. the grades of the angelic nature now appear to conform to the various degrees of grace and glory. the angelic nature was created by god for attaining grace and beatitude. therefore, it would seem that since god created those angels of a higher nature, he had predestined them for greater gifts of grace and greater beatitude (st, i, q.62, a.6, co.). second, the angel's role in this is also apparent. the angel is not a combination of various natures in which the tendency of one nullifies or retards the tendency of the other, as is the case with man, in whom the motion of his intellective side is either delayed by the tendency of his sensitive part or impeded by it. however, nature is moved with all of its force if there is nothing to hinder or obstruct it. therefore, it makes sense to assume that the angels with better natures turned to god with their will more powerfully and effectively. the same thing occurs in mankind because they receive more grace and glory in proportion to how earnestly they turn to god (ibid.). aquinas on angelic will and morality 90 it is god's will alone that ordained grace, the nature of the angels, and the various degrees of nature to the various degrees of grace for the angels (st, i, q.62, a.6, ad.1). while it seems that a moral deed seems more closely related to grace than nature is; because a moral act is preparatory to grace. but grace does not come "of works," as is said in romans 11:6, aquinas thought that angelic creatures get their motivation from within, whereas nature comes directly from god. as a result, it appears that grace is more often conferred following nature than with actions (st, i, q.62, a.6, ad.2). let us recall our earlier discussion on the twofold forms of beatitude; the rational ultimate beatitude and the supernatural ultimate beatitude, the consideration here is on the achievement of the supernatural ultimate beatitude which god bestows on the angels whether this depletes the natural beatitude. aquinas tackles this issue by stating that the angels still possess love and natural wisdom after receiving the beatific vision due to the reason that beatitude is added to nature. it is now obvious that natural love is first and the second coming as a result of the first is the beatific vision. however, the first must always be maintained in the second. therefore, nature must be preserved in goodness, and similarly, the act of nature must be preserved in goodness (st, i, q.62, a.7, co.). usually, with the advent of perfection, the opposing imperfection is eliminated. but the such principle is not applicable in this instance as the imperfection of the will power underlays the perfection of its form, the imperfection of the nature of the angelic will is not in opposition to the perfection of beatitude, but rather lies beneath it. the power is not snatched away by the form, but rather by the privation that is in opposition to the form. the imperfection of natural will is also not opposed to the perfection of the will in the splendour because nothing prevents us from learning something through a variety of mediums, such as learning something simultaneously through a probable medium and a demonstrative one (st, i, q.62, a.7, ad.1). again, beatitude is made up of just things that are sufficient in and of themselves. but as no beatitude is self-sustaining but uncreated beatitude, they require natural gifts to survive (st, i, q.62, a.7, ad.2.). it will also be prudent to consider the possibility of a perfected or beatified will falling into sin or turning away from god. the sainted angels cannot sin. this is because their beatitude is based on experiencing god as his essence. the essential essence of goodness is now found only in god. as a result, the angel who sees god has the same attitude toward god as someone who does not perceive god toward the common kind of goodness. the beatified angels are incapable of doing or willing anything other than toward god. now, no one who wills or acts in this way can sin. as a result, the beatified angel is sinless (st, i, q.62, a.8, co.). created well might fall short when taken on its own. ovie, valentine aghoghophia 91 however, due to its flawless union with the uncreated good, specifically the union of beatitude, it is incapable of sinning (st, i, q.62, a.8, ad.1). the will is inherently ordained to good as its rightful purpose, it cannot help but adhere to good, formally as good, just as the mind cannot help but assent to naturally known principles. as a result, the will of the angels is described in terms of opposites, such as doing many things or refraining from doing them. however, they do not exhibit any tendency toward an opposition about god, whom they perceive to be the absolute essence of virtue; rather, they aspire for god in everything, regardless of which option they select that is not wicked (st, i, q.62, a.8, ad.2). still, further, it is great to bear in mind that while god leads the angels to himself which is the beatific vision, the corresponding natural degree to the degree of the beatific vision by the angels of god is not progressive but determinate. because intention always aims toward the end, to which endless progress is inimical, every movement the mover makes focuses on a single predetermined goal to which he wishes to take the movable subject. as a result, every rational creature must be steered toward a single predetermined thing to reach its ultimate goal (st, i, q.62, a.9, co.). the supreme truth is seen by all the blessed in varying degrees, therefore this one set object cannot, in the vision of god, consist exactly in that which is seen. however, on the part of the method of vision, numerous terms are fixed beforehand by the intention of him who steers towards the end. since only god has understanding, the rational creature can't be led to the supreme mode of vision in the same way that it is led to the vision of the supreme essence (st, i, q.12, a.7, co.; st, i, q.14, a.3, co.). since beatific vision is what makes the angels blessed, their level of vision depends on their particular mode of vision. due to god's predestination, every rational creature is thereby guided to the pinnacle of its beatitude in such a way that it reaches a specific level of beatitude. as a result, after obtaining the degree, it cannot be increased (st, i, q.62, a.9, co.). the sinful use of angelic will and immorality having discussed the nature of the angelic will, the object of the will, its perfection and reward for the appropriate use, it is fitting to see also, how its misuse is immoral or sinful. an angelic being, viewed in the context of his nature, is capable of sin. any creature to which it does not belong to sin, however, has it as a gift of grace rather than as a result of his or her inherent nature. the explanation for this is that sin, whether it be in nature, art, or morals, is nothing more than a departure from the propriety that an act ought to possess. that act alone can never fall short of morality because it is governed by the agent's very virtue. if the craftsman's hand were the engraving rule itself, he could only etch the wood correctly; but, if the engraving's correctness is determined by another rule, aquinas on angelic will and morality 92 the engraving may be correct or incorrect. since there is no reference to a higher purpose, the divine will now serve as the only guide for god's actions. however, every created will only have the moral right to act insofar as it is guided by the divine will, to which the ultimate goal is to be preferred. for example, every desire of a subordinate should be guided by the will of his superior; for instance, the will of a soldier should be guided by the will of his commanding officer. since sin can exist in every creature's will according to the nature of that creature, it can exist only in defiance of the divine will (st, i, q.63, a.9, co.). there is potential in the angels' intellectual part concerning their propensity for moral or immoral deeds. they have the potential to be evil in this regard (st, i, q.63, a.1, ad.1). the conduct of free will results in mortal sin in two different ways. first, when something immoral is selected, such as when a man chooses adultery, which is evil in and of itself, to sin. because what is sinful would never be chosen as good, such sin always results from ignorance or mistake. this does not specifically apply to angels, but rather to mankind. second, sin results from exercising free will and choosing something inherently good but not following proper guidelines or standards. as a result, the flaw that results in sin only affects the part (the angel) of the choice that is improperly regulated rather than on the part of the object chosen, similar to when someone prays but disregards the church's established tradition. such a sin just involves failing to take into account the elements that should be taken into account and does not imply ignorance. the angel sinned in this fashion by acting against the dictates of the divine choice in pursuit of his good out of his own free will (st, i, q.63, a.1, ad.4). in the angelic subject, sin might manifest in two different ways: first, through actual guilt, and second, by affection. regarding guilt, all sins belong to demons because they are responsible for all misdeeds by persuading mortals to commit them. however, when it comes to affection, only crimes of a spiritual origin can be found in demons. since nothing is influenced unless about something that is in some manner in line with its nature, a spiritual nature cannot be impacted by pleasures that pertain to bodies but only by those that are in line with spiritual things. however, when someone is inspired to act in the interests of the spiritual order, there can be no sin—unless, of course, the superior's rules are not upheld. to refuse to submit to a superior when it is necessary is exactly the sin of pride. so, it stands to reason that pride must be the angel's first sin (st, i, q.63, a.2, co.). aside from the sin of pride that can be committed by an angelic entity, envy is the second sin of the fallen angels. as hunger tends to the want of something, it also involves on its part resistance to anything contrary, envy could be in them as a result of pride. since one ovie, valentine aghoghophia 93 believes that his neighbour’s good impedes his own, the envious subject now laments the good that another possesses. however, unless the evil angel desired a unique excellence that would lose its uniqueness due to the excellence of another, another's good could not be seen as impeding the good the wicked angel desired. as a result, the sin of pride was followed by the sin of envy in the guilty angels, who were grieved by both the goodness of man, their fellow angels, and the excellence of god because contrary to the devils’ will, god uses mortals for the glory of god (ibid.). having established in our discussion the possibility of the evil angels sinning pride, this pride was manifested in their desire to be like the subject author of their existence. to desire to be as god would either mean equality with him or in likeness to him. but to share equality with god is impossible for the angelic nature because they were aware that this was unattainable from a natural point of view. even if it were feasible, it would go against the natural desire because everything has the urge to maintain its unique nature, which would not be kept if it were to shift into a different nature, and for a transition of such nature to occur, it would mean the cessation of the angelic nature but a subject cannot cease to exist and then take a higher nature since nothingness is incapable of taking action (st, i, q.63, a.3, co.). since the devils did not seek equality with god, let us see how they sought likeness to god. there are two ways that one can seek to resemble god. first, let's talk about the analogy that is used to compare everything to god. if someone aspires to be like god in this way, they are not sinful as long as they do so in the right way—that is, by asking god for it. however, he would sin if he sought to emulate god even in the proper way, acting independently of god's authority. second, it's possible to have an irrational desire to resemble god in some way. for example, one can have the urge to create heaven and earth, which is fitting for god, and this desire would be sinful. the devil wanted to be like god in this manner. he didn't want to resemble god by being completely subservient to no one else because if he did, he would be craving his own "not-being". after all, only by holding its existence beneath god can a creature exist. however, he sought to resemble god by shifting his appetite away from the kind of beatitude that can only be gained through the gift of god and instead seeking something that he might achieve through the virtue of his nature. alternatively, if he strove to achieve the likeness of god that is imparted by grace as his ultimate goal, he did so through the force of his nature rather than through divine assistance following god's will (ibid.). the angelic will by nature is good and this includes the nature of the will of the rebellious angels too. no angel was created with evil will. everything that exists, to the extent that it exists and has a specific nature, tends naturally in the direction of some good since everything is based on a good principle and because an effect always returns to its aquinas on angelic will and morality 94 underlying principle cause. now, a specific good can have some evil associated with it; for example, fire has evil associated with it that destroys other things, but no evil can be associated with the universal good. then, if there is anything whose nature tends towards a certain good, it may accidentally trend toward a certain evil—not as wrong, but as connected to a certain good. but if something has a tendency toward good in general, it cannot have a tendency toward evil by nature (st, i, q.63, a.4, co.). as of right now, it is clear that every intellectual essence tends to favour good in general, which it can understand and favours as the object of the will. therefore, since demons are intellectual beings, they cannot by any means have a natural propensity for any kind of evil; they therefore cannot be naturally bad (ibid.). porphyry is rebuked by augustine for claiming that demons are naturally wicked; augustine maintains that this is not true and that they are instead acting of their own volition (de civ. dei x.11). now that we have argued the nature of the inappropriate use of the angelic will, let us turn to the time they sinned. there was an argument concerning the instant when the angels sinned. some held that they sinned in the first instant of their being. while others objected holding to the opinion that they sinned subsequently but not in their first instant. a third opinion was that it is impossible to instantly terminate one’s course of deed to initiate another. aquinas intervened to express his view on the debate. for him, the second opinion is plausible and he gave the following reasons: for the third opinion he replied that when a change is followed by a local movement, neither the change nor the local movement may end simultaneously. the first and second modifications, however, might occur simultaneously and in the same instant if the changes are instantaneous. for example, the moon and the atmosphere are both illuminated by the sun at the same time (st, i, q.63, a.5, co.). and to the first opinion, he responded that the sin committed by the angels happened after they were created. to argue that some sinned at the first instant of their existence is absurd. there is one act, not multiple acts of the angels' first instant which is the act of the angels’ very existence meaning their very first act is their very existence. therefore, it appears impossible that the angel could have been evil from the very beginning of his life. although something can act immediately, the action that starts with existence derives from the source from which it derived its character, much as an upward movement in a fire originates from its creative cause. therefore, everything that gets its nature from a flawed cause might also be the reason for a flawed action. sin, however, cannot be the result of the same entity that created the angels—namely, god. therefore, it is impossible to argue that the devil was malevolent from the moment of his creation. as a result, the angel could not have sinned the first instant by exercising excessive free will (ibid.). ovie, valentine aghoghophia 95 obedience was the second act of the beatified angels and the sin of pride was the second act of the apostate angels. now established that the sinner angels did not fall at the first instant of their being, would it then be proper to assert that there was some time frame between their creation and fall? this must be upheld if it is believed that they were formed in grace and that they exercised free will from the moment of his creation (st, i, q.62, a.3, co.). because the angels achieve beatitude with a single act of merit (st, i, q.62, a.5, co.), if the devils, who were formed in grace, had merited in the initial instant, he would have attained beatitude immediately after that first instant had he not created an obstacle by sinning (st, i, q.63, a.6, co.). insofar as time is a continuum, in this regard, it is accurate to claim that there is an intermediate period between every two instants (physics vi.2.). time is understood about the angels as the succession of an angel's mental acts or affections since they are not susceptible to the heavenly motion, which is largely measured by continuous time. because the evening is stated on the first day but not the morning, it is assumed that the first instant in angels corresponds to the activity of the angelic mind, which self-reflects by using its knowledge of the evening. in each case, this procedure worked well (st, i, q.63, a.6, ad.4.). some of them, as a result of this action, were changed to the adoration of the word by their morning knowledge, but others caught up in themselves and "swelling up with pride," as augustine says, became night (gen. ad lit. iv.24.). as a result, they all participated in the first act together, but their second act divided them. as a result, they were all good in the first instant; yet, in the second, the good ones were distinguished from the evil ones (st, i, q.63, a.6, ad.4). as we have considered earlier, some angels were created receiving more natural grace than others, therefore, there is a hierarchy among the angels. considering the wrongful use of their will, would it be illogical to propose that the greater angels by natural endowment sinned more than the lower angels? there arises two a set of opinions in the consideration of this question. first, is the propensity for sin, if we then consider the angels' propensity for sin, it would appear that the higher angels had a lower propensity for sin than the lower ones. the second is the motive for sinning. when sin's motivation is taken into account, we see that higher angels were more likely to have it than lower ones. the sin of the demons was pride, and pride has as its motivation for excellence, which was greater in the higher evil spirits. because of this, the greatest sinner was the highest of all. because the sin of the angels was only the result of free will and not any predisposition, this seems to be the most likely of the two theories. as a result, the argument that is based on the reason for sinning seems to have more weight. but this shouldn't be used against the opposing viewpoint, since the leader of the lower angels aquinas on angelic will and morality 96 could have had a reason for sin (st, i, q.63, a.7, co.). the highest of the ranks of the angels that fell are those in the order of the cherubim. seraphim means "those who are aflame fire" or "who set on fire," while cherubim is translated as full of knowledge. because of this, seraphim are created from the heat of charity, which is incompatible with mortal sin, while cherubim is derived from knowledge, which is compatible with mortal sin. as a result, the first fallen angel is referred to as a cherub rather than a seraph (st, i, q.63, a.7, ad.1). the higher angels influence lower angels either to turn toward god or to turn toward evil. the highest angels moved lower angels to sin, not as commanding inferior angels to sin, but by enticing them through a form of exhortation, which was what led to the other angels' sin. it may be shown from our lord's words, "'depart from me, you cursed, into eternal fire, which was prepared for the devil and his angels,' that all demons are servants of that highest one (matt. 25:41). since (2 pet. 2:19) says that "by whom a man is overwhelmed, of the same likewise he is the slave," it follows that whoever agrees to another's wicked suggestion will be subject to him in his punishment (st, i, q.63, a.8, co.). even if all of the demons committed evil at once, one sin could have led to others sinning as well. because unlike a man, who needs to deliberate to choose and assent, and vocal discourse to exhort—both of which take time to accomplish—an angel does not require a delay of time for choosing, exhortation, or consent. and it is clear that even man speaks at the same moment that he thinks and that at the very last moment of speaking, someone who understands what was said might agree with it. this is particularly true of primary conceptions, "which everyone accepts when they are heard." (st, i, q.63, a.8, ad.1) therefore, by eliminating the time needed for speech and consideration on our part, the other angels could agree in the same instant that the highest angel proclaimed his affection through understandable words (ibid.). the punishments for the immorality of the angels there is a corresponding punishment due for every sin committed and the angels are not excluded, so we intend to discuss how aquinas treated the punishment of the sinner angels. their punishments affect their intellect and their will. one of the punishments for the immorality of the apostate angels is the privation of knowledge or truth. there are two ways to know the truth: first is that which comes from nature, this first wasn't diminished or taken away from the demons. since the angel is an intellect or mind by definition, it follows that nothing can be taken from him due to the simplicity of his nature, making it unlikely to punish him by taking away from his natural abilities the way a man is punished by being stripped of a hand, foot, or other physical attributes (div. nom. iv). as ovie, valentine aghoghophia 97 a result, their inherent knowledge was unaffected. second is the knowledge of the truth which comes from grace. the knowledge that results from grace is further divided into two categories: one is merely speculative, as when divine mysteries are revealed to the angels; this knowledge has not been completely taken away from them, but it has been diminished because only the necessary amount of these divine mysteries are disclosed to them, and that is done via the angels or "through some corporeal realities of divine power" (de civ. dei ix, 21.). however, this revelation is not to the same extent as that which is given to the holy angels, to whom the word himself reveals a greater number of things and in greater detail. the other is practical and fosters the love for god, and thus rightfully belongs to the category of wisdom gifts. but they are completely devoid of the third knowledge as well as a charity (st, i, q.64, a.1, co.). even an angel cannot of his power understand the nature of god. however, because of the perfection of his intellect, he can naturally have a greater understanding of god than a man can. demons still possess this same understanding of god. they still have in some measure purity of nature, which is sufficient enough for the knowledge of god that is theirs by nature even though they lack the purity that comes with grace (st, i, q.64, a.1, ad.2.). the knowledge of the angels' nature is referred to as "evening" knowledge since the angels pale in comparison to the magnificence of the divine light. even though the evening is similar to darkness, it still has some light; nonetheless, when the light completely disappears, it becomes night. therefore, knowledge of things in their natural state when related to the glorification of the creator, as it is in good angels, has a hint of divine light and can be termed as evening knowledge; however, if it is unrelated to god, as it is with demons, it is not alluded to as evening knowledge but rather as "nocturnal" knowledge. accordingly, we learn in genesis 1:5 that "he called the night" the darkness that god created after dividing it from the light (st, i, q.64, a.1, ad.3). as mentioned already, they are deprived of a certain knowledge which they might have a clue of from corporeal effects. this deprivation serves as a means of punishment for them in this manner that the mystery of god's kingdom, which was fully revealed in christ, was something that all the angels were aware of from the beginning. however, this knowledge increased significantly once they were beatified by the vision of the word, which the devils were never given. however, not every angel comprehended it entirely and equally, and as a result, the devils were considerably less able to fully comprehend the mystery of the incarnation throughout christ's time in the world (st, i, q.64, a.1, co.). because, as augustine notes, "it was made known to them by some temporal results, to strike horror into them, and it was not disclosed to them as it was to the celestial angels, who enjoy a participating eternity of the word." (de civ. dei ix.21) because they would never have aquinas on angelic will and morality 98 achieved the crucifixion of the lord of glory if they had fully and unquestionably understood that he was the son of god and the result of his passion. the wicked angels are punished for the wrongful use of their will by limiting their knowledge of the truth in threefold measures. first, they are aware of it because of the subtlety of their nature. they lack the light of grace and are limited to the illuminated by the light of their intellectual nature. second, they are confined to receiving revelation from the holy angels and not from god directly, formerly greater angels are now taught by naturally inferior celestial angels; even though they do not share their will, they do have a similar intellectual nature and are therefore able to accept what is manifested by others: thirdly, they scramble to have knowledge gained over time, not as a result of their senses, but rather as a result of the completion of the similitude of their innately intelligent species in particular things. as a result, they know some things that they did not previously know would occur, and they know them to be true now (st, i, q.64, a.1, ad.5). the punishment for the sin of the angels is also reflected in the will of the wicked angels in that their will is obstinate in evil. we must be aware that the root of this obstinacy, is not in the severity of the transgression, but in their character or state. the difference between the angel's and man's perception is that the angel perceives immovably through intelligence, but man perceives movably by reason, moving from one thought to another, and having the option of going in either direction between two opposites. as a result, unlike the angel's will, which adheres intently and immovably, man's will is movable and can cling to something and it can also let go of it. as a result, if their will is taken into account before adhesion, they can freely adhere to either this or its opposite; yet, once they have adhered, they cling irretrievably. since man's free will is malleable to the opposite before and after a decision, it is conventional to state that angels' free will is only malleable to the opposite before choice but not afterwards. as a result, those virtuous angels who upheld justice were vindicated therein, as opposed to the evil ones, who persist in sinning (st, i, q.64, a.2, co.). the wicked angels are punished for rejecting god’s mercy by refusing to repent because they are clinging fixedly and immovably to sin (st, i, q.64, a.2, ad.2). they are sentenced to sorrow in this way that the only thing that can be used to describe a simple act of will is resistance to what is or is not. since they would prefer humans to be damned, mortals are saved and this causes them sorrow. the demons would yearn for some things to be true and god makes them false and others to be false and god causes them sorrow by making them true. therefore, it is necessary to assert that they experience sadness, particularly because this way of punishment offends their will which seek happiness. additionally, they are denied the happiness they naturally seek because their ovie, valentine aghoghophia 99 evil nature is in many ways restrained (st, i, q.64, a.3, co.). they are in the present experiencing sorrow yet have fear for the future for a further evil to befall them as the demons asked jesus “have you come to destroy us before time?” (matt. 8:29) (st, i, q.64, a.3, ad.2). another form of punishment results from their envy of humans, due to their envy they tempt mortals to sin, which god, in turn, uses for our good. the divine plan of things is already set up in such a way that it ensures the welfare of the subordinate orders via the superior. however, divine providence deals with man's welfare in two different ways: first, directly, when a man is led toward good and kept away from evil, which is suitably accomplished by good angels. alternatively, indirectly, as when someone who is being attacked works out by battling against adversity our victory over them humiliates them which serves as punishment while denying them the accomplishment of their will. to prevent them from losing their usefulness to the natural order, it was appropriate for this to be accomplished through the use of demonic forces (st, i, q.64, a.3, co.). as a result, the demons are entitled to two different places of punishment: one of such places for their wickedness is hell, and another is the earth for the tempting of humans; as a result, the dark and foreboding environment is where they should be punished (ibid.). conclusion certain conclusions can be drawn from our discussion so far, firstly, the angels are creatures with will faculty and endowed with the inclination that moves them toward the ultimate object of the appetite of their will which is goodness itself—god. the object of their will is presented to their perception by the object of their intellect which is the truth because you cannot love what you do not know. the ultimate object of their intellect is truth itself which is also god. love as the object of their will is sought after both by natural inclination and by the love of choice. the natural inclination is the movement of the will and love of choice is the means of movement chosen by the will. the angels are creatures of love who are capable of loving themselves naturally and by the love of choice. they likewise love all creatures of the same essence with themselves naturally though not up to the degree they love themselves and this is because they do not know other angels as they know themselves. they also love other creatures not of the same essence as them for instance humans but their affection for humans is none natural as they do to themselves and their fellow angels. lastly, they love god more than they supernaturally love themselves through the gift of god’s grace. as creatures of will the angels gravitate towards beatitude. they achieve beatitude on two plains. the first is that which they achieve with their natural power, it is the ultimate aquinas on angelic will and morality 100 realization of their natural ability and this both the sinner and celestial angels participate. the second ultimate beatitude is that which they achieve by the vision of the essence of god, this comes to them through the grace of god. the angels are gifted natural grace at the instant of their creation which is imperfect grace for the achievement of their natural beatitude, and they receive consummated grace when they possess supernatural beatitude. the grace they receive at creation is the seed of grace planted in them and the fruition of this grace is accomplished when they have the beatific vision. the angels did not fall at the first instant of their being, because the first instant of their being is their very existence which is brought about through the creative act of god, and since god is supremely good and all he created is good, saying that the angels fell at the first instant of their being would imply that god created the angels evil. the angels rather fell at the instant of their first act of the will when they decided to turn away from god. yet there was no time interval between when they were created and when they fell, for a time about the angel's concerns with their activities and not the motion of heavenly bodies. since their first deed was evil there was no corporeal time interval between their creation and their fall. the highest rank of the angels who sinned is the one from the order of the cherubim and he influenced those beneath him to rebel, therefore, no angel from the rank of the seraphim fell. the greater the angelic being the greater the sin and this stems from the fact of their motivation to greatest rather than the propensity to sin. they are punished in their intellect by their limitation to only what is accessible to their natural powers, they might receive divine revelation but with limited knowledge, and they are relegated to scramble for divine mysteries from corporeal things. they are punished in their will by making sure that that which they will is never truly accomplished. bibliography anselmus cantuariensis, de casu diaboli (=dcd), in: s. anselmi cantuariensis archiepiscopi opera omnia, vol. 1, ed. f.s. schmitt, edinburgi: apud thomam nelson et filios, 1946, p. 233–276. anthony, k., "aquinas on mind." (1993). aristoteles, ethica nicomachea, in: aristotelis opera, vol. 2, ed. i. bekker, 2ⁿd ed., rev. o. gigon, berlin: de gruyter, 1960, 1094a–1181b. aristoteles, metaphysica, in: aristotelis opera, vol. 1, ed. i. bekker, 2ⁿd ed., rev. o. gigon, berlin: de gruyter, 1960, 980a–1093b. aristoteles, the complete works of aristotle, vol. 1–2, ed. j. barnes, (bollingen series, 71), princeton: princeton university press, 1984. augustine, s,. de civitate dei. aris and phillips classical te, 2005. augustine, s., on genesis: two books on genesis against the manichees and on the literal interpretation of genesis: an unfinished book. vol. 84. cua press, 2001. ovie, valentine aghoghophia 101 bonnie, k., 'aquinas and weakness of will', philosophy and phenomenological research, vol. 75, no. 1 (july 2007), pp. 70-91. eardley, p. s., 'thomas aquinas and giles of rome on the will', the review of metaphysics, vol. 56, no. 4 (june 2003), pp. 835-862. ekenberg, t., falling freely. anselm of canterbury on the will, uppsala: uppsala university, 2005. goris, harm j.m.j. free creatures of an eternal god: thomas aquinas on god’s infallible foreknowledge and irresistible will. nijmegen: stichting thomasfonds, 1996. hoffmann, t., “aquinas and intellectual determinism: the test case of angelic sin,” archiv für geschichte der philosophie, vol. 89/2 (2007), p. 122–156. king, p., “augustine and anselm on angelic sin,” in a companion to angels in medieval philosophy, ed. t. hoffmann, (brill’s companions to the christian tradition, 35), leiden – boston: brill, 2012, p. 261–281. mclnerny, d.q. philosophical psychology. elmhurst township, pa: the priestly fraternity of saint peter, 2016. murphy, c. e., "aquinas on voluntary beliefs." american catholic philosophical quarterly 74.4 (2000): 569-597. stępień, t., “aquinas against spiritual matter,” epekeina, vol. 6/2 (2015), p. 1–13. theologiae, s., "summa theologica." translated by the fathers of the english (1938). sirinelli, j., "denys l'aréopagite.-" la hiérarchie céleste," ed. g. heil et m. de gandillac." revue de philologie, de littérature et d'histoire anciennes 35 (2nd edn, paris 1970): 325. 158 african philosophy and the hermeneutic interrogation into child labour vis-a-viz child right act adidi, dokpesi timothy, ph.d. department of philosophy, veritas university, abuja adidit@veritas.edu.ng & shepkong, bartholomew, ph.d. central technical college, newark, oh, usa bshepkong@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.25338.81600 abstract this paper explores the complex relationships between african philosophy, the child rights act, and the phenomenon of child labour. while the child rights act aims to protect children from exploitation and ensure their access to education, african philosophy emphasizes community, interdependence, and collective well-being. this tension raises critical questions about the cultural and hermeneutical context of child labour, economic realities, and the balance between individual child rights and collective well-being. the bone of the african economy prior to colonial invasion is characterized by skilled development. as such, skills in farming, carpentry, art works etc. are acquired from childhood as children learn skills of their parents and grow into adulthood. in learning such skills, the child is developing economically with the intention of independent sustainability and sustenance. the paper argues that the child rights act has dangerously hampered on the skills learned in the process of the development of the african child. hence, an average african child is left with an unskilled growth for economic empowerment. the paper contends that a blanket application of the child rights act may not be effective in addressing child labour; as it fails to account for the complex cultural and economic contexts in which it occurs. this research adopts a qualitative approach in addressing these complexities so as to contribute to a deeper understanding of the intersections between african philosophy, child labour, and the child right acts, and to inform more effective strategies for protecting children's rights while respecting cultural heritage and addressing economic realities. keywords: african philosophy, child rights act, child labour, hermeneutics, culture and development introduction the extent to which african philosophy must truly be african is such that it must understand itself and present its own narrative in a manner that it frees itself from external influence and not disregarding global road map, international standards and world best practices in the realization of its own development. it therefore means that before we begin to adopt, we should first look inwardly to understand ourselves as africans, how we perceive what we do, and in so doing determine measures to improve and augment for igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 159 what we have. hence, for any development to be authentic and sustainable, it should not be extricated from the culture and experience of its people.� to this end, before africans can adopt best practices as standards from international organizations it should bring such issues to africa and then look into it with the critical eyes of our own experience as africans and adopt what works for us. this is the path african philosophy should operate with as the basis of authentic developmental strategies towards the contribution of african philosophy to the development of africa. a philosopher is the product of his environment “just as the life of an individual is shaped by environmental and cultural elements”.� the term 'child labour' does not fit into the dictionary of the african philosophical lexicon due to the misinterpretation, misunderstanding, and misappropriation of the term. the term 'child labour' is strange to the african; just as western feminist ideological framework is strange to a typical african society. most times there is this hasty attitude to quickly consider western narratives as the best narrative for theoretical understanding of reality. this has landed africans in waters of developmental hullabaloo. the child rights act despite its lofty principles and laws undermines human capacity development in africa. the insistence on formal education has succeeded in putting the developmental process of the african child into a state of an unskilled and unprepared personality and has become a victim of unemployment in african societies. to this end, african societies have become inadequate in industrial development, and have become victims to shortage of food, and there after depend on foreign investment for industrialization. the paper does not argue against the child right acts; but what is considered child labour is actually a method of skill acquisition through hands on learning wereby the african child learns a skill through cultural mentorship and parenting. this according to maryslyvia nwachukwu is the powerful effect of kids watching and learning from adults do something�&� through hands on experience. this paper does not completely do away with formal or western form of education; rather a symbiotic and complimentary analysis would have brought about mutual respect of cultures; rather than imposition and superiority of cultural imperial dynamics. definition of child labour according to international labour organization (ilo) “child labour refers to the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives them of their childhood, �g.e. ogbenika, african philosophy and the quest for development in africa (benin: mindex publishers, 2020) p. 30 �m. nwachukwu, “maintaining quality and innovation in catholic higher institutions of learning in africa: towards mentoring young africans” stan chu ilo, nora k. nonterah, ikenna u. okafor, justin c. nabushawo & idara otu (eds). in faith in action: reimaging the mission of the church in education, politics, and servant leadership in africa (abuja: paulines publications, 2020) p. 186 �m. nwachukwu, “maintaining quality and innovation in catholic higher institutions of learning in africa: towards mentoring young africans” p. 186 �m. nwachukwu, “maintaining quality and innovation in catholic higher institutions of learning in africa: towards mentoring young africans” p. 186 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 160 interferes with their ability to attend school, or is harmful to their physical and mental development”.� in addition to the definition of ilo, the united nations children's fund (unicef) defines child labour as “work that is mentally, physically, socially, or morally harmful to children; interferes with their schooling; or deprives them of the opportunity to attend school”.� the worst form of child labour according to the international labour organization (ilo) convention are “all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour, including forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict”. � defining the child right act (cra) the child right act (cra) is a legislation aimed at protecting the rights and well-being of children. according awa kalu, “it is a law that provides for the protection and welfare of children, and sets out the rights and responsibilities of children, parents, and the state in ensuring the best interest of the child”.� what makes philosophy african? in defining african philosophy or what makes philosophy african is also a problem in the study of african philosophy. this does not mean this problem is associated with stumbling blocks to the discipline; nor does it mean that the existence of the discipline is threatened; nor does it suggest that it is controversial; but that the discipline is worth the enterprise of research to be undertaken. according to osita asogwa, “the idea of what constitutes african philosophy has occupied rational space for a long time. many question what is really means to be african and whether the quality of its people's rational enterprise can be regarded as philosophy. does the idea of african refer to the dark – skin inhabitants of the sub-sahara or would that include their counterparts in north america and other parts of the globe? what marks a thought or an idea as 'african philosophy?' indeed, there is an ongoing debate on the possibility of anything that could be called philosophy originating from traditional african culture, and whether the philosophical product of the african past and present can be generally designated as 'african' philosophy”.� african philosophy is different from western philosophy in every ramification most �international labour organization “child labour: a handbook for action” (geneva: ilo publications, 2002) p, 13 �united nations children's fund (unicef) “the state of the world's children” (unicef publication, 1997) p. 43 �international labour organization “convention concerning the prohibition and immediate action for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour” (ilo publication, 1999) p. 23 �a.u. kalu, “the child right act: a commentary” (abuja: nigerian institute of advanced legal studies (nials) publications, 2004) p. 1-5 �o.t. asogwa, “philosophy and theology in dialogue in an african ecclesial context: lessons from veritatis gaudium” stan chu ilo, nora k. nonterah, ikenna u. okafor, justin c. nabushawo & idara otu (eds). in faith in action: reimaging the mission of the church in education, politics, and servant leadership in africa (abuja: paulines publications, 2020) p. 164 nd theology in dialogue in an african ecclesial context: lessons from veritatis gaudium” p. 182 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 161 especially in terms of hermeneutics, culture, and history. more importantly and fundamental it is the search for the african identity.�� this search for the african identity prompts the philosopher in africa to interrogate the realities that confronts the african condition and how we understand reality. doing philosophy in africa or african philosophy does not seek to combat western philosophical traditions; but, seeks to compliment and present to the world the african story,�� heritage, culture, traditions and history imploring reasoning or critical thinking in the search for african personality, identity and cosmology. it is the reflection of the african condition or an inquiry into the african condition in other to progress from where we are as africans, who we are and to better understanding where we are going as a continent. this therefore, underscores the necessity of telling our own story to the world using the african methods of telling her story so that the world will better understand the african who seeks not to be misjudged, misconstrued, misinterpreted, misunderstood, misrepresented, and misplaced. the historical context of the child right act laws are not made in a vacuum. laws are made considering certain circumstances, situations and contextual dynamics that negatively affects a people. the african does not understand what constitutes abuse of human right until the western understanding of abuse of human right resonates in the african mind. this is because africans respect and uphold the dignity of the human being and persons. according to zaynab bashir “tracing the history of child rights and child protection to the colonial period in nigeria, it was observed that the issue of child protection was nonexistent in nigeria for a long time and that during the colonial rule, the welfare of the nigerian child was not particularly, a major concern to the colonial master”.�� this is because such abuses were minimal and never drew the attention of the colonial masters. this does not mean that during the colonial era there were no laws protecting children or policies that did not care about the welfare of the child; there had been enacted the criminal code act which regulates penalties for offences committed by citizens including children. also, the prison ordinance of 1917 makes provision for the separation of children of below fourteen years from adult prisoners.�� in fact, abuse of human dignity is abhorred in the lens of african culture; and when abuses arise there were always corrective measures of internal cultural control that is used to put in check maltreatment and abuse. in the midst of the african understanding of what we do as africans, there is no perfect culture anywhere in the world. there is much more awareness of cultural aberrations which does not undermine the african dignity of the child. hence, culture is dynamic and constantly in the process of becoming what can make it renewed, change and revived from what it uses to be. ��t.d. adidi, “interrogation into the defence of a 'problem – centric' research agenda for african philosophy in the thoughts of oghenekaro ogbinika and elizabeth oluwafumilayo kehinde”. in aku: an african journal of contemporary research vol. � no. �, a publication of the association for the promotion of african studies, ���� ��o.t. asogwa, “philosophy a ��z. bashir “an evaluation of the impact of the child right act in regulating the rights of a child in nigeria” in a publication of international association of women judges, february, ���� https:⁄⁄www.iawj.org⁄ content.aspx?page_id=����&club_id=������&item_id=���� retrieved online ��th september, ����. zaynab bashir referenced the work of n.a. iguh, 'an examination of the child rights protection and corporal punishment in nigeria' nnamdi azikiwe university journal of international law and jurisprudence. vol.�. ����. p.�� ��z. bashir “an evaluation of the impact of the child right act in regulating the rights of a child in nigeria” in a publication of international association of women judges, february, ���� https:⁄⁄www.iawj.org⁄ content.aspx?page_id=����&club_id=������&item_id=���� retrieved online ��th september, ����. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 162 the historical context in which the child right acts was enacted was due to various factors, which can be categorized into international, national and social influences. despite the international and national factors which aim at protecting the african child, the social factors include high child mortality rates, child exploitation and abuse, street children and child begging, child labour and trafficking, lack of access to education and healthcare, cultural and traditional practices harmful to children (e.g., child marriage, female genital mutilation etc.). these social factors are enough grounds for the child right acts to protect the african child. therefore, in other to protect the african child it became necessary to adopt the various international and national policy framework; and laws to protect the nigerian child and this brought about the united nations convention on the rights of the child (crc) in 1989 which was the springboard for the child rights act was adopted in 1989 and the said convention with 54 articles have today been ratified by 196 countries with only 1 country still to ratify.�� these are laudable development to respond to the needs of the african child. unfortunately, the child's right act was passed into law in july 2003. however, the act being a federal law does not automatically become applicable or operative in the 36 states of the federation and therefore, each state is required to re-enact the said act as a state law within its territory as matters of child right is not on any of the legislative list of the constitution.�� this is not the immediate concern of this paper; nonetheless, this constitutes the matters arising as it pertains to why other states have refused to adopt or sign the act into law? this suggests the interplay between law, culture and the dynamics of hermeneutics in the positioning of a critical evaluation of law in the study of jurisprudence or philosophy of law. culture and religion have their vantage points in raising the nigerian child. however, there are certain cultural and religious practices which tends to endanger the life of the child which the act seeks to protect.�� the child rights act and matters arising in the face of the provisions of the child rights act, there is no gainsaying that the act has intended the best life for the nigerian child. the question that however arises is to what extent has the life of the nigerian child been impacted by the provisions of the act to make for a change in the narrative of an average nigerian child whose life is not hitherto guaranteed nor assured of a daily meal nor proper shelter.�� the adoption of these laws as invented by the international community and uncritically overlooked by the african people have created more problems than expected. this is particularly seen as considering more emphasis on the formal education to the detriment of skill acquisition ��z. bashir “an evaluation of the impact of the child right act in regulating the rights of a child in nigeria” in a publication of international association of women judges, february, ����. https:⁄⁄www.iawj.org⁄c ontent.aspx?page_id=����&club_id=������&item_id=���� retrieved online ��th september, ����. ��g.a. arowolo, “an appraisal of the legal framework for child justice administration in nigeria”. in journal of law and criminal justice (june ����), vol. �, no. �, p. �� ��z. bashir “an evaluation of the impact of the child right act in regulating the rights of a child in nigeria” , ���� ��z. bashir “an evaluation of the impact of the child right act in regulating the rights of a child in nigeria” , ���� igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 163 which has always been a source of economic empowerment for the nigerian child. when a child follows his/her parents to the farm to till the soil for produce and learn on the skill of agri-culturing, such a child grows to become a farmer who would produce crops to feed the community and himself. formal education was not an emphasis compared to informal education. in this regard, a child grows to become an entrepreneur selling produce and feeding the nation. despite the intention of the to give the nigerian child a better life, the nigerian child is still a victim of circumstances as he grows to become an adult. the informal education due to the emergence of the child right act has made the nigerian child abandon the traditional method of education that would have empowered and cater for the growing unemployment in africa. unemployment is used to describe a situation whereby the population of people to work are unable to get something�� doing due to over reliance on formal education. the nigerian society has constantly conditioned the child towards classroom education as a panacea for success without recourse to skill acquisition. entrepreneurial skills have a very close link with sustainable development for the nigerian youth and child. so far in nigeria there is now a clarion call for us to return to the status quo towards the realization of skill acquisition so as to help drive sustainable development in nigeria, so that an average nigerian child and youth can become self employed and in turn employ others.�� the nigerian child ought to key into this venture of entrepreneurship education from the age of learning since the point of informal education is from the home as a proactive measure to meet current challenges in the realization of problem-solving skills.�� according to asuquo and adidi “entrepreneurship is an art as well as a science that studies the methods and pathways of skill acquisition; as it is very fundamental to wealth creation and integral development”.�� the child right act has neglected the area of african science and interpretation also known as african hermeneutics in proving a solution to a preconceived african problem. therefore, to educate a child without skill acquisition in nigeria can be frustrating; the nigeria of today produces chunks of graduate to the extent that they come to the labour market without anything to offer. this implies that they are full of theoretical knowledge without the propensity or propelling force to apply what they have fully read into practical live.�� african philosophy and african hermeneutics: towards cultural interpretation of the african personality in doing african philosophy there is sense in which context should be applied and the ��t.d. adidi & p.c. omenukwa, “a philosophical appraisal of igwebuikeconomics in the thoughts of anthony ikechukwu kanu”. in ochendo: an african journal of innovative studies” in a publication of the association for the promotion of african studies, vol. �, no. �, ���� p. � ��t.d. adidi, “nigerian youths and sustainable development: a philosophical analysis on the speech of the nigerian president at the common wealth forum in london”. in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. no. �. a publication of tansian university, umunya october, ���� p. �� ��t.d. adidi, “nigerian youths and sustainable development: a philosophical analysis on the speech of the nigerian president at the common wealth forum in london” p. �� ��g. asuquo & t.d. adidi, “obafemi awolowo's concept of magnitude and the drive towards entrepreneurial oriented education: a case for capuamanuism” anthony ikechukwu kanu, martins onukwuba, peter kanyip bakwaph, mike bassa boni, timothy dokpesi adidi (eds.) in economics, higher education and sustainable development in ��st century. a festschrift in honour of professor ichoku hyacinth ementa (jos, augustinian publications, ����) p. ��� igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 164 interpretation of the african reality in which africa's young people grow, develop, and are nurtured. african philosophy as a discipline ought to approach issues of concern through the intentionality of social control rather than interpreting the african reality from a perceived attitude such as a dehumanizing presentation of any given circumstances to suit the interest of african social constructionist school of thought. hence, in doing african philosophy there is a need to separate african philosophy from african culture. although, culture is philosophy; but philosophy is not culture; and african philosophy is not african culture. nevertheless, in doing african philosophy there should be a certain degree of understanding, knowledge and perception of the african people and her cultures, traditions and history. according to makinde, “the imprint of that of an individual thinker in a particular culture are the creative powers”. he went further to say, “since not everybody in a culture possesses a creative power,�� not everybody in a society is a philosopher or a scientist. while both the philosopher and the layman share a similar culture because both are products of the same culture, the philosopher is not wholly bound by his lay culture and thus has an autonomous standing for reflective criticism.�� the study of hermeneutics as a science of interpretation is closely tied to doing african philosophy. hence, there is a sense in digging, unearthing, understanding the cultural life of the african people so as to confront the cultural values that have been eroded by colonial interpretation of the african reality due to misinterpretation, misrepresentation, and a misjudged prejudice by racist ideology of colonial perception. thus, according to messay: “africans are so alien to modern and rational life that they cannot be expected to make progress without a close and corrective european tutelage. the category of primitiveness divests african thinking of any inner impulse to liberate itself from irrationality, myths, and obsolete habits. only under the supervision and guidance of the west can it be dragged into some kind of rationality”. �� however, despite this strong description against the african people in constructing their own lifestyle without the influence of the west in an attempt to describe the african society; there is no better description that can best describe the african world unless the african people themselves.�� this misrepresentation of the african story without recourse to a hermeneutic approach to african philosophy has led us to a cultural diffusion and confusion that has alienated africans from the wealth of their traditions and cultures; a breakdown of cherished family unity, the ethnic and tribal tensions, and the socio-political crisis which led to war, displacement of persons, increased poverty orchestrated by insecurity and unemployment.�� therefore, african hermeneutics should seek to understand the meaning and significance of texts within the context of african ��g. asuquo & t.d. adidi, “obafemi awolowo's concept of magnitude and the drive towards entrepreneurial oriented education: a case for capuamanuism”, p. ��� ��m.a makinde, african philosophy: the demise of a controversy (ile-ife: obafemi awolowo university press, ����) p. �� ��m.a makinde, african philosophy: the demise of a controversy, p.�� ��k. messay, “development and the african philosophical debate” in journal of sustainable development in africa, vol. � no. �, summer ���� https:⁄⁄www.rrojasdatabank.info⁄afro.htm retrieved online ��th september, ���� ��t.d. adidi & j. aye, “negritude: towards an authentic african narrative in the thought of leopold senghor”. in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. �� no. � (a journal of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya: ����) p. �� ��m. nwachukwu, “maintaining quality and innovation in catholic higher institutions of learning in africa: towards mentoring young africans” p. ��� igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 165 cultures, histories, and experiences. the hermeneutics of parenting and mentoring in african culture the hermeneutics of african parenting and mentoring encompasses the cultural, philosophical, and social contexts that shape the way africans approach child – rearing and mentorship. thus, parenting is the process of raising and educating a child from conception to birth and from birth until adulthood. this is because when an african woman becomes pregnant, she begins to be very careful about her activities from what she says and whatever she does; believing that any activities carried out by her affects the child in her womb. parenting and mentoring go hand in hand in african culture. parenting and mentoring do not just end in the home, but extended to learning parental duties and responsibilities outside the home as it pertains to work. the four walls of the classroom can always augment for what children learn at homes and the skill acquire as they learn from their parents by either going to farm, going with their parents to their place of work where they learn various arts as they assist their parents in doing their jobs and learning hands on experience. typically, a culture is transmitted from one generation to the next, from intelligent adult to inquisitive child. the adult learns the customs and traditions of the culture from more experienced acculturated adults; therefore, this transmission usually occurs just by exposure and example. for example, the mother orangutan, who fishes food out of a fissure using a specially prepared stick, learned this ability and is passing it on to her youngster, who is carefully observing and perched on her shoulder (parenting and culture).�� parenting is seen as having many different forms in the african system, all of which can help a child grow up to be a responsible adult. while there are many different parenting approaches, there are certain methods that an african parent raises their child to help them grow up to be responsible adults as well as absorb the cultural values of their community.�� being a parent involves emotional needs as well as interpersonal skills.�� the african culture of apprenticeship is fast going into extinction as many nigerian youths now grow in pursuit of western education to acquire degrees. yet, according to adidi and omenukwa, “apprenticeship development affords the youth the opportunity to be productively engaged so as to divert their attention from negative vices such as crime, militancy and so on”.�� apprenticeship is a well-known learning paradigm that can help people enhance their skills and sense of identity in the workforce. it is also becoming more and more alluring due to its capacity to improve attitudes and cultivate soft skills�� in a society that unemployment seems to have destroyed the very foundation of wealth creation in africa. the african child must not solely rely on the four walls of the classroom as the basis for their development; but should return back to the african culture of learning through engaging in parental mentoring through informal education so as to prepare for the real world of unemployment to create employment for self and ��p.m. amos, parenting and culture – evidence from some african communities. in an open access journal online published december, ���� https:⁄⁄www.intechopen.com⁄chapters⁄�����. retrieved online ��th september, ���� ��p.m. amos, parenting and culture – evidence from some african communities. ��j.w. santrock, life-span development (new york: mcgraw hill companies, inc., ����) ��t.d. adidi & p.c. omenukwa, “a philosophical appraisal of igwebuikeconomics in the thoughts of anthony ikechukwu kanu” p. �� ��k. vaughan, “the role of apprenticeship in the cultivation of soft skills and dispositions” in journal of vocational education and training” vol. �� (�) may, ���� https:⁄⁄www.researchgate.net⁄publication⁄���������_the_ role_of_apprenticeship_in_the_cultivation_of_soft_skills_and_dispositions retrieved online ��th september, ���� igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 166 others in africa. to this end, understanding the african methodology of child development should not be left out in restoring the african child towards a harnessed dignity and proper guidance. conclusion the uniqueness of the child right acts does not in anyway undermine the african child. it rather has given a framework towards uplifting the african child. the understanding of child labour is alien the african; and as such what is termed child labour does not reveal the intent of what constitutes parenting and mentoring in african culture. nevertheless, the act did not put the african cultural and hermeneutical matrix into consideration despite the rich cultural heritage of the african people in providing certain cultural ingredients in enhancing the informal or traditional method of education in africa. the african parenting and mentoring skills out not to be taken for granted as a tool and method towards enriching the african child. more so, the paper has however provided a framework towards an enhanced and harnessed process of learning and not neglecting the african rich and cultural values of mentoring. the paper has established the necessity for pushing and advancing forward african philosophy as a discipline towards advancing the search for a true african identity and self-realization. therefore, since globalization has become a necessary agent for change, it ought not to throwaway cultures, history, tradition of a people so as to have a blended and realistic approach towards authentic development that is sustainable and integral to the formation of the human person. bibliography adidi d.t & aye j, “negritude: towards an authentic african narrative in the thought of leopold senghor”. in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 10 no. 2 (a journal of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya: 2024) adidi d.t & omenukwa c.p, “a philosophical appraisal of igwebuikeconomics in the thoughts of anthony ikechukwu kanu”. in ochendo: an african journal of innovative studies” in a publication of the association for the promotion of african studies, vol. 5, no. 1, 2024 adidi d.t, “interrogation into the defence of a 'problem – centric' research agenda for african philosophy in the thoughts of oghenekaro ogbinika and elizabeth oluwafumilayo kehinde”. in aku: an african journal of contemporary research vol. 5 no. 1, a publication of the association for the promotion of african studies, 2024 adidi d.t, “nigerian youths and sustainable development: a philosophical analysis on the speech of the nigerian president at the common wealth forum in london”. in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. no. 4. a publication of tansian university, umunya october, 2018 arowolo a.g, “an appraisal of the legal framework for child justice administration in nigeria”. in journal of law and criminal justice, vol. 6, no. 1, 2018 asogwa o.t, “philosophy and theology in dialogue in an african ecclesial context: lessons from veritatis gaudium” stan chu ilo, nora k. nonterah, ikenna u. okafor, justin c. nabushawo & idara otu (eds). in faith in action: reimaging the mission of the church in education, politics, and servant leadership in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 167 africa (abuja: paulines publications, 2020) asuquo g & adidi d.t, “obafemi awolowo's concept of magnitude and the drive towards entrepreneurial oriented education: a case for capuamanuism” anthony ikechukwu kanu, martins onukwuba, peter kanyip bakwaph, mike bassa boni, timothy dokpesi adidi (eds.) in economics, higher education st and sustainable development in 21 century. a festschrift in honour of professor ichoku hyacinth ementa (jos, augustinian publications, 2023) bashir z, “an evaluation of the impact of the child right act in regulating the rights of a child in nigeria” in a publication of international association of women j u d g e s , f e b r u a r y , 2 0 2 3 . h�ps://www.iawj.org/content.aspx?page_id=2507&club_id=882224&item_id=4600 kalu u.a, “the child right act: a commentary” (abuja: nigerian institute of advanced legal studies (nials) publications, 2004) makinde a.m, african philosophy: the demise of a controversy (ile-ife: obafemi awolowo university press, 2010) messay k, “development and the african philosophical debate” in journal of sustainable development in africa, vol. 1 no. 2, summer 1999. nwachukwu m, “maintaining quality and innovation in catholic higher institutions of learning in africa: towards mentoring young africans” stan chu ilo, nora k. nonterah, ikenna u. okafor, justin c. nabushawo & idara otu (eds). in faith in action: reimaging the mission of the church in education, politics, and servant leadership in africa (abuja: paulines publications, 2020) ogbenika e.g, african philosophy and the quest for development in africa (benin: mindex publishers, 2020) santrock w.j, life-span development (new york: mcgraw hill companies, inc., 2006) vaughan k, “the role of apprenticeship in the cultivation of soft skills and dispositions” in journal of vocational education and training” vol. 69 (1) may, 2017 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 5 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 57 a critical reflection on the biafran agitations and the questions of nigerian amalgamation in 1914 amanambu, uchenna ebony, ph.d methodist church nigeria, umuobiala, isuikwuato l.g.a abia state email: ebonyuchem@gmail.com abstract historically, at the arrival of the european colonials, many african tribes were forcefully conscripted to form most of the present states. after much pressure, they gained independence from the colonial masters but these colonies inherited the same mentality, arrangements and system from their old colonial masters. virtually all the boundaries of these colonies were superimposed on the land with little or no regard for the culturally coherent groups of people. nigeria founded in 1914 by the colonialists is a good example of the loose correspondence between nation and state that exist in africa today. just as it is in the cases of middle east, turkey, iraq and iran which are homes to kurdish tribe who are now minority in each of these countries. the kurdish has made repeated attempts to break away from each of these countries to form their own original unified states. the striking features of these former colonies have been unhealthy mismatches of statehood and nationhood. some of the handy terms from these groups are “resource control, marginalization, secession and restructuring”. nigeria is almost at a cross road because of how to build a national cohesion. this is because in addition to the avoidable but self inflicted nigerian-biafran war, the current fearful and fierce agitations for the independent biafra, many leaders and other tribes have risen to question the rationale of the amalgamation and existence of the country as one. keywords: biafra, agitation, amalgamation, nigeria, igbo. introduction arguably, there are two issues that have dominated public discourse in nigeria lately. they are the performance of the current administration vis-à-vis their 2014/2015 campaign promises especially the horrible economic situation and the controversies surrounding biafra and the nigerian state. the later has been very sensational and forceful. the nigerian state where all these quagmires are raging came into being by the british amalgamation agenda of 1914 according to akani (1999) has over five hundred and ten (510) languages and dialects are spoken within its borders of nigeria (p.61). there is also an important religious, split, as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 58 the north is primarily muslim and the south primarily christian. until 1960, nigeria was a british colony and like most colonies, it was not basically constructed for internal coherence but rather for the administrative and economic convenience of the british. apart from the nigerian biafran war between 1967 and 1970, the pressure and movements of biafra secession have gathered ferocious momentum especially in recent time. while some believe it is achievable, others term it “politics” and many others believe it is part of nigerian deficient social structure. there have been series of arguments as to whether the biafran movements and agitations are legal. obviously, the federal republic of nigerian 1999 constitution, the african charter on human and peoples' rights of 1981, the common wealth of nations declaration on democracy, human rights and good governance of 1990, united nations' declaration of human rights of 1945 and her other humanitarian laws make provisions for the engagement and actualization of self determination so long as the principles of non-violence are strictly maintained. whatever the case, the latest movements and agitations for the independent of biafra state out of nigerian state has not been in the interest of nigeria either. clarification of some terms critical means making a careful judgment about the good and bad qualities of something or somebody. reflection is the act of casting one’s mind back so as to give a careful thought and consideration on something. biafra-is a republic founded in the eastern nigeria which existed from 30th may, 1967 to january, 1970. agitations-the plural form of “agitation” means a situation in which people protest or argue especially in public with the aim of achieving a particular goal. questions-the plural of the term “question” have many entries but here it implies a subject or point for debate, dispute, controversy or a problem for discussion, under discussion and a matter for investigation. amalgamation is the combination of one or more companies to form a larger entity in the context of this study, a critical reflection on the biafran agitations and the questions of amalgamation of nigeria in 1914 means unbiased analyses of why there have been incessant demands by the igbo tribe to pull out from the merger of 1914 which metamorphosed into the present day nigerian state. adopting the theory that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere as propounded martin luther king jr, this study is enthused by the fact that the unification has been directly and indirectly blamed for almost all the instabilities in the country including the irrepressible movements and agitations for the secession of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 59 biafrans from the 1914 merger of other entities that formed the present day nigeria. highlights on the pre-colonial, colonial and post colonial nigerian politics abiola (1984) states that between the eleventh century and the european colonial conquest in the nineteenth century, the area known as nigeria today was homes of sophisticated kingdoms and societies (p.153). the meaning of a kingdom is the existence of a king and without a king, there will be no kingdom. adigwe (1979) said that the sokoto caliphate was conquered in 1903 and after the conquests the british were able to create the northern nigerian protectorate. in 1906, the colony of lagos and the protectorate of southern nigeria which included the former niger coast protectorates that were hitherto administered separately were merged and became the southern protectorates. lugard who had gone to hong kong as a governor for six years later returned to nigeria in 1912 and two years later, from january 1914 amalgamated both the southern and northern protectorates and the newly united colony was presided over by a proconsul, who was given the title of a governor-general of nigeria (p.170). olusanya (1999) notes that nigeria had its first constitution in 1922, usually regarded as the clifford constitution and its committee comprised fifteen unofficial members nominated by the government, three unofficial members representing lagos, calabar municipal and the east as well as thirty official members (p.544). salmone (1991) has submitted that the emirs settled more into their roles as reliable agents of indirect rule (p.55). anyaele (1987) states that britain agreed then to share power and responsibility with nigerian politicians though on representative institutions only. nigeria was granted independence on 1st october, 1960 under a constitution that provided for a parliamentary system of government. the constitution gave a substantial measure of selfgovernment for the country's already created three regions. abogurin (1999) affirms that the major political parties in the early republic such as ncnc, ag and npc had emerged in the late 1940s and early 1950s as regional parties (p.86). however, tanko (2003) argues that at independence, even when the departing colonialists favoured the npc’s view above other political parties, none of them could form enough strong party to control the national government. therefore, a coalition was adopted that produced tafawa belewa as the prime minister while nnamdi azikiwe became the governor-general and later the president after the republic in 1963 (p.6). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 60 meanwhile, the military came on the scene on 15th january 1966, when major nzeogwu and five other majors staged a coup-d'état that claimed the lives of many people including ahmadu bello, tafawa belewa, col. unegbe and others. uwechue (2003) said that the coup of 1966, though, later turned sour, brought in major general aguiyi ironsi as the ruler between january and june 1966. when ironsi took over in 1966, he appointed military governors for the four regions. another coup was staged by the northern soldiers in july of the same year and it claimed the life of ironsi (pp.34-64). ademolekum (1985) confirms that the exit of ironsi's regime brought in general gowon who divided the four regions into twelve states. the eastern region under lt colonel ojukwu rejected the move (p.11). oyewole and lucas (2000) note that ojukwu's demand that the most senior military officer in the army being brigadier ogundikpe should succeed ironsi instead of lt col. gowon was rejected by t.y. danjuma, murtala mohamed, martin adamu and other northern groups who carried out the mutiny. with this and other factors such as massacring of the igbo people in the north and gowon's inability to abide by the aburi accord made late general ojukwu to declare the independence of biafra and the nigerian civil war ensued (p.401). modupe (2000) states that the often mentioned aburi accord was held in aburi of accra in ghana with the aim of averting the impending nigerian civil war (p.35). the war ensued with bitter and bloody ending in the defeat of biafra in 1970. anyaele (1987) said that gowon's administration was knocked out of office after series of allegations such as corruption and inability to announce a realistic time for civilian hand-over (p.301). awosefo (2005) avers that murtala mohammed and his group took over the government (p.136). furthermore, ademolekum (1985) said that murtala mohammed's regime was short lived through a bloody coup of 13th feb.1976 while his second incommand general obasanjo, completed his programme of civilian rule that later produced shehu shagari as the president in 1979 (p.22). oyewole and lucas (2000) affirm that there were six political parties that contested for the elections during the shehu shagari era. in 1985, mohammad buhari took over the government from shehu shagari through a coup d’état (p.474). awosefo (2005) states that buhari’s government was on 27th august 1985 overthrown through a bloodless coup that produced ibrahim babangida. he continued until in 1993, when he bowed to public pressure after the annulment of the widely-talked about june 12th 1993 election believed to have been won by late m.k.o abiola. he inaugurated the interim national government headed by shonekan and in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 61 his word “stepped aside”. but on 17th november 1993, late general sani abacha forced shonekan to resign and he took over government (pp.143-144). abacha died in office on 8th june, 1998 (p.11). adamolekum (1999) confirms that abdulsalami abubbakar, who handed over to a civilian rule under olusegun obasanjo, on 29th may, 1999 took over after abacha’s death. therefore, the death of abacha and the transition agenda carried out by his successor, abdulsalami brought about the fourth republic (p.24). nigeria re-attained democracy on 29th may 1999, when it elected olusegun obasanjo who after eight years handed over to umar yar'adua on 29th may, 2007. after prolonged illness, yar'adua died on 5th may 2010. then with the “doctrine of necessity” as propounded by the national assembly, the acting president, goodluck jonathan who acted as vice president before then was on 6th may 2010, sworn in as the replacement for the late yar'adua. jonathan picked namadi sambo, the former governor of kaduna state to be his deputy until in 2015 when they vacated offices for general mohammad buhari (rtd) and prof. yemi osinbajo respectively. brief history of biafra according to anseth (2015), there was a biafra before it lost its sovereignty to colonial powers. early modern maps of africa from the 15th-19th centuries, drawn by european cartographers from accounts written by explorers and travelers, reveal that the original word used by the european travelers was not biafra but “biafara”, “biafar” and “biafares” (p.3). biafraland.com said that biafra is an almost rhomboid shaped territory which is demarcated to the west by the lower reaches of the river niger and its delta, to the east by the obudu plateau and the highlands of oban and ikom, to the south by the bight of biafra and to the north by an administrative boundary following, approximately, the seven (7) deg. n. latitude. the total area is over twenty nine thousand four hundred (29,400) square miles (p.34). the biafran state was officially recognized by gabon, haiti, ivory coast, tanzania, and zambia. other nations which did not make formal their recognition but provided support and assistance to biafra includes israel, france, spain, portugal, norway, rhodesia, south africa and the vatican city. some of the metamorphoses of 1966 biafran struggle the struggle for the state of biafra which many people hoped to have ended courtesy of the nigeria biafran war has given birth to at least three known movements that have continued with the ideals and vision of the struggles. even igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 62 though their approaches differ, the mission remains the same. these movements include movement for the actualization of the sovereign state of biafra (massob), biafra zionist movement (bzm) and indigenous people of biafra (ipob). nnanna (2015) said that barrister ralph uwazuruike led the actualization of the sovereign state of biafra (massob) which popped up in the middle 1990s and declared a non-violent agitation. massob mustered the youths, held rallies and planted the biafran flag, often getting into serious odds with the police and other security agencies. in 2012, another activist, barrister ben onwuka, came up with his biafra zionist movement (bzm) and staged an abortive invasion of the enugu state government house, the symbolic “biafran seat of power” (p.3). kanu’s incendiary broadcasts gave flesh to ipob which is the acronym for the indigenous people of biafra. the movement has succeeded in mobilizing millions of igbo youths worldwide who have been protesting the peace of nigerian embassies and officials around the world. the routine demonstrations and protests, which started long before his arrest got me worried for several reasons. all these movements claim to be the original inhabitants and rightful owners of the lands and communities of the southeast, some parts of south-south and middle belt nigeria. biafra and the questions of nigerian 1914 amalgamation the issue surrounding the nigerian amalgamation has remained a controversy in nigeria. it has received more of negative appraisals than positive ones. for example, paden (1986) avers that dr. nnamdi azikiwe once said to sir ahmadu bello, “let us forget our differences”... but bello responded, “no, let us understand our differences. i am a muslim and a northerner. you are a christian, an easterner”(pp.66-98). in the same way, amanambu (2012) succinctly samples some of the perceptions of nigerians rulers about the 1914 amalgamation thus, chief obafemi awolowo said, “nigeria is not a nation. it is a mere geographical expression” in 1948, sir abubakar tafawa balewa stated in the legislative council, “since 1914 the british government has been trying to make nigeria into one country but the nigerian people themselves are historically different in their backgrounds in their religious beliefs and customs and do not show themselves any sign of willingness to unite...nigerian unity is only a british intention for the country.” sir ahmadu bello described the amalgamation of the northern and the southern provinces as “the mistake of 1914.” in his maiden broadcast as head of state on 1st august, 1966 general yakubu gowon did say, “the basis of unity is not there”. one time viceigwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 63 president of nigeria, alex ekwueme states, “ours is hardly a federation except in name” (pp.122-123). similarly, richard akinjide, former nigerian attorney general and minister of justice in akinnola (2000) said that nigeria is a very complex country whose problems started in 1894 when lord lugard arrived. major lugard was not originally employed by the british government but he was employed by companies. he was first employed by east indian company, the royal east african company and then the royal niger company. it was from the royal niger company that he transferred to the british government (p.2). fafowora (2013) confirms that britain was not looking for new colonies or territories in west africa but was preoccupied with the penchant for trade and free markets (p.13). ishiekwenesep (2011) quotes richard akinjide as having argued that unless people know the background of the amalgamation, people will not know the root causes of nigerian problems. according to him, in 1898, lugard formed the west african frontier force initially with two thousand soldiers and about ninety (90) percent of them were drawn from the north and that was the beginning of nigerian problems. it led all the coups and counter-coups in nigeria. in some of his dispatches to london, lugard said a number of things which are the root causes of yesterday and today’s nigerian problems. the amalgamation of the south without necessarily the people became crucially important to british business interests. they needed a railway from the north to the coast in the interest of their business. lugard said that the north was poor, they had no resources to run the protectorate of the north, had no access to the sea and that the south had resources and educated people. therefore, because it was not the policy of the british government to bring the tax-payers money to run the protectorate rather it was in the interest of the british tax payers that there should be the amalgamation. what the british amalgamated was the administration of the north and south. “in fact, the so-called nigeria created in 1914 was a complete fraud”. it was created not in the interest of nigeria or nigerians but in the interest of the british. the structures created were as follows: northern nigeria was to represent england, western nigeria like wales while eastern nigeria was to be like scotland. in the british structure, england has permanent majority in the house of commons. there is no way wales can ever dominate england neither can scotland dominate britain. but they are very shrewd to the point that they may allow a scot to become a prime minister and they can allow a welsh to become prime minister in london but the fact remains igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 64 that the actual power is rested in england. thus, lugard created a kind of nigeria where a permanent majority goes to the north. the population figure at that time was so fraudulent that a british colonial civil servant who was involved in the fraud tried to expose it but he was never allowed to publish it (pp.9-11). the stand of biafra on the theory of nigerian amalgamation may not be different from the rest of many other nigerians. apart from those milking from the national patrimony many have questioned the rationale behind the amalgamation. beside other factors as enumerated earlier, laccino (2015) avers that biafra movements have declared the expiration of a so-called “amalgamation contract”. they cited the time fractured as one of their reasons to justify their position. according to them, the amalgamation contract must within one hundred years. in view of the above, there are many causative factors that negatively authenticate the expiration of that document and propel the biafran agitators. the metonymy and the extant causes of the biafran agitations the faultiness and deceptive motives of the unification: the foundation for the unification was deceptive and thus created imbalance among the people. whenever a process of building any long lasting venture is faulty and fraudulent, with time the result will be questionable. the british interest in the unification was purely to enlarge their commercial and political horizons. the people including the biafrans have risen to question it. onumah (2015) believes that those who view the biafran agitation and rampaging fulani herdsmen killers as an igbo and fulani problems respectively are not well informed or subjective (p.5). in other words, all the ugly tides in nigeria are the products of faulty establishments carried over by faulty leadership. structured suppression, injustice, hatred, insecurity and desire for survival: arguably, the british planted the seed for the persecution and marginalization of the igbo race. hence, dr. nnamdi azikiwe in a speech at the meeting of the igbo state assembly (isa) in aba, in present day abia state on saturday, 25th june, 1949, lamented the social, economic and political persecution which the igbo tribe had been subjected to. similarly, general effiong the man who surrendered biafra to nigeria remarked, “throughout history, injured people have had to resort to arms in their self defense where peaceful negotiation (sic) have failed. we are no exception. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 65 we took up arms because of the sense of insecurity generated in our people by the events of 1966. we have fought in defense of that cause”. the most brazen injustice against igbo tribe was that sinister and cold-blooded murder of her sons and daughters by the nigerian state for no justifiable reason. the pogroms against them include, jos 1945 massacre, kano 1953 and 1966 pogrom and 1967-1970 igbo genocide. it has been hoped that the country has learnt her lessons but after the war, odey (2009) said that many igbo people have been gruesomely murdered in the primes of their lives in the north. for example, akaluka was slaughtered in kano in 1994 (p.41). unarguably, this could have reminded the igbo tribe of the past biafran war experiences. ogbeche (2016) notes that methodus chimaije emmanuel, a 24-year-old igbo christian trader based in padongari, niger state was on sunday 29th may, 2016 butchered with three other persons including one personnel of the nigeria security and civil defence corps and about thirty shops looted by hausa muslims over allegations of blasphemy (p.3). muhammad (2016) concurs that a 74 year old igbo woman, bridget agbahime was on thursday 2nd june, 2016 gruesomely slaughtered by hausa muslims at kofar wambai market kano in the presence of her husband over alleged blasphemy (p.6) in the area of infrastructural developments, it is on record that the southeast has no single functional international airport. the river niger cannot be in any other part of the nigeria without being dredged and accorded a befitting seaport, let alone building another bridge that will support the ailing one. there is no federal government industry that can beef up markets in igbo-land. since the abolition of regionalism and the introduction of statism in 1967, no befitting railway has been constructed throughout igbo-land. all other geopolitical zones have the minimum of six states but the case is different with the south eastern zone. all roads in igbo land are death traps. the only federal government presence in igbo land is the brazen floodgate of its legion of security apparatus with her sophisticated arms in order to taunt and attack massob and ipob members especially with the so-called “operation python dance”. despite the non-violent posture of the biafran movements, they are being hounded and murdered with impunity while states such as kaduna and benue where thousands of people have been roasted by the rampaging fulani herdsmen and sharia agitators have not received such militarized exercises. the nature and pattern of federal appointments in nigeria is another inflammable factor in the agitations of biafra. for example, abdulrahman (2015) lists the first and second batches of appointments made in the current nigerian administration which igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 66 sparked off outrage across the country especially among the igbo speaking areas. they are aide de camp: lt. col abubakar lawal (kano state, north-west and husband to president buhari’s foster daughter), special adviser, media and publicity: femi adesina (osun state, south-west), senior special assistant, media and publicity: garba shehu (kano state, north-west), state chief of protocol/special assistant (presidential matters): lawal abdullahi kazaure (jigawa state, north-west), accountant general of the federation: ahmed idris (kano state, north-west), national security adviser: babagana monguno (borno state, north-east), chief of defence staff, abayomi olonishakin (ekiti state, south-west), chief of army staff: tukur buratai (borno state, north-east), chief of naval staff: ibok-ete ekwe ibas (cross rivers, south-south), chief of air staff, sadique abubakar (bauchi state, north-east), chief of defence intelligence: monday riku morgan (benue state, north-central), director general, state security services: lawal daura (katsina state, north-west), acting chairperson, independent national electoral commission, inec, amina zakari (jigawa state, north-west later replaced with prof yakubu mamood (bauchi, north east), managing director, nigerian ports authority: habibu abdulahi (kano state, north-west), special adviser, niger delta amnesty office: paul boroh (bayelsa state, south-south), acting director general, nigerian maritime administration, safety and security agency: baba haruna jauro (yobe state, north-east), executive vice chairman/chief executive officer, nigerian communications commission: umaru dambatta (kano state, north-west), executive chairman, federal inland revenue service: babatunde fowler (lagos state, south-west), director general, budget office of the federation: aliyu gusau (zamfara state, north-west), group managing director, nigeria national petroleum corporation, nnpc, emmanuel kachikwu (delta state, south-south later replaced with dr maikanti kacalla baru (bauchi north east), secretary to government of the federation, babachir david lawal (adamawa, north east), chief of staff to the president: abba kyari (borno, north-east), comptrollergeneral, nigerian customs service: hameed ibrahim ali (bauchi state-north east), comptroller-general, nigerian immigration service: kure martin abeshi (nasarawa state, north-central), senior special assistant on national assembly matters (senate): ita enang (akwa ibom state, south-south). senior special assistant on national assembly matters (house of representatives): suleiman kawu (kano state, north-west), director, department of petroleum resources, modecai baba ladan (niger, north-central) managing director, asset management company of nigeria, amcon, ahmed lawan kuru (kanonorthwest), commissioner for insurance and chief executive of the national insurance commission, mohammed kari (kano-north-west) (pp.4-6). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 67 nobody from the south east (igbo) was reportedly considered for appointment even as a gatekeeper was appointed in these tranches of appointments. this is the first time nobody from the south east geopolitical is represented in the national security meeting. in as much as the state of origin should not matter where productivity is prioritized. however, in heterogeneous society like nigeria where national appointments are considered the rights to enjoying “national cake”, sidelining any section in key appointment is often a subject of unhealthy misinterpretations. it cannot be logically and justifiably explained or proved that there are no qualified and capable individuals from the igbo group who can handle national assignments. moreso, naturally, there seems to be an aspect of human instinct that reacts against perceived and proven injustice. meanwhile, nnanna (2015) argues that the youth have seen how igbo students were allotted higher cut off marks than their counter parts before they gain admission into federal schools. they have watched with shock how the presidency of nigeria has changed hands between the north and the west. they have even seen how a southern minority held it for five years only for it to go back to the north with a western vice president which indicates where it might be heading next. amidst these prevailing situations, several questions boil in their minds such as, “does it mean that igbo people do not matter? were they forced back to nigeria only to be kept in subjugation?” the first six months of the president muhammadu buhari regime has made matters maddeningly worse. all the positions in the three branches of the federal government that matter have been handed over to arewa muslims with igbo indigenes present in this government only as ministers (pp.9-10). similarly, kumolu, ebegbulem, enogholase, nwabughiogu, agbakwuru, una and bello (2017) account of an outrage that spread in some parts of the country over lopsided recruitment into the department of state service (dss). for example, katsina state, the home state of president buhari and the director-general of dss got fifty one (51) of the four hundred and seventy nine (479) new recruits which was more than the forty four (44) new cadets recruited from the five south-eastern states. however, senator ekweremadu, said the reality on ground is that buhari administration has excluded the igbo people from nigeria. he decried the sacking of the national pension commission (pencom) director-general, mrs. chinelo anohu-amazu from anambra state just two years into her statutory five year and her replacement with aliyu dikko from kaduna state against the provisions of the pension reforms act 2014 (p.7). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 68 it is into such a festering atmosphere that massob and ipob resurrected the aborted struggle by the igbo tribe between 1967 and 1970 to abandon nigeria and establish their own independent republic. they had aimed at establishing a “land of freedom” where they will be free from “internal slavery”. according to nnanna (2015), col joe achuzia, biafran war hero and secretary-general of the indigenous people of biafra (ipob) sums it thus “we fought for survival! we fought to prevent us from being exterminated (p.7). according to nwachukwu (2017), prof. pat utomi argues that biafra is a metaphor for discontent writ from many nigerians. the people in the north-east are biafrans because they are unhappy with nigeria. many people in the north-central are biafrans because they are unhappy due to herdsmen destruction. many in the south-south are biafrans because they are unhappy with nigeria and across nigeria, there is a general democratization of discontent among majority of the people (p.13). the biafra struggle for a republic out of nigeria is simply secession-garbed reactions of the igbo tribe against the perceived and real structured injustice, dehumanization, nepotism, gang-up and hatred meted out to them by the nigerian state and nigerians. why biafran agitations have been sensationally attractive ironically, many opinion leaders in igbo land did not support biafran agitations. for instance, nwosu (2000) notes that an umbrella group of all igbo organizations in nigeria, ohaneze ndigbo and odumegwu ojukwu who led the 1967 secessionist struggle unequivocally denounced and dissociated themselves from massob (p.2) in view of these, what then have made these agitations highly attractive? poor state responses adekunle (2017) argues that the responses of nigerian government to biafran have been disappointing. he cites the case of the leader of ipob who was made a hero by holding him close two years of incomprehensible judicial rigmarole and executive procrastination. his final release on bail with these stringent conditions made him more popular. for instance, he was asked to (a) produce three sureties who must deposit the sum of one hundred million naira each, (b) produce a highly placed person of igbo extraction, (c) produce a respected person who resides and owns landed property in abuja and ensure that (d) one of the sureties must be a highly respected jewish leader;(e) must not attend any rally or grant an interview; (f) must not be in a crowd exceeding ten persons and (g) must surrender his nigerian and british passports. but surprisingly within three days, the bail conditions were met. apart from the trial igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 69 itself being needless, it is doubtful whether the stringency of the bail conditions did not violate the purpose of a fair trial and the constitutionality of bail (p.2). perhaps, the government had thought that the incarceration of nnamdi kanu and other ipob members would silence the agitations but to the chagrins of both government and others, the issue was kept on the front burner for the entire duration of the incarceration of the ipob leader. unarguably, the previously little or unknown nnamdi kanu and the ipob soared into global significance swallowing the popularity of its rival, the movement for the actualization of the sovereign state of biafra (massob). nnamdi kanu has received the supports many reputable figures such as charles soludo, pat utomi, uzor kalu, peter obi among others. it can be argued that the government hopes of defeating or silencing the group with state security forces have not bore fruit. this is because biafra is a movement that exists more in the mind and can only be defeated with superior ideology. biafra has over the years morphed into an ideology, partly as a result of the complicity of an insensitive government that failed to understand the beginnings of the movement and was also unable to offer a closure to the fractures and contradictions that triggered the 1967-1970 nigerian civil war. the inability and unwillingness of state actors to correct the faulty foundation associated with the amalgamation of nigeria: as it has been adroitly noted, virtually everything that nigeria is facing today come as result of the fact that the europeans instituted and established marginalization, ethnicity, inept leadership, fraudulent methods of imposing rulers, south and north dichotomy, religious intolerance, electoral fraud, corruption and impunity are among some of the unwanted factors that are questioning the 1914 amalgamation of nigeria. but surprisingly, the rulers pay lip services to these factors probably because they are beneficiaries of the faultiness of the state. in this type of environment, biafra agitations become attractive to the shortchanged groups. the mentality of majoring in the minor: if the amount of energy dissipated by the rulers and state of nigeria in fighting the biafran agitators and oppositions is channeled towards checkmating the fulani herdsmen’s genocidal activities and improving the lives of nigerians, undoubtedly the agitations for biafra will be less attractive. but because the state actors and the state itself have not prioritized what is needful, these agitators have capitalized the loopholes to create uneasiness in the country. igbo land is militarized because of nonviolent massob and ipob groups while boko haram and fulani herdsmen are feasting on innocent blood in bornu, yobe, adamawa, kaduna and benue states. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 70 leaders have not learnt their lessons from the previous wars. one of the reasons why the agitations for biafra have been ongoing is because nigerian leaders and their followers have never learnt from their mistakes. according to umoru and alaribe (2017), senator ike ekweremadu while reacting to the humanitarian crises in the north-east said that the crises arose because nigerian rulers have not learnt any lesson from the causes and crises of the nigeria biafran war. they have failed to build the internal capacity and mechanisms for managing such situation (p.8). whenever a leader succumbs to the pressure of placing sentiment above reasoning and sound-mindedness, the outbreaks of war, violence, overt and covert conflicts, crises and squabbles with their fatalities are bound to occur. biafran agitations and other agitations lay credence to these facts. nigerian civil war could have been avoided if the leaders have allowed reasons to dictate their actions and inactions. household enemies: another depressing factor fuelling of biafra agitations in nigeria is the brazen impunity of many igbo political rulers. virtually all the manageable state roads across igbo land were roads built after the civil war by the likes of late sam mbakwe and few others. all the monies accrued to these states from federal government and the exorbitant taxations they muscle out from the poor masses are serially wasted by these politicians and their cronies. if they have done things differently by providing leadership, biafra agitations and its attendant consequences could have been checkmated. towards checkmating the resurgence of biafra agitations i. nigerians seem to be reactive people and hardly pro-act. nigerian leaders will usually wait for trouble to brew before scampering for solutions. leaders should be proactive in managing the ingredients that breed the agitations. ii. igbo people should not be overtly or covertly reminded of the gory of the civil war. iii. the no victor no vanquished statement of general gowon after the civil war has been a ruse. let urgent and concrete steps be taken to address it. iv. let the youths and the other agitators be made to channel their energy towards the moves for restructuring the country on the path of justice because using the southern sudan’s experience, there is no guarantee that biafra republic will be the messianic and utopian society they are longing for. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 71 v. let justice, equity, sense of reason and fairness be hallowed by the leaders because they are the bedrock of any progressive society. conclusion more than one hundred years after the lugard’s amalgamation and forty-two years after the end of the devastating nigeria biafran civil war in which government troops fought and defeated biafran secessionists, the dream of independence has not died. despite the fear and tears that are raging in the land, the biafran flags still coloured almost every corner of the major igbo states. the name “biafra” means different things to different people. to those in top political positions of the country whose interests are at stake, biafra is an unwanted element that should be destroyed. to some of them from the biafran side that witnessed the horrors of the war, it is a negative issue that should not be recalled. it means tragedy of diseases, kwashiorkor, killings, genocide and man’s inhumanity against his fellow men. to few enlightened and objective nigerians, biafra means injustice, denials and suppressions. but the present crops of igbo youths find the name very attractive, lovely, respectful, hopeful and many men, women and children waved the flags with hope and dream. a hope born from the very depth of their souls and the dream of a nation whose sun would one day rise up high to shine forth for justice and equity. the recent sit-at-homeorder by the ipob to commemorate the biafra day across the southeast and some south-southern states had said it all. in the midst of the state misguided responses to the biafra agitations in nigeria, there are issues that must critically be considered and they are the dangers these agitations pose to other peaceful individuals who want squalor in the midst of debilitating nigerian atmosphere spurred by corruption and structural injustice. secondly, there is no guarantee that subsequent governments in the future will draw positive lessons from the impasse largely occasioned by governments’ poor responses. conclusively, a well breast fed child can only do these two things: the child either sleeps or goes on to play. therefore, as long as injustice, oppression, dehumanization and hatred reign in the nigerian state, biafran agitations and questions on the amalgamation theory will continue. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 72 references abiola, o. (1984). a textbook of west african history ad 1000 to the present day. ado-ekiti: omolayo abdulrahman, a. (2015). outrage grows across nigeria as buhari’s lopsided appointments continue. http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news abogurin, s.o. (1999.). religion and democracy in nigeria orita journal of religious studies. ibadan: xxxi/1.pp.286-98. adekunle, a.a. (2017). ipob’s kanu and the road to erehwon the nation. 30th april. ademolekun, l. (1985). the fall of the second republic. ibadan: spectrum. ademolekun, t. (1999). the role of religion in the political and ethical reorientation of nigeria in orita journal of religious studies. ibadan: xxxi/12. pp.19-28 adigwe, f. (1979). essentials of government for west africa. ibadan: university press. akani, a.a. (1999. “theodemocracy and islamic approach to nigerian’s quest for a political ideology” orita journal of religious studies. ibadan: xxxi/1-2, pp.61-70. akinnola, r. (2000). excerpts from the book “fellow country menthe story of coup d’etats in nigeria. amanambu, u.e. (2012). sharia implementation: a challenge to the nigerian nation state. okigwe: whytem. anyaele, j. (1987). comprehensive government for schools. lagos: johnson. anseth, m. (2015). name of biafra-origin-meaning. http://www.nairaland.com. accessed 2nd feb. 2017. awofeso, o. (2005). “military disengagement from politics in africa: the nigeria experience” in oyari o. eds. issues in african politics. nigeria: data-globe. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 73 fafowora, d. (2013).lord lugard and the 1914 amalgamation of nigeria. the nation 14th feb. kumolu, c. ebegbulem, s. enogholase, g, nwabughiogu, l, agbakwuru, j, una, e and bello, b. (2017). “outrage over fg’s appointments and why katsina got 51 dss slots” vanguard april 30 iaccino, l. (2015). ipob, massob and buhari's government: how is nigeria dealing with probiafran separatist movements? 29th july. http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/ipob-massob modupe, o. (2000). the shariy’ah debate in nigeria. ibadan: sefer. nwachukwu, j.o. (2017). “why every nigerian is a biafran-pat utomi” dailypost 8th may. nwosu, p. (2000). “nigeria: ohanaeze declares biafra dead ... disowns massob.” post express 12 may. odey, j.o. (2009). c.a.n. my foot: the reckless utterance of a wilful president. lagos: emmafids olusanya, g.o. (1999). “constitutional development in nigeria since 18611960” in ikime, o (ed) groundwork of nigerian history. ibadan: heinemann onumah, c. (2015). “we are all biafrans!”sahararepoter 7th dec. oyewole, a. & lucas, j. (2000). historical dictionary of nigeria. maryland: scarecrow paden, i. n. (1986). ahmadu bello sarduana of sokoto values and leadership in nigeria. london: hodder and stoughton. salmone, f. (1999). “ethnic identities and religion” religion and society in nigeria historical and sociological perspectives. ed. olupona jacob and toyin falola. ibadan: spectrum, pp.45-64. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 5, july 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 74 tanko, p. (2003). “inter-religious dialogue as a tool for the transformation of northern nigeria” bulletin of ecumenical theology. 15(.1) pp.1-36. ishiekwenesep t. (2011). the amalgamation of nigeria was a frauda rejoinder! sharareport 15th june. umoru, h and alaribe, u. (2017). we failed to learn from biafran warekweremadu. vanguard 19th march. uwechue, r.(2003). reflections on the nigerian civil war: facing the future. london: wordmithess. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 136 christianity, as it affects the progress and continuity of african traditional religion innocent ogbonna nweke, phd department of religion and human relations, faculty of arts. chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu university igbariam campus. ekedaion@yahoo.com /io.nweke@coou.edu.ng. abstract religion is a fundamental aspect of human culture, shaping societies beliefs, values and traditions. in africa, religion has always played a very significant role in the lives of the people. african traditional religion represents the indigenous belief systems and practice that have guided african communities for generations. the introduction of christianity to africa, particularly during the colonial era brought significant changes that affected the african indigenous religion; and thee effects especially the negative effects are what the writer wants to look into. he employed socio-cultural approach for the findings. the researcher discovered that christianity destroyed some of the traditional practices like, the way of marriage, the loss of traditional leadership, the knowledge system etc. it recommended that even though christianity should be given accolade in certain areas that some of the ritual practices which were destroyed in the name of christianity or being born again should be reintroduced again for betterment of african indigenous religion. keywords: christianity, effect, progress, continuity, atr introduction african traditional religion (atr) encompasses the indigenous spiritual beliefs and practices passed down through generations among african societies. embedded in communal living and respect for ancestors, african traditional religion holds that the spiritual world influences daily life and governs moral behavior. however, with the advent of christianity during colonial and missionary expansion, the practice of african tradition religion experienced profound transformations. hence, this paper explores the influence of christianity on african traditional religion as it affects its progress and continuity. background to the study religion is a fundamental aspect of human culture, shaping societies’ beliefs, values, and traditions. in africa, religion has always played a significant role in the lives of its people. african traditional religion represents the indigenous belief systems and practices that have guided african communities for generations. it is a holistic way of life that connects the physical and spiritual realms, emphasizing ancestral worship, community values, and reverence for nature. the introduction of christianity to africa, particularly during the colonial period, brought significant changes to the religious and cultural fabric of the continent. christian missionaries, often accompanied by colonial powers, sought to evangelize and civilize african societies, frequently regarding african traditional religion as primitive or pagan. overtime, christianity grew in influence, becoming one of the dominant religions on the continent. while christianity introduced new ideas and practices that contributed to societal development, it also disrupted african traditional religion, often relegating it to the margins of society. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 137 statement of the problem the arrival and spread of christianity in africa have significantly impacted african traditional religion, leading to a decline in its practice and visibility in many communities. african traditional religion, once the foundation of african spirituality and culture, is often viewed as outdated or incompatible with modernity due to christian influence. this has resulted in the loss of traditional beliefs, rituals, and cultural heritage. however, the marginalization of african traditional religion raises questions about its survival, authenticity, and relevance in a rapidly changing religious atmosphere. this study seeks to investigate the ways in which christianity has affected african traditional religion. scope and delimitation of the study this research focuses on the influence of christianity on african traditional religion, as it affects its progress; cutting across its religious practices (rituals and rites) and value systems. the research data will be drawn from existing literature. the historical context of christianity in africa the arrival of christianity in africa, particularly sub-saharan africa, dates back to early centuries in regions like north africa (e.g., egypt and ethiopia). however, its widespread dissemination occurred during european colonization around the 17th to 19th centuries. missionary activities often sought to replace african traditional religion with christian doctrines, tagging african practices as pagan or backward (hastings, 1994). this contributed to a systematic belittlement of native beliefs, as the christian faith became associated with western education, development, and political power (peel, 2003). the dual role of christianity as both a spiritual and cultural force aided its impact on african traditional religion. in nigeria, the advent of christianity falls within the period of european penetration in nigeria. one important question to ask is; were the goals of christian missionaries independent from the colonial agenda? christianity was just a tool for colonial westernization, so, there was no room for the missionaries to appreciate and imbibe the culture of the people whom they came to evangelize. christianity’s impacts/effects on african traditional religion the indigenous environment into which christianity arrived was deeply religious; there was that strong awareness of and belief in the existence of a supreme being, conceived as the maker and sustainer of the universe and with whom humans tried to establish constant ties (gyekye, 1996). the conception and belief in supreme being and complex systems of beliefs in the spiritual qualities of nature are the two significant traits which characterizes african indigenous religion. the nature of this traditional religion, as expressed in many african communities is communal and pragmatic, which implies that people born into the traditional community were also born into the religion, in which they, naturally, participated as they grew up through the traditional socialization processes. hence, african indigenous religion is part and parcel of african culture. however, the christian’s missionaries overlooked this fact when introducing christianity to africa. lamentably, the missionary movement imposed western culture on the peoples who were being evangelized on the assumption that western culture was christian, while other cultures were dismissed as pagan and heathen. although christianity has brought in some positive influences and effects in africa, they have also dealt igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 138 a staggering blow on our social, economic, religious, political and most importantly our cultural identity. as a result of the influence of christian doctrines, the whole systems of taboos and rituals are no longer strictly observed and this perhaps explains why there are so many crimes in the traditional communities today. be that as it may, let us consider some of the impacts on the traditional systems and institutions. christianity and marriage rite: the traditional marriage institution was a vital link and bond that sustained and strengthened kinship ties within african communities. in the african cultural setting, the marriage between two individuals was understood as a means of initiation or cementing the union of the households and clan from which the couple belonged. in african traditional settings, marriage unites not only the woman and the man; it connects and links families and clans. the process of marriage was characterized by rites of transactions through which the marrying individuals were welcomed into social adulthood. however, the christian wedding was introduced as a new experience in african cultural and religious life. african christians, though recognizing themselves as members of the church, did not and could not entirely sever their ties with their kin. and so, for a christian who wants to get married will need the approval of his relatives as well as that of the church by fulfilling both the traditional rites and church rites which consequently led to dual marriage. this has necessitated the need to ask; at what point can a young man and a woman who have agreed to marry, be socially described as a married couple? is it after african traditional marriage rites has been performed or after euro-american church wedding ceremony? which of these authenticates a marital union or is it both? onyima (2014) contends that in most christian homes in africa one is not married until they have performed white wedding where they must be blessed by a pastor/priest. this, arguably to a large extent is a clash between tradition and christianity and this has greatly endangered our cultural identity. christianity and rites of passage (death): in african indigenous religion, death is not seen as an end to a person rather a transition to another world. an elderly person who died devoid of any taboo is said to have joined the ancestors. the ancestors are believed in african traditional religion to be spirits of their fore fathers, they are no longer visible in the sense that they have become spirits but they still play dormant role in the running of the affairs of the family to which they belong. hence, the dead are buried in graves within the family compound thus, confirming that the departed are still part of the living members of the extended family, and their spirits can be evoked at will. in contrast to this, christianity came with new rituals for the burial of afro christians where the dead are taken to a common graveyard (cemetery) for burial signifying the separation of the dead from their families. hence, the funeral rites and rituals as obtainable in traditional african setting is seen by christians as heathen or paganism. in the “journal of african studies and sustainable development, vol. 3(1), p. 40-44”, nweke, i. o., emphasizes on the burial rite in igbo traditional culture and the rites of invitation into the community of ancestors. these rites and rituals are of different stages; the burial rites, the cleansing rites, the liberation rites, the ritual dance and the rite of initiation into the community of the ancestors (nweke, 2020). however, for the afro christians, these different stages are heathen or paganism, hence, these rites, rituals and the different stages involve for the burial of the dead in the igbo traditional communities are not strictly observed for the burial of an afro christian igbo. the advent of christianity stereotyped these rites and rituals which made them to loss their values and places in the traditional igbo communities. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 139 destruction of traditional practices: one of the most significant effects of christianity on african traditional religion is the decline in traditional rituals and practices. christian missionaries often dismissed african tradition religious practices as superstitious and idolatrous, discouraging believers from participating in ceremonies such as ancestor veneration, traditional healing, and communal rites of passage. the building of churches and establishment of christian schools fostered a shift in allegiance from traditional religious authorities to christian clergy (mbiti, 1969). for instance, many converts abandoned the worship of deities associated with natural phenomena, replacing these with christian doctrines centered on monotheism. christianity’s role in the loss of traditional leadership: traditional african leadership structures are deeply intertwined with african traditional religion, as chiefs and elders often serve as spiritual as well as political authorities. christianity disrupted these systems by introducing western-style governance. in some cases, traditional leaders who converted to christianity were pressured to renounce african traditional religion rituals, weakening their cultural legitimacy. the destruction of traditional leadership has had long-lasting implications, as many communities lost their spiritual anchors and turned to churches for guidance. this shift has transformed the social and political atmosphere of african societies, often aligning with western values and practices. christianity and the marginalization of african traditional religion: as christianity spread across africa, african traditional religion faced increasing marginalization. european missionaries often dismissed traditional beliefs, such as ancestor veneration, spirit worship, and ritual sacrifices. practices considered as sacred in african traditional religion were condemned as superstition or witchcraft, creating a stigma that persists in many african societies. churches became centers of influence, encouraging converts to abandon their traditional practices. furthermore, colonial governments supported this marginalization by enforcing laws that outlawed some african tradition religion rituals, such as initiation ceremonies or spiritual healing practices, rite of passage and others. this led to many africans to internalized these negative representations, leading to a loss of pride in traditional practices and a preference for christianity, seen as more civilized and aligned with modernity. loss of indigenous knowledge systems: african traditional religion has traditionally functioned as a fountain of indigenous knowledge, encompassing agricultural practices, health systems, and moral teachings. christianity’s insistence on a biblical worldview often led to the marginalization of these knowledge systems. for example, traditional healers, who were once revered as custodians of health and spirituality, were often branded as witches or sorcerers. this stigmatization eroded the community’s trust in such figures, disrupting the traditional social structure (kalu, 2008). transformation of moral and social structures: christianity introduced new moral structures that sometimes clashed with african traditional religion’s communal and flexible ethical systems. for example, christianity’s emphasis on individual salvation and sin contrasted with african traditional religion’s communal focus on harmony and retributive justice. missionaries also played a role in reshaping family structures, promoting monogamy over polygamy, a practice deeply embedded in african traditional religion (bediako, 1992). evangelism and conversion practices: evangelism has played a central role in the expansion of christianity in africa. missionaries often employed strategic methods to convert igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 140 african traditional religion devotees, including offering material benefits such as education, healthcare, and financial aid. these efforts were particularly successful in regions where colonial governments suppressed the religious practices of african traditional religion, making conversion a practical choice for many. some missionaries also used fear-based tactics, portraying african traditional religion as demonic or spiritually dangerous to compel conversions. this aggressive evangelism disrupted traditional communities, creating divisions between converts and non-converts. while christianity brought benefits such as literacy and access to western medicine, it also created cultural and spiritual dislocations that continue to shape african societies. christianity and modernization in africa: christianity is often associated with modernization in africa, as it introduced western-style education, healthcare, and governance systems. missionary schools produced some of africa’s earliest educated elites, many of whom later became political and social leaders. however, this modernization often came at the expense of african traditional religion, which was portrayed as backward and incompatible with progress. urbanization has further exacerbated this dynamic, as younger generations living in cities often adopt christian or secular lifestyles, leaving behind traditional practices rooted in rural settings. while christianity is seen as a gateway to global opportunities, african traditional religion struggles to adapt to modern contexts, leading to questions about its relevance in contemporary african society. globalization and the westernization of african religious practices: globalization has amplified the influence of western christian values on african societies, often overshadowing african traditional religion. through media, education, and migration, younger generations are exposed to global christian movements, such as pentecostalism, which offer a modern, cosmopolitan appeal. african traditional religion in contrast, is often portrayed in global narratives as outdated. this dynamic creates challenges for atr’s survival, as it struggles to compete with the cultural and economic power of globalized christianity. furthermore, in nweke, i (2019), “port harcourt journal of history and diplomatic studies, vol. 6(3), p. 301-306” globalization and it processes which influence african traditional religion is explained as, a multifaceted phenomenon involving the increasing interconnectedness of societies, shaping political, economic, cultural, and social systems worldwide, often serving the interests of dominant global powers. while it fosters integration and technological advancement, it also disrupts local cultures, promoting monoculture (western culture in the guise of christianity) and reshaping identities, with african traditions particularly influenced through historical and modern interactions. however, some african communities are working to preserve their traditional practices by documenting african traditional religion knowledge and integrating it into educational curricula. christianity and chieftaincy title: chieftaincy in pre-christian african societies was often deeply intertwined with indigenous religious beliefs. chiefs were seen as spiritual intermediaries between the people and the divine. however, with the arrival of christianity in africa, chieftaincy loss its prestige and meaning, as many african societies embraced the christian god leading to the abandonment of traditional rituals, such as ancestral worship, chieftaincy rituals or participation in indigenous ceremonies. there are so many and different igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 141 rituals for chieftaincy-taking across the african continent, however, let us limit the scope to the ozo title taking in igbo land. ozo title in igbo land: the ozo title is one of the highest and most prestigious traditional titles in igbo society. it represents wealth, influence, social status, and spiritual authority. the ozo title symbolizes moral uprightness, leadership, and connection to the ancestors. it often involves rituals, feasts, and significant financial contributions, making it a mark of distinction. taking the ozo title includes participating in traditional rituals and invoking ancestral spirits. members of the ozo society are custodians of igbo customs, laws, and sacred practices. in the “journal of african studies vol. 15, p. 97-102”, the ozo title is the pinnacle of spiritual, social, and religious status in igbo society, symbolizing uprightness, honesty, and justice. the process involves rigorous screening, stages of initiation, and strict adherence to tradition, and ozo titleholders are expected to lead by example, mediate between the living and the ancestors, and uphold the community’s welfare (nweke, 2019). however, with the advent of christianity in igbo land, particularly in the 19th and 20th centuries, a tension arose between christian doctrine and traditional practices, including the ozo title. early christian missionaries viewed the ozo title and its rituals as idolatrous because they often involved prayers to ancestors, libations, and rituals deemed incompatible with christian monotheism. many christians were prohibited by their churches from participating in the ozo title or other traditional ceremonies. over time, some igbo communities have adapted the ozo title to align with christian beliefs by removing or modifying certain rituals considered un-christian. some churches have softened their stance, allowing christians to take the ozo title if it is stripped of traditional religious elements. notwithstanding, traditionalists see the ozo title as an inseparable part of igbo culture and heritage, and so, argue that its spiritual aspects are central to its meaning and should not be diluted. hence, many christians reject the ozo title due to its perceived association with traditional religion. others embrace it as a cultural honor, ensuring that their induction ceremonies are free from traditional religious practices. some individuals manage to balance their christian faith with their cultural identity by participating in modified ozo ceremonies that are acceptable to their churches. consequently, the rituals and sacrifices associated with the ozo title were significantly affected by christian influence. christian converts, particularly those in leadership roles within the church, faced pressure to abandon traditional rituals. over time, some communities adapted the ozo initiation process to align with christian values, removing elements considered idolatrous (okeke, 2006). hope for the continuity of african traditional religion. syncretism and adaptation: while christianity challenged african traditional religion, it also gave rise to syncretism, a blending of christian and traditional beliefs. in many african societies, converts retained certain aspects of african traditional religion, such as the use of proverbs, communal worship styles, and symbolic rituals, while embracing christian teachings. for example, the concept of a supreme being in african traditional religion (often referred to as “chukwu” in igbo, “nyame” in akan, “olodumare” in yoruba or “ojoodobogagwu” in igala) was equated with the christian god, allowing for a smoother transition between the two systems (olupona, 2014). furthermore, in nweke, i., and agaba, s. (2021), “international journal of innovative research and advanced studies, vol. 8, p. 8891”, an emphasis was drawn on african traditional religion (atr) been influenced by christianity and islam, leading to a mix of practices, such as modernized shrines, christian names, and missionary-like activities. despite holding onto its traditions, atr has adopted igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 142 some elements, practices, and even responses like “amen.” this blending shows how atr has adapted to cultural and religious changes over time. the resilience of african traditional religion: despite christianity’s profound influence, african traditional religion has displayed remarkable resilience. in many parts of africa, traditional practices continue to thrive, particularly in rural areas where christianity has not entirely displaced indigenous beliefs. additionally, there is a growing movement to reclaim and celebrate african traditional religion as a vital component of african identity and heritage. this renaissance is obvious in the rise of cultural festivals, the inclusion of traditional symbols in political and social life (example; the building of ijele masquerade images in roundabout in enugu town), and the academic study of african traditional religion as an independent field in many institutions of learning. the coexistence of christianity and african traditional religion in modern african societies: in contemporary african societies, the relationship between christianity and african traditional religion is characterized by both tension and mutual influence. while some christian denominations still seek to eradicate traditional practices, others have adopted a more accommodative approach, recognizing the value of african traditional religion’s communal and spiritual dimensions. the dialogue between the two systems offers an opportunity for mutual enrichment. for instance, christian churches can learn from african traditional religion’s emphasis on environmental stewardship and community cohesion, while african traditional religion can adopt ethical principles from christianity that align with modern human rights standards. conclusion the interaction between christianity and african traditional religion has been complex and multifaceted. christianity has undeniably disrupted the progress of african traditional religion by undermining its practices and social systems. however, it has also spurred adaptation and innovation within african traditional religion, leading to the development of syncretic religious expressions and a renewed appreciation for indigenous spirituality. in navigating the future, fostering mutual respect and dialogue between christianity and african traditional religion can contribute to a more inclusive understanding of africa’s rich religious heritage. references bediako, k. (1992). theology and identity: the impact of culture upon christianity thought in the second century and modern africa. regnum books. hastings, a. (1994). the church in africa: 1450-1950. oxford university press. kalu, o. (2008). african pentecostalism: an introduction. oxford university press. kanu, i. a. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 143 kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 6166. kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2013). on the sources of african philosophy. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 337-356. kanu, i. a. (2013). the dimensions of african cosmology. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 533-555. kanu i. a. (2015b). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. mbiti, j. s. (1969). african religions and philosophy. heinemann. nweke, i. (2017). african tradition religion: in the midst of secularism. spiritan press. nweke, i. o., and agada, s. (2021). syncretism in relation to african traditional religion: why the uproar? international journal of innovative research and advance studies. 2394-4404, vol. 8, p.88-91 nweke, i. o. (2020). juxtaposition of burial rites in african traditional religion: igbo land as a case study. journal of african studies and sustainable development. 2630-7073, vol.3(1), p. 40-44 nweke, i. o. (2019). ozo title institution in igbo land in relation to politics in nigeria: a comparative analysis. a new journal of african studies. vol. 15, p. 97-102 nweke, i. o. (2019). the effect of globalization on african traditional religious rituals. port. harcourt journal of history and diplomatic studies. vol. 6(3), p. 301-306 olupona, j. k. (2014). african religion: a very short introduction. oxford university press. peel, j. d. y. (2003). religious encounter and the making of the yoruba. indiana university press. ugwu, c. o. t. & luke, e. u. (2004). african traditional religion: a prolegomenon. merit international publications. 75 human relations as foundational for religious tolerance in nigeria samuel c. izuegbu & b. a. c obiefuna department of religion and human relations, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka sc.izuegbu@unizik.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.25338.81600 abstract nigeria is not only pluralistic in terms of ethnic and cultural groupings but most sensitively, nigeria is a religious pluralistic country. religious crises, fanaticism and extremism have been witnessed in nigeria for years. this work looking at the ugly trends of religious intolerance in nigeria evident in religious conflicts, observes a lack in sound human relations. underneath these crises, good human relations is lacking. this work made use of secondary sources of information to obtain its data. the work holds that the principles of good human relations have not been effectively promoted among the adherents of various religious faiths in nigeria more than how each faith is primed above others by the adherents of the faith. it is held that good human relations is basic for solving religious intolerance in nigeria with its concomitant effects. it recommends that human relations should be a major part of the teachings of religious practitioners in nigeria; schools and other institutions of learning should have human relations as a course of study to promote its principles in nigeria. it is the conclusion of this paper that with good understanding of human relations with its attendant benefits, religious intolerance is reduced to the barest minimum. keywords: human relations, intolerance, religion, bigotry, tolerance. introduction every human society has a form of religion or the other. ezeanya (2009) asserts that history is yet to discover a religionless society. in the study of religion, scholars are aware of the sensitivity of the subject matter. everyone jealously sees his religion as the true religion even when others see otherwise. idowu (1973) understands this and presents codes in the study of religion. these codes include caution in dealing and studying other people's religion. not just that one should be cautious, there is need for openness, for one is expected to see from the lens of those in the religious faith. another code is sympathy in which case what people say about a particular religion is not all that is important but what a religion says about itself. again reverence which enable one appreciate the sacredness of other's religion and as such accord respect to the said religion. these salient codes are necessitated by unavoidable sensitivity of religion as a societal reality which is capable of uniting and at the same time disintegrating families, communities, nations and organizations. being that there are various religious faiths has made it imperative for individuals to remain careful in their dealings with other religious faith especially when they do not properly understand the tenets of such religion. be it judaism, christianity, islam, buddhism, hinduism, taoism, confucianism, african trdaitional religion or any other form, each religion has its teachings and practices which the adherents hold dear to them. in a multi-ethnic society like nigeria, religious pluralism is often witnessed. sometimes, religion in embedded in the culture of a people and for this reason, where there are different ethnic backgrounds in a country, one expects different religious faith. mmah (2012) appreciates that religion is the basis of identity and tribe, a nation or a community. however, this identity can breed conflicts. in his observation, nmah states that: this religious identity has been the foundations of the separation of each from the other and the cause of intraand inter-ethnic group conflict. for example, religious conflicts igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 76 have been known to exist between the canaanites and the israelites, the jews and muslims, the muslims and christians (as in nigeria, sudan and egypt), the hindus and the sikhs, the roman catholics and the protestants or even conscipicous rivalry between catholics and anglicans in anambra, imo and enugu states of nigeria. these conflicts more often than not are consequent upon theological indoctrination by these religious groups. (p. 413). it is therefore not utopia to state that religious groups can lead to conflicts as they exist side by side others. just like every other human organization or institution, conflicts are inevitable. however, when conflicts get to the level of intolerance, that brings in a red flag to the general peace, growth and development. it is a fact that human beings progress better when they work together without rancor. nigeria as a nation falls into the category of a country with multi-ethnic groups. there have been clear religious conflicts in nigeria. two of the dominant religious faiths: christianity and islam have been showing levels of intolerance. though, african traditional religion and other religious faiths are practiced in nigeria but the duo of christianity and islam has greater conflicts than others. these conflicts have led to different damages in the country in every sphere. many times, people lose their lives in the course of such religious conflicts. there is a kind of christianmuslim dichotomy in the country. in the political sphere of the country for instance, fielding a muslim-muslim or christian-christian ticket during political elections generate fears and questions. this is an end product of religious intolerance in the country because it has gotten to a point where people of a particular religious faith are afraid of what people of another religious faith could do against them, should they have political power. this malady of intolerance is a serious clog on the wheel of progress in nigeria as a country. for progress to be witnessed therefore, peaceful coexistence is paramount. ukor and olori (2023) make a case for peaceful coexistence that could foster inclusive growth and sustainable development in nigeria despite the cultural diversity cum pluralism in the country. in view of the above situation, the current research discusses human relations as a remedy to the menace. effective human relations where individuals relate with other in a healthy, progressive and value-oriented manner is positioned by the current research as a way out of religious intolerance in nigeria. understanding the importance of human relations and imbibing the principles in the citizens endeavours will bring down the tempo of religious intolerance in nigeria. conceptual clarifications human relations human relations is the interactions and behaviuors that exist among individuals in a given setting. it involves the way people relate with one another in a community, human organizations, workplace and generality of the society. for lussier (2008), “human relations means interactions among people” (p. 5). human relations involves the ways individuals relate to each other in group situations especially workplace. as people come together, there are expected ways of interaction among them. these come under human relations. individuals come from different backgrounds, such requires a conscious way of interaction. this idea of conscious way of interaction may be seen in the definition of lamberton and minor-evans (cited in umeanolue 2021). according to them, “human relations is the ability to work effectively through and with other people. human relations includes a desire to understand others, their needs and weaknesses, and their talents and abilities” (p. 97). this understanding of human relations by lamberton and minor-evans are considered in the current research on enhancing religious tolerance in nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 77 religion religion is one of the concepts that enjoy varied definitions which could be because of the background of the person who defines the concept. sani (2007) views religion from its root word: relegere which means to unite or to link and religio, which means relationship or bond. according to merriam (ed.) (1980), religion is the outward act or form by which men indicate their recognition of the existence of god or of gods having power over their destiny, to whom obedience, service and honour are due; the feeling of expression of human love, fear or awe of some superhuman and overruling power, whether by profession of belief, by observance of rites and ceremonies or by conduct of life. (p. 250). the above view of religion remains deficient as it only dwells on the vertical view of religion (god and man). ugwu (2002) views religion as “faith and practices involving the relationship between mankind and what is regarded as sacred” (p.2). this definition suffers the same deficiency. to make religion more encompassing, obiefuna (2008) asserts that religion involves human relation. in fact, the hallmark of religion in any society is human relation. this later horizontal understanding of religion makes it more relevant in the current research. religion therefore involves the relationship between man and god or deities (vertical) as well as relationship between man and man (horizontal). religion is man's relationship with supersensible world (the supreme being) which in turn enables him relate to his fellow man. religious tolerance religious tolerance is the ability and willingness to appreciate spiritual values, beliefs and practices which are different from one's own. the existence of different religions in a society necessitates the idea of religious tolerance. religious tolerance seeks to promote mutual coexistence of every religion in a peaceful manner without conflicts. religious tolerance is antibigotry or fanaticism. it promotes the existence of various religions and respect for each religion. in nigeria, which is the scope of the current research, religious tolerance is achieved when christians, muslims and other religious faiths appreciate that each of them have spiritual values and each can coexist with the other without discrimination or elements of religious superiority. this is a culture of peaceful coexistence among religious adherents of different religious faiths. religious intolerance religious intolerance occurs when there exists denial of right of a group to practice their religious belief. uia (nd) sees religious intolerance as acts that involve denying the right of a particular people of another faith to practice freely their religious belief. such manifests when there is discrimination, repression and religious rivalry. sulaiman (2016) mentions that such negative attitudes constantly manifest in violent outburst that spill over the political and economic lives of the citizens. evidence of religious intolerance in nigeria authors have severally acknowledged the pluralistic nature of nigeria as a country. the pluralistic character according to obiefuna and uzoigwe (2012) is evident in its varied cultures, varied ethnic groups, languages, and most importantly for the current research, varied belief (religious) systems. owing to this fact, nigeria is a country with varied worldviews. religion as it is gives meaning to worldviews. according to obiefuna and uzoigwe all these systems were pulled together (amalgamated) by the colonialists to form one nigeria without consultation, discussion and consensus. naturally, the struggle for group identity initiates and often exacerbates conflict. this is more for a nigeria of two different major missionary religions that in their maturation stem from two different igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 78 cultures, judeo-roman (christianity) and arabic (islam). (p. 137). the fact of religious pluralism in nigeria leads to religious conflicts. religious conflicts are products of religious intolerance which has been witnessed at various times and places in nigeria. religious intolerance is a dangerous wind that has blown negatively to the peaceful coexistence of nigerians especially in the northern nigeria with traces of religious intolerance in southern nigeria. intolerance is caused by certain characters of religion. obasi (2009) opines that “it is clear that religion, because of narrow-mindedness, misunderstanding, fundamentalism, or fanaticism, may also block social progress, and breakdown the social order” (p. 313). this observation is apt for the idea breeds intolerance which has led to many conflicts as witnessed in nigeria. izuegbu (2021) discussing religious bigotry as a serious challenge to security and development in nigeria sees religion promoting narrow thinking which is orchestrated by religious practices of some individuals as another character of religion that breeds bigotry which challenges security and development of a nation. this is shown in authority and dogmatism. the rigidity in belief system in most cases does not call for societal progress. enyioma (2011) is right to say that africa and especially nigeria are greatest victims of religious crises. this is a result of religious intolerance. ugwu (2009) specifically states that the two cities of kano and kaduna in the northern nigeria have witnessed serious religious crises, this corroborated agbese (2002) description of the two cities as 'hot beds' for religious crises in nigeria. the belief systems of these religions which are not considering the existence of one another is the cause. anugwom and igbo (2002) in this clarifies that muslims, for instance, believe that they have the right to “islamise” the world. this is not necessarily through persuasive arguments or evangelism but through 'holy wars' or 'jihad'. christians on their own part believe in evangelism or spreading the gospel of jesus christ. they argue that one cannot attain salvation or go to heaven except through the strict adherence to the teachings of christ. each of the two groups wants to maintain separate identity and at the same time try (sic) to win converts from the other. (p. 125). the import of the indented paragraph is that religious superiority is held by each of the two religious groups especially in nigeria. each believes in holding the truth which the other does not hold. this is a clear sign of intolerance that results into religious crises as seen in nigeria. the newswatch magazine of november 2, 2009 (cited in enyioma 2011) contains various crises in nigeria. some of the crises that are religious are here for understanding of how intolerance has led to crises in nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 79 date location principal actors/actions 1st may, 1980 zaria (kaduna state) disturbances in zaria during which property belonging to christians were destroyed. 29th – 30th october 1982 kano (kano state) muslim demonstrators burnt down churches march 1986 ilorin (kwara state) muslim and christians clashed during easter procession march 1987 kafanchan (kaduna state) clash between muslims and christians at college of education, kafanchan. loss of some properties and the burning of some mosques by christians and native kajes. march 1987 katsina, funta polytechnic (kaduna state) wave of religious riots in which muslims burnt down numerous church buildings, a nd damaged properties belonging to christians. many lives were lost. february, 1988 kaduna, kaduna polytechnic (kaduna state) religious riots, ostensibly among students, destroyed the foundation walls of the christian chapel april 1991 katsina (katsina state) religious violence spear headed by malam yahaya yakubu, leader of the fundamentalist shiite sect in katsina. it was protest over a blasphemous publication in fun times. several lives were lost and property destroyed. october 1991 kano (kano state) a peaceful procession initiated by the izala sect to halt rev. reinhard bonnke from having a crusade in kano later degenerated into a very violent and bloody religious confrontation. many lives were lost and properties destroyed january 1993 funtua (katsina state) the kalakato religious sect assaulted the village head and burnt the police vehicle. lives and property were lost december 1994 kano (kano state) communal violence triggered off by the beheading of a christian who has allegedly desecrated the quran may, 1995 kano (kano state) communal violence triggered off by quarrel between hausa and igbo led to the burning of houses, churches and shops killing innocent people february, 2000 kaduna (kaduna state) kaduna city exploded in violence as muslim and christian extremists and other hoodlums clashed over the proposal to introduce sharia september 2000 kaltungo (gombe state) a religious violence that was sparked off by the presence of the state sharia implementation committee december 2000 hadejia (jigawa state) a sectarian disturbance that was caused by a debate between muslims and christians in hadejia. there was destruction of worship centres september 2001 jos (platueau state) a violent ethnic/religious crisis between the muslim/hausa fulani and christian/indigenes igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 80 izuegbu (2021) observes that fourth republic in nigeria has witnessed series of religious conflicts. ezeanokwasa (2009) like other scholars holds that greater number of the crises were in the northern nigeria. sampson (2012) states some of the religious crises in the fourth republic. the crises which sampson observes include: violent clashes between yoruba traditional worshippers and hausa groups in sagamu, ondo state on july 1, 1999 which brought a reprisal ndcrisis of kano on 22 july, 1999. in kwara state, muslim fundamentalists attacked and destroyed over 14 churches in ilorin on december 20, 1999 where properties worth millions of naira were destroyed. in february 2000, there was riot in kaduna over the introduction of sharia where about 3000 people lost their lives. this had reprisal at aba, abia state where over 450 people were killed. there was kaltungo religious crisis in gombe in september 2000 over implementation of sharia in the state. furthermore, in october, 2001, as observed by sampson (2012), crises rocked kano as a protest to us invasion of afghanistan over osama bin laden. over 150 lives were lost. jos witnessed religious crisis in september, 2001 where mosques, churches and several property were damaged. the 2002 article authored by isioma daniel in this day newspaper led to crisis in kaduna where the muslims attacked christians and churches. this was because of 'miss world' beauty contest. over 250 people lost their lives. numan town in adamawa in 2004 witnessed religious conflict between christians and muslims which was caused by the location of the town's central mosque close to bachama paramount palace. the danish cartoon of prophet mohammed in jyllands-posten newspapaer caused religious conflict between christians and muslims in maiduguri of borno state in 2006. over 50 people were killed, churches destroyed, shops, houses, vehicles were destroyed. in 2009, nigeria witnessed the rise of boko haram sect that unleashed violence on christians in bauchi, borno, kano and yobe states. over 700 persons were reportedly killed, many were internally displaced, children were made orphans, many became widows and widowers. the kala-kato sect violence on christians in bauchi in the same year was equally witnessed. in 2010, plateau state witnessed several religious crises. the bombing of a christian church at madala, niger state in december, 2011 is an evidence of the unabated religious bigotry in nigeria. in 2012, gunmen stormed deeper life church in gombe and boko haram claimed responsibility of the killing. further still, boko haram which according to idowu (2015) started as a fundamentalist islamic sect with the purpose of helping the northern region government achieve the intention of implementing the shariah law throughout the region has been a serious threat to the security of the nation especially the north. this is a clear religious sect that is against western education (which has its root in christianity) in nigeria. the abduction and killing of the chairman of christian association of nigeria (can), rev lawan andimi in january, 2020 as reported by ndguardian newspaper of 22 january 2020 after the sect rejected n50m ransom is still an evidence of religious intolerance in nigeria. the gruesome killing of deborah samuel yakubu, a second year student of a college of education and a christian who was accused of blasphemy by th a mob of muslim students in sokoto on 12 may, 2022 is a clear sign of religious intolerance and its concomitant negative effects. it is pertinent to state that religious intolerance may be seen even among christians in southern nigeria. according to obiefuna (2018) it would appear as if all religious conflicts that cut deep wounds of loss of life and property in nigeria are caused by the muslims even in moslem dominated areas like northern nigeria. that is far from being the fact. christians equally contribute to the problems not only where they are in the majority like in the south east of nigeria but also where they are in the minority…. any religious fanatic is a militant, one way or the other. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 81 in christianity, they are found more in pentecostals and charismatics. they do not carry naked weapons but have other ways of launching their own attack and, like islamic militants, are ready to die. (p. 37). fanaticism is a product of religious intolerance where some individuals try to lord their religious belief over others. ojo (2013) observes equally that the charismatics and pentecostals are capable of causing interreligious conflict due to their attitudes even in moslem dominated areas. chiegboka (2012) reiterates that religious freedom is violated “when people are marginalized, discriminated against, denied employment, appointment, promotion because of their religious affiliation (p. 213). he further advocates dialogue and reconciliation for the common good of all. for obiefuna (2018), these crises, loss of lives and properties are recorded because there is lack of self-awareness and mutual respect. this idea is in the character of human relations. the character of human relations man by nature is a social being and a being in relation. he is born in the midst of others and cannot effectively survive without others. he feels his completeness within others and feels incomplete outside others, he is a gregarious being in collaboration with his kinds. this nature of man makes human relations an inevitable character of man in any human community. he is not created by nature to be self sufficient in such a way that he does everything alone, he has deficiencies which his interactions with others complete. it is therefore in effective human relations that realization of communal, societal, organizational and national goals depends. udezo and nwadialor (2012) describe effective human relations as positioning people emotionally, spiritually, and intellectually so as to maintain and restore relationships at all levels of human interaction, to create safe environments that nurture each individual. man, by nature is religious…. in addition to being a religious being, he recognizes that he is a being in relation. this peculiar quality makes man to be in relation not only to other beings of his own species, but to divinities and to god. (p. 239). the idea of man being a relational being shows that in his religious life, economic life, political life, communal life, spiritual life, work life and so on, he relates with people. this relation is not just irrational but well planned and cautious to enable such relations yield the needed results for general human and societal development. human relation is goal oriented. as udezo and nwadialor point out, effective human relations creates opportunity for developing qualities, attitudes and abilities which enable the individual to critical understanding of “problem of society, to understand and explain facts, opinions and ideas, to work in groups, to accept and participate in free discussions and to have value judgments and decision on a national analysis of relevant facts and factors” (p. 239). human relations is therefore the life wire of working together as a community, organization and as a nation. it prepares the mind to make critical evaluations before taking certain actions or making certain utterances. understanding human relations enables individual to understand themselves through selfawareness. one's understanding of his capabilities, strengths and talents makes him understand and appreciates his weaknesses and shortcomings. this understanding opens way for him to appreciate others who are better than him in various spheres. human relations is not what one understands from other people's lens but what an individual does by critically understanding himself. this understanding brings about confidence in oneself. psychologically, individuals who do not understand themselves feel so much inferior in comparism with others. this is capable of breeding negative human relations as such individuals see the moves of others from negative perspective even when they are not. self esteem is very critical in human relations and so, in developing effective human relations, efforts are made at making individuals have knowledge of themselves and at the same time have confidence in themselves. this will enable igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 82 one be a partaker in discussions with people of different religious faith, party affiliation and the like. this is one major peculiar character in human relations. as earlier mentioned, mutual respect is very important character of human relations. obiefuna (2018) sees this as a way of recognizing that every individual has worth. the worth-ness of the individual is not dependent on his religious affiliation. it is totally depended on him as a person with conscience and dignity, created in the image of god. izuegbu (2023) sees mutual respect as mutual regards and considerations among individuals who interact. this symbiotic regards is very vital for effective human relations. the idea of giving honour to whom it is due is apt here. in human relations, mutual respect is observed and once each honours the other, interactions move with less hitches. human relations appreciates group dynamics. pluralism in the society becomes advantage with effective human relations. group dynamics makes for appreciation of diversity, be it in religion, culture or politics. human relations rests on empathy. as long as human society is concerned, the issue of empathy is not overemphasized. people who cannot empathize cannot relate. dialogue is very critical in human relations and it is possible through understanding among people that are interacting. tolerance, justice and fairness are all in the character of human relations. so, effective human relations is not a mere practice but a committed practice where people are ready to accept others, know that people are from different background, appreciate individual and group differences, being ready to compromise for peace and hold each person, group or organization with glove of honour not dishonor. human relations as foundation for religious tolerance in nigeria the excursions in this work have made religious intolerance a fact in nigeria with its attendant negative effects. it is therefore a problem that needs solution. religious tolerance cannot exist without individuals understanding the needs for effective human relations. understanding that human beings exist for each other, breaks the jinx of religious intolerance. this understanding enables one to appreciate the fact that he, like others is first a citizen before either a christian or a muslim. this understanding brings about the brotherhood of all. seeing each other from the lens of humans than just faith is what human relations promote. the grip of religion on individual does not in any way belittle the general belongingness of every citizen to the nation. human relations brings about understanding of each person, his religious and cultural affiliation and at the same time appreciating that these differences are for complimentarily and not for division or schism. human relations promotes the dignity of the human person just like in the universal declaration of human rights. unesco (2018) sees human relations as the realization of human rights. this idea is very necessary here. human rights uphold freedom of religion and this every person is expected to respect. ewere and yakubu (2021) strongly emphasize on this by stating that there is an urgent national need for nigerians to eschew intolerance, accept religious diversity as a basic social reality of the country, and learn to live with it by accepting the fact that it is the absolute constitutional right of fellow citizens to practice any religious faith they so desire. this is because the freedom of religious beliefs and practices as stipulated in the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria as amended, grants all citizens the fundamental right to pursue their belief without discrimination and intimidation. (p. 216). in observing the rights of individuals, the principle of relativity is applied. relativity here implies that individuals should be mindful of other people's rights while he is exercising his own rights. this comes to mind when one reads udezo and nwadialor (2012) description of human relations as 'liveand let live'. this idea is embedded in the fact that in a pluralistic society, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 83 individuals should be mindful of their actions that they do not trample on others dangerously. this is what human relations upholds. there cannot be religious intolerance when an individual imbibes this understanding in his dealings with other. the human person who is both a religious person and a relational person is to be accorded respect not just corporal but equally in his belief system. observing the idea that where one's rights end, another one's rights begin is very important to the promoters of human relations. this is why it is unarguable that if there should be religious tolerance, practitioners of religious faith must know that they have their rights relative to other people's rights, though of a different faith. mutual respect is one of the pillars of effective human relations. it is important to note that what breeds intolerance in most cases is looking down on others and their beliefs. this is anomaly in human relations. human relations advocates for mutual respect. where mutual respect is observed among the religious faiths in nigeria, there would not be any sign of intolerance. most times, the way religious faiths in nigeria condemn each other with zero respect breeds problem and hence conflicts. religious tolerance is built on the sanctuary of mutual respect which is a cardinal principle in human relations. in human relations, listening and proper communication are essential. one major problem is that it seems difficult for people from other faith to listen and understudy other faiths without bias. no religious faith exists without something good from it. however, because of religious teachings, it is difficult for many to really give ears to other people's religious teaching in order to be well informed. the ill of not listening and having sound communication is religious intolerance. listening skill and communication skills are among the powerful skills human relations promote. the reason is that the two skills enhances proper understanding, critical assessment and proper situation of things. men have regretted their actions because they could not listen. people have attracted enemies to themselves because they feel communicating to certain individuals is not necessary. human relations frowns at this. religious tolerance in nigeria can only have its foundation in effective human relations. utilizing communication and listening skills opens opportunity for religious dialogue. as a formal discussion of issues of concern, dialogue can go a long way in reducing the tempo of religious intolerance anywhere in the world. every religion claims to be propagating moral teachings. there should not be moral teachings outside a community of human persons. this implies that moral teaching is because there are individuals. moral teachings are practiced in relation to other human persons, it is not solely personal. it is in human relations that moral teachings manifest. udezo and nwadialor (2012) affirms that it is a holistic relation that harnesses the moral teachings of every religion to moderate unwanted in a society. it is based on the ideology of none (sic) violence, honesty, justice, equity, tolerance, correlation, accountability, compassion and respect for differences and people. (p. 243). these moral principles religion teaches cannot be lived outside other human beings especially people of other faiths. it entails that for one to practice the moral teachings of his religion, he must be ready to relate with other humans following the moral teachings acquired. where this is not the case, it makes religion a dangerous factor than what it ought to be. the underlying factor is how effective is the human relations of adherents of a particular religion. human relations remains foundational for societal peace and progress not just a solution to religious intolerance. the morality of a religious faith is better measured by human interactions. human relations recognizes the diversity of human society. this work has equally appreciates the pluralistic nature of nigeria. group dynamic is one major areas in human relations. the import is that human beings come from different background. in most cases, they are not the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 84 makers but by providence they found themselves being of such background. many who are muslims today in nigeria are muslims because they were born by muslim parents. in the same vein, many who are christians today in nigeria are because they were born by christian parents. understanding the pluralistic nigeria from this angle will enable individuals appreciate others and tolerate others. there are differences in religious orientation. the opportunities differ and so are not the same. human relations considers all these and emphasizes on correlation of all in the same society. each individual is to appreciate the other as coming from a different background. in this regard, tolerance is promoted in human relations. proper understanding of group dynamic as a principle in human relations will go a long way in creating in the minds of nigerians of various religious faith understanding of the need for tolerance among the adherents of different religions in nigeria. the importance of human relations cannot be overemphasized in promoting positive course of any human society. this is why it is very important that human relations is taken seriously. human relations is capable of creating sense of belonging to all. where everyone feels a sense of belonging, it is possible that intolerance is defeated. there is shared ideas when there is good human relations. various religious faiths in nigeria need to come together, share ideas on how to move the nation forward. this requires effective human relations. conclusion and recommendation religion is a social reality capable of binding people together through their belief system. nigeria as a country is pluralistic in terms of religion, ethnic groupings and cultures. history has shown that the multi nature of the country in some cases has been used negatively and hence bringing the nation in conflicts. religion has been one of the most causes of the conflicts in nigeria. this is because of religious intolerance witnessed especially among christians and muslims. the intolerance has affected lives, property, progress, peaceful coexistence and general development of nigeria. this is a sorry state. religion which ought to bring solution seems to be a harbinger of societal crisis. bearing in mind that religion itself is not a problem but the individuals who practice religion are the problem, this work observes that intolerance is manmade. there is no better way of coming out of religious intolerance than through effective human relations. human relations remains sacrosanct in bringing harmony in a society. human relations is foundational for religious tolerance in nigeria. every religion has teachings in good human relations. it behooves the leaders of various religions and the adherents of such religions to see the need to emphasize more on the areas of human relations. it is the position of the current work that if people teach more and understand more on the principles and need for effective human relations, there will be religious tolerance in nigeria. effective human relations remains the basis of religious tolerance as well as peaceful coexistence in nigerian. this work recommends that institutions of learning should include principles of human relations and civics in their curriculum and such should be handled by experts who are not biased. the national orientation agencies should be alive to its responsibilities by utilizing every possible avenues to educate the masses on the principles and needs for effective human relations. religious ignorance and misinformation are major reasons for intolerance therefore, religious leaders should eschew teachings capable of breeding religious intolerance and emphasize on the need for religious tolerance among the people. politicians should desist from using religion as a weapon for their selfish ends thereby fanning the ember of intolerance. citizens should be aware that religious tolerance is a healthy way of achieving a united and progressive nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 85 references agbese, d. (2002). hot beds of religious crisis in nigeria: the case of kano state. enugu: good news. anugwom, e. e. & igbo, e. u. m. (2002). social change, social problems: a nigerian experience. nsukka: ap express. chiegboka, a. b. c. (ed.) (2012). trends in religion and society/christian ethics: selected essays of very rev. msgr. prof. j. p. c. nzomiwu. awka: fab anieh. enyioma, o. s. (2011). basics of conflict resolution. owerri: cinoryz ewere, n. & yakubu, k. b. (2021). religious intolerance and the quest for progressive change in nigeria. lwati: a journal of contemporary research, 18, 4, 200-220. ezeanokwasa, j. (2009). islamic banking, cbn, secularity and unity of nigeria. retrieved from h�ps://nairaworld.com/ar�cles/2011 on 6th january, 2020. ezeanya, p. o. (2009). socio-religious revival: the challenge of good governance in nigeria. in a. b. c. chiegboka, c. e. nwadigwe & e. c. umezinwa (eds.). the humanities and nigeria's democratic experience (pp. 183-198). nimo: rex charles & patrick. idowu, e. b. (1973). african traditional religion: a definition. london: scm. izuegbu, s. c. (2023). human relations for self and organizational development. in n. aniukwu & n. obiakor (eds.). humanities: an essential milieu (pp.64-85). awka: school of general studies, nnamdi azikiwe university. lussier, r. n. (2008). modern human relations at work. ohio: thomson/south-western. merriam, w. (ed.) (1980). encyclopedia of religion. new york: prentice hall. nmah, p. e. (2012). theological education and charcter formation in nigerian christianity: a reflection. in a. a. o. anaedo & t. n. udemmadu (eds.). the ideal man: festschrift in honour of professor obed muojekwu anizoba (pp. 413-419). awka: apple. obasi, c. o. (2009). the role of religion on issues of peace and conflict. in m. ikejiani-clark (ed.). peace studies and conflict resolution in nigeria: a reader (pp. 301-320). ibadan: spectrum. obiefuna, b. a. c. (2008). the prospects of the graduates of religion and human relations in nigeria's economy. amawbia: lamos. obiefuna, b. a. c. & uzoigwe, m. a. (2012). studying religion for sustainable development in nigeria. ujah: unizik journal of arts and humanities, 13,1,132-159. obiefuna. b. a. c. (2018). religion and human relations in contemporary nigeria: the wounds the healing (an inaugural lecture of nnamdi azikiwe university, awka). onitsha: noben. ojo, m. a. (2013). competition and conflict: pentecostals' and charismatics' engagement ith islam in nigeria. in j. azumah & l. sanneh (eds.). the african christian and islam (pp. 147-175). united kingdom: langham monographs. sani, s. (2007). the killing field: religion, violence in northern nigeria. ibadan: spectrum. sampson, i. t. (2012). religious violence in nigeria. retrieved from h�ps://www.accord.org.za th on 17 march, 2021. ulaiman, k. o. (2016). religious violence in contemporary nigeria: implications and options for peace and stability order. journal for the study of religion, 29, 1. retrieved from www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?_ar�ext&pid th on 13 september, 2023. udezo, b. o. s, & nwadialor, k. l. (2012). good governance and effective human relations: pathways to fostering ethno-religious harmony in nigeria. in a. b. c. chiegboka et al (eds.). the humanities and good governance (pp. 238-245). nimo: rex charles and patrick. ugwu, c. o. t. (2002). man and his religion in a contemporary society. nsukka: chuka. ugwu, c. o. t. (2009). religious conflicts in kano and kaduna states of nigeria. in m. ikejiani clark (ed.). peace studies and conflict resolution in nigeria: a reader (518531). ibadan: spectrum. uia (n. d.). the encyclopedia of world problems & human potential: religious intolerance. thretrieved from encyclopedi.uia.org on 13 september, 2023 ukor, o. d. & olori, o. (2023). understanding cultural dimension of peacebuilding and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 86 conflict resolutions in nigeria: a look at the overlooked. aku: an african journal of contemporary research, 4,2, 71-81. umeanolue, i. l. (2021). introduction to human relations. in d. u. mbagwu, m. muonwe & k. nwadialor (eds.). humanities: a proemic insight (pp. 95-108). awka: school of general studies, nnamdi azikiwe university. unesco (2018). human relations at the core of human rights. retieved from th on 7 september, 2023.h�p://en.unesco.org igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 9 no.3, 2023 www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/igwebuikejournals.php a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 85 the role of the church in achieving good governance in ayamelum l.g.a, anambra state dominic obielosi c., phd & obi, rowland ijomah department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe university awka chimeikeuwa@gmail.com doi:10.13140/rg.2.2.30881.58724 abstract the level of underdevelopment in ayamelum local government area of anambra state calls for urgent attention. more worrisome is the fact that no community in the local council can presently boast of average presence of basic social amenities such as road, electricity, portable water, and others. it seems that successive state governments and other leaders in the area have abandoned the people to their fate as if their tax does not contribute substantially to the state resources. however, it is the opinion of the present researcher that the church has been on the fore front in providing sustainable community development from the beginning of the christian faith. the data used in the study was analyzed using the phenomenological tool. the researcher discovered that enough sensitization has not been made to draw the attention of the authorities especially the state government to the sorry state of affairs in the local government and the need for them to rise up to their responsibilities for the betterment of the area. the study therefore recommends that the church steps out to challenge both the state and local authorities into action since most of them are members of one church or the other including the anglican church. keywords: church, ayamelum, governance, development, anambra state introduction a responsible society is one where freedom is viewed as the freedom of all humanity who acknowledge responsibility to justice and public order, and where those who hold political authority or economic power are responsible for its exercise to the people whose welfare is affected by it. the citizens it is believed are not to be made mere means for political or the role of the church in achieving good governance in ayamelum l.g.a, anambra state 86 economic ends. they are not made for the state but the state for them. they are not also made for production but production for them. and for any society to be responsible by law and tradition, and be distributed as widely as possible through the whole community. it is also required that economic justice and provision of equality of opportunity be established for all citizens. over the years, the ayamelum local government area with headquarters at anaku has been bedeviled with deplorable infrastructure such as bad roads, lack of electricity absence of standard hospitals, portable water, clinics, maternities, healthcare centres, and dilapidated school facilities and others. there is also the challenge of poverty, hunger, diseases, unemployment, flood disaster, despair, frustration, deprivation and impoverishment. this is as a result of bad leadership from those sadled with the responsibility of providing good governance for the welfare and greater good of the natives. the council which seem endowed with abundance of natural resources most especially in the form of very fertile land used mainly for agricultural purposes such as farming has overtime struggled to deliver sustainable development to the people as a result of near government neglect, corruption and selfishness among the political class both elected and appointed alike. some traditional and community leaders including supposed illustrious sons of the council who is one way or the other have been in government according to enweonye (2020) have only succeeded in “enriching themselves instead of championing the cause of good governance for the wellbeing and greater good of the indigenes and contributing to open up the area for sustainable growth and development”(p.14). this is evidence to the fact of a flagrant abuse of power and reckless show of irresponsibility and insensitivity which also attest to the fact that most people in government seem to carry the toga that they are not answerable and accountable to the citizens because they did not contribute either to their election or appointment instead it has been their efforts all the way. ironically, the council generally regarded as the food basket of the state apart from anambra west local council is where the people are suffering from poverty, hunger, and are tragically impoverished. however, the impact of the church in pushing for good governance and sustainable development within the local council cannot be overemphasized. the church according to ekwunife (1992) is called, to contribute to the building of a just and equitable human society and responsible leadership, a society that cares for all its citizens especially those that are weak, marginazed, oppressed and the vulnerable; a democratic society that dominic obielosi c. & obi, rowland ijomah 87 respects the constitution, rule of law that guards against misuse of power, fosters the citizens diversity and plurality, and that of the role of civil society (p.154). such a society can only be built on the moral and ethical values founded in the scriptures, teachings and traditions of the church and some of these values include respect for life, human dignity, humility, honesty, integrity, compassion, credibility, accountability and service to one another. and for the church to achieve the goal of fostering good governance within the local council, there is an urgent need for her to be envisioned to take up the responsibility of producing what ifesieh (1989) referred to as “credible and visionary christian politicians” (p. 126), who will work towards making positive and indelible impact in the local government. the major thrust of this study therefore among other things is to discuss the near failure of good governance in ayamelum local council and the likely contributions and intervention of the anglican church in bringing about sustainable development to alleviate and improve the living conditions of the natives. definition of key terms for better understanding of the concepts employed in the topic, it will be proper to clearly define those terms so as to enable the readers come abreast with the comprehension of the issues under investigation. such terms that require operational definition include: good governance, role, and the anglican church.  good governance according to nnoli (2011), good governance attempts to: harness the resources of a nation and promote national prosperity and an efficient, dynamic, and self-reliant economy; it controls national economy in such a manner as to secure maximum welfare, freedom and happiness of every citizen on the basis of social justice and equality of status and opportunity (p.134). good governance according to okwueze (1998) holds that “individuals and institutions are obliged to perform their functions in a manner that promotes good values of efficiency, public honesty, transparency, and responsiveness to society”(p.186). maduewesi (2006) on his own defines it as among other things: participatory, transparent and accountable, effective and equitable, and it promotes the rule of law. it ensures that political, social, and economic priorities are based on broad consensus in society and that the voices of the poorest and the most vulnerable are heard in decision making over the allocation of development resources (p.314). the role of the church in achieving good governance in ayamelum l.g.a, anambra state 88 however, an indepth reflection on the above definitions point to the fact that good governance is in itself a normative principle which determines what ought to be done in connection with governance issues as well as how political and other leaders at various levels should manage public resources to promote national prosperity, equitable distribution of national income, realization of human rights and provision of food, shelter, education, security, healthcare services and road infrastructure to citizens. therefore, the above definitions will be applied as the working parameter in this study.  role this according to oxford dictionary of contemporary english is defined as “the position and function of an individual or institution in a situation or society. it is also a function that is assumed or a part played by an individual in a given human environment and in respect of a general debate, conversation and national issue”. it is further defined as “a set of responsibilities which every citizen is perceived to possess, exhibit, act, and perform on a daily basis”. it is important to point out that peoples’ institutions including the church and different groups and organizations play different roles in life generally. these roles, obligations, responsibilities, and duties may change according to age, gender, location and through a person’s attitude. again, the cambridge english dictionary defines role as “the position or purpose that an individual has in a situation, organization, relationship or society”. oloyede (1994) affirms that it is “a comprehensive pattern of behaviour that is socially recognized, providing a means of identifying and the placing of an individual in a society, and a set of actions assigned to every human person, organization and institution including the church in a given society”(p.187). these definitions so far highlighted appear to agree with this study for it succinctly mirrored the church as a religious body that is engaged to service to humanity in a given social environment. this service to humanity therefore are a set of actions assigned to her with an expectation of fulfilment.  the anglican church the term anglican according to wotogbe-weneka (2004) emanates from “a combined ancient greek and latin name ecclesia anglicana meaning the church of england; that is a church which has its origin and root in england”(p.21). those churches which took after or share faith in common with the church of england are according to him referred to as anglican churches or simply anglicans. it is also a church or churches in full accord or communion with the church of england as to doctrine and church order in any part of the world. dominic obielosi c. & obi, rowland ijomah 89 furthermore, the term anglican according to nmadu (2010) represents “the people, institutions and churches as well as the liturgical traditions and theological concepts developed by the state established church of england and the anglican communion”(p.68). there is a theologically broad and often divergent affiliation of thirtyeight provinces that are in communion with the see of canterbury representing the church of england and with the archbishop of canterbury as its spiritual head. ayamelum local council: a historical overview the ayamelum clan’s history has remained very frustrating and tortuous mainly as a result of several political injustices and lack of development to endured from the central province in the 1900s through the onitsha rural areas native authority (o.r.a.n.a) and nsukka division. after nigeria’s independence in 1960, a military rebellion and its emergent coup d’etat in 1966 brought major general j.t.u. aguiyi-tronsi to power. following this development, the ayamelum clan subsequently bounced back from nsukka division to that of anambra division with headquarters at otuocha in aguleri. however, after the nigerian civil war that happened between 1967 to 1970 and during the time of ukpabi asika who was then the administrator of the east central state of nigeria, ayamelum was again pushed back to nsukka division where it remained till 1976. the old anambra was later created in 1976 from part of the east central state with its capital at enugu. with this creation, ayamelum was again scripted into uzo-uwani local government area with headquarters at umulokpa. in 1987, during the time of colonel robert n. akonobi, oyi local government was created and ayamelum was placed in this local council. indeed, a further re-organization in 1991 according to enweonye (2020) “divided anambra into two states hence anambra and enugu”(p.36). with this development, awka became the capital of the new anambra state. in december 1996, ayamelum local government was created by the general sani abacha led military junta and during the time of group captain rufai garba as the military administrator of anambra state and with the local council headquarters located at anaku. the local government comprises of eight communities which include anaku, omor, umerum, umumbo, igbakwu, ifiteogwari, umueje and omasi. according to the national population commission record of 2006, it has a population of 158,172. each of these eight communities has very large expanse of land use mainly for agricultural purposes. unfortunately, 26 years after the creation of the local council, nothing seems to have changed significantly from the tortuous political era of injustices, bad governance, neglect, absence of social infrastructures and basic amenities among others. there is very little or no government the role of the church in achieving good governance in ayamelum l.g.a, anambra state 90 presence in the area particularly in terms of road infrastructure, electricity distribution, youth empowerment programmes, quality schools for quality education, employment opportunities and job creation, skill acquisition, portable water for consumption, cooking and others, standard health care centers, maternities and hospitals as well as other developmental benefits that will encourage the natives, improve their living conditions and by extension open up the area for sustained development. again, the location, terrain, insecurity and road infrastructure have remained major threats to achieving good governance in the area. those whose responsibility it is to push for the development of the area have continued to point at these challenges. instead of looking for ways to nip these threats in the bud so as to deliver good governance to the natives, they have continued to give unending and frivolous excuses. for instance, why some local council staff, teachers, political and opinion leaders who are indigenes, government contractors and even some traditional rulers from the area do not reside or attend to their responsibilities consistently within the council is mainly as a result of these factors. according to them, it is only one route that leads one into the local council. this road usually referred to as igbariam-anaku-omor road is dangerously lonely with thick forest on both sides, without constant vehicular movement, but very little presence of security personnel who have inadvertently converted it as their official toll gate where they unrelentlessly extort money from the few motorists who ply the road. any individual who plan to access any of the communities within the council is expected to go through this road. the road lacks adequate construction as well as sustained maintenance due to incessant flooding which usually occur during rainy season. due to the lonely and dilapidated nature of the road and because it is the only route into ayamelum, nnoli (2011) observes that “criminal activities such as kidnapping, armed robbery, car snatching, ritual killings and the likes occur on the road”(p.164). such is the political development, injustices and the challenge of good governance in the ayamelum local government. infrastructural deficit and inconsistency in agricultural interventions since the creation of the local government in 1996, most indigenes from the area had got strategic and important political positions in government to positively change the fortunes and outlook of the council. for instance, they have had two majority leaders, a house of assembly speaker, representatives at the state house of assembly and three members of the federal house of representatives. the council has also produced a chief judge of the state who is justice p.a.c obidigwe, captains of industry, including representatives in the academia yet dividends of democracy are far from the reach of the natives. dominic obielosi c. & obi, rowland ijomah 91 some basic social amenities which these leaders have failed either to attract or sustain in order to improve the living standard of the people as well as the opening up of the area for further development are here highlighted. education although the missionaries arrived as early as 1910 to ayamelum, schools were not immediately built until 1920. the first schools in the area were built in anaku and umumbo but they were irregular. there were no standard five classes anywhere in the clan until 1951 when umumbo community built a school to accommodate that and it eventually reached standard six in 1952. even when all the primary school classes became available in other communities, the natives did not take advantage to go to school. they remained massively illiterate and ends up as herbalists, native doctors among others without serious interest to education. till date, they are educationally disadvantaged. health centers and hospitals except a sub-standard private hospital at omor, there is no single government built hospital in ayamelum clan. there are also a very few health centers in the area but without capacity to handle serious medical cases such as surgery. oftentimes, the people have to travel to onitsha or awka in search of adequate medical attention as well as proper child delivery facilities. there are no quality drugs available for the people. instead, drugs available are the ones they can afford, and so they are exposed to uncontrolled health hazards and lack of standard treatment. skill acquisition center the local government has skill acquisition center built around 2016 at anaku by senator stella oduah, the senator representing anambra north senatorial district where ayamelum belongs and handed over to the anambra state ministry of social welfare, children and women affairs. the center is given the responsibility of empowering youths and women in the areas of computer education, food and nutritional education, fashion and designing, craft and bead making, hair dressing and cosmetology, and vulcanizing. the center no doubt has witnessed more problems than solutions and successes. for instance ten trainers at the center were owed monthly stipend at n15,000 between november 2017 to october 2018 by the ministry and this has adversely affected the smooth running of the center. other challenges bedeviling the center which have been made known to the ministry include the collapsed fence of the center, vandalization, stealing, failed security system and upgrading of teaching equipments and materials. the role of the church in achieving good governance in ayamelum l.g.a, anambra state 92 water the local government is bordered by ezu and anambra rivers. these two rivers are not easily accessible for domestic use. geo-physical surveys reveal that the area is not suitable for deep borehole drilling. and so to ease off tension caused by water scarcity, nnoli (1980) disclosed that “hand dug wells are recommended”(p.128). as earlier pointed out, these hand dug wells because they are not treated could be said not to be suitable for consumption either by drinking or food preparation. and because the scarcity is usually tortous and tormenting in the entire area especially during the dry season, the people are left with no choice other than to make do with that which is available hence the hand dug well and other untreated water bodies that poses serious danger to their health. roads the nsukka-adani-otuocha-onitsha federal road which passed through ayamelum as it is presently referred to as igbariam-anaku-omor road was finally constructed in 1983 with a bridge crossing the ezu river. after centuries of neglect, this is the only road connecting ayamelum to the external world. with the coming of the federal road, the area seem to metamorphosed into one of the food baskets of anambra state. due to environmental pressure such as flooding, age, and lack of sustained maintenance, the road has been badly dilapidated. infact, during rainy seasons, reveals that the road is completely impassable by motor vehicles hindering rural urban migration. it is important to also posit that apart from this only road leading to the area and the terrain challenge, the inter-community roads within the hinterlands are nothing to right home about. the roads are so bad, completely dilapidated, impassable, death traps, and without any form of construction or palliative repairs. granted, the state government through the intervention of the speaker of the house of assembly hon. uche okafor who is a native of ifite-ogwari has presently reconstructed a large part of the road. but without drainages and proper water and flood channels, the reconstruction may not likely stand the test of time. presently, work on the remaining part of the road is ongoing with drainages and flood channels in place. on the other hand, agriculture especially since the post colonial era has continued to suffer from the inertia associated with policies and programmes intervention and reformation that pervaded the country. agricultural policy is a statement of action and a fundamental tool employed in achieving agricultural development. a programme on the other hand according to olatunyi (2005) is “a collection of coordinated activities that are dominic obielosi c. & obi, rowland ijomah 93 mutually directed towards the attainment of a definite goal and it usually comprises of several segments or projects which can be separately pursued as a component of the whole”(p.253). it is generally accepted that the country’s agriculture has suffered as a result of the resource curse effect of oil and inappropriate policies and institutions. this coupled with heavy handed and unpredictable government intervention programmes which have led to short term investment decisions and rent seeking behaviour by programmers has created dysfunctional disconnected benefit to the poor masses. clearly, the persistent failures of agricultural intervention programmes in nigeria which extends to ayamelum local council have revealed the basic weakness of agricultural policies in the country and the inability of several administrations to address the basic and fundamental problems of agricultural development. it is important to also observe that these policies and programmes have undergone changes mainly as a result of changes in government. this is because they vary only in nomenclature and organizational network. they emphasize almost same objectives such as food security and sufficiency for the citizens, export excess to other countries, and the provision of extension services, agricultural support and rural development services. it is also necessary to consider some of these programmes and the impact of their inconsistency on agriculture in ayamelum council area.  agricultural development projects (adp) it was originally established in 1974 in funtua, gusau and gombe as pilot schemes. this approach to agricultural and rural development according to amalu (1998) was based on “collaborative efforts and tripartite arrangement of the federal and state governments and world bank” (p.238). the important features of the programme are reliance on the small scale farmers as the main people that will bring about increase in food production and the feedback information mechanism. some of its shortcomings include shortage of fund due to decline in oil price which began in 1982 and led to delays in recruiting competent staff and provision of materials as well as facilities needed for the take off of the projects. farmers in ayamelum as could not benefit from the project mainly as a result of its emphasis on high input technology like sole cropping when majority of them are into relay or mixed cropping.  national fadama development project (nfdp) this was floated to promote simple low-cost improved irrigation technology. its main objective was to sustainably increase the incomes of the fadama users through farm expansion and non-farm activities with highly value-added output. it emphasizes poverty reduction and beneficiary participation. the challenge face by this project in the area lies the role of the church in achieving good governance in ayamelum l.g.a, anambra state 94 on the fact that unskilled handling of water application through irrigation can deplete the soil of its productive capacity.  national economic empowerment and development strategy (needs) the key elements of this development strategy included poverty eradication, employment generation, wealth creation and value reorientation. it offer farmers improved irrigation, machinery and crop varieties which would help to boost agricultural productivity and tackle poverty head on since half of the citizens who appear to be poor largely engage in agriculture. inspite of its difference from other programmes on participatory process which ensures sustainability and attractiveness, its being problem solving and achievement oriented could not do much in the area due to obvious infrastructural deficit most importantly accessible roads.  roof and tuber expansion programme (rtep) it was designed to address the problem of food production as well as rural poverty. it hopes to achieve economic growth, improve access of the poor to social services and execute intervention measures to protect the poor and vulnerable groups. it gives special attention to women who play significant role in rural food production, processing and marketing. the impact of this programme was felt a little by the citizens in ayamelum clan no thanks to the state government, political and other stakeholders inability to attract same for the benefit of the rural dwellers. however, apart from the rtep intervention programme, it is only the river basin development authorities (rbda) that appear to some reasonable extent benefited the locals in the area. the aim of the authorities was to boost economic potentials of the existing water bodies particularly irrigation and fishery with hydroelectric power generation and domestic water supply as secondary objectives. this programme eventually gave rise to the emergence of the anambra imo river basin development authority located in omor. this authority also created another agricultural development project referred to as the lower anambra irrigation project (laip) which main objectives were to construct an irrigation and pumping station along with a modern rice mill complex and to introduce mechanized rice irrigation farming with efficient application of fertilizers and agrochemicals with a promise of double crops of paddy rice within a year. it is important to also acknowledge that rice production activities according are still actively being carried out at adarice farm settlement at omasi, cosharis farm at anaku and in other communities like omor, umumbo and umerum. ayamelum it is believed has abundant food, meat, fish and vegetables since the natives are mostly farmers, fishermen and hunters. other agricultural products from the area include yam tubers, cassava, okro, dominic obielosi c. & obi, rowland ijomah 95 maize, pigeon pea, cocoyam and wild animals. it is regarded as one of the major agrarian local councils in anambra state, hence the food basket of the state. the anglican church and promotion of sustainable development the term development is a multifaceted concept that encapsulates the totality of established culture and processes that do not only mediate good living and create a viable economy, but also plant institutions that defy time and are stronger than individuals which makes it possible to have an ideology driven society in which potentials could be harnessed to the fullest without the interventions and interruptions from selfish and corrupt leadership. a few explanations aptly capture the meaning of development in line with this position of the researcher. nnoli cited in nwanegbo and odigbo (2013) submit that development is the “interaction of humans and the society with their development and inter-human environments in order to transform and harness them for the improvement of their lives, society and humanity”(p.194). this culminates in the elimination or reduction of such human problems as inequality, poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and others (okolie, 2009). but given the realities of the avalanche of problems related to human welfare, security and survival such as unemployment, hunger, poverty, disease and mortality rate, crime and insecurity, corruption and misrule, poor education and illiteracy, and the deplorable state of social infrastructures, it has to include a people-based or humanistic perspective. as nwagboso and duke (2012) posited, development therefore could be seen as the “process of empowering people to maximize their potentials and the ability to exploit nature to meet daily human needs. it can also be seen as a process by which the quality of human lives and capacity to surmount daily needs are considerably improved”(p.233). the ayamelum clan just like the country situation in terms of sustainable development depicts that of a failing or failed society. the socio-political realities appear deplorable with multifaceted problems stringed to misrule and neglect over the years. good governance and development are shadows of themselves in the area. democracy which is purported to be the harbinger of good governance seem to have collapsed due to flagrant disregard for the rule of law and due process occasioned by the quest for personal or selected group advantage. democracy as omosor (2021) averred is a “political ideal which it’s principles when religiously upheld and reflected in the political actions of a state would mediate good governance to the people and evolve a stable egalitarian society where developmental prospects can be actualized”(p.264). the democracy that is practiced in nigeria lacks social and economic responsibility, and this has emasculated development across the country and especially ayamelum. the various government institutions are accomplices in the subversion governance. the security agencies the role of the church in achieving good governance in ayamelum l.g.a, anambra state 96 judiciary, government agencies such as the economic and financial crimes commission (efcc) and even some civil society organizations are willing tools for negative governance in nigeria. this has made the living conditions of an average citizen despicable. ogundiya (2010) maintains that the, political elite in the country almost without exception have an insatiable capacity to steal from the common wealth and leave the people more impoverished. unrestrained by any real accountability to the electorates, many of those who came to power in fraudulent elections have committed abuses against their constituents and engaged in the large-scale looting of public resources (p.23). the church of nigeria anglican communion has remained a very key figure in the sociopolitical experience of the nigerian-nation. there is no gain saying the fact that the major task of the christian church is evangelism and propagating the gospel of christ. apart from the mandate of harvesting the people who have been so prepared into the kingdom of god, the gospel is also directed to repair and improve the society and as well offer humanity good life here and now. it should be pointed out that the obligations performed by the anglican church including other churches such as the roman catholics, methodists, baptists, and independent ones in attempting to ameliorate the sufferings of the masses especially in ayamelum as well as finding ways of dealing with the problem of survival cannot be undermined. the church has been challenged in this respect since the country’s drift to a certain doom. at the turn of the year, the country primarily as a result of bad governance continue to descend into corruption which has inevitably hatched into low standard of living, hunger, poverty, fraud, unemployment, insecurity, deplorable infrastructure, to mention but a few. the series of communiqués and resolutions issued by the episcopal synods speak for themselves about the interest of the church’s bishops in realizing social emancipation. in a bid to achieve social emancipation hence sustainable development, the anglican church through the diocese of niger west which has ecclesiastical jurisdiction over ayamelum has to engage in the provision of some basic social amenities which it has capacity for. it must find a way to tackle poverty in leadership in the area which is one of the factors that fuel corruption and the attendant youth restiveness on the social level. undue closeness with some overbearing but wealthy political leaders generally waters down the awe and reverence for the church and her pronouncements. without stating that the rich, elites and political class have to be treated as outcasts in as much as they need also to be redeemed, the leaders of the church need to stand a little afar from them to have the courage to condemn their actions and as well give them reason to listen and act wisely for the good and wellbeing of the people. such a distance is necessary so as to sustain the church’s thorough prophetic calling as in the case of david and nathan. the church is of dominic obielosi c. & obi, rowland ijomah 97 the view that in maintaining relationship with the political class, she must be wary that her prophetic mission is not short-changed or truncated. the church has refused to sit on the fence blaming the government for ineptitude and lack of action in the area for that is tantamount to blaming the government indirectly for failing in her own mission. sustainable development therefore as obiefuna and uzoigwe (2012) affirms is “a product of good governance which also is a predicate of responsible and selfless leadership”(p.262). responsible leadership is in turn partly a function of critical and conscientious followership. the leadership of the anglican church have to develop capacity to influence and prod political leaders to offer good governance and bring about development in ayamelum. rather than becoming partisan, the church should pursue the agenda of good governance and as such function as the watchdog of the council area. she should constantly seek the face and mind of god to know which way the leaders and people should go. with the overwhelming populations in the other denominations, they have the capacity to influence political option by exposing the vices of those in power including the politicians traditional rulers, president-generals, town union executives, security chiefs, civil society groups, artisans and market union leaders. achieving good governance: the role of the church the church is one of the oldest institutions that represent the views and interests of humanity especially the downtrodden, marginalized, oppressed and vulnerable. a common feature of these interventions and networks is their advocacy to foster a specific agenda such as social justice, democratic participation, peace and development for every community and again identifying with the poor and marginalized. thus, this seemingly universal agenda of the church onwudiwe (1998) observes was “always directed at influencing public gender for social movements as well as political institutions such as parliaments or elected governments”(p.84). sometimes, it could also be through specific campaigns including advocacy for priorities in public spending on resource in a way that the poor will really benefit and social justice advanced. the struggle against bad governance for instance in the country has been on the increase since the return to democracy. there have been series of national campaigns such as one against poverty alleviation, injustice with regard to standing for the truth, human trafficking and a national consultation process to highlight the plight of the poor and vulnerable. the challenge for the church in this regard according to kukah (2007) is to be “provocative and political without being bound by loyalty to a specific political party to analyze economic systems and their consequences without adhering to one economic ideology, to challenge and question policies that exclude specific sections of the society” (p.57). the role of the church in achieving good governance in ayamelum l.g.a, anambra state 98 in this regard, there are pertinent questions in the current public debate that seem prominent thus. should the state spend so much money especially on the members of national assembly whilst there is very little to fund adequate social housing, quality medical services, and affordable education? churches must therefore rise to challenge political parties, parliamentary organized public hearings and government officials with regard to the priorities they have set bearing in mind that these choices and their outcomes are complex. it is needless to assume that the church, is in possession of all the answers to the complex policy decisions. it is therefore expected of the church to challenge all political and economic decisions especially from the perspective of social justice, decisions on economic policies, and for priorities of government to be defended in a manner that distribution of basic social amenities should be taken care of according to societal needs. a look at ayamelum and the urgent need for good governance in the area, onah (2002) posits: its inhabitants are mainly farmers who maintain small holdings and practice seasonal farming; their production is subsistence level and crops productivity, and standard of living is extremely very low. they are certified victims of preventable and available diseases which derive from malnutrition. inside the rural dwelling place many families are herded together under conditions which defy all rules of hygiene, a condition of life so poor that it prevents the realization of man’s total potential (p.188). in the area, the locals as earlier observed are generally not well educated while some are oblivious of modernity because of ignorance and illiteracy. there is paucity of schools and the existing ones are dilapidated, shabby, poorly equipped and under staffed. health institutions are also in short supply as hospitals, health centres, clinics and maternity homes are sparsely located and inadequately equipped. this encourages the natives to patronize quacks and traditional medicine dealers. their wrecked homes reveal a pathetic and pitiable sight. the obvious picture being painted here again mirrors the underdeveloped nature of ayamelum and why the church especially the anglican church should seriously and unrelentlessly champion and ultimately draw the attention of government, private investors, civil society organizations, donor agencies, political as well as community leaders on the need for sustainable development in the area. what the church has so far done particularly in areas of establishment of schools, hospitals, provision of scholarship schemes and digging of boreholes in some of the communities like umumbo, umuerum, omor, igbakwu, umueje and ifiteogwari cannot be judged to effectively serve the needs of the populace and by extension have serious dominic obielosi c. & obi, rowland ijomah 99 impact in the area; this is why the anglican church maintains is pushing for a sustained effort in achieving good governance in a manner that it shall impact directly on the lives of the locals. this is also because as the church derives their mandate from god, she is therefore called to serve divine purpose by working for the common good and for conditions that promote human dignity, responsible stewardship, and fairness in human relations. indeed, the anglican church apart from the earlier projects provided which represents a far cry from the expected developmental interventions still maintains that there are other contributions the church has to make so as to attract and impact good governance in ayamelum. 1. citizen’s empowerment the anglican church observes that one of the ways politicians succeed in manipulating the people is by keeping them ignorant of their inalienable human rights and liberties bestowed on them by god. and so she maintains that good governance can be achieved when the citizens are empowered to participate in community building. the church further argues that the people may not be granted participation in decision making unless they demand for it and they will not demand for it unless they understand that it is their right hence the need for their empowerment. 2. influencing policies it is often stated that the changes people desire to see in the society remain wishful thinking until they are translated into public policy. the church has resolved to be more strategic in achieving this by challenging her membership to be part of the political arrangement and also become part of the political discuss and process without afterall being partisan. 3. contributing to strengthen public accountability the church should lobby government so that legislation is strengthened to make corruption and other social vices unprofitable, increase the distribution of resources to reach every community in ayamelum, to operationalize the information bill so that information is made available at all levels to facilitate monitoring. 4. human rights and responsible citizenship the church in partnership with other civil society organizations should design programs that should aim at raising the level of general consciousness in this area of human rights and responsible citizenship. the role of the church in achieving good governance in ayamelum l.g.a, anambra state 100 5. giving voice to the voiceless marginalization is one of the reasons for tension, agitation, conflict, and armed rebellions. solidarity with those who suffer marginalization, alienation, intimidation, harassment and oppression is one way through which the church can challenge the state to be accountable to all citizens irrespective of age, class, gender, tribe, religion and region. 6. provision of infrastructures the church maintains that government should provide infrastructural facilities, economic, and development programmes to reduce unemployment, criminality and poverty. 7. scholarship on education the church adovates for scholarship on education and mass enlightenment of the people to know the negative consequences of inter-communal as well as intra-communal conflicts, crime and criminality on the council’s quest for good governance. the value of education in an individual’s development is to be promoted through government’s effort in policy formulation. 8. activities of civil society groups moreso, the church can also intervene to see that there is security of lives and property and that political office holders should ensure that killings, kidnapping and diversion of funds for the development of the area are halted. it should consistently challenge the government to be responsible for the overall welfare of the natives as well as committed to actions that would eliminate extreme poverty, hunger and deprivation. the church should further commit herself to finding solutions to the needs of the locals through prayers, consultations with the government and other community leaders on issues of unemployment, giving advice and necessary support. it must make concerted effort to liberate the poor from their daily struggle for them to survive and enjoy relative comfort in the society. there must be a formal co-operation between the anglican church and state to ensure effective utilization of limited funding and the adding of value so as to stretch opportunities for all citizens in ayamelum. conclusion good governance is an ideal which seem difficult to achieve most especially with what is currently playing out in the country and ayamelum in particular. the cry for change is getting progressively stronger by the day. government’s wholistic intervention irrespective of its operational usage joshua, oni and agbude (2012) maintains involve a positive noticeable change which will impact and bring about a much improved and sustainable standard of living of the citizens away from poverty, hunger, and deplorable environment”(p.166). it is also a positive term targeted at making an individual or dominic obielosi c. & obi, rowland ijomah 101 situation better for the benefit of others. the government’s intervention to good governance egwu (2001) submits represent therefore “a marked change in appearance or character of a nation whooly for its betterment despite the fact that there are uncharacteristic actions of government which tends to militate against efforts geared towards achieving good governance for the citizens”(p.213). of course there are elements in government who are taking advantage of the bad governance situation in the country to enrich themselves, and because they are responsible for the sordid situation, they will frustrate any effort towards sanitizing the polity so that the status-quo will remain. however, government has some major interventions to make in bringing about these positive changes that will by extension impact on the lives of the citizens. this intervention is not about setting up committees or organizing conferences because nigeria as a country is not suffering from lack of policies but the mutual implementation of the policies. it goes beyond challenging nigerians to be good citizens to a level where leaders become good citizens themselves as example for others to follow. it most importantly goes beyond self enrichment to selflessness for nigeria to be a great nation occupied by good people. this is the kind of government’s intervention expected in a bid to develop the communities in ayamelum, hence a situation where political and other leaders become good citizens as well as credible leaders and lead by examples. the ultimate goal of this set of leaders is to better the lot of the locals and by extension take them out of the shackles of hunger, poverty, joblessness, corruption, poor infrastructure, injustice, marginalization, deprivation and others. actions must be taken to work towards the ideal of governance with the aim of making it a reality. it is important to also posit that just like the anglican church and traditional institution are partners in ensuring sustainable development in the society especially in ayamelum, so it is with the church and government. the church remains the watchdog of government in all its policies and actions towards the welfare of the citizenry. the anglican church through her synod communiqués, resolutions, pastoral letters, biblical preaching and teachings oftentimes condemn government’s anti-people’s policies and actions. the church however remains the voice of the voiceless, defender of the poor, helpless and oppressed. it ensures that leaders are accountable, corruption is condemned outrightly, the views of the minorities are taken into account and the voice of the vulnerable in society are heard in decision-making, and responsive to the present and future needs of the society. the role of the church in achieving good governance in ayamelum l.g.a, anambra state 102 references amalu, u.c. (1998). agricultural research and extension delivery systems in sub-saharan african. calabar. unical press. egwu, s.g. (2007). development administration in nigeria: issues and strategies jos: st. stephen’s bookshop. enweonye, i. (2020). the british westernization of nigeria and cameroon: the south eastern clan of ayamelum experience. anaku: erudite authors. joshua, s., oni, s. & agbude, g. (2012). leadership, democracy and development in nigeria. international journal of 4, 161-170. kukah, m.h. (2007). the church and the politics of social responsibility. lagos: sovereign print. nmadu, j.o. (2010). good governance: the role of the church. enugu: alpha. nnoli, o. (1980). ethnic politics in nigeria. enugu: fourth dimension. nwagboso, c.l. & duke, o. (2012). nigeria and the challenges of leadership in the 21st century: a critique. international journal of humanities and social science, 2, 13, 228-235. ogundiya, i.s. (2010). church and politics in the modern world. lagos: kings press. olatunyi, s.o. (2005). monitoring and evaluation of agricultural intervention programmes. enugu: snap press. omosor, k. (2021, november 21). opening up the hinterlands for development and haulting rural-urban drift. vanguard. retrieved on 16th march, 2022 from htpp://www.vanguard.com onah, e.c. (2009). religion and the challenge of sustainable democracy in nigeria: enugu: rabboni. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 30 ethno-political dynamics and the nigeria civil war, (1967–1970): implications for nation building and national integration. morgan ogbonna department of history and international studies, babcock university. ogbonna0281@pg.babcock.edu.ng abstract the nigerian civil war (1967–1970), precipitated by deep-seated ethno-political tensions and the attempted secession of the eastern region as the republic of biafra, remains a pivotal event in nigeria’s post-independence history. this paper explores the ethno-political dynamics that underpinned the conflict, focusing on the interplay of ethnicity, regionalism, political marginalization, and contestation for state power. drawing on archival sources, scholarly literature, and post-war policy analyses, the study examines the structural causes of the war and evaluates its enduring effects on the processes of nation-building and national integration in nigeria. it argues that while the end of the war was marked by the federal government’s policy of reconciliation, reconstruction, and rehabilitation, the legacies of mistrust, uneven development, and exclusionary politics have continued to undermine national unity. the paper highlights how the lessons from the civil war remain relevant to contemporary debates on federalism, identity politics, and sustainable governance in nigeria. ultimately, it advocates for a more inclusive, participatory, and equity-driven approach to nation-building as a means of achieving lasting national integration. keywords: nigeria civil war, biafra, ethno-political conflict, nation building, national integration, identity politics, post-conflict reconstruction. introduction since nigeria is considered a single entity geographical expression, it has been in a state of confusion, conflict/crisis (violence) all through the history of its existence, its experience had always been one of contending ethnic community clashes, political rifts, economic violence, social intolerance, student's violence, mass civil violence, trade union crisis and many others. the communities to a large extent have never been static, thus, constant cultural contact within/among each other and external groups continually bring about change in their character and personal albeit gradually. corruption, confusion and unprincipled struggles for office had been quite an endemic feature of nigerian lifestyle early before and after independence. however, the country has been held together, stumbling from one crisis to another, though always looking for some temporary compromise to avoid a total breakdown (collapse), (mbanefo,1981, p.8). for discerning observers, the nigerian civil war, which was africa’s first modern and brutal civil conflict, was an event waiting to happen. indeed, when one examines the socio-economic, cultural, and political history of the country, the crucial question should not be why there was a civil war in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 31 the country, but rather why it took more than half a decade after independence before the contradictions in the body politic resulted in a civil war. however, as with most civil wars in africa, the distinction between ‘facts’ and ‘fictions’ in the nigerian civil war is blurred (nnoli,1980, p.21). perhaps most of the debates about the civil war would have been minimized if there had been an official history of the war, but this, in itself, is problematic in a country where almost everything is in dispute and where there are alleged ulterior motives behind any action or inaction. nigeria, like any other african nation, was carved up in such a way as to satisfy the european governments at the berlin conference of 1886 without any input from or consideration given to the people to be governed. the result was the division of families and ethnic groups, and their summary placement within different groupings, regions and countries (ademoyega, 1981, 24). socio-culturally, each of the various ethnic groups that make up nigerian society has its own different political, economic and cultural history and background. this was neglected or relegated by the british when nigeria was being put together as a single political entity. british colonial policy, therefore, did not aim to forge a nation out of the numerous societies that made up nigeria. this failure of colonialism was a signpost towards disaster for nigeria following independence in 1960. the homogeneity of ethnic groups in terms of language, religion and culture breeds loyalty to the unit. this loyalty contributes to the development of negative attitudes, prejudices and discrimination towards members of other groups, and results in aggression and violence towards such groups. however, the way the country was constituted right from the colonial days brought the doctrine of ethnicity into greater prominence in nigerian politics, and given the ability of nigerian politicians and their military successors to master its use and dig deeper into their respective regions, it could not but lead to a crisis. furthermore, this tension between the various regions was later intensified by the election of the first federal prime minister, tafawa balewa, based on a disputed greater size of the northern region (adedeji,1969,p.169). in reflection, adewale ademoyega noted that ‘military aspirants from the south were frustrated. no wonder then that the army was not as insulated from politics as it seemed to outside observers. the effects of these were made crystal clear by the events of 1966/67’(ademoyega, 1981). ethnicity the negative ethnic perception of one another by ethnic groups has often been a source of conflict, and nigeria’s case is no different. in a bid to serve british administrative expediency, northern nigeria, which was predominantly muslim, was merged with southern nigeria, which was predominantly christian and animist. whilst islam stresses obedience to authority and acceptance of predestination as virtues, christianity encourages individual responsibility and achievement (rupley,1981, p.257). these contradictory values held by southern and northern nigerians have consistently fostered negative perceptions of each other. the southerners comprising the igbos and yorubas have consistently perceived the hausas as lazy, economically non-ambitious, and only interested in playing the role of a parasite exploiting the south by perpetually holding on to political power. this alliance of perception apart, the yorubas and the igbos see each other as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 32 constituting a threat, especially in terms of commerce and political competition. however, given the level of development in both ethnic groups, the ability to compete on a level playing field did not engender, and has not engendered, a morbid fear of hegemony of one over the other (natsiger,1972, p.126). the hausas, on the other hand, see the yorubas and especially the igbos as hegemonic and seeking to lord their will over the northern region.9in an environment where the hausa-fulanis lag behind the yorubas and the igbos in educational and economic development, this psychological perception of the igbos constitutes and reinforces a real or imagined threat (petroleum press service,1968,p.4). it is this morbid fear of southern hegemony that resulted in the massive massacre of igbos in the north following ironsi’s promulgation of the unification decree in may 1966. ironsi’s failure to take action against the coup plotters, but quickness in setting up a commission of inquiry when the igbos were massacred in the north in may 1966, served to reinforce the northern regional perception that his regime was an instrument of igbo domination. this consequently led to the july 1966 counter-coup by army officers from the northern region (adedeji, 1969). revenue allocation the event which finally triggered secession was the creation of 12 new states by the federal military government on 27 may from the previous four regions and the federal territory. the new state structure cut off a major industrial port, the ibo-dominated city of port harcourt, and the minority areas, including a large part of the oil-producing regions, from the ibo majority in the east-central state; this arrangement was considered by the eastern leaders to be a violation of the agreement at aburi to effect greater regional autonomy (forsyth, 1969, p.41). more so, the politics of revenue allocation had a contributory factor in the emergence of the political crisis that led to nzeogwu’s coup, which finally dovetailed into the civil war. there were two opposing views. the first was for revenue allocation to be based on population and need, and was actively supported by the north because it would be in its favor. the second view favored by the other regions wanted revenue allocation to be based on derivation (williams, 2017, p.40). prior to 1959, all the revenues from mineral and agricultural products (i.e. export duties) had been retained by the producing region. the raisman commission of 1958, which was set up to review the fiscal and revenue allocation arrangement between the federal and regional governments in preparation for independence and the inception of the 1960 constitution, recommended that the federal government reduce the 100 per cent allocation accruing to the regions on revenues from regional mineral resources to 50 per cent (aluko, 1976, p.28). the remaining 50 per cent was redistributed based on 30 per cent to the federal government and 20 per cent to the distributable pool account to be shared equally amongst the regions. the reason given by the commission for this recommendation was that as at 1958, the eastern region had begun to exploit oil in large commercial quantity and future oil development in the region would take place on a scale that would upset the balance of national development and give the region a source of income too sizeable to ignore (aluko, 1976). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 33 note that the eastern region was especially dissatisfied that after 1959, only a fraction of the revenue from crude oil – none of the profits tax and only one-half of the rents and royalties – was received by the region of production in contrast to all the revenue from agricultural exports which accrued to the northern and western regions (forsyth, 2000, p.40).this process of determining the percentage to be paid to each region out of the federal purse created wrangling among the regions and political parties. besides the issue of revenue allocation, each of the three regions was endowed with export cash crops – cocoa for the west, palm oil and kernel for the east, and groundnut for the north. with the establishment of marketing boards in the regions to take care of the local purchase and foreign sale of these crops, the revenues that accrued served to make the regions, or rather the regionally based political parties and their domineering ethnic groups, more powerful by giving them the economic strength to wage political war against each other (aluko, 1976). the decline of cash and export crops as a steady source of revenue to the regions ushered in the emergence of petroleum oil as a foreign exchange earner. oil was first struck in oloibiri, an ijaw village in the niger delta, by shell-bp (now shell) in may 1956. commercial exploitation began in 1958, and the value output grew at an annual rate of 78 per cent between 1958 and 1966 (dilora, 2014, p.44). it was very evident that half of the revenue from oil exploitation went to the government of the eastern region, and the rest was appropriated by the federal government under a fiscal arrangement based partly on the principle of derivation. for the east, secession was a good idea because it would entail total control of the profits from oil, and a hundred per cent gain following its previous pursuit of a revenue allocation system based on derivation (diamond,1988,p.22). for the north, control of the centre meant control of the gains from oil, and an assurance of the steady flow of money to the north for development and a rapid catching up with its southern counterparts. against this background, the western region, which had previously clamored for revenue allocation based on derivation, decided to change its tune as well, seeking a formula that was based on population and need in view of the rapid decline in revenue from cocoa and other agricultural products. in the middle of it were multi-national corporations and foreign investors who, to protect their economic interests were mounting pressure on both sides of the debate (tamuno,1970. p.231). january 15, 1966 coup the coup of january 15th, 1966 ushered in a new dawn full of uncertainties, expectations and hope. according to nzeogwu in his broadcast from kaduna, the coup aimed to establish ‘a strong, unified and prosperous nation free from corruption and internal strife (perham,1970, p.21), but the succeeding events did not give nigerians a chance to find out whether this claim was sincere or disingenuous. whilst the coup did not succeed in bringing into power its planners and executors, it nevertheless opened a chapter in nigerian history of successive coups, countercoups, and the emergence of the military as political leaders, as well as alternative political leaders. this political experiment was the foundation and platform on which future political crisis was built with its inherent distrust (odemene,2011, p44). this sad situation brought further division in nigeria body igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 34 politic, that culminated later in a war that saw about three million nigerians dead, in estimation and most of them from the southeast. july 29, 1966 coup the july 1966 coup was a big catalyst for the outbreak of the civil war in 1967. on july 29th, 1966, nigeria’s bloodiest coup happened and it is also referred to as the july counter-coup or the northern rematch and it took the life of nigeria’s first head of state, general thomas aguiyi ironsi (ademoyega,1981). many officers of the igbo extraction will also lose their lives and those who escaped lost their positions. by midnight of january 15, 1966, the coup that had happened had been seen as an igbo coup. both local and international press repeated and analyzed why the coup was an igbo coup. for about three weeks, radio kaduna broadcast the speeches of the murdered ahmadu bello and tafawa balewa and stirred up negative feelings against the south. even though the coup failed, lives had been lost and most of whom were the northerners (awolowo,1981, p.42). the coup plotters had neither been tried nor executed and there were rumors that they were still being paid even while in detention. the northerners said and thought that all that was happening was to give the igbos dominance over the country. in fact, they said that when promotions of twenty officers were released by the ironsi government, nineteen of them were igbos even though they agreed that the recipients merited it and well deserved. also, the tipping point was ironsi’s idea to do away with regionalism and introduce a unitary government. ironsi believed the unification decree 34 of 1966 would help restore peace to nigeria. though the general had been advised against this position earlier but he quietly ignored it and this angered the northern leaders and by may 224th, 1966, the decree was passed into law. just like the “wild-wild west” the northerners decided to take the law into their own hands, they went on rampage killing southerners. the killings went on for months starting from may to september 1966. igbos ranging from eight to thirty thousand were killed during the pogrom. the peak of the genocide was on september 26th, 1966, which was also referred as the “black thursday” as about a million igbos fled to the eastern part of nigeria to avoid the raging massacre. there were also retaliations in the south especially port harcourt where the northerners were murdered and this led also to the relocation and movement of northerners out of the east and flee for safety. nigeria was barely six years old after independence and seem to have been falling apart already(balogun, 2009, p.68). on july 29th, 1966, a group of northern officers decided to oust the government. this coup, which was later called “the rematch,” was led by northern officers would claim more than ten times the one claimed by the january coup. the code name for the coup was “arabah” which in hausa language means “lets separate and let everyone stand on his own” was led by lt col mutarla mohammed. the head of state and the governor of the western region were captured and executed in ibadan even though ironsi had tried all he could to pacify the northerners, but it seemed they igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 35 wanted their pound of flesh at all cost (elaigwe, 1986, p.80). the mutineers had been warned not to kill ironsi on northern soil, hence the choice of ibadan in the west. note that ironsi had surrounded himself with northern officers to dispel the rumor of favoritism. major theophilus danjuma was his chief security officer. in abeokuta, igbo soldiers were singled out and executed. the same is said to have happened in lagos, ibadan kano and kaduna. the coup plotters had planned to secede from nigeria after a successful execution of the coup. in fact, there were rumors that murtala was planning to evacuate northerners living in lagos with a british jet stationed at the ikeja airport. it is also on record that gowon was the officer who assigned officers for the security of the commander in chief on his tour of the western region, thereby leading him into the hands of his captors and the cold hand of death. note also that it took about six months before irons and fajuyi’s deaths were announced and eventually given a state burial. the coup was also planned to take place in the east, but hold. lt col ojukwu, the governor of the eastern region, was targeted for elimination and execution. like the january 15 coup, the july coup failed in the east because of the perseverance and gallant nature of the commanding officers there (ademoyega, 1981). it is important to state hear that the north had insisted on secession after the coup but after a protracted negotiation, lt col yakubu gowon emerged the head of state. he was only thirty-one years and lower in rank to most other senior officers to the late head of state. this created another crisis that seriously contributed to the outbreak of the civil war. the aburi accord the military coups d’état of january 15, and july 29, 1966, the regional election crisis in western nigeria in 1965, the involvement of military men in the killings of igbo people living in northern nigeria from may to september 1966, the structural imbalance of the nigerian federation and ojukwu’s doggedness in the pursuit of achieving sovereignty for the south east all set the stage for what later became a cataclysmic civil war in nigeria. there was, therefore, the need to initiate a diplomatic means of solving the problem by bringing all dramatist personae in the ensuing conflict to the negotiating table, hence the 1967 meeting at aburi. it was billed to be the last chance of averting an all-out war in the country (forsyth, 1969, p.68). it was the platform on which the much-needed peace and harmony in nigeria would have been built through talks and not war. it was held between 4th and 5th january 1967. ghana was chosen as a venue because colonel ojukwu's safety could not be guaranteed anywhere within the western or northern part of the country (mann, 2005, p.102). but the results of the aburi talks which would have assuaged the civil war failed massively due to its non-implementation. ojukwu had scored all his points in the meeting, if gowon were to be faithful to the resolutions, the nigerian civil war might have been averted. but as soon as gowon stepped down in lagos, he gave his ears to the federal civil servants in lagos and to his western masters, who advised that he had conceded too much to ojukwu. there and then he was prepared to dishonor his own words and break the terms of the aburi agreement (stremlau, 1977, p.64). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 36 on the other hand, ojukwu held tenaciously to the agreements made at aburi. in a speech aired on the eastern nigerian broadcasting service on may 30, 1967, he rejected decree 8 promulgated by gowon. he was persuaded by the ghanaian government through a three-man delegation to modify his stand on the aburi accord, but he insisted on its full implementation (aremu and buhari, 2017, p.15). the conflict took a new turn when ojukwu enacted, “the revenue collection edict,” in which he demanded that all companies operating in the eastern region should pay their taxes into the purse of the eastern region instead of the federal government’s account. the federal government reacted swiftly to the edict. first, it declared it illegal and ordered an economic and diplomatic blockade of the eastern region. lt. colonel ojukwu in a counter-reaction, gave the federal government until 31 may 1967 to put into effect the terms of the aburi accord for a loose federation and assist igbo refugees, among others. on 26 may 1967, the eastern region consultative assembly voted to secede from nigeria. it mandated ojukwu to declare, at the earliest practicable date, eastern nigeria a free, sovereign and independent state by the name and title of “the republic of biafra”. subsequently, on 30 may 1967, ojukwu declared the secession of the eastern region from nigeria, naming the new country the republic of biafra. vowing to preserve the unity and territorial integrity of the nigerian federation, general gowon declared war against the so-called republic of biafra on 6 july 1967 (forsyth, 1969). this signalled the commencement of the nigerian civil war, which lasted until 15 january 1970. the failure of the agreement meant that overnight, the outcome of the aburi meeting radically altered the contours of the political landscape of nigeria. it had in effect inaugurated a confederal and extensively decentralized constitutional solution to the nigerian impasse, to the consternation of the british, who had followed the talks with nervousness. the federal civil service vigorously opposed the aburi agreement (mann, 2005). a british political analyst and writer, frederick forsyth, wrote: “within few days of gowon’s return to lagos, the aburi agreements began to die on the vine. the technocrats at home took a second look at what had been agreed and realized that gowon had gone far further than they would have wished him to go. the drawing apart of the army and populace for the cooling down period gave the regions in their view far too much autonomy. thus, weakening the authority of the central government. the permanent secretaries set to work on gowon to get him back on track on the agreement” (forsyth, 1969). while it is instructive to say that one of the greatest enduring myths in nigeria is the lie that yakubu gowon fought the nigeria-biafra war to keep nigeria united, whereas in reality not only did yakubu gowon whose northern region had originally intended to secede after the july 1966 counter-coup cause the unnecessary war through his failure of leadership, his aim for fighting the war was never in the least a genuine desire to keep nigeria united but purely because of northern economic interests. the economic interests of the hitherto secessionist north became the principal reason for the volte face from secession to “one nigeria” after the british government advised the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 37 northern leadership of the economic disadvantages of secession. thus unlike most civil wars where there is a genuine desire to keep the nation united for patriotic reasons, the nigeria-biafra war was an opportunistic war instigated by yakubu gowon and the north; not out of a genuine desire for a united nigeria but for the selfish aims of british imperialism and northern economic interests which remains the reason and reality of their presence in nigeria to date (osadola and asiyanbi, 2022, p.56). on the whole, aburi was a big success but the interpretation of what transpired in the meeting devalued the success. the failure of aburi led to the outbreak of one of the most avoidable wars of the 20th century. unlike many unavoidable conflicts, there were many opportunities to avoid the nigeria-biafra war, which needlessly consumed the lives of about 3 million people, entrenched an unhealing generational bitterness and caused severe social, political and economic dislocation from which the nation is yet to recover. wars carry with them the worst of human tragedies and scars that endure for all time. it is an evil that must be avoided except it is necessary (balogun, 2009, p.68). impacts of the war on nation building nation-building is conceived as the creation or development of a nation, especially one that has recently gained independence. this could also be the construction and structuring of a national identity using the power of the state. it is incontrovertible that a civil war is the exact opposite of these. a civil war tends to destroy the state through the deliberate secession of a part or the toppling of the recognized government and its replacement with a new state government radically different from the status quo. civil wars, therefore, usually have a catastrophic impact on national development and nation-building and the case of nigeria is not an exception (nafziger, 1972, p.104). before the secession of biafra, the gory experience of the igbo was amplified by ojukwu’s propaganda, which fueled public discontent against the federal military government (fmg), thereby shifting loyalty away from the central government to the eastern regional government. this is a gross breach of what nation-building entails, and to date, the nigerian state has been unsuccessful in its efforts at convincing the igbo that they truly have a place in the federation (lodge, 2018, p.44). though the biafran civil war was the second revolution against the british contraption called nigeria and was born out of the need for self-preservation and self-determination, the biafran state was the first time a major ethnic group would be pulling out of the nigerian union. this “divorce” turned out to be more agonizing than the brutal maiming of innocent easterners that preceded the war (aremu, etal, 2017, p.45). the civil war led to the wanton destruction of valuable lives on both sides. sometimes termed as genocide, the biafran side suffered more casualties as a result of the fmg indiscriminate use ofsophisticated weapons to prosecute the war. conflicting figures put the death tolls at hundreds of thousands or millions on the biafran end. whereas some of these individuals had lost their lives igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 38 on the battlefield, the real battle was at the home front where thousands more lost their lives as a result of starvation.23 kwashiorkor, diarrhea and wartime court martial all combined to deprive the country of highly skilled manpower, willing or unwillingly trapped in the civil war (dapo, 2022, p.62). more so, rarely discussed is the impact of the war on the biodiversity of the eastern region. in the quest for survival, biafrans feasted on any animal in sight. even dogs, rats and lizards were not spared. at the end of the war, survivors’ accounts attest to this low biodiversity and the reduced presence of domestic animals in the eastern region. also, the fmg and the biafran troops, in their bid to eliminate the other, indiscriminately dropped bombs on forests, destroying a host of animal colonies and rare herbs. even after the war, some undetonated bombs continued to wreak havoc in the biafran forests in the post-war years. corollary to the destruction of lives is the destruction of property. awolowo estimated the calculable loss at £300 million. imagining the infrastructural development the country could have through these resources, they were channeled into more constructive national projects. it would make one conclude that the war was nothing but a national nightmare. national landmarks like the niger bridge and the university city of nsukka were destroyed. sadly, a lot of human and material resources were invested in the annihilation of the opponent, leaving a lot of ghost towns in its wake. at the end of the war, arms proliferation and different strands of criminality and social vices became the order of the day (forsyth, 1969). many youths resorted to drug use and prostitution as survival tactics. all these listed issues left the country with a major social problem in the post-war years. important to note is the fact that the civil war left the country with a set of federal war veterans who continued to impose their will on the country through military coups. muhammadu, olusegun obasanjo, theophilus danjuma, david mark, hassan katsina, muhammadu buhari, ibrahim babangida, sanni abacha, to mention a few, are some of the civil war veterans who fall into this category. occasionally, a few have successfully transformed from military dictators to elected government officials. this has prevented the influx of fresh blood and ideas by forestalling a radical transformation of the country’s political landscape (rabiu and obonna, 2024, p.104). on the positive side, the war saw to the reunification and liberation of some nigerian people who may not have subscribed to the biafran dreams of ojukwu’s conception. aside from the igbo, the eastern region is home to the efik, anioma, ibibio, and other minority groups who vehemently resented the idea of living under an igbo dominion. also, rather than liberate nigerians from the northern oligarchy, a victory for the biafra state they believed would have turned the country into ojukwu’s empire in which he would easily partitioned amidst his loyalists.27some scholars believe that ojukwu’s defeat marked an end to this imperial ambition thereby providing an opportunity to re-fashion the country into a more stable polity. gowon's post-war policies built around the 3rs: reconciliation, rehabilitation, and reconstruction, were a bold initiative to actualise this objective. 120 million pounds were allocated for this task in the first fiscal year after the war (1970 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 39 1971), and gowon ensured that there were no summary trials or executions of biafran war veterans in the spirit of “no victor, no vanquished” (osha, 2017, p.45). financially, the civil war victory led to the reinstatement of the country’s ownership and control of rich oil fields in the niger-delta. revenue from oil would go on to define nigeria’s post-war policies. domestically, oil rents were used to embark on ambitious infrastructural projects and to reconstruct some of the state infrastructures destroyed during the fratricidal war. many scholars have disappointedly argued that the nigerian civil war was a war fought on the ground for the control of something below the ground (rabiu and ogbonna, 2024). such a simplistic explanation falls short of the national fervor that inspired the violent events that culminated in the nigerian civil war. diplomatically, the war broadened the country’s international networks from the limited prowestern first republic cleavage to a broader one that incorporated states with socialist ideology. the country also deemed it proper to improve relations with other neighbouring west african countries to forestall a repeat of the civil war experience where some of these countries covertly supported the biafran state (ohadike, 2001, p.28). to foster internal peace and encourage peace, the national youth service corps (nysc) was also formed after the civil war. the nysc deploys fresh nigerian graduates from their region of birth/ education to other parts of the country to broaden their knowledge of the country. this scheme has significantly strengthened the bond among the country’s educated elite and has led to broader national integration. sadly, the merit of the scheme is gradually waning with the years, and like the nigerian state, the nysc is in a continuous battle to legitimize its existence. whereas it is incontrovertible that all these secessionist tendencies have their origin in the frail and faulty 1914 amalgamation, the country’s leadership would have averted these crises through equitable justice and stringent adherence to the rule of law. rather than resort to the reactionary way of tackling the nation’s problem, nigerian leadership would be better served using consensusbuilding and the teaching of history to enlighten or shape national discussion (forsyth, 1969). by teaching the civil war’s history, the nation stands to gain the benefit of hindsight in the navigation of the country’s ship out of the troubled waters it has sunk since 1914; and obviously to avert a repeat of the politics that drove the country to a thirty-month avoidable fratricidal war. however, the scenario that ended the war was through a surrender of the biafran protagonists. on the 10th january 1970, lt. col. ojukwu, the self-proclaimed head of state of biafra, on realizing the total chaos and hopelessness of the situation, handed over to the commander, biafran army, maj. gen. phillip effiong, the administration of biafra, and flew out of the enclave with his immediate family members in search of peace (aremu, 2017). maj. gen. effiong consulted with the biafra strategic committee on the situation, and they decided that enough was enough and that the only honorable way out was to surrender. in his surrender announcement to the people of biafra on radio biafra, part of maj. gen. effiong's address said: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 40 “fellow countrymen, as you know i was asked to be the officer administering the government of this republic on the 10th of january, 1970. since then i know some of you have been waiting to hear a statement from me. throughout history, injured people have had to result to arms in their self-defense where peaceful negotiations have failed. we are no exception. we took up arms because of the sense of insecurity generated in our people by the events of 1966. we have fought in defense of that cause. i am now convinced that a stop must be put to the bloodshed which is going on as a result of the war. i am also convinced that the suffering of our people must be brought to an end. our people are now disillusioned and those elements of the old regime who have made negotiations and reconciliation impossible have voluntarily removed themselves from our midst. i have, therefore, instructed an orderly disengagement of troops. i urge on gen. gowon, in the name of humanity, to order his troops to pause while an armistice is negotiated in order to avoid the mass suffering caused by the movement of population. we have always believed that our differences with nigeria should be settled by peaceful negotiation. a delegation of our people are therefore ready to meet representatives of nigerian government anywhere to negotiate a peace settlement on the basis of oau resolution” (elaigwe, 1986, p.71). on the other hand, part of maj. gen. yakubu gowon, the head of the federal government's speech to formally accept the declared surrender and the end of the civil war read: “citizens of nigeria, it is with a heart full of gratitude to god that i announce to you that today marks the formal end of the civil war. this afternoon at the dodan barracks, lt. col. phillip effiong, lt. col. david ogunewe, lt. col. patrick anwunah, lt. col. patrick amadi and commissioner of police, chief patrick okeke formally proclaimed the end of the attempt at secession and accepted the authority of the federal military government of nigeria. they also formally accepted the present political and administrative structure of the country. this ends thirty months of a grim struggle. thirty months of sacrifice and national agony. (forsyth, 2000)” gowon said that the world knows how hard we strove to avoid the civil war. our objectives in fighting the war to crush ojukwu’s rebellion were always clear. we desired to preserve the territorial integrity and unity of nigeria. for, as one country, we would be able to maintain lasting peace amongst our various communities; achieve rapid economic development to improve the lot of our people; guarantee a dignified future and respect in the world for our posterity and contribute to african unity and modernization. on the other hand, the small successor states in a disintegrated nigeria would be victims of perpetual war and misery and neo neo-colonialism. our duty was clear. and we are today, vindicated. the so-called "rising sun of biafra" (forsyth, 2000) is set forever. it will be a great disservice for anyone to continue to use the word "biafra" to refer to any part of the east central state of nigeria. the tragic chapter of violence is just ended. we are at the dawn of national reconciliation. once again, we have the opportunity to build a new nation. conclusion the nigerian civil war (1967–1970), deeply rooted in ethno-political tensions, exposed the fragility of national unity in a multi-ethnic state. the war's outbreak and its devastating igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 41 consequences were fueled by a combination of ethnic mistrust, political marginalization, and the struggle for control over national resources and power. although the conflict officially ended with the slogan of "no victor, no vanquished," the underlying issues that led to the war have continued to shape nigeria’s post-war politics and social cohesion (diamond, 1988, p.45). nation-building and national integration in the aftermath of the war have been significantly challenged by the persistence of ethnic rivalries, uneven development, and political exclusion. while efforts such as the introduction of the national youth service corps (nysc), the federal character principle, and state creation were aimed at promoting unity, their success has been limited by ongoing ethnic sentiment and elite manipulation of identity politics. to achieve sustainable nation-building and genuine integration, nigeria must confront the legacies of the civil war by promoting inclusive governance, equitable development, and inter-ethnic dialogue. only by fostering a sense of shared identity and addressing structural inequalities can the country move beyond the shadows of its divisive past and realize the vision of a truly united nation. references nnoli, o. (1980) ethnic politics in nigeria, spectrum books ltd, p. 121 ademoyega, a. (1981) why we struck: the story of the first nigerian coup, evans publishers ltd, p.24 mbanefo, (1984) p. 8 forsyth, f. (1969) the biafran story, p.41 streamlau, j. (1977) the international politics of the nigeria civil war, 1977-1970, p.64 ohadike, s.n. (2001) conflict and reconcilliation: the nigeria-biafra war, p.28 okpevra u. (2003) historicising foreign powers intervention in the nigeria-biafra war, 1967-1970, p.7 rupley, (1981) 257 osadola, o. s and asiyanbi, s.b (2022) the nigeria war of unity, 1967-1970: strategies and diplomacy aremu, j.o. and buhari, l. o. (2017) sense and senselessness of war: aggravating the causes, gains and losses of the nigeria civil war, 1967-1970, p.15 dapo, t. (2022) the nigeria civil war, 1967-1970; a theoretical resurrection, p.62 rabiu, j. and ogbonna, c.l. (2024) the nigeria civil war: a historical analysis 19671970, p.105 adedeji, a. (1969) p.169 petroleum press service (1969) and 1968pearson 1970 and nigerian institute of social and economic research, p.4 nafziger, (1972) p.126 williams, a. m.(2017) “the aburi accord and the role in the nigeria civil war”, uyo, p.2 aluko, o. (1976) ghana and nigeria, 1957-1970: a study in inter african discord, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 42 forsyth, f. (2000) the biafran story: the making of an african legend, london: leo copper publications ltd, p.40 diliorah, c. (2014) last train to biafra, ibadan: constellation publishers, p. 76 diamond, l. (1988) ethnicity and democracy in nigeria: the failure of the first republic, london; macmillian press ltd. tamuno, t. (1970) “separatist agitations in nigeria since 1914”, the journal of modern african studies, p. 563. perham, m. (1970) “reflections on the nigerian civil war” international affairs journal, p. 231 odemene, a. (2011) “the nigeria-biafra civil war” in perspective in nigeria history, edited by c.b.n ogbogbo, ibadan: bookwright publishers, p.211 awolowo, o. (1981) awo on the nigeria civil war, lagos: johnwest publishers, p.42 balogun, m.t. (2009) route to power, new york: palgrave macmillan publishers, p.68 elaiigwe, j .i. (1986) gowon: the biography of a soldier-statesman, ibadan: westbooks, p.80 mann, m. (2005) the dark side of democracy: explaining ethnic clensing, p 485 bird e. and ottanelli, f.(2011) “the history and and legacy of the asaba, nigeria massacre, african study review, p.84 ohadike, d.c. (1994) “anioma; a social history of the western igbo people” athens: ohio university press, p.46 ogunkeye, g. (2009) interview, 11 december, lagos okwudiafor, f.d. (1996) testimony made 20 january; included in the violations of human and civil rights of ndi igbo in the federation of nigeria (1966–1999), october 1999, p. 78, available at: http://www. asabamemorial.org/data/ohanaeze-petition.pdf. ohanaeze ndigbo, a pan-igbo rights group, presented this ‘ohaneze petition’ to the human rights violations investigation commission (known as the oputa panel). in subsequent endnotes, ‘testimony’ refers to 1969 depositions included in this document. okafor, s. (2010) 12 october 2011 (ibadan); medua uraih, 13 december. chukwura, p. (2010) 10 december (lagos). nicholas a. (2011) 5 october. testimony of john kanayo hudson odittah, p. 90. uchendu, (1986) women and conflict, p. 76, notes that several midwest communities had staged formal shows of support for ‘one nigeria’, hoping to avoid reprisals, p.26 microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 103 igwebuike and the question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge kanu, ikechukwu anthony, ph.d. department of philosophy augustinian institute, makurdi ikee_mario@yahoo.com abstract a cursory glance at the different developments in the different epochs in the history of philosophy reveals the continuous resurfacing of the problem of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge. in plato we see an exaltation of the discipline of philosophy and philosophers far above others. in aristotle, we further encounter an exaltation of metaphysics far and above other fields of human inquiry. during the medieval period, philosophy becomes a handmaid of theologya mere tool for communicating theological truths. during the era of karl marx and the logical positivists, pure science is exalted far above metaphysics and religion. during the 1960s, when discussions began on nigeria’s national development, privileged place was given to science and technology, while the arts was referred to as ‘watery arts’. in the face of this superiority in the scientific community of knowledge, the question that arises is, how should it be handled? is there any field of human inquiry that is more superior to the other? in responding to the questions raised by this piece, the indigenous wholistic theory has been employed, which advances igwebuike, an african complementary philosophy which understands every field of human inquiry as contributing a piece, and not the complete whole of the truth. keywords: igwebuike, superiority, scientific, community, knowledge, aristotle, plato. introduction every field of human inquiry is limited and fragmented. and as fragments, no field of knowledge adequately satisfies the human hunger for truth. as fragments, they only provide answers that are fragmentary and limited. a cursory glance at the historical development of philosophy reveals these fragments and perspectival perspectives. in an attempt to know the world, thales argued that its underlying principle was waterwater is just a dimension not the whole; anaximander argued that the original element of which all things were made was an indeterminate element. anaximenes argued that it was air. parmenides avers that change is an illusion, as reality is one and unchanging. heraclitus on the contrary argued that reality is in a state of perpetual flux, as reality is in constant change. plato limited reality to the world of forms, being more concrete aristotle dismissed the world of forms and focused on motion. the medieval philosophers placed god at the centre of their thinking, their perspective was theocentric. however, with the emergence of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 104 practical philosophies like pragmatism, positivism, the reign of science emerged and pushed to the background other forms of knowledge. during the modern period, the empiricists emphasized sense knowledge and dismissed other sources of knowledge as unreasonable; however, the rationalists emphasized rational knowledge as the most superior knowledge. in the face of these varying perspectives about reality, this work calls for a more wholistic and complementary approach in the scientific community of knowledge. igwebuike, as an igbo-african philosophical approach to the interpretation and understanding of reality has been adopted and argues that academic pride or fragmentation cannot produce a knowledge that is wholistic. for knowledge to be wholistic, it must be open to other forms of inquiry to add to its narrow perspective might not have been able to know. in knowledge, there are diverse units that make up an entity within the framework of the whole. plato and the exaltation of philosophy in plato’s allegory of the cave, he makes a distinction between philosophers and nonphilosophers. in a cave, he says, some prisoners are chained in such a way that they are not able to look in any other direction, except straight where they have before them a wall that looks like a screen in the cinema. behind them is a fire and between them and the fire is a raised platform stretching across the cave. on this platform are men, animals and all kinds of things passing by, and since there is a fire behind, it casts the shadows of the fire on the screen. since these men cannot turn back or look at other directions to see the real things, they see only the shadows and imagine that these shadows are the real things. however, plato said that one succeeds in freeing himself from the cave and happens to find himself outside and sees things the way they are: the sun, the moon, the stars, fellow human beings, etc., different from the reflections and shadows which prisoners see in the cave. when he goes back to free them from their chains, they refuse to follow him and even want to kill him. in explaining this, plato says that the cave is the world, the shadows of the cave are the particular things of this world, the fire is the sun, outside the cave is the world of ideas, the world of forms or intelligible world. the prisoner who escapes from the prison is the philosopher, and those in the cave who see only shadows are the nonphilosophers. he equally exalted the knowledge of the world of forms over the knowledge of particular things in the world (omoregbe, 1991). this affected virtually every dimension of his philosophy. in his political philosophy, in his famous work, republic, plato made a class distinction between the guardians, auxiliaries and common people. the guardians are rulers, the auxiliaries are defenders and the common people provide for the needs of the state. the guardians, the ruling class he calls the philosophers who correspond to the rational part of the soul (omoregbe, 1991). the auxiliaries and common people correspond to the higher emotions and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 105 lower emotions respectively. this places philosophers and philosophy at a superior pedestal and other forms of knowledge at a lower pedestal of knowledge. aristotle and the exaltation of philosophy aristotle was of a different temperament from his master plato. while his master concerned himself with the world of forms, aristotle rejected the idea of the world of forms, veered a more practical path by focusing on motion. his rejection of the world of forms is simply because it cannot explain motion in the world. aristotle posits that the theory of forms itself does not change and as such, cannot account for the phenomenon of change in the world. aristotle criticized plato for not being precise, noting that, the method of postulating another world to explain the common features between things of the same species in this world and the other world would certainly require the postulation of a third world and this process will go on ad infinitum. according to aristotle, reality consists of two elements. these elements he termed substance and accident. he says that the substance of a thing is the very nature or essence of that thing, meanwhile, the accident is a quality which a thing has but which is not essential to the nature of that thing. in other words, it is the substance of a thing that constitutes its nature and essence, which distinguishes it from other things. for example, the substance of a man according to aristotle is his “rationality”. it is this which distinguishes him from other beings. therefore, his complexion (i.e. his colour whether black or white), his height (whether tall or short) his size (whether fat or small) are all accidents, for they are all not part of his essential nature as a human being (obeten 2016). for a human being remains a human being notwithstanding his colour, size and height. furthermore, aristotle distinguishes two types of change, namely accidental and substantial change, according to which the former is a change that does not affect the nature of a thing, for a thing remains what it is regardless of the changes taking place in it; for instance, a drop of blue ink on a piece of paper does not changes the paper from being a paper, though, the paper may undergo a change in colour. meanwhile, on the part of the latter, a substantial change is the change that affects the very nature or essence of a thing, example, a burnt paper undergoes a substantial change in that, it changes from being a paper to becoming ashes (obeten 2016). consequently, he postulated that, metaphysics is the study of substance, but, the attributes or accidents, he considered them to be of subsidiary importance. with this, aristotle places metaphysics as the most superior of the sciences. the patristic and medieval philosophers and the exaltation of theology from the second to the sixth century, the patristic period, philosophy passed from the hands of greek philosophers to those of christian thinkers who were primarily igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 106 theologians, and who hardly made any distinction between theology and philosophy. philo of alexandria, a devout jew, attempted a synthesis of the jewish religion and greek philosophy (wolfson 1948). these patristic and medieval thinkers include justine matyr, clement of alexandria, gregory of nyssa, augustine, thomas aquinas, pseudo dionysius, anselm, john scotus, etc. they strongly believed that philosophy was the handmaid of theology; philosophy was used in the service of theology, basically for clarifying and developing theological truths. thus, faith comes before reason, theology before philosophy. there was never a time in the history of philosophy when philosophy was humbled to the capacity of a maid like the medieval period. and for several centuries, even beyond a thousand years, philosophy served theology as a maid. some of these patristic and medieval theologians were neo-platonists and some others aristotelian. the neo-platonists christianized neo-platonism by giving christian interpretations to themes and concepts in neo-platonic philosophy. these concepts include: logos, creation, soul, evil, universals and particular, freedom, etc. the reasons for this movement of accommodating greek philosophy in christian theology was very necessary for obvious reasons: first, there was need to defend the christian doctrine from the gnostics and other critics (grant 1966); secondly, although the early christians were mostly unlettered people, there were a college of learned men and women among them who drank more conveniently from the bowl of philosophy (charlesworth 2006). whatever the interaction between philosophy and theology, the patristic and medieval thinkers placed theology at the top of the ladder: theology was superior to philosophy and other human disciplines. in fact, theology was the queen and mother of other disciplines. logical positivism and the exaltation of science the twentieth century logical positivism is a contemporary school of philosophy that dates back to the 19th century classical positivism. her ideas as a school developed from the thoughts of philosophers like auguste comte (1798-1857). it was auguste comte that once remarked that the human mind develops through three stages, namely, the religious stage, the metaphysical stage and the scientific stage. the religious stage he speaks of as the first or the primitive stage in the development of the human mind. at the religious stage, the human person develops a religious worldview and interprets reality from the religious perspective (kanu 2015a&b). here, the human person develops the idea of the gods and divinities. as the mind develops, it moves from the religious stage to the metaphysical stage where he tends to offer metaphysical explanations of reality. the final stage in the development of the human mind is the stage of science, when scientific explanation of reality takes igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 107 over the religious and metaphysical. human beings, thus, moves from preoccupation in the search for the ultimate causes of things to that which is empirically observable, therefore, abandoning the attempt to explain phenomena in terms of the unseen (omoregbe 1991). comte (cited by copleston 1975), writes: we believe that there are no substances, but only systems of facts. we regard the idea of substances as an ideological illusion. we consider substances, forces and all metaphysical beings of the moderns as a relic of scholastic realities. we think that there is nothing in the world but facts and laws, that is to say events and their relations... we recognize that all knowledge consists in the first instance in linking or in adding facts. (p. 114). at the base of the thinking of the logical positivist is that science as a discipline is superior to other disciplines. metaphysics, ethics, religion are considered unreasonable since they cannot be empirically verified. karl marx and the exaltation of science karl marx has followed the same path with the classical and logical positivists when he maintained that civilization has moved from the theological stage through the philosophical to the scientific stage. he regarded religion as a bourgeois attempt to feed the masses with opium, which numbs the senses from a correct perception of reality. feuer (1959) quoting karl marx says: as soon as jew and christian come to see in their respective religions more than stages in the development of the human mindsnake skins which has been cast off by history, and man as the snake who clothed himself in them – they will no longer find themselves in religious opposition. (p. 200). karl marx’s glorification of the scientific people is depicted in a painting which portrayed a man as coming out of darkness into light. science thus brought light in the midst of the darkness of mystification created by religion. the new economics of marx presupposed that when st peter meets us during the day of judgment, his only question would be: what did you do on earth to increase the gross national product. the nigeria and the exaltation of science in the 1960s, there was a mentality that gave the impression that the pure sciences were superior to arts. kalu (1980) observes that the ashby commission on higher education had, among other opinions recommended an increased pace of training in the sciences. the new nation would embark on massive industrialization and, thus, would need technologists. to boost this pursuit, science teachers were imported from igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 108 india. among the students, they made a distinction between those in the sciences and those in arts. those in the science were regarded as future leaders while those in the arts were regarded as talkatives and their discipline as ‘watery arts’. in the universities, those for arts were regarded as the bourgeoisie conservatives and those in the sciences as the bourgeoisie progressives (kanu 2015b). in the face of all these, can african philosophy make any contribution to development? igwebuike as a complementary approach to the problem of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge igwebuike is the modality of being in african philosophy. it is from the igbo composite word and metaphor igwebuike, a combination of three words. therefore, it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. the three words involved: igwe is a noun which means number or population, usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is another verb, which means strength or power. thus, put together, it means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’, that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force or strength, and at this level, no task is beyond their collective capability. igwebuike is, therefore, a philosophy of harmonization, and complementation. it understands the world immanent realities to be related to one another in the most natural, mutual, harmonious and compatible ways possible. igwebuike provides an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. as an ideology, kanu (2016a&b) opines that igwebuike rests on the african principles of solidarity and complementarity. it argues that ‘to be’ is to live in solidarity and complementarity, and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation. ‘to be’ is ‘to be with the other’, in a community of beings. it is anchored on the african worldview, which, according to iroegbu (1995) is characterized by a common origin, common world-view, common language, shared culture, shared race, colour and habits, common historical experience and a common destiny. mbiti (1970) classically proverbializes the community determining role of the individual when he writes, “i am because we are and since we are, therefore i am” (p. 108). from the perspective of igwebuike, knowledge is too wide to be captured by just a person or a school of thought or just an age or epoch; knowledge is wholistic and not perspectival. knowledge is like a big elephant; different persons, schools of thought and ages or epochs approach it from different dimensions. those who approach the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 109 ‘elephant’ from the ear would say it is a big fan, others who approach the ‘elephant’ from the legs would say it is a big stick, yet others who approach the ‘elephant’ from the tail would say it is made up of strands. when an argument ensues as to the real nature of the ‘elephant’ each of these groups of people will express itself from the angle or direction it approached the ‘elephant’, and because of their limitation to comprehend the totality of the elephant misunderstanding and self-destruction begins as each group thinks its own description is the real picture of the elephant. the problem of relegating other fields of inquiry to the background would be solved if we understand our incompleteness and the need for the other to achieve what we intend to achieve. that which we relegate to the background is always the missing link in the search for knowledge. igwebuike emphasizes that every field of human inquiry is complementary, and to complement means an ability to add something to another in order to improve it or make that which is being added to, more attractive. in this case, no field of knowledge works without the other; to arrive at truth, it must cease to be nonmonopolistic within the complementary whole. no field of human inquiry has the monopoly of knowledge but, as a unit, must complement the ideas of the other in a whole universal system of inquiry. conclusion the search for knowledge is a burden in the hearts of the seekers for the truth. it becomes easy to bear when we work together from different perspectives. when we complement each other, that which is a burden becomes a joy, and truth becomes easier to find. life is not an individual journey. everything in life serves a purpose and so does the other. life is a journey with the other, and so is knowledge a search for the truth with the other. igwebuike means that openness to the other enriches knowledge, and thus, generates a more wholistic knowledge. the consequences of relegating the other and their findings to the background could be explained with the proverbial story of the man who rubbed powder on his face and had no one to tell him what he looked like. he had the powder lumped on one side of his face like one who has just come from a native doctor. while he smiled priding himself that he was well made-up, on the contrary others laughed at him and some others looked at him with pity. if he trusted the judgment of others, they would have added value to his make-up and made him better; when thorough going empiricists said that only the sense gave knowledge, and the rationalists that only the rational constituted knowledge, they made a mess and caricature of their various positions or findings. a more wholistic philosophy would have been born if they came together and shared their knowledge about reality. their knowledge would have been balanced. the claim to superiority in the scientific community of knowledge is itself a hindrance to knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 110 references charlesworth, m. (2006). philosophy and religion: from plato to postmodernism. oxford: one world. copleston, f. (1975). a history of philosophy. london: search. feuer, l. (1959). writings of karl marx and engels. new york: doubleday. grant, r. m. (1966). gnosticism and early christianity. new york: doubleday. iroegbu, p. (1995). metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: international universities press. kalu, o. (1980). religion as a factor in national development. in e. c. amucheazi (ed.). readings in social sciences: issues in national development (pp. 307-320). enugu: fourth dimension. kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. kanu, a. i. (2016b). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 1-7. kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. augustinian: nigeria. kanu, i. a. (2015b). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. augustinian: nigeria. mbiti, j. (1970). african religions and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational publishers. obeten, o. u. (2016). aristotle’s bifurcating metaphysics and ibuanyidanda ontology. in kanu, i. a. (ed.). ibuanyidanda: a systematic complementary inquiry (pp. 152-169). germany: lambert publications. omoregbe, j. (1991). a simplified history of western philosophy: contemporary philosophy. lagos: joja educational research and publishers. omoregbe, j. (1991). a simplified history of western philosophy: ancient and medieval philosophy. lagos: joja educational research and publishers. wolfson, h. a. (1948). philo: foundations of religious philosophy in judaism and islam. cambridge: london. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 108 african philosophy of history and african philosophy of education: a critical complementarity jude i. onebunne, phd department of philosophy nnamdi azikiwe university, awka juno.anyi@gmail.com & ikechukwu anthony kanu, phd department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university, umunya, anambra state ikee_mario@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.18277.47848 abstract before now, some uninformed and disgruntled western philosophers taught and professed that africa has no history having denied them their philosophy. african philosophy, as love of african wisdom, is an offshoot from african philosophical tradition as well as part and parcel of world philosophical heritage. using the method of critical analysis, the researcher not only discovers that continental africa has a chequered history qua tale, african philosophy in her different branches and applications as african philosophy of history and african philosophy of education are applied philosophical forms and complementary courses even as african philosophy of education appreciates and delimits african philosophy of history. keywords: african, philosophy, history, education,african philosophy of history and african philosophy of education introduction our particular interest is in african philosophy of history than history of african philosophy. many african scholars have not dwelt so much in this area. some scholars are still negotiating with african philosophy of history as a course of its own even when african philosophy as a discipline of its own has come to stay amidst its branches and methodological approaches. summarily, in the chequered history of humanity especially with regard to scholarship, philosophy, presumably western philosophy, which dates to socrates and his ionian scholars of whom, unmitigated ancient history of philosophy as well as contemporary history of philosophy proved that all greek philosophy often referred to as ancient philosophy had an oriental source. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 109 obenga, t. (1990:1) reiterated this age-long hidden but necessary facts when he writes that the ancient greek philosophers “having studied in africa of pharaonic period went back to athens to philosophize”. we must note that ancient egypt, of black pharaonic era, has known to be the mother and cradle of civilization through an old inscription that read thus: thirty centuries before greeks presented an orderly conception of life, in language suggestive of a tradition already several centuries old. with regard to africa, one notes that we are dealing with philosophy that was dated alongside the oldest ancient civilization of egypt. african philosophy, therefore, existed ages before western philosophy. however, what happens along the line is the thrust of this paper within the history of african philosophy or philosophy as the straight case may be and of course, the african philosophy of history. this is only possible and currently attainable through a functional african philosophy of education. critically this paper looks at different concepts in the theme while appreciating the complementarity between african philosophy of history and african philosophy of education. continental africa, the original ancient name of africa was alkebulan meaning mother of mankind (australopithecus afarensis)while others sources translated it as garden of eden. an unprecedented dna studies have suggested that san people of southern africa (the bush men) and aboriginal australians (migrants from africa) are the world oldest human races that populated all other parts of the world. however, historians have tried to connect name africa to the continent's climate. some historians traced the word africa to greek word “aphrikē”, that is translated: “the land that is free from cold and horror”. equally some historians prefer the roman word “aprica”, meaning sunny, or the phoenician word “afar”, meaning dust. whichever connection that stands, africa is nicknamed mother continent linking one to alkebulan. geographically, african continent as the second-largest continent in the world with an area of 30.37mkm2 with five geographic regions as: north africa, west africa, east africa, central africa and south africa and has other unique geographic features with regard to the nile river (the longest river in the world), mount kilimanjaro, victoria falls, lake victoria (the largest tropical lake in the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 110 world) and the sahara desert. africa often refereed by explorers as dark continent is made up of 54 countries with more than 75 languages amidst many cultures and ethnic traditions. history, especially biblical history, attests to africa’s role in salvation history as jacobs and sons were in egypt for centuries till the exodus. jesus christ’s refuge in egypt with his parents during the massacre of herod was very significant. the exploration of africa gave room to slavery and later colonialism as well as the eventual partitioning of africa and conquest of africa by the dawn of 1900 as countries like britain, france , germany, belgium, spain, portugal and italy had the good turns establishing colonial states. however, african countries after years of colonialism and independence formed a union known as organization of african unity (oau) and now african union (au). the african union (au) is a continental organ with 55 member states that make up the countries of the african continent. on 9.9.1999, the heads of state and government of the organisation of african unity (oau, 1963-1999) issued the sirte declaration calling for the establishment of an african union. it was officially launched in 2002 as a successor to the organisation of african unity (oau). the oau, now au, was the manifestation of the pan-african vision for an africa that was united, free and in control of its own destiny in response to the aspirations of africans for brother-hood and solidarity. the guiding philosophy was that of pan-africanism which centred on african socialism and promoted by african unity, the communal characteristic and practices of african communities, and a drive to embrace africa’s culture and common heritage. this guiding philosophy ought to affect the needed education that is just african. however, one of the main objectives of the au was to rid the african continent of the remaining vestiges of colonisation and apartheid of 350years then in south africa. oau then with this formation tries to organize and cooperate for holistic development of africa by jointly move towards eradication of all forms of colonialism from africa. philosophy philosophy has come to stay as a discipline since ages. the history of philosophy, therefore, is replete with possibilities dating from the ancient time (7th century before christ: bc) etymologically: philosophy, etymologically from the greek lexicons, is philos (love) and sophia (wisdom) transliterated love of wisdom. to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 111 this point philosophy remains a human science that seeks wisdom and a personal enterprise with an unaided reason. it is a human enterprise. maritain, j., (2005, 72) maintains that philosophy is the highest of the human sciences, that is, of the sciences which know things by the natural light of reason. but there is a science above it. for if there be a science which is a participation by man of the knowledge proper to god himself, obviously that science will be superior to the highest human science. such a science, however, exists; it is theology. the word theology means the science of god. traditionally, philosophy is cognitio rerum per altissimas causas, solar rationis (science that studies all things in their ultimate and universal principle). it is scientia rerum per ultima causas, that is, knowledge of things through their ultimate causes. it’s worthy of note that neither discipline nor culture, science or arts and every form of humanities and society is devoid of philosophical influence. taking cognizance of its main branches and other applied areas, philosophy cuts across every learning and teaching to be known as mater scientia, mother of sciences or knowing. obenga, t., (1992, 5), in his philosophical discourse writes, “philosophy has nourished science. it preceded the sciences. science (physics, chemistry, mathematics, political science, aesthetics, logic, biology, sociology, etc.), was born of philosophy”. no wonder the medieval philosophers influenced by the religious innuendoes of their time, based on the chronological coincidence of medieval philosophical tradition and relationship with the figure of jesus christ and the dominating power and influence of his teachings, regarded philosophy as ancilla theologae, handmaid of theology. it is worthy of note that philosophy is as old as the homo cogitans, the thinking man. philosophy according to maritain, j., (2005, 74) is the “highest human sciences, that is, of the sciences which know things by the natural light of reason”. in the chequered history of humanity especially with regard to scholarship, philosophy, presumably western philosophy, dates to socrates and his ionian scholars of whom, ancient history as well as contemporary history, proved that all greek philosophy often referred to as ancient philosophy had an oriental source. obenga, t. (1990,1) reiterated this age-long hidden but necessary facts when he writes that the ancient greek philosophers “having studied in africa of pharaonic period went back to athens to philosophize”. we must note that ancient egypt, of black pharaonic era, has known to be the mother and cradle of civilization through an old inscription that read thus: thirty centuries igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 112 before greeks presented an orderly conception of life, in language suggestive of a tradition already several centuries old. with regard to africa, one notes that we are dealing with philosophy that was dated alongside the oldest ancient civilization of egypt. onyewuenyi, i. (1993, 21), supported this age long view of egypt’s philosophy pre-dating the greeks in his book: the african origin of greek philosophy: an exercise in afrocentricism and other african philosophers in their authorships had the same view with these titles: george, g. m. james, stolen legacy: greek philosophy is stolen egyptian philosophy. philosophy has come to stay as a human enterprise and a discipline since ages. education education derived from two latin words thus: educere as the process of leading one out of ignorance and educare as the consequent act of cultivating or leading one into knowledge. education literally means the ability to lead one out of ignorance and train or lead one into knowledge which is power. education, formal or informal, therefore has a normative implication of dealing with ignorance with all the instruments of knowledge. and the product is always discipline that is value oriented. education in this regard is a human enterprise that trains and tames the animality in human beings with rationality. education, therefore, is an all round project as it positively affects the holistic and societal development of the human person for himself and for the society. this why john dewey asserts that education is not preparation for life; education is life itself. it is a popular saying that once a book is picked, gun is dropped. this is why hugo victor says that he who opens a school door, closes a prison. education is the bed rock of every successful country. as one of the oldest industries in human history, education is the main instrument employed by the society to preserve, maintain and grapple with its social balance; hence a society’s future depends largely on the quality of her citizens’ education. education, therefore, is an instrument of change and value orientation. however, nelson mandela was credited the saying that “education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” african traditional education as against westernised colonial education europeans’ invasion and exploration of african boomed with slavery, colonization and later capital flight. africa was and has existed with vagaries of human enterprise like indigenous or traditional education and all forms of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 113 enterprising merchandise before the advent of whiteman and his cohorts started to partition and plunder africa. african traditional education was a means of transmitting ones culture from one generation to another. it remains an indigenous system of education is the training that our forefathers gave that was particularly native to every society. it is a process of bringing about a relatively permanent change in human attitude within a human society. education is a very important aspect of every society and a major determinant of how far the society can rise in progress. this is because no nation can rise above the quality of her educational system. mara, j., (2006, 2) asserts that african traditional education is aimed at inducting the members of the society into activities and mode of thought that align to the norms and values of the society. mara, j., (2006, 2) further maintains that african societies were noted for her rich cultural heritage which was preserved and transmitted from generation to generation through a system of traditional education. in line with the above assertion of j. mara the process of education in african traditional society was intimately ingrained in the social, cultural, artistic, religious and recreational life of the community. notably, the ideas of schooling and education were integrated in the traditional system. the traditional system of education incorporated the ideas of learning skill, social and cultural values as well as the norms into its purpose and method. hence, in african traditional society, the education of her progenies started at birth and continued to adulthood. african traditional system of education has been described as education that prepared one for one’s responsibilities as an adult in his home, village or tribe. notably, this form of uncelebrated and even unknown african philosophy of traditional education that was played underground was quite pragmatic and aimed at providing a gateway to the life of the community. it was based on the philosophy of productivity and functionalism, practicality and workability. it was utility based and in african traditional education, there is an end in view such that anyone who has undergone this level of education was expected to have acquired the competence and shows it in the course of his performance. african traditional education is a practical means of inculcating knowledge, skills and gaining the expected empowerment. therefore mara, j., (1998, 72) further avers that though there were few theoretical abstractions, but the main objective of african traditional education was to inculcate a sense of social responsibility of the community to the individual members, who igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 114 were becoming contributing members of the society. hence, one of the major features of traditional education was apprenticeship model of learning, whereby people learned under masters like the igbo apprenticeship system (ias) now understudy in harvard university. an online studies refers to this practise as very peculiar of african traditional system of education. the igbo apprentice system (ias)-adopted for decades by the people of southeast nigeria, also known as the igbo trade apprentice system and commonly referred to as igba-odibo (igba-boi, imu-ahia, imu-oru) has been finally approved by harvard business review (hbr) via the global attention given to it by prof. ndubuisi ekekwe. ias as an economic model has been a kind of vocational training (in trade, enterprise or vocation) of young people in adopting one form of trade or the other and as well spur economic growth within the igbo entrepreneurial spirit of the ogas. the african traditional system of education, therefore, a process by which every society attempts to preserve and upgrade the accumulated knowledge, skills and attitude in its cultural setting and heritage to foster continually the well-being of mankind. the foremost focus on african vocational education was the preparation of african child for his or her responsibilities in the community. traditional african education is ‘the bush school’ the trains the young ones in preparation for different walks of life via their age grade or during initiation ceremony into different phases of life or the other. african traditional education informally exposed and initiates one into african culture, tradition, values, norms, and skills on how to be lively and practicable. sadly, we are losing the warmness of africa and the curriculum have not helped in restoring this warmness. traditional educational system was later replaced by the colonized western philosophy of education. colonialism would have been the best for african nation states, if it has been a form of tutoring or mentoring so as to bring out the best in africans for africa, who then would be complaining? the effects of colonialism seem to be double-age-sword. there is positive side of the coin with regard to introduction of formalized system of education, advent of christianity and economic perspectives. negatively, colonial education rubs african her being thereby trying to recreate an african person into an european maroon. ezeani, e (2013, 22) quoted a briton, lord macaulay’s minutes on education on the aim of their colonial education in the colonies of africa thus: “to train at least a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 115 class of persons indian (or africans) in blood but english in opinion, in morals and intellect”. such was behind whatever informed the colonizers and their education for africans even with regard to french policy of assimilation. in this process, every africa and her black nature became fake and original and must be westernized or europeanized. such education in the end estranged african man from his environment and his very person. as ezeani, e., (2013, 23) lamented: “for a good number of africans, adoption of anything foreign is a mark of onye ma ife (educatedness or civilized person) as this is interpreted to be a symbol of education…education became associated with memorization of western knowledge and culture”. by this we become inferior to them losing our sense of worth. but this was not what education ought to be. it ought to be integrally holistic and sums up every facet of the societal life. ezeani, e. (2013, 25) continuing laments thus: “one of the most serious negative impacts of colonial education on africa is de-africanization of africa-a process which dispossessed the people of their culture, values, languages and human dignity.” what then remains of an african person? unfortunately africa is yet to recover from the white-man’s plundering of and the consequent capital flight from africa in the name of colonization after years of slavery. african still suffers the stolen legacies and the inherent indoctrinization that everything black is evil alongside the confusion in our founding fathers that were trained in european mentality and clothed with colonial garb to witch-hunt their brother-africans. why colonial education instead of african education? as far back as 1933carter g. woodson has published the miseducation of the negro. is the nigeria amalgamation of 1914 not a hoax but an unholy alliance between the jihadist of othman dan fodio and the colonial master on how to share nigeria peacefully without war? till now, 2022ad, many african countries are still paying uncompromised allegiance with financial obeisance and socioeconomic cum political dependence to the countries that colonized and gave them the much lauded independence especially with regard to country like france where most critical issues of her colonized countries are still being decided by them. what of nigeria where the british influence is still depended on? most of the political quagmires in this country are orchestrated in britain. the pessimistic effects of the colonial system of education in african are closely associated with the aims of the colonizers as stated in the refereed lord macaulay’s (a briton) minutes on education. for them therefore, their education for us was ‘’to train at least a class of persons indian (or african) in blood but igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 116 english in opinion, morals and intellect.’’ it was a theoretical than practical oriented, that is, a form of entrepreneurship. french colonies applied same inhuman methodology in view of recreating persons who are africans in blood, but french in opinion, morals and intellect. such were britain’s and french policies of assimilation explicitly intended to be accomplished. their pattern of colonization of african required that africans should discard their own worldview and adopt that of their almighty colonial masters be it of english, portuguese, french, spanish or the arab world. hence, the instrument of their teaching or education was for them the most efficient for their plan to be accomplished. its disheartening that some african countries like nigeria is still bedeviled with western philosophy of education than african or even nigerian philosophy of education. eberechukwu boc, (2018, 128-145) enunciated that the colonial masters gave us 1882 education ordinance which was later replaced with 1887 education ordinance, 1916 education ordinance, 1920-1922 phelps-stokes commission on education in africa(which first commission to consider africa in their decisions), 1925 memorandum on education in british colonial territories and the consequent 1926 education act and erj hussey’s 1930 education reorganisation with official opening of yaba higher college in 1934. th elliot commission of 1943(june) and asquith commission of 1943 (august) promoted higher learning in colonial regions especially in nigeria with university college ibadan. still with regard to education in nigeria and africa in general, uba,, r. i. (2018, 194-205) explains that the development of education system started with 86-2-3 system of education unto 6-5-2-3 system of education through 6-3-3-4 system of education and presently 9-3-4 system of education. the whole scenario shows a dependent education based on western philosophy. however, the directorate of education, an organ of au in her mission statement agrees to a responsibility of contributing towards responsive educational systems for africa thus: “to contribute towards revitalized, quality, relevant, and harmonized education systems responsive to the needs of africa… systems that produce africans with appropriate attitudes, values, knowledge and skills to facilitate attainment of the au vision; systems that generate applied and new knowledge…. placing africa firmly within the core of the global knowledge economy”. hence, there are other steering committees like continental educational strategy for africa cesa 16-25 with their “ten year continental education strategy (cesa) presented to the ministers for adoption is a response igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 117 to the au agenda 2063. it is in line with the global education 2030 programme and contributes to the achievement of objective 4 of the sdgs. cesa 16-25 calls for a paradigm shift towards transformative education and training systems to meet the knowledge, competencies, skills, research, innovation and creativity required to nurture african core values and promote sustainable development”. equally, pan-african institute for education for development (iped), is a specialized institution of the african union, tasked with the responsibility to function as africa’s education observatory ensuring quality, responsive and inclusive education development in africa. likewise, there is education management information systems (emis). emis is very crucial and most decisive area of focus in education development in africa. these are efforts by africans via au to give africa an african education with an attendant and proper and fitting philosophy. it’s time to realise that africa is a beautifully attractive continent with great many human and natural resources. of course, africa has been very attractive to the west world and that has given chance to exploration. expanding this idea, an eloquent kenyan lawyer, erudite orator prof. patrick loch otieno lumumba (2019), has this to say about the ever attractiveness of africa in one of his intriguing speeches, what an interesting long quote thus: “africa has always remained attractive. all through the ages, she has always been attractive. it was attractive to the portuguese and even to the spanish… it is so attractive that every two years the japanese call our leaders to japan. that is how attractive she is. it is so attractive that the germans also invited our leaders to berlin. her attraction also caught the eyes of the arabs as they invited them to doha”. however, plo lumumba was very articulate to question their continued invitation to africans. why haven’t they invited latin american countries or arab countries? it is only africans who have been always invited severally. is it a bad thing? but, why african countries only? it is a truism that they always use us to their advantage. complimenting the beauty of africa, moreover he says: “when i look at africa and see how attractive she is, one word comes to mind globalisation. when they talk about globalization, they talk about it as if it were new. africans were once globalized as a commodity in the slave market, we were sold everywhere in the world, that was globalization. then we were globalized again through colonization. then, again, through neo-colonization. now we are being globalized again in the context of opening our markets… so we are being told to open our markets and when we did you know what happens? out textile industries died. the dye textile industry we knew about in kaduna, nigeria, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 118 died. our cotton industries died. our sugar industries died. the answer to why africa is so attractive is simple: economic gains” nevertheless, we must know that no nation develops beyond her quality of her educational system. historically, if africa must still develop beyond the contemporary obstructive shackles and glaring chains of the western world as well as the existing momentous vicious circle of underdevelopment, she needs her own philosophy of education that is pertinent to her culture, circumscriptive of her worldview and very typical of her age-long academic quagmire as well as her educational problematiques. african development simply rests more on well defined mapped-out africanized curriculums and a functional african philosophy of education that is african appreciation of history the history (from greek historia) meaning learning by inquiry. it is knowledge acquired by inquiry or enquiry and investigation or research. history, therefore, is the study of any documented past. history as a term that comprises of past events as expressed through memory and discovery through collection, organization, presentation, and interpretation of those aggregates of facts or past events. history as academic discipline thrives on the knowledge of past using historical sources with proper investigative analysis. history differs from mere stories, cultural heritages, myths as its content can be reached as something happened in the past as such. this is why history as history can be taught or written down. history is, therefore, primarily a record of past events and times, as it concerns human enterprise. history studies man and his actions, decisions and behaviours. history generally as osuagwu, i. m., (1999, 19) opines “evokes the statics of time(date),and space (places), of events, ideas, doctrines, contexts and their authors”. man by nature is a historical being and of course, remains at the centre of history, that is, often independent of him. man's historicity or a historical being means man's ongoing work to conquer the world for the good of humanity as such. by this fact, man remains a product of history. this means that men often make their own history. this is why history repeats itself. history like a fashion is the repetition of antiquity. history, therefore, is a handmaid of life and living. if you must live well in the present you must be conscious of the past which will give credence to the future. according to iroegbu, p., (1994, 33) “to be historicized is to take into account constructively and reconstructively, the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 119 lessons of the past, on it to build the present and from the present to galvanize a good future. it is to realize that the particular makes the global relevant, and that the global makes the particular fully meaningful”. the concept of history, therefore, plays a fundamental role in human thoughts and activities. however, osuagwu, i m.,(1999, 19) maintains that “in studying philosophy, history is an important problem and project, an inevitable or categorical imperative.this claim is formally evident in philosophy, in its history of philosophy or its philosophy of history”. for him, therefore, no discussion in african philosophy is relevant and meaningful without historical approach. african philosophy african philosophy traditionally is knowledge of african realities and african realisms in their englobing universal principles. in contemporary times, african philosophy is primarily a discipline and secondarily a movement. it is more of a movement as it tries to reclaim its position as a discipline within the world philosophical heritage. it is, therefore, fundamentally a disciplinary movement as it tries to rediscover itself within the world philosophical heritage and equally establish itself as such. in lato sensu, african philosophy is that branch of knowledge that grew from african philosophical tradition as a philosophy done within and without continental african for humanity as a human enterprise with regard to authorship, scholarship and literature. moreover, the adjective african qualifies the noun philosophy and beyond delimiting it, it expands such critical enquiry on the far side of just african. in stricto sensu, it is that course that is african and philosophical within the limits of africanity and philosophicality or africanness and philosophicalness. moreover, as a discipline, it is the love of african wisdom, that is, philos africana sophia. iroegbu, p. was very premier in giving this succinct definition. in this definition one can read a kind of defence as regards african philosophy. this is why for iroegbu, p., african philosophy is a philo-sophia, a quest for african wisdom. african philosophy, therefore, is scientia rerum per ulima causas within african realities. it is the search for the unaided authentic human knowledge that is philosophical and african. it is the habit of every wise and reasonable african man. consequently, african philosophy as a movement is a clarion invitation by bob marley’s redemptive insinuation to “emancipate yourselves from mental slavery…non but ourselves can free our mind”. his redemption song demands a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 120 total breakaway from the stereotype innuendoes that philosophy is the prerogative of the west therefore questioning directly our human nature as homo sapiens and homo cogitans as well as animal rationalis. as a movement, african philosophy, rooted in and springing from african philosophical tradition, is a cursory look into the problematiques and prospects of africa as part of the world philosophical heritage. as a movement, african philosophy is an effort at recovering all lost status as result of the stolen legacies with regard to philosophy and its origin. as a movement, african philosophy searches for the authentic knowledge that is philosophy and african within and or outside the african cultural world-view. therefore, a definitive-thoughtful interpretation and critical analysis of the symbols of african cultures would be african philosophy qua tale. more so, a reflection with profound application of criticality, analyticity and originality on african thoughts and cultures will give credence to philosophy and rightly put, african philosophy. however, rather than western philosophy of western philosophical tradition and her philosophy which started with wonder, african philosophy according to jonathan chimakonam opted that african philosophy started with onuma, that is, having been frustrated by the colonialism and racialism and other bumps of african predicaments orchestrated by many years of doubt its historical existence, greatly shrouded in controversies and submerged in conspiracies of lies, africans lately woke up to rediscover the truth about philosophy and the western connection. therefore, as a movement, african philosophy started out of frustration by many lies against africans literary disposition. however, such profundity in the critical appreciation of african cultural worldviews make veritable moments for african philosophy. with the methodological moment and proper hermeneutics, one can dependably and realistically infer that african philosophy is philosophy with african source and is nourished from african culture as its cultural reservoir and primary critical nourishment. okere, t., (1983, 58-79) was the primus interpares in asserting authoritatively that culture is the foundation of philosophy by hermeneutically engaging paul ricoeur extensively on the existing relationship between culture and philosophy thus, “it is by interpreting the symbols of a culture that one can arrive at reflexion, philosophy.” okere, t. opines that ricoeur defines reflexion as the connection between the comprehension of signs or symbols and selfcomprehension. in a methodical process from culture to philosophy, the movement from symbols to reflective thought, ricoeur proposes three stages, or levels of interpretation: the phenomenological stage, the hermeneutical stage and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 121 the reflexive stage.thus for ricoeur, one can philosophise from culture, or at least from those elements of culture that can be called symbols. african philosophy is philosophy as it is done in and for africa and others. it is a by-product of human enterprise on people’s culture. it is a philosophical tradition that is african within the mainstream of philosophy as a systematic study. african philosophy is the critical and universalizing interpretation of the culture and the worldview of african people by philosophers within and outside african continent. it is philosophy done within african philosophical tradition designating the corpus of african philosophical writings. however, african philosophy, like other philosophical traditions, has an historical development along the path of human consciousness, critically encountering their realities. this is against some philosophers’ views and philosophical currents trying to demean and oppose the existence of african philosophy. african philosophy, therefore, is a systematic study within the limits of the africanity of philosophy and philosophicality of african realities and heritage. osuagwu, i. m., (1999, 28) in his criteria for the scientific philosophicality and scientific africanity of african philosophy was apt to note thus: “african philosophy is at the same time african and philosophical. in and by these terms, we are searching, on the one hand, for the genuine philosophicality, i.e., formal scientific philosophy, of the said african enterprise, and on the other hand, for the authentic scientific africanity of that scientific philosophy. these two basic scientific criteria make african philosophy to bear the characteristics marks of its particularity and universality”. amidst all sorts of bizarre and false ideas on the capability of african man to philosophize, questioning the depth of their philosophy, one can boast of african philosophical scholarship as well as african authorship. however, iroegbu, p., (1994, 116) an optimistic contemporary philosopher was very apt in defining african philosophy as: “the reflective inquiry into the marvels and problematics that confront one in african world, in view of producing systematic explanation and sustained responses to them. it is an inquiry with two aspects: philosophical and african”. in the above definition one can read a kind defence of african philosophy against being labelled mere folk, cultural or ethno-philosophy. the background at the time of this definition has to do with questioning and giving the possibility of african philosophy with regard to historicity and methodology. this is why for iroegbu, p., african philosophy is a philo-sophia, a quest for african wisdom. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 122 however, iroegbu was academically astute enough to reiterate that “african philosophy is philosophy done in an african context…the different aspects and complexities of existence that challenge him as an african person. in this respect, every philosophy is contextual philosophy”. by this very act, i strongly add that every philosophy to worth the salt is ethno-philosophical, relatively cultural and appropriately traditional to the philosopher. alluding to this iroegbu, p., (1994, 122) was vehemently bent on this general understanding of philosophy as: the global participation of all realities and entities in the general fact and understanding of being as being whether in african, asian or western philosophy. summarily, iroegbu, p. (1994, 122) gave ten areas of any contextual or ethno-philosophical basic foundation for genuine philosophical enterprise thus: geo-environmental, socio-cultural, episteme, mythico-religious, politicalmoral, historic, ethnic–linguistic, existential, phenomenologico-pragmatical and ontological. for iroegbu, p, therefore, these philosophical concepts alone “are what we generally call the african philosophical philosophemena: raw materials for philosophical reflection, questioning, responses, analysis and eventual synthesis”. history of african philosophy osuagwu, i.m. (1999, 19) maintains that “there are many european and even african scholars for whom no true black african science and history of philosophy exist.” history of philosophy is so much important that osuagwu, i.m. (1999, 19) reiterates: in studying philosophy, history is an important problem and project, an inevitable or categorical imperative. this claim is formally evident in philosophy, in its history of philosophy and its philosophy of history. from this perspective, every regional philosophy must be appreciated, evaluated from its history. african philosophy is no exception to this basic rule. being hotly controverted, misrepresented and misunderstood, african philosophy can hardly be properly taught besides its history. the best way to begin teaching or studying african philosophy is thus to take the historical approach. history takes our minds down the memory lane, in retrospection as in re-presentation and prospection of the main issues. african philosophy an offshoot of african philosophical tradition as part of the world philosophical heritage has an interesting history which has been thwarted or hidden or overlooked over the years probably in response to hegel’s overstatement that africa ha no history. from hegel’s perspectives, africa is said igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 123 to be unhistorical with undeveloped spirit, hence he identified only four historical worlds as: oriental, greek, roman and german. based on this audacious uninformed claimed hegel simply justified europe's enslavement and colonization of africa. even though hegel's philosophy of history may be the most fully developed philosophical theory of history in a dialectical intelligible process, attempting to discover directional meaning in history as movement in time as well as the realization of human freedom, the place of african at that point in time was unquestionable. oblivious of this atrocious presentation of africa as savage barbaric by hegel, osuagwu, i.m. (1999, 22) submits thus: african philosophy and its history must be given strict disciplinary or scholarly consideration being both a scientific and cultural activity, african philosophy has its own authentic history down ages. african history of philosophy is an existential, call it an ontological, memorial [anamnesis] of the ways our scholarly ancestors thought and lived life through, the way they attempted to understand and master themselves and their world. in this perspective. africa has a history. philosophy equally has a history not far from african history as the mother of mankind and cradle of civilization.time has come for us africans (with our black skin that has given room to world structural inequalities) to question few things with regard to who we are and what is happening around us. in spite of the rare privilege of africa being the cradle and mother of civilization of all civilizations and the much lauded independence, africa still, in this 21st century, struggles to survive independently, sociopolitical and economic wise. the contemporary and continued scramble for africa leaves every good thinking human being with lot of questions with regard to african coming of age to be (amidst the inherent racism and once-in-awhile resurgence of white supremacy). as africans, who are still battling with unfathomable crisis of development and poor educational policies, we need a form of education that is well informed by african philosophy of education that is valued oriented and morally based, to be formally taught in our schools. hence, african environment emphasizes greatly the quest for change in the african educational system. she needs a functional education that is ad rem to the the existing situation. there is a clarion call for reafricanisation of africa for effective development, liberation and empowerment of educational aspiration thereby limiting the possibility of having cultural freaks igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 124 or social misfits as educational products. this is very pertinent, especially in our time, when there seems to be general clear gross loss of common sense, crass reign of poverty of thought, glaring show of transvaluation of values and abysmal collapse of morals. if our educational system is well articulated on the proper and healthy ideology of african philosophy of education, it will definitely ensure a return to a sound education with great premium on discipline, character and value orientation and formation. continental africa is unfortunate with regard to socioeconomic development cum political leadership. the western world, that is, the global north interference in african continues socio-politically cum economically. they interfered in our cultural orientations as well as traditional institutions all in the name of colonization and continue with capital flight and payment for the colonization amidst debt management which many african countries have been lured into. however, from another angle, if you wish to destroy a people, try and destroy their language and then their culture. that’s what the colonisers perfectly did to africans. how can we have african science and the corresponding african technology outside african language with proper and basic african philosophy and african philosophy of education? how can africa develop without her culture and her language? since we have been decultured, is there any hope that our philosophy that guarantees our education will thrive amidst other philosophical traditions? technological advancements and scientific prowess adopt and hear any language for functional development. world inequality today, that is, world division between global south and global north exists because during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries some nations were able to take advantage of the industrial revolution and the technologies and methods of organization that it brought while others were unable to do so. technological change is only one of the engines or features of development, but perhaps, it is the most critical one. the countries or states that did not take or have the advantage of new technologies did not benefit from other engines or features of development. again, the question or idea of development in the global south has been characterized by the western notion or pattern of development. claude ake observes that; the type of development which the bulk of african countries are seeking is in essence one that makes the industrialized western countries the model of development, so that the african country engaged in the quest for development is really trying to fashion itself after the image of the west. therefore, the thrust of the work is on development in the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 125 global south and to find out what are the challenges they experience now. the work will primarily look at the origin of the concept global south, development, imperialism, developmental theories and call for new international economic order (nieo) among others. the history of african philosophy must necessarily take us back to its remotest starting point in ancient times, years before the known greek philosophy especially to the pharaonic period of egypt and that of north africa. through the methodological moments of deconstruction, reduction, reconstruction and construction we are to rediscover philosophy that is of world heritage but branded otherwise. in this view, the onuma or frustration of chiamakonam may have chanced the african philosophy of later periods notably medieval era down to contemporary period but not the ancient history of the existence of philosophy in africa. it’s no more disputable that african philosophy of the ancient preceded ancient greek philosophy. historians especially of greek scholarship like herodotus (484-425bc), diogenes laertius (3ad) and proclus (410-485ad) attest to the existence of african intellectual culture before the birth of greek intellectual hegemony. st. augustine (354-430ad) a great medieval african philosopher according to osuagwu, m.i. (1999:83) amply testifies to the great antiquity, historicity, philosophical scientificity and africanity of ancient egyptian wisdom in city of god (chapters 38-42) that egyptian philosophy antedated and inspired greek philosophy. one, therefore, wonders the level of intellectual dishonesty on why many european authors like (hegel and hume) forgot or neglected these important testimonies. african philosophy of history philosophy of history is a practical than speculative philosophy. african philosophy of history is an applied practical philosophy. it is an application of philosophical principles on history. those who use the term african philosophy of history typically use it to refer to work within the field of general philosophy. african philosophy of history is a reasoned inquiry into the nature of history. in this regard, african philosophy of history by this singular definition follows a kind of dictates of reason and in hegelian philosophical terminology, it is natural progress of history due to the the outworking of absolute spirit. hegel begins by distinguishing three methods or modes of doing history: original history (herodotus and thucydides mere historical records), reflective history (critical igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 126 reflection on temporal issues) and philosophical history (the true way defining and characterizing the manifestation of geist or the absolute spirit). iroegbu, p., (1995, 196) maintains that for hegel, the coordination of the progress and vagaries of beings, even historical beings, rationally and entirely is located in the concept of geist translated as spirit, mind, muo…which is synonymous with being, reality, dasein, truth. continuing iroegbu, p., (1995, 196) maintains that this geist “is being this being is, so to stay, ontologically incarnated in the geist. the totality of reality for hegel is self-realizing conscious geist. the geist is involved in a formidable dialetical movement out of, and back to, itself”. this dialectical movement is in three moments of thesis, antithesis and synthesis. this accounts for all the dialectical construction of all the aspects of reality as a manifestation of geist or reality. the geist is, therefore, akin to the culture of people, and is constantly reworking itself to keep up with the changes of society, while at the same time working to produce those changes. hegel tries to consider the events of history in terms of universal reason manifesting reality at different levels of existence. however, the history of philosophy is a demonstration of this climax-point of absolute knowing. the present philosophies are an embodiment and apex of past philosophies. african philosophy of history is an expected effort by african philosophers to sometimes have in turn their attention to efforts in examining history itself and the nature of historical knowledge. such reflections as these bordering on the nexus of human experience while paying attention can be regarded african philosophy of history towards the realization of authentic human freedom.through hermeneutics of events past. the african philosophy of history with methodological moments must pay attention to the network harvard business of experience, memory, and history. this idea of african philosophy of history tallies with contextualizing human nature which is a mere historical product. to this extent, african philosophy of history contextualizes history with a form of directionality borrowing from dialectical movement finding meaning in life as an entity sustained and occasioned in history as a movement of events from the present to past through the future. just like african philosophy, african philosophy of history needs to readjust to methodological moments of african historical deconstruction, african historical construction and african historical reconstruction so as to worth the salt. its quite shocking that many scholars like hegel and other uninformed scholars like him denied africans and african igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 127 philosophy on the ground of historicality. but martin heidegger maintained that basically dasein is characterized by being a historical being. for martin heidegger this historical-being, man, branches according to him into historicality, temporality destiny, dread, being-towrads-death, conscience and care. the historicity of man is proved in that man’s existence in the world is an existence in time. there is, therefore, a relatedness between man and his environment. hence, he is a being-in-the-world which is the actual definition of his person as a beingin-history, that is, a historical being. in this line of thought, therefore, man goes on to conquer and transform the world leading to all levels of civilization. history is as such history because of man’s relatedness and consciousness to the world with all his activities. heidegger, m., remains of the opinion that man can only find his existence through history in a more meaningful way. that is to say that "a more primordial datum to be considered before man can be understood as a historical being is that man is himself a historicity." according to iroegbu, p., (1995, 228) human beings are dotted with certain historico-existential conditions. so, for iroegbu, p., (1995, 228) then “while historie means the normal scientific study of history. historicality for heidegger, m. (being and time, nos. 20-30, 130-175,180-280, 373-387) is the essential quality of a being as historical; a history that incarnatedly happens. history, therefore, gives dasien its character in the sense of constituting it in its past, for the present, in view of the future”. the word historie refers to attempts or efforts of historians to account only for those facts or events that have meaning to us. so, the understanding of man as a historical being should be juxtaposed with an understanding of man as a temporal being. man's historicity, therefore, means man's ongoing work to unveil the world so that the world can become more habitable to him and the whole human race. african philosophy of education education is a very important aspect of every society and a major determinant of how far the society can rise in developmental progress and otherwise. this is because no nation can rise above the quality of her educational system. quite dauntingly, educational system in nigeria lacks consistency and implementable philosophy. it is so disheartening that today, amidst the lingering system that has been in place over the years, there are unchecked imported educational systems that are foreign to african world-view starting with montessori and chinese educational system. education in this regard is people oriented and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 128 therefore culture bound as it affects the way of life of the people. as african people, we need african education and proper philosophy backing it. philosophy of education is an applied philosophy. it is an application of philosophical principles and a kind of intelligent questioning on teaching methodologies and learning principles as depicted in every field of education per se. it is within the proper limits of philosophy of education, therefore, to define the appropriate boundaries of the curriculum and its content development with regard to teaching and learning. it is an indubitable fact of reality that no nation rises above the quality of her educational system. the quality of any educational system is within the bounds of curriculum. it is, therefore, with the limits of philosophy of education to delineate the content of curriculum with which the teacher teaches and what the pupils or students learn. ezeani, e. (2013) summarizes it thus: “in philosophy of education, philosophy is a tool with which to examine education, its nature, its aims and its relevance in a given society. it also helps in the formulation of educational content or curriculum”. it is now pertinently clear that we need a system of education that is african for africans. in line with this, willis, d. in the book: a philosophy of education for african nations writes: “as independent nations with self governance for over 50years in many cases, african government must be held accountable for the content and the philosophy of education with which their young people, who are future leaders, are provided. the buck stops with the african governments”. it is so sad to note that most philosophy of education in african is adopted from and still dated to the yore-days of the colonial masters. their educational system disfavor our entire societal life and indigenous languages and they never took cognizance of our mother tongue thereby gave us a monolingual educational system which ezeani, e. (2013) would have recommended thus: “for there is no doubt that a bilingual african child is linguistically richer and sociometrically and psychologically healthier than his or her monolingual counterpart. many african countries are in these shackles of ignorance in their educational system”. africa as a continent is very peculiar. her peculiarity has to do with the blessings of her natural and human resources alongside her privileged opportunity of being the mother and cradle of civilization. african education a must be acknowledged as part of world educational heritage as such, hence the need for a functional philosophy. african philosophy of education is most ad rem for the nations in developmental crisis after these years of slavery, colonization, and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 129 continued capital flow. such an african philosophy of education will definitely address and attend to african problems from african point of view. this is why african philosophy of education, as an applied discipline, is the application of african critical wisdom and other african philosophical issues on african education as a process of leading one out of ignorance and consequently leading same person into knowledge. african philosophy of education is for credible african education. in this line of thought mbakela and luthuli in ezeani, e., (2013: 15) opines that “african philosophy of education…has to do with reflecting upon, analyzing and criticizing the current african situation and education system”. as a developing nation state and continent of global south, africa needs a kind of education that will confront their realities amidst other nations of the world. this is why african philosophy education should be dynamically progressive and enthusiastically historical, developmental in scope and apologetic in style as it exposes africans to their past glory and assures them of a prospective future in view of exploring the world. african philosophy of education must borrow heavily from african philosophy as reiterated above. for iroegbu, p., (1994), however, african philosophy is a philo-sophia, a quest for african wisdom. african philosophy of education is a minor philosophia, an african quest for african wisdom. it is an african critical thinking on education as a process of teaching and learning formally and informally. african philosophy of education is a discipline done in an african context with different aspects and complexities of teaching and learning amidst challenges as an african person. in this respect, african philosophy of education is a contextual education. conclusion african philosophy as a discipline has greatly occasioned african philosophy of history alongside african philosophy of education. the critical complementarity is envisaged as long as african philosophy of education delineates african philosophy of history trying to straighten african history beyond a-historical continent through a continent with history of mere predicaments unto a continent in progressive history. african philosophy of education, nevertheless, is aimed at enhancing the african world-view which should evidently be seen in the development of curriculum, implementation of those african which will in turn build the authentic personality of the african person. development is the level of man’s consciousness to his environment. african philosophy of education in recent time pictures the three cs that the europeans came with igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 130 which are, colonization, christianization and commercialization. in the same vein, curriculum introduced to african school was such that reflected these major aims. african philosophy of education should now be for africans for the world. reference african union.https://au.int/en/overview0. retrieved 12/09/2020 eberechukwu boc the colonial government and education in nigeria in okafor ps and igwe pk eds, historical perspective in nigerian education. onitsha; perfect image publishers. ezeani, emefiena. 2013. a philosophy of education for african nations 2nd edition. london: veritas lumen publishers. heidegger, m. being and time, nos. 20-30, 130-175,180-280, 373-387. iroegbu, p., 1995. enwisdomization and african philosophy, (owerri: international university press). iroegbu, p., 1995. metaphysics: kpim of philosophy. owerri: international university press. iroegbu, p., 1994. enwisdomization and african philosophy, (owerri: international university press. maritain, j., 2005. an introduction to philosophy. new york : continuum. mara, john. k. 2006. ‘the virtues and challenges of traditional african education’ in journal of pan african studies. vol. 1, no4 june 2006 (15-24). mara, john. k. 1998. pan african education: the last stage of educational development in africa. new york: edwin mellen. obenga, t., 1990. african philosophy: the pharaonic period, 2780-330bc. paris: l’ harmattan. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 131 okere,t. i., 1983. african philosophy: a historico – hermeneutical investigation of the conditions of its possibility, lanham: university of american press. osuagwu, i. m., 1999. a contemporary history of african philosophy, amamihe lecture series, vol. iv. enugu: snaap press ltd. osuagwu, .i. m., 1999. african historical reconstruction. owerri: assumpta press ltd. osuagwu, .i. m., 2001. early medieval history of african philosophy, amamihe lectures, vol.ii. enugu: snaap press ltd.. plo mulumba. https://chinaafricaproject.com/analysis/why-chinese-andu-s-stakeholdersshould-listen-carefully-to-what-plo-lumumbahas-to-say/. dec. 10, 2019 plo mulumba. https://www.quora.com/what-do-you-love-about-africa. retrieved 28/06/2020 uba rita i., nigerian educational sysytem from independence and evolution of junoir secondary education in okafor ps and igwe pk eds, historical perspective in nigerian education. onitsha; perfect image publishers, p. 194-205. https://www.legit.ng/1412622-igbo-apprenticeship-system-finallyapproved-by-harvardbusiness-review.html 20 durkheimian social solidarity theory and prevention of suicidal behaviours among students of obafemi awolowo university, ile ife osho, olusegun samuel university of ibadan, ibadan, oyo state pst4sam@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.10003.90409 abstract suicidal behaviour is currently becoming a social and health problem affecting the overall wellbeing of students in most of the tertiary institutions in nigeria especially the southwestern region of the country. previous studies on prevention of suicidehave been largely from medical, religious and counselling perspectives with insignificant attention paid to how to apply durkheim's social solidarity theory to curb prevalence of suicide among university undergraduates. the aim of this paper is to shed light on how durkheimian theory of social solidaritycan be applied to curb the prevalence of suicide among students of obafemi awolowo university, ile-ife, osun state which is also applicable to other nigerian universities.data were collected through an in-depth oral interview from the unit head of guidance and counselling unit of the division of student affairs of obafemi awolowo university who attends to cases of suicide among the students while 3 other staff members who are charged with the responsibility of handling suicide cases were equally interviewed. data were descriptively analysed in sociological context.the research work found out that the underlying cause of suicide among the students of obafemi awolowo university, ile-ife was family disruption or dysfunction. durkheim's theory of social solidarity presupposes that social support, cooperation and love can encourage students to have hope and positive mind when going through life stresses which mostly resulted to suicide. keywords: social solidarity, suicide, durkheim, obafemi awolowo university, ile-ife introduction suicide, as a mental, social and public health phenomenon is becoming a global concern in recent times due to its increase at an alarming rate. the upsurge in suicide rate all over the world especially among students of tertiary institutions calls for serious attention from different stakeholders in the society (gibbons & studer, 2008). okoedion and okolie (2019:51) posit that “suicide is one of the most serious social and public health problems in the world as it is currently the third leading cause of death for youths between the ages of 15 and 30 years. youth suicidal behaviour has continued to be a significant national problem in need of urgent attention by nigeria government.” suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people aged 1544 years, and ranks second for adolescents between ages 15 and 19 years old (alabi et al, 2015). “students in nigerian tertiary institutions are more susceptible to committing suicide compared to other groups in general population”.(nyorere, james & patricia, 2020:922). people in this age bracket has increased rate of suicide because it is filled with ambition, life pursuit and stress (hogan, 2001). wanyoike (2015) discovered that the rate of suicide among university students in kenya has increased greatly. she found out that depression as a psychological causative factor and social igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 21 pressure as a sociological causative factor rank 39% and 10% respectively among the students. similarly, loneliness takes 10% of the cause of suicide among university students in kenya. th thaccording to who, using age-standardized approach, nigeria ranked 15 in the world and 7 in africa (while lesotho tops the chart in africa) in 2016 estimates with suicide rate of 17.3 per 100,000 people (who, 2016). in nigeria, suicide rate among students of tertiary institutions between 2015-2021 has skyrocket to an unprecedented level in which hardly was there any month without a media report of a student committing suicide. according to omigbodun et al, (2008) adolescents in nigeria are among the set of people who have the highest suicidal ideation and attempts. this, according to them, has far reaching negative implications for adolescents who are known to be the potential nation builders and leaders of tomorrow. according to a local newspaper “daily trust”, students top the list of 42 nigerians who st ndcommitted suicide in 6 months in the 1 and 2 quarters of 2019. 11 out of the 42 nigerians were students in which 15 of the total 42 suicide victims drank 'sniper', a local poisonous chemical substance for mortalising rats and for agricultural purpose (mac-leva et al, 2019). the leading cause of suicide among the youth is depression arising from frustrations as a result of life difficulties such as academic failure, low selfesteem, poor financial status, rejection, relationship break-up, family problems among others. according to the list of 35 suicide cases in nigeria tertiary institutions between 2019 and 2021compiled by the writer, obafemi awolowo university had the highest cases of suicide as reported in various national dailies (nigerian national dailies, 2019-2021). hence, this paper aims at applying durkheim's social solidarity theory to curb the prevalence of suicidal behaviours among the students of obafemi awolowo university, ile-ife, osun state, nigeria. students in any nation are potential nation builders and as such are the bedrock of the nation and their mental and physical health need to be monitored and taken care of. research methodology structured and unstructured in-depth oral interview was employed. reliable information on the incidence of suicide among the students through an in-depth oral interview was gathered from the head of guidance and counselling unit of the division of student affairs who handles every case of attempted suicide. the writer also interviewed head of department of mental health and medicine who handles treatment and rehabilitation of students who attempted suicide. to substantiate the information gathered from the two above, he also interviewed one of the senior staff members in the division of student affairs and a professor from the department of material science and engineering. the data gathered from this oral interview was descriptively analysed. scholarly materials were equally consulted. suicide: a conceptual clarification etymologically, the word suicide is derived from two latin words: “sui” (of oneself) and “cidium” (killing) and can thus be defined as the deliberate killing of oneself (casr, 2015). suicide is defined by the centre for disease control (cdc, 2013) as: “death caused by selfdirected injurious behaviour with any intent to die as a result of the behaviour”. according to dzurgba (2005:65), “suicide is an act in which someone kills himself or causes himself to die”. to albert et al (2006), “suicide is the deliberate taking of one's life.” in another similar view, “suicide is the intentional taking of one's own life or the failure, when possible, to save oneself when death threatens” (cavan, 1965). world health organisation (who) defines suicide as the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 22 act of deliberately killing oneself. literature review assessment of risk factors and its effective reduction or elimination is a precursor to diminishing the incidence of suicide (hogan, 2001:268). the complex nature of suicide make many scholars suggest various prevention strategies that can be used to prevent suicide by addressing the various risk factors predisposing an individual to suicide. previous studies have identified the following factors in curbing suicide among students of tertiary institutions namely medical, religious and counseling prevention strategies: scholars in the field of medicine hold to the view that suicide is pathological as well as psychological in nature and can be treated medically. in order to do this, the underlying medical factor must be identified while the appropriate medical treatment will be carried out on the patient and necessary drugs prescribed. the medical factor identifies depression and mental illness as a major predictor to suicidal behaviours. there are two approaches employed in medical field to deal with depression and mental illness (shearer,2005:14), (oladele & oladele, 2016:2095-2096), (peltzer et al, 2013, 459). they are pharmacotherapeutic approach (sher, 2004:27-29), (erlangsen, canudas-romo & conwell, 2008:448), (david-ferdon et al, 2016) and psychotherapeutic approach (jobes, au & siegelman, 2015:365-366). religion, as a preventive approach, focuses on psychosocial and psychotherapeutic support for its adherents. “religious beliefs and rituals can act as buffers against stress and provide an element of comfort to distressed individuals” (bhugra, 2010:1497). according to bhugra (2010), religion and religious values play a key role in attitudes to depression and suicide. a finding made by dervic et al, showed that suicidal attempts among depressed patients were less likely in patients who had religious affiliations compared with those who did not. religious influence on suicide can be found in their beliefs and practices. the relevance of religious inclination as a factor in curbing suicide rate gained currency in the classic le suicide by emile durkheim where he compared the suicide rate between the catholics and the protestants. emile discovered that the rate of suicide among the catholics was lower to the protestants (durkheim, 1897, 1970). another suicide prevention strategy advocated for students is counselling. according to who (2006), professional counselling is designed as the application of mental health, psychological, or human development principles, through cognitive, affective, behavioural or systemic intervention strategies. professional counsellors can address wellness, personal growth, and career development issues, as well as mental health pathology. there are various ways in which counsellors can render professional services to people suffering from suicidal ideation. durkheim's social solidarity: a theoretical discourse emile durkheim's theory of social solidarity posits that the more socially integrated a person is – that is, the more he or she is connected to society, possessing a feeling of general belonging and a sense that life makes sense within the social context, the less likely he or she is to commit suicide. (crossman, online) the theory refers to the social unity of the group (mechtraud, 1955). social solidarity is the bond that unites individuals. it emphasises the independence between individuals in a society, which allows individuals to feel that they can enhance the lives of others. it is a core principle of collective action and it is founded on shared values and beliefs among different groups in society. social solidarity is a form of social integration and supports where igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 23 group of people lend support to one another and bear one another's burdens. suicide among students of obafemi awolowo university, ile-ife obafemi awolowo university, ile-ife, osun state, nigeria formally known as university of ileife, is one of the three universities established in nigeria between 1961 and 1962 (history of o.a.u,ile ife). the university hosts a community of above five thousand (5,000) staff while the student population has risen steadily from two hundred and forty four (244) in 1962/63 to over thirty thousand (30,000) at present (history of o.a.u, ile ife). according to some cases of completed suicide as reported in the nigeria newspapers, obafemi awolowo university has four (4) completed cases between 2017 and 2021. one completed case occurred in 2017 (afolaranmi mercy 'f'), two in 2019 (kola olowoporoku 'm' and opeyemi dara, 'f') and one in 2021 (emmanuel adedeji 'm') (nigerian national dailies, 2017-2021). as threported by the punch on 5 august, 2019, a female student, opeyemi grace dara, department of english committed suicide by drinking a lethal substance popularly known as sniper. another student, a male, from the faculty of administration, department of management and accounting, emmanuel adedeji committed suicide in april 2021. according to the chief security officer of oau, mr babatunde oyatokun, emmanuel died after consuming a popular pesticide, sniper. he advised students to use the counselling unit of the school when battling with psychological or academic issues (pm news nigeria, 2020). the hod, mental health and medicine department confirmed the completed cases but claimed that the department does not keep log of completed cases but only have data of attempted cases. the department of mental health and medicine that handles the treatment and rehabilitation of attempted cases could not disclose the actual figures and identities of students who have attempted suicide within the period under review on ethical grounds. as at the time the thresearcher got to the department on 10 june, 2021, two attempted suicide cases were being handled (oral interview-mosaku, 2021). the unit head, guidance and counselling unit also confirmed that some students committed suicide. she said every suicide case is referred to her but they did not keep records of completed cases. she also confirmed the two cases of attempted suicide mentioned by the hod of mental health and medicine (oral interview-obisakin, 2021). one of the senior staff members in the division of student affairs hinted on two male students who attempted suicide recently as at the time the researcher visited the university. one of the two students was into hard drugs. the commonest means of committing/attempting suicide among the students of obafemi awolowo university is by drinking sniper, a poisonous substance used for agricultural purpose to mortalise pests, rodents and other unwanted living things on the farm (oral interviewmosaku, 2021). in other cases compiled by the researcher, sniper tops the list of methods used to commit/attempt suicide among students. a victim usually locks him/herself up in the room with or without suicide note and then gulps this poisonous substance once. this chemical causes organ failure within few minutes of gulping it which will result in the victim foaming from the mouth (oral interview-obisakin, 2021). according to both the hod, mental health and medicine department and unit head of guidance and counselling unit of obafemi awolowo university, ile ife, the immediate cause of suicide among students is poor academic performance. a case in view was a student, kola igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 24 rd olowoporoku, male who committed suicide for repeatedly failing some courses on the 23 rd april, 2019. another one, opeyemi dara, female who committed suicide on the 3 august, 2019 because of poor academic performance. another female student, afolaranmi mercy who committed suicide in october, 2017 for having an 'e' in chemistry 101, a dreaded course among year one students of sciences (the independent newspaper, 2019). poor academic performance may result in carry over, spending extra years, change of course or being a drop out. this can cause emotional breakdown and depression which may trigger suicidal ideation. the remote cause of suicide among female students is sexual molestation which result in psychological breakdown that affects their academic performance. the head unit of guidance and counselling unit cited several examples of female students that were sexually abused by close relatives. the remote cause of suicide among the male students is drug abuse. according to the school policy, part one students stay on campus while part two students and above can choose to stay off campus. these boys mix up with bad boys in town who give them free food where they put cannabis inside it. these drug barons in town give them these drugs free of charge at times in order to draw them closer. the parents at home do not bother to know what is happening to their children. they do not check on them. the staff of o.a.u, ile ife that were interviewed opined that the root cause of suicide among students stem from the social gap between the students and their parents. this is what creates avenue for sexual molestation and drug abuse which results in poor academic performance. this social gap at home followed the children to school who also adopt a lifestyle of social isolation and rejection in school believing that what is obtainable at home is also the case in school. lack of social cohesion, support and integration from home led some male students into drugs which affected their academic performance. a senior staff member at the division of student affairs corroborated the submission of the head of unit, g & c, that the major underlying factor was from home. she cited the example of two boys who attempted suicide recently. one of the boys was involved in the use of hard drugs. he started using hard drugs under the nose of his parents before he was admitted in 2013 which led to the death of his mother. his father latter remarried without developing any social relationship with his children except sending money for their upkeep (oral interview-o.a adeoye, 2021). she identified social gap at home, peer group influence and social isolation from neighbours. the parents provide whatever these children want. they keep them indoors and do not allow them to face life challenges. according to her, when these children get to school and face few challenges beyond their emotional capability, the next thing is suicidal ideation. a professor from the department of material science and engineering also affirmed the fact that parents are responsible for this spate of suicide among students (oral interview-m. o adeoye, 2021). according to him, the atmosphere at home is not socially conducive. the children are getting frustrated by what they see, hear and involve in which leads them to engage in drugs, sexual perversion, taking of alcohols, gangsterism, etc. he said further that the communal spirit which africans are known for has been eroded by western civilisation. some children can bury their heads on the internet for long without socially interacting with anybody. some parents overpamper their children to the extent that they lack nothing. when they get to school, they are not able to handle life challenges. they even shed tears like toddlers. the next thing in their mind igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 25 when facing tough situation is suicide. the management of obafemi awolowo university, ile-ife put some preventive measures in place to curtail the menace of suicidal behaviours among her students. the preventive measures include student advisory system where each student is attached to a lecturer who develops a healthy cordial rapport with the student in order to share his/her fears, agitations and concerns with the lecture (oral interview-mosaku, 2021). when a student is discovered not to be doing well academically, the lecturer tries to interact with the students to identify why he/she is not performing well. this is like lending a shoulder to the students where they can lean on. the school also established guidance and counselling unit under the division of student affairs established the guidance and counselling unit where counselling psychologists are engaged to interact cordially with the students and build trust and confidence in an atmosphere of friendship, rapport and social interaction which enables the students to feel free and share their challenges (oral interview-obisakin, 2021). also, there is a synergy strategy between the division of student affairs and the department of mental health and medicine. fresh cases of attempted suicide are referred to the guidance and counselling unit of the division of student affairs who counsel the victims and try to understand the root cause of the action. the victims are then referred to the department of mental health and medicine for treatment if it has to do with mental disorder. durkheim's social solidarity: a theoretical discourse emile durkheim, born in 1858, was a french social philosopher who developed the 'positive philosophy' and also a pioneer of functional school of sociology (ogunbameru, 2015:133-134). he developed the theory of social solidarity in his doctoral thesis titled in french 'de la division du travail social: etude sur l'organisation des societes superieures' 1893 (the division of labour in society: a study of the organisation of the higher societies 1893) (merton, 1994:17). emile holds that for a society to function effectively there must be a factor holding it together and this factor is the social solidarity it enjoys. the theory of social solidarity posits that the more socially integrated a person is – that is, the more he or she is connected to society, possessing a feeling of general belonging and a sense that life makes sense within the social context, the less likely he or she is to commit suicide. the theory refers to the social unity of the group (mechtraud, 1955). it is a core principle of collective action and it is founded on shared values and beliefs among different groups in society. social solidarity is a form of social integration and supports where group of people lend support to one another and bear one another's burdens. it is a form of communal spirit that makes people show concern to one another. to emile durkheim, “social solidarity is a completely moral phenomenon which, taken by itself, does not lend itself to exact observation nor indeed to measurement” (durkheim, 1893/1933:64). in relation to the study of suicide, durkheim categorised social solidarity into two namely social integration and social regulation. he contended that suicide rates depend on these two social variables. social integration is the degree to which a group of people are connected to one another (abrutyn & mueller, 2014:329). the more socially integrated a person is, the less likely he or she is to commit suicide. social regulations are the norms, standards and values enunciated by the society to regulate social integration in other to ensure its continuity and resist any deviation from it (wray et al ,2011:508). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 26 emile durkheim set the relevance of social solidarity in perspective through his monograph, le suicide (suicide) published in 1897 (gupta, 2005). emile durkheim submitted that suicide results when social bonds erode. “what defends us from self-destruction is being part of a society” (gupta, 2005:73). in order to substantiate his argument for social solidarity, durkheim embarked on a research on why suicide rates were different among certain groups of people in the society. he examined the official records on suicide in his native france. émile durkheim was interested in explaining the social phenomenon of suicide. he gathered data on large groups of people in europe who had ended their lives. when he analysed the data, he found that suicide rates differed among groups with different religious affiliations. for example, the data showed that protestants were more likely to commit suicide than catholics. to explain this, durkheim developed the concept of social solidarity. social solidarity described the social ties that bind a group of people together such as kinship, shared location, or religion. durkheim combined these concepts with the data he analysed to propose a theory that explained the religion-based differences in suicide rates. he suggested that differences in social solidarity between the two groups corresponded to the differences in suicide rates (lecture note by idowu-fearon, national open university of nigeria, 2016:207). emile dukheim's findings show that suicide among catholics are lower than that of the protestants because of the former's spirit of communalism as against the latter's individualism (crossman, 2020). emile applied the theory of social solidarity in suicide to explain how individual behaviour can be understood within a social context. he pointed out the influence of groups and social forces on what had always been viewed as a highly personal act (schaefer, 2005:8). durkheim concluded that suicide varies inversely with the degree of integration within a social group: “when society is strongly integrated, it holds individuals under its control, considers them at its service and thus forbids them to dispose wilfully of themselves.... for they cling to life more resolutely when belonging to a group they love, so as not to betray interests they put before their own” (durkheim. 1897/1970:209-210). therefore, the relationship between durkheimian theory of social solidarity and suicide is inverse. this means that the higher the social solidarity in any society, the lower the rate of suicide in that society. durkheim submits that "suicide varies inversely with the degree of integration of religious society, domestic society, political society” (durkheim:1897/1952:167). durkheim's social solidarity and prevention of suicide among students of obafemi awolowo university, ile-ife. emile durkheim strongly believes that suicide is a social factor that can be curbed by studying the social variables that trigger suicide in both an individual and a social group. according to him, the first major approach is to detect which of the social facts or variables triggers the suicidal ideation and then identify the particular component of social solidarity proposed by emile. although, poor academic performance tops the overt reasons for suicidal behaviours among the students of obafemi awolowo university, ile-ife but the convert reason is the challenge at the home front where individual victim came from. emile strongly believes that social solidarity plays a major role in holding together the key units of the society namely family, economy, religion and politics (okafor, 2020:39). hence family as a major social unit that shapes the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 27 worldview of nigerian students of higher institutions can be a predictive factor in suicidal behaviours among students. based on the underlying factor predisposing students of o.a.u, ile ife to suicidal behaviours, the following are the components of durkheim's social solidarity that can curb suicidal behaviours among the students: domestic social solidarity emile durkheim believes that the social environment at home is a precipitator to suicidal tendency in all the members belonging to that social group. several studies agree with durkheim that the psychosocial situation in the family can contribute to suicidal tendency in children or other members of the family (oladele & oladele, 2016:2096, omigbodun et al, 2008:41, strother, 1986:758, okoedin & okolie, 2019:55). domestic social solidarity refers to the blood ties that bind members of a domestic environment together who reside in the same place and share things in common. this can be divided into two namely conjugal solidarity which is the social solidarity between husband and his wife and family solidarity which is the social solidarity between parents and their children or other family members. studies have shown that there are several factors involving a man and his wife that can create social unrest to other family members which can expose them to suicidal ideation. the factors include divorce, single parenting, wife abuse/battery, infidelity (breaking of marriage vows), pursuit of money and career at the expense of the home, parental psychopathology (okafor & okafor, 1998). it has been discovered that children who come from homes having the above challenges suffer from mental and emotional imbalance which predisposes them to suicidal ideation (posner et al, 2007). according to the information gathered from the respondents, one of the boys who attempted suicide came from home where parents were not in cordial relationship. divorce affects children negatively. family social solidarity focuses on the relationship between parents and their children. durkheim finds out that family that have children is less likely to commit suicide than the family without children. sociologically, the family is seen as the smallest unit of the society or the basic social group united through bonds of kinship or marriage (lecture note by williams, noun, 2006). family is the first point of socialisation in children. it has great influence on the children and shapes their worldviews which will eventually determine how they relate and interpret whatever they encounter in the larger society. members of the family sustain mutual relationships that might be termed domestic sentiment where there is collective revenge, collective responsibility and mutual heredity. emile argues that the social life of a family is made up of common beliefs and practices (durkheim, 1893/1984:127 & 130). the common beliefs and practices is the social regulation that provides the normative framework that guides the social integration existing between members of the family. emile durkheim posits that the family is one of the vital organs of the society invested with special functions (durkheim, 1893/1984). family members are allocated functions which solidify their relationship and functions to one another. “they express the special solidarity that unites the members of a family as the result of the domestic division of labour” (durkheim, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 28 1893/1984:78). family cohesion results from exclusively a communality of sentiments and beliefs. each family member by nature are assigned with distinct functions which at first are undivided and overlapping and later gradually separate out and are distributed among the various relatives according to sex, age and dependent relationships so as to make each relative a specialised functionary in domestic society. it then shows that if any member fails to perform his or her own function, it will affect the functionality of the other member and the whole system may collapse. parents who fail to perform their functions in all ramifications will affect the psychosocial well-being of their children which can make coping with life stresses a challenge. in the findings of emile durkheim (1897/1952) on suicide, it has been discovered that family troubles is one of the motives for committing suicide. this submission is supported by many recent studies on the social causes of suicide among students of tertiary institutions. according to mba (2010), family disruption in whatever form can predispose students of tertiary institutions to suicidal ideation. finding shows that stressful family life experiences such as parental divorce, improper parenting style, and social problems of family members among others are risk factors that can lead to suicidal ideation among students (xing et al, 2010). for instance, too much of expectations from their children academically can make parents push them beyond their limits which can lead to suicidal ideation. some parents mount academic pressure on their children that they must have nothing below second class upper. when such a child repeats a course or fails to meet up with parental expectations academically, this can lead to suicidal behaviours (zhai et al ,2015). application of durkheim's social solidarity as it has been discovered earlier on, the causative factor precipitating suicide among students of obafemi awolowo university, ile ife is family disruption. although the overt causes are poor academic performance, financial constraints, break in romantic relationship, sexual molestation, drug addiction and so one, findings show that the underlying factor triggering the above overt causes is family disruption. hence the focus of the aspect of durkheim's social solidarity that will be applied to handle this is what he calls domestic social solidarity or in another way family support. in order to improve social solidarity in the various families of the students of obafemi awolowo university, ile ife in particular and tertiary institutions in southwestern nigeria in general, emile durkheim made the following submissions in relations to domestic social solidarity: promotion of family norms and values durkheim asserts that the bedrock of any social solidarity is collective conscience or consciousness. this means that every member of a particular social group must be aware of what hold all of them together which they are conscious of not violating. he further substantiates this by positing that social beliefs and practices drive the vehicle of the society which is the reason why a particular society remains for long. emile strongly holds that in order to promote social solidarity in the family, there must be common sentiments and beliefs. “it is very often believed, durkheim submits, that what brings about this family cohesion is exclusively a commonality of sentiments and beliefs” (durkheim, 1893/1984:78). africa has a belief system or family norms and values that are held in high esteem similar to what durkheim describes. social cohesion becomes very impossible without social norms and values. a norm is a standard behaviour. the social values and norms include love, companionship, respect, tolerance, honesty among others. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 29 performance of individual functions in the family emile durkheim applies his structural functionalist theory to describe how social solidarity thrives within the social context of family solidarity. he describes family as having different parts or organs in which each of them work independently and interdependently to ensure the survival of the family system. to durkheim (1893/1984) every member of the family is assigned a function to perform in order to keep the family together. family members are allocated functions which solidify their relationship and functions to one another. they express the special solidarity that unites the members of a family as a result of the domestic division of labour. the individual family functions include the reproduction function which includes nurture and acculturation in the atmosphere of intimacy which prepares a child for adulthood (lecture note by idowu-fearon, noun, 2016). and socialisation function involving inculcating into children the norms, values, culture, customs, religious beliefs and practices of the society he or she finds him or her (lecture note by kwaghmande, noun, 2006). it has been found out that children who are not well cultured from the infancy stage tend to engage in social deviants such as drugs addiction, sexual immorality, thuggery, bullying, truancy, prostitution, etc. when they become young adults, the result of which can predispose them to suicidal ideation. some parents make life appear as bed of roses to their children. so when they experience any little psychosocial stress beyond their psychological capacity, they result to suicidal ideation. the individual family functions also include the economic support function. financial frustration has been identified as one of the reasons why some students commit suicide. there is also the emotional support function involving a warm, affectionate relationship within the family circle. lack of love, care, and intimate responses from people we look up to can lead individuals to the brink of emotional instability and possible neuroses. another function is protection function and spiritual function maintenance of cooperation and harmony for a domestic social solidarity to serve as a workable tool in providing psychosocial support necessary in curtailing suicidal tendency among family members, there is a need for cooperation among family members and harmonization of their various functions within the domestic division of labour. family cooperation and harmony is very important in social solidarity because of functional difference (durkheim, 1893/1984). cooperation and harmony enables the functions of individual member to produce expectant results. when there is no cooperation, there will be duplication of functions and the functions of the individual members will not complement one another cooperation promotes reciprocal obligations in which each member of a family reciprocates the role played by other member. “now such reciprocity is only possible where co-operation exists and this in turn does not occur without the division of labour. to cooperate, in fact, is to share with one another a common task.” (durkheim, 1893/1984:79). students in tertiary institutions still need the cooperation of their parents till they can stand on their own. as it has been earlier observed, some parents mount too much academic pressure on their children giving them a particular grade they must attain before they can do this or that for them. if that particular child is unable to meet up with such high expectation, he or she feels disappointed and may be suicidal in thoughts. parents need to cooperate with their children in order to see them attain the lofty height they expect from them. the students of tertiary institutions need encouragement and assistance to overcome life stressors. siblings are also expected to cooperate with one another. in discharging domestic chores, there is a need for cooperation so that the work does not weigh down another member. a child can go to school with igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 30 the issues in the family vis-à-vis how he or she is being treated at home. this can trigger an emotional reaction that is capable of precipitating suicidal ideation in such individual. from the foregoing, we have been able to see clearly what emile durkheim felt was important to promote healthy family environment which is essential in promoting psychosocial wellbeing of the students both at home and in school. they include adherence to family norms and values, performance of individual functions and cooperation with one another. the importance of a socially conducive family environment over the overall wellbeing of students cannot be overemphasized. the psychosocial climate of the family can make the home attractive or repellent to the students (nyorere, james & patricia, 2020). a psychosocially conducive home promotes companionship, cooperation and absence of emotional tension which is what a student needs to balance up with whatever challenges he or she faces in school. it sustains marital stability where attempts are made to meet the needs of the children. children who enjoy social support from their parents are emotionally stable unlike children who experience social isolation from home. “therefore, to a large extent parents determine the emotional climate of a family…this has been associated with the suicidal behaviour among university students” (nyorere, james & patricia, 2020:125)). recommendations to curb the menace of suicide among students of tertiary institutions within the context of the theory of social solidarity, the following recommendations are made: parents should provide socially conducive family environment to their children and other members of the family by living in peace, sincere love and honesty with each other. similarly, parents should provide adequate social support to their children by showing them care and concern and being always there for them both at home and in school. parents should inculcate in their children the importance of communalism, brotherhood, kinship and helping one another. also, family social norms and values should be promoted and extolled among members. the school should provide the kind of socially conducive environment which can make up for the one lacking at home or complement the one that already exists at home. lecturers should see and treat these children as their biological children and relate with them in such a way that they can be free to come to them for counselling or personal issues that need elderly experience. the school should organise seminars or a curriculum that teaches the importance of family social support and how to be one another's brothers' and sisters' keepers. programmes that can focus on promoting healthy social relations in the family and society should be put in place by government. conclusion this study examined how durkheim's theory of social solidarity can help in curbing suicide among the students. the study found out that the root cause of suicidal behaviours among students of tertiary institutions is family problem. although poor academic performance, depression, financial constraints, sexual abuse, drug addiction, relationship breakdown among other things are causative factors which people can deduce or based on any suicide note left igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 31 behind by the suicides, the underlying factor is social disruption in the family. the spirit of communalism, brotherhood and friendliness characterising an african society should be resuscitated and inculcated in every member of the society. an emotionally and socially conducive family environment is a sine qua non to promoting psychosocial wellbeing in students which will forestall any suicidal ideation. references abrutyn s. and mueller a.s . the socioemotional foundations of suicide, p.329. alabi, o.o, alabi a.l, ayinde o.o, & abdulmalik, j.o. (2015). suicide and suicide behaviours in nigeria: a review. medical students association journal of university of ibadan, 20, pp. 1-5. albert r. at al. (2006). clinical ethics: a practical approach to ethical decisions in clinical th medicine 6 edition. new york: mcgraw-hill. apa. what is psychotherapy. american psychiatric association. retrieved from www.psychiatry.org nd. (accessed on 2 may, 2020.) bhugra. d. religion. (2010). religious attitudes and suicide. international journal of epidemiology vol. 39, , p. 1497. casr. (2015). causes and consequences of suicidal behaviours among teenagers in mauritius. (the final report). centre for applied social research (casr), p.6. cavan r.s. (1965). suicide. new york: russell and russell. cdc, centre for disease control. (2013). injury prevention & control: division of violence p r e v e n t i o n . r e t r i e v e d f r o m http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/suicide/definitions/html [2020, may 7] crossman a. the study of suicide by emile durkheim. retrieved from www.thoughtco.com th updated jan. 06, 2020 (accessed on 15 april, 2020). crossman. a the study of suicide by emile durkheim. retrieved from www.thoughtco.com thupdated jan. 06, 2020 (accessed on 15 april, 2020). daily trust. (2020) . . (accessed on 2/6/20).www.dailytrust.com david-ferdon c. et al. (2016). preventing suicide through a comprehensive public health approach. morbidity and mortality weekly report. vol. 65, no. 34, p. durkheim emile 1893. (1933). the division of labour in society. transl. george simpson. illinois: the free press of glencoe. durkheim emile.1893. {1984}. division of labour in society. transl. w.d halls. durkheim. e. (1897/1970). suicide: a study in sociology. new york: routledge. dzurgba a. (2005). medical ethics: conceptual and practical issues. ibadan: john archers (publishers) ltd. erlangsen, a., canudas-romo v. and conwell y. (2008). increased use of antidepressants and decreasing suicide rates: a population-based study using danish register data. journal of epidemiology and community health. vol. 62, no. 5, p.448. gibbons m.m & studer j.r. (2008). suicide awareness training for faculty and staff: a training model for school counsellors. professional school counseling vol.11, no.4, p. 272. gupta a. (2005). kierkegaard's romantic legacy. ottawa: university of ottawa press. history of obafemi awolowo university, ile-ife.retrieved from . (accessed on www.oauife.edu.ng 17/6/2021). hogan. e (2001). preventing suicide: the pastoral challenge. the furrow vol. 52, no.5 , may, p.266. jobes, d.a, au j.s and siegelman a. (2015). psychological approaches to suicide treatment and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 32 prevention. current treatment options in psychiatry. vol. 2 .pp. 365-366. lecture note developed by a.r williams. 2006. cth 151 religion and society. abuja: national open university of nigeria.,p.116. lecture note developed by joseph kwaghmande. 2006. cth 352: sociology of religion. abuja: national open university of nigeria, p. 57. lecture note developed by josiah idowu-fearon .2016. : cth 852 social theories of religion. abuja: national open university of nigeria. p. 207. mac-leva f. et al .(2019). students top list as 42 nigerians commit suicide in 6 months . daily trust, mechtraud. s (1955). durkhemian's concept of solidarity. philippine sociological review vol. 3. no.3 july, 1955. merton. r.b (1994). durkheim's division of labour in society. sociological forum vol,9, no,1 th special issue: the 100 anniversary of sociology's first classic: durkheim's 'division of labour in society' (march 1994),p.17. nigerian national dailies. ( sept.1, 2019, july 10, 2018, www.independent.org www.punchng.com www.sunnewonline.org www.dailytrust.com august 20, 2019, feb. 1, 2020, www.vanguard.org www.naijacover.com may 21, 2019), february, 33, 2021, www.saharareporters.com december, 22, 2020. nyorere, o.i, james, i.o and patricia, y.i .(2020). social variables and suicidal behaviour tendency among university students in akwa ibom state nigeria. international journal of adolescense and youth. vol. 25:1, p.922. nyorere, o.i, james, i.o and patricia, y.i .(2020). social variables and suicidal behaviour tendency among university students in akwa ibom state nigeria. european journal of education studies vol. 7, issue 3, p.125. ogunbameru o.a (2015). sociology: origins, developments and uses. ibadan: penthouse publications (nig.). okafor ,j.o and okafor, r,u .(1998). emotional and mental health. nsukka: ralja publications. okafor, s.o. (2020). suicide among undergraduates students in southeast nigeria: an empirical evaluation of durkheim's classifications of suicide. open journal for anthropological studies, 4(2),p. 39. okoedion e.g and u.c okolie.u.c (2019).youth suicidal behaviour: an evaluation of risk factors in edo state, nigeria. world scientific news, wsn 125, p.51. oladele a.o & oladele i.t. (2016). depression and suicidal ideation among college students with and without leaning disabilities in nigeria,the european journal of social & behavioural sciences ejbs vol.xvi, 2087. omigbodun o. et al .(2008). prevalence and correlates of suicidal behaviour among students in south-western nigeria. international journal of social psychiatry 54 (1), 34-46 oral interview with barrister mrs o.a adeoye, snr officer, division of student affairs, oau, thile-ife.10 june, 2021. th oral interview with mrs b, obisakin. head, the guidance and counselling unit. date: 10 june, 2021. oral interview with mrs b. obisakin, unit head, guidance and counselling, oau, ile ife. date: th 10 june, 2021. thoral interview with prof. mosaku, hod, mental health and medicine, oau, ile ife. date: 10 june. 2021. oral interview with prof. mosaku. hod, department of mental sciences and medicine. date: th 10 june, 2021. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 33 peltzer k. et al. (2013). depression and associated factors among university students in western nigeria. journal of psychology in africa 23(3) p.459 pm newspapers nigeria. 200-level oau student commits suicide. retrieved from www.pmnewsnigeria.com (accessed april, 20, 2020). posner, k et al .(2007). factors in the assessment of suicidality in youth. cns spectrum, 12(02). p.157. pp. 2095-2096. th schaefer. r.t (2005). sociology. 9 edition. new york: mcgraw hill. shearer. k. (2005). a survey examining the attitudes in a college population towards suicide attempters. electronic theses and dissertations. paper 1008. retrieved from h�ps://dc.etsu.edu/etd. (accessed on 19th may, 2020). p.14. sher. l (2004). preventing suicide. an international journal of medicine. vol.97, issue 10.p.2729. suicide: student took sniper twice, says oau. retrieved from (accessed april, www.punchng.com 20,2020). w.h.o (2006). preventing suicide: a resource for counsellors. geneva: department of mental health and substance abuse, world health organisation.p.1. who, suicide rate, (2016) (age-adjusted/standardised rates are mortality rates that would have existed if all populations under study had the same age distribution as a 'standard' population). wray et al . 2011. the sociology of suicide. annual review of sociology vol. 37, 2011. p.508. xiu-ya xing et al. (2010). family factors associated with suicide attempts among chinese adolescent students: a national cross-sectional survey. journal of adolescent health. 46, pp.592 & 597 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.3. no.2 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 1 l’enseignement doctrinal de saint augustin sur la nature de la trinité dans les sermons prêchés durant le presbtérat (391-395) kolawole chabi, o.s.a. institutum patristicum augustinianum rome – italy kolachabi@gmail.com résumé: cet article est le premier d’une série d’étude sur la doctrine trinitaire de saint augustin telle que nous la trouvons dans ses sermons ad populum. la plupart des chercheurs et spécialistes de saint augustin s’interessant à sa doctrine trinitaire se limite souvent à son traité de trinitate écrit entre 400 et 420 ad pour décider de tout ce qu’il a dire sur le mystère. ils ignorent qu’en tant que pasteur, il avait une manière particulière d’exposer la doctrine aux fidèles. l’étude que nous avons entreprise ici est une recherche dans le corpus de ses sermons qui traversent tous les 40 ans de son ministère pastoral. nous commençons avec les sermons qu’il a prêchés dans la période de son presbytérat entre 391 et 396 pour voir ce qu’il a enseigné sur la nature de la trinité. quatre sermons daté à cette époque ont été pris en considération et nous avons découvert qu’à cette étape de son ministère, saint augustin avait déjà développé une expression très ferme et systématique de sa doctrine trinitaire même si du saint-esprit, il parlait peu. il mettait les fidèles en garde contre les majeures hérésies de l’heure qui étaient le manichéisme, l’arianisme et le sabellianisme. contrairement aux chercheurs qui soutiennent que saint augustin a fait des spéculations en marge du mystère nous soutenons qu’il a enseigné la vraie doctrine. mots cles: saint augustin, sermons, mystère, trinité, nature, hérésies, père, fils, saint-esprit. introduction il existe peu mais d’intéressantes recherches dédiées à la vie et à l’activité littéraire d’augustin encore prêtre1 spécialement en relation au concile 1 l. m. j. verheijen, saint augustin. un moine devenu prêtre et évêque, dans id., nouvelle approche de la règle de saint augustin, bégrolles en mauges 1980, 251-299 ; g. madec, augustin prêtre. quelques notes pour la célébration d’un 16è centenaire, 391-1991, dans j.-c. fredouille, l. holtz, m.-h. jullien (éds.), de tertullien aux mozarabes vol. i. antiquité tardive et christianisme ancien (iiie-vie siècle). mélanges offerts à jacques fontaine, institut d'études augsutiniennes, paris 1992, 185-199) ; a. fitzgerald, when augustine was a priest, dans augstud 40/1 (2009), 37-48 ; h. van den berg, agustin de hipona, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 2 d’hippone (393) au cours duquel il tint un discours en tant que simple prêtre devant les évêques d’afrique,2 ou à sa pensée dans ses correspondances pistolaires3 ou encore ses réflexions postérieures sur le sacerdoce.4 nous savons déjà par ses écrits et par le témoignage de son biographe possidius5 qu’elles ont siervo de dios, sacerdote, obispo. una lectura de su vida a través de sus escritos, cochabamba 2003 ; v. grossi, l’icona agostiniana del pastore (vescovo/presbitero) dagli scritti di agostino presbitero (anni 391396), dans n. ciola (éd.), servire ecclesiae : miscellanea in onore di mons. pino scabini, dehoniane, bologna 1998, 103-120. 2 j. merdinger, on the eve of the council of hippo, 393: the background to augustine’s program for church reform, dans augstud. 40/1 (2009), 27-36; id., rome and the african church in the time of augustine, yale university press, new haven 1997, 63–74. g. bardy, conciles d’hippone au temps de saint augstin, dans augustiniana 5 (1955), 441-458 ; c. munier, l’influence de saint augustin sur la législation de son temps, dans f. z. bouayed (éd.), le philosophe algérien saint augustin : africanité et universalité. actes du premier colloque international, alger-annaba, 1-7 avril 2001, publications du haut conseil islamique, algérie, alger, 2004, 113-133 3 cf. p. cormio (éd.), l’epistolario di agostino. il periodo del laicato e del sacerdozio. atti della xli-lvii settimana agostiniana pavese, pavia 24 aprile 2009 e 22 aprile 2010, roma-pavia 2012. 4 cf. i. atomás osés, cristo sacerdote en los enarrationes in psalmos, dans mayéutica 25 (1999) 9-75 ; m.f. berrouard, le christ, roi et prêtre, bibliothèque augustinienne. oeuvres de saint augustin 72 (1977) 775 ; g. ceriotti, la concezione agostiniana del sacerdote-monaco ed i suoi rapporti con i laici ed il vescovo, dans xvi centenario dell’ordinazione presbiterale di s. agostino, cassago brianza 1992, 135152 ; u. domínguez del val, el sacerdote, pastor, según s. agustín, salmanticensis 13 (1966) 401-410 ; j. fernández gonzáles, san agustín y la espiritualidad sacerdotal, dans teología del sacerdocio, 3: el sacerdote ministro de la iglesia., ediciones aldecoa, burgos 1971, 7-44 ; j. garcía centeno, el sacerdote como ministro según san agustín, revista agustiniana de espiritualidad 4 (1963) 375-398; 5 (1964) 234-246 ; j. m. imízcoz barriola, cristo rey y sacerdote en las “enarrationes in psalmos” y “tractatus in joannis evangelium” de san agustín, (excerpta ex dissertatione ad lauream in facultate theologica pontificiae universitatis gregorianae), pampilonae 1959 ; r. lebel, la formation intellectuelle et pastorale des prêtres au grand siècle patristique , dans le prêtre hier, aujourd’hui, demain, montréal/paris 1970, 102-114 ; m. mellet, & th. camelot, le christ prêtre et victime, bibliothèque augustinienne. oeuvres de saint augustin 15 (²1991) 583-584, m. pellegrino, le prêtre serviteur selon saint augustin, paris 1968 ; m. pellegrino, the true priest. the priesthood as preached and practised by st. augustine, langley 1968 ; id., il sacerdozio secondo agostino, dans studium 57 (1961), 654-662 ; j. pintard, le prêtre, apôtre de la cité de dieu, dans la vie augustinienne 50/2 (1961) 154-174 ; id., le sacerdoce selon saint augustin. le prêtre dans la cité de dieu, tours 1960 ; b. quinot, le christ seul et véritable prêtre, bibliothèque augustinienne. oeuvres de saint augustin 30 (1967) 781-783; a. trapè, il sacerdote uomo di dio e servo della chiesa. considerazioni patristico-conciliari, milano 1968; roma 1985; l. m. j. verheijen, perché s. agostini pianse quando fu fatto sacerdote, dans la ricerca di dio. la dimensione contemplativa della esperienza agostiniana, publicazioni agostiniane, roma 1981, 204-208. 5 aug., s. 355, spm 1 (1950) 124-131 et s. 356, spm 1 (1950) 132-143 ; poss., vita 4, 1-3 (pl 32, 36-37) : « eodem itaque tempore in ecclesia hipponiensi catholica valerius sanctus episcopatum gerebat. qui cum, flagitante ecclesiastica necessitate, de providendo et ordinando presbytero civitati, plebem dei alloqueretur, et exhortaretur; iam scientes catholici sancti augustini propositum et doctrinam, manu iniecta (quoniam et idem in populo securus et ignarus quid futurum esset astabat: solebat autem laicus, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 3 été les circonstances de son ordination presbytérale et quels changements cela a apporté dans le ministère de la prédication dans l’église latine ou tout au moins en afrique. augustin a assumé la responsabilité de prédicateur dans des circonstances exceptionnelles.6 ce ministère a été qualifié par p. brown comme « un privilège jalousement gardé de la hiérachie africaine ».7 nos recherches nous ont permis de découvrir que certains chercheurs se sont intéressés au sacerdoce dans la vie de saint augustin et selon son enseignement. toutefois, nous ne connaissons pas de nombreuses études sur la prédication d’augustin prêtre,8 pas davantage sur la doctrine trinitaire augustinienne dans la prédication de ce temps de son presbytérat. ce que nous entreprenons dans ce segment de notre recherche relève plus d’une tentative et semble,9 à nous en tenir à nos lectures jusqu’à ce point, un premier effort du genre. jusque-là, il n’y a pas d’unanimité parmi les différents chercheurs qui ont étudié les sermones et essayé de leur établir une chronologie, et la majeure partie des résultats atteints demeurent des tentatives. néanmoins, en tenant compte des différences relatives qu’il y a entre les points de vue, nous pouvons retenir 23 des ut nobis dicebat, ab eis tantum ecclesiis quae non haberent episcopos, suam abstinere praesentiam). eum ergo tenuerunt, et, ut in talibus consuetum est, episcopo ordinandum intulerunt, omnibus id uno consensu et desiderio fieri perficique petentibus, magnoque studio et clamore flagitantibus, ubertim eo flente: nonnullis quidem lacrymas eius, ut nobis ipse retulit, tunc superbe interpretantibus, et tamquam eum consolantibus ac dicentibus, quia et locus presbyterii, licet ipse maiore dignus esset, appropinquaret tamen episcopatui. cum ille homo dei, ut nobis retulit, et maiori consideratione intellegeret et gemeret, quam multa et magna suae vitae pericula de regimine et gubernatione ecclesiae impendere iam ac provenire speraret, atque ideo fleret. et eorum, ut voluerunt, completum est desiderium. » 6 poss., vita 5, 2-3 (pl 32, 37-38). 7 p. brown, augustine of hippo: a biography, ucp, berkeley 2000, 133. 8 citons ici quelques études importantes : g. d. dunn, mary in the presbyteral homelies of saint augustine of hippo, dans b. neil – g. d. dunn, prayer and spirituality in the early church vol. 3 liturgy and life, st. pauls, strathfield 2003, 83-91 ; il existe des études sur la lettre 29 à alype où augustin prêtre raconte comment à travers sa prédication il a pu faire désister les fidèles d’hippone d’une pratique commune qui consistait à faire des festins désordonnés dans les églises aux jours solennels des fêtes des saints. cf. a. de brouwer, augustin d’hippone : la prédicaton au service de la parole de dieu. saint augustin à l’oeuvre. epistola 29, dans bible et vie chrétienne 66, 60-68 ; g. caruso, il sermo 214, in traditione symboli. analisi e proposta di datazione, dans percorsi agostiniani vi/12 (2013), 232-258. 9 nous disons bien “semble” parce que les recherches sur la trinité dans les sermones en général sont très peu nombreuses et de toutes celles que nous avons pu lire et dont nous avons fait état des lieux dans la revue de littérature dans la status quaestiones ne présentent aucun intérêt dans ce genre de détail. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 4 sermons authentiques comme appartenant à la prédication du temps du presbytérat d’augustin : sermons 1, 2, 12, 20, 50, 63a (=mai 25), 92, 129, 164a (=s. lambot 28), 190, 200, 214, 216, 221 (=s. guelf. 5), 229i (=s. mai 86), 259, 260a (=s. denis 8), 260c (=s. mai 94), 271, 292, 346b (=s. mai 12), 351, 353. de ces 23 sermons, seulement 6 (1, 12, 214, 216, 259, 292) font référence à la trinité même si tous ne mentionnent pas le mot. donc seuls ceux-là devraient être pris en considération. néanmoins, puisque nous examinons la nature de la trinité, il n’y a que quatre (1, 214, 216, 292) qui nous intéressent dans cette recherche. nous allons nous pencher sur ces quatre sermons, en partie, en retenant les exposés les plus significatifs sur la trinité. notre approche consistera à indiquer d’abord les données disponibles sur leur datation et le contexte de leur prédication avant de nous pencher sur les extraits qui nous intéressent spécifiquement. nous examinerons brièvement vers la fin de cette étude, les parallèles qui existent entre les quatres sermons pris en considération et quelques enarrationes in psalmos vraisemblablement prêchées dans la même époque. 1. sermon 1, 5 1. 1. datation le sermon 1 a été probablement prêché entre 391 et 393 dans la période sacerdotale d’augustin et a pour thème l’accord entre l’ancien et le nouveau testament. il semble qu’il a été prêché avant la rédaction du contra adimantium manichaei discipulum qui selon les retractationes peut être daté en cette période.10 1. 2. analyse les manichéens accusaient l’ancien testament d’être en contradiction avec le nouveau ; ils voyaient même cette opposition prétendue entre les premières 10 cf. aug., retr. i, 22 (ccl 57, 63-64) ; a. c. de veer, la date des sermons i, xii et l de saint augustin, reaug 15 (1969) 241-246 qui analyse les recherches de a. kunzelmann, die chronologie der sermones des hl. augustinus, dans ma ii, studi agostiniani, roma 1931, 432 ; j. e. rotelle (éd.), the works of saint augustine : a translation for the 21st century, part 3: sermons, vol. i: (1-19) on the old testament, new city press, new york 1990, 305, n. 1; f. cavallera, notes chronologiques et hagiographiques sur quelques sermons de saint augustin, bulletin de littérature ecclésiastique 31 (1930) 21-23 ; c. lambot (éd.), aurelii augustini opera, pars 11, 1 : sermones de vetere testamento, ccl 41, 2nd édition, turnhout 1997, 164 ; h. j. frede, kirchenschriftsteller verzeichnis und sigel, vetus latina 1/1 (freiburg 1981) 135 ; a.-m. la bonnardière, biblia augustiniana : le livre de la sagesse saint augustin, paris 1970, 40 ; p.-p. verbraken, études critiques, 53. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 5 paroles de la genèse et les premières paroles de l’évangile selon saint jean. saint augustin montre dans ce sermon, combien leurs calomnies sont dénuées de fondement. c’est dans ce contexte qu’il parle brièvement de la trinité. tout d’abord, sur les deux versets du premier chapitre de la genèse : « faisons l’homme à notre image et à notre ressemblance » et « dieu fit l’homme à l’image de dieu »,11 augustin retient que lors même que dieu ne se révélerait aux regards des esprits pénétrants que sous le nom de l’unité, la genèse témoigne visiblement, comme l’évangile, de la trinité des personnes divines, et si elle n’exprime pas toujours cette pluralité, elle est, sous ce nouveau rapport, semblable au nouveau testament. selon le nouveau prédicateur, un autre hérétique, à l’exemple des manichéens qui opposent les deux testaments, pourrait aussi chercher de montrer que le nouveau testament se contredit et indiquer entre saint paul et saint jean la même opposition et le même désaccord qu’ils prétendent signaler entre jean et moïse.12 mais pour saint augustin, « … la foi sincère et véritable ne peut que faire ressortir l’harmonie doctrinale de jean et de paul, et dans ces paroles du grand apôtre : « de lui, par lui et en lui sont toutes choses, elle fait voir le fils et l’esprit-saint avec le père. »13 en 11 gen. 1, 26 ; 27. dans le commentaire qu’augustin fait de ce verset dans le gen. man. 17, 27, il ne fait aucune référence à la trinité. sa préoccupation était de répondre à la calomnie des manichéens qui pensaient que dieu ne peut pas avoir créé l’homme à son image parce qu’ils raisonnaient de façon purement charnelle. il leur dira clairement ce que la foi catholique enseigne : « cependant qu’ils sachent bien que, formés à l’école catholique, les fidèles ne croient pas dieu circonscrit dans une forme corporelle et, s’il est dit que l’homme a été fait à l’image de dieu, cela s’entend de l’homme intérieur, où est la raison et l’intelligence… » ibid., 17, 28. mais au cœur d’une polémique contre les ariens saint augustin interprêtera ce verset comme dans le s. 1. il dit en effet dans s. 126, 10-11 : « il n’y a pas des hommes créés par le père, ni d’autres par le fils, ni d’autres par l’esprit-saint ; le même homme est créé par le père, le fils et le saint-esprit ; le père, le fils et l’esprit-saint ne sont qu’un seul et même dieu créateur. si tu vois ici pluralité dans les personnes, reconnais aussi qu’il y a unité dans la divinité. a cause de la pluralité des personnes nous lisons « faisons l’homme à notre image et à notre ressemblance. » dieu ne dit pas : je vais faire l’homme ; sois attentif afin de pouvoir en faire toi-même un semblable ; mais : « faisons ; » voilà la pluralité ; « à notre image » ; la pluralité encore. où donc est l’unité de dieu ? poursuis : « et dieu fit l’homme. » après : « faisons l’homme, » il n’est pas dit : et les dieux firent l’homme ; l’unité se révèle dans ces mots. « et dieu fit l’homme. » » 12 aug., s. 1, 5 (ccl 41) : « nam si esset alius, cuius item dementissimus furor ipsum nouum testamentum sibi contrarium apud imperitos conaretur ostendere, quid aliud ageret, nisi quemadmodum isti moysen et iohannem, ita ille paulum et iohannem, tamquam inimicos rixantesque proponeret ?» 13 ibid., (ccl 41) : « ... sincerissima et uerissima fides commendat pauli iohannisque concordiam, et in eo quod beatus paulus ait : ex ipso, et per ipsum, et in ipso sunt omnia [rom. 11, 36], non solum patrem, sed et filium et spiritum sanctum docet intellegi ». igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 6 conclusion, on ne peut donc signaler plus de désaccord entre moïse et l’evangile qu’entre chacun des écrivains du testament nouveau. par ailleurs, la nature de l’indivisible trinité qui se révèle dans le commencement dont parle la genèse et le prologue de l’évangile selon saint jean, réside dans son « unité ineffable ». dans ce texte, le nouveau prédicateur parle de « l’unité ineffable de l’indivisible trinité »14 mais ne s’attarde sur la question de l’inséparabilité des personnes de la trinité dans leurs actions ad extra (comme par exemple la création) qui pourtant était déjà un acquis dans sa doctrine et dont il a longement parlé dans la lettre 11 à nébride datée à l’année 389-390 et ailleurs.15 cela pourrait se comprendre du fait qu’il ne fait pas l’exégèse proprement dite sur les textes de la création mais simplement avait l’objectif de réfuter ceux qui opposent les deux testaments. dans le sermon 1, il n’y a pas de nouveauté particulièrement remarquable mais augustin demeure dans la « sincerissima et uerissima fides », la foi catholique, celle de son baptême qu’il veut consolider dans les fidèles. 2. sermon 214, 10 2. 1. datation le deuxième sermon qui nous intéresse est le s. 214. de nombreux chercheurs considèrent qu’il peut être vraisemblablement daté à l’année 391.16 c’est l’un des premiers sermons que saint augustin avait prononcés lorsqu’il eut quitté la retraite studieuse où il avait demandé à son évêque de pouvoir s’enfermer pour 14 ibid., « trinitatis unitatem ». 15 cf. l. ayers, remember that you are catholic, 45-55 ; n. cipriani, la teologia di sant’agostino, 117126 ; g. folliet, la correspondence entre augustin et nébridius, dans l’opera letteraria di agostino tra cassiciacum e milano: agostino nelle terre di ambrogio (1–4 ottobre 1986). testi e studi 2, palermo 1987, 191–215; n. cipriani, la reflessione trinitaria di sant’agostino fino alla lettera a nebridio, 59-90 ; g. caruso, l’epistolario di agostino laico: lettere 1-20, dans percossi agostiniani v/9 (2012), 29-58. 16 dans le fichier signalétique de ses études critiques, verbraken indique que les mauristes, wilmart, kunzelmann, pontet, eichenseer, perler datent le sermon en 391, tandis que certains, lui-même inclu, pensent que c’est un sermon de l’évêque destiné aux prédicateurs débutants. cf. p.-p. verbraken, études critiques sur les sermons authentiques de saint augustin, 105. dans le cadre de cette recherche, nous travaillons avec l’hypothèse qui soutient que ce sermon est de la période sacerdotale de saint augustin, nous rangeant ainsi du côté de ceux qui, compte-tenu du caractère stylistique de l’exorde du texte, pensent qu’il doit être de la période la plus proche aux activités littéraires d’augustin imbibées des couleurs de l’art rhétorique des temps de sa carrière de rhéteur professional. en effet, l’évêque a appris à s’adresser à son auditoire de la façon la plus simple possible pour passer son message igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 7 se préparer au ministère de la parole.17 aussi le style et les idées présentent-ils ici une plus grande ressemblance que dans ses autres discours, avec le style et les idées de ses ouvrages philosophiques, composés vers la même époque. ce sermon est une explication du symbole qui s’attache plus aussi à élucider et à approfondir les idées dogmatiques aux futurs baptisés qu’à en tirer des conclusions morales. 2. 2. analyse dans le s. 214, le jeune prédicateur a expliqué point-par-point les articles du symbole. premièrement, il parle du dieu créateur pour insister qu’il a tout créé mais pas le péché qui n’est qu’une contamination de la nature que dieu a faite.18 saint augustin souligne le fait de la création toute entière ex nihilo et avertit les fidèles à prendre garde contre ceux qui soutiennent des opinions contraires. puis, il affirme la toute-puissance de dieu qui sait tout déjà dès le commencement, qui peut et fait tout, sauf ce qu’il ne veut pas. quoi qu’il n’ait pas créé le mal, il le permet et en tire le bien. deuxièmement, il parle de la génération du verbe en se basant sur diverses citations bibliques. augustin insiste que le verbe ne dérive pas du néant mais de dieu qui l’a généré non pas au commencement, car au commencement était déjà le verbe. et ici aussi, comme dans le sermon 1, augustin lie gn 1, 1 et jn 1, 1 pour mettre en relief le même commencement. il précise que le verbe, la parole de dieu ne pas être considéré comme la parole humaine.19 puis il parle de l’incarnation du verbe, de la mort 17 cf. aug., ep. 21 (csel 34,1,49-54) 18 dans l’article de g. caruso mentionné plus haut, il soutient que derrière les considérations d’augustin sur le mal comme n’étant pas une substance, il y a la polémique contre les manichéens qui est présente dans divers autres écrits dont par exemple le de diversis quaestionibus octogintatribus. il écrit: «[…] i fedeli devono ricrodare quel che credono, cioè nello specifico, che dio a creato tutto, ma non il peccato che in effetti non è qualcosa, ma piuttosto una contaminazione della natura fatta da dio: chiaro riferimento polemico diretto al manicheismo che postulava ma sostanzialità del male, del tutto conforme a quanto agostino a espresso tante volte, per esempio in odo evidente nel de diversis quaestionibus octogintatribus». g. caruso, il sermo 214, 235. 19 on peut penser ici à la similitude de la parole humaine qui révèle son âme dont augustin s’est servi dans le de fide et symbolo 3, 3-4 : « uerbum enim patris ideo dictum est, quia per ipsum innotescit pater. sicut enim uerbis nostris id agimus, cum uerum loquimur, ut noster animus innotescat audienti et quidquid secretum in corde gerimus per signa huius modi ad cognitionem alterius proferatur: sic illa sapientia, quam deus pater genuit, quoniam per ipsam innotescit dignis animis secretissimus pater, uerbum eius conuenientissime nominatur. inter animum autem nostrum et uerba nostra, quibus eundem animum ostendere conamur, plurimum distat. nos quippe non gignimus sonantia uerba, sed facimus : quibus faciendis materia subiacet corpus. plurimum autem interest inter animum et corpus. deus uero, cum uerbum genuit, id quod est ipse genuit, neque de nihilo neque de aliqua iam facta conditaque igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 8 et la sépulture du verbe fait chair, de ses deux natures, de sa résurrection et glorification, et en dernière position sur le christ, selon l’ordre des articles du symbole, le jugement dernier. il en arriva après l’exposé sur le père et le fils au saint-esprit et la trinité. il dit alors : car nous croyons également au saint-esprit, qui procède du père, sans être son fils ; qui repose sur le fils, sans être son père ; qui reçoit du fils, sans pourtant être son fils; mais il est l’esprit du père et du fils, l’esprit-saint, une des personnes divines. si effectivement il n’était pas dieu, il n’aurait pas un temple comme celui dont parle l’apôtre : « ignorez-vous, dit-il, que vos corps sont le temple, de l’esprit-saint, qui est en vous et que vous avez reçu de dieu ?» ce n’est pas la créature, c’est le créateur qui doit avoir un temple. loin de nous d’être le temple d’une créature ! « car le temple de dieu est saint, dit encore l’apôtre, et c’est vous qui êtes ce temple ». il n’y a dans cette trinité adorable ni supérieur ni inférieur, aucune distinction dans les œuvres, aucune différence dans la nature. le père est dieu, le fils est dieu, l’esprit-saint est dieu. toutefois le père, le fils et le saint-esprit ne sont pas trois dieux, mais un seul dieu, sans que le père soit le fils, sans que le fils soit le père et sans que l’esprit-saint soit le père ou le fils ; car le père est père du fils, le fils est fils dit père, et l’esprit-saint, l’esprit du père et du fils ; chacun deux est dieu et tous trois ne sont qu’un seul dieu. pénétrez vos coeurs de cette croyance et qu’elle inspire votre profession de foi. en entendant ce mystère, croyez-le pour arriver à le comprendre, car en progressant vous pourrez comprendre réellement ce que vous croyez.20 materia, sed de se ipso id quod est ipse. hoc enim et nos conamur, cum loquimur, si diligenter consideremus nostrae uoluntatis adpetitum, non cum mentimur, sed cum uerum loquimur. quid enim aliud molimur, nisi animum ipsum nostrum, si fieri potest, cognoscendum et perspiciendum animo auditoris inferre? ut in nobis quidem ipsi maneamus nec recedamus a nobis et tamen tale indicium, quo fiat in altero nostra notitia, proferamus, ut, quantum facultas conceditur, quasi alter animus ab animo, per quem se indicet, proferatur.» 20 id., s. 214, 10 (rb 72 (1962) 20) : « credimus etiam in spiritum sanctum, de patre procedentem (cf. io. 15, 26 ), nec tamen filium; super filium manentem (cf. io. 1, 32.), nec filii patrem : de filii accipientem (cf. io. 16, 14), nec tamen filii filium : sed spiritum patris et filii, spiritum sanctum et ipsum deum. non enim haberet tale templum, si non esset deus. unde dicit apostolus : nescitis quia corpora vestra templum in vobis spiritus sancti est, quem habetis a deo ? (1cor. 6, 19). non creaturae templum, sed creatoris. absit enim a nobis, ut templum simus creaturae, cum dicat apostolus : templum enim dei sanctum est, quod estis vos (1cor. 3, 17). in hac trinitate non est aliud alio maius aut minus, nulla operum separatio, nulla dissimilitudo substantiae. unus pater deus, unus filius deus, unus spiritus sanctus deus. nec tamen pater et filius et spiritus sanctus tres dii, sed unus deus ; ita ut non sit ipse igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 9 à travers un dense entrelacement de références néotestamentaires, le nouveau prédicateur d’hippone explique comment le saint-esprit dérive du père (io. 15, 26) non pas selon le mode dérivation du fils qui est la génération, car il n’est pas le fils ; il demeure dans le fils (io. 1, 32), mais n’est pourtant pas le père ; il prend ce qui est du fils (io. 16, 4) mais n’est pas pour cela le fils du fils. dans le parcours que nous avons effectué au début de ce chapitre sur la doctrine trinitaire augustinienne, nous avons vu que suivant certainement marius victorinus, augustin avait appelé le père « pater pignoris »21 commettant ainsi l’erreur de considérer le saint-esprit comme le fils du père. les considérations de ce sermon pourraient indiquer une prise de position contre cette erreur de jeunesse qui était, de toute façon, due à l’insuffisance de sa connaissance scripturaire mais aussi, à la fidélité du nouveau converti à l’enseignement des penseurs chrétiens que jusqu’à ce point il avait eu la possibilité de lire dans sa recherche. on voit donc déjà à ce point de son ministère une anticipation de ce qu’il fera dans le de trinitate où il dira : or, de ce que nous disons que l’esprit-saint est le gage du père et du fils (cor., 5, 5 ; eph., 1, 14 ), s’ensuit-il que nous puissions dire le père du gage et le fils du gage? non, sans doute. lorsque au contraire, nous affirmons que ce même esprit est le don du père et du fils, nous nous interdisons ces autres termes, père du don, et fils du don, et nous nous bornons à dire le don du donateur et le donateur du don, parce qu’ici nous trouvons un terme usité, ce qui n’existe pas dans le premier cas.22 il continue donc l’explication de l’article sur le saint-esprit en disant que celui-ci est l’esprit du père et du fils. puis se basant sur 1cor. 6, 19 et 1cor. 3, 17, il affirme la divinité du saint-esprit dont l’apôtre nous appelle le temple. pater qui filius, nec filius sit qui pater, nec spiritus sanctus sit aut pater aut filius ; sed pater filii pater, et filius patris filius, et spiritus sanctus patris et filii spiritus : et singulus quisque deus, et ipsa trinitas unus deus. haec fides imbuat corda vestra, et confessionem dirigat. hoc audiendo credite, ut intellegatis ; ut quod creditis, intellegere proficiendo valeatis ». 21 cf. aug., sol. i, 1, 2 (csel 89,5). 22 augustin montre qu’on ne peut pas validement appeler le père, père du gage (pater pignoris). cf. id. trin v, 12, 13 (ccl 50, 220) : « ad id quippe refertur cuius pignus est, et semper pignus alicuius rei pignus est. num ergo cum dicimus pignus patris et filii possumus uicissim dicere patrem pignoris aut filium pignoris ?... ». igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 10 ayant suffisamment élucider les articles sur les trois personnes, saint augustin présente à ce point une synthèse du mystère trinitaire à son auditoire. on note du reste qu’il demeure fidèle à cette perspicacité déjà présente dans ces écrits dès la conversion et qui lui fait prendre ses distances de l’arianisme et du sabellianisme.23 pour cela il dit tout d’abord que dans la trinité, il n’y a rien de plus grand ou de plus petit, aucune opération n’est accomplie séparément par les personnes et il n’est aucune distinction de substance (contre le blasphème des ariens). mais il ne manque non plus de montrer, pour créer l’équilibre, que chacune des personnes est distinctes de l’autre (contre la confusion des sabelliens). chacune des personnes est dieu mais les trois font un seul dieu. et c’est cela les points fondamentaux de la foi que les fidèles sont appelés à tenir ferme. il est intéressant de noter qu’à la fin du passage que nous avons cité le prédicateur fait clairement ressortir ce que les chercheurs considèrent comme son cercle herméneutique24 qui exprime de façon succincte son mode de penser les rapports de la foi et de la raison. ce cercle se compose de deux arcs : en un premier temps le intelligo ut credam et ensuit le credo ut intelligam. augustin explique aux fidèles qu’il faudrait qu’ils croient au mystère pour le comprendre. il faut croire pour comprendre, et pourtant ce n’est qu’en comprenant que nous pouvons croire. ce n’est pas un élément totalement nouveau dans la pensée augustinienne qui déjà au temps des dialogues philosophiques donnait plus de poids à l’auctoritas qu’à la ratio. de toutes les façons, ce que l’orateur sacré annonce ainsi brièvement dans ce sermon au peuple, fait l’objet d’autres écrits des dialogues philosophiques, passant par les correspondances épistolaires, jusqu’aux traités exégétiques comme le doctrina christiana. et lieu théologique où augustin pose le fondement de sa formulation est la citation d’is. 7, 9 (selon lxx) : « si vous ne croyez pas, vous ne comprendrez pas ». ce texte se 23 id., ord. ii, 5, 16 (csel 63, 157); id., mor 1, 30, 62 (csel 90, 65-66). g. caruso écrit justement sur cet équilibre qu’on note chez saint augustin : « agostino, sin dagli anni precedenti il suo battesimo, si era spesso interrogato sulla trinità, esprimendo un atteggiamento equilibrato nei confronti dei due errori sopra citati, sabellianesimo e arianesimo ». g. caruso, il sermo 214, 255. 24 la question du cercle herméneutique de saint augustin est amplement traitée dans i. bochet, « le firmament de l’écriture » : l’herméneutique augustinienne, institut des études augustiniennes, paris 2004, 91-154 ; ead., le cercle herméneutique dans le de doctrina christiana d’augustin, dans e.a. livingstone (éd.), studia patristica xxxiii, papers presented at the twelfth international conference of patristic studies held in oxford 1995, vol. 33/16: augustine and his opponents, leuven 1997, 16-21 ; cf. n. cipriani, n. 146 ; o. grassi, introduzione dans agostino, il filosofo e la fede, edizioni rusconi, milano 1989. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 11 retrouvera dans plusieurs œuvres, utilisé dans le dessein d’affirmer le cercle dont nous avons fait mention.25 devant le texte de ce sermon 214 dont nous n’avons cité qu’une partie du §10 aux fins de l’analyse que nous envisageons pour cette partie de notre recherche, l’on peut être frappé de la justesse et de l’élévation de doctrine auxquelles le saint docteur était déjà parvenu, si peu de temps après sa conversion, quatre années seulement ; car ce discours, comme nous l’avons déjà indiqué, se rapporte à l’an 391.26 la doctrine trinitaire y est exprimée avec plus de clarté que dans les dialogues surement parce que découlant de l’explication du symbole dans un contexte liturgique où le nouveau prêtre devait nécessairement se faire comprendre. néanmoins, il est à noter que le jeune prédicateur présente de façon évidente les relations réciproques du père et du fils. au sujet du saint-esprit, il dit simplement qu’il appartient au père et au fils et cela semble démontrer qu’augustin n’avait pas encore bien approfondi ses études et réflexions sur la relation de la troisième personne avec les deux autres. mais qu’il soit dans l’orthodoxie est un fait pleinement établi mutatis mutandis dès ses premières réflexions trinitaires.27 25 cf. lib. arb. i, 2, 4 (csel 74,6) ; ii, 2, 6 (csel 74,41) ; mag. 11, 37 (ccl 29,195) ; io. eu. tr. 27, 7 (ccl 36,273); 29, 6 (ccl 36,287) ; s. 118, 2, 2 (pl 38,673) ; doct. chr. ii, 12, 17 (simonetti, 96). et la réflexion augustinienne sur la dialectique entre la foi et la compréhension est présente dans sol. 1, 3, 8 (csel 89,13) ; util. cred.11 (csel 25,1,15-16). je voudrais citer ici un petit texte du s. 43 où augustin donne au peuple une formulation plus articulée de son élément dont il ne fait qu’une brève mention dans le sermon sus-cité. il dit : « ergo, carissimi, et ille quem contra me constitui, et propter cuius controuersiam inter nos natam prophetam iudicem postulaui, non nihil dicit etiam ipse, cum dicit : "intellegam ut credam". nam utique modo quod loquor, ad hoc loquor ut credant qui nondum credunt. et tamen nisi quod loquor intellegant, credere non possunt. ergo ex aliqua parte uerum est quod ille dicit : intellegam ut credam, et ego qui dico, sicut dicit propheta: "immo crede ut intellegas", uerum dicimus, concordemus. ergo intellege ut credas, crede ut intellegas. breuiter dico quomodo utrumque sine controuersia accipiamus. intellege, ut credas, uerbum meum ; crede, ut intellegas, uerbum dei. » aug., s. 43, 9 (ccl 41, 512). donc on comprend pour croire la parole du prédicateur, on croit pour comprendre la parole de dieu. sur l’exégèse de is 7, 9 dans la phase initiale de la carrière d’augustin, nous recommandons l’étude de m. dulaey, l’apprentissage de l’exégèse biblique par augustin, dans reaug 48 (2002), 269-270. 26 c’est certainement cette clarté doctrinale qui a conduit certains chercheurs à considérer que ce sermon est un “sermon-modèle” que l’évêque a prononcé à une époque tardive de son ministère en faveur des prédicateurs débutants. parmi ceux qui soutiennent cette position, p.-p. verbraken inclut, de bruyne, s. poque et lui-même. cf. id., études critiques, 105. 27 nous l’avons déjà souligné. les erreurs et les perplexités du début de sa réflexion sont à attribuer à l’insuffisance de sa connaissance biblique d’une part et à sa dépendance vis-à-vis d’auteurs catholiques qu’il a lus, en l’occurrence, marius victorinus. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 12 3. sermon 216, 10 3.1. datation la grande majorité des chercheurs qui en ont fait une édition situe le sermon 216 avant pâques 391.28 il est ainsi clairement retenu un sermon du temps du presbytérat d’augustin. l’exorde du discours nous montre un orateur qui reconnaît être au début de son ministère. s’adressant aux competentes (postulants) il dit : il faut aider par la prière les débuts de notre ministère et au moment où vous commencez à être conçus dans le sein de la foi, pour être engendrés par la grâce, il faut obtenir que notre parole vous soit salutaire et que votre dessein devienne pour nous une source de consolations saintes. si nous vous instruisons de vive voix, c’est à vous d’avancer en vertu ; si nous semons en vous les enseignements sacrés, c’est à vous de produire les œuvres de la foi.29 cet exorde du sermon contient une évidence interne dans les mots même qu’utilise le prédicateur pour indiquer que c’est le début de la période sacerdotale et partant du ministère de la prédication. 3. 2. analyse l’essentiel du sermon consiste, après la définition du mot latin « competentes »,30 en quelques points importants que l’on peut résumer en sept. les postulants pour se préparer à recevoir le baptême doivent : 1.) renoncer au siècle pour ne 28 les mauristes l’ont daté en 391 à leur suite kunzelmann, wilmart, verbraken, mandouze, perler, beuron, ont tous opté pour cette date. néanmoins, certains le situent dans la période presbytérale sans proposer une date. à leur rang on trouve s. poque, p. brown. d’aucuns le veulent de la période épisopale sans proposer de date. il s’agit de de bruyne et de zwinggi. pontet et van der meer quant à eux le datent en 397. cf. p.-p. verbraken, études critiques, 105-106. 29 aug., s. 216, 1 (pl pl 38, 1076) : « rudimenta ministerii nostri, et vestri conceptus quo fidei incipitis utero generari coelesti gratia, adiuvanda sunt ore : ut et noster vos sermo salubriter alloquatur, et nos vester conceptus utiliter consoletur. nos instruimus sermonibus, vos proficite moribus. spargimus sermonem verbi, fructum reddite fidei ». 30 ibid., « quid enim aliud sunt competentes, quam simul petentes ? nam quomodo condocentes, concurrentes, considentes, nihil aliud sonat, quam simul docentes, simul currentes, simul sedentes ; ita etiam competentium uocabulum non aliunde quam de simul petendo atque unum aliquid appetendo compositum est ». igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 13 s’attacher qu’à dieu et à 1a vie future ; 2.) mortifier courageusement leurs passions; 3.) lutter contre le démon auquel ils renoncent ; 4.) se confier à l’église qui détermine l’époque de leur baptême ; 5.) estimer considérablement la vie nouvelle qui leur sera donnée ; 6.) se préparer à en parcourir les degrés par la pratique de toutes les vertus et la fuite de tous les vices; 7.) enfin s’attacher à dieu invinciblement et recourir à lui dans tous leurs besoins avec une confiance que rien n’ébranle. ces différents points semblent être résumés et solidement concentrés dans ce paragraphe du sermon: mais prenez garde que le pied du superbe ne vous heurte ; ayez soin que la main des pécheurs ne vous ébranle pas. pour échapper au premier malheur, priez dieu de vous purifier de vos péchés secrets ; et pour n’être ni renversés ni abattus par le second, demandez d’être préservés de la malice des étrangers. […] mangez maintenant le pain de la douleur ; viendra le moment où après avoir mangé ce pain de douleur vous recevrez en partage le pain de la joie. mais pour mériter l’un il faut d’abord manger l’autre avec patience. c’est en te détournant et en t’éloignant de dieu que tu as mérité ce pain de larmes ; reviens avec componction sur tes pas et rapproche-toi de ton seigneur. a qui revient à lui avec componction, il est prêt à donner de nouveau le pain de la joie ; mais n’use pas de dissimulation et ne diffère pas dans ta misère de demander avec larmes pardon de ta fuite. au milieu d’afflictions si multipliées, revêtez-vous du cilice et par le jeûne humiliez vos âmes. l’humilité recouvre ce qu’a perdu l’orgueil. il est vrai pourtant, au moment de votre examen, quand à travers la redoutable tout-puissance de l’auguste trinité, des imprécations méritées étaient lancées sur ce transfuge qui entraîne à la fuite et à la désertion, vous n’étiez pas couverts du cilice: mais vos pieds marchaient en quelque sorte sur lui.31 31 aug., s. 216, 10 (pl 38,1082) : « sed cavete, ne veniat vobis pes superbiae ; et vigilate, ne vos manus moveant peccatorum. primum ne contingat, orate ut ab occultis vestris mundet vos : secundum vero ne irruat et deiciat vos, petentes ut ab alienis parcat vobis […] manducate nunc panem doloris : veniet tempus, quando post panem tristitiae panis vobis laetitiae ministretur. sed meritum illius, huius est tolerantia. aversio et fuga tua panem luctus commeruit : convertere, compungere, et redi ad dominum tuum. paratus est ille compuncto et redeunti panem gaudii erogare ; si non dissimules nec differas pro fuga tua flebiliter aerumnosus orare. in tantis ergo catervis molestantium induite vos cilicio, et humiliate in ieiunio animam vestram. redditur humilitati quod superbiae denegatum est. et vos quidem cum scrutaremini, atque ipsius fugae ac desertionis persuasor in trinitatis tremendae omnipotentiae debite increparetur, non estis induti cilicio: sed tamen vestri pedes in eodem mystice constiterunt.» igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 14 c’est dans ce passage que le prédicateur dit quelque chose qui a trait à la nature de la trinité dont la « redoutable tout-puissant » est invoquée contre le diable. augustin dit « in trinitatis tremendae omnipotentiae ». la trinité est auguste et tout-puissance. augustin ne dit pas plus sur le mystère. tout porte à croire que la traditio symboli a été dejà faite et donc l’explication du symbole ne fait plus partie des préoccupations du prédicateur. voilà pourquoi sur la trinité, il n’y a pas une significative élaboration dans ce texte. néanmoins, même au-delà de ce qui est brièvement dit du dieu un et trine, nous voyons déjà son action dans la vie de ceux qui doivent bientôt recevoir le baptême : c’est sa « redoutable toutepuissance » qui met en déroute l’enneni, le « transfuge qui entraîne à la fuite et à la désertion ». la toute-puissance de la trinité ne veut rien dire d’autre que la trinité elle-même. et c’est tout ce qu’il y a dans ce sermon sur le mystère trinitaire. 4. sermon 292, 3 4. 1. datation ce sermon fait partie de ceux qui, bien qu’ils parlent d’une manière ou d’une autre du mystère, ne font aucune mention du mot « trinité ». sur la question de sa datation, les avis sont divergents comme d’ailleurs pour les autres sermons. kunzelmann, la bonnardière, et beuron le situent à la date 24 juin – il traite de la nativité de jean-baptiste32 – entre 393-405.33 il se pourrait donc qu’il fût prononcé dans cette période relativement longue de douze ans, qui inclut évidemment une partie du ministère presbytéral d’augustin. dans le cadre de cette recherche, nous retenons ce sermon comme appartenant l’activité oratoire d’augustin jeune prêtre. il se pourrait qu’il ait tenu ce discours en présence de son évêque valère ou d’autres évêques présents lors de la solennité. 32 aug. s. 292, 1 (pl 38, 1319) : « hoc maiorum traditione suscepimus, hoc ad posteros imitanda deuotione transmittimus. ioannis ergo non euangelistae, sed baptistae natalem hodie celebramus. » 33 cf. p.-p. verbraken, études critiques, 130. e. hill propose l’an 399 comme la meilleure date pour ce sermon et raisonne ainsi dans une note : « fischer, kunzelmann, and la bonnardière all suggest, more widely, between 393 and 405. i put 399 as the mean; but also, the language he begins with in section 1, about his being a minister and not a magister, as well as his conclusion about the duties of the praepositus, the one in charge, suggests very definitely that he was already bishop of hippo regius, not just a priest of the city, or even just the auxiliary bishop. the question of the nature of his authority would not have arisen before he was ordained bishop. all this also indicates clearly, to my mind, that he was preaching in hippo regius; though it could also indicate that he was preaching in the presence of several other bishops, perhaps in a council, either there or elsewhere ». e. hill (éd), the works of saint augustine. sermons iii/8 : sermons 273-305a, hyde park new-york, new city press 1994, 146, n.1. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 15 4. 2. analyse le contenu de ce discours est essentiellement anti-donatiste et c’est peut-être l’un des premiers textes, si on le situe dans la période presbytérale, dans lequel on voit l’exposé de la théologie sacramentaire de saint augustin dans le cadre de la prédication liturgique.34 les donatistes, comme on sait, prétendaient que la grâce conférée par un sacrement venait du ministre qui l’administrait, et conséquemment, que le sacrement ne conférait pas la grâce quand il était administré par un pécheur. saint augustin entreprend de réfuter cette erreur, contre laquelle il écrira abondamment, dans ce discours adressé au peuple. il fait preuve là-dedans d’une grande clarté d’exposition et d’une remarquable vigueur de logique. après avoir dit d’abord que si jean-baptiste est le seul de tous les saints dont on célèbre la naissance, c’est qu’il est le seul qui ait glorifié le christ, même avant de naître ; après avoir dit encore que si saint jean, au lieu d’être un disciple de jésuschrist, avait des disciples comme lui, c’était pour rendre à sa divinité un plus éclatant témoignage, saint augustin aborde la question du baptême. pourquoi jésus a-t-il voulu être baptisé par saint jean ? c’était sans aucun doute pour pratiquer la même humilité dont il nous a donné l’exemple en s’incarnant. mais saint jean aussi n’avait-il pas raison de s’écrier : « c’est moi qui dois plutôt être baptisé par vous ? » jésus répond : baptise-moi ; « ainsi doit s’accomplir toute justice ». c’est qu’il avait en vue ces hérétiques futurs qui attribueraient au ministre la grâce du sacrement. mais peuvent-ils dire que c’est de saint jean que vient la sainteté de jésus-christ ? saint jean est-il l’arbre, comme disent les donatistes, et jésus-christ le fruit ? mais ne voient-ils pas que faire découler du ministre la justification, c’est faire dire au ministre qu’il est le christ, puisque seul, le christ justifie ceux qui croient en lui ? ne comprennent-ils pas que d’après ce principe, mieux vaudrait être baptisé par un hypocrite que par un saint, puisque baptisé par un saint on naît d’un homme, et de dieu quand on est 34 l’on peut penser que le donatisme qui n’est qu’un schisme au sein de l’église d’afrique ne peut pas être retenu une hérésie anti-trinitaire. mais en réalité, dans son de haeresibus 69, 1-5, augustin considère les donatistes comme des hérétiques en bonne et due forme. quand dans s. 183, 9, 13 il dira : « omnes haeretici negant christum in carne venisse », il inclut aussi les donatistes. nous avons établi plus haut que l’incarnation est pour augustin l’expression de cette discplina par laquelle le dieu trinité se révèle à l’homme qui graduellement parvient à la connaissance. ceux qui nient l’incarnation, nient aussi par ricochet la trinité elle-même et ne sont pas dans l’orthodoxie. sur le critère d’orthodoxie établi par augustin, voir r. dodaro, « omnes haeretici negant christum in carne venisse » (aug., serom. 183, 9, 13) : augustine on the incarnation as criterion for orthodoxy, dans augstu 39/1 (2007), 163-174. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 16 baptisé par un hypocrite ? qu’ils apprennent donc de saint jean que si le ministre verse l’eau, c’est jésus-christ qui envoie la grâce et l’esprit-saint ; qu’à l’exemple de saint jean encore, ils soient de vrais disciples de jésus-christ et avouent que de lui ils ont tout reçu. c’est la toile de fond du sermon. la réflexion trinitaire dans ce sermon n’est pas expressément articulée de manière à indiquer la nature de la trinité qui est père, fils et saint-esprit un seul dieu, dans l’unité et égalité de la nature et la distinction des personnes. c’est l’exégèse de phil. 2, 6-7 qui lui permit d’affirmer l’égalité de la nature du père et du fils. il dit : le christ est descendu pour toi, et pour toi il s’est fait baptiser. vois combien il est descendu du haut de sa grandeur ! « il était de la nature de dieu et il n’estimait pas usurper en s’égalant à dieu ». en effet l’égalité du fils avec le père n’était pas une usurpation, c’était sa nature… mais le christ « n’estima pas usurper en s’égalant à dieu » ; attendu qu’il lui était réellement coéternel, étant né de toute éternité. « cependant il s’est anéanti lui-même en prenant une nature d’esclave », c’est-à-dire en prenant la nature humaine.35 la théologie sacramentaire que le prédicateur déploie dans ce sermon a un arrière-plan plus christologique et a en vue la réfutation des donatistes36 qui, par orgueil, misent plus sur leur propre sainteté plutôt que sur celui qui, tout étant égal à son père, montre la voie de l’humilité en descendant « du haut de sa grandeur ». voilà pourquoi l’accent est mis ici sur la relation entre le père et le fils dont l’égalité de la nature est affirmée avec force. il ne dit rien de la nature 35 aug., s. 292, 3 (pl 38,1321) : « baptizatus est propter te, qui descendit propter te. uide quantus factus sit tantillus : qui cum in forma dei esset, non rapinam arbitratus est esse aequalis deo [phil 2,6]. non enim erat rapina, sed erat natura aequalitas filii cum patre. ioannes si se christum putari uellet, illi rapina esset. non ergo rapinam arbitratus est esse aequalis deo [phil. 2,6]. erat enim, et sine rapina erat, coaeternus ab aeterno natus erat. tamen semetipsum exinaniuitformam serui accipiens [phil. 2,7]; hoc est, formam hominis accipiens ». une interessante étude sur le texte auquel augustin fait référence est certainement celle de y. meesen, anéantissement et resplendissement. une lecture augustinienne de l’hymne aux philippiens, dans g. nauroy & m.-a. vannier, saint augustin et la bible. actes du colloque de l’université paul verlaine-metz (7-8 avril 2005), peter lang, bern 2008, 245-257. 36 sur la théologie sacramentaire de saint augustin en relation à son prédécesseur cyprien et à optat de milève voir m. labrousse, le baptême des hérétiques d’après cyprien, optat et augustin : influences et divergences, dans reaug 42/2 (1996), 223-242, voir surtout 232-242 ; voir aussi l. villette, foi et sacrament. vol. i du nouveau testament à saint augustin, bloud & gay, paris 1959, 217-329. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 17 du saint-esprit, mais tout en affirmant : « … natura aequalitas filii cum patre … coaeternus ab aeterno natus erat », augustin indique plus loin au § 8, en citant lc 3, 16, que le fils baptise avec (dans) le saint-esprit : « ipse est qui baptizat in spiritu sancto ». sans que nous ayons à forcer le sens du texte de ce sermon et émettre une hypothèse hasardée, nous pouvons dire qu’augustin tient fermement le mystère trinitaire en vue, même si pour l’heure, c’est sur l’égalité de la nature de deux personnes du père et fils qu’il s’arrête. ayant analysé ces quatre sermons considérés comme faisant partie de la prédication presbytérale d’augustin, nous pouvons dire que le jeune prêtre d’hippone avait déjà atteint, déjà à cette époque, une certaine élévation et précision doctrinales. il fait preuve de clarté dans l’exposition du grand mystère de la foi, tant quand il critique les hérétiques (les manichéens au sermon 1 et les donatistes au sermon 293), que quand il instruit les catéchumènes (sermons 214 et 216). il ne serait peut-être pas superflu de noter en passant les parallèles qu’il y a entre ces sermons et certains les enarrationes in psalmos de la même période. en effet, selon la chronologie proposée par zarb,37 les en. ps. 1-32 ont été écrites en 392. rondet situe les en. ps. 1-10 en 39438 mais ne suggère rien pour les 22 restants. c’est déjà intéressant, nous croyons, qu’il y ait eu accord entre les deux chercheurs sur la datation des 10 premières enarrationes qui, de toutes les façons sont considérées comme étant produites dans la période presbytérale. quoique es textes soient retenus comme étant dictés et non prêchés aux fidèles,39 il n’en 37 cf. s. zarb, chronologia enarrationum s. augustini in psalmos, st. dominic’s priory, valletta (malta) 1948, 253-256. 38 cf. h. rondet, essais sur la chronologie des enarrationes in psalmos de saint augustin, dans ble 61 (1960), 111-127 e 258-286 39 cf. b. alexanderson, augustinus, enarrationes in psalmos 1-32 (expos.), dans augustinianum 47/1 (2007), 179 – 191. c. weidmann l’éditeur critique de ces enarrationes dans le csel 93, les appelle expositiones. et alexanderson commente : « elles forment un groupe, mentionné dans l’indiculum comme psalmi expositi a primo usque ad tricensimum secundum ; on veut bien avec weidmann interpreter expositi comme dictés, non débités devant le public. les vrais sermons, prêches devant les congregations, sont des sermones… » 179. dans son introduction générale aux commentaires aux psaume de works (ny), m. fiedrowicz concorde avec la chronologie de zarb. sur les 32 premières enarrationes il écrit: « shortly after his ordination to the priesthood in the year 391, possibly during the time he had begged his bishop, valerius, to grant him for studying the scriptures, augustine began to put his great plan into effect. the exegesis of the first thirtytwo psalms initially took the form of concise notes and explanatory paraphrases of the biblical text, but these were soon succeeded by numerous longer expositions, which originated in the context of his igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 18 demeure pas moins que leur contenu doctrinal a sa valeur et nous persuade d’un certain degré de maturité de saint augustin déjà en ce moment. pour ne prendre que deux exemples de parallèles textuels qui nous résultent probants entre les sermons analysés plus haut et certains commentaires au psaumes de la même période, examinons l’en. ps. 5 en relation au sermons 1 et 214. dans cette enarratio qui semble un commentaire linéaire du psaume 5 verset par verset, augustin voit dans le verset 3 une invocation à la trinité qui est un seul dieu. il écrit: « soyez attentif à la voix de mes supplications » ; cette voix qu’il demandait au seigneur de comprendre et dont il nous exposait la nature, en disant : « comprenez mes cris. ecoutez donc la voix de mes supplications, ô mon roi, et mon dieu ». à la vérité le fils est dieu, le père est dieu, et le père et le fils sont un seul dieu ; et si l’on nous demande ce qu’est le saint-esprit, nous n’avons d’autre réponse, sinon qu’il est dieu, et quand on dit le père, le fils, et le saint-esprit, nous ne devons comprendre qu’un seul dieu ; néanmoins dans les saintes ecritures, le titre de roi désigne ordinairement le fils. aussi d’après cette parole : « c’est par moi que l’on va au père », le prophète a-t-il raison de dire « mon roi » d’abord, et ensuite « mon dieu » ?40 augustin exprime la foi trinitaire ici de façon très précise en procédant comme nous avons vu dans le s. 214 à la présentation du père et du fils comme un seul dieu, puis du saint-esprit comme dieu exactement comme les deux premières personnes. puis les trois personnes ensemble ne font qu’un seul dieu. le souci de sauvegarder l’unité de la nature des trois personnes sans les confondre se voit ici aussi. dans la suite du commentaire à ce même verset, il poursuivra en apostrophant directement ceux qui enseignent des doctrines contraires à celle de l’église sur les distinctes personnes de la trinité : liturgical preaching. » m. fiedrowic, general introduction, dans e. hill (éd), the works of saint augustine. expositions of the psalms 1-32 iii/15, new city press, hyde park new-york 2000, 14. 40 aug., en. ps. 5, 3 (csel 93, 106-107): « “intende uoci obsecrationis meae” [ps. 5,3], id est, illi uoci, quam ut deus intellegat petit; quae qualis sit iam insinuauit, cum dixit: intellege clamorem meum. intende uoci obsecrationis meae, rex meus et deus meus [ps. 5,3]. quamuis et filius deus, et pater deus, et simul pater et filius unus deus ; et si interrogemur de spiritu sancto, nihil aliud respondendum est, nisi quod deus sit ; et cum simul dicuntur pater et filius et spiritus sanctus, nihil aliud intellegendum est quam unus deus … » igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 19 …toutefois il ne dit pas « soyez attentifs » au pluriel, mais « soyez attentif », intende. car la foi catholique ne prêche ni deux ni trois dieux, mais un seul dieu en trois personnes. non point que cette trinité se puisse dire tantôt du père, tantôt du fils, tantôt du saint-esprit, comme l’a cru sabellius ; mais le père n’est que le père, le fils n’est que le fils, le saintesprit n’est que le saint-esprit ; et cette trinité de personnes n’est qu’un seul dieu. et dans ces paroles de l’apôtre : « tout est de lui, tout est par lui, tout est en lui », on voit une allusion à la trinité : or, il n’a point ajouté : gloire à eux, mais bien : « gloire à lui ».41 le parallèle entre la dernière partie de ce texte où augustin cite rm 11, 36 et y trouve une allusion à la trinité, et l’exégèse de ce même verset dans le s.1 est particulièrement intéressant vu que nous sommes entrain d’examiner des textes qui sont conventionnellement situés dans la même période. examinons-les mis l’un à côté de l’autre : sermon 1, 5 en. ps. 5, 3 « … la foi sincère et véritable ne peut que faire ressortir l’harmonie doctrinale de jean et de paul, et dans ces paroles du grand apôtre : “de lui, par lui et en lui sont toutes choses,” elle fait voir le fils et l’esprit-saint avec le père ». « et dans ces paroles de l’apôtre : “tout est de lui, tout est par lui, tout est en lui ”, on voit une allusion à la trinité : or, il n’a point ajouté : gloire à eux, mais bien : “gloire à lui ”. » augustin offre une même exégèse du texte en le rattachant à la trinité dans l’un comme dans l’autre texte. dans le sermon, c’est la querelle contre les manichéens, ennemis de l’ancien testament, qui porte le prédicateur à sonner la clochette d’alarme contre d’éventuels hérétiques qui, à imitation des disciples de mani, chercheraient à affirmer une contradiction interne au nouveau testament. l’en. ps. 5 ne surgit pas d’un cadre immédiatement polémique même si 41 ibid., (csel 93, 107) : « nec tamen dixit : intendite, sed : intende [ps. 5,3]. non enim duos aut tres deos fides catholica praedicat, sed ipsam trinitatem unum deum. non ut eadem trinitas simul possit aliquando pater, aliquando filius, aliquando spiritus sanctus dici, sicut sabellius credidit ; sed ut pater nonnisi pater, et filius nonnisi filius, et spiritus sanctus nonnisi spiritus sanctus, et haec trinitas nonnisi unus deus. quia et cum dixisset apostolus : ex quo omnia, per quem omnia, in quo omnia [rom. 11, 36], trinitatem ipsam insinuasse creditur ; nec tamen subiecit : ipsis gloria, sed : ipsi gloria [rom. 11, 36] ». ces genres d’avertissement retournent souvent dans la prédication du saint docteur. cf. id., s. 47, 21 (ccl 41,593) : « attendite fratres. uidete unitatem deitatis et personarum tamen distributionem, ne dicamus eum esse filium qui pater est, aut eum esse patrem qui filius est ». igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 20 augustin y indexe nommément sabellius. les contextes ne sont pas les mêmes, mais la conviction du prédicateur et de l’exégète demeure la même sur deux terrains où il explore les divines écritures et conduit sa pensée à découvrir la trinité. comme pour le s. 1 nous retrouvons, mutatis mutandis, une partie du contenu du paragraphe de l’enarratio sous considération dans le s. 214 cité plus haut. examinons-les par une vue synoptique : sermon 214, 10 en. ps. 5, 3 « le père est dieu, le fils est dieu, l’esprit-saint est dieu. toutefois le père, le fils et le saint-esprit ne sont pas trois dieux, mais un seul dieu, sans que le père soit le fils, sans que le fils soit le père et sans que l’esprit-saint soit le père ou le fils ; car le père est père du fils, le fils est fils dit père, et l’esprit-saint, l’esprit du père et du fils ; chacun deux est dieu et tous trois ne sont qu’un seul dieu ». « à la vérité le fils est dieu, le père est dieu, et le père et le fils sont un seul dieu ; et si l’on nous demande ce qu’est le saint-esprit, nous n’avons d’autre réponse, sinon qu’il est dieu, et quand on dit le père, le fils, et le saint-esprit, nous ne devons comprendre qu’un seul dieu ». ces deux textes montrent les parallèles lexicaux qu’ils contiennent. du coup, on se rend compte que c’est presqu’exactement ce qu’il dit dans le sermo in traditione symboli qu’il stipule encore dans l’en. ps. 5,3. augustin, s’efforce à insister sur la distinction des personnes sans négliger l’unité de leur nature. dans ce dessein, il évoque nommément sabellius dans le commentaire au psaume. l’on pourrait dire que c’est certainement pour attirer l’attention sur la subtilité de cette erreur qui tout en voulant sauvegarder la monarchie de dieu, finit par causer la confusion que le prédicateur y retourne assez souvent, soit en y faisant allusion soit en nommant le chef de fil de cette hérésie ou ses disciples. par ailleurs, il faut noter que le point d’ancrage d’augustin dans tous les points doctrinaux est toujours la foi catholique : « car la foi catholique ne prêche ni deux ni trois dieux, mais un seul dieu en trois personnes. » à la fin du s. 214, le jeune prédicateur, retourne à insister sur la même foi parlant de la résurrection : « telle est la foi chrétienne, la fois catholique, la foi apostolique. ayez foi au christ quand il vous dit : “pas un cheveu ne tombera de votre tête” ; et igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 21 repoussant toute idée, de doute, songez plutôt combien vous valez ».42 l’intérêt de cette analyse est de mettre en évidence comment le thème de la trinité dans la prédication apparait dans l’exégèse de saint augustin sur les psaumes dans la même période, et la consistence de son approche.43 conclusion de l’analyse des sermons 1 et 214 et du parallèle de l’en. ps. 5, sans oublier les autres aspects abordés dans les sermons 216 et 292, nous pouvons dire qu’au début de sa carrière de prédicateur, augustin avait déjà développé une expression très ferme et systématique de sa doctrine trinitaire. toutefois, il semble que la relation du saint-esprit avec les deux personnes du père et du fils n’est pas encore bien claire. il n’existe néanmoins aucun doute sur l’affirmation de la divinité du saint-esprit. par ailleurs, augustin connaissait depuis longtemps le danger du sabellianisme et de l’arianisme qui menace de confondre les fidèles. pour cela il prend soin d’indiquer l’unité de nature et la distinction des personnes. nous verrons les ultérieurs développements qu’à connu sa doctrine dans la période épiscopale, en un premier temps sur la nature de la trinité et ensuite sur sa manifestation dans l’histoire du salut. cela fera l’objet d’autres études que nous envisageons entreprendre dans le dessein de contribuer à une meilleure connaissance de la doctrine trinitaire augustinienne en dehors du traité de trinitate sur lequel la grande majorité des chercheurs se limite. 42 aug., s. 214, 12 (rb 72 (1962),21): « haec est christiana, haec catholica, haec apostolica fides. credite christo dicenti : capillus capitis vestri non peribit, et infidelitate depulsa, quanti valeatis, potius cogitate. » 43 le sérieux débat sur la datation des sermons de ces dernières années a porté certains chercheurs à questionner les diverses approches méthodologiques utilisées par les kunzelmann, la bonnardière et autres dans leurs travaux de précurseurs. par exemple, h. drobner a rejeté l’hypothèse de datation qu’il appelle “similar topic or biblical quotations suggest similar dates” qui consisterait à considérer la similarité des arguments développés dans un particulier groupe de sermons comme la preuve de leur contemporanéité. cf. p.-m. hombert indique h. r. drobner, the chronology of augustine’s sermons ad populum iii: on christmas day. 184–196 et 369–370, dans augstud 35 (2004), 48. en faisant une comparaison des parallèles lexicaux de textes déjà conventionnellement datés dans cette partie notre étude, nous ne voudrions pas entrer dans les débats de méthode. dans la perspective de notre recherche les résultats actuellement atteints par différents chercheurs nous servent d’hypothèse de travail et répondent aux exigences de l’étude de la doctrine trinitaire augustinienne dans les sermones que nous poursuivons dans cette thèse. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 174 the canonical and theological perspectives of faith, doctrine, and governance on staff policies in nigerian catholic institutions peter okonkwo, phd department of theology, veritas university abuja peterokonkwo@yahoo.com & ikechukwu anthony kanu, phd department of philosophy, veritas university abuja abuja ikee_mario@yahoo.com https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1977-202x & michael paul pilani, phd department of theology, veritas university abuja pilanimaria@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6549-6201 abstract this study examines the canonical and theological underpinnings of governance policies in nigerian catholic institutions, focusing on the interplay of faith, doctrine, and administrative principles. using a hermeneutical methodology, the research interprets key canonical texts, including canons 810, 750, and 752, to elucidate governance frameworks for faculty recruitment, evaluation, and dismissal. the analysis integrates civil legal provisions, such as nigeria’s constitutional labor statutes, to address the intersection of ecclesiastical mandates with statutory obligations. canon 810 is highlighted as a pivotal directive that underscores faculty qualifications in terms of scientific and pedagogical competence, doctrinal integrity, and moral probity, while ensuring procedural fairness. this canon also delineates the supervisory roles of ecclesiastical authorities in safeguarding institutional identity. the study articulates a dual framework that respects institutional autonomy and ecclesiastical oversight by aligning canonical principles with civil governance requirements,. the research further explores the balance between academic freedom and catholic identity, emphasizing the necessity of doctrinal fidelity within a context of intellectual inquiry. challenges such as ambiguous interpretations of “doctrinal integrity” and “probity of life” are addressed through recommendations for clear institutional policies, transparent governance processes, and faculty training programs. through promotion of alignment with canonical, theological, and civil expectations, the study provides a comprehensive governance model that supports the mission of catholic universities as centers of academic and spiritual excellence. keywords: catholic institutions, governance, theology, canon law, staff, policies igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 175 introduction the governance of catholic institutions, particularly in the educational sector, embodies a unique interplay between canonical directives, theological principles, and civil regulations. this complexity is especially evident in nigerian catholic universities, where the dual imperatives of academic excellence and doctrinal fidelity intersect with the demands of civil labor laws and cultural dynamics. as centers of intellectual inquiry and spiritual formation, these institutions are tasked with maintaining their catholic identity while navigating the expectations of a pluralistic society. this study explores the canonical and theological frameworks that underpin staff policies in nigerian catholic universities, with particular emphasis on the principles articulated in canon 810 of the code of canon law (catholic church, 1983). the canon provides detailed guidance on faculty recruitment, evaluation, and dismissal, emphasizing the importance of scientific competence, pedagogical suitability, doctrinal integrity, and moral probity. these standards are integral to safeguarding the catholic mission and academic credibility of the universities (coriden, 2004). however, the implementation of these principles is often challenged by the need to harmonize ecclesiastical oversight with the constitutional guarantees of academic freedom and labor rights in nigeria. this research therefore, employs a hermeneutical methodology to analyse key canonical texts and their application within the nigerian context. it also investigates the intersection of these principles with statutory labor frameworks, addressing areas of tension and convergence. the study aims to offer a governance model that upholds the catholic identity of these institutions while ensuring compliance with civil obligations and nurturing an environment conducive to intellectual and spiritual growth. through this comprehensive approach, the research contributes to the broader discourse on the integration of faith, reason, and governance in catholic higher education (d’souza, 2018). 1. methodology the methodology of the study, as described, adopts a hermeneutical approach. this method centers on interpreting canonical texts, particularly the code of canon law, to extract principles that are applicable to the governance of catholic institutions. hermeneutics, as a methodology, is particularly fitting for this study because it allows a nuanced engagement with the text, aligning theological perspectives with practical governance principles. key texts from the code of canon law, including canon 810, canon 750, and canon 752, serve as primary sources (code of canon law, 1983). these canons articulate the responsibilities of catholic universities to uphold doctrinal integrity, pedagogical competence, and moral probity among their faculty. the analysis of these texts highlights their application in institutional governance, particularly concerning recruitment, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 176 evaluation, and dismissal of academic staff. for instance, canon 810 underscores the need for catholic universities to appoint teachers who are exceptional in their scientific and pedagogical qualifications, doctrinal fidelity, and moral conduct, while also ensuring due process in cases of dismissal. this canon is critical in balancing institutional autonomy and ecclesiastical oversight. the methodology also integrates provisions from civil law, such as the nigerian constitution and labor statutes, to juxtapose church teachings with secular legal frameworks. this comparative approach underscores the intersection between ecclesiastical mandates and statutory requirements in governance. for example, the constitutional provisions on academic freedom and labor rights in nigeria provide a broader context for interpreting canon 810. such a framework ensures that catholic institutions align their governance policies with both canonical requirements and civil obligations, while promoting a holistic compliance structure. furthermore, the study employs hermeneutics to address the interpretative challenges posed by terms like “integrity of doctrine” and “probity of life” in canon 810. these phrases are explored in light of canons 750 and 752, which elaborate on the magisterium’s teaching authority and the levels of assent required for doctrinal adherence. hermeneutics facilitates a deeper understanding of these terms by drawing parallels with other canonical and theological texts, thereby providing a robust interpretative foundation. in practice, the integration of hermeneutical insights with statutory frameworks underscores the study’s dual focus on maintaining the catholic identity of universities while respecting broader academic and legal norms. this dual focus is especially pertinent in nigeria, where catholic universities operate within a complex interplay of religious, cultural, and legal dynamics. the methodology thus reflects an interdisciplinary orientation, bridging theological, canonical, and legal perspectives to address governance challenges in catholic institutions. overall, the hermeneutical methodology provides a structured approach to examining the governance of catholic institutions. therefore, the study offers a comprehensive framework for understanding and addressing the intricacies of faculty recruitment, evaluation, and dismissal, interpreting canonical texts and aligning their principles with civil law, this methodological rigor ensures that the study’s findings are both theologically sound and legally robust, contributing meaningfully to scholarly discourse on catholic institutional governance. 2. canonical provisions for staff appointment and removal 2.1. the role of canon 810 canon 810 serves as a cornerstone for governance in catholic universities, particularly in matters relating to the appointment and retention of staff. paragraph 1 of this canon establishes the essential criteria for faculty members, emphasizing scientific and pedagogical qualifications, doctrinal integrity, and probity of life. these standards underscore the dual mission of catholic universities: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 177 to pursue academic excellence and to uphold their distinct catholic identity. this insistence for faculty to excel in their respective disciplines while adhering to the moral and doctrinal tenets of the church, shows how canon 810 seeks to ensure that catholic institutions contribute meaningfully to both intellectual and spiritual formation. the canon recognizes that the identity of catholic universities is intrinsically tied to the character and conduct of their staff. faculty members are expected not only to demonstrate expertise in their academic fields but also to embody the values and teachings of the church in their personal and professional lives. this dual expectation reflects the church’s vision of higher education as a means of integrating faith and reason, promoting a holistic development of students that aligns with catholic principles (wagner, 2017). paragraph 2 of canon 810 assigns a supervisory role to episcopal conferences and diocesan bishops. these ecclesiastical authorities are charged with ensuring that catholic universities remain faithful to church doctrine, especially in the recruitment and governance of their teaching staff. this oversight is not intended to infringe on the autonomy of academic institutions but to safeguard their catholic character. by exercising vigilance, bishops ensure that universities maintain a balance between academic freedom and fidelity to the magisterium, thereby reinforcing their identity as centers of catholic learning. another critical aspect of canon 810 is its provision for the removal of staff members who fail to meet the established criteria. faculty who lack scientific competence, pedagogical skill, doctrinal integrity, or probity of life jeopardize the mission of catholic universities and their credibility within the broader academic community. the canon requires that institutional statutes outline clear and fair procedures for the dismissal of such individuals. this ensures adherence to the principle of due process, protecting the rights of staff members while preserving the integrity of the institution (usman, & paul, 2024; onukwuba et al., 2023) the emphasis on procedural fairness reflects both canonical principles and the broader legal norms that govern labor relations, highlighting the church’s commitment to justice in administrative matters. through this defining of standards for faculty appointments and delineating the responsibilities of ecclesiastical authorities, canon 810 provides a framework for upholding the catholic identity of universities. it addresses the complex interplay between academic excellence, moral accountability, and institutional governance, making it a vital reference point for administrators and ecclesiastical authorities alike. this canon not only reinforces the church’s commitment to education but also ensures that catholic universities serve as exemplary models of integration between faith and reason in the global academic landscape. 2.2. competent authorities and institutional statutes canon 810 recognizes the importance of institutional autonomy in catholic universities while ensuring alignment with overarching ecclesiastical oversight (coriden, 2004). the delegation of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 178 authority to institutional statutes for determining competent authorities in faculty appointments and removals reflects the church’s respect for the governance structures of individual universities. through doing so, canon 810 allows institutions to develop procedures that are contextually appropriate to their unique operational frameworks while remaining faithful to the broader principles of catholic education. the competence to appoint and, when necessary, remove faculty is granted to authorities defined within the statutes of each catholic university (ex corde ecclesiae, 1990). this internal delegation ensures that those most familiar with the institution’s mission and needs are responsible for maintaining its academic and spiritual integrity. for instance, university administrators, academic committees, or boards of trustees, as designated by the statutes, are typically tasked with evaluating candidates’ qualifications and ensuring their adherence to the church’s doctrinal and ethical standards. however, this autonomy is not absolute. paragraph 2 of canon 810 underscores the role of episcopal conferences and diocesan bishops in overseeing adherence to catholic doctrine within these institutions. while the internal authorities have primary responsibility for governance, bishops act as stewards of the church’s teachings, ensuring that the institution remains firmly rooted in its catholic identity. this dual structure promotes a collaborative relationship between institutional governance and ecclesiastical oversight, emphasizing mutual accountability (russo & gregory, 2007). the requirement for institutional statutes to outline clear procedures for faculty appointments and removals further reinforces the commitment to both autonomy and accountability. these statutes must articulate the roles, responsibilities, and decision-making processes of competent authorities, ensuring that they operate transparently and justly. for example, statutes typically include provisions for reviewing the scientific, pedagogical, and doctrinal qualifications of potential hires and for addressing cases where faculty fail to meet these standards. the inclusion of due process safeguards in these procedures ensures fairness while upholding the institution’s mission and values. through balancing of delegated authority with ecclesiastical oversight, canon 810 provides a governance framework that respects the individuality of catholic universities while safeguarding their catholic identity. this structure allows institutions to navigate the complex demands of academic freedom, legal compliance, and doctrinal fidelity, ensuring that they remain effective agents of the church’s educational mission (ex corde ecclesiae, 1990). 2.3. integrity of doctrine and probity of life the concepts of “integrity of doctrine” and “probity of life,” as articulated in canon 810, represent critical criteria for the selection and retention of faculty in catholic universities. these standards are not merely aspirational but are foundational to maintaining the catholic identity and mission of these institutions. together with “pedagogical suitability,” these requirements form a triad of qualifications that ensure faculty members contribute effectively to the university’s dual mission of academic excellence and fidelity to the teachings of the church. “integrity of doctrine” refers igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 179 to a faculty member’s alignment with the teachings of the church as defined by the magisterium. this entails not only a theoretical understanding of catholic doctrine but also an unwavering commitment to teaching and exemplifying these principles in their professional roles (hesburgh, 1994). the requirement underscores the church’s expectation that faculty members, as educators and mentors, actively support and propagate its theological and moral teachings. this fidelity is vital to preserving the catholic character of the institution and nurturing an environment that promotes the holistic development of students in accordance with church values. “probity of life,” on the other hand, encompasses the moral conduct and personal integrity of faculty members. this criterion ensures that educators serve as role models for students, embodying the virtues and ethical standards expected of individuals in catholic higher education. probity of life implies a lived commitment to catholic values, extending beyond the classroom to encompass all aspects of a faculty member’s professional and personal life. through prioritizing this quality, institutions reinforce the importance of moral leadership and authentic witness to faith within their academic communities. complementing these spiritual and moral standards is “pedagogical suitability,” which emphasizes academic qualifications and teaching excellence (gallin, 2001). faculty members must demonstrate expertise in their respective fields and an ability to convey complex ideas effectively to students. this requirement ensures that catholic universities maintain high academic standards while also fulfilling their mission to integrate faith and reason. pedagogical suitability is essential not only for promoting intellectual growth but also for equipping students with the knowledge and skills to engage with society in a manner consistent with catholic values. catholic universities employ rigorous processes to assess candidates and ensure they meet these criteria. peer reviews, recommendations, and performance evaluations are standard tools used to evaluate a candidate’s qualifications and adherence to the standards of integrity of doctrine, probity of life, and pedagogical suitability. recommendations from ecclesiastical authorities, as well as evaluations from previous academic or professional engagements, are often considered to ascertain a candidate’s doctrinal fidelity and moral character. additionally, ongoing performance evaluations and peer assessments ensure that faculty members continue to meet these high standards throughout their tenure. this comprehensive approach to faculty evaluation reinforces the catholic university’s commitment to academic excellence, moral integrity, and doctrinal fidelity. it also ensures that the institution remains a vibrant community of faith and learning, capable of addressing contemporary challenges while remaining steadfast in its mission (pilani, 2023). indeed, catholic universities not only preserve their unique identity but also contribute to the broader intellectual and moral formation of society by holding faculty members to these rigorous standards, (macintyre, 1994). 3. governance principles in nigerian catholic universities igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 180 institutional autonomy is a cornerstone of catholic universities, enabling them to pursue truth and fulfill their mission in education, research, and community service. this autonomy ensures that these institutions can operate effectively, guided by their distinctive catholic identity while adhering to both canonical directives and broader academic standards. autonomy in governance allows catholic universities to shape their administrative structures, define academic programs, and establish policies that reflect their mission and values. at the same time, they are expected to maintain rigorous academic standards and meet the expectations of their broader scholarly and societal obligations. the principle of institutional autonomy allows catholic universities to remain free from undue external influence, whether from civil authorities, donors, or other entities, while enabling them to define their governance and operational frameworks. this freedom is critical for nurturing an environment where academic inquiry can thrive, unhindered by constraints that could compromise the integrity of research or education (adaboh, 2012). the concept aligns with the church’s vision of education as a means of integrating faith and reason, ensuring that academic pursuits are conducted within a framework that respects both scientific rigour and theological principles. despite this autonomy, ecclesiastical authorities play an essential role in maintaining the catholic identity of these institutions. canonical oversight, particularly through provisions like canon 810, entrusts episcopal conferences and diocesan bishops with the responsibility of doctrinal vigilance. this oversight ensures that the university’s teaching and governance align with the magisterium and that faculty members adhere to standards of doctrinal integrity and probity of life. such vigilance does not undermine institutional autonomy but instead acts as a safeguard, reinforcing the university’s commitment to its catholic mission amidst the complexities of contemporary academic and social landscapes (pilani, 2023) the balance between autonomy and ecclesiastical oversight is integral to the unique character of catholic universities (coriden, 2004). while they exercise freedom in internal governance, the presence of doctrinal vigilance underscores their accountability to the church and its teachings. this dual structure promotes a symbiotic relationship in which the university’s academic independence is preserved while its catholic identity remains robust and visible. institutional autonomy in catholic universities thus reflects a nuanced approach to governance, one that respects the complexities of modern academia while remaining faithful to ecclesiastical principles. this balance enables catholic universities to thrive as centers of intellectual and moral excellence, contributing to the broader society while preserving their unique identity and mission (macintyre, 2009). 3.1. academic freedom academic freedom in catholic universities represents a delicate yet essential balance between intellectual inquiry and the institution’s catholic mission. this principle allows faculty to explore, teach, and publish without undue interference, and thus nurturing a vibrant academic environment igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 181 (hesburgh, 1994). however, in catholic universities, academic freedom is uniquely framed by the need to align intellectual pursuits with the faith principles and moral teachings of the church. faculty members are encouraged to engage with a wide range of ideas and disciplines but are expected to do so within the boundaries established by catholic doctrine, ensuring that their work contributes to the university’s mission of integrating faith and reason. this coexistence of academic freedom and catholic mission does not impose restrictions that undermine intellectual rigor. instead, it provides a framework within which academic exploration is guided by ethical considerations and a commitment to truth as understood through both faith and reason. faculty members, while free to investigate and debate, are entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring their work supports rather than contradicts the principles of catholic theology and morality (ex corde ecclesiae, 1990). such an approach reinforces the distinctive identity of catholic universities, which strive to be spaces where faith and scholarship mutually enrich one another. in the nigerian context, academic freedom is also a constitutional right, recognized as fundamental to the nation’s democratic principles. the nigerian judiciary has upheld academic freedom as essential for the development of an informed and innovative society (kanu & paul, 2024). courts have emphasized that academic freedom protects the rights of faculty to engage in open inquiry and critical thought, provided such activities do not disrupt institutional operations or societal harmony. this recognition underscores the vital role of higher education in encouraging intellectual growth and societal progress. within catholic universities in nigeria, this legal framework intersects with ecclesiastical expectations (okebukola, 2015). while the courts safeguard academic freedom as a civic right, the church emphasizes its alignment with the magisterium to prevent doctrinal deviation. this dual perspective highlights the importance of balancing the rights of individual faculty members with the institution’s responsibility to maintain its catholic identity. through this promotion of an environment where academic freedom is exercised responsibly and in alignment with church teachings, catholic universities can navigate the complex interplay between secular legal standards and ecclesiastical oversight. the coexistence of academic freedom and catholic mission in nigerian catholic universities demonstrates a model of governance that respects both individual and institutional rights (kanu et al., 2024). it allows universities to contribute to national and global academic discourse while remaining steadfast in their commitment to faith-based education. this balance ensures that catholic universities can function as both intellectual and spiritual beacons, shaping students and society through the integration of knowledge and values. 3.2. interaction of canonical and civil legislation the interaction of canonical and civil legislation in the governance of catholic universities highlights the necessity of harmonizing ecclesiastical principles with national labor and academic igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 182 statutes. catholic institutions operate within dual frameworks: the canonical laws that safeguard their religious identity and mission, and the civil laws that govern their existence as entities within a secular legal system (russo & gregory, 2007). this overlap requires a nuanced approach to institutional governance, one that respects both the church’s expectations and the legal obligations imposed by the state. canonical laws, such as those outlined in canon 810, establish the fundamental principles for faculty appointments, emphasizing doctrinal integrity, probity of life, and pedagogical competence. these criteria reflect the church’s intent to ensure that catholic universities uphold their identity and mission in every aspect of their operations. however, these canonical provisions must coexist with national labor laws, academic policies, and constitutional guarantees of rights, such as freedom of speech and academic freedom (orsy, 2009). for instance, labor statutes in nigeria, grounded in constitutional principles, mandate due process in employment matters and protect individuals against arbitrary dismissal, thus aligning with the canonical emphasis on procedural fairness. the reconciliation of these frameworks is particularly evident in the area of faculty governance. while canonical laws stress adherence to catholic doctrine, civil laws safeguard individual rights, such as freedom of expression and equal employment opportunities. for example, courts in nigeria have consistently recognized academic freedom as an essential component of a democratic society. judicial decisions underscore the right of educators to explore and share ideas freely, provided their activities do not undermine institutional objectives or disrupt public order (ekanem & ekefre, 2013). this emphasis on freedom aligns with the church’s acknowledgment of intellectual inquiry as a pathway to truth, but within the context of faith and moral values. case law in nigeria also demonstrates the judiciary’s role in resolving conflicts between civil rights and institutional autonomy. courts have upheld the rights of catholic universities to maintain their religious identity and governance structures, while also ensuring that constitutional protections are not violated. for instance, rulings have affirmed the legitimacy of faith-based requirements for employment in religious institutions, provided these are clearly defined and communicated in institutional statutes (akinwalere, 2023; paul et al., 2023). such decisions illustrate the balance that courts seek to achieve, allowing catholic universities to maintain their canonical commitments while respecting the legal rights of employees and other stakeholders. this interaction underscores the importance of well-defined institutional statutes that bridge the expectations of both canonical and civil laws. these statutes should articulate the procedures for appointments, evaluations, and dismissals, ensuring transparency and fairness. they must also align with labor laws and constitutional principles, thereby reducing the potential for legal disputes. in doing this, catholic universities can navigate the complexities of dual legal obligations, nurturing environments that honor both their religious identity and their civic responsibilities. the interplay of canonical and civil legislation in catholic university governance reflects a broader dialogue between faith and law. it ensures that these institutions can operate as spaces of intellectual and spiritual formation while adhering to the rule of law. this balance is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 183 critical for sustaining the credibility and mission of catholic universities in a pluralistic legal and cultural context (russo & gregory, 2007). 4. accreditation and identity maintenance the accreditation of catholic universities is a vital process that ensures they maintain academic credibility while safeguarding their distinctive religious mission and principles. accreditation serves as a mechanism for evaluating institutions against established quality benchmarks, validating their academic programs, governance structures, and overall operational effectiveness. for catholic universities, this process also offers an opportunity to reinforce their dual commitment to academic excellence and the spiritual mission rooted in their catholic identity. aligning with accreditation standards requires catholic universities to demonstrate that they meet rigorous academic criteria comparable to their secular counterparts. these include faculty qualifications, curriculum development, research output, and administrative effectiveness. compliance with these standards ensures that catholic institutions remain competitive and recognized within the global academic community, which encourages trust among students, parents, and stakeholders (ekanem & ekefre, 2013). however, the pursuit of accreditation must not come at the expense of catholic universities’ foundational principles. these institutions are entrusted with a unique mission: to integrate faith and reason in their educational and research endeavors. accreditation processes must therefore accommodate the religious identity of catholic universities, recognizing their commitment to uphold doctrinal integrity and provide education informed by catholic values. this dual expectation underscores the importance of collaboration between accrediting bodies and catholic institutions, ensuring that quality assurance measures are both rigorous and respectful of institutional autonomy and faith-based objectives. in practice, catholic universities can maintain their identity within the accreditation framework by clearly articulating their mission in institutional documents and ensuring it permeates all aspects of their operations. policies governing faculty recruitment, curriculum design, and student life should reflect catholic values, while also meeting accreditation requirements for inclusivity, academic freedom, and ethical governance (ex corde ecclesiae, 1990). by embedding their mission into institutional structures, catholic universities can navigate the complexities of accreditation without diluting their religious identity. moreover, the accreditation process often enhances the catholic character of these institutions by encouraging self-assessment and continuous improvement. regular reviews provide opportunities to evaluate how effectively the university integrates its spiritual and academic goals, identifying areas for growth while affirming its commitment to catholic education. this process not only reinforces the institution’s credibility but also strengthens its capacity to contribute meaningfully to the church’s mission in education. for catholic universities in nigeria, navigating the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 184 intersection of accreditation standards and their religious mission is particularly significant. as these institutions operate within a diverse and pluralistic society, accreditation provides a platform to demonstrate their relevance and contributions to national development while affirming their unique identity (okebukola, 2015). indeed, catholic universities can serve as models of excellence that embody the church’s vision of education as a pathway to holistic human development, by aligning with both national and ecclesiastical expectations,. through careful alignment with accreditation processes, catholic universities can achieve a balance between maintaining academic rigor and preserving their catholic mission. this dual focus ensures they remain credible participants in the global academic arena while staying true to their identity as institutions of faith and learning. 5. challenges catholic universities face several challenges in their mission to uphold both academic excellence and their distinctive religious identity (morey & piderit, 2006). among these are the ambiguities in interpreting and operationalizing key concepts like “doctrinal integrity” and “probity of life.” these terms, while central to the governance of catholic institutions, often lack precise definitions, leading to inconsistencies in application (coriden, 2004). additionally, the need to balance academic freedom – a cornerstone of higher education – with fidelity to catholic teachings further complicates institutional governance. striking this balance requires careful navigation of ecclesiastical expectations, civil legal frameworks, and the practical realities of academic administration. the lack of clarity in defining “doctrinal integrity” and “probity of life” poses a significant challenge. these concepts are fundamental to the recruitment, evaluation, and retention of faculty in catholic universities, as emphasized in canon 810 (gallin, 2001). however, their broad and somewhat subjective nature can lead to differing interpretations, potentially resulting in disputes or misapplications. for instance, while doctrinal integrity involves alignment with church teachings, the extent to which personal beliefs or public actions reflect this alignment may vary widely in interpretation. similarly, probity of life, encompassing moral conduct consistent with catholic values, requires institutions to establish clear standards for assessment without overstepping into personal liberties (pilani, 2023). balancing academic freedom with catholic identity presents another layer of complexity. while academic freedom is vital for fostering intellectual inquiry and innovation, it must operate within the doctrinal boundaries that define a catholic university. faculty members are encouraged to explore and teach freely, yet their work must reflect and respect the moral and theological tenets of the church. this dual expectation can lead to tensions, particularly when faculty perceive doctrinal oversight as a restriction on their academic independence (hesburgh, 1994; ex corde ecclesiae, 1990). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 185 recommendations to address these challenges, catholic universities should develop comprehensive and transparent policies within their institutional statutes. clear guidelines on the meaning and application of doctrinal integrity and probity of life are essential. these definitions should draw from canonical texts, such as canons 810, 750, and 752, and be contextualized to reflect the specific mission and values of each institution. explicit criteria and examples can help mitigate ambiguities and provide a fair and consistent framework for decision-making. accordingly, the following recommendations are proffered: i. transparent hiring and evaluation processes are critical: recruitment protocols should include thorough assessments of candidates’ academic qualifications, doctrinal fidelity, and moral conduct, supported by peer reviews, references, and interviews. similarly, periodic evaluations of faculty performance should incorporate feedback mechanisms and opportunities for professional development. these processes not only uphold institutional standards but also enhance trust and accountability within the university community. ii. faculty training on catholic doctrine and mission is another essential recommendation: regular workshops, seminars, and orientation programs can help faculty members understand and embrace the university’s catholic identity. such initiatives foster a shared commitment to the institution’s values while equipping faculty to navigate the intersection of faith and scholarship effectively. iii. regular policy reviews: regular policy reviews are necessary to maintain relevance and alignment with evolving societal and legal contexts. these reviews provide an opportunity to identify areas where governance policies can be improved to better sustain institutional identity and academic excellence. universities can ensure their operations remain consistent with their catholic mission while adapting to external changes by promoting a culture of accountability and continuous improvement. iv. strengthening relationships with ecclesiastical authorities: strengthening relationships with ecclesiastical authorities is another vital step. catholic universities should actively engage with episcopal conferences and diocesan bishops to ensure oversight and support in maintaining doctrinal fidelity and moral integrity. a collaborative framework that addresses governance challenges can help reinforce the university’s catholic identity while promoting operational efficiency. v. promoting research on catholic university governance: finally, promoting research on catholic university governance will contribute significantly to the academic and operational development of these institutions. interdisciplinary studies exploring the interaction of faith, law, and academic freedom can advance scholarly discourse and generate innovative solutions to emerging challenges. such research not only enhances understanding of governance practices igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 186 but also strengthens the capacity of universities to fulfill their dual mission of academic excellence and doctrinal fidelity. vi. finally, institutions must ensure compliance with both civil and ecclesiastical requirements: adhering to labor laws and constitutional protections, such as academic freedom and non-discrimination, is vital for maintaining credibility and avoiding legal disputes. at the same time, catholic universities should work closely with ecclesiastical authorities to ensure alignment with canonical expectations, promoting a collaborative relationship that supports their dual identity. by addressing these challenges through clear guidelines, transparent processes, faculty development, and legal compliance, catholic universities can effectively navigate the complexities of their mission. these measures not only strengthen their governance but also reaffirm their role as centers of academic and spiritual excellence. conclusion the governance of nigerian catholic universities represents a critical intersection of canonical principles, theological imperatives, and civil legal frameworks. as institutions tasked with nurturing academic excellence and preserving their catholic identity, these universities operate in a complex environment where faith, reason, and governance must coexist harmoniously. this study has demonstrated that canon 810, alongside other canonical provisions, provides a robust foundation for guiding faculty recruitment, evaluation, and dismissal. these principles ensure that catholic universities remain steadfast in their mission to integrate faith and reason while advancing intellectual inquiry by emphasizing doctrinal integrity, moral probity, and pedagogical competence. however, the practical application of these canonical directives is not without challenges. ambiguities in interpreting terms such as “integrity of doctrine” and “probity of life,” coupled with the need to harmonize ecclesiastical oversight with civil labor statutes, present governance complexities. furthermore, the balance between academic freedom and fidelity to catholic teachings remains a delicate endeavor, requiring careful policy articulation and implementation. this research has underscored the importance of transparent governance processes, including the establishment of clear institutional statutes, structured recruitment protocols, and performance evaluation mechanisms. equally vital is the development of faculty formation programs that promote an understanding of the catholic mission and equip faculty members to navigate the intersection of faith and scholarship effectively. regular policy reviews and strengthened collaboration with ecclesiastical authorities further enhance the capacity of these institutions to adapt to changing societal and legal contexts while maintaining their catholic ethos. the dual alignment of canonical principles with civil legal frameworks offers a pathway to foster igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 187 institutional credibility, ensuring that catholic universities remain respected participants in the broader academic community. by addressing these governance challenges with clarity, rigour, and a commitment to their mission, nigerian catholic universities can continue to serve as exemplary models of intellectual and spiritual formation. this study contributes to the scholarly discourse on catholic university governance, highlighting a dual framework that respects both ecclesiastical and civil obligations. future research could explore comparative governance models in catholic institutions globally, offering insights into best practices that could further strengthen the identity and governance of catholic universities in nigeria. references adaboh, s. (2012). catholic higher education in the 1960s: issues of identity, issues of governance. charlotte, nc: information. journal of research on christian education 21(2):188-191. doi: 10.1080/10656219.2012.698832 akinwalere, s.n., (2023). challenges and prospects of private higher education in nigeria. international journal of private higher education, 1(3). doi: 10.60166/xnfn9900 coriden, j. a. (2004). an introduction to canon law (rev. ed.). paulist press. d’souza, m. o. (2018). catholic higher education in the 21st century: challenges and opportunities. international studies in catholic education, 10(2), 193-208. ekanem, s. a., & ekefre, e. n. (2013). education and religious intolerance in nigeria: the need for essencism as a philosophy. journal of educational and social research, 3(2), 303-310. ex corde ecclesiae. (1990). apostolic constitution of the supreme pontiff john paul ii on catholic universities. vatican press. gallin, a. (2001). negotiating identity: catholic higher education since 1960. university of notre dame press. hesburgh, t. m. (1994). the challenge and promise of a catholic university. university of notre dame press kanu, i. a. and pilani, m.p., (2025). priestly and religious vocations in the light of genesis (2: 5-9): insights and actions for the jubilee year. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life, 22(1), 156-184. kanu, i. a., & paul, p. m. (2024). “semiotic hermeneutic of ‘new wine, new wineskins’: symbols, philosophy of development, and africa.” dialogue and universalism, 35(2), 151–164. https://doi.org/10.5840/du202434225 kanu, i. a., omenukwa, p. c., kanu, c. c., & paul, p. m. (2024). education and human dignity: connections and perspectives. veritas journal of humanities (vejoh), 5(2), 151-164. kanu, i.a., paul, p.m. and omenukwa, p.c., 2024. philosophy of emotional intelligence in the light of 1 kings (12:1-19): the intersection of philosophy, psychology and scripture. tuijin jishu/journal of propulsion technology, 45(3). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 188 kanu, i. a. (2017). “the philosophical canons of african indigenous education”. hummingbird: journal of african sustainable development. pp. 78-90. vol. 9. no. 8. kanu, i. a. (2017). “augustine as the thought-current of the church’s doctrinal tradition: reflection on augustinum hipponsensem”. vol. 7. no. 6. pp. 69-81. african scholar: journal of contemporary education. kanu, i. a. (2017). “augustine as a luminary among ecclesiastical teachers: reflection on ad salutem”. berkeley: journal of contemporary education research. vol. 4. no. 6. pp. 105-116. kanu, i. a. and ejike, n. (2017). “religious and moral education in nigeria: a complementing search for development”. oracle of wisdom journal of philosophy and public affairs. vol. 1. no. 1. pp.79-84. kanu, i. a. (2018). “the africanness of augustine’s religio-humanistic thoughts on education”. amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 16. no. 1. pp. 1-9. kanu, i. a. (2018). “igwebuike and the question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge”. journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2024). “implications of folk songs for education in africa”. innovations, number 77, june, pp. 473-485. kanu, i. a. (2024). “educational value of african folktales”. innovations, number 77, june, pp. 787-804. macintyre, a. (1994). three rival versions of moral enquiry. university of notre dame press. morey, m. m., & piderit, j. j. (2006). catholic higher education: a culture in crisis. oxford university press. okebukola, p. a. (2015). higher education and africa’s future: doing what is right. jhea/resa, 13(1-2), 107-126. onukwuba, m., idornigie, p. o., ekpe, i. p., & paul, p. m. (2023). who is my neighbour?: law and religion. the international journal of humanities & social studies, 11(11), 5968. https://doi.org/10.24940/theijhss/2 023/v11/i11/hs2311-017 orsy, l. (2009). receiving the council: theological and canonical insights and debates. liturgical press. paul, p. m., ogharandukun, m., idakwoji, s. b., dike, m. c., & odunukwe, a. d. (2023). “private universities in nigeria: their emergence, proliferation, significance and funding.” international journal of innovative research & development, 12(11), 34-40. https://doi.org/10.24940/ijird/2023/v12/i11/aug23010 pilani, m. p. (2023). socio-political neophobia: the bane of advancement in nigeria as a nation. the economy of leadership and social transformation in contemporary africa: essays in honour of professor ichoku hyacinth ementa, 227-250. pilani, m. p. (2023). synodality in numbers 11: 24-30: an architype for participation in community life. the bible on synodality: walking together in communion, participation, and mission. acts of the catholic biblical association of nigeria (caban), 14, (24-42). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 189 pilani, michael p. (2023) “amos’ polemical mission against religious hypocrisy (amos 5: 21 27) in african context” in biblical approach to mission in context: a festschrift in honour of sister professor okure, shcj, eds. michael ufok udoekpo, mary jerome obiorah & luke e. ijezie. paulines publications west africa. 101-130 russo, c. j., & gregory, d. l. (2007). legal and policy issues in catholic education. education law association. usman, j. h. and paul, p. m. (2024) “conflict resolution beyond identity: insights on peacebuilding from acts 6:1-7,” journal of religion and society (joras) 13 (2024): 58-73. wagner, j., (2017). “the distinctive mission of catholic colleges & universities and faculty reward policies for community engagement: aspirational or operational?”. graduate college dissertations and theses. 749. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 61 mood in courtroom discourse: an example of olu olagoke’s ‘the incorruptible judge’ farinde, raifu olanrewaju, ph.d department of english and literary studies federal university oye-ekiti, nigeria mikh_fad75@yahoo.com & ogunrinde, ebenezer deji, ph.d department of english and literary studies federal university oye-ekiti, nigeria ebenezer.ogunrinde@fuoye.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.18277.47848 abstract when a writer writes, it is with the intention of conveying some moods to the readers and audience. embedded in literary texts are various types of mood which conveys diverse messages to the readers and audience. this study attempts an appraisal of the mood types in the courtroom scene of olu olagoke’s the incorruptible judge. the analytical tool proposed by gibbons’ (2008), forensic questioning model was adopted as analytical tool for the play. the study reveals such mood types as fear, anger, sorrow, gloom, rejection, etc. the study concludes by recommending further analyses with texts containing courtroom discourse as they are modeled after real life situations. keywords: incorruptible, mood, courtroom, discourse, sorrow, judge introduction language and mood are interwoven. one is embedded in the other. this is because language is the outlet for the expression of mood. according to farinde (2006), there are many discourse situations such as buying things in a shop or market, interview for a job, interrogation between the accused and the police, talking formally in cases or meetings, interactions within the family and loved ones etc. these situations will have their own formulae and convention which we will follow. mood is the decisive factor that will help us know the right words to choose under the various discourse situations. in support of this, ojo (2006) observes that it is through language that mood must be observed and gauged and that a speaker/writer employs language in his day-day interactions and what he says/writes at a particular time is an indicator of his mood. in essence, the mood of speaker/writer determines the language he uses. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 62 according to olaniyi (2016), mood has been studied from different perspectives by linguistics, pragmatics, semantics and phonology and so forth. articles with literary texts as data include those of osisanwo (2006), akorede (2006) and jimoh (2006) among others. despite this, there is dearth of literatures on mood which dwells on courtroom discourse using literary text as data. this is the focus of this present study. this research investigates mood in courtroom discourse using the courtroom scene in olu olagoke’s play ‘the incorruptible judge’ as data. a brief synopsis of olagoke’s the incorruptible judge olagoke has published two plays in the evans africa plays series which are ‘the incorruptible judge’ and ‘the iroko man and the wood-carver’. ‘the incorruptible judge’ is a moralistic play which deals with the evil embedded in the act of bribery and corruption. the play contains some fundamental truth that no sinner will go unpunished as this is shown in the final scene with the arrest and trial of the unscrupulous employer james ade agbalowomeri. the play opens with ajala, a very brilliant young school-leaver who applies for vacancy at the establishment office in the government development department. the establishment officer, mr ade agbalowomeri told the applicant that he must first bring five pounds before he could employ him. ajala, the applicant then reported the matter to the police, detective sergeant clement agbonifo okoro who gave him five pounds notes and followed him to the office of mr james ade agbalowomeri and eventually arrested him. despite several attempts made to influence the trial judge, mr justice faderin by mr eniola durojaye, his fatherin-law and his friend chief bobameto, an important chief, the judge remains adamant and proves incorruptible. mr james ade agbalowomeri; the corrupt officer is eventually convicted and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment with hard labour. all his relatives and friends were wailing and dashing themselves to the ground as the prisoner is led away from the dock by the police. courtroom procedure before going on to questions in court, it is necessary to discuss about courtroom procedures. this will guide us in later stages when some aspects of the procedures in the courtroom are referred to. in the courtroom, examination-inchief usually comes first. the aim is to obtain narrative facts from the witnesses that will support the examiner in-chief client. in england and wales, the party who calls a witness (to the court) conducts the examination-in-chief. in nigeria, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 63 the prosecution counsel who is the lawyer representing the state asks question or examine the witness. in the magistrate court in nigeria, the prosecutor who is a police officer usually examines the witness. either in the high court or the magistrate court, the prosecuting counsel who is a lawyer or the prosecutor who is a police officer must be well armed with the facts of the case. the examination-in-chief is also known as ‘direct examination’ or ‘examination’. the object of examination-in-chief is to obtain vivid narrative facts of the case from the witness. in this regard, questions that will generate maximum narrative facts are more frequent as they “allow the witness to break into narratives that give an authentic ring to testimony” (woodbury, (1984-211). at this stage, leading questions are frown upon, because the aim is to elicit maximum facts from the witness. leading questions are questions embedded with propositions of the questioner which can convince the witness. cross-examination on the other hand, comes after examination-in-chief. here, the objective is quite different from examination. the aim of cross-examining lawyers is to discredit the witnesses’ testimony. thus, it is usually a tense confrontation between an aggressive lawyer and the witness. the cross-examining lawyer will always be aiming to derive testimony that will be favourable to him from the witness, “lawyer’s role in direct examination is to showcase the witness testimony, on crossexamination, you should be centre of attention” (manet 1980:247-249). that is why examination has always been described in the literature as cooperative while cross-examination is described as hostile and uncooperative (luchjenbroers 1997). review of nigerian language and the law literature little work has been done in the area of language and the law in nigeria. the little research efforts that is in existence have dwelt much on the features of the language of the law, including lexical, syntactic, discoursal and graphological features. for example, okolo’s (2000) study looks at the features of language of the law in general at the discoursal level, syntactic level and lexical levels. at the discoursal level, the study frowns on the absence of pronouns and lack of cohesive devices in the legalese which makes legal documents very difficult to comprehend for a lay man. at the syntactic level, legal documents also have large numbers of passive constructions, truncated passives, nominalisations, multiple negatives, misplaced or intrusive phrases, doublets such as any and all, cease and desist, false and untrue and unusual prepositional phrases such as ‘as to’, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 64 ‘in the event of’, and ‘until such a time as’. okolo admits here that subjecting legal documents to syntactic analysis will be a herculean task because syntactic rules cannot generate most legal sentence structures. furthermore, at the lexical level, there is a preponderant presence of french, latin and old english words, whose original meanings have not been replaced with their current equivalents as should be expected, making legal language a myth to a layman. all the above features are given in okolo’s study and this mystification of legal language is observable at those levels of linguistic analysis. however, central to okolo’s study is the application of existing linguistic theories with which this problem can be overcome. still speaking on the peculiar language features of the language of law, alabi’s (1997) work also categorised these features into lexical and syntactic peculiarities, and graphological peculiarities. under lexical and syntactic pecularities, the study identifies the following as being the features of language and the law: (i) technical words such as malicious, act, decree, plaintiff etc; (ii) foreign words such as french and latin borrowings e.g. de jure, in loco parentis, tort and posteriori; (iii) nominalizations such as assignor, transferor, inspectee, appointee; (iv) stringing together of adverbials and prepositions e.g. therewith, thereafter, hereby, whereof etc; (v) many abbreviations such as l.j. for justice; (vi) preponderant use of nominal and dearth of pronouns; and (vii) inversion of word order. very few studies of language and law in nigeria attempt the analysis of the structure of courtroom discourse. among these is opeibi (2001). in opeibi (2001), there is the categorisation of the discourse strategies used in court which are: the structure of the message, the addresser-addressee structure and the cohesive structure. the author is of the opinion that by the nature of the courtroom discourse, apart from very few declarative and imperative sentences, the information gathering process and gathering of facts are done through the means of interrogations. opeibi (2001:9) asserts that the preponderance of interrogative sentences is a reflection of the nature of legal process in general. olubakin and kalejaiye (2018) study examines the mood system displayed in the communicative event presented in the clause structure of courtroom utterances of a selected manslaughter trial in a nigerian court. they are of the opinion that language in courtroom interrogations express mood associations in addition to the syntactic implication meaning making. this work is a detailed syntactic analysis of courtroom discourse in mood situations. however, it does not cover igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 65 the fictional aspect as it is based on real life courtroom situations. this present study is based on fictional aspect as given in olu olagoke’s the incorruptible judge. as maintained earlier, only very few of the studies of language and the law in nigeria attempt the language analysis of the structure of courtroom discourse. farinde (2016) paper attempts this. farinde (2016) studies pragmatic markers in courtroom discourse. he is of the opinion that cross-examination is a hostile phrase and it always favours the lawyers because of their power and asymmetry over the witnesses and the accused persons. these discourse markers are always used by the lawyers during the cross-examination which also emphasize their powers over the witnesses and the accused persons. although, farinde’s work is a detailed work on courtroom discourse, the focus is pragmatic markers to the detriment of the structure of courtroom discourse. that is the major and highly significant gap that this paper is trying to fill. this paper attempts to provide a very detailed and rigorous analysis of nigerian courtroom discourse as given in olu olagoke’s the incorruptible judge. theoretical framework the theoretical framework for this study is supported with gibbons’ (2008) forensic questioning model. this model is especially good for the analysis of institutional dyadic discourse of unequal participants. it is essentially good for courtroom discourse because observation of the data used for this work has revealed that the greatest linguistic tool or weapon the lawyers employed in establishing their institutional authority over suspects is question. in support of this, stygall (1994) asserts that questions are a powerful tool the lawyers and police interrogators use to control the flow of discourse, requesting particular information in a certain fashion, presenting the story in the order they impose, which does not necessarily follow the temporal succession of the actual events. questions in court are different from questions in other contexts. this is so because in the courtroom, question can only be asked by the judges, lawyers and prosecutors. the witnesses’ and defendants’ role is just to answer these questions. this is unlike in other contexts such as conversation between two colleagues whereby any of the two can ask questions and is not reserved for one person alone. questioning procedure, therefore, in court is reserved primary for those who form a part of the court system e.g. judges, magistrates, lawyers, clerks (harris 1994). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 66 gibbons (2008) postulates some questioning forms which are identified, analysed and discussed for this present study. they are (i) declarative questions, (ii) choice questions (iii)wh-questions, (iv) projected questions, and (v) special formulas. according to gibbons (2008), in courtroom discourse, only one party is normally expected to ask questions and the other party is only allowed to respond and normally must respond. declarative questions: these are questions loaded or embedded with the questioners’ views, positions, ideas and propositions, aimed at indicting or convincing the respondent. according to gibbons (2008), they are very powerful questions because they contain the proposition of the questioner. as can be inferred from above discussions, declarative questions have presuppositions and all questions posed in natural language will contain words or phrases that have emotive connotations, both positive and negative. according to watson (2003: 1791), the suggestiveness of a declarative question can have subtle effects on the respondent who is a witness. what may occur is that the suggestive terms in the question can result in the interrogator's views being incorporated into the memory of that witness. choice questions: these are otherwise known as polar or yes/no questions. they are questions that require the respondent to oscillate between two options of yes or no. the lawyers make use of this type of question in police-suspect discourse to limit the choice of response of suspects. such questions are also used by the police to prevent suspects from deviating from the subject of discourse. according to gibbons (2008), these choice questions license in the response only information provided by the lawyers and police interrogator. wh-questions: these questions whether restricted or non-restricted are questions usually posed by the police for specific facts and information. they are introduced by wh-words such as where, who, when, why, how and what. this type of question is the one that is mostly employed by lawyers in the course of their interaction with accused persons. projected questions: according to gibbons (2008), questions in police interrogation usually contain verbal projection (reported speech). in these kinds of questions, the propositions of the police interrogator are usually embedded in them thereby placing high levels of pressure for agreement on the suspect. in a verbal projection, like ‘you say that he killed the woman', there is an assumption that the speaker is committed to the truth of the core proposition (he killed the woman) rendering it very difficult to deny without branding oneself a liar. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 67 therefore, if the person answers ‘no’ this denial is primarily a denial of saying this, but does not deny that he killed the woman (although the denial may affect this core proposition if there is no other evidence for the fact). the core information (he killed the woman) is to some degree presupposed or embedded. special formulas: one characteristics of police interrogation is that there are occasions when police interrogators specifically mark the fact that the information is their version of events, not that of suspect, them challenge the suspect to agree. this is done by the use of legal formulas, the most common of which is “i put it to you that".'' this phrase is not exclusively part of police domain and may be more frequently and more effectively used in courtroom discourse (e. g. cross examination). it is nonetheless a phrase which is unlikely to turn up in general conversation but which does appear with some frequency in police interrogation (gibbons 2008). data the data for this study were selected from olu olagoke’s the incorruptible judge. precisely, this research investigates mood in courtroom discourse using the courtroom scene in olu olagoke’s play ‘the incorruptible judge’ as data. the courtroom proceedings in the text were studied painstakingly with focus on question and answer adjacency pairs presented by the prosecuting lawyer, the defence lawyer, accused and the witnesses and rigorously analyzed. we have selected this text because it contains detailed and almost real life proceedings of courtroom discourse. it also contains elements of mood and being a drama piece it portrays direct characters in action. analysis extract 1 lawanson : what is your name? okoro : clement agbonifo okoro. lawanson: did anybody make a report to you on the 18th day of march, 1962? okoro : yes. lawanson : who was that? okoro : ajala oni. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 68 lawanson : what did he say? okoro : he said when he took his application to the establishment office in the government development, he demanded a bribe of five pounds from him before he could appoint him. lawanson : what did you do when he told you this? okoro : i marked five pounds notes, carefully recorded their numbers, and gave them to the complainant to give to the accused in his office. i followed him and stood outside the applicant coughed and came out. lawanson : do you know why he coughed? okoro : yes, i asked him to cough after the accused got the money from him. lawanson : what did you do after that? okoro : i went to him immediately. when the accused denied receiving any money from the applicant. i searched him and found thirty pounds in his pocket. when i checked them, i saw four of my marked notes in them. i was looking for the fifth note when the accused suddenly grabbed the notes and put them in his mouth. i held his throat until he spat out and then i charged him to court. in extract 1 above, the prosecuting lawyer, lawanson is asking questions from the detective-sergeant clement okoro who is the police officer in charge of the case. since the prosecuting lawyer is the counsel for the prosecution, and sergeant okoro is the officer in charge of the case, this is under direct examination. it is direct examination because the prosecuting lawyer is on the side of officer in –charge of the case. the glaring fact to be noted about extract 1 is the preponderance of both restricted and non-restricted wh-questions. this finding conforms to existing literatures in legal discourse about the contrast between direct examination and cross-examination. the direct examination stage is very supportive and cooperative as opposed to the cross-examination stage which is hostile and unfriendly. the prosecuting lawyer uses whquestions to elicit maximal response and more facts from the officer in charge of the case in this extract. since he is acting on behalf of this witness he is sympathetic towards him. many of the wh-questions that he uses are nonrestricted ones that enabled him to get the real information about the witness’ version of reality from the witness. the objective of this is to put this witness in a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 69 relaxed mood so that he will be in a frame of mind to tell what actually happened. such non-restricted wh-questions are: 1. what did he say? 2. what did you do when he told you this? 3. what did you do after that? even when the prosecuting lawyers uses restricted wh-questions such as ‘who was that?’, it is to ask for specific name. we can observe in this extract that sergeant okoro here is in a relaxed mood and he freely gives narrative answers about what really happened. extract 2 arogunmatidi : who saw you marked those notes? okoro : nobody. arogunmatidi : so there was nobody to see and confirm that the notes were actually marked? okoro : yes. arogunmatidi : i put it to you that you did not actually marked the notes, that after searching such an eminent gentleman without finding anything incriminating on him you realized that you might be taken to court for wrongful and malicious accusation or even defamation of character with the possibility of having to pay a heavy fine. then you suddenly invented that you saw your marked notes in the money he brought from home. after all nobody saw you mark those notes. in extract 2 above, the defence lawyer, arogunmatidi is asking questions from sergeant okoro who is the officer-in-charge of the case. this is the crossexamination stage. here, the defence lawyer uses wh-questions sparingly. even, the one he uses is the restricted wh-question which is to ask for specific name such as ‘who saw you mark those notes?’ and sergeant okoro replied ‘nobody’. he makes sure that he uses this restricted question that requires only naming a specific person. this reveals the power that lawyers have over the witnesses. furthermore, the defence lawyer also makes use of choice question thereby restricting the witness to either affirming or denying such as ‘so there was nobody to see and confirm that the notes were actually marked’ and sergeant okoro replied in the affirmative ‘yes’. this is hardly surprising igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 70 however, since the aim of the defence lawyer is to limit the choice of okoro’s reply to either ‘yes’ or ‘no’ thereby conforming to his own side of the story. another thing that is peculiar to this extract is the use of special legal formula which is attached to declarative question that is used with the intention of forcing the defence lawyer’s prepositions on the officer-in-charge of the case. the aim of the defence lawyer, arogunmatidi is to impose his proposition and his own version of reality on sergeant okoro. his objective is to put the witness, okoro in a mood of fear thereby limiting his response to barely acknowledgement of the defence lawyer’s, propositions. ‘i put it to you that you... the defence lawyer even uses a negative choice question to make the officer-in-charge agree with his own side of the story ‘is that not so?’ after all nobody saw you mark those notes. that negative question is used during this cross-examination stage reveals the powerful nature of negative questions and the oppressive nature of cross-examination stage. but sergeant okoro is too experienced to fall for this and he replied in the negative also. ‘no sir. not only did… extract 3 arogunmatidi : at what time did you consult the accused? ajala : at about 12.30pm. arogunmatidi : he promised to help? ajala : yes. arogunmatidi : he insisted on taking money? ajala : yes arogunmatidi : do i understand you to mean that he took the money not as a gift but as a tip? ajala : yes arogunmatidi : but anyone could show gratitude by a present! ajala : yes… but… eh… igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 71 in extract 3 above, the defence lawyer is asking questions from the young applicant ajala. because of the fact that arogunmatidi is the defence lawyer who is on the side of the accused agbalowomeri and ajala is the second prosecuting witness, this extract is under cross-examination. in this regard, the wh-question used is just to ask for a specific time ‘at what time did you consult the accused?’ and ajala replied precisely ‘at about 12.30pm’. he also makes use of choice questions to restrict the witness to either affirming or denying his propositions. it is very difficult for the witness to deny such propositions and that is why ajala confirm these propositions despite the fact that this is not helping his own case: arogunmatidi : he promised to help? ajala : yes arogunmatidi : he insisted on taking money? ajala : yes. we can see here that during cross-examination, the lawyers are all powerful. it is they that control the discourse between them and the witnesses’ contributions. that is why at the end of this cross-examination, the defence lawyer puts a declarative question to ajala which caught him off-guard and makes him start stuttering: arogunmatidi : but anyone could show gratitude by a present? ajala : yes: but…eh… declarative questions are usually favoured by lawyers during cross-examination because they are very powerful, leading and coercive. the declarative questions asked during cross-examination are not asking for answers that lawyers do not know already. rather, they are asking for witness corroboration and agreement of the propositions embedded in them. extract 4 arogunmatidi : what is your name? agbalowomeri : james ade agbalowomeri arogunmatidi : age? agbalowomeri : forty-four arogunmatidi : what is your occupation? igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 72 agbalowomeri : establishment officer in the government development department. arogunmatidi : how long have you been working in the civil service? agbalowomeri : twenty years. arogunmatidi : have you ever been involved in any case of bribery or corruption, misappropriation or maladministration? agbalowomeri no arogunmatidi : when will you retire from the civil service? agbalowomeri : next year arogunmatidi : will you be entitled to a substantial gratuity and pension for life? agbalowomeri : yes arogunmatidi : are you married with wife? agbalowomeri : yes, five children arogunmatidi : what is your own version of the story? agbalowomeri : when the prosecution witness brought his application to me, i told him that he was quite qualified and gave him a note to report for duty the following day. he said he was grateful and that he would pay me back for my help. i didn’t know what he meant. the next thing i know was the police, searching me. i did not destroy any notes. arogunmatidi : in the light of that statement, you deny any knowledge of receiving anything? agbalowomeri : yes, he only … the fact is that… i thought he… in extract 4 above, the defence lawyer arogunmatidi is asking questions from the accused person james agbalowomeri. the accused is already in a pensive mood but since the defence lawyer is defending the accused, and is on his side, during this examination, he is asking questions that will put him in a relaxed mood. that is why most of the questions asked are wh-questions that will showcase his good qualities and his good past records and reputation. even, when the defence lawyer makes use of choice questions, it is also to showcase his good qualities and his past meritorious service. for example: arogunmatidi : have you even been involved in any case of bribery or corruption, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 73 misappropriate or maladministration? agbalowomeri : no. arogunmatidi : will you be entitled to a substantial gratuity and pension for life? agbalowomeri : yes. arogunmatidi : are you married with wife? agbalowomeri : yes. the last choice question about his wife and children are also asked by the defence lawyer so that the judge can have pity on him and consider his marital status and responsibilities. but the judge is not impressed by this and he cuts him sharply: the judge : speak the truth and precisely agbalowomeri : my lord, i did not receive anything. god is my witness. here, the mood of anger and indignation is portrayed by justice faderin who always stands by the side of truth and cannot tolerate deceit and lies. extract 5 agbalowomeri : god is my witness that i never got a penny from anybody. please take pity on my condition, your lordship, and be lenient with me. consider my age, my length of service, my family and my children. don’t send me to prison. the judge… there is also the necessity of deterring others from following you bad example. this is a very serious offence and the one that has been rampant. this country must be protected against unscrupulous officers of your type who abuse their position of trust and responsibility, betray the confidence reposed in them by their employers and make things difficult for the honest… igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 74 agbalowomeri : i have a family of six, your lordship. have mercy on me. the quality of mercy is not strained. it droppeth… the judge: enough of that hackneyed quotation from shakespeare. i cannot be too drastic in an offence of this nature and i should be failing in my duty to the public if i gave you the option of fine. so i find you guilty of extortion and you are therefore sentenced to three years’ imprisonment with hard labour. in extract 5 above, the judge is giving his judgement on the case. he is an incorruptible judge and all the antics of both the prosecuting lawyer and the defence lawyers do not make him derail from his line of duty. he makes use of performative verb in the delivering of his judgement. performative verbs are uttered by the dominant speaker to his/her inferior. this means that their use reveals the power of the dominant speaker over his/her inferior, ‘so, i find you quilty of extortion and you are hereby sentenced to three years’ imprisonment with hard labour. all the appeals for his mercy and sympathy by the defence lawyer and the accused do not move him in the least. he therefore sentenced the accused to three years’ imprisonment. the mood of sorrow, anguish, and gloom are shown by the accused as tears started rolling down his cheeks and his relatives and friends started wailing and dashing themselves to the ground. conclusion from the analysis above, we have seen how the analysis of courtroom discourse has help in the projection of various mood types such as sorrow, gloom dejection relaxation, annoyance and indignation etc. we have used the tool of analysis in forensic linguistics as it covers the domain of courtroom discourse. courtroom discourse analysis of olu olagoke’s the incorruptible judge has thus demonstrated that in situations with uncertainty, human judgments often exploits rule of thumb which fundamentally contradicts human propositions but justice faderin remains incorruptible and was able to convict the unscrupulous employer at the end. it has thus been shown that using texts containing courtroom discourse for forensic linguistic analysis has been a rewarding and fruitful exercise and we therefore recommend further analyses with texts containing courtroom discourse as they are modeled after real life situations. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 75 references akorede, o. y. (2006). ‘mood and reader’s feedback. a reading experience of aissatou opebiyi‘fear forbaby’. in a gift of lace’. in ajiboye, t. & osissanwo w. (eds) mood in language and literature. lagos: femolous fetop publication. pp 183-201. alabi, v.a. (1997). stylistic features of the legal discourse. in: a. lawal (ed.). stylistics in theory and practice. ilorin: paragon books. farinde, r.o. (2006). ‘an interpretative analysis of mood in discourse situations. in ajiboye, t. & osissanwo w. (eds) mood in language and literature. lagos: femolousfetop publication. pp 148-163. farinde, r.o.(2016). ‘pragmatic markers in nigerian courtroom discourse’. in akin odebunmi, ayo osisanwo, helen bodunde and stella ekpe (eds) grammar, applied linguistics and society: a festschrift for wale osisanwo. ile-ife: obafemi awolowo universiy press. pp 546-557. gibbons, j. p. (2008). questioning in common law criminal courts' in gibbons, j. and turell, m. t [eds] dimensions of forensic linguistics. boston: john benjamin's publishing company pp 115-130. harris, s. (1989). ‘defendant resistance to power and control in court’. in hywel c. (ed.). working with language, (pp 131-164). berlin: mouton de gruyter. jimoh, r. (2006). ‘mood and syntactic choice in drama: the example of shakespeare’s julius ceasar’. in ajiboye, t. & osissanwo w. (eds) mood in language and literature. lagos: femolousfetop publication. pp 210226. luchjenbroers, j. (1997). in your own words…: questions and answers in a supreme court trial. journal of pragmatics. 27. 477-503. manet, t. (1996). trial techniques. boston: little brown and company. olubakin v.o. and kalejaiye a. s. (2018). ‘the english mood system in the language of courtroom interrogations’. in ayo osisanwo, ibrahim olaosun and idowu odebode (eds) discourse stylistics, sociolinguistics and society: a festschrift for ayo ogunsiji. ibadan: stirling-horden publishers ltd, pp 245-258. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 76 ojo, j.o. (2006) ‘mood in language: a lexico-syntactic analysis of mood in gani fawehinmi’s ‘obasanjo has betrayed democracy’. in in ajiboye, t. & osissanwo w. (eds) mood in language and literature. lagos: femolous fetop publication. pp 92-110. okolo, b.a. (2000). ‘a linguistic study of legal language’. in research in african language and lingustics vol 5. 12-31. olagoke, o. (1972). the incorruptible judge. ibadan: evans publishers. olaniyi, o. (2016). ‘ syntactic analysis of grammatical mood types in chimammanda adiche ngozi’s the thing around your neck’. in akin odebunmi, ayo osisanwo, helen bodunde and stella ekpe (eds) grammar, applied linguistics and society: a festschrift for wale osisanwo. ile-ife: obafemi awolowo universiy press. pp 142-161. opeibi o.b.(2001). aspects of language use in courtroom: an analysis of a selected text fromcourt proceedings. a paper presented at nigerian millenium sociolinguistic conference, department of english, university of lagos, nigeria. osisanwo, w. (2006). ‘a pragmatic analysis of mood types in selected literary texts’. in ajiboye, t. & osissanwo w. (eds) mood in language and literature. lagos: femolous-fetop publication. pp 126-147. stygall , g. (1997). trial languages differential discourse processing and discursive formation. amsterdam and philadelphia: john benjamin’s publishing company. woodbury, h. (1984). ‘the strategic use of questions in court’. semiotica 48,197-228. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 2(2) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 76 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) a review of ikechukwu anthony kanu’s african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues by ejikemeuwa j. o. ndubisi, phd department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, p. o. box 0006, umunya, anambra state, nigeria. e-mail: ejikon4u@yahoo.com phone no.: +2348062912017, +2348028011298 introduction this well-articulated resource book in african philosophy of 21 chapters and 416pages, was written by an erudite augustinian priest, rev. fr. dr. ikechukwu anthony kanu, o.s.a., and published in 2015 in jos by augustinian publications. the book, faithful to its name, is a critical exposition of classical and contemporary issues in african philosophy. the method of dialoguing between philosophy and culture through hermeneutics was adopted to accomplish the difficult task.african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issuesis a book anyone interested in african philosophy would like to read because of its rich content and novelty of its method which give flavor and dynamism to the study of african philosophy. the book is cast in a simple and flowing philosophical language, and to make itself a distinctively unique african philosophical resource material, the book is embellished with several concepts from the native african tongue.the author’s approach and method of analysis are particularly interesting for they became the very platform on which a book of this sort can truly be called ‘african philosophy’ faithful to both the ‘african’ and the ‘philosophy.’ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 77 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) discussion of the chapters the first chapter dwells on the problem of defining african philosophy. quoting gyekye (1987) the author ascribes the persistency of this problem in the question of african philosophy to two reasons viz., the problem of literacy and that of intellectual dilemma of the african philosophers. for, on the one hand, there was absence of writing tradition in indigenous african cultures, and on the other hand, the african philosophers who are involved in the contemporary discuss of the subject are largely trained by western minds. these notwithstanding, philosophy, for the african philosopher, can never consist in reducing the african reality to western systems according to the declarations of the second congress of negro writers and artists, 1959 (cf. pp.3-4). kanu noted that the term ‘philosophy’ could be viewed from a variety of perspectives. african philosophy is not immune from this pattern. nevertheless, africa itself understood in its geographical context remains the privileged place of african philosophy. he observes, however, with njoku (2002) that no single characteristics can adequately settle the question of who or what is an african. but why, actually, hasafrican philosophy received wide attention? according to kanu, the issues of ideological race classification, slave trade, and colonialism are the basic factors that gave rise to the debate on african philosophy. the eurocentrists had developed some ontological hierarchy of human beings in which the africans are placed at the bottom since, for them, the negro is backward, inhuman, primitive, illogical etc. there was no qualm then in exploiting the africans to the benefits of the west through slave trade; and, to redeem this situation (and place the african in the same pedestal with the rest of humanity) such a people need to be colonized. the idea of african philosophy is thus a response to european derogation of the african race, an affirmation of the self, and a reaffirmation of african cultural heritage. the nature of the discipline according to gbadegesin (cited in pp. 15-16) reveals four perspectives: african philosophy as philosophy indigenous to africans,african philosophy as philosophical reflections on african realities, african philosophy as a reflection on african worldviews, andafrican philosophy as a collection of philosophical texts produced by africans and described as such by their authors. kanu, however, contends that none of these perspectives adequately captures the meaning of african philosophy. for him,african philosophy is a philosophy that employs a method that is distinctively african while presenting the african worldview, and keeping in view the universality of philosophy as its basis.the universality of philosophy is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 78 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) understood in terms of the propensity of philosophy (in every culture) to raise questions relating to the fundamental principle underlying human experience, and not in terms of the uniformity of doctrinal positions (kyekye, 1995, cited inp.19). the chapter finally looked into the problem of ‘africanness and ‘philosophiness’ of african philosophy. while the former refers to the locale within which the philosophy is done, namely africa, africans, and non-africans living in and sharing in the life of the africans; the later speaks of the content of the philosophy, namely african problems and situations. no doubt then that there is certainly an african philosophy, which, for kanu, tries to explain reality from an african perspective. in the second chapter, the author argues that african philosophy is an ontologico-existential hermeneutics (p.30). conceiving african philosophy as essentially having to do with abstraction of philosophy from african cultures, kanu adopts the ontologico-existential hermeneutical method of inquiry (in african philosophy) by which he thinks the african philosophy will be able to deal with non-philosophical baggage of cultural background by making explicit what is implicit. by putting into consideration the philosophiness and the africanness of the subject matter, this method fulfills an ontological role and an existential role. for, while philosophy concerns itself with universal problem, the human person who engages in philosophy must speak from a cultural environment. for him, african philosophy must then be a hermeneutical interpretation of one’s cultural heritage. but how does hermeneutics of culture escape the criticisms of sage philosophy? can we say that interpretation is the same as analysis? the above questions call for critical answers. the third chapter focuses on the trends in african philosophy which the author identifies as follows: universalist/professional trend (with emphasis on method, criticality and analysis), ethnophilosophy or particularist trend (with emphasis on african worldviews), eclectic trend (which involves the reflection of professional philosophy on ethnophilosophy), national-ideological trend (with emphasis on african political ideologies), sage philosophy (emphasizing that there are individuals in traditional african societies who were philosophers) and literary/artistic philosophy (which focuses on african thinkers who through their literary or artistic works made reflections that are basically philosophical). having posited the above enumeration, kanu moved on to identify some sources of african philosophy in the fourth chapter which includes works of professional philosophers, african proverbs: folk tales, myths, names, artifacts, languages, symbols, songs, historical experience, and traditional prayers. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 79 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) the fifth chapter titled the dimensions of african cosmology is a discourse on the way africans perceive, conceive and contemplate their universe. the term cosmology is etymologically the science of the universe. hence, kanu refers to african cosmology as the lens through which the african sees reality. he observes that the african universe with its corresponding worldview has the physical and the spiritual dimensions both of which are dominated by god and the humans respectively. the reality of god in the african universe is best understood from his names and attributes (pp. 85-6). man, however, is at the center of the african universe, while deities in this universe serve as the intermediary through which the supreme being is reached. their function is to ensure that god is not bordered by petty problems from the earth. they include anyanwu, amadioha, ahiajioku, ala. they are categorized into primordial divinities (those dwelling in heaven with the supreme being from all eternity), deified ancestors (mortals made divine after their death), and personified natural forces and phenomena (mountains, hills, rivers, caves, trees, etc personified and revered because spirits are resident in them). the author later discussed the rational proofs for the existence of god for the africans in the sixth chapter of this book. not minding the fact that, unlike the westerners,africans do not actually depend on proofs in order to believe in the existence of god, he meticulously identified six african traditional proofs for the existence of god: based on existence of contingent beings; the eternity of god, african names, african prayers, proverbs, and myths. his arguments point to the existence of a supremely influential being in africa, namely god. the seventh chapter of the work consigns itself with a historiography of african philosophy. kanu noted that the possibility of the history of african philosophy is strongly linked to the problem of methodology, precisely those oforature and collective thought – this poses some problem on the periodization of the discipline. this notwithstanding, kanu took a bold step in classifying african philosophy into four periods, namely (1) ancient period (covering the north african egyptian civilizations and mystery systems – 3000 to 300 b.c), (2) medieval period (covering the north african history of christian philosophy and the period of islamic activities – 2nd to 15th a.d), (3) modern period (covering the period between 15th and early 20th centuries – including the works of mbiti, tempels, kagame, marcel griaule etc), and (4) contemporary period (21st century till date).the classification of african philosophy (3) was largely based on the methodologies that were employed by their proponents. this problem of methodology gains attention in chapter eight of this work. prominent among the methodological problems are the problem of oral tradition and that of collective igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 80 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) philosophy which is its consequence, for, oral tradition has the habit of transmitting only the consensus ideologies. the issue of language was also identified as problem in african philosophy. so because of the relevance of this problem in african philosophy, the author dedicated the entire chapter nine to it. but contrary to the status quo, kanu maintains that the problem of language inafrican philosophy is not about the multiplicity of language but about the consideration of the impact of colonialism on african language and the need for a cultural renaissance so as to better expressafrican philosophy in a language that profoundly mirrors african realities (p. 157). it is also his view that absence of writing did no harm to philosophy in traditional african society – meaning that literacy is not a necessary prerequisite for philosophy. chapter ten of this work is titled african ethics: foundation, community and religion. ethics is that field of study which deals with the morality of human actions or the norms of human behavior. ethics in africa is however founded upon african ontology. thus, kanu observes that when an action is ontologically good such action is considered ontologically good. but the question is: how do we judge an action to be ontologically right or wrong? kanu seems to pay no attention to this fundamental question in this regard. but he well observes that african ontology in its hierarchy [of being] is governed by harmony. it follows then that any brake or distortion of this harmony is evil and attracts some recompense. action in line with this ontological harmony is a morally good action otherwise it would be morally wrong. and as the author observes, the recompense essential to an evil act may extend from the individual to the kinship and to the entire community.since also it is almost impossible to separate the life of the african from his or her personal inclination to the divine. the african ethics has equally a religious basis.this awareness of the presence of the supreme being and its influence in african ontology logically led to a discussion of the problem of freedom and determinism in chapter eleven of this book. quoting mbiti’s maxim ‘i am because we are and since we are, therefore, i am’, kanu highlights the african concept of the community and individual freedom. the african person is a being-with and a being-for others. when a man descends from heaven, he descends into a community (p.183) and he is constantly influenced by the community. however, one will doubt if kanu has succeeded in showing that the community does not kill, suppress or take the place of the individual and his freedom in the society. one easily understands from his (the author) reflection that the community gives definition and bounds to the freedom of the individual. yet kanu avers that the individual freedom is nevertheless subsumed in that of the community – reason being that the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 81 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) individual has right to obey or not to obey the community.the same problem one encounters with regard to the community and the individual freedom is not avoidable when one looks at the relationship between god and the individual in african society. the nature of african universe for kanu is such that we can recognize three different worlds namely uwa (the earth), ani mmuo (the land of the spirits), and igwe (the sky) which only god inhabits and from where he controls the universe. now, with god, the deities and spirits exerting their influence on human beings, are they really free? the author answers in affirmation to this question – based simply on possibility. for, according to him, god’s unlimited powers do not exclude the possibility of him creating human beings who can cause free activities (p. 184). this influence of god on his creatures in addition to human experience also provides the setting for the belief in human destiny. the reality of destiny notwithstanding, kanu maintains that the african person is free and responsible inasmuch as he is able to estimate the relative worth of alternatives open to him and acting accordingly (p.187). furthermore, kanu examined the very concept of life in african anthropology. this was what occupied his attention in chapter twelve. according to him, life (and the desire for its preservation) is conceived of as the highest good in african anthropology, and this is made manifest in several igbo names like ndubisi, nduka etc. again, life for kanu, is active and never passive. life is an active and dynamic existence in which other things follow. of course it is a gift from god and conceived of as belongingness. the community, in his view, is the necessary and sufficient condition for the life of the individual person. he also conceives of life as a stage as well as everlastingness. by stage, kanu means that life is circular and not linear and by everlastingness, he means that life extends into eternity – from uwa(earth) to ala mmuo(spirit world) and so on. in his discourse on the provenance (origin) of human life, kanu avers that life begins from the conception of the child in the womb. the author provides sufficient evidence for african belief in this assertion but not for the rationality of the belief itself. in the yoruba concept of person, he observes that the soul precedes the body (p.21). but at what point precisely does the soul of the person begin to live? this is a fundamental question calling for answer. the next chapter titled towards an african theodicy looks critically at the african concept of the problem of evil and suffering. in the first place, the author traced the origin of suffering in the thinking of igbo people as an act of disrespect to god demonstrated by a woman when she spat on god’s face resulting in god withdrawing into the sky. from this perspective, suffering expressed in the word igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 82 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) ahuhu is thought of as being retributive and proportionate to the offence committed. kanu then identified three approaches to this problem: the cosmological optimistic perspective is the approach that understands suffering as a recompense; the humanistic destiny perspective views suffering as a person’s lot; while for the eclectic perspective, suffering is a result of negation of the ontological order by a human person as approved a priori by his/her chi. kanu, however, thinks it necessary to add a fourth perspective which he calls ‘the mystery perspective’ which derives its meaning from the very nature of god who is a mystery: human suffering could be viewed as a mystery (p. 212).the issue of globalization caught the attention of the author in chapter fourteen of this book. globalization simply put means the interconnectivity of nations of the world. but from the look of things in the contemporary world, there is a problem understanding globalization as either a process or a product the popular opinion in this book being a conceptualization of globalization as a product exported [from europe] to africa with sinister motives. the author, in any case, regrets that africa has played a rather passive role in the issue of globalization, allowing herself to be globalized rather than contributing to globalization at the same time. it thus behooves on african philosophy to reverse this negative mentality. african metaphysics is the focus of chapter fifteen. metaphysics, as we know, is the branch of philosophy that is concerned about the study of the nature and structure of being. this chapter, therefore, is on being and its various categories. going along the line of historical development of this concept in africa, kanu identified several views. prominent among the african philosophers who labored in this field include tempels who for the africans identified being as force. for kagame being for the african is identified as ntu. ede calls it ife/ife-idi. for iroegbu, it is belongingness; while in njoku’s view being is nothing other than chi because everything in igbo has a chi. however, kanu dismisses all these notions of being in african philosophy as inappropriate. for him, the appropriate concept for being in igbo-african metaphysics is idi (to be), categories of which are identified asmuo, mmadu, anu, ife, ebe, oge, and uzo (manner). a thorough examination, it seems, will however, reveal that the terms di, idi, ife-idietc are more of just a translation of the western term ‘to be.’ this, i suppose, is the much africans can do if we have to philosophize in terms of concepts alien to traditional africa. the igbo in employing those terms did not intend them to stand for being as being (being without qualifications). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 83 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) kanu moved on to examine the problem of reincarnation and the question of identity. we find this in the sixteenth chapter of this book. reincarnation in anameze’s view (cited in kanu, p. 255) is the belief in a cyclic process of death and rebirth. very significant to this phenomenon, however, is the kind of death that a person dies. basically, only those that die a natural or good death can reincarnate, all things being equal.the seventeenth chapter is on the idea of time in african ontology and the issue of development. this chapter is basically a study of african concept of time as given by j.s. mbiti who sees time basically as an event (p.269). but kanu tries to distinguish event from time when he says that activity controls time and not the reverse (p.272). it then becomes difficult to articulate what time is when the definens also features in the definendum. he says, for instance, that “time is always a time for doing something…” (p.269). it is, meanwhile, the opinion of the author that developing a positive mentality about time would help the development of africa. a particularly interesting theme in this work is the problem of causation in traditional african metaphysics treated in chapter eighteen. the world for the african, according to aja (cited in kanu, p. 280) is an ordered universe in which all events are caused and potentially explicable. this is a fact not recognized by the western minds such as hume who speaks of things happening by chance – a view which ozumba (cited in kanu, p. 281) considers a manifestation of their ignorance of the series of actions and reactions that have given rise to a given event. for kanu, therefore, things with causal power in the african experience of reality include god, divinities, spirits, human beings, words, witches – and these experiences cannot easily be reduced to illusion.the next chapter, chapter nineteen is a historical and philosophical investigation of the ancient africa in the areas of science and technology. kanu noted that in this regard, africa has contributed to ancient civilization in the areas of mathematics, medicine, astronomy, metallurgy etc. and this is contrary to the popular opinions of the eurocentric minds who claim that africans are not capable of reason. hume for instance, noted that, unlike even the most barbaric white, no black individual has ever been known to specialize in anything; no ingenious manufacturer among them; no science no art. and hegel (cited in kanu, p. 308) reduces the african to the level of animals when he purports that the negro is yet to go beyond his instinctual behavior to identify a being outside of himself. now, if africans were really able to achieve the level of scientific and technological height as kanu posited, it follows that the eurocentric opinions were ill based. it is, however, the author’s opinion that unlike herprogenitors, the present african society is really backward with little or nothing to contribute to civilization. for him, the african igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 84 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) seems contented glorying in a past that is hardly related to the present. but what concrete thing does he recommend as a solution to the present african predicament? we can hardly come out of this quagmire except we are first decolonized: mentally, politically, culturally and otherwise. chapter twenty of this book is a reflection on african traditional democracy with particular interest in yoruba and igbo traditional political organizations who had some sort of participatory democracy, or if you like, a balance of autocratic dictatorship and popular democracy which, as it were, was later undermined and devastated by the colonial political infrastructure. this takes us to the last chapter titled african philosophy and the problem of development.the term ‘development’ is understood as a long term improvement in the standard of living, as felt and judged to be by most of the people in the country (onwuliri, 2008, cited in kanu p. 331). with this definition in mind, the author proceeded to the quest for development in nigeria. he identified corruption as the greatest challenge and obstacle standing on the way of development in all its forms in nigeria. he believes, however, that african philosophy through its tools of constructive criticism and reconstructive-ness can contribute positively to the liberation, not only of nigerians, but of the entire african people. concluding remarks from what follows, one observes that it does not require much reflection for anyone to realize the fact that this extraordinary research, from an african genius, african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues is awash with new ideas relevant to philosophy in general and to african philosophy in particular. but at the end of a book like this, one may ask: ‘but what is the central idea?’ permit me to say that the central idea is african philosophy. in his introduction to this work, the author made it clear that it is a collection of the lectures delivered to his students of philosophy in addition to other papers presented in academic conferences and published in academic journals. so, the question of central idea needs not arrive.more importantly, the author tried to sieve out philosophy that is distinctively african, from some non-philosophical baggage (p. xviii) through hermeneutical interpretation of cultural ingredients. in this way, he provides some useful insights into much of the problems seeking philosophical investigation in africa. these problems are collected round about metaphysics, religion, aesthetics, science, politics, ethics etc. in fact, kanu, as exemplified in this work,actually did african philosophy rather than being apologetic with the usually verbal exchange on the mere question of existence and definition of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 2, june 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) 85 (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) the conclusions, however, reached in much of the questions raised are worrisome, one must observe. more worrisome is the fact that kanu frequently juxtaposes other people’s numerous ideas that one finds it difficult in most cases to pinpoint or identify his own view on the subject. this, notwithstanding, the central message that one can easily deduce from this book is that african philosophy is alive and active. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 5 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 65 social engineering and ambivalence of human interest: the nigeria experience by j. o. inyang department of philosophy faculty of arts university of calabar, calabar abstract the common good in this write up is identified with the harmonious complementarism postulated as the authentic foundation of all human interest. it is argued that if the common good is placed above all private interests in a society, social action would then be judged as rational. this is predicated on the reflection that no individual or group of individuals would want to carry out an action that would devastatively affect his person, relation or society. where such an action is chosen, then, it tantamount to an ambivalence of interest which entails a double capacity effect. this implies that the negative outcome of one’s action presupposes the ignorance of such an effect prior to the action. this is because no one would want to deliberately or consciously destroy himself. self-destruction here is viewed as a detachment from the common good and the lack of the awareness of our multi-dimensional interests in a particular situation. the nigerian society is considered as a case in point where selfish actions are taken both in private and public life such that sooner or later they produce negative effects directly or indirectly. this calls for a design or reconstruction of our social institutions or structures that will enable us to rationalize our interest/actions. the remedy includes relating our interest to the ontological reality or absolute being viewed as a total reality with no missing link. keywords: social, engineering, ambivalence, human interest, nigeria, experience introduction the term ambivalence connotes phrases such as “both sides” or “double capacity”. the new lexicon webster’s dictionary of the english language describes an ambivalent person as one “having conflicting feelings about something or one who is simultaneously attracted and repelled by something”, the oxford advanced learner’s dictionary in a similar sense or conception describes an ambivalent person as one “having or showing mixed good and bad feelings about a particular object”. precisely demonstrated, if mr. ‘a’ has a strong desire to go swimming in order to cool down his body temperature when the weather is hot and at the same time condemns swimming or refrains from igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 66 swimming because of the ill consequences of drowning associated with it, then he is ambivalent about swimming. he finds himself in a dilemma of conflicting interests or desire, which definitely could affect his action. in the social sciences, we deal with human behaviour both in its social and cultural aspects or in general, human beings as members of the society. this raises the problem of whether we can apply scientific methods as against scientific theories/principles in the study of the society. here there is need to emphasize that human beings in society are different from objects or facts found in the natural sciences. with the understanding of human beings as inexact entities and not obeying causal laws, we are compelled to rely on the rules of operations and principles of sorting that is peculiarly applicable to questions/problems in the social sciences. apparently, the society as a system in which people live together in organized communities entails the design and reconstruction of the institutions that makes part of the society itself. such institutions could be economic, education, politics, etc which directly or indirectly influences both individual and collective behaviour of the members of the society. the management and or control of these institutions cannot be overlooked in as much as it affects social action. it is pertinent at this juncture to assert that, in a society where these institutions/structures are absent, there is the urgent need for a design and construction, for they are the very fabric of the society and where they exist or had existed, there is need for a reconstruction either holistically or in parts to meet human need. this no doubt can be done through policy/decision-making and implementation as well as selflessservice. thus, in the social science the application of the engineering or technological approach in solving social problems imposes a discipline on our speculative inclination, which may lead us into the region of metaphysics. to avert this problem, the approach compels us to submit our theories to definite standards of clarity and practical testability. prima facie, the engineering or technological approach implies the adoption of our activist attitude towards social order. human interest in social groupings are multifarious hence the difficulty to identify one interest at a time. there is also the difficulty in applying the scientific methods of the natural sciences in explaining and predicting social phenomena, since social behaviour defies causal laws and the exactness associated with the natural science. to a very large extent, we sometimes lack awareness of our multi-dimensional interest in a particular situation. because of the ignorance of what we want at a particular time, which igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 67 invariably affects our choice or decision-making, we are bound to have ambivalent interest; the consequence of which may be grave. the double-capacity effect of our actions (willful) presupposes ignorance, which precedes our actions. most time we are beclouded by selfishness and the natural tendency of man to have everything for himself. this kind of tendencies influences our social actions and could lead to ruthlessness in both private and public life. to remedy such a situation as the case may be, calls for urgent application of the right engineering techniques to the whole society. in this connection, the nigeria experience is a case in point where there has been ill social policies and ruthlessness thus making both public and private life questionable. to make this work more focused and precise, the work of innocent. i, asouzu titled: effective leadership and the ambivalence of human interest: the nigerian paradox in a complementary perspective, is reviewed as a guide to our present work. it is nevertheless the subject matter of this paper. here asouzu identifies the phenomenon of ambivalence of human interest as something that can hold individuals and societies to ransom because of its capacity to conceal its devastating effect. he notes further that because of the ambivalence of human interest, the life we choose to live sometimes is paradoxical especially when we identify certain situations as good but end up in the course of our actions doing those, which we recognize and even criticize as wrong. what is social engineering? social engineering simply put, is theoretically a resemblance of physical engineering especially when we regard the ends as beyond the province of technology. to buttress the point, just as the main task of the physical engineer is to design machines and to remodel and service them, the task of the social engineer in comparative terms is to design social institutions, construct and reconstruct as well as run those already in existence. these include bodies of private and public character among other social institutions. accordingly, the social sciences have developed largely through the criticism of proposals for social developments; or more precisely, through attempts to find out whether or not some particular economic or political action is likely to produce an expected or desired result (potter 418). for example, the social engineer can investigate into the techniques of business administration; or into the effects of improved working conditions upon output. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 68 he can as well investigate into the effects of prison reform or health services or the stabilization of prices and even democratic reforms. writing on social science and social progress using technological approach, karl popper claims with a degree of caution that the social engineer can generate knowledge, which is properly scientific. for popper, this can form the basis of his highly favoured “piecemeal engineering”. in this connection, popper is of the view that the social science can be used as an aid to bring about reforms in the society. importantly popper rejects the claim that scientific technocratic thinking should become a substitute for moral and political debate. he opined that the social sciences and indeed the natural sciences can never tell us which goal we ought to pursue, but can tell us the technically most rational means of achieving whatever goals we choose to pursue. this can be reached through democracy as a social institution. dwelling on the piecemeal approach, the social engineer or technologist recognizes that only a minority of social institutions is consciously designed while the vast majority has just ‘grown’ as the undesigned results of human action. the engineer relies on the functional or institutional point of view. here he studies the differences in institutions as well as the similarities and expresses his result in the form of hypotheses. in another vein and in agreement with popper, social institutions are to be seen as fortresses and must be well designed and properly manned. adopting the piecemeal approach in social engineering, we learn from our mistakes and make our way step by step and carefully comparing the results achieved. thus the engineer tries to achieve his ends by small adjustments, which can be continually improved upon as against holistic adjustment. however, one need to point out here that such piecemeal approach or tinkering may not agree with the political temperament of many activists whose program is described as holistic or utopian engineering; and which is always of public character and aims at remolding the whole of society in accordance with a definite plan or blueprint. the concept of ambivalence of human interest and rationalizing social action as earlier mentioned, a review of asouzu’s work effective leadership and the ambivalence of human interest: the nigerian paradox in a complementary perspective; will be an adequate guide for our understanding of the phenomenon of social action, and social construction/engineering relating to the ambivalence of human interest or ‘double – capacity’ effect of our action igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 69 especially as it affects the nigerian social system as a case study. a thorough understanding of the work reveals that it is directed towards the discovering of the most fundamental sources of conflicts in society. precisely the book reflects on the reason behind our inability as human beings to do those things we identify as good but insist on doing those appalling things we vehemently abhor and criticize from the beginning (asouzu 5). in other words, those things which people had earlier on abhorred and criticized informs the choice of the good things but along the line of social action, they become victims of the neglected. the author identifies problems such as injustice, negligence, misadministration and disregard for the welfare of people as some of the attributes of the appalling actions in any society. he posits that all the problems inherent in a society are in strong terms as a result of our inability to recognize that human interest is ambivalent. this might not be far from socrates’ teaching that “knowledge is virtue” and vice is attributed to ignorance of that which is good. that human interest is ambivalent means it has a double capacity of representing something negative and positive at the same time. little wonder the great philosopher socrates in his social ethics admonished us to examine our lives and is known for the dictum “an unexamined life is not worth living”. this may be informed by the need to be aware of our ambivalent interest since ignorance for socrates is vice and to be knowledgeable entails knowing the good and not the vice. thus the danger of inherent ambivalence is located in the capacity of our interest to mislead us to unintended but willful and insightful actions and conclusions. here asouzu gives a down to earth example to buttress his explanations of the phenomenon of ambivalent human interest as situated in nigerian social system. according to him; we sometimes willfully and insightfully accord recognition to a person of dubious character or antecedent thereby subscribing indirectly to the ill consequences associated with the person’s lifestyle. ironically when we become uncomfortable with the outcome of our actions especially with its threatening effects, we turn round to reject them. in this respect, i wish to state that besides our inability to be aware of the negative consequences of our actions from the start; our social actions are most often antecedented by greed and selfishness. the factor of greed, egoism or selfishness i presume beclouds or suppresses our rationality as humans. socrates had cautioned that one should not allow his appetitive element of the soul to dominate the rational one that deciphers between virtues and vice. here, the author with an emphasis points igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 70 out that: if we were fully aware of the dangers associated with the ambivalence of our interest, we would certainly not sign our death warrant; we would vehemently resist those things that will complicate matter later and put as into trouble (asouzu 6). based on the general premise that human beings have fundamental natural tendency to survive, asouzu further notes that if we singly or collectively had those acts that would cause our destruction, it means we have failed to adequately identify those acts as dangerous. this sounds more of socratic teachings because were we to identify them as dangerous and capable of bringing about our own destruction, we would not have chosen them. thus, it is plausible to add that the awareness of the ills of our actions in the society affords us the rational privilege of choosing that side of our interest that would augur well with our survival instincts. addressing social actions in relation to the ambivalence of interest, the case of the suicide bomber is critically examined as an example. here, the action of the suicide bomber could be viewed as having altruistic goal or as asouzu puts it something positive. besides the achievement of its positive goal which was willfully carried out for the good of the society as preconceived, the negative out come which could possibly be averted if critically examined entails the bomber killing himself and in most cases people who might be sympathizers of his course. here the bomber may infuriate both his enemies and friends for a retaliation. he may equally cause members of his family and friends pains in the heart for destroying himself especially where they value him. in this circumstance, one notes that the ambivalence of human interest makes the suicide bomber to fail to realize that there are alternatives and more positive ways of addressing the same problem that informed the bombing. according to asouzu; “it is the lack of adequate awareness concerning the phenomenon of ambivalence of human interest that makes us to choose wrongly” (7). thus, rationalizing our social actions entails adequate awareness of the ambivalence of our interest, which would make us to put up spirited efforts to avoid those things that we would actually never desire even if they touch on our most cherished personal interest. stressing the point above, the author notes that: “the moment a person is not aware of the double capacity of his interests this person easily becomes a victim of error of judgment and his actions, in worse cases, can have tragic consequences.” (7) inferring from the above, there is need for a rational approach to the way we conceptualize reality and contentious situations igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 71 in our society or social life. this includes making our interest/action part of the whole of society. rationalizing social action rationalizing our social action entails a critical review of every intended act by means of reflection. an action that results to negative consequence it presupposes the lack of critical reflection or rationality. thus to be rational in respect of social action include among others: 1) an inquiring into the preceding conditions of possibility for rational or irrational human action. this is similar to the root of contradictions and paradoxes in society. 2) of great importance is the principle of complementarism, which to a very large extent bears on the thematic. constitutive of this principle are: (a) principles of harmonious complementation and (b) principles of progressive transformation. these principles as noted by asouzu help us to rise above the constraints imposed by the ambivalence of our interest and the fact of our historicity. fundamental to the operation of these principles is the methodological assumption that anything that exists serves a missing link of reality. reality here is conceived in the hegelian way that is, in absolutism and this apparently enables us to come to terms with our finality and limitations. in other words we consciously accept them (limitations) as given and at the same time see them as conditions through which we can achieve higher levels of legitimization. with the notion of the totality of our being where everything that exists serves as missing link of reality, the principles enable us “to focus on the authentic joy that is intended in every fragmented moments of existence” (asouzu 8). asouzu adds that once the fragmented moments of existence can be transformed to those conditions that make a fulfilled happy life a possibility; they become veritable conditions towards overcoming the ambivalence of human interest. it is pertinent to mention here that the authentic foundation of human interest is or should be linked with all world common goods accepted both as a theoretical or practical reality. considering the foregoing, there is the ontological precondition of human interest, which can be used in adequately evaluating the practical situations of everyday life. any act of personal interest is a detachment from the authentic foundation – the common good and from the transcendental precondition, which is a contradiction in itself. accordingly, asouzu submits, “… any society that insists on the canon of self-interest as means of personal and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 72 collective self-actualization is merely heading to ruins, chaos or anarchy” (8). to avoid such a chaotic or anarchistic society, argument is advanced for a reconciliation of our interest with each in a manner that makes them harmoniously complementary in view of their ultimate legitimizing foundation. this harmonious complementarism yields the common good postulated as the authentic foundation of all human interest and is symmetrically related to the authenticating foundation of all world immanent common good. finally in any society where social action is precedented by the ambivalence of human interest, calls for the creation of an awareness concerning the ambivalence which plausibly stated turns out to be one of the greatest challenges towards building a just, equitable, harmonious, democratic and violence – free society. this entails a new orientation in personal character reformation as it affects all facets of social life. the nigerian experience of the ambivalence of human interest and social engineering suffice it to say that, the objectification of the total realities of human existence as it affects the entire social system in which man has found himself involves the articulation of the many facets of social reality into a holistic manner that can be coordinated and controlled for the overall benefit of members of the society otherwise expressed as the common good (ozumba 1). these facets of social reality include social institutions or structures like economic, culture, political, religious, environmental, legal and psychological elements of the society. all the foregoing social forces among others seek expression in man’s interaction with others in society. the articulation of law, government and other legitimate agencies is necessitated by a proper control and temper of their varying expressions. however, it is critically noted that the application of the forces of control to human action is not practicable in the absolute sense. human action in the nigerian society is very largely precendented by the ambivalence of human interest. reviewing the effect of the ambivalence of human interest in nigeria, asouzu expresses that though nigerians are hypothetically not known for violent crimes, they however indulge in clever crimes such as “419” example credit card swindle, forgery, impersonation, counterfeiting and adulteration with a highly refined and elegant versions. crimes and criminals are common features of every human society, its civilization and industrialization notwithstanding. however, suffice it to say that the nigerian experience in this connection is a peculiarity because, as asouzu puts it, the romanticisation of the idea of being a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 73 crook is described thus: “being a crook in the nigerian way is a phenomenon that evokes disgust, amusement and bewilderment all over the world” (10). a practical example of the effect of the ambivalence of human interest in nigerian society is the dangers that substandard products and services might pose to human life. here manufacturers in nigeria indulge in the production of fake goods with a view of selfishly making profits. what informs the production of low quality products is the selfish interest in profit making. this no doubt has devastating consequences to human life especially in drugs and food beverages. recently the national agency for food and drug control (nafdac) has been fighting a big battle against the perpetrators of this heinous crime who are “more interested in their personal interest and this has almost characterized our life style: starting from the private sector to the big co-operate undertakings the story is almost the same” (asouzu 11). equally human services or labour is not left out. civil servants as well as private or public servants render services that are not commensurate with what they earn. the mason, carpenter, and other social services providers are more interested in the unfair share of the gain they are likely to make and not in the excellence of the work. poor quality materials are often used especially in the execution of public project predicated on the interest of unjust profit making (kanu, 5). the ill consequence from this ambivalent human interest ranges from the destruction of individual lives like in the case of a collapsed public building that was poorly finished to economic waste or sabotage having negative effect on both the perpetrators of crime and the innocent ones including their families and loved ones that were never targeted. another case in point is that of politicians and those privileged to be in the corridors of power. bernard williams writing on politics and moral character in stuart hampshire (editor) makes a general comment about politicians. according to williams: there is of course one totally banal sense of the claim that they (politicians) are crooks, namely that some break the law for their own advantage, take bribes, do shady things which are not actually illegal for personal gain. …. it does raise one or two interesting questions, for instance the absence from politics of any very robust notion of professional ethics. (hampshire 56). i will not hesitate to quickly state that bernard williams has succinctly summarized the attitude of the nigerian politicians who run public offices and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 74 politics, as business enterprises or cartel. here the politician and even the nigerian citizens to a large extent perceive the politician’s professional conduct as more like that of a businessman. in nigeria it is a common phenomenon to observe that a morally right politician or public servant who has respect for professional ethics or law but, comes home after serving his mother land without booties of looting and fraudulent wealth is often wooed and perceived as a failure by members of his family, friends and neighbours. here the ambivalence of human interest is inherent in both the “common man” and the highly placed. both suffer directly or indirectly the negative consequence of their ambivalent interest via action. in another manner it is common in nigeria for people to occupy public offices without the required qualification and some out of selfish interest tell lies, or deliberately bully others and mislead them, or let them down, or use them as the case may be. however it may be that when it is all explained, the people understand, but it is foolish to say, even then, that they (the victims) have no right to complain. williams here opines that: it may be said that the victims do not have a right to complain because their relation to the action is not the same in the political context as it would be outside it: perhaps it is not even the same action…. there are victims outside it who get worst than they could reasonably expect. (62). emphatically it is much better to be adequately aware of the ambivalence of human interest when making political decision. public crimes in nigeria are in most cases modestly committed especially where individuals involved are insulated. writing on ruthlessness in public life, thomas nagel in hampshire (editor) aptly portrays the nigerian experience in his general comment. according to nagel: … the growth of political power has introduced a scale of massacre and despoliation that makes the efforts of private criminals, pirates, and bandits seem truly modest. individuals who play roles in political, military, and economic institutions commit public crimes. yet unless the offender has the originality of hitler, stalin or amin, the crimes don’t seem to be fully attributable to the individual himself. famous political monsters have moral personalities large enough to transcend the boundaries of their public roles, they take on the full weight of their deeds as personal moral property…. they act as officeholder or functionaries, and thereby as individuals they are insulated in a puzzling way from what they do; insulated both in their own view and in the view of most igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 75 observers. even if one is in no doubt about the merits of the acts in question, the agents seem to have a slippery moral surface produced by their roles or offices (hampshire 75). one would not fail to react that whether a public office-holder is insulated by political or public circumstances or not, the consequences of his ambivalent interest may not spare him directly or indirectly. asouzu argues in this respect that fundamental confidence, which is the basis of human cohabitation, is almost a scarce commodity within the nigerian context. the question is how many people are willing to place the common good above their private interest? for many people, leadership in nigeria today is measured figuratively stated by the number of sacks of money that exchange hands during a person’s tenure in office. also in the nigerian context, a good leader is one who creates conducive atmosphere for the unregulated and unaccounted for distribution of public fund and assets. ironically when this act brings about the collapse of the entire economy or polity, both the fraudulent leader and innocent ones become victims of such an ambivalence of human interest directly or indirectly. conclusion it is paradoxically observed that a person seeks to conserve his interest by embarking on those things that would ensure his own destruction. this apparently is the root of the problem of the ambivalence of human interest as is shared by the nigerian experience. one would agree that in the nigerian experience, the failure to realize that an ambivalent approach to life and the desire to accomplish selfish interest are contrary and as such not practicable. this has become the root cause of most of the problems the nigerian society faces. in a manner that proffers solution to ambivalent interest, asouzu admonishes that a life built on contradictions breeds a poverty of a special type. it breeds poverty of the spirit and poverty of the spirit reinforces all forms of deviant behaviours. the nigerian society as a whole need a therapeutic exercise that entails a non-violent social revolution rather a social reorientation; a measure that would definitely remove the veil from our eyes and create adequate awareness of the negative consequences of our actions either in private or public life. the canon or dogma that, “ascendance to any public office … is a sure way to instant affluence” (asouze 17) must of necessity be eliminated from our society. stuart hampshire writing on public and private morality recommends that: the trade – off between antithetical values would then be the pursuit of an aristotelian balance, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 76 an intuitive moral compromise that repudiates two extremes on either side. the aristotelian balance between public and private life, with their attached virtues, and between practical and theoretical interests, is a feature of that particular way of life (45). besides the aristotelian balance, we must consciously and practically cease from the choice of doing those things we abhor and criticize. this will in the end justify our actions both morally and socially. as nigerians, we precisely must in the course of rationalizing our social action and engineering veritable society for human habitation, desist from the act of corruption especially in high places, mismanagement of public funds and property. conclusively there is need for an adequate awareness of the negative consequences of our social actions couple with the integration of our being with the total reality or absolute being. thus once we can identify adequately the ambivalence of our human interest and the danger of self-destruction inherent in it then we can build a peaceful and habitable society for humanity. for no man would want to deliberately and consciously destroy himself. references asouzu, i. i. effective leadership and the ambivalence of human interest: the nigerian paradox in a complimentary perspective. calabar: university of calabar press, 2003. bray brooke, david. philosophical problems of the social sciences. new york: the macmillan company limited (nd.). brown, stuart and co. (eds.) conceptions of inquiry. london: mathuen the open university press, 1981. hampshire, stuart (ed). public and private morality.london: cambridge university press, 1978. kanu, ikechukwu anthony. (2011). corruption in africa and its challenges for the enterprise of christian theology. international journal of research in arts and social sciences. 4. 492-500. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2016). “the culture of political corruption and the emergence of terrorism in nigeria”. african scholar journal of humanities and social sciences. 4. 4. 42-52. outhwaite, william. new philosophies of social science. realism, hermeneutics and critical theory. london: macmillan education ltd. 1987. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 77 ozumba, g. o. (ed) nigerian government and politics. aba: aau industries, 1997. potter, david (ed). society and the social sciences; an introduction: london: routledge and kegan paul ltd; 1981 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 14 women capacity building for sustainable development in nigeria ihekwaba hope, c. ph.d department of history and international studies alvan ikoku federal college of education, owerri chinymeso@gmail.com & ejioogu cynthia, i. ph.d department of social studies alvan ikoku federal college of education, owerri cynthiaejiogu16@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.18277.47848 abstract women are important agents of development in every human society. this is regardless of the fact that they are being discriminated against and seen as subordinate and inferior to the men in the society. women capacity building is, no doubt, very important for their significant contribution to sustainable development in nigeria. this paper, therefore, examines, among other things, women and nigeria society; nigerian women and national development; building women capacities for sustainable development; successive government in nigeria and women capacity building and constraints to women capacity building in nigeria. the paper highlights illiteracy, low self esteem, family challenges, child-marriage, corruption and poor programme implementation as parts of the factors impinging on women capacity building in nigeria. it suggests, among other things, the need for the government to increase the number of skills acquisition centres for the women and ensure that persons of proven record of integrity are appointed to manage government skills acquisition centres for the women. keywords: women, capacity building, sustainable development, constraints, nigeria. introduction observations, in the recent times, have shown that women when properly empowered, play significant role in the overall development of the society. they have been described as an integral part of nation building and sustainable development at all levels. in most societies, women assume five key roles – mothers, producers, home-managers, community organizers and socio-cultural and political activities (amah, 2018). these key roles make women an indispensable force in the overall national growth and development, hence the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 15 improvement of their status in the society would invariably affect the overall development of the millennium development goals (mdgs) (meleki & osaji, 2016). women are powerful catalysts for improved standard of living and agents of poverty reduction in the society. the centrality of women to socio-economic wellbeing has been recognized as they actively support their households and communities in achieving food security and financial stability, maintain biodiversity, and preserve traditional norms and values (meleki & osaji, 2016). in line with the above, ohazurike and okoroafor (2016) observe that women constitute a key national resource whose ideas, creative solutions and concern for cohesiveness of the society can help enhance the quality of life and society. any society that clamours for positive change, development, social justice, equity and democratic progress must of necessity ensure women’s significant presence and participation in the high level public policy decision making positions (lawal & ojo, 2006). it is however regrettable that although women who constitute more than 50% of adult population of most developing countries are victims of educational inbalances which manifest at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels of education (sambo, 2000). in nigerian society, women’s potentials are being fettered by a lot biased cultural restrictions. for instance, women are regarded as inferior to men, second class citizens, weaker sex, those that are to be seen and not heard, child bearers and care-givers, among others (kalu, 2016). nigerian women’s capacities are needed to be developed in different functional areas such as improvement in educational skills, economic empowerment, managerial skills, environmental management, political empowerment among others (meleki & osaji, 2018). this will help them improve their chances of participating in decision making levels of the government and to brace up to overcome the social cultural and economic impediments that hold them down (njoku, 2018). women with developed capacities have continued to achieve remarkable feats in their various fields of endeavours thereby proving wrong the tradition and culture which describe women as intellectually weak and inferior to men. no, doubt, their capacity building is a significant factor in their meaningful contribution to societal well-being. it is against this backdrop that this paper sees the need to examine women capacity building for sustainable development in nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 16 conceptual clarifications capacity building: the concept of concept building denotes all efforts geared towards the development of human skills, intellectual abilities and behavioural skills for meaningful and fulfilled life in the society. groot and vander molen in meleki and osaji (2016) define capacity building as the development of knowledge, skills and attitudes in individuals and groups of people relevant in the development and maintenance of institutional and operational infrastructure and processes that are locally meaningful. it is a programme of action aimed at facilitating among a group of people the acquisition of various skills necessary for active pursuit of income generating activities for the achievement of higher living standard. sustainable development the term sustainable development is defined by the united nations world commission on environment and development (1987) as the type of development that meets the needs of the present without in any way compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs. ndu (2014) defines it as an organizing principle for human life found on earth planet that posits a desirable future state for human societies in which living conditions and resources use meet human needs without undermining the sustainability of natural systems so that future generations may also have their needs met. sustainable development is thus able to handle developmental challenges of tomorrow based on today’s experience and realities. it sees the future developmental needs clearly using the spectacle of development realities of the present times, which it is committed to face with every available natural and resources. kendason in obinzue, ogidi and ejim (2016) asserts that sustainable development entails that as we make effort to better the society today, we should also give consideration to how the next generation will benefit from our activities of today. this is the type of development that is not limited to a particular person or group of persons, rather, its central focus is the good of the entire human community. it cuts across all aspects of human life-cultures, ecology, politics, economy, education, employment among others (obizue, ogidi & ejim, 2016). sustainable development, thus, emphasizes the creation of an enduring quality of life of people through increase in real per-capital income, improvement in health and improvement resources (meleki & osaji, 2016). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 17 women and the nigerian society environmental and cultural factors have continued to influence the way women are being perceived in nigerian society. the nigerian women have been disadvantaged by gender which makes them to be regarded as generally inferior to men. they are discriminated against in the society and as such are not permitted to eat certain food or to speak in the assembly of men. the customary practices of many contemporary societies such as nigeria and other countries in africa, are biased against women and serve to subjugate them to men and to undermine their self esteem (enemuo, 1999). generally, women are seen as housewives who are only good for bearing and nurturing children, and for performance of different kinds of household chores (ebisi, 2018). the society actually regards them as second class citizens who should not have right of inheritance in their fathers house, and as those who should not participate in the decision affecting the family, the society and the nation to which they belong. the widows among them are subject to myriads of dehumanizing treatment. they are kept indoors for months, sitting or lying on bare floor, putting on dirty and tattered clothes with their hairs shaven. in extreme cases, they are forced to drink water used in washing corpses of their dead husbands to prove their innocence of their death (okafor, onwudufor & nnoruga, 2013). women are often victims of gender-based violence which entails a host of harmful behaviours directed at women and girls because of their sex such as, wife bathering, sexual abuse, marital rape, forced marriage, forced prostitution and genital mutilation of female children (ezeabasili, 2018). women are equally economically disadvantaged as they are deprived of ownership of the means of production such as land. they equally have low access to credit and incomeearning opportunities. this situation has resulted to an increase in the level of poverty among them (nwankwo, 2001). in the area of politics, women still find it difficult to push through to the glasiatorial level. an insubstantial presence of women is found at the decisionmaking levels of the government as male politicians cow them out of politics by making it a rough and dirty game which only few courageous women can dare to play. the country keeps on suffering loss of women input in politics and other relevant areas of national life as a result of discrimination against women and girl-children. there is, therefore, the need for total removal of every societyigwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 18 imposed restriction on women to enable them develop, as well as maximize their various potentials for meaningful contribution to sustainable national development. nigerian women and national development no country in the modern times, can easily or successfully achieve national development if the women folk are consciously or unconsciously sidelined. women are catalysts of national development. studies have shown that women have made significant contributions in the areas of human resources, social development and general economic reforms at various facets of national development striving (okereke, 2001). in spite of a galaxy of socio-cultural, economic, political and educational impediments facing women in nigerian society, they have continued to contribute immensely to national development in many ways. women play a leading role in rural community development. by active engagement in food production and presentation, family life, culture and value transmission, peace-making and more, women improve the quality of life in rural areas and ultimately in the nation at large. observation has shown that women are the most economically active group in rural communities. women farmers contribute enormously to national agricultural output through the cultivation of rice, beans, cowpea, soghum, millet mellon, potato, cassava, yam, cocoyam and other staple food (obizue, ogidi & ejim, 2016). generally, nigerian women, as a result of the prevailing cultural pattern in many parts of the country, have not really enjoyed equal economic participation with their male counterparts, yet they form 70% of food producers in the country (okehi, 2016). they constitute about 49.7% of nigerian population and the majority of them reside in the rural areas where they live mainly by exploiting natural resources (cbn, 2006). women not only supply labour for agriculture, food items, agro-based products, and so on, they equally market and transport peasant farm surplus between rural and urban areas. history of political development in nigeria will remain incomplete without mention being made of the contributions of women such as mrs. fumuillayo ramsome kuti, mrs. margret ekpo; senator franca afegbuo, senator nenadi usman, senator christe ada anyanwu, senator uche ekwunife and nkeiruka onyejiocha. others include ngozi okonji iweala, the first woman nigerian minister for foreign affairs, professor rufai yahaya, former minister for igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 19 education, stella odua, former minister for aviation, mrs. chinwe obaji former minister for education, mrs. kema chikwe, former minister for aviation, among others (anyanwu, ohanele & dike, 2014). these women really left indelible imprints on sands of time when they served in federal executive council (fec) of various nigerian government. moreso, women are very crucial during election periods because of their inherent potentials to determine possible outcomes of certain electoral processes. they do this through their numerical strength, coupled with being resolute in their choice of candidates for elective positions during election. women influence a change in government through their voting power and through staging of protest, demonstration and criticisms against unpopular government. the incorporation of women in national development is an important element and a sure way to speedy development of the nigerian state (onwunyi, 2018). building women capacities for sustainable development there is no doubt that women are catalysts for development in every human society. it has, therefore become imperative for efforts to be intensified by both government and male folks in the society to help women develop their inherent potentials for more meaningful contribution to sustainable development in nigeria. women capacity building in these key areas of life is of great importance; 1. education: there is presently an urgent need to increase the quality and quantity of education for nigerian women. this is the basic tool that should be given to women in order to fulfill their roles as full members of the society. education is the basis for the full promotion and enhancement of the status of women. it is particularly valuable as a strategic investment in human resource, as the social benefits are high (meleki & osaji, 2016). education is a weapon of liberation of women from poverty, ignorance and disease. it is the key that opens the door of economic growth and prosperity for the women. women education empowers, civilizes, refines, cultures and educates the women and girl-children. the extent and scope of capacity building among women in any society is a function of the quality or type of education they are given (aju, ibe & echeta, 2014). functional type of education will indeed be of great relevance in equipping women and girl-children to function as optimally as possible, to survive and thrive in a complex, competitive and class conscious world (okere, 2014). it igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 20 refers to the fitness and appropriateness of education for the needs of daily life, the hopes and aspirations or expectations including meeting up with future uncertainties and challenges. functional education for women is expected to promote their welfare, advance their knowledge in technology, economic growth, and environmental management and empower them with the ability to nurture positive social, economic, political and cultural attributes in the country at the individual and corporate levels (anyanwu, 2014). women should, therefore be encouraged in science and technology education in order to develop and harness their science and technology potentials. nigeria will develop faster when it gets adequate number of women medical doctors, pharmacists, geologists, engineers, (aeronautic, mechanical, civil, petroleum and gas, agricultural genetic, engineers etc,). similarly entrepreneurship education enables women and girl-children to acquire various skills which make them self-reliant. entrepreneurship education will be beneficial to the women through the acquisition of skills and knowledge and creation of wealth as well as make them become employers of labour and ultimately contributors to national development (orisa, 2013). it helps in no small measure in making women creative, innovative, resourceful, objective and confident and also develop in them the capacity for critical thinking required for effective handling of business opportunities and related matters. studies have shown that education enhances a woman’s overall health, grants her access to paid employment and also enables her to make informed decision about herself and to assume a status and identity beyond those that are linked with child rearing and family. however, it is heart-rending to note that as important as education is to women capacity building, available statistics show that they lag behind men in all areas of education (meleki & osaji, 2016). unesco (2006) cited in meleki and osaji (2016) corroborates the above when it observes that in spite of the many declarations aiming at making gender parity in education a reality, gender disparities have continued to persist throughout the education system. ii. financial/economic capacity: women’s financial/economic capacity when built will enable them have greater access and control over material resources, knowledge, attitude and skills for a better life. government should allocate financial resources directly to the women folks to arm them with the economic tools for personal emancipation from the shackles of poverty. unnecessary protocols that hinder women access to credit facilities, such as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 21 collaterals, high interest rate, guarantors of reputable standing in the society etc. should be waved for them. this no doubt, will pave way for their easy access to investment capital in small and medium scale industrial productions, import and export businesses, retail and wholesale business outfits and so on (iheanacho, 2016). iii. training in skills: though successive governments have made efforts in training women in various skills to enable them riggle out of the pawns of poverty, greater number of them are still without well-defined means of livelihood. they are unemployed and impoverished and therefore cannot contribute to societal development. training them in skills such as soapmaking, pomade-making, hair-dressing, fashion and design, bakery, clothweaving, snail rearing, rabbitry, poultry, use of computer and internet, interior decoration, gsm repairs, pottery, ceramics, art and craft and others, will reposition them in the society for meaningful contribution to sustainable development. women socio-economic transformation and capacity building through skills acquisition will invariably impact on their families and the society at large. iv. capacity for political participation/representation it is not enough to advocate for equal opportunities for participation of women and men in political and decision-making processes in the country, without serious efforts made to raise women’s political consciousness and awareness. most nigerian women participate passively and partially in the political process with little or no interest in full political participation. ignorance, illiteracy, fear, religious belief cultural burners and so on, have continued to hold women down, discouraging them from venturing into the gladiatorial level of political participation. nigerian women at this time, need properly focused and wellstructured political education, leadership training, seminars and workshops in order to raise their political consciousness, and enhance their opportunity for political participation. political education and leadership training will empower women with the knowledge, skills, courage, and self-confidence to fight their own fears, and go out in the world of politics fearless where they can snatch their own rights (political power) from the clutches of men because political power is not given but taken (iloanya, 2018). this will make fruitful the sustained campaign by successive government in nigeria for greater and effective women participation in polities in line with the beijing conference declaration which advocates for igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 22 35% affirmative action. affirmative action in the form of allocation of special seats for women and waving of the fees for obtaining the party nomination forms into elective positions would help elicit their interest in politics and address their poor representation (kalu, 2018). successive government in nigeria and women capacity building several efforts were made by successive government in nigeria towards women capacity building, though most of these efforts did not yield the expected result due to implementation problem. until the ascension of gen ibrahim babangida in 1985, the previous governments in nigeria were not explicit on women capacity building. this is so, probably, because they did not see women empowerment and capacity building as one of the most effective and practical ways of reducing poverty in the rural areas (obizue, ogidi & ejim, 2016). in 1985, gen ibrahim babangida came up with a plan of rural development and poverty alleviation policy centred on the eradication of rural illiteracy and facilitating rural socio-economic transformation through encouragement of the role of women. his government established better life for rural women, in 1987, a programme that helped in no small measure in building capacities of rural women through skills acquisition and inculcation of knowledge of self-help enterprises and provision of credit facilities to them. the regime of late gen. sani abacha introduced family support programme (fsp) in 1994. this is to help provide families in the rural areas, especially rural women, with health care delivery, child welfare, and capacity building. in 1997, family economic advancement programme (feap) was established as a way of contending the soaring rate of poverty in nigeria. under feap, micro credit or soft loan was provided to rural people for the establishment of cottage industries and the improvement of their agricultural production. some rural women benefited from the micro-credit scheme which served as investment promotion, poverty alleviation and capacity building of the less-privileged nigerians (iheanacho, 2016). the government of olusegun obasanjo set up poverty alleviation programme (pap) in 2000 with the aim of creating jobs for the unemployed individuals. the participants which included many poor women, engaged in labour activities such as environmental sanitation, vegetation control along high-ways, patching of potholes and maintenance of public building (iheanacho, 2016). in order to make poverty alleviation programme (pap) more efficient and result-oriented, it was changed to national poverty eradication programme (napep) in 2001 marep was charged with the responsibility of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 23 providing employment to diverse groups of unemployed nigerians with the aim of mitigating the current state of socio-economic vices prevalent amongst the unemployed citizens of nigeria, and to create a stable source of income for the participants to be economically empowered and thereby free from income poverty (federal ministry of information and national orientation, 2007). president obasanjo in 2004 joined other world leaders of the united nations to key into the millenium development goals (mdgs), which sought to achieve wealth creation, employment generation, poverty reduction and value reorientation by 2020. consequently, his government produced a policy document called the national economic empowerment and development strategy (needs). at the state level was the state economic empowerment and development strategy (seeds), while at the local government level was the local economic empowerment and development strategy (leeds). the focus was to meet some of the objectives of the mdgs, such as poverty alleviation among nigeria citizens, especially women and girl-children (iheanacho, 2016). the government of president umaru musa yar’adua (2007-2010) and president goodluck jonathan (2010 2015) also keyed into the above mdgs goals of poverty reduction by engaging in various programmes of action for socioeconomic and educational empowerment of the less-privileged citizens, especially women and girl-children. some of these programmes, however, did not yield the expected results due to corruption and poor implementation by nigerian bureaucrats. constraints to women capacity building in nigeria women capacity building in nigeria is being constrained by a galaxy of factors, some of which include: illiteracy: educational deficiency of the women in nigeria has been the bane of their capacity building. most women in the rural areas are illiterate and so find it difficult to respond positively to any programme, whether from the government or non governmental organisations (ngos) aimed at building their various capacities for meaningful contribution to sustainable development. osuala (1996) contends that some firms discriminate against women in their employment policy and female participation rate in the civil service is much lower than that of the males. while osuala’s view might be admitted to be true to some extent, one should also not ignore the fact that some women decide not to embark on certain types of studies both at secondary and tertiary education levels due to ignorance. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 24 some women in some communities in nigeria prefer straying at home to do farm works and household chores to going to school. they still see education as a strenuous exercise not suitable for women but the men folks. low self-esteem: most women have remained fettered to the erroneous belief that they are the weaker sex and as such nothing good can come from them. this notion and mentality keep on impinging on women’s participation in some capacity building programmes of the government. women look down on themselves due to the artificial status of second class citizens given to them by the society and menfolks and as such engage with cold feet, in skills acquisition programmes, entrepreneurship education and so on, and respond slowly to the use of credit facilities or micro-soft loan made available by the government for women financial empowerment (onwunyi, 2018). family challenges: most women still do not find it easy and convenient to engage in certain occupation, trade, education and skills development programmes because of their preoccupation with family affairs such as pregnancy, child rearing, house care, cooking for the family and childrenschooling, among other things. they often accord more priority attention to home-developing than their capacity building in various fields of endeavours. inequality: the unequal access to power and resources in the society between men and women has to a large extent hindered women capacity building in nigeria (onwunyi, 2018). child-marriage: child-marriage is still holding sway in some parts of nigeria, especially in the north. this is a reflection of their emphasis on the virtue of virginity for women at marriage, hence little girls believed to be virgins are married off to men who most times are old enough to be their fathers (onwunyi, 2018). this type of marriage gives the girl-children little or no time for their capacity building via education and related programmes. corruption and poor programme implementation: most of the capacity building programmes for the women are run and managed by corrupt government officials who often divert the funds meant for the pprogrammes to their personal accounts. the government sometimes do not effectively monitor and implement some poverty alleviation/skills acquisition programmes meant for women. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 25 the way forward no doubt, the need to build women capacity for their significant contribution to sustainable development in nigeria has continued to attract the attention of the government, some non-governmental ogrnaizations (ngos) and well-meaning nigerian citizens in the recent times. some efforts made in this regard are being impeded by a host of factors which make them not to yield the necessary fruits. hence this paper makes the following suggestions as the way forward. the government at all levels (federal, state and local) should mount sensitization programmes for the women and girl-children to create awareness among them on the need to embrace education and various capacity building programmes provided by the government. various religious bodies/organizations in nigeria should also join hands with the government in this awareness campaign/women sensitization campaign. women and girlchildren should be made to understand that education and skills development are the keys that will unlock their potentials for self fulfillment and maximum contribution to societal development. men should support the women in various families by assisting them in certain household chores to enable them have time for education and skills acquisition programmes. the men should treat the women as equal and not as subordinate or weaker sex to them (iloanya, 2018). women should change their mentality and wrong belief foisted on them by the culture and tradition of the society, that they are second class-citizens incapable of lofty achievements. nigerian women should understand that they are indispensable in any successful socio-economic and political development of the nation. god has made them helpers of the men and nation at large, without them things will rarely work smoothly. the government should increase the number of skills acquisition centres for the women. this is to say, that more funds should be earmarked by the government for women capacity building and education of the girl-children in nigeria. in the same vein, efforts should be made by various universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and other institutions higher learning to increase admission quota for female students. the government should ensure that only those with proven record of integrity and excellent performance in their various fields of endeavour will be appointed igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 26 to manage government skills acquisition centres, poverty alleviation programmes and women development centres. those who were charged with cases of diversion of funds meant for women skills acquisition and development in the past should be arrested by the economic and financial crimes commission (efcc) and prosecuted accordingly. this will surely serve as a deterrent to others. the government should enact laws that will stop child-marriage in its entirely in various parts of the country. this will enable girl-children to devote their time and interest to capacity building via education and skills acquisition. conclusion women capacity building is indeed an important factor in the contemporary quest for the promotion of gender equality, women empowerment and active participation in decision-making processes of the society. women have, over the years shown that they can contribute immensely to sustainable development of the nation if properly empowered and when given the opportunity. women incorporated in the government of presidents olusegun obasanjo, umaru musa yar’adua and goodluck jonathan proved their mettle as catalysts for national development through quality representation. it is however regrettable that majority of nigerian women still wallow in illiteracy and poverty and hence cannot contribute anything to societal development. this makes women education and capacity building imperative in nigeria. women with fully developed capacities are economic reformers, peace builders, good child educators, good home-managers, and efficient political leaders. there is urgently the need to close the gender gap existing in all spheres of the nation’s life in order to fast-track national development in this 21st century. references aju, p.c, ibe, c.c & echeta, d. o (2014). the dearth of tertiary education in nigeria: a synopsis. in t.i okere (ed). functionality of education in contemporary nigeria. proceedings of the international symposium, organized by whelan research academy. owerri: gabtony prints ltd. amah, p.n. (2018). the nigerian women in politics: in e. obi c. obiora, n. ebisi & i ezeabasili (eds). contemporary gender issues onitsha: abbot com ltd. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 27 anyanwu, r.n, ohanele, r.c & dike, r.u( 2014). women education through arts in the culture and functionality of education: prospects/challenges in the modern nigeria in t.i okere (ed). functionality of education in contemporary nigeria. proceedings of the international symposium, organized by whelan research academy. owerri: gabtony prints ltd. anyanwu, u.d (2014). functionality of university education in nigeria: issues, trends and results. in t.i okere(ed). functionality of education in contemporary nigeria. proceedings of the international symposium, organized by whelan research academy. owerri: gabtony prints ltd. cbn (2006). empowerment: theory and practice. personnel review (online) 27 (1): 40-56,accessed, february 16, 2007. ebisi, n. (2018). international conventions on gender equality. in e. obi, c. obiora, n. ebisi & i. ezeabasili (eds). contemporary gender issues. onitsha abbot com. ltd. enemuo, f.c. (1999). gender and women empowerment. in r. anifowose & f.c. enemuo (eds) elements of politics. lagos. malthouse press ltd. ezeabasili i.e. (2018). traditional practices and domestic violence against women in nigeria. in e. obi , c. obiora, n. ebisi & i. ezeabasili (eds.). contemporary gender issues. onitsha: abbot com.ltd. groot, r. & vander molen, p. (2001). workshop on capacity building on land administration for developing countries. final report in workshop held at ict enchede the netherland, 12-15, november. iheanacho, e.n. (2016). strategies of poverty alleviation in nigeria. international journal of gender and development issues, 1 (60: 27-34 iloanya c (2018). gender inequality and nigerian human person: a critical expose. in e. obi, c. obiora, n. ebisi & i. ezeabasili (eds). contemporary gender issues. onitsha: abbot com. ltd kalu, p. (2016). historical overview of nigerian women in politics. c. obiora, n. ebisi & i. ezeabasile (eds) contemporary gender issues. onitsha: abbot com. ltd. kendason, e. (2012). nigerian women mobilized: women’s political activity in south nigeria(1960-1965). retrieved from http//www.paperonline.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 28 lawal, e.e. & ojo, r.c. (2006). politics of gender inequality in nigeria. in e.o. ojo (ed). challenges of sustainable democracy in nigeria. ibadan: john archers. meleki, a.o. & osaji, o.j. (2016). rural women and sustainable development: unlocking capacity to building for poverty alleviation in oke-ero adrea in kwara state, nigeria. international journal of gender and development issues. 1(6) 78-85. ndu, s.e. (2014). gender issue in agriculture and rural development in eastern nigeria: the role of women. humanity and social science journal, 4(2) 25-30. njoku, c.u. (2018). the nigerian women in contemporary society. in e. obi c. obiora, n. ebisi. onitsha. contemporary gender issues. onitsha: abbot.com. ltd. obizue, m.n., ogidi, m. & ejim, o.o. (2016). poverty reduction and sustainable development in nigeria through rural women empowerment. international journal of gender and development issues, 1(6). 35-43. ohazurike, e.u. & okoroafor, g.i. (2016). gender equality and political participation in nigerian democratic governance. international journal of gender and development issues, 1(6): 122-129. okafor, v.e., onwudufor, f.o.f. & nnoruga, a.s. (2013). violence against women: socio-cultural impediments to national development. ignatius ajuru university of education (iaue). journal of social sciences, 10(3): 129143. okehi, f. k (2016). gender equity, equality and inclusive governance in education in nigeria. a sociological perspective. international journal of gender and development issues, 1 (6):49-104 okereke, o.o. (2001). readings in citizenship education. nigeria whytem publishers. onwunyi, u.m (2018). nigerian women and national development in the 21st century in e. obi, c. obiora, n. ebisi & i. ezeabasili (eds). contemporary gender issues. onitsha: abbot com. ltd. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 29 orisa, a. (2013). entrepreneurial education. in k.a. mezieobi (ed). contemporary issues in social studies education in nigeria. owerri: priscilla omama publishers. osuala, e.c(1996). office management in nigeria, aba: educational publishers. sambo, a.a. (2000). gender disparity in education. the democrat new paper. february, 13th, p.5. unesco (2006). synergies between formal and non-formal education: an overview of good practices. boon, unesco/uie. world commission on environment and development (1987). our common future. oxford: oxford university press. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 6 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 136 cultural and creative arts programme in nigeria: indigenous instruments as panacea ojukwu, ebele v., ph. d. & obielozie, elizabeth. o. department of music nnamdi azikiwe university, awka anambra state, nigeria e-mail: ev.ojukwu@unizik.edu.ng phone: +2348037244058 abstract in the predominantly western-oriented academic circles, the nigerian indigenous musical instruments are often ignored or suppressed as teaching tools. cultural and creative arts (cca) education has been a source of grave concern since its inception. though the aim was to cater for varying talents of the children thereby boosting creativity but this has been a herculean task because the quality of the cca curriculum in nigeria has not derived from the theoretical content and performance principles of traditional arts education. this paper is aimed at portraying the nigerian indigenous instruments as a major strategy for buttressing the teaching and learning of music up till junior secondary school three. the paper argues that for nigerian music education to be meaningful and empowering to the students, the teachers should deemphasize the use of western musical instruments which are not even readily and sufficiently available and make do with our rich locally available instruments in the classroom implementation. the paper adopts survey and library sources as its methodology. it concludes by recommending that pedagogical tools for the teaching of music as an aspect of cultural and creative arts should be founded on authentic nigerian musical instruments while accruing intercultural sensibilities that would enhance modern interaction. keywords: cultural and creative arts, indigenous instruments, pedagogical tool and classroom implementation. introduction every culture in the traditional african community possesses its own indigenous musical instruments which are derived from their environment depending on their vegetation zone. in virtually every home, schools and churches, indigenous instruments abound. these instruments are fully utilised in the traditional african society since they serve various purposes other than music making for the community. in the recent time, the modern society do not utilise the value of these instruments to the fullest especially in the nigerian basic schools. african indigenous instruments are often been neglected or not fully harnessed in most igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 137 formal schools in nigeria. this paper is an attempt to establish that nigerian musical instruments can serve as the major instructional materials that can be used in the basic classes until the pupils get to a certain maturational level before introducing western musical instrument to them. africans possess large aggregate of instrumental resources. the instrumental resources of any african community are determined by environmental factors such as the life-style of the people and the materials at the disposal of that society though, there may be influence of other musical cultures that come into contact through trade, close proximity, and other activities as nketia (1982) observes ‘some instruments tend to be concentrated in areas of intensive cultural interaction, in which societies living in close proximity borrow from each other’ (p. 68). the indigenous instruments do not have equal distribution in all communities and the importance attached to a particular instrument also varies from place to place. a good observation is that some dos and don’ts that were attached to some of the indigenous instruments which prohibits certain age bracket, sex or group of people from handling certain indigenous instruments have been erased due to urbanization and acculturation as okafor (2005) highlights: ‘age-sex limitations on the use of musical instruments are found in many areas but due to acculturation and urbanization, some instruments formally regarded as male instruments are now played by women (p. 160). people within a particular geographical area rely chiefly on the materials available to them for their musical purposes. some instrumental type may be more limited than others within any given community. okafor (2013) notes that ‘there are more membranophones among the hausa and the yoruba than the igbo, while the igbo have more of the wooden slit drums’ (p. 222). there has been an outcry of teachers over the lack of instructional materials for enhancing teaching and learning especially at the basic school level. the western tradition has influenced nigerian formal education to a great deal that nigerians seem not to appreciate their cultural heritage. observation has shown that the average nigerian secondary school leavers today could no longer think critically and creatively. in spite of the laudable objectives and structure of secondary school education as stated in the national policy of education, all indications point to the fact that the rate of educational failures in nigerian secondary schools is on the increase. the music education and materials used in the educational system in any country should be selected in the context of the socioigwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 138 cultural background of the learners and should aim at providing the learners with music that is based on their everyday life experiences. in nigerian curriculum, much of the music programme does not give the nigerian child access to music that is indigenous in outlook to contribute to formal music education and thereby encourage creativity along the desired need of the child’s community. orji (2000:182) lamenting on the nature of nigerian music curriculum writes, the ‘curricular neither were unrelated to the local environment and local needs nor did they take cognizance of the students’ individual differences, interests and needs. the schools were isolated from the culture and the society’. the music curriculum is expected to, at the end, produce people who are musically literate and competent both in theory and practice. unfortunately, this goal seems to be a herculean task. music is taught at various levels of educational ladder not with a view to encourage independent reflection, creativity and innovativeness among students. as nonyelu (2000) observes ‘no attempt is made to invent or improve on our local products to satisfy our basic needs’ (p. 123). in nigerian curriculum, much of the programme is western oriented which does not give the nigerian student access to music that is indigenous in outlook to contribute to formal music education and thereby encourage creativity along the desired need of the student’s community. okafor (2005) regrets that ‘the focus of the music education itself appears to be on western music transplanted or introduced into the culture’ (p. 214). the question postulated for this study therefore is: • to what extent do teachers in the basic education level utilise the nigerian indigenous musical instrument in the teaching of cultural and creative arts education? it is hoped that the findings of this study will be of great benefit to nigerian music teachers, students, curriculum planners and nigerian musicologists. the conceptualization of the keywords according to the sense in which they are used in this study is pertinent at this juncture. cultural and creative arts the cultural and creative arts (cca) education has been listed as one of the ‘core basic subjects’ by nerdc in the new 9-year basic education curriculum (fgn, 2007:7). it is aimed at developing the students’ acquisition of cultural repertoire, aesthetic perception, artistic talents, creativity and expression. it is designed to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 139 stimulate interest and inquires into the theoretical and practical areas, particularly as they affect the teaching of the arts in school (http://www.ncceonline.org/…/arts…/). cultural and creative arts education is the umbrella term which brings together the three arts subject areas; music, fine and applied arts and drama/theatre. though, these three subject areas ‘have their own distinct characteristics which largely inform their particular and varied ways of working but within that work model arguably the creative aspect is fundamental’ (http://www.reading.ac uk/a-z). creativity which is inherent in man has relevance in all the facts of life and it concerns everyone. drama, music and fine arts constitute aesthetics that portray them as universal language and vital persistent aspects of human experience. they are essential elements of culture that gives vibrancy and dept of meaning to life and their essence manifest through creative thinking and action (okonkwo in ojukwu & esimone, 2014). indigenous instruments indigenous instruments are the musical instruments found in africa south of the sahara. they can equally be called african musical instruments. africa is made up of many vegetation and geographical zones. people harness their environment to a large extent in the traditional african communities. according to nketia (1982) indigenous instruments may be instruments believed to be of local origin, or instruments which have become integrated into the musical life of their communities from other areas (p. 67). okafor (2013) further buttresses the above and writes, africans have learnt, through more than seven thousand years, to master their environments and the resources of those environments. they have made musical instruments from wood of local trees, iron, stone and clay, hides and skin. guts, gourds, bamboo, bush ropes and animal horns (p. 222). the african indigenous instruments as classified by eric von hornbostel and curt sachs (1933) are grouped into four categories namely: idiophones, aerophones, membranophones and chordophones. these instruments are classified according to their sound generation and materials used in construction. okafor (2013) explains that the instruments whose bodies vibrate to produce sound are called idiophones examples include; xylophone, slit drums, gongs, rattles thumb piano, percussion pots and wooed clappers. the membranophones are instruments that depend on membranes of animals fixed on wooden frames igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 140 for their source of sound, examples include: all kinds of drums made within africa. aerophones are instruments of the flute family, made with a natural bore, such as bamboo or the tip of a horn or gourd. other examples include: flute, horns, reed pipe, trumpet and gourds. the chordophones are instruments which depend on the agitation of strings for their sound production, examples include: musical bow, zither and lute of different kinds and sizes. nigeria is blessed with various kinds and shapes of indigenous musical instruments repertoire from which any good teacher can choose from depending on locality in which one exists and the topic under discussion. pedagogical tools pedagogical tools are equipment that effectively supports instruction. they are the teaching facilities and the equipment used in teaching and learning situation to supplement the written or spoken words in transmitting knowledge, attitude and ideas. they are indispensible instruments in the hands of a good professional teacher. pedagogical tools and instructional materials can be used interchangeably. they can also be called teaching aids, teaching apparatus, etc. they are important tools that help the teacher to disseminate information. competent teachers use instructional materials to make their points clearer to the students and for illustrations especially when topics which appear abstract are to be handled. ezeani (1999) writes, ‘the use of instructional materials make teachers’ work simpler because by serving as illustrations for certain abstract concepts, they make teachers’ lesson more understandable, nearer home and so, more meaningful’ (p. 160). ojukwu (2011) supports the above assertion and says ‘it is indisputable to assert that learning has a lot to do with instructional materials’ (p. 57). ojukwu further buttresses that: there are numerous benefits that could be derived from the use instructional materials by the classroom teacher. it reduces over verbalization, excessive use of words by the teacher in an attempt to explain certain concepts to the students. it will also enlivens the teacher’s lessons because the five senses of hearing, taste, smell, sight and feeling are all combined to facilitate teaching and learning (p. 57). music if well taught vis-à-vis the use of instructional materials promotes students’ performance in the subject. variety of these teaching aids should be employed by music teachers to enrich music instruction in the secondary schools. maduakonam (1998:15) upholding the effectiveness of instructional materials in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 141 the teaching and learning situation asserts ‘learning depends on the nearness of stimulus and response…if we want a child to know that there is an object called ‘table’ rather than describe it we present a table’. the use of teaching aids is important to both the music teacher and the music students. in agreement with the above ezeani (1999:161) emphatically says that ‘instructional materials are necessary tool in all teaching–learning encounters for effectiveness’. there is a common saying which says ‘what i hear i forget, what i see i remember, but what i do i know or understand’. music students should be allowed to see, touch, feel and handle musical instruments. such real life experiences would help to sustain their interests in the subject. buttressing the above point ikibe (2002) infers ‘learning music is better done by handling musical instruments, listening to musical items and by singing’ (p. 99). instructional materials help to create a lasting understanding of the concept of music. the use of instructional materials in teaching and learning of music provides the students ‘the opportunity to experience visual and/or aural variety other than what the person is/was doing’ (idolor, 2002:11). more challenging tasks and enriching materials should be provided for the learners to keep them busy and challenged. inadequate teaching aids to a large extent hinder musical learning. theoretical framework the theoretical framework of this study is anchored on the world music pedagogy developed by patricia shenhan campbell (1960) which stressed the growth of cultural diversity within school age population. it tries to establish that the teacher should imbibe the use of instructional practices and materials deep rooted in music traditions. she designed and delivered the music curricular model to teachers of various levels. cambell’s model advocates the use of human resources such as culture and materials deep rooted in culture and experiences in musical training especially in the level of basic classes ( http://en.wikipedia.org ). suziki theory also favoured learning system centred on indigenous knowledge with the use of materials around the learners’ environment. suziki is of the opinion that the environment created for learning music should be the same with that created for learning natural or native language. the central belief of suziki’s theory based on his language acquisition theme is that all people are capable of learning from their environment. the essential theme of this method is based on the desire to create the right environment for learning music. he believes that the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 142 positive environment adorned with rich materials for teaching would help in building and sustaining musical enthusiasm and also help to foster character in students ( http://en.wikipedia.org ). the theories above give credence to this study in that it agrees with some principles of learning which states that the teacher that employs the use of indigenous materials in teaching should ‘always start from known to unknown, from simple to complex, from simple steps which are closely related to what the students’ already know and proceed to know more difficult and complex areas’ (maduewesi, 1999:28). criteria for selecting instructional materials methods and techniques of teaching are better selected based on the availability of instructional materials. locally produced materials within the environment of the learner stand to be the best solution to the persistent problem of lack of teaching aids. ogunsanju (1984) opines that ‘in selecting materials the teacher needs to consider the age, the number of the learners in the class, learning abilities and in some occasions the gender of the learners’ (p. 101). akpabio (2002) buttresses the above assertion and points out that teachers should ensure that the selection and usage of instructional materials suit the learners’ age, abilities, characteristics and culture. other criteria to be considered in the selection of the materials appropriately include availability, cost, interest, clarity, economic, relevance, suitability. considering all the above mentioned indices for selection of the instructional materials, it becomes obvious that the indigenous instructional materials stand to be most appropriate, and can also be easily improvised. a competent music teacher can easily gather even with the help of the students cheaply available materials from their environment that can be useful for teaching and learning. akpabio further suggests that teachers should be initiative and creative in using the available local resources, natural and manmade as instructional materials for music teaching and learning. need for proper utilization of nigerian indigenous instruments in the classroom the use of adequate local instructional materials in the classroom situation is very crucial to both the teacher and the learner. it strengthens the pedagogical strategies of the teacher, increases his/her capability and reduces stress. to the learner, the value is enormous. it helps in arresting and sustaining learners’ attention, encourages participatory learning, provides opportunity for exploration, and enhances learning and retention of skills. this supports edem igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 143 (1987) argument that ‘ where the materials and facilities for teaching are absent, the skills of teachers and other instructors may be killed and this can go a long way to reduce output, develop negative work attitude and possibly lead to job dissatisfaction’ (15). learning depends on the nearness of stimulus and response. local materials are easily available at the disposal of the teacher and so, make his/her work easier; if a teacher wants a student to know what a metal gong is, rather than describe it, it is better to present a metal gong to the students. furthermore, in classification, if a student is expected to distinguish between idiophone instruments and aerophone instruments, the objects must be presented at the same time as learning is taking place (ojukwu, 2011). nye & nye (1970:78) asserts that ‘children learn best when they see meaning and have a part in establishing their purposes’. music teachers should strive to teach for transfer by aiding the students make use of their natural heritage. the extent of transfer of any academic subject depends on the teaching method and the ability of the teacher in driving the teaching home through the available natural resources (hilgard, atkinson & atkinson 1975). the use of mainly foreign instructional materials in the basic schools are inadequate, they are in very short supply and in some cases not available at all. it should be noted that some of the students see foreign or western instruments for the first time on entering secondary school where these instruments exist and most students do not even see them at all except through the teachers’ description and picture representations of the instruments. students live with the indigenous instruments, they are very familiar with them, they see them every day of their lives so, they will be happy to see them, feel them and make use of them in their places of learning. students will grasp quickly any topic taught with their local instruments rather than with expensive foreign instruments which they are not even allowed to go near to where they are kept in their various schools for fear they might spoil them. teachers need to make do with improvised materials which are readily available within the environment and are also economical. improvisation of instructional materials is a very crucial skill in the hands of a good music teacher since it enables the teacher to generate or originate the instruct igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 144 ional materials by self. this also stimulates students’ creative talents and abilities since they will be involved in the collection of materials for their studies. according to nwankwo (2006) improvisation is a ‘substitute for the readymade or manufactured type which we usually import’ (p. 19). eshiet (1996) buttresses that the environment is ‘the largest laboratory and learning system ever imagined’ (p. 49). classroom implementation employing the use of indigenous instruments as instructional material can go a long way in enhancing the students’ interest in music for obvious reasons. students see these indigenous instruments every day of their lives; some use them at home during morning and evening prayers, they see them at their various churches, festivals, ceremonies, etc. when these instruments are brought inside the classroom, mere presence of them will arouse the interests of the students. for music teachers to effectively achieve classroom control he/she must ensure that the indigenous instruments are maximally utilised through various ways such as: • many melodic, melo rhythmic and purely rhythmic indigenous instruments derived from the four classes of african musical instruments abound within the locality of the students. they should be employed in teaching all most every topic such as rudimentary lessons like scale, time signature, key signature, classification etc. • melodic or melo rhythmic instruments can be used to teach certain topics which may involve the use of keyboard. examples of such instruments are: ubo aka (thumb piano), ubo akwara (zither), oja (notch flute), une (musical bow), ngegegwu (xylophone), ogene (metalgong), kaakaki (trumpet), odu enyi (elephant tusk), iya ilu (talking drum) etc likewise, where rhythmic instruments are involved, the indigenous rhythmic instruments such as igba (drums), ichaka, oyo, ekpiri (shakers), udu (musical pot), ekwe, ufie okpokoro, ikoro (wooden drums), ogene, alo (metal gongs), etc can be used effectively. • most of the projects given to the students can involve collection of materials and construction of local instruments. it will be more meaningful to the students when they are involved in the construction of their local igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 145 instruments or improvise the materials for the construction of the indigenous instruments. • experience has shown that students derived more joy and also show sustained interests when they are asked to do things that involve their personal experience. students may be asked to construct instruments such as oja (notch flute), ekwe (wooden drum), ogene (metal gong), ichaka, ekpiri, oyo (rattles), udu (pot drum), igba (membrane drums), etc rather than asking them to draw piano, trumpet, saxophone, violin, guitar, clarinet, tuba etc which they are not conversant with. • the teacher should study the scheme of work properly in order to find and gather in advance the type of materials needed to teach every topic to satisfaction. seeing these materials in the classroom automatically raises the students’ enthusiasm and sustains their interests because they are familiar with the instruments. • the teacher should encourage students to touch, feel and play the local instruments as often as possible. a student that develops interest in a particular indigenous instrument should be encouraged to play it to proficiency. • practical classes should also involve encouraging the students to play any indigenous instrument as students’ areas of speciality instead of majoring in western or foreign instruments that scares many students. even in the senior secondary school, students should be instructed to major in any indigenous instrument of his/her choice up to ssce. they should not be restricted to foreign instruments. this study is not in any way condemning the use of foreign or western instruments as instructional materials but it is advocating that more emphasis should be laid in the use of nigerian indigenous materials especially at the level of nigerian basic education classes while deemphasizing the use of foreign materials or they should be sparingly used. recommendation it is necessary to propose certain recommendations that will facilitate the enhancement of indigenous musical instruments as the major instructional materials used in the nigerian basic class. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 146 • the school authorities and other stakeholders should equip the music departments of their schools with the indigenous instruments or provide funds for their procurement since they are affordable. • there is need to engage the services of professional indigenous instrumental technologists to produce more instruments that will go round all the government basic schools in the country. • teachers should actively involve the students in the production of the local instruments and other instructional materials. this can be achieved by giving them projects on collection of materials for the construction of these instruments and supervising the construction. • workshops, seminars, exhibitions and conferences should be organised regularly for the teachers to get them acquainted on the proper utilization of these local materials in the classroom and their construction using local technology. conclusion this study was aimed at proffering the possibility of utilising the indigenous musical instruments as the major instructional materials in the nigerian basic education, the basic school music education is the bedrock and spring board for the music academic take off of the young child. it is therefore, necessary that much attention is paid to the improvement of the quality of music education in the nigerian basic education. music being practical oriented in nature, cannot be successfully taught through conventional talk and chalk method. the teaching of music should go beyond more recapitulation of facts emanating from the immediate environment of the students at the basic level of education. teachers should recognize the need for increase utilization of sensory materials derived from the students’ culture in the teaching and learning of music in order to stimulate the students’ interests and motivation towards participation in their learning situation. emphasising the foreign instruments or other foreign instructional materials to the detriment of local instructional materials make it difficult for much to be achieved since no meaningful achievement can be made without involving sufficient and appropriate instruments and other materials derived from the students’ immediate culture. this study cannot be said to have exhausted all avenues of exploring indigenous instruments in the music education of nigeria considering the time frame and the scope of this study. i therefore encourage other researchers to carry out more igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 147 detailed study towards harnessing the rich instrumental resources our country, nigeria is endowed with. references akpabio, e. (2002). developing favourable attitude towards science teaching. journal of education, 1, (38) 41 – 45. campbell, p. s. (1960). available @ http://en.wikipedia.org retreived: 12 april, 2015 edem, d. a. (1987). introduction to educational administration in nigeria. ibadan: spectrum book. eshiet, i. t. (1996). improvisation in science teaching. abak: belpot (nig.) co. ezeani, l. u. (1999). improving the teaching-learning process. in b. u. maduewesi, l. u. ezeani and c. p. maduewesi (eds.). curriculum implementation and instruction (pp 155-166), onitsha: west and solomon. federal government of nigeria (2007). the 9-year basic education curriculum at a glance. abuja: nerdc. federal ministry of education, (2007). 9-year basic education curriculum, cultural and creative arts for j.s. 1-3. nerdc press. hilgard, e. r., atkinson, r. c. and atkinson, r. l. (1975). introduction to psychology. new york: harcourt brace jovanovich inc. idolor, e. (ed.). (2002). music to the contemporary african. music in africa facts and illusions (pp.1-11) ibadan: stirling-horden. ikibe, s. (2002). music education through active musical experience. in e. idolor (ed). music in africa: facts and illusions (pp.99-104). ibadan: stirling horden. maduakonam, a. e. (1998). behavioural learning theories. in n. n. okoye (ed.). essentials of human learning (pp. 8–36). awka: erudition. maduewesi, b. u. (1999). the elements of education. in b. u. maduewesi, l. u. ezeani & c. p. maduewesi (eds.). curriculum implementation and instruction (pp 15-30). onitsha: west & solomon. nketia, j. h. k. (1982). the music of africa. britain: norton &company nonyelu, a. u. (2000). culture, national consciousness and value reorientation in nigeria. in n. e. orjiakor, g. c. unachukwu & a. obiajulu (eds.), challenges of national growth and development in nigeria (pp. 118 – 131). enugu: john jacob’s classic publishers. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 6, december 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 148 nwankwo, c. c. (2006). training, retention and utilization of technology education teacher in the next millennium. a publication of federal college of education (technical), omoku, river state. nye, r. e. & nye, v. t. (1970). music in the elementary school. englewood cliffs, new jersey: prentice-hall. okafor, r. c. (2005). music in nigerian society. enugu: new generation. okaor, r. c. (2013). nigerian organology and classification of african musical instruments. in r. c. okafor & l. n. emeka. nigerian peoples and culture. (pp. 222 – 246). ogunsanju, s. (1984). secondary school plant planning in nigeria: strategies for future development. in s. adesina & s. ogunsanju (eds.). secondary education in nigeria. ile ife: university press. ojukwu, e. v. (2011). dysfunctional music education in the junior secondary schools in anambra state, nigeria. unpublished doctoral dissertation, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. ojukwu, e. v. & esimone c. c. (2014). an integrated approach to the teaching and learning of cultural and creative arts (cca): the music aspect. journal of educational and social research, 4, (1) 333 – 338. orji, i. (2000). relevance of education in nigeria. in n. e. orjiakor, g. c. unachukwu & a. obiajulu (eds.), challenges of national growth and development in nigeria (pp. 1 – 10). enugu: john jacob’s classic. sachs, c. & hornbostel, e. m. v. (1933). the ethnology of african soundinstruments. africa, 6. (2) 129 – 157. suziki method. available @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/suziki_method retreived: 12 april, 2015 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 47 die in the name of god: a review of extremist killings in islam and christendom chinenye n. chibueze, phd department of history and international studies nnamdi azikiwe university, awka cn.chibueze@unizik.edu.ng abstract this article delves into the religious justifications used by extremists in islam and christianity, examining key religious texts and socio-political factors influencing violent extremism. by examining historical and modern cases, such as the crusades, jihadist movements, and christian extremist groups like the ku klux klan, the article examines the weaponization of religious rhetoric to promote violence, the roles of religious leaders (be it inciting violence or promoting peace), and the stride taken by islamic and christian scholars to counter extremist ideologies. through a comparative analysis, the article draws out the similarities and differences in the theological and political motivations behind extremist killings in both religions. the conclusion emphasizes the importance of a deeper understanding of religious texts and the separation of faith from violence, advocating for increased efforts in religious education and interfaith dialogue as essential to combating extremist ideologies. keywords: religious extremism, islam, christianity, jihad, crusades, religious violence, extremist killings, comparative analysis, counter-extremism. introduction in a time where religious violence often captures headlines, this exploration serves as a reminder that faith can be a source of unity, not division. in the words of berger, “extremism is often defined as the advocacy or use of radical measures to achieve ideological goals, frequently disregarding the rights and welfare of others” (berger, 2018). in the religious context, extremism reflects a belief system that interprets religious doctrines to justify violence and coercion. religious killings, consequently, refer to acts of violence carried out with the belief that they are sanctioned or mandated by religious tenets. in modern discourse, extremism is often linked to both islamic and christian factions, where a minority within each religion uses sacred texts to justify acts of terror or violence (leidig, 2021). the role of religion in justifying violence historically and in modern times cannot be overemphasized. historically, religion has been used as a tool for both peace and violence, as seen during the crusades (11th–13th centuries), where christian doctrine was used to justify wars to reclaim the holy land from muslim control (asbridge, the crusades: the authoritative history of the war for the holy land, 2020). cook opines that islam, jihad, while primarily meant as a spiritual struggle, has also been invoked to justify violent resistance against perceived enemies of the faith (cook, 2019). modern extremist groups like al-qaeda and isis, along with far-right christian militias, continue to use religion as a justification for violence (bartlett & miller, c., 2021). some religious igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 48 scholars argue that “the core teachings of both islam and christianity advocate for peace, and extremist interpretations arise from distorted readings of scripture” (suleiman, 2022). the article emphasizes the significance of responsible interpretation and understanding of religious texts in addressing extremist killings in islam and christianity. extremists, through selective and distorted interpretations of key religious scriptures, manipulate religious doctrines to justify violence, often for political or ideological gain. it highlights the misuse of religion to justify violence, showing that both islam and christianity promote peace, love, and tolerance, and also manipulate vulnerable individuals into atrocities. by analyzing the misinterpretation of religious texts, this work contributes to the de-radicalization and curbing of extremist violence. also, this discourse reinstates the importance of interfaith dialogue and religious education in fostering peace, emphasizing that the peaceful interpretations of religious teachings must be amplified to combat the rise of extremism. examining religious texts: mainstream vs. extremist interpretations every religion has extremists, as seen in both islam and christianity; extremists have selectively interpreted certain religious texts to justify acts of violence. in islam, extremists often point to verses in the qur’an that speak of jihad (struggle). a commonly cited verse is as translated by surat at-tawbah: “and when the sacred months have passed, then kill the polytheists wherever you find them and capture them and besiege them and sit in wait for them at every place of ambush. but if they should repent, establish prayer, and give zakah, let them [go] on their way. indeed, allah is forgiving and merciful” (qur’an, 9:5). el-affendi notes that extremist groups like isis and al-qaeda use this verse to justify violent jihad, claiming it is divinely sanctioned (el-affendi, 2020). the context of this verse, which pertains to a specific historical period when muslims were engaged in conflict with the polytheists of mecca, is largely ignored (wiktorowicz, 2021). scholars of the islamic religion posit that the principle of contextualization when interpreting the qur’an is of the utmost importance, arguing that verses like surah al-tawbah (9:5) “were revealed in the context of self-defense during warfare and are not blanket calls for violence” (safi, islam and peace: the ethical framework, 2022). islamic theologians reiterate the significance of ijtihad (independent reasoning) to adapt religious teachings to modern contexts and condemn violence (ahmed, contextualizing jihad, 2020). mainstream muslims emphasize that no non-muslim can stay in arabia. therefore, even though american civilians are not targeted in our plan, they must leave. we do not guarantee their safety. numerous qur'anic verses that promote peace, mercy, and coexistence, such as: ayah al-baqarah (the cow) 2:256: “let there be no compulsion in religion, for the truth stands out clearly from falsehood. so, whoever renounces false gods and believes in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 49 allah has certainly grasped the firmest, unfailing hand-hold. and allah is all-hearing, all-knowing” (2:256). christian theologians advocate for nonviolence and love for one’s neighbor, citing jesus’ teachings in the new testament, such as "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (matthew 5:44, n.d.). christian extremists, including members of the ku klux klan, have utilized these texts to justify racial violence and war (bruce, 2021). mainstream christians view deuteronomy texts as historical, promoting actions against enemies of god, viewing them as part of the ancient israelite context, not applicable to contemporary moral or social issues (walton, 2020). extremists in christianity often use old testament passages to justify violence. for instance, they often cite deuteronomy 20:16-17, new international version (niv): “however, in the cities of the nations the lord your god is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. completely destroy them—the hittites, amorites, canaanites, perizzites, hivites and jebusites—as the lord your god has commanded you” ((niv), n.d); which commands the israelites to "destroy all the inhabitants of the land" during their conquests. in christian extremist movements, religious rhetoric is often manipulated to justify violence as a moral duty. extremists selectively cite biblical passages to frame their actions as being divinely sanctioned. for instance, phrases like: "an eye for an eye" (exodus 21:24) and old testament calls for the destruction of enemies are taken out of context to support violent actions. this selective reading contrasts with mainstream christian interpretations, which emphasize peace, forgiveness, and love. in summary, the contrast between extremist and mainstream interpretations of islam and christianity demonstrates how religious texts can be selectively misinterpreted to align with radical agendas (perry & scrivener, j., 2021). historical context: religious killings and theological justifications religious conflicts, especially in christianity and islam, have significantly influenced historical narratives through events like the crusades and early islamic conquests. the crusades: spanning from the 11th to the 13th centuries, the crusades were a series of military campaigns launched by european christians in response to the muslim control of the holy land, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 50 pope urban ii initiated the first crusade in 1095 to reclaim jerusalem for christianity (asbridge, the crusades: the authoritative history, 2020). the theological justification for the crusades was deeply rooted in the idea of fighting a holy war (bellum sacrum) against the "enemies of christ," with promises of spiritual rewards for those who participated. early islamic conquests: on the other hand, islamic caliphates experienced rapid expansion in the 7th and 8th centuries, reaching territories in the middle east, north africa, and parts of europe. these conquests were sometimes justified as part of the concept of jihad, which in this historical context, referred to the struggle to defend and spread islam. jihad, in this sense, was a multifaceted strategy that encompassed both defensive wars and offensive campaigns aimed at expanding islamic governance (ahmed, contextualizing jihad, 2020). in both cases, religious leaders and followers invoked theological arguments to justify violence. during the crusades, christian theologians emphasized the divine mandate of war against non-christians, promising salvation for those who died in battle; promoting the idea of a "just war" (bellum iustum), where religious violence was permitted if it was deemed necessary for safeguarding the faith and regaining christian control over sacred areas (bruce, 2021). the deus vult ("god wills it") became a rallying cry for the crusaders, reinforcing the belief that their actions were supported by divine will. similarly, the concept of jihad was utilized by early caliphate islamic scholars and leaders as a theological justification for the expansion of islamic rule. although jihad primarily means "struggle" in a spiritual sense, it also came to include the duty of defending islam against external threats and sometimes expanding muslim territory under the governance of sharia. moreover, islam's mainstream interpretations suggest that force was primarily defensive or reactionary, aimed at countering external aggression against muslim lands, rather than an indiscriminate call to violence (safi, islam and peace: the ethical framework, 2022). conclusively, the theological foundation for these wars originates from early islamic doctrines that view jihad as a duty to safeguard the muslim community and their theological justifications played a critical role in shaping the ideologies that underpinned these violent campaigns, legitimizing the acts of violence as not only acceptable but also sacred. modern extremism in islam: overview of jihadist movements and their religious justifications for violence modern jihadist movements, such as al-qaeda, isis, and boko haram, have built their ideologies on a radical interpretation of jihad. these movements assert that violence is a necessary means to defend islam against perceived threats, including political, cultural, and military threats. this interpretation is rooted in an extremist view that divides the world into dar al-islam (the realm of islam) and dar al-harb (the realm of war), “justifying violent jihad against non-muslims and muslim governments seen as corrupt or un-islamic” (gerges, isis: a history, 2020). for example, isis relied heavily on a selective interpretation of islamic texts to justify f a caliphate through violent means. they cited verses from the qur’an, such as surah al-tawbah (9:5) and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 51 others, to claim divine sanction for their actions. similarly, al-qaeda's founder osama bin laden took advantage of religious justifications for acts of terrorism, including the 9/11 attacks. he framed them as “a form of defensive jihad against western powers, particularly the u.s., which he accused of occupying muslim lands and supporting regimes hostile to islam” (kfir, the evolution of jihadism, 2021). these groups have distorted the concept of martyrdom, portraying suicide bombings as religious heroism, contradicting mainstream islamic teachings that prohibit such acts. the role of political, social, and economic factors in fostering islamic extremism modern jihadist movements are influenced by religious justifications, political, social, and economic factors, which are integral to their rhetoric: i. jihadist movements often emerge in political instability, authoritarianism, and foreign intervention, exploiting power vacuums in regions like syria, iraq, and libya to gain territory and recruits (ahmed & hassan, r., the rise of jihadist movements, 2020). ii. social factors like identity crises and muslim community marginalization contribute to radicalization, with young muslims in europe drawn to jihadist ideologies for purpose and community (winter, radicalization in europe, 2021). extremist recruiters leverage these grievances by presenting jihad as a path to personal empowerment and spiritual fulfillment. iii. economically, poverty and unemployment have also been linked to the rise of jihadist groups. the scarcity of economic opportunities in regions like the sahel has facilitated the recruitment of extremist groups like boko haram through financial incentives and a sense of belonging (botha, understanding the role of poverty, 2021). extremism in these situations often indicates deeper structural issues like weak state institutions, poverty, and inadequate education. in summation, the absence of legitimate political channels and widespread corruption contribute to anger and resentment, making extremist groups more appealing to disenfranchised populations. modern extremism in christendom: christian extremist movements and religious rhetoric used to fuel violence modern christian extremism often stems from far-right ideologies and religious fundamentalism, using selective bible interpretations to justify violence. the ku klux klan (kkk) is a prominent example of modern christian extremism, a white supremacist organization, uses religious rhetoric to justify violence against minority groups, exemplifying modern christian extremism rooted in white supremacist ideology. it is noted that: “the kkk has co-opted christian symbols, such as the burning cross, as part of its terror tactics, misrepresenting igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 52 the cross as a divine symbol of white supremacy” (quigley, 2020). perry and scrivens agree that the kkk uses its racist and xenophobic ideology as part of a "christian duty" to preserve america's racial purity, often distorting christian teachings to legitimize their actions (perry & scrivens, r., right-wing extremism in north america, 2022). kkk's appeal is limited due to rejection from most christian denominations, economic disenfranchisement, and immigration fears, while political and social factors continue to fuel its membership in isolated areas. the christian identity movement, army of god, and white nationalist movements in the u.s. have used religion to commit violence against abortion providers, racial minorities, and government institutions. for example, zeskind finds that the army of god, an extremist anti-abortion group, has carried out bombings and murders at abortion clinics, claiming it is a form of divine retribution against their perceived sins (zeskind, blood and politics, 2020). moreover, white supremacist groups like the christian identity movement use theology to justify racial violence against white people, claiming it is god's chosen race (wilson, 2021). the role of political, social, and economic factors in fostering extremism in christendom a. christian extremists often originate from political disenfranchisement, social alienation, and economic hardship; hence, political, social, and economic factors play a significant role in fostering christian extremism. particularly in the u.s., “where white working-class populations face threats from demographic changes and secularization” (simi & windisch, s., 2021). liberal policies on abortion, lgbtq rights, and immigration are perceived as eroding the religious and cultural values of these groups. b. far-right politics and populism have facilitated the growth of christian extremists, who blend religious identity with political ideology through nationalist rhetoric. far-right movements in the u.s. have used christian symbols and language to justify violent acts, as seen in the 2021 capitol attack (kimmel & kaufman, e., 2021). the role of religious leaders in promoting or denouncing extremist killings religious leaders play a pivotal role in shaping attitudes toward violence, either by promoting extremist ideologies that justify acts of terror or by advocating for peace. this section examines key figures who have influenced public opinion on extremism or peace, focusing on their roles in promoting or denouncing such killings. promotion of extremist killings: 1. anwar al-awlaki: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 53 i. historical background: anwar al-awlaki was an american-yemeni imam and influential islamist extremist linked to various terrorist activities, born in 1971 in new mexico, usa, and later moved to yemen. al-awlaki, renowned for his moderate sermons and his role as an imam in the united states, gained widespread muslim followers, especially in the west; he became known for his radical preaching and involvement with al-qaeda, as he was well-educated, holding degrees in engineering and education. he visited afghanistan after the soviet occupation, training with mujahideen. al-awlaki was implicated in inspiring several attacks, including the fort hood shooting and the "underwear bomber" plot. ii. life’s work: al-awlaki's rhetoric grew radicalized over time, reaching senior status in alqaeda in the arabian peninsula (aqap) by the late 2000s. he used his deep knowledge of islamic theology to frame violent jihad as a religious duty, targeting western audiences through online platforms. gerges recounts that his works, such as the infamous "inspire" magazine, actions which aimed to incite lone-wolf attacks and became a significant basis for the radicalization of individuals like the fort hood shooter (gerges, isis: a history, 2020). he was killed in a u.s. drone strike in yemen in 2011. al-awlaki's death sparked debates on the legality of targeting american citizens without trial, and his legacy continues to influence extremist groups. 2. osama bin laden: i. historical background: osama bin laden was the 17th of 52 children in a wealthy family, born in 1957 in riyadh, saudi arabia. his family had close ties to the saudi royal family; a devout sunni muslim, he attended al-thager model school, oxford, and king abdulaziz university, where he studied economics and business administration respectively (and was influenced by islamist thinkers such as abdullah azzam); earning degrees in civil engineering and public administration. ii. life’s work: bin laden's life work was centered on the establishment of a global jihadist movement. in the late 1980s. he was a militant leader who established al-qaeda (a militant terrorist organization) with the aim of combating western influence in muslim nations and establishing a pan-islamic caliphate as first general emir of al-qaeda, espousing islamism, pan-islamism and jihadism. bin laden participated in the afghan mujahideen's jihad against the soviet union during the soviet–afghan war, and supported the bosnian mujahideen during the yugoslav wars. bin laden declared war on the u.s. in 1996, his leadership led numerous international terrorist attacks against americans, including the devastating september 11 attacks in 2001. “bin laden justified these acts as a defensive jihad against what he perceived as an attack on islam by the west” (kfir, the evolution of jihadism: from al-qaeda to isis and beyond, 2021). 3. abu bakr al-baghdadi: i. historical background: born in 1971 in samarra, iraq, abu bakr al-baghdadi held a phd in islamic studies. during the 2003 us invasion of iraq, he became involved in jihadist movements and later led the islamic state of iraq and syria (isis). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 54 ii. life’s work: as the leader of isis, al-baghdadi oversaw the group's transformation into a powerful terrorist organization, with his most most notable contribution to extremist violence being declaring the establishment of the islamic state's caliphate in 2014; leading to widespread atrocities, including mass executions, sexual slavery, and destruction of heritage sites. his strategic leadership expanded isis's influence globally, inspiring terrorist attacks worldwide. he positioned himself as a religious leader, calling muslims worldwide to pledge allegiance to the caliphate. his leadership saw the brutal enforcement of sharia law and mass violence against non-muslims and dissenting muslims, framed as religious obligations. his death in a 2019 u.s. raid marked the end of his reign but left a legacy of terror. 4. jim jones: i. historical background: jim jones, born in 1931, founded the peoples temple in the 1950s, promoting progressive social ideas and activism. however, his authoritarian tendencies led to isolation among followers. ii. life’s work: jones's life’s work led to the 1978 jonestown massacre, where over 900 followers died. he manipulated christian beliefs, framing the act as a revolutionary act against oppression. in the words of zeskind, “his use of religious texts to justify the massacre highlights the dangers of extremist interpretations of faith” (zeskind, blood and politics: christian identity and the resurgence of white nationalism, 2020). jones's oppressive leadership led to the peoples temple's relocation to jonestown, guyana, in the 1970s, resulting in reports of abuse and forced labour. his paranoia about external threats led to a tragic mass murder-suicide in 1978, resulting in the deaths of over 900 people, including children; this event is one of the largest losses of american civilian lives in a deliberate act until the september 11 attacks. denouncement of extremist killings: 1. pope francis: i. historical background: pope francis, born jorge mario bergoglio in 1936, became the 266th pope of the roman catholic church in 2013, becoming the first jesuit pope from the americas. his papacy is characterized by humility, social justice, and outreach to marginalized communities, known for his approachable style and reformist views. pope francis has emphasized themes of mercy, environmental stewardship, and the importance of dialogue. he has consistently condemned violence in the name of religion, advocating for peaceful coexistence among different faiths. ii. life’s work: pope francis has criticized extremist violence, calling for peace and reconciliation in global conflicts. he addresses terrorism victims, denounces religion-based violence, and emphasizes interfaith dialogue. his responses to major terrorist incidents are compassionate and unity-focused. for example, following global attacks, he led prayers, emphasized understanding among faiths, and advocated for compassion and forgiveness in conflict resolution, promoting a world where violence is replaced by dialogue and respect. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 55 pope francis is promoting peaceful approaches and rejecting religion as a justification for violence through diplomatic engagements and public statements. his leadership continues to be a significant force in the global conversation about peace and the role of religious communities in fostering harmony. “his initiatives include meeting with islamic leaders and calling for global action against extremism, positioning himself as a key figure in religious peacebuilding” (perry & scrivens, r., right-wing extremism in north america: a christian dimension, 2022). 2. sheikh ahmed al-tayeb: i. historical background: el-tayeb is a respected egyptian islamic scholar and grand imam of al-azhar, holds a doctorate from the sorbonne in paris, establishing significant influence in islamic philosophy and theology. his later work was influenced by this blend of islamic and western education, providing a balanced perspective on traditional islamic teachings and contemporary global issues. ii. life’s work: al-tayeb promotes moderate islamic interpretations, countering extremist ideologies, and engages in interfaith dialogues. he criticizes isis and reinterprets islamic texts to emphasize peace and coexistence. as grand imam, he has made significant strides in addressing extremist violence and promoting a moderate, peaceful interpretation of islam, advocating for a return to the core values of tolerance and coexistence that are integral to the faith. el-tayeb denounces extremist killings through theological refutation and interfaith dialogues. he rejects isis's interpretation of islam, arguing it violates principles and harms muslims' global perception. he promotes critical thinking, tolerance, and rejecting extremist ideologies in islamic education to create a new generation of scholars. furthermore, el-tayeb has been a leading voice in fostering interfaith harmony. ahmed el-tayeb is a prominent figure in promoting interfaith harmony, engaging in dialogues with other religious leaders and promoting mutual understanding. his relationship with pope francis symbolizes muslimchristian unity against extremism. his work counters islamophobia and misrepresentation, emphasizing dialogue and understanding over confrontation. his denouncement of extremist killings has positioned him as a key figure in combating religious extremism (safi, islam and peace: the ethical framework of non-violence in islamic thought, 2022). 3. desmond tutu: i. historical background: desmond mpilo tutu, a prominent anglican bishop and theologian in south africa, opposed apartheid. born in 1931, his family's commitment to education influenced his career, but he turned to theology after disillusionment with the bantu education act. he was awarded the nobel peace prize in 1984 for his non-violent efforts to end apartheid. tutu studied at king's college london, earning bachelor's and master's degrees in theology. he returned to south africa, becoming the first black archbishop of cape town and primate of the anglican church of southern africa (safi, islam and peace: the ethical framework of non-violence in islamic thought, 2022). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 56 ii. life’s work: as a prominent south african leader, he championed reconciliation and forgiveness, leading the truth and reconciliation commission, emphasizing healing over retribution. “his stance against violence and his promotion of christian values of love and peace have made him a global symbol of non-violent resistance” (botha, understanding the role of poverty in fostering extremism: a case study of boko haram, 2021). he denounced violence, including extremist killings (like the israeli-palestinian conflict and the u.s.led iraq war), and advocated for non-violent resistance. tutu's christian faith emphasized forgiveness, reconciliation, and the sanctity of human life. he used his religious platform to call for peaceful protests and negotiations, and later led the truth and reconciliation commission (trc) to promote forgiveness and reconciliation. tutu also worked in interfaith dialogue, believing religious leaders had a moral responsibility to oppose violence in the name of religion. desmond tutu's moral courage and belief in forgiveness inspire peace initiatives and emphasize addressing extremism's root causes through justice, dialogue, and understanding. 4. dalai lama: i. historical background: yonten gyatso, born in 1589 in mongolia, was the 4th dalai lama and the only non-tibetan one, establishing significant spiritual and political ties between tibet and mongolia. yonten gyatso, enthroned as the dalai lama, aimed to strengthen cultural and religious ties between mongolia and tibet, navigating political and religious complexities. ii. life's work: yonten gyatso, the dalai lama, played a significant role in religious and political leadership, consolidating the gelug school’s influence in tibet and mongolia. his teachings emphasized compassion and non-violence, central to buddhism. despite his brief tenure, his life exemplified a commitment to peaceful resolutions and the spread of buddhist values, opposing violence and extremism. his legacy is viewed through the lens of fostering spiritual and political unity in a turbulent era. his lasting influence paved the way for future dalai lamas to balance religious duties with political leadership, prioritizing peace and the well-being of the people. according to winter 2021, “he has received numerous accolades, including the nobel peace prize in 1989, for his efforts in promoting peace and condemning violence, including religious extremism” (winter, radicalization in europe: the role of social exclusion and identity politics, 2021). religious peace movements and interfaith dialogue initiatives aimed at countering extremism i. the charter for compassion (2008): global movement promoting interfaith dialogue and compassion as a means to counter extremism. ii. united religions initiative (uri): engages global communities to promote enduring interfaith cooperation and end violence motivated by religious extremism. iii. sheikh abdullah bin bayyah’s forum for promoting peace in muslim societies: advocates for non-violence and peace within muslim communities. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 57 iv. religions for peace: an international coalition fostering dialogue among religious communities to address extremism and promote global peace. v. pope francis' interfaith dialogues: advocated for peaceful coexistence between religions by holding meetings with islamic, jewish, and buddhist leaders. vi. muslim-christian peacebuilding initiative: joint efforts by islamic and christian leaders to address extremist narratives through mutual understanding. vii. world council of churches’ peacebuilding initiatives: encourages christian interfaith dialogue to counteract extremism. viii. the marrakesh declaration (2016): muslim scholars are advocating for religious freedom and coexistence to combat extremist violence. ix. a common word initiative (2007): encourages dialogue between muslim and christian scholars to counteract extremist ideologies. conclusion in conclusion, religious extremists often use violence to protect their faith, promoting a divisive "us versus them" mentality. countering this requires nuanced interpretations of religious texts and clear separation from violent extremism. religious leaders and interfaith movements have actively condemned violent acts fueled by selective interpretations of sacred texts and socio-political factors, promoting peace and coexistence. interfaith dialogue and peace initiatives are vital in countering extremist ideologies, promoting mutual understanding, and reducing extremism through shared ethical principles and compassion. references ahmed, s. (2020). contextualizing jihad: understanding the dynamics of religious violence. islamic studies journal, 45(3), 210-230. retrieved october 25, 2024, from https://academic.oup.com/jis/articleabstract/33/3/393/6593834?redirectedfrom=fulltext&login=false ahmed, s., & hassan, r. (2020). the rise of jihadist movements in post-conflict regions. journal of international conflict studies, 12(2), 134-145. retrieved october 26, 2024, from https://journalofconflictstudies.org/article/view/impact-of-extremism asbridge, t. (2020). the crusades: the authoritative history of the war for the holy land. harpercollins. asbridge, t. (2020). the crusades: the authoritative history of the war for the holy land. harpercollins. retrieved october 23, 2024, from https://www.amazon.com/crusadesauthoritative-history-war-holy/dp/0060787295 bartlett, j., & miller, c. (2021). the edge of violence: a radicalization of ideology in extremist groups. cambridge university press. berger, j. m. (2018). extremism. mit press. botha, a. (2021). understanding the role of poverty in fostering extremism: a case study of boko haram. african security review, pp. 30(1), 28-42. retrieved october 26, 2024, from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10246029.2021.1888562 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 58 bruce, s. (2021). the rise of christian extremism in the modern world. cambridge scholars publishing. cook, d. (2019). understanding jihad (2nd ed.). university of california press. el-affendi, a. (2020). radical readings: how extremists reinterpret islamic texts. international journal of middle eastern studies, 52(4), 477-495. gerges, f. (2020). isis: a history. princeton university press. retrieved october 24, 2024, from https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691175799/isis-a-history kfir, i. (2021). the evolution of jihadism: from al-qaeda to isis and beyond. journal of terrorism and political violence, 33(4), 564-582. retrieved october 24, 2024, from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09546553.2021.1922421 kimmel, m., & kaufman, e. (2021). the far-right and christian nationalism: a growing threat. journal of hate studies, 17(2), 89-110. retrieved october 25, 2024, from https://www.journalofhatestudies.org/article/far-right-christian-nationalism leidig, e. (2021). the far-right international: the alt-right and globalization. routledge. matthew 5:44, n. (n.d.). the holy bble. bible gateway. perry, b., & scrivens, r. (2022). right-wing extremism in north america: a christian dimension. terrorism and political violence, 34(1), 17-33. retrieved 0ctober 27, 2024, from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09546553.2020.1823941 perry, s., & scrivener, j. (2021). religious extremism: a comparative analysis of christian and islamic justifications of violence. religion, conflict, and peace journal, 34(2), 119-135. quigley, a. (2020). the klan: its role in shaping modern christian extremism. journal of american studies, 54(4), 598-616. retrieved october 26, 2024, from https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-american-studies/article/abs/klanshaping-modern-christian-extremism qur’an. (9:5). the noble qur’an القرآن الكريم. (s. at-tawbah, trans.) n.d. retrieved october 23, 2024, from https://legacy.quran.com/9/5 safi, o. (2022). islam and peace: the ethical framework of non-violence in islamic thought. journal of islamic ethics, 7(1), 10-25. retrieved october 26, 2024, from https://philpapers.org/rec/shaipe-2 simi, p., & windisch, s. (2021). radicalization and recruitment in christian extremist movements. journal of criminology and political violence, 14(3), 195-210. retrieved october 25, 2024, from https://academic.oup.com/policing/article/14/3/195/6321774 suleiman, y. (2022). living with religious diversity in the 21st century: a guide for peacebuilding. oxford university press. walton, j. h. (2020). the lost world of the israelite conquest: covenant, retribution, and the fate of the canaanites. intervarsity press. wiktorowicz, q. (2021). jihad reconsidered: from religious mandate to political action. oxford university press. wilson, a. (2021). christian identity: the history and future of a radical belief system. journal of religion and extremism, 23(2), 145-160. retrieved october 26, 2024, from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10615-021-01245-2 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 59 winter, c. (2021). radicalization in europe: the role of social exclusion and identity politics. european security studies journal, 40(2), 215-232. retrieved october 23, 2024, from https://www.eurosecstudies.org/articles/radicalization-and-social-exclusion zeskind, l. (2020). blood and politics: christian identity and the resurgence of white nationalism. university of michigan press. retrieved october 23, 2024, from https://www.press.umich.edu/11345478. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 4 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 46 the emergence of early igbo novel: the role of igbo oral literature nkoli mercy nnyigide department of igbo, african and asian studies nnamdi azikiwe university, awka anambra state, nigeria nm.nnyigide@unizik.edu.ng abstract this paper examines the igbo oral forms that are incorporated in selected early igbo novels and the extent to which they have contributed to the emergence and development of igbo written literature. unlike the contemporary igbo novel writers, the early igbo novel writers such as pita nwana, d.n. achara, tagbonzeako, udeodilora among others made extensive use of igbo oral forms in their creative works. unfortunately, the igbo oral forms employed by these writers are not fully exploited by the readers especially the igbo youths. this is as a result of their poor reading culture and apathetic attitude towards the igbo language. therefore, this study aspires to identify some igbo oral forms represented in the selected early igbo novels with the view of determining their implications and impact in emergence of literary works in igbo.to get about this, some early igbo novels were studied.related literatures were reviewed. most of the data collected from library and literary works were interpreted and analysed descriptively. from the analyses, it is revealed that the phenomenon of incorporation of elements of the oral form into the early igbo novel is real and this has positively impacted on the emergence and development of modern igbo literature. keywords: igbo, oral, literature, novel, emergence. introduction literature, whether oral or written exist in all cultures. by writing literature, people communicate ideas and feelings. by reading literature, people share these ideas and feelings. prior to the introduction of the written form, and still, to a very large extent, after the introduction of the written form, the igbo culture and consciousness were expressed, transmitted and perpetuated through the oral forms. the oral traditional culture forms an integral part of the igbo man’s thoughts and consciousness. the reason is that such individual originates from and in most cases is nurtured within the ethical and cultural circumstances where the oral tradition continues to play vital role as a major means of interaction and continuity. in support of this, onyekaonwu, (1986:215), says, “the oral tradition becomes a sine qua non for cultural preservation and perpetuation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 47 obviously, the traditional culture and ethics of the igbo are steadily undergoing some changes as a result of the impact of foreign culture. notwithstanding, some elements of the culture in which one has been genetically born and nurtured continue to dominate that person’s thoughts, imagination and consciousness. from the above observation, one sees a clear picture of the relationship between the igbo prose writers and the igbo oral literature. to these writers, according to obiechina, (1967:147), “oral village storytelling as well as the other forms of oral tradition is a living reality and helps to inform and direct their attitudes and values. from obiechina’s view, one observes that the igbo writers are bound to be influenced by the igbo oral literature. in some of their works, elements of folktales, legends and myths abound and in their expressions, proverbs, anecdotes, traditional and philosophical sayings are freely applied. it is pertinent to point out here that although the igbo writers, writing either in english or in igbo, exploit the igbo oral traditional wealth for its cultural and aesthetic values, the originality of oral literature is more retained and preserved in the works written in igbo than those written in english. the reason is not farfetched. since the igbo language is the vehicle with which the oral tradition is best expressed, the works in english, in spite of their ability to express igbo thoughts and beliefs, fall short in their ability to retain in form, the originality of the igbo oral literature. however, this study tries to examine the truth of the incorporation of the oral forms into the modern igbo novel or prose fiction, the nature and types of incorporation, the extent this incorporation of the traditional into the modern has manifested itself in the works of prominent igbo prose writers and the impact of this on the emergence and overall development of modern igbo prose fiction. for the purpose of this study, these terms: igbo novel and modern igbo prose fiction would be used interchangeably. the concept of oral literature every society or community has a specific way or method of teaching, sharing and transferring its beliefs, norms, values, ethics, etc. from one generation to another. in africa, such method(s) has existed before colonialism. the igbo in particular appreciated and recognized their cultures, norms, beliefs, etc. and saw the need to pass them on from one generation to another. this need was achieved through oral tradition or literature. oral literature is, simply put, a literature that is transmitted orally from one generation to another. it is of the ancient. as the name implies, it is opposed to the written literature. it is transmitted orally and appreciated aurally from one generation to another. okoh (2008:20) says, “oral literature is spoken, sung, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 48 intoned, recited, or chanted depending on the context”. similarly, obi (2009:64) defines oral literature as, “the unwritten literature of any group of people handed down from generation to generation through the spoken word. it includes the major genres of prose, verse and drama, and sub-literary genres of tongue twisters, riddles, nursery rhymes, etc.” oral literature is the earliest form of literature that is handed down from one generation to another generation. as the name implies, it transmitted orally and appreciated aurally.in his own view, nwadike (1992:1) states that the igbo literature has been in the oral form until the emergence of written. it is transmitted orally from one generation to another. he points out that the igbo oral literature comprises folktales myths, legends, etc. from the views above; one finds out that the oral literature is not written. it is transmitted orally from one generation to another. it was observed that the oral literature is universally owned. nwadike (1992:36) as well as greenway in okoh (2008:22), supports the observation that the oral literature is universally and communally owned by the people of a particular group and culture.before the coming of the europeans along with their written literary culture, oral literature performed some crucial functions among the igbo. typical of such functions includes its use for entertainment purposes after the day’s chores as well as for imparting knowledge (obi 2006:117). from obi’s view, one observes that the igbo oral literature served as a means of formal education before the introduction of the western education to the igbo society. besides, clarke (1976:1) says, “the earliest form of literature was a simple account of some heroic deeds recited or sung by specially gifted individual who is known as bard or minstrel in the presence of the listening audience. from the above view, one sees that through the oral literature, people come together to share their norms, beliefs and ethics. equally, onyekaonwu (1986:214) defines the igbo oral literature as, “that body of igbo folklore that has been orally transmitted from one generation to another as seen in its original and undiluted form by the folks”. from the above definition, it is obvious that the igbo oral literature is also transmitted orally from one generation to another. based on the functions of the oral literature, obiechina (1990:183) says: “...oral literature gives members of the society a sense of belonging. it helps to direct and shape the activities of the society”. in support of obiechina, egudu (1978:35) says, “people learn through oral literature facts of social relationship between man and his community or immediate world...” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 49 oral literature exists in the following forms: folktales, myths, legends, proverbs, anecdotes, idioms, riddles, tongue twister, jokes and other forms of verbal arts. folktales, myths and legends are believed to be the most developed forms and existed in form of stories. in line with the above, onyekaonwu (1986:245) says, “folktale is the commonest and the most freely told of the three major types of the traditional folk stories”. the concept of igbo novel/ modern prose fiction igbo prose fiction is by popular opinion defined as the corpus of modern igbo fictions in the prose form written in the igbo language. it is generally referred to as igbo novel or “iduuazi” in igbo. in the igbo literary studies, the word ‘modern’ is used to denote the written form that is opposed to the traditional or the oral form.contrary to the nature of the igbo oral literature as seen above, the igbo novel or prose fiction is in the written form with a well-known authorship. but as in the igbo oral literature, some modern igbo prose works contain imaginary stories and events. in other words, it emerged from the igbo oral literature. onyekaonwu (1986:6) agrees with this because he says, “modern igbo prose fiction would be understood as works of modern prose literature in igbo, concerned with the presentation of imaginary characters in imaginary world or setting”. from this view, one sees that the modern igbo prose fiction has its root in the igbo oral tradition or literature. in line with the above view, emenyonu (1978) opines that the modern igbo prose fiction, drama and poetry have their roots in the igbo oral tradition. in support of emenyonu, onyekaonwu (pg 222) says, “some igbo creative writers see the corpus of igbo oral tradition as a rich source of literary materials; open to them for exploitation for the purpose of producing their own original works”. in addition, okpehwo (1977:1) says, “the store-house of folk myth and fancy are gainfully plundered by writers for their own original literary production. okpehwo’s view clearly shows that writers incorporate some forms of oral literature in their various creative works. despite the major transformations that have taken place in the igbo society in the past years, a large number of people especially the igbo creative writers remain in close contact with the traditional cultures and institutions. oral traditions continue to play important roles in their lives. the researcher observed that some early modern igbo prose writers extensively incorporated some elements of the oral literature in their works based on their conviction that for any literature to be written in igbo language about igbo world view, such literature has to incorporate some elements of the oral tradition. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 50 typology of the modern igbo prose fiction the modern igbo prose fiction could be classified based on the following: (i) the mode – this comprises realistic igbo prose fiction like: isi akwu dara n’ala, mmiri oku e ji egbumbe, etc. and unrealistic igbo prose fiction like elelianaihe o mere, ala bingo, etc. (ii) the length and size – this comprises some igbo novel like a sokataeze anya, urunwa, etc, novella like ala bingo and other igbo short stories. (iii) the nature/quality of the story – this comprises comedy like juoobinna, tragedy likeukpakamiirionyeubiam, okpaakuerieri, etc. (iv) the content – this comprises historical novels likeomenuko, isi akwu dara n’ala, juoobinna, etc picaresque novels like ukpanaokpokobuuru, mmiri oku e ji egbumbe, etc, anthropological novels like dinta, okukoagbasaaokpesi, etc, adventure novels like ijeodumodujere, elelianaihe o mere, etc, fantastic novel like ala bingo. representation of igbo oral literature in early igbo novel the early igbo novel or modern igbo prose fiction is the mirror or modification of the igbo oral literature. modern igbo creative writers borrowed extensively from the igbo oral literature. nwadike (1992:19) agrees with this because he says that some modern igbo creative works are rooted in igbo oral literature. onyekaonwu (1986:291) observes that the igbo oral literature influences the igbo modern writers a great deal. in his words he says, prior to the nigerian civil war, majority of the igbo novel writers have not been able to extricate themselves from the strong grips of the oral tradition (folk-tales) and their influences. it is not that some of them have not read enough of the english literature or african literature in english to widen their perspective and scope in their choice of themes, but it was their conviction that for any literature to be written in igbo language about igbo consciousness such literature or story has to incorporate a heavy dose of elements of the oral tradition. in some cases it is not a question of merely incorporating these oral elements but using the oral traditional content and format in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 51 fashioning the framework and the story line of their creative works from the above views, it could be seen that the oral literature has been a vital tool for modern writers, especially the igbo modern prose writers. these writers employ some igbo oral forms in fashioning the framework of their stories so as to them a peculiar identity.emenyonu (1978:2) agrees that modern igbo fiction, drama and poetry have their roots in igbo oral tradition. the researcher also observed that some modern igbo prose writers are moralists. through their works they teach their readers one moral lesson or the other. peck and coyle (1993:108) agree with this because they say, “it is true that some novelists are moralists. they examine the relations between individuals and society and put forward their ideas about how people should behave...” besides, peck and coyle (pg 108) are of the opinion that prose writers incorporate some oral forms in their works thus; “the story in a novel is almost a parable, a tale that makes a point, but in producing a novel the writer complicates the basic story by the addition of a great deal of tales...”. in similar vein, kirszer et. al (2003:39) opine that the oral literature has influenced some works of modern writers thus; “folktales and fairy tales, which develop along with other narrative forms have influenced works...” they also add that the folktales or fairy tales have an obvious theme or moral – good triumphing over evil. this is true. this theme could be seen in some works of modern igbo prose writers. in the case of modern igbo prose works, one observes that some contain imaginary stories, imaginary characters and at the same time contain some elements of truth. this is a result of the influence of the igbo oral literature especially the igbo folktale on their writers. again, their writers adopt this styles so as to enable them pass their message effectively.literature whether oral or written is culture bound, and while written literature draws its materials from the people’s culture, oral literature is an integral part of that culture and therefore a basic material for the written (ekwealor1998:5). this opinion also points to the fact that the oral literature is a primary source of material for the written literature. in addition, ekwealor (2009:112) says that the igbo traditional stories (folktales) serve as a vital tool for the modern igbo prose writers. many modern igbo prose writers have borrowed and continues to borrow extensively what they present in their creative works from the igbo traditional stories.some incorporate some igbo oral forms like the anecdotes, proverbs, folktales, etc. in their works.some igbo literary scholars like: amano (2005), igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 52 awugosi (2009 and 2010), okediadi( 2010) among others share a similar view with ekwealor. the igbo oral forms in igbo novel/ prose fiction obviously, there is an evidence of the incorporation of some igbo oral forms in the early works of igbo novel writers. at this juncture, efforts would be made to x-ray some igbo oral forms prominent in some early igbo novels such as the folkloric elements in early igbo novel, proverbs, metaphors and anecdotes, folksongs, etc. folkloric elements in early igbo novel as highlighted above, early igbo novel writers incorporated some igbo traditional stories also known as folktales in their works. there is a situation where a modern novel writer lifts a whole traditional story and recasts or remodels it for his own original work or where he makes the whole traditional work form a part of his own original work. besides, there is a situation in which the modern igbo prose writer brings in part of a whole traditional story to form part of his own original work. also, there are cases where the writer transfers the character traits of a prominent animal character in a traditional story to a human character in his original work. this should also be regarded as part traditional story application. for example, the use of whole traditional story technique could be seen in d. n. achara’sala bingo. the story in this book is probably a remodelling of an igbo “iduu” type of folktale titled “the famous king of the mountains”. besides, a typical example of a case where a whole traditional story was employed as part of the writer’s original work was presented in j.c. maduekwe’sdinta (p32-35). here, kanelechi visited home from her husband’s place and was pressurized by her younger sister, ohiakara to render a folktale to her. during the moonlight play, kanelechi narrated the story of a barren woman and a miraculously adopted daughter called “ihe e wetaran’agu”. d.n. achara’selelianaihe o mere and l.n. oraka’sahubaraezeama offer good examples of writers’ use of part traditional story as part of their own original works. in parts of these two stories, incidents that involved divine intervention were presented. pages 10-11 of elelianaihe o mere presented an incidence in which a bird secured the king’s lost coral bead for elelia and consequently, prevented elelia from being killed by the king is part of a traditional story. also, the incidence in which elelia performed the three miraculous feats that qualified him to marry nwoogo’s daughter (pg 53-54) is part of a traditional story. in ahubaraezeama, the episode in which the dog, the cat and the water spirit, okide, combined to secure okonkwo’s ring which igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 53 was stolen by the king of edem and his daughter, is part of a traditional story. one can easily see how identical the motifs used by these writers in these stories are – lost but recovered coral bead and lost but recovered ring. again, a situation where the writer adopted the character traits of a prominent animal character in a traditional story for formulating a human character in his original work was found in ubesie’sjuoobinna. in the story, ubesie endowed the character, obinna, with all the character traits of the tortoise (mbe) of the igbo traditional story. for example, in ubesie’s introduction of this character, obinna on page one, he says; e jiriokwundi a kowaakukomakaumuanumanu, a sinaanu a na-amaatuyaihe a bumbe. ma nanke a, o bummaduka a na-ekwumakayaihe a. naniihe di ichen’etitimbenaobinnabunambebuanumanu, obinnaburummaduna-ekwuokwu. nkeozo, ma nkembe mere ma nkembeemeghi, o burunaaghughoadin’imeya, e boyambe. mbeanaghiekwuokwu.... (if these statements are used for explanation about animals, the animal being referred to here is tortoise. but the statement made here refers to human being. the only difference between the tortoise and obinna is that the tortoise is an animal while obinna is a human being that talks. another thing is that anything that is done by the tortoise or is not done by him, so long as such action involves playing of some tricks, the tortoise is held responsible because it does not talk....). in igbo traditional story, the tortoise is known for trickstering, mischief and schemes for deceit and escape. all obinna’s activities in the story followed this pattern. the name tortoise in igbo cultural belief is synonymous with the word trickster. so is the name obinna in juoobinna. a direct reference to an aspect of the type of tricks he played could be seen on page 175, where onyido, in trying to reveal obinna’s character to nnenna and ogbenyeanu, camouflaged his name with that of obinwanne thus; “nkekanjobunaogeufoduobinwannechooighoag hugho, o keeakwaochan’isikaonye shell kuchirinti, ma o bu o sunyeuwekaptin o zuteren’ohi, supunkendiogwuaja o na-eyi”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 54 (the worst part of it is that sometimes, when obinwanne wants to play his tricks, he ties some white clothes around his head like someone deafened by shell shock, or he puts on a captain’s uniform which he has stolen and removes the commoner’s dress which he usually wears). igbo verbal and artistic devices the researcher observes that some modern igbo prose writers incorporate some igbo verbal and artistic devicesto enable them bring out the aesthetic quality of their creative works. according toonwudiwe (2006: 159), the igbo language is a language that employs a lot of coloration to create its images and therefore to serve the function of communication. these colorations are drawn from the pool of its oral traditions, and the proverb stands out the most widely used. it is as a result of this that a lot of people look at a well-made speech in igbo (oral or written) as that which is replete with proverbs. verbal arts are not stories but an essential part of traditional lore. they include proverbs, riddles, traditional maxims, anecdotes, idioms, metaphors and similes that create sharp images, etc. in igbo tradition, speech making, storytelling and even ordinary conversation demand some art which is sometimes referred to as rhetorics. in this art, language is used for maximum effect; almost invariably, to produce an elegant and persuasive speech. however, it has to be noted that a good speech does not necessarily depend on the amount of these verbal items brought into it, but by the masterful manipulation of even a few that are employed, for producing a most effective result. out of these traditional verbal arts employed by these writers, it seems that the most commonly used is the proverb. this practice is so pronounced that at times one finds where proverbs are used in a work just for the sake of using them and not because they serve any useful purpose in such contexts. this goes to reveal how conscious and eager the igbo writer is over the use of igbo proverbs. however, some of them do it so judiciously that a maximum effect is achieved. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 55 obviously, one observes that these verbal arts are the aspect of igbo oral traditional that are most commonly used by modern igbo prose writers in the production of their own original literary works. the reasons for such inclination on the part of the writers emanates from their usual belief that any literary work in igbo that does not contain proverbs and other verbal devices should not be regarded as a literary work at all. but even at that, it is not all literary works in igbo that contain these verbal arts nor could it be claimed that all igbo writers employ successfully, these verbal arts or artistic devices in their works. it is possible that given all necessary opportunities and potentialities, the aspirations of these writers would be to excel in the use of these verbal arts. but the fact remains that not all of them are endowed with these potentialities. the irony of it then is that at times those that do not possess this gift for proper selection and usage of verbal arts struggle to make up this deficiency by resorting to indiscriminate use of proverbs. another possible reason why the verbal arts are highly patronized by the modern igbo prose writers is that they already form the integral part of the igbo language and the igbo man’s way of expression and since these writers thoughts and ways of expression have very powerful influence on what they write, it is difficult if not impossible for a writer to completely avoid the use of some of these verbal arts. here, a few examples of the use of traditional verbal arts in the selected modern igbo prose fiction and their traditional functions or implications in the works are also examined. for example, in omenuko (pg 59), one finds this proverb that state that: “o na-abuokokowammadu, mmaduibeyaakooya, ma o kowaanuohia, o gaachiwe ahu yan’osisi” (when a human being has a feeling of some itching, he finds someone who helps to scratch the itching area. but when an animal has the same feeling, it goes to a tree to rub its body). pita nwana employed this particular proverb not only to achieve some aesthetic goals in his work, but most importantly to focus on an important traditional value of the igbo society. in a typical igbo traditional and cultural setting, every igbo man regards himself as his brother’s keeper and as such, one man’s problems should be the concern of others. one should not therefore hesitate to go to his brother or friend or anybody for that matter for help whenever one is in trouble. in the story, maziigwe was omenuko’s friend, and when the latter still in self-exile for the crime he has committed against his land and people seeks for a way to initiate a reconciliation with his people igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 56 and the gods of the land, he did not waste any time in consulting the former for necessary advice on the necessary actions to take. similarly, the following anecdote, in ubesie’sjuoobinna (pg 44) was primarily used to recapture a very important igbo traditional philosophy thus; nwamkpika a sịyabịaka a gbaarayaajauto, ọsị ha hapụnkeutogbawarayankendụn’ihinaonyedịndụg a-etouto”. (a he-goat when told that some sacrifices should be offered on his behalf so as to make him grow, protests and says that it is not important to him; rather what he needs is the sacrifice that will enable him be alive, for he who is alive will surely grow). tony ubesie used this anecdote basically on igbo traditional belief and philosophy that life supersedes every other thing. igbo believe that life is greatest. that is why they take some names like “nduka”, “ndubisi”, etc. in the story, ikechukwu and obinna had a very important business. as they were about to set out, they heard sounds of exploding bombs, followed by a stampede. they were now placed between two choices – attending to the important business before them or running for their dear lives. they of course chose the latter since it is their belief that if life is secured first, business will be attended to later. in ọkpaakuerieri (p.2), odilora’s introduction of akubuzo; the headmaster newly posted to abangwu primary is another good example of the use of igbo traditional verbal artmetaphorical epithets in a modern igbo prose fiction. he says; na mgbeochie, mgbeelubu ala ọsa, mgbeụlọakwụkwọbụụlọakwụkwọ, mgbendịnkuzina-enwennukwuugwunansọpụrụ, mgbehedimasitabụgọọment a naahụanyan’obodo, otunwoke aha yabuakubuzo ọkụna-agbaọzara, ọ dịmfeanyiarọ, dike a naakpaogwun’anyabịaraịchịụlọakwụkwọdịn’obodoabangwu”. (in olden days when the sky was the land of the squirrel, when schools were schools, when the teachers command a lot of prestige and respect; when the headmaster was the visible government igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 57 in a community, a man whose name was akubuzo the fire that consumes the dessert, he who is light but weighty, the strong man from whose eye-balls thorns are removed-came to head the school in the town of abangwu). the metaphors in the above example were not only used to enrich the aesthetic overtone of the passage, but they principally helped to evoke the traditional and cultural milieu in which the description is set. in the story, akubuzo was a headmaster famed for his high-handedness for the purposes of maintaining total discipline in his schools. he was a man reputed for his integrity and hard work and for these personal qualities, he attained an impeccable reputation. in igbo tradition and culture, it is usually the people who attain such social status that are qualified with such metaphors, usually in traditional praise songs and eulogistic incantations. this type of praise song is also extended to men who achieve great heights in the society, for instance excelling in war, killing of lion and making some remarkable contributions towards the development of the community. odilora felt that akubuzo qualified to be addressed in these traditional metaphorical epithets. the igbo traditional belief, culture and philosophy in igbo novel this is another area of the igbo oral traditional that is of interest to the writers of modern igbo prose fiction. igbo people’s philosophy, belief, consciousness and indeed total world view are implicit in their oral tradition, and these are expressed through their songs, proverbs, conversations, and in other forms of oral performances. some of the igbo philosophical and cultural beliefs, having helped to form the thought pattern and consciousness of these writers go a long way in influencing the stories they present in their creative works. for example, the incident discussed in chapter five of okpaakuerieriprojected ‘eke’ (python) as a totem animal in some parts of igbo land. also, the ‘oji’ (cola) ceremony at the beginning of any serious event is a custom very highly cherished by the igbo. examples of this ceremony could be seen in some of tagbonzeako’s works – nkoli, juochi, etc. besides, in dinta, j.c. maduekwe, presented the igbo cultural belief in ogbanje” (changeling), a phenomenon by which children care born and they die in repeated succession. in the story, maduekwe seems to be giving an optimistic impression that the “ogbanje” phenomenon could be combated or successfully challenged, contrary to the general belief amongst the igbo that “ogbanje” issue is really a thorn on the flesh. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 58 folksongs in igbo novels in igbo traditional storytelling, it is a common feature to intersperse or punctuate the story with songs. this device helps to enliven the narrative. besides, it is used to illustrate and emphasize a point in a story. in the oral performance, it helps also to ensure the alertness and attention of the audience as well as providing them with some respite or digression as the story telling progresses. this igbo traditional technique in story telling is employed by many modern igbo novel writers. it was observed that j. c. maduekwe is the chief adherent of this technique. for example, in dinta, songs were well interspersed within the story. these could be found on pages 12-13, 17-20, 34 and pages 72-73. in urunwa, songs were found on pages 59-60 and 125-126. in ahụbaraezeama by r. n. oraka, songs were found on pages14-15 and pages 78-81. in achara’sala bingo, there is one on pages 29-30. impact of igbo oral literature on igbo novel/ modern prose fiction from the examples above, it could be seen that the incorporation of some elements of the oral literature into the written form has really helped and continues to help in the emergence and development of the modern igbo prose fiction. also, the incorporation helps in sustenance and perpetuation of the igbo oral literature for the posterity. furthermore, the researcher observed that in addition to the great role the igbo oral literature plays in the emergence of the modern igbo prose fiction, the filtration of some elements of the igbo oral literature into the modern igbo prose fiction equally helps the works of modern igbo creative writers to acquire some peculiar features; especially its didactic nature. one sees that the filtration of some oral forms into the written impacts positively on the latter. also, it contributes to its didactic nature. it is very glaring that some modern igbo prose fiction are didactic in nature. some stories presented in them revolve around the igbo belief that evil act do not pay or that every man must reap what he sows. stories in omenuko, iheonyemetere, elelianaihe o mere, isiakwu dara n’alaamong others are good examples. besides, modern igbo prose writers incorporate the igbo oral forms in order to give their works cultural identity. this is based on the belief that the igbo literature is onenovel, drama or poetry written by an igbo in igbo language, which expresses igbo consciousness and worldview. so, these writers make extensive use of the igbo oral forms in their works so as to identify fully with other igbo writers and igbo literary works. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 59 the researcher also observed that the incorporation of some igbo oral forms by modern igbo prose writers contributes to the imaginary and fantastic nature of their works. obiechina (1982:61) supports this thus; “the fantastic and non-realistic elements found in creative works are the offshoots of the folk narratives”. in other words, he attributes the fantastic nature of the events, characters, setting, etc. in some modern igbo novels to the influence of the oral tradition on the writers. obiechina is right because some igbo prose fiction like ala bingo, elelianaihe o mere, ijeodumodujere, etc contain fantastic and imaginary stories. their writers made extensive use of some igbo oral forms especially the folktale. conclusion the study has been able to examine the igbo oral traditional background in terms of its impact on the igbo people generally and writers of modern igbo prose fiction in particular. it also identified and examined aspects of the igbo oral tradition that are exploited by modern igbo prose writers. these have given a clearer picture of the extent to which modern igbo literary works have been influenced by the igbo oral tradition. from this exposition also, one can easily understand why works of modern igbo prose fiction could safely be described as mirror of the oral tradition. apart from the fact the modern igbo writers consciously incorporate some forms of the igbo oral tradition especially the igbo proverbs in their works, there is possibility that some of them see the measure as a way of preserving the cultural heritage of the igbo.obviously, this transfer of the tradition into the modern is very healthy in that it helps in no small way to preserve, transmit and perpetuate the oral tradition for the posterity. it also graciously captures the spirit of the igbo language and, in fulfilling one of the functions of literature, helps to shape the future growth of the language, literature and culture of the igbo race. from the above discussions, one observes and understands that the influence of the igbo oral literature on the igbo modern prose writers has really played an indispensable role in the emergence and development of modern igbo prose fiction. besides, this phenomenon has helped the modern igbo prose fiction to acquire some peculiar features, especially its moralistic and didactic features. it is hoped that this study will help to rekindle the interest of readers in exploiting and appreciating the cultural and moral values embodied in the igbo oral forms incorporated in the works of igbo novel writers. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 60 references achara, d. n. (1993). ala bingo, ibadan: longman. achara, d.n. (1992). elelianaihe o mere, ibadan: longman. amano. l. o. (2005), “the igbo novel as a social catalyst: a case study of t. ubesie’s novels”, masters degree thesis of nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. awugosi, n. m. (2010). “igbo oral literature: an imperative to igbo written literature for the millennium’, a paper present at the unizik faculty of arts annual conference, awka, may, 2010. awugosi, n.m. (2009). “re-branding nigeria through literature: the role of igbo folktales”, a paper presented at the 2nd mid-term conference of the reading association of nigeria, owerri, december, 2009. bell-gam, l. (1981). ijeodumodujere, nigeria: longman. clarke, w. (1976). a short history of english literature. ibadan: evans. dike, g. a. (2001). “a stylistic study of ubesie’s three novels” in emenanjo, e. n. (ed.), tony ubesie: the man and the artist, owerri: afrika-link books. ekwealor, c.c. (1998), “fiction, drama, poetry and igbo life”, a paper presented at the seminar/workshop on the places of igbo literature in our secondary schools, awka, september, 1998. ekwealor, c.c. (2009). agumaguederede igbo n’ozuzuoke, enugu: daschal communications. emenyonu, e. n. (2001). “tony ubesie: a new and exciting nigerian novelists” in emenanjo, e. n. (ed.), tony ubesie: the man and the artist, owerri: afrika – link books. kirszner, l. g. et al. (2003). literature reading, reacting writing, canada: nelson. maduekwe, j.c. (1974). dinta, lagos: longman. maduekwe, j.c. (1978). urunwa, lagos: longman. nwadike, i. u. (1992). ntoalaagumagu, nigeria: ifunanya publishers. nwana, p. (1933).omenuko, lagos: longman. nzeako, t. (1973). nkoli, lagos: longman. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 61 nzeako, t. (1981). juo chi, lagos: macmillan. obi, n. m. (2009). “the role of literature in national development” in eyisi, j.c., odimegwu, i. and ezenwa-ohaeto, n. (eds.), african literature and development in the twenty-first century, imo: living flames. obiechina, e. n. (1967). “transition from oral to literary tradition”, presence africaine, no. 63, p. 140-161. odilora u. (1975). okpaakuerieri, lagos, longman. okediadi, a.n. (2010). “the aesthetics of igbo literature”, a paper presented at the ernest emenyonu international conference on african literature, owerri, august, 2010. okoh, n. (2008). preface to oral literature, onitsha: african. okpewho, i. (1983). myths in africa, cambridge, cup. ong, w. j. (1982). orally and literacy, london: routledge. onwudiwe, g.e. (1999). “the influence of local colour on modern literature: a case of igbo modern literature, in journal of literal studies, no. 2. onwudiwe, g.e. (2006). “proverbs: a veritable linguistic ingredient in communication in igbo” in agbodike, c.c. and umeasiegbu, r.n. (eds.), unizik journal of arts and humanities, september, 2006, vol. 8. p. 152-160. onyekaonwu, g.o. (1986). “the development of modern igbo prose fiction, 1933-1983: an historical and stylistic survey”, ph.d. thesis of the university of ibadan, nigeria. oraka, l. n. (1975). ahubaraezeama, ibadan: university press. peck j. and coyle, m. (1993). literary terms and criticism, london: macmillan press. ubesie, t. u. (1973). isi akwu dara n’ala. ibadan: oxford university press. ubesie, t. u. (1977). juoobinna, ibadan: oxford university press. ubesie, t.u. (1974). mmiri oku e jiegbumbe. lagos: longman. ubesie, t.u. (1975). ukpakamiirionyeubiam, enugu: nwamife press. uzochukwu, sam. (2001), “tony ubesie and the art of the igbo novel: some brief notes” in emenanjo, e.n. (ed.), tony ubesie: the man and the artist, owerri: afrika-link books. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 9 no.3, 2023 www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/igwebuikejournals.php a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 1 investigating the role of omoku concerned clergy in conflict resolution in omoku, rivers state, 2014-2021 ekenedilichukwu a. okolo department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state ea.okolo@unizik.edu.ng & ngozi n. iheanacho, phd department of religious and cultural studies university of port harcourt, port harcourt, rivers state ngozi.iheanacho@uniport.edu.ng doi:10.13140/rg.2.2.30881.58724 abstract man is seen as a social animal that lives and interacts together in the society. this is why he always sees himself to thrive and achieve his purpose in the midst of others. in this process of live accomplishment, he tends to have interest and clash of interest over things and issues which have always led to conflicts within the society. it is a well acknowledged fact that conflict as part of human existence must always occur. it is neither positive nor negative but is dependent on how it is seen and handled. in this regards, it will not be wrong to posit that a lack in the ability to bring out the positive side of conflict has always presented it with the garb of destruction and chaos. some individuals, governmental and non-governmental bodies have made their contributions in conflict resolution in omoku but that of omoku concerned clergy has not been conspicuous which gave rise to this work. this study will be done using a sociological method and will adopt the transformational peace building management theory as framework. the paper finds that there are conflicts in omoku which occur between individuals within the society. it also observes that these conflicts are as a result of struggle over limited available resources or clash of interests. it finally observes that conflicts have continued to exist despite attempts made by several individuals in their contributions. the paper therefore concludes that conflicts are unavoidable in the society of which attempts should always be made to resolve it in order to have a peaceful environment. it therefore recommends that people should not be seeing conflict as the end of relationship but should always give way to its investigating the role of omoku concerned clergy in conflict resolution in omoku, rivers state, 2014-2021 2 resolution with the attending positive effects. it also recommends that appropriate strategies should be implored at the perception of conflict in order to prevent it from escalating to crisis which is unhealthy to every society. keywords: investigating, role, omoku concerned clergy, conflict resolution, rivers state. introduction conflict is a concept that is as old as family institution and part and parcel of human existence. it is usually seen as a condition in which some identified group of persons in a given environment is engaged in conscious opposition to one or more identifiable human groups because of the pursuit of what is or what appears to the group as incompatible goals. it involves a simultaneous occurrence of two or more mutually antagonistic impulse or motives with huge struggles for opposing ideas, values and or limited resources (chaphin, 1979). conflict is a result of human interaction in the context of irreconcilable ends and where one’s ability to satisfy needs or ends depends on the choices, decisions and behavour of others. issues of conflict usually result in huge violations of human rights and in most cases lead to the destruction of properties and bring about death. hence, it suffices to say that conflict is endemic to human relationships in the sense that it brings about disunity and the bridging of peaceful co-existence in the society. more so, conflict as perceived to be a common and unavoidable phenomenon in all human society has been a reoccurring decimal all over the world. this is because the society is a combination of people with different interests and values. therefore it is natural in the opinion of afagbua (2010) that conflicts exist where there is inequality in access to control of natural resources and political power which leads to discontent, opposition and controversy. a survey of the african continent, nigeria nation and various communities will show signs of conflicts that are characterized by violence, civil strife, enmity, hatred and incessant killings. these have brought about an increase in destructions of lives and properties, massive displacement of people, huge refugee crisis, huge economic costs and disease. in view of this, schmidt (2016) makes bold to opine that africa evokes an image of a continent in crisis, riddled with war and corruption and imploding from disease and starvation. against this backdrop, it will be germane to say that conflict always lives with man of which needs to be adequately resolved/managed. it is in view of this backdrop that this work is intended to investigate the role of omoku concerned clergy in conflict resolution in omoku, rivers state, 2014-2021. ekenedilichukwu a. okolo & ngozi n. iheanacho 3 theoretical framework this work adopts the theory of transformational peace building management theory. this theory is designed to reframe the way in which peace building initiatives are discussed and pursued. its focus is on reducing or diffusing outbreaks of hostility with emphasis placed on addressing the underlying conditions and circumstances that brought about such conflict. hence, in his opinion, simon (2012) perceives it as an approach which seeks to transform the system, structure and relationships that give rise to violence, conflict and injustices. the concept as introduced by john paul lederach of the eastern mennonite school of peace building is assumed to go beyond conflict resolution to building long standing relationship through a process of change in perceptions and altitudes of the parties. its aim is to change the parties, their relationships and the conditions that created the conflict (miall et al, 1999). in agreement to this point, jeong (2000) posits that the theory entails the coming into being of new situations involving conflict issues, perceptions, relationships and communication patterns. furthermore, lederach (1995) sees it as a change which can be seen descriptively in the changes created by social conflict and prescriptively in the deliberate intervention by third parties to create change. this concept takes place at different levels and has a number of dimensions. at the personal level, it involves emotional, perceptual and spiritual aspects of change desired for the individual. it also affects relationships touching on communication between parties that need to change to positively affect poorly functioning communication. change also needs to affect structures that generate conflict through deprivation, exclusion and other forms of injustice and also seeks to understand cultural patterns and values of parties. the idea of transformational peace building theory comes from the recognition of the dialectical elements of conflict about the inevitability of change. secondly it recognizes the neutrality of conflict as such and maintains that conflict can be either positive or negative but parties can transform it into positive in order to use it for maximizing opportunities. finally, it presents the idea of the continuity element which means that parties and interveners can continue to work on problem areas to achieve continues change (best, 2001). it can deductively be said that this theory is concerned with the exploration of every possible means of achieving justices, reconciliation and sustainable peace in societies where deep rooted and persistent conflicts have had devastating effects. this theory is seen to be suitable in this study because it gives way and guideline on how conflicts can be resolved and its root totally eradicated, hence giving room for no further conflict to exist. investigating the role of omoku concerned clergy in conflict resolution in omoku, rivers state, 2014-2021 4 area of study the area of this study is omoku. omoku is the headquarters of ogba/ egbema/ ndoni local government area of rivers state which was created in the year 1991 from the old ahoada local government area. it is situated in rivers state which is one of the states in the south-south geo – political division of nigeria. the town is bounded by elieta, okposi, obrikom and ndoni. according to afdevinfo retrieved 28-05-2022, the people inhabiting omoku are part of the people speaking igbo language in rivers state, although the omoku people have their language which is known as ogba language. omoku is made up of twenty four villages which are uwaoma, odumelu, obuloko, ebilechi, okwulowaya, okwugu, obakata, ehioha, obiohuru, ogwualioma, obosi, ibuzoha, obuoma, ohukwu, obokuruoha, obitima, egwe, usmini, owhuoma, usomini eluoha, agbogwe, okwuoba and obiohuru (osima, oral interview:08-04-23). the ogba people and language is the largest tribe in the local government and has twelve legislative wards. omoku area is upland and has a huge number of oil and gas exploration activity in the local government area and the state. the ancient traditional stool of the omoku people is the oba of ogbaland (heyplaces.com.ng retrieved on 28-05-22). the omoku people have their social cultural life and behaviour. they also have colourful festival called nchaka with their masquerade which is known as okorosu. they entertain visitors and organize different social gathering, they are good in wrestling and football (okoronkwo, 2018:167). economically, the town is blessed with huge deposits of crude oil and natural gas, which it’s mining within and around the town, has contributed greatly to the economic development of the town. it is also seen as the economic hub of the local government area because of the busy nature of its market. furthermore, omoku people are economically into fishing which is a popular enterprise among them. they have vast arable and fertile land for agriculture purposes. in the opinion of favour ucheoha in an oral interview (18-10-22), he maintains that before the oil boom in the area, omoku people were known for food production and processing. they were into the production of cassava, garri, yams, cocoyam, plantain, vegetable and others. they were also known for palm wine tapping, local craft such as basket making, mats, fish traps and trade on all the produce from the land. with the oil boom, they are among the largest oil producing in the local government and have almost depended on the proceeds from the oil. the people of omoku now have royalties from the oil companies which are always given to communities according to their memorandum of understanding (mou) with the community. in the view of mr cyril oburu in oral interview (17-09-2022), omoku people are majorly into farming, fishery, businessmen and women and few of them that are into white collar job. ekenedilichukwu a. okolo & ngozi n. iheanacho 5 map of rivers state showing omoku in ogba/ egbema/ ndoni local government area. social life, religious worldview and traditional/political institution of omoku people omoku as one of the towns in onelga in rivers state has her social life, religious worldview and traditional/political institution. it has been noted that omoku is the headquartes of onelga and has turned to a mega city due to the influx of people living in that place. in their social life, chimezie oburu in an oral interview (23-01-23) maintains that omoku is peaceful and hospitable, very good at entertaining visitors. they have their festivals which are celebrated every year like the nchaka festival and the wrestling festival. they have many other social dances from one clan to the other and from village to village like asawa, nwokrogbo, ewele and many more. stressing further, salvation alokwuru in an oral interview (22-01-23) posits that the nchaka festival celebrated in omoku town is also done in ali-ogba (ogbaland). he goes on to say that the egwu nchaka is a new yam festival event celebrated in the entire thirty nine towns and clans that make up of ogbaland, this festival is said to be an age-long tradition. the nchaka festival is done annually between the months to november and december. there is nchaka celebration by the women which is known as nchaka-ki-inyenwa (nchaka for the women). when the women have finished their own celebration, the men will start their own and it is also known as nchaka-ki-ikenwa (nchaka for men). many activities are investigating the role of omoku concerned clergy in conflict resolution in omoku, rivers state, 2014-2021 6 lined up for the five days, namely; singing, dancing and merrymaking, which involve eating foods and drinking local drink throughout the festival period. the reasons for the festivals are believed by omoku people is for cleansing, fertility and chasing away of evil spirits. religiously, before the advent of christianity in omoku as well as ogba/egbema/ndoni local government area, the people believed in african traditional religion with individual families having their own idol (gods) and what they call egbo, a protective identity in both the physical and spiritual realms. they also believe on the gods protecting them at various gathering like wrestling at the period of festivity. denis izime in oral interview (02-01-23) observes that with the arrival of the missionaries in onelga which began with their arrival at ikiri town for trading and further passed through ekpe – mgbede and then to omoku and other areas to propagate the gospel, the people have embraced christianity. he goes on to say that with the coming of christianity and rise in denominations in the area, about ninety percent of the people are now christians. this is in line with the opinion of mr. sunday eke, in an oral interview (24-09-22), who maintained that the people of omoku in the olden days were predominantly practicing idolatry before the advent of christianity. it was gathered that when the missionaries brought western religion to the land of omoku, it was rejected by the people just like every other igbo land because the people saw the new religion as been against their own religion. as time progressed in the course of their mission work, many positive changes were brought into the land which made the people to gradually adapt to the new found faith. he goes on to say that this was the beginning of christianity in the land which has widely been accepted today as the formal religion for omoku people. notwithstanding, some people are still in the worship of idol but good number of the people of omoku have fully embraced christianity. the traditional and political institutions are other areas of concern in the study of the people of omoku. in the opinion of chimezie oburu in oral interview (23-01-23), the omoku people are made up of many villages and clans with each of them having their leaders. in the family levels, there are representatives of each of the families in the clan. in the clan levels, they also have their representatives at the village levels which appointment may be by the oldest man in the clan or by election. the omoku people have village chiefs who are representatives of each of the villages in the traditional ruler who is the oba of ogbaland. the oba has the traditional council of chiefs who are working with him in his cabinet. there is the family council of elders, community development committee, the youth executives, women leaders etc. politically, the omoku people are occupying one of the six political zones in ogba/egbema/ndon local governmet area, while egi, igburu, usomini, egbema and ndoni have one each. the omoku people have ekenedilichukwu a. okolo & ngozi n. iheanacho 7 about seven wards. the sharing and installation of the political positions in the town is by zoning or rotating within the villages. the same is applicable to executive positions that are brought to the town (izime, oral interview: 02-01-23). nature and dimensions of conflict in omoku conflict has continued to exist in omoku, the headquarters of ogba/ egbema/ ndoni local government area in rivers state which has brought about some disadvantages. among the natures and dimensions of conflict as seen by scholars are conflict that exists between host communities and oil companies due to oil exploitation and exploration, political conflict, cult conflict, communal conflict which is majorly due to chieftaincy tussle, land disputes and others. these above identified points agree with the opinion of adekola and enyiche (2017) that carried out a research on examining the effects of insecurity challenges on community projects and development with ogba/ egbema/ ndoni local government area and ahoada east local government area as case study. in their view, conflict in omoku as well as ogba/ egbema/ ndoni local government area appears in some dimensions and natures among which they posit as conflict between different cult groups, conflict by political parties which is due to political factions, conflict between oil companies and their host communities because of failure by the companies to do things that are been expected of them by the communities. they also mentioned some conflicts within different communities due to lack of proper distribution of resources by the oil company host communities. chieftaincy conflict also exists in omoku and some other communities as a result of who will be the head of the town. there are some land dispute and conflicts between clans and villages that are neighbours to each other with possible land boundaries. in their submission, adekola and enyiche are of the opinion that conflict in omoku comes in these natures and dimensions as stated above, and until they are handled from these angles, conflict will not be eradicate in the town. effects of conflict in omoku the conflict that has been always witnessed in omoku has left a serious effect on the town and its inhabitants. it is not wrong to say that conflict has always brought about dwindling of the economy in omoku. adekola and enyiche (2017) posit that conflict has affected the domestic product growth rate, led to the reduction of foreign investors from entering the area and discouraging the local investors from investing on the land. in line with this, gift oni in an oral interview (15-02-23), said that an electricity company that was supposed to be installed in a section of the town stopped their project half way and left the place because the lives of the workers were not secured during the time they were investigating the role of omoku concerned clergy in conflict resolution in omoku, rivers state, 2014-2021 8 undergoing the project because of issues on ground. this project was intended to give employment to some of the youths of the town and also help in boosting the economy of the town. this also happened in some other communities in the local government and has affected their production rate. oni also noted that for some periods of time now, it has been difficult for investors to come into the area because both the investors and their investments are not secured and no one invests in a place where he does not have security of life and property. it is important to note that when there are no investments in an environment, it affects the economy and gross domestic product of such society. this is what conflict has brought about in omoku. it is imperative to note that whenever conflict exists, it breeds insecurity in the society. adekola and enyiche go on to maintain that the rise of insecurity in omoku as a byproduct of conflict has led to the stunted growth of developmental efforts and projects in recent time. these issues so noted have drastically affected the community because people that are living in the community have vacated due to insecurity challenges that have become part of the present administrative system, hence pushing the people into urban migration which has brought more untold hardship to them. the conflict situations have also made most of the projects that are been carried on by government and other companies to be abandoned and neglected because of insecurity. in this regard, good numbers of projects are left unfinished. promise ogbowu agrees to this, (oral interview: 16-02-23) when he maintained that the obiohia community was initiating plans to raise a structure in obohia which will serve as a youth centre and will also aim at promoting youths activities in the community but the project was stopped halfway and abandoned because of cult conflict and other insecurity challenges prevalent in the land. in a supporting view, chibuike uzor in an oral interview (16-02-23) maintains that there are some projects of such in other areas that were neglected because of conflict and crisis in the land especially around 2014 to 2021. this also led to the destruction of lives and properties. furthering in his view, the omoku town was doing well economically because they were hosting some visitors from other parts of the nation but with the setting in of conflict in the land, there were hardships and economic downturn. response of the omoku concerned clergy in conflict resolution in omoku omoku was seen as a conflict area which was due to the rise in insecurity challenges in that area. the indigenes of the area saw and narrated their condition as sleeping with one eye open. at this time, the church and the clergy were not ignorant of the happenings and were not also silent over it because they were part of the system. this made rev canon clinton ohia, rev. fr. charlse, rev i. c. john, ven. christian bella, rev. samuel eze, rev. christopher osi, bishop bright eze, ven lucky eliozu, ven lekwa timothy, ekenedilichukwu a. okolo & ngozi n. iheanacho 9 bishop ekperu, rev austine eleba and some other clergy from the three bloc to come together to form omoku concerned clergy. it was from this point that the group started to increase in number as other clergymen queued into the vision. some of the participants interviewed at the cause of this work maintained that the church and their clergy were organizing prayers in both the church and community levels. in his contribution in oral interview (18-02-23), eliozu lucky maintains that the people of omoku with the help of the clergymen were organizing monthly prayers which was rotational within the town and offered prayers for the good of the land. he said that they embarked on prayers because they saw it as the first means of tackling the problems in omoku. this is because prayer answers and settles all issues. in most cases, they go to pray at the junctions, pay at the market squares, pray at the rivers and pray in some strategic places in the town both in the day and at night. the second most prominent role played by the clergy in omoku in contribution to conflict resolution was sensitization and enlightenment of the masses. this was done through preaching in both in and outside the church auditorium. the church has been there as one of the channels to promote and instill morality. it has also served as an avenue to encourage and appeal to conflicting parties to shun evil, desist from conflict and give way for peace and progress in the society. in an oral interview with canon clinton ohia (2102-23), he maintains that during this period of conflict and problem in omoku, the clergy made appropriate use of the pulpit in rebuking and correcting some errors in the land. this he said was done on sunday services, marriage ceremonies, burial services and all other gathering that gave room for preaching. in this regards, he maintained that the appropriate use of the pulpit by the clergy to condemn evil in omoku was effective and fruitful in the land. in another oral interview, (19-02-23), raymond ugem who is a clergyman posits that the pulpit was one of the weapons that helped the clergy in achieving their aim and making their contribution in conflict resolution in omoku. in this regard, he maintains that they used every opportunity they had to promote peace and to appeal to conflicting parties to shield their sword because it has no good benefit to the society. the omoku concerned clergy made serious efforts to interface with the killers and actors in the conflict in omoku. in his view, pastor ebenezer promise said that the clergy oftentimes had meetings with the cult groups and other groups that were contributing to conflict in the land. he was the person that led the first delegates that met with the people of which they assured them of a positive outcome. apostle gift tew who was the chairman of pentecostal fellowship of nigeria, strongly maintains that the clergy were actively involved in making sure that peace was returned to the town. he said that he led the second delegation to meet the aggrieved groups in making sure that peace was brokered. it was at this meeting with some cult groups, community in conflict over oil investigating the role of omoku concerned clergy in conflict resolution in omoku, rivers state, 2014-2021 10 matters and other issues that the cult boy agreed to give room for amnesty, hence the clergy was made to work towards the achievement of granting amnesty in the area as a way to allow peace. but before the amnesty programme, there were other series of meetings which involved the palace, the stakeholders, the traditional rulers, the chiefs, the religious bodies, the policemen and the youths. it was in one of these meetings that the youth came up with the idea of appointing a peace and reconciliation committee which was granted by the house and the committee to be composed of pastors, community chiefs, community development committee executives (cdc) and youth leaders. this group was commissioned by the oba of ogbaland and was to be chaired by kingsley ofurunnwe (manor). the amnesty was granted by the state government in a ceremony that was conducted in the omoku civic center. pastor gift noted that many of these bad boys came out with their guns and ammunitions and surrendered them to the government. in another oral interview (18-02-23), ike osere posits that the roles of omoku concerned clergy in conflict resolution in omoku are enormous. apart from these above points noted, the clergy has always reached out to the politicians to sensitize them on the appropriate manifestos and characters that will usher in a new dispensation of democratic dividends. this is because if all the works of the clergy above is not concretized, there is likelihood of reoccurrence of conflict. in this regards, he is of the view that the whole problem that has been existing in omoku is politically undertone and until politicians live up to the lives that are been expected of them, there will still be avenues for conflicts. in other words, when the masses are given the dividends of democracy and the system is effectively functional, there will be no room for conflict to manifest. in making his contribution in conflicts between oil companies and host communities, denis izime in an oral interview (08-04-23) maintains that the omoku concerned clergy played vital roles in intermediating between the town and the oil companies. this is because the community has always been denied of their right by the companies and this has always caused problem between them. in his words, the clergy mediated in ensuring that the royalties that are due the community are given to them. they also made sure that the companies are keeping to the memorandum of understanding they signed with the communities. this is in keeping to measures that will guide against an occurrence of conflict. izime goes on to say that there has been some changes in the town in the sense that so many people have recently been gainfully employed which is one of the outcomes of the role of the clergy. for some times, the incessant conflict between omoku people and oil companies has drastically reduced and the people are now enjoying peace and mutual coexistence with each other. the clergy has always made her impact in every facet of conflict that has existed in the society. this also agrees with what osima said about community conflict going on in omoku town. he said that bishop eliozu (of the blessed ekenedilichukwu a. okolo & ngozi n. iheanacho 11 memory) and some other clergy from the land have contributed to the peace that is been enjoyed today. more so, with the role of the clergy in omoku, there has been equitable distribution of power and resources which has helped to reduce conflict. in the political sphere, there has been inclusiveness of the youths in the political and administrative structure of the town. izime concludes that some of the youths have been given the room to hold some political positions in the town, local government and the state at large which was not so before. all these have helped to reduce the issue of conflict in omoku and there is relative peace in the society how the role and impact of omoku concerned clergy help to reduce further occurrence of conflict in omoku the role of the omoku concerned clergy will actually help in reducing further occurrence of conflict in the town. according to samuel eze in an oral interview (17-04-23), the major role of the omoku concerned clergy is not only that it has helped to restore peace in the land but it has helped to reduce its further occurrence. in his view, there has been relative peace between the town and the oil companies in the sense that there has not been much clash as before. some of the people from the land have gainfully been employed in the oil companies. this made some of the cult boys to drop their weapons and embrace the new found job. in a further investigation, it was discovered by the researcher that life in omoku is now becoming normal and most of the social amenities that have been the demand of the people are now put in place. in omoku, there has been power supply which although may not be steady but is better than what the people use to see. more so, there have been constructions of good road in and across omoku. the government in recent time constructed the ahoada – egbema road which is dualized and that has given the town a better look. eze goes on to say that if the government will be keeping to what she ought to do in the town, the cult groups will not see reason to continue in issues of conflict because no one will be unjustly cheated. he also observes that the inclusion of omoku people in the political sphere and bringing the dividend of democracy to them has helped to reduce political conflict. the town has representatives in the government who stands for them and make sure that the people are represented and with this, the people will have no reason to start conflict in the future. in a further discussion, eze posits that prayers and enlightenment from the clergy will continue to be practice in order to always keep afresh in the mind of the people the expectation of the church and the society. in this regard, he maintained that the clergymen have developed the body (omoku concerned clergy) into omoku concerned churches thereby taking the spectrum to cover all the believers in omoku town. this prayer movement has also turned into monthly affairs in omoku on which the venue is rotated investigating the role of omoku concerned clergy in conflict resolution in omoku, rivers state, 2014-2021 12 within the churches in omoku and the attendance is much encouraging. it is important to note that the prayers of the concerned clergy have always been effective in directing the activities of the people mostly the cult groups. in the view of clinton ohia, he posits that conflict occurs because the society is not balanced in the sense that there are few people enjoying the resources that are meant for everybody while the rest of the people are suffering. these classes in the society have always made the lesser class which is the suffering masses to show their dissatisfaction by reacting to the undue treatment they are receiving from the rich few. in his idea, the impact of the clergy has reduced the gap by enabling equitable distribution of resources in the society. this has to begin by how the town shares the royalties that are given to her by the oil companies that operate in the land. before now, the rich men have always monopolized the royalties for themselves and the families which have always made the cult group to be troubling both the oil companies and the town. a critical study of the main cause of conflict in omoku from the year 2014 till 2021 will understand that it was majorly as a result of oil dividend but is wrapped under cult and political conflict. this was why igwedibia johnson (a. k. a donny wanny) and his group hijacked the activities of the oil companies and kept them restless in that area. donny wanny and his group was terror in the life of the oil companies in that area and when he has caused much damage to them, they were paying him and his gang huge amount of money every month. he was even taking what was meant for the town and no one dare talk to him if such person still likes to live. but with his death and the new dawn in omoku and its environ, there has been changes seen because what is meant for the people have been coming to them and that has helped to reduce conflict. if things continue as it is now, there is hope for the reduction of conflict in the near future. ohia also goes on to say that if the companies will keep to their agreement and develop the town by giving them social amenities, further conflict will be reduced. when there is a balance in the society that there are no classes, conflict will be reduced to the minimum. also the role of the clergy in making sure that amnesty was granted will go a long way in reducing subsequent conflict. this is because most of these people are gainfully employed and they have handworks which is fetching them money. a survey of omoku will see that there are so many youths that are roaming the street without job and any source of livelihood; hence they will become agents of bad work. it is said that an idle man is a devils workshop which is not so if such person is engaged and have no time for indulging in evil and issues that will bring about conflict in the society. in this way, the impact of amnesty will help to reduce future occurrence of conflict because majority of the cult boys have been settled by the government. notwithstanding, there is the likelihood that some of the cult boys will go back to their bad life but there are some individuals who have also ekenedilichukwu a. okolo & ngozi n. iheanacho 13 changed and repented through the amnesty programme. in this way, conflict is reduced in the future. conclusion the present day society is often engulfed with incessant occurrences of conflict which has always affected the smooth flow and administration of the society. it has also been a barrier that delays and truncates the achievements and set goals in the society. this is not different from what was recently observed in omoku, a town in ogba/egbema/ndoni local government area of rivers state from the year 2014 to 2021 which has its numerous negative effects in the lives and properties of the people. in recent time, there have been records of conflicts in omoku which include cult conflict, political conflict, chieftaincy conflict, boundary conflicts and host communities/ oil company conflicts. these conflicts compelled some of the inhabitants of the town to relocate to other places for safety of lives and properties. the conflict drastically affected businessmen and women and oil companies in this area. hence calling for the attention of individuals and cooperate bodies to make their contribution in restoring peace in the society. it was at this time when contributions were made from different angles with little or no significant difference that the impact of the clergy was paramount. it will be worthy to note that the clergy is part of the society and there has been the existence of the clergy who are not only part of the suffering but their members are also part of it. they cannot hold their hands to observe and feel ignorant of the happening with its adverse effect hence they have to make their contribution in ensuring peace and sanity in the society by resolving and managing the conflicts. the omoku concerned clergy thereby perform their dual roles of satisfying their spiritual function as mediators between the people and the supreme being and making their contributions to the betterment of the society. it is on this note that this research investigated the roles of the omoku concerned clergy in conflict resolution in omoku and concludes that the concerned clergy in omoku made remarkable impacts in conflict resolution in the town which helped in ensuring the maximum peace that is witnessed in the society today. recommendations having gone through this research work on investigating the role of omoku concerned clergy in conflict resolution in omoku, the researcher makes an attempt to recommend the following: clergymen should always endeavour to make their positive impact to the betterment of the society. this is because they are entrusted with human resources management and investigating the role of omoku concerned clergy in conflict resolution in omoku, rivers state, 2014-2021 14 have control over people who listen to them and obey them as their leaders. more so, clergymen are channels through which god is seen and they have both spiritual and social oversight functions over the lives of the people they care for. this therefore places a predominant role on them which they must always play in contributing to conflict resolution and to the betterment of the society. the youths should always try to give way for peace and unity and desist from being used as agents of conflict. this is because the research shows that youths are often used as machineries in most of the conflicts in omoku, like cult conflict, political clash/conflict, boundary conflict and host communities/oil companies’ conflict and in most cases, they are at the worst receiving end. the political class should also live up to the expectations of the people on her. politics should not be seen as an avenue to kill and destroy but opportunity to make positive impact and change in the lives of the masses and the society at large. more so, politicians should not use their political offices as avenue and privilege to revenge or repay evil done to them by others but should always use their offices to better the lives of the masses and bring about a better society. furthermore, the traditional leaders have their roles to play in the peaceful atmosphere of the society. they are the custodians of custom, law and order and should desist from any form of instigating conflict in the society. this is because it was discovered in the course of this research that some traditional leaders are engineering to conflict in the area. the researcher also recommends that oil companies and the community should see themselves as the left and right hands, which the washing of one another makes each other clean. the oil companies are engaging in the exploitation and exploration of oil in the land and should treat the community with respect by keeping to all the agreements signed in their memorandum of understanding, which will help to bring the expected development in the community. the researcher finally recommends that clergy of other religious traditions should make their contributions to the betterment of the society. this is because the maintenance of peace and security is the responsibility of everybody which the leaders should be taking the lead. the non religious and nongovernmental organizations should also contribute in ensuring a peaceful atmosphere at every given time. ekenedilichukwu a. okolo & ngozi n. iheanacho 15 references adekola, g. & enyiche c. c. (2017). effects of insecurity on community development projects in ogba/egbema/ndoni and ahoada east local governmet area of river state, nigeria. journal of education and practice vol. 8, no. 14, 34-39 afegbua s.i (2010) conflicts and political instability in nigeria; causes, consequences and prospects, journal of social science and public policy. vol 2. no. 10 best s.g. (2001) the methods of conflict resolution and transformation, jos; university of jos press. chaphin j.p (1979) dictionary of psychology, new york; dell publishing. jeong h.w (2000) peace and conflict studies; an introduction, aldershot; ashgate. lederach j.p (1995), peace by peaceful means; conflict transformation across societies. syracuse, ny; syracuse university press. miall, hugh, ramsbotham, oliver and woodhouse (1999) contemporary conflict resoplution; the prevention, management and transformation of deadly conflicts, cambridge; polity press igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol 9 no.2, 2023 www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/igwebuikejournals.php a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 34 friedrich nietzsche’s nihilism and the nigerian society francis chigozie ofoegbu, phd department of philosophy/religious & cultural studies alex ekwueme federal university ndufu-alike ikwo gozie.ofoegbu@gmail.com & chidimma ijeoma obodozie department of philosophy/religious & cultural studies alex ekwueme federal university ndufu-alike ikwo doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.31621.83688 abstract in the present-day era, some people strive and adopt any means to measure up with the requirement of society. for some what matter is how successful one is, with little or no regard for the means of the attainment of such success. hence, they employ theories of man being a wolf to a fellow man, survival of the fittest and might is right in their dealings, leaving behind the moral system which is paramount in human relations. this work aims to examine friedrich nietzsche’s philosophy, especially his notion of nihilism to relate it to the nigerian society. it also exposes the decline in the nigerian value system to proffer solutions to them. we shall employ the method of analysis in this work for a better understanding and clarification of the concepts under discussion. it finds that nietzsche’s concept of nihilism plays out a scene in nigerian society. we suggest a revaluation of nigeria's moral system to treat people as an end in themselves and to seek the common good. keywords: nihilism, value, cultural crisis, morality introduction friedrich nietzsche a renowned philosopher and the lonely prophet, having seen the meaninglessness, nothingness and absurdity of judeo/christian belief in god in modern europe, announced to the world his shocking discovery that god is dead, (he does not mean that god does not exist but god is dead). this death of god paved way for cultural crises, moral decay, lack of value, no objective truth and insanity in his society. hence, nietzsche advocated for the revaluation of one’s morality to be an overman. francis chigozie ofoegbu & chidimma ijeoma obodozie 35 accordingly, in the light of nietzsche, one may equally observe that in present nigeria there is a cultural crisis and lack of value, where people are more concerned with pleasure, power, wealth and connection rather than upholding moral values, good character formation and tenets of christianity. it has become a society where honesty is disregarded, indolence is extolled, and probity is derided. thus, there is no regard for god and humanity, rule of law and societal values, but the promotion of violence, anarchy, corruption, injustice, and loss of properties and lives. therefore, this research seeks to examine nietzsche’s notion of nihilism vis a vis nigeria society, to proffer a solution to the decline in her value system. it will analyze various kinds of nihilism as experienced in nigeria viz, religious, ethical, educational, political, and economic nihilism among others. conceptual clarification on nihilism the term ‘nihilism’ is derived from the latin word ‘nihil’ that means ‘nothing’. it is a philosophical viewpoint that suggests the denial or lack of belief towards the meaningful aspect of life. most commonly, nihilism argues that life is without objective meaning, purpose or intrinsic value. it holds that values are baseless, meaningless and nothingness. it believes that nothing can be communicated or known. friedrich wilhelm nietzsche characterized nihilism as emptying the world and especially human existence of meaning, purpose, comprehensible truth or essential value. he defined the term as any philosophy, rejecting the real world around us, and physical existence along with it, which results in apathy toward life and poisoning of the human soul (crosby 30). the death of god and the breakdown of belief in christian moral values by implication expose man to the danger of nihilism because most men know no other values except those rooted in christianity. thus, nietzsche observes: the belief in the absolute immorality of nature“and meaninglessness is the psychologically necessary effect once the belief in god and an essentially moral order becomes untenable. nihilism appears at that point“ because one has come to mistrust any meaning in suffering, indeed in existence. one interpretation has collapsed; it now seemed as if there was no meaning at all in existence as if everything were in vain. (35). affirming the above omoregbe opines that the future is blinking and uncertain, as mankind is now empty and drifting aimlessly without light and guidance (125). since nature abhors a vacuum, the existential vacuum left in the being of man as a result of the death of god, inevitably results in nihilism. emphasizing this, the nineteenth-century nihilistic philosopher, friedrich nietzsche defined nihilism as ‚the penetrating feeling of nothingness‛ (528). here, one may ask, where is nihilism taking us? in an attempt to answer this, nietzsche in thus spake zarathustra observes, ‚are we not perpetually friedrich nietzsche’s nihilism and the nigerian society 36 fallen? backwards, sideward, forward, in all directions? is there any up or down left? are we not straying through an infinite nothing? do we not feel the breath of empty space? has it not become colder? is more and more night not coming on all the time?‛ (126). so, this shows the effect of nihilism on mankind, since they have refused to follow the part of objective truth and value. nihilism can be classified into many kinds such as: cosmic nihilism this regards nature as either wholly unintelligible or indifferent to basic human concerns. in either case, the cosmos is seen as giving no support to distinctively human aims or values, and it may even be regarded as actively hostile to human beings. ‚the absolute form of cosmic nihilism denies the universe any form of intelligibility or meaning‛ (craig 29). schopenhauer holds that the cosmos has no intelligible structure whatsoever. cosmic nihilism is then something of an oxymoron since it means that there is no such thing as a ‚cosmos‛ in the sense of an intelligible and moral order in nature that humans can discover and conform to. moral or ethical nihilism this kind of nihilism denies any possibility of justifying moral judgements on the ground that morality is a cloak for egoistic self-seeking and therefore a sham. moral principles are nothing more than expressions of subjective choices, preferences or feelings of people who endorse them. ethical or moral nihilism is the view that good and evil do not indicate any specific meaning or value system. in other words, they deny any chance of absolute moral values. whatever is held by people as a standard or right pattern of life and living is nothing but the result of social and emotive pressure. moral or ethical nihilism rejects the possibility of absolute moral or ethical values. epistemological nihilism epistemological nihilism denies the possibility of justifying claims to knowledge because it assumes that a foundation of infallible, universal truths would be required for such assessments and no such thing is available. this is because it views all claims to knowledge as entirely relative to cultural contexts or the vagaries of individual thought. this kind of nihilism views knowledge as ultimately arbitrary and incommensurable because it sees all attempts at its justification or criticism as useless. in summary, epistemological nihilism denies the possibility of knowledge and truth; this kind of nihilism is currently identified with post-modern anti-foundationalism. francis chigozie ofoegbu & chidimma ijeoma obodozie 37 political nihilism political nihilism calls for the destruction of existing political institutions, along with their supporting outlooks and social structures but has no positive message of what should be put in their place and this is a precondition for any political betterment. it is associated with the belief that the destruction of all existing socio-political order is a prerequisite for future improvement. it is the realization that all values are relativistic. existential nihilism existential nihilism is that kind of nihilism which negates the meaning of human life, judging it to be irremediably pointless, futile and absurd (craig 1). thus, human existence has no purpose, value, or justification. there is no reason to live and yet we persist in living. the human situation is therefore absurd. the philosophical position of existential nihilism is that a genuinely meaningful life is impossible, that is the notion that life has no intrinsic meaning or value. nihilism and nigeria society: a philosophical appraisal nietzsche’s radical nihilism which states that ‚god is dead‛ set the ball in motion, this ball is now on nigerian’s pitch. an inquisitive study of the nigerian situation reveals that nietzsche’s nihilism has been translated into nigeria. affirming this, obasanjo in his book, this animal called man laments that ‚the elementary wrong in man is his godlessness, his autonomous conduct, which is apparently without reference to god‛ (251). at the root of nigerian nihilism is corruption which is synonymous with the word ‘nigeria’. corruption has eaten deep into the nigerian system in the sense that it cuts across various areas like morality, religion, education, economy, politics etc. nigeria is in the horrible hands of nihilism and the description of nigeria as a corrupt country is an understatement. rather, it is a country of nihilism whereby everything is permitted and accepted. hence, there is an absence of a meaningful and central objective capable of bonding the nation together, no pivot, no sense of common good, and no coherency and consistency. this, as a result, causes a lack of understanding among the leaders, between the leaders and the led, and among the followers themselves. thus, lawlessness, violence and survival of the fittest became the order of the day. (stumpf 232). the so-called giant of africa is known for moral debasement, ethnic crises and cries of marginalization, religious skirmishes, political assassinations, examination malpractices, bribery, cultism and economic hardship. from the foregoing, it is alleged that nigeria is in a state of nothingness. for a proper and systematic exposition of the nigerian situation, one examines it from the point of view of moral, religious, educational, economic and political nihilism. friedrich nietzsche’s nihilism and the nigerian society 38 naturally, man is a moral being and morality is a term designated to mean ‚principle concerning right and wrong or good and bad behaviour, the extent to which something is right or wrong, good or bad; among others, according to moral principles, a particular system of moral principles‛ (crowther 755). nigerians have deflated such standards because of the relativism of morality. thus, moral nihilism in nigeria constitutes her departure from living moral life that is proper to man as man to an immoral life. therefore, moral nihilism is a rape of morality. it is a situation, whereby people have invented their principles to replace the objective standard of morality. that is, people create principles that are favourable to them, leaving aside the general guiding moral principles behind. it is turning moral values upside down and a consequence of deliberate disregard for god the epitome of morality. in a situation of moral nihilism in nigeria, what do you think would be the order of the day? no doubt, the net effect is a moral eclipse. the morality and future of the country will be nothing to be desired, this is because, against the backdrop of moral lapses, one cannot but accept the painful truth that the future is quite bleak for nigeria. immorality reigns supreme. accordingly, prostitution, depraved character, juvenile delinquency, and perpetual lying, have turned nigeria into a dungeon of immorality. consequently, immorality stirred a high rate of corruption in nigeria. unbridled corruption of unquantifiable magnitude has been the bane of society. this situation has caused havoc on the fabric of the nation, annihilating the moral norms and values of the nation. corruption has permeated into high and low places to the extent that it has become her second nature such that the nation has been tagged the second most corrupt in the world (ezeani 7). this moral pathology has seriously uprooted justice, equity, meaningful co-existence, and objectivity as well as the standardized moral norm in nigeria. what else is moral nihilism if not that the majority of nigerians have lost the sense of meaning resulting in a moral eclipse? among philosophers and scholars, defining religion has been a controversial issue. religion is located and conceived in different ways by different people, and its definition varies. etymologically, religion comes from the latin root religare which means to bind, relegere which denotes a link and religio which explains a relationship. it explains a relationship that binds persons with the divine (okoro 11). however, the following seems to be generally acceptable. for j.m. yinger religion is: a system of belief and practices through which a group of people struggle with the ultimate problems of human life. it expresses their refusal to capitulate to death, to give up in the face of frustration, and to allow hostility to tear apart their human association (7). francis chigozie ofoegbu & chidimma ijeoma obodozie 39 further, in the view of a.c. bouquet: ‚religion is a fixed relationship between the human self and some non-human entity, the sacred, the supernatural, the self-existent, the absolute or simply god‛ (uwaezuoke 38). therefore, religion is characterized by belief, rituals, a sense of the sacred, prayer, religious feelings, mystery and awe. for feuerbach, religion is a sort of dream and the idea of god is an invention by human beings because they feel helpless in an alien world and need god to comfort them. karl marx defines it as ‚the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of the heartless world just as it is the spirit of the spiritless world; it is the opium of the people‛ (marx and engels 39). nigeria would have been a paradise if her understanding of religion rapports with the above definitions. sadly, she has a negative notion of religion as she was influenced more or less by religious critics who were mostly atheists. religion is viewed more from negativity than positivity. this is evident from the point of view that god no longer lives in the hearts of nigerians because they have killed him. this is catastrophic for nigeria as she faces violence upon violence, wars upon wars, and crises upon crises resulting in purposelessness, emptiness, nothingness and nihilism of her existence. now that god is dead in the hearts of nigerians, nihilism becomes a direct consequence. religious nihilism is the conviction that the highest values and more which one once accepted are untenable and added to this is the insight that there is no justification whatsoever for believing that there is another world, a true nature of things, anything divine and absolute morality. no doubt, nigeria is a secular state, but there is disregard for other religions that exists in the country. nevertheless, in the recent past, the government registered nigeria into the organization of islamic states (o.i.c.). the government has been accused of religious favouritism. more aid were given to the muslims for their trip to mecca while their christian counterparts receive less. growing up, it wasn’t unusual to see christians and muslims mingling together to celebrate christmas and sallah, but today wars and conflict reign supreme. muslims leading to ethno religious wars. no wonder usman dan fodio opines that: ‚one of the swiftest ways of destroying a kingdom is to give preference to one particular tribe over another or to show favour to one group of people rather than another‛ (ottakagu 27). recently, nigeria has been battling with the problem of the full introduction of sharia law in most of the northern states. as a result, there is a manifestation of cracks and crevices in nigeria. the strand that bonds the unity of the nation is beginning to snap. hence, there is political disorder and insecurity, which threatens the stability, unity and security of the nation leading to anarchy, chaos and lawlessness. this has led to chronic and frequent agonies of religious hostilities, riots and violence of which the sharia induced riots in zamfara, kaduna, kano states and aba are buttressing examples. friedrich nietzsche’s nihilism and the nigerian society 40 from the christian perspective, how is it that given the proliferation of churches in every tom, dick and harry, bribery and corruption, crime, and immorality are on the increase? in nigeria, we record self-proclaimed pastors, evangelists, prophets, bishops, and archbishops. this is nothing short of religious nihilism. the situation has become untenable that cardinal okogie had to appeal to the government for assistance. he opined: ‚if the number of churches is not curbed, immediately, nigeria would be in a bad state‛ (osudibia 84). on another note, if there is no unity among christians, how can there be unity between christians and muslims? regarding the fact that muslims see themselves as superior to all and inferior to none. in nigeria, every act of terrorism and violence is purportedly traceable to religion. hence, the positive sense of religion has given way to a negative sense such that there is no more sense of the sacred, awe, human dignity, justice and fear of god. consequently, there are constant religious crises, wars and violence between christians and muslims, amounting to killings in the name of god. giving credence to this karl maier in his book, this house has fallen, demonstrated how the deep ethnic and religious tensions since the independence have been the strains that are pulling the nigerian state apart. the two dominant religions in nigeria – islam and christianity are at daggers drawn. it is alleged that muslims have an insatiable appetite for the blood of christians. at the least provocation, they are set to pounce on the innocent christians who are ever ready to turn the other cheek. nigeria is in a state of religious stupor, fracas and nihilism. evidence of these abounds. it is on record that kano, kaduna, bauchi, kastina, and borno states have left remarkable imprints of bloody religious conflict in the annals of the history of nigeria. the gruesome attack on christians by muslims in kaduna, which later spread over to kano in 2000 is unforgettable. there was a counterattack at aba and umuahia in abia state. this witnessed the heartless murder of infants, men, women; even pregnant women. in some cases, people were cremated in a house. unforgettable is the barbaric beheading of mr gideon akaluka and the triumphant parade of his bodiless head around the streets of kano by muslims over an alleged insult to the koran. this is barbarism and nothing short of nihilism. condemning the nihilistic act, the catholic bishops of nigeria remarked: in this connection, we condemn vehemently the recent barbaric beheading in kano of mr. gideon akaluka for an alleged insult to islam. this event has heightened the atmosphere of religious intolerance in our nigerian society. we call on the government of the day to make a pronouncement on this outrageous crime and bring the perpetrators to book (osudibia 120). francis chigozie ofoegbu & chidimma ijeoma obodozie 41 on another note, religion has become a platform used by politicians to instigate violence as a cover-up for their inefficiency and commoners pay with their blood. thus, osudibia opines: politicians find it much easier to raise a tribal war cry instead of strong discipline and strict accountability, which a well-articulated ideology imposes both on the leader and the led. when assaulted or confronted by superior ideas, politicians find tribal (religious) scapegoating a useful way of easing tension (119). moreover, the word religion has its origin in the latin word ‘religare’ which means, ‘to bind’. the fallen man makes effort to bind himself once more to his creator. it is unimaginable that the same man who kills indiscriminately is at the same time binding himself to god who is holy, pure and unstained. among others, education is one of the major problems in nigeria. nigeria's educational sector is rotten. qualitative and meaningful education is absent. thus, this leads to nihilism in nigeria because education widens the scope of understanding and meaningful and peaceful co-existence among people. problems that require rational examination are reduced to gullibility leading to violence. there are two schools of thought regarding the meaning of education. as one takes education as a means of imbibing the norms and values of society to create an ideal adult, the other emphasises the utilitarian aspect of education. however, no single aspect of education should be stressed to the detriment of the other. validating this, daniel wester affirms, that ‚education should comprise the inculcation of pure morality, true and worthy motives, feelings should also be disciplined, passion be restrained in all circumstances, knowledge should not only constitute all which is contained in the large term of education‛ (anaetoh 42). nigerian education seems to be ‚certificate education‛. a nigerian in the bid to acquire a certificate, can do virtually anything ranging from immorality, examination malpractice, and cultism to forging certificates to get it. this is an intellectual miscarriage. the government, leaders, and school management among others should lead us out of educational nihilism rather than promoting the act. education has not received meaningful attention from the government. there is underfunding and a lack of educational facilities nationwide. for instance, in november 2018, due to the federal government's inability to fulfil the agreement made with the academic staff union of universities (asuu) in 2015 went on strike which lasted for about three months among other recent nigeria university strikes. nonetheless, one of the worst things that have happened to nigeria is a clear separation of morality from education. the results of deliberate abandonment of morality in places of education are not far-fetched. immorality became the order of the day. there are friedrich nietzsche’s nihilism and the nigerian society 42 contradictions of various forms. an undergraduate might gain admission to the university without clearing his/ her o’level result thereby leaving behind the main criteria which are meant to be followed. the student’s brightness is only on paper having made a good result courtesy of examination malpractice and sorting. female students in addition to their certificates also parade another decree of sexual immorality. members of the secret cult while graduating are morally depraved. the worst part of educational nihilism is that those who possess good degrees have no matching practical knowledge to back it up because ‚good results are now on sale like every other commodity‛ (anaetoh 6). in nigeria, examination malpractice is a normal phenomenal. this malaise is perpetuated by some teachers/lecturers and the pupils/students and so it has become a prevalent problem-eating deep into our intellectual mindset. malpractices occur before, during, and after examinations at all levels. appraising this j. anaetoh in his book campus life maintained that ‚the fact is that in any examination, the general conduct of most candidates sitting for any examination, malpractice has been institutionalized‛ (9). the consequences of this have been felt today in our society as it has been interpreted into the social frame. hence, many occupants of public offices pass through this examination malpractice and thus they lack the technical know-how and genuine educational training. this is the reason why nigerians are busy achieving nothing. besides, cultism has spread from universities to secondary schools in nigeria. media reports show that some of the primary schools in the country have also become entangled in them. their activities are mainly characterized by the destruction of lives and properties. confirming this, odey in his book, this madness called election opined that ‚cultism in our educational institution has become null and void as members have virtually taken over the institutions and turned them into death camps‛ (32). what assault on education? more so, in its editorial, punch metro plus reports: there was pandemonium in ekpoma town, in the esan west local government area of edo state, when no fewer than five persons, said to be students of the ambrose alli university, ekpoma, were reportedly killed by suspected cult members (cultists n.pag). hence, an education system that should be the hallmark of values and meaning has turned out to be meaningless in nigerian society. economic nihilism includes poverty, embezzlement, corruption and insensitivity to the plight of the masses. the greatest disease in nigeria is abject poverty, not hiv/aids or leprosy. the cradle of economic nihilism is corruption, this is because the leaders are corrupt and the adverse effect of this reflects on the bad condition of the economy. the self-centeredness of the leaders remains a characteristic of the nation’s economic francis chigozie ofoegbu & chidimma ijeoma obodozie 43 nihilism. using official stationery such as envelopes, and papers among others for private purposes has become the order of the day in nigeria. a lot of government functionaries use office stationery for their private correspondence and selfish aggrandizement. embezzlement displays itself in the falsification of figures, abandonment of the project and kick-backs in contracts. the abandonment of onitsha seaport and maiduguri sheraton hotel are good examples among others. even, though associations are set up to help fight corruption has failed on achieving their set goal. buttressing this, osudibia in his book revolution opines that the ‚anti-corruption program has become a huge fake, the fund meant for poverty alleviation has succeeded only in putting the additional menu on the table of some insatiable local politicians‛ (63). in addition, egocentrism is one of the deadly diseases that have contributed to the nation’s economic nihilism. in ordinary parlance, love of one’s nation ought to supersede self-love. however, in nigeria, it is selfinterest before the common good. what else could amount to economic nihilism when ‚in some states of the federation civil servants were owed salary arrears up to eight and nine months‛? the question that remains to be asked is, where do all those monies go? callousness of the government to the plight of the masses, there is a high rate of unemployment and abject poverty in the country. this can also be seen when our leaders and government officials take our wealth and resources to another country thereby creating employment for the citizens of that country. basic human needs are not provided. the less privileged are not only neglected but are also insulted. the masses are deprived of security, battered by hunger, and deficient health services are the order of the day in our society, yet the government remained insensitive to these. is this kind of nihilism in nigeria not economic nihilism? political nihilism is associated with the belief that the destruction of all existing sociopolitical order is a prerequisite for future improvement. at the core of political nihilism is corruption. as a result of the high level of corruption, an average nigerian is seen as a dubious character that must be kept in close check’’ (weekly insider 3). nigeria and in particular her leaders are corrupt. the foggy state of affairs of the political scene in nigeria has become a topic of discussion whether in public or private. the question of the problem of nigeria becomes a recurring question. thus, chinua achebe came up with an answer that the genesis of this trouble is ‘‘bad leadership, corruption and inequality’’ (okoli 5). there has not been an insightful good leader in nigeria since she got her independence, rather she has experienced a series of military dictators and the present military dictator in a civilian cloak. the meaning and value of nigerian politics have been baffled. politics in the right sense of the word is an organization of men to co-exist in peace and harmony, and the management and distribution of material resources for the common good. amplifying this, the philosopher aristotle opined: friedrich nietzsche’s nihilism and the nigerian society 44 the end of politics is good for man. for even if the good is the same for the individual and the state, the good of the state is the greater and perfect thing to attain and safeguard. the attainment of the good for one man alone is to be sure, a source of satisfaction: yet to secure it for a nation and state is nobler and more divine (osudibia 119). reversely, politics has been misinterpreted. it is now seen as a situation where maximization of gain is the main purpose of going into it. government is seen as an investment where personal needs and exalt substitute for the common good leading to a profound poor standard of living, poor infrastructure and social amenities. political power is the right to ‚aristocracy‛, where our leaders and politicians make empty promises to gain the support of the populace. politicians seize every available opportunity to embezzle public funds through the inflation of contracts, fictitious travelling claims and allowance and other devious means. they are looking for money to fight for the next election. in the nigerian political scene nonentities are turned into leaders, nihilists are made vips and thugs become an adviser. nigerian style of politics is power politics where ambitious politicians perceive it as a do-or-die affair and a platform where the snake eats snake. it is a dirty game in which the winner takes it all. the foregoing highlights that there is no fear of god and how can there be since he is dead. this is a confirmation that nietzsche’s master morality and superman have been directly and undilutedly translated into the nigerian political arena. his prophetic insight into european nihilism is the wrath of nigerian politics today as evidenced in the brutality and ruthlessness that had characterized the nation. hence, nietzsche opines: there is, however, one thing that does characterize all human beings, and that is the drive to dominate the environment. this drive, so central to human nature is the will to power. this will to power is more than simply the will to survive. is an inner drive to express a vigorous affirmation of all of a person’s powers.“ the strongest and the highest will to life does not find expression in a miserable struggle for existence, but in a will to war, a will to power, and a will to overpower (stumpf 425). assassination is also associated with political nihilism in nigeria. people want political power by all means and at any cost. usurpation of power has led to political egocentrism and the elimination of rivals, which creates a bloodstained in the political arena. this can be proved by the number of coups and counter-coups since the independence of nigeria. no meaningful politics can be practised without constructive criticism from the opposition party. conversely, this is different in nigeria where those in power crush their critics. our leaders are mindless cabals who have no value for human life and dignity. francis chigozie ofoegbu & chidimma ijeoma obodozie 45 this political annihilation of political opponents locates its expression in constant assassination and mysterious deaths of prominent politicians and some of our best brains of which such people as dele giwa, sarowiwa, bola ige, mr/s. b. igwe, dikibo, kudiratabiola, harry marshal, and okadigbo among others are good examples. since violence begets violence, the power assumed by violence must be sustained by violence. this is machiavellianism in practice in nigeria. hence, in the words of obasanjo: nigerians live to gratify their craze for position, power, possession, plaudit, popularity and pleasure at any cost. a nigerian in pursuance of any or all of these idiosyncrasies would buy his way through and buy himself into anything at the price of law and order (maier 267). another issue that has in no small measure contributed to political nihilism in nigeria is election malpractice. free and fair election is a sine qua non for any democratic setup. nevertheless, she has been far from conducting a free and fair election. democracy in nigeria is a rape of democracy. at best, it is described as organized confusion. buhari, the angel sent from above to rescue nigeria from her political nihilism could not accomplish that. his political style is questionable as he enjoys politics of enmity and vendetta. his practice of justice in the area of bribery and corruption has been termed selective justice. the election that brought him into power is alleged to have been massively rigged. lies are fed to the masses with alacrity. in light of this, e. obiora opines, ‚in the face of massive election rigging, it is declared free and fair. one major vice of this country is willful insincerity and hypocrisy. you see public lies being fed to the populace on daily basis‛ (thinkers 37). the police are another institution that is still operative because there is no alternative yet. they are the embodiment of institutionalized bribery and corruption. elaborating on this karl maier opines: ‚every few miles or so another group of armed men had set up operations on the road, demanding bribes from the people they were employed to protect‛ (osudibia 57). no doubt, the police are under the control of the government. if the police are corrupt and unable to maintain law and order in society, then society is doomed to fail. however, the crux of the matter is that the police and the army are mere instruments in the hands of our corrupt leaders who use them to intimidate the masses. this is geared towards demoralization and intimidation, traumatization, infuriation, defamation and dishonouring of the citizens. this is absolutely against their motto ‘protect and serve with integrity’. presenting the range of the unlawful activities of the police, osudibia said: the police had become together with the army an occupation troop in our cities and highways. if anyone wanted to witness man’s inhumanity to man, he should have come to nigeria and seen the police and the army at work. the horsewhip “, which is a veritable instrument of savage brutality, had become an friedrich nietzsche’s nihilism and the nigerian society 46 indispensable gadget attached to the military and police outfit in nigeria. the army and the law enforcement agents had become modern-day slave drivers who have been given ‘carte blanche’ by their uniform to do whatever they wished to the civilian populace and no one dared to raise an eyebrow (41). on another note, ethnicism had raised the dust of nihilism in the political arena. while some are born to rule, others are born to serve. this mentality has done more harm than good in the nigerian polity. the situation displays terrible threats of internal disintegration. the cries of marginalization and inequality by various segments of society posit that there is something fundamentally wrong with the power equation in nigeria. there is excessive marginalization such that ‚nigerians have begun to doubt their nigerianess‛ (weekly insider 21). the net effect is the resurgence of ethnic armies that arose to protect the interest of their people and to canvas for secession. this has consumed the desire for national unity as the country is often thrown into a theatre of war laden with lust for ethnic cleansing of the ‚hitlerist‛ model. such ethnic armies are the oodua people’s congress (o.p.c.), arewa people’s forum (a.p.f.), the movement for the actualization of the sovereign state of biafra (m.a.s.s.o.b.), movement for the survival of oogoni people (m.o.s.o.p), independent people of biafra (ipob) etc. in niger delta, the total neglect of the economic base of the nation is the cause of constant fracas and unrest in the area as well as constant kidnapping and abduction of foreign oil workers. the formations of the niger delta people’s volunteer force (n.d.p.v.f.), the movement for the emancipation of niger delta (m.e.n.d.), niger delta allegers etc. are a dangerous signal that all is not well. how can all be well when the area that supplies the country with oil has relatively little to show for it? rather they pay with their blood. thus, this is the origin of political nihilism in nigeria. this work is of the view that education banishes ignorance, it frees the individual from the prejudices and irrational assumptions of everyday life and enlarges their experience. in regards to the contemporary nigerian society, what nigerian society needs as an important starting point is a relevant dynamic educational philosophy and certain teaching which ultimately should give new life and value system. a serious re-orientation exercise of the general public should be carried out, with all sincerity of purpose to dis-abuse the minds of the general populace against the perception that what is required is success and that any means to acquire it is not important. the awolowo’s mental magnitude which gives credence to character formation and includes courage, strength, and integrity should be taught to both those in-seat leaders, incoming leaders and the citizens at large. everyone has an inner voice that urges them to accomplish something great and to chase after their dream. located in everyone is a seed francis chigozie ofoegbu & chidimma ijeoma obodozie 47 of unrealized potential and one’s purpose in life should be that such potential be actualized. the emphases are important because if the purpose of life is defined as the fulfilment of individual material needs, the resulting value set will be very different from one that sets higher humanistic goals or that denies the real purpose of life as the acquisition of spiritual qualities. nigerians must be taught to learn that ‚moral maketh a man‛ (thorsen 13). the peace of the soul or happiness does not depend on external goods, wealth, riches and like alone, but on the wealth of the soul. thus, for this to work, there is the need to not only overhaul awolowo’s mental magnitude but also entrench moral education as a continuous process running from the corridors of home to the universe of private and public organization in instilling and spreading the moral virtues and values on greater percentages of the nigerian population. leaders in office should in subsequent times be reminded of their purpose in office. they should intervals be subjected to a form of training that would serve as an avenue to teach and remind them that their reason in that office is to serve humanity. and in doing this, the leader will always have it at the back of their mind to checkmate their actions to know and see whether it tallies with the accepted values and norms of the society. conclusion the crises of nihilism in nigeria suggest that the growth and progress in the society are being retarded in many aspects through the materialistic outburst of her leaders and citizens. it is beyond doubt that materialism has taken over the government, political institutions, and economic, educational and religious sectors in nigeria. this is a result of a lack of objective truth and a loss of moral worth of our values, ideas, and beliefs. but we can set things right by the revaluation of nigeria's moral system, especially through the mental pedagogy of the citizens. once we do this, we shall live together as a peaceful and nihilism-free country, where people will be treated as an end in themselves and the common good realized. works cited adepoju, f. a tale of two regimes. insider weekly, oct. 17, 2005, print. anaetoh, j. campus life. nimo: rex charles and patrick, 2005. print anowai, e. god is dead: european nihilism, unpubl. lecture note, p.j.p.s. awka, 2003. lecture. craig, e (ed). routledge encyclopedia of philosophy, vol. 7. new york: routledge, 1998. print. crosby, a. the specter of the absurd: sources and criticisms of modern nihilism. albany: suny, 1988. print crowther, j. (ed.), oxford advanced learner’s dictionary. oxford: oxford up, 1995. print. friedrich nietzsche’s nihilism and the nigerian society 48 ‚cultists kill final-year medical student, four others‛. punch newspapers 20 september 2018. web, www.punchng.com. daily independent, february 20, 2006, print. ezeani, e. education in nigeria, london: veritas lumen, 2005. print. maier k. this house has fallen. london: penguin, 2001. print. marx and engels. on religion. moscow: progress, 1975, print. nietzsche, f. the will to power, ed., w. kaufmann, new york: vintage, 1967. print. nietzsche, f. the gay science, w. kaufmann, new york: vintage, 1974. print. nietzsche, f. the philosophy of nietzsche, (ed.) b. cerf, new york: random, 1990. print. obasanjo, o. this animal called man. london: penguin, 2001 print. odey, j this madness called election. enugu: snaap, 2003. print. omoregbe, j. a philosophical look at religion. lagos: joja publishers, 1993. print. omoregbe, j. simplified history of western philosophy. lagos: joja publishers, 1991. print osudibia, k. revolution. enugu:snaap , 2000, print. ottakagu, p. poverty in nigeria, the splendor magazine, 2005 – 2006, print. stumpf, s.e and fieser, james. philosophy: history and problems. new york: m.c graw-hill, 1994. print. stumpf, s.e philosophy: history and problems. new york: kingsport, 1971, print. uwaezuoke, o. science, religion and conflict in the quest for relevance, in west journal of philosophical studies 8 (1): 33-49. yinger, y. the scientific study of religion. new york: macmillan, 1970 print. http://www.punchng.com/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 111 the relevance of paul’s concept of dikaiosune in romans 5:1-11 mercy uwaezuoke chukwuedo, phd trinity theological college, umuahia mercychukwuedo@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.33912.11529 abstract human beings have become enstranged from god as a result of their godlessness and wickedness. the solution to human’s frailty is justification. the concept of justification is a very important topic in christianity. scholars have variously defined “diakosune” which is a greek word as righteousness and justification. justification means the removal of injustice, the prevailing of mercy, the restitution of the sinner, and the imperative of justice for the oppressed. man stands condemned before god who is the chief judge but justification acquits and justifies him. christians are declared righteous on the premise of justification. this paper adopted a theological approach in studying the relevance of justification. the pericope of the concept of justification reveals the relevance of justification to the christian faith. justification earns a believer peace with god, access by faith into the grace of god, joy in the hope of the glory of god, joy in tribulation, the indwelling holy spirit and the love of god. this paper recommends that every christian should strive to make peace with god and be reconciled to him. as a believer, through justification one can have joy in the midst of trials because god will use those trials in order to make him or her stronger in faith. keywords: justification, righteousness, reconciliation, grace, faith introduction the concept of justification is one of the basic christian doctrines and tenets of the christian faith. biblical scholars have defined justification in various ways. paul uses the greek word for justice, dikaiosune and its various forms, thirty-six times in romans. it is translated as “righteousness” most often and as “justice” (or “justification”) less frequently. but the two are the same in paul’s language. the primary use of dikaiosune is in the court of law where people are seeking justice to restore a situation that is not right. in mahoney’s words, “justification is the act by which god moves a willing person from the state of guilt and god’s wrath into a place of innocence before igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 112 god and into a loving relationship with him.”1 god is the judge and he declares us “not guilty” because jesus has done all that is necessary. in the secular court of criminal law, to be justified means to be acquitted, declared innocent and not guilty. in romans 3, paul's point is that the whole human race is in the dock, guilty before god, "justification" will always then mean "acquittal," the granting of the status of "righteous" to those who are guilty on trial—and which will then also mean, since they were in fact guilty, "forgiveness." in the same vein, egbujor opines that “justification is a positive declaration by god of the sinner as righteous”2 since he sees him as “in christ.” bruce milne defines justification “as an act whereby god remits the sins of guilty men and women, accounting them righteous on the basis of christ's representative obedience and redemptive death.” 3 justification is an act whereby god remits the sins of guilty men and women, accounting them righteous on the basis of christ's representative obedience and redemptive death. n. t. wright says: the first english/ american root gives us (a) an adjective ("just"); (b) a verb ("justify"); (c) an abstract noun denoting an action ("justification"); (d) another abstract noun denoting a quality or virtue ("justice"); and (e) some related double-word phrases ("just decrees," "just requirements" and the like) which can be offered as translations of single words in paul. the second root gives us (a) a different adjective ("righteous"); (b) an abstract noun ("righteousness"), denoting, variously, (i) a status, (ii) the behavior appropriate to that status and (iii) the moral quality supposed to underlie that behavior; and (c) another abstract noun denoting "that which is appropriate or correct" ("right," as in "upholding the right"). the last of these can also function as an adjective, as in "right behavior," and a verb, as in "to right the wrong," i.e., "to put right" or, in english, "to put to rights." what the second root does not have is a verb corresponding to "justify." 4 having set out god’s way of justifying sinners, and established it on a scriptural basis, paul lifts up his heart in an outburst of joy and thanksgiving for the implications of faith-righteousness. justification is for him not merely a cup of blessing that runs over into his whole life. he lists the blessings which accrue to those whose faith has been counted to them for righteousness. in matthew henry’s 1r. mahoney. the shepherd’s staff. (chennai, india: indian bible literature, 2005), 43 2godson egbujor. tips on earliest christianity. (owerri, nigeria: wilderness voice press, 2014), 206 3bruce milne. know the truth (nottingham, england: inter-varsity press, 2013), 211. 4 n.t. wright. 2009. justification: god’s plan and paul’s vision. downers grove intervarsity press igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 113 commentary “the precious benefits and privileges which flow from justification is such as should quicken us all to give diligence to make sure that we are justified”5. the benefits of justification are exceedingly precious. the need for justification in romans 1:1–17, salvation begins with reconciliation to god. people have become estranged from god because of their “godlessness and wickedness” (rom. 1:18). “although they knew god, they neither glorified him as god nor gave thanks to him” (rom. 1:21). man was created to walk in intimacy with god among the creatures of the garden of eden (gen. 1–2), but his relationship with god has become so broken that he no longer recognizes god. paul calls this state a “debased mind” (rom. 1:28). we have “exchanged the glory of the immortal god for images made to look like mortal man and birds and four-footed animals or reptiles” (rom. 1:23). our relationship with god is so thoroughly damaged that we cannot tell the difference between walking with god and carving an idol. when our real relationship with the true god is broken, we create fake relationships with false gods. idolatry, then, is not merely one sin among others, but the essence of a broken relationship with god. when our relationship with god is broken, our relationships with other people also break down. paul lists some of the broken aspects of human relationships that ensue. they were filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, craftiness, gossips, slanderers, god-haters, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, rebellious towards parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, and ruthless (rom. 1:29–31). we experience nearly all these forms of broken relationships at work. covetousness, strife, and envy over others’ positions or paychecks, malice and rebellion toward those in authority, gossip and slander of co-workers and competitors, deceit and faithlessness in communications and commitments, insolence, haughtiness, and boastfulness of those who experience success, foolishness in decisions, heartlessness and ruthlessness by those in power. all of us suffer from them. all of us contribute to causing them. we may even compound the problem by making an idol of work itself, devoting ourselves to work in the vain hope that it alone will bring us meaning, purpose, security, or happiness. perhaps this seems to work for a time, until we are passed over for promotion or are fired or laid off or retire. then we discover that work comes to 5matthew henry’s commentary on the whole bible. ( united state of america: hendrickson, thirteenth printing – 2002 ), 2204 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 114 an end, and meanwhile we have become strangers to our family and friends. like “mortal men and birds and four-footed animals and reptiles,” work was created by god (gen. 2:15) and is inherently good, yet it becomes evil when elevated to the place of god. sadly, this brokenness extends even to paul’s own workplace, the christian church, and in particular the christians in our contemporary times. despite being god’s own people (rom. 9:25), “called to be saints” (rom. 1:7), the christians in rome were experiencing a breakdown in their relationships with one another. specifically, jewish christians were judging gentile christians for not conforming to their own peculiar expectations, and vice versa. “you say, ‘we know that god’s judgment on those who do such things is in accordance with the truth,” paul notes (rom. 2:2). each side claims that they know god’s judgments and speak for god. claiming to speak for god makes their own words into idols, illustrating in miniature how idolatry (breaking relationship with god) leads to judgment (breaking relationship with other people). the truth is that both gentiles and jews have strayed from god. gentiles, who should have recognized the sovereignty of god in the creation itself, have given themselves over to the worship of idols and to all the destructive behavior that follows from this basic mistake (romans 1:18-32). jews, on the other hand, have become judgmental, hypocritical, and boastful that they are the people of the torah. paul summarizes both situations by saying, “all who have sinned apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law” (rom. 2:12). but the crux of the problem is not that each side misunderstands god’s expectations. it is that each side judges the other, destroying the relationships that god had brought into being. it is crucial to recognize the role of judgment in paul’s argument. judgment causes broken relationships. the specific sins noted in romans 1:29–31 are not the causes of our broken relationships, but the results. the causes of our broken relationships are idolatry (toward god) and judgment (toward people). in fact, idolatry can be understood as a form of judgment, the judgment that god is not adequate and that we can create better gods on our own. therefore, paul’s overarching concern in chapters 2 and 3 is our judgment of others. you have no excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others; for in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things. you say, “we know that god’s judgment on those who do such things is in accordance with truth.” do you imagine, that when you judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself, you will escape the judgment of god? (rom. 2:1-3). if we wonder what we have done that puts us in need of salvation, the answer above all is judgment and idolatry, according to paul. we judge others, though we have no right to do so, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 115 and thus we bring god’s judgment on ourselves as he works to restore true justice. to use a modern metaphor, it is like the supreme court overturning a corrupt judge in a lower court who didn’t even have jurisdiction in the first place. the significance of justification 1. peace with god: the result of the process of justification is that the believer is made just and righteous (dikaios). he or she is no longer under the wrath of god. justification brings peace between a christian and god6. peace (eirene) is derived from the verb eiro which means “to bind together that which has been separated.” literally, it gives the picture of the binding or joining together again of that which had separated or divided and convey the sense of an inner rest, well-being and harmony. the ultimate peace is the state of reconciliation with god, effected by placing one's faith in the gospel. egbujor notes that an enmity exists between man and god (ephesians 2:13-16). it was the existence of this wall of partition which made man to be considered an enemy of god (romans 5:10). there is no peace between man and god (colossians 1:20) but god desires all to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1timothy 2:4). hence, this barrier of enmity must be removed through reconciliation. romans 5:10 signifies that until a change of attitude takes place, men are under condemnation and exposed to god's wrath. further, the death of christ is the means of removal of this condemnation. paul explains in 2 corinthians 5:18-19 that god has taken the initiative to remove the wall of enmity, with christ being the agent of this reconciliation. "he made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf; so that we might become the righteousness of god in him” (2 corinthians 5:21). again, god's grace is shown in his dealings with man, unmerited and undeserved.7 peace with god speaks of the fact that we are no longer god’s enemies but objects of his favor, an objective ( in contrast to subjective) truth which is based on our position, something that is true forever because believers are now ( positionally) in christ, the prince of peace ( isaiah 9:6). peace with god is a fact not a feeling. according to f. f. bruce “peace here is not an inward feeling but the relationship of reconciliation with god.”8 it is sin that breeds the quarrel between us and god, creates not only a strangeness, but an enmity; the holy righteous god cannot in honor be at peace with a sinner while he continues under the guilt of sin. justification takes away the guilt, and so makes way for peace. and such are the 6 timothy p. palmer, a theology of the new testament, (bukuru, jos: acts, 2014) 99 7egbujor. tips on earliest christianity. ( owerri, nigeria: wilderness voice. 2014 ), 167 8f. f. bruce.the international bible commentary. with the new international version (michigan, usa: grand rapids, 1986), 1325. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 116 benignity and good-will of god to man that, immediately upon the removing of that obstacle, the peace is made. by faith we lay hold of god’s arm and of his strength, and so we are at peace, isa. 27:4, 5. there is more in this peace than barely a cessation of enmity, there is friendship. abraham, being justified by faith, was called the friend of god (james.2:23), christ has called his disciples friends, john 15:13-15. and surely a man needs no more to make him happy than to have god as his friend! but this is achieved through our lord jesus christthrough him as the great peace-maker, the mediator between god and man. michael welker summarizes this popular reception as follows: god requires a compensation for human being's deficiency. since no sinful human being is in a position to produce this atoning compensation, the sinless son of god, the lamb of god, must be sacrificed. only this sacrifice can pacify god’s anger. this has propagated a latent image of god that is deeply unchristian, indeed demonic: this god is always seeking compensation; it takes a sacrificial victim to calm and pacify this ultimately merciless and vengeful god.9 men and women who were formerly in a state of rebellion against god have now been reconciled to him by the death of christ. it was the purpose of god, to reconcile to himself all things through christ, but pre-eminently to reconcile those who once were estranged and hostile to him at heart (col. 1:20-22). and the fact that the death of christ has accomplished this, reconciliation has been a matter of plain experience in the lives of successive generation of believers. f.f. bruce notes that “reconciliation is something that god has already effected through christ, and men and women are called upon to accept it, to enter into the good of it, to be at peace with god.”10 2. access by faith into the grace of god the standing of the believer is in grace, as all of salvation is by grace. it should be noted that the scripture states that our access is by faith into this grace wherein we stand. when all the great revisions are consulted, we discover that they agree with the greek original in omitting the words "by faith," and in stating simply that "by christ we have access into this grace wherein we stand" donald grey added that “god has taken the believer out of adam and placed him in christ.”11 this is 9michael welker. what happens in the holy communion? (grand rapids: eerdmans, 2000), 109 10f.f. bruce. the letter of paul to the romans. an introduction and commentary. ( leicester, england: william b. eerdmans, 1994), 114 11donald grey. expositions of bible doctrines taking the epistle to the romans as a point of departure. (philadelphia, usa: hendrickson, 2013), 44 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 117 entirely by grace, and we have nothing to do with it, either in the conception of the idea, the execution of the method which makes it possible, or the transaction which brings salvation and standing to us, or, more properly, which brings us into salvation and standing. through christ we have confidently entered into this new relationship of grace, and here we stand. this is an additional privilege, not only peace, but grace, that is the happy state of the saints. it is a state of grace, god's loving-kindness to us and our conformity to god; he that hath god's love and god's likeness is in a state of grace. now into this grace we have access which implies that we were not born in this state; we are by nature children of wrath, and the carnal mind is enmity against god; but we are brought into it. according to dirkie smith: the work of christ is, quite simply, to give us access to a gracious, fatherly god. the point of the doctrine is to move us out of the legal domain into the world of family relationship, and it is just this point that so often gets lost in the theological controversy over satisfaction, substitution and imputation. calvin certainly held that god is a just judge who cannot cast aside his governance of the universe. and yet he also held that it is not god's judicial person but god's fatherly person that determines the life of a piety.12 paul speaks of those that have been already brought out of a state of nature into a state of grace. paul, in his conversion, had this access; then he was made nigh. barnabas introduced him to the apostles (acts 9:27), and there were others that led him by the hand to damascus, but it was christ that introduced and led him by the hand into this grace. by whom we have access by faith. by christ as the author and principal agent, by faith as the means of this access. not by christ in consideration of any merit or desire of ours, but in consideration of our believing dependence upon him. “justification opens the door to god’s dealing with men on the basis of grace and not on the basis of works. we are taken out of the arena of our performance and placed in the arena of divine grace.”13 it denotes not only our admission to, but our confirmation in, the favour of god. it is not in the court of heaven as in earthly courts, where high places are slippery places: but we stand in a humble confidence of this very thing that he who has begun the good work will perform it, phil. 1:6. 12dirkie smith. what is justification about? reformed contributions to an ecumenical theme, (cambridge, u.k.: william b. eerdmans, 2009), 100. 13 bob deffinbaugh, the benefits of justification (romans 5:1-11), retrieved from https://bible.org/seriespage/8benefits-justification-romans-5-1-5 (april 18, 2022). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 118 3. joy in hope of the glory of god the true believer in christ has been accepted in the savior and placed in a position of all grace. because we have been given eternal life we look forward even now to its glories. we rejoice in hope of the glory of god" (rom. 5:2). johnston opines: in romans 5:1-8, 38, paul explains that the new situation of the justified person brings peace, hope, freedom and life. believers have a sure hope of final salvation; have been set free from sin as an enslaving power and from law as a condemning power, and are indwelt by the holy spirit, who leads them onward to a life of righteousness.14 it is significant that the hope of the glory of god is the first to be set before the believer in considering the blessings that flow from grace. besides the happiness in hand, there is a happiness in hope, the glory of god, the glory which god will put upon the saints in heaven, glory which will consist in the vision and fruition of god. those and those only, that have access by faith into the grace of god now may hope for the glory of god hereafter. there is no good hope of glory but what is founded in grace; grace is glory begun, the earnest and assurance of glory. he will give grace and glory, ps. 84:1l. those who hope for the glory of god hereafter have enough to rejoice in now. it is the duty of those that hope for heaven to rejoice in that hope. 4. joy in tribulation in the new testament, suffering is viewed as the normal experience of a christian. new converts were warmed that the kingdom of god could be entered only through many tribulations (acts 14:22); and when tribulation came their way as it regularly did, they could not complain that they had not been prepared for it. but suffering was not only regarded as an inevitable feature of the christian lot; it was looked upon as a token of true christianity, as a sign that god counted those who endured it worthy of his kingdom (cf. 2 thess. 1:5). bob deffinbaugh 15 says “proven character produces hope. seeing that we can endure, and that our character has been strengthened in the process of facing life’s trial, we become more and more certain of the future.” 14 philip johnston, ivp introduction to the bible, story, themes and interpretation, (nottingham: inter-varsity press, 2015) 223. 15 bob deffinbaugh, the benefits of justification (romans 5:1-11), retrieved from https://bible.org/seriespage/8benefits-justification-romans-5-1-5 (april 18, 2022). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 119 paul says (romans 5:3, 4) “we glory in tribulation, knowing that tribulation works patience, and patience, experience; and experience hope.” “nevertheless the fact we have peace with god and a relationship with him, with assurance of standing before him acceptable, enables us to view present difficulties with joy. we can rejoice in tribulation because god has revealed that he uses them to produce steadfast endurance and proven character in those who relate to their suffering properly.” nowhere does the bible teach that when you come to faith in christ everything is going to be just perfect. as a matter of fact, it is actually more difficult to live as a believer than it is to live as an unbeliever. the truth is, trials and tribulations will come. it does not matter who you are, we all go through times of suffering. jesus never said that he would take the trials away; however, he will go with us through the trials. as believers, we can have joy in the midst of the trials because we know that god will use those trials in order to make us stronger and in order to strengthen our faith. this does not mean that god necessarily and purposefully puts trials in our lives. however, he uses the various circumstances of our life in order to mold and shape us into what he wants us to be. therefore, we should respond to the trials with joy, knowing that god will use the trials for our good and for his glory. this is why we can be thankful in all things. he did not say to be thankful “for” all things but “in” all things. in other words, we may not be thankful for the trials that we are going through, but we can be thankful in it and through it because we know that god is working in our lives. 5. the indwelling holy spirit (romans 5:5) the love of god is experienced in our hearts through the indwelling holy spirit. the very moment that one comes to faith in christ, he or she is indwelt by the spirit of god. hinkle shore16 says that god’s spirit has been poured into our hearts. the holy spirit indwells the believer for several reasons. the holy spirit indwells the believer as a guarantee of salvation. ephesians 1:1314 says. “in whom you also trusted, after that you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that you believed, you were sealed with that holy spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” there is a key point to be made here and that is that the holy spirit is given to us after we 16 hinkle shore, the story of romans: a narrative defense of god’s righteousness, https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/the-holy-trinity-3/commentary-onromans-5-1-5 (april 18, 2022) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 120 believe on the lord jesus. he is given to us as a down payment to heaven. the indwelling holy spirit is our seal. once we are sealed by god, the seal cannot be broken. it is a guarantee. secondly, the holy spirit indwells the believer to comfort him. john 14:16-18 says, “and i will pray the father, and he shall give you another comforter, that he may abide with you forever; even the spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it sees him not, neither knows him: but you know him; for he dwells with you, and shall be in you. i will not leave you comfortless: i will come to you.” as believers in christ we are never alone. we can have joy in the midst of trials because of the holy spirit within us who is our comforter. thirdly, the holy spirit indwells the believer to convict him of sin. as we study god’s word, the holy spirit will convict us of those areas of our lives that we need to work on. he reveals our sin to us in order that we might confess and repent. he empowers us to live holy lives by showing us our weaknesses and those areas that we need to work on and repent of. the holy spirit also indwells believers in order to empower them to witness. acts 1:8 says, “but you shall receive power, after that the holy ghost is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses to me both in jerusalem, and in all judaea, and in samaria, and to the uttermost part of the earth. through the indwelling holy spirit of god, we can change the world. he gives us the boldness and the confidence that we need to proclaim the gospel to the world. when we don’t know what to say, he gives us the words to say. he empowers us. he speaks through us. 6. the love of god one of the greatest benefits of being justified by faith is the love of god that we experience. in romans 5:5-8, paul says: “and hope makes not ashamed; because the love of god is shed abroad in our hearts by the holy ghost which is given to us. for when we were yet without strength, in due time christ died for the ungodly. for scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. but god commends his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, christ died for us.” we have a hope, a confidence in god, because of the love that god has for us. the action of god demonstrates the love of god, because christ is god. his love is demonstrated in his atonement and in our justification.17 we can confidently expect that we will get through the trial because god loves us and enables us to get through those times 17 grace communion seminary, studies in romans : romans 5:1-11, https://learn.gcs.edu (april 18, 2022). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 121 of testing. the love of god is beyond anything we can imagine. it is because of his great love for us that he sent jesus to die so that we may live. god proved that he loves us by having jesus die for us even while we were still lost in our sin. some scholars have raised the question of the kind of love that is been referred to in this text says hinkle shore18 in the midst of our sin, in the midst of our road to hell, jesus died in our place. god’s love stretches to the lowliest of sinners. it does not matter what you have done or how far you have gone, jesus loves you. he desires for you to come to him and receive him and accept his gift of grace. god’s love is so awesome and amazing; it is beyond what words can describe. we have the privilege of experiencing the great love of god because we are justified by faith. you can never fully enjoy god’s love for you until you come to him by faith. when you do, you will understand what love really is. you will experience a love like you have never known. christian’s response to justification by faith the opening verse of romans announces paul’s own vocation, the work that god has called him to do, proclaiming the gospel of god in word and deed. so what is the gospel of god? paul says that it is “the power of god for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the jews first and also to the greeks. for in it the righteousness of god is revealed through faith; as it is written, ‘the one who is righteous will live by faith’” (romans 1:16-17, nrsv). for paul, the gospel is more than words— it is the power of god for salvation. he emphasizes that this salvation is not for one group of people only but is intended to help anyone on earth to be among the people of god, by faith. romans, then, is above all about god’s salvation. what is salvation? salvation is the work of god that sets human beings in right relationship with god and with one another. for salvation is first of all the healing of broken relationships, beginning with the healing that reconciles the creator and the created, god and us. our reconciliation with god leads to freedom from sin and a newness of life that is not limited by death. salvation cannot be reduced to a single moment in time. paul says both that we “were saved” (rom. 8:24) and that we “will be saved” ( romans 5:9). salvation is an ongoing process rather than a one time event. god interacts with each person in a dance of divine grace and human faithfulness over time. there are decisive 18 hinkle shore, the story of romans: a narrative defense of god’s righteousness, https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/the-holy-trinity-3/commentary-onromans-5-1-5 (april 18, 2022) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 122 moments in the process of being saved. the central moments are christ’s death on the cross and resurrection from the dead. “we were reconciled to god through the death of his son,” paul tells us (rom. 5:10), and “he who raised christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also” (romans 8:11). each of us might also regard the first time we said we believe in christ as a decisive moment in our salvation. romans, however, never speaks of a moment of personal salvation, as if salvation happened to us in the past and is now in storage until christ comes again. paul uses the past tense of salvation only to speak of christ’s death and resurrection the moment when christ brought salvation to the world. when it comes to each believer, paul speaks of an ongoing process of salvation, always in the present or future tenses. “one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved” (romans 10:10). not “believed” and “confessed,” past tense, but “believes” and “confesses,” present tense. this leads directly to, “everyone who calls on the name of the lord shall be saved,” future tense (romans 10:13). salvation is not something that was given to us. it is always being given to us. if salvation were something that happened to us only in the past, then what we do at work (or anywhere in life) would be irrelevant. but if salvation is something going on in our lives, then it bears fruit in our work. to be more precise, since salvation is the reconciliation of broken relationships, then our relationships with god, with other people, and with the created world at work (as everywhere in life) will be getting better as the process of salvation takes hold. just to give a few examples, our salvation is evident when we take courage to speak an unpopular truth, listen to others’ views with compassion, help colleagues attain their goals, and produce work, products that help other people thrive. does this mean that we must work—and keep working—to be saved? absolutely not! salvation comes solely through “the grace of god and the free gift in the grace of one man, jesus christ” (romans 5:15). it “depends on faith” (romans 4:16) and nothing else. as n. t. wright puts it, “whatever language or terminology we use to talk about the great gift that the one true god has given to his people in and through jesus christ, it remains precisely a gift. it never is something we can earn. we can never put god into our debt; we always remain in his.” we do not work to be saved. but because we are being saved we do work that bears fruit for god (romans 7:4). as can be seen in romans 1–3, the cross of christ brings salvation to all people— jews and gentiles alike. in christ, god puts all people back into right relationship with god and one another without regard to the provisions of the jewish law. for this reason, paul’s principal focus throughout romans is helping the divided and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 123 quarrelling christians in rome to reconcile their broken relationships in order to live faithfully into what god has accomplished in christ. this interpretation of christ’s death raises a problem for paul, however, since he is writing not only to uncircumcised gentiles but also to circumcised jews, for whom the law still matters. further, paul’s interpretation seems to ignore the story of abraham, understood to be “father” of the jews, who was in fact circumcised as a sign of his covenant with god (romans 17:11). doesn’t the story of abraham suggest that entering the covenant of god requires male circumcision for all peoples, whether jewish or gentile? “no,” argues paul in romans 4. interpreting the story of abraham from genesis, paul concludes that abraham had faith that god would honor his word and make the childless abraham the father of many nations through his barren wife sarah. consequently, god reckoned abraham’s faith as righteousness (romans 4:3, 9, 22). paul reminds his readers that god’s acknowledgment of abraham’s righteousness took place long before abraham was circumcised, which came later as a sign of his already-existing faith in god (romans 4:10-11). in other words, at the time god reckoned abraham’s faith as putting him in right relationship with god, abraham shared the same status as an uncircumcised gentile in paul’s world. thus, concludes paul, abraham became the father of both jews and gentiles through the righteousness of faith rather than righteousness under the jewish law (romans 4:11-15). the example of abraham in romans 4 provides christians with great hope for our work and workplaces. abraham’s example of trusting god’s promises—despite adverse circumstances and seemingly impossible odds—emboldens us not to waver in trust when we face challenges at work or when god does not seem to be present. god did not immediately fulfil the promise to abraham, which further encourages us to be patient in waiting for god to renew or redeem our circumstances in life. those who have been justified by the blood of christ will be saved from god’s wrath on the last day19 conclusion justification brings deliverance from future condemnation. a day is coming when god’s wrath will fall on this sin cursed world. a day is coming when all those who fail to receive god’s free gift of grace will experience the awesome and terrible wrath of god. but for those who are justified, the wrath of god is nothing to fear. 19 thomas r. schreiner, magnifying god in christ: a summary of new testament theology, (nottingham: intervarsity press, 2010) 99. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 124 romans 5: 9-10 says, much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. for if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to god by the death of his son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”we are saved from the wrath of god, because we are at peace with god. we have been reconciled to him. we were once enemies of god. we were once estranged from god. yet, through the blood of jesus, when we believe on him by faith, we are reconciled to god. we are no longer an enemy of god. we are made to be in right standing with god. the bottom line is; you do not have to go to hell. if you end up in hell, it is your own fault. god does not send anyone to hell. he has given and offered the gift of salvation to everyone. those who accept his free gift are reconciled to him and will escape his wrath. there is no condemnation to those who are in christ jesus. bibliography deffinbaugh, bob, the benefits of justification (romans 5:1-11), retrieved from https://bible.org/seriespage/8benefits-justification-romans-5-1-11 on 18/04/2022. dirkie, smith. what is justification about? reformed contributions to an ecumenical theme, cambridge, u.k: william b. eerdmans, 2009. donald grey. expositions of bible doctrines taking the epistle to the romans as a point of departure, philadelphia, usa: hendrickson, 2013. egbujor, godson. tips on earliest christianity, owerri, nigeria: wilderness voice press, 2014. f. f. bruce.the international bible commentary. with the new international version, michigan, usa: grand rapids, 1986. f.f. bruce. the letter of paul to the romans. an introduction and commentary, leicester, england: william b. eerdmans, 1994. grace communion seminary. studies in romans: romans 5:1-11. retrieved from https://learn.gcs.edu on 18/04/2022. michael welker. what happens in the holy communion? grand rapids: eerdmans, 2000. milne, bruce. know the truth. nottingham, england: inter-varsity press, 2013. palmer, p. timothy. a theology of the new testament. bukuru, jos: acts, 2014. r. mahoney. the shepherd’s staff, chennai, india: indian bible literature, 2005. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 125 schreiner, thomas r. magnifying god in christ: a summary of new testament theology. nottingham: inter-varsity press, 2010. shore, hinkle. the story of romans: a narrative. https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-commonlectionary/the-holy-trinity-3/commentary-on-romans-5-1-5. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol 9 no.2, 2023 www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/igwebuikejournals.php a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 65 phonological deviation among koro ashe learners of english in karu local government area, nasarawa state jatau stephen department of arts and social science education nasarawa state university, keffi jataustephen@ nsuk.edu.ng tanimu yusuf, phd department of english nasarawa state university, keffi tanimuy@nsuk.edu.ng & shehu ibrahim ahmad, phd department of english nasarawa state university, keffi shehuibrahimahmad@nsuk.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.31621.83688 abstract the paper examines the phonological deviation of koro ashe learners of english in karu local government area, nasarawa state, with the view of helping them to improve in their spoken aspect of english. a survey research design was employed to carry out the study. the population of the study comprises of 50 randomly selected koro ashe learners of english from the 20 hamlets of koro ashe english in karu local government area, nasarawa state. oral production test (opt) in form of reading test was administered to the 50 randomly selected koro ashe learners of english from the 20 hamlets of koro ashe in karu local government area, nasarawa state. the respondents were asked to speak on topics that are of interest to them in which their speeches were tape recorded, played and listened to ascertain their deviations from the standard pronunciation. contrastive analysis model is the theoretical framework for this study. the english monothongs /ǝ/, / ɜ:/, /ᴧ/; the diphthongs /ǝu /, /iǝ/, /eǝ/, /uǝ/; the dental fricative / stop //, and /ð/; the consonant clusters that have the dental fricative // and /j/; the plural morphemes /-iz/ and /–z/, the past tense morpheme /–id/ and /–t/ were among that the koru ashe do deviate from the standard pronunciation. the deviations in the use of english by the koro phonological deviation among koro ashe learners of english in karu local government area 66 ashe learners of english do result to unintelligible speeches and misinterpretations. it is in this regard that ca model maps these areas of difficulties for improved pedagogy. keywords: phonological deviation, koro ashe, english language introduction koro ashe (one of the dialects of koro) traced its origin from the then kwararafa kingdom. linguistically, koro ashe belongs to the sub family of the proto benue – congo language broad family (jatau cited in igube, 44). hence the koro ashe people are predominantly located in karu and kagarko local government areas of nasarawa and kaduna states. to simply put, the koro ashe are conspicuously located in north central parts of nigeria (igube 43). the word ‘ashe’ in this paper refers to both the ‘people’ as well as the ‘dialect’. blench (2) identifies two standard varieties of koro ashe; they are koro ashe itorn /itōr/ and koro ashe ncheck /ntʃɛk/. below is the glossary that distinguishes the two varieties: itorn /itōr/ ncheck /ntʃɛk/ gloss uhwer /uhwer/ /ufer/ to dig aʒe /aʒe/ aze /aze/ tiredness usher /uʃar/ usar /usar/ to winnow research in koro ashe dialect has continued to attract the attention of scholars to explore the history and the culture of the people (igube 2000, gojeh & christopher 1988); the phonological aspect (see blench 2009 & jatau 2012, 2021); the orthography, morphology, ashe words list and grammar (see blench 2009). the most recent work going is the bible translation from english to koro ashe. it is in consonant to this development that this paper was conceived. english language, a germanic language that was first spoken in the early medieval england, is now a global lingua franca, named after the angles, one of the germanic tribes from england. english in nigeria is an official language used as a medium of communication in the domains of government, the law, the media, international commerce, record keeping, and educational system. english in nigeria also serves as a unifying factor, a lingua franca, a mark of elitism, a license for the acquisition of profitable and prestigious jobs and admissions into most tertiary institutions nigeria. english language is also a medium of instructions in our primary, secondary and tertiary institutions of learning. english has come to stay and it has dominated and relegated our indigenous languages to the background and seen them as mere ‘vernacular’. jatau stephen, tanimu yusuf & shehu ibrahim ahmad 67 despite the importance and prestige accorded to english language in nigeria, koro ashe learners of english do face pronunciation challenges largely attributed to the phenomenon of negative transfer of the features of l1 (koro ashe) to the target language (english). this phenomenon resulted sometimes to unintelligible speeches, misconceptions, and misinterpretations of messages being communicated. at the segmental level, most koro ashe learners of english do have difficulty to pronounce correctly certain english sounds and words of english. at the consonantal level for instance, the pronunciation of the dental fricative// and the dental stop /ð/ in words; ‘think’ /iŋk/ and ‘then’ /ðen/ were mostly substituted for the nearest equivalent sounds /t/ and /d/ in koro ashe which are realized as /tiŋk and /den/ respectively. this deviation from the correct standard pronunciation of // and /ð/ may lead to the inability of most koro ashe to distinguish the pronunciation of the words; ‘day’ /dei/ and ‘they’ /ðei/, ‘through’ /u:/ and ‘true’. the reasons for this deviation is that, the dental fricative // and the dental stop /ð/ are absent from the phonemic inventory of koro ashe phonemic inventory. also, certain english vowel sounds that are absent in the phonemic inventory of koru ashe pose pronunciation challenges to most koro ashe learners of english. for instance, the schwa /ə/, /ʌ/ and /ɜ:/ in words like; ‘sister’ /sistə/, ‘sun’ /sʌn/ and ‘burn’ /bɜ:n/ are realized as /sista/, /sɔn/ and /bɔ:n/ respectively. thus, vowel sounds /ə/, /ʌ/ and /ɜ:/ are being substituted for the nearest equivalent sounds /a/, /ɔ/ and /ɔ:/ respectively. the consequences of this deviation may result in the inability to differentiate the production of the pair the words; ‘born’ and ‘burn’; ‘sun’ and ‘son’ which creates confusion to the part of the listener. the differences arise from the syllabic structures of english and koro ashe pronunciation difficulty to koro ashe l2 learners of english. english allows very complicated syllable structure of three consonant clusters at the beginning of word and three to four consonant clusters at the end of word as in ‘prompts’ ccc-v-c ‘stress’ /stres/, cc-v-cccc and ‘prompts’ /prɔmpts/ respectively. however, koro ashe permits cvcv; vcvc syllable structures as in words like; ‘jawa’ /dʒawa/ (give me), ‘iban’ /iban/ (enjoyment). there is a tendency for koro ashe learners of english to insert a vowel in between the two consonants or delete any of the consonant clusters to simplify the pronunciation. the way and manner english language words are spelled compounded the problem that most koro ashe learners of english do have with regard to pronunciation. consider the spelling of the words; ‘ewe’ and ‘you’ and ‘ewer’ and ‘your’, most koro ashe learners of english will not be convinced that the two pairs of the words ewe’ and ‘you’ are phonological deviation among koro ashe learners of english in karu local government area 68 pronounced /ju:/ and ‘ewer’ and ‘your’ are pronounced /juə’ respectively. this lack of one to one correspondence between letters and sounds or spelling and pronunciation pose pronunciation problem to koro ashe learners of english. it is in consonance of the differences between the features of l1 and l2, robert lado, a famous linguist, founded contrastive analysis (c.a.) approach to this problem. contrastive analysis procedure identifies the pronunciation difficulties suffered by l2 speakers of english in (a) sound articulation, (b) distinguishing between phonemes and allophones of the mother tongue and the target language (l2) and (c) ca is one of the few investigations into language structure that has improved pedagogy ( jatau cited in zubairu and rashida 106). this research aims to study the phonological deviation of koro-ashe speakers of english with the view of helping to improve in the spoken of the language. the objectives of this study are; to determine the areas of pronunciation difficulties suffered by most koro-ashe speakers of english, to determine the areas and causes of the pronunciation difficulties suffered by the study population, and to examine the possible consequences of this phonological deviation in their use of english. the study helps to bring an insight into the phonological system of koro-ashe and thereby prepares ways for other researchers to come and investigate in this spoken aspect the language. the present study will also contribute to the identification of specific areas of difficulties, which hamper communication in english. awareness of the problem areas will assist the curriculum planner/ designers and textbooks writers to provide suitable materials that will meet the needs of the study population (koro ashe). there are so many linguistic deviations associated with the l2 speakers of english, which include: the syntactic, lexical, semantic, phonological deviations. this investigation focuses mainly on the phonological deviation at the segmental level. also, the study will focus on koro ashe as opposed to any other dialects of koro. literature review phonological deviation the concept of phonological deviation is viewed from different perspectives by different scholars. some scholars see the term ‚phonological deviation‛ and ‚phonological interference‛ as synonymous. some maintain that any deviation in the use of english from the standard norm is classified as ‘error’, while others associate the terms with the bilingual speakers. weinrich cited in ashikeni and akoshi (136) sees ‚phonological deviation‛ and ‚phonological interference‛ as synonymous that is, it refers those instances jatau stephen, tanimu yusuf & shehu ibrahim ahmad 69 of deviating from the standard norms of a language as a result of their familiarity with more than one language. the esl language speakers who have the command of more than one language are capable mispronounce sounds and words of english which may result to what trubertkoy (51) cited in ashikeni and akoshi calls ‘numerous mistakes’ and ‘misinterpretations’. nce dsl english course book (116) concords with the above view of weinrich (ibid) and adds that, the deviation in the use of english is occasioned by the l2 learners having contact with more than one languages. supporting the above views, weinreich et al (125) maintains that deviations from the homogeneous system are not error like vagaries of performance, but are to high degree coded and part of a realistic description of the competence of member of a speech community. envin tripp cited in ashikeni and akoshi (136) sees deviation of the speaker’s output from the norm of a language is attributed to the differences in the structure of (l1) and (l2) (english). williams (79) maintains that, phonological deviation from the norm of speech is a continuum, starting from the acceptable variations in accents and worsening to the point where communication breaks down because of the failure to distinguish contrastive features of sound. banjo (72) in his famous book titled: an overview of english language in nigeria, asserts that the deviation in the use of english from the standard norm were regarded as ‘errors’ which users must be encouraged to eliminate. this paper sees the terms ‘deviation’ and ‘interference’ as synonymous. they both refer to the inappropriate use of a language form or the act of moving away from what is acceptable or normal in a language. therefore, phonological interference or deviation is the act of moving away from the ‘standard’ or acceptable pronunciation which is caused by the already mastered phonological features of the l1 (i.e., koro ashe). in attempt to produce the sounds or words of the target language, the bilinguals due transfer negatively, the phonological system of the l1 to the target language (english). in this paper, the deviations that distort the intelligibility of what is communicated are termed as ‘errors’, while those that do not distort the intelligibility of what is communicated are termed ‘substandard usages.’ this paper will focus on both deviations that are termed as ‘errors’ and the one called ‘substandard usages’ phonological deviation at the segmental level the deviation occurs at the phonemic level is mostly tied to the pronunciation difficulties suffered by most nigerian speakers of english. jayarama (46) explains that, in pronouncing the sounds of l2, the l2 speakers often used sounds outside the phoneme phonological deviation among koro ashe learners of english in karu local government area 70 system of their mother tongue, as such, they produce sounds which are closest to those of l1. this sometimes leads to not only unintelligible speech but implies incomplete learning of l2. the pronunciation difficulty in english is a teething problem confronting the speech of most nigerian speakers of english. to buttress this fact, rodgers, higa, ellis and beaton cited in nation (40), assert that an important factor affecting learning is pronunciation of words. other linguists such as nation (40), alagbe (78), roach (2), o’connor (1), cruttenden (314) and alagbe (79) concord that, most nigerian speakers of english do have difficulty in pronouncing, identifying and distinguishing some english sounds. however, these scholars have different reasons with regard to the causes of pronunciation difficulties. bem (31) and o’connor (1) give a neuropsychological reason that is related to age and the decrease level of the brain to adapt to different pronunciations of certain sounds when they l2 speakers of english get older. they tend lose the capability to adapt their brain to different pronunciation of certain sounds due to the fact that the habits of the mother tongues are so strong to break. this has explained why grown up people have less ability to pick out the sounds characteristics of the foreign language as children do. aboderin, etal (99) associate the difficulty in pronunciation by most nigerian speakers of english to ‚the differences between the sounds available in the mother tongues and those of english‛. there are certain sounds in english language that are mostly absent in most nigerian languages, as a result, most nigerian speakers of english do substitute these unfamiliar sounds with the most nearest unfamiliar sounds with the most nearest nigerian equivalents. other scholars such as corder (27), stewart and nathan (37), david (11), michael (80), roach (2), ayodele, etal (32) and williams (80) attribute the difficulty in pronunciation among l2 speakers of english to ‚the complex nature of the english spelling system‛. alagbe (83) associates the problem to age of the speakers, mother tongue interference and ‘noise’. however, these scholars comment differently with regard to this problem. corder (27) says that, ‚the spelling system of english is highly arbitrary and confusing.‛ ayodele, etal (32) maintain that ‚the sounds of english do not correspond with the letters of alphabet‛. roach (2) posits that, ‚the english spelling is notorious and confusing‛. weinrich and niyi (ibid.) assert that, ‚there is no fit between sounds and sign in english‛ michael (80) claims that ‚the pronunciation of english words, has changed over the last hundred years while the spelling system remains the same it is quite obvious that some english language spelling system is some-how complex. i.e., there is no correspondence between spelling and the pronunciation. most nigerian jatau stephen, tanimu yusuf & shehu ibrahim ahmad 71 speakers of english and koro ashe in particular, do expect a fit between sounds and signs (letters), this expectation results to faulty pronunciation which sometimes affects the intelligibility of what is communicated. some scholars have tried to proffer solutions to the general pronunciation problem suffered by most l2 speakers of english. for instance, roach (ibid) suggests that, l2 speakers of english should think of pronunciation in terms of phonemes rather than letters, while cruttenden (314) suggests that pronunciation should be taught at early age to minimize the neuropsychological pronunciation problem that mostly affects adults at old age. alagbe (84) suggests direct teaching of the second language (english) and maintain that the content of pronunciation syllable should be organized under segmental features (consonants, vowels, syllabic and syllabic boundaries and juncture), supra segmental features, (stress, intonation and rhythm). corder (29) advises that the l2 speakers of english should first of all master the english sound system before learning the approximate production. oyeleye and moji (504) advise that the l2 speakers of english should concentrate on how the sounds are pronounced rather than spelling. alagbe (6) suggested the use of pronunciation dictionary and to understand the basks of english phonology. the researcher agrees with the suggestions above and reiterates that the l2 speakers of english should learn to perceive the l2 sounds distinctly correctly in order to achieve mutual intelligibility among speakers. empirical review there are numerous researches focuses on phonological deviation, interference or errors in pronunciation difficulty. few among them is the study of pronunciation difficulties by atalah and hammad (2019), explored the pronunciation difficulties experienced by saudi efl learners at jouf university. the findings revealed that efl learners experienced six phonetic and phonological problems relating vowels, voiced or initial voiceless phonemes. the study also found out that the efl learners and instructors had different views regarding the issues. pronunciation errors were committed by efl arab learners were investigated in terms of learning difficulties of the english phonology (abdul hag, 1982); (icharma & hajjai, 1989); (wahha 2008 & al shuabi, 2009). al shuabi, (2009) cited in atalah and hammad (2019), for instance found that efl and esl learners experienced difficulties in pronouncing the initial three consonant clusters and the final three or four members of english correctly. the study concluded that the learners used reduction, substitution and deletion as an alternative process in pronouncing these consonant clusters. phonological deviation among koro ashe learners of english in karu local government area 72 alagbe explores the areas of pronunciation problems encountered by hausa, yoruba, tiv, igbo speakers of english and came up with the following findings; that the hausa speakers of english do substitute /p/ for /f/, // for /s/, /ð/ for /z/, /v/ for /b/ and /k/ for /kw/. while the yoruba speakers of english do substitution // for /t/, /ð/ for /d/, /p/ for /kp/, /ʃ/ for /s/. the tiv speakers of english do confuse the realizations of /l/ and / r/ in ‘light’ and ‘right’. the sounds /ə/, /ʌ/ /ɜ:/, // and /ð/ pose pronunciation problem to the igbo speakers of english. these challenges become eminent as a result of the absence of these sounds in most of our nigerian languages (82-84). in a similar context, abahneh, (2018) compared pronunciation errors of two saudi groups; one studying english major and the second was studying arabic major in order to find out the effect of first language sound system on participants pronunciation of english sounds. the findings showed that, there was no significant error between the two groups, there was strong correlation the period of study and the number of pronunciation errors committed while learning english. results of intelligibility test carried out on nigerian english by tiffen (1974), stevenson (1969), strevens (1965), ufomata (1984), shows that the greatest area of difficulty in pronunciation is in the areas of rhythm, and intonation (alagbe 86). jam, damakani & kasegari did an intralingual analysis of iranian efl learners’ difficulties caused by the inconsistency between spelling and pronunciation. the study revealed that, most of the problematic features were silent consonant letters. next, is the study of fitria (2014) on the errors of english pronunciation on vowels made by the second year students at smpn 2 menganti,gresik. the results of the study showed that, majority of the students of smpn 2 menganti made pronunciation error on diphthong [au] with 93.33 as the average students’ that made the error due to the phenomenon of transfer from their mother tongue (interlanguage). earlier study related to the current study was a study on the common errors made by l2 learners of english while speaking english was conducted by fitriani & zulkanain (2019), which revealed that the errors made by students were in form of pronunciation and grammatical errors. related to segmental pronunciation errors and difficulties, were the studies conducted by refnaldi, 2019, ahmad, 2017; atug, 2015; fauzi, 2020; hassan, 2014) all cited in sukarni et al (2020). theoretical model (framework) contrastive analysis (ca) model is the theoretical framework employed in this study. contrastive analysis henceforth (ca) as an approach that was developed in the 1950’s and 1960’s as an application of structural linguistics to language teaching and is based on jatau stephen, tanimu yusuf & shehu ibrahim ahmad 73 the assumption that, the main difficulties in learning a new language are caused by interference from the first language, these difficulties can be predicted by contrastive analysis and teaching materials may make use of contrastive analysis studies to reduce the effects of interference. therefore, the difficulty in mastering certain structures in as second language depended on the differences between the learners l1 and the l2 they are trying to learn. it was expected that once the areas of potential difficulty had been mapped out through ca, it would be possible to design language courses more efficiently. wilkings cited in ashikeni and akoshi assert that contractive analysis is one of the few investigations into language structure that has improved pedagogy (224, 105). williams concords with the view above and further explains that contrastive analysis procedure makes it possible to identify the pronunciation difficulties in (a) sounds articulation (b) distinguishing between phonemes of the mother tongue (l1) and the target language system. the result of such comparison aims at yielding insights which are relevant to the compilation of syllabuses, teaching materials, tests etc (80). justification of the theoretical framework the reason for the choice is that, this investigation involves contrasting the phonological features of two different languages, with practical objectives of showing in what respect the two languages differ from or resemble each other for improved pedagogy for l2 (koro ashe) learners of english. methodology the paper uses descriptive research design for the study. the population of this investigation is the koro ashe learners of english who can communicate in english and have national diploma or nigeria certificate in education (nce) as the minimum qualification. out of the 15 villages of koro ashe in karu local government area, nasarawa state, five (5) villages were randomly selected to carry out the investigation. thus, one (1) respondent was randomly selected from the 5 randomly selected villages to carry out the study. we have a total of five (5) respondents selected for the investigation. oral production test (opt), was the instrument used for this study. the instrument has been used and validated by researchers to be an effective tool. the respondents were asked to speak for two (2) to three (3) minutes in english on issues relating to religion, politics, education, agriculture etc., while their oral speeches were tape – recorded, played several times, listened, transcribed and studied carefully, noting the areas of the phonological deviations committed by koro ashe learners of english. this was further phonological deviation among koro ashe learners of english in karu local government area 74 compared with the standard pronunciation. this will help to ascertain the areas of differences and similarities between the two languages for improved pedagogy. data analysis table 1 respondent number one (1) speaking on the challenges facing the maternity section as it concerns pregnant and nursing mothers. di ʧæleinʤis wi a: feisƞ in di mæta:niti sekʃᴐn inklud læk ov insᴐfiʃient drᴐgs fᴐ: di pregnænt mᴐdas pua rᴐd netwᴐ:ks end læk ov mᴐni . mai krait u di gᴐvæment is dæt dei ʃuld kᴐm tu di eid ᴐv dᴐ:s wumen bai sᴐplai fri: ænti nætæl drᴐgs, kᴐnstrᴐkt gud rᴐds end briʤis fᴐ: i:zi trænspᴐ:teiʃᴐn tu di klinik. words deviations correct standard pronunciation the, that, they /di/, /dæt/, /dei/ /ði/, /ðæt/, /ðei/ maternity /mæta:niti/ /m∂tз:niti/ insufficient, drugs, money /inכsfiient/, /drכgs/, /mכni/ /insii∂nt/, /drgs/, /mni/ mothers roads, is /mכdæs/, /rכds/ /is/ /mð∂(r)z/, /rכudz/ /iz/ network /net–wכ:k/ /net–wз:k/ women /wumen/ /wimin/ construct /kכnstrכkt/ /k∂nstrkt/ from the table above, the respondent substituted the dental stop sound /ð/ for the alveolar stop sound /d/ in words like ‘the’ and ‘they’. the schwa /∂/ in maternity is substituted for /æ/, while he same schwa /∂/ in ‚construct‛ is replaced by / כ / respectively. the monothong // in ‘insufficient’, ‘supply’ ‚mother’, ‘money’ and ‘construct’ is being substituted with /כ/. the /i/ in women is being substituted with /u/ and /e/ respectively. the plural morpheme /-z/ in ‘roads’ is substituted for /-s/, while the monothong /з: / in ‚work‛ is replaced by / כ :/. table 2: respondent number two (2) speaking generally on the cause(s) of examination malpractices in our schools. di kᴐ:sis ᴐf ikzæmineiʃᴐn mælpræktisis in auwa sku:ls a: meni ,haueva ,wæn ᴐf di prinsipl kᴐ:s is di students lezines, meni students di:s deiz wᴐnt tu ri:p wia dei du nᴐt sᴐ. ᴐda kᴐ:sis inklu:d ,læk ᴐf ti:ʧæs kᴐmitments æbsens ᴐf ti:ʧiɳ æbsens ᴐf regula su:pæviʃn bai di ᴐ:tᴐriti, æbsens ᴐf ti:ʧiɳ ænd leniɳ mæteriels ,læk ᴐf ikwipt læbᴐritri ænd kwᴐlifaid sta:f. jatau stephen, tanimu yusuf & shehu ibrahim ahmad 75 from the table above, the respondent substitutes the plural morpheme /-iz/ in ‚causes‛ ‘malpractices’ for /-is/, the plural morpheme /-z/ in ‘schools’ ‘materials’ and ‘reasons’ were replaced by /-s/. the dental stop /ð/ in ‘the’ ‘they’ and ‘these’ were substituted for the alveolar stop /d/. the schwa /∂/ in ‚commitments‛ is substituted for /כ/. also, the palato alveolar voiced fricatives sound /ʒ/ is substituted for the voiceless counterparts // in ‚supervision‛. the dental fricative sound /θ/ in ‘authority’ is substituted for the alveolar stop sound /t/. the /∂/ sound in ‘laboratory’ and ‘materials’ is replaced by /æ/, while the monothong // in ‘other’ is substituted for /כ/. the consonant /v/ in ‘of’ is substituted for /f/, the voiced fricative sound /z/ sound in ‚schools‛, ‘reasons’ and ‘is’ is substituted for /s/, the diphthong /∂u/ in ‘sow’ is substituted for /כ/, the /j/ consonant sound in ‘student’ is often omitted. table respondents number three (3) supporting the motion that says; religion has made us happy in nigeria. ai em in tᴐtæl ægri:ment dæt riliʤᴐn meiks ᴐs hæpi pi:pul wit brait hᴐps ænd fju:ʧᴐ .nᴐ wænda ‘ naiʤerians a: hæpi pipul .gᴐ tu di mᴐsks ænd si: hau pækt dei a: ænd hau devᴐted muzilems a: in dia wᴐ:ʃip ᴐf æla . ægein, gᴐ tu di ʧᴐʧis ᴐn sᴐdeis ænd si: miliᴐns ᴐf naiʤerians wit hæpi feisis wit melidiᴐs vᴐisis siɳgin sᴐɳs ᴐf preizis tu jihᴐva. words deviations correct standard pronunciation total, /tכ’tæl/ /tכlt/ with, the /wit/ /di/ /wiθ/, /ði/ religion /rilidʒכn/ /rilidʒ∂n/ nigerians, sundays, muslims /naidʒeiriens/ /sכndeis/, /muslims/ /naidʒ∂ri∂nz/ /sndeiz/ / muzlimz/ words deviations correct standard pronunciation causes, malpractices /kכ:sis/, /malpræktisis/ /kכ:siz/ /malpræktisiz/ schools, reasons, is /sku:ls/, /ri:zns/, /is/ /sku:lz/, /ri:znz/, /iz/ the, these, they /di/, /di:s/, /dei/ /ði/, /ði:s/, /ðei/ commitments /kכmitments/ /k∂mitm∂nts/ supervision /su:paivin/ /su:pa:viʒn/ authority /כ:tכriti/ /כ:θכr∂ti/ laboratory, materials /læbכritri/, /mætials/ /l∂bכr∂tri/, /m∂ti∂ri∂lz/ other /כda(r)/ /ð∂(r)/ sow /sכ:/ /s∂u/ of /כf/, /כv/, students stu:dent /stju:d∂nt/ phonological deviation among koro ashe learners of english in karu local government area 76 of go, so, ./fכ/ /gכ/, /sכ/ /vכ/ /g∂u/, /s∂u/ mosques /mosk/ /mosks/ devoted /devכted/ /devכtid/ churches, voices, praises /tjכ:tis/ / /tjз:tiz/ singing /singiŋ/ /siŋiŋ/ future /fju: tjכ: / /fju:tj∂(r)/ from the table above, the past tense morpheme /-id/ in ‘devoted’ is substituted for /-ed/, the vowel /з:/ in ‘churches’ is replaced by /כ:/, while the plural morpheme /-iz/ in ‘voices’ and ‘churches’ and ‘praises’ is being substituted for /-is/, while the plural morpheme /-z/ in ‘songs’ ‘millions’ and ‘muslims’ is substituted for /-s/. the letter ‘g’ in ‚singing’ is often pronounced. the schwa /∂/ in ‘future’ is replaced by /כ:/, while the same schwa /∂/ in ‘religion’ is substituted for / כ / respectively. the diphthong /∂u/ in ‘go’, ‘so’ is being substituted for the monothong /כ/, the dental stop /ð/ in ‘ with’ is substituted for /t/, while the same dental stop /ð/ in ‚the‛ is substituted for /d/. the monothong /æ/ is inserted before the syllabic consonant /l/ in ‚total‛. table 3: respondent number four (4) disagreeing with the claim that says, religion helps in uniting us as one nigeria. ai stænd tu disagri: wit di seid kleim. riliʤᴐn in meni instænsis tends tu divaid insted ᴐf ju:naitiɳ ᴐs di veriᴐs brænd ᴐf riliʤᴐn ænd tauzænd ænd wæn kreit e lᴐt ᴐf diviʃᴐns, hatred , enmity ,raiᴐts ænd ivin wᴐ: words deviations correct standard pronunciation thousand /tausænd/ /θausænd/ the, with /di/, /wit/ /ði/, /wið/ religion, instances /relidʒכn/, /instænsis/ /relidʒ∂n/, /instæsiz/ tends, divisions, has /tends/, /divins/, /hæs/ /tendz/, /divinz/, /hæz/ of /כf/ כv one /wæn/ /wn/ helped /helpd/ /helpt/ from the table above, the respondent substitutes the dental sound /θ/ in ‘with’ and ‘thousand’ for /t/. and also, the dental stop /ð/ in ‘the’ was substituted for the alveolar stop /d/. the same dental stop /ð/ is substituted for /t/ in ‘with’ the plural morpheme /-z/ in ‘tends‛, ‘divisions’ is substituted for /-s/, while the plural morpheme /iz/ in ‘instances’, is substituted for /-is/. the vowel // in ‘one’ is substituted for /æ/. the fricative alveolar voiceless /t/ past tense morpheme in ‚helped‛ is substituted for /d/. jatau stephen, tanimu yusuf & shehu ibrahim ahmad 77 table 4 respondent number five (5) speaking on how the concern-worm of bribery and corruption can be eradicated. in mai ᴐn ᴐpiniᴐn di kænkæwᴐ:m ᴐf braibri ænd kᴐrᴐpʃᴐn wiʧ hæs æʧuali i:tin di:p intu di fæbrik ᴐf auwa seusaaiti kæn bi irædikeited ,if ᴐnli dea is a tᴐtæl revᴐluʃᴐn in auwa ha:ts wæns auwa ha:ts get di rait meiseiʤ di rait edukeiʃᴐn,den wi wil bigin tu si: di si:d ᴐf braibri ænd kᴐrᴐpʃᴐn æs tu: dedli ivils dæt mᴐst bi irædikeited . the result in table above, shows that the respondent substitutes the monothong /∂/ for /כ/ in ‘opinion’, ‘corruption’, the schwa /∂/, is substituted for /e/ in ‘educated’. the voiced alveolar sound /z/ in ‘is’, ‘once’, ‘laws’ is substituted for /s/. the /j/ in ‘education’ ‘opinion’ is often omitted. the dental stop /ð/, in ‘the’ and ‘there’ is substituted for /d/. the diphthong /∂u/, in ‘also’, ‘society’ is substituted for / כ /. the monothong // in ‘corruption’, ‘once’, ‘must’, is substituted for /כ/. while the /з:/ in ‚worm‛ is substituted for the counterpart /כ:/. conclusion taking a close look at the findings of this investigation, one could conclude that, the sounds //, /∂/, /з:/, /∂u/, /ð/, //, /i/, ф uttered ‚l‛ in ‚should‛, ‚b‛ in ‚ bombing ‛, and ‚g‛ in ‚singing‛, the plural morphemes /-iz/ and /–z/, the past tense morpheme /–id/ and /–t/ and the consonant clusters that have dental fricative // and /j/, often pose the problem of realization by most koro-ashe speakers of english in the area of study. the english spoken by the study subjects has been influenced by the l1 (mother tongue), custom, belief system and culture, enough to give it flavor and characteristics that could be distinctly identified as nigerian. it is obvious from the above that when two or more languages come in contact, there is, of necessity, going to be mutual influences. this influence is responsible for new forms of english mushrooming all over the globe. the words deviations correct standard pronunciation opinion /opiniכn/ /∂pinj∂n/ corruption, must, punishment /kכrכpn/, /mכst/ //pכniment/ /k∂rpn/, /mst/, /pnim∂nt/ society, also /sכsaiti/ / כ:lsכ/ /s∂usaiti/, /כ:ls∂u/ eradicated, educated, avoided /irædikeited/, /edju:keited/, /ævכided/ /irædikeitid/, /כdjuikeitid/ /∂vכidid/ the, there /di/, /dea/ /ði/, /ðe∂/ is, laws, once /is/, /lכ:s/, /wæns/ /iz/, /lכ:z/, /wnz/ total /tכtæl/ /tכtl/ cankerworm /kænkæwכ:m/ /kæŋk∂wз:m/ phonological deviation among koro ashe learners of english in karu local government area 78 implication of this is quite significant, not only for contact linguistics, but for the teaching and learning of english as second language by koro ashe. recommendations based on the findings in this study, the researcher recommends that; the oral aspect of this spoken english should be taught earlier to our children in nursery and primary schools, to minimize the pronunciation problem that affects the speech of most adult l2 speakers of english. while teaching pronunciation to koro ashe learners /speakers of english, emphasis should be focused on those difficult sounds that were absent koro ashe, e.g., the english monothongs /ǝ/, / ɜ:/, /ᴧ/; the diphthongs /ǝu /, /iǝ/, /eǝ/, /uǝ/; the dental fricative / stop //, and /ð/; the consonant clusters that have the dental fricative // and /j/; the plural morphemes /-iz/ and /–z/, the past tense morpheme /–id/ and /–t/ the learners of should be taught at the early age to perceive the grapheme and phoneme distinction in order pronounce sounds and words of english distinctly and correctly, this would go a long way to improve the reading as well as the spoken skills. works cited ababneh, i. english pronunciation errors made by saudi students. european scientific journal. esl, /4(2). https:// doi.org/10.19044/esj.2018v14n2p244 aboderin, yemi et al. ‚problem of and used of english in nigeria”. nce/dsl course book on english language cycle 4. national teachers institute, 2000. ashikini, thomas ogah and akoshi amos. aspects of applied linguistics for alagbe, a. adewole. english phonetics and phonology. wukaritaraba, siloam publications 2016. atalah mohammed al-rubbaaat & hammad ali alshammari. analysis of phonetic and phonological constraints of saudi efl learners. journal of english languageteaching;vol.13,no 1; 2020; issn 1916-4742. banjo, ayo. overview of english language in nigeria. ibadan: university press, 1996. bem, p. iaana. problem of pronunciation and oracy among secondary school learners in french‛. international journal of language and communication studies, vol 2: no 1 & 2 2009 1 – 7. corder, s. pit. ‚applied linguistics and language teaching.‛ papers in applied linguistics 1974. cruttenden, alan. gimson’s pronunciation of english. 6th edition: great britain: oxford university press inc., 2001. david, stephen. a manual of oral english for students. abuja: anny press nig. ltd, 2000. fitria, a. l. the errors of english pronunciation on vowels made by the second year students at smpn 2 mengnanti, (undergraduate’s (thesis, state islamic university sunan ampel, srabaya indonesia). retrival from http://digilip.uinsby.ac.id 2014. gojeh, a. lawrence, christopher, jatau and jibrin mamman. the history of origin and tradition of koro people. kaduna: tereship publishers enterprise, 1988. http://digilip.uinsby.ac.id/ jatau stephen, tanimu yusuf & shehu ibrahim ahmad 79 igube, dogara m. the history of koro. sir kuf ventures nigeria company, 2005. jam, b., et al. an intralingual analysi of iranian efl learner’s difficulties caused by the inconsistency between spelling and pronunciation. internationl journal of educational investments, 1(1), 134-147, 2014. jatau, stephen. a contrastive study of phones realization in english and koro ashe. abridge journal of english and literary studies, nasarawa state university, jatau, stephen. phonological deviation amongst koro ashe speakers of english in panda development area, nasarawa.a masters of arts english dissertation, nasarawa state university, 2012. jayarama, seetha. ‚acquisition of pronunciation on consonant clusters by arabic speakers of english as a second language‛. sino us english teaching. issn 1539-8072, usa.jan. 2010, volume 7, no 1 (serial no. 73) jowitt, david. nigerian english usage; an introduction. lagos: longman nigerian plc, 1991. linda, m. weinrich and niyi oladeji. ‚the complex nature of certain aspects of lexical deviation in esl; the nigeria example.‛ journal of the nigerian english studies association. vol 10: no 1, (1990): 62 – 70. manual for retraining of pimary school teachers. kaduna: national teachers institute, 2000. mcgregor, william b. linguistics; an introduction. bloombury academic, 2013. micheal, swam. practical english usage. new york: oxford university press ltd, 2006. nation, i.s.p. learning vocabulary in another language. cambridge: cambridge university press, 1990. nnadi, i.c. ‚a guide to the problem of vowel realization of english: the case of diphthongs and triphthongs‛ journal of arts and education. vol. 1. no.1 (sept, 2007): 243 – 254. o’connor, j.d. better english pronunciation. 2nd edition. cambridge: cambridge university press, 2000. roach, peter. english phonetics and phonology 2nd edition; a self contained, comprehension course. cambridge: cambridge university press, 2000. roger, blench. the ashe language, itorn dialect in central nigeria. cambridge cbi 2 al. may 19, 2009. school and colleges. aboki publishers, 2009. ayodele,s.o. stewart, thomas w. and nathan. vaillette. language files; material for an introduction to language and linguistic (ed). ohia state university press, 1998. weinrich, linda m. and niyi oladeji. ‚the complex nature of certain aspect in esl: nigerian example‛ journal of nigeria english studies association. vol 10: no 1 (1990) 62 – 69. williams, d. english language teaching in nigeria.university press of ibadan, 1996. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 4 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 72 new face of africa in the globalization age, its absurdist consequences in beckett’s waiting for godot and rushdie’s the satanic verses mbanefo s. ogene department of english language & literature nnamdi azikiwe university, awka mbanefoogene@gmail.com & sm.ogene@unizik.edu.ng abstract the world is changing fast. as modern science and technology have turned the world into a global village, africa is under a serious challenge over exploitation and slavery from the civilized nations. there is the danger of the continent’s loosing its bearing as the more civilized nations keep changing ideas constantly at the detriment of the black man. not long ago, african institutions witnessed the phasing out of typewriters and the introduction of computer machines and accessories into their academic and government institutions and establishments. these events which took place in the middle of the first tens of the years of 2000 millennium alongside other earlier problems of post colonialism looked very good and promising to africans, but ironically today, typists, messengers and other low carder of civil servants have been phased out with the arrival of the computer. unemployment is on the increase, economic recession is facing the black world, to the level that suicide cases are becoming the order of the day. where are those things for which africa was known? so to speak, where are the african values? where are the african intellectuals, seers, prophets and priests? this paper is of the view that the effect of globalization on africa is to say the least absurd and need more serious reappraisal. keywords: africa, globalization, beckett, rushdie, satanic verses. introduction recent global developments reveal that africa has always been at the receiving end as well as also sometimes suffering from the hands of the international expatriates, especially marketers, religious leaders and politicians. as a developing continent, africa lacks both the major scientific and technological competence to compare with the world especially the more developed nations. african nations are still largely very far from the age of space travel, internet uses, and satellite launching, computer designs, geoinformation, manufacture of aircrafts and electronic devices like the mobile telephones, mobile/wireless computers, cable networks, airplanes and other scientific devices. the humanities, as a discipline of knowledge, therefore seems to be the only most competent ground to air the black man’s views over the modern world and its phases of development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 73 the framework of this paper is seen from a perspective of how those under the arts and humanities see the contemporary happenings or developments in the world socio-political scene. this perspective could extend to literature, religion, philosophy, history, language, theatre, music, sociology, anthropology, politics, mass media, architecture, sciences, etc. millennium is approached from its context of one thousand years (per millennium). much as it is too early in history to appraise the third millennium, a lot of things have developed in the world socio-political scene that there is a serious need to examine these issues. the premise on which this paper is articulated is that the internet, with its other machineries, like the mobile telephones, computers, television and radio, have seriously contributed to fast spread of ideas in literature. absurdist literature has developed and taken much root in literary studies due to these scientific and technological interferences. colonialism as pseudo-globalization to an average african, the word internet means international communities or a machine that can transmit messages from place to place. this idea is true, but very fragmentary. looking back at history, one quickly recalls that the primary concern of man in farming and trading was for economic reasons. no matter how this was coated by the western missionaries who were very instrumental to colonizing africa, the primary aim of colonialism was for religious, political and economic exploitation. the renaissance period in english literature was replete with the story of industrialization. this created a state of political and religious interests resulting to export and trade and africa served as a dumping ground for the industrialized nations, especially england and france, during the colonial period. the eventual contact of africa with europe was not an encouraging development as christianity made africans to believe. the long term effects of colonialism and pseudo-globalization was the etiolating of and asphyxiation of african traditional religion, social institutions, moral values, philosophies, as well as the obliteration of african literature. africa was europeanized not by any act of persuasion, but by force and compulsion. david diop calls this “extorted kisses” in his poem “the vultures” (see nwoga: 110), while gabriel okara summarized this act as “a phrase at a dagger point “in his poem “piano and drums”. (see nwoga: 37). it is obvious that the restlessness of the white man and his ever increasing quest to discover the unknown and the impossible motivated the rise of explorations, battles and conquests of the developing countries. the mission of the white man was not only in the scientific and technological discoveries, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 74 but in economic, religious and political conquests and exploitations. these largely could be referred to as the pseudo-globalization phase of the world history. the internet and globalization the discovery of internet in the 1970s has seriously revolutionized the medium of communication in the history of man. with this new discovery, the world was turned into a “global village”. it is this discovery that eventually developed into the concept of globalization. contrary to the notion of the internet expressed earlier, mbanefo-ogene defined internet as a computer-base global information system, which is composed of many interconnected computer net-works. each network mean-while links tens, hundreds, or even thousands of computers enabling them to share information with one another and to share computational resources such as powerful super computers and database of information. (1) looking at the definition above, the operations of the internet is still a puzzle and an enigma to an average black man. one still finds it difficult to understand where, how and who develops the database or powerful super computer for the internet uses. do the blacks have equal opportunity like their white counterparts to store data and other information on the internet? the net-working of the internet is equally an enigma, just as the combustible engine is to the black man. with the inception of the internet and its application in the world sociopolitical system, people all over the world started finding it easy to communicate with one another effectively at cheaper rate. all that one needed to communicate to others was just an access. these accesses were provided through the uses of electronic mail (e-mail); text messages, website, satellite news and cable networks, as in cnn. marketing and commerce changed from the traditional trade by barter to face to face buying and selling, and now to the contemporary style of e-commerce which include e-banking, e-marketing and other related matters. the computers, television and gsm (mobile phones) provided the working engines or media through which transactions take place. at the stage the world is at present, books, machines, artworks and other industrial products are no longer needed to be displayed in a given market stand. one can be inside an air conditioned room in awka and purchase igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 75 books in the internet market, while controlling many other businesses worth billions of naira at both local and international markets. outside those books whose covers are advertised on the internet websites, others can be purchased through payment and subscription for the soft copies. the world is indeed quite globalized. the question is if the black man has equal access to the internet advertisement and sell of his goods and products through this new wonderful discovery of the twenty-first century. the truth is that most blacks are seriously marginalized and handicapped in the aspect of the internet uses and are therefore facing further problems and challenges like poverty, slavery and annihilation occasioned by this new world order. globalization of absurdism african philosophers, artists, intellectuals and thinkers have largely upheld the notion that part of the black man’s woes is the calculated attempt of the european nations to shift those aspects of knowledge that will be of disadvantages and sometimes harmful to their future generations to the developing countries of africa and asia, while their more cherished ideas and discoveries are hoarded or preserved exclusively to the knowledge of their children and citizens only. this idea may not be far from the truth. looking back at the colonial period, many white aristocrats were kind enough to sponsor many youths on evangelical missions to africa. european sailors and missionaries were able to establish schools with the primary aim of teaching morals of european and arabic religions to africa, while their real sciences were jealously guarded and preserved back home. as the children of these whites were growing fast in researches and advancements of already discovered and established scientific and technological wisdom, africans were busy quarreling and fighting against different interest groups, destroying their religions and culture and lamenting over their woes of ever being born blacks. unlike the miltonic satan who preferred to “reign in hell, than serve in heaven” (38), the african elites chose to travel to america, britain, france, etc. and wash plates, corpses, sweep the streets of europe, die as slaves and be buried there. the african sense of value was seriously battered and eroded by the new scientific discovery, the internet, satellite and other agents of globalization. the new world networking has equally exposed africans to different western philosophies, including the philosophy of absurdism. this philosophy has extended to arts and literary arts in particular. it can be said to be one of the instrumentality which the whites were trying to use in obliterating the african nation and other developing continents of asia. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 76 absurdism and literature the term absurdism started as a philosophical speculation, which sees the human efforts in creating meaning out of the universe as futile, so absurd, since such meanings did not exist, especially with regards to the individual. to the absurdist, a clash exists between the human search for meaning and his inability to find any such meaning. expounding on this, the wikipedia, the free encyclopedia states that “absurd” does not mean “logically impossible,” but rather humanly impossible.” a symbiotic relationship exists between absurdism and existentialism. this relationship is further extended to nihilism. soren kierkegard, a 19th century danish philosopher is claimed to be the originator of this philosophy. kierkegard developed the existential philosophy to address the problem faced by men with the absurd. french algerian philosopher, albert camus championed the european existentialist movement when he rejected some philosophical basis of absurdism and published his text the myth of sisyphus. the consequences of second world war so much influenced the sociological milieu that encouraged absurdist views and also gave way to their popular development. the second world war which took place between september 1939 and august 1945, devastated a lot of things, including human lives and property, so much so that many modern and post modern writers started adhering to the use of philosophy of absurdism to discourage further wars and also asking questions of what man is doing here on earth, whether god really exists, who is god?, why should god make man to die? etc. in literature, absurdism is seen as a condition of existence in which man observes himself in a universe, which paradoxically is both his home and also his exile. the theatre of the “absurd” developed out of the philosophical movement of existentialism. this movement came into existence from the thinking of a french writer, jean paul sartre. sartre based his argument on the premises that god does not exist, so man is a free moral agent (without any restraint). for him also, there is no meaning in the universe. samuel beckett, (1906-1989) an irish born novelist dramatist was equally influenced by the works of french philosopher rene descartes. beckett’s works attacked systems of communication, including language itself. effects of globalization on absurdism and literature globalization has many aspects which make different impacts on human beings all over the world in various ways. these include philosophical, technical, industrial, financial, linguistic and literary, cum religions dimensions. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 77 as there is the growth of cross-cultural contacts in the modern globalization age, there is an increase in the growth of consciousness in other cultural identities and activities. this leads to cultural diffusion and devolution, and has adversely affected weaker cultures where losses occur in religion, literature and language uses. the wikipedia states that “the internet breaks down cultural boundaries across the world by enabling easy, nearinstantaneous communication between people anywhere in a variety of digital forms and media.” (web) beckett’s study of the works of descartes affected his outlook to life. his literary works are devoid of traditional plot and recognizable characters, and equally attacked systems of communication, including language itself. instead of representing the observable surface of life, beckett seemed determined to demonstrate its inconsistencies and absurdities. consequently, some early critics saw beckett’s works as part of “literature of the absurd”, a representation of life’s irrationality. like the other absurdist writer, beckett reacted against traditional western theatrical conventions, rejecting assumptions about logic, characterization, language and plot. this style of writing goes on to support the post modern writers’ style of writing. in the words of klages, “the motto for post modern politics might well be “think globally, act locally… and don’t worry about any grand scheme or master plan.” (amazon.com). waiting for godot which was first published in 1956 clearly depicts beckett’s commitment to the course of absurdism. the title of the book was remarkably printed in small letters. with its two acts, the book started in page 9 with two tramps: estragon and vladimir sitting on a low mound, and playing endless and aimless games. this they do to pass the time, while waiting for a saviour (godot) who never comes. a big philosophical puzzle was given by estragon at the first line of the play: “nothing to be done.” (beckett: 9). these two tramps spent the time near a tree on an isolated country road waiting for a person with the name, godot. a hopeless situation confronted these men as they have lost all sense of bearing and engagement and engaged in making unnecessary noises and behavioural activities to show that they are, at least, still in existence. the situation of things changed when pozzo and lucky appeared on the stage at page 21 of waiting for godot. pozzo did not accept that he is godot; neither did estragon accept knowing godot. pozzo was the outspoken of the duo, while lucky serves as a beast of burden. lucky is used in this play to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 78 represent the archetype of africans as beasts, bearing the burdens of the world. the following dialogues are necessary to understand this: estragon: why doesn’t he put down his bags? vladimir: rubbish! pozzo: are you sure? vladimir: damn it. haven’t you already told us! estragon: nothing happens, nobody comes, nobody goes, it’s awful! vladimir: (to pozzo). tell him to think. pozzo: give him his hat. vladimir: his hat? pozzo: he can’t think without his hat. vladimir: (to estragon). give him his hat. estragon: me! after what he did to me! never! vladimir: i’ll give it to him. he does not move. (41) in fact, lucky does not talk, except when pozzo tells him to talk. he only says what he was taught to say. this reminds us of the prospero africa, or the case of robinson crusoe, where crusoe saw himself as the first adam. being trapped in a “primitive” continent of africa, crusoe had to conquer, subdue and civilized the whole environment. waiting for godot continued this attitude of europeans and their views that africa is their beast of burden and dumping ground. in act 11 of waiting for godot, the reader is informed that the play continues the next day, same time, and same place. the tree that vladimir and estragon stand nearby to has four or five leaves. vladimir who moves feverishly about the stage, halts before the tree and gazes into distance … all these actions are to keep the time and play going, according to the tradition of absurdism. kenner states that, “the scanty tale of objects that concern the bums in waiting for godot contains no items owning a past, a future, or a duration with which our vital sentiments may feel empathy.“ (151). the actions in waiting for godot are clear manifestations of the metaphysical anguish common to the absurd characters. for m. h. abrams, the idea of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 79 absurdism is to view each man as an isolated being who is cast into an alien universe … and to represent man’s life as it moves from the nothingness whence it came toward the nothingness where it must end, as an existence, which is both anguished and absurd. the state of uncertainty about the existence of god manifests in the characters of the play waiting for godot. this state of uncertainty of god is closely related to what the postmodernist writers refer to as the deconstruction of grand narratives. salmon rushdie used this method of deconstruction of “grand narratives”, in his novel the satanic verses. the rise of religious fundamentalism as a form of resistance to the questioning of the “grand narratives” of religious truth came into limelight because of the new awareness created by globalization from the concept of post modernism. rushdie’s novel was banned in the middle east due to the book’s deconstruction of grand narratives. rushdie’s challenge of the “grand narrative” of the muslim religion salmon rushdie was born in 1947, a british novelist of indian descent. his fourth novel, the satanic verses (1988) combined fantasy, philosophical ruminations, and comic aspects and was well received in the united kingdom. the book however aroused the anger of many muslims who considered the contents as an attack on qur’an (koran), muhammad, and the islamic faith. with its five hundred and six pages, the book is best placed under the category of novel genre known as magic realism. the novel made use of current affairs and personalities in history, especially that depending on the life of the founder of muslim religion, muhammad, to create the characters and themes in the book. the novel stipulates that muhammad (who founded the muslim religion) got “tricked into revealing these verses as part of the qur’an by satan and he later retracted them, saying the angel jibreel had told him to do so” (wikipedia). the title of the book represents the signified issue known as the satanic verses and these verses give room for prayers of intercession to be made to three pagan goddesses: allat, al-uzza, and manat. each of these three goddesses had a shrine in separate places close to muhammad’s birth place and starting point of his mission in mecca, arabia. rushdie depended on the historical accounts of alwaqidi and al-tabari about the life of muhammad to write his novel, the satanic verses. though the book reached the final stage of the broker price award in 1988, the muslims generally rejected the book and held its contents as blasphemous. the general controversy surrounding the book led to its being banned in the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 80 united kingdom. pakistan, south africa, egypt, and saudi arabia also later banned the work. in 1989, iran’s religious leader, ayatollah ruhollah khomeini issued a fatwa (edict) declaring that rushdie be put to death. rushdie however went into exile and the novel became more popular, as it represented the european interest. conclusion culture is the sum total of how people live their lives or do their things. wilkipedia, the free encyclopedia defines culture as “patterns of human activity and the symbols that give these activities significance.” culture embraces the idea of what people eat, how they dress, what beliefs they hold, and what activities they practice. globalization has linked many cultures that were originally different together and changed their former contents. it is quite obvious that when a culture receives outside influences, it ignores some of the influences and adopts others, and then almost immediately starts to transform them. at first, globalization was seen as process of homogenization. it is not surprising that the developing nations soon started realizing that the global domination of american culture adversely affected the local and indigenous cultures. this led to the uprising of movements protesting against globalization, although with little or no success. the attempts to obliterate both christian and muslim religions, through the use of deconstruction of grand narratives, against religious fundamentalism are good examples of the adverse effects of globalization. absurdism was globalized as post modern means of deconstruction of grand narratives in beckett’s waiting for godot and rushdie’s the satanic verses. the extents to which successes have been achieved in these contexts are yet to be proven. works cited abrams, m. h. a glossary of literary terms. new york: holt, rinnehert & winston, 1981. beckett, s. waiting for godot. london: farber and farber, 1981. kenner, h. samuel beckett, a critical study. berkeley and los angeles: university of california press, 1968. mbanefo-ogene, c. o. internet use among nigeria journalists. awka: an unpublished research project submitted to the department of mass communication, nnamdi azikiwe university, 2009. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 81 milton. paradise lost. prince, f. t. (ed.) london: oxford university press, 1979. nwoga, d. i. west african verse. burnt mill: longman, 1982 rushdie, s. the satanic verses, a novel. united kingdom: viking press, 1988. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/absurdism klages, mary. literary theory: a guide for the perplexed. continuum press, january 2007, https://www.amazon.com/o//asin burial culture of the isoko and urhobo people of delta state 1990-2020 iniaghe, veronica oghenetano and obiakor, nwachukwu john department of history and international studies, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka iniaghetano@gmail.com; nj.obiakor@unizik.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.31621.83688 abstract this paper focuses on the burial culture of the isoko and urhobo people of delta state, especially from 1990 to 2020, and the aspect of the burial culture as it pertains to returning the body of a woman at death back to her natal home for burial. with the wave of globalization came a number of changes in the burial culture of the isoko and urhobo people of delta state. this paper aims at examining the changes and the continuity in an aspect of the burial culture of the isoko and urhobo people of delta state. it critically examines the practice of returning the body of a deceased woman back to her natal home for burial. this practice has over the years been questioned, interrogated and called for scrutiny by both the isoko and urhobo people and some of their neigbours. the work argues that social factors have introduced continuous changes in the isoko and urhobo culture with regards to their funeral rites and the burial culture of the people have been greatly affected. this practice have been perceived as one which promotes patriarchal dominance. the work adopts the analytical method, using both primary and secondary sources of data in interrogating the practice of returning the body of a deceased woman back to her natal home for burial rather than burying her in her husband's home and maintains that if this practice is not properly handled, it could affect inter-group relations. the paper therefore concludes that this practice is posing as a serious threat to a peaceful and harmonious inter-group relationship among families that are involved in inter-tribal marriage. it recommends that the isoko and urhobo people should rehabilitate properly to blend with modernity in this aspect of their culture while preserving some others. keywords: burial, culture, rites, deceased woman, patriarchal dominance introduction culture and tradition are two dening characteristics of any group of people. burying the dead in every culture is a practice that varies from one culture to another. the culture and tradition of the people includes practices such as the burial practices of the people, their marriage rites, festivals, belief and so on which have been passed down from one generation to another. 1 the work examines an aspect of the culture and tradition of the isoko and urhobo people of delta state as it relates to burying a married woman who has died. there is an age long practice among some of the isoko and urhobo communities of delta state that at death, no matter how many years the woman had spent with her husband in marriage while alive, whenever she dies, it is mandatory that she be taken back to her natal home for burial, a practice seen by most observers as strange and unacceptable.2 the lower-ranking position of women to men has been a global debate for decades now. this paper in addition to the above thus seeks to address the dead woman's testamentary rights which have grown to become a major issue raising controversies among the isoko and urhobo people of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 39 delta state over the years.3 theoretical framework for the purpose of analysis, the theoretical framework of this paper will be based on the theory of patriarchal dominance. the theory of patriarchal dominance is also referred to as patriarchy. it is a sociological and feminist concept that examines how societies have historically been structured in ways that privilege men and subordinate women.4 the theory seeks to analyze power dynamics, social structures and cultural norms that reinforce male dominance and control over various aspects of the society. at this juncture, it is important to relate this theory to the burial culture of the isoko and urhobo people as it pertains to returning the deceased woman's body to her natal home for burial. this theory by sylvia walby emphasizes the male dominance and gender-based inequalities that shape the society5 and this is applicable in the burial culture of isoko and urhobo communities as it is the women alone, as custom demands, who have their bodies returned to their natal home at death for burial. although, this practice does not cut across all isoko and urhobo communities, the practice is one that is not to be compromised and have been known to have far reaching implications on those who do not adhere to it. burial culture of the isoko and urhobo people burial is a ceremony of laying a dead person to rest with certain rituals as is the custom of the people and the isoko and urhobo people have a unique way of burying the dead, and the burial rites are performed in several phases, each with its own signicance.6 in isoko and urhobo culture, not everyone is buried and those who were buried were buried according to the circumstances which led to their death, and the rites and rituals accompanying each form of death varied.7 the burial rites of a child or pregnant woman was different from that of an aged person, the rituals carried out during the burial ceremony of a woman who died during childbirth is different from that performed at the burial ceremony of one who drowned in the river, and those who were tagged witches and wizards were not buried in the villages but had their corpses thrown outside the village or in the bushes the people called 'evil forest'.8 according to the peoples culture, those eligible for burial in the land were those who had no criminal records, those who died peacefully, those who died at old age, the young children who were either killed or were victims of circumstances and those who died mysteriously were buried but with certain burial rites. according to isoko and urhobo tradition, when a loved one died, such a person is buried in the house or within the family compound because they believed that even at death, such a person remained a member of the family.9 if the deceased was young, such a person was buried with certain rites but outside of the family compound because the death of the young was seen as a taboo and thus the spirit of such a person was sent forth to war during the funeral rites to go and ght whosoever may have had a hand in the death of such a person. 10 the burial ceremony according to the isoko and urhobo culture lasted for about four days after the interment, on the fourth day, the wife(s), children and relatives of the deceased were expected to shave their heads in honour of the deceased.11 in the evening of the lying-in state, a goat must be slaughtered, this goat is called evwieaghwun or evwe-inuvwuin, the goat is used to 'wash, bathe and rinse off dirt' this implied that the goat was used to wash, bathe and rinse the deceased of dirt before embarking on his journey, the goat is specically meant for those who bathed the deceased and prepared him in the cofn and every other member of the family of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 40 deceased.12 another goat was also slaughtered, this one was called evwe-ehun, this goat was connotatively meant to honour the deceased for utilizing his waist and bearing children while alive, this goat was meant to be consumed by the children of the deceased. all these were encompassed in the rst state of the burial rites.13 this is the second stage of the burial rites of the isoko and urhobo people, aruereshi is also called erhu he or e beria ive. this ritual aims at preparing the erhi of the deceased to be received by the ancestors in erhivwin. there was usually no stipulated or recommended time lapses between the egigo and the aruereshi which causes the people to say 'erivwin gbo-o', which means, the spirit does not decay.14 the nancial status of the children of the deceased usually determined how soon the aruereshi would take place, and also how elaborate the occasion would be. the rituals for the aruereshi were believed to be permanent and in the same vein, there were hard and fast rules as to whether the aruereshi should be observed as a separate ritual from the egigo, since the nancial capability of the children of the deceased played a great role in these ceremonies, the two stages could be carried out simultaneously, however, care must be taken to perform the rituals in the right order of importance.15 the isoko and urhobo culture upholds the treasures and properties of the deceased. usually, after the interment of the corpse, a day is xed by the elders in consultation with the off springs of the deceased to gather the earthly belongings of the deceased, his wife inclusive (in the case of a man) for sharing as inheritance among his children, siblings and extended relations.16 the clothes, shoes, farmlands, beads and other earthly possessions of the deceased were shared among the family members of the deceased. the wife of the deceased was included among the earthly belongings of her late husband because it is a belief among the people that until the death of a woman, she remains a member of the husband's family and will continue to bear and raise children for them until she join her ancestors in erivwin, that is, the spirit world.17 when all the earthly belongings of the deceased had been shared, the eldest man in the family would then offer prayers for the children. the return of a deceased woman's body to her natal home for burial the reason(s) for the practice of returning a woman's corpse back to her father's compound for burial among many isoko and urhobo communities have been questioned over the years, this is one of the cultural burial practices that have continued over the time despite civilization, modernization and christianity. a woman who had spent her entire life in her husband's house, at death, be taken back to her father's house for burial actually calls for reconsideration. research has revealed the following as some of the factors responsible for the practice among most of the isoko and urhobo communities of delta state. several arguments have risen from burying the isoko and urhobo woman in her natal home, some of these arguments are: i. in order to avoid maltreatment by their husbands whist married, and in the case of any marital challenges, the women have a home where they can come and they will not be treated as slaves or second class citizens, but will have a sense of belonging as a member of their parental families. ii. because of the inuential nature of women to bring about development in their communities, culture demands that they must be returned home at death. iii. the female children are not slaves and they are not sold out for many reasons including marriage, therefore, they must be returned home at death. iv. due to the fact that women, upon their death must be brought home, they develop igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 41 their communities and bring their children to their father's home town for visits or even residence.18 according to isoko and urhobo tradition, during a traditional marriage ceremony, whatever amount the family of the bride requests as the bride price must never be paid in full, this is so because while the bride price is being paid, the family of the bride, led by her father or any of her relatives standing in as her father if he was late, accepts the bride price, after which he gives a fraction of it back to the husband. this act, according to the isoko and urhobo tradition signies that their daughter is not an item for sale on the shelf for sale but is going on a marriage escapade, who after her activities in her husband's house would be brought back to her family at death.19 this is why traditional marriage system among the isoko and urhobo people are cheaper than that of their neigbours and the fraction returned to the husband is believed to be used by him to take proper care of his wife during their marital life together.20 to the isoko and urhobo communities that indulge in this practice, they believe that: 1. the practice has over time made the children born to always remember their maternal home and thus give them a need to asso0ciate with their mother's relatives. 2. the practice makes the woman participate in the activities of her father's family rather than her absolute concentration on her husband's family. her nonparticipation in her family's functions such as marriages and burials means that, she, at death, will not be given a betting burial in her father's home. 3. it gives a sense of belonging to the mother's family as it is a tradition among the isoko and urhobo people that every individual comes from two familiesthe father's family and the mother's family, and as such, both families must be given due respect.21 4. it gives the isoko and urhobo man, or, any suitor from outside isoko and urhobo land to take proper care of his wife as on her death, the husband and his family would be made to give account on the circumstances that surrounded her death before burial preparations begin.22 5. it is believed to be a profound way of honouring family ties as it signies the importance of lineage and heritage, acknowledging the role the woman played within her family structure. this act reects a deep respect for the matriarchal gures who often serve as pillars of strength, wisdom, and love within their families. 6. it creates a lasting legacy that transcends the moment of passing. it becomes a signigicant part of the family history, one to be told to younger generations as a reminder of the importance of root and identity. in this way, the traditional practice ensures that the woman's presence lives on in the hearts and minds of those who knew her.23 7. it is also believed to be a way of preserving the traditions of the people. it reinforces the continuity of customs and values that have been passed down through generations. this traditional practice does not only pay homage to the deceased woman, but also highlights the importance of maintaining cultural authenticity in the evolving world.24 given the reasons above, it becomes plausible to defend this long term practice of burying a married woman in her father's compound rather than in her husband's home. although, this practice does not apply to all isoko and urhobo communities, those who indulge in it ensure they carry it out diligently.25 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 42 the practice was still very much in play and the isoko and urhobo communities involved in it have received a number of criticisms from their neigbours such as the ukwani, the ijaw, itsekiri, delta ibo, amongst others. the reasons for these criticism include the following: 1. that the wife who spent her entire life with her husband and his family need not be taken back to her father's home for burial, rather, she be buried beside her husband at death, as the woman, by virtue of marriage has crossed over to her husband's family.26 2. of what use is the woman's corpse to her family? while she was alive and healthy, the family did not request for her, so why then must they request for her body at death? 3. it reduces the cost of burial for the children as both parents would be buried in same place rather than excessive expenses in the isoko and urhobo tradition which requires the children to purchase a land if their parents did not have any in their lifetime, and also erect a building in which the woman would be laid to rest. 27 it had been argued that every culture is amendable to slight or notable changes as the world and its people evolves, this has therefore been the reason for the present agitation by some of the isoko and urhobo communities who practice this culture as well as her neigbours that the practice should be reversed.28 intergroup marriage is a common phenomenon among the nigerian people and this is quite evident among the isoko and urhobo people and their neigbours, it is also said that one man's food is another man's poison, this thus calls to mind the review of an aspect of burial among the isoko and urhobo people which might be acceptable to them, but unacceptable to the outside world.29 in interrogating the practice of returning the corpse of a married woman back to her father's homestead for burial rather than burying her in her husband's home may affect the intergroup relationship that exists between these people and their neigbours if not properly handled. in recent times, it was observed that this practice has begun to pose as a serious threat to the peaceful and harmonious intergroup relation among families that indulge in inter-tribal marriage. an examples of this is the late henrietta kosoko, wife of the veteran nollywood actor jide kosoko who died on june 6th 2016, had to bring back the body of his late wife to her hometown in urhoboland to be buried amid the controversial circumstance.30 in isoko, the emevor, umeh, enwhe, oweh and iyede communities, the conception of burying a deceased woman in her natal home seems to be very relevant and entrenched in their culture. thus, women married to men outside these communities, on their demise are brought back to their natal home for burial. however, in some of these afore mentioned communities where this is practiced, nancial negotiations are done for permission to be granted to bury the deceased in her marital home instead, but among the emevor people in particular, returning a deceased woman's body back to her natal home for burial is never compromised like their conservative urhobo neigbours.31 it has been severely argued that every culture is amendable to slight changes, this is therefore the reason for the present agitation of people both from isoko and urhobo communities and even their neigbours that this practice be overturn. although, record has it that there have been several instances where some women who were buried wrongly, that is, outside of their natal home without due process, revealed themselves to their children on the need for the reversal of such burials.32 changing the tradition of a people has its spiritual implications on its people and the importance igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 43 of this traditional practice cannot be over emphasized. therefore, this issue of returning the body of a deceased woman back to her natal home for burial is one that requires critical thinking, the opinions of those who have kept this practice for ages must be sought, also, the input of the custodian of the cultures and traditions such as the chief priest, the council of elders, and the oldest person in the clan or kingdom must be recognized. bearing these in mind, the isoko and urhobo people who are still involved in the practice of returning the body of a dead woman back to her natal home for burial are advised to move with time and amend this practice.33 in recent times, with the wave of globalization and civilization, some of the old cultural practices and beliefs are now being modied by modern and innovative ideas, for example, town criers in towns and villages no longer go around with the local gong to make public announcements, instead they go with a public address system which enables them spread their messages within a short period of time. christianity on its part has altered some traditional practices including the burial practice of the people. the people's mode of dressing has been changed drastically, the people no longer go about tying wrappers, and also, the education of the girl-child which was more like a taboo in the past is now very much encouraged. these are some of the cultural practices that have been altered and accepted by the isoko and urhobo people. similarly, the people should accept the changes advocated by this study.34 a few reasons have been given as to why women should be buried in their marital homes, these reasons include the following: 1. to enable them benet from the fruits of their labour after living and toiling with their husbands.35 2. to avoid being strangers back at home after so many years in their husband's house.36 3. to avoid undue exploitation of the children by their maternal family during the burial.37 4. the women had earlier been discriminated against in the sharing of their father's heritage at his death.38 these reasons may not be genuine as they were only opinions expressed during data collection, but the women of isoko and urhobo communities should have a say on where they wished to be buried at death, rather than imposing on them that they must be returned to their natal home for burial at death. in other words, the isoko and urhobo people should overhaul their ways of treating women and allow them decide on whether they want to be brought back home at death or not. intergroup relation has been an existing phenomena among the nigerian peoples, the people relate through trade, war, marriage, diplomacy and other forms of intergroup relations. intergroup or inter-tribal marriage is one common occurrence among the isoko and urhobo people and their neigbours, and the practice of returning a body of a deceased woman back to her natal home for burial rather than burying her in her marital home is a practice that does not sit well with other ethnic groups. if this practice is not properly handled, could affect inter-group relations in terms of marriage.39 it is important to note that this practice is not peculiar to the isoko and urhobo people of delta state alone, late stella obasanjo who hails from iruekpen in esan land, edo state and died on october 23rd 2005, before being allowed to be buried in her husband's place elicited a lot of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 44 crisis between her family and that of her husband, and even among the idoma people of benue state, this practice has been a veritable source of intergroup conict between her people.40 proponents of the abolishment of this practice maintain that such a tradition has put the traditional oath of marriage to question, stating that the isoko and urhobo marriage tradition must be in agreement with the universal institution of marriage which maintains the interminable union of two different gender.41 conclusion the return of a deceased woman's body to her natal home for burial is a tradition that encapsulates deep-seated emotions, cultural heritage, and celebration of family connections. it serves as a poignant reminder of the bonds that tie us to our past, the importance of acknowledging where we come from and the profound impact an individual can have on the lives of those around her. in an ever-changing world, this age-old practice continues to stand as a symbol of respect, love and the enduring power of tradition.42 be that as it may, the only constant phenomenon in life is change and what one is trying to put across is to allow the husband or children of the deceased bury her wherever they please, so long she gave her consent before death. some other ethnic groups are already evolving and changing their cultural practices due to some of the effects it has had on them due to ignorance. the isoko and urhobo people are not only known for their burial practice of returning the body of a deceased woman back to her natal home for burial, they are also known to be peace-loving people who are friendly and kind hearted too. endnotes 1. a. a ovie, the funeral and burial rites of christians and non-christians in isoko, south central nigeria, oleh, church image press company, 2021, p. 37 2. o. l ejobee, 'issues in urhobo culture: instances of burial and marriage', in, ibbul academic, vol. 4, no. 1, 2021, pp. 183-193. 3. u. b okpevra, 'the return of the woman corpse in funeral rites of urhobo and isoko people in historical perspective', a paper presented at the 66th annual congress/conference of the historical society of nigeria, enugu, 2021. 4. d. dahlerup, 'confusing concepts-confusing reality: a theoretical discussion of the patriarchal state', in, a. s sassoon (ed.), women and the state, routledge publishers, england, 2018, p. 17 5. sylvia walby, theorising patriarchy, in, sage journals, vol. 23, issue 2, may, 1989. 6. n. y nabofa, 'erhi and eschatology', in, e. a adegboda (ed.), traditional religion in west africa, ibadan, daystar publishers, 2007, p. 102 7. mr. pius usiayo, retired headmaster, 69years, interviewed at eku on february 19th, 2023. 8. chief onovughakpor oyovwe, palace chief, 60years, interviewed in osubi on december 18th, 2022. 9. mr. obukowho jesuovie, farmer, 63years, interviewed at ejeba-warri on april 2nd, 2023. 10. mrs. eserophe iniaghe, retired teacher, 66years, interviewed in abraka on december 20th, 2022 11. mrs. eserophe iniaghe, retired teacher, already cited. 12. ogidiagba oghenekobiruo, elder in oleh, 80years, interviewed at oleh on february 18th, 2023. 13. mr. obukowho jesuovie, farmer, 63years, interviewed at ejeba-warri on april 2nd, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 45 2023. 14. ogidiagba oghenekobiruo, already cited. 15. mr. pius usiayo, already cited. 16. mrs. rukevwe ibini, civil servant, 58years, interviewed in agbaroh on april 4th, 2023. 17. chief onovughakpor oyovwe, palace chief, 60years, interviewed in osubi on december 18th, 2022. 18. chief ighovie igbogboja, palace chief, 72years, interviewed in uvwie-warri on october 20th, 2021 19. e. oyovwi, music in urhobo traditional burial rites: ughievwen clan as a case study, unpublished m. a thesis, university of ibadan, 2002, p. 72. 20. m. o akposhisheri, 'an analysis of rhetorical device in discourse of avwraka people in marriage and funeral ceremonies', in, journal of faculty o9f arts, delsu, abraka, vol. 7, no. 1, 2016, pp229-240. 21. mrs. eserophe iniaghe, already cited. 22. mrs. rukevwe ibini, civil servant, already cited. 23. chief ighovie igbogboja, palace chief, already cited. 24. ogidiagba oghenekobiruo, elder in oleh, already cited. 25. mr. ohworode okotete, retired teacher, 69years, interviewed in agbaroh on october 20th, 2021. 26. onoriode ukereh, palace chief, 68years, interviewed at oria-abraka on march 18th, 2023. 27. onoriode ukereh, already cited. 28. p. p ekeh, 'a prole of urhobo culture', in, studies in urhobo culture, ibadan, intec printers ltd, 2005, p. 57 29. m. o akposhisheri, 'an analysis of rhetorical device in discourse of avwraka people in marriage and funeral ceremonies', in, journal of faculty o9f arts, delsu, abraka, vol. 7, no. 1, 2016, pp229-240. 30. late henrietta kosoko's family allegedly hijack funeral from jide kosoko because he did not pat bride price http://www.stelaadimokorkus.com/2016/06/late-henriettakosokofamily-allegedly-html. retrieved on october 18, 2021. 31. n. y nabofa, 'erhi and eschatology', p. 104. 32. n. y nabofa, 'erhi and eschatology', p. 104. 33. u. b okpevra, 'the return of the woman corpse in funeral rites of urhobo and isoko people in historical perspective'. 34. u. b okpevra, 'the return of the woman corpse in funeral rites of urhobo and isoko people in historical perspective'. 35. m. o akposhisheri, 'an analysis of rhetorical device in discourse of avwraka people in marriage and funeral ceremonies', p. 230. 36. o. l ejobee, 'issues in urhobo culture: instances of burial and marriage', p. 188. 37. a. a ovie, the funeral and burial rites of christians and non-christians in isoko, south central nigeria, p. 38. 38. ogidiagba oghenekobiruo, already cited. 39. onoriode ukereh, already cited. 40. nigeria: obasanjo's feud with wife's kinsmen over burial now resolved, vanguard (lagos), http://www.allafricasubscriptioncontent.com. retrieved on january 18, 2023. 41. u. b okpevra, 'the return of the woman corpse in funeral rites of urhobo and isoko people in historical perspective'. 42. o. l ejobee, 'issues in urhobo culture: instances of burial and marriage', p. 190. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 46 1 a critical analysis of examination malpractice as a violation of the african traditional notion of truth ratzinger e. e. nwobodo, ph.d philosophy department, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka ratzingerjunor2020@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.10003.90409 abstract examination malpractice represents a pervasive challenge that has deeply compromised the integrity of education in africa, with a particular focus on nigeria. this persistent issue contributes to the annual emergence of graduates at various educational levels whose certifications are mere facades, misrepresenting the actual knowledge and competencies they possess. consequently, this leads to a workforce ill-equipped to significantly contribute to the socio-economic development of the continent. given that truth is a central tenet in african traditional thought systems, often imbued with moral significance, the prevalence of examination malpractice, which is fundamentally rooted in falsehood, starkly contradicts the core values of honesty and truth within african societies. this paper seeks to address the following critical questions: what constitutes examination malpractice? how is truth conceptualized, particularly within the african context? in what ways does examination malpractice contravene the traditional african notion of truth? this study offers a hermeneutic exploration of examination malpractice, the concept of truth, and the traditional african ethos, with a specific emphasis on the igbo people of southeastern nigeria. the findings indicate that the moral dimension inherent in the african understanding of truth renders examination malpractice a profound violation of societal values. the paper concludes by advocating for heightened awareness of the long-term consequences of examination malpractice in africa and calls for a re-education and reorientation of the populace on the fundamental moral principles that underpin african society. keywords: education, examination malpractice, truth, african traditional notion of truth introduction contemporary african society, particularly in nigeria, is increasingly characterized by a strong emphasis on achieving success, often without corresponding attention to the legitimate methods and ethical avenues required to attain such success (jimoh, 2009). this mindset has permeated all aspects of nigerian society, including the education system, which serves as the foundational pillar of any progressive society. one of the most concerning manifestations of this mentality within the education sector is the widespread incidence of examination malpractice. the core objective of any educational system is to fulfil the transformative goals of education. while there have been debates suggesting that examinations may not fully capture the breadth of a student's knowledge, it is widely recognized that, globally, examinations remain the most effective and objective means of assessing and evaluating learners' achievements after a period of schooling. therefore, any actions that compromise the integrity of examinations pose a significant threat to the validity and reliability of examination results and by extension, the certifications that are awarded (jimoh, 2009). the overarching goals of national educational systems, and indeed national development, are severely undermined when examination ethics are not upheld and institutionalized (nwadiani, 2005). regrettably, examination malpractice has become a pervasive issue in nigeria's education system, persisting for decades and manifesting across all levels of education, even extending igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 2 beyond the formal school system. with each examination cycle, new and increasingly sophisticated methods of cheating emerge, exacerbating this deeply troubling phenomenon. the prevalence of examination malpractice in nigeria poses a serious threat to the credibility of the education system, jeopardizing both the standard of examinations and the value of the certificates awarded. this issue has become such a significant concern that it necessitated the enactment of the examination malpractices act 33 of 1999 to address its widespread impact on society (akanni & odofin, 2015). the west african examinations council has also maintained annual records of examination malpractice cases, further highlighting the persistence of this problem. the prevalence of examination malpractice has cast doubt on the quality of nigeria's educational system. at its core, examination malpractice is rooted in deception, lacking authenticity and integrity. it functions as a smokescreen, presenting falsehoods as though they were truths. adedokun (2003) emphasizes this fraudulent nature by defining examination malpractice as any misconduct or act that deviates from the established rules and regulations governing examinations, with the intent to achieve favorable results through dishonest means. akanni & odofin (2015) categorize examination malpractice into three phases: pre-examination, during the examination, and postexamination. the pre-examination phase involves the procurement of examination questions before the scheduled date of the exam, which is a clear violation of ethical standards. during the examination, malpractice encompasses a range of unethical practices, including copying from another candidate, whether with or without their consent, impersonation, collusion between candidates and invigilators or supervisors, intimidation of invigilators and supervisors, and the substitution of registered candidates' scripts with those completed by hired individuals. additional forms of malpractice include the unauthorized use of materials within examination halls, such as cell phones, calculators embedded in watches, receivers linked to external transmitters, and external assistance provided by invigilators, supervisors, non-academic staff (such as messengers and office clerks), or hired personnel (akanni & odofin, 2015). postexamination malpractices, on the other hand involve actions such as the alteration of scores by examination council staff, including invigilators and supervisors, where unearned scores are substituted for genuine ones. this results in inflated grades, enabling candidates with these fraudulent scores to gain admission to universities and other institutions of higher learning, where they often perform below expectations (akanni & odofin, 2015). uwadiae (1997), anwanbor (2011), and the joint admissions and matriculation board (jamb) (2003) concur that the root cause of this issue is the excessive emphasis on certificates as a prerequisite for employment or academic progression, which drives students to acquire certificates by any means, often leading to examination malpractices. ubehenin (2002) observed that students, with the assistance of their parents, engage in examination malpractices to secure admission at any cost. osueze (2007) added that inadequate teacher remuneration leads to disinterest in teaching, which in turn results in poorly taught students resorting to examination malpractice. although examination malpractice is neither a recent phenomenon nor unique to nigeria or africa (awanbor, 2005), its persistence in africa, despite the continent's strong moral traditions, is particularly concerning. in african traditional communities, where truth is deeply embedded in the moral fabric of society, the prevalence of examination malpractice within the education system represents a violation of these core values. given that examination malpractice is synonymous with dishonesty and falsehood, this paper seeks to establish that its prevalence directly contradicts the traditional african notion of truth. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 3 to explore this issue, the paper poses several critical questions: what constitutes examination malpractice? what is truth? how is truth conceptualized within the african context? and how does examination malpractice conflict with the traditional african notion of truth? through a method of critical analysis, the paper provides an in-depth examination of the concept of examination malpractice. focusing primarily on the igbo people of southeastern nigeria, the paper also explores the concept of truth within the igbo thought system, distinguishing it from western notions of truth. the paper is structured into three major sections: the first part offers a hermeneutic analysis of examination malpractice; the second part examines the concept of truth and the african notion of truth; and the third part critically analyzes how examination malpractice contradicts the traditional african notion of truth. the paper concludes with a discussion of the findings. a hermeneutics of examination malpractice examination malpractice is a persistent issue within the educational system, severely undermining its core integrity. this issue has been analyzed from various perspectives by numerous scholars. unesco (2001) characterizes examination malpractice as the widespread and unprecedented violation of rules and regulations governing both internal and external examinations, extending from the administration of exams to the marking, grading, release of results, and issuance of certificates. olanipekun (2003) defines it as the failure to adhere to the conditions established by examination bodies (such as school authorities) for the proper and honest evaluation of students within a given program of study. therefore, any student who, whether before, during, or after an examination or test, violates the rules and regulations governing its conduct is engaging in examination malpractice. onuka and amusan (2008) describe examination malpractice as any dishonest or unauthorized action undertaken by a student, either independently or in collaboration with others—such as fellow students, guardians, parents, teachers, school administrators, examination officials, supervisors, invigilators, printers, or security officers—before, during, or after an examination, to secure unearned marks or grades. sonnie (2004, as cited in igwe et al., 2018) simplifies the definition of examination malpractice as cheating in examinations. any method employed to achieve success in examinations through unethical or unauthorized means can be classified as malpractice. this encompasses any act of commission or omission by an individual or group intended to pass examinations fraudulently. thus, anyone who engages in dubious activities to secure better results or grades, in violation of the rules and regulations governing public examinations—whether these are internal or external—can be said to have committed examination malpractice. examination malpractice is defined as any intentional act of misconduct that contravenes examination regulations, designed to provide a candidate with an unfair advantage. commonly referred to as cheating, examination malpractice involves illicit action undertaken by students during examination to secure higher grades through unethical means. it constitutes any irregular or improper conduct in testing candidates, violating the established rules and norms that govern the administration of examinations (oko & adie, 2016). olushola (2006, as cited in udim et al., 2018) describes examination malpractice as any unlawful behaviour or activity by students intended to gain a personal advantage over their peers who are taking the same examination. such malpractice can occur before, during, or after the examination, and may be perpetrated by the students themselves or by officials responsible for administering the examination. from a psychological perspective, dike (2005, as cited in udim et al., 2018) characterizes igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 4 examination malpractice as any form of cheating that directly or indirectly distorts a student's true abilities. it represents a counter-practice that violates the ethical principles of examinations and constitutes an act of disrespect toward the rules and regulations governing the proper conduct of any examination or evaluation process. at the core of examination malpractice lies dishonesty and deception, as it seeks to create the false impression that a certain level of knowledge or competence exists when it does not. while examinations are intended to assess the presence and degree of knowledge, examination malpractice is an illicit attempt to falsely demonstrate that the knowledge being tested is present, or is of a certain level, when in fact it is not. therefore, examination malpractice is fundamentally rooted in falsehood, as evidenced by its various manifestations. forms of examination malpractice the forms of examination malpractice are virtually limitless, given the continuous emergence of new and increasingly inventive methods. for this paper, we will focus on the forms outlined by oko and adie (2016): 1. leakage: this occurs when the content of an examination, or parts of it, is disclosed before the administration of the exam. leakage typically involves individuals such as staff members of the examination authorities, printers, proofreaders or messengers. 2. impersonation: this involves an unregistered individual taking the place of a registered candidate during an examination. impersonation often involves collusion between the chief examiner and the examination supervisor and may involve tertiary institution students taking the exam in exchange for monetary compensation or as a favour to a friend. 3. smuggling of unauthorized materials: perhaps the most common form of malpractice, involves introducing unauthorized materials (such as notebooks, textbooks, microchips or prewritten answers) into the examination hall. these materials may be concealed in clothing, such as pants, shoes, hems or bras, or placed in the examination hall before the test. they may also be smuggled in by the candidates themselves or with the help of others during the examination (onyibe et al., 2015). 4. copying: this form of malpractice involves one candidate copying from another's work, either with or without their consent. 5. collusion: this refers to the unauthorized exchange of information between candidates, typically through the passing of notes or sharing of scripts. collusion is often facilitated by insufficient spacing between desks and lax supervision. it can also occur when examination officials leak exam materials to intended candidates, parents or school administrators before the exam, leading to widespread cheating. 6. marker malpractice: this involves the deliberate alteration of a candidate's marks, either to inflate or deflate their original score. this malpractice can be initiated by either examination officials or candidates themselves. the overview of these forms of examination malpractice reinforces the earlier conclusion that such practices are fundamentally rooted in falsehood. each form of malpractice attempts to distort reality, constituting a dishonest act that undermines the integrity of the entire educational system. when a system is built on deceit, the knowledge purportedly represented by a certificate often fails to reflect the actual expertise of the certificate holder. this creates a disconnect between the qualifications indicated by the certificate and the true capabilities of the graduate, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 5 leading to a profound misrepresentation of competence. an education system founded on falsehood is incapable of producing graduates equipped to address the challenges of the modern world. given that examination malpractice is a deliberate effort to present falsehood as truth, a critical question arises: how did this culture become so deeply ingrained in the nigerian education system? origin of examination malpractice in nigerian schools examination malpractice is not a recent development in nigeria. according to adekale (1993, as cited in ayannihi & anya, 2017), the origins of examination malpractice in the country can be traced back to 1914, when the senior cambridge local examination papers were leaked. this occurred thirty-eight years before the establishment of the west african examinations council (waec). in 1948, a nigerian candidate had his history examination annulled for bringing a foreign paper into the exam hall, which was related to the examination in question. in 1963, waec identified leaks in both the first school leaving certificate and the general certificate of education/school certificate examinations. examination malpractice has a long and entrenched history in nigeria, dating back to the first reported case in 1914 when the senior cambridge local examination papers were leaked (akinferon et al., 2016). this issue is not confined to nigeria alone; it is a global phenomenon, with cases reported in countries such as pakistan, japan, india, great britain, kenya, and malawi (akaranga & ongong, 2013; makaula, 2018). while examination malpractice has occurred in the past, the current situation in nigeria is particularly concerning, as the practice is now openly promoted and, in some cases, even celebrated (ayoada & farayola, 2020). the nigerian government has made several attempts to eradicate examination malpractice from the educational system. notably, in 1984, the federal military government enacted decree 20 to eliminate examination malpractice across the country. according to kawugana and wayopwa (2017), a section of decree 20 stipulates the following: any person who fraudulently or with intent to cheat or secure any unfair advantage to himself or any other person or in abuse of his office produces, sells, buys or otherwise deal with any question paper intended for the examination of persons at any examination or commits any of the offences specified in section 3(27)(c) of this decree, shall be guilty of an offence and on conviction be sentenced to twenty-one years imprisonment (p. 47). the examination malpractice act 33 of 1999, a revised version of the earlier decree 20, established new penalties, including fines ranging from n50,000 to n100,000 or imprisonment for a term of 3 to 4 years, with or without the option of a fine, for those caught engaging in examination malpractice (ayoada & farayola, 2020). this act was introduced in response to the failure of previous administrations to effectively enforce decree 20 of 1985. despite these legal measures, examination malpractice has persisted and even intensified, largely due to the lack of consistent enforcement. according to kawugana & wayopwa (2017) and duvie & eluwa (2016), this ongoing problem can be attributed to several factors, including low moral standards in schools, a lack of confidence among candidates, inadequate preparation, fear of failure, laziness, and the pervasive "419" culture in society. the prevalence of examination malpractice became particularly widespread in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, coinciding with the military era when the educational sector at all levels suffered a significant decline (amadi & opuiyo, 2018). during this period, successive administrations undermined the integrity of the educational system by depriving it of essential funding, mistreating academic staff, and creating a sense of hopelessness among students who igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 6 frequently faced disruptions to their studies. as a result, educational institutions were left underfunded and in a state of disrepair, with public schools being reduced to mere learning centres for the underprivileged (ayoada & farayola, 2020). teachers at all educational levels frequently experienced delays in salary payments, with some owed for several months despite receiving modest remuneration. industrial action became a common occurrence, and when strikes ended, academic calendars were often disrupted, necessitating rapid transitions to new semesters or academic years depending on the circumstances (osadebe & bini, 2018). this disruption made it difficult to predict the year of entry into university, while the year of graduation remained uncertain. both academic and nonacademic staff at universities engaged in frequent strikes, causing students to spend extended periods away from their studies. in primary and secondary schools, where facilities were deteriorating and teachers were poorly compensated, educators often attended school irregularly and frequently left during school hours to pursue other activities to supplement their incomes. consequently, they struggled to complete the prescribed curriculum within the allotted time frame (ayoada & farayola, 2020). in response to these challenges, the proliferation of private schools became increasingly necessary, leading to their rapid expansion in major cities and towns across nigeria. this surge in private schools has significantly transformed and complicated the educational landscape. many private institutions lack standardized admission criteria, allowing individuals from varied backgrounds and levels of preparedness to gain entry, provided they can pay the requisite fees, with the promise of achieving exceptional results in the senior school certificate examinations. consequently, the focus has shifted from maintaining educational standards to generating revenue, resulting in students from these schools often presenting impressive results with numerous distinctions (okey & ewa, 2019). these institutions have become "miracle centres," where success in examinations is marketed as assured. as a result, the private school sector thrives, and the proprietors maintain their prominence by capitalizing on the phenomenon of examination malpractice. a student becomes particularly susceptible to examination malpractice if introduced to such practices early in their educational journey, finding it increasingly difficult to resist as they advance through their schooling. private school proprietors often engage in examination malpractice due to fears of widespread failure, which they believe could diminish student enrollment and adversely impact their profit margins (ayoada & farayola, 2020). the government's role in this issue is complicated by its political handling of education, which has inadvertently contributed to the rise of private schools in nigerian towns and cities. ironically, while traditional african values emphasize truth, honesty, and integrity, examination malpractice—rooted in deception—has become nearly institutionalized within the same cultural milieu. this contradiction makes it challenging to address the issue of examination malpractice without confronting the inherent cultural paradox. therefore, the second section of this paper examines how examination malpractice undermines the traditional african notion of truth. given the diversity of african cultures and the contextual nature of traditional values, this study will specifically explore the igbo conception of truth. it will begin by analyzing the concept of truth, relevant theories, the african traditional perspective on truth and ultimately, how examination malpractice conflicts with this traditional notion. conceptualization of truth igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 7 etymologically, the term "truth" is derived from the latin word "veritas," which signifies "reality" (chukwuokolo, 2007). this denotes the actual state or nature of things. the greek root of truth, "aletheia," translates to "unhiddenness," "disclosure," "revelation," or "exposure to naked reality." this etymological background suggests that truth is associated with "what is the case" or the state of affairs (chukwuokolo, 2007). despite this foundational understanding, truth remains a concept with multiple definitions, leading to various interpretations and theories among philosophers. the question "what is truth?" has preoccupied human thought throughout history. this issue manifests in various ways in our daily lives, reflecting the complexity of the concept. philosophers have not reached a consensus on a definitive account of truth (eje, 2019). however, it is important to differentiate between the use of "true" in statements or propositions and its use in contexts such as "true friend" (eje, 2019). in essence, to inquire about the nature of truth is to explore what it means to assert that a proposition is true or false. western philosophers have traditionally approached this question through multiple theories, each offering a different perspective on the nature of truth (eje, 2019). theories of truth three classical theories of truth are commonly recognized: the traditional correspondence theory, the modern coherence theory and the contemporary pragmatic theory (mercier, 1984). in addition to these principal theories, other notable theories include the dialectical theory, the redundancy theory, the semantic theory, and the relativistic theory of truth (eje, 2019). a central challenge with these theories is determining which one best represents the correct or most comprehensive understanding of truth. consequently, this paper will concentrate on four key theories: correspondence, coherence, pragmatic, and semantic theory. the traditional correspondence theory. the correspondence theory of truth is predominantly endorsed by realists and empiricists and is therefore frequently referred to as the realist theory of truth (mbah et al., 2019). this theory, which is among the oldest and most well-known, posits that truth is determined by the alignment of statements or beliefs with factual reality. its origins can be traced back to aristotle, who asserted that a statement is false if it asserts that something that does not exist does or if it denies that something that does exist does not exist; conversely, a statement is true if it accurately reflects the nature of what exists. consequently, the correspondence theory maintains that truth consists in the congruence between the mind's representations and objective reality (encyclopedia of philosophy, 1969, cited in eje, 2019). for example, if i assert that obinna is in the classroom, the truth of this statement is contingent upon its alignment with the actual situation—i.e., if obinna is indeed present in the classroom. conversely, if obinna is not in the classroom, then my statement is false. to ascertain the truth of a proposition or belief, it is necessary to compare it with factual reality. omoregbe (2000, p. 48) succinctly encapsulated this theory by stating, "truth is the correspondence of the mind with realities; that is if what is in the mind corresponds with what is the case [facts] in reality." however, the correspondence theory is not without its limitations, which prompted the development of the coherence theory by subsequent philosophers. the modern coherence theory the coherence theory of truth posits that "a statement is true if there is a coherence between the statement and a systematic body of statements already known to be true" (omeregbe, 2011, p. 43). according to this perspective, a statement is considered true if it is consistent with, supports, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 8 or reinforces statements that are already established as true. this theory conceptualizes truth as coherence within a particular set of sentences, propositions, or beliefs, where the truth conditions of a proposition are determined by its alignment with other propositions. beliefs are deemed justified to the extent that they fit coherently within a given system of beliefs. consequently, a belief is justified if it does not contradict the existing belief system, and its justification improves as it better integrates with the established system of beliefs (jimoh, 2013). the recent pragmatic theory the pragmatist theory of truth asserts that a statement or belief is considered true if and only if "it works," meaning it effectively predicts certain outcomes, enables practical functioning in everyday life and fosters further inquiry or leads to improved living conditions. according to this theory, truth is not absolute but relative, referring to a constantly evolving reality. statements are not inherently true; rather, their truthfulness is contingent upon their applicability to real-world situations. in pragmatism, the concept of truth is supplanted by that of verification. thus, an idea is deemed true if it proves to be functional and produces beneficial results; otherwise, it is regarded as false (encyclopedia of philosophy, 1969, cited in eje, 2019). the semantic theory the semantic theory of truth, also known as the minimalist theory, was developed by alfred tarski. this theory posits that truth is a property of sentences rather than judgments. according to tarski, asserting that something is true is equivalent to asserting a sentence. in other words, the semantic theory maintains that statements about truth operate within a meta-language and are applied to statements in the base language (tarski, 1944, cited in eje, 2019). the theory establishes a fundamental condition for any account of truth: for example, tarski would argue that the statement "all nigerians are black" is true if and only if the reality corresponds with this assertion, meaning all nigerians must be black for the statement to be considered true (eje, 2019). to fully appreciate the african concept of truth, it is essential to understand it in contrast to western theories. having gotten a grasp of the western concept, it becomes pertinent to explore the african concept. kinoti (1999) highlights that, despite africa's vastness and its diverse languages, beliefs, and customs, there exists a common foundation in cultural and moral assumptions. this suggests that it is possible to make broad generalizations about african notions of truth. consequently, in this paper, when we refer to the igbo notion of truth, we are addressing a concept that resonates across many african cultures, reflecting a shared understanding of truth. african traditional notion of truth: a case study of the igbo thought system. the concept of truth holds significant importance in igbo culture. in igbo, truth is conveyed by the term “eziokwu”. this term is a fusion of two components: “ezi”, which denotes correctness, genuineness, rightness, or goodness, and “okwu”, which signifies word or speech. thus, “eziokwu” literally translates to "good talk," "the correct sentence," "the right word," or "the appropriate statement" (eje, 2019). more specifically, “eziokwu” refers to the accurate response to a question. as nze succinctly explains, “the common understanding, (among the igbo) is that 'eziokwu' truth is used to represent utterances (that is, the lack of inner contradictions) that are true” (nze, 1994, p. 4). in the igbo thought system, truth is closely associated with several key expressions. for instance, the term "obughi eziokwu" translates to "it is not good talk," while "asi" means "lie" (eje, 2019). the concept of truth among the igbo is encapsulated in the term "eziokwu," which igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 9 translates to "good talk." to the igbo, truth is fundamentally tied to being genuine and authentic. this ontological principle is reflected in the maxim "eziokwu bu ndu," which means "truth is life; life is truth." in igbo ethical and ontological praxis, truth is more than a moral affirmation; it represents authenticity and vitality. the true is equated with the living, while the untrue is considered to be in a state of non-being or death. as such, to be true is to be alive, dynamic, and self-manifesting, whereas to be untrue is to lapse into the falsehood of non-existence (eje, 2019). in the igbo language, the term "obughi eziokwu," which translates to "it is not good talk," serves as the antonym of "eziokwu" (good talk), akin to the concept of falsity in english. in igbo cognition, "obughi eziokwu" is used to denote a statement that fails to align with the truth. however, when there is evidence to suggest that an individual is intentionally deceiving, "obughi eziokwu" acquires a moral dimension, transforming into "asi," which means "lies." at this stage, the statement transitions from merely being incorrect to embodying a moral failing, leading to a questioning of the individual's sincerity (eje, 2019). in igbo thought, truth is understood in nuanced degrees. for example, to describe a statement as "obughi eziokwu" (it is not good talk) is distinct from labeling it as "asi" (lie). the term "asi" implies a serious moral judgement, reflecting negatively on an individual's ethical integrity, whereas "obughi eziokwu" does not carry the same moral weight but indicates that the statement is not accurate. it functions as an intermediate between "eziokwu" (good talk) and "asi" (lies), typically used in a cognitive context unless there is evidence suggesting deliberate deceit (eje, 2019). the igbo people employ various expressions to characterize the nature of truth. for instance, the saying "eziokwu dika ehihie" (truth is like noonday) underscores the idea that truth is selfevident and immutable, beyond the power of anyone to obscure or alter. similarly, "anaghị eli eziokwu n'ala" implies that truth cannot be buried or hidden, and "ezi okwu dịka afọ ime, adịghị ekpuchi ya aka" suggests that truth, like pregnancy, inevitably reveals itself despite any attempts to conceal it (eje, 2019). these expressions emphasize the indestructible nature of truth in igbo thought, although it is also acknowledged that "eziokwu na'elu ilu," meaning "truth is bitter" (eje, 2019), reflects the discomfort that truth can bring. it is important to recognize that many igbo terms are polysemous, meaning they possess multiple meanings that can only be fully understood within specific contexts. this is also true for the concept of truth in igbo, which can encompass moral, cognitive, or both dimensions. for instance, when the igbo refer to something as “obughi eziokwu” (it is not good talk), they do not necessarily categorize it as “asi” (lies) unless there is evidence suggesting that the speaker has intentionally communicated falsehoods (eje, 2019) in the igbo conceptual framework, “obughi eziokwu” represents truth in a purely cognitive sense and is akin to "falsity" in english (eje, 2019). however, this cognitive interpretation of “obughi eziokwu” can shift to a moral judgment of “asi” if there is reason to believe that the individual is intentionally spreading falsehoods. the interpretation can also vary depending on the recipient of the statement and their understanding of the context in which “obughi eziokwu” is used (eje, 2019). in igbo culture, morality is deeply intertwined with the concept of truth. historically, this connection was exemplified by the awarding of the “ozo” title only to individuals who were esteemed for their moral integrity and commitment to truth. however, this practice has diminished in many communities today. despite this shift, the intrinsic link between morality and truth remains a fundamental aspect of igbo thought. udefi (2014) aptly notes that "the igbo igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 10 would not refer to “onye asi” (a liar) as knowledgeable, because both knowledge and truth are considered to hold divine and moral significance" (p. 115). the igbo employ various methods to ascertain the truthfulness of claims or events. according to udefi (2014): it is not enough for the igbo to see how propositions correspond with facts or the weight of superior logic of the argument, but it is important to consider the person's omume (character), that is, his moral standing within the community is paramount. thus, for the igbo, truth verification relies more on first-hand experience or what someone experiences or sees with his eyes together with what one apprehends cognitively. in other words, the reliable way of knowing that is regarded as true or eziokwu comes more from what one experiences or sees and this is why what the igbo claims to know is what, in the final analysis, is the case or true (p. 115). the aforementioned discussion highlights the fundamental role of truth in shaping human relationships, organizational structures, and moral values. this significance is further underscored by the igbo adage: “ezi okwu bụ ndụ”—"truth is life." in igbo culture, truth is perceived as synonymous with life itself, thus making adherence to truth a measure of both life and morality. consequently, for the igbo, truth and life are intertwined, with only those who uphold truth being considered truly alive. conversely, individuals who lack truth are deemed to have "no life in them" and are viewed as existing in darkness. the commitment to truth is thus a cornerstone of igbo philosophy, essential for upholding respect for human life and dignity. a critical analysis of examination malpractice in nigeria as a violation of african traditional notion of truth. examination malpractice is fundamentally rooted in dishonesty and fraud. it involves presenting something as true when it is not, thereby undermining the integrity of the assessment process. examinations are designed to gauge an individual's knowledge and understanding on specific subjects, and the results or certificates issued reflect the extent of this knowledge. however, when the examination process is manipulated to produce a desired outcome, it constitutes malpractice. malpractice encompasses various forms of cheating, deceit and fraudulent practices employed by students to obtain results, either within or outside the examination hall (ayanniyi & anya, 2017). such practices distort the accurate assessment of an individual's capabilities and knowledge, effectively presenting a false representation of what is genuinely known. when the examination process is compromised to the extent that the certificate issued does not accurately reflect the individual's true level of knowledge, it is tantamount to fraud. this issue has become pervasive in nigeria, where examination malpractice now affects all levels of education. the intense competition for certificates and university placements has exacerbated the problem, leading many to resort to dishonest means to achieve results they have not earned. consequently, examination malpractice has become synonymous with deception. disturbingly, both parents and educators—who should champion genuine learning—are now often complicit in perpetuating these fraudulent practices, prioritizing the attainment of certificates over the integrity of the educational process. the transformative role of education underscores its critical importance in shaping individuals and, by extension, society. when the foundational education of individuals is based on deceit, it compromises the integrity of the entire societal framework, akin to contaminating a pure spring. ironically, in african culture, the responsibility of instilling values of truth and honesty traditionally falls to parents, educators, guardians, and governments. however, the current igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 11 reality is that these esteemed institutions are often implicated in undermining these values through examination malpractice. examination malpractice, encompassing various forms of cheating that distort the true capabilities of students, represents a breach of ethical standards and a disregard for the regulations governing fair examination practices (dike, 2005, cited in udim et al., 2018). such practices yield results that are inherently false, dishonest, and lacking in authenticity. given that truth is deeply embedded in the traditional moral and ethical framework of african societies, examination malpractice equates to 'asi'—deception or falsehood—in the context of examinations. thus, it fundamentally contradicts and violates this traditional ethos. eje (2019) further emphasizes this viewpoint, stating: all traditional societies have a strong moral orientation in their conception of truth. truth sustains relationships with god, the deities and their fellow men. truth is paramount in igbo life, and they believe it is what gives life to any society. hence, the traditional igbo society is built on truth and the basis of this is trust which is primarily dependent on the ability of the individual members to tell the truth to one another. it is the basis of their faith in god and the people. truth is the foundation of any igbo community (p. 44). the discussion above underscores the centrality of truth in igbo culture and, more broadly, in african traditions. truth is deeply embedded in the moral and cultural fabric of african societies. in the igbo context, the concept of truth, embodied in the term “eziokwu”, is fundamentally associated with genuineness. translated, “eziokwu” signifies "good talk" or "genuine talk." additionally, the igbo proverb “eziokwu bu ndu” (truth is life) poignantly highlights that truth forms the cornerstone of the igbo community and by extension, of african society. given the profound moral orientation towards truth in traditional nigerian and african communities, it is perplexing to observe the persistence of examination malpractice within their educational systems. the prevalence of examination malpractice, despite the culturally entrenched emphasis on truth, suggests a significant disjunction between societal values and actual practices. as noted by udefi (2014), “the igbo would not refer to “onye asi” (a liar) as knowledgeable because both knowledge and truth are regarded as possessing divine and moral status” (udefi, 2014, p. 115). this observation underscores the inherent contradiction between the traditional reverence for truth and the reality of examination malpractice, which fundamentally undermines the core values of african traditional ethos. the critical consequence of this contradiction is the jeopardy facing any educational system that tolerates examination malpractice. as the world rapidly evolves into a global village, africa's education system remains at risk if it continues to be plagued by examination malpractice. such a trend threatens to produce a generation of youths ill-equipped to address contemporary global challenges, thereby compromising the future of the continent's educational and developmental prospects. conclusion. examination malpractice and the african traditional concept of truth represent fundamental opposites. in african traditional ethos, where truth is a cornerstone, the coexistence of falsehood, as exemplified by examination malpractice, is inherently contradictory. as articulated in this paper, the african notion of truth, particularly as embodied in the igbo term “eziokwu”, is characterized by genuineness and self-evidence. conversely, examination malpractice is rooted in falsity. this raises the question of how falsity and genuineness can coexist in a society where truth is metaphorically equated with life. in the igbo worldview, where morality is deeply igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 12 intertwined with truth, "the igbo would not refer to “onye asi” (a liar) as knowledgeable because both knowledge and truth are considered to hold divine and moral significance" (udefi, 2014, p. 115). this observation reinforces the argument presented in this paper regarding the violation of the traditional value of truth by examination malpractice. addressing this issue requires a fundamental reorientation to reaffirm the centrality of truth in african life. by fostering a deeper understanding of truth's pivotal role in african culture and its indispensable value for societal integrity, it is possible to cultivate a more robust and ethical educational environment. references. adedokun. j.a (2003). measurement and evaluation in the classroom. sagarru: stronghold educational publishers. akanni, o & odofin, b (2015). reducing examination malpractices in nigerian schools through effective continuous assessment (c.a) techniques as an alternative to oneshot examination in osun state, nigeria. american journal of educational research, 3(6), 783-789. doi: 10.12691/education-3-6-18 akaranga, i., & ongong, j. (2013). the phenomenon of examination malpractice is an example of nairobi and kenyatta universities (doctoral dissertation, university of nairobi). akinferon, a, ikpah, bamigbala, o c adeniyi, i (2016). on examination malpractice in nigeria universities: factors analysis definition. bulgarian journal of science and education policy, 10(1), 174-190. amadi, e & opuiyo, r. (2018). examination malpractice and nigerian university students: a study of river state university, port harcourt. international journal of innovative, legal & political studies, 6(2), 19-28. anwabor. o (2011). education: exam bodies worry over rising wave of malpractices. vanguard newspaper. lagos vanguard media limited. 6 february. 2004. anyannihi, a, & anya, a (2017). forms and consequences of examination malpractices in nigeria's schools and universities: what should the stakeholders do? international journal of education, training and learning, 1(1), 9-21. ayoade, a & farayola, p (2020). dynamics of examination malpractice among the key players in nigeria. daffodil international university journal of science and technology, 15(2), 25-32. chukwuokolo, c (2007). a critical evaluation of the place of truth and knowledge in the process of development, in philosophy and praxis, 3, 10-20. duvie, n & eluwa, o (2016). assessment of the effectiveness of management strategies for curbing examination malpractice in secondary schools in nigeria. european journal of education studies, 2, 77-89. eje, c (2019). a critical examination of the concept of truth in igbo thought system. international journal of humanities and social science, 2(1), 40-46. igwe, i, ogadi, c & nwokobia, u (2018). special (miracle) centres: blessing or curse to secondary school external examinations in nigeria? international journal of research development, 1-10. jamb (2003). combating examination malpractices: the jamb experience. accessed on this day online-l of mal.htm february 2004. jimoh, o. (2009). examination malpractice in secondary schools in nigeria: what sustains it? european journal of educational studies, 1(3), 101-108. jimoh, k. (2013). certitude and doubt: a study guide in epistemology. ebony books and kreations. kawugana, a & wayopwa, k (2017). impact of examination malpractice on the quality of graduates in nigeria. international journal of education and evaluation, 3(6), 45-51. kinoti, h (1999). african morality: past and present. in j. k. n. mugambi and a. nasimiyuigwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 13 wasike, (eds) moral and ethical issues in africa: a challenge for africa christianity, 73-82. makaula, b. (2018). perceived causes and methods of examination malpractice in the malawian education system: a case study of secondary schools in southeast education division (seed).(unpublished doctoral dissertation). university of northern iowa mbah, a, ogugua, c & obiefuna i (2019). a philosophical appraisal of african notion of truth, interdisciplinary journal of african & asian studies, 5(2), 1-14. mercier, l. (1984). (ed), questions that matter. new york: mcgraw-hill company. nwadiani, m. (2005). curbing examination malpractice in the nigerian educational system. in a lead paper presented at the first annual conference of the faculty of education, ambrose alli university, ekpoma, november, 10-12. okey, s. & ewa, m. (2019). examination malpractice and corruption among students at cross river state university of technology, calabar, nigeria. international journal of quantitative and qualitative research method, 7(2) 27-38. oko, u & adie, i. (2016). examination malpractice: causes, effects and possible ways of curbing the menace. a study of cross river university of technology. international journal of managerial studies and research, 4(1), 59-65. olanipekun, c. (2003). the strike and the student learning effectiveness. royal prestige venture. omoregbe, j (2000) epistemology: a systematic and historical study. joja educational and research press. omoregbe, j. (2011). epistemology: a systematic and historic study. lagos: joja educational and research press. onuka, a.o.u. & amusan, m. a. (2008). causes, effects and probable solutions to examination malpractices: a case study of the west examinations in abeokuta. ghana journal of teaching, 1(6), 1-9. onyibe, c, uma, u, & ibina, e. (2015). examination malpractice in nigeria: causes and effects on national development. journal of education and practice, 6(26), 12-17. osadebe, u & bini, f .(2018). assessment of factors affecting examination malpractice. european journal of educational studies, 4(10), 20-33. osueze, g.c .(2007). examination malpractice and students attitude to continuous assessment. (unpublished doctoral dissertation). university of lagos. udim, d, abubakar, u & essien j. (2018). an in-depth evaluation on the issue of examination malpractice in nigeria. research in pedagogy, 8(2), 204-213. unesco. (2001). learning to live together: have we failed? a summary of the ideas and conclusions arising from the forty-sixth session of unesco's international conference on education (pp. 101-107). in forty-sixth session of unesco's international conference on education (5-8 september 2001). geneva: unesco. uwadlae, i.j. (1997). school factors as determinants of examination malpractices in the sss mathematics exam in nigeria. (unpublished doctoral dissertation). institute of education, university of ibadan. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 48 echoes of authority: the role of the ikoro drum in umunze society, 1915–1970 moses tivlumun korinya, phd department of history & international relations, veritas university, abuja korinyam@veritas.edu.ng & marycynthia uchenna alago an alumna of veritas university, abuja. alagom@veritas.edu.ng abstract this paper explores the historical and cultural significance of the ikoro drum in the traditional igbo society of umunze between 1915 and 1970. utilizing oral testimonies, ethnographic fieldwork, and archival sources, the study investigates the origins, physical attributes, symbolic meanings, and socio-political functions of the ikoro. within the framework of indigenous communication systems and igbo cosmology, findings reveal that the drum served as a multidimensional instrument for community mobilization, ritual expression, and governance. it functioned as a voice of authority, transmitting messages across vast spaces and commanding collective action in moments of crisis, deliberation, and ceremony. the study also addresses the decline of the ikoro’s influence during the colonial and immediate postcolonial periods, revealing how external pressures reshaped indigenous institutions. the findings contribute to scholarship on african oral traditions, indigenous political systems, and the preservation of intangible cultural heritage. keywords: ikoro drum, umunze, igbo society, indigenous communication, traditional governance, cultural heritage, oral history introduction in many african societies, drums are far more than musical instruments; they are potent symbols of cultural identity, instruments of communication, and vessels of historical memory. among the igbo people of southeastern nigeria, one such drum, the ikoro stands out for its multidimensional roles within traditional communities. towering in size and resonant in sound, the ikoro is not merely played for entertainment or ritual; it is heard as a voice of authority, a medium through which communal values, warnings, and directives are articulated. its beats reverberate with meaning, commanding attention, invoking ancestral presence, and shaping socio-political order. yet, despite its significance, scholarly attention to the ikoro, especially within specific igbo subgroups such as the people of umunze, remains limited. this study focuses on the historical and cultural significance of the ikoro drum in umunze, a prominent igbo community, during the period from 1915 to 1970; a time marked by profound social and political transformations. drawing on oral testimonies, ethnographic fieldwork, and archival materials, the research investigates the origins, physical construction, symbolic meanings, and functional roles of the ikoro within traditional igbo society. the analysis is situated within the broader frameworks of indigenous african communication systems and igbo cosmology, through which the ikoro emerges not only as an artifact of cultural heritage but as an active agent in the organization of community life. mailto:korinyam@veritas.edu.ng mailto:alagom@veritas.edu.ng igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 49 the paper argues that the ikoro functioned as a multidimensional instrument, central to community mobilization, ritual expression, and governance. it operated as a powerful communication device capable of transmitting messages across vast distances, summoning men to arms, announcing deaths, convening assemblies, and enforcing communal decisions. its presence in the village square symbolized unity, vigilance, and continuity with the ancestors. however, the advent of colonial rule and the gradual imposition of western institutions challenged the authority of traditional structures, leading to a decline in the ikoro’s influence. by the postcolonial era, the ikoro had been marginalized in many communities, displaced by new forms of governance and communication. through an interdisciplinary approach, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of african oral traditions, indigenous political institutions, and the preservation of intangible cultural heritage. by centering the ikoro in the historical narrative of umunze, it seeks to illuminate the complex ways in which traditional african societies maintained social cohesion, transmitted knowledge, and negotiated power, while also acknowledging the external forces that have reshaped these practices over time. conceptual framework this study is anchored in three interrelated conceptual strands: indigenous communication systems, symbolic anthropology, and theories of authority in acephalous societies. first, within the tradition of indigenous communication systems (ugboajah, 1985; wilson, 1991), the ikoro drum is understood not as mere music but as a functional instrument of information dissemination, governance, and collective action. its codified sound patterns, restricted access, and ritualized use align with african modes of “talking drums” as proto-media technologies that served the needs of non-literate but highly organized communities. second, the framework of symbolic anthropology (geertz, 1973; turner, 1967) provides tools for interpreting the ikoro as a cultural symbol embedded in igbo cosmology. beyond sound, the ikoro embodies meanings of power, unity, and ancestral presence. its ritual restrictions and symbolic motifs reinforce its role as a vessel of collective identity and memory, situating it at the intersection of the physical and metaphysical worlds. third, the analysis engages with theories of authority and governance in acephalous societies (fortes & evans-pritchard, 1940; onwuejeogwu, 1981). igbo political organization historically lacked centralized kingship, instead privileging councils, age grades, and title societies. within this system, the ikoro functioned as a voice of consensus, legitimizing decisions and summoning collective participation. its authority derived from the community’s recognition of its sacred and administrative weight. these three strands converge to frame the ikoro as both a communicative technology and a socio-political institution, one whose transformation under colonialism and missionary influence illustrates broader tensions between indigenous systems and imposed modernity. by situating the ikoro within these conceptual fields, this study contributes to scholarship on african oral traditions, intangible cultural heritage, and the resilience of indigenous institutions amid historical change. geographic and historical background of umunze umunze is a prominent igbo-speaking community located in present-day orumba south local government area of anambra state, southeastern nigeria. geographically, it lies at the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 50 boundary between anambra and imo states, serving as a cultural and economic link between the highland igbo communities of the hinterland and the riverine societies of the lower niger basin. the terrain is generally marked by undulating hills, with fertile soils that support agriculture; particularly yam, cassava, and palm produce (okeke, 2006). the historical roots of umunze are deeply tied to migration and settlement narratives common across igbo societies. oral traditions suggest that the community descended from a progenitor known as nze, a patriarch whose descendants established the foundational kindreds of the town (ekwunife, 1990). over generations, these kindreds grew into autonomous village units with strong kinship and lineage systems, forming the socio-political nucleus of umunze. umunze’s historical development was influenced by its strategic location as a trade and cultural node. it functioned as a point of interaction for neighboring communities such as isulo, eziagu, and owerre-ezukala. by the early 20th century, umunze had become integrated into the indirect rule system under british colonialism, which reconfigured many of its traditional power structures, particularly through the appointment of warrant chiefs and native court systems (afigbo, 1972). traditional institutions of umunze in the igbo cultural context traditional institutions in umunze align with the decentralized political systems that characterize much of igbo society. the igbo are historically known for their acephalous or segmentary political organization; lacking centralized kingship or monarchies but relying instead on councils of elders, lineage heads, age grades (otu ogbo), and secret societies (ndi nze na ozo) to maintain order and governance (onwuejeogwu, 1981). in umunze, the political structure is traditionally organized around the ndichie (council of elders), the okpala (lineage head), and various age-grade associations that perform both civic and military duties. the ndichie are responsible for community decision-making, land disputes, rituals, and the enforcement of customary laws. these elders derive their authority from seniority, wisdom, and spiritual status, often linked to ancestral veneration. another critical institution is the nze na ozo title society, which serves both religious and political functions. membership into this elite group is based on moral integrity, wealth, and religious purity, and it confers a sacred status on the titleholder, who acts as a moral guide and spiritual intermediary (isichei, 1976). the title system reinforces social stratification and preserves cultural values. furthermore, the ikoro drum itself functioned as a traditional institution; an instrument imbued with authority, often associated with judicial summons, emergency mobilization, or community-wide announcements. its use was regulated and interpreted only by recognized elders or titleholders, further emphasizing its sacred and administrative role. collectively, these institutions operated in a participatory and consensus-driven framework, allowing for communal checks and balances. although these systems faced disruption under colonial rule and post-colonial modernity, they remain vital to the cultural identity of umunze and reflect broader patterns of igbo socio-political organization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 51 historical origins, physical structure and construction of the ikoro drum the ikoro drum is a significant traditional instrument among the igbo, particularly in umunze, where it has served not merely as a musical device but as a central organ of indigenous communication, governance, and spirituality. oral traditions trace the origins of the ikoro to the early period of communal consolidation, when societal needs demanded an effective means of long-distance communication in non-literate societies (uchendu, 1965). in umunze, as in many other igbo communities, the ikoro is said to have emerged from divine instruction or ancestral guidance, imbued with spiritual significance from its inception. unlike smaller talking drums used in festivals or ceremonies, the ikoro is monumental in both size and importance. its presence in the community is often associated with sacredness, and its sounding is restricted to very specific, high-stakes occasions; such as deaths of titled men, impending war, communal gatherings, or emergencies. the exclusivity surrounding its use reinforces its role as a sacred and authoritative voice of the community (korinya & bazza, 2025). the ikoro is a slit drum, usually hewn from the trunk of a large hardwood tree; often the iroko (milicia excelsa) or ohia, chosen for its acoustic properties and spiritual relevance. the drum is typically massive, requiring permanent installation in a central communal space such as the village square (ama), where it remains protected by a thatched or open-roofed structure. its structure comprises a long-hollowed cylinder with an elongated slit running through the top surface. the interior cavity amplifies sound when struck with specialized wooden mallets. some ikoro drums are carved with symbolic motifs; representing ancestral spirits, totems, or cosmic imagery, further reinforcing their ritual importance (onwuejeogwu, 1981). the size and craftsmanship of the drum often correlate with the prestige and historical depth of the community that owns it. samples of traditional ikoro drum image 1: sample 1 of ikoro drum igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 52 image 2: ikoro drum as used among igbos source: igbo archives.com here are few representative images of ikoro drums, capturing both their imposing physical form and the beautiful carvings that reflect their cultural and symbolic importance: i. a traditional igbo slit drum labeled as an * ikoro* or ufie; a tall, carved log drum typically stationed in a village square ii. a vivid depiction of drum maintenance or performance, symbolizing how these drums are handled in cultural contexts these images offer a tangible glimpse into the ikoro drum’s physicality and cultural resonance. far more than musical instruments, ikoro embody ancestral memory, communal governance, and the artistic legacy of the igbo tradition. the detailed carvings and commanding size reinforce their central role in traditional communication and ritual life. symbolism and cultural meaning of ikoro drums in umunze, the ikoro symbolizes more than mere sound. it embodies authority, tradition, and community identity. its tone is immediately recognizable and distinguishes itself from ordinary drums or festival instruments. according to elders interviewed in the course of this research, the ikoro’s sounding is interpreted not as "music" but as a "language," capable of conveying encoded messages to specific age grades, elders, or the entire village (e. obi, r. ude, k. nwankwo, l. okoye, & t. eze, personal communication, july 10, 2025). the symbolic power of the ikoro lies in its capacity to unify or mobilize people through collective memory and shared understanding. the drum speaks in codes that are understood only by initiated members of society, particularly titled elders and lineage heads. its sounding may convey the death of a high-ranking elder, an alert to danger, or a call to an emergency assembly. it is believed that ignoring the call of the ikoro carries both social and spiritual consequences, including ostracism or ancestral disfavour (okonkwo, 2015). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 53 furthermore, the ikoro occupies a liminal space between the physical and metaphysical. it is often associated with ancestral presence and cosmic order. in some cases, libations are poured before sounding the drum, and certain taboos must be observed to avoid desecrating its sacred function. for instance, it is forbidden for women, children, or uninitiated men to approach the drum closely or participate in its maintenance (isichei, 1976). in sum, the ikoro is both a functional and symbolic instrument, serving as a channel of communication, a tool of governance, and a vessel of cultural memory. its authority is derived not only from its sound but from the intricate network of meanings, rituals, and taboos surrounding its use. ikoro is a locally made instrument that is carved out from a log of wood. it is constructed from a hallowed out mahogany tree trunk and when beaten with sticks, it invariably gives rise to melodious sounds that carries symbolic meanings ogudoro. the ikoro as one of the indigenous religious practice system according to umeogu “occupies a sacred place in igbo land”. it is on this position that richard okafor, in his article “nigerian organology and classification of african musical instruments”, admits that “it is easy to conclude that the giant slit drum must be indigenous to the forest regions of nigeria especially south-eastern nigeria, where they are ritualized. here, also they serve as instruments of social communication, tonal telegraphy, drum poetry and signal”. on this position blench laments that they “were in use in many areas as part of systems of long-distance communication but their communication function has been supplanted by telephones and fast public transport”. brian tracy states that musical instruments like the ikoro is a “beautiful piece of furniture, elegant and refined in details, obviously a super of work which no one explains or dismisses its achievements as having been a matter of good luck”. steven friesen, in his article “the hawaiian lei on a voyage through modernities: a study in post-contact religion”, asserts that such instrument like the ikoro is a “delicately crafted gift that functioned within a system of exchange that easily transcended foreign conceptual boundaries such as sacred or secular”. ikoro are very big community slit drums of igbo people, especially those living in the south west and sharing common borders with the ibibio and member tribes of cross river state. it is also known to the igbo communities in the northern part of the south west of igbo land as well as the southern part of the north central. ikoro culture is totally absent in the igbo communities west of the river niger. however, community ownership of wooden drums is common in other parts of igbo land and indeed tropical africa whose forests provide abundant wood for drum construction. in igbo land, every market, village and even smaller groups, including dance groups have drums. ekwe ike (power-drum) and ekwe dike (valiant drum) of okotu ancestry even have monumental intentions almost comparable to ikoro. ekpe community in okpameri locality of bendel state (which is situated in the north west of igbo land) owns a ponderous wood mass (drum) which is beaten during a particular male-oriented ritual. it is carved in form of a man lying face up, its genitals clearly shown. this wooden mass is not hollowed out; so the members depend on raw physical energy to beat out sounds from its ‘chest’. despite the resemblance of the community’s name and drum culture with those of some igbo communities which celebrate ekpe festival, they do not think that there is any strong link existing between the said communities. the slit drum of mbaduku, (a tiv community in the middle belt region of nigeria), is similar to igbo ikoro drum in many ways. though it is a status symbol for the chief, it is used for sending coded messages to mbaduku natives. it is about 300cm in length and 120cm across (diameter) and is sheltered in ate, a four corner poled hut sited in the public igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 54 square. the slit drums “obodomisong” of the otoro and ikono areas of aka ibom state, the igbo close neighbors, are of the same structure and function as the mbaduku ones (korinya & bazza, 2025). elephant drum, a wood mass carved to resemble an elephant, is the monumental drum of some communities in cameroun area. generally, the use of drums in sending messages is common among many other african communities, especially those groups whose languages are highly tonal. some of these groups include ewe, yoruba, ashanti, kongo, kele, swahili, ngala and bechuana. basically, ikoro is a giant cylindrical communal owned drum. the ikoro (giant slit drum) was, in many igbo arears, the principle medium of tonal telegraphy. it is a half musical instrument and a half religious object. it was the symbol of the community. elaborate festivals and ceremonies surrounding ikoro can be found at ngwa, ohafia, bende, abriba and edda. there are also geometric designs and carvings on some slit drums which tell some history. “digo”, ikoro calls, its call echoing throughout the arena. “owei”, the brave answers jubilantly, breaking into ikoro dance steps, interlacing them with the intricate dance steps of heores. “digo, didigo, digo, digo”, ikoro roars again. eee-e-e, eee-e-e”, the drummer cries, accompanying it. “owei, owei!” the brave answers. “my ancestors, greatness is hereditary-o-o. my age grade is greater than me-o! owei, owei!” he cries happily as he dances around the arena, bragging about his exploits, gesticulating and pointing to several directions of his adventures” (isichei, 1976) that is the ikoro drum, the drum of the great, the drum of heroes. there is no place for the coward when ikoro calls. beaten only for those who have won the coveted crown, answered and danced to only by them. there were two kinds of heroes in igbo land of old; the social and the war heroes. the social hero like omezue nkume in omezue, the complete achiever, volume one of the victims series, is distinguished by his many wives, many children, many slaves, is a renowned wrestler and above all, he must have taken many titles. but none of the above achievements can earn him the call of the ikoro drm. it is exclusive to another type of social hero. in afikpo, it is the holder of the omume title. omume title is the equivalent of the ozo tittle in other igbo areas; it is the highest and last title any man or woman can take in igbo land and afikpo, respectively. the war hero, on the other hand, is one who has successfully been to war and returned victorious, or one who has killed a lion (agu), or accomplished a superhuman feat; the magnitude of which echoes in the call of the ikoro drum. to him ikoro calls. at his/her death ikoro announces his/her passage. it is the highest recognition accorded the greatest warriors (geertz, 1973). ikoro drum as instrument of governance and community mobilization from 1915 to 1970, a period marked by significant transitions in southeastern nigeria; including colonial imposition, indirect rule, missionary penetration, and postcolonial restructuring, the ikoro drum remained an enduring symbol of indigenous governance in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 55 umunze. the drum played a pivotal role in mobilizing the populace for political, judicial, and ritual activities, acting as a non-verbal but highly codified system of mass communication and communal coordination. in the absence of centralized authority typical of western models, umunze, like many igbo societies, operated a participatory democratic system where decisions were made through councils and consensus. the ikoro was sounded to summon these meetings, especially when urgent deliberations were required. its deep, resonant tones alerted the ndichie (council of elders), lineage heads, and age grades to assemble for pressing matters such as boundary disputes, law enforcement, or communal projects (uchendu, 1965). the drum’s sound pattern conveyed different messages; short rhythmic pulses might indicate a general meeting, while long, reverberating tones often signalled emergency or conflict (e. obi, etal, personal communication, 2025). this function of the ikoro allowed for an organic form of governance that was both decentralized and responsive. in many ways, the drum substituted for written decrees, announcements, and summonses, effectively binding the community in a shared auditory polity. its legitimacy stemmed from both custom and collective recognition. use of ikoro drum in conflict resolution and judicial function the ikoro was also central to the justice system in umunze during the precolonial and early colonial period. when disputes arose, whether between individuals or villages, the ikoro could be used to initiate a judicial assembly, bringing together elders, titleholders, and disputing parties. in this context, the drum served both as a call to order and as a spiritual mediator; its presence reinforced the sanctity and seriousness of the proceedings. notably, the sounding of the ikoro during these assemblies marked a form of public trial, where the community was both witness and jury. testimonies were given before the elders, who interpreted customary law and prescribed appropriate restitution or punishment. the decisions made in such settings carried binding moral authority, and the ikoro’s voice effectively legitimized the process (e. obi, etal, personal communication, 2025). additionally, if a crime of significant social weight was committed, such as theft, incest, or taboo violations, the ikoro was beaten to alert the entire community. in such cases, it served not merely as a messenger but as an instrument of public accountability. the accused would often surrender voluntarily, knowing that failure to respond to the ikoro’s summons could result in ostracism or spiritual consequences (ogbu, 2003). ritual and ceremonial roles of ikoro drum the ikoro also played vital roles in the ritual life of umunze. it was sounded during the funerals of titled men, especially those in the nze na ozo society, as part of the public expression of loss and ancestral transition. its voice was believed to guide the spirit of the deceased into the ancestral realm and to inform the living of the death of a community figurehead (korinya & agbu, 2020). in this context, the drum symbolized both mourning and continuity, connecting the past, present, and future generations. moreover, the ikoro was used during sacred festivals such as the iri ji (new yam festival), when it was beaten to mark the beginning of communal feasting and to reaffirm communal unity and agricultural blessings. only titled elders or igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 56 spiritually sanctioned individuals were permitted to strike the ikoro during such events, underscoring its sacred exclusivity. to the people of umunze, the mere mention of the ikoro signifies so many things. ikoro stands for authority and identity. it is an embodiment of status or class consciousness for custodians of sacred positions. it guards the position of the privileged in the community. ikoro means so many things to so many people, but basically it upholds the class of initiates. to buttress this point further, igwe abilikate ii of umunze who is an initiate, explains that: “it is for respected and high esteemed individuals in the community, when a great person who fought a great war dies the ikoro sound is heard. also in the case where the king dies like myself (referring to himself) the ikoro will be played”. ikoro is sounded not just for any calibre of people but for individuals who puts the community first. also during the burial ceremony of these special people, the ikoro would be used. flowing from the above, it could be deduced that, although the ikoro is used to sustain the positions of the privileged, but also serve as a connection between the humans and the ancestral spirits living in the extraterrestrial realm for traditional worshippers. this is the reason why steve pinkerton idiomatically describes such sacred sound as “the sad sound of weeping bugles that announces the death of its founder”. nzewi argues that the ikoro sacred music is specially designated for meritocratic men in the community, and in particular that its sounds signifies the death and funerary events of a male person of achievement. ikoro stands as a medium of communication; it is a talking instrument in igbo culture. above all one common think about ikoro tradition anywhere in igbo land is that it is used in sending messages across the communities that own them. to do this, the tonal language of the particular group that owns a particular drum is limited by the ikoro. information played are often known phrases, though complete sentences are played. the drum produces two main sounds; the high and low notes, but a skilled player can achieve more. to further this argument, mr. emmanuel alago explains that: the ikoro in umunze was used during war times and matter of emergencies. umunze fought many wars bother with neighboring towns and towns afar. so the great ikoro of umunze was used to pass information during this time. and it was highly used to give coded messages during the nigerian civil war. in pre-colonial days when villages used to carry out raids against themselves, as the case of umunze and many villages, ikoro was sounded to keep the people alert and ready for the impending invasion of the enemy. for the aggressors the ikoro was sounded, before a war to assemble the warriors to the square. to give situation report to the people during and after each battle, and to congratulate the warriors and celebrate the victors after each battle. to assemble the warriors in umunze the ikoro would say: igbo invitation translation ihem m huru what i have seen egwu ekweghim katara i am afraid to mention ihem m nuru what i have heard igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 57 these same notes were used in 1969 during the nigerian civil war, when the federal troops was entering umunze through farms. these particular notes also keep everyone alert while they listen for more information. in most cases it is followed by these phrases: igbo invitation translation umu ikorobia young men osisi osiso quickly, quickly umu ikorobia young men osiso osiso quickly, quickly it goes on to call the individual village and persons as in umuchu igbo invitation translation ugwu akwa ugwuakwa oji dibia bumike who derves its strength from medicine amanasaa seven wards uunu o nokwa ya are you there? okpunachara okpunachara unu o nokwa ya are yo there? oje na mbosi ogu he who goes on the war day kwadoo get ready otuhere dike aka he who throws his hands n’ ekwu behind the valiants head kwadoo get ready ome ka dike he who behaves like a valiant ahu adikwa gi? are you well? ome ka dike he who behaves like a valiant mebe gara gara be fast n’eme gara gara always fast umuchu, umuchu umuchu, umuchu kwa mba kwa isi for every distant village, a head isi a huru, si gbute cut any sighted head ugurueze kpoke uguueze kpoke unu nokwa now are you there (plural) ono n’ ofia bia ngwa ngwa if you are in the bush, come quickly ono n’ uzo bia ngwa ngwa if you are on the road, come quickly ibe aha di ukata ra ukata everywhere is charged abara akwurankwu a peg has got stuck in a wood trunk okwara idika okwa idika inokwa hu? are you there gwere oso come running gwere ije come walking bia wara wara come with flash ajuwa a jua ebem ukwu if one asks, he asks the great ebem ajukwa a jua ebem ukwu if one asks, he asks the great ebem igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 58 abu ejula n’ite palm nut husks have filled the pot ju ebelebe and filled everywhere ikoro salutation literally puts everyone in war mood. it boosts their strength and confidence. the thought of it being played when they get victory makes everybody to put in their best. the thought of dancing to the heroic music of the great ikoro derives the spirit of success thereby making every warrior to ensure that he comes back a winner. the spirit of invocation and possession takes place whenever the ikoro is played. the ikoro music is not just danced by anyone its for the initiates; the title holders and the king. like i stated earlier the ikoro sound serves as a connection between the living and the dead. it is the medium where the living can be able to communicate with their ancestors or forefathers. so there is the spirit that comes in when every the music is being played. ben madiagwu, an 87 year old who is a title holder explains that: “whenever the ikoro music plays there is the feeling that i have, i felt opportuned to be in connection with our forefathers, i felt like a holy person. i felt like i am on a whole different world”. from the above statement, it can be seen that during the ritual dance the initiates feel special and privileged to partake in it. it makes them feel entitled. this mostly happenes during the ihejioku, oliliede and nneokika festivals; the three highest festivals in umunze. during these periods the ikoro is used to alert the people for them to start with the festival preparation. also during its celebration the ikoro is played. most times people do not have time to stay with each other because of their busy schedules. like the farmers who mostly have tight schedules, it is during such festival like the ihejioku that they will have time for themselves reunite with their families, their neighbours and their loved ones to celebrate. it should also be noted here that ikoro sound is responsible for invoking the spirits of the deities, ancestors, dieting during these festival. it makes the people keep in touch with their forefathers. this ritual dance binds the entire community together, the king, the ancestors, the initiates and guides the community together. colonial disruption and transformation despite its entrenched socio-political functions, the ikoro began to lose its pre-eminence during the colonial era, particularly under the system of indirect rule introduced by the british. the appointment of warrant chiefs, many of whom lacked legitimacy in the eyes of the people, led to the sidelining of indigenous governance mechanisms, including those facilitated by the ikoro (afigbo, 1972). furthermore, colonial authorities discouraged the use of indigenous instruments of power that could not be monitored or regulated by the state. the christian missionary movement also contributed to the marginalization of the ikoro, labeling its use as "pagan" or "fetish." this demonization led to generational disconnects, where younger members of society began to regard the drum with suspicion or indifference. nevertheless, oral sources suggest that in private or remote areas, the use of the ikoro persisted, albeit in diminished forms (ekwunife, 1990). even during the nigerian civil war (1967–1970), some communities resorted to the ikoro to issue warnings about air raids or military threats, suggesting that its communicative relevance had not been entirely erased, even under the strain of modern warfare. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 59 impact of modernization and religious change the decline of the ikoro in umunze society from the mid-20th century onward reflects broader patterns of cultural erosion influenced by colonialism, christianity, urbanization, and globalization. as western-style institutions and religious systems took root in southeastern nigeria, indigenous structures, including symbolic instruments like the ikoro, faced increasing marginalization. christian missionary activity played a central role in redefining indigenous religious and cultural practices. in particular, missionaries associated the ikoro and its ritualistic use with "paganism," viewing it as a relic of idolatry and spiritual darkness (ekwunife, 1990). this perspective led to its rejection in many converted households. schools established by mission churches discouraged engagement with traditional rites, effectively severing younger generations from ancestral knowledge systems. as more families embraced christianity and western education, the symbolic relevance of the ikoro diminished, particularly in public life (ilogu, 1974). furthermore, modern communication systems such as radios, town criers using megaphones, and later mobile telephone rendered the ikoro obsolete as a mass communication device. village assemblies once summoned by the deep, resonant call of the ikoro began to rely on announcements made in church gatherings or via contemporary technology (okonkwo, 2015). disruption of transmission and loss of sacred knowledge with the decline in ritual usage came the loss of the cultural codes associated with interpreting the ikoro. unlike written language, the drum’s "speech" was orally transmitted and passed down through generations of elders and initiated titleholders. as these custodians aged and died without adequately transmitting the knowledge, the ability to "read" or decode the drum’s messages began to vanish (nwankwo, 2012). this disruption affected not just the practical function of the ikoro, but also its status as a cultural archive. in umunze, specific drum patterns once used to communicate the death of a titled elder, the birth of a male heir, or the call to ancestral festivals have largely faded from memory. interviews conducted with community elders suggest that only a small number of elderly men still retain a partial understanding of these codes (okeke, 2006). moreover, the taboos and ritual prohibitions surrounding the ikoro; such as gender-based restrictions, spiritual cleansing before playing it, and libation rites, have fallen into disuse. while these practices once enforced the sacredness of the instrument, their abandonment has led to the desacralization of the ikoro, turning it into little more than a historical artifact for many younger umunze residents. resilience and cultural revival despite the challenges, there have been grassroots efforts in umunze and neighboring communities to preserve and revive interest in the ikoro and related cultural expressions. local cultural associations, often led by retired educators or traditional leaders, have organized festivals that include symbolic beatings of the ikoro, storytelling sessions, and intergenerational dialogues on traditional knowledge systems. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 60 in 2008, for instance, the umunze development union incorporated a cultural heritage day into its annual calendar, which featured the ikoro drum as a centerpiece attraction. though the performance was largely ceremonial, it marked a shift toward revalorizing indigenous symbols (udu, 2010). similarly, a few cultural researchers from anambra state college of education have undertaken documentation projects to record oral histories and meanings associated with the drum before the last bearers of such knowledge pass on. some elders advocate for the integration of indigenous knowledge, including the ikoro, into local curricula, arguing that traditional instruments can coexist with modern education if contextualized properly. this syncretic approach could serve not only to preserve the ikoro, but also to deepen young people’s sense of identity and historical rootedness (afigbo, 1981). the ikoro in contemporary memory and identity today, the ikoro remains present in umunze not as an active governing instrument, but as a symbol of cultural pride and ancestral connection. while its political and judicial authority has waned, its presence in community squares and during festivals signifies a link to the past that many regard with reverence. in this sense, the ikoro has undergone a symbolic transformation, from a practical tool of governance to a cultural emblem. it is often invoked in proverbs, songs, and public speeches as a metaphor for authority, unity, and wisdom. for example, local elders still say, “o bu ikoro na-akpọ mmadụ, ọ bụghị ekwe” (it is the ikoro that summons a man, not an ordinary drum), emphasizing the drum’s singular authority and distinction. such metaphorical usage ensures that even as the literal functions of the ikoro decline, its symbolic capital endures within collective memory and language. implications for indigenous knowledge and cultural preservation the case of the ikoro underscores the importance of documenting and preserving intangible cultural heritage. as oral traditions and indigenous institutions continue to wane under the pressures of global modernization, there is an urgent need to archive, study, and integrate these cultural forms into contemporary educational and social systems. efforts to revive interest in the ikoro, through festivals, academic research, and intergenerational dialogue, should be encouraged and institutionalized. such initiatives not only enrich cultural identity among younger generations but also affirm the relevance of indigenous knowledge systems in addressing contemporary social and political challenges. future research could explore comparative studies of the ikoro in other igbo communities or examine its equivalents among other nigerian ethnic groups. additionally, interdisciplinary approaches combining anthropology, musicology, and political history could yield deeper insights into the semiotic, acoustic, and ritual dimensions of traditional drums in african societies. ultimately, the story of the ikoro is not just about sound, it is about voice, authority, memory, and belonging. in umunze, as in much of igboland, the echoes of the ikoro still resonate in the cultural consciousness, calling not only the living but also summoning the past into dialogue with the present. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 61 conclusion this study has examined the multifaceted role of the ikoro drum within the socio-political and cultural framework of umunze, an igbo-speaking community in southeastern nigeria. between 1915 and 1970; a period marked by colonial disruption, cultural transitions, and emergent national identity, the ikoro stood as more than a mere musical instrument. it served as a powerful medium of communication, a tool of indigenous governance, and a symbol of communal identity. from the geographical and historical roots of umunze to the structural and symbolic complexities of the ikoro, the drum embodied traditional authority and communal consensus. it was instrumental in mobilizing the populace for political meetings, rituals, festivals, and emergencies. its ability to encode messages reinforced a participatory governance system where decisions were collectively deliberated and enforced. the colonial administration’s imposition of indirect rule, along with the spread of christianity and modern communication technologies, led to a gradual decline in the ikoro’s centrality. however, its symbolic importance has not vanished. instead, the ikoro has transitioned from an operational institution of governance to a potent emblem of cultural heritage, identity, and ancestral memory. this transformation highlights the resilience of indigenous systems, even in the face of modernization and cultural change. the persistence of the ikoro in community memory, festivals, and proverbial language suggests that cultural continuity is not necessarily dependent on unchanged practice but on adaptive remembrance. references afigbo, a. e. (1972). the warrant chiefs: indirect rule in southeastern nigeria, 1891–1929. longman. afigbo, a. e. (1981). ropes of sand: studies in igbo history and culture. university press ltd. ekwunife, a. n. o. (1990). consecration in igbo traditional religion. snaap press. evans-pritchard, e. e., & fortes, m. (eds.). (1940). african political systems. london: oxford university press. geertz, c. (1973). the interpretation of cultures. new york: basic books. ilogu, e. (1974). christianity and igbo culture: a study of the interaction of christianity and igbo culture. nok publishers. isichei, e. (1976). a history of the igbo people. macmillan. kanu i. a. (2017). igwebuikeconomics: towards an inclusive economy for economic development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 6. 113-140. kanu i. a. (2017). sources of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. 9. 1. pp. 1-23. kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. kanu, a. i. (2017c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 7. pp. 165-183. kanu, a. i. (2017d). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 6. pp. 16-50. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 62 kanu, a. i. (2017f). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. pp. 153-160. kanu, i. a. (2010). towards an african cultural renaissance. professor bassey andah journal of cultural studies. volume 3, pp. 146-155. kanu, i. a. (2012). a metaphysical epistemological study of african medical practitioners. in o. e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (2012). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 227-240). nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2012). being qua belongingness: the provenance and implications of pantaleon’s redefinition of being. uche: journal of the department of philosophy, university of nigeria, nsukka. vol. 17. pp. 57-58. korinya, m. t., & agbu, l. u. (2020). “the impact of title-taking in onitsha on anambra state: a case of the otu-odu and agbalanze societies: 1950-1959” jassd journal of african studies and sustainable development, vol. 3. no. 3, pp. 84-96 korinya, m. t., & bazza, m. b. (2025). the traditional music and dance among the jechira people of benue state, 1990–1998: an appraisal. amamihe: journal of applied philosophy, 23(2), 205–214. nwankwo, c. u. (2012). indigenous communication systems in igbo society: a study of traditional drums. african journal of oral traditions, 6(1), 34–47. obi, e., ude, r., nwankwo, k., okoye, l., & eze, t. (2025, july 10). focus group discussion (unpublished raw data). ogbu, k. a. (2003). the place of musical instruments in igbo indigenous religion. journal of african cultural studies, 15(2), 145–157. okeke, j. o. (2006). geography and agriculture in southeastern nigeria. nigerian journal of cultural studies, 4(2), 45–60. okonkwo, m. o. (2015). ritual and authority: a study of the ikoro drum among the igbo of nigeria. heritage press. onwuejeogwu, m. a. (1981). an igbo civilization: nri kingdom and hegemony. ethnographica. oral interview with ben maduagwu. age 89 former palace secretary and retired teacher at umunze, 2022 turner, v. (1967). the forest of symbols: aspects of ndembu ritual. ithaca, ny: cornell university press. uchendu, v. c. (1965). the igbo of southeast nigeria. holt, rinehart and winston. udu, c. o. (2010). reviving the past: cultural heritage festivals in southeastern nigeria. journal of african heritage studies, 3(1), 28–39. ugboajah, f. o. (1985). oramedia in africa. in f. o. ugboajah (ed.), mass communication, culture and society in west africa (pp. 165–176). munich: hans zell. wilson, d. (1991). traditional media of communication in nigeria. in d. wilson (ed.), communication and social action (pp. 87–116). port harcourt: footstep. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 143 the interplay of law, security and development in hart andrew onwudinjo institute of humanities pan-atlantic university, lagos state aonwudinjo@pau.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.25001.77923 abstract essential laws and effective security are two elements crucial to the development of any society. a positive interplay of these elements will guarantee that societies project towards developmental goals and manage envisaged and unexpected challenges. this paper takes a look at the important roles played by laws and security in the development of a society. the paper argues that meaningful development is hinged on the availability of worthy laws and reliable security in the environment. it further avers that development cannot take place in a society without the enactment and enforcement of veridical laws on the one hand and the provision of security which guarantee the lives and properties of citizens and visitors, as well as enable a favourable environment for investment on the other hand. these contentions will then be analyzed through hla hart‘s conception of law. keywords: law, security, development, hart introduction development is always a central aim of any society. whether it is towing paths that lead to development or not, societies always base their programme of action on the need to provide an environment that can engender development. it is undeniable that development dimension include human rights, access to justice, good governance, economic growth, valuable education, human capital development, rule of law and security among others. in this wise, laws and security are seen as essential for the full realization of national development. looking at law, it can be safely said that there is a symbiosis between law and justice. justice translates into the existence of legal frameworks, enforced in a predictable and transparent manner, that ensure that ‗all persons, institutions and entities, public and private, including the state itself, are accountable to just, fair and equitable laws and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. ineffective criminal justice systems which cannot protect citizens and allow crime and violence to prevail and encourage corrupt practices, in the end hamper social and economic development. similarly, justice systems andrew onwudinjo 144 with well-planned crime prevention strategies are not only better at preventing crime and victimization, but also promote community safety and contribute to sustainable development of the society. the world development report 2011 equally links development and justice, arguing that threats to development stemming from organized violence, conflict, and fragility, cannot be resolved by short-term or partial solutions without legitimate institutions that provide all citizens equal access to security, justice, and jobs. as such, efforts to strengthen justice systems through effective laws, manage and reduce vulnerabilities, and legally empower even the poor, are not only crucial for dealing with crime effectively, but are also key for national development. this thus puts law and security in the driver seat of development. providing for the security of citizens is an important responsibility of the state and is indeed the very basis for development of any kind. however, every day, violence destroys lives and livelihoods, breeds fear and terror, and has a profoundly negative impact on human development. to appreciate the essence of laws and security in national development this paper is divided into three parts. the first part focuses on a clarification of the concepts of law, security, development and in the light of contemporary discuss, sustainable development. the second part will analyze how and interplay of these elements will positively affect national development while the third part uses harts conception of law (specifically his primary and secondary rules) to further analyze the need for laws and security in the development of the nation. on laws and its role in ensuring justice benson mclaren eases us into some basic understanding of law when he notes that: law affects every aspect of our lives; it governs our conduct from the cradle to the grave and its influence even extends from before our birth to after our death. we live in a society which has developed a complex body of rules to control the activities of its members. there are laws which govern working conditions, laws which regulate leisure pursuits and laws which control personal relationships.1 andrei marmor also tows this line of thought when he asserts that: law is one of the most complex, intricate and sophisticated creations of human societies. modern legal systems regulate almost every aspect of our lives—from individual conduct in our everyday interactions with other individuals to systems of government, the interplay of law, security and development in hart 145 commerce and economy, and even relations between nations in the international sphere. it is difficult to imagine human existence in a society without law, and certainly difficult to think of such an existence as anything that would resemble human society as we know it.2 these notations on laws in human society underscores its essence. it underpins the view that man is a law giving being, more so, cordial social interactions require laws the individuals and the state will all look up to in the course of their daily activities. black‘s law dictionary further cites in its preamble that: the continued existence of a free and democratic society depends upon recognition of the concept that justice is based upon the rule of law grounded in respect for the dignity of the individual and his capacity through reason for enlightened selfgovernment. law so grounded makes justice possible, for only through such law does the dignity of the individual attain respect and protection. without it, individual rights become subject to unrestrained power, respect for law is destroyed, and rational self-government is impossible.3 law is believed to be a concept not easily defined but many attempts have been made to define it. mclaren, for instance, simply defines law a set of rules, enforceable by the courts, which regulate the government of the state and govern the relationship between the state and its citizens and between one citizen and another.4 john humphrey also contends that law may be defined as a rule of human conduct that emanates from a source recognized as competent by the legal order and which prescribes the imposition of a sanction or penalty in the event of disobedience.5 on the sources of law humphrey takes identifies primitive and modern sources. he writes that: in primitive communities, and to some degree indeveloped societies also, the laws emanate directly from the people, i.e. from the undifferentiated mass of the subjects governed by them. it follows that no particular person or organ can be identified as their source. such laws are called customs. in the modem state, nearly all laws emanate from some organized body or authority having competence, either directly or indirectly, under the constitution. thus the laws may be enacted by some such specialized legislative organ as a parliament or by some organ which is primarily concerned with some other governmental function, e.g. a law court. or they may be enacted by some subordinate body or authority to which an authority which itself possesses competence under the constitution has delegated legislative powers. such laws are usually called statutes (when andrew onwudinjo 146 they emanate from a specialized legislative organ), judgments (when they emanate from a court), and regulations, by-laws, orders or decrees (when they emanate from some other organ). unlike customary laws all of them emanate only indirectly from the people or subjects that they govern.6 humphrey‘s identification of the sources of laws makes us understand the importance of how the law of any society came to being. this element is important because every member of the society is expected to accept and obey the laws. defaulters against the law are equally expected to accept punishment meted out for their offences. this gives the law the power to be accepted as law. essentially, there are two main philosophical schools of thought in legal theory namely; natural law and legal positivism. natural law in natural law the concepts of law, morality and reason are interrelated. it is accepted that what forms the basis of natural law is evident in nature and every moral agent is believed to have the ability to discover these laws from nature hence moral agents are expected to (ought to) adhere to these laws. keith culver sums this view up thus: so the natural law is in each person and is discovered by applying reason to general principles whose truth is self-evidently clear. this process results in practical rules for living that best fit our nature as rational persons who are generally good.7 citing aquinas culver writes further that: wherefore it [the rational creature] has a share of the eternal reason, whereby it has a natural inclination to its proper act and end: and this participation of the eternal law in the rational creature is called the natural law.8 citing the notable roman lawyer, cicero, wacks identified the components of natural. he writes that ―true law is right reason in agreement with nature; it is of universal application, unchanging and everlasting. . . it is a sin to try to alter this law, nor is it allowable to attempt to repeal any part of it, and it is impossible to abolish it entirely. . . . [god] is the author of this law, its promulgator, and its enforcing judge.9 cicero‘s understanding of natural law is mostly taken to be a classical view. a more modern account of natural is given by john finnis. finnis first clarifies the meaning of law and nature in the concept of natural law. he writes of law that: … though it certainly has other meanings, ‗law‘ can be used to refer to any criteria of right judgment in matters of practice (conduct, action), any standards for assessing options for human conduct as good or bad, right or wrong, desirable or undesirable, decent or unworthy. that is how the the interplay of law, security and development in hart 147 word is used in the term ‗natural law.10 similarly, concerning nature he writes that: though it too has a range of meanings, ‗natural‘ can be used to signify that some of those criteria or standards are somehow normative prior to any human choices. on this conception, these prior standards are not the product of either individual or collective choosing or positing, and cannot be repealed, however much they may be violated, defied, or ignored. the idea is that acknowledging these standards in one's deliberations is part of what it is to be reasonable…11 the theses of natural law can thus be understood under four propositions as outlined by patrick hopkins. these include: (1) morality is ultimately real and objective and is not relative in its primary truths to culture, subjective taste, or social agreement; (2) morality is somehow grounded in human nature, which is a specific part of the general order of nature, and is crucial for human happiness and flourishing; (3) the normative force and obligatoriness of morality is somehow the result of this grounding and may be understood using the terminology associated with a legal code; (4) the application of reason in examining human nature, and to some extent general nature, provides evidence for the specific content of our moral obligations.12 legal positivism legal positivism is mostly discussed in contrast to natural law in philosophical jurisprudence. basically, positivists are of the opinion that the laws of a society are always products of the society overtime. also, they deny a moral basis of such laws. coleman and leiter call this the ‗social thesis‘ and the ‗separability thesis.‘ according to these scholars: all positivists share two central beliefs: first, that what counts as law in any particular society is fundamentally a matter of social fact or convention (the social thesis); second, that there is no necessary connection between law and morality (the separability thesis).13 simply put the argument of legal positivism holds that ―there is no other law but positive law: the existence or – more technically – the validity of law rests upon the mere fact of its being enacted by a historically determined human legislator (or norm-issuer in a broad sense): ius quia iussum.14 whereas natural law derives from nature and is expected to be understood through reason, legal positivism derives from social conventions, they can be modified or changed depending on prevailing circumstances. julie dickson contends that: andrew onwudinjo 148 legal positivists understand law as having a fundamentally social nature: it is a human artifact which has been socially constructed. as the term legal positivism itself connotes, law exists in virtue of the fact that it has been posited: because human beings, and the social institutions they create—such as legislatures, courts and legal officials—have decreed or decided or recognized or practiced or enforced or interacted in some way with a given set of norms. those human social processes bring legal norms into existence, and are also the means by which they are modified and/or extinguished.15 legal positivism does not imply an ethical justification for the content of the law, nor a decision for or against the obedience to law. positivists do not judge laws by questions of justice or humanity, but merely by the ways in which the laws have been created. this includes the view that judges make new law in deciding cases not falling clearly under a legal rule. practicing, deciding or tolerating certain practices of law can each be considered a way of creating law.16 the concept of development any talk about development is better understood in the context of human social situations. that is why the concept is better appreciated in contemporary phrases like national development, social development or sustainable development. moreso, there is always the perception according to gilbert rist that ―its actual meaning is still elusive, since it depends on where and by whom it is used.‖17 several issues come to the fore when the word development is conceptualized but understanding it from a human angle gives better meaning. according to deneuline and alkine: the word development has as many meanings as there are listeners. for some, development means more material prosperity: owning money, land and a house. for others, development concerns liberation from oppression. some see development as a new word for neo-colonialism, and despise it. for still others, development is a holistic project of personal social and spiritual progress. in many contexts we speak of the development of a child or the development of new software as if development completes something as yet unfinished. but this too is simplistic, for in certain ways developing countries are more mature than developed. so the term is ambiguous and value laden.18 but irrespective of these perceived ambiguity of development denueline and alkine contend that regardless of any particular the interplay of law, security and development in hart 149 normative framework, many would view ‗development‘ ―as a multidimensional and multi-sectoral process, involving social, economic and political change aimed at improving people‘s lives. development processes use and manage natural resources to satisfy human needs and improve people‘s quality of life.‖19 thus we can say that the focus of development is to improve the condition of human existence. such improvement could be of the individual, a nation or the society. walter rodney also contributes to the discus on development. perceiving it from the perspective of the influence of european encounter with africa, writes that: development in human society is a many-sided process. at the level of the individual, it implies increased skill and capacity, greater freedom, creativity, self-discipline, responsibility, and material well-being… at the level of social groups, therefore, development implies an increasing capacity to regulate both internal and external relationships.20 activities that bring about development in the society are tailored around economic, cultural, education and technological improvements. the united nations research institute for social development (unrisd) adopts a broad perspective by defining social development as ―one that is concerned with processes of change that lead to improvements in human well-being, social relations andsocial institutions, and that are equitable, sustainable, and compatible with principles ofdemocratic governance and social justice.‖21 more light is thrown on this definition: the definition emphasizes social relations, institutional arrangements and political processes that are central to efforts to achieve desirable development outcomes. it includesmaterial achievements, such as good health and education, and access to the goods andservices necessary for decent living; and social, cultural and political achievements, suchas a sense of security, dignity, the ability to be part of a community through social andcultural recognition, and political representation.22 social development is not a haphazard activity, depending on the requirements of the society, goals are set and a process is followed in the achievement of these goals with the aim of improving human existential conditions. j. f. x. paiva opines that the goal and substance of social development is the welfare of the people, as determined by the people themselves, and the consequent creation or alteration of institutions (including people's values, individual behavior, and motivation) so as to create a capacity for meeting human needs at all levels (especially those at the lower levels) and for improving the andrew onwudinjo 150 quality of human relationships and relationships between people and societal institutions.23 george davidson further describes a broad and narrow perspective of understanding the idea of social development. generally speaking he sees social development as ―movement and progress-a dynamic process of evolution and growth -directed towards the achievement of desirable social goals…‖24 writing further davidson asserts that: in its broadest sense, it may be described as including every action, governmental or voluntary, which contributes to building up the structure, both infrastructure and super-structure, of social policies and programs which alone can assure the maintenance and improvement of family and community levels of living and lead to social progress. broken down into its component parts, social development embraces everything that is done in the field of health-both preventive and curative-education, labor standards and employment practices, housing, nutrition, child and family welfare, and protection from economic insecurity, whether through provision of help in kind or through income maintenance payments of various kinds provided on a taxation or insurance basis.25 when all these issues are judiciously managed a nation can be said to be developed. as victor lukpata cites that national development is used to refer to a state of maturity which characterizes a nation-state. this maturity results from the interplay of modern political, economic and social forces and processes which transform diverse people, shaping a common geographical area, from acceptance and allegiance to and participation in a transitional policy to the acceptance and creations of and participation in a modern nation-state. the later is characterized by governmental machinery capable of commanding loyalty, keeping order, eliciting legitimacy, fostering integration, permitting mass participation; and satisfying popular wants and expectations. it also has a skilled citizenry which exercises its capacity to create a highly industrial society and manipulates its environment to obtain a high quality of life for the generality of the population.26 the concept of security it is only rational to accede to the truth that no meaningful progress can occur in an insecure environment. whether an individual, group, society or nation, security is a basis which cannot be compromised or handled with levity. progress happens based on the activities of the different sectors of a society or nation but when these sectors are not the interplay of law, security and development in hart 151 safe enough to go about and carry out their activities then the society or nation is negatively affected. academic and non-academic discussion of security has moved from its understanding within the purview of state or sovereignty protection to the individual, economy and or the environment. claudia ramirez warns that security is a word used every day but its meaning is more ambiguous than is often realized. in most definitions …security is related to the protection against threats of fundamental values. furthermore, where conflict is an empirical and observable phenomenon, security is a socially constructed perception. hence in a world with several different societies and cultures, security cannot have a universal meaning.27 identifying the traditional understanding of security, ramirez writes that: traditionally, security has been concerned with the understanding of the causes of war and conversely, the conditions for peace… in this view, security was based on the capacity of states to defend their sovereignty and integrity from other states.28 but in more contemporary times, the understanding of security has gone beyond this. emil kirchner states that: the concept of security can be defined in different ways, ranging from relatively restrictive definitions building on military defence (security from war and conquest) to more inclusive definitions of security that consider a wider range of threats against human life. the latter category includes political security (security from extreme political oppression and persecution), economic security (security from hunger and deprivation), social and cultural security (cultural survival and minority rights), and environmental security (security from environmental degradation and disasters).29 this is a wider understanding of security because more variables like political, economic, social and cultural have been included. while some scholars see this as a development of an understanding of security, other scholars criticize this sort of extension. for instance, mohammed ayoob argues that: …the concept of security should not be unduly broadened and made so elastic as to lose all analytical utility. security is a concept that addresses issues of order and authority and is, therefore, preeminently political in its connotation. the state, as the primary political institution, must, therefore, form the primary point of reference for any security paradigm. variables from the ecological to the economic may impinge on the security arena, but their influence must be filtered through the political arena in order to become a part of the security calculus. delinking andrew onwudinjo 152 security from the political realm and from the state does no service either to the concept of security or to other values that particular analysts would like to preserve and promote.30 this is an ongoing debate on the concept of security just as peter hough opines that: the root of the problem with the traditional approaches to security politics is what wyn-jones… describes as the ‗fetishization of the state.31fetish because the state is primarily saddled with the responsibility of securing its citizens, individuals cannot take laws into their hands in the name of protecting themselves hence the domiciling of security with the state. but even within the paradigm of the state security can be agreed to have defending sovereignty. social circumstances and human need now characterize security. anthony mcgrew writes that: orthodox interpretations of human security principally understand it as ‗the absence of threats to core human values, including the most basic human value, the physical safety of the individual. in contrast to the traditional security paradigm, the referent of security is the individual (or community) rather than the state. however, this somewhat narrow or thin interpretation is the source of much debate within the literature. for many have argued that authentic human security involves much more than simply the individualization of security or the absence of overt violence. human security, it is argued, must also involve the progressive idea of human flourishing and the advancement of the conditions which make this possible.32 national development: on the interplay of laws and security continuous development is the reasonable goal of a nation or society. this development requires an interplay of economic laws (essentially, economic policies), democratic laws, socio-cultural laws, educational laws, and other policies or laws. a secure environment which will guarantee human and economic flourishing is also a requirement for national development. more so, national development is today primarily dependent on economic development hence there must a conducive environment for economic development. for instance, no investor will invest in an insurgent environment or a nation whose democratic environment is erratic. this underpins the essence of laws and security to development. on the consequence of insecurity caused by violence, it is noted in the geneva declaration: the international community has stated that living free from the threat of armed violence is a basic human need and a precondition for human development, dignity, and well-being. 33 also, the interplay of law, security and development in hart 153 the un system task team on the post-2015 un development agenda, point out that: the prevention and reduction of all forms of violence and abuse should be at the heart of any agenda which fully recognizes the centrality of human security, both as a human rights imperative and as being integral to development.34 when people are unsafe they are reluctant or unable to participate fully in processes of governance and development. furthermore, the social space that they vacate while seeking a more secure space may well lead to corrupt forces and vested criminal interests occupying power positions. this consequently leads to a decline in inflows of investment, and as a further consequence, productive capacities suffer. this ultimately engenders poverty and sustained underdevelopment. stanford gaines contends that: a threat to national security exists once an action or sequence of events threatens... to degrade the quality of life for the inhabitants of a state or... threatens significantly to narrow the range of policy choices available to the government of a state or to private nongovernmental entities within the state.35 this statement focusing on the range of policy choices available to governments and private actors alike, pulls thinking about environmental security back into the orbit of sustainable development, which also is concerned with maintaining options for future generations. gaines further avers that with an appropriately broad conception of security, the link between sustainable development and security thus becomes inescapable.36 a point here is that it is difficult to proceed on the path of national development in an insecure environment. he thus submits that: a broad conception of security, consistent with sustainable development would include an extension of a right of access and an equality of opportunity to all essential environmental resources and offer opportunities for personal and national development. pursuit of this goal would simultaneously mitigate the social sources of environmental violence, which so frequently involve control of or restrictions on access to vital resources.37 security policy is supposed to address insecurity,38 in other words security laws are expected to address insecurities in the society. these laws beyond being enacted must be enforced without fear or favour. such enforcement engenders a sense of justice which further clears the path to development. security, therefore, is what ken boot citing philippa foot might have called a fact of human existence, namely a value that is rational for humans to pursue because we cannot sustain social life in its absence, whether this involves attending to the needs of andrew onwudinjo 154 babies, developing communities, or exploring what it might mean to be human.39 in advancing a nexus between security and development, briscoe and ginkel cite the european union example, they write that the european union (eu), with the adoption of the council conclusions on security and development in 2007, and its agenda for change in the field of development policy in 2011, asserted that the objectives of development, democracy, human rights, good governance and security are intertwined; and called for a stronger focus on these objectives as well as on the rule of law, anti-corruption, civil society and economic growth. the ambition is to link the eu‘s development, foreign and security policy initiatives so as to create a more coherent approach to peace, state-building, poverty reduction and the underlying causes of conflict.40 as noted in the world development report 2011 by the world bank: the costs of violence for citizens, communities, countries, and the world are enormous, both in terms of human suffering and social and economic consequences. the costs are both direct (loss of life, disability, and destruction) and indirect (prevention, instability, and displacement). while some of these losses can be directly measured and quantified in economic terms, others are not easily measured (trauma, loss of social capital and trust, prevention cost, and forgone investment and trade).41 the world bank further contends that: the arrested social development in countries affected by violence is evident in the poor showing in human development indicators. development in these countries is lagging on nearly every indicator associated with the mdgs…one reason for the persistence of low growth in conflict-affected countries may be the difficulty of reassuring investors, both domestic and foreign.42 these submissions attest to the fact that security and rule of law are essential in the development of the nation. in the same vein, the world economic forum asserts that: the practice of inclusive growth and development therefore requires widening the lens through which priorities are set in national economic strategies. macroeconomic, trade and financial stability policies remain critically important as they establish the conditions necessary for improvements in productivity that help drive growth. but institutional development in other areas is just as vital to broad-based progress in living standards and consequently deserves equal emphasis in national economic policy.43 the interplay of law, security and development in hart 155 what can be gleaned from this assertion is that national development requires policies and an enabling environment for the implementation of such policies. policies come in form of laws in the society. such laws which include economic laws, educational laws, social laws, democratic laws in a democratic environment, judicial system etc. and essentially the rule of law that allows the effective functioning of all other laws are important in the development of the nation. analysis through hla hart’s primary and secondary rules rules are conceived and spoken of as imposing obligations when the general demand for conformity is insistent and the social pressure brought to bear upon those who deviate or threaten to deviate is great. such rules are necessary to ensure a secure environment on the one hand and to guarantee development on the other. giving a general overview of both primary and secondary rules, hart writes that: under rules of the one type, which may well be considered the basic or primary type, human beings are required to do or abstain from certain actions, whether they wish to or not. rules of the other type are in a sense parasitic upon or secondary to the first; for they provide that human beings may by doing or saying certain things introduce new rules of the primary type, extinguish or modify old ones, or in various ways determine their incidence or control their operations. rules of the first type impose duties; rules of the second type confer powers, public or private. rules of the first type concern actions involving physical movement or changes; rules of the second type provide for operations which lead not merely to physical movement or change, but to the creation or variation of duties or obligations.44 in other words primary rules are: duty imposing rules. they impose certain specific duties upon the citizens of a state to act in a certain manner, or they may be subject to certain legal sanctions. hart characterizes primary rules as basic rules. they tell the citizen what one can and cannot do under the law.45 in essence, primary rules tell us what to do and what not to do. furthermore, primary rules outline sanctions that will be meted when primary rules are contravened, as starr puts it ―primary rules are generally what the ordinary citizen means when he refers to something as the law.‖46 secondary rules are according to hart on a different level with primary rules, they are parasitic on primary rules. according to hart: …they may all be said to be on a different level from the primary rules, for they are all about such rules; in the sense that while primary rules are concerned with the actions that individuals must or must not do, these secondary rules are all concerned with andrew onwudinjo 156 the primary rules themselves. they specify the ways in which the primary rules may be conclusively ascertained, introduced, eliminated, varied, and the fact of their violation conclusively determined.47 accordingly, hart categorizes secondary rules as either rules of recognition, rules of change, or rules of adjudication. rules of recognition say starr provide a mechanism for discovering just what is or is not a legitimate primary rule.48 according to hart: wherever such a rule of recognition is accepted, both private persons and officials are provided with authoritative criteria for identifying primary rules of obligation. the criteria so provided may… take any one or more of a variety of forms: these include reference to an authoritative text; to legislative enactment; to customary practice; to general declarations of specified persons, or to past judicial decisions in particular cases.49 this is how the rule or recognition is identified in a simple society but in a modern one hart notes that the situation is more complex because of the nature of the society. in a modern legal system where there are a variety of 'sources' of law, says hart, the rule of recognition is correspondingly more complex: the criteria for identifying the law are multiple and commonly include a written constitution, enactment by a legislature, and judicial precedents. in most cases, provision is made for possible conflict by ranking these criteria in an order of relative subordination and primacy.50 the second rule is the rule of change. these are necessary to efficiently allow primary rules to be amended. they specify how primary rules may be changed. for instance, the united states constitution can be amended, and statutes can be repealed or modified by later statutes.‖51 the dynamic nature of human society necessitates the amendment or outright change of certain rules, this rule of change gives room for such changes. it empowers the legislators or even judges to, based on contemporary realities, adjust rules. developmental strides sometimes requires laws to be amenable to contemporary needs, a rigid system of laws which does not give room for changes will here defeat the purpose of such developmental needs. hence, this provision in hart‘s rules will have a positive effect in issues of law and security for national development. for instance, the introduction of the amnesty programme for militants by the nigerian government instead of the continuous use of force in the niger delta stemmed the tide of insecurity in the environment thereby allowing for development. the interplay of law, security and development in hart 157 the last of the rules proposed by hart is the rule of adjudication. of this rule starr writes: these rules are essential to a legal system of a complex society and are intended to remedy the inefficiency of a legal system with just primary rules. rules of adjudication set criteria for determining when a primary rule has been broken and what procedure is to be followed when the primary violation has been established. judges, commissions, and regulatory agencies are given authority when the occasion is appropriate to apply secondary rules of adjudication.52 this is where the rule of law is most effective. it guarantees a just society that allows for development and security. dispensing justice fairly ensures a humane environment which is secure and favourable for investment. this brings about development. it can thus be said that the combination of the primary rules and the secondary rules which form the core of hart‘s conception of law are equally termed the heart of any legal system. constitutions or other laws of a society have sections that deal with basic laws and the punishments for their violation; the constitution equally gives powers to these laws to be able to be obeyed as laws just as it provide processes of how laws can be changed. conclusion this paper has argued that laws, security and national development are interconnected. essentially, laws and security are indispensible element in the development of any nation. development primarily is dependent on economic growth and economic growth cannot be thought of in an insecure environment. also the availability and implementation of meaningful policies are at the heart of any developmental effort. having set the basis of the interconnectedness of law security and development, this paper used hart‘s conception of law to appreciate how laws can best be tuned to contemporary developmental needs. using his analysis of the secondary rules of recognition, change and adjudication, we analyzed how the adaptability of laws to situations can engender development. development is a continual process in any society and the efficaciousness of laws in a secure environment will always aid developmental efforts. andrew onwudinjo 158 references 1. benson mclaren, ―the nature of law?‖ chicago law review, vol. 64, no. 1, 1985, p. 78. 2. andrei marmor, ―preface,‖ the routledge companion to philosophy of law, (london and new york: routledge, 2012), p. xix. 3. henry campbell black, black‘s law dictionary, 4th edition, (minnesota: west publishing company, 1968), p. xvi. 4. mclaren, op. cit., p. 79. 5. john humphrey, ―on the definition and nature of laws,‖ modern law review volume 8, issue 4, jan. 2011, p. 194. 6. ibid. p. 194. 7. keith culver (ed.), readings in the philosophy of law, (ontario: broadview, 2008), p. 28. 8. ibid. p. 28. 9. raymond wacks, philosophy of law: a very short introduction (oxford: oxford university press, 2006), p. 3. 10. john finnis, ―natural law: the classical tradition,‖ in jules coleman, kenneth himma, and scott shapiro (eds.) the oxford handbook of jurisprudence and philosophy of law, (oxford: oxford university press, 2004), p. 1. 11. ibid. p. 1. 12. hopkins, op.cit. pp. 505-506. 13. jules coleman and brian leiter, ―legal positivism,‖ in dennis patterson (ed.) a companion to philosophy of law and legal theory second edition, (massachusetts: blackwell publishing ltd., 2010), p. 228. 14. giorgio pino, ―the place of legal positivism in contemporary constitutional states,‖ law and philosophy 18: 1999, p. 515. 15. julie dickson, ―legal positivism: contemporary debates,‖ in andrei marmor (ed.) the routledge companion to philosophy of law, (new york and london: routledge, 2012), p. 49. 16. kenneth himma, ―legal positivism,‖ internet encyclopedia of philosophy, available at www.iep.utm/legal-positivism. retrieved 23/06/16. 17. gilbert rist, ―development as a buzzword,‖ development in practice, vol. 17, no. 4/5 (aug., 2007), pp. 485-491. 18. sabina alkire and severine deneuline , ―a normative framework for development,‖ severine deneuline and lila shahani (eds.), an introduction to the human development and capability approach, (ottawa: international development research center, 2009), p. 3. 19. ibid. p. 3. the interplay of law, security and development in hart 159 20. walter rodney, how europe underdeveloped africa, (washington: howard university press, 1982), p. 3. 21. united nations research institute for social development, ―social development in an uncertain world,‖ unrisd research agenda 2010-2014, p. 8 22. ibid. p.8. 23. j. f. x. paiva, ―a conception of social development,‖ social service review, vol. 51, no. 2 (jun., 1977), pp. 327-336. 24. george f. davidson, ―national efforts in the field of social research,‖ annals of the american academy of political and social science, vol. 329, international co-operation for social welfare-a new reality (may, 1960), pp. 23-31. 25. ibid. pp. 23-31. 26. victor lukpata, ―national interest and national development in nigeria,‖ international journal of public administration and management, research, (ijpamr), volume 2, number 1, october, 2013, p. 64. 27. claudia ramirez, ―peace, security and sustainable development in africa,‖ encyclopedia of life support system, vol. ii, p. 3. 28. ibid. p. 3. 29. emil kirchner, ―regional and global security: changing threats and institutional responses,‖ in emil kirchner and james sperling (eds.) global security governance: competing perceptions of security in the 21st century, (london and new york: routledge, 2007), p. 5. 30. mohammed ayoob, ―security in the age of globalization: separating appearance from reality,‖ in ersel aydinli and james rosenau (eds.) globalization, security and the nation-state: paradigms in transition, (albany: state university of new york press, 2005), p. 10. 31. peter hough, understanding global security, 2nd edition (london and new york: routledge, 2008), p. 9. 32. anthony mcgrew, ―forward,‖ in giorgio shani, makoto sato and mustapha pasha (eds.) protecting human security in a post 9/11 world: critical and global insights, (hampshire and new york: palgrave macmillan, 2007), p. viii. 33. the geneva declaration on armed violence and development, 2006. 34. ‗realizing the future we want for all‘, report to the secretary general – un system task team on the post2015 un development agenda (new york, june 2012). andrew onwudinjo 160 35. stanford gaines, ―sustainable development and national security,‖ 30 wm. & mary environmental law & policy review 321 (2006), available at http://scholarship. law.wm.edu /wmelpr /vol30/iss2/3, p. 30. accessed on 06/06/16. 36. ibid. p. 30. 37. ibid. p. 33. 38. mary kaldor and iavor rangelov, ―introduction: global security policy in the twenty-first century,‖ in mary kaldor and iavor rangelov (eds.) the handbook of global security policy, (west sussex: john-wiley and sons ltd., 2014), p. 1. 39. ken booth, ―global security,‖ in mary kaldor and iavor rangelov (eds.) the handbook of global security policy, (west sussex: john-wiley and sons ltd., 2014), pp. 11-12. 40. ivan briscoe and bibi van ginkel, ―the nexus between development and security: searching for common ground in counter terrorism,‖ international centre for counter-terrorism (icct) policy paper, 2013, p. 9. 41. world bank, world development report 2011, pp. 58-59. 42. ibid. pp. 60-62. 43. world economic forum, the inclusive growth and development report 2015, p. viii. 44. h. l. a. hart, the concept of law, second edition (oxford: clarendon press, 1994), p. 81. 45. william starr, ―law and morality in h l a hart‘s legal philosophy,‖ marquette law review vol. 67 1984, p. 676. 46. hart, op. cit. p. 94. 47. starr, op. cit. p. 677. 48. hart, op. cit. p. 101. 49. ibid. p. 101. 50. starr, op. cit. p. 678. 51. ibid. p. 678. 52. ibid. p. 678. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 3 special edition igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 53 motivational interviewing and intimate partner violence victims in africa by andrew ibegbulem department of counselling and clinical health studies, villanova university, villanova frchiomaosa03@gmail.com abstract considering the high rate of report on intimate partner violence in africa and other parts of the world, motivational interviewing (mi), serve as a good approach and platform to help clients who are victims of intimate partner violence (ipv). mi is an evidence-based, directive client-centered and guiding communication style of working with resistant clients to elicit and enhance readiness to change. mi as an approach is based on the principle of experimental social psychology in exploring and resolving ambivalence. the collaborative nature of the working relationship between the counselor using mi and the ipv client is central and unique. in using mi, the counselor sets the tone for a collaborative working relationship by recognizing the ipv client as an expert of her life and experiences. keywords: motivational interviewing, intimate partner violence, ambivalence, empathy and post traumatic stress disorder. introduction about 1.8 million women in the united states experience severe domestic violence annually (straus & gelles, 1990). abuse or violence from a partner is recorded as the major cause of physical trauma injury, depression post traumatic stress disorder (ptsd) and other psychosocial problems (golding, 1999, goodman, koss & russo, 1993). intimate partner violence (ipv) especially against women has become a global health issue. it has become a concern not only for the human rights organisations but also the counseling profession. the high prevalence of ipv, which is associated with poor physical and mental health outcome and the damaging consequence of serious physical injury, homicide and possibly suicide has made igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 54 it an urgent concern (campbell, 2002). apart from the direct victims, ipv has great impact on the lives of children and other family members living in the same house. these individuals are considered to be at risk of being abuse in the process or suffer from trauma related emotional, behavioural and physical health problem from witnessing the act of violence (dube, et al, 2002). the common treatment used for victims of ipv centers around cognitive and behaviour change strategies within a feminist framework that locate the causes of violence in the social dynamics of gender and power. recent research showed that traditional ipv treatment has an insignificant effect on victims, about 5% point average reduction in ipv (babcock, green & robie, 2004). clinical experience and recent research have highlighted several reasons for the limited efficacy of the traditional treatment of ipv perpetrators. among the many reasons is that most treatment content may be mismatched to client readiness for change. it is an observable fact that most individual presented for treatment are in their early stage of change, which could be pre-contemplation, or contemplation. in stage of change, they are not reallyready for change. many of the traditional treatment programs emphasize active personal change strategies that require readiness to change. these programs either reject or ignore the clients who tend to blame other people for their problem with anger, aggression or addictions. in addition, other traditional treatment uses confrontation or punitive strategies that can invoke resistance to treatment and hostility thus alienating client further away from the change process. in view of the limited efficacy of the traditional treatment of ipv, a treatment that encourages personal responsibility and self-directed change is needed. these elements are found in motivational interviewing (miller & rollnick, 1991, 2002). motivational interviewing motivational interviewing (mi) is an evidence-based, client-centered and guiding communication style of working with resistant clients. prochaska and diclemente (1984) proposed the trans-theoretical model of change in which change occurs not as a discrete event but as a series of stages termed: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action and maintenance. influenced by the transtheoreticalmodel of change, miller, (1991) proposed a method for promoting change termed motivational interviewing. this model emphasizes an empathic, client-centered approach. mi seeks to enhance individual responsibility and self-efficacy. it avoids confrontation or labelling, creates igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 55 dissonances between current behaviour and beliefs, and uses the dissonance to promote change in behaviour. however, not in the strict sense, mi is said to be confrontational in its purpose to increase awareness of problem and the need to address what need to be done. counselor using mi does not confront their client directly rather; the confrontation is aimed at helping the client confront their problem by becoming more aware of the negative impact of their behaviour and the discrepancy between their actions and ideals. motivational interviewing as a pre-treatment intervention provides helpful strategies for each step in the overall change process. in using mi, counselor can help client gaingreater awareness of their problem behaviour, articulate motivations and barriers to change. in using mi, client can be assisted to enhance self-efficacy for accomplishing change as well as facilitate the development of plans and strategies for change. mi is a more realistic model to work with ipv who are not yet committed to active personal change (murphy & baxter, 1997). according to miller & rollnick, (2002), mi emphasizes: • respect empathy and acceptance while avoiding strict confrontation. • reflective listening to ensure accurate understanding. • individuals being the expert in their lives. • collaboration, power sharing and empowerment. • suspending judgment through exploring experiences and perceptions rather than labeling. • supporting self-efficacy through affirmations that highlight strength and positive coping skills. • relationship as foundation to the change process. • supporting autonomy and increasing perception of choice. some strategies and techniques of mi mi has unique strategies and techniques for effectiveness when used with clients presenting problems. some strategies and techniques of mi include: a.) asking permission: in mi asking permission from client communicates respect for clients. clients are more likely to be open and discuss about change when asked, then when being lectured or being told to change. b.) eliciting/evoking change talk: in mi it is the responsibility of the counselor to elicit reasons for changing from client by having them give voice to the need or reason for change. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 56 c.) exploring importance and confidence: this technique of mi provide the counselor with information on client’s view of the importance of changing and get clients to give voice to what they would need to do to achieve the change. d.) opened-ended questions: the use of opened-ended question by mi counselor allows for a richer, deeper conversation that flows and builds empathy with the client. opened-ended questions are aimed at promoting further dialogue that can be reflected back to client. e.) reflective listening: reflective listening in mi is a way of responding to client and building empathy. it involves listening carefully to clients and making a reasonable guess about what was said in other words, it is like forming hypothesis. it also entails paraphrasing clients comment back to them. f). normalizing: this is a way of communicating to client who are finding it difficult on taking the step to make a change or who are ambivalence that they are not alone in this situation. it is not intended to make client feel comfortable with not changing but help client realize that many people are experiencing the same difficulty in making change. g). columbo approach: this is aimed at revealing discrepancies. it has as it goal, helping the counselor to make sense of the client’s discrepant information. it allows the counselor address discrepancies between client’s spoken information and behaviour without evoking defensiveness or resistance. h). readiness to change ruler: this follows from the stages of change model that emphasizes the client as being in a different stage of change. readiness to change ruler is use to evaluate client’s readiness to change and motivation to change. using motivational interviewing with intimate partner violence client counselor using mi with ipv client from the beginning will create an atmosphere in which clients who are not ready yet to commit to active change can resolve their ambivalence and develop confidence in the ability of change. this atmosphere will help clients movethrough the stages of behaviour change (miller & rollnick, 1991). the counselor using mi provides a high level of empathic reflection while maintain a specific change target like the cessation of violence on intimate partner. paraphrasing of client verbalizations, double-sided reflection of ambivalence about change, amplified reflection or reframing of resistance statements, summary of change-relevant content, evocative question and affirmation are main counselor methods for working with client at the early stage (miller & rollnick, 1991). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 57 a.) the spirit of motivational interviewing the spirit of mi emphasizes autonomy and choice, circumventing client reactance against being controlled, pressured or forced to change (miller & rollnick, 1991). mi creates a collaborative, evocation and autonomy climate in which client motivation for change can emerge and grow by evoking the clients own desire, ability, reasons and needs for change, and by supporting both the client’s decision-making authority regarding intended and desired change and autonomy in other aspect of the treatment planning. the therapeutic alliance that is created between the counselor and the ipv client, that guides the counselor and encourages decision-making ability stands out in beginning the need change process (moyers, miller & hendrickson, 2005). b). listening and empathy many ipv male clients have issues with anger and aggression. coming for counseling to address the issue of partner abuse may present a problem of ambivalence in which these male client are not ready to accept responsibility of their action but tend to blame their partner as the cause of the situation. counselor using mi applies the strategy and technique of reflective listening to obtain and express empathy. reflective listening is the primary way of responding to clients and building empathy. it involves listening carefully to clients and making a reasonable guess about what the client is saying, in other words it is like forming a hypothesis. the purpose of listening in mi is to assist the client to hear importantchange-liberating element of their thinking and speech and assist them to think through what is reflected to them. listening to ipv clients can have a powerful impact. research on ipv male client shows that mi is significantly helpful for clients in early stages of change and for those who are angry and potentially hostile toward treatment (heather et al., 1996; rohsenow et al., 2004; stots et al., 2001). c). exploring ambivalence most ipv clients are often conflicted between their motive for maintaining the status quo and for pursuing change. in as much as motives compete and the ipv survivor is unable to resolve the conflict, there will be a situation of standstill. ambivalence is a reasonable place to visit, but you wouldn’t want to live there (miller & rollnick, 2002). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 58 among the many techniques used in mi in working with ipv clients, value clarification is one that is use in resolving ambivalence about change (wagner & sanchez as cited in miller & rollnick, 2002). counselor using mi with ipv client work in a way to highlight discrepancy by exploring with the client ways in which their present life situation conflict with the goal they have in life. by applying mi the counselor allows the client to move in and out of ambivalence, by exploring the various and often complicated situations of their lives, with the ultimate desire of actualizing the set goals and methods of change. change for most ipv client involves acknowledging the abusive actions and working through the tendency to blame others for their actions to taking responsibility or ownership of their problem. as client begins personal assuming responsibility for changing their behaviour, their commitment has a tendency of fluctuating. the on-going relationship dynamics and shift in relationship statue may alter motivation and commitment to change. d). focus on change talk mi has as one of its fundamental purpose, eliciting from the ipv clients their own desire, reasons, abilities, needs and commitment to pursue change, referred to as change talk (miller & rollnick, 2002). in elicit change from the ipv client the counselor is open to different methods that prevent the counselor from being enmeshed in the “blaming trip” (miller & rollnick, 2002). mi does not deal with blame but emphasizes the ipv client’s ability to change behaviour and circumstance that are within their control. practical application of mi with ipv client the collaborative nature of the working relationship between the counselor using mi and the ipv client is central and unique. in using mi, the counselor sets the tone for a collaborative working relationship by recognizing the ipv client as an expert of her life and experiences. by using open-ended questions, the counselor invites the ipv client to control the initial direction of the session. the counselor in addition, uses reflections to convey accurate empathy on what the client has experienced. this reflected empathy facilitates the building of trust and rapport. the counselor by the use of reflective listening helps the ipv client to hear important elements of her thinking, feeling and experience. this also guides the conversation in the direction that the ipv client’s desire for change. trust and rapport in the relationship are enhanced and encouraged by the counselor igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 59 offering affirmation to the client’s honesty in revealing her experience despite the negative consequences associated with the experience or behaviour. the counselor does not ask questions or focus on specifies as the client talks about the violence she had experience from her partner, rather the counselor reflects discrepancy between what the client was hoping for in the situation and what actually happen. by reflecting the discrepancy, the counselor also reflects the client ambivalence about her relationship but in this case he does not take side or position about what client should do. the counselor give the client the opportunity to explore and work on resolving the ambivalence in her own way by avoiding any argument for change which may likely elicit a defensive position from the client. this action would create the opportunity for the client to bring herown concerns around the need for change. at this point the client will begin to ask questions that can produce change talk. at this point, the counselor uses double-sided reflection to capture both side of the ambivalence as well as summarizes everything the client had shared. when the client answers questions by stating she is confuse and does not know and tends to expect advice from the counselor, the mi counselor resists this temptation of giving advice or offering solutions by demonstrating his belief in the client’s self-efficacy and autonomy. in this way the counselor will allow the client to expand on her answer by giving new information that will help to achieve the desire change needed. conclusion mi is described as a guiding approach to strengthening motivation for positive change towards a specific or targeted behaviour (rollnick et al., 2008). counselor working with ipv client should consider the critical situation and address the issue of safety for the client and the children of the family (household). in addressing this issue, the counselor should ask for permission from the client to give feedback about any concerns for client’s safety. permission should also be asked to collaborate on a plan to create a strategy for responding to potential future violence. the act of asking permission from the client, the counselor maintains a collaborative nature of the working relationship while still demonstrating respect for the client’s autonomy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 60 reference babcock, j. c., green, c. e., & robie, c. (2004). does batterers' treatment work? a metaanalytic review of domestic violence treatment. clinical psychology review, 23(8), 1023-1053. campbell, j. c. (2002). health consequences of intimate partner violence.the lancet,359(9314), 1331-1336. dube, s. r., anda, r. f., felitti, v. j., edwards, v. j., & williamson, d. f. (2002). exposureto abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction among adults who witnessed intimate partner violence as children: implications for health and social services. violence and victims, 17(1), 3-17. golding, j. m. (1999). intimate partner violence as a risk factor for mental disorders: a metaanalysis. journal of family violence, 14(2), 99-132. goodman, l. a., koss, m. p., & russo, n. f. (1993). violence against women: physical andmental health effects. part i: research findings. applied and preventive psychology, 2(2), 79-89. heather, n., rollnick, s., bell, a., & richmond, r. (1996). effects of brief counselingamong male heavy drinkers identified on general hospital wards*. drug and alcohol review, 15(1), 29-38. miller, w. r., & rollnick, s. (1991). motivational interviewing: preparing people to changeaddictive behavior. guilford press. new york. miller, w. r., & rollnick, s. (2002). motivational interviewing: preparing people for changeguilford. new york. moyers, t. b., miller, w. r., & hendrickson, s. m. (2005). how does motivationalinterviewing work? therapist interpersonal skill predicts client involvement within motivational interviewing sessions. journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 73(4), 590. murphy, c. m., & baxter, v. a. (1997). motivating batterers to change in the treatmentcontext. journal of interpersonal violence, 12(4), 607-619. prochaska, j. o., &diclemente, c. c. (1984). self change processes, self efficacy anddecisional balance across five stages of smoking cessation. progress in clinical and biological research, 156, 131. rohsenow, d. j., monti, p. m., martin, r. a., colby, s. m., myers, m. g., gulliver, s. b., ...& abrams, d. b. (2004). motivational enhancement and coping skills training for cocaine abusers: effects on substance use outcomes. addiction, 99(7), 862-874. stotts, a. l., schmitz, j. m., rhoades, h. m., & grabowski, j. (2001). motivational interviewing with cocaine-dependent patients: a pilot study. journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 69(5), 858. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 61 straus, m. a., & gelles, r. j. (1990). how violent are american families? estimates from thenational family violence resurvey and other studies.physical violence in american families: risk factors and adaptations to violence in, 8(145), 95-112. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 3 habermas and communicative action: an appraisal of contemporary nigerian society victor ogheneochuko jeko, ph.d department of philosophy, faculty of arts, university of benin victor_oghene@yahoo.com & amaka patricia nwana, ph.d, general studies unit, igbinedion university, okada, benin city nwanaamaka2@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.33912.11529 abstract the implication of habermas’ argument is that universal human rights are grounded in the existential political conditions for human interrelationships and social order and from those conditions, he maintains that there are certain moral standards of human treatment which all democratic societies should respect. habermas’ theory of communicative action has both strengths and weaknesses. it aims at addressing the problem of social order and human rights. although, his theory serves as a leitmotif test for the contemporary nigerian society, his theory has not been able to grapple with the complexities facing our contemporary societies. communicative action reflects the linguistic transparency of persons in their day to day activities. today, our contemporary nigerian society has been characterized by myriad of socio-political and economic problems. there has been the crises of social system and social structure due to the superimposition of money and power by the nigerian politicians. the nigerian leaders have distorted the nigerian socio-political structures. the nigerian political climates, market forces, the economic systems and structures have failed woefully due to the monetization of the society and the burecrautization of power in nigeria. this paper showcases the relevance of communicative action to the nigerian contemporary society. this paper, therefore, concludes that communicative action reflects the transformational values of human conducts and organizational framework; that there ought to be the need for differences to flourish; that the theory of communicative action has a sustained and continued relevance to other climates like the contemporary nigerian society and that the theory of communicative action has a moral element. keywords: communicative action, contemporary nigerian society, social order, moral consciousness, human rights igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 4 introduction the starting point of our argument is habermas's embedding of his theoretical account of communicative action within a far broader model of how we can contextually justify a political outlook, such as communicative justice, as politically legitimate to our starving world. habermas's theoretical reconstruction of communicative action showcases the normative possibility of social order and the promulgation of human rights. the promotion of human rights, law and social order are far cry from the contemporary nigerian reality. from the foregoing, it is clear that his conceptualization and contextual justification of communicative action presupposes the normative possibility of human emancipation and human sociality. communicative action refers to the moral and socio-political character of linguistic communication and human emancipation. the philosophy of communicative action reflects the democratic state in the attainment of the moral objectives of human emancipation and sociality. this moral element which is generally articulated within the normative context of communicative action plays a crucial role in the indispensability of human dialogue and it helps in ascertaining the comprehensive conception of the good life of members as it concerns the contemporary nigerian society. this theoretical discourse is concerned with the critical evaluation of habermas's theory of communicative action examined in the light of the contemporary nigerian society. this paper, therefore, reflects on using the habermasian paradigm in analyzing the contemporary nigerian paradox. the dignity of labour is no longer respected by our humanity. habermas's work is a theoretical tool for national development, human emancipation, socio-economic and democratic liberalization. the focus of this paper is to determine the moral background culture or the ground for communicative action as a theoretical model to examine or assess the level of its relevance within the contemporary nigerian contexts of the mismanagement of nigeria's economic and socio-political resources for national development. the contemporary lagacy of habermas's communicative action the paper envisages the philosophy of habermas’s conceptual analysis and theoretical framework of communicative action. his theory of communicative rationality is conversely speaking communicative justice. it presupposes understanding of rational consensus or orientation of human actions. according to habermas, understanding rational orientations of action becomes the reference point for understanding all action orientations.1 habermas's theory places emphasis on the internal connection between the theory of rationality and social igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 5 theory. after the theory of communicative action, habermas expands upon the theory of communicative action and a conceptualization of the social life world context that is tailored around the paradoxes of the scope for engineering the mass loyalty and it makes it easier to uncouple the political world. habermas’s attitude in the theory of communicative action or ‘lifeworld’ context and the paradoxes of the system-life-world or the political institutions then referred to the background resources of this intellectual discourse. habermas reflects on the two track model of deliberative politics distinguishing the normative demands from the background consensus in which communicative action is embedded. habermas’s communicative action is a contemporary ideal of basic normative core of communicative interaction and may also be referred to as communicative justice, communicative association or constitutive of transformative association. the normative ideal of communicative interaction allows differences to flourish. according to mackenzie: the ideal of communicative interaction is precisely that which enables differences to flourish. a genuinely open conversation, undistorted by money and power, is the basic principle on which all varieties of social integration and democratic politics can be modelled. not only does a rational exchange of views allow for all perspectives to be aired equally, it also undoubtedly requires that each participant transform their initial presumptions in light of the force of a better argument.2 his philosophy is that of socio-rational reconstruction and it presupposes the need to deconstruct our society. there are some measures of derridarian deconstructive philosophy in habermas’s philosophy. for mackenzie: jacques derrida ushered into the intellectual world the idea of deconstruction… it expresses a form of critical practice aimed at exposing the inevitable gaps or lacunae that both structure and de-structure any text; hence de-con-structure is both de-structuring the text to find how it is held together and constructing an interpretation of the text that shows how the structure holding it together is never watertight, on its own terms; that is, it has no essence. just to ward off an obvious rejoinder, it is important to mention that the text that is deconstructed is not simply a written text or speech but any ‘discursive practice’; patriarchal behavior, for example, is a social text that can be deconstructed.3 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 6 furthermore, it reveals the fact that language from the habermasian universal pragmatic perspective and ideal speech situation showcases rational discourse and language itself objectifies the human social world as exemplified by wittgenstein. habermas’s theory of communicative action is hermeneutic dialogue and cultural humanism of some sort. habermas advocates a radical nature of democracy that is called deliberative democracy and the contemporary nigerian society can tap from this normative framework of habermas's conceptualization of communicative justice. communicative justice requires the need for human emancipation and the collective happiness of all in normative society. his theory of communicative action has been heralded by the whole of western tradition. habermas’s theory of communicative action is social activity and his theoretical framework is traceable to the greek philosophers namely plato, aristotle, and socrates. habermas envisages the need for irreducible otherness as advocated by levinas and it heralds the human order and social structure. habermas’s concept of communicative action is moral ordering. his philosophy is a revision of plato, aristotle, socrates, kant, parson, mead, hegel, wittgenstein, marx, durkheim, and freud’s philosophical traditions. in line with this argument, mackenzie submits that; it is interesting to notice, as one reflects on who is on the conversation, that the contributions deemed to be of real lasting value, those made by the ‘great’ political philosophers (ancient, medieval, modern, and contemporary), are ones that have fundamentally changed dominant habits of thought.4 the conceptualization of the ‘communicative action theory’ is not just a theoretical acrobatic or abstraction but social interaction or discursive practice. the indispensability of dialogue in habermas’s philosophy is deeply rooted in conflict resolution. the contemporary nigerian society can a clue from this conflict resolution mechanism. habermas’s conceptual framework or contextual justification of communicative action is an appeal to inter-subjectivity; that is, the philosophy of inter-subjectivity in husserl’s phenomenology of the life-world. understanding the habermasian picture should be the essence of dialogue and it reveals its sustained or continued relevance to contemporary society like nigeria. we are rational beings and the sacredness of the human person is examined in the light of communication context. habermas’s subject matter of moral consciousness is implicit in his communicative action theory. it is a discursive ethics. the indispensability of dialogue in habermas’s theory of communicative action reveals its implication to global order. philosophy has a great role to play here in making sure the contemporary relevance of dialogue remained particularly explicit in order to combat global terrorism in our democratic world. our humanity is at crossroads due to the prevalence of terrorism and terror. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 7 accordingly, borradori, in her book, philosophy in a time of terror: dialogue between jurgen habermas and jacques derrida, believes that dialogue plays a critical role in global terrorism.5 consequently, her book encapsulates the fact that the rejection of dialogue can necessarily lead to fundamentalism, and fundamentalism necessarily can lead to violence. communicative action is a dialogical imperative of global interdependence and rational cognitive capacity or social activity of human persons. it is an appeal to moral autonomy, it is a discursive ethics of social cooperation or discursive practice and it showcases the synergy between the system and the life-world. the ideological distortion between the system and the life-world, habermas opines must be removed through the intersubjective recognition of a systematically undistorted communication and how it can be averted in human practical everyday life which is feasible through reciprocal relationship. the habermasian tradition immediately reveals the basic phenomenological, ethical, political, linguistic, existential and global imports of human interactions. it awakens in us to a moral consciousness that will enable, we humans to be rational or educative and to be able to make proper judgement. habermas’s theory of communicative action reveals purposive rational activity, cognitive capacity and the rationalization or the radicalization of communicative competence thus revealed that the anachronistic character of human senselessness can be corrected through educable sensibility or training and retraining processes. the concept of “communicative action” means attempt to express differently the unbridgeable distance among individuals which have anthropological, existential, moral and political dimensions. moreover, habermas views religion as the transcendence within. religion in contemporary nigerian society has become a source of worries. religion has divides us in nigeria instead of uniting us. religion that supposed to be a source of peace has now become a source of ethnic divide in nigeria. moral order is traceable to human order and this traceability brings to the foreground the creativity of individuals in society. this comprehensive theoretical acrobatic and contextual justification have its own relative, subordinate and objective truth especially with regards to the contemporary nigerian society. the economic, political and social structural conditions of individuals in contemporary nigerian situation is a onerous task. the indispensability of dialogical relation and practical everyday experience of social practice, social cooperation or interaction lie in the origin of discursive ethics, moral consciousness, normative ideal social order, social change, social/normative structures, equality, autonomy, communicative igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 8 justice and human rights. similarly, habermas’s theoretical framework and contextual justification have watertight sorts of positive role if it remained aware of its dialogical and idyllical role with regards to the unprecedented systematically distorted communication nigeria is currently facing. habermas’s philosophy talked about cultural humanism and critical social theory. critical concern with the question of moral consciousness is invariably implicit and constituted the normative core or heart of contemporary nigerian society. the idea of a closed society devoid of free and open communication keep modern society in a serious social, cultural, economic, political instability, moral crisis and epistemological quandary or confusion. nonetheless, it is germane to note here that by ‘communicative action” habermas did not mean a phenomenon of semantic analysis in abstraction but a mode of guaranteeing social order, human rights and communicative justice. communicative action demands social order, social activity or purposive-rational activity and the web of social interaction devoid of symbolic violence. violence used to disrupt the human project and it destabilizes the project of humanity. the contemporary nigerian society is currently faced with all sorts of social vices and ethnic crises. habermas believes that for effective communicative competence our dialogical relations with others must reflect purposive activity and normative structure. moral consciousness is very crucial in habermas’s theory of communicative action. it constitutes a dimension of cultural identity which is prior to autonomy and human flourishing. habermas's work is deeply rooted in politics and culture. according to mackenzie, cultures are only important to the extent that they provide individuals with frameworks that enable autonomy to flourish.6 moreover, habermas reiterates that moral consciousness in our purposive rational activity presupposes the demand of criticizable validity claims or truth claims and ego identity. the exposition of habermas’s theory of communicative action is a moral template of human social relations or action. for barnes, communicative action, however, constitutes an independent and distinct type of social action.7 communicative action theory opens up the process for societal learning process and human emancipation. accordingly, barnes, argued that “however, in contrast to weber, habermas does not regard rationalization as a process that inevitably culminates in the loss of meaning and freedom in the world, but as an ambivalent process that also opens up a potential for societal learning and new levels of human emancipation.8 habermas’s wide range of theorizing has been extraordinary and has a sustained and continued relevance to our contemporary nigerian society. it covers epistemological debates, the dynamics of advanced igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 9 capitalist system and a thoroughgoing eclecticism of developments in social sciences and philosophy. according to david jary and julia jary: the range of habermas’s theorizing is extraordinary. he deals with most of the broad themes developed by earlier critical theorists, including epistemological questions and debate about the fundamental dynamics of advanced capitalist societies. in addition, he has sought to achieve a thoroughgoing synthesis of developments in social sciences and philosophyincluding analytical philosophy, the philosophy of science, linguistics, political science, and systems theorythey are of relevance in exploring the basis for a rational reconstruction of society on socialist lines with the starting point of a critique of the ‘scientization of politics’ … habermas has endeavoured to re-establish social scientific and political debate as an arena of ‘open discourse’.9 this canon of habermasian tradition elucidates the normative character of true rationality any contemporary society must begin to imbibe by bracketing all prevailing prejudices, biases or preconceived ideas and ideological distortions. this theoretical framework and the contextual justification of the indispensability of dialogue in habermas’s philosophy can presupposed an ‘ideal speech situation’ and creating the platform for equal opportunities for contemporary nigerian citizens to engage in a liberal dialogue and this marked the crux of this intellectual discourse. according to david jary and julia jary: true rationality can be seen to be achieved only when this emerges from condition which corresponds to an ideal speech situation, in which all parties have equal opportunities to engage in dialogue, without undue domination by one party, without restriction and without ideological distortion. this model states the conditions for a critical and truly ‘emancipatory’ social science. even if there are difficulties in realizing the models, it establishes a benchmark in terms of which the ideological distortions involved in existing forms of social science can be gauged.10 in consequence, habermas’s intellectual contribution has been a regeneration of so many discourses in contemporary society like nigeria. this canon of communicative reasoning and radical political consciousness revealed the import of normative ideal socio-political new world order. the habermasian picture marked the crux of a humanistic/epistemological dimension and the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 10 unprecedented concern for the social structural transformation or rational reconstruction of contemporary nigerian society. habermas, a german philosopher and social theorist, is perhaps best known for his wide-ranging defense of the modern public sphere and its related ideals of publicity and free public reason, but he has also made important contributions to theories of communication and informal argumentation, communicative ethics, the foundations and methodology of the social sciences. habermas locates the origins of the various political, economic and cultural crises confronting modern society in a one-sided process of rationalization steered more by the media of money and administrative power than by forms of collective decision-making based on consensually grounded norms and values. habermas traced the emergence of a bourgeois public sphere which, at least for a time, offered the prospect of an arena that would mediate between state and society. rooted in the social and economic conditions of liberal capitalism, the ‘bourgeois public sphere’ is being referred to those socio-cultural institutions that arose in the eighteenth century in opposition to the absolutist powers of the state private clubs and coffeehouses, learned societies and literary associations, publishing houses, journals, and newspaper. he referred to the ‘re-feudalization’ of civil society during the latter part of the nineteenth century. habermas traces the commercialization of civil society, the bureaucratization of power and nonpolitical authority, monetization of human democratic society and the growth of a manipulative or propagandistic mass-media in his communicative action theory. a ‘re-politicized social sphere’ eroded the real distinction between state and society that has been a necessary social structural condition for the bourgeois public sphere, and a society oriented to consumption and a politics based on the competition and bargaining between interest groups emerged in the place of a public sphere formed by an enlightened democratic citizenry. in the 1960s and 1970s, habermas pursued a number of related issues. he sharply criticized the ‘scientization of politics’ and increase in ‘technocratic consciousness’ he discerned in contemporary societies. habermas’s conception of society is predicated on the philosophical significance of reasoned communication of human persons. this valid discourse attempts to elucidate or dovetail into the contemporary approaches to the problem of communicative rationality in contemporary nigerian society. “rationality” has been a preliminary specification and a contextual justification of new world order. the habermasian tradition aims at some of the characteristics of the mythical and the modern ways of understanding of our contemporary nigerian society. contemporary democratic theory, advanced capitalist system and cosmopolitan political order are of habermas’s igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 11 theoretical concerns and objectives. habermas’s contemporary political philosophy takes historical precedence over the aristotelian tradition of politics of the state and the freedom of the individual. habermas’s social and political philosophy is a domain of overlapping rational consensus and objective validity. habermas’s philosophy is geared toward the politics of difference, mutual recognition, human rights, human emancipation and an aesthetic appeal to intersubjectivity. every society has made frantic efforts to get rid of undue restrictions to the freedom of the state and the individuals. the individuals and the state must fraternize in a harmonious atmosphere. but to understand habermas’s concept of deliberative democracy, we must bring to the fore the meaning of democracy as it affects contemporary nigerian society. today, democracy has failed woefully in contemporary nigerian society. the nigerian leaders are far away from the people. there is nothing like deliberative democracy in contemporary nigerian society. the proclivity of economic and political corruption has become the order of the day in contemporary nigerian society. nigeria is currently experiencing social and communicative distortions. there are so many social crises in contemporary nigerian society. apart from social crises or communicative distortions nigeria is also experiencing economic crises caused by ineffective leadership structure and poor governance. the nigerian masses are at the receiving end. there is nothing like political participation in nigeria but rigging of elections. however, the idea of political participation simply suggests a full blown democratic setting, a kind of positive form of democratic structure and not a negative democratic setting. democracy is a political ideology, a system of government and a form of government. it connotes three major fundamentals such as social, economic and political strands. democratic structure is characterized by a political dimension that strategically think of safeguarding the basic rights of the masses with regards to politics, ensuring social justice and basic normative order and to distribute wealth equitably among the populace in society. freedom is a driving and powerful concept. liberty, majority rule, constitution, constitutionalism, human rights, political participation, accountability, are part and parcel of democratic question, normative structure and principle, and the democratic structure demands tranquillity. the democratic question is geared towards putting in place an ideal society, rational dialogue, reasoned communication that is undistorted. a peaceful society is anchored on normative orders or character of a rational human conduct, active participation in political affairs, religious tolerance, cognizance of human basic rights, an intelligent understanding of public affairs, the common good and undaunted devotion to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 12 common interests of all. habermas's work showcases the concepts of a good society and the intelligible network of social interaction. for ritzer and stepnisky, social interaction exists first within social groups and social structure emerges from social interaction but once this occurs, social structures have separate existence that affects the process of interaction.11 the relevance of habermas's communicative action to the contemporary nigerian society habermas's theory of communicative action should be examined from the nigerian perspective or african standpoint. nigeria's democratic setting has been characterized by socio-political and economic bastardization. the nigerian social system and structure has been in a very bad situation. there is nothing like moral answerability, linguistic transparency, truth and action between the nigerian leaders and the masses in general. the nigerian democratic society is in a state of disarray. the nigerian government is characterized by socio-political and economic uncertainties. the contemporary nigerian society lacks normative possibility of social order, politico-economic structure and democratic liberalization. the contemporary nigerian society is bedevilled by political and economic/executive corruption, poverty, kidnapping, armed robbery, hyperinflation, food crises, unemployment, ethno-religious crises, islamic fundamentalism, hunger, lawlessness, violation of human rights, civil disobedience, incessant workers' strikes, etc. these fundamental challenges can be surmountable using the habermasian paradigm in solving myriads of contemporary nigeria's problems. the nigeria's socio-economic and political problems can be solved by moral practical knowledge and that is, linguistic communication presupposes understanding and taking positions on criticizable validity claims.12 one fundamental problems that has led to nigeria's national insecurity, is that, we have failed as a people in our quest for social interactions vis-a-vis our everyday democratic speech. there is no longer sincerity or honesty of purpose or purity of intention on the parts of the nigerian leadership and followership. for habermas, the concept of communicative action refers to the interaction of at least two subjects capable of speech and action who establish interpersonal relations whether by verbal or by extra verbal means.13 accordingly, habermas posits that communicative action reflects the normative possibility and a clearly demarcated sphere of good society.14 a good society is only possible through descent human association. a good society is simply descent society. however, communicative action reflects the physical and psychological inquiry of persons or subjects and its real intention comes to light only when we view it in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 13 relation to the positivist strategy of avoiding epistemological questions.15 communicative action reveals the normative possibility and visibility of psychoanalytic dialogue and it helps us to avoid the sophistic delusion that only assumes the appearance of self-reflection and the initiatives of radical reformism of human rational society.16 communicative action is deeply rooted in the objective context of truth, human action, and in the concept of reason active as critique of ideology, knowledge and the dialectical commitment to the sayability of truth.17communicative action reveals the causal explanations of effects, truth and universal laws of truth and action.18 in addition, linguistic communication reveals the category of actual spirits, interactions based on reciprocity and the institutionalization of mutual recognition.19 according to habermas, thus the relation of reciprocal recognition, on which interaction is based, is brought under norms by way of the institutionalization of the reciprocity established as such in the exchange of the product of labour. the contemporary nigerian society does not respect the dignity of labour. what we are currently experiencing in the contemporary nigerian society is exploitation. however, the institutionalization of ego-identity, the legally sanctioned self-consciousness, is understood as a result of both processes: that of labour and that of the struggle for recognition.20 habermas's theoretical reconstruction envisages the contemporary nigerian paradox where many nigerian politicians struggled for power and recognition at the detriment of the collective interests of the nigerian democratic states. the contemporary nigerian society has plunged into fundamental crises because the nigerian peoples have failed to identify the fundamental issues facing the contemporary nigerian situation. according to habermas, a society does not plunge into crisis when, and only when, its members so identify the situation.21 the anthropological balance of habermas's communicative justice/ethics reflects the normative possibility of an optimistic assumptions of the contemporary nigerian society. the communicative organization of human behaviour can become an obstacle to our complex decision making systems.22 communicative action reveals the motivations for actions; the process of socialization that takes place within structures of linguistic inter subjectivity that determines an organizational framework of human behaviour tied to norms that requires normative justification and to interpretive systems that secures ego identity in persons.23 furthermore, habermas's theory of communicative action is compatible with solving the enormity of contemporary nigerian problems, which weighs down our country. the relevance of communicative action to the contemporary nigerian paradox in a complementary perspective lies in the fact that the management and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 14 mismanagement of our nigerian human and natural resources lies in our deliberate human actions and democratic heritage. for asouzu, the strength, weakness, success, and failure, indeed the greatness of nigeria depends on how nigerians manage or mismanage their heritage.24 habermas's communicative action reveals the need for tolerance and authenticity. for asouzu, authentic living entails therefore having a very wide and accommodating horizon; it is a life of tolerance and devotion to one's calling and radical openness to the unexpected because life is more complex than logic...this would be the case where one lives in a relationship of reciprocal and comparative advantage in view of the ultimate common good.25 habermas's communicative action is deeply rooted in a pragmatic framework of human organizational structure or social cohesion or system. for habermas, the concept of communicative action turns our attention to the binding energies of language, to the familiar background consensus, the reciprocal extension of trust and the more or less naive readiness for understanding on which we count in our everyday praxis. pragmatism taught us to take common sense and the life world seriously.26 the contemporary nigerian society requires moral valuation or moral rebirth. ethical issues require moral answers. moral answers retain only the rationally motivating force of insights; communicative action requires the possibility of the prudent application of universal moral insights and support motivations. for translating insights into moral action.27 the contemporary questions of current nigerian politics reflect the fact that society still intends a relatively uniform status. communicative action requires reliable citizens of the new democratic order.28 communicative action reveals the need for sociability. for asekhauno, truly the essence of humanity...is inestimable rationality, unique physicality and sociability.29 communicative action is based on interactions and customs capable of continually reproducing at least those conditions essential for its own existence.30 communicative action as role playing is defined by the tenet of sociability and sayability. habermas's philosophy demonstrates the pursuance of the perceived positive dimensions of the future of global society. his theory showcases the realization of the intrinsic worth of such values as truthfulness, solidarity and mutual dependability.31 habermas's theory of communicative action reflects the normative possibility of universal and eternal moral ordering; the end of state authority is the preservation of human life and property; it is the duty of the state to ensure human freedom and social justice. what justifies state authority is its conscious effort to administer social justice within the normative context of the due process of law.32the contemporary nigerian society is bedeviled by destructive racism, ethnic chauvinism, the humiliation of neocolonialism and colonialism, the confusion of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 15 political instability, self-leadership, the misery of economic crisis, the confusion of cultural and religious alienation and the debilitating effects of psychological trauma come together to define the present contemporary nigerian situation.33the democratization process in africa is still in want of a strong foundation in nigeria, sierra leone, gambia, south sudan, somalia, and algeria; the nigerian democratic perspective entails a muzzling of individual initiative, and strangling political freedom.34the theory of communicative action could serve as a platform for resolving the fractured and fragile social order in many political communities like that of the contemporary nigerian society. the theory of communicative action reflects the collectivistic and egalitarian values that promote social cohesion, human solidarity and community life; it reflects the superiority of individualism over competition and it fosters economic domination and class exploitation. individualistic cultures emphasized self-reliance, independence, and morality; interpersonal relationships based on the exchange of the beneficial scheme of social cooperation. habermas's philosophy reflects the need for the prevalence of social order. social order is a relatively persistent system of institutions. habermas's theory of communicative action presupposes the normative possibility of systems and methodology of addressing contemporary nigerian society. for asouzu, systems and methods are well crafted tools devised to penetrate reality in particular ways.35 habermas's philosophy relies solely on the usefulness in making predictions and effective social engineering in the organizational framework of society.36 habermas's philosophy reflects the normative possibility of democratic nationalism or democratic socialism as a model of total liberation of africa. his theoretical reconstruction also showcases the cultural relevance of democratic existentialism to africa.37 democratic socialism is upheld by its exponents as an alternative to capitalism and socialism and definitely a solution to the recurrent miasma of political and economic instability in africa.38 habermas's theoretical reconstruction reveals the practical and concrete sense of political freedom as self-rule backed by self-determination articulated in words, theory and actions.39broadly speaking, political freedom is not "self-rule" devoid of self-determination and ideological freedom.40the state is a very essential apparatus for the promotion of human rights and freedom. for dukor, habermas is aware of the pathologies, distortions and aporias of modernity and undertook to correct them within the modernity's framework through on expounded sphere of communicative rationality against the systematic imperative of the economy and the state.41 for habermas, a theory of rationalization requires an explanation of how categories and concepts are concretely embodied in social and cultural life.42habermas's philosophy igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 16 demonstrates the socio-political ideology of democratic society. habermas's work reflects the radical understanding of human nature, reason, culture, conscience and human conduct. according to habermas, understanding human conduct is not only a causal endeavor, but it also consists of uncovering its intelligibility by relating it to the rules that constitute forms of life. the logical relations that constitute forms of life are epistemological.43habermas's communicative rationality presupposes the abstractions of rational morality and science for society.44 habermas's communicative action reflects the problematic of understanding meaning not so much directly in terms of this transcendental logical framework, but rather on a methodological level that even positivist prejudices cannot eliminate in democratic society.45for habermas, politics and mutual sympathy are important in any democratic society. politics is concerned with the empirical rather than the moral questions (although implicit in habermas's discussions) are moral claims and truth validity claims.46 nevertheless, the existential imperative of moral claims and moral theory can be too demanding as the basic needs to feed the starving of the world of ours.47habermas's communicative rationality reflects the moral consciousness of advancing the need for human rights and action. according to hoffman and graham, the growth in consciousness of human rights is one of the achievements of communicative rationality.48 accordingly, habermas's communicative rationality is concerned about communicative justice, politics, culture, dialogue and human rights. for hoffman and graham, one way to address this problem of cultural dependence is to maintain that politics is a dialogue, in which people bring to bear their different cultural perspectives, such that what emerges from the dialogue is something pluralistic yet coherent. his theory is grounded in human autonomy; but that human autonomy itself has a collective dimension which must take into account cultural interpretations of human rights.49 the promotion of human rights in contemporary nigerian society is a far cry from reality. nigeria has been practicing extrajudicial killings of her innocent citizens without any legal sanctions on those perpetrators of extra-judicial killings in nigeria. the nigerian police and the nigerian army are culpable of these heinous crimes. evaluation nigeria as a country has become a viable ground for weak institutions to strive. we have virtually lost our sense of humanity, national security, law and order. there are no laws and orders in nigeria. however, it has been observed that nigeria is currently battling or grappling with myriad of fundamental problems igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 17 such as inequality, kidnapping, lack of due process, lawlessness, ritual killings, socio-political instability, poor economic system, food shortages, hyperinflation, farmers-herders clashes, islamic fundamentalism, terror and terrorism, armed robbery, poor infrastructural facilities, poor health care system, corruption and looting of nigeria's national treasuries, violence, ethnic sentimentalism and prebendalism, godfatherism, poor educational system, poor road networks, poor power supply, poor water supply, unemployment, hunger, low life expectancy, religious crises, poor leadership structure, crises of relevance and african identity. the buhari’s led administration has given the contemporary nigerian society the worst hit due to his incompetency in addressing the fundamental challenges facing the contemporary nigerian society. worthy of note is that since the inception of the buhari's led administration the level of poverty and hunger have increased astronomically in the contemporary nigerian society. however, a lot needs to be done to change the narrative that is currently plaguing the contemporary nigerian society. the nigerian masses are seriously groaning in pains and are currently facing economic hardship and abject poverty due to failed nigerian administration. the contemporary nigerian democratic state has become a failed nationstate due to ineffective leadership, massive corruption and bad governance. the implication of habermas's argument is that universal human rights are grounded in the existential political conditions for human interrelationships and social order and from those conditions, he maintains that there are certain moral standards of human treatment which all societies must follow. jurgen habermas offers the best contemporary statement of logical entailment.50 habermas's theoretical reconstruction demonstrates rational entailment argument whereby a liberal society should tolerate a descent society.51 habermas's philosophy reveals the existential imports, normative rightness and that validity claims are implicit in all human actions, that is, they are universal. this seems a promising basis for defending universal human rights against the challenge of cultural relativism.52 habermas's theoretical discourse showcases the rigorocity and precision on the fundamental questions of linguistic significance and transparency. habermas's philosophy is simply critical social theory. for wisnewski, one might respond by claiming that the rigor and precision brought to bear on questions of linguistic significance provide the point of departure required for any critical theory; to do this, it seems, is already to engage in critical theory and it is to step well beyond the confines of simple linguistic analysis.53 communicative exchange is aimed at the democracy of everyday speech.54 communicative action is habermas's name for the residue of rationality built into our everyday exchange.55 habermas's work demonstrates the normative igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 18 possibility of an ethical discourse. for boradori, habermas makes the term "discourse" the cornerstone of his communicative approach to ethics and political philosophy.56 habermas's work showcases the spirit of democratic citizenship and social cooperation. for russell, a sense of citizenship, of social cooperation, is therefore, more necessary than it used to be; but it remains important that this should be secured without too great a diminution of individual judgement and individual initiative.57 habermas's philosophy is built on the pre-conventional, conventional and post conventional stages of human societies. habermas talks of societies being at the pre-conventional, conventional and post conventional stages of human development.58 habermas's philosophy encapsulates the central egalitarian dimension of the democratic ideal.59 habermas's work is a presuppositions of dialogical conception of human rationality and he describes conversation as that which is concerned to reach an understanding with one another as communicative action.60 his work reveals the spirit of 'technocratic consciousness'. for howie, this increasing tendency to define practical problems in such an instrumental way is what habermas would describe as technocratic consciouness.61 habermas's theoretical framework of communicative action reflects an organic solidarity of human persons. for ferrante, organic solidarity is social order based on interdependence and cooperation among people performing a wide range of diverse and specialized tasks.62 habermas's philosophy is an expression of a set of moral values or consciousness that determines the direction of a society, and affects not only the actions but the motivations and visions of the individuals and democratic communities that make up that society.63 this paper critically examines the contemporary relevance of habermas's theory of communicative action to the nigerian democratization process. the contemporary nigerian situation is an unhappy situation. according to abati cited by aghamelu: the truth of the situation today is that the average nigerian is unhappy with his personal lot, and the nation's circumstances. we are not a poor nation in spite of our wealth; nigeria is one of the saddest places in which anyone can live in the world. the quality of life continues to depreciate daily as a number of macro-economic distortions. you would wake up one morning and your life would have been further devalued, on account of an illogical state policy, on which neither your opinion was sought nor your feelings considered. this is the situation vis-a-vis the question of good governance in nigeria today and indeed has been for a long time.64 habermas' work reflects contextual justification. for thomas, contextual justification can extend to the relationship between a liberal theory and the moral igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 19 background culture of a society. his communicative framework presupposes a moral background culture that is internally pluralistic, of the kind associated with a typically modern society of ours.65 habermas's communicative framework reflects a contextualize form of justification of any democratic society. his contemporary political outlook is an autonomy based ethical liberalism.66 his theory of communicative justice does place demands on the moral background culture of contemporary democratic modern society. the key point, however, is that habermas's communicative justice is the presupposition of a liberal outlook that is geared towards guaranteeing the reasonable comprehensive conception of the good life.67 nevertheless, the indispensability of dialogue in habermas's theory of communicative action helps to create the platform to rectify the global ethical quandaries facing our humanity today. the social, political and economic distortions could only be resolved by the tenets of dialogical engagement. the models of collective decision making and collective rationality have become a contextual contemporary issues. however, solving the problems of the 21st century will require a coordinated rational action on a massive or global scale. the models of collective rationality require the idea of the institutional framework, social, political, cultural, linguistic and economic structures that will allow us to meet up with the fundamental challenges facing this century. habermas's philosophy is anchored on the theory of the moralization of society, truth validity, communicative ethics, social order, social change, and the new world order. it is premised on moral ordering, free and open communication. we need to engage in a free and open communication in order to strengthen our democratic world. the core findings in this theoretical discourse is that habermas's communicative rationality brings about an emancipated global society; it is fundamentally designed for moral order or global order, social change and human solidarity. communication is an integral part of human democracy. our enlightenment democratic vision can engender social order and normative presupposition. habermas's theory of communicative action and democratic society is the theory of social order and social order engenders social change or the radical transformation of democratic society. rational dialogue brings about global change in our international system; reasoned communication requires global interconnectedness or international interaction. moreover, habermas's communicative, political action and freedom is deeply rooted in his ethical theory. habermas's ethical theory is heralded by his political theory. he believes in the whole idea of politics. the ideal of politics has been overburdened by scholars and that distorted communication has been the fundamental problem of our igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 20 democratic world. habermas was of the view that fundamentalism, terrorism and terror has been a dead-end and a global problem. conclusion habermas's communicative action is the transformational values of human conduct, organizational framework, culture and the normative core of communicative association; it reveals that differences should be allowed to flourish and there ought to be the need for tolerance and moral rebirth or consciousness. for habermas, philosophy is rational and a living discourse. the political relevance of the habermasian perspective reveals liberal democracy of the cognitive capacity of the people. the indispensability of dialogue in habermas's philosophy reflects a clarion call for moral rebirth in contemporary nigerian society. the correlation between intersubjectivity and dialogue are crucial for the institutionalization of justice in contemporary nigerian society. habermas's philosophy has a great role to play here in making sure the continued relevance of dialogue remained sustained or explicit in order to combat terror and terrorism that is currently bedeviling contemporary nigerian society. it is, however, germane to assert that understanding the habermasian picture should be the essence of dialogue and it reveals its sustained or continued relevance to contemporary nigerian society. the theory of communicative action as far as we are concerned has a moral element. the habermasian perspective of communicative action is legally and fundamentally designed for human emancipation, and beneficial scheme of social cooperation. his conceptualization of communicative justice reawakens in us the spirit of moral consciousness and the promotion of human rights. habermas's priority on human knowledge and collective interests is deeply rooted in the democratic existentialism of the human person. habermas's communicative action is western based but it is possible that his democratic ideals and thesis of ideal speech situation cuts across all race and cultures irrespective of its political structures. his theoretical postulation could be useful to other climates like the contemporary nigerian democratic states. habermas's theoretical constructs emphasizes the comprehensive conception of the good life, idea of the common good, justice, human rights, normative rightness, law and order. his theory could serve as a leitmotif test for ensuring the public happiness of all in african democratic societies especially in contemporary nigerian society. habermas's theoretical construct has an african standpoint or african existential dimension. the african person prioritizes collectivism over individualism, altruism over egoism, conscience over evil, and good over bad. endnotes igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 21 1. habermas., jurgen., the theory of communicative action: reason and the rationalization of society, volume one, trans. thomas mccarthy, (boston: beacon press, 1984), p.6. 2. mackenzie., iain., politics: key concepts in philosophy, (london: continuum international publishing group, 2009), p. 162. 3. ibid., p. 133. 4. ibid., p.163. 5. borradori., giovanni., philosophy in the time of terror: dialogue between jacques derrida and jurgen habermas, (chicago: the chicago university press, 2003), pp.1-12. 6. ibid., p.140. 7. barnes., kenneth., jurgen habermas in edward craig (ed), (1998), routledge encyclopedia of philosophy, (london and new york: routledge, 1998), p. 195. 8. ibid., pp.95-96 9. jary, david and jary, julia, (eds.), collins dictionary of sociology, (glasgow: harper collins publishers, 2000), p. 259. 10. ibid., pp.259-260 11. ritzer., george., and stepnisky., jeffrey., sociological theory, ninth edition, (new york: mcgraw hill higher education, 2014), p.414. 12. habermas, jurgen., the theory of communicative action: lifeworld and system; a critique of functionalist reason, trans. thomas mccarthy, volume two, (boston: beacon press, 1987), p.73 13. habermas., jurgen., the theory of communicative action: reason and rationalization of society, p.86 14. habermas., jurgen., the structural transformation of the public sphere: an inquiry into a category of bourgeois society, trans. thomas burger and frederick lawrence, (cambridge, massachusetts: the mit press, 1987), p.11. 15. habermas., jurgen., knowledge and human interests, trans. jeremy shapiro, (boston: beacon press, 1971), pp.82-83 16. habermas., jurgen., theory and practice, trans. john viertel, (boston: beacon press. 1973 ) p.28 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 22 17. ibid., p.262. 18. ibid., p.263 19. ibid., p.159. 20. ibid., p.160. 21. habermas., jurgen., legitimation crisis, trans. thomas mccarthy, (boston: beacon press, 1975), p.4 22. ibid., pp.42-43. 23. ibid., p.43. 24. asouzu., innocent., effective leadership and the ambivalence of human interests: the nigerian paradox in a complementary perspective, (calabar: the university of calabar press, 2003), p.10. 25. ibid., p.150. 26. habermas, jurgen., a berlin republic: writings on germany, trans. steven rendall, (london: university of nebraska, 1997), 71. 27. habermas., jurgen., communicative action and moral consciousness, trans. christian lenhardt and shierry nicholsen, (cambridge, massachusetts: the mit press, 1990), p.109. 28. habermas., jurgen., towards a rational society, trans. jeremy shapiro, (boston: beacon press, 1970), pp.3-4. 29. asekhauno., anthony., since women menstruate...a reply to gloria steinem in george ukagba and obioma obi (eds.) the kpim of feminism: issues and women in a changing world, (canada: trafford publishing, 2010), p. 479 30. obi., patricia., adler's social interest: the kpim of social order in george ukagba and obioma obi (eds.) the kpim of social order: a season of inquiry, meaning and significance in the modern world, (usa: xlibris corporation, 2013), pp.151-152. 31. asouzu., innocent., the methods and principles of complementary reflections in and beyond african philosophy, (calabar: the university of calabar press, 2004), p.141. 32. e., nwigwe., origins and limits of state authority in obi oguejiofor (ed.) philosophy, democracy and responsible governance in africa, (enugu: delta igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 23 publication (nigeria) limited, 2004), pp.86-90. 33. oguejiofor, obi., philosophy and african predicament, (ibadan: hope publication limited, 2000), p.63. 34. ibid., pp.38-39. 35. asouzu., innocent., ikwa ogwe: essential readings in complementary reflections: a systematic methodological approach, (calabar: saesprint (nigeria) limited, 2007), p.6. 36. ibid., p.10. 37. dukor., maduabuchi., african freedom: the freedom of philosophy, (germany: lap lambert academic publishing, 2009), p.253. 38. ibid., p.563 39. ibid., p.513 40. ibid., p.510 41. ibid., p.497 42. ibid., p.474 43. ibid., p. 63 44. habermas., jurgen., the philosophical discourse of modernity, trans. frederick lawrence, (cambridge, massachusetts: the mit press, 1987), p.50. 45. habermas., jurgen., on the logic of the social sciences, trans. shierry nicholsen and jerry stark, (cambridge, massachussetts: the mit press, 1988), p.91. 46. hoffman., john., and graham., paul., introduction to political theory, (england: pearson education limited, 2009), p.477. 47. ibid., p.478 48. ibid., p.422 49. ibid., pp.422-423 50. ibid., p.421-422 51. ibid., p.420 52. habermas, jurgen, op. cit., 53. wisnewski., jeremy., wittgenstein and ethical inquiry: a defense of ethics as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 24 clarification, (london and new york: continuum international publishing group, 2007), pp.90-91. 54. borradori., giovanni., philosophy in the time of terror. p.59 55. ibid., p.60. 56. ibid., p.68 57. russell., bertrand., education and the social order, (london: george allen and unwin, 1977), p.151. 58. mackenzie., iain., politics: key concepts in philosophy, p.95. 59. ibid., p.111 60. ibid., p.115 61. howie., gillian., teaching philosophy in context: or knowledge does not keep any better than fish in andrea kenkmann (ed.) teaching philosophy, (london and new york: continuum international publishing group, 2009), 16. 62. ferrante., joan., sociology: a global perspective, (usa: wadsworth/ thomson learning, 2003), p.542 63. maathai., wangari., the challenge for africa: a new vision, (london: heinemann publishing limited, 2009), p. 25. 64. aghamelu., fidelis., good governance in nigeria: the christian philosophical perspective in agbodike c and umeasiegbu n (eds.) a journal of the faculty of arts nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, volume 8, (2006), p.103 65. thomas., alan., value and context: the nature of moral and political knowledge, (oxford: oxford university press, 2006), pp. 272-273 66. ibid., pp.273-274 67. ibid., p.275 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 174 inter-religious dialogue: an obligation for the church as a family of god in a pluralistic nigeria ibe, julian chukwuemeka phd department of systematic theology catholic institute of west africa, port harcourt, nigeria frjulianibe@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.18277.47848 abstract religion is a major issue in nigeria, africa and the world as a whole. in nigeria, religion has proven to be a major cause of social unrest over the years. this is largely, if not totally, between the two dominant religions: christianity and islam. most crises in nigeria, especially in northern nigeria, often had religious undertones. religion is also a major determinant in political matters in nigeria, sometimes to the extreme. over the years, efforts have been made by government, religious bodies and other ngos to engender long-lasting peace between these two major religions in nigeria. while these efforts are yielding fruits, there is still a long way to go. in this work, we set out to discuss inter-religious dialogue as an obligation for the church as a family of god. we shall trace the origins of religious conflicts in nigeria. we shall examine some major causes of religious conflicts in nigeria. then we shall discuss the church as a family of god. we shall x-ray some church documents on christian-muslim relations in nigeria. then we shall make recommendations towards harmonious christian-muslim relations in nigeria. it is hoped that this work will aid towards the reduction of unnecessary tension between adherents of bot religions. keywords: church, christianity, islam, conflict, dialogue, nigeria. introduction on thursday 13th may, 2022, nigerians were met with the shocking news of the gruesome murder of deborah samuel, a 200 level economics student of the shehu shagari college of education, sokoto by islamic fundamentalists on allegations of blasphemy. she was allegedly stoned to death and her body set ablaze by the irate mob. the most heart-rending part of this unfortunate incident was that her killers proudly bragged about their exploits in full view of the cameras (the tribune, 14.05.2022). this is only one example of the nature of relationship between adherents of both religions. as both christians and muslims seek to make converts and exercise their religious freedom, great caution is needed to avoid a collision course between islam’s da’wah and christianity’s evangelizing nature. most of the problems of civil unrest in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 175 nigeria today are given a religious undertone. these problems are often traced to colonial rule and the seed of discord sown by the colonial masters in a bid to achieve their objectives by the divide and rule tactics. this clearly expresses the situation in nigeria today, where religion forms the basis of the average nigerian’s judgment. the situation may be less tolerable in the southern part of the country, but in the north, it is a different kettle of fish. while we can easily and justifiably attribute the origins of this religious bitterness to the colonial masters, we must not forget that nigeria gained independence over fifty years ago, giving her ample time to have rebuilt this unfortunate foundation. during elections in nigeria, it was obvious that it is a plainly religious affair. the general expectations were that those from the north will vote for a muslim president, while those from the south will vote for a christian president. little wonder there was fracas on 18th april, 2011 just before the announcement of the presidential election results that resulted in the loss of lives and destruction of property, especially places of worship. on the 18th of april, the nation, a national daily, reported violence in bauchi state on the 17th of april that resulted in the death of ten people and wanton destruction of property worth millions of naira. similar occurrences took place in borno, gombe, kaduna, kano, katsina and sokoto states. in its april 29, 2011 edition, the same daily cited professor wole soyinka, the renowned nobel laureate, who insinuated that the killings in the north were premeditated and planned. the elections of 2015 and 2019 bore no less religious undertones. the common sentiments were “vote for him because he is a christian/muslim”. the deep-rooted resentment between christians and muslims in nigeria appears to reject all attempts at reconciliation as people now build settlements and rent accommodation based on religious boundaries. thus, the common expression is “ai, ungwar musulmi ne: it is a muslim area”. the role religion plays in the allocation of public offices is very sad. this is very disappointing, as people who are best qualified for certain jobs or offices are denied the position for purely religious reasons, even in educational institutions that should be models for the society. the irony in all this is that peace is a recurring decimal in the teachings of both christianity and islam. how these two religious can preach peace so frequently and yet keep peace so far away from their everyday lives is a great contradiction. it is with a view to finding a plausible solution to this constant religious friction between adherents of christianity and islam, two religions that openly preach igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 176 peace and yet obviously find it very difficult to practice, that we are undertaking this study. this we shall do in the light of the church as a family of god. background to christian-muslim relations in nigeria it is common knowledge that when people have a common enemy, they tend to work together. this was evident in the colonial era of nigerian history, when in their struggle for independence, nigerians worked together with little consideration for religious or ethnic differences. the post-colonial era brought clashes of regional and ethnic kinds which were as a result of the clamour for federal establishments like companies and institutions of learning. the nigerian civil war of 1966 to 1970 was a direct result of this. however, nigeria as a nation was not plagued with religious conflicts, at least, not at first. the rise of religious conflicts in nigeria can be traced to states in the northern part of the country such as kaduna, kano, plateau, borno and katsina. here the constant friction between christian and muslim indigenes has been so volcanic. this is because, there never seems to be a permanent solution to the problem. at times, there appears to be peace and then at the slightest provocation, there is an eruption. in the middle of the nineteenth century, the jihad of uthman dan fodio swept across the northern nigeria resulting in the conquest and islamization of the hausa-speaking states and the establishment of emirates in different parts of northern nigeria, with hausa as its medium of communication. this development led to the identification of anybody that spoke hausa as a muslim, ignoring the fact that so many hausa indigenes are either traditionalists or christians (tanko in bisong 109). since then, a life-long feud has prevailed between the muslims and christians till this day. this was fueled by the efforts of the hausa-fulani to establish emirate rule, the slave trade and their undeterred efforts to proselytize the non-muslims. the problem escalated with the declaration of the northern nigerian protectorate at lokoja on january i, 1900. this was because with this, the british placed the emirs at the head of native authorities. a good example is the case of kaduna state. the power given to the hausa-fulani emirates gave rise to a lot of discriminations against the non-muslim southern kaduna people. this was in the form of forced labour, taxation, and the performance of menial jobs. the courts saw justice as the prerogative of muslims and so a non-muslim always lost a suit against a muslim. even in educational opportunities, the muslim children were given better consideration. thus, with the establishment of elementary schools in jemaa mallam in 1930 for muslim boys, and in zangon igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 177 kataf in 1934 for non-muslims, it was an all-win situation for muslim children. in the end, only the advent of christianity brought education to the doorstep of the non-muslim southern kaduna people through the activities of the sudan interior mission (sim) and the roman catholic mission (rcm) from 1937 to 1940. the conversion to christianity and education of the southern kaduna people brought the enlightenment they needed to make them seek emancipation and this led to the influx of religious intonations to a crisis that was hitherto ethnic. their agitations paid off when in 1966 the military government appointed district heads chosen by the people and thus reduced the powers of the emirates. by 1970 the southern kaduna people had more access to education opportunities and employment even in public sectors (toure 3). after the nigerian civil war, the crises in northern nigeria became clearly religious with growing antagonisms and clashes between christians and muslims. examples of these are the 1987 religious crisis that began in kafanchan as a students’ riot before spreading to other parts of the state. in 2000, the sharia crises in kaduna state which, with the amount of damage done in form of loss of lives and property, has both psychologically and physically divide the city of kaduna into two. the 2002 students’ union government elections in federal college of education, zaria that turned into a bloodbath between christians and muslims. in 2002, an alleged defilement of a holy book almost escalated into violence in queen amina college, kaduna. similar occurrences took place in kufena college, wusasa-zaria in 2005 and technical college, malali, kaduna in 2006, which led to the closing of the schools. more recently, the post-election violence of 18th april, 2011, was converted from political to religious and swept across northern nigeria leaving many corpses as well as so many churches and mosques burnt. it is important to present this long background in order to understand how difficult it would be to talk about inter-religious dialogue in the world as a whole and in nigeria in particular. history of religious conflicts ibrahim and toure (3), trace the origin of religious conflicts in nigeria to regional hegemonies. according to them, a lot of the literature analyzing the failure of the nigerian project has traced the crisis of democracy and the causes of ethnoreligious conflicts to misrule by the three regionally based elites – hausa-fulani, yoruba and igbo, (wazobia in nigerian language parlance). the argument is that these elite have devised effective methods for subjugating the minorities to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 178 their hegemonic hold. some of the most vociferous critics of these oligarchies are the intellectuals from the middle belt who complain about the hegemonic stranglehold of the hausa-fulani elite over them. the usual arguments are that the political problem of northern nigeria is that the majority hausa-fulani ruling class has maintained its hegemonic hold over the ethnic minorities of the middle belt. in so doing, it has used effective administrative structures to maintain this hegemony. the effect of this history of domination is that the people of the middle belt have been deprived of access to political power and they have been constantly threatened with the violation of their religious rights by attempts to impose islam and the sharia law on them. bekeh (3) traces the history of inter-religious conflicts in nigeria to colonization and the creation of geo-religious identities. after the slave trade ended, a group of western nations gathered in a conference in berlin in 1885 where they divided africa among themselves as a mother sharing a loaf of bread among her children. this is what came to be known as colonization. the colonial masters created an identity that was geographical and at the same time religious. what became common place is that once you are from the north, there is an assumption that you are a muslim and once you are from the south, there is the general assumption that you must be christian. this assumption is fallacious and has led to a lot of problems in recent times. however, history shows that there were christian missionaries who evangelized the north leading to a significant number of christians in southern kaduna and in plateau state. at the same time, there is a significant number of muslims in the south-west of the country and in the middle belt. the problem with this assumption is that some northern states such as zamfara concluded that their state is a muslim state and passed the sharia law as the law governing everyone in the state and some of the christian states in the south like cross river state threatened to declare the state a christian state and subject everyone in the state including the muslims to the canon law. emeagwali (3) simply defines colonialism as …a system of administration; a process of exploitation, and a production system often geared towards the creation of capitalist relations and the economic and socio-cultural aggrandizement of the colonizer. this may be done by covert or overt, psychological, legal and military mechanism. nigeria like other african countries was subjected to this system of domination and a corporate existence was forged between different ethnic groups that had igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 179 no common relationship. the colonial masters created these corporate countries without recourse to the history of these geographical areas, how the cultures differ, the relationship of the tribes and the political systems governing the groups. obadina (4) writes that “…by redrawing the map of africa, throwing diverse people together without consideration for established borders, ethnic conflicts were created that are now destabilizing the continent.” as the history of nigeria as well as that of islam and christianity above shows, nigeria existed as separate kingdoms, tribes and ethnic groups until the british forged the groups together creating a country called nigeria. the amalgamation of the northern and southern protectorates of nigeria in 1914 by sir lord lugard, the british governor to nigeria is a significant moment in the history of nigeria, not only because it created a corporate region called nigeria, a name suggested by his mistress, but it is also the genesis of the geo-religious problems nigeria will later face. he thus argues that the people of northern nigeria, who are chiefly muslims, had no cultural, geographical, or religious relationship with the people of southern nigeria, mainly christian. causes of christian-muslim conflicts in nigeria a. sharia law: shariah law has been a contentious issue in nigeria in recent years and has led to religious strife and violence between christians and muslims. at the beginning of the new democratic dispensation in 1999 in nigeria, many of the muslims started clamoring for sharia law. ahmed sani yerima, the governor of zamfara state surprised the nation when he introduced the sharia law. he introduced the full provisions of islamic law in the penal code of the state. according to sanusi (1), his decision had a bandwagon effect on other predominantly muslim states in the north with other governors taking yerima’s footsteps with varying degrees of enthusiasm. the problem of shariacracy in nigeria has been summarily stated by van doornharder (4) thus, nigeria’s muslims insist that because shari’a is the pure law revealed by god, humans cannot tamper with it. they are frustrated because the nigerian government allows only partial implementation of this law, which the northern hausa and fulani tribes have followed on and off since the 11th century. christians fear that if the muslims gain political power throughout nigeria, christians will be reduced to second-class citizens. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 180 they point to countries like saudi arabia and iran, where freedom of religion is severely restricted. there are two issues involved here, the muslims believe that sharia law should govern their everyday life and the christians fear that their rights would be restricted if the sharia law is introduced. it is this lack of agreement that has led to most of the tensions resulting from sharia law. although muslims have continued to argue that the sharia law does not affect the christians, but most christians do not believe them. they see the sharia law as a systematic plan to make nigeria an islamic state, with christians in a second-class position. the current practice of the sharia law in states where it is implemented is very restrictive of the christian’s rights. the christians cannot reconcile the muslim’s insistence that the sharia law is for muslims only when it affects the day to day lives of christians. some of the social provisions associated with the sharia law that affects christians is the separation of the sexes in public schools, in health and transportation services and the criminalization of alcohol consumption. in kano state for instance, non-muslims are fined approximately $380 or up to a year in prison for drinking or selling alcohol in certain public places. the only place alcohol can be sold or drunk is in federal government installations. bekeh (3) states that many persons including muslims are very uncomfortable with the sharia law most especially as it relates to some high profile cases in the last few years. many nigerian feminists are uncomfortable with stoning women to death for adultery while letting the men that committed the act go away free for lack of evidence. many are uncomfortable with chopping off people’s hands for minor crimes such as stealing a goat or a bag of rice when most of the rich muslims in the country are living comfortable on ill-gotten wealth. in the final analysis, the introduction of sharia law as well as other forms of religious laws in nigeria as the civil penal code is trying to politicize religion. b. the politicization of religion: both the muslims and the christians have used religion as a tool to serve their political interests. kenny (6) puts it thus, “religion in the politics of 1970 onwards was basically a tool which the politicians used for secular interests.” what is common between the two religious groups is that their insistence on the religious way of life is not necessarily because they are convinced that is the right thing for the country, but because they seek to satisfy their overzealous constituencies. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 181 the north share one thing in common: islam. according to kenny, islam has long been a social definition in nigeria. they bound together to advance one common political value which is not that of their religious rights and privileges but to get their own share of the national cake. on the other hand, christian never had this common political value, it however became a rallying point in reaction to islamic politics. the result of this is that the fight between the two religious groups is primarily political. it matters to each of the religious groups who the president of the country or the governor of a state is. in a south-eastern state for instance, christians would not live to see a muslim become a governor even if they are absolutely sure their christian rights would be protected, in like manner, the north would not want to have a christian as the governor even if they were guaranteed of their religious freedom as muslims. as the country begins a new transitional program, the question again is who becomes the next president? would it be a northerner or a southerner? while it seems that the question is whether it is a northerner or a southerner, the real question is whether it is a christian or a muslim? there is political islam and political christianity. it is not uncommon to see a person who was never religious begin to identify himself or herself with a religious group during politics and when the person eventually wins, depending on his or her religious platform begin to use government money to pay for pilgrimages either to mecca or to israel/rome. what is usually the case is that these pilgrimages are not sponsored holistically. a muslim governor is more likely to sponsor more muslim pilgrims to go on pilgrimage and the christian governor is likely to sponsor more christian pilgrims. if a governor is interested in the religious welfare of all the citizens of his state, it would be more appropriate that this is done uniformly across the two religions. what we see here is, playing politics with religion. c. hunger and poverty: according to the world bank report of 2005, nigeria is afflicted by widespread poverty. two reasons for the poverty of the country are unemployment and corruption. between 1987 and 2006, the population of the unemployed has tripled. in 1987, there was 7.0% of national unemployment. today it is almost 21%. the increase is due to the three fold growth in the population, the rising enrollments in higher institutions of learning without corresponding growth in the economy. data shows that while only 125,000 students were enrolled in higher institutions of learning in 1985, by 1990, there was an estimated enrollment of about 125,000 to 200,000 students, representing an increase of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 182 75,000 students within five years. the second reason for poverty in nigeria is corruption. the catholic secretariat of nigeria summarily captures it thus, corruption is responsible in large measure for the broken promises, the dashed hopes and the shallow dreams that have characterized the existence of the multitude of nigerians in the last few decades. the choice before us is clear: we either go to war against corruption in all its ramifications or we shall soon be totally consumed by this hydra-headed dragon. world hunger is a terrible symptom of world poverty. in 2018, nigeria overtook india as the poverty capital of the world, with over 87 million people living in extreme poverty (the vanguard, 10.04.2022). while in 2022 india reclaimed its position as the poverty capital of the world, nigeria still maintains second place with over 70 million people living in abject poverty (the cable, 09.04.2022). given that hunger and poverty are two faces of the same coin, one can imagine the number of people living in extreme hunger in nigeria. hunger cannot be solved without the alleviation of poverty. unfortunately, the poor are usually the ones been used to cause social unrest. many muslim children are brainwashed to believe that if they kill in the name of allah, they will get 72 virgins in heaven. on the part of the christian, most believe that all muslims will go to hell unless they accept jesus christ as their personal lord and savior. d. illiteracy: enang in omojola (10) identified illiteracy as one of the causes of religious conflicts. in the area of illiteracy, the story is as bleak as that of poverty. in some southern parts of the country, the children drop out of school to hawk goods in major streets. in the north, most of the children grow up as farmers or street beggars. the government implementation of nomadic education has not helped to bring about literacy in the north. the percentage of the uneducated is still significantly high. an estimated 32% of nigerians age 15 and above cannot read and write. this problem has contributed to most of the riots in northern nigeria. those who are usually used as tools on both sides to cause trouble are the illiterate and jobless young men and women in the streets. illiteracy is also on the rise. the latest global data from unesco on out-of-school children says nigeria has 20 million children and youths who are out of school (the africa report 02.09.2022). this is even more saddening given that nigerian universities have been on strike since 14th february, 2022, meaning that, as at now, university students have been out of school for about 8 months. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 183 e. the rise of islamic and christian militancy: according to bekeh (6), in recent years, there has been a rise in islamic and christian militancy. islamic militancy in nigeria is always linked to radical islam. the history is traced to usman dan fodio. his militant attack was directed at purifying and reforming muslim society. this conservative version of islam promoted by usman dan fodio later encountered a split between the traditional conservative establishment, as represented by most of the emirs and their councils, and the newer and more fanatical groups who do not eschew violence as a means of achieving the desired islamic state. this later group constituted itself into an organization known as the maitatsine (hickey in bekeh 7). the maitatsine movement represents the uneducated casual laborers during the oil boom of the 1970s. despite the prosperity in the country, they were poor and marginalized. according to them, both the traditional authorities and the new politicians had betrayed islam and deserve death. this movement carried out violent actions in kano in 1980, bauchi in 1982 and yola in 1984. it took the nigerian military to crush them and send them underground. according to doorn-harder in bekeh (7), in reaction to increased muslim activism, christian militancy has also grown. since after these uprisings, they have been many riots between the christians and muslims. while there is no christian group that constituted itself in a military faction as the maitatsine movement, christians have always come out in mass to defend their faith whenever these uprisings occur. many nigerian christians have forgotten the biblical principle of turning the right cheek when slapped on the left. they have rediscovered the old testament code, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. this islamic and christian militancy is becoming more and more popular leading to more religious riots in recent times. global security, a watchdog organization has recently chronicled all these riots beginning from 1999. according to their report, in may 1999, more than 100 people died in kaduna state over the succession of an emir. as the state was recovering from this religious riot, between february and may 2000, about 1000 people died as a result of a riot in kaduna over the introduction of the sharia law in the state. there were reprisal attacks in the south of nigeria, killing many hausa muslims. in september of 2001, over 2000 people were killed in inter-religious rioting in jos, nigeria. between 2002 and the end of 2003, more than 72 villages were burnt due to religious violence in plateau state. religious violence erupted in kano in may 2004 because of the several muslims that were killed in plateau state in the beginning of may 2004. an igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 184 estimated 10000 christians abandoned their homes and sought refuge in military installations for fear of the muslims killing them. according to back (214), one of the characteristics between these violent acts is that no matter whatever the root cause of it, they end up becoming religious. for example, in 2002, a reporter for a popular nigerian newspaper, this day wrote an article suggesting that the muslims should stop protesting against nigeria hosting miss world contest in kaduna because if the prophet mohammed was still alive he would probably have chosen a wife from among the contestants. this statement which was a comment from a reporter not representing the christian faith and from a newspaper that is neither christian nor represents christian theology, ignited a wave of violence between christians and muslims, leading to a loss of over 200 lives. f. the special case of boko haram according to ukavwe (1), boko haram whose name means “western education is forbidden”, ordinarily signifies a revolt to western education, but in practice, it goes differently. its official name is “people committed to the propagation of the prophet's teachings and jihad,” which is the english translation of jama'atu ahlis sunna lidda'awati wal-jihad. the residents of maiduguri, where the group was formed, dubbed it boko haram, the term which comes from the hausa word “boko” meaning “western education” and the arabic word “haram” figuratively meaning “sin” but literally meaning “forbidden.” thus, boko haram translates into “western education is forbidden”. the name is due to its strong opposition to anything western, which it sees as corrupting muslims (chothia in ukawve 1). little wonder the sect has carried out a number of attacks on schools in some parts of the northeast, killing and even kidnapping students. the most popular case being the april 15, 2014 mass kidnapping of 276 female students from government girls college, chibok, in borno state., an attack that provoked reactions from across the globe and led to the formation of the popular worldwide movement “bring back our girls” (bbog). ukawve (1) traces the founding of boko haram to mohammed yusuf in 2002 in the city of maiduguri with the aim of establishing a shari'a government in borno state under former governor ali modu sheriff. the group includes members who come from neighbouring chad and niger and speak only arabic (bbc, 2009-07-29). it was reported that yusuf successfully attracted followers from unemployed youth “by speaking out against the police and political corruption” (wikipedia, 2012). since its inception, boko haram has willfully attacked igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 185 hundreds of buildings and killed many innocent nigerians and has claimed responsibility for most of the recent bombings in nigeria. it is based in the northeastern part of nigeria. violence blamed on the sect has steadily worsened in the last few years, with bomb blasts becoming more frequent and increasingly sophisticated and death tolls climbing. these attacks continued despite well publicized raids on so-called bomb factories and arrests of a number of alleged boko haram members by authorities. also, there has been intense speculations over the swearing of allegiance by boko haram to other more deadly extremist movements including al-qaeda and very recently, the islamic state of iraq and syria (isis), which is arguably the most dreaded religious movement in the world today, known to be responsible for many attacks across the arab world and even europe and america. only recent efforts by the combined forces of the nigerian army, navy and air force, and the collaboration of neighbouring countries, have given respite to the gloomy situation into which boko haram threw the northeast and enabled normal activities to resume in that part of the country. the church as a family of god it is the father’s wish that all men should be members of his one family. god calls every human person to become his son or daughter, to come into his true family in christ. the church is the assembly of all who respond to that divine call. the image of the church as the family of god is found throughout christ’s teaching. in the gospels he makes frequent use of family imagery to define his mission, his person, his commands, his relationship both with god and with his disciples, and the church’s own relationship with god. in matthew 12:49-50, stretching out his hand toward his disciples, jesus said, “here are my mother and my brethren! for whoever does the will of my father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother.” thus, becoming a disciple of jesus, means accepting the invitation to belong to god’s family and to live in conformity with his way of life (ccc 2233). although christ also uses other images when speaking of his church, the image of family remains principal. christ is the eternal son of the father, who gathers to himself those whom the father has called to be his beloved sons and daughters: “and when i am lifted up from the earth, i shall draw all men to myself” (jn. 12:32). the catechism of the catholic church teaches that “the church is nothing other than ‘the family of god'” (ccc 1655). by the sacrament of baptism christians igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 186 become the adopted sons and daughters of god. it is by virtue of this that we first receive the sanctifying grace that incorporates us into god’s family. god’s acceptance of every one of us as his son or daughter is called “divine filiation”. the sacrament of confirmation strengthens this divine filiation that was begun in baptism. (cf. ccc 1213, 1303, 2026, 2798). in his weekly general audience of may 29, 2013, the holy father, pope francis focused on the subject of the church as family of god. he points out that the parable of the prodigal son reveals god’s plan for humanity. what is this plan? it’s to make of all of us the one family of his children, in which each will feel close and feel loved by him, as in the gospel parable, that each may feel the warmth of being the family of god. in this great design, the church finds its roots; the church is not an organization born out of an agreement made by some people, but – as pope benedict xvi has reminded us many times – it’s god’s work, it is born from this plan of love that takes place progressively in history. the church was born from the desire of god to call all people to communion with him, to his friendship, and indeed to participate as his sons of his own divine life. inter-religious dialogue: an obligation for the church as family of god as the family of god, all members of christ’s faithful are obliged to reach out to others with an attitude of love and understanding. inter-religious dialogue is a fundamental duty of every member of god’s household. let us examine the position of the church on inter-religious dialogue as contained in some church documents. evangelii gaudium: this is the first apostolic exhortation of pope francis, published on november 24, 2013, at the conclusion of the year of faith. pope francis addressed the plenary assembly of the council and stated that “new evangelization means to reawaken the life of faith in the heart and mind of our contemporaries.” he then set down three aspects of the new evangelization for today as follows: 1. every baptized person is a bearer of the light of christ. 2. every catholic christian is to go out and encounter others and preach the gospel. 3. the ministry of the new evangelization is to be focused on jesus christ. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 187 numbers 250-254 of evangelii gaudium are subtitled “inter-religious dialogue”. here the holy father advocates an attitude of openness in truth and love when dialoguing with non-christian religions. this must be the case in spite of the obstacles and difficulties, especially fundamentalism on both sides. he points out the necessity of inter-religious dialogue for peace in the world, thereby making it a duty for everyone. this dialogue must be first of all a dialogue of human existence, in which we accept one another’s ways of life. we must collaborate to ensure the existence of justice and peace in our human society as a means to mutual purification and enrichment. in the process, the bond between dialogue and proclamation must be highlighted. by this the holy father pointed out the connectedness between evangelization and peace-building. for to be truly christian is to be truly a peace maker, for “blessed are the peace makers for they shall be called sons of god (matt. 5:9). however, this peace-building does not imply accepting whatever is thrown our way as a means of avoiding problems, but a mutual sharing of ideas in order to enrich and be enriched in the process. he highlighted similarities between christianity and islam: muslims too “profess and hold the faith of abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful god, who will judge humanity on the last day,” thus their sacred writings retain some christian teachings. also, the special veneration of jesus and mary in islam is not to be forgotten. he proposed the following: 1. those who are involved in dialogue with muslims should be given suitable training in order to be both grounded in their own identity and knowledgeable in the teachings and values of others. 2. christians should accept and welcome immigrants from islamic countries with love and affection. 3. christians living in islamic countries should be granted freedom of worship in the same way muslims enjoy same in christian countries. finally, the power of god to reach out to justify all through the paschal mystery of jesus christ and made available through the grace of god was the icing on the cake. while others may not enjoy the direct merits of the sanctifying power of the sacraments instituted by christ, their own religious expressions and faithfulness to their consciences can be channels through which the holy spirit enables them journey towards god. by this we know that even in non-christian religions, christians have rich treasures through which we can further appreciate the rich deposit of our faith. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 188 nostra aetate; this is the declaration on the relation of the church to nonchristian religions, released on october 28, 1965, as a one of the outcomes of the second vatican council. according to it, the catholic church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these (non-christian) religions. she has a high regard for the manner of life and conduct, the precepts and teachings, which, although differing in many ways from her own teaching, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that truth which enlightens all men. the church, therefore, urges her sons to enter with prudence and charity into discussions and collaboration with members of other religions. let christians, while witnessing to their own faith and way of life, acknowledge, preserve and encourage the spiritual and moral truths found among non-christians, also their social life and culture (na 2). dominus iesus: this document was released by the congregation for the doctrine of faith on august 6, 2000. according to it, certainly, it must be recognized that there are some elements in the texts of these religions which may be de facto instruments by which countless people throughout the centuries have been and are still able to nourish and maintain their life-relationship with god (di 8). laudato si: this is the first social encyclical of pope francis, published on may 24, 2015, and focused on the care for our common home (earth). it says the majority of people living on the planet profess to be believers. this should spur religions to dialogue among themselves for the sake of protecting nature, defending the poor, and building networks of respect and fraternity (ls 201). types of dialogue anybody can participate in inter-religious dialogue. the key is to identify the best form of dialogue applicable to the particular context. when the proper form of dialogue is harnessed, it yields better and longer lasting results. below are some types of dialogue. a. dialogue of life one popular form of dialogue is often called "dialogue of life", including personal exchanges on the problems, joys and sorrows of life, and a wide range of cooperation for the common good. very often this is as far as both partners are prepared to go together, and probably 99% of inter-religious dialogue takes place at this level. according to arinze (163), this form of dialogue occurs everywhere and every time. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 189 b. dialogue of theological discourse a further more difficult step is for both parties to examine their faith to see what they share in common. uzoukwu in achi (11) is of the opinion that this form of dialogue involves an encounter by religious specialists with their counterparts from other religions to explore areas of convergence for mutual enrichment and understanding. this kind of dialogue can help clear away misunderstandings and distorted presentations of the other's faith, so as to expand this area of recognized common beliefs. such dialogue, mostly confined to the area of the rational foundations of religion, is not threatening. although it is a task that only experts can carry out, their work can reach a wide audience in the form of popular presentations. c. dialogue of social engagement arinze (163) describes this form of dialogue as an engagement for human promotion and integral liberation of humankind. thus various believers can cooperate in the execution of development projects to help populations suffering from drought, famine or stark poverty, in looking after refugees and especially in the promotion of justice and peace. this can be the beginning of deeper communication. d. dialogue of non-violent resistance the dialogue of non-violent resistance was greatly supported by odey in achi (11), who cited the case of ferdinand marcos of the philippines, who having suppressed all opposition to his presidency, was overthrown through the nonviolent resistance of the people led by cardinal sin, archbishop of manila. the armoured tanks deployed by marcos to disperse the crowds were powerless when confronted by the unarmed people. this led to the swearing in of mrs corrazon aquino, who had been legitimately elected by the people, in 1986. e. dialogue of ecology it is no longer news that the world is facing grave ecological challenges. these are a result of humankind’s misuse or abuse of the earth’s resources. some of these challenges manifest in global warming, floods, earthquakes, wildfires, erosions and drought. these ecological concerns affect, in one way or the other, every human being. therefore, ecology should be another major point of dialogue, bringing people of different faiths together to solve the challenges to our common home. f. rapprochement igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 190 rapprochement is a word that simply means reconciliation, increased understanding, restoration of harmony, agreement, cooperation, harmonization and softening. according to achi (35), rapprochement is the christian method of peace building that brings reconciliation through dialogue between belligerent parties. it was employed by jesus in his relationship with people of other faiths during his public ministry on earth. he proposes rapprochement to northern christians as a means of winning back their islamic brothers and eliminating violence, hatred and mutual suspicion that have characterized their relationship. it will also create structures for addressing religious matters in the nation (achi 35). conclusion from our study so far, we have been able to trace the history of christianmuslim relations and origins of inter-religious crises in nigeria. though nigeria is made up of other religions apart from christianity and islam, inter-religious skirmishes in the country have been mainly between christians and muslims and that is why our focus is on christian-muslim relations in nigeria. we have reviewed literature on the topic at hand and made a social analysis of the situation in nigeria. we then took a theological glance at some evangelii gaudium, highlighting their implications for christian-muslim relations, as well as a few contributions from other church documents. we hereby conclude that despite the unfortunately sad history that has preceded christian-muslim relations in nigeria, recognizing the role of the church-family of god, we cannot give up, but must strive even harder to foster an atmosphere conducive to peaceful and harmonious co-existence between people of all religious beliefs. recommendations in the light of the above, we make the following recommendations: 1. first of all we need a re-orientation of attitude, from one of utter disdain and disrespect for others’ religious beliefs, to one of respect and appreciation, remembering that we are all children of one eternal father and have something to learn from their religious heritage of others. 2. every christian must see inter-religious dialogue as a personal enterprise. while the church makes effort to achieve this on an institutional scale, we must each make effort to do so at the individual level. this is going to be simply by relating with muslims and other religious adherents as people with rights, feelings and dignity. 3. inter-religious dialogue cannot be achieved without forgiveness. this is more so for those who have lost loved ones in religious clashes. all forms igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 191 of bitterness and antagonisms towards others must be resolved for healing personal and societal healing to be complete. 4. government must make effort to always investigate religious crises and bring to book all those responsible. to ignore them and presume them forgotten will not get us anywhere. 5. religious leaders should make it a point of duty to pay courtesy calls on each other on special occasions and on reporting to a new place of apostolate. this will foster understanding between religious leaders and their followers by extension. 6. the role of the catholic institute of west africa (ciwa): in line with the recommendations of francis cardinal arinze, ciwa can contribute greatly to the fostering of inter-religious dialogue. this is by continued research into other religions (arinze 143). while a number of graduates from the institute have undertaken research in this field, their findings should be put to practical use. 7. in the end, what should be at the back of our minds is that all men and women are created in the image and likeness of god, irrespective of race, gender or creed. we all are members of god’s household, called to love each other despite our differences. this should be for every person, the fundamental principle of human relationships. references achi, vincent. religious conflicts in kaduna state: the role of dialogue. a thesis presented to the school of post-graduate studies, ahmadu bello university, zaria. 2009. print. arinze, francis. church in dialogue: walking with other believers. onitsha: ignatius press. 1990. print. back, irit. muslims and christians in nigeria: attitudes towards the united states from a post-september 11th perspective. comparative studies of south asia, africa and the middle east. 2004. print. bekeh, utietiang. muslim and christian relations in nigeria. http:www.bekeh.org. 11/10/2011. 2006. bisong, kekong (ed). the nigerian journal of theology, vol. 22. catholic theological association of nigeria. 2008. print. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 192 catholic secretariat of nigeria. http:www.ncsn.org. 24/11/11. emeagwali, gloria. http:www.aol.com. 11/10/11. ibrahim, jibrin and toure, kazah. ethno-religious conflicts in northern nigeria. kaduna: human rights monitor. vol. 2. 2003. print. kenny, joseph. the challenge of islam in nigeria. http:www.google.com. 18/01/2016. 1992. obadina, tunde. an analysis of neo-colonialism. http:www.afbis.co. 11/01/16. 2003. omojola, l.t. finding solutions to religious clashes in nigeria. the voice: a publication of the ss peter and paul seminary, ibadan. 2003. print. pope francis. general audience, may 29, 2013. the africa report, 02.09.2022, www.theafricareport.com, accessed 02.09.2022. the cable, 09.04.2022, www.thecable.ng, accessed 07.04.2022. the tribune, 14.05.2022, www.tribuneonlineng.com, accessed 06.06.2022. the vanguard, 10.04.2022, www.vanguardngr.com., accessed 07.06.2022. toure, kazah. ethno-religious conflicts in kaduna state. kaduna: human rights monitor. vol. 2. 2003. print. ukavwe, henry. the northern hegemony and the recent bomb-blasts in nigeria as signals of breakdown of consent within the body politic of the nigerian society. http:www.google.com. 06/01/2016. 2012. church documents catechism of the catholic church. nairobi: pauline publications africa. 1994. print. congregation for the doctrine of faith. dominus iesus: on the unicity and salvific universality of jesus christ and the church. august 6, 2000. pope francis. evangelii gaudium. apostolic exhortation on the proclamation of the gospel in today’s world. november 24, 2013. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 193 pope francis. laudato si. papal encyclical on the care of our earthly home. may 24, 2015. second vatican council. nostra aetate. declaration on the relation of the church to non-christian religions. october 28, 1965. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 129 creation and the problem of nothing: unpacking the logic of creatio ex nihilo ovie, valentine aghoghophia faculty of philosophy, st augustine major seminary jos, nigeria ovie.valstyle@gmail.com orcid: 0000-0002-8118-0677 abstract this paper addresses one of the most profound metaphysical tensions in classical and christian thought: the apparent contradiction between the principle of sufficient reason, ex nihilo nihil fit (“nothing comes from nothing”) and the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo (creation from nothing). it examines whether the idea that god brought the universe into existence from “nothing” unintentionally reifies a concept that classical metaphysics regards as unintelligible or even incoherent. drawing from the works of aquinas, aristotle, augustine, and spinoza, the study evaluates whether divine volition alone suffices as a causal explanation when no substrate precedes creation. through an analysis of the principle of sufficient reason, the ontological continuity of being, and the logic of causality, the paper shows that “nothing” must be understood not as a cause or entity, but as a negation relative to being. creatio ex nihilo, properly understood, affirms the uniqueness of divine causality and does not violate rational intelligibility when placed within a coherent metaphysical framework. the result is a defence of the doctrine that neither collapses into absurdity nor abandons the philosophical rigor demanded by classical metaphysics. keywords: creatio ex nihilo, non-being, ex nihilo nihil fit, creation, being, god introduction the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo—that god brought all things into existence from nothing—is one of the most foundational yet philosophically provocative tenets of christian theology. it seeks to affirm two essential truths simultaneously: the radical transcendence of god and the total contingency of creation. according to classical theism, god is eternal, uncaused, and selfsubsisting; his essence is pure being without admixture or limitation. as such, if god were to create the world out of his own nature, then creation would necessarily share in his eternality and immutability. but created things, as we know them, are finite, temporal, and subject to change. this compels us to reject the idea that the world is fashioned from divine substance. yet to suppose that god used some other preexistent material for creation is equally problematic. if that material were not itself created by god, then god would no longer be the sole and absolute source of all that exists. the very notion of divine omnipotence and the total dependence of creation on its creator would collapse. therefore, the only way to maintain that god is truly the creator of all things—both visible and invisible, both material and immaterial—is to hold that god created the world ex nihilo, that is, from nothing. but herein lies the metaphysical crisis. the assertion that being can emerge from non-being appears to violate some of the most basic axioms of reason. the principle of sufficient reason, long a cornerstone of metaphysical thought, demands that every existent thing must have a reason or ground for its existence. in the case of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 130 creation from nothing, however, no such antecedent ground exists in “nothing” itself. the only remaining explanatory principle is divine volition—god willed creation. but is will, even divine will, a sufficient reason when it acts upon no substrate? the tension deepens with the ancient axiom ex nihilo nihil fit—“from nothing, nothing comes.” if “nothing” truly means the absence of all being, then how could anything ever arise from it? the transition from absolute non-being to being appears to defy both logic and experience. furthermore, some metaphysicians argue that “nothing” is not even a coherent concept. to speak of “nothing” is already to speak of something, to objectify what, by definition, has no properties, no essence, and no potential. if non-being cannot be thought, then it cannot be known; and if it cannot be known, how can we affirm that creation arose from it? moreover, if that which cannot be thought cannot be willed, then divine will itself cannot act upon “nothing” as an object. does the notion of creation ex nihilo unintentionally smuggle being into the concept of nothing? equally challenging is the ontological principle of continuity, which posits that change and emergence occur through gradations and not by abrupt ontological ruptures. but creation from nothing implies an absolute discontinuity—a sheer leap from non-being to being. is such a metaphysical “jump” even coherent? finally, the law of identity and non-contradiction comes under strain. if something can emerge from absolutely nothing, does this not blur the distinction between being and non-being, thereby inviting contradiction at the very foundation of ontology? in this study, we shall not abandon the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo, nor shall we diminish its theological necessity. rather, we aim to probe its deepest philosophical tensions one after the other and offer a robust account that upholds the integrity of the doctrine while addressing its apparent contradictions. by reexamining classical metaphysical principles in light of divine transcendence, we hope to clarify how the mystery of creation from nothing may yet be intelligible within a coherent framework of reason and faith. 1. the principle of sufficient reason the concept the principle of sufficient reason is the idea that everything is—at least in principle—intelligible. nothing exists without a reason why it is so and not otherwise. this principle undergirds much of early modern rationalist thought, and it finds one of its most rigorous, if not always overt, formulations in the metaphysics of benedict de spinoza. though spinoza does not enunciate the psr in a systematic proposition within his ethics, he nonetheless articulates it with forceful clarity when he writes, “for each thing there must be assigned a cause, or reason (causa seu ratio), both for its existence and for its nonexistence” (ethics i, prop. 11, dem. 2). here, the causal and the rational are not simply adjacent domains—they are conceptually entangled. for spinoza, causation is not merely the succession of events but a deeply conceptual relation. that is, for any entities x and y, x causes y if and only if the concept of y is somehow contained in or deducible from the concept of x (cf. ethics i, ax. 4; i, prop. 6, cor. 2). as commentators such as della rocca (2008) and lin (2017) have argued, this implies that causal facts, for spinoza, are in essence conceptual igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 131 facts. the world unfolds according to a logical intelligibility wherein effects are understood only through the grasp of their causes. this conceptual embedding of causation has explanatory import. spinoza himself affirms that “effects are conceived or understood through their causes” (ethics i, def. 3), which means that to know an effect truly is to trace its line of necessity back to the determining idea or nature from which it issues. a cause, in this framework, does not merely precede the effect temporally; it renders the effect necessary, thinkable, and inevitable. in spinoza’s precise formulation: “from a given determinate cause the effect follows necessarily; and conversely, if there is no determinate cause, it is impossible for an effect to follow” (ethics i, ax. 3). causation is, therefore, both the condition of existence and the condition of intelligibility. the consequences of this view are radical and far-reaching. spinoza draws them out unflinchingly: “in nature there is nothing contingent, but all things have been determined from the necessity of the divine nature to exist and produce an effect in a certain way” (ethics i, prop. 29). in other words, contingency—so often appealed to in metaphysical accounts of freedom or divine choice—dissolves entirely under the weight of divine necessity. god, for spinoza, is the sole substance (ethics i, prop. 14), exists necessarily (ethics i, prop. 7, dem.), and is the cause of all things (ethics i, props. 25–26; prop. 28, dem.). if all things proceed from the divine essence, and if causation is necessitating, then all things exist by necessity and nothing could be otherwise. thus, for spinoza, the principle of sufficient reason is not an abstract metaphysical heuristic—it is a rigorous metaphysical law. everything that exists does so not by accident, nor by arbitrary divine fiat, but by necessity rooted in conceptual coherence and divine causality. this challenges not only any account of radical contingency but also any doctrine, such as creatio ex nihilo, that postulates an ontological leap from nothingness to being without a continuous conceptual chain of causation. for spinoza, such a leap would be unintelligible. nothing can come from nothing, because the very notion of a “causeless effect” violates both conceptual intelligibility and metaphysical necessity. therefore, any adequate account of creation must, in spinozistic terms, make the link between cause and effect not merely temporal but rational and essential. the challenge given spinoza’s commitment to the principle of sufficient reason and his identification of causation with conceptual intelligibility, the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo—that god created all things out of nothing—is rendered, from his standpoint, not merely problematic but outright incoherent. for spinoza, everything that exists must be logically entailed by a prior cause whose concept necessarily includes the concept of its effect. there is no room in his ontology for effects that emerge ex abrupto, from a void that possesses no reality, no intelligibility, and no causal efficacy. to say that the universe was created “from nothing” is, for spinoza, to postulate an effect (the world) without a determinate cause that contains its conceptual rationale. but such a claim violates his axiom that “from a given determinate cause the effect follows necessarily; and conversely, if there is no determinate cause, it is impossible for an effect to follow” (paraphrased ethics i, ax. 3). in the case of creatio ex nihilo, “nothing” is not a cause at all—it is the denial of any cause. it has no nature, no properties, no explanatory power. thus, to say that the world arises igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 132 from nothing is to sever the conceptual link between cause and effect, and thereby to negate the very conditions of intelligibility. moreover, spinoza’s metaphysics asserts that “in nature there is nothing contingent” (ethics i, prop. 29). everything that exists follows necessarily from the essence of god, “from the necessity of the divine nature to exist and produce an effect in a certain way.” but creatio ex nihilo, as traditionally understood, implies a kind of contingency. it suggests that god could have created or not created, or could have created something different than what is. the world, in such a view, is not the necessary unfolding of divine essence but the result of a divine will unconstrained by prior rationale. yet spinoza rejects this voluntarist conception of god. for him, god’s essence is not separate from god’s action; to understand god is to understand that his nature necessarily expresses itself in infinite modes and attributes. creatio ex nihilo also posits a radical ontological rupture—a metaphysical leap from absolute non-being to being. but spinoza’s ontology admits no such leap. the continuity of being is essential. there is only one substance—god—and everything that is, is a mode of that substance. there is no ontological vacuum into which divine fiat inserts creation. in sum, for spinoza, the logic of creatio ex nihilo is not simply flawed—it is fundamentally unintelligible. it violates the principle of sufficient reason by positing effects without intelligible causes, undermines the necessity of divine action by suggesting contingency in creation, and disrupts the ontological coherence of being by invoking an impossible transition from non-being to being. within his metaphysical framework, creation is not a temporal act out of nothing but an eternal unfolding from the necessary nature of god. thus, for spinoza, creatio ex nihilo is not only unnecessary but metaphysically inadmissible. the resolution in attempting to resolve the apparent tension between the principle of sufficient reason (psr) and the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo (creation out of nothing), it is essential to first grasp how augustine conceptualized the term “nothing.” according to augustine, “nothing” does not refer to an absolute void in a simplistic or purely negative sense. rather, he provides a layered and nuanced account. in his book a refutation of the manichees (bk. 1, 7.11–12), augustine draws from the imagery of genesis 1:1–2, where the earth is described as “formless and void,” covered in darkness, and where “the spirit of god was moving over the waters.” he interprets "nothing" as that which is without form, shape, or visibility—an abyss, water, and earth that are yet without distinct subjectivity or actuality. from this, augustine appears to distinguish between two forms of “nothing.” first, there is absolute nothing, a state of complete non-being. second, there is prime matter, a metaphysical principle that, while not possessing form or determinacy, is still a kind of potential being—it is not a substance, yet it is the substratum from which formable reality emerges. the language augustine employs in describing “nothing” seems to refer primarily to this second category: prime matter. while prime matter is not pure nothingness, it is derived—by divine act—from absolute nothing. thus, in augustine’s metaphysical framework, even prime matter is a created entity, and its existence is contingent upon the creative will of god. in confessions xii.7, augustine articulates a hierarchy of being, noting that god is being itself (esse ipsum), whereas created beings occupy varying degrees of participation in being. some igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 133 creatures are closer to fullness of existence—god, while others are nearer to non-being. god, as the fullness of being (ipsum esse subsistens), causes all beings to exist by participation. this augustinian notion is echoed and further developed by thomas aquinas in summa theologiae i, q.44, a.1, where he writes that “whatever is found in anything by participation must be caused in it by that to which it belongs essentially, as iron becomes ignited by fire.” thus, just as fire imparts heat to iron, so too god, who is being itself, imparts existence to all things. aquinas extends this analogy to affirm that just as there is a single whiteness in which many white things participate, so too there is one existence—god—in which all things that exist share. however, unlike god, creatures are not immutable; corporeal beings, in particular, come into being and pass away. this coming-into-being is a participation in divine existence, whereas their ceasing-to-be signifies a departure from it. therefore, the tendency of created things to corrupt and fall away from being implies a certain metaphysical participation in non-being. corruption and mortality are not grounded in god, but in the limited and finite nature of creatures—their proximity to non-being. this metaphysical gradient, from nothing to being and from being back to nothing, reveals a structured order. there is a logical procession: first, from absolute nothing, to prime matter, which, although not pure nothing, is also not yet a subject with form. from this prime matter, god fashions the manifold forms of creation. in this view, the creative act does not violate the principle of sufficient reason, since the act of creation has its sufficient reason in the will and power of god, not in “nothing” itself. “nothing” is not a productive cause; rather, it signifies the absence of being and thus the potential for corruption or dissolution. in this light, nothingness is not the efficient cause of creation but rather the terminus a quo and the potential end toward which corruptible things tend. one might illustrate this metaphysical schema with a graduated scale. imagine a scale ranging from 0 to 100, where 0 represents absolute non-being and 100 represents the fullness of being. in this analogy, prime matter would be situated near the 0 end, having the lowest degree of actuality without being entirely non-existent. angelic beings, by contrast, would occupy a position close to the 100 mark, existing with greater fullness, incorruptibility, and proximity to god. corporeal beings, like humans and animals, fall somewhere in between, depending on their capacity to participate in being. the proximity of any creature to either end of this metaphysical spectrum determines the measure of its participation in being or non-being. therefore, when creatures corrupt or decay, they move back toward the “nothing” from which they were drawn—not as a regression into pure non-being, but as a loss of participation in being. thus, the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo should not be construed as asserting that “nothing” causes creation. rather, it affirms that the cause of creation is god, and what is created is a movement from nonbeing into being by divine will. the “nothing” from which the world is made is not an agent, but a metaphysical condition preceding god’s act of bringing things into existence. this account upholds the principle of sufficient reason by assigning the sufficient cause of creation to god alone, while affirming that corruptibility and finitude in creatures signify their relative distance from the fullness of being. the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo, when properly understood through the metaphysical insights of augustine and aquinas, does not contradict the principle of sufficient reason but rather deepens our understanding of causality, participation, and the structure of being. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 134 2. ex nihilo nihil fit (nothing comes from nothing) the concept the assertion that "nothing comes from nothing" underpins much of metaphysical thought. while often invoked as a truism, its justification involves deep ontological commitments. the thinkers explored here—parmenides, aristotle, lucretius, aquinas, and voltaire—each defend this maxim within their own philosophical systems. despite varying metaphysical frameworks, they converge on the impossibility of ontological emergence from absolute non-being. parmenides provides the earliest rigorous articulation of the principle. in his poem on nature, he insists that "what is, is" and "what is not, is not" (parmenides, on nature, frag. 6; kirk et al.). he argues that thinking and speaking are only possible of what is: "it needs must be that what can be thought and spoken of is; for it is possible for it to be, and it is not possible for what is nothing to be" (ibid.). for parmenides, the notion of becoming from non-being is incoherent. non-being cannot generate being because non-being has no ontological status—it simply is not. this foundational stance rules out spontaneous generation from nothing and undergirds the permanence of being. aristotle adopts and formalizes parmenides' insight in his physics, stating: "everything that comes to be comes to be from something, and not from nothing." (physics i.5, 187a32–b1). for aristotle, the coming-to-be of a thing requires a substrate and efficient cause; there is no uncaused emergence. this view grounds aristotle’s four-causal explanatory framework. substantial change presupposes potentiality in matter. even divine causation in aristotelian thought (the unmoved mover) presupposes the eternality of motion and matter. aristotle’s rejection of creation from nothing aligns with the naturalistic coherence of his metaphysics. in de rerum natura, lucretius gives the epicurean version of the principle: "nothing ever springs into being from nothing by divine power" (de rerum natura i.149–150). he continues, "nothing can be created out of nothing" (ibid., i.156–157). this forms the basis of his empirical materialism. lucretius argues that if things could come from nothing, any and all things could arise at any time. the stability and regularity of nature would be undermined. thus, the order of the cosmos depends on the lawlike behaviour of matter and causality, which presupposes pre-existing substances and not spontaneous generation from non-being. though aquinas affirms the possibility of creatio ex nihilo, he carefully distinguishes between divine creation and natural causality. in his de potentia, he notes that the maxim ex nihilo nihil fit is the common assumption of natural philosophy and that no natural agent can cause something from nothing (aquinas, de potentia, iii.1). for aquinas, god alone can create ex nihilo, but even this act does not violate the principle—because divine causation does not operate within the natural order. rather, it initiates being and the natural order itself. in the created world, change always requires pre-existing matter, affirming the principle for all finite agents (st. i, q. 45, a. 1). voltaire reiterates the principle in entretiens de lucrèce et de posidonius: “rien ne vient de rien, rien ne retourne à rien” (voltaire, 1877). he invokes it as both a physical and metaphysical truism that supports enlightenment rationalism. by invoking lucretius, voltaire aligns with the empirical worldview that demands explanatory causes. the maxim underscores the necessity of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 135 intelligibility in nature and critiques mysticism or irrational accounts of creation. even in his deist framework, voltaire holds that effects presuppose causes—nothing begins without antecedent grounds. the challenge at the heart of the contradiction between ex nihilo nihil fit and creatio ex nihilo lies a fundamental disagreement about the ontological status of “nothing.” for the classical philosophers— parmenides, aristotle, and lucretius—“nothing” is not a kind of something, nor even a neutral placeholder awaiting fulfillment. it is the absolute absence of being, utterly void of potency, actuality, or reality. if one accepts this strict definition, then the claim that something can be brought into being from nothing is not merely counterintuitive but logically incoherent. for these philosophers it is unthinkable and unsayable that “what is not” could be. for them, to speak of being arising from non-being is to entangle oneself in contradiction. any notion of generation or coming-to-be must presuppose some underlying being, for what does not exist cannot act, receive, or change. if something comes into existence, it must come from something else—some prior being. the introduction of being from a state of total non-being is thus a metaphysical absurdity. change and causality are intelligible only within the framework of potentiality and actuality. a substance comes to be when a potency is actualized—never from sheer void, which has no potency to actualize. to assert otherwise would dissolve the very conditions for rational explanation. if being could emerge without any prior cause or substrate, the world would become radically unintelligible. it would no longer be governed by logos, but by chaos. for them if creatio ex nihilo is true, any kind of thing could spring into being anywhere, without pattern or proportion. the world would be inconsistent, devoid of the regularities upon which knowledge and survival depend. thus, the maxim ex nihilo nihil fit safeguards both logical coherence and the intelligibility of experience. consequently, creatio ex nihilo violates the ontological insight embedded in ex nihilo nihil fit: namely, that being cannot emerge from non-being. in affirming creation from absolute nothingness, christian metaphysics departs from the unified testimony of ancient and early modern reason. it introduces a metaphysical exception that undermines the very intelligibility of coming-to-be and causation. from the standpoint of parmenides’ logic, aristotle’s hylomorphism, and lucretius’s empirical realism, creatio ex nihilo is not merely improbable—it is impossible. the resolution the principle of ex nihilo nihil fit ("nothing comes from nothing") has long presented a philosophical challenge to the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo ("creation out of nothing"). to engage this tension thoughtfully, we must analyze the nature of causal series, both efficient and material, and the metaphysical hierarchy they entail. in the created world, things exist in ordered causal series. such series typically consist of three parts: a first cause, one or more intermediate causes, and a last effect. this structure applies both to efficient causes (which bring something about) and to material causes (the substratum from which something is made). with respect to efficient causes, the last member in the series cannot be the cause of anything preceding it; rather, it is merely an effect. it contributes nothing causally to what came before and hence depends on prior igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 136 causes. the intermediate causes, while themselves effects of what precedes them, act as causes for what follows. their causal power is derivative and secondary, contingent upon the first cause. no matter how many intermediates exist—one or many—the same structure holds. all are intermediates; none are foundational. therefore, at the top of the causal chain, there must be a first efficient cause, which itself is uncaused and imparts causal efficacy to all intermediate and final members of the series. this analysis also applies to material causes, though in a different order. just as an infinite regress of efficient causes is metaphysically incoherent—requiring a first to explain motion or change— so too an infinite regress in material causes is untenable. in the ontological order of becoming, material being cannot simply exist in an infinite chain without origin. for any becoming, there must be a prior state of potentiality. in metaphysical terms, being does not precede becoming; rather, becoming precedes being. but what precedes becoming? the only conceivable antecedent is non-being—not as a productive cause, but as a metaphysical condition of absence. thus, in the material order, the series logically proceeds from non-being (absence), to becoming (potentiality, or prime matter), and finally to being (actual existence). this sequence can be illustrated through an epistemological analogy: knowledge begins with ignorance (non-being), proceeds through the process of learning (becoming), and results in a state of being learned (being). similarly, if god is the first efficient cause, it follows that he causes non-being to become becoming (prime matter), and from this becoming, he brings about all forms of being. here, god does not create from nothing as though “nothing” were a substance or cause. rather, god, as the uncaused cause, brings forth being from a state of metaphysical absence—without presupposing any prior matter. this process respects the logic of ex nihilo nihil fit, for “nothing” does not cause being. god causes being, initiating the causal series by moving from non-being to becoming, and from becoming to being. hence, rather than contradicting the principle that nothing comes from nothing, the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo aligns with it, once the metaphysical structure of causal series is properly understood. nothingness is not the efficient cause; god is. non-being simply marks the absence from which becoming begins, and through god’s power, is ordered toward being. visual representation efficient cause series: god (first cause) → intermediate cause(s) → final effect (end cause) material cause series: non-being → becoming (prime matter) → being (formed substance) integration: god (efficient cause) → causes becoming from non-being (material series begins) → forms being from becoming → created substance (final effect). thus, creatio ex nihilo is not a violation of ex nihilo nihil fit, but rather its most complete expression—once god is recognized as the first cause who orders all things from absence to actuality. 3. the impossibility of absolute non-being the concept parmenides is one of the earliest and most explicit voices on this issue. he asserts, "what is, is; and what is not, is not" (parmenides, frag. b2). he concludes that non-being cannot be thought or igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 137 spoken of: "you could not know what is not—that is impossible—nor utter it" (parmenides, frag. b2, trans. kirk & raven). for parmenides, thought and being are the same: "for thinking and being are one and the same" (ibid.). thus, speaking or thinking about "nothing" is, strictly speaking, nonsensical. plato follows this line of thought but introduces a subtler notion. in the sophist, he redefines "not-being" not as absolute nothingness but as difference or otherness. he argues that not-being is just the negation of being in a specific sense, not a metaphysical nothing (plato, sophist 257b–d). in the timaeus, plato presents the demiurge as imposing form on a chaotic, pre-existent substrate rather than creating ex nihilo (plato, timaeus 30a–b). aristotle further develops this metaphysical caution. he argues in physics i.8 and metaphysics iv.2 that something cannot come from nothing and that non-being can only be spoken of as a negation or absence of being. for aristotle, all generation requires a subject, and being arises from potential being, not from sheer non-existence (aristotle, metaphysics 1003b10–20). kant maintains that "nothing" is a logical negation. in the critique of pure reason, he categorizes "nothing" as a non-concept, a mere boundary of thought rather than a real object (kant, cpr, a292/b348). hegel famously begins his science of logic by identifying pure being with pure nothing: "pure being and pure nothing are the same" (hegel, science of logic, i.1). however, this is a dialectical abstraction meant to show how thought moves to becoming. he does not posit absolute nothingness as a reality. heidegger, in his lecture "what is metaphysics?", challenges metaphysics to think the nothing, yet concludes that "the nothing itself nihilates" (heidegger, 1929). he insists that the nothing is not a being and cannot be objectified. it only manifests in moods such as anxiety, when all beings recede. the challenge from this historical arc, it becomes clear that "nothing" is consistently treated not as a being or entity but as a conceptual absence. when philosophers say that absolute non-being cannot be thought, they imply that all cognition presupposes being. consequently, saying that god created the world from "nothing" (in the strict sense) would require treating "nothing" as a kind of quasisubstance, which contradicts the metaphysical tradition. moreover, if non-being cannot be thought, it cannot be known, and thus cannot be willed. therefore, creatio ex nihilo appears to contradict this metaphysical framework. the concept of absolute non-being presents a profound metaphysical challenge, insofar as it is deemed unintelligible—incapable of being conceived, represented, or meaningfully referred to. if “nothing” is understood in its literal sense as no-thing—that is, the total absence of being—then to employ it in a statement such as “god created the world from nothing” is to inadvertently reify what, by definition, cannot exist. the very act of referring to “nothing” appears to confer upon it a kind of ontological status, thereby undermining its intended meaning. this paradox raises a fundamental question: does the language of “nothing” already presuppose a kind of being, however minimal or conceptual? if non-being is truly unintelligible and cannot be the object of thought, then it follows that it cannot be known. but if it cannot be known, then how can one coherently claim to know that god created the world ex nihilo? moreover, in classical metaphysical terms, the will is directed toward that which can be intellectually apprehended. that which cannot be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 138 thought cannot be willed. consequently, if non-being—understood as absolute nothingness— cannot be thought, then it likewise cannot be willed. aquinas affirms also that the will follows the intellect; if the intellect cannot apprehend non-being, then even divine will cannot be directed toward it. therefore, if divine creation is an act of will, and the object of that will is “nothing,” one is faced with the problem of how god can will to create from what is inherently unwilled and unknowable. the resolution the challenge posed by the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo (creation out of nothing) stems from metaphysical concerns about the nature of “nothing.” this challenge is often broken into three interrelated problems: the unintelligibility of absolute non-being, the epistemic difficulty of knowing non-being, and the question of whether non-being can be the object of divine volition. this paper addresses each of these issues by drawing on the insights of major philosophers such as aquinas, aristotle, and augustine. i. the unintelligibility of absolute non-being the first objection states that absolute non-being is unintelligible—it cannot be thought, represented, or referred to. if “nothing” is literally no-thing, then using it in a sentence such as “god created the world from nothing” risks reifying what cannot exist. this suggests that any discussion of “nothing” presumes it has some form of being. thomas aquinas addresses this issue by clarifying that opposites are known through each other: “one opposite is known through the other, as darkness is known through light, and what evil is known from the nature of good” (summa theologiae i, q.48, a.1, co.). similarly, in de potentia dei (q.3, a.1), aquinas insists that we do not say that nothing is a cause, but that the created thing is made without any pre-existing subject. thus, non-being is not treated as a real substratum but as a negation understood through contrast with being. in this context, when we say “god created the world from nothing,” the phrase “from nothing” (ex nihilo) should not be construed as a positive claim about a substance or entity called “nothing.” rather, it is a negative proposition that indicates the absence of pre-existing material. “nothing” is not a cause; it is a way of stating that no matter existed prior to the creative act. this kind of creation is unique: it is not a transformation but the origination of being itself. god, as the first cause, does not act upon “nothing” as if it were a subject; he brings forth being without precondition. ii. the knowability of non-being the second objection argues that if non-being cannot be taught or thought, then it cannot be known. and if it cannot be known, how can we know that god created the world from nothing? to this, aristotle offers an important distinction. in metaphysics (book γ, ch. 2–3), he explains that nonbeing is not understood as a substance but in contrast to being. as darkness is the absence of light, non-being is the absence of being. its intelligibility is derivative, based on the principle of negation. therefore, we understand creatio ex nihilo not by grasping “nothing” as an entity, but by recognizing that god brought the world into existence without any antecedent material cause. we know that god created the world from nothing precisely because we understand what being is and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 139 what it means for something to not have existed before. the absence of any pre-existing being logically entails the notion of “nothing” as a relative, not absolute, term. iii. the willing of non-being the final objection asserts: that which can be thought is that which can be willed. if non-being cannot be thought, then it cannot be willed. so how can god will to create “from nothing” if “nothing” cannot be the object of volition? aristotle provides a framework for resolving this problem. in metaphysics (book λ, ch. 7–10), he argues that the object of divine will is the good, and that god acts not by deliberating over non-being, but by being the final cause of actuality. in theological terms, god’s will is not directed toward “nothing,” but toward the being of creation. he wills the end—the creature—and not a process involving “nothing.” aquinas builds on this: “the will cannot desire what the intellect does not apprehend” (summa theologiae i–ii, q.8, a.1). since “nothing” cannot be apprehended as a thing, it cannot be willed as such. but god does not will “nothing.” he wills the creature into being. the absence of pre-existing matter is not the target of divine will; rather, god wills the existence of beings directly, without needing any substrate. augustine likewise insists that “nothing” is not a real substratum. in confessions (xii.7), he writes that god created the world ex nihilo, but that this “nothing” is not a thing—it denotes the lack of prior material. aquinas echoes this when he says that in creation, the creature—not “nothing”—is the recipient of existence through god’s will (summa contra gentiles ii.16). in sum, creation ex nihilo does not imply a contradiction with the principle that non-being cannot be thought, known, or willed. rather, “nothing” is a conceptual negation that points to the absence of material, not a real entity. god does not think, know, or will “nothing”—he thinks, knows, and wills being into existence. conclusion the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo has long stood as a cornerstone of christian metaphysics, yet it poses a profound challenge to classical philosophical principles—most notably, the principle of sufficient reason and the axiom ex nihilo nihil fit. this paper has examined the tension between the theological claim that god creates from nothing and the philosophical insistence that being cannot emerge from non-being. through critical engagement with figures such as spinoza, aquinas, augustine, aristotle, and parmenides, the inquiry has shown that the conceptual framework of “nothing” must be approached not as a substantive entity or cause, but as a privative term intelligible only in contrast to being. far from reifying non-being, the language of “nothing” in creatio ex nihilo denotes the absence of pre-existing material, not the presence of a metaphysical substrate. as such, it does not violate the principle of sufficient reason, since the sufficient ground of creation is not “nothing,” but the will and power of god, who alone exists necessarily and fully possesses being. likewise, the principle ex nihilo nihil fit retains its validity within the natural order, where no created agent can bring something from nothing. but once divine causality is situated outside the framework of natural generation and into the realm of ontological origination, the principle no longer functions as an objection but becomes a clarifying lens: only the divine can cause being where no being was, precisely because nothing natural can. moreover, the paper resolved the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 140 triadic philosophical problem concerning the unintelligibility, unknowability, and unwilability of non-being. it showed that non-being, though absolutely unintelligible in itself, can be known by negation and can function logically as the point from which god, the first efficient cause, wills the emergence of being. god’s volition does not act upon “nothing” but directly produces being without a material cause. in sum, when rightly understood, creatio ex nihilo does not contradict any of the principles of classical metaphysics but deepens their implications. it reveals a unique mode of causality—divine causation—that transcends the limits of created being while preserving the intelligibility of existence. far from undermining reason, the doctrine reaffirms the metaphysical coherence of a world wholly dependent on a god who brings being into existence not through necessity, but through the superabundance of divine freedom. works cited aquinas, thomas. de potentia dei. translated by the english dominican fathers, newman press, 1952. aquinas, thomas. summa contra gentiles. translated by the fathers of the english dominican province, benziger bros., 1923. aquinas, thomas. summa theologiae. translated by the fathers of the english dominican province, benziger bros., 1947. aristotle. metaphysics. translated by w. d. ross, edited by jonathan barnes, the complete works of aristotle, vol. 2, princeton up, 1984. aristotle. physics. translated by r. p. hardie and r. k. gaye, edited by jonathan barnes, the complete works of aristotle, vol. 1, princeton up, 1984. augustine. confessions. translated by henry chadwick, oxford up, 1991. augustine. on genesis: a refutation of the manichees; unfinished literal commentary on genesis; the literal meaning of genesis. translated by edmund hill, edited by john e. rotelle, new city press, 2002. della rocca, michael. spinoza. routledge, 2008. hegel, g. w. f. the science of logic. translated by george di giovanni, cambridge up, 2010. heidegger, martin. being and time. translated by john macquarrie and edward robinson, harper & row, 1962. heidegger, martin. “what is metaphysics?” translated by david farrell krell, pathmarks, edited by william mcneill, cambridge up, 1998, pp. 82–96. kant, immanuel. critique of pure reason. translated by norman kemp smith, palgrave macmillan, 2003. lin, martin. “the principle of sufficient reason in spinoza.” the oxford handbook of spinoza, edited by michael della rocca, oxford up, 2017, pp. 168–187. lucretius. de rerum natura. translated by w. h. d. rouse, revised by martin ferguson smith, harvard up, 1992. loeb classical library. parmenides. “fragments.” the presocratic philosophers, edited by g. s. kirk and j. e. raven, cambridge up, 1957. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 141 parmenides. on nature. in the presocratic philosophers, edited and translated by g. s. kirk, j. e. raven, and m. schofield, pp. 263–285, cambridge up, 1983. plato. sophist and timaeus. translated by benjamin jowett, the dialogues of plato, oxford up, 1892. sartre, jean-paul. being and nothingness. translated by hazel e. barnes, philosophical library, 1956. spinoza, benedict. a spinoza reader: the ethics and other works. edited and translated by edwin curley, princeton up, 1994. spinoza, benedict. the collected works of spinoza: volume i. translated by edwin curley, princeton up, 1985. voltaire. “entretiens de lucrèce et de posidonius.” œuvres complètes de voltaire, vol. 22, edited by louis moland, garnier frères, 1877. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute neo-paganism and religious syncretism in southeast nigeria: implications for the church in igboland julian chukwuemeka ibe, phd good shepherd major seminary, kaduna frjulianibe@gmail.com & nicholas chinaemelum alutu albertine institute of philosophy, fayit – kagoma alutunichbest@gmail.com abstract recent happenings reveal a rise in neo-paganism and religious syncretism among christians in igboland. this is evident in the sudden return of igbo christians, especially young people, to different forms of african traditional religion. while some claim to do this simply because it is their cultural heritage, many do it in a quest for solutions to different problems. this work begins with a clarification of terms and an exposition of neo-paganism and religious syncretism in igboland. it identifies such causes as shallow evangelization, incomplete conversion, inadequate catechesis, conflict between faith and culture and the quest for solutions. it highlights the theological, pastoral and psycho-social implications for the church. finally, it recommends intensified theological education, the culture of witness, integral christian formation, special attention to the youths, inculturation and the digitalization of the christian message. if these ills of neo-paganism and religious syncretism in igboland are to be addressed, immediate action must be taken by the church. keywords: ndigbo, neo-paganism, religious syncretism. 1. introduction on friday, 4th april, 2025, news headlines were awash with the news of the arraignment of three popular native doctors by the anambra state government for alleged involvement in criminal activities. the accused, chidozie nwangwu, (aka akwa okuko tiwara aki), onyebuchi okocha (aka onye eze), and ekene igboezekwe (aka eke hit), were in court for the alleged claims of possessing supernatural powers to make money, stagnate destiny, as well as conspiracy to commit felony, kidnaping and obtaining by fraud (anaso, 2025). in february 2025, the asagba of asaba, hrm obi prof. epiphany azinge, banned the activities of female native doctors/goddesses (popularly called ezenwanyi) and other unregulated traditional practitioners. this decision was taken amid concerns that such individuals were fueling criminal activities including kidnappings and ritual-related activities (ochei, 2025). while we commend the efforts of the government and traditional institutions to curb this growing menace in igboland, there is the need to consider if these approaches would provide a lasting solution to the problem. would the problem be permanently solved or would it just evolve into a different form? there is a deep crisis of faith among many igbo christians, which, according to ezenweke and kanu, in is occasioned by a “shallow christianity, superficiality of faith or skin-deep christianity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute this is evident in the lives, beliefs and practices of those who call themselves christians in many african communities” (72). in africae munus, pope benedict xvi states the problem addressed in this study very lucidly: witchcraft, which is based on the traditional religions, is currently experiencing a certain revival. old fears are re-surfacing and creating paralyzing bonds of subjection. anxiety over health, well-being, children, the climate, and protection from evil spirits at times lead people to have recourse to practices of traditional african religions that are incompatible with christian teaching. the problem of “dual affiliation” – to christianity and to the traditional african religions –remains a challenge (no. 93.4). this raises disquieting questions concerning our christian faith and practice: to what extent has christianity taken root in igbo christians? have igbo christians wholeheartedly accepted and truly internalized the christian religion? has the average igbo christian been able to establish a balance between the christian faith and the igbo traditional worldview? why does the traditional religion still retain much appeal for many contemporary igbo christians? are we actually practicing christianity or ‘christo-paganism’? or have we ended up being ‘half-christians, half-pagans’? 2. conceptual clarification 2.1 ndigbo the igbo (pl. ndigbo or igbo) are one of the three major tribes of nigeria, the other two being hausa and yoruba. they are the major occupants of the south-east geo-political zone: abia, anambra, ebonyi, enugu and imo, as well as some parts of delta and rivers states in the south-south. however, recently, igbanke, an autonomous community in edo state, affirmed their igbo origins. ndigbo are known to be adventurous and are found in many parts of the world to which they migrate in search of greener pastures. historically, commerce and farming were the major occupations of the igbo, but with the dawn of western education, many contemporary igbo now seek formal education and white-collar jobs. most igbo are christians, with the catholics, anglicans and methodists taking the highest population (ezeala, 5). the igbo are blessed with a rich cultural heritage. they speak one language (igbo), which has are many, dialects, and have many other things in common: dressing, music, dances, festivals, chieftaincy titles, marriage practices and a general world-view. the igbo are also very religious. in ancient igbo-land almost every community had its deity, thus we have such names as alaogbaga to mbaise, chukwu of arochukwu, igwekala of umunoha, arishi of okija, efulu of ukene and amadioha of uratta among others. the igbo carry the same devotion into christianity. 2.1 neo-paganism the term ‘neo-paganism’ is a compound word. the prefix neomeaning ‘new’, implies that an ancient belief, practice or custom has been remodeled and adapted to the modern era. the word ‘pagan’ is a derivative of the latin word paganus, which according to merriam-webster’s dictionary originally means a person who lives in a rural area or “a country dweller” (november 5, 2023). however, the term ‘country dwellers’ was used to refer to the roman citizens who refused to accept the christian faith during the christianization of the roman empire. this is how igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute it acquired its pejorative use which has continued till today. according to new advent catholic encyclopedia “paganism in the broadest sense includes all religions other than the true one revealed by god, and in a narrower sense, all except christianity, judaism, and mohammedanism. the term is also used as the equivalent of polytheism” (november 5, 2023). consequently, when the early missionaries came to africa, they erroneously condemned the african traditional religions with such disparaging words as ‘primitive’, ‘pagan’, ‘heathen’, ‘fetish’, ‘savage’, ‘barbaric’ etc. scholars have profusely pointed out that the designation of african traditional religions as “paganism” is pejorative, demeaning and unfounded. however, let us for the purposes of this research which stems from a christian theological perspective, refer to our traditional religion as paganism, at least because of its manifest polytheism. neopaganism therefore according to okafor in the church and the challenge of neo-paganism in south-eastern nigeria, is “a modernization of the pagan cult and practices to render them attractive to modern people particularly the youths” (64). it is also referred to as ‘revived paganism’, ‘contemporary paganism’, etc. 2.2 religious syncretism the word syncretism, from the greek syncretismos, means “to combine, to unite”. for ezenweke and kanu, in perspectives of syncretism and its modern trend: a case of christian and african traditions, syncretism would refer to the attempt to unite those elements which do not agree (73). in religious parlance, syncretism is the inadmissible fusion of two or more conflicting or incompatible religious practices. such a fusion or amalgamation of contrasting and opposing elements can only be superficial and cosmetic. asogwa identifies syncretism as “the impermissible admixture of christian faith with practices, beliefs and attitudes that bespeak of rooted alliance with the traditional religion” (half christian, half pagan, 55). it is in this sense that scholars variously refer to syncretism as a religious dual affiliation, a religious ambivalence or even as religious ‘amphibianism’. asogwa further explains syncretism as “a process whereby religious beliefs or practices from diverse sources are grafted into christianity in such a way that they merely experience change in guise, while their meanings and significance remain sacrosanct. in a word, it refers to the inadmissible mixture of different religious beliefs or practices” (21). by religious syncretism therefore, we mean the unacceptable admixture of the christian faith with elements or attitudes from the traditional religion or ‘paganism’ that are diametrically opposed to it. this is what luzbetak in the church and culture: new perspectives in missiological anthropology, would refer to as a “theologically untenable amalgam” (360). such blending gives rise to what some authors refer to as ‘christo-paganism’ a religious system that combines beliefs and practices of christianity with beliefs and practices of paganism, or that observes them in parallel. 3. neo-paganism and religious syncretism in igboland in his work christians and the way of culture, onaga, addresses two major concerns. one of them has to do with the various experiences and reports concerning the resurgence of and lure to paganism in our era. akin to this is the alacrity with which many of our people derail and resort to sensibilities and practices that are incompatible with christian principles and way of life. these two issues can conveniently be referred to as neo-paganism and religious syncretism. the author blames these phenomena on the lingering crisis or tension between our faith and culture, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute observable from the religious mindset and lifestyle of many of our professed christians. elucidating the situation in more poignant details, the author observes that …as it were, the igbo traditional religion is waning in most parts of igbo land, but its influence in the lives of igbo christians continues to present serious challenges to christianity and accepted modern realities. churches, crusade grounds, fellowship venues, healing ministries and miracle centers are overflowing with people. but just the next moment, and at the least provocation, the same people change gear and resort to shrines of idols or deities, either personally or by proxy… some catholics, for instance, may see nothing wrong in coming to receive holy communion while having charms in their pockets or around their waists. the same people, who called a fortune-teller to advise them whether the spirits would allow them to build a big house and live in it in peace, would later invite a catholic priest to bless the finished house (23-24). in effect, many igbo christians attempt to resurrect and stick to obsolete and frivolous aspects of the traditional religion and pagan culture of past years, which have lost their currency and usefulness to the present day and age. this anomaly is typically referred to as syncretism, which according to the author is “a glorified paganism” (24).the author then defines religious syncretism as “the unorthodox and inadmissible mixing of christian belief system with unwholesome elements of traditional religions and non-christian ideas” (24). in faith rooted and built up in christ, okeke remarks that the igbo people received the christian faith and have been living that faith for over a hundred years. nonetheless he avers that the problem with many people who turned to christianity without proper motives and authentic conversion is that they hold on tenaciously to the tenets and beliefs of the african traditional religions, and then only halfheartedly to the tenets and beliefs of christianity. for such people, christianity is just like a veneer used to cover their deep-seated pagan mindsets. the unfortunate product of this stance is religious syncretism, whereby “the mentality and practices of african traditional religions are being fostered and promoted by christians in the name of tradition and culture” (13).he also identifies neo-paganism, which he describes simply as “the resurrection of traditional religion under the guise of igbo culture” (14). he reprimands those who do such with the words of our lord in the gospel: “and why do you break away from the commandments of god for the sake of your tradition?” (matt.15:3). the author likens neo-paganism to the attitude of the egyptians, who kept longing for the fleshpots of egypt after they had been liberated from the idols of egypt and dedicated to the worship of yahweh. this culminated in the worship of a false god in the form of a golden calf. but such admixture of god-worship and idol-worship was inadmissible and unacceptable to god, for which reason he wanted to annihilate all of them (exodus 32:9-10). according to the author, “such apostasy is with us where some baptized persons go out to revive idol-worship, repairing the shrines and reviving the festivals and cult of the deities that were abandoned, in the name of cultural authenticity and revival” (87). such christians want to continue the way of life which the pagans had with their idols, sacrifices, feasts and all, but at the same time, continue to be called christians. he advocates a pastoral approach towards such grey areas of our culture like the ofo igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute symbol, ozo title taking and masquerade (mmanwu). in doing so he adopts the admonition of st paul to the corinthians: for if any one sees you, a man of knowledge, at table in an idol's temple, might he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? and so by your knowledge this weak man is destroyed, the brother for whom christ died. thus, sinning against your brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against christ. therefore, if food is a cause of my brother's falling, i will never eat meat, lest i cause my brother to fall (1 cor. 8:10-13). obiefuna, an erstwhile catholic bishop who had worked assiduously for many years in igbo land in his work idolatry in a century-old faith, acknowledges the reality of neo-paganism and religious syncretism amongst christians of the igbo extraction. in this work, he reports that: ...times without number the rumour reaches us that our christians are worshipping 'idols', false gods. they swear on idols. they erect shrines in their homes, in their compounds. they hide fetishes in their shades in the market places and in their workshops.... at every retreat, (they) bring out from their homes fetishes and charms of all kinds. idol worship, superstitious practices, fear of witchcrafts, charms, and all sorts of vain observances are realities among our christians. we cannot simply deny they obtain (17). according to him, such attitude is often occasioned by the quest for solutions to problematic situations that confront the igbo christian. to survive such situations, the person will seek solutions in the catholic church (perhaps with the use of holy water, blessed oil etc). concerning the abuse of the sacraments and sacramentals due to such erroneous mindset, obiefuna warns that “unless the sacraments are understood as the actions of christ… they might constitute another pastoral problem as they could be reduced to the role of satisfying the urges of a highly ritualistic and superstitious people” (42). 4. causative factors by and large, it is irrefutable according to ejizu, in liminality in the contemporary nigerian christian religious experience, that …the battle with the ‘gods’ of the traditional religious cultures is far from being over. rather, it appears that from their places of retreat, the gods have continued to regroup and to exert tremendous influence on christianity… through back-sliding, to a bewildering array of syncretic beliefs and practices among many christians, the traditional religious cultures have continued to metamorphose and to adjust their grip in line with prevailing values and needs (433). the causes of this ugly reality include but are not limited to: 4.1 shallow evangelization by the early missionaries the life of the traditional igbo person is inextricably tied to his religious beliefs. the early missionaries failed to take cognizance of this fundamental fact, and unwilling to understand the traditional religion of the igbo, they sought to overhaul it completely, and foist the christian religion on the igbo people. thus, the good news as was brought to our people was not properly igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute indigenized by the evangelizers. the devastating repercussion was a conversion to christianity not rooted on a solid christian faith. as ozigbo in his work igbo catholicism: the onitsha connection, rightly observed, “syncretic practices came about because indigenization which should have been the hallmark of evangelization was very poorly conceived and executed” (81). therefore, the igbo christian finds himself on a religious crossroads. buoyed by this disorientation, some begin to talk about coming home to their ancestral religion which they feel that they are more at home with. this so-called ‘homecoming’ is one of the most popular ways of depicting the process of becoming a follower of neo-paganism (adam et al, 2013). 4.2 incomplete conversion from the traditional religious background being very pragmatic people, the traditional igbo people did not generally worship the supreme being directly. there was no altar or shrine, no cult or sacrifice for the supreme being. as such the igbo people rather worshipped the myriads of cosmic deities whom they believed had direct and powerful influence in their lives and affairs. thus, the igbo traditional religion has a superstitious and polytheistic mindset. transposing such mindset into christianity, the effect became the unfortunate permeation of fetish practices in christian garb. for this reason, the conversion from the old religion to the new one is far from being complete. all these led to what okeke calls “external changes but unchanged mentality” (okeke 92). accordingly, “the result is the persistence of mentality and practices of african traditional religions being fostered and promoted by christians in the name of tradition and culture” (okeke 13). 4.4. inadequate catechesis according to ejizu in christian evangelism in nigeria: a blueprint for the future, it is incontrovertibly so that “partly due to the absence of a well-articulated programme of effective catechesis, many nigerian christians still have great difficulty in relating their new faith to their lives” (69). asogwa avows that perhaps it is “such lack of systematic and sustained policy of evangelization that has kept christianity a foreign religion to our people, making it difficult to be incarnated into our people’s way of life” (half christian, half pagan, 47). the consequence of this inadequate catechesis is weak nurturing in the faith of christian converts, which in turn produces weak roots and syncretism. 4.5 conflict between faith and culture neo-paganism thrives on the ideology of culture. the clamor for cultural reawakening has led some igbo people to believe that christianity is an imported culture that came to usurp or denigrate their cultural heritage. cultural promotion and revival is a worthwhile endeavor, but when interposed with the christian faith, the resultant effect is often an “apostasy… where some baptized persons go out to revive idol-worship, repairing the shrines and reviving the festivals and cult of the deities that were abandoned, in the name of cultural authenticity and revival” (okeke 87). it is essential to remember that culture is not a readymade and packaged product handed down to be preserved without any altercation, but a dynamic and ever-contemporary process that affects and is affected by contacts and influences from other cultures or ideologies. thus, “we must be constantly on our guard against compromise with idolatry, superstition and fetish practices under the guise of our culture” (okeke 97). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 4.6 quest for solutions most people who return to pagan practices do so in search of quick and practical solutions to their problems, especially when christianity does not seem to provide answers to their existential needs and questions. this shows that, for most, the phenomenon of neo-paganism is utilitarian in nature. this attitude is informed by the igbo pragmatic concept of religion. the supreme pontiff recognized this great challenge of faith to the church in africa thus: “... anxiety over health, wellbeing, children, and protection from evil spirits at times lead people to have recourse to practices of traditional african religions that are incompatible with christian teaching” (africae munus, no. 93). pre-eminent among these problems has always been financial or economic problems. despite being richly endowed with human and natural resources, the majority of the nigerian populace lives in abject poverty. in the face of this destitution, what is paramount in the minds of nigerians especially our youths today, is how to make “quick and endless money” (ego mbute), not minding the often-cataclysmic consequences. consequently, they flock to unorthodox prayer houses, and even visit pagan shrines in search of sordid wealth. 5. implications of neo-paganism and syncretism for ndigbo asogwa in half christian, half pagan: the dilemma of the nigerian christian, highlights the implications of syncretism for igbo christians as theological, pastoral and psychosocial. it is within these frameworks that we shall proceed with our discourse. 5.1 theological implications due to the onslaught of neo-paganism and syncretism, the predominant image of god in the mind of the average christian in igboland “is more akin to traditional conception than that of christianity” (asogwa 52). this anomalous conception has manifold theological implications: a. pragmatic approach to religion – deus ex machina mentality the latin phrase deus ex machine (god from the machine) refers to “any person or thing in a narrative introduced by artificial means to provide a quick solution to a difficulty” (encyclopedia britannica, 2023). in this context, it expresses a situation where people have recourse to god or gods only when they need a solution to a difficult situation, even though they have not been in any meaningful relationship with the god. the relationship with the deity thus becomes only pragmatic and utilitarian. unlike the demands of christianity to worship god for his own sake, the traditional igbo person has need of a particular deity only as long as it makes itself useful by solving problems swiftly and effectively. as such when faced with a problem, one moves from one deity to another till one finds the one that solves the problem. eze, in his work re-imaging god in our local church: towards a more christian image of god, captures this thus: “(african) men’s relationship with the supreme god and other gods is contractual, pragmatic and wholly geared to his materialistic and spiritual welfare and not primarily for the welfare of the gods” (20). many christians tend to transpose this same religious mindset into christianity. if god does not answer fast, then recourse must be made through other means or alternatives, hence the proliferation of so-called churches and prayer houses and their prophet-healers. worse still, many christians who attend churches during the day, find their way to shrines at night. this reflects the theological effect of neo-paganism and syncretism as expounded by asogwa: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute theologically, the image of god and the idea of salvation in african traditional religion which is all too pragmatic, contractual and primarily oriented towards material wellbeing is carried over wholly or partly to christianity such that prosperity gospel becomes the order of the day. god is discarded if he does not alleviate suffering immediately. if he does, he regains his usefulness and the minister is revered almost to the point of deification (69). b. superstitious mindset the catechism of the catholic church (subsequently referred to as ccc) explains that “superstition is a departure from the worship that we give to the true god. it is manifested in idolatry, as well as in various forms of divination and magic” (no. 2138). superstition can as well be a mindset or attitude accruing from a false conception of the supernatural. it is “a belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance… an irrational attitude of the mind toward the supernatural, nature or god” (merriam webster’s dictionary 2023). due to the lingering of the vestiges of the traditional religion and consequently a false conception of christianity, a good number of igbo christians still exhibit a superstitious attitude in their belief and practice of the christian religion. for instance, some believe that the mere fact of wearing a particular medal or scapular at the point of death would merit automatic entrance into heaven for them, despite their internal disposition or moral state. another phenomenon prevalent among catholics in igboland is the grading of blessings according to the priest who gives the blessing. for example, the object blessed or mass celebrated by fr. a is more efficacious than the object blessed or mass celebrated by fr. b; because fr. a is presumed to be more spiritually ‘powerful’ than fr. b. njoku avers that “this behavior reflects the pagan assumption that the priest is as powerful as the shrine he serves and some shrines are more powerful than others” (njoku 2023). all these consolidate and buttress the fact that “a critical look at christian practices in this present age reveals to one the same traditional religious thought and mindset” (onah et al, 17). against this backdrop, the church consistently and authoritatively teaches that “to attribute the efficacy of prayers or of sacramental signs to their mere external performance, apart from the interior dispositions that they demand, is to fall into superstition” (ccc no. 2111). c. abuse of sacraments and sacramentals the church teaches that “all practices of magic or sorcery, by which one attempts to tame occult powers, so as to place them at one’s service and have a supernatural power over others… are gravely contrary to the virtue of religion…. wearing charms is also reprehensible” (ccc no. 2117). however, with a careful observation of the attitude of some of our christians, one is left with the impression that “the average nigerian christian simply ‘replaced’ the attachment to protective charms and amulets with exaggerated use of sacramentals, retaining the same attitudinal symbolism, but now in a more presentable and fashionable guise” (asogwa 28). in igbo land, the use of sacramentals has been abused. the church rejects the use of the local charms and amulets, but now the people have replaced them with medals, scapulars, rosaries and holy water. some people have gone to the extent of burying sacramentals as a way of protecting their family members igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute or attracting customers. some may prefer drinking holy water and holy oil to receiving orthodox medicine when sick.. asiegbu in a crisis of faith and a quest for spirituality notes that “for these christians, the enrichment of charms in this way provides more security. this explains why they juxtapose charms with holy water, the cross, blessed olive oil, incense, rosary, bible and holy pictures, so that if one does not work, the other will surely be effective” (68). in light of this, obiefuna warns that “unless the sacraments are understood as the actions of christ… they might constitute another pastoral problem as they could be reduced to the role of satisfying the urges of a highly ritualistic and superstitious people” (obiefuna 42). 5.2 pastoral implications a. shallowness of faith as a result of syncretism and backsliding of converts into traditional beliefs and practices, faith becomes ever shallow, superficial and unable to influence lifestyle. this explains why we have many christians whose lives do not reflect christian morality and discipline both in interpersonal relationship and public affairs. on the one hand, syncretists are neither well-grounded in christianity nor in paganism. they no longer possess a strongly rooted faith in god because they see the church as merely an institution to which they belong to as a mark of social status. on the other hand, neo-pagans cannot even be said to be practicing the pristine atr but an overly adulterated version of it. asogwa refers to this as a fundamental problem of christianity in nigeria – being half christian, half pagan. b. emergence of new religious movements in igbo land today, there are as many so-called independent churches as there are available open spaces, each practicing various degrees and manners of neo-paganism and syncretism. this is manifest in the attempt to ‘command’, ‘control’ or even ‘manipulate’ god in order that he might manifest his power; or in hoodwinking gullible and shallow-minded christians into believing that in christianity, anything is permissible in the name of belief and worship. for this reason, agunwa in his work promoting a healthy interaction of christianity and culture in nigeria, holds that “some independent churches who felt that christianity could not adequately address particular human crises or issues as much as the traditional religion did, felt called to start churches where a mélange of both christianity and indigenous religion occur” (28). c. covenant-making and oath-taking to traditional deities in the igbo traditional worldview, oath-taking to deities obliges the parties concerned to say the truth since it instills fear of misfortunes, punishment or death on them should they dare to breach it. cases abound of catholics going to pagan shrines for adjudication and settlement of their disputes. some even employ the services of one dreaded god or the other to secure their property. in many communities, elders who call themselves christians still insist that fellow christians who commit an abomination (alu) must carry out the traditional rites of expiation or purification before the earth goddess. many present-day igbo christians have great confidence in the efficacy of oathtaking before deities. indeed, there is a common belief that since the god of the bible is a merciful god, who does not kill. but traditional deities invariably visit those who invoke them in vain with igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute instant wrath. therefore, many people still insist on their use for serious covenants and oaths. under such circumstances therefore, “the christian may openly swear on the bible, and secretly swear on the deities” (asiegbu 77). d. divination and fortune telling, often disguised as prophecy according to the new catholic encyclopedia, divination is “the art or practice of foreseeing or foretelling future events or of discovering hidden or secret knowledge” (440). for the igbo people, divination is called igba afa, and it represents a pivotal aspect of traditional religion. this explains why it is always difficult for some people to shrug off divination, even after conversion to christianity. thus, ejizu avers that “the belief in the success of divination and its practice are as much alive today as they were in the traditional background in nigeria” (25). the average igbo man hardly accepts a natural explanation of things, or that things have taken their natural course. there is always a “who” and “why” behind happenstances which must be unearthed through divinations and augury. asiegbu describes the situation aptly: many christians do not believe that things take their natural cause, or even in god’s omnipotence in controlling events in nature, especially when confronted by misfortune or other crisis situations. it is in the light of this traditional world view and influences that christians resort to divination, not only to obtain knowledge about the future, but also to discover ways of dodging or avoiding misfortunes, averting dangers, illness and placating angry or revengeful ancestors (61). some christians cover their inclinations to divination with a veneer of prophecy. however, prophecy is not merely about foretelling of the future, but an encouragement, to entrust the past to god’s mercy and the future to his providence. putting neighbors or family members at daggersdrawn all in the name of ‘messages’ or ‘revelations’, or telling people that calamity will befall them if they do not make specific expiatory offerings, is much more akin to divination than prophecy. the catechism of the catholic church warns us that: all forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to “unveil” the future…. recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. they contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to god alone (no. 2116). 5.3 psycho-social implications a. fear and insecurity (psycho-spiritual bondage and manipulation) the phenomena of neo-paganism and syncretism border on irrational fear and superstition. there is pervading fear and psychological insecurity that are necessitated by a superstitious worldview that see the machinations and manipulations of malignant spirits and their agents in every event. asogwa remarks that “amidst such captivity due to fear of diabolic forces and other forms of superstition, the christian makes recourse to whichever is handy between charms or amulets and sacramentals… in all, the fear persists unabated” (asogwa 48). njoku expatiates this point beautifully: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute due to this fear, some people turn to whatever belief system that can give them assurance of safety. so it is not unusual to see people who know nothing about the rosary wearing it as a protective charm around their neck and hands. some will go as far as wearing both the finger rosary and another ring they received from a spiritual or traditional healer. the bigger issue with facing fear through the use of charms is the addictive impact this can create. because the charm does not directly ameliorate fear, once a person begins the practice of making charms for protection, the tendency is to acquire more charms as the fear heightens (njoku 2023). another unfortunate development arising from these issues is the resurgence of violent masquerades. while masquerades have always been a part of the igbo cultural entertainment, these masked humans have been prone to unleash unprovoked violence on passersby sometimes resulting in grave injuries. in september 2024, two persons were reported to have died due to the activities of the oriokpa masquerade in nsukka local government of enugu state, resulting in the launching of an investigation into the activities of the masquerade cult by the state government (ede 2024). this unhealthy behaviour of some young people has bred fear and made it difficult for some people to travel to their hometowns. b. impatience syndrome our people always had the concept of a supreme god, contrary to the erroneous notion that our ancestors did not know god. but our people conceived this supreme deity as a distant god. however, driven by the lack of patience to wait on this transcendent god, our people had recourse to intermediary deities. such impatience still runs in the blood of christians in igboland today. hence, people once used to expecting dramatic divine answers and interventions are prone to be bored by the present relative silence and indifference of the god of christianity and often silence is interpreted as absence, and non-intervention as non-existence. as a result of this impatience syndrome, when the average igbo christian encounters problems, as obiefuna observed, the person will seek solution in the catholic church (perhaps in terms of holy water, blessed oil etc). whereby it fails, he or she proceeds to other healing homes, and then to fortune-tellers and makers of charms (58). c. mutual suspicion the malaise afore-described necessarily gives rise to mutual suspicion in the community, acrimony, rancor and even physical confrontation. this accounts for why many christians no longer see distasteful things happening around them as a punishment for their own sins or as a cross to be borne, but as machinations of the evil people and forces around them. as thagale aptly articulates the problem, “some people find it difficult to accept that objective conditions may militate against their success or wellbeing or that their condition of illness or misfortune has nothing to do with the next person. there is a clear reluctance to accept personal accountability for certain situations” (thagale, 2023). it is not new in igbo communities to hear of close family members accusing one another of practicing witchcraft and being responsible for one another’s misfortunes. people are suspicious of everything: physical objects, spiritual forces, neighbors, family members, ancestors, etc. in such a situation, religion, instead of giving meaning to life and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute solidarity to the community, breeds suspicion, confusion, crisis of faith, and hostility in the community. 6. recommendations a. intensified theological education for all christians there is thus an urgent need for intensified theological education of our christians to enhance proper understanding of the true nature of christianity and its mode of interaction with elements of culture and tradition. this will go a long way to make christians less prone to patronizing such cheap theologies that advocate here-and-now panacea to existential difficulties, and be better prepared to live above the enslavement of the traditional mind-set that truncates the much needed integration of christianity into the personality of the average african. b. the culture of witness many people go into neo-paganism and syncretism because of disorientation with the scandalous or disreputable lives of some so-called christians. it is necessary that all christians, especially those directly involved in the work of educating others in the faith, must be shining examples of what they preach. this is because “modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses” (evangelii nuntiandi, no. 41). the bishops of the united states called it the “culture of witness”. according to them, “a christian life lived with charity and faith is the most effective form of evangelization… strengthens the faith of her members, and renews the faith of those who have slipped away from the church” (u.s. conference of bishops, 2023). this is especially true for igboland and africa since “genuine witness by believers is essential to the authentic proclamation of the faith in africa today” (ecclesia in africa, no. 77). c. integral christian formation material and structural development of the church is commendable and worthwhile, but should come at the expense of the mental and spiritual development of christians. integral christian formation can be realized through profound teaching, preaching, retreats, summits, conventions and all other forms of pastoral charity. d. pastoral attention on the youths neo-paganism and syncretism are prevalent among a generation of youths that knew little or nothing about atr because rushing back into its antiquated practices. this calls for urgent and serious pastoral attention on the young people. thus they have to be engaged through teachings, conventions, skills acquisitions, economic empowerments, sporting events, christian cultural festivals etc. e. authentic and integral inculturation for inculturation to be proper and authentic, it has to be universal and integral in nature, touching all aspects of the human person. and so, to effectively confront the effects of faith crisis among our people, every aspect of igbo culture must be open to and penetrated by the christian message: our worldview, attitude, religion, language, music and dance, art, fashion and dressing, etc. f. digitalization of the christian message igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute the opportunities and advantages offered by social media in terms of communication are almost limitless and the church must pass her message through these channels. many magicians and charlatans that lure our people into paganism and syncretism are very influential on social media. thus, it is advisable that pastors of the christian faithful should take advantage of such opportunities to make the authentic christian message and practices available for the public on social media and other digital means of information and communication. 7. conclusion every culture presents its own peculiar challenge to the christian faith. in our own cultural background the faith is seriously confronted by neo-paganism and syncretism, vestiges from our pre-christian era. the onus therefore lies on our own theologians to rise up and come to grips with our own peculiar challenges to the christian faith. this work, through its theological reflection and proposal of evangelical strategies, is a contribution to the efforts of well-meaning indigenous theologians and researchers who have already done some work in that regard. in particular, this research opines that the church in igboland ought to be determined and courageous enough to reach out to the people's cultural heritage with a view to humanizing its values, ideals and ethics by the christian principles. without such cultural dialogue and intensified catechetical instruction, our christians would remain steeped in the miry pit of neo-paganism and syncretism, and christianity in igboland would continue to wallow in superficial religiosity, with consequent compromise of those values which christianity holds dear. references agunwa, j.c. promoting a healthy interaction of christianity and culture in nigeria, enugu: snaap press, 2003. anaso, chimezie. “anambra govt. docks 3 popular native doctors for alleged criminal activities”, pm news, 04.04.2025, http//www.pmnewsnigeria.com, accessed 20.04.2025. asiegbu, anthony. a crisis of faith and a quest for spirituality: an inquiry into some syncretistic practices among some christians in nigeria. pearl publications, 2000. asogwa, osita t. half christian, half pagan: the dilemma of the nigerian christian. snaap press, 2008. benedict xvi. post-synodal apostolic exhortation africae munus. october 19, 2011. ede, raphael. “two die in enugu masquerade attacks”, punch news, 27.09.2024, http//www.punchng.com, accessed 27.04.2025. ejizu, christopher. “liminality in the contemporary nigerian christian religious experience”. mission studies, vol. iv-2, no. 8, 1987. ejizu, christopher, ed. readings on religion & culture in africa. m & j grand orbit publications, 2016. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute encyclopedia britannica, “deus ex machina”, accessed november 10, 2023, https://www.britannica.com/art/deus-ex-machina ezeala, j.o.l. the osu-curse on igbo race, orlu: nnaji and sons, 2000. ezenweke elizabeth & ikechukwu kanu. “perspectives of syncretism and its modern trend: a case of christian and african traditions”. ujah: unizik journal of arts and humanities, vol. 13, no. 2, 2012. john paul ii. post-synodal apostolic exhortation ecclesia in africa. september 14, 1995. luzbetak, louis. the church and cultures: new perspectives in missiological anthropology. orbis books, 1998. njoku, mary gloria. “psychology of syncretistic practices within the church”. accessed october 30, 2023. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/294727997_ obiefuna, albert. “idolatry in a century-old faith”, in a pastor and the ministry of the word: selected pastoral letters and addresses of archbishop albert k. obiefuna. edited by nathaniel obiagba, snaap press, 2003. pp. 105-149. ochei, matthew. “delta monarch bans native doctors for aiding ritual killers”, punch news, http//www.punchng.com, accessed 13.04.2025 okafor, fidelis. new trends in faith and practice. afro-orbis, 2006. okeke, hilary. faith rooted and built up in christ. cathcom publishers, 2011. okeke, hilary. living our culture in the light of faith. cathcom publishers, 2015. okafor, peter onyekwelu. “the church and the challenge of neo-paganism in south-eastern nigeria”. ministerium – a journal of contextual theology, vol. 6, 2020. onaga, callistus. christians and the way of culture.enugu diocesan printing press, 2020. onah, tobias. “syncretism among christians in nigeria and their implications for nigerian christians”. sapientia global journal of arts, humanities and development studies (sgojahds), vol.4, no.3, 2021. ozigbo, ikenga. igbo catholicism: the onitsha connection 1967-1984. african fep. publishers, 1985. paul vi. apostolic exhortation evangelii nuntiandi. december 8, 1975. thagale, buti. “bringing the african culture into the church”. accessed november 29, 2023.http://www.afrikaworld.net/afrel/tlhagale.htm the catechism of the catholic church. st paul’s publication, 2008. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute united states conference of catholic bishops. “disciples called to witness: the new evangelization”. accessed november 20, 2023. https://www.usccb.org 34 sacred satire: ethical implications in artistic expression and religious tolerance a focus on the 2024 olympic games afunugo, kenechi nnaemeka department of religion and human relations, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka nk.afunugo@unizik.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.10003.90409 abstract the 2024 olympic games, held in paris france, have sparked a global conversation about the intersection of art, religion, and freedom of expression. this paper explores the ethical implications of artistic expression, particularly when satire intersects with religious beliefs. it examines the role of satire as a tool for social commentary and potential for offense when it challenges sacred tenets. the study applies both fundamental and complementary data collection techniques. it evaluates its contemplations via the interfaith dialogue theory. the generalizations and conclusions were drawn based on a qualitative analysis and synthesis of the gathered data using hermeneutical and content analysis approach. the observations indicate that the olympic games, traditionally celebrated for respecting diverse religious beliefs and fostering unity, faced significant criticism for its 2024 opening ceremony held in paris. the event was condemned for its perceived wokeness and for allegedly disrespecting the christian faith by associating leonardo da vinci's depiction of the last supper with transgender and homosexual themes. despite the artistic director's defense that the intention was not to mock christianity but to celebrate the greek god dionysus and highlight france's cultural heritage, many countries, religious groups particularly the islamic and christian faith, and public figures, found the ceremony to be a satire mocking the christians lord's supper, and thus unacceptable and condemnable. as a result, a major sponsor of the games withdrew its support; it also made france to be perceived with contempt and disdain in the global landscape. this study recommends comprehensive review processes; cultural sensitivity training; stakeholder engagement; clear guidelines and policies; public communication and transparency; alongside engagement with religious and cultural experts, to avert similar occurrences in subsequent olympic games. keywords: satire, artistic expression, religious tolerance, olympic games, sacred introduction in a word increasingly connected yet diverse, public events like the olympic games should serve as platforms for unity rather than division. promoting religious tolerance in these settings is crucial to fostering mutual respect and understanding among different faiths and even cultural settings. to this end, host countries and global sports directors ought to ensure that no religious group is disrespected or marginalized, by upholding the values of inclusivity and harmony, essential for a peaceful coexistence. the 2024 olympic games opening ceremony intended to be a celebration of global unity and diversity regrettably fell short in adhering to principles of religious and cultural tolerance. various segments of the ceremony, which were meant to showcase the richness of different cultures, instead led to unintended offence and alienation. misrepresentations of certain religious symbols, particularly the leonardo da vinci's illustration of the christian's lord's supper; combined with a lack of sensitivity towards christian's cultural traditions, marred the event, sparking criticism from various communities around the world. this oversight not only overshadowed the spirit of the games but also highlighted the ongoing challenges of achieving igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 35 true inclusivity on such a global stage. it equally captures vividly a gross act of religious intolerance. religious intolerance impedes the ability of a society to be democratic, welcoming, openminded, and accepting. it equally breaches the spirits of sportsmanship in global sporting events like the olympic games. canadian human rights commission (2023), to this effect, highlights that the ability of an individual to freely practice their religion without being abused, segregated or marginalized, is a fundamental human right: it is enshrined in both international and domestic laws, including the canadian charter of rights and freedoms; the universal declaration of human rights; the international covenant on civil and political rights; the united nations declaration on the elimination of all forms of intolerance and of discrimination based on religion or belief; and the united nations declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples. predictably, sherwood (2020) avers that religious intolerance is a more significant contributor to prejudice than race. thus, juxtaposing that attitudes towards faith fuel negative perceptions more than ethnicity or nationality. germane to the aforementioned context, hogemann (2021) suggests that religious intolerance is an extreme form of rejecting or devaluing the differences in beliefs, practices, or identities that others possess. essentially, it implies that when people or groups are intolerant of different religions, they are completely denying the legitimacy and value of others' existence and perspectives. hudson (2023) argues that religious intolerance is evolving in the contemporary world, particularly within institutions that traditionally uphold religious values. she cites the controversy at some selected universities in american society where students are challenging christian group's right to express beliefs that do not affirm lgbtq lifestyles, despite such institution's catholic foundation. the author suggests that this reflects a broader societal trend where religious beliefs, especially those conflicting with popular social views, face increasing opposition and are seen as intolerant or discriminatory. given this recent development, it is not surprising the derogatory and salacious depiction of the christian's lord's supper by the directors of the 2024 olympic games at the opening ceremony. no institution, religious faith, or individual has the right to impose their beliefs and practices on others, nor to abuse other's beliefs and practices. everyone is entitled to their own worldview. levinovitz (2015) contends that religious tolerance, while seemingly virtuous, can be problematic as it often prioritizes coexistence over meaningful dialogue. levinovitz proposes that this approach can lead to superficial respect rather than genuine understanding, fostering an environment where deep-seated beliefs are left unchallenged. he defends that tolerance, rather than encouraging critical examination and growth, may allow harmful or irrational beliefs to persist unexamined, thus impeding both individual and societal progress. however, his critique of religious tolerance risks supporting religious intolerance by dismissing tolerance as mere superficiality. emphasizing that tolerance prioritizes coexistence, rather than robust critique, overlooks the essential role of respect in maintaining peaceful and diverse societies. tolerance allows for the coexistence of differing viewpoints without necessitating their immediate confrontation, which can actually encourage more thoughtful and inclusive dialogue overtime. furthermore, tolerance provides a pragmatic approach to managing the complexity of pluralistic societies, where imposing uniform standards of belief could lead to greater conflict and suppression of freedom; especially that of the minority. in his peculiar study, murray (1965) identifies the major problem associated with religious freedom as the challenges of reconciling this freedom with the need for societal cohesion. he maintains that while religious freedom is a crucial right, it can sometimes lead to tensions and conflicts when diverse beliefs and practices interact. the challenge lies in balancing individual igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 36 freedom with the need for a shared public order that respects and integrates this diversity without undermining social stability. murray ultimately streamlines that religious freedom is a fundamental human right essential for a just and democratic society: contending that genuine freedom of religion allows individuals to follow their own consciences and beliefs without coercion, thereby fostering a more pluralistic and respectful community. conversely, the scandalous depiction of the christian's lord's supper at the 2024 opening ceremony of the olympic games is not targeting at fostering inclusivity, but a slight on christianity as well as a satire mocking christian faith. since limon et al (2014) and ezirim (2021) declare that religious intolerance leads to series of conflicts that claims people's lives along with the destruction of properties, and also affects the fabric of harmony, solidarity and development in any given setting; this study advocates for sensitivity in public expressions, emphasizing that the dignity of all religions should be protected to prevent unnecessary offense and maintain the integrity of shared communal spaces. to achieve its focal point, this article incorporates both initial and ancillary data collection methods. it evaluates the work through the lens of interfaith dialogue theory, and the conclusions were qualitatively delineated using hermeneutical and content analysis approaches. the intrinsic value of the olympic games abrahams et al (2024) underscore that olympic games is the athletic festival that originated in ancient greece and was revived in the late 19th century. the olympic games have come to be regarded as the world's foremost sports competition. the authors accentuate that of all the games held throughout greece, the olympic games were the most famous. they underline that the olympic games, held every four years between august 6 and september 19, were a significant event in greek history, so much so that time was measured by olympiads. the authors spotlight that the games were a key part of a religious festival held in honour of zeus at olympia by the city-state of elis in the north western peloponnese. international olympic committee (2024) illustrates that the goal of the olympic movement is to create a peaceful and better world by educating young people through sports, which are practiced without any form of discrimination. the committee stresses that this vision is guided by the olympic spirit, which emphasizes mutual understanding, friendship, solidarity and fair play. the organization equally avers that: olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind. blending sport with culture and education, olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy found in effort, the educational value of good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles. (p. 1). this posits that olympism which is the philosophy of life that forms the foundation of the olympic movement which equally governs the olympic games promotes values such as excellence, respect, and friendship. olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the elation of diligence cum persistence, the enlightening virtue of good example, and the regard for universally accepted core ethical principles. thus, the ultimate goal of olympism is to promote a peaceful and better world through the practice of sport. hunter (2018) expounds that olympism recognizes, extols and appreciates individual effort. it does not tolerate discrimination among nations, races, political systems, classes, and other related settings. the author posits that olympism streamlines that as human kind build awareness and accentuate mankind's commonality; they must realize that human beings are all igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 37 interconnected in this world. hence, while the connections between individuals on a global scale can be intricate, elusive, and challenging to discern, examining individual's behavioural patterns as world citizens can bridge these gaps and foster shared understanding. saini (2024) elucidates that olympics represent much more than just a sporting event; they embody the spirit of olympism, a philosophy that transcends mere competition to promote values of excellence, friendship, and respect alongside serving as a platform for global harmony cum promoting a sense of cultural unity. the author affirms that the olympic games serve as a horizon for advancing social causes like gender equality, environmental protection, and inclusivity; fostering global unity in an increasingly divided world. olympic games intrinsic value in fostering harmony and solidarity is equally reflected in the fact that during each olympic games competition, all the athletes from all over the world are accommodated in a common olympic village without any form of segregation, discrimination or marginalization as christiansen et al (2014) state. more so, the authors delineate that foods and services within the olympic village at every olympic games are free of charge; capturing the true essence of “being human”. furthermore, the lightening of the olympic flame during the olympic games opening ceremony, rooted in the ancient games of olympia, greece, symbolizes purity, life, and the enduring spirit of humanity's pursuit of excellence. according to hogeback (2019) and imbo (2024), it represents peace, unity, and the connection between ancient and modern civilizations. the flame's journey from olympia to the host city, culminating in the torch relay and the lighting of the cauldron, embodies the passing of values across generations and nations. this beacon of hope and inspiration marks the official start of the games, encouraging athletes to strive for excellence, respect, and friendship. data-driven investigations the 2024 olympic games opening ceremony sparked significant controversy due to its depiction of the christian lord's supper in a manner deemed disrespectful by many. the portrayal, featuring drag queens and a prominent lgbtq+ figure, was seen by numerous viewers as a mockery of a central christian sacrament. this incident drew widespread condemnation from religious groups worldwide, who argued that the ceremony's content clashes with the core principles of olympism, which traditionally promote unity, respect, and tolerance as already portrayed in this study. critics contend that the event undermined these values by alienating a significant portion of the global audience and instigating religious offence. in this regard, frambery-lacobone (2024) exclaims that the conference of bishops of france perceived the depiction of the christian's lord's supper at the 2024 olympic opening ceremony, as “scenes of derision and mockery of christianity” (p. 2). hall (2024) observes that the olympics opening ceremony sparked outrage with drag queens parodying last supper: thus, he avers that it was completely woke. he declares that elon musk, harrison faulkner, and riley gaines condemned the display in various ways including a sign of the cultural decay in western civilization; extremely disrespectful to christians and a sinful act that attracts god's judgment. ex-transgender influencer, oli london (cited by hall) described the scene in his words, thus: “olympics openly mocks jesus' last supper as drag queens dressed as women play the role of disciples while a plus size woman appears in the middle symbolizing jesus wearing a giant crown” (p. 3). he then highlights that the olympics has basically morphed into one long drag show: stressing that it has also gone completely woke. desk (2024) attests that paris olympics 2024 commenced on july 26 with a four-hour duration opening ceremony. however, the parody of leonardo da vinci's last supper did not sit well with igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 38 social media, which labeled it as the “worst ever” (p.1). desk observes that amid the ongoing backlash, a resurfaced video of the 2008 beijing olympics opening ceremony sparked online praise. directed by renowned film-maker zhang yimou, the spectacular event showcased both china's ancient heritage and modern advancements. the author posits that social media users are hailing it as the pinnacle of olympic ceremonies, citing its unmatched grandeur and impact. the ceremony also coincided with record-breaking performances by athletes like michael phelps and usian bolt, further cementing its iconic status. thus, it stands as a standard over the 2024 paris olympics that is hugging headlines for wrong objectives. desk underscores that additionally, the 2024 olympic games opening ceremony was marred by mistakes with country names, issues with raising the olympic flag, and odd moments like a headless marie antoinette, the infamous queen of france who was executed in 1793, singing. economic times (2024) records that the paris 2024 olympics opening ceremony faced criticism from french bishops and conservatives for perceived mockery of christianity and a “woke” spectacle featuring diverse and lgbtq+ themes. most spectators of the olympics found it bloated and disjointed. the news agency stipulates various personalities disapproving remark of the spectacle, to wit: french bishop declared that it unfortunately included scenes of derision and mockery of christianity; and that the excesses and provocation of the scenes of jesus' last supper with his apostles which began with a group of dancers and drag queens sitting in poses that recalled the event set to music by lesbian activist dj barbara butch that sat at the center with a silver headdress that resembled a halo, hurt christians across the world. hungarian prime minister, viktor orban railed against the opening ceremony's weakness and disintegration of the western world. russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, mark zakharova denounced the show as a mockery of a sacred story for christians, “and a giant gay parade” (p. 3). rashid (2024) enunciates that in a peculiar interview on the fox business channel, representative ryan zinke discussed the recent fbi confirmation that donald trump was indeed hit by a bullet during an assassination attempt in pennsylvania earlier in july, 2024: surprisingly, zinke chose to link the incident to conservative's frustrations with the 2024 olympics opening ceremony, ergo; “trump is as much of a movement as it is a candidate, because america is not comfortable where we are. we are not comfortable watching the olympics disgusting, dishonourable display. we are not comfortable with the woke” (p. 1). noteworthy, rashid states that thomas jolly, the artistic director of the ceremony, defended the segment, stating that the intention was not to mock christianity but to celebrate the greek god dionysus, highlighting france's cultural heritage. thus, the ceremony aims to convey a message of inclusivity and artistic freedom. nonetheless, jolly and the paris 2024 organizing committee issued apologies to those who were offended. the fact remains that the insulting cum vilifying satire of the depiction of leonardo da vinci's illustration of the last supper of jesus christ and his apostles in the 2024 olympic games opening ceremony in paris france, was premeditated and intended to prove a point in a derogatory, demeaning and provocative tone. this situation could have been avoided if they had embraced the spirit of olympism along with religious tolerance. backlash related to the 2024 olympic games opening ceremony pertinent to the vilifying depiction of the lord's supper propper (2024) and the feed (2024) articulate that the depiction of the lord's supper at the 2024 olympic games opening ceremony was perceived as woke and a satire mocking the lord's supper. the controversy highlights the challenge of balancing artistic expression with respect for diverse religious sentiments in a global event. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 39 cherkaoui (2024) avers that it enraged nations and sparked global backlash. the author affirms that western nations, particularly the united states, were quick to react on the issue and perceived the act as an insult to christianity, which was widely followed in a majority of countries in europe and north america. cherkaoui intimates that president erdogan's conversation with pope francis underscores the gravity of the event's affront to sacred values: affirming that 2024 olympic games opening ceremony will be remembered not for its celebration of sport, but as a day that will live in infamy. pope francis and turkish president, recep tayyip erdogan (cited by cherkaoui) tagged the event as an immoral display. president erdogan emphasized the need for a united front against actions that disparage sacred values, illuminating that human dignity was being trampled on, and religious and moral values were being mocked, offending both muslims and christians. furthermore, cherkaoui (2024) enlightens that the opening ceremony of the 2024 paris olympic sparked reactions that ranged from shock to outright disgust. pierre de coubertin (cited by cherkaoui) envisioned the olympic games as a celebration of sport and the unity of nations through athletic competition. according to the olympic charter (rule 50.2), cited by the author “no kind of political, religious, or racial demonstration or propaganda is permitted in any olympic venue, site, or other location” (p. 3). however, the 2024 paris ceremony starkly contrasted with these founding principles, representing a radical departure from the spirit of the games. cherkaoui (2024) intimates that the demeaning depiction of the lord's supper at the 2024 opening ceremony of the olympic games made the world perceive france with contempt and disdain. it also exposed a profound disconnection between the french ruling elites and the rest of the world. the scene debasing jesus christ drew the most criticism, particularly from the us, and is no longer available on replay. many televisions from muslim countries also cut the parade's footage from their live broadcasts. this event obviously did a reputational damage on the person of the french president, emmanuel macron, who was associated with all the preparations. cherkaoui observes that even jacques attali, who has long been associated with the circles of power in france, declared that history will judge the 2024 olympic ceremony; adding in his words that “in 10 years, either these transgressions will have become natural and common place, or they will be felt as the measure of what 2024 was; a moment of decadence” (p.5). such a statement highlights the event's divisive nature and its intended outcome. cherkaoui concludes that the ceremony ultimately reflects the french ruling elite's worldview, infused with sexual depravity, satanistic rituals, and anti-religious themes. revell (2024) and cherkaoui (2024) asserts that the 2024 olympic games opening ceremony's representation of jesus christ was deeply shocking, implying a global debasement of christianity. thus, some multimedia companies and sponsors pulled their support for the 2024 olympic games. this act already proved costly, with united states advertising and sponsoring contracts being canceled, leading to significant financial losses for the olympic committee, particularly the french olympic committee. the authors equally report that c spire, a tech and telecommunications company based in ridgeland, mississippi, wrote in a post on x that they were shocked by the mockery of the last supper during the opening ceremonies of the paris olympics, and that they have already pulled their advertisements and support. c spire ceo, suzy hays (cited by revell) specifically declared in his words: c spire is supportive of our athletes who have worked so hard to be a part of the olympics. however, we will not be a part of the offensive and unacceptable mockery of the last supper, which is why we are pulling advertising from the olympics. (p. 2). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 40 ultimately, another backlash of the seditious display of the lord's supper at the 2024 olympics games held in paris, france is that major world religions apart from christianity opposed and condemned it. quinones (2024) posits that iran and turkey's top leaders, along with other prominent muslim figures, strongly condemned the recent portrayal of the last supper during the paris olympics opening ceremony. they argue that the performance, which features drag queens, was deeply disrespectful to jesus christ, a revered figure in islam. iran's supreme leader, ayatollah ali khamenei (cited by quinones), declares that insulting religious figures is unacceptable, and that muslims hold jesus in high esteem. keller (2024) also stresses that alazhar, the top institution of the sunni branch of islam in egypt, strongly criticized the portrayal of jesus christ in the event. they express that al-azhar, and nearly 2 billion muslims behind it, argue that the depiction was deeply offensive and disrespectful to the billions of muslims worldwide who view jesus as a revered prophet. the author highlights that the muslim council of elders grand imam of al-azhar emphasized that muslims believe that jesus is a messenger of god, as described in the quran. they equally called for respect for religious beliefs and condemned any attempt to demean sacred figures. moreover, cebi (2024) and cherkaoui (2024) note that even some french elites and christians like the catholic church of france, marion marechal, fabrice di vizio, jean-luc melanchon, alongside bishop robert barron from winona-rochester, minnesota, middle east council of churches (mecc) and archbishop charles scicluna of malta, perceived the depiction of the lord's supper at the 2024 olympic games opening ceremony as a satire mocking christianity: they hence, condemned it since it includes numerous references to satanism. changing god's creation and reversing it as enthroned in transsexualism is considered by many as a form of satanism because it is both an inversion of god's creation and a societal confusion. thus the authors posit that from this perspective, some christians condemned the last supper scene at the 2024 olympics' opening ceremony as truly satanic. similarly, they aver that the theme of pedophile-satanism, accompanied by frightened children, nods to the last phase of the dechristianization of the west. the interfaith dialogue theory napier (2011) illuminates that interfaith dialogue theory refers to a framework or approach that facilitates conversations and interactions between people of different religious traditions and beliefs. the goal is to promote understanding, build relationships and acquire new knowledge by engaging with the perspectives and experiences of the “other”, or those who hold religious or spiritual views. kung (1991) who is a swiss catholic theologian as well as a notable proponent of the interfaith dialogue theory in the 20th century; argues for the necessity of interfaith dialogue and mutual respect among different religious traditions as part of a global ethical framework. his work was influential in shaping contemporary interfaith dialogue practices. kung strongly believes that interfaith dialogue is the foundation for global peace alongside religious tolerance. he asseverates that there will be no peace among the nations without peace among diverse religions in the world: in the same vein, there will be no peace among the religions without dialogue among the peculiar religions. orton (2016) contends that interfaith dialogue theory involves cooperative, constructive, and positive engagement between individuals or groups from different religious traditions, spiritual practices, or humanistic beliefs, occurring at both personal and institutional levels. this implies that the theory is a deliberate process of respectful interaction between people of diverse faiths or beliefs. it aims to foster understanding, cooperation, and positive relationships both in personal and organization or community level. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 41 academy for cultural diplomacy (2024) enunciates that interfaith dialogue theory is essentially a positive and cooperative conversation between people from different religion. it focuses on building bridges of understanding and respect. the academy posits that it converges people to share their beliefs, and work together to create a more harmonious world. the institute illustrates that it involves; open-mindedness, which is being willing to listen and learn about different perspectives; mutual respect, which reflects valuing each other's belief without judgment; cooperation, which hinges on working together to find common ground and address shared challenges; together with tolerance, which highlights accepting differences and living peacefully alongside people with different belief. it is important to note that interfaith dialogue is not about converting others or claiming superiority of one religion over another; it is about recognizing the richness and diversity of human spirituality. in this context, the directors of the 2024 olympic games opening ceremony in paris, france erred and fumbled. they should have sought various means rather than disrespecting and downplaying the christian lord's supper, to showcase their so-called inclusivity mindset. it is wrong to promote a perceived idea by undermining someone's deeply revered faith and beliefs. interfaith dialogue theory emphasizes mutual respect and understanding among different religious traditions. by fostering open communication and collaboration between faith leaders prior to the 2024 olympic opening ceremony, a more inclusive approach could have been adopted. this would involve recognizing and accommodating diverse religious practices, thereby preventing the demeaning representation of the christian lord's supper. such dialogue ensures that all religious symbols and rituals are treated with dignity, promoting harmony and reducing the likelihood of offending any faith community. besides true religion does not promote moral decadence and evil; thus no one should reckon homosexuality and lgbtq inclinations as religious since they reflect morally debased and detestable acts. the ethical implications of mocking the christian lord's supper during the 2024 olympic games opening ceremony the ethical implications of mocking the last supper during the 2024 olympics opening ceremony are multifaceted and revolve around respect for religious beliefs, freedom of expression, cultural sensitivity, and the impact on public perception among others. they are delineated as follows: · respect for religious beliefs: one significant ethical concern is the potential disrespect shown towards christian beliefs. “the last supper” is a deeply reversed image in christianity, and any perceived mockery can be seen as offensive and blasphemous. this can hurt the sentiments of millions of christians globally, leading to feeling of alienation and disrespect. · freedom of expression: on the other hand, the defense of the ceremony centers on artistic freedom and the right to creative expression. thomas jolly and the organizers emphasized their intention to celebrate cultural heritage and inclusivity, not to mock any religious symbols. this raises the ethical question of balancing freedom of artistic expression with respect for religious sentiments. it behooves that art aficionados, artists and creative's should always be wary of crossing ethical boundaries in their creativity pertinent to religious expressions. their shows should center or secular activities in a way that will not be a mockery of people's cultural norms and heritage particularly at public events. · cultural sensitivity: the incident highlights the need for cultural sensitivity, especially in global events like the olympics, which have a diverse audience. artists and organizers must consider the global impact of their work and strive to avoid offending different igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 42 cultural and religious groups. this includes understanding the potential for misinterpretation and the consequences of controversial artistic choices. · impact on public perception: the backlash also affects the public perception of the olympics as an inclusive and unifying event. controversies can overshadow the sporting achievements and the spirit of the games, potentially leading to decreased viewership and support from certain groups. ethical considerations must include the broader impact on the event's reputation and the message it sends to the world. · dialogue and reconciliation: the incident presents an opportunity for dialogue and reconciliation between different cultural and religious groups. addressing the controversy through open discussion can foster understanding and respect. acknowledging mistakes and issuing sincere apologies, assuming the organizers apology is genuine, are crucial steps towards mending relationships and demonstrating a commitment to inclusivity and respect. · corporate and sponsorship reactions: the ethical implications extend to corporate sponsors and advertisers. for instance, the withdrawal of advertising by c spire reflects the economic consequences of controversial actions. companies must weigh their support for freedom of expression against their responsibility to their customer base, which may include individuals with strong religious beliefs. · global event responsibility: since the olympic game is a global event, the organizers have a heightened responsibility to ensure that their actions do not alienate or offend any part of their diverse audience. this involves being mindful of the diverse cultural and religious landscape of the global community and striving to create a unifying experience that respects all perspectives. essentially, while artistic freedom is crucial, it must be balanced with a deep respect for religious and cultural beliefs to foster a truly inclusive environment. the ethical implications highlight the importance of sensitivity and careful consideration in global cultural expression. strategies to avert similar occurrences pertinent to the satirical mockery of the lord's supper in subsequent olympic games to avert subsequent occurrences of controversies similar to the mockery of the last supper at the 2024 olympic opening ceremony, organizers can implement the following strategies: · avoiding the use of satire when reflecting on sensitive issues like religious and cultural symbols: avoiding the use of satire when reflecting on sensitive issues like religious and cultural symbols is crucial to maintaining respect and fostering understanding. satire, while powerful in critiquing societal flaws, can easily cross into disrespect or offence when applied to deeply held beliefs. these symbols often carry profound meaning and significance for individuals and communities, and mocking or trivializing them can lead to unnecessary conflict, misunderstandings, and alienation. by refraining from satirical approaches in these contexts, it creates a space for more thoughtful, respectful, and constructive dialogue, which is essential for coexistence in a diverse global space. · comprehensive review process: it is fundamental to establish a diverse and inclusive committee to review all artistic content for potential cultural and religious sensitivities. this committee should include representatives from various cultural and religious backgrounds to ensure a wide range of perspectives are considered. their role would be to identify and address any elements that could be perceived as offensive or inappropriate. · cultural sensitivity training: it is essential to provide thorough cultural sensitivity training for all individuals involved in the creative process. this training should cover the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 43 importance of respecting diverse cultures and religious beliefs, and provide guidelines on how to avoid misrepresentation or stereotyping. · clear guidelines and policies: it is necessary to provide clear guidelines and policies regarding the portrayal of religious and cultural symbols. these guidelines should be communicated to all creative teams, emphasizing the importance of sensitivity and respect. · engagement with religious and cultural experts: religious and cultural experts should be consulted during the planning and development stages of the event content. their insights can help identify potential issues and provide guidance on how to present themes in a respectful manner. · scenario planning: scenario planning should always be conducted in the face of global sporting events like the olympic games to anticipate potential backlash and prepare appropriate responses. this includes developing a communication strategy that addresses possible misunderstandings or offenses and outlines steps for immediate resolution. proactive measures from organizers as outlined above can effectively address and prevent controversies, thereby cultivating a more inclusive and respectful atmosphere at the olympics and similar large-scale events. conclusion the intersection of art, religion, and global events like the olympics presents a complex terrain where freedom of expression and religious sensitivity often collide. while satire can be a potent tool for social critique, it must be exercised with respect for diverse beliefs. the 2024 olympics opening ceremony underscored this tension, revealing the challenges of balancing artistic license with the avoidance of religious offense. finding common ground requires employing the basic tenets of interfaith dialogue theory alongside the strategies for averting subsequent similar occurrences as already enunciated in this study. be that as it may, this study is limited by its focus on a single event. a broader examination of satire across different cultures and time periods would provide a more comprehensive understanding of its impact. additionally, quantifying the precise effects of satirical content on religious tolerance remains difficult due to the subjective nature of perception and the multitude of factors influencing attitudes. ultimately, this research highlights the need for continued exploration of the ethical dimensions of artistic expression in an increasingly interconnected world. through fostering dialogue between artists, religious leaders, and the public, it is possible to navigate these complexities and create a space where satire can thrive without compromising religious harmony. recommendations the following recommendations are hereby proffered in view of the findings of this study: 1. inordinate and salacious lifestyles should not be legalized in any country. legalizing such lifestyles fosters the popular opinion that they are acceptable alternative lifestyles and, therefore, an acceptable religious virtue. lascivious and overindulgent lifestyles do not constitute any religious tenet, as every religion promotes good virtues. 2. people should refrain from imposing their lecherous and turpitudinous ideals on public gatherings, particularly through mockery-oriented satirical artistic expressions; as such acts often alienate and offend rather than inspire constructive dialogue. such expressions igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 44 can undermine the diversity of thought and experience within a community, fostering division rather than mutual respect and understanding. public spaces thrive on inclusivity and respect, and artistic expressions should aim to enrich rather than belittle the varied perspectives that coexist within society. respecting the boundaries of others' beliefs and lifestyles is essential to maintaining a harmonious and respectful environment for all. 3. religious adherents should not be overly fixated on protecting their faith against perceived devaluations, as this can lead to unnecessary conflict and distraction from the core tenets of their beliefs. instead, they should cultivate the wisdom to discern when it is more beneficial to ignore certain issues, understanding that the strength of faith lies not in constant defense, but in embodying its principles with grace and resilience. in doing so, they maintain the integrity of their beliefs while promoting a peaceful coexistence with others. 4. christian churches should not be targeted for destructive criticisms or any form of mockery because they mean no harm neither are they the root causes of societal issues. christian evangelists just like other secular celebrities like musicians and great motivational speakers are successful alongside attracting global audiences and filling stadiums cum auditoriums, earmarking excellence in their various fields. christianity is not responsible for failures in other areas of global institutions or endeavours: they should not equally be subjected to embrace deplorable lifestyles to exhibit inclusivity and liberality. that should constitute compromising of their faith's standard and core intrinsic values. instead of criticizing christianity, people should strive for excellence in their own fields along with making remarkable impacts in their peculiar perceived life choices as a mode of convincing others to embrace their stance. they should contribute to societal progress, demonstrating that it is possible for every sector and life pattern to thrive simultaneously in the global space. references abrahams, h.m. et al. (2024, august 14). olympic games. encyclopedia britannica. h�ps://www.britannica.com/sports/olympic.games. academy for cultural diplomacy. (2024). historical examples of inter-faith dialogue achievements. cultural diplomacy research. h�ps://www.culturaldisplomacy.org/ academy/index.php?en_historical-examples. canadian human rights commission. (2023, october 23). discussion paper on religious intolerance. .h�ps://www.chrc.cedp.gc.calen/resources/publica�ons cebi, g.n. (2024, july 28). paris olympic opening ceremony criticized for disrespecting religious beliefs. world sports. .h�ps://www.aa.com.tr/en/sports/ cherkaoui, t. (2024, august 7). opinion-olympic outrage: paris ceremony sparks global backlash. an analysis. .h�ps://www.aa.com.tr/en/analysis christiansen, a.v et al. (2014). the olympic games: the experience of a lifetime or simply the most important competition of an athletic career? physical culture and sport studies and research, 64(1). doi: 101.2478/press-2014-0026. desk, t. (2024, july 28). paris 2024: amid backlash over “wokeism”, why old video of beijing 2008 opening ceremony is going viral. the indian express. . economic times. (2024, july 24). olympics 2024: upset bishops and mixed reviews for opening ceremony. et: the economic times. .h�ps://m.economic�mes.com/news/sports/ ezirim, j.k. (2021). the challenges of religious intolerance to the nigerian development. trinitarian international journal of arts and humanities, 1(1). frambery-lacobone, a. (2024). how the olympics opening ceremony triggered a debate on “woke ideology” in france. the conversation. .h�ps://theconversa�on.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 45 hall, a. (2024, july 26). olympics opening ceremony sparks outrage with drag queens parodying last supper. “gone completely woke”. fox news. . hogeback, j. (2019, january 2). what do the olympic rings and flame represent? encyclopedia britannica. https://www.britannica.com. hogemann, e.r. (2021). religious intolerance: the maximum denial of alterity. the age of human rights journals. doi:10.17561/tahrj.v17.6126. hudson, v. (2023, march 15). perspective: religious intolerance is taking new forms. deseret news. .h�ps://www.deseret.com/2023/3/15/23639851 hunter, d.j. (2018). olympism for the 21st century: new life to a timeless philosophy. the sport journal, 24. .h�ps://thesportsjournal.org/artcle/ imbo, w. (2024, april 12). paris 2024 olympic flame lighting ceremony: everything you need to know and how to watch live. olympic torch relay paris 2024. https://olympics.com/en/news/. international olympic committee. (2024). beyond the games. h�ps://olympics.com/10c/beyondthe-games. keller, e. (2024, july 31). controversy erupts at olympics: muslim leaders condemn offensive display. news week. .h�ps://www.newsweek.com/ kung, h. (1991). global responsibility: in search of a new world ethic. crossroad. levnovitz, a. j. (2015, october 2). the problem with religious tolerance. the chronicle of higher education. .h�ps://www.chronicle.com/ar�cle/ limon, m. et al. (2014). combating global religious intolerance. the implementation of human rights council rights resolution 16/18. murray, j. c. (1965). the problem of religious freedom. george town university: woodstock theological library. .h�ps://library.georgetown.edu/woodstock/murrary/7964e napier, j. (2011). interfaith. dialogue theory and native/non-native relations. illumine: journal of the center for studies in religion and society graduate students association, 10(1), 77-90. orton, a. (2016). interfaith dialogue: seven key questions for theory, policy and practice. religion, state and society, 44(4), 349-365. propper, d. (2024, july 28). paris olympics organizers apologize for shocking drag last supper tableau. new york post. .h�ps://nypost.com/2024/07/28/ quinones, k. (2024, july 30). muslim leaders condemn disgraceful olympics scene: it offended u s a s m u c h a s t h e m . t h e c a t h o l i c w o r l d r e p o r t . h�ps://www.catholicworldreport.com/2024/07/30/. rashid, h. (2024, july 29). republicans are getting triggered by “woke” olympics. the new republic. .h�ps://newrepublic.com/post/18/4389 revell, e. (2024, july 30). what is c spire, the company that pulled olympic advertising? fox business. .h�ps://www.google.com/am/s/www.foxbusiness.com/technology/ saini, d. (2024, may 9). embracing olympism: a celebration of unity, excellence, and global sportsmanship. olympic studies: international olympic academy. sherwood, h. (2020, november 15). religious intolerance is “bigger cause of prejudice than race”, says report. the observer. .h�ps://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/15/ the feed. (2024, july 31). paris olympics mocked christianity? here's some details about the controversy about hurting sentiments around the “last supper”. et: the economic t i m e s . https://www.google.com/amap/s/m.economictimes.com/news/interionational/us/. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 295 the quests for a divided and united nation: a socioreligious survey of the underlining cause george c. asadu ph.d department of religion and cultural studies university of nigeria, nsukka george.asadu@unn.edu.ng obeta, kingsley samuel department of religion and philosophy ebonyi state university, abakaliki kingsley.obeta@gmail.com abstract since independence, nigeria has made effort to clearly articulate the relationship between her differing ethnic groups and religious biases. to find a working relationship seems difficult because of factors like internal contradictions propagated by the colonial authority, contradicting worldviews of ethnic groups, and conflicting religious beliefs. the concept of "one nigeria" appears fictitious. this sparked calls for both a united and divided nigeria. while the north clamour for one nigeria administered according to islamic law, the south is agitating for independence from the north's servitude. this work situates the paradoxical quest for a united and a divided nigeria in a multi-ethnic and multi-religious environment, using a historical approach basically depending on secondary sources. the quests are contrary to general belief and are parallel socio-economic evils in relation to the nature of nigeria. the work advocates for the “lesser evil” (a dividedd nigeria) since it could not suggest a new option. keywords: nigeria, independence, nation, religion, ethnicity introduction since independence, nigeria has made effort to clearly articulate the relationship between her differing ethnic groups and religious biases. to find a working relationship seems somewhat difficult because of some factors; one of which is the european political and economic imperialism, which kept the nation divided permanently. despite the fact that the british colonialists appeared to have left the new nation state with a secular administration upon independence, internal tensions emerged quickly, which colonial power paradoxically nurtured and amplified. madiebo (1980: 3) averred, “britain introduced divide and rule system of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 296 government for the country. a system which lay emphasises on the differences among the peoples, while promoting social segregation”. mahammad, kasim and martins (2015) noted that residential segregation occurred from the divide and rule policy. this fact was further elucidated by asadu (2021: 51) that sir percy grirouard’s administration introduced dichotomy among nigerian religions and peoples by ordering the separation of the northern muslims from the southern christians, resulting in the development of sabo-garis meaning strangers’ domain. only the sabon-garis were open to southerners who arrived in the north after 1911. thenceforth, southerners and indeed christians were regarded as strangers in the north within the emirate see. this single act of segregation laid the foundation of religious intolerance in nigeria. it simply meant that two persons of different religious affinity cannot live together in a given environment. the application of a rigid identity and the consequent damage to the nigeria unity is a very serious matter that prompted northern muslims to dislike the post independence secular state, which the south cherishes. this action is indeed, at the heart of nigeria's ethnic and religious divisions, as well as the country's ongoing ethno-religious bloodshed. nigeria's greatest barrier to integration has been this conundrum. the northern muslims attempts to undermine the constitution while trying to build an islamic state to replace the existing secular administration (sampson 2014). nigerians who were affected by this tendency insisted on dividing the country. rather than escalating the carnage. this work situates the paradoxical search for a united and divided nigeria utilizing a historical approach mostly reliant on secondary sources. the composition of nigeria nigeria is a west african country with a population of approximately 180 million people as at 2016 (deluca, 2017). over 250 tribes are represented among those people, each with its own culture and traditions, as well as diverse languages. the immense cultural diversity of the country is enriched by these tribes. the hausa-fulani, igbo, and yoruba are nigeria's three largest ethnic groups. northern nigeria is home to the hausa-fulani ethnic group. hausa and fulani formed political allies the moment the two adopted islam as their religion and hausa language as their lingual franca. it is considered as the largest of nigeria's ethnic groupings. the north has dominated political leadership in nigeria since1960, when nigeria declared independence from the united kingdom. islam plays a major role in their influence on politics and society. the core northern states where the hausaigwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 297 fulani muslims are majority adopted the islamic sharia law system. this system is founded on the quran's precepts and contains both religious and secular responsibilities. it also imposes penalties for breaching the law (deluca, 2017). the igbo ethnic group from eastern nigeria are mostly christians. the igbo people used to serve in a variety of government and military positions. they were also instrumental in the liberation of nigeria from british domination. however, since the biafran war igbo become less a force in nigerian politics today. igbo people are known for their industry and hard work. many of them are great business tycoons while some are subsistence farmers. the igbo people still play a role in nigeria oil trade but their political influence is reduced. the yoruba tribe is found in the west. they play a prominent part in politics and military life, but their political influence has been whittled down in recent decades (deluca, 2017). the city of lagos, which is the second most popular city in africa is located on the fringe of the yoruba land and is fast-tracking business opportunities for nigerians. both islam and christianity have been embraced by the yoruba, and both are practiced within the group. the current ethnic configuration splits nigeria into six major geopolitical zones, a development that was designed by general sani abacha, nigeria’s past military ruler. the zones include north east which has six states, north west seven states, south-south six and north central has six states and the federal capital territory – abuja. these four zones mentioned above are made up of diverse ethnic groups. while the south east which has five states and south west six states, are predominantly igbo and yoruba people respectively. the idea that held sway for three primary ethnic groups in nigeria is an ancient one that should have faded away with the split of the country into six geopolitical zones. but, surprisingly, it did not. despite the differences, nigerians have an agreed form of social order. for clarity and better understanding of the agreed form of nigeria’s social order, the nature of nigeria is discussed below. the supposed nature of nigeria is reflected in the nigerian 1999 constitution. the provision of section 10 of the 1999 constitution as amended states clearly that no state shall adopt any religion (section 3 (1). shola (2014: 2) defines secularism this way: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 298 secularism is commonly regarded as ‘an ideology that holds that religious issues should not be the basis of politics, or (in the extreme) that religion has no place in public life! essentially, secularism seeks to preserve the religious neutrality of government and culture. secular, therefore connotes not spiritual; not ecclesiastical; relating to affairs of the present world. a secular state exemplifies the notion of secularism, in which a state or country declares itself to be religiously neutral, favouring neither religion nor irreligion. a secular state also promises to treat all of its inhabitants equally, regardless of religion, and to avoid treating citizens of one religion or non-religion differently than citizens of other religions or non-religions. although the absence of a state religion or equivalent does not guarantee that a state is secular. rather, it means that choice to believe in a religion or not is entirely an individual’s prerogative, and it ensures that nobody is discriminated against on the basis of his religion or irreligion (see 1999 constitution as amended). unfortunately, nigeria secular nature is only in the constitution and not at all in practice or at best a quasi-secular republic. between secularity and spirituality: nigeria’s confusion the nigerian constitution implicitly provides that nigeria is a secular state but a keen observer will realize that nigeria is between secularity and spirituality in practice. for instance, ibrahim datti ahmed a politician and opinion leader of some stature denied the fact that nigeria is a secular state. suleiman (2000: 24) reported datti’s interview with the newsmagazine where he queried, “you said nigeria is a secular state. it has never been we have never written that in the constitution of nigeria that it is a secular state. the only thing there is that there shall be not state religion” contrary to datti’s assertion, the christian leadership has always argued that the divine state has largely given way to the secular state, in which the temporal (secular) sovereign has complete authority as ruler with no religious or spiritual influences (kukah, 1993: 22). the former president of can retired archbishop okogie expresses the christian's viewpoint on the state religion relationship, and cautioned that “when you are in a position of trust, forget about your religion because it is a private affair between you and your god if you want to bring religion, in, let it be after office hours (cited in kukah, 1993:228).”. but the northern muslims, have always held a critical view of secularism, defining it as atheism or irreligion, a position they have always stated anytime nigeria is mentioned igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 299 as a secular state. for example, kukah (1993: 228) observed that the jamma'atu nasril islam (jni) (society for the victory of islam) claims that secularism is antagonistic to islam; it aims to destroy islamic principles, displace islamic rules with its own, and desecrate the sanctity of muslim society. these statements show how two major religious communities in nigeria have opposing views on secularism. there is no agreement on their views on the issue at stake. the divergent view of the two dominant religions groups portrays nigeria’s confusion – between secularity and spirituality. to put nigeria in secularity and spirituality spectrum, it is important to identify some of the characteristics of constitutional democracy as it is obtained in nigeria. firstly, section38 (1) of the 1999 constitution provides for the citizens right of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. the citizens are therefore, at liberty to choose whichever religions or beliefs they wish; under the same provision, citizens are also free to manifest and expand their religion or belief through worship, teaching, practice, and observance. he can do this individually or collectively. by this constitutional provision, nigeria is unmistakably a multi-religious state with constitutionally guaranteed freedom of worship and conscience. the nigeria educational system is supposed to be secular, but it is actually of doubtful authenticity, as both the law and practice concerning education are ambiguous on the issue of secularism in religious instruction. section 38 (2) of the same constitution, buttressed this point further by stating that citizens shall have the right to attend any educational institution of their choice irrespective of the religious back ground of the institution or the proprietor without been compelled to convert to another religious order than his. similarly, subsection 3 says “no religious community or denomination shall be prevented from providing religious instruction for pupils of that community or denomination in any place of education maintained wholly by that community or denomination” (1999 constitution). the implications of these provisions are that, while religious communities have the constitutional right to establish schools and provide religious instruction to their students, students of other religions have the legal right to study in such institutions without being coerced to receive the religious instruction provided by the school, which the student does not adhere to. obviously, both federal and state ministries of education have judiciously followed the constitution by providing similar non-faith-based guidelines for the establishment of educational institutions at all level. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 300 nonetheless, religious organizations do establish private schools, which are run in accordance with their respective religious dogmas. religious training is routinely denied to students at such educational institutions who choose faiths other than those approved and taught by the school. for example, in contravention of the constitution, christians who enrolled in islamic schools are sometimes refused access to christian religious education, while muslim pupils in christian schools are occasionally prohibited access to islamic religious teaching. besides, all females attending public schools in some northern states are forced to wear the hijab scarf as a result of the implementation of islamic law in those regions. this was the cause of crisis that erupted in niger state sometimes early this year, 2021 (olufemi, 2021). on the other hand, there are three sources of law in the nigerian legal system. english common law, which upholds equity principles, universal application statutes in effect prior tojanuary1, 1960, as well as customary laws of the component ethnic nationalities and islamic law, are among the sources (obalde, 1979: 3). this system creates the sharia court of appeal of the federal capital territory, abuja; sharia court of appeal of a state, among others, as court vested with judicial powers (keay and anderson, 1966: 2). these courts have been established by several sections of the constitution and have been practically institutionalized. there are also laws that create religious institutions that are entirely sponsored by the government. the national haji commission of nigeria (nahcon) establishment act, 2006, established the muslim national hau commission of nigeria, which is financed from the federation account. according to sections 3 and 9 of the act, members of the commission are chosen by the president and paid from government coffer, and they have all the rights and advantages that public officials have. the commission presents its budget for pilgrimage to saudi arabia directly to the president for funding, as enshrined in section 12 of the nahcon act. the nigerian christian pilgrims commission follows in the same line. the christian pilgrim's commission establishing act is comparable to its muslim counterpart in terms of laws and functions except for the fact that it addresses christian faith. a number of nigerian legislations has religious overtones. the penal code act, which is based on the sudan criminal code, is heavily influenced by sharia law (the penal code regulates criminal proceedings in the muslim dominated northern part of nigeria); just as the bible has binding influence igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 301 of the christians. thus, religious arguments impacted the passage of laws such as the same sex marriage (prohibition) act 2006. corroborating this fact kimindu, an anglican priest, said christian and muslim leaders are key to challenging public opinion since they use sacred scriptures to justify homosexuality as sin (cited in nzwili 2014). thus, english law coexists with customary and islamic law, and the nigerian legal system is heavily influenced by religion in general. one could argue that nigeria lacks the features of a secular state, which necessitate laws that are free of religious bias and discrimination. furthermore, at every official and state activity, there is an unofficial custom of making christian and muslim prayers. the presidential residence contains both a church and a mosque, while state government residences contain either churches or mosques. however, in all these, islamic jurisprudence is given an upper hand in the running of nigeria’s society, thus rendering the constitution almost powerless. modern islamic jurisprudence and nigerian unity: using the lens of justice islamic jurisprudence implies the islamic law (sharia); its application and implementation. literarily, the word “sharia” connotes “the clear path to be followed” but it is at times technically referred to as the cannon-law of islam. every aspect of muslim life is regulated by sharia (okoro, 2017). the muslims believe that almighty god has revealed to the prophet muhammad (pbuh) a divine law, and a permanent scheme of values. these are the ideal on which muslim conduct must be based. it is therefore necessary to consider its nature, its conflict with secular law and to look at it with the lens of justice. sharia is the path which leads man into submission. it is a detailed code of conduct that muslims should adhere to in both their personal and public lives. it is the divine law which binds all muslims into a single umma, even those living beyond the borders of the muslim nation. it is mainly through this universal law that islam has been able to evolve a civilization, a complete culture and a comprehensive world order (kataregga and david, 1980: 67). six punishable offences in islamic law include illegal sexual intercourse, a false accusation of lack of chastity, theft, drinking of wine, highway robbery and apostasy (cooper and maxwell 1993: 131). according to lawal (2011p.24), “sharia is based on the qur’an, sunnah, hadith, ijima (consensus of opiniion) and qiyas (analogical deduction)”. there has been much debate as to how extensively qiyas igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 302 ought to be used. the principle of ra’y (personal judgement or opinion) and istilisan (the general good of the community) plays significant roles on how qiyas ought to be used. the two principles open the doors wide for either a broad or a narrow interpretation of qur’an, sunna and idjima (boer, 2006:96). according to warner (2010:3), sharia law is designed in a way that under it: there is no freedom of religion there is no freedom of speech there is no freedom of thought there is no freedom of artistic expression there is no freedom of the press there is no equality of peoples a non-muslim, a kafir, is never equal to a muslim. there is no equal protection under sharia for different classes of people. justice is dualistic, with one set of laws for muslim males and different for women and non-muslims. there are no equal rights for women women can be beaten. a non-muslim cannot bear arms. there is no democracy, since democracy means that a non-muslim is equal to a muslim our constitution is a man-made document of ignorance, jahiliyah that must submit to sharia. non-muslims are dhimmis, second class subjects. all governments must be ruled by sharia law; unlike common law, sharia is not interpretive, nor can it be changed. there is no golden rule. conflict between islamic law and secular law in nigeria igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 303 one of the most hotly debated and so far, unresolved issues in relation to islamic law (sharia) has been the conflict between the islamic law and secular law in nigeria. there is reference to their jurisdiction only in the area of “civil proceedings involving questions of islamic personal law” and does not mention that they have power to try criminal cases. by the provision of this section of the constitution it is unconstitutional for sharia courts to try criminal cases. unfortunately, the juxtaposition of section 10 of the constitution with section 38, which deal with freedom of religion, has been misconstrued by multiple parties due to varying interpretations of that provision of the constitution by different parties, some argue that the expression (every person shall be entitled to freedom of thought, conscience and religion and freedom to manifest and propagate his religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice and observance) means that nigeria is not a secular state. the argument is baseless because section 10 clearly prohibits both the federal government and state governments from embracing any religion” (1999 constitution). as a result, adopting sharia violates non-muslims' right to freedom of religion. hence, many nigerians have spoken out against the imposition of sharia law in some of the northern states: it would be no exaggeration to say that the adoption of sharia in a segment of the country in 2000 was a dividing technique used by northern muslims to break away from a country ruled by obasanjo, a southern christian (okika, 2000). the action was motivated by a long-held belief that they were born to dominate. interestingly, all obasanjo could do was calm the enraged nigerians who opposed the action and threatened to fight for their legal rights using any means at their disposal. every time the issue comes up, obasanjo will tell aggrieved nigerians that sharia will fizzle out, a defence mechanism he used to postpone the evil day. it has been over twenty years after the sharia was adopted and it has not fizzled out. rather, other stringent measures are meted out to the non-muslims in the affected areas. contrary to obasanjo’s view, some learned nigerians like femi falana, gani fawemimo, emeka odimejwu ojikwu to mention a few, saw the act as an attempt to islamize nigeria. it was the opinion of the elite that obasanjo should have gone to court to stop sani yerima and his cohort from using sharia code (okika, 2000: 16). unfortunately, obasanjo lacked the political will. today, sharia states have re-established islamic criminal law in their jurisdictions. they also passed sharia courts laws, which established new inferior sharia courts with constitutional authority to apply the complete igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 304 range of islamic law to muslims, both civil and criminal. since then, a slew of new laws has been introduced to address certain "social vices" and "unislamic behaviour," such as the usage of alcohol, inappropriate mingling of unrelated genders, gambling, prostitution, and blasphemy in the media. sets of ‘ulama institutions' were formed, including sharia commissions and councils of ulama with advisory and executive duties, a committee for collection and distribution of zakat was set up, hisbah an islamic law enforcement agency was instituted to monitor and to enforce sharia compliance, and so on. soon after these establishments, non-muslims in those areas lost their right to freedom of choice of food, drink, music, trade and the right to use some public facilities. despite the claim that they are meant to be excluded from the sharia, they are forbidden from trading on pork meat and alcoholic beverages, legitimate businesses not sanctioned the constitution (okika, 2000: 16). premium times (2020) reported that the sabon gari local government council's prohibited the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages in their area. on june11, 2000, members of the sabon gari local government area hoteliers and beer parlour proprietors association, led by ezenobi godwin and adeola sunday, filed a lawsuit against the council's prohibition on alcoholic beverages, claimed that the federal republic of nigeria's 1999 constitution (as amended) does not grant the council the authority to ban the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages. unfortunately, justice kabir dabo of kaduna state high court 1 in dogarawa, zaria, struck out the case for want of diligent prosecution. according to afp, three lorries loaded with beer were set ablaze by a mob in zamfara state on friday, after an order by ex-governor ahmed sani to destroy any shipment of booze entering the state. sani, speaking at the inauguration of a new mosque, claimed his decision was directed at liquor distributors who refused to comply with the state's regulations. in kano state, vigilantes raided many hotels and eateries on suspicion of stocking alcoholic beverages. christian-related activities are likewise prohibited on the state-owned hotel hotel's premises (new humanitarian 2001). it is quite appalling how non-muslims are treated with disdain in the shari state in nigeria. a nigeria citizen irrespective of his origin, religion or political affiliation must not be discriminated against as section 42(1) of the constitution guarantees the right to freedom from discrimination: a citizen of nigeria of a particular community, ethnic group, place of origin, sex, religion or political opinion shall not by reason only that he is such a person (a) be subjected either expressly by or in the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 305 practical application of any law in force in nigeria or any executive or administrative action of the government to disabilities or restrictions to which citizen of nigeria of other communities’ ethnic groups, places of origin, sex, religion or political opinions are not made subject several provisions of sharia also discriminate against women. example is the absence of women in the judiciary. there are no female judges in the sharia courts as the maliki school of thought prohibits women from becoming judges. the inequality between men and women under sharia violates the right to freedom from discrimination, provided for in section 42 of the nigeria constitution. sharia condemns prostitutes and adulterers to death by beheading or stoning to death. it forbids women from playing soccer, from staying in the same bus with men. motorcyclists are arrested and jailed for carrying female passengers. to avoid tempting men, females are required to seat in the front of classrooms while male students sit in the back rows. since soccer, motorcycles and buses were not invented at the time the koran was written, it would be no exaggeration to say that religious fanatics are selectively using sharia law to oppress the poor and women. besides, okika (2000: 17) reported that some northern states ordered all unmarried ladies to find a husband or lose their employments with state governments but they allowed unmarried men to keep their jobs. the said states award government contracts only to men with beards forbid gambling and prohibit taxes. in such states, anybody caught drinking will be publicly flogged. ironically, sharia states are insisting on receiving their share of federal revenue derived from taxes some of which are from alcohol. for instance, the kano state ordinance no. 4 of 2004 outlawed the production and consumption of alcohol. but the paradox is that kano and other sharia states receive money from alcohol-related value-added tax (vat) as part of their monthly federal allocation from the federation accounts allocation committee (faac). the kano state hisbah board destroyed 1,975,000 beer bottles valued more than n200 million in november 2020. while kano state received around n525.74 billion in federal appropriations in 2015, a substantial percentage of that amount came from value added tax (vat) on alcoholic beverages (ihuoma, 2021). some of the punishments provided for by the sharia legislation, for example death by stoning or amputation are much harsh than those acts, such as adultery, which are capital offences under sharia but are not igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 306 considered crimes under the criminal code applied in the rest of the country. moreover, punishments provided for by sharia, such as death by stoning, amputations and floggings are violating the right to dignity of the human person, enshrined on section 34 of the nigeria constitution, which explicitly prohibits torture and inhuman or degrading treatment. the consequences of all these differences in terms of sentencing could be severe. for instance, fulani cattle rarer had his hand amputated and, subsequently, bled to death. if we were to amputate hands of corrupt nigerian, former head of state sanni abacha and former governors like joshua dari and rev jolly nyom, and indeed, all the political office holders who have been convicted by the court will be amputees (eke, 2011:4). likewise, the failure of sharia court judges to observe due process during trials has violated the right to a fair hearing provided for in section 36 of the constitution. in majority of the death sentence, amputation, and flogging cases, defendants did not have legal representation before or during their trial in the court of first instance (lower or upper shari courts). this is share betrayal of fundamental human right. besides, even muslims have no choice as to which jurisdiction will try them, whereas they supposed to, as the citizens of nigeria. by implication some of the substantial discrepancies between the sharia and common law systems are likely to have a negative impact on muslims too. interestingly, muslims in the region hailed it as a viable alternative to the ordinary court and justice system, which they perceived as corrupt, expensive, biased, and ineffective, but two decades after nigerians are yet to see the attitudinal transformation recorded by the sharia law. bourbeau, umar and bauman (2019) reported that his interviewees in the three sharia states spoke of bribes and corruption in the sharia courts as well. this suffices that adoption of sharia was a mere display of islamic fundamentalism. there has never been a time in the history of nigeria when any of its leaders boldly promoted islam in the way that ahmed sani yerima has done. although the two muslim military dictators of northern extraction gbadamosi babangida and sani abacha cunningly tried dragging nigeria into organization of islamic conference oic, and d8 respectively for possible islamization, contrary to the nigeria’s constitution, their efforts were not as impactful as the yarima’s. ahmad sani yeriam at becoming the governor of zamfara, imposed sharia law on the state. to demonstrate his resolve, he gave all working-class spinster’s ultimatum to get married or be dismissed from service. in absolute violation of fundamental human right a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 307 motor bike rider was arrested for caring a woman and another young man was flogged in public for drinking alcohol (okika 2000: 17). it was so bad, particularly as the sharia penal and criminal procedure codes was implementation in a hast thereby giving no room for many of its employees, including judges, with no essential training to execute the law correctly and effectively (bourbeau, et ld 2019). there has been conflict in the area of supremacy – the constitution or the sharia? the first provision of the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria: as amended states clearly that the constitution has supremacy over other law – sharia (islamic law) inclusive. its provisions shall have binding force on all authorities and persons through the federal republic of nigeria. and section 1(3) states: “if another law is inconsistent with the provisions of this constitution, this constitution shall prevail and that other law shall to the extent of the consistency be void” some state governments’ officials and judges in sharia courts have disregarded these provisions. they have argued that sharia has supremacy over the nigerian constitution because it has its source in religion and have therefore claimed that they are not bound by the constitutional requirements. the implementation of sharia in nigeria, which is supposed to be a secular society, has been a divisive topic. this has raised fear of the islamization of the nation and sparked a surge of inter-religious conflict that resulted in thousands of deaths and property destruction, thereby retarding economic growth (tyus, 2004). hence, nanaghan (2010) has cautioned that for nigeria to meet up with the rest of the civilised and changing world, the born-to-rule mentality of the north must be jettisoned. from 27th november 1999, when zamfara state was declared a sharia state, many southerners left the state as sani was vowed to continue with sharai against all odds and north has never been the same again. if there is any problem that will divide nigeria it is the issue religion. how can in united country one state rises up and declare a separate law for itself and it will not be repelled? now the problem has escalated from introduction of sharia to the emergence of boko hara in the same north. those who implemented shari cannot be distinguished from the book haram for they ask for shari and not democracy. according to nwobodo (2021: 107) the avowed purpose of boko haram is to "impose implement strict islamic sharia rule throughout nigeria and islamize the country." meaning that nigerians should convert to islam and follow sharia law. also, that the northern muslim political religious elite should retake political control in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 308 order to ensure islamic leadership in nigeria”. a report by the issat (2021) quips “the islamic state in west africa province (iswap) a splinter of boko haram, is growing in power and influence. from its territorial base on the banks of island of lake chad, this jihadist group is waging a guerrilla war across north-east nigeria and elsewhere on the lake’s periphery. islamic jurisprudence and nigerian unity: using the lens of justice emeagwali (2006:6) posits that “the nigerian constitution states that we are nigerians first and muslims (or christians) second”, but some fanatics argue that islam comes first and nigerians come second. as a result, they are adamant about adhering to sharia. sharia law is subordinate to the constitution; to impose it as the supreme law of a state is equivalent to violating and overthrowing the constitution. an argument often made is that they should allow most of the people in a given state to adopt islam as their state religion. this will be impracticable. for example, if they allow most of the people in some northern states to designate islam as their state religion, then should most of the people in south and middle belt, who are mainly christians, opt to adopt canon law? it is unfair for a part of the country to use religion to endanger the security of the country. nigeria should not continue to exist under a loose arrangement that allows some people to use government power and resources to pursue religious convictions and agenda that threaten the freedom and liberty of some of its citizens. the duty of the government is to protect its citizens irrespective of religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation and not enable fundamentalist religious groups to have their way and continue the perpetration of evil in the name of god. unfortunately, the election of muhammadu buhari as president of nigeria, on the other hand, has bolstered the jihadists' resolve to carry out their goal in an unexpected manner. this is evident in his style of leadership; his insensitivity towards the pains of other ethnic and religious groups who are being killed by the boko haram insurgents; his lopsided appointments; and his commitment to issuing visa on arrival to foreigners from the neighbouring states at the height of insurgency is remarkable, particularly as it increased the porosity of the border and many jihadists simply walked into nigeria. his leniency for the terrorists’ suspects sets tongue wagging. for instance, femi falana san has accused federal government of treating bandits with kid glove (owulabi, 2021). obasanjo (2019) remarked, “the herdsmen/farmers crises and menace started with the government treating the issue with cuddling glove instead of harmer. it has festered and spread. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 309 today, it has developed into banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery and killings over the country”. in fact, both the president buhari and some top officials of his administration have been accused of sponsoring insurgence in the country. obadaia maliefia was before his death invited by the dss for mentioning that one of the incumbent governors in the north is the sponsors of jihadists who are unleashing mayhem on the innocent citizens (tobias sylvester 2020). obasanjo (2019) also accused buhari of fulinazation and islamization of nigeria. theopilus danjuma in 2018 accused buhari’s government for ethnic cleansing and asked nigerians to defend themselves. aziken and agbo (2018) reported that the speaker of the 8th assembly dogora, being worried about the incessant killings of innocent nigeria, cautioned that even if this administration succeeds in other areas, history will judge it harshly if it does not put an end to the systematic slaughter of innocent nigerians. according to a study from the united nations office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs (ocha) published in august 2019, an estimated 35,000 people have died in adamawa, borno, and yobe states as a result of insurgency actions by radical islamic groups (kunle sanni 2021). the major cause of the agitations for secession and unity of nigeria is not its heterogeneity but the non-cohesiveness due to religious intolerance and ethnic bigotry which has not allowed social integration (okoro, 2017). moreover, nigeria leadership’s inability to manage the multi-diversities of the country is the fact that even devolution of power, which many are recommending may not change nigeria for better, is the reason for the following recommendations sharia is anti-democracy thus cannot be a state religion in nigeria, which is a democratic nation. the government of nigeria should therefore separate sharia and all religious infiltrations from our constitution. sharia’s avid neglect or rather aspersion on universal declaration on human rights is an insult to the sensibility of the “giant of africa”, nigeria. nigeria should thus pick up the remains of her pride of sensibility by standing up against this virus that is strangling our social integration and inter-group relations. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 310 islamic jurisprudence (sharia and its application) is an abuse of religion, which encourages conflicts, crises and all sorts of social vices. therefore, sharia should be considered an aberration in the context of the nature of nigeria – a secular state. for nigeria to remain one nation under the current abysmal situation will amount to a socio-economic evil that is it will be detrimental to her social existence and economic advancement. division is also a socio-economic evil to our robust nation. however, we are left without any other option than these two evils. nigeria should therefore go for the lesser evil, which is separation to minimize bloodletting, loss of lives and properties. conclusion from the entire discourse, the most discordant issue in any sharia discourse is the fundamental issue of religious freedom in a world that has become a global village with multiple religious and cultural beliefs. insistence of the hausa-fulani ethnic group on sharia as a supreme law in northern nigeria has breaded ethno-religious conflicts and regular bloodshed, masterminded by islamic religious fanatics. this has produced dysfunctional effects on social integration and inter-group relations in nigeria nation building process. as much as the researchers cherish the imaginary “one nigeria”, it is compelling to face the reality, which is to advise that nigeria separate peacefully. this will give the north freedom to be themselves rather than pretending. it will also liberate the south from intimidation, oppression and political annihilation. whatever approach outside separation, may only calm the nerves for a very short time and worst crisis may arise let nigerians come to a round table and define its boundaries. references achebe, c. (1983). the trouble with nigeria. ibadan; heinemann educational books. akinyemi, k (2019). full text of obasanjo’s open letter to buhari https://guardian.ng/features/fulltext-of-obasanjos-open-letter-tobuhari/ aziken, e and agbo dennies giving land for ranching better than death – presidency https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/07/givingland-ranching-better-deathpresidency/ boer, h. r. (2006). a brief history of islam ibadan, nigeria; daystar press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 311 bourbeau, h. umar, m. s and bauman, p. (2019). “shari’ah criminal law in northern nigeria: implementation of expanded shari’ah penal and criminal procedure codes in kano, sokoto, and zamfara states, 2017–2019” https://www.google.com/search?client=firefoxbd&q=shari%e2 %80%99ah+criminal+law+in+northern+nigeria%3a +implementation+of+expanded+shari%e2%80%99ah+penal+and +criminal+procedure cooper, a. and maxwell, e. a. (1993). ishmael, my brother. london, uk, marc. danjuma, t.y. (2018). nigerians defend yourselves or you will all die, https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/03/defend-will-die-tydanjuma-tells-nigerians/ deluca, h. (2017). “nigerian ethnic groups”. http://study.com/academy/lesson/nigerian-ethnicgroups.html. retrived august 28, 2017. eke, e. o. (2011). “nigeria, the way forward (1)” nigerian feature article. www.nigerianword.com/articles/html. retrieved september 22, 2019. emeagwali, p. (2000). shana crisis in nigeria. www.emeagwali.com/interviews/shana/crisis-innigeira.html. retrieved september 22, 2019. el-zakzaky, s.i, (2021). nigerians will prefer islamic rule https://www.lindaikejisblog.com/2021/10/nigerians-will-preferislamic-rule-imn-leaderel-zakzaky.html gambari, a. i. (2008). the challenge of nations: the case of nigeria. a lecture delivered at the first year anniversary of mustapha akani foundation at sharaton hotel, abuja on 17 february global conflict trackers october 2021 https://www.cfr.org/globalconflict-tracker/conflict/bokoharam-nigeria issat (2021). facing the challenge of the islamic state in west africa province https://issat.dcaf.ch/learn/resource-library2/policyand-research-papers/facing-thechallenge-of-the-islamic-state-inwest-africa-province. accessed 11/10/2021 nanaghan (2010). “the born-to-rule mentality” https://pmnewsnigeria.com/2010/06/24/theborn-to-rulementality/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter accessed 25/6/2021 new humanitarian (2001) consignment of liquor burnt in zamfara state igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 312 https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/report/20849/nigeriaconsignment-liquor-burntzamfar state accessed 20/7/2021 “nigerian ethnic groups”. news of nigeria.com/nigerian-ethnic-groups. retrieved august 28, 2017. nwobodo, p.o. (2021). confronting the religious fundamentalists: method and solution (enugu davgee ventures nig). nzwili, f. (2014). nigeria’s religious leaders welcome controversial anti-gay law https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/nigeriasreligious-leaders-welcomecontroversial-anti-gaylaw/2014/01/16/12485d88-7ef7-11e397d3b9925ce2c57b_story.html accessed 9/10/2021 obasanjo, o. (2019). boko haram is for west african fulanization, african islamization’, says http://saharareporters.com/2019/05/18/boko-haram-westafrican-fulanization-africanislamization-says-obasanjo obasanjo, o. (2019). full text of obasanjo’s open letter to buhari https://guardian.ng/features/full-text-of-obasanjos-open-letterto-buhari/ obilade, a. o. (1979). the nigerian legal system. ibadan: set and maxwell publishers. okika, n. (2000). sharia: time for decision. in anglicana magazine, a publication of church of nigeria anglican communion okoro, k. n. (2017). “islamic jurisprudence and unity of nigeria: a socio historical reconsideration”. open journal of philosophy. 2017. http://www.scrip.org/journal/oipp. owulabi, f. (2021). fg treating bandits with kid gloves by failing to label them terrorists https://www.thecable.ng/falana-fg-treatingbandits-with-kid-gloves-by-failing-to-label-them-terrorists. oraegbunam, i.k.e. (2011) sharia criminal law, islam and democracy in nigeria today. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/og.v8i1.10 oyoyo, i, (2021). catholic bishops demand removal of sharia law from constitution https://leadership.ng/catholic-bishops-demandremoval-of-sharia-law-from-constitution/ premium times (2020). court strikes out suit by kaduna hoteliers, beer parlour owners challenging ban on alcohol sale https://www.premiumtimesng.com/regional/nwest/402055court-strikes-out-suit-bykaduna-hoteliers-beer-parlour-ownerschallenging-ban-on-alcohol-sale.html. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 313 sampson, t. s. “religion and the nigeria state: dufuating the defacts god de jure frontiers of state – religion relations and its implication for national security”. oxford journal of law and religion, 2014, vol. 3, no.2. sanni, k. (2021). boko haram: 350,000 dead in nigeria — un https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/470476insurgency-has-killed-almost350000-in-north-east-undp.html shola, o. j. (2014). “secularism and the politics of religious balancing”. www.irmgard.conisestifung-de.pdt. retrieved on august 28, 2019. suleiman, t. “let nigeria break”. the news magazine, 2000. the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria (as amended). tobias sylvester (2020). dss invites obadiah mailafia for accusing a northern governor of sponsoring boko haram https://www.kanyidaily.com/2020/08/dss-invitesobadiahmailafia-for-accusing-a-northern-governor-of-sponsoringboko-haram.html. accessed 16/10/2021 tyus, j. (2004). going too far: extending shari’a law in nigeria from personal to public law https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1 236&context=law_globalstudies). warner, b. (2010). shana law for non-muslims usa: cspi, llc. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol 9 no.1, 2023 www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/igwebuikejournals.php a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 12 a study of the management of sexual and gender-based violence in seventh-day adventist church, osun state, nigeria olugbenga adetokunbo efuntade, phd dept. of religion & theology university of the western cape, south africa olugbenga.efuntade@adelekeuniversity.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.27610.21449 abstract this study investigated the prevalence of gender-based violence (gbv) and other forms of sexual violence within a religious community, the seventh-day adventist (sda) church in osun state. it also sought to know how members perceived how such cases are managed both within families and within the church. the study population was 6, 036 sda membership in osun state out of which 177 sample size was used based on fisher’s formula. a questionnaire was the instrument used for data collection. the data gathered was analysed using the statistical software package for service solution (spss) version 20.0. this was presented in tables. percentages were used as descriptors. the chi-square was used for bi-variate analysis. frequency tables and percentages were used as descriptors of the sample and for bi-variate analysis, chi-square was used. the level of significance/margin error was set at 0.05 (5%) for accepting or rejecting the research hypothesis. the study established occurrence of domestic violence, rape and sexual assaults within sda families. it also established the same within the church. both members and religious leaders were perpetuators of such violence. although the denomination had family-building orientation programs, they were inadequate in eliminating domestic and sexual violence. many cases of gbv were unreported because of fear, shame and stigma. the paper concludes with the recommendation to the sda church to strengthen its various arms responsible for family-building, counselling, advocacy and sanctioning erring leaders in order to mitigate the occurrence of gbv in the church. keywords: gender-based violence, seventh-day adventist church, religion, behaviour moderator, religion. olugbenga adetokunbo efuntade 13 introduction a level of sexual and gender based violence culture that was previously alien to the nigerian culture has found ways into the nigerian society. these violent behaviours portend grave challenge to both public health and human right. dire consequences for victims (labe et al, 2021, p.2; tijah & raphael, 2021, p.126-127) and the society at large are certain. some have blamed the increase on the fact that perpetuators hardly get punished. in addition, victims of sexual violence do not report in most cases due to ignorance, shame, guilt and stigma (eyong and emechebe, 2019, p. 2). solutions are being sought in all sectors of the society including the religious sector of the country. in the research done by akinleye, asekun-olarinmoye & fawole (2021, p.27), religion was identified as “protective from perpetrating of gender based violence (gbv).” religion was also noted to be behaviour moderator, particularly as it affects sexuality and sexual behaviours (abbott, harris & mollen, 2016). religious communities and their leaders have been identified as important in combating gbv (usaind health policy initiative, p.4, 2009). this research assumes therefore that religion therefore should be able to minimize cases of gbv, particularly within the family structure. in a study by adeleke, olowookere, hassan, komolafe & asekun-olarinmoye (2012, p.191-192), most (93.2%) of the victims of gbv in the population researched were single (unmarried) people. this research works with the assumption that these young people resided and grew within family structure. this research investigated the occurrence of gbv and how it is managed within the religious community of the seventh-day adventist (sda) church. the sda church, like many christian organizations, places value on family life. marriage is considered sacred and to be established on agape (selfless kind of) love with the aim of a life-long relationship (ministerial association general conference of seventh-day adventists, 2005, p.329-330). this is evidenced by the creation of the family life ministries in the church created to strengthen families (especially of church members), helping married people to communicate more effectively and build stronger marriages (adventist family ministries, 2022). statement of the problem in spite of efforts being made globally to stem the tide of gender based violence (gbv), the phenomenon has continued to occur. in nigeria there is increase in the number of gbv cases reported to law enforcement agencies. the police force in osun state, nigeria, particularly noted rising cases of rape and sexual assault being reported on a daily basis. physical abuse of wives was the most prevalent followed by indecent sexual a study of the management of sexual and gender-based violence in seventh-day adventist church 14 behaviours and rape (akinleye, asekun-olarinmoye & fawole, 2021). sadly, offenders have not met with strong legal sanctions for such behaviours (azeez, 2022). factors such as formal education and upward socioeconomic mobility have not produced significant mitigating effect on the occurrence of gender based violence. this research investigated the occurrence of gbv within a faith (sda) community in osun state. christianity and sexual violence the bible as christian scripture is regarded as guide for moral conduct of christians. the bible has injunctions regarding proper sexual conduct. for example, in the old testament deuteronomy 22:23-25 (king james version) describes rape as “evil” and prescribes death sentence for such behaviour. the new testament of the bible is not specific about rape but warns strongly against sexual immorality, not only in the physical act but including thoughts (matthew 5:28; mark 7:20-23; 1 corinthians 5:11; 6:15-16; 7:1-2 et cetera). stories about sexual violence in the bible, such as that of tamar and bathsheba, should shape the minds of contemporary christians about understanding and dealing with the evil of sexual violence (moniz, 2019). it is therefore expected that christian communities will exemplify high moral standards especially on the issue of sexuality; rape and sexual violence are not expected in christian communities. the sda church in osun state according to state of osun (n.d), the state (osun) was created on august 27, 1991 by the federal government of nigeria under the military president ibrahim babangida. osun is one of 37 states in the country. osun state being in western nigeria mainly consists of yoruba people although there are different nigerian ethnic groups resident there. in terms of religion, the state has christians, muslims and those who adhere to the african traditional religion. the sda church in osun state is part of the network of a global christian denomination, the seventh-day adventist (sda) church. the sda church began in mid-1800s in america as an “interconfessional movement” (alalade 2008, p.8) and an offshoot of the william miller group that preached the second coming of jesus christ. the denomination has a sense of mission of telling the world about imminent, physical second advent of jesus christ (alalade 2008, p. 8-12). early sdas had the sense of mandate and task of making the entire world ready for this second coming of jesus christ (babalola 2002, p.12). this sense of urgency of the global mandate made its missionary, elder david caldwell babcock, arrive in nigeria in 1914. babcock established a mission olugbenga adetokunbo efuntade 15 outpost in erunmu (now in oyo state) from where sda message spread to other parts of nigeria (alalade, 2008, p.45-46). according to adewuyi (2020), one jacob faleye alao, an indigene of inisa, osun state, was babcock’s interpreter. alao would later take the message of sda church to his hometown, inisa, in 1917 where a small congregation was established. the message would also spread to oke-ila in osun state from ipoti ekiti through efforts of pa adaramola osundina and pa adaramola odedun. later on, the denomination established adventist grammar school in ede, osun state on the 29th of february, 1960; with a missionary educator, pastor e.g. ellstron, as the pioneer principal but soon replaced by mr. cross and later on, the first indigenous sda worker, mr. e.o. dare took over the administration of the school as principal (kehinde, 2016, n.p). adewuyi (2020) notes the process of establishing the administrative entity of the sda church in osun state called osun conference of sda church. this entity came from the defunct west nigeria conference by decision of the executive committee of the defunct west nigeria conference on may 15, 2011. having gone through different levels of the denominational procedure, the osun conference ( a self-sustaining administrative entity) of the sda church was inaugurated on november 10, 2012. the total membership as at the time of inauguration was 3, 512. the newly established conference operated 11 districts (smaller administrative units that supervised groups of local churches). according to osun conference of sda church (2022, p.31), the demonization has since grown larger; as at september, 2022 it had 15 districts 6,372 members. the districts were ajamapo (in ile-ife) with 407 members, alaafia (in osogbo) 313 members, alukunwodo (osogbo) 335 members, ayetoro (osogbo), 462 members, chapel of redemption (ile-ife) 211 members, ede 812 members, ikirun 518 members, ila 224 members, ilesha 223 members, inisa 328 members, irewole 238 members, iwo 86 members, lagere (ile-ife) 1124, oke-ila 821 members and olanrewaju with 270 members. the sda church is interested in strengthening family relationships (adventist family ministries 2022, n.p). apart from eschatological concerns, the sda church also addresses pragmatic issues germane to human flourishing such as health, family wholeness et cetera. therefore the sda church, based on its understanding of the bible, promotes healthy, non-violent relationships within the family structure (adventist family ministries, 2021). members of adventist families are supposed to emulate jesus christ in building up one another instead of manifesting abusive behaviour to one another. the fact that humans are created in god’s image and have been redeemed through jesus christ should reflect in how members of families treat each other. a study of the management of sexual and gender-based violence in seventh-day adventist church 16 recognizing the reality and sad occurrences of violence within christian families, the sda church therefore feels it has three main responsibilities to families, namely, caring and responding to those experiencing violence, strengthening family life and lastly “„be alert and responsive to abuse within the families of our congregations and our communities, and to declare that such abusive behavior is a violation of seventh-day adventist christian standards” (adventist family ministries, 2021). according to the seventh-day adventist church (2009), the denomination launched a program against domestic violence called “end it now,” given the nomenclature enditnow. it is an initiative established to highlight the occurrence and the need to end domestic violence and to advocate for victims. the program mobilizes members of the sda church around the world in order to confront and end violence in families. two agencies of the sda church, the department of women’s ministries and the adventist development and relief agency (adra), partnered to establish this program in 2009. enditnow recognizes that men, women and children are victims of domestic violence. wade (2022, n.p) reported the campaign by adventist women’s ministry (awm) in nigeria against domestic violence. the campaign which held august 27, 2022 focused on the abuse of power and violence against people within the family inclusive of men, women and children. although the campaign held across nigeria, wade (2022) reported that members of the awm in abuja, the federal capital territory of nigeria, marched through the city with signs projecting inscriptions that spoke against violence against women, men and children. different news media such as television, radio and print media reported the campaign. the campaign highlighted the necessity to advocate on behalf of victims of power abuse within the family. osun conference of sda church is made up of 34 local churches with membership of 6, 036 people as at 2021 (office of archives, statistic and research, n.d). the conference had different departments such as the health ministries, children’s ministries, communication, public affairs and religious liberty, publishing ministries, women’s ministries, youth ministries, sabbath school and personal ministries, planned giving and trust services, ministerial association and family ministries. these ministries were headed by departmental directors who are mainly full time clergy men. a few other departments were headed by lay men and women. the women’s ministries and the family ministries are of particular interest to the subject of this research. olugbenga adetokunbo efuntade 17 research objectives this researched focused on achieving the following objectives 1. to find out the level of occurrence of gender based and sexual violence within families who are members of the sda church in osun state 2. to find the level of occurrence of gender based and sexual violence within or among members of the sda church in osun state who are not members of the same family 3. to find out the perception of sda members in osun state on how their church programs and policies have impacted on issues of gender based and sexual violence within families 4. to find out the perception of sda members in osun state on the management of gbv in the church. 5. to establish a benchmark for future comparison studies on different scenarios such is to compare faith-based and faith-based communities, sda and other denominations and christianity in comparison with other religious communities such as islam and african traditional religion adherents. research questions pursuant of the objectives in the above paragraph, this study aimed at answering the proceeding questions: a. what is the level of occurrence of gender based violence within sda families in osun state? b. what is the level of occurrence of gender based violence in sda churches in osun state? c. what are the perceptions of members on the management of gender based violence within the family structure? d. what are the perceptions of members of the sda church on how the denomination responds to cases of gender based violence that occurred within the church? research design this method adopted the quantitative, particularly the descriptive cross-sectional study approach. this approach is suited for examining “the prevalence of some outcome at a certain moment in time’ (thomas, 2020). a study of the management of sexual and gender-based violence in seventh-day adventist church 18 sample size determination the minimum sample size will be determined using the fisher’s formula. the prevalence rate of physical and sexual intimate partner violence within the last 12 months in nigeria is 13.8% according to the global database on violence against women. n = where n= the desired sample size p = working prevalence rate q = 1-p d =margin of sampling error tolerated at 95% degree of confidence =5%. using a prevalence rate of 13.8% p = 0.138 q = (1-0.138) = 0.862 d = 5% = 0.05 z = 1.96 n = ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) therefore n = 182.79 validating n n = ( ) n = sample size n0 = 182.79 n = estimated population of sda church members in osun (6036) n = ( ) n = 177.44, therefore, total sample size = 177 respondents data collection tool the study adopted a quantitative approach to research a pretested and validated selfadministered questionnaire was given to get answers from respondents. questionnaire pretesting is a simple approach used to determine if the instrument poses any difficulty to olugbenga adetokunbo efuntade 19 the respondents (ikart 2019:1) the reliability test done showed the cronbach’s alpha score of 0.839 indicating that the questionnaire was reliable for the study. data analysis the data generated in this research study was entered, cleaned, coded and analysed using the statistical software package for service solution (spss) version 20.0. frequency tables and percentages were used as descriptors of the sample and for bivariate analysis, chi-square was used. the level of significance/margin error was set at 0.05 (5%) for accepting or rejecting the research hypothesis. ethical considerations this study administered questionnaire to respondents who were 18 years old and above. each respondent was duly educated on the purpose of the study and their verbal consent was obtained. apart from this, each of the respondents was informed that they could withdraw from participation in the study or decline filling out the questionnaire. the identities of the respondents were anonymous; their addresses and contacts were not disclosed in the instruments. their responses were made confidential and strictly to be used for the research. discussions on the findings this section commences with the summarized depiction of those who responded to the questionnaire. in various subheadings, features such as demography, the denomination’s districts participants belonged to, the analysis of the prevalence of gbv, their perceptions on how families and the denomination managed the phenomenon et cetera are presented. demography of the respondents out of the 177 respondents in this study, 79 (44.6%) identified themselves as males and while 98 (55.4%) respondents indicated they female. in terms of age group, those who were between 18-23 years were 77 (43.5% of the lot), those who were 24-29 years old were 22 (12.4% of the respondents), those who were 30-35 years of age were 19 (10.7%) and those who were 36 years and above were 59 persons (33.3% of the respondents). the single people among the respondents were 98 persons. they constituted the majority that is 55.4% of the respondents. those were married were 71 persons which was 40.1% of the respondents. two persons (1.1% of the group) were separated from their spouses, 1 (0.6%) person was divorced and 5 persons were widows/widowers (which is 2.8% of the respondents). a study of the management of sexual and gender-based violence in seventh-day adventist church 20 in regards to the level of education, those who had obtained their university degree or higher national diploma were the highest in number; they were 54 persons (30.5% of the group). this was followed by 48 persons (27.1%) who had earned their post graduate degrees and those who had the ordinary level/school certificates were 39 (22.0%). those who had the national diploma/national certificate of education and primary school leaving certificate were 26 persons (14.7% of the lot) and the least respondents were 10 persons (5.6% of the lot) had primarily school leaving certificate. out of all respondents, 76 (42.9%) were students, 70 (39.5%) were employed, 21 (11.9%) were traders while 10 persons (5.6%) were unemployed. table 1: number of respondents per district of sda church in osun state sn district number of respondents percentage 1 ajamopo 4 2.3 2 alaafia 24 13.6 3 alekuwodo 17 9.6 4 ayetoro 5 2.8 5 chapel of redemption 12 6.8 6 ede 45 25.4 7 ibokun 1 0.6 8 ikirun 5 2.8 9 ilesa 5 2.8 10 irewole 6 3.4 11 iwo 4 2.3 12 lagere 16 9.0 13 oke-ila 10 5.6 14 olanrewaju 8 4.5 15 ila 15 8.5 total 177 100.0 source: field survey (2022) occurrence of gender based violence within sda church members families in osun state this section revealed the level of awareness and perception of members of the denomination regarding the occurrence of behaviours such as rape, unwanted sexual olugbenga adetokunbo efuntade 21 touches, messages, physical assault, and domestic violence within family and church settings of members of the sda church. table 2: occurrence of gender based violence among sdas in osun conference s/n statement yes (%) no (%) i don’t know (%) not applicable (%) 1 i have experienced unwanted sexual touches or massages from a church member 23 (13.0) 138 (78.0) 3 (1.7) 13 (7.3) 2 someone i know has experienced unwanted sexual touches or massages from church members 59 (33.3) 99 (55.9) 16 (9.0) 3 (1.7) 3 i have been raped or sexually assaulted by church member 9 (5.1) 156 (88.1) 3 (1.7) 9 (5.1) 4 i know at least a person who was sexually assaulted by church member 40 (22.6) 113 (63.8) 17 (9.6) 7 (4.0) 5 some pastors, elders and church leaders sexually assault church members 45 (25.4) 75 (42.4) 55 (31.1) 2 (1.1) 6 there are occurrences of domestic violence in adventist families 92 (52.0) 33 (18.6) 47 (26.6) 5 (2.8) 7 females are the major victims of sexual or domestic violence 129 (72.9) 30 (16.9) 16 (9.0) 2 (1.1) 8 males are often victims of sexual or domestic violence 51 (28.8) 85 (48.0) 37 (20.9) 4 (2.3) 9 i have been a victim of domestic violence in my family 15 (8.5) 148 (83.6) 10 (5.6) 4 (2.3) 10 an immediate or extended family member has sexually assaulted me before at home 15 (8.5) 145 (83.2) 9 (5.1) 8 (4.5) 11 my spouse has physically assaulted me before 5 (2.8) 138 (78.0) 5 (2.8) 29 (16.4) 12 sexual assault is common in sda church members families 12 (6.8) 72 (40.7) 90 (50.8) 3 (1.7) source: field survey (2022) the table 2 above shows the perceptions of the respondents on the occurrence of gbv among sdas in osun state (conference). this section focuses more on those who answered in the affirmative of such occurrence. other responses can be seen from the table 2. it revealed that 13.0% of the respondents have had a firsthand experience of a study of the management of sexual and gender-based violence in seventh-day adventist church 22 sexual violations like unwanted sexual touches and communications from a church member. a whopping 33.3% of them knew at least one (other) person who had experienced such. in addition 9 out of the 177 respondents had been raped or experienced other forms of sexual assault by church members. the number of those who admitted knowing someone who had been raped in the church is even higher, 40 persons (22.6%) of the lot. the research further revealed that 45 respondents (25.4%) believed that perpetuators of such behaviour were church leaders like pastors and elders. this research also found out perceptions of the occurrence of domestic violence within sda families in osun conference. more than half of those who responded, 92 persons (52.0%), affirmed occurrence of violence in sda families. out of the respondents, 72.9% believed females were the major victims of such violence while 28.8% believed males were victims of domestic violence in sda families in osun state. those who indicated to have been direct victims of domestic violence were 15 (8.5%). in addition, 15 respondents (8.5%) indicated that an immediate or extended family member had sexually assaulted them within their home. also, 5 respondents (2.8%) said their spouses had physically assaulted them. in terms of respondents’ perception of the prevalence of sexual assault within families, 12 respondents (6.8%) believed it was a common phenomenon within sda families. the researcher therefore concludes that sda church religion had not sufficiently regulated or moderated behaviours of members regarding gbv issues. much less occurrence of rape, sexual assault and domestic violence was expected of a christian community that placed high value on the family as ordained by god. the ideal thing is that based on the teachings and efforts of the denomination on family life, there would be zero occurrence. category of the gender who suffer more sexual assault/violence and domestic violence this section discusses the sex and gender category suffering in sexual assault, rape and domestic violent situations. the study revealed that both male and female sda members i osun conference of the denomination experienced rape or other forms of sexual assault perpetrated by fellow church members as indicated in the table 3 below. the study further revealed that both male and female family members in the sda denomination in osun conference suffer violence in domestic conflict situations as indicated in table 4 below. olugbenga adetokunbo efuntade 23 table 3: sex/gender cross-tabulation of rape or sexual assault by church member i have been raped or sexually assaulted by church member * sex cross-tabulation a1 sex total male female b3 i have been raped or sexually assaulted by church member yes count 3 6 9 % within a1 sex 3.8% 6.1% 5.1% no count 68 88 156 % within a1 sex 86.1% 89.8% 88.1% i dont know count 2 1 3 % within a1 sex 2.5% 1.0% 1.7% not applicable count 6 3 9 % within a1 sex 7.6% 3.1% 5.1% total count 79 98 177 % within a1 sex 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% source: field survey (2022) it revealed that 3 males (3.8% of the male respondents) had been raped or sexually assaulted by a church member, while 6 females (6.1% of the female respondents) had been raped or sexually assaulted by a church member. this implied females suffered more sexual violence than their male counterparts and that the males were also victims. a study of the management of sexual and gender-based violence in seventh-day adventist church 24 table 4: sex/gender cross-tabulation of domestic violence within family a1 sex total male female b9 i have been a victim of domestic violence in my family yes count 3 12 15 % within a1 sex 3.8% 12.2% 8.5% no count 69 79 148 % within a1 sex 87.3% 80.6% 83.6% i dont know count 5 5 10 % within a1 sex 6.3% 5.1% 5.6% not applica ble count 2 2 4 % within a1 sex 2.5% 2.0% 2.3% total count 79 98 177 % within a1 sex 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% the table 4 above shows 3 males (3.8% of male respondents) were victims of domestic violence in their families, while 12 females (12.2% of female respondents) were victims of domestic violence in their families. there therefore more female victims of domestic violence although males also suffered in domestic violent situations. perceptions of sda members on the management of gender based violence within the family structure this section revealed the opinions of sda church members regarding how cases of gbv are managed within the family structure. olugbenga adetokunbo efuntade 25 table 5: management of sexual and gender based violence within the sda church s/n statement yes (%) no (%) i don’t know (%) not applicable (%) 1 i reported when i was sexually assaulted by a family member to another responsible family member 16 (9.0) 66 (37.3) 12 (6.8) 83 (46.9) 2 i think victims of violence and sexual assault speak out and report such to family members 69 (39.0) 53 (29.9) 48 (27.1) 7 (4.0) 3 victims of violence and sexual abuse get justice when they report incidence to family members 52 (29.4) 61 (34.5) 57 (32.2) 7 (4.0) 4 i reported when i was sexually assaulted at home to a church leader 22 (12.4) 46 (26.0) 18 (10.2) 91 (51.4) 5 victims of domestic violence and sexual assault report or speak out to church leaders 56 (31.6) 38 (21.5) 62 (35.0) 21 (11.9) 6 victims of sexual assaults that happen in the church inform church leaders 51 (28.8) 35 (19.8) 76 (42.9) 15 (8.5) 7 the church makes it easy for victims of domestic and sexual violence to report to church leaders. 57 (32.2) 48 (27.1) 63 (35.6) 9 (5.1) 8 victims are too ashamed to report to church leaders. 107 (60.5) 26 (14.7) 43 (24.3) 1 (0.6) 9 victims are afraid to report to church leaders. 107 (60.5) 18 (10.2) 47 (26.6) 5 (2.8) 10 victims of sexual assault and violence are intimidated and exposed to ridicule by church leaders. 48 (27.1) 50 (28.2) 70 (39.5) 9 (5.1) 11 the church helps victims get justice. 68 (38.4) 34 (19.2) 67 (37.9) 8 (4.5) 12 the church buries cases without victims getting justice. 32 (18.1) 60 (33.9) 79 (44.6) 6 (3.4) 13 the church works with police or law enforcement agencies 48 (27.1) 45 (25.4) 75 (42.4) 9 (5.1) a study of the management of sexual and gender-based violence in seventh-day adventist church 26 to ensure victims get justice. 14 the church adequately organizes programs that informs members about avoiding domestic and sexual violence. 109 (61.6) 32 (18.1) 30 (16.9) 6 (3.4) 15 my general opinion is that the church handles cases of sexual and gender-based violence in a positive and helpful manner. 100 (56.5) 20 (11.3) 54 (30.5) 3 (1.7) 16 the sda church has a policy against domestic violence. 100 (56.5) 21 (11.9) 55 (31.1) 1 (0.6) 17 the church is better positioned to tackle domestic and sexual violence than government. 94 (53.1) 36 (20.3) 44 (24.9) 3 (1.7) 18 i feel confident in the way and manner the church handles cases of domestic and sexual violence. 75 (42.4) 44 (24.9) 52 (29.4) 6 (3.4) source: field survey (2022) table 5 above shows the management of sexual and gender-based violence within the sda church. from the data gathered, only 9.0% of respondents indicated that they reported they were sexually assaulted by a family member, while 37.3% did not report. furthermore, 39.0% of respondents believed victims of violence and sexual assault speak out and report such to family members, while 29.9% disagreed victims reported to family members. this research shows that 29.4% of respondents thought victims of violence and sexual abuse get justice when they report incidence to family members, while 34.5% disagreed with the statement. in addition, 12.4% of respondents indicated that they reported their sexual assault experience at home to a church leader, while 26.0% did not report to any church leader. also, 31.6% of respondents opined that victims of domestic violence and sexual assault report or speak out to church leaders, while 21.5% of respondents disagreed with the statement. the study also revealed that 28.8% of respondents opined that victims of sexual assaults that happen in the church inform church leaders, while 19.8% disagreed with the statement, and 42.9% do not know their response. it is also significant to note that only 32.2% of respondents agreed with the statement “the church makes it easy for victims of domestic and sexual violence to report to church leaders”, while 27.1% disagreed with the statement. a whopping 60.5% of respondents thought victims were often too ashamed to olugbenga adetokunbo efuntade 27 report to their undesirable sexual encounters to church leaders, 14.7% disagreed that victims were too ashamed to report to church leadership. equally worthy of note is that 60.5% of respondents indicated that victims were afraid to report to church leaders, while 10.5% disagreed with the statement, 29.4% did not know if they felt confident in their church’s handling of the issue. furthermore, 27.1% of respondents agreed with the statement “victims of sexual assault and violence are intimidated and exposed to ridicule by church leaders”, while 28.2% also disagreed with the statement. also, 38.4% indicated that the church helped victims get justice, while 19.2% disagreed with such position. out of the respondents, 18.1% thought that the church buried (deliberately ensures victims are silenced in) cases without victims getting justice while 33.9% disagreed with the thought. also, 27.1% claimed that “the church works with police or law enforcement agencies to ensure victims get justice”, while 25.4% disagreed with the statement. in terms of how the sda in osun conference educate members regarding gbv, 61.6% of respondents opined that the church adequately and regularly organized programs that informed members about avoiding domestic and sexual violence, while 18.1% disagreed with the position. in addition, 56.5% of respondents agreed with the statement “my general opinion is that the church handles cases of sexual and gender-based violence in a positive and helpful manner”, while 11.3% disagreed with the statement. out of all the 177 respondents, 56.5% believed that the sda church had policies against domestic violence, while 11.9% did not think the denomination had such policies. in terms of the relevance of the church in addressing domestic and sexual violence, 53.1% of respondents believed that the church was better positioned to tackle domestic and sexual violence than government, while 20.3% of respondents disagreed with such notion. it is significant to note that only 42.2% of respondents opined that they felt very confident in the way and manner the church handled cases of domestic and sexual violence, 24.9% of respondents was not confident in the church’s handling of domestic and sexual violence while 3.4% did not find the statement applicable to them. further opinions of respondents on the management of gbv in sda osun conference this section highlights comments of respondents to the questionnaire under the section that gave them the freedom to write their thoughts that might not have been captured in previous sections of the questionnaire. they were encouraged to right freely in the space provided. their comments have been grouped in the table below. this section will focus on comments that were not addressed in the previous sections of the questionnaire. a study of the management of sexual and gender-based violence in seventh-day adventist church 28 table 6: comments on occurrence and management of gender-based violence/sexual violence in sda families and church s/n statement frequency percentage 1 praying to god that he gives us wisdom to address this kind of issue in the church 13 7.3 2 ladies in the church should avoid indecent dressing, and programs on the sexual assault and domestic violence should be conducted in the church 5 2.8 3 the church should have a counseling unit for the youth in the church on matters like this, as well as give women and ladies voice of hearing in the church and family. 10 5.6 4 sexual assault should be cases should be treated with love and care, not judging the individuals based on what happened 5 2.8 5 i think the pastors should be warned, most of them assault the ladies in the church 7 4.0 6 cases of sexual violence has not been heard in the sda family, so it is not very common among us. 18 10.2 7 the church should try to help the victims of domestic and sexual violence. 6 3.4 8 our parents are pretending all is well while many families are suffering silently 1 0.6 9 the church is the best place to handle domestic and sexual violence 7 4.0 10 some members are being abused sexually but prefer to keep it within, considering their reputation 3 1.7 11 the church does not handle cases of assault with urgency and the inaction of the church hinders justice on such matters. 1 0.6 no comments 101 57.1 total 177 100.0 source: field survey (2022) according the data gathered, 13 respondents made the comment “praying to god that he gives us wisdom to address this kind of issue in the church”. this suggests that the church should resort to spiritual actions like prayer in order to stem the tide of gbv. furthermore, 5 respondents blamed some occurrences of sexual violence to indecent dressing among ladies. they counseled that ladies in the church should avoid indecent dressing. also, 10 respondents made the comment “the church should have a counseling unit for the youth in the church on matters like this, as well as give women and ladies olugbenga adetokunbo efuntade 29 voice of hearing in the church and family”. the last comment emphasized two things, namely, the need for youth counseling and for women to be heard. this may suggest that women’s voice may have been suppressed in the church. in addition, 5 respondents made the comment “sexual assault should be cases should be treated with love and care, not judging the individuals based on what happened”. this may suggest that both victims and perpetuators may feel judged or condemned thereby making it more difficult for victims and their families to speak out. furthermore, 6 respondents wanted the church to provide some forms of help to victims of domestic and sexual violence. this help may include post trauma counseling, medical assistance and so on. one respondent made the comment “our parents are pretending all is well while many families are suffering silently”. in a similar order, 3 respondents made the comment “some members are being abused sexually but prefer to keep it within, considering their reputation.” this speaks to the shame and stigma that may be experienced by victims of sexual violence which coerces victims into silence (united nations, 2017). since church people are often expected to be perfect morally, when sexual violence occurs, victims may not speak up. conclusion the sda church in osun state nigeria should be more intentional in being an agent of behavioural reform. although part of a global denomination’s focus on proclaiming the gospel, warning the world about the imminent literal second advent of christ and highlighting the necessity for humans to keep the whole decalogue, sdas in osun conference should rise up to the task of eliminating gbv to barest minimum. the task of the church should increase raising awareness about the ills of gbv, organizing more programs to strengthening families, counseling, preaching and working more with law enforcement agencies to stem the tide of gbv. also it is important for the church to investigating and sanctioning pastors and leaders found culpable in sexual violence. this will boost their members’ confidence to report cases of sexual violence. references abbott, dena m., harris, jeff e., & mollen, debra. (2016). the impact of religious commitment on women’s sexual self-esteem. sexuality & culture (2016) 20:1063–1082. available at https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/ s12119-016-9374-x.pdf. accessed november 2, 2022. adeleke, n.a., olowookere, a.s., hassan, m.m., komolafe, j. o., & asekun-olarinmoye, e.o. (2012). sexual assault against women at osogbo, southwestern nigeria. nigerian journal of https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12119-016-9374-x.pdf a study of the management of sexual and gender-based violence in seventh-day adventist church 30 clinical practice, april-june, 2012, 15(2), pp. 190 – 193. available at file:///c:/users/i/ downloads/nigerjclinpract_sexualassault.pdf. accessed august 16, 2022. adewuyi, ola david. (2020). osun conference: encyclopedia of seventh-day adventists. available at https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=dc2k. accessed october 3, 2022. adventist family ministries. (2022). we all have a place in the family. available at https://family.adventist.org/. accessed october 18, 2022. adventist family ministries. (2021). statement on family violence. available at https://family.adventist.org/statement-on-family-violence/. accessed october 18, 2022. akinleye, c.a., asekun-olarinmoye, e. o., & fawole, o.1. (2021). impact of education on gender based violence on the knowledge and attitude of police officers in osun state, nigeria. nigerian research journal of clinical sciences 11(1), pp. 2031. april 2021. available at file:///c:/users/i/downloads/nrjcsapril2021editionakinleyefirstarticlenew.pdf. accessed august 16, 2022. alalade, adekunle, e. (2008). limiting factors to the success of the seventh-day adventist church in africa: the nigeria case study. ibadan: agbo areo publishers. azeez, biola. (2022, may 5). low conviction rate causes growing increase in gbv in nigeria ―csos. nigerian tribune. available at https://tribuneonlineng.com/low-conviction-rate-causes-growingincrease-in-gbv-in-nigeria-%e2%80%95csos/ babalola, david, o. (2002). on becoming a conference: the story of the seventh-day adventist church in yorubaland 1914-2002. ibadan: osb design limited. eyong, e.m. and emechebe, c. i. (2019). sexual assault of nigerian female adolescents: a review of the trends and effects. journal of advances in medicine and medical research 29(7):1-7. available at file:///c:/users/i/downloads/30102-articletext-56456-1-10-20190422.pdf. accessed january 4, 2023. kehinde, femi. (2016). oba laoye: timi of ede. vanguard news paper, january 2, 2016. available at https://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/01/oba-laoye-timi-of-ede/. accessed october 19, 2022. labe, r.m et al. (2021). sexual violence against women in nigeria and victims’ susceptibility to psychological distress and sexual dysfunction. open journal of social science and humanities, 2(1), pp. 1-13. doi: 10.52417/ojssh.v2i1.194. ministerial association general conference of seventh-day adventists. (2005). seventh-day adventists believe. boise, idaho: pacific press publishing association. moniz, erin. (2019). a tale of two rapes: what tamar and bathsheba teach us about power, consent, and sexual violence. cbe international blog/magazine, june 5, 2019. available at https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/tale-two-rapes-what-tamar-and-bathsheba-teach-usabout-power-consent-and/. retrieved on december 21, 2022. office of archives, statistic and research. (n.d). osun conference. seventh-day adventist church office of archives of archives, statistics and reasearch. available at https://www.adventistyearbook.org/entity?entityid=52310. accessed august 31, 2022. seventh-day adventist church. (2009). enditnow: adventists say no to violence. available at https://www.enditnow.org/. accessed on october 18, 2022. state of osun. (n.d). history. available at https://www.osunstate.gov.ng/about/history/. accessed october 19, 2022. https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=dc2k https://family.adventist.org/ https://family.adventist.org/statement-on-family-violence/ file:///c:/users/i/downloads/nrjcsapril2021editionakinleyefirstarticlenew.pdf https://tribuneonlineng.com/low-conviction-rate-causes-growing-increase-in-gbv-in-nigeria-%e2%80%95csos/ https://tribuneonlineng.com/low-conviction-rate-causes-growing-increase-in-gbv-in-nigeria-%e2%80%95csos/ file:///c:/users/i/downloads/30102-articletext-56456-1-10-20190422.pdf https://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/01/oba-laoye-timi-of-ede/ https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/tale-two-rapes-what-tamar-and-bathsheba-teach-us-about-power-consent-and/ https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/tale-two-rapes-what-tamar-and-bathsheba-teach-us-about-power-consent-and/ https://www.adventistyearbook.org/entity?entityid=52310 https://www.enditnow.org/ https://www.osunstate.gov.ng/about/history/ olugbenga adetokunbo efuntade 31 thomas, lauren. 2020. cross-sectional study | definition, uses & examples. scribbr. available at https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/cross-sectional-study/. accessed january 3, 2023. tijah, alfred m. & raphael, margret u. (2021). sentencing rape offenders in nigeria: an appraisal. unizik journal of public and private law, 11, may, 2021. available at file:///c:/users/i/downloads/sentencingrapeoffendersinnigeriaanappraisal.p df. accessed january 4, 2023. united nation, (2017). shame, stigma integral to logic of sexual violence as war tactic, special adviser tells security council, as speakers demand recognition for survivors. meetings coverage and press releases. available at https://press.un.org/en/2017/sc12819.doc.htm. accessed january 3, 2023. usaid health policy initiative. (2009). the role of religious communities in addressing genderbased violence and hiv. u.s. agency for international development (usaid) health policy initiative, task order 1. available at [https://www.endvawnow.org/uploads/browser/files/ the%20role%20of%20religious%20communities%20addressing%20gbv%20hiv%20%20usaid.pdf]. accessed on november 3, 2022. wade, harold. (2022). nigeria: adventist women speak out on gender. parody tv, september 15, 2022. available at https://parodytv.one/characters/nigeria-adventist-women-speak-out-ongender/#. accessed october 18, 2022. https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/cross-sectional-study/ file:///c:/users/i/downloads/sentencingrapeoffendersinnigeriaanappraisal.pdf file:///c:/users/i/downloads/sentencingrapeoffendersinnigeriaanappraisal.pdf https://press.un.org/en/2017/sc12819.doc.htm https://parodytv.one/characters/nigeria-adventist-women-speak-out-on-gender/ https://parodytv.one/characters/nigeria-adventist-women-speak-out-on-gender/ 57 ethnicity and religion in nigerian politics: 2023 general elections eze, chimezie chukwuemeka department of political and administrative studies, university of port harcourt. chimezieeze59@gmail.com & karibi-botoye, queen idanyingi department of political and administrative studies, university of port harcourt. queenkaribi2@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.10003.90409 abstract the paper investigated the ethnicity and religion in nigerian politics with emphasis on the 2023 general elections. ethnicity and religion are two interrelated elements in nigeria's democracy and indeed national life. historically, elections in nigeria are usually influence by these two elements. ethnicity and religious are deployed by political elite to actualize there political goal (electoral victory). the political elite divide the electorates along ethnic and religious line in the season of elections; us and them thereby undermining nigeria's democracy. this manifested during the 2023 presidential election. the elite theory was adopted as our theoretical framework. secondary source of data was deployed for the study. it involves the collection of data from textbooks, journals and seminar papers amongst others. the study observed that ethnicity and religion played significant role in the just concluded presidential elections in nigeria (2023). this position is strengthen by the voting pattern and the numbers of votes received by the candidates in the election. the work recommends the need for representation and inclusion all ethnic and religious groups in the scheme of things in nigeria. ethnicity and religion create tensions in nigeria as different groups feel inadequately represented and express their displeasure through conflicting demands. keywords: ethnicity; election; religion; political; ethnic introduction periodic free and fair elections constitute one of the most significant institutions of liberal and participatory democracy. elections involve a democratic process of choosing who governs a particular group, society or state. as a critical aspect of democracy elections can take different forms depending on what the polity in question deems appropriate for use (robert & obioha 2005). however, ujo (2008) makes the distinction between elections and voting. he asserts that election is an umbrella word with a wide coverage that includes other activities before, during and after voting. these activities include planning, voter registration, constituency delimitation, arrangement of the polling stations, polling procedure, vote counting and announcement of results. however, voting is the actual process in which individual choice is made from various alternatives the extent to which elections contribute to the development and sustenance of democracy, particularly in those that are new and developing, is largely dependent on factors which influence the electorates in making their choice. studies have been conducted to show the interplay of electoral choice, religion and ethnic structure (norris & mattes 2003; glaeser 2005; posner 2006). these studies demonstrate that nigerian political elites often manipulate ethnic cleavages to win elections, thereby showing that election results in nigeria and indeed african countries usually follow ethnic lines. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 58 nigeria is undoubtedly one of the most heterogeneous countries in the world. with a population of over 200million (worldometers 2019), nigeria is also the most populous black nation with over 250 ethnic groups and several sub-groups (olayode 2015, p.13). nevertheless, the adoption of federal system of government upon the emergence of the nigerian state which obviously was informed by the necessity for autonomy and collaboration among the various ethnic groups that were merged under peculiar circumstances has continued to be irked upon several contending issues (odubajo, 2011). the separate ethnic groups have continued to emphasize their identities, stressing their varied orientations, beliefs amongst other parochial ties along the persistence and subtle recruitment and deployment of religious or ethnic metaphors, sentiments and themes to advance political ends by the political elites in manners that have continued to define the politics and administration of nigeria and its economic trappings (kukah, 2017). despite these characteristics, the country's political scene is dominated by three major ethnic groups, namely yoruba, hausa and igbo. other sub-groups exist but are regarded as minorities. the existence of sub-groups among the large and dominant groups raises the fear of dominance of the minority groups by the major ethnic groups. consequently, politics is played by these ethnic groups and sub-groups in such a manner as to maintain the domination by the majority groups or to prevent and resist domination by the minority groups the announcement of the timetable for the 2023 general elections by the independent national electoral commission (inec) on april 2021 heralded preparations, permutations, alignments and politicking by the political elite who strategically position for the 2023 contest. the 'winner takes all' nature of politics in nigeria makes this pre-election ritual an existential, though quiet process. to be better positioned, the political elite often deploy three overlapping strategies—party politicking, calculated resource redistribution, and manipulation of identities (religion and ethnicity)—to enhance their political fortunes. but while party politicking and strategic use of resources may be arguably benign, the manipulation of social identity (i.e. the accentuation of shared ingredients of social identity such as religion, region, or ethnicity as a stratagem for garnering political support) is dangerous. presidential elections in post-colonial nigeria have always generated tensions, anxieties and controversies, particularly among the electorates. this is connected to the fact that electioneering periods are characterized by hate speeches which in most cases have an ethnic and religious undertone. in particular, the 2023 presidential election in nigeria generated more tension and controversies than ever before. the 2023 general elections have been described as the most competitive election to be held in post-colonial nigeria. it was the first time presidential election were keenly contested by three major candidates. prior to the presidential election, religion and ethnicity played dominant role. the fielding of same faith ticket (muslim-muslim) by the ruling party all progressive congress (apc) generated so much tension in the polity as many christian sees that arrangement as a ploy to islamize nigeria. also, the nomination of atiku abubakar as the candidate of the people's democratic party (pdp) generated tension as those from southern region conceived such a move as a ploy for the northern region to dominate the southern region considering the fact that a northerner in the person of muhammadu buhari was about completing his two term of office. the issue of zoning and same faith ticket generated so much tension in the system and almost pitches on region and religion against the other it is against this background that this paper intends to examine the impact ethnicity and religion in nigerian politics with emphasis on the 2023 general elections. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 59 statement of the problem nigeria is a deeply divided society. the country bifurcates along ethnic, regional/geopolitical, and religious lines. riding on these cleavages to political power, therefore, is sectarian with grave implications on the legitimacy of the candidate that emerges. it also sets a precedence that, in the long run, could redefine elections as a political process to sectarian and primordial gyrations. the 2023 presidential election polarized nigerians along ethnic and religious line. most political elites promoted religious identity while others relied on ethnicity as a tool to acquire political power. the voting pattern in the 2023 presidential elections also reflected religious and ethnic divide. for instance, the candidate of the labour party, peter obi was accused prior to the 2023 presidential elections of diving nigerians along religious line. for instance, the youth wing of the arewa consultative forum accused obi of playing ethnic and religious politic due to his frequent visit to churches and christian religious leaders (mohammed, 20123). the 2023 presidential elections almost led to the explosion of nigeria as statehood owing to the influence of ethnicity and religion. on religion, the fielding of same faith ticket by the candidate of the all progressive congress (apc) bola ahmed tinubu was seen as an affront to the nigerian state. specifically, christian religious leaders saw the same faith ticket as a ploy to islamize nigeria. for instance, a christian body known as forum of northern christians reiterated its position on the same-faith ticket, saying it would not back down; the forum was headed by the former speaker of the house of representatives, mr. yakubu dogara. mr. yakubu dogara was quoted to have said “our position on same-faith ticket stands” and vowed to meet with all the presidential candidates, across party lines and come up with its preferred choice (olaiye, 2023). dogara met behind closed doors with christian leaders from the 19 northern states and the federal capital territory, fct, in abuja in continuation of their consultations ahead of the 2023 general elections. also, the christian association of nigeria (can) made derogatory remark about the same faith ticket of the apc.n according to can chairman in kaduna state, rev. john hayab the same faith ticket of the ruling party is an attack on the christian faith and the sensibility of nigerians especially christians. the chairman reiterated the stance of the body in kaduna state. according to him, we are saying we are not going back down on our stance against the muslim-muslim ticket of the apc (ibrahim, 2023).the christian fellowship association of nigeria (national) condemned the same faith ticket, describing it as devilish and ill-conceived with the intent of relegating the christendom (noah, 2023). on ethnicity, the voting pattern during the 2023 general elections reflects ethnic coloration and configuration. the three leading candidates won massively in their respecive region. for instance, according to result released by independent national electoral commission (inec), peter obi, candidate of the labour party secured about 90% of votes cast in the south east, bola ahmed tinubu of the apc, secured about 68% of votes cast in the south west. while atiku abubakar of the pdp secured about 61% of votes cast in the northeast (inec, 2023). one noticeable issue during the 2023 general elections was the agitation for the rotation of the presidency. this pitted the south against the north. the south believed that power should return to the region in the interest of fairness and equity while the north insisted on running for the most coveted seat. the political arena was intense as it pitted the ethnic groups in the north against those in the south. thus, a country that promote religious and ethnic identity over competence, credibility and track records of candidates will achieve little or nothing in terms of electing quality leaders that will drive socio-economic and political development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 60 the influence of ethnicity and religion in the 2023 general elections has raised problem for accountability, good governance and socio-economic development. aims and objectives of the study the aim of the study is to examine the influence of ethnicity and religion in the 2023 general elections in nigeria. the specific objectives includes the following: 1.) examine the role of ethnicity and religion in nigeria's elections 2.) analyze the impact of ethnicity and religion in the 2023 general elections in nigeria 3.) investigate the role of ethnicity and religion on socio-economic and political development in nigeria theoretical framework the theoretical framework adopted for this study is the elite theory. the theory posits that power in the state or any organization is exercised by a limited number of individuals or groups referred to as elites. the theory was propounded by robert michel in 1911. in the view of michel (1915, p.32), “the ultimate fate of all organization is to be run by a small minority or plural elites”. elite theory therefore view society as closed, pyramidal, and unresponsive and composed of the few who rule and the many who are ruled. the dominant argument is that the large mass of the people are ignoble, not cohesive and not organized and so are not competent or capable to exercise political power. thus, political power is entrusted to elite who are cohesive, organized and so competent or capable to exercise political power. relating and applying the elite theory in understanding the influence of ethnicity and religion in nigerian politics, it become s imperative to state that politics in nigeria is being exploited by ethno-religious chauvinists in nigerian government and politics. most political elite in nigeria relies on ethnicity and religion as a tool to actualize their political goal. the political elite have enormous resources at their disposal with which they can manipulate the electorates. also because of incentives attach to public offices in nigeria, politic become a means to an end; to actualize the economic goal of the political elite. it is these onerous and multifarious resources at the display of the state that the elite struggle to control and in such struggle employs the instruments of ethnic and religious sentiments for personal aggrandizement. conceptual clarification the concept of ethnicity the idea of ethnicity and the need to accord it respect has been recognized by ancient thinkers. classical philosophers from socrates to hegel had long recognized the need for human dignity. for socrates, this tendency constitutes the core aspect of the “third part” of the human soul, which exists along with the “desiring part” and a “calculating part”(fukuyama,2020,p.3). in plato's republic, he tagged this as the thymos of which the english translations poorly seen as “spirit” (fukuyama,2020,p.3). thymos has two forms. the first is what fukuyama (2018) described as “megalothymia”, that is the desire for recognition as superior. the second part, he termed “isothymia”, which is an overwhelming feeling for being recognized as just being good as others. that is the respect for one as just as good as everyone else (fukuyama,2020). the concept of ethnicity had been used in social anthropology and psychology, more importantly by structuralists and post-structuralists. this phenomenon has gained much attention. according to jega (2000,p.14 citing erikson,1968,p.57) it is “a person's sense of belonging to a group if (it) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 61 influences his political behaviour”. it is stated to be immersed both in physiological 'givens' and in social roles. it has common attributes of “commitment to a cause”, “love and trust for and emotional tie to a group”, and more importantly, the obligations and duties it confer on membership of a group to which one identifies with. accordingly, pye (1962 cited in jega, 2000, p.14) pointed out that “those who share an interest share an identity; the interest of each requires the collaboration of all”. this goes to show that ethnicity builds unity among its adherents so much that they identifies with one another and draw the boundary which set it apart from others. ethnicity is a strong aspect of human existence and it reflects in all our relationships. every person desires to belong to an association which cannot be wished away because each person belongs to a particular ethnic group. thus, this is in line with the law of natural selection that has designated each person to where he will belong (eme, 2011). ethnic groups are groups tied to an ascribed membership, usually but not always based on claims or myths of common history, ancestry, language, race, religion, culture and territory. ukoha (2005,p.4-5) maintained that all these elements do not necessarily need to be there for a group to be recognized as an ethnic group. according to him, what is relevant is that such a group does have or is grouped as having common and shared identity that is differentiated from others. the point the author raised is that ethnic group is a product of powerful forces that see people as belonging to different groups within a polity. this was how the western anthropologists grouped people of different backgrounds in nigeria and in africa generally as belonging to the same ethnic group and it has come to stay. these influential players cut across the state, religious organizations and even the academia such as local ethnic historians that objectifies the ethnic group, often setting the processes of self-identification and recognition by others (ukoha, 2005,p.4). an ethnic group comprises of people of distinctive language, religion, culture, social structure and territorial autonomy. there seems to be over 350 ethnic groupings that exist in nigeria. nigeria is africa's most populous country, with an estimated 200 million people where there are two dominant religions of christianity and islam while african traditional religions are also prevalent though losing its significance in higher proportion (lewis, 2011, p. 2). the concept of religion the concept religion did not originally refer to a social genus or cultural type. it was adapted from the latin term religio, a term roughly equivalent to “scrupulousness”. religio also approximates “conscientiousness”, “devotedness”, or “felt obligation”, since religio was an effect of taboos, promises, curses, or transgressions, even when these were unrelated to the gods. geertz (2017) defined religion in terms of an order but specifed that he means practices tied to conceptions of “a general order of existence that is, as he also says, something whose existence is fundamental, all-pervading, or unconditioned. the practices that are distinctly religious for geertz are those tied to a culture's metaphysics or worldview, their conception of the overall shape of reality (geertz, 2017). geertz would include as religions not only the forms of life based on the theistic and polytheistic (or, more broadly, animist or spiritualist) beliefs that herbert and tylor recognized, but also those based on belief in the involuntary, spontaneous, or natural operations of the law of karma, the dao in daoism, the principle in neo-confucianism, and the logos in stoicism. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 62 the concept of politics as a common phenomenon in the social sciences, the concept “politics” has different connotations or interpretations. the reason has been that, politics as an issue, concept and phenomenon basically invokes a lot of variegated opinions and sentiments. this is because, virtually everybody has an “expert opinion” on issues of politics and politics as a universal phenomenon affects every one of us in different dimensions. in the globe presently, we live in an age of growing politicization where government actions and inactions, the water we drink, institutions we attend, marriage and divorce, our accommodation and mode of basic social amenities, activities of international organizations etc. all fall within the purview of politic. the above scenario corroborates the declaration of the famous greek philosopher, aristotle and originator of the term politics that man by nature is a political animal. he went further to opine that “the essence of social existence is politics and that where two or more men are interacting with one another, they are invariably involved in a political relationship, and this is a natural and inevitable predisposition aamong men”. as men seek to define their positions in society, as they attempt to wring personal security from available resources and as they try to influence others to accept their points of view, they find themselves engaging in politics (cited in rodee, et al 2011). politics is therefore a ubiquitous phenomenon and an unavoidable fact of human existence. to be concise, politics basically refers to the conscious or unconscious struggle for domination, advantage and interest actualization by man in society. hence “politics” is been defined as “who gets what, when and how (lasswell, 1930, p.23). politics is also defined as an activity whereby differing interest within a territory are conciliated (azikiwe cited in johnnie, 2005). in this sense, politics is not only an activity to struggle for scarce resources, but also to make decision and resolve conflicts in society. some scholars conceive politics as the process by which men debate the matter concerning the “polis”, that is, the community and take actions in an attempt to realize public interest or the common good (anifowose and enemno, 1999). politics is organized dispute about power and its use, involving choice among disputing values, ideas, persons, interests and demands. it is the manner in which power is obtained, exercised and controlled, the purpose for which it is used, the manner in which decisions are made, the factors which influence the making of those decisions and the context in which those decision take place (curtis, 2015). the concept of elections elections refer to the formal process of selecting a person for public office or of accepting or rejecting a political proposition by voting (benoit, et al 2014). it is important to distinguish between the form and the substance of elections. in some cases, electoral forms are present but the substance of an election is missing, as when voters do not have a free and genuine choice between at least two alternatives. benoit, et al (2014), stated that most countries hold elections in at least the formal sense, but in many of them the elections are not competitive (e.g., all but one party may be forbidden to contest) or the electoral situation is in other respects highly compromised. elections is an important element of modern representative government; it is so closely tied to the growth and development of democratic political order that it is now generally held to be the single most important indicator of the presence or absence of democratic government. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 63 results and discussion role of ethnicity and religion in nigeria's elections the history of nigeria is best captured in ethnicity and religious biases. the elites have so exploited the two variables that division and violence arising therein have continually defined the character of all relationships in the country. thus, anugwom and oji (2014; p. 65) contends that “ethnic and religious consciousness is a fact of reality which cannot be ignored”. calhoun (2017) traces the history of this problem to the colonial state in africa which the colonialist pursued, propagated and enthroned a number of policies that prepared the ground for sectional conflict. in that regards, calhoun (2017) further contended that such policies like divide and rule, british pattern of development and urbanization in west africa (by design or accident) resulted in ethnic, clan, regional and sectional consciousness and the consequent disunity among the peoples of the colonial nigerian state. clearly, colonialism and imperialism sowed seeds of discord and outright conflict between christianity and islam in nigerian politics and administration thereby making national integration exceedingly difficult. chiamogu and chiamogu (2019) noted that political perspective of nationalism leads to acute mobilization of ethnic, tribal, regional, religious and other sectional ties in pursuit of political power. as social diversity phenomena, ethnicity and religion have attracted enormous attention in socio-political relations in nigeria with special reference to relationships amongst the numerous disparate ethnic groups making up the nigerian state. virtually all major national issues in nigeria are cast in the mould of ethnicity and religion thereby giving rise to virulent ethnocentric and religionising vituperation (osai, 2006). azeez (2009) and oladiran (2013) noted that party politics and electoral democracy in nigeria has been characterized by ethnic based politics. according to them, from the first through the second, third and fourth republics, many political parties were ethnic based and this shape the nature of politics (azeez; 2009 and oladiran, 2013). in the first republic, the action group (ag) as a party led by chief obafemi awolowo developed from a yoruba cultural association, egbe omo oduduwa; the national council of nigerian citizens (ncnc) led by dr. nnamdi azikwe was closely allied with the igbo state union while the northern peoples' congress (npc) developed from jamiyyah arewa group led by sir ahmadu bello. thus the leadership of the aforementioned political parties was along ethnic cleavages (oladiran, 2013). during the first republic, there was no radical departure from those of the pre-colonial era. hence, ngele (2008) observed that in the 1964 general elections the two main alliances for the election were nigerian national alliance (nna) comprising the northern peoples' congress (npc) and its client parties nndp, ndc, mwdf, the other alliance was the united progress grand alliance (upga) formed by the ncnc and ag, northern elements progressive union (nepu) and united middle belt congress (umbc). the alliances presented a north and south constellation of forces. the mainstay of the nna was npc whose motive was the consolidation of northern hegemony. the upga on the other hand was a southern coalition whose primary objective was to halt the hegemony (ngele, 2008). table 4.1: names of political parties in nigeria in the first, second, third and fourth republic igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 64 amidst re-enforcing the imperativeness of ethnic division against check measures in the 1979 constitution, political parties in the second republic could not achieve national outlook, even in their operations. the new political parties that were registered had their leadership replicated along ethnic lines as in the first republic: chief obafemi awolowo retained the leadership of ag which metamorphosed into unity party of nigeria (upn), dr. nnamdi azikiwe controlled the igbo speaking areas under nigeria people's party (npp), which is an offshoot of the old ncnc. national party of nigeria (npn) dominated the hausa-fulani areas; peoples redemption party (prp) in hausa speaking while great nigeria peoples party (gnpp) led by ibrahim waziri controlled the kanuri speaking area (ngele, 2008). s/n first republic second republic third republic fourth republic 1 action group (ag) greater nigerian peoples party (gnpp) national republican convention (nrc) peoples democratic party (pdp) 2 borno youth movement (bym) movement of the peoples party social democratic party (sdp) all progressive congress (apc) 3 national party of nigeria (npn) labour party (lp) 4 middlewest democratic front (mdf) nigeria advance party (nap) all progressives grand alliance (apga) 5 national independence party (nip) nigerian peoples party (npp) new nigeria peoples party (nnpp) 6 national council of nigeria and the cameroon/national council of nigerian citizens (ncnc) peoples redemption party (prp) young progressives party (ypp) 7 niger delta congress (ndc) unity party of nigeria (upn) social democratic party (sdp) 8 northern elements progress union (nepu) 572,606 african democratic congress (adc) 9 northern people’s congress (npc) 146,977 zenith labour party (zlp) 10 northern progressive front (npf) 421,390 386,587 action democratic party (adp) 11 united middle belt congress (umbc) 182,881 417,611 action alliance (formerly national mass movement of nigeria (nmmn)) 12 united national independence party (unip) 482,283 489,045 african action congress (aac) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 65 surprisingly, the third republic saw a different turn of events when generals ibrahim badamosi babangida and sanni abacha manipulated and steered the ship of transitions to civilian rule. general babangida midwived the formation of two supposedly national parties that relatively enjoyed better national spread in the social democratic party (sdp) and national republican convention (nrc). however, the parties later degenerated into the norm with ethno-religious cleavages being visible in the membership and composition of the two parties. while the sdp favoured the southerners, nrc was a party for the hausa-fulani north as could be observed from their operation (olaniran, 2013; adamu, 2016). adamu (2016) noted that in the current political dispensation of the fourth republic, ethnic orientation has grossly reared its ugly head. the all nigeria's peoples party (anpp), alliance for democracy (ad) and the all progressives grand alliance (apga) are traceable to hausafulani, yoruba and igbo ethnic groups respectively. chiamogu (2017) stated that the people's democratic party (pdp) and all progressives congress (apc) are being perceived as to have deviated a bit from the usual ethno-religious dominated party politics of the past with their membership and formation cutting across the clime of nigeria. however, in the 2015 general elections, anpp merged with cpc and 3 other parties to form the ruling all progressive congress (apc), which dominated politics in the north and south west geopolitical zones but was clearly rejected in the south east and south-south who were massively clung to pdp in an ethnically oriented form and content being that a candidate from the south was vying for the presidency. the merging of parties as well as re-alignment of forces in this regard cannot be divorced from either the contest for power or/and resources among the geopolitical zones (chiamogu, 2017). the political instability occasioned is borne out of who gets what, when and how the all progressive congress (apc), labour party (lp), and the people's democratic party (pdp) among others where formed in the present democratic dispensation (fourth republic). among these numerous political parties established in this present democratic dispensation, the people's democratic party (pdp) stands out in the sense that it has more of national spread compare to the other political parties. ayatse and akuva (2013) noted that nigeria has an over 350 ethnic groups based on lingual classification, whose presence is highly pronounced in the nation's decision-making process and structures. this structural composition of nigerian political system that is essentially characterized by diverse ethnicity has ostensibly posed a source of great challenge to democracy. political leaders are confronted with issue of how to manage the country ethnic diversity by granting various ethnic groups equal privileges and justice and ethnicity has been the basis of political patronage as exemplified in political decisions and actions of our leaders. ayatse and akuva (2013) noted that it was a collective decision of the major political actors across various ethnic groups to compensate the yoruba ethnic group following the demise of late chief mko abiola the alleged winner of nigeria 1993 presidential election which was scuttled by the military dictatorship. again, prior to the 2023 election the issue trending in the political sphere is hausa/fulani handing over to hausa/fulani, yoruba or ibo as the next president and issue of muslim or christian in place of choosing the credible candidate with score card of good governance. impact of ethnicity and religion in the 2023 general elections in nigeria by prohibiting the adoption of any religion as a state religion, nigeria is often profiled as a secular state-secularism, here, suggesting that religion is a private affair and has no leanings on public life. however, describing nigeria as a secular state is simplistic, as religion conspicuously influences politics in nigeria. hence, diverse positions exist that characterize the country as either 'partially secular', 'non-secular', or 'multi-religious (oshewolo and maren, 2015). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 66 ethnicity and religion have considerable influence on the voting patterns of the nigerian electorates. although the federal government often stresses the need for the citizens to put national interest above ethnic and religious considerations, yet there is no political elite in nigeria who will win an election without the support of the members of his or her ethnic nationality. this is why most political elite tend to give priority attention and meeting the needs of their ethnic nationalities even at the detriment of national interest. unfortunately, the present nigerian political system has no provision for the members of the minority ethnic groups becoming president of nigeria without the support of the major ethnic nationalities in the country. this might be one of the reasons for the ongoing agitations for secession and the call for an amendment on the present structure of the nigerian political system by some ethnic groups in the country (oshewolo and maren, 2015). the 2023 nigerian presidential election was held on 25 february 2023 to elect the president and vice president of nigeria. the election was won by the former governor of lagos state bola ahmed tinubu of the ruling all progressive congress (apc) who garner 8,794,726 votes. runners-up were former vice president atiku abubakar of the people's democratic party (pdp) who polled a total of 6,984,520. and former governor of anambra state peter obi of the labour party (lp), who scored 6,101,533 votes. other federal elections conducted on february 25, 2023 included elections to the house of representative and the senate (sulaimon, 2023). roelof's (2019), questioned altogether the distinction between “programmatic” appeals that may include economic rhetoric and “patrimonial” election strategies which rely on ethnic and clientelist campaigning. instead, she argues that programmatic and patrimonial strategies are better understood as interacting in a dynamic fashion, rather than being mutually exclusive (roelof's, 2019). inspired by this debate, the forgoing analysis of the leading parties (apc, pdp and lp) and their candidates is assess on the basis of both the identitarian appeals and key economic issues that are contained in their manifestoes. with regards to identitarian appeals, the apc campaign emphasized several policy areas in which it hopes to distinguish itself from its competitors. the tinubu/shettima campaign manifesto, for instance, proposes to suspend limits on public spending during this protracted moment of global economic turmoil, to pursue import substitution to encourage the growth of a domestic manufacturing sector, and to resurrect commodity boards to establish minimum prices for strategic crops (apc manifesto, 2023). the document also promises to expand recruitment into nigeria's armed forces as a measure to stem the tide of insecurity, as well as to expand the existing social welfare programs of the current regimes. interestingly, the document proposes a policy previously repudiated by the apc: to phase out the much-debated fuel subsidy policy, which has long been a bone of contention between governing parties and nigerian civil groups and labour unions. overall, the document emphasizes an expanded role for the state, and deeper partnership with the private sector – i.e., a strong emphasis on public private partnerships – as pillars of its vision for driving development (apc, manifesto, 202). thus, while maintaining the overall direction of the economic reform emphasizing continued liberalization and creating an enabling environment for business, the tinubu policy statement does appear to lean in a more economically populist direction than that of the lp and pdp. in terms of its policy statement, the pdp campaign among all the others has placed the most emphasis on expanding the role of the private sector in the economy. the party's manifesto, for instance, identifies private sector leadership in mobilizing resources; breaking government's monopoly in key sectors; and leveraging the market in determining prices as the key pillars of its economic agenda (pdp manifesto, 2023). the document also proposes to privatize all infrastructure delivery institutions including the four refineries, and to work towards achieving igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 67 the lowest corporate income tax rate in africa, to make nigeria one of the most attractive destinations for foreign direct investment” (pdp manifesto, 2023). expectedly, the campaign also proposes to end the fuel subsidy within 100 days of atiku taking office. while the state would still retain a substantial role in the economy – particularly in the areas of social provisioning – the policy framework makes clear its desire to shift the current balance of politico-economic power away from the state and towards the private sector – with an emphasis on international investment (pdp manifesto, 2023). table 4.2: economic emphases of apc, pdp and lp source: researcher's compilation, 2023 to appreciate the relevance of religion in the build-up to the 2023 presidential elections, it is necessary to highlight three facts in the history of nigeria's democracy: fact 1: no candidate of the same religion as the incumbent president is ever elected to succeed the incumbent; fact 2: there is never a time when the president and his vice emerge from or belong to the same religion. though the third republic (1992-1993)'s case involving the social democratic party's muslimmuslim ticket would have made an exception, the result of that election was annulled by the ibrahim babangida junta; fact 3: no elected president from either the south or the north has ever succeeded another from the same region. the above facts may seem coincidental. nevertheless, they reflect the religious and regional sensitivities that even the political elite acknowledge. however, the build-up to the 2023 policy statement apc – tinubu pdp – atiku lp – obi currency liberalization plan to eliminate multiple exchange rate plan to eliminate multiple exchange rate plan to eliminate multiple exchange rate petrol subsidy phase out subsidy remove subsidy within 100 days eliminate subsidy private sect or development strengthen collaboration between government and domestic private sector intensify privatization (including sale of public refineries) and encourage international investment strengthen domestic production through incentives and enabling environment state’s role in development expand state’s role in social service provisioning and public private enterprise maintain strong regulatory state while reducing state’s role in enterprise. reduce federal budget and trim down civil service. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 68 presidential elections threatens the three facts presented above. thomson (2023) stated that any attempt to challenge this status quo would be considered progressive, nigeria is controvertibly unready for such a radical change. nonetheless, the candidates of the three favourite political parties projected to win the elections have emerged in a pattern that triggers debates and discourses on the identity question. the presidential candidate of the ruling all progressive congress (apc), bola ahmed tinubu and his vice, kashim shetima are muslims from the south and north, respectively. the candidate of the leading opposition, peoples democratic party (pdp), atiku abubakar is a muslim from the north while his deputy ifeanyi okowa is a christian from the south. labour party (lp) is represented by peter obi, a christian from the south and dr yusuf datti baba-ahmed, a muslim from the north, is his running mate. because the incumbent president, muhammadu buhari, is a muslim from the north, the victory of tinubu would culminate in a muslim succeeding another muslim as an elected president. this will repudiate fact 1. tinubu's victory would also challenge fact 2 since both the president and his vice would be muslims. on the other hand, atiku's victory would announce the succession of an incumbent president by another from the same religion and region. atiku's victory would therefore challenge fact 1 and fact 3. on the contrary, labour party's candidates' choices seem to be the most sensitive to nigeria's identity cleavages as they fail to challenge any of the three facts. as in every divided society, apc's choice of candidates has received a labyrinth of opprobrium for downplaying the religious sensitivities in nigeria. the christian association of nigeria (can), an umbrella body for christians in nigeria, stated that the situation in the country now is not suitable for a muslim-muslim ticket' and further charged nigerians to either 'accept or reject' it (musa, 2023). to mathew kukah, the catholic bishop of sokoto diocese, apc's choice 'is totally reprehensible and not acceptable'. northern nigerian christian leaders of apc contended that nigeria is not a theocracy' and described the choice as 'a display of crass insensitivity to the complexity of modern nigeria and the entire church' while some northern christians who protested in abuja labelled it as an insult (musa, 2023). even the presidential candidate of pdp, atiku, agrees that apc's choice is not right for a country like nigeria. yet, apc argued that its decision places competence, performance, and pragmatism above identity politics (musa, 2023). but while apc deemphasizes religion in its candidate's choice, it desperately seeks religious balance in its campaigns. for instance, in an event to unveil his deputy, tinubu allegedly hired faked bishops; a move which further outraged the christian communities. unlike apc, pdp has thus far maintained a secular posture by balancing regional, ethnic and religious sensitivities in its choices and circumspection in religiously sensitive issues. however, atiku's deletion of his twitter and facebook posts that condemned the brutal killing of deborah samuel (a christian accused of blasphemy) upon threats by islamic fundamentalist to withdraw their support for him, demonstrated atiku's disposition toward the importance of religion in the contest and the need to harness it (musa, 2023). nevertheless, pdp's choice of a fulani muslim as a prospective replacement for the incumbent who shares the same identity also kindles the religious sentiment of a muslim succeeding another after eight years of a disastrous administration. while the lp has, as mentioned earlier, remained sensitively 'blameless', supporters of the pdp and apc have faulted peter obi's publicized visits to christian congregations and labelled him 'crusade mobilizer and ' christian candidate ; a ploy to reduce his muslim support-base (adebayo,2023). as an act of desecration, in july 2022, obi's face was also included in the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 69 design of a muslim praying mat and distributed by a suspicious support group, causing an uproar that warranted an official responses and apology from him. all of these allude to religious sensitivities and the primacy of respecting them. the outcome of the 2023 presidential election in nigeria, reflected ethno-religious colouration as the leading presidential candidates secured more votes from their ethnic and religious group. below is a table that depict the voting pattern in the 2023 presidential elections. table 4.3: ethno-religious interest in the 2023 presidential election in nigeria source: inec (2023) s/n states apc pdp lp nnpp 1 ekiti 201,494 89,554 11,397 264 2 osun 343,945 354,366 23,283 713 3 kwara 263,572 136,909 31,116 3,141 4 ondo 369,924 115,463 4,405 930 5 ogun 341,554 123,831 85, 829 2,200 6 oyo 449,884 182,977 99,110 4,095 7 enugu 4,772 15,749 428,640 1,808 8 lagos 572,606 75,750 582,454 8442 9 gombe 146,977 319,123 26,160 10,520 10 jigawa 421,390 386,587 1,889 98,234 11 adamawa 182,881 417,611 105,648 8,006 12 katsina 482,283 489,045 6,376 69,386 13 nasarawa 172,922 147,093 191,361 12,715 14 niger 375,183 284,898 80,452 21,836 15 benue 310,468 130,081 308,372 4,740 16 federal capital territory (fct) abuja 90,902 74,194 281,717 4,517 17 akwa ibom 160,620 214,012 132,683 7,796 18 edo 144,471 89,585 331,163 2,743 19 abia 8,914 22,676 327,095 1,239 20 kogi 240,751 145,104 56,217 4,238 21 bauchi 316,694 426,607 27,373 72,103 22 plateau 307,195 243,808 466,272 8,869 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 70 on ethno-religious influence on the outcome of the elections, one can deduce from the table the voting pattern by the electorates in the just concluded presidential elections in nigeria. for instance, the labour party candidate won in all the states in the eastern region which happen to be his ethnic base. in imo state, he garner 360,495 votes as against those of the pdp and apc that hailed from other ethnic groups. apc 66,406 votes and pdp 30,234 votes. also, the candidate of the pdp won massively in the northeast and northwest region which happen to be his ethnic base as a fulani man. for instance, in gombe, he polled 319,123 votes as against 146,977 votes and 26,160 of apc and lp candidates respectively. also, the candidate of apc garnered more votes in his yoruba ethnic base; in oyo state, he polled 449,884 as against 182,977 of the pdp and 99,110 of lp. on the influence of religion on the outcome of the 2023 presidential elections, one can deduced from the table the influence of religion on the voting pattern for instance, the lp candidate garner more votes in christian dominated states and area like federal capita territory (abuja), nasarawa and plateau states etc. in nassarawa, he polled 191,361 as against those of apc; 172,922 votes and 147,093 of by pdp. also the other two candidates that are muslim, won more votes in muslim dominated states like kogi, niger, kano and katsina etc. for instance, in katsina state, pdp received 489,045 votes, apc; 482,283 while lp received 6,367. also in kogi state, apc; 240,751 votes, pdp 145,104 votes while lp 56,217 . the table contains further details on the influence of ethnicity and religion in the 2023 general election in nigeria. all these have implications for the outcome of the electoral process and good governance. role of ethnicity and religion on socio-economic and political development in nigeria election across the globe is recognize as the legitimate instrument of transition from one democratic government to another. in an atmosphere where the process is influence by ethnoreligious forces, it affects the quality of leadership and indeed good governance. the negative impact also snowballs into generating religious crisis and intolerance which can destabilize a state. it is important to emphasize that religious tolerance has worsened over the years due to the politicization of religion and the religionization of politics. beyond the declaration of some states in northern nigeria as being shari'a states, a move that katrin gänsler has referred to as 'a political drawcard', religious intolerance has manifested in several ways including the escalation of violent religious conflicts, the emergence of fundamentalist groups, the proliferation of hijab activism by muslim students in southwest nigeria, and the obstruction of age-long religious balancing in political posts within religiously bipolar states (waziri, 2009). world council of churches (2013) noted that religious lobby groups are increasingly involved in politics and are trading their votes for favourable post-election policies. for instance, in 2015, the joint muslim forum opted to support any lagos governorship candidate that supports the use of hijab in public schools.' similarly, during the tenure of pastor ayo oritsejafor, religious groups such as the christian association of nigeria (can) overtly supported president goodluck jonathan, a move that offered the former unfettered access to the presidency. presently, it has become a 'normal' for muslim and christian religious leaders to adopt and openly or surreptitiously canvass for their preferred candidate which, often time, are people of their faith. young (2014) stated that each cultural nationality in nigeria has a set of values that distinguishes one community from the other, and no community is ready to compromise its cultural identity in the interests of the other communities omu (2018) noted that ethnicity usually undergoes an evolutionary process whereby it starts as a latent and accommodating feeling, and later become instigated or propelled as a weapon of hostility, conflict and bitter tensions. what omu perhaps forgot to include is that the hostility and conflicts that later arise from the selfdeterminism of an ethnic nationality may probably be associated with the effort by the people to promote and sustain their ethnic identity in the face of other contending cultural paradigms. the major igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 71 problem facing nigeria today is the inability of the federal government to resolve the issues regarding ethnicity and religion. although nigeria is a secular state, the country shares the attributes of christianity and islamic religion, depending on the religious inclination of the incumbent president and state governors and this has affected her socio-economic development as a society that promote ethno-religious interest over issues of infrastructural decay, poverty, unemployment and general hunger cannot make meaningful progress. this is the reality on ground in nigeria as electorates are more concern about the ethnic and religious background of candidates rather than the competence and quality representation. it is important to state that poverty, hunger and unemployment do not know religion and ethnicity but rather affect all in the society. findings the following findings were made: 1.) the work observed that ethnicity and religion is an integral aspect of nigeria political system. this is due to the fact that all the political parties formed since first, second and the present fourth republic has ethnic and religious coloration 2.) the study observed that ethnicity and religion played significant role in the just concluded presidential elections in nigeria (2023). this position is strengthen by the voting pattern and the numbers of votes received by the candidates in the election. 3.) the work also observed that nigerians voted along ethnic and religious lines in the 2023 presidential elections. the labour party and of a christian faith received more votes from the eastern region where he hailed from and also garner more votes in christian dominated area in the northcentral. the other two leading candidates (pdp and apc) garner more votes from their ethnic base and muslim dominated states. 4.) the work observed that religion and ethnicity is a major political tool in the hands of political elites utilized to acquire political power. political elites in nigeria resort to religion and ethnicity in the period of electioneering to get the support of the people after electoral victory, they dump the people. conclusion in the western world, the effect of ethnicity is not as pronounced as it is in africa. in nigeria for example, the choice of who becomes the president of nigeria is often decided by a group, comprising the retired generals, traditional rulers and the captains of the nigerian industries. it is the preferred candidate of this group that subsequently emerge the winner in every election. therefore, one tends to wonder what is democratic about the nigerian democracy, where a few individuals can impose a candidate on a party, ignoring primaries. ideally, it is the party executive that should organize the primaries where the most deserving candidates within the party are elected to contest in the main elections. this is not the practice in the nigerian democracy. it thus appears that the nigerian electorate has no choice for now of who becomes the president of the federal republic of nigeria, so long ethnicity and religion remain the major considerations in the nigerian politics. this is why this paper suggests that the federal government adopts a model where the office of the president of nigeria will be rotated among the six geo-political zones as was earlier recommended by chief anthony enahoro. it could be recalled that chief enahoro evolved the ideology of the six geo-political zones to minimize the negative effects of the north and south dichotomy in the nigerian politics. the present political arrangement does not appear to have made room for a fair representation by the six geo-political zones in the office of the president of nigeria. in conclusion, religion, as in times past, will shape the build-up to and outcome of the 2023 presidential elections. the risk of states and geopolitical igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 72 zones voting along sectarian lines is high. this may, however, lead to heightened religious sensitivities that may escalate existing tensions and fragilities. but these can be averted if the winning candidate offers guarantees and accommodates the religious fears of other faiths. recommendations this paper states the following recommendations to help address the problem of religion and ethnicity in nigerian politics: 1.) there is need for representation and inclusion all ethnic and religious groups in the scheme of things in nigeria. ethnicity and religion create tensions in nigeria as different groups feel inadequately represented and express their displeasure through conflicting demands. the niger delta region is demanding for resource control; the minority is demanding equal treatment with other groups; some groups in southeast and southwest are asking for breakup of the federation. 2.) there is need for rotating political power: to implement power rotation in nigeria requires legislation that defines the modalities and deepens the benefits for democracy and national integration. 3.) there is need to implement secularism in nigeria constitution: compliance to the secularity principle in the constitution implies that every symbol that denotes religion in national institutions and provisions that relate to religion in the constitution other than the aforecited section 10 should be expunged. references adebayo, j. (2022, june 13). apc presidential primary, a sham. the will akintade (2022). all progressive congress, (2023). policy framework for renew hope for nigeria. anugwom, e., & oji, p. (2014). ethnic and religious crises in nigeria: a review of past and present dimensions. in m.i. okwueze (ed.). religion and societal development: contemporary nigerian perspectives. merit intil publication asika, n. (2006). essentials of research methodology. spring publisher. ayuba,c. and ismaila, a.d.(2018). identity conflicts as challenge to political stability in west africa. african journal of political science and international relations. benoit, g., jean-pierre, y., & lewis a. (2014). social choice in a representative democracy. american political science review. calhoun, c. (2017). nationalism in nigeria. open university press chiamogu, p.a., & chiamogu, p.u. (2019). ethnic and nepotic issues in nigeria: exploring the bane to public sector performance in the fourth republic. a paper presented at the international conference on social sciences in the 21st century 9 corrado, m. & daclon, i. (2014). us elections and war on terrorism – interview with professor massimo. teodori analisi difesa papers. durkheim, e. (1915). les formes élémentaires de la vie religieuse, le système totémique en australie, paris: f. alcan. translated as the elementary forms of the religious life, a study in religious sociology, joseph ward swain (trans.): george allen & unwin publication eme, n. e, ndu, e.c, ukoha, u, and ogali, d.m.(2011.eds). identity politics in nigeria: essays in honour of prof. kimse okoko. university of port harcourt press eme, n. e. (2011). in praise of ethnic identity. a theoretical and philosophical discussion. in e,n. ekekwe, e.c. ndu. u. ukoha. and d.m, ogali.eds. identity politics in nigeria: essays in honour of prof. kimse okoko. port harcourt. university of port harcourt press. farquharson, a. (2015). a theory of voting. yale university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 73 fukuyama, f. (2020). against identity politics. the andrea mitchel centre for the study of democracy. philadelphia. retrieved 16 november,2023. galloway, g. (2012). the philosophy of religion. urwich press. geertz, w. (2016), conceptions of religion in the cognitive science of religion in contemporary views on comparative religion. peter antes press. harald, h. (2016). the philosophy of religion. macmillan press. illich, p. (1957). dynamics of faith. harper and row publication. jega, a.m. (2000).identity transformation and the politics of identity under crisis and adjustment. in a. jega, identity transformation and identity politics under structural adjustment in nigeria. ed. stockholm: nordiska afrikainstitutet and centre for research and documentation kunle, s. (2022, may 29). the tribune (may, 2022). financial inducement of delegate in the pdp presidential primary. the tribune miall, e. (2013). the philosophy of religion. progressive publishers. mosca, g. (1939): the ruling class. mcgraw-hill press. mueller, d. (2016). constitutional democracy. .oxford university press musa, m. (2022, may, 30). pdp convention and economic transaction. vanguard newspaper norris, p & mattes, r (2003). 'does ethnicity determine support for the incumbent party?: the structural and attitudinal basis of partisan identification in 12 african nations. ksg working paper series. nwaorgu, o. c. (2014b). monopoly capitalism and the development tragedy (revised edition). amajov and coy, nig. nwaorgu, o.c. (2014a) inactive squares and the rumbling state. university of part harcourt inaugural lecture series no.110. choba: university of port harcourt press. oladiran, a. (2013). ethnic politics and democratic consolidation in nigeria. international journal of academic research in business and social sciences. vol.4 olayode, k.o. (2015). 'ethno-regional cleavages and voting behaviour in the 2015 general elections: issues and challenges for democratisation and nation building', paper presented at the national conference on the 2015 general elections in nigeria: the real issues', electoral institute. osai, o.j. (2006). reflections on the 1997 local government elections in nigeria. in o.j. osai, (ed.). nigerian research review (nrr). vol. 1, no 1. pareto, v. (1915). the mind and society: a treatise on general sociology. ny dover press. people's democratic party, (2023).policy framework; a covenant with nigerians punch newspaper (march 1, 2023). nigeria daily publication roberts, f. & obioha, e. (2005). 'electoral violence and role of the nigerian police', in g onu & a momon (eds) electoral and democratic consolidation in nigerian. proceedings of the 23rd annual conference of the nigerian political science association. roelof's, p. (2019). beyond programmatic versus patrimonial politics: contested conceptions of legitimate distribution in nigeria. selltiz, c., wrightman, d., and cook, g. (1977). research methods in social relations. oxford publication. thompson, d. (2014). just elections: creating a fair electoral process in the u.s. chicago: university of chicago press. turner, b. (2011). religion and modern society: citizenship, secularization and the state. cambridge university press. doi:10.1017/cbo9780511975660 ujo, a.a. (2008). 'the meaning and importance of voting in the process of democratic governance. nigerian electoral journal, vol. 2. ukoha,u.(2005). on the study of ethnicity in nigeria. crise working paper no. 12. pp.1-21. waziri, f. (2009). leadership and the challenges of good governance in nigeria. a paper igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 74 delivered at the professor ambrose alli annual lecture/awards on the 14th october, 2009. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 358 achievement of internal security and community peacebuilding in igboland through effective community policing anayo ossai, ph.d department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe, university, awka, nigeria. ab.ossai@unizik.edu.ng & innocent ogbonna nweke, ph.d department of religion and society chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu university,anambra state ekedaion@yahoo.com abstract the paper studies the conflict arising from the challenges of internal insecurity in igboland. the paper discovered that effective community policing if properly harnessed will reduce internal insecurity because, the perspectives of community policing are holistic one that intends to achieve human relations, and security of lives and properties which aim to maintain the sacredness of human life and promote community peacebuilding. the paper also argues that these perspectives of community policing if it’s in accordance with the socio-cultural and religious beliefs of the igbo people, the recent insecurity would be minimized. the work also found out that community policing is abreast with the african worldview, and to some degree, it ably curbed internal insecurity in igboland in the pre-colonial period. finally, the paper suggests that if community policing is developed towards community peacebuilding that focuses on the prevention of crime and evil and the maintenance of community consciousness, it will assist in controlling the present internal insecurity, fostering peace and well-being of the people in igboland. keywords: policing, igboland, security, nigeria, peacebuilding introduction a persistent challenge in nigeria today is the pursuit of internal security and community peace-building, which calls for the creation of practical methods to promote harmony and stability. in the distinctive social environment of igboland, the importance of social cohesiveness and group welfare has long been maintained as fundamental principles of social development. igboland in nigeria is a region, which is distinguished by a rich cultural legacy that upholds the ideals of social cohesion, group responsibility, and communal cooperation. igboland has prioritized the use of community policing as a critical tool for resolving security issues and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 359 advancing long-term peace in the past decades of its existence. this proactive approach to community prebuilding and internal security highlights the region's dedication to creating a safe environment that supports social progress and holistic development. an understanding of the historical and cultural foundations of igboland is necessary in order to appreciate the centrality of communal peace-building and internal security. nwankwo (2018) observe that igbo people are wellknown for their tenacity and vibrant culture, and have traditionally upheld community ideals that put the well of the group ahead of the interests of any one person. igbo society is woven together by complex kinship networks, group decision-making procedures, and a strong sense of social duty. according to echeruo (2005), this communal ethos, which is based on the idea of "igwebuike" (community effort), is a prime example of the value of cooperation and teamwork in overcoming obstacles and fostering social resilience. as a result, the historical background of igboland emphasizes the fundamental link between the goal of internal security and communal values, emphasizing the critical role that community police play in upholding these fundamental ideas. even with its deep cultural roots, igboland has faced numerous obstacles to internal security, making a comprehensive strategy to handle modern dangers necessary. a recurring worry is the increase in criminal activity, which has put the fabric of social harmony and stability in jeopardy. nwankwo (2016) states the activities of this danger include banditry, kidnapping, cultism, and communal conflicts. furthermore, the security environment has become more precarious due to the weakening of borders and the growing power of transnational criminal networks, which have created major barriers to the advancement and development of the region. in addition, social unrest has been exacerbated by the nation's growing urbanization and socioeconomic inequality, which emphasizes how urgent it is to put in place efficient systems to lessen these difficulties and guarantee the security and welfare of people in igboland. as a result of the intricate security dynamics, igboland needs to set out on a bold mission to strengthen community policing as the foundation of its security architecture. ikelegbe (2008) defines community policing as a cooperative strategy that unites law enforcement organizations with nearby communities to proactively address security issues. this definition strikes a deep harmony with the collective mindset of the people of igboland. otu (2019), writes that community policing aims to create a symbiotic igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 360 relationship between law enforcement and the community by promoting mutual trust, understanding, and shared accountability. this leads to increased collaboration and collective security. essentially, this strategy is in line with the ancient igbo concept of communal solidarity and signifies a paradigm change in the direction of a security framework that is more inclusive and participatory and that gives local communities the capacity to take an active role in their own safety and well-being. in addition, nwankwo (2016) notes that igboland's community policing system incorporates traditional conflict resolution techniques and indigenous knowledge systems into its operational structure, making it culturally sensitive. this culturally sensitive approach strengthens the region's resolve to protect its cultural legacy while tackling modern security issues by acknowledging the importance of traditional institutions and community leaders in resolving conflicts and promoting social cohesion. igboland's excellent community policing approach to internal security and community peace-building highlights the region's tenacity and dedication to fostering a safe and peaceful society. the adoption of community policing acts as a catalyst for enhancing social cohesion, building trust, and encouraging cooperative efforts toward lasting peace and development since it is based on the rich cultural legacy and communal values that characterize the igbo people. the integration of community policing is a testament to igboland's proactive and inclusive approach to security governance, highlighting the critical role of shared responsibility and collective action in creating a resilient and prosperous society, even as the region continues to face evolving security challenges within the framework of a rapidly changing socio-political landscape. theoretical framework this paper adopted structural conflict theory in its study. the theory proposes that the way in which a society is structured determines the method of its social institutions. what the theory states is that the architecture of any society is the outcome of how the society is structured. this means that the institutions of the society such as political, legal, religious, cultural, and the security of any society is based on the structure of the society. the theory identifies social problems like political, economic, injustice, poverty, inequality, and discrimination as sources of conflict. and that these conflicts occur as a result of how a society is structured. in explaining igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 361 the structural conflict theory, falati (2009) writes ‘’the main argument of the structural conflict theory is that conflict is built into the particulars ways societies are structured and organised.’’ (p.41). for example, karl marx writes that conflict in society is a result of the exploitation of the proletariats by the bourgeoisie. this means that the structure or the relationship between the capitalists (bourgeoisie) and the workers (proletariats) which is exploitative transpires to conflict or class conflict. in other words, the social conflict occurs because of how the bourgeoisie and proletariats are structured. if a conflict or social conflict is determined by how the society is structured, then solutions to such conflict are also determined by how the same society is structured. therefore, the way communities in igboland are structured requires that community policing which focuses on peacebuilding seems to be a panacea to the emerging security challenges that face the area. in igboland, the communities are homogeneous in nature, everyone exists for everyone, what concerns one concerns another, and the security of one is a concern for all, and the security of all matters for everyone. by this, security is better under community policing where its operation and administration do not have the bureaucratic nature of the nigerian police force, but the inspiration of peacebuilding and not necessarily punitive in nature. community policing according to community oriented policing services (2014), community policing can be defined as ‘’a philosophy that promotes organizational strategies that support the systematic use of partnership and problemsolving techniques to proactively address the immediate conditions that give rise to public safety issues such as crime, social disorder, and fear of crime.’’ (p.1). onovo (nd), writes ‘’faced with this more sophisticated and enterprising criminal threat, our emerging policing philosophy – community policing recognizes that the police alone do not have the necessary proactive and reactive capability and capacity to meet the challenges. thus, multi-agency and community collaboration – through partnership – become imperative.’’ (np). what onovo emphasized is the need for the involvement of the community in the challenges of the complicated and daring criminals that face society. he also said that the nigerian police lack the necessary provident and responsive to meet the challenges. the provident and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 362 responsive which the nigerian police lack includes, problem-solving oriented policing, expression of community consciousness, exemplary lifestyle, compassion, and shortage of manpower. from what onovo explained, one can understand that the way the police system is structured determines the internal security situation in igboland. the community oriented services understand community policing from two perspectives, partnership and problem-solving techniques. that is, partnership with the people for whom the services of policing are provided and secondly, using problem-solving techniques in the provision of policing. peak and barth (2009) opined thus: community policing goes beyond simply putting officers on foot or by bicycle or in neighbourhood stations. it redefines the role of the officers on the street, from crime fighters to problem solvers and neighbourhood ombudsman … this philosophy asks officers to break away from the binds of incident-driven policing and to seek proactive and creative resolutions to crime and disorder. the above piece pointed out that community policing is different from the police or the policing which the people are conversant with. it is not the type of police that have police commandry offices like the divisional offices, area commands, states police commands, police headquarters, and also many special units such as the state cids, special anti-robbery squad, anti-kidnapping, and many outstations. it is not also the type of police that stay on the roads with their vehicles, guns, and sticks. it is the policing that will add problem-solving to the function of the police and not just crime fighters. a community policing that would be foresighted and innovative in the prevention of crime. this therefore means that in order to achieve effective policing there is a need for the structuring of policing towards effective community policing that is proactive and problem-solving. carter (1996) made reference to trojanowicz and bucqeroux and defined community policing as ‘’a new philosophy of policing based on the concept that police officers and private citizens working together in creative ways can help solve contemporary community problems related to crime, fear of crime, social and physical disorder and neighborhood decay.’’ in further explanation by carter, the concept of community policing is that police create a good relationship with the law-abiding citizens or people of a community or a particular area, according to them the opportunity to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 363 have a greater voice in ensuring local priorities and assist them the efforts to improve the overall quality of life in their neighbourhoods. from the above writers, it is apparent that there is no generally accepted definition of community policing. it is defined differently by different people. every one of the writers defined it from their own perspectives or understanding. one can say that one environment influences one definition. against this backdrop, we, therefore, say that for igbo people, community policing is a system of thinking, behavior, reasoning, belief, philosophy, and practices aimed to enhance the safety of lives and properties that ensures peacebuilding that maintains the harmonious relationship between the people and supramundane. the community policing that this paper proposes is not the type of vigilante or the neighborhood watch who parades themselves with guns which they shoot anyhow as a means of begging for money and praises to politicians and other influential persons during functions such as traditional marriages, funerals, chieftaincy titles and even birthdays. rather, it is the type of policing our forefathers practiced in the traditional igbo societies. then they had no police force, prisons, courts, lawyers, magistrates, and judges, and yet they were still able to secure lives and properties, settle their disputes, live like brothers and sisters, and maintain peace in the communities. traditional approaches to community policing: before colonization, igboland had a decentralized system of administration, with each community functioning largely independently and by its own set of traditions and customs. in this context, societal norms and shared values that emphasized collective duty and accountability served as the cornerstones of community policing. one of the main duties of the elder was maintaining peace and resolving conflicts among their villages. these respected elders were well-versed in customary laws and were respected for their wisdom and impartiality in settling conflicts. another aspect of the igbo social structure was age-grade systems, essential for social control and conflict resolution. these age courses fostered a sense of community cohesion and solidarity by bringing individuals who belong to specific age groups together, which in turn assisted in maintaining peace and order in the communities. amongst their responsibilities include community policing, enforcing social mores and community rules to prevent minor disputes from developing into larger conflicts. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 364 the impact of traditional institutions on policing: in igboland, traditional institutions such as the council of elders, the umuanna, the umuada, the age grades, and the traditional rulers, were essential to upholding social order and enforcing the law. they were in charge of overseeing community affairs and enforcing rules as the highest authority. the elder council mediated and arbitrated disputes between rival factions and worked to bring about peace. it was composed of well-liked locals with a reputation for integrity and wisdom. their participation in the policy process was essential to creating a climate of peace and a sense of shared accountability. the traditional institutions' participation in enforcing the law and managing conflicts was crucial in laying the groundwork for community policing in igboland. these institutions were accountable for maintaining peace and order as well as the preservation of the cultural legacy and social ideals that served as the cornerstone of igbo society. with their profound understanding of the community's customs and traditions, they were able to dispense justice in an unbiased manner while adhering to prevailing societal norms. in addition, they functioned as keepers of communal wisdom, passing down indigenous knowledge and oral traditions that influenced community policing strategies from one generation to the next. their duties extended beyond the imposition of severe penalties; they also included the promotion of moral conduct, social concord, and harmonious interpersonal relationships within the community. the history of community policing in igboland is a reflection of the intricate relationships between indigenous governance structures, traditional beliefs, and local customs that shape the policing methods in igboland. the foundation for emphasizing intergroup harmony, group accountability, and the preservation of cultural legacies was established before colonization. as a result, law enforcement adopted a unique strategy that is still applicable in contemporary igbo society. understanding this historical background is essential to understanding the resilience and enduring worth of igboland's customary community policing. community policing as an approach to problem-solving in order to address the underlying causes of crime and improve community well-being, collaborative problem-solving is emphasized in community policing, which is at the forefront of improving security in society. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 365 examining the state of community policing today, this essay draws on current research to emphasize the field's focus on problem-solving and its changing influence on contemporary police techniques. community policing in the twenty-first century has developed into a dynamic ideology that takes into account the shifting nature of societal issues, rather than just being an organizational tactic. this means that community policing should shift from traditional crime control to a comprehensive, community-oriented problem-solving approach. goldstein (1987), writes that: ‘’the most transformative aspect of the community policing movement has been the shift from the reactive crime-response model to a more proactive problem-solving or problem-oriented policing” (pop) model. the problem-solving approach aims to prevent crime early by identifying and addressing specific issues associated with criminal activities. the problem-solving approach encourages creative problemsolving among law enforcement agencies, traditional rulers, and other traditional institutions and community members to identify the root causes of crimes and address them. this change is necessary in order to adjust to the intricate and varied problems that communities are currently facing. community policing's fundamental component is its dedication to problem-solving as an underlying principle. some scholars emphasized that problem-solving within community policing should not be separated but blended with the system that includes the relationship between the police and community members. to discover, analyze, and resolve issues that affect the community, this integrated approach emphasizes the value of ongoing participation and teamwork. community members' involvement in problem identification is a key component of modern community policing. community efforts are not just to be said; it is actually worked and aimed at problem-solving techniques. this cooperative approach encourages a sense of collaborative accountability in resolving challenges and recognizes that community members have distinct insights into local problems. igboland's community policing methodology, which focuses on problemsolving, is strongly ingrained in the local culture. for the igbo people, addressing issues at their roots is the best method to solve problems permanently. community policing problem-solving efforts are built upon this cultural affinity for resolving difficulties at their foundation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 366 in igboland, a key component of community policing is community involvement in problem identification. information provided implies that in igboland, the community actively participates in recognizing problems and helping to find solutions, rather than merely depending on outside law enforcement. it seems that this strategy has its roots in the community's customary democratic decision-making procedures. the assessment of community policing effectiveness in igboland is based on customary norms. a larger, more comprehensive understanding of societal advancement is consistent with the notion that community success is linked not only to decreased crime but also to peace and general wellbeing. a collective attitude to achievement is suggested by the allusion to "umunna," the igbo idea of the extended family, which emphasizes connectivity and mutual assistance among members. it symbolizes the knowledge that a community's well-being goes beyond numbers or particular metrics and includes the general welfare of its members. this strategy for achievement emphasizes the value of interpersonal connections, social cohesiveness, and the general standard of living in a society. the role of technology in advancing community policing community policing has evolved significantly in recent years, with technology playing a pivotal role in enhancing law enforcement's ability to connect with and serve local communities. the ways in which technology assists in community policing, examining various tools and strategies that foster collaboration and communication between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve are numerous. surveillance technologies: one crucial aspect of community policing involves ensuring public safety through surveillance technologies. closedcircuit television (cctv) and cameras enable law enforcement and community people to monitor public spaces actively. according to smith (2019), "surveillance technologies act as force multipliers, allowing law enforcement to extend their reach and enhance situational awareness in communities." predictive policing algorithms (ppas): in modern-day policing, ppas can be referred to as the use of technologies in data science and artificial intelligence to foretell threats and propound remedies. technology also aids in proactive crime prevention through the use of predictive policing algorithms. these algorithms analyze historical crime data to identify igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 367 potential hotspots and allocate resources accordingly. as highlighted by williams (2021), "predictive policing technologies enable law enforcement to allocate resources more efficiently, addressing potential issues before they escalate." in fact, in the dynamic cultural landscape of igboland, integrating technology into community policing practices is instrumental in fostering safer environments and stronger bonds between law enforcement and local communities. drawing insights from specific tools and strategies implemented in the region, technology improves community policing in igboland. social media engagement: the rise of social media platforms has transformed the way law enforcement interacts with the community. by actively engaging with the public through platforms like twitter, facebook, whatsapp, and instagram, the nigerian police can disseminate information, address concerns, and build trust. in the words of brown (2020), "social media has become a powerful tool for community policing, providing a direct line of communication between law enforcement and the public." also, okoli (2020), highlighted that "platforms like facebook and whatsapp are utilized to share safety tips, disseminate information, and address community concerns, fostering a sense of community and shared responsibility." the introduction of community policing mobile applications tailored to the cultural context of igboland has transformed the way residents interact with law enforcement. nwosu (2021) notes, "mobile apps designed for igboland facilitate direct communication between citizens and police, enabling prompt reporting of incidents and creating a channel for collaborative problem-solving." community policing apps: the development of mobile applications designed for community policing facilitates direct communication between residents and law enforcement. these apps often include features such as anonymous tip reporting, crime mapping, and community event notifications. according to garcia (2018), "community policing apps empower residents to actively participate in enhancing public safety, fostering a sense of shared responsibility." smart surveillance solutions: in igboland, the deployment of smart surveillance technologies has significantly enhanced the effectiveness of community policing efforts. according to okafor (2022), "smart cctv igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 368 systems allow for real-time monitoring of public spaces, aiding law enforcement in proactive crime prevention and rapid response to incidents." data-driven policing strategies: technology provides a data-driven approach to problem-solving, it allows a more targeted response with pieces of evidence when fighting insecurity in the community. this point where community safety and information collide is a prime example of how flexible the strategy is to meet the needs of the digital era. in igboland, with law enforcement leveraging data to identify crime trends and allocate resources effectively, technology-driven data analysis has become integral to policing, according to anya (2019), "data-driven policing strategies enable law enforcement in igboland to make informed decisions, ensuring a targeted and efficient response to emerging security challenges." in conclusion, technology serves as a cornerstone in the advancement of community policing, providing law enforcement agencies with tools to enhance surveillance, engage with the community through social media, implement predictive policing strategies, and facilitate direct communication through mobile applications. as society continues to evolve, it is imperative for law enforcement to leverage technological advancements responsibly, ensuring that community policing remains a collaborative and transparent effort between law enforcement and the communities they serve. impact of trust in community policing in the current environment, developing trust continues to be essential to the success of community policing. in order to build trust in igboland, it must continue to uphold these cultural values and integrate them into daily interactions. it includes a persistent commitment to encouraging transparency, efficient communication, and a true commitment to the community's well-being rather than simply dealing with urgent problems. the community fabric's resilience and cohesion are enhanced by this procedure, which is deeply embedded in igbo cultural norms. taking this into consideration, modern community police tactics place a high value on transparent communication and community involvement as necessary components of building and preserving confidence. the modern community security approach acknowledges the necessity of continuously assessing and modifying tactics. this attitude implies that community people should continue to take an open and adaptable igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 369 approach. in reaction to the shifting dynamics and new requirements of the community, they must be prepared to modify and adapt their attempts and methods. this calls for a dedication to continuous communication with the community, frequent data gathering and analysis, and the readiness to adapt as needed. by continuously assessing their approach and making adjustments based on the success of adopted strategies, law enforcement organizations are guaranteed to be responsive and adaptable. in this instance, being proactive, being attentive, and demonstrating accountability are all critical to establishing trust. in order to successfully tackle it, police personnel must actively attempt to understand the interests and concerns of the local populace, participate in local events, and incorporate themselves into the community. earning and preserving confidence also heavily depends on law enforcement activities being transparent and communicating consistently. the importance of trust in community policing cannot be emphasized, particularly in igboland where shared values and community relationships are very significant. a sense of collaboration and respect for one another develops when the community is engaged, heard, and respected in the policing process, creating a more secure and harmonious society. the development of trust is greatly aided by this cultural competency, which enables law enforcement to address the complex dynamics of local communities with humility and understanding. and by building this trust, the effectiveness of community policing is achievable. the impact of trust in community policing the level of trust that exists among law enforcement and the community is a crucial component in determining the success of community policing. according to tyler and huo (2002), "the legitimacy and efficacy of policing strategies are contingent upon the presence of trust between the police and the community." the absence of trust can impede the beneficial development of relationships as the community may view police efforts as oppressive or invasive. in order to create and preserve trust in the community, effective communication is essential. skogan and frydl (2004), note that "open communication channels between police and residents foster a sense of transparency, reducing suspicion and fostering trust," to achieve this, there is a need to develop communication tactics that support the development of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 370 trust including neighborhood outreach programs, town hall meetings on a regular basis, and community forums. another crucial component in building trust is accountability. according to sherman (2015), "police agencies must demonstrate accountability for their actions to earn and maintain the trust of the community." the community's confidence in the impartiality and integrity of law enforcement is largely influenced by timely disciplinary actions, transparent investigations into wrongdoing, and adherence to ethical norms. instead of focusing on reactive law enforcement, community policing prioritizes proactive problem-solving. in this situation, trust promotes collaboration in recognizing and resolving communal problems. according to rosenbaum and lurigio (1994), "trust enables residents to collaborate with the police in solving problems, leading to more effective crime prevention and improved quality of life." there are obstacles to community policing trust, notwithstanding its significance. the foundation of trust can be undermined by institutional problems, historical conflicts, and incidents of police wrongdoing. according to skolnick and fyfe (1993), "past negative experiences can linger in the community's collective memory, making it challenging for police to regain trust." to establish trust, it is imperative to acknowledge historical wrongdoing and put improvements into place. to sum up, trust is a critical element of effective community policing. to build and preserve trust, police enforcement and the community must practice effective communication, accountability, proactive problemsolving, and acknowledgment of past wrongs. research indicates that creating and maintaining trust between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve is a continuous process that calls for commitment and cooperation. trust is the cornerstone of social relationships in igboland, where it is ingrained in the cultural fabric. according to ogbuagu (2010), "trust is a central tenet of igbo society, and it extends to relationships with institutions such as the police." the success of community policing projects in igboland depends on acknowledging and honoring this cultural focus on trust. again, active community involvement in policing activities is promoted by trust. according to achara (2019), "in igboland, where community bonds are strong, trust motivates individuals to actively collaborate with the police in crime prevention and resolution." the collaborative approach igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 371 emphasizes shared responsibility for the community's well-being, and it's in line with the igboland communal culture. developing confidence in the igbo community necessitates effective communication above all other factors. in the words of ezeani (2018), "open dialogue and community engagement are key elements in building trust between the police and the people in igboland." understanding and collaboration are greatly enhanced by gatherings of communities, local languages, and conventional communication methods. in igboland, developing trust requires both cultural sensitivity and accountability. according to okafor (2015), "police officers must be culturally aware and respectful of traditional norms to gain and maintain the trust of the community." in addition, the police force's accountability practices, such as swiftly resolving complaints, meet the igbo people's traditional expectations of justice and fairness. as cultural norms have a significant impact on social interactions in igboland, trust is essential to effective community policing. establishing and preserving trust between the police and the community depends on effective communication, cultural sensitivity, accountability, and community participation. the efficacy of community policing in igboland can be improved by recognizing obstacles and capitalizing on cultural assets. challenges of community policing a proactive approach to law enforcement, community policing aims to strengthen the bonds between police and the communities they serve. the adoption of this strategy presents a number of obstacles even though it has already been widely acknowledged as a successful way of improving internal security. these difficulties may hamper the implementation and upkeep of community-policing initiatives. resource restrictions: skogan & hartnett (1997) note that allocating enough staff and financial resources to support community policing initiatives may provide difficulties for police departments. this is because community policing is mostly dependent on interacting with the community and establishing connections, both of which need a lot of resources. discussing the challenges that face community policing in igboland, ikelegbe, (2001), writes that community policing in igboland may encounter difficulties due to socioeconomic discrepancies. community members may find it difficult to support and actively participate in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 372 community policing initiatives due to high levels of poverty and scarce resources. some members of the communities in igboland find it difficult to make up the financial obligations required of them to make effective community policing. some critics contend that a greater dependence on technology can unintentionally result in excessive police in some regions. furthermore, the complete execution of initiatives aimed at solving problems may be restricted by resource limitations. recognizing these issues and working toward solutions that balance creativity, equity, and resource efficiency are crucial. limited infrastructure and education/training: nnadozie, (2019), writes that in certain areas of igboland, there can be issues with the region's inadequate communication and transportation infrastructure. this problem of infrastructure can restrict the ability of law enforcement personnel and the community members in charge of security to move around and respond to situations, which could impede the successful application of community policing tactics, also to effectively implement community policing, law enforcement personnel must get specific training in conflict resolution, communication, and community involvement. according to wycoff and skogan (1986), officers may find it more difficult to successfully execute community policing tactics if they do not have access to exhaustive training programs. fear and mistrust in the community: according to the report of the bureau of justice assistance (2013), a key component of community policing is fostering trust between the police and the public, but doing so can be extremely difficult when there is already a sense of mistrust. this mistrust most often occurs because of previous misconduct, incidences of police abuse, or institutionalized prejudices. mistrust can also be a result of cultural and religious differences. for instance in nigeria, there are different subgroups with different cultures and languages which sometimes lead to mistrust and misunderstanding. onyeoziri (2017), writes that due to cultural differences that might affect how communities view and interact with law enforcement, this variety may make it difficult to achieve consistency in community policing techniques. in igboland, traditional african religions, islamic, and christianity coexist in some communities, and according to odoemene (2011), these religious differences have the power to influence how the members of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 373 community view law enforcement and how willingly they engage with collaborative policing initiatives. historical tension can also cause mistrust. for example, in igboland, the nigerian civil war has remained one of the major causes of historical tensions in the area. until recently majority of the people in igboland who fought the war felt unsafe with people from northern nigeria. according to nkwocha (2013), the collaboration and efficacy of community policing initiatives can be affected by these kinds of lingering historical concerns that affect the interaction between law enforcement agencies and communities. in igboland and even other places in nigeria, trust may be undermined by past incidents and occurrences of police corruption, which is consistent with worldwide trends. according to udechukwu (2021), "acknowledging past grievances and incorporating community input in policing strategies are vital steps in rebuilding and sustaining trust." political interference: the success of community policing efforts can be affected by the state of politics. maguire & king, (2004), remark that the continuity and durability of community policing initiatives may be impacted by changes in law enforcement agencies' priorities as a result of changes in political leadership or policy agendas. most often change in government results in a change in the leadership of security institutions leadership. another problem of political interference is how to manage the customary political structures. for instance, in igboland, there is a wellestablished customary political structure, in which traditional leaders hold important positions in local affairs. so, to ensure the success of community policing, there is a need for integration with the established traditional institutions without necessarily distorting the structure, and this requires cautious navigation and teamwork by the police and community. summary in igboland, proactive problem-solving methods that have become embedded in the local way of life are essential components of effective community policing. in order to successfully address challenges, it places a strong emphasis on cooperation, dialogue, and the development of trust between law enforcement and the community. this establishment of solid ties between police officers and the community is one important factor; and mutual consciousness of another person's desires and concerns, as well as frequent engagement, are also essential for this. police development of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 374 relationships with the public and learning important information about local problems through community engagement programs like town hall meetings, neighborhood watch programs, and cultural events are also vital. in this perspective, strategies for solving problems are essential. officers should work together with community people to identify underlying issues that are creating crime or unrest, as opposed to only responding to occurrences. approaches like problem-oriented policing, gathering extensive data on crime trends, and working with locals to provide customized solutions are needed. community-driven initiatives may be used to address underlying issues including drug usage, unemployment, and resource scarcity. moreover, sensitivity to cultural differences and knowledge of igboland's traditional customs ought to be stressed in officer training courses especially those to serve in igboland. in order to reduce miscommunications and confrontations, this cultural competency promotes improved police-diverse community cooperation and communication. mechanisms for oversight and input are put in place to guarantee accountability and openness. community trust and accountability are upheld through regular reviews, platforms for community feedback, and channels for submitting complaints or issues with police behavior. in general, igboland's successful community policing integrates cultural sensitivity, proactive problem-solving, community involvement, and responsibility to build a more secure and united society. conclusion reflecting on the structural conflict theory, igbolaind has a substantial opportunity to enhance internal security through restructuring community policing. more effective and responsive security measures can be achieved through strengthening community-police cooperation and empowering local law enforcement authorities. restructuring the community in a way that is sensitive to the unique requirements of the community can improve comprehension, encourage proactive crime prevention tactics, and strengthen trust. additionally, it helps promote cultural sensitivity, making sure that the values and traditions of igboland are reflected in police operations. ultimately, by bringing communities and law enforcement to collaborate in a partnership to confront crime and promote peace, such restructuring encompasses great promise for creating a safer, more secure environment. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 375 community policing represents the changing face of law enforcement in reaction to the intricate issues that communities confront. it is a modern approach to problem-solving. community policing is still an innovative and flexible tactic, with a focus on cooperation, technology integration, and real-time assessment. community policing continues to be an essential foundation for creating safer, more resilient communities and creating long-lasting relationships between the public and law enforcement as it works through the difficulties of the contemporary world. in summary, community policing in igboland is a problem-solving strategy that successfully combines traditional values and modern tactics. community policing, rooted in igbo cultural ethos, is a dynamic and culturally aware method for resolving issues and promoting security. community policing, which ensures the safety and well-being of communities while honoring and conserving their distinctive cultural heritage, is a testament to the adaptation of policing methods as it negotiates the cultural intricacies of igboland. reference achara, j.u. (2019). nigerian police: the difficulty of community collaboration. journal of sociology and social work. 7(1), 1–13. aniche, e.i. (2015). function of traditional rulers in enugu state. a case study for conflict prevention and mediation. journal of governance and public administration, 5(1),109. anya, u. (2019). "data-driven policing in igboland: trends and implications." journal of security studies, 25(1), 67-84. basden, g. t. (1982). among the ibos of nigeria. lagos. university. brown, a. (2020). the impact of social media on community policing. journal of community safety, 18(3), 45-63. echeruo, m.n. (2005). igbo culture and the christian mission: a revaluation of the mission contact with igbo culture and religion. csw. ekechi, f. k. (1989). an examination of the niger delta: igboland's rivalries and missionary endeavors between 1857 and 1914. african studies review, 32(2), 31–73. ezeani (2018), e. o. nigerian experience with community policing and national security. social sciences journal, 56(2), 125–136. falati, s.a. (2009). theories of conflict. in s. g. best (edt). introduction to peace and conflict studies in west africa. ibadan: spectrum (pp. 35-57). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 376 frydl, k., and w. skogan (2004). the evidence for equitable and effective policing. press of the national academies. fyfe, j. j., and skolnick, j. h. (1993). police abuse of excessive force: above the law? press free. garcia, s., et al. (2018). "community policing in the digital age: a case study of mobile applications." journal of police-community relations, 12(1), 78-95. goldstein. h. (2987). towards community-oriented policing: basic requirements and threshold question. crime and delinquency. vol.33, no 6. huo, y. j. and tyler, t. r. (2002). encourage public cooperation with the police and courts by fostering trust in the law. russell sage foundation. ikelegbe, a. (2008). community policing and the issues of security governance in nigeria. african security review, 17(2), 32–44. ikelegbe, a. (2001). the economy of conflict in the oil-rich niger delta region of nigeria. nordic journal of african studies. 10(3), 345–366. justice assistance bureau (2013). what is community policing? taken from police-p157-pub.pdf at https://ric-zai-inc.com/publications. king, w. r., and e. r. maguire (2004). law enforcement and the politics of upholding order. key readings in policing, pp. 146-159. harper & row. lurigio, a. j., and d. p. rosenbaum (1994). assessing the effect of law enforcement on community life. 288–308 in understanding and preventing violence. sprout. nkwocha, e. e. (2013). a study of south-east nigeria on ethnoreligious conflicts and democratic consolidation in nigeria. african studies and development journal, 5(5), pp. 118–131. nnadozie, e.i.(2019). the consequences of infrastructure development on rural development in southeast nigeria. international journal of natural resources & environmental sciences, 18(2), 17–28. nwankwo, a. o. (1972). the traditional society and change in igboland. africa: journal of the international african institute 42(4), 2003, 355-366. nwankwo, o. (2018). examining the traditional political structures of the igbo people in pre-colonial africa. macmillan palgrave. nwankwo, o. (2016). security and sustainable peace in nigeria: the situation of the igbo people. african renaissance. 13(3), 85-102. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 377 nwosu, a., et al. (2021). enhancing community policing through mobile technology: a case study in igboland." international journal of african security studies, 28(3), 112-130. odoemene, a. (2011). nigerian conflict resolution and socio-cultural values. journal of sustainable development, 4(1). ogbuagu, c. f. (2010). igbo land: conventional organizations and contemporary law enforcement. african journal of justice studies and criminology, 4(1), 18–30. okafor, c. (2022). "smart surveillance for safer communities: a case study in igboland. journal of igbo studies, 15(2), 45-62. okafor (2015). f. o. the historical development, organizational structure, and role of traditional authorities in nigerian policing. african security review, 24(1), 52–68. okoli, e. (2020). "social media and community policing in igboland: a practical approach. journal of african police studies, 17(4), 88-105. okoli, f. c. (1989). social transformation and the rise of the igbo middle class. canadian journal of african studies, revue canadienne des études africaines, 23(2), 285-307. okoro, j.o. (2007). nigerian experience with language and communication in multilingual environments. social sciences journal, 14(2), pp. 115–121. onyeoziri, o. (2017). socio-cultural factors influencing crime and criminality in nigeria: implications for social studies education. humanities and social science invention international journal, 6(6), 44– 49. ottenberg, s. (1956). igbo laws and customs. africa: international african institute journal. 26(3), 227–248. otu, i. (2019). community policing and public security: an empirical examination of the nigerian experience. journal of public administration and governance. 9(3), 71–87. sherman, l.w. (2015). the development of targeting, testing, and tracking in evidence-based policing. 355–377 in crime and justice, 44(1). skogan and hartnett (1997). chicago style community policing. oxford university. smith, j. (2019). advancements in surveillance technologies for community policing. journal of law enforcement technology, 45(2), 112-129. smith r. (2010). anthropological perspectives on the igboland culture. african studies review, 53(1): 83-102. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 378 udechukwu, c.i. (2021). a case study of a few igboland communities on trust and community policing. international african journal. williams, m. (2021). predictive policing: leveraging technology for proactive law enforcement. international journal of criminal justice, 28(4), 221-240. wycoff, m. a., and skogan, w. g. (1986). madison's community policing: excellence from the inside out. national institute of justice, u.s. department of justice. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol 9 no.1, 2023 www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/igwebuikejournals.php a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 67 communication (language) and the place of human values in african sustainable development: an igwebuike perspective anthony yashim nkom department of mass communication university of benin, edo state tonynkom@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.27610.21449 abstract the most common and complex word that the human being has always encountered is communication; and, this is because communication is everything and all that exist in human life and endeavour. it is an apparent answer to the painful divisions between self and other, private and public, and inner thought and outer world. communication as an activity evolves and not just around the human person; but, around the world in which the human person lives; it is a wide range of different behaviours involved in the dissemination of information. it is these complexities of what communication is that has led to other complexities in the world in which we find ourselves. the thesis of this paper understands the dynamics of communication as a process; and does not intend to proffer solution to the problems of communication as an activity; but, the paper posits that language as a medium of communication has a very strong influence on human values especially in promoting african human values that are fast going into extinct in the face of globalization. the paper argues further that african languages have a very strong foundation to help restore and retain human values as that are ontologically african. hence, this is highly reflected in the igwebuike philosophical enterprise which offers the basis for restoring and retaining our african human values. the paper adopts a qualitative research method through multidisciplinary engagement; and, adopting a theoretical framework from an igwebuike perspective is to help contribute to the sustainable development of a value system in africa. keywords: language, communication, human values, igwebuike, sustainable development communication and the place of human values in african sustainable development: an igwebuike perspective 68 introduction language is communication and communication is language; just as communication evolves so does language evolves because they go hand in hand. the only difference is that communication is an aspect or a part of language; and communication is wider in scope than language. to speak of language is invariably to speak of communication; but, to speak of communication does not transcend into language. john peter argues the difficulty of defining communication and this is because of the fact that communication is a both a universal phenomenon (because everyone communicates) and a specific discipline of institutional academic study1. it is not just a specific discipline; but, it encompasses all disciplines. as such, it is very difficult to undermine the role communication plays in every facet of human life and existence; and, this include human values which is an integral part of the formation that constitute human life and existence. human values flows from what is communicated; and it fashions out how life should be lived. to neglect communicate from human values and consider them incompatible and uncorrelated to each other is to undermine communication and languages which are vehicles to which human values can be built. language contributes to the growth of human values; it is language that makes us human through the mastery of a complex system of words and complex sentences. more so, language helps us to express our feelings and thoughts – this is unique to our species because it is a way to express unique ideas and customs within different cultures and societies. our african societies have constantly re-echoed the need for language retention, restoration and retaining what is peculiar to our languages in africa; but, unfortunately there is a fast relinquishing and degeneration of african languages; and, this is affecting the african values that are expected to build a value system in africa towards the realization of an african sustainable development (asd). this paper posits that there are various indices and determinant factor for the realization of sustainable development in africa; but, through the vehicle of language, it helps in establishing african human values and would help to fast tract development that is sustainable. hence, the paper further posits and establishes that communication is a vital tool in improving our african human values (ahv). this paper explores and adopts a qualitative research framework to underscore the igwebuike perspective on the promotion of african human values in sustaining africa‖s development through language and communication. 1 peters j.d institutional sources of intellectual poverty in communication research communication research. 13(4) p.527 anthony yashim nkom 69 conceptual clarification communication the word communication comes from the latin word communicare meaning ‗to share‘. communication may be defined as the giving, receiving or exchange of information, opinions or ideas by writing through speech or visual means or any combination of the three so that the material communicated is completely understood by everyone concerned. martha onjewu defines ‗communication as the interaction between two parties using verbal or non-verbal symbols to achieve set personal or organizational goals‘2. this implies transferring thoughts, information, emotions and ideas through gestures, voice, symbols, signs and expressions from one person to another. therefore it is the act of developing meaning among entities or groups through the use of sufficiently mutually understood signs, symbols, and semiotic conventions. in the field of mass communication, communication encompasses a lot; and, hence this paper shall not dwell extensively of the various models or types of communication; but, it shall rather discuss communication in every ramifications (be it verbal or non-verbal) as a means or process of applying communication principles especially through symbols, spoken languages within a particular culture (african culture) and to detect how values are expressed in communication, and to correlate those african human values with attitudes or behaviors3. through our african languages we communicate with one another and express our thoughts and feelings as well as using our african symbols to communicate values that are peculiar to africans. it is within this context that communication is defined for the purpose of this research paper. sustainable development the term ―sustainable development‖ is considered very much appropriate when defining development. it is very much safe to define what development is within the context of sustainable development so has not to get in a complex and cumbersome academic exercise that is characterized with the definition of ―development‖. hence, sustainable development is a compound notion that consists of two separable concepts; the concept ―sustainable‖ and ―development‖ to depict a process of realizing a goal that is progressive and to sustain such goals. according to anslem jimoh ‗the two separable concepts can be considered as process notions in the sense that they are not projects to be completed but an on-going exercises or processes that involve creating and recreating, as there is always 2 onjewu a.m essential english for all students. kaduna, nigeria: sunjo a.j. global links publishers, 2020 pg 91 3 fleischmann r.k information and human values (new york: springer publications, 2014) p. 51 communication and the place of human values in african sustainable development: an igwebuike perspective 70 room and need to improve on whatever is on ground‘4. sustainable development can be defined as development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs5. it is very much important to note that the term ―sustainable development‖ has been criticized, nevertheless, the term has evolved over time and it is still evolving. this paper shall restrict its definition to anslem jimoh and the definition as projected by unesco. human values the origin of the term value comes from the latin word valere which means ―to be of worth‖. the concise oxford dictionary defines the term value as the ―worth, desirability or utility of a thing‖6. the term value itself is very complex and abstract; and most times difficult to define for they are as comprehensive in a nature as our human life. according to john dewey, ‗value means primarily, to price, to esteem, to appraise, to estimate. it means the act of cherishing something holding it clear and also, the act of passing judgment upon the nature and amount of its value as compared with something else‘7. values are defined as something which are desirable and worthy of esteem for their own sake; human values are defined as those values which help man to live in harmony with the world; and, are the virtues that guide us to take into account the human element when we interact with other human beings. human values are, for example, respect, acceptance, consideration, appreciation, listening, openness, affection, empathy and love towards other human beings8. human values are universally accepted and ontological to human nature as a means of approaching life essentially doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong. as such, making right decisions helps in creating a society with a value system. igwebuike the proponent and advocate of igwebuike philosophy is ikechukwu kanu anthony which he considers to be an african principle of living life captured not basically in an igbo world9. nonetheless, the word igwebuike is derived from an igbo word; and, it is an expression of the combination of three igbo words. it can be understood as a word or a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence it is written as igwe, bu, 4 jimoh a. philosophy and development in an unpublished works submitted for publication in a book chapter on gotanism. as of the time this paper is been written the works of jimoh a had gone to press. as such, referencing this paper be considered in view of when the paper is published. 5 sustainable development unesco. 3rd august, 2015. retrieved 6th june, 2022 6 https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/essay/values/human-values-meaning-nature-andtypes/86964. retrieved online 6th june, 2022 7 https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/essay/values/human-values-meaning-nature-andtypes/86964. retrieved online 6th june, 2022 8 https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/essay/values/human-values-meaning-nature-andtypes/86964. retrived online 6th june, 2022 9 kanu i.a on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. in a journal of religion and human relations, vol 11 no.1 2019 p.160 https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/essay/values/human-values-meaning-nature-and-types/86964 https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/essay/values/human-values-meaning-nature-and-types/86964 https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/essay/values/human-values-meaning-nature-and-types/86964 https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/essay/values/human-values-meaning-nature-and-types/86964 https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/essay/values/human-values-meaning-nature-and-types/86964 https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/essay/values/human-values-meaning-nature-and-types/86964 anthony yashim nkom 71 ike, with the component word s enjoying some independence in terms of space. literally, igwe is a noun which means number or multitude, usually a large number or population. the number or population in perspective is entities with ontological identities and significance; however, it is part of an existential order in which every entity is in relation to the other. bu is a verb, which means is, ike is a noun, which means strength or power. igwe, bu and ike put together means ―number is strength‖ or ―number is power‖. however, beyond the literal sense of igwebuike, it means otu obi (one heart and one soul) – cor unm et anima una10. according to ikechukwu anthony kanu: the principles of igwebuike philosophy refers to the values or framework that shapes igwebuike philosophy. these principles are the values or frameworks on which philosophy on which philosophy stands. while these principles guide igwebuike philosophy, it also justifies igwebuike philosophy. these principles include: the principle of identity, the principle of contrariety, the principle of hierarchy and the principle of unity11 the implication of this principle as expressed in the thought of ikechukwu anthony kanu brings to bare that igwebuike is a propeller and a driver for the transmission of human values, norms and customs of the igbo people12. issues and problems in communication (language) and sustainable development communication is vital for establishing agreements because some facts and information cannot be given verbally, translation must play the critical role of being the most important communication medium, with a language translator assuring the message‖s quality and correctness. communication in itself has a long issues of problems as far as understanding, encoding and decoding a message is concern. this difficulty is even worsening in an environment where there is multiplicity of languages. the multiplicity of languages is a major dividing factor in societies and countries all over the world; and this impedes on so many aspect on that which can lead to sustainable development. according to francis onyeugwuetom chukwudi njoku, the propeller of what constitutes a state is shared ancestry and cultural attitudes and by extension language13. this implies that a 10 kanu anthony, i igwebuike: an african complementarity philosophical framework (united states of america: igwebuike research institute:2020) p. 3 11 kanu i. a on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. in a journal of religion and human relations 2019 p. 165 12 dyikuk j.j a glance at traditional modes of communication through the lens of liturgical inculturation: perspective from igwebuike and shikrot traditions. in a journal of african studies and sustainable development, vol. 3 no.8. (a publication of the association for the promotion of african studies:2020) p.17 13 njoku foc introduction to social and political philosophy (enugu: university of nigeria press, 2019) p. 72 communication and the place of human values in african sustainable development: an igwebuike perspective 72 common understanding and shared language can advance the progress of a nation; but, the problem arises in the fact that multiplicity of languages hinders communication and spread of education, and therefore aggravates international confusion, misunderstanding, mutual fear, and suspicion and trust deficit. language differences can affect sustainable development when a country and its members have poor communication amongst members of different languages; and, amongst communities and the government. it can lead not only to mistrust and to political tension, but also to poor levels of illiteracy and problems in the judiciary when different languages may be used and transcripts required in order for a case to be heard14. language as an aspect of communication opens an individual to the world of a particular culture; as such, a language barrier is any linguistic limitation that produces confusion or limits comprehension of the immediate society, culture and environment one find themselves. evan bradley enhances this discourse thus: not only does language bridge several scientific disciplines – natural and social – but linguistics also has roots in the humanities, and the connection between language and culture is undeniable. modern scientific linguistics contributes to this tradition by employing its tools and techniques to describe and document linguistic diversity. this diversity includes not only the standardized norms of languages, but the many dialects and variations that are spoken in different regions and subcultures, signed languages, and the languages of peoples whose languages and cultures are in danger of extinction15. in the thoughts of marielle zagada, language isn‖t just a way to communicate; it‖s a component of culture that makes it unique and specific. when language and culture are discussed, the phrase ‗language is culture and culture is language‘ is often mentioned because the two are always intertwined. this means that the language you speak reflects what your values and beliefs are16. m.i nwoko agrees to this fact as he outlines major characteristics of nation as ‗a community of people, with common natural sentiments of loyalty and identity, common ethnic heritage, common territory, future, history and sovereignty not limited to specific purposes17. it is language that connects this community of people; with common ethnic 14 the encyclopedia of world problems & human potentials http://encyclopedia.uia.org/en/ problem/137300 retrieved online 14th july, 2022 15 15 bradley e because language is essential to human interaction, 2017 https://www.whysocial science.com/blog/2017/12/5/because-language-is-essential-to-human-interaction retrieved online 20th july, 2022 16 zagada m more than words: how language affects the way we think in an online article published in may ,13th 2020 https://www.gofluent.com/blog/how-language-affects-the-way-we-think/ retrieved online 20th july, 2022 17 nwoko mi, basic world political theories, 5 anthony yashim nkom 73 heritage and common territory that identifies a people to who they are. justin dyikuk underscores african traditional communication as the basis in which africans can communicate effectively despite the emergence of information communication technology (ict) which has almost scuttle the african traditional media anchored in the way and manner cultures disseminate information either through verbal and non-verbal means as subscribed in songs, dance, proverbs, drama, folklore etc18. to underscore african traditional communication is to underscore languages spoken by africans through whatever mode of communication; it is difficult to extricate language from traditional media as long as such language does not fundamentally constitute what defines a people. for example, the town crier in a local settling is the medium and the voice of communicating to the people in which messages are passed and information are gotten through the language of the people. in turn, the people understands the intention of what is communicated; messages are hardly misrepresented and misinformed because the language of communication provides the matrix of understanding for effective communication; and, this reduces mutual suspicion, tensions, and moral crisis. nigeria is one of the countries where there is mutual suspicion amongst ethnic groups as well as political tensions due to the different languages spoken amongst members of the same state; this political tensions and mutual suspicion has extended to religious intolerance to the point that various religious interpretation of what constitutes human values and what can be obtained as human values has led to man‖s inhumanity to man. diverse languages and multiple communication models and medium ought to add spice in the society; unfortunately, the current situation really suggests that so much represents what ought to be a gift than what is obtainable as a disaster to human values. most children who speak their languages fluently understand human values more than those who have lost touch their languages. this is because languages have their mode that shapes the developmental process of the human person through which they becomes agents of transformation of culture. it is in this regard that human behaviors are transformed. the influence of communication (language) on human behaviours language is central to the african traditional media and communication; and, it is important to understand that human behavior cannot be understood if we separate language and social practice. language without social practice and social practice without language are senseless. it therefore becomes very apt to underscore the fact that language 18 dyikuk jj the intersection of communication in igwebuike and trado-rural media: a critical evaluation, in journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 2 no.3 (a publication of association for the promotion of african studies: 2019) p.176 communication and the place of human values in african sustainable development: an igwebuike perspective 74 is an essential component of social practice that influences human behavior. speaking, writing, and reading are integral to everyday life, where language is the primary tool for expression and communication 19 . communication, and the language used in communicating can help us better understand ourselves and why we behave the way we do. the language we use is considered as a cultural, social and psychological phenomenon. according to swati johar: language has been considered as a social behavioral phenomenon and an indicator of the structure of cognitive processes dealing with functions such as communicating, imaging, learning and perceiving. communication is enriched through coverbal or nonverbal behaviours’ and speculates the implications of these behaviours to significantly improve speech recognition and understanding. the association and interdependence of verbal and nonverbal elements has been highlighted and various research approaches and challenges focusing on interpretation of human behaviour’20. evan bradley a psychologist argues further: every day, we use language to communicate, argue, learn, negotiate, document, legislate, and celebrate. in the industrialized world, we are bombarded daily by language from radios, televisions, websites, signs, and talking devices; while in less technological societies, knowledge is transmitted orally. a better understanding of languages (individually), of language (as a collective human ability), and of their speakers helps us to better understand how society functions and how to improve it, and this is the domain of the study of linguistics21. human values are enhanced through social practice so as to improve the world. this social practice is the function of human behavior that occurs through the influence of language. in the early 20th century, ludwig wittgenstein argued that the language we speak can influence the way humans think and act22. through language people are connected in beliefs and values; according to daniel everett language can be considered a cultural tool to relate a community‖s values and ideals and is shaped and molded by these residents over time; for example, 19 https://news.standford.edu/2019/08/22/the-power-of-language-how-words-shape-culture/ retrieved online 20th july, 2022 20 johar s. language, communication and human behavior. in a book chapter, emotion, affect and personality in speech, 2016 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/314583139_language_ communication_and_human_behaviour retrieved online 20th july, 2022 21 bradley e because language is essential to human interaction, 2017 https://www.whysocial science.com/blog/2017/12/5/because-language-is-essential-to-human-interaction retrieved online 20th july, 2022 22 huemer w. ludwig wittgenstein, language and philosophy of literature. in a book chapter the literary wittgenstein (eds) john gibson & wolfgang huemer (new york: routledge, 2004) p.19 anthony yashim nkom 75 looking at the many idioms the chinese culture has on family, you can definitely see how much they value that relationship. another is with a unique korean word nunchi meaning eye measure that has no english translation. this word relates to the korean belief in gauging how people are thinking and feeling in order to create connection, trust, and harmony23. the fundamental building block of communication is language, whether it is a spoken language or unspoken emotions that represent the language of the mind24. it then becomes very imperative as researchers to avoid taking for granted the influence on communication on human behaviour. several studies that illustrate how different elements might have an impact on behavior include, in a work titled behaviour matters: communication research on human connections shows how communication has a big impact on peoples life25. ineffective communication techniques cause frustration, which causes act-out behaviors. students will feel less frustrated and behave more positively in the classroom the more they receive assistance with effective communication26. the social media with its positive influence has also created another level of influencing human behaviour. when we experiment with technology, especially with social media, human behavior evolves more. people now utilize social media on a daily basis to such an extent that it is gradually changing how we behave. face-to-face encounters, which are essential for personality development, socialization, and communication training, have been eliminated from people's lives, particularly those of younger generations. children are struggling to interact with others, which could result in antisocial behavior. social media has facilitated easy life comparisons. people have problems with self-esteem and depression as a result of being dissatisfied with their existing situation. social media use has also been linked to online abuse and bullying by anonymous users, which can cause issues with privacy and self-worth. most research have found that children's aggressive attitudes and behaviors rise as a result of the violent games on social media. social media has also been used to promote misinformation and rumors online, which has increased the number of violent crimes committed in society. for instance, recent reports of kidnappers on whatsapp have resulted in the murders of innocent persons in several indian cities. with the advent of social media, avoiding bad news and its detrimental effects on our 23 everett d language: the cultural tool. in the guardian news website of the year an article https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/mar/15/language-cultural-daniel-everett-review retrieved online 20th july, 2022 24 nirah j et al exploration of communication and individual behaviour relation. in international journal of trend in research and development, volume 3(1) www.ijtrd.com assessed online 26th july, 2022 25 a booklet on communication matters: communication research on human connections, decade of behaviour, 200-2010, frog 26 ibid communication and the place of human values in african sustainable development: an igwebuike perspective 76 lives has virtually become impossible. this may have long-lasting psychological effects, including thoughts of our world imploding, tension, and anxiety27. social media has altered not only the way we think, but how we behave and conduct ourselves in public nowadays; and, it has extended to our human values in areas of family morality, political culture and other areas of human endeavour and areas that would have led to authentic and sustainable development. despite the positive impact of the social media to human development, it is not possible to throwaway the baby with the bathing water. african languages as a tool for effective restoring and retaining african human values: an igwebuike perspective every philosophical perspective has a history, as well as guiding ideas or values that give the particular way of thinking value. the origin is typically the outcome of a response to a certain situation, which may be actual or hypothetical; although, it is named after an igbo term, the concept of igwebuike has worldwide applicability28. the values or framework that forms igwebuike philosophy are referred to as its principles. these tenets serve as the philosophy's guiding concepts or conceptual frameworks. igwebuike philosophy is guided by these ideas, and it is also justified by them29. african languages have ingrained african values, customs, and morality. the attempt to exterminate african languages would be extremely risky for our long-term, comprehensive development. the igwebuike principle reflects a global phenomenon that relates to people's ethical and charitable behavioral habits. the communitarian concept embodied in the igwebuike principle further illuminates the numerous social communication channels while showcasing the people's cherished culture, including their mores, traditions, and customs30. according to justin dyikuk, ‗igwebuike is a mechanism for ensuring unity and the desired synergy for discussion within and outside igbo land‘31. he went further to argue ‗as the lungs or vital organ of igbo tradition of south eastern nigeria, igwebuike philosophy means number is strength or number is power. it is a worldview which engenders communication and culture through complementarity, harmony, and communality‘ 32 . it is this complementarity, harmony and communality that is a driver of human values through the vehicle of language. thus, communication in igwebuike encompasses that solidarity, 27 jain p social media: impact on human behaviour and society https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/socialmedia-impact-human-behavior-society-piyushi-jain assessed online 26th july, 2022 28 kanu ia on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. in journal of religion and human relations, volume 11 no. 1, 2019 p. 159 29 ibid, 165 30 dyikuk jj a glance at traditional modes of communication through the lens of liturgical inculturation: perspective from igwebuike and shikkrot tradition. in journal of african studies and sustainable development vol. 3 no.8, 2020: p.17 31 ibid 32 ibid anthony yashim nkom 77 complementarity and synergy the igbo people enjoy from their mores, tradition and culture which aids their day to day communication process and eases ways of relating with one another is central to the restoration of human values that will help promote sustainable and integral development33. therefore, the african traditional media is still very much central to the formation of human values for the realization of sustainable development. a given people's views, attitudes, systems, patterns, behaviors, culture, and historical narrative are all mixed together in traditional media. other components include masquerades, witchcraft, rites, rituals, music, dance, drama, costumes and artifacts as well as symbolic and cosmological existence from the cradle to the grave. it is the combination of customs and conflicts, harmony and strife, cultural convergences and divergences, cultural tangibles, interpersonal relations, symbols, codes, morals, myths, and literature of the people34. igwebuike, as an ideology, promotes the idea of african community rooted on indigenous african culture, tradition, and epistemology. it communicates the idea that we are all connected—each component links to the overall. the links and experiences of interrelationships and interconnections are the basis of the dynamics of the african reality shown in igwebuike. it is holistic in the sense that it includes all aspects of being— spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical. igwebuike expresses the ability to be empathetic toward the other by relating the aforementioned perspective to african ethics. in the pursuit of creating and upholding a community, it encompasses reciprocity, dignity, harmony, and humanism35. igwebuike goes beyond the self to feel the pain of the other as though it were my pain and the redemption of the other as though it were my redemption, in contrast to western ethics that place a strong emphasis on individual rights, sometimes to the point of promoting selfish interests at the expense of the interests of others. it emphasizes our responsibilities to one another as well as how attached and related we are to one another. it suggests that my humanity and your humanity are closely linked. therefore, the result is that when others are degraded and oppressed, i am diminished36. the ideals of humanness, care, respect for others, compassion, mutual assistance, group responsibility, reciprocal obligations, interdependence, etc. are the foundation of the igwebuike philosophy. three characteristics of humanity are acknowledged: human dignity, human equality, and universal brotherhood and sisterhood37. the african views 33 dyikuk jj, 22 34 ibid 35 kanu ia igwebuike and african ethics https://www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/igwebuikepedia-articles.php?open=25 assessed online 26th july, 2022 36 ibid 37 ibid communication and the place of human values in african sustainable development: an igwebuike perspective 78 all people as members of one big human family. this concept of brothers or sisterhood finds expression in virtues like hospitality, generosity, empathy, sympathy, compassion, etc. as its practical application. conclusion because of its significance, igwebuike can be seen as the foundation for understanding and interpreting african ethics through the lens of language and communication. the importance of igwebuike causes african ethics to be based on the imposing pillar of human values that can help in the realization of sustainable development. the core purpose of communication and language can be extended to promote the welfare of the individual and the community. the human person is therefore at the center of african human values; the human person is instead viewed as a brotherhood or sisterhood and is not defined according to his or her color, nation, religion, creed, political leanings, material contribution, or any other factor. therefore, it emphasizes the value of the human person, the equality of brothers and sisters, and the equality of opportunities for all a society that is egalitarian, that is, where everyone has the same chance to grow personally while cooperating. references 1. dyikuk j.j a glance at traditional modes of communication through the lens of liturgical inculturation: perspective from igwebuike and shikrot traditions. in a journal of african studies and sustainable development, vol. 3 no.8. (a publication of the association for the promotion of african studies:2020) 2. dyikuk jj the intersection of communication in igwebuike and trado-rural media: a critical evaluation, in journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 2 no.3 (a publication of association for the promotion of african studies: 2019) 3. fleischmann r.k information and human values new york: springer publications, 2014 4. huemer w. ludwig wittgenstein, language and philosophy of literature. in a book chapter the literary wittgenstein (eds) john gibson & wolfgang huemer (new york: routledge, 2004) 5. kanu anthony, i igwebuike: an african complementarity philosophical framework (united states of america: igwebuike research institute:2020) 6. kanu i. a on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. in a journal of religion and human relations 2019 7. kanu ia igwebuike and african ethics https://www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/ igwebuikepediaarticles.php?open=25 8. njoku foc introduction to social and political philosophy (enugu: university of nigeria press, 2019) 9. onjewu a.m essential english for all students. kaduna, nigeria: sunjo a.j. global links publishers, 2020 10. peters j.d institutional sources of intellectual poverty in communication research communication research. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 9 no.3, 2023 www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/igwebuikejournals.php a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 55 the effect of employees’ commitment on the productivity of local government councils in nigeria odidika theophilus ekene department of sociology legacy university okija, anambra state, nigeria odidika.te@legacyuniversity.edu.ng doi:10.13140/rg.2.2.30881.58724 abstract the main objective of this paper is to discuss and analyze the implications of employees’ commitment on the productivity and performance of the local government councils in nigeria. the failure of local government system in the area of service delivery has made the citizens loose trust in the third tier level of government as an institution. the challenges facing local government councils in nigeria point towards the need for greater level of commitment, motivation and manpower development. the employee’s lack of commitment and poor attitude to work has been acknowledged to be a growing problem. there has been an increasing concern about making the local government councils more productive and responsive to the needs and problems of the people at the grassroots. factors such as la lack of well trained, visionary leadership, lack of training, bad management style, poor motivation and financial remuneration, lack of cordial relationship between the employees and management, as well as poor monitoring and supervision are identified to be largely responsible and militating against the effort of the local government to achieve improved performance and render efficient services to the people. this paper therefore recommended that the general welfare and working conditions of the local government employees should be enhanced through effective leadership, training, supervision, communication, adequate motivation and reward to elicit commitment for greater output. keywords: employee commitment, productivity, and local government introduction nigeria has 774 local government areas (lgas) spread across 36 states and federal capital territory (fct). the 774 local government areas (lgas), each administered by the authority consisting of a chairman, who is the chief executive, and other elected the effect of employees’ commitment on the productivity of local government councils in nigeria 56 members, who are referred to as councilors. each lga is further subdivided into a minimum of ten and a maximum of twenty wards. the local government service commission (lgsc) is the statutory body of appointees of the state government used to regulate local government activities and policies. the local government service commission performs the following functions: recruitment, promotion, deployment, discipline and transfer of local government employees from grade level 01 to 17 and monitoring of activities of each local government/local councils to ensure that the guidelines are strictly and uniformly followed. the chairmen and councilors work alongside with the employees recruited by the local government service commission headed by the director of administration and general services to perform the local government functions, the local government councils in nigeria are faced with the challenges of providing the basic needs of the people at the grassroots which centered on improving the standard of living through provisions of essential services, infrastructural facilities, achieving the basic socio-economic welfare and security. to achieve these, the local government management and employees need to be not only committed and dedicated to their duties but must as well work as a team. employee commitment employee commitment is very crucial for every organization to achieve its set goals. the concept of employees’ commitment plays important part in human relations movement philosophy. as define by armstrong (2009), commitment refers to attachment and loyalty. according to him, it is associated with the feelings of individuals about their work organization. employee commitment is a strong desire to remain a member of a particular organization and willingness to exert high level of effort on behalf of the organization (fred,1992). it is tied to how well an employee is motivated and the feeling of the employee about the organization. employee commitment is an attachment where the employee has for their own organization from their experiences. it will indicate the level of satisfaction, and engagement among employees. it is also a crucial to assess employee commitment since it is a key element in organizational success (k.princy, e.rebeka, 2019). employee commitment defines the extent to which a worker is ready or willing to continue on his job or any other type of job in an organization for the fulfillment of goals and aspirations. it is a concept used to refer to the overall attachment of the workers to the work organization. it also entails workers involvement. it indicates internal work motivation and the willingness of an employee to invest personal effort for the sake of the odidika theophilus ekene 57 organization (agba, nkpoyen and ushie, (2010). employee commitment is a positive and consistent attitude of the employee towards organizational goals and aspirations. the key factors that determine the levels of employee commitment are; punctuality and regularity to work, obedient to rules, willingness to carryout orders and instructions, participation in organizational group activities etc. studies have shown that an employee with high level of commitment usually record low level of absenteeism where as high level of absenteeism is a function of poor commitment. high rate of absenteeism is a threat to the survival of an organization as it has a direct negative effect on output or productivity. according to anugwom (2010), ‘workers who show a persistent high level of absenteeism or who use the slighted excuse to obtain themselves from work are almost likely unhappy and dissatisfied workers’. productivity productivity is a critical factor for socio-economic development and growth of every organization and creating a work environment in which employees are productive is very essential. every work organization like local government should be interested in overall productivity of the employees and how well they perform the required tasks, cost per unit of output and so on. a productive individual is a progressive individual. any organization that has such productive manpower will experience high growth rate. productivity implies efficiency and effectiveness in individual and organization. productivity is the relationship between output of goods and services and the input of resources, human and non-human. alternatively, productivity is the measure of the performance of a work or operation system relation to resource utilization. according to obikeze, obi and aboyi(2005). people are enjoyed and paid in organization because they are productive and can help the organization achieve its aims which is turning out output for the society. singh(2009) puts productivity to mean goods and services produced in a specified period of time in relation to the resources utilized. business managers view productivity as a measure of overall efficiency, effectiveness and performance of an organization. babalola, akpa, ayeni and adedeji(2007) viewed productivity as the relationship between what is produced and the amount of resources used in production. they regard productivity as a measure of what is received in return for what is given and takes into cognizance both quality and quantity of the result achieved. heinz and harold (2005) have provided a formular for productivity. the formular can be represented as follows: productivity = outputs ( over a period of time) inputs the effect of employees’ commitment on the productivity of local government councils in nigeria 58 the above formula indicates that productivity can be improve by (i) increasing output with the same inputs (ii) decreasing inputs but maintaining the same outputs (iii) increasing outputs and decreasing inputs to change the ratio favourably. the wikipedia’s report defines productivity as a measure of the efficiency of production. it further states that productivity is a ratio of what is produced to what is required to produce it. usually, this ratio is in the form of an average, expressing the total output divided by the total input. at the national level, productivity growth raises the living standard because more real income improves peoples’ purchasing power, improving housing and education as well as contributes to social and environmental programmes. productivity growth is important to the firm because it means that the firm can meet its obligations to the customers, suppliers, workers, shareholders, government and still remain competitive and even improve its competitiveness in the market place. productivity growth means more value is added to the production and this means more income is available to be distributed. local government councils in nigeria and employees’ level of commitment the local government employees’ lack of commitment has been acknowledged to be a serious problem as it generally affects the effort of the local government toward performing their statutory functions. many of the employees have been severely criticized for lacking the desired attitudes of hard work, commitment and dedication to duty. in recent times, the constitutional functions of local government councils are not optimally performed due to lack of commitment by employees, as majority of them work with the notion that government work and properties belong to nobody. consequently, the people are seriously denied the benefits of the existence of local government councils. the failure of the local government councils in the area of service delivery and performance has to an extent made the citizens to lose confidence in government as an institution generally. unfortunately, local government council officials are best known for harassment of citizens than service delivery, showing their inability to address a range of different needs such as environmental protection, provision of primary health care services, loans to rural farmers and traders, portable water, qualitative education, good roads and security of lives and properties etc. most local government council are filled with employees who want to earn salaries without performing their official duties. this is one of the reasons nigeria is not making progress as nothing is as depressing and frustrating as having someone that is not committed to the job. people who want jobs without the right work attitude and ethics are menace. these odidika theophilus ekene 59 set of people are in different sectors of the nigerian economy including the local government system. the contention in many quarters is that the local government councils are closer to the people and hence present the best channel for development to trickle down to the ordinary man in the street. this has therefore, continued to fuel the interests and expectations that people show on the third tier of government. it is against this background that many nigerians crave for total financial autonomy and change in the structure of the local government system as presently constituted in order to not only bring it in conformity with present day realities but to also make it live up to the expectations of the people at the grassroots. factors affecting employees’ commitment in the nigerian local government system many factors influence employees’ commitment and their level of productivity and performance. kochan and dyer (1993) (in armstrong,2009) have indicated the factors affecting the level of commitment in what they call ‚mutual commitment firms‛. the factors are as follows; (i) strategic level: supportive business strategies, top management value commitment and affective voice for human relation in strategy making and governance. (ii) functional (human resource policy) level: staffing based on employment stabilization, investment in training and development, and contingent compensation, participation and contribution. (iii) work place level: selection based on high standards broad task design and teamwork, employee involvement in problem solving and climate of cooperation and trust. as posited by uwalaka(2004), good and timely remuneration packages contribute positive commitment and performance. also azuh and adejumo (2011) observed that good remuneration affect work attitude positively, leading to better productivity. according to him, good and appropriate remuneration removes the feeling of helplessness, disappointment, inadequacy, consciousness of uncertainty, frustration, hostility, anxiety, aggression, fraudulent practices and laziness. on the aspect of productivity, oti (2004) identified the factors affecting productivity as including: labour union influence, leadership style, compensation, tool or equipment and career prospect on the job. making his submission on factors responsible for low productivity in the country, akanwa (2003) enumerated human environmental, economic, the effect of employees’ commitment on the productivity of local government councils in nigeria 60 social and political factors as affecting employees’ attitude to work. he further states that the presence of environmental, economic, human, social and political problems have reduced the nigerian workers to mere laziness wit lot of idle time. he also noted that the nigerian workers have therefore become, by circumstance, a theory worker, lazy and would not want to work unless coerced. it has been argued that economic and financial rewards as benefits for productivity improvement far outweigh other considerations. according to tracey lloyd (2009), people tend to be happier with more money than compared with people who do not have sufficient money at their disposal. he also states that performance related pay schemes could be used to increase employee productivity. research into the effectiveness of merit based pay schemes has found that merit based pay has a beneficial effect on individual motivation and performance in the workplace (corby, white & stanworth, 2005). ubeku(1983) identified the following factors in the nigerian situation which can promote and enhance productivity: (i) a good infrastructure (ii) adequate machinery (iii) availability of adequate material (iv) intelligent use of capital (v) a good organizational structure providing for clear lines of communication, authority and accountability. (vi) a trained and knowledgeable management (vii) a committed and motivated staff what ubeku implies by the above point is that productivity can be greatly enhanced if the factors identified by him are adequately addressed through effective policy formulation and implementation. the failure of the council workers to show commitment and deliver services efficiently has equally been blamed on the failure of local government council leadership. the authorities at various local governments have failed to pay adequate attention to the welfare and needs of the council employees making them to show little or no commitment on their jobs. council employees are most time not paid their salaries as and when due and such development create industrial disputes. commenting on the above subject, okereke and amgbere (2010) have observed that delay in payment of workers’ salaries could result to apathy that might hinder efficiency in work performance. it could lead to embarrassing circumstances such as inability to pay house rent and concomitant odidika theophilus ekene 61 quarrel with landlord or caretaker, inability to pay for the schooling of their children/wards, poor feeding that might result to malnutrition and poor health conditions, inability to meet up with social and financial obligation etc. the foregoing could eventually culminate in disaffection between the employees and the local government council management with consequences of poor attitude to work and low level of productivity. theoretical explanation in order to engender a critical and objective analytical discussion of the effects of employees’ commitment on the productivity of local government councils in nigeria, the maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, the human relations approach and the system theory are adopted as the framework of analysis. the maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory one of the early and best known theories of motivation is that by abraham maslow which is known as the hierarchy of needs theory. maslow first introduced his concept of a hierarchy of needs in his 1943 paper ‘’a theory of human motivation’’ and subsequent book motivation and psychology. the hierarchy suggests that people are motivated to fulfill basic needs before moving on to other, more advanced needs. the five different levels in maslow’s hierarchy of needs are: 1. the physiological needs: these include hunger, thirst, shelter, sex, air and other bodily needs. 2. safety needs: these include security and protection from physical and emotional harm. 3. social or love needs: these include affection, belongingness, acceptance and friendship. 4. esteem needs: these include internal esteem factors such as self respect, autonomy and achievement and external esteem factors such as status, recognition and attention. 5. self-actualization needs: these include growth, achieving ones potential and fulfillment, the drive to become what one is capable of becoming. maslow divided the five needs into higher and lower level needs: the lower level includes the physiological and safety needs while the rest belong to the higher level. among the needs that command our attention are the esteem needs. the need for self-respect and the respect of others is necessary for a healthy social and psychological life. the feelings of autonomy, competence or ability mastery, achievement, dominance, influence, acquisition and retention express self-esteem. employees in every organization want to be well the effect of employees’ commitment on the productivity of local government councils in nigeria 62 trained and good at their jobs to them contribute positively towards achieving organizational goals. in the same way, the local government employees in nigeria desire the respect of the management and the general public. they equally desire recognition, acclamation, praise, appreciation, attention, prestige, honour and status. human beings strive to achieve what they feel or perceive is their worth as persons in the group or among other individuals. the physiological needs are also of interest to this work. the need for shelter, food, water, clothing, sex etc. which face workers are satisfied with money and other material rewards. the extent to which a worker meets financial obligation is a function of his organization compensation scheme. the salaries, wages, allowances, fringe benefits, loans etc which the organization is able and willing to provide determine, to a great extent the level of satisfaction of these needs, by its workers and by implications their level their level of commitment and productivity. it is in line with this that uwalaka (2004) posits that good and timely remuneration packages contribute to positive commitment and performance. also, azuh and adejumo (2011) observed that good remuneration affects work attitude positively leading to better productivity. the need for self-actualization often manifests after the satisfaction of the other needs either fully or partially. maslow classically defines this need as man’s desire for selffulfillment. employees when motivated by the desire to realize their potential seek out new responsibilities and try to find meaning and personal growth in their job. though maslow’s theory is very popular in management circles, it still has quite some noticeable shortcomings. first, the arrangement of the needs in hierarchy is faulted considering the fact that some needs may occur simultaneously while individual differences and preferences dictate which of the needs are considered more important. for instance, while some people are motivated by money, others are not motivated by it. the theory also failed to take care of environmental factors on people’s needs and ignored the influences of culture, religion education in its analysis of the hierarchy of needs. the human relations approach the human relations movement was championed by elton mayor and his harvard associates. after their famous experiments at the western electric company’s hawthorn plant at chicago in america between 1924 and 1932 where they tried to find out the effect of physical condition of work on productivity. elton mayo, the apostle of the odidika theophilus ekene 63 human relation’s movement concluded that workers have emotions, values, opinions, beliefs etc these traits, they concluded, invariably affect efficiency and productivity within the organization. productivity can be boosted by work groups which are closenit social groups. there is a strong relationship between attitude to work and the wider social attachments outside the organization especially the early socialization of individual. employees’ commitment which was discovered to be a function of informal activities of workers within the organization helps to reduce the incidence of absenteeism, lateness, truancy; insubordination and high labour turn over. the human relations approach made immense contributions to management science by emphasizing the social need of workers. local government in nigeria should be more concerned with satisfying the social needs of its work force to elicit efficiency and commitment from the employees. despite the crucial function of calling attention to the social context of work and the strong influence of work group on the performance of individual workers, the human relation s approach, has been criticized for being clinical in orientation. the theory is criticized for failing to see the inherent conflict of interest between the management and employees. another major weakness of the theory is that they concentrated too much on individual and tend to ignore the industrial organization as a whole and its place in the wider society. however, by every standard, nigerian culture preaches social tie between and among friends, families and work organization. these are better reinforced if elton mayor’s concept is practiced to the core among the nigerian local government work group. in the long run, productivity of workers both at the middle and low level would have been enhanced. the system theory this is another theoretical perspective that has relevance to employees’ commitment in the local government system and organizations. the system approach attempt to provide a general explanation to social behavior hence deals with a scientific aspect and thought process stating that every little organism or being is part of a larger picture. the theory sees the whole work of human endeavor as a system of interrelated parts that work interdependently for its survival. the parts of a system may exist in the form of techniques, devices procedures, plans, rules, personnel etc. but for a system to facilitate the achievement of a goal, the inter-dependence and interrelation between the parts is very important. the system approach sees organization as a natural system composed of interrelated and interdependent series of processes. to this theory, employee’s commitment and improved productivity are achieved when the whole system is the effect of employees’ commitment on the productivity of local government councils in nigeria 64 harmoniously held together by the sub-system. the non-functioning of any of its subsystem affect the whole. local government council is a system of its own with other subsystem as the management, employees, resources, rules, environment, departments, units, etc.. the proper functioning of the sub-system makes for high commitment and productivity, where as poor commitment or performance sets in when there is nonfunctioning or mal-functioning of any of the sub-system. despite the plausible features of system theory, it has been criticized on a number of points. the assumption that the organization only changes when factors in the environment desire such is seen as faulty since it overlooks the fact that changes in the organization can be internally generated. related to the above is the fact that system theory offers the view of largely stable organization. but organizations are not always stable entity. moreover given the dynamic nature of the environment, organization may not be stable always. the system theory inclines towards reification of the organization. in this sense, the organization which is an entity produced by the activities of human agents is presented erroneously as having a real life of its own devoid of the activities of human beings in it. recommendation in view of the analysis in this study, the following recommendations are made as necessary steps toward building a committed workforce which will in turn improve the level of productivity of local government councils in nigeria. (i) the management of local government councils in nigeria should endeavour to inspire the employees to be committed through adequate motivation. this should be done by instilling a sense of belonging purpose and responsibility through prompt payment of salaries and other entitlements. (ii) concerted effort should be made by the local government councils management to establish a healthy and reciprocal relationship with the employees. effective communication system should be introduced in the workplace to give the employees sense of belonging. the employees should be consulted before decision are taken and also be given the opportunity to contribute to plans and decision making. (iii) local government council management should be more concerned with creating an enabling environment where employees are motivated to connect with the goals and aspirations of the councils without close monitoring and supervision. such enabling environment should provide improved conditions of service and good human relation’s practices where employees will see themselves as integral odidika theophilus ekene 65 parts of the councils’ long-term plans and vision. the council management should also create an environment that foster respect, trust and collaboration. disciplinary measures with human face should be put in place to check cases of insubordination among employees. (iv) the local government council employees irrespective of gender should be made to understand vividly the goals, direction and vision of local governments as well as the expected roles to play in that regard. instilling a sense of purpose and responsibility on the employees will ultimately give them the desire to contribute positively toward achieving improved productivity. (v) the council managements in nigeria should work toward improving the productivity of the council by applying both economic and social rewards as benefits to the workers. programmes for recognizing, appreciating and rewarding hard work could be effective in this direction. it is in line with this that elton mayo in his human relations theory emphasized the importance of satisfying the social needs of workforce, to elicit commitment that will positively affect productivity. in his hierarchy of needs theory, abraham maslow emphasized that human are motivated when their esteem needs are met. he maintains that people want recognition, respect, appreciation, attention acclamation, praise, honour, applause, status etc. hence, individual strive to achieve what they perceive or fee l is their worth as persons in the group or among other individuals. (vi) it is also recommended that training and retraining of employees as well as painting a clear picture of what commitment looks like at an individual, team and management level will improve the employees’ performances. inculcating the culture of commitment and dedication in the employees will equally improve their overall performances. it is therefore, the hope of this study that if the above recommendations are properly implemented, they will go a long way to enthrone a more committed workforce and reposition the local government administration in nigerian. conclusion this paper has exposed the fact that local government councils in nigeria are not very productive and efficient. the local government councils which are the closest tier of government to the grassroots to the nigeria have continued to deny the people the benefits of their existence. the failure of the local government in the area of service delivery has made the citizens to lose trust in the local government as an institution. however, to improve the performance and productivity of the local government councils as well as to get the very best out of the employees, concerted effort must be the effect of employees’ commitment on the productivity of local government councils in nigeria 66 made by the management to adequately motivate, train and inspire the employees. there is therefore, no doubt that the recommendations of this research will not only provoke improved commitment and productivity but will ensure that local government councils are efficient in delivering services to the grassroots. reference agba, a.m.o, nkpoyen, f. and uchie, e.m. (2010). career development and employee commitment in industrial organization in calabar, nigeria. america journal of scientific and industrial research, vol. 1 no. 2 pp 105. akanwa, p.u (2003). principles of management: owerri; global press limited. anugwom e.e.(2010). industrial sociology concept and characteristics. nsukka, university of nigeria press ltd. armstrong, m.(2009). human resource practice, eleventh edition, london; kogan page ltd. azuh, d. and adejumo, g.o. (2011) engaging the climate of commitment among lower cadre employees in an organization. a study of nigerian ports plc. paper for the 6th ilera african regional congress lagos. babalola, j.b., akpa, g.o, ayeni, a.o and adedeji (2007). access, equity and quality in high education. ibadan, naep publication. balfour, d.l. and wechsler b.(1996: antecedents and). organizational behaviour outcome in public organization. public productivity and management review journal, 256-277 brathon, j and gold, j. (1999). human resources management theory and practice, london; mac million press ltd. cohen, a.r. frank, s.l., godon h. and willits r.d. (1995). effective behaviour in organization. 6th edition, new york; mcgraw hill companies inc. corby, s. white, g. and stanworth, c. (2005). no news is good news: evaluating new pay system. human resources management journal, vol. 15 no1 pp 4-24 dhameji, s.k. and dhameji, s. (2009). industrial psychology. new delhi, s.k kataria and sons. heinz, w and harold, k. (2005). management a global perspective. deihi publishing company ltd. obikeze, s.o., obi, e.a. and abonyi, n.(2005). personnel management concept, principle and applications. onitsha; book point ltd. okereke c.i. and amgbare, d. (2010). staff welfare and productivity in patanil government council, delta state. journal economics and international finance. vol .2(12) oti, e.o.(2004). industrial sociology and sociology of the third world. okigwe; whytem publisher. rynes,s. gerhard, b. and parks,l.(2005). personnel psychology: performance evaluation and pay for performance annual review of psychology, vol.56 pp 571-600. schaefer, r.(2001). sociology. seventh edition. new york; mc graw hill sharman, a.w. and bohlander g.w. (1992). managing human resources. 9th edition. ohio; south western publishing co. singh, r.k. (2009). welfare measure and its impact on manpower productivity kampur, g.h. institute of management and research. tracey, lloye, (2009). individual performance related pay schemes; linking remuneration to employee productivity. retrieved from suit 101.com/article/individual (accessed on 05/11/2022. odidika theophilus ekene 67 ubeku, a.k. (1983). productivity in nigeria. proceeding of a national conference ibadan. nigeria institute of social and economic research uchie, e.m., ering s.o. and engwu, e.u (2008). rationalization in the nigeria public service; implication for cross river state workers’ morale and productivity. international journal of development and management. review vol. 3 no1. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 3 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 117 what is new in “new” religious movements in africa? an analytical approach nmah, patrick enoch department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe university, awka-nigeria e-mail: patricknmah@yahoo.com abstract this paper considered, “what is new in the new religious movements in africa? an analytical approach”. since, however, this title is a bit too vast and ambitious for the limited scope and time of the discourse, the paper, therefore, appraised the salient issues involved in the “newness” in african initiated churches (aics). the issues included africans’ quest for spiritual power, cultural identity, ethnic identity, health, and for economic emancipation system for their own personal and practical purposes of healing or security. the purpose of the study is to examine what is “new” in the new religious movements. the findings showed that the religion is a religion of the oppressed in cultural, social, religious and political spheres. the methods of approach include historical and phenomenological methods. keywords: new, newness, occultism, syncretism, pagan tendencies, and neoprimal movements introduction missions were often guilty of a “failure to love.” they did not listen to africans. therefore they often failed to relate the good news to african issues such as witchcraft, spirits, ancestors, land and community. they also failed to bring the holistic deliverance from evil which africans longed for. the missionaries did not realize that the bible they had brought would judge their culture just as it judged african culture… they competed with one another, and thus threatened african tribal life with conflict and instability (bowen, 1996). the “new religious movements” here refers to a new development arising in the course of the interaction of a tribal or primal society and its religion with one of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 118 the more powerful and sophisticated cultures and its major religion, involving some substantial departure from the classical religious traditions of both the cultures concerned, in order to find renewal by reworking the contributing traditions into a different religious system (turner, 1978). the above comment may not be limited to african continent as well as nigeria per se but may likely be useful to other cultural-geographical areas of the world where substantially similar phenomena may be found. but political scientists will have to examine ‘protest’ or ‘proto-nationalist’ movements among the ‘oppressed’ people have the same connotation with the definition of new religious movements, even the social anthropologists may study their “acculturative,” “nativistic’, “revitalization”, transformative” among other movements if they used each of these terms in a strict sense. however, these two languages do not embrace exactly the same phenpomena. each vocabulary embraces all the phenomena of interest to its fellow disciplines. they seek spiritual power in a new religious system for their own very personal and practical purposes of healing or security. these new religious movements may be regarded as “the religions of the oppressed.” consequently, the statement of the problem shows the religious independency and the rise of nationalism, the desacralization of politics, the pneumatological emphasis and the demand for visible manifestations of the power of the spirits among others. the research work deals with the “newness” in the new religious movements and the plurality of disciplines and classification systems. this includes neoprimal movements, syncretist movements, hebraist movements among others. it x-rays also “newness” in the socio-cultural aspect of the new religious movements; and the future problems and prospects. the future problems and prospects in the ‘newness” of the religious movements coupled with the conclusion end the study which establishes the “what is new in the new religious movements: an analytical approach within african context.” the methods of approach include historical and phenomenological methods. in this course of this research work, nigeria and africa will be used interchangeably. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 119 conceptual framework in customary parlance, the term “new religious movements” has four related meanings: (1) independence; (2) a territory not under the control of any other power; (3) in ecclesiastical usage, the principles that individual congregation or church is an autonomous and equalitarian society free from any external ecclesiastical control; and (4) the polity based on this principle (barrett, 1970). the definition which suggests new religious movements as an individual congregation or church as an autonomous and equalitarian society free from any external ecclesiastical control shall form my operational definition. the term “new” or “newness” is used to describe these movements because, in historical terms of religious form and content, they are newer than either african traditional religions, christianity or islam with which they are in constant contact. and again, it is because of the relative “newness” of some of their doctrines and ideologies (barrett, 1970, and nmah, 2008). broadly speaking, there are two kinds of christian new religious movements in contemporary africa. first are those which have, for various reasons, tergiversated from the historic missionary-founded churches. often called “schismatic” or “separatist” movements, these category generally continues to reflect some of the ideologies of their mother churches, despite intensive internal changes, adaptations, inculturation, incarnation, and particular emphases. second are those new religious movements that have been founded by charismatic african independent of any mother church. these are commonly referred to, often pejoratively, as “spiritual” or “spiritualist” (sometimes “spiritist”) movements or churches because of their emphasis on pneumatology and practice of glossolalia and spiritual healing (mbon, 1999). causal factors for the emergence of african new religious movements include the quest for personal identity, religious identity, ethnic identity, cultural identity, and academic identity. other factors include economic factor, political factor, social factor, false prophecy, doctrinal factor, ecclesiastical maladministration among others (nmah, 2008; ndiokwere, 1995; and barrett, 1970). research objectives the objectives of the study include: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 120 • to investigate the causes of the new religious movements. • to examine the bases of the “newness” in the new religious movements. • to create the awareness to the mainstream (missionary) churches on some of the issues involved in the aics. • to investigate also the implications of the new religious movements to africans especially the mission churches. • to investigate the factors (features) that made the “newness” attractive to many africans especially african christians. significance of the study the significance of this study basically stems from the fact that it addresses the issues that threatened the existence of the mainstream (missionary) churches in africa, and offers a valid and insightful resource material those future religious, sociological, and anthropological scholars especially church historiographers can consult to gain useful information on the “newness” in the new religious movements. literature review and hypotheses a. the “newness” in the new religious movements it will be difficult to use general terms that have been used of african movements or for such phenomena across the whole world. anthropologists speak of “adjustment movements” but h.w. turner stated that it is unlike “new” (turner, 1978, p.17). as to “newness” in the other sense of religious form and content, harold w. turner referred to the fact that these movements cannot be seen merely as developments within either of the two contributing religious traditions involved. according to him, there are usually some radical differences at certain points from the traditional primal religion of the area. and again there are differences from the religion of the dominant society, be it islam or christianity. the differences are such that these movements are usually disowned by those who adhere either to the continuing african systems, or to the invasive islamic or christian systems. the vast majority of the said new movements have undoubtedly emerged from the christian interaction. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 121 nigerian pentecostalism, for example, does not usually share in certain features commonly found in the west; its policy may take any form and is not necessarily of the congregationalist type, there is little real interest in millennial adventism, or in stress upon personal holiness. it does stress believers’ baptism by immersion, the importance of prayer, and above all the presence and power of the holy spirit made evident in charismatic gifts and visible signs and results.(turner, 1979, and 1967). these spiritual gifts are often regarded as due to the “second baptism of the spirit” and include faith healing, prophecy (dreams, visions, predictions), and ecstatic motor phenomena (trances, speaking in tongues and various forms of possession by the spirit) (turner, 1979 p.122). this pheumatological emphasis and the demand for visible manifestations of the power of the spirit clearly identify its central features with those of western pentecostalism. there are also the role of music and dance, prophecy and divination (ndiokwere, 1995). citing martin west, ndiokwere described similar zion church of soweto phenomenon as “baptism of the spirit” (p.85). according to turner(turner, 1978), the first movement with these emphasis arose among the ijaw people in the niger delta area of nigeria late in 1915 through the activities of garrick braid, who was already known for his spiritual power in prayer and healing as a member of the anglican and all-african niger delta pastorate church. but the actual beginning of the movement is obscure. braid’s method of healing seems to have been through faith consequent upon his prayers and imposition of hands, and such was his reputation as a man of spiritual power that many sought healing through drinking or anointing themselves with the water in which he had washed. for harold w. turner, garrick braid’s prophecies included reference to the british colonial power, the avoidance of imported european articles and government medical services, and to a better future for the africans; these activities were regarded as seditious and a variety of charges brought against him by the government which led to his imprisonment. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 122 other similar newness features emerged among the ibibio and efik areas where the united free church of scotland, the primitive methodist church from england and the qua iboe mission, and undenominational group from northern ireland are also the sense of public confessing one’s sins, making restitution, affecting reconciliations, abandoning native magical practices and tobacco and alcohol, and displaying many of the ecstatic phenomena associated with a pentecostal revival viz. tongues, shaking, removal of shoes, dancing, visions, and emotional displays of joy. they are often referred to collectively as “aladura” (that is, praying) churches. the “newness” feature involves also their rejection of “infant baptism” and baptism by sprinkling of water but baptism by immersion. they also reject western medicine and its insistence on ecstatic forms of worship that lead to its separation. the ecstatic state was thus regarded as a way of ascending to a higher form of living or at least a way which rendered possible the receiving of supernormal endowments. from a psychological point of view, ecstasy is described as: a withdrawal of consciousness from circumference to centre; a state in which the absorption of the mind in one idea, in one desire, is so profound that everything else is blotted out, a state in which consciousness of self disappears. such a condition, it is said, could be brought about by preparation and could as well be induced by the use of narcotics, alcohol, music and dancing. it could also come by contemplating and complete spiritual concentration as well as by prayer (ndiokwere, 1995, p.163). ecstasy is classified as being of two kinds namely the will or fervid, and the more sober or contemplative types. the latter is described as a rapture of soul in a state of complete calmness, enabling a person to rise beyond the confines of consciousness. moses orimolade tunolase and christiana abiodun akinsowo in 1925 developed such group into the cherubim and seraphim society which has igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 123 since proliferated into more major and other minor sections. the largest production of the aladura movement is the christ apostolic church. (turner, 1967 and 1979). joseph babalola, an anglican public works employee, received a call in 1928 and as an itinerant preacher proclaimed judgment and repentance, destruction of idols, and healing through prayer. late 1929, he joined faith tabernacle, baptized by immersion and in july 1930 he became the centre of mass healings. his type of pentecostal revival stretched from abeokuta almost to the niger river and which later was identified with the oshitelu’s movement. rejection of traditional medicines, magic and idols was widespread and the new spiritual healing was the central feature. the new churches met increasing opposition, and once again looked for help form a western pentecostal church (barker, 1982). it is all the more remarkable that the spirit-empowered prophet-leader has in many cases led large numbers of nominal christians and some others to make a sharp break from magical practices or reliance upon the ancestral and other spirits, in order to trust completely the one god of the scriptures and his holy spirit. the newness may also include the forbidding of certain food such as snails, mushrooms, pigs, taming of dogs coupled with non-purchasing of electronics. we may further ask, “what is new” in this new religious movements? additional features may be studied such as: b. pagan tendencies as we observed earlier, these religious movements have adopted adult baptism by immersion. the adult baptism is used as a rite of admission into a particular independent group, rather than as the sign and means of incorporation into the one people of god under the one christ as head. therefore those transfer from one independent group to another are being rebaptised in order to become members. some of them seek spirit-revelations for the pagan purpose of divination, for information extracted from the spirit-world to serve our human purposes. consultation of prophets has degenerated to the level of future-telling often semi-commercialized and quite divorced from a pastoral context within which it could be redeemed(turner, 1979). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 124 c. occultism a hierarchy of named angels is approached for help through prayers and the use of candles, much as candles might be lit for the saints who are involved in some forms of latin christianity. at times the names of the angels and their associated signs are drawn from imported occult literature, such as the sixth and seventh books of moses, and an elaborate ritual from similar sources is employed. there are other pagan traits such as routine of prayers, fastings, taboos, rituals connected with thanksgiving after childbirth, recital of specific psalms for particular needs, water purification rites among others. in the contemporary society, the great majority of them make no use of magicopagan treatments. in place of these there is the innocuous use of holy water, oil or sand as a physical agent for the divine healing power, together with fasting as a spiritual discipline, and all set in a context of prayer. there is the tendency that there may be the danger that the holy water, sand, oil etc., can become a new magical power acting apart from god, and that the sacramental use of wine and bread in the lord’s supper and of water in christian baptism will be replaced by a different sacramental use of water and these other elements in new rites of african divisive. c. patterns of ministry and structure within independent churches in post colonial africa more often than not, some of the new religious movements are associated with tribe, national or international. but leadership is based on charismatic form. on leadership training and education, they sometimes used the facilities of the older churches for ministerial training and at times its leaders are only self-trained. again, the new religious movements find its difficult to apply the four classic notes of the church as one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. the issue of monogamy versus polygamy also poses questions to western christian ethics, but form part of african christian ethics. there are new holy cities, sacred mountains, local sanctuaries, and tombs of the saints; new langues des dieux-holy words, revealed languages, and even revealed scripts; new festivals with rituals and symbols drawn from colours or from water or other elements. the indigenous churches now have so much life and spiritual power that much of the continuing evangelism of the african continent nigeria inclusive is in their hands. professor ali mazrui says in africa, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 125 “christianity has to adapt-or perish” (bowen, 1996). the indigenous churches face also the challenged of adapting. they need to adapt to city life and to modern culture in order to survive. the newer african pentecostal churches have been able to do this, but they still continue to pray for power over spirits, sickness, unemployment, corruption, failures, family breakdown, kidnapping, terrorism, religious extremism and the like. “new religious movements” as used by turner is a general term for the phenomena in africa embraced by a bewildering variety, aladuras, separatist sects, post-christian movements, millennialisms and messianisms, protonationalist and protest movements, independent, pentecostal or spiritual churches, as well as the great range of special terms or taxonomies coined by anthropologists since linton’s “nativistic” religions of the 1940s (turner, 1978, p.13). in the next heading, we shall be considering the pluralistic structure of the “newness” in the new religious movements. plurality of disciplines and classification systems a. neo-primal movements these new forms of movements are of traditional or primal african religions, distinct from further developments within the old system and often strongly opposed to it, yet at the same time attempting to revitalize or remodel traditional forms; this is done under the challenged of the western-christian encounter and with certain forms or ideas borrowed from this new influence in order to deal with the inadequacies of the old system. movements of this type (typology) includes the reformed ogboni fraternity (1914), the aruosa national religion of benin (1945), and the national church of nigeria (1948). others include bullamatare (1570s) in congo, the yakan water cult in uganda (1880s), the kenyan cult of mumbo (1908) and the cult of ancestors (1930s) and so on. the aruosa and the national church of nigeria united to form the godianism (the god of africa) in 1964. these movements are usually anti-christian (fasholeluke, 1978). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 126 b. syncretist movements these movements refer to the movements that are consciously and intentionally syncretist in the sense that they create a new system by borrowing both from the african primal and from the invasive traditions. the movements intend to be neither traditional nor christian. such movements include the bwiti cult among the fang of gabon (1890s), the africanized form of the watchtower movement in central africa (1907), the deima church of the ivory coast since 1922, the hereto church in namibia (1955) and the catholic-background church of the sacred heart in zambia (1956) (turner, 1978). c. hebraist movements these movements strongly repudiated traditional practices especially the use of magic and rejected also the new testament and the distinctive christology of the christian position, but adopted the biblical tradition in its old testament form. they intend to identify with the ancient israel and to regard themselves as african jews, following jewish ways of worship and styles of life. according to turner (1978), the three main examples are enoch mgijima’s israelites in south africa (1912), the bayudaya (the jews of uganda (1923) and have developed contacts with modern world jewry, and the god’s kingdom society formed in nigeria (1934) by a former member of a western hebraist type of movement, jehovah’s witnesses. d. african prophet movements apart from movements towards political independence over the whole africa, another continent-wide development is the prophet movements, separatist sects, or independent indigenous churches (turner, 1979). these movements for cultural integrity and spiritual autonomy have for the most part preceded those aiming at political independence, and their influence may prove to be more profound and to continue long after the political movements have reached their consummation. there are other countless ones in addition to those mentioned above. they presuppose a prior and established “classical” tradition against which certain movements may be described as “new”. that is to say that it is, “a historically new religious phenomenon arising in the encounter of a primal society and its religion with one or more of the higher cultures and their major religions, and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 127 involving some substantial departure from the classical religious traditions of all the cultures concerned, in order to find renewal through a different religious system” (turner, 1979, p.15). the impact of new religious movements in the modernization of africa their patriotic and religious campaigns, well commented in the literature, resemble those of the ancient nabism in israel. in the african context, the ethiopian prophet-leaders and other messianic figures who assume the different functions of moses are no doubt champions for liberty for the oppressed africans. an example is the ngunzists of the early phase of the kimbanguist movement known for their holy-war-mongering. (ndiokwere,1995). the national church of nigeria and other similar churches started the nationalism in the churches. they have their leaders mainly black and also propagate black philosophy of concept. the history of spirited reaction of nigerians and african peoples in general against the invading white rulers reaches back to the xhosa of south africa, who at various times between 1815 and 1857 sought deliverance from the foreigners by a holy war under a divinely raised leader who was influenced by christian ideas and sometimes promised his people a glorious future (turner, 1979) and barker, 1982). other equivalent revolts against eropean rulers or colonial powers include that of witbooi and sturmann in south west africa, enoch ngijima in south africa after the first world war, prophet simon kimbangu of congo in 1921 among others. there are some that are less violent or more concealed forms of national feeling such as james limba’s church of christ (1910) in south africa which stresses african deliverance from white domination. harold w. turner observed that the divisive influence of tribalism within the new national political units has been painfully in evidence since the achievement of independence, and threatens the existence of nigeria, the largest nation in africa. some of these movements are remarkable for their ethnic and linguistic variety, and their geographical spread beyond the limits of both tribe and nation, without losing their local basis. some of the religious groups notable for this purpose include the church of the lord (aladura) which spreads from nigeria through many of the peoples of ghana, liberia, benin, ivory coast and thus cutting across many linguistic and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 128 political barriers. others comprise kivuli, founder of the african israel church in kenya that encouraged intermarriage between luo and ragolu, and also used their languages in services. at times these new religious movements could be regarded as a form of proto-nationalism (hayward, 1963). in most traditional societies of africa the tribe itself and its rulers and institutions were set within a sacred cosmic order. again, the patterns and the sanctions for political organization were often derived from a religious cosmology and the mythology that expressed and supported it, and the political leader or head was the channel through which ultimate or cosmic forces operated for the welfare of the society. sacred kingship has been widespread, and sharp separation between religious and political institutions and activities has been rare. this is described as autocratic system of governance. however, african new religious movements have not provided new national or state religions, but claimed that the new political parties and leaders themselves serve a pseudo-religious purpose, especially where authoritarian politics tends to pervade the whole of life and the founders of independence are given a messianic status. people like nkrumah, azikiwe, banda, kenyatta, houphouetbiogny, lumumba, and also the older leader, tubman in liberia, have been given messianic and sometimes divine status. the “new churches do provide a ready-made framework within which a leader can fulfill some of the particularistic relationships traditionally expected of people in authority, and in most cases with the aid of christian ritual and symbols, increasingly eliciting more universalistic and functionally specific relationships in those areas where social, economic and political patterns have been most modified and broadened by european contact (davids, 1976). the future problems and prospects to ndiokwere (1995), prayer houses are a challenge to all of us. it is not good criticizing or condemning them. we must provide healthy alternative ones for our people. the old preoccupation with trying to “win over” and ‘keep people’ in our church by mere appeals to cold igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 129 intellectual arguments on the true church vis-à-vis the false churches are not of much lasting value to a people for whom religion is primarily emotional and utilitarian (p.274). hitherto, the problems are whether these new religious movement will hold and consolidate such transcendence of tribalism as they have achieved, against its recrudescence as in nigeria, remains to be seen. again, as the sights are raised and the full benefits of the modern world come into view more clearly there may come a greater interest in politics, and a disillusionment with the situation after independence. this is coupled with the quality of education offered, the lack of qualitative medical care, the extent of corruption, and social diseases such as unemployment, prostitution, and increasing crimes (turner, 1979). on whether the disillusionment will produce reactions or revolts asking to those prompted by the miseries of colonialism, or a more extreme escapism into “spiritual” religion, m.m. thomas posited; “the future of the struggle for a modern ethos in non western lands lies ultimately with the indigenous movements which are seeking to transform traditional cultures from within. on the prospects of these new religious movements, there is the likelihood that they will last. this is for the fact that they offer to nigerians and africans even beyond the continent their needs in spiritual, political, cultural and economic perspectives. in rural and urban areas, they created prayer houses to meet the demands of their clients for prosperity, health and success in their endeavours. they speak to africans in the accent they will understand. according to bolaji idowu, while accepting christianity, nigerians do not need to throw away that which is good and valuable in their own culture. and so, for the gospel to have impact on the lives of nigerians, it must take cognizance of the cultural background of the society and preach in clear accents rather than commending her saviour to nigeria in strange tongues. the rationalists, especially the african church leaders, created african theology that has cultural nationalist dimension. that is to say that africans who are christians can now interpret the gospel within the context of their culture such as in music, art and dance. idowu in consonance with this agrees that christ will be real to nigerians when the church in the country develops a distinctive theology in consequence of their own personal igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 130 knowledge of god and a personal appropriation of the leadership of christ (idowu, 1965).the first african voices against the denationalizing methods of christian missions in west africa were those of james johnson and blyden (ayandele, 1966). in assessing some of the new religious movements such as cherubim and seraphim, church of the lord aladura, christ apostolic church, deeper life bible church of nigeria, grace of god mission and so on, we have the following characteristics similar in these churches. to an extent, they are not very democratic in their governance. the founder is the sole authority that employs and fires at will without challenge. most of these churches appeal to women more because they give greater attention to the barren and spinsters’ problems that are regarded as some of the curses or reproaches in africa. second, since women in african societies are generally regarded as inferior and less important than men, their status in these churches is upgraded even in leadership. hence, they feel at home in these churches. the new religious movements interpret the bible literarily for they think of religion mostly in terms of feeling. this is to mention but few. in situations where many africans had been regarded or had regarded themselves as “nobodies” before joining a new religious movement, or where personal recognition and movement into the higher echelons of authority had been slow or even impossible elsewhere, say in the mainstream (missionary) churches, upon joining the new religious movements, these africans now claim to have achieved personal social recognition for the first time in their lives. their individual gifts and talents are now recognized and used for their personal benefits and the benefits of others. during the research work, these neophytes (converted members) testified that they now know who they are and “the lord’s will” for their lives. they now claim to “see” whereas before they were “blind”. thus many africans sooner or later come to discover that in order for them to become “somebodies” it is first necessary for them to belong to these religious movements, because belonging, they say, makes it possible for them to define who they are in a world in which it is so easy to be lost in the callous crowd. ambivalent attitudes in these prophet-healing churches the prophet-healing type of independent body was also more african in its orientation, and therefore less congruent with education which usually meant igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 131 westernization at the same time. it is dependent on the charismatic leader rather than the trained professional or organization man, and on divine power rather than human wisdom and skill (turner, 1979). it was possible to help their members to adjust and also to abandon many of the old ways even while opposing western influences, while viewing schools as worldly institutions or as works of the devil. the christ apostolic church, the largest independent church in nigeria, has its own education system with six grammar schools, and a teacher-training college. it also graduates its own staff. similarly, the highly individualistic holy apostles’ community in its remote lagoon-bound city of aiyetoro in nigeria has its own school system, and has been willing to use the methodist church nigeria to supply the teaching staff that will secure government recognition; at the same time it remains suspicious of higher education that will take its children away from the community, perhaps never to return. methodology this research employed the use of historical and phenomenological approaches to the study. it used also primary and secondary sources to obtain data. the primary source involved oral interviews while secondary source entails books, journals, and internet materials. these furnished the researcher with the basic information that was necessary for the comprehension, understanding, and analysis of the relevant issues discussed in this work. conclusion and recommendations in conclusion, i infer that the “newness” comprises pagan tendencies, occultism, neo-primal movements, syncretist movement, hebraist movement, pentecostal movement, black folk religion, initiation rites, musical tradition, african theology and black theology among others. the “newness” appears to be well nigh universal, rooted in the needs of every community and social groups as the french sociologist emile durkheim noted (shupe, 1981). it is undoubtedly true that new discoveries cause people to change the way in which they understand human life and religious experience. the “newness” in the new religious movements engendered evangelistic awakening and spiritual revival among the pentecostal group members. missionary commitment is also encouraged. it makes the mission churches to wake up from their spiritual slumber. some of the features in the new religious movements previously condemned by the mission churches could now be seen in the mainline churches. sadly, we now have igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 132 populist preaching so distant from the word of god and the cross that it attracts the crowds as they search for wealth, healing and deliverance without any serious transformation in their lives. having said that, teachings on programmes of the mainstream churches to be intensified and their pastoral activities strengthened. there should be enough evident of practical christianity seen in the lives of the ecclesiastical leaders and their members. the mainline churches should demonstrate tolerance towards the new religious movements, and they should also be flexible enough to accommodate positive changes from time to time more especially in respect of their doctrines and liturgies, since the church is dynamic. references ayandele, e. a. (1966). the missionary impact on modern nigeria 1842-1914. london: longmans, green and co. barker, e. (ed.) (1982). new religious movements: a perspective for understanding society. new york: the edwin mellen. barrett, d. b. (1970). schism & renewal in africa. nairobi: oxford university press. bowen, r. (1996)…so i send you: a study guide to mission. london: spck. davids, j.o. (1976). christian, politics and violent revolution. london: scm. fashole-luke, e. etal (eds.). (1978). christianity in independent africa. london: rex collings. hayward, v.e. w. (1963). african independent church movements. london: scm. idowu, b. (1965) towards an indigenous church ibadan: oxford university press. ndiokwere, n. i. (1995). prophecy and revolution. london: spck. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 3, april 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 133 nmah, p. e. (2008). religion and society in africa. enugu: rabboni. shupe, a.d. jr. (1981). six perspectives on new religions: a case study approach. new jersey: the edwin mellen press. turner, h.w. (1967). the history of an african independent church: the church of the lord (aladura), volume i. oxford: oxford university press. turner, h.w. (1967). the history of an african independent church: the church of the lord (aladura), volume ii. oxford: oxford university press. turner, h.w. (1978). “the approach to africa’s religious movement” in religious innovation in modern african society. holland: afrita-studiecentrum. turner, h.w.(ed.). (1979). religious innovation in africa: collected essays on new religious movements. bosten: g.k. and co. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 181 the efficacy of traditional clothweaving industry and the economy of jechira area of benue state: 1992-1998 korinya m. tivlumun veritas university abuja & v. s akran, phd department of history and war studies nigerian defence academy kaduna abstract this study looks at the contribution of traditional tiv cloth production to the economy of jechira area of benue state, 1992 1998. choice of the time frame is informed by the need to ascertain how the jechira people managed to weather the storm of continual battles through the instrumentality of this traditional craft. the study therefore adopts both oral and written sources of historical reconstruction to interrogate how far jechira area of benue state has been able to navigate through thick and thin, by engaging in viable economic initiatives through the instrumentality of traditional cloth production. findings of this research indicates that, jechira has comparative and competitive advantage in traditional tiv cloth production; an ancient craft which has been practiced in the area from antiquity, has huge potential that can be harnessed for socio-cultural, and economic benefits, among other gains. the study further submits that, it is imperative for the benue state government as well as jechira area to provide appropriate state and local government support and incentives, particularly investments in production processes, skills, marketing, accounting and management, as well as an enabling business environment; including timely address of both remote and immediate causes of conflicts that will enhance the productivity, profitability, and the sustainability of cloth production in the area. this will, in turn, boost the local economy in terms of additional employment, incomes, taxes, and poverty reduction, among others. keywords: traditional clothing, weaving, industry, jechira, tiv cloth introduction towards the end of the pre-colonial era, tiv people generally (which jechira is part of), had acquired the art of weaving and were clothing themselves and also exporting tiv woven fabrics to other groups, particularly their neighbours and hausa traders from the north, among others.i the fabrics were produced using locally fabricated implements and homegrown raw materials. at its peak, tiv traditional cloth production was an important vocation in the economy of tiv society as a whole, and certainly in the local economies of places such as present day jechira which hosted some of the most vibrant production outlets.ii right from the outset, the area was reputed for a great variety of brilliant and popular designs of the traditional tiv cloth; earning the area the enviable status of a foremost traditional fabric production center in benue state. however, according to makar and dzurgba, the fortunes of the local textile industry in tiv land, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 182 including jechira started to decline from about 1950 onwards due to a variety of unfavorable factorsiii. as a leading center of traditional tiv cloth production, jechira held onto traditional cloth weaving, albeit on a reduced scale, relative to what obtained in the boom period. the cloth making vocation in jechira is an inherited art from previous generations, and needs to be systematically studied and documented, particularly in terms of its contribution to the local economy in recent times.iv judging by its wide use at social and cultural events throughout tiv society, the tiv traditional attire has become a key symbol of tiv cultural identity. since the pre-colonial era, the production and propagation of traditional tiv clothing has conferred significant socio-cultural and economic benefits on tiv society, and on the people of jechira who are at the apex of the vocation.v however, since the fall of 1990s, emerging realities in respect of the economy of jechira need to be identified and systematically assessed. the challenge of the diminishing role of oil in the nigerian economy has necessitated the urgent need to development alternative sources of revenue and other productive sectors of the economy. the emphasis is, therefore, on diversification, or developing new enterprises that will propel the economy beside oil and gas. jechira, in line with current realities, can leverage its centuries-old vocation of traditional cloth production, to complement agriculture; and provide viable additional sources of livelihood, income generation and employment, among others. sound economic policies and good investment decisions are contingent on quality information. the comparative advantage of local cloth weaving in jechira needs to be adequately factored into the planning and implementation of appropriate measures that would propel the local economy to greater heights. a vibrant textile industry would not only generate employment and incomes, but would also greatly contribute to poverty reduction in jechira. the problem of this study therefore, is to identify, systematically assess and document the contribution of traditional tiv cloth production to jechira area of benue state. the study is necessitated by the need to identify, examine and document the recent social, cultural and economic contributions of tiv cloth production in jechira. the research is of sociocultural, economic, technological and educational significance. socio-culturally, a better understanding of the full ramifications of traditional tiv cloth production not only deepens consumption of indigenous fabrics but also preserves the traditional weaving skills currently under threat. economically, repositioning the industry to actualize its potential for employment and income generation and for poverty reduction will empower the host community and enhance the productivity and overall growth of the economy of jechira and that of the state. technologically, the findings of this study which identify the need to modernize the current production processes in traditional tiv cloth production, if faithfully implemented, will ensure greater variety and diversity in the design and fabrication of machinery as well as related inputs. the recommended measures will thus influence the overall character and technological capacity of the local economy, that of the state and indeed of the country as a whole. educationally, the study will have immense contribution to knowledge on both formal and informal fronts. its findings will form the bedrock for further researches on the subject matter. also, since the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 183 elements of cultural revival, skill acquisition through indigenous entrepreneurship and selfreliance are central to the government of nigeria, the findings of the study can be utilized by the academia to formulate guidelines for the government to follow in pursuit of the realization of such goals. the role of traditional cloth production in jechira economy the economy of a place (nation, sub-national entity, or local entity) is the system of economic activities-businesses, enterprises, and vocations, among otherswhich are located, do business, and benefit from their locality. these activities are also expected to benefit, or give back, or contribute to the overall development and progress of the host entity. in this regard, economic activities such as traditional cloth production which are hosted in konshisha and vandeikya local governments are expected to contribute to the overall development of the area, particularly in terms of socio-cultural, and economic, and other benefits. social benefits are the gains to the community as a whole, while cultural benefits are the specific gains in furtherance of the way of life of the totality of the people. economic benefits include employment, household incomes, local taxes, wealth generation, and overall improvement in people’s quality of life, among others. cloth weaving, or traditional cloth production, is an important vocation in jechira, next only to agriculture, the latter being the primary means of livelihood for the people of the area. traditional cloth production is a supplementary/complementary means of livelihood, and a source of income and employment generation, and poverty reduction in jechira. a good number of those engaged in the vocation are beneficiaries of a system of family inheritance; a tradition that has evolved, and sustained over several decades, and passed on from one generation to another.vi traditionally, cloth production in jechira/other parts of tiv was originally a family affair, in which each household member played a role. in households where weaving was practiced, men, women, children, and others, were involved, at one stage or another; in a process which usually involved cultivation of cotton on family land, and processing the cotton fibre into yarn through spinning, and then weaving, knitting dyeing and packaging the produced fabrics. while the male members of the household prepared the ground and planted the cotton seeds, the women and children cared for the plant until it was harvested. women and children were also involved in picking and spinning the cotton into thread while the head of household usually did the weaving, and dyeing, etc. cloth production was therefore a gainful employment, and excess cotton and the fabrics produced were traded or exported far and near. skills were also imparted on younger generation of household members through learning on the job.vii the traditional fabrics also contributed in advancing jechira/ tiv culture. events such as trade fairs, and agricultural and cultural shows, organized under the auspices of relevant ministries of the benue state government especially in the 1970s and 1980s, usually had popular cultural dances and exotic traditional attires as side attractions. the latter in particular contributed in no small measure in promoting tiv/jechira culture. new designs and types of traditional tiv/jechira fabrics were often introduced with new cultural dances, and the fabrics were always conspicuously displayed igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 184 and marketed at such organized events. it is probably no exaggeration to say that tiv culture, particularly the traditional attire, gained local, state-wide, national and international recognition through the integration of economic, and agricultural and cultural activities of the 1970s and 1980s. this stimulated demand for traditional tiv fabric, and the growth of a class of middle men who specialized in trading tiv clothes in other cities and towns within the state and beyond. the industry has no doubt significantly contributed in promoting and projecting tiv culture to the outside world, through the creative and exotic designs of contemporary tiv/jechira traditional attires, which have become well known and greatly admired. traditional cloth production, over the years, has imparted traditional weaving skills to younger generations of dedicated tiv/jechira craftsmen who have preserved the vocation and earn a living from it, and who also contribute towards employment generation and poverty reduction, as well as complementing agriculture and the diversification of the local economy.viii factors that have contributed to traditional cloth production as a vocation/business according to ingyur and hir, the history of the adaptation of weaving in jechira/tiv is not immediately clear. nevertheless, cloth production or weaving has been harnessed in jechira/tiv for social, cultural and economic advantages for centuries, within which period a weaving culture evolved and has been passed down from one generation to another. the trade is considered a legacy, to be sustained at all cost due to its positive imprints. hir reported that most of those engaged in the vocation today inherited the trade as a family business, and that it is common practice to combine traditional cloth production with farming and other engagements in the public or private sectors. this is one of the reasons why traditional cloth production still survives in jechira.ix in addition, the abundance of cotton, the primary raw material for contemporary cloth production, and the availability of skills to process the cotton for weaving in jechira facilitated the growth of fabric production in the area. furthermore, the favourable climate and soils; with abundant rainfall, average temperature, and the arid/loamy soils readily supported the growth of cotton particularly in jechira, and that the crop was usually planted around june and july, and grew with the rains and developed to maturity within four months. they report further that the crop was allowed to dry and then picked during the dry season, after which the cotton fibre was processed into yarn and used in weaving fabric, which was then dyed and given other necessary finishing touches. the abundance of the primary raw material for cloth production due to favourable weather and soil conditions as well makar and dzurgba as well as the availability of skills to locally processed cotton fibre into yarn and cloth weaving, contributed to the growth of the vocation particularly in jechira, up to early 1950s.x closely related, is the availability of family labour for the various stages of cloth production. beginning with the cultivation of cotton and its processing and weaving, and the dyeing and other finishing touches, jechira people organized cloth production in a way that every member of the household where the vocation was practiced participated, at one stage or another. family members-men, women, children, and others, undertook various tasks, under the overall supervision and guidance of the head of household, the latter of who usually did the weaving and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 185 dyeing, etc. akiga – sai described the setting as follows “…a good woman would set to work to pick out seeds from the cotton”. in the evening, “... she took the cotton and began to spin till drowsiness overcame her and she fell asleep”. in another place, akiga reported that in olden times both the head of the house and his wife would spin, and if they had five children, they would each have cotton in their hands. when they had spun all their cotton, the thick thread for the weft and the thin for the warp, they put it together and gave it to the head of the family to weave into cloth. the participatory and all-inclusive approach to weaving ensured that labour was not a problem, and that younger family members had adequate time to learn the rudiments of the trade on the job. there was therefore a relatively seamless transition from one generation of weavers to another within a household that practiced the vocation.xi the advent of christianity in tiv, ushered in western education and greatly influenced local textile industry. the sudan united mission (sum) arrived sai, gaambe-ya in shitile of the present day katsina-ala local government area on april 17, 1911.they were later followed by missionaries of the dutch reformed christian mission who handed over all their mission stations to sum in 1961. the roman catholic missionaries commenced evangelical work in 1919 at masev. the missionaries form each of these missions opened schools which taught pupils handicrafts (including weaving), reading, writing, farming, arithmetic and tiv language. the british colonialists opened only one post-primary institution in the whole of the then benue province, which got her intakes from the native authority schools earlier established in 1928. the school was later renamed as junior primary school, katsina-ala and it offered four-year subjects in tiv language, english, hausa, arithmetic, history, geography, hygiene and agriculture. the augustinian order of the catholic mission was replaced by the holy ghost order in the 1930s. the new order really advanced the opening of more mission stations at korinya, naka, udei and other villages in tiv land. besides these stations were schools, which numbered 50 as at 1936 across the benue province. it rose to 149 in 1949 and was 400 altogether in 1956. it is necessary to emphasize that the pupils of these schools were first, taught handicrafts as one of the subjects, in which they learnt how to weave clothes and make beads. they also learnt how to dress neatly. as a result, the textile industry expanded sales and production in response to growing demand.xii another important factor that helped the local fabric industry to thrive in jechira is its integration with the cultural life of the people. according to makar and dzurgba, traditional dance festivals which were a prominent feature of tiv people’s cultural life, were also effective avenues for promoting new designs of jechira fabrics, which were usually first worn by traditional dancers. this became an important means of advertising new fabrics locally and among neighboring tribes. as the popularity of jechira fabrics grew, so did demand and production. this enabled the industry to thrive and expand up to early 1950s.xiii further impetus to the development and growth of traditional cloth production in jechira / tiv was from the push for ethnic nationalism in an increasingly competitive nigerian federalism, and growing awareness of the negative influences of foreign culture, and the urgent need to curtail such undesirable influences. tiv/jechira traditional attire assumed an important role in propagating the people’s culture; a symbol of tiv cultural identity and an outward expression of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 186 the inner pride of being tiv, a unique brand in the multi-ethnic nigerian society. this development increased demand for traditional tiv/jechira woven fabrics, and the economic sustainability of the vocation. a class of middlemen has emerged and earns a living from trading in tiv /jechira produced fabrics, locally and beyond. appetite for locally produced fabric has grown as the products find their way into local, state, national and international markets, including tiv in the diaspora, most of who want to own one or more traditional attires for special occasions. the availability of relatively cheap foreign (industrial) raw materials such as thread and dye has greatly eased entry to the trade. new start-ups in traditional cloth production are far more common now than before, due to the ease of procuring raw material inputs which, hitherto, had to be grown and processed for production. rapid population growth, the absence of critical infrastructure, and lack of reliable electricity and energy supply, as well as non-inclusive growth of the economy, among other setbacks, have created a large gap between demand for employment and what the productive sector of the economy can provide. the pressure to diversify the economy in order to create alternative sources of employment has therefore heightened. this has renewed interest in harnessing the employment potentials of the smes including traditional cloth production. the socioeconomic and cultural importance of traditional cloth production in jechira socio-economic importance fabric production is an important sector of the economy of nations globally; with several significant socio-cultural and economic impacts. in many economies, the textile industry is significant in employment and income generation, especially for women. the industry is also an important source of foreign exchange earnings. a robust textile industry also contributes to long term sustainable national economic development, particularly in countries with appropriate policies and institutions to harness the dynamism of the industry. experience from a number of countries shows the significant benefits of textiles to the economy. 1. cambodia, with virtually a non-existent economic base in the 1990s, grew its textile industry to become a key source of manufacturing exports (80%) and formal employment (65%), and 1012% contribution to the county’s gdp; 2. bangladesh developed its textiles to become the main source of manufacturing employment and exports, next to agriculture;xiv 3. mauritius diversified from sugar into textiles and garment in the 1980s, and subsequently into tourism and other services. textiles generated around 19% of manufacturing value added, and provided indirect employment for some 250,000 people, while direct employment was around 78,000 people; and 70% of the country’s total manufacturing employment being in textiles; 4. madagascar’s textile and garment industry enjoyed trade preferences and low labour costs from job relocation away from mauritius due to higher costs there; while sri lanka achieved 5% contribution to the country’s gdp from its textiles, and pakistan 15% share of total employment in manufacturing form textiles. in the least developed and low-income countries, textiles igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 187 contribute to the national economy about 35% to 75%; and 90% in bangladesh, lesotho and cambodia.xv in general, in a number of low-income countries in particular, textiles provide opportunities for diversification and expansion of manufactured exports, especially where the country fully exploits its labour cost advantages and is able to meet buyer demands. the dynamic effects of the textile industry are greater with more linkages between textiles and local suppliers. socially, if appropriate policies and institutions are in place, fabric production provides jobs and enhances skill acquisition, and accommodates new entrants into higher value-added activities such as design and marketing, etc. it is evident from the foregoing that cloth production confers on the host economy significant economic, social, and cultural benefits.xvi according to bohannan, etal, the economy of tiv, and by extension jechira and benue state, the host sub-national entity, is agrarian. artisanal skills such as cloth weaving, wood and raffia works, and mat and basket making among others, constitute the informal sector, and supplement agriculture. cloth production in particular has had significant socio-economic and cultural impacts on jechira and on benue state as a whole. according to bohannan, prior to the introduction of money in the tiv economy, traditional woven fabric (cloth money) was a valuable medium of exchange. cloth production also complemented agriculture in providing a means of livelihood, employment generation and a source of income for those engaged in the vocation.xvii akiga –sai reported that cloth production originally involved entire householdmen, women and children, who were involved in the process at one stage or another; and providing gainful employment for the entire household. the participatory and inclusive approach to traditional cloth production in jechira also ensured that younger members of the household acquired relevant skills on the job, in a seamless transition between one generation of traditional weavers and another. hir reported that traditional cloth production in tiv/jechira created a local economy for the people, and that the fabrics produced were marketed locally and beyond. he reported further that extensive commercial networks and trade relations developed as a result of traditional woven fabrics and other local products of jechira /tiv area. the older market centres like adikpo, jato aka, zaki biam, buruku, tsar, agbo and others owe their emergence to trade in local commodities including traditional woven fabrics. some of the early trade routes, particularly adikpo-buruku-gbajimba-keana; makurdi-abinsi-ihugh-ogoja; obudu-adikpokatsina ala; and akpagher-buruku-katsina ala, were instrumental in the tiv /jechira people accessing new skills, technology, and designs for cloth production from other groups such as the hausa of northern nigeria and the jukun within the northern axis.xviii according to hir, cloth weaving in jechira and other places where it is widely practiced, created wealth for those engaged in the vocation, and that even those in white collar jobs and other profitable ventures are still attracted to weaving, albeit on part-time basis, in order to supplement their earnings. abee is reported to have disclosed that cloth production enables households engaged in the vocation to earn income that would help in giving their children and wards western education and to meet other important household needs such as health and other igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 188 necessary family commitments. in addition, consistent with available evidence from other developing economies particularly bangladesh, cambodia, mauritius and madagascar and others already cited in this study, trade and commerce through which locally produced goods and services, including traditional woven fabrics are exported, or exchanged beyond their place of production, confers several socio-economic benefits such as household income, employment, and skills on the local economy of the producing entity. jechira has similar benefits from traditional cloth weaving, even though the current performance is not commensurate with available potential of the local textile industry in jechira. cultural importance culture relates to artistic or social pursuit, or valuable or enlightened events relating to a civilization. according to igirgi, and gbor, theoretically, culture is quite elusive and is not amenable to a simple definition. practically however, certain aspects of a people’s way of life such as language, religion, political and social systems, economy, aesthetics (arts) and mysticism, among others collectively constitute the people’s culture. from the forgoing, the focus here is on the way of life (behaviour) of jechira people viz a viz their traditional woven fabrics.xix in essence, woven fabrics protect the body against the elements. over time, fabrics assumed other dimensions including satisfying man’s aesthetic need of body adornment. according to gordon, chilver and igirgi, the woven fabrics of the tiv symbolized social stratificationwealth, warfare, craft and industry, magico-religious powers, etc. – and served to place an individual user within the social structure, and that cloth types were a means of social identification and originally indicated the status of the wearer. for instance, shagba-or (translated as “man of abundance”) dressed in high grade woven fabrics like tugudu, gbagir, godo, or swem-karagbe (even on ordinary occasions). similarly, the cloth type known as “anger-u-ichengeigbee” was traditionally, restricted to “orsoron igbe’ or the one specialized in treatment of igbe (a common ailment in those days that was characterized by constant stooling and loss of weight). other persons, no matter how highly placed, could not use this particular fabric; violators of the restriction risked undesirable consequences. in addition, most of the traditional woven fabric types were gender sensitive. contemporary tiv society has liberalized most of these restrictions and the use of the different clothing types is largely a matter of choice, for the men and women of all classes, as commonly seen at social gatherings. to some extent, traditional tiv fabrics still, culturally reflect some element of sexual differentiation, commemorations, observance of cultural phenomena, and royalty and leadership position. gender wise, woven cloth types such as the “anger” fabric incorporate gender considerations in design and production. the male version is longer and wider than the female “anger”, due to the way the men wear the fabric. while men normally strap the fabric on the torso allowing it to drape far below the knees, women wrap the fabric round the waist over blouse with head gear to match. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 189 commemorative occasions such as marriages, celebration of achievements, and the like attract fabric types that are considered appropriate for the occasion. according to atagher, before money economy was introduced in tiv land around the 19th and 20th centuries, transactions such as the payment of bride price, and gifts by the bride groom to key members (mother and father in-laws) of the bride were done using woven fabric. the bridegroom also gave woven fabric to the bride to prove his capability to cater for his wife. some of these traditions are still in observance in contemporary tiv/ jechira society. according to gbor, celebration of achievements in the form of “amar a mirin” (or feast convention), for example, is a lavish occasion organized by an accomplished man of wealth. the guests are usually well fed and entertained, with the celebrant clad in prestigious traditional fabrics with a cap to match, and decorated with a skin bag (ikpa i abolough) which is hung over his shoulder. the celebrity is also given a long-shafted lance in the right hand, to give an air of accomplishment to his appearance. amar a mirin is almost extinct in tiv culture, but is replaced with receptions periodically organized by groups to celebrate achievements politically, educationally and other wise. most significantly, the celebrant is always clad in prestigious traditional tiv attire. burial, according to torkula, and ushe, is a most solemn cultural activity among the tiv people, and it also involves the use of traditional woven fabric. in tiv culture, an individual’s status follows him to his grave, and before the era of coffins and elaborately constructed graves, the shroud more than anything else determined the dignity of a burial. woven fabrics still constitute what torkula refers to as “grave goods” in tivland.xx leadership inaugurations also incorporate the use of suitable traditional woven fabric to adorn a new leader. centralized authority arrived late in tiv; a paramount ruler was appointed as recently as 1946. since then, leadership structures have continued to evolve in the tiv society. it is now standard practice that leadership inaugurations at all levels incorporate the use traditional tiv fabrics to adorn the new leader. the ceremony of inauguration of rulers in tiv land is now also characterized by dressing the “tor” (ruler) in tiv traditional attire which symbolizes his new status and authority. this usually consists of an expensive traditionally woven fabric with complementary items like a decorated skin bag, a cap, a long-shafted lance or a walking stick. the benue state cultural troupe has adopted the various traditional woven fabrics of the major ethnic groups in the state as a symbol of identity. the fabrics are also designed into a variety modern fashionable wear such as skirts, blouses and other tops (for females), and kaftans, jumpers, agbada and danshiki, and caps and mufflers, and others for the males. it is evident from the aforementioned cultural uses of traditional woven fabrics that the fabrics are fully integrated into the culture of the tiv/jechira people. from its use as a medium of exchange in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, traditional woven fabrics have been an important aspect of tiv cultural life, and a symbol of tiv/jechira cultural identity. most important ceremonies in contemporary tiv/jechira society, such as marriages, celebration of achievements, burials, and chieftaincy and other leadership inaugurations, and similar events are igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 190 really never complete without decorating the celebrities in befitting attires made of tiv/jechira traditional fabrics, which are inseparable from the people’s culture. varieties of traditional cloths produced in jechira abrahams, a colonialist wrote, at the onset of colonialism, that “…. the tiv weave a great number of different cloths, but these are fast being ousted by materials bought at european canteens and the time cannot be far away when weaving will become a thing of the past”.xxi the views of this colonialist clearly attest to the fact that even before colonialism, traditional cloth production was a booming vocation among the tiv people including the people of jechira. some traditional cloth varieties produced in jechira; source: researcher’s fieldwork, 2019 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 191 the range of cloths woven in tiv/jechira has grown over time. from a limited number of cloth types such as “atsar a ikyondo”, “icha”, “chado”, “lishi”, “ashisha”, ”tugudu”, “godo”, “gbagir”, and “akpen”, etc.), contemporary traditional cloth types include a greater variety of brilliant and popular designs; customized for particular occasions and/or users, as well as gender and class sensitive. contemporary tiv/kwande people produce many types of traditional fabrics for various occasions. these include “anger”, “iviavtyo”, “gberwhaa”, “agbende a kurugh”, “akughul a anyam”, “anger u tiv”, “anger u ichenge igbee”, “ashiva”, “ate u tiv”, “chado”, “deremen”, “gbagir”, “gbeleve”, “gere”, “godo”, “gurugu”, “kumashe u tiv”, “lishi”, “mule u tiv”, “ishundan u tiv”, “swem karagbe”, and “tugudu”, among others. the men’s mode of dressing is to either, cast the traditional fabric over the body and knot it over the shoulder with a cap to match, or sew the fabric into jumpers, agbada, or other chosen designs, and always with a matching cap. the elderly men also carry a shoulder bag of animal hide and a staff. the women generally wrap the fabric around the waist, with a suitable blouse and a headtie to match; although nowadays, women also sew the fabrics into dresses of various designs and shapes to suit the occasion, age and status of the wearer.xxii conclusion for centuries, beginning at least from their time in swem, which is between the beginning of 1500 ce and 1600ce, the tiv people have practiced weaving; an ancient art of cloth production. to date, the tiv, and particularly jechira people have produced a vast array of traditional fabrics for their use and for trade. weaving, the earliest, and the most commonly used, and the most important method of cloth production in the world has been adopted and adapted by jechira people for centuries. the hand loom, or manual weaving method which is in use in the area, has remained substantially unchanged. the trade has been handed down from one generation of traditional weavers to another, and has had significant socio-cultural and economic impacts on jechira society and its economy. traditional cloth production in jechira, and in tiv generally, has been adversely affected by several factors including protracted communal conflicts in the area. more recently, trade liberalization policies of successive governments have led to flooding of local markets with cheap industrial base fabrics, and the abundance of synthetic dyes which permits an almost limitless combination of colours on fabrics. these have cumulatively eroded the originality, quality and standard of local traditional fabrics. progressive use of cheap foreign raw material inputs (particularly yarn and dyes) has led to the loss of integration and linkages that were possible with the old production processes which involved cultivation of cotton, spinning the cotton fibre into yarn for weaving, and dyeing and other value-added, finishing processes, and their impact on the local economy. nevertheless, since jechira has proven to have comparative and competitive advantage in cloth production which has been practiced in the area for centuries, and which huge potential can be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 192 harnessed and leveraged on, by government at all levels, deliberate protectionist policies be made, to engender a vibrant, robust, and sustainable cottage industry; in order to generate employment and income; wealth creation; inclusive growth and development; poverty reduction; skill acquisition, and to diversify the economy of jechira as well as to promote and preserve tiv cultural identity, among numerous other potential socio-cultural and economic benefits. endnotes i t. makar, a history of political change among the tiv in the 19th and 20th centuries ii b. akiga-sai, “the descent of the tiv from ibenda hills” annotated and translated by paul bohannan africa vol. xxiv; 1968. 71 iiia. dzurgba, on the tiv of central nigeria: a cultural perspective, john archers (publishers) limited, ibadannigeria, (2012) 88-90 iv m.t. korinya & n. s. gwimi, efficacy of conflict resolving mechanism among the zuru people of kebbi state: a traditional style 1830 -2010, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol.6, no.3, (2020) 73 v d. a. igirgi, a history of tiv textile industry c. 1850-2000 a.d, aboki publishers, makurdi-nigeria, (2007) 114122 vi a. dzurgba, on the tiv of central nigeria: a cultural perspective, 80 vii oral interview with bendega alyegba, 70+, at tsar – mbaduku, 2019 viii oral interview with kulekaa nyamigba, 70+, at gungul – shangev/tiev, 2019 ix j. hir, “nigeria: tiv weaving cottage industry boosts benue’s economy” daily trust newspaper, abuja 10 march 2009. 83 x j. hir, “nigeria: tiv weaving cottage industry boosts benue’s economy” 84 xi a. dzurgba, on the tiv of central nigeria: a cultural perspective, 55-59 xii b. akiga-sai, “the descent of the tiv from ibenda hills” 110 xiii t. makar, a history of political change among the tiv in the 19th and 20th century, 123 xivm.a. haider, “competitiveness of the bangladesh ready-made garment industry in major international markets”, asia-pacific trade and investment review, (2007) vol. 3, no. 1 xv j. hir, “nigeria: tiv weaving cottage industry boosts benue’s economy” 89 xvi m.a. haider, “competitiveness of the bangladesh ready-made garment industry in major international markets” xvii p.bohannan, “the decent of the tiv from the ibenda hill”, 295-310 xviii j. hir, “nigeria: tiv weaving cottage industry boosts benue’s economy” 56 xixd. a. igirgi, a history of tiv textile industry c. 1850-2000 a.d, 157 xx a.a. torkula, death and burial customs of the tiv people of central nigeria, midland press limited, josnigeria, (2004), 32 xxi b. andah, nigeria’s indigenous technology. university press, ibadan, nigeria (1972) 34-40 xxii oral interview with dooga diogo, 60+years, at ihugh – mbaakune, 2019 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 74 quest for wealth and power in the nigerian society: modelling religion as an instrument in addressing the menace of killing human beings for ritual ishaya brunu & laiyau joel pani lecturer, department of christian religious studies, taraba state university, jalingo ishayabrunu@gmail.com; panijoel495@gmail.com abstract killing of human beings for ritual sacrifices in the quest for power, wealth and protection has affected nigeria in numerous ways, with a toll on the socio-cultural and communal relations of the people. thus, this work, “quest for wealth and power in the nigerian society: modelling religion as an instrument in addressing the menace of killing human beings for ritual,” attempted to proffer a solution to the perennial menace of ritual killing. the study discovered that ritual killing for wealth, power and protection in nigeria is growing at an alarming rate, and the factors motivating it were extreme poverty, unemployment, desire for political power, wealth and protection. these have negatively affected the social cohesion and mutual relations of the people. on this basis, the study offered the following recommendations; religion, through christian association of nigeria, supreme council of islamic affairs, jama’atu nasril islam, should create empowerment programmes to help eradicate poverty; liaise with the government and security agents, by way of lobby and pressure, to ensure the safety of the citizens. it should also preach hard work, patience and moral sanctity of the society. keywords: church, ritual killing introduction since the fourth republic, which began in 1999, nigeria has witnessed serious security challenges that threatened it continued existence. these challenges that range from drug abuse, human trafficking, banditry, cybercrimes, terrorism, advanced fee fraud, kidnapping, among others, have continued to pose serious concern for national development (jegede, 2014). these threats to national security have been made complex by the killing of human beings for ritual. thus, the upsurge in the killing of human beings for ritual in recent times has witnessed new forms of threat to lives and security in the nigerian internal security architecture. according to agara and pojwan (2015), ritual killing has registered its name as a major security threat in nigeria, and the widespread dimension of it, is generating anxiety among the citizenry. thousands of innocent nigerians across all ages have been killed, and their body parts used for ritual sacrifices, for either political power, protection or for money, among other things (akinyemi, 2017). these developments are serious threats in the overall advancement of society for social cohesion. the rate at which people are being killed, and incomplete bodies are abandoned in most cities in nigeria, has been alarming in recent years. hardly a week will pass by without news on the media of a missing person or an incomplete human body found. just recently, five dead bodies of human beings were seen littered on some streets of jalingo. for instance, on the 20th may, 2023, in jalingo, about five dead bodies were found littered across the streets. two dead bodies were seen at the jalingo flyover bridge, one at dinyavo-mile six, one at the market area and the other at sabon igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 75 gari. cases of individuals caught with human body parts continuously flood the media. there are so many other cases of missing children across the length and breadth of nigeria unreported. jimoh (2018) avers that the actual number of people murdered for money rituals is not known, owing to the lack of systematic data gathering on issues relating to the killing of human beings for ritual. similarly, academic investigations that explore this area are relatively scant. therefore, it is difficult to present figures and illustrate how pervasive the phenomenon is (adama, 2015). however, the national bureau of statistics (nbs) (2022) avers that there have been over 9,000 cases of ritual killing reported to the police in the last two decades or so. this figure, as uncertain as it may look, is scaring and thus, capable of affecting the human psyche. therefore, it has become a regular event as hundreds of people across the country have lost their lives to it. according to ajijah (2015) the people who kill for ritual purposes go about in search of human parts such as tongues, heads, breasts, and sex organs, as demanded by the witch doctors, juju priests and occultists, who require such for sacrifices or for the preparation of magical portions. in contemporary nigeria, the killing of human beings for ritual has taken a new dimension. ayegboyin (2009:18) describes the scene as the “reign of the ritualists”. many diverse means are used to capture people with evil intentions to use them for rituals. many of those captured for such purposes are long gone, but there are a lucky few who live to tell the story of their encounter with the ritualists (adama, 2015). there are all sorts of stories of various techniques of capturing people to be killed for ritual purposes. some people disappeared while picking items set as a trap by the ritualists. the upsurge of such traps is usually during festive periods. it would therefore seem obvious that in nigeria, ritual killers are more prevalent at certain seasons of the year, like the weeks leading to christmas or sallah, and during political and electioneering processes. it is generally believed that people engage in the sacrifice of human beings to get power, protection, or money, to spend at such periods. there are some known cases of people who killed their wives, husbands, mothers, or even their children, for money-making rituals (gbinije, 2014). this crazy desire cuts across all geographical boundaries and social strata. the consequences of ritual killing are unimaginable, and all these have contributed to the sociocultural deterioration of the society. with these recurrent incidences of killing human beings for ritual in nigeria, one is forced to contemplate why such brutal and barbaric act persists, despite the frantic efforts that have been put in place by the government to curb them. thus, the continued killing of human beings for ritual purposes calls for great concern by all stakeholders. this paper, therefore, sets out to look at the role of religion in curbing the menace of the killing of human beings for ritual in nigeria. historical evaluation of the ritual of human sacrifice in nigeria the killing of human beings for ritual in nigeria can be traced to the pre-colonial era. in precolonial african societies, human beings were offered for ritual sacrifices to deities. this igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 76 occasionally includes not only human beings but most often animals (iheriiohanma, 2009). and, the type of victim for ritual sacrifice differs from one case to another, depending on the purpose of the sacrifice and the society involved. the selection of victims for ritual sacrifice also varies from one society to another. in some societies, violators of curfew, declared for ritual order, become the victims of such ritual (akinyemi, 2017). this is the more reason why strangers mostly fall victim to ritual sacrifice, since they are not aware of such a curfew declared, for a ritual order. in this case, guards that enforce such ritual order will capture the victim and present them for sacrifice. in some societies, the killing of a slave was another form of ritual sacrifice. ayegboyin (2009) observes that human sacrifice is the highest and the most expensive ritual sacrifice that most societies resort to, in times of national disaster, to appease certain divinities or purify the land. in the western parts of nigeria, agara and pojwan (2015), observe that the yoruba have a ritual tradition that includes using human beings for sacrifice before any military expeditions are embarked upon. on his part, ayegboyin (2009) avers that using human beings for ritual was not out of a lack of respect for human life, but a personal philosophy of life, that it is better to sacrifice individual life for the good of the community, than for the community to perish. however, there has never been a general acceptance of human sacrifice in africa, because the people often frown at it (ashanti, 2009). the practice of human sacrifice for juju, magical powers, witchcraft, and other fetish purposes was outlawed across the african continent under the colonial regime (browne, 1935). these practices have been criminalized in the nigerian penal code, as a measure to assist the colonial masters in establishing a favorable political, economic and social order (daily times, 2014). however, as the urge for political power, special protection and wealth accumulation grew among those in politics, businesses and other forms of activities in human endeavours, especially among the elites, as well as among some of the masses, who aspired for improvement in their fortunes, killing of human beings for personal ritual, developed at the expense of communal ritual. for instance, a story was told about how a mother in bali, a town in taraba state, lost her three kids to ritualists. according to the story, the woman hired a motorcycle rider, who takes her kids to school and brings them back at closing time. but on that day, she waited until evening and the kids never came back. on further search, the mutilated dead bodies of the kids were found at a riverbank with missing vital body parts. this and other incidents are telling. in mutum-biyu, gassol local government area, it is also submitted that two persons went missing, only for their decomposing bodies to be found after three days, with some vital organs of their bodies missing. more so, adeniyi (2014) posits that the killing of human beings for ritual activities, especially money and political power, has become sophisticated in modern times. it has expanded beyond mere killing of human beings or severing human parts, to the dangerous stage of using female underwear. ajijah (2015) tells a story of a lady who lost her sister, days after visiting her male friend for the weekend. she explains that days after her sister returned home, she started complaining of scratches in her private part, only to later discover that her pants were not complete, alleging that her partner must have stolen one for ritual purposes. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 77 more so, age bracket or gender sensitivity no longer exist for the victims, as organized groups, most especially among the youth, have mastered the arts of stealing, buying and selling of female underwear to support ritualist activities. adama (2015) recounts that at the federal university, wukari, for instance, students woke up in the morning to the realization of the fact that five female students could not find their pants, which they had put on the line to dry the previous night. it was prayers and god’s intervention that saved them. four days after their pants were missing, the victims started experiencing some strange changes that included nightmares and rashes on their private parts. this development, according to jimoh (2018), further reinforced the proliferation of private ritualist consultants and practitioners, who have the knowledge and mastery of using female underwear or human body parts for money ritual or making of amulets for protection. factors fueling the killing of human beings for ritual sacrifice in nigeria the increased rate in killings of human beings for ritual across nigeria in recent years has been an issue of grave concern. the factors fueling it are: firstly, extreme poverty and unemployment have been identified as factors motivating ritual killing. nigeria is a country bedeviled by multidimensional poverty, unemployment, and insecurity. the wave of its socioeconomic challenges and their impact are widely felt by the people. the astronomical hike in prices of commodities, the unprecedented inflation rate that the country has seen at least in the last two years or so, are obvious excruciating disasters. numerous observations and reports have demonstrated that a significant number of nigerians live below the poverty threshold. most people in nigeria do not have access to portable drinking water, good medical and health care facilities; as such, they find it more challenging to survive. for instance, the national bureau of statistics (2022) reports, have consistently revealed that poverty in nigeria is growing at an alarming rate. jimoh (2018) avers that the world poverty clock reports that 87 million nigerians, or around half of the country’s population, live in extreme poverty, and that the number of nigerians falling into abject poverty grows approximately by six people every minute. this particular report indicates that nigeria tops the list of the world’s poorest nations, despite her enormous human and natural resources. in fact, nigeria has been designated as the poverty capital of the world. thus, the disastrous economic situation, decaying infrastructure, and the unfavourable business environment have made it very difficult for many of the private businesses, including small and medium-scale enterprises (smses), to survive (agara and pojwan, 2015). for most of these smses to survive in such conditions, cutting down the staff strength and increasing the prices of their goods and services are the order of the day (akinyemi, 2017). the manufacturers’ association of nigeria (man), according to jimoh (2018), reports that between 2015 and 2017, more than 200 private manufacturing enterprises have either closed or relocated to neighboring countries, owing to nigeria’s economic conditions. these figures are too alarming and a disaster to the country’s economic development. as a result of these ugly scenarios, it has become difficult for graduates to get jobs. it is also challenging for those who acquired vocational and entrepreneurial skills to put them into practice igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 78 and earn a living (jegede, 2014). the various prospective determinants and legitimate means of having a good and prosperous life, such as education, skills, talents, and employment, among other things, appear to be irrelevant in recent years (iheriohanma, 2009). thus, many people have learned the hard way, to the extent that they go to any length to put food on the table and fulfill other basic needs of life. in this regard, many people engage in criminal activities such as the killing of human beings for money ritual, to meet these all-important needs. secondly, the desire for unmerited wealth, political power and protection has also accounted for the prevalent rate of killing of human beings for ritual. it is a common fact that nigerians attach value to power, protection and excessive acquisition of wealth. the source through which the wealth, power and protection are acquired is often not a major concern. excessive desire for wealth and primitive accumulation of properties are social syndromes that cut across all the cultural groups and social classes in nigeria. iheriohanma (2009) avers that the accumulation of unmerited wealth has become a general way of life in nigeria and young people are being socialized in this way unconsciously. in the same vein, jegede (2014) asserts that the volume of fortunes such as mansions, vehicles, and expensive outfits that one has or how extravagant one is, defines his or her influence in society. success in contemporary times is often associated with a person’s wealth and material possessions. jimoh (2018) thinks that the current trend can be regarded as the new catch-22 syndrome. this trend is spreading fast because an individual who has a lot of money, and sometimes extends his or her hands to other members in the community, is recognized as successful. in this regard, many young people grow up to have a high regard for an extravagant lifestyle. this strong desire for wealth has become an obsession that makes an average person think only about money as an end, but not the means to an end. this has gone to the extent that, how to buy the latest vehicles and a luxury mansion, and spray money at public functions, are the dreams of an average youth (adama, 2015). unfortunately, despite the high level of poverty and unemployment in the land, the society still expects people to be successful and hence, capable of footing bills for themselves and others. for instance, iheriohanma (2009) submits that parents and family members often expect that their children, who are often without a specific and genuine source of income, will take them out of poverty or at least provide for their basic needs. consequently, this excessive obsession with political power, protection, and money, fueled by societal pressure, has pushed many people to engage in all kinds of illegal activities to get rich. it is the opinion held by many people that most politicians make the sacrifice of human beings to get political power, have access to the public treasury, to engage in graft. this is evident in the enormous diversion and misappropriation of state resources and the unimaginable illicit enrichment among public office holders (ajijah, 2015). the excessive desire for wealth undoubtedly remains a major social issue that fuels other social problems, confronting both young and old people in nigeria today (gbinije, 2014). implications of human sacrifice on socio-cultural cohesion and national integration igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 79 the disastrous impacts occasioned by the growing threat of killing human beings for ritual sacrifice in nigeria is glaring. this is so, because there is no definite hotspot of operation and there are usually no targeted victims in most cases. and, there is also no profile of the perpetrators so that the survival of the victims can, at least, be curtailed. killing human beings for ritual sacrifice has become a major source of fear for many, because of the fate that mostly befalls the victims. gbinije (2014) posits that most victims of human sacrifice can turn mad, die, and become poor, deformed, or a walking corpse. and, the fear of the threat posed by ritualists has continued to undermine national integration and socio-cultural cohesion. more so, it also has the potential of turning people to engaging in jungle justice. jegede (2014) posits that at the community level, there is a growing vigilance and active responses of people against ritualists. in this way, many suspects have been apprehended and handed over to the police. in other instances, they met with jungle justice, and this is another emerging source of grave concern for security management. an incident happened in 2009, in which three persons suspected to be ritualists met with their sudden death in baissa, kurmi local government area. it was the case of three persons who were said to be diplomats, going to cameroon through the abong borders. along the way, they stopped to inquire for direction at mararaba, in donga local government area, but the boy whom they asked him for direction, accused them of taking his penis for ritual purposes. these persons were chased and killed at baissa. on this and other occasions, it has been shown that killing for ritual has become a visible threat to national security, as people often take the law into their own hands. killing of human beings for ritual sacrifice has also severe ties between families, to the extent that most families cannot account for their lost or missing loved ones. ashanti (2009) opines that most persons reported missing are usually not found, and the bodies of a few that are eventually discovered are dumped either on the roadsides, bush paths or uncompleted buildings, mutilated and their vital organs removed. the governments at both the federal and state levels have responded to this threat with legal criminalization of killing for rituals and general policing. a series of arrests and trials of suspected ritualists have been recorded. nevertheless, the threat of killing human beings for ritual remains undeterred, and has not gained enough attention, thereby creating a condition of widespread feeling of danger, harm, and horror, which is a potential threat to national and social cohesion. the way forward the following recommendations can help religion to play a vital role in addressing the challenges of the killing of human beings for ritual sacrifice in nigeria: i. religion, through the christian association of nigeria (can), jama’atu nasril islam (jni), and the supreme council of islamic affairs, should insist and assist the government to design and effectively execute sincere policies to eradicate poverty. money ritual and other ritual killings will become less appealing when there is a conscientious effort at poverty alleviation. the government should create job opportunities for the ever-growing number igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 80 of its jobless population. religion should also come up with empowerment programmes to assist her members in the form of soft loans to start businesses, to genuinely earn a living. ii. can and jni should serve as active watchdogs to ensure that democracy in its true sense strives. because it is in an atmosphere of legitimate representation, transparency in public space is made open. this would no doubt ensure that government returns to the people, and the notion of winner takes it all is removed from politics. as a result, ritual killing will become less appealing among those who want to acquire political power by all means. iii. more so, can and jni should anchor her sermons on the value of hard work, love, and honesty. in addition, they should routinely organize workshops and symposia, in collaboration with the government and non-government organizations (ngos), so as to sensitize the public on the rewards of love, honesty, and hard work. the ethic of hard work should be promoted as against unmerited fame, favour, power, and wealth. iv. can and jni should pressure the government to review its security architectures, adequately fund and equip the police force, and other sister security agencies, that are saddled with internal security duties, for the protection of lives and properties of the citizenry. there should be regular patrols and surveillance of identified dark spots of criminal activity. this is so because improving the mechanism of human security architecture will help in reducing the menace of killing human beings for sacrifice. conclusion the phenomenon of ritual killing for wealth, power, protection and the like has reached fever pitch in nigeria. it has hit a heavy blow on social cohesion, national integration and socio-cultural development. it has also caused fear among the people, especially as they go about their daily activities, in these challenging periods of national economic shocks and devastation. all efforts by nigerian security agencies seem not to be working out the required remedy needed to curb it. it would rather appear obvious that each day brings a changing dynamic, with a new paradigm shift, that presents an even more challenging phase. the involvement of non-governmental organizations and other non-state actors seems not to be yielding results. thus, if a religion that anchors its mandate on peace, social inclusion, and the salvation of the human soul is to be anything meaningful in nigeria, it should show itself capable of playing a vital role in all aspects of human beings. it is on this basis that this study examined the phenomenon of killing for ritual killing in nigeria and proposed ways in which religion can help in curbing it. references adama, j. t. (2015). the craze for wealth among nigerians. retrieved october 27, 2018, http://www.thetidenewsonline.com/2015/09/02/the-crazeforwealth-among-nigerians/ adeniyi, e. (2014). money…power…reasons ritualists are on prowl. nigerian tribune newspaper, april 14, 2014. vol. 438, 12 agara, j. j. and pojwan, m. a. (2015). “eradicating extreme poverty in nigeria: an appraisal of millennium development goal one” (mdg 1). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 81 ajijah, a. (2015). “angry youth burn 7 suspected ritualists in benue”, premium times, february 11, 2015. akinyemi, d. (2017). desperation to become rich was all over me, says man caught with seven human skulls. retrieved september 3, 2018, from https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/11/desperationbecome-rich-says-man-caught-sevenhuman-skulls/ ashanti, k. f. (2009). “blood”, in encyclopedia of african religion edited by molefi kete asante and ama mazama. california: sage publications, int. 2(3)56-70. ayegboyin,. d. (2009). “sacrifice” in encyclopedia of african religion edited by molefi kete asante and ama mazama. california: sage publications int., 2(3)34-41. browne, j. (1935). “witchcraft and british colonial law”. africa: journal of the international african institute 8(4): 481-487. daily time n. g. (2014). “ritualist disguised as lunatic discovered with human tongues in ibadan” the trent, march 26, 2014. gbinije, b. (2014). “politician, voodoo and power” vanguard, december, 21, 2014. iheriohanma, e. b. j. (2009). socio-structural pressures and the challenges of survival and crime committal in nigeria. journal of social sciences, 21(3),167-175. https://doi.org/10.1080/09718923.2009.11892767 jegede, c. o. (2014). african indigenous religious rituals and magic in ibadan politics: issues for the democratization process in nigeria. international journal of sociology and anthropology, 6(2), 42-48. jimoh, a. (2018). kwara police arrest couple, others with 11 human skulls. the nation. retrieved november 21, 2018, from http://thenationonlineng.net/kwara-police-arrestcoupleskulls/ national bureau of statistics (nbs) (2015). “gross domestic product (gdp)”. report quarter 1. abuja fct. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 60 a complementarist reconstruction of wiredu’s idea of consensual democracy saheed anuoluwapo agunbiade department of philosophy, lagos state university saheed.agunbiade@lasu.edu.ng abstract the question as to why democracy has not automatically translated to the much-needed development in africa has attracted many scholarly interventions. one of the most notable, perhaps, is kwasi wiredu's idea of consensual democracy. his ‘consensual democracy’ is based on the establishment of non-party polities as against what he called ‘majoritarian democracy’. he argues that the exclusion of minority groups and lack of decisional representatives, which are the major problems of majoritarian democracy, are addressed in his consensual democracy. in the face of different responses to wiredu, barry hallen has called for a reconsideration of the idea by demonstrating its significance and how it can work in a multicultural context like postcolonial african states. nevertheless, kazeem fayemi, on his part, provides reasons why neither wiredu's nor hallen’s positions can be wholly accepted; through a complementarist approach, he shows how consensual democracy can be improved upon to address the challenges of democratization in contemporary africa. in this paper, i further strengthen fayemi's complementarist reconstruction of consensual democracy, using innocent asouzu’s transcendental existential conversion as the theoretical framework. i argue that fayemi's position, while largely valid, requires additional fortifications, which transcendental conversion affords. i conclude that a proper remediation of consensual democracy as proposed by wiredu and defended by hallen is best achieved for relevance in modern african societies through the fusion of both the majoritarian and consensual democratic ideas. keywords: africa, consensual democracy, existential conversion, ontology, transcendent, introduction the question of whether africa has an indigenous political system that can be used to re-establish the african current socio-political affairs or not has been affirmatively answered by kwasi wiredu through his ‘consensual democracy’. his ‘consensual democracy’ is based on a non-party polity as against what he called majoritarian democracy. wiredu argues for a democracy that is deeply rooted in african cultural and political practices. he emphasizes the significance of consensus as a fundamental moral and political value in the indigenous african understanding and implementation of democracy (wiredu, 2012). wiredu suggests that the essence of consensual democracy can be discovered within the cultural norms and values of africans. it is interesting how he delves into the akan culture to illustrate and redefine the concept of democracy, highlighting the democratic principles and values that exist in indigenous african societies. this has the potential to bring about positive changes in contemporary african politics. wiredu's perspective aims to embrace the rich heritage of african culture and apply it to the present (fayemi,2020: 34). he argues that the exclusion of minority groups and lack of decisional igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 61 representatives, which are the major problems of majoritarian democracy, are addressed in his consensual democracy. he also posits that there is no political office or officer who has independent power to make decisions since decisions are made through deliberations and consensus (wiredu, 1997). nevertheless, in the contemporary period, the consensual democracy of wiredu has been heavily criticized by subsequent philosophers. one of the scholars who attempted to affirmatively acknowledge this ideology is barry hallen. barry hallen's recent article, “reconsidering the case for consensual governance in africa” (2019), presents a compelling argument for re-evaluating consensual democracy in africa. he addresses the common critiques and concludes that consensus as an alternative form of governance should be taken seriously due to its intellectual coherence and potential to improve governance in africa. this highlights the need to reconsider and explore the practical implications of embracing consensual governance in africa. hallen believes that consensual democracy offers hope for african nations to overcome the challenges associated with liberal democracy. he is optimistic for a few reasons. firstly, consensual democracy is a non-party system that focuses on personal qualifications and suitability for political positions. secondly, it promotes effective citizen participation through regular meetings where elected or selected representatives discuss diverse ideas. hallen addresses concerns about multicultural and multiethnic african nations by emphasizing that consensual democracy sublimates ethnic identities in favor of national consensus. he draws inspiration from john rawls' concept of overlapping consensus to ensure diverse ethnic groups are committed to the ideals of consensual democracy. nonetheless, kazeem fayemi in his work titled “against consensual governance in africa: a reply to barry hallen (2020)”, critically examines the position of barry hallen on his reconstruction of wiredu’s consensual democratic idea; fayemi shows that neither the position of wiredu nor hallen is enough to address the current challenges confronting the african sociopolitical world. it is based on this, therefore, that this paper attempts to buttress the position of fayemi by showing the ethnocentric biases that are embedded in the positions of wiredu and hallen; it further provides an ontological fact which shows that to institutionalize the indigenous ideology without considering the current reality of african society will be an exercise in futility. however, in doing this, the paper will be divided into four parts. the first part considers the position of wiredu on consensual democracy; it looks at how wiredu defended the indigenous political system of africa. the second part looks at the problem of complementarity in wiredu’s consensual democracy; it looks at how barry hallen defended wiredu’s position and the complementarity idea of fayemi kazeem on consensual democracy. the third part identifies the ethnocentric biases that are embedded in the position of wiredu and hallen; it considers how the two scholars defended the identity of africa without taking into cognizance the current reality of african societies. the last part attempts to defend and complement the position of fayemi on consensual democracy; it further strengthens the position of fayemi by complementing his idea through asouzu’s approach. kwasi wiredu on consensual democracy in his work, titled democracy and consensus in african traditional politics: a plea for a nonparty polity (1995), kwasi wiredu attempts to establish an african indigenous political ideology igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 62 independently of western influences, which can be used to address the representative and minority problems that are embedded in what he calls majoritarian democracy. wiredu observed that the african traditional political system had a wide range of variations. some societies had a centralized social order, while others had a more decentralized structure. the concept of consensus was particularly valued in the second type, where authority was based on moral and metaphysical prestige. also, this idea was also found in some highly centralized societies, like the ashanti political system that wiredu focused on. to wiredu, the ashanti people, who were matrilineal, considered lineage as their fundamental political unit (wiredu, 1995:55). according to wiredu, in ashanti society, consensus played a crucial role in decision-making. the first instance where consensus became evident was during the election of the lineage head. this principle of consensus was intentionally chosen, reflecting the belief that the interests of all society members ultimately converge (wiredu 1995: 57). according to wiredu, consensus plays a vital role in the traditional life of the ashantis. the practice of decision-making by consensus is not limited to politics but reflects an inherent approach to social interaction. this suggests that social connectedness and relationships are fundamental in the african traditional setup, particularly through the lineage system. wiredu sees a consensual basis for joint action as a fundamental principle. he emphasizes the significance of consensus in the ashanti society because of its implications for democracy. while current forms of democracy often rely on the majority principle, wiredu distinguishes it as majoritarian democracy, while consensus-based systems are referred to as consensual democracy (wiredu, 1995: 51-55). according to wiredu, both majoritarian democracy and consensual democracy are considered forms of democracy because they involve the government being based on the consent of the people and subject to their control through representatives. in wiredu's analysis, the ashantis highly value rational discussions as a way to reach consensus among adults who possess the ability for eloquent and persuasive discourse. the pursuit of consensus was a deliberate effort to move beyond decision-making solely based on majority opinion, which wiredu refers to as majoritarian democracy (wiredu, 1995: 5657). wiredu believes that there are multiple ways to gain people's consent, but he considers one way to be particularly admirable. this approach involves representatives who have direct approval from the people and are closely connected to their aspirations. wiredu argues that striving for consensus is a superior form of democracy compared to majoritarianism. this is because in consensual democracy, the focus is on reaching agreement and considering the perspectives of all individuals involved. according to him, in consensual democracy, political players actively seek to find common ground and reach a consensus, whereas in majoritarian politics, the losers often become opposition solely for the sake of opposing. this leads to increased competition for power and positions, which may not be achieved based on merit alone. additionally, consensual democracy offers not only formal representation but also substantive representation. wiredu emphasizes the importance of substantive representation because one of the major challenges facing democracy in africa is the insufficient representation and participation of citizens in democratic processes and institutions. this is clearly seen in the way power is concentrated in certain groups within african society, while excluding others. wiredu emphasizes that majoritarian democracy, as a decision igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 63 making and governance system, is incompatible with consensual democracy in african traditional life. wiredu makes a clear distinction between his concept of non-party and the idea of one-party. he believes that one-party systems have no roots in african consensual democracy, and any attempt to compare the two would be misleading. nevertheless, it can be argued from the above view that wiredu is wholly rejecting the complementarity of both the majoritarian and consensual democracies in the face of what al-mazrui called “triple heritage”. can such ideology work in the face of the mixed identity of contemporary african societies? although wiredu’s position has been heavily attacked both destructively and constructively but these positions will be examined next. the problem of complementarity in wiredu’s consensual democracy the consensual democracy of wiredu has been heavily attacked by different scholars. one of the scholars who attacked him is emmanuel eze in his work titled “democracy or consensus: a response to wiredu.” the consensual democracy of wiredu has been heavily criticized by various scholars. one of the scholars who criticized him is emmanuel eze, in his work titled ‘democracy or consensus: a response to wiredu.’ eze critiques wiredu’s assertion that rational persuasion is the primary factor in converting people to a consensual view within the ashanti traditional setting. eze disagrees, arguing that reason alone is insufficient. in his view, other factors also play a significant role in decision-making and in achieving consensus. additionally, he disagrees with wiredu's belief that traditional methods can still work in modern society. eze suggests discarding old approaches and developing new ones instead. overall, eze sees consensus as more challenging to achieve than wiredu does (eze 1997: 317-319). paulin hountonji also recognized the need to take into consideration the nature of contemporary african societies while establishing an african ideology by arguing that africans need to completely detach themselves from their premodern past to effectively address the pressing issues of the present. he believes that modernization requires a mindset that is relevant to the current challenges, rather than attempting to revive ideas from ancient societies. hountondji emphasizes the importance of focusing on the present and adapting to its demands (hountondji 1996: 48). in the face of several criticisms levied against wiredu’s theory, in his work titled “reconsidering the case for consensual government in africa(2019),” hallen provides historical justification for the idea and the needs to reconsider it by virtue of the incompatibility between majoritarian democracy that is practiced in the contemporary world and the consensual democracy that was practiced in the pre-colonial era; the quest to revisit the ideology is triggered by the political instability that is embedded in the african societies. hallen argues that through consensus, social harmony will be established in a multicultural society; consensual governance could be a more suitable alternative for sub-saharan africa. ⁠he argues that consensus goes beyond being a mere negotiation tool in power struggles. instead, it serves as a common instrument for promoting social harmony and everyday exchanges. consensus allows for agreed actions without necessarily having agreed notions, fostering a willingness to suspend disagreement. hallen challenges the characterization of african traditional societies as authoritarian and lacking abstract thinking. he believes that such labeling creates uncertainties around the notion of consensus in precolonial societies and hampers the potential effectiveness of consensual igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 64 democracy in modern political discourse. hallen argues that the stereotyping of african communal societies as lacking historical consciousness of consensus cannot disprove the existence of consensual practices among africans. he supports wiredu's cultural reconstructionist view of consensus, which emphasizes that interpersonal relationships in african societies are primarily based on consensus. traditional african societies were communalistic, with interactive communication at their core. this interaction fosters a sense of belonging, collectivity, and sharing. extended kinship plays a vital role in moral and political order, creating obligations, rights, and reciprocity based on natural feelings of sympathy and solidarity. a key principle in this communal attitude is sympathetic impartiality, where individuals are willing to compromise their interests for the common good. working towards consensus is a political value derived from traditional african communalism. ⁠in traditional african societies, consensus is achieved through dialogues and rational conversations that aim to harmonize differing interests. negotiations and compromises are essential, along with freedom of thought and respect for others' opinions. interestingly, consensus does not require individuals to change their personal beliefs. instead, it involves suspending disagreement and finding a compromise. he uses the term "palaver," which is derived from portuguese, to describe the consensual nature of certain traditional african societies in ethiopia, kenya, nigeria, tanzania, and the democratic republic of congo. he explains that palaver refers to organized and open debates where everyone, regardless of age or gender, is encouraged to participate. the goal is to reach a consensus and maintain strong community bonds. he refers to wiredu's view that consensus leads to harmonious relations in traditional african communities. whether these societies were centralized with a king or decentralized with limited formal governance, consensus played a crucial role. kings, chiefs, and nomads did not make decisions in isolation but instead relied on consultation and compromise. hallen argues that consensus, which he considers essentially democratic, is relevant to the search for effective political governance in postcolonial africa. he suggests that the "majoritarian form of democracy" practiced in postcolonial africa is contrary to the indigenous traditions of democracy and the complexities of the contemporary african situation (fayemi, 2020: 59). he argues that the clash between traditional african democracy and the modern eurocentric version, which is predominantly adopted in africa, subtly explains the complex challenges faced by post-colonial africa today, such as corruption, ethnic crises, civil war, refugee crises, terrorism, poverty, and bad governance. the majoritarian democratic model has several shortcomings. firstly, it fails to encourage continuous and genuine citizen participation in governance. secondly, its periodic elections can alienate minorities or election losers from the governance process. lastly, the model's strong emphasis on political parties in a multi-ethnic region like africa leads african leaders to associate parties with politically dominant ethnic groups, fueling ethnic rivalries and unrest in african nation-states. hallen believes that consensual democracy offers hope for african nations to overcome the challenges associated with liberal democracy. he is optimistic for a few reasons. firstly, consensual democracy is a non-party system that focuses on personal qualifications and suitability for political positions. secondly, it promotes effective citizen participation through regular igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 65 meetings where elected or selected representatives discuss diverse ideas. hallen addresses concerns about multicultural and multi-ethnic african nations by emphasizing that consensual democracy sublimates ethnic identities in favour of national consensus. he draws inspiration from john rawls' concept of overlapping consensus to ensure diverse ethnic groups are committed to the ideals of consensual democracy (fayemi, 2020: 40). nevertheless, in his work, titled “against consensual governance in africa: a reply to barry hallen (2020)”, fayemi critically appraised wiredu/hallen’s consensual democratic ideas. he started with the position of hallen, who attempts to reconstruct the consensual democracy initiated by kwasi wiredu. fayemi examines the positions of wiredu/hallen’s positions, particularly the emphasis that african societies historically functioned based on consensus, which challenges the notion that it is purely mythical. while some scholars still debate the extent of traditional african societies' organic nature and authoritarian governance, according to fayemi, this is a less forceful issue in the african intellectual debate on consensual democracy. the more pressing concern, which hallen does not explicitly address, is how to translate the ideals of consensus into practical institutional forms in contemporary sub-saharan politics. with the diminished role of kinship in power dynamics and the complexity of political interests and representations in post-colonial african politics, the question arises: how can the political ideals of consensus be effectively implemented in today's african politics? can consensual democratic theory truly address the multitude of crises facing africa and lead to sustainable development? fayemi asserts: given the facilitative roles of kinship in traditional communal consensus and the near absence of kinship affiliations in power interplays, political interests and representations in post-colonial african politics, the question is: how can the political ideals of consensus translate and transform the political landscape in contemporary african politics? how, in factual terms, can consensual democratic theory hold practical sway in africa today? if the problem confronting the african states is fundamentally that of how to effectively make democracy work in terms of resulting in sustainable development, would the adoption of consensual democracy be a panacea to the plethora of crises confronting africa? (fayemi, 2020: 40-41) however, these questions were not answered by hallen in his reconstructive idea of consensual democracy, even though he sees wiredu’s scholarship as worthy of being acknowledged in contemporary africa. based on this, fayemi decided to establish a middle ground between liberal democracy and consensual democracy through a complementarity approach, which embraces seemingly contradictory ideas as ontologically relational, provides a framework for understanding reality and formulating social values and actions. he argues that while hallen's work on establishing historical evidence for consensual governance in traditional africa is valuable, it is important to address what comes next after this historical grounding. fayemi asserts that hallen thinks that wiredu's idea of consensual democracy is important and should be taken seriously. however, hallen does not explain why wiredu's advocacy for the traditional african model of consensual governance is more plausible than other models like switzerland or the netherlands. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 66 hallen believes that wiredu's thoughts on consensual democracy are not influenced by external factors. hallen's defense of wiredu regarding the status of consensus in traditional african societies seems to be successful; wiredu claims that lineage heads represented their lineages by common consent, but this contradicts his earlier view in his work titled “philosophy and african culture (1980)” that african traditional societies, including the akan, were authoritarian. if traditional african societies were authoritarian, it would be unlikely for rational persuasion or consent to play a significant role in political discussions. the gerontocratic posture of lineage elders would have dominated the political discourse. to address this contradiction and salvage wiredu's argument, hallen could have provided clearer distinctions and examples that differentiate between the levels of the traditional african political system, such as the family, village, and national levels. while authoritarianism may be prevalent at the family and village levels, at the national governance level, ideas and decisions are deliberatively and collectively agreed upon. however, further sociological explanations are needed to understand why this historical distinction exists. hallen focused on linguistic considerations, specifically the concept of "palaver," as evidence of consensus in traditional african societies. while "palaver" typically denotes a troubling atmosphere in west african pidgin, hallen may have used it in a different context to indicate a public sphere for debate and reconciliation of different views on communal issues. instead of providing a clear explanation of the consensus practice in african traditions, the term "palaver" actually confuses it. even if "palaver" is used as a synonym for consensual practices in some african societies, relying solely on a foreign word instead of traditional terms may not accurately represent the historical reality of consensus governance among traditional africans. even if hallen had provided indigenous words like mbongi, kgotla, or izu, it is important to remember that linguistic considerations alone cannot definitively establish the historical fidelity of a consensual democratic culture. so, it is crucial to exercise caution when using linguistic facts to support a thesis. for example, palaver has been seen as a metaphor for the public sphere where everyone affected by an issue comes together for discussions that involve substantive representation. palaver is a metaphor for the exchange that is intended to bring about justice under the cover of reconciliation. it also refers to critical discourse that is directed towards justice. in contrast to hallen's assertion that palaver is "a synonym for consensus" and "organized open debate" of a rational kind, palaver is a metaphor for a setting where participants take an oath of allegiance to the ancestors and where a confluence of emotions, angers, reasons, eloquence, and wits exists. the main goals of this space are justice, reconciliation, and political action. according to fayemi, hallen and wiredu do not explore the idea of combining the best aspects of both majoritarian and consensual democracy for better governance in africa but this does not negate the significance of their ideas. he argues that there is actually a lot of overlap between the two, and they can complement each other. it is all about finding that balance and understanding that they do not have to be mutually exclusive. the tension between them is actually quite significant and can lead to better democratic principles in africa. he argues: contrary to hallen, the elements of consensual democracy and majoritarian democracy should not be treated as mutually exclusive just because of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 67 different responsibilities they confer on political decision making. there is a thin line of convergence between both, and as such, there is no need of a real tension between them. the supposed tension which comes to light as a result of their different democratic principles is fundamentally significant (fayemi, 2020: 45). to fayemi, the most important thing in wiredu's and hallen's consensual democratic framework is the spirit of consensus, which involves putting aside our disagreements and focusing on finding common ground to take actions that benefit everyone. in majoritarian democracies, there is often this tension between the minority and majority, but if we embrace the consensual principle, we can minimize that tension and work towards compromise for the well-being of the citizens. to make democracy in africa even stronger, we should blend the representative nature and communal structure of consensual democracy with the majoritarian system. by the above views, fayemi proposes four complementary ideas, which can be institutionalized into contemporary sub-saharan african societies: one, what we need to do is to establish these independent town or village assemblies and district councils in african democratic institutions. this way, we can promote participation, liberal values, and the community structure that's present in traditional african democratic practices. it is all about giving the local people a chance to be involved in decision-making beyond just national or general elections. this idea can be related to how consensual democracy values equal representation, and majoritarian democracy has local government, but with some slight differences. in traditional consensual democracy, there is a hereditary chief leading the village council, while in majoritarian democracy, local government acts as an agent for regional projects. but both district councils and village assemblies bring the government closer to the people. the tenable thing about district councils is that they have more room to accommodate representatives and have the final say in political matters that affect them. it is all about finding that balance and empowering local communities. two, the next thing we need to do is to bring back that consensual decision-making nature in modern african democracies with a multi-party structure through the help of a referendum. the essence of this idea is to make sure that everyone’s ideas and opinions are included and represented equally. and the best way to achieve that is by having representatives from each constituency present during the village and town assembly meetings. that way, we can organize referendums through a forum discussion of different political propositions or an efficient, effective, and fair electoral system. unlike the current majoritarian system where representatives hardly converse and meet regularly with the people at different levels of legislation and local government, an eclectic democratic option would value interactive engagements between the leaders and the people, all guided by the consensus principle of arriving at agreed actions regardless of differing notions. it is all about making sure that everyone's voice is heard and that we can come to agreed actions together, despite our differences. three, we should have a symbiotic relationship between the super-majority method and the simplemajority method of decision-making. the simple-majority method is like a "first-past-the-post" igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 68 approach, where the decision is made based on the majority vote. on the other hand, the supermajority method requires a near-unanimous two-thirds majority for decision-making. now, the thing is, the super-majority method can sometimes slow down the decision-making process, while the simple-majority method can be influenced by the dominant group, leaving the minority at a disadvantage. however, when we bring these methods together, we can strike a balance. the supermajority method ensures that the views of both the majority and the minority are equally considered, while the simple-majority method ensures that the decision-making process is not unfairly advantageous to the minority. it is all about finding that sweet spot where everyone's voice is heard and decisions are made fairly and inclusively. the fourth point, according to fayemi, is all about making sure that the political and economic rights of majoritarian democracy go hand in hand with the social rights of consensual democracy. this way, we can ensure that the basic needs and interests of the people are given fair consideration. to make it happen, we need an eclectic model that recognizes the important role of civil societies in how democracy functions. civil societies should have their motivations and a shared vision of what is best for society as a whole. instead of being controlled by the government or being used as political units for decision-making, civil societies should have a supportive and mediating relationship with the government. they should strategically organize public discussions, mass movements, and critical engagement to challenge government policies and actions that are seen as harmful to the people. when it comes to forming civil society, it should be inclusive and represent a wide range of common interests across different social groups, classes, beliefs, and professions. it is all about coming together and fighting for the greater good of society. however, from the above response of fayemi to hallen and wiredu’s arguments, it can be argued that fayemi only focuses on institutionalization and practical reform of the consensual democracy without taking into cognizance the need to include the current african identity, since african socio-political theory is based on the nature of its identity. nonetheless, before his position can be further strengthened, the next section focuses on the biases in the positions of hallen and wiredu.. ethnocentric biases in wiredu/hallen’s positions ethnocentric bias occurs when the mind misuses or misunderstands its ethnic consciousness. it is the tendency to prioritize and support those who are perceived as close, while disregarding those seen as external. each member of an ethnic group has a sense of group identity, which, when combined with a divisive mindset, leads to favoring those who are near and disregarding those who are not as close. so, ethnocentric commitment is basically when we prioritize and support those who are closest to us. asouzu suggests that this is driven by our instinct to protect ourselves, which is influenced by the beliefs we hold. he argues that: since we tend to act under this impulse of our primitive instinct of self preservation always and often unintentionally, one can say that in most multicultural and multiethnic contexts, there is often the tendency for the mind to act in an unintended ethnocentric fashion, in view of securing certain interests and privileges it defines as very important for the inner circle” (asouzu, 2007: 130). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 69 hence, our instinct to protect ourselves makes us think that what is closer to us is better and safer. as asouzu suggests, this belief becomes a guiding principle in our relationships, both personal and global. we tend to cling to and preserve what is near to us, even if it means disregarding the ideas, culture, and beliefs of other parts of the world. according to asouzu, this inclination to prioritize our own culture and beliefs can be a significant cause of societal conflicts. it also shapes the way philosophy and sciences are approached in africa. it leads to a supremacist mindset in philosophy, where african philosophers often seek to demonstrate the superiority of african philosophy over others. this ethnocentric commitment is influenced not only by our instinct for self-preservation but also by the ontological framework we adopt. asouzu even points to aristotle as a precursor to this divisive ontology. asouzu believes that aristotle's approach to ontology has greatly influenced the way many westerners perceive the world and interact with others. according to asouzu, aristotle introduced a mindset that led westerners to define themselves in relation to those they deemed less wise. aristotle's view of metaphysics as a superior science created a divisive mindset, comparing it to the relationship between a master and a worker, the wise and the unwise, the essential and the accidental. aristotle's belief in the rule of the wise over the unwise and his categorization of beings into substance and accident have contributed to a divisive mindset. this mindset, according to asouzu, has influenced western philosophy and has also affected africans through education and socialization. asouzu accuses aristotle of being the main cause of ethnocentric reduction, where some individuals are seen as essential and others as inconsequential. asouzu explains that this mindset shapes our perception of interpersonal relationships. therefore, asouzu believes that many philosophical debates in western philosophy are characterized by a mindset of complete negation, influenced by aristotle's thinking. he also argues that african philosophers are influenced by this mindset, as the leadership structure in africa, including education and philosophy, is often influenced by a western-style education. asouzu believes that western education, socialization, and indoctrination have played a significant role in transmitting the aristotelian mindset to africans. this transmission occurred through colonialism, which brought western education and socialization to africa. wiredu also supports this idea, stating that africans who have learned philosophy in english, for example, have been conceptually influenced by the west due to historical circumstances. so, what asouzu is saying is that africans have adopted a mindset of superiority-inferiority due to the influence of western education and socialization. this mindset is reflected in various works of literature, politics, and history that highlight the superiority of african heritage over western counterparts. these works often criticize western intervention and exploitation, leading to an ethnocentric perspective. they depict an idealized image of africans contrasted with westerners, promoting communalism as uniquely african and contrasting it with western individualism. however, asouzu argues that both africans and the west oscillate between transcendence and immanence, as well as between three-valued and two-valued logic. claiming one as uniquely african and the other as uniquely western is a result of a divisive mindset. this mindset also influences theories on african science, philosophy, ethics, and logic, as well as debates like black athena and afrocentricism. asousu argues that african philosophers like wiredu and hallen need igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 70 to be open-minded and consider different perspectives to truly understand the african present reality. asouzu believes that a transcendent existential conversion is necessary for this realization. it is all about breaking free from ethnocentrism and recognizing that closer is not always better or safer. therefore, asouzu believes that being ethnocentric and reducing everything to one perspective can cloud our minds and hinder us from attaining true knowledge. a reconstruction of wiredu’s consensual democracy to overcome this bias, asouzu introduces the method of ibuanyidanda, which emphasizes the importance of mutual dependence and complementarity. asouzu coined the phrase "ibuanyidanda," which translates to "no load is insurmountable for danda the ant." it is derived from three igbo words: "ibu," which means weight or task; "anyi," which means not insurmountable; and "danda," which refers to a kind of ant. just like ants working together to lift heavy loads, traditional african philosophers believe that humans can achieve great things when they act in harmony. ibuanyidanda ontology aims to break free from ethnocentric thinking and see reality from different perspectives, acknowledging the interconnectedness of all things. it is all about building a harmonious whole through mutual service. therefore, ibuanyidanda ontology is an effort to reinterpret, polish, rebuild, and liberate our philosophical framework from any ethnocentric commitment, enabling everyone to view reality through the gaps in our knowledge. gaps in the universe made up of things and things of things, essences and essences of essences, accidents and accidents of accidents, forms and forms of forms, ideas and ideas of ideas, thoughts and thoughts of thoughts, and so on are called missing links. to create an essential harmonic whole through mutual service, they relate to one another in terms of time and space as well as other forms of this complementary interaction in terms of amounts and qualities, kinds, and differences (asouzu, 2007: 267). ibuanyidanda ontology suggests that when humans work together in harmony, they can attain certainty in knowledge. however, if they continue to be divided and polarized, their progress will be limited. africans need the west, and the west needs africans and other regions of the world, to bring knowledge to the forefront. similar to ants, humans can achieve more when they collaborate rather than being divided. we need to realize that we share a common purpose and work together to achieve great things (asouzu, 2007: 320) basically, asouzu believes that in order for our minds to truly understand the interconnectedness of everything, we need to go through what he calls "transcendent existential conversion." it is a process whereby human consciousness reaches a higher level of understanding and intuition about the nature of reality. it helps us to see how everything that exists is like a missing link that contributes to the bigger picture. asouzu believes that this idea of "the nearer, the better" can lead to clannish and ethnocentric tendencies. but when someone goes through existential conversion, they start to realize that proximity is not always the best option. it is like a lightbulb moment when they understand that all individuals, regardless of their ethnic backgrounds, are part of a unified existence. when someone goes through transcendent existential conversion, their consciousness reaches a higher level of understanding. instead of seeing reality as fragmented and divided, they start to see it from a more comprehensive and universal perspective. it is like a shift from a limited mindset to a global mindset. this conversion helps the mind move away from divisiveness and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 71 towards complementarity. it is like a transformation from a "we-them" mentality to a "we-we" mentality. it is all about embracing inclusivity and egalitarianism (asouzu, 2007:323). when one undergoes existential conversion, the idea of "the nearer the better and safer" takes on a whole new meaning. it becomes universally applicable, where everyone is considered better and safer. african philosophers, instead of trying to create a separate philosophy for africans, would seek a philosophy that encompasses everyone and transcends ethnocentric limitations. the focus shifts from debating the superiority or inferiority of philosophies to advancing the frontiers of knowledge. it is all about expanding our understanding and pushing the boundaries of what we know. after experiencing existential conversion, the mind starts to align with what asouzu refers to as the "transcendent categories of unity of consciousness." these categories include fragmentation, unity, totality, universality, comprehensiveness, wholeness, and future reference. instead of dividing and bifurcating reality, the mind now operates following these transcendent categories. it grasps the various aspects of being, recognizing both the fragmented and unified nature of reality, while also embracing its totality, universality, comprehensiveness, wholeness, and future implications. it is like seeing the bigger picture and understanding the interconnectedness of everything. the harmonizing faculty, as described by asouzu, plays a crucial role in capturing the various aspects of being. this transcendent faculty harmonizes forces that tend towards division and exclusivity, allowing the mind to grasp the fragmentation, unity, totality, universality, comprehensiveness, wholeness, and future reference of reality. with the harmonizing faculty in control, the mind is not led astray by ethnocentric commitments. it harmonizes differences, preventing polarization and bifurcation that lead to such commitments. this enables us to embrace the otherness of others as an extension of ourselves, without discrimination. it is through this global and transcendent mindset that we can see the world as a collective "we" rather than a fragmented "them." it is a mindset that erases ethnocentric commitment and fosters inclusivity (asousu, 2007: 316). to demonstrate asouzu’s ideas of complementarity in consensual democracy, we consider two practical cases where the principles of traditional african consensual governance have been integrated with western-style democracy or democratic elements from other civilizations within functional political systems. these examples illustrate how consensual democracy can be woven into modern political frameworks and how asouzu’s theory of complementarity can bridge opposing political practices. for instance, in south africa, after the end of apartheid, the new democratic government faced the challenge of integrating the western-style majoritarian democracy with the african communal decisionmaking process that emphasizes consensus. the truth and reconciliation commission (trc) is a good example of how this integration worked. the trc focused on dialogue, mutual understanding, and reconciliation between different communities and political groups, thus blending the western principles of justice and individual rights with the african emphasis on community and consensus. it was not just about punishing wrongdoers but fostering a collective process of healing and building national unity. this complementary approach allowed south africa to establish a political system that recognized the importance of majority rule while also respecting consensual processes thus strengthening the country’s democracy (see teitel, 2000). another example is deduced from the nigerian political igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 72 structure. in various parts of nigeria, traditional rulers, such as emirs, obas, and chiefs, continue to play an influential role in decision-making, both at the local and regional levels. while nigeria’s national governance is a western-style democracy with presidential elections and political parties, at the local level, traditional councils provide a space for consensus-building and conflict resolution. traditional rulers often act as mediators in local disputes, creating a complementary relationship between the formal democratic structures and informal traditional governance systems. this helps to prevent conflicts and build consensus among diverse ethnic groups (oluwole, 2012: 134). in many areas, the local political structures reflect asouzu’s ideas of complementarity because traditional and modern systems work together to facilitate governance, thereby ensuring social harmony. the integration of traditional consensus practices with modern democratic institutions demonstrates that cultural traditions and contemporary governance can collaborate to strengthen political stability and foster social cohesion conclusion despite the heavy criticisms leveled against wiredu’s consensual democracy, fayemi revisits hallen’s argument in favour of consensual democracy as an alternative to majoritarian governance in post-colonial africa. he demystifies some of the conceptual intricacies surrounding consensual democracy in traditional african cultures and defends wiredu against certain charges, which shows the ethnocentric biases that are embedded in their position. however, fayemi critically engages hallen's grounds for reconsidering consensual democracy, arguing for the institutionalization of credible elements of traditional consensual democracy in post-colonial african states. rather than excluding majoritarian democracy, he suggests enriching it through a fusion of moral-ontological aspects of indigenous political practices found in traditional consensual democracy. therefore, it can be argued that fayemi’s complementarity approach is in line with the transcendent existential conversion of asouzu. he can show that the focus of the present african scholars should be directed to the introduction of an ideology that reflects the current identity of the africans. it has been acknowledged by some scholars that the identity of the africans today revolves around what al-mazrui called “triple heritage “, which involves western culture, arabic culture and african cultures and all these are to be taken into consideration when introducing indigenous african ideology that will befit the current african reality. it is on the basis of this, that both wiredu and hallen are conceived as being biased ethnocentrically; they fail to consider the existential fact that revolves the current african identity. while wiredu and hallen are trying to protect the identity of the africans, they fail to realize that there is a missing link which can only be acknowledged through consideration of the indigenous ideology and that of the one brought by external civilization or influences. although fayemi’s recommendation acknowledges the current african reality which is in lack of institutionalization and practical reform but not showing the nature of current african identity which serves as the basis of african socio political ideology makes his theory incomplete. it is on the basis of this, that i further strengthened his position through asouzu’s ibuanyidanda ontology to show that the current african identity cannot be treated in isolation; it requires both the external and internal contributions. the reform of consensual democracy is incomplete without the inclusion of the missing link in the current african reality. hence, consensual democracy is best practiced when consideration is not restricted to indigenous identity alone but also acknowledges the missing link igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 73 in it and the connection between the current african identity and the practicality of any sociopolitical ideology. references aristotle (1926). metaphysics. trans. w.d. ross. oxford: clarendon press. asouzu, i. (2004). the method and principles of complementary reflection in and beyond african philosophy. calabar: university of calabar press. asouzu, i. (2007). ibuanyidanda: new complementary ontology beyond world-immanetism, ethnocentric reduction and impositions. zweigneiderlassong zurich: litverlag gmbh & co. kg wien. asouzu, i. (2007). ibuaru: the heavy burden of philosophy beyond african philosophy. zweigneiderlassong zurich: litverlag gmbh & co. kg wien. eze, e.c. (1997). 'democracy or consensus? a response to wiredu' in e.c. eze (eds.), postcolonial african philosophy; a critical reader, (pp. 313-323). cambridge, massachusetts: blackwell publishers ltd. fayemi a. k. (2020). “against consensual governance in africa: a reply to barry hallen” in second order: an african journal of philosophy (new series) volume iv, number 1&2, 33-52. hallen, b. (2019). 'reconsidering the case for consensual government in africa,' second order:an african journal of philosophy(new series) vol 3, no 1, 1-22 hountondji, p. (1996). african philosophy: myth and reality. 2nd ed. bloomington: indiana university press. oluwole, o. (2012). traditional leadership and politics in nigeria: the case of obas and emirs. journal of african political systems, 19(3), 134-150. teffo, j. (2004). democracy, kingship and consensus: a south african perspective. in k. wiredu (ed.), a companion to african philosophy (pp. 443-451). malden: blackwell publishing. teitel, r. (2000). transitional justice. oxford university press. wiredu, k. (1995). democracy and consensus in african traditional politics: a plea for a nonparty polity. the centennial review, vol 39 no 1, 53-64. wiredu, k. (1980). philosophy and an african culture. cambridge: cambridge university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 97 the effects of labour migration and brain drain syndrome on human capital formation in nigeria egbule, philip onyekachukwu department of arts and social science education, university of delta, delta state, nigeria philip.egbule@unidel.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.25001.77923 abstract labour migration involves the transfer and flight of technical know-how and skills from one nation to another, to secure a better job and establish a new residence. it has consequences for the individual, the country of origin and the country of destination. over the last decades, an increasing number of developed countries have put in place different mechanisms to encourage the immigration of only the most talented, skilled individuals from developing countries. a good example is the international visa lottery scheme. this scheme is put in place perhaps because developing countries cannot fully exploit the abilities and skills of human capital, as they do not have enough jobs to offer. thus, nigeria and other developing countries have become a human capitalgenerating machines for the developed world. it is an indisputable truism that labour migration has adverse effects ranging from social, cultural, and political to economic upon the emigrant’s country. the thrust of this paper, therefore, is to examine the factors responsible for the flood of nigerian migrants witnessed during the past couple of years. the dynamic consequences of labour migration and brain drain syndrome on human capital formation in nigeria will be considered. empirical studies have established the global net benefits of labour migration, but their findings are inconclusive about the impact migration has on the emigrant’s country. hence, the need for human capital formation in an emerging economy will also be addressed. finally, the paper will offer policy recommendations to ensure immigrants’ economic contribution to developing human capital. keywords: nigerian migrants, migration, brain drain, human capital formation, insecurity, corruption introduction over the last decades, an increasing number of developed countries have put in place different mechanisms to encourage the immigration of only the most talented, skilled individuals from developing countries. it is an indisputable fact that labour migration hurts the emigrant’s country. according to dunn and mutti (2004:212), an influx of immigrants can affect welfare in the host country when it leads to mailto:philip.egbule@unidel.edu.ng http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/rg.2.2.25001.77923 egbule, philip onyekachukwu 98 congestion in the use of public goods and services, such as roads, parks and schools or greater demand for transfer payments to cover expenses of housing, food, and medical care. the net fiscal balance from immigration depends upon taxes paid versus the extra demands for services and transfers created. according to docquier and marfouk (2006), 10.7 per cent of the highly skilled population who were trained in nigeria ended up working abroad in 2006, mostly in organization for economic co-operation and development (oecd) countries. in the united states and europe, 83 percent and 46 percent, respectively of the nigerian immigrant population are highly skilled. on average, 64 per cent of the nigerian emigrant population has tertiary education. in the medical field, 14 per cent of physicians who were trained in nigeria worked abroad and, 90 per cent of whom live and work in the united states and the united kingdom (clemens and petterson, 2007). there have been marked increases in the number of nigerians. todaro and smith (2006:390), submitted that education plays a powerful role in the growing problem of the international migration of high-level educated workers – the socalled brain drain – from poor to rich countries. this is particularly true in the case of scientists, engineers, academics, and physicians, many thousands of whom have been trained in home country institutions at considerable social cost only to reap the benefits from and contribute to the further economic growth of the already affluent nations. conceptualizing brain drain brain drain’ is defined as the movement of health personnel in search of a better standard of living and life quality, higher salaries, access to advanced technology and more stable political conditions in different places worldwide. according to mba and ekeopara (2012), brain drain can be described as the migration of educated and skilled labour from poorer to richer countries. education or skill, which represents an investment in human capital, is usually cheaper to acquire in poorer, labour-abundant countries since its provision is usually a labourintensive activity. those with the skills or education then move to developed countries where the return to their human capital is higher. such migration is often encouraged by laws and institutional factors, as most countries look more favourably on immigration by those with skills than those without. (pearce, 1992). meaning of human capital formation the effects of labour migration and brain drain syndrome on human capital formation in nigeria the term human capital formation implies the development of abilities and skills among the population of the country. to transform the liability of the huge size of the population into assets adoption of various measures for human capital formation is very much essential. according to harbison, human capital formation indicates, “the process of acquiring and increasing the number of persons who have the skills, education and experience which are critical for the economic and the political development of the country. human capital formation is thus associated with investment in man and his development as a creative and productive resource.” the organisation for economic co-operation and development (oecd) is an intergovernmental economic organisation with 36 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade. some of its foundering members are the united united states of america, germany, france, turkey, united kingdom, spain, canada, italy, switzerland, sweden, portugal, greece, belgium, netherlands, norway, austria, iceland, luxembourg, etc. hope this helps human capital is a measure of the skills, education, capacity and attributes of labour which influence their productive capacity and earning potential. according to the oecd, human capital is defined as: “the knowledge, skills, competencies and other attributes embodied in individuals or groups of individuals acquired during their life and used to produce goods, services or ideas in market circumstances”. different views on human capital theodore schultz's “investment in human capital” (1961) was an early proponent of the theory. he stated, “although it is obvious that people acquire useful skills and knowledge, it is not obvious that these skills and knowledge are a form of capital, that this capital is in substantial part a product of deliberate investment” gary becker's “human capital” (1964) in his view, human capital, is determined by education, training, and medical treatment, and is effectively a means of production. increased human capital explains the differential of income for graduates. human capital is also important for influencing rates of economic growth. howard gardener – different types of human capital. gardener emphasized the different types of human capital. one could increase education, but be a poor manager. a successful entrepreneur may have no education. human capital is not one-dimensional. egbule, philip onyekachukwu 100 schultz/nelson-phelps – the ability to adapt. human capital should be looked at from the ability to adapt. can workers adapt to a changing labour market? a labour market which is shifting from full-time manual work in manufacturing to flexible work in the service sector. emigration rate in nigeria the number of nigerians living outside nigeria more than doubled between 1990 and 2013, from 465,932 to 1,030,322. in 2013, nearly twothirds of emigrants (61.4%) were residing in more developed regions. this is a relatively new pattern. for instance, in 1990 only 33.8 per cent of nigerian migrants lived in more developed regions. by 2000, this had increased to 52 per cent, and a further 56.7 per cent in 2010. that increasingly more nigerians find their way to more developed regions is a function of the employment-driven nature of nigerian emigration. in addition, nigerian emigration to the west is highly selective of the educated, skilled and professionals who are more likely to be attracted by the economic opportunities of more developed regions. the diminishing numbers of nigerians in the south region or less developed regions are related to dwindling economic realities and social upheavals in many countries. nigerian migrants to the less developed regions of africa and asia are less positively selected, comprising mainly people in business, trading and construction, many of whom are short-term migrants. in recent years, there seems to be an influx into china, india and other asian countries that hitherto had very few nigerian citizens. nevertheless, the number of nigerian emigrants to these counties is still relatively low. in 2013, 35.6 per cent of nigerian emigrants lived in african countries; 34.2 per cent in europe, and 26.4 per cent in north america; the rest lived in asia, latin america and the caribbean, and oceania. nigerian migrants in african countries mostly live in west africa (46.2%) and middle africa (42%). it is hardly surprising that there were more nigerian emigrants in west africa given the ecowas protocol on free movement of persons. from the most preferred to the least preferred, the destinations of nigerian emigrants within africa are cameroon, côte d’ivoire, benin, ghana, gabon, niger, togo and sudan. the most preferred destinations in europe were the united kingdom (184,314), italy (48,073), spain (36,885), germany (22,687) and ireland (18,540). the united states was the single most important destination of nigerian migrants in 2013, as it had been since 1990, with 252,172 or the effects of labour migration and brain drain syndrome on human capital formation in nigeria about 25 per cent of all nigerian emigrants. this is a clear manifestation of the superb opportunities offered by the united states concerning employment, education and training, and social and cultural identification compared with other countries in the world. migration in nigeria a country profile 2014 3 the number of nigerian asylum-seekers increased sharply from 8,294 in 2006 to 10,148 in 2007 and 15,022 in 2008. european countries remain the most targeted destinations by nigerian asylum-seekers, with italy (5,673), ireland (1,009), switzerland (988), the united kingdom (970) and spain (808) as the most preferred destinations. the office of the united nations high commissioner for refugees (unhcr) disclosed that nigeria had more than 17,000 asylum-seekers in chad, cameroon and niger in 2013, largely due to the crisis in nigeria’s northeastern region. more than 800,000 persons were internally displaced in north-east nigeria in 2014 as a result of the boko haram insurgency in borno, yobe and adamawa states. the effects of labour migration and brain drain on human capital formation in nigeria labour migration and brain drain are big problems for many developing countries like nigeria in the process of globalization. many nigerian students have opportunities to pursue their studies abroad. however, at the end of their programmes, many of them do not return home. consequently, the country in general, and the institutions in particular have lost those talented citizens (bonga and dafiaghor, 2014). in less developed countries (ldcs), the negative effects can mainly include losing high-skilled labour and human capital to foreign labour markets, especially the “brain drain”. the effects are: · insufficient manpower assets to mount various institutions in the country · loss of tax of manpower assets to the migrated country · loss of investment in the education of migrated manpower assets · loss of capital used to employ expatriates to replace migrated manpower · production of half-baked graduates from higher institutions · decline in enrolment of post-graduate students. · high lecturer/student ratio in tertiary institutions across the nation. · high mortality rate · underdevelopment of the nation · loss of remittance of money sent by migrated manpower to a foreign country · high level of illiteracy egbule, philip onyekachukwu 102 the need for human capital formation in an emerging economy the building of a modern nation is based on science and technology, and to a large extent upon the development of people and the planning of human activity. several factors account for economic growth and national development of a nation, these include human capital, natural resources, technological progress, etc. but none is more important and vital than human capital; most nations today are development oriented towards improving the lots of mankind (okwoli, 2014). it is very difficult, if not impossible for any country and in this case nigeria to achieve sustainable growth and development without the full mobilization and effective utilization of its human capital. as an indispensable agent of national development, the need to develop human capital is very important and urgent. onwuka and eguavoen (2007) adduced that this exposure to new ideas has led to remarkable growth in the size and power of firms which in turn has enhanced better utilization of productive resources and improvements in social developments. they noted, however, that the process has generated peculiar problems for underdeveloped countries, especially nigeria. one such problem is that nigeria can hardly produce goods and services that can withstand competition from countries with high industrialization. the cause of the problem is mainly, the absence of qualified human capital. well-developed and qualified human capital is undoubtedly needed to step up productivity for sustainable development in nigeria (egbule, and okobia, 2018). the relevance of human capital for nigeria can be seen from the point of view of the need to increase the proportion of skilled persons in the labour force towards the transformation of the nigerian economy to pave the way for the industrial revolution. developing a favourable attitude among employees towards the company will result in increased productivity (okwoli, 2014). he asserted that investment in human capital can improve its quality, and thereby have the same or even a more powerful effect on the production of goods and services. concurring with the above assertion, uwazie and okezie cited in mezieobi (2016) stated that human resources are indispensable assets in the provision of labour essential for the production of goods and services, bringing other factors of production such as land and capital together and exploiting them for development. the development of human capital or resources will enhance human performance and effectiveness in this regard. the effects of labour migration and brain drain syndrome on human capital formation in nigeria the relevance of human capital also arose from the fact that there are emerging changes in the fields of production and marketing in the country. these high managerial skills and technical officers are needed in all stages of the production process; it also requires high-level skilled manpower. hence, human capital development in nigeria should be given the right type of planning and orientation to be able to place the country on a higher economic pedestal. in the same vein, human beings are prime members of innovations and agents of change. in support of this, harrison (1973) posited that ideas come from people and are put to work by people. however, it is now a common belief that the key to economic growth and development in nigeria is man. hence, the qualities of man as a labour force have to be planned. also, there is a need for human capital development in nigeria to handle the problem of the integrated financial market. the global financial market tends to transmit international, regional, national and local shocks more rapidly than in the past decades. it is the case that as volumes of intermediation and currency transactions increase, global shock with its destabilizing effects increases. these problems can be tackled if the nigerian nation employs technical manpower, through effective human capital development, that can put in place appropriate fiscal policies aimed at reducing the negative effects of this shock (mordi, 2016). human capital development enhances the utilization of domestic resources for further development of the economy. the continued dependence on foreign expatriates has not only crumbled our economy but has failed to enhance the desired results and set goals. poverty and inequality are one of the greatest setbacks to nigeria’s economic development. the increased global wealth is only concentrated in the hands of a few privileged individuals in nigeria. to this end, abduraheem (2003) opined that there is a decline in average income over the years in nigeria. he noted that over three million people in nigeria live on two or fewer dollars per day, in a world of unprecedented wealth. the above phenomenon can be properly managed with well-developed human capital. related literature on the reasons for labour migration and brain drain in nigeria inadequate infrastructure inadequate infrastructure also creates problems for economic growth. basic infrastructure (health care, education, roads, water supply, energy, railway, telecommunication, etc) is essential for the maintenance of life in society. nigeria’s poor infrastructure requires that the federal government must spend $ 15 billion annually for egbule, philip onyekachukwu 104 improvement so that it can be maintained to an acceptable level according to a report on the state of infrastructure by icrc. poor infrastructure is one of the major constraints to economic growth and development through its debilitating impact on productivity, investment inflow, competitiveness, cost of doing business and people’s confidence in government and the economy (loto and nkaogu 2011). there is a high correlation between the availability of infrastructural services and the income levels of most economies. barro (1996) has extended the relationship between infrastructural services such as health and economic growth. he developed a growth model including physical capital inputs, level of education, health capital and the quantity of hours indicators which raises the incentives to invest in education and a rise in health capital lowers the rate of depreciation of health, adding that there are diminishing marginal returns to investment. grossman (1972), and bloom (2000), explain that healthy individuals are more efficient at assimilating knowledge and in consequence, obtain higher productivity levels. in the 1960‟ s and 1970‟ s, nigeria, malaysia, indonesia, taiwan, singapore, and south korea had similar gdp per capita. but these countries have by far exceeded nigeria in growth due to an increase in infrastructural development and total factor productivity. ohio (2008) argued that infrastructural development is as central in terms of its importance as an ingredient of social and economic stability. he clarified this issue further by looking at how valuable an infrastructure is the world bank estimates that every 1% spent on infrastructure will lead to an equivalent 1% increase in gdp which gives a positive correlation between infrastructure and gdp. in many parts of nigeria, electricity is erratic and in most cases not available at all, no pipe-borne water, deplorable condition of roads, hospitals are mere consulting clinics and the educational system crumbling without any nigeria university being among the top one thousand universities in the world. mba (2010) stress that government should invest in the productive sector of the economy and minimize expenditure on things that do not add to the productive capacity of the nation. capital investments in infrastructure are the key to economic growth because this would help reduce the cost of investment and production, generate employment and reduce the migration rate. corruption corruption is the abuse of public trust for private gain; it is outright stealing. osoba (1996) defines corruption as benefits contrary to legal the effects of labour migration and brain drain syndrome on human capital formation in nigeria and moral norms, and which undermine the authorities, to improve the living conditions of the culprit(s). dike (2011) observes that corruption is probably the main means of accumulating quick wealth in nigeria. corruption occurs in many forms, and it has contributed immensely to the poverty and misery of a large segment of the nigerian population. an absence of corruption encourages investment and efforts to expand the pie rather than merely fight over its distribution and thus encourages growth. to this extent, improvements in governance in general and reduction of corruption, in particular, could be means to accelerate the process of development. in addition, as society grows wealthier, good governance becomes more widely demanded by the public (todaro and smith 2006). the high incidence of corruption has continued to attract growing interest and great concern. bureaucratic organizations in nigeria have no exception to this devastating syndrome. over the past decade, most organizations, private or public, are closed down because of the worst excess of brigandage of economic form of corruption which has obstructed the normal institutional rules and regulations (katuka and yaro 2009). in nigeria, institutions have been linked seriously with corruption. the world bank report (1997), defined corruption as “the abuse of public power for private gains”. political corruption takes three basic forms: embezzlement, bribery and nepotism. there are many channels through which corruption impacton economic growth. according to ajayi (2003), corruption misallocates human talents to rent-seeking rather than productive activities. it lowers overall investment and reduces the ability to provide for the rule of law. corruption increases the size of public investment because of the opportunities for manipulation by corrupt officials. corruption may reduce government revenue because it comprises the government’s ability to collect taxes and tariffs. thus, there is a negative relationship between corruption and both investment and growth. between 1999 and 2007, the federal government of nigeria claimed to have spent over n1trillion, n204billion naira and $16billion on integrated power supply, road construction and maintenance and still wallop in epileptic power supply and unimaginable deplorable roads (obayelu, 2007; mba 2010). mono-product economy before the discovery of oil in nigeria in 1956, she was famous in her agrarian economy through which cash crops like palm produce, cocoa, rubber, timber, and groundnuts, were exported, thus making nigeria a major exporter in that respect (oloya and egbule, 2016). today, the above fact is history. for a one-dimensional economy like nigeria, the egbule, philip onyekachukwu 106 implications are quite far-reaching. nigeria is a good case study because 80% of her foreign exchange earnings come from the sale of crude oil. its annual (federal) budget is created based on projections on oil prices and the quantity of oil sold. unfortunately, due to the dwindling prices of oil in the global market, nigeria is in a very pitiable state politically, economically, socially and otherwise. other reasons include: · mass unemployment · mass poverty · poor pension scheme · poor salaries and conditions of service · crises (political, religious, communal, educational) · poor infrastructural facilities · poor recreational facilities · lack of opportunity for advancement · poor education facilities · poor health facilities · lack of a good rewarding system for hardworking manpower key issues for consideration/the way forward rather than completely blaming the developed countries and globalization for her human capital flight, nigeria should consider the following options as remedial strategies, in other to benefit maximally from her human resources. technological development and revolution science and technology are twin factors that tend to revolutionize the world today. a country has to be fully integrated into the world economy to harness the benefits of such integration. she has to first embark on a serious technological revolution such that it will be able to play a significant role in the globalization process. any nation that is not making concerted efforts at technological revolution is doing so at its peril. this understanding gave usman (2000) cited in ikem & ebegha (2013) the impression that only the nations that embarked on technological revolution can effectively join the globalized world. science and technology should be made the key to developing countries’ developmental efforts and should be seen to be pursued with zeal and zest. quality and functional education education is a veritable tool for any developmental efforts, the world over. quality education is the education and experience that can meet the yearning and aspirations of people. it is the outcome that the effects of labour migration and brain drain syndrome on human capital formation in nigeria encompasses knowledge, skill and attitudes and is linked to national goals of education and positive participation in society (akporehe & obielumani, 2013). it should be of paramount importance that the educational system in developing countries is qualitative and functional; emphasizing the development of science and technology, as well as skill acquisition (entrepreneurial education). the key infrastructure and facilities for qualitative education should be made available and the human resources should be well-trained to competently handle them, such that developing countries’ products are highly competitive in the international arena. free competitive economy developing countries also have to adopt a free competitive economy. they have to transition from a government regulated market to a free competitive economy; liberalizing its economy for foreign investors. capitalist economy (competitiveness) is known all over the world as the economic policy that creates wealth and promotes real growth as production is geared towards profit making. reform of domestic finance nigeria should endeavour to reform its domestic financing to make it strong and capable of supporting its nation’s economic growth. a strong financial base is necessary for industrial development. it also guarantees both short-term, medium-term and long-term investments. in nigeria, for instance, the bank reforms, leading to mergers and acquisitions are geared towards this goal, as they will have the capacity to finance viable capital projects that will improve the national economy. against this backdrop, the researcher recommends restructuring the countries’ economies in other to minimize the negative effects of globalization and harness its benefits. diversification of the economy for a very long time, nigeria, for instance, has completely depended on revenue from crude oil (a one-time agrarian economy). there was total neglect of other sectors of the economy. this has put a serious strain on the revenue from crude oil. diversification of the national economy, therefore, is the only antidote to economic growth and development. the approach has been used by the asian tigers to achieve success, as they now emerged as the new industrialized countries of the world. developing countries like nigeria should divert their interest, especially to agricultural products such as cash crops and animal products, as well as solid mineral exploration. it can be unequivocally asserted that nigeria’s development impotence cannot be solely attributed to egbule, philip onyekachukwu 108 colonialism, neo-colonialism and imperialism as often perceptively advanced by scholars of radical persuasion; but also its weak domestic economic structure. there is therefore the necessity for developing countries to diversify their economic base to confront the challenges of the contemporary globalization process and remain relevant in the scheme of world events. provision of a conducive working environment based on the premise that an unsatisfactory working environment, owing largely to dilapidated and obsolete facilities, was and is still partly responsible for human capital flight in nigeria, it is suggested that urgent and massive overhaul of facilities especially in the universities, hospitals and research centres be undertaken. in the view of ekundayo et al (2010), apart from the physical working environment, there is also a compelling need to make the psycho-social environment conducive. in this regard, there should be proper appreciation and recognition for intellectual and professional worth. also, the nigerian government should address and review all the various policies that have triggered the migration stream of intellectuals from universities, and other professionals like doctors, pharmacists, nurses, engineers, etc, from the country. foreign investment the nigerian government have to attract foreign investments both wholly and in partnership with indigenous entrepreneurs in the areas of construction, power generation, oil refining, real estate development, telecommunications, and gas station infrastructural provision. in concrete terms, foreign investment has been quite staggering. globalization and indeed its neo-liberalist expansionism in the african space have opened up a wide economic movement and multi-national labour market orientations (nwankwo & ofozoba, 2016). improved human resources the governments of nigeria should develop their human resources to meet up with the knowledge requirements of the globalization process. most developing countries have a large chunk of human resources ready to be utilized by foreign firms. their human resources should be properly developed so that they can contribute and participate in national and international economic activities. in the education sector, for instance, the governments of developing countries should sponsor teachers to attend conferences and seminars both locally and internationally – this will help to update their knowledge on current the effects of labour migration and brain drain syndrome on human capital formation in nigeria global issues, especially the application of ict in the teaching-learning process. efficient and effective economic management no country is poor as far as the distribution of natural resources is concerned. i believe the main challenge of developing countries is the mismanagement of available resources, both natural and human, as well as money politics. hence, they should pursue efficient and effective economic management of their resources to raise the people’s standard of living and overall economic development of the nations. the resources of the nations should not be wasted through high-level corruption, ethnic sentiment, self-centredness and embezzlement. advancement in research research is a careful search and systematic investigation towards increasing the sum of knowledge. it is the most important tool for advancing knowledge and relevant skills. knowledge induces productivity. without advances in research, human capital development will be at a standstill. research cannot be divorced from human capital and economic development. education through quality research is needed to produce knowledge innovations and entrepreneurial skills to achieve overall development. there is ample evidence to show that research and education (especially higher education) has contributed to the rise and expansion of the world knowledge-based economy. in addition, investment in and joint publications of research work with international schools should be encouraged. conclusion i examined the relationship between the migration rate of skilled workers, brain drain and human capital formation in nigeria. since the beginning of creation, humans have always involved themselves in movement activities. it has been a major occurrence in the history of africa and the entire globe generally. migration can have a range of social, cultural, political and economic effects. it involves the transfer and flight of technical know-how and skills and financial assets from one location to another. migration also has consequences for the individual, the area of origin and the area of destination. nigeria cannot achieve long-term economic development by exporting its natural resources. the professionals that are emigrating out of nigeria include those with technical expertise, entrepreneurial and managerial skills and in the new world order; economic growth egbule, philip onyekachukwu 110 and development are driven by people with knowledge. it is the most talented citizens that should lead the people to create wealth and eradicate poverty. hence their absence increases the endemic corruption and makes it easier for the looters to continue in the act. if revered to brain gain will enhance economic growth in nigeria. recommendations to reverse the brain drain and boost economic growth, the nigerian government should create a conducive environment for investment that will ensure employment opportunities and reduce poverty. it should also put in place a good institutional framework, and maintain zero tolerance for corruption. it must provide the much-needed infrastructures such as a good health care system, good roads and transportation systems, affordable and functional education, water supply, security, stable energy and telecommunication (ict) facilities. these essential ingredients make life worth living. most nigerian government officials use taxpayers‟ money to travel abroad for routine medical check-ups. banning this practice would force the government to bring back medical doctors of nigerian origin that emigrated to europe and america. corruption and money laundering should attract capital punishment, and the recovered funds should be invested in the real sector and not the money market for the benefit of all citizens. capital (human and knowledge) and labour (skill) are the major prerequisite for growth and constitute the brain drain in developed countries. references abduraheem, y. (2003). globalization aids nigeria's economic development. a paper presented at the 4th national conference of the social science association of nigeria (sosan), university of ibadan. ajayi, s. i. (2003). institutions, the missing link in the growth process? nigeria economic society. akporehe, d.a. & obielumani, i. (2013). quality education as a tool for educational reformation and national security. research in education journal, 19 (1), 108-133. barro, r. (1996). health and economic growth. cambridge, m. a.: havard university. bonga, e.f. dafiaghor, c. (2014). education in the era globalization: opportunities and challenges. journal of collaborate research and development (jcrd), 2 (1), 152-160. the effects of labour migration and brain drain syndrome on human capital formation in nigeria clemens, m. a. & petterson g. (2007). new data on african health professionals aboard: centre for global development working paper no. 95. dike, v.e. (2010). global economy and poverty in nigeria. downloaded from the internet. docquier f. & marfouk a. (2006). “brain drain in developing countries”. oxford journals of economics and social sciences. world bank economic review, 21, (2), 193-218. dunn, r. m. & mutti, j. h. (2004). international economics. 6th edition, routledge publishers, new york. egbule, p. o. & okobia, a. o. (2018). complementing nigeria’s human capital development drive: what role can social studies education play? de academia international journal of science and contemporary studies, 3 (1), 33-39. ekundayo, h.i., konwea, p.e., osalusi, f.m, and arogundade, b. (2010). towards redressing the brain drain syndrome in nigerian universities. american-eurasian journal of scientific research, 5(3), 156160. grossman, m. (1972), concept of health capital and the demand for health. journal of political economy, 80:223-55. harrison, f. (1973). human resources as the wealth of nations. new york: oxford university press. ikem, k. & ebegha, e.s. (2013). globalization: issues, processes & challenges. warri: destiny ventures. kanu, i. a. (2018). “migration, remittances and national development”. aumen journal of moral education in nigeria. vol. 4. no. 1. pp. 61-69. kanu, a. i; omojola, i. o.; bazza, m. b. (2018). “an evaluation of the labour migration policy for nigeria”. nnadiebube journal of education in africa. vol. 4. no. 1. pp. 1-11. kanu, i. a. (2019). “the economies of poverty and migration in africa”.journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 2. no. 3. pp. 42-51. kanu, i. a. (2019). “migration and religio-political insecurity in africa”.journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 2. no. 4. pp. 36-43. katuka, y. & yaro, z. (2009). an anatomy of bureaucratic corruption: causes, synergistic effects and the way forward. journal of sustainable human development review, 1, (1) loto, m. a. & nkaogu c. (2011). infrastructural development in nigeria: a study of the lekki epe expressway. paper presented to nigeria economic society, ota. egbule, philip onyekachukwu 112 mba, p. n. (2010). foreign private investments capital formation and economic growth in nigeria. an unpublished m.sc thesis submitted to the department of economics, university of nigerian, nsukka. mba, p.n, & ekeopara, c. (2012). brain drain: implication for economic growth in nigeria. american journal of social issues & humanities .2 (2), 41-47. mezieobi, k.a. (2016). human capital development in nigeria: drawing attention to the relegated roadmap. a lead paper presented at the 3rd national conference, school of arts and social sciences, college of education, agbor, delta state. 3rd – 6th, may. mordi, j. f. (2016). the role of religion in human capital development. a paper presented at the 3rd national conference, school of arts and social sciences, college of education, agbor, delta state. 3rd – 6th, may. nwankwo, j.o. & ofozoba, o.c. (2016). xenophobia and south african uprising: reflections on ubuntu as an african philosophy of peace. in e. c. umenezinwa, k. l. nwadialor, i. l. umeanolue & n. j. obiakor (eds.), humanities and african values. awka: afab anieh nigeria limited. obayelu, e. a. (2008). effects of corruption and economic reforms on economic growth and development: lessons from nigeria. paper submitted to african economic conference. ohio, u. (2008), “infrastructure concession in nigeria as panacea” www.nigeriamuse.com. retrieved on 15/02/2019. okwoli, a.a. (2014). nigerian educational system: meeting the human capital needs. being a paper presented at the 2nd induction and national workshop of the chartered institute of human capital development of nigeria. 3rd may. oloya, b. o. & egbule, p. o. (2016). globalization and the crisis of nation building in nigeria. agbor: jimtech publishers. onwuka, e. & eguavoen, a. (2007). globalization and economic development: the nigeria experience. social science journal, 14(1). osoba, j .a. (1996). corruption in nigeria: historical perspectives. review of african political economics, 69 (23), 371 – 381. pearce, d. w. (1992). dictionary of modern economics. fourth edition, macmillan publishers, london. world bank, (1997). world development report. washington, d.c: world bank. http://www.nigeriamuse.com/ 124 security implications of electoral violence on democratic development in nigeria emmanuel ugbedeojo ameh, phd department of peace studies and conflict resolution, noun omaiyeameh@gmail.com / eameh@noun.edu.ng & yusuf a. usman, phd institute of governance and development studies, nasarawa state university, keffi alyusuf79@gmail.com doi:10.13140/rg.2.2.25338.81600 abstract the study looks into the security implications of electoral violence on democratic development in nigeria from the people's perspective and the wider consequences for electoral integrity and governance. according to the data, 64.6 percent of respondents think that there is a high level of violence during elections and 74.8 percent noticed an increase in violence in recent electoral cycles. furthermore, 68.9per cent consider electoral violence to be more prevalent in particular areas, reflecting the wide public perception of this issue's regional concentration. its findings emphasize the negative implications of electoral violence on electoral security by showing that electoral violence threatens voter safety with an extremely substantial threat to 85.0 percent of the respondents and that voting is insecure for 65.0 percent of the respondents. but these perceptions are also connected to broader democratic concerns, as 80.1 percent of respondents argue that electoral violence undermines democratic institutions, erodes the public's trust and hinders the progress of a solid and peaceful democratic society. second, the study examines roles of socio demographic that is, age, marital status, and geographical origin in perception of electoral violence. individuals aged younger, respondents from south west report higher levels of violence, and married people and respondents from north east report less they perceive high trends of violence. age and marital status turn out to be significant predictors of experiences of electoral violence through logistic regression analysis. however, in this study, political corruption, ethnic tensions, inadequate security and voter education were found to have been unrelated to perceived violence. further giving rise to regional disparities in electoral violence, there is a pressing need for targeted, context specific interventions to curtail electoral violence and its effects to nigeria's democratic development. keywords: security challenges; elections; electoral violence; electoral participation introduction the electoral process in many developing african democracies, including nigeria, faces challenges in achieving legitimacy through peaceful, fair, and credible elections. the violent nature of nigeria's democratic endeavor has led to a negative impact on voter participation, leading to poor turnout or even abstention. voter turnout in both developed and emerging democracies has attracted more scholarly attention, with concerns about the reduction in citizen involvement in political activities and the poor level of faith in democratic institutions.violence during elections has occurred in nigeria on many igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 125 occasions since the country gained its independence in 1960. ambitious politicians have orchestrated and encouraged violent events in every election, sowing seeds of fear among voters and lowering the threshold for participation. this has impeded the pursuit of a genuine electoral process and the strengthening of democracy in nigeria. nigerians are wary of voting due to widespread suspicion and anxiety about the safety of both people and their possessions. since 1964, there have been several violent incidents and contentious issues surrounding the conduct of elections, raising concerns about potential abuses of citizens' rights. elections in nigeria have devolved into a circus managed by corrupt politicians and party officials, potentially destabilizing the government and cutting short its corporate existence. the ruling class in nigeria is still working its way out of the authoritarian era and into the more democratic, peopleoriented era, where the focus of government is on serving the public interest. however, the political and electoral process in nigeria has been impacted by instability and violence, with violence occurring in every election since 1999. conceptual framework electoral participation conservative academics in the field of political science have studied voter turnout primarily in relation to two groups: the glasgow and alvarez(2005) and alechenu (2012). citizens' legal activities in accordance with existing laws enable them to pick representatives and, to a certain degree, influence their actions in government; this process is known as electoral participation (fawole, 2005; glasgow & alvarez 2005). citizens' efforts, both direct and indirect, to choose representatives and to back or impact governmental institutions at all levels have also been defined as electoral involvement (braddy, 1999; van deth 2001). not only do citizens actively participate in the political system when they cast their ballots, but they also engage in other significant political activities in the run-up to elections in an effort to shape government policies and actions in their favor (höglund, 2009). this perspective on public engagement in the electoral process encompasses not just voting but also other forms of political action including demonstrations, boycotts, strikes, etc. (norris, 2002a). violence violence according to kolawole (1988), hoglund (2006), and keane (1996), the use of force in an unlawful manner to compel another person to do something against their will is one definition of violence. this leads us to the following definition of violence: the intentional use of physical force or power to cause bodily harm, psychological harm, deprivation, injury, or death to oneself, another person, another group or community (who 2002). there are three common classifications for violent acts: physical, structural, and psychological. assaults or other forms of physical violence that cause bodily harm or death are known as violent acts. the unjust and prejudiced treatment of individuals within society is at the heart of structural violence. all types of abuse, harassment, indoctrination, and brainwashing fall under the umbrella term "psychological violence" (jinadu 1980, galtung 1985, 1991; schröder & schmidt 2001). there has been a disturbing trend in nigeria's electoral trajectory toward the use of violence to intimidate political opponents, election stakeholders, and voters, as well as to influence and disrupt election outcomes. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 126 the impact of insecurity and electoral violence electoral violence and insecurity are threats to democratic stability and stability more generally, especially in developing countries where political processes remain weak and fragile. electoral violence includes violent intimidating, physical harm, or coercion directed against voters in order to influence the outcome of elections and insecurity is the state of fear or threat that generally magnifies such violence. both phenomena are severe threats to the legitimacy of elections, threaten destabilization of political systems and democratic advance (ake, 2001). electoral violence is not limited to the day of the vote, it can happen prior to or after the vote. intimidation, suppression of opposition parties, destruction of campaign materials and media restriction during an election cycle are common features of pre election violence (collier & vicente, 2012). typically, these tactics are meant to decrease voter participation or reinforce public opinion in the favoring of one particular candidate or party. during voting, the violence might be realized in attacks on polling stations, snapping of the ballot boxes, intimidation of voters at the polls and obstruction of electoral ones (höglund, 2009). it can partly lead to distorted election results and weaken trust in the democratic process. that post electoral fighting typically stems from allegations of electoral fraud or rigging or a disenchantment with the outcome, and manifests itself in the form of protests, clashes between political groups, and in serious cases armed confrontations. for example, nigeria's most violent electoral period, including post-election violence during which more than 800 people died from a perception of rigged elections, and alienation with the results, occurred in 2011 (human rights watch, 2011). these constitute cases that depict the great extent to which electoral violence can have on political stability, particularly on nations with weak democratic institution. the causation that exists between insecurity and electoral violence cannot be overlooked in as periods of political instability often embolden criminals elements, militant groups and ethnic factions to violence for political gain (bekoe, 2012). as this cycle continues, insecurity perpetuates itself, increasing electoral violence that solidifies instability making the restoration of peace and order even harder. in kenya and zimbabwe, electoral violence has been an important contributor to political instability and the realization of full democracy (cheeseman & tendi, 2010). electoral violence and insecurity is not just detrimental to the electoral process but to the overall socio political context of an economy that is at risk of loss of investment due to murderous elections, forced displacement of masses of people, and lost trust from the populace on governance. since electoral violence is so prevalent, addressing whatever causes electoral violence (political corruption, ethnic tension, or weak institutions, for example) is essential to any effort to ensure free, fair, and peaceful elections. theoretical framework political instability political instability theory states that frequent or ongoing political violence, civil disease undermine what is essential for stable or functional governance. the point is that political instability occurs when the processes which allow for peaceful transition of power (elections) are broken, resulting in social unrest and governance collapse. political instability weakens democratic institutions, damages economic development and reduces effectiveness of the rule of law. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 127 within the realm of electoral violence, the theory contends that violence impairs electoral trust, and that, in turn, political actors resort to violence or coercion to achieve power. this instability of the political environment and lack of legitimacy of the elected governments fuels it. political instability theory also helps make sense of violence created in countries such as nigeria where electoral violence is common, and how this violence affects the long-term democratic development of the state. frustration-aggression theory the primary tenet of the frustration-aggression hypothesis put forward by dollard et al. (1939) is that aggressive behavior follows frustration. according to this view, violent behavior stems from a person's inability to pursue their goals because of external factors that prevent them from doing so. an aggressive person may shift their animosity onto a helpless bystander when they are unable to address the aggressor directly. relative deprivation is an alternate explanation to this one that proposes a discrepancy between desired and achievable outcomes. angry outbursts and violent actions are more probable the wider the gap. some have argued that the frustration-aggression approach is flawed because it focuses too much on the victim's inner workings. according to lupsha (1971), political violence is intricate and interrelated, involving the concept of deprivation and the subsequent action or reaction to that deprivation. he argues that angry outbursts do not necessarily lead to physical violence, that people can feel upset without resorting to violence, and that violent acts can happen in any community. a lot of people have problems with the frustration-aggression paradigm, yet it helps a lot when trying to figure out why people get violent during elections. when considering that aggressive or frustrated behavior might lead to violent acts, the theory's value becomes clear. people are more likely to respond violently in order to defend themselves when they are pushed beyond their limits by excessive pressure. conflict theory conflict theory, by george ritzer, is associated as the theory of the work of karl marx, which states the competition for power and resources as the main cause of social and political will. electoral violence can be regarded as symptoms of eternal struggle among political elites and ethnic or regional groups in the context of nigeria. electoral violence is not merely the consequence of such immediate electoral grievances, however; it simultaneously arises from deeper systemic inequality and social tensions. understanding electoral violence within this framework then allows us to see how it exacerbates already existing social divisions and works to undermine long term security and democratic fragility. social contract theory whether it's the work of philosophers such as john locke and thomas hobbes proposing social contract theory or the igor i. schegolef's argument regarding positive state theory and concepts of social deviance and order, the fundamental idea involves the relationship between the state and its citizens, where the state is charged with maintaining security and protecting rights. electoral violence undermines this social contract as it cuts off a vital promise made by the state, namely to provide security during elections and it is precisely this promise that has citizens doubt in the state's capacity to provide the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 128 security needed to enable free and fair elections. the theory in nigeria accounts for the disillusionment of citizens with democratic processes and a lack of election security that erodes trust in the government and all democratic institutions. the influence of violence and insecurity on electoral participation in democracies, the importance of having an election is paramount. one of the most important parts of the representative democracy form of government is the election. by resolving the problem of leadership succession within a democratic framework, recurrent elections help keep governments running well. voters choose their representatives in government and can then hold them to account through the electoral process. a sense of purpose, value, and self-worth are enhanced when citizens actively participate in the voting process. voting or staying home during an election can be a reflection of how you feel about the current political climate and the process. a wellestablished political party system, an impartial and competent electoral management body, an independent judiciary, and the endorsement of basic electoral principles by the broader political community were the four conditions listed by mackenzie (1964) as necessary for the conduct of free and fair elections. in order to ensure that elections are conducted in accordance with the set legal criteria for electoral procedures, the electoral system provides a framework. all aspects of the election process, including voter registration, fall under this umbrella (roberts, 1971). a nation's voting system plays an essential role in shaping and sustaining the political conduct of its inhabitants (okolo, 2002). polling center delimitation, voter registration, political party registration, candidate nomination, campaign processes, media engagement, and voter education are all part of the pre-election phase. on election day, secret balloting, ballot boxes, ballot papers, election materials, vote counting, and election monitoring are all part of the election-day phase. finally, post-election activities include result announcement, postevaluation, and disputes pertaining to the electoral conduct. the extent to which a society's political culture, participation, and governance shape election behavior and competition is substantial. methodology in this survey-based investigation, 412 participants were chosen at random from a stratified random sample. we used descriptive statistics (such as percentages, means, and standard deviations) and inferential statistics (such as chi-square and logistic regression) to examine the data that we gathered from the structured questionnaires. quantitative research methods known as "survey research designs" include researchers polling a subset of the community or the whole populace in order to glean information about their thoughts, feelings, and actions. the research population will consist of the residents of the three most impacted local government areas in kaduna state. for this study, a mix of basic random and selective selection methods will be utilized to pick participants. the questionnaire will be administered to respondents using a simple random selection approach. using a well-structured questionnaire, researchers in six states across six geographic zones gathered data on the correlation between election violence and electoral security. the five parts of the survey include both multiple-choice and free-form questions. a different part of the investigation was covered in each section. using spss version 17, the study goals informed the analysis and computation of the primary data gathered. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 129 participants' traits and answers were described using descriptive statistics, which include percentages, averages, and standard deviation. to determine the associations between demographic variables and dependent ones, inferential statistics were used, such as logistic regression analysis and chi-square testing. we used these statistical methods because we wanted to show how much of an impact election violence had on democratic government in nigeria, and we wanted to do so with statistical precision. data analysis and result the study used stratified random sampling to select 412 respondents from three impacted local government areas in kaduna state. the research methodology involved structured questionnaires, which were analyzed using inferential and descriptive statistics. the questionnaire was divided into five parts, including closedand open-ended questions. the data was analyzed using spss version 17, and descriptive statistics were used to summarize participant characteristics and responses. inferential statistics investigated the associations between sociodemographic characteristics and dependent variables. the aim was to accurately show how electoral violence impacts democratic governance in nigeria in relation to election security the purpose of this research was to examine electoral violence in nigeria and its effects on election security by surveying 427 people. the response rate was 96.5%, with 412 questionnaires being returned out of the total. table 1: socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents v a r i a b l e s f r e q u e n c y ( n = 4 1 2 ) p e r c e n t a g e ( % ) g e n d e r f e m a l e 1 4 6 3 5 . 4 m a l e 2 6 6 6 4 . 6 a g e g r o u p ( y e a r s ) 1 8-2 8 1 4 3 3 4 . 7 2 9-3 9 1 6 1 3 9 . 1 4 0-5 0 6 1 1 4 . 8 5 1 a n d a b o v e 4 7 1 1 . 4 m e a n ± s d 3 4 . 2 1 ± 1 0 . 5 0 m a r i t a l s t a t u s s i n g l e 1 8 6 4 5 . 1 m a r r i e d 2 0 2 4 9 . 0 s e p a r a t e d 2 4 5 . 8 h i g h e s t l e v e l o f e d u c a t i o n n o f o r m a l e d u c a t i o n 2 1 5 . 1 p r i m a r y l e v e l 4 0 9 . 7 s e c o n d a r y l e v e l 1 4 4 3 5 . 0 t e r t i a r y l e v e l 2 0 7 5 0 . 2 o c c u p a t i o n e m p l o y e d 2 0 3 4 9 . 3 s e l f-e m p l o y e d 1 4 2 3 4 . 5 u n e m p l o y e d 6 7 1 6 . 3 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 130 table 4.1a refers, the study involved 412 respondents, with the majority being male (64.6%), while females made up 35.4% of the participants. the respondents' ages ranged widely, with the largest group (39.1%) being between 29 and 39 years old. those aged 18 to 28 years constituted 34.7% of the sample, while 14.8% were aged between 40 and 50 years, and 11.4% were 51 years or older. the mean age of the respondents was 34.21 years, with a standard deviation of 10.50 years. in terms of marital status, nearly half of the respondents were married (49.0%), while 45.1% were single, and a small proportion (5.8%) were separated. educational attainment among the respondents varied, with over half (50.2%) having completed tertiary education. about 35.0% had completed secondary education, 9.7% had primary-level education, and 5.1% had no formal education. regarding employment status, nearly half of the respondents were employed (49.3%), while 34.5% were self-employed, and 16.3% were unemployed. this data provides a comprehensive overview of the socio-demographic characteristics of the study's participants. table 2: socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents (cont..) other tribes: the study's participants were from a diverse range of ethnic and regional backgrounds, with the largest ethnic group being hausa (34.5%). a significant portion (25.7%) identified with other ethnic groups. the north west region had the highest representation, followed by the north central region (19.4%) and the south west (18.9%). this data highlights the geographical and cultural diversity of the participants. table 3: the security implications of electoral violence on democratic development. variables frequency (n = 412) percentage (%) ethnicity hausa 142 34.5 igbo 96 23.3 yoruba 68 16.5 others 106 25.7 region of origin north central 80 19.4 north east 62 15.0 north west 84 20.4 south east 44 10.7 south-south 64 15.5 south west 78 18.9 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 131 discussion of findings the research surveyed a diverse population, with men comprising 64.6% and females 35.4%. the majority were in their prime earning years, with a higher percentage of respondents having completed postsecondary degrees. the study revealed a concerning rise in election violence in nigeria, attributed to political atmosphere, regional inequality, and geographical inequity. ethnic and political rivalry significantly affect the incidence of violence. voter security is also a significant concern, with 85.0% of respondents believing that violent elections compromise voting credibility. this violence undermines faith in democratic institutions and threatens the safety of voters. conclusion in conclusion, the data revealed a pronounced perception of heightened electoral violence among the respondents, with 64.6% indicating that the level of violence is high. this perception is further supported by the fact that a substantial majority (74.8%) observed an increase in electoral violence over recent elections, and 68.9% believe that the violence is more prevalent in certain regions. this widespread awareness underscores the severity of the issue and its significant impact on the electoral process and community well-being. the study also shows the detrimental effects of electoral violence on electoral security and democratic development. with 85.0% of respondents acknowledging that electoral violence poses a severe threat to voter safety, it is evident that the violence undermines the integrity of elections and affects voter participation. the fact that 65.0% of respondents feel unsafe participating in elections highlights how deeply these concerns affect voter behavior. moreover, the broader implications for democratic governance are significant, as 80.1% believe that electoral violence weakens variables frequency (n = 412) percentage (%) do you believe that electoral violence weakens the democratic institutions in nigeria? yes 330 80.1 no 82 19.9 do you think that recurring electoral violence can lead to a decline in public trust in the democratic process? yes 289 70.1 no 123 29.9 in your opinion, does electoral violence hinder the development of a stable and peaceful democratic society in nigeria? yes 309 75.0 no 103 25.0 do you believe that electoral violence has long-term consequences for nigeria ’s democratic development? yes 329 79.9 no 83 20.1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 132 democratic institutions, erodes public trust, and impedes the development of a stable and peaceful democratic society. the analysis of socio-demographic factors provides additional insights into how electoral violence is perceived across different groups. the findings indicate that age, marital status, and regional origin significantly influence perceptions of electoral violence. younger individuals and those from the south west region report higher levels of violence, whereas married individuals are less likely to perceive high trends of violence. these demographic variations highlight the importance of considering socio-economic and regional contexts when addressing electoral violence. the logistic regression analysis further identifies age and marital status as significant predictors of high levels of electoral violence. specifically, older individuals and married respondents are less likely to report high levels of violence. this suggests that these demographic factors are crucial in shaping how individuals perceive and experience electoral violence. in contrast, other factors such as political corruption, ethnic or religious tension, inadequate security measures, money in politics, and inadequate voter education were not found to be significant predictors in this study. this indicates that while these factors may play a role, they are not as central to perceptions of electoral violence as previously assumed. the regional disparities in perceptions of electoral violence are particularly striking. the south west reports the highest levels of violence, whereas the north east reports lower levels. this regional variation points to the need for targeted interventions to address the specific challenges faced by different regions. tailoring strategies to regional contexts can enhance the effectiveness of efforts to mitigate the impact of electoral violence. recommendations 1. the federal and state governments must reduce the occurrence of violence in elections. the purpose of this is to inspire people to get involved in the voting process. a sufficient number of security guards assigned to watch over voter registration, campaign events, and polling places would accomplish this. 2. the security professionals are expected to diligently fulfill their duty in preventing violence, with a particular focus on preventing any activities that undermine the electoral laws, which are known to trigger violent outbursts during elections. 3. throughout the nigerian elections, there has to be a sufficient intelligence and monitoring staff to keep tabs on all polling places. in order to prevent election security officers from going beyond, this group should also be tasked with overseeing their actions. 4. it is important to deter incumbents and most politicians in nigeria from adopting the bad mindset of winning at any costs. 5. in order to have credible primaries and general elections, as well as to accommodate opposing political parties, the political parties should establish and strengthen internal party democratic institutions. 6. encouraging the inec to hold free and fair elections that are both transparent and credible is everyone's responsibility . igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 133 references ake, c. (2001). democracy and development in africa. brookings institution press. bekoe, d. (2012). voting in fear: electoral violence in sub-saharan africa. united states institute of peace press. cheeseman, n., & tendi, b. m. (2010). power-sharing in comparative perspective: the dynamics of 'unity government' in kenya and zimbabwe. journal of modern african studies, 48(2), 203-229. collier, p., & vicente, p. c. (2012). violence, bribery, and fraud: the political economy of elections in sub-saharan africa. public choice, 153(1-2), 117-147. dollard, j., doob, l. w., miller, n.e., mowrer, o.h., and sears, r.r., (1939). frustration and aggression, new haven: yale university freer. glasgow, g. & alvarez, r. m., (2005). voting behavior and the electoral contest of government formation, electoral study, 24(2), 245264 höglund, k. (2009). electoral violence in conflict-ridden societies: concepts, causes, and consequences. terrorism and political violence, 21(3), 412-427. human rights watch. (2011). nigeria: post-election violence killed 800. retrieved from h�ps://www.hrw.org/news höglund, k., (2009). electoral violence in conflict-ridden societies: concepts, causes, and consequences. terrorism and political violence 21(3), 412-427, in c. kolawole, d., (1988). political violencea case study of ondo state, in v. ayeni and k. soremekun (eds), nigeria's second republic, nigeria: daily times of nigeria. lupsha, p. a., (1971). explanation of political violence: some psychological theories versus indignation. politics and society fall 2(1), 89-104. mackenzie, w.j.m., (1964). free elections: an elementary textbook, london: allen and unwin. norris, p., (ed.) (1999).critical citizens: global support for democratic governance, oxford: oxford university press. okolo, g., (2002). 'education and political stability in nigeria; the beacon', a journal of the tai solarin college of education, ijebu-ode, 5(1), 146152 roberts, g.k., (1971). a dictionary of political analysis, london: longman group. taylor (2018), shared security, shared elections best practices for the prevention of electoral violence: a study by the american friends service committee (afsc) j u l y 2 0 1 8 , r e t r i e v e d f r o m : h t t p s : / / r e l i e f w e b . i n t / s i t e s / reliefweb.int/files/resources/electoral-violence-report-web-version.pdf van deth, j.w., (2001). studying political participation: towards a theory of everything? (paper presented at the joint sessions of workshops of the european consortium for political research), grenoble, 6–11 april 2001. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 132 communication (language) and the place of human values in african sustainable development: an igwebuike perspective anthony yashim nkom department of mass communication university of benin, edo state tonynkom@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.18277.47848 abstract the most common and complex word that the human being has always encountered is communication; and, this is because communication is everything and all that exist in human life and endeavour. it is an apparent answer to the painful divisions between self and other, private and public, and inner thought and outer world. communication as an activity evolves and not just around the human person; but, around the world in which the human person lives; it is a wide range of different behaviours involved in the dissemination of information. it is these complexities of what communication is that has led to other complexities in the world in which we find ourselves. the thesis of this paper understands the dynamics of communication as a process; and does not intend to proffer solution to the problems of communication as an activity; but, the paper posits that language as a medium of communication has a very strong influence on human values especially in promoting african human values that are fast going into extinct in the face of globalization. the paper argues further that african languages have a very strong foundation to help restore and retain human values as that are ontologically african. hence, this is highly reflected in the igwebuike philosophical enterprise which offers the basis for restoring and retaining our african human values. the paper adopts a qualitative research method through multidisciplinary engagement; and, adopting a theoretical framework from an igwebuike perspective is to help contribute to the sustainable development of a value system in africa. keywords: language, communication, human values, igwebuike, sustainable development introduction language is communication and communication is language; just as communication evolves so does language evolves because they go hand in hand. the only difference is that communication is an aspect or a part of language; and communication is wider in scope than language. to speak of language is invariably to speak of communication; but, to speak of communication does not igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 133 transcend into language. john peter argues the difficulty of defining communication and this is because of the fact that communication is a both a universal phenomenon (because everyone communicates) and a specific discipline of institutional academic study26. it is not just a specific discipline; but, it encompasses all disciplines. as such, it is very difficult to undermine the role communication plays in every facet of human life and existence; and, this include human values which is an integral part of the formation that constitute human life and existence. human values flows from what is communicated; and it fashions out how life should be lived. to neglect communicate from human values and consider them incompatible and uncorrelated to each other is to undermine communication and languages which are vehicles to which human values can be built. language contributes to the growth of human values; it is language that makes us human through the mastery of a complex system of words and complex sentences. more so, language helps us to express our feelings and thoughts – this is unique to our species because it is a way to express unique ideas and customs within different cultures and societies. our african societies have constantly re-echoed the need for language retention, restoration and retaining what is peculiar to our languages in africa; but, unfortunately there is a fast relinquishing and degeneration of african languages; and, this is affecting the african values that are expected to build a value system in africa towards the realization of an african sustainable development (asd). this paper posits that there are various indices and determinant factor for the realization of sustainable development in africa; but, through the vehicle of language, it helps in establishing african human values and would help to fast tract development that is sustainable. hence, the paper further posits and establishes that communication is a vital tool in improving our african human values (ahv). this paper explores and adopts a qualitative research framework to underscore the igwebuike perspective on the promotion of african human values in sustaining africa’s development through language and communication. conceptual clarification communication the word communication comes from the latin word communicare meaning “to share”. communication may be defined as the giving, receiving or exchange of information, opinions or ideas by writing through speech or visual means or any combination of the three so that the material communicated is completely 26 peters j.d institutional sources of intellectual poverty in communication research communication research. 13(4) p.527 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 134 understood by everyone concerned. martha onjewu defines “communication as the interaction between two parties using verbal or non-verbal symbols to achieve set personal or organizational goals” 27 . this implies transferring thoughts, information, emotions and ideas through gestures, voice, symbols, signs and expressions from one person to another. therefore it is the act of developing meaning among entities or groups through the use of sufficiently mutually understood signs, symbols, and semiotic conventions. in the field of mass communication, communication encompasses a lot; and, hence this paper shall not dwell extensively of the various models or types of communication; but, it shall rather discuss communication in every ramifications (be it verbal or nonverbal) as a means or process of applying communication principles especially through symbols, spoken languages within a particular culture (african culture) and to detect how values are expressed in communication, and to correlate those african human values with attitudes or behaviors 28 . through our african languages we communicate with one another and express our thoughts and feelings as well as using our african symbols to communicate values that are peculiar to africans. it is within this context that communication is defined for the purpose of this research paper. sustainable development the term ‘sustainable development’ is considered very much appropriate when defining development. it is very much safe to define what development is within the context of sustainable development so has not to get in a complex and cumbersome academic exercise that is characterized with the definition of ‘development’. hence, sustainable development is a compound notion that consists of two separable concepts; the concept ‘sustainable’ and ‘development’ to depict a process of realizing a goal that is progressive and to sustain such goals. according to anslem jimoh “the two separable concepts can be considered as process notions in the sense that they are not projects to be completed but an on-going exercises or processes that involve creating and recreating, as there is always room and need to improve on whatever is on ground”29. sustainable development can be defined as development that meets the needs of the present 27 onjewu a.m essential english for all students. kaduna, nigeria: sunjo a.j. global links publishers, 2020 pg 91 28 fleischmann r.k information and human values (new york: springer publications, 2014) p. 51 29 jimoh a. philosophy and development in an unpublished works submitted for publication in a book chapter on gotanism. as of the time this paper is been written the works of jimoh a had gone to press. as such, referencing this paper be considered in view of when the paper is published. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 135 generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs 30 . it is very much important to note that the term ‘sustainable development’ has been criticized, nevertheless, the term has evolved over time and it is still evolving. this paper shall restrict its definition to anslem jimoh and the definition as projected by unesco. human values the origin of the term value comes from the latin word valere which means ‘to be of worth’. the concise oxford dictionary defines the term value as the ‘worth, desirability or utility of a thing’31. the term value itself is very complex and abstract; and most times difficult to define for they are as comprehensive in a nature as our human life. according to john dewey, “value means primarily, to price, to esteem, to appraise, to estimate. it means the act of cherishing something holding it clear and also, the act of passing judgment upon the nature and amount of its value as compared with something else”32. values are defined as something which are desirable and worthy of esteem for their own sake; human values are defined as those values which help man to live in harmony with the world; and, are the virtues that guide us to take into account the human element when we interact with other human beings. human values are, for example, respect, acceptance, consideration, appreciation, listening, openness, affection, empathy and love towards other human beings33. human values are universally accepted and ontological to human nature as a means of approaching life essentially doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong. as such, making right decisions helps in creating a society with a value system. igwebuike the proponent and advocate of igwebuike philosophy is ikechukwu kanu anthony which he considers to be an african principle of living life captured not basically in an igbo world34. nonetheless, the word igwebuike is derived from an igbo word; and, it is an expression of the combination of three igbo words. it can 30 sustainable development unesco. 3rd august, 2015. retrieved 6th june, 2022 31 https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/essay/values/human-values-meaning-nature-and-types/86964. retrieved online 6th june, 2022 32 https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/essay/values/human-values-meaning-nature-and-types/86964. retrieved online 6th june, 2022 33 https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/essay/values/human-values-meaning-nature-and-types/86964. retrived online 6th june, 2022 34 kanu i.a on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. in a journal of religion and human relations, vol 11 no.1 2019 p.160 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 136 be understood as a word or a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence it is written as igwe, bu, ike, with the component word s enjoying some independence in terms of space. literally, igwe is a noun which means number or multitude, usually a large number or population. the number or population in perspective is entities with ontological identities and significance; however, it is part of an existential order in which every entity is in relation to the other. bu is a verb, which means is, ike is a noun, which means strength or power. igwe, bu and ike put together means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’. however, beyond the literal sense of igwebuike, it means otu obi (one heart and one soul) – cor unm et anima una35. according to ikechukwu anthony kanu: the principles of igwebuike philosophy refers to the values or framework that shapes igwebuike philosophy. these principles are the values or frameworks on which philosophy on which philosophy stands. while these principles guide igwebuike philosophy, it also justifies igwebuike philosophy. these principles include: the principle of identity, the principle of contrariety, the principle of hierarchy and the principle of unity36. the implication of this principle as expressed in the thought of ikechukwu anthony kanu brings to bare that igwebuike is a propeller and a driver for the transmission of human values, norms and customs of the igbo people37. issues and problems in communication (language) and sustainable development communication is vital for establishing agreements because some facts and information cannot be given verbally, translation must play the critical role of being the most important communication medium, with a language translator assuring the message’s quality and correctness. communication in itself has a long issues of problems as far as understanding, encoding and decoding a message is concern. this difficulty is even worsening in an environment where 35 kanu anthony, i igwebuike: an african complementarity philosophical framework (united states of america: igwebuike research institute:2020) p. 3 36 kanu i. a on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. in a journal of religion and human relations 2019 p. 165 37 dyikuk j.j a glance at traditional modes of communication through the lens of liturgical inculturation: perspective from igwebuike and shikrot traditions. in a journal of african studies and sustainable development, vol. 3 no.8. (a publication of the association for the promotion of african studies:2020) p.17 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 137 there is multiplicity of languages. the multiplicity of languages is a major dividing factor in societies and countries all over the world; and this impedes on so many aspect on that which can lead to sustainable development. according to francis onyeugwuetom chukwudi njoku, the propeller of what constitutes a state is shared ancestry and cultural attitudes and by extension language38. this implies that a common understanding and shared language can advance the progress of a nation; but, the problem arises in the fact that multiplicity of languages hinders communication and spread of education, and therefore aggravates international confusion, misunderstanding, mutual fear, and suspicion and trust deficit. language differences can affect sustainable development when a country and its members have poor communication amongst members of different languages; and, amongst communities and the government. it can lead not only to mistrust and to political tension, but also to poor levels of illiteracy and problems in the judiciary when different languages may be used and transcripts required in order for a case to be heard39. language as an aspect of communication opens an individual to the world of a particular culture; as such, a language barrier is any linguistic limitation that produces confusion or limits comprehension of the immediate society, culture and environment one find themselves. evan bradley enhances this discourse thus: not only does language bridge several scientific disciplines – natural and social – but linguistics also has roots in the humanities, and the connection between language and culture is undeniable. modern scientific linguistics contributes to this tradition by employing its tools and techniques to describe and document linguistic diversity. this diversity includes not only the standardized norms of languages, but the many dialects and variations that are spoken in different regions and subcultures, signed languages, and the languages of peoples whose languages and cultures are in danger of extinction40. in the thoughts of marielle zagada, language isn’t just a way to communicate; it’s a component of culture that makes it unique and specific. when language and culture are discussed, 38 njoku foc introduction to social and political philosophy (enugu: university of nigeria press, 2019) p. 72 39 the encyclopedia of world problems & human potentials http://encyclopedia.uia.org/en/problem/137300 retrieved online 14th july, 2022 40 40 bradley e because language is essential to human interaction, 2017 https://www.whysocialscience.com/blog/2017/12/5/because-language-is-essential-to-human-interaction retrieved online 20th july, 2022 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 138 the phrase “language is culture and culture is language” is often mentioned because the two are always intertwined. this means that the language you speak reflects what your values and beliefs are41. m.i nwoko agrees to this fact as he outlines major characteristics of nation as “a community of people, with common natural sentiments of loyalty and identity, common ethnic heritage, common territory, future, history and sovereignty not limited to specific purposes42. it is language that connects this community of people; with common ethnic heritage and common territory that identifies a people to who they are. justin dyikuk underscores african traditional communication as the basis in which africans can communicate effectively despite the emergence of information communication technology (ict) which has almost scuttle the african traditional media anchored in the way and manner cultures disseminate information either through verbal and non-verbal means as subscribed in songs, dance, proverbs, drama, folklore etc 43 . to underscore african traditional communication is to underscore languages spoken by africans through whatever mode of communication; it is difficult to extricate language from traditional media as long as such language does not fundamentally constitute what defines a people. for example, the town crier in a local settling is the medium and the voice of communicating to the people in which messages are passed and information are gotten through the language of the people. in turn, the people understands the intention of what is communicated; messages are hardly misrepresented and misinformed because the language of communication provides the matrix of understanding for effective communication; and, this reduces mutual suspicion, tensions, and moral crisis. nigeria is one of the countries where there is mutual suspicion amongst ethnic groups as well as political tensions due to the different languages spoken amongst members of the same state; this political tensions and mutual suspicion has extended to religious intolerance to the point that various religious interpretation of what constitutes human values and what can be obtained as 41 zagada m more than words: how language affects the way we think in an online article published in may ,13th 2020 https://www.gofluent.com/blog/how-language-affects-the-way-we-think/ retrieved online 20th july, 2022 42 nwoko mi, basic world political theories, 5 43 dyikuk jj the intersection of communication in igwebuike and trado-rural media: a critical evaluation, in journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 2 no.3 (a publication of association for the promotion of african studies: 2019) p.176 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 139 human values has led to man’s inhumanity to man. diverse languages and multiple communication models and medium ought to add spice in the society; unfortunately, the current situation really suggests that so much represents what ought to be a gift than what is obtainable as a disaster to human values. most children who speak their languages fluently understand human values more than those who have lost touch their languages. this is because languages have their mode that shapes the developmental process of the human person through which they becomes agents of transformation of culture. it is in this regard that human behaviors are transformed. the influence of communication (language) on human behaviours language is central to the african traditional media and communication; and, it is important to understand that human behavior cannot be understood if we separate language and social practice. language without social practice and social practice without language are senseless. it therefore becomes very apt to underscore the fact that language is an essential component of social practice that influences human behavior. speaking, writing, and reading are integral to everyday life, where language is the primary tool for expression and communication44. communication, and the language used in communicating can help us better understand ourselves and why we behave the way we do. the language we use is considered as a cultural, social and psychological phenomenon. according to swati johar: language has been considered as a social behavioral phenomenon and an indicator of the structure of cognitive processes dealing with functions such as communicating, imaging, learning and perceiving. communication is enriched through coverbal or nonverbal behaviours… and speculates the implications of these behaviours to significantly improve speech recognition and understanding. the association and interdependence of verbal and nonverbal elements has been highlighted and various research approaches and challenges focusing on interpretation of human behaviour…45. 44 https://news.standford.edu/2019/08/22/the-power-of-language-how-words-shape-culture/ retrieved online 20th july, 2022 45 johar s. language, communication and human behavior. in a book chapter, emotion, affect and personality in speech, 2016 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/314583139_language_communication_and_human_behaviou r retrieved online 20th july, 2022 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 140 evan bradley a psychologist argues further: every day, we use language to communicate, argue, learn, negotiate, document, legislate, and celebrate. in the industrialized world, we are bombarded daily by language from radios, televisions, websites, signs, and talking devices; while in less technological societies, knowledge is transmitted orally. a better understanding of languages (individually), of language (as a collective human ability), and of their speakers helps us to better understand how society functions and how to improve it, and this is the domain of the study of linguistics46. human values are enhanced through social practice so as to improve the world. this social practice is the function of human behavior that occurs through the influence of language. in the early 20th century, ludwig wittgenstein argued that the language we speak can influence the way humans think and act47. through language people are connected in beliefs and values; according to daniel everett. language can be considered a cultural tool to relate a community’s values and ideals and is shaped and molded by these residents over time; for example, looking at the many idioms the chinese culture has on family, you can definitely see how much they value that relationship. another is with a unique korean word nunchi meaning eye measure that has no english translation. this word relates to the korean belief in gauging how people are thinking and feeling in order to create connection, trust, and harmony48. the fundamental building block of communication is language, whether it is a spoken language or unspoken emotions that represent the language of the mind 49 . it then becomes very imperative as researchers to avoid taking for granted the influence on communication on human behaviour. several studies that illustrate how different elements might have an impact on behavior include, 46 bradley e because language is essential to human interaction, 2017 https://www.whysocialscience.com/blog/2017/12/5/because-language-is-essential-to-human-interaction retrieved online 20th july, 2022 47 huemer w. ludwig wittgenstein, language and philosophy of literature. in a book chapter the literary wittgenstein (eds) john gibson & wolfgang huemer (new york: routledge, 2004) p.19 48 everett d language: the cultural tool. in the guardian news website of the year an article https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/mar/15/language-cultural-daniel-everett-review retrieved online 20th july, 2022 49 nirah j et al exploration of communication and individual behaviour relation. in international journal of trend in research and development, volume 3(1) www.ijtrd.com assessed online 26th july, 2022 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 141 in a work titled behaviour matters: communication research on human connections shows how communication has a big impact on peoples life 50 . ineffective communication techniques cause frustration, which causes act-out behaviors. students will feel less frustrated and behave more positively in the classroom the more they receive assistance with effective communication51. the social media with its positive influence has also created another level of influencing human behaviour. when we experiment with technology, especially with social media, human behavior evolves more. people now utilize social media on a daily basis to such an extent that it is gradually changing how we behave. face-to-face encounters, which are essential for personality development, socialization, and communication training, have been eliminated from people's lives, particularly those of younger generations. children are struggling to interact with others, which could result in antisocial behavior. social media has facilitated easy life comparisons. people have problems with self-esteem and depression as a result of being dissatisfied with their existing situation. social media use has also been linked to online abuse and bullying by anonymous users, which can cause issues with privacy and self-worth. most research have found that children's aggressive attitudes and behaviors rise as a result of the violent games on social media. social media has also been used to promote misinformation and rumors online, which has increased the number of violent crimes committed in society. for instance, recent reports of kidnappers on whatsapp have resulted in the murders of innocent persons in several indian cities. with the advent of social media, avoiding bad news and its detrimental effects on our lives has virtually become impossible. this may have long-lasting psychological effects, including thoughts of our world imploding, tension, and anxiety52. social media has altered not only the way we think, but how we behave and conduct ourselves in public nowadays; and, it has extended to our human values in areas of family morality, political culture and other areas of human endeavour and areas that would have led to authentic and sustainable development. despite the positive impact of the social media to human development, it is not possible to throwaway the baby with the bathing water. 50 a booklet on communication matters: communication research on human connections, decade of behaviour, 200-2010, frog 51 ibid 52 jain p social media: impact on human behaviour and society https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/socialmedia-impact-human-behavior-society-piyushi-jain assessed online 26th july, 2022 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 142 african languages as a tool for effective restoring and retaining african human values: an igwebuike perspective every philosophical perspective has a history, as well as guiding ideas or values that give the particular way of thinking value. the origin is typically the outcome of a response to a certain situation, which may be actual or hypothetical; although, it is named after an igbo term, the concept of igwebuike has worldwide applicability 53 . the values or framework that forms igwebuike philosophy are referred to as its principles. these tenets serve as the philosophy's guiding concepts or conceptual frameworks. igwebuike philosophy is guided by these ideas, and it is also justified by them54. african languages have ingrained african values, customs, and morality. the attempt to exterminate african languages would be extremely risky for our long-term, comprehensive development. the igwebuike principle reflects a global phenomenon that relates to people's ethical and charitable behavioral habits. the communitarian concept embodied in the igwebuike principle further illuminates the numerous social communication channels while showcasing the people's cherished culture, including their mores, traditions, and customs55. according to justin dyikuk, “igwebuike is a mechanism for ensuring unity and the desired synergy for discussion within and outside igbo land”56. he went further to argue “as the lungs or vital organ of igbo tradition of south eastern nigeria, igwebuike philosophy means number is strength or number is power. it is a worldview which engenders communication and culture through complementarity, harmony, and communality”57. it is this complementarity, harmony and communality that is a driver of human values through the vehicle of language. thus, communication in igwebuike encompasses that solidarity, complementarity and synergy the igbo people enjoy from their mores, tradition and culture which aids their day to day communication process and eases ways of relating with one another is central to the restoration of human values that will help promote sustainable and integral development 58 . therefore, the african traditional media is still very much central to the formation of human values for the realization of sustainable 53 kanu ia on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. in journal of religion and human relations, volume 11 no. 1, 2019 p. 159 54 ibid, 165 55 dyikuk jj a glance at traditional modes of communication through the lens of liturgical inculturation: perspective from igwebuike and shikkrot tradition. in journal of african studies and sustainable development vol. 3 no.8, 2020: p.17 56 ibid 57 ibid 58 dyikuk jj, 22 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 143 development. a given people's views, attitudes, systems, patterns, behaviors, culture, and historical narrative are all mixed together in traditional media. other components include masquerades, witchcraft, rites, rituals, music, dance, drama, costumes and artifacts as well as symbolic and cosmological existence from the cradle to the grave. it is the combination of customs and conflicts, harmony and strife, cultural convergences and divergences, cultural tangibles, interpersonal relations, symbols, codes, morals, myths, and literature of the people59. igwebuike, as an ideology, promotes the idea of african community rooted on indigenous african culture, tradition, and epistemology. it communicates the idea that we are all connected—each component links to the overall. the links and experiences of interrelationships and interconnections are the basis of the dynamics of the african reality shown in igwebuike. it is holistic in the sense that it includes all aspects of being—spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical. igwebuike expresses the ability to be empathetic toward the other by relating the aforementioned perspective to african ethics. in the pursuit of creating and upholding a community, it encompasses reciprocity, dignity, harmony, and humanism60. igwebuike goes beyond the self to feel the pain of the other as though it were my pain and the redemption of the other as though it were my redemption, in contrast to western ethics that place a strong emphasis on individual rights, sometimes to the point of promoting selfish interests at the expense of the interests of others. it emphasizes our responsibilities to one another as well as how attached and related we are to one another. it suggests that my humanity and your humanity are closely linked. therefore, the result is that when others are degraded and oppressed, i am diminished61. the ideals of humanness, care, respect for others, compassion, mutual assistance, group responsibility, reciprocal obligations, interdependence, etc. are the foundation of the igwebuike philosophy. three characteristics of humanity are acknowledged: human dignity, human equality, and universal brotherhood and sisterhood62. the african views all people as members of one big human family. this concept of brothers or sisterhood finds expression in virtues like hospitality, generosity, empathy, sympathy, compassion, etc. as its practical application. 59 ibid 60 kanu ia igwebuike and african ethics https://www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/igwebuikepediaarticles.php?open=25 assessed online 26th july, 2022 61 ibid 62 ibid igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 144 conclusion because of its significance, igwebuike can be seen as the foundation for understanding and interpreting african ethics through the lens of language and communication. the importance of igwebuike causes african ethics to be based on the imposing pillar of human values that can help in the realization of sustainable development. the core purpose of communication and language can be extended to promote the welfare of the individual and the community. the human person is therefore at the center of african human values; the human person is instead viewed as a brotherhood or sisterhood and is not defined according to his or her color, nation, religion, creed, political leanings, material contribution, or any other factor. therefore, it emphasizes the value of the human person, the equality of brothers and sisters, and the equality of opportunities for all a society that is egalitarian, that is, where everyone has the same chance to grow personally while cooperating. references 1. dyikuk j.j a glance at traditional modes of communication through the lens of liturgical inculturation: perspective from igwebuike and shikrot traditions. in a journal of african studies and sustainable development, vol. 3 no.8. (a publication of the association for the promotion of african studies:2020) 2. dyikuk jj the intersection of communication in igwebuike and trado-rural media: a critical evaluation, in journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 2 no.3 (a publication of association for the promotion of african studies: 2019) 3. fleischmann r.k information and human values new york: springer publications, 2014 4. huemer w. ludwig wittgenstein, language and philosophy of literature. in a book chapter the literary wittgenstein (eds) john gibson & wolfgang huemer (new york: routledge, 2004) 5. kanu anthony, i igwebuike: an african complementarity philosophical framework (united states of america: igwebuike research institute:2020) 6. kanu i. a on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. in a journal of religion and human relations 2019 7. kanu ia igwebuike and african ethics https://www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/igwebuikepediaarticles.php?open=25 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 145 8. njoku foc introduction to social and political philosophy (enugu: university of nigeria press, 2019) 9. onjewu a.m essential english for all students. kaduna, nigeria: sunjo a.j. global links publishers, 2020 10. peters j.d institutional sources of intellectual poverty in communication research communication research. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 4 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 22 understanding fanon’s theory of violence and its relevance to contemporary violence in africa aghamelu, fidelis chuka philosophy department nnamdi azikiwe university, awka helen.fidelis@yahoo.com & ejike, emeka cyril philosophy department nnamdi azikiwe university, awka cyril.ejike@gmail.com abstract the main thrust of this paper is to demonstrate that fanon’s thesis of violence is relevant to violence in modern times. it explores fanon’s analysis of colonial violence and violence for liberation. it then argues that socio-economic deprivation and alienation which he identifies as the root causes of racial and tribal violence in the colonial world are responsible for the outbreak and escalation of racial and ethnic violence in modern society, especially africa. rather than subscribe to fanon’s belief in revolution, this paper recommends that restructuring of socio-political systems, and development of humans and infrastructure, among others, remain major panaceas for contemporary violence in africa. keywords: colonialism, violence, decolonization, freedom. introduction like every other philosopher, fanon is a child of his time. his time, his world and existence is the colonial world – a manichean world. he wrote from this specific time and history. it is therefore necessary to furnish ourselves, by way of introduction, with circumstances and events in the colonial world which shaped his life and thoughts. fanon was born on 20th july, 1925 on the island of martinique. he was one of the descendants of slaves shipped to the island in the 17th century. it was a society in which economic condition and social status mainly depended on colour. in martinique blacks were subjected to french education aimed at assimilating them into french culture and language. however, the french policy of assimilation, in fanon’s case, was countered by the influence of aime césaire who was propounding the philosophy of negritude as an intellectual reaction to alienated consciousness experienced by the black people as well as an affirmation of their existence and culture. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 23 so, while the influence of french education was moving the young fanon towards assimilation, césaire’s negritude was tilting him towards self autonomy. he was therefore “plagued during much of his life by the demands of assimilation and the need for autonomy, the need to be one’s authentic self. he embodied within himself these two contradictory positions.”1 the outbreak of second world war interrupted fanon’s education and he was enlisted in the free french army to fight for the french. his travels during war brought him face-to-face with the experience of racism in europe, africa and in the french caribbean. he observed that in the army france had a different place for black frenchmen despite the value of liberty, equality and fraternity it proclaims. fanon returned to school to complete his education when the war ended. at this time, his teachers observed that he became more and more withdrawn and introspective, suggesting that he was going over his war experience in his mind. he then turned his attention to the work of philosophers such as jean paul satre, aime césaire, karl jaspers, soren kierkegaard and friedrich nietzsche. in 1847 fanon went to france to study medicine with a specialization in psychiatry at the university of lyon. during his medical training he continued to study the works of philosophers, including karl marx, martin heidegger, edmund husserl and friedrich hegel. after completing his studies, we went to algeria in 1953 to serve as head of the psychiatry department of blida-joinville hospital in algeria. in the hospital fanon began to observe the effects of colonial violence on the human psyche, as he was giving algerians and french soldiers treatment. fanon’s study and experience of the existential conditions of the oppressed people in france and algeria prompted him to join national liberation front (fln) and work actively for algeria’s liberation. by day he would work for the french administration, while by night he would work for the algerian nationalists. when it dawned on him that he could no longer cope with this double role, he resigned from the psychiatric job to devote himself wholeheartedly to the fln and the algerian revolution. he pointed out the futility of practising psychiatry in a degrading and dehumanizing colonial world in his letter of resignation. as he states it: “if psychiatry is the medical technique that aims to enable man no longer to be a stranger to his environment, i owe it to myself to affirm that the arab, permanently an alien in his own country, lives in a state of absolute depersonalization.”2 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 24 fanon’s war experiences and the legacy of colonial domination, together with his study of philosophical works and training as a psychiatrist, had a strong influence on his conception of decolonization within the context of anticolonial struggle. it was the dehumanizing and excruciating circumstances in the colonial world that influenced fanon’s advocacy of revolutionary decolonization aimed at destroying the unjust colonial structures and liberating alienated consciousness. nature of violence violence is the “use of force to harm or destroy human beings or non-human objects, for the purpose of preserving or altering political institutions, systems, governments, or policies.”3 violence may be physical or psychological. roberts explains that violence “contains dimensions of physical and psychological domination by one species of mankind over another.”4 physical violence is the infliction or threat of infliction of painful injury by the use of instruments like whips, guns, bayonets and fists. psychological violence involves the use of hostile behaviour such as gestures and words to cause emotional damage or harm to the victim. both forms of violence are aimed at diminishing the victim’s sense of identity, dignity and self-worth. there are two distinct concepts of violence, namely instrumental violence and intrinsic violence. instrumental violence refers to “a concept in which the implementation of either wanton irrational or calculated rational violence occurs as a means to an end.”5 this means that violence is employed with the sole purpose of achieving a specific result. here, the party does not place a metaphysical value on the violent act but sees it merely as an instrumental means to attain an end. intrinsic violence, in contrast to instrumental violence, refers to “a metaphysical concept in which the act of either random irrational or calculated rational violence itself contains inherent value.”6 intrinsic violence does not operate in a means-end continuum; it places positive value on a violent act, regardless of the outcome at a specific moment of implementation. fanon conceives of violence in the colonial world as both physical and psychological. for him, violence is an intrinsic nature of the colonial system which produces alienated consciousness and alienating material conditions that are formidable obstacles to man’s liberation. in response to colonial oppression and exploitation, fanon believes that violence is intrinsically valuable in the anti-colonial struggle for freedom and therefore urges the decolonizing natives to extricate themselves from the grips of colonial domination and achieve equal status with the settlers by means of violence. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 25 fanon’s analysis of the colonial situation fanon notes that colonialism is violent in its natural state. in other words, he sees violence as the defining characteristic of colonialism. for him, colonial world is characterized by dichotomy between the settlers and the natives. it is deeply rooted in manichean structure, that is, it is arranged in such a way that there is conflict or opposition between the settlers and the natives. fanon states that colonial world is divided into two compartmental zones: the zone of the settlers and the zone of the natives. barrack and police stations partition these zones. narcissism and chauvinism permeate the consciousness of the settlers. they see their zone as being the sole sphere of humanity. so, if one does not belong to that sphere, one cannot claim to represent a civilized human species. the natives are being exploited, enslaved, oppressed, marginalized, dehumanized, abused and devalued by the colonizers. fanon therefore writes: “the negro problem does not resolve itself into the problem of negroes living among white men but rather of negroes exploited, enslaved, despised by a colonialist, capitalist society that is only accidentally white.”7 fanon views colonialism as a system of exploitation which makes the colonized people feel inferior to the colonizers. he contends that the instrument of colonial rule is violence. this violence is cruelly executed by means of bayonets and canons and sustained by the police and the army. fanon writes thus: “their first encounter was marked by violence and their existence together – that is to say the exploitation of the native by the settler – was carried on by dint of a great array of bayonets and cannons.”8 he explains further that in the colonial world: the policeman and the soldier, by their immediate presence and their frequent direct action maintain contact with the native and advise him by means of rifle butts and napalm not to budge. it is obvious here that the agents of government speak the language of pure force. the intermediary does not lighten the oppression, nor seek to hide the domination; he shows them up and puts them into practice with the clear conscience of an upholder of the peace; yet he is the bringer of violence into the home and into the mind of the native.9 the racially motivated physical violence is perpetrated to subject the natives to awful abuse and traumatic experience in order to force them into submission. in the light of this, hansen explains that physical violence does not only refer to “the wars of conquest, pillage and plunder by which in many igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 26 places colonial rule was established but also refer to the day employment of strong arm measures to keep the colonized population in a subject state.”10 psychologically, the colonized people are robbed of their being and made to feel inferior and worthless. to be human is to be white. the white is civilized and rational but the negro is primitive, uncivilized and inhuman. the colonizers do not recognized the colonized people as being human and thus treats them inhumanely. satre notes the physiological and psychological violence in the colonial world: sheer physical fatique will stupefy them. starved and ill, if they have any spirit left, fear will finish the job; guns are levelled at the peasant; civilians come to take over his land and force him by dint of flogging to fill the land for them. if he shows fight, the soldiers fire and he’s a dead man; if he gives in, he degrades himself and he is no longer a man at all; shame and fear will split up his character and make his inmost self fall to pieces. the business is conducted with flying colors and by experts; the “psychological services” weren’t established yesterday; nor was brainwashing.11 culturally, the natives are degraded and devastated colonialism robs the african culture of its essential value. the colonists present their culture as being superior to that of african and so the natives are made to view realities from the perspective of french culture. african culture which is once open to the future automatically becomes “closed, fixed in the colonial status, caught in the yoke of oppression.”12 in this way, african culture loses its autonomy and becomes an instrument of colonial oppression. satre reveals that “violence in the colonies does not only have for its aim the keeping of these enslaved men at arm’s length; it seeks to dehumanize them. everything will be done to wipe out their traditions, to substitute our language for theirs and to destroy their culture without giving them ours.”13 through the exploitative racism inherent in colonial rule the cultural legacy of the natives are destroyed and they are made to feel that their culture and all aspects of their being are inferior. as kebede puts it: “the tag of primitiveness affixed on them, the contempt for and complete destruction of their cultural legacy, their forced assimilation into the european culture at a reduced price, all have resulted in the inculcation, deep into the soul of each colonized person, of a devastating inferiority complex.”14 structurally, colonialism creates economic alienation and alienated consciousness through exploitation that permeates into colonial, political and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 27 socio-economic structures. the natives are prohibited from participating meaningfully in the political processes which affect them and thus could not express their authentic existence. though they are indispensable force, they are separated from their products. through violence they are subjected to forced labour and made to think that their blackness bars them from possessing wealth and occupying high social status. like marx, fanon holds that economic condition is the substructure of the colonial world which determines the superstructure. however, he identifies this substructure with the race so that material possessions and social status are tied to one’s race. he asserts thus: when you examine at close quarters the colonial context, it is evident that what parcels out the world is to begin with the fact of belonging to or not belonging to a give race, a given species. in the colonies the economic substructure is also a superstructure. the cause is the consequence: you are rich because you are white, you are white because you are rich. this is why marxist analysis should always be slightly stretched every time we have to do with the colonial problem.15 the above quote suggests that “the white man is the symbol of capital as the negro is that of labor.”16 the implication of this is that the colonized people would remain impoverished, thereby leading to alienated consciousness and alienating material conditions. this dehumanizing treatment of the natives and the manichaeism of colonies generate conflicting demands, interests and identity. the colonists are desirous of privileges, domination and racial superiority, while the essential needs of the colonized people are land, communality, dignity and cultural expressions. the colonists consider themselves superior to the natives, while the natives refuse to accept their inhuman condition. in the light of this, satre writes: hatred, blind hatred which is as yet an abstraction, is their only wealth, the master calls it forth because he seeks to reduce them to animals, but he fails to break it down because his interests stop him halfway. thus, the ‘half-natives’ are still humans, through the power and weakness of the oppressor which is transformed within them into a stubborn refusal of the animal condition.17 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 28 however, the natives are deprived of expressing their aggression. though they are burning with rage, they dare not confront the well-armed colonists due to the psychological inhibitions created by the repressive colonial regime and the trepidation of being sanctioned. consequently, colonial rule sets one native against the other. initially, the colonized man applied defence mechanism. he “will manifest this aggressiveness which has been deposited in his bones against his own people”18 as a way of relieving the emotional stress and avoiding violent confrontation with the colonizers. as fanon puts it: “the settler keeps alive in the native an anger which he deprives of outlet; the native is trapped in the tight links of the chains of colonialism … the native’s muscular tension finds outlet regularly in bloodthirsty explosions – in tribal warfare, in feuds between sects and, in quarrels between individuals.”19 satre argues that the natives deteriorate their degrading and dehumanizing experience by transferring their repressed anger to one another. for him, such act does not amount to liberation but promotion of dehumanization. he explicates thus: at first it is not their violence, it is ours, which turns back on itself and rends them; and the first action of these oppressed creatures is to bury deep down that hidden anger which their and our moralities condemn and which is how ever only the last refuge of their humanity … if this suppressed fury fails to find an outlet, it turns in a vacuum and devastates the oppressed creatures themselves since they cannot face the real enemy … they can only stop themselves from marching against the machine-guns by doing our work for us; of their own accord they will speed up the dehumanization that they reject.20 in the light of this background, fanon believes that tribal violence does not predate colonialism. he views both “tribal and social divisions as the conjuring of colonialism.”21 violence, for him, emanates from colonialism which breeds and preserves tribal antagonism. colonialism by its very structure is separatist and regionalist. colonialism does not simply state the existence of tribes; it also reinforces and separates them …22 on the part of nationalist bourgeoisie or political leaders, they manage their aggressiveness by assimilating themselves into the colonial system to such a degree that their interests are bound up with the interests of the colonizers. in the words of fanon: “the native intellectual has clothed his aggressiveness in his barely veiled desire to assimilate himself to the colonial world. he has used his aggressiveness to serve his own individual interests.”23 fanon explains that the nationalist bourgeoisie have no option but to conform to colonial model, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 29 having seen that the colonialist bourgeoisie have administrative apparatus in place to sanction and suppress dissenting and critical voices. the nationalist bourgeoisie are not part of the productive forces. their duty is to ensure that colonial administration runs smoothly and effectively. they will seek some sort of compromise when the masses become increasingly restive, all in a bid to maintain the status quo and propagate the interests of the colonists as well as their own interests. fanon frowns upon reactionary attitudes of the nationalist bourgeoisie. he notes that they are complicit in the colonial domination and capitalist exploitation. for him, the nationalist political leaders allow themselves to be brainwashed and incorporated into the capitalists’ and colonialists’ desire for a peaceful settlement. they deny the violence and careless brutality structurally present in the colonial regime. they use anti-colonial struggle to acquire more power and serve their individual interests at the expense of the poor natives. fanon argues that the nationalist bourgeoisie have taken for themselves the power and advantages that are heritage of the colonial era and have just replaced the colonist bourgeoisie. having been assimilated into and aligned with the colonial system, they believe in the reformation agenda, rather than revolutionary violence. although they are violent in their words before the common natives to keep the nationalist zeal alive, they are reformist in their attitudes. in other words, they speak a lot and in great words to their people without any action. they claim to be identifying with the plight of the poor natives, but they do not want the transformation of the colonial system. fanon expresses the complicity of the nationalist bourgeoisie with the colonial regime and their betrayal of his people in this way: the entire action of these nationalist political parties during the colonial period is action of the electoral type: a string of philosophicopolitical dissertations on the themes of the rights of peoples to self-determination, the rights of man to freedom from hunger and human dignity, and the unceasing affirmation of the principle: “one man, one vote.” the national political parties never lay stress upon the necessity of a trial of armed strength, for the good reason that their objective is not the radical overthrowing of the system. pacifists and legalists, they are in fact partisans of order, the new order – but to the colonialist bourgeoisie they put bluntly enough the demand which to them is the main one: “give us more power.” on the specific question of violence, the elite are ambiguous. they are violent in their words and reformist in their attitudes. when igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 30 the nationalist political leaders say something, they make quite clear that they do not really think it.24 this renewed aggression continues until violence against other natives changes direction. the aggression becomes unbearable to such an extent that the natives react to the colonizers’ violence with their own violence. at this time, colonial violence only serves to provoke the natives’ aggression against the settlers. exploitative and oppressive colonial regime increases the consciousness that “between oppressors and oppressed everything can be solved by force.”25 the colonized people now identify their real foes as the colonists and come to believe that only violence can free them. they thus channel their violence towards the annihilation of the unjust colonial system. fanon thus explains: “yet in spite of the metamorphoses which the colonial regime imposes upon it in the way of tribal or regional quarrels, that violence makes its way forward, and the native identifies his enemy and recognizes all his misfortunes, throwing all the exacerbated might of his hate and anger into this new channel.”26 however, the nationalist political leaders would not call for armed insurrection. instead, they would opt for dialogue with the colonialist bourgeoisie in order to relax the tension and restore order. fanon believes that all repressive measures and actions of the native elite cannot end colonial oppression. he sees any attempt by the natives to entrust their eventual freedom to negotiation between the native political elite and the colonizers as a false path. this is because, for him, the exploitative and oppressive rules will continue even if the colonial system is reformed so that the corrupt nationalist political elite rule the people directly under the dictates of the colonialist bourgeoisie. in fanon’s view, arbitrary violence is an intrinsic quality of colonial system and so colonial government is a living negation of its proclaimed values. hence, he writes: “when i search for man in the technique and the style of europe, i see only a succession of negations of man and an avalanche of murders.”27 given that the colonizers deny the humanity of the colonized people, fanon believes that it is a futile effort to persuade the colonizers to end colonial oppression for the sake of the humanity of the natives. for him, colonialism is an embodiment of injustice and so deserves to be destroyed by whatever means possible. the injustice of colonialism includes the suppression of people’s right to self-determination, economic and racial exploitation, and violation of other democratic rights. violent change would correct the injustice. the end of colonial exploitation would inaugurate “the unconditional reign of justice.”28 fanon therefore thinks that the colonized peoples could “create the whole man, whom europe has been incapable of bringing to triumphant birth”29 through revolutionary violence. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 31 fanon’s decolonization/revolutionary theory of violence fanon advocates violent revolution within the context of anti-colonial struggle. he contends that the absolute necessity of violent revolution stems from the violent nature of colonial world. colonialism “is violence in its natural state, and it will only yield when confronted with greater violence.”30 violence is a necessary ingredient of liberation without which there is no genuine freedom. he sees this violent break with colonialism as true decolonization that can only guarantee authentic liberation. in the light of this, fanon writes: “national liberation, national renaissance, the restoration of nationhood to the people, commonwealth: whatever may be the headings used or the new formulas introduced, decolonization is always a violent phenomenon.”31 he explains that decolonization is a violent phenomenon because it is “the meeting of two forces, opposed to each other by their very nature, which in fact owe their originality to that sort of substantiation which results from and is nourished by the situation in the colonies.”32 therefore, the manichaeism inherent in the colonial system is preserved in the process of decolonization. this means that “the settler never ceases to be the enemy, the opponent, the foe that must be overthrown.”33 fanon shared the same view with satre that the dialectic is the practical consciousness of an oppressed class struggling against its oppression.”34 this dialectic can only be resolved through “the dialectical reciprocity of antagonism.”35 as fanon puts it: “the violence of the colonial regime and the counter-violence of the colonized balance each other and respond to each other in an extraordinary reciprocal homogeneity.”36 decolonization, for him, is necessary violent because it seeks to right a situation that is created by violence in the colonial world. just as colonization seeks to violently uproot the colonized people from their cultural placing and make them inhuman, so is decolonization a veritable means of creating new persons, so that natives become human during the same process by which they free themselves. fanon argues thus: decolonization never takes place unnoticed, for it influences individuals and modifies them fundamentally. it transforms spectators crushed with their inessentiality into privileged actors, with the grandiose glare of history’s floodlights upon them. it brings a natural rhythm into existence, introduced by new men, and with it a new language and a new humanity. decolonization is the veritable creation of new men … the “thing” which has been colonized becomes man during the same process by which it frees itself.37 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 32 in fanon view, therefore, it is only through violence that man creates himself. violence restores the humanity of the colonized man which has been eroded by colonial violence. he contends further that: irrepressible violence is neither sound nor fury, nor the resurrection of savage instincts, nor even the effect of resentment: it is man recreating himself … no gentleness can efface the marks of violence; only violence itself can destroy them. the native cures himself of colonial neurosis by thrusting out the settler through force of arms. when this rage boils over, he rediscovers his lost innocence and he comes to know himself in that he himself creates his self. far removed from this war, we consider it as a triumph of barbarism; but of its own volition it achieves, slowly but surely, the emancipation of the rebel, for bit by bit it destroys in him and around him the colonial gloom.38 he insists that the only true liberation is the liberation of the self from the self, that is, the liberation from a desire to become something other than the true self. in this case, it is the liberation from a desire by the blacks to become the whites. thus, violence within the context of anti-colonial struggle becomes the necessary means of bringing the colonized person from a situation of alienation to the discovery of true self. for fashina, anti-colonial violence is justified when it is directed towards a reclaim of the humanity of persons to whom this has been denied. so, “in order to win genuine respect, dignity, the colonized must force the settler’s recognition through physical violence.”39 the colonized man reclaims his humanity by denying strenuously and completely all values that characterize the settlers, for the “manicheism of the settler produces the manicheism of the native.”40 again, fanon claims that violence has a beneficial effect on the natives’ psyche. for him, it has cathartic element or cleansing force which purges the natives’ soul of ill psychological feelings accumulated as a result of the evil of colonialism which includes oppression, police brutality, racial discrimination and psychological abuses. in the words of fanon: “at the individual level, violence is a cleansing force. it frees the native from his inferiority complex and from his despair and inaction; it makes him fearless and restores his selfrespect.”41 the native man achieves psychological liberation and is rid of his inferiority complex when his oppressors are removed violently and the existing political and socio-economic structures are violently changed. fanon notes, as stated before, that the colonial world is a white-dominated world. it igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 33 is white to the extent that the colonized people internalize the racist standards of the colonizers and begin to fight against themselves. he now urges “black men to overcome their inferiority complexes by killing the white man within themselves.”42 but this is only possible through violence, for it is “the intuition of the colonized masses that their liberation must, and can only, be achieved by force.”43 since anti-colonial violence is a redirection against the “perpetrators of the violence of colonialism itself,”44 it will liberate the colonized people from inferiority complex and bring back “their lost selfrespect, courage and their sense of self-worth.”45 fanon’s contention is that the settlers first flout the universalized norms of conduct by denying the natives equal right to human dignity and respect and relegating them to the state of inhuman. thus, his concern is not about showing compliance with the universal norms, but to repel the oppressor through violence as a cathartic liberation of the soul. in this regard, he argues that “as far the native is concerned, morality is very concrete; it is to silence the settler’s defiance, to break his flaunting violence – in a word, to put him out of the picture. the well-known principle that all men are equal will be illustrated in the colonies from the moment that the native claims he is equal of the settler.”46 fanon therefore believes that the right thing to do is to employ violence to free the natives from their dehumanizing experience and restore their human dignity, identity and self-worth. besides, fanon thinks violence for freedom unifies the people on a national basis and builds solidarity among them. he explains that violent struggle would re-unite the native intellectuals with his people and the intellectuals would abandon individualist principles which the colonialist bourgeoisie have made them embrace and then imbibe their rich and cherished traditional values. he explicates thus: the native intellectual had learnt from his masters that the individual ought to express himself fully, the colonialist bourgeoisie had hammered into the native’s mind the idea of a society of individuals where each person shuts himself up in his own subjectivity, and whose only wealth is individual thought. now the native who has the opportunity to return to the people during the struggle for freedom will discover the falseness of this theory … such a colonized intellectual, dusted over by colonial culture, will in the same way discover the substance of village assemblies, the cohesion of people’s committees, and the extraordinary fruitfulness of local igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 34 meetings and groupments. henceforward, the interests of one will be the interests of all. …47 he explains further the alleged sociological function of revolutionary violence by claiming that it binds the colonized people together and mobilizes them to pursue their common cause and collective destiny. in the words of fanon: the practice of violence binds them together as a whole, since each individual forms a violent link in the great chain, a part of the great organism of violence which has surged upward in reaction to the settler’s violence in the beginning. the groups recognize each other and the future nation is already indivisible. the armed struggle mobilizes the people, that is to say, it throws them in one way and in one direction.48 in fanon’s view, therefore, the armed struggle builds solidarity among the natives and introduces into their consciousness “the ideas of a common cause, of a national destiny and of collective history.”49 for fanon, when the masses are partakers of a violent struggle towards their national liberation, their confidence is built up and political consciousness is raised. they come to realise that their liberation is an outcome of their concerted efforts and not a one-man band. in this case, no one solely claims to be a liberator or has a special merit of national liberation. they now have a strong sense of destiny and dare not place their future “in the hands of a living god.”50 thus, there is little or no room “for the rise and growth of the demagogues and the opportunists.”51 fanon insists that only revolutionary violence can liberate man’s consciousness and create a new man, for “the colonized man finds his freedom in and through violence.”52 he thinks that all attempts to elucidate african history and juxtaposes it with european history are only the corollary of a profound inferiority complex. for instance, he argues that an attempt to study african past and romanticize it through negritude movement cannot solve the african problems and so is futile. he acknowledges the negritude, which senghor characterizes as “the awareness, defense and development of african cultural values,”53 for raising the consciousness of the blacks and affirming their cultural roots and values of civilization. however, fanon agrees with satre that negritude is an anti-white racism which merely negates white supremacy without effective strategy for black liberation. he expresses growing discontent with the idea of watching history unfold itself without any action. he asserts thus: “in no way should i dedicate myself to the revival igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 35 of an unjustly unrecognized negro civilization.”54 he states further in this regard: i am not a prisoner of history … the real leap consists in introducing invention into existence. in the world through which travel, i am endlessly creating myself … i am convinced that it would be of the greatest interest to be able to have contact with a negro literature or architecture of the third century before christ. i should be very happy to know that a correspondence had flourished between some negro philosopher and plato. but i can absolutely not see how this fact would change anything in the lives of the eight-year-old children who labor in the cane fields of martinque or guadeloupe.55 what fanon is driving at is that consciousness cannot change reality. it must be backed up with a violent struggle to achieve freedom from colonial domination. in a similar vein, fanon follows marx in maintaining that thought must be united with action. like marx, he insists that all that matters is not to know the world but change it. he writes thus: “but when one has taken cognizance of this situation, when one has understood it, one considers the job completed. how can one then be deaf for that voice rolling down the stages of history: ‘what matters is not to know the world but to change it.’ ”56 so, fanon’s advocacy of revolutionary violence in resistance to and defeat of oppression is in line with the marxist revolutionary tradition. he notes that the nationalist bourgeoisie and the urban working class are reluctant to embark on a revolutionary violent against the system that benefits them enormously. they cannot perform this revolutionary role because they are “not only conditioned to operate in the colonial mode of production”57 but have also “been subjected to colonial socialization”58 which makes them accept such order as natural. hansen asserts that it is not surprising that “a group which owes it entire privileged existence to such a system will not play a prime role in its abolition.”59 therefore, fanon assigns the revolutionary role to the peasantry and lumpenproletariat. unlike the nationalist bourgeoisie and the urban working class, the peasantry are not integrated into the colonial system. they benefit nothing from colonial rule and are not corrupted by it. fanon believes that the peasants are in touch with their culture and have not suffered from inferiority complex and cultural degradation. they are therefore potential igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 36 revolutionaries who possess a great deal of brute force. lumpen proletariat are also suitable for revolutionary violent. they consist predominantly of the unemployed and unemployable masses, a horde of starved men who have drifted from the countryside to the city but have not secured a place in the social system. they are willing to employ whatever means possible to achieve their ends. fanon thinks that they have the proclivity to engage in an armed struggle against the colonial regime since they have no stake in the colonial system. relevance of fanon’s thesis to contemporary violence the fact that african nations have achieved independence does not invalidate fanon’s theory. he makes it clear that independence does not translate to authentic freedom and unity of the colonized people. rather, it is a stepping stone to revolutionary struggles. satre explains that this struggle is “a work in progress, which begins by the union, in each country, after independences before, of the whole of the colonized people under the command of the peasant class.”60 although the era of colonialism has elapsed, africans are being recolonized through productive activities of external imperialists (western bourgeoisie) and african governments. it cannot be rightly gainsaid that the free penetration of imperialists’ oligopolies into african nations and their alliance with african governments in this age of mercantilism are responsible for political, social and economic woes of africans. the phenomena associated with imperialism which include, inter alia, economic and political hegemony, oppressive state machinery, militarism, enslavement and exploitation of indigenous population and racism are intrinsic features of colonialism which fanon frowns upon and fights against. a case in point is the violence in the niger delta region of nigeria. imperialist oligopolies represented by multinational oil companies forge an alliance with the nigerian state (ruling class) through its agents to mindlessly explore and exploit oil from niger delta region. this is done to develop capitalism and maximize profit at all cost without regard to the deplorable state of the environment and the plight of the host communities. it is no longer news that oil spills pollute streams, destroy crops, kill aquatic life of the organisms and make water unsuitable for fishing and unsafe for drinking. consequently, the natives, who predominantly specialize in farming and fishing, have been denied of their means of livelihood and impoverished. nwosu laments that “the oil which has brought so much wealth to the multinational oil companies and the nigerian state has at the same time brought to the people of the niger delta untold poverty, disease, persistent pollution, ecological and environmental degradation.”61 despite the vital contribution of the region to nigeria’s economy, the people have not been adequately compensated and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 37 the extent of the development in the region does not commensurate with the level of benefits that accrue from the region. piqued by economic deprivation and exploitation, marginalization and developmental neglect, niger delta militant youths emerge to struggle for resource control. rather than involve the armed youths and the community leaders in constructive dialogue and peaceful negotiations, the pattern of regime response is more or less militaristic in nature – unleashing state violence through militarism. the forces that control the nigerian state (state officials and petrobusiness actors) have privatized the instrumentalities of the state to pursue their private interests “through public works contracts and outright misappropriation of public funds.”62 thus, the oil exploration and exploitation by the multinational companies have made the region poor, insecure and underdeveloped. in the light of this, ibeanu notes that niger delta is the major source of oil wealth. however, paradoxically, this wealth has created poverty in the region, the national security has generated insecurity in the region, and the national development has underdeveloped the region. the high rate of poverty and underdevelopment in the niger delta arising from economic deprivation, injustice and marginalisation is an emblematic of deplorable and socio-economic conditions of the nigerian society. needless to say, other parts of the country have their fair share of the political and economic conundrum, hence the agitation of some region for secession. another classic case is violence in the northern part of nigeria. some analysts usually look at the cause of the persistent spate of militant attacks and killings in the north from political and ethno-religious perspectives. though the violence and destruction may be motivated and precipitated by political and ethno-religious differences, they have economic undertone. untold economic hardship in the region arising from poverty and unemployment is the determining factor. youths have a predisposition towards violence when they suffer from economic deprivation and social alienation. perpetrators of terrorist acts in nigeria are mostly hordes of unemployed and hungry youths who are frustrated with their life. an educated gainfully employed person will not abandon the trappings of his work or business and indulge in insurgency or become a slavish stooge for terrorism. there is therefore a strong correlation between poverty and violence. a hungry man is an angry man. when a lot of citizens are poor, hungry and unemployed, insurgency and other crimes ensue. besides, the recent atrocious xenophobic violence in south africa is a consequence of economic deprivation and social alienation of black south igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 38 africans. the rage behind the violence unleashed on foreigners (other africans, particularly nigerians) is neither xenophobia nor afrophobia but the high rate of poverty and hunger. the policy of apartheid regime viciously restrains the blacks from achieving parity with their white counterparts by denying them, among other things, access to quality education. thus, in this post-apartheid society, most black south-african youths lack the requisite skills to compete with the whites for skilled jobs. regrettably, there is a credibility gap between the promises of post-apartheid governments and their achievements. despite the promises of the ruling african national congress (anc) during campaigns, the blacks are yet to be widely integrated into the socio-political systems. consequently, the rate of unemployment has surged to 23.5% in south africa – the worst rate since the first labour force survey in 2008. it is the socio-economic deprivation and alienation that prompt the frustrated and jobless blacks to turn their aggression on the foreigners who are being accused of taking jobs meant for them. therefore, economic deprivation is the root cause of the violent outbreak. racism or xenophobia, to use fanon’s terminology, is just the superstructure. like in the fanon’s colonial world the blacks are conscious that their plight is occasioned by those at the helm of affairs. but they cannot attack their leaders due to adequate security forces in place to ruthlessly suppress any violent outbreak or armed uprising. thus, they find an outlet for their deep and repressed resentment in violent attacks on other africans. racial, tribal and ethnic conflicts, which are reinforced and sustained by exploitative and oppressive colonial rule in fanon’s time, still linger today because decisive social and economic factors in which they are deeply rooted are yet to be completely addressed. from the foregoing examples, it is obvious that the political and economic activities of the african governments are conditioned for them to accumulate all the resources left by the colonial regime in alliance with the western bourgeoisie, at the expense of the poor masses. thus, the exploitation, racism, oppression, deprivation and alienation inherent in the fanon’s colonial world persist in african nations. concluding reflections fanon has demonstrated that the socio-economic conditions are at the root of the racial problem which engenders the feeling of inferiority complex. he notes that the prevalent racism in the colonial world is deeply rooted in social and economic conditions and so should not be regarded as a mental disturbance. as he puts it: “racism belongs to the shameless exploitation of one group of men by another which has reached a higher stage of technical development … the habit of considering racism as a mental quirk, as a psychological flaw must be abandoned.”63 again, in black skin, white mask, he igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 39 adds that though a psychological interpretation of the black problem is crucial, yet “the effective disalienation of the black man entails an immediate recognition of social and economic realities. if there is an inferiority complex, it is the outcome of a double process: primarily economic; subsequently, the internalization – or, better, epidermalization – of this inferiority.”64 there is therefore need for restructuring of the existing socio-political systems in african nations which provoke a sense of alienation from the society. fanon’s concern is social freedom – the freedom of the individual in the state. for this freedom to be achieved, it is crucial that the “state not only be free from external control but also that political and social arrangements should be such as to enable man to express and maintain his freedom.”65 it will be a “pyrrhic victory if the liberation still leaves intact the broad macro structures of economic, political and material conditions that determine everyday existence.”66 economic exploitation and deprivation violate human dignity. each individual human being has an intrinsic worth and dignity in virtue of being part of humanity. social institutions and practices are justified when they promote human dignity. it requires concern and respect for rights equality and justice which are the ultimate preconditions for societal development. it is injustices, oppression and man’s inhumanity to man that fanon frowns upon and fights against. we must say that though it is the dehumanizing circumstances that prompt fanon to advocate a violent struggle for liberation, his claim that his call for violence is rooted in “a profound humanism characterized by the primordial concern for the human being and in all human beings, no matter their color and their condition”67 is untenable. humanity is indivisible in the sense that no one can degrade or brutalize another without brutalizing himself. in other words, no one can inflict psychic damage on others without inflicting it on himself. this is because when people are dehumanized, their self-worth and dignity are destroyed. in so doing, both the oppressed and oppressor deprive themselves and the world of the benefits of their potential contributions to humanity. fanon even admits that violence can cause more psychological damage to the psyche of both the colonized people and the colonizers. his psychiatric case histories show that the violence engenders neurosis and distortion of personality. besides, fanon’s claim that violent decolonization will create new humanity, unify the people and build solidarity among them leaves much to be desired. experience and studies have shown that harmony and friendship cannot be secured on the basis of violence, but rather through non-violent struggle which seeks to secure the cooperation of the opponent consistently with truth igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 40 and justice. fanon’s emphasis on violence risks the reduction of action to reaction, that is, the determination of a solution by the nature of the problem it aims to solve. more often than not, the use of violent resistance is counterproductive and the end for which it is used is defeated. it is not true in reality that violence can be used to quench violence when erupted. “overtime, the employment of violence has only succeeded in escalating violence.”68 to use violence against violence is to add to the vicious circle of violence, thereby reverting to the hobbes’ state of nature where life is brutish and short. revolutionary violence does not appeal to humanity and so is undesirable. notwithstanding the above-mentioned flaws, fanon is calling african governments today to nip in the bud the growing racial and ethnic tension across africa by addressing socio-economic alienation and political injustices which he identifies as the root causes. there is ravaging hunger in africa and the masses are in dire need of a decent living. the primary duty of any responsible government is the security of lives and property as well as the promotion of people’s welfare. unfortunately, there is a gaping disconnect between african leaders and their masses. we appeal to the african governments to respond to this clarion call by restructuring socio-political systems, developing humans and infrastructure, alleviating poverty, deepening democracy and improving governance. in the case of nigeria, there is need for political restructuring of the defective federal system so as to have fair, equitable and balanced federal structure. currently, there is too much concentration of power at the centre and federating units depend heavily on federal allocations for their needs. true federalism will enable the regions to maximize their potentials, develop at their own pace and contribute their quota to the federal government. a nation in turmoil cannot achieve a lasting peace unless they come together to lay down their conditions of political union and reach a compromise. a conference of ethnic nationalities organized by the jonathan’s government in which useful recommendations were made is an effective way of achieving true federalism and peace. regrettably, the recommendations of the conference have been brushed aside by the present administration. there is no gain saying the fact that the fight for corruption and security cannot be successfully won, unless the political, social and economic issues are addressed by adopting true federalism. for instance, it is difficult to stem the tide of corruption “where the federating units virtually run on free federal allocations that some people see as national cake, not their own sweet. conversely, the people will be more vigilant and ready to hold their leaders accountable when the federating units begin to live largely on internally igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 41 generated revenues and their sweat.”69 nigerian government must rise to the challenge to resolve the already escalating violent conflict and forestall the future ones before the nation is irretrievably torn apart. dealing with this despicable act calls for review of the major recommendations of the 2014 national conference for immediate implementation. beyond this, there is need to diversify and industrialize the economy, invest in technology and people to drive sustainable economic growth and create jobs. references 1. e. hansen, “freedom and revolution in the thought of, frantz fanon”, africa development/afrique et developpement, 2, 1 (1977), pp. 18 – 19. 2. f. fanon, toward the african revolution trans. by haakon chevalier, (new york: grove press, 1967), p.53. 3. o. fashina, “frantz fanon and the ethical justification of anti-colonial violence”, social theory and practice, 15, 2 (1989), p. 181. 4. n. roberts, “fanon, satre, violence and freedom”, satre studies international, 10, 2 (2004), p. 143. 5. n. roberts, “fanon, satre, violence and freedom”, 146. 6. n. roberts, “fanon, satre, violence and freedom”, 146. 7. f. fanon, black skin, white masks, trans. by charles lam markmann, (new york: grove press, 1967), p. 202. 8. f. fanon, the wretched of the earth, trans. by constance farrington, (new york: grove press, 1963), p. 35. 9. f. fanon, the wretched of the earth, 37. 10. e. hansen, “freedom and revolution in the thought of, frantz fanon”, 25. 11. satre, “preface to the wretched of the earth”, 14. 12. e. hansen, “freedom and revolution in the thought of, frantz fanon”, 25. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 42 13. satre, “preface to the wretched of the earth”, 14. 14. m. kebede, “the rehabilitation of violence and the violence of rehabilitation”, journal of black studies, 31, 5(2001), p. 540. 15. fanon, “the wretched of the earth”, 39. 16. a. césaire, quoted by dennis forsythe in “frantz fanon: black theoretician”, the black scholar, 1, 5, (1970), p.6. 17. satre, “preface to the wretched of the earth”, 16. 18. fanon, “the wretched of the earth”, 51. 19. fanon, “the wretched of the earth”, 53. 20. satre, “preface to the wretched of the earth”, 17 – 18. 21. d. wright, “fanon and africa: a retrospect”, the journal of modern african studies, 24, 4 (1986), p. 683. 22. fanon, “the wretched of the earth”, 6. 23. fanon, “the wretched of the earth”, 59. 24. fanon, “the wretched of the earth”, 58 – 59. 25. fanon, “the wretched of the earth”, 71. 26. fanon, “the wretched of the earth”, 70. 27. f. fanon, quoted by emmanuel hansen in “frantz fanon: portrait of a revolutionary intellectual”, transition, no. 46 (1974), p. 31. 28. fanon, “toward the african revolution”, 64. 29. f. fanon, quoted by emmanuel hansen in “frantiz fanon: portrait of a revolutionary intellectual”, p. 31. 30. fanon, “the wretched of the earth”, 60. 31. fanon, “the wretched of the earth”, 33. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 43 32. fanon, “the wretched of the earth”, 35. 33. fanon, “the wretched of the earth”, 49 – 50. 34. j.p. satre, critique of dialectical reason, (london: nlb, 1979), p. 803. 35. r. bernasconi, “the wretched of the earth as the fulfillment of satre’s critique of dialectical reason, satre studies international, 16, 2 (2010), p. 39. 36. fanon, “the wretched of the earth”, 87. 37. satre, “preface to the wretched of the earth”, 20. 38. o. fashina, p. 186. 39. fanon, “the wretched of the earth”, 93. 40. fanon, 187. 41. fanon, “the wretched of the earth”, 93. 42. c.e. butterworth and i.l. gendzier, “a review of frantz fanon and the justice of violence: an essay on irene l. gendzier’s frantz: a critical study”, middle east journal, 28, 4 (1974), p. 455. 43. fanon, “the wretched of the earth”, 72. 44. j. penny, “passing into the universal: fanon, satre and the colonial dialectic”, paragraph, 27, 3 (2004), p. 53. 45. o. fashina, “frantz fanon and the ethical justification of anti-colonial violence”, p. 184. 46. fanon, “the wretched of the earth”, 43. 47. fanon, “the wretched of the earth”, 46. 48. fanon, “the wretched of the earth”, 92. 49. fanon, “the wretched of the earth”, 92. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 44 50. fanon, “the wretched of the earth”, 93. 51. b.k. jha, “fanon’s theory of violence: a critique” the indian journal of political science, 49, 3 (1988), p. 363. 52. fanon, “the wretched of the earth”, 85. 53. l.s. senghor, negritude: a humanism of the twentieth century, (new york: vintage, 1970), p. 179. 54. fanon, “black skin, white masks”, 226. 55. fanon, “the wretched of the earth”, 229 – 230. 56. fanon, “the wretched of the earth”, 17. 57. e. hansen, “freedom and revolution in the thought of, frantz fanon”, 32. 58. e. hansen, “freedom and revolution in the thought of, frantz fanon”, 32. 59. e. hansen, “freedom and revolution in the thought of, frantz fanon”, 33. 60. satre, “preface to the wretched of the earth”, 10. 61. i.j.d. nwosu, “marginality and the niger delta crises: ogoni, ijaw and warri crises in perspectives” in peace studies and conflict resolution in nigeria: a reader, ed. by m. ikejiani-clark, (ibadan: spectrum books ltd, 2009), p. 546. 62. o. ibeanu, affluence and affliction: the niger delta as a critique of political science in nigeria. 2008 inaugural lecture, university of nigeria nsukka, (nsukka: university of nigeria senate ceremonials committee, 2008), p. 22. 63. fanon, “toward the african revolution”, 37 – 38. 64. fanon, “black skin, white mask”, 11. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 45 65. e. hansen, “freedom and revolution in the thought of, frantz fanon”, 25. 66. g.f. sefa and m. simmons, “the pedagogy of fanon: an introduction”, counterpoints, vol. 38 (2010), p. xvii. 67. f. fanon, quoted by oladipo fashina in “frantz fanon and the ethical justification of anti-colonial violence”, p. 198. 68. a. akpuru-aja, basic concepts, issues and strategies of peace and conflict resolution, (enugu: keny and brothers ent., 2007), p. 112. 69. i. ekweremadu, “only restructuring can save nigeria” july 2016, http://politics.naij.com/897423-finally-ekweremadu-dares-buhariwords.html (accessed 24 april, 2017.) 142 freedom and law in st. thomas aquinas' philosophy donatus uzoma okwara, phd directorate of general studies federal university of technology, owerri. & jude onyeakazi, phd directorate of general studies federal university of technology, owerri. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.33952.39688 abstract this research delves into the intricate relationship between freedom and law as expounded in the philosophical framework of st. thomas aquinas. grounded in aquinas' synthesis of aristotelian philosophy and christian theology, the study elucidates his conception of freedom as aligned with rationality and the pursuit of the good. aquinas' multi-layered understanding of law, encompassing the eternal, divine, natural, and human dimensions, forms the backdrop for analyzing the harmonious interplay between freedom and law. contrary to viewing law as a constraint on freedom, aquinas argues for their mutual enrichment, positing that adherence to just laws fosters individual flourishing and societal well-being. drawing on key works such as the summa theologica and summa contra gentiles, supplemented by scholarly interpretations by gilson, pieper, and davies, this research contributes to a deeper comprehension of aquinas' ethical and political thought, offering insights into the nature of moral agency and the pursuit of the common good. keywords: law, saint thomas aquinas, summa theologica introduction in the rich tapestry of medieval philosophy, few figures loom as large as st. thomas aquinas. central to aquinas' philosophical inquiry is the profound relationship between freedom and law, which he explores with depth and nuance. this introduction sets the stage for our exploration of aquinas' thought, outlining the significance of freedom and law within his philosophical framework. at the heart of aquinas' philosophy lies a synthesis of aristotelian ethics and christian theology, a harmonization of reason and revelation. for aquinas, the pursuit of truth is not a solitary endeavor but a communal journey guided by the light of reason and divine revelation. in this context, the concepts of freedom and law emerge as crucial elements in understanding human nature, moral agency, and social order. aquinas' conception of freedom transcends mere autonomy, emphasizing the alignment of human will with rationality and the pursuit of the good. true freedom, according to aquinas, is found in the pursuit of virtuous action, rooted in the natural inclination of rational beings towards their ultimate end—union with god. this understanding of freedom as harmonious with reason lays the foundation for aquinas' exploration of the role of law in guiding human conduct. in aquinas' philosophical schema, law serves as a rational directive for human action, reflecting the eternal law—divine reason governing the universe. he delineates four types of law: eternal, divine, natural, and human, each playing a distinct role in guiding human behavior towards its proper end. contrary to viewing law as a constraint on freedom, aquinas contends that adherence to just laws is conducive to individual flourishing and societal harmony. this research seeks to delve into aquinas' profound insights into the dynamic interplay between freedom and law, examining how his philosophical synthesis offers a compelling framework for igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 143 ethical inquiry and social cohesion. by exploring key texts such as the summa theologica and summa contra gentiles, supplemented by scholarly interpretations, we aim to elucidate aquinas' conception of freedom and law and its implications for moral agency and the common good. in the following sections, we will delve deeper into aquinas' philosophy, exploring the nuances of freedom and law, and their implications for moral and social order. through this exploration, we hope to glean valuable insights into the enduring relevance of aquinas' thought for contemporary ethical and political discourse. this research endeavors to explore how st. thomas aquinas reconciles the concepts of freedom and law within his philosophical framework, shedding light on their intricate relationship and implications for moral and social order. st. thomas aquinas, a towering figure in medieval philosophy, synthesized the philosophical heritage of aristotle with christian theology, offering profound insights into ethics, metaphysics, and political theory. central to his thought are the notions of freedom and law, which he approached with depth and nuance. freedom in aquinas' philosophy aquinas conceives of freedom not as mere autonomy but as the capacity to act in accordance with reason and will. he posits that true freedom is found in the pursuit of the good, grounded in the natural inclination of rational beings towards their ultimate end, which is god. in the philosophical framework of st. thomas aquinas, freedom is not merely conceived as the ability to choose among alternative courses of action but as the capacity to act in accordance with reason and will. aquinas' understanding of freedom is deeply rooted in his teleological view of human nature, wherein freedom finds its fulfillment in the pursuit of the ultimate good—union with god. 1. teleological understanding of freedom: for aquinas, freedom is intricately linked to the telos, or ultimate end, of human existence, which is the beatific vision—perfect union with god. true freedom, therefore, consists in the ability of rational beings to choose actions that lead them closer to this ultimate end. in this sense, freedom is not an end in itself but a means to realizing one's inherent purpose and flourishing as a human being. 2. alignment with reason: aquinas emphasizes the rationality of human freedom, asserting that true freedom is exercised when the will is directed by reason towards the good. unlike a purely voluntarist conception of freedom, which divorces the will from reason, aquinas maintains that freedom finds its fullest expression when the will is guided by right reason, enabling individuals to discern and pursue what is truly good and virtuous. 3. natural inclination towards the good: central to aquinas' understanding of freedom is the concept of natural inclination—the innate tendency of rational beings to seek the good. aquinas argues that human beings, by virtue of their rational nature, are naturally inclined towards the good, which is ultimately grounded in the divine. thus, freedom is not an arbitrary exercise of the will but a harmonious alignment with the natural inclinations of human nature towards the good. 4. freedom and moral responsibility: aquinas acknowledges that freedom entails moral responsibility—the capacity to choose between good and evil and to be held accountable for one's actions. while individuals possess the freedom to choose, they are also bound by moral norms derived from divine and natural law. thus, freedom is not a license to do as one pleases but a call to exercise moral agency in accordance with objective moral principles. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 144 5. freedom and grace: despite his emphasis on the rationality of freedom, aquinas also recognizes the role of divine grace in perfecting human freedom. grace, for aquinas, elevates and perfects human nature, enabling individuals to freely choose the good and attain their ultimate end. in this way, freedom is not solely a product of human effort but is infused and sustained by divine grace. in summary, thomas aquinas' philosophy offers a robust understanding of freedom as grounded in reason, aligned with the natural inclination towards the good, and oriented towards the ultimate end of human existence. far from being a license for arbitrary action, freedom, for aquinas, is inseparable from moral responsibility and finds its fulfillment in the pursuit of virtue and the attainment of union with god. law in aquinas' philosophy for aquinas, law serves as a rational directive for human conduct, derived from the eternal law—divine reason governing the universe. he delineates four types of law: eternal, divine, natural, and human, each playing a distinct role in guiding human action towards its proper end. in st. thomas aquinas' philosophical framework, law serves as a rational directive for human conduct, reflecting the eternal order established by divine reason. aquinas delineates four types of law—eternal, divine, natural, and human—each playing a distinct role in guiding human behavior towards its proper end. understanding aquinas' conception of law is essential for grasping the relationship between human freedom and moral order within his philosophical system. 1. eternal law: at the foundation of aquinas' understanding of law lies the concept of eternal law, which is the divine reason governing the universe. eternal law encompasses the divine plan and providence that governs all creation, guiding both natural processes and moral actions. as the highest expression of divine wisdom, eternal law serves as the ultimate standard of morality and order, providing the blueprint for all other forms of law. 2. divine law: divine law consists of those precepts revealed by god to humanity through sacred scripture and divine revelation. for aquinas, divine law supplements and reinforces natural law, providing additional guidance for human conduct in matters beyond the scope of natural reason. divine law includes the moral teachings found in religious texts such as the bible and the teachings of the church, which serve as authoritative guides for moral behavior and spiritual development. 3. natural law: natural law, according to aquinas, is the participation of rational creatures in the eternal law through their rational nature. it is the inherent moral order inscribed in human nature, accessible to reason and discernible through reflection on the fundamental principles of human flourishing. natural law consists of universal principles of morality, such as the preservation of life, pursuit of knowledge, and promotion of social harmony, which are binding on all rational beings by virtue of their rational nature. 4. human law: human law encompasses the legal norms and regulations established by human authorities for the governance of civil society. derived from natural law and guided by prudence, human law aims to promote justice, order, and the common good within a particular community or political entity. while human law is subject to change and variability depending on historical and cultural contexts, it must ultimately conform to the principles of natural and divine law to be considered valid and just. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 145 through his delineation of these four types of law, aquinas seeks to articulate a comprehensive framework for understanding the relationship between divine, natural, and human authority, and the moral obligations incumbent upon individuals within society. law, in aquinas' philosophy, serves as a means of harmonizing human freedom with moral order, guiding individuals towards the attainment of their ultimate end—union with god—and the flourishing of the common good. relationship between freedom and law in thomas aquinas' philosophy: contrary to the notion of law as a constraint on freedom, aquinas argues that true freedom is realized through adherence to divine and natural law. he contends that obedience to just laws foster individual flourishing and promotes the common good, aligning human will with the divine will. in the philosophical system of st. thomas aquinas, the relationship between freedom and law is one of mutual enrichment rather than opposition. aquinas seeks to reconcile the exercise of human freedom with the necessity of moral order and guidance provided by various forms of law—eternal, divine, natural, and human. understanding this relationship is crucial for grasping aquinas' conception of moral agency, virtue, and the pursuit of the common good. 1. harmony of freedom and law: contrary to viewing law as a constraint on freedom, aquinas posits that true freedom is realized through adherence to just laws derived from divine and natural sources. he maintains that the laws established by divine reason—eternal law—provide the rational framework within which human freedom can flourish. far from being arbitrary impositions, these laws reflect the inherent order and purpose of the universe, guiding human conduct towards its proper end. 2. guidance for moral action: law, according to aquinas, serves as a rational directive for human conduct, providing guidance and norms that orient individuals towards the pursuit of the good. while freedom enables individuals to choose among various courses of action, law assists in discerning and selecting those actions that are in accordance with reason and conducive to human flourishing. thus, law acts as a safeguard against the misuse of freedom and ensures that individual choices align with objective moral principles. 3. moral responsibility and accountability: aquinas emphasizes that freedom entails moral responsibility—the capacity to choose between good and evil and to be held accountable for one's actions. while individuals possess the freedom to choose, they are also bound by moral norms derived from divine and natural law. the existence of law, therefore, serves to reinforce the moral accountability of human agents, reminding them of their obligation to act in accordance with the dictates of reason and the divine will. 4. promotion of the common good: aquinas contends that obedience to just laws fosters individual flourishing and promotes the common good within society. by adhering to laws grounded in natural and divine principles, individuals contribute to the establishment of a harmonious social order characterized by justice, peace, and the well-being of all members. thus, the relationship between freedom and law is not one of coercion but of mutual benefit, wherein the exercise of freedom is directed towards the common good. in summary, thomas aquinas' philosophy elucidates a harmonious relationship between freedom and law, wherein freedom finds its fulfilment in adherence to just laws derived from divine reason and natural order. rather than impeding freedom, law serves as a guide and safeguard, enabling individuals to exercise their moral agency in accordance with objective igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 146 moral principles and contributing to the establishment of a virtuous and flourishing society. implications for moral agency aquinas' synthesis of freedom and law underscores the importance of moral agency in human actions. by exercising reason and will in conformity with objective moral norms, individuals become virtuous agents capable of realizing their full potential and contributing to a harmonious society. conclusion st. thomas aquinas' philosophy offers profound insights into the dynamic relationship between freedom and law, emphasizing their mutual enrichment rather than opposition. by embracing a teleological understanding of freedom and recognizing the role of law in guiding human conduct, aquinas provides a compelling framework for ethical inquiry and social cohesion. in the philosophical oeuvre of st. thomas aquinas, the interplay between freedom and law emerges as a central theme, offering profound insights into the nature of moral agency, virtue, and social order. through his synthesis of aristotelian philosophy and christian theology, aquinas articulates a vision of freedom that is deeply rooted in reason, aligned with the pursuit of the good, and oriented towards the ultimate end of human existence—union with god. contrary to viewing law as a constraint on freedom, aquinas contends that true freedom is realized through adherence to just laws derived from divine and natural sources. rather than impeding individual autonomy, these laws serve as rational directives for human conduct, guiding individuals towards virtuous action and the attainment of the common good. far from being arbitrary impositions, law reflects the inherent order and purpose of the universe, providing the framework within which human freedom can flourish. furthermore, aquinas emphasizes the moral responsibility and accountability that accompany freedom, highlighting the importance of obedience to objective moral norms derived from divine and natural law. by exercising their freedom in accordance with these norms, individuals contribute to the establishment of a harmonious social order characterized by justice, peace, and the flourishing of all members. in conclusion, thomas aquinas' philosophy offers a compelling framework for understanding the dynamic relationship between freedom and law, wherein freedom finds its fulfilment in adherence to just laws grounded in reason and divine order. through his nuanced exploration of this relationship, aquinas provides invaluable insights into the nature of human flourishing, moral agency, and the pursuit of the common good, which continue to resonate in contemporary ethical and political discourse. as we reflect on aquinas' enduring legacy, we are reminded of the profound wisdom contained within his philosophical synthesis, which continues to inspire and challenge us in our quest for a more just and virtuous society. references aquinas, thomas, summa theologica, london: english dominicans, 1911 aquinas, thomas, summa contra gentiles, london: english dominicans, 1911 gilson, étienne, the philosophy of st. thomas aquinas, london: english dominicans, 1918 pieper josef. the four cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, fortitude, temperance, oxford: oxford university, 1991. davies brian, aquinas on freedom: an interpretation of the de malo questions, oxford: oxford university, 1978. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 14 child marriage and gender inequality in africa: a persistent barrier to development oludare gladys oluwatosin department of philosophy ekiti state university, ado ekiti. ekiti state gladys.oludare@eksu.edu.ng abstract child marriage and gender inequality remain pervasive issues in africa, undermining the continent’s progress towards development and human rights. this paper explores the complex relationship between child marriage and gender inequality, examining the causes, consequences, and potential solutions to address the pressing concern. marriage which is an institution that involves two adults who have a mutual agreement, living together with the consent of both parties and their families. it does not evolve out of force. however, in some parts of africa marriage comes after the order of tradition that is the parents of both parties reach agreement without seeking the consent of the would be husband and wife, most cases the parents of the bride will just pack the girls load to her husband’s house. child marriage can be categorized under the marriage of force which can cause a lot of psychological damage to the makeup of a young girl which is deprived of education and adequate care of parents at a tender age. a child according to universal human rights is anyone under the age of eighteen while an adult is someone above the age of eighteen. gender inequality is what we can argue that it gave birth to child marriage. in some parts of africa now and then a girl child is not valued as important as the boy child. a girl child faces a lot of discrimination in the society, she is forced into marriage, made to be a mother a tender age which even pose a lot threat to her health and life span. we have a lot of maternal death record in africa. historically child marriage has been in existence from time immemorial and can be dated back to the period we can call dark ages in africa before colonization which means it pre existed before what can call civilization. we should be amazed that the civilization has not changed some of these traditions that affect the lives of women and girl child in our society. the gender inequality which is prevalent is some parts of africa which one of the primary cause is poverty and so also is the lack of proper and adequate orientation in our society about the girl child, the need for to be educated and the right to be under parents care till she reaches adulthood. child marriage can only do more harm to the girl child than good. therefore this paper is going to look at child marriage which results from gender inequality, the problems that comes from the causes which also lead to the consequences, we are also going to look at the possible solutions. keywords: child, marriage, gender inequality, child rights, human rights, child education, poverty. introduction child marriage in africa is higher than the global average and if current trends continue, africa will become the region with the largest number and global share of child marriages by 2050. although child marriage is prevalent across africa, prevalence is greatest in west and central africa where it is estimated that four out of ten women aged 20 to 24 were married before age 18.2 in some individual countries, the reported prevalence is even higher. for instance, mali, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 15 which is one of the countries under study, reported a child marriage prevalence rate of 71% in 2006 and 55% in 2010. although trends have shown a slow and uneven decline in the overall prevalence of child marriage in africa, the continent is home to a young and rapidly growing population and without economic growth and social development and increased efforts to end child marriage, the number of girls married by age 18 is expected to rise. this trend is most pronounced amongst poorer households and in rural areas, where child marriage is twice as prevalent as in urban areas and showing little sign of decline. overwhelmingly, statistics show that although boys are sometimes married as children, child marriage affects girls in far greater numbers. reliable statistics on child marriage can be difficult to produce because of the unregistered nature of many child marriages that occur and also because of inadequate birth registration systems that can make it difficult to account for the age of parties to a marriage. in addition, although prevalence rates are an important measure for tracking progress towards the elimination of child marriage, it is important to remember that prevalence rates generally only provide average estimates which do not describe the variability of prevalence between regions or cohorts within a country. data on the prevalence of child marriage is typically produced from the results of national surveys which collect data on the age at first marriage, most notably the demographic and health surveys (dhs) and multiple indicator cluster surveys (mics). this data is then extrapolated to be representative of the broader population. in some cases, this data is also processed to disaggregate for regional, age and other variance. in 2014, unicef compiled a global database of statistics on the prevalence of child marriage, based on dhs, mics and other nationally representative surveys. trend forecasts based on the data collected suggest that unless efforts to end child marriage are scaled up significantly, the impact of population growth will mean that prevalence rates will stay roughly the same. current global prevalence of child marriage is indicated in the table below, showing variance in prevalence by country. child child means a person under the age of 18 years, even if the laws of a particular country set an earlier legal age for adulthood or allow for majority to be attained at an earlier age. the term child includes both girls and boys. as contemplated in the maputo protocol, marriage implies a union between a man and woman entered into with the free and full consent of both parties and in which both parties enjoy equal rights. however, for purposes of this report, the terms marriage and “union” shall mean any of the diverse forms of interpersonal union, whether formal or informal and whether formalised or recognized under any system of law, custom, society or religion, which are established to form a familial bond. this wide definition is deliberate and is intended to include rather than exclude the significant proportion of unions that are not legally constituted or recognized by the laws of a country concerned. (gambia report,1998) child marriage child marriage is a marriage in which at least one of the parties is or was a child less than 18 years at the time of the marriage. the term child marriage is often used interchangeably with igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 16 the terms forced marriage and early marriage but in this report, child marriage should be understood as distinct from forced or early marriage. forced marriage refers to a marriage in which either or both of the parties have not personally expressed their full and free consent. although many child marriages are also forced marriages, forced marriages include marriages that are not child marriages, such as where a widow is forced to marry a relative of her deceased husband. earl marriage refers to a marriage in which even though one of the parties to the marriage may not have reached the minimum marriageable age, majority status will nevertheless be conferred at marriage through a legal process of emancipation. (human rights, 2014) there is a sense in which any child marriage is also a forced marriage, in that children are not normally accorded the legal ability to give their full and free consent to marriage. it is for this reason that the united nations convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women (cedaw) states that the ‘betrothal and the marriage of a child shall have no legal effect.’ (oyortey & s pobi, 2003) this is not to deny that children do exercise autonomy and may genuinely want to enter into marriages of their own accord, nor to deny that there are differing degrees of social and family pressure to marry, not all of which should necessarily be characterised as coercive. nevertheless, it is a premise of this report that child marriage is legally problematic and is both a cause and consequence of various social ills. although boys are sometimes married as children, this is comparatively less common and for that reason, this report focuses predominantly on the marriage of girls. (oyortey & s pobi, 2003) child marriage is driven by factors such as poverty, cultural and social norms and lack of education. it leads to severe consequences, including early pregnancy, health complications, and limited economic opportunities. child marriage is not only a violation of human rights but also a significant hindrance to africa’s development. its persistence on our continent has hindered africa’s efforts to achieve six of the eight millennium development goals: to eliminate extreme poverty, to achieve universal primary education, to promote gender equality to reduce child mortality, to improve maternal health, and to combat hiv/aids. increasingly, child marriage is being viewed as a symptom of the profound gender inequality that exists in africa. in one sense, it is a manifestation of gender inequality, which constitutes discrimination based on sex and gender. this is reflected by the overwhelmingly disproportionate prevalence of child marriage amongst girls. however, in another sense child marriage is a practice that reinforces gender inequality and the social constructions that entrench patriarchy and discrimination. gender inequality lies at the root of child marriage and must therefore shape our perspectives and inform our approaches to ending it. (girls not brides, 2016) gender inequality gender inequality is perpetuated through child marriage as girls are disproportionately affected and denied their rights to education, autonomy, and self determination. these rights however are prima facie. child marriage is overwhelmingly a phenomenon of younger girls being married to older men. as such, none of the other social, cultural and economic factors of child marriage can be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 17 understood without reference to the inferior status accorded to girls and women in all the societies under consideration. gender inequality is a cause, a result and an exacerbating factor of child marriage. africa is an enormously diverse continent, with substantial variation in the cultural beliefs and practices often apparent even in very small areas. it is therefore a grave fallacy to speak of any single ‘african’ culture. nevertheless, fallacy to speak of any single ‘african’ culture. many groups believe in strongly differentiated gender roles and family relations between men and women that tend to disadvantage women. these beliefs may have origins in traditional practices, in colonial-era laws and customs, and in the two most widespread religions in the region, islam and christianity. discriminatory formal and informal laws, social norms and cultural and religious practices directly and indirectly influence women’s social and economic roles, making girls more vulnerable to child marriage than boys. in many societies, women are excluded from decisions about themselves, their families and the community. control of land and property, together with formal family headship, typically pass through the male line. accordingly, greater social value is generally ascribed to boys, resulting in the underinvestment of girls’ health, education and development. these social inequalities systematically render girls subservient and vulnerable and put them at risk of child marriage and other social harms. (gambia report,1998) over the past two decades, uneven progress has been made toward gender equality in global education goals. the most recent unesco data show that of 161 countries, 60 percent have achieved gender parity in enrollment at the primary school level, compared to only 38 percent of countries at the secondary level. major gender imbalances persist, especially in low-income countries, just 20 percent of which have reached gender parity at the primary level, and only 10 percent at the secondary level causes of child marriage poverty poverty is a major cause of child marriage and is also a factor that worsens its impact and the consequences of being married at an early age. poverty is linked to a number of other factors that are strongly associated with child marriage, including lack of access to education and inadequate birth and marriage registration systems that are discussed below. it is a repeated pattern that child marriage tends to be more prevalent in poorer countries and among the poorest sections of any given country. it has also been established that countries with low gross domestic product have a higher prevalence of child marriage. in mali and mozambique, two countries in which roughly half of girls are married before , at least three quarters of the population live on less than $2 a day. the correlation between poverty and child marriage is also evident at the level of sub-national regions, as the regions with high prevalence listed in the previous section are overwhelmingly also the poorest and/or most rural regions of respective countries. for instance, in mozambique, the prevalence of child marriage is 56.4% in rural areas against 42.4% in urban areas. in drc, the prevalence is 50% in rural katanga and province orientale against only 18% in urban kinshasa. the practice of ukuthwala in south africa is only found in rural areas. this correlation is also evident at the household level, with girls from poorer families being more likely to be married as children. for instance, in the gambia, poverty and low levels of education are consistently correlated with high rates of child igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 18 marriage. children from the poorest gambian households are more likely to be married before 18 years of age (with a prevalence rate of 62.7%) than those from richer household (with a prevalence of 28.7%) (human rights, 2013). the mechanism through which poverty promotes child marriage is by exacerbating the vulnerabilities of children and the economic burden of parents to care for them. economic difficulties can make child marriage seem like an attractive option for parents and possibly even for children themselves. for example, post conflict economic instability in the drc prevented women from accessing resources, basic services and power and this in turn resulted in the feminization of poverty and in widespread gender discrimination in all areas of development. findings from several countries studied suggest that teenage girls are sometimes forced to marry older men to ensure the economic prospects of their families and their brothers’ education. in this way, although the whole family is affected by poverty, the impact falls disproportionately on girls and women. child education child education is the process by which children or students acquire knowledge, skills, values, beliefs and habits. here are some of the key points of child education; • ensuring equal access to education in future crises. • effective early literacy skill development for language learners. • the economic value of higher teacher quality keeping girls in school is one the best ways to prevent child marriage. child marriage limits girls’ access to quality education. child marriage and girls’ lack of access to quality education are both rooted in gender inequality and the belief that girls and women are worth less than boys and men. education is a powerful path to gender equality, strengthening girls skills, knowledge and power to challenge discriminatory gender norms. when a girl is married, it stops her formal education and it is almost impossible for a married girl to go back to school. (wordon et al, 2018) child marriage is a violation of human rights that limits girls in reaching their full potential. the harmful practice is closely associated with deprivations in education, health and access to resources and empowerment. the biggest among these deprivations is the exit from schooling that typically accompanies the marriage of a child. in most countries of the world, marriage and schooling are viewed as incompatible.(unicef data, 2022) education is not only a human right, but also a powerful tool for women's empowerment and a strategic development investment. there is a clear multiplier effect to educating girls; women who are educated are healthier, participate more in the formal labor market, earn more income, have fewer children, and provide better healthcare and education to their children compared to women with little or no education (klugman et al.2014). the benefits of education thus transmit across generations as well as to communities at large. where girls have greater educational and economic opportunities, they are more likely to pursue those opportunities than to have children in their teenage years. yet a host of structural, social, and financial barriers prevent girls’ enrollment and completion of both primary and secondary schools. (jennifer parsons & jeni klugman .2015) https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15570274.2015.1075755?scroll=top&needaccess=true igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 19 millions of girls around the world are barred from entering and completing their education due to social norms about gender roles that limit women and girls’ agency—the choices they are allowed to make about their own lives. what are these norms? simply put, norms are social expectations and prescriptions reflected in the informal rules, beliefs, and attitudes of a society. for example, analysis of gallup world poll data across 11 countries in europe and central asia shows that on average one quarter of men and an equal share of women believe that it is morally wrong for a woman to delay getting married to further her education or to start a career. (jennifer parsons & jeni klugman .2015) child rights. child rights are the human rights of children, with particular attention to the rights of special protection and care afforded to minors. the united nations convention on the rights of the child (uncrc) is the uncrc: 1. right to life, survival and development 2. right to freedom of expression 3. right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. 4. right to freedom from discrimination. 5. right to protection from abuse and neglect. 6. right to family environment and alternative care. 7. right to education. 8. right to health and health services. 9. right to social security and child support. 10. right to protection from exploitation. child marriage is an exploitation of right. in almost all places, the child must be 18 years and above to get married. so marrying of a child is like exploiting their rights. in africa, one of the most common causes of child marriage is the tradition which has been in practice for a long time. when a girl child is born in some parts of africa, it is seen as someone else property. most importantly, poor people practice child marriage to get rid of loans, taxes dowry and more. furthermore, there is put at risk due to contraction of sexually transmitted diseases like hiv and more. human rights human rights are the basic rights and freedoms thar every human being is entitled to regardless of their race , gender, nationality, religion. or other status. these rights are universal, inherent and inalienable, and are essential for the dignity and well being of all individuals. the united nations universal declaration of human rights, adopted in 1948, sets out a broad range of human rights, including: 1. right to life, liberty and security of person 2. freedom from discrimination and equality before the law. 3. freedom of speech, expression, and information 4. right to education 5. right to a fair trial and due process 6. freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment 7. right to privacy and family life. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 20 8. right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. 9. right to freedom of assembly and association 10. right to participate in government and public life. 11. right to social security and an adequate standard of living 12. right to protection from slavery and forced labour 13. right to protection from arbitrary arrest and detention 14. right to a nationality and freedom of movement 15. right to seek asylum from persecution. these are human rights that are protected by the international law and are essential for building a just and equitable society where all individuals can live with dignity and respect. (udhr) solutions and recommendations to address child marriage and gender inequality, we must: 1. implement comprehensive education programs. 2. engage communities and challenge harmful norms. 3. support economic empowernment programs 4. address poverty and inquality. 5. free education to children to a certain age 6. age of marriage laws child rights and protection laws. human rights legislation, free and compulsory education laws. 7. anti-trafficking laws, advocacy & research. 8. national gender policies. education, employment and labor policies. population policies. adolescent rh policy, hiv/aids and ovc policies. policy reform for gender responsive budgeting & domestication of 9. mdgs. advocacy & research. 10. gender unit in the ministry of women’s affairs. children’s unit within national human rights commission. child protection units. global, regional and local coalitions & networks. 11. institutional assessments & information sharing. conclusion in this paper, we have been able to consider a lot of factors that leads to child marriage and the barriers involved that sets limits on the girl child, which can deprive the girl child of her rights. development of an individual is also the development of the society at large, there is a popular saying that; “if you train a man, you train an individual, if you train a woman you train a nation” so also we outlined some solutions and recommendation to make a girl child relevant and stay protected in terms of rights and priviledges. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 21 child marriage and gender inequality are deeply entrenched issues in africa, requiring a multifaceted approach to address. by understanding the causes, consequences, and solutions, we can work towards a future where girls and women are valued, empowered and equal. every child deserves to be protected, educated, and empowered to reach their full potential. we should all work together to make child marriage a thing of the past. in order to end this social evil, everyone from individuals to world leaders must challenge the traditional norms. moreover, we must do away with ideas that reinforce that girls are inferior to boys. we must empower the children, especially girls, to become their own agents of change. to achieve this, they must get access to quality education and allow them to complete their studies so they can lead an independent life later on. marriage must be sacred union between mature individuals and not an illogical institution which compromises with the future of our children. the problem must be solved at the grassroots level beginning with ending poverty and lack of education. references a report on child marriage (1998) center for human rights, gambia retrieved from www. chr.up.ac.za on 10/01/2019 a report on child marriage in africa, (2018) www.chr.up.ac.za accessed 18 may 2024. adebambo adeyinka veronica (2010): cultural influence on child marriage: focus on northern nigerians resident in ogun state, nigeria, a project submitted to the department of home science and management (child development and family studies) college of food science and human ecology, university of agriculture, abeokuta. aduradola, a. m.: child marriage: issues, problems and challenges, a paper presented at a one day seminar organised by national open university of nigeria, lagos on the 4th september (unpublished). alexandra hervish and charlotte feldman-jacobs (2011): who speaks for me? ending child marriage depart of education (2012). flash report 2011/2012. sanothimi: girls not brides “child marriage in africa (2015): a brief” available at www.girlsnotbrides.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/child-marriage-in-africaa-brief-by-girls-not-brides.pdf accessed 18 may 2024). interventions coordinator, development research and projects centre 63 b sultan road, nassarawa gra, kano state, nigeria jennifer parsons & jeni klugman .(2015) child marriage: a critical barrier to girls' schooling and gender equality in education. kanu, i. a. (2013). on the sources of african philosophy. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 337-356. kanu, i. a. (2013). the dimensions of african cosmology. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 533-555. kanu, i. a. (2014). a historiography of african philosophy. global journal for research analysis. volume. 3. issue. 8. pp. 188-190. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 22 kanu, i. a. (2014). being and the categories of being in igbo philosophy. african journal of humanities. volume 1. issue 1. pp. 144-159. kanu, i. a. (2014). igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholicpentecostal relations. jos studies. 22. pp.87-98. judith-ann walker (2002). early marriage in africa – trends, harmful effects and klugman, j., l. hanmer, s. twigg, t. hasan, j. mccleary-sills, and j. santa maria. (2014). voice & agency: empowering women and girls for shared prosperity. washington, dc: world bank group moe. (2013) (ministry of education). strategy and action plan on bringing out of school children into basic education.kathmandu. moe. (2014) (ministry of education). school sector reform program/ sector wide approach extension plan 2014/15-2015/16.kathmandu: nnadi, i. (2014). early marriage: a gender–based violence and a violation of women’s human rights in nigeria. journal of politics and law, 7(3), 38. nour, n. m. (2009). child marriage: a silent health and human rights issue. reviews in obstetrics and gynecology,2(1),51-55. otoo-oyortey & s pobi (2003) ‘early marriage and poverty: exploring links and key policy issues’ in c sweetman (ed.) gender, development rodgers, b. (2012). child marriage in ethiopia and its associated human rights violations. policy journal, 11-12. singh, s., adam, s. &wulf, d (2004). “early childbearing in nigeria: a continuing challenge.” research in brief, new york: the alan guttmacher institute: volume 03, issue-02, page no ( 21-23), 2004 [21]. toyo, n. (2003) “revisiting equality as a right: the minimum age of marriage clause in the nigerian child rights act, 2003” third world quarterly volume 27, issue 07, page no (1299-1312), 20064 types of marriage (n.d.). type of child marriage. retrieved from http://www.hope4childwives.com/type-of-child-marriage. unesco institute for statistics (2000). “dakar framework for action. education for all: meeting our collective commitments.” text adopted by the world education forum, dakar, senegal, 26–28 april 2000. unicef. (2011). child marriage. unicef information sheet, 1-4. united nations children fund “early marriage: child spouses”, innocentidigest no. 7, florence: innocenti research center. http://www.uniceficdc.org/publications/pdf/digest7e.pdf accessed on 15th may, 2024 united nations children fund (2017) the power of education to end child marriage, accessed on !5th may, 2024 www.data.unicef.org/resources wordon q.et al (2018) missed opportunities; the high cost of not educating girls, washington dc world bank. http://www.uniceficdc.org/publications/pdf/digest7e.pdf http://www.data.unicef.org/resources igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 9 no.3, 2023 www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/igwebuikejournals.php a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 103 green drama as a tool for environmental sustainability: study of greg mbajiogu's wota na wota and wake up everyone chibuike m. abunike & somtoo arinze-umobi, phd department of theatre and film studies nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. anambra state abunikechibuike@gmail.com, cm.abunike@unizik.edu.ng doi:10.13140/rg.2.2.30881.58724 abstract argument on the eroding environmental degradation by modern industrial society has been rife in most critical works of the modern period. man’s quest for civilization and its accompanied industrialization are often seen as reasons for destruction of natural environment. despite the facts that water covers about seventy percent of the earth surface, availability and accessibility of water has remained a great challenge to human development. acute water shortage for human consumption is a course for worry in the face of alarming industrial pollution. little wonders that eco-critics and eco-dramatics are upset by degenerating human environment. greg mbajiorgu is one of them. he has written extensively on water as important abiotic resource. in his collection of poems title water testament and a dramatic text, wota na wota, he explored various themes on the usefulness of water to man. he asserts that search for drinkable water in most local communities can create anarchy as a result of its scarcity. this research explores these themes and attributes of water as illustrated in the poems and the drama. the basic assumption of this research is that water is a necessity for sustenance of life and a component of natural resources. consequently, great effort must be geared towards its preservation. keywords: green drama, environmental sustanability introduction theresa j. may of humboldt state university contends that in the past three decades, ecology has lit a greening fire across disciplines, from environmental history to environmental management, from eco feminism to green economics. greening artistic green drama and environmental sustainability: study of greg mbajiogu's wota na wota & wake up everyone 104 values have spawned land-art, sitespecific dance, nature writing and music with whales. even though literary scholarship has developed diverse discourses in eco-criticism, theatre artists and scholars appear to be unconcerned. robert butler's recent study on this, clearly outlined the main reasons why so many playwrights have not quite focused their artistic and creative energy on climate change and its related issues. according to butler, climate change is a complex science and a tricky subject for the stage because it is difficult for dramatists to expressly show the link between its cause and effect. to transport science to the stage, a playwright must not only clarify complicated ideas for laymen, but also evoke the tension of cause and effect. the problem with climate change is that what happens in one place often ends up affecting people in another entirely different environment...maybe even at a remote time. in 1994 issue of theatre, erika munk reported that "our playwrights' silence on environment as a political issue and our critic's neglect of the ecological implications of theatrical form are rather astonishing"(5). as to the reason why theatre appears to be absent in the environmental movement, some scholars believe that the answer can be found partly in the tradition of the theatre which is humanist in origin consequently 'anti ecological'. contemporary theatre artists working with ecological themes have been challenged by a theatre tradition that defines drama as conflict between and about human beings. una chaudhuri observes that even plays that "manage to bring an ecological issue to centre stage "must"exist within a theatre aesthetic and ideology (namely nineteenth-century humanism)… that is programmatically antiecological". however downing cless points out that western theatre history is rife with works in which nature plays a significant rolefrom the earthly goings-on in shakespeare's mid-summer night's dream, to anton chekov's endangered cherry orchard to samuel beckett's barren post-apocalyptic landscape in waiting for godot. ecology is about people too. once thinking, both about theatre and about ecology shifts, such that artifice is not proof of independence from, but evidence of interconnection with the natural world, then we meet a vast open field for exploration. an open space where man can negotiate and generate relationships to their environment be they wild, cultivated, industrial or virtual. in a 1999 conversation about green theatre, molly smith, artistic director of the arena stage, washington d.c. exclaimed, "i'd love to produce pieces about ecology, but where are they? (smith, 1999). in "eco theatre, usa: the grassroots is greener", downing cless notes that the greening of american theatre, when it has occurred, has taken place at the grassroots where local artists respond to regional environmental issues for an audience that shares an ecological relatedness ("eco-theatre" 79-102). communitybased chibuike m. abunike & somtoo arinze-umobi, 105 environmental issues including environmental justice concernshave found theatre a viable tool through which to promote social change, open dialogue, or protect the status quo. if eco drama is to participate in the mainstream, it will require both new critical framing by scholars and increased imaginative courage by playwrights and directors. in a 1991 conference in seattle, entitled "theatre in an ecological age", playwright robert schenkkan (whose play the kentucky cycle won the 1992 pulitzer prize) charged playwrights to become "makers of new myths" (5). as una chaudhuri has done, theorists can empower playwrights by illuminating those dramaturgical strategies that move toward an ecological theatre-the theatrical styles, devices, characterizations, settings and stories that tell the human story within the ecological story. chaudhuri's proposition is further reinforced because, "if you use eco criticism to analyse a text, you'll discover just how much nature is looking back at you while you read"(in a nutshell) hence in nature's stare at us, we find answers to the causes of climate change, its consequences and possible solutions on how natural disasters can, if not totally eradicated, be minimized to the lowest level. though natural disasters may be presumed to be unavoidable, uncontrollable and therefore must come whenever they will, a critical look at the environment and the way and manner these events take place may raise a contrary opinion. according to donald worster, "nature should be regarded as a landscape of patches of all sizes, textures and colours, changing continually through time and space, responding to an unceasing barrage of perturbations. (73) the sophistication that comes with time, as well as the activities of man on earth appear to be the paramount factors that green dramatists and theorists must contend with in their thematic fixations and theorizations. this assertion stem from the truism that climate change is not the reflection of the anger of god or gods or mere natural occurrence as championed by opponents of worster. furthermore, joseph l. bast in his seven theories of climate change gives credence to the cause and effect propositions. according to bast: ...theory holds that man-made greenhouse gasses, primarily carbon dioxide (co2) are the predominant cause of the global warming that occurred during the past 50 years (2) greenhouse gasses are not alone in causing environmental hazards, bast maintains. the fourth theory of climate change according to bast reveals that ....mankind’s greatest influence on climate is not its greenhouse gas emissions, but its transformation of earth's surface by clearing forests, irrigating deserts and building cities.(8) before a rich green dramaturgy can emerge, playwrights must educate themselves about theories, ecological issues, and particularly about the ecology of their own places, so that their work can grow from experiences from their environment. after all ecology is not green drama and environmental sustainability: study of greg mbajiogu's wota na wota & wake up everyone 106 merely expressed in sentiments, it is a science. green playwrights do well to seek out environmental scientists and educators, link up with experts in county and state departments of ecology and hazardous waste, with wildlife biologists, fish and game personnel, citizen groups and environmental justice activists. rich resources for stories exist in what we can learn from those who work in trenches of the "environmental crisis" where our communities must solve every complex ecological problems. seattle playwright todd moore immersed himself in the heated logging debate in the pacific northwest, and his in the heart of the woods (1994) was shaped from interviews with loggers, environmentalists and community members. the result steers clear of environmental prop while it explores the multi-faceted relationship between people and the trees that have shaped their lives. in performance, moore himself plays multiple roles, illuminating how the form of a drama carries meanings above and beyond its written text. employing each of the voices he created, his body becomes the site of common ground. the reflexivity of the performance in turn implicates spectators who are invited to examine their own relatedness to workers and forests in a post-performance discussion. a story is the product of connection that maintains a field of contact not only among people but also between people and place. to be part of a community is to be part of its story and if the land is filled with ancestral stories, then "community" includes the rocks, trees, streams, pathways and animals of that place. stories create a matrix of belonging, a living tissue between past and present and between human and non-human communities. in staging place: the geography of modern drama, una chaudhri writes about "the mutually constructive relations between people and place. who one is and who one can be are... a function of where one is and how one experiences that place. place and person are permeable. playwrights often underestimate and under -explore the power of theatre's place-fulness. in eco drama, the representation of a place on stage can be more than the backdrop against which human action is played out. place can drive the action; sometimes it becomes a kind of character with its own agency. in lanford wilson's angels fall (1983) the land holds outsiders captive when an accident at a uranium mine causes highway closures in a remote new mexico town. the probability of radiation exposure gives the land its own kind of agency while the boundaries of identity inscribed by human skin are suddenly vulnerable, permeable. lanford's angel's fall calls attention to the impact of uranium mining on navaho lands ,such as the 1979 radioactive tailings spill at ric puerco (gottlieb 251-53) . despite the complexities surrounding natural disasters, they are still controllable and could also be averted through precautionary measures. these are some of the propositions of the nigerian green dramatist greg mbajiogu in the two plays selected for study. chibuike m. abunike & somtoo arinze-umobi, 107 synopsis of wota na wota and wakeup everyone wota na wota is essentially centred on the importance of good drinking water and the enormous politics that sometimes surround its provision, procurement, the attendant lack of which causes health and environmental hazards and economic drawbacks. the play divided in streams instead of acts chronicles the attempt by a foreign organisation to provide heavy water installations to upgrade the physical, economic and environmental wellbeing of ebenano and ebenato communities. this laudable initiative attracted by the ebenato catholic diocese represented by rev. ignatius and funded by german development agency represented by harmen the hydrologist suffers a serious setback at 80% project completion due to the intrigues of nicholas, their first social mobilizer (agent) who, in the execution of the project aligned completely with the ebenato catholic church community to the detriment of the anglican dominated ebenabo community on whose land the project was sited simply because he was catholic. initially, the host community ebenabo, were not interested in the project and therefore happily donated their evil forest only to turn full circle towards the end of the project on realization that they had short changed themselves and cheated in return by nicholas and ebenato people. even thoughthey gave them the evil forest -site for the project, they ultimately realised that the credit for the project and the wealth thereof in terms of employment, all went to the ebenato people. at the heat of their opposition (the beginning of the play) rev. fr. ignatius and harmen realises their mistake in trusting the dubious nicholas and began moves to immediately replace him with an unbiased and more pragmatic person. ikechukwu an unemployed graduate who becomes the new social mobilizer will devise, through the help of harmen and fr ignatius, a workable strategy that will bring the two warring communities together and ensure their peaceful union and agreement to see the water project to a successful completion. wake up everyone is the story of the struggles of an environmental activist, prof. aladinma, a retired professor of agricultural extension whose tripartite love for his country, his ndoli community and theatre forced to stay back in nigeria to establish an experimental drama troupe known as green theatre. a justified motivation for desmond orji, a phd student of the university of manchester, north-east england to choose to carry out a field work on drama andthe war against climate change in africa by using his latest play, "a new dawn" as one of the case studies for his phd thesis. combining his exposure, experience and learning, professor aladinma not only forms a theatre group but also a farmers' co-operative society using both avenues to carry out green drama and environmental sustainability: study of greg mbajiogu's wota na wota & wake up everyone 108 extensive enlightenment programmes against destruction of the forest, climate change adaptation to farmers, villagers and so on which empowers the villagers into acquisition of requisite knowledge and practise of new behaviours that mitigate the harmful consequences of degrading their land and crop harvest and consequently the environment. he goes a step further to provide new improved seedlings for farmers, teaching them new and safer ways of producing and using fertilizers. he had become too popular and powerful among the villagers who benefit from his wisdom and guidance so much so that his courage and selfless service is feared by both his enemies and politicians. (2). he was never one to get tired of declamations on his lifelong passion and commitment to green environment. in the end, a riot breaks out as their river is over flooded and the recalcitrant l.g. chairman is declared enemy no 1 due for pay-back. greg mbajiogu's wota na wota and wake up everyone as instruments for environmental sustainability the playwright of wata na wota and wake up everyone appears to be influenced by donald worster's theory and other climate theorists who believe that there is a cause to climate change. the playwright does this in wake up everyone through prof. madukwe aladinma who in no uncertain term confronts the chairman of the local government and informs him that the hazardous climatic conditions are triggered off by man's mindless activities on earth; what we are witnessing now is nothing else but planetary reactions to man's mindless activities, period. our soil and rivers have become unproductive because of chemicalsand oil spillages. the floods and erosions we experience are caused by senseless attempts to reclaim wetlands. what about the carbon monoxides from power generators and poorly maintained automobiles, and the unfriendly substances flared up into the air by oil companies on daily basis? the problems of our world today are caused by us and yet we are reluctant to find solutions to them. (13) apart from verbally throwing light on the mindless activities of man that cause climate change during inter-personal conversations, prof. aladimaalso uses his experimental drama group to sensitize the people to be mindful of their activities in the environment because it has dire consequences as we hear from obioma, one of his actors while interacting with the other actorsadaora, ekene and nweke. "what have you done? biodiversity minimization and emission of harmful and dangerous substances into the atmosphere of course and you know the adverse effects?" (39) when they respond negatively, he begins to reel out some of the adverse effects chibuike m. abunike & somtoo arinze-umobi, 109 increase in global atmospheric temperature, melting of polar ice, rising sea temperatures, sea level rise, appearance of radiation-related cancers, change in the pattern of precipitation, change in agricultural yield, proliferation of a thousand other diseases and health problems, even diseases that we thought had gone away in some countries are coming back in full bang. (39) the actor ends up, asking his imaginary audience (since it was a rehearsal) "why? why? why are we so destructive?" he also emphasizes the need for solutions that reduce natural disasters. for instance, oil companies operating in the niger delta flare gas because it is not their country and they probably think that the price of gas is not as high as petrol or diesel. moreover, they close their eyes to oil spillages and abandon the affected communities to their fate. elsewhere, the same actor obioma in the playina play as edwin ochonkeya, the lg chairman during his electoral campaign complains i was a farmer before oil spillage, and pollution robbed me of my farmland just as the changing climate has denied many of you, your sources of livelihood. you see, before this plague of climate change, the oil companies had milked our land dry, but have given nothing to nourish it. am i not speaking the truth? (69) the neglect of these multi -national companies is sickening to any right thinking person with a conscience and the matter is aggravated when they indulge further in the dirty politics of bribing and pitching the leaders of these affected communities against their own poor people who ends up bearing the brunt of diseases, poverty and untimely deaths. the conversation between the l.g. chairman and his former partner -in-crime, jango gives a little insight into this conspiracy syndrome, thus: i saw in the oil spillage incident, a grand opportunity to get back at the multinational oil companies. when the event occurred, i got a fiery lawyer that has been at the vanguard of environmental issues to institute a legal action against the oil companies. when they perceived the legal consequences and the attendant damages likely to result from it, they resolved to invite me, as the plaintiff, for alternative dispute resolution. (11) when curiosity drives jango to ask how the matter was concluded, the chairman reveals that he got three hundred million naira from the oil companies. yes, three hundred million naira cash, and in addition, they agreed to bankroll my political bid to be the chairman of ndoli local government area, on the condition that i don't make any further case on behalf of the other affected farmers. (12) green drama and environmental sustainability: study of greg mbajiogu's wota na wota & wake up everyone 110 underling the greed and meanness of these tribal/community leaders whom the lg chairman represents as the major antagonist, his cold blooded response to how he settled the rest of the farmers is shocking. for what? did the spillage cost them their lives, like it did my father? well, i simply called them together when i was vying for this position and gave each of them, a bottle of gin and a bag of rice and they happily carried me into this wellpadded leather seat. (13) to sensitize these operators and the rest of us to meet the need for environmental sustainability, the playwright uses prof. aladinma to propel the plot of the play. hence. as the play progresses, prof. aladinma tries to convince the lg chairman to assist in the initiative of building a dyke that will fortify their community's river banks so that ndoli land which is a natural coastal zone doesn't become vulnerable to flood in the future. unfortunately, this proactive preventive measure advocated by professor aladinma meets stiff opposition from the chairman who sees the proposal as 'a useless project' though this is not to his face, instead he diplomatically asks prof aladinma to go home and write him a proposal; actually a subtle dismissal. don't worry. i told him to prepare a proposal. when he brings it, i will let you have a look at it. it is better you witness the madness with your own eyes. (9) the chairman's response is a sad commentary on the insensitivity of our leadership to the environmental degradation going on all around us today. from huge heaps of refuse that constitute menace and eye sore in capital cities and suburbs, to blocked drainages, broken tarred roads, sand excavations that create and widen erosion paths, congested ghettos where hygiene and sanitation are exiled and so on and so forth. in spite of professor aladinma's extensive research and field work, done to produce the blueprint and the assurance of undp's willingness to do the greater part of the project, with the local government providing only 20% of the sum, chairman remains adamant and replies with, 'there is nothing in the local government purse' . prof aladinma makes more attempts to visit and convince the chairman but is rebuffed again and again with flimsy excuses. but soon, the consequences are rife, the doomsday arrived as can be glimpsed by the lamentations of dimkpa, one of the villagers opposed to prof aladinma's green initiatives, ewh! go to my farmland, go there now, and you will see nothing but an empty womb. i, dimkpaokaji of ndoli! the great yam farmer whose efforts had never been ridiculed in the past, not by the weather, not by spirit, not by man or woman. i, the pride of yam harvest, whose hands mother earth has always blessed by bounty, now does not have even a yam tuber to boast of this season. (58) chibuike m. abunike & somtoo arinze-umobi, 111 undeterred by oppositions, nonchalance and ignorance from some villagers, some of whom like anayo ascribed the dearth of fishes in their rivers to the anger of the gods "someone may have done something that provoked the gods" (58), prof. aladinma continued his campaigns and succeeds in garnering support and followership through his cooperative society and theatre troupe and it is this few knowledgeable and dynamic group that were able to reap bountiful harvests. even mazi chinedum, one among the sceptics applauds the prof as a great man whom farmers had come to trust and rely on (60) and declaims, "our hunters are beginning to see the folly of their crude strategy of setting the entire village forest on fire in their attempt to catch a tiny bush rabbit" there is no doubt that the playwright not only succeeded in x-raying and explaining the reasons and preventive measures that ensure environmental friendliness and management ,he also shows in the final analysis, that we can still reap from the environment, that the environmental hazards encouraged by man can still be circumvented and indeed defeated scientifically and methodically. let's begin from prevailing solutions and mitigation from other climes as we hear from the lips of desmond, the phd student from england; as i am talking to you now, the japanese are building quake resistant houses, the chinese are constructing houses that can float on water in case of flooding, the germans and other nations of europe are producing green vehicles powered by all kinds of biological wastes or oxygen. india has now introduced cyclone detection tracking systems and tsunami warning devices. (53) he even has some good advice for our leadership here; if this flood occurs, it will increase the vulnerability of local farmers. government must put together a planned process and take deliberate steps to create institutions and structures that will stimulate the adaptive capacity of rural dwellers to the threat of climate change. (54) as for circumventing and defeating the adverse effects of climate change as it relates to our local farmers reminiscent of ndoli land, the problem is not just ignorance and nonchalance but lack of knowledge. then why didn’t you tell me about the new species of seed yam from professor aladima that can do well in our water-prone soil? (18) dimkpa queries okosisi his bosom friend. it is the same scientific knowledge and sound application of counter processes as enunciated by the professor that made it possible for odukwe to enjoy bountiful harvest enough to say to the defiant dimkpa while handing him a basket full of free yams, "whenever you are in need of yam, please don't hesitate to come to my house"(19) stubbornness has reduced dimkpa, the great yam expert to a green drama and environmental sustainability: study of greg mbajiogu's wota na wota & wake up everyone 112 miserable disgruntled yam beggar! he is now as vulnerable not only before his wife but also before other women and this loss of dignity as a man is a great shame in the world view of his people. upon all his threats and bragging, ugodiya, a female farmer had no qualms about rebuking dimkpa telling him bluntly to his face, you have nobody to blame but yourself. we had series of meetings with the professor on what species of yam to plant, when to plant and how to plant it in this difficult time of climate change. we were also introduced to different crop varieties and animal species suitable for our changing climate. (16) dimkpa proffers a lame excuse confessing that even though he liked prof aladinma as a person and enjoyed his theatre presentations a lot, that he was amused by their effort to discourage them from using artificial fertilizer, to which odukwe replies thus: if you had attended his lessons on how to process and transform animal wastes and decomposed organic substances into natural fertilizer, you won't still be questioning the logic of his drama on the dangers of artificial fertilizer. (16) it is dimkpa himself who eventually underlined the inevitable wisdom in using ecotheatre to achieve environmental sustainability, when he blames himself and surrenders to the new ways which is obviously the way forward if we must survive and grow not only our environment but we all as persons and communities i am stubborn, arrogant, self-willed. i accept all that. we all learn by our mistakes. when you started this important co-operative society of local farmers with the retired professor, i thought you were foolish, now, i have realised that i am the foolish one. (16-17) this foolishness is echoed in wota na wota in the water politics that erupted between ebenabo and ebenato communities, entangling youths, traditional rulers and citizens of the warring communities against each other, bringing to stagnation, a catholic initiated water project that was meant to build bridges of unity, peace and progress. this is an eloquent pointer to the massive need for water in nigeria unmet by successive governments. water is life, yet it is everywhere a problem and a scarce commodity. harmen, the benevolent foreigner in wota na wota is appalled by the crude opposition his laudable water project was facing, a charity venture brought to a people whose greatest problem is clean drinking water. he takes great pains to advance some of the reasons for the water project. your regular source of water is a dirty stream. your people die in thousands due to high infestation of guinea worm in the boundary stream. nearly 80% of the diseases afflicting your people are associated with that unhygienic stream which is your main source of drinking water. water scarcity is also the cause of severe chibuike m. abunike & somtoo arinze-umobi, 113 food shortage in your villages. conflicts over that boundary stream, have also claimed the lives of thousands of your sons and daughters, who were traditionally agricultural and food processing workers. (62) what a puerile waste of time, money, human and material resources! it is ironic that water a basic necessity in all societies, a major sustained of life, human, animal and plant will have to be provided not by governments in nigeria but mostly by individuals and foreign ngo's, faith based organisations and foreign donor agencies. the playwright in dealing with this presents us with ikechukwu an unemployed young man from another community through whom, the search for amicable solution was begun. harmen in an attempt to recruit him instructs study these files carefully and interact with our men at the project site before approaching the villagers. be friendly with the villagers so that you can find out why they are creating problems for us. your employment will be automatic, if you can resolve the crisis at ebenano. (26) this hapless but enthusiastic young man takes up the challenge but is met with stiff opposition from all angles especially from his ilk, the irate youths who immediately rush to harmen's house threatening fire and brimstone, "we don't care where harmen is, but you must tell him that he has only three weeks to move his workers out of our land. that land belongs to us, not to the catholic church" p37. their main grievance being that all the labourers hired at the site were all catholics, not even a single anglican in a land dominated by anglicans! severally, one is confronted with the violation of the tenets of religion which ostensibly should see all men as brothers and equals, by the same people who preach it, here even for land matters and recruitment quota, they are prepared to shed blood and truncate the water project, a defect in the social and physical environment; instead of spreading love and living tolerance and justice. authourity and charity are abused, communal wellbeing forgotten for immediate selfish interests and primordial reasons. should this be the case even for a matter as fundamental as water, good health and sustainable environment? .the playwright apears to be asking. ikechukwu, with the help of harmen and rev ignatius, was able to albeit through very difficult negotiations and dialogue to get the two communities to a round table meeting which gave birth to the great public conference, where eventually peace was brokered and the project became a project for the two communities. that notwithstanding, the area commander, a proponent of another religion had to lend a voice to help quieten the tension when he delivered a charged speech to the crowd, thus; i am a muslim; i am not a christian. i am not an anglican: i am not a member of the catholic church but i am working to maintain law and order in a town full of green drama and environmental sustainability: study of greg mbajiogu's wota na wota & wake up everyone 114 christians. is not ironical that a muslim is interested in the progress of your town while you christians are fighting to destroy your homeland? (59) there were other peace makers at last when the voice of reason started sinking in, like the two traditional rulers, the president of the town union and local government chairman. as natives, they had no choice than to agree with the area commander of police. you are fighting yourselves because of a water project that will be beneficial to all of you. you people should stop quarrelling over nothing and encourage the whiteman and his partners to attract more interesting projects to this town. (59) in all, the playwright succeeded in establishing water as the precursor and main engine of community development and environmental sustainability. when the two communities united in the final scene which featured the commissioning of the multimillion era water complex. his excellency, dr s.k.c.k okafor captured this succinctly in his speech as you all know, we are here to celebrate water. water is life and life is water. as far as life is concerned, water is more precious than diamond and gold because water is a vital component of all living things and a crucial aspect of any material produced by living organisms. water is one of the most essential free gifts from god. water is also one of the oldest concerns in human civilization. (91) at a time like this when patients suffering from water -borne diseases occupy more than half of the world's hospital beds, the highest percentage being here in africa, it is only expected that ownership and , maintenance of such projects as water plants should be embraced wholeheartedly especially by communities that cannot by themselves bring about such project through self-development. according to his excellency, the governor of ebenebe state, they "are expected to respect these water installations, adhere to all environmental and sanitary laws that will help to conserve and preserve these facilities" 92. and by extension, the environment, be it in the rivers, the oceans, its free flow in gutters, and water for cleansing, dilution, irrigation and so forth. that's sustainability and when that is done, rain-fed agriculture will no longer be an only option, food, animal breeding and production, human life and health will be boosted resulting in improvements in the standard of living of everybody and ultimately, progress in the community! conclusion i can hear a clarion call yet unheeded across africa and in our fast environmentally decaying neighbourhoods. why are many playwrights unconcerned? are we not all intricately interconnected as the human society? is this not a community where what happens in one place affects the other, if not today, maybe tomorrow? more so, in chibuike m. abunike & somtoo arinze-umobi, 115 matters of environmental sustainability. where do i stop and where does the "other" begin? when playwrights and eco-critical scholars engage in deep ecological inquiry of the theatre, like greg mbarjiogu has done in the two plays under study, they can together forge a green dramaturgy, an ecological theatre, which will not only tap the power of performance to shape culture but also revive and transform the environment or society. according to theresa j. may in her article, "greening the theatre: taking eco criticism from page to stage" green dramaturgy asks us to reconstitute the world, to re-conceive our notions of community in such a way that the very boundaries between nature and culture, self and other, begin to dissolve. as theatre participates in our human ecological situations, it reclaims its ancient roots as site of ritual celebration of the reciprocity between people and the natural world. thus theatre emerges not only as a means by which to investigate the longstanding humanist question "who are we?" but also the urgent ecological question "where are we?" works cited bast l. joseph http://heartland.org/site /default files/7 theories-webpdf. accessed 25-01-23 chaudhuri, una. staging place: the geography of modern drama. ann arbor:university of michigan press. 1997 chaudhuri, una. "there must be a lot of fish in that lake': toward an ecological theater." theater 25.1 (1994):23-31 chaudhuri, una. "in a nutshell". http://www.shmoop.com/ecocriticism.accessed 27-01-23 cless downing: " eco theatre usa: the grassroots is greener" tdr 40.2 (1996):79-102. david, j curtis. drama and environment, new england press, australia, 2004. larson, d.m. great plays for the stage vol.1 (isbn 9781452871448) amazon.com mbajirgugreganiakor c, chikewotanawota,enugubel's books 2003. mbajiorgu, greg. wake up everyone. abuja palace press ltd. 2014 may, theresa. dragon island. seattle: rain city, 1993. moore, todd. in the heart of the woods. seattle: rain city, 1994. munk, erica. "a beginning and end" theatre 25.1(1994): 5-6. schenkkan, robert. "theatre, myth and social change." theatre in an ecological age conference. seattle,wa, 22 november 1991. schenkkan, robert. the kentucky cycle. new york: penguin, 1993. smith, molly.personal interiew. november 1999. wilson, lanford. angels fall. new york: hill and wang, 1983. worster, donald. "nature and the disorder of history" reinventing nature. michael e.soule and gary lease eds. washington d.c.,1995: 73-74 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 82 a socio-religious appraisal of the effect of covid–19 on religious practices in nigeria john chijioke madubuko, phd department of religion and cultural studies, university of nigeria, nsukka chijioke.maduko@unn.edu.ng abstract religion is part and parcel of human existence, hence, it can be said that man is incurably religious and as such is described as homo-religiosus. with the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in nigeria (covid 19), which has its indelible marks in many countries of the world, there was a change and readjustment on every institution of society. some of the institutions were closed down in order to prevent and reduce further outbreaks and casualties in society. in line of this, religion was not an exception because its practices were not left out in the sense that most of its gathering was suspended and if people, for any reason, should gather in the name of religion, a maximum number of persons are expected. this adversely affects religion and religious practices in nigeria. it is against this backdrop that this paper is intended to examine how covid-19 affected religious practices in nigeria. the study will be using a phenomenological method and the theory of symbolic interactionism. the paper, therefore, discovers that covid-19 has serious negative effects on religious practices. it also finds that with the outbreak of covid-19 and the subsequent government order on how to curb it, religious practices bore some part of the problem. the paper concludes that in as inasmuch as covid 19 has a drastic effect on religious practices, it helps to call the religionist to order by putting more on him the consciousness that the supreme being is still in charge of the universe. the paper therefore recommends that people should not see the government order on suspension of some religious practices as being against the religious body but as a measure that must be taken in ensuring a reduction on the spread of the pandemic. keywords: socio-religious, appraisal, effect, covid–19, religious practices, nigeria introduction religion is an integral part of human life, deeply rooted in culture and identity. in nigeria, a nation rich in religious diversity, faith plays a central role in both individual and communal existence. gureje (2018) observes that the covid-19 pandemic drastically disrupted daily life across the world, leaving no aspect of society untouched, including religious practices. ibrahim (2013) explains that when the virus emerged in nigeria, it led to immediate government action aimed at reducing transmission, including lockdowns and restrictions on gatherings. these measures required significant adjustments from religious communities, impacting worship routines, communal gatherings, and other religious observances. for many nigerians, religious gatherings offer not only spiritual fulfillment but also a sense of belonging and communal support. kuru (2015) highlights that covid-19 imposed limitations on these gatherings, with restrictions that capped attendance numbers or prohibited certain ceremonies altogether. as a result, religious institutions faced new challenges, navigating how to maintain connections with followers while adhering to health guidelines. olowu (2015) suggests that, for some, these restrictions posed a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 83 threat to religious freedom, while others viewed them as necessary precautions to safeguard public health. this research aims to examine the socio-religious effects of covid-19 on religious practices in nigeria. using a phenomenological approach and drawing on the theory of symbolic interactionism, the study explores how these restrictions reshaped religious expression and practice. the findings reveal not only the negative impacts, such as disruptions in religious routines and challenges in communal worship, but also positive outcomes, such as increased individual spiritual reflection and a renewed awareness of the importance of public health within religious contexts. this study aims to contribute to understanding the complex relationship between religion and societal change during times of crisis. recognizing the necessity of such measures, the research encourages a balanced perspective on government actions, viewing them as protective rather than oppositional to religious practice. through this lens, nigerian society may better navigate future challenges that call for both public health considerations and respect for religious practices. theoretical framework the theory of symbolic interactionism, developed by george herbert mead in the early 20th century and later popularized by herbert blumer in 1937, offers a useful lens for understanding the social dynamics of religious practices amid the covid-19 pandemic in nigeria. symbolic interactionism is a sociological framework that explores how individuals and groups create, interpret, and communicate shared meanings and symbols in social interactions. central to this theory is the concept that social reality is constructed through interactions, and individuals act based on the meanings they assign to people, objects, and events (blumer, 1969). these meanings are not static but are constantly renegotiated in light of new experiences and societal changes. in the context of covid-19 and its impact on religious practices in nigeria, symbolic interactionism allows us to examine how religious communities have interpreted and adapted to the challenges posed by pandemic restrictions. for instance, religious gatherings are not merely routine activities but are symbolic acts that reinforce faith, community belonging, and identity. however, with covid-19 restrictions limiting physical gatherings, religious communities had to reevaluate and adapt the meaning of worship and communal gatherings, often turning to digital platforms or small group gatherings as substitutes. the pandemic compelled individuals and religious leaders to reinterpret their practices by framing virtual worship as an acceptable replacement for in-person gatherings. this theoretical framework is particularly relevant to this study as it highlights the fluid nature of religious practices under external pressures, such as public health measures. the theory of symbolic interactionism sheds light on how religious institutions and believers in nigeria negotiated the balance between adhering to health guidelines and maintaining the essence of their spiritual practices. it suggests that religious practices are socially constructed and subject to change when the social environment shifts, such as during a global health crisis. this research underscores the adaptability of religious practices when confronted with a crisis. it reveals how nigerian religious communities used new symbols and meanings such as online worship, social distancing igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 84 during services, and face masks in congregational settings, to sustain their faith while adhering to public health directives. through this lens, the study concludes that while covid-19 altered the visible expressions of religious practice, it also reinforced the resilience of faith communities by enabling them to find new ways to express shared beliefs and community ties. understanding covid 19 covid-19, caused by the sars-cov-2 virus, is a respiratory illness that emerged in wuhan, china, in late 2019 and quickly spread globally (world health organization, 2020). this virus primarily spreads through respiratory droplets and contact with contaminated surfaces, leading to a range of symptoms from mild to severe respiratory distress. many patients experience flu-like symptoms, such as fever, cough, and fatigue, while severe cases can result in pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and in some cases, death (centers for disease control and prevention, 2020). understanding covid-19 involves recognizing its biological behaviour and the factors that make it particularly challenging to control. according to harapan, itoh, yufika, winardi, keam, te and mudatsir (2020) covid-19 is highly contagious, which contributed to its rapid spread and led to widespread lockdowns and public health measures. the virus’s incubation period ranges from 2 to 14 days, during which individuals may be asymptomatic yet still capable of transmitting the disease (lauer, grantz, bi, jones, zheng, meredith, and lessler, 2020). this asymptomatic spread has made covid-19 especially difficult to contain, as undetected cases contribute to community transmission. covid-19's social and economic impact has been equally significant. efforts to curb transmission involved stringent measures, including travel restrictions, lockdowns, and social distancing guidelines, all of which disrupted daily life and economic activities worldwide (nicola, alsafi, sohrabi, kerwan, al-jabir, iosifidis, and agha, 2020). educational institutions, religious centers and businesses were closed or severely limited, highlighting the pandemic’s unprecedented effect on social structures (ebrahim and memish, 2020). these adjustments have not only underscored the importance of public health preparedness but have also catalyzed new approaches to health policy and community support.. religion and religious practices in nigeria religion holds a foundational place in nigerian society. the three primary religious traditions in nigeria are islam, christianity, and traditional african religions each with its unique practices and cultural influences that contribute to the diverse religious landscape of the country. in northern nigeria, islam is the dominant religion, introduced through trans-saharan trade and expanded by islamic scholars and rulers over centuries. islam has influenced the region’s culture, education, and governance, leading to the establishment of sharia law in several northern states. islam in nigeria is marked by practices like the five daily prayers (salat), fasting during ramadan, almsgiving (zakat), and friday congregational prayers at the mosque. muslim festivals such as eid al-fitr and eid al-adha are widely celebrated and observed as national holidays, highlighting the strong presence of islam in the cultural sphere (falola and genova, 2012). christianity is largely concentrated in the southern parts of nigeria, spread through european missionary activities in the 19th century. missionaries established churches, schools, and hospitals, leaving a lasting impact on the social landscape. christianity is practiced by various igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 85 denominations, including catholicism, anglicanism, methodism, pentecostalism, and numerous indigenous churches. each denomination has its distinct traditions, but many christians in nigeria are actively involved in regular worship services, bible studies, and community events. sacraments such as baptism and communion hold significant spiritual meaning, and major religious holidays like christmas and easter are celebrated nationwide. christians in nigeria engage in vibrant worship styles, often incorporating traditional music, dance, and other cultural elements into their religious practices, creating a unique blend of african and christian traditions (ibrahim, 2013). in addition to islam and christianity, traditional african religions are still practiced, especially among ethnic communities that honor ancestral spirits, deities, and natural elements. these religions emphasize a strong connection to the earth, community, and ancestral lineage. traditional religious practices include offerings, ritual dances, and ceremonies led by spiritual leaders or priests who serve as intermediaries between the physical and spiritual worlds. despite the influence of islam and christianity, traditional beliefs continue to shape cultural identities and community values, often coexisting with other religions (kuru, 2015). religion in nigeria influences not only individual lives but also the nation’s political and social systems. religious leaders hold significant sway over their followers, thereby guiding their social behaviours, moral values, and political opinions. however, nigeria’s religious diversity can also lead to tension and conflict, particularly when religious affiliations intersect with ethnic identities. the country's north-south divide is often framed in terms of religion, with islam associated with the north and christianity with the south. such religious divides can lead to social polarization, political friction, and in some cases, violence. religious intolerance has contributed to conflicts and has posed challenges for national unity, with episodes of religious violence periodically flaring up in areas where ethnic and religious tensions are high (falola and genova, 2012). the covid-19 pandemic further demonstrates the influence and adaptability of religious practices in nigeria. government-imposed restrictions to curb the virus’s spread required by religious institutions in order to modify their practices, such as limiting gatherings, enforcing social distancing, and adopting digital platforms for worship services. many religious leaders and congregants turned to online services to continue worship, while some small groups met with careful adherence to health protocols. this adjustment was challenging, particularly as communal worship is a central aspect of nigerian religious practices. however, the pandemic highlighted the resilience and resourcefulness of religious communities, as they found new ways to maintain their faith and fellowship while adhering to public health guidelines (ebrahim and memish, 2020). religious practice during covid 19 period the covid-19 pandemic had a ripple impact on religious practices around the world, and nigeria was no exception. as a country with diverse religious traditions, the pandemic led to significant changes in how nigerians practiced their faith. with the government’s restrictions on public gatherings to curb the spread of the virus, religious practices had to adapt rapidly. this shift not only affected the ways people worshipped but also brought into sharp focus the resilience and adaptability of nigerians. at the onset of the pandemic, the nigerian government, in accordance with health guidelines from the world health organization (who) and the nigerian centre for igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 86 disease control (ncdc), ordered for the suspension of religious gatherings including congregational prayers, church services, and other religious events (ebrahim and memish, 2020). this was an unprecedented move as religion in nigeria is typically deeply a communal affair. for muslims, the ban on congregational prayers meant that friday jumu'ah prayers and other regular gatherings at mosques were suspended, while christians had to cancel sunday services and other community-oriented worship activities. one of the most noticeable changes during this period was the adoption of digital platforms for religious services. many religious leaders, churches, and mosques turned to online streaming platforms, such as facebook, youtube, zoom, and whatsapp, to continue delivering sermons and worship services (falola and genova, 2012). this allowed congregants to participate in religious activities from the safety of their homes, thereby maintaining a sense of connection with their faith despite physical distancing measures. for example, many nigerian churches adopted online services, broadcasting prayers, worship music, and sermons, making use of virtual communication tools to reach their congregation. the shift to digital platforms also allowed for a creative approach to religious observances. for instance, in christianity, some denominations introduced virtual communion services, where members were encouraged to partake in the sacrament at home using household elements such as bread and wine. similarly, muslim communities adapted by hosting virtual ramadan lectures, prayer sessions, and iftar gatherings, thereby enabling people to maintain the spiritual and communal aspects of the holy month restrictions (ibrahim, 2013). in addition to digital worship, some religious practices saw a shift toward smaller, more intimate gatherings. for instance, while large congregational prayers were prohibited, some mosques and churches conducted services with very limited attendance, adhering to social distancing protocols. these services were often restricted to religious leaders or a small group of individuals, and congregants who were encouraged to worship from home. some families also organized private prayer sessions thereby creating smaller support networks within their households. despite the shift to digital worship and small gatherings, the pandemic had an emotional and spiritual toll on many nigerians. the inability to meet with fellow believers, particularly during important religious holidays like easter, christmas, or eid al-fitr, created a sense of isolation and loss. many religious leaders used these virtual platforms to provide support, offering words of encouragement and reassurance to help individuals cope with the uncertainty and anxiety brought about by the pandemic. this period also saw an increase in the need for pastoral care, with religious leaders offering counseling and spiritual guidance, especially in light of the emotional and psychological challenges caused by the pandemic (kuru, 2015). the pandemic also highlighted the role of religion in providing social support. religious organizations, both christian and muslim, engaged in charitable activities, including the provision of food and medical supplies to vulnerable communities. many religious groups also organized prayers for healing, peace, and the end of the pandemic, demonstrating the ongoing importance of collective prayer in times of crisis (ebrahim and memish, 2020). furthermore, many individuals and religious communities questioned the role of physical gatherings in worship and whether virtual services could be an effective alternative. in some cases, religious practices during the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 87 pandemic prompted a shift toward more individualized forms of worship, with people placing more emphasis on personal devotion and the individual’s relationship with the divine, rather than solely on communal gatherings. this trend aligns with the broader global movement of rethinking religious practices in light of changing circumstances, suggesting that some of the adaptations made during the pandemic may persist even after the restrictions are lifted (falola and genova, 2012). effects of covid-19 on religious practice in nigeria the covid-19 pandemic greatly impacted religious practices in nigeria, leading to major changes in how people worshiped and engaged with their faith. in a country like nigeria, where religion plays a central role in daily life, the restrictions imposed to limit the spread of the virus affected both christian and muslim communities. with the government enforcing lockdowns and social distancing measures, religious gatherings such as sunday church services, mosque prayers, and religious festivals had to be either limited or completely suspended. for many nigerians, attending church or mosque regularly is an important part of life. however, with the pandemic, large gatherings were no longer possible. churches and mosques were closed to prevent the spread of the virus, and this left many people feeling disconnected from their religious communities. this was particularly felt during major religious events such as easter, christmas, and ramadan, which are usually celebrated with large gatherings of families and friends. the usual communal prayers and celebrations were put on hold, and this created a sense of isolation for many worshippers (oluwaseun, 2020). in response to the restrictions, many religious groups in nigeria quickly turned to technology. to maintain their connection with their followers, many churches and mosques began streaming services online. this move to online platforms like facebook, youtube, and zoom allowed religious leaders to still reach out to their communities, even though they could not meet in person. christian churches held virtual sunday services and prayer meetings, while muslim communities conducted online ramadan lectures and prayers (ali, 2020). these online services provided an opportunity for people to continue practicing their faith at home, but they also highlighted the digital divide in nigeria. not everyone had access to smartphones or a reliable internet connection, especially in rural areas, which meant that some people could not participate in online services. another important effect of the pandemic was that it pushed people to think more deeply about their relationship with god. with physical church and mosque services suspended, many nigerians turned to private worship at home. people began to focus more on personal prayer, reading religious texts, and reflecting on their faith without the usual group activities. this shift to individual worship showed that religion could be practiced outside of large gatherings and that the relationship between an individual and their faith was still important even without the usual communal rituals (adedayo, 2020). despite the difficulties, religious groups in nigeria also found ways to help their communities during the pandemic. many religious organizations launched charity drives, distributing food, medical supplies, and financial aid to those who were struggling due to the economic impact of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 88 the virus. religious leaders also held special prayer sessions, calling for the end of the pandemic and healing for those affected. these actions showed that religion could still provide hope and support during difficult times (oluwaseun, 2020). suggesting ways forward in light of the disruptions caused by the covid-19 pandemic on religious practices in nigeria, there are several ways forward to help religious communities better adapt to future crises while maintaining their faith practices. these suggestions aim to balance the need for public health safety with the importance of religious and spiritual well-being. religious communities should consider maintaining a hybrid approach to worship, combining both physical and online platforms. while in-person gatherings should be prioritized when safe, the use of virtual platforms should continue to cater to those unable to attend physically. this will make religious services more accessible to people with disabilities, those living in remote areas, and others who cannot physically attend. as technology becomes more integrated into daily life, having an online presence will ensure that religious practices can continue in any circumstances (ali, 2020). religious leaders can play a vital role in promoting public health measures, given the trust many nigerians place in them. by incorporating health messages and awareness into religious services, leaders can encourage their followers to follow government guidelines, such as wearing masks, social distancing, and getting vaccinated. this will also ensure that religious gatherings, when allowed, are safe for all participants and that public health and safety remain a priority alongside spiritual growth (adedayo, 2020). religious communities can emphasize the importance of individual and family worship during times of crisis. encouraging people to maintain personal devotional practices, such as prayer, bible study, and quranic recitation at home, will help preserve the spiritual connection even during times of social distancing. this can also foster deeper spiritual reflection, as individuals will not rely solely on communal activities for their faith but build a personal relationship with god (oluwaseun, 2020). during times of crisis, religious communities should provide more focused support for vulnerable groups such as the elderly, the sick, and those facing financial difficulties. religious organizations can establish or strengthen their charity programs, ensuring that help reaches those who are most in need. for instance, distributing food, medical aid, and financial support during health crises can help the most disadvantaged members of society while also reinforcing the role of religion in promoting social justice (ali, 2020). a partnership between religious organizations and the government is essential for better crisis management. by fostering collaboration, both sectors can create guidelines that balance the needs of the community with health and safety measures. for example, during future pandemics or emergencies, clear communication between religious leaders and government officials can help igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 89 ensure that religious practices can continue while still maintaining public health standards (kuru, 2015). the pandemic has placed an emotional strain on many people, leading to increased mental health challenges. religious communities should provide spaces for counseling and emotional support, offering spiritual care for those affected by the pandemic's social and psychological impact. by recognizing the importance of mental health in the spiritual journey, religious institutions can become key players in providing holistic care for their congregations (oluwaseun, 2020). conclusion the covid-19 pandemic has significantly impacted religious practices in nigeria, highlighting both the challenges and resilience of religious communities. the suspension of communal gatherings, especially during key religious events, forced many to adapt quickly by embracing virtual platforms for worship and focusing more on individual and family-based religious practices. while this shift posed challenges, especially for those without access to technology, it also underscored the flexibility of religious faith in maintaining spiritual connections, even in times of crisis. moreover, the pandemic revealed the crucial role that religious leaders can play in promoting public health measures and supporting their communities. religious organizations in nigeria rose to the occasion by offering aid, counseling, and moral support to those affected by the economic and psychological impacts of the virus. however, these developments also pointed to the need for long-term adaptations, such as embracing hybrid worship services and strengthening community support systems to better prepare for future emergencies. ultimately, the covid-19 pandemic reinforced the importance of faith in providing hope and comfort during uncertain times. it is clear that religious practices in nigeria, while facing disruption, can adapt to meet the needs of society while still fostering a deep spiritual connection. moving forward, religious communities should focus on innovation, collaboration, and a renewed emphasis on individual and community well-being, ensuring that religion continues to serve as a source of strength and unity in challenging times. references adedayo, a. (2020). the impact of covid-19 on religious practices in nigeria.nigerian journal of social studies, 4(2), 16-21. ali, a. (2020). virtual worship during the covid-19 pandemic: challenges and opportunities for religious communities in nigeria. african journal of religion and society, 3(1), 45-60. blumer, h. (1969). symbolic interactionism: perspective and method. berkeley, ca: university of california press. centers for disease control and prevention. (2020). coronavirus (covid-19) frequently asked questions. retrieved on 23/10/2024, from https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019ncov/faq.html igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 90 ebrahim, s. h., & memish, z. a. (2020). covid-19: preparing for superspreader potential among umrah pilgrims to saudi arabia. retrieved on 20/10/2024, from https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(20)30466-9 ebrahim, s. h., & memish, z. a. (2020). covid-19: preparing for superspreader potential among umrah pilgrims to saudi arabia. the lancet, 3, 95, 102-127 falola, t., & genova, a. (2012).the politics of religious intolerance in contemporary nigeria. trenton, nj: africa world press. gureje, o. (2018). religion, reproductive health, and family planning in northern nigeria.international journal of social science and education, 5(3), 120-148. harapan, h., itoh, n., yufika, a., winardi, w., keam, s., te, h., ...mudatsir, m. (2020). coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19): a literature review. journal of infection and public health, 13(5), 667-673. ibrahim, j. (2013). religion and politics in nigeria: an overview. in s. a. oloruntoba (ed.), religion, politics and society in africa (pp. 67-83). london, uk: adonis and abbey publishers. kuru, a. a. (2015). religion and politics in nigeria: an analysis of religious influence on public policy. ibadan, nigeria: ibadan university press. lauer, s. a., grantz, k. h., bi, q., jones, f. k., zheng, q., meredith, h. r., ...lessler, j. (2020). the incubation period of coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) from publicly reported confirmed cases: estimation and application. annals of internal medicine, 172(9), 577582. madubuko, j. c. (2023). religion! guilty as charged? a phenomenological appraisal. nsukka journal of religion and cultural studies (njrcs), vol. 11 (2), 32-44. nicola, m., alsafi, z., sohrabi, c., kerwan, a., al-jabir, a., iosifidis, c., & agha, r. (2020). the socio-economic implications of the coronavirus pandemic (covid-19): a review. international journal of surgery, 78, 185-193. olowu, d. (2015). religious influence on policy and educational reform in nigeria.nigerian journal of educational studies, 6(1), 1-12. oluwaseun, t. (2020). adapting to change: how nigerian religious groups responded to covid19 restrictions. journal of african religious studies, 7(1), 12-17. world health organization. (2020). naming the coronavirus disease (covid-19) and the virus that causes it. retrieved on 20/09/2024, from https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute pragmatic functions of emojis in cross-cultural online communication chinwe udoh, phd & chiamaka ogugua ononye department of english language & literature nnamdi azikiwe university, awka vc.udoh@unizik.edu.ng, ononyeogugua@gmail.com abstract this research investigates the pragmatic roles of emojis in cross-cultural communication on whatsapp, particularly among participants from nigeria, japan, and western countries. employing a qualitative and descriptive methodology, it analyzes 20 carefully chosen excerpts that showcase extensive emoji usage from 40 naturally occurring conversations gathered between january and june 2025. the study utilizes speech act theory and politeness theory to explore how emojis function as paralinguistic tools that influence the illocutionary force of messages, address face concerns, and facilitate intercultural understanding. the findings indicate that in high-context cultures like nigeria and japan, emojis frequently convey implicit relational meanings, softening commands and enhancing solidarity, whereas in low-context cultures, they tend to be employed more explicitly for emotional emphasis or clarification. this research contributes to the field of digital pragmatics by contextualizing emoji usage within both highand low-context cultural environments, providing valuable insights for improving intercultural competence in online communications. keywords: emojis, pragmatics, high-context culture, low-context culture, speech act theory, politeness theory introduction emojis, which are small graphical icons that originated from japanese digital culture, have evolved into an essential component of online communication in today's digital era. given that text-based communication often lacks the rich nonverbal cues found in face-to-face interactions—such as facial expressions, tone of voice, and gesturesemojis act as a crucial paralinguistic resource that users utilize to convey emotions, navigate interpersonal relationships, and express nuanced meanings that extend beyond mere words. by employing these visual symbols, communicators can infuse emotional depth, indicate sarcasm or humor, soften requests, and convey social cues that might otherwise be overlooked in computer-mediated communication. in the ever-expanding realm of social media and instant messaging platforms like whatsapp, facebook messenger, and instagram, emojis have emerged as prevalent tools that influence how individuals engage and interpret messages online. their application transcends linguistic barriers, enabling quicker and often more effective emotional expression. nevertheless, despite their apparent universal appeal, emojis are intricately tied to cultural contexts, and their meanings are not fixed or universally recognized. variations in emoji interpretation across cultures are common, reflecting diverse social norms, communicative conventions, and cultural values. for example, an igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute emoji that conveys gratitude or friendliness in one culture may be viewed as disrespectful or ambiguous in another. this cultural variability in interpretation carries significant pragmatic implications. pragmatics, which is the study of language in use and the ways in which meaning is constructed during interactions, offers a valuable perspective for understanding how emojis operate in digital communication. emojis can fulfill various speech acts—such as expressing emotions (expressives), making requests (directives), or indicating agreement (commissives)—while concurrently managing politeness and face needs in intercultural interactions. they assist in mitigating potential face-threatening acts by softening criticisms and enhancing the overall communicative experience. the importance of comprehending the use and interpretation of emojis is particularly apparent in multicultural and multilingual contexts such as nigeria, a country distinguished by over 250 ethnic groups and a variety of linguistic environments. the communication style in nigeria is typically characterized as high-context, where a significant amount of meaning is conveyed implicitly through shared background knowledge and indirect signals. in such a communicative setting, emojis are likely to play an essential role in enhancing verbal messages. given the growing dependence on digital platforms for personal, educational, and professional communication, it is crucial to investigate the pragmatic roles of emojis across cross-cultural online interactions. this research can illuminate how emojis aid or obstruct meaning-making, politeness management, and interpersonal connections in various digital environments. additionally, it offers valuable insights for developing communication strategies and digital interfaces that honor cultural sensitivities and promote mutual understanding in an increasingly interconnected world. numerous nigerian researchers have explored various facets of emoji usage and digital pragmatics; however, their investigations have not entirely encompassed the cross-cultural dynamics present within nigeria’s highand low-context whatsapp groups. akpan and shogeyinbo (2023) examined the role of emojis as semiotic instruments in whatsapp and facebook messenger among students at the university of lagos, illustrating how they enhance emotional significance in online communications. udoudom, william, igiri, and okon (2024) analyzed emoji usage among nigerian youth and discovered that cultural, linguistic, and regional variations frequently lead to miscommunication in digital exchanges. likewise, oyinbo and olaniyi (2021) performed a multimodal discourse analysis of emojis utilized in religious whatsapp groups, uncovering their diverse pragmatic roles in expressing emotions and attitudes such as reverence, anxiety, and excitement. in a related study, eke, ofome, and opeyemi (2022) investigated politeness strategies within nigerian digital communication, observing that emojis serve to manage respect and uphold coherence; however, their research did not address crosscultural or subcultural differences. although these studies offer valuable perspectives on the function of emojis in nigerian online discourse, none have explored how such pragmatic roles—like speech-act modification, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute politeness, or emotion signaling—vary across different cultures in nigeria, japan, and other western societies, particularly between high-context and low-context whatsapp groups and across various language forms. this research holds significance for multiple reasons. firstly, it adds to the expanding literature on digital pragmatics by focusing on emoji usage with a specific emphasis on the distinctions between high-context and low-context communication styles. the data were exclusively sourced from naturally occurring whatsapp conversations involving participants from nigeria, japan, and western countries, reflecting a uniquely diverse linguistic and cultural landscape. by analyzing the pragmatic functions of emojis across high-context and low-context whatsapp groups, the study sheds light on how cultural orientation affects meaning-making in digital interactions. secondly, brown and levinson’s politeness theory and speech act theory within the realm of digital communication demonstrate how these frameworks can elucidate both convergence and divergence in the interpretation of emojis is noteworthy. furthermore, the findings hold significant practical implications for educators, social media managers, intercultural trainers, and technology developers, as they can inform the creation of culturally sensitive communication strategies and platform interfaces. ultimately, this study contributes to the field of cross-cultural communication scholarship by filling a gap in existing research from nigeria, providing an empirically grounded account of how visual symbols operate pragmatically in multicultural online environments, and proposing methods to bridge potential communicative divides through effective emoji usage. literature review the examination of emojis within online communication has garnered interest from researchers in linguistics, communication studies, and digital me in high-context cultures, such as nigeria and japanese a significant portion of communicative meaning is derived from implicit signals, shared experiences, and contextual knowledge rather than from direct verbal communication. in these settings, visual symbols like emojis can act as valuable enhancements to verbal language, augmenting meaning and reinforcing mutual understanding. in contrast, in low-context cultures, where explicit and direct language is emphasized, emojis may be employed more for emphasis or emotional nuance rather than as essential interpretive signals. empirical studies support these theoretical insights. li and yang (2018) illustrated that emojis are not simply ornamental but fulfill crucial communicative roles, such as indicating emotions, managing conversational dynamics, and framing responses. bich-carrière (2019) posited that emojis can operate as digital paralanguage, expressing tone and attitude similarly to nonverbal cues in spoken communication. in the nigerian context, akpan and shogeyinbo (2023) examined the application of emojis in whatsapp and facebook messenger among university students, the research indicates that emojis enhance emotional significance but are frequently understood within the framework of shared peer culture. udoudom, william, igiri, and okon (2024) investigated the miscommunication among nigerian youths stemming from emoji usage, demonstrating that cultural and linguistic diversity affects interpretation and can occasionally lead to unintended offense. oyinbo and olaniyi (2021) explored religious whatsapp groups, uncovering that emojis igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute can convey reverence, excitement, or anxiety, contingent upon the topic of conversation and the norms of the group. eke, ofome, and opeyemi (2022) concentrated on politeness strategies in nigerian online interactions, discovering that emojis are commonly used to express respect or sustain rapport, although they did not explore cross-cultural variations within nigeria. research from other regions further emphasizes the significance of cultural context in the interpretation of emojis. bae et al. (2019) revealed that the same emoji can be understood differently in japan compared to western nations—for instance, representing “thank you” in japan while signifying “high five” in the west. holtgraves (2023) noted that patterns of emoji usage differ across cultures in ways that reflect face-to-face politeness norms. these findings reinforce the notion that emoji interpretation is socially and culturally contextualized, making both cross-cultural and intra-cultural comparisons vital for comprehending digital communication practices. despite these valuable contributions, a significant gap persists in empirical research investigating how emoji usage varies among different cultures. this study aims to fill that gap by incorporating hall’s cultural context theory, brown and levinson’s politeness theory, and speech act theory to examine the pragmatic roles of emojis in various whatsapp groups, covering nigeria, japan and other western countries thus providing fresh insights into how visual symbols facilitate meaning in multicultural online settings. theoretical framework this research employs a dual-theoretical framework, utilizing speech act theory (austin, 1962; searle, 1969) and politeness theory (brown & levinson, 1987) to examine the pragmatic roles of emojis in cross-cultural online interactions. the integration of these theories offers a thorough perspective for comprehending both the functional and interpersonal aspects of emoji usage. speech act theory asserts that language serves not only as a medium for transmitting information but also as a tool for executing actions. austin’s tripartite model differentiates the locutionary act (the literal interpretation of the utterance), the illocutionary act (the intended communicative purpose, such as requesting, promising, or apologizing), and the perlocutionary act (the impact on the listener, such as persuading, entertaining, or comforting). in the realm of online communication, emojis act as paralinguistic elements that can enhance, soften, intensify, or even substitute verbal components, thus influencing both illocutionary force and perlocutionary effect. for instance, a request paired with a smiling face emoji may convey friendliness and lessen the sense of imposition. politeness theory complements this by examining how communicators navigate “face” — the public self-image that individuals strive to uphold. brown and levinson identify positive politeness strategies (aimed at fostering solidarity and expressing approval) and negative politeness strategies (focused on reducing imposition and honoring autonomy). emojis frequently fulfill these roles across various cultures: can be employed as a positive politeness strategy to express gratitude or solidarity, while may function as a negative politeness marker to soften igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute commands or critiques. notably, the interpretation of these strategies can differ across cultures, with the same emoji possessing unique pragmatic implications in diverse socio-cultural settings. by merging speech act theory and politeness theory, this framework facilitates the systematic categorization of emojis based on their specific functions. methodology this research employs a qualitative and descriptive research design to investigate the pragmatic roles of emojis in cross-cultural online interactions. data were gathered solely from whatsapp conversations involving participants from nigeria and japan, chosen for the platform's extensive use and rich integration of emojis. a purposive sampling method was utilized to identify 40 naturally occurring conversations that featured emoji usage, from which 100 instances of emojis were extracted. out of these, 20 excerpts considered most pertinent to the study's aims were purposefully selected for in-depth analysis. the data collection spanned a six-month period, from january to june 2025. the analysis utilized speech act theory and politeness theory as theoretical frameworks, facilitating a comprehensive examination of the functional and interpersonal roles that emojis fulfill in these cross-cultural digital communications. data presentation and analysis excerpt 1 "thanks . i really appreciate your help!" analysis this statement represents an expressive speech act that conveys gratitude, enhanced by the smiling emoji, which intensifies warmth and friendliness. in the nigerian context, where interpersonal relationships hold significant importance, the positive politeness strategy fosters solidarity and social connection. cross-culturally, such explicit expressions of gratitude accompanied by emojis may be perceived as either sincere or somewhat formal, depending on the cultural context; for instance, in certain east asian cultures, overt expressions of appreciation may be more subdued, and emojis could act as crucial softeners to express sincerity. therefore, the emoji pragmatically serves as a bridge in intercultural digital communication, compensating for the absence of nonverbal cues and ensuring that the emotional message is effectively transmitted. excerpt 2 "hmm… okay , i see your point." analysis this utterance exemplifies a representative speech act indicating cognitive engagement and tentative agreement, with the thinking face emoji offering a metapragmatic signal of contemplation. in western cultures, this may be interpreted as a sign of thoughtful consideration, while in other cultural contexts, the interpretation may vary. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute excerpt 3 "incredible! that is truly remarkable ." analysis this statement illustrates an expressive speech act that conveys admiration, with the party popper emoji enhancing the celebratory tone. in collectivist societies, such as nigeria and japan, the enthusiastic use of emojis may help to reinforce group unity by publicly recognizing the accomplishments of others, which reflects a strategy of positive politeness. conversely, certain cultures might perceive such exuberance as excessive or unsuitable in formal situations. across cultures, the emoji serves as a universal representation of celebration; however, its frequency and context of use can differ, underscoring how emojis not only express emotions but also reflect culturally specific social norms in online communication. excerpt 4 07:20 – priya: happy birthday, chuka . many blessings! 07:22 – chuka: thank you, my dear . may god bless you too. analysis priya’s birthday greeting is an expressive speech act conveying celebration and goodwill, with the party popper and cake emojis reinforcing the festive mood. from a positive politeness perspective, this act affirms social solidarity and warmth. chuka’s reply, featuring the folded hands emoji ( ), expresses gratitude and invokes a blessing, functioning both as an expressive and a commissive speech act by reciprocating goodwill. cross-culturally, while the birthday celebration is common, the emoji use reveals culturally specific nuances: in south asian contexts, the folded hands emoji often signifies respect or prayer, while in nigerian usage, it frequently conveys gratitude or spiritual blessing. this interaction illustrates how emojis can simultaneously enact culturally resonant politeness strategies and mediate intercultural understanding in digital spaces. excerpt 5 14:15 – lisa: you mentioned "how far" yesterday. what does that imply? 14:17 – tunde: haha . it’s nigerian slang for "how are you doing?" 14:18 – lisa: ohhh, i understand now! analysis lisa’s inquiry represents a directive speech act aimed at obtaining clarification, softened by an informal tone. tunde’s reply incorporates a laughing emoji to express friendliness and alleviate igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute any potential face-threat associated with explaining unfamiliar slang, thereby employing a positive politeness strategy. this interaction illustrates the cross-cultural negotiation of meaning, where nigerian pidgin or local slang, along with their corresponding emojis, necessitate interpretation by non-native speakers. the emoji pragmatically conveys amiability and helps mitigate possible confusion or embarrassment. this episode emphasizes how emojis function as paralinguistic cues that enhance understanding and foster social connections across varied linguistic and cultural contexts in online communication. excerpt 6 10:40 – akira: i apologize for my late response . 10:42 – ngozi: no wahala . i just noticed your message as well. analysis akira’s apology serves as a negative politeness speech act, acknowledging a potential face-threat by demonstrating deference, further supported by the bowing emoji, which culturally resonates with japanese expressions of apology and respect. ngozi’s reply, which includes a smiling emoji, employs a positive politeness strategy, reducing the perceived impact of the delay and offering reassurance. this exchange exemplifies cross-cultural politeness practices in whatsapp communication: the formal and respectful demeanor characteristic of japanese culture contrasts with the more casual, colloquial nigerian response. the emojis pragmatically embody these culturally distinct politeness norms, facilitating seamless intercultural digital interactions. excerpt 7 16:05 – hassan: would you be able to join us for lunch? 16:07 – grace: i would be delighted to, but i have prior commitments . perhaps next time? analysis hassan’s invitation functions as a directive speech act that requests attendance, being both direct and courteous. grace’s refusal, softened by the sad face emoji, employs a negative politeness strategy to lessen the potential face-threat associated with declining the invitation. the emoji expresses regret and empathy, striking a balance between directness and sensitivity. in highcontext cultures like nigeria, indirect refusals and face-saving strategies are favored, whereas in certain western contexts, more straightforward refusals may be prevalent. in this instance, the emoji serves to bridge these cultural differences by conveying emotion non-verbally, thereby maintaining interpersonal harmony in the cross-cultural whatsapp conversation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute excerpt 8 12:25 – tom: wishing you the best of luck at your presentation! 12:26 – chioma: excuse me, why would you say that? 12:28 – tom: oh! it’s an english idiom meaning “good luck.” my apologies . analysis tom’s statement is a performative speech act aimed at wishing good luck through an idiomatic expression, which chioma initially misinterprets, indicating a cross-cultural pragmatic misunderstanding. chioma’s emoji ( ) conveys surprise and confusion, functioning as an expressive speech act that communicates her emotional response. tom’s apology, along with the laughing emoji ( ), represents a negative politeness strategy intended to alleviate the misunderstanding and preserve rapport. this interaction exemplifies how idiomatic expressions and emojis can have different implications across cultures, highlighting the need for explicit clarification to ensure effective communication in intercultural digital environments. excerpt 9 06:50 – fatima: as-salamu alaykum . 06:51 – david: wa alaykumu s-salam, my sister. how’s your family? analysis fatima’s greeting functions as a declarative speech act that conveys a religious and social salutation, further emphasized by the crescent moon emoji, which culturally represents islam. david’s response reciprocates this greeting and inquires about the well-being of her family, employing a positive politeness strategy that highlights solidarity and care. the use of emojis not only acts as a cultural indicator but also aids in affirming shared identity within a multicultural whatsapp environment. such interactions illustrate how emojis encapsulate religious and cultural affiliations, thereby reinforcing communal ties in varied online communities. excerpt 10 11:15 – sarah: i’ll talk to you later . 11:16 – kunle: are you flirting? 11:17 – sarah: no . in my culture, that emoji just means “playful.” analysis igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute sarah’s statement “i’ll talk to you later ” serves as a commissive speech act indicating a commitment to future conversation, softened by the winking emoji, which adds an expressive illocutionary force of playfulness. kunle’s inquiry “are you flirting?” represents a directive speech act that seeks clarification while also revealing a cross-cultural difference in emoji interpretation, as kunle perceives romantic implications in the wink. sarah’s response, accompanied by a laughing emoji, employs a negative politeness strategy to alleviate any potential face-threat and clarify the cultural meanings of emojis. this dialogue highlights how emojis can simultaneously facilitate and complicate intercultural communication by embodying culturally specific pragmatic subtleties. excerpt 11 09:10 – daniel: good morning everyone . are you prepared for the meeting? 09:12 – amina: good morning! nearly there. just getting some coffee . analysis daniel’s greeting functions as a representative speech act coupled with a directive aimed at confirming readiness. the sun emoji conveys a sense of positivity and invigorates the message. amina’s response employs the coffee emoji to illustrate her ongoing preparation, serving as both a response act and an informal update on her status. in both nigerian and western contexts, such emojis are commonly used in casual professional conversations, enhancing positive politeness by personalizing the interaction and softening the formal tone. the emojis fulfill pragmatic roles of emotional expression and contextual elaboration, reflecting shared communicative norms despite cultural variances. excerpt 12 14:35 – chika: i feel extremely fatigued today . 14:36 – kenji: please take care! make sure to rest well . analysis chika’s remark is an expressive speech act that communicates her tiredness, with the weary face emoji amplifying the emotional weight. kenji’s response is a directive (albeit indirect) combined with a commissive (a well-wishing), indicated by the folded hands emoji, which in japanese culture often represents prayer or gratitude but is broadly recognized as a gesture of goodwill. this interaction exemplifies how culturally significant emojis can foster cross-cultural empathy and politeness strategies, thereby enhancing emotional bonds despite linguistic barriers. excerpt 13 18:00 – naomi: congratulations on your promotion ! 18:02 – bayo: thank you very much! i couldn’t have achieved this without your support . igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute analysis naomi’s congratulatory note represents an expressive speech act, with the celebratory emojis enhancing positive emotions and group unity. bayo’s reply expresses gratitude, utilizing the raised hands emoji as an expressive illocutionary act that indicates celebration and shared success. in collectivist societies such as nigeria, the use of such emojis acts as a positive politeness strategy to reinforce social connections. the shared emojis visually represent mutual acknowledgment and community support across cultural divides. excerpt 14 20:15 – koji: i apologize, but i cannot join tonight ♂ . 20:17 – amaka: no problem! we will catch up soon . analysis koji’s apology is a negative politeness speech act, using the bowing man emoji to convey respect and regret, which holds cultural significance in japan. amaka’s comforting response mitigates the impact of the refusal through a positive politeness strategy, employing a smiling emoji to preserve goodwill. this interaction illustrates how emojis reflect cultural politeness standards, aiding in the delicate management of interpersonal relations in cross-cultural digital communications. excerpt 15 08:50 – tolu: did you watch the game last night? 08:52 – hana: yes! that goal was incredible . analysis tolu’s inquiry is a representative speech act paired with expressive emojis that convey excitement and intensity. hana’s enthusiastic response, featuring astonishment and clapping emojis, represents a commissive and expressive act, confirming shared interest and emotional involvement. the inclusion of sports-related emojis serves as a universal pragmatic tool to express enthusiasm, transcending cultural barriers and fostering social unity within the online community. excerpt 16 13:40 – samuel: could you please send me the file? 13:42 – emiko: certainly, i am sending it now . analysis samuel’s request constitutes a directive speech act, with the folded hands emoji serving as a negative politeness strategy to lessen the perceived imposition. emiko’s reply represents a commissive act affirming her compliance, with the outbox tray emoji offering a visual indication igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute of action. the use of emojis enhances politeness and clarifies intent, illustrating how digital paralanguage fosters cooperative interactions across cultures in whatsapp communication. excerpt 17 07:05 – blessing: good morning! how was your weekend? 07:08 – ken: it was great, thank you! i had a relaxing time and caught up on sleep . analysis blessing’s greeting and question function as a representative speech act, complemented by the smiling emoji to convey warmth. ken’s response employs a sleeping face emoji as an expressive speech act to indicate relaxation and well-being. these emojis pragmatically act as emotional enhancers, promoting interpersonal closeness and friendliness that are prevalent in both nigerian and western messaging cultures. excerpt 18 21:30 – ayodele: could you kindly assist with this report? 21:32 – yuki: certainly! i will complete it by tomorrow . analysis ayodele’s request functions as a directive speech act, softened by the culturally significant folded hands emoji, which serves as a negative politeness marker indicating respect and deference. yuki’s reply is a commissive that confirms action, with the checkmark emoji further emphasizing commitment. the use of emojis in this context acts as pragmatic markers to address face concerns and affirm intentions, effectively bridging cultural expectations in nigerian-japanese digital interactions. excerpt 19 15:00 – chi: i am feeling anxious about the presentation . 15:02 – rina: you will excel! have faith in yourself . analysis chi’s statement represents an expressive speech act that conveys anxiety, with the worried face emoji amplifying the emotional weight. rina’s supportive response is a commissive speech act, bolstered by the flexed bicep emoji, which symbolizes strength and confidence. these emojis fulfill a pragmatic role of providing emotional support and reassurance, which is vital for sustaining interpersonal rapport across cultural boundaries in online communication. excerpt 20 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 11:45 – uche: shall we convene at 5 pm, if that is agreeable? 11:47 – kenji: that sounds great . i will see you then! analysis uche’s suggestion is a directive speech act articulated tentatively to demonstrate consideration, whereas kenji’s reply, which includes the thumbs-up emoji, serves as an assertive speech act indicating agreement. the thumbs-up emoji pragmatically acts as a swift, affirmative confirmation, although its interpretation may differ across cultures—as observed in certain nigerian contexts where it may have alternative meanings—underscoring the importance of cultural sensitivity in emoji usage during intercultural digital communications. findings the examination of these whatsapp conversations indicates that emojis fulfil various pragmatic roles in cross-cultural online communication, intricately associated with speech acts and strategies of politeness. emojis consistently serve as paralinguistic instruments that reinforce, alter, or soften illocutionary forces. for example, winking and smiling emojis often act as indicators of playfulness and positive politeness, fostering relational closeness and alleviating face-threatening actions. requests and refusals are commonly softened by the use of folded hands, sad, or apologetic emojis, which reflect culturally rooted norms of politeness, especially in nigerian and japanese contexts. cross-cultural subtleties significantly influence the interpretation and application of emojis. while certain emojis (e.g., , ) generally convey universal celebratory or friendly connotations, others such as the thumbs-up ( ) and folded hands ( ) demonstrate culturally specific pragmatic differences that may result in misunderstandings in the absence of shared contextual knowledge. the data reveal that interlocutors actively negotiate meaning through metapragmatic clarifications when interpretations of emojis diverge, illustrating the digital mediation of face and meaning-making in multicultural environments. furthermore, the research highlights the importance of emojis in compensating for the lack of nonverbal signals typically present in face-to-face interactions, thereby restoring the affective and interpersonal aspects of online communication. these functions are particularly prominent in nigeria’s high-context communication setting, where indirectness and implicit signals prevail, and in interactions with lower-context cultures, where explicit verbalization is more prevalent. consequently, emojis serve as essential semiotic tools that bridge cultural and linguistic gaps, enhance pragmatic competence, and foster intercultural understanding in digital discourse. conclusion this research validates that emojis play crucial pragmatic roles in cross-cultural whatsapp interactions by simultaneously executing speech acts and managing politeness strategies that are rooted in culturally specific norms. the results indicate that emojis transcend mere decorative symbols; they serve as potent multimodal instruments that facilitate emotional expression, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute alleviate face threats, and aid in conversational management across various linguistic and cultural settings. significantly, the differences in emoji interpretation among nigerian, japanese, and western users underscore the importance of cultural sensitivity and awareness in digital communication. participants frequently depend on contextual and metapragmatic signals to negotiate meaning, thereby avoiding miscommunication and enhancing rapport. the application of speech act theory and politeness theory offers a solid framework for comprehending these interactions, shedding light on the role of emojis. future investigations should delve deeper into emoji pragmatics across additional communication platforms and cultural demographics, taking into account multimodal and contextual elements more thoroughly. from a practical standpoint, the findings can guide the development of culturally adaptive digital communication tools and assist users in engaging in effective and respectful crosscultural online interactions. in summary, this study enhances the comprehension of how visual digital symbols function pragmatically within the intricate realm of global online communication. references akpan, o., & shogeyinbo, t. (2023). emoji use as semiotic tools in whatsapp and facebook messenger among university of lagos students. journal of digital communication studies, 15(3), 45–62. austin, j. l. (1962). how to do things with words. harvard university press. bae, s., ishii, k., & choi, y. (2019). cross-cultural differences in emoji interpretation: a comparative study between japan and western countries. international journal of communication, 13, 43–59. bich-carrière, c. (2019). emoji as digital paralanguage: conveying tone in computermediated communication. language@internet, 16, 130–150. bogore, l. (2023). emoji use across cultures: survey reveals surprising differences. global social media insights. https://globalsocialmediainsights.com/emoji-crossculturalsurvey brown, p., & levinson, s. c. (1987). politeness: some universals in language usage. cambridge university press. central intelligence agency. (2024). nigeria. the world factbook. https://cia.gov/theworld-factbook/countries/nigeria/ eke, c., ofome, i., & opeyemi, f. (2022). politeness strategies in nigerian digital communication. african journal of pragmatics, 8(1), 77–95. hall, e. t. (1976). beyond culture. anchor books. holtgraves, t. (2023). cross-cultural patterns in emoji use and politeness norms. journal of pragmatics, 194, 1–15. li, w., & yang, f. (2018). functions of emojis in online communication: emotional expression and conversational management. journal of pragmatics, 123, 87–101. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute lupyan, g., & dale, r. (2018). the role of emoji in online communication: frequency and pragmatic usage. language and communication, 60, 55–65. melefe, i., nwankwo, p., & abiola, r. (2023). multilingualism and code-switching on nigerian whatsapp groups. nigerian journal of linguistic studies, 12(1), 130–145. oyinbo, i., & olaniyi, a. (2021). a multimodal discourse analysis of emojis in religious whatsapp groups. journal of media and religion, 20(2), 114–130. pavlikova, p. (2021). political metaphors in presidential speeches: a comparative study. political discourse review, 8(1), 55–70. semino, e. (2008). metaphor in discourse. cambridge university press. udoudom, c., william, e., igiri, a., & okon, b. (2024). emoji use among nigerian youths: cultural and linguistic miscommunication in digital interaction. nigerian journal of linguistics, 19(2), 99–118. 87 exposition of john stuart mill's “notion on harm principle and its development of positive social and cultural relations in nigerian society orji, chidi paul, ph.d department of philosophy, university of agriculture and environmental sciences umuagwo, imo state paul.orji@uaes.edu.ng, hipaulco@gmail.com & egberongbe tijani taiwo ph.d. department of philosophy, olabisi onabanjo university ago iwoye, ogun state. egberongbetaiwo@oouagoiwoye.edu.ng titaiwoegbe@gmail.com doi: 10.13140rg.2.2.14554.96967 abstract this essay analyzes john stuart mill's conception of liberty in the context of modern culture. it makes the case that mill's "harm principle" in large part lays the basis for the development of positive social relationships and a peaceful way of life, as well as the improvement of arrangements meant to bind the many parts of an already split and fractured society together. the "harm principle" is a result of mill's theory of liberty, which is outlined in his renowned essay on liberty and is a crucial component of it. as a result, the work at hand in this essay entails both a critical analysis of mill's "harm principle" and the identification of specific social interactions (such as the sociopolitical relations that exist in nigeria and the inter-group relations that exist among religious groups), where this idea may be used to promote societal peace. since the issues are in our surrounding area (nigeria) have aroused our interest in using mills harm's principle, instances of our analysis of ill social relationships from nigeria, which represents various societies, are taken. however, this effort does not assert that such a theory is limitless or that its use would be problematic without specific constraints. in light of this, the work offers to determine the boundaries of how far the harm principle may be employed in regulating human behavior. keywords: john stuart mill, harm principle, socio-political relations introduction putting a good theory into real-world situations to determine how well it can account for social realities is the most effective technique to assess its applicability. one of these theories is john stuart mill's notion of liberty. it is undeniable that the teachings of mill's theory of liberty, together with other philosophical postulates, contributed to molding the minds of the founders of numerous constitutions throughout human history. this is seen in the importance igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 88 placed by these constitutions on ideas like freedom, liberty, and equality. therefore, the goal of this essay is to further discover more ambiguous areas in social interaction where a component of mill's theory of liberty may be the magic bullet. in order to accomplish this, our objective is to assess the viability of what is known as mill's "harm principle," which encapsulates the core of his theory of liberty. mill's harm principle is the idea that each individual has the right to act as he/she wants, as long as these actions do not harm others (mill, 1860). this principal (applicable both to political and individual morality) holds that not the state, nor anybody else, should interfere in anyone's activities unless those activities will harm somebody other than themselves (he believed people should be free to hurt themselves if they wanted). mill held a utilitarian view that our actions should maximizing happiness and reducing suffering. he raised concerns about the democratic system and elective government, noting that the “will of the people”, is in fact the will of the most numerous or the most active part of the people, which is not necessarily the best for everyone as all people are different. this is the reason civil rights laws were designed to protect the minorities, even if the majority decides it's okay to abuse or bully them. however, these overriding laws do not extend over all aspects of life and many people may still feel disadvantaged by the democratic system and majority's rule. mill felt that a better system would be where every individual engaged in their own “experiment in living”, without any government interference, so far as it does not harm others. he argued that if each person was free to make his or her own choices it would maximize society's utility. mill's harm principle is the idea that people should be free to do whatever they want, without any intervention from state or individuals, unless their actions harm somebody other than themselves. he argued that if each person was free to make his or her own choices it would maximize happiness in society. it should be noted, nevertheless, that no part of mill's theory of liberty bears this moniker. instead, it was a name that his readers and critics gave to the component of his theory of liberty that outlines the circumstances that should guide people's acts. it could be important to begin our study by analyzing the major points of his theory of liberty for the sake of clarity. a person's liberty extends to authorities above the society, according to the harm principle. the premise holds that people have the freedom to think whatever they want. regardless of whether it goes against popular opinion, society shouldn't infringe upon such freedom. the right to hold an opinion that differs from society is granted to that individual. in addition, everyone ought to be free to practice their own religion, hobbies, and likes. as long as one does not do harm to others while pursuing their interests, one's tastes and passions do not need to align with society's moral standards. a person has the right to pursue their own interests, even if those interests are morally dubious in the eyes of society, and society shouldn't attempt to restrict that freedom (mill, 2010). in contrast, the damage principle leaves one open to injury from oneself and only addresses stopping someone from harming others. the selfvulnerability happens, and according to mill, power should not be used over a person since, even in cases where it is morally or physically advantageous to the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 89 person, that does not justify interfering with that person's decision-making. even if something seems intelligent and right to other people, an individual cannot be forced to do something just because it will make him happy or make other people since he or she is independent, he or she should have the complete right to act in a way that hurts that person but does not bother others. this implies that some behaviors, although being detrimental, cannot be outlawed and that the only thing one can do is try to talk someone out of doing something bad to themselves (mill, 2010). the idea is that people should be free to exercise their sovereignty and that society should adapt to their needs. the damage principle was developed by mill in order to prevent people from being oppressed by the acceptance or rejection of their differing opinions in society based solely on the preferences of others. because it disapproves of an individual's actions, society shouldn't be able to put regulations or limits on them. if society did this, it would imply that the rule of the majority had authority over an individual and so reject the fundamental human right to freedom, which is the essence of what it is to be human. furthermore, society would have fewer regulations and focus more on the welfare of its members if people were free to act whenever they pleased as long as they did not harm others. as a result, the society would expend less time, money, and energy passing legislation, keeping an eye on the public, and punishing offenders. minority rights are protected by the damage principle. the majority does not have to force its will on the minority because the principle opposes elevating majority rule above the rights of an individual. individuals who identify as members of a minority, be it based on race, class, gender, sexual orientation, or religion, are entitled to autonomy and self-determination. by seeking to force their beliefs on the minority, the dominant majority should not be able to govern them. the minority may suffer harm as a result of the majority's wrong opinions. because of this, the damage principle shields the minority from the tyranny of the majority. although the minority may only consist of one person, the majority should not have any power over them (mill, 2010). however, the harm principle serves as a constraint by prohibiting people from harming other people. it follows that those whose activities injure others have the right to be punished by society. it would be challenging to define harm in this situation because what is hurtful to one person may not be harmful to another. in order to ensure that everyone coexists in harmony and that no one oppresses another, society should address the differing opinions of its members. john stuart mill's notion on liberty john stuart mill (1806–1873) held the view that the line between individual freedom and the authority of the state needed to be drawn in order to ensure the sustainability of sociopolitical stability and the peaceful coexistence of all members of society. the 1859 publication of mill's essay on liberty was the result of this intellectual ideal. since mill's article on liberty expresses his igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 90 perspective on liberty, discussing mill's position on liberty either directly or indirectly discusses this section of the article. in order to make his points more clear to his readers, he divides the book into five sections: an introduction; a chapter on "liberty of discussion;" a chapter on "the defense of individuality;" a chapter on "of the limits to the authority of society over the individual;" and the final chapter on "applications.” one ought to keep in mind that mill's viewpoint in on liberty was a product of circumstance. the literary work was written when europe was going through a crisis. at that time, the french revolution, the napoleonic wars, and the rise of the revolutionaries who were promoting the napoleonic ideals of equality, liberty, and fraternity were all having an impact on europe. it was around this time that representative democracy began to expand across all of europe. the inspiration for on liberty most likely surfaced during mill's trip to france following his mental anguish and the reform act of 1832. at this point, he saw that, although extremely important and vital, the expansion of suffrage (representative government) was unable to stop the ruling class's displays of egotism on a consistent basis. his views against the tyranny of the majority, which are clearly stated in his essay on liberty, were sparked by this. to be more precise, mill is concerned in on liberty with the impact of democratization as a superior form of governance compared to the authoritarian regimes of antiquity. he provides a succinct overview of how liberty has evolved as a political ideal or notion and how it has been exposed to varying degrees of rejection and persecution. but the introduction of democracy has made the power of the rulers different from that of the people, and thus, there has emerged the necessity to identify a limit to the authority of the ruler in order to prevent unwarranted infringement by the rulers on the liberty of the people. now that it has been established that the so-called majority rule is actually the people ruling among themselves, it presents another issue known as "the tyranny of the majority." it is indeed a fact that of all systems of government, the democratic system in our days seems to be the fairest in terms of the status of individual liberty and the extent of the power of the ruler. but tragically enough, its practice does not totally therefore, the presence of democracy does not end injustice in a society. even if 'the people' decide the laws, it is nevertheless possible for the majority to enact policies that oppress or otherwise discriminate against the minority. because of this, mill sees the rule of the majority as a demon or an evil that all of us should avoid. the formal frameworks of a law's enactment or the manner of government policy are two ways that the tyranny of the majority may manifest itself. thus, in his book on liberty, mill emphasizes two key ideas that need to be taken into consideration in order to advance civilization: (i) total freedom of speech and thinking within a certain political system, and (ii) the importance of individual rights. these two fundamentally distinct facets of human life are at the core of mill's attention. as a result, mill said that the fundamental motivation for writing on liberty was to: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 91 "advocate one very simple principle, (which is) entitled to govern absolutely the dealings of society with the individual. “according to this concept, selfprotection is the only reason that humans, either individually or collectively, is justified in interfering with another person's right to pursue their own interests. that protecting others from harm is the only reason that authority may legitimately be used against the will of any member of a civilized community. (mill, 1947: 9) in light of this, it appears appropriate for us to state categorically that mill's essay on liberty is concerned with the issue of the nature and bounds of authority that society can rightfully use over an individual. while determining the limitations of the state's interference with individual liberty as well as the bounds of public opinion as a means of ensuring good citizenship, mill suggests that a significant a m o u n t o f a u t h o r i t y b e r e s e r v e d f o r t h e p e o p l e . his stern warning against the "tyranny of the majority" perfectly captures mill's distinctive preoccupation in socio-political theory. because of this, he claims that "the tyranny of the majority is now generally included among the evils against which society requires to be on its guard" (mill, 1947:4). hence, while there is a constant apprehension of tyranny in every type of governance, institutionalizing democratic processes and values is insufficient as a defense against it. according to mill (mill, 1947:4), "like other tyrannies, the tyranny of the majority...is still vulgarly held in dread, chiefly as operating through the acts of public authority." however, tyranny does not depend on what the government or other political figures do. since society is the one that carries out its own mandate, tyranny may also appear in social activities. therefore, the community engages in "social tyranny" whenever it issues an improper mandate or any mandate at all with which it should not intervene. this constitutes one of the primary causes of the current global crisis. this incorrect mandate may just be given despite having "good intentions" and may not be readily seen to be a bad mandate until a problem threatens and materializes. considering mill recognizes the inevitable presence of tyranny in every type of government run by men, his solution to the issue does not aim to completely remove tyranny from positions of power. mill advocates "protection against all forms of tyranny" as opposed to the total eradication of tyranny. however, aware of the non-exhaustiveness and the implementation of tyranny in social matters, mill identifies the domains in which protection against tyranny is necessary in order to defend liberty and open the door to the establishment of social harmony in the following words: safeguarding against the tyranny of the magistrate alone is insufficient; safeguards must also be in place against the tyranny of the prevailing opinion and feeling; safeguards must be in place against society's propensity to impose its own standards of conduct on those who disagree with them through means other than civil penalties; safeguards must be in place to restrain the growth and, if possible, prevent the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 92 formation of any individuality at odds with its ways; and mandate that a l l characters conform independently (mill, 1947: 44). setting a limit on how much "collective opinion" or the majority may lawfully interfere with the freedom of the individual people in a society is the task of offering a powerful defense against the tyranny of the majority. but where and how will the boundaries be set in human affairs? because "all that makes existence valuable to anyone depends on the enforcement of restraints upon the actions of the people" (mill, 1947: 5), living together in a society, mill recognizes that man, as a moral actor, has to be constrained in his actions. such limits are made feasible by limiting man's freedom in order to control his behavior and ensure that he coexists peacefully with others in society. john stuart mill's "harm principle" is the foundational idea on which we will base our defense of the feasibility of his theory of liberty in the context of positive social interactions and societal harmony. for john stuart mill, the only justification for the state interfering with an individual's rights is to avoid harming others. thus, mill maintained that he developed on liberty with the intention of establishing a single, fundamental concept that would serve as the basis for all future interactions between society and the individual. in accordance with this principle, only self-protection justifies an individual or group of individuals interfering with another individual's or group of individuals' right to pursue their own interests because the only legitimate reason to use authority over an individual or group of individuals against their will is to protect others from harm. more crucially, in mill's view, denying someone their liberty is a tremendous evil. either action or inactivity is used to carry out this deprivation of liberty. mill's concept of liberty might be summed up as follows: (i) everyone should be required to act in a specific way toward other people. (ii) that the goal of this behavior should be to protect the interests of other people. mill's harm principle" and "socio-political relations humans are classified as social and political "animals" and make up the system of society. as a result, the concept of society always implies some form of social interaction. they become acquainted with the individual's place in society and the fact that accepting membership in a society or state implies accepting corresponding obligations through various political thinkers' theses on the origin, purpose, and nature of society. an individual's vitality needs social and political relationships, which might be friendly or tense. lacks of integration, ethnic dominance, flawed socio-political structures, etc. are some of the causes of the absence of friendly socio-political connections among society's participants. mutual trust and respect for one another's rights to privacy are prerequisites for social integration. in a multiethnic nation like nigeria, the necessity for social integration is particularly crucial. considering that "nigeria is a land of contrasts" (akinyele, 2001: 59), this is the case. nigeria, according to iwuchukwu (2001: 111), is "a confederation of diverse ethnic nationalities, each of which considers itself autonomous, self-conscious, and, to some extent, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 93 independent." the issues of poverty and dominance are additional traits of nigerian society. nigeria is divided into dominant and minority groups while being a diverse nation. the three main ethnic groups that make up the overwhelming majority frequently display a sense of dominance and superiority over the minority ethnic groups, to the point where there are complaints of neglect and marginalization on the part of the latter, particularly given that the former has dominated the political and social scene of the nation since independence. osuji (2018) states that the lack of a single national goal is a result of the leadership ideology being centered on ethnic interests and personal fortune. since its inception, nigeria's government structure has faced several difficulties, the majority of which are the result of ethnic politics and attitudes. in addition to other issues, nigeria has been plagued by a number of ethnic, political, and economic crises (olugbemi & osuji, 2021). there are many different points of view about this. some people attribute this issue to the british government's colonial rule over the country, while others attribute it to poor leadership (bolarinwa & osuji, 2022). as a result, the country has been split along ethnic lines, which has led to inequalities among the populace. the government in nigeria has not given the integration of ethnic minorities, which is a sign of national growth, considerable consideration. according to iwuchukwu (2001), the majority of the actions taken to solve this issue have actually strengthened ethnicity rather than integrated it. nigeria began running a federal system of government in 1954, with three regions established in accordance with the country's three main ethnic groups: the north, southeast, and southwest. this structure was kept after the country gained independence in 1960 until the system was changed in 1963 and the fourth area was separated from the southwestern region. the regions were split into four categories: northern, eastern, western, and mid-western. the republic of biafra, under the leadership of chukwumeka ojukwu, attempted independence from the federal government of nigeria in 1967 as a result of the fight against dominance. in order to pacify the minority, the federal military government further divided nigeria into twelve states. in some ways, this development rectified a glaring territorial imbalance that had been a significant contributor to political instability, but it also left behind the remnants of oppression and suffering that accelerated the pressure and agitation from various ethnic groups for local autonomy. as a result, the federal republic of nigeria started to establish new states: 19 in 1976, 21 in 1987, 30 in 1991, and 36 in 1996. a variety of weak and financially unviable states that serve as conduits for the transfer of federal resources and services to local authorities were created as a result of the creation of states, despite the fact that this appeared to satisfy the demands of its proponents by granting some degree of local autonomy. this crisis was identified by sklar (2002). the relationship between the federal government and its component sections became so strained as a result of this development, which strengthened ethnic awareness (ethnocentrism), that the nation's unity was put in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 94 jeopardy. ethnocentrism is the "view of things in which one's own group is the center of everything and all others are scaled and rated with reference to it," according to w.g. sumner (1940: 13). ethnocentrism manifests itself in society in a variety of forms, including "mythology, condescension, and a double standard of morality in social relations" (noel, 1973: 20). through mythology, the ethnic group relates myths of its tenacity, individuality, and superiority to other ethnic groups. the gang displays haughtiness as they justify their arrogance and treatment of others with contempt. according to becker (1956), the concept of a double standard is a "dual ethnicity" one in which only transactions involving members of the same group are subject to the higher requirements. in-group exploitation, preferential treatment, rejection, or denigration of any out-group is therefore inherent consequences of ethnocentrism. in contrast, "ethnocentrism in itself need not lead to either interethnic or ethnic stratification" (noel, 1973: 21). in actuality, ethnocentrism is a universal quality shared by independent cultures or ethnic groupings. competition between ethnic groups does not adequately explain why there is an ethnic crisis. instead, crises arise when ethnocentrism engages in unhealthy rivalries and competitions in the face of unequal developmental opportunities and capacities, which frequently result in violent agitations, lawlessness, ethnic cleansing, usurpation of power, exploitation, oppression, and a stalling of societal advancement. there will only be two possibilities in such a situation: complete integration or dissolution. people in nigeria, for instance, called for the convening of a sovereign national conference of all ethnic nationalities and other recognized groups to decide the fate of the ethnic groups' continued unity as a result of the problems among them. this essay encourages discussion along the lines of an independent national conference. but the nature of man as a human being needs to be taken more into account. inter-group conflict that is motivated by animosity toward a certain ethnic group is unacceptable. it is common knowledge that igbo people are distinct from yoruba, hausa, tiv, and edo people. while it is also possible for someone to reject supporting a specific move made by their ethnic group, it is not enough to say that they do not belong to any ethnicity. when there is marginalization, as there is in the case of nigeria, interethnic relations might deteriorate. when social integration or interethnic coherence are lacking, this happens. interethnic harmony or integration will, in fact, result in the creation of what babawale (2003a: 66) refers to as "a super-national entity that would be superior to the multiple ethnicities and nationalities that proliferate the nigerian state." it's likely that certain groups lack significant representation, which keeps their voices from being heard. thus, mill cautions us to beware of the tyranny of the majority, which frequently happens when some ethnic groups are not treated equitably in society's affairs. for mill, either government action or inactivity can do harm to minorities. as most of us have seen in the nigerian niger delta region, the government may use action to favor one part or ethnic group over another. the administration may choose to ignore the pleas of the people on issues impacting their affairs by remaining silent. in underdeveloped civilizations, both choices are common, particularly in africa, where the populace is either exploited or igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 95 ignored. mill's theory of liberty may be used to create government policies that do no harm to society in order to provide the foundation for good social relations and peace in these areas. in addition, mill supports tolerance for differing viewpoints. any contemporary administration that is indifferent to the cries of the people, to their desires, and to their citizens' interests is fostering crises. for instance, the federal government of nigeria has been insensitive to public opinion, demonstrating its indifference to people's views and causing harm through inactivity. even after democracy was established, the federal government's sensitivity to people's needs frequently led to catastrophic situations. in particular, ethnic conflicts the lack of political freedom in nigeria contributes to ethnic conflict. according to akinboye (2001: 161) and babawale (2003a: 70), "the ijaw and itsekiri were locked in a protracted and grueling war over the location of warri south local government council" in the niger delta. others in this category include the ife-modakeke conflict in south-west nigeria (babawale, 2003a), the zango-kataf crisis in north-central nigeria, the umuleri and aguleri in nigeria's anambra state, and the tiv-jukun dispute in benue state over local elections. the institutionalization of liberalism, as suggested by mill, is the solution to the issue of ethnic clashes in plural societies. mill advocates freedom of expression and the free development of individuality, which are the necessary ingredients for social harmony and peace in a plural society like nigeria. the existence of violent ethnic militias is a sign of oppression, deprivation, neglect, and a lack of inter-group cohesion or integration, we submit. in accordance with mill, they must refrain from acting in a way that may cause harm to others if we want to guarantee a happy relationship. the freedom of others must thus be considered in all of our social interactions. to john stuart mill, it is wrong to stifle free speech since doing so "robs the human race of its prosperity as well as that of the existing generation; those who dissent from the opinion suffer more than those who hold it." if the view is correct, they are denied the chance to trade in mistake for truth. (mill, 1947: 16). one must keep in mind that expressing one's opinion freely and managing one's thoughts are two very different things. the minority should have the opportunity to voice their ideas. such minority views frequently contain information about their concerns and interests, which, if addressed in a timely manner, can prevent a crisis from erupting. for instance, if the research's theory had been accepted, the niger delta conflicts would have been prevented. if this paper's thesis had been true, the modakeke/ife catastrophe may also have been averted. a conscientious administration that has the requisite infrastructure responds to public agitation before crises become fully developed. this essay urges tolerance of opposing viewpoints in order to maintain social peace and harmony. adopting this idea will undoubtedly eliminate or significantly minimize conflict in relationships between individuals, groups, states, and on a global scale. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 96 mill's harm principle and religious intergroup relations the basis of a harmonious relationship is tolerance. intolerance is the primary cause of the majority of the world's issues today. but one could wonder, "what is intolerance?" there are several solutions to this query. one may respond that it is due to the prejudiced and egotistical nature of man or that some individuals believe they were made superior to everyone else. (for instance, the israelites being the god-chosen race, hitler's assertion that the german race was superior to other races, or the distinction between the white and the black races); or that some people have better physical characteristics than others; or that one way of living is right while all others are wrong; or because of competition for limited resources, etc. all of these reflect poor social interactions that are either driven by greed or ignorance. sometimes, especially if the diversity of society is not taken into account, a social relationship may be built on weak foundations that may breed prejudice. the fourth republic of nigeria constitution (1999), for instance, states in its opening paragraph that: we the people of the federal republic of nigeria having firmly and solemnly resolved: to live in unity and harmony as one indivisible and indissoluble sovereign nation under god dedicated to promotion of inter-african solidarity, world peace, international cooperation and understanding: and to provide for a constitution for the purpose of promoting good government and welfare of all persons in our country on the principles of freedom, equality and justice, and for the purpose of consolidating the unity of our people: do hereby make , enact and give to ourselves the following constitution. normally, one could be tempted to think that this declarative phrase sums up the inhabitants of nigeria's commitment and consent to be governed in accordance with the abovementioned constitution. however, this is far from the truth, since the entire proclamation reveals the hypocrisy of the "founding fathers" of the constitution, therefore setting the groundwork for intolerance. first off, the statement "we the people of the federal republic of nigeria" gives the impression that the constitution was created by every nigerian, but in fact it was prepared and enforced by the military administration without consulting the general populace. consequently, the goal for which the constitution was created, as stated in the statement's second to final paragraph, "for the purpose of promoting good government and the welfare of all persons in our country on the principle of freedom, equality, and justice," is rejected. second, although highlighted in the proclamation, the values of equality and freedom were not taken into consideration when crafting the constitution since not all groups in the nation were represented. third, because nigeria is a multi-religious country with a sizeable proportion of atheists whose views have no place in nigeria, the term "sovereign nation under god" does not accurately describe nigeria's religious diversity in god's honor. crisis situations in nigeria following the inauguration igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 97 of democracy are caused by these and other related issues resulting from poor planning and execution. furthermore, the problem of intolerance among nigerians has not been adequately addressed by the country's government. even nigeria's political actions have in some ways contributed to the growth of sectional differences and the associated intolerance among various segments of nigerian society. for instance, in nigeria's party politics, the leaders have sown the seeds of intolerance. most political parties in nigeria were founded along ethnic lines when the elective concept was introduced to the country's politics in 1922. herbert macaulay established the nndp, or nigerian national democratic party, in 1923. this group was headquartered in lagos. the national council of nigeria and the cameroons (ncnc), under the leadership of dr. nnamdi azikwe, came next in 1944. both the obafemi awolowo-led action group for the yoruba and the ahmadu bello-led northern people's congress (npc), which was headquartered in the north, were established in 1951. since then, nigerian party formations have closely followed this pattern. in fact, some have contended that the country's later political parties are merely evolved versions of the original group of groups that introduced ethnic intolerance to nigerian politics. in sectarian disputes, bigotry manifests itself more severely. religion was supposed to bring about world peace and pleasure, but instead it has divided people, caused conflict, and torn the human race apart. this is due to intolerance toward different religions. in nigeria, fanaticism and fundamentalism are the causes of religious intolerance. momoh describes religious fanaticism as follows: ...the conviction of a follower that his or her own religion is the only one that god favors and, as a result, is superior to all others; as a token of gratitude to god for bestowing this exclusive privilege and superiority upon his or her own religion, the follower is willing to go to any lengths using all methods, whether civilized or primitive, peaceful or violent, to defend or impose their religion on others. a fanatic may not have particularly deep knowledge or understanding of his own faith, incidentally. the fanatic has an external focus (momoh, 2003: 37). according to fayemi (2002), a "born-again" christian president is fueling a rise in christian fundamentalism, which is why sharia is taking root in nigeria. he claims that both fundamentalist muslims and orthodox christians are becoming increasingly concerned about the emergence and spread of pentecostal christianity as a significant social and political force in nigeria. in addition, some people think that christians have now adopted the present administration as their own version of god's government. the issue is that this particular pentecostal movement is virulently hostile to islam and is fanatical and bigoted. in nigeria's muslim community, this has really caused friction. many christians nowadays are more confident and outspoken, and it would seem that this has caused some unease in the muslim community, especially when preachers publicly label igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 98 opponents as "anti-christ and anti-religious" individuals who wish to topple god's appointed kingdom. as stated by momoh (2003), certain nigerian christians and muslims have formal institutionalized platforms through which they appear to stoke the flames of conflict, extremism, intolerance, and prejudice. therefore, he asserts that the jni and the can (northern zone) are nigeria's two primary propagandists for religious prejudice and intolerance. the muslim council is led by fairly tolerant and rational figures who occasionally try to rein in christian excesses. both muslims and christians preach in inflammatory and offensive ways on radio, television, and in public. worse still is the notion of blaring speeches and preaching in mosques and churches, which frequently demonize opponents. religious intolerance is demonstrated at work locations, at home in job situations, in educational settings, and in the majority of human concerns. so what is the answer to this issue? for momoh (1994 and 2003), conversation, tolerance, and peaceful coexistence are preferable to dealing with religious issues. for him as well, tolerance is not the same as toleration (momoh, 2003), but may be found in naretism," which is "the belief that every religion has soul-saving teachings that ought to be spread both formally and informally in order to support a society where there are many different religions. but only a mentality that shuns catastrophes can flourish in serenity. a world order must be established in which nations and national groups are so content with their living conditions that they will not feel compelled to use the desperate expedient of war, as von mises (2001) notes, if peace is not to be disturbed. all incentives for aggression must be removed. according to von mises, the liberal's goal is to establish the social circumstances that will eradicate the causes of war, not to end it by moralizing and preaching. we consider the institutionalization and promotion of tolerance to be one of these requirements. additionally, this supports mill's theory. as a result, there will be harmony in society if religion is seen as a private matter. except in cases when a religion's practice causes harm to others, it is improper for the government of a plural society to get involved in religious affairs. the pursuit of religious harmony is related to mill's stress on free speech, tolerance of disagreement, and the free development of personality. in every social interaction, the ability to objectively see people is crucial because it allows one to recognize the humanity in those they must interact with. negative acts and crises are the outcomes of negative perception. a phenomenological attitude known as "objective perception" promotes judgment free from prejudice and preconception. no religion should be seen as superior in order to prevent crises. in particular, "mill's harm principle" provides remedies for nigeria's religious issues. according to first mill, there should be a distinction between concerns pertaining to private and public affairs. the person enjoys complete freedom over matters that are considered private issues, such as their religious convictions, so long as they do not cause harm to other people. second, mill suggests that in order to assess whether our acts may cause harm to others, we need to consider the repercussions of our decisions in advance. thirdly, any such conduct that endangers others must be under control. ultimately, given that there are several perspectives on the truth, rejecting a view out of hand because it is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 99 presumptively wrong implies that the certainty of that opinion equates to absolute certainty (mill, 1947). therefore, in order to prevent religious crises, tolerance of various religious views is required, especially in multi-religious states. according to mill (1947: 8), "religious freedom has hardly ever been practically realized, except where religious indifference, which dislikes having its peace disturbed by theological quarrels, has added its weight to the scale," as intolerance is "so natural to mankind in whatever they really care about." the unpleasant rivalry between religious sects, organizations, and denominations is a result of the followers' intolerance. it has been said that religion is a "contagious malady" and that only those who are insane can truly comprehend and appreciate the delight that only being crazy can bring. this is due to the fact that everyone looks to be irrational in their conviction, and as they cling to it as the sole truth, those who do not have the same religion as them are viewed as unbelievers, sinners, or outcasts. this is typically one of the reasons for social crises involving religion. this contention, however, does not seek to eradicate religion in the manner of marx and his friends; rather, it promotes tolerance as a necessary precondition for avoiding religious crises of the kind that accompanied the implementation of the shari'a legal system in several northern regions of nigeria. this fundamental requirement is based on tolerance for various religious sects. to achieve this, legislation should forbid any tactics that might incite one faith against another in society. conclusion it is obvious that positive social relationships lead to peace in society, while negative interactions lead to crises. the excessive exercise of freedom, the lack of a means to exercise freedom, and the arbitrary imposition of restrictions on people's freedom in one or more areas of shared interest within that particular society can all be summed up as the causes of unhealthy social relations in that society. for instance, crises are unavoidable when people are denied the economic liberty to which they are entitled or when their political rights are restricted. furthermore, the lack of tolerance among their adherents is what fuels the toxic rivalry amongst religious factions, sects, organizations, and denominations. this is typically one of the reasons for social crises involving religion. instead of destroying religion like marx and his contemporaries did, we want to promote tolerance as a necessity for averting religious crises in society. references akinboye, s.o. (2001). “the matrix of ethnicity and ethno-religious crises in nigeria's nascent democracy” in a.e. eruvbetine (ed.) the humanistic management of pluralism: a formula for development in nigeria, (faculty of arts, university of lagos conference proceedings). akinyele, r.t. (2001). “ethnic militias and national stability in nigeria: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 100 history as tool for managing the problems of cultural pluralism” in a.e. eruvbetine (ed.) the humanistic management of pluralism: a formula for development in nigeria, (faculty of arts, university of lagos conference proceedings). babawale, t. (2003)a,.“globalization, conflicts and the challenges of nationhood in nigeria” in journal of contemporary studies (jcs), vol. 1, no. 3. babawale, t. (ed.) (2003)b. urban violence, ethnic militias and the challenge of democratic consolidation in nigeria. malthouse press limited. bolarinwa, o.f.o and osuji, u. c (2022) “political elitism in nigeria: challenges, threats and the future of citizenship” in open journal of philosophy, 12, 105 122, http://doi.org/10.4236/ojpp.2022.121007 fayemi, j.k. (2002). “deepening democracy to prevent conflict in nigeria: structural issues in constitutional governance in nigeria: unity, governance, law, and conflict, cambridge: john f. kennedy school of government). h.p. (1956). man in reciprocity. praeger. iwuchukwu, i. (2001). “integrating ethnic minorities in nigeria for national development: ola rotimi's experiment in if and hopes of the living dead” in a.e. eruvbetine (ed.) the humanistic management of pluralism: a formula for development in nigeria, (faculty of arts, university of lagos conference proceedings). momoh, c.s. et. al.(eds.). (1988). nigerian studies in religious tolerance, vol. i, (religious & their doctrines), lagos: cbaac & nareto. ______________________ (1988). nigerian studies in religious tolerance, vol. ii, (religion and morality). cbaac & naret mill, j. s. (1860). on liberty. harvard classics volume 25 (1909). p.f. collier & son. http://www.constitution.org/jsm/liberty.htm mill, j. s. (1947). on liberty, edited by alburey castell. appleton-century crofts, inc. mill, j.s. (1971). autobiography, edited by j. stillinger. clarendon press. noel, d.l. (1973). “the theory of the origin of ethnic stratification” in d.e. gelfand and r.d. lee, ethnic conflict and power: a cross-national perspective. john wiley & sons. olugbemi, victoria k, & osuji, ucheoma c., (2021), “gender equality and national development: a historical viewpoint” sapientia global journal of arts, humanities and developmental studies (sgojahds), 4(2. osuji, u. c., (2018), “evolving authenticity: a logical inquest from trado cultural to social-political ideals” in scientia: plasu journal of general studies, 1, issues 148 157. sumner, w.g. (1940). folkways, boston: cinn. von mises, l. (2001). “liberal foreign policy” in liberalism, (http://www.mises.org). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 105 dialectics of scientific progress in karl popper, thomas kuhn, paul feyerabend and imre lakotos: a hermeneutic study charles kosolu onebunne, phd department of philosophy, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka ck.onebunne@unizik.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.10003.90409 abstract from time immemorial, science and scientific theories have been in progress. this is so because since the creation of the universe mankind has been faced with multifaceted problems that require authentic solutions. to this end, many theories have kept on springing up in order to proffer solutions to those problems. put in another way, so many theories have been expounded, all in a bid to take care of problems of mankind. however, these theories have given rise to such questions as; how do we account for scientific theories? how do we account for the truth and certainty of these theories? what method leads to scientific progress? in their various philosophies of science, karl popper, thomas kuhn, paul feyerabend and imre lakatos gave their account of the part to scientific progress. this study employs the method of hermeneutics to explore the dialectical nature of those various accounts of scientific progress. the study highlights that the part to scientific progress is not a one way traffic endeavor; it involves some forms of dialectics in the sense that theories are contradicted and opposed. this contradiction and opposition in turn bring out the best in such theories or even give rise to a new superior theory. this study recommends that scientists and seekers of knowledge should equip themselves with the knowledge of the dialectical nature of science. when this is done, science would no doubt be immune from conventionalism and stereotypes. keywords: science, dialectics, scientific progress introduction from time immemorial, science and scientific theories have been in progress. this is so because since the creation of the universe mankind has been faced with multifaceted problems that require authentic solutions. to this end, many theories have kept on springing up in order to proffer solutions to those problems. put in another way, so many discoveries have been made, all in a bid to take care of problems of mankind. however, these discoveries have given rise to such problems as; how do we account for scientific discoveries?, what method leads to scientific discoveries? how do we account for the truth and certainty of these discoveries? owing to the above questions, some answers have emerged by way of ideologies. in the first instance, “instrumentalists deny that scientific theories about unobservable can be accepted as 1 the description of an observable world” . this implies that for them, the world is an experiential world so that any description of it must be experimental too. in their own postulation, the realists have it that “science sets out to explain and understand nature so that theoretical entities are 2postulated in a true scientific theory to explain that observable phenomena are real” . on their own part, the relativists submit that “there is no objective truth; truth depends on the community 3that claims it” . this relativistic conception is rather problematic because it implies that there is no objective body of science. all these are in a bid to arrive at an organized body of knowledge called science. in this regard some philosophers of science believe that there is a method to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 106 achieving that. there are some philosophers that projected induction as the road to scientific progress. that is to say that scientific hypotheses, theories and laws are arrived at by means of induction. but induction has its problem; the problem of justifying the inductive inference from the observed to the unobserved. this is the problem of hasty conclusion. however, induction is not seen as method in the part of scientific progress by karl popper, thomas kuhn, paul feyerabend and imre lakatos. these philosophers hold that the part to scientific progress is dialectic in nature. thus, the purpose of this study is to demonstrate that what is regarded as science has both a process and a method that gradually leads to scientific law. this process begins by scientific hypothesis which later progresses to scientific theory and finally culminates in scientific law. hermeneutics of dialectics in scientific progress in karl popper, thomas kuhn, paul feyerabend and imre lakotos karl popper karl popper having criticized and rejected logical positivism expounded an entirely new system of demarcating science from other forms of intellectual enquiry. to be sure, popper's notion of science is no doubt prescriptive in the sense that it portrays a method that scientific endeavours should follow. this method is falsification. popper asserted that falsification would purify science from prejudice, speculation, assumptions and superstitions which are inherent features of non-science. so for popper, for any hypothesis to assume a scientific status, it must be subjected to falsification. it is in the light of this that popper presents falsification as a criterion for demarcating science from non-science. this way science has to aim at laws that are empirically testable and capable of surviving repeated attempts aimed at falsifying them. corroborating this position, antti salovaara and jani merikwi opine that: the best theories are those that appear easy to falsify (e.g ones that provide surprising explanation or predictions) yet gain corroborating evidence, that is, survive repeated empirical attempts that seek to refute them. this definition was also popper's answer to demarcation problem: theories should be falsifiable – formulated in a manner that provides a means for empirical examination that may lead to the theory's refutation. 4unfalsifiable claims, in turn, would not be considered scientific. popper's falsification simply entails that good theories make bold and empirically testable claims that have the capability of surviving repeated attempts of falsification. thus, according to karl popper “scientific progress requires provisional falsifiable theories and their refutation that show 5where the existing theories need to be corrected”. thus, popper's demarcation criterion should not be seen in its own sake. rather it should be seen not just as an endeavor that demarcates science from non-science but more as an endeavor that seeks to demonstrate the progressive character of science. as it were, popper's falsification opened a new vista towards understanding scientific progress. this is so because “scientific progress, following the falsificationist method, emerges from propositions of theories, their refutations, and replacement with corrected theories that better 6explain the phenomena of interest. therefore, falsification for popper, is a fecund method in science in that it aids the growth of knowledge as well as aids scientists improve on their theories by way of observing the theories that are lacking the scientific character. while commenting on popper's falsification, magee outlines its procedure this way: 1. problem (usually rebuff to existing theory or expectation), 2. proposed solution, in other words a new theory, 3. deduction of testable propositions from the new theory, 4. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 107 tests, i.e attempted refutations by, among other things (but not only among other things), 7observations and experiment, 5. preference established between competing theories. for him, science progresses by means of conjectures and refutations; we make bold conjectures that are as testable as possible and unfailingly find them wanting so that they are refuted and new conjectures are formulated. this way, hypotheses are counted as scientific only if they are falsifiable. that is why popper explicates that “in science, more often than not, scientists put forward statements and conduct step by step testing. thus, in the field of empirical sciences, more particularly, he (the scientist) constructs hypotheses or systems of theories, and tests them 8 against experience by observation and experiment.” thomas kuhn in his the structure of scientific revolutions, kuhn argues that popper's characterization of science only applies to extraordinary science and never to normal science. this implies that scientists may try to employ falsification of theories during the research period of extraordinary sciences and not during the research period of normal science. he posits that “normal science 9accounts for the overwhelming majority of the work done in basic science”. thus, kuhn's supposition is that to be scientific is to engage in normal science. he stresses this point when he posited that “finally, and this is for now my main point, a careful look at the scientific enterprise suggests that it is normal science, in which sir karl's sort of testing does not occurs, rather than 10 extraordinary science which most nearly distinguishes science from other enterprises.” kuhn introduced his idea of paradigm change and holds that normal science goes for what scientists do when a paradigm would have been established, and it is followed by extraordinary science. thus, in the philosophy of kuhn, three concepts stand out, namely; paradigm, normal science and extraordinary science. he defines paradigm as “the entire constellation of beliefs, 11 values, techniques and so on shared by the members of a given community”. kuhn went further to speak of normal science as a puzzle – solving enterprise. he views normal science as an enterprise that seeks to solve a puzzle (problem) in the field of knowledge. here it is worthy of mention that what kuhn refers to as “normal science' is what popper strictly calls “science” as against pseudo-science. just as popper holds that there is a criterion of progress in science, thomas kuhn equally posits that progress in science does not involve a simple line that leads to the truth. he therefore, propose that it involves more progress away from less adequate conceptions to more and better conceptions of the world. this way, new theories are built on previous ones. as a matter of importance, kuhn's proposition is that scientific progress comes by way of revolution. kuhn cited 'the copernican revolution' as an example of revolution in science. for him, revolution comes through a paradigm shift. in the philosophy of kuhn, a paradigm could be regarded as an exemplar, which is the very best among examples. it can also mean a model, a pattern and a template. examples of such paradigms are scientific laws, theories, applications, experiments, etc. kuhn explains that in the progress of science, each paradigm is the first port of call before a superior one takes over. paul feyerabend another important philosopher in this philosophical voyage is paul feyerabend. in his book – against method, he launched an intellectual attack on the rationalist account of scientific method which encourages the search for a system of rules that should guide scientists in generating scientific theories. feyerabend argues that science does not have a specific method so that any tradition that can actually lead to knowledge should be encouraged and adopted in science. to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 108 further buttress his position, he contends that there should be proliferation of theories as a means of making progress in science. little wonder he posits that “variety of opinions is necessary for 12 objective knowledge” for feyerabend, relying on method inhibits and obstructs progress in science. feyerabend, like popper, rejected induction as a method in science on the grounds that “induction is insufficient because it is bound to eliminate ideas simply because they do not fit into the framework of some older cosmology, but proliferation of theories leads to development of 13 counter induction which is both a fact and is needed much more in the game of science”. feyerabend also upholds the same view as popper that the task of science is to give us a correct account of the world. recall that popper calls it satisfactory explanation about the world. suffice it to say therefore, that popper and feyerabend argue that science has an aim and a goal which is to provide a correct account or satisfactory explanation about the world. however, there is a point of divergence in popper's and feyerabend's account of science. while popper expounded the method of falsification, feyerabend, on his own part accounts for methodlessness in science. rather, he proposed 'subjective wishes' of individuals as a way forward for growth and progress in science. according to him, it is these 'subjective wishes' that makes it possible for different individuals to exhibit freedom in the enterprise of science. an interesting thing in the point of divergence between popper and feyerabend is also the point of convergence between them; a critical and an analytic look at the 'subjective wish' of feyerabend reveals a point of confluence with popper's notion of conjecture. in popper's conjecture; the individual has freedom to hazard a guess. thus, at the level of conjecture, science is not yet born just as it is with 'subjective wish' of feyerabend. this simply goes to suggest that in the position of popper, science comes to being when conjecture assumes an objective status. in a similar fashion, in the position of feyerabend, science is born when 'subjective wish' translates to objectivity. imre lakatos imre lakatos knowingly or unknowingly developed popper's idea of falsification. in his philosophy, he demonstrated how popper's falsificationism has actually contributed in the history of science and philosophy of science. lakatos projected what could be regarded as 'sophiscated falsification' whereby series of theories can combine and over time mature into a better theory. he called it research programmes. it is interesting to note that although lakatos did not totally agree with popper, he did not as well discard the principle of falsification. instead, he proposed some changes as to how falsification should be adopted. thus he stated: according to my methodology the great achievements are research programmes which can be evaluated in terms of progressive and degenerating problem shifts; and scientific revolutions consists of one research programme superseding (overtaking in progress) another. this methodology offers a new rational reconstruction of science. it is best presented by contrasting it with falsificatism and conventionalism, both of which it 14 borrows essential elements. in his methodology of scientific research programmes; lakatos expressed a somewhat radical view of popper's criterion of demarcation between science and non-science and contends that ' the problems of methodological falsification (popper's falsification) are that we have no means to judge whether the theories of our successive theories decrease or increase and that 15 methodological falsification lacks history of science”. another interesting part of lakatos' methodology of scientific research programmes is his mention of prediction and novel facts. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 109 expatiating on this, wenceslao j. gonzalez states that: prediction appears in lakatos' methodology of scientific research programs in at least three different levels: a) as an important aim of the research programs; b) as a procedure a key method to increase the scientific knowledge both theoretically and empirically; and c) as the way to access the scientific character of the knowledge claims a form of evaluating results. at all these levels he (lakatos) sees a connection between prediction and novel facts….. moreover, the link between prediction of novel facts has an epistemological content which affects the methodological process of evaluating science 16according to the reliability of predictions. lakatos sees prediction as the creativity of the human mind so that there is no limit to what the human mind can create. in making clear his point he holds that “all the research programmes admired have one characteristic in common. they all predict novel facts, facts which had been 17 either undreamt of or have indeed been contradicted by previous rival programmes”. in his subtle analysis and hermeneutic approach to lakatos' position, gonzalez opines that “lakatos ordinarily uses prediction for the theoretical anticipation of a novel fact with a research 18program”. however, lakatos somewhere in his book emphasized that “the novelty of a factual 19 proposition can frequently be seen only after a long period has elapsed”. lakatos went further to criticize the position of logical empiricists on their position that scientific hypotheses follows from the concordance with experimental data. lakatos believes in the primacy of prediction. thus, for him, “new scientific hypotheses are assumed not simply in order to catch up gaps 20between data and theory but in order to predict novel facts”. according to gonzalez, “lakatos' conception considers a research program as degenerating when accommodating known facts, 21 whereas he conceives that a progressive program is one which anticipates new facts”. more still, lakatos posits that when the program ceases to anticipate novel facts, its hard core might have to 22be abandoned.” in the philosophy of lakatos, prediction plays a very vital role in scientific progress and in the interpretation of scientific change. he sees scientific progress or change from point of view of superseding of theories. that is to say that “one research programme supersedes another if it has excess truth content over its rival in the sense that it predicts progressively all that its rival truly 23predicts and some more besides”. from the foregoing, one could see that the position of lakatos is perceived more as a support to popper's position rather than an attack. after all, lakatos submitted that “a research programme is successful if it leads to a progressive problem shift and 24unsuccessful if it leads to a degenerating problem shift”. in similar view, he opines that “without 25 falsificationist research, when faltering the inductivist research only, scientific progress halts”. looking at the above, one sees a great similarity between popper's falsification and lakatos' methodology of scientific research programme. evaluation and conclusion a critical look at the various accounts of scientific progress as expounded by karl popper, thomas kuhn, paul feyerabend and imre lakatos demonstrates that scientific progress takes on a dialectic movement. this is very much observable in the way scientific law is achieved which is from scientific hypothesis to scientific theory and finally to scientific law. hypothesis: ifechi ndianefoo defines hypothesis as “a tentative statement of fact to be subjected 26to further test before it can be accepted as confirmed” . by this very definition, hypothesis in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 110 science is understood to be probationary, which means that it has not been fully worked out or agreed upon. in expatiating upon the nature of hypothesis, ifechi ndianefoo avers that: a hypothesis by its nature occurs accidently and can arise from diverse sources. it may spring from deeper insight, intuition or hunch that ranges from spiritual, philosophical, mathematical to even common sense, for example, the intuition that newton had about 27the gravitational hypothesis which later hardened into the law of gravity . in the long run, hypothesis been a tentative endeavour implies that it gets to be acceptable when it is in line with a well – established fact. on the contrary, a hypothesis becomes false and not to be accepted when it is contrary to an established fact. scientific theory: by its nature, scientific theory is superior to hypothesis but inferior to scientific law. this is so because it is an intermediary between hypothesis and scientific law in the dialectics of scientific growth. scientific theory by definition “is an empirical statement offering 28 explanation of phenomena based on already discovered regularities” . in bringing out the nonfinality nature of scientific theory in the scientific process, the explanation adduced by ifechi ndianefoo comes to mind. he hints that “theories are therefore regulated 'assumptions and explanations' warranted by the observed but only sustained by reason which seeks out the 29relationship between the observed and the hidden which is explained to be related to it” . by this definition, one can understand that the difference between hypothesis and scientific theory is that while the former is purely tentative, the latter is a regulated assumption. scientific law: this could be regarded as the synthesis in the dialectics of scientific process. from the definitions of hypothesis and scientific theory one can rightly observe that this dialectic process originated from hypothesis to scientific theory which finally culminates in the scientific law. in line with this, ifechi ndianefoo states that “scientific laws grow out of observations, concepts 30 and hypothesis; laws generally have more observational status than theory” . he defines scientific law as a “statement of universal facts which has been tested repeatedly and confirmed 31 to reflect facts of the world” . endnotes 1. s. okasha, philosophy of science: a very short introduction, (new york: oxford university press inc., 2002), p. 1. th 2. webster's new world college dictionary, 4 edition, (houghton mifflin harcourt, 2010), p. 522. h�ps://explorable.com/defini�on 3. of science (26/04/19). 4. k.r. popper, the logic of scientific discovery (hove: psychology press, 2002), quoted in n. sefcu, op. cit, p.9. 5. a. salovaara & j. merikivi, “is research progress would benefit from increased falsification of existing theories”, twenty-third conference on information systems (ecis), munster, germany, 2015), p.3. 6. ibid., p.1. 7. ibid., p.3. 8. b. magee, popper, (london: fontana press, 1973), p.56. 9. t.s. kuhn, the structure of scientific revolutions, (chicago: university of chicago press, 1970), p. 4. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 111 10. ibid., p.4 11. ibid., p.175 12. 55 w.h. newton-smith, the rationality of science, (london: routledge &kegan paul, 1981), p.132. 13. ibid. p.137. 14. i. lakatos, “falsification and the method of scientific research programmes”, in i. lakatos & a. musqrave (eds), criticisms and the growth of knowledge, (london: cambridge university press, 1970), p.91. 15. j. warrall & currie, imre lakatos: the methodology of scientific research programmes, philosophical papers, vol. 1, (london: cambridge university press, 1995), p. 110. 16. w.j. gonzalez, “lakatos approach on prediction and novel facts”, theoria, 16 (2001), p. 500. 17. i. lakatos, p. 72 18. w. j. gonzalez, p.501. 19. i. lakatos, p. 69. 20. ibid. p.86. 21. w.j. gonzalez, p. 502. 22. i. lakatos, p. 49. 23. i. lakatos and e.g. zahar, “why copernicus's programme superseded ptolemy's” in r. westman (ed), the copernican achievement, (los angeles: university of california press, 1976), p.179. 24. i. lakatos, p.91. 25. ibid. p.179. 26. t.u. nwala, history and philosophy of science, (nsukka: niger books and publishing company, 1997), p. 18. 27. webster's new encyclopedic dictionary, (springfield: federal street press, 2002). p. 471. 28. t. u. nwala, p. 18. 29. i. ndianefoo, a critical history of philosophy of science, (awka:divine press, 2016), p.17. 30. ibid. 31. ibid., p. 18. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya kant's conception of capital punishment and its implications on nigerian contemporary cultural societies orji, chidi paul, ph.d. department of philosophy, university of agriculture and environmental sciences, umuagwo, imo state paul.orji@uaes.edu.ng & nwagbara, rufus godswill department of philosophy, babcock 'university, ilisan remo, ogun state godswillnwagbara@gmail.com abstract the fact that most societies across the globe agree that breaking the law will have repercussions is an indisputable fact. however, opinions diverge when it comes to determining the proper punishment, particularly for heinous crimes like murder. the capital punishment, also referred to as capital punishment or execution, is one of these variations that have frequently spurred debates and arguments among its supporters and opponents. for heinous crimes, many countries are presently searching for alternatives to the death penalty, like life in prison. the paper makes an effort to analyze the idea of the capital punishment from kant's perspective. the paper uses a analytical method to look at kant's ideas about retribution and his opinions on the death penalty, both of which are acknowledged ethical schools. given that kant had a significant influence on western philosophy, discussed the death penalty extensively, and his theories form the basis of most modern arguments, the researcher focused on his thoughts. we also explore the relevance of kant's philosophy of the capital punishment penalty in contemporary nigeria. in conclusion, it will provide an individual's viewpoint on the subject and go over how to draw conclusions that will help us make better decisions about the use of the capital punishment. keyword: kant, capital punishment, retribution, nigeria introduction human society is governed by moral principles and legal laws that regulate the interactions and behaviors of its members. a principle states that wherever a community is present, an ethico-judicial order needs to be formed, maintained, and encouraged. when lawlessness and criminal activity disdain, violate, and take advantage of order, the state uses punitive measures to bring it back. this further demonstrates the point that there is no punishment in the absence of crime. due to the many roles that various people and schools of thought have assigned to punishment; numerous theories have been formed. they are retaliation, deterrence, and reformation. it is undoubtedly wrong to take another person's life, but it is even truer that the punishment for the offense should be appropriate. the capital punishment is a legitimate punishment that encourages crime retaliation and moral disgrace for those who take human life. it also serves to keep society's worst offenders from committing new crimes and to bring justice to the victims whose lives were taken without warning. capital punishment or the death penalty, have been used for many years dating back in history for millennia. being used as punishment for wrongdoings that seemed fit for criminals that have done inconceivable acts. nowadays in the modern area, capital punishment is only reserved for certain specific crimes with the most common being murder and terrorism and in some countries, even extending the crimes ranging from igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.21646.33605 110 adultery to drug trafficking. throughout the years, public opinion about the capital punishment seemed to be on the fence, probably depending on the situation or crime. for crimes that were too severe that it was felt that a sentence of life to jail wasn't enough, it was assumed the best course of action would be the death penalty, however on the other hand, people have been questioning that if this punishment is a violation of a person's right to life. a person's right to life is a moral belief that every person has the right to live and should not be killed by another person or in this case, the government. such is the same mentality, for example, when it comes to another contentious issue being the abortion of an unborn baby. whether it was right for a mother to abort her child if she was a victim of rape when the unborn baby has been gifted the chance of life. these issues have changed drastically over the years pertaining to public opinion and have garnered vast opinions changing different laws, how it should be performed, etc. kant's philosophy pertains to these issues, for kant believes in equality in terms of crimes. the purpose of this essay is an exposition of kant's ideas regarding the capital punishment. the capital punishment is linked to the crime by "the law of retribution," the old maxim lex talionis, which is based on "the principle of equality." murderers must die for their crimes, and social repercussions are completely irrelevant. kant is a prime example of pure retributivism when it comes to the death penalty. kant's opinions on the capital punishment seem highly ironic given that the majority of his theories and beliefs center on an individual's behavior and character, specifically on their ability to distinguish between right and wrong and under what circumstances. however, his belief in good morality also makes sense, as people must strive toward it in order to achieve that "good will." since doing what is right can lead to achieving this, as it is the morally correct thing to do. if we decide to do anything different, we are essentially heading down the incorrect route, and the main cause of this is our personality or the decision we made. as a result, there will be consequences. kant's views on capital punishment kant presents what is arguably the clearest (if not the purest) explanation of the retributive theory of punishment. in a nutshell, the premise is straightforward: punishing someone for practical reasons is wrong. punishment by law must always be an answer to guilt. the individual being punished is harmed; their humanity has not been honored, if the main goal of the punishment is to prevent others, to safeguard society, or to set an example. as a result, punishment must always be meted out in response to guilt. however, kant effectively goes one step further, suggesting that punishment for the guilty must occur in order to uphold justice and equality, which are the only legitimate pillars of the law. this reading seems to support both of these ideas. the guiding idea when choosing a penalty is equality. kant employs a simile. according to stairs (1992:6), the equality principle is the means by which the justice scale's pointer is made to incline equally to both sides. kant's explanation of this involves two concepts, according to stairs. a common notion is "an eye for an eye." the severity of a wrongdoer's punishment should be determined by the evil that they have caused. kant notes that, for example, we do not have to demand that those who are abused continue to be abused. all that has to happen is that the pains the victim experiences must be equal to the pain the offender experiences. that's one aspect of the right to retaliation, or jus talionis. the second component is the conundrum expressed in a quote such as "if you steal from another, you steal from yourself" (stairs, 1992:6). the idea here is that thieves generally undermine the security of property by taking it. their motivation would jeopardize their own property if it were applied to everyone. as with the last example, those who defame others undermine their own reputations because they live igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 111 by a rule that, if applied to everyone, would allow anyone to defame anyone, including themselves. the relationship between this and the right to retaliation appears to be this: it demonstrates that, for example, the wrong of stealing is the kind that, should his maxim be applied universally, the thief would experience personally. that demonstrates why it is especially fitting that he be punished by having his possessions taken away. it draws the proper moral conclusion about the relationship between crime and punishment. how this leads to the conclusion that the penalty must be commensurate with the crime is less obvious. we appear to rely on metaphor in this situation: justice has not been done and something is out of balance if the criminal is not punished. regarding the death penalty specifically, we see that kant believes it to be both lawful and necessary in cases of murder. according to stairs (1992:6), the only punishment that is appropriate for the crime of killing someone else is the murderer's execution. the execution of the murderer is the only thing that is commensurate with the crime of killing another person. in fact, he tells us, "the last murder lying in prison ought to be executed" before the society disintegrates itself if it had murderers on death row and was about to collapse. why? for two reasons: (1) "that blood guiltiness may not remain upon the people," and "that everyone may realize the desert of his deeds" (query: what does this mean in simple english?). kant continues, saying that "if not, they might all be seen as participants in the murder as a public violation of justice" (stairs, 1992:7). it is debatable to what extent the retribution principle is applicable. let's say a murderer subjected his victim to excruciating torment before killing him. it would appear that the law talionis leads us to the conclusion that the murderer ought to suffer torture before being put to death. in reality, some people really think this. however, we would much rather not have these individuals in positions of authority or close to my kids. individuals that take such a philosophy seriously might be able to adhere to it consistently. however, one believes they lack a proper feeling of horror. it is inhumane to torture. torturers are displaying their inhumanity to us. however, by acting in their manner, even in retribution, we descend to their level and allow the very evil to taint our morality. it is noteworthy that kant acknowledged this broad point in effect. he is adamant about the death penalty for murderers. but he writes (stairs, 1992:7), referring to the convicted individual. as stairs notes, it's unclear exactly what kant intends by this. however, the basic premise seems to be rather obvious: even a murderer deserves some dignity because they are still human beings and have value in and of themselves. penalties that disregard the humanity of the offender are morally repugnant. they are blatant, plain retaliation; they are not justice. furthermore, it would be incorrect to conflate revenge with kant's definition of "retribution". retaliation instincts are natural, as anyone who has spent time with small children will attest, as is the tendency to take things that we desire but do not legally belong to us. however, morality demands that we transcend our basic instincts. that's why leading a moral life can be challenging. furthermore, morality demands that we recognize the other person's humanity when it comes to punishment. inexperienced eyes may think that this is not conceivable (stairs, 1992:7). it would not be proper to punish the criminal by putting him through the same process, as kant would (or should, in all consistency) insist. we do not have the right to deprive the criminal of his humanity only because he did not respect the humanity of his victims. if this is the case, however, one may ask how the death penalty might be justified. the state assumes the role of taking a murderer's humanity away from him in the most severe manner possible by executing him. thus, it is reasonable to wonder if the death sentence could actually be allowed under a legal system that truly takes the categorical imperative seriously. why is execution still a legal form of punishment if psychosurgery igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 112 and torture are not? (stairs, 1992:7). an exposition of kant's conception of capital punishment for the classical school of criminology, deterrence-based public policy, abolitionism regarding the death sentence, and liberal notions of legality and the rule of law, beccaria's on crimes and punishments has served as a stand-in throughout the ages (harcourt, 2013:2). according to beccaria, the use of punishment is only permissible when it is absolutely required to protect the common good. as beccaria states, "experience shows that the common run of men does not accept stable principles of conduct," therefore in this sense it is an evil that is necessary insofar as it is the only means of controlling the passions (harcourt, 2013:2). beyond what is strictly required to restrain men, every punishment is "tyrannous": "any punishment that goes beyond the need to preserve this bond is unjust by its very nature" (harcourt, 2013:8). yet, beccaria maintains that the only true measure of criminality is the harm done to the country, so those who think that the true measure of criminality is the malefactor's intention are mistaken (harcourt, 2013:8–9). punishment must also be commensurate with the harm caused by the criminal offense, and beccaria measures harm by the harm to society rather than the offender's evil intent. based on these arguments, beccaria argues that the appropriate severity of punishment is just that which is required to stop similar crimes from happening in the future—what we would now refer to as "specific deterrence" of a specific offender from committing crimes in the future and "general deterrence" of other potential offenders. beccaria underscores that the goal of punishment is not to go back and repair a crime that has already been committed. beccaria states that one cannot "undo what has been done and turn back the clock" with the lamentations of a wretch (harcourt, 2013:8). as a result, the sovereign's ability to punish others is severely limited. in his work, beccaria incorporates a limiting concept that can be summarized as follows: "to be effective, a punishment must cause more harm than good to the offender." the computation of this balance must also take this into account. anything beyond this is tyrannous since it is unnecessary (harcourt, 2013:9). this restriction on punishment introduces a potent dose of proportionality into the analysisa defining and defining quality of beccaria's work. the creation of a "lasting association in the human mind between the two ideas crime and punishment" is what guarantees the appropriate operation of punishment (harcourt, 2013:9). beccaria gives proportionality a retributive quality while maintaining a utilitarian lineage. as beccaria states, "the punishment should, as far as possible, fit the nature of the crime;" this "serves admirably to draw even closer the important connection between a misdeed and its punishment" (harcourt, 2013:9). beccaria contends that there should be a "fit" between the crime and its punishment and that this fit is necessary to cement the association. as harcourt puts it: beccaria's treatise gained notoriety largely because to his early opposition to the death punishment. once more, his argument sounded like a social contract: people only gave the sovereign the barest minimum of freedom in order to ensure security, and this could never include the sovereign's authority to kill a subject. not a tiny amount of freedom, but life itself is the greatest good of all. beccaria contended that giving this prerogative to the sovereign would be absurd. "whoever gave others permission to kill him did so voluntarily?" (harcourt, 2013:12). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 113 beccaria argued that if men do not even have the right to commit suicide, how could they grant another person the authority to execute them as a kind of punishment? beccaria argued that the death sentence belonged in the province of war, which has its own set of requirements and purposes, rather than the realm of the right and just. but even in that area, beccaria maintained that the death penalty was neither required nor beneficial. not required as more effective and frightening than the sudden shock of death are drawn-out penalties like life in prison or slavery: the powerful and often repeated thought that i, too, would be reduced to such a gloomy and pitiful state if i do comparable acts is far more compelling than the idea of death, which men always perceive as nebulous and distant (harcourt, 2013:12). bentham supported beccaria's position and even went so far as to say that beccaria had covered all the ground that needed to be covered. bentham stated that "one will be inclined to adopt the opinion of beccariathat it ought to be disusedthe more attention one gives to the punishment of death." his book covers this subject matter in such a skillful way that treating it after him may be unnecessary (harcourt, 2013:12). hegel and kant, on the other hand, both severely criticize beccaria's position. kant accused beccaria in the metaphysics of morals of "pure sophistry and distortion of the principles of right." kant maintained that the right to the death penalty was a fundamental component of his retributive theory of punishment and the concept of lex talionis (harcourt, 2013:12). though there was no empirical support for beccaria's main arguments against the death penaltythat is, that life sentences are a more effective deterrent than capital punishment both he and bentham would have followed their gut feelings and opposed the death penalty regardless. beccaria's arguments were based on facts rather than theory. on the other hand, their heirs at the university of chicago, gary becker and richard posner, would voice opposing intuitions and support the death penalty more than two centuries later, still in an empirical vacuum (harcourt, 2013:13). in that 1764 article, beccaria attempted to calculate the possible amount of contraband that a merchant would need to smuggle in order to break eventhat is, to keep the same amount of capital in his merchandisegiven various tariff rates imposed by the sovereign authorities and the likelihood that he would lose some of his contraband. in essence, beccaria was attempting to determine for the sovereign how to set the tariff at the most beneficial level in order to optimize the treasury's return. beccaria had a significant impact on the theoretical framework of the modern economic approach to crime and punishment that was pioneered in the mid-1900s by academics like richard posner in law and gary becker in economics at the university of chicago. "we are trying to determine how much a merchant ought to defraud the king's right, in terms of the value of any given commodity, such that, even if he loses the rest, he ends up with the same amount of capital as before," beccaria said (harcourt, 2013:14). the foundation of the contemporary economic model of crime is the theory put forth by beccaria and bentham, which holds that people act in their own best interests by attempting to avoid suffering and pursue pleasure, and that people maximize their overall happiness or utility by selecting opportunities that best suit their preferences (harcourt, 2013:14). beccaria attacked the common excuses for punishment while simultaneously criticizing the modern customs he was acquainted with. beccaria's opinions were sharply at odds with those who opposed the implementation of governmental punishment across europe based on the notions of public wrath and retribution (draper, 2000:180). in the name of punishment, the offender's body was subjected to a long list of cruelties, including limbs seared by boiling sulfur, flesh torn with red-hot pincers, and bodies igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 114 torturously dissected and burned (draper, 2000:180). these acts were the consequence of penal ideas that required the state to take bitter revenge. the customs of torture by judges and the necessary exaggerations in the imposition of death highlighted the widespread belief that punishment is the result of sin's expiration. such violent excesses demonstrated the state's desire to deprive criminals of their individual human dignity piece by physical piece while also exalting the sovereign authority's supreme power. above all, people were confined for the longest durations of time possible in the most severe ways imaginable by the approved court authority, negating any notion of a natural or human right, not even to self-defense. beccaria protested against this combined idea, believing it to consist mostly of "premeditated pomp and slow tortures" (draper, 2000:181). such acts of severe violence have no legitimacy in beccaria's mind. a significant portion of the appeal of his little work stemmed from the way it fundamentally challenged these conventional notions. regarded by many as "the protest of evident justice and humanity against an archaic, cruel and repressive system," on crimes and punishments remains relevant today. some, on the other hand, have been harsher, denouncing the awestruck iconoclasm of his so-called "enlightened" ideology. therefore, beccaria's guiding principles were that punishment should always aim to deter future crimes, that this implied a complete separation of crime from ideas of sin, and that the value of punishment must be evaluated by weighing the harm an offense causes to society as well as its potential to prevent future crimes of a similar nature. the notion that "the greatest happiness shared among the greater number" should be the goal of all society (draper, 2000:181). beccaria offered a contractarian perspective on civic organization as well. he claimed that everyone should be treated equally under the law, that every person had inherent rights, and that signing a contract did not give one's permission to impose the death sentence or torture in court. the standards for punishment were set so that, in the process of deterring, the human decency of both the guilty and the innocent parties who witnessed their penalties should be honored (draper, 2000:181). social and political theories were easily disseminated throughout eighteenth-century europe thanks to the ease international transfer of ideas. it is therefore not surprising that the english study of punishment was closely related to discussions on the continent. beccaria's theories were swiftly and extensively adopted into the english penal theory discourse. as people from all political persuasions welcomed beccaria's ideals for advancement, it is difficult to unravel the trajectory of his influence given how quickly he became the leading authority on reformist thought (draper, 2000:182). on crimes and punishments met with a quick and generally positive welcome in england, as it did throughout the european continent. the most notable 1760s acceptance of his ideas was in william blackstone's writings, which directly cited beccaria in his fourth and last book of commentaries on the laws of england, so endorsing a number of his positions. but while beccaria's inclusion in blackstone's writings undoubtedly shows how deeply his views had permeated the english elite, it does not follow that all of beccaria's core beliefs were adopted. it has actually been argued that the use and exaltation of beccaria in england was misleading in certain quarters, with significant positions highlighting his contractarian, rights-based protection for individuals going unmentioned and much emphasis on his early utilitarianism (draper, 2000:182). a debate of beccaria's, or beccarian-inspired, theories of punishment may be found starting in the late 1700s and going on very much in the same direction until 1770. the main argument raised in these public debates is that, although deterrence was undoubtedly the goal, there were a number of elements of the english penal system that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 115 were widely seen as being defective and in urgent need of reform. specifically, there was less evidence to bolster the claim that beccaria's theory was reflected in common english practice on matters like leniency, equality before the law, certainty, and celerity despite the fact that the english penal system clearly aimed to deter, it did so in a manner very different from that proposed by beccaria, and the enthusiastic reception his little book received serves as a vivid example of how dissatisfied people were with the way punishment was applied in england (draper, 2000:184). retributivist theory of punishment the retributivist view of punishment argues that only those who have broken the law should be punished. as such, it can never be used to support the punishment of an innocent person. furthermore, punishing just those who merit it is justified by retributivism. this means, first and foremost, that everyone who deserves punishment needs to receive it. people of this kind will not get what they can be called to "deserve" if we do not punish them. second, this viewpoint holds that the seriousness of the criminal offense these people committed should be reflected in the length of the sentence they receive. third, the value of this offense comes from the criminal's own actions alone, not from outside sources. retributivist theories thus support the imposition of penalties on deserving individuals commensurate with the seriousness of the criminal's own act, as established by this act: "the deed brings its own retribution with it" (brooks, 2002:2). this interpretation of retributivism is neither new nor debatable. retributivism is actually "a very straightforward theory of punishment," which contends that "we are justified in punishing because and only because offenders deserve it." it may surprise us, given this widely held view of retributivism, how frequently philosophers and theorists attempt to offer a "retributivist" theory of punishment that is, in reality, internally incompatible with the defining characteristics of retributivism (brooks, 2002:2-3). let us first acknowledge that, in strict terms, a retributivist theory of punishment only supports the punishment of all offenses. retributivism is incompatible with the idea that any criminal should go unpunished for their actions; everyone who commits a crime deserves to be held accountable. therefore, pardons and forgiveness without punishment are not ideas that retributivists can consistently support. this is not to argue, for instance, that pardons in and of themselves are always inappropriate. rather, my contention is that retributivism cannot be entirely reconciled with any theory of punishment that endorses pardons. one of the most defining characteristics of retributivist penalties is the concept of "desert," which holds that all offenders should be punished. everyone who commits a crime must be punished since, by doing so, they earn the right to be punished and acquire punishable desert. a pardon, sometimes known as an act of clemency, spares someone who merits punishment. because all criminals possess desert, retributivists must punish all criminals (brooks, 2002:3). of course, the idea of the desert (and accountability). retributivists need to insist that we exercise appropriate responsibility. we cannot own the desert if we are not. we only punish those who deserve it. it is impossible to apply retributivism if there are no such people. however, there are a few fundamental points we might make about what a retributivist understanding of the desert has to include. first, a person is only considered deserving of punishment if she has committed a crime. secondly, an individual who violates the law is not only entitled to a general penalty but also a specific type of punishment, namely one that is commensurate with the seriousness of the offense committed. then, retributivism would not support punishing someone for any reason other than that they are deserving of punishment. furthermore, penalties are meted out to those who merit them, at least in part. desert, then, is a prerequisite for all igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 116 retributivist penalties, both necessary and sufficient. eventually, the only similarity between a crime and its punishment is their worth. this does not negate the possibility of the death sentence being a fair punishment for murderers (brooks, 2004: 188). if capital punishment is to be supported by retributivism in any situation, it must be justified only as a "value" equivalency and not as "an eye for an eye." because of this, numerous punishments might be suitable for a single crime. the theory of retributivism rejects the idea that there is a single, acceptable form of punishment. rather, their contention is that punishment must be meted out according to a single, unchanging value. if two different punishments are applied equally, then both may be justifiably imposed. the desert is used by retributivism in a very personal way (brooks, 2004: 188). it is strictly incorrect to state, as some theorists have that “the production of good consequences is an insufficient basis for determining” retributivist punishment. this is because consequences serve no purpose other than to be an insufficient basis for determining punishment. with regard to retributivist views, repercussions have no place at all since they can only happen after a crime is committed. this is especially true if the theory maintains that a person may be legitimately punished for committing a crime alone. yes, it is true that a criminal conduct that merits punishment could have unintended or recognized repercussions. yet as they are not a component of the act itself, repercussions cannot, strictly speaking, be included in retributivist theories. just an individual's desert matters. not our opinions of her desert or the fallout from punishing a worthy individual to the extent that she merits. the idea that punishment serves as a means of expressive communication between the offender and his community is not entirely compatible with retributivism (brooks, 2004: 188). the issue here is that retributivist punishment is only acceptable when the offender merits it, not when it satisfies the expectations of other people. our assessment of what the offender "deserves" is not always retributivist as we cannot ensure that the value of our condemnation will match what the offender "deserves." there is an associated issue. expressivist ideas and perspectives on punishment as a kind of communication demand that we make a reasonably certain assessment of a criminal's desert. this seems like a challenging, if not impossible, task: it requires us to read other people's brains in order to determine exactly what their own deliberate, guilty tendencies were at a particular historical moment. the true value of their desert may be somewhat different from our perception of their dispositions. to the extent that punishment deviates from its true value, it is unreasonable. furthermore, this broad perspective on punishment makes the assumption that there is a gold standard for what constitutes "desert" that we can evaluate. any criminal has access to desert. more deserts exist in certain places than others. generally speaking, a criminal's desert increases with his or her degree of moral responsibility or culpability for the offense. the severity of a criminal's punishment is determined by their desert level. we must be able to ascertain a criminal's desert, or his moral responsibility for a criminal conduct, before we can choose how to punish them. the theory is unrealistic and will fail if we are unable to arrive at these conclusions. there is one more concern, though. finding the ethically responsible course of action becomes significantly more difficult if there are multiple perspectives on morality and what it requires of us. it's possible that one moral perspective favors a particular type of behavior over another. holding individuals to comparable, if not identical, standards would seem right. reward systems based on moral desert theory may approach similar instances differently if there were multiple moral theories. criminal desert determinations may not be based on the deliberate actions of offenders, but rather on the standard that is applied. in order to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 117 prevent this concern, we can only have one moral standard. nonetheless, various peoples do not arbitrarily adhere to disparate lifestyles and moral standards in this day and age of value pluralism. retributivism sticks to precisely such a gold standard of morality, and we cannot embrace a theory like it unless we are willing to argue that one moral perspective is superior to others (and that one moral perspective can be used as a gold standard for determining penalties) (bennett, 2002:153). it is believed that retributivist penalties "fit" with crimes. there are varying opinions about how retributivism does this. retributivism, according to one perspective, should be viewed as a system of repayments in which offenders "payback" a debt they have accrued as a result of their crimes. assume for the moment that the criminal receives punishment that is intended to "pay back" her victim and society for the wrongdoing that she committed. what meaning does this metaphor have for us? it is undoubtedly difficult to see how a criminal who has been imprisoned for six months "pays back" someone else, particularly if the sentence is justified because the offender committed a crime without harming anyone. it is unclear how much someone could be considered to "owe" in these situations (sadurski, 1989:360). for one straightforward reason, this view of retributivism is incorrect: to whom must the offender make restitution? retributivism simply means that this specific offender will be punished to the extent that the crime and the punishment have the same "value." the offender has no obligation to repay anyone, least of all the community. retributivism, on the other hand, demands that this criminal pay a price for committing a specific offense. it is totally a personal matter in this sense. the idea that retributivism should be interpreted as an attempt to right an injustice that was unjustly upset by an offense presents a similar challenge (michael, 1992:174). in other words, retributivism is unaffected by the need to bring society back into harmony. only the criminal's desert may be used to decide retributivist sanctions; other considerations, including the equilibrium of society, are out of the question. only crimes are subject to punishment. this viewpoint can initially appear problematic since it implies that those who are subject to punishment are only deemed worthy due to their legal, rather than moral, transgressions. is it possible to argue that someone who breaks an unjust rule should be punished? it is true; for starters, that retributivism is most often associated with some sort of moral desirability argument (michael, 1992:174). a person must carry out a criminal act in a substantively responsible manner, according to retributivism, which means that the criminal must possess a punishable desert. put differently, an action must come from the heart and cannot be forced or motivated by fear. many theorists, including c. s. nino, who states that "the justification of punishment... relies on the consent to assume the liability to suffer punishment involved in the voluntary commission of an offense with the knowledge that that liability is a necessary consequence of it," also hold this view. from this perspective, it is imperative that the offender acts voluntarily and with full awareness that he may face consequences for committing the crime. only when an individual bears personal responsibility for their conduct can retributivism justify punishing them. innocent people or small infants are examples of people who lack such responsibility and cannot be worthy of retributivist punishment (michael, 1992:174). retributivism also makes it difficult to distinguish between morality and the law, which is another issue with this point of view. criminals are subject to punishment since they are guilty of crimes. this desert represents a particular kind of moral transgression. naturally, some moral transgressionslike telling white falsehoods and the likedo not usually result in punishment. the state only enforces punishments for moral transgressions that are crimes. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 118 retributivists, however, erroneously contend that the criminal code, which authorizes penalties, is morally sound. first, it is unclear whether there is a single moral philosophy that, at least in a meaningful way, unifies the criminal code. second, there is the issue that a large portion of the offenses listed in our criminal law are not immoral—at least not in the most evident sense (michael, 1992:175). ultimately, it is evident that being law-averse is not a happy place. in other words, there is nothing unique about retributivism that requires criminals to be aware of the potential consequences of their actions. what matters is that individuals are accountable for carrying out a specific conduct; it doesn't matter if they are aware of the act's illegality or potential consequences. of course, there are strong arguments in favor of considering justice as something that is public, meaning that someone should only be held accountable for their actions if they are fully aware that their actions could have criminal repercussions. nevertheless, retributivism would determine that a murderer was worthy of punishment regardless of whether he was aware of the proper punishment beforehand. it might even conclude that someone who is unaffected by the results is more worthy of punishment than someone who considers the advantages and disadvantages beforehand. the idea that retributivism establishes punishments in proportion to crime—albeit in a specific wayis one that theorists frequently advocate. they contend that crimes and punishments ought to be ranked differently based on their respective "values," with the lowest-value crimes receiving the lowest punishments, and so on (michael, 1992:10). retributivism does, in fact, permit severe penalties like torture and execution, but by definition it cannot support excessively severe retributivist penalties. rather, it only supports sentences that are commensurate—that is, neither greater nor lesswith the seriousness of the connected offense. it is now clear that most, if indeed not all, contemporary 'retributivist' theories of punishment are inconsistent with our common understanding of what retributivism entails. there is, however, one final difficulty we need to address. retributivism justifies the punishment of criminals in equal value to the gravity of their offence in itself and not any consequential considerations. the problem for retributivism is that it appears impossible to determine the value of a criminal's individual desert stemming from his act. not only would we have to understand the criminal's mindset when performing the act, but we would have to go back in time to the moment the act occurred. naturally, we could reasonably infer something "beyond reasonable doubt" about the individual's thought. we cannot guarantee that our assessment of a criminal's desert is accurate, though. since "no perfectly just judgments can be passed," according to kant, we can never be certain that the penalties we impose are totally in line with retributivism (kant, 1963:475). retributive considerations are, in fact, often combined with those of other theories of punishment in a number of noteworthy initiatives to accomplish this exact goal. all plausible theories, it seems, must contend that people should be punished according to the seriousness of their crimes. dispute this position is not my intention here. my purpose is to alert us to the fact that, strictly speaking, retributivism requires us to make decisions regarding things like proportionality and the desert when we cannot be certain of our accuracy. it is impractical, if not impossible; to execute retributivism as such, if all of our judgments regarding desert and proportionality are our own and may not always align with what is rightfully due (wood, 1002:301). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 119 implications of capital punishment for the individual the debate over the capital punishment suggests that nigerians as a whole should show, via analyses of the arguments derived from a practical view of challenges and modern life, how they have been challenged, enlightened, and positively impacted on moral attitudes, aspirations, and decisions guiding their life in nigeria. in nigeria, the death penalty is a severe punishment that people who are affected by must endure. it is frequently used to either promote conformity and obedience to cultural values in nigeria or discourage various forms of cultural norm transgressions in nigeria. social control, both formal and informal, may be used to enforce these penalties. beyond chuckles, smiles, eyebrow raises, and mockery, it is noted that this situation involves a different kind of informal social control (uche & udezo, 2011:430-31). the way that the death penalty deters people is by turning them into social outcasts, antisocial elements, and other social outcasts who are shunned and isolated by their community, their religious institutions, and society at large. some become victims of the situations they find themselves in, in addition to being victims of crimes. in this sense, a select few have emerged as heroes in their local communities, while the unfortunate majority have become socially, politically, and economically estranged within nigerian society. everyone detests constitutional violations, nepotism, corruption, and a lack of the rule of law. in an ideal world, most nigerians would like to see their country progress, but in reality, most are infamous for their icy inactivity and silent indifference to the oppressive circumstances that can inspire treachery. many nigerians seem to have developed unflattering views, which have led to mistrust and distortion of the truth in the country. combating societal evils like corruption without embracing the difficulties this cankerworm presents is a meek attempt to stave off the social cancer. in a similar vein, people who openly pursue political office by putting an end to treachery are hailed as national heroes and heroines, while those who have the best interests of the country at heart are called dissidents, criminals, and murders (uche & udezo, 2011:431). they might be denied the right to live as free citizens and seek political refuge abroad. since they are shunned, they don't seem to fit in in marriage or other social connections. as a result, they are surrounded by a kind of terror. due to their status as members of an accursed group, those convicted of capital punishment appear to bear a transferable curse that is thought to cause them to experience failure, misfortune, and regression in all areas of their lives. lessons from capital punishment it has always been understood that those who murder another person will ultimately suffer the consequences. it is the responsibility of society to shield law enforcement personnel and civilians from aggressive individuals who lack self-control. everybody who has killed someone deserves to be killed. justice is served here. some criminals will only perceive the death sentence as a kind of deterrence. there are criminals who would far rather die in prison than serve out their entire lives behind bars. justice has been served unfairly in certain cases. hangings of innocent persons have occurred. the death sentence is ineffective as deterrence. murders continue to occur in locations where the death penalty is in existence. it is an affront to the sanctity of life, which the government is charged with defending. most individuals agree that a society that upholds citizens' rights to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" is just (higher still, 2000:144). since punishment exacerbates suffering, it appears to be evil in and of itself. in what way is this justifiable? this clarifies the utilitarian perspective on the appropriate range for punishment, but it doesn't address the question of why they believe it to be a good idea in the first place. recall that utilitarian's must consider a wide range of outcomes when determining what course of action to take. they contend that the benefits of punishment will exceed the drawbacks. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 120 the only positive aspect of punishment is the results it produces; it is not beneficial in and of itself. it's a necessary evil. when considering the ramifications of the death penalty, utilitarian's has various options. it is necessary to consider some of the negative outcomes that could occur. perhaps as many lives are spared from execution as from others being deterred. think about the anguish experienced by the criminal who is awaiting execution; compare that sorrow to the victim's family, who had to learn later of their loved one's death. this may cause us to place a lesser value on human life because of the chance of executing an innocent individual. according to utilitarianism, it is likewise impossible to simply eradicate criminals. locking them all up and discarding the key is not an option. it is reasonable to endeavor to ensure that, upon their reintegration into society, formerly incarcerated individuals change for the better. according to higher still (2000), reform is advocated as a way for utilitarianism to acknowledge this. retributive retribution theory is what kant advocated. according to this theory, the offender should bear the consequences of their unfairly obtained goods or services from society. from this perspective, criminals are viewed as leeches on society, wanting to take use of its benefits but refusing to follow the laws that are necessary to maintain it. according to this theory, the sole requirement for punishment is that the offender was the one who really committed the offense. furthermore stated is the idea that the penalty ought to be appropriate for the offense. (instead of two eyes and an arm, it ought to be one eye for one eye!) (slightly more, 2000:50). kant is in favor of the death penalty. according to him, the only reason criminals should be punished is if they killed someone; if you kill someone, you should be killed. it also indicated that he believed that justice could not be served unless all capital sentences were carried out. kant uses the decision of an island population to disperse and relocate as an example. kant declared that it was their responsibility to put an end to every last murderer before they went. people's feelings are in line with the notion that only those who have truly committed crimes should face consequences and that offenders should be held accountable. when victims of crime hear the sentence meted out to the offender, they frequently say things like, "they only got what they deserved." furthermore, it bothers individuals to learn that someone is incarcerated for crimes they did not commit. we wouldn't require the massive amount of proof that we do now in order to convict people if they didn't mind (higher still, 2000:50). consider that kant thought there was inherent value in people. do not forget that he held this belief because he considered us to be rational beings capable of utilizing reason to make our own decisions. according to kant, incarcerating criminals serves the public interest by using them as a means to an end—that is, by utilizing their confinement to increase public safety. because you are not allowing these people to be who they truly are, trying to rehabilitate and reform criminals also treats them as means rather than as ends in and of themselves. it seems like you're attempting to shape them into what you think society desires. while this clarifies kant's perspective on the appropriate boundaries of punishment, it does not address his initial belief that punishment of any type is warranted. recall that treating someone like a means instead of an end is treating them like a rational creature according to kant. to do this, one must regard them as individuals accountable for their own deeds. should you bear accountability for your deeds, you may receive recognition or condemnation accordingly. according to higher still (2000), punishment is a means of ensuring that individuals are held responsible for their deeds. conclusion the capital punishment is still a contentious issue today. it is unlikely to go away, regardless of whether a nation uses this type of punishment or not. because the reasons for igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 121 and against the death penalty are plausible and appear to be in the best interests of humanity, the criticism of the death penalty is not implausible. when it comes to punishment, utilitarianism aims to maximize positive effects on society, such security and safety. by permanently removing the offender from society, the capital punishment does manage to protect society from the convicted criminal, but life in prison without the chance of release provides an equivalent level of defense. on this point, life imprisonment achieves the same result, hence there is no utilitarian argument for the death sentence over the equally effective alternative of life in prison. it is well known that utilitarianism's singular defense of the capital punishment as the ethically appropriate form of punishment is deterrence (rezendes, 2002:2). according to the utilitarian viewpoint, the death penalty protects society in a major way that life in prison cannot since it deters potential killers and prevents them from killing again. this is in addition to eliminating the offender from society. treating individuals as ends was taken into consideration in immanuel kant's idea of retributive punishment, which was predicated on the criminal's guilt. kant thought that all persons, even criminals, should be treated as means to an end and punished for their crimes because they are guilty; the just should also benefit from this. just desert imposes an obligation on society to punish the offender proportionately to the offense. kant advocated a retributive philosophy of justice and punishment. because the offender committed a crime and should get justice appropriate to the offense, they should be punished. a moral community should, it would seem, have the right to stop killings when it can. since the killing of another person is the greatest of all crimes and should be punished to the death, society imposes such severe penalties as the death sentence on certain murderers. however, wouldn't it be better to reject murder's inherent immorality from the outset by society's refusal to engage in such behavior, even in merely desert scenarios? although the life sentence still honors human life or at least abstains from murder, the death penalty shows a determined desire to take a life when there is a valid reason to do so. one may wonder if life in prison is a severe enough penalty for those who commit murder. these conditions undoubtedly apply to both the death penalty and the life sentence. the guillotine, firing squads, and hangings are all thought to be more painful than lethal injections, but society has gradually moved away from these forms of execution since they are now seen as unneeded for the purpose of punishment and as primitive and barbaric. not all murderers are executed these days, and those that are done in secret, seen to just a select few. in the past, we executed a far higher number of murderersas well as other types of criminalsin a way that was visible to all. nowadays, lethal injection is used for the great majority of executions. criminals used to be drawn and quartered, shot, hanged, or electrocuted for a short while. the idea that the death penalty is not the most ethically acceptable type of punishment for a civilized society to use appears to be slowly but surely gaining support. consequently, there are now fewer crimes that incur the death penalty, fewer execution sites are available, and more painless means of execution are employed. references bennett, christopher. (2002). the varieties of retributive experience, philosophical quarterly 52 brooks, thom. (2002) .on retributivism. london: university of newcastle press. draper, anthony. (2000) .cesare beccaria's influence on english discussions of punishment. london: pergamum. harcourt, bernard. (2013) .beccaria's on crimes and punishments: a mirror on the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 122 history of the foundations of modern criminal law .university of chicago press. higher still. (2000) .moral philosophy: student activities higher and intermediate 2 . higher s till development unit. michael, 'mark. (1992). 'utilitarianism and retributivism: what's the difference?' american philosophical quarterly 29. rezendes, john. (2002) .why we ought not to execute criminals. hunter tzovarras. sadurski, wojciech. (1989) .theory of punishment, social justice, and liberal neutrality', law and philosophy 7. stairs, allen. (1992) .kant on capital punishment. .university of chicago press. uche oliver and udezo benson. (2011). implications of capital punishment in the nigerian society: an international multidisciplinary journal, vol. 5 (4), serial no. 21. wood, david. (2002). 'retribution, crime reduction and the justification of punishment', oxford journal of legal studies 22. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 123 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol 9 no.2, 2023 www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/igwebuikejournals.php a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 1 igwebuike metaphysics: a complementary perspective ikechukwu anthony kanu, phd department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university, umunya, anambra state ikee_mario@yahoo.com orcid id: 0000-0003-1977-202x doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.31621.83688 abstract african metaphysics is a branch of african philosophy that concerns itself with the fundamental nature, structure, and position of human beings in the totality of being from an african perspective. the present inquiry focuses on a unique facet of african metaphysics, referred to as igwebuike metaphysics, which is a concept that describes the underlying principle of metaphysics in african thought. igwebuike is the factor that unifies the plurality of metaphysical perspectives in africa, while also serving as the bedrock of african metaphysical expressions. this study aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of igwebuike metaphysics in particular, and african metaphysics in general, through a methodical approach that utilizes a combination of hermeneutic, thematic, and analytic methods of inquiry. the research employs the igwebuike theoretical framework as a means of articulating the underlying principles of igwebuike metaphysics, and demonstrates how it contributes to the unique perspective of the african people on metaphysics. the research outcomes enrich the existing literature on african metaphysics, and confirm that the african people possess a distinct metaphysical perspective that complements and adds to the global discourse on metaphysics. ultimately, this study highlights the importance of african metaphysics as a field that has been understudied and undervalued, and the need for further research to advance our understanding of african philosophy as a whole. keywords: igwebuike, metaphysics, african. philosophy, complementarity introduction metaphysics, unlike other fields of human inquiry such as chemistry, physics, political science, sociology, or other dimensions of philosophy like epistemology, logic, political philosophy, and ethics, presents a unique challenge in defining its subject matter. its igwebuike metaphysics: a complementary perspective 2 complex subject matter has rendered the definition of metaphysics an ongoing discussion among philosophers from ancient times to the contemporary era. this debate has influenced the discourse on the subject matter of metaphysics and continues to do so. the challenge of defining metaphysics is further compounded by recent developments in the field. the earliest definitions of metaphysics, such as aristotle's conception of it as the study of being qua being or the science of the first causes of things, are no longer sufficient due to the expanded knowledge and more systematic discourses within this area of philosophy (van inwagen, peter and meghan sullivan, 2021). furthermore, what was once commonly accepted as existing may no longer be so. these changes have made the definition of metaphysics more complex than ever before, adding to the difficulty of defining this elusive field of philosophical inquiry. the concept of metaphysics, a branch of philosophy concerned with the study of the nature and structure of the totality of being, has been the subject of discourse for millennia. the term "metaphysics" was coined by andronicus of rhodes, a greek philosopher and the editor of the works of aristotle, around 70 bc. andronicus used the term to classify certain works of aristotle that did not pertain to the study of physicalities, which were classified as physics. the word "metaphysics" is a combination of two greek words, "meta" meaning "that which is after" and "physika" meaning "physics" or "nature". consequently, the term came to be understood as the study of realities beyond the physical world. however, this understanding is incomplete, as metaphysics also encompasses the study of mundane realities. the aim of metaphysics is to provide a comprehensive account of the totality of being, including the nature, structure, and position of human beings in the universe. according to omoregbe (1991), this field of study attempts to provide a comprehensive account of the whole of reality. similarly, izu (2009) notes that “ it investigates the basic principles of being as such, either according to its inner structure or according to its first, absolute origin‛ (p. 12-13). aristotle writes: there is a science which investigates being as being and the attribute which belong to this in virtue of its nature. now, this is not the same as any of the socalled special sciences; for none of these others treats universal being as being. they cut off a part of being and investigate the attribute of this part; this is what the mathematical sciences for instance do. now since we are seeking the first principles and the highest causes, clearly there must be something to which these belong by their nature. if then those who sought the elements of existing things were seeking these first principles, the elements must be elements of being not by ikechukwu anthony kanu 3 accident but just because it is being. therefore it is of being as being that we also must grasp the first causes. (pp.731-732). the above understanding differentiates metaphysics from other fields of philosophy. while other fields study aspects of reality, metaphysics studies the totality of reality. thus, aristotle refers to metaphysics as the science of being as being (ens qua ens). maritain (1981) refers to metaphysics as the foundation of all sciences, the foundation of all academic disciplines. there are two divisions in metaphysics: ontology or general metaphysics and special metaphysics. according to izu (2009), ontology, on the one hand, deals with the general traits of reality. special metaphysics, on the other hand, concerns itself with the fundamentally distinct sorts of entities that bring about the universe. it studies classes of being like god, man, spirit, etc. in view of the inherent intricacy in defining the parameters of metaphysics and ascertaining the precise subject matter that ought to be encompassed by this discipline, this study endeavors to carve out a unique epistemic niche by scrutinizing metaphysics through the prism of african philosophy. by deploying the igwebuike concept as a heuristic tool, the paper aims to proffer an original lens through which to view the ongoing discourse in metaphysics. given the expansiveness of the field of metaphysics within the domain of philosophy, the scope of this study shall be delimited to a selection of themes, which shall provide a groundwork for further inquiry into igwebuike metaphysic and the enrichening of ongoing philosophical discourse in the field. why igwebuike metaphysics and not african metaphysics? the african continent is characterized by its rich diversity of cultures, philosophical traditions, and religious beliefs. consequently, it would be inaccurate to posit that the entire african populace adheres to the same set of values, standards, or expectations. hence, the present author opts to refrain from utilizing the concept of african metaphysics, as this would imply a universal metaphysics applicable to all african peoples across the continent. instead, the author avails themselves of the term 'igwebuike' to qualify the present discourse on african metaphysics. the concept of igwebuike is employed to describe the underlying principle of african metaphysical thought. as such, igwebuike serves as a unifying factor amidst the diversity of metaphysical perspectives across the african continent, representing the constant underlying principle that remains consistent amidst changes in metaphysical viewpoints. furthermore, it can be regarded as the operating condition that maintains the constancy of similarity amidst the astounding diversity of african perspectives. igwebuike metaphysics: a complementary perspective 4 thus, while this research fundamentally explores african metaphysics, the term igwebuike connotes a shared worldview, which reveals points of convergence and similarities in african metaphysical expressions. igwebuike encapsulates the complementarity, interconnectedness, and interrelatedness of the african reality, which has endured as a constant feature amidst the changes and differences observable in the african concept of reality. this interconnectedness and interrelatedness of the african reality are manifested in the way the africans think in hierarchical categories and modes rather than in a single, isolated and individualistic manner. the african’s metaphysical concept of the reality around him or her is manifested in the understanding of the different elements of the world as a relationship that is interconnected in terms of cause and effect, harmony and conflict. from igwebuike ontology to igwebuike metaphysics what we refer to as igwebuike metaphysics is born from a worldview or an ontology that is igwebuike in character. igwebuike metaphysics, therefore, derives its name from the very worldview that shapes it. worldview refers to the theory of the universe, which include the manner of conceiving the world and the place of humanity in this world in relation to other realities. it forms a ‘life system’ that one holds on to consciously or unconsciously, which serves as an interpretative framework for the interpretation and conception of reality. worldview is, therefore, at the centre of our thoughts and expressions through actions and the institutions of society like education, politics, gender, sense of family, religion, arts, social interactions, health care, etc. one needs to glance at the works of eminent scholars like achebe (1958), arinze (1970), nwala (1985), wambutda (1986), ejizu (1986), onuoha (1987), metuh (1987), quarcoopome (1987), onunwa (1994), madu (2004), unah (2009) and kanu (2012) on worldview. the concept of igwebuike captures a worldview or ontology that is complementary, relational, interconnected, and harmonious. it is a unifying concept of african thought that pertains to the human person's conception of the spiritual and material universe in which they reside. this concept is regarded as an explanatory theory or principle that interprets the complex relationships between the non-corporal world and human social life, including significant social institutions that ensure social continuity and group identity. additionally, it underpins the epistemological manifestations of the human person's universe. given the strong connection between ontology and metaphysics, it follows that metaphysics cannot be separate from the ontology that structures reality, within which it ikechukwu anthony kanu 5 manifests itself. in this sense, igwebuike ontology, which is interrelated, interconnected, and complementary, shapes igwebuike metaphysics and characterizes it as complementary in nature. the belief in the reality of force in the african universe is fundamental to the african belief in the intimate relatedness, connectedness, and interwovenness of reality. tempels (1959) describes the african ontology as a web of forces in which no single thread can vibrate without shaking the entire network. the existence-in-relation to the other or being-with-the-other creates constancy in interaction and influence on the african universe. igwebuike and the modality of being in african ontology, that which is, is, because it has ‘force’ and the quality and quantity of this force determines the nature of a being (tempels 1959), and everything that the african does is towards the preservation of this force (ogugua 2003). force, therefore, is necessarily and essentially an attribute of being in african ontology. although every reality has force, not all realities have the same amount of force. the variety of the degree of forces is at the base of the categorization of being. in the hierarchy of forces, those with greater force come first, with god at the apex as the source of all forces. based on the degree of force, reality in the african universe can be subsumed into the following categories: a. muo (spirit): this includes god, the divinities, and spirits. god is at the apex of the muo category as the source of all forces. tempels (1959) writes, ‚above all force is god... it is he who has force, power, in himself. he gives existence, power of survival and increase, to other forces. in relation to other forces, he is he who increases force‛ (p. 29). he adds, ‚he knows all forces, their orderings, their dependence, their potential and their mutual interactions‛ (p. 34). his existential cause is within himself and, he sustains resultant forces. the subsistence and annihilation of other forces are within his power alone. after the supreme being are divinities. they are intermediaries and share aspects of the divine status and are responsible to god for whatever actions they perform. awolalu and dopamu (1978) refer to them as the executive heads of various divine departments in the supreme being’s monarchical government. here also belong: the benevolent spirits, known as the ancestors and the malevolent spirits, known as bad spirits. b. mmadu (human being): the human person (muntu) is a vital force endowed with intelligence and will. although god is the source of vital force, man is the sovereign vital force in the world, ruling the land and all that abides in it, however, ‚his fullness of being consist in his participation to a greater or lesser extent in the force of god‛ (p. 47). igwebuike metaphysics: a complementary perspective 6 tempels avers that ‚man is the supreme force, the most powerful among created beings‛ (p. 46). he can renew his vital force by tapping the strength of other creatures. c. anu (animal, tame and wild): this category of being comprises forces not endowed with reason. they are ruled by instincts. they are all under the force of man and exist for man. according to tempels, ‚“inanimate beings and minerals, are forces which because of their nature have been put at the disposal of men, of living human forces, or of men’s vital forces‛ (p. 31). d. ife (things): edeh (1985) holds that ‚the igbo word ife primarily means a thing, anything material or immaterial. it is used to refer to a happening, an event, or an occurrence. ife can also be affixed to any adjective to mean specific things‛ (p. 95). it is a force that cannot act for itself, and thus can only become active when greater forces act on them. e. ebe (space): space is the relation of the distance between any two bodies or points. it responds to the question of where. according to ijiomah (2005), space in igbo ontology consists of three levels: they are the sky, the earth and the underworld. ekwealor (1990), corroborated ijiomah’s perspective when he categorized the igbo-african universe into the sky, the world and the land of the spirits. f. oge (time): time responds to questions such as: when did you see emeka? when did you pick up nnamdi? when was the sacrifice offered? mbiti (1969) defines time in african perspective as the collection of events which have occurred, those now taking place and those which are immediately to occur. it is in time the human person performs or fails to perform, and that his destiny is based on the use of it. g. igwebuike (modality): igwebuikein african ontology is the mode of being, uzo idi. this refers to the manner or style of being. this manner of being is referred to as igwebuike because it is a manner of being in relation to otherness. everything in the african world is in relation to the other: existence-in-relation to the other or being-withthe other. therefore, every being is by belonging. this is expressed in various igbo african proverbs, such as, ngwere ghara ukwu osisi, aka akpara ya (if a lizard stays off from the foot of a tree, it would be caught by man). this expresses the indisputable and inevitable presence of, not just the family, but the community to which the individual belongs. chi: the complementary cord in igwebuike metaphysics there are various dimensions to the use of the concept of chi. it is in this regard that green (1947) writes that: ‚it is difficult to know what the real igbo significance of the ikechukwu anthony kanu 7 word is‛ (p. 30). achebe (1975) avers that its real meaning might never be revealed. his position points to the fact that the concept of chi is as elusive as it is enigmatic. nwodo (2004) attributes this to the fact that the concept is metaphysical. this notwithstanding, chi can be understood as the divine aspect of the human person (ilogu 1974); as being in opposition to none-being (abanuka 2004; ojike 1955; ekennia (2003); chi as our other identity, in this case, the spark of the divine in the human person (achebe 1975); chi as our guardian angel (achebe 1958); chi as the determinator of our destiny (okere 1971; achebe 1958; nwodo 2004; okoro 2008). the concept of igwebuike encompasses a structure of reality that acknowledges a shared element amidst the diversity of reality. according to kanu (2017, 2018, 2019), it perceives each individual reality as part of and the completion of the whole, thus promoting unity amid diversity. the basis of the unity of reality, despite diversity, is explained by the chi element. although chi provides for the individuation, identity, and contrariety of being, it is also the foundation of the unity of being. this is possible because chi is a 'thumbprint' of chukwu in all that he has made, serving as a reason for the unity of being and the basis for interaction and collaboration. therefore, the individualistic strain in the theory of personality that chi provides does not contradict the emphasis on the overriding value of unity in diverse human situations. in igbo ontology, chi serves not only as a basis for identity but also as a basis for unitya common gift or platform for communal relations. the igbo greeting, "ibo chi," reflects a rhetorical informative and questioning expectancy between individuals engaged in a relational exchange. similarly, "isa chi" and "ifo chi" reflect the same rhetorical informative questioning expectancy from individuals in dialogue. universality and particularity the igwebuike perspective of reality is founded upon the principle of complementarity and interconnectedness. it is a viewpoint that regards each constituent of reality as a complement to the other. concerning the problem of universals, igwebuike comprehends both aspects of our metaphysical universe as complementing each other, rather than two poles of reality, as exemplified in the philosophy of plato and other western thinkers. plato's perspective distinguishes between particular things and their universal ideas or essences, as well as between the knowledge obtained through experience and that obtained through reason, situating the object of true knowledge in the world of forms, which he considers the abode of the essences of things, ideal things, or perfect nature of things. thus, plato presents universals as the superior aspect of reality and particulars as the inferior dimension of reality. in contrast, from the igwebuike perspective, neither is igwebuike metaphysics: a complementary perspective 8 superior nor inferior, as both dimensions of reality are significant and necessary for comprehending the totality of reality. the particular and universal, in this sense, are not considered parrel but as projections of the other. the two are in constant relationships with each other and complement each other. to buttress this fact, two igbo african elements central to the igbo-african reality would be studied as they express the complementarity of universality and particularity the first is chi which is central to igbo religion and social life and madu who is central in the african universe. a. chi-a portion of the universal (god) in the particular (human being) igwebuike is based on particular principles, and one among them is the principle of identity, which states that every being is determined in itself, is one with itself and consistent in itself (kanu 2012). the principle of identity is very important in igwebuike because, before we can talk about interconnectedness or complementarity, the other must have an identity of its own (kanu 2013). this identity is determined by the chi, the divine aspect of the human or a spark of chukwu in the human person. it is a spiritual being or force that every african is believed to possess within or outside of himself or herself. ilogu (1974) avers that chukwu has assigned to each human person at birth a portion of divinity referred to as chi. this, according to nwodo (2004) implies that each individual has a portion of the great god. achebe (1975) posits that a person's chi is an individuating power that serves as their other identity in spirit-land, with their spirit complementing their terrestrial human being. this view is grounded on the perspective that nothing can exist alone, as there must always be another thing standing beside it. thus, the chi is perceived to shadow the physical aspect of our being on earth, exerting a greater influence as it operates on a higher plane. despite the dichotomy between these two aspects of our being, they are not in opposition to each other but rather complement one another. achebe's conceptualization of chi as the other identity of the terrestrial human being in the spiritland may bear some resemblance to plato's analysis of the relationship between the world of forms and the world of individual realities. however, unlike plato's view of the world of forms as having an independent existence from the world of individual realities, with the latter being only a shadow of the former, in the african worldview, both aspects complement each other. the concept of chi in igbo ontology plays a dual role in the manifestation of reality. on the one hand, chi serves to individuate each unique entity in the world, carving out a distinct space for each individual. however, this particularity is not antithetical to ikechukwu anthony kanu 9 universality. at the universal level, every entity contributes uniquely to the broader reality of the world. this interplay between universality and particularity demonstrates the complementary nature of these two dimensions of reality. it is important to note that while each entity occupies a unique space, it is not independent of the universal reality. rather, every entity collaborates with others in sustaining the universal reality, thus achieving a harmonious relationship between particularity and universality. b. maduexpressing the universal (god) in the particular (human being) madu is the igbo-african word for a human being, both male and female. etymologically, it is an abbreviation of the words mma (which means ‘the good’, ‘a good’ or ‘good’) and di which is the operative word in idi (to be), which comes from the word odi (it is), which is the third person of the singular idi (‘to exist’ or ‘to be’). from this etymology, it means that you cannot be a human being without existing or being in existence. however, put together, mmadi means ‘the good that is’. the particular human person’s expression of the universal ‘god’ within the context of mmadi begins with the understanding of the relationship between the human person and god. edeh (1985) posits a connection between the concept of mma and the creation of the world by chukwu, the source of human goodness. according to edeh, the goodness of the human person is a reflection of the goodness of god, in whose goodness humans share. consequently, the goodness of the human person is a participation in the goodness of god. this implies that the human person, as a particular entity, draws its goodness from the universal source of goodness, god. edeh (1985) offers a valuable contribution to the discussion on the participation of the human particular in the divine universal by emphasizing the need for a deeper understanding of the igbo concept of 'participate.' drawing from the igbo language, edeh notes that there are two commonly used translations of the word 'participate': iketa n'ife, which implies an individual or individuals sharing in something that belongs to the group, and isolu n'ife, which suggests 'to follow others in something.' this view underscores the idea that, despite being individuals, humans participate in the goodness of god together with others who make up the human community. in the term mmadu, one observes an individual human being reflecting all the transcendent attributes of being realized in the highest order. mmadu is a microcosm of the macrocosm, whereby the human person represents a synthesis rather than a dualism. igwebuike metaphysics: a complementary perspective 10 freedom and determinism the enduring query that persists on the periphery of human inquiry concerning the concepts of freedom and determinism pertains to the extent to which the human individual exerts control over their fate. from the igwebuike perspective, how might this inquiry be addressed? in order to provide an answer, this discussion will explore three distinct dimensions: community and individual freedom, destiny and freedom, and the relationship between the nature of the universe and freedom. a. community and individual freedom mbiti (1970) proverbializes the community-determining role of the individual and presents it as the structure of the african reality. achebe (1969) considers it as a value that must be priced above all. he writes, ‚he that has a brother must hold him to his heart, for a kinsman cannot be bought in the market, neither is a brother bought with money‛ (p. 123). its value is stressed even in igbo-african proverbs: to live closer to the palm tree gives the eating of its nuts a special flavour. the community, therefore, gives the individual his existence and education. it presents existence as that which is not only meaningful but possible only in a community. according to tempels (1952): bantu psychology cannot conceive of man as an individual, as a force existing by itself and apart from its ontological relationships with other living beings and from it connecting with animals or inanimate forces around it. the bantu cannot be alone. no; he feels and knows himself to be a vital force, at this very time to be in an intimate and personal relationship with other forces acting above him and below him in the hierarchy of forces. he knows himself to be a vital force, even now influencing some forces and being influenced by others. the human being, apart from the ontological hierarchy and the interaction of forces, has no existence in the conceptions of the bantu (p. 49-50). the akans of ghana believe that ‚when a man descends from heaven, he descends into a community‛. the community rejoices and welcomes his arrival, finds out whose reincarnation he is, gives the person a name and interprets that arrival within the circumstance of the birth. as the child grows, he becomes aware of his dependence on his kin group and community. when the time comes for him to get married, the community determines where he marries from; even when the lady is married, she is married by the entire community. with his birth, man also realizes the necessity of making his contribution to the group (uchendu, 1965). with all the involvements of the community in the life of a person, the question that arises is: is the human person free? ikechukwu anthony kanu 11 in the african worldview, the concept of community does not negate individual freedom. even though an individual is given a name by the community, the name serves as an identifier of his or her unique identity, and the individual is able to make contributions to the community as an individual. despite being defined by his or her community name, an individual's successes, and failures, which are determined by the use of his or her freedom, largely shape his or her identity. although the community has established rules and regulations, an individual retains the right to either abide by them or not. therefore, while the community wields considerable influence over individuals, it does not infringe upon their freedom. b. the nature of the universe and freedom nnamdi (2009) maintains that there are three worlds in the african universe. the first is the earth which is the visible world, uwa, in which human beings, deities and other material things reside. the second is the land of the spirits, ani muo, which is the invisible world. the ancestors as well as other spiritual beings inhabit the invisible world and from there, they influence the activities of human beings and other things in the world. there is a third world called igwe, the sky, where chukwu lives. and from there he cares for and directs things in human and ancestral worlds. these three worlds for africans are interconnected. it is believed that the finger of god is manifested in the most rudimentary element of nature. idowu (1962) avers that god is the absolute controller of the universe. the igbo would refer to him as osebuluwa (the sustainer of the universe). he did not just create the world but actively sustains it. from the foregoing, edeh (1985) inquires: if god has a knowing plan for all creatures and directs them to this end, does it mean that he has already determined his creatures to follow his plan? if so, how could any creature be said to be free in its actions? in other words, if god’s activity embraces the height, depth and breadth of created reality, is there any place for a finite activity which belongs to the being from which it comes? or is it god rather than man, in the case of human activity, who acts as the centre of man’s being? (p. 163). in african spirituality, god is considered to have a powerful influence on all entities, including the spiritual realm. additionally, certain deities and spirits within the spiritual realm also possess power over the universe. these entities can be categorized as either benevolent or malevolent, and their influence can determine success or failure in the world. occasionally, they can even possess individuals and exert their power through them. the question then arises: given the influence of god and these entities on man and his universe, is man truly free? igwebuike metaphysics: a complementary perspective 12 the response to the above question is: yes, the african human person is free. this is evidenced by the notion that god or the divinities reward or punish individuals for actions carried out conscientiously and of their own volition. the presence of higher powers such as god, the divinities, and spirits within the human realm does not diminish human freedom. the belief in the unlimited power of god within african traditions does not preclude the creation of individuals capable of engaging in autonomous actions. as posited by edeh (1985), the coexistence of divine causality and human freedom is not antithetical but rather embodies a paradoxical relationship of cause and effect. c. destiny and freedom gyekye (1987) defines destiny as ‚that which determines the uniqueness and individuality of a person. thus, it is your destiny ... that makes you, you, and my destiny that makes me me‛ (p. 107). as regards how human beings have come to the knowledge of what is referred to as destiny, he avers that human life itself provides the setting for thought on destiny. he writes: patterns of individual lives, habitual or persistent traits of persons, fortunes and misfortunes, success and failures, the traumas and enigmas of life; the ways in which propensities, inclinations, capacities and talents show themselves in individuals; the observed uniqueness of the individual – all these suggests to the akan that there is and must be some basis or reason for this individuality. that basis is destiny. (pp. 106-107). although human experience provides the setting for the belief in human destiny, generally, the belief in destiny is based on the belief that human beings were created by god. in the african world, it is believed that the destiny of people as regards success and failure has been apportioned to them by god before birth. thus, when something happens in a person’s life, especially among the igbo, gregory (2009) observes that it is traced to his akala aka, his destined lot. when a person dies among the hausa-speaking people, it is said: haka allah ya kadara (that is how god ordained it) or haka allah ya nufa (that is how god intended it). this implies that god predestined it. while we may accept the idea of destiny in a general sense in the life of the african, his life is not completely predetermined. a man can better the conditions of his life through prayers and sacrifices. in this case, a person is not changing his or her destiny but trying to do something about his human condition. in fact, even when a man has a good destiny and he does not work hard, there is no guarantee of good fortune coming his way. the igbo would say onye kwe chi ya ekwe (if one says yes, his god will say yes too). the implication is that an individual’s freedom is guaranteed since a person’s success or ikechukwu anthony kanu 13 failure depends on the degree of the person’s cooperation with nature’s endowment. this according to abanuka (2004), involves a person making proper use of his god-given theoretical and practical knowledge ako na uche. gyekye (1987) writes further that: ‚determination, therefore, does not negate the effectiveness of human beings as causal and therefore moral agents‛ (p. 121). the concept of destiny in the african context is that of a general destiny. the idea of general destiny, according to gykye (1987) ‚determines only the broad outlines of an individual’s mundane life, not the specific details. it follows that not every action a person performs or every event that occurs in one’s life comes within the ambit of his destiny‛ (p. 114). cause and effect according to western thought, events can happen spontaneously (hume, 1902; shakespeare, 1852). however, aja (2001) argues that for africans, the universe is an ordered system in which all events have a cause and are potentially explainable. gyekye (1987) similarly affirms the doctrine of universal causation in the akan-african worldview. unlike their western counterparts who focus on mechanical, chemical, and psychological interactions, africans also emphasize a metaphysical kind of causality that binds the creator to the creature. in response to the western concept of chance, which suggests that events can happen without cause, ozumba (2004) contends that chance in the african world is attributable to ignorance of the series of actions and reactions that give rise to a given event. gyekye's (1987) ontological position holds that causality is universally applicable, yet he notes that in african thought, exceptional occurrences are accorded greater attention compared to natural events or routine phenomena. the latter class of events includes occurrences such as seasonal rain, drought, normal pregnancy duration, plant growth, and specific fishing seasons. the african mind is unperturbed by such happenings since they are believed to be intrinsic to the orderly workings established by the omnipotent creator (gyekye, 1987, p. 77). these events are empirical, scientific, and non-supernatural, and they have been studied, enabling people to discern the causal connections between them. for example, africans are aware that rivers dry up during the dry season and that gestation lasts nine months before delivery. extraordinary or contingent are those that engage the minds of africans, and such events would include, a woman being pregnant for more than nine months, drought during the rainy season and a tree falling and killing a man. these events according to gyekye (1987) have particular traits that make them mind-disturbing, ‚they are infrequent and hence are considered abnormal; they are discrete and isolated; they appear to be puzzling, bizarre, and incomprehensible; they are not considered subsumable under any immediate igwebuike metaphysics: a complementary perspective 14 known law of nature‛ (p. 78). the events are deemed insufficient to explain their causes, thus, the ultimate cause of the event is sought. the interest is not in what has happened but in why it happened. iroegbu (1995) distinguishes between two kinds of causes in african ontology: the ontological cause and the functional cause. the ontological cause produces the being of the effect. it is such that without the ontological cause, the being which is the effect would not be. an example is the relationship between god and the human person. god is the ontological cause of the human person. while god is the mediate (indirect) ontological cause of all that the human person causes, the human person is the immediate ontological cause of his or her actions. describing god as the immediate ontological cause of man, god is understood as the creator. the human person could also be the ontological cause of another person by producing his kind. the second cause, which is the functional cause, explains the reason for the operations of being in relation to other beings, as regards the force they exert on other beings, for instance, when an elder curses a younger person. thus tempels (1952) avers that in the created force, a causal force emanates from the very nature of that created force to influence other forces. through this interaction, a force could weaken or re-enforce another force. each force has an activating principle or vital force which allows it to function in a specific manner. the idea of a created force excludes god, who is the creator of the created force. taking from aristotle, god is the uncaused cause and the ultimate cause of all things. the hierarchy of being could be arranged as follows: god, divinities, spirits, man, animate realities, and inanimate realities. the africans believe that events are determined by the wills of spiritual beings. and spiritual beings from the hierarchy of being are god, divinities and spirits. at the occurrence of an event, causality raises the dual but complementary inquiries: how? and why? the how question requires a description of the event that has occurred. having understood how it happened, the africans begins to assess the why. the how will include the place, time, and situation. at this level, it is an empirical question in the domain of african empirical science. the question of the why comes after an understanding of the how. here, the african moves beyond empirical analysis and goes deep down and allround. the reason why it happened is what is investigated here. it is at this point those sacred scientists are consulted to investigate the spiritual world for a deeper understanding of the event. profound inquiries such as these, are based on the african belief that nothing happens by chance. amid all these the question that arises is if the human person still has freedom. and the answer is yes, the human person is free and responsible for his actions. ikechukwu anthony kanu 15 life as belongingness to be in the african world is to belong. the african communal spirit expresses the indisputable and inevitable presence of, not just the family, but the community to which the individual belongs. there is a connection between the community and the life of the person. during one of the feasts organized by okonkwo in the work, the things fall apart, his uncle uchendu expressed the african philosophy of belongingness: we do not ask for wealth because he that has health and children will also have wealth. we do not pray to have more money but to have more kinsmen. we are better than animals because we have kinsmen. an animal rubs its itching flank against a tree, a man asks his kinsman to scratch him (achebe, 1958, p. 132). after the feast, when one of the oldest men from among the umunna rose to thank okonkwo, he expressed further the african philosophy of belongingness with a different shade of insight: a man who calls his kinsmen to a feast does not do so to save them from starving. they all have food in their own homes. when we gather together in the moonlit village ground it is not because of the moon. everyman can see it in his own compound. we come together because it is good for kinsmen to do so (achebe, 1958, p. 133). it is the community that gives the individual his existence, and this existence is not only meaningful but also possible only in a community. it is in this sense that to be is to belong and to belong is to be (kanu 2012; anah 2005). personhood as a coherent pluralism in african ontology, the human person is made up of three principal distinctive but coherent elements: the spirit, the body, and the heart. these constituent elements that make up the person, according to ejizu (2017), also provide the basis for the relatedness of the total personality. thomas (1971) describes the african personality in this regard: similar to modern chemistry, it is a veritable epistemological revolution which is in operation if one wishes to comprehend the coherent pluralism of the self which seems to have characterized the complex structure and dynamism of the black african personality. (p. 387). the focus of this study would be the igbo-african worldview. and within this context, the three elements include, the spirit (muo), the heart (obi) and the body (ahu). these elements are in the self, defining the distinctive character of the self. without all these elements, the self would lose the power of context, and thus the strength of visibility and relevance. igwebuike metaphysics: a complementary perspective 16 a. the spirit (muo) muo in igbo is a concept that describes whatever is immaterial, like god, the deities, and ancestors, however, it is also used to describe the immaterial part of the human person. this introduces the idea that the human person is not completely a material reality, he has a spiritual dimension which must be considered in every discussion about him. okere (2015) avers that: ‚muo is therefore conceived as the intangible, invisible element in man, the seat of will and emotions, the principle of life and point of connection, similarity and sharing with the world of the spirit‛ (p. 164). this spirit in the human person is the principle of life; such that the absence of the spirit would mean the absence of life. this explains why for many africans, the death of a person is seen as the departure of the spirit of the person. okere posits that the muo carries out the following activities in the human person: 1. uche, which means thinking, considering, reflecting, etc. 2. iru eruru, which refers to a deep reflection, usually over something sad or tragic. 3. ncheta, which means to fetch out from the past through thinking, that is, to remember, to recall, to think out. 4. nghota, which means to understand, comprehend, grasp, or get the full implications of something. 5. izu, deliberation, consensus, or the information that is the result of consensus and deliberation. 6. ako, means prudence, cleverness, wise. 7. ngenge, imagining, surmising. 8. atutu, means to plan, to project and to order the execution of some plan. this notwithstanding, the spirit of a person, which derives directly from the supreme being and the ancestral world also links him or her ontologically to god and the ancestral spirits. it is the point of connection between the person and the spiritual world. b. the heart (obi) when the missionaries came, for want of word and due to ignorance of the local language and culture of the igbo, they foisted the foreign concept of the soul on the native word: mkpuru obi (the seed of the heart), to mean the spiritual element that is in man that is destined for eternal life. the obi is the psychological centre of emotions, sensations and sympathy. it is the seat and centre of virtue and vice, of conscience and morality as well. the quality of a person’s heart determines the quality of the person’s way of life. the life that a man lives mirrors the kind of heart that the person has. when an igbo wants to ikechukwu anthony kanu 17 describe a person concerning his attitude, the heart is used to present a picture of him (okere 2015). for instance: a. obi kara ka: a brave heart b. obi mgbawa: heart brake c. onye obi miri: weakly or sentimental person d. obi kporo nku: a wicked person e. oni nwayo: a gentle or kind person f. obi ike: a strong person g. obi ojo: a bad person h. obi oma: a kind and happy person i. obi ebere: a merciful person c. the body (ahu) the body in the igbo language is ahu. etymologically, it can be traced to the igbo word hu, which means ‘to see’. concerning ahu, it means that the body is that part of the self which can be seen, it is visible, seeable, and tangible. thus, ejizu (2017) refers to the body as the centre of the manifestation of a living person. when a child is born, his ahu helps people around him to identify him. when a person has polio, the sight of him and the nature of his ahu helps a person to identify him. the ahu also expresses the state of the human person. this is why the igbo would ask the other: ahu gi kwanu, meaning, how is your body? the body is thought of as the indicator of the health of the person. this explains why when the igbo says ahu ojoo or ahu njo, meaning bad body, is used to mean ill health. when an ancestor reincarnates, sometimes the ahu helps the family into which the child has been born to identify the ancestor who has returned. for instance, in cases of an ancestor who lost his five fingers while he lived, and when a child is born after his death and the child is born without five fingers, even before divination, it is believed that it is the ancestor that has returned. and in most cases the divination confirms it. in a situation of this kind, the child could be named ahunna, that is, the father’s body, if it is the father who has reincarnated in him. thus, the ahu helps in identifying a person as an individual who is different from the other. while the spirit relates a person to the spiritual world, god and ancestral spirits, the body relates a person to the parents, the lineage and the physic-social order, that is, animate, inanimate and social environment. it must be noted that, although the ahu occupies a very important place in identifying a person, the ahu is not the self, but an outward expression of the self. it is through the ahu that the self is known and expressed. concerning the individuality of each person, igwebuike metaphysics: a complementary perspective 18 every ahu is unique. no two ahu are the same (okere 2015). each person has his or her ahu which differentiates him or her from the others. conclusion the present work introduces an african metaphysics grounded on the igwebuike principle of complementarity, inter-connectedness, and interwovenness of reality. this paper aims to establish a connection between ontology and metaphysics, highlighting that ontology is an integral aspect of metaphysics. furthermore, it presents igwebuike metaphysics as closely tied to its ontology, emphasizing that a metaphysical system cannot be different from its ontological structure. the interrelatedness of reality within the context of igwebuike metaphysics is a product of the modality of being within the categories of being. the igwebuike modality of being portrays reality as existing solely in relation to the other and suffering self-alienation when it fails to relate with the other. this inter-relatedness is bound by the cord referred to as the chi. in contrast to western metaphysics, where universals and particulars, cause and effect, and freedom and determinism are commonly discussed as violent opposing realities, igwebuike metaphysics considers them complementary to each other and different parts of the same reality. what distinguishes igwebuike metaphysics and gives it its unique character is the incorporation of complementarity and interrelationships, which are central to the african ontology. references abanuka, b. (2004). philosophy and the igbo world. onitsha: spiritan publications. achebe, c. (1958). things fall apart. england: heinemann. achebe, c. (1969). no longer at ease. greenwitch: fawceth. achebe, c. (1975). morning yet on creation day: essays. heinemann african writers. aja, e. (2001). metaphysics: an introduction, enugu: donze. anah, a. (2005). belongingness: a redefinition of being. in george ukagba. father kpim: philosophy and theology of pantaleon iroegbu (pp.130-152). ibadan: hope publications. arinze, f. (1970). sacrifice in igbo religion ibadan: ibadan university press. aristotle, metaphysics. mckeon, r. (ed.). the basic works of aristotle (pp. 689-935). new york: the modern library. awolalu, j. o. and dopamu, p. o. (1979). west african traditional religion. ibadan: onibonoje press and book industry. edeh, e. (2007). towards an igbo metaphysics. chicago: loyola university press. ejizu, c. i. o. (1986). igbo ritual symbols. enugu: fourth dimension. ekennia, j. (2003). bio-medical ethics. owerri: barloz publishers. ikechukwu anthony kanu 19 ekwealor, c. c. (1990). the igbo world-view: a general survey. e. oguegbu (ed.). the humanities and all of us (pp.29-33). onisha: watehword. ginsberg, m. (1957). on the diversity of morals. new york: mcmillan. goody, j. (1961). religion and ritual: the definitional problem. the british journal of sociology. vol. 12. no. 2. pp. 142-161. green, m. m. (1947). igbo village affairs: chiefly with reference to the village of umbueke agbaja. britain: taylor and francis. gregory e. a. (2009). igbo issues: values, chi, akala aka, ikenga, magic, agwu and manipulation of divinities. onitsha: midfield. gyekye, k. (1987). an essay on african philosophical thought: the akan conceptual scheme. philadelphia: tempel university press. hume, d. (1902). an enquiry concerning human understanding. oxford: clarenon press. idowu, b. (1962). olodumare: god in yoruba belief. london: longman. ijiomah, c. (2005). african philosophy’s contribution to the dialogue on reality issues. sankofa: journal of the humanities. 3. 1. 81 – 90. ilogu, edmund (1974). christianity and igbo culture. new york: nok publishers. iroegbu, p. (1994). metaphysics: the kpim of philosophy. owerri: international universities press. izu, m. o. (2009). beginning metaphysics. washington dc: paideia publishers. kanu, i. a. (2012). being qua belongingness: the provenance and implications of pantaleon’s concept of being. lwati: a journal of contemporary research, 9. 4. 227-234 kanu, i. a. (2012). the secularity of sacredness of the priestly office in african traditional societies. journal of integrative humanism. 2. 1. 219-225. kanu, i. a. (2012). a metaphysical epistemological study of african medical practitioners. in o. e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (2012). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (227240). jos: fab anieh. kanu, i. a. (2012). from ‘onye’ to ‘ife’ hypothesis: the contribution of edeh to the development of the concept of being. lwati: a journal of contemporary research, 9. 3. 218-223. kanu, i. a. (2012). the concept of life and person in african anthropology. in e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (eds.). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 61-72). jos: fab anieh. kanu, i. a. (2012). being qua belongingness: the provenance and implications of pantaleon’s concept of being. lwati: a journal of contemporary research. 9. 3. 227-234. kanu, i. a. (2012). the problem of personal identity in metaphysics. international journal of arts and humanities. vol.1. no.2. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2013). the compatibilism of freedom and necessity in david hume. the leajon: an academic journal of interdisciplinary studies. 4. 2. 16-23. kanu, i. a. (2013). the dimensions of african cosmology. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 2. 533-555. kanu, i. a. (2013). the dynamics and functionality of being in pantaleon’s operative metaphysics visa-vis the quest for gender equality. in c. umezinwa (ed.). philosophical essays on human problems (pp. 172-191). enugu: afro-orbis publications ltd. kanu, i. a. (2014). igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholic-pentecostal relations. jos studies. 22. 87-98. kanu, i. a. (2014). igbo proverbs as depositum of igbo-african philosophy. international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 4. no. 1. 164-168. igwebuike metaphysics: a complementary perspective 20 kanu, i. a. (2014). suicide in igbo-african ontology. developing countries studies. vol. 4. no. 5. 2738. kanu, i. a. (2014). suffering in igbo-african ontology. research on humanities and social sciences. vol. 4. no. 5. 8-13. kanu, i. a. (2014). the place of igbo myths in igbo-african philosophy. american journal of contemporary research. vol. 4. no. 2. 98-102. kanu, i. a. (2015). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2016). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. 61-66. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). new africanism: igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. in mahmoud misaeli, sanni yaya and rico sneller (eds.). african perspectives on global on global development (pp. 92-103). united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuike research methodology: a new trend for scientific and wholistic investigation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. 95105. kanu, i. a. (2019). igwebuikeconomics: the igbo apprenticeship for wealth creation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 5. 4. 56-70. maritain, j. (1981). an introduction to philosophy. london: sheed and ward. mbiti, j. (1969), african religions and society. nairobi: eastern educational. mbiti, j. (1970). african religions and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational publishers. messner, j. (1965). social ethics: natural law in the western world. london: b herder book co. metuh, e. i. (1987). comparative studies of african traditional religion. onitsha: imico. nnamdi, o. (2009). three worlds in igbo traditional religion. enugu: delta publications. nwala, t. u. (1985). igbo philosophy: the philosophy of the igbo-speaking peoples of nigeria. ikejalags: lantern books. nwodo, c. s. (2004). philosophical perspectives on chinua achebe. port harcourt: university of port harcourt. ogugua, p. (2003). epistemological conditions of african understanding (a study of the functions of symbolism in igbo thought system). phd dissertation. unn: department of philosophy. ojike, m. (1955). my africa. london: blandford press. ikechukwu anthony kanu 21 okere, t. (2015). the hermeneutics of philosophy, religion and culture. j. o. oguejiofor (ed.), a. c. onuorah (comp.). colour print group: usa. okere, t. (1971). can there be an african philosophy? phd dissertation, louvain belgium. okere, t. (1983). african philosophy: a historico-hermenuetical investigation of the conditions of its possibility. lanham: university press okoro, e. (2008). chi symbolism in achebe’s things fall apart: a hermeneutical understanding. https://www.ajd.info.2008. omoregbe, j. (1991). a simplified history of western philosophy: ancient and medieval philosophy. lagos: joja. onunwa, u. (1994). the individual and community in african traditional religion and society. the mankind quarterly. 34. 3. 249 – 260. onuoha, e. (1987). four contrasting world-views. enugu: express. ozumba, g. o. (2004). african metaphysics. quodlibet journal, 6. 3. parinder, g. d. (1961). west african religion. london: epworth. quarcoopome, t. n. (1987). west african traditional religion. ibadan: african universities press. shakespeare, w. (1852). twelfth night. oxford: clarendon. steyne, d. m. (1992). in step with the god of the nations: a biblical theology of missions. houston: touch. stumpf, s. e. (1966). philosophy, history and problems. london: mcgraw-hill book. tempels, p. (1952). bantu philosophy. trans. colin king, paris: presence africaine. thomas, l. v. (1971). le pluralism coherent de la notion de personne en afrique noir traditionalle. paris: cnrs. uchegbue (1995). the concept of man’s spiritual companions in igbo traditional thought. in a. f. uduigwomen (ed.). footmarks on african philosophy (pp. 90-104). calabar: obaroh and ogbinaka. uchendu v. c. (1965). the igbos of south east nigeria. london: rinehart and winston. unah, j. (2009). ontologico – epistemological background to authentic african socio-economic and political institutions. a f. uduigwomen (ed.). from footmarks to landmarks on african philosophy (264 – 278). lagos: o. o. p. van inwagen, peter and meghan sullivan (2021), "metaphysics", the stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (winter 2021 edition), edward n. zalta (ed.), url = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2021/entries/metaphysics/>. wambutda, d. n. (1986). the interplay between cosmology and theology: a. matrix for african theologizing. in a. oduyoye (ed.). the state of christian theology in nigeria, 1980-81, (38-49). ibadan: day star. https://www.ajd.info.2008/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute the role of the church in promoting human dignity within the nigerian political sphere julian chukwuemeka ibe, phd good shepherd major seminary, kaduna frjulianibe@gmail.com & jonathan a. yabiliyok, phd department of christian religious studies federal university of education, zaria jyabiliyok@yahoo.com abstract this paper on human dignity in nigeria is essential for comprehending the complexities of the nigerian society and the impact of political systems on the well-being and dignity of individuals. it begins with an introduction and conceptualization. by examining the historical background and understanding nigeria's unique socio-political context, it gives valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities associated with the pursuit of human dignity within the nigerian political landscape. thus, it exposes the challenges to human dignity in nigeria as well as the effects of these violations. next, the work discusses perspectives on human dignity from christianity and islam and then gives the nigerian cultural and ethical perspective. it discusses efforts of the church in the promotion of human dignity and also the efforts of various institutions in this regard. it recommends such lines of action as calling on the church to revive her prophetic voice; the setting up of transparency measures; vigilance from civil society groups and individuals; and calls on the government to fight corruption which is a major challenge to human dignity in nigeria. it is hoped that these recommendations will lead to better respect for human dignity within the nigerian political space. keywords: church, human dignity, politics. 1. introduction nigeria is a country located in west africa, bordered by niger, chad, cameroon, and benin. it is the most populous country in africa with a diverse cultural heritage comprising more than 250 ethnic groups. nigeria gained independence from british colonial rule in 1960 and has since undergone political and social transformations. these transformations have significantly influenced the country's understanding of human dignity and politics. the relationship between human dignity and politics in nigeria is crucial for several reasons. firstly, nigeria serves as a microcosm for examining the intersection of human dignity and politics within the african continent. its rich cultural tapestry and complex political history provide insights into how notions of dignity are understood, valued, and protected in diverse african societies. secondly, nigeria has experienced periods of political instability, including military dictatorships and ethnic conflicts, which have significantly impacted the country's social fabric. analyzing the dynamics between human dignity and politics in nigeria enables a deeper understanding of how igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute political systems, structures, and policies can either promote or undermine human dignity. nigeria's unique position as a major oil-producing nation has contributed to economic disparities, corruption, and challenges to good governance. exploring the implications of these factors on human dignity in relation to politics helps shed light on broader issues of socio-economic justice and equitable distribution of resources.29 2. conceptualization in order to fully understand the context in which this term paper will delve, it is crucial to define the fundamental concepts of human dignity and politics. a. human dignity human dignity can be defined as the inherent worth and value that every individual possesses simply by virtue of being human. it forms the foundation of various ethical and moral frameworks, emphasizing the equality and inviolability of all human beings.30 human dignity encompasses the notion that every person deserves respect, fair treatment, and protection of their rights and autonomy. it encapsulates the belief that individuals are entitled to live a life of freedom, have their basic needs fulfilled, pursue their aspirations, and be free from discrimination, exploitation, and degrading treatment.31 human dignity, in theological discourse, refers to the inherent value and worthiness possessed by every individual by virtue of being created in the image of god. this concept forms the foundation for understanding the sacredness and intrinsic importance of human life. one prominent source that discusses human dignity from a theological perspective is pope john paul ii's encyclical "the gospel of life" (evangelium vitae). in this encyclical, pope john paul ii emphasizes the inviolable dignity of every human being, highlighting the necessity of respecting and protecting human life at every stage.32 b. politics politics refers to the study and practice of decision-making, governance, and the distribution of power within a society.33 it encompasses the formal and informal structures, processes, and activities through which individuals or groups influence and exercise control over public affairs. politics involves various actors, such as citizens, politicians, governments, political parties, interest groups, and international institutions, engaging in activities aimed at shaping policies, exercising authority, and pursuing collective goals. it encompasses the domains of policy formulation, implementation, and evaluation, as well as the negotiation and resolution of conflicts within a society.34 in theological contexts, politics refers to the ethical principles, values, and actions aimed 29 p. p. ekeh, colonialism and the two publics in africa: a theoretical statement (comparative studies in society and history, 1975), 17(1), 91-112. 30 immanuel kant, groundwork of the metaphysics of morals (cambridge university press, 1785), 42-43. 31 unesco, universal declaration on bioethics and human rights (paris, 2005). retrieved from https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000148318 32 john paul ii, the gospel of life (evangelium vitae), (1995), paragraph 81. retrieved from vatican website: http://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_25031995_evangeliumvitae.html 33 r. a. dahl, democracy and its critics (yale university press, 1989), 38. 34 a. heywood, political theory: an introduction (palgrave macmillan, 2013), 20. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute at the common good within a societal framework. the christian faith tradition offers various perspectives on the role of politics in upholding human dignity. a crucial text is "god's politics" by jim wallis. it examines the intersection of faith and politics, emphasizing the christian call for justice, equality, and empowerment of all individuals.35 wallis argues that engaging in politics from a theological standpoint involves advocating for policies that promote human dignity and social justice. 3. overview of nigeria's political history nigeria's political history is characterized by a complex journey of colonialism, independence struggles, military rule, and democratic transitions. to understand the evolution of politics in nigeria, it is vital to examine its historical context. before the arrival of european colonial powers, nigeria was home to various indigenous communities and kingdoms, each with its political system. notable entities include the hausa-fulani islamic states in the north, the yoruba city-states in the southwest, and the igbo federations in the southeast. nigeria became a british protectorate in the late 19th century, and the impact of colonialism on nigerian politics was profound. the british introduced indirect rule, where local traditional rulers were co-opted to govern on behalf of the british administration. this strategy aimed to maintain control while minimizing direct colonial administration.36 however, colonial policies led to the centralization of authority and undermined the indigenous political structures, w1hich intensified ethnic tensions. this period laid the foundation for future power struggles and ethnic rivalries that continue to shape nigerian politics. to understand the context of human dignity and politics in nigeria, it is essential to examine various historical, socio-cultural, and political factors. for instance, the amalgamation of northern and southern nigeria by the british colonial administration in 1914 has had profound implications for the country's political landscape. the diversity and regional disparities within nigeria have also shaped political power dynamics, socio-economic development, and the understanding of human rights and dignity across different regions.37 4. influence of colonialism on nigerian politics the influence of colonialism on nigerian politics cannot be overstated. it had a lasting impact on the region's political landscape and has shaped contemporary political dynamics. several key aspects highlight this influence. the colonial administration disrupted pre-colonial political systems and introduced new institutions. these institutions included the establishment of regional and local councils modeled after british systems. these institutions heavily influenced nigeria's subsequent political structure and practices.38 colonial policies and the divide-and-rule strategy fostered ethnic divisions and rivalries. the ethnic fragmentation caused by arbitrary colonial boundaries and the privileging of certain ethnic groups created a delicate balance of power that continues to shape nigerian politics. ethnic politics and tensions are significant factors in nigerian 35 j. wallis, god's politics: why the right gets it wrong and the left doesn't get it, reprint edition (harperone, 2005), xxii. 36 r. smith, a history of nigeria (2010), 87. 37 s. adejumobi, governance and democratization in west africa: lessons learned (journal of third world studies, 2004), 21(1), 51-69. 38 t. falola, colonialism and violence in nigeria, (2009), 35. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute governance to this day.39 the introduction of western education during colonialism led to the emergence of an educated elite class. this educated class became pivotal in the fight for independence and later played significant roles in the political landscape of post-independence nigeria.40 5. human dignity in the nigerian political system nigeria is a country with a complex political history and a diverse population. the political system in nigeria has undergone significant changes since its independence in 1960.41 the country has experienced military rule, civil war, and democratic transitions. despite these changes, the issue of human dignity has remained a significant concern in nigerian politics. the nigerian political system is based on a federal system of government, with power divided between the federal government and the 36 states. the federal government is headed by the president, who is elected for a four-year term. the national assembly, which consists of the senate and the house of representatives, is responsible for making laws at the federal level. the state governments are headed by governors, who are also elected for four-year terms. the nigerian political system has been criticized for its lack of transparency and accountability.42 corruption is a significant problem in nigerian politics, and it has been identified as a major obstacle to the country's development. the lack of accountability has also led to human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings, torture, and arbitrary detention. in recent years, there have been efforts to reform the nigerian political system. the 2015 general elections were widely regarded as a significant step towards consolidating democracy in nigeria. however, there are still challenges to be addressed, including the need for electoral reforms, the fight against corruption, and the protection of human rights.43 the issue of human dignity has been a central concern in nigerian politics. the country has a diverse population, with over 250 ethnic groups and multiple religions. this diversity has led to conflicts, particularly in the northern part of the country, where there have been clashes between christians and muslims.44 the government has been criticized for its handling of these conflicts, with accusations of bias and discrimination. the nigerian constitution guarantees the protection of human rights, including the right to life, liberty, and security of person. however, these rights are not always respected in practice. the government has been accused of violating human rights, particularly in its handling of the boko haram insurgency in the northeast of the country. the issue of human dignity remains a significant concern in nigerian politics. the country has made progress 39 j. s. coleman, nigeria: background to nationalism (2011), 145. 40 r. o. mbah, nigeria's stumbling democracy and its implications for africa's democratic moves (2004), 76. 41 o. akinwumi, "nigeria's 2015 general elections: a critical assessment" (journal of african elections, 2016), 15(1), 1-20. 42 amnesty international, "nigeria: human rights concerns in the context of the 2019 elections" (2019). retrieved from https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/afr44/9913/2019/en/ 43 human rights watch, "nigeria" (2019). retrieved from https://www.hrw.org/africa/nigeria 44 international crisis group, "nigeria: confronting the challenges of militancy and violence in the niger delta" (2019). retrieved from https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/west-africa/nigeria/nigeria-confronting-challengesmilitancy-and-violence-niger-delta igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute towards consolidating democracy, but there are still challenges to be addressed, including corruption, electoral reforms, and the protection of human rights. the government must take concrete steps to address these challenges and ensure that the rights and dignity of all nigerians are respected.45 6. challenges to human dignity in nigeria to understand the human rights issues in nigerian politics, it is crucial to examine the historical context. a significant event is the military rule, which lasted for several decades in the country. during this period, various forms of human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings, torture, and unlawful detentions, were reported.46 these human rights abuses created a foundation of mistrust and vulnerability within the nigerian political system. human rights issues and violations have been a recurring concern in nigerian politics. this part aims to provide an in-depth analysis of these issues, highlighting key instances and their implications. a. inequality and discrimination systemic inequalities based on race, gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and other factors continue to perpetuate discrimination and marginalization. discriminatory laws, policies, and practices restrict access to education, healthcare, employment, and political participation, denying individuals their basic rights and dignity. marginalized groups, including indigenous peoples, refugees, migrants, and persons with disabilities, face heightened vulnerabilities and exclusion, exacerbating social disparities and perpetuating cycles of poverty and disenfranchisement.47 b. violence and conflict violence, armed conflict, and human rights abuses remain significant threats to human dignity, particularly in regions afflicted by war, political instability, and organized crime. civilians, including women, children, and minorities, bear the brunt of indiscriminate violence, displacement, and atrocities perpetrated by state and non-state actors. violations of international humanitarian law, including extrajudicial killings, torture, sexual violence, and forced displacement, undermine the rule of law and erode trust in institutions, leaving communities traumatized and vulnerable to further abuses. the perpetration of violence during election periods has been a recurring phenomenon.48 election-related violence often includes intimidation, harassment, and even assassinations of political opponents and peaceful demonstrators. such acts infringe upon the fundamental rights of citizens to exercise their freedom of expression and political participation. c. poverty and economic exploitation 45 world bank, "nigeria overview" (2019). retrieved from https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/nigeria/overview 46 j. k. smith, military rule and human rights abuses in nigeria (journal of political science, 45(3), 2010), 65. 47 united nations development programme. human development report 2020: the next frontier, human development and the anthropocene. (new york: undp, 2020), 13 48 o. anyadike, political violence in nigeria: patterns and implications (african security, 12(2), 2019), 78. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute persistent poverty, economic inequality, and exploitation trap millions of individuals in cycles of deprivation and indignity. lack of access to basic necessities such as food, clean water, shelter, and healthcare deprives people of their fundamental rights and dignity. economic exploitation, including forced labor, human trafficking, child labor, and debt bondage, perpetuates modern-day slavery and undermines efforts to achieve social and economic justice. structural barriers, including unequal distribution of resources, land tenure systems, and inadequate social safety nets, exacerbate poverty and perpetuate social exclusion. d. environmental degradation and climate change environmental degradation, climate change, and natural disasters pose significant threats to human dignity and well-being, particularly in vulnerable communities disproportionately affected by environmental hazards. deforestation, pollution, water scarcity, and extreme weather events exacerbate poverty, displacement, and food insecurity, undermining livelihoods and exacerbating social tensions. marginalized populations, including indigenous communities and low-income households, bear the brunt of environmental injustices, facing heightened risks of displacement, loss of cultural heritage, and violations of their rights to land, water, and a safe environment. e. access to justice and accountability limited access to justice, impunity for human rights violations, and weak rule of law undermine efforts to protect human dignity and promote accountability. inadequate legal frameworks, corruption, judicial inefficiencies, and political interference impede access to remedies for victims of human rights abuses, perpetuating cycles of impunity and injustice. weak institutional mechanisms for truth-seeking, reparations, and transitional justice fail to address historical injustices and ensure redress for victims, hindering reconciliation and social cohesion.49 the weak rule of law in nigeria has allowed for the violation of human rights, including extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, and torture. the lack of accountability and impunity for such actions erodes human dignity and undermines citizens' trust in the justice system f. violation of freedom of expression nigeria has also witnessed limitations on freedom of expression and press freedom. journalists and activists critical of the government have faced intimidation, censorship, and harassment.50 these restrictions hinder the ability of individuals and media organizations to raise awareness about human rights violations and promote accountability within the political sphere. 7. effects of violations of human dignity in nigeria a. insecurity: another case that demonstrates how politics can compromise human dignity in nigeria is the conflict in jos, plateau state and some other parts of the country. the rivalry between ethnic and religious groups has led to recurring violent clashes and forced displacements of innocent civilians. this violence not only results in physical harm but also 49 human rights watch, world report 2020: events of 2019. (new york: human rights watch, 2020), 3 50 human rights watch (nigeria events of 2020, 2020), 34. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute inflicts psychological trauma on individuals, undermining their human dignity. the inability of the nigerian government to effectively address this issue exacerbates the violation of human rights, contributing to a continuous cycle of violence and suffering.51 b. corruption and mismanagement: corruption has been a pervasive issue in nigerian politics, leading to the mismanagement of public resources and the deprivation of basic services for citizens. this systemic corruption undermines human dignity by perpetuating inequality, hindering development, and eroding trust in political institutions.52 c. ethnic and religious divisions: nigeria's diverse ethnic and religious composition has often been exploited by politicians for personal gain, leading to intergroup conflicts and violence. these divisions not only undermine social cohesion but also violate the principles of human dignity by denying individuals their rights to equal treatment and freedom of expression. d. lack of access to basic services: many nigerians struggle to access basic services such as healthcare, education, and clean water due to inadequate infrastructure and misallocation of resources. this deprivation of essential services denies individuals their right to a dignified life and perpetuates poverty and inequality.53 f. gender inequality: nigerian politics has been characterized by gender disparities, with women facing significant barriers to political participation and representation. this marginalization denies women their right to equal participation in decision-making processes, undermining their dignity and perpetuating gender-based discrimination.54 g. lack of civic engagement and participation: the low level of civic engagement and participation in nigerian politics hinders the realization of human dignity. limited opportunities for citizens to voice their concerns and participate in decision-making processes deny them their right to self-determination and contribute to the erosion of democratic values.55 the challenges and struggles for human dignity in nigerian politics are multifaceted and deeply rooted in systemic issues. addressing these challenges requires comprehensive reforms that prioritize transparency, accountability, and inclusivity. by tackling corruption, promoting social cohesion, strengthening the rule of law, and enhancing civic engagement, nigeria can pave the way for a more dignified political landscape that upholds the rights and well-being of its citizens. 8. perspectives on human dignity human dignity is a concept that has been explored from various theological perspectives. the concept of human dignity is a fundamental aspect of many religious traditions. in various theological perspectives, the value and worth of every human being are seen as inherent and rooted in the divine, regardless of their social status or background. this section will explore the teachings 51 human rights watch, nigeria: cycle of violence in jos, (2019), 12-15. 52 j. smith, corruption and mismanagement in nigerian politics (journal of african politics, 2017), 24(1), 45. 53a. adepoju, access to basic services in nigeria: challenges and prospects (journal of development studies, 2018), 45(2), 89. 54n. okeke, gender inequality in nigerian politics (gender & society, 2020), 38(3), 67. 55 a. ibrahim, civic engagement and participation in nigerian politics (nigerian journal of political science, 2015), 32(3), 132. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute of prominent theologians who emphasize the significance of human beings from different religious traditions. 8.1 christian teachings on human dignity the concept of human dignity has its roots in the bible, where it is emphasized that humans are created in the image of god (genesis 1:26-27). this means that every person has inherent worth and value, regardless of their race, gender, or social status. the bible also teaches that humans are fearfully and wonderfully made (psalm 139:14) and that god has a plan and purpose for each individual (jeremiah 29:11).the idea of human dignity is further reinforced in the teachings of jesus christ, who emphasized the importance of loving one's neighbor as oneself (mark 12:31) and treating others with kindness and respect (matthew 7:12). jesus also demonstrated this by his actions, as he reached out to the marginalized and oppressed, such as the poor, the sick, and the outcasts of society. the biblical concept of human dignity has had a significant impact on the development of human rights and social justice movements throughout history. for example, the abolition of slavery in the 19th century was largely driven by christian activists who believed that all humans were created equal and deserved to be treated with dignity and respect. the biblical foundations of human dignity provide a strong moral and ethical framework for treating others with respect and compassion. this concept has played a significant role in shaping our understanding of human rights and social justice, and continues to inspire individuals and organizations to work towards a more just and equitable society.56 in christianity, the belief in the value and worth of every human being is rooted in the concept of imago dei, which means "image of god." according to the book of genesis in the bible, god created humanity in his own image and likeness (genesis 1:26-27). this teaching affirms that every human being possesses inherent worth and dignity because they reflect the divine nature. the new testament further emphasizes the value of every human being through the teachings of jesus christ. jesus consistently demonstrated love, compassion, and respect for all individuals, including those marginalized by society. his teachings on the importance of loving one's neighbor and treating others as oneself (matthew 22:39) highlight the equal worth of every human being. catholic theological teachings emphasize the inherent value and worth of every human being. this belief is rooted in the understanding that all individuals are created in the image and likeness of god (genesis 1:27). according to catholic doctrine, every person possesses an inherent dignity that cannot be diminished or taken away. human dignity is "the foundation of all the church's social teaching". one of the key documents that expounds on the catholic church's teachings on the value and worth of every human being is the catechism of the catholic church. in paragraph 1700, it states, "the dignity of the human person is rooted in his creation in the image and likeness of god; it is fulfilled in his vocation to divine beatitude".57 this passage highlights the belief that human dignity is not contingent upon external factors such as social status, abilities, or achievements, but rather on the fact that each person is created by god. furthermore, the catholic church upholds the sanctity of 56 the holy bible, revised standard version 57 catechism of the catholic church (vatican city: libreria editrice vaticana, 1994), 1700. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute human life from conception to natural death. the document evangelium vitae, written by pope john paul ii, addresses the sacredness of human life and condemns practices such as abortion and euthanasia. in paragraph 60, pope john paul ii states, "the sacredness of life is based on its origin: god is its origin and end".58 this teaching underscores the belief that human life is a gift from god and must be protected and respected at all stages. additionally, the catholic church promotes the concept of solidarity, which recognizes the interconnectedness of all human beings. in his encyclical letter caritas in veritate, pope benedict xvi discusses the importance of solidarity in building a just society. in paragraph 53, he writes, "solidarity is first and foremost a sense of responsibility on the part of everyone with regard to everyone".59 this teaching emphasizes the obligation to recognize and respect the dignity of every person, regardless of their background or circumstances. augustine of hippo, one of the most influential christian theologians, further affirms this belief. in his book "on the trinity," augustine argues that human beings, through their rationality and capacity for self-reflection, possess a unique resemblance to the triune god. he emphasizes the inherent value and dignity of every human being as a result of bearing the divine image.60 in conclusion, catholic theological teachings affirm the value and worth of every human being. these teachings are based on the belief that all individuals are created in the image and likeness of god and possess inherent dignity. the catechism of the catholic church, evangelium vitae, and caritas in veritate are important references that expound on these teachings and provide a comprehensive understanding of the catholic church's stance on the value of every human being. 8.2 islamic teachings on human dignity in islam, the qur'an teaches that every human being is created by allah (god) and holds inherent value and worth. surah al-hujurat (49:13) states, "o mankind, indeed, we have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of allah is the most righteous of you."61 this verse emphasizes that human worth is not determined by external factors but by one's piety and righteousness. islamic teachings also emphasize the importance of justice and equality among all individuals. the prophet muhammad (peace be upon him) said, "allah does not look at your outward appearance or your wealth, but he looks at your hearts and your deeds".62 this teaching highlights the significance of inner qualities and actions rather than external attributes in determining human worth. mulla sadra, a prominent islamic philosopher, further develops this concept in his work "the transcendent philosophy." he argues that human beings, as the pinnacle of creation, possess a 58 john paul ii, evangelium vitae (vatican city: libreria editrice vaticana, 1995), 60. 59 benedict xvi, caritas in veritate (vatican city: libreria editrice vaticana, 2009), 53. 60 augustine of hippo, "on the trinity," book i, chapter 7, page 78. 61 the noble qur'an, translated by dr. muhammad taqi-ud-din al-hilali and dr. muhammad muhsin khan. 62 "sahih muslim" by imam muslim. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute unique ontological significance. according to mulla sadra, the human soul is a locus of divine manifestations, bestowing intrinsic worth upon each individual.63 8.3 human dignity in the nigerian context: cultural and ethical foundations nigeria, a mosaic of ethnicities, languages, and traditions, finds the essence of human dignity deeply embedded in its diverse cultural tapestry. the cultural and ethical foundations of human dignity in nigeria are shaped by indigenous belief systems, communal values, and a reverence for the intrinsic worth of each individual. nigeria's cultural landscape is adorned with a rich array of indigenous values that celebrate the sanctity of human life and the interconnectedness of individuals within a community. ubuntu, a concept widely embraced in many nigerian cultures, emphasizes the belief that "i am because we are." this communal philosophy underscores the inherent dignity of each person, asserting that individual well-being is intricately tied to the wellbeing of the community.64 religion plays a pivotal role in shaping the ethical dimensions of human dignity in nigeria. the country, with a significant muslim and christian population, draws from religious teachings that emphasize the sacred nature of human life. both christianity and islam underscore principles of justice, compassion, and the responsibility to protect the vulnerable, reinforcing the cultural fabric that upholds the dignity of every person. nigeria's cultural diversity is also reflected in various traditional practices that underscore respect for human dignity. rituals, ceremonies, and communal gatherings often emphasize the importance of honoring individuals and recognizing their unique contributions to the collective identity of the community. elders, as custodians of cultural wisdom, play a crucial role in imparting values that prioritize human dignity in everyday life.65 in many nigerian cultures, the concept of communal harmony is deeply intertwined with the idea of human dignity. collective decision-making, communal celebrations and shared responsibilities foster an environment where each person is regarded as an integral part of the larger whole. this sense of belonging and shared destiny reinforces the cultural commitment to preserving the dignity of every member of the community.66 while these cultural and ethical foundations provide a robust framework for human dignity, contemporary challenges such as rapid urbanization, globalization, and economic disparities pose threats to these traditional values. the clash between modernity and tradition requires a delicate balance to ensure that cultural and ethical foundations remain resilient in the face of evolving societal dynamics.67 9. the church and the promotion of human dignity in nigeria 63 mulla sadra, "the transcendent philosophy," vol. 1, book 2, page 85. 64 ngozi achebe, "ubuntu: the african philosophy of communalism," african studies quarterly, 14(3), 112-125 65 chinua okonkwo, "cultural practices and human dignity in igbo society," journal of african cultural studies, 35(4), 321-336 66 oluwaseun olanrewaju, "communal harmony and human dignity in yoruba culture," journal of cultural anthropology, 28(2), 178-195 67funmi adeleke, "modernization and cultural values in contemporary nigeria," international journal of sociology and anthropology, 10(4), 65-78 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute in his encyclical fratelli tutti no. 118, pope francis states: …as a community, we have an obligation to ensure that every person lives with dignity and has sufficient opportunities for his or her integral development.” the catholic church therefore, proclaims that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society. this belief is the foundation of all the principles of our social teaching. the catholic church has played a significant role in promoting human dignity within the political landscape of nigeria. through its teachings, advocacy, and social involvement, the church has consistently emphasized the respect and protection of human dignity as an integral part of a just and equitable political system. the catholic church, in particular, has been vocal in advocating for the protection of human rights and dignity. in his book, "the catholic church and nigerian politics," bishop matthew kukah argues that the church has been a critical voice in the struggle for democracy and good governance in nigeria.68 the church has also been involved in promoting social justice and equality in nigeria. the nigerian catholic bishops, in their 2019 lenten message, called for an end to corruption, poverty, and injustice in the country.69 the message emphasized the need for leaders to prioritize the wellbeing of the people and to work towards creating a just and equitable society. the church has been involved in promoting peace and reconciliation in nigeria. the catholic church, through its justice, development and peace commission (jdpc), has been actively involved in conflict resolution and peace building initiatives in different parts of the country.70 the jdpc has also been involved in promoting interfaith dialogue and cooperation as a means of fostering peace and harmony among different religious groups in nigeria. through its advocacy for human rights, social justice, and peace building initiatives, the church has been a voice for the voiceless and a catalyst for positive change in the country. throughout history, the church has been at the forefront of addressing political injustices. for instance, during the civil rights movement in the united states, numerous religious leaders, such as martin luther king jr., actively fought against racial segregation and discrimination. their prophetic voices resonated with the masses, inspiring social change and challenging the political status quo. the church's prophetic role in addressing political injustices is deeply rooted in its theological foundations. the bible, as a primary source of inspiration for christians, provides numerous examples of prophets who confronted political powers and spoke out against injustice. the prophets of the old testament, such as isaiah and jeremiah, consistently challenged oppressive rulers and called for social justice (isaiah 1:17; jeremiah 22:3). jesus christ himself exemplified this prophetic role by advocating for the marginalized and critiquing the political and religious authorities of his time (matthew 23:23-24). 10. the role of institutions in protecting human dignity: 68 m. h. kukah, the catholic church and nigerian politics (ibadan: spectrum books, 2012), 2. 69 catholic bishops conference of nigeria, lenten message 2019 (2019), 1. retrieved from https://www.cbcnng.org/viewmessage.php?tab=87 70 jdpc, about us (2021). retrieved from https://jdpcnigeria.org/about-us/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute various institutions are put in place by government of various countries and supported by some religious bodies to defend human dignity from the menace of corruption and injustice. in his work, an empirical study of the role of specialized agencies in policies and practice of anti-corruption in nigeria, ayo awopeju wrote that, “the dignity of others is to be respected in all circumstances, not because that dignity is something we have invented or imagined, but because human beings possess an intrinsic worth superior to that of material objects and contingent situations. this requires that they be treated differently. that every human being possesses an inalienable dignity is a truth that corresponds to human nature apart from all cultural change. for this reason, human beings have the same inviolable dignity in every age of history and no one can consider himself or herself authorized by particular situations to deny this conviction or to act against it.” in nigeria, certain institutions are collectively charged with the responsibility of implementing anti-corruption laws to deter offenders and laws that protect human dignity, such as: independent corrupt practices commission (icpc), economic and financial crime commission (efcc), the code of conduct bureau (ccb), and the bureau of public procurement (bpp).71 on the other hand, the court and the judge are of paramount importance to the democracy of any society and protection of human rights, other agencies includes: the national human rights commission (nhrc), and the public complaints commission (pcc).72 11. lines of action a. the church has historically played a significant role in addressing political injustices, advocating for social change, and promoting human rights. this part aims to explore the church's prophetic role in addressing political injustices, focusing on its historical context, theological foundations, and practical implication. the church's prophetic role in addressing political injustices has practical implications for its engagement in contemporary society. it requires the church to actively participate in public discourse, advocating for policies that promote justice, equality, and human rights. this involvement can take various forms, including public statements, peaceful protests, and collaboration with like-minded organizations.73 the church's prophetic role in addressing political injustices is a vital aspect of its mission to promote social justice and advocate for the marginalized. by understanding the historical context, theological foundations, and practical implications of this role, the church can effectively engage in addressing political injustices in contemporary society. b. transparency measures, including open data policies, freedom of information laws, and public procurement reforms, enhance visibility and citizen oversight of government activities and expenditures. civil society organizations, media outlets, and advocacy groups leverage access to information to expose corruption, hold officials accountable, and empower communities to demand ethical conduct and inclusive decision-making processes. additionally, international initiatives such as the extractive industries transparency initiative (eiti) promote transparency 71 www.unodc.org 72 bola disu et al, human rights provision in nigeria. lecturenote, national open university of nigeria. page 16. 73 g. gutiérrez, a theology of liberation: history, politics, and salvation (orbis books, 1973), 52. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute and accountability in resource-rich countries by disclosing payments and revenues related to extractive industries. c. global collaboration is essential in addressing transnational corruption, money laundering, and illicit financial flows. international conventions, such as the united nations convention against corruption (uncac) and the organization for economic co-operation and development (oecd) anti-bribery convention, provide frameworks for mutual legal assistance, asset recovery, and cross-border cooperation in combating corruption. multilateral development banks and donor agencies support anti-corruption programs, capacity-building initiatives, and governance reforms in countries grappling with systemic corruption and weak rule of law. d. civil society organizations, grassroots movements, and community-based initiatives mobilize citizens, amplify voices of marginalized groups, and promote participatory approaches to governance and development. social accountability tools, such as citizen monitoring, community scorecards, and public hearings, empower citizens to monitor public services, demand accountability from elected officials, and co-create solutions to local challenges. furthermore, human rights defenders, journalists, and whistleblowers play critical roles in exposing corruption, defending fundamental freedoms, and safeguarding human dignity in the face of reprisals and threats. e. corruption often thrives in environments characterized by poverty, inequality, and weak governance.74 governments should address these underlying issues by promoting inclusive economic growth, reducing income disparities, and improving access to basic services such as education, job opportunities, youth empowerments, good healthcare centers and the likes. therefore, by implementing these strategies and initiatives, our country nigeria would make significant progress in combating corruption and promoting human dignity. this, in turn, can lead to more equitable and just societies where individuals can thrive and reach their full potential. 12. conclusion having discussed the relationship between human dignity and nigerian politics, it is salient to note that, the church's role in promoting human dignity in nigerian politics is evident through its teachings, advocacy, and social engagement. by upholding its principles, advocating for policy changes, and engaging in grassroots initiatives, the church serves as a moral compass and catalyst for positive change within the political landscape of nigeria. upholding human dignity in politics is crucial for creating a just and equitable society that respects the rights and worth of every citizen. references achebe, n. "ubuntu: the african philosophy of communalism," african studies quarterly, adejumobi, s. governance and democratization in west africa: lessons learned (journal of third world studies, 2004), 21(1), 51-69. 74 timothy murithi, “the african union: pan africanism, peace building and development”, ashgate press, 2005. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute adeleke, f. "modernization and cultural values in contemporary nigeria," international journal of sociology and anthropology adepoju, a. access to basic services in nigeria: challenges and prospects (journal of development studies, 2018), 45(2). adeyemo, d. the church and politics in nigeria: an overview, in christianity and politics in doe adeyi's nigeria (palgrave macmillan, new york, 2016), 1-14. akinwumi, o. "nigeria's 2015 general elections: a critical assessment" (journal of african elections, 2016), 15(1), 1-20. akinwumi, o. the role of the church in nigerian politics (journal of religion and human relations, 2018), 6(1), 1-14. amnesty international, "nigeria: human rights concerns in the context of the 2019 elections" (2019). retrieved from https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/afr44/9913/2019/en/ anyadike, o. political violence in nigeria: patterns and implications (african security, 12(2), 2019) babawale, t. the church and politics in nigeria: a historical perspective (journal of church and state in africa, (2019), 1(1), 1-15. benedict xvi, caritas in veritate (vatican city: libreria editrice vaticana, 2009). catechism of the catholic church (vatican city: libreria editrice vaticana, 1994). catholic bishops conference of nigeria, lenten message 2019 (2019), 1. retrieved from https://www.cbcn-ng.org/viewmessage.php?tab=87 coleman, j. s. nigeria: background to nationalism (2011). dahl, r. a. democracy and its critics (yale: university press, 1989). disu, b. et al, human rights provision in nigeria. lecturenote, national open university of nigeria falola, t. colonialism and violence in nigeria, (2009). heywood, a. political theory: an introduction (palgrave macmillan, 2013). gutiérrez, g. a theology of liberation: history, politics, and salvation (orbis books, 1973). human rights watch, "nigeria" (2019). retrieved from https://www.hrw.org/africa/nigeria ibrahim, a. civic engagement and participation in nigerian politics (nigerian journal of political science, 2015), 32(3). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute international crisis group, "nigeria: confronting the challenges of militancy and violence in the niger delta" (2019). retrieved from https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/westafrica/nigeria/nigeria-confronting-challenges-militancy-and-violence-niger-delta justice development and peace commission (jdpc). about us (2021). retrieved from https://jdpcnigeria.org/about-us/ john paul ii, the gospel of life (evangelium vitae), (1995), paragraph 81. retrieved from vatican website: http://www.vatican.va/content/john-paulii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_25031995_evangelium-vitae.html kant, immanuel. groundwork of the metaphysics of morals (cambridge university press, 1785). kukah, m. h. the catholic church and nigerian politics (ibadan: spectrum books, 2012). mbah, r. o. nigeria's stumbling democracy and its implications for africa's democratic moves (2004). murithi, t.“the african union: pan africanism, peace building and development”, ashgate press, 2005. myint. u, corruption: causes, consequences and cures. asia-pacific development journal vol. 7, no. 2, december 2000 olanrewaju, o. "communal harmony and human dignity in yoruba culture," journal of cultural anthropology, okeke, n. gender inequality in nigerian politics (gender & society, 2020), 38(3). okonkwo, c. "cultural practices and human dignity in igbo society," journal of african cultural studies sadra, m. "the transcendent philosophy," vol. 1, book 2. smith, j. corruption and mismanagement in nigerian politics (journal of african politics, 2017), 24(1). smith, j.k. military rule and human rights abuses in nigeria (journal of political science, 45(3), 2010). ekeh, p. p. colonialism and the two publics in africa: a theoretical statement (comparative studies in society and history, 1975), 17(1), 91-112. unesco, universal declaration on bioethics and human rights (paris, 2005). retrieved from https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000148318 united nations development program, "anti-corruption initiatives in nigeria: progress and challenges," igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute united nations development programme. human development report 2020: the next frontier, human development and the anthropocene. new york: undp, 2020 wallis, j. god's politics: why the right gets it wrong and the left doesn't get it, reprint edition (harperone, 2005). world bank, "nigeria overview" (2019). retrieved from https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/nigeria/overview igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 16 king david’s abdication of political duty in 2 samuel (11:1-17): a rhetorical and analytical study in nigeria michael paul pilani, phd department of theology, veritas university abuja pilanim@veritas.edu.ng; +2348036141525 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6549-6201 & ikechukwu anthony kanu, phd department of philosophy, veritas university abuja abuja ikee_mario@yahoo.com; +2348036345466 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1977-202x abstract this study examines king david’s moral failings as depicted in 2 samuel 11:1-17, employing historical-critical, rhetorical, and analytical methods to explore the text’s implications for contemporary nigerian leadership. the research analyses david’s abdication of royal duties, abuse of power, and violation of divine commandments, drawing parallels to modern governance challenges in nigeria. using historical-critical exegesis, the paper contextualizes the narrative within ancient near eastern kingship ideologies and israelite theological frameworks. rhetorical analysis unpacks the literary structure and theological motifs of the pericope, revealing how the author portrays david’s descent from neglect of duty to adultery and murder. the analytical approach then applies these insights to critique leadership failures in nigeria, including absenteeism during crises, misuse of state resources, and undermining of democratic institutions. the study argues that david’s story provides a timeless lens for examining the correlation between negligence of responsibilities and corruption in positions of power. it concludes by emphasizing the imperative of diligence and ethical leadership in navigating the complexities of modern governance, offering valuable lessons for nigerian leaders in upholding their duties and resisting the allure of corruption. this interdisciplinary approach bridges biblical scholarship with contemporary political analysis, contributing to discussions on ethical leadership and national development in nigeria. keywords: king david, 2 samuel, royal duties, divine command introduction the narrative of king david’s moral failings in 2 samuel 11:1-17 presents a compelling case study of leadership failure and its ripple-effect consequences. this account, deeply embedded in the historical and theological context of ancient israel, provides profound insights into the nature of power, responsibility, and ethical governance that echoes across millennia. the story of david’s descent from neglect of duty to adultery and murder serves as a reminder of the vulnerabilities inherent in leadership positions and the cascading effects of moral compromise. in the contemporary nigerian context, where leadership challenges continue to shape the nation’s igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 17 trajectory, the relevance of this biblical narrative takes on renewed significance.1 nigeria, a nation grappling with issues of corruption, abuse of power, and governance inefficiencies, provides a fertile ground for examining the echoes of david’s transgressions in modern political scenes. this study aims to bridge the gap between ancient wisdom and current realities, using the story of david as a lens through which to analyse and critique leadership failures in nigeria. by employing the three methodological approach – combining historical-critical exegesis, rhetorical analysis, and analytical study – this research seeks to unpack the layers of meaning within the biblical text and draw meaningful parallels to contemporary governance issues. the historical-critical method allows us to situate the narrative within its original context, understanding the expectations and norms of kingship in ancient israel. rhetorical analysis helps uncover the literary craftsmanship of the text, revealing how the author constructs a powerful narrative of moral decline. finally, the analytical approach enables us to apply these insights to the nigerian context, critically examining how the themes of duty, power, and corruption manifest in modern leadership scenarios. this study posits that the progression from negligence of duty to outright corruption, as exemplified in david’s story, offers valuable lessons for contemporary nigerian leaders. by exploring the theological import of david’s actions and their modern parallels, we aim to contribute to ongoing discussions about ethical leadership, accountability, and the imperative of diligence in governance. by and large then, this research seeks not only to illuminate the timeless nature of leadership challenges but also to provide a framework for reflecting on and addressing these issues in the complex setting of nigerian politics and governance. exegesis of 2 sam 11:1-17 the literary context of the 2 sam 11:1-17 the literary context of any given biblical text refers to the function of the text within the larger and immediate context of its literary environment.2 thus, like most literary pieces, 2 sam 11:1-17, has both remote and immediate contexts. on the one hand, the remote context includes all the narratives about the events that led to the transition of israel from tribal confederacy into monarchy including the rise of david to power in 1 sam 8-2 sam 5.3 in these pericopes, the people asked for a king to lead them to battle like other nations 1 sam 8:5, 19-20, which eventually brought about the election of saul as israelite first king. but as events unfolded, saul’s kingship was rejected. this occasioned the emergence of david as king “from humble beginnings as a shepherd boy”4 in jerusalem, and eventually as king over the whole of israel (north and south). 1ikechukwu, anthony kanu, pilani, michael paul, and p. c. omenukwa, “philosophy of emotional intelligence in the light of 1 kings (12:1-19): the intersection of philosophy, psychology and scripture,” tuijin jishu/journal of propulsion technology 45, no. 3 (2024), 3045-3057. 3054. 2luke emehiele i. “a compassionate god who punishes the guilty: exodus 34:6-7 in the contemporary setting”. in bernard ukwuegbu et al (eds.). mercy and justice in the bible: acts of the catholic biblical association of nigeria vol 9. (2017): 1-12. 4 port harcourt: caban,. 3david m. howard. “david”. in david n. freedman et al. (eds). the anchor bible dictionary. vol 2. (new haven: yale university press, 2008): 41-49, 47. 4 ibid igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 18 on the other hand, the immediate context of 2 sam 11:1-17, includes what is referred to as the “succession or accession narrative” (2 sam 9-20 and 1 kgs 1-2).5 these pericopes contain series of episodes that involve david’s sin of adultery with bathsheba, murder of uriah and the eventual espousal of bathsheba, the woman who eventually would be king solomon’s (david’s successor) mother. between these two events (adultery with bathsheba and solomon’s kingship) however, series of events, mostly tempestuous ones had to happen following nathan’s curse on david’s house.6 literary structure of 2 sam 11:1-17 for the purpose of this study, which centres on the dynamics of negligence of responsibilities and how it correlates with corruption and abuse of power, the structure 1 kings 11:1-17 would be presented in three major sections of a, b, and c. section a, being the smallest (1 kings 11:1) is about david’s failure to honour his duty. the second section includes vv. 2-5 designated as first consequence of the failure, while the third, (vv. 6-17) is presented as the second consequence, each coming with subunits as shown below: a. 2 sam 11:1 – david abdicates duty b. 2 sam 11: 2-5 first consequence: the unholy affair i. vv. 2-3 an inactive mind: a breeding ground for mischief ii. vv. 4-5 adultery and conception c. 2 sam 11:6-17 second consequence: cover up and the death of uriah i. vv. 6-12 first attempt at cover-up: a recall of uriah from warfront ii. vv. 13 second attempt at cover-up: getting uriah drunk iii. vv. 14-17 final attempt at cover-up: david contrives and kills uriah content analysis of 2 sam 11:1-17 a. 2 sam 11:1 – david abdicates duty the narrative as a whole open thus: “in the spring of the year, the time when kings go forth to battle, david sent joab, and his servants with him, and all israel” (2 sam 11:1a, rsv). the hebrew text litšûbat haššänâ here translated as “in the spring of the year,” has a complex syntactical composition. this complexity can even be seen in the diverse rendering among scholars. for instance, everett would render it “the year was expired.”7 alter translates it as “at the turn of the year.”8 meanwhile, ‘within the context of this passage, this word means, ‘completion of a year, return of a year.’”9 in anderson’s opinion therefore, the expression can better be described as “springtime;”10 and this is how this present study renders and admits its use. in this regard, “the 5 ibid 6 robert alter, ancient israel – the former prophets: joshua, judges, samuel, and kings (new york: w. w. norton & company, 2013), 225. 7 gary h. everett. the books of 1 & 2 samuel: study notes on the holy scriptures using a theme-based approach to identify literary structures, 2013, 148. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/ eng/ghe/1-kings.html. 8 robert alter, ancient israel, 479. 9 gary h. everett. the books of 1 & 2 samuel, 148. 10a. a. anderson, “2 samuel,” in word biblical commentary, ed. bruce m. metzger, david a. hubbard, and glenn w. barker, vol. 11 (dallas, tx: word books, publishers, 1989), 152. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 19 most plausible meaning is the beginning of the spring, when the end of the heavy winter rains makes military action feasible.”11 from the narrative then, one gets to learn that this is a favourite time kings, whose primary duties was leading to war, go to battle. everett explains further why such period was suitable for war. for him, kings initiated conflicts in the spring, taking advantage of the favourable outdoor conditions. harsh weather during colder seasons would have posed challenges such as travel difficulties and increased susceptibility to illness among the troops, putting them in a disadvantageous position when laying siege to cities.12 from the narrative, it becomes clear that david not only recognizes the appropriateness of the timing but also grasps the necessity of initiating and leading the warfare. thus, war is decided against the ammonites and rabbah, the latter being a residential city of the ammonite king (2 sam 12:26). the choice of the ammonites as target for attack is given in the previous chapter (10:1-19), where david’s kind gestures to their king, on the occasion of his father’s death, is treated with suspicion and disgust. meanwhile, there seems to be an ambiguity with intended cunningness where the text reads “kings go forth to battle” (cë´t hammal´kîm) in the hebrew text. while the received text, biblia hebraica stuttgartensia (hbs), reads mal´kîm which means “messengers,” (as in v. 4), many other manuscripts among which are the lxx, targum, and vulgate, have it as melakîm, “kings.” the dilemma whether it should be “messengers” or “kings” however, has been subject of discussion among scholars. alter, for example, suggests that the key to the dilemma lies in the word to go forth (yc´), which is usually attributed to kings and never messengers. accordingly, “kings” should be the most probable reading, “though the ghost of ‘messengers’ shows through in the letters of the text.”13 alter further explains the intention behind the double take thus: the verse clearly doubles back on itself in a marvellous display of narrative virtuosity: at a time when kings go forth, david did not, making it a time, therefore, when messengers must go forth; at a time when messengers go forth, david, remaining in jerusalem, sent joab, his servants and all israel to ravage ammon.”14 he concludes his thoughts to the effect that it is really a deliberate orthographic pun and not a scribal error as some see it. by and large then, it was customary for kings to engage in battle campaign during the springtime. but, in this verse, no matter the need for war, david, whose one key job description is to lead the battle campaign, stays back and only sends joab his military general and all the army. the last part of the verse, adequately underlines this irresponsible action. it states in the hebrew text that, wüdäwìd yôšëb bîrûšäläºim (but david remained at jerusalem. (2 sam 11:1bβ). the assumption here is that wars were led by kings and ordinarily fought in spring time. however, the use of the disjunctive clause contrasts david’s inactivity with the army’s activity and it helps to accentuate 11 alter, ancient israel, 479. 12 gary h. everett. the books of 1 & 2 samuel, 148. 13 alter, ancient israel, 479. 14 alter, ancient israel, 479. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 20 his failure to carry out his “manifesto” of kingship, the very reason why kingship was enthroned in israel, ab initio. mckenzie avers that: this failure and the consequences it produced are seen to be signalled for the reader in the explicit notice of david’s remaining behind in jerusalem. david’s motive for staying behind is accounted for in various ways. it is perceived as laziness (“idleness is the devil’s playground”), boredom, fear, cowardice, affluence, conceit, or a combination of these.15 b. 2 sam 11: 2-5 first consequence: the unholy affair the narrative moves on to show that there are consequences for abdication of duties by the king as the verses that follow show. i. vv. 2-3 an inactive mind: a breeding ground for mischief so it is that david, now a sedentary king and used to the life of leisure, is exposed to the temptation of lust and eventual adultery, engendered by the vantage point from where he stood, as the “më`al haggäg” (from the roof) implies in v. 2. fired by lust, he desires the beautiful bathsheba and enquires about her identity. the response he gets is: “is not this bathsheba, the daughter of eliam, the wife of uriah the hittite?” (v. 3). this response comes in an unusual hebrew syntax being that it was not usual to identify a woman using her father and husband at the same time. alter speculates that it is presented like this here because perhaps “both men are members of david’s elite corps of warriors.”16 her husband’s name (uriah), borne by up to six persons in the ot has hebrew background meaning “yhwh is my light/fire.”17 david firth has described uriah as a character who is morally upright and a dedicated yahwist.18 however, the designation “hittite” has led many to speculate he was a foreign mercenary. alter argues that if this is so, “there is an obvious irony in the fact that the man of foreign origins is the perfect good soldier of israel, whereas the israelite king betrays and murders him. 19 althann writes, however, that his being referred to as hittite “does not necessarily make him a foreigner. it may merely mean that an ancestor came from one of the neo-hittite states in northern syria, where hittite civilization survived the collapse of the empire.”20 again, whatever the case, this serves to accentuate the reality that david, who is to lead to war, abdicates his responsibility. as a result, he finds himself idle to the extent that he has the leisure to gaze upon an alluring, unclothed woman. this aligns with the notion that an unoccupied mind often becomes a fertile ground for mischievous thoughts or actions. ii. vv. 4-5 adultery and conception 15steven l. mckenzie, “why did david stay home? an exegetical study of 2 samuel 11:1,” in why did david stay home? an exegetical study of 2 samuel 11:1 (penn state university press, 2021), 149, https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781575066264-016/pdf. 16 robert alter, ancient israel, 480. 17robert althann. “uriah”. in david n. freedman et al. (eds). the anchor bible dictionary, vol 6 (new haven: yale university press, 2008), 767-769. 768. 18david g. firth. “david and uriah (with an occasional appearance by uriah’s wife) – reading and re-reading 2 samuel 11”. old testament essays, vol. 20. no. 2 (2008): 310-328, 313. 19 alter, ancient israel, 480. 20 althann. “uriah,” 768. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 21 in vv. 4-6, david succumbs to the force of lust and commits adultery with bathsheba which leads to conception. scholars have debated how much freedom bathsheba has in the whole affair: is the sexual intercourse a rape of traditional israelite woman who was seen bathing or is it a product of mutual consent by two adults?21 in this connection, there are scholars who see bathsheba as a scheming seducer.22 klein for instance considers her as one venturing into sexual adventure and who eventually seduced david into “seducing’” her.23 she is also seen as “a clever woman, sufficiently calculating to see every political opportunity and resourceful enough to bring each opportunity to fruition.”24 against this opinion, j. l. andruska, moshe garsiel, jan fokkelman and walter brueggmann all argue that bathsheba in this unholy episode is a victim of rape. thus, in the words of andruska, the character of bathsheba is the subject of wide and varying interpretation. she has been understood as everything from an innocent victim, to a surviving opportunist, or mastermind schemer. many convincing arguments have been put forward in support of her innocence. yet, what no one has observed, and what i hope to contribute, is that the syntax of 2 samuel 11:4 actually signals that this was a non-consensual sexual violation, what we call ‘rape.’25 in the same vein, garsiel asserts that “the series: ‘he saw…sent…inquired…sent…took her…lay with her…’ indicates that the main initiative was david’s and believes that the ‘taking’ implies coercion.”26 as for fokkelman, the brusqueness that is obvious in the phrase wayyiqqäheºhä (and [he]took her) in v. 4, indicates a “sudden, moral brutality…which reduces the other partner to a mere object of desire.”27 all these may be the reason why brueggmann advances an argument in favour of rape: “there is no conversation. there is no hint of caring, of affection, of love—only lust. david does not call her by name, does not even speak to her. at the end of the encounter she is only ‘the woman.’”28 of itself, the text does not really say to what degree bathsheba cooperated or not. “the author gives no clues to the emotions of a woman who commits adultery, becomes pregnant, loses her 21d’ror chankin-gould j. et al. “the sanctified ‘adulteress’ and her circumstantial clause: bathsheba’s bath and self-consecration in 2 samuel 11”. journal for the study of the old testament vol 32. 3. (2008): 339-352, 340. http://jot.sagepub.com/content/32/3/339 22lisa hui. “bathsheba: a seductress? a faithful reading of 2 sam 11–12”. theology annual vol. 32, 2011, 1. https://www.academia.edu/40365206/_bathsheba_a_seductress_a_faithful_reading_of_2_sam_11_12_ 23lillian r. kein, “bathsheba revealed”. in athalya brenner (ed.). the feminist companion to the bible, second series. (sheffield: sheffield academic press, 2000), 302-32253. 24 george g. nicol, “bathsheba, a clever woman?” the expository times. vol. 99. (1988): 360-363, 363. 25andruska j. l. “‘rape’ in the syntax of 2 samuel 11:4”. zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche wissenschaft (zaw) vol. 129. no. 1. (2017): 103-109, 103. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/83939754.pdf 26moshe garsiel, “the story of david and bathsheba: a different approach”. the catholic biblical quarterly, vol. 55 no. 2. (1993): 244–262, 255 27fokkelman, j. p. narrative art and poetry in the books of samuel, volume 1: king david (11 sam 9-20 and 1 kings 1-2). (assen: van gorcum, 1981), 52. 28walter brueggemann. first and second samuel, interpretation: a biblical commentary for teaching and preaching. (louisville: westminster john knox, 1990), 273. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 22 husband, and marries her royal over.”29 thus, the debate concerning her participation in the affair remains open. but ultimately, david has intercourse with her. afterwards, events move speedily up so fast and the outcome of that brief liaison was unplanned pregnancy. with bathsheba pregnant, there are limited choices at the king’s disposal.30 this is obviously a crisis situation, the resolution of which is a matter of urgency. campbell and o’brien have wondered if david would have sought advice in order to adopt one of few options as an approach to the quagmire: perhaps denial, since presumably only bathsheba and we, the audience, know she was purifying herself after her period so that she was ready to conceive and the child was certainly david’s; perhaps he might brazen it out with supercilious royal disdain, unless the moral climate in jerusalem made that impossible. other possibilities, such as a stay in the country for bathsheba or a permanent posting in the city for uriah, dependent on their cooperation, which may have been most uncertain. a fatal accident for bathsheba would have left a grieving uriah – and perhaps too many people too many people knew too much.31 as it stands however, the text does not say if anyone advised him or he ever thought of these options. however, he came up with a few that would not end well with uriah. c. 2 sam 11:6-17 second consequence: cover up and the death of uriah i. vv. 6-12 first attempt at cover up: a recall from warfront to resolve the problem, david arranges for uriah to be sent back to jerusalem. this is a hatched plan to “plant” the responsibility of the pregnancy on the latter (vv. 6-11). “what he wanted was that uriah should sleep with his wife once so that he would consider that bathsheba was made pregnant by him”32 and thus cover his shame and disgrace. although not stated clearly, the speculation that david intends uriah to sleep with his wife is stimulated by the word “rühac raglêºkä” (wash your feet) in v. 8, which sometimes is used as a euphemism in hebrew to refer to sexual intercourse.33 this is so because, the hebrew word for foot (rgl) is used to mean the male genitals in several passages (ruth 3:7, 8, 14; isa 6:2; 7:20; ezek 16:25).34 but uriah, unlike his unpatriotic king (david), feels it a mark of irresponsibility to go to his wife and have sexual intercourse with her (v. 9). this may be connected to a law that prescribes sexual abstinence for soldiers at war fronts (1 sam 21:6).35 when asked by the king why he did not go to see his wife, uriah excuses himself using his patriotism and “his commitment to the cause of war that he was fighting,”36 (vv. 10-11). 29gale a. yee “bathsheba”. in david n. freedman et al. (eds). the anchor bible dictionary, vol 1. (new haven: yale university press, 2008): 627-628, 627. 30antony campbell and mark o’brien. “1-2 samuel”. in william r. farmer et al (eds.). the international bible commentary. (bangalore: the theological publications in india, 1998): 641-655, 651. 31 campbell and o’brien. “1-2 samuel,” 651. 32 sebastian kizhakkeyil. historical books of the bible. (mumbai: st. paul press, 2010), 166. 33 david firth. “david and uriah,” 317. 34 kizhakkeyil. historical books of the bible, 166. 35 althann. “uriah,” 768. 36 kizhakkeyil. historical books of the bible, 166. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 23 some scholars have mused on whether uriah’s refusal to go to his wife is because he got wind of the amorous relationship between his wife and the king. in this connection, some maintain that he is merely an innocent perfect soldier who is oblivious of the manipulation of his treacherous king. others however, argue that he is not that naïve. he is rather a shrewd character who may know of the adultery and plays a dangerous game of hints in which he wittingly pricks the conscience of the king, while intentionally excluding the deferential “my lord the king” as he dramatically swears by david’s life in v. 11.37 summing up this scholarly thoughts on the position of uriah, alter writes on a possible reconciled position thus: “when uriah first arrives from the war front, he is unaware of what has occurred; after the first night with his comrades at the palace gate, he has been duly informed of the sexual betrayal, so that in his second dialogue with the king, he cultivates a rhetoric of implicit accusation.”38 ii. vv. 13 second attempt at cover-up: getting uriah drunk following an unsuccessful initial, comparatively mild effort, david turned to a more deceitful approach, endeavouring to make uriah intoxicated during a meal. it has been suggested that the preposition used in the construction, yöº´kal lüpänäyw wayyëšt (he ate in his presence and drank) in v. 13, implies a hierarchical distance between a king and a subject. alter argues that “plying uriah with wine is a last desperate attempt, and a rather crude one, to get him to have sex with his wife.”39 while the intention is to make him drunk in order to be in high spirit leading to the possibility of desiring his wife, it may also be intended to make uriah indebted to a “benevolent” king. however, uriah, the loyal and patriotic soldier who does not lose sight of his civic and military duties, even when drunk, still did not go home. thus, the king’s second attempt at cover up failed. one may want to imagine how agonizing it was for the king that even a drunk uriah is still more patriotic, responsible and dutiful than himself. iii. vv. 14-17 final attempt at cover-up: david contrives and kills uriah having failed the second time to shift the responsibility of bathsheba’s pregnancy to uriah, the king employs a more extreme measure and compounds the sin of adultery as he contrives to get uriah killed, through the crude but ready instrumentality of joab. the latter is to receive a letter, most probably a small scroll sealed by a seal or bound by a threads, through the hands of the victim, uriah. (v.14). one wonders what gives david the confidence that uriah would not read the letter. perhaps, counting on the loyalty this soldier has thus far demonstrated, david is convinced that he will not conceive the idea of reading the missive.40 alter reasons that if uriah “does not know of the adultery, he has in any case no personal motive to look at the letter. if he does know, he is accepting his fate with grim resignation, bitterly conscious that his wife has betrayed him and that the king is too powerful for him to contend with.”41 37 alter, ancient israel, 482. 38 alter, ancient israel, 483. 39 alter, ancient israel, 483. 40 everett. 1 & 2 samuel, 150. 41 alter, ancient israel, 483. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 24 david himself provides the details of how uriah’s death is to come about in the letter. it is to be arranged to appear like a regular casualty in war (v. 15), by placing him “in the thick of the battle and allow him to be isolated so that the enemy will kill him”42. but as the story unfolds, one sees that joab carries out a different death plan for uriah. does he notice that the machiavellian david has suddenly lost his manipulative coolness? perhaps, he reasons that it would be noticed that uriah’s death is deliberate if the men around uriah are to draw back all at once based on david’s orders. thus, a better but more disastrous option of sending a whole contingent to their early death was chosen by joab: loyal soldiers are killed but uriah is finally dead.43 “in this fashion, the circle of lethal consequences of david’s initial act spreads wider and wider.”44 at the end, uriah dies for no crime of his, but for simply being a husband of a beautiful woman and for being a dutiful soldier while “david is revealed as coldly callous.”45 indeed, what started as an art of shirking from responsibility has spiralled into series of moral as well as disastrous consequences. these consequences as clearly seen range from uneasy idleness, lustful eavesdropping, adultery, unpatriotic manipulation and murder of a loyal soldier and ardent yahwist. all these can summed up as abuse of office, which the verses that follow reveal that it displeased yhwh. the theological import of 2 sam 11:1-17 by the theological import of 2 sam 11:1-17 we mean the function the text represents in the theological scheme of ot as and in its immediate context. in this regard, three theological motifs can be identified here, namely the theme of failure as yhwh’s deputy; abuse of royal powers; flouting of commandment against coveting of another’s wife and adultery and theme of murder. i. the theological motif of abdication of duty as yhwh’s deputy in war in the ot, war is considered yhwh’s prerogative,46 namely that it is yhwh that fights battle for his people. it is in this connection that, referring to joshua’s activity in josh 10:14, gordon oeste states that “when joshua requested that the sun and moon stand still, he intruded upon yahweh’s prerogative as divine warrior.”47 the theme of yahweh as warrior “is mentioned twice in the opening section of deuteronomy (1:30 and 3:22) and in the defeat of numerous kings of joshua 10 (verses 10 [sun stood still] and 42 [summary statement]). in joshua 23:10 the fighting yahweh becomes the ‘multiplier’ (one israelite with yahweh can handle 1000 of any others). isaiah 30:3132 promises the destruction of assyria, for ‘[yahweh] fights them in battle with the blows of his 42 althann. “uriah,” 768. 43 campbell and o’brien. “1-2 samuel,” 652. 44 alter, ancient israel, 484. 45 campbell and o’brien. “1-2 samuel,” 652. 46ben. c. ollenburger, zion, the city of the great king: a theological symbol of the jerusalem cult. (england: sheffied academic press, 1987), 101. https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/zion-the-city-of-the-great-king9780567311412/. 47gordon oeste. “a day like no other in the context of yahweh war: joshua 10:14 and the characterization of joshua”. journal of the evangelical theological society. vol. 57. no. 4 (2014): 689–702, 691. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 25 arm.”48 however, since the emergence of kinship in israel, the king is considered as the yhwh’s vassal or deputy in all things and this includes war. if this is so for all the other kings, it is so much so for david, the man after god’s heart. for example, the subject matter of psalm 89 is a beautiful symmetrical image of yhwh as king in heaven while david as king on earth.49 in this text of the psalms, “yhwh guarantees victory and honour to david and his descendants. here david seems to be the tool yhwh uses to rule on earth, his deputy or viceroy.”50 if this is so, then david’s failure to go to war while idling in jerusalem, is a failure to carry out his divine mandate as god’s deputy. this failure at moral obligation gets more serious when 1 sam 8:19-20 is put into consideration, namely that the israelites asked for a king solely for the purpose of leading them into war. in this, david has indeed failed both yhwh and the people. ii. abuse of royal powers when david used his power to summon bathsheba for adultery purpose, recalled uriah from warfront and subsequently ordered to arrange uriah’s murder, he abused his power as king. yet royal power in the ot is considered as a privilege and seen as confidence reposed on the individual. in fact, kinship is also seen as an extension of yhwh’s kingship. in other words, the king is only a king because yhwh is king so that as chris pierson would say, “the ultimate moral and political authority is god.”51 at the end of the day, “earthly kings and the symbol of their power, their thrones, visible to men are divinely appointed extensions of god’s kingship.52“ this divine promotion to kingship necessarily requires the king to respect his position and act like yhwh himself for whom righteousness and justice towards the poor and vulnerable is of paramount importance (prov 22:22-23; psalm 140:12). indeed, as the king waits on god to protect him from his enemies (2 sam 7, psalm 2), so also the king is expected to rule his people in justice and righteousness (psalm 72; isaiah 32:1-2). from this point of view, it is clear that david, rather than honour his royal office, abused it when he took advantage of the vulnerable family of uriah. iii. coveting and taking another’s wife through adultery david’s moral recklessness, demonstrated in his lustful eavesdropping on bathsheba and subsequent adultery, constituted a blatant violation of two fundamental commandments of god. the decalogue, outlined in exodus 20:14 and 17, unequivocally prohibits adultery and coveting another’s wife, extending these commandments to everyone, including kings. the commandments state, “you shall not commit adultery” and “you shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife...” (rsv). 48richard nysse. “yahweh is a warrior”. word & world vol. 7, no. 2 (1987): 192-201. 192. https://wordandworld.luthersem.edu/content/pdfs/7-2_search_for_god/7-2_nysse.pdf. 49cian power “kingship in the hebrew bible”. society of biblical literature. (2011): 4. https://www.sblsite.org/assets/pdfs/tbv3i3_powerkingship.pdf. 50 power “kingship in the hebrew bible,” 4. 51 chris pierson “‘naboth is stoned’: a bible story”. the british journal of politics and international relations, 12 (2010): 72-87, 85. https://www.academia.edu/3423328/naboth_is_stoned_a_bible_story 52 michael e. cafferky. “biblical kingship: a model for contemporary leaders.” faith in business quarterly. vol. 15. no. 2 (2023): 25-29. https://knowledge.e.southern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1016&context=facworks_bus. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 26 notably, these transgressions were explicitly highlighted by yhwh when addressing david: “i gave you your master’s house, and your master’s wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of israel and of judah; and if this were too little, i would add to you as much more” (2 sam 12:8, rsv). yhwh’s argument against david revolves around the abundance of blessings bestowed upon him. taking another man’s only wife, in light of the bestowed blessings, was deemed beyond reasonable expectation and, more significantly, a breach of moral integrity. in this context, david’s actions are portrayed as a grievous offense not only against god but also against his neighbor, uriah. the betrayal of trust and moral boundaries underscores the gravity of david’s transgressions, contributing to a broader discussion on the intersection of power, morality, and divine expectations in biblical narratives. iv. the theological motif of murder in a bid to conceal his initial transgression of adultery, prompted by bathsheba’s revelation of her pregnancy, david orchestrated a plan to have uriah killed. this action flagrantly contradicts a predominant theme in the old testament (ot) that emphasizes the sanctity of life as a divine gift. throughout the ot, a resounding motif asserts that the exclusive right to ownership of life belongs to yhwh alone. numerous texts underscore the prohibition against taking another’s life, emphasizing the sacred nature of human life (gen 9:6; exod 20:13; 21:12; lev 5:17; num 35:30; deut 5:17; prov 28:17). the moral gravity of murder is accentuated when it involves the killing of a just and innocent victim (exod 23:7; 27:25). in the case of king david, culpability arises on two fronts. firstly, he murdered an innocent and just victim – uriah, a loyal soldier and devout worshipper of yhwh who held deep respect for the king and reverence for the ark of god. secondly, as king, david held a position of responsibility within god’s agenda for the preservation of life. that uriah’s murder is a transgression of the laws of sacredness of life, is clearly expressed in the condemnation of yhwh through the prophet, nathan. 2 sam 12:9-10 states: why have you despised the word of the lord, to do what is evil in his sight? you have smitten uriah the hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have slain him with the sword of the ammonites. now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me, and have taken the wife of uriah the hittite to be your wife (rsv). thus, david’s actions stand in stark contrast to the divine mandate for kings to be stewards of life, reinforcing the serious moral implications of his choices. the narrative involving david thus becomes a poignant exploration of the ethical complexities surrounding power, responsibility, and the divine framework for the sanctity of life in the old testament. echoes of david’s leadership failures in contemporary nigeria the biblical account of king david’s moral failings provides a timeless framework for examining leadership failures, particularly those stemming from abuse of power. this narrative offers striking igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 27 parallels to contemporary leadership challenges in nigeria, revealing how the misuse of authority and neglect of responsibilities can profoundly impact a nation. in the story of david, we see a leader who abdicated his duty by remaining in jerusalem when he should have been leading his army into battle (2 samuel 11:1). this dereliction of duty finds echoes in nigerian leadership, where leaders have been criticized for their frequent absence during critical times. nigerian presidents and governors have faced public backlash for spending excessive time abroad, often under the pretext of “medical tourism” or seeking foreign investments, while pressing domestic issues remain unaddressed.53 for instance, okorie et al. aver that in 2017, president buhari’s health concerns led him to spend a cumulative 154 days in london across two medical trips. over a broader period spanning from mid-february 2016 to early august 2018, the president engaged in more than 43 international journeys, visiting 23 different nations. these frequent overseas travels stirred discontent among many nigerian citizens who viewed them with concern.54 later in 2022, writing in punch newspaper, stephen angbulu expressed this concern more vividly. “the president, major general muhammadu buhari (retd.), has spent at least 225 days away from the country on medical trips since assuming office in 2015, sunday punch investigation has uncovered.”55 as if this was to establish a pattern, just few days after ahmed tinubu’s election in 2023, it was report that he went on a medical trip 56 this absence becomes particularly glaring during national emergencies, such as terrorist attacks or natural disasters, where leadership presence and swift response are crucial.57 the slow or inadequate response of nigerian leaders during such crises has often exacerbated the suffering of affected populations and undermined public trust in government institutions.58 additionally, david’s affair with bathsheba (2 samuel 11:2-5) characterises a clear abuse of power for personal gratification, a phenomenon that is unfortunately not uncommon in leadership.59 even nigeria, there have been numerous allegations of sexual harassment and abuse by those in positions of power, including in educational institutions and government offices.60 these incidents not only violate individual rights but also create a culture of fear and mistrust within institutions 53adebayo, b. (2019). “nigerian president’s frequent trips abroad spark criticism.” cnn 54albert, okorie, celestine udeogu, and chikwado ezugworie. “presidential abuse of foreign trips and crisis of governance in nigeria: a reflection on muhamadu buhari’s regime, 2015–2019.” international journal of political science 6, no. 3 (2020): 10–20. https://doi.org/10.20431/2454-9452.0603002. 55 stephen, angbulu “buhari spends 225 days on medical trips, visits 40 countries.” the punch, 4th december 2022 56jeune afrique, eniola akinkuotu “nigeria: tinubu receives medical checkup at paris hospital.” the african report, march 24, 2023. 57e. gokum richard, michael paul pilani, and azuwike anthony, “religio-political situation in northern nigeria: the limits of the law and fault lines in christian response to islam,” journal of religion and society (joras) 13 (2024): 1-17, 15. 58ofeibea quist-arcton, “nigerian president’s long absence comes amid major economic crisis” npr: parallels, february 24, 2017. 59james doubek “of power, predators and innocent mistakes: the complex problems of sexual harassment.” npr: national, november 5, 2017 60enobong mbang akpambang “sexual harassment of female employees in the workplace: imperative for stringent legal and policy frameworks in nigeria.” pancasila and law review, volume 3 issue 1, 2022. 69-94. 75. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 28 that should be bastions of safety and opportunity.61 moreover, the misuse of state resources for personal benefit is a persistent issue in nigerian governance. leaders have been accused of using government vehicles, funds, and other resources for private events or family affairs, blurring the lines between public office and personal interest.62 the attempts by david to cover up his affair by manipulating uriah (2 samuel 11:6-13) find modern parallels in the actions of some nigerian leaders. there have been instances where nigerian governments have attempted to suppress media coverage of scandals or unfavourable news, infringing on press freedom and the public’s right to information.63 this suppression often extends to the manipulation of investigative processes, particularly in high-profile corruption cases. political interference in the judicial process has hindered the pursuit of justice and accountability, undermining the integrity of nigeria’s democratic institutions.64 perhaps most disturbing is the escalation from minor infractions to more serious crimes, mirroring david’s progression from adultery to murder (2 samuel 11:14-17). nigeria has a troubling history of unsolved political assassinations, where it’s suspected that those in power have eliminated perceived threats or whistle-blowers to maintain their grip on authority.65 this culture of violence extends to the electoral process, where the use of intimidation and force during elections represents an extreme abuse of power. such actions not only threaten individual lives but also undermine the very foundations of democratic governance.66 while not explicitly mentioned in the david story, the broader context of his reign includes instances of favouritism, a significant issue in nigerian leadership. there have been numerous cases of government appointments based on personal or ethnic connections rather than merit, leading to a decline in the quality of governance and public service delivery.67 similarly, the awarding of government contracts to friends, family members, or political allies without due process has become a persistent problem, fostering a culture of corruption and inefficiency in public resource management.68 the parallels between david’s moral failings and leadership failures in nigeria highlight the timeless nature of power’s corrupting influence. however, it’s important to note that nigeria also has examples of ethical and effective leaders who strive to serve their constituents with integrity. the challenge lies in strengthening institutions and fostering a 61joseph oluyemi adesoji, joseph adejoke adijat, osho olanrewaju patrick, bello ayodeji aliu, fagbamila olumide david, atolagbe emmanuel & fagbamila olawande”sex for grades: untold stories of sexual harassment in institutions of higher learning in nigeria.” papers in education and development volume 41 number 2, 2023, 2338. 24. https://dx.doi.org/10.56279/ped.v41i2.2 62transparency international. “corruption perceptions index 2021: nigeria,” 2022. see also, femi l. gold & kehinde abdusalam “cpc, gender mobile: partnering to eradicate sexual harassment in academic institutions” independent corrupt practices & other related offences commission (icpc) september, 2022 63 reporters without borders. “world press freedom index: nigeria,” 2022. 64 human rights watch. “nigeria: corruption and abuse in the criminal justice system,” 2021. 65e. o. ojo “political assassinations and nigeria’s democratic consolidation.” african journal of political science and international relations 12, no. 3 (2018): 42-53. 66 european union election observation mission. “nigeria 2019 final election observation report,” 2019. 67m., ochonu, “nepotism and the decline of meritocracy in nigeria.” african arguments, 2020. 68independent corrupt practices and other related offences commission (icpc). “annual report on corruption in nigeria,” 2021. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 29 political culture that holds leaders accountable, much as the prophet nathan held david accountable in the biblical narrative. by learning from these historical and contemporary examples, nigeria can work towards a leadership model that prioritizes public service over personal gain, ultimately leading to more effective governance and national development. the imperative of diligence in leadership responsibilities in a complex world at this juncture this study posits that it is crucial for leaders to prioritize diligence as a necessity when dealing with their responsibilities in today’s complex global landscape. it strongly urges present-day leaders to uphold their duties diligently, while recognizing the profound impact their actions can have on the well-being of their nations. firstly therefore, they must endeavour to recognize the imperative of diligence in carrying out leadership responsibilities. the prevailing reality is that contemporary leaders bear the weighty responsibility of steering their nations through unprecedented challenges, including global crises, economic uncertainties, and social upheavals.69 in the face of such complexities, diligence becomes a cornerstone of effective leadership. diligence demands a proactive commitment to fulfilling duties, ensuring transparency, and safeguarding the interests of the populace. in this connection, leaders must recognize that negligence not only compromises the integrity of their leadership but also creates an environment conducive to corruption.70 by upholding their duties diligently, leaders can fortify the ethical foundations of governance, building a resilient bulwark against the corrosive forces of corruption. secondly, leaders must also recognize the indispensable role of ethical leadership. indeed, ethical leadership serves as the linchpin in preventing the slide from negligence to corruption.71 leaders must adhere to principles of integrity, accountability, and transparency. ethical conduct not only fosters public trust but also sets a standard for ethical behaviour across institutions.72 contemporary leaders should prioritize ethical leadership as a strategic imperative. they must cultivate a culture of accountability, implement robust mechanisms for oversight, and champion transparency in their decision-making processes.73 by doing so, leaders can actively perform the responsibilities and thus contribute to the prevention of corruption and the promotion of a just and equitable society. 69joel, haruna usman and pilani, michael paul, “conflict resolution beyond identity: insights on peacebuilding from acts 6:1-7,” journal of religion and society (joras) 13 (2024): 58-73, 70. 70leadercast, 12 principles of great leadership: quotes and tips about leadership styles, 2019. https://ou.edu/content/dam/leadvolunteer/documents/9612532343-233706117-tickets.pdf. 71artan fejzullahu and mirlinda batalli, “the role of ethics in public administration.” journal for labour and social affairs in eastern europe vol. 22, no. 2 (2019): 267-278. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27096120. 72howard whitton “implementing effective ethics standards in government and the civil service” transparency international, 2001. https://www.oecd.org/mena/governance/35521740.pdf 73ikechuku anthony kanu and michael paul pilani “semiotic hermeneutic of ‘new wine, new wineskins’: symbols, philosophy of development, and africa.” dialogue and universalism, 35(2) (2024). 151–164. 160. https://doi.org/10.5840/du202434225 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 30 indeed, the path from negligence to corruption is a treacherous journey that contemporary leaders must vigilantly avoid. upholding duties diligently is not only a moral imperative but also a strategic necessity for effective governance. by embracing ethical leadership and fulfilling their responsibilities with unwavering commitment, leaders can safeguard the welfare of their nations, fortify institutions, and build a legacy of integrity for future generations. the call to contemporary leaders is clear: in the face of challenges, let diligence be the beacon that guides us away from the precipice of corruption.74 conclusion the narrative of king david’s moral failings in 2 samuel 11:1-17 serves as a timeless reflection on the complexities and challenges of leadership across generations. this study highlights the relevance of biblical wisdom in addressing modern political and ethical dilemmas. the progression from neglect of duty to egregious abuse of power is evident, illustrating how seemingly minor derelictions can snowball into catastrophic moral failures. david’s journey from abdicating his responsibility to lead in battle to orchestrating murder for personal gain parallels disturbingly similar patterns observed in nigeria’s political landscape. the historical-critical analysis employed in this study illuminates the gravity of david’s actions within the theological and social context of ancient israel, emphasizing how his behaviour violated divine commandments and betrayed the sacred trust placed in him as yhwh’s appointed leader. this perspective provides a crucial framework for evaluating modern leadership, reminding us that governance is not merely a secular affair but one imbued with moral and ethical responsibilities. applied to the nigerian context, these insights reveal disturbing parallels in the abuse of power, neglect of duty, and erosion of ethical standards among some leaders. from absenteeism during national crises to misuse of state resources and suppression of accountability mechanisms, the echoes of david’s failings reverberate through nigeria’s corridors of power. this research contributes to the broader discourse on leadership ethics and governance in nigeria by providing a unique perspective that bridges ancient wisdom with contemporary challenges. it calls for a renewed commitment to ethical leadership, robust accountability mechanisms, and a culture that values diligence and integrity in public service. 74michael, paul pilani, “socio-political neophobia: the bane of advancement in nigeria as a nation,” in the economy of leadership and social transformation in contemporary africa: essays in honour of professor ichoku hyacinth ementa, ed. ikechukwu anthony kanu et al. (2023), 227-250, https://www.acjol.org/index.php/proceedings/article/view/4155. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 331 ethics of political leadership: examining accountability and integrity in nigeria louis lawrence ngare american university of nigeria, yola louis.ngare@aun.edu.ng abstract unethical leadership has been inimical to nigeria’s governance and national development. the purpose of this study is to examine unethical leadership epitomized by lack of integrity and accountability in nigeria’s public service. it is poised to answer three main research questions: (i) to what extent is nigeria’s political leadership perceived to exhibit accountability as instruments of governance? (ii), to what extent do government officials discharge their obligations with high level of integrity? to answer these questions, extant literature on unethical leadership, news articles and other secondary sources were sourced from the internet and reviewed. the research problem was seen from the theoretical framework of transformational leadership theory. the merits of this theory is its emphasis on leaders inspiring followers to transcend their parochial interests to achieve higher goals like national development. it was revealed that successive leaders have failed to adopt accountability and integrity as instruments of governance. additionally, they fail to engage citizens in policy formulations. as a consequence, followers rarely trust them and so, show low levels of support for government. the study concludes that good governance is only achievable when the two ethical issues of accountability and integrity are vigorously applied in nigeria’s political leadership. keywords: ethics, political leadership, accountability, integrity, transformational leadership introduction ethical political leadership has been a burning issue in the discourse on nigeria’s governance. the deficit of integrity and accountability have been traced as major boosts of corruption in the country’s public service. the duo combined with other factors have cost nigeria over 30 trillion nigeria through embezzlement and fraud within the public sector alone (sunday & lawal 2016; beetseh & kohol, 2013; okekeocha 2013; agbo, 2012). not only has it cost the nation tens of millions of naira through fraud and looting of public resources and pushing millions more below the poverty line, it has made leaders the target of attacks and hatred by the suffering masses and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 332 disenchanted followers from trusting their political leaders, hence, being unsupportive of governance processes. the study focuses on the twin problems on ethical leadership in nigeria. it identifies contradictions between actual delivery of public service delivery and citizens’ expectations of public service office holders’ obligations. by investigating the ethical dimensions of political leadership, this article explores how accountability and integrity are understood and practiced within nigeria’s political landscape, offering insights for better governance. the study examines the executive, legislative and judiciary arms of the federal government beaming its light on the presence or lack of these important virtues as key ingredients of ethical leadership. the research questions upon which this study is hinged are as follows: (i) to what extent is nigeria’s political leadership perceived to exhibit accountability as instruments of governance? (ii), to what extent do government officials discharge their obligations with high level of integrity? and finally (iii), what factors militate against the entrenchment of accountability and integrity in nigeria’s public leadership? the specific objectives of the study are to: (i) examine the level of accountability in the public sector; (ii) ascertain if public sector bureaucrats discharge their duty with high level of integrity; (iii) investigate the challenges of entrenching accountability and integrity in nigeria’s political leadership. the study adopts logical argumentation as its methodology and the elite theory as theoretical framework. conceptual review in examining ethics of political leadership with focus on two virtues accountability and integrity in nigeria calls to mind the distinct, though related entities involved: the leaders, the institutions and the rules governing them. though they are often confused, they are, indeed, different. bratton and mattes (in alemika 2004: 11) explicated that “regimes are sets of rules, states are sets of institutions, and governments are sets of leaders”. examining the ethics of political leadership with a focus on accountability and integrity will thus beam a light on the leaders, the institutions they govern and the quality of decisions they make and its implication on the public. to establish the link among the concepts ethics, leadership, accountability and integrity in nigeria’s public sector needs a clarification of the sense in which these key concepts are used in this paper. ethics igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 333 the longman dictionary of contemporary english (2014) defines ethics as ‘moral rules or principles of behavior for deciding what is right and wrong’. the word ethics, is derived from the greek ethos, which means ‘character'. taken this way, if one is described as an ethical person it means one who has character. what constitutes ‘character' has a broader semantic field. ethics is an aspect of philosophy which studies the intent, means, and consequences of moral behavior. it dwells on the study of moral judgements and right and wrong conduct. manning & curtis (2007) identifies two roots to ethics: religious and secular, with the religious perspective based on a god-centred view of the world while the secular thinking based on a scientific view of the world. whether viewed from the religious or secular origins, both may agree on many shared values such as the importance of honesty, having an impeachable moral conduct, being transparent and acting to promote general good (manning & curtis 2007: 88-99). ethics is a moral code of what is good or bad in a given situation based on established duties and obligations. the implied view of ethics is that conducts of public officials are not morally neutral, but always fall within the binary ‘good’ or ‘bad’ category. considered from a broader perspective, maduabum (2012) conceive ethics as a set of principles which guide the behavior of an individual, group of people, organization and the society in general. these principles are not set with any individual in mind; it is not made to favour or disfavor any official. they provide, in simple terms, a template for judging what is good and acceptable and what is bad and unacceptable. they are made with the view of strengthening the corporate institution. thus, within the purview of public service, ethics could be conceptualized as rules and regulations public bureaucrats are expected to conform with in the discharge of their official obligation (melton et al, quoted in fatile 2013). an efficient and effective public bureaucracy is necessary in a democratic system because the delivery of goods and services by the government are determined by the bureaucracy. there will be a diminished quality of goods and services provided by government when the public bureaucracy is marred by unethical conducts. some of these issues are lack of accountability and integrity. leadership the longman dictionary of contemporary english (2014) puts the meaning of leadership in two apt ways for the present study. in the first sense, it defines igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 334 leadership as ‘the position of being the leader of a group, organization, country, etc’. in the second sense, it defines leadership as ‘all the people who lead a group, organization, country, etc’. in the present paper, we are interest in both the concrete and the abstract sense of the word. mohammed & ayeni (2018) contend that the only hindrance to nigeria’s greatness is leadership where ‘corruption is almost the second name of political office holders in nigeria’ (ibid: 322). their recommendation was only a breath away from endorsing capital punishment for people found guilty of corruption. with one scandal after another in political leadership, the need for ethical leadership in nigeria has become more relevant today than ever. leadership scholars among whom are ronald heifetz, james macgregor burns, and robert greenleaf coinage of ‘servant leadership’ have broadened and enriched the perspective on leadership. a central theme in their postulations is the need for leadership based on moral courage, honesty and service to others. accountability accountability as the state of being ‘responsible for the effects of your actions and willing to explain or be criticized for them’ (longman dictionary of contemporary english, 2014). this conception is similar to that in okekeocha’s paraphrase of boven who defines accountability ‘as the process of making elected and non-elected officials liable to the citizens who elected or appointed them for their actions while in office. likewise, accountability connotes the state of being liable and requires a specified person or group of people to report and justify his/her actions in relations to specific matters or assigned duties’ (okekeocha 2013: 31). this definition brings to mind words sometimes used interchangeably with accountability, namely ‘responsibility’, ‘answerability’, ‘blame-worthiness’ and ‘liability’, words commonly associated with the expectation of giving account of stewardship. of what relevance is accountability to ethical leadership? it was this question that social science scholars have attempted to answer. the literature reveals at least four importance of accountability in the public sector. first, it promotes good and ethical government which is necessary to gain public trust. secondly, accountability and good governance demand that bureaucrats be responsible in their official conducts. third, accountability checks to ensure institutions are strong to support the democratic process. finally, accountability, a major benefit that comes with democratic governance, is predicated on the citizens’ expectation of public igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 335 servants to show record of stewardship (iyoha & oyerinde 2010; okekeocha 2013; ). three forms of accountability have been categorized: public, fiscal and administrative. public accountability places vigilance on public officials to use power and public resources including funds, equipment and materials judiciously. the second form of accountability is the fiscal or financial accountability which calls for good conduct by public officials in the raising and spending of public funds. it emphasizes financial auditing to ensure adherence to financial rules and regulations. thirdly, administrative accountability makes a case for the need for control and reporting systems. this insists on keeping to official chains of command in public service to ensure checks and balances. finally, political accountability which stresses the need for political leaders to keep to their campaign promises. this form of accountability ensures that political leadership is in sync with the demands of the people (omotoso, n.d. 123-125). the idea of accountability underscores the expectations of the public on public office holders to fulfil their obligations. it is a yardstick for measuring the effectiveness of an office holder. accountability is an antidote to corruption in public office. however, public corruption has stifled accountability in nigeria’s public sector leadership. public accountability is a continuum. bureaucrats are to be accountable to the elected political office holders. in turn, the political office holders are to be accountable to the people, in whom power to govern resides. gberevbie and collaborators (2017) and osunyikanmi & foluke (2012) blamed the high-handedness of the military era (1966-1979; 1983-1999) as a period that accountability and transparency were most lacking in the public sector. the lack of these increased the level of poverty in the nation (p 2). ironically, with one military coup after another, the coupists have, according to olowo and ayeni, sought to justify their power takeover by the need to ‘redeem the poor accountability image of the preceding regimes’ (in iyoha & oyerinde 2010: 368). this underpins the diminishing confidence of the people in their government which is a direct consequence of accountability deficit in public governance. therefore, any society where leaders are not accountable will experience high level public corruption which will in turn stunt development. integrity igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 336 the longman dictionary of contemporary english (2014) defines integrity as ‘the quality of being honest and strong about what you believe to be right’. this definition is similar to manning & curtis’ definition of the concept as ‘a quality of character requiring honesty and courage; a virtue necessary for trust; the most important quality desired in a leader’ (2007: 398). it brings to mind the related words commonly associated with integrity which include ‘completion’, ‘wholeness’, and ‘soundness’. they further argue that ‘the most important quality of leadership is integrity’ which they dissect as ‘honesty [and] strength of character’. can any leadership make a meaningful achievement without integrity? manning & curtis answer in the negative: ‘without integrity there is no trust, the number one element in the leader-follower equation. integrity leads to trust, and trust leads to respect, loyalty and ultimately, action. it is trust coming from integrity that is needed for leading people from the boardroom, to the shop floor, to the battlefield’ (p. 31). take integrity out of the equation, and everything holding the leaderfollower relationship will vanish. theoretical framework the theoretical framework adopted for this study is the transformational leadership with its focus on elevating the potential of followers beyond parochial interests such as ethnicity and religion, to achieve a grander, common goal such as national interest. it is believed that this theory provides a viable perspective through which the problem of accountability and integrity deficit in nigeria’s leadership can be viewed, analyzed and surmounted. national development is below expectation partly due to citizens’ low level of trust in government’s policies as well as scant engagement by the government. this echoes the lack of integrity and accountability in the system. government will achieve more if it is able to gain the citizens’ trust and support. accountability and integrity by the government are the doorway to citizen’s hearts. this theory is adopted because of the dire need nigeria has for leadership that raises aspirations and transforms followers into higher levels of performance. this will be the only cure to the climate of gloom and doom that has settled over the political leadership landscape of nigeria. when despotism are employed as instruments of governance, policies are formulated without citizens’ input and the policies flop as a result (ejere & abasilim, 2013; imoke, 2014). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 337 the insights from this theory will address the lack of accountability as a problem of unethical political leadership in nigeria because of its merits, which highlights followers’ input in the important process of governance (manning & curtis 2007: 26-28). transformational leadership has merits in contrast to, say, transactional leadership as distinguished by burns (ibid.). while transactional leadership, as the name implies, focuses on exchanges between leaders and the led. an example is the votes for jobs, rewards for favours transactions between nigerian politicians and citizens. this kind of leadership has marred the leadership selection process as parochial interests trump national interests. transformational leadership holds promise for nigeria’s governance and development as its perspective is one that inspires loyal followership that will support government unto success. according to manning & curtis, transformational leaders ‘use optimism, charm, intelligence, and a myriad of other personal qualities to raise aspirations and transform [followers] into new levels of high performance’ (2007: 28). a transformational leader is, essentially, a charismatic leader. manning & curtis further identified five characteristics of charismatic leaders which include the following: (1) they model and embody the beliefs and values they desire their followers to imbibe; (2) they elicit competence that commands the respect of followers; (3) they have ideological goals with moral overtones; (4) they exude high expectations for their followers and show confidence to meet those goals; (5) they ignite followers’ motives to act. motives range from affiliation, power and achievement. under this scenario, followers are inspired to go beyond their parochial interests and work toward the ambitious but achievable goal imprinted in their minds by the leader. effah (2013), however, points out that “not everybody who is occupying a leadership position is a leader’ points to the fact that some leaders stray into power and lead by accident (in gberevie and collaborators, 4). the foregoing shows that ethical leadership predicated on accountability and integrity will enhance good governance and gain followers’ support for national development. methodology this is an exploratory research aimed at examining the deficit of accountability and integrity as forms of unethical leadership in nigeria’s governance. this study like most exploratory studies relies on qualitative techniques of data collection. these sources include the internet, journals, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 338 books, newspapers, and magazines. the justification for the adoption of the historical research method in this work is based on the fact that it enables a proper analysis of data and interpretation of events to be realized (gberevbie, 2014). nexus between accountability and integrity and their implications for better governance nigeria’s public sector has evolved through long years of colonial, military and democratic rule. a highlight of the major events in the nation’s political history will provide a solid basis on which to examine accountability and integrity as instruments of ethical political leadership in the country’s public service (okekeocha, 2013). the spirit of ethical leadership implies that public office holders should be accountable in carrying out their obligated duties. they are not expected to be people of questionable character but should be perceived to have integrity in their conduct. accountability and integrity are important elements of ethical leadership. a lack of public accountability by public bureaucrats will have the dire consequences of any government losing or wasting money or other public resources due theft and inefficiency in the execution of job duties. nigeria’s public sector is not accountable to the people. in living memory are records of unaccountability by public officials which was swept under the carpet. it is manifestly clear there is a divide between real happenings in the government and what gets reported to the citizens. unethical political leadership breeds a climate a corruption. when a nation’s leadership is infested by corruption, good governance cannot thrive therein. in the over six decades of the nation’s independence, nigerian leaders civilian and military alikehave battled one integrity issue to another, making it difficult for citizens to trust them. they usually promise to turn nigeria into an el dorado but once they acquire power, they turn it to an instrument for primitive wealth acquisition. they loot the nation’s wealth and other resources for themselves. there is virtually no past nigerian leader from 1960 till date who has not been fingered in one corruption scandal or the other. another leadership problem bedeviling nigeria is unethical conduct in, say, public declaration of assets by political leaders, especially presidents. rather than show example by being transparent, they choose to make their igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 339 wealth a mystery in order to evade public scrutiny of how they acquired their wealth. these impeachable conducts as well as character issue in our leaders makes nigeria to have past leaders but not national leaders. national leaders are scarce in nigeria. nigeria does not have national leaders like other countries have. nigeria needs a national leader the way south africa had nelson mandela; nigeria needs her winston churchill, her abraham lincolns, her charles de gaulle, and more. sadly, we only have a collection of tribesmen and regional leaders and ordinary men privileged to be in positions of power but driven by parochial interests. conclusion nigerian followers have grown too numb and passive through perennial misgovernance to understand their rights and the duties of the political elite. insisting on people with integrity and holding office holders accountable strengthens political governance and democracy. however, the political leaders, from their style of rulership manifest in the nation’s history, have adopted impunity as an instrument of governance. they shrink followers’ civic space while enlarging theirs to entrench highhandedness. the views of ocheni & nwankwo (2012) that ethical political leadership can be best promoted in africa by creating an atmosphere in the nations’ institutions where accountability and integrity are made the pivot on which governance spins on harmonizes with the contention of this paper. the power of transformational leader to command loyalty will galvanize citizens support for good governance. is there any ray of hope on the horizon for nigeria to have on the saddle of political leadership transformational leaders who are accountable to the people and their integrity elicits followers’ trust? we expect there is. references agbo, a. (2012, january 30). the rot in nnpc. tell magazine, pp. 56-58. alemika, etannibi (2004). corruption, governance performance and political trust in nigeria centre for social science research. beetseh, k and kohol, b. (2013). challenges of ethics and accountability in nigeria civil service: implication for counseling. iosr journal of humanities and social science. 9(2): 18-23. burns, j. m. (1978). leadership. new york, ny: harper & row. daniel gberevbie, segun joshua, nchekwube excellence-oluye, and adeola oyeyemi (2017) accountability for sustainable igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 340 development and the challenges of leadership in nigeria, 19992015. october-december 2017: 1–10 doi: 10.1177/2158244017742951 journals.sagepub.com/home/sgo. effah, p. (2013, july 6-29). repositioning african universities for excellence: theoretical and practical perspectives. a paper presented by dr. paul effah, at the 8th convocation ceremony of (distinguished lecture series) covenant university, ota, nigeria. ejere, e. i., & abasilim, u. d. (2013). impact of transactional and transformational leadership styles on organisational performance: empirical evidence from nigeria. the journal of commerce, 5, 3041. fatile, jacob olufem (2013). ethics and performance in the nigerian public sector. international journal of advanced research in management and social sciences ijarmss, issn: 2278-6236 vol. 2 | no. 10 | october www.garph.co.uk. gberevbie, d. e. (2014). democracy, democratic institutions and good governance in nigeria. eastern africa social science research review, 30, 133-152. greenleaf, r. k. (1977). servant leadership. new york: paulist, 1977. heifetz, r. a. (1994). leadership without easy answers. cambridge, ma: harvard university press. imoke, l. (2014). the innovative leader as a cultural agent of change. in t. abioye, c. awonuga, & a. amuwo (eds.), leadership and innovation in africa’s development paradigm (pp. 49-70). ota, nigeria: covenant university press. iyoha,f.o., oyerinde d. (2010). ‘accounting infrastructure and accountability in the management of public expenditure in developing countries: a focus on nigeria’ critical perspectives on accounting 21 361–373. longman dictionary of contemporary english, 6th ed. (2014). edinburgh: pearson education limited. maduabum, c. (2012). code of conduct/ethical behaviour in the practice of public administration in nigeria. text of a talk to the national association of public administration students, lagos state university chapter on july 25th, 2012. manning, george & curtis, kent (2007). the art of leadership. new york: macgraw-hill irwin. mohammed, iliyasu biu & ayeni, evans oluwagbamila. (2018). political leadership in nigeria: our national anthem and national igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 341 pledge africology: the journal of pan african studies, vol.12, no.1, september. ocheni, stephen & nwankwo, basil c. (2012). re-engineering african political leadership through good governance for sustainable development and growth in africa. canadian social science, 8(3), 64-69. available from url: http://www.cscanada.net/index.php/css/article/ view/j.css.1923669720120803.3116 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3968/ j.css.1923669720120803.3116. okekeocha, chinelo, "a case study of corruption and public accountability in nigeria" (2013). dissertations, theses and capstone projects. paper 566. omotoso, femi (n.d.). public-service ethics and accountability for effective service delivery in nigeria africa today 60 (3). osunyikanmi, olusola karimu & foluke, adebukola (2012). a comparative analysis of police accountability in nigeria and united states international journal of humanities and social science vol. 2 no. 11; june, 250. sunday, oluwafemi & lawal, tolu (2016). fiscal accountability, resource management and sustainable development in nigeria international journal of academic research in business and social sciences may, vol. 6, no. 5 issn: 2222-6990 29 www.hrmars.com. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 314 the social contracts from the lens of john rawls veil of ignorance: a philosophical analysis orji, chidi paul, ph.d. department of philosophy, university of agriculture and environmental sciences, umuagwo, imo state hipaulco@gmail.com, paul.orji@uaes.edu.ng abstract john rawls is one of the most prominent american political and ethical philosophers of the 20th century. his major work, "theory of justice (1971)," laid the foundations of his most discussed conception of justice as fairness. rawls projects a society consisting of free citizens who hold equal basic rights and cooperate within the framework of an egalitarian economic system. the citizens are under "the veil of ignorance’ in their ‘original position’ when they access the hypothetical social contract and when the principles of justice are created. the method used in this paper is critical analysis, which is used to analyze rawls original position through his veil of ignorance. rawls’s construction of the original position considers that the hypothetical people of the social contract are placed behind a ‘veil of ignorance’, which makes them unaware of their particular circumstances. these hypothetical people are constructed in a way that frees them from all prejudice and special interests. thus, decisions made by them may be considered philosophically pure. since the people in rawls’s original position are hypothetical, we must decide what they would believe. if the people in the original position are well defined, we can, so to speak, think through them in order to derive morally acceptable principles. rawls ideas were considered highly ambitious and progressive. this paper aims at examining social contract theory and also exploring rawls notion of social contract and his veil of ignorance in relation to the idea of social agreement. keywords: social contract, veil of ignorance, justice, fairness, original position. introduction john rawls offers a theory of justice in a theory of justice that calls for justice to be viewed in terms of fairness. the work's first section is based on rawls' ideas about formal justice. due to the limitations rawls lays on those in their original position, all hypothetical individuals will be about equal in formal justice. using the concept of a social compact, rawls developed his theory of justice as fairness. a social contract, in rawls' igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 315 opinion, lends itself to the formulation of just principles, making it valuable for debating justice. there will be diverse views of what justice is in every culture. by defining social justice in terms of broad principles, rawls offers a solution to this issue. unlike particular definitions of justice, principles of justice will have a far larger scope. people who have clear concepts of justice will be considerably more likely to agree on principles. according to rawls, "these principles are to regulate all further agreement; they specify the kinds of social cooperation that can be entered into and the forms of government that can be established" (rawls, 1971:9). principle-based justice will fulfill two purposes. the first benefit is that it will offer a framework that all societal members can more or less agree upon. a principle's second purpose is to provide a framework for moral behavior that is independent of specific rules. in his "original position," rawls contends that in a fictitious social compact, moral standards will be agreed upon. thus, according to rawls, we must assume that those who participate in social cooperation pick the principles that will assign fundamental rights and obligations and establish how social benefits will be distributed in a single, coordinated act. men must decide in advance how to govern their disputes with one another and what their society's guiding principles will be. a group of people must decide once and for all what is to count among them as just and unjust, just as each person must decide by rational contemplation what comprises his good, that is, the system of objectives which it is logical for him to pursue (rawls, 1971:11–12). the original argument assumes that everyone will agree on basic fairness ideas. rawls contends that two conditions must be met in order for those in the original position to choose the standards of justice and fairness. the first of these is that each individual must be able to rationally decide what constitutes what is right and wrong. the second is that these logical individuals will be able to predetermine how society will be organized. a theory of justice as fairness must be built on principles that will be accepted by sensible people if it is to be successful, which is why rawls provides these two conditions. justice must be agreed upon by society as a whole if it is to be understood in terms of principles. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 316 people in the first situation don't have precise knowledge about either themselves or other people. they will adhere to moral standards based on a definition of fairness that is rooted in a clear, all-encompassing notion of equality. for rawls, some of the issues that arise when first-person interests serve as the foundation for decision-making processes are eliminated when all distinctive traits of the people in the original position are eliminated. this society will view justice in terms of equality and fairness if, as in the case of the original stance, all persons are independent, rational, and devoid of any individuating features. according to rawls, evaluating the agreements reached by people in the initial position is where the phrase "justice as fairness" originates. the essential agreements achieved in it are fair, according to rawls, who claims that "the original position is, one might say, the appropriate status quo" (rawls, 1971:12). agreements reached in the initial position serve as the foundation for justice principles. the initial position's structure ensures that choices will be made in a way that promotes a fair social structure. according to rawls, those in the initial position won't always opt for a particular justice principle, like the principle of public utility. instead, those involved in the initial scenario will opt for two different justice ideas. the first requires equality in the distribution of fundamental rights and obligations, while the second maintains that social and economic disparities, such as disparities in wealth and power, are just if they produce compensating benefits for everyone, especially the most disadvantaged members of society. people in the initial position will be able to argue that a just society is one where individual rights and liberties are safeguarded in spite of social and economic inequities by selecting two distinct principles. rawls state that, the creation of the two concepts of justice and fairness will enable a just society to maintain its fairness in the face of inherent social inequities (rawls, 1971:14–15). john rawls’ notion of the veil of ignorance: an overview as suggested by rawls, we need to find a way to counteract the consequences of certain circumstances that pit men against one another and entice them to take advantage of social and environmental conditions for their personal gain. now, in order to achieve this, i'm going to pretend that all parties are in the dark. they are compelled to assess principles primarily in light of general concerns since they are unsure of how the many possibilities would affect their own unique situation (rawls, 1971:137). in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 317 rawls' worldview, those in the starting position always lapse into ignorance. the original position holders are unaware of the specifics of their own and others' social circumstances. what rawls refers to as "the veil of ignorance" is the ignorance of particular individual circumstances. the restrictions rawls lays on the knowledge of those in the original position include the veil of ignorance as an essential component. the fact that rawls wants persons in the initial position to agree upon principles of justice rather than a specific definition of justice that may be either broad or too limited to create a contractual society that is fair is one reason for his proposal of the veil of ignorance. it's possible that if any unusual circumstances are permitted in the decision-making process, the society will be built around particular wants and interests rather than on the ideals of fairness. the sole specific fact that the parties are aware of, according to rawls, is that their society is subject to the conditions of justice and everything that this entails. however, it is assumed that they are aware of broad social truths (rawls, 1971:137). the persons at the starting position are familiar with all broad knowledge about human society, including political theory, economic theory, psychology, and sociology. the initial stance and the ignorance veil have a significant impact, as described by rawls. no one is in a position to adjust principles to his advantage because no one knows his standing in society or his natural resources, based on rawls (1971:140). in the initial position, there isn't the usual type of haggling. in a typical bargaining game, individuals with various interests negotiate with others to obtain both their goals and those of the other participants. these interests are dependent on the unique circumstances of each person. in a typical negotiation game, participants bargain according to the particulars of their circumstances. but there are no specifications in the first position. people in the initial situation are compelled to negotiate and come to agreements based on accepted ideas and ideals. for these reasons, the limitations of the ignorance veil and the original stance demonstrate how rawls is able to base his conceptions of justice on principles. the limitations on specific information in the original position, outlined by rawls, are therefore of utmost significance. without them, we won't be able to develop any concrete theories of justice. we won't be able to say much, if anything, about the specifics of the agreement itself and will instead have to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 318 be satisfied with a nebulous formula that says that justice is what will be agreed to (rawls, 1971:140). justice as fairness is one of rawls' theories, and it is a notion about people coming to consensus on fundamental ideas. according to rawls, a just society is defined by these values. individuals who are not operating in some form of social vacuum will not concur on the two notions of justice and fairness. a whole new concept of justice will result from knowing the specifics. the negotiating concept that rawls uses to support his theory of justice as fairness is built on generalizations and rules. in order to provide a definition of justice that as many people as possible can use, the theory of justice as fairness aims to be as inclusive as feasible. as stated by rawls, "the causes of the veil of ignorance now transcend beyond simple simplicity. in order to get the intended outcome, we need to identify the starting point. if knowledge of specifics is permitted, then arbitrary contingencies will skew the result (rawls, 1971:140). for rawls, a theory of justice will be centered on individual interests rather than the two principles of justice if specific situations are let into the decision-making process. the finest theory of justice, in rawls' opinion, is the idea of justice as fairness because it is not reliant on individual interests. what is the social contract? conceptual clarification a form of hypothetical or real agreement between society and its state is what the social contract theory is all about. the foundation of our moral judgments and positions has allegedly been traced back to this agreement. to put it another way, we just follow the laws and rules of the government in the hopes that others will do the same, which will ultimately lead to a safer and more comfortable living. to investigate whether it is accurate that our moral obligations may be described by a social contract, this theory draws on a number of philosophers, including hobbes, locke, hume, rousseau, kant, and rawls. paz-fuchs (2007:3) states that: early conceptions of the social contract, such those put out by hobbes, locke, and rousseau, place a strong emphasis on examining concepts of social cooperation and, to a greater extent, political obligation. arguments from the social compact were initially employed to support the requirement to follow the law or, more broadly, the acceptance of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 319 government decisions as final. on the other hand, contemporary models of the social compact assume that the modern state already exists. in order to establish appropriate social institutions and policies that represent justice as the fundamental value in society, the modern social contract is used as a mechanism. what features do these theories have that make them deserving of the moniker "social contract theories" in light of these distinctions? the primary characteristic of social contract theories appears to be their significant legitimizing role. paz-fuchs (2007:4) further states that: for some early contractarians, if it can be demonstrated that a historical contract to that effect genuinely occurred or if it is conceivable to uncover an implicit contract that dictates such schemes, it is possible to explain social cooperation and political obligation through a contractual process. these ideas started with a certain "state of nature" and proposed that the people of the time had contractedor ought to be interpreted as having contracteda legal obligation to which they could and ought to be held. hobbes, for instance, describes the "state of nature," or how life would be without a social contract, in vivid and depressing detail, demonstrating how important the social contract is to how we behave morally. in contrast, locke is much more upbeat and presents a more appealing picture of the state of nature, arguing that even in the absence of imposed laws and restrictions, our moral obligations would still be valid. both of these philosophers are judged by hume, who believes that there is no need for a social contract to define our moral obligations because respect for one another would be necessary to establish a stable society. rousseau viewed social interaction as an agreement between people who had a common interest. the social compact is seen from a different angle by rousseau, who argues that while there are so many benefits to working together as a society, doing so does not necessarily require giving up our freedom to a government in exchange for security. rousseau (2004:21) puts it thus: the social contract was a classic work by jeanjacques rousseau, whose main goal was to clarify the origins and bounds of legal authority. according igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 320 to rousseau, adherence to the state can actually provide us more freedom than we would otherwise have. for him following to a rule one sets for oneself is freedom, whereas acquiring the civil society and moral freedom alone makes a person a master of themselves. we can start to consider the nature of our morality as well as our relationship with power by looking at each of these thinkers' perspectives on the social contract hypothesis. according to hobbes, the social compact is a simultaneous decision made by everyone, with the exception of the newly established sovereign, to forego the use of all of their existing power in order to allow the new sovereign to use all of his existing authority free from interference from his subjects. the sovereign is actually a benefit of the hobbesian social compact rather than a participant in it. not only were individual citizens' free behaviors responsible for starting this dictatorship, nbete (2012:270) states that: in the hobbesian state of nature, 'conflict' is caused by four factors: (i) equality of demands; (ii) scarcity; (iii) inherent equality of human strength; and (iv) limited altruism. the amusing irony, though, is that unexpected events might lead to the weak conquering the powerful. this made things quite precarious. even worse, the state of nature lacked the social collaboration required for endeavors like industry, housing, technology, and similar ones. reason forced men to agree among themselves to cede their individual rights (apart from the right to self-preservation) to an absolute sovereign for the preservation of life in the community. this agreement was driven by the fear of death, especially violent death, and the desire to foster social cooperation. according to hobbes, men enter civil society through a compact between or among themselves, not between the people and their government. the contract theory of the state was initially articulated in its contemporary form by thomas hobbes. he created the concept of a brutish, short, isolated, and lonely condition of nature and proposed the social psychology theory of a man's innate desire for self-preservation. in the state of nature, all men were on an equal footing; by this, we mean that everyone is capable of harming his neighbor and taking what he feels he needs for his own security. similar to the right of all to all, the right of all to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 321 all simply refers to a person's freedom to do as they like and in opposition to anybody they see fit, as well as to own, use, and enjoy all they might possibly obtain. for kant, the state is the result of a social contract, and without it, legitimate possession could not be ensured since people lack the capacity to create and uphold laws that will ensure that everyone will respect the property rights of others. nbete (2012:272) further states that: the original contract is immanuel kant's term for the social contract. two unique discussions of the social contract are provided by him. first, he talks about property, which he defines as something "with which i am so connected that its use without my consent would wrong me." in addition, he makes a distinction between two types of possessional rights, namely (i) physical or "sensible" possession and (ii) "intelligible" possession. the former is a physical right, whose rejection would result in "bodily" pain, similar to what one would feel, for instance, if their own apple was removed from them without their knowledge or agreement. kant, however, contends that mere physical ownership is insufficient to constitute legal possession of a thing. intelligible possession constitutes rightful possession. this is the possession of a thing without physically holding it, allowing somebody to use it without my permission and harming me even though i am not physically harmed or using it at the time. the use of human choice is central to kant's argument that there must be some sort of intelligent possession that differs from purely physical possession. a person's object of choice is one that they would find valuable for their objectives. the ability to use such a thing would constitute its rightful possession. if no one is legally entitled to acquire a specific object, it is beyond the scope of its potential uses; in other words, even though the object is useable, it hasn't been put to use. according to kant, such a condition is compatible with everyone's freedom under the rules of universal law; hence it does not conflict with the concept of right. tibor and machan (1883:141-42) rightly argue that: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 322 kant's concept of the social compact is the only one that helps us understand the legitimacy of the state. he stated that the social contract would be a "mere idea of understanding, which has, nonetheless, its doubtless (practical) reality in that it "obligates every lawgiver to advance his statutes so that they could have resulted from the united will of the entire people, and to consider every subject, as regards his desire for citizenship, as though he had been party to accepting that will. every public enactment is justified on the basis of this. in kant's case, the "united will of a whole people" appears to be necessary simply because he is certain that doing so will ensure the presence of consistency. in contrast to the real contract, consistency appears to be a requirement of the origin of moral norms. for kant, everyone's act of will is one, and the unanimity of all of them is another essential component of the social compact. the social contract, for kant, is not a historically actual act, and even the idea of permission that is inherent in the contract is not historical consent. instead, it is built on a series of decisions that individuals might accept under reasonable circumstances. it is predicated on potential reasonable consensus, in other words. this consent is not predicated on any particular set of aspirations shared by all individuals; rather, it is a hypothetical assent based on an idealized notion of just allocation of rights and responsibilities. to illustrate the idea of a contract that is rooted in fairness and created through a deliberate process, rawls used the idea of the initial position. the term "original position" refers to what some other contract theorists refer to as the natural state and is both fictitious and hypothetical. those who are interested in creating a just society are together to discuss it in the original position. the original position offers the setting for reaching a deal that would create a well-ordered society. in the original position, defining the prerequisites for fruitful and fair discussions is rawls' main responsibility. the original viewpoint, which defines justice as fairness, is crucial to rawls' conception of justice. in the initial scenario, free people freely decide whether or not to take part in civic society. intriguingly, based on rawls, no igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 323 one knows their place in society, their class, or their social standing in nature. they also don't know their fortune in terms of the distribution of natural assets and liabilities, or their intelligence, strength, or other characteristics. no one has access to confidential information or a more valuable background than the other parties; everyone participating in the negotiation is on an equal footing. regarding the people in his original position, rawls holds a number of fundamental presumptions. these presumptions offer insight into the identities of these people as well as their initial goals. they also draw attention to the circumstances that surrounded the people in their starting positions. one supposition is that the parties are persons seeking contracts. their main goal is to come to an understanding through discussion about the laws that will govern their society and political life. the norms they select will have an impact on how social organizations distribute societal obligations and fundamental rights. the guidelines would also govern how the benefits of social collaboration would be distributed. nbete (2012:273) claim that: like many other modern social contract theorists, john rawls emphasizes agreement as the foundation of political duty without entirely rejecting the notion of consent. they make an effort to differentiate between the core concern of the consent tradition, the origin of political obligation, and the issues of what social or constitutional regimes are long-lastingly advantageous to both parties. for rawls, a person's obligation to follow the law or other social norms depends on their personal morality. although the framework of a "original agreement" still exists in rawls' theory, duties are seen as being based on normative public morality principles rather than consent. public morality is at stake in the debate over the creation and justification of political and social institutions. in other words, public morality serves as the foundation for these organizations' rationale. this explains james buchanan's assertion that a key aspect of modern contractual thought has been the redefinition of political philosophy to emphasize social morality rather than personal responsibility. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 324 the intent of the social contract is to create better contractors—parties who are better able to think about, debunk, and create a social structure based on justice. the social contract tries to explain how societies and governments come into being. the social contract theory primarily focuses on the people's voluntary agreement to the establishment of government, despite significant differences on several aspects. the social contract serves as a yardstick for determining if moral values may be justified. we can also assert that we unwittingly take part in such a social compact. rawls idea of the original position to the ideas of rawls, the social contract ought to be created from scratch, with everyone deciding the laws of society but concealing their knowledge. the veil of ignorance is primarily a means of obscuring one's own social standing. only from behind this curtain can a really just society be created. for instance, one must not know if one is going to be a slave or a slaveowner when deciding whether or not slavery is acceptable. according to rawls, two basic principles of justice follow from this initial stance. the first is the "liberty principle," which holds that everyone should have access to their fundamental liberties, including the freedoms of expression, participation in politics, ownership of property, and freedom from unjustified detention, so long as those liberties are compatible with the rights of others. according to the second principle, known as the difference principle, inequalities in social and economic distribution must be set up so that those who are least advantaged benefit the most from them. to put it another way, if things are being distributed in a society, those who need them the most should get them first. oyeshile (2008) points out that: since it is the circumstance of choice from which the principles of justice arise or derive, rawls refers to his account of the hypothetical option situation as the "original position" in his argument. in the contratarian theory of the emergence of civil society, the initial position is comparable to the condition of nature. there were several components in the original place. first, it is assumed that the contract's participants are rationally motivated to pursue their life goals. he considers himself to be an independent agent with a desirable life goal that he desires to pursue, thus he wants as many primary goods as he igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 325 can and is uninterested in others. second, rawls refers to the "veil of ignorance" as a set of informational limitations that apply to the parties in the initial position. the objective is to deny the parties access to some self-identifying information. to prevent a skewed choice of principles, the parties are primarily kept in the dark about this information. the application of the principles is broad, universal, public, adjudicative, and conclusive. through their selection of principles, those in the initial position attempt to advance their interests as much as they can. they select the rules that will govern the society they intend to live in based on their expectations of how well they will fare in that society. with rawls, the parties in the initial situation make logical decisions to further their interests. it is crucial to remember that the hypothetical agreement resulting from the first viewpoint. the principles to be derived are hypothetical in the sense that they are not what the parties have agreed to, but rather what they may agree to under specific justifiable circumstances. in other words, rawls tries to convince us through argument that the moral force of the principles of justice he derives comes from the fact that they are what we would agree on if we were in the hypothetical situation of the original position. application of rawls social contract theory and the veil of ignorance john rawls attempts to provide a social contract-based understanding of justice in "a theory of justice" (rawls, 1971). as a result, we are to imagine that those who participate in social cooperation choose together, in one joint act, the principles that are to assign fundamental rights and duties and to determine the division of social benefits (rawls, 1971:11). this is rawls' main point. for rawls, a social contract is a hypothetical agreement rather than a recorded agreement. as a result, rawls does not assert that individuals truly concur on a particular set of justifications for morality. rawls contends that under some specific circumstances, people would agree to such ideas. rawls makes it clear in a theory of justice that the most important prerequisite for this hypothetical contract is a veil of ignorance, which prevents people from knowing the most specific details about igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 326 themselves and their community. the principles of justice that people would accept in their initial circumstances, which are fundamentally characterized by this veil of ignorance, are those that rawls claims are morally sufficient. as initially conceived, rawls' concept of the veil of ignorance (as embodied in the concept of original position) is his description of the moral point of view with relation to issues of justice. the original position, according to richardson and weithman (1999), is a hypothetical viewpoint that we can take in our moral deliberations over the most fundamental notions of social and political justice. when compared to its predecessors (in hume, kant, and rousseau), rawls' impartial perspective is largely distinguished by the fact that, rather than embodying the judgment of a single individual, it is regarded socially as a general agreement by (representatives of all adult) members of a continuous society. the idea of justice is therefore shown as a broad societal "contract" or understanding. to put it another way, rawls presents a global rather than a micro theory of moral reasoning. in light of the fact that rawls' argument touches on society as a whole's moral thinking, it is important. as a mental tool to help people develop a standard of justice while staying unaware of their precise position in or specific role in their community, rawls introduces the concept of a veil of ignorance. according to rawls' social compact, rational people would concur if they were each shielded from knowledge. their access to "the general facts of human society, such as political affairs and economic theory principles, and whatever general facts affect the choice of the principles of justice" is made possible by the veil. nobody knows their place in society, their class position or social status, their fortune in the distribution of natural assets and abilities, their intelligence and strength, their conception of the good, their aversion to risk or vulnerability to optimism or pessimism (rawls, 1971:137). it prevents them from knowing any specific facts about themselves. in order to prevent persons in the initial position from favoring unjust ideas, rawls introduces this veil of ignorance to obscure some specific facts from consideration. because of this, individuals in their initial circumstances are unaware of their place in society, their innate or learned igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 327 characteristics or skills, their ideals and objectives. they are also unable to identify the specific political, economic, or cultural traits of their own society or the age to which they belong. they are aware that they are living in the same time as one another, that they are in a situation where collaboration between people is both conceivable and desired, and that they are all capable of having a sense of justice. additionally, there is no restriction on how much general knowledge they possess, including that which is found in political, social, economic, and psychological ideas. while the ignorance of those in the starting position considerably limits their understanding. it nonetheless gives people enough knowledge, in rawls' opinion, to come to just conclusions about how to handle any ensuing criticism and change of the fundamental framework of a society. this results from the fact that when examining a society's fundamental components, only main social goods i.e., goods that are typically required for fulfilling whatever objectives one may haveare in question. as a result, even individuals who are obscured by ignorance would understand the value of collecting items of this kind since these are the kinds of items that one would want regardless of other desires. additionally, rawls makes the assumption that those in the initial situation would often want more fundamental social goods as opposed to fewer. persons in this situation would aim to increase their index of primary social goods while disregarding how others fared, assuming an acceptable minimum. this implies that those in the initial situation would not be impacted by love, envy, or resentment. according to rawls, anyone who started out in that situation would select the following particular notion of justice: every person is entitled to the broadest overall system of fundamental liberties that is consistent with a similar system of liberty for all. social and economic disparities must be set up to help the least advantaged the most and be connected to jobs and offices that are available to everyone with fair equality of opportunity. when the liberties provided by the first principle could be effectively exercised by persons in all social positions, according to rawls, the first principle would be taken to take precedence over the second. as a result, when this requirement is met, liberties are not to be given up in order to achieve larger shares of other social goods (rawls, 1971). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 328 raymond (2006:7) observed that: in theory of justice, his most famous work, rawls explains his desire to elevate the social compact to a more abstract level of thought. to achieve this, we should not consider the original contract as one in which we enter a particular society or set up a certain type of governance, but rather as one in which the purpose is the principles of justice for the fundamental structure of society. it refers to the principles that any free and sensible person would accept to follow in order to further his interests, assuming that the parties are in a position of supposed initial equality while determining the core conditions of their relationship. these principles would lay the foundation for and govern all subsequent agreements, defining the kinds of social collaboration and the permissible structures of government. justice as fairness is the approach to justice that rawls describes. because the original position is a circumstance in which the maximum rule for choosing under uncertainty is applicable, according to rawls, these two principles would be chosen. the principles that people in the original position would choose are thought to be the same as those rational people would choose for the design of a society in which their enemy would assign them their position, which, of course, would be the least advantageous position. this is because the maximum rule assumes that the best one can do is maximize the payoff to the least advantageous position. this is not to argue that those in the original position believe that their place in society is so predetermined; if that were the case, their reasoning would be flawed, and rawls finds that unacceptable. however, rawls argues that since both circumstances satisfy the requirements of the maximal rule for choice under uncertainty, people would choose the same principles in both cases. conclusion in his political philosophy, rawls references the social contract tradition. this tradition views societal norms as standards on which one should anticipate agreement among all parties. at least among those whose main igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 329 objective is to act in line with such rules, this tradition emphasizes the consent of all. no matter which party to the contract you happen to be, a satisfactory or adequate set of rules is one that everyone involved can expect to agree to. rawls made this social contract-inspired decision. he suggested that in order for there to be a just society, the distribution standards that parties on an equal footing would have chosen would have to be met. even when we are forced to give up our social structures, we can still relate to one another as free and equals if the standards are such that there is little to no opposition to them—when they can therefore be called to be fair. that we should define justice as fairness is rawls' suggestion, and it is based on this notion. unlike some prior social contract theorists, rawls' emphasis is social institutions as a whole rather than a collection of individual social institutions. and for rawls, a person's benefit or disadvantage cannot be determined by comparison to a natural state. despite the fact that social institutions are artificial, it is not advisable to try to judge how we "really" exist apart from the standards, links, and positions we are born into. instead, rawls looks to contrast competing theories for evaluating social foundational structures. to help us better understand how to defend and assess such ideas for justice principles, rawls suggests a method. we envision an initial negotiating "original position" where all parties must concur on standards for determining whether social institutions are fair. this is consistent with a social-contract theory of equality and freedom as widespread consent. furthermore, rawls expects us to believe that neither party is aware of any information that would influence them to make unjust or incorrect arguments. in their selection of justice principles, the parties fight in this way while concealing their ignorance. the parties in this initial position are aware, as previously mentioned, that social institutions have a significant impact on their lives. everyone wants to spread their own personal philosophy of life, but many are unaware of the specific beliefs they hold. therefore, no one will support a specific benefit distribution only because it supports a particular viewpoint. furthermore, since no one is certain whether they possess qualities like courage, entrepreneurship, or learning ability, no one would argue that social institutions should definitely benefit them. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 330 they may still agree that institutions can reward some of these qualities, but only in limited circumstances, such as to raise the overall amount of wealth that everyone will eventually enjoy. to rawls, while selecting justice principles, the social position with the greatest disadvantage would be given the most weight. the notion that parties would consider the worst case scenario for them illustrates this. they will make sure that the least fortunate are as well off as they can be, while not knowing where they will all wind up on the social scale. since the utilitarian principle of utility maximization permits some to be sacrificed for the benefit of others, rawls' principles would be preferred. in order for people to develop a standard of justice while being unaware of their exact position in or specific function in their society. rawls proposes the concept of a veil of ignorance, which can be thought of as a mental tool. with regard to rawls' the social contract, rational people would accept the following if they were each hidden behind a curtain of ignorance. references barker, e. (1960). social contract essays by locke, hume, and rousseau. oxford university press. machan, t. (1983). the social contract as a basis of norms: a critique. the journal of libertarian studies, vol. vii, no. 1. university of san diego press. nbete, a. (2012) the social contract theory: a model for reconstructing a true nigerian nation state international journal of humanities and social science, vol. 2, no. 15. center for promoting ideas. oyeshile, o. (2008). critique of the maximin principle in rawls’ theory of justice humanity & social sciences journal 3 (1) idosi publications. paz-fuchs, a. (2007). the social contract revisited: the modern welfare state oxford university press. rawls, j. (1971). a theory of justice. london: oxford university press. richardson, h., & weithman, p. (eds.) (1999). the philosophy of rawls: a collection of essays, vol. 5 garland. wacks, r. (2006). philosophy of law. oxford university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol 9 no.1, 2023 www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/igwebuikejournals.php a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 53 feminism in chimamanda’s americana: giudance/ counselling and education management on the intersection between feminism and african tradition emmanuel ikenna okafor, ph.d department of christian religious studies peaceland college of education, enugu agbudugbu@gmail.com amunnadi chukwudi, a., ph.d division of general studies enugu state university of technology, enugu enugu state, nigeria grace obiageli otiji, ph.d enugu state college of education (technical) enugu, enugu state, nigeria bernadette nwakaego onyia department of neducational psychology enugu state college of education (technical) enugu & chikelu, jennifer ujunwa department of english language godfrey okoye university, ugwuomu nike enugu doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.27610.21449 abstract professionalism falls within the fields of academic endeavour which gender sentiment has serious affected in african cultures, especially in the pre-colonial and post-colonial spaces. this sentiment on female gender results from the perceptions developed in african tradition and religion. the problem which this paper is set to address is the issue of introducing gender or famine sentiment in considering ones children or child for studying in higher institutions, and the embarrassment they experience in discharging their professional duties/ prowess in offices when they graduate or professionalize themselves. mailto:08062384595/agbudugbu@gmail.com feminism in chimamanda’s americana: guidance/counselling and education management on the intersection between feminism and african tradition 54 the study aims at addressing the problem as it affects nigeria with insights on the relevance of experts in guidance/ counseling and education management from foundation stage of academic pursuits to the higher levels for a better understanding of human intellectual and physical capacities rather than gender. it is discovered in the paper that the observations of ngozi chimamanda adieche’s americana have much examinations and accord to the fact that the female gender is completely uncomfortable with african feminist practice and conception. adichie stresses strongly on black/gender race renaissance and transcultural identity. the study therefore employs feminist, phenomenological, and sociological approaches in conveying its message. data got were analyzed with historical and descriptive methods of data analysis. it is recommended among other things that african culture, tradition and religion should be fairly accommodating subsequently, than they were before and now. secondly, african cultural ideology should be made to strike a balance in its gender sensitivity even in foreign lands by african. keywords: professionalism, guidance/ counseling and education management. introduction africans have historically shown some levels of degradation against the female gender. in the years, decades and centuries back, nigerians particularly never hard regard for the female gender. in african history generally and nigeria in particular every role of the girls and women is more or less on domestic attention. it is in very few occupations that women and girls assume social relevance. mr. okechukwu eze (personal communication, 3 august, 2021) points that when he was growing up within the 1980s, he used to hear the common adage: “woman’s education ends in kitchen” (week). in 1970s and 80’s women have started giving consideration on gender complaints, mr. chidi okafor ugwu (personal communication, 8 february, 2008). in igbo tradition, religion and culture, there are a lot of things women were not given opportunities to contribute. for example, community discussions, marriage agreements, rites or payment of dowry, masquerading cultism, traditional property inheritance, engagement in certain careers, ownership certain crops, e.g. palm trees, kola-nut trees, etc. despite the regard to their (female) natural physiology, they do not climb trees, they do not cultivate on the soil where yam will be planted as far as the girl has started experiencing her menstruation cycle. at the advent of western education, religion, culture and civilization, academic pursuit became a prerequisite for white collar job. at this colonial era in nigeria, and some parts of africa, parents had refused to send their daughters to school, basically because they feared that the girl child will turn wild and emmanuel ikenna okafor, amunnadi chukwudi, grace obiageli otiji, bernadette nwakaego onyia & chikelu jennifer ujunwa 55 loose attention to domestic antinaries. when the few persons that acquired western education became very successful in their intellectual contributions to community issues, and earning white collar jobs, which upgrade their families’ standard of living, many families and communities started training their sons in primary, secondary and tertiary instructions. ejike and okoye (2019: 277) state, “effects of war on women include: sexual abuse, abduction, pregnancy, poverty, hideouts in dangerous places and death”. women receive heat of many arises in the traditional society, because they are conceived as the week sex, and could always be easy to subdue. in the later days, families found no sense in sending their daughters to school let alone sponsoring them in some courses deemed lucrative. this is simply because, it is thought that she will take every profit accruing from that formal education to her husband family and not her parents’ home. this paper therefore, examines feminism in african ideology and even beyond on social cultural realms, economic, religious, political and health realms. the problem that bothers this research, hence is, the issue of introducing gender or famine sentiment in considering one’s children or child’s area(s) specialization in institutions of higher learning and otherwise. another problem of the research is the total negligence and degradation on the female gender. the paper aims at addressing the problem as to know how it affects nigeria, with insight on the relevance of guidance/counsellors and education managers, from foundation stage of academics and career pursuits to higher levels of lives, for a better understanding of human physical and intellectual capacities and strengths, rather gender. it has been discovered in this paper that the observations of ngozi chimamanda adichie’s americana have examined and agreed to the fact that the female gender is completely uncomfortable with gender degradation in african traditional practices and conceptions. chimamanda adichie stresses strongly on black as well as gender and racial renaissance and trans-cultural identity. the study employs feminist, phenomenological and sociological methodologies in disseminating its massage. data were selected from primary and secondary materials. data got were analyzed with historical and descriptive styles of data analysis. it is recommended that african cultures, traditions, and religion should be made fairly accommodating subsequently, than they were before and now, etc. definition of concepts and brief profile of chimamanda the terms that are considered for clarification includes: chimamanda adichie, intersection, guidance/ counseling, education management, feminism, african traditional religious culture. chimamanda adichie is a nigerian (african) feminist, who was born in lagos. she grew up in the university of nigeria, nsukka campus where her parents worked. she studied both in nigeria and abroad, an asset that aided her vast experience in literacy content creativity. she is a prolific writer, who has immortalized feminism in chimamanda’s americana: guidance/counselling and education management on the intersection between feminism and african tradition 56 her name in the sand of time through a powerful paradigm shift in terms of the central themes that preoccupied feminist writers before her. she was a science student in her secondary education at university of nigeria secondary school where she bagged 9 a1 in her west african senior secondary school certificate examination (wasssce) pham. emeka samuel uzondu (personal communication, 14 april, 2019). chimamanda hails from aba town in njikoka local government area, anambra state, nigeria. she got admission to study medicine and surgery at university of nigeria. after her first year, she switched over to pharmacy at her 300 level in pharmaceutical sciences she left for united states of america where she studied international relations and made a first class honour. at this point she decided to follow her passion, which is writing, where she has sustained several awards of international repute and recognitions. the next word or concept that demands some explanation is intersection. cambridge dictionary (2022) defines intersection as. “an occasion when two lines cross or the place where this happens? the place where two or more roads join or cross each other”. the paper therefore examines how or where chimamnda’s americana identifies the cross lines, or joint roads in traditional african/nigerians’ feminist ideology. then, the paper will be based on this identification to advocate for the issues that bother on feminism. education management/ supervision on the other hand has been defined by edison (2017:41) as designated officials of the school organization who interact with the members of the teaching staff on behavour system in order to improve the quality of learning of the students. this supervision role of education management is what consolidates whatever education policy that has been introduced in any school system. otji et al (2021:311) point that education management and supervision as principally targeted at improvement of educational/school system through planning and formulation of education policies”. education management as a department in the faculty of education deals with the leadership, administration and governance in education or school system or settings. omorobi (2021:8) has defined education management thus: “the application of management principles to the field and practice of educational leadership for attainment of educational goals and objectives. feminism is becoming a common phenomenon in academics and social discussions. it is a gender issue. feminism is defined by summers (2001:511) as: “having qualities that are considered to be typical of women especially by being gentle, delicate and pretty. summers (2001) also defines feminism as “the belief that unities as men” feminist is someone who supports the idea that women should have the same rights and opportunities as men (summers, 2001). feminism as a concept is concerned with issues associated with respect and rights of the female gender. kayode et al (2019:306) point that gender emmanuel ikenna okafor, amunnadi chukwudi, grace obiageli otiji, bernadette nwakaego onyia & chikelu jennifer ujunwa 57 mainstreaming is a gender approach that seeks to prevent further overburdening of women and stresses the importance of not reinforcing and perpetuating traditional roles. guidance and counseling on the other hand, has been viewed by common man as a way or art of guiding and counseling people who are believed to have a lower experience on peculiar issues than the others. drofojebe, e c. c (personal communication, 11 june, 2021) sees guidance and counseling as professional skill acquired through accredited training of the professionals to specialize on the skill of guiding and counseling in relevant settings. for example, schools, churches, hospitals, vocational centers and other areas for personality development. african traditional religious culture has been defined by scholars of african traditional religion. awolalu in ugwu (2014: 5) emphasizes on it thus: „ the indigenous religion of africans. it is a religion that has been handed down from generation to generation by the forebears of the present generation of africans. it is not a fossil religion (a thing of the past) but a religion that africans today have made theirs by living it and practicing it. this is a religion that has no written literature yet it is “written” everywhere for those who care to see and read. it is largely written in the people’s myths and folklores, in their songs and dances, in their liturgies and shrines and in their proverbs and pith sayings. it is a religion whose historical founder is neither known of worshiped, it is a religion that has no zeal for membership drive, yet it offers persistent fascinating for africans, young or old. this is exactly the nature of african traditional religion. at a time of the advent of islam and christianity in africa, african traditional religion and culture seem to face degeneration but from the inception of 21st century, african traditional religion and culture are gaining grounds, attracting mostly the young people to itself as priests, diviners, worshipers and adherents. it is pivotal to emphasize here that, african culture is very difficult to be separated from african traditional religion. african traditional religion is the life wire of african culture. culture has been defined by nwosu and kalu (1982: 1) as the totality of the people’s way of life”. therefore african traditional religious culture is that religion of african that transmits, directs and refines african culture, though it accommodates to an extent other religions refining interest on african culture. exposition of african religious and cultural feminist ideology in chimamanda adichie’s americanah instead of advancing the crusade for male (man) hatred in her work as many feminist writers do, she chose to break off into new issues affecting womanhood in the twenty first feminism in chimamanda’s americana: guidance/counselling and education management on the intersection between feminism and african tradition 58 century. lending proper credit to feminists predators before her who had agitated for the education of a girl child fought for the equality with her male counterparts in juicy positions in the labour market among other things, chimamanda quickly break off to the contemporary issues of today women. not wanting to sound like a broken record in her initial literary works in pursuant of the central ideology in feminism, she followed the trends in her first two works like purple hisbicus (2003) a historical masterpiece of the biafra civil war, ethnic conflict and religious antagonism, the thing around your neck (2009) and the americana (2013). all her literary works offer fertile premise for the extension of feminism and also are lucid insights for analyzing modern womanhood in the post colonial rules in the continent (doki2005). it is a fact that a writer’s social cultural affiliation and even geographical setting forms the crucial background for creative work of art. akanda (2014) supports the foregoing when she asserts that african and western feminist writers have wide margin of difference which basically stems from cultural and geographical disposition in the globe. she adds further that while the western feminist occupy themselves with the harvest of fruits of capitalism africans (nigeria) feminist still engages the religious, cultural and traditional inhibitions such as the bane of a modern civilized woman in keeping to the habitual actives customs and religious rites of the society she belongs to and which she is bound to keep to in order to fit in the status quo. americana is a debut that explores racism and feminism as a trans nationalism literary work in the present dispensation, (julia, 2016). through an intriguing elevated language, chimamanda dissects stylistically modern culture and norms that obstructs young women especially african american or nonamerican black woman in united state from being their real normal selves. the writer weights the false or fabrication in life style against the originality of a person. ifemelu and obinze the major characters soon discover their fake life style was not benefiting to them. ifemelu gives in to the pressure from her white friends to apply chemicals in her hair in order to straighten it (application of relaxer). the application of the chemical firstly burnt her hair scraps and also caused her hair to fall off. she soon realizes that wearing her natural hair is better for her as it makes her more beautiful and attractive. hence she repented from being fake. in the same view, obinze glories in the wealth of his wife kosi and enjoys the respect that comes from being rich. although he likes the feelings, yet he feels awkward and said “he was no longer sure, he had in fact never been sure, whether he liked his life because he really did or whether he liked it because he was supposed to” (adichie 21, from ginny 2014). chimamanda through her female character ifemelu tactfully, exposes the misrepresentation of women and the skewed exposition of the black woman in america. emmanuel ikenna okafor, amunnadi chukwudi, grace obiageli otiji, bernadette nwakaego onyia & chikelu jennifer ujunwa 59 this condition the author beams a harsh light on in clear terms to jettison. through her descriptive and smart observations of persons and environment she provokes thoughtful issues of racism that affects the daily lives of the young black (african) women in the united states. the mistreatment, derivation, suppression and humiliation of woman both in africa and in western context were presented in the dual citizenship of the female protagonist in americana. the narrator (ifemelu) a black immigrant from nigeria who had come to american to study could not believe the reality of things in america as against what she saw through the television. ifemelu whom the author stylistically gives the liberty of being expressive refused to accept or elicit self-pity regardless of her many negative encounters unlike her aunty uju who had endured many frustration from her supposed husband in order to stay married to him, (shayla 2021). in the first place, ifemelu, could not agree with the idea that her natural hair should pose a hindrance in her quest for a job because it was not relaxed (adding chemical to her hair strap to straighten it) but she finally give in to that societal pressure in order to belong. as ifemelu awaits for a train in princeton that will take her to trenton, new jersey to get her hair braided, she makes a number of observations that aids in the description of the exact place she is at a time. while at the salon owned by an african immigrant and a senegalese woman called aisha and through the discussion that ensued about africa (nigeria) men, she (ifemelu) remembers her old friend obinze whom she sends a message immediately obinize who had encouraged her to travel to america for her studies and make ways for his coming to america for him to join her. ifemelu franiterzes with obinze in her usual way calling him, “ceiling: without knowing that obinze is married to kosi and that both of them had a two years old daughter name buchi shaya (2021), chimamanda is patriotic a such that she uses her literary works to make a statement on african culture in general and nigeria in particular. marriage is an aspect of culture of any given society. marriages in africa, especially in nigeria are seen as an achievement against all odds. the marriage of obinze and kosi depicts union of incompatibility in the strictest sense of the word. obinze cherishes the love ecstasy he enjoyed with ifemelu before she left nigeria as against the love gifting and obvious affluence kosi brings to his life. obinze rather trend to nurse jealousy for the supposed white boy friend of ifemelu. this fact makes him sad even when kosi do everything to make him happy. both couples are fully aware of their incapability, but still reminds together in order not to appear as failed entities as the culture will interpret. chimamanda frowns at the incompatibility in ifemelu and curt relationship. curt is upbeat and optimistic in a way that seems distinctly to ifemelu. ifemelu on her part feels that dating a white man is a complete fabrication. this feeling causes a drift in their relationship until ifemelu calls it quit. this is against the glaring feminism in chimamanda’s americana: guidance/counselling and education management on the intersection between feminism and african tradition 60 realities in african where incompatible couple cling together in toxic or an unhealthy relationship just to answer married as a status. again chimamanda presents the dictates of african cultures on a female child to know her place even in speaking out obvious facts. in the chapter of americanah the incident with the powerful woman in guiding assembly a christian church ifemelu’s mother starts attending newly is a clear indication of the foregoing. the church women see ifemelu as being disrespectful for refusing to make a paper garlands for chief omenka and for calling him a thief. ifemelu as a young female child, observes that chief omenka the general in the guiding assembly ought to be a role model in terms of pious living but had taken aunty uju as his mistress. a fact ifemelu’s mother knows and condones, unable to condemn due to the material gifts she gains from the elicit affairs. ifemelu’s father on hearing the incident reminds ifemelu that going against authority has sullied her school record. on the part of ifemelu’s mother, she invited aunty uju to caution ifemelu to behave well and not to forget that she is a girl. aunty uju sternly warms ifemelu about saying things the way she sees and feels things around her because she can be harmed through it. this is replica of severe inhibitions that cued from age long tradition and culture restricting a girl child to always stay aground in speech and in action and matters that have to do with authority or religion. a girl child should remain quiet at whatever situations she encounters, a drift which always attracts all manner of vituperation from the elders without getting proper clarification from the child. this results to the reasons women say less in issues affecting them. this insidious recklessness, the author frowns at vehemently. although, chimamanda gives her female characters guts to speak about their struggles , predication and also the courage to say no to unsavory cases, ouma (2017,13) strongly believes that african women are varyingly represented in writing through a marginalized eye or a worm’s view eye. worm’s vie depicts a suppressed person who observes a situation and gives a detailed narration of it, without having the will power to ameliorate it. chimamanda stylishly changes the narratives by creating female characters with great will to change ugly situations around them. in doing this, she extends feminism to how to raise young women to believe and respect themselves as humans with latent abilities and not place their value in the already made male stereotype and chauvinistic perception man posits in the patriarchal society. this is a breath of fresh air in feminism movement because it unveils the untold truth to the young women in nigeria, africa and the world over. with this the author of americana clamors for self-awareness of a girl child as a person carrying values, capable of developing into a woman of her dreams, the judgmental ability of the male gender regardless. chimamanda explicitly unmasked the disguised images mentally , physically or emotionally heaped on a female child by the male figure in her life-being it father, brother, uncle, boyfriend or husband as bread emmanuel ikenna okafor, amunnadi chukwudi, grace obiageli otiji, bernadette nwakaego onyia & chikelu jennifer ujunwa 61 winners , by creating super female character like ifemelu, kosi, aunty, uju asiha etc, as women who fends for themselves comfortably. in doing this, she advocates for clarity of purpose in every point in a girl child’s life. more so, chimamanda adichie carefully assigned roles to the male characters in the novel allowing them show traces of immaturity and unsure of themselves. ginny (2014) opines that “it should be noted that all the male figure created in americana are literally described as being childish at some point in the novel”. obinze supports and encourages ifemelu to travel out to america and then makes way for him to join her. this is not the true action of an ideal man in nigeria. rather he will prefer to travel out first as a man and them prepares ways for his female partner to join him. this is a great attribute of an immature. also, in the characterization of the same obinze, one sees traces of childishness. he sees himself as a rich personality with a beautiful wife and a daughter even though he never worked to earn any of the things he enjoys but had to maintain his image in order to keep his current life style. again, ifemelu’s father rather than striving to eke, accepted failure and sits back at home all day speaking english with great accents as if it is to cover for his inability to feed his family. conclusively, chimamanda through sublimity, vivid imagery and patterning of diction achieved a giant feat in the literary world of art in creating female characters who take up masculine roles as against the dictates of the patriarchal society. and takes turns in switching on roles for the males in her work. this way, she has attained the central ideology in feminism that speaks volume when both female and male are seen as humans capable of assuming any roles irrespective of gender. impact of guidance/ counseling and education management in managing african traditional feminist thought in the light of chimamanda’s americanah chimamanda has exposed both africa and american feminist ideologies. this paper is interested in the feminist thought as it affects africa generally, and nigeria in particular. feminist ideologies in nigeria are discussed across areas of politics, religion, social and economic spheres, health and education. the impact of guidance/ counselling and education management have across these areas of concern will be earnestly emphasized. adeusi et al (2015) have emphasized on the impact of through the essence of the profession as a profession designated to assists clients to understand and clarify their views of their life and to learn to attain their selfdetermined goals through meaningful, well informed choices and resolution of challenges of an emotional or interpersonal nature. on this same impact of guidance and counselling, university of louisville in egenti (2020: 2) examines the impact or role of guidance and counselling in a school feminism in chimamanda’s americana: guidance/counselling and education management on the intersection between feminism and african tradition 62 setting thus. “school guidance counsellors play a powerful role in career development of students”. amoah et al (2015) support that guidance counsellors in nigeria secondary schools have an important role in advocating for broadbased career plans that will focus on student’s areas of interests, abilities and capacities that will offer the students an increased future career options and opportunities. with these insights on the roles of guidance counsellors in secondary schools and beyond, it is hence, imperative, for the guidance counsellors to collaborate with education management professionals to extensively spread the functions beyond school systems to politics, economy, social and cultural spheres, religion and health sectors so that the achievements gotten in the school system will not be turned down with feminist ideologies of nigerians as it affects the people’s social and culture lives, economic wellbeing, religion, health and politics. in a case scenario where chimamanda presents inferiority feeling of the nature of her hair as an african woman, ifemelu sees her natural hair as a hindrance to getting a job because her hair was not relaxed like the white woman’s hair. she decided to add chemicals to her hair strap to straighten it. as she awaits for a train in princeton that will take her to trenton, new jersey to get her hair braided, she makes some observations that assists in description of the exact place she is at a time. while at the saloon own by an african immigrant and a senegalese woman called aisha and through the discussion that is about african/ nigeria men, ifemelu remembered her old friend obinze whom she sends a massage immediately, obinze had encouraged ifemelu to travel to america for studies and make ways for his coming to america for him to join her. these multiinstances are enough for experts in guidance counselling and education management to adopt in tackling nigeria feminist ideologies. firstly, ifemelu later succumbs to strengthen her hair just to belong. braiding and relaxing hair by african women and girls have taken the psychology of african women about her beauty. african women should be addressed by guidance and counselors and education management experts to reduce their disregard to their natural beauty. african/nigerian women disregard to their natural beauty as it affects their hair and otherwise contributes to the increase in disregard to their nature and give it a peculiar socio – cultural beauty and regard. guidance/ counseling and education management and administrators should plan for introduction of special indigenous skill acquisition centers in schools and other places where typical african beautification services will be thought to increase the pride and regard for african/nigeria women’s beauty. on obinze’s encouragement to ifemelu to travel to america shows a reverse to typical african man’s feminist ideology. ordinarily, it is normal for an african man to first travel aboard for education/academic pursuit, then plans to bring his female partner to join him. this decision probably would arise due to the capacities obinze had found in ifemelu. emmanuel ikenna okafor, amunnadi chukwudi, grace obiageli otiji, bernadette nwakaego onyia & chikelu jennifer ujunwa 63 this would be a ground the education management experts and guidance counselors would employ in addressing africans on the need to focus on abilities and capabilities in offering their children academic sponsorship or training instead of gender considerations/ sensitivity. on economy, ifemelu’s father was presented as being unable to feed his family rather, he accepted to sit down at home against material possession. the igbo for example, culturally do not permit women to possess certain crops or inherit certain properties. women do not inherit family. kingship or generation lands, they do not own crops like palm trees, kola – nut, etc depending on communities. in chimamanda’s americana, a saloon is being owned by aisha, a senegalese woman living in another landamerica. education management and guidance counseling experts should use this insight to encourage african/nigerian women to take up ownership of business and properties rather than seeing men as the gender naturally entitled to run business and own properties. ilomanya et al (2021:179) observes thus: the formulation of the policy however is not meant for everybody but for the educational administrators who are groomed in the act of management and control of educational institutions in order to ensure that the government desire in building progressive and prosperous society through the instrumentality of education is achieved. unfortunately educational administrators put every other thing into consideration while planning for the educational policies and give little or no alternation to philosophy. education management and administrators should consider people’s philosophy in promulgation of policy. this will help them to critically examine the psychology and philosophy of nigerians on gender, to enable them find a better measures and policies that will make a good adjustment of the people’s philosophy and psychology as it affects gender in economic, property and material ownership because women with capacities can acquire wealth. on the religious sphere, chimamanda presents the dictates of african cultures on a female child to know her place even in speaking out obvious facts. in the chapter of americana the incident with the powerful woman in guiding assembly a christian church ifemelu’s mother starts attending newly is a clear indication of female gender silence on issues around them even when spiritual matters are considered. the church women see ifemelu as being disrespectful for refusing to make paper garlands for chief omenka the general in the guiding assembly who ought to be a role model in terms of pious living but had taken aunty uju as his mistress. this is an exposition of atrocities in religious practices across africa as a whole, and nigeria in particular. in african traditional religions, women rarely appear at the alter points of worship, except worships that are majorly exclusive for women or a woman. therefore, women are not expected in traditional feminism in chimamanda’s americana: guidance/counselling and education management on the intersection between feminism and african tradition 64 african religion to discuss issues associated with general worships, priesthood and communal divination. on the issue of ifemelu in americana, when her father heard her actions, he reminds ifemelu that she is against authority has sullied her school record. guidance counselor and educational administrator should be part of religious affairs to guide religious behaviour and their accruing reactions irrespective of the sex of the originator of any action or reaction. as read in chimamanda adichie, nigerian women and girls should be encouraged to change ugly situations around them. feminism should be extended as seen in americanah to raise young women to believe and respect themselves as human with latent abilities, but not to fix their values in already made male stereotype and chauvinistic perception men show in patriarchal african society. on african health delivery and medicine, men are taken as the gender that dispense the most efficacious medicinal herbs, leaves, etc and even charms and amulets. chief sampson nnabuike (personal communication, 10 june, 2019) states, that many traditional medicine men teach their sons their medical administrations and practices instead of teaching both sexes. guidance counselors and education managers would help this ugly situation by providing scene where traditional medical practitioners will be thought on how to involve the female inclusively in their traditional medical professions, more than how it is presently. on politics, though chimamanda does not stress on it much, but the senegalese woman aisha is able to meet up with the administrative policies of america to have been able to own a saloon. in nigeria, it seems women are not meant for political administration. women are hardly seen as governors, speakers and presidents of house of representatives, senate respectively let alone president of nigeria. the gender ratio in nigeria political offices, assumption has being 30:70%. women 30% opportunities and men 70%. afigbo, (2008:2) bitterness thus: it has become a commonplace to talk of the “invisibility” of women in african society – pre – colonial and colonial. while it is patently incorrect to talk of igbo women being politically invisible in the pre – colonial period, they were certainly invisible in the pre-colonial period, they were certainly invisible in the government and politics of colonial igbo land at least, so the records available to historians would appear to suggest. there is no information whatever on the part, if any, played by igbo women in the wars of conquest and resistance which went on in a desultory fashion from the last decades of the nineteenth century. afigbo presents the hidden nature of the igbo women’s participation in politics from the time of colonialism to the end of the 20th century. this shows how withdrawn the igbo women have been in matters associated with politics. this withdrawal by women is suspected to arise from the local people’s gender sensitivity. guidance counseling and education management/administrators should build policies and guide learners within and emmanuel ikenna okafor, amunnadi chukwudi, grace obiageli otiji, bernadette nwakaego onyia & chikelu jennifer ujunwa 65 outside academic settings to engage themselves in vast scope of skill and knowledge acquisition as far as they do not have negative effects, on their natural physiology in order to make ends meet in both families and society. recommendations it is recommended in this research as suggestions to control african/nigerians thought against feminism as follow: 1. more writings against the local people’s thought on the female gender should be encouraged more than ever before. 2. education management/ administrators and guidance counselors should open up more aggressive campaign against traditional african/nigerian peoples’ perceptions and disregard to the female sex beyond the school settings. 3. centers for gender affairs should be established in every autonomous community in nigeria, and should employ experts in guidance counseling and education management in their local/community secretariats to plan teaching/lecture session therein. 4. local media sources e.g. town criers, singers, public speakers, etc. should be sponsored to facilitate campaign on feminism. 5. nigeria constitution should be addressed to balance gender equity or equality among her citizens. conclusion nigeria people’s traditional practices do not equitably accommodate all genders. this practices are majorly influenced by the traditional people’s religion and culture. the feminism ideology has grown so troublesome that it has risen to a national attention, in the sense that parents even deprive their daughters the opportunities to let their voices be heard even on issues affecting them. in some families, the females are not allowed to choose the profession they want to specialize even when they have shown convincing capacities to study those courses. chimamanda has used her literal work of americanah to expose this negative ideology against the females. this research has found confidence in the careers of education management and guidance counselors as major stakeholders that will help to dismiss this negative thought among nigeria traditional religious people and society. feminism in chimamanda’s americana: guidance/counselling and education management on the intersection between feminism and african tradition 66 references adeusi, s, (2015). “influence of guidance and counseling on student’s motivation and school adjustment among covenant university students ogun state” proceeding of edulearn 15 conference 6th – 8th, july 2015, spain, 4400 – 4406. afigbo. a. e. (2008). “igbo women, colonialism socio – economic change”. (ed.) e.i otagburuagu and a. e afigbo new bride, more hopes: igbo women in social – economic change. enugu: global publishers nig ltd. aknda ,lota (2014). feminist discourses and the city: buchi emecheta’s the joy’s of motherhood and sefi atta’s everything good will come. nigeria journal of curriculum studies vol(10) 270-273. amoah, s.a et al (2015). “the school counselor and students career choice in high school. the assessors perspective in ghanaian case. journal of education and practice vol. 6 no. 23 pp 57 – 66. cambridge dictionary (2022). “intersection” dictionary cambridge.org.pp 1 – 12, 10 august, 2022. retrieved 13/8/2022. doki,g.a (2015) “towards the eradication of violence against woman in nigeria; the theakre option”. (ed.) angya prospective of violence against woman in nigeria. edison, s.s (2017). the supervisor lagos: exon press ltd. egenti, u. p (2020). “the significance and possible challenges in the use of modern instructional technologies for guidance and counseling service delivery in public secondary schools in anambra state, nigeria”. (ed.) ele c. sapientua foundation journal of education, science and gender studies vol. 2 no. 3 pp 1 – 12 september 2020. ejike n.e and okoye, m. c (2019). “women, youth and children in war and conflict situation: ada. okereagbasimalo’s the forest dames” (ed.) uchennanzewi journal of liberal studies (special edition) vol. 17 no. 277-284 2, oct, 2010. ginny chang (2014): feminism in americanah papaeleele.wordpress.com. december 31, 2014. iloanaya, c and ajaegbo, a. (2021) “philosophical implication of educational administration in the human person’s society” igwbuike:an african journal of arts and humanities julia, wiklander (2016). race, hair, feminism and norms: a review of americana by chimamanda ngozi adiche. www.girlsglobe.org. julia wiklander, january 5, 2016 . kayode, i.b et al (2019). “gender, political participation and representation in emergent democraciesin africa: perspectives from nigeria and kenya”. (ed.) uchennanzewi journal of liberal studies (special edition) vol. 17 no. 304315 2, oct, 2010. nwosu. h and kalu o.u (1982) “the study of african culture” (ed.) o.u kalu readings in african humanities: african cultural development. enugu: fourth dimension publishing co. ltd. omorobbi, g.d (2021). “school supervision and education management in nigeria” research gate, net. retrieved 2/8/2021. otiji, et al (2021). “education management/supervision toward developing accounting and financial skills among adult education students of african religious setting” (ed) c.elesapientia foundation journal of education, science and gender studies.pp.309 – 318, vol3 no 3 rivers state: power of focus publications. ouma,c.e.w. (2007). journeying out of silenced familial space in chimamanda ngozi adichie’s purple hibiscus. n.a . dissertation, university of the wit water stand www.worldcat.org web 21st june, 2022 1-105. shayla o’conor (2021). feminism and the theme of marriage in chimamanda ngozi adiche’s americanah.human.libretext.org.august 15, 2021. summer, d (2001).longman dictionary of contemporary english. england: pearson education limited. ugwu, c.o.t (2014). “the demise of the african god/s: fallah or reality. 84th inaugural of universityof nigeria nsukka, deliverd on 14th august, 2014. nsukka: university of nigeria press ltd. http://www.girlsglobe.org/ http://www.worldcat.org/ microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 5 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 20 asouzu and unity of subject matter of the sciences by ogbonnaya, lucky uchenna department of philosophy faculty of arts university of calabar, calabar abstract this paper on asouzu and unity of subject matter of the sciences posits that there is the problem of the unity of subject matter of the sciences. the paper traced the problem to aristotle, who argues that metaphysics is the ‘queen of all the sciences’ and should dictate for the other sciences, how they should be done. the paper goes on to aver that it is this elevation of metaphysics and its subject matter (substance) to an absolute instance that led to revolt by other sciences. thus, they all defined their respective subject matters as well as methods. this is more glaring with the natural sciences that posit that they and their method are the yardstick for all other sciences. it is in this manner that science has been done own the history of ideas with every discipline seeking supremacy over others; and this is done with the idea that their subject matter is unique and should be the subject matter of all other sciences. it is on this premise that asouzu posits that all the sciences has truth as their subject matter and that they can arrive at this truth through the wholistic comprehension of reality. hence, for asouzu, all the sciences lead to partial truth since their subject matter is just an aspect of reality. it is in line with this that asouzu asserts that all the sciences are serving as missing link to each and that it is until they see themselves as complementary to each other they cannot lead to truth that they seek. this paper employed the philosophical methods of critical analysis and reflection. introduction in the history of the origin and development of ideas, it is believed that all of the sciences existed earlier on as one. they were all found under the common branch of knowledge known as philosophy. but as time progressed they disintegrated into divers units of knowledge. at first, there was the division of philosophy into rational philosophy and moral philosophy. from these two wide branches of philosophy came other disciplines. this split of science into diverse disciplines or sciences is due to the belief that all have different subject matters as well as methods of study. for instance, the natural scientists hold that their subject matter is the natural objects that are physical. it is on this premise that natural scientists employ the empirical method. it follows that the social sciences do not igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 21 make use of the empirical method. this is because their object of study, which is the human person, transcends the physical but has also a spiritual dimension. it is this spiritual dimension that cannot be accessed using the empirical method of the natural sciences. this leaves one wondering: if there are actually different subject matters in each of these disciplines or sciences? or if all the sciences still share the same subject matter despite their differences in method? this paper seeks to show that all the sciences irrespective of their diverse methods have a common subject matter. it is not only this paper that has tried to do this. some scholars have in time past tried to point scientists to the unifying factor(s) in all of the sciences. for instance, rudolf carnap notes that the unity of the sciences is found in the logic of science (a question of logic), and the laws of the various branches of sciences (397). the unity of the sciences, according to martin carrier and jurgen mittelstrass, can be linked to “the unity of scientific language, of scientific laws, of scientific method and of science as a practical-operation enterprise” (17). edward schouten robinson also notes that there is the unification of the sciences in three areas namely, the unity of method, unity of laws, and unity of terminology (129). when these assertions on the unity of the science based on logic, language (terminology), method and even practicability are considered carefully, one will come to realize that it is not all the sciences that employ all these. and if at all they do it may not be in the same way. this therefore destroys the very foundation of their being the basis of the unity of all the sciences. frege tends to hold a contrary position to the above stated positions as he notes that “to discover truth is the task of all sciences” (289). but he goes on to posit that “it falls to logic to discern the laws of truth” (289). this is like saying that not only are all the sciences geared towards achieving truth but that it is logic that makes it possible. in other words, logic is the means to achieving truth. asouzu’s conception of the unity of subject matter of the sciences agrees with frege’s that it is truth but does not see logic as what can lead to truth. this assertion is clearly found in the philosophy of asouzu, popularly known as ibuanyidanda or complementary reflection. the philosophy posits that all disciplines are one in as much as their subject matter is concerned. it is this position that this paper will try to highlight and elaborate. the man asouzu and his philosophy igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 22 innocent izuchukwu asouzu is a professor of philosophy in the university of calabar, calabar, cross river state – nigeria. he was born on 13th october, 1952 to mazi charles ijeoma asouzu, a renowned businessman of igbo extraction, during the colonial period. he hails from ndiakunwanta uno, arondizuogu in ideato north local government area of imo state, nigeria. he attended christ the king’s school, aba, from 1959 to 1965, and had his secondary education at immaculate conception seminary, ahiaeke-umuahia between 1966 and 1972. he began his philosophical studies in bigard major seminary, enugu and came out as one of the best graduating students of his set. “graduating in 1975, he was selected as one of the best graduating students of his diocese, umuahia, to continue with his studies at leopold franzen university innsbruck, austria”. (inaugural lecture 63). here, he studied theology under the auspices of the jesuits at colleguims canisianum. due to the evident new–found interdisciplinary convergence sweeping through the german academia in the 70s of the 20th century, asouzu embarked on the study of philosophy and sociology at the geisteswissen-schaftliche fakultat (faculty of humanities) of the university of innsbruck. it is here that he had his ph.d in 1982. asouzu took a pastoral and teaching appointment for three and half years, in rheinfelden. in 1986, asouzu returned to nigeria and did his national youth service at university of calabar in 1987. after which he took up a permanent teaching appointment in the university of calabar that same year. since then, he has risen to the rank of professor of philosophy. he has served as the dean of faculty of arts of the university. he has also been an external supervisor/examiner to the university of lagos, university of port harcourt and nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. asouzu before coming back to nigeria has published some his works; and they include: switzerland during which he published the book “gedankenuber die religiose problematik der gegenwart im licht der theologie der religionen” (reflections on contemporary problems of religion in the light of theology of religions); his masters degree thesis in philosophy captioned “verstehen gesellshaftlicher handlungen durch begrundsschritte” (rational steps for the understanding of social action). this effort precipitated to a practical reconstruction of human action based on a new understanding of kant’s categorical imperative; his igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 23 ph.d dissertation which bore the title “geisteswissenschaftliche konflicktregelung als pragmatische aufgabe. eine kristische betrachtung des konstructivismus” (practical regulation of social conflicts. a critical consideration of constructivism) (inaugurallecture 64). this work was later published with the title “kristische betrachtuing des konstrucktiven wissenchafstheories. erwagungen zu praktisch – philosophischen konfliktsregelungsstrategien” (a critical consideration of the constructive philosophy of science: strategies towards practical philosophical regulations of conflicts). he is an ardent researcher and this has precipitated into his philosophy of complementarity also known as ibuanyidanda philosophy, as is reflected in most of his works, which include: effective leadership and ambivalence of human interest. the nigerian paradox in a complementary perspective (2003), the method and principles of complementary reflection in and beyond african philosophy (2004), ibuanyidanda: new complementary ontology beyond worldimmanentism, ethnocentric reduction and imposition (2007), ikwa ogwe: essential readings in contemporary reflection, a systematic methodological approach (2007), ibuanyidanda and the philosophy of essence (philosophy, the science of missing links of reality). 50th inaugural lecture (2012), ibuanyidanda (complemwntary reflection) and some basic problems in africa (2013), ibuanyidanda (special edition): excerpt from online dictinary of intercultural philosophy (odp) (2013). it is germane to state that a lot of works has been published on his ibuanyidanda philosophy or complementary reflection. this can be attested to by the numerous b.a. projects, m.a. thesis and ph.d dissertations that are centred on this philosophy within and outside the university of calabar. there are also a lot of articles that has ibuanyidanda philosophy as their focus or defining thought. this philosophy is indeed a ground breaking work in african philosophy and philosophy in general. the ibuanyidanda philosophy of asouzu is a philosophy of complementarity. this idea is first and foremost depicted in the very coinage of the concept, ibuanyidanda. the concept, ibuanyidanda is as asouzu puts it, a composite word made up of the following three parts, namely: ibu meaning “load or task”; anyi meaning “not insurmountable for”; and danda meaning “a species of ants, danda”. put together, these literally translates into the traditional igbo aphorism that “no load is insurmountable for the species of ants called danda” (ibuanyidanda 11). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 24 the concept of ibuanyidanda according to asouzu draws inspiration from the teachings of traditional igbo philosophers of the complementary system of thought, who having observed the mutual dependence exhibited by a species of ants called danda, concluded that the advancement of any course in life is wrought within the vortex of complementarity. hence, they adopted as a way of life and constitute a typical igbo work song bunu bunuoo ibuanyidanda-lift the load, nothing is impossible for danda, the ant (ibuanyidanda 11). adopting the wealth of this concept into the philosophy of being-ontology is what asouzu has done in his complementary reflection spread across his numerous works. “by adopting this approach, the new complementary ontology wishes to grasp the notion of being from the preceding condition of its intrinsic interrelatedness devoid of polarization and exclusiveness” (asouzu, ibuanyidanda, 10). this philosophy is built on two fundamental principles, namely: the principle of integration and the principle of progressive transformation. the principle of integration which states that “anything that exists serves a missing link of reality” (the method and principles 273), is metaphysical in nature. it is also known as the science of missing link. this principle seems to be an idea that he has nurtured for so long a time before developing it into a system. this can be seen in one of the works that he published in the early nineties. in this article he notes that “the missing link is by nature both an empirical and non-empirical reality which through its dynamism gives clues to its nature” (progress in metaphysics 88). it is this principle that is the basic foundation of ibuanyidanda philosophy and is found in all of asouzu philosophical thoughts and works. the principle of progressive transformation which states that “all human actions are geared towards the joy of being” (the method and principles 273), is according to asouzu, a practical variant of the principle of integration and it addresses particularly the issue of human actions in the society. it is on these principle of integration and principle of progressive transformation that the complementary imperative which states that “allow the limitations of being to be the cause of joy” (the method and principles 273), is built. in other words, the complementary imperative is a secondary product of the principle of integration and the principle of progressive transformation. these culminate in the truth and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 25 authenticity criterion which states “never elevate any world immanent missing link to an absolute instance” (“ibuanyidanda” and the philosophy of essence 105). asouzu does not any way agree with the bifurcation or elevating of an aspect of reality to an absolute instance; and therefore avers that where this occurs, it is due to human ambivalent tension and the phenomenon of concealment (ihe mkpuchi anya) (ibuanyidanda … and some 8). this process of not seeing other missing links in a unified, universal, and comprehensive manner can be overcome through the transcendent categories of unity of consciousness, or what is rendered in igbo as akara obi/akara mmuo (odip 23). this leads to mutual complementation and harmony. the attainment of mutual complementation and harmony according to asouzu “entails a return to the inner recesses of its being and consciousness in view of exploring some of the latent potentialities thereby imbedded, and which are needed to equilibrate this tension” (inaugural lecture 50). this is possible through existential conversion (ibuanyidanda 327), which has noetic propaedeutic as it reformative mechanism (pre-education of the mind). it is only at this state the mind can see reality in a mutual complementary manner as well as see itself as being-in-control (ima onwe onye). this connotes authentic self consciousness (ibuanyidanda and the philosophy of essence 113). in this way, the mind is led to the complete truth about other missing links. hence, asouzu asserts, “whenever the mind acts in full harmony with the dictates of these transcendent categories which belong naturally to it by reason of its relative anticipatory character, it can never err” (ibuanyidanda 324). however, in his inaugural lecture, asouzu asserts that such a mind that is imbued with the transcendent categories of unity of consciousness can never err culpably (56). this is not a contradiction but rather additional information to the effect that any mind that is imbued with the transcendent categories cannot perform negative actions deliberately. hence, it would be free from any blames at the event of unexpected results. the question of unity subject matter of the sciences in asouzu’s philosophy the problem of the unity of subject matter of the science is traceable to aristotle, according to asouzu. this, for him, is linked to the bifurcating metaphysics of aristotle. he argues that it was aristotle that brought about the rivalry among the sciences and scientists. this is found in the kind of mindset that aristotle igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 26 inbuilt into the scientific community. it is this mindset that brought about the bifurcating and polarizing of reality. it is this that led to the schism in the scientific enterprise since every scientist sees his/her area of concern as the best. it is this kind of mindset that brought about the division of the sciences into superior and inferior sciences. asouzu captures this thus: metaphysics, for aristotle, as the study of the essential or substantial structure of reality is wisdom per excellence, and in this capacity the very ideal science. it is for this reason that he considers metaphysics a much more superior science than the other sciences (“ancillary” sciences) that study accidental qualities. this unfortunate distinction between metaphysics and the other sciences would have a tremendous consequence for the way science is understood and scientific debate conducted. (inaugural lecture 18) asouzu substantiates this as he notes that; generally, fidelity to aristotle’s metaphysics has resulted in the tendency to see reality as something disjointed, bifurcating and polarized; where what is essential or substantial is easily equated with what is superior, whereas what is accidental is equated with what is inferior and inconsequential. (inaugural lecture 18) what asouzu is saying about aristotle is that there is a great distinction between metaphysics and the other sciences; and that this distinction lies in their respective subject matter. according to asouzu, aristotle is of the view that metaphysics is concerned with the substantial element (substance or essence) of reality, while other sciences are concerned with the accidental. this kind of open presentation of the gap between metaphysics and other sciences finds its root in aristotle’s metaphysics. this metaphysics, as stated earlier on, is a bifurcating and polarizing metaphysics. in aristotle’s metaphysics, being or reality is believed to be that which consists of substance (essence) and accident, but he goes on to equate being with essence, which is an aspect of being. this kind of conception of reality put forward by aristotle does not only bifurcate reality, but also polarizes reality, as well as elevate an aspect of it to an absolute instance. this is apparent in aristotle equating essence with igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 27 reality. this can be seen in his statement that reads: “if these are not substance, there is no being in all; for the accidents of it cannot be right to call beings” (bk b, 5). by this, accident alone cannot be equated with being but substance can. by implication, essence is superior to accident, and those who are concerned with study of essence of being or reality are superior and this science is as well superior. this, for asouzu, is what has coloured the scientific enterprise down the history of ideas. he substantiates this point thus: it is interesting to note, that most contention in western philosophy, in disguises, revolve around the relationship of substance (essence) and accidents. besides, most metaphysical textbooks, used in teaching teachers of teachers for decades, for example, have subscribed to aristotle’s radical distinction between “essence” or “substance” and “accidents”. for this reason, they subscribe largely also to aristotle’s teachings that substance or essence does not need accidents to subsists, whereas accidents need substances on which they inhere. going by this teaching, reality or being, in the true sense of the word, belongs to the region of substance or essence. (inaugural lecture 16-17) this connotes that essence or substance is the subject matter of metaphysics. and since metaphysics is concerned with studying essence which can subsists or exists on its own without accident, it is a superior science to the sciences that are conceived with the study of accident, which cannot exists outside of essence. it is in this manner that science and its accompanying debate has been conducted in the development of ideas in european. this, for asouzu, continued even after the renaissance, which came with critical liberal attitude. it is continued due to the radical influence of aristotelianism that has been passed down their history of ideas. thus, liberalism was but no solution to the problem. it rather continued the problem. asouzu captures this point in the following manner: this is why even in the face of the new-won liberalism, the scientific community was not spared some of the worst excesses of a philosophy of essence while seeking for solutions… the new won critical attitude notwithstanding, most scientists soon started seeing themselves as rivals and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 28 competitors paying allegiance only to the subject matter of their sciences. (inaugural lecture 19) this kind of mindset that stems from aristotle’s metaphysics naturally inclines scientists or scholars to thinking that there are arch-rivals, who are not pursuing the same goal or studying the same subject matter. it is based on this that the logical positivists came up to turn the table against metaphysics, which was regarded as the “queen of the sciences” through aristotle’s influence (kanu, 11). the positivists posit that metaphysics is a non-scientific enterprise since its claims are not accessible to the empirical sciences. (ayer, the impossibility of metaphysics 36; kraft, the vienna cycle 24, 30-33). apart from positing that metaphysics is non-scientific, the positivists questioned the possibility of the social sciences being called ‘science’ or a ‘scientific enterprise’. according to allen ryan, even j. s. mill doubted the scientific status of the social sciences (8-9). in all, they posit that it is only the natural sciences that are science and constitute pure/true knowledge that is empirically accessible to scientists. this kind of mindset is what has followed the aristotelian metaphysics that divides the sciences as it has done to philosophy itself. in the words of asouzu: such a dichotomizing and polarizing approach is not restricted to the conceptualization of reality, but is visibly evident in the philosophy of praxis, which insists on “the primacy of practical over theoretical reason, or the primacy of practical over technical reason”. (inaugural lecture 18) it is in this way that the practical sciences overturn the table on the theoretical science and thus see their subject matter as different from the subject matter of the theoretical sciences. they also see their subject matter as superior to that of the theoretical science since for them it can lead to truth that is observable and provable by all. this has adverse effect on philosophy and the sciences in general. it is in this light that asouzu avers that whenever the supremacist conservative and triumphal dimensions, takes the upper hand, the target of philosophical investigation, as the universal science of ultimate reality or science of being as being in as far being can be grasped within igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 29 a complementary framework is grossly jeopardised. (ibuaru 44) hence, it is impossible to talk about a unified subject matter of the sciences. this is because all sciences see their subject matter as superior and can lead to the truth that they seek and hold to be sacrosanct. asouzu’s ibuanyidanda philosophy as the solution to the problem of the unity of subject matter of the sciences asouzu in his ibuanyidanda philosophy argues that all the sciences have a common subject matter, which has human being as its centre. in his view, all the sciences are confronted with a common problem, which is metaphysical. according to him: going by aristotle’s approach, it would seem as if there is real opposition between the subject matter of diverse sciences. this must not be the case, because metaphysical problems are very relevant to the natural sciences, just as the problems of the real world are integral aspect of metaphysics. (inaugural lecture 22) asouzu elucidates this point as follows: when carefully considered, we see that most sciences that investigate mere empirical nature often preoccupy themselves also with questions concerning fundamental nature of things. this they do the moment they start questioning the foundation on which their assumptions are based. such questions are often none empirical and the answers sought are none empirical. whenever such happens, the passion to investigate beyond mere superficial assumptions overwhelms the scientist concerned, the extent that the scientist starts to ask questions about questions raised in his discipline. (ikwa ogwe 19) thus, metaphysical question is at the background of every scientific enterprise, and should be overlooked or taken for granted. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 30 he also argues that the unity of subject matter of the sciences is not only found within metaphysical questions that confront them, but that it is found in the quest to solve the existential human problems. he captures this thus: “since all sciences claim to do services to humanity and the world in general, they are humanistic in orientation and must be concerned with the human problems. and here, clear-cut empirical or metaphysical answers do not suffice” (asouzu, inaugural lecture 22). hence, when one is addressing whether empirical or metaphysical question, one is still doing the same thing – science. this is because all knowledge seeks to solve human problems as well as restore order in the cosmos. asouzu remarks that since all the sciences are after solving human and world problems. they can only do this through a proper understanding of reality. and it is not by approaching an aspect of reality as most of the sciences do, but by approaching the entirety of reality. this is because studying an aspect of reality leads to partial truth, but the totality of reality leads to the whole truth that can help to solve the problems of humanity. it is the whole truth that asouzu wants all the sciences to embrace and confronts. this is the idea of the sciences seeking for the truth. this can also be seen in the work of emmanuel eze, who notes that “the most dream of philosophy (is) to speak the truth” (40). asouzu also brings out his point as he makes philosophy a case in point and asserts that philosophy as a discipline must have a common objective that drives its inquiry. in his words: “here, one can say that all forms of authenticate philosophizing have the sole objective of making all philosophers focused on a clearly identified subject matter that guides them. this objective is the excogitation of reality truly and authentically” (ibuanyidanda 115). as philosophers focus on examining the whole of reality, the philosophers at this point are not mere philosophers by name or title but are philosophers that transcend disciplinary boundaries as they quest for the truth. thus, they could be mathematicians, biologists, sociologists and so on, but are also philosophers because of their interest which is the totality of reality that leads to wholistic truth. the scientists at this point are philosophers because they seek to answer pure metaphysical questions that lay behind every scientific inquiry. this metaphysical question as asserted above is the question of truth. asouzu extends this dream to all the sciences as he posits that “this dream is not restricted to philosophy alone, but to all the sciences that seek to remain humanistic” (inaugural lecture 23). asouzu stresses further this point of all the sciences seeking the truth as avers that: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 31 scientists always strive, to the best of their ability to tell the whole truth. what this shows is that scientists, in principle, do not seek partial grasp, but full grasp of their subject matters and by so doing they demonstrate that the idea of science is and remains to tell us the truth and if possible the whole truth, about the world. visible sign of commitment to the truth subsists in commitment to both the metaphysical and empirical dimensions of reality, as these constitute the whole. (inaugural lecture 23) what is implied here is that no aspect of reality is the only source of, or means of arriving at, truth. this is to say that it is all aspects of reality that lead to the whole truth that all the sciences seek. thus, if any of the sciences restricts itself to only the cognitive empirical aspect of reality, it cannot give or lead to truth. it can only give partial truth. this half or partial truth is no truth at all and cannot solve human existential problems. it cannot also serve nature as it ought to. asouzu reiterates this thus, “all sciences, no matter their methods have the ultimate end to serve nature in all ramifications” (inaugural lecture 22). and this ultimate end is to arrive at truth. this is possible only when the entirety of reality is sought after and wholistic truth arrived at. according to asouzu, in other words, all sciences must pursue the type of wisdom that never divides and never polarizes in the search for truth. it is in this way that they can demonstrate that the wisdom they seek is the type that units and not one that divides. it is in this way that their truth claims must be such that reconciles the essential with the accidental, the relative and the absolute. (inaugural lecture 23-24) it is therefore not an aspect of reality that constitutes truth. it is the whole of reality. it is the study of both the essential and the accidental that can give one a comprehensive idea of truth. and this is what all the sciences are after – to grasp truth in totality through an understanding of the whole of reality. what is being said is that all the sciences have truth as their subject matter. they all seek truth and strive to arrive at it through studying the whole of reality and not part of it. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 32 truth as a transcendental quality of being has an integral unity within itself. in this intrinsic unity subsists its intelligibility and character as guide of all scientific inquiries. here, the new complementary ontology proposes a complementary truth. within this framework, truth is sought in the comprehensiveness of its interrelatedness and in the complementary multidimensional character of its expression. (ibuanyidanda 112) in the view of ibuanyidanda philosophy truth cannot be sought after by considering only an aspect of reality. this implies having partial truth. truth is only possible when one studies reality in its entirety. this is possible when scientists make recourse to ibuanyidanda ontology. this can be found in ibuanyidanda principle of integration or harmonious complementation. this principle states that “anything that exists serves a missing link of reality”. each of the truths promoted by the diverse sciences stands in need of complementation since they are incomplete truth. it is the complementation of these partial truths that will lead to wholistic truth. this is to say that all partial truth is mutually dependent on each other for them to be said to be truth. asouzu brings out this point as follows: in this mode of mutual complementarity, the human mind shows its intrinsic relatedness to the character of truth itself, which has much to do with the comprehensive nature of reality. this reality can be grasped in the mode of intrinsic relatedness of those substances and accidents of which all things are constituted, without division and without polarization. (ibuanyidanda 112) the way out of the problem of scientists considering their own subject matter as the superior and only subject matter that ought to be studied can be overcome through existential conversion, with the help of noetic propaedeutic. it is this that leads to a philosophical mindset, which asouzu calls “obioha” (ikwa ogwe 201 203, 217). it is this mindset that will help scientists to realize that just studying an aspect of reality can never lead to truth. in the words of asouzu, a philosopher-king in this sense is one who has acquired a philosophical mindset and not necessarily a practitioner of philosophy as a discipline or one who claims to be one. here, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 33 each one of us can be that philosopher that is guided by this overriding higher objective of operating from the background of knowing truth in its entirety. (ibuanyidanda 115) it is this philosophical (ibuanyidanda) mindset that can bring about truth in its entirety. it is obioha that lead scientists beyond studying a particular aspect of reality as the only reality that exists and ought to be studied as the only source of knowledge and truth. with this mindset scientists look beyond their relative positions and discoveries as absolute truth. it enables them to see this fragmentary truth as limited and in need of complementation. it is with this mindset that objective truth will become the focus of all scientific enterprise. in other words, “this is that aspect of doing science that transcends science itself, as to raise questions that go beyond science itself and such that drive all scientific inquiries beyond all attainable limits” (ibuanyidanda 116). all that one is saying is that even when scientists disagree in their methods or discoveries, they are “pursuing a higher objective, which is truth in its entirety” (ibuanyidanda 116), although through different means or route. the ibuanyidanda mindset will help scientist to begin to speak in one voice about a unified perception of reality which is possible by the harmonizing of their diverse conceptions of reality, which can only lead to partial truth if left alone. but with the harmonizing of these diverse conceptions of reality a more wholistic understanding of truth can be attend. this is in congruence with asouzu truth and authenticity criterion, which posits that “never elevate any world immanent missing link to an absolute instance” (odip 24; ibuanyidanda … and some 71, 107). this truth and authenticity criterion helps to stress the point that no relative truth can be absolute truth. it also posits that relative truths stand in need of complementation from other truths. this thought that is clearly stated in asouzu’s principle of harmonious complementation or integration which writes “anything that exists serves a missing link of reality” (odip 23). this is to say that all relative truths are missing link to each other. asouzu argues this thus: since anything that exists serves a missing link, things have to be considered first and foremost in themselves as to determine what they are in themselves. at the same time, they have to be considered in relationship to other missing links of reality in view of determining their purpose. it is within this framework that the polarization that has hitherto characterized scientific igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 34 propositions in situations of conflict can better be resolved. (ikwa ogwe 54) asouzu buttresses this further as he avers: thus in matters of scientific inquiry the missing link evident could constitute an important point of departure in another science. problems raised in a particular science could be elucidated in the off-shoots in another science. the isolated study of issues within the sciences creates an illusion of independence that could be detrimental if not disintegrative to the purpose of the sciences itself. (ikwa ogwe 17) this purpose is to seek objective truth that stems from the wholistic studies of reality that can be possible through complementation of all the scientific inquiries that are in existence. conclusion what has been argued from the onset of this paper is that the sciences and scientists have greatly disagreed with respect to their subject matter. and their point of disagreement has made scientists to conclude that their subject matter is the only subject matter that can lead to truth, which is the centre or interest of science. but this paper has also posited that no particular science or method of science can lead to objective knowledge. they can only lead to relative knowledge due to the fact that they are concerned with particular aspects of reality, which cannot lead to objective truth. this quest of the sciences for objective truth is the metaphysical question that guides all scientific inquiry. it is in this light that asouzu asserts that it is necessary to note that question which metaphysics has to (be) tackle in a more intensive manner is one, which actually confronts other sciences without some scientists being aware of this. in this sense, it has to be stressed that no serious science is complete without incorporating into its inquiry, one way or the other, the issues that metaphysics addresses. it is when this consciousness is not in place that issues relating to this common subject matter, apart from becoming obscure, may igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 35 even become almost irrelevant to the sciences concerned. (ikwa ogwe 12) this common subject matter of the sciences that is metaphysical is truth. all the sciences quest for truth in their diverse methods. this does not imply that the truth that is discovered in any of these sciences is in any way the absolute. this is not true. the truth discovered in each of this science is relative and needs to be complemented by other truths discovered in other sciences, in order to arrive at objective truth which is the aim of all scientific enterprise. references asouzu, innocent i. effective leadership and the ambivalence of human interest: the nigerian paradox in a complementary perspective. calabar: university of calabar, 2003. asouzu, innocent i. “ibuanyidanda and the philosophy of essence”. filosofia theoretica: african journal of invention and ideas.1.1. calabar: jochrisam, (dec. 2011). 79-118. asouzu, innocent i. ibuanyidanda and the philosophy of essence (philosophy, the science of missing links of reality). 50th inaugural lecture, calabar: university calabar, 2012. asouzu, innocent i. ibuanyidanda (complemwntary reflection) and some basic problems in africa. zurich: lit verlag gmbh and co. kg wien, 2013. asouzu, innocent i. ibuanyidanda: new complementary ontology, beyond worldimmanentism, ethnocentric reduction and imposition. london: transaction, 2007. asouzu, innocent i. ibuanyidanda (special edition): excerpt from online dictinary of intercultural philosophy. (odp). calabar: uninversity of calabar, 2013. asouzu, innocent i. ibuaru: the heavy burden of philosophy beyond african philosophy. london: transaction, 2007. asouzu, innocent i. ikwa ogwe: essential readings in complementary reflection (a systematic methodological approach). calabar: saesprint, 2007. asouzu, innocent i. “progress inmetaphysics: the phenomenon of ‘missing link’ and interdisciplinary communication” calabar journal liberal studies.2.2. calabar: university of calabar, (december, 1990). 82-91. asouzu, innocent i. the method and principles complementary reflection in and beyond african philosophy. calabar: university of calabar, 2004. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 36 ayer, a. j. “the impossibility of metaphysics”. science, faith and man: european thoughts since 1924. ed. w. warren wager. london: 1968. carnap, rudolf. “logical foundation of the unity of science”. thehangedman.com/../carnap.pdf. web. 20.12.2014. carrier, martin and jurgen mittelstrass. “` the unity of science”. international studies in philosophy of science. 4. 1. (1990). eze, emmanuel. “in search of reason’s traces”. african philosophy and the hermeneutics of culture: essays in honour of theophilus okere. eds. obi oguejiofor and godfrey igwebuike onah. munster: 2005. frege, gottlob. “the thought: a logical inquiry”. mind: a quarterly review of psychology and philosophy. new series. 65. 259. (july, 1956). 289-311. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2013). the quest for the nature of being in african philosophy. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, 2. 2. 391-407. kraft, victor. the vienna cycle: the origin of new positivism. new york: philosophical library, 1953. robinson, edward schouten. “the unity of science movement and the social sciences”. digital.library.okstate.edu/oas/oas... web. 20.12.2014. ryan, allen. “is the science of society a science?”. society and the social sciences. ed. david potter. london: 1981. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 9 no.3, 2023 www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/igwebuikejournals.php a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 131 syncretism: a case of the roman catholic church and the gbagyi traditional religion virgilius kawama faculty of theology catholic university of eastern africa nairobi, kenya virgokaw@yahoo.com / virgilius.kawama@mafr.org doi:10.13140/rg.2.2.30881.58724 abstract it has become common that people no longer find themselves as complete strangers in religions other than what is theirs. this is, to a larger extent, because of some familiar elements that exists within the two religions. these common elements find themselves into two or more religions because the people practicing those religions have knowingly or unknowingly borrowed and integrated those concepts, symbols and practices of one religious tradition and reconciled them into their faith expressions. this is called syncretism. gbagyi catholicism is characterized by syncretism whereby gbagyi traditional religion and christianity mixes to the point that both systems seem to lose some basic structures and identities. this article looks at syncretism among the gbagyi people of tafa local government area of niger state in nigeria. it discovers that neither catholicism nor gbagyi traditional religion is totally pure and free from elements of syncretism or traces of an encounter between them. it elaborates the consequences and implications of syncretism to the gbagyi catholic members, whether it promotes religious tolerance or the decline of the pure faith. using narrative research technique as evidenced in the literature and the author’s experience with the gbagyi people, this paper exposes, examines and identifies the major implications of syncretism on the gbagyi catholics and gives solutions that would hopefully improve the existing situation. keywords: syncretism, roman catholic church, christian, gbagyi, tradition, religion. introduction having sufficient correct knowledge about ones’ faith practice helps people to remain committed to a single way of worship. however, ‚there is a point where contextualization becomes syncretism, and christian content is eroded, losing the conforming of a church’s syncretism: a case of the roman catholic church and the gbagyi traditional religion 132 life to standards outside itself, standards which may cut across everyone’s culture pattern‛ (walls, 188). this calls for sensitivity in our approach to faith life and expressions. for lack of sensitivity and strictness about our faith values may lead into syncretism. this syncretic practice comes out clearly among the gbagyi catholics of tafa local government area (lga). a good number of elderly gbagyi catholics are known to be good in traditional medicine, very often the church treasurers keeps money in the black clothe wrapped together with a piece of charcoal and black chicken feathers to stop magicians from stealing it, there are some rivers and forests prohibited to be visited without the consent of the community leaders, and some trees cannot be cut unless with permission from those selected to be responsible for them. the researcher discovered that some gbagyi catholics sometimes goes even to an extent of using charm for acquiring church positions, village chieftaincy or political leadership. syncretism is real among the gbagyi roman catholics, they believe very much in the power of god the almighty but also the gods of their ancestors. understanding the term ‘religion’ perusing through various scholars’ definitions of the term ‘religion’, one come to discover that it is quite complicated to get a common agreement on what could really be a definitive understanding of religion. according to gustave, the word ‘religion’ is ‚elastic and difficult to define in such a way that it will suit all men and be adequately applicable to all the phenomena which men label as religious‛ (1). it is difficulty to come up with the understanding of religion that fits every religious person. nevertheless, george f. thomas defines religion as a ‚relationship between man and that which he regards as holy or divine‛ (48). for biddle, religions are ‚the social institutions which are designed to help men achieve the realization of personal god and establish a positive relationship with him‛ (114). while alward shorter meant that, ‚religion is a social reality, which powerfully affects human thought and behaviour‛ (38). sahaya selvam understands religion as a ‚system of information that provide individuals with knowledge and resources for living a life of purpose and direction‛ (40). for taliaferro and marty, religion is ‚a body of teaching and prescribed practices about an ultimate, sacred reality or state of being that calls for reverence or awe, that guides its practitioners into what it describes as a saving, illuminating, or emancipatory relationship to this reality through a personally transformative life of prayer, ritualized meditations, and moral practices like repentance and personal regeneration‛ (197). many things needed for good human life living is found in our religions. we are to be faithful adherence of what we believe in because it sanitizes us and determines our way of life. we cannot really underestimate the vitalness of religion in our societies. there is a great need to pay virgilius kawama 133 attention to whatever is going around us and find solutions from the teachings of our religions. talking about religion and what it does to humanity, spilka provides the following points: 1) a set of meanings for the individual that permits one to make sense out of much, if not most, of what happens in life, especially when naturalistic explanations appear inadequate; 2) the wherewithal to feel that one has some control over the course of events through the holding of various beliefs and engaging in certain practices and behaviours; and 3) a sense of personal worth, dignity, and esteem, a feeling that one is a special product of creation and continues to occupy a privileged place in the scheme of things (326). following intelligently the different interpretations of religion in this paragraph, what comes out sharply is that feeling someone has towards the supernatural or supreme being. it sounds as if in religion the relationship is established between the unequal, the inferior and superior, man and god or gods. religion maintains the ultimate values of a society and manages tensions in the personalities of individual members of a society. it functions as an integrative force between groups and within individual personalities. religion provides what people need to live as human beings. most of the religions are guided by the following elements: 1) the beliefs of the community about god; 2) the beliefs of the community about god’s relationship with the world; 3) the ways in which the people of the community worship god and pray to him; 4) the rules which the community follows because of their beliefs about god; 5) the places and people which the community believe to be holy and to belong to god in a special way (brown, 8). people have different ways of expressing love to their beloved ones. this is as well true to religion, which is the ‚external, social, institutionalized expression of our faith in god‛ (mcbrien, 1254). religion is the best way to express our faith in god. all what pertains religious activities confirms our love for the almighty father. it is thus not surprising to see people wearing rosaries, traditional rings or string of muslim prayer beads. they are all forms of expressing their love for god. this is because religion is a ‚system of symbols which acts to establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in people by formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic‛ (shorter, 41). there are symbols in the churches, in the syncretism: a case of the roman catholic church and the gbagyi traditional religion 134 mosques, in the house of the traditional chief, in the far and nearby bushes. all these symbols express peoples’ religion. within the symbols, if looked beyond the mere symbol your naked eyes are able to see, there comes what is spiritual that can only be seen by the believer with the eyes of faith. understanding the term ‘syncretism’ syncretism is a merging of the elements of the roman catholic church doctrines and of the gbagyi religious beliefs and practices. taliaferro and marty stated that syncretism is ‚the combination of various beliefs and practices to form new ones‛ (223). while for bennetta jules-rosette, syncretism is a ‚cultural and religious admixtures, such as the combination of christian healing with traditional views of sorcery. it is any adaptation of a religious practice within a given culture, the combination of traditional beliefs with an evolving doctrine‛ (18). we have heard and seen some men of god who claim to have healing powers yet they visit witch doctors to perform their so-called miracles. some of them to protect themselves have been found putting snakes in bottles filled with water in their bedrooms. in this case the men of god are being syncretic. syncretism is simply the attempt to unite elements that do not agree together, like putting traditional medicine in the church money to stop the money from being stolen by the witch or wizard. the trust in god’s protection over the church money and putting traditional medicine on money are incompatible. however, ‚syncretism is nothing new in religion‛ (pruyser, 95). reading about the past life of the roman catholic church, one discovers that there were moments in the life of the church when traditional cultural values infiltrated into christianity. the faithful had to deal with the situation within their powers. in some situations, they ended up following coulson’s conviction who understood syncretism as the ‚reconciliation of diverse or opposite tenets or practices‛ (859). they mixed up different religions, cultures, or school of thoughts as they tried to reach the supreme being for their spiritual utmost satisfaction. they believed that religious syncretism through fusion of diverse religious beliefs and practices, allows an inclusive approach to other faith expressions. this comes out clearly in the words of antoine kambanda that, ‚some christians engage in some degree of syncretism; they practice the christian faith but continue their traditional religions. this occurs particularly when they face problems such as sickness or other dangers that drive them to seek security in traditional practices‛ (66). this implies that, for some christians, as long as everything is fine, they remain faithful in their christianity, but once issues comes up that cannot be treated by their christian faith system, they return back to their traditional religious solutions. virgilius kawama 135 syncretism in roman catholicism means that some catholics are not making personal total commitment to jesus christ. when they become unhappy with christianity, the natural tendency is to turn back to their traditional beliefs and practices to rejuvenate their inner joy and peace. aylward shorter said that, ‚syncretism is the absence of dialogue or perhaps, the failure of dialogue; to avoid it there must be a continuous and consistent exchange of meanings‛ (6). syncretic catholics at times are not available for any dialogue of faith practices but goes the way that best suits them depending on the circumstances that surround them. a sign that a concerned person has no desire to modify his old beliefs or lose them for the sake of the new faith being embraced. syncretism is the result of trying to bring together two beliefs or practices which cannot mix. they simply do not agree together. they mix two things which cannot be mixed, the gospel values and non-christian elements of culture. syncretism is ‚the tendency, especially in religion, to combine elements from different belief systems‛ (mautner, 607). these combined faith elements are like water and kerosene. no matter how much you try to combine the two, there comes the time when clear layers, that of water and that of kerosene, become obvious. in the same vain, traditional belief practices combined with what is roman catholic will one day come out to show their differences. they are incompatible; they do not belong to the same class for them to mix up in their totality. what we find out is that syncretism has some basic characteristics. these basic characteristics help people to identify the specific practice if it is syncretic or antisyncretic. they are out of the syncretic personal belief. they include the following expressions: syncretism denies that the christian faith is the result of the unique revelation of god. syncretism denies that christ is the only way to god, that the bible is the only inspired revelation of god’s will without error. syncretism tries to unite different beliefs of one religion with conflicting beliefs of another. syncretism is really being unfaithful to one or the other religion (gehman, 256). if you try to unite beliefs which do not agree, then you must change some things and be unfaithful to one or both of the religions. there is no way you can remain faithful to one religion while following the other religion. definitely, willingly or unwillingly, one religion will at one time or the other take priority than the other. as a result, there will be experience of being unfaithful to one religion. some roman catholics, for instance, have expressed their unfaithfulness to jesus through their trust in traditional protection. you could see a good number of them especially the males having traditional tattoos, which they believe protects them from bullets, or sharp objects that can be used by their enemies. syncretism: a case of the roman catholic church and the gbagyi traditional religion 136 compromises are made in order to accommodate irreconcilable faiths, especially when traditional beliefs and practices are not in agreement with the bible. a traditional person wants to be satisfied spiritually in his or her own way; there is a dire desire to meet the traditional felt needs and satisfaction of ones conviction. once the person is convinced in one religious belief, what he or she needs is something higher than what is believed in already. whatever is less to ones conviction will not change the mind set of the convinced person totally, otherwise, there will be only pretense while within the heart they follow personal convictions. it is quite a challenge to transform someone’s mind-set, yet this is the only way out if the result is to be achieved. with the words of paul w. pruyser, syncretism is ‚the loss of authenticity which occurs when incompatible ideas are allowed to distort original and cohesive conceptions‛ (95). the researcher would like to experience anti-syncretism among the people regardless of whichever life of faith they follow. trying to remain committed to one religion is the way forward to achieving purity since there will be no mixing up of faith elements from the two or more religions. the purity achieved is not only for the concerned person but also for the religion. for when one person is confused of which religion to follow, those around him or her are also confused. syncretism among some gbagyi catholics the schools, hospitals, hospices, and other amenities provided by the missionaries helped a lot in the field of evangelization. many people came to know the roman catholic church through those amenities, and some people even decided to become roman catholics. in consonance with odetoyimbo kayode peter, as he talks about the roman catholic church and her contribution to development of some communities, he concluded that, ‚the school offered them basic education, playing time where they related together‛ (146). but were the people given proper catechesis? did the facilities established by the missionaries help people to understand their faith and live by it? the attitude of some people raises much concern. some converted catholics have traditional attitudes dominating their daily lifestyle. this leads one into syncretism, which is ‚a union or attempted fusion of different religions, cultures, or philosophies‛ (egunjobi, 45). we see that at times facilities or amenities provided as means towards proper evangelization does not result into true conversion. people become catholics yet within their hearts and lifestyles remain truly ethnic. there are things some catholics do regardless of their new status as converted people. they forget that conversion is a ‚reorientation of self‛ (spilka, 202). when one is reoriented, it means that the person has changed his direction or way of looking at his virgilius kawama 137 religion; he moves his compass from one religion to the other. this is because religious conversion is ‚the process which leads to the adoption of a religious attitude; the process may be gradual or sudden‛ (thouless, 104). some catholics are not willing to abandon their traditional religion belief quickly and some of them do not even think of doing so. mbiti experienced that ‚even if they are converted to another religion like christianity, they do not completely abandon their traditional religion immediately: it remains with them for several generations and sometimes centuries‛ (14). this is because the people are sure that in every situation of their daily lives, traditional religion had provided them with correct answers to their aspirations and directed them in life. traditional religion is their security, so leaving it is like taking a great risk. they prefer to follow two or more religions that grant them a greater sense of security than to leave behind their old beliefs and practices. when some people are ‚converted to other religions, they often mix their traditional religion with the one to which they are converted. in this way they think and feel that they are not losing something valuable, but are gaining something from both religious systems‛ (mbiti, 15). they find it more reasonable and wise to mix two religions than losing one. they enjoy the good values from the two religions. they believe that gaining the right norms from two religions makes them better people than others who are inclined to single religious belief and practice. this is the obvious reason why when people convert; ‚they do not simply exchange one set of perceptions about the divine for another, nor perceive them as equally valid. to change faith is not, for most people, an action like changing one’s wallpaper. the act of conversion is also an act of repudiation‛ (wilkinson, 222). an act of repudiation means declining, refusing, rejecting or turning away by not accepting or considering one for the other. it takes time for sincere and full conversion to reach its totality. some people end up dying in their old age without being hundred percent catholics. they die with a divided heart, half traditional and half catholic. they experience some difficulties whenever the spirit of conversion hunts them. within peoples’ religious way of life, ‚they know who they are, how to act in different situations, and how to solve their problems‛ (mbiti, 15). some of them courageously take a stand to never detach themselves from the religion of their ethnic group. for to detach themselves from their traditional religion ‚is to be cut from their roots, their foundation, their context of security, their kingships and the entire group of those who make them aware of their own existence. therefore, to be without religion amounts to a self-excommunication from the entire life of society‛ (mbiti, 2). self-excommunication from the society’s religion is not something palatable not only for a traditionalist but also for catholics with weak faith, those finding it difficult to sacrifice one religious practice for the other. syncretism: a case of the roman catholic church and the gbagyi traditional religion 138 the convertor is to learn the language of that ethnic group, accept their thought patterns, fears, relationships, attitudes and dispositions. since traditional religions ‚occupy the whole person and the whole of his life, conversion to new religions like christianity must embrace his language, thought patterns, fears, social relationships, attitudes and philosophical disposition, if that conversion is to make a lasting impact upon the individual and his community (mbiti, 3). this quote challenges the convertors that in the procession of conversion, the convertor has a big role to play. you cannot convert the people you do not show any sense of love. the first thing in conversion process is to forget about oneself and embrace most if not all of the other. it is like humbling oneself before the other, respecting them with all that is theirs, even before we can expose our identities. the ‚thought of a particular people cannot be understood without first appreciating and understanding their cultural background (makumba, 8). those working in new environments and are ready to help the natives with conversion should first of all make an effort to study the cultural values of the people they are working with. flannery reports that: those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the gospel of christ or his church, but who nevertheless seek god with a sincere heat, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience, those too may achieve eternal salvation. nor shall divine providence deny the assistance necessary for salvation to those who, without any fault of theirs, have not yet arrived at an explicit knowledge of god, and who, not without grace, strive to lead a good life. whatever good or truth is found amongst them is considered by the church to be a preparation for the gospel and given to him who enlightens all men that they may at length have life (lumen gentium, 335). the roman catholic church in this statement put emphasis on the acts of people, whether converted or not converted, the good works they do earns them a lot in the life of faith. there are a lot of good elements in traditional religions. the good elements are to be traced and be used as a foundation of the natives’ journey from their traditional beliefs to catholicism. the claimed religious experiences are so many such that one wonders which ones are the genuine ones. there are ‚many types of claimed religious experience. some are corporate, when a group is affected, and some are individual. but it is important to remember that even when an experience is corporate, each member of the group will directly know only her own experience, other people might be faking their emotions and actions to belong to the group‛ (wilkinson, 312). there is no way that two people can have same experience of god at the same time because the fruit of experience is personal determined by virgilius kawama 139 individual character and attitude. religious experience is ‚a feeling of absolute dependence. it is a sense of appeal, dependence, and surrender‛ (allport, 4). every follower of religion surrenders himself to the almighty in his own way, mainly determined by his most inner heart desires. there are some challenges that people go through at the point of their conversion. it is true that ‚once converted, people grappled in various ways with the relationship between their new faith, their cultural inheritance, and the needs and obligations of their immediate environment‛ (isichei, 159). this is partly due to the fact that ‚conversion involved not simply a replacement of the old by the new but, more accurately, a layering of new on top of old and gradual reconciliation of the two‛ (volz, 124). the converted person has to start a new way of life full of adjustments just to match with the expectations of the new religion. for whitehead, religion is ‚the art and theory of the internal life of man, so far as it depends on the man himself and on what is permanent in the nature of things‛ (16). at last, due to freedom, man is the one to decide what he wants for his life. syncretism and religious beliefs syncretism is all about mixing different religious beliefs. as long as people continue encountering various spiritualities, may it be traditional or christianity in the midst of other religion, syncretism will continue having its own aspect. this is because it is hard if not impossible for some people to forego completely their original or past religious beliefs. religious beliefs are the feelings of certainty people hold about various spiritual things as opposed to material or physical things. they are products of peoples’ spiritual experiences of the world around them. they act as compasses directing individuals towards a certain goal to be achieved. bandawa defines belief as ‚any guiding principle, dictum, faith or passion that can provide meaning and direction in life‛ (64). since people before becoming christians have been guided by different beliefs in their daily living, it becomes rather critical for them to embrace the new guide or religion. the change that the new religion seeks in the life of the converted has to start with the change in one’s faith belief. this is because it is not the events of our lives that shape us, but our beliefs as to what those events mean. some africans believe that human beings and spirits live and interact on a daily basis. however, some people are assigned to serve in that capacity to facilitate and make the daily interaction possible. one of the religious belief that contributes to syncretism, as sighted by elizabeth ngozi okpalaenwe is that ‚africans are known for their strong belief in one supreme god who created all things. they believe that it is not easy or wise to approach god directly without going through intermediaries created by god such as syncretism: a case of the roman catholic church and the gbagyi traditional religion 140 ancestors‛ (5). this belief in the supreme god is learned and embraced from childhood. some africans are made to know that the creator of all things cannot just be approached unless with the help of the intermediaries that includes the ancestors. most of these ancestors have vague knowledge of the christianity as compared to their traditional religion. as a result, it becomes almost impossible for them to transmit well christian beliefs as they do for traditional beliefs. this reality puts one into syncretic faith practice between what christianity teaches and what the intermediaries have transmitted. africa being so complex, depending on the area in which you find yourself, you are likely to experience all sorts of religious beliefs that sustain their spiritual life. most of these religious beliefs are similar in different african cultures while others may have contrasting explanations suiting the specific clan or tribe. however, the common religious beliefs in african traditional religion include, though not limited to ‚belief in one supreme god; belief that god works through intermediaries; belief in continuity of life through the ancestors; belief in the unity of life within the world, and belief that the practice of ritual, magic and medicine can maintain or restore this unity‛ (kearney, 7). it seems that all true african traditional religions are guided by those religious beliefs in their daily spiritual life. with them an african person finds himself at peace, his life assured and is able to experience belongingness. talking about religion, tom kearney, in the book psycho-spiritual practices in african communities writes: the religion is a practiced religion. it has no dogmas and little preaching or proclaiming, and does not have a recorded sacred literature. it is based on oral transmission within each particular clan/tribe or culture. it is not written on paper but in peoples’ hearts and minds. it is the oral history, the rituals, cause of the shrines and the religious functions. it covers all aspects of life from before birth until after death. it is integral and holistic in nature and character. for the african, religion is literally life and life is religion. consequently, it is a lived experience rather than theoretical‛ (7). the last part of the quotation is very interesting, that religion is life and life is religion. if truly religion is life and life is religion, then the probability of the new religion to erase all that has been infused in the traditional person will be rather challenging. the traditional religion interpretation of life is part and parcel of the traditional person. any new religious element is simply an addition to what has made the person who he is already. the sacred oral traditions are handed down from generations through ritual, education and rites of passage. in some african cultures you cannot undo the rituals and rites of passage already performed as that can lead to life threatening incidences. this makes an african virgilius kawama 141 person accept christianity with all that he is or has, the values of the rituals and rites of passages goes with him in the new religion. in accordance with tom kearney, ‚the african peoples live out their religion daily in their local area according to the way of life they have adopted. hence, cultural complexity, local environment and geographical district, the lifestyles of the people and the resources available for the expression of religious needs all contribute to the diversity in the practices‛ (8). this diversity in religious practices by specific locations are made possible because ‚each has its own cosmology and cultic ritual practices expressed and lived through rituals, ceremonies, festivals, sacrifices in shrines, sacred places and religious objects set apart, art and symbols, myths and legends, customs‛ (kearney, 8). their unique way of religious performance makes one more comfortable to attend rituals or ceremonies in his area than in a foreign land. sometimes a person from other places attends the religious practices but the impacts of the ritual performed are not as meaningful to a foreigner as it is to a native. the religious beliefs mould the individual and communal spirituality. in agreement with elizabeth ngozi okpalaenwe, ‚spirituality is the tendency to orientate oneself toward a larger transcendent reality that binds all things into a unitive harmony. spirituality is the way you can find meaning, hope, comfort and inner peace in your life. spirituality is the ability to see the sacred in the ordinary‛ (13). in some ways, we can say that spirituality reflects the personal search for connection with a larger sacredness through the ordinary means. it is about who we truly are and who we want to become. it is about deeper desire for the encounter with the supreme god. there is no religious belief in the vacuum. every religious belief is made real in a specific place or area. and that area has its culture that influences the expression of religion. mccaskiel assert that, ‚all cultures possess an idea of god‛ (65). in other ways, ‚every culture has a religious tradition of some sort, and there are as varied as the cultures that gave them birth‛ (stewart, 3). culture is simply the shared values, traditions, norms, customs, arts, history, folklore, and institutions of a group of people. laurenti magesa believed that ‚all the elements that constitute a culture, its philosophy, social, political and economic organization as well as moral orientation, are embedded in, and in turn give rise to religious values‛ (41). it is the sum total of the learned behaviour of a group of people that are generally considered to be the tradition of that people and are transmitted from generation to generation. according to okpalaenwe pronouncement, ‚in nigeria, as in most traditional africa, spirituality is very central to peoples’ lives and culture. it permeates all dimensions of their lives and infuses the economic, social and political aspects with meaning so pervading that it is often said that the cultural people live, breath syncretism: a case of the roman catholic church and the gbagyi traditional religion 142 and eat religiously‛ (13). here we see that culture and traditional religion are intimately related. this relationship seems to be very tight in such a manner that any foreign religion that intends to separate the two will find it difficult to achieve its goal. it is easier for some africans to incorporate christianity than to forgo their traditional religion because getting rid of their traditional religion is like getting rid of their culture. and remember, the african culture defines the african person. it is the culture that distinguishes the members of one group of people from another. the very reason why ‚within every culture there are individuals who are well grounded and versed in the basic fundamental principles that underlie that culture‛ (odhiambo, 3). their role is to explain the details of the specific cultural values. the african people believe in the divinities of the ancestors who have proved to be more exemplary than others and have been elevated to the level of deity. it is good to note that, ‚all deities provide a theory of what life is about and resolution to the problems life raises‛ (barnes, 23). these good examples ancestors, who by virtue of their lifestyles have become deities, are venerated in their specific communities. ancestor veneration is ‚an extension of a belief in and respect for elders. followers of traditional african spirituality believe that ancestors maintain a spiritual connection with their living relatives‛ (okpalaenwe, 14). the spiritual connection between the ancestors and the living grants the ancestors the privileges to be guardians of family affairs, customs, traditions and ethical norms. the ‚ancestors are called upon because they are believed to be near to the people and at the same time close to god‛ (sindazi, 48). people actually believe that ‚the ancestors and god work hand-in-hand‛ (odiko, 65). the traditional man would not find it easy to leave the ancestors for jesus christ. he has personal experience of the ancestors, what they can do and cannot do depending on one’s disposition are well known. okpalaenwa reports that, ‚most ancestral spirits are generally good and kind. the only negative actions taken by ancestral spirits is to cause minor illnesses to warn people that they have gotten into the wrong path. to please these unhappy ancestors, usually offerings of food and meat are made‛ (14). otherwise the ancestors’ main roles are ‚to protect the living; give identity; bless people; moral guardians; intermediaries between god, people and other spiritual beings; owners of land, property, and vital resources; source of life; role models and custodians of culture‛ (kirwen, 20). the ancestors and the living have their own way of communicating especially when something goes wrong. even when an individual cannot understand his condition, there are some gifted elders in the community who are ready to interpret whatever goes on in one’s life. the elders are aware that ‚the ancestral spirits have the potential power to affect the living both for good, if they are respectful and properly venerated, and for evil, if their worship is virgilius kawama 143 neglected‛ (basil, 5). this is the reason why a well brought up traditional man will be very sensitive in the way he treats the elders of his land knowing the implications and repercussions that comes with his attitude towards them. traditional people are expected to comply with the strict provisions of cultural taboos and norms in order to ensure peace and harmony in their relationships with each other, with the ancestors and with the entire celestial realities. apart from the cultural taboos and norms, and ‚in order to cater for the religious, psychological and political dimensions of peoples’ lives, there are communal shrines, initiation rites and ritual objects‛ (okpalaenwe, 14). the cultural taboos and norms, the shrines and ritual objects, all provide values that reveal the totality of people’s opinion, their aspirations and decisions as to what should be judged as good or bad, right or wrong. perhaps a concerted and unified effort of the community people could ‚identify these essential elements of traditional african religion that are sacred and bring them to life with african christian communities‛ (simon, 78). african christian communities wishes to be connected with their traditions but this can only be possible once the essential elements of african religion are identified and honoured. solutions to syncretic practices catholicism was successfully planted in tafa lga among the gbagyis in the year 1976. with the advent of catholicism, some gbagyi traditionalists had a rival attitude towards the catholics despite the fact that actually it was their brother who first expressed interest in catholicism. some gbagyis feared that if they become catholics, their gods would bring disaster to them. others refused to embrace catholicism because they thought that the converted and the missionaries wanted to destroy their culture. despite these reasons and threats, catholicism began to win converts in gbagyi land of tafa lga. the catholic church established schools and employed the villagers whose job was not limited only to academic excellence but became very active in molding the attitudes of the converts. churches were built and remained open to everyone in the area. making the catholic missionaries properties the places of education and religious instructions. this made the conversion of the people into christianity easier, especially for the gbagyis who were not yet properly rooted in their ancestral ideas and practices. conflict is a universal phenomenon that is inevitable in human interaction. hence, it cannot be avoided in the interaction between catholicism and gbagyi traditional religion. since catholicism came into contact with the gbagyi religion, there have been lighter conflicts, not as sharp as it is in some other traditional set ups, between the traditionalists and catholics. the lightness in their friction could be due to the fact that their family set syncretism: a case of the roman catholic church and the gbagyi traditional religion 144 ups usually accommodate both catholics and traditionalists. since they live in the same houses or compounds, their misunderstandings are not as obvious as other cultural areas where specific families belong only to one religion. conflicts between the two faith beliefs have been a normal one. the nature, pattern, rationale of their conflicts do not lead to destruction of lives, property or demolition of the peoples’ homes. some of the misunderstandings between the gbagyi traditionalists and catholics include doctrines, selfishness, lack of respect, uniqueness in life approach, worship, sacrifice, ancestors, and polygamy. gbagyi traditional religion is a heritage given to them by shekwoyi, the supreme being. god is known by the gbagyi people before the introduction of other religions. the introduction of catholicism brought many challenges to the growth and expansion of gbagyi traditional religion. in fact as at now, only few elderly people are considered to be purely traditionalists, the rest either practice two religions or only catholicism. what is clear is that gbagyi traditional religion will continue to co-exist with catholicism. the gbagyi catholics say that the two faiths are partners in progress and are given to mankind by shekwoyi. they find no reason why one religion should be favoured more than the other. cardinal lavigerie, the founder of the society of the missionaries of africa (white fathers), instructed his missionaries as they were about to set out for central africa that, do not europeanize the people. rather, make yourselves what they are, as far as your priesthood permits. speak their language; adopt their customs, live among them as brothers. even should they become christians, encourage them to retain all of their culture which does not conflict with their new faith. if you can give a christian interpretation to their customs, their songs, their dances, do so, but change nothing which you cannot replace with something of value (tryers, 7). this is high standard of tolerance that can lead to appreciations of the differences that exists in different faith systems. when a traditionalist feels appreciated and acknowledged for what he is, the values found in his culture and proper interpretation is made against confusing elements of his faith, he may end up accepting christianity and forget about the non-essentials of his belief. the approach to one another’s religion matters a lot in the life of faith. the gbagyis have taken different religious affiliations as part of their family life. they cannot be separated as a family just because of the different ways of worshipping the same supreme being. the gbagyi can correctly fit into ali mazrui’s observation of religious scenario of typical african milieu thus: ‚many african families are multireligious in composition without strain. one brother could be muslim, another roman virgilius kawama 145 catholic, a sister protestant and the father a practicing member of a traditional african religion‛ (94). this is typical of the gbagyi families, the reason why there are fewer problems as far as religious issues are concerned among the gbagyis. another uniqueness of the gbagyi people is that those families that are hundred percent christians do have their settlements alone, and the families with two or more religions settle in separate areas. what demarcates the settlements sometimes is just about the distance of a kilometer. in the area of faith adherence, there should be tolerance between the catholics and those living two religions. tolerance of each other will improve peoples’ understanding of their different faith values. the syncretic people should be given the necessary encouragement they need in improving the quality of their faithfulness to the truth. the belief of committed gbagyi catholic converts should not promote opposition that lead to disintegration and lack of unity within the body of christ. the catholics should rather brace themselves for inculcating the revelation contents of catholicism, namely, the existence of one god, who is to be worshipped wholeheartedly and with undivided heart. they should take it as their duty to teach and explain to the struggling catholics the objective definition of catholicism. they should try to modify the method of prayer, to make it more catholic especially during family meetings. the gbagyi land is still a mission territory. the gbagyi catholics find their native music irresistible. any special program going on in the church is taken as an opportunity to portray their traditional values like dancing culturally, and dressing traditionally without covering their bodies apart from the private parts. this is somehow scandalizing for some people to see an old woman or man almost naked, just covering the private part in the house of god in the name of the culture. and yet, this is what the catholic church mean when it stated that, in some parts of the world, especially mission lands, there are people who have their own music traditions and these plays a great part in their religious and social life. due importance is to be attached to their music and a suitable place given to it, not only in forming their attitude towards religion, but also in adapting worship to their native genius (sacrosantum concilium, 119). this is what makes a true gbagyi catholic fully gbagyi and fully catholic. their traditional values are to be felt even in the house of worship. they feel accepted and so they accept some church teachings which are new to them. the catholic church believes that there are spiritual and moral truths found in other religions. because of this fact, syncretism: a case of the roman catholic church and the gbagyi traditional religion 146 the catholic church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions. she has a high regard for the manner of life and conduct, the precepts and doctrines, which, although differing in many ways from her own teaching, nevertheless often reflect a ray of that truth which enlightens all men. let christians, while witnessing to their own faith and way of life, acknowledge, preserve and encourage the spiritual and moral truths found among nonchristians, also their social life and culture (nostra aetate, 2). this is the official teaching of the catholic church; the catholic teaching appreciates the spiritual and moral truths found among the gbagyis. this is what philosophy of religion is all about too, studying the beliefs of a certain religion without being too judgemental but considerate knowing well that in that specific belief of the traditional man, if only i can take time to study and observe critically, i can find spiritual elements of great value. according to nnaji, ‚religion in a secular sense currently has employed thousands of people in nigeria into its organizations and institutions, which include schools, hospitals, rehabs, banks, transport companies, radio, and television stations, printing and publication houses‛ (81). these environments are not strictly meant only for the followers of the specific religion but the doors are left open to every person who needs the service or to serve. different people coming from different religions meeting in the same school or hospital expresses that religious tolerance and focus on only what matters most, which is love for one another. nnaji went further that ‚religious bodies also play massive roles in controlling and keeping together marriage bonds and families, including controlling juvenile excesses, and managing the dead and dying, often called hospices‛ (82). it is a desire for every true religion to promote the common good and development of not only the individual person but also the society at large. at a time when we can be tempted to undervalue or neglect interreligious dialogue, the experience going on in nigeria reminds us that it is still vital. when we look around, listen to radios or watch televisions, what appears mostly is bad news provoked by religious indifferences or lack of proper understandings of what religion is all about. the researcher believes that through interreligious dialogue, and the challenges that come with it, people may discover that, in fact, even what they thought they knew was not true knowledge of the reality. there is an urgent appeal to persevere in dialogue between the catholics and gbagyi traditionalists. whatever they do, let them acknowledge the importance of interreligious dialogue if they truly take part in the actual mission of god whom both religions preach. the catholic church respects the religions and the cultures of peoples, and wishes in her contact with them, to preserve all that is noble, true and good in their religion and their virgilius kawama 147 cultures. this study envisages a fruitful dialogical encounter between catholicism and gbagyi traditional religion, with promises of a mutual enrichment for both and genuine coexistence. this will be possible once the traditional religion is better understood by the messengers of the gospel, and catholicism is presented to the gbagyis in a more appropriate fashion. a study of traditional religion will identify the underlying felt needs of the gbagyis, and clarify the manner in which catholicism can respond to them. this way, the church will be at home in the gbagyi land, and the gbagyis will feel more and more at home in the catholic church. this dialogue with the gbagyi traditional religion can take place at two levels, first, with the people who adhere to traditional religion and who do not yet desire to become catholics. with such persons, dialogue has to be understood in the ordinary sense of encounter, of mutual understanding, of respect and a mutual search of the will of god. second, with those who desire to become catholics, and with catholics converted from gbagyi traditional religion, the dialogue has to be understood in a wider sense of a pastoral approach to traditional religion, in view of presenting the gospel of our savour jesus christ in an appropriate manner, so that the church takes deeper roots on gbagyi soil. as part of the pastoral attention to gbagyi traditional religion, an appropriate research is to be established for research purposes into gbagyi traditional religion, to discern the principal tenets of its beliefs: particularly god the creator, the place of the spirits of the ancestors, the fundamental rites in this religion, sacrifice, priesthood, prayer, marriage, the human soul, life after death, religion and the moral life. there is a need for the catholic church to take gbagyi traditional religion seriously, to give it urgent pastoral attention, to study it, and to enter into dialogue with it. the idea of holiness in gbagyi traditional religion is to be examined, as well as the motivations for dialogue with catholicism. we are to intensify the dialogue with traditional religion for our common good. conclusion this article found out that the traditional religion beliefs and practices are still the most important part of the life of some people. in almost every human community people have prayed and worshipped. traditional religion has continued to grow and develop in its own way. the ways in which people live have been changing and developing, thus affecting their faith expressions. the traditional religion has changed as the lives of her followers have changed. this has happened partly because people are traveling to different places where they acquire more experiences and knowledge, where they practice their traditional syncretism: a case of the roman catholic church and the gbagyi traditional religion 148 religion faith openly or secretly depending on the environment and life circumstances surrounding them. bibliography allport, w. gordon. the individual and his religion: a psychological interpretation. new york: the macmillan company, 1970. bandawe, chiwoza. mind tips: a psychology of practical living skills for malawi. balaka: montford media, 2005. barnes, sandra t. ‚the introduction: the many faces of ogun‛ in africa’s ogun, edited by sandra t. barnes. bloomington and indianapolis: indiana university press, 1989, p.105-146. basil, mitchell (ed.) the philosophy of religion. london: oxford university press, 1983. bennetta, jules-rosette. ‚an introduction to new perspectives on contemporary african religion‛ in the new religions of africa, edited by bennetta jules-rosette. new jersey: ablex publishing corporation, 1979, p. 1-22. biddle, w. earl. integration of religion and psychiatry, new york: the macmillan company, 1956. brown, a. d. a guide to religions, jos: africa christian textbooks (acts), 2017. coulson, j., et (eds.). the oxford illustrated dictionary. london: oxford university press, 1975. egunjobi, joyzy pius. ‚the yoruba psycho-spiritual heritage and its implications for counsellors‛ in psycho-spiritual practices in african communities, edited by elizabeth ngozi okpalaenwe. limuru: fransciscan kolbe press, 2019, p. 33-54. gehman, r. african traditional religion in the light of the bible. jos: africa christian textbooks (acts), 2013. gustave, weigel & arthur g. madden. religion and the knowledge of god, new york: prentice-hall inc, 1961. isichei, e. from antiquity to the present: a history of christianity in africa. london: eerdmans publisher, 1995. kambanda, antoine. ‚if you want cows, you must sleep like a cow‛ in the church we want: african catholics look to vatican iii, edited by agbonkhianmeghe e. orobato. nairobi: acton publishers, 2016, p. 65-78. kearney, tom. ‚forward‛ in psycho-spiritual practices in african communities, edited by elizabeth ngozi okpalaenwe. limuru: fransciscan kolbe press, 2019, p. 7-8. kirwen, michael c. (ed.). african cultural knowledge: themes and embedded beliefs. nairobi: mias books, 2011. magesa, l. african religion: the moral traditions of abundant life. nairobi: paulines publications africa, 1998. makumba, m. m. introduction to philosophy. nairobi: paulines publications africa, 2019. mautner, thomas. dictionary of philosophy. london: penguin books, 2005. mazrui, a. a. the african condition. ibadan: heinemann, 1980. mbiti, s.j. african religions and philosophy. nairobi: east africa educational publishers ltd, 1999. --------. introduction to african religion. nairobi: east african educational publishers ltd. 1996. mcbrien, r. p. catholicism, london: cassell ltd, 1989. mccaskiel, t. c. ‚akwantemfi in mid-journey: an asante shrine today and its clients‛ in journal of religion in africa, volume 38.1, 2008, p. 57-80. virgilius kawama 149 nnaji, c.o. dictionary of psychology of religion. abuja: ajisco publishers, 2020. --------. origins of religions. enugu: enizol ventures, 2017. odetoyimbo, k.p. the history of the church in yorubaland: mossionary activities 1861-1918. rome: pontificia universitas gregoriana, 2000. odhiambo, f. ochieng. ‚introduction by lecturer‛ in african cultures and religion, edited by michael c. kirwen, volume 1, number 3, 1999, p. 3-4. odiko, george. ‚prayers through ancestors: the force behind traditional healing among the giriama people‛ in african cultures and religion, edited by michael c. kirwen, volume 1, number 3, 1999, p. 57-66. okpalaenwe, elizabeth ngozi. ‚indigenous nimo psycho-spiritual practices, anambra state nigeria‛ in psycho-spiritual practices in african communities, edited by elizabeth ngozi okpalaenwe. limuru: fransciscan kolbe press, 2019, p. 13-32. --------. ‚introduction‛ in psycho-spiritual practices in african communities, edited by elizabeth ngozi okpalaenwe. limuru: fransciscan kolbe press, 2019, p. 5-6. pruyser, paul w. a dynamic psychology of religion. new york: harper & row publishers, 1976. --------. ‚some trends in the psychology of religion‛ in the psychology of religion: historical and interpretive readings, edited by orlo strunk. new york: abingdon press, 1971. selvam, g. s. pastoral psychology for africa; a guide for practice, nairobi: paulines publications africa, 2019. shorter, a. african culture: an overview, nairobi: paulines publications africa, 1998. simon, victoria. ‚persistence of african traditional religion among the youth in nairobi‛ in african cultures and religion, edited by michael c. kirwen, volume 1, number 3, 1999, p. 67-79. sindazi, clement. ‚models of worship among the bukusu‛ in african cultures and religion, edited by michael c. kirwen, volume 1, number 3, 1999, p. 43-49. spilka, bernard; hood, ralph w., & gorsuch, richard l. the psychology of religion: an empirical approach, new jersey: prentice-hall, inc., 1985. stewart, c. and shaw, r. syncretism! anti-syncretism: the politics of religious synthesis. london: routledge, 1994. taliaferro, c. and marty, j. e. (eds.). a dictionary of philosophy of religion, london: continuum international publishing group, 2010. thomas, george f. philosophy and religious belief, new york: charles scribner’s sons, 1970. thouless, robert h. an introduction to the psychology of religion (3rd edition). london: cambridge university press, 1971. tryers, t. new wine in old bottles. african culture in the 20th century. rome, 2018. vatican ii. declaration on the relationship of the church to non-christian religions, nostra aetate (28 october 1965). --------. dogmatic constitution on the church, lumen gentium (21 november 1964). --------. the constitution on the sacred liturgy, sacrosanctum concilium (4 december 1963). volz, stephen. ‚written on our hearts: tswana christians and the word of god in the mid-nineteenth century‛ in journal of religion in africa, volume 38.2, 2008, p. 112-140. walls, a.f. towards understanding africa’s place in christian history. london: brill, 1976. whitehead, a.n. religion in the making. new york: macmillan, 1926. wilkinson, b. m. philosophy of religion: an introduction. london: continuum international publishing group, 2010. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol 9 no.1, 2023 www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/igwebuikejournals.php a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 115 understanding ecotheology: towards an authentic dominion theology ibe, julian chukwuemeka, phd albertine institute, kafanchan frjulianibe@gmail.com & anthony, adams kumbo good shepherd seminary, kaduna doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.27610.21449 abstract as part of creation, it is incumbent on man to care for the earth even as the earth cares for man by providing a habitat and every raw material man needs to make man’s temporal existence as comfortable as possible. if man takes care of the earth, the earth will take care of man. the task of educating people about this does not rest on the sciences alone. religion has a role to pay. this work on ecotheology seeks a reorientation on the true meaning of dominion theology. it begins with and introduction. it discusses ecotheology and then the problem of dominion theology and presents the authentic christian meaning according the god’s plan. to enrich our discussion, excerpts from other churches and religions are obtained. the need for ecotheology is one again reestablished. finally, recommendations are made and the work is concluded. keywords: creation, dominion theology, ecology, ecotheology, stewardship. introduction according the catechism of the catholic church, ‚scripture and tradition never cease to teach and celebrate this fundamental truth: the world was made for the glory of god“for god has no other reason in creating than his love and goodness‛.1 it is against this backdrop that we can firmly say that the current ecological problems are in total conflict with god’s plan for creation which, ab initio, he found very good. our era is one plagued with ecological disasters, of which human actions and inactions are highly culpable. accusations have been made against the church as a promoter of dominion theology. for 1 ccc 293. understanding ecotheology: towards an authentic dominion theology 116 many of such thinkers, including the renowned lynn white, the genesis 1:28 injunction to conquer and subdue the earth is a recurring argument. however, some papal statements have given impetus to these arguments. the most popular among them being the bull of pope nicholas vi, romanus pontifex, in which he promised rule over the earth to the portuguese monarchs and the bull of pope alexander vi, inter coetera, in which he grants power to the monarchs of castile and leon over islands and mainlands.2 this work is aimed at encouraging the development of ecotheology that will reorient the minds of believers towards the true idea of dominion theology. what is ecotheology? ‘eco-theology’ is a combination of two english words, ‘ecology’ and ‘theology’. it is defined as the ‚theological explorations of the connections between religion and the environment, especially with regard to environmental concerns‛.3 it is a form of constructive theology centered on the interrelationships of religion and nature, particularly in the light of environmental concerns. eco-theology begins from the premise that a relationship exists between human religious or spiritual worldviews and the degradation and preservation of nature. thus, it explores the interaction between ecological values such as sustainability and the human domination of the natural world. it is important to note that eco-theology explores not only the relationship between religion and nature in terms of degradation of nature, but also in terms of ecosystem management in general. specifically, eco-theology seeks not only to identify prominent issues within the relationship between nature and religion, but also to outline potential solutions. this is of particular importance because many supporters and contributors of eco-theology argue that science and education are simply not enough to inspire the change necessary in our current environmental crisis.4 seyyed hossein nasr, is considered to be a pioneering figure in the field of eco-theology, and was among the early thinkers to draw attention to the spiritual dimensions of the environmental crisis. he first presented his insight in a 1965 essay, expanding it in a series of lectures given at the university of chicago. nasr’s lectures were later published as ‚man and nature: the spiritual crisis of modern man‛ in 1968 in which he argued, in a detailed manner, for the revival of a sacred view of the universe in order to combat the contemporary environmental crisis.5 anna m. gade states that the short and often credited 2 boff, leonardo. cry of the earth, cry of the poor, new york: orbis books, 1997. 70. 3 “ecotheology” accessed january 10, 2023, en.m.wiktionary.org 4watling, tony. ecological imaginations in the world religions: an ethnographic analysis (london and new york: continuum international publishers) 2009 5sayem, md. abu. “seyyedhossein nasr’s works on environmental issues: a survey”, (islamic studies. 2019) 58 ibe, julian chukwuemeka & anthony, adams kumbo 117 article by lynn white contained similar arguments made by nasr in his influential rockefeller series lectures at the university of chicago divinity school. richard foltz is also of the view that nasr's lectures that preceded white's 1967 article presented similar argument. foltz argues that nasr has made the connection between the west’s spiritual and environmental crises since the 1950s and actually anticipated white's critique in his own lectures given at the university of chicago earlier in the same year as white's address. nasr is credited for making "significant methodological and theoretical contributions to the development of eco-theology".6 the relationship of theology to the modern ecological crisis, however, became an intense issue of debate in western academia in 1967, following the publication of the article, "the historical roots of our ecologic crisis", by lynn white jr., professor of history at the university of california at los angeles. in this work, white puts forward a theory that the christian model of human dominion over nature has led to environmental devastation, providing a voice for "the ecological complaint".7 in 1973, theologian jack rogers published an article in which he surveyed the published studies of approximately twelve theologians which had appeared since white's article. they reflect the search for "an appropriate theological model" which adequately assesses the biblical data regarding the relationship between god, humans, and nature.‛ why ecotheology? some scholars argue that christians actually helped bring about the current global environmental crisis by instructing followers that god, and by extension mankind, transcends nature. much of the development of eco-theology as a theological discourse was in response to this argument, which has been called "the ecological complaint". defendants of this perspective essentially claim that christianity promotes the idea of human dominion over nature, treating nature itself as a tool to be used and even exploited for survival and prosperity.8 however, christianity has often been viewed as the source of positive values towards the environment, and there are many voices within the christian tradition whose vision embraces the well-being of the earth and all creatures. while francis of assisi is one of the more obvious influences on christian eco-theology, there are many theologians and 6gade, m. anna. “muslim environmentalism as religious practice: accounts of the unseen” (columbia university press 2019) 207 7hoel, nina, transforming feminisms: religion, women and ecology (journal for the study of religion 2011) 24 8cengage, gale. “ecotheology”. encyclopedia of science and religion. retrieved 23 november 2022 understanding ecotheology: towards an authentic dominion theology 118 teachers, such as isaac of nineveh and seraphim of sarov, whose work has profound implications for christian thinkers. christian perspectives on ecotheology the concept of environmental stewardship originates first and foremost from creation stories, in which god gives humans dominion overt the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and the animals of the land (cf. gen 1:28) and the command in gen 2:15 to ‚ cultivate and care‛ for the land. these bible passages reveal god as creator and owner of the universe but in his benevolence has given the human beings the privilege to utilize all he has created for their own good. still, the passages teach that each individual has a vitally important role to play as a steward in god’s domain. this stewardship includes both proper use and conservation of natural and human resources in a way that brings glory to god and furthers his purpose in the world. therefore, the earth is a gift from god the creator to human beings to till and to keep. this is a divine mandate which calls the human persons to be stewards of creation and not the owners. stewardship is a term that refers to the responsibility of a steward to manage wisely the goods and property of another. a steward is, therefore, not an owner, but one who has a responsibility to an owner to treat property with care and respect. stewardship has come to be used in the christian theology in a border sense emphasizing both our personal and collective responsibility to care wisely for god’s creation. the assumption is that human beings do not really possess or own anything; rather the whole world, including human beings belongs to god. in view of this, bugg defines stewardship as ‚utilizing and managing all resources god provides, for the glory of god and betterment of his creation‛ 9 hence, stewardship begins and ends with the understanding of god’s ownership of all; for ‚the earth is the lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it‛ (psalm 24:1). therefore, human beings are not owners but stewards of all that comes into their arena of responsibility – income, assets, property, goods, time, talents, and their very selves. the divine mandate to till and keep the earth (cf. gen 2:15) aims at achieving ecological balance. it charges humans with a two-tier responsibility: on the one hand, human beings have the responsibility to produce things in cooperation with nature; and, on the other hand, they have a great responsibility of maintaining the world with its ecological balance. consequently, ecological balance is not only to protect nature, but also to sustain it.10 9bugg, c. “stewardship” in holman bible dictionary, tennessee: holman, 2001. 1303. 10alangaram, a. “ecological concerns in christian traditions”, in asian horizons. 709-723 ibe, julian chukwuemeka & anthony, adams kumbo 119 little wonder the whole world today talks about sustainability development which has to do with one’s moral obligation to future generations with respect to the environment. the problem of dominion theology unfortunately, the contemporary world has deviated from the real meaning of dominion as a responsibility to mean selfish use and abuse of the resources of the earth. many people base their argument of the misuse of the earthly goods on the dominion and domination of gen 1:28-29 with the claim that god has given human beings authority over the created world to subdue it. however, john paul ii points out that the distorted notion of human dominion can be attributed to self-interest and greed of the human person wanting excessive acquisition of material things at the expense of the world’s natural wealth. this distorted notion is also influenced by the rise of scientific research and technological advancement.11 information technology, biotechnology, nuclear energy, industrialization and many other abilities have given the human person an impressive dominance over the whole of humanity and the entire world.12 the consequence of this is the disruption of the original harmony that should exist between humanity and nature with its resultant ecological crisis such as: deforestation, pollution, etc. this has led to devastation of the environment. prophet hosea laments ‚therefore the land mourns and all who dwell in it languish, and also the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and even the fish of the sea are taken away‛ (hosea, 4:3). a proper understanding of dominion shows that human beings are to respect nature as god’s creation, the ecological crisis brought about through the misuse and abuse of creation, the christian understanding of dominion and domination. this attitude towards the earth is often caused by anthropocentrism. today the human being is accused of being the satan of the earth. this stems from the fact that in contemporary societies human beings have made themselves the center of everything and aim at a dominium terrae crushing everything that stands in their path to actualize their aims. this dominion theology is even recognized by some popes such as nichola vi (1447-1455) in his bull romanus pontifex in which he promises rule over the earth the portuguese monarchs and alexander vi (1492-1503) in his bull inter coetera in which he grants similar powers to the monarchs of castile and leon. boff finally traces the problem to androcentrism, because for him it is the male rather than the female who proclaims himself lord over everything in nature including the woman.13 11 john paul ii, encyclical letter, fides et ratio, vatican city. 15 12 pope francis, encyclical letter, laudato si’, on care for our common home., nairobi: st paul’s publications. 105. 13 boff, leonardo. cry of the earth, cry of the poor, new york: orbis books, 1997. 70. understanding ecotheology: towards an authentic dominion theology 120 god’s plan for creation the foundation of the discussion on ecological issues is the fact that creation is a gift from god to humanity, to till and subdue (cf. gen 2:15). the earth was given to human beings by god the creator to inhabit with creativity and responsibility. the creation story shows that the creator looked upon his creation and ‚saw that it was good‛ (gen 1:4; 1:10; 1:12; 1:18; 1:21; 1:25). it also reveals to us that not only is everything god created good, but also that creation itself reflects the magnificence of god. the psalmist eloquently describes a profound experience of god’s creative power and a sense of the awesome responsibility of the human creature thus: when i see the heavens, the work of your hands, the moon and the stars which you arranged, what is man that you should keep him in mind, mortal man that you care for him? yet you have made him little less than a god, with glory and honor you crowned him, gave him power over the works of your hand, put all things under his feet. all of them, sheep and cattle, yes, even the savage beasts, birds of the air, and fish that make their way through the waters (psalm 8:3-8). nevertheless, it is god’s creation of humankind that completes the created order in such a way that he pronounces it to be ‚very good‛ (cf. gen 1:31) being created in his own image and likeness. created in the image of god and being placed in the midst of god’s creation, god sets human being apart for himself and gives them a special responsibility and authority. he is given the authority and task to ‘represent’ god in creation so that god continues to sustain his creation in the best possible manner by giving him intelligence and creativity to do so‛.14 this is explicit in the words of moltmann when he refers to human beings as a ‘proxy’ of god. he writes, ‚as god’s image, human beings are god’s proxy in his creation, and represent him. as god’s image, human beings are for god himself a counterpart, in whom he desires to see himself as if in a mirror‛.15 in the same vein, the catechism of the catholic church explicitly states: ‚man is the summit of the creator’s work, as the inspired account expresses by clearly distinguishing the creation of man from that of other creatures‛.16 as the summit of god’s creation, man reflects god in a most excellent way, and as the image of god, human beings have the capacity for reason, which enables them to know god, the world, and themselves. they are also endowed with the powers of freedom and imagination that allow them to reflect upon their experiences, choose a course of action, and thus become co-creators with god. 14 hefner, p. “biocultural evolution and the created co-creator”, in t peters, (ed.) science and theology: the new consonance, new york: oxford, 1998. 184. 15moltmann, j. god in creation: an ecological doctrine of creation, london: scm press.188. 16 fern, r. nature, god and humanity: envisioning an ethics of nature, new york: cambridge university press, 2002. 383. ibe, julian chukwuemeka & anthony, adams kumbo 121 this privilege bestows on them a dignity that surpasses other creatures precisely because they can participate spiritually in god’s creativity in a manner that far exceeds the merely physical capabilities of other creatures. it follows, then, that with such capabilities, and by virtue of human dignity, god placed human beings in governance over his creation: ‚let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth‛ (cf. 1:26). this dominion was specified as a command to ‚till and keep‛ the garden (cf. 2:15). by the command of the lord to till and keep the garden, it can be assumed that human beings were commanded to use their rationality in the governance of creation for the sake of bringing forth fruit from the earth and to be responsible for its continuity. the earth is essentially a shared in heritance whose fruits are meant to benefit everyone. this shows that god’s plan for creation is to provide human beings with the means for sustaining and enhancing their existence. however, for the earth to be of benefit to humanity, the human person will have to take good care of it. in order to discharge this responsibility properly as good stewards, a clear understanding of what dominion means is essential. christian understanding of ‘dominion and ‘domination’ in his analysis of the book of genesis, westermann points out that the hebrew verbs used in gen 1:28 for ‘subduing’ the earth and having ‘dominion’ over other creatures are kabash and radah respectively. these mean bringing the earth under the control of human being because the hebrew verb kabash literally means to tread down' or bring into bondage; and radah would mean to trample or to prevail against. hence, the human persons are given a mandate by god to exercise some kind of 'sovereignty' over the rest of creation. he explains further that the verbs used in gen 1:28 are used particularly in terms of kingly rule and his exercise of dominion. thus, that alone would not give way for a whimsical way of exercising dominion, bringing harm to whatever is placed under one's rule. in addition, westermann writes that, "according to ancient view, however, there is no suggestion of exploitation; on the contrary, the king is personally responsible for the well-being and prosperity of those he rules. his rule serves the well-being of his subjects.17 therefore 'ruling over' would mean taking care and providing for the welfare and prosperity of that which is placed under, and anyway of selfish exploitation or abuse would result in the loss of kingly power. christian interpretation of the genesis account, then, does not suggest any exploitation or domineering and destructive action on the part of the human person; rather, the mandate to 'till' and 'keep' implies that the human person should cultivate, plough and work the 17westermann, c. genesis: a practical commentary. text and interpretation, new york: t&t clark. 159. understanding ecotheology: towards an authentic dominion theology 122 land, while to 'keep would mean to care, protect, oversee and preserve the earth. it means to take responsibility for"; to govern the world with justice. in other words, the human person endowed with intelligence must respect the laws of nature and the delicate equilibrium existing between him/her and other created things. the mandate "to serve and to preserve" the land places human beings not in a hierarchical position over creation but in a position of service to it. while all things have been subordinated to human beings, we should rule over them as god himself does. this dominion does not grant to human beings the right to "lord over" creation in a manner inappropriate with god's own manner of governance. human dominion does not present man as a despotic ruler. this portrayal puts human beings squarely in a caretaker position in regard to environmental stewardship. thus, john paul ii points out that: the dominion granted to man by the creator is not an absolute power, nor can one speak of a freedom to "use and misuse, or to dispose of things as one pleases. the limitation imposed from the beginning the creator himself and expressed symbolically by the prohibition not to "eat of the fruit of the tree" (cf. gen 2:16-17) shows clearly enough that, when it comes to the natural world, we are subject not only to biological laws but also to moral ones, which cannot be violated with impunity. a true concept of development cannot ignore the use of the elements of nature, the renewability or resources and the consequences of haphazard industrialızation three considerations which alert our consciences to the moral dimension of development‛18 consequently, the christian understanding of dominion also shows human beings as cocreators with god through the care of his creation. dominion does not mean that the natural world should be seen as resources to be exploited. it is rather, a reality to be respected and even reverenced as a gift from god. as a result, dominion requires responsible stewardship. the understanding of dominion as a humble submission to the will of god explains why john paul ii maintains that the relationship between humanity, nature and god could best be served through the concept of 'stewardship".19 such stewardship must uphold the common good of humanity, while also respecting the end for which each creature was intended, and the means necessary to achieve that end. disordered human actions, which harm creation, and by extension, human life and property directly threaten the right to life, to health, to development, to housing, to work, 18 john paul ii. encyclical letter, sollicitudo rei socialis, on social concern, nairobi: paulines 2005. 36. 19 john paul ii. encyclical letter, evangelium vitae, nairobi: paulines publication. 1995. 22 ibe, julian chukwuemeka & anthony, adams kumbo 123 to culture and the rights of indigenous people.20therefore, irresponsible consumption, degradation and depletion of natural resources have a huge impact on human life. the exact understanding of dominion helps to see creation as a gift and also promotes love in stewardship as against irresponsible use of nature. for john paul ii, this fundamental truth requires that natural resources be considered as gifts that have potentials to enrich human life and should be developed, not manipulated. thus, dominion empowers human beings to acknowledge the truth about creation and to give thanks for the gift.21 this is why dominion implies vocation which consists in stewardship. the command of dominion and domination, therefore, is an obligation to look after god's work responsibly on his behalf and to ensure through our participation in the well-being of creation. when the human person obeys the injunction to till and care for the earth, he/she reaps a bounty harvest from the thereby, exhibiting the mutual responsibility in the relationship between the human person and nature.22 the misunderstanding of dominion engenders ecological crisis that we experience today. ecumenical perspectives on environmental stewardship it is necessary at this point to get some insights from other christian churches as well as non-christian religions on environmental stewardship. this will help to enrich our discourse o ecotheology. anglicans anglicans worldwide have long been concerned with environmental issues. in 2015, anglican bishops from across the globe met in south africa, after which they released a statement on the environment published on good friday 2015 themed ‚the world is our host: a call to urgent action for climate justice‛. also, guided by the fifth mark of mission, members of the anglican communion environment network strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the earth. in april 2016, the archbishop of canterbury, justin welby met with fifty young anglicans from across southern africa to discuss the environment and discipleship at a youth conference in lusaka ahead of the anglican consultative council meeting.23 20chryssavgis, j. on earth as in heaven: ecological vision and initiatives of ecumenical patriarch bartholomew, new york: fordham university press 2012.573. 21 john paul ii. encyclical letter, redemptor hominis, nairobi: paulines publication. 10. 22oso, f. a. “ecology and social teaching of the church” in ijezie i. e. (ed.) theology and ecological issues, port harcourt: cathan publication, 224-239 23 ibe, julian c. the church and ecological concerns in the light of laudato si’ 211: a study in zaria diocese, nigeria, a master’s thesis presented to the university of calabar nigeria, june 2017. 74. understanding ecotheology: towards an authentic dominion theology 124 episcopalians in 1995 the episcopal church established a new arm of their executive body called justice, peace and the integrity of creation. in their theological statement on creation they asserted our church has begun to live into the call of the world council of churches 1991 convocation on justice, peace and integrity of creation ‚for building a culture that lives in harmony with creation’s integrity.‛ we are deepening our biblical understanding and perspective with regard to creation and our relationship to the wisdom of the ages. however, the liturgy of the episcopal church must come to reflect and teach our interconnection to god through loving relationships with all things. in romans 1:20, it is declared that the invisible things of god, even in his eternal power and godhead, can be clearly seen and understood in creation.24 islam the most elaborate perspectives from other religions are from islam. this is because, islam, together with christianity, are the two most populous religions in nigeria. in islam, muslims believe the earth is part of allah’s creation. their holy book states as follows: allah is he who raised up the heavens without any pillars that you can see. then he settled himself on the throne, and constrained the sun and the moon to serve you; each planet pursues its course during an appointed term. he regulates it all and expounds the signs, that you may have firm belief in the meeting with your lord. he it is who spread out the earth and made therein firmly fixed mountains and rivers, and of fruits of every kind he has made pairs. he causes the night to cover the day (surah 13:3-4). however, although human beings are seen as the most intelligent form of life on earth, they are also responsible for almost all the damage done to the planet. according to the qur’an, allah (god) is the creator of the world. human beings are in the world as trustees or vice-regents, to look after the world for allah and for the future. as recorded in the hadith: the earth is green and beautiful, and allah has appointed you his stewards over it. the whole earth has been created a place of worship, pure and clean. whoever plants a tree and diligently looks after it until it matures and bears fruit is rewarded. if a muslim plants a tree or sows a field and humans and beasts and birds eat from it, all of it is love on his part.25 24 ibid 75 25 ibid 76. ibe, julian chukwuemeka & anthony, adams kumbo 125 in the qur’an, muslims are instructed to care for the environment, not to damage it. this is stated as follows: ‚devote thyself single-mindedly to the faith, and thus follow the nature designed by allah, the nature according to which he has fashioned mankind. there is no altering the creation of allah.‛ (surah 30:30). the qur'anic account of creation is in line with modern scientific thought about the development of the universe and life on earth. muslims acknowledge that life developed over a long period of time, but see allah's power behind it all. descriptions of creation in the qur'an are set in context to remind the readers of allah's majesty and wisdom. "what is the matter with you, that you are not conscious of allah's majesty, seeing that it is he who has created you in diverse stages? see you not how allah has created the seven heavens one above another, and made the moon a light in their midst, and made the sun as a (glorious) lamp? and allah has produced you from the earth, growing (gradually)" (71:13-17).26 while islam recognizes the general idea of the development of life in stages, over a period of time, human beings are considered as a special act of creation. islam teaches that human beings are a unique life form that was created by allah in a special way, with unique gifts and abilities unlike any other: a soul and conscience, knowledge, and free will. the qur'an describes how allah created adam: "we created man from sounding clay, from mud molded into shape..." (15:26). and, "he began the creation of man from clay, and made his progeny from a quintessence of fluid" (32:7-8). thus, human beings have a fundamental attachment to the earth. while the creation of eve is not described in detail, the qur'an does make it clear that a "mate" was created with adam, from the same nature and soul. "it is he who created you from a single person, and made his mate of like nature, in order that he might dwell with her in love" (7:189).27 she is not mentioned by name in the qur'an, but in islamic tradition she is known as "hawwa" (eve). from these two individuals, generations of human beings have inhabited the earth. "oh humankind! we created you from a single pair of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, so that you may know each other (not that ye may despise each other). verily the most honored among you in the sight of allah is the one who is the most righteous of you. and allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things)" (49:13).28 26 johnston, david l. “intra-muslim debates on ecology: is shari’a still relevant? (2012 )218-238. accessed january 10, 2023. www.jstor.org. 27murad, m. munjed. “inner and outer nature: an islamic perspective on the environmental crisis” (islam and science) 21 28ibid 26 understanding ecotheology: towards an authentic dominion theology 126 judaism judaism emphasizes the need to preserve our natural resources and generate new ones for future generations. in the talmud, there is the story of the sage choni, who was walking along a road when he saw a man planting a carob tree. choni asked, "how long will it take for this tree to bear fruit?" and the man replied "seventy years". choni then asked him, "are you so healthy that you expect to live that length of time and eat its fruit?" to which the man replied, "i found a fruitful world because my ancestors planted it for me. likewise, i am planting for my children." in fact, tradition values this concept so dearly that the rabbis teach that if a man is planting a tree when the messiah appears, he should finish planting the tree before going to greet him.29 in judaism, there are rituals to celebrate the earth, such as the festival of tu bish'vat, the new year for trees and blessings for enjoying nature. in these rituals we find the truest expression of inner judaist thought. god created the earth, which is a gift from him to men to cherish and not ruin. hinduism from hinduism, it is clear that the most ancient texts on hinduism demonstrate through the praise of the deities an ecological awareness and great respect for the natural world. there are number of specific teachings on environmental matters contained in all these hindu writings and ecological activists have drawn much inspiration from these texts. ‚do not cut trees, because they remove pollution‛.30 ‚do not disturb the sky and do not pollute the atmosphere‛.31 ‚destruction of forests is taken as destruction of the state, and reforestation an act of rebuilding the state and advancing its welfare. protection of animals is considered a sacred duty‛.32 one uniquely practical example of the protection of the environment is from hinduism. the bishnois people's defence of the natural environment is one of the world's classic instances of martyrdom in defense of the environment. it is on record that in 1730, amrita devi, a bishnois woman was at home with her three daughters when it came to her knowledge that a party of woodcutters sent by the maharaja of jodhpur were on their way to fell a green khejri tree to be used in the construction of the his new palace. she fought to prevent the woodcutters from felling the tree and was killed by them for her resistance, also killed were her three daughters. this news spread like wildfire among the bhishnois community and hundreds of them converged on the spot, ready to lay down their lives for 29 avot d'rebbe natan 31b 30 rig veda 6:48:17 31 yajur veda 5:43 32 charak sanhita in ibe, julian c. 2017. 77. ibe, julian chukwuemeka & anthony, adams kumbo 127 this cause and indeed, 363 of them died in the process. this is known as the khejrali massacre. buddhism the buddhist worldview is profoundly ecological. buddhism is an ecological religion. it profoundly expresses human identification with nature. buddhists believe that all things, including humans, exist through their interrelationship with all other parts of nature, and for one to think of one's self as isolated from the rest of nature is be unrealistic. josé kalapura states: the buddha taught that respect for life and the natural world is essential. by living simply one can be in harmony with other creatures and learn to appreciate the interconnectedness of all lives. the simplicity of life involves developing openness to our environment and relating to the world with awareness and responsive perception. it also enables us to enjoy without possessing, and mutually benefit each other without manipulation.33 the need for ecotheology brunner et al propose an ecotheology in their work introducing evangelical ecotheology: foundations in scripture, theology, history and praxis. having traced christianity’s history with creation, they discuss the birth of contemporary christian ecotheology. they then discuss the relationship between trinity and ecology trying to bridge the gap between god’s transcendence and god’s immanence quoting landgon gilkey who says ‚god transcends the world as distinct from it, and yet god is immanent within the world as the source of its being, as the principle of its life and order, and as the ground of its hope for fulfillment‛.34 they also relate creation to the humanity of jesus in three ways: his unique relationship to the land seen in his used of nature in his parables and teachings, his fulfillment of the role of the hebrew prophet who fearlessly spoke against the dominant powers that oppressed the poor, and his cruciformity in which he took up servanthood thus subverting the tradition of domination.35 finally they discuss the theology of the spirit and creation in which they establish that the spirit infuses life into creation, giving it the ability to freely adapt and grow to its fulfilment.36 for brunner et al, doing ecotheology will involve, among others, developing an ecological mind-set, 33 kalapura, josé. science-religion dialogue & ecology: an asian perspective." in robert a. white, spiritual foundations of an ecologically sustainable society, journal of bahá’í studies 7.2, 1995. 47-74. 34 brunner, daniel l., butler, jennifer l. and swoboda, a.j. introducing evangelical ecotheology: foundations in scripture, theology, history and praxis, michigan: baker academic, 2014. 100. 35 ibid 105. 36 ibid 113. http://www.religioustolerance.org/buddhism.htm understanding ecotheology: towards an authentic dominion theology 128 cultivating awareness, resisting consumerism, conserving water, reducing waste, keeping a garden and greening the church in leadership, land and space, worship and mission. boff proposes an eco-spirituality which he describes as feeling, loving and thinking as earth. he recommends an ecological sustainable spirituality which will be the fruit of the new sensitivity that underlies the new cosmology. simplicity is one of the major qualities of this spirituality since it is the most human of all virtues. for him, simplicity will guarantee the sustainability of our planet. it will entail standing up to the consumerist and wasteful culture of the times and trying to be content with our basic needs.37 ecospirituality lives in faith, hope and love. in faith it makes us understand that our work of caring for creation is not disconnected from that of the creator. in hope it assures that despite the current challenges, a good future is possible. in love it enables us to identify better with the earth.38 denis edwards, in his 2006 ecology at the heart of faith, proposes a change of heart that leads to a new way of living on earth. at the center of his ecological theology is a connection between ecological commitment and jesus of nazareth.39 according to him, bringing together commitment to jesus christ and commitment to creation is not a novelty in the christian tradition because it is rooted in deep incarnation. thus following jesus today naturally involves ecological commitment.40 similarly, joseph sittler suggests a theology for the earth. according to him, the most delicate task awaiting christian theology is to articulate a theology for nature that will do justice to every aspect of creation. such a theology must be built on the foundations of the incarnation and should not encourage the love of heaven in complete separation from the love of the earth.41 recommendations a. ecology based pedagogy: a catechesis built around the love for the environment is necessary in the catechetical formation of the faithful. this should begin from childhood to adulthood. the penny catechism should be revised to inculcate an elaborate teaching on the care of the environment. since the formation of an individual at infancy influences to a large extent the individual’s worldview, then it is necessary to shape the worldview of individuals to accommodate the concern for the 37 boff, leonardo. cry of the earth, cry of the poor, new york: orbis books, 1997. 199. 38 ibid 201. 39 edwards, dennis. tree of life: a theological reflection on laudato si. catholic earthcare australia, june 2016. 48. 40 ibid 64. 41 joseph sittler in berry, r.j. (ed.). environmental stewardship: critical perspectives – past and present, london: t&t clark, 2006. 55. ibe, julian chukwuemeka & anthony, adams kumbo 129 ecosystem beginning from childhood. children should be taught ‚to love god, your neighbor and your environment‛. ecological stewardship is the duty of all christians and training individuals for this purpose should be a major objective of our catechetical formation. b. concretizing eco-theology: there is a wide lacuna between speculative theology and practical christian living and this is very evident in the high percentage of catholics who are completely ignorant of the church’s teaching on the relationship between human beings and their environment. little wonder a parasitic attitude towards the planet and its resources is the general approach. concretizing eco-theology will entail presenting the church’s ecological doctrine in a more practicable manner to the faithful. a good starting point will be a presentation of the gospel in its creational context. the cosmic dimension of theology should be a major theme in christian theological formation. a sound theology of creation consolidated by the message of the incarnation that portends an eschatological dimension of the cosmic world is vital in creating ecological consciousness. c. ecology-themed homilies: the liturgy of the word is an indispensable part of the eucharistic celebration. one essential part of this liturgy is the homily. it should be the goal of homilists to consciously awaken a sense of ecological devotion in the hearts of the faithful through the preaching of eco-themed homilies. while the relationship between god and human beings is the focus of homiletics, homilists must promote a relationship that interweaves love between god, human beings and the rest of creation. cosmic solidarity should be a major objective of our kerygma. d. enhancing eco-spirituality: encouraging an eco-spirituality among the faithful is one new challenge facing the church today. spirituality goes beyond religiosity which is merely the outward expression of religious devotion. there is an intimate connection between love and holiness. a spirituality oriented towards the ecosystem must be instigated in the hearts of the faithful. for this to succeed, an unbreakable link between holiness and the love of nature must be highlighted in christian life. e. parish and diocesan ecological projects: dioceses and parishes should undertake ecological projects. these can come in the form of tree planting, waste management and environmental sanitation. tree planting should be a major project for every parish to create a healthy environment for respiration. waste management and recycling can be diocesan projects. f. sacramental ecology: the sacraments are avenues through which the gospel of nature can be propagated. two very important sacraments in this regard are the eucharist and penance. because of the union between the incarnation and ecology, the eucharist has an unbreakable relation with the environment. the faithful must see how devotion to the body of christ provokes devotion to the nature which he came to perfect. in understanding ecotheology: towards an authentic dominion theology 130 march 2008, the vatican published in l’osservatore romano, an update on the list of deadly sins to which they added the destruction of the environment. the sacrament of penance should be an avenue through which people should come to realize the mortal harm of environmental degradation and find respite from their transgressions. g. ecological inculturation: adopting and adapting certain practices from african cultures will go a long way in enhancing a practical application of the love for the environment. the church in nigeria should identify those traditional ecological practices that do not contravene the gospel message and find a way to integrate them into the church’s life. one of such practices is the observance of certain festivals that promote an ecological culture. these festivals can be stripped of their fetish elements and adopted into the catholic calendar. in this way, the church can celebrate festivals that appreciate the gift of nature. h. ecumenical collaboration and ecological dialogue: from the ecumenical perspectives seen earlier, it is evident that the issue of ecological preservation is not alien to other ecclesial communities and world religions. it is therefore incumbent on the church to seek ways of fostering collaboration with other ecclesial communities and religions with a view to saving our common home. as we seek meeting points for dialogue and ecumenism, the preservation of our natural habitat should be a good starting point, since the effects of ecological misbalances are felt by all irrespective of denominational or religious orientation. conclusion this work is aimed at engendering an integral ecotheology. this is because the idea of human beings as conquerors and lords of the earth may have been exaggerated and this has led to many abuses. the origin of the ecological crisis can be trace to the wrong attitude of human beings towards nature. this attitude calls for a redefinition of the concept of development based on ethical ecological guidelines. any form of development that will create greater harm for the future than good for the present, is merely ephemeral and inimical to the overall progress of the biological community. such a development should be aborted before its effects become irreversible. the task of christian theology is to generate in human hearts, through the study of god’s dictates, a profound love for the creator and the world he has created and loves. human beings must realize that, as fellow creatures of god, they are part of a cosmic family. in this family, the interdependence of members is the key to the survival of the whole family. how to engender this sense of love and responsibility towards the created world is the goal of ecotheology. ibe, julian chukwuemeka & anthony, adams kumbo 131 bibliography alangaram, a. ‚ecological concerns in christian traditions‛, in asian horizons berry, r.j. (ed.). environmental stewardship: critical perspectives – past and present, london: t&t clark, 2006. boff, leonardo. cry of the earth, cry of the poor, new york: orbis books, 1997. bugg c. ‚stewardship‛ in holman bible dictionary. tennessee: holman. 2001. brunner, daniel l., butler, jennifer l. and swoboda, a.j. introducing evangelical ecotheology: foundations in scripture, theology, history and praxis, michigan: baker academic, 2014. cengage, gale. ‚ecotheology‛. encyclopedia of science and religion. accessed november 23, 2022. chryssavgis, j. on earth as in heaven: ecological vision and initiatives of ecumenical patriarch bartholomew, new york: fordham university press, 2012. ‚ecotheology‛. accessed january 10, 2023. en.m.wiktionary.org. edwards, dennis. tree of life: a theological reflection on laudato si. catholic earthcare australia, june 2016. fern, r. l. nature, god and humanity: envisioning an ethics of nature, new york: cambridge university press, 2002 francis, pope. encyclical letter, laudato si: on the care of our common home, roma: libreria editrice vaticana, 2015. gade, m. anna. ‚muslim environmentalism as religious practice: accounts of the unseen‛, columbia university press, 2019. hefner, p. ‚biocultural evolution and the created co-creator‛, in t peters, (ed.) science and theology: the new consonance, new york: oxford, 1998. hoel, nina. transforming feminisms: religion, women and ecology, journal for the study of religion, 2011 ibe, julian c. the church and ecological concerns in the light of laudato si’ 211: a study in zaria diocese, nigeria, a master’s thesis presented to the university of calabar nigeria, june 2017. john paul ii. encyclical letter, evangelium vitae, nairobi: paulines publication, 1995. john paul ii, encyclical letter, fides et ratio, vatican city. 1998 john paul ii. encyclical letter, redemptor hominis, on redemption and dignity of human race, roma: libreria editrice vaticana, 1979. john paul ii. encyclical letter, solicitudo rei socialis, on social concerns, roma: libreria editrice vaticana, 1987. johnston, l. david. ‚intra-muslim debates on ecology: is shari’a still relevant? accessed january 10, 2023. www.jstor.org. kalapura josé. science-religion dialogue & ecology: an asian perspective." in robert a. white, spiritual foundations of an ecologically sustainable society, journal of bahá’í studies 7.2 (1995), pp. 47-74. moltmann, j. god in creation: an ecological doctrine of creation, london: scm press, 1985. murad, m. munjed. ‚inner and outer nature: an islamic perspective on the environmental crisis‛ islam and science. accessed january 11, 2023. www.academia.edu. oso, f. a. ‚ecology and social teaching of the church‛ in ijezie i. e. (ed.) theology and ecological issue, port harcourt: cathan publications. sayem, md. abu. ‚seyyed hossein nasr’s works on environmental issues: a survey‛, slamic studies, 2019. watling, tony. ecological imaginations in the world religions: an ethnographic analysis, london and new york: continuum international publishers, 2009. westermann, c. genesis: a practical commentary. text and interpretation, new york: t&t clark, 2004. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya theological ground for relationship between the church and the state: taraba experience karbon philip benjamin, phd department of christian religious studies, taraba state university, jalingo karbon01@yahoo.com & emmanuel ezekiel department of christian religious studies, taraba state university, jalingo karbon01@yahoo.com & condence james dang department of christian religious studies, taraba state university, jalingo karbon01@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.31621.83688 abstract the church had been an old institution that sharpened the behavours of its members in society. the state has also been an old institution that sharpens the behavours of its members in society, the church is controlled by divine power while the state is controlled by human authority. the study critically examined “the theological ground for the relationship between the church and the state: taraba experience” which has generated some debates among scholars over the years giving rise to different theological perspectives. the researcher employed a descriptive survey for data collection in the course of this work. the researcher has discovered that the church cannot adequately inuence the state without involving in state affairs. it is only when the church has stepped out of her “comfort zone” to begin to interact with the state that she can create a positive impact in society. therefore, this paper suggested that the church must take her original mandate given by god which involves dominion over the earth seriously and she must caution the government to discharge her civil responsibilities with the consciousness that it is a divine appointment from god. furthermore, the church should intensify its efforts in the area of interacting with the state to inuence her positively. keywords: church, state, relationship, theology, experience introduction the interconnections between the government and the church occupy a distinctive niche in the development of value orientations in any country. the church and state are two different institutions that relate at different levels in the same society. whereas the church functions as a sacred/ecclesiastical institutional body, the state functions as a secular institution. generally speaking, the theological ground for the relationship between the church and the state is a complex, multifaceted concept that has evolved throughout history. various theological perspectives and interpretations have been proposed by many scholars which has resulted in different understandings of the concept. the lord who created the church and the state has an agenda for their functionality in the world. therefore, there is a need for each part to carry its required god's given obligation. for proper representation of this divine agenda, there is a 64 common ground for them which will help in actualizing this purpose. the researcher will explore this ground using theological perspectives to widen his scope. this approach is not in any way an end to itself but rather the means to aid this academic paper to stand the taste of time. it can also enhance the knowledge of the researcher in this eld of discipline. the concept of the church, state, relationship and theology church: the word church as is known in english, the german and dutch words kirche and kirk respectively are all derived from the greek word kuriakon. according to umazi (2010), "the idea of kuriakon was used to represent the structure which shielded the early christians". this term has a link with ekklesia which portrays the idea of the gathering of people over and above just a building. jay (1977) has a different approach to this drawing from pauline theology of ekklesia in most of his epistle as he asserted that, "the gathering of christians in a particular place such as a house; it refers to all the christians in a particular locality; it refers to all the christians in a particular city or cities; and it also refers to the whole body of believers". therefore, the church is the community of people who are called out by god to profess their faith in him and to worship him as believers in jesus christ. this community of people also edies each other as they come together to worship god. theology: the word theology according to the english fast dictionary is “simply put, the study of the nature of god and religious belief”. the word “theology” comes from two greek words that combined mean “the study of god.” https://www.gotquestions.org. theology comes from the word theos, greek word for “god,” and –logy, which is from greek word logos, meaning “word.” in its literal form, the term theology means “words of god.” webster's dictionary denes theology as “the science of god or religion, the science which treats of the existence, character, and attributes of god, his laws and government, the doctrines we are to believe, and the duties we are to practice… the science of christian faith and life.” this may suggest that theology is the study of who god is and his relationship with his creation. relationship: merriam-webster dened relationship as, “a state of affairs existing between those having relations or dealings”. https://www.merriam-webster.com>... this state of connection deals with levels of interaction that exist between two different groups of people or more. state: there is no one general acceptable denition of state however, “one widely used denition comes from the sociologist max weber who dened a state as a compulsory political organization with a centralized government that maintains a monopoly of the legitimate use of force within a certain territory.” (https://study.com>learn>lesson) state according to scheidel is: a centralized institutions that impose rules, and backs them up by force, a territorially circumscribed population; a distinction between the rulers and the ruled; and an element of autonomy, stability, and differentiation. sometimes, the state and government are often used as synonyms in common conversation and even academic discourse. theological ground for the relationship between the church and the state when we are talking about the theological ground for the relationship between church and state, we are talking about the level of their interaction. in other words, to what extent does the church inuence the state? therefore, we must establish this biblical concept from the onset. the concept of the "power of the sword and that of the keys" was given to the government and church respectively by god. according to leeman (2020), "god has given the power of the sword to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 65 governments and the power of the keys to churches, and he intends for them to work separately but cooperatively toward the greater end of worship". therefore, we can see from god's original intention that both the church and state are made to serve god. they are instruments intended by god for the realization of his purpose on earth. the church and state interact on the following grounds theologically: 1. the church is the conscience of the state. it has been established from our discussion that power, social or political put together all originated from god. god is the main source of both the church and state hence; he determines their functionality for a better society. the same god that owns and sustains the church is equally god of the society. this implies that once a state is viewed as demonic god-free zone, is a distorted idea. in the words of howard crosby, he said: "to let politics become a cesspool and therefore avoid it is a double crime." https://www.whatshouldireadnext.com. in one of jesus' teachings in the sermon on the mount, he told his disciples "you are the salt of the earth... you are the light of the world". what this means is that christians are to make life juicy as they interact with the people of the society. dike (2015), rightly puts it this way, "light and darkness when used as a moral category, help us to determine what is right and what is wrong." this will create an atmosphere that gives birth to a better society. the church should not only talk about the ills of the state but it should insist that measures are also taken to address evils going on in the state. when the government that is meant to address some societal challenges using the available resources within her reach is not doing the needful, it is the responsibility of the church to call her to order. the church must not remain silent over critical issues that affect the well-being of people in society. she must defend people's rights to enable them to fulll their purpose on earth. 2. church and state benet from each other. it is the goal of every well-meaning government to create policies that will improve the well-being of its citizens. these citizens include the church and by extension its members. the church in her effort to contribute and support the building of new life in the society strife for enhancement of both spiritual and material welfare of people as she reaches out to them. dike (2015), postulated that "the church organization and the functioning of its institutions have beneted from support by the state, which has shown a broad understanding of the needs and religious aspirations of its believers". there are instances where some natural disasters would affect the church and the government would have to provide succor through the distribution of relief materials to the victims. the church on her part is not relenting in her efforts in promoting good morals in the state. she does that by preaching and teaching sound biblical principles that promote such acts of discipline in society. leeman (2020), maintained that, in short, governments serve to protect this present age of creation, while churches serve to present and proclaim the age of new creation. and god intends for the institutions of both ages to serve one another, at least until he returns, concludes this present age, and ushers in the fullness of the age to come. at that time, the institutions of this present age will pass away or at least be transformed beyond imagination (see matt. 17:24-27; 22:30). for now, however, the state exists to provide a platform for the church's work of redemption, while the righteousness and justice of the church serve as a prophetic witness for the state. insofar as christians act righteously in either place, they offer non-christians a model for how they, too, should act in life and government. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 66 the interaction between the church and the state aims at redemption where the church is called to act right and just in all ramications of life to provide an opportunity for the state to emulate her just life. the church in taraba state benets from the state coffers as she sponsors people for yearly pilgrimage to the holy land. this exercise has some spiritual as well as socio-economic benets in the lives of pilgrimages. ngbea (2017), opined that “apart from the spiritual benets of the exercise, how pilgrimages are conducted in nigeria leaves ample room to look beyond the spiritual benets. pilgrimage in nigeria enhances the pilgrim's socio-economic and religious standing in the society”. 3. the church and state almost suffer the same calamity. whatever harm that will befall the state, the church may have her share because they live together in the same society. the book of job 9:22 tells us more on this point. when disaster comes upon a nation its effect cuts across people from all works of life. the current economic situation of our nation illustrates this point better. what we are passing through now in this country has no selection for a great and small, innocent and evil. everyone virtually has his share portion of the hardship at various degrees. therefore, the church must be committed to her ministry to people as she must be actively involved in state affairs since the same fate happens to them all. there are instances in taraba state where disasters like wind storms, oods, war, etc ravaged the community. the government as well as the church do visit the affected community with some relief materials to provide succor to the victims of the disaster. this act of benevolence demonstrated by both institutions makes them outstanding. 4. all citizens are under the domain of the state. it is the responsibility of the state to maintain law and order in the society as supported by these scriptural verses (rom. 13:1-7; 1pet. 2:12-14; tit. 3:1). dike (2015), has this to say as he maintained that, "the state is related to the church in that she has responsibility from god to protect the lives and general welfare of all her citizens (believers and unbelievers)". the church exists in the society and it is therefore expected of her to have the understanding of the realities of happening in the society. calvin (2017) posited that "unlike most of his contemporaries, furthermore, calvin included among the proper responsibilities of states not only the maintenance of public order but also a positive concern for the general welfare of society". in other words, the state is duty-bound to the general welfare of society to ensure its survival. the church is subject to the legislation of the state irrespective of its outcome. even though the church is not involved in the process of formation of the law of the nation, yet is binding on her to comply with it because it is a biblical injunction as stated in the bible passages above. 5. both the church and state are institutions ordained by god. some christian fundamentalists are not comfortable with this assertion reason being that to them secular throne is not sacred but corrupt. therefore, god cannot establish every throne. these groups of persons are beclouded with the misconception that separates between the secular and divine. god's supremacy as we read in rom. 13:1-7, and 1pet. 2:13-14 has proved that god institutes every government in the society for his glory. “calvin (2017), posited that any form of government could discharge a measure of its divinely-appointed duty". there has never been and will never be any affair of men that is not under god's control which governing authority is not an igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 67 exception. it is god who has the power to enthrone or dethrone governing authority when he deems it t. civil government is charged with the responsibility of being a channel of god's paternal care just as the earthly parents protect and nurture the growth of their children. this is the denition of true religion (vera religio) as contained in god's law. it includes the authority to ban idolatry, blasphemy, and slanders against the truth. to be fair, calvin expects that a proper reection of god's paternal care would require the civil authorities to execute righteous judgment protect the vulnerable from the oppressor, and defend the poor and needy. defend the poor and fatherless; do justice to the aficted and needy. deliver the poor and needy; rid them out of the hand of the wicked (psalm 82:3,4; inst. 4.20.9). some thoughts and the perceptions of the church about the state recently, there have been different schools of thought about the church involving itself in state affairs. scholars are divided over this issue hence; they hold different views over it. this question of whether the church should be involved in politics or shun it and focus on its primary calling of soulwinning remains a debatable question in the history of christianity. sometimes to stress the question further, what is the position of individual christians regarding participation in politics should individual members be encouraged to do so or not? in an attempt to address these questions above, we will look at different theological perspectives about the relationship between the church and the state which include the separation between the church and state, 'establishmentarianism' or 'state religion' renunciation theory, and religious pluralism. separation between the church and state. this concept emphasizes that the church is viewed as a sacred institution that is supposed to take care of issues that concern spirituality. when we look at this concept of the church closely, we will be able to see the picture of the church whose primary concern is to concentrate only on spiritual affairs. this perspective advocates for a clear separation between the church and the state emphasizing their distinct roles and functions in the society. the argument here is each institution should operate independently without interference from the other. none should have control over the other. according to kosomo (2013), by dening the state purely as a “hangman” charged with establishing worldly peace through punishment of crime and considering the church as primarily concerned with spiritual matters unrelated to politics, luther effectively sundered the secular authority from the ecclesiastical and placed the church under the governance of the state. this is to say that the church as an ecclesiastical body should concern herself only with issues that border most on spirituality, and give no attention to political matters. the church is the body of christ and his representative here on earth. she is ordained by god to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth (matt. 5:13-16). therefore, she should strive to inuence the state not to be involved in her affairs. this is what is referred to as the doctrine of separation and ngbea (2017), posited that "the doctrine of the separation of the church and the state has undergone, and is undergoing constant modication". historically, in the western world discussion about the church and the state is the kind that has to do with the relationship between the formal institutions and leadership of the church and ofcials of the government. ngbea (2017), asserted that: this dualistic view of religion and politics began with the jewish nation that was forced to submit to a succession of conquerors, nevertheless, retaining its independent religious identity, separating spirituality from worldly matters. christianity growing out of judaism preserved this distinction. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 68 the judeo-christian tradition has always involved some separation of sacred and secular authorities. this kind of perception is widespread among christians even among the 21st century christians. the narrative has not yet changed and some christians still argue that the church should stay clear of politics. dike (2015), maintained that "some scholars feel that the church and state are independent societies that should not identify with each other. this is because one is evil and the other is righteous". this kind of assertion has created a dichotomy that exists between the church and the state. this is an age-long phenomenon that has affected the relationship between the two institutions. kore (2006) postulated that this is the "attitude of isolation or withdrawal." people who wear this kind of lens always perceive that no any serious-minded christian should be involved in the affairs of the state especially politics which is termed a dirty game. kudadjie (2002), opined that “politics in west african society has often come to be described as a place for people with questionable character. people associate politics with evil, saying no good person will accept to go into politics: if such do, they will turn bad.” in fact, they further asserted that for a christian to maintain his spirituality he should not be involved in politics. consequently, dike (2015), posited "they maintain that if the church is to entangle with the affairs of the state, it will lose its mandate to evangelize, it will have less time and resources for its chief task". they used a portion of scripture in john'' gospel to support their position. "then jesus answered, i am not an earthly king...". on another occasion when jesus was responding to the pharisees about whether "if it is lawful to give tribute to caesar or not" (matt. 22:17), he gave them precise answer: give to caesar that which is to caesar and to god that which belong to god (matt. 22:21, mark 12:17, luke 20:25). there are two basic ideas from jesus' response here even though, he was living in a theocratic society. first, he recognized the authority of the roman empire whose symbol was the coin on which the emperor's name and image were impressed. secondly, there is no contradiction between religious duties and the civil duties of christians. according to bouwsma (2023), "john calvin and those following him tried to draw a line between the so-called 'political' and 'spiritual' realms. the trouble with this is, our politics depend upon religious commitments and our religious commitments are never politically indifferent but yield political demands". this has brought misconceptions that the church is battling with up till today. it has failed to take into consideration the sovereignty of god. there is no sphere of life that god has no power over it. abraham kyper holds this view that "jesus is king over all the earth over every square inch". therefore, both the church and state are under god's control. he decides how both of them are run for the benet of his people. the 'establishmentarianism' or 'state religion'. this perspective proposed that both the church and state be unied under a single authoritythe authority of christianity. it was based on the idea that both the religious and secular realms were under the sovereign rule of god and that the church should have a signicant inuence in matters of governance. the church as an institution existing in the society must understand the needs of the society in which she lives to be able to interact with her properly. majawa (2023), posited that "the church-state phenomenon is clouded by many conceptions and misconceptions resulting into conict relationship between the two". the church and state exist separately yet, they overlap to full god's mandate over his creation. god's intention for creating both is that they should all function for the benet of one another and his glory. according to kasomo (2013): thomas aquinas dened the state as the author and executor of human law, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 69 whose charge is the punishment of vice and encouragement of virtue. the church, he held, is the interpreter of divine law through natural law of which human law is an interior part. hence, for aquinas, the church properly advises the state on many matters, especially those relating to moral legislation. in other words, the church serves as the moral conscience of the state. she always reminds the state of her moral values. the church must produce piety while the state on the other hand brings about external peace and prevents evil deeds; neither is sufcient in the world without the other. in the words of ngbea (2017), he captured it this way "christian political life is an aspect of our singled-hearted life-walk before god... all political action is religion. all political activity is an expression of the faith". the political power falls within the sovereignty and providence of god, and hence christians should serve god in the political sphere and christian community. this makes christian life meaningful and impactful. james (1962) opined that "the christian can never escape the tension caused by his dual allegiance. he is a citizen of this world which, though fallen and sinful, was created by god for the realization of his purpose". there are no two ways about this, that the christian faith is a worldview, affecting all of life. in this sense, since christ is the king of all, everything should be brought under his lordship for absolute control. ngbea (2017), postulated that “the state provided the “sword” to discipline the sinful man while the church represented the perfect and eternal “city of god,” preserving the divine”. christianity under the reign of emperor constantine i became an ofcial state religion where the church fathers afrmed the duality of civil and religious authority as the “two swords” doctrine. ngbea (2017), asserted that “with the protestant reformation begun by martin luther in 1520, the medieval doctrine of two swords was replaced by the doctrine of the sovereign state. the church was subordinated to secular authority in worldly matters.” in some parts of the world, especially the united states, there is no wall that separates religion and politics. he ngbea (2017), further maintained that, “in britain, the anglican church is the ofcial state religion. italy's catholic church was closely linked to the christian democratic party, once the nation's dominant political party.” this kind of practice has made christianity a state religion. the renunciation theory this theory advocates for an abandonment of the pursuit of material comforts in the interest of achieving spiritual achievement. they believe that spirituality is measured by a total rejection of the things of the world. christians must renounce involvement in the things of this world. this concept is rooted in these biblical passages stated below: 1 john 2: 15 “love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. if any man loves the world, the love of the father is not in him.” another passage is found in james 1:27; and 4:4 respectively “religion that god our father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” “you adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward god? anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of god.” those who propounded this view adhere strictly to the notion that christians should distance themselves from the things of this world. to them the things of the world corrupt christians and make them god's enemy. pluralism. this perspective pluralism is the one that advocates for the church and state to coexist harmoniously as separate entities each tolerating the religious freedom of its citizens for the common good of the society. this view recognizes and respects the diversity of religious beliefs igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 70 within the society. luther (1523), held this position as he posited that, "we must divide all the children of adam into two classes, the rst belong to the kingdom of god, the second to the kingdom of the world. those belonging to the kingdom of god are all true believers in christ and are subject to christ and the gospel of the kingdom... ". the former look at the world as a place that is not made for them while the latter look at it as their place and therefore, they occupy it to dominate. this mindset places the children of the kingdom of the world on the advantageous side over the children of god as they occupy the economic sector, political sector, educational sector, etc. their approach to the world is solely to dominate and possess. the church must not operate as an island or an independent entity since it lives in the same society as the state. she must seek to inuence the state as she interacts with the state thereby providing a guide to her calling on the civil government to discharge her civil duty in a just manner. she is the community of light; therefore, she must shine this light in the dark world to lighten her path. there is no how the church can dominate without involving herself in the civil government if she must full her god's given mandate. challenges confronting churches in nigeria as it relates with the state nigeria is a religiously multi pluralistic state and this gives her a complex nature when we are talking about the theological grounds for the relationship between the church and the state. even though the nigerian state exists in this kind of environment yet, she has given priority to only two dominant religions – christianity and islam. the story is different from what is obtainable in most western european world. to this end, ngbea (2017), argued that “most western european countries, though more secular in many ways than united states, have not built walls between religion and politics.” in nigeria sometimes the issue of the relationship between the church and state is always greeted with some misconceptions that have to do with the wall that has separated the two on sacred and secular values. this wall of separation has caused some havoc in the relationship between these two institutions. recommendations the church must take her original mandate given by god which is dominating the earth seriously, and she must caution the government to discharge her civil responsibilities with the consciousness that it is a divine appointment. the church should intensify its efforts in the area of interacting with the state to create a positive impact. the church should cooperate with the state in promoting the welfare of the citizens and give moral support to the state, especially in areas where the dealings conform with god's standard as being x-rayed in the holy bible. the church should not compromise her standard of truthfulness in dealing with the state and frown at the state when she departs from such biblical standard. the church should be praying for the state, its people, and its government for a well-transformed society. since learning is a process that is without an end, the researcher, therefore, recommends that further research should be carried out on this topic to cover other areas that were not covered in this paper. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 71 conclusion the researchers discussed the theological ground for the relationship between the church and the state: taraba experience, the concept of the church, state, relationship, and theology, the theological ground for the relationship between church and state, some thoughts and perceptions of the church about the state, the establishmentarianism or state religion, the renunciation theory, and the challenges confronting churches in nigeria as it relates with the state. it is important to note that the theological grounding for the relationship between the church and the state continues to be a subject of debate, inuenced by cultural, political, and religious contexts. church and state are inseparable entities because they came from the same source god. god who made both of them has a common purpose for both. they need each other and they live for each other to fulll this purpose. the church is situated in the society to make it a conducive environment. they both interact together for the benet of each other. if the church understands her biblical mandate and strife hard to translate that mandate into concrete actions, it makes society a better place. when the church does that, she has succeeded in fullling her ministry here on earth. however, if the church and the state will work together faithfully as unto the lord, and lead people to the fear of god, and give to people what belongs to them here on earth, then the world will be heaven on earth. references bouwsma, william j., john calvin biography, beliefs, predestination, writings... https://www.britannica.com, accessed on july 6th, 2023. daniel, kasomo, (2013), international journal of applied sociology, http://article.sapub.org. dike, amos francis (2015), church, society & globalization: issues of concern, challenge publications, jos, plateau state. calvin, john, french theologian|britannica.comtraces de france, https://trecesdefrance.fr/2017/05/06. calvin, john, reformation, social theologykrisis & praxis, james, walter (1962), the christian in politics, oxford university press, oxford. jay, eric g. (1977), the church: its changing image through twenty centuries, spck, london. kore, dan (2006), truths for healthy churches, acts, jos. kudadjie, joshua n. (2002), religion morality and west african society, wesley printing press, accra. leeman, jonathan, the relationship of church and state, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org. accessed on june 2nd, 2020. luther, martin: a pure doctrine of faithjournal of lutheran ethics, https://learn.elca.org. majawa, clement, church and state relationship in africa, https://www.researchgate. net, accessed on june 2nd, 2023. ngbea, gabriel terwase (2017), constitutional misconception of secularism and implications for politics and religion in nigeria, kraft books limited, ibadan. umazi, solomon u., (2010), the church god approves: towards a clearer understanding of the nature and essence of the church, seddep publishers, nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 72 plato's theory of justice as a panacea to poor governance and corruption problems in modern nigerian society orji, chidi paul, ph.d. department of philosophy, university of agriculture and environmental sciences, umuagwo, imo state paul.orji@uaes.edu.ng, hipaulco@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.31621.83688 abstract nigeria is a nation with enormous potential. this potential has, however, been marred by numerous issues. due to dysfunctional leadership and widespread corruption, which are all signs of weak, underperforming, or non-performing governmental institutions, poor governance has become the norm in nigerian society. many of the advantages of democracy, including as good roads, piped water, rural electricity, and healthcare facilities, have yet to be enjoyed by many nigerians as a result of the poor performance of our leaders. what part does plato's theory of justice play in this research study's approach to the problem of governance and leadership? how to resolve the leadership crisis that is impairing good governance in nigeria currently seems to be the key issue. the battle for good governance in nigeria and plato's theory of justice will be covered in this essay using an explanatory and analytical approach. the study will examine how leadership and power are structured in contemporary nigerian politics. it will contend that the country's weak leadership has stymied its enormous political and economic potential. it would also assess plato's philosophy academically, as well as issues of class and the support for his conception of justice. in the end, it would show whether the idea is feasible in a developing nation like nigeria. keywords: plato, leadership, corruption, morality, justice introduction the country nigeria has suffered from a severe lack of capable, accountable leaders with moral character, vision, and integrity. it is simply depressing that nigeria, a nation endowed with natural resources and human capital, is now doomed to uncertainty, where extreme poverty, a high unemployment rate, unresolved assassinations, looting and wasteful spending of public funds, etc., all as a result of corruption, have become the norm. one continues to wonder why a country that has been in self-government for the past 63 years blames its institutional decline and structural problems. it should be clear that nigeria is only facing institutional issues. this has it's origins in the style of governance nigeria has experienced over the course of its sixty-three-year corporate history. as a result, it is frequently perceived that the country's leadership is made up of unethical individuals who use their positions for their own benet rather than the benet of the nation. despite how horrible things appeared to be, there is still hope. in order to do this, the nigerian leadership class must completely transform its mentality, and ethical standards must prevail. to do this, nigerians must adopt plato's theory of justice due to the fact that no matter how perfect or excellent the constitution or other mechanisms for ensuring accountability and preventing corruption in the nation may be, all will be for nothing unless nigeria's citizens and the ruling class demonstrate the political will toward abiding by and uphold them. the key contention of this essay igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 1 is that good leadership in nigerian politics can be attained through the use of plato's theory of justice. nigeria's poor governance and corruption problems: an overview how to deal with nigeria's issues of bad governance and corruption appears to be the most critical matter at the moment. due to inadequate leadership, nigeria's problems with corruption and poor governance have never been xed. since its independence in 1960, it has had the unfortunate experience of being led by corrupt and bad leaders. nigerians thought that embracing democratic rule would bring about a responsive and responsible political institution that would promote a government that is accountable and a government that would prevent corruption, but the opposite is true. this is because the military has been in power for twenty-four years now. given that corruption and poor leadership continue to be the most challenging issues in the nigerian leadership system, the primary objective of this study is to determine how these issues might be resolved. there are at least three major areas of leadership failure in nigeria, as described by oyebola. according to him, they consist of "lack of brave and bold leadership, lack of moral ingredients in leadership, and premature exposure to leadership" (oyebola, 1976:11). little is being done by nigeria as a nation to prepare the next generation in leadership skills. for our nation's survival, nobody wants to take a chance. a select few are being sought out in order to demand their rights. due to the inadequate leadership of our country, many nigerians have yet to benet from many of the benets of democracy, including good roads, piped water, rural electrication, and healthcare facilities. these things don't matter to our leaders at all. the leadership model is based on racial interests and individual wealth, according to osuji, which has resulted in the well-known absence of a common national goal (osuji, 2018:148). if our leaders had recognized that their top priority was to take care of the people, not enrich their overseas accounts and western mentors, millions of nigerians would not be starving to death now. unfortunately, all they care about is getting a master's degree and leaving the country, vying to see who can travel the most, and making preparations to take over an undeveloped state. as noted by (bolarinwa & osuji, 2022) the nigerian government's politics have a leadership problem. it was succinctly stated as follows by chinua achebe in his book "the trouble with nigeria": "the problem with nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership" (achebe, 1983). oyebola did not hold back when he declared in "blackman's dilemma" that "very poor leadership appears to be the blackman's greatest problem." oyebola (1976:13). there is nothing inherently wrong with the land, the climate, the water, the air, or anything else in nigeria, as stated by achebe, who further dened it as the leaders' failure to accept responsibility. the issue in nigeria is that its leaders are unable or unable to take on the demands of setting a strong personal example, one of the dening characteristics of effective leadership. however, the most important immediate concerns for the majority of nigerians continue to be the dire issues of daily existence. and how could such a pressing matter reach us without good administration and leadership? without a question, nigeria is gifted with an abundance of natural and human resources to solve its issues. the federal republic's problems can be solved and democratic governance strengthened by having a government that adheres to good governance principles and is, above all, answerable to the nigerian people. 2 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya in this country of ours, the leadership crisis has caused more harm than good. it is hectic; there are men shouting, people screaming, and kids sobbing. the most perplexing and horrible aspect of all is that nigeria already possesses everything needed to excel. who is capable of leading the nigerian people out of this prison? in their quest for shadows, our leaders have forgotten what true leadership is all about. we haven't really made a big contribution to how our government is organized or designed. as a result, nigeria is inexorably and gradually slipping towards mediocrity and inefciency. our leaders are now masters rather than subjects. ojukwu's warning that "those who aspire to lead must bear in mind the fact that they are servants and, as such, cannot ever be greater than the people, their masters" (okolo, 1985:23) is completely disregarded. plato's theory of justice the right arrangement of people and things within a society is what justice is all about. various viewpoints can be used to interpret the concept of justice. it also has comprehensive denitions. a few authors have dened justice as things like legitimacy, equity, and fairness. the superconclusion of thrasymachus, according to (gerasimos, 2006: 128), that justice is in the interests of the ruling party, will never be proven to be true; but, for the majority of cases, what is initially believed to be justice turns out to be in the interests of the stronger side, which is a worrisome enough conclusion. in accordance with omoregbe, justice entails treating all people fairly or as equals. but the fundamental equality of all men is the cornerstone of justice. ontological equality, not social equality or any other kind of equality is the type of equality at issue here. men are not created equal, as we all know. however, all men are equal ontologically (i.e., as humans), and this idea forms the cornerstone of any discussion of justice. plato's republic aims to present a denition of the "just state" among other things. plato explains how such a state would be run, who would rule it, how the children would be educated, and other details. he goes into great length, outlining concepts that the modern reader may occasionally nd foolish, trivial, or even immoral. in the open society and its enemies, sir karl popper contends that plato's ideal society is dictatorial, with little tolerance for variation and a perverse dedication to a spartan-like regimentation of social life. justice is therefore the possession and exercise of one's own rights. any form of surplus or decit is unfair. the platonic denition of justice seems plausible in this version. for instance, a thief is unjust because he desires to possess something that is not his. because he is ignoring his proper responsibility, a doctor who does not care about curing his patients' illnesses can be accused of being unjust. by taking away the victim's rightful possession, his life, a murderer commits an unfair act. generally speaking, unfair people either fail to recognize the virtues and obligations appropriate to their circumstances in life or treat someone worse than he deserves. similar to this, an unjust state is unable to fulll its obligations. these duties of the state, in plato's view, include creating the conditions that allow everyone to take care of their own needs for food, clothing, and shelter as well as their pursuit of the good. the idea plato held that everything in nature has a hierarchy and that nature is idealized as a huge harmony, a cosmic symphony, with each species and every individual performing a role, informs his view of justice. anarchy, which is the most unnatural and unfair order of circumstances, is viewed in this perspective as the greatest sin. therefore, the just state is hierarchical, just like in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 3 nature, with people being rated according to their abilities and categorically assigned to different social classes. there is a hierarchy within each person's soul as well; the spirited half is subordinate to the logical, which is subordinate to the appetitive. nevertheless, every one of them is essential. in order for a person's soul to be in harmony and not at odds with itself, reason should control that person, but appetites must also, to some measure, be paid attention to. a "moderate" and ordered condition of events is the inevitable outcome if every aspect of the soul performs its function effectively or appropriately. a well-ordered soul means that the virtuous person understands what justice is and acts in accordance with that understanding. he is aware of where he ts in the state, what his skills are, and how to use them. along with following reason's rules, he practices moderation in whatever he does. there are three main classes in plato's ideal society, which correspond to the three facets of the soul. the city is governed by the guardians, who are philosophers; it is protected by the auxiliaries, who are warriors; and its lowest class is made up of the producers (farmers, artisans, etc.). the same education, which starts with music and literature and nishes with gymnastics, is shared by the guardians and auxiliaries. for educational purposes, the arts are restricted; for instance, any poetry poems that attribute detestable deeds to the gods are prohibited from being taught. only poetry that feeds the students' developing qualities can be taught in the classroom. in a same vein, guardians are forbidden from learning musical genres that seem depressing, delicate, or feminine. this appears to leave only the dorian and phrygian modes. because they encourage bravery, restraint, and peaceful living, socrates nds them to be acceptable. socrates believes that some poetic meters and instruments, like the ute, are associated with vice and should be avoided in the ideal city-state. therefore, it is true that living in plato's ideal society would be similar to living in a totalitarian one. socrates proposes harsh legal regulations. one occupation is permitted per person, and it must be the one for which they are naturally most qualied. the line between the public and the private, it seems, is nonexistent. excess and vice of any type are highly prohibited, whereas only behavior that promotes temperate life is praised. because both extremes promote vice, neither wealth nor poverty are acceptable. for the typical liberal, plato's views on women and children might be even more terrifying. through socrates, he makes the case that the conventional family structure should be abandoned. men should get along well with women and produce kids so that nobody has overwhelming feelings for one lady in particular or knows who his children are. even mothers are not permitted to know the identities of their offspring. after birth, their babies are taken away from them, and as long as they have milk, they are given new babies to nurse. to the modern liberal democratic world, the platonic worldview is rather alien. our culture is dynamic, free, and occasionally chaotic; inexible hierarchies are hardly ever present. any idea that smacks of a caste system is categorically condemned. people are not valued based on their innate worth or their contribution to society. we don't believe in drawing parallels between nature and society, and we don't even consider the world to be harmonious in the best case scenario. although we admire order, we do not regard it as the highest ideal. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 4 instead of admiring those who are content with who they are or practice moderation, we idolize ambitious, driven individuals. in general, our culture lays minimal emphasis on a particular ideal and instead chooses to condemn behaviors that obstruct others from pursuing their pleasure. however, plato would view our ideal condition as debauched, chaotic, and unjust. class hierarchy is central to plato's theory of justice. plato attempts to utilize the example of the soul to describe his view of justice in society while attempting to explain his concept of justice. the three components of the soul with regard to plato are the rational (reason), the spiritual (higher emotions), and the appetitive (lower emotions). and the general harmony that the soul experiences when all of its components are working properly is the result of that justice in the soul. it means that each component must perform its function.as wolin (1960: 71) rightly noted: justice in the state was the ability of the three social classesruler, warning, and producerto carry out their respective roles of production, defense, and deliberation independently of one another. "one class, one duty; one man, one work" is how justice was dened. plato compared the three social classes to the component of the human soul. there was a social class for every soul. the dominating element in each person's soul would be recognized as their unique talent, and this element would be organized into coherent classes in a just society. the guardian class consisted of the rulers and troops. the comparison of justice in the soul to justice in society served as the starting point for this analysis. plato understood justice in society as the social harmony that emerges from each class in society carrying out its function properly under the control of the ruling class, which is to say that he came to this conclusion from the comparison. the governing class, the military, and the populace are the guardians, auxiliaries, and artisans, respectively, much as he divides the soul into these three categories. the role of the ruling class is to direct and rule the state as a whole and to maintain control over the other two classes. the artisans and the people have the responsibility of meeting the material and nancial demands of the state, while the auxiliaries have the responsibility of defending the state. each class should effectively play its part without interfering with the parts of other classes. in this way, the state will be just, just as the soul will be harmonious when each component of the soul is working properly. likewise, when each of these classes effectively does its duty, there will be peace and fairness in society. using the words of omoregbe (1991), the tasks of each class should be carried out effectively without interfering with those of other classes. justice will then be the harmony that results from each fullling its duty effectively and without interfering with the roles of other classes, and there will be justice in the state as a result. in this way, justice will exist in the state, just as it does in the soul, where justice is the harmony that arises from each of the three classes doing their respective roles in harmony. plato wants us to understand that a society advances when certain aspects of the soul are performing their duties correctly. plato foresaw the requirement for cooperation amongst the members of society when each individual fullls his or her social responsibility. working in a eld where one is psychologically t is necessary. when one does his obligation, he does so fairly and without interfering with others as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 5 they perform their own duties. this notion of justice is allegedly responsible for societal inequity. this is entirely accurate because not all men are created equal in society. this disparity can be seen in the areas of intelligence, diligence, and zeal. despite the fact that we are all unique, we should be aware that each of us has some potential that can be unlocked. from karl popper's perspective, who founded his denition of justice on a humanitarian meaning, it is clear what the issue with this concept of justice is. plato's political philosophy, according to karl popper, was not just pure totalitarianism but also anti-humanism. he further implied that plato's political agenda was not only morally similar to totalitarianism but also a form of it. the republic's portrayal of his perspective on justice was interpreted as being unfavorable. because he felt that the state is smart and has sound judgment, plato only used the phrase in the republic to refer to actions that are in the best interest of the state. the fundamental idea of justice is the upholding of strict class rules. he said that everyone should engage in the work that best suits their nature. according to madntyre (1971:34), thrasymachus himself claries the idea of justice, saying that he does not believe that "just" means "what is in the interest of the stronger," but rather that, historically speaking, rulers and ruling classes invented the idea and the standards of justice for their own purposes and that it is actually more protable to act in an unjust manner than in a just one. fortunately, plato truly focused on class opportunity since he believed that talent determines class; he said, "no individual is seen as born for a certain position; no post can be bought by a person from a privileged class. people are, however, given jobs based on their talents in an environment of equal opportunity. the fact that plato made an open remark about class opportunities is supported by this viewpoint. he is not against people. when you are a member of a class, carry out your vocation. in fact, if such a person is given the chance to change his situation, he can migrate to a different class. he advocated against letting someone join a group to which they were not appropriate. as a result, his idea of justice, which is based on a rigorous division of labor and class rule, is perceived as a class opportunity where participation is based on talent. plato's idea of fairness is good because it encourages involvement from all citizens, regardless of class. unity is crucial for achieving social growth, as taught by plato. it is a tool for fostering political progress and stability. his view of justice can lead to positive national growth. plato's types of justice contrary to aristotle, plato had never distinguished between other types of justice or provided any of his own, but from his ideas of justice, certain concepts can be taken to characterize his particular brand of justice. in accordance plato, fairness is a feature of human society. his justication for justice as a duty, a virtue, and a component of societal harmony will be separated into three parts: 1. justice is a class obligation. 2. justice is a virtue. 3. justice is social harmony. justice as a class obligation class rules-based duties create this kind of justice. the exact division of labor is what it is known as. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 6 based on plato, justice will exist once every member of each class fullls their obligations. he frequently is aware of his talent. everyone should behave in accordance with their innate abilities and proclivities, according to him. since everyone cannot be held to the same standard, each person must fulll his or her obligations in accordance with the class to which they belong. according to madntyre (1971: 36), the notion that one man is better suited to one task and that this kind of labor division is always the optimum form is not unquestionably erroneous. however, the notion that men are naturally divided up into individuals who are best suited for each of these functions is unquestionably false. duty is a feeling of obligation in class. it teaches people how to live morally upright lives. we must perform the tasks that we believe are worth our best efforts. only by doing this can we make a positive impact on society? justice as a class duty shows that justice is possible if we merely carry out our societal duties. by forgoing what we should be doing for society, we must not act unjustly. as a result, attending class is a right action. it embodies a strong sense of patriotism. it seeks to clarify social ethics and engagement in a social setting. having to attend class will help prevent societal corruption. the majority of people contribute to corruption in society by failing to do what is morally and legally required. there is no feeling of responsibility, discipline, or accountability in their services. as a result, if there is a lack of accountability, discipline, and a feeling of duty in society, there is no need to develop these traits. it follows that duty and obligation will be treated unfairly. his historical philosophy and republican doctrine are reected in this thought. one could argue that the principle of specialization is class obligation. (satine, 1973: 52) the workers who produce and the guardians, who are further divided into the soldiers and the rulers, or the philosopher king, if he is a single ruler, are the rst two classes. the guardians, in turn, are divided into the soldiers and the rulers, though not as sharply. the viewpoint mentioned above suggests that when one guy performs one thing that comes naturally to him, does it at the correct moment, and leaves the other things, all things are produced more abundantly, easily, and with higher quality. according to some, this deed brings justice to society. justice as virtue the knowledge of good is where the aspect of justice starts. a philosopher king, according to plato, is someone who possesses virtue because he is aware of what is right. he advocated knowledge as a virtue. a person is considered knowledgeable if they have upheld virtue-equating traits through their knowledge of the good. a moral person acts in a way that is consistent with his knowledge of the right and good. satine (1973:53) argued further that plato's master's teaching that virtue is knowledge served as the inspiration for the republic's core principles. the idea was strengthened and crystallized by his unsuccessful political career, which led to the establishment of the academy with the goal of instilling the spirit of real knowledge as a cornerstone of philosophic statecraft. however, the claim that knowledge is virtue, that there is an objective good to know, and that this good may actually be discovered by reasoned and logical investigation rather than through intuition, conjecture, or luck. plato, like socrates, proposed that virtue and knowledge are interchangeable based on what was stated above. plato really concurs with socrates in saying that happiness is the ultimate aim of man, and that the only path to it is virtue. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 7 without virtuous behavior, no type of enjoyment is possible. only virtuous men are supposedly happy. happiness seems to be a legitimate byproduct of living a moral life. plato argued that if the virtues are effective in carrying out what each component should, then we shall achieve justice. as omoregbe (1991:44) correctly notes, “a result, plato made each of the three elements of the soul suited for one of the four cardinal virtues of the greeks, with justice being the harmony that arises from each part performing its role as it should”. justice as social harmony a fair social experience is what we mean by "social harmony." social stability and peace are felt when there is social concord. it is rooted in social responsibility and doing duties correctly. it is a way for people to socially commit to doing their civic responsibility. in order for social harmony to arise from justice, there must rst be peace and social responsibility on the part of each individual to carry out their duty properly. everyone would participate in carrying out a socially necessary function, which would reduceif not entirely eliminatethe likelihood of becoming a free rider or a shirker, as wolin (1960:69) correctly noted. second, society was pictured as a cohesive, wellorganized whole that valued the contributions and abilities of each individual. plato, on the other hand, associated justice with peace in the spirit or community. as a result, harmony comes from its efciency. social harmony is essential for a society's development. through a sense of responsibility, tolerance, unity, respecting one another's diversity, integration, and love, we start to observe more societal peace. social harmony makes civilization more productive and prepared to handle current global changes. political change and instability are stopped by social peace. even while change is required, it is most desired for societal continuity. if there are no good intentions in ethical disagreements, we may have a serious problem with harmony. the struggle for power based on our ethnicity and in accordance with political party impulses and failing to perform one's duties can occasionally be a source of societal unrest if the mind is prejudiced or lacks social integration. political governments are anticipated to offer social services, jobs, a positive social atmosphere, manpower, and youth empowerment programs that will enable the youth to develop their creative output, which will in turn create an enabling climate where harmony is valued equally to justice. negation, a component of societal harmony and fairness, leads to political violence, which undermines such ideals. the middle eastern youth revolt, which affected tunisia, egypt, libya, syria, and other regions of asia, was a kind of political violence against the social dysfunction, social depression, economic depression, and lack of political action in those nations. even though societal harmony was on vacation, there is a call for justice that will go and bring it back. as wolin (1960:127) continued, "in what justice is: on the assumption that in each society the laws determine what justice in that society is; the method consists of an empirical investigation of the goals of the laws and the motives of legislation in each society, then generalizing from the results to what is common to the justice of all societies." plato's argument for justice on his defense of the ideal state, plato bases his defense of justice. according to plato, justice is the cornerstone of a perfect society. his human psychology served as the foundation for his ideal state analogy. his assessment of individual psychology makes sense in the context of human psychology. plato believed that a person is healthy if every aspect of their soul works in harmony and that a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 8 man is physically healthy if he is free from illness. the rational element and the appetitive element, two of the three divisions of the human soul, were used to deepen his research of human psychology. a perfect society would therefore consist of three classes: the king to govern it, the warrior to protect it, and all other residents to provide for basic needs like food and shelter. each of these categories thus represents a different way in which the particular soul is divided. the class system, or division of the classes, under which a philosopher's king reigns, is at the heart of plato's justication for justice. he must study math, geometry, astronomy, and other relevant sciences in addition to philosophy (dialectics). he needs to learn how to rule, be given the necessary training, and become the social ruler. plato concurred that acquiring the art of ruling was a prerequisite for becoming a ruler. he added that the verdict only applied to the select few who successfully completed the program. they must be given unrestricted authority. a monarch needs to have moral wisdom. knowing right from wrong will motivate him to act morally. despite this, wolin (1960:59) acknowledges that plato's idea of the ideal state stems from the idea that the philosopher has the knowledge, intelligence, and training necessary to serve as a leader. it was indicated by the numerous allusions to the immorality of the soul that philosophy was the only way to heaven. since the goal of ruling was to ensure everyone's general welfare, it required the same talents and credentials as any other task. the fundamental tenet of plato's reasoning is that the administrator, or philosopher king, who is in charge of society duties, is the one who will administer justice. in epistemic and ethical circumstances that are based on knowledge and morals, the philosopher king is required to advance justice. the idea is that the monarch must be aristocratic and repressive. plato's conception of morality for plato, social structures are the only context in which moral conceptions can be understood. the "good" in life is determined by one's place in life and how well they carry out their obligations in it. as a result, a social system that would be advantageous to everyone could emerge. plato came to the conclusion that the duty to be moral and to live a life consistent with those virtues was a prerequisite for happiness. however, these virtues could only be attained by a select few people who had the required knowledge and training and subsequently transmitted them to others in society. in a wise observation by hosper (1972: 179): all moral men are happy, which appears to be demonstrably incorrect, and all immoral men are miserable, which has some degree of plausibility, are two independent prepositions that are present in this sentence. plato was determined to demonstrate that allowing irrational desires to outweigh reason is a violation of what it is to be a human. he thought that immorality and unhappiness arose from the supremacy of the irrational. if this could be proved, it would be clear that morality is supported by human nature. it would be evident that morality has its own rewards whereas wrongdoers naturally suffer as a result of their immorality. the strongest case for morality may be made using this line of thinking. plato understood that the average man would always act in his own best benet rather than according to any external moral norm since he could not rationally justify his actions to himself or to others. according to plato, this was a perilous situation that resulted in moral anarchy. according to plato, morality must be grounded in reality and reconciled with self-interest; that is, it must be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 9 demonstrated to be in the best interests of the individual. however, plato felt that because of man's fundamental nature of reason, civilization must be constructed and lived according to the rules of reason. in accordance with plato, the ordinary man incorrectly associated his self-interest with the fullment of his irrational desires, whereas man's actual self-interest and fulllment of his true nature rested in the control of the irrational desires by reason. therefore, plato was determined to demonstrate that allowing irrational desires to rule reason is a violation of what it is to be a man. he thought that immorality and unhappiness arose from the supremacy of the irrational. if this could be proved, it would be clear that morality is supported by human nature. this would be unquestionable that morality has its own reward and that wrongdoers unavoidably suffer as a result of their immorality. the strongest case for morality may be made using this line of thinking. plato's philosophy and poor governance with leadership problems in nigeria philosophy has been a source of inspiration and concepts for societal transformation since its beginnings in antiquity. this is true because philosophy, in an effort to solve social challenges, poses crucial inquiries about the nature of human experience and suggests logical answers. does the political system in contemporary nigerian society have a moral aw? does that come to mind when one considers the nation's political system? the laws that apply when they are observed dene anything's ethical component; an activity's overall perspective and end will be one of order and decency. such moral considerations are never brought up in the nigerian political system. indeed, nigeria's leadership crisis is so severe that one might be compelled to concur with wambutda (1991:16) that "nigeria is unquestionably in need of good leadership, for the constant change in the leadership in our history clearly testies that we are a people groping in the dark, searching and yearning for a more reliable form of governmentgovernment that is fair, just, and caring enough to evoke spontaneous patriotism from the people." according to ehusani (2002:210), leadership in many of today's communities in nigeria is a contamination of leadership abilities. instead of leadership, we have a disgraceful display of cowardly obedience and a falsication of bravery and valor. instead of good leadership, we have a cruel example of material haughtiness and a repulsive reminder of group exploitation. in his well-known classic, the republic, plato described a perfect polity. in this idea of his ideal state, plato made an effort to lay forth the fundamental principles for the construction and maintenance of a strong and virile state founded on fairness. according to plato, justice is attained when each component of a system operates effectively without interfering with the activities of other components. this is what is now known as the subsidiarity of responsibility principle, which john locke later expanded upon as the idea and theory of the division of powers. his ideal society, or utopia, consists of three classes that are equivalent to the three facets of the soul. they are the guardians (the prudent component), the artisans (the competitive component), and the warriors (the fearless component). plato (1955:89-90) argues that transparency, equity, and honesty, as well as a level head, a sound intellect, a lover of the truth, and forthrightness, are necessary components of efcient administration in order to make society happy. for plato, being a leader meant having a clear head, a composed attitude, and exemplary moral integrity. if he igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 10 were unencumbered by sentimental ties and material concerns, he would be charitable and smart. good people will not consent to rule in exchange for rewards like money or honors since the state exists to serve the highest and noblest goals. they don't want to be associated with mercenaries or criminals because they want remuneration in cash for performing ofcial tasks; they won't work for honors because they aren't ambitious; and the harshest punishment for refusing is being subordinated to someone worse than themselves. i believe that intimidates honorable guys into accepting power, and they don't approach it as if it were something they would wish to have. according to bassey (2007: 16): a state is deemed developed when there is efcient production, protection, and government. a decent society is a byproduct of a developed state, which is a good state. nigeria's lack of progress is due to ineffective leadership. production, protection, or sound governing principles cannot speed up development. nigeria occasionally has specic goals for its economic and political development. they also occasionally have policies that are both well-articulated and operationalized. it is rare to nd anything that can be categorized as a plan, though. according to taylor (2010), plato places a greater focus on the qualities of state leaders since they were adored and respected in ancient civilizations for their capacity to atter people and satisfy their most basic desires and instincts rather than for their knowledge and virtue. the nigerian society exists to encourage moral virtue in both the national leadership and the public in order to create social order, unity, growth, and development. nigerian leaders must win the people's consent without using force in accordance with the democratic system of government in place there. as stated by morrow (1988:7), a democracy is "a system of government in which the rights of the minority are protected but the rights of the majority are maintained." a state is deemed to be developed when there is efcient government, protection, and production. a decent society is a byproduct of a good state, which is a developed nation. a lack of effective leadership is to blame for nigeria's underdevelopment and dysfunctional government. production, safeguards, or ethical controlling principles cannot speed up development. for its socioeconomic and political development, nigeria occasionally has denite goals. additionally, they occasionally have policies that are clearly specied and operationalized. however, it is difcult to locate anything that can be rightfully referred to as a plan (bassey, 2007). nigeria experienced a serious setback as a result of the political ignorance of our leaders. plato's philosophy should currently be incorporated into nigeria's political structure in order to make sense of the current leadership problems the country is experiencing. evaluation of poor governance and corruption problems in modern society as a consequence of bad leadership, issues with poor governance and corruption have never been xed. since gaining independence in 1960, it has had the unfortunate experience of being led by dishonest, illiterate, and unscrupulous ofcials. nigeria's reputation as a poor product has changed as a result of corruption. and just like a defective product, it would be quite challenging to persuade any potential customers to buy nigeria in its current dire condition. no number of catchy advertising slogans can make a bad product appealing, and the same is true of attempts to improve nigeria's negative reputation and turn it into a "great society.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 11 it is clear from our study of nigeria's poor governance and corruption so far that the country's problems extend beyond corruption to weak leadership caused by moral slackness. since 1960, with the full assistance of the political leadership class, corruption in nigeria has reached an unthinkable height and is now taking on a pandemic magnitude. since people without a history are like a tree without roots, it is obvious that as a nation we cannot move forward without taking a look back. it is undeniable that there has never been a time in nigerian history when exceptional leadership ourished. the country has suffered from a severe shortage of capable, accountable leaders who also possess integrity, vision, and high moral standards. it is simply depressing that nigeria, a nation endowed with natural resources and human capital, is currently surrounded by uncertainty, where extreme poverty, a high unemployment rate, unresolved murders, looting and waste of public funds, etc., all as a result of corruption, have become the norm. despite how dire things appeared to be, they can be xed. the nigerian leadership class needs to completely transform its mindset in order to do this. additionally, there needs to be an exceptionally high standard of conduct. to do this, nigerians must adopt plato's philosophy because, no matter how perfect or excellent the constitution or other tools for ensuring accountability and preventing corruption in the country may be, all will be for naught unless the people of nigeria and the leadership class demonstrate the political will to abide by and enforce them. conclusion that nigeria is going through a leadership crisis is unfortunate. the lack of moral standards among the leaders may be responsible for the high prevalence of corruption, greed, and the unbridled desire for material prosperity, luxury, and grandeur. it is horrifying and depressing that nigeria, a country with the human and material resources required for national development, is now doomed to uncertainty, where extreme poverty, a high unemployment rate, a declining educational standard, avoidable health crises, unresolved assassinations, insecurity, looting, wasteful spending of public funds, etc. are all commonplace due to poor leadership and corruption. the core cultural values of nigerian culture have not been adequately reected by contemporary leadership approaches and styles. it is essential to cultivate an honest, responsible, and transparent culture among nigerians. promote a culture where people may successfully invest and improve their quality of life through hard labor, as well as a tradition of selessness and patriotism in public service. nigerian ofcials ought to start again by getting rid of the old corruption habits that have hampered economic development. nigeria needs leaders that place their people's welfare above personal wealth. leaders in nigeria are needed that care more for the future of the youth of their nation than the positions they will hold in the future. we require leaders who take ownership of the future. leaders in our country must be more concerned with transforming society than with enhancing their own wealth. the right leaders must have the knowledge and experience in governing. nigeria needs compassionate leaders who will establish rst-rate institutions and draft legislation removing incentives for corruption. nigeria needs institutions that are solid and open to the public if it is to deliver efcient services and have sustained socioeconomic growth. it is a certainty that no country can have robust institutions without the benets of outstanding and exceptional leadership. therefore, the voters should select good and exceptional leaders through trustworthy democratic processes who will create and preserve strong institutions. to alter their social behavior, nigerians must learn the teachings of plato's theory of justice. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 12 references achebe, c. (1983). the trouble with nigeria. fourth dimension publishing co.ltd. adamolekun, l. (2002). public administration in africa: main issues and selected country studies (ed.).spectrum books. barbara, k. (2004). bad leadership: what it is, how it happens, why it matters: harvard business press. bassey o., & utre, e. (2007). “corruption and national development in nigeria: the way forward” in sophia: an african journal of philosophy. 1.2. ben, d. (2011). “nigerian theatre history and culture: issue, challenges and prospects for sustainable development.” in achiegboka, a, utoh-ezeajugh, t. & ogene, n. (eds) the humanities and sustainable development: nino rex charles & patrick ltd. bolarinwa, o.,& osuji, u. (2022). “political elitism in nigeria: challenges, threats and the future of citizenship” in open journal of philosophy, 12, 105-122, http://doi.org/10.4236/ojpp.2022.121007 ehusami, g. (2002). years eaten by locust. kraft books ltd. fayemi, a. (2008). a philosophical appraisal of leadership and development in nigeria. in t. edoh and t. wuam (eds.), leadership, accountability and development in postindependence africa (lapai), department of history and archeology, ibb university. gerasimos, s. (2006). the blackwell guide to plato's republic. blackwell ihejiamaizu, e. (1996). formal organizations: theory, structure and dynamics. clearlines publications. jacobs, t., & jacques, e. (1990). 'military executive leadership'. in gal, r.; manglesdorf, a. d. (editors): handbook of military psychology, john wiley & sons. jeb, b. (2012). people follow you: the real secret to what matters most in leadership. john wiley &sons incor. lewis, a. (2006). “corruption.” in wordweb. princeton university. ndubuisi, f. (2002). man and state. foresight press. okolo,c. (1985). philosophy and nigerian politics. pacic collage press. okpe, j. (2002). “rusty symbols of nationhood after 50 years” in lumen vol 4 no 4. omolayo, b. (2006). “leadership and citizenship development in nigeria in agagu. a. and omotoso . f. (eds) citizenship education and governmental process. general studies unit, university of ado-ekiti. omoregbe, j. (1989). ethics: a systematic and historical study. jaja educational research and publishers limited. osuji, u.(2018), “evolving authenticity: a logical inquest from tradocultural to social-political ideals” in scientia: plasu journal of general studies, 1, issues 1. oyebola,a. (1976). blackman's dilemma. board publications. plato . (1955).the republic. harmmondsworth, penguins. roger, g. (2012). theory and practice of leadership: sage publications. samuel, 0. (2010). leadership and good governance: the nigerian experience. taylor, i. (2002): “botswana's development state and the politics of legitimacy. retrieved from (www.shef.ac.uk/uni/academic.n-q/dev/papers/taylor/pdf) ________(2010). corruption and liberation: the experience of nigeria. de.caritas journal of management and social sciences 2(3). ujo, a. (2001). understanding public administration. kaduna anyaotu enterprises and publishers (nigeria). ltd. u k a e g b u , c . ( 2 0 1 0 ) . “ n i g e r i a ; b e y o n d g o o d g o v e r n a n c e a t 5 0 . igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 13 http://www.allafrica.com/stories/20100628063.html. uveges, j. a. (2003). the dimension of public administration: introductory readings. holbrook press. wambutda, d. (1991).leadership and biblical studies in african journal biblical studies.vol 1. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 14 microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 4 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 82 ọnọdụ ekerechi n’agụmagụ ederede igbo nkoli mercy nnyigide department of igbo, african and asian studies nnamdiazikiwe university, awka anambra state, nigeria nm.nnyigide@unizik.edu.ng ụmị ederede a na-eleba anya na nzipụta ekerechi n’agụmagụ igbo. e lee anya na gburugburu mmadụ taa, okwu a kpụ n’ọnụ bụ mmekpaahụ dị iche iche ekerechi na enye mmadụ dịka: iju, mbize nke na-ebute ụnwụ, ọnwụ mmadụ na nsogbu dị iche iche nye mmadụ. n’agbanyeghị na ndị odee na-ezipụta ekerechi n’agụmagụ igbo, ọkachasị n’abụ ederede igbo, nwanchọcha chọpụtara na ndị onyocha agụmagụ igbo kara nwe mmasị n’inyocha ihe ndị metụtara omenala, ndọrọndọrọ ọchịchị, ekpemekpe, jenda, dgz. nke a na-egosi na ha enwekebeghị mmasị n’inyocha ekerechi a na-ezipụta n’agụmagụ igbo. ọ bụ ọnọdụ a kpalitere ederede a nke na-enyocha ekerechi dị iche e zipụtara n’ọyọkọabụ mbụ e bipụtara n’igbo a na-akpọ akpa uche. ebumnobi ederede a bụ ịchọpụta ọnọdụ ekerechi n’agụmagụ igbo nakwa ịnyocha ekerehi dị iche iche e zipụtara n’ọyọkọabụ. a gbasoro usoro atụtụ ekokritisizim n’inyocha ụfọdụ ekerechi e zipụtara n’ọyọkọabụ a. site na nnyocha e mere, a chọpụtara na ndị odeabụ igbo naesite n’abụ zipụta nkamma ekerechi na uru dị iche iche ekerechi baara mmadụ. a naatụ anya na ederede a ga-enye aka kpọlite mmụọ ọtụtụ mmadụ ọkachasị ndị ọgụụ na ndị ọkammụta igbo n’ebe ekerechi dị. abstract this study examines the representation of natural phenomena in igbo literature. obviously, the impact of natural disasters like flood and erosion on human environment has been a topical issue among many scholars. these disasters have continued to threaten man in his environment. despite the representation of some natural phenomena in igbo literature, especially in igbo written poetry, the researcher observes that many igbo literary critic prefer to examine other issues represented in igbo literature like issues that border on culture, politics, religion, governance, gender, etc. it shows that they have little or no interest in some ecological issues depicted in igbo literature. it is against this backdrop that this study examines some natural phenomena represented in the first igbo anthology titled akpa uche. the paper x-rays and analyses some natural phenomena prominent in this anthology. it adopts the literary theory of ecocriticism in analyzing the selected poems. the study reveals that natural phenomena and ecological issues are well represented in igbo literature especially in igbo written poetry. therefore, the study stresses the need to raise human consciousness, particularly that of igbo scholars and students on the importance of appreciating, preserving and sustaining the ecosystem through igbo literature. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 83 ndubanye mmmekpaahụ ekerechi na-enye mmadụ na gburugburu ya bụzi okwu a kpụ n’ọnụ n’ebe dị iche taa. mmmekpaahụ na-abịa n’ụdị iju, mbize nke na-ewetara mmadụ nsogbu dị iche iche. ọ bụ ihe doro anya na ndị odee agụmagụ igbo naagbado ukwu n’isiokwu dị iche iche edepụta akwụkwọ ha. ụfọdụ na-ezipụta ihe na-eme n’ọhaobodo, omenala, usoro ọchịchị, ọnọdụ akụnaụba, ekpemekpe, nchekwa na ekerechi dị iche iche. ndị onyocha agụmagụ n’akụkụ nke ha naenyochakwa ka ha si zipụta ihe ndị a n’ọrụ agụmagụ ha. mana nwanchọcha chọpụtara na ndị onyocha agụmagụ kara nwe mmasị n’inyocha isiokwu dị iche iche a na-ezipụta n’agụmagụ igbo karịa n’ekerechi. ọ dịzi ka a ga-asị na ha enweghị mmasị n’ekerechi dị iche iche a na-ezipụta n’agụmagụ igbo, ọkachasị na ngalaba abụ igbo. ọ bụ ọnọdụ a kpalitere ederede a. ederede a gbadoro ụkwụ na ngalaba abụ ederede igbo. nwanchọcha chọpụtara na abụ na-ezipụta nkamma ekerechi. ọ bụ nke a mere ụfọdụ ndị ọkammụta n’agụmagụ ji asị na abụ bụ nkamma. akporobaro (2008) kwenyere na nke a ọ sị na igodo ọzọ e si abanye na ndịna abụ bụ site na nkamma. ihe mere abụ ji dị iche na ngalaba agụmagụ ndị ọzọiduuazị na ejije bụ na ọ na-eji nkaokwu na nkaasụsụ pụrụ iche arụ ọrụ. asụsụ abụ na-adị omimi. abụ naenyekwa ndị odeabụ ohere izipụta ikenkeedideabụ na nhọokwu abụ ha n’ụzọ dị ọgọ. n’ederede a, e nyochara ụfọdụ ekerechi e zipụtara n’akpa uche. nwanchọcha chọpụtara na ụfọdụ ndị odeabụ nyochara abụ ha sitere n’ọrụ ekereuche ha wee too, ekerechi, zipụtakwa nkamma ekerechi na uru dị iche ekerechi baara mmadụ. e bu n’uche na ederede a ga-enye aka kpalite mmetụta ndị ọgụụ na ndị onyocha n’ebe ekerechi dị iche iche e zipụtara n’agụmagụ igbo dị. mpụtara ekerechi n’ebe a, a ga-eleba anya na mpụtara ekerechi. dị ka e si chọpụta, ekerechi bụ ihe dị iche iche chukwu okike kere. ụfọdụ n’ime ha bụ ihe a na-ahụ anya. ụfọdụ bụkwa ihe ndị a naghị ahụ anya. ụfọdụ bụ ihe ndị nwere ndụ, na-ekume ebe ụfọdụ bụ ihe ndị enweghị ndụ, anaghị eku ume. ha gụnyere: anụmanụ, ahụhụ, osisi, mmiri ozizo, ala, ụgụrụ, ugwu, anyanwụ, ọnwa, egbe eligwe, ezu, ikuku, egwurugwu, dgz. n’usoro okike ụwa, dị ka e si zipụta ya n’akwụkwọ nsọ, a chọpụtara na e bu ụzọ kepụta ekerechi ndị a tupu e kee mmadụ. n’echiche nke ya, akụnne (2011) kọwara na ekerechi bụ ihe okike dị iche iche chineke kere n’elu ụwa. ọ gụnyere mmadụ, anụmanụ, osisi na ihe ndị ọzọ. mana o mere ka a mata na chineke kere mmadụ n’oyiyi ya. n’ihi nke a, o nyere mmadụ ọkwa dị elu karịa ekerechi ndị ọzọ ma tinyezie ekerechi ndị a dịka: osisi, mmiri, igwurube, anụmanụ, ahụhụ dị iche iche, dgz. n’okpuru igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 84 mmadụ. ebumnobi ya bụ ka mmadụ na-elekọta ha anya, ka ihe ndị a e kere eke n’akụkụ nke ha bakwaara mmadụ uru. n’ịga n’ihu, a chọpụtara na e kesịala ekerechi dị iche iche tupu e kee mmadụ . nke a na-egosi na ekerechi ndị a adịla n’ụwa tupu e kee mmadụ. mana ka e kesịrị mmadụ, chukwu okike tinyere ihe ekerechi niile n’aka mmadụ ka ọ naelekọta ha anya. nke a pụtara na chukwu okike nyere mmadụ ikike na ogo dị elu karịa ekerechi ndị ọzọ n’abụghị mmadụ. a chọpụtarakwara na ebumnobi pụtakarịsịrị ihe e ji kee ihe ndị a bụ ka ha na-arụrụ mmadụ ọrụ pụrụ iche, naenyere mmadụ aka ma na-egbokwara mmadụ mkpa n’ụzọ abụla ụzọ. ụfọdụ bụ ndị e kere ka mmadụ site na ha na-enweta ihe oriri dị ka osisi, anụmanụ, akwụkwọ nri, ụfọdụ ka e kere ka ha na-agwọ mmadụ ọrịa dị ka ahịhịa, osisi, dgz. akunne, ewuim, ngenegbo, ononye na abajue (2014) chọpụtara na ndụ mmadụ na-adị n’elu ụwa dabeere na mmekọrịta dị n’etiti ya na ekerechi ndị a. ụfọdụ ndị odeabụ igbo chọpụtara na ekerechi ndị a nwere ezi ọnọdụ na ndụ ọtụtụ ndị mmadụ. ọ bụ nke a mere na ọtụtụ n’ime ha na-agbado ụkwụ n’ekerechi dị iche iche wee na-edepụta abụ ha. ụfọdụ ndị odeabụ a sitere n’abụ ha too ekerechi ndị a, ụfọdụ zipụtara ọrụ pụrụ iche ha na-arụ nakwa nnukwu uru ha baara mmadụ. ọ bụ ọnọdụ a ekerechi nwere na ndụ ọtụtụ ndị odeabụ mere na a bịa n’agụmagụ ederede igbo ta a, ọkachasị n’abụ ederede, e nwere ụdị abụ ederede a na-akpọ abụ ekerechi maọbụ abụ ekere. na nkenụụdị abụ a, a na-ezipụtakarị ekerechi na ya. ya bụ na dị ka aha ya si dị, ọ bụ ekerechi bụ ihe gbasara ekerechi ka ana-akọwapụta na ya, ma bụrụkwa isi sekpụ ntị na ya. ụfọdụ ndị ọkammụta n’agụmagụ igbo nyere nkọwa dị iche gbasara abụ ekerechi. nwadike (1992:56) kọwara ya dị ka, “ụdị abụ na-enwe ntụle uche n’ebe ihe e kere eke dị iji gosi mmasị, mgbagwojuanya, ụjọ maọbụ mkpọrọmaasị”. ekwealor (2009:27) kwenyere n’echiche nwadike a n’ihi na nkọwa ya gbasara abụ ekerechi. ọ sị, “ụdị abụ a na-atụgharị uche n’ihe dị iche iche chineke kere dị ka anyanwụ, mmiri, ọnwa, kpakpando, ugwu, osisi, dgz. mgbe ụfọdụ odeabụ na-eto ihe ekere ndị a, mgbe ụfọdụ kwa ọ na-egosipụta etu ha siri bụrụ ihe mgbagwojuanya”. nkọwa ndị ọkammụta a dabachara nke ọma n’ihi na a chọpụtara na ọtụtụ ndị odeabụ abụ na-ezipụta ekerechi dị iche iche n’abụ ha. a chọpụtakwara na chukwu okike ji ụfọdụ ekerechi ndị a eje ozi pụrụ iche. nke a bụ eziokwu n’ihi na ụfọdụ ndị odeabụ igbo kwenyere na chukwu okike ji ụfọdụ ekerechi ndị a arụ ọrụ pụrụ iche. okedịadị (2003), hụtara ekerechi a bụ mmiri ozizo ka ihe na-ejere chineke ozi. n’ịkwado okedịadị, nwadike (2004), kọwakwara na ekerechi a a na-akpọ egbe eligwe na-ejere chineke ozi pụrụ iche. site n’echiche ndị a, a ga-achọpụta na chukwu okike ji ekerechi ndị a eje ozi ụrụ iche. n’ezie, ọ bụrụ na mmadụ chemie echiche ime gbasara ekerechi ndị a, ọ ga-achọpụta na e kere ha ka ha na-arụrụ mmadụ ọrụ pụrụ iche iche, ma igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 85 na-egbokwara ya nnukwu mkpa. ọ ga-achọpụtakwa na uru ha baara mmadụ karịrị uche mmadụ nghọta. n’aka nke ọzọ, a chọpụtara na ọtụtụ ndị ọkammụta na ngalaba agbata mmadụ na-eme nchọcha ma na-edepụtakwa ederede dị iche iche gbasara mmekọrịta ekerechi, mmadụ na gburugburu ya. ha arụtụla aka n’ọrụ pụrụ iche ha naarụrụ mmadụ, uru dị iche iche ha baara mmadụ, mmekpaahụ mmadụ na-enye ha, nsogbu ekere ụwa dị iche iche nakwa ụzọ dị iche iche a ga-esi gbochie nsogbu ndị a. na mpaghara a, a ga-atụlegharị ụfọdụ ihe ha rụtụrụla aka. akunne (2011) lebara anya n’ọnọdụ na uru dị iche iche ahụhụ a na-akpọ aṅụ baara mmadụ. ọ chọpụtara na aṅụ baara mmadụ nnukwu uru. ha na-enye aka eme ka ifuru osisi mịa mkpụrụ. ọ kọwara na etu ha si eme nke a bụ ha ha na eburu ntụ ifuru osisi nwoke buga ya na ntụ ifuru osisi nwaanyị. site na mmekọ dị etu a, ka osisi si amị mkpụrụ ya. ọ chọpụtakwara na a na-esite n’aṅụ enweta mmanụ aṅụ nke so n’otu ihe kachasị enye mmadụ ego n’oge ugbu a. ọ kọwara na ọtụtụ mmadụ na-aṅụkwa mmanụ aṅụ n’ihi na ọ na-edozi ahụ na ụbụrụ mmadụ. nke a na-enyere mmadụ aka iji ụbụrụ ya na ọgụgụ isi ya wee na-echepụta ezigbo echiche. ọ chọpụtakwara na mfụ aṅụ na-agbanye mmadụ n’ahụ na-agwọ ọrịa dị iche iche n’ahụ mmadụ. ụfọdụ ndị ọkammụta achọpụtala uru dị iche iche osisi dị iche iche dị ka nkwụ, onugbu, mọrịnga, dgz baara mmadụ. odibo (2014) chọpụtara na a na-esite na mmanya nkwụ enweta ihe a na-akpọ yiisti, nke e ji emepụta ihe oriri dị iche iche dị ka achịcha, mmanya, dgz. osazue (2014) chọpụtakwara na akwụkwọ onugbu na-agwọ ọrịa dị iche iche. n’ịkwado osazue, igbokwe (2014) chọpụtara na e ji akwụkwọ ụtazị, onugbu, nchụ anwụ, dgz agwọ ọrịa dị iche iche dịka ọrịa afọ. n’otu aka ahụ, ụfọdụ ndị ọkammụta na ngalaba ọmụmụ gburugburu mmadụ achọpụtala ụzọ dị iche ekerechi na mmadụ si emekpa onwe ha anya. anike (2014) chọpụtara na iju na mbize na-emekpa ọtụtụ obodo ahụ na steeti anambra, ọkachasị obodo nanka. ọ kọwara na mbize wakporo obodo a n’ọnwa ọktoba afọ 2012 mebiri ọtụtụ ala, akụkụ ubi na ihe ndị ọzọ e kere eke. afọka (2014) kwadokwara ya n’ihi na ọ kọwara na mbize bụ ihe naemekpa ndị bi na mpaghara oko na nanka ahụ nke ukwu. atụtụ kegburugburu maọbụ ekokritisizim dika e kwuru na mbụ, a gbadoro ụkwụ n’atụtụ nnyocha agụmagụ kegburugburu, nke a na-akpọ ekokritisizim na bekee wee nyochaa abụ ekerechi ederede igbo a họọrọ. atụtụ a metụtara ihe ọmụmụ dị iche iche. aha ọzọ e ji mara atụtụ a bụ “ecopoetics”. ọtụtụ ndị ọkammụta agụmagụ enyela nkọwa gbasara atụtụ a n’ụzọ dị iche iche. glotfelty (1996) kọwara atụtụ kegburugburu dịka ọmụmụ mmekọrịta dị n’etiti agụmagụ na gburugburu mmadụ. na nkọwa ya, o mere ka a mata na ihe ọmụmụ a gụnyere ntụle nke igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 86 na-agbanwe nghọta ọgụụ n’ebe gburugburu ya dị nakwa oke na ọrụ dịịrị ya n’ibelata mmekpaahụ ọ na-ewetara ya. ọ kọwakwara na ịgbaso atụtụ a wee nyocha agụmagụ pụtara ịjụ ọtụtụ ajụjụ gbasara ka e si zipụta ekerechi n’akwụkwọ agụmagụ nakwa ọrụ ihe ekerechi ndị ahụ rụrụ na ya. a chọpụtara atụtụ a n’agbata afọ 1960 na 1970. mana ọ malitere gaba n’ihu n’afọ 1990. ya bụ, a na-akọwa na ọ bụ n’afọ 1990 ka ọtụtụ ndị ntule agụmagụ malitere nwebe mmasị na ya. ndị bụ isi a hụrụ kwaba okpu n’atụtụ a dịka dobie ( 2012) si chọpụta bụ cheryll glotfelty na lawrence buell. ndị naakwado ha dịka tošić (2006) si kọwa gụnyere: simon estok, harold fromm, william howarth, william ruekert, suellen campbell, michael p., branch, green love, dgz. ọ kọwakwara na ndị ntule atụtụ ekokritisizim na mba amerịka nwere otu jikọtara ha ọnụ a na-akpọ “association for the study of literature and environment”. ndị otu a na-ebipụtakwa akwụkwọ jọnal a naakpọ interdisciplinary studies in literature and environment. n’akụkụ nke ya, bergthaller (2014) kọwara na atụtụ ekokritisizim bụ atụtụ nnyocha agụmagụ dịkarịchara ọhụụ a na-agbadozi ụkwụ na ya were enyocha agụmagụ n’oge ugbu a. o kwenyekwara na ọ bụ n’afọ 1990 ka ọ malitere nwebe ezi ọnọdụ dịka otu n’ime atụtụ nyocha agụmụgụ e ji enyocha agụmagụ na mba usa na uk. na mpaghara a, a ga-elebazi anya na nkọwa dị iche iche ụfọdụ ndị ọkammụta nyerela gbasara atụtụ a. philips (1999) kọwara ekokritisizim dịka atụtụ nnyocha agụmagụ ọgbara ọhụụ, nke nwekarịchara mmasị n’ekerechi kacha pụta ihe n’agụmagụ. na nkọwa nke ya gerrard (2004) kọwara na ụfọdụ ndị ntule agụmagụ n’usoro atụtụ kegburugburu achọpụtala na ọdachi na nsogbu ekere ụwa anaghị emetụta naanị ihe gbasara teknụụzụ, nchọcha, ndọrọndọrọ ọchịchị, kama ọ na-emetụtakwa omenala. nke a bụ eziokwu n’ihi na ọ na-abụ e nwee ọdachi nke ekerechi, dịka iju gbaa, ọ na-eweta oke mbibi, ọkachasị ọnwụ mmadụ nakwa nke ụfọdụ ekerechi na-eku ume. gerrard chọpụtakwara na ọ bụ na ngalaba abụ ka ndị ntule atụtụ a na-agbadokarị ụkwụ wee na-enye ụsa gbasara ụfọdụ ajụjụ na ọnọdụ ekerechi. n’ederede dobie (2012), isi a hụrụ kwaba okpu n’atụtụ a bụ cheryll glotfelty kọwara na atụtụ a na-eleba anya n’ọmụmụ mmekọrịta dị n’etiti agụmụgụ, ekerechi na gburugburu mmadụ. dịka dobie si kwu, otu ọkammụta n’agụmagụ bekee a na-akpọ estok kọwamiri atụtụ a ka ọ pụta ọmụmụ atụtụ ọbụla dị uchu n’iweta mgbanwe site n’ịtụcha ọrụ ekerechi e zipụtara n’akwụkwọ agụmagụ. dobie gara n’ihu kọwaa na ihe pụtarịchara ihe n’echiche ọtụtụ ndị ọkammụta gbasara atụtụ a bụ na ha nwechara mmasị n’itule mmekọrịta dị n’etiti agụmagụ na ekerechi. ọ kọwara na nke a dịka ụzọ e nwere ike isi kpọghachite akọnauche ndị ọgụụ n’ebe ekerechi dị ma mekwa ka ha mara oke na ọrụ dịịrị ha n’ilekọta ekerechi. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 87 dobie (2012) kwadoro echiche gerrard a n’ihi na ọ chọpụtara na ọtụtụ ndị odeabụ n’ala bekee na-agbasi mbọ ike n’ibelata ụfọdụ nsogbu na ọdachi ekerechi site n’abụ ha. dịka dobie si chọpụta, mmetọ mmanụ ala dapụtara na mba mexico n’afọ 2010 mere ka e guzobe otu a kpọrọ “association of poets for living waters”. ebumnobi otu a dịka o si kọwa bụ ka e leba anya na mmetọ mmanụ ala a dapụtara na mba mexico nakwa nsogbu o wetara na gburugburu mmadụ na ụfọdụ ekerechi. ọ kọwara na ndị otu a hụtara abụ dịka ihe ga-enye ezigbo ụsa gbasara mmetọ mmanụ ala ahụ. nnyocha ụfọdụ ekerechi e zipụtara n’akpa uche a chọpụtara na ọtụtụ ndị odeabụ igbo gbadoro ụkwụ n’ekerechi dị iche iche wee depụta abụ ha n’akwụkwọ abụ a. mana a họọrọ ndị kara daba n’ebumnuuche ederede a. n’abụ ya ọ kpọrọ egwùrùgwù, amasike zipụtara otu ekerechi a na-akpọ egwurugwu. n’abụ a, odeabụ webatara atụmatụokwu a na-akpọ nkwusara n’ito na n’izipụta nkamma ekerechi a. n’abụ a, odeabụ na-agwa egwurugwu okwu ka ọ bụ mmadụ. odeabụ a ji nkeji abụ anọ zipụta abụ a. na nkeji nke mbụ, odeabụ a mere ka ọgụụ mata na mpụta egwurugwu na-apụta n’ihu igwe na-enye ya obi aṅụrị. o mekwara ka a mata na mgbe egwurugwu ji apụta n’igwe bụ mgbe anyanwụ labachara n’igwe. mgbe ahụ ọ na-apụtakarị n’ugwu ya niile. ọ sị, egwurugwu, obi ọma dị m mgbe m hụrụ gị n’oge anyanwụ na-ala n’igwe, ị pụta n’ugwu gị niile, egwurugwu. site n’ahịrị nke abụọ, “obi ọma dị m mgbe m hụrụ gị”, a ga-achọpụta na ekerechi a nwere ikike ịkpa mmadụ obi ọma. ọ na-egosikwa na ekerechi a anaghị ewetara mmadụ ihe egwu ọbụla. na nkeji abụ nke abụọ, odeabụ abụ a gbadoro ụkwụ na mbụrụ wee kọwaa ụdịdị ekerechi a. ọ kọwara na ọ na-ejikarị ụcha ọla edo wee na-apụta. ọ na-agakwa igwe gburugburu mgbe ọbụla ọ pụtara. nke a na-eme ka ihe ndị ọzọ e kere eke na-ekiri ya. lee ihe o kwuru: mgbe m na-ele gị anya, enweghị m ike ịkọwa ọla edo ole i ji wee pụta, mgbe ahụ ị gara igwe gburugburu, ụmụ ihe chi kere eke na-ele gị. site na nkeji abụ a, a ga-achọpụta mmewere na ọdịdị ekerechi a dịka ụcha ya na ọnọdụ ya n’igwe. odeabụ a zipụtakwara mmekọrịta dị n’etiti ekerechi a na mmadụ n’ahịrị nke asatọ. ọ sị, “ụmụ ihe chi kere na-elele gị”. nke a na-egosị na ọtụtụ mmadụ na ihe ndị ọzọ e kere eke nwere nnukwu mmasị n’ebe igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 88 ekerechi a dị. ọ bụ ya mere ha na-eji ekirikarị ya mgbe ọbụla ọ pụtara n’igwe. e leghị anya, ọ na-enye ha ọṅụ. site n’akụkọ nne odeabụ a kọọrọ ya na nkeji nke atọ gbasara ekerechi a, a gaachọpụta na mmiri anaghị ezo mgbe ọbụla ekerechi a pụtara n’igwe. ọ sị, nne m kọrọla m sị, ọ bụrụ na egwurugwu pụta n’igwe, mmiri agaghị ezo beelụsọ mgbe egwurugwu chịrịla ọcha ya niile, chịbaa ha n’ime igwe. site n’ahịrị nke iri na otu na nke iri na abụọ , a ga-achọpụtakwa na egwurugwu na-acha ụcha dị iche iche. ọ sị, beelụsọ mgbe egwurugwu chịrịla ọcha ya niile, chịbaa ha n’ime igwe. na nkeji abụ nke anọ, odeabụ a gbadoro ụkwụ n’ajụjụ nzaraonwe wee zipụta nkamma ihe ekerechi a. ọ kọwapụtara na ekerechi a mara mma dị egwu. o ji mma egwurugwu wee na-atụnyere mma onye kere ya. o mere ka a mata na ekerechi a mara mma dị oke ọnụ, nke apụghị ịzụta n’ahịa. odeabụ jikwa abụ a wee kelee chineke, onye kere egwurugwu. ọ sị; egwurugwu, mma niile a, ị mara; olee k’mma onye kere gị dị? ị mara mma dị oke ọnụ nke na-agaghị azụta n’ahịa otito dịrị chineke, onye kere gị. n’ezie, site na nkeji abụ a, a ga-achọpụta na ụdị mma ekerechi a mara gbagwojuru odeabụ a anya. ọ bụ nke a mere o ji webata ajụjụ nzaraonwe, egbeokwu ma kwunkwukwa n’izipụta mgbagwoju anya o nwere gbasara ụdị mma egwurugwu mara. o kwugharịrị “mma” ugboro ugboro iji gosipụta n’ezie na ekerechi a mara mma dị egwu. ọ gbadokwara ụkwụ na mma ekerechi a wee too chineke onye kere egwurugwu. nkamma ihe ekerechi a bụ ihe gbakarịchara elu n’abụ a. site na nkeji abụ a, a ga-achọpụtakwa na ụfọdụ ekerechi na-ezipụta nkamma na ọdịdị chineke kere ha. ọ dịkwa mkpa ikwu na nkaasụsụ dị iche iche odeabụ a webatara n’abụ a nyekwara aka n’ụzọ pụrụ iche wee kwalite mmetụtaobi dị n’abụ a. ọ bụrụ na a gbaso atụtụ kegburugburu wee nyochaa abụ a, a ga-achọpụta na e sitere n’abụ a wee zipụta nkamma ekerechi a a na-akpọ egwurugwu. n’abụ a, e zipụtara mmekọrịta dị n’etiti mmadụ na ekerechi a. nkeji nke mbụ na nke abụọ zipụtara ọnọdụ mmadụ mgbe ọbụla ekerechi a pụtara n’igwe. o mere ka a mata na egwurugwu na-eme mmadụ obi ọma oge ọbụla o ji ugwu niile na ọcha niile wee pụta n’igwe. ọdịdị ekerechi a na-emekwa ka mmadụ na ihe ndị igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 89 ọzọ e kere ekere na-ekiri ya. na nkeji nke atọ, e zipụtara nnukwu ọrụ na uru ekerechi a baara mmadụ. odeabụ a mere ka a mata na mgbe ọbụla egwurugwu pụtara n’igwe, na mmiri anaghị ezo. nke a na-egosi na ekerechi a na-enyere mmadụ aka ịhazi ọrụ na ozi ụbọchị ya. nke a bụ eziokwu n’ihi na ọtụtụ mmadụ na-aka enwe mmasị n’ije ozi na n’ịrụ ọrụ ụbọchị ha nke ọma ma ọ bụrụ na mmiri ezoghị. mana mmiri ozuzo na-egbochikarị mmadụ ije ozi dịịrị ya n’ụbọchị . nkeji niile nke abụ a rụtụchara aka na mmekọrịta dị n’etiti mmadụ, ekerechi a na ihe ndị ọzọ e kere eke. ọ kpọlitere mmasị ọgụụ n’ebe ekerechi a dị. abụ a ga-abakwara ụfọdụ ndị na-atụcha maka ihu igwe nnukwu uru. site n’izipụta nkamma ekerechi a na nkeji nke anọ, a chọpụtara na nkamma ya bụ ihe gbakarịchara elu n’abụ a. n’ihi nke a, odeabụ sitere n’abụ a wee na-ewulite mmasị, nghọta na akọnauche ndị ọgụụ na ọhanaeze banyere ekerechi a ma naechetakwara mmadụ oke na ọrụ dịịrị ha n’ichekwa na n’ịkwagide ekerechi a. abụ ekerechi nke abụọ e sitere n’akpa uche wee họọrọ bụ abụ iroha, ọ kpọrọ ọnụ ụdumammiri ọma. n’abụ a, odeabụ kọwara maka otu mmiri ndị ọhafịa a na-akpọ ọnụ ụduma. n’abụ a, odeabụ a webatakwara nkwusara n’ito na n’izipụta nkamma ekerechi a. ọ na-agwa ekerechi a okwu ka a ga-asị na ọ bụ mmadụ. na nkeji abụ nke mbụ, ọ kọwara na mmiri a bụ mmiri ọma, nke naadịkarị jụụ ma na-achakwa ọcha. o mere ka a mata na ndị ọhafịa hụrụ mmiri a na-anya nke ukwuu karịa mmiri ndị mba ọzọ. ọ sị, ọnụ uduma, mmiri ọma anyị; mmiri dị jụụ na-acha ọcha ị na-eme n’anyị na-afụ gị n’anya karịchaa mmiri dị na mba ọzọ. na nkeji abụ nke abụọ, odeabụ zipụtara nnukwu ọrụ na uru mmiri a baara ndị ọhafịa. ha na-enweta mmiri ọṅụṅụ na ihe oriri site na mmiri a. odeabụ a mere ka a mata na mmiri a na-eme ka ihe ndị obodo a kọrọ n’ugbo na-eto ọsọọsọ. nke a mere na ihe niile dị n’ala obodo a na-eto mmiri a. ọ sị; akpịrị anaghị akpọ anyị nkụ; site na gị ka ihe oriri si abịa; akụkụ anyị na-eto ọsịịsọ; ihe niile dị n’ala anyị na-eto aha gị. site na nkeji abụ a, a ga-achọpụta na e nwere ezi mmekọrịta n’etiti mmadụ, ekerechi a na ihe ndị ọzọ e kere eke. mmadụ na akụkụ ubi na-eme nke ọma n’ihi mmiri a. odeabụ ji nkeji abụ nke atọ wee na-enye mmiri a ekele pụrụ iche. ọ bụ na nkeji a ka o mere ka ọgụụ mata na mmiri a bụ mmiri ndị ọhafịa. o mekwara ka a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 90 mata na mmiri a na-ekwo mgbe niile. nke a na-egosi na mmiri a ọ na-akọwa maka ya n’abụ a anaghị ata ata. nke a mere na ndị obodo a na-achụrụ mmiri a aja. ọ sị; ọnụ uduma, nara ekele anyị; mmiri ọhafịa, mba ndị ikom; ị na-ekwo mgbe dum, mmiri ọma; anyị ji àjà asọpụrụ aha gị. na nkeji abụ nke anọ, odeabụ a sị: e nye m miri ọzọ, m ga-ajụ ya ajụ nye m nke a mara aha ya bụ uduma ukwu nke mba dị ike aga m e were ya mee ihe m chọrọ. odeabụ a sitere na nkeji abụ a wee na-akọwa na mmiri uduma a ka egboro ya mkpa mmiri karịa mmiri ndị mba ọzọ. ọ na-akọwa na mmiri a kara bara ya uru karịa mmiri ndị mba ọzọ. nke a na-egosi na ọ bụ mmiri a mara aha ya, nke mba dị ike. odeabụ mekwara ka a mata na ọ na-eji mmiri a eme ihe dị iche iche. a chọpụtakwara na nhazi na nhọokwu odeabụ a webatara n’abụ a nyere aka wee zipụta echiche na mmetụtaobi dị n’abụ a. ọ bụrụ na a gbaso atụtụ kegburugburu wee lebaa anya n’abụ a, a ga-achọpụta na ekerechi odeabụ a zipụtara n’abụ a bụ mmiri. odeabụ a sitere n’abụ a wee too ma zipụta nkamma ekerechi a. o zipụtara ọrụ na uru ihe ekerechi a baara mmadụ. o mekwara ka a mata na e nwere ezi mmekọrịta n’etiti ekerechi a, mmadụ na ihe ndị ọzọ e kere eke dị ka akụkụ ubi. ekerechi a na-eme ka akpịrị ghara ịkpọ mmadụ nkụ. mmadụ na-enweta ihe oriri site na ya. ọ na-eme ka ihe a kọrọ n’ugbo na-eto ọsọọsọ, dgz. site n’uru ndị a ekerechi a baara mmadụ, odeabụ a ji abụ a wee na-akpọlite mmụọ na mmasị ndị ọgụụ na ọhanaeze n’ebe ekerechi a dị. nkeji niile dị n’abụ a gosipụtachara na e nwere ezi mmekọrịta dị n’etiti ekerechi a, mmadụ na ihe ndị ọzọ e kere eke. odeabụ a ji nkeji nke mbụ na nke atọ wee too ihe ekerechi. o ji nkeji nke abụọ wee zipụta nnukwu ọrụ na ọtụtụ uru ekerechi a baara mmadụ na akụkụ ubi. na nkeji abụ nke anọ ka odeabụ a gbadoro ụkwụ wee na-ewulite mmasị, nghọta na akọnauche ndị ọgụụ na ọhanaeze n’ebe ihe ekerechi a dị. o sitekwara na nkeji a wee na-echetara ndị ọgụụ oke na ọrụ dịịrị ha n’ilekọta na n’ichekwa ekerechi a. udele bụ abụ ekerechi ọzọ e sitere n’akpa uche wee họrọ. n’abụ a, ekerechi odeabụ a zipụtara na ya bụ anụ ufe a na-akpọ udele. dịka a hụrụ n’abụ a kpọrọ “ijiji”, odeabụ a bụ nzeakọ zipụtara ọrụ pụrụ iche chukwu okike kenyere ekerechi a ka ọ na-arụ. o ji nkeji abụ nke mbụ na nke abụọ wee kọwapụta nke igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 91 a. a chọpụtara na ọtụtụ mmadụ na-asọ ekerechi a asọ n’ihi ọrụ a pụrụ iche chukwu okike kenyere ya ka ọ na-arụ. ụfọdụ mmadụ na-eleda ya anya. ebe ụfọdụ na-ahụtakwa ya ka nnụnụ rụrụ arụ. mana odeabụ a ji abụ wee naagbanwe echiche na nghọta ndị ọgụụ gbasara ekerechi a. na nkeji abụ nke mbụ, odeabụ mere ka a mata na mmadụ kwesịrị ka ọ na-enye ekerechi a ekele n’ihi ọrụ dị mkpa ọ na-arụ. ọ sị, mmadụ na-eleda udele anya; dị ka nnụnụ rụrụ arụ; ma o kwesịrị ka e nye udele ekele; n’ihi ọrụ dị mkpa ọ na-arụ. na nkeji abụ nke abụọ, odeabụ a kọwapụtara n’uju ọrụ a pụrụ iche e kenyere ekerechi ka ọ na-arụrụ mmadụ. ọrụ ahụ bụ iri ihe nwụrụ anwụ, nke isi ọjọọ naapụta na ya na-enye mmadụ ntaramahụhụ. ọ sị: mgbe ozu ọkụkọ na ewu tọgbọrọ na-esi isi; ọ bụghị naanị udele na-eti aka n’obi; n’ihi ahụhụ mmadụ na-ahụ, n’ihi isi ọjọọ, udele wee gaa buru ha niile rie. ọ bụrụ na a gụọ nkeji abụ a nke ọma, a ga-achọpụta na ihe ekerechi a hụrụ mmadụ n’anya ma na-arụkwara ya nnukwu ọrụ. mana n’akụkụ nke mmadụ, ọ chọpụtachaghị nke a. ọ bụ ya mere o ji na-eleda ihe ekerechi a anya. nke a naegosi na o kwesịrị ka e nwee ezi mmekọrịta n’etitit mmadụ na ekerechi a n’ihi nnukwu ọrụ a na mkpa ọ na-egboro mmadụ. ihe ekerechi a na-ewepụ isi ọjọọ na-esi na gbururgburu mmadụ. n’ihi nke a, ọ na-eme ka gburugburu mmadụ dị ọcha ma na-esi isi ọma. site n’abụ a, a ga-achọpụtakwa na ọ bụ mmadụ naakpaso ihe ekerechi a agwa ọjọọ site n’ileda ya anya. ọ bụrụ na a gbaso usoro atụtụ kegburugburu wee nyocha abụ a, a ga-achọpụta na ekerechi e zipụtara n’abụ a bụ udele. odeabụ a sitere n’abụ a wee zipụta nnukwu ọrụ dị mkpa ihe ekerechi a na-arụrụ mmadụ nakwa uru ọ bara na gburugburu mmadụ. ọrụ a dị nnukwu mkpa ihe ekerechi a na-arụ bụ ihe gbakarịchara elu n’abụ a. ọrụ ahụ bụ na ọ na-erikarị ihe dị iche iche nwụrụ anwụ dị ka ozu ọkụkọ na ewu a tọgbọrọ na gburugburu mmadụ, nke naesikarị mmadụ isi ọjọọ. site n’ime nke a, ọ na-enye aka edebe gburugburu mmadụ ọcha ma na-emekwa ka ahụhụ mmadụ na-ahụ n’ihi isi ọjọọ a belata. nke a na-egosikwa na ekerechi a nwere ịhụnanya na ọmịiko n’ebe mmadụ nọ, maka na ọ bụ naanị onye hụrụ mmadụ n’anya ga-egboro ya nnukwu mkpa a. n’agbanyeghị ọrụ a dị nnukwu mkpa ekerechi a na-arụrụ mmadụ, a chọpụtakwara na mmadụ na-akpaso ya agwa ọjọọ. ọ na-eme nke a site n’ileda ya anya ma na-ahụtakwa ya ka anụ rụrụ arụ. nke a na-egosi na mmadụ achọpụtabeghị nnukwu ọrụ a na mkpa ekerechi a na-egboro ya. ọ bụ ya kpatara o ji eleda anya. mana odeabụ a ji abụ a wee na-akatọ akparamagwa igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 92 ọjọọ a mmadụ na-akpaso ekerechi a. o ji nkeji abụọ mbụ nke abụ a wee naagbanwe echiche na nghọta ndị ọgụụ gbasara ihe ekerechi a. ọ na-akọwa na mmadụ kwesịrị ka ọ na-enye ihe ekerechi a ekele n’ihi ọrụ dị mkpa ọ na-arụ. site na nke a, ọ na-akpọlite mmasị na nghọta ndị ọgụụ na ọhanaeze n’ebe ekerechi a dị ma na-echetakwara ha oke na ọrụ dịịrị ha n’ilekọta na ichekwaba ya. nkwụ bụ ihe ekerechi ọzọ e sitere n’akpa uche wee họrọ. n’ala igbo, a chọpụtara na osisi nkwụ baara mmadụ uru agaghị agụtanwu ọnụ. nkwụ bụ osisi pụrụ iche chukwu okike ji gọzie ndị igbo. ndị igbo na-esite n’osisi a wee na-enweta ihe dị iche iche ha ji enyere ndụ aka. a chọpụtara na ihe niile dị n’osisi a, ya bụ akụkụ ahụ osisi a niile a baara mmadụ nnukwu uru n’ụzọ abụla ụzọ. n’ezie e wezuga osisi a, ndụ ndị igbo na-ebi n’elu ụwa agaghị atọcha ha ụtọ, ihe dị iche iche ha na-eme agaghị adabacha nke ọma. n’ala igbo, a maara osisi a dị ka “osisi na-amị ego. n’akwụkwọ abụ a bụ akpa uche, a chọpụtara na ndị odeabụ atọ gbadoro ụkwụ n’ekerechi a bụ nkwụ wee depụta abụ ha. nzeakọ na ubesie kpọrọ abụ nke ha “nkwụ”. mana madụekwe kpọrọ nke ya “osisi na-ami ego”. a chọpụtara na echiche ndị odeabụ a zipụtara n’abụ ha ndị a bụ otu. ha gbadochara ụkwụ n’abụ ha wee kọwapụta uru dị iche ihce na mkpa ekerechi a na-egboro mmadụ. nke a na-egosi na ihe ekerechi a baara mmadụ nnukwu uru. ebe ọ bụ na echiche dị n’abụ atọ a bụ otu, agaghị atụcha abụ atọ ndị a ebe a. kama a gaagbado ụkwụ naanị n’abụ nke nzeakọ. ihe kpatara a ga-eji me nke a bụ na a chọpụtara na o zipụtara ihe niile gbasara ekerechi a n’ụzọ doro anya. n’abụ a, nzeakọ ji nkejiabụ iri na atọ wee kọwapụta n’uju nnukwu uru ekerechi a baara mmadụ. na nkeji abụ nke mbụ, ọ sị, ọ dị ọsịsị bara nnụ uru; ọ dịghị ihe dị n’ahụ ya na-ala n’iyi. ma mgbe ọ dị ndụ, guzoro ọtọ; ma mgbe ọ tọgbọrọ n’ala n’ọnwụ. site na nkeji abụ a, odeabụ a na-akọwa na ihe ekerechi a bara nnukwu uru. n’agbanyeghị ọnọdụ ọbụla ọ nọ, ya bụ, ma ọ dị ndụ, ma ọ nwụrụ anwụ, ọ dịghị ihe dị n’ahụ ya abaghị uru. na nkeji abụ nke abụọ, odeabụ a kọwara na nkwụ na-enye aka ọrụ. nke a bụ eziokwu n’ihi na ite mmanya bụ aka ọrụ e ji mara ndị a akpọ diochi n’ala igbo. e mekwara ka a mata na a na-esite n’igu nkwụ enweta azịza e ji aza ụlọ na igbegiri, ya bụ ụdị nkụ e ji e si nri. mmadụ na-ejikwa ogugu si n’osisi nkwụ echekwa akụkụ ubi dị ka ji, ka ome ya ghara ịwụsa n’ala. ọ sị, mgbe nkwụ dị ndụ na-eto, di ochi na-aga tee mmaị igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 93 igu ya na-enye azịza na igbegiri ma osisi ya, ka a na-amanyere ji. echiche akunne (2014) dabara na nke odeabụ. o kwenyere na azịza a naenweta na nkwụ na-enye mmadụ ego. o mere ka mata na ọtụtụ ndị ntorobịa enweghị n’oge ugbu a ga-esitenwu n’ịkpụ azịza, igbu akwụ na ite mmanya naenweta ego ha ji eleta ndụ anya. na nkeji abụ nke atọ, odeabụ a mere ka a mata na ọ bụghị naanị mmadụ ka ekerechi a baara uru. kama, ọ bakwaara ụfọdụ anụmanụ dị ka ewu na atụrụ uru. ha na-esite na ya enweta nri ha ji egbo agụụ. ọ kọwakwara na mmadụ na-esi na nkwụ enweta ekwere na igu nkwụ o ji agba ogige. nke a pụtara na nkwụ na-arụkwara mmadụ ọrụ nchekwa n’otu ụzọ. nke a bụ eziokwu n’ihi na mmadụ jiri ekwere na igu nkwụ wee gbaa ogige n’ụlọ ya maọbụ n’ugbo ya, ọ ga-egbochi ihe ụfọdụ nwere ike imekpa ya ahụ maọbụ ihe ọ kọrọ n’ugbo. ọ sị, mgbe agụụ na-agụ ewu na atụrụ; a na-enye ha igu nkwụ ha ataa; ọ bụ ekwere na igu nkwụ; ka mmadụ na-eji agba ogige. na nkeji abụ nke anọ, e zipụtara ihe dị iche iche na-abara mmadụ na anụmanụ nnukwu uru, a na-esi na nkwụ enweta dị ka akwụ, nke na-enye mmadụ akụ na mmanụ. ọ kọwakwara na ọ bụghị naanị mmadụ ka akwụ baara uru. kama, ọ bakwaara ụmụ anụmanụ dị ka enwe, ọsa na uze nnukwu uru. a maara ụmụ anụmanụ a dị ka ndị ji akwụ eme nri. odeabụ a kọwakwara na a na-esi n’akụ enweta ude ma jirikwa ichere akụ emenwu ọkụ. ọ sị, akwụ na-enye mmadụ akụ na mmanụ; ma enwe na ọsa na uze na-ata akwụ; ọ bụghị n’akụ ka a na-enweta ude? ma jiri ichere akụ na-emenwu ọkụ. na nkeji abụ nke ise, odeabụ a kọwara na a na-ejikwa abụrịbụ si n’akwụ emenwu ọkụ. abụrịbụ a na-abara mmadụ nnukwu uru n’imenwu ọkụ, ọkachasị n’oge udu mmiri. nke a na-enyekwara ndị na-achụ nta aka n’ihi na ha na-eji ya egwu ọnụ ewi. ọ kọwakwara na mmadụ na-eji ogugu si na nkwụ were eke elu ụlọ ma na-emekwa nkụ. ọ sị, abụrịbụ ka a na-eji emenwu ọkụ; ma jiri ya na-egwu ọnụ eyi; ogugu kpọrọ nkụ, ka e ji eke elu ụlọ; ma jirikwa ya mee nkụ, n’ekwu ọkụ. na nkeji abụ nke isii, odeabụ a zipụtakwara ihe dị iche iche a na-esi na nkwụ enweta dị ka ngụ, ya bụ ọghịrịgha akwụ a kpọrọ ọkụ, nke mmadụ ji ya na igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 94 mmanụ esi ncha. mmadụ na-ejikwa uduko nkwụ e tere mmanụ wee naamụnye ọkụ o ji ahụ ụzọ ọkachasị n’oge abalị. ọ sị, oghịrịgha a kpọrọ ọkụ na mmanụ; ka mmadụ na-eji esi ncha; uduko nkwụ e tere mmanụ; ka eji amụnye ọkụ n’oge abalị. odeabụ a ji nkeji abụ nke asaa, asatọ na nke iteghete wee kọwapụta n’uju nnukwu ọrụ na uru ihe akụkụ ahụ ekerechi a a na-akpọ ọmụ nkwụ baara mmadụ, ọkachasị ndị nọ n’ekpemekpe ọdịnala igbo. na nkeji abụ nke asaa, ọ kọwapụtara ihe dị iche iche mmadụ ji ọmụ nkwụ eme. o mere ka a mata na e ji ya ama ogu, jirikwa ya eke ihe okike. e jikwa ya egosipụta ụlọ a na-ere ere n’ike. ọ sị, ọmụ nkwụ, ka e ji ama ogu; e jikwa ya eke ihe okike; mgbe ọbụla e kere ya n’ụlọ gburugburu; o gosiri na a na-ere ya ere n’ike. a chọpụtara na ọmụ nkwụ bara nnukwu uru n’ekpemekpe ọdịnala igbo. ọ bụ nke a mere e ji were ya dị ka otu ngwa ekpemekpe ọdịnaala igbo. na nkeji abụ nke asatọ na nke iteghete, odeabụ zipụtara ihe dị iche iche ụfọdụ mmadụ ọkachasị ndị nọ n’ekpemekpe ọdịnaala ji ọmụ nkwụ eme. ọ sị, ọmụ ka dibịa na-akpa ka nkata; nke ndị mmadụ na-eji achụ aja. osisi e gere ọmụ gburugburu’ bụ osisi ekwensu nke gburu mmadụ ndị na-agọ mmụọ na-ege okwu arụ sị ha ọmụ, mgbe ha na-egburu arụsị ha anụ. ụgbo ala e gere ọmụ n’azụ na n’ihu, gosịrị na o bu ozu mmadụ. site n’ihe a kọwapụtara na nkeji abụ ndị a, a ga-achọpụta na ọmụ nkwụ bụ akụkụ ahụ ihe ekerechi a pụtakarịchara ihe ebe a n’ihi ụdị ọrụ e ji ya arụ. a naahụta ya dị ka ihe dị asọ. nke a mere na ọ na-akpalitekarị mmetụtaobi egwu n’ebe ọbụla e kenyere ya. ihe ndị a niile na-egosi na ọmụ nkwụ nwere nnukwu ọnọdụ na ezi mpụtara na ndụ na nkwenye ndị igbo. na nkeji abụ nke iri, e zipụtakwara ụfọdụ uru akụkụ ahụ ekerechi a bakwaara mmadụ. ọ sị, ogugu na ekwere ka e ji akpa nkata, ma jiri ogwe nkwụ mezie ụzọ; ma ọ bụ warie ya ogologo wee kee ụlọ; ma ọ bụ gwuo ya n’ala ka ọ bụrụ azụ ụlọ. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 95 site na nkeji abụ a, a ga-achọpụta na a na-esitekwa na nkwụ enweta ogugu na ekwere mmadụ ji akpa nkata, nke o ji ebu ihe. e zipụtakwara uru ogwe nkwụ bara na nkeji a. odeabụ a mere ka a mata na e nwere ike iji ya mezi ụzọ. e nwekwara ike iji ya kee maọbụ wube azụ ụlọ. na nkeji abụ nke iri na otu, odeabụ a zipụtara uru ọzọ pụtara ihe ekerechi a baara mmadụ. ọ sị, nkwụ na-enye mmadụ ọtụtụ ego; ma ọ chọghị onye ume ngwụ; n’ihi ọtụtụ ọrụ ọ na-enye mmadụ. site na nkeji abụ a, a ga-achọpụta na nkwụ na-enye mmadụ ọtụtụ ego. odeabụ a mekwara ka a mata na nkwụ achọghị onye dị ume ngwụ maka na ọ na-enye mmadụ ọtụtụ ọrụ. nke a na-egosi na ọ bụ ndị gbasiri ike ga-emenwu ihe dị na nkwụ. nke a bụ eziokwu n’ihi na dị ka odeabụ a si kọwa n’abụ a, na ọ dịghị ihe dị n'ahụ nkwụ na-ala n’iyi, ọ pụtara na nkwụ chọrọ ndị gbasiri ike, ndị gaenwe ike iji akụkụ ahụ nkwụ dị iche iche wee mepụta ọtụtụ ihe ga-abara mmadụ uru. odeabụ a jizi nkeji abụ nke iri na abụọ wee kọwapụta ọdịdị nkwụ. o mere ka a mata na nkwụ na-etokarị ogologo. ọ naghị ebu ibu ka osisi ndị ọzọ. ọ naghịkwa agbanyesi mgbọrọgwụ ike n’ala. nke a mere na ikuku na-ebutukarị ya. ọ sị, lee ka nkwụ si eto ogologo; ma ọ bụghị ibu ka osisi ndị ọzọ; ọ gbanyeghị mkpọrọgwụ nke ọma n’ala; ya mere, ọ na-ada mgbe ikuku kuru. na nkeji abụ nke iri na atọ, odeabụ a kọwara na nkwụ nwere obi ọma nke ukwu. ọ bụ nke a mere na ọ na-azụ mmadụ, nnụnụ na anụ ọhịa nri. n’agbanyeghị nke a, odeabụ a jikwa nkeji abụ a wee rịọ nkwụ arịrịọ ka ọ kwụsị itigbu ọkụkọ. nke a na-egosi na nkwụ na-etigbukarị ọkụkọ oge ọbụla ọ daturu n’ala, n’ihi na ọ naghị agbanyesi mgbọrọgwụ ike n’ala ka osisi ndị ọzọ. ọ sị, nkwụ nwere obi ọma nke ya; na-azụ mmadụ, nnụnụ na anụ ọhịa; ma ọ dị arịrịọ m ga-arịọ gị; ka ị ghara itigbu ọkụkọ ọzọ. site na nkeji abụ a, a ga-achọpụta na ọ bụghị naanị mmadụ ka ihe ekerechi a bụ nkwụ baara nnukwu uru. kama ọ bakwaara anụ ufe na anụ ọhịa dị iche iche nnukwu uru. ha na-esi na nkwụ enweta ihe oriri. ọzọ, a ga-achọpụtakwa na o nweghị ụzọ ọbụla e zipụtara ihe ekerechi a si emekpa mmadụ ahụ. mana ọ naemekpa ụfọdụ ihe e kere eke ahụ dị ka ọkụkọ. ọ bụ nke a mere odeabụ a ji jiri abụ a wee rịọ nkwụ arịrịọ ka ọ kwụsị imekpa ọkụkọ ahụ. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 96 ọ bụrụ na agbaso usoro atụtụ kegburugburu wee nyochaa abụ a, a ga-achọpụta na ekerechi e zipụtara n’abụ a bụ osisi a na-akpọ nkwụ. odeabụ a sitere n’abụ a wee zipụta na e nwere ezi mmekọrịta n’etiti ihe ekerechi a na mmadụ. o mere ka a mata na ihe ekerechi a baara mmadụ nnụ uru. ya bụ a gaghị agụtanwu uru dị iche iche ekerechi a baara mamdụ. nke a bụ eziokwu n’ihi na odeabụ a mere ka a mata na ọ dịghị ihe dị n’ahụ ekerechi a na-ala n’iyi. akụkụ ahụ ya niile bachaara mmadụ uru. ọ na-enye mmadụ mmanụ, akụ, ekwere, ogugu, ọmụ, azịza, ngụ, abụrịbụ, dgz. mmadụ na-erekwa ihe ndị a wee naenweta ego. odeabụ a kọwakwara na ọ bụghị naanị mmadụ ka ihe ekerechi a baara uru. kama ọ bakwaara nnụnụ na anụ ọhịa dị iche iche uru. ha na-esi na ya enweta ihe oriri. ụfọdụ ụmụ anụmanụ jikwa ya mere ebe obibi. n’abụ a, e nweghị ka e si zipụta mmekpaahụ ihe ekerechi a na-enye mmadụ. kama e mere ka a mata na ọ na-emekpa ụfọdụ ihe e kere eke dị ka ọkụkọ ahụ. nke a pụtara na e nwere ezi mmekọrịta n’etiti mamdụ na ekerechi a. ihe gbakarịrị elu n’abụ a bụ uru dị iche iche ekerechi a baara mmadụ. odeabụ ji nkeji abụ a niile wee zipụta uru ndị ahụ n’otu n’otu. ọ gbadoro ụkwụ na nke a wee naakpọlite mmasị ndị ọgụụ n’ebe ekerechi a dị. site n’uru ndị a ọ rụtụrụ aka, ọ naechetara ndị ọgụụ na ọhanaeze oke na ọrụ dịịrị ha n’ilekọta na n’ichekwa ekerechi a. nchịkọta n’ederede a, e lebara anya n’ọnọdụ ekerechi n’agụmagụ igbo. a chọpụtara na ndị odee agụmagụ igbo ọkachasị ndị odeabụ igbo na-ezipụta ekerechi dị iche iche n’ọrụ ha. ha na-esite n’abụ ha too ekerchi dị iche iche, zipụta nkamma ha na mmekọrịta dị n’etiti ekerechi na agbata mmadụ. n’abụ a kpọrọ “egwurugwu”, odeabụ a sitere n’abụ a zipụta nkamma ekerechi a a na-akpọ egwurugwu. n’abụ a, e zipụtakwara mmekọrịta dị n’etiti mmadụ na ekerechi a. a bịa n’abụ a kpọrọ “uduma-mmiri ọma”, odeabụ zipụtara uru pụrụ iche ekerchi a baara ndị obodo a na-akpọ uduma. n’abụ a kpọrọ “udele”, odeabụ a kọwapụtara na ekerechi a na-arụ ọrụ pụrụ iche na gburugburu mmadụ. ọ naegbochi isi ọjọọ na gburugburu mmadụ. a bịakwa n’abụ a kpọrọ “nkwụ”, odeabụ a zipụtara uru dị iche ekerechi baara mmadụ. o mere ka a ghọta na ndụ mmadụ na-adị dabeere n’ekerechi a n’ihi na ihe niile dị na nkwụ baara mmadụ uru. site n’ihe ndị a a chọpụtara, a ga-ahụ na ọ dị mkpa ka ndị onyocha agụmagụ igbo gaa n’ihu n’inyocha ekerechi dị iche a na-ezipụta n’agụmagụ igbo. nke a ga-enye aka n’ịkpọlite echiche na mmụọ ndị ọgụụ n’ebe ekerechi ndị a dị nakwa oke na ọrụ dịịrị ha n’ichekwa ha na gburugburu ha. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 97 edemsibịa akporobaro, f. b. (2008). introduction to poetry, lagos: princeton press. akunne, c. e. ( 2011). “ecological studies on honey bee (apis mellifera l.) in relation to optimal production of honey in awka”, phd dissertation, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. akunne, ewuim, ngenegbo, ononye na abajue (2014) “apitherapy: a complementary therapy in health care delivery in nigeria”, a conference paper presented at the 45th annual conference of entomological society of nigeria, abuja, 7th-10th october, 2014. anike, o.l (2014) “severe environmental degradation in the southeastern nigeria and their socio-economic and political implications: a need for advocacy” in nnyigide, n.m., ezeuko, r., nwokoye, a. n. & eyisi, j. (eds.), the eagle of igbo literature: festschrift in honour of professor goddy onyekaonwu.nimo: rex charles patrick. bergthaller, h. (2014). “what is ecocriticism” url: http:www.easlce.eu/abut.u/… accessed: 17tyh august, 2014. dobie, a. b. (2012) theory into practice: an introduction to literary criticism. boston: wadsworth. ekechukwu, r. m. (ed). (1975). akpa uche. lagos: oxford university press. ekwealor, c. (2009) agụmagụ ederede igbo. nsukka: paschal communications. gerrard, g. (2004). ecocriticism, london: routledge. url: http://www.alse.org.uk. accessed: 17th august, 2014. glotfelty, c. ( 1996). “the ecocriticism reader: landmarks in literary ecology” in glotfelty, c. and harold, f. ( eds.), literature and ecology. athens: university of georgia press. igbokwe, b. n. (2014) “culture: a road map towards achieving the millenium development goals on health” in nnyigide, n.m., ezeuko, r., nwokoye, a. n. & eyisi, j. (eds.), the eagle of igbo literature: festschrift in honour of professor goddy onyekaonwu.nimo: rex charles patrick. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 4, june 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 98 nwadike, i. u. (1992) ntọala agụmagụ. nigeria: ịfunanya publishers. nwadike, i.u. (2004). echiche miri emi. onitsha: kawuriz and manilas publishers. nwokolo, o. (2013). “the 2012 flooding at onitsha in okoye, i.c. (ed.) calvary compass, awka: scoa heritage, pp. 77. odibo, f. j. c. and archibong, e. j. (2014) “palm wine: a repository of food and industrial yeasts” in nnyigide, n.m., ezeuko, r., nwokoye, a. n. & eyisi, j. (eds.), the eagle of igbo literature: festschrift in honour of professor goddy onyekaonwu.nimo: rex charles patrick. okediadi, n. a. (2003) ije ụwa. enugu: fulladu publishers. osazuwa, j. (2014, september 4) “the wonders of bitter leaf”. daily sun. pp.25. philips, d. (1999), “ecocriticism, literary theory and the truth of ecology” in new literary hisotry, john hoopkins university. john hopkins, pp. 577-602. url: http://www.jstor.org/stable/... accessed 14th january, 2010. tosić, j. (2006). “ecocriticism-interdisciplinary study of literature and environment” in working and living environmental protection, pp. 43-50 url: googlesearch.org. accessed 17th august, 2014. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 110 martin heidegger’s environmentalphilosophy mark d. ekperi, phd department of philosophy, niger delta university mark.ekperi@ndu.edu.ng & francis i. igben, phd dept. of religious studies and philosophy, delta state university francisiroroigben@gmail.com abstract martin heidegger is widely recognised for his contributions to metaphysics and existentialism, yet his philosophy also offers valuable insights into environmental philosophy. while he did not develop a formal environmental ethic, his critique of western metaphysics and technology provides a foundation for rethinking humanity’s relationship with nature. rather than adopting a normative ethical approach, heidegger examines the human-nature relationship from an ontological perspective, arguing that the environmental crisis stems from a metaphysical framework that reduces nature to a mere resource for human exploitation. his concept of techne as a mode of revealing, along with his later reflections on dwelling and releasement, offers an alternative framework for understanding sustainability beyond instrumental rationality. this study employs textual analysis to critically examine heidegger’s environmental philosophy and its relevance to traditional environmental ethics. by highlighting heidegger’s critique of anthropocentrism and technological nihilism, the research explores how his thought contributes to contemporary environmental discourse. despite concerns regarding his lack of explicit ethical guidance and potential ecofascist interpretations, heidegger’s work remains influential in radical ecology and deep environmental thought. this study ultimately argues that heidegger’s ontology provides a meaningful foundation for rethinking human embeddedness in the natural world and developing a more sustainable environmental philosophy. keywords: martin heidegger, enframing, environmental philosophy, environmental ethics. introduction the growing concern for the environment as a result of the various global ecological challenges has made a philosophy of the environment pertinent today. environmental philosophy is a relatively new intellectual enterprise that continues to gain popularity and prominence in global and regional politics. the global awareness of the dangers of human activities on the environment finds credence in the notion of “intrinsic value”. this idea that all entities in the ecosystem have inherent worth is the basis for justifying the extension of ethics to the environment in traditional environmental philosophy. however, martin heidegger takes a different approach by his use of ontology, and a rejection of normative ethics in his environmental thought (glazebrook, 2013). heidegger is known for his contribution to ontology, hermeneutics and existentialism, and he adopts these methods in his environmental thought paving the way for his unique perspective. one of the first insights to heidegger's environmental philosophy is hwa yol and petee jung's 1975 article, "to save the earth," where they explored heidegger's concept of care igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 111 (sorge), dwelling and letting beings be (jung & jung, 1975). the study explored heidegger’s ideas as it relates the environment and encouraged further studies of his work. the growing interest in environmental philosophy inspired an examination of heidegger's thesis on nature and the environment. many scholars continue to analyse heidegger's ideas and its alignment with traditional environmental thought. scholars like seidel began to consider heidegger as a viable philosopher for ecologists, with his focus on "authentic knowing" (rentmeester, 2015). another prominent interpreter of heidegger's environmentalism was zimmerman who argued that heidegger's thought supports radical environmentalism, showing its similarity with naess' deep ecology (zimmerman, 1993). using heidegger's analysis of western metaphysics, foltz traces the conceptual roots of contemporary environmental crisis (foltz, 1995; glazebrook, 2013). drawing from zimmerman, westra used hiedegger's concept of care to argue for intergenerational environmental justice (glazebrook, 2013). heidegger's work also influenced the field of eco-phenomenology, the field of environmental philosophy that adopts phenomenological methods to engage the relationship between heidegger and environmentalism. scholars like evernden and langer, both adopted heidegger's methods in their different approaches to eco-phenomenology (rentmeester, 2015). mcwhorter and taylor both considered heidegger's environmentalism from the interpretation of language, emphasising the connection between humans to nature (rentmeester, 2015). the notion of being also plays a fundamental role in heidegger’s environmental philosophy like other aspects of his thought. for heidegger, "... it becomes evident that the ancient interpretation of the being of beings is oriented toward the "world" or "nature" in the broadest sense …" (heidegger, 2010, p. 24). this implies that the term 'nature' contains an interpretation of beings as as whole, and this wholeness could be considered the world in its entirety (glazebrook, 2013). this view of nature and his critique of technology provides the basis for his analysis of the human-nature relationship. technology, also plays an important role in heidegger’s environmental philosophy because of the role it plays in severing the human-nature connection (heidegger, 1977). heidegger considers enframing (gestell) as the attitude of reducing nature to a resource to be exploited and the reason for the estrangement of humans from nature. this estrangement further exacerbates the environmental crisis because of the neglect of nature that is as a result of the distortion in the human-nature relationship. despite a growing body of literature exploring martin heidegger's philosophy and its relevance to environmentalism, a gap exists in understanding how heidegger's abstract ontological concepts can be translated into practical and effective strategies for addressing specific environmental issues. while existing research highlights the positive impact of heidegger's thought on environmental theory and ecological practices, concerns remain regarding its anthropocentric nature, rejection of normative ethics, and practical effectiveness. the challenge lies in bridging the gap between heidegger's theoretical framework and the pragmatic demands of environmental action. therefore there is a need to explore how heidegger's concepts—such as dasein, being, dwelling, technology, care, and aletheia—can be applied to real-world environmental problems. this requires addressing criticisms of anthropocentrism and lack of normative ethics to develop a heideggerian-informed approach that promotes environmental sustainability and responsible decision-making in specific contexts, which faces significant environmental degradation due to technological practices. the central question is how to translate heidegger's ontological insights into actionable igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 112 strategies that foster a more sustainable and ethical relationship between humans and the environment. the study considers heidegger's view of technology and how it affects our interaction with the environment. thus, the research tries to bridge the gap between theory and practice in relation to environmental philosophy. heidegger looks beyond the instrumental value of nature, rejecting the normative and utilitarian approaches of traditional environmental ethics. but rather, he considers the impact of technology on the environment and our well-being. the study contributes to the discuss concerning environmentalism and sustainability from a metaphysical perspective. heidegger's philosophy, illustrates the importance of ethical reflection in environmental affairs and how it can influence policy changes. the study promotes holistic environmental awareness and the consequences of the neglect and exploitation of nature. this paper examines martin heidegger’s environmental philosophy, particularly his critique of technology and concept of dwelling, to explore its implications for contemporary ecological thought. the introduction outlines the research problem, objectives, and significance of heidegger’s ideas in environmental ethics. the theoretical framework situates his philosophy within existentialism, phenomenology, and ecological thought, clarifying key concepts like dwelling, fourfold, and care. the section on technology and the enframing of nature analyzes heidegger’s critique of modern technology, particularly gestell (enframing), which reduces nature to a mere resource. this critique sets the stage for heidegger’s environmental philosophy, which explores his alternative vision of humannature relations through dwelling, poetic thinking, and the interplay between earth and world. the philosophical implications discuss how heidegger’s ideas challenge mainstream environmental ethics, emphasizing a deeper ontological relationship with nature beyond conventional solutions. finally, the conclusion summarizes key insights, underscores the need for an ontologically grounded environmental ethic, and suggests directions for further research. theoretical framework according to warren "a framework is a set of beliefs, values, attitudes, and assumptions which shape and reflect how one views oneself and one's world. a conceptual framework functions as a socially constructed lens through which one perceives the world" (henning, 2023, p. 46). the theoretical framework for this study includes; hermeneutics, ecophenomenoloy and ecocentric theory. a. hermeneutics hermeneutics is the translation and interpretation of concepts and experiences and allows for a deeper understanding of heidegger's ideas. it delves into the layers of meaning within a text, and enables an understanding of the historical and cultural contexts of ideas. heidegger himself considered hermeneutic phenomenology as a structural analysis describing the structure of being-there (heidegger, 1999). hermeneutics is important to understanding heidegger’s philosophy because of his tendency to revisit the use of concepts in their original form. for example, he uses this method in his analysis of being and techne, by going back to their roots. he uses this approach because of his belief that the meaning of being has been distorted overtime, affecting metaphysics. b. eco-phenomenology igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 113 eco-phenomenology merges ecological thinking with phenomenology to tackle environmental issues (brown & toadvine, 2012). it is regarded as a new phase of environmental philosophy (utsler, 2024). influenced by heidegger's philosophy, ecophenomenology is an interdisciplinary exploration that examines the relationship between organisms and nature (abram, 1988). this approach employs both metaphysics and axiology, providing an alternative perspective on environmentalism. the movement contends that our ecological predicament necessitates both ecological consciousness and phenomenological insights. eco-phenomenology aims to transcend the constraints of environmental ethics by emphasising an authentic relationship with nature. inspired by edmund husserl, scholars such as max scheler, jean-paul sartre, maurice merleau-ponty, and emmanuel levinas have further developed this environmentalist approach (brown & toadvine, 2012). ecophenomenology focuses on relationality and intentionality in our perception of the natural world, striving to articulate its meaning (fritsch, 2018). it seeks to describe the forms and structures of experience to uncover the significance of these phenomena and their relationship to the world (merleau-ponty, 2002). merleau-ponty employs this method to transcend cartesian or anthropocentric limitations in environmental discourse through phenomenological traditions (brown & toadvine, 2012). this approach regards the natural world as a coherent and holistic phenomenon, or a singularity, by revealing the structures of experience and their significance to organisms. consequently, levinas contends that the ethical imperative emerges from the singularity of experience, challenging naturalism and its reductive mode of thinking (brown & toadvine, 2012). a fundamental contribution of phenomenology to environmental philosophy is its reverence for and emphasis on experience, viewing the act of experiencing the world as an integral whole. eco-phenomenology aims to overcome entrenched tendencies that restrict inherited perspectives. wood argues that eco-phenomenology is a middle ground between phenomenology and naturalism, as well as between intentionality and causality. this encompasses recognising relationalities that cannot be reduced to either simple intentionality or simple causality. wood argues that our understanding of nature is transformed by contemplating the complexity of time (invisibility, finitude, rhythms, and interruptions) and by reflecting on the role of boundaries in defining thinghood (brown & toadvine, 2012). eco-phenomenology addresses critiques of anthropocentrism and the fact-value dichotomy. it seeks to articulate our engagement with the natural world, emphasising relationalities and advancing beyond traditional notions of intentionality (brown & toadvine, 2012). c. sustainability sustainability could be defined as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (clingerman et al., 2013). it involves ensuring that the present realization of needs or values does not threaten future realization. the term sustainability originates from the latin term "sus tinere," which means to sustain, support, uphold, or endure (wced, 1987). sustainability involves the conservation and preservation of nature and its resources for future generations. that is why sustainability is often considered as intergenerational justice, which emphasises environmental justice between current and future generations. it involves the concept of intergenerational equity, emphasising the need for the current generation to preserve and conserve earth’s natural resources for future generations (fritsch, 2018). it encompasses various disciplines and three igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 114 of such areas include, the economic, social and environmental. these three areas could be considered the pillars that ensure a holistic approach to sustainability. the economic aspect involves balancing financial gains with long-term environmental and societal impacts. the social aspect involves the notion of equity, equality and well-being, while the environmental perspective involves protecting ecosystems, promoting biodiversity, and mitigating climate change (zagonari, 2023). the sustainability debate also involves the notion of strong and weak sustainability (fritsch, 2018). strong sustainability is conserving a steady supply of natural capital for future generations, while weak sustainability is the substitution of natural resources with other alternative resources (fritsch, 2018). generally, sustainability goes beyond the conservation of natural resources. it includes the conservation and preservation of stable institutions, just legal systems, knowledge, and positive relations between individuals and nature (fritsch, 2018). sustainability also includes the systems theory which considers sustainability as the ability of a system to reproduce itself without unjustly consuming external resources (hale (editor) et al., 2022). technology and the enframing of nature heidegger's treatment of the concept of enframing (gestell in german) is drawn from the group of essays in the book, the question concerning technology (die frage nach der technik). heidegger defines enframing as a mode of revealing, a destining of being even though being remains concealed. according to him, the ordering characteristic of enframing occurs through man (heidegger, 1977). man and being confront each other in enframing as they meet themselves in estrangement. for heidegger, the purpose of the questioning concerning technology is to uncover the essence of the relationship between man and technology. for him, the essence of technology reveals itself to us through this enframing; it is the way reality reveals itself through technology. hence, the essence of modern technology resides in the notion of enframing. for heidegger, enframing is the essence of technology because essence means what something is or what he considers the 'whatness' of the thing. this "whatness" is the generic term that describes entities that share certain similar characteristics; for example, the concept tree includes species like oaks, beeches, birches, firs, etc. the whatness takes the form of treeness, the genus or universal concept that accommodates all real and possible trees. enframing is a way of unconcealing, bringing forth (poiesis), or destining. by destining, heidegger implies that enframing is a process that reveals and determines how things exist and are understood in the world. it is through enframing that technology shapes our understanding of reality, defining what is valuable, meaningful, and useful in our lives. this destining of technology has profound implications for how we relate to the world and ourselves, as it influences our actions, values, and even our sense of identity. however, he asserts that it is technology that makes us conceive of its essence in a distorted way. he uses the german term wesen, which is translated as essence, which is derived from the german term wahren, meaning to last or endure. this is similar to socrates and plato, who consider the essence of a thing as that thing which endures or persists through space and time (heidegger, 1977, p. 31). heidegger affirms that in a sense, technology is ambiguous, and this is because of the notion of unconcealment or truth. the essence of technology is nested in this notion of enframing, and the essence of modern technology is revealed through it. the purpose of the questioning igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 115 concerning technology for heidegger is to uncover our relationship to the essence of technology. for heidegger, technology enforces a structure that distorts the true nature of being, and this structure inhibits pure access to being. modern man seems to be alienated from the awareness of his essence and estranged from being because he has given technology dominion (heidegger, 1977). therefore, man does not know himself in relation to the world and never encounters himself or his essence. this results in man adopting either of two attitudes, according to heidegger. the first attitude portrays a man trying to master technology and using it as a means to control all aspects of his life. the second attitude is that he flinches at the control technology having over him and considers other ways of living without it. what man needs for heidegger is an awareness of his place as dasein and the essence of being and the power that lauds over all phenomena in this age of technology. freedom for him is the ability for man to open himself in awareness to being and its dominion. technology limits this ability of man to open himself up to the pure awareness of being. this truth of modern man's predicament appears to him veiled; this revelation comes upon him even though it is not instantly accessible. hence, enframing is the mode of revealing the destining of being even though the truth of being remains unconcealed or unhidden. this implies that the idea of man as dasein (openness-for-being) may be lost to the notion of man "as a merely self-conscious being knowing himself only as an instrument ready for use." the question is, who or what is using man? enframing remains a mode of revealing even though, as a mode of revealing technology, it manifests itself in the withdrawnness of being. the concept of enframing carries with it two consequences, either as an instrument that endangers man and commits man to the estrangement from being or as an instrument to commit him to the essential relationship with being. hence, he considers enframing as both a danger to man and also having the ability to save man. within the essence of technology is the covering of the truth of being because being reveals itself entirely out of itself in such a way to reach man. this is because it cannot come into the open without man; the notion of unconcealment or concealment relates to being and man. this implies that being and man confront themself in enframing and also meet themself in estrangement because man and being are inseparably bound together (heidegger, 1977). martin heidegger's inquiry into the essence of technology provides an important, thoughtprovoking analysis of how technology influences our understanding of the world and shapes our existence. at the core of heidegger's examination lies the concept of "enframing" (gestell), which serves as a pivotal point of departure for understanding the implications of technology for human existence. the essence of enframing, as heidegger conceives it, is not a mere reference to the physical machines and gadgets that surround us. instead, it signifies a way of revealing or disclosing the world, constituting the essence of technology itself. enframing presents the world as a standing-reserve, a stockpile of resources and raw materials waiting to be ordered, manipulated, and optimised for human ends. in essence, technology does not merely serve as a means to an end; it fundamentally transforms our relationship with the world, rendering everything a potential resource. heidegger's elucidation of enframing challenges conventional views of technology, which predominantly emphasise its instrumental character and its utility in serving human interests. he contends that such a limited perspective obscures the deeper, ontological dimensions of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 116 technology. enframing, in contrast, beckons us to recognise technology's profound influence on our perception of reality, highlighting that it is not just a neutral tool but a framework that shapes our understanding of the world. heidegger raises concerns about the dangers inherent in enframing. when technology becomes the predominant mode of revealing the world, it can lead to a reductionist and one-dimensional perspective. this singular lens casts everything in the light of efficiency, calculability, and utility, potentially obfuscating the richness and complexity of existence. furthermore, heidegger contends that enframing might alienate us from our essence, leading to a kind of existential isolation where we lose touch with the deeper meaning of being and our authentic selves. heidegger does not advocate for a rejection of technology but instead calls for a reflective engagement with it. he urges us to confront enframing and recognise its influence on our lives. such awareness, he believes, can enable us to make more deliberate choices, fostering a more authentic relationship with technology and with the world. authenticity, in heidegger's philosophy, entails an active engagement with our existence, a confrontation with the prevailing destining of our age, and a striving to disclose a deeper understanding of being. martin heidegger's concept of enframing constitutes a profound and challenging exploration of technology's impact on human existence. it compels us to reevaluate our relationship with technology beyond its utilitarian function, encouraging us to recognise the ontological shift it introduces into our lives. the danger of enframing lies in its potential to reduce our understanding of reality to mere resources, obscuring the richness and authenticity of human existence. heidegger's call for reflection and authenticity is a poignant reminder that our engagement with technology should be conscious, deliberate, and rooted in a deeper understanding of our being. in today's technologically driven world, heidegger's insights into enframing remain as relevant and thought-provoking as ever, inviting us to navigate the challenges of technology with a heightened awareness of its existential implications. heidegger’s environmental philosophy heidegger’s environmental philosophy is a complex web of concepts woven into a comprehensive system. this is a vital aspect of his philosophy especially because of his interest in the meaning of concepts. his use of hermeneutics in the questioning of being is the foundation for his questioning of other concepts like technology, nature, care, dwelling, the fourfold, etc. through hermeneutics, heidegger hopes to reveal the essence of being through unconcealment. the term unconcealment is equivalent to the notion of truth in heidegger’s philosophy, but his treatment of the concept begins with an analysis of its essence. heidegger's notion of unconcealment entails the idea that truth is not simply the correspondence between a statement and reality but rather the revealing of being itself. according to heidegger, unconcealment involves a process of bringing forth the hidden aspects of existence, allowing them to be seen and understood in their authentic nature. this concept challenges traditional notions of truth and emphasises the importance of engaging with the world in a more profound and meaningful way. heidegger sought to go back to the original meaning of the greek term aletheia to reinterpret the essence of truth, thereby correcting the distortion of its true meaning. the translation of aletheia as truth is an oversimplification of its real meaning. the literal translation of the greek term means unhiddeness, from which heidegger derives the german term unverborgenheit. heidegger's concept of truth has important implications for environmental philosophy because of its emphasis on revealing. by his emphasis on revealing, heidegger's concept of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 117 truth invites us to critically examine our relationship with the environment. it prompts us to uncover the truth about the implications of our actions and their impact on nature. if we are to live more sustainably, we need to 'unconceal' the true reality of the environmental crisis in the world. this means facing up to the facts about climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. it also means challenging the dominant worldview, which sees nature as a resource to be exploited for human benefit. only by unconcealing the true reality of the environment can we begin to address its challenges effectively. a. dwelling in the section titled “building dwelling thinking” in his work poetry, language, thought heidegger tries to answer two questions. the first question is what dwelling entails, and the second is how the notion of building relates to dwelling. he asserts that we attain dwelling through building, but not every edifice is a dwelling in the ontological sense. for example, train stations, roads, dams, and marketplaces are all built, but they are not dwellings, even though they are encapsulated in the greater notion of dwelling. heidegger aims to delve into the true meaning of dwelling and building from its origin to elucidate its ontological relevance to our existential experience. he opines that the true meaning of the word building, from its old english and high german origins (buan), has been lost. heidegger believes that the true meaning of the term buan has been obscured over time, and he seeks to uncover its original significance. he argues that understanding the ontological connection between dwelling and building is crucial for comprehending our existence in the world. he affirms that dwelling is a fundamental part of our nature as mortals on earth (heidegger 2001). heidegger infers that to dwell means "to cherish and protect, to preserve and care for, specifically to till the soil, to cultivate the vine"(heidegger 2001). although heidegger considers the overlapping of the concept of dwelling and building, however, building comprises of the activities of cultivation and construction. he acknowledges the distinction between building as cultivating and building as constructing. building as cultivating entails stewardship towards nature, while building as constructing entails things like building ships or temples. however, the two modes of building are subsumed in the greater notion of building. heidegger concludes by affirming that building is indeed dwelling and both terms are ontologically inseparable. dwelling for him is the way mortals inhabit the earth. building as dwelling manifests through cultivation and construction. cultivation involves the growing of things, and construction involves the erection of edifices (heidegger 2001). building in the form of cultivation involves the careful nurturing and development of the natural environment, ensuring its sustainability with human existence. on the other hand, building as constructing encompasses the physical creation of structures that serve various purposes, shaping the human-made landscape. both cultivation and construction are essential aspects of building, reflecting our desire to shape and experience the world. cultivation focuses on the growth of plants, crops, and ecosystems, fostering biodiversity and providing resources for sustenance. meanwhile, construction involves the design and assembly of buildings, roads, bridges, and other infrastructure that support human activities. for heidegger, there is an ontological and causal connection between the concept of building and dwelling “building is really dwelling” (heidegger, 2001). building as dwelling manifests into cultivation and erection of edifices. cultivation involves the growing of things in nature and the erection of structures. building as dwelling is an inseparable aspect of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 118 human experience, and his articulation of the concept of dwelling shares a similarity with ecological ethics. for him, “the fundamental character of dwelling is this sparing and preserving” (heidegger, 2001). an interesting indicators of heidegger’s concern for nature is when he asserts that. “to be set at peace, means to remain at peace withing the free, the preserve, the free sphere that safeguards each thing in its nature”(heidegger, 2001). according to heidegger, “to be a human being means to be on the earth as a mortal. it means to dwell” (heidegger, 2001). the notion of dwelling represents a primal oneness, which manifests itself in the form of mortals, divinities, earth, and sky. this primal oneness is characterised by a harmonious coexistence between mortals, divinities, the earth, and the sky. it emphasises the interconnectedness and interdependence of all beings within their natural environment. this primal oneness is what he calls the fourfold. b. fourfold heidegger’s concept of the fourfold is elucidated in his work poetry, language, thought in the section titled “the thing”. the fourfold is the categorisation of dwelling as mortals in space and time. hence, when heidegger considers the thing, he is taking a comprehensive look at nature, and its categories. for heidegger, “mortals dwell in that they save the earth,” saving is means to let something be (heidegger, 2001). saving the earth is not exploiting, wearing it out or subjugating it but entails taking responsibility for it. the fourfold is the coming together of divinities, mortals, earth and sky into the constitution or forming of things. in his description of the four items that constitute the fourfold, he defines mortals as "the humans. they are named the mortals because they can die ''. for the earth, he considers " the building bearer, the nurturing fructifying, tending the waters and stones, what grows and the animals". the sky for heidegger is "the journey of the sun, the course of the moon, the twinkle of the stars, the seasons of the year, light and twilight of the day, dark and light of the night, the favour and the inhospitality of the weather, the drawing of the clouds and the blue depths of the ether". the divinities “are the hinting messengers of godhood", they divinities are not god or gods but those who are god-like and have become messengers by their closeness to the divine (heidegger, 1976). c. care heidegger defines care as the ontological structural concept that shows the relationship between being and dasein. it is how dasein looks out into the world and manifests its existence. care can be understood as the fundamental mode of being for dasein, where it is always already engaged with the world and concerned with its existence. for example, when we experience concern for something or someone and are attentive and responsive to the needs and possibilities of the world, we are manifesting care. this can be seen in everyday actions such as taking care of loved ones, being concerned about our well-being, or being attentive to the environment around us. hence, care entails the ontological responsibility of humans to the world; this responsibility is executed by dasein reaching out to being. dasein seeks what is distant to bring it near to himself, and care is a way of reaching out and bringing to nearness being. for heidegger, this reaching out is more potent when we are at rest when he says that "care subsides into circumspection which has been set free"(heidegger et al., 1962) and this level of circumspection is not potent in the "world of work". at rest, we are free from concerns, and "circumspection" is set free. however, this reaching out is not igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 119 merely to grasp something as to understand it but, at rest, manifests the possibility of dasein abandoning or surrendering itself to the world. the phenomenon of care articulates the fundamental question of the meaning of being, according to heidegger, because dasein's being reveals itself through care. care must be properly articulated and cannot be derived from concepts like will, wish, addiction, and urge since these concepts are based on care. while care may share similarities with concepts like will, wish, addiction, and urge, it is fundamentally different from them. care is not simply a matter of wanting, desiring, or being driven by impulses. unlike will, which is often associated with conscious decision-making and deliberate action, care is a more primordial and fundamental mode of being for dasein. it is not something that can be reduced to a specific intention or desire but rather encompasses the entire mode of dasein's existence. similarly, care differs from addiction or urge, which are often associated with compulsive behaviours or actions driven by external forces. care, on the other hand, is an inherent and inseparable aspect of dasein's being, always already engaged with and concerned about its existence and the world it inhabits. this culmination of heidegger’s analysis is demonstrated when dasein expresses itself to itself, and then it interprets itself as care pre-ontologically (heidegger et al., 1962). for heidegger, theory and practice are both possibilities of dasein and cannot be put asunder through this dichotomy. care is “a primordial structural totality,”: and the factical attitude and situation of dasein are a priori. the substance of man is existence, as care belongs both to the notion of being-in-the-world and within-the-world. care is a mode of articulating the truth of existence and also a mode of authentic disclosedness. heidegger believes that by articulating the phenomenon of care, we have shown the ontological structure of dasein as being and its ontological relation to itself and the world. through this concept, we arrive at dasein's primordial state of being and disclose the ontological state of dasein's existence. hence, care reveals the entire structure of being-in-the-world and the phenomenon of existence. care is the authentic expression of dasein's fundamental being, and its essential true self (heidegger et al., 1962). in heidegger's philosophy, care is closely linked to being-in-the-world and being-with. being-in-the-world refers to the inherent interconnectedness of dasein with the world, where dasein exists as a being that is always already engaged with and embedded in the world. care is the ontological manifestation of this being-in-the-world, as it is through care that dasein is attentive and responsive to the world. being-with, on the other hand, refers to the social dimension of dasein's existence, where dasein exists relative to others and is fundamentally shaped by these relationships. care is also intimately connected to being-with, as dasein's care is not only directed towards the world but also toward others. this interconnectedness between care, being-in-the-world, and being-with demonstrates the holistic nature of dasein's existence. thus, heidegger's analysis elucidates the notion of ontological responsibility to others and the world. care is not just a solitary act but rather a fundamental aspect of our existence that is inseparable from our relationships with others and the world. it is through our care for others and the world that we fulfil our ontological responsibility to be attentive and responsive to the needs and concerns of those around us. this understanding of care as interconnected with being-in-the-world and being-with highlights the importance of considering the impact of our actions on others and the world as we navigate our existence. this notion of interconnectedness is particularly relevant to our relationship with nature. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 120 when we recognise that our care extends beyond human relationships and encompasses the natural world, we realise that our actions have a profound impact on the environment. by acknowledging this interconnectedness, we can strive to cultivate a more sustainable and harmonious relationship with nature, ensuring the well-being of both present and future generations. in conclusion, martin heidegger’s environmental philosophy is deeply rooted in his ontological inquiries, particularly his concept of unconcealment (aletheia), which challenges traditional notions of truth. he argues that truth is not merely correspondence between statements and reality but rather the revealing of being itself. this perspective has significant environmental implications, as it urges humanity to uncover the concealed reality of ecological crises such as climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. heidegger critiques the dominant worldview that reduces nature to a mere resource for human exploitation, instead advocating for a more authentic engagement with the environment. his notion of dwelling, explored in “building dwelling thinking,” underscores humanity’s fundamental way of being on earth. dwelling is not simply residing in a physical space but involves a deeper, ontological relationship with the world—one that entails care, preservation, and harmony with nature. heidegger contrasts building as cultivating (stewardship of nature) with building as constructing (erection of physical structures), emphasizing that both are integral to the way humans inhabit the world. dwelling is thus closely tied to ecological ethics, as it calls for a way of living that safeguards and nurtures the environment rather than dominating it. central to heidegger’s environmental thought is the fourfold, a framework that situates humans (mortals) within an interconnected reality alongside earth, sky, and divinities. he argues that to "save the earth" means allowing it to exist in its essence rather than exploiting or degrading it. this notion promotes an ethical stance that recognises the intrinsic value of nature, rather than treating it as a resource for technological domination. heidegger’s concept of care (sorge) is pivotal to understanding humanity’s responsibility toward the world. care, as the fundamental mode of dasein's being, entails an engaged and concerned existence, extending not only to other humans but also to the natural world. he suggests that modern technological frameworks alienate humans from authentic care, leading to environmental neglect. recognising care as a fundamental structure of existence fosters an ethical responsibility to protect and preserve the environment, reinforcing the necessity of a sustainable and holistic relationship with nature. therefore, heidegger’s environmental philosophy offers a critique of technological enframing and calls for a more thoughtful and ethical way of being-in-theworld—one that prioritizes care, dwelling, and an ontological harmony with nature. the relevance of heidegger’s environmental philosophy heidegger’s environmental philosophy helps us to examine the metaphysical foundations of the environmental crisis, highlighting how dominant western thought has contributed to ecological degradation. while he did not explicitly formulate an environmental ethic, his ideas provide a framework for rethinking humanity’s relationship with nature and fostering a more sustainable way of being in the world. in heidegger’s philosophy he argues that humans have historically treated nature as a mere resource for human exploitation. this “productionist metaphysics,” originating with plato and culminating in nietzsche’s will to power, has led to technological nihilism—an empty, efficiency-driven worldview that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 121 alienates humanity from the natural world. heidegger’s challenge to this perspective calls for a fundamental reorientation in how we relate to nature (rentmeester, 2015). a central aspect of this reorientation is heidegger’s postmetaphysical understanding of being, which seeks to move beyond anthropocentrism. he advocates for a “great turning around” (kehre), where humans are no longer positioned as masters of being but instead grounded within it. this shift offers a way to dismantle exploitative attitudes toward nature and develop a more harmonious mode of existence (rentmeester, 2015). heidegger’s concept of techne as a way of revealing is also significant in environmental thought. he broadens the notion of technology beyond mere tools, emphasizing that technological engagement shapes how we understand and disclose reality (heidegger, 1977). by recognizing the way technology frames our perception of nature, heidegger invites a more thoughtful and responsible approach to technological development—one that resists the reduction of the environment to mere resources (feenberg, 1999). his concept of truth as unconcealment (aletheia) is crucial for environmental awareness. unconcealment involves bringing hidden realities to light, a process essential to confronting the full extent of environmental crises such as climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. by revealing the concealed consequences of human activity, heidegger’s philosophy encourages deeper reflection on how to live more sustainably. heidegger’s thought also resonates with non-western perspectives, particularly daoism, which emphasizes a holistic and nonmetaphysical understanding of human beings and nature (rentmeester, 2015). this intellectual kinship suggests that heidegger’s environmental philosophy can contribute to cross-cultural ecological thought, moving beyond rigid western ontologies toward more integrated worldviews. moreover, heidegger’s eco-phenomenology provides new approaches to environmental issues that navigate between anthropocentrism and biocentrism (glazebrook, 2013). by focusing on dwelling and being-with-nature rather than imposing rigid ethical categories, his work enables a more nuanced understanding of ecological relationships. despite its insights, heidegger’s environmental philosophy is not without criticism. some argue that it remains too anthropocentric, as his analysis of being privileges human experience (rentmeester, 2015). others point out that heidegger offers little in the way of normative ethical guidance, making it difficult to translate his ideas into concrete environmental policies. additionally, concerns about potential ecofascist undertones have been raised due to heidegger’s association with national socialism and his emphasis on rootedness and homeland (rentmeester, 2015). finally, his approach tends to neglect social and political dimensions of environmental issues, such as inequality, capitalism, and power structures that drive ecological destruction. heidegger’s work has been influential in contemporary environmental philosophy, particularly in radical environmentalism and deep ecology (thomson, 2004). his emphasis on dwelling and releasement (gelassenheit) has inspired alternative ecological ethics that move beyond exploitative frameworks (glazebrook, 2013). by challenging the ontological assumptions underlying modernity, heidegger’s philosophy continues to offer valuable insights for rethinking our place within the natural world and developing more sustainable ways of being. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 122 conclusion martin heidegger’s environmental philosophy offers a profound critique of the metaphysical foundations that have shaped humanity’s exploitative relationship with nature. by uncovering the historical roots of technological nihilism and productionist metaphysics, heidegger challenges the dominant worldview that reduces nature to a mere resource for human use. his alternative approach, grounded in ontology rather than normative ethics, invites a fundamental rethinking of how human beings dwell within the natural world. through key concepts such as techne, truth as unconcealment, and the fourfold, heidegger provides a framework for understanding sustainability that moves beyond anthropocentrism and instrumental rationality. despite the criticisms of his work, ranging from allegations of anthropocentrism to concerns about the lack of explicit ethical guidance, heidegger’s thought remains influential in environmental philosophy. his ideas have informed radical ecology, deep environmental thought, and eco-phenomenology, offering pathways to a more integrated and holistic understanding of human-nature relations. by emphasising dwelling, care, and releasement, heidegger’s philosophy suggests that a more sustainable future depends not just on policy or technology but on a transformation in the way we understand and inhabit the world. his work provides a critical foundation for rethinking the environmental crisis and reimagining a more harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature. while heidegger's work does not explicitly develop an environmental ethic. future studies could examine how his ontological insights might be integrated with contemporary environmental ethical frameworks, such as deep ecology, eco-phenomenology, or bioregionalism. references abe (editor), h., fritsch (editor), m., & wenning (editor), m. (2024). intercultural philosophy and environmental justice between generations: in digenous, african, asian, and western perspectives (1st ed.). cam bridge university press. brown, c. s., & toadvine, t. (2003). eco-phenomenology: back to the earth itself. state university of new york press. callicott, j. b., & frodeman, r. (2008). encyclopedia of environmental ethics and philosophy (1st ed.). macmillan reference usa. clingerman, f., treanor, b., drenthen, m., & utsler, d. (2013). interpreting nature: the emerging field of environmental hermeneutics. fordham university press. duerk, j. a. (2021). environmental philosophy, politics, and policy. lexington books. foltz, b. v. (1995). inhabiting the earth: heidegger, environmental ethics, and the metaphysics of nature. humanities press. fritsch, m. (2018). eco-deconstruction: derrida and environmental philosophy (paperback). fordham university press. gadamer, h.-g., linge, d. e., & linge, d. e. (2008). philosophical hermeneu tics (2nd ed.). university of california press. glazebrook, t. (2013). heidegger and environmental philosophy. the bloomsbury companion to heidegger, 433–440. hailwood, & a, s. (2015). alienation and nature in environmental philosophy. cambridge university press. hale (editor), b., light (editor), a., & lawhon (editor), l. (2022). the rout ledge companion to environmental ethics (routledge philosophy companions) (1st ed.). routledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 123 heidegger, m. (1977). the question concerning technology and other essays. garland publishing. heidegger, m. (1999). ontology—the hermeneutics of facticity. indiana university press. heidegger, m. (2001a). poetry, language, thought. harper perennial modern classics. heidegger, m. (2001b). the fundamental concepts of metaphysics: world, finitude, solitude. indiana university press. heidegger, m. (2010). being and time: a revised edition of the stambaugh translation (2nd ed.). state university of new york press. henning, b. g. (2023). value, beauty, and nature: the philosophy of organ ism and the metaphysical foundations of environmental ethics (suny environmental philosophy and ethics). state university of new york press. höhler, s. (2014). spaceship earth in the environmental age, 1960–1990 (1st ed.). routledge. james, s. p. (2001). heidegger and environmental ethics [phd thesis, durham university]. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/3958/1/3958_1474.pdf jonas, h. (1985). the imperative of responsibility: in search of an ethics for the technological age. university of chicago press. jonas, h., morris, t., & jonas, h. (2013). hans jonas’s ethic of responsibil ity: from ontology to ecology. state university of new york press. jung, h. y., & jung, p. (1975). to save the earth. philosophy today, 19(2), 108. mcdonald, h. p. (2003). john dewey and environmental philosophy. state university of new york press. mcwhorter (editor), l., & stenstad (editor), g. (2009). heidegger and the earth: essays in environmental philosophy (2nd ed.). university of toronto press. mcwhorter, l., & stenstad, g. (2009). heidegger and the earth: essays in environmental philosophy. university of toronto press. merleau-ponty, m. (2002). phenomenology of perception (2nd ed.). routledge. our common future. (1987). oxford university press. rentmeester, c. (2015). heidegger and the environment. rowman & littlefield. taylor, p. w. (2011). respect for nature: a theory of environmental ethics (25th anniversary edition) (25 anv). princeton university press. thomson, i. (2004). ontology and ethics at the intersection of phenomenology and environmental philosophy. inquiry, 47(4), 380–412. https://doi.org/10.1080/00201740410004197 utsler, d. (2024). paul ricoeur and environmental philosophy. lexington books. wrathall, m. a. (2013). the cambridge companion to heidegger’s being and time. cambridge university press. zagonari, f. (2023). environmental ethics, sustainability and decisions: literature problems and suggested solutions. springer. zimmerman, m. e. (1993). rethinking the heidegger-deep ecology relationship. environmental ethics, 15(3), 195–224. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 83 french language and security in nigeria: an empirical analysis esther amiemenomoh michael department of languages, nigerian defence academy, kaduna, nigeria. emigirl2001ng@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.33912.11529 abstract language is a primary mode of human expression. this attribute delineates humans from other animals. with the use of language in its oral and written forms, humans are able to communicate and express their feelings within the cultural norms. human languages are prone to enhancing socio-cultural, political, economic and scientific activities of the people in an organized society. they are instrumental to our social interactions and meaningful communication in all ramifications. nigeria is a country where diverse indigenous and foreign languages are spoken but with english as her “lingua franca”. as an anglophone country, nigeria is bordered by french speaking countries to the east, west and north. for a good working relationship and productive communication with her french-speaking neighbours, the nigerian populace, especially the security agencies require a good knowledge of french language. security is the live wire of every society as any breach usually constitutes a very serious menace to its political, economic and social development. this paper examines the empirical role of french language in the nigerian security architecture. the paper also looked into a brief history of french language in nigeria and why the teaching and learning of french language should be taken seriously considering its social, political and economic benefits. the paper equally examines the concept of security and the relationship between french language and security in nigeria. with the recent spate in insurgency and terrorism in the country, french language in particular, should be considered as a tool for enhanced security and maintenance of peace. the paper adopts empirical method as the frame work of analysis and concludes that the importance of french language within the context of military operations cannot be overemphasized. keywords: french, language, security, empirical, nigeria igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 84 introduction nigeria has more than 450 indigenous languages, making her the most multi lingual country in africa (adegbija, 2004). according to the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria only three (3) of these languages, hausa, igbo and yoruba are regarded as major languages and are so recognized. language is the primary mode of human expression which distinguishes humans from other animals. with the use of language in its oral and written forms, humans are able to communicate and express their feelings within the cultural norms. the potential of language in the private and public domains of humans indicates its centrality in the sociology and the economy of the society. different opinions have been formed by scholars and linguists about the meaning and nature of language. these definitions of language are wrought with some ideological and semantic differences. according to elugbe «it is impossible to find a definition against which we could not raise at least one objection” (42). sesan quoted in olayinwola postulates language as a mechanism of control. in his view, language is «“the sole machinery used by man to manipulate and control his bio-cultural sphere and linguistic domains at micro and macro levels” (71). man is able to control his environment through the ability to communicate meaning through what is said in terms of order and instruction. through the use of language, man has been able to maintain decorum and orderliness as against what is obtainable in the world of other animals. sapir (1970) defines language as a purely human and noninstinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of a system of voluntarily produced symbols. in essence, language is a means or process of understanding the experience, ideas and emotions of others. it should be noted that language does not develop in vacuum; it cannot be separated from culture. it is part of the culture of the people and the only available means by which the members of a society communicate. we could say that language is an embodiment, a component of culture and a central network through which the other components are expressed. ajiboye (2002) buttressed the above view when he said that language is a critical element of culture through which it reveals its fascinating power. all these inform the goals of learning a language as the ability to use it, understand its meaning and connotations, ideas and achievements. recently, the federal government of nigeria made it mandatory for men of the nigerian armed forces to learn the three (3) major languages in nigeria so as to make it easy for them to communicate with the citizens when posted to such areas on assignment. this brings us to understand why ogunbuyi (1998) insists that language is the key to the heart of the people. if we lose a key, we lose the people; igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 85 if we treasure the key and keep it safe it will unlock the door of untold riches which cannot be guessed out from the other sides of the door. language could be summarized as an element of culture and a medium of communication among humans. in the words of reuben abati (2016) ‘language connects people. language defines and strengthens.’ the language of focus in this paper is french the concept of security the concept of security has been defined by various institutions and individuals using various yardsticks. it is an essentially contested concept on which no consensus exists. security is not an independent concept. it is always related to individual or societal value systems (brauch 2003). every author talking about security assigns different meanings to the term. based on the assumptions of the realist theory of international relations—that security is the dominant concern for states, that force is the major instrument, that governments preserve their unity as they interact with one another—security is achieved once threats to security can be prevented or at least managed (nye 1988). contrary to realist theory, social constructivism perceives security as resulting from the interactions of various actors, with social values and identities shaping these relations. security is accordingly intersubjective; constituted by a process of interaction and negotiation. once the perception of security has changed, and the fear of one another is overcome, security is achieved (ulusoy 2003).wolfers postulates that “security, in an objective sense, measures the absence of threats to acquired values, in a subjective sense, the absence of fear that such values will be attacked” ( 149). this is summarized as the distinction between security in an ‘objective sense’ which is the absence of threats and in a ‘subjective sense’ which is the absence of fear. with both components in place, security is said to be achieved. security cannot be achieved at the expense of others. actors deprived of security are possible threats. security can only be achieved by combined efforts (booth1999). in this view, security means that a certain degree of trust between a ctors originating from a certain level of predictability needs to be achieved by sharing commitments. there have been various interpretations of security. in general, security has been understood to be synonymous with the accumulation of power. it has been regarded as a commodity, and power as the means of achieving it (van buuren2010). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 86 in defining security, ehi (2009) in bello &ayelaagba identifies two main tendencies; first, the state –centered concept of security which views security in terms of defence and survival of the state. second, security involves freedom from danger or threat to a nation’s ability to protect and develop itself, promote its cherished values and well-being of her people. kofi annan talks on the new trends insecurity today which has to do with the protection of lives and properties. in his words: in the wake of these conflicts, a new understanding of the concept of security is evolving. once synonymous with the defence of territory from external attack, the requirements of security today have come to embrace the protection of communities and individuals from internal violence. the need for a more human-centred approach to security is reinforced by the continuing dangers that weapons of mass destruction, most notably nuclear weapons, pose to humanity: their very name reveals their scope and their intended objective, if they were ever used. (43) with the continuing danger posed to human lives, there is the call for more attention on the security of human lives and properties the world over. human security focuses on the survival and the well-being of people. it goes beyond the absence of conflicts and war. it deals with the freedom of humans from all forms of wants and fear. anan continues by defining what human security entails; human security, in its broadest sense, embraces far more than the absence of conflict. it encompasses human rights, good governance, access to education and health care and ensuring that each individual has opportunities and choices to fulfill his or her potential. every step in this direction is also a steep towards reducing poverty, achieving economic growth and preventing conflict. freedom from want, freedom from fear, and the freedom of future generations to inherit a healthy natural environment -these are the interrelated building blocks of human – and therefore national – security. (press release may 8, 2010). in the above definition, our attention is drawn to the fact that preventing conflict, freedom from fear forms part of the building blocks for human and national security. that means human security is not dependent on the presence of war and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 87 conflicts. the quest for securing lives should not be left until such lives are endangered rather, measures should be taken to avoid this conflicts. according to licoln chen “the term human security…focuses the concept of security on human survival, well-being and freedom.” “…we conceptualize human security as the objective – the ultimate ends – of all security concerns. in this schema, other forms of security, such as military security, are not ultimate goals. rather, these other forms of security are simply means for achieving the ultimate objectives of human security.” (139). the ultimate security goal of every government should be on the survival, well-being and freedom of her citizens and not military security. this does not mean that military security should be left out but that security should not always be about arms and ammunitions. we shall therefore examine the role of language, specifically french, in ensuring security and also stress the need for a working knowledge of the language by the nigerian security personnel. the emergence of french language in nigeria. french language is a foreign language taught in nigeria, an anglophone country. the country is bordered by francophone countries: niger republic in the north, tchad in the north-east, cameroon in the east and benin republic in the west. for effective communication and working relationship with the neighboring countries, nigerians need the knowledge of french language. the french language became widely known in nigeria in 1960 with the growing need to interact with her francophone neighbors. it was subsequently included in the secondary school curriculum. scholarships were awarded to students of unity schools and one year abroad program for those in institutions of higher learning by the french government to encourage the study of the language. inyang (2010) in bello& ayelaagba (2015) opined that with the cooperation of the french government, french centers such as centre for french teaching and documentation, alliance française, centre international d’etude française; pilot schools and the nigerian french project were established to promote the study of the language. in 1998, the government of the late general sanni abacha directed that french should be adopted as the second official language of nigeria. at that time, the government said that the decision was informed by the need to boost nigeria’s socio-political and economic relations with its neighboring countries which are all french-speaking. as a result, changes were effected in the county’s national policy on education (npe) in 1998. the policy introduced the study of french language igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 88 in the primary and secondary school curricula as a compulsory subject. section 1 sub-section 10 (b) of the national policy on education states as follows: for smooth interaction with our neighbors, it is desirable for every nigerian to speak french. accordingly, french shall be the second official language in nigeria and it shall be compulsory in junior secondary schools (10). it didn’t just end there, in 2002, the nigerian government took a fundamental policy decision making french the second official language in nigeria. and it was also made a core subject in both junior and senior secondary school curriculum igonor 2011. however, political instability and government’s seeming lack of interest has been a principal impediment to the implementation of the language policy in nigeria. this only goes to confirm the statement that previously agreed policies are often abandoned or neglected by new regimes, thus truncating proper implementation (adegbija, 2004, adesola, 2014, olajide, 2011) in olayinwola (2015). still in 2016, the federal government re-stated the new status of french language across the country to the effect that “all levels of the country's education system, from primary up to tertiary, must offer courses in french language”. (daily trust, 2016). french language and security so many researchers have written on the vital role of language either as a tool for maintaining peace and security or as a tool for socio-cultural and economic growth. vygotsky (1987) wrote “language plays a role in organizing activity in focusing on specific aspects of the environment”. talking about the nigerian armed forces involvement in peace keeping operation, agwai (2004) quoted by sabo (2011) has this to say “nigeria has since independence in 1960 contributed troops and participated in peace support operations (psos) in different theatres of conflict around the world”. still on the important role of the nigerian armed force in peace keeping operations in the world, gandu (1996) is of the opinion that “nigeria is a giant in africa and holds an important place in current arrangements for maintaining regional security and peace. as such, the country is increasingly being drawn into peace keeping operations in troubled zones not only in africa, but in other crisis areas in the world… such operations in non-english countries would clearly be more effective if the nigerian peace keepers were bilingual” 250. we strongly agree with this researcher that for effective and successful operations, the nigerian troops should be equipped with other operational languages like french aside the english language. adegboye (2005) recommends that “because of language importance during peace keeping operations amongst others, literacy in french by officers, not only of the nigerian army but of the nigerian armed forces igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 89 should be seen as one of the challenges that should be met before the next decade”. adebisi writes “the knowledge of foreign languages is an asset to the individual and his country. since the knowledge of foreign languages is, like every branch of knowledge, not readily acquired especially at the time of need, it is essential that every literate nigerian strives to be literate in foreign languages, especially the major ones of the contemporary era”. for the interest of peace, co-existence and national development, every nigerian should learn at least one foreign language and some of the indigenous languages. adeyanju quoted in gandu (1996) states that “competence in french language will increase the ease of contacts of various levels with speakers of the language outside the country… it will serve as a window on the international world and to facilitate socio-cultural, intellectual and economic contracts with neighboring francophone countries on the one hand and other french speaking countries the world over” 249. the geographical location of nigeria as a country has made french language learning necessary in the country. we reiterate that the importance of french language in nigeria for social, political, economic, security and international relations cannot be overemphasized. onyemelukwe (1995) observed that nigeria needs the knowledge of french so as to have a healthy relation with her francophone neighbors. furthermore, onyemelukwe and adie-offiong described nigeria as: “an anglophone country in a sea of francophonie” (38). speaking to the daily champion african news (2005) on the importance of french language in nigeria and for nigerians; an educationist binbo fisayo stressed the need to be able to speak and also understanding a second international language, especially the french language. in the same vein, reuben abati insists that ‘nigeria cannot effectively perform its leadership role in the sub-region if its people do not speak or understand the language of their neighbors’. (http://www.voicesnet.com/displayonedoc.aspx?docid=199434) security and french language in nigeria: an empirical security analysis security is the live wire of every society as any breach of it usually constitutes a very serious menace to its political, economic and social development. in order to maintain peace, avert or prosecute war in the event of the outbreak of one, nations usually set aside robust security budgets. in spite of several measures undertaken to maintain peace and avert war, however, breaches such as communal crisis, insurgency, cross border conflicts and full scale war are rampant in many parts of the world and nigeria has not been spared this scourge. attempts to curb these conflicts and security challenges through the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 90 use of arms and ammunitions have not always produced the desired results. for instance, the war against boko haram in the north eastern part of nigeria with its attendant woes and destructions has dragged on for too long in spite of the recent relative success recorded by the nigerian military against the insurgents. even after the guns are silenced, there is no assurance that the war can be declared to have come to an end. the heart and mind of the aggressors have to be won and surviving citizens caught up in the theatre of war have to be re-assured of their safety. this is where the role of language as a plausible means of averting war through intelligence gathering from the grass root and interaction with the people, 'winning' war through enlightenment of and interaction with the people and sustaining peace through the potent weapon of continued dialogue with the people in relevant language/languages comes into play. over the years, cross border crises have proved difficult to manage with the use of only arms and ammunitions. there is therefore need to dialogue for intelligence gathering; need for troops to acquire competence in languages predominant in the theatre of war and in the neighboring countries for reasons earlier stated. since french is the language of our neighbors. the nigerian government alongside the nigerian army authorities have come to realize its importance to our military personnel. this probably explains why the military authorities recently made french language compulsory for all army personnel through its incorporation into officers’ promotion examinations. french language is an assessed subject in some career courses and examinations for nigerian army personnel. furthermore, because of the importance attached to language competence the nigerian army authorities have made it mandatory for its personnel to learn the three (3) major nigerian languages in one year. brigadier general sani kukasheka usman (director army public relations) while addressing the press said that the study of foreign and local languages is a world-wide practice among armies in which officers and soldiers are encouraged to be multi-lingual. the policy, he stated, will foster esprit-de-corps and better communication with the populace and enhance information gathering, civil-military relations, increase understanding between militaries when operating abroad and assist officers and soldiers to perform their duties professionally. also, as part of the efforts to enhance communication between nigerian army and other french speaking west african armies, the nigerian army commissioned a standard computerized french language laboratory in lagos. the chief of training and operations, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 91 nigerian army, major general jack nwaogbo, said this move is born out of the need to eliminate the communication barrier between the nigerian army and its french speaking neighbors. he added that it was observed that eighty-five percent of the nigerian contingent in mali on a peacekeeping mission were faced with the challenge of speaking french, the local language of the malian people. it is “the need for army personnel to communicate fluently with francophone speaking counterparts during peacekeeping missions which led to the provision of the french language laboratory” (voice of nigeria, 2013) there is just no over stating the importance of french language to the nigerian armed forces. in the same vein the ghanaian armed forces (gaf) has made it compulsory for its personnel to learn and understand french language. speaking on its importance, its chief of defence staff (cds) major general peter augustine blay, noted that as ghana was surrounded by french-speaking countries, it would be prudent for personnel of the gaf to take the learning and speaking of french serious. "it makes a lot of sense to be able to speak the french language for our own interest, and for an enhanced international cooperation.” http://www.modernghana.com/print/250554/1/soldiers-ordered-to-speakfrench.html human languages are prone to enhancing socio-cultural, political, economic and scientific activities of the people in an organized society. they are instrumental to our social interactions and meaningful communication in all ramifications. they give us sense of belonging; create room for social identity, integrity and empowerment. human languages are dynamic to meet up with evolving social-political and economic values as well as challenges in various domains of life. language is a system of communication, and therefore a vital tool for the maintenance of peace and security in a nation. on the other hand, peace is not a one-time act. cease fire is therefore a step towards peace attainment. true peace is built over time, with different processes and approaches. in this process, language can be used as an instrument to strengthen the ties between individuals and communities through listening, negotiations, mediation, arbitration, adjudication and information regarding the dangers of illicit associations that can be a threat to the peace and security of the people. this paper therefore defines the concept of language as a system of communication and a channel for the attainment of peaceful coexistence in nigeria. the security personnel can create an enabling environment among the residents through the use of effective communication, so they can be sensitized on the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 92 dangers of harboring strangers with unknown identities. finally, the task of rebuilding the areas destroyed by the activities of the insurgents also depends on the confidence reposed on the locals to expose the dissidents who may further cause disasters and bring setback. this can be achieved through the use of effective communication. language plays a key role in maintaining peace and security both locally and globally. it takes understanding of the language of an environment to effectively carry out any successful key operation. the personnel of the nigerian armed forces have become key players in many peace support operations all over the world and so need to be multi-lingual. benefits of french language the teaching and learning of french language in nigeria holds a lot of benefits to the country and her citizens in every sense of it; politically, economically and socio-culturally. socio-cultural benefits the study of french language needs to be taken serious by nigerians and by our security agencies because of its socio-cultural benefits. knowing the culture and civilization of a people could bring about intimacy and better rapport. when one knows about a country, one can easily relate with the citizens of that country. buetas (1976) in suleiman (2017) opines that there is no serious-minded organization political, scientific, philosophical or even athletic which does not have the ambition to associate with other groups, sharing its idea outside its national boundaries. therefore, the language promotes inter-personal relationship among the speakers. political benefits french is a language of politics; it is as useful as english language. in the field of politics, nigeria sometimes finds it difficult to agree on some political issues with some of her french-speaking counterparts. many lives are being lost every day due to the political crises which might have been amicably settled. the francophone countries expect nigerians to speak and write the french language, being the giant of africa. some of the officials in the french-speaking countries in africa even say it openly that they expect nigerians to learn to speak and write french as the leader of all african countries. most political and international positions require some level of competence in some vital international languages one of which is the french language. it is equally necessary to take note that french igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 93 language is a language of conflict resolution and peace-making. language is necessary to promote absolute comprehension to settle the rising problems both nationally and internationally. therefore, nigerian security personnel and those in politics need to learn the language in order to achieve political values. economic benefits language, culture and economy are quite inseparable because of their intimate relationship. in the process of learning french as a foreign language, one learns french culture and tradition. a good knowledge of french language may serve as catalyst for economic empowerment and development for nigerians. trade relation between nigeria and her francophone counterparts would be more cordial if the language barrier is removed. nigerian custom officers face a lot of problems along the francophone-nigerian border lines every day; and unless some of these nigerian custom officers speak and write french, some of these problems will persist and our trading activities with the francophone countries will continue to be seriously affected. the economic empowerment function of french does not solely depend on the contingency of nigeria to neighboring countries such as republic of benin and togo that speak french as official language. aire (1993) argues that: the importance of french language to us in nigeria is not only due to our country’s contiguity to french speaking countries as france the mother country of these neighboring francophone countries, has long since realized the necessity to disseminate her language in nigeria because of its importance to her economy. therefore, one of the principal functions of learning the language is for economic purpose. interested nigerians can easily venture into business with the neighboring francophone countries. most nigerian youths are now aware of the facts that one should not solely rely on one’s course of study. the employment situation in nigeria has never given any room for relying only on your area of specialization. therefore, french can serve as a booster to one’s dream of getting good jobs in both national and international establishments and companies. there are establishments that are keenly interested in employing people that can speak and write french. it is therefore recommended for the nigerian youth to have a knowledge or mastery of the language to enhance their employment in such international establishments. in addition to these benefits, we add that french language will foster unity and enhance security between nigeria and her neighbors. security is a very important igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 94 aspect of the human life and governance. the absence of security brings about fear, intolerance and instability. every individual craves to be secured and countries vote huge amount of cash on the security of lives and properties of the people and the country at large. security is a subject that concerns everyone and can therefore not be overlooked. other benefits according to ajiboye (2002) french language plays a crucial role in the official lives of most african states. this is because 22% of the world's french is in black africa alone. algeria, tunisia and morocco account for 11% of the word's official use of french, africa as a whole account for 33% of the french used for official or administrative purposes in the world. in relative terms, it could be argued that outside france, which in any case, does not constitute more than 50% of the total output of french, africa is the most important center of french practice in the world. french is spoken by 274 million people throughout the world. it is the fifth most widely spoken language after mandarin chinese, english, spanish, and according to estimations, arab and hindi. french is the fourth most common language (used) on the internet; the second most used language for international news in the media; the third most used language in business; the second leading working language of most international organizations and the second most learned language in the world with 125 million students and half a million of french teachers abroad’ (http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/french-foreign-pol) recommendations this paper has attempted to highlight the importance of french language to the operators of nigerian security outfits. it is recommended that  efforts should be intensified to make our armed forces personnel to key into the learning of french language so as to make them relevant for peacekeeping and peace-support operations globally  personnel of other para-military security outfits like the nigerian immigration service, the nigerian customs service etc should also be encouraged to learn french language so as to ease interactions with our francophone neighbors thus making them more efficient and effective.  the federal government should endeavor to ensure the actualization of the teaching of french language in our primary and secondary schools so that many more of our youths will be afforded the opportunity of being exposed to the language and thus reap its benefits. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 95 conclusion this paper has attempted an examination of the implications and importance of french language to the nigerian society with focus on the nigerian armed forces. it is no longer news that men of the nigerian armed forces are faced with language barrier which impedes the success of their operations in the field. the nigerian army has made moves to encourage personnel to learn to speak french language, with hope will be sustained. it is also hoped that other military arms like the nigerian air force and navy will do same. the nigerian police, customs, immigration and other para-military institutions would also take seriously the learning and speaking of french language. this is to eradicate or minimize the problem of language barrier faced by our security agents. as mentioned in the paper, maintaining of peace and security is not always about arms and ammunitions but sometimes communication. speaking a language of the people will help them in intelligence gathering, averting of conflicts and also in sustaining peace. language enhances trust and good communication between actors involved. the learning and speaking of french language by nigerians will also go a long way to promoting good trans-border relationship; be it economic, political or socio-cultural interactions between nigerians and its neighboring countries. therefore, importance of french language to nigeria and nigerians can never be over emphasized. references ajiboye, tunde. nigeria and french: a paradox of closeness and distance. ilorin: university of ilorin, 2002. bello, anne o., ayelaagbesina o. french language and print media for national security and transformation in nigeria. international journal of educational research and technology (ijert), 6(4), 2015. booth, ken. “three tyrannies”, in: dunne, t.; wheeler, n.j. (eds.): human rights in global politics cambridge: cambridge university press, 1999. booth, ken. theory of world security, cambridge: cambridge university press, 2007. brauch, hans günter. “security and environment linkages in the mediterranean: three phases of research on human and environmental security and peace”. in: brauch, hans günter; liotta, p.h.; marquina, antonio/rogers, paul; selim, mohammed el-sayed (eds.): security and environment in the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 96 mediterranean. conceptualizing security and environmental conflicts. berlin – heidelberg: springer, 2003. elugbe, benjamin. nigerian pidgin: problems and prospects. ibadan: mosuro, 1995. federal government of nigeria. constitution of the federal republic of nigeria 1999. federal republic of nigeria (2004). national policy on education (.4th edition). lagos: nerdc. kanu, ikechukwu a., migration and religio-political insecurity in africa. journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 2. no. 4. pp. 36-43, 2019. kanu, ikechukwu a.,igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy scholars. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 31-40, 2017. kanu, ikechukwu a., christian-muslim relations in nigeria as a religio-political locus theologicus for misericordia vultus. harvard journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 117-128, 2016. kanu, ikechukwu a. the kola nut in igbo-african artistic universe and the question of peace-building”.amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 18. no. 5. pp. 4958, 2020. kanu, ikechukwu a.; kanu c. chiugo and ejikemeuwa j. o. ndubisi, (eds.). african ideologies, business and peace-building: proceedings of the international conference of the association for the promotion of african studies on african ideologies, human security and peace building, 10th -11th june 2020. association for the promotion of african studies, usa. isbn: 978-978-984-930-7. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.27104.51204, 2020. kanu, ikechukwu a. and ejikemeuwa j. o. ndubisi, (eds.). african indigenous knowledge and peace building: proceedings of the international conference of the association for the promotion of african studies on african ideologies, human security and peace building, 10th -11th june 2020. association for the promotion of african studies, usa. isbn: 978-978-984-931-4. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.33815.39842, 2020. kanu, ikechukwu a. and ejikemeuwa j. o. ndubisi (eds.). (2020). philosophy and conflict resolution in african: proceedings of the international conference of the association for the promotion of african studies on african ideologies, human security and peace building, 10th -11th june 2020. association for the promotion of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 97 african studies, usa. isbn: 978-978-984-933-8. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.32137.67683, 2020. kofi annan. “secretary-general salutes international workshop on human security in mongolia.” two-day session in ulaanbaatar, may 8-10, 2000. press release sg/sm/7382. <http://www.un.org/news/press/docs/2000/20000508.sgsm7382.doc.ht ml> retrieved 21 march 2018 kofi annan. “towards a culture of peace.” http://www.unesco.org/opi2/lettres/textanglais/annane.html retrieved 21 march 2018 lincoln chen. “human security: concepts and approaches.” common security in asianew concepts of human security. eds. tatsuromatsumae and lincoln c. chen. tokyo: tokai university press, 1995. nye, j.; lynn-jones, s. “international security studies: a report of a conference on the state of the field”, in: international security, 12,(4) spring, 1988. ogunbiyi, oluranti. implementation of the senior secondary school french curriculum in lagos state: problems and prospects. british journal of arts and social sciences, 5 (1), 2012. url: http//journal.co.uk/bjass.aspx. ogunkeye, olufumilayo. bilingualism and the teaching of english and french in nigeria. journal of social and cultural studies,10(2), 2007. url: http://contextjournal.wordpress.com/ olayiwola jibril kolawole: problems facing the teaching and learning of french language in colleges of education in oyo state. asia pacific journal of multidisciplinary research, vol. 3, no. 2, 2015 onyemelukwe, ifeoma. & adie-offiong vanessa. “deceptive cognates in a french class in nigeria”. education etsocietesplurilinguistiques, paris, france. no17, 2004. onyemelukwe, ifeoma. “teaching french effectively under difficult circumstances in secondary schools: the case of kaduna state”, research in education (rie), a journal of the institute of education, delta state university abraka, 1, (1), 2004. onyemelukwe, ifeoma. “french in nigerian schools: policy and practice.” the french language literacy creative in nigeria. zaria: labelle educational publisher.2004. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 2, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 98 suleiman, balluwa, g and ibrahim, ishaku k. the problems of teaching french language in secondary schools in adamawa state: problems and prospects. international journal of advanced reseach in public policy, social development and enterprise studies. 2,(1), 2017. ulusoy, hasan. “revisiting security communities after the cold war: the constructivist perspective”. perceptions, no.8, 2003,(september−november); at: <http://www.sam.gov.tr/perceptions/ volume8/september−november2003/hasanulusoy6kasim2003.pdf> retrieved 20 march 2018) united nations secretary-general kofi annan. millenium report, chapter 3, p.4344. http://www.un.org/millennium/sg/report/full.htm retrieved 21 march 2018 van buuren, jelle, “security as a commodity. the ethical dilemmas of private security services. international peace research institute in oslo”; 2010. at: <http://shop.ceps.be/system/files/ book/2010/03/inex%20pb6%20van%20buuren.pdf> ( retrieved 20 march 2018). wolfers, arnold. “national security as an ambiguous symbol”, in wolfers, arnold (ed.): discord and collaboration. essays on international politics. baltimore: john hopkins university press, 1962. https://prnigeria.com/security/nigerian-army-introduces-new-languagepolicy/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 342 human nature and the binary of social relations: an afrocentric perspective maraizu elechi, phd department of philosophy, rivers state university port harcourt, rivers state, nigeria drmaraizuelechi@yahoo.com abstract human nature is complex, composite and holistic, including the corporeal, intellective, moral, spiritual, and psychophysical elements. it is described by aristotle as rational and conceived by antonio rosmini-serbati as volitional. the rational and volitional dimensions of human nature are indicative of the moral free will of human beings to make choices and take decisions. this suggests that human nature is the very essence of human action and interpersonal relationships. binaries of human social relations in the hierarchical structure of contrasts subordinate one element to another and impose a hierarchical order on the world that connects human beings with strands that support pervasive human relations of inequality and dominance. human nature and the binary of social relations indicate that there is a problem of inclusiveness, identity in difference, wholehearted acceptance of africans by their western counterparts. this negates africans’ belief in the inter-subjectivity and participatory character of human beings in sharing in the inner richness and divine essence of existential experiences. thus any discriminatory practice that tends to reify, objectify and marginalize anyone is provocative and unacceptable. this paper, therefore, is a critique of the maltreatment of africans by the west. the paper ratiocinates on why and how the binary of social relations destroys the sensitivity of naturism and human cohesive rapport. in conclusion, it argues that socio-culturally constructed binaries such as transcendence and immanence need not be hierarchized between africans and westerners since both are only a bifurcation of humanity. keywords: human nature, social relations, binaries of nature, inequality, human dignity, racism. introduction among the most perennial and controversial issues in philosophy is the issue of human nature. from the classical history of philosophy till date, the question of human nature has remained the question of questions in the search for human cupido sciendi (will or quest to know). this implies that the quest to unravel the nature and essence of the human being is as old as philosophy itself, thus, precipitating the essentiality of the socratic igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 343 existentialist assertions – ‘man know thyself’, ‘an unexamined life is not worth living’. the question of human nature has received vast and varied responses, and none of the responses seems holistic and comprehensive enough to properly resolve the philosophical questions and issues gravitating around it. there is, therefore, a chronic lack of consensus in this regard, thus, creating room for the debate to persists. the importance of this debate is predicated on the fact that we need to know who we are as human beings and what constitute our nature. this is the focus of this paper, to understand the key elements of human nature in order to know the reason behind why we act the way we do towards others, especially in consideration of the binaries that characterize human social existence and relationships. this research intends to find out what constitutes human nature that has predisposed and inundated human beings with ever-increasing, unfair, and wicked attitudinal dispositions towards others, as well as the non-rational, mindless and meaningless dispositions of one clime and nation towards another, especially the developed nations towards the underdeveloped nations. it exposes the illogic in the logic of domination and subjugation and advocates the end to such oppressive domineering relationships that give rise to socio-cultural evils like racism, classism, etc. it tries to find out why the use or application of brute tendentious dispositions like slavery, sexism, colonialism, and neocolonialism occasioned by exploitation, victimization, subjugation, and suppression across the globe are rife, in spite of the fact that human beings are rational agents, mindful beings, and free-to-will individuals. the answer is not far-fetched: a human natural inclination towards self-preservation is at the root of every human socioculturally constructed binaries that result in the evils of segregation, profiling of any sort, and the irrational carnage of exploitation, objectification, and the sub-human status given to africans by the europeans. it must, however, be properly situated that slavery, classism, and sexism are consequences of racism, while racism, colonialism, and neocolonialism on the other hand are products of capitalism. collectively, these divisive categories, which put people into unjust classes and categorizations are not only meant for the strangulation, suppression, and conquering of a group, but most importantly, for unnecessary stratification, perpetual superiority, and dominance politically and economically, with the social consequences of mutual suspicion, distrust and hatred. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 344 the traditional understanding of human nature, therefore, is that it has to do with those characteristic features which other animals do not possess because they are specifically and peculiarly human beings’. this may sound like a comparative ontological analysis between human beings and lower animals or creatures, but there is no doubt that the issue of human nature, that is, who human beings are, is at the very core of how they relate with others, and what determines our actions towards others in society. the question of who we are is itself a philosophical question. human beings are supposed to lead a good and happy life, and not to hurt, enslave and discriminate against others. this is why aristotle argues that human nature gives accounts on how we should properly and adequately relate with other human beings in the world in which we live. according to him, human nature, human happiness, and human flourishing are compatible, and to talk about human nature is to talk about the fundamental elements of human beings that contrasts and distinguishes them from other creatures. the clear sense of nature and humanity is simply and squarely to humanize or “naturalize” human attitude towards others whereby others are seen and treated as human beings in the most proper sense. it conveys a sense of commonality and inclusiveness that supposes mutual tolerance and respect of the being of others. asouzu rightly calibrates that, one without the opposite-other in the form of an opposite-self losses all forms of legitimization. any form of selfishness or self-preservation which negates the other-self is a contradiction because it is an indirect negation of its own fundamental essence or quiddity (2004, p.76). understanding human nature as we have pointed out above, the idea of human nature is ambiguous and controversial. however, to reflect on it implies to concede to the very view that human beings actually have nature. this point has to be clearly made because opinion is divided among philosophers on the idea of human nature. some philosophers claim that human beings have nature, while others think contrarily that human beings do not have nature. among the philosophers who argued that there is human nature include john dupre, who submits that, what, if anything, is human nature? one philosophical tradition regrettably revived recently, supposes that this phrase should refer to some real essence of the human species: an internal property of all and only humans that explains why igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 345 they are as they are and why they do as they do (2003, pp.109122). jean-paul sartre, on the other hand, is one of the philosophers who believe that there is no human nature. according to him, “there is no human nature. … man is nothing else but that which he makes of himself” (1948, p.30). for ruth hubbard, “‘human nature’ does not describe people. it is a normative concept that incarnates historically based beliefs about what human beings are and how they should behave. it is questionable whether the concept of human means anything” (1990, p.70). for michel foucault “nothing in man is sufficiently stable to serve as a basis for understanding other men” (1977, p.153). durkheim avers that “individual [human] nature are merely the interminate material that the social factors molds and transforms” (1962, p.106). human nature is a natural design, not socio-culturally constructed. it is an aspect of human beings that is innate, inherent, and biologically derived rather than a product of human socio-cultural conditions. it includes certain things or qualities which human beings distinctively share in common by virtue of being human beings. human nature stands in contradistinction to human acts and creations. as naturally designed, human nature can be socio-culturally deconstructed through learning and socialization. there are many theories of human nature including christian theory, classical or ancient philosophical ideas that include those of aristotle, and antonio rosmini-serbati, blank slate theory, and the darwinian theory. the christian theory of human nature sees human beings as an imago dei (image of god), with an immaterial soul and freedom of choice, unlike other creatures. it conceives the nature of a human being to be an end in se, with intrinsic value or worth. every other being is only a function of human beings and an instrumental value to him. the blank slate theory holds that what is known as human nature is a matter of social conditioning, which regulates the way human beings behave and act, and a little of man’s biological nature. proponents of this theory include karl marx, max weber, etc. for the classical or ancient philosophical ideas, philosophers like antonio rosmini-serbati, and aristotle conceive human nature as volitional and rational respectively. human beings, no doubt, undergo the reasoning process of the mind. the human mind has the ability to create ideas, both simple and complex ones igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 346 since they are already stored in the mind. the human mind has the ability to think; this is what qualifies the human being as a rational being, such that he is thinking whenever his mind is not blank, that is, whenever he is conscious of something. to think of something is to be conscious of that thing, to reason, reflect, will, doubt, question, and remember. philosophers identify four main functions of the human mind to include memory, cognition, volition or will, and imagination. memory is the retentive or storage function of the human mind whereby experiences are stored up and recalled or remembered later. the cognitive function is meant for the acquisition of knowledge. it does the function of thinking, speculation, reasoning or arguing, and meditating. volition or will is the aspect of the mind that makes choices, decisions, accepts, or rejects anything. the capacity for voluntary action, conscious intention, or cognitive selfregulation is seen by antonio rosmini-serbati as a very important aspect of human nature. there is no doubt that every living organism exhibits selfregulation at diverse levels, the highest level of self-regulation is exhibited by human beings, whereby they make choices, control, and regulate the operations of their minds or intellect. they decide whether to act, what action to undertake, and when it is proper to undertake or not to undertake an action. this means that human beings are naturally in control of and responsible for their own actions and choices. they have conscious knowledge of what is right and what is wrong. this makes volition a linkage idea to rationality because to choose or not to choose, as well as to act or not to act requires a rational process that is in sine qua non with cognition and memory. for aristotle, a philosopher of nature, who strongly believes in the cause of nature, and develops his entire philosophy on the basis of nature, of the various things that exist, “some exist by nature, some from other causes” (1947, 192b8-9). this means that not to exist by nature implies to exist by 'other cause'. the 'other cause' can be a product of a human agent or craft. a thing is said to exist by nature if it comes to be by nature and not by some other causes, and it has as its function the promotion of the natural end (1947, 199a6). a thing’s nature is therefore what such thing is all about, that is, what makes such thing what it is rather than another. it is an innate or inherent propensity of a thing or being. human beings are by nature rational, political (zoon politikon) and social. as rational beings, human beings deploy the natural credential of rationality for a meaningful life in society through igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 347 enlightened discourses and the resolution of conflicts and differences. again, human life is naturally socio-political because socio-political life is rooted in human nature and human nature conversely requires sociopolitical life for its fulfilment, which entails the promotion of good life, happiness, human flourishing, and the development of society. this contravenes the current driving force of politics and human relationships where selfishness has become the defining lineament rather than the advancement of human happiness, good life, and the development of human society. the traditional response of aristotle and thomas aquinas that rationality is what distinguishes the human being from other animals was a remarkable effort to settle the issue of what constitutes human nature, yet the debate has persisted simply because this response cannot be seen to completely capture the complex and changing nature of human beings. for instance, the ability of human beings to think and act rationally in an event, according to innocent asouzu, can be grossly hindered or impaired by the inability of the mind to insightfully and correctly think out what the situation adequately demands. this means that even with the human natural credential of rationality or rational ability, mistakes and errors are bound to occur. selfishness can also invalidate or hinder one from reasoning properly. “for this reason, we can understand that in the pursuance of our interests in society, elements of rational and quasi-rational nature can combine to form the foundation of our actions and decisions” (asouzu 2004, p.51). wrong reasoning by human beings and the tendency to seek preservation either of self, institution, or nation in an exclusive manner is the root cause of racism, classism, sexism, tribalism, and all manners of tendencies of segregation. "it is one of the hidden reasons for all excuses to confuse and to conceal, to confound and to exploit, to condone and to misuse. in this way, human existence, in all aspects, turns out to be a hidden struggle towards the survival of the fittest." (asouzu, p.57). due to our partial reliance on natural insight based on reason, a person learns to define his needs within a wider framework of meaning to include not only himself but also a wider network of people, ideas, and values that enter into his selfdefinition. not only do individuals respond to their needs in this way but groups and institutions also undertake all these measures they deem fit to preserve themselves and guard against extinction. this is one of the root causes of such igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 348 extreme exclusive tendencies as racism, ethnicity, tribalism, and nepotism (asouzu, pp.51-52). the point is that human social relationships and any other form of relationships are regulated or controlled by self-preservation as a basic law of nature. inclination towards self-preservation is human nature, although human beings share this nature with other animals. they naturally do everything possible to uphold whatever conditions or advantages that favour their life and continued existence. self-preservation mostly determines the nature of human relationships, the relationship between institutions, nations, whether diplomatic, economic, political, or cultural relations. the point is that self-preservation can make individuals, institutions, and nations act irrationally to protect and safeguard themselves and their nation. however, the fact that human beings are naturally said to be rational animals does not imply that they must act rationally all the time. in fact, it would amount to mere assumption to think otherwise because natural law just as innocent asouzu rightly observed can place enormous demand on the human ability and capacity to think and act reasonably and rationally all the time. human nature and the binary of social relations: an afrocentric experience human nature determines what proper relationship should be with other human beings and non-human beings alike, as well as the universe in general in which human beings live. it unveils the central and remarkable features human beings have, and provides traits and dispositions that are uniquely important for the proper understanding of human behaviours, actions, and aspirations. human nature, human life, existence, and relationships are coded in, hinged on, and operates in binaries like good and bad, success and failure, darkness and light, night and day, new and old, etc. human thoughts or ideas also operate in binaries, for instance, true and false, plausible and implausible, implicit and explicit, etc. even in human relationships with others, some experiences show or indicate instances of binaries, most of which are socio-culturally constructed binaries. binary of social relations, as referred to in this paper include the divisive socio-cultural antecedents like racism, classism, sexism, ethnicism, and gender categorization. these are socio-cultural constructs that show how people are categorized especially in their relationships with others in society. it has to do with anything that attaches importance to people's historical and socio-cultural beings and experiences for profiling and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 349 discrimination. binary of social relations is a representation of "self and otherness" that puts the “other” in unjust classes and categories. these binaries come in the form of white race-black race, superior-inferior, oppressor-oppressed, strong-weak, master-slave, subject-object, exploiterexploited, and to use marxist parlance, bourgeois-proletariat relationships. for simone de beauvoir, it is a matter of the absolute sex versus the second sex, essential-incidental relationships, etc. this means that as we have binaries of nature, we also have human socio-culturally constructed binaries that occur when "we hierarchize the binaries and tag some superior and positive, and others as inferior and negative. it is by mere convention that we regard some modalities as more important than others are” (eboh, 2014, p.9). according to eboh, “socio-culturally constructed binaries such as transcendence and immanence need not be hierarchize…”(p.9), because a tacit theory of human socio-culturally constructed nature is based on human thoughts and feelings, which is embedded in the very way we think about people (2002, p.1). elsewhere in her work, eboh categorically points out that binaries are supposed to be mutually complementary and inclusive rather than exclusives. she puts it thus: the socio-culturally constructed binaries: transcendence and immanence, active and passive, rational and emotional, producer and reproducer, superior and inferior, alternant and subaltern, projectile and hollow, donor and receiver, cultured and domesticated, need not be hierarchized. in reality, the binaries are not mutually exclusive; they are moods of being which can co-exist even in a person and manifest themselves on different occasions in varying circumstances and degrees (p.17). human socio-culturally construct of binary, either in thinking or in an application is responsible for the polarization, dichotomy, and division, among human beings consequent upon hatred, subjugation and tension that has left humanity and the world more divided and un-unified than ever. the world appears to have lost the sense of humanity thereby human beings are now seen from the prism of statistics rather than from the point of view of humanitarian and complementary perspectives. western hegemony and cultures are heavily implicated in this regard, especially in their relationships with africans and africa. africa through racism, classism, slavery and slave trade, colonialism, and neocolonialism has been isolated into these unjust categories by the western zealous quest for domination, materialism, power, and control. the white, no doubt, are igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 350 human beings with the human rational credential, which allows them to systematically explore the world; it is expected that they use and prudently apply their rationality and knowledge for the safety and benefit of all humankind. but on a contrary note, self-preservation or selfishness, greed and insatiable quest for power, control, and most importantly, the fear of economic, socio-cultural, and political disempowerment seem to have continually taken control of their psycho-mental disposition resulting in a distorted sense of reason and moral consciousness. innocent asouzu rightly argues that “the need for self-preservation is the primordial human interest around which human beings articulate their meaning. this motive drives the rules guiding human action either individually or collectively” (2004, p. 52). for him, self-preservation is beneath all manners of segregations and exploitative tendencies caused by racism, colourism, classism, etc. “any society that insists on self-interest as a means of personal and collective actualization is merely heading to ruins. it is like the proverbial kingdom that turns against itself (pp.8-9). the europeans through imperialism introduced all manners of segregation and exploitative practices like slavery and slave trade, colonialism, and neo-colonialism. they employed segregation and discrimination against the blacks during employment, fixing of wages, the composition of colonial governments, and in many other aspects of life and social relations. there is no doubt that discrimination and domination constitute a hindrance to both individual human prosperity, national and international or global developments. with slavery and slave trade, torture and deprivation come the western belief that africans are not better than lower animals; they are savages and barbarians undeserving of humane treatment but should be bought or sold as infra-human dignitatem for exploitation and enslavement by the colonial masters. the justification for purchasing or selling them is that they are not human beings in the most proper sense. with colonialism, there was a connection with racism whereby the europeans deliberately intended africans to think that even though they are human beings, they are inferior human beings in nature (elechi, 2021a p.94). and with neocolonialism comes the assumption of the whiteman that even though africans are human beings, they are not capable of ruling themselves and making progress; no black african country is capable of feeding its population let alone capable of developing or sustaining any stable social institution because of the african inherent incapacity for organization as well as his propensity towards laziness and corruption (elechi, p.92). again, the western selfish motive to dominate, marginalize, and sustain igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 351 economic gains, political expansion, psycho-mental control, and sociocultural devaluations escalated exclusivism, classism, and racism in africa. classism and racism, for instance, gave rise to what is referred to in nigeria as government reserved areas (gra), whereby certain areas in the cities are reserved for the western imperialists. the colonial masters also practiced racism within the colonies by discriminating against the indigenes and hindering them from entering certain parts of the urban areas, which they referred to as 'government reserved area (gra)'. these areas were exclusively reserved for white people and their african collaborators. this is the origin of gra here and there in nigeria, which only depicts segregation and discrimination between the rich and the poor, rulers and the ruled. the effect of this is yet to be overcome in the country (elechi, p. 89). western imperialism eroded the identity of africans and inflected a eurocentric mentality and dependency. the prejudice and intolerance for the blacks and africans lead them into derogatory remarks against the blacks, especially the deliberate denial of africans the capacity for critical thinking and philosophy, science, and art. hegel's remarks that africans are lacking in reasoning, but exhibits wild and untamed tendencies; and hume's adumbration that blacks are naturally inferior to the white only exposes western hegemony and intention to perpetually conquer and dominate africans. according to hume, negroes naturally inferior to the whites. there never was a civilized nation of any other complexion than white, nor even any individual eminent either in action or speculation (1777, pp.691698). for the west, whiteness represents everything good and pure while blackness stands for everything bad, evil, and immoral. it was immanuel kant who conceives black as symbolizing darkness and mental stupidity. this prejudiced conception is responsible for the negative profiling of africa and africans and justifies the inhumane and dehumanizing measures against them. an attempt to understand human nature, particularly the nature of africans, is one of the main issues of africa philosophy. in africa, reality is conceptualized as a harmony of opposites or binaries. natural binaries and their harmony are the necessary epistemological, metaphysical, and ethical significance of african existence, where life is a variorum, and where every being and all existents have a locus of value, thus, the reason africans frown at any attempt to degrade and subjugate humanity. humanity in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 352 africa is understood in the realms of action and complementary interpersonal relationships. this constitutes the general african approach to their fellow human beings. they do not separate their humanity from those of the others around them. this is why commonality and hospitality combined are very important underlying principles of traditional african nature. this sense of commonality and hospitality is drawn from the african belief that every human being is important, valuable, and is an end in himself or herself (elechi, 2023, p.210). it is also derived from the african sense of generosity and magnanimity to others, especially to strangers. these resonate with traditional african values for human life and respect for human rights, his interest in interpersonal relations with others, his belief in human dignity, as well as his resolute belief in the humanization of nature and the naturalization of human beings. the inter-subjectivity, complementary character, and human nature of africans reflect their transcendental, spiritual, and psychophysical relations and participation in the image and inner richness of god. this explains africa’s richness in spiritual and socio-cultural experiences. the illogic in the logic of bifurcation of humanity: consequences of binary of social relations human beings are naturally corrupt, depraved, selfish, evil, and destructive. charles darwin, thomas hobbes, and david hume are united in the calibration that human beings are naturally evil and selfish. human beings are said to be free yet they use their freedom wrongly for evil and wicked intents and purposes. contrarily, the optimists have argued that human beings are naturally good and unselfish but become contaminated by socio-cultural practices, indoctrination, civilization, capitalism, false learning, doctrines, and socialization, which have wrongly shaped their nature to be wicked and selfish. this is what robert wright articulates when he writes that "there is no inherent human nature driving human events, but, rather, our essential nature is to be driven"(1996, p.5). whether we believe it or not, the views under consideration intersect. the intersection is that human beings are selfish and wicked, whether this selfishness and wickedness are naturally driven or socio-culturally conditioned is also a question of great importance in this paper. however, we must understand that these are basic defects in the human makeup, whether inherent in human nature or socio-culturally conditioned. binaries of social relations are meant, among other things, for the preservation of certain socio-cultural, economic, and political advantages. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 353 they are meant to oppress and enslave the other. they are triggered by fear and greed or selfishness. binaries of human social relations in the hierarchical structure of contrasts subordinate one element to another and impose a hierarchical order on the world that connects human beings with strands that support pervasive human relations of inequality and dominance. human nature and the binary of social relations indicate that there is a problem of inclusiveness, identity in difference, whole-hearted acceptance of africans by their western counterparts. this negates africans’ belief in the inter-subjectivity and participatory character of human beings in sharing in the inner richness and divine essence of existential experiences. according to elechi in his work inclusive humanism and the socio-economic development of nigeria argues that inclusive humanism, which is an existential and episteme-moral basis of african ontology and existence is negated with any socio-culturally constructed binary. african mode of living and being is inclusive and cooperative rather than exclusive and egoistic (2020, p.13). it does not accommodate elements of transcendence and imminence in social relations. binary of social relations is the root cause of the many crises in the world, it leads to actions, reactions, and counter-actions, which culminates into disorder, anarchy, and conflict (uwalaka, 1998, p.94). these are all concerned with “grouping or ordering” that benefits one category over the other by conferring certain unwarrantable privileges or entitlements to one category against the binary other. any discriminatory practice that tends to reify, objectify and marginalize anyone is provocative and unacceptable. the consequence is that it breeds the ills of violence, prejudice, discrimination, and isolation against others. these categorizations are mechanisms for economic, sociocultural, and political control and the perpetual objectification, maltreatment, and subdue of the other. according to asouzu, we cannot guarantee our own existence and safety if we are not able to make some concessions to others. despite our nature for self-interest and self-preservation, we must seek to consider the interest of others. this is the principle of live and let live (egbe bere ugo bere, nke si ibeya ebele nku kwaa ya). let the kite perch, let the eagle perch, whichever refuses let its wing break (2004, p. 9). this is the igbo maxim for collective and harmonious coexistence. we are very much aware of the consequences of the evils of racism, sexism, and classism as binaries of social relations. they are based on fear and greed. binary of social relations, which is equivalent to systems of segregation and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 354 discrimination does not reflect the genetic compositions of human beings, rather it destroys the sense of humanism, naturalism, and human cohesive rapport. the pillars upon which binaries rest are political, social, economic, and cultural exploitation and devaluation. this is why in reacting to racism, in particular, allaher rightly avers that the segregation of races was really a political stratagem employed by the emerging to keep africa divided and undeveloped. it is to infuse the mind of supremacy. it is for european expansion and conquest and cheap labour. it is always an economic calculus in the service of capitalists and done to cheapen the cost of labour and enhancing profit (2014, p.426). the humanization of human nature and the naturalization of human being: the way forward the real sense of humanity is to humanize human attitudes and actions towards others whereby others are seen and treated as beings in the most proper sense. the genuine feeling and practice of the sense of human inclusiveness, which presupposes mutual tolerance and respect for each other’s rights and choices must be the guiding principle for the inhabitants of the world. bauman avers that: there is one short rule that should regulate human relationships. all that you see both divine and human, is one. we are parts of the same great body. nature created us from the same source and the same end. she imbue us with mutual affection and sociability, she taught us to be fair and just, to suffer injury rather than to inflict it. she bids us extend our hands to all in need of help. let that well-known line be in our hearts and on our lips (1999, p.1). there is a need to deconstruct and dismantle all socio-culturally constructed ideas and practices that hinder the respect for humanity and inhibit human fulfilment of potentials, complementarity, and egalitarianism. gynism, the philosophy of humanism and humanitarianism, equity, justice, freedom, and emancipation (elechi, 2021b, pp.100-115), is the way forward. “the bristling challenges of western hegemonic and exploitative tendencies founded in imperial ideologies and racism can be resolved with the epistemological compass of gynist deconstruction of human thoughts and actions. gynist philosophy is a deconstruction of western attitude towards africans and the blacks. this philosophy advocates for the humanization of human nature and attitudes igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 355 towards “others", and the naturalization of human beings, whereby all human oppressive, exploitative, and discriminative tendencies and practices that motivate unwholesome binaries in human interpersonal and international socio-cultural and political relations must be dismantled and overcome. gynism is a practical philosophy that champions the abrogation of obnoxious binaries in human relations and cultures, fighting all forms of slavery, colonialism, neo-colonialism, racism, and colourism, sexism, capitalism, etc, across the globe for the sake of a humane, peaceful, decent and total development of the human world (elechi, 2023, pp.216-17). gynists seek liberation from foreign rule and neo-colonialism. according to professor marie pauline eboh, the exponent of the concept, gynism fights western hegemonic and exploitative tendencies. it fights all forms of slavery and oppression in the name of colonialism, neocolonialism, indirect or foreign rule, racism, capitalism, imperialism, etc., of the western world against africa (elechi, 2021a, p. 100). the gynist deconstruction as a radical procedure, a radical examination, and interrogation of such existing state of affairs aims at stripping social reality of falsehood and inequality by unmasking structural injustices and exploitative tendencies while calling for a positive attitudinal change, and the transformation of human relations (eboh, 2016, p.10). there is a need, therefore, for global integration and inclusivity. all forms of socio-culturally constructed binaries that subordinate and enslave others must be eliminated to end the violence, injustice, and deprivations arising forthwith. gynism is a philosophy of hope, enthusiasm, and optimism that canvasses a world devoid of segregation, supremacism, domination, and all oppressive and exploitative hegemonies. conclusion any culture that considers africans as less-humans to be treated with disdain, segregation inhumane, and socio-culturally constructed binaries is only emotional rather than rational. as long as africa remains in bondage, global development will never be total. as long as the women are not liberated, it is illusory to think of sustainable global development. as long as the white race continues to maltreat, exploit and suppress the blacks, mutatis mutandis, there can never be global peace and security. whatever principle, therefore, that gives rise to and regulates the existing binaries of social relations between human beings, and between europeans and africa, whereby one human category and race are subordinated by the other is entirely morally and naturally wrong. it constitutes the chief obstacle to human improvement, healthy human relationships, and global equitable development. it does not guarantee the principles of equity, equality, and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 356 tolerance, be it capitalism, racism, or sexism. it must be abrogated or deconstructed and dismantled. africans are genuine human beings that are entitled to a meaningful life, development, and enriching human relationships and cohesive rapport. binary of human social relations is a hindrance to the inter-subjectivity, inclusiveness, and participatory character or quiddity that naturally defines human beings and their relationships in the world. most of the numerous tragedies and avoidable conflicts in human experience and existence are the exact consequences of the unnecessary segregations and binaries in human relationships. genuine human freedom and humanism in the world can be achieved if the philosophical idea of gynism is adopted. for, it provides and champions ideals that can surmount the obstacles to human emancipation and accommodating rapport in human relationships. references allaher, a.l., “marxist or not? oliver cromwell cox on capitalism and class versus race”, canadian journal of latin america and caribbean studies, 39(3), 2014. aristotle, physics, trans. r.p. hardie and r.k. gaye in introduction to aristotle (ed.) by richard mickeon, oxford: new random house inc., 1947. asouzu, i. innocent, effective leadership and the ambivalence of human interest: the nigerian paradox in a complementary perspective, calabar: university of calabar press, 2003. asouzu, i. innocent, the method and principles of complementary reflection: in and beyond african philosophy, calabar: university of calabar press, 2004. bauman, r., human rights in ancient rome. uk: routledge classical monograph, 1999. durkheim, e., the rules of the sociological method, glencoe, ill: free press, 1962. dupre, john, “on human nature”, in human affairs, 2003. eboh, m.p., “feminist epistemology and opinionated dualism: the way forward”, in journal of gender studies, 6(1), 2014, pp. 9-18. eboh, m.p., “the woman being: its nature and functions”, dialogue and universalism: journal of the international society for universal dialogue, no.1, 2016, pp.7-17. elechi, m., “ecogynism as unspoken dialogue between humans and nature”, dialogue and universalism: journal of international society for universal dialogue, 33(2), 2023, pp.208-221 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 357 elechi, m., “western racist ideologies and the nigerian predicament”, dialogue and universalism: journal of the international society for universal dialogue, vol. xxxi no.1. 2021a, pp. 87-104. elechi, m., “marie pauline eboh’s gynist theory: an expository analysis” in philosophy, universal dialogue and intersectionality: philosophical essays in honour of marie pauline eboh, edited by elechi, m. and c.m.n. christiana idika, enugu: rhyce kerex publishers, 2021b, pp.99-120. elechi, m., “inclusive humanism and the socio-economic development of nigeria”, in international journal of arts and humanities, 9(2), 2020, pp.13-23. foucault, michel, “nietzsche, genealogy, history”, in language, countermemory, practice, ed. and trans. donald f. bouchard, oxford: blackwell, 1977, pp. 139-164. hubbard, ruth, “the political nature of human nature” in theoretical perspectives on sexual difference, ed. d.l. rhode, new haven: yale university press, 1990. hume, david, “essays: moral political and literary”, quoted in eze, e.c. (2000), “hume, race, and human nature”, journal of the history of ideas, 61(4), 1777. pinker, steven, the blank slate: the modern denial of human nature, london: penguin, 2002. sartre, jean-paul, existentialism and humanism, london: methuen, 1948. uwalaka, j., “inclusive humanism: the basis of a sound socio-political order for africa.” in oguejiofor, j.o., (ed.) africa: philosophy and public affairs, enugu: delta pub. ltd., 1998. wright, robert, the moral animal: why we are the way are. london: abacus, 1996. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 102 a critical reflection on the historical and economic reasons why ndigbo need to first take back nigeria joseph n. agbo, ph.d department of philosophy, ebonyi state university, abakaliki jeocoagbo@gmail.com abstract the challenges facing the igbo race today, especially within the nigerian state, have historical and economic foundations, explanations and interpretations. challenges have resulted in the resurgence of the desire and demand for biafra as an exit option from nigeria. this essay examines these challenges together with the plausibility and feasibility of the ‘exit’option. it argues that against the backdrop of the historical fact that ndigbo were the first occupant of the nigerian territorial space as well as their ubiquitous economic investments all over nigeria, the people need to first take back the nigerian state. this essay posits that it is in taking back the nigerian state that ndigbo can, if necessary, carry out a planned and deliberately conscious biafran exit. employing historical, analytic and critical methodologies the paper tackles the difficulty of tracing the origin of the igbo race as well as their historical and economic place in nigeria. the paper further discusses the lack of political power as the missing link responsible for the woes of ndigbo in nigeria. it then concludes by examining the philosophy of rootology and the political, legal and diplomatic strategies of the movement of biafrans in nigeria (mobin) as the best way to begin the process of igbo restoration and revival. keywords: biafra, economics, history, ndigbo, nigeria, political power, rootology. introduction history heralds and harbours human identity. economics sustains and strengthens human bodily existence so that man can continue to make more history. the problems faced by ndigbo in nigeria today have historical and economic foundations. this problem can neither be understood nor addressed without them. what chinua achebe, in the trouble with nigeria, calls “a flood of deadly hate” (45) has resulted in the continuous attempt to blind, back or blur igbo identity as well as squeeze the people out of physical (economic) survival. as the nigerian state wobbles and fumbles into an uncertain future with a possibility to crumble, as she staggers and flatters along way with the capacity to scatter and shatter, there is an urgent need for ndigbo to decide what to do to strike a balance between the desire for self-determination within or outside nigeria and the survival of a country which she historically-birthed and has continued to sustain economically. in a recent book titled to the rescue, prince chukwuemeka onyesoh has called “self-determination” the “pathway to a genuine federation of peoples with no shared values”. the crises in the nigerian state have made the desire and demand for “exit”, for the dissolution of the union, the most plausible option available to all the ethnic nationalities except the hausa/fulani igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 103 oligarchy sustained by what chinweizu has correctly called “calphate colonialism”. i also want to say that i am also a strong believer and supporter of the “exit” option. as an igbo-biafran, i believed that biafra is “the crystallization of the cherished hopes of (our) people” (odumegwu ojukwu, time magazine, january 16, 1970). however, i believe that it is in “taking back nigeria” and running it the way we did before and shortly after independence in 1960, that self-determination, either within or outside the nigerian state, can be guaranteed, obtained and sustained. the most enduring, most significant change occurs from within. yeast, as an agent of expansion, is not useful until it makes contact with the dough. no one can sweep a house when the person is outside that house. the only way to clean a house, no matter how dirty it is, is to step into it with the relevant materials for the cleaning and begin the process from somewhere within that house. our thesis is that it is in the repackaging of nigeria, in the occupation of our visionary place within her territory, that ndigbo would both preserve her historical identity and protect her ubiquitous economic investments within her territory. i will, as a way to prove my thesis, show that if there is any title such as “owner of nigeria”, it cannot be contested by any other ethnic group in nigeria. ndigbo would be the eternal owners and holders of such a title! again, who are the “independence champions of nigeria”? who else but ndigbo? who are the helm that turns the economy of nigeria-from kaura namoda to abeokuta, gashua to badagry, …? again, ndigbo is unrivalled here. it does appear to me that this compulsory exit from nigeria is a surrender position. no doubt, ndigbo have had a rough and tough deal in nigeria. but how did we surrender the nigerian space to those we allowed to cohabitate with us in the beginning? can we survive another hurried exit? is it not possible that we leave nigeria on our own terms, at our own time and singing our own tunes in our own tone? i intend to show that historically, ndigbo were the first to arrive within the nigerian space and that ordinarily, nigeria is their birthright. economically, i will also show that no other ethnic nationality has as much investment as ndigbo within the nigerian space. if we are to search for any people that can be called “true nigerians”, no other people are qualified to acquire that tag except ndigbo. despite the death of over 30,000 of their kinsmen during the pogrom of 1966 and over 2 million during the war of 1967-1970, ndigbo still opted to help in the development of all parts of nigeria-just few years after the war. as a concluding reflection, i will show the inevitability of political leadership in changing, for the better, the conditions of ndigbo within the nigerian state. in this connection, i will show the role that the biafran ideology can play, especially the strategies of the movement of biafrans in nigeria (mobin). i shall employ the philosophy of rootology (tracing a problem from its foundation) in order to be able to wade through these challenges. the occasion for history and economics igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 104 the fastest and easiest way to destroy a people is to destroy their history and deny them the capacity to survive economically. africa today appears like a beggarly continent because of these two aspects of culture. as we fall head-over-heels, in an irrelevant attempt to remain “relevant”, making the so-called “scientific” the orbit of learning, we forget that history makes use of science, even though it is not a strict science, interestingly, it was in his study of the history and actual practice of science that thomas s. kuhn, in the structure of scientific revolutions, discovered that the colossal image of science can be debunked. in his popular book, what is history? c.h. carr had observed that, “the liberal 19th century view of history had a close affinity with the economic doctrine of laiz as feve” (20). for carr the 19thcentury historian, had declared that all history is contemporary history-which means that the past must be conceived with the eyes of the present, and the problems of that present. the implication is that the contemporary challenges of existence must be understood in the light of the historical evolution of the people. the fact that the knowledge of the past has been filtered and presented to us through one human mind or the other has become a real challenge in evaluating the facts of history. in 1896, lord acton had observed that “ultimate history we cannot have in this generation, but we can dispose of conventional history and show the point we have reached on the road from one to another” (quoted in carr 10). the good thing about history, however, is that if you try to twist it, it would reappear again, in another way, via the objective tides of history itself. it would be difficult, if not outrightly impossible, to discuss history, the history of a people, without taking into cognizance what chima j. korie in, “the igbo global history” refers to as “displacement caused by economic factors, political oppression, conflicts and famine” (151) “economic needs have played major roles in the choice of place of settlement. sometimes when people are compelled to settle in some places (eg. mountainous areas), they are made to economically adapt to that environment in order to survive. the three basic requirements of man (outside air) are food, shelter and clothing. all economics must address these basic needs, otherwise they would be of no interest to and for man. it is only when man can keep his body healthy on earth that he could build a society where in other matters can thrive. all these are driven by economic interests. no other theorists have exalted the economic interest model of human nature as much as orthodox marxism. in the spring of 1845, karl marx theses on feuerbach had written that “the human essence is no abstraction inherent in each single individual; in its reality, it is the ensemble of social relations”. what in the view of the marxists, these “social relations” are entered in the process of the production of the economic goods of society. in the process, society gets divided into two classes: the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, the being the owners of the means of production and the latter, the working class, who are forced to sell their labour power in order to earn wages for survival. no wonder karl marx and frederick engel’s, in the opening lines of the communist igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 105 manifesto, wrote that “the history of all hitherto existing societies is the history of class struggle” (l). in the marxist analysis, therefore, history and economics meet with the possibility of understanding politics in terms of economics or what is called “political economy”. all the crises that confront our world today are either crises of identity or that of economics. what the marxists argue, with some degree of logical validity and practical manifestations, is that social existence determines the essence or consciousness of man. in his essay, “the ontological basis for the failure of liberal democracy in africa…” joseph agbo had noted that the sojourn of the liberal democratic alternative to africa is more economic than political. for him, is projected only to create the right atmosphere for capitalist exploitation; politics is, thus, the foundation and root of economics. who are ndigbo? this question has a historical, psychological, physical, ontological, and (above all) spiritual dimension and responses. perhaps, the controversies and confusions engendered by the attempt to answer the question historically point to the fact that history may not be able to unveil this race that appears to be fundamental to understanding humankind as a whole. in his essay, “ndigbo: the elusive leadership and consensus”, oluwole osagie-jacobs writes, “the igbo tribe is as unique as its history. of all the tribes in nigeria, it is this tribe that is most difficult to place in terms of origin … it is, therefore, difficult to construct the contemporary igbo man from his past.” however, rather than the disadvantageous and pitiable manner in which this “difficulty” (that is, if it really exists) has been conceived and perceived, is important to ask ourselves if it is not because the igbo, a global race that is seen as a tribe in nigeria, has her roots deep in the furthest past where history, with its inadequacies, cannot reach or access. and in this regard, we must remember catherine acholonu-orumba’s monumental book, they lived before adam: pre historic origins of the igbo, the never-been ruled. with admirable scientific, linguistic, archeological, intuitive revelation insights, backed by facts, the book traces the igbo to the very beginning of man on planet earth as homo erectus, about 500,000 to 1,000,000 years ago. most historians and scholars of the history of igbo concern are aware of historical works such as those of professors a. e afigbo, s.c. ukpabi, and k.o. dike, before them, etc. of course, one cannot forget the archeological excavation of non-africans like prof thurstan shaw in 1959 at igbo-ukwu, which proved beyond doubt that. civilization existed in that area over a thousand years ago. however, acholonu’s book is as daring as it is amazing. and although there are parts of the book that are very controversial and even revolting to those with deep christian convictions, this should be expected from any revolutionary and unconventional research. the linguistic and scientific proofs therein are difficult to reasonably gainsay. acholonu states the kernel of the over 450-page book, as it connects to what she calls the “igbo phenomenon”, in the following words: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 106 the global course i had set for my search led me ever more and more to information indicating that in times beyond memory, the igbo and their kwa brethren bestrode the continent of africa and in time became instrumental to the making of an indigenous nigerian civilization that had birthed, not only the black african civilization, but also all known world civilizations. traces of this phase of igbo and world history have all but been lost and buried in millennia of dead history, consigned to the period now generally known as prehistory. yet traces remain in myths, legends, scriptures and histories of other continents, in the languages that people still speak today all over the world, as well as and most importantly, on the stone inscriptions of ikom and the strange engravings and symbols on the bronze and copper monuments of igbo ukwu. (ix) from the foregoing, we see immediately that the issue of “who” the igbos are becomes sort of “mundane”. the question of how the rest of the human race is igbos becomes a much more necessary and significant one. it has long been established that africa is the “cradle of the human civilization”, and acholonu takes it further by declaring that “the ancient name of a large part of the country now known as nigeria was originally known as biafra. this word bi-afra is the origin of the word africa” (xiii). following the discovery that some of the excavated artifacts from igbo ukwu by prof. shaw contain stars similar to those on the scepter of king david in the bible, we should shift to a seemingly familiar territory regarding the origin of the igbos: the hebrew (jewish) origin. and for us as christians, this history is very useful. according to this hebrew-igbo connection, the igbos are the descendants of jacob’s 7th son, gad. gad is said to have 7 sons ziphion, haggi, shunni, ezbon, eri, arodi, and areli (gen. 46 16 kjv). v.m.c. eyisi wrote a book in the igbo language with the title, akuko nbido ndigbo: (amaziri ebe o diga n’ akwukwuonso, which i would translate as history of igbo (it is now known where it is in the bible.) in that book, he writes that: gad bụ nwa nke asaa nke jekọọpụ (mbịdo 29:3031:11) bụ onye mụrụ erị, arọdị na arelị (mbịdo 46: 16). arọdị bụ onye tọrọ ntọala alaeze arọchukwu. umụnne nwoke atọ ndị a: erị, arọdị na arelị tinyere ndị ikwu ha ndị ọzọ jiri otu obị bikọọ n’ agụleri tupu ha ebido bisawa na mpaghara ala igbo ndị ọzọ. ha bikọtara ọnụ ọtụtụ afọ wee mewe otu ọdịnaala, otu omenaala na otu asụsụ tupu arọdị ahapụ agụleri gatee aka ka ọ nọrọ ebe ahụ mụbawa ma naebisakwa. ebe ahụ ka ejizi arọchukwu mara n’ ụbọchi taa. translation: gad,who is the 7th son of jacob (gen. 29: 1-30: 11), was the one that begot eri, arodi and areli (gen 46:16). arodi was the one that laid the foundation of arochukwu kingdom. these three brothers, eri, arodi and areli, together with their other kins and others, lived with one heart at aguleri before they began to spread to other parts of igbo land. they lived together for several years and shared the same culture the same custom and the same language before arodi left aguleri and went and lived far away so that he could bear children and spread out. that place is known as arochukwu today (26) some of those who migrated with eri, arodi and areli, were their halfbrothers, who became the descendents of the ijaw (izon) and edo nations. the historical, cultural, linguistic, psychological igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 107 and even religious affinity between the igbos and the hebrew have been established by several researches. in fact, there is still a place at aguleri today called obu-gad. as a matter of fact, comrade uduma idika has observed several feasts and festivals from his edda land (in ebonyi state) that not only follow the processes of many jewish celebrations, but many times even bear the same name. in his essay, “igbo-hebrew origin: myth or reality”, comrade idika argued that the original igbo religious conviction is monotheistic; that is, the igbos believe in one supreme deity, just like their hebrew or jewish relations. in his massive book, ado-naidu: history of igbo origin, b.o.n. eluwa discusses what he calls “the 3 theories of igbo origin”. in a work that took about 50 years to complete (although he confesses that he “did not set out to write a book when he started gathering information about (igbo) people at about the year 1934”), eluwa writes that the book presents his “research findings in the sequence of their progression. for instance, three theories of igbo origin were examined. these; that the igbos are autochthonous, literally sons of the soil; that they originated from egypt; and that they are of hebrew origin” (xxv). he adopted the phenomenological (descriptive) approach by setting out the arguments for and against each of the theories and allowing the one with credibility to speak for itself. now, whichever is correct, one thing is certain: ndigbo are a no-mean people. if they are autochthonous (if “they lived before adam”), then they are the original homo sapien; if they are from egypt or are egyptians, then they belong to the very first of the human civilization (in his book, the african origin of greek philosophy, innocent onyewuenyi vividly portrays how the “famous” and revered greeks the creators of western civilization all owed what they knew from the egyptian mystery schools) and if they are jews, a spiritual, economic and intellectual glory is conferred on anything and anyone igbo. which other state can survive (since 1948) amid 9 enemy countries, each with enough hatred to detonate a nuclear warhead on her? it can only be isreal; that is, the jews. it is interesting to point out here that 3 jews were the intellectual brains behind the atomic bomb einstein (americanjew), heisenberg (germanjew) and sakharov (russian jew). there have been arguments to the effect that it is the jews who are igbos and not that igbo’s are jews. these people say that abraham became a jew at the age of 75 when ndigbo had been in existence. acholonu’s book places the igbo at the very origin of the human specie. perhaps, as we conclude this reflection on who the igbos are, it is necessary to note that the difficulty in placing them relates to the fact that they perhaps represent humanity itself. after all, doesn’t the igbo say “eri-oge” when they want to refer to something in the fare distance; perhaps at the beginning of time? is that not another way of saying, “in the time of eri”? well, we can console ourselves by the known fact that after a long sojourn on planet earth. man is still asking the question “what is man?” in his recent book, in biafra africa died: the diplomatic plot, emefiena ezeani writes that “the story of biafra is the story of africa. indeed it is a story of our humanity”, (xv). to think igbo is to think biafra, to think biafra is to think africa, and to think igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 108 africa is to think humanity. objective, unbiased researchers believe that these facts are incontrovertible. ndigbo and nigeria’s territorial space. unbiased historical evidence point to the indisputable fact that ndigbo are not just the original occupants of the territory that later became nigeria, but are actually the progenitors of the bantu or nok culture that gave birth, not only to black civilization, but equally all known world civilizations. in her massive work, they lived before adam, catherine acholonu olumba had written: “that afra’s african base was within the territory designated today as eastern nigeria and western cameroun can be attested to by the place-name, bi-afra, which in ancient maps of africa is designated as the centre of the earth, median-biafra” (235). this vast area known as “biafra” or “biafara” has been in the map of africa produced by the portuguese explorers since 1492. chima j. korie, has tried to show how the igbo has contributed not only in shaping their own identity, but also in bringing about other global civilizations. in his paper, “the igbo in global history”, he writes: linguistic evidence shows that the root bantu word emerged in what is now nigeria and cameroun by 2,000 bc. this migration throughout africa is one of the largest migrations in human history. the ancestors of the igbo people were most-probably part of the protobantu speakers, whose knowledge of agriculture especially tuber production and then working technology, helped to people and colonize the rest of the continent, south of the sahara the implication of acholonu and korie’s position is that if ndigbo are the autochthonous ancestors of the human race and if the niger-benue/cameroun axis is the natural homeland of their ancestors, the statement that they are the original occupiers of this territory should be obvious. acholonu observes (painfully) that the world knows who the igbo are only the igbo themselves “do not” (xiv) that the identity of ndigbo is peculiar appears to be known by others except ndigbo themselves. acholonu reveals her shock when a northern nigerian, abdul salau: presented a paper, detailing igbo linguistic connection with egypt, and specifically stating, to everyone’s surprise, that many ethnic groups in northern nigeria have igbo origins, and that the kwa elements in such places or names as kaduna, kano, katsina, kwara etc have very ancient mega igbo links (xvii-xix) the evidence of igbo influence in northern nigeria appears to be more difficult for many to be believe. but anyone who knows the language would immediately identify the kwa element in the names such as kwara, kwakwnzo etc. of course, it is a well-established fact that language is the best element in proving the traces of human migration. it is, thus, laughable to see or hear people whose names are clearly igbo denying their igboness. it is the best expression of identity crisis. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 109 perhaps one of the strongest evidence of the igbo occupation of nigeria’s territorial space is found in southern nigeria, especially in the south-west, now mainly occupied by the yoruba people. it is a fact now that the yorubas met ndigbo in the territory that has now become geopolitically designated as south-west, nigeria. in his book, ado-nadu, eluwa (then secretary-general of igbo state union) writes about the empire of ado-na-idu, which ndigbo operated for over a thousand years before the arrival of the yoruba. according to eluwa: the empire of ado-na-idu existed long before the kingdoms of oyo and benin as well as the contemporary kingdoms of dahomey and ashanti …. this was partly brought about by the fact that ado-na-idu lay outside the areas traversed by the early arab and european travelers. furthermore, the ibo and their fellow tribes of ado-na-idu did not seem to have developed strong institutions for the preservation and transition of oral tradition …. only scanty information about ado-na-idu as a background to igbo history has survived (1023). the capital of ado-na-idu was ife and the ado stool was title ogene before the yorubas changed it to ooni. it is a well-known fact that the egbas, ekitis, egbados, ifes, ijebus, ijeshas etc did not regard themselves as yorubas until the coming of the anglican mission in the 19th century. again, it is known that in yoruba history, the oyo people are usually regarded as yoruba porap (the original yorubas). according to eluwa, it was the attempt by the yourbas to usurp the ado stool that led to the battle of idu-na-oba, between the yoruba and the igbo. these resulted in the migration of ndigbo from today’s south-west to today’s south-east, nigeria a migration that occurred in batches and which, according to eluwa, took about 3 centuries to complete. according to some african historians, including the mercurial basil davidson, ndigbo and their kindred tribes arrived this territory, this nigerian space, at about the 6th century bc. the yorubas arrived at about 7th century following their escape from the early jihadists of that period. it is this ado connection that is the reason why onitsha people refer to themselves as onicha-ado. according to eluwa, as recent as 1951 , obafemi awolowo had led yoruba people to onitsha in order to, as he put it, “unify all the sons and daughters of oduduwa” (113) by that visit of the egbe omo oduduwa, it implies that the yorubas see onitsha people as the “sons and daughters” of their progenitor, oduduwa. but it is obvious that the onitsha ado people were already in this space before the yoruba arrival. onitsha people are aware that their ancestors came from ife and it is because of the historical place of the ado empire in this connection. the latest thesis is that ndigbo are the original bushmen even before the dawn of homo sapien makes our insistence that ndigbo cannot just give up nigeria so cheaply a critical one. the only way for ndigbo to strengthen their historical claim over nigeria’s territory is for them to strategize, plan and package a deliverable and conscious programme of action. even if ndigbo give up on nigeria, they should not give up nigeria. to give up on nigeria is to express weariness on the possibility of her survival owing to the current situation of political quagmire, social unrest and economic fixation. however, to give up nigeria is a worse case scenario. it means, to surrender the space where we thrive, where we have developed, where our investments are scattered. my igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 110 thesis is that we should give out nigeria, at our own terms when we feel like doing it. no people have created, developed and sustained nigeria like ndigbo. the original state of ndigbo in nigeria the igbo nation was not originally in this temporal “fallen” state in nigeria before now. for a people whose language has been identified to be at the root of many languages in the world, including chinese, hebrew, french, etc, they used to be the rudder that turned the colonial and postcolonial civil service. (achelonu-olumba 364-405) they occupied the top echelon of the military and provided the sacrificial glue that kept the nigerian state going since independence. for a people that had to practically play “catchup” in the area of formal education, the rise of ndigbo to the zenith of nigeria’s sociopolitical arrangement was simply phenomenal. as a matter of fact, the cultural, social, economic and political nature and personality of the igbo is jealousy inducing and hatredinvoking. osagie jacobs, writes with pompous relish that “it may appear untrue, but is a fact that the yorubas had a secondary school 60 years before the igbos and a university graduate 40 years before them”, yet he quickly admitted that when the first university in nigeria, (university of ibadan) was to have its first indigenous vicechancellor, an igbo man, prof. kenneth onwuka dike, arose to that pinnacle. he also noted that 5 igbo professors, to yorubas’ 4, were in the top management (academic) cadre of the university between 19481950. the proximity of the yoruba territory to the shore line’s was responsible for this head-start by the yorubas. for they received the missionaries and the formal education in their company first before others. in his book, there was a country, chinua achebe explains the reason for the ability of the igbo’s to cover the ground and overtake the yorubas, and the fact that this led to resentment and hatred for the igbo. he summarizes the origin of the igbo resentment in nigeria in the following words: the igbo culture, being receptive to change, individualistic, and highly competitive, gave the igbo man an unquestioned advantage over his compatriots in securing credentials for advancement in nigeria’s colonial society. unlike the hausa/ fulani he was unhindered by a wary religion, and unlike the yoruba he was unhampered by traditional hierarchies. this kind of creature, fearing no god or man, was custommade to grasp the opportunities, such as they were, of the white man’s dispositions. and the igbo did so with both hands. although the yoruba had a huge historical and geographical head start, the igbo wiped out their handicap in one fantastic burst of energy in the twenty years between 1930 and 1950 …(75) achebe goes on to cite paul amber who explained that: with unparalleled rapidity, the igbo advanced fastest in the shortest period of time of all nigeria’s ethnic groups. like the jews, to whom they have frequently been likened, they progressed despite being a minority in the country, filling the ranks of the nation’s education, prosperous upper classes…. it was not long before the educational and economic progress of the igbo led to their becoming the major source of administrators, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 111 managers, technicians, and civil servants for the country, occupying senior positions out of proportion to their numbers. particularly with respect to the federal public service and the government statutory corporations, this led to accusations of igbo monopoly of essential services to the exclusion of other ethnic groups. (74-75) achebe argues that the open society of the igbo, where everyone is perceived in terms of being as good as the other, created a condition of can-do-ness that resulted in healthy competitions for success. he identified some other factors that brought about educational, economic and political success for the igbo. these include the fact that the population density created a hunger for space, which led to a progressive increase in the number of igbo in northern nigeria from about 3,000 in 1921 to about 130,000 in 1952. for achebe, although the yorubas led everyone in nigerian in educational attainment from the late 19th to the early 20th centuries, yet “within 2 short decades, the igbo had closed the gap and quickly moved ahead as the people with the highest literacy rate” (76). the original position of the igbo in nigeria even began prior to the dawn of colonialism. at the dawn of slavery, igbo slaves were also the mostdemanded. in a position paper on behalf of the igbohebrew cultural restoration organization (igbobrio), titled, “the road map to igbo restoration and reconstruction”, uduma idika estimates that 1 out of every 4 slaves bought in africa, one was ibo. the concept of “oyibo” as a designation for the whiteman in nigeria came from their question “onye ibo?” each time slaves are brought for purchase. “onye ibo”. her means, “is she/he” ibo? because the strength of the ibo was legendary. the paper opines that the igbo arrived the territory that became nigeria around the 6th or 5th century bc. everyone knows that anti colonial agitations in nigeria assumed a vibrant bite when the great zik of africa got involved, especially with his newspaper, the west african pilot. that he arose to become nigeria’s first president, was not much of a surprise. he was the shining star in the government of the first republic. the surprise was that he did not become the first prime minister. the first coup of january 15, 1966 again had igbo at the helm from nzeogwu to ifeajuna, from okafor to anuforo. one of the major actors, ben gbulie in his book, nigeria’s five majors paints a vivid picture of the reason behind the coup and the fact that it was not an igbo coup. the truth simply was that the educational attainment the endurance and perseverance of the igbo and their versatile nature put them ahead. and it was not just in the army, it was in all facets of life. interestingly, it took the igbo to also quell the coup. majorgeneral j. t. u. aguiyiironsi was the goc of the army, the first nigerian to get to that rank, and in league with lt. col. emeka ojukwu, they ensured that the coup did not fully succeed in an attempt to save nigeria, again, when the civilian government could no longer continue, it took another ibo, head of the parliament, nwafor orizu, to take the inevitable decision to invite the military to take charge of governance. and who else is most qualified in the military, but the highest ranked officer, majgen. aguiyiironsi, another ibo! igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 112 it is on record that emeka ojukwu was the first nigerian to enter the military, not just with a bachelor’s but a master’s degree, from no mean an institution than oxford university in england. of course, his father, sir lious odumegwu ojukwu is known to be the first millionaire in africa. when queen elizabeth ii visited nigeria in february, 1956, sir lious ojukwu donated his rolls royce and his driver to british-nigerian government to drive the queen around nigeria. but there is no time and space to chronicle all the firsts of the ibo in nigeria, africa and the world. or is it not an igbo man, philip emegwari, that is the “father of the internet”? and is chinua achebe not the father of african literature? was it not adiele afigbo that was a first nigerian to obtain the ph.d in nigeria? but the point i want to make here is that the current situation of the ibo in nigeria is neither a historical nor a natural fact. it was deliberately and systematically planned, executed and meticulously sustained. among the ethnic groups in nigeria, there is no doubt that the ibo is altruistic and otherdirected, and have been more interested in pursuing the survival and success of the nigerian state, than any other. or did the ibos in enugu not vote a fulani man, mallam umaru altine, as the first mayor of the city of enugu? nationalist, mbazulike amechi, tells the story of how he, mallam altine and others shared the same prison cell in 1952 (202, in biafra africa died). according to ezeani “with the exception of the eyo ita and azikiwe episode, there is no other record of ibo domination or marginalization of other people available to (me)” (202). ezeogo francis akanu ibiam, in “for the love of a new nation: text of protest letter of dr akanu ibiam to her majesty queen elizabeth ii, (1968)”, recalls how biafrans were “purposely and systematically forced out” of nigeria, brutally and atrociously murdered in northern nigeria; yet, “eastern nigeria did not retaliate in any way, for we do not kill strangers within our gates…(cited in ezeani 245-48) northern nigerians in eastern nigeria were, therefore, collected together and escorted safely by train across the border to their own section of nigeria”. the ibo is, therefore, caring and consider strangers as dignitaries. this was the situation in nigeria until what achebe calls the “naively idealistic coup of january 15, 1966” (82). the way the coup turned out led (plausibly) to the conclusion that it was an “igbo coup”. however, records by actors and participants, including those from western and northern nigeria, have shown that this conclusion was (is still) mistaken. in any case it led to a revenge coup of july 29, 1966 that resulted in a virtual wiping out of igbo military officers. the murderous frenzy unleashed by the rest of nigeria (led by northern military officers) has been described in various terms: genocide, pogrom, mass-murder etc. my father was a soldier and was in congo with aguyiironsi. he told me that at ikeja, about 400 eastern nigerian soldiers were detained during the countercoup and that he was among the 44 that survived the slaughter. by the time the superpowers of the united kingdom and russia helped nigeria to pound biafra and starve them into surrender, it was left for gowon’s finance minister obafemi awolowo, to hand to the ibo a paltry ₤20 (twenty pounds) to start allover again. unfortunately, this amount was only giving to those who had accounts in the banks and who did not operate it once during the war. from that moment, the “mighty” headed for the fall“-economically, politically, militarily and worst of all psychologically”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 113 ndigbo: the movers of nigeria’s economy without the individuality, versatility, energy, innovativeness, open-spirit, creativity, drive and gusto of ndigbo, it would not be an over-statement to say that nigeria would have been a grounded entity. inspite of the ubiquitous nature and presence of ndigbo within the nigerian state, the country has continued to gasp for survival breathe. any objective analyst or researcher would not find it hard to conclude that nigeria would have been worse-off, but for ndigbo in her economy. the fundamental reason for my thesis that ndigbo should not cheaply give up nigeria is economic. no other people, no ethnic nationality in nigeria has as much investments in nigeria as igbo people. not only are they involved in the distribution of already made products, from home and abroad, they are also involved in the manufacture of goods-from drugs to confectionaries, from textiles to petro-chemical products, from agro-allied products to vehicles. infact, that nigeria is a sleeping giant in all facts of life has chiefly been blamed on the lack of the political will by successive governments in nigeria to release the creativity of ndigbo from what odumegwu ojukwu calls “a glass cage”. in the book, this house has fallen: nigeria in crisis, karl maier quotes ojukwu as saying, “free us (ndigbo) and we will put a refinery in every state capital in nigeria” (286). for a people that faced a genocidal war in their own territory after the attempt to wipe them out, outside the igbo territory (especially in northern nigeria), the return of ndigbo to drive nigeria’s economy again is simply phenomenal. the economic strangulation of 20 pounds (given to those who had bank accounts and did not operate them even once during the war) could have nailed any other people to the cross of perpetual poverty. but not ndigbo. according to maier “the igbo survived, however; and they returned to occupy an integral part of the economies of cities, such as kano, where they had been slaughtered thirty years ago” (285). several factors have been fingered as responsible for the capacity of ndigbo to survive, come will, come woe. but i want to discuss only one of them. many people, especially non-igbo believe that ndigbo are selfish people. however, no truly selfish person can achieve the dimension of success that ndigbo have achieved over the years. what ndigbo have as a people is self-love, not selfishness. as truly god’s people, ndigbo follows the classical biblical injunction: “love your neighbor, as you love yourself” (matt 22:37-39). no one that does not love himself can love another. harnessed and channeled the right way, then self-interest, when placed within certain rules and boundaries, can be good, leading to a more prosperous and humane society. here, it is important to distinguish between self-interest and selfishness. self-interest, unlike selfishness would often lead one to commit acts of altruism rightly understood, it knows that a lonely man is an island, that we are of a larger community, and that what is good for others is good for us. to put it another way: pursuing our own good can advance the common good. igbo investments in nigeria are somassive that it would be foolish and irresponsible to just give it up cheaply on the guise of the failure of the nigerian state. when in july, 2017, a coalition of youths in northern nigeria gave ndigbo on october 1st 2017 deadline to vacate the north, those who knew betted saw it as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 114 laughable. one, this was 2017 and certain pronouncements are not possible. two, with a 44 trillion naira investment in northern nigeria owned by ndigbo, what was the expectation of the north? that the igbo would run and create another abandoned “property” saga about 50 years after it happened? i am told that the best hotels in kaduna and lagos are owned by the igbo. in 2015, i was in a place called 6th avenue in festal town, lagos where there are private houses constructed outside the ones builded by the government. when i saw the state-of-art buildings in that place, i jokingly told my friend, ejike metu that i am sure the igbo owe 90% of the houses there. he asked me, “which people are you leaving a whopping 10% for?” as far as he was concerned, ndigbo owes about 96% of the buildings there, with the edos (the “idu” of ado-na-idu) and others sharing the remaining 4%. that is the igbo human being for you. ndigbo have the capacity to break into virgin forests and convert them into business and residential paradise in just few years! in his, “bringing back the past glory of the economy of alaigbo”, sam e. ohuabunwa recalls how eastern-nigeria grew faster than all the other 3 regions, especially in the days of michael i. okpara, who was premier from 1960. for him, the economy was “anchored on three strong pillars: agriculture, industry and commerce” (45) after the war, and in a bid to first survive, ndigbo took industry and commerce to every nook and cranny of nigeria. they became so ubiquitous that a particular cliché became popular in nigeria: “any place you cannot find an igbo, then that place is not habitable”! nothing secures economic interests enduringly as much as political power. the gulf war of the early 1990s had to be fought because, as at that time, kuwait had over a hundred billion dollars investment in europe and america. for the late saddan hussein to annex kuwait and make it the 19th province of iraq would have meant transferring all that enormous wealth of kuwait to iraq. also when nato forces invaded libya in 2011, polish prime minister donald tusk berated the united states-led force, calling their action “hypocritical, meddling and at best, as oil theft-based (166, quoted in emeka emekesri, biafra or nigerian presidency: what the ibos want). after nato has laid its hands on libya’s oil, the country has never been the same again. what ndigbo have invested in nigeria is such that they should fight with the last drop of their blood against anybody or any power that wants to put the country in a precarious situation. ndigbo have surrendered nigeria’s space for too long and left it in the hands of people whose only interest is how to rape the resources in her territory. if you take ndigbo out of nigeria’s economy, the economy would collapse. although by policy design, ndigbo have been kept out of the gigantic money-spinning sectors (such as oil, mining, communication etc), their control of smes (small and medium scaled enterprises) has ensured that they drive the heart of the country’s economy. in their essay, “an exploratory study of igbo entrepreneur activity and business success in nigeria as the panacea for economic growth and development”, johnson j. orugun and tunde akeen have studied the contribution of ndigbo to the development of smes in nigeria and how the smes constitute the major sources of economic development in the developing countries. according to them,” igbo entrepreneur in the country have been observed to be sine qua non for the economy of nigeria and the quality of the people at both rural and urban settings”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 115 making their analyses against the backdrop of adam smith’s discourse in his the wealth of nations, orugun and akeen did not speculate in their research. they proceeded to state, inter alia, that their investigations reveal that: 75% of investment in lagos are owed by nigerians, 5% by hausa/fulani, 15% by foreigners (non-nigerians), 5% by other nigerians, non-igbo, yoruba and hausa, 1% by yoruba, which include mike adenuga … statistics show in lagos that igbo investments is not less than 300 trillion naira; it is double of that in abuja, at about 600 trillion naira. in kano and kaduna igbo investments run up to 10 trillion naira, respectively, while in bornu, yobe and adamawa states, igbo investments run into 5 trillion naira, respectively. in plateau state, igbo investment is hovering around 15 trillion naira. one of the major arguments being used to explain why african countries, including nigeria, have not been able to develop, or more appropriately, have been acquiring development hiccups, is that these set of people have not been given enough chance to participate in the development process … remove the igbo from the country and nigeria would collapse like a flimsy deck of cards. in similar tenant, governor gabriel susana of benue state opined that any state government that ignores the igbo does so at the risk of its economy. this research was published in 2014 and it does not say when it was carried out. the implication is that these figures may well have increased geometrically. what emerged out of their study is that the igbo entrepreneurial activities are the panacea for nigeria’s economic development. this economic ground, is thus, one of the major reasons why i believe ndigbo cannot abandon the country to those that employ intimidating, blackmailing and coercive strategies to keep them out of the nigerian state or territory. it is bad enough that ndigbo are been kept out of the policy strategies of many government in nigeria, but to continue to bemoan that situation with the mentality of surrender is a tragedy that we must reject. in his paper, “the igbo entrepreneur in the political economy of nigeria”, olarewaju olutayo has argued that although the question of entrepreneurship has no ethnic coloration, it is an indisputable truth that “it is known that the igbo, when compared to other major ethnic groups in nigeria, are in the forefront of entrepreneurial activities, especially in the informal sector … the igbo admire the man of energy, the goal getter. the qualities stressed in children’s upbringing are property, money, honesty, and loyalty to kinsmen”. what it means is that igbo industry, frugality and energy are almost as genetic as its well-known historical and sociological traits. no wonder korie states that even before the advent of colonialism ndigbo had “a well developed economy, that had developed far beyond subsistence levels that met the food and exchange needs of the population before the colonial encounter” (156). what i want to achieve in this subsection is to ask ndigbo to factor economics in their desire and demand to exit from nigeria. the request to exit from nigeria, either as biafra or by any other name we chose, is a right. but it is right that we must demand for it with open historical and economic eyes. we must discuss our economic investment at the same time as we seek self determination. we must evolve a strategy that combines and captures what we plausibly desire igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 116 and what feasibly can be done, within our historical context. without economic freedom, political freedom is a farce. we cannot be making noise on the streets in the name of biafra while our adversaries are in the parliaments making laws and developing policies that ruin our economic investments. and to political discourse we now turn. political power: the missing link. ozoemena nwa nsugbe, a well known igbo traditional music icon, was so-concerned about what the lack of political power has done to ndigbo that he was compelled to sing, “igbo choba pawa” (“igbo, seek political power). it is in the character of artists to commit any disturbing challenge in songs in order to popularize it and put in the front burner. unfortunately, many of those that listen to that song do not reflect on the words. they simply enjoy the rhythm and lyrics. the singer laid the blame of the state of affairs on the unfortunate focus of ndigbo on “buying and selling”. the last 2 decades of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century witnessed the emergence of igbo leaders, may merchant-rulers, who are agents of forces outside igboland. these are politicians with no ideologies or better still, whose ideology is pecuniary. these are politicians who believe nothing, know nothing about igbo plight and feels nothing about the subjugation that the people are exposed to since after the war in 1970. majority of today’s politicians in igboland are either products of the “endless” and epileptic transition to civil rule under the self-styled evil-genius and military president, ibrahim badamosi babangida or products of the accidental head of state, abdusalami abubakar. the latter was so much in a hurry to return nigeria to democracy, nay civil rule, that he used a few weeks to package a constitution for the people of nigeria. the serious-minded among ndigbo showed apathy in the midst of both the babangida and abubakar transitions. the result was the hijack and usurping of the political space in igboland by men who wanted to upgrade their curriculum vitae, (c.v.) not those who wanted to serve. on their way to upgrading their c.v. (as ex-this or ex-that political office holder), they stumbled on our commonwealth laid tenacious grip on it, and have since been transferring it to their cronies, relations, nuclear-family, boot-lickers, and others who have been playing agency-roles (like them) for forces outside igbo land. if ndigbo were to tell themselves the truth, they must admit that more than 70% of what is happening to them today is self-inflicted and can only be solved by a deliberate and conscious selfappraisal and self reconstruction. adiele ebere afigbo, had once wished he could get an opportunity to, as he puts it: strip ndigbo naked before their eyes and those of the world in the matter of their own concern to their culture and civilization, so that they may see that many of the things that they complain about result from short-comings in their individual and group character, especially from the suspicion which appears to dominate the relationship between their political juggernauts and economic moguls, on the one hand, and their men of intellect and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 117 learning on the other (53, “the origin of igbo civilization: aspects of the inner dimension”). i do not think that anyone needs to “strip ndigbo naked” any more. they have ingloriously both allowed themselves to be stripped naked and then painfully removed their skin to (unfortunately) expose their flesh and bones to ordinarily preventable political infirmities. today in igboland, the political juggernauts, business moguls and the man of letters are all trying to outwit each other in the lure to control the allocation from abuja. once any or all of them takes or take custody of the allocation, all we would find would be monuments and no movements! of course, one should not forget that all these began with ukpabi asika’s concept of “onye ube ruru, ya racha” (“he whose turn the pear gets, let him lick”). the implication is that since the pear is sweet, and since it is licked by he who has custody of it, why then would he allow it to get to another? compare current occurrences with the days of nnamdi azikiwe, michael okpara, akanu ibiam, k.o. mbadiwe, aja nwachukwu, etc, and we would be left with no option but to conclude that politics in alaigbo is in waterloo. this is why chudi ofodille in his the politics of biafra and the future of nigeria, argues that ndigbo have been reduced to “political insularity” in nigeria i will not blame ndigbo for what happened to them. no one beaten should be prevented from crying or at least feeling the pain. similarly, i will not blame ndigbo for the desperate need to (first) survive after the war that destroyed their environment, desecrated their culture, damaged the then fastest growing economy in the world, dehumanized the people and finally demeaned their psyche. i would not blame a people whose properties were declared abandoned in their own homeland, who got 20 pounds for any amount of money left in the bank before the war. in a presentation in arewa house kaduna, sanusi lamido sanusi, paints the igbo plight thus, they have been defeated in war, rendered paupers by monitory policy fiat, their properties declared abandoned and confiscated, kept out of strategic public sector appointments and deprived of public services. the rest of the country forced them to remain in nigeria and has continued to deny them equity. the northern bourgeoisie and the yoruba bourgeoisie have conspired to keep the igbo out of the scheme of things. in the recent transition when the igbo solidly supported the pdp in the hope of an ekweme presidency, the north and south-west treated this as a biafran agenda. every rule set for the primaries, every gentleman’s agreement, was set aside to ensure that obasanjo, not ekweme, emerged as the candidate. now, with this government, the marginalization of the igbo is more complete then ever before. the igbo have taken all these quietly because they reason they brought it upon themselves, but the nation is sitting on a time bomb. (see, “yorubas are the problem of nigeria”). unfortunately, sanusi believes that the above lot befell ndigbo as a result of their “foolishness” in “shattering” the peace of the country with the january 15, 1966 military coup; which he believes was carried out by the igbo for the selfish interest of ndigbo. i admire emir sanusi. he is one northern bourgeoisie that says his mind, sometime in a fiery manner, without carring whose ox is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 118 gored. however, i am sure that if he looks deep inside himself, he would know that not only was the coup of january 15, 1966 not an igbo coup carried out for igbo interest, ndigbo had no need of a military putsch to occupy social, economic and political positions in nigeria since, as at that time, they were in charge (by merit) in the country. the current inability of ndigbo to occupy the political space of nigeria, from what sanusi said above, appears to be a grand conspiracy to ensure that ndigbo do not, to use sir ahmadu bello’s phrase, “have control over their future”. but the saddest part of this miserable condition is that ndigbo are not even allowed to take charge of even their ancestral territory. politicians who bear igbo names but play agency roles for powers and forces outside igboland, are hoisted or foisted upon the people. this situation has largely remained the same because of our people’s apathy and almost total surrender of that political power to these agents. considering the way modern nation-states are structured and taking into cognizance the character of the world order, to be politically ignorant or to surrender your political space to those who have not got your mandate, is the worst thing that can happen to any people. any people that surrenders their political space would suffer continuous social, economic and psychological deprivation and de-humanization. german philosopher, bertolt brecht, was thus, correct when he wrote: the worst illiterate is the political illiterate. he hears nothing, sees nothing, takes, no part in political life. he does not seem to know that the cost of living, the price of beans, of flour, of house rent or any other material condition of good living depend on political decisions. he even prides himself on his political ignorance, sticks out his chest and says he hates politics. he does not know that from the political none performance comes the prostitute, the abandoned children, all the hostilities we have in the world, robbers and more particularly, corruption in our country. political policies determine the place of historical fact and the feature of economics in any society. apathy or surrender is, therefore, exhibited to the peril of those who do so. unfortunately, even the church that should know better distance herself from the political activities of the state yet there is more politics played inside or within the church itself. young people are worst hit or the worst culprits in this political surrender. many people have no pvc (permanent voters card) and those who have watch films, play draft or sleep on election days. that “our votes want count” is the mantra that we have used to short-change ourselves and keep ourselves in perpetual bondage. we cannot clear the inside of a house while we are standing outside. we have become members of a “murmuring republic”, complaining and murmuring about how bad things are. yet, we forget that unless we arm ourselves with brooms, rakes and booths (if the house is as dirty as nigeria’s own), step into the house with determination, knowledge, zeal and zest, the process of getting the house clean would not even begin. we must deliberately create in igboland and among ndigbo (wherever they are) a new set of traditional, religious and (especially) political leaders with a service-mentality. we must find new igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 119 michael okparas and akanu ibiams who desire to serve ndigbo with all their heart, all their soul and all their body. 37 years ago (1985), when the former premier of eastern nigeria (today’s 9 states), michael iheonukara okpara died, his corpse was put in the morgue so that a small bungalow would be built for him before his burial because he had no house. he and akanu ibiam(who was governor while he was premier) did not acquire estates and properties with public funds when they superintended over the affairs of eastern nigeria between 1960 and 1966. in his essay, “the crises of identity and the quest for development in africa: the place of leadership in creating a new culture”, joseph agbo had observed that when a society is so rotten from top to bottom and the people face the crisis of not even knowing where they are coming from or going to, leadership is usually critical in fostering a new culture from the top. he cited two examples from history. one was abraham lincoln who, after the american civil war between 1861 and 1865, employed leadership dexterity, commitment and justice to restore confidence in the breakaway southern states into the union. he also cited the case of japan. perhaps, no people have suffered the humiliation of identity crisis as much as the people of japan. following the atrocities of her emperor, hiro hitto, the allied forces decided that they would test-run the atomic bomb on japanese territory. thus, on august 6, 1945, 3 aeroplanes headed for japan: one carried an atomic bomb code-named “little boy”, the other carried a device to measure the corrosive effect and the third carried a camera to photograph the bombing. one thing led to another, and instead of tokyo (the original target), the bomb was eventually dropped in hiroshima. three days later, a second bomb, codenamed “fat man”, was dropped in nagasaki. the next day, august 10, 1945, japan surrendered and world war ii came to an end. hundreds of thousands of japanese died in those 3 days and more in the coming years. the japanese people suffered serious identity crises, psychological strength was at its lowest ebb. however, by a deliberate policy, the meij dynasty in japan combined western investments with confusian work ethics to begin a process of rebuilding japan. the japanese worked and worked, they confronted their challenge with what ghanaian philosopher, kwasi wiredu, would call “open utilitarian eyes” in less than 4 decades, japan was back, dazing and dazzling the world with technological break-through. that is the work of focused and purposeful leadership. what sort of leadership do we have in aligbo today? are we sure the type of impunity and convoluted politics we have today under democracy even existed in the darkest period of military dictatorship in nigeria? are we not faced (as our own brand of democracy) with what sabastine odono calls “scattocracy”. in his book, war without name: an introduction to political theory of scattocracy, he distinguishes democracy from scattocracy in the following words: the most appropriate opposite of democracy is scattocracy … because in democracy, everything is supposed to be semen and certain, especially issues pertaining to administration and governance. but where this is deficient, it all turns out to be democracy in principle but scattocracy in practice. simply put, scattocracy is a situation in government whereby the administrative pattern of a ruler is extremely disordered in principle and in practice, leads to a haphazard litany of unschemed programme without a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 120 reasonable measure of fulfillment…. scattocracy is a scatterd ruling power or disorganized ruling principle. when a government is described as operating a scattocrate policy in her administration, it includes exclusively every manner of purposelessness, visionlessness, detectionlessnes disjointed myopism and most inclusively self-opinioned elements orchestrated by selfish demonstrative focus (88). this is the lot of igbo politics that is yawning for urgent and decisive change. a people for who pacifism is of eternal value and virtue, have been turned into passivity and apologists who have become incredulous to conventional morality. our politicians have appropriated the worst aspects of machiavellianism wherein the idea of acquisition, retention and expansion of power are all there are to politics. and the younger generations of ndigbo are caught in this malady, with the purposeless educational system not doing anything to alter it, the more it would appear as the normal. if that happens, bringing about any enduring change would become more herculean to achieve. in all the states in the so-called south-east of igboland, are politicians, (who are lords and masters) backed by a caliphate-imposed, hegemonic constitution. the description of the tyrant given by girolamo savolaroma, a dominican frier who wrote before machiavelli. according to him: the tyrant terrifies his subjects …... as a spider delicately balances at the centre of a web, he dominates the life of all around him …… he turns his entire state into a machine for his own profit and that of his few friends. he does not shrink from robbing wealthy men of their possessions or pure young women of their virtue (quoted by anthony grafton “introduction” to machiavelli’s the prince). this paints the exact picture of the nature of political power in igboland today, where opposition is an anathema, where the houses of assembly members in the states are appointed by the governor, and bills are rubber-stamped just by a mere phone call from “his excellency” to the speaker a night before the sitting of the house. our situation requires a rescue mission. a new set of political leaders must be raised in alaigbo, consciously and deliberately. they would not emerge unless they are created with the future in focus. we must look for intellectual and activist politicians in our clime today (no matter how few they are) who would rise with the power of transcendence to fashion a new idea, new values and new culture for ndigbo as historical needs demand. in his, political philosophy and international relations, joseph i. omoregbe discusses the need for men/women with the power of transcendence; that is, “the power to transcend the present situation, go beyond it and envisage a totally different and better situation” (vi). the search for men and women, who would rise above this current quagmire, and generate ideas from where we can fashion practical tasks that would liberate our people, must begin now!! we must not surrender either to armchair theorizing or blind practice. we must draw an equilibrium between the two attitudes identified by ike odimegwu in his book, philosophic foundations of politics. according to him: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 121 the practical politicians sees politics as nothing beyond the game of power and decries what the political theorist does as being too remote from the field of politics; while for the political theorists, the practical politician is so superficial that he does not grasp the kernel of politics. so, who is really addressing the matter and which view marks the boundaries appropriate to show what politics is? (47). the truth is that political practice in igboland today has been driven blindly because of lack of guidance by clearly thought-out ideas (theory) guarded by socially-engraved values. that is the foundation of this brazen display of political predatory and parasitic psycho-phancy in our society today. the people that afigbo earlier referred to as political juggernauts and business moguls cannot abandon the people that frantz fanon referred to as the intellectual bourgeoisie in this desire and demand for the enthronement of a new political leadership in igboland. i would comment on the place of these business moguls towards the conclusion of this essay. to say that theory without praxis would serve no purpose in igboland today is to state the obvious. the eleventh of karl marx’ thesis on feuerbach states categorically that “philosophers have interpreted the world in various ways, the point, however, is to change it”. joseph agbo has developed this in his paper, “the principle of refl-action as the basis for a culture of philosophy in africa”. in that paper, he argued that all reflections in africa must “reflect action”, that is, thinking about what to do or what not to do. in alaigbo today thinking-for thinking-sake is an unaffordable luxury. we are in dire need of social-thinkers who would provide an alternative, transcendent vision of and for society. on the philosophy of rootology. as we prepare to end this reflection, we must pause and spare a word on the concept of “taking.” the word “take” is an active, not passive verb. to “take” something is to do it in such a way that you do not wait to receive it. we are not asking that someone brings nigeria to us. to take a place is certainly different from taking a thing. to take a place requires planning’ logistics and a clearly thought-out process. i cannot end this essay without at least adumbrating the way, the manner, the process by which ndigbo can “take back nigeria.” it has been stated that the journey of a thousand kilometers begin with a single step. however, i also want to add that the journey also needs to begin from a single spot as well. the process of ndigbo taking back nigeria must begin with our taking over and taking charge of the igbo territory first. unless we are in control of our political space, we would not be in a position to secure both our identity and investments within nigeria. it is my believe that this process can begin with a philosophy (the philosophy of rootology) and a political ideology (the mobin initiative). and to these, i now turn. "rootology" emanates from my world, my universe of "poetic license", with an infinite and inelastic ability, capacity and capability to coin neologisms. although the concept of rootology" may be strange, it is not altogether unintelligible. it is coined from two words: root and logos, with the latter meaning "discourse" within our context. however, although "roots" are the part of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 122 the tree or crop or grass that provide nourishment, it is used here as a metaphor for "foundation", " grounding", " base", "basis", "cause", etc. rootology is, therefore, the scientific study of or focus on foundations. the idea of a "philosophy of ..." anything is an attempt to inquire into the "why" and "how" of that thing. thus, the "philosophy of rootology" seeks to investigate the "why" and "how" of foundations. and within this context, we seek to apply it to problem-solving in general within any area of reality, and within the specific context of ndigbo taking back nigeria. rootology is the view that no problem can be understood, addressed or solved without beginning from its foundation. the "why" of rootology is that without a foundational tackle, in the absence of a causal diagnosis, all solutions to any problem would be at best flaky and fanciful and at worst, deceptive and destructive. on the other hand, the "how" (the way) of rootology is patience and perseverance, endurance and (sometimes) long-suffering. a rootologist does not take pleasure or dwell on top of the tree of reality cutting branches, shedding leaves, and plucking fruits. he or she rather stays at the root, digging deep, searching the root that "caused" the branches/ the leaves and fruits. for he or she knows that even when branches are cut, leaves are shed and any of such surface treatment and windowdressings are carried out, the root would still provide the nourishment for new branches and fresh leaves. those who do not address problems from its root do so out of ignorance, deception and/or laziness. those who benefit from a particular status quo would not want to have a lasting solution. they would hang on the periphery of the branches, pretending to be doing something, when in actuality, nothing serious is happeningplenty of motion, without movement! the major difference between a rootologist and a branchologist is that the latter goes for solutions that are easy, cheap and short-lived. but the former, the rootologists takes the tortuous parts digging deep, tracing the causes and relaying the foundations for an enduring and lasting solution. root-digging is energy-sapping, time-consuming, and mentally tasking. branchologists can dressup in 3-piece suits and attend to the leaves and fruits on the branches. that tall, beautiful 10-storey building has been standing there because it has a solid foundation. what we advocate in this essay may not be a quick-fix one, but it is the only way. ndigbo must overcome the buying and selling mentality which was adopted in economics after the war in 1970. at the boom of share-holding in nigeria in the 1990s, many igbo traders carried this buying and selling mindset into capital market. many people formed the habit of taking bank loans, buying shares with them this week and selling same next week in other to make quick profits. of course, as excepted, many of them were caught napping when dividends of such shares crashed, leaving them with unbearable bank loans to repay. this attitude does not work in politics. politics requires planning, calculations and projections. true leaders do not emerge accidentally, they are prepared and made to pass through crucibles of the “why” and “how” of societal existence. today’s igbo society needs men and women with integrity, selflessness and who are grounded in igbo culture. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 123 let us cite some examples that would make us understand the rootological philosophy better and clearer. in governance, a rootologist is a statesman, he or she thinks of the next generation, but a branchologist is a politician, he thinks of the next election. ndigbo need state-men/womenpoliticians who would think about the next election with the mentality to save the next generation. a rootologist is interested in sports development, a branchologist has a competition mentality. he only remembers sports few months to a competition. while countries with rootological perception begin preparation for the next olympics the day after the last one ends, branchologistscountries wait for two months to the olympic games , then they would call a press conference, announce that a committee has been set-up and budget billions of funds! a rootologist is interested in the educational system, a branchologist thinks only of the next examination and how to pass it-by any means! the inability (perhaps, refusal) by igbo leaders to understand and apply the philosophy of rootology to the "problem of identity, economic emancipation and political bondage" within nigeria is the reason why corruption looms larger than life and sticks out like a sore throat. i have often made the hyperbolic comment that even if angel michael becomes the president of nigeria with angel gabriel as vice, they would both be corrupt! why? because they are both resting on a foundation of corruption! and so, any solution requires that the root be dug and corrections begin therefrom. in the first place, nigeria as a geopolitical entity and a subject of international law is not the product of an agreement by the nations that have existed for centuries within her territory before her birth in 1914. the hausas, fulani’s, igbos, yroubas, izons, tivs, nupes, isokos, etc in nigeria did not agree to form nigeria. that was why obafemi awolowo in 1947, called nigeria “a mere geographical expression". for him, there is no body called a nigerian, the way you have an english, a french, a welish, a yoruba, an ibo, an ashanti, a zulu, etc. and till today, he is still right. igbo leaders must understand this. secondly, the supreme document, our constitution, with which we are called to exist together, is not a product of the people. it tells a lie in page one: "we the people..."! i was taught in secondary school that any document that tells a lie about its authorship is a forgery! our current constitution was authored by general abdusalami abubakar and passed as decree no. 24 of 1999. how can they be calling us to amend a document we did not author (see joseph agbo transforming the formless)? thirdly, in an attempt to correct the problem created by the british (by forcing us to be one country), the founding fathers of nigeria spent 10 years (19501959) to fashion a federation, with three federating units in 1960 (northern, western and eastern regions). today, nigeria is only a federation in name. we now have a "central republic of nigeria", with all the resources collected at abuja and shared to governors and local government chairmen/women who in turn share it as they please! until we get fiscal federalism, no one can begin the fight against corruption. otherwise, why would kano state have 44 local government areas, while lagos (that has more population) would have 20? why should kano and jigawa states have 71 local government areas while all the states in the southeast have just 95? why was fiscal federalism in place (the derivation formula of revenue) when the mainstay of nigeria's igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 124 economy were groundnuts, cocoa, palm produce, rubber etc and then it was changed to allocation following the discovery of crude oil? can corruption fight corruption? can corruption be fought with injustice? why has the nigerian state become an occupation force in the territories occupied by the nations within her geographical coverage? how can 74 nigerians be above the law (section 308 of the constitution)? how can we be given fundamental human rights in chapter 4 of the constitution, yet section 6(6c) denies nigerians the right to seek legal redress when these rights are not provided by the leaders? if you objectively reflect on the above fundamental and foundational structures, you would observe that any talk about fighting corruption without dealing with their roots would be shadow boxing with phantoms! am waiting at the root! please, join me and let us keep digging! one of the tragedies that have hit ndigbo in nigeria is the wrong and false proposition that since we are biafrans, we should not participate in the politics of nigeria. yet, the people who are saying these things have nigeria’s naira inside their pockets carry nigeria’s driver licenses, nigeria’s international passport, send their children, to public and private schools that not only bear names connected with nigeria but are equally registered in nigeria! that such statements would be made among a people for who wisdom is an indispensable virtue is indeed symptomatic of a society in need of immediate rescue. however, i must state that whatever would bear fruits or receive a hearing in today’s igboland must, in one way or the other, be connected to or anchored on the biafran ideology of justice, equity and truth (jet). ndigbo are biafraans by nature. biafra is not just a place, it is an identity, the basis for recognition. whatever freedom, independence or self-determination mean for biafrans cannot be divulged from or antithetical to politics, especially power politics based on values and virtues that have overtime provided spiritual and social respiration for the people. in a recent publication titled, the politics of biafra and the future of nigeria, chudi ofodile has traced the historical basis for the biafran ideology and observed that not only do politicians of igbo extraction need to understand the biafran question, even the rest of nigeria would be running around without result if the biafran question is not confronted. ofodile talks of how “since the biafran war, a significant number of people from (agbor to kwale asaba) have denied their igboness to escape the odium of defeat and the attendant policies of marginalization” (15). the ideological issues surrounding identity and difference, the extent of inclusion and exclusion and how a butterfly would imagine it is a bird, simply by being among birds, would continue to be matters that all true igbo must confront and reconcile. the hard truth is that anyone fighting for biafra’s freedom without taking politics into cognizance is joking, running a cult group or (in the absence of these two) wallowing in ignorance. on the other hand, anyone engaged in politics in igboland without recognizing the place of the biafran ideology is either involved in the agency-politics we have today (that ignores the will of the vast majority of the people) or is ignorant of the place of the biafran ideology in the genuine political igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 125 participation and emancipation of the people. the vast majority of biafran buffs who complain about what they call “nigerian politics” are not aware that the situation has remained so because they have refused to genuinely participate in shaping and structuring it. they have left it for “them”. in lieu of a conclusion:the mobin political panacea the movement of biafrans in nigeria (mobin) emerged after a thorough, critical and constructive understanding and analyses of the root of the problem and, consequently, the root of the analyses of the mobin believes that in 1970, biafrans lost their territory as a subject of international law, but this loss of sovereignty did not mean that biafrans lost their identity as a people. mobin acknowledges the indubitable fact that ndigbo are biafrans by indegeneship, yet they are nigerians by citizenship. mobin is on board, not just as another pro-biafran group or organization, but as a platform to mobilize, educate, sensitize and conscientize biafrans on the values and inevitability of the legal, the political and the diplomatic on the road to selfdetermination. let us take the kernel of the mobin ideology as stated by its chairman, barr. emeka emekesri during the official inauguration of the ebonyi state chapter on april 8, 2018. in a “welfare speech” delivered on his behalf by the director-general of mobin, nwada eberechukwu anigogbu, he stated, inter alia: a person does not lose his indigenous identity by becoming a citizen of a sovereign country. mobin has come to proffer permanent solutions to the national problems and create peace and stability. the biafrans are nigerians by citizenship until they gain independence from nigeria, just as the scottish people, who are now struggling for independence, are still british citizens until they gain independence, from britain. mobin is not a political party but a political movement imparting political education to the masses. you can describe it as a political watchman or pressure group. you can describe mobin as a civil rights movement, a vehicle for political education and enlightenment … we are the indigenous government of our land by judicial, political and diplomatic processes … all the indigenous peoples of the land have been enslaved by these wicked politicians. we want to be free. either freedom within nigeria or freedom outside nigeria … mobin believes that the biafrans must secure and control their political space in eastern nigeria first and have the balance of power to negotiate with the federal government. we want to start by creating biafra within nigeria as a regional government just like scotland within britain. some call it restructuring, but we call it devolution of power to the regions, so that every region will govern itself, control its own resource and develop at its own pace. this is the philosophy behind the mobin ideology. it is legal, it is legitimate and it is in line with international best practices. the mobin strategy and modus operandi cannot be faulted by the nigerian government, the international community, nature or even god. realizing that if we do not take charge of our political space, we would be swimming against the tide, mobin has come up with not only the mobilization of biafrans for that purpose but equally the identification of core biafrans who would carry out this emancipation process as political leaders. having registered biafran-minded citizens in every electoral ward in biafraland and with igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 126 continuous political education, the take-over process would be steady and gradual. politicians who are core biafrans, who understand the jet ideology would be encouraged to take charge of governance in biafraland, deliver democratic dividends first to biafrans and then (in the process of that delivery) embark on the process of self-determination. perhaps, mobin’s immediate and greatest task is how to convince and convert the mass of the populace who have been deceived by neophytes and charlatans in believing that biafra is a jamboree involving street protests without parliamentary process. this task is a tortuous, painstaking and dexterous one that requires a lot of patience and courage. the actions of these youths have largely been driven by the things they have been made to believe. voltaire, the french philosopher, was thus right when he wrote that “those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities” (blackburn:396). that we would solve our political challenges by displaying apathy towards the political process is a lie we have internalized to our detriment. politics is indispensable to our freedom as a people and we cannot continue to live it in the hands of those joseph agbo have referred to in one of his essays as “mercenaries”(agbo, 2013) (see, “mercenaries in governance :…) without tackling our challenges from its root, our solutions would be flaky and fanciful. the nature of the challenge facing ndigbo today is such that strategic political planning is inevitable. we cannot submit to the ignominy of being ruled by those who are not able to reconcile the needs of the people with their predatory hold on our commonwealth. taking back nigeria is the historical mission of the new generation of politicians in igboland. the process of that take-over must begin with the political control of our territory … and it might end with it! works cited achebe, chinua (1984) the trouble with nigeria enugu: heinemann books. achebe, chinua (2012) there was a country: a personal history of biafra, london: penguin books. acholonuolumba, catherine (2009) they lived before adam: prehistoric origin of the igbo, the neverbeen ruled abuja: karac publications. afigbo, adiele e., (2015) “the origin of igbo civilization: aspects of the inner dimension” in nwala t.u, aniekwu, nath and ohiri-aniche chinyere (eds.), igbo nation: history and challenges of rebirth and development ibadan: kraft books ltd,pp 53-69. agbo, joseph n. (2018) “the aladinma project: expanded perspective on the igbo angle of the lower niger congress (lnc)”, in igbo phobia a cursory analysis of the historical, economic and political conditions of ndigbo in nigeria, enugu: tadi press. agbo, joseph n. (2018) & igbo phobia a cursory analysis of the historical, economic and political conditions of ndigbo in nigeria: enugu tadi prints. agbo, joseph n. (2015) “biafra: the philosophy of a historical ignorance of a critical generation” in nwala t.u, aniekwu nath and ohiri-aniche chinyere (eds.), igbo nation: history and challenges of rebirth and development, ibadan: kraft books, pp 347-379 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 127 agbo, joseph n. (2013), “mercenaries in governance: towards a philosophy of punishment in africa’s development philosophy in frankfurter afrikanistische blatter vols. -25. pp. 5173 agbo, joseph n. (2011), “the crises of identity and the quest for development in africa: the place of leadership in creating a new culture” in, unizik journal of arts and humanities, vol. 12, no.2 pp.204-239. agbo, joseph n. (2016), “the ontological basis for the failure of liberal democracy in africa: a phenomenological rescue”, in agbakoba j.c.a and ajah tony (eds), universalism, relativism and intercultural philosophy. washington d.c: council for research in values and philosophy, pp. 79-104. agbo, joseph n. (2019) “transforming the formless: the inevitability of a new constitution for the survival and development of nigeria”, in philosophy and praxis, vol.9, 245-277 agbo, joseph n. (2011), the principle of ‘refl-action’ as the basis for a culture of philosophy in africa” in filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religions, vol. 2, no. 2 pp. 423-456 aneke, luke 2007 the untold story of the nigeri-biafra war new yorrk: triumph publishing, blackburn, simon (1996). (ed) oxford dictionary of philosophy london: oxford university press, chinweizu, (2015) caliphate colonialism: the tap root of the trouble with nigeria lagos clear coast communications. clark john henry (2002) “in cauritas, j.h and harris l.c (eds.) african world history project: the preliminary challenge. https://books.google.com.ng/books?id=gtvppwaacaaj eluwa, b.o.n. (2008) ado-na-idu: history of igbo origin owerri: de-bonelsons global company ltd. emekesri, emeka (2018). “welfare speech”, delivered at the official inauguration of the ebonyi state chapter of movement of biafrans in nigeria (mobin), april 8, emekesri, emeka adolph (2012), biafra or nigerian presidency: what the igbos want london: christ the rock community. eyisi, v. m. c. (2012) akuko nbido ndigbo onitsha: chuvic publishers. ezeani, emefiena (2014) in biafra africa died: the diplomatic plot london: veritas lumen publishers. gbulie ben, (2015) “the 1966 coup: who’s coup”, in nwala t.u, aniekwu nath and ohirianiche chinyere (eds.), igbo nation: history and challenges of rebirth and development, ibadan: kraft books, pp 305-308 ibaim, francis a (1968) “for the love of a new nation in biafra africa died: the diplomatic plot london: veritas lumen publishers pp 245-248 idika, uduma(2015) “the road map to igbo restoration in nwala t.u, aniekwu nath and ohirianiche chinyere (eds.), igbo nation: history and challenges of rebirth and development, ibadan: kraft books, pp 528-544 korie, chima j. (2015) “the igbo in global history in nwala t.u, aniekwu nath and ohirianiche chinyere (eds.), igbo nation: history and challenges of rebirth and development, ibadan: kraft books, pp 151-176. lasswell, harold, (1951) politics: who gets what, when, how? glencoe: the free press. maier, karl (2001) this house has fallen: nigeria in crisis london: penguin books. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 128 mandela, nelson, (1994) long walk to freedom: the autobiography of nelson mandela (new york: backbay books) nwankwo, arthur (2018) nigeria and her path to doom enugu: fourth dimension publishers. odimegwu, ike (2008) philosophic foundations of politics np: lumos limited. ofodile, chudi (2016) the politics of biafra and the future of nigeria ibadan: safari books, ohuabunwa, sam e. (2015) “bringing back the past glory of the economy of aligbo”, in in nwala t.u, aniekwu nath and ohiri-aniche chinyere (eds.), igbo nation: history and challenges of rebirth and development, ibadan: kraft books, vol. 2, pp 45-58. onyesoh, chukwuemeka (2017) to the rescue: the right to self determination enugu: bbk limited. onyewenyi, innocent c. (1993) the african origin of greek philosophy nsukka: university press. orugun johnson, &, akeem tunde. (2014). an exploratory study of igbo entrepreneurial activity and business success in nigeria as the panacea for economic growth and development. international journal of scientific & technology research vol. 3. pp 158-165. osagie-jacobs, oluwole (2009) “ndigbo: the elusive leadership and consensus”, the nation, december 4, sanusi, lamido sanusi (1999) “yorubas are the problem of nigeria”, speech delivered at arewa house, september 12, available online. “voltaire”, in blackburn, simon (1996) (ed) oxford dictionary of philosophy london: oxford university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute philosophy of emotional intelligence in the light of 1 kings (12:119): the intersection of philosophy, psychology and scripture ikechukwu anthony kanu, phd pontifical faculty of philosophy, veritas university abuja, bwari ikee_mario@yahoo.com & pilani michael paul, phd department of theology, veritas university abuja & philip chika omenukwa, phd department of philosophy, catholic institute of west africa abstract this paper explores the intersection of philosophy and scripture through an examination of emotional intelligence in the context of 1 kgs 12:1-19. employing a philosophico-biblical methodology, the study combines conceptual analysis with biblical exegesis to illuminate the role of emotional intelligence in leadership and decision-making. the narrative of rehoboam’s reign serves as a case study, demonstrating how a leader’s emotional competencies – or lack thereof – can significantly impact societal outcomes. the research delves into the philosophical underpinnings of emotional intelligence, situating it within broader discussions of wisdom, ethics, and human nature. through a detailed exegesis of 1 kgs 12:1-19, the paper analyses the historical context, literary structure, and theological implications of rehoboam’s fateful decision. this analysis reveals striking parallels between ancient leadership challenges and modern concepts of emotional intelligence. by examining rehoboam’s interactions through the lens of self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, and social skills, the study illustrates how deficits in these areas led to the division of the israelite kingdom. the paper argues that this biblical narrative offers timeless insights into the critical role of emotional intelligence in governance, conflict resolution, and human relations. this interdisciplinary approach not only enriches our understanding of a vital moment in biblical history but also demonstrates the enduring relevance of scriptural wisdom to contemporary leadership theory and practice. the study concludes by highlighting the potential for further research at the nexus of philosophy, theology, and emotional intelligence. keywords: emotional intelligence, philosophy, scripture, self-awareness 1. introduction the intersection of philosophy and scripture offers a rich ground for exploring fundamental questions about human nature and societal dynamics. this paper ventures into this intersection by examining the concept of emotional intelligence through the lens of 1 kgs 12: 1-19, a crucial narrative in the hebrew bible. by employing a philosophico-biblical methodology, the study aims to illuminate the profound connections between ancient wisdom and modern psychological igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute insights. the story of rehoboam’s reign and the subsequent division of the israelite kingdom serves as a persuasive case study for understanding the critical role of emotional intelligence in leadership. set against the backdrop of a complex political and social landscape, the narrative provides a timeless illustration of how a leader’s emotional competencies – or lack thereof – can shape the destinies of entire nations. recent scholarship has increasingly recognized emotional intelligence as a crucial factor in effective leadership across various domains (goleman, 2010; zeidner, matthews & roberts, 2012). however, the philosophical underpinnings of this concept and its manifestations in ancient texts remain underexplored. this paper seeks to bridge this gap by analysing the theological and philosophical implications of emotional intelligence as portrayed in the biblical account of rehoboam’s fateful decision. through an exegesis of 1 kgs 12: 1-19, it will examine how rehoboam’s interactions with his advisors and subjects reveal critical aspects of emotional intelligence, including self-awareness, empathy, and social skills. by situating this analysis within broader discussions of wisdom, ethics, and human nature, the study aims to demonstrate the enduring relevance of scriptural insights to contemporary understanding of emotional intelligence from the viewpoint of leadership theory and practice. this interdisciplinary approach not only enriches one’s understanding of a significant moment in biblical history but also offers valuable insights into the philosophy of emotional intelligence and the nature of effective leadership in any era. 2. purpose of the study this study aims to explore the relationship between philosophy and scripture by examining emotional intelligence in 1 kgs 12: 1-19. it will analyze the concept within the philosophical framework of wisdom, ethics, and human nature, focusing on leadership dynamics and decisionmaking processes. the theological implications of emotional intelligence will be examined in the context of divine sovereignty and human free will. the study will draw parallels between ancient narratives and modern leadership theories, particularly those related to emotional intelligence, and demonstrate the relevance of scriptural wisdom to contemporary leadership challenges and organizational management. the research will contribute to the emerging field of the philosophy of emotional intelligence by providing insights from an interdisciplinary, philosophico-biblical perspective. it will also examine the potential of integrating philosophical inquiry and scriptural analysis to understand complex human dynamics and leadership principles. the study aims to bridge the gap between ancient wisdom and modern psychological insights, offering a unique contribution to both philosophical discourse on emotional intelligence and leadership studies. 3. significance of the study this study is significant in the following ways: i. interdisciplinary integration and methodological innovation: this research contributes to the growing field of interdisciplinary studies by examining emotional intelligence through the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute intersection of philosophy and biblical exegesis. the philosophico-biblical methodology employed offers a novel approach to analyzing historical texts, offering inspiration to interdisciplinary methods in other fields of study. ii. leadership insights and contemporary relevance: the analysis of rehoboam’s reign in 1 kgs 12: 1-19 offers valuable insights into leadership dynamics, highlighting the critical role of emotional intelligence in governance. by drawing parallels between ancient leadership challenges and modern concepts of emotional intelligence, this study underscores the enduring relevance of scriptural wisdom to contemporary leadership theory and practice. iii. philosophical framework and ethical implications: this study contributes to the emerging field of the philosophy of emotional intelligence, by situating emotional intelligence within broader philosophical discussions of wisdom, ethics, and human nature. in this way, it highlights the ethical dimensions of leadership, emphasizing the importance of emotional competencies like self-awareness, empathy, and social skills in positions of power. iv. contribution to leadership studies: the paper offers valuable lessons for modern leadership training and development programs, by illustrating how deficits in emotional intelligence led to the division of the israelite kingdom. it provides a unique perspective that bridges ancient wisdom and modern leadership theories. v. bridging disciplines: this study demonstrates the potential for integrating insights from philosophy, theology, psychology, and leadership studies, encouraging further interdisciplinary research in these areas. it paves the way for future studies at the nexus of philosophy, theology, and emotional intelligence, potentially informing both academic discourse and practical leadership applications. 4. research questions the following research questions would be employed as consistent guide throughout the study: 1. how does the narrative of rehoboam in 1 kgs 12: 1-19 illustrate the principles and ethical implications of emotional intelligence, and what are the consequences of his deficits in this area? 2. what are the philosophical underpinnings of emotional intelligence, and how can they be identified in ancient biblical texts, particularly in the context of rehoboam’s leadership? 3. how does the integration of philosophical and theological perspectives enhance our understanding of emotional intelligence in biblical narratives, and what parallels can be drawn between rehoboam’s leadership and modern leadership theories? 4. how can insights from the intersection of philosophy and scripture, as demonstrated through rehoboam’s story, inform contemporary leadership practices and theories? igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 5. methodology the methodology adopted for this paper is one that creates a space for the intersection of philosophy and scripture, thus, offering a rich and fascinating area of exploration. it is also based on the understanding that philosophical inquiry and scriptural analysis can complement each other in various ways. this methodology is called the philosophico-biblical. it makes a beautiful combination of the theological and philosophical patterns of thinking and research. at the philosophical level, a conceptual approach is undertaken with the aim of clarifying their objects and understanding them. given that an analysis of concepts may help the understanding of the phenomenon that the term denotes. at the level of theology, a biblical-exegetical method is adopted. this complementary approach is based on the understanding that there is an inescapable philosophical element in every theology (kanu 2010, kanu 2011 & kanu 2012). however, the patristic approach that employed philosophy at the service of theology, giving christian interpretations to neoplatonic concepts such as logos, divine mind, soul, creation, problem of evil universals, particular, freedom and foreknowledge, thus creating no clear cut distinction between philosophy and theology (davies 2004, gracia and noone 2003, schulman 2002, kretzmann 2002, hyman and walsh 1967, catarina and stephen 2016), the present approach employs philosophy and scriptural texts for the service of each other. therefore, while the exegesis of a scriptural text deepens an understanding of a philosophical concept, philosophical concepts, which are useful tools for clarification and development of ideas, help immeasurably for a better understanding of what is happening in the scriptural text. table 1: intersection of philosophy and scripture s/n intersection point description 1 ethical inquiry philosophical ethics and scriptural teachings on morality and justice can inform each other 2 metaphysics and cosmology philosophical discussions on reality, existence, and the nature of the universe can intersect with scriptural accounts of creation and the divine 3 epistemology and hermeneutics philosophical theories on knowledge and interpretation can inform scriptural exegesis and understanding 4 theology and the nature of god philosophical debates on the divine can engage with scriptural descriptions of god’s nature and attributes igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 5 human nature and anthropology philosophical discussions on human existence and nature can intersect with scriptural teachings on human creation, sin, and redemption 6 free will and determinism philosophical debates on agency and determinism can engage with scriptural teachings on human responsibility and divine sovereignty 7 virtue ethics and character development philosophical discussions on virtues and character can inform scriptural teachings on moral development and spiritual growth 8 political philosophy and social justice philosophical debates on politics and justice can intersect with scriptural teachings on social justice and compassion 9 aesthetics and beauty philosophical discussions on beauty and aesthetics can engage with scriptural teachings on creation, art, and worship 10 mysticism and spiritual experience philosophical explorations of mystical experiences can intersect with scriptural accounts of spiritual encounters and divine presence authors created 6. philosophy of emotional intelligence human emotions are a critical part of our existence as they influence the way we see our environment, understand it, respond to that awareness, and in fact, can serve as a great compass for navigating the world (kanu 2024). it is, therefore, not surprising that psychologists, therapists, economists, sociologists, etc., have started studying the abilities and capacities of the human person to reason and understand their own emotions, to effectively perceive emotions as well as manage them, especially in relation to others (salovey & mayer, 1990, fernández-berrocal and extremera 2006, schulze & roberts 2005, bar-on 2006, goleman, 2010; zeidner, matthews & roberts, 2012). these studies gave rise to the nomenclature: “emotional intelligence”. it has since become a concept that is used in virtually every field of study, employed for the evaluation of performances and for accounting for differences in levels of success (goleman, 1998, st. clair, 2004, sewell, 2011). mental health america (2023) defines emotional intelligence as: “the ability to manage both your own emotions and understand the emotions of people around you”. it further pointed out five key elements to ei, which include: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills, and observed that people with high ei can identify how they are feeling, what those feelings igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute mean, and how those emotions impact their behavior and in turn, other people. this helps human relationships and understanding. the economic times (2023), defines emotional intelligence as: “the capability of a person to manage and control his or her emotions and possess the ability to control the emotions of others as well. in other words, they can influence the emotions of other people also.” it further identified five main elements of emotional intelligence, which include: self-awareness the capacity to understand the self, self-regulationthe capacity to control the self, motivationthe capacity to influence people, empathy the capacity to put yourself in the shoes of others, social skillsthe capacity to communicate. landry (2019), in her article published in the harvard business school online, defines emotional intelligence “as the ability to understand and manage your emotions, as well as recognize and influence the emotions of those around you”. she further broke emotional intelligence into four core competences: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship management. within philosophy, the philosophy of emotional intelligence is a new area of study. it critically studies the implications of emotional intelligence on personal development, interpersonal relationships, and society as a whole (kanu 2024). philosophy, etymologically is love of wisdom, which involves the ability to think and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and intuition. grossmann (2017) avers that this is associated with attributes such as judgment, emotions and virtues, and, therefore, emotional intelligence. this has led philosophers to begin to reflect on the place of wisdom in the management of emotions (grossmann, oakes, and santos 2019; kunzmann and glück 2019; staudinger and glück 2011; walsh 2015). philosophers have also located emotional intelligence as belonging to the ontological level (sfetcu 2020, cummings, hayduk, and estabrooks (2005). dulewicz and higgs (2000) introduces an epistemological dimension given that the knowledge of the self in relation to others is important. in relation to ethical decision-making and the appreciation of values, ethics and axiology respectively, become important areas of concern in emotional intelligence (kanu 2024). 7. biblical perspective of emotional intelligence (1 kgs 12: 1-19) 7.1 exegesis of 1 kgs 12: 1-19 a. historical context the events of 1 kgs 12:1-19 unfolded during the reign of solomon, who brought prosperity and expansion to the united kingdom of israel. however, tensions were brewing that ultimately led to the kingdom’s division. solomon’s rule laid the groundwork for future conflicts that his son would inherit. the unified monarchy under solomon presented both strengths and weaknesses, with unprecedented wealth and international recognition but also exacerbated existing divisions between the northern and southern tribes (pilani, 2023a). solomon’s policies, particularly his igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute heavy taxation and forced labour programs, disproportionately burdened certain segments of the population, creating economic disparities between different regions and social classes (pilani, 2022). as solomon’s reign progressed, tensions between the northern and southern tribes grew more pronounced. the rise of jeroboam, a capable leader from the northern tribe of ephraim, further complicated the political landscape. the economic conditions of israel at the time of solomon’s death were complex, with the burden of supporting solomon’s grand projects and lavish lifestyle falling heavily on the common people. this led the people, under jeroboam’s leadership, to approach rehoboam with their plea for relief. the cultural expectations of kingship in ancient israel, such as the deuteronomic ideal of a servant of god and protector of the people, often clashed with the realities of governance and the influences from surrounding cultures. the role of divine appointment in legitimizing kingship was crucial in ancient israel, with the king seen as god’s anointed representative. rehoboam’s failure in emotional intelligence led to the division of the kingdom due to his inability to empathize and respond wisely to the existing tensions and burdens on the people (pilani, 2023b). this critical moment in israelite history serves as a powerful illustration of how a lack of emotional intelligence in leadership can have profound and lasting impacts on a nation and its people. b. structure of 1 kgs 1:1-19 this literary structure of 1 kgs 12:1-19 is organized into five main sections, each highlighting a key element of the narrative and its emotional dynamics. it begins with setting the scene, introducing the main characters and the political context (i: 1-3). the second section (ii: 4-5) presents the people’s petition, showcasing their emotional appeal for relief. the third section, focusing on rehoboam’s consultation (iii: vv. 6-11), contrasts two sets of advice reflecting different levels of emotional intelligence. verses vv. 12-15 constitutes the fourth section (iv). it describes rehoboam’s decision, emphasizing his lack of empathy and emotional awareness. the final section outlines the people’s reaction, illustrating the emotional and political consequences of rehoboam’s choice (v: vv. 16-19). i. setting the scene (vv. 1-3) ii. the people’s petition (vv. 4-5) iii. rehoboam’s consultation (vv. 6-11) iv. rehoboam’s decision (vv. 12-15) v. the people’s reaction (vv. 16-19) c. content analysis of 1 kgs 12:1-19 i. setting the scene (vv. 1-3) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute the opening scene of 1 kgs 12:1-3 sets the stage for a focal moment in israelite history. rehoboam’s journey to shechem for his coronation is significant, as shechem held historical and religious importance for the israelites (laughlin, 2006). the choice of this location may have been an attempt to unite the northern and southern tribes, acknowledging their shared heritage. the return of jeroboam from egypt adds tension to the narrative. jeroboam, who had fled from solomon’s wrath (1 kgs 11:40), returns at a critical juncture. this timing suggests divine orchestration, aligning with the prophecy of ahijah (1 kgs 11:29-39). the hebrew text uses the verb wayyäbö´ (and he came) to describe jeroboam’s return, emphasizing his active role in the unfolding events (sweeney, 2007). the summoning of jeroboam by the people wa|yyišlühû wayyiqrü´û-lô (then they sent and called him) indicates his popularity and the people’s desire for his leadership. this action sets up a confrontation between the davidic heir and a charismatic leader (jeroboam) from the north, reflecting the underlying tensions between the tribes (finkelstein & silberman, 2006). from a historical perspective, this scene reflects the political realities of the time. the fragile unity achieved under david and solomon was now under threat, with longstanding tribal rivalries resurfacing. the mention of jeroboam’s exile in egypt also points to the complex international relations of the period, with egypt often playing a role in israelite politics (kitchen, 2003). this opening sets the stage for a clash of leadership styles and political ideologies, with rehoboam representing the established davidic dynasty and jeroboam embodying the aspirations of the northern tribes. the historical context suggests a delicate balance of power that could easily tip, depending on how the new king would handle the situation (miller & hayes, 2006). ii. the people’s petition (vv. 4-5) the people’s petition in 1 kgs 12:4-5 reveals the underlying tensions that had been building during solomon’s reign. the request for a lighter burden, expressed in hebrew as häqël më`ábödat ´äbîºkä haqqäšâ (lighten the hard service of your father), points to the economic and social pressures faced by the israelites under solomon’s rule (cogan, 2001). this plea suggests that solomon’s ambitious building projects and luxurious lifestyle had come at a significant cost to the common people. the promise of loyalty, conveyed through the conditional statement “we will serve you,” indicates that the people were not outright rejecting the davidic dynasty. instead, they were seeking a renegotiation of the social contract between ruler and subjects (brueggemann, 2000). this approach reflects a sophisticated political awareness among the israelites, demonstrating their understanding of the reciprocal nature of kingship in the ancient near east. rehoboam’s request for time, “go away for three days, then come again to me” (lükû `öd šülöšâ yämîm wüšûºbû ´ëläy), can be interpreted in various ways. from a historical-critical perspective, this delay might represent a genuine need for consultation, reflecting the complex decision-making processes in the royal court (sweeney, 2007; usman & paul, 2024). alternatively, it could be seen as a political maneuver, buying time to assess the situation and potentially gather support. the historical context of this petition is crucial. the unified monarchy under david and solomon had brought both glory and burden to israel. solomon’s reign, while marked by great achievements, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute had also introduced heavy taxation and forced labor (1 kgs 5:13-14). the petition thus represents a moment of reckoning, where the sustainability of solomon’s policies was being questioned (finkelstein & silberman, 2006). furthermore, the scene highlights the delicate balance of power between the monarchy and the people. the fact that the people felt empowered to make such a petition suggests that the israelite monarchy was not absolute, but rather existed within a framework of negotiated responsibilities and rights (levinson, 2001). this episode also foreshadows the potential for division within the kingdom. the unity of israel, achieved under david and maintained under solomon, was now at risk. the people’s petition serves as a litmus test for rehoboam’s leadership, challenging him to manage the delicate balance between maintaining royal authority and addressing the genuine concerns of his subjects (miller & hayes, 2006). iii. rehoboam’s consultation (vv. 6-11) rehoboam’s consultation, as depicted in 1 kgs 12:6-11, presents a stark contrast between two approaches to leadership, reflecting different generational and ideological perspectives. the narrative employs a common ancient near eastern literary device of contrasting counsels to highlight the critical nature of rehoboam’s decision (sweeney, 2007). the advice from the elders (züqënîm) in vv. 6-7 embodies an empathetic approach and focuses on servant leadership (onukwuba, idornigie, ekpe & paul, 2023). their counsel, “if today you will be a servant to this people and serve them” ´im-hayyôm ti|hyè-`eºbed lä`äm hazzè wa|`ábadtäm), emphasizes the king’s role as a servant to his people. brueggemann (2000) affirms that this perspective aligns with ancient near eastern concepts of kingship, where the ruler was expected to ensure the welfare of his subjects. the elders’ advice reflects a nuanced understanding of political realities and the importance of maintaining popular support. in contrast, the young men’s (yülädîm) advice in vv. 8-11 represents an authoritarian approach focused on power and intimidation. their suggestion to say, “my little finger is thicker than my father’s waist” (qä|†onnî `äbâ mimmotnê ´äbî), is a vivid metaphor emphasizing rehoboam’s supposed superiority over solomon. the threat to increase the people’s burden and to discipline them with scorpions instead of whips is a clear escalation of oppressive tactics (cogan, 2001). from a historical-critical perspective, this juxtaposition of advice may reflect actual tensions within the israelite court. the elders likely represented the established political elite who understood the fragility of the united monarchy, while the young men might have embodied a new generation eager to assert royal power more forcefully (miller & hayes, 2006). the hebrew text’s use of the term “yülädîm” (usually translated as “young men”) for rehoboam’s peers is noteworthy. while rehoboam was likely around forty years old at this time (1 kgs 14:21), the text infantilizes his advisors, possibly critiquing their immaturity and lack of wisdom (frolov, 2018). this episode also reflects broader themes in the deuteronomistic history regarding proper kingship. the elders’ advice aligns more closely with the ideal of kingship presented in deuteronomy 17:14-20, which emphasizes humility and service. the young men’s counsel, by igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute contrast, represents the kind of royal excess and oppression that the deuteronomist often criticizes (levinson, 2001). the consultation scene thus serves multiple narrative and theological functions. alter (2013) for instance, writes that it provides a rationale for the impending schism, critiques certain forms of kingship, and illustrates the consequences of rejecting wisdom. moreover, it sets up the tragic irony of rehoboam’s decision, as the reader is made aware of the better path not taken. iv. rehoboam’s decision (vv. 12-15) the narrative of rehoboam’s decision in 1 kgs 12:12-15 presents a crucial turning point in israelite history, marked by the new king’s fateful choice and its immediate consequences. the return of the people after three days (wayyäbô yorob`äm wükol-hä`äm) creates a sense of anticipation and tension, setting the stage for rehoboam’s response (sweeney, 2007). rehoboam’s harsh response, choosing to follow the advice of the young men, is conveyed through strong language: “my father made your yoke heavy, but i will add to your yoke” (´äbî hikbîd ́ e|t-`ullükem wa´ánî ´ösîp `a|l-`ullükem). the use of the root kbd (to be heavy) emphasizes the increasing burden, while the contrast between “my father” and “i” underscores rehoboam’s determination to assert his own authority (cogan, 2001). this response reflects a misunderstanding of the political realities and the delicate balance required to maintain the united monarchy. the text’s notation of divine influence, “for it was a turn of affairs brought about by the lord” (kî|-häytâ sibbâ më`ìm yhwh), introduces a theological dimension to the historical narrative. this statement aligns with the deuteronomistic perspective that sees god’s hand guiding historical events, often as a response to human actions (nelson, 1987). in this case, it refers back to the prophecy given to jeroboam by ahijah (1 kgs 11:29-39), creating a sense of divine causality in the unfolding events. this episode reflects the complex political dynamics of the time. the united monarchy, a relatively recent development in israelite history, was built on a fragile foundation of tribal alliances and centralized authority. rehoboam’s decision exacerbates existing tensions between the northern and southern tribes, which had different economic interests and historical experiences (finkelstein & silberman, 2006). the harsh response also indicates a shift in the nature of israelite kingship. while david and solomon had to balance royal authority with the interests of tribal leaders, rehoboam appears to be attempting to assert a more absolute form of monarchy, possibly influenced by surrounding nations or by an inflated view of royal prerogative (miller & hayes, 2006). the mention of divine causality raises important questions about the relationship between human free will and divine providence in the deuteronomistic worldview. while rehoboam makes his own decision, the text suggests that this aligns with a larger divine plan. this theological interpretation of historical events is a key feature of the deuteronomistic history, that provides a framework for understanding national successes and failures (römer, 2007; richard, paul & azuwike, 2024). moreover, the decision scene serves as a critique of kingship that fails to embody the ideals of servant leadership. rehoboam’s rejection of the elders’ advice, indicates his failure to fulfill the covenantal responsibilities of a king towards his people, as outlined in texts like deuteronomy 17:14-20 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute (levinson, 2001). this critical moment in the narrative not only explains the historical division of the kingdom but also serves as a cautionary tale about the consequences of poor leadership and the complex interplay between human choices and divine will in shaping history. vi. the people’s reaction (vv. 16-19) the people’s reaction to rehoboam’s harsh decision, as depicted in 1 kgs 12:16-19, marks a decisive moment in israelite history, resulting in the permanent division of the united monarchy. the rejection of the davidic dynasty is encapsulated in the powerful declaration, “what share do we have in david? we have no inheritance in the son of jesse” (mà-llänû hëºleq büdäwìd wülö|´nahálâ büben-yìšay). this rhetorical question and statement reflect a deep-seated resentment and a rejection of the southern-based davidic rule (sweeney, 2007). the call to return to their tents, “to your tents, o israel!” (lü´öhälêºkä yisrä´ël), is not merely a dispersal order but a repudiation of centralized authority. this phrase echoes similar calls in earlier periods of israelite history, such as during sheba’s revolt (2 samuel 20:1), suggesting a return to a more decentralized, tribal-based social structure (cogan, 2001). the departure of the northern tribes represents a literal and symbolic break from the united monarchy. the text’s statement wayyëºlek yisrä´ël lü´öhäläyw (israel went to their tents) indicates not just a physical departure but a withdrawal of political allegiance. this schism had been foreshadowed by earlier tensions between north and south, dating back to the time of david (2 samuel 19-20), and reflects the fragile nature of the united monarchy (finkelstein & silberman, 2006). the appointment of jeroboam as king over israel is presented as a natural consequence of these events. the hebrew text uses the term wayyimlök (he reigned), suggesting a popular acclamation rather than a formal coronation ceremony. this reflects the different political traditions of the northern tribes, where kingship was often seen as more elective than hereditary (miller & hayes, 2006). the note that only judah remained loyal to rehoboam underscores the extent of the division. the use of the term bübêt däwìd (house of david) emphasizes the dynastic nature of the southern kingdom’s loyalty, contrasting with the more fluid political allegiances in the north (na’aman, 1996). from a historical-critical perspective, this account of the kingdom’s division likely reflects later theological interpretations of historical events. the deuteronomistic historians, writing centuries after these events, shaped the narrative to explain the political realities of their time and to provide a theological framework for understanding israel’s history (römer, 2007). the swift and decisive nature of the division as presented in the text may simplify what was likely a more complex and gradual process. archaeological evidence suggests that the distinction between israel and judah developed over time, with varying degrees of cooperation and conflict (mazar, 2010). the narrative also serves to legitimize the southern kingdom’s claim to be the true inheritor of the davidic covenant, despite controlling only a small portion of the former united kingdom. by emphasizing judah’s loyalty, the text reinforces the idea of a continuing davidic line, crucial for later messianic expectations (levenson, 1985). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute moreover, the people’s reaction and the resulting schism are presented as a fulfillment of divine will, connecting back to the prophecy of ahijah (1 kgs 11:29-39). this theological interpretation of political events is a hallmark of the deuteronomistic history, which seeks to understand israel’s past through the lens of covenant theology (cross, 1973). in conclusion, this passage not only narrates a pivotal moment in israelite history but also reflects the complex interplay of political, social, and theological factors that shaped the understanding and interpretation of that history in subsequent generations. 8. theology and emotional intelligence in 1 kgs 12:1-19 the story of rehoboam and the division of the kingdom in the hebrew bible (1 kgs 12:1-19) has significant theological implications. it is presented as part of god’s plan for israel, not just a political upheaval (knoppers, 1993). the text suggests that rehoboam’s actions were the immediate cause of the split, but it was ultimately part of god’s design to punish solomon’s idolatry (provan, 1995). this theological perspective adds complexity to understanding leadership and divine sovereignty, suggesting that even poor decisions can serve a greater purpose within the divine plan (brueggemann, 2000). the story also connects to wisdom literature, particularly proverbs, as the contrast between elders’ counsel and young advisors echoes themes about wisdom and discernment in leadership (longman, 2006). additionally, the narrative serves as a case study on the importance of emotional intelligence in leadership. rehoboam’s interactions reveal his limited self-awareness and poor self-regulation, demonstrating his impulsive desire for power and dominance. his delayed response to the people’s petition for a lighter burden demonstrates a lack of empathy towards their concerns. rehoboam’s decision to follow the advice of the elders demonstrates poor judgment and a lack of self-awareness about the consequences of his actions. his harsh response to the people demonstrates poor communication and leadership skills, a lack of empathy, and an inability to read the emotional climate of his subjects. the consequences of rehoboam’s emotional intelligence failure are swift and severe, leading to the rejection of his authority and the division of the kingdom. this narrative serves as a cautionary tale about the importance of emotionally intelligent leadership, demonstrating that effective leadership requires not just political acumen or divine sanction but also the ability to understand, connect with, and respond appropriately to the emotional needs of others. 9. the philosophy of emotional intelligence through the lens of scripture the intersection of philosophy and scripture provides a rich perspective for exploring fundamental questions about leadership, human nature, and societal dynamics. this study examines the concept of emotional intelligence through the lens of 1 kgs 12: 1-19, a narrative in the hebrew bible, employing a philosophico-biblical methodology that combines conceptual analysis with biblical exegesis (kanu, 2010, 2011, 2012). the story of rehoboam’s reign and the subsequent division of the israelite kingdom serves as a compelling case study for understanding the critical role of emotional intelligence in leadership. recent scholarship has increasingly recognized emotional igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute intelligence as a crucial factor in effective leadership across various domains (goleman, 2010; zeidner, matthews & roberts, 2012). however, the philosophical underpinnings of this concept and its manifestations in ancient texts remain underexplored. emotional intelligence, defined as “the ability to manage both your own emotions and understand the emotions of people around you” (mental health america, 2023), encompasses five key elements: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills. these elements are strikingly evident – or notably absent – in the biblical account of rehoboam’s fateful decision. the narrative in 1 kgs 12: 1-19 reveals rehoboam’s interactions with his advisors and subjects, highlighting critical aspects of emotional intelligence. his lack of self-awareness, poor selfregulation, and failure to empathize with his people’s concerns demonstrate significant deficits in emotional intelligence (cogan, 2001; brueggemann, 2000). the consultation scene, where rehoboam rejects the wisdom of the elders in favor of his young advisors’ harsh counsel, further emphasizes these deficiencies (miller & hayes, 2006). from a philosophical perspective, this narrative raises important questions about the nature of wisdom, the ethics of leadership, and the interplay between divine sovereignty and human free will. the story is presented as part of god’s plan for israel, not just a political upheaval (knoppers, 1993), adding complexity to our understanding of leadership and divine providence. the consequences of rehoboam’s emotional intelligence failure – the rejection of his authority and the division of the kingdom – illustrate how a leader’s lack of emotional competencies can lead to the breakdown of social and political structures (sweeney, 2007). this outcome underscores the importance of empathy, self-awareness, and emotional regulation in leadership roles. this ancient narrative offers timeless insights into the critical role of emotional intelligence in governance, conflict resolution, and human relations. by examining rehoboam’s reign through the lens of modern emotional intelligence concepts, we gain a deeper understanding of both the biblical text and the enduring relevance of emotional intelligence in leadership. the philosophicobiblical approach employed in this study demonstrates the potential for integrating insights from philosophy, theology, psychology, and leadership studies. it paves the way for future research at the nexus of these disciplines, potentially informing both academic discourse and practical leadership applications. 10. conclusion this study has examined the intersection of philosophy and scripture through the lens of emotional intelligence in the context of 1 kgs 12: 1-19. it employed a philosophico-biblical methodology through which it illuminated the significant role that emotional intelligence plays in leadership and decision-making, both in ancient narratives and contemporary settings. the narrative of rehoboam’s reign provides a fascinating case study, demonstrating how a leader’s deficiencies in emotional intelligence – specifically in self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, and social skills – can lead to adverse societal outcomes, such as the division of the israelite kingdom. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute the analysis of rehoboam’s interactions with his advisors and subjects reveals critical deficits in emotional intelligence, which were instrumental in his leadership failures. this study situates these findings within broader philosophical discussions of wisdom, ethics, and human nature, underscoring the timeless relevance of scriptural wisdom to modern leadership theory and practice. the consequences of rehoboam’s actions highlight the importance of emotionally intelligent leadership for maintaining social cohesion and effective governance. furthermore, this interdisciplinary approach not only enriches our understanding of a critical moment in biblical history but also demonstrates the potential for integrating insights from philosophy, theology, psychology, and leadership studies. it paves the way for future research at the nexus of these disciplines, potentially informing both academic discourse and practical leadership applications. in conclusion, the study underscores the necessity for modern leaders to cultivate emotional intelligence to navigate the complexities of human interactions and societal dynamics effectively. by means of bridging ancient wisdom and contemporary leadership theories, this research contributes to the emerging field of the philosophy of emotional intelligence and offers valuable insights for both scholarly inquiry and practical implementation in leadership development. 11. recommendations the following are recommendations considered to be the proceeds from this study: a) educational institutions should consider developing interdisciplinary curricula that combine philosophy, theology, psychology, and leadership studies. this approach can provide a holistic understanding of emotional intelligence and its application in various fields. b) modern leadership development programs should integrate emotional intelligence training. emphasizing self-awareness, empathy, self-regulation, motivation, and social skills can enhance leaders’ ability to connect with and manage their teams effectively. c) scholars should explore other biblical narratives and ancient texts to uncover additional insights into emotional intelligence. comparative studies can highlight universal principles of emotional intelligence and their relevance across different cultures and historical periods. d) leadership studies can benefit from incorporating philosophico-biblical methodologies. by examining leadership through both philosophical and scriptural lenses, researchers and practitioners can gain deeper insights into the ethical and emotional dimensions of effective leadership. references [1] alter, r. (2011). the art of biblical narrative. basic books. [2] alter, r. (2013). ancient israel: the former prophets: joshua, judges, samuel, and kings: a translation with commentary. w.w. norton & company. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute [3] avalos, h. (2015). slavery, abolitionism, and the ethics of biblical scholarship. sheffield phoenix press. [4] bar-on, r. (1997). the emotional quotient inventory (eq-i): technical manual. toronto, canada: multi-health systems, inc. [5] bar-on, r. (2006). “the bar-on model of emotional-social intelligence (esi).” psicothema, 18 (1), 13-25. [6] blenkinsopp, j. (2006). opening the sealed book: interpretations of the book of isaiah in late antiquity. eerdmans. [7] botterweck, g. j., & ringgren, h. (eds.). (2006). theological dictionary of the old testament (vol. 15). eerdmans. [8] brettler, m. z. (1995). the creation of history in ancient israel. routledge. [9] brueggemann, w. (2000). 1 & 2 kings. smyth & helwys publishing. [10] catarina dutilh novaes & stephen read (2016). the cambridge companion to medieval logic, cambridge: cambridge university press [11] cogan, m. (2001). 1 kings: a new translation with introduction and commentary. doubleday. [12] cross, f. m. (1973). canaanite myth and hebrew epic: essays in the history of the religion of israel. harvard university press. [13] cummings, greta, leslie hayduk, and carole estabrooks. 2005. “mitigating the impact of hospital restructuring on nurses: the responsibility of emotionally intelligent leadership.” nursing research 54 (1): 2–12. https://doi.org/10.1097/00006199200501000-00002. [14] davies, brian (2004). “aquinas.” continuum international publishing group. 14. [15] dulewicz, victor, and malcolm higgs. 2000. “emotional intelligence: a review and evaluation study.” journal of managerial psychology 15 (4): 341–72. https://doi.org/10.1108/02683940010330993. [16] fernández-berrocal, p. & extremera, n. (2006). “emotional intelligence: a theoretical and empirical review of its first 15 years of history.” psycotherma, 18, 7-12. [17] finkelstein, i., & silberman, n. a. (2006). david and solomon: in search of the bible’s sacred kings and the roots of the western tradition. free press. [18] fishbane, m. (1979). text and texture: close readings of selected biblical texts. schocken books. [19] fritz, v. (2003). 1 & 2 kings. continental commentary series. fortress press. [20] frolov, s. (2018). judges. wm. b. eerdmans publishing. [21] gertz, j. c., berlejung, a., schmid, k., & witte, m. (2012). t&t clark handbook of the old testament: an introduction to the literature, religion and history of the old testament. t&t clark. [22] goleman, d. (1995). emotional intelligence. bantam books. [23] goleman, d. (1998). working with emotional intelligence. santa ana, ca: books on tape. [24] goleman, d. (n.d.). daniel goleman. retrieved from http://www.danielgoleman.info/topics/emotional-intelligence/ [25] goleman, d., boyatzis, r. & mckee, a. (2010). l’intelligence émotionnelle au travail. paris, france: pearsonvillage mondial. [26] goleman, daniel. 1996. emotional intelligence : why it can matter more than iq. new ed edition. london: bloomsbury pub ltd. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute [27] gracia, jorge j. e.; noone, timothy b. (2003). a companion to philosophy in the middle ages. oxford: blackwell. [28] hyman, j.; walsh, j.j. (1967). philosophy in the middle ages: the christian, islamic, and jewish traditions. new york: harper & row. [29] kanu, a. i.; addidi, t.; kanu, c. c., “artificial intelligence and cybercrime in nigeria: towards an ethical framework”. dialogue and universalism. 32(1): 143-158, 2024. doi: 10.5840/du202434115 [30] kanu, a. i.; addidi, t.; kanu, c. c., “virtue and the business of governance in nigeria”. published in dialogue and universalism. 32(1): 207-228, 2024. doi.org/10.5840/du202434111 [31] kanu, i. a. & anetoh, b, & ejikeme, p., “information revolution and the future of humanity: a critical perspective”. estaga: journal of philosophy and arts. 1(1): 27-36, 2024. [32] kanu, i. a. & anetoh, b, & ejikeme, p., “martin heidegger on technological development”. estaga: journal of philosophy and arts. 1(2): 6-15, 2024. [33] kanu, i. a. (2010). “a discourse on the romance between philosophy and christian theology”. international journal of theology and reformed tradition, vol. 2. pp. 185-198. [34] kanu, i. a. (2011). “corruption in africa and its challenges for the enterprise of christian theology”. international journal of research in arts and social sciences, vol.4. pp. 492-500. [35] kanu, i. a. (2012). “on the possibility of miracles”. international journal of theology and reformed tradition, vol. 4. pp. 81-89. [36] kanu, i. a. (2024). philosophy of emotional intelligence. lecture note. department of philosophy, veritas university abuja. [37] kelle, b. e. (2020). the bible and moral injury: reading scripture alongside war’s unseen wounds. abingdon press. [38] kitchen, k. a. (2003). on the reliability of the old testament. wm. b. eerdmans publishing. [39] knoppers, g. n. (1993). two nations under god: the deuteronomistic history of solomon and the dual monarchies. scholars press. [40] knoppers, g. n. (2001). “rethinking the relationship between deuteronomy and the deuteronomistic history: the case of kings.” catholic biblical quarterly, 63(3), 393-415. [41] kretzmann, norman (2002). stump, eleonore (ed.). the cambridge companion to augustine. cambridge, uk: cambridge university press. [42] kunzmann, ute, and judith glück. 2019. “wisdom and emotion.” the cambridge handbook of wisdom. march 2019. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108568272.027. [43] landry lauren (2019). why emotional intelligence is important in leadership. harvard business school online. https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/emotional-intelligence-in-leadership [44] laughlin, j. c. h. (2006). fifty major cities of the bible. routledge. [45] lemche, n. p. (1998). the israelites in history and tradition. westminster john knox press. [46] levenson, j. d. (1985). sinai and zion: an entry into the jewish bible. harperone. [47] levinson, b. m. (2001). “the reconceptualization of kingship in deuteronomy and the deuteronomistic history’s transformation of torah.” vetus testamentum, 51(4), 511-534. [48] long, b. o. (1984). 1 kings: with an introduction to historical literature. eerdmans. [49] longman, t. (2006). proverbs. baker academic. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute [50] matthews, v. h., & benjamin, d. c. (2006). old testament parallels: laws and stories from the ancient near east. paulist press. [51] mazar, a. (2010). archaeology of the land of the bible: 10,000-586 b.c.e. yale university press. [52] mental health america (2023). what is emotional intelligence and how does it apply to the workplace? https://mhanational.org/what-emotional-intelligence-and-how-does-it-applyworkplace [53] miller, j. m., & hayes, j. h. (2006). a history of ancient israel and judah. westminster john knox press. [54] na’aman, n. (1996). “the contribution of the amarna letters to the debate on jerusalem’s political position in the tenth century b.c.e.” bulletin of the american schools of oriental research, 304, 17-27. [55] nelson, r. d. (1987). first and second kings. westminster john knox press. [56] noth, m. (1981). the deuteronomistic history (2nd ed.). jsot press. [57] onukwuba, m., idornigie, p. o., ekpe, i. p., & paul, p. m. (2023). “who is my neighbour?: law and religion.” the international journal of humanities & social studies, 11(11), 59-68. https://doi.org/10.24940/theijhss/2023/v11/i11/hs2311-017 [58] pilani, m. p. (2023a) “synodality in numbers 11:24-30: an architype for participation in community life” the bible on synodality: walking together in communion, participation and mission. acts of the catholic biblical association of nigeria (caban) vol 14. 24-42. bernard ukwuegbu et al (eds.). port harcourt: caban [59] person, r. f. (2010). “the deuteronomic history and the book of chronicles: scribal works in an oral world.” society of biblical literature. [60] pilani, m. p. (2023b). “amos’ polemical mission against religious hypocrisy (amos 5: 2127) in african context.” in m. u. udoekpo, m. j. obiorah, & l. e. ijezie (eds.), biblical approach to mission in context: a festschrift in honour of sister professor okure, shcj. pauline publications west africa. [61] pilani, m. p. (2022). “amos 7: 10-17: a paradigm for interpreting modern ministers.” in b. ukwuegbu et al. (eds.), the bible on ministries and ministers, acts of the catholic biblical association of nigeria (caban) (vol. 14, 69-87). port harcourt: caban. [62] polzin, r. (1993). “david and the deuteronomist: 2 samuel. indiana university press. [63] provan, i. w. (1995). 1 and 2 kings.” new international biblical commentary. hendrickson publishers. [64] richard, g. e., paul, p. m., & azuwike, a. (2024). “religio-political situation in northern nigeria: the limits of the law and fault lines in christian response to islam.” journal of religion and society, (joras) 13, 1-17. [65] römer, t. (2007). the so-called deuteronomistic history: a sociological, historical and literary introduction. t&t clark. [66] salovey, p. & mayer, j. (1990). emotional intelligence. imagination, cognition and personality, 1, 9, 185-211. [67] schulman, jana k., ed. (2002). the rise of the medieval world: 500–1300: a biographical dictionary. westport, ct: greenwood press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute [68] schulze, r. & roberts, r. (eds.) (2005). emotional intelligence: an international handbook. cambridge, ma: hogrefe & huber. [69] sewell, g. f. (2011, march-april). how emotional intelligence can make a difference. military review. retrieved from http://www.armyupress.army.mil/portals/7/militaryreview/archives/english/militaryreview_20110430_art012.pdf [70] sfetcu, nicolae, “philosophy of emotional intelligence “, setthings (february 1, 2020), url = https://www.setthings.com/en/philosophy-of-emotional-intelligence/ [71] st. clair, j. (2004). the emerging role of emotional intelligence in business communication classes. retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254448179_the_emerging_role_of_emotional_intelli gence_in_business_co mmunication_classes [72] staudinger, ursula m., and judith glück. 2011. “psychological wisdom research: commonalities and differences in a growing field.” annual review of psychology 62: 215–41. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.121208.131659. [73] sweeney, m. a. (2007). i & ii kings: a commentary. westminster john knox press. [74] the economic times (2023). what is emotional intelligence? https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/definition/emotional-intelligence [75] van der toorn, k. (1996). family religion in babylonia, syria and israel: continuity and change in the forms of religious life. brill. [76] van seters, j. (1983). in search of history: historiography in the ancient world and the origins of biblical history. yale university press. [77] walsh, roger. 2015. “what is wisdom? cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary syntheses.” review of general psychology 19 (3): 278–93. https://doi.org/10.1037/gpr0000045 [78] weinfeld, m. (1993). the promise of the land: the inheritance of the land of canaan by the israelites. university of california press. [79] zakovitch, y. (2004). “and you shall tell your son...”: the concept of the exodus in the bible. magnes press. [80] zeidner, m., matthews, g. & roberts, r. d. (2012). what we know about emotional intelligence: how it affects learning, work, relationships and our mental health. cambridge, ma: mit press. 75 analysis of ronald dworkin's concept of liberal democracy celestine edozie anyaorah, ph.d department of philosophy, alex ekwueme federal university ndufu-alike, ebonyi state edozie.celes�ne@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.10003.90409 abstract in freedom's law, dworkin turns down the concept of “majority rule” and endorses the concept of “equal citizenship” as the fundamental defining aim of democracy. he points out that democracy should be based on a set of principles that guarantee fairness, justice and equal treatment for all citizens. he opposes the notion that majority rule solely should ascertain the final results of political decisions, as it is very likely to lead to crushing or curtailment of the rights of the minority; hence, disregarding the indispensable principle of justice. in other words, the persistent tyranny of the majority over the minority. the objective of this study is to analyse dworkin's concept of liberal democracy. the problem that warrants this study is to ascertain the real implication of the concept: “government by the people.” this study's significant is the fact that it will be a guiding principle to politician, legislators and all involved in the democratic process. it adopts the analytic method of research. finally, this study submits that “democracy” can be correctly used in a variety of senses; some of which are morally more appealing than others. by taking an unshakable stand on a single true concept of democracy, dworkin claims to have attained an unambiguously dominant perceptivity into the “true nature” of the concept: “government by the people.” this should not be the case. keywords: constitutional conception; democracy; equality; individual rights: majority rule. introduction in freedom's law, dworkin avers that the objection to the moral reading of the constitution is founded on a particular understanding of democracy he refers to as the majoritarian premise. he disapproves the majoritarian premise and champions what he calls the “constitutional conception” of democracy. “it is through his consideration of the majoritarian premise that he develops his own concept of democracy and makes the case for it” (shofield, 2004, 48). in dworkin's conceptual schemes, the main objective of the constitutional conception of democracy is that collective decisions be made by political institutions “whose structure, composition, and practices treat all members of the community with equal respect and concern” (dworkin, 1996, 17). for him, democracy simply implies government open or subject to democratic conditions, or what he calls the conditions for moral membership in a community. it is only when the majoritarian institutions adhere to the conditions should their decisions be accepted. otherwise, there is no objection in the name of democracy to procedures that defend and adhere to them (17). dworkin's concept of liberal democracy liberal democracy is a form of government that coalesces the principles of democracy with the ideals of liberalism and the protection of individual rights. in freedom's law, dworkin observes that there is no generally accepted definition of democracy; although there is a general agreement about the abstract “concept” of democracy: democracy means government by the people. however, dworkin points out that political theorists differ deeply about the best “conception” of democracy, that is, about what government by the people, more concretely, really involves (1996, 14). therefore, in freedom's law, he distinguishes between two conceptions of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 76 democracy: a majoritarian conception and a constitutional conception. the majoritarian conception regards the essence of democracy as lying in majority rule, while constitutional conception, turning down majoritarianism, sees equal citizenship, not majority rule, as the cardinal defining objective of democracy. the majoritarian premise according to dworkin, many who support the majoritarian conception also approve a widely accepted normative principle that he calls the majoritarian premise. this majoritarian premise asserts that “political procedures should be designed so that, at least on important matters, the decision that is reached is the decision that a majority or plurality of citizens favours or would favour if it had adequate information and enough time for reflection” (15-16; bassham, 1997, 1261). dworkin observes that in many places the majoritarian premise is majorly held in qualified term: it is not generally believed that majority should always prevail over minority rights. however, many people believe that “it is always unfair whenever the political majority is not allowed to have its way, so that even when there are strong enough countervailing reasons to justify this, the unfairness remains” (17). collective action: statistical and communal generally, in democracy when it is said that government is by the people, it implies that the people collectively do things, choose their leaders, for example, which no individual can do alone. therefore, in freedom's law, dworkin distinguishes between two kinds of collective action: statistical and communal. collective action is statistical “when what the group does is only a matter of some function, rough or specific, of what the individual members of the group do on their own, that is, with no sense of doing something as a group” (19). in this regard, democracy, government “by the people,” is just a matter of counting people's votes and combining individual preferences. therefore, dworkin advocates a “communal,” not a statistical, reading of government “by the people.” collective action is communal “when it cannot be reduced to just some statistical function of individual action, when it presupposes a special, distinct, collective agency” (20). when it is said, for instance, that an orchestra or a football team played well, the point made or the appreciation is about the group as a whole that cannot be sufficiently trimmed down to a statistical readout of individual performances. so, dworkin affirms that in a liberal democracy, “political decisions are taken by a distinct entity, the people as such, rather than by any set of individuals one by one” (20). does the constitutional conception counteract liberty? dworkin considers the soundness of the majoritarian premise. in regarding why people think that a moral cost is necessarily paid whenever constitutional limitations prevent a political majority from having its own way, he considers and rejects three standard responses. first, it is generally argued that constitutional restrictions on majority rule are not consistent with popular sovereignty or collective self-rule. the moral cost of such restrictions, in this regard, is the loss of a fundamental political liberty: the liberty of people to govern themselves (bassham, 1261). dworkin contends that the notion of collective self-government makes no good sense when understood statistically. considered one by one, individuals in a large democracy have so little control over collective decisions that “constitutional restraints cannot be thought to diminish it enough to count as objectionable for that reason” (dworkin, 21). meanwhile, many individuals' liberty may be heightened by constitutional restraints on majority power. so, the concept of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 77 collective self-rule makes sense only when it is interpreted from the communal point of view. according to him, “for only if i am an equal and full-fledged moral member of the political community is an act of the community, in a pertinent sense, my act, even when i may have argued and voted against it” (22). proper reflection on the conditions of democratic selfgovernment enables people to think calmly on the conditions of moral membership in a political community. in turn, people are motivated to abandon the majoritarian conception of democracy. a second standard argument for majority rule invokes the value of political equality. it is claimed that majority rule is a fair procedure for making collective decisions, since it gives each person an equal vote in decisions that may affect his life. on this view, then, the moral cost of imposing constitutional limits on majority rule is a loss of political fairness or equality (dworkin, 23; bassham, 1262). in responding to this second standard argument for majority rule, dworkin asks: “how exactly should we understand 'political equality' in this argument”? on the statistical reading, he continues, political equality might be conceived as either equality of political power or as equality of political status. the first, equality of political power, according to dworkin, is neither desirable nor achievable in a representative democracy. only very few would deny, for instance, that elected and appointed office holders rightly exercise greater political power than ordinary citizens (bassham, 1262). the second, equality of political status, is not contravened by constitutional restraints on majority will, since mere possession of political authority, even electorally unaccountable political authority, such as that exerted by the supreme court, has no presupposition that some citizens are “worthier or better fit to participate in collective decisions than others” (dworkin, 28). lastly, some scholars have tried to guard majority rule by appealing to the value of community. in this sense, what is lost when majority will is overthrown is the “stimulus” of participating in a great “common venture” (hand, 1958, 73-74), the venture of living in a truly considerate democracy where public-spirited citizens enhance both the quality of collective decisionmaking and their own characters by joining in the public arena to consider issues of importance to everyone. again, this argument miscarries, according to dworkin, because “it assumes, with no relevant evidence, that the only or most beneficial kind of 'participation' in politics is the kind that looks toward elections of representatives who will then enact legislation” (dworkin, 31). he argues, on the contrary, that public consideration of constitutional matters may often be more truly deliberative, when such matters are set aside for the judiciaries to adjudicate. on account of their detachment from the political process, pressure and from ordinary majoritarian politics, judiciary has a capacity “to appeal to men's better natures, to call forth their aspirations, which may have been forgotten in the moment of hue and cry” (bickel, 26). by contrast, too, participants in ordinary politics, according to dworkin, most times lose sight of such fundamental principles in the heat of bell ringing or electioneering. therefore, in order to nurture a community that would be more deliberative and ethical, dworkin turns down the majoritarian democracy in favour of an option he calls the constitutional conception of democracy in freedom's law. on the constitutional conception, democracy is basically a matter of equal citizenship, not majority rule. moreover, the constitutional conception presupposes a communal, not a statistical understanding of government “by the people.” it claims that in real democracy, political decisions are taken by a unique, distinguished agency, “the people” acting as a collective and mutually responsible whole. dworkin goes further to underline that such collective action and responsibility are attainable only if certain “democratic conditions” of “moral membership” are met. the most significant of these conditions is that every member of the political community be given “a part in any collective decision, a stake in it, and independence from it” (24). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 78 first, moral membership in a democratic community demands that “every person must have an opportunity to make a difference in the collective decisions of the community, and the force of his role, that is, the magnitude of the difference he can make, must not be structurally fixed or limited in ways that reflect assumptions about his worth or talent or ability or the soundness of his convictions or tastes” (24). in “equality, democracy and constitution,” dworkin points out that in practical terms, this principle of participation requires universal or near universal suffrage, that is, the right of all adults to vote in political elections; freedom of speech and dissent (dworkin, 1990, 338). second, moral membership in a democracy demands that each person be given an equal stake in the community by being treated as equally worthy of respect and concern. the intuition implicit in this condition is that a political community in which a majority treats a minority with disregard or contempt is not only unjust, but also undemocratic (dworkin, 1996, 24). however, dworkin understands that many people share a hunch that cuts firmly the other way: that not all democracies are ideally just and fair by definition. to avoid this issue, dworkin qualifies the principle of stake so that it demands only that political officials act on some sincere and authentic conception of equal treatment. lastly, dworkin reasons that the moral independence of her citizens is what a true democratic government respects. government must not “dictate what its citizens think about matters of political, moral or ethical judgment; on the contrary, it must provide circumstances that encourage citizens to arrive at beliefs on these matters through their own reflective and individual conviction” (26). for dworkin, this is required because, politically, a true community exists only when every member can, with full self-respect, regard himself as a collaborator in a joint enterprise. it would be illogical, he points out, for an example, to regard german jews as real members of the nazi-led political community that tried to annihilate them (26). in like manner, he contends that any political community that deprives any or all of its citizens' ability to judge for themselves with regard to the vital values of their lives countermines the political bases of self-respect, and resultantly, subverts the community itself. simply put, true democracy is basically a matter of equal citizenship, that is, equal moral membership in a political community that regards the principles of participation, authentic personal involvement, and moral independence. so, the moral reading, on dworkin's view, furnish judges with the interpretive materials and constitutional authorisation they need to effectively protect the integral democratic conditions of participation, stake and moral independence from hostile or vaulting majorities. such a reading, resultantly, is not anti-democratic. on the contrary, it is, for dworkin, virtually a precondition of genuine democracy under the circumstances of modern political life (33-35; bassham, 1266). dworkin and “patnership” conception of democracy in justice for hedgehogs building on his argument in freedom's law, dworkin presents in is democracy possible here? and justice for hedgehogs a “partnership” conception of democracy as competing and conflicting with the majoritarian conception each of them attempting to answer the question: “who are the people”? this is because he acknowledges in these books that the concept of democracy is an interpretive and much contested one (dworkin, 2011, 379). he reiterates that unlike the majoritarian view that sees democracy as government in accordance with the will of the greatest number of people, the rival partnership view of democracy means that the people govern themselves each as a full partner in a collective political enterprise. in justice for hedgehogs, dworkin challenges the issue of democracy, understood as majority igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 79 rule, as something valuable in itself. he also challenges the argument that when numerically more people favour one course of action over another, it then means that the more favoured policy is either fairer or better (348). to prove his point that majority rule is not intrinsically fair in all circumstances, he recognizes that it is generally believed that when people locked in a joint enterprise disagree about what should be done, the only fair solution is to count heads. for him, “that must be rejected as a universal default principle of fair play: it is not automatically true” (348). for that purpose, in is democracy possible here? dworkin introduces a “hoary” philosophical example, according to him: when a lifeboat is overcrowded and one passenger must go overboard to save the rest, majority vote would seem close to the worst method of choosing the victim. personal attachments and antagonisms would play a role they should not play, and so a lottery would be much superior. those attachments and antagonisms spoil politics as well, but on a much larger scale, and this makes the idea that majority vote is intrinsically or automatically fair in that context seem at least dubious (2006, 139). dworkin repeats this point to make it clearer, but in slightly different terms in justice for hedgehogs that when a lifeboat is overcrowded and one passenger must be thrown over else all will die, it would not be fair to hold a vote so that the least popular among them would be drowned. it would be much fairer to draw lots (2011, 387). also, in is democracy possible here? he insists that democracy cannot be reduced to a procedural ideal as the majoritarian conception purports , but to a substantive one as the partnership conception proclaims (134). so, unlike the majoritarian view, partnership democracy has substantive implications. therefore, the merit of a particular law or policy and its potentials to improve democracy are not assessed by considering the procedure by which it came into being; its substantive cut and content must be consistent with, and preferably capable of, advancing the “theory of equal partnership.” however, njoku comes up with an argument that is related to dworkin's in this regard. he distinguishes between “absolute” majority rule and “limited” majority rule, while emphasizing limited majority rule in a democratic government. according to him: majority rule does not mean that there is a single determinate majority formed at a particular time in relation to a particular issue. majority rule, as a working political principle, is a general way of arriving at decisions, for it assumes that there will be a succession of different majorities on different issues. thus, belonging to a majority rule is not a fixed category. minority will be able to become majorities on certain or different issues; hence what is advocated is a limited sense of majority rule (njoku, 2006, 162163). therefore, majority rule is not explained in terms of numerical surplus to determine the outcome supported by the greatest number. moreover, this position simply denies that government can act legitimately to curtail the freedoms of thought and expression which are crucial aspects of practical democracy. freedom of speech in a liberal democracy there is no doubt that freedom of speech plays a significant role in the process of democratisation. freedom of speech is an assurance to citizens to participate effectively in the working of democracy. for dworkin, a democracy is not viable and stable if individuals, including the leading rivals of the administration in power, lack the rights of free speech (2011, 372). in a democracy, free speech will not only enable the decision-makers to fully appreciate the strength of the diversity of opinions, but also will be conducive to the tolerance and acceptance of diverse views. in justice for hedgehogs, he argues that limits to individuals' liberty are wonderful as long as they are imposed for good reasons, that is, as long as there is a proper igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 80 justification for them. the task for identifying the speech right is to distinguish acceptable and unacceptable justifications. according to him, any restriction on speech for moral reasons, for example, to preclude some harms and to save human lives, is acceptable (373-374). outside speech protected for democracy-serving or positive liberty reasons, dworkin only identifies as objectionable those limits on speech that involve the collective or the majority imposing its ethical judgments about how the restricted person lives well. in is democracy possible here? dworkin observes that free speech is not just a clause in some states' constitutional documents; it is an important human right now recognised in similar national and international documents around the world (152). he also points out two outstanding principles or policies that justify protecting freedom of speech in a special way. first, freedom of speech is a crucial part of the rights people must have to protect their personal responsibility under the second principle of human dignity: the responsibility to identify and seek value in their own lives (152-153). second, he regards freedom of speech as a very important condition for the realisation of any plausible conception of democracy: it is plainly essential to the partnership conception he advocates (153). preventing individuals from speaking their minds and convictions to others, according to him, is particularly a grave harm. it is in conversations and exchanges with others that people most effectively develop their ethical and moral personalities. standing out for what one believes by bearing witness and testimony, in dworkin's view, is for most people an essential part of believing; it is part of the total phenomenon of conviction (153). however, silencing someone's political speech is particularly a devastating insult because it denies the person's role as a full partner in self-government. also, he points out that another reason for protecting freedom of speech is because people do not govern themselves if they are deprived of the information they need in order to make intelligent decisions or if they are cheated of the criticisms they need in order to judge effectively the record of their officials (154). however, dworkin emphasizes that the regulations he proposes have no such consequences. on the contrary, they are designed to improve the public's chances of receiving the information it requires in a form that is more helpful because it is less distorted and obfuscated. he then concludes: “if the fairness of an election depends on the character of the argument that precedes the vote, then people have no democratic right that their politics be wrapped in entertainments” (154). revisiting dworkin's concept of liberal democracy on the concept of democracy, dworkin's “constitutional” or “partnership” conception of democracy, according to bassham, is actually appealing in many respects. it adopts many of the conditions widely associated with liberal democracy: periodic free elections, a significant degree of popular control of policymakers, political equality and respect for basic liberties and minority rights. also, it rests on a conception of social solidarity and moral community that resonates deeply with enduring ideal of equal citizenship, equal liberty and justice for everyone (bassham, 1266). on the contrary, according to him, the majoritarian conception can easily appear baleful. it puts forward images of a tyranny of the majority, and of isolated individuals acting with little sense of shared purpose or responsibility. there is no doubt that the former is preferable to the latter, if the only option were between these two versions of democracy. as already mentioned, dworkin distinguishes between two kinds of democratic collective action: statistical and communal. he claims that majoritarians tend to think of collective political action in solely statistical terms. for him, “collective action is statistical, when what the group igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 81 does is only a matter of some function, rough or specific, of what the individual members of the group do on their own, that is, with no sense of doing something as a group” (dworkin, 1996, 19). also, it has already been pointed out that dworkin argues for a “communal,” rather than a statistical reading of the government “by the people.” collective action is communal, according to him, “when it cannot be reduced to just some statistical function of individual action, when it presupposes a special, distinct, collective agency. it is a matter of individuals acting together in a way that merges their separate actions into a further, unified, act that is together theirs” (20). against this background, therefore, the choice dworkin presents is a false one. in the first place, there is no reason to think that people must choose between a purely statistical conception of democracy and a purely communal one. in other words, it is false to think that people must choose between a solely statistical conception of democratic collective action and a solely communal one. the notion of communal collective action, as dworkin demonstrates in freedom's law, can easily appear perplexing. indeed, some critics have denied that there can be genuinely communal collective action that is logically irreducible to the actions of individual members of the group. dworkin is right to insist that there are clear cases of communal collective action. teams can lose football games; individual player, strictly speaking, cannot. a badly matched barbershop quartet can sing poorly, even if each individual in the quartet sings well. business corporations can merge with other corporations or form cartels, that is, groups of businesses controlling market; individual members of those corporations cannot (french, 1984, 18). so, what is true of teams, groups and business corporations is also true of states and countries. when germany was divided into the west and the east immediately after the second world war, for example, an individual citizen of west germany could not reunite with east germany; only the west german people as a collective whole could do that. on the other hand, we do not speak of nations in ways that are straightforwardly statistical. someone who says, for instance, that “the nigerian people voted overwhelmingly for change in the 2015 presidential elections” is not to say anything about the nigerian people as a collective agent. it is simply to say something about a statistical collectivity, namely a substantial majority of nigerians. the point is a general one about collective agency. collective action in football can be either statistical, “the team is hitting 60 percent ball possession,” or communal, “this win was a team effort.” the same is true of business corporations, groups, clubs, states and nations (french, 20). both statistical and communal modes of understanding and expression are ad rem, in various contexts, to each of these forms of collective agency. this is true largely independent of any conditions of “moral membership.” churches can baptize, universities can confer honorary degrees, and states can join federations, all examples of communal collective action, even if some members of those collectivities are not treated as fully equal participants or stakeholders (21). however, dworkin's concept of communal democratic action pose grave moral challenges. as already mentioned, in his communal conception, “acts of my democratic government are also, morally speaking, my acts, for which i bear some measure of responsibility.” dworkin does not pin-point the sense of “responsibility” he believes is at issue here; but his allusion to collective german responsibility for nazi war crimes suggests that it must be a sense strong enough to justify feelings of collective shame and guilt; perhaps, as well as a collective moral obligation to make reparations to victims of these crimes. the problem is that all these can easily lapse into a kind of tribalism in which personal moral fault or liability is imputed for acts that an individual neither caused nor intended, and may, in fact, have done all in his power to forestall (bassham, 1268). at some point, it must be possible for citizens to disunite themselves from the evils that others do; dignity and self-worth demand that the walls of integrity should not be as porous as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 82 dworkin's notion seems to connote. furthermore, bassham observes that there are two respects in which dworkin poses a false choice between majoritarian and constitutional conceptions of democracy. broadly majoritarian views of democracy should not claim that majority is the “essence” of democracy. also, such theories should not claim that a significant moral cost is necessarily incurred whenever political majorities are not allowed to have their way. again, dworkin emphasizes that there are many competing conceptions of democracy. for the ancient greeks, who actually coined the term, democracy seems primarily to have meant direct rule by the demos, the poor or plebeian class (bassham, 1269; dahl, 13). marxist-leninists, somewhat analogously, commonly defined “true” democracy as rule by or for the proletariats or oppressed (bassham, 1269; macpherson, 36). for democratic socialists, genuine democracy is “a system of governance that represent in both form and content the desires and needs of the ruled” (bassham, 1269; parenti, 57), that is, a system in which people enjoy not only democratic political freedom, but also freedom from want and economic exploitation. other theorists or advocates of “direct” or “participatory” democracy insist that authentic democracy exists only in systems that encourage direct and face-to-face involvement of the citizens in community decision making (bassham, 1270; barber, 50). still others, the advocates of “constitutional” democracy consider democracy as a form of government in which political majorities or, more generally, their freely elected representatives, govern within a framework of constitutional constraints designed to ensure the effective enjoyment of basic political rights of individuals and minorities (bassham, 1270; friedrich). the list, no doubt, could be stretched. considering these wide variations in contemporary and historical usage, it is more prudent to say, unlike dworkin, that “democracy” is used in a variety of senses; that it correctly refers to a variety of different political systems; and that some of these systems are morally more appealing and defensible than others. by taking an unshakable stand on a single true “essence” of democracy, dworkin, by so doing, claims to have attained an unambiguously dominant perceptivity into the “true nature” of democracy. dworkin is free to make such a claim if he so wishes, but he should not impose bad and very shallow arguments on his opponents. some democratic theorists do claim that majority rule is an essential feature of democracy. many others do not. (bassham, 1270-1271; dahl, 110). dworkin should not dogmatize his idea in this regard. in addition, dworkin's argument against the majoritarian premise significantly expresses with restraint or understates the strength of the case that can be made for the principle of electorally accountable policymaking. that principle serves two very important values. they are the values of popular sovereignty and political equality. as already discussed, dworkin argues that the notion of popular sovereignty or collective self-determination makes sense only on a communal understanding of democratic self-government. in freedom's law, he asks: “why am i free, how could i be thought to be governing myself , when i must obey what other people decide even if i think it wrong or unwise or unfair to me or my family?” (22). such “freedom,” he says, “is mere shibboleth on a majoritarian conception of democracy. only when i am a genuine moral member of a political community is an act of the community in a meaningful sense my act, even when i may have opposed it or voted against it” (22). for bassham, this argument assumes that popular sovereignty must be understood more or less literally as rule by the people. however, it is generally recognized that in modern democracies the people cannot and do not directly govern. to speak of “popular sovereignty” or “popular igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 83 rule” is generally considered to imply that all political authority is ultimately derived from the people and is subject to effective popular control (bassham, 1273; dahl, 37). in this non-literal sense, “popular rule does not require the unanimous consent of the governed: the sovereign power of the whole may legitimately be wielded by majorities or super-majorities of the electorate.” (bassham, 1273). understood in this manner, popular sovereignty does not assure the necessary concurrence of each citizen's individual will with the “general will” of the whole. however, as dahl says: it maximizes the number of persons who can exercise self-determination in collective decisions. given the boundaries of a particular political system, the composition of the demos, and the need for a collective decision on some matter, the strong principle of majority rule ensures that the greatest possible number of citizens will live under laws they have chosen for themselves. if a law is adopted by less than a majority, then the number of citizens who would have chosen that law will necessarily be smaller than the number of citizens who would have chosen the alternative. as a result, the alternative preferred by a minority would be imposed on the majority (dahl, 138). self-determination is obviously being applied here in a statistical manner, rather than communal. resultantly, there is an equivocal statistical sense in which the value of self-determination supports both the principle of majority rule in general and the principle of electorally accountable policymaking in particular. the second major vindication for the principle of electorally accountable policymaking is that it typifies the value of political equality. as dworkin points out in freedom's law, the key matter here is how “political equality” should be comprehended. on a statistical understanding, dworkin says, “we can think of political equality as either equal political power or as equal political status” (27-28). the first, equal political power, is neither accomplishable nor enviable in large-scale representative democracy. the second, equal political status, is accomplishable and enviable, but is not inconsistent with activist judicial review by independent judges. equal political status exists so long as no one is regarded as less worthy to participate in collective decisions than others (28). judicial activism does not go against equal status in this regard; in fact, it may have a crucial role to play in gaining and maintaining it. consequently, dworkin argues that the ideal of political equality does not support majority rule. here, dworkin's argument rests on a false dichotomy. political equality is not a simple concept; however, the essential core elements are generally agreed to be those of (near) universal adult suffrage; the principle of one person, one vote; and equal weighing of votes (bassham, 1274; nelson, 18-20). according to this view, political equality is broken whenever anyone, individual or minority group, is “privileged to say in advance that regardless of the distribution of opinions, his or her own or that of his or her own group must prevail” (benn, 339). in this sense, no doubt, political equality is an unachievable ideal in a representative democracy. the “opinions” of senators or other elected representatives will unavoidably count more heavily in the making of public policy decisions than those of ordinary citizens. however, according to bassham, political equality is seriously infracted or breached when vast swatches of public policy are left to be decided by few unelected judges. thus, while the ideal of political equality does not justify the abandonment of representative government and its replacement by a pure participatory democracy, it does provide strong, if not conclusive, support for the principle of electorally accountable policymaking (bassham, 1275). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 84 conclusion this study has argued that dworkin rejects the majoritarian conception of democracy and defends the constitutional conception; advocating for a “communal,” rather a “statistical” reading of “government by the people.” for him, as already mentioned, collective action is communal once it is irreducible to just some statistical function of individual action, when it presupposes a collective agency. it is a matter of individuals acting together in a way that combines their separate actions into a further unified act that is together theirs. dworkin does not properly understand the real implication of the concept: “government by the people.” obviously, he fails to realise, as already mentioned, that in some circumstances there could be a straightforward statistical sense in which the value of self-determination supports both the principle of majority rule in general and the principle of electorally accountable policymaking in particular. what joel colon-rios in “the second dimension of democracy” would call “democratic openness and popular participation” (2009, 26). references ackerman, b. (1991). we the people: foundations. cambridge, m. a.: harvard university press. ackerman, b. (1998). we the people: transformations. cambridge, m. a.: harvard university press. barber, b. (1984). strong democracy: participatory politics for a new age. new york: penguin. bassham, g. (1997). freedom's politics: a review essay of ronald dworkin's freedom's law: a moral reading of the american constitution. notre dame law review, 72. 4, 12351276. benn, s. i. (1982). democracy: a paradox in theory. cambridge: cambridge university press. caplan, r. (1977): professor dworkin's jurisprudence. american journal of jurisprudence, 22. 1, 118-137. christiano, t. (2003). the authority of democracy. the journal of political philosophy, 11. 2, 125. colon-rios, j. (2009). the second dimension of democracy: the people & their constitution. baltic journal of law & politics, 2.2, 1-30. dahl, r. a. (1970). a preface to democratic theory. chicago: the university of chicago press. dahl, r. a. (1989). democracy and its critics. new haven: yale university press. dworkin, r. (2011). justice for hedgehogs. cambridge: harvard university press. dworkin, r.(1990). freedom's law: the moral reading of the american constitution. oxford: oxford university press. dworkin, r. (1990). equality, democracy, and constitution: we the people in court. alberta law review, vol. 28, no. 2, 324-345. dworkin, r. (1997). in praise of theory. arizona state law journal, 29. 1, 353-378. dworkin, r. (1997). reflections on fidelity. fordham law review, 65. 3, 1799-1819. dworkin, r. (1998) the partnership conception of democracy. california law review, 86. 4, 453-472. dworkin, r. (2006). is democracy possible here? principles for a new political debate. princeton: princeton university press. dworkin, r. (2006). justice in robes. cambridge: harvard university press. dworkin, r. (2010). response. boston university law review, 90. 1, 1059-1087. dworkin, r. (2013). religion without god. cambridge: harvard university press. eisgruber, c. l. (2007). constitutional self-government. cambridge: harvard university press. feinberg, j. (1970). doing and deserving: essays in the theory of responsibility. oxford: clarendon press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 85 french, p. a. (1984). collective and corporate responsibility. oxford: clarendon press. friedrich, c. j. (1989). constitutional government and democracy. chicago: university of chicago press. gutmann, a., and d. thompson. (1996). democracy and disagreement. cambridge: harvard university press. holmes, s. (1995). passions and constraints: on the theory of liberal democracy. chicago: university of chicago press. huntington, s. (1981). american politics: the promise of disharmony. cambridge: harvard university press. hutchinson, a. c. (2009). the province of jurisprudence democratized. oxford: oxford university press. keenan, a. (2003). democracy in question: democratic openness in a time of political closure. stanford: stanford university press. macpherson, c. b. (1978). the real world of democracy. oxford: oxford university press. nelson, w. a. (1980). on justifying democracy. london: penguin. thparenti, m. (1983). democracy for the few. 4 ed. toronto: university of toronto press. thompson, d. (2005). democracy in time: popular sovereignty and temporal representation. constallations, 12. 2, 120-139. tushnet, m. (1999). taking the constitution away from the courts. princeton: princeton university press. wolin, s. (2004). politics and vision. princeton: princeton university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 91 philosophical perspectives on technological singularity in nigerian-african society okoli izuchukwu kizito & bonachristus umeogu, phd department of philosophy, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka izk.okoli@unizik.edu.ng; bu.umeogu@unizik.edu.ng abstract the rise of artificial intelligence (ai) and fears of its surpassing human intelligence demand urgent scholarly attention. this study examines ray kurzweil’s vision of technological singularity, where machines exceed human cognitive abilities, through a philosophical lens, with a focus on its implications for nigerian-african society. using a hermeneutic approach, the research interprets kurzweil’s ideas, exploring the ethical, metaphysical, and existential challenges they pose, particularly for african societies. a central argument of this study is that africa remains largely dependent on technology transfer rather than innovation. if african nations do not wake up to the realities of ai and technological singularity, they risk severe existential consequences, including economic subjugation, cultural erosion, and a loss of agency in shaping the future. the study critiques the feasibility of kurzweil’s predictions while emphasizing the urgent need for africa to develop ai technologies that align with its cultural values and societal needs. ultimately, this research calls for proactive engagement with ai development, urging african scholars, policymakers, and innovators to prepare for the singularity rather than passively consume external technologies. without such preparation, africa may find itself controlled by ai systems that do not reflect its realities. the study offers insights for anthropologists, educationists, and policymakers, stressing that africa must move from being a consumer to a creator of ai if it is to safeguard its identity and future in an age of advancing machine intelligence. keywords: technological-singularity, technology-transfer, hermeneutic, africa, existential introduction the debate on artificial intelligence (ai) and its potential to surpass human intelligence has become a defining philosophical and technological concern of the 21st century. scholars such as ray kurzweil argue that ai will soon reach a singularity, a point where self-improving machines surpass human intelligence, leading to irreversible societal transformations. this notion has been met with both optimism and trepidation, with figures like stephen hawking (2014) warning that if humanity fails to regulate ai’s growth, it could spell the end of the human race. while much of this discourse has been framed within euro-american contexts, african societies, particularly nigeria, have largely remained passive observers rather than active participants in shaping the future of ai. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 92 philosophy, as a discipline of inquiry, has always interrogated human exceptionalism and flourishing, questioning whether intelligence is exclusively human or if machines can truly exhibit consciousness (chalmers, 2010). the rise of ai has rekindled these age-old questions, forcing scholars to examine the implications of creating machines that may eventually surpass human reasoning and agency. if machines become superior in intelligence, what remains of human identity? this question is particularly pressing for african societies, which have historically relied on external technological innovations rather than fostering indigenous ai development (mazrui, 1986). the risk of technological dependency is not merely economic but existential; failure to engage proactively in ai development may render africa technologically irrelevant, subjecting it to external control in ways reminiscent of colonial exploitation (nkrumah, 1965). (kurzweil, 2005) argues that ai’s exponential growth will inevitably lead to a post-human era where biological intelligence merges with machines, a view supported by transhumanists who see this as an evolutionary leap rather than a threat. however, critics such as (elon musk, 2018) and (nick bostrom, 2014) caution that the rise of ai could lead to an era where human beings become obsolete, replaced or controlled by super-intelligent machines. for africa, this raises urgent questions: how prepared is the continent for this transition? will ai systems be designed to reflect african values, or will africa remain a mere consumer of western and asian technological paradigms? if african societies fail to develop ai on their own terms, they risk becoming technologically colonized, where decision-making processes, governance, and even cultural expressions are dictated by non-african ai systems (eze, 1997). historically, african philosophical thought has emphasized the interconnectedness of being; what (mbiti, 1969) describes as i am because we are. this communitarian worldview is at odds with the hyper-individualistic and capitalist-driven ai development models of the west. while silicon valley giants prioritize efficiency, profitability, and data-driven governance, african societies must critically ask whether these values align with indigenous philosophical traditions. can ai be developed to enhance african communal life rather than erode it? if the singularity arrives without africa’s active participation, the continent may be forced to conform to ai-driven realities that do not align with its cultural and ethical foundations. furthermore, the ethical implications of ai dominance cannot be ignored. (chalmers, 2010) poses a crucial question: if machines attain consciousness, do they deserve moral consideration? if ai achieves sentience, does it become a part of the african communal identity, or does it remain an artificial entity with no claim to moral agency? this dilemma is particularly relevant in african societies where ancestral wisdom, spirituality, and metaphysical beliefs shape understandings of personhood. would an ai that surpasses human intelligence challenge the metaphysical underpinnings of african traditions, potentially reshaping how reality itself is perceived? given the rapid pace of ai advancement, africa cannot afford to be a bystander. the development of ai must reflect african realities, incorporating indigenous epistemologies and ethical frameworks. rather than waiting for ai technologies to be imported and imposed, africa must invest in research, innovation, and philosophical inquiry that ensures ai aligns with its socio-cultural values. as (nkrumah, 1965) argues, true independence is not merely political but technological; without control over technological destiny, africa remains at the mercy of external forces. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 93 this research, therefore, aims to critically examine the philosophical foundations and implications of kurzweil’s singularity theory, with a focus on its existential consequences for nigerian-african society. it challenges the notion that ai is an inevitable force to be passively accepted, arguing instead that africa must wake up to the reality of technological evolution and actively shape its future. as ai advances, africa faces two choices: to remain a passive consumer or to become an active architect of its own technological future. the fate of the continent, and perhaps its very identity, depends on this decision. reflections on kurzweils technological singularity the relentless acceleration of technological progress has led scholars, futurists, and ethicists alike to speculate on an impending transformation of human existence, one in which artificial intelligence (ai) surpasses human intelligence, fundamentally altering the very fabric of civilization. this concept, termed the "technological singularity," describes: …a moment where machine intelligence surpasses human cognition, potentially rendering humanity obsolete or alternatively, elevating it to unprecedented heights (kurzweil, 2005). the notion of singularity draws from multiple disciplines, with each offering unique insights. in mathematics, a singularity occurs when a function’s value becomes infinite; in astrophysics, it denotes the point at which gravitational forces become infinite within a black hole. by adopting this terminology, futurist ray kurzweil conceptualizes technological singularity as a point at which progress accelerates beyond human comprehension, leading to radical and unpredictable changes in human existence. the roots of this hypothesis can be traced to early thinkers such as john von neumann, who speculated on the “ever-accelerating progress of technology” leading to a fundamental rupture in human affairs (ulam, 1958). similarly, i.j. (good, 1965) proposed the idea of an “intelligence explosion,” in which an ultra-intelligent machine, once created, would recursively improve itself, leading to an exponential growth in intelligence, ultimately surpassing human cognitive capacities. (vernor, 1993) popularized the singularity hypothesis by presenting various paths toward its realization, including super-intelligent computers, vast interconnected networks, mind-machine interfaces, and guided biological evolution. his vision aligns with kurzweil’s later argument that the exponential growth of computational power will inevitably lead to machines surpassing human intelligence. kurzweil extends this view, arguing that advancements will follow a "law of accelerating returns," wherein each technological breakthrough accelerates future developments at an increasing rate. kurzweil predicts that by the 2020s, ai systems will surpass human intellectual capabilities in specific domains and, by 2029, pass the turing test, demonstrating human-like intelligence. by 2045, he envisions a complete merging of human intelligence with machine intelligence, leading to the obsolescence of biological constraints and the transcendence of human limitations (kurzweil, 2005). this transformation, he argues, is not merely an evolution but a fundamental ontological shift in what it means to be human. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 94 philosophical and ethical considerations the implications of singularity provoke deep philosophical inquiries into identity, consciousness, human purpose and moral responsibility. if human cognition merges with artificial intelligence, does individuality persist, or does it dissolve into a collective intelligence? the cartesian conception of self, premised on individual thought, may no longer hold relevance in a world where intelligence is decentralized and enhanced by non-biological entities (chalmers, 2010). furthermore, kurzweil’s optimism regarding human-machine symbiosis contrasts with the apprehensions of scholars who warn of existential risks. if ai surpasses human intelligence, will it act in human interest, or will its objectives diverge irreconcilably from ours? the philosopher nick bostrom (2014) suggests that without precise alignment of machine intelligence with human values, the consequences could be catastrophic. he postulates the "control problem", the challenge of ensuring that super-intelligent ai remains benevolent and aligned with human goals. additionally, the singularity raises ethical concerns regarding socioeconomic disparities. if human enhancement through ai becomes possible, will it be universally accessible, or will it create an insurmountable divide between those who can afford augmentation and those who cannot (harari, 2016)? such disparities could lead to a new form of post-human elitism, challenging traditional notions of equality and justice. kurzweil envisions the singularity as a transcendental event, likening it to an evolutionary leap toward godlike intelligence and creative power (kurzweil, 2005). he posits that intelligence will expand beyond earth, colonizing the universe and ultimately saturating all matter and energy with computational potential. this vision aligns with the philosophical notion that evolution inherently moves toward greater complexity, intelligence, and even spiritual fulfillment (teilhard de chardin, 1955). however, the outcome remains uncertain. will humanity control the trajectory of ai, or will ai redefine humanity? will this event mark the beginning of a utopian era or herald existential annihilation? the answers lie not in passive observation but in proactive engagement with the ethical, philosophical, and practical dimensions of ai development. from the foregoing, it appears that the singularity presents one of the most profound philosophical and existential challenges of our time. while kurzweil and vinge foresee a future of boundless potential, others caution against the risks inherent in an intelligence explosion. whether humanity thrives in a post-singularity world depends not only on technological advancements but on the wisdom with which we navigate this unprecedented transition. in the end, the singularity is not merely a technological event—it is a reflection of our aspirations, fears, and philosophical inquiries into the essence of human existence. interpretation of kurzweil's ideas in an era profoundly shaped by technological advancements, where digital tools mediate, support, or even enable nearly all aspects of human activity, the notion of humanity envisioning a superintelligent entity emerging through technological means is increasingly prevalent. as kurzweil asserts: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 95 the future during which the pace of technological change will be so rapid, its impact so deep that human life will be irreversibly transformed, is imminent. he further contends that the current technological landscape, the unprecedented growth of innovation, and justified concerns about the future have necessitated the formulation of the technological singularity hypothesis (kurzweil, 2005). his conceptualization of the technological singularity has ignited significant discourse within both academic and public spheres as he presents an optimistic vision of a future where artificial intelligence and human cognition integrate, transcending biological constraints and ushering in exponential technological advancements, extended human longevity, and extraordinary economic and social prosperity. his theory, heavily reliant on moore's law, posits that computational power will continue to double at an accelerating rate, potentially leading to the singularity as early as 2045. this perspective has garnered strong support from technologists, futurists, and entrepreneurs who foresee ai's capability to resolve critical global issues and generate a state of unparalleled abundance and opportunity. nevertheless, kurzweil's predictions have also been met with skepticism from scholars, ethicists, and ai researchers. critics argue that his vision is excessively deterministic and based on an overly optimistic projection of technological trends, without sufficient consideration of the complex socio-technical, ethical, and safety concerns involved (bostrom, 2014; russell, 2019). they warn against assuming that the exponential progression of hardware capabilities will automatically lead to corresponding advancements in artificial intelligence. scholars such as bostrom and russell emphasize the existential risks of super-intelligent ai and the urgent necessity of addressing alignment and control challenges before such systems become a reality. others note that kurzweil's projected timeline may be overly ambitious given the existing limitations of ai research and the unpredictable nature of technological breakthroughs. according to phillip (2016), the technological singularity embodies a fusion of techno-cultural narratives that predict rapid ai and nanotechnology growth will bring about an irreversible transformation of humanity. though contemporary interpretations of the singularity owe much to science fiction author vernor vinge, the concept operates within both speculative and academic narratives of the future. moreover, it parallels marxist historical determinism, portraying an endpoint akin to a utopian ideal. science fiction authors, including charles stross, cory doctorow, ken macleod, and rudy rucker, have explored the singularity as an ideological construct rather than a rigid historical certainty, allowing for its examination as an expression of 21st-century hopes and anxieties. kurzweil's vision of the singularity is often characterized as an unwavering march toward technological utopia. his works, including the age of spiritual machines (1998) and the singularity is near (2005), illustrate his predictive model of exponential growth, which extends moore's law beyond semiconductor advancements to encompass all technological and even biological evolution. he argues that computational progress follows an overarching "exponential law of computing," leading to a phase of rapid acceleration that culminates in the singularity (kurzweil, 1998). however, as phillip igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 96 highlights, moore's law has inherent physical limitations, and the assumption that its trajectory will persist indefinitely is contentious. while both moore and kurzweil acknowledge these constraints, kurzweil extrapolates a grand historical narrative, asserting that exponential progress is an inherent and unstoppable force within human technological evolution (kurzweil, 2005). (popoveniuc, 2018) categorizes the debates surrounding kurzweil's singularity thesis into three areas: the structural coherence of his proposed scenario, the feasibility of such technological evolution, and the plausibility of creating super-intelligent ai or conscious entities. his analysis emphasizes the evolutionary nature of technological progress, which, rather than following a smooth and continuous trajectory, often advances through disruptive scientific revolutions. he critiques the assumption that technological development is solely a linear or exponential process, pointing out that it is shaped by external contingencies and paradigm shifts. furthermore, popoveniuc highlights the dangers of viewing technology as an autonomous, quasi-metaphysical entity controlling human destiny. this perspective, referred to as computermorphism, replaces older anthropocentric models with an equally deterministic view that equates the universe itself to a vast computational system, a notion supported by theorists such as stephen wolfram, edward fredkin, seth lloyd, and john wheeler. the astronomer and mathematician sir fred hoyle (1983) echoes this idea by suggesting that the precision of natural constants indicates the presence of an intelligent designer. he posits that: some of the super-calculating intellect must have designed the properties of the carbon atom, otherwise the chance of my finding such an atom through the blind forces of nature would be utterly minuscule (hoyle, 1983). this line of thought aligns with theories proposing that reality itself operates like a vast computational model, where fundamental physical laws serve as the operating system. it is also needful to say that ray kurzweil's conceptualization of the technological singularity carries profound implications, despite the controversies surrounding its predictions. his notion of exponential technological growth, the potential for unprecedented innovation, and the redefinition of human existence and social structures necessitate serious consideration. the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (ai) and related technologies urge societies to reassess their values and the frameworks governing their interactions. this discourse is highly relevant to nigerian and african societies, as nigeria exemplifies the broader african experience regarding technological and existential transitions. consequently, an analysis of nigeria's trajectory provides insight into the african continent's broader response to singularitarian advancements. technological singularity in nigerian-african society across the world, nations are grappling with the dual forces of technological opportunity and disruption, as ai permeates economic sectors, governance, and everyday life. in nigeria and other african nations, ai adoption has gained momentum in recent years, evidenced by significant igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 97 strides in data science, machine learning, and robotics. however, there remains a critical gap between recognizing ai's transformative potential and realizing its tangible benefits. a key factor in this transition is the ability to convert technological inventions into innovative, practical applications. this, in turn, relies on widespread adoption, which is contingent upon socio-cultural contexts, levels of trust, and local capacity for technological development (imah, 2019). for africa to fully harness ai’s potential, its advancement and deployment must be driven by indigenous stakeholders; otherwise, the continent risks low adoption rates and limited benefits due to skepticism and dependency on external actors. imah further posits that the belief in technological singularity is underpinned by the widely accepted notion that computer technology progresses exponentially, doubling in capacity every two years in accordance with moore’s law. this trend aligns with vernor vinge’s assertion that the pace of technological advancements will accelerate beyond human comprehension, rendering humans obsolete in comparison to self-improving machines. kurzweil’s vision of a super-intelligent entity by 2045 presents a scenario where progress would outstrip human cognitive abilities, fundamentally reshaping societal structures. if such a transformation is indeed imminent, the pressing question remains: what does this signify for africa? while africa has made notable progress in ai research and technological development, much of this progress is through technology transfer rather than original innovation. nonetheless, since 2015, there has been an uptick in ai-related research and development, with several african nations, particularly south africa, nigeria, and kenya, emerging as leaders in this field. as observed by (tsegaye, 2013), for instance, icog labs in ethiopia, which has been active since 2013, stands as one of the continent’s earliest private ai research firms. other promising ai-driven enterprises are gaining commercial traction, demonstrating africa’s potential to contribute to the global technological landscape. despite challenges in higher education and research infrastructure, africa’s engagement with emerging technologies is accelerating, particularly in agriculture and healthcare. interestingly, commercial sectors are often ahead of academic institutions in adopting ai solutions. rwanda, for instance, pioneered the large-scale use of drones for medical deliveries in 2016, setting a precedent later followed by nigeria and uganda. in uganda, the mtrac system leverages mobile technology to enhance healthcare supply chains, while nigeria’s lifebank employs digital logistics to optimize blood distribution in lagos, a city of over 20 million people. these advancements are addressing critical healthcare challenges, mitigating the limitations of doctor-to-patient ratios, and facilitating scalable, cost-effective solutions (odiche et al, 2024). agriculture, a cornerstone of african economies, has also witnessed ai-driven innovations since 2010. precision farming technologies, such as nigeria’s zenvus, kenya’s ujuzikilimo, cameroon’s agrospaces, and ghana’s farmerline, have introduced ai-powered tools to optimize soil analysis, weather forecasting, and market connectivity. these innovations enhance farmers' access to information, enabling data-driven decision-making and improved productivity. such applications exemplify ai's potential to uplift rural economies and contribute to food security across the continent. moreover, africa has demonstrated remarkable ingenuity in integrating ai into public infrastructure. the democratic republic of congo, for instance, has deployed robotic traffic officers in kinshasa since 2013, making it one of the first nations to utilize robots for law igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 98 enforcement and traffic control. this initiative exemplifies a broader trend of “technology leapfrogging,” wherein african nations bypass intermediate stages of technological development, directly adopting cutting-edge innovations to address pressing societal needs. this phenomenon, increasingly embraced as an official policy directive, positions africa as a dynamic player in the global technological ecosystem. while africa’s engagement with ai and emerging technologies is promising, the continent must confront significant challenges in the era of technological singularity. a major concern is the potential erosion of cultural identity in the post-singularity world. as ai-driven automation and digitalization become more pervasive, traditional african societal structures and indigenous knowledge systems may be marginalized. the influx of foreign technological paradigms risks imposing external values and disrupting the organic evolution of african societies. therefore, a critical challenge for african nations is to integrate ai in a manner that aligns with their cultural heritage, ensuring that technological progress does not lead to cultural homogenization or the loss of indigenous intellectual traditions (ruth, 2020). jon gosier, writing on appafrica.com, warns of the grave risks posed by the impending technological singularity, particularly for africa and other developing regions. he asserts that as machines surpass human capabilities, manual labor will become obsolete, leaving economies that lack advanced knowledge-based industries at a severe disadvantage. "if a machine can be put in place to do a job, then it will. in this environment, only ‘knowledge-based’ economies can hope to flourish while areas without advanced skills will fall to the wayside". the resulting surge in unemployment and poverty would exacerbate social inequalities, leading to a 'digital divide' of unprecedented magnitude. however, gosier maintains that halting this technological progression is neither feasible nor advisable. "resistance is futile," he quips, referencing the inevitability of technological advancements. instead, he urges african nations to adapt swiftly, warning that failure to do so within the next decade could render it impossible (milam et al, 2012). the reception of technological singularity in nigerian-african society has raised existential concerns, as encapsulated by professor oliver osuagwu of the federal university of technology, owerri, nigeria. he emphasizes that africa, largely dependent on technological transfers from more developed nations, faces dire consequences if it does not cultivate its capacity for artificial intelligence and machine intelligence research. osuagwu underscores the necessity of prioritizing research and development (r&d), arguing that "no nation progresses econo-technologically without adequate attention and investment in research and development". he further asserts that nigerian universities must stop treating r&d with "kid gloves" and that substantial governmental funding is imperative to foster indigenous ai capabilities. he extends his argument by linking africa’s technological vulnerability to the broader existential risks facing civilization, citing the necessity of understanding and mitigating existential threats, which he defines as "those that threaten to annihilate earth-originating intelligent life or permanently and drastically curtail its potential" (osuagwu, 2015). african scholars widely share this concern. dr. evans woherem, a distinguished computer systems analyst, affirms that technological singularity is already unfolding and warns that africa, particularly nigeria, stands to suffer the most if proactive measures are not taken. he challenges igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 99 african nations to go beyond reactionary stances and actively engage in shaping super-intelligent technologies in ways that benefit them. "africa should not sit idly while the future of the world it will participate in live in, is created elsewhere," he argues. he envisions the establishment of "techshops", innovation hubs equipped with cutting-edge materials and machinery where individuals can develop and manufacture technological solutions. "one can go to a techshop with just an idea of what you want to make... they can either point you to all the materials and machines you require... or they can train you and leave you to do it". he firmly believes that: africa is brimming with innovative potential, particularly among its youth, but that a lack of resources stifles creativity and innovation. to rectify this, he calls for both public and private sector investment in such initiatives to democratize technological development and knowledge. (woherem, 2016). the implications of technological singularity for africa extend beyond economic concerns. tsegaye et al. highlight that while poverty remains the continent’s most pressing challenge, discussions surrounding high-tech advancements often seem extravagant. they observe that "the question of poverty is also the supreme question in need of an immediate answer". however, despite widespread economic hardship, africa’s younger generations recognize that technology is a crucial pathway to alleviating poverty. the paradox, however, is that many african leaders have neglected technological advancements despite their public rhetoric about the importance of the fourth industrial revolution. unlike developed nations such as china and india, where ai is a central academic and industrial discourse, africa lags dangerously behind. the lack of comprehensive ai education and research, coupled with an absence of international ai conferences within africa, underscores the continent's lack of preparedness (tsegaye et al., 2018). further complicating matters is africa's political landscape, which is rife with neo-patrimonial governance. corrupt political elites may exploit ai not for socio-economic progress but as a tool for maintaining their grip on power, potentially using it to rig elections and suppress opposition. this, coupled with the continent’s overreliance on foreign technology, could lead to a significant erosion of autonomy and self-determination. oyabade warns that "ai systems developed in the west may not be effective in african contexts due to differences in language, culture, and socioeconomic factors" (oyabade, 2019). for instance, an ai-powered chatbot designed for an african bank that lacks programming in local languages would inevitably lead to miscommunication and customer dissatisfaction. the lack of afrocentric ai models is emblematic of a broader issue: africa's persistent dependence on external technological solutions rather than developing tailored, indigenous systems. the economic repercussions of this dependency are profound. manyika et al. note that while ai has the potential to drive economic growth, its benefits will not necessarily be equitably distributed. "if africa relies solely on technological transfer, the economic benefits may primarily accrue to foreign companies rather than african farmers or local economies" (manyika et al., 2020). (kshetri, 2021) further argues that: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 100 technological reliance on external ai systems exposes africa to data security risks and cyber threats, particularly if these systems are designed without considering the continent’s unique data protection needs. african exceptionalism in the age of artificial intelligence historically, technological advancements have been wielded as instruments of power, and no guarantee developed nations will not use ai to further entrench global inequalities. the risk of digital colonialism is not merely speculative; it is a historical pattern. "the odds are that a quarter of the us ruling elite, the united states congress, had at one time in the past... stood quietly when the cops treated black americans like dogs"(bai, 2008). if history serves as a precedent, africa's passive reception of ai could relegate it to perpetual subjugation, with advanced ai systems reinforcing existing power asymmetries rather than democratizing opportunities. to address these challenges, african societies must proactively shape their technological future rather than be passive recipients of ai advancements. this requires investing in stem education and ai research, fostering local ai development that aligns with african realities, and ensuring that ai infrastructure is controlled by african entities rather than foreign corporations. adebayo stresses that "investing in ai education and research can help africa develop its own ai systems that are tailored to its specific needs and challenges" (adebayo, 2022). beyond education, africa must also prioritize technology-driven entrepreneurship, ensuring that ai development serves local economic interests rather than merely enriching foreign tech conglomerates. ultimately, the reception of technological singularity in africa will depend on whether the continent chooses to be an active participant or a passive observer in the ai revolution. omar and kar assert that "africa... must invest in ai education, research, and governance to develop local expertise and ensure responsible ai integration" (omar et kar, 2023). without immediate and substantial efforts to bridge the technological divide, africa risks not only economic marginalization but also a loss of cultural and political sovereignty in the face of an ai-dominated world. the time to act is now; delays will only serve to widen the gap between africa and the rapidly evolving technological landscape. understandably, africa stands at a crossroads: while the singularity presents unprecedented opportunities for economic growth and social transformation, it also poses existential and ethical dilemmas. the challenge lies in navigating this technological revolution with a strategic vision that prioritizes self-reliance, inclusivity, and cultural preservation. if africa is to emerge as a leader in ai and advanced technologies, it must foster indigenous innovation, invest in research and education, and develop regulatory frameworks that safeguard societal values while embracing the promise of the future. as kurzweil’s predictions inch closer to realization, africa's proactive engagement with ai will determine whether it becomes a passive recipient of technological change or an active architect of its digital destiny. the fundamental issue at stake is not whether africa can benefit from ai but whether it will be a passive consumer or an active participant in shaping the technological singularity. the west and asia are not waiting for africa to catch up; they are igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 101 already accelerating toward ai dominance. if africa remains dependent on technology relocation rather than genuine technological transfer, the singularity will further entrench africa’s marginalization. the african voice must be present in ai development, not merely as an observer but as an architect of its own future. omar and kar (2022) emphasize that: africa cannot remain excluded from the ai revolution. the region must invest in ai education, research, and governance to develop local expertise and ensure responsible ai integration. if africa fails to act now, the singularity will not merely be a futuristic phenomenon but a digital iron chain that shackles the continent in a new age of technological servitude. conclusion the discourse on technological singularity in africa, particularly through the lens of kurzweil’s projections, highlights an urgent imperative for the continent to reassess its relationship with artificial intelligence and technological advancements. while technology transfer has facilitated some development, it has predominantly taken the form of technological relocation rather than an equitable exchange of knowledge and innovation. multinational corporations often exploit africa as a repository for obsolete technologies, reinforcing a perpetual dependency that stifles indigenous creativity and self-sufficiency (eze, 2021). this reality is not merely an economic concern but a philosophical and existential challenge, as it steadily erodes africa’s cultural identity, undermining traditional communal systems, oral storytelling traditions, and social structures that once thrived in the absence of digital mediators. if left unchallenged, the singularity could usher in a new era of digital colonialism, where africa is further relegated to the periphery of technological progress, reduced to a passive consumer rather than an architect of its own digital evolution. the epistemological foundations of ai, rooted in western experiences and biases, fail to capture african realities, thereby imposing an external worldview on the continent’s socioeconomic and cultural contexts (mamdani, 2020). this epistemic violence is not just a limitation of ai but an extension of historical patterns of domination, where the power to define reality is dictated by those who control the technology. the lack of african representation in ai research and policy-making raises profound concerns about cultural disenfranchisement, economic subjugation, and the entrenchment of algorithmic oppression in governance and social structures. to circumvent this grim trajectory, africa must assert its technological agency by dismantling structures of dependency and cultivating an indigenous ai ecosystem. this requires significant investment in stem education, ai research, and policy formulations that foreground afrocentric technological frameworks. as nkrumah cautioned in his critique of neo-colonialism, political independence is meaningless without economic and technological self-determination. by fostering locally driven technological innovation, africa can reframe the singularity not as a harbinger of exclusion but as an opportunity for empowerment, where ai serves as a tool for self-determination rather than subjugation. kurzweil’s singularity must not be perceived as a distant western igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 102 construct but rather as a philosophical wake-up call for africa to reclaim its place in the future of intelligence. if the continent remains passive in the face of this exponential transformation, it risks being digitally recolonized, its narratives dictated by external forces with little regard for its aspirations. the singularity, therefore, should not be feared but strategically navigated. the task before africa is not merely technological adaptation but epistemic and existential resistance, a conscious effort to ensure that ai and emerging technologies reflect african values, needs, and aspirations. if africa fails to act decisively now, it may find itself in a future where it is no longer the author of its own story but a mere character in a narrative written by others. the urgency of this moment cannot be overstated; the time to act is not tomorrow but today. references bai, matt. "is obama the end of black politics? "new york times magazine 10, no. 08 (2008). chalmers, d. (2010). the singularity: a philosophical analysis. journal of consciousness studies. milam, lacey, and elizabeth johnson avery. "apps4africa: a new state department public diplomacy initiative." public relations review 38, no. 2 (2012): 328-335. kurzweil, r. (2005). the singularity is near: when humans transcend biology. musk, e. (2018). "ai is far more dangerous than nukes." interview, sxsw conference. bostrom, n. (2014). superintelligence: paths, dangers, strategies. oxford university press. chalmers, d. (2010). the singularity: a philosophical analysis. journal of consciousness tsegaye, hruy, and tesfu assefa. "a sceptical approach to the future of ai and emerging technologies in today’s africa."studies. eze, e. c. (1997). postcolonial african philosophy: a critical reader. blackwell. hawking, s. (2014). brief answers to the big questions. ruth, damian. "indigenous wisdom, capital, technology and education." new zealand journal of educational studies 55, no. 2 (2020): 405-422. kurzweil, r. (2005). the singularity is near: when humans transcend biology. mazrui, a. (1986). the africans: a triple heritage. bbc publications. mbiti, j. s. (1969). african religions and philosophy. heinemann. musk, e. (2018). "ai is far more dangerous than nukes." interview, sxsw conference. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 103 nkrumah, kwame. "neo-colonialism: the last stage of imperialism." (1965). bostrom, n. (2014). superintelligence: paths, dangers, strategies. oxford university press. chalmers, d. j. (2010). the singularity: a philosophical analysis. journal of consciousness studies, 17(9-10), 7-65. good, i. j. (1965). speculations concerning the first ultraintelligent machine. advances in computers, 6, 31-88. harari, y. n. (2016). homo deus: a brief history of tomorrow. harper. kurzweil, r. (2005). the singularity is near: when humans transcend biology. viking. teilhard de chardin, p. (1955). the phenomenon of man. harper & brothers. odiche, diala augusta, and akeem amodu. "a review of issues and challenges of digital transformation and sustainable development in nigeria." lead city journal of the social sciences 9, no. 3 (2024): 147-164. ulam, s. (1958). tribute to john von neumann. bulletin of the american mathematical society, 64(3), 1-49. vinge, v. (1993). the coming technological singularity: how to survive in the post-human era. nasa lecture. hoyle, f. (1984). the intelligent universe. michael joseph. manyika, james, susan lund, washington dc, and jacques bughin. "digital globalization: the new era of global flows." (2016). kurzweil, r. (1998). the age of spiritual machines: when computers exceed human intelligence. viking. kurzweil, r. (2005). the singularity is near: when humans transcend biology. viking. kshetri, nir. "blockchain and sustainable supply chain management in developing countries." international journal of information management 60 (2021): 102376. lloyd, s. (2006). programming the universe: a quantum computer scientist takes on the cosmos. knopf. popoveniuc, b. (2014). technological singularity: between science and science fiction. available at: [url] igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 104 russell, s. (2019). human compatible: artificial intelligence and the problem of control. viking. stephens, p. (2012). "the singularity and science fiction: a critical perspective." futures journal, 44(1), 71-89. mamdani, mahmood. when victims become killers: colonialism, nativism, and the genocide in rwanda. princeton university press, 2020. wheeler, j. a. (1990). "information, physics, quantum: the search for links." in complexity, entropy, and the physics of information. addison-wesley. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 63 a military history of intergroup relations between the ikwerre and their neighbours in the niger delta moses tivlumun korinya, phd department of history & international relations, veritas university abuja abstract this paper examines the military dimensions of intergroup relations between the ikwerre people and their neighbouring ethnic communities in nigeria’s niger delta, with a focus on conflict, defence strategies, and militarized interactions from the precolonial era to the postindependence period. drawing on oral histories, colonial archives, and secondary literature, the study traces how traditional warfare practices, territorial disputes, and shifting alliances shaped the historical landscape of ikwerre relations with groups such as the kalabari, etche, ogoni, and okrika. it explores the transformation of indigenous defence systems under colonial rule, the disruptions caused by the nigerian civil war, and the emergence of ethnic militias and youth-led militarization during the oil boom and militant insurgencies of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. the paper also highlights instances of strategic cooperation and joint security efforts in the face of shared threats. by situating the ikwerre experience within broader patterns of militarization in the niger delta, the study contributes to the military historiography of nigeria and underscores the enduring link between local security dynamics and inter-ethnic political relations. keywords: niger delta, nigeria, military, ikwerre, intergroup relations, ikwerre introduction the niger delta region of nigeria has long been characterized by a complex tapestry of ethnic identities, intergroup relations, and militarized encounters. among the various groups that inhabit this volatile geopolitical landscape are the ikwerre people, located primarily in the heart of rivers state. bordered by ethnic communities such as the kalabari, etche, ogoni, and okrika, the ikwerre have historically engaged in a variety of interactions with their neighbours, ranging from cooperative alliances to violent conflicts. these interactions have not only shaped local histories but have also influenced broader regional security dynamics. while existing literature on inter-ethnic relations in the niger delta tends to focus on contemporary political and economic grievances, particularly those tied to oil exploitation and resource control, less attention has been given to the military-historical dimensions of these relationships. yet, from precolonial warrior traditions and localized armed disputes to colonial-era security restructuring and post-independence militant insurgencies, military encounters have played a pivotal role in defining how the ikwerre and their neighbours relate to each other. this paper explores the historical evolution of intergroup relations involving the ikwerre from a military history perspective. it examines how patterns of conflict and cooperation were shaped by traditional military structures, colonial pacification policies, civil war dynamics, and the rise of ethnic militias in the late 20th century. special attention is given to the militarization igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 64 of youth movements, the strategic use of alliances, and the state's role in managing or exacerbating local conflicts. the paper seeks to answer the following key questions: first and foremost, how have the ikwerre traditionally engaged in conflict or defence against neighbouring groups? secondly, what impact did colonial and post-colonial military structures have on these intergroup relations? lastly, in what ways have security alliances and militarized actors influenced peace or conflict in the region? by integrating oral histories, archival materials, and scholarly analysis, this study contributes to the growing field of african military history and offers a more nuanced understanding of the role of violence, security, and strategy in shaping ethnic relations in the niger delta. pre-colonial military traditions and conflicts the pre-colonial military dynamics among the ikwerre and their neighbouring communities were deeply embedded within a broader framework of indigenous political organization, territorial identity, and inter-ethnic interaction. far from being isolated or static, the ikwerre engaged in complex systems of defence, warfare, and diplomacy that reflected both their geopolitical positioning and their sociocultural evolution over time. these dynamics were shaped not only by local survival imperatives but also by regional currents of migration, commerce, and power negotiation. oral traditions trace the ancestry of the ikwerre people to akalaka, a reputed benin royal who migrated east of the sombreiro river around 1538 ce after a familial dispute in the benin royal court (amadi nna, 1993). akalaka’s lineage gave rise to several groups in the central niger delta region—most notably the ekpeye, ogba, and iwhnuruọhna (later known as ikwerre). these communities gradually settled across strategic locations in the lower niger region, establishing themselves along crucial trade arteries and ecological frontiers. the ikwerre, in particular, came to occupy a liminal zone between the igbo hinterlands to the north and east, and the ijaw-speaking coastal communities; notably the kalabari and nembe, to the south and west (meruem, 2025). this intermediary position served as both an opportunity and a liability. while it facilitated trade and cultural exchange, it also placed the ikwerre in frequent contact and sometimes conflict with rival groups over land, access to markets, and political autonomy. as with many pre-colonial societies in the niger delta, military organization among the ikwerre was primarily decentralized and community-based. each village or kinship group maintained its own defensive apparatus, typically organized around age-grade systems, secret societies, and warrior guilds. these institutions were responsible not only for territorial defence but also for enforcing internal laws, mediating disputes, and asserting collective identity during inter-community tensions. warfare was often a localized affair, conducted through ambushes, raids, and ritualized displays of power rather than prolonged campaigns. nevertheless, the stakes were high, as conflicts could result in the displacement of populations, the destruction of farmlands, or the reconfiguration of trade routes. alliances and hostilities among neighbouring groups were fluid and frequently renegotiated. shared ancestry, intermarriage, and commercial ties often acted as buffers against sustained hostilities, while land scarcity, competition over palm produce markets, or acts of ritual violation could spark confrontations. in some cases, the ikwerre entered into temporary alliances with neighbouring communities, including the kalabari and the ogoni, to ward off external threats or to assert territorial claims. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 65 furthermore, spiritual belief systems played an integral role in both the conduct and justification of war. warfare was rarely waged without ritual consultation with oracles, deities, and ancestral spirits. success in battle was often attributed to the favor of protective deities, while defeat could signal ritual impurity or ancestral disapproval. shrines, war charms, and sacred forests served both symbolic and practical purposes in mobilizing and legitimizing armed resistance. despite their localized nature, these military traditions reveal a sophisticated understanding of power, territory, and diplomacy in pre-colonial ikwerre society. they also underscore the community's adaptability in navigating a complex sociopolitical landscape long before colonial conquest and integration into the modern nigerian state. the legacy of these traditions continues to inform the cultural memory and identity of the ikwerre people, particularly in ongoing debates about indigeneity, resource control, and political representation in the post-colonial niger delta. warfare and conflict among neighbours although direct documentation of organized military units among the ikwerre is limited, regional histories and secondary sources provide valuable insight into patterns of conflict and cooperation among neighbouring communities. for example, the obolo (andoni) people were known to have engaged in frequent warfare with the bonny and ogoni in the precolonial era. given the geographic proximity and longstanding inter-ethnic interactions within the eastern niger delta, it is plausible that similar martial strategies and defensive postures were shared by the ikwerre and surrounding groups (favour, 2025). while there is a notable absence of formal militaristic institutions within ikwerre society, ethnographic studies suggest a tradition of strategic alliances and mutual support during periods of conflict. in certain cases, ikwerre chiefs and communities were active participants in broader regional warfare. for instance, during confrontations between okrika or bonny and the kalabari, it was recorded that kalabari chiefs provided arms to their ikwerre counterparts in emohua, soliciting their military assistance (morris, 2025). in another instance, during the oroije-eguma-abali conflict within the rebisi (diobu) region, oroije warriors reportedly sought refuge with chief george wowhukanuga of okrika. this underscores the intricate networks of protection, diplomacy, and martial cooperation that transcended ethnic boundaries (meruem, 2025). colonial-era ethnographic accounts, such as those by talbot (1932), highlight the syncretic nature of political and spiritual authority in the niger delta. among the ikwerre and their neighbours, leadership during times of conflict did not typically involve structured military hierarchies. instead, chiefs, in collaboration with councils of elders and spiritual leaders, played central roles in mobilizing community defence and facilitating conflict resolution. these leaders, while not primarily warriors, exercised significant influence in communal affairs, especially in wartime scenarios. this suggests that precolonial war leadership among the ikwerre was embedded in broader socio-political institutions rather than in specialized military ranks (bazza & korinya, 2020). colonial military policies and their impact on ikwerre during the colonial period, the british sought to enforce authority in the niger delta and broader southern region through military campaigns and structural realignments. notably, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 66 conflicts such as the anglo-aro war (1901–1902) underscored the british approach: deploying superior firepower, including machine guns against indigenous forces, crushing resistance, dismantling traditional institutions, and consolidating control (anglo-aro war, 1901–1902) this set the tone for subsequent operations in nearby areas such as those occupied by the ikwerre, contributing to the erosion of local martial structures. with respect to formation and recruitment into colonial forces, in 1914, the nigeria regiment was established, merging northern and southern nigeria’s colonial troops into a formal auxiliary force under the royal west african frontier force (waff) (nigeria regiment, 1914–1956) (2025) recruitment into this cadre reflected strategic selection by the british: favouring groups deemed “martial races” and often sidelining southern ethnicities, including potential candidates from ikwerre communities (ejiogu, 2007). this created long-lasting disparities in military representation. even decades after independence, these recruitment patterns carried on. for instance, by the late 1950s, hausa and other northern groups constituted approximately 62% of the royal nigerian army, relegating southern soldiers to minorities; only 36%, a disparity rooted in colonial recruitment policies (the recruitment crisis, 1962 memo). beyond formal regiments, the british relied heavily on local policing and constabulary structures to maintain order. prior to wwi, forces such as the royal niger company’s constabulary and the niger coast constabulary (oil rivers irregular force) were established, styling themselves as policing entities, but functioning as military units for suppressing dissent and securing territories (militarization in british west africa). these local forces operated around regions including port harcourt and its environs, where ikwerre communities lived, embedding colonial itinerant power in everyday life. this hybrid reliance, combining specialized regiments with local paramilitary policing, effectively dismantled existing ikwerre local military organization, repurposed or marginalized community defence capacities, and transferred armed authority to colonial control. the colonial administration also disrupted traditional political and communal institutions through practices like indirect rule, redrawing boundaries, and accommodating select chiefs under colonial oversight (colonial nigeria military conquest). while this strategy preserved some semblance of indigenous governance, it co-opted authority and eroded autonomous martial leadership among communities like the ikwerre. forceful pacification and the imposition of colonial control the british colonizers relied heavily on military campaigns and forceful suppression to assert control across southern nigeria. operations such as the anglo-aro war (1901–1902) demonstrated the deployment of superior weaponry, including machine guns to subdue resistance and dismantle indigenous power structures (wikipedia, ango-aro war). this pattern of militarized pacification would become a template for subjugating nighbouring niger delta communities, including the ikwerre. the british established auxiliary military structures like the southern nigeria regiment, evolving into the nigeria regiment in 1914 under the royal west african frontier force (waff) (wikipedia, nigeria regiment; southern nigeria regiment). these formations were regionally segmented, with battalions stationed across northern and southern commands, including areas proximate to ikwerre territory (e.g., calabar) (duyile, 2005; the birth and formation of the nigerian army). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 67 colonial policymakers classified northern ethnic groups (e.g., hausa-fulani, tiv, kanuri) as the “martial races,” encouraging their enlistment, while discouraging recruitment from southern groups such as the igbo, yoruba, and likely the ikwerre (nigerian civil war) e.c. ejiogu (2011) emphasizes how these colonial recruitment patterns, preserved into the postcolonial period, deeply impacted coup dynamics and the composition of nigeria’s military state (ejiogu, 2011). data on officer seniority from 1952–1964 further illustrates these imbalances: igbo representation steadily rose in middle officer ranks, while northerners continued to dominate the lower ranks, shaping evolving ethnic tensions (scientia militaria data). after independence, the nigerian army remained structured to prioritize internal control and order, rather than conventional warfare training (nigerian civil war). such skewed structures exacerbated regional cleavages, especially during the politically fraught first republic and the civil war. parallel to the military, colonial policing in southern nigeria was similarly designed for dominance rather than protection. early formations such as the royal niger company constabulary, niger coast constabulary, and later the nigeria police force, were organized primarily for suppressing dissent and maintaining colonial dominance (this day; guardian; bbc). the repressive policing culture established during colonial rule marked by brutality, mistrust, and weaponized authority, persisted in postcolonial law enforcement institutions (omeni, nigeria’s harsh police culture). these colonial military and policing systems fundamentally undercut indigenous defence capacity and skewed the balance of power in nigeria’s armed institutions: post-independence conflicts and militarization following nigeria’s independence in 1960, the inherited colonial military architecture continued to influence national and regional power dynamics. the military remained ethnically skewed, reflecting colonial recruitment biases that favoured northern groups and marginalized southern minorities like the ikwerre (ejiogu, 2007). this imbalance fuelled mistrust between regions and ethnicities, setting the stage for military interventions in governance (falola & heaton, 2008). the nigerian civil war, or biafran war, was a pivotal moment for the ikwerre and nighbouring communities in the niger delta. although primarily involving the igbodominated eastern region’s secession attempt, the conflict deeply affected the niger delta, where the ikwerre reside. the war’s militarization intensified local conflicts, as competing ethnic groups aligned with federal or biafran forces to protect their interests (achebe, 2012; ojakorotu, 2008). the ikwerre, caught between federal and secessionist forces, experienced significant militarization, with armed militias and local defence groups forming in response to insecurity and state neglect (okonta & douglas, 2001). the war also exposed the strategic importance of the niger delta’s oil resources, leading to increased federal military presence in the region to secure oil installations (watts, 2004). postwar nigeria saw the emergence of militarized conflicts centred around resource control in the niger delta. the discovery and exploitation of oil in ikwerre land intensified contestations over resource ownership, environmental degradation, and political marginalization (okonta & douglas, 2001). the nigerian state’s igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 68 reliance on military solutions to quell unrest entrenched a cycle of violence and militarization (watts, 2007). militant groups such as the niger delta volunteer force and later the movement for the emancipation of the niger delta (mend) emerged, leveraging militarized tactics including sabotage, kidnapping, and attacks on oil infrastructure to demand greater autonomy and resource control (smith, 2007). the ikwerre were among the ethnic communities involved, either directly or indirectly, in this militancy (eze, 2010). between 1966 and 1999, nigeria experienced multiple military coups and prolonged military rule, further militarizing the political landscape. the military’s dominance entrenched ethnicity as a factor in military promotions and deployments, often exacerbating intergroup tensions (diamond, 1988). ikwerre officers, like other minority group members, often faced limitations within the military hierarchy, reinforcing feelings of exclusion (ejiogu, 2007). the federal military’s counterinsurgency campaigns in the niger delta frequently led to human rights abuses, with the ikwerre communities caught in the crossfire between militants and government forces (human rights watch, 1999). these further complicated intergroup relations, as communities navigated between resistance, survival, and collaboration. contemporary militarization and security challenges heightened even in the wake of the transition to civilian rule in 1999, since instead of ending militarization in the niger delta, periodic outbreaks of violence, community militias, and heavy-handed security responses rather, have perpetuated instability (obi, 2010). militarized policing and joint military operations against militant groups often disrupt local economies and social structures among the ikwerre and neighbouring groups (amnesty international, 2009). efforts such as the 2009 amnesty program for militants temporarily reduced violence but failed to address root causes of militarization, including political exclusion and environmental degradation (watts, 2008). consequently, militarization remains a defining feature of intergroup relations in the niger delta, reflecting ongoing struggles for identity, control, and justice. strategic alliances and security cooperation in response to external threats and internal conflicts, the ikwerre and their neighbouring communities have historically engaged in strategic alliances aimed at collective security and mutual defence. pre-colonial military traditions emphasized coalition-building among ethnic groups to resist invasions or raids (ekechi, 1971). these alliances often took the form of temporary confederations during times of war or persistent external pressure. during colonial times, such alliances were both disrupted and co-opted by british policies that sought to divide and rule, yet local groups adapted by forming informal networks to negotiate security and political leverage (afigbo, 1981). following independence and the nigerian civil war, the fragmentation of state authority in the niger delta region fostered the emergence of ethnic militias and vigilante groups. the ikwerre, alongside neighbouring groups such as the ijaw and ogoni, have sometimes co-operated strategically to safeguard communal interests, especially regarding oil resource control and protection from state or corporate aggression (okonta & douglas, 2001). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 69 these alliances, while primarily local and informal, occasionally evolved into more coordinated security efforts during periods of heightened militancy or government crackdowns (watts, 2007). intergroup collaboration has facilitated information sharing, joint patrols, and coordinated resistance against external military forces. in recent decades, the nigerian government has pursued security co-operation initiatives aimed at stabilizing the niger delta, involving joint military-police operations and engagement with local community leaders. programmes such as the niger delta amnesty initiative (2009) incorporated former militants from various ethnic backgrounds, including the ikwerre, into formal dialogue and rehabilitation efforts (amnesty international, 2009).the federal military’s collaboration with local vigilante groups, sometimes controversially, reflects a pragmatic approach to security in complex interethnic contexts (obi, 2010). these alliances have occasionally reduced violence but also risk exacerbating rivalries when not managed inclusively. despite these strategic alliances, enduring challenges hinder long-term security co-operation among the ikwerre and their neighbours. historical grievances, competition over resource control, and external manipulation often fracture trust (eze, 2010). moreover, disparities in political representation and military inclusion continue to shape power dynamics within these alliances. environmental degradation and economic marginalization further strain relations, complicating joint efforts toward peace and security (watts, 2004). addressing these root causes is critical to transforming militarized alliances into sustainable security partnerships. case studies of strategic alliances and security co-operation: the 1990s ogoni-ikwerre collaboration against oil exploitation in the late 1990s, the ikwerre and ogoni peoples, two distinct ethnic groups in the oil-producing niger delta, formed a strategic alliance in response to escalating environmental degradation and socio-political marginalization caused by multinational oil companies. bound by territorial proximity and shared grievances, both communities confronted systemic injustices such as oil spills, gas flaring, loss of livelihoods, and exclusion from oil wealth (okonta & douglas, 2001). this alliance was characterized by joint protest actions, grassroots mobilization, and community-based monitoring of oil installations. the two groups worked collaboratively to expose ecological abuses and human rights violations, often submitting joint petitions to international bodies, including amnesty international and the united nations environmental programme (unep). their advocacy culminated in heightened global attention, with the plight of niger delta communities increasingly framed within the discourse of environmental justice and indigenous rights (human rights watch, 1999). despite severe repression, including military raids, arrests, and intimidation campaigns by nigerian state forces, the ogoni-ikwerre partnership marked a turning point in inter-ethnic cooperation. it moved the region away from fragmented resistance towards a more united front anchored in shared ecological, economic, and security concerns. post-2000s developments: from grassroots resistance to legal and policy engagement igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 70 in the decades following the 1990s protests, new forms of cooperation emerged between ogoni, ikwerre, and other niger delta communities. these efforts increasingly moved beyond streetlevel resistance to embrace legal advocacy, institutional engagement, and regional coalitions. the hydrocarbon pollution remediation project (hyprep), initiated in 2016 as a response to the unep report on ogoni land, benefited from sustained pressure not only by ogoni activists but also by broader regional stakeholders, including ikwerre civil society organizations, who advocated for transparency and community participation in the clean-up process. moreover, the formation of umbrella organizations such as the pan-niger delta forum (pandef) created space for sustained dialogue and policy coordination among ethnic nationalities, including the ikwerre and ogoni. these bodies have consistently demanded greater fiscal federalism, community ownership of oil resources, and infrastructural investment in affected regions. though uneven in impact, these coalitions underscore a shift towards institutionalized forms of security cooperation rooted in collective regional identity and strategic negotiation. in recent years, youth-led climate justice movements in rivers state; many with roots in ikwerre and ogoni communities, have also revived calls for environmental accountability. these movements have harnessed digital platforms, partnered with international ngos, and used litigation to press for corporate and state responsibility. notably, in 2022, youth coalitions from both communities staged joint demonstrations calling for expedited action on the unep clean-up, better regulation of artisanal refining, and inclusive development planning. from the volatile alliances of the 1990s to the more structured, policy-driven collaborations of the 2000s and beyond, the relationship between the ogoni and ikwerre reflects a dynamic model of interethnic strategic alliance in the niger delta. while challenges remain, especially in relation to elite capture, state repression, and environmental degradation, these evolving forms of cooperation highlight the potential for community solidarity in confronting shared threats to ecological security and economic sovereignty. joint vigilante patrols in ikwerre and neighbouring communities, early 2000s in the early 2000s, amid escalating militant activities in the niger delta, grassroots security responses emerged as communities sought to reclaim a measure of control over their safety. the ikwerre, along with neighbouring groups such as the ogoni and other riverine communities, initiated joint vigilante patrols aimed at countering both insurgent violence and the often oppressive actions of state security forces (eze, 2010). this period was marked by widespread insecurity, as militant groups, some advocating for resource control, others driven by criminal enterprise, targeted oil installations, kidnapped workers, and clashed with the military. simultaneously, government security forces were frequently accused of heavyhandedness, arbitrary arrests, and extrajudicial killings, further destabilizing the region (watts, 2007). in response, local youth organizations and community leaders from ikwerre, ogoni, and adjacent areas collaborated to form vigilante groups that conducted coordinated patrols and intelligence-sharing operations. these patrols primarily focused on securing rural villages, oilbearing communities, and transportation routes from both militant incursions and military raids. beyond policing functions, the vigilantes also played mediating roles; engaging in ceasefire negotiations, de-escalating inter-communal tensions, and serving as intermediaries between restive youths and government officials. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 71 the joint nature of these patrols fostered a sense of regional solidarity that temporarily reduced localized violence and contributed to more nuanced relationships with external security actors. in certain areas, the presence of these community security networks led to informal agreements with military commanders, whereby vigilantes would provide intelligence in exchange for restraint and protection of civilians. this model of community-based security filled a critical gap left by state institutions and highlighted the importance of locally embedded peacekeeping mechanisms in fragile regions. however, the sustainability of these initiatives was limited by several structural challenges. rivalries among local militias, political co-optation of vigilante leaders, and competition for control of security-related funding frequently undermined cohesion. moreover, as state amnesty programs began to absorb or demobilize militants in the late 2000s, many vigilante groups struggled to define their post-conflict roles. some were dissolved or absorbed into state-sponsored security frameworks, while others were politicized, contributing to election-related violence and eroding their original community-oriented mandate. despite these complications, the early 2000s joint vigilante efforts in ikwerre and neighbouring communities remain a compelling example of grassroots security cooperation in the niger delta. they illustrate how local actorswhen faced with dual threats from insurgency and militarization, can mobilize shared interests, negotiate peace at the micro-level, and temporarily stabilize highly volatile environments. these experiences continue to inform contemporary debates on community policing, civilian security partnerships, and local ownership of peacebuilding processes in nigeria’s oil-producing regions. in the early 2000s, as militant activities intensified in the niger delta, ikwerre youths and neighbouring communities such as the ikwere and ogoni established joint vigilante groups to protect their villages from both militant attacks and excessive military presence (eze, 2010). these groups conducted coordinated patrols, shared intelligence on suspicious activities, and negotiated ceasefire arrangements locally. this grassroots security cooperation helped reduce localized violence temporarily and fostered a platform for dialogue between communities and government forces. however, challenges remained in sustaining unity amid competing militia interests and political interference (watts, 2007). the 2009 niger delta amnesty program: multi-ethnic security cooperation the nigerian government’s 2009 amnesty program marked a significant turning point in the security and political dynamics of the niger delta. originally conceived as a response to years of armed insurgency, oil pipeline sabotage, and hostage-taking by militant groups, the program provided a conditional pardon to militants who agreed to disarm, undergo rehabilitation, and reintegrate into civilian life. one of the program’s less frequently discussed but critical outcomes was its role in fostering multi-ethnic security cooperation among historically divided groups, including the ikwerre, ijaw, ogoni, itsekiri, urhobo, and others (amnesty international, 2009). prior to the amnesty, inter-ethnic rivalries fueled by competition over oil revenues, land ownership, and political appointments had frequently erupted into violent clashes. however, the shared experience of marginalization and involvement in the militancy provided a platform for former combatants from various ethnic backgrounds to interact in new, cooperative settings. the program’s structure facilitated this through joint vocational training igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 72 programs, peacebuilding workshops, and community development initiatives, where exmilitants engaged in collaborative efforts that emphasized shared goals over ethnic allegiances. this intergroup engagement was further supported by dialogue platforms created under the program’s peace and reconciliation components. in these forums, former fighters and community leaders were encouraged to discuss grievances, build mutual understanding, and contribute to local strategies for preventing renewed violence. these initiatives helped to reduce long-standing suspicions and encouraged the development of inter-ethnic trust, particularly in urban centres like port harcourt, warri, and yenagoa, where militant groups had previously operated in segregated and often antagonistic networks (obi, 2010). crucially, the amnesty program not only de-escalated armed conflict but also enabled the partial reconfiguration of security cooperation across ethnic lines. some former combatants were recruited into government-backed security surveillance and pipeline protection units, which, while controversial, represented an effort to integrate grassroots actors into formal security infrastructure. in areas like emohua (ikwerre) and bori (ogoni), local ex-militants worked alongside counterparts from other ethnic groups to protect oil infrastructure and monitor flashpoints, albeit under tight government oversight. however, the program's achievements were not without limitations. beneath the surface of multi-ethnic collaboration, structural grievances over resource control, environmental degradation, and political exclusion persisted. many communities remained disillusioned with the state’s failure to address the root causes of militancy, and the benefits of the amnesty, such as vocational empowerment or economic reintegration, were unevenly distributed. tensions also emerged around the dominance of certain ethnic groups, particularly the ijaw, in the implementation and leadership of the program, occasionally reviving old suspicions among smaller ethnic groups like the ikwerre and itsekiri. in the years following the initial implementation, the need for sustained conflict management and inter-ethnic dialogue became increasingly evident. while the amnesty program succeeded in disarming thousands and reducing militant activity, its long-term legacy depended on continuous investment in inclusive development, equitable political representation, and mechanisms for grassroots security governance. the 2009 amnesty program represents a rare and important case of state-facilitated multi-ethnic security cooperation in the niger delta. it provided a framework for bridging historical divides, transforming violent actors into peacebuilders, and laying the groundwork for a more integrated and cooperative regional security environment. however, the fragile nature of these gains underscores the ongoing need for dialogue, reform, and inclusive governance in order to prevent a relapse into intergroup conflict. continuity and change in intergroup military relations the intergroup military relations among the ikwerre and their neighbours exhibit notable continuities rooted in pre-colonial and colonial experiences. traditional alliances for defence against external threats, such as raids and invasions, persisted despite the disruptions of colonial rule (ekechi, 1971). even during colonial imposition, informal networks and local militias adapted to changing power dynamics to protect communal interests (afigbo, 1981). postindependence militarization reflected these enduring patterns, with ethnic militias and community vigilantes often reverting to historical models of localized defence and alliance igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 73 building (eze, 2010). the persistence of ethnic identities as organizing principles in military relations has shaped both co-operation and rivalry, underscoring the deeply embedded nature of intergroup security practices. significant changes have accompanied the evolution of military relations. the scale and sophistication of conflicts have increased, driven by access to modern weaponry, the strategic importance of oil resources, and state militarization (watts, 2007). where pre-colonial conflicts were often limited and ritualized, contemporary engagements involve sustained armed militancy, sabotage, and counter-insurgency operations (okonta & douglas, 2001). furthermore, the role of the state and multinational corporations has transformed intergroup dynamics. the nigerian military’s involvement as a national actor, alongside global economic interests in the niger delta, has complicated traditional patterns of alliance and conflict, introducing new dimensions of political economy into military relations (obi, 2010). while grassroots alliances continue, there is a gradual shift toward more institutionalized forms of security co-operation. initiatives like the niger delta amnesty program (2009) represent attempts to formalize peace-building and disarmament across ethnic lines, fostering multiethnic dialogue and integration of former militants into mainstream society (amnesty international, 2009). additionally, regional and local governments have increasingly engaged in cooperative security frameworks, involving joint patrols and community policing that include diverse ethnic groups (eze, 2010). these developments suggest a cautious move from fragmented militancy toward structured security collaboration, though challenges remain. persistent challenges and prospects for the future while various peacebuilding efforts, including grassroots alliances and state-led interventions such as the 2009 amnesty program, have contributed to a reduction in large-scale violence in the niger delta, the region including ikwerre communities, continues to grapple with persistent structural and socio-political challenges. these unresolved issues threaten the sustainability of past gains and complicate the path toward long-term regional stability. one of the foremost drivers of continued tension is resource competition, particularly around oil revenues and land ownership. despite being central to nigeria’s oil economy, many niger delta communities remain economically marginalized and environmentally devastated. the paradox of oil wealth amidst local poverty continues to foster resentment, especially in areas like ikwerre land, where the impact of oil exploration has disrupted traditional livelihoods without adequate compensation or development (watts, 2004). this economic exclusion is compounded by political marginalization, where certain ethnic groups perceive themselves as underrepresented in state and federal structures. these perceptions often ignite demands for autonomy, greater control over resources, or inclusion in strategic decision-making platforms. ethnic rivalries, though periodically subdued by cooperative efforts such as joint vigilante patrols or peace dialogues, remain deeply embedded in the socio-political fabric of the region. historical grievances, contestations over local leadership, and uneven access to government patronage occasionally resurface in the form of violent clashes or rhetorical antagonism undermining fragile coalitions built during moments of crisis (smith, 2007). even within multiethnic alliances, internal fractures persist, often exploited by political elites seeking to consolidate power or redirect state resources toward ethnically aligned constituencies. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 74 another significant challenge is environmental degradation, a chronic and largely unresolved issue. in communities such as those in ikwerre and ogoni territories, the long-term effects of oil spills, gas flaring, and deforestation continue to undermine agricultural and fishing economies, further exacerbating social discontent. although initiatives like the hydrocarbon pollution remediation project (hyprep) were launched in response to environmental crises, criticisms regarding slow implementation, lack of transparency, and limited community involvement highlight the need for more robust environmental governance mechanisms. pathways for the future moving forward, the prospects for sustainable peace and security in the niger delta, particularly among the ikwerre and their neighbouring communities depend on a multi-layered approach that combines institutional reform, inclusive development, and locally grounded peacebuilding. first, addressing structural inequalities is essential. this includes not only equitable distribution of oil revenues through mechanisms such as derivation formulas or host community development funds but also broader economic diversification strategies that reduce dependency on the oil economy. providing alternative livelihoods, particularly for youth, can reduce recruitment into armed groups and promote long-term economic stability. second, inclusive governance must be prioritized. this involves ensuring that all ethnic groups, including minority communities, have meaningful representation in political decision-making processes at both state and federal levels. enhancing community participation in development planning, resource allocation, and security oversight will foster greater legitimacy and local ownership of peace initiatives. third, the promotion of inter-ethnic dialogue and reconciliation remains a cornerstone of durable peace. strengthening local platforms for conflict resolution such as councils of elders, inter-communal peace committees, and religious forums can facilitate early warning and mediation mechanisms that pre-empt violence. these structures should be empowered to work in synergy with state institutions and civil society organizations. finally, building institutional frameworks that transcend ethnic boundaries is critical to transforming the historically militarized nature of intergroup relations into cooperative security partnerships. this includes the professionalization of local vigilante groups, integration of community policing into national security policy, and development of joint peacebuilding programs across ethnic lines. regional institutions like the niger delta development commission (nddc) and ministry of niger delta affairs must be restructured to function with greater accountability, efficiency, and inter-ethnic sensitivity. the niger delta, and ikwerre communities within it, stand at a crossroads. while significant strides have been made in curbing violence and promoting interethnic collaboration, deep-rooted challenges continue to jeopardize long-term peace. to chart a sustainable path forward, stakeholders must move beyond temporary conflict management and toward transformative peacebuilding—one grounded in justice, inclusion, and cross-ethnic cooperation. only through such a holistic approach can the legacy of conflict be replaced by a durable culture of peace and shared prosperity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 75 conclusion the military history of the ikwerre and their neighbouring communities reveals a complex interplay of continuity and change shaped by pre-colonial traditions, colonial legacies, and post-independence dynamics. historically, strategic alliances and localized military cooperation served as vital mechanisms for defence and political negotiation, rooted deeply in ethnic identities and communal interests. however, the advent of colonialism and the exploitation of the niger delta’s oil resources introduced new challenges, transforming military relations into arenas of intensified conflict, state intervention, and resource-driven militancy. post-independence militarization, characterized by ethnic militias and militarized state responses, further complicated intergroup relations, often exacerbating tensions and undermining trust. despite these challenges, the emergence of strategic alliances and security co-operation, manifested in joint vigilante groups and government-led amnesty programs, signals potential pathways toward collaborative security frameworks. these efforts underscore the importance of inclusive governance, equitable resource management, and dialogue in mitigating conflict. sustainable peace and security in the niger delta, particularly among the ikwerre and their neighbours, hinge on addressing structural inequalities and fostering institutionalized cooperation that transcends ethnic divisions. this paper highlights that while militarized relations have historically dominated intergroup interactions, there remains an opportunity to transform these relations into resilient partnerships grounded in mutual respect and shared security objectives. references achebe, c. (2012). there was a country: a personal history of biafra. penguin books. afigbo, a. e. (1981). ropes of sand: studies in igbo history and culture. university press limited. amadi nna, s. o. l. (1993). in o. nduka (ed.), studies in ikwerre history and culture. craft publishing. amnesty international. (2009). nigeria: the ongoing campaign of violence in the niger delta, report. bbc news. (2021). nigeria’s police: the lingering effects of a colonial massacre. bbc news. oral interview with favour bilikisu, 70years, virtual; 2025 curtice, t. (2005). nigeria’s harsh police culture grew from colonial abuses. good authority. diamond, l. (1988). class, ethnicity, and democracy in nigeria: the failure of the first republic. syracuse university press. duyile, t. o. (2005). the birth and formation of the nigerian army: a background to the conundrum of ethnic rivalry and military doctrine. scientia militaria, 35(1). retrieved from researchgate. ejiogu, e. (2007). colonial army recruitment patterns and post-colonial military coup d’états in africa: the case of nigeria. scientia militaria, 35(1), 99–132. ajol. ejiogu, e. c. (2011). colonial army recruitment patterns and post-colonial military coups d’etat in africa: the case of nigeria, 1966–1993. scientia militaria, 35(1). retrieved from scientiamilitaria.journals.ac.za via ajol. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 76 eze, c. (2010). militancy and its impact on development in the niger delta. african journal of political science and international relations, 4(9), 370–375. falola, t., & heaton, m. m. (2008). a history of nigeria. cambridge university press. human rights watch. (1999). the niger delta: no democratic dividend, report. kanu i. a. (2017). igwebuikeconomics: towards an inclusive economy for economic development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 6. 113-140. kanu i. a. (2017). sources of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. 9. 1. pp. 1-23. kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. kanu, a. i. (2017c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 7. pp. 165-183. kanu, a. i. (2017d). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 6. pp. 16-50. kanu, a. i. (2017f). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. pp. 153-160. kanu, i. a. (2010). towards an african cultural renaissance. professor bassey andah journal of cultural studies. volume 3, pp. 146-155. kanu, i. a. (2012). a metaphysical epistemological study of african medical practitioners. in o. e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (2012). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 227-240). nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2012). being qua belongingness: the provenance and implications of pantaleon’s redefinition of being. uche: journal of the department of philosophy, university of nigeria, nsukka. vol. 17. pp. 57-58. mike b. bazza & moses t. korinya (2020) shaka zulu’s pre-colonial military build-up and eurocentric view on africa’s standing army: festschrift in honour of prof. ojong echum tangban, kaduna nda press militarization in british colonies of west africa: the great war and the warfare–welfare nexus (1976). social science history. cambridge university press & assessment. nigeria regiment. (1914–1956). in ajol retrieved august 11, 2025. obi, c. (2010). oil, environmental conflict and the politics of resource control in nigeria. journal of contemporary african studies, 28(4), 365–386. ochonu, m. e. (2020, october 27). decolonising nigerian policing: reflections on #endsars. the guardian nigeria news. okonta, i., & douglas, o. (2001). where vultures feast: shell, human rights, and oil in the niger delta. sierra club books. oral interview with favour meruem 60years, virtual; 2025 oral interview with morris amaechi, 50years, virtual; 2025 smith, d. j. (2007). a culture of corruption: everyday deception and popular discontent in nigeria. princeton university press. talbot, p. a. (1932). the tribes of the niger delta: their religions and customs. oxford university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 77 this day live. (2020). history of policing in nigeria. thisdaylive. watts, m. (2004). resource curse? governmentality, oil and power in the niger delta, nigeria. geopolitics, 9(1), 50–80. watts, m. (2007). petro-violence: the rise and fall of armed militancy in the niger delta, nigeria. studies in conflict & terrorism, 30(10), 1013–1032. watts, m. (2008). curse of the black gold: 50 years of oil in the niger delta. power house books. winner contributors. (2025). ikwerre people. in ajol. retrieved august 12, 2025, from “ikwerre ethnic group” page. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 78 leopold's land ethic and sacred groves in yoruba communities: investigating how aldo leopold's environmental philosophy aligns with traditional yoruba conservation practices chinedu s. ifeakor, phd. department of philosophy, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka cs.ifeakor@unizik.edu.ng abstract in this paper, the connection between the land ethic proposed by aldo leopold and the sacred groves of the yoruba community conservative practice of southwestern nigeria is examined. even though these philosophies appear to be dissimilar in time and space, they have striking similarities in how they relate human and nature, community-based conservation ethics, and actual outcomes of biodiversity protection. the biotic community notion by leopold is similar to the yoruba cosmological notions of interrelated spiritual ecological networks and both share the thoughts that human beings are not lords over nature systems but rather members of the same. according to the statistics of biodiversity of the sacred groves of yoruba such as the world heritage site osun-osogbo sacred grove, the traditional ecological knowledge (tek) systems achieved the success of preserving more than 400 species of plants and mammals. as revealed and explained in this paper, native african ecological ethics have significant value to contemporary conservation as well as to stipulate the failures of the western-centric environmental philosophy, including valuable examples of community-based conservation efforts applying leopoldian extended ethical community visions. keywords: land ethic, yoruba, sacred groves, environmental philosophy, traditional ecological knowledge, biodiversity conservation. introduction: indigenous knowledge and environmental philosophy over the last decades, western theoretical ideologies have taken over in environmental philosophy, but indigenous knowledge systems all over the world exhibit high-level ecological understanding and efficient conservation practices stretching back thousands of years (berkes, 2012). the land ethic of aldo leopold (1949), published in a sand county almanac, was radical change of the western environmental philosophies based on the ecological ethics, according to which people were not conquerors and citizens of nature but were simply organic components and members of biotic communities (leopold, 1949). at the same time, ancient african societies have worked out complex environmental philosophies and conservation measures based on the use of an institution such as sacred grove forest areas under the guarded intent with powerful spiritual and cultural significance (verschuuren et al., 2010). yoruba people of southwestern nigeria are one of the most studied cultural groups in africa, and their environmental practices are a good example of biodiversity knowledge and good stewardship of the environment (adeyanju et al., 2022). yoruba sacred groves still have primary high forest with cultural identity and spiritual practices in osun-osogbo sacred grove, a unesco world heritage site (unesco, 2005). the systems of old conservation operate by complicated taboo systems, spiritual beliefs and systems of community government that are remarkably like leopoldian views of ethical human-land relations. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 79 in this paper, rationality is discussed between the environmental philosophy proposed by leopold and the traditional conservation practice of yoruba people in the light of theory and conservation practice. the analysis addresses major missing links in environmental philosophy by demonstrating how indigenous african environmental ethics can be applied in any part of the world in attempting to understand human-nature interactions as well as offer feasible models to use in contemporary efforts in conservation (diawuo & issifu, 2017). leopold's land ethic: philosophical foundations the ethical sequence and biotic community leopold hypothesized that environmental ethics was the third reiteration in the chains of evolution which ranged among the ethics between individuals, then ethics between individuals and society (leopold, 1949). the land ethic is the moral consideration of human beings but goes further to the biotic community as leopold described it as an interdependent web of soils, waters, plants and animals (leopold, 1949, p. 204). it is a system that challenges the anthropocentric thought modes by believing that human beings have to regard themselves as a community and citizens of ecological communities rather than their masters (leopold, 1949). leopold referred to the maxim that says a thing is right when it is geared towards keeping the biotic community in terms of integrity, stability and beauty. it is not right when it bears an inclination the contrary to that" (leopold, 1949, p. 224-225). this principle alters the priorities of ethics whereby the health and the functioning of the ecosystem are given priority as compared to the health of individual organisms, focusing on the intrinsic value of ecological whole (nelson, 1998). the land ethic is thus an ecocentric approach, as environmental philosophers refer to them; an approach that includes intrinsic worth in natural processes and systems (callicott, 2014). community and intergenerational responsibility one of the most relevant concerns of the leopold philosophy is the enlarged community concepts that involve the human and non-human community members in the course of time (millstein, 2024). the land ethic focuses more on the long-term orientation and responsibility to future generation since the long term impacts of human activity far exceed the interest of human beings on the short term (leopold and schwartz, 1987). the time dimension shows that leopold is aware of the fact that ethical behavior implies limitation of human freedom in the common interest of the communities (leopold, 1949). the other characteristic of the ethical value growth technique of leopold is the dependency on the individual experience and personal experience with nature order as the ethical growth foundation (aldo leopold foundation, 2024). he contended that experience and observation build up environmental values and environmental conservation requires intimate familiarity with the local ecosystems and ecosystem functioning. philosophical analysis: yoruba sacred groves and conservation philosophy cosmological foundations and spiritual ecology the most significant characteristic of the environmental philosophy of yoruba is the cosmological interpretation of the environment with the inclusion of the spiritual and material worlds (olodumare as the supreme god, orisha as mediator spirits) into the integrity of ecology (babalola, 2022). the yoruba tradition does not separate the spiritual (orun) and material (aye) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 80 worlds and views the natural objects, forests, rivers, trees, animals as manifestations of spiritual forces and homes of gods (yusuf, 2016). these spiritual-ecological system is a concentration area of sacred groves (igbo-orisha, forest of gods) (national commission for museums and monuments, 2005). they can be used in different ways: these protected forest areas are considered places of worship and rituals, traditional ecological knowledge, biodiversity conservation, and cultural identity (verschuuren et al., 2010). the best example of this combined practice is osun-osogbo sacred grove, which is evidence of worship of osun the goddess of fertility and rivers and has more than 40 shrines, sculptures and sacred places within a 75 hectares of preserved forest (unesco, 2005). traditional ecological knowledge and conservation mechanisms the yoruba conservation systems are founded on the traditional ecological knowledge (tek) systems that are at the interface between scientific observation and spiritual belief systems (onyekwelu & olusola, 2014). the majority of the significant conservation systems involve taboos and prohibitions in which draconian culture taboos regulate the access and utilization of sacred groves. hunting, cutting trees, fishing, and harvesting are not allowed unless under some ritual circumstances (babalola, 2022). these are put in place by fear of godly punishment and punishment of the community. groves are sacroiliated using ritual and ceremonial practices such as the yearly osun-osogbo festival, which gives the community a chance to learn the importance of conservation values (vučković, 2024). community governance is the practice of responsible custody of the sacred groves by kings (oba) and priests and elders who make decisions concerning access, use and protection of the groves (adeyanju et al., 2022). transference of knowledge intergeneration takes place when the environmental knowledge and conservation behavior is transferred via oral traditions, narrations, proverbs, and direct participation in ritual actions (kosoe et al., 2019). biodiversity conservation success scientific studies have been carried out on yoruba sacred groves with high levels of conservation of biodiversity success. osun-osogbo sacred grove is home to more than 400 plant species, which is one of the last primary high forests in southern nigeria (yusuf, 2016). according to recent ecological census, core zone had approximately 300 monkeys, including endangered white throated monkeys (cercopithecus erythrogaster) that were regarded as messengers of osun goddesses (adeyanju et al., 2022). comparative research of sacred groves has shown that groves possess larger species diversity and act as the shelters of rare and endangered species than the adjacent landscapes (onyekwelu & olusola, 2014). sacred groves contain 87.8 to 231.85 t ha -1 and 43.9 to 115.9 t ha -1 biomass and carbon stock respectively, which implies that they could be utilized in mitigating climate change by sequestration (onyekwelu et al., 2024). alignments between leopold and yoruba philosophy the land ethic by leopold and yoruba environmental philosophy reject anthropocentric world views in which human beings are disengaged or superior in nature. leopold says that humans are expected to be mere biotic community members and citizens whereas yoruba cosmology igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 81 entails human beings being a part of spiritual-ecological networks with natural features playing the role of deity and ancestor abodes (leopold, 1949; babalola, 2022). this widespread perception finds its way in real conservation practices that address a mutualism between human beings and natural systems. the concept of think like a mountain by leopold is similar to the concept of landscapes as natural agents and spiritual beings with agency and cognitive ability in yoruba (leopold, 1949). both systems recognize the needs of the sustainable human-environment relationships to be respectful, humble, and appreciative to the interdependence. the ethical consideration of leopold extended to include soils, waters, plants and animals similar to the spiritual agency extended in natural systems in yoruba thought (leopold, 1949). yoruba sacred groves do not merely preserve particular species of plants and animals but entire ecosystems as components of spiritual-ecological communities, as part of leopoldian ecosystem-level conservation efforts. the two schools focus on the community in conservation. leopold advocated environmental management via the democratic processes whereas the system of yoruba conservation was under the rule of kings, priests, elders and community (adeyanju et al., 2022). top-down conservation models share these participatory approaches as they allow local communities to be custodians of the environment. the land ethic by leopold emphasizes the interest in the future generations and long-term health of ecological communities (leopold, 1949). in the same way, yoruba conservation makes sure that holy groves stay alive and used by the generations through the knowledge of intergenerational passing and continuity of the culture (babalola, 2022). both models have accepted that meaningful conservation has to be continuity in terms of time and outlook that well beyond the experiences of individual people. the nature of yoruba spirituality as an ancestral spirit is what, in particular, provides remarkably good comparisons to intergenerational ethics as developed by leopold. sacred groves are also characteristically ancestral burial sites and significant places of transition between past, present, and future (yusuf, 2016). the time feeling gives conservation terms more power because protecting the environment is linked to the ancestral responsibility and the welfare of the future generations. the land ethic by leopold and the environmental philosophy of the yoruba share similarities of value systems: aesthetic, spiritual, ecological, and practical and conservation strategies (leopold, 1949; verschuuren et al., 2010). the famous maxim of leopold is on the criteria of integrity, stability, and beauty as one of the elements of the ethical assessment, which is also united in yoruba sacred groves, integrating spiritual, cultural, ecological, and economic spheres. contemporary challenges and applications both leopold land ethic and yoruba sacred groves have great contemporary challenges. the sacred groves are threatened in nigeria by urbanization, agricultural expansion, religious conversion, and disruption of the traditional authority system (chima, 2014). a study of the abia state found out that 97% of sacred groves were destroyed since 1989, and the christian reform and social change were revealed to be the dominant ones (chima, 2014). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 82 similarly, the ecological consciousness as expounded by leopold in the contemporary world has not been actualized in the majority of the contemporary society as economic demands and inertial thinking continue to destroy the environment (nelson, 1998). the two frameworks have difficulties in making sure they are relevant and effective in the dynamic social, economic, and political environment. integration with modern conservation recent conservation works have demonstrated possibilities to unite the old and new approaches. osun-osogbo sacred grove enjoys the advantage of collaborative management that consists of the traditional authorities, government and international conservation agencies (unesco, 2005). this model demonstrates that it is possible to put on-scale existing traditional conservation systems without putting cultural systems at a disadvantage. similarly, the land ethic by leopold has influenced contemporary conservation biology, ecological administration and environmental administration by providing philosophical foundations of conservation and adaptive managerial approaches of landscapes (nelson, 1998). with incorporation of traditional ecological knowledge in the current conservation science, there are avenues that both can be used in the current environmental issues. sacred groves possess great potential of carbon storage and biomass is equal or even higher than the managed forests (onyekwelu et al., 2024). sacred groves are provided with community-based systems of governance which provide paradigms of participatory climate change adaptation and mitigation measures. considering ecology as an ecosystem scale and emphasis on ecological integrity that leopold promoted can be considered through the prism of modern climate change as systemic problems that require landscape-scale solutions. both frameworks address the requirements in terms of ecological resilience through the maintenance of biodiversity and maintenance of good human-environment relations. conclusion through this study, there is a tremendous overlap of the land ethic by leopold and the traditional conservation practices of the yoruba even in different cultural and time settings. both schools reflect human beings as a part of the ecological communities, community-based morality and intergenerational accountability, experience-oriented knowledge, and place-based cognition, and integrate a number of value systems in comprehensive conservation endeavors. the effectiveness of traditional environmental ethics is practical because the success of biodiversity conservation of yoruba sacred groves (more than 400 species of plants and significant biosauna wildlife populations in osun-osogbo sacred grove) is demonstrated. these findings are in line with the leopold conservation vision because the long ecological consciousness and moral community and the importance of indigenous knowledge systems to the current conservation concerns. the comparison of leopold and yoruba environmental philosophies defies the traditional western based environmental ethics and conservation approaches. rather than viewing traditional ecological knowledge as primitive or outdated, the analysis contends that indigenous paradigms in philosophy offer alternatives to mainstream conservation paradigms that are complex and offer solutions to the modern environmental issues. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 83 there is need to undertake further research on parallel comparisons of western environmental philosophy with other african traditional knowledge systems, how to integrate traditional and modern conservation techniques, and generalize the possibilities of community-based conservation forms. the intersection of leopold land ethic and yoruba environmental philosophy provide a chance that would develop more inclusive, culturally-based, and ecologically useful environmental conservation approaches in the times of global environmental changes. with global challenges of biodiversity loss and climate change, wisdom surrounding leopold's land ethic and yoruba sacred grove traditions promises creating sustainable relationships among human communities and nature. sacred grove conservation and ecological conscience growth are complementary approaches to the same basic problem: learning how to be moral subjects of biotic communities as wholes supporting all planetary life. references adeyanju, s. o., bulkan, j., onyekwelu, j. c., peterson st-laurent, g., kozak, r., sunderland, t., & stimm, b. (2022). drivers of biodiversity conservation in sacred groves: a comparative study of three sacred groves in southwest nigeria. international journal of the commons, 16(1), 94. https://doi.org/10.5334/ijc.1143 aldo leopold foundation. (2024). understanding the land ethic. https://www.aldoleopold.org/blogs/understanding-the-land-ethic babalola, f. d. (2022). roles of and threats to yoruba traditional beliefs in wilderness conservation in southwest nigeria. proceedings rmrs-p-64, 64, 125–129. https://research.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/38784 berkes, f. (2012). sacred ecology. routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203123843 callicott, j. b. (2014). thinking like a planet: the land ethic and the earth ethic. oxford university press. chima, u. d. (2014, november 10). disappearing sacred groves: causes and implications for biodiversity conservation. academia.edu. https://www.academia.edu/9220098/disappearing_sacred_groves_ca uses_and_implications_for_biodiversity_conservation diawuo, f., & issifu, a. k. (2017). exploring the african traditional belief systems (totems and taboos) in natural resources conservation and management in ghana. in african philosophy and environmental conservation (pp. 209-221). routledge. kanu i. a. (2017). igwebuikeconomics: towards an inclusive economy for economic development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 6. 113-140. kanu i. a. (2017). sources of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. 9. 1. pp. 1-23. kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 84 kanu, a. i. (2017c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 7. pp. 165-183. kanu, a. i. (2017d). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 6. pp. 16-50. kanu, a. i. (2017f). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. pp. 153-160. kanu, i. a. (2010). towards an african cultural renaissance. professor bassey andah journal of cultural studies. volume 3, pp. 146-155. kosoe, e., adjei, p. o.-w., & diawuo, f. (2019, april 30). from sacrilege to sustainability: the role of indigenous knowledge systems in biodiversity conservation. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-019-10010-8 leopold, a. (1949). the land ethic. bioscience, 54(2), 149. https://doi.org/10.1641/00063568(2004)054[0149:lwtle]2.0.co;2 leopold, a., & schwartz, c. w. (1987). a sand county almanac, and sketches here and there. oxford university press. millstein, r. l. (2024). the land is our community: aldo leopold's environmental ethic for the new millennium. university of chicago press. https://www.environmentandsociety.org/mml/land-our-community-aldo-leopoldsenvironmental-ethic-new-millennium national commission for museums and monuments. (2005). osun sacred grove. https://www.museum.gov.ng/osun-sacred-grove nelson, m. p. (1998). aldo leopold, environmental ethics, and the land ethic. wildlife society bulletin, 28(1), 741–744. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280092870_aldo_leopold_environme ntal_ethics_and_the_land_ethic onyekwelu, j. c., agbelade, a. d., stimm, b., & mosandl, r. (2024). role of sacred groves in southwestern nigeria in biodiversity conservation, biomass and carbon storage. environmental monitoring and assessment, 196(3), 269. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-024-12407-6 onyekwelu, j. c., & olusola, j. a. (2014). role of sacred grove in in-situ biodiversity conservation in rainforest zone of south-western nigeria. journal of tropical forest science, 26(1), 5–15. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261134997_role_of_sacred_grove_in_i n-situ_biodiversity_conservation_in_rainforest_zone_of_south-western_nigeria unesco. (2005). osun-osogbo sacred grove. world heritage centre. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1118/ verschuuren, b., wild, r., mcneely, j., & oviedo, g. (eds.). (2010). sacred natural sites: conserving nature and culture. earthscan. vučković, a. (2024, january 27). osun sacred grove: where a west african spiritual tradition flourishes. ancient origins. https://www.ancient-origins.net/ancientplaces-africa/osun-sacred-grove-0020261 yusuf, o. b. (2016). osun-osogbo sacred grove: cultural landscape management and tourism development in nigeria. journal of tourism and cultural change, 14(3), 1-15. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.2. no.1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 42 the logic of symbolism in igbo african medicine: a hermeneutical approach by emmanuel onyedikachi okoro department of philosophy, unizik carlommanuel@gmail.com abstract existence in igbo african universe is best described as a communion of forces; and the human person is understood as a confluence of two inseparable realities: the physical and the spiritual. in essence, what bothers the physical is often conceived as a kind of imbalance of the spiritual and vice versa. life in this manner is conceived as a matrix. within this parlance of existence also, lies an enigma which has perennially prodded great minds. however, what actually is the logical principle under firing this interaction between the physical and the spiritual universes is still in contention. the emergence of symbols and the act of symbolization, perhaps, has given a whole lot of insight to deciphering the meaning of this incorporated existence (human existence) and the mode of interaction underlying it. igbo african medical practice is among those areas where the interaction of forces is highly noticeable. as a system of its own, igbo african medicine incorporates the animate and inanimate; the physical and the spiritual, all in arresting various health situations. what then is the logic underlying the use of symbols in this practice? what is the goal or end of symbolization in igbo african medical practice? this paper shall adopt a hermeneutical approach in examining the basic claims of igbo african medicine. in the end, this paper would have given appraisal to a vitalist system of logic that is both communo-ontological and igbo african in nature and praxis. keywords: logic, symbolism, igbo-african, medicine, hermeneutical approach introduction the search for identity in igbo african society seems like an endless if not an impossible mission. what defiled the igbo continues to haunt him in every sphere of his existence and each time the name ‘africa’ is mentioned one imagines what a beautiful continent it could have been if not for those notoriously mentioned influences (trans-atlantic slave trade, colonialism and neocolonialism) that in the view of this paper should have constituted the driving force, both for the individual and state’s self realization in igbo africa; igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 43 since the core of our socio-cultural being has been cast upon the dangerous pendulum of globalization and modernity. what actually globalizes is subject to question. it may not be culture per se that globalizes in the real sense because culture is man’s creation and a defining element of a people’s existence. rather, it is the human person. the human person, who is both a local and a global subject, is capable of transcending outside his cultural milieu in seeking to interact with other climes. and in the cause of this interaction, he is capable also of losing his identity. however, as a uniting force between cultures, philosophy is yet to retreat the igbo african mind as such from her intellectual deportation; since most igbo african philosophers continue to sell their stock in the language, system and thought of the west. this however has elicited this research which attempts to examine the logic of symbolism in igbo african medicine as well as initiate a new system of logic native to igbo african medical practice. the logic of symbols and symbolism reality is best understood through a kind of representation that almost replicates its very kind or nature and this very act is as old as mankind. this is the reason it is often held by philosophers like dukor and umeogu that since different ways exist through which reality could be known, that symbolism has got as its primary aim to reveal the truth or reality.1 where as in the actual sense of this understanding, reality could at times prove holistically unfathomable even when our so called proven knowledge of it may seem almost complete. still, a phenomenon or an idea or a proposition must be represented. it is that very act of representing these using symbols or signs that we refer as symbolism. in as much as a lot scholars had written on this, the fact remains that reality is ever unfolding as much as the means of its symbolization and articulation. of course, this discussion does not bereft the understanding that symbolism cuts across different fields and has been widely regarded as being as old as human knowledge: thus, the secularization or universalization of symbols for objective interpretation to boost human knowledge becomes of vital importance.2 one striking feature that characterizes a philosophical study of symbols is its ambition. it is the fact that something does not just represent the other in isolation without having a logical form or semblance with what it represents. this conformity of an idea or phenomenon with what it symbolizes or represents offers both metaphysical and epistemological insights to the body of knowledge in general. in a nutshell, symbols are theoretical or mental entities that are not always subject to verification. although these symbols are not, often times, subject to verification, they are equally of practical value to arts and science in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 44 general; in as much as they correlate with the idea they stand to represent. symbols can be abstract or esoteric too. hence, to understand the form of any language at all is to understand the logic of symbolism in that language, or perhaps the mystery underlying such language correlation with what is. this is in attendant to the fact that whenever a statement is made in a particular language, one experience a kind of mental symbol creation and this symbol creation often carries with it a logical correlation between the subject and the object. for instance, the statement “john cena fights like a lion” only tells one of john cena’s brevity and die-hard-attitude in a wrestling bout. here the symbol ‘lion’ needs no explanation about its conformity with the personality of john cena especially if one has actually seen how john cena fights. in all cases words always carry with them an esoteric picture of something or an object or a subject or something real. and when one digs further on this understanding, a kind of conformity existing between the word spoken and what symbolizes it is established. symbols in the light of this therefore, are not only esoteric because the object of signification in any language could be visible or concrete in another sense. symbols are not all mystical also because what represents a thing could be understood by simple analysis or by a more systematized means which heidegger calls ‘phenomenological epoche’. symbolism in igbo african medicine igbo african medicine is synonymous with igbo culture. it is one of the many cultural enterprises that bespeak volumes of the relevance of symbolism in human knowledge and in the understanding of reality as a whole. nothing exists in igbo african medical universe without a name and an object of signification that explains as well as affirms its concrete or abstract existence and what it stands for. as deep and vast igbo african medicine is its shades of light on truth and understanding is possible on the grounds that ideas, phenomena, objectsboth natural and supernatural are all at least known through different symbols put in place to replicate them. every knowledge of and about reality or meaning of being in every clime or language must always incorporate a kind of reasoning with symbols, in symbols, by symbols and through symbols.3 this submission was made by umeogu in his attempt to bring to fore the place of symbols in igbo african medicine. on a more epistemic level, symbolism is also necessary for a better understanding of igbo african medicine since in praxis it aligns with igbo culture in which being is conceived as a communion. this is the reason dzobo contends that while signs provides simple information in a culture, that symbols communicate as well as enhance the understanding of complex knowledge in that same igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 45 culture.4 perhaps it will be pertinent to mention at this juncture that signs and symbols are both elements of the same category with different degrees of usage. while a sign could provide a cue to explaining being, symbols provide deeper logical explanations on the nature, degree and mode of being by means of ‘symbolismic expression’ (in umeogu’s vocabulary). this in essence attends to the fact that one could actually defend the idea that culture provides a better understanding of symbols and that symbols speak of a particular cultural background each time it is found in any human communication. it has been held strongly by scholars that the influence of language on igbo african healing process is much deeper than just mere communication. in one of his essays on symbols and symbolism in info-tech epistemology, dukor argued that words, propositions and sentences in igbo medical practice are theistic panpsychic and animism and possesses existential and commanding force of the divine authority.5 that a proposition possesses existential and commanding force of the divine authority as dukor argues, in simple terms, supports the saying among the native igbo that ‘onu nwa akahie bu onu ndi ichie’; which means that the words of the dwarfed manprobably an adept ‘dibia’ (diviner) is the same as the words of his ancestors. ‘nwa akahie’ or the dwarf here is only used to represent a great healer or ‘dibia’ who also divinizes, but not in the understanding that every dwarf is a healer or ‘dibia ogwu’. in the same vein, the ancestor in this very context and in igbo ontology is symbolic of intercessory angels who beseech on behalf of mortals to god. this explanation is informed by the fact that in african epistemology as dukor argued; conceptions are not only generated from innate ideas but also abstracted from experience too.6 experience in this context speaks volume of the efficacious method of healing in igbo african medicine which in the words of bourdillon is much more oriented towards the manipulation of symbols but not necessarily less efficacious than orthodox medicine.7 this nevertheless is less contradictory of the fact that what is held esoteric is also replicated in concrete form as dukor’s earlier assertion held. bourdillon’s idea of manipulation in this context may not be exactly what we have in mind since it is not clear about what is being manipulated and the end to which the manipulation tends. but one thing is clear: the image of the divine is not just something of abstraction from ordinary experience in igbo medicine; rather it is something concretely symbolic than only esoteric and the healer, as scholars like dukor, kanu, umeogu and ngangah argued, occupies both the position of the healer and the priest. this statement implies that god, through the gods as represented igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 46 by certain concrete images of: ‘amadioha’ (great ancestral progenitor of human race), ‘ndi ichie’(benevolent spirits of dead elders of the kindred), ‘agwu’(the wisdom of the dibia or healer), ‘akwari’ (the informant of the dibia or healer) and ‘arusi (oracle of the gods), play vital roles in inquiring the cause of a particular illness and finding a panacea for its cure. a kind of ritual is carried out using kolanut (oji), native chalk (nzu), yellow clay (edoo) and sometimes palm wine or a hot drink, and these are symbolic substances meaningfully used by the adebt ‘dibia’. more so, ngangah has this to contribute: it is difficult to isolate igbo african medicine from the gamut of other customary practices and beliefs such as ancestral worship, belief in the cyclical nature of life and the unbroken communion between the dead, the living and the unborna related feature of which is reincarnation-divination and belief in cosmic laws which governs man’s interaction with both spirits and nature.8 the fact, as ngangah argued, that the traditional healer in igbo african medicine treats the ‘person’ of his patient, unlike the orthodox physician who treats the ‘body’ of his patients alone is quite symbolic. this, ngangah explained further saying that treating the ‘person’ of a patient goes beyond clinical issues to delve into the social, cultural and spiritual world of such patient all of which are believed to impact upon his health within the traditional milieu.9 and this brings us face to face with the african concept of personhood as communalism of the ‘i’ and ‘we’. while the ‘i’ symbolizes the individual seeking to presence himself (to use i. odimegwu’s vocabulary), the ‘we’ symbolizes other individuals both living and dead: other forces both vital and derived and other epistemic realities both known and yet to be known. these in one way or another contribute to the active existence of the igbo african person. what then is the logical correlation of symbolism with igbo african medicine? in the following heading, we shall engage on analysis based on scholar’s views and real life experience. the logic of symbolism in igbo medicine understanding the cyclical nature of being in igbo ontology traces virtually in the: cultural, political, religious and economic life of the igbo. this argument does not bereft the fact that igbo medicine also share this influence. a recurrent error in the understanding of logic among african and non african igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 47 philosophers who had written on this context begs the question here; but the truth remains that the basic tools of analysis when employed in explaining basic phenomenon native to africa should incorporate interpretations based on the particular cultural milieu in the african context. what we mean by the logic of symbolism in igbo medicine in this context does not incorporate aristotelian form of logic or its other western variations. rather the core of our use of logic shall dwell on specific igbo conceptual frame work that is different from the west. for instance: such logic that unravels the close relatedness of the different aspect of life in traditional {igbo} african society which makes the ancestors and gods subjects, and not mere objects of human intelligence.10 this gives an insight to the vitalist system of logic we have set out to propose. in the words of maurier as quoted by iroegbu, “this is a vitalist form of logic in contrast to the western objectivist or conceptualist logical form”.11 iroegbu argues further that in the structure of igbo logic, for instance, the ultimate driving force is not the idea or the figure, neither is it the sign nor the symbol that matters; rather what matters for him is the good relationship and well being existing between these ideas and figures and signs and symbols; and which must result from the life and discussion of the interlocutors.12 critically speaking this idea defiles what western logical system stand for giving the somewhat esoteric ways in which practitioners of igbo medicine ply their trade most especially in difficult cases where the gods must be consulted and some sacrifices made in order to find solution to a perplexing health issue. in as much as the igbo african medical logic, as iroegbu said, is not verifiably carried out some times, they are highly systematized in their own peculiar ways too. the point here is that this medical logic is igbo african and therefore should not be dismissed entirely simply because they do not operate on western principles. one may sound apologetic in saying this, but the truth remains that a dying system of thought must be resuscitated at all cost. however, this is not to excuse the negligence on the side of the igbo african educators to recognizing the urgent need to indigenize philosophy as iroegbu has noted in the following: until philosophy is written and taught in an african {system of logic} and language, african philosophy may turn out in future to be nothing but western philosophy {and logic} in african disguise.13 having gone this far, let us examine what igbo medicine truly is. natively speaking, the igbo medicine is nothing but what is called ‘ogwu’. this could igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 48 be negative or positive since the reality of igbo medicine or ‘ogwu’ exists in two dimensions and share in the same substance (force). it could be a force of evilto kill and destroy and in the other hand, it could be a force of preservation and vitality. a comprehensive definition of ‘ogwu’ or medicine or charm almost aligned with the words of francis a. arinze. according to him, it is an object which by some mysterious immanent and unconscious power is believed to preserve from evil, diseases, bullets, or motor accident, or to make one succeed in trade, in love affair…14 a charm or ‘ogwu’ or medicine could be regarded as a symbol of divine force interplaying in human existential drama, while in its various usage it could be devised for different purposes. what is important here is that ‘ogwu’ shares in the category of force as such but not in the category of ‘vital force’. in his igbo metaphysics, e. edeh argued that the kind of force that ‘ogwu’ has is such that is derived. it is such force that was given to it by the human person who shares completely in the communalism of vital force as outlined by p. tempels in his the bantu philosophy. hence if a charm or medicine or ‘ogwu’, should be efficacious; be it in the edible or other forms; to enhance or cut life short, then an active force from the traditional healer or the priest doctor must be invoked into it. the ability to invoke such active or animated force is not a privilege everyone enjoys. it is exclusively for the few adepts that possess ‘agwu’a special call to serve in a traditional capacity. such person could operate by administering herbs (herbalist or ‘dibia ogwu’) or by divination (‘dibia afa’) or by offering sacrifices and appeasing the gods (‘dibia aja’). and such person must work in communion with god, the gods, his ancestors and his ‘agwu’ before he excels. the logical matrix that exists within these symbols of divine substance is the action or the result of the command in the spoken words of the dibia over his charm or medicine or ‘ogwu’. when the process tends to a positive end, it receives approval from god and other vital forces and when it tends to a negative end, god and other vital forces do not give their approval. in the case of a sick person, the divine may expedite his healing on the ground that he is in good terms with his ‘chi’. the divine can also prevent his healing too until he has atoned for a certain abomination or injustice he may have gotten involved in. conclusion in essence, the logical principle operational in igbo african medicine is not one. it varies and this is the reason it has been held that igbo mysticism remains the deepest in all religions. however, what we shall describe in this essay as the principle of ‘ihe onye metara owere isi ya buru’ might be closer to what we have set out to inquire; or what obiajulu described as the principle of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 2 no 1, march 2016. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 49 like terms or the likes attraction which is extrapolated as the principle under which like causes produce like effects.15 since we do not see god or understand his true nature; since we do not comprehensively understand the true ways of our ancestors, we have devised some concrete images and symbols as sacramental’s that create in us a lively sentiment of faith in the divine as does all religions. since then god and our ancestors have neither stricken us all dead nor refused to answer when we call them, except the incessant fear constantly imposed on us by the west who wants their own religion to dominate the others. most of our fathers in the past who embraced the western religion without casting theirs into flames lived long and died happily while others who were perverted entirely continues to die young and our world has lost its bearing completely. references 1. m.dukor, symbols and symbolism in infor-tech epistemology, in nnamdi azikiwe journal of philosophy vol.2, no 1(2009), p.85 2. j. nwanegbo, symbolism: from supernatural to science, an epistemological inquiry, in philosophy pathways http//www.philosophy pathways.com, issues no.167 3. b.umeogu, the place of symbolism in african philosophy, in open journal of philosophy vol.3, no.1a (2013), p.114 4. n.k dzobo, african symbols and proverbs as source of knowledge, in k. wiredu & k. gyekye, person and community: ghanaian philosophical studies, vol.1, african crvp series ii, (1992) 5. m. dukor, najp, p.90 6. ibid. 7. m.f.c bourdillon, medicine and symbols (zambezia: 1989), vol.16, no.1 8. i. ngangah, the epistemology of symbols in african medicine, in open journal of philosophy, vol.3, no.1a, pp.117-121, in http//www.scirp.org/journal/ojpp 9. ibid. 10. p. iroegbu, enwisdomization and african philosophy (owerri: international university press ltd, 1994), p.135 11. ibid. 12. ibid. 13. ibid. 14. f.a arinze, in m. obiajulu, the utility of charms in igbo african world view: an analytic cum ethnophilosophical approach, nnamdi azikiwe journal of philosophy, vol.5, no.1 (2013), p.40 15. ibid. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 141 the evolving role of the african catholic as elder in the task of mediation and reconciliation in nigeria barnabas sama’ ila shabayang, phd faculty of theology – veritas university, abuja bsbliss93@gmail.com abstract in african sociological and cosmological set up, the beauty of life in every community is the formation of the elder council. these are dignify persons, set aside by the quality of moral life and the capacity to promote peace in community. by the use of analytical method, this essay examines the role and the existence of an elder in each african family to be a basic necessity for effective leadership and to promote community cohesion. we argue that elders are held in high esteem, because they possess moral rectitude, do have courage and integrity to mediate in conflictual situation to ensue the process of reconciliation. this essay examines the role-play of the ordained african catholic priest in nigeria, who plays the roles as mediator, reconciler and confessor. this is due to the fact that, by priestly ordination, he is set-aside as a reputable elder in human society. elders in african world-view, are respected, revered and dignified as agents and ambassadors of peace. they engage in this enterprise by natural process of selection and election based on the clan system of representation which they might have acquired by long experience in ‘town-hall’ and community square conversations and gatherings. the ordained catholic priest enjoys the double role, due to his cultural and sacramental training, he is privilege to exercise these roles of mediating and reconciling feuds and conflicts in his pastoral space of priestly ministry in nigeria. keywords: african, catholic, elder, mediation, reconciliation, priest introduction the gift of the priesthood is grace by the rite of ordination, which sets him as a member of the african community to become a cultic leader and cultural elder. amongst his multiple functions, task and responsibilities, he baptizes, and hears confessions, he preaches as well as celebrates the holy eucharist to bequeath god’s blessings and love. john paul ii taught that all the seven sacraments of the church are connected spiritually and doctrinally to the sacrament of reconciliation,65 thus, bequeathing god’s love and peace to the recipient. our vision in this essay is to demonstrate how the african elder including the priests in nigeria, functions in the traditional family and the setting of the community. we shall explore how he settles conflicts, effects reconciliation, thereby ensuring the existence of peace and love. we will conclude by distinguishing the ‘specific roles’ and the functions the nigerian priest as elder performs; specifying his task as an adult who, as elder, plays in mediating and reconciling people. these functions on the natural basis of human life, remind us of the functions of the ordained priest. 65cf. john paul ii, reconciliatio et paenitentia, 27, aas 77 (1985), 248-250 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 142 in the day-to-day practice of african traditional religion and deep within the consciousness of the african person, the role of the elder is indispensable in the family, the clan and in the community. the elder serves as a resource person who connects the present to the immediate past, to the ancestors, to the spirit world and to the supreme being, through the medium66 of oral tradition. the channel of “oral traditions require face-to-face interaction of the spoken word.”67 this further confirms the weight of this african proverb that says: “the mouth of the elder is more powerful than the amulet.”68 thus, we are examining the prominent role the elder plays in the socio-cultural, religio-political life of the african community. this task is very important because it is a role that contributes particularly towards the mediation of conflicts and the seeking of reconciliation between disputing parties. thus the role of an elder is irreplaceable in the african family and community as much as that of the priest in the emerging blending in the role-play. this study seeks to integrate and inculturate this unique role of the african elder in the life and ministry of the catholic priest with particular reference to aspects of mediation and reconciliation, in order to promote the effective programme of the new evangelization69 in the 21st century. cardinal gracias of mumbai said once: “the holy spirit guides us in a particular direction at a particular time, and today we’re being led towards inculturation.”70 the african catholic priest as elder in nigeria, reconciler and mediator must engage in an intensive catechetical and pastoral education, need to be available to people by sacrificing his time as a shepherd. the study and the understanding of any religion by non-adherents requires patience and careful study. warren pointed out below that ‘every religion is unique and has a particular feature that is sacred.’ he writes that as we approach any particular people, culture or religion, in order to be present to that particular people, culture and religion; we need to be sensitive, respectful and vigilant. else our efforts will become counter-productive, thus he writes: our first task in approaching another people, another culture, another religion is to take off our shoes, for the place we are approaching is holy. else we may find ourselves treading on men's dreams. more serious still, we may forget that god was here before our arrival. we have, then, to ask what is the authentic religious content in the experience of the 66the elder in africa communicates and hands on the basic information on culture and tradition from one generation to another. he teaches by means of oral tradition, mainly on customs and on moral ethics. it is his duty to educate and nurture the native culture in the family, the clan and the community. by this medium of ‘oral tradition’ the elder transmits the riches of history, etiquette, morality and religious beliefs to members of the family, community 67fisher, robert, b., west african religious traditions: focus on the akan of ghana, maryknoll, new york: orbis books, 1998, 47 68fisher, robert, b., west african religious traditions: focus on the akan of ghana, 105 69benedict xvi, post-synodal exhortation africae munus, 159, p. 142; see also, paul vi, apostolic exhortation evangelii nuntiandi, (8 december 1975), 14: aas 68 (1976), 13; see also john paul ii, ecclesia in africa, 55 & 56, aas 88 (1996), 34-35 70cardinal gracias of mumbai, quoted in allen, john l., the future church: how ten trends are revolutionizing the catholic church, p. 366; see also the teaching of the catholic bishops’ conference of nigeria, on the unique role of the priest as an elder in the cultural setting of africa in ratio fundamentalis institutionis sacerdotalis for the catholic church in nigeria, 7-8 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 143 muslim, the hindu, the buddhist or whoever he may be. we may, if we have asked humbly and respectfully, still reach the conclusion that our brothers have started from a false premise and reached a faulty conclusion. but we must not arrive at our judgment from outside their religious situation. we have to try to sit where they sit, to enter sympathetically into the pains and griefs and joys of their history and see how those pains and griefs and joys have determined the premises of their argument. we have, in a word, to be 'present' with them.71 seeking the way to present the gospel of christ’s reconciling the world to himself and to the african people and culture is the goal of christian evangelization and religion. jesus christ died on the cross in order to reconcile humanity, and this mission continue in the church through the mission of the ministers. to evangelize africa is the reason why paul vi (1969), john paul ii (1980-2002); benedict xvi (2010-2011) and francis (2013 – date) have paid encouraging apostolic visits, to sustain the faith and assist its growth to greater maturity. our focus is to add a voice to the numerous theological and academic books, articles in research journals and theses written to accomplish the productive processes of integrating the gospel of christ into the main stream of the african people and culture. reflecting on the unique role and ministry of the ordained catholic priest as elder, reconciler and mediator in africa. the function of the elder in the african family, existing in the clan, and in the community is unique and indispensable. the elder in the family is responsible for daily governance, the maintenance of law and order. in the african setting, every extended family has an elder that is responsible for their welfare. he, with others are responsible for each of their respective clans, constituting a body. in some cultures and traditions, they are called ‘the council of elders.’ they are the custodians of the cultural values and tradition, they are the guidance of religious beliefs and customs. though some cultural practices and customs may differ, yet africans have many beliefs and religious observances that are common to all. thus, we agree with the definition of culture given by matsumoto that: “most cross-cultural scholars agree that culture is a shared conglomeration of attitudes, values, behaviours and beliefs, communicated from one generation to the next through language.”72 by examining the role that the elder plays in ensuring that mediation and reconciliation leads to mutual co-existence in the family, the clan and the community, the elder becomes the most respectable person and is indispensable. this image emerges, as the african elder distinguishes himself as a moral force in the particular extended family and in the society. the explicit role that the nigerian priest plays may differ from socio-cultural group to another, yet it is good to know that the culture and the role of the african elder plays in it remain the same, it assumes a new dispensation when applied to the duties and roles of the catholic priest. as he performs his functions as an elder in the community, it places him on the level of being truly a 71warren, ma, “approaching the african people, culture and religion,” in taylor, john, v., the primal vision: christian presence amid african religion, new york, scm press, 1963, revised 200, 5 72matsumoto, d., cultural influences on research methods and statics, pacific grove, ca: brooks/cole, 1994, 21; see also, feindler, eva. l., rathus, jill. h., and silver, laura beth, assessment of family violence: a handbook for researchers and practioners, washington, dc: american psychological association, 2003, 16 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 144 religious leader.73 though the non-catholic adherents might see in him a moral teacher, who exercises the function of a builder of good character vested upon him by the community in virtue of him being a credible moral leader. we argue that just as the elder is a bridge-builder and a reconciler in the extended family system, a custodian of culture in the clan, he is an important resource person in the entire life of the village community. it is in this perspective we view the ordained catholic priest, exercising a dual function as elder and a spiritual father. invariably, this context and cultural frame of mind places the ordained priest to become an elder by virtue of his sacramental ordination. this qualifies him to perform ‘specified’ sacramental actions (celebrating the sacraments of penance and the holy eucharist). this is an official function he performs as an elder in the ‘church as the family of god on mission’74 by virtue of his sacramental consecration at ordination, which a lay baptized person cannot do. the african bishops in the second synod of the church in africa (2009) aptly echoed strongly through the voice of benedict xvi this fraternal spirit of communality and sharing: “dear priests, remember that your witness to living together in peace, over ethnic and racial lines, can touch hearts.”75 this explicit call to ordained african catholic priests to live in peace, over ethnic and racial lines, indicates there do exist occasional tension. the reality and the presence of many religions existing side by side in the african continent76 cannot be denied nor be avoided. we are conscious that in the 21st century, for progress and fruitful co-existence to be attend: ecumenism, dialogue and inter-religious sharing is required. the african bishops spoke clearly in these words: “the church lives daily alongside the followers of traditional african religions. with their reference to ancestors and to a form of mediation between man and immanence, these religions are the cultural and spiritual soil from which most christian converts spring and with which they continue to have daily contact.”77 this affirmative stance and openness of the church to dialogue with the rich and cultural values of african traditional religion is welcoming, it is an aspect the african catholic priests as scholars, theologians and intellectuals should explore and develop. we envision specifying the need to locate and explore the role an elder plays in the family and in the mission of mediation and reconciling conflicts in 73cf. catholic bishops’ conference of nigeria, ratio fundamentalis institutionis sacerdotalis for the catholic church in nigeria, n. 18, n.7. the bishops put this virtue of african elder across to the priests and the laity to show the connection of cultural and religious values. but more so, to appeal to the priests for the sacrificial spirit of responsible stewardship to the entire community they are serving 74cf. john paul ii, ecclesia in africa, 63: aas 88 (1996), 39-40 75second african synod, africae munus, n. 108, 103 76apart from the presence atr, membership of the adherents of christianity and islam are increasing in high number as the major religious groups in africa. john paul ii wisely called for dialogue with islam, cf. ecclesia in africa: 6566, aas 88 (1996), 41-42. on this specific need to dialogue with islam in kano and jigawa states, the diocese of kano needs to increase her efforts to understand, dialogue and relate with the muslims on the basis of dialogue of life. the sunni muslims are the dominant and the ruling class of kano, duste, hadejia, birnin kudu, and kazaure emirates. they are structured in the style of leadership and hierarchy as the catholic church 77second synod of african bishops, in benedict xvi, africae munus, n. 92, 87 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 145 the family and in the community. it is within this context, we intend to position the ordained priest as elder in kenotic service of reconciliation and peace in africa. in the african continent in the 21st century, there are high prospects of growth and development of the catholic faith.78 this positive hope is echoed too by henriot, who wrote: “for in so many ways of size and spirit, the church in africa truly is the church of the future”79 in that it is filled with teeming youthful members who are in their 20s and 30s years. the picture of this future in hope is further given by richard, who expects a rapid rise in numbers. he wrote: “by 2025 the number of catholics will increase to more than 228 million. the future of the catholic church in africa is the future of the universal church in significant measure.”80 it is rightly in the context of this growth that the kenotic service of the priest as elder is expected to pull people towards a lived life of cultural and the assimilation of christ’s message. the vision and the contributions of the ordained african catholic priest as elder, in building enduring structures of reconciliation, that might ensure the existence of peace in nigeria. in the african world view, the role that elders and ancestors play in the family, in the clan and in the community is so vital towards understanding the orientation of their socio-cultural life and the evolution of their religio-political life. the elders in particular, command enormous respect in the community, because they are the custodians of the laws and customs, of the ancestral cultural practice. they are the link with the past, thus they sustain the african cultural heritage and dignity. the role of elders and ancestors in african cosmology african cosmology is both simple and complex depending on the subject and issue at hand. we state here that to have any meaningful discussion on the way life is lived in africa and the unfolding of daily events and activities, one directly need to know that one is dealing with the realm of ‘the physical and spiritual worlds.’81 on these two phenomena, constitute the mystery between the worlds of the living and the living dead – the ancestors. their activities serves as an aid towards understanding african cosmology. sarpong explain further: “when christians call their dead saints and refer to those of pagans as ancestors, they are not expressing different ideas. both words express ideas about people who once belonged to their religious group, are now dead, and are supposed to be in a position of influence over the living.”82 this aspect of cultural pedagogy and doctrinal explanations are the illustrative mission of the ordained priest as elder. 78see the comments of allen, l, john, who discusses at length the future of catholicism in africa (with latin america and asia) to be the hot spots “where many important theological and pastoral currents originate.” stating that these other cities have traditionally taken the lead: “paris, chicago, los angeles, and toronto, to say nothing of how rome – continue to be important centers of catholic thought and life,” see the future church, 432 79henriot, peter, made an analysis of africae munus. in the tablet, he critiqued and appreciated the laudable contributions of benedict xvi. in this rich article, “steps forward and back,” in the tablet, the international catholic weekly, ed., catherine pepinster, london: ignatius kusiak, 3 december 2011, 11 80richard, john, “the further dimensions of solidarity with africa,” in origins 33, n. 18 (october 9, 2003): 291 81fisher, robert, b., west african religious traditions: focus on the akan of ghana, 90 82sarpong, peter, k., ghana in retrospect: some aspects of ghanaian culture, accra-tema: ghana publishing corporation, 1974, 33. (sarpong is now a retired catholic archbishop of kumasi) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 146 africans as a people, live and view the world as a cyclical83 platform where life rotates in seasons for the family, the clan and the community. in these circle of events, the family and community function and produce food, give birth to children, celebrate marriages and honour the death. in this circle, when death occurs (especially when it is an elderly person), the departed member is honoured with a befitting traditional burial ceremony. sarpong wrote: “when someone dies, people believe that his/her spirit which has become an ancestor goes to inhabit a special world of ghosts or spirits.”84 thus, burial ceremonies are the gateway to ancestorship. this ritual and cultic ceremony is done to guarantee the deceased’s final passage to the abode of the ancestors. the akan people of ghana call their ancestors, samando, while the igbo of eastern nigeria call them nananom nasamanfo.85 for the purposes of our study, we shall narrow our focus in this chapter to why africans venerate their ancestors by giving them food or pouring libations in the form of drinks on the ground during communal ceremonies. sarpong wrote: “the relation between the dead and living is based on the assumption that there is no bad ancestor. for a bad person cannot be an ancestor.”86 it confirms that the criteria for becoming an ancestor after the elder’s death depended on proof of once being a good person, who had a sound moral character. again, when the deceased elder’s family and the community gave him a proper traditional burial, he is said to have crossed over to join the ancestors. in africa when death occurs in the family or community, the next most elderly adult male assumes leadership. for the said male adult to become an elder depends on the nature and manner he honoured the deceased elder (father or mother) by organizing a befitting traditional, customary (and expensive) burial ceremony. as regards the burial ceremonies of the elderly deceased, fisher rightly noted: “the more people involved and the more time consumed with the right ceremonies, the more effective will be the total restoration of harmony in the community.”87 it is equally a common traditional practice that when the most elderly person dies in the family, and the person was traditionally honoured with the proper rites of burial, the deceased elder crosses over to join the ancestors. this by implications automatically gives the next person in the family the rights and privileges to become the next elder and custodian of the family, but failure to perform the traditional burial rites, means one cannot perform and enjoy those privileges nor play those functions. it is known in africa, that the adult male child takes over the role of eldership in the family after the death and burial ceremonies of the last elder. without this proper cultural rites of burial being followed, a lacuna exists between the two worlds of the living and the living dead – the ancestors. achebe in things fall apart presented how okonkwo who disrespected his father unoka, and refused to give him the traditional burial 83fisher, robert, b., west african religious traditions: focus on the akan of ghana, 91 84sarpong, peter, k., ghana in retrospect: some aspects of ghanaian culture, 38 85fisher, robert, b., west african religious traditions: focus on the akan of ghana, 95 86sarpong, peter, k., ghana in retrospect: some aspects of ghanaian culture, 40 87fisher, robert, b., west african religious traditions: focus on the akan of ghana, 95 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 147 ceremony, suffered. this happened because, okonkwo declared his father a failure, this one single blunder added in a major way to his down fall.88 this non-performance of proper burial rites for africans is primarily a major source of conflict in the family and the community. we will examine the implications below at some length, since such indiscipline causes cultural disharmony. in order to maintain the harmony that will guarantee the continuum and the healthy interaction between the worlds of the living and the ancestors, proper burial rites must be followed. today, in africa, giving a befitting burial to a deceased parent, is a cultural heritage that commands respect in our christian communities, churches and dioceses. in african cosmology, we honour the ancestors, but do not worship them, contrary to the claims of many early european and american scholars like those of c.w. hobley (1922), edwin w. smith (1942) and malcolm j. mcveigh (1974) to mention just a few. kwesi dickson, a ghanaian theologian, remarks: the african sense of community requires the recognition of the presence of the ancestors as the rallying point of the group’s solidarity and they, being the custodians of law and morality, may punish or reward in order to ensure the maintenance of the group’s equilibrium.”89 africans venerate the ancestors by different means, some by rituals and sacrifices, others by songs, drums and dances. fisher wrote in reference to the akan people of ghana, “the ancestors, nananom nasamanfo (the igbo call them indichie) are venerated, but not worshiped.”90 sarpong again wrote: “only few people in africa are reported to be lacking organized veneration of the dead … such a people are the nuer, a small tribe of some 300,000 souls, inhabiting the southern part of the sudan along with other nilotes like the dinka, the shilluk, and the anuak.”91 variety, it is said is the spice of life. in africa, the elders and the ancestors constitute a major source of getting information and knowledge of the ancestral life and wisdom. in the past when most african communities and the society was totally oral, customs and tradition were transmitted by this auricular method. a child receives information and learns it’s language and culture from the parents and the elders by oral tradition – memorizing information – was the best method of education. the living elders are the link with the ancestors, who have already crossed the threshold of death. the ancestors are thus the bearers of tradition, the link with the past of one’s clan and ethnic group. basically it is in this connection with the ancestors that the string that keeps the family is sustained and maintained, as well as that of the clan and the community with the past. this is one other primary reason why the ancestors are venerated and honoured by the living. for the purpose of respect, they are connected with the past, for cultural reasons people rely on their protection in times of war, conflict and against evil spirits. the ancestors too pass on the rules of drumming, the usage of proverbs, the richness and beauty of folktales, myths, symbols, arts to the younger generation after them. for they are like a school that pass on the core values of any african ethnic 88achebe, chinua, things fall apart, new york: fawcett crest, 1989, 12 89dickson, kwesi, a., theology in africa, maryknoll, new york: orbis books, 1984, 70 90fisher, r., west african religious traditions: focus on the akan of ghana, 95 91sarpong, peter, k., ghana in retrospect: some aspects of ghanaian culture, 33 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 148 group, to the next generation, as such they are a reliable link with the cherish memories of the immediate past, unknown to the young ones. in african cosmology, the elders do not just keep a link with the ancestors because “that’s the way it has always been done.”92 they are rather a constituted knit group, unique and respected by tradition and culture. their group and existence is a harmonious continuum that has come to be regarded as an edifice: custom and tradition. this forge identity, has helped and has shaped a statuesque that has a distinctive feature of a locating them as a unique and a different group different from others. it is therefore an offence and considered a deviation from culture and tradition that is unique to africans, if one (a young person) out of choice goes against these accepted customs and traditions that were received from the ancestors by the elders. that failure is interpreted as a taboo, a forbidden custom, this concept too we shall examine later. finally, we shall sum up the major characteristic of ancestral beliefs found generally amongst many african tribes. we begin our examination with these beliefs as found among the akan people of ghana. this is quite unique, but the elements and the variables found here are a common practices found cut across most african tribal groups in the vast continent. in a summary form, according to opoku and wiredu, these can be classified into four points: 1) there is a strong understanding about life after death. human relationships cannot be broken even in death. one remains a family member. one is never alone. 2) the living-dead are expected to continue to protect and guard the living with their increased power.93 3) when things go bad for the clan or lineage, especially when the living cannot provide effective leadership in a time of crisis, the ancestors will send one of their own to lead the people at the appropriate time. a charismatic person is often said to be the very reincarnation94of the revered ancestors. such a person is called nana (grandfather or grandmother), even as a child. 4) the ancestral beliefs act as a form of social control by which the moral behaviour of individuals and groups in the community is regulated. the constant reminder of the glorious deeds of the ancient ones recounted in the rhythm of the talking drums, in the enactment of the myths, in the telling of the folktales, and in the wise use of the proverbs….95 92wiredu, kwasi, “morality and religion in akan thought, p. 213,” in african-american humanism: an anthology, ed. norm r. allen jr., , buffalo: prometheus books, 1991, 210-222 ; see also, appiah, kwame anthony, in my father’s house: african in the philosophy of culture, ny: oxford university press, 1992, 111 93opoku, k. a., “aspects of akan worship,” in the black experience of religion, accra, ghana: fep international private limited, 1978, 38-39; see also, wiredu, kwasi, “morality and religion in akan thought,” in africanamerican humanism: an anthology, 212-213 94 reincarnation, as a strong concept of ancestral life for the african religious consciousness, indicates that life is a circle. the good ancestors reincarnate in the immediate or extended family. they are born again to continue their good services to humanity. this is actually a direct cultural value that is not accepted by christianity, because the incarnation of jesus christ into our human nature purifies and sanctifies all human persons and cultures. this is a valid point of pastoral catechesis that the priest needs to communicate as an elder to atr 95opoku, k. a., “aspects of akan worship.” in the black experience of religion, 38-39; see also, wiredu, kwasi, “ morality and religion in akan thought,” in african-american humanism: an anthology, 212-213 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 149 from the aforementioned points, some concrete facts are given to some extend justifying reasons africans honour their ancestors. the religio-cultural practices are symbolic actions of preserving the rich heritage and the unique identity peculiar to each tribal group in nigeria. the african person in his/her religious consciousness is enshrined within the cultural values that define the elder as a mediator and a reconciler. this does not change even when this elder is physically absent in this world, when the person is deceased. some european and american scholars who have endeavoured to live and study the cultural values of africans have agreed with this point on atr. smith, while writing on the way these ancestors lived their lives while on earth and their contributions, emphatically stated: “when the old men were alive, they were looked up to for guidance. now that they are in the land of the deceased, they have become even more powerful and important.”96 this confirms the significant role of the elder who is still alive: to intervene, mediate and reconcile conflicts, sometimes relying on the witness of the ancestors to authenticate and mediate or a long term solution to conflict in the family or in the community. the elders in africa do not only know the method and the process of mediation and reconciliation, they know that, if these traditional processes, rites and rituals are not followed step-by-step, peace will be elusive in the family and in the entire community. the sources of conflict in the nigerian family and community the joys and the complexities of life unfold in the nigerian extended family, like any other in the world. in the settings of the african traditional clan and in the intertwining structure of the community, there are also moments of joy and sorrow. the sudden manner in which conflict sometimes erupt in the nigerian socio-cultural life, or in her religio-political landscape, is the cause of severe casualties for people, negatively affecting especially women and children.97 these conflicts create untold hardships, and these hardships further increase the rivalries, which give birth to the desire for revenge and what is commonly called in africa, ‘jungle justice.’98 nigerians bring their religious experience both joyful as well as sorrowful moments to worship god. the facts are obvious, because human life in nigeria as elsewhere is full of activities and events, like the celebrations of birth, marriages and burials. in this daily unfolding of human life, occasions arise when moments of joy and sorrow come in torrents: like in moments of planting and harvesting of farm products. in such moments, conflict most often arises between the farmers and those who tend livestock (the fulani in northern nigeria). these ugly moments can lead to grave injuries or even death. after some respite, the elders of the conflicting parties eventually arrange a meeting where most often the conflict is resolved. 96mc veigh, malcolm, j., god in africa: conception of god in african traditional religion and christianity, massachusetts: claude stark, 1974, 30 97cf. sadako, ogata, the turbulent decade: confronting the refugee crises of the 1990s, new york & london: w. w. norton & company, 2005, 172-178 98a jungle justice means, the lynching or killing of a presumed enemy without recourse to the constitutional law of the country or community. it means, taking undue advantage of the law igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 150 sometimes, the sources of conflict can be as simple as the issues of the naming ceremony of a child or the marriage arrangements for young people. there are circumstances if a child is born out of traditional marriage engagement, the child is not given a name, by the parents of the girl, as this is a taboo that causes shame to the family. there are so many traditional marriage prohibitions, customary laws stopping the youth from marrying freely the person of their choice, which could be due to long standing feud between families or communities. when a young person intending to marry violates this code of ethics, sometimes call a taboo,99 it becomes a point of very serious conflict between families, clans and communities. in particular, conflicts most often begin between families and communities when there is a bitter dispute over marriage that ends in divorce and separation. another source of conflict basically is in the area of inheritance. in the coronation of kings or queens, if the wrong candidate is presented by some imposters, it becomes automatically a source of conflict in the community. even when the right person is chosen, the wrong procedure of installation may cause conflict, as each african festival or ceremony has its proper cultural and traditional offerings. thus, if the symbolic offerings for the merriment are not presented, such as the offering of palm-wine and the traditional kola nuts. sometimes, conflict even erupts if a junior person breaks the kola nuts, before the most elderly person in the family or community. under normal circumstances, these celebrations are life embracing activities that should bring people together and enliven the joyful celebration of tradition, nurturing the proud culture and causing an ecstatic display of traditional dance and music.100 but yet, occasions of disputes over ownership of land or hunting in the forest create conflicts that destroys the peace of the family, the clan or in the community. the elders enter into the discussion after some brief moments of dialogue to settle feuds and conflicts in the family or the community. another major source of conflict for africans is associated with the sudden death of a child, or a youth and especially a hardworking and an industrious adult. it is a common belief in africa that a person lives his/her life to old age, so when a very young person dies (of brief sickness, by automobile accident or even when a young woman dies at child birth) the family members become suspicious. this automatically gives room for accusations of witchcraft and of evil forces. the oracles are consulted, the elders meet and the cause of the death often is known. the ownership of land as source of conflict in the family, community or church one major source of conflict in the traditional nigerian family or community and even in the church, is the ownership of land. in the african worldview, land is sacred. it belongs to the gods. thus, some tribal groups worship it as a goddess. africa is a large continent with diverse settlements: some are settled around the sea, and thus most these people depend on fishing. others 99in eastern nigeria, since the osu people of nsukka are free to marry one another only, any arrangement of marriage between two persons and their families outside this igbo kindred is taboo. this attracts the instant penalty of being excluded from the ummunah – the community 100cf. fisher, r., west african religious traditions: focus on the akan of ghana, 21 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 151 are settled by the forest zone, thus depend on hunting. yet others are settled on the sahara belt, thus depend on farming. the scope and focus in this book is centered on some tribal groups in africa located on the savannah belt, where farming is the commonest occupation. it is important to locate the first settlers on the sahara belt and how they developed into a farming community. farar in his scholarly work believes that: “the possible foundation of common west african ancestral beliefs and the link with the earth may have originated in the continent’s first agriculturist sedimentary communities in the area known today as the sahara some seven or more millennia before the rise of the nile valley civilizations.”101 as the sahara suffered lack of rain and water for many years from 4000 bc, the inhabitants migrated southwest to the west and the east to search out pasturage and water sources. those who settled eventually in west africa developed the farming of the tropical staple grains such as millet and sorghum in the savanna and the african yams and the oil palm in the forest belt.102 we assert here that once many african tribal groups had settled on a fertile piece of land, and utilized it for farming or pasturing their livestock. the sense of ownership of this piece of land develops because constant usage over years or occupation, as this occupied piece of land eventually become self-owned by these groups, or the extended families and communities. in the next section we shall examine how problems might emerge if, any person or group intrude on this occupied land. in africa, as elsewhere, because of the domestic and economic use of land, intruders and clear enemies, as conflict ensue naturally between the first to occupy the land, and the intruder who is contesting ownership with the first settler. the utility of land as source of conflict in the african world view, any piece of land that is occupied and developed by a traditional group or clan and inhabited by it belongs to the ancestors. the living are merely the custodians of the land; they are not permitted to sell the land but only to use it or to lease it.103 in modern times, many selfish elders sell the land that belongs to the ancestral family to multi-million dollar companies, to banks, to rich individuals. this poses a big problem and has dire consequences. it creates conflicts in families and communities. it is the duty of the elder in the family to quickly intervene to stop the selling of the land, as any use by those who bought the land can mean disaster for the family or the community. the disaster that might set in may be natural or supernatural. according to african traditional custom, no land that belongs to a family or community can be sold. any selfish elder who tries to sell the land even if he is the chief or the king of the village community is doomed. this is where the elder of the family or the council of elders in the community use their moral integrity and constitutional power to stop anybody buying the land or using the land that might belong to a widow, orphan or of the community. the buyer is given back his money, as any disobedience can lead to grave danger. 101farar, tarikhu, “afrocentric scholarship and models of history and culture growth,” in the afrocentric scholar 2, n. 2, december 1993, 55-66 102ibid, 67-69 103fisher, robert, b., west african religious traditions: focus on the akan of ghana, 106 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 152 another major source of conflict in africa is the ownership of land. extended families with a bigger population seek more land to farm in order to grow more food for the need of the bigger family. when they decide to forcefully encroach and take over another person’s or family’s land, conflict immediately begins. another major source of conflict over land is when a community is under pressure by another community over demarcation of their boarders or when the family or community is involved in a land dispute with another tribe.104 for the farming population of africans, the ownership of land guarantees a concrete means of sustainability. therefore to acquire rich and vast expand of land, means that there is guarantee of fast economic growth and expansion. in most communities and tribal groups, the land belongs to the traditional rulers, chiefs, kings, queens or the emirs. they have the supreme authority to lease it out for community development, if sought for by government to build schools, churches, mosques, clinics or industries. the early christian missionaries to africa from europe, did not buy any land to build churches, schools, clinics or hospitals, as these where provided free of charge. in some cases, if the traditional ruler is muslim, like the case of the emirs in the core muslims cities in northern nigeria, they refused to give land to build churches. this is still the reality and practice till today. but where there are many indigenous christians in these core muslims states (sokoto, zamfara, kano, jigawa, yobe, borno), they give the land of their ancestral land to build churches, schools and clinics. this is really exceptional cases promote the rapid growth the christian faith and population in the locality, town or city. in some african tribal religious consciousness the earth is a goddess there are different cultural heritage in africa, especially in nigeria, depending on which geographical zone or location one comes from. for instance, africans who live on the land, revere and virtually ‘worship the earth goddess’. they do this because the mother earth provides food for the sustenance of life and livestock. those who live by the sea or big lakes revere and ‘worship’ the sea or the lake as a goddess because they fish, eat and drink from its resources. finally, those africans who live by the forest zone ‘worship’ the forest as goddess because they depend on hunting of animals for sustenance, but watch against wild animals killing them, because it is a common belief that evil spirits inhabit the forest. for the moment, we now turn our attention to the families that make a living using the land as means of sustenance. this african countries include ghana, niger, chad, burkina faso, cameroon, liberia, sierra leone, ivory cost, zambia, nigeria to mention but a few. beginning from the african political and cultural map of west africa, we examine some tribes in nigeria and ghana who actually have similar customs to most tribes in africa. okpoku of ghanaian descend wrote: “among the akan, the earth is a goddess, called asase yaa; the fante show their difference in naming her asase efua.”105 this is an interesting cultural value in 104in kano, kaduna, jos, among the maguzawa, bajju, beron people, this is a common feature of what causes conflict between families, clans and communities 105opoku, kofi asare, west african traditional religion, 34. see also, fisher, r.b., west african religious traditions, 107 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 153 appreciating the modern term adopted for the care of the environment. yet one cultural point of interest is that “the akan erect no shrines to her (the earth goddess), and she does not have a priesthood. in fact, the earth is not even a deity in the sense of the spirits below onyame. the akan elders say: asase nye bosom, onykyere nmusu, “earth is not a deity, she does not interpret evil things.”106 it is the african elder that interprets the minute details of the local tradition and the cultural values and heritage of his family and community. in keeping with their cultural and religious consciousness, the igbo people of eastern nigeria revere the earth as a goddess. the igbo regard the earth as very central to their belief. she is ani, sometimes ala, ana, or ale, the giver of every good thing. she is regarded as the daughter of chukwu, the creator, and the goddess of fertility, who herself gave birth to a host of other deities. an interesting cultural and traditional value, like one of the igbo, gave (the earth goddess) a priesthood, but they erected for her temporary shrine-like huts, called mbari, which housed sacred sculptures of her and other deities and human beings and animals. women came to her to beg for children.107 this rich cultural value indicates that human beings communicate with god through the gift of nature and its wonderful fruits. the same religious consciousness is found among the maguzawa, bajju, ikulu, beron, gbagi, jaba people of northern nigeria. to further pinpoint the centrality and the importance of how the igbo people attach so much importance to the earth goddess, we turn to what chinua achebe wrote on the significance of ani at the feast of the new yam, which is common to most tribes in nigeria, but very unique to the igbo people. achebe aptly wrote: it was an occasion for giving thanks to ani, the earth goddess and the source of fertility. ani played a greater part in the life of the people than any other deity. she was the ultimate judge of morality and conduct. and what was more, she was in close communion with the departed fathers of the clan whose bodies had been committed to the earth.108 the earth is so revered by africans, because it does not only provide food for sustenance of life, but it is the sacred burial place, the womb the deceased elders, now ancestors are buried. from the above, it is clear that in the african worldview, the land is sacred. the land is sacred because in it the spot the remains of the ancestors are buried, apart from the fact that it provided the family with food and is a place where sacrifices for women’s fertility is offered. life rotates and has meaning for the african, by and through the land. fisher again wrote, “the ancestral rules of behaviour have as their authority the earth goddess, embodied by the land as the womb where the ancestors lie and where a baby’s umbilical cord is buried.”109 the symbolic points – birth and death – of the human person, these traditional beliefs and rituals performed on 106opoku, kofi asare, west african traditional religion, 34 107fisher, r.b., west african religious traditions, 107 108achebe, chinua, things fall apart, 37; see also, the web site of msgr. dennis isizoh, cdi@afrikaworld.net 109fisher, r.b., west african religious traditions, 107 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 154 the land confirm the sacredness of the earth as an element of reverence. as a consequence, nobody is allowed to commit any offence or taboo against the land. taboos and offenses forbidden against the land in africa in the african worldview and religious consciousness, the land is sacred and must not only be honoured and be kept unpolluted by all means, but must be protected against abominable abuses by men and women. in africa, the catholic church’s theological teaching for the care of the earth has not only relevance and meaning, but it is already a sacred text of culture. it is an obligatory law in african religion that the land must be kept sacred against sacrilegious abuses which are considered abominations to the supreme being, the spirit world and the ancestors who are buried on it. smith rightly wrote: “the close links of the africans to their land are largely due to their belief that it is the dwelling place of the ancestors. the fertility of the soil and the health of their animals are assured as long as the ancestors are respected.”110 for the african, observing strictly this religious and cultural discipline and the ethics of behaviour promotes fertility and sustains life, but anything contrary to this cultural practice creates conflict. therefore to say the least, the taboos and offenses forbidden in the family and community are meant to preserve sanity, respect and the promotion of customs and tradition. it is the duty of the elder in the family or the elders in the community to ensure these rules are observed and practiced by everybody. failure to do appropriately what is required, spells doom. at this point, we are going to turn to what the family or the community accept as standard prescriptions. breaking of these prescriptions is tantamount to punishment that comes in many and different dimensions. these are in summary the taboos and offenses against the land, specifically codified and applicable to most african cultural settings. they are as follows: 1) to swear by hitting the ground is not permitted. 2) to have sex in the bush, on the farm, or on the bare floor is not allowed. 3) to kill by shedding blood upon the ground is forbidden. 4) to commit suicide is an act against the earth.111 observing the aforementioned taboos may appear simple, because africans do not have sophisticated sets of cctv cameras in the farms or forest, nor do we depend on satellite cameras to monitor culprits. the traditional and cultural doctrines of fair-play, honesty, justice and truthfulness is enshrined at birth till death on everybody. it then becomes extremely obnoxious, a taboo and an offense to the earth goddess generally amongst west african ethnic groups – yoruba, akan, angas, beron, igbo, bajju, attap, agwor, maguzawa, gbagi, fante – to have sex on the farm land or forest even if it is with one’s own spouse. accordingly, wiredu wrote that by the tradition and custom of the akan people of ghana, “the elders and the wise men (anyansafo) would say that the wisdom behind such a taboo is clearly meant to issue a stern warning to sex 110smith, edwin, w., knowing the african, london: lutterworth press, 1946, 107; see also, mc veigh, malcolm, j., god in africa, 44 111fisher, r.b., p. 108; see also, sarpong, p.k., ghana in retrospect, 53-58 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 155 starved men who may be tempted to rape an unsuspecting maiden in the unpoliced fields.”112 this is quite true that african culture and tradition has provisions to deter culprits, committing abominable crimes in these secrets and hidden places. the elders in the family and in the community are morally the custodians of the tradition and custom, and, by implication, they are the people who ensure the observance of the moral and religious obligations of the family and community. in africa, we have a powerful expression that says: “the words of elders are words of wisdom.” this means the spoken words of elders and ordained priests are words of wisdom and power especially in moments of crisis. at this moment, we will share the story of the power that accompanies the words of elders in moment of crises. in kano state of nigeria, in 2002 when the imposition of shariah law on all citizens was causing major problems, the muslim political leaders had ordered that the maguzawa people, mainly adherents of christianity and african religion, should stop selling the local alcohol called brukutu in their local markets in gamashina and dukuki, in the sumaila local government area. the elders immediately had a meeting and stopped the selling of all types of grain in the local and state owned markets. since the muslims depend on these grains for daily food, the deliberate decision of the elders not to take these grains to be sold in the markets caused serious food supply problems. it made the muslim political leaders to immediately withdrew the prohibition of brewing and selling of the brukutu in the local markets, which the considered offensive to the shariah law they had imposed on everybody in the state. this was an instant solution to the problem the muslim political leaders had created, which confirms the power of the spoken words of the african elders to be effective. in a similar instance of religious persecution in 2008, when some muslims fanatics attacked and burnt all the churches and killed many christians in tudun wada dankadai local government area (lga) of kano state, the maguzawa elders113 ordered that their people should neither buy nor sell their grain, fertilizer and other goods from the muslims in the local market. this created a big economic setback for the muslim traders and business men and women as the maguzawa took their goods further away to the christian south. this called for an immediate reconciliation and restitution by the muslim political leaders to the christians in tudun wada dankadai local government area of kano state. this is a proof that though the maguzawa elders are not politicians, they have immense power and it is effective to resolving feuds and conflicts. the role of the elder in the extended nigerian family system in african cosmology, the continuum of human life finds expression in the following rites of passage: the naming ceremony, the rite of circumcision, the rites of age grade, traditional marriage and the rite of burial. each of these has a unique and special ceremony involving the family, the clan and the community, of which the elders pilot the activities. for example, a new born child is to be received by the family and the community, at a special event called the ‘naming ceremony.’ 112wiredu, kwasi, “morality and religion in akan thought,” in african-american humanism: an anthropology, 15 113an eye witness of account of religious violence against the maguzawa people of kano state, northern nigeria. only muslims can become political leaders in kano and jigawa states igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 156 at this event, the identity of the child is known by the name he/she is given. for africans, names given to children are symbolic and convey a deep sense of union with the world of the spirits, the ancestors and with nature. in this ceremony, a chicken, goat, sheep or cow is slaughtered depending on the status of the family and the circumstances surrounding the arrival of the child. wealthy parents actually use this type of naming ceremony to established their status and feed the poor in the community. if the parents have been seeking for a male child after the birth of many girls, they slaughter a cow to welcome and give the child a distinguish name as honour and gratitude to god. the sex of a child being male or female is important in africa, depending on the profession and main occupation of the family or community. in most cases, receiving a male child takes greater precedence over a female child, reasons being that the male child will farm, hunt or be a fisherman for the profit of his family, but the main reason is that the arrival and presence of a male child is a guarantee of prolonging the family tree. in that he will grow, fend for himself, get married and rise children. the rite of arriving and passing through ‘the age grade.’114 according to the natural organization of the maguzawa, igbo, kikuyu, bajju, akan, bantu, yoruba, and generally amongst most african tribes, the initiation of the male child into the totem of the community is very important ceremony. this ceremony is meant to ensure that the cultural and traditional growth of the male is according to ancestral practice. it is expected as the male child grows up, he gradually passes through the various grades of tribal life. he commences as a bamboi (maguzawa), kihe (kikuyu), an uncircumcised boy, and after circumcision becomes a daura bante (maguzawa), mwanake (kikuyu), and finally a saurari (maguzawa), muthuri (kikuyu).115 the child has to be initiated, step by step, into each grade according to the ritual of the tribe, and payment has to be made for entry into each stage by the father as an elder in the family. mostly after the child succeeded in this endurance test of courage and character, the adolescent is seen and accepted as a promising youth, later to be married to rise to the status of a young elder. the elders in the family monitor and co-ordinate the process of the gradual development of the child from one step to another. it is a general phenomenon in africa, for instance among the kikuyu people: “when a father considers that his son is old enough, he agrees to his marriage, and after the marriage, when he is the father of a child, he becomes eligible for eldership.”116 to arrive at this final stage of joining the ranks of elders in the community demands a thorough traditional ceremony depending on the particular tribe. what determines and qualifies an industrious male adult to join the company of the elders in the community depends on credible achievement such as being a successful farmer, a hunter, a good fisher man, or being a remarkable blacksmith. child bearing is a very important factor in 114‘the age grade’ is a traditional and customary ceremony (in most africa tribal groups) a growing male child is admitted into youthful life thorough mystic ceremonies in the night. it is mainly focused on a test of endurance and the ability to face hardship with courage, to defend the weak and fend for oneself 115hobley, c.w., bantu beliefs and magic, london: frank cass & co. ltd, 1967, 209 116ibid igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 157 determining the strength of a man or a family, so, a fruitful and productive husband and father of a disciplined family is a clear indication that he has the prerequisites to become an elder in the family, clan or community. achebe notes that “age was respected among his people (the igbo of eastern nigeria), but achievement was revered.”117 thus, an elder must be of sound morality and needs to prove his prowess during farming or wrestling competitions in the village farming season. but the ability to be eloquent and being a gifted and wise person at public speech, is an addition impetus to become an elder in the community. for instance, to be the king’s linguist or spokeman (in akan, the okyeame), the chosen one must know how to speak eloquently when welcoming guests into the palace of the king, knowing the nuances, proverbs and tradition of the tribe.118 thus, a promising elder having an intense knowledge of the custom and tradition, rules and ethics of behaviour, promotes the african culture and sustains its integrity. generally, it is important that a candidate joining the council of elders in africa has the credentials and the ability to speak the truth and mediate between two conflicting parties. this is explicitly the prerequisite for the recognition of a male adult to the ranks of elders in the clan and in the community. by exhibiting this rare quality of being a trustworthy reconciler and unjust mediator, automatically the door to being cultural and traditional elder in the family, clan or community is open. this is because this adult has qualifies and has the credentials to reconcile and mediate between two parties who had a dispute or conflict. this is a litmus test of his worth. in nigeria, the system of governance of clan and community is different from one tribe to another. some tribes have the structure of a clear visible head or a leader as a paramount chief, a queen or king, while others have the system of ‘a group of elders’ working in unison to direct the affairs of the community. for instance, the system of governance of the akan people of ghana reflects the former, and that of the igbo people of eastern nigeria, and the maguzawa of northern nigeria, reflects the latter. what is important in each tribal group set up in africa is, the execution of justice for all, especially on behalf of the poor, the orphans and widows, the maintenance of law and order and equitable sharing of natural resources without violence. in typical nigerian villages, towns and cities, the centrality and importance of the elder and the ordained catholic priest lies in the way the family, the clan and community is organized. this in reality reflects the vision of the church in africa properly located in the concept of the church as the family of god in the first synod of bishops of africa.119 what fits our vision of the role of the elder in the community is found in the igbo and maguzawa cultural systems. fisher aptly wrote: the “igbo society is acephalous; that is, it has no chief or king. it is ruled by a council of titled elders and by religious leaders, such as the chief priest.”120 this is a resourceful cultural advantage to the church in africa in the decisive application of the proposals of both the first and the second synods of the african bishops (1994 and 2009). it is a resource cultural value in that we can 117achebe, chinua, things fall apart, 29 118cf. fisher, r. b., west african religious traditions: focus on the akan of ghana, 49 119john paul ii, ecclesia in africa, 63 aas 87 (1995), 39-40 120fisher, robert, b., west african religious traditions: focus on the akan of ghana, 48 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 158 develop this model further in the organization of the parish and diocesan structures in africa. being that in the african worldview, the elders serve as custodians of culture and tradition, by the sociocultural status they occupy, they are taken to be the promoters of law and order and the representatives of the small unit or extended families. it fits in appropriately with the what the early christian community of the apostolic church practiced (cf. 1 peter 5: 1-2; 1 timothy 5: 17,19). it shows clearly that from the perspective of the african world, elders communicate among themselves as equals, as when they speak in public, they enjoy speaking in proverbs. for africa, particularly in nigeria, elders do not speak in plain words. achebe wrote: “among the igbo the art of conversation is regarded very highly, and proverbs are the palm oil with which words are eaten.”121 so in africa, title holders: elders, chiefs and kings speak mainly in proverbs. they mostly use proverbs and riddles during their council meetings, or when they are speaking at traditional and cultural ceremonies and festivities. in most cases, the use of proverbs becomes immanent and necessary on occasions of serious conflict, in order to raise an alert on an approaching danger to the family, the clan or the entire community. for instance, in his novel, arrow of god, achebe gave a lived experience of how the chief priest had to summon the community in order to give the message that the white man wants to see them immediately at court in okperi. he rounds off his speech with two proverbs, a way of explaining the situation: “unless the penis dies young it will surely eat bearded meat,” and “when hunting day comes we will hunt in the backyard of the grass-cutter”122 in africa, when elders use proverbs as a form of communication, the message is immediately decoded. thus, the listeners know what is said, like in the situation of danger as above. it was meant to calm the youths against violence, who would display an occasion of anger or go violent against constituted authority. these irrational actions most often create antagonism leading to conflict and hate in the community. in the african perspective, the use of signs and symbols are very common among the different tribes. the use of these symbolic objects signify authority bestowed on the elder, chief or the king by the community. though these symbols differ from tribe to tribe, yet each by its merits exhibit and is a visible medium of authority. for example, chinua achebe in his novel refers to masked men standing in for the ancestral spirits. in things fall apart achebe refers to the council of elders of the nine villages of umuofia, called the egwugwu, dressed in masquerade to manifest the ancestors to the people.123 in the igbo culture and tradition, according to achebe, the mask can only be worn by a title holder, and an elder in a grand ceremony involving the large gathering of the nine villages. “in addition to the masks the igbo (elder) use other ancestral symbols, including the ofo stick used by the family head as a symbol of authority. libation is sometimes offered to 121achebe, chinua, things fall apart, 10 122achebe, chinua, arrow of god, new york: anchor books/doubleday, 1974, 142-243 123ilogu, edmund, “african traditional religious systems of social control: a nigerian example.” in african creative expressions of the divine, edited by kortright davis and elias farajaje-jones, washington, d.c: howard university school of divinity, 1991, 142-157 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 159 the ancestor through the ofo.”124 it is only the elder as the head of the family, the clan or in a bigger gathering of the community who pours libation to the ancestors. this is a very special ceremony carried by the most elderly person in the family or community. in many african tribes, the elders use symbolic objects endowed with mysterious power to command authority. the elder in the family or elders in the community through the use of these traditional symbols are linked to the ancestors. in the igbo traditional customs, the distinctive role of the elder as head of the family is highly recognized. okpoku portrays this revered traditional practice in these words: the elder “carries another type of wooden stick called okpensi, about 6`` to 18`` long; sometimes men carry it around, but they also hang it in the hut with the ikenga or personal ancestor … finally, there is the ancestral stool, the okposi, where the ancestors sometimes reside.”125 through the use of these sacred symbols, the elder in the different cultures and traditions of the african people exhibits his authority of leadership, which is irreplaceable in the family. the elder is the connecting bridge with the ancestors. he connects the mundane world to that of the ancestral spiritual world. his role specifically pinpoints the central role he plays in the family’s communion with the ancestors, achebe once again gave a poignant description of what the elder does in the family shrine: ezeulu rose from his goatskin and moved to the household shrine on a flat board behind the central dwarf wall at the entrance. his ikenga, about as tall as a man’s forearm, its animal horn as long as the rest of its human body, jostled with faceless okposi of the ancestors black with the blood of sacrifice, and his short personal staff of ofo.126 for the igbo elder in his family set-up, this movement within the house mostly in the morning before going to the farm, is a clear sign and it means that he is preparing to offer sacrifice to the supreme being. as the legitimate and cultural head of the family, to employ the assistance and the approval of the ancestors for his family before carrying the day’s work in the farms, in the forest or going for fishing, it is solely his sacred act and duty. in the african view of culture, the significant role the elder plays in mediating and reconciling an offender back to the community after he had suffered the punishment of deportation or banishment is necessary. when a serious crime is committed, the elder in the family is the best mediator. this unique and necessary mission of the elder in the family, the clan and the community differ in context, from one african tribe to the other, but the intention and the mediatory role he plays is the same. achebe once again narrates the situation and how the role of the elder is important in the igbo culture. this is when okonkwo threw a huge banquet before his departure from his 124the importance of the ofo stick use by the elder(s) for daily or traditional ceremonies, cited in the work of fisher, r., west african religious traditions: focus on the akan of ghana, 99 125opoku, kofi asare, “aspects of akan worship.” in the black experience of religion, ed. c. eric lincoln, garden city, new york: anchor books/doubleday, 1974, 285-299 126achebe, chinua, arrow of god, 6 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 160 mother’s people, who hosted him during his seven years exile from umuofia. the elder of his maternal family, called uchendu, spoke on behalf of the family. during this great ceremony, the old man received the kola nut to break and invoked the following prayer to the ancestors: “we do not ask for wealth because he that has health and children will also have wealth. we do not pray to have more money but to have more kinsmen. we are better than animals because we have kinsmen. an animal rubs his itching flank against a tree, a man asks his kinsman to scratch him.”127 this confirms the dramatic use of proverb by the african elder, and it shows the significant role he plays in the community through his proverbial expressions, rendering praises, pouring libation to and recognizing the ancestors. by his imparting heavenly blessings and giving good wishes to the recipient of his words, he exercises his proper role as elder in the family. this is the traditional role of the elder, who gives blessings by spoken words. this is the confirmation of the riches of oral tradition in african culture and tradition. again, in african eschatology, africans see death as the inevitable passage of the human person from this world to the spirit world. that is why the death of the most senior elder in any family brings joy instead of sorrows. it attracts joy and celebration, because he/she has gone to the realm and abode of the ancestors. therefore, for an african to maintain and sustain this continuum between the world of the living (the elders) connected to the mysterious world of the living dead (the ancestors), a grand and an elaborate burial ceremony most be celebrated. in most african cultures, the most costly treasure and precious animal like a cow or ten to fifteen sheep are slaughtered for the burial ritual. bame wrote: “once the deceased is properly escorted into the abode of the ancestors, he or she joins the revered forebears of the clan. the mogya turns into the saman, or ghost, which now is a sasa, a spiritual power, which can influence the living for good or for bad.”128 this is a passage that presents the transition from this mortal life through proper burial ceremony, which leads the african elder to the realm of the ancestors. but a failure to perform this traditional required ritual or rites, attracts the wrath of the ghost of the deceased ancestor, because, the deceased person feels dishonoured. in the next section, we will examine the role of the elder in handling conflicts in the extended family. significantly, we will discuss how the skill and experience of the elder in the family emerges fully and distinguishes him from others. this happens when there is an occasion of conflict in the extended family. as the most elderly person he is the final arbiter of any domestic case of the family. conclusion the mediating and reconciliatory role of the elder and the ordained catholic priest is integral, necessary and a sacrament of unity in the human community. leadership is character, and a good character is the wealth of the community. thus, the ordained catholic priest most distinguish 127ibid, things fall apart, 154 128bame, kwabena, profiles in african traditional popular culture: consensus and conflict, new york: clear type press, 1991, 30 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 161 himself in every community to mediate and make resolute efforts to reconcile conflictual and warridden communities irrespective of creed, class or gender. in africa, an elder is defined by three natural elements and acquired virtues: advanced age, moral integrity and the possession of wisdom. these qualities distinguish an elder from others, they make the elder a person that is recognized, respected and listened to in the extended family. in many african families, the most advanced person in years in the extended family, or the person older by age is highly revered and respected. the premise of being accorded honour and reverence in the extended family is because the most elderly person in the family has lived long and has become a resourceful library. this qualifies him to transmit history successfully by oral tradition to the next generation. it is known that he/she, being a major link to the ancestors, possesses both ordinary and extraordinary powers of leadership in the family, such a person is the most suitable personality to mediate and handle issues of conflict in the family. elders in africa settle conflicts using mainly the spoken word and ritual symbols, and so is the sacramental role of an ordained catholic priest. it is a method and tradition that fits their life styles. before the acquisition of knowledge by writing (western education) amongst the west african tribal groups knowledge until recently was transmitted by oral tradition. due to this process of transmission of knowledge from one generation to the next by oral tradition, it becomes easier for what the most senior elder knows in the extended family to be a treasured history. as it is the tradition that, it is the most senior elder in the extended family that knows the history of the family, it falls on him to draw out the family tree backward to the ninth or tenth generation. he/she can trace sometimes the family history backward to the founding ancestors of the clan or tribal group. the elder too is the person who knows the complex nature of myths, legends and stories of the tribe. this qualifies him/her to mediate and resolve conflicts on behalf of his family in cases of land and marriage, or on ethical issues that demands some teachings on morality and customary way of life. in africa, especially in nigeria, the elder has absolute authority over his/her juniors. the elder in the family automatically acquires authority over his younger brothers and sisters on issues of morality, commitment to work and industry. igor kopytoff wrote: in africa, “an elder – as elder – represents to a junior the entire legal and mystical authority of the lineage. the very fact of eldership confers upon a person mystical powers over the junior.”129 this shows that the formation of authority is by age and by the natural flow of birth. in some tribal groups of west africa however, the traditional family setting is patrilineal except for the akan people of ghana, who have a matrilineal system. in the patrilineal family set up, the most elderly male in the extended family is the custodian of law and order. when cases, conflicts or crises are reported to him in the extended family, he takes time to reflect over them, consult the 129 kopytoff, igor, “ancestors as elders in africa” accessed, http://www.africaworld.net/afrel/kopyoff.html, on february 12, 2012 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 162 immediate subordinate heads of small families in the compound. the population of an african extended family is about twenty to forty five people living together in one settlement of a big compound. the elder in the family always classifies the cases of conflict in three categories: purely domestic, moral disorder130 or spiritual problems involving the spirit world. we shall explore each category to explicate the distinctive role the african elder uses in handling each category, the ultimate vision of settling the dispute, feud or conflict in the family. bibliography achebe, chinua, things fall apart, new york: fawcett crest, 1989 appiah, kwame anthony, in my father’s house: african in the philosophy of culture, ny: oxford university press, 1992 bame, kwabena, profiles in african traditional popular culture: consensus and conflict, new york: clear type press, 1991, benedict xvi, post-synodal exhortation africae munus, 159, p. 142; see also, paul vi, apostolic exhortation evangelii nuntiandi, (8 december 1975), 14: aas 68 (1976), 13; see also john paul ii, ecclesia in africa, 55 & 56, aas 88 (1996), 34-35 cardinal gracias of mumbai, quoted in allen, john l., the future church: how ten trends are revolutionizing the catholic church, p. 366; see also the teaching of the catholic bishops’ conference of nigeria, on the unique role of the priest as an elder in the cultural setting of africa in ratio fundamentalis institutionis sacerdotalis for the catholic church in nigeria catholic bishops’ conference of nigeria, ratio fundamentalis institutionis sacerdotalis for the catholic church in nigeria, n. 18 dennis isizoh, cdi@afrikaworld.net dickson, kwesi, a., theology in africa, maryknoll, new york: orbis books, 1984, 70 farar, tarikhu, “afrocentric scholarship and models of history and culture growth,” in the afrocentric scholar 2, n. 2, december 1993 feindler, eva. l., rathus, jill. h., and silver, laura beth, assessment of family violence: a handbook for researchers and practioners, washington, dc: american psychological association, 2003, 16 fisher, robert, b., west african religious traditions: focus on the akan of ghana, maryknoll, new york: orbis books, 1998 henriot, peter, made an analysis of africae munus. in the tablet, he critiqued and appreciated the laudable contributions of benedict xvi. in this rich article, “steps forward and back,” in the tablet, the international catholic weekly, ed., catherine pepinster, london: ignatius kusiak, 3 december 2011 hobley, c.w., bantu beliefs and magic, london: frank cass & co. ltd, 1967 ilogu, edmund, “african traditional religious systems of social control: a nigerian example.” in african creative expressions of the divine, edited by kortright davis and elias farajaje-jones, washington, d.c: howard university school of divinity, 1991 130we have discussed above the case of how it is forbidden to have sexual intercourse in the farm or forest. when such cases are reported, the elder handles the case according to laws and prescription of the native custom igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 163 john paul ii, reconciliatio et paenitentia, 27, aas 77, vatican city: (1985) __________, john paul ii, ecclesia in africa, 63: aas 88, vatican city: (1985) (1996) kanu, i. a., “consecrated persons and collaborative ministry”. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. 14: 126-135, 2018. kanu, i. a., “obedience and discernment in the life of consecrated persons”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 4(5): 35-43, 2018. kanu, i. a., “collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective”. the catholic voyage: journal of consecrated life in africa. 15: 125-149, 2019. kanu, i. a., “the inculturation of consecrated life in africa: towards a logic for promoting indigenous gifts of fidelity”. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. 21(1): 245-265, 2024. kanu, i. a., a reassessment of african theology in the period after africae munus. innovations. 76. 1083-1101, 2024. kopytoff, igor, “ancestors as elders in africa”accessed, http://www.africaworld.net/afrel/kopyoff.html, on february 12, 2012 matsumoto, d. cultural influences on research methods and statics, pacific grove, ca: brooks/cole, 1994 mc veigh, malcolm, j., god in africa: conception of god in african traditional religion and christianity, massachusetts: claude stark, 1974 opoku, kofi, asare, “aspects of akan worship,” in the black experience of religion, accra, ghana: fep international private limited, 1978 ___________, “aspects of akan worship.” in the black experience of religion, ed. c. eric lincoln, garden city, new york: anchor books/doubleday, 1974, 285-299 richard, john, “the further dimensions of solidarity with africa,” in origins 33, n. 18 (october 9, 2003) sadako, ogata, the turbulent decade: confronting the refugee crises of the 1990s, new york & london: w. w. norton & company, 2005 sarpong, peter, k., ghana in retrospect: some aspects of ghanaian culture, accra-tema: ghana publishing corporation, 1974 shabayang, b. s., african catholic priest as elder, reconciler and mediator: a reflection of christ's kenosis in the teachings of st. john paul ii and the african bishops, kaduna: benwood graphix, 2017 shabayang, b. s., testimonies of shame and anger in northern nigeria: towards protecting the dignity of the child. international journal of social science and human research. 7(4): 2436-2443, 2024. doi: 10.47191/ijsshr/v7-i04-26. shabayang, b. s., theology of trinitarian communion as remedy to insecurity in africa. international journal of social science and human research. 5 (9): 4208-4217, 2022. doi: 10.47191/ijsshr/v5-i3. shabayang, b. s., authority and servant leadership: effective tool for service in the church and society in africa. international journal of social science and human research (ijsshr). 5(3): 980-989, 2022. doi: 10.47191/ijsshr/v5-i3. smith, edwin, w., knowing the african, london: lutterworth press, 1946 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 164 warren, ma, “approaching the african people, culture and religion,” in taylor, john, v., the primal vision: christian presence amid african religion, new york, scm press, 1963, revised 200 wiredu, kwasi, “morality and religion in akan thought, p. 213,” in african-american humanism: an anthology, ed. norm r. allen jr., , buffalo: prometheus books, 19912 87 protracted boko haram terrorists' violence and financial commitments to counter-terrorism efforts by the nigerian state: between optimism and despair olugbenga seun aina department of communication and general studies, federal university of agriculture, abeokuta ainaos@funaab.edu.ng & olakunle olasupo thompson department of communication and general studies, federal university of agriculture, abeokuta doi:10.13140/rg.2.2.25338.81600 abstract the resolve to subjugate boko haram terrorism and restore social order in the northeast and nigeria as a whole is at the top of the wish list of the nigerian state. however, the spiralling nature of the asymmetric conflict and the gruesome records of atrocities perpetrated by the terrorist group have not only intensified the apprehension regarding the dynamic trend of its violence and attendant realities, but also cast a scepticism on the effectiveness of the counter terrorism efforts of the nigerian state. this paper examines the consequences of the heinous activities of the boko haram terrorists and the efforts of the nigerian state in combating terrorism in the northeast nigeria. it further discusses the obstacles associated with the substantial financial expenditure on counter terrorism operations and also examines how sambisa forest militates against the concerted efforts to end the menace. this article argues that while there are few glimpses of optimism, the despair seems to be much more as a result of many debilitating factors such as corruption, secrecy in military spending among other things. the article concludes that a comprehensive cum effective strategy to combat terrorism in the interest of peace and meaningful development in the northern nigeria requires a balance between both the military and the civilian procedures. the article recommends among other things the need to address the root causes of terrorism while government also improves accountability of the funds dedicated to the counter-terrorism operations. keywords: boko haram, counterterrorism, protracted, terrorism, violence, introduction the global landscape is engulfed with armed conflicts and violence arising from internal wars, interstate wars and terrorism, which have manifold negative impacts on the sustainability of both domestic and international peace (kegley and wittkopf, 2004). many empirical evidences substantiate the prevalence of political violence across the world, as there is a manifestation of one variant of violent conflict or the other in different countries and every continent of the world (osaghae, 2005; lrene, 2023; prio, 2024). violence, which is the hallmark of terrorism, manifests through the harm inflicted on people by restriction of freedom, various forms of assault and killing of persons as well as destruction of valuable property (girvertz, 1974). the instrument of terrorism are varied and the propensities for terrorism are wide-ranging, but the fact is that terrorism revolves around the adoption of threat of violence as a strategy of achieving particular aims with a view to inducing fear in the victims in a ruthless manner without any regard for or conformity to humanitarian norms (kegley and wittkopf, 2004). the recent and current experiences also pose a serious challenge to human security at national, regional and international levels (kegley and wittkopf, ibid). this threat seems to dominate the polity in developing countries domiciled in asia, middle east and africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 88 in africa, the complexity of factors such as historical, cultural, political, economic relation, external actors etc. account for violence as a systemic variable. that is, violence is a product of the interplay of congeries of forces in a socio-political system (osaghae, 2005). from the 1970s hitherto, the enduring image of africa has been of a continent of conflict and violence perennially on the verge of survival. africa thus embodies an assemblage of nations that are prone to violence and terrorism arising mostly from conflictual socio-political and economic settings, where force and conflict make the everyday life of its inhabitants (idowu, 2005). the historical context of violence is central to explaining present-day conflicts in africa, as most historical and anthropological accounts paint a largely violent past in most parts of the continent (osaghae, 2005). africa has the weakest economy and many poverty-ridden states in the world and because of the prevalent structural problems, is vulnerable to many social, economic, political and environmental crisis. the failure of a government to carry out its conventional obligation for the citizen leads to disappointment, grievances and the quest for power to influence change. this has been the cause of different radical movements in the annals of history (forest, 2014). one recent radical movement which has become a global threat is the boko haram. boko haram is a radical islamic terrorist' organization predominantly operational in nigeria (imhonopi and urim, 2016). the terror incidents masterminded by the lslamist group are so intense that combating the threat has become the topmost political agenda in the country at the expense of socio economic undercurrents such as poverty, lack of basic and health facilities, unemployment which have been identified as partly responsible for the emergence of this menace (adesoji, 2010; okafor, 2011). this paper examined the consequences of the heinous activities of the boko haram terrorists and the efforts of the nigerian state in combating terrorism in the northeast nigeria. it further discussed the obstacles associated with the substantial financial expenditure on counter terrorism operations. as well as the prospects and despairs of the government efforts. this article contended that while there are few glimpses of optimism, the despair seems to be much more as a result of many debilitating factors such as corruption, secrecy in military spending among other things. extremism and boko haram in the northern region: an overview in the late 1970s, the gradual downward spiral of the economic condition began to dampen the hearts of many people leading to the emergence of dissenting groups in nigeria. one of such groups was maitasine movement under the leadership of muhammadu marwa who exploited the growing economic disparities between the rich and the poor to incite the poor citizens of the rural communities in northern nigeria to believe that their misery was occasioned by the intrusion of foreign western culture. he gave many inciting lectures against the rich elites and the government and eventually had many disciples. maitasine commenced series of violent attacks at kano in december 1980, which was subdued by the military and claimed marwa's life. boko haram has a historical connection with maitasine uprisings in the 1980s and this reveals its strong opposition to western civilization. two years later, maitasine riots resurfaced in maiduguri, borno state (operational base of boko haram) and the nigerian security forces crushed the last maitasine riot in 1985. nevertheless, the northern nigeria experienced several ethno-religious conflicts such as zango-kataf which were repressed by the military government between 1985 and 1999 (komolafe, 2013). boko haram, which simply refer to the prohibition of western education, is an extremist lslamists terrorist group prominent in northeast nigeria that further extends its influences to cameroon, chad and niger republic. the group whose official name is “jama'atu ahlis sunnah lidda'awati wal-jihad” meaning “people who are devoted to the spread of the prophet's teachings and jihad” began in 2002. the group gained significant recognition under the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 89 leadership of muhammed yusuf who was a young islamic cleric that influenced and incited his followers to oppose western education vehemently through his teachings. boko haram cannot be regarded as an integrated, monolithic group because there are different factions within the movement that differ about strategies and sometimes contend against each other for attention and membership. they however share the same belief that the northern region was an islamic society before the advent of colonialism with western civilization that is diametrically opposed to the tenets of islam (forest, ibid). thus, this extremist group not only desires the establishment of an islamic state and introduction of sharia law in nigeria but also contends with any economic and socio-political activity perceived to have western influence or involvement. besides, boko haram terrorists also wish to replace the modern political system in the nigerian state with the ancient muslim caliphate system similar to the famous sokoto caliphate in the precolonial period (gebremichael et. al., 2018). these ideologies have remained the driving force for boko haram, but the group has evolved its tactics over the years despite the government efforts to curtail its heinous activities (komolafe, 2013). the ideological basis of boko haram is parallel to other terrorist groups such as the al qaeda in the maghreb (aqim), al shabaab, ansauru, hezbollah, the islamic state, and others, whose cause is established on and propelled by islamic fundamentalism. the members of such groups constitute threats to the general public, particularly in circumstances where their target is a secular nation that favours the co-existence of many religious traditions (imhonopi and urim, 2016). thus, boko haram and its most dangerous faction the islamic state of west africa province (iswap) have persistently remained the chief security concern as a result of gruesome records of horrors and atrocities perpetrated majorly within the nigerian state. the movement that began purely as an insurgency later transformed into a full-blown terrorists' movement responsible for a large number of deaths and wanton destruction of property. boko haram assumed international dimension through its successful alliance with al qaeda in the islamic maghreb making it not only a regional menace but also a threat to global community (knoechelmann, 2014). the initial headquarters of boko haram group was located in borno state's capital-maiduguri, in the northeast region of nigeria where it carried out several attacks that prompted the intervention of the nation's armed forces whose operation culminated in the seizure of the group headquarters and the demise of its leader in july 2009. these led to the escalation of the crisis as this group was forced out of maiduguri and members fled to rural villages and particularly sambisa forest, which provide safe haven for them. the group under the new leadership of abubakar shekau vowed to avenge the murder of its leader by the nigeria security forces, declared allegiance to al queda in 2010 and began terrorism on a full scale (albert, 2017; gebremichael et. al., 2018). boko haram has progressively employed unselective violence towards the actualization of its social reform agenda while there have been indigenous, national and transnational efforts to subdue the movement (serrano and pieri, 2014). since the death of mallam yusuf and the internationalization of boko haram, the group has unleashed violence against the nigerian state. on 26 august 2011, the united nations edifice in abuja was attacked by this radical group through a suicide bomber which occasioned the death of 23 people and left several other innocent individuals seriously wounded (who, 2021; united nations, 2022). on 14 april 2014, this ruthless group kidnapped over 250 girls of the government secondary school located in a small christian town of chibok in borno state. since 2009, this group destabilized the northeastern region of nigeria, which has now spiralled to other parts of the country particularly including the nations' federal capital territory-abuja. the attacks of this group have led to food insecurity, mass displacement of innocent people (many of whom are children) from their homes, loss of property, poor access to sanitation and clean water, malnutrition and exponential increase of schoolchildren in the northeastern nigeria that is generally believed as the epicentre of terrorists' activities (raji, et. al., 2021). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 90 throughout 2014, the terrorist group successfully seized huge number of territories in northeastern nigeria that is more or less the size of belgium (reuters, 2015 and 2016; sahara reporters, 2021). in the same year 2014, boko haram exterminated almost 7,000 people to become one of the most lethal terrorist groups in the world (hendrix, 2015; united states house hearing-114 congress, 2016). besides, boko haram launched massive attacks on daily basis against the security forces, education institutions, christians, churches, media personnel as well as muslims they perceived not to be sympathetic to their cause. the extension of its atrocious activities into chad, niger and cameroon, which are countries sharing boundary with nigeria has posed a critical regional security challenge ever since (gebremichael et. al., 2018). recent statistics clearly reveals that book haram terrorists' group has exterminated more than 35,000 people while over 2.3 million people have suffered from displacement and property worth more than n16 billion have been destroyed since its inception (raji, 2021; statista, 2022). worryingly, there appears to be a linkage between the terrorist group and armed bandits. in fact, the two seems to have worked together at various levels and stages. this unwholesome development provoked the backing and concerted efforts of the african union (au) for the resuscitation and deployment of a multinational joint task force (mnjtf), a united multinational armed forces consisting of benin, cameroon, chad, niger and nigeria with headquarters in n'djamena-the capital of chad, mandated to subjugate terrorists' activities in the sub region (gebremichael et. al., ibid). owing to the seemingly incapability of the armed forces to effectually get rid of the terrorists' activities in the northeast, vigilante groups also came together and formed the civilian joint task force (cjtf) in 2013 in order to complement the efforts of the armed forces to fight boko haram and shield the local communities against attacks. members of this the civilian joint task force assisted the nigerian security forces by fighting alongside with them to avert the capture of maiduguri by boko haram in 2014 (gebremichael et. al. ibid). however, since the eviction of these terrorists from maiduguri, there has been an upsurge in suicide attacks in the northern nigeria. actually, the group is an expression of a broad socio-economic underdevelopment as well as political illegitimacy and both the historical narratives and modern grievances have propelled members to uphold its ideology. this is because political and socio-economic provocations are largely prevalent in the northern nigeria than other parts of the country and boko haram, like other religious terrorist groups across the world, refer to local conditions to justify its ideology and pursue the agenda of establishing an islamic state (forest, 2014). the impenetrability of the group has also come from its refuge in the infamous sambisa forest. the extremely vast sambisa forest is the refuge of terrorists in the northeast region of nigeria and it plays a prominent role in the protraction of boko haram violence and the obstructions recorded by the national and regional armed forces in their counter terrorism operations. the forest was established as a game reserve in the present-day borno state by the colonial government in the 1950s because of its unique vegetation and concentration of animals. it was found to be the best endowed habitat for animals in the northern guinea/sudan savannah. the federal government in the 1970s gazetted the forest and the sambisa forest reserve was commissioned by the then military administrator of borno state in person of muhammed buba marwa for the promotion of tourism, conservation and academic research in the early 1990s (kayode, 2014; albert, 2017). however, the poor commitment towards the realization of the intended purposes of sambisa forest reserve for almost a decade led to its hijack by some armed groups that were using the forest as their hideout (hendrix, 2015; albert, 2017). evaluation of government's spending on counter terrorism the massive security threat of boko haram led to the resolve by the nigerian government to wage counter terrorism war against this extremist group. however, despite the deployment of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 91 large security forces to the northern region coupled with the allocation of 20% of the country's budget for defence sector by president jonathan led administration in 2014 with a view to combating terrorism, there was rather an upsurge in violent activities of this notorious group (udo, 2014, forest, 2014). it is noteworthy that nigerian state spent $2.42bn and $1.62bn on the military in 2013 and 2017 respectively. between 2010 and 2017, nigerian government allocated over 6.7 trillion naira to the security sector in order to strengthen its capacity for counter terrorism operations. apart from the above allocation, federal government borrowed an extra budgetary allocation of the sum of 1 billion dollars to finance counter terrorism operations. there was also a release of $21 million for the multinational joint task force (mnjtf) in 2015 (ogbonnaya, 2020). in 2018, us$1 billion was apportioned to the nigeria army from the excess crude oil account for the procurement of weapons and security equipment to strengthen the war against boko haram insurgency in the northeastern region (anadolu, 2017). being an effective member of the trans-sahara counterterrorism partnership (tsctp), nigeria was also aided with $10.6 million value of training, equipment and advisory support for counter terrorism efforts between 2017 and 2020 (u.s. bureau of political-military affairs, 2022). figure 1: budget allocation to nigerian army, navy and air force, (2015-202 oyedeji (2022) among the sub-saharan african states, nigeria occupies the first position on the list of countries with the highest defence spending at $5.8 billion in 2022. the report of world bank discloses the amazing rise in the budget of nigeria's defence by 262% within the space of five years. in 2016, the approved defence budget was $1.72 billion, the budget for 2017 was $1.62 billion, the allocation for military spending for 2018 was $2.04 billion, the military budget for 2019 was $1.86, the budget for 2020 was $2.57 billion in 2020 and the nigerian state massively enlarged igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 92 its military expenditure to $4.5 billion in 2021. this data shows that nigeria has expended more than $19.9 billion between 2016 and 2022 to boost its military and security architectures arising from the recurrence of domestic violence across the country particularly in the northern region (babatunde-lawal, 2022). besides, the allocation of nigerian state defence in 2022 budget was 15%, which is remarkably higher than the combination of allotments to health (7%) and education sectors (5%) (ogbonnaya, 2022). the country's defence budget for 2023 was n1.383 trillion while the 2024 budget for defence alone is n1647 trillion, about 5.7% of the entire 2024 budget. in addition to that, n455 billion allocated for the nigeria police in 2021, n559 billion in 2022 and n838 in 2023. in 2024, the police budget is n969.6 billion (plac, 2024). the nigerian state seriousness to counter terrorism war is the northeast sub region is evident in the fact that it is the only financial contributor to the multinational joint task force (mnjtf) activities (nan, 2016). the federal government also allocated another n500 million for the prosecution of boko haram suspects and other criminal cases in the 2022 budget apart from the n300 million earlier voted for the prosecution of “on-going” cases, some of which are boko haram related (ejekwonyilo, 2022). however, in spite of government counter-terrorism expenditure and efforts, the growing and daunting incidence of terrorism continues to be worrisome because it increases the level of insecurity and under-development. the vulnerability of the nigerian state to terrorist attacks thwarts political stability, hinders economic growth and frustrate government efforts towards the attainment of rapid industrialization (imhonopi and urim, 2016). terrorism has not only had a significant negative impact on economic growth and investment but also altered the composition of government expenditure, with the defence component of government expenditure rising in comparison with other expenditure items (chuku et al, 2017). despite this heavy financial commitment, the nigerian state is yet to overcome terrorism. the nigerian government earmarked n1 trillion in the 2023 budget approved by the national assembly to finance the on-going war against terrorism and banditry across the nation (sahara reporters, 2022). the economic and financial crime commission (efcc) also confirmed that the counter-terrorism war by the nigerian state has gulped over 6 trillion naira between 2008 and 2021 (omolaoye, 2021). the concerted efforts and financial responsibility of the government to counter terrorism operations by the security forces over the years have managed to yield negligible results as the country is still ranked as one of the states most affected by terrorism on the global terrorism index (ogbonnaya, 2020). peace seems not to be the horizon but an illusion in the northeast. in its 12th years of operation in the northeast, boko haram has killed several thousands of people and its displacement of over 2 million people has led to an upsurge in the number of nigerian refugees in neighbouring countries of cameroon, chad and niger (erezi, 2022). truly, the success of the military in driving terrorists' groups out of major cities led to sharp reduction of hostilities and insecurity of lives and property in the major city centres from late 2015 to first quarter of 2018. however, nigeria's strategic efforts to checkmate the group has not been efficacious but rather assist the group to quickly transmute into frightening international force (forest, ibid). the month of december, 2019 recorded the execution 11 abducted christians by iswap to revenge the killing of islamic state leader abu bakar al baghdadi by the united states forces. in january 2020, the group killed lawan andimi the chairman of the adamawa state chapter of the christian association of nigeria (can). it also abducted some university teachers in yola and carried out several premeditated attacks in borno state. the terrorists relocated to rural and remote areas where they constantly attack vulnerable villages, military facilities and government infrastructures ever since (duerksen, 2021). both gubio and jere local government areas of borno state experienced outrageous abduction as well as the killing of hundreds of their residents between june and november 2020 while many people met igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 93 their sudden death during the series of rocket attacks, which put maiduguri city in disarray between december 4 and 23, 2021 (ogbonnaya, 2020, gov.uk, 2022). although terrorism remains a serious threat in sub-sahara africa as it accounts for 48% of total global death from terrorism, the counter insurgency efforts in nigeria decreased boko haram's activities as only 64 attacks was attributed to the organization in 2021. the fall in deaths from boko haram terrorism by 92% from 2,131 in 2015 to178 in 2021 contributed to nigeria recording the second largest decline in deaths from terrorism in 2021 with the number falling by 47% to 448. therefore, nigeria has now been placed in the sixth position from the fourth position it consistently maintained since 2017. it is to be noted that the boko haram's decline coincides with the death of the group leader, abubakar shekau who committed suicide during a skirmish with iswap in may 2021 (global terrorism index, 2022). however, the spate of terrorism is not abated in 2022 as a number of cruel attacks were recorded in ondo state, kogi state, niger state and abujathe federal capital territory. on june 5, 2022, not less than 40 christians were exterminated in a catholic church while observing a mass service in owo, ondo state (world report, 2023). in july 2022, the kuje prison in abuja was bombed and many prisoners including some arrested boko haram members escaped, some policemen were killed in suleja, niger state while improvised explosive devices (ieds) attacks and bomb attacks were conducted at different locations in kogi state in april and december, 2022 (ogbonnaya, 2022). apart from the encumbrances of sambisa forest, corruption is another major factor militating against the counter-terrorism efforts in nigeria. the funds for counter terrorism are not judiciously utilized and the operations are less effective. this is because substantial portion of the fund allocated for counter-terrorism operations are embezzled by conflict entrepreneurs among the top officials in the military and the security sector. this position is justified by the allegations levelled against both the office of the national security adviser regarding the diversion of $2.1 billion earmarked for the procurement of weapons and the office of the chief of defence staff for another 3.9 billion scandals in 2015. besides, there was a discovery of $43 million cash meant for undercover operations by the national intelligence agency in a secluded residence in lagos in 2017 while the $1 billion from the excess crude oil account allocated to the nigeria army for arms procurement was declared missing in 2018. the clandestine nature of military expenditure, which necessitates the exemption of military spending from audit exercise due to its sensitive nature, gives room for misappropriation of allocations for counter terrorism operations (ogbonnaya, 2022). between optimism and despair it is disheartening that the nigerian state witnessed a tragic level of insecurity in recent time owing to terrorist attacks in different places, in spite of its investment on counter terrorism over the years (world report, 2023). however, considering the doggedness and financial commitments of the nigerian government to end the menace, there seems to be some glimpses of optimism for the restoration of social order in the northern region. the reviewed national counter terrorism strategy (nactest), the policy framework and the national action plan to checkmate violent extremism have continued to improve the governmental capacity to counter the upsurge of terrorism thereby raising a ray of hope (edokpa, 2021). the tenacity of the security forces to get rid of terrorists in the region have yielded some positive results as they have not only arrested several terrorists but also succeeded in exterminating many members of this dangerous groups, including a good number of boko haram/iswap diehard commanders (sanusi, 2022; abubakar, 2023). another success recorded by the military operations was the mass surrender (more than 82,000 so far) of boko haram terrorists and their families to the troops of operation hadin kai (ophk) in the northeast (sahara reporters, 2023). the laying down of arms by the surrendered ex-combatants was not unconnected with the demise of boko haram leaderabubakar shekau who died in a clash with iswap on may 19, 2021, coupled with igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 94 the continued hostility between the two factions ever since (momoh, 2023; abubakar, 2023; obiezu, 2022). in its concerted efforts to eradicate terrorism and curtail the scourge of insecurity, the nigerian state successfully established new structures and institutions. some of the initiatives are the national centre for the control of small arms and light weapons (nccsalw) and enactment of some legislations including the terrorism prevention act 2013 (amendment) for the prosecution of captured perpetrators of terrorism (edokpa, ibid). between 2019 and 2022, more than 4,000 arrested terrorists had been prosecuted and those who were convicted are serving various jail terms while others are awaiting trials (iroanusi, 2020; abu-bashal, 2021; nwezeh, 2023). besides, a non-kinetic approach called operation safe corridor (opsc) was also established in september 2015 which encourages willing and repentant boko haram and iswap members to surrender and undertake a structured de-radicalization, rehabilitation and reintegration programmes. this initiative has reportedly graduated more than 3500 surrendered ex-combatants who have been reintegrated into the society (sahara, reporters, 2023). however, despite the exertions of the government in ensuring adequate financial provision for arms procurement and logistic supplies, conflict entrepreneurs in the security sector engage in false procurement deals and other illegal extra military activities at the expense of the nation's security. it is pathetic that equipment shortfalls, poor weapons and logistic supplies were the reasons adduced by the military spokesperson for the death of almost 200 soldiers in a boko haram ambush and attack on 157 task force battalion in metele, borno state. it has been argued that except the nigerian government check corruption in the top echelon of the military and thwarts the activities of conflict magnates that undermine security operations, it may be difficult to adequately counter terrorism. this is because violent extremism will continue to thrive in the region and the battle against terrorism will be an endless one. thus, there is need to reinforce both legal and institutional structures to contend with corrupt practices in the security sector that frustrate counter terrorism efforts (ogbonnaya, 2022). the current realities in the nation attest to the fact that the end of the conflict is not yet in sight as the expected triumph over boko haram terrorism still hangs between optimism and despair. this is because the cessation of violent extremism being experienced in the northern nigeria requires total dislodgement of the terrorists from the sambisa forest that provides a safe haven and operational headquarters for them, stoppage of corrupt practices in the security sector and more importantly, the removal of the underlying causes of the protracted violence. the truth is that, until the factors militating against the success of counter terrorism efforts are decisively dealt with, the unbidden but incessant terrorists' violent activities would not be eradicated but might rather grow worse. furthermore, the boko haram terrorists cannot be successfully eliminated through the adoption of adversarial conflict management strategies alone. it is to be recalled that the emancipation of 103 out of over 250 school girls was not through the military intervention but the product of the negotiation between boko haram and the nigerian government facilitated by the international committee for red cross (council on foreign relations, 2022). the financial commitments to military counter terrorism operations alone cannot eradicate terrorism because the success of military operations is not the panacea to its causal factors ranging from bad governance, corruption, poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and inaccessibility to adequate social amenities and infrastructure as well as basic support services in the region (ibegbu, 2009, ajah, et al, 2020). thus, there is need for an extensive approach to combating terrorism in nigeria while the weaknesses of boko haram ideology and activities must be understood and considered as part of the strategy (forest, 2012). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 95 conclusion and policy recommendations the most reasonable and enduring solution to this protracted domestic terrorism that would lead to the stoppage of unwarranted financial wastage by the nigerian state is a systematic riddance of its underlying causes. it is pathetic that the failure of the government to address the root causes of terrorism has degenerated to banditry in the northeast and north central nigeria, which has become another serious security challenge like boko haram to the polity (ogbonnaya, 2020, plac, 2024). the history of religious conflicts in nigeria shows that apart from the purported religious propensities, there are some underlying factors that prompted the conflicts. the problematic political and socio-economic situations in nigeria have contributed immensely to the persistence of religious crisis in the country. the sustained structural problems such as corruption, poverty, unemployment, hunger and lack of infrastructural facilities will continue to promote the cause of boko haram terrorists' violence. it has been discovered that there are many supporters of boko haram ideology, grievances and its actions, and until the socio-economic challenges which are the causal factors are dealt with, the ideology will continue to appeal to frustrated young minds and may be difficult to get rid of it (forest, 2012, plac, 2024). thus, the superlative strategy for the nigerian government to defeat boko haram is to be financially committed to the counter terrorism military operations and simultaneously address squarely the socio-economic and political challenges that are the root causes of the lingering terrorism in the northeastern region (komolafe, 2003). in fact, if the nigerian government through the security forces were to defeat and end boko haram terrorism without proffering a lasting panacea to the socio-economic grievances, there would be no guarantee of a long-term security and sustainable peace in the region as another rebellious group would emerge to take its place. therefore, the hope of restoring both economic and socio-political stability in the northern nigeria lies on the government readiness to address the underlying causes of the violence, which serve not only as persuasive mechanisms for terrorism but also as an impetus for the frustrated individuals who are incited and swayed to join the vicious movement. references abubakar, u. (2023). boko haram kills 300 fighters planning to surrender. punch newspaperhttps://punching.com/boko-haram-kills-300-fighters-planning-to surrender/ abu-bashal, a. (2021). 500 boko haram members jailed in nigeria. anadolu agency. h�ps://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/500-boko-haram-members-jailed-in-nigeria-sincefebruary/2185867 adesoji, a. (2010). the boko haram uprising and islamic revivalism in nigeria. africa spectrum, 45, 2, 95-108. ajah, b. o., dinne, c. e. and salami, k. k. (2020). terrorism in contemporary nigerian society: conquest of boko haram, myth or reality. international journal of criminal justice sciences; thirunevel, vol. 15, issue 2 doi:10.5281/zenodo.4741879. albert, l. o. (2005). “africa and international terrorism” in perspective on peace and conflict in africa. essays in honour of gen. (dr.) abdusalami abubakar, (ed.) i.o. albert, ibadan: peace and conflict studies, university of ibadan in collaboration with john archer publishers, pp 44-55. albert, l. o. (2017). beyond nigeria's sambisa: forests, insurgency and counter insurgency in africa. university lecture, university of ibadan, ibadan university press. anadolu agency, (2017). nigeria: $1b earmarked for fighting boko haram terrorism. https://www.aa.com.tr>africa>nig. babatunde-lawal, a. (2022). increasing nigeria's defence budget to improve security. h�ps://businessday.ng/research-post/ar�cle/increasing-nigeria-defence-budget-to-improvesecurity/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 96 chuku c, abang d. and isip, i (2017). growth and fiscal consequences of terrorism in nigeria. working paper series n° 284, african development bank, abidjan, côte d'ivoire. available online at https://www.afdb.org/en/documents/publications/working-papersseries/ council on foreign relations 2022. conflict with boko haram in nigeria. centre for preventive action. . department of the army and department of the navy. 2013. united states of america counterinsurgency, joint publication, washington dc: joint chiefs of staff, 22 november pubs/jp3_24.pdfwww.d�c.mil/doctrine/new duerksen, m. (2021). nigeria's diverse security threats. africacenter.org thedokpa, g. (2021). “measures to eliminate international terrorism” statement at the 76 s e s s i o n o f t h e u n i t e d n a t i o n s g e n e r a l a s s e m b l y, n e w yo r k . https://www.un.org/en/ga/sixth/76/pdfs/statements/int_terrorism/02mtg-nigeria.pdf ejekwonyilo, m. (2022) 2022 budget: nigerian govt. votes n500 million for prosecution of b o k o h a r a m s u s p e c t s , o t h e r s h�ps://www.premium�mesng.com/news/headlines/508524-2002-budget-nigeria-govtvotes-n500million-for-prosecution-of-boko-haram-suspects-others.html erezi, d. (2022). nigeria improve by two places on global terrorism index. the guardian. h�ps://guardian.ng/news/nigeria-improve-by-two-places-on-global-terrorism-index/ forest, j. j. f. (2012). confronting the terrorism of boko haram in nigeria. joint special operations university jsou report 12-5, the jsou press, macdill air force base, florida, .h�ps://jsou.socom.mil gebremichael, m. et. al. (2008). conflict analysis & insights: nigeria conflict insight. vol.1, ins t i tu te for peace and st ra teg ic s tudies , addis ababa univers i ty. https://www.africaportal.org/documents/18173/nigeria_formatted_final_21.02.2018.p df girvetz, h. (1974). “anatomy of violence” in reason and violence. s. m. stanage (ed.) little fields: adam and co. gov.uk (2022) terrorism – nigeria travel advice h�ps://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel advice/nigeria/terrorism. hendrix, s. e. (2015). combating terrorism and violent extremism in nigeria: defining a new approach to winn ing modern j ihad i s t conflic t . 49 int 'l l . 427 , https://scholar.smu.edu/til/vol49/iss3/10. ibegbu, c. (2009). insecurity, terrorism and intelligence failures in nigeria. retrieved from url: h�p://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/ar�cles/cecil-ibegbu/insecurity-terrorism-andintelligence-failures-in-nigeria.html. ldowu, l. o. (2005). “a philosophical analysis of conflict in africa” in perspective on peace and conflict in africa. essays in honour of gen. (dr.) abdusalami abubakar, (ed.) i.o. albert, ibadan: peace and conflict studies, university of ibadan in collaboration with john archer publishers. irene, m. (2023). armed conflicts survey 2023 editor's introduction. international institute for strategic studies. https://www.iiss.org/en/publication/armed-conflictsurvey/2023/editors-introduction/ imhonopi, d. and urim, u. g. (2016). the spectre of terrorism and nigeria's industrial development: a multi-stakeholder imperative. african journal of criminology and justice studies: ajcjs, vol. 9, issue 1. iroanusi, e. (2020). justice ministry proposes n2 billion for prosecution of boko haram suspects, prison decongestion, others. premiumtimesng.com/nues/headlines/425300justice-ministry-proposes-n2billion-for-prosecution-of-boko-haram-suspects-prisondecongestion-others.html kayode, b. (2014). inside nigeria's sambisa forest, boko haram hideout where kidnapped school girls are believed to be held. the nation, 29 april. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 97 kegley, c.w. and wittkopf, e. r. (2004). world politics trend and transformation. thomson wadsworth, usa. knoechelmann, m. (2014). why the nigerian counterterrorism policy towards boko haram has failed: a cause and effect relationship. international institute for counter terrorism (ict) working paper, 32. komolafe, a. a. (2013), military culture and counter insurgency in the twenty-first century: defeating boko-haram in nigeria. citation/ad1022985h�ps://apps.d�c.mil/s�/ momoh, m. (2023). nigeria's boko haram fighters surrender after clash with iswap. the east africa. https://www.eastafrica.co.ke/tea/rest-of-africa/boko-haram-fighters-surrenderto-nigerian-troop-4098382?view=htmlamp nan (2024). ecowas allocates $25m to fight terrorism in nigeria, others. https://nannews.ng/2024/04/19//ecowas-allocates-25m-in-2024-to-fight-terrorism-innigeria-others/ nan (2016). nigeria'll not question neighbours's financial commitment to war against boko haram. guardian.org. nwezeh, k. (2023). military to reintegrate 613 repentant terrorists into society. h�ps://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2023/01/06/military-toreintegrate-613repentant-terrroists-into-society obiezu, t. (2022). nigerian analysts skeptical about alleged mass surrender of insurgents.. h�ps://www.voanews.com/amp/nigerian-analysts-scep�cal-about-alleged-masssurrender-of-insurgents-/6567635html ogbonnaya, m. (2020). has counter-terrorism become a profitable business in nigeria, institute for security studies (iss). https://issafrica.org>iss-today> ogbonnaya, m. (2022). can nigeria finance its war against insurgents? institute for security studies (iss). https://issafrica.org>iss-today> omolaoye, s. (2021). nigeria spent n6trn to fight terrorism in 13 years, efcc discloses https://guardian.ng/news/nigeria-spent-n6trn-to-fight-terrrorism-in-13-years-efccdicloses/ osaghae, e. e. (2005). “violence in africa: state, ethnic and regional dimensions” in perspective on peace and conflict in africa. essays in honour of gen. (dr.) abdusalami abubakar, (ed.) i.o. albert, ibadan: peace and conflict studies, university of ibadan in collaboration with john archer publishers, pp 44-55. oyedeji, o. (2022, april 4) “analysis: what are the implications of nigeria's growing insecurity?” dataphyte. https://www.dataphyte.com/latest-reports/analysis-what-arethe-implications-of-nigerias-growing-insecurity/ plac (2024). security budget rises, yet insecurity worsens. https://placng.org/legist/securitybudget-rises-yet-insecurity-worsens/ p r i o ( 2 0 2 4 ) . c o n fl i c t t r e n d s : a g l o b a l o v e r v i e w , 1 9 4 6 2 0 2 3 . https://www.prio.org/publication/14006. raji, s. & hamzat, a. a. (2021). north-eastern nigeria: assessing the response capacity of national emergency management agency to the plight of internally displaced persons. heliyon, volume 7, issue 6, 2021 .h�ps://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.eo7274 r e u t e r s ( 2 0 1 5 ) . tw o b l a s t s i n n o r t h e a s t n i g e r i a ' s p o t i s k u m k i l l 1 0 . h�ps://ww.reuters.com/ar�cle/nigeria-violence-blast/two-blasts-in-northeast-nigeriapo�skum-kill-10-ukl5noz13ah20150615. reuters (2016). without aid, 49,000 children will die this year in northeast nigeria: un. https://www.reuters .com/article/us-nigeria-security-aid-iduskcn1100f sahara reporters (2021). how boko haram controlled nigerian territory “the size of b e l g i u m ” u n d e r j o n a t h a n g o v e r n m e n t p r e s i d e n c y. h � p s : / / s a h a r a reporters.com/2021/11/26/how-boko-haram-controlled-nigeria-territory%e2%80%98-size-belgium%e2%80%99-under-jonathan-government-%e2%80%93. sahara reporters (2022). buhari to spend another n1trillion to fight boko haram, bandits in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 98 twilight of administration. sahara reporters, new york. https://sahara reporters.com/2022/10/10/buhari-spend-another-n1trillion-fight-boko-haram-banditstwilight-administration. sahara reporters (2023). nigerian army receives over 100 boko haram terrorists, families who surrendered in borno. h�ps://saharareporters.com/2023/01/24/nigerian-armyreceives-over-100-boko-haram-terrorists-families-who-surrendered-borno sanusi, a. (2022). troops arrest several terrorists, kill scores, rescue civilians. punch newspapers. https:// punching.com/troops-arrest-several-terrorists-kill-scores-rescuecivilians/ serrano, r. and pieri, z. (2014). by the numbers: the nigeria state's effort to counter boko haram in perouse de montclos, m (ed.) boko haram; islamism, politics, security and t h e s t a t e i n n i g e r i a . i b a d a n : i f r a n i g e r i a . av a i l a b l e o n l i n e a t h�p://books.openedi�on.org/ifra/1703> statista (2022). death caused by boko haram in nigeria 2022 by state. .statista. h�ps://www com/statistics/1197570/deaths-caused-by-boko-haram-in-nigeria/ u. s. bureau of political-military affairs (2022). u.s. security cooperation with nigeriafact sheet. h�ps://www.state.gov/u-s-security-coopera�on-with-nigeria/ udo, b. (2014). jonathan signs nigeria's 2014 budget as defence gets 20 percent. https://www.premiumtimes.com/business/161390-jonathan-signs-nigerias-2014budget-defence-gets-20-per-cent.html united nations (2022). secretary-generals remarks at wreath laying ceremony at un house in abuja, nigeria. h�ps://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/speeches/2022-05-04/remarkswreath-laying-ceremony-un-abuja-nigeria united states house hearing 114 congress (2016). boko haram: the islamist insurgency in west africa. pkg/chrgh�ps://www.govinfo.gov/content world health organization (2021). united nations holds 10-year memorial for the un house bombing. h�ps://www.afro.who.int/news/united-na�ons-holds-10-year-memorial-unhouse-bombing world report (2023). nigeria human rights watch. h�ps://www.hrw.org/worldreport/2023/country-chapters/nigeria igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 144 influence of gender on study habits among students of veritas university, abuja, nigeria shabayang, barnabas, ph.d department of theology, veritas university, abuja, nigeria shabayangb@veritas.edu.ng & bahago, samaila benedict department of educational foundations, veritas university, abuja, nigeria bahagos@veritas.edu.ng & gotip, nehemiah wokji, ph.d department of arts and social science education, veritas university abuja, nigeria gotipn@veritas.edu.ng & gwokji@gmail.com abstract the study examined gender-based perceptions of study habits among students at veritas university, abuja, nigeria. the population of the study was one thousand and twenty-two (1,022) students of veritas university abuja, nigeria. the sample size of the study was two hundred and ninety one (291) students. research advisors sample size table (2006) was used to determine sample size of 291. simple random sampling technique was used to select 291 students, out of which 135 were male and 156 were female students. the instrument that was used for collecting data was a researchers-designed questionnaire. mean score and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions and t-test was used to test all hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. the findings of this study revealed that study habits play a crucial role in determining the academic performance of students, regardless of gender. both male and female students exhibit similar perceptions of the impact of effective study habits on their academic success, as demonstrated by the absence of significant differences in their perception scores. the study recommended that universities should organize workshops that teach effective study habits and time management techniques. these workshops could provide students with practical tools, such as note-taking strategies, concentration techniques, and exam preparation methods, which can help improve their academic performance amongst several others. keywords: gender, perception, student, study habits & university introduction academic performance is a cornerstone of higher education, shaping students’ futures and contributing to societal development. a critical determinant of academic performance is the study habits students adopt to organize, process, and apply knowledge effectively. students’ performance refers to achievement in a school subject as designated by a score or mark obtained in an achievement test (gotip, onuoha and iorliam, 2021). academic performance reflects a student’s effectiveness in achieving learning objectives, typically gauged through assessments like examinations, assignments, and teacher evaluations oleabhiele, kalu and gotip (2024). academic success is intimately correlated with students' knowledge expansion and progress in a teachingand learning-intensive environment (gotip, enem, bonse, bahago and sa’aondo, 2023). achievement is quantified by a measure of the student’s academic igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 145 standing in relation to those of other students of his age (gotip, onuoha and iorliam, 2021). academic performance is the quantifiable demonstration of a learner's intellectual growth and educational progress, evaluated through academic benchmarks and standards (oleabhiele, kalu and gotip, 2024). academic performance encompasses students' ability to meet or exceed set educational standards, typically reflected through evaluations such as assignments, exams, and participation in academic activities (gotip, onuoha and iorliam, 2021). academic performance refers to the level of knowledge, skills, and abilities a student demonstrates in their educational pursuits, often measured by grades, test scores, and overall achievements in academic tasks (gotip and wilfred-bonse, 2024). according to gotip, enem, bonse, bahago and sa’aondo (2023) academic performance it shows how well students performed on tests of performance, skills, and analytical thinking (gotip, enem, bonse, bahago and sa’aondo, 2023). to gotip and wilfred-bonse (2024) use of instructional materials will positively affect the performance of the students positively due to the improvement in their understanding of the subject and effective teaching would have taken place. academic performance is the measurable outcomes of learning, often assessed through standardized tests, grade point averages, and other metrics that reflect a student's understanding of course material (gotip and wilfred-bonse, 2024). in order to improve students' performance in economics, their interest in the topic should be taken into account independently of the issue of teaching methods. oleabhiele, kalu and gotip (2024). oleabhiele, kalu and gotip, (2024) define student achievement as how well a student performs in a subject as measured by the grade they receive on an achievement exam. a student's academic status in comparison to other pupils his age is used to quantify their achievement. study habits encompass practices such as time management, note-taking, concentration, and revision techniques, which significantly influence students’ learning outcomes. however, perceptions of study habits often vary based on individual differences, including gender, making it essential to explore these variations to better understand their impact on academic achievement. credé and phillips, 2011). kaur and pathania (2015) define study habits as the essence of a dynamic personality, which are essential for effective study and academic success. study habits are learning tendencies that enable students to work privately (kumar, 2015). study habit can be defined as the process of learning, and student's academic achievement and success is based on good study habits (ebele and olofu (2017). atsuwe and moses (2017) defined study habit as a behavioural pattern which learners apply while learning academic contents and which serves as a medium of gaining knowledge. to jafari et al. (2019) study habit can vary from individual to another. alzahrani et al. (2019) define study habits as the behaviors used when preparing for tests or learning academic material. the effectiveness of these habits significantly impacts academic achievements, making their exploration crucial in higher education. research has shown that gender can influence students' attitudes, behaviors, and preferences in adopting effective study habits. for instance, female students may exhibit more consistent and organized study routines, while male students might favor flexible and spontaneous approaches. these gendered differences in study habits often stem from societal norms, personal motivations, and institutional factors. understanding these perceptions is crucial in designing educational interventions that cater to diverse learning needs and promote academic success for all students. a person's gender, along with race, ethnicity, and class, is a social factor that significantly determines their life chances and shapes how they participate igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 146 in society (gotip, enem, bonse, bahago and sa’aondo, 2023). gender is defined as the socially and culturally produced traits and roles that are connected to men and women in any community (gotip, enem, bonse, bahago and sa’aondo, 2023). gotip, enem, bonse, bahago and sa’aondo (2023) argued that many people think a student's gender, whether they are male or female, affects their academic achievement in a given field. gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviors, expressions, and identities of girls, women, boys, men, and gender-diverse people. it influences how individuals perceive themselves and others, as well as their interactions within social and cultural contexts (gotip, onuoha and iorliam, 2021). to oleabhiele, kalu and gotip (2024) gender is a structure of social relations and cultural practices that differentiates individuals and groups based on perceived sexual distinctions, often reinforcing inequalities through institutional and interpersonal interactions. obayi, oleabhile, suleiman, gotip, shugaba and kalu (2024) gender encompasses the roles and responsibilities assigned to individuals by society based on their sex, influencing expectations, opportunities, and experiences in social, economic, and cultural life. gender is a multidimensional concept referring to the attributes, behaviors, and roles deemed appropriate for men and women, shaped by social and cultural norms rather than biological differences. obayi, oleabhile, suleiman, gotip, shugaba and kalu (2024). gender is a system of social categorization that organizes human behavior and identities based on perceived or actual differences, often leading to prescribed norms and expectations for males and females obayi, oleabhile, suleiman, gotip, shugaba and kalu (2024). gender differences in study habits have garnered considerable attention in educational research, as male and female students often adopt distinct approaches to learning. while some studies suggest that female students are more likely to engage in consistent and organized study routines, others propose that male students prefer flexible and pragmatic methods. these variations could potentially influence academic outcomes, highlighting the importance of examining the interplay between gender, study habits, and academic performance. at veritas university, abuja, students represent a diverse population with unique academic experiences and challenges. however, little is known about how male and female students perceive and adopt study habits within this context. exploring gender-based perceptions of study habits is essential for identifying potential disparities and providing insights that can guide educators and counselors in fostering equitable academic environments. this research aims to examine gender-based perceptions of study habits among students at veritas university, abuja. by investigating these perceptions, the study seeks to uncover patterns and differences that may influence academic performance, providing a foundation for targeted strategies to support effective learning practices for all students. statement of the problem effective study habits are pivotal to academic performance, as they determine how students acquire, process, and retain knowledge. however, perceptions and adoption of study habits often differ across genders due to societal expectations, cultural norms, and individual preferences. these differences can influence how male and female students approach their studies, potentially contributing to variations in academic performance. despite the recognized importance of understanding study habits, there remains a limited focus on how igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 147 gender-based perceptions shape students’ approaches to learning, particularly within the nigerian higher education context. at veritas university, abuja, where students come from diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, little is known about the gendered dynamics of study habits. are male and female students equally inclined toward structured study routines, or do their perceptions of effective learning strategies differ? these unanswered questions create a knowledge gap that hinders the development of targeted interventions to enhance academic success for all students. this study seeks to address the problem of inadequate understanding of gender-based perceptions of study habits among students at veritas university, abuja. by exploring these perceptions, the research aims to identify patterns and differences that may influence students’ academic outcomes. addressing this problem will provide valuable insights for educators, counselors, and policymakers to design inclusive strategies that cater to the unique needs of both male and female students, thereby promoting equity and academic excellence. the importance of good study habits effective study habits form the cornerstone of effective learning. they provide a roadmap to navigate the often challenging terrain of education. these habits help students understand and retain information more effectively, reducing the need for last-minute cramming and stress associated with studying. solid study habits instill a positive attitude towards education. they promote time management skills and nurture a lifelong love for learning. by making studying more manageable and less overwhelming, these habits encourage students to view education as a journey of exploration and discovery rather than a chore. good study habits also have benefits beyond academic performance. they develop skills such as organization, perseverance, and problem-solving, which are invaluable in all areas of life. additionally, they can increase a student's confidence and self-efficacy, leading to better overall well-being and personal development. at their core, the importance of study habits is not solely confined to academic enhancement and better grades. rather, these habits are vital in fostering personal growth and equipping students with the skills necessary for success in their future careers and personal lives. factors associated with study habits development the aim of this systematic review was to explore and identify the factors associated with development of study habits among students and their impact on students’ academic performance. different studies related to study habits and academic performance various factors such as emotional, environmental, biological, social and psychological factors influence study habits of students. personal factors like intelligence, self-efficacy, self-esteem, self-confidence, learning strategy influence the study habits of students. emotional factors like motivation, responsibility and persistence influence study habits. these factors determine the study habits igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 148 of a child. a highly motivated student with responsibility and persistence adopts good study habits as compared to a less motivated and lazy student. unproductive study habits can be converted into productive habits through identification and modification. emotional factors can work to reform study habits positively and not only develop studying potential but also change the approach towards challenging paths. home environment has a significant effect on study habits as well as academic performance (saini, 2010). parents' attitudes towards children are decisive to children's feelings about themselves. parents as well as teachers have a significant responsibility in developing better study habits for improving academic performance among students (santhy, 2011). positive and careful attitude of parents towards their children fosters better study habits among children and negative attitude hampers development of good study habits. locus of control has a significant and positive effect on comprehensive concentration, orientation and level of recording dimensions of study habits among adolescents. study habits of internally controlled adolescents are better than externally controlled counterparts. socio-economics status has a significant effect on study habits (sahu, 2012). study habits are significantly and positively affected by personality characteristics like warm heartedness, participatory, emotional stability, obedience, concentration and carefulness (kashinathrao, 2012). students with right hemispherity have better study habits than students with left hemispherity. specifically, meta-cognitive skills and learning and thinking style significantly predict study habits (suman, 2017). environmental factors like climate, location, lighting, sound and other physical arrangement have a significant impact on the development of study habits. moderate climate, suitable location, proper ventilation and noise free environment is ideal for good study habits. moreover, study habits of students are influenced by attitudes, levels of aspirations, personality traits; school environment, teaching methods adopted and material students are to learn. purpose of the study the study examined the influence of gender on study habits among students of veritas university, abuja, nigeria research questions this research question guided the study: what are the perception of study habits among male and female students at veritas university abuja, nigeria? hypothesis this hypothesis guided the study and was tested at a 0.05 level of significance. ho1: there is no significant difference in the mean scores of male and female students on their perception of study habits at veritas university abuja, nigeria. methodology the study adopted a descriptive survey design. this type of descriptive survey design sought to obtain information from the respondents about their responses to the questionnaire (gotip and wilfred-bonse, 2024). this research design was used to collect data from the representatives of the entire group and was examined in order to study a group of people. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 149 the population of the study comprised students of veritas university abuja in bwari area council, fct-abuja, nigeria. this population consisted of one thousand and twenty-two (1,022) students of 100 and 200 level students from ten different departments of the university. table 1: population of the study s/n departments no. of students 1 department of theology 34 2 department of history and international relations 160 3 department of computer science 175 4 department of mass communication 108 5 department of economics 105 6 department of accounting 100 7 department of business administration 102 8 department of arts and social science education 28 9 department of public administration 104 10 department of software engineering 106 total 1,022 source: veritas university abuja, 2024 the sample size of the study was two hundred and ninety one (291) students. research advisors sample size table (2006) was used to determine sample size of 291. simple random sampling technique was used to select 291 students, out of which 135 were male and 156 were female students. table 2: sample size of the study s/n departments no. of students 1 department of theology 29 2 department of history and international relations 29 3 department of computer science 29 4 department of mass communication 29 5 department of economics 29 6 department of accounting 29 7 department of business administration 29 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 150 8 department of arts and social science education 29 9 department of public administration 29 10 department of software engineering 30 total 291 source: researchers, 2024 the research instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire developed by the researchers. the questionnaire was title: “questionnaire on gender-based perceptions of study habits among students ” (qgbpshs). the questionnaire was divided into two sections, a and b. section a deals with the bio data of the respondents while the section b solicits responses on gender-based perceptions of study habits among students. the instrument contains eleven (11) items using the modified likert four point rating scale for the respondents to tick their responses as follows: strongly agree (sa), agree (a), disagree (d) and strongly disagree (sd) respectively. the questionnaire on gender-based perceptions of study habits among students was subjected to face validation by three experts from the department of arts and social science education, department of science education and department of educational foundations, faculty of education, veritas university abuja. to achieve this, validates were given copies of the purpose of the study, research question and hypothesis. the criteria for selecting the items were: appropriateness of grammar, the clarity and unambiguity of items, the correct spelling of words, the correct structuring of the sentences, appropriateness of font size and space, legible printout, adequacy of instruction on the instrument, the structure of the instrument in terms of construction and wellthought out format, appropriateness of difficulty level of the instrument for the participants, and reasonableness of items in relation to the supposed purpose of the instrument. this resulted in the scaling down of the items from 15 to 11 items. the instrument was pilot tested using 20 students of veritas university abuja who were part of the population but did not take part in the main study. cronbach alpha formula was used to determine the reliability coefficient for questionnaire on impact of study habits on students’ academic performance” (qishsap) which gave an index of 0.87. this was considered adequate for the level of the internal consistency of the instrument. the distribution of questionnaire was be carried out by the researchers. mean score and standard deviation were used to answer the research question and t-test was used to test hypothesis at 0.05 level of significance. any of the questionnaire items that had a mean score greater than or equal to 2.50 was regarded as “agreed”, while any means less than 2.50 were regarded as “disagreed” as the case may be. the decision rule for the rejection or acceptance of the null hypothesis was if the p-value is equal to or greater than the alpha, the researcher accepted the null hypothesis, when the p-value is less than the 0.05 alpha value, the researcher rejected the null hypothesis. answers to research questions igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 151 the research questions were answered using descriptive statistics. mean score and standard deviation was used to establish the possible differences in the perception mean scores of male and female students in veritas university abuja. research question one: what are the perception of study habits among students of veritas university abuja. to answer this question, frequency count (n), mean score (x̄) and standard deviations (std) were used as reported in table 4, 5 and 6. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 152 table 3: students’ perception of study habits male (n = 135) female ( n = 156) students’ perception of study habits sa 4 a 3 d 2 sd 1 fx x̄ st d decisio n sa 4 a 3 d 2 sd 1 fx x̄ st d decisio n 1 the constant practices a person utilizes to study and learn are called study habits. 70 5 3 7 5 458 3.3 9 1.1 2 agree 78 6 6 6 6 52 8 3.3 8 0.9 4 agree 2 study habits are the well-planned intended methods of study. 75 4 9 9 2 467 3.4 6 1.0 5 agree 80 6 5 6 5 53 2 3.4 1 0.9 2 agree 3 study habits are the chain of approaches in the process of memorising study material taught in the class 63 6 0 1 1 1 455 3.3 7 1.2 0 agree 73 7 0 1 0 3 52 5 3.3 6 1.0 4 agree 4 study habits includes systematizing, regulating and retaining learned facts and information received in class 68 6 0 6 1 465 3.4 4 1.1 5 agree 81 6 4 5 6 53 2 3.4 1 1.0 1 agree 5 study habits deals with retaining novel facts and ideas related to the learning materials 71 5 0 1 0 5 459 3.4 0 1.0 3 agree 75 6 9 1 0 2 52 9 3.9 1 1.0 9 agree 6 study habit involves self-discipline and a study focus that has gained the shape of consistent endeavours on the part of students, towards comprehending academic subjects 73 5 2 8 2 466 3.4 5 1.0 3 agree 82 6 2 9 3 53 5 3.4 3 0.9 5 agree igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 153 and qualifying examinations 7 study habit is the various behavioural patterns adopted by the students to prepare for learning academic material or simply qualifying various tests. 59 5 1 1 5 10 429 3.1 7 0.9 5 agree 77 9 5 1 1 7 62 2 3.9 9 1.0 0 agree 8 study habits are the various strategies applied by a student to learn, generally with a view to achieve success. 65 6 1 6 3 458 3.3 9 1.1 0 agree 91 5 4 7 4 54 4 3.4 9 1.0 3 agree 9 the adopted way and manner a student plans his reading after classroom learning so as to attain mastery of the subject 69 6 1 5 2 471 3.4 9 1.1 6 agree 87 5 1 9 9 52 8 3.3 8 1.0 1 agree 10 the constant practices a person utilizes to study and learn are called study habits. 69 5 7 5 4 461 3.4 1 0.9 9 agree 78 5 8 1 3 7 51 9 3.3 3 1.0 7 agree 11 study habits are the well-planned intended methods of study 71 4 9 1 0 5 456 3.3 8 0.9 1 agree 74 6 5 1 5 2 52 3 3.3 5 1.0 3 agree cluster mean 3.3 9 agree 3.4 9 agree igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 154 table 3 showed the responses of students on the perception of study habits among students of veritas university abuja. result in item 1 shows that the respondents agree that constant practices a person utilizes to study and learn are called study habits with mean score (x̄=3.39, std= 1.12 for male and x̄=3.38, std= 0.94 for female students). for the rest see table 3. results based on the cluster mean (3.39 for male and 3.49 for female students) indicated that male and female students agreed with all the items as study habits among students of veritas university abuja (items: 1 11). test of hypotheses all hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance ho1: there is no significant difference in the mean scores of male and female students on their perception of study habits in veritas university abuja. table 7: hypothesis one (1) students n x̄ sd df t-value p decision male 135 3.39 1.06 289 1.566 0.229 retain female 156 3.49 1.01 t-test was conducted to determine whether there is no significant difference in the mean scores of male and female students on their perception of study habits in veritas university abuja. the result indicate there was no significant difference in the mean scores of male (x̄ = 3.39, sd = 1.06) and female (x̄ = 3.49, sd = 1.01), (t = 1.566, p = 0.229 > 0.05) and female students on their perception of study habits in veritas university abuja. since p = 0.229 > 0.05 is greater than significance level α = 0.05, the researcher retain the null hypothesis, and conclude that there is no significant difference in the mean scores of male and female students on their perception of study habits in veritas university abuja. . discussion of findings the findings of the study revealed that there is no significant difference in the mean scores of male and female students on their perception of study habits in veritas university abuja. this result agrees with the findings of brown (2017) who conducted a meta-analysis of gender-based studies on study habits and found no significant difference between the sexes and adeyemo (2018) whose study found out that male and female students have similar study patterns and perceptions, with no significant variation between genders. also, adebayo (2019) study found out that there was no significant difference between the study habits of male and female students in terms of their academic performance. olawale (2020) study supports the notion that male and female students exhibit similar perceptions of their study habits. furthermore, the finding confirms that of hassan and khan (2020) whose study found no igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 155 significant differences in the study habits of male and female university students in pakistan. singh and kumari (2021) study discovered no significant differences in the study habits of male and female students in their survey of college students in india. again, martins and dondo (2022) argued that gender differences in study habits were statistically insignificant based on their study of high school students. conclusion the findings of this study revealed that study habits play a crucial role in determining the academic performance of students, regardless of gender. both male and female students exhibit similar perceptions of the impact of effective study habits on their academic success, as demonstrated by the absence of significant differences in their perception scores. recommendations based on the results and findings of this study, the following recommendations were made: i. universities should organize workshops that teach effective study habits and time management techniques. these workshops could provide students with practical tools, such as note-taking strategies, concentration techniques, and exam preparation methods, which can help improve their academic performance. ii. universities should integrate study habit training into academic curricula, particularly for new students. courses on effective study techniques can be introduced at the beginning of a student's academic journey to set a strong foundation for academic success. iii. universities management should provide accessible academic support services, such as tutoring, mentoring, and counseling that help students address challenges in their study habits. providing these services will ensure that students have the resources and guidance needed to develop and sustain effective study practices. references adebayo, o. s. (2019). gender differences in the study habits and academic performance of secondary school students. international journal of educational research, 15(2), 123135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2019.01.00 adeyemo, d. a. (2018). gender and academic study habits among undergraduates: implications for educational interventions. journal of social sciences, 24(3), 133-145. https://doi.org/10.1080/09718923.2018.118935 alzahrani, m. j., alzahrani, f. s., & alzahrani, a. s. (2019). the impact of study habits on academic performance in saudi arabia. international journal of medical science and public health, 8(3), 214-218. atsuwe, b. a., & moses, t. (2017). study habits and academic performance among secondary school students in mathematics: a case study of selected secondary schools in makurdi metropolis, benue state, nigeria. international journal of scientific research in education, 10(4), 362-370. shabayang, b. s. (2015). “the importance of educating people in theology in the 21st century to form religious leaders of conscience in nigeria”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 11. 1. 100-112 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 156 shabayang, b. s. (2015). “the evolving role of the african catholic as elder in the task of mediation and reconciliation in nigeria”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 11. 1. 141-164 shabayang, b. s. (2015). “expectations on african catholic youths in the year of hope as gathered or ungathered agents of faith”. amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. 23. 1. 46-61. shabayang, b. s. (2015). “historical exposition of nok as culture known from the iron age use for agricultural development”. amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. 23. 1. 82-93 brown, j. s. (2017). meta-analysis of gender differences in study habits. journal of gender studies, 22(2), 225-240. https://doi.org/10.1080/09589236.2017.1282154 chen, h., & wong, l. (2020). gender perspectives on study habits: are there differences? journal of educational research, 30(2), 98-110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeducres.2020.03.004 chukwu, c. n., & okeke, o. e. (2020). gender differences in perceptions of study habits and academic performance: evidence from nigerian university students. international journal of educational research, 19(3), 155-168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2020.06.012 credé, m., & phillips, l. a. (2011). a meta-analytic review of the motivated strategies for learning questionnaire. learning and individual differences, 21(4), 337-346. ebele, u. f., & olofu, p. a. (2017). study habit and its impact on secondary school students' academic performance in biology in the federal capital territory, abuja. educational research and reviews, 12(10), 583-588. eze, p. e., & okoye, k. a. (2018). gender perspectives on study habits and academic achievement among secondary school students. journal of educational practice, 26(2), 112-125. https://doi.org/10.1080/09728892.2018.1082345 fong, c. j., & chang, y. (2021). the role of self-regulated learning in online education: a review of the literature and directions for research. educational technology research and development, 69(1), 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-021-09902-6 gotip, n. w. & wilfred-bonse, k. u. (2024). use of charts as instructional materials for effective teaching and learning of economics in senior secondary schools. scholar jscience and education. https://scholarj.com/index.php/scienceeducation/article/view/19/18 gotip, n. w., enem, u. e, wilfred-bonse, k. u., bahago, s. b., & sa’aondo, m. (2023). effect of internet-based instructional strategy on students’ academic achievement in economics: counselling and curriculum inference. etdc: indonesian journal of research and educational review. 2(3), pp 01-13. retrieved online from https://www.etdci.org/journal/ijrer/article/view/761/504 gotip, n. w, onuoha, j. c & iorliam, e. i. v (2021). effects of infographics instructional strategy on students’ achievement in senior secondary school economics in pankshin local government area of plateau state, nigeria. international journal of economics education research. 4(1), 142-157. retrieved online from https://iafee.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/gotip-et-al-vol-4-issue-1-2021-pp-141157.pdf igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 157 hassan, m. s., & khan, m. u. (2020). study habits and academic performance: a gender-based comparison. journal of educational research, 14(1), 78-89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeducres.2020.01.007 jafari, h., aghaei, a., khatony, a., & kianipour, n. (2019). the relationship between study habits and academic achievement among students of kermanshah university of medical sciences. educational research in medical sciences, 8(1), e81820. kanu, i. a. (2017). “the philosophical canons of african indigenous education”. hummingbird: journal of african sustainable development. pp. 78-90. vol. 9. no. 8. kanu, i. a. (2017). “augustine as the thought-current of the church’s doctrinal tradition: reflection on augustinum hipponsensem”. vol. 7. no. 6. pp. 69-81. african scholar: journal of contemporary education. kanu, i. a. (2017). “augustine as a luminary among ecclesiastical teachers: reflection on ad salutem”. berkeley: journal of contemporary education research. vol. 4. no. 6. pp. 105-116. kanu, i. a. and ejike, n. (2017). “religious and moral education in nigeria: a complementing search for development”. oracle of wisdom journal of philosophy and public affairs. vol. 1. no. 1. pp.79-84. kanu, i. a. (2018). “the africanness of augustine’s religio-humanistic thoughts on education”. amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 16. no. 1. pp. 1-9. kanu, i. a. (2018). “igwebuike and the question of superiority in the scientific community of knowledge”. journal of african studies and sustainable development. vol. 1. no. 1. pp. 131-138. kanu, i. a. (2024). “implications of folk songs for education in africa”. innovations, number 77, june, pp. 473-485. kanu, i. a. (2024). “educational value of african folktales”. innovations, number 77, june, pp. 787-804. kaur, r., & pathania, r. (2015). study habits and academic performance among late adolescents. studies on home and community science, 9(1), 33-35. khatony, a., jafari, h., aghaei, a., & kianipour, n. (2020). study habits and their relationship with academic performance among students of kermanshah university of medical sciences. *bmc medical education kukreja, r., & kapoor, p. (2022). the role of peer collaboration in fostering effective study habits and academic achievement. journal of educational psychology research, 15(4), 78-92. kumar, r. (2015). study habits of secondary school students in relation to type of school and type of family. international journal of social science and humanities research, 3(2), 488-493. martins, k. l., & dondo, o. p. (2022). gender-based perceptions of study habits in secondary school students. educational evaluation and policy analysis, 20(3), 176-188. https://doi.org/10.3102/01623737221102832 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 158 obayi, a. u, oleabhile, e. o., suleiman, a. s., gotip, n. w., shugaba, m & kalu, c. u. (2024). impact of reflective teaching strategy on the academic achievement of senior secondary school students in economics in yobe state, nigeria. international journal of advance research and innovative ideas in education (ijariie). 10(3):176-185. olawale, s. o. (2020). gender and study habits: a comparative analysis of male and female students in higher education. journal of educational psychology, 18(3), 154-168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeducpsych.2020.02.003 oleabhiele, e. o., kalu, c. u. & gotip, n. w. (2024). correlation between the academic performance of students from southeast nigeria in economics and the instructional strategies employed by their economics instructors. international journal of advance research and innovative ideas in education (ijariie). 10(3):186-194. oni, k. a. (2021). an analysis of gender and study habits: exploring the relationship among university students. journal of educational studies, 18(4), 211-223. https://doi.org/10.1080/09718923.2021.2028371 owusu-acheaw, m., & larson, a. g. (2017). reading habits among students and its effect on academic performance: a study of students of koforidua polytechnic. library philosophy and practice, 1456. retrieved from https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/1456. rahman, m. m., & akter, s. (2023). the influence of digital study habits on the academic performance of university students in bangladesh. journal of learning and development, 11(2), 105-118. https://doi.org/10.20448/journal.509.2023.112.105.118 ramos, j. c., & santos, p. l. (2021). gender and effective study strategies: a comparative analysis among university students. educational research journal, 29(1), 95-106. https://doi.org/10.1080/09729892.2021.2156783 singh, r., & kumari, p. (2021). an analysis of gender differences in study habits among college students. educational research and reviews, 16(4), 110-120. https://doi.org/10.5897/err2021.4113 williams, r. m. (2017). gender, study habits, and academic performance: a focus on the perception of effectiveness. journal of educational research and practice, 12(3), 97-112. https://doi.org/10.1080/09718798.2017.128321 1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya unlocking sustainable peace and development in africa: the power of igwebuike oviemuno wilfred egara delta state university of science and technology, ozoro egaraovie@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.33952.39688 abstract the pursuit of sustainable peace and development in africa faces numerous challenges, including persistent conflicts, economic instability, and social fragmentation even though sustainable peace is a panacea for growth and advancement. this paper explores the transformative potential of igwebuike, an indigenous igbo-african philosophy, as a framework for addressing these challenges. igwebuike, meaning “there is strength in unity,” emphasizes communal harmony, collective strength, and mutual support. by analyzing its philosophical foundations and practical applications, this study illustrates how igwebuike can enhance conflict resolution, promote inclusive development, and strengthen social cohesion. case studies from different african contexts were employed to demonstrate the successful integration of igwebuike principles in fostering community-driven initiatives and sustainable resource management. despite modern challenges such as increasing individualism and cultural shifts, igwebuike offers a culturally resonant approach to peace-building and development. this paper argues that embracing igwebuike can provide african nations with innovative and effective strategies for achieving long-term stability and prosperity for all. the descriptive and analytic methods were utilized to sustain this research; recommendations were made and the researcher held by way of conclusion that the principles of igwebuike can enhance conflict resolution, promote sustainable development, and strengthen social welfare systems, paving the way for a more harmonious and prosperous future for the continent. keywords: africa, sustainable peace, development, igwebuike, unity, cooperation, community. introduction africa, a continent blessed with vast mineral and natural resources and diverse cultures, continues to grapple with numerous challenges of sustainable peace and development, challenges such as conflicts, poverty, inequality, and political instability, cutting across the north, south, east, west and central africa respectively that hinder its path to sustainable peace and development. in the face of these challenges, the concept of igwebuike has emerged as a powerful force, offering profound insights and solutions for unlocking the potential for peace and development in africa. 'igwebuike', a term derived from the igbo language of nigeria, translates to “there is strength in unity” and emphasizes communal harmony, collective strength, and mutual support, embodies the idea of communal unity and collective strength in overcoming obstacles and building prosperous societies. according to nwala (2017), igwebuike, offers a transformative approach to unlocking sustainable peace and development in africa. the philosophy of igwebuike emphasizes community interdependence, collective responsibility, and the importance of unity in overcoming challenges. by leveraging this philosophy, african nations can foster collaborative efforts that promote peace-building and sustainable development, ensuring that all voices are heard and valued in the process. the introduction of igwebuike into peace and development strategies can transform the landscape of conflict resolution in africa. traditional approaches often overlook the communal 2 aspects of conflict, focusing instead on individual grievances. in contrast, igwebuike recognizes that conflicts affect the entire community and seeks to restore harmony through inclusive dialogue and reconciliation (kanu, 2017). this holistic perspective not only addresses immediate disputes but also lays the groundwork for long-term stability and growth, making it a vital tool for policymakers and community leaders across the continent. thus, this paper will explore the power of igwebuike in unlocking sustainable peace and development in africa, and also look at similar concepts in africa and how it has shaped the system of those nations where they were practiced. this article outlines the core principles, practical applications, and potential of igwebuike in promoting sustainable peace and development in africa. the method to sustain this research will be descriptive and analytic given the nature of the research in view. understanding the concept of igwebuike igwebuike is a philosophical framework deeply rooted in african communalism. it underscores the belief that individuals are interconnected and that their well-being is intrinsically linked to the well-being of the community. understanding the concept, kanu (2017) posited that “igwebuike is an igbo word; one of the major dialects in africa, particularly in nigeria. it is a principle that is at the heart of african thought, and in fact, the modality of being in african ontology”. it is a composite word made up of three dimensions (kanu 2015). therefore, it can be employed as a word or used as a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. the three words involved: igwe is a noun which means 'number' or 'population', usually a huge number or population. bu is a verb, which means 'is'. ike is another verb, which means 'strength' or 'power' (kanu 2016). thus, put together, it means 'number is strength' or 'number is power', that is, when human beings come together in solidarity and complementarity, they are powerful or can constitute an insurmountable force (kanu, 2017). as an indigenous african philosophy, igwebuike, viewed from an ontological lens, gives an understanding of the human person as a being who is in relation with the other in the world. it establishes that there exists a common link between human persons and that it is through this relationship that every other human person realizes himself or herself. igwebuike is the capacity in igbo-african ontology for the expression of complementarity, solidarity, compassion, reciprocity, dignity and harmony for the purpose of building and maintaining community. igwebuike is a philosophical concept rooted in igbo culture, embodying the idea that “there is strength in unity” (ekeke, 2018). it emphasizes interconnectedness and complementarity among individuals and realities, “promoting collective growth, cooperation, and mutual understanding” (nwala, 2017). the igwebuike philosophy is founded on for four basic principles which include according to kanu (2021) is as follows: the principle of identity it states that every being is determined in itself, is one with itself and is consistent in itself. thus, every being is one with itself and divided from others. the principle of hierarchy every reality in the universe has a force; however, not all realities have the same force. the variety of the degree of forces is at the base of the categorization of being. in the hierarchy of forces, those with a greater force come first, with god at the apex as the source of all force. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 3 the principle of contrariety this speaks of the otherness of reality. the word contrariety is from the word contrary. aristotle as cited in kanu (2019) defines contrariety thus: “contrariety is a kind of difference, and difference is a kind of otherness”. he writes that: “the term contrary is applied to those attributes differing in genius, which cannot belong at the same time to the same subject, to the most different of the things in the same genius, to the most different of the attributes in the same recipient subject, to the most different of things that fall under the same faculty, to the things whose difference is greatest either absolutely or in genius or in species. the other things that are called contrary are so called, some because they possess of the above kind, some because they are receptive of such, some because they are productive of or susceptible to such, or are producing or suffering them, or are losses or acquisitions, or possessions of privations of such (kanu, ibid). igwebuike accepts contrariety as part of the natural universe as it recognizes that individual prosperity is linked to the well-being of the community (ekeke, 2018). the principle of unity in spite of the contrariety of reality, in spite of the singular identity of each reality, there is something common to everything. igwebuike according to kanu (2019), “understands every individual reality as part of and the completion of the whole, and thus there is a unity in the midst of diversity. igwebuike presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations. thus, 'to be' is to live in solidarity and complementarity and to live outside the parameters of solidarity and complementarity is to suffer alienation”. thus, this principle emphasizes the importance of unity and cooperation in achieving common goals (nwala, 2017). these principles collectively promote a holistic understanding of existence and social cohesion. igwebuike transcends cultural boundaries, advocating for universal relevance in addressing human challenges and fostering communal well-being. igwebuike and peace action (conflict resolution) the concept of peace, like most concepts in social discourse, has no universal definition. however, peace has been vaguely defined as the absence of war, fear, conflict, anxiety, suffering and violence (david, 2006). but this conception has been criticized by many scholars for being inadequate for understanding the meaning and nature of peace (ibeanu, 2006 cited in igbuzor, 2011). the norwegian peace theorist, johan galtung distinguishes three types of violence that can help to understand the concept of peace namely: i) direct violence manifested by physical, emotional and psychological violence. ii) structural violence which comes in the form of deliberate policies and structures that cause human suffering, death and harm; and iii) cultural violence which involves cultural norms and practices that creates discrimination, injustice and human suffering (david, 2006). in addition galtung outlines two dimension of peace. the first is negative peace which is the absence of direct violence, war, fear and conflict at individual, national, regional and international levels; and positive peace which describes the absence of unjust structures, unequal relationships, justice and inner peace at individual level. according to igbuzor (2011), prof. okey ibeanor defines the concept of peace as “activities that are directly or indirectly linked to increasing development and reducing conflict, both within specific societies and in the wider international community”. viewing peace through the lens of igwebuike, kanu (2017) posits that “igwebuike understands peace within the context of good health, wellbeing, order and freshness. from this understanding, poverty, insecurity, unemployment, waywardness, communal clashes, religious igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 4 crisis, and other mysterious and human-made misfortunes are considered to be the opposite or negation of peace”. more so, igwebuike philosophy in relation to conflict does not understand conflict merely as a dispute or disagreement between two persons, or two groups, it rather understands conflict as a dispute touching upon the harmony of reality (kanu, ibid). thus, it works towards a compromise for the reconciliation of both parties and the restoration of balance and harmony of reality. thus, conflict is not viewed as a problem between the disputants but as a problem of the entire community. this, therefore, attracts the attention of the community. igwebuike therefore lays emphasis on reconciliation and restoration of social harmony. its purpose is aimed at rebuilding broken relationships and restoring the community peace. igwebuike works towards a situation that acknowledges a mutually beneficial condition rather than just condemning one and exalting the other. this is because it emphasizes cooperation with one another for the common good as opposed to competition that could lead to grave instability within the community (kanu, ibid). in applying the igwebuike philosophy, african traditional societies have long used communal approaches to resolve disputes, emphasizing reconciliation, restorative justice, and the restoration of social harmony. igwebuike provides a framework for these practices by promoting dialogue, empathy, and mutual understanding (nze, 2018). for instance, traditional councils and assemblies in many african communities operate on principles of consensus and collective decision-making, reflecting the igwebuike philosophy. these mechanisms prioritize the collective well-being over individual interests, fostering a sense of solidarity and shared purpose. igwebuike and sustainable development the concept of development is broad based. however, many students and scholars see development as progress, moving forward, improvement in the way of life, etc. igbuzor (2011) sees “development as a multi-dimensional process, one that changes the economy, polity and society of the countries in which it occurs”. amartya sen (2008) sees development as a process of expanding the real freedoms that people enjoy. according to her, “development requires the removal of major sources of unfreedom: poverty as well as tyranny, poor economic opportunities as well as systematic social deprivation, neglect of public facilities as well as intolerance or over activity of repressive states”. the human development report 2007/2008 stated that: “human development is about people. it is about expanding people's real choices and the substantive freedoms, the capabilities that enable them to lead lives that they value”. according to igbuzor (2011), choice and freedom in human development mean something more than the absence of constraints. people whose lives are blighted by poverty, ill health or illiteracy are not in any meaningful sense free to lead the lives that they value. neither are people who are denied the civil and political rights they need to influence decisions that affect their lives (undp, 2007). for pat utomi (2006), “development simply put is discipline. it is about how discipline drives the human spirit to triumph over odds of poverty trap, physical geography, fiscal trap, governance, cultural barriers, geopolitics, lack of innovation and demographic trap”. kambhampati (2004) argues that “development requires growth and structural change, some igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 5 measure of distributive equity, modernization in social and cultural attitudes, a degree of political transformation and stability, an improvement in health and education so that population growth stabilizes, and an increase in urban living and employment. from the above, it is clear to us that even though there are different perspectives to development, there is a general consensus that development will lead to good change manifested in increased capacity of people to have control over material assets, intellectual resources and ideology; and obtain physical necessities of life (food, clothing and shelter), employment, equality, participation in government, political and economic independence, adequate education, gender equality, sustainable development and peace (igbuzor, 2011). sustainable development therefore deduced from the above definitions and notions of development is seen as a sustained growth or change in the positive direction of man's life or wellbeing. igwebuike sees sustainable development from a humanistic point of view. it is a humanistic economics according to how prof. anthony kanu called it: igwebuikeconomics (that is igwebuike and economics) that concerns itself with the description and analysis of production, distribution and consumption of goods and services from a complementary perspective for the development of peoples. it understands economic realities not in terms of aspects, identities and static elements but thinks in terms of relatedness that systematically takes into cognizance the interactions of the different elements of social life, especially, economic structure, political structure, social structure and belief systems, with an awareness of the complexity and dynamism of relatedness (kanu, 2021). igwebuike's principles can significantly inform sustainable development strategies in africa in the following ways: 1. community-driven development: igwebuike advocates for development approaches that are participatory and inclusive. by involving community members in decisionmaking processes, development projects become more relevant, effective, and sustainable. this approach ensures that the benefits of development are equitably distributed, reducing inequality and fostering social cohesion. 2. resource management: the communal ethos of igwebuike encourages the sustainable management of resources. communities that embrace igwebuike are more likely to adopt practices that protect their environment and natural resources, ensuring long-term sustainability. this principle can be particularly effective in addressing issues such as deforestation, overfishing, and land degradation. 3. social welfare: igwebuike emphasizes mutual support and shared responsibility. this philosophy can enhance social welfare systems by promoting community-based support networks. for example, communal child-rearing practices, support for the elderly, and cooperative economic activities reflect igwebuike's emphasis on collective well-being of all. research has shown that igwebuike has the potential to promote sustainable peace and development in africa. a study conducted in nigeria found that communities that embraced igwebuike experienced reduced conflict and increased economic growth (ekeke, 2018). similarly, a study in rwanda found that igwebuike-based initiatives promoted reconciliation and social cohesion among communities affected by conflict (mvukiyehe, 2020). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 6 furthermore, igwebuike aligns with the united nations' sustainable development goals (sdgs), particularly goal 16, which emphasizes the importance of peace, justice, and strong institutions for sustainable development (united nations, 2020). case studies of similar concepts and igwebuike several case studies demonstrate the effectiveness of igwebuike in promoting sustainable peace and development. here, the researcher will look at two case studies to buttress the point of this paper which include: rwanda's gacaca courts in peace and conflict management: the name "gacaca" refers to the grass on which community members would sit to discuss and resolve disputes. in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide, rwanda implemented gacaca courts in 2001, a traditional justice system aimed at reconciliation and restorative justice (mvukiyehe, 2020). these courts operated on principles similar to igwebuike, emphasizing community involvement, dialogue, and collective healing. the gacaca courts played a crucial role in rebuilding social cohesion and promoting national reconciliation. the gacaca courts of rwanda, established in 2001, were a community-based judicial system designed to address the overwhelming backlog of genocide cases following the 1994 rwandan genocide, during which approximately 800,000 tutsis and moderate hutus were killed (clark, 2010). the term "gacaca," meaning "justice on the grass" in kinyarwanda, reflects the courts' outdoor settings where community members gathered to witness trials and participate in the justice process. the gacaca system aimed to promote truth, reconciliation, and accountability by allowing local communities to judge those accused of genocide-related crimes. it was a significant departure from traditional judicial processes, focusing on collective participation and restorative justice rather than solely punitive measures. over a decade, the gacaca courts processed nearly two million cases, with a conviction rate of about 65% for those tried. however, the courts faced criticism for not adhering to international legal standards, as many judges lacked formal legal training, and defendants often did not have access to legal representation. critics argue that the gacaca courts sometimes prioritized political agendas over genuine reconciliation, leading to a perception of bias in the trials (corey and joreiman, 2004). despite these challenges, the gacaca courts played a crucial role in rwanda's post-genocide recovery, fostering community dialogue and addressing the need for justice in a society deeply scarred by violence. they were officially closed in 2012, leaving a complex legacy of both achievements and shortcomings in the quest for national unity and healing (thomson, 2015; bbc news, 2012). kenya's harambee movement in sustainable development: the term "harambee" means "pulling together" in swahili, reflecting the movement's core principle of collective action and community-driven development (hill, 1991). the harambee movement in kenya embodies the igwebuike philosophy by encouraging collective efforts for community development. initiated by jomo kenyatta, kenya's first president, harambee has been instrumental in building schools, health centers, and other infrastructure through communal labor and contributions. this movement has fostered a sense of unity and collective responsibility among kenyans. it is a self-help initiative that has played a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 7 significant role in the country's socio-economic development since its inception in the 1960s (mbithi, 1976). the harambee movement emerged as a grassroots effort to address the lack of government resources for public goods and services, particularly in the education sector. community members would come together to organize fundraising events, known as "harambee drives," to finance the construction of schools, health centers, roads, and other infrastructure projects (chepkwony, 2008 and mbithi, ibid). the movement has been particularly successful in the education sector, contributing to the construction of over 200 schools, 40 health centers, 260 nursery centers, and 500 km of rural access roads by 1993 (chepkwoney, ibid). the harambee schools, in particular, have provided educational opportunities to many kenyans who would otherwise have limited access to formal schooling (hill, 1991). the harambee movement according to smith (2008) has also been instrumental in fostering a sense of community ownership and responsibility for development projects. by actively participating in the planning, implementation, and maintenance of these projects, community members develop a vested interest in their success and sustainability. miller (2014) observed that the harambee movement was a unique and influential initiative in kenya's post-independence development. while its impact has been subject to various interpretations, it remains an important symbol of african self-reliance and community-driven development. however, the harambee movement has faced some challenges, such as the potential for misuse of funds and the uneven distribution of resources across different regions and communities. additionally, the movement has been criticized for placing a heavy burden on the poor and for reinforcing existing power structures and inequalities (smith, 2008). despite these challenges, the harambee movement remains an important aspect of kenyan society, reflecting the country's spirit of self-reliance, community solidarity, and grassroots development. as kenya continues to face development challenges, the harambee movement may continue to play a role in addressing the needs of local communities and fostering sustainable development. challenges and opportunities while igwebuike offers a robust framework for sustainable peace and development, it is important to state here that it does not also come handy without challenges. thus, like every other concept in use that stands in harmony with man's existence, has its own short coming. below are the possible challenges observed: 1. modernization and individualism: the increasing influence of western individualistic values poses a threat to the communal ethos of igwebuike. this cultural shift can lead to the erosion of traditional practices and social bonds as we know them to be. 2. scalability: applying igwebuike principles on a larger, national scale can be challenging, particularly in diverse and complex societies with varying cultural norms and values like nigeria, where every culture wants to dominate each other due to lack of trust. this will lead to the igwebuiketic mirage of complementarity and unity amongst the different cultures. the true spirit that igwebuike carries will be watered down. 3. misinterpretation: because of the so-called suspicion amongst tribes and cultures, there is a risk of misinterpretation or oversimplification of the concept of igwebuike, leading to its inappropriate application or exploitation for personal or political gain as it igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 8 is experienced in nigeria where a particular region of the country takes pride in promoting religious beliefs against other tribes for political gains. however, despite these challenges, the opportunities presented by igwebuike are vast. by integrating this indigenous philosophy into contemporary development strategies, african nations can leverage the strengths of their cultural heritage to foster more cohesive, resilient, and prosperous communities. recommendation/conclusion from the foregoing, it is deduced by the researcher that one way to unlock sustainable peace in africa is by fostering dialogue and conflict resolution mechanisms that align with the principles of igwebuike. if it worked in the gacaca courts of rwanda after the genocide, igwebuike can be integrated into the justice system of nations, with a face of humanity. this can involve strengthening regional organizations, such as the ecowas, african union, to mediate disputes and promote peaceful conflict resolution. additionally, investing in education and awareness campaigns that promote the values of igwebuike can help build a culture of peace and understanding among african citizens. to achieve sustainable development, african nations must prioritize inclusive growth that benefits all members of society. the philosophy of igwebuike which is complementarity, harmony and strength in unity, which is the ontological force behind the concept, can inform development policies that focus on equitable distribution of resources, empowerment of marginalized communities, and investment in human capital. by embracing the interconnectedness of economic, social, and environmental factors, african nations can pursue development that is both sustainable and beneficial to all going by the dictum in our local parlance that states “united we stand, divided we fall”. furthermore, the power of igwebuike can be harnessed to address global challenges that impact africa, such as climate change and global inequalities. by working together and leveraging their collective voice, african nations can advocate for integrated igwebuike policies and initiatives that support sustainable development and climate action. this can involve collaborating with international partners while maintaining a strong commitment to african-led solutions that align with the principles of igwebuike. in conclusion, unlocking sustainable peace and development in africa requires a holistic approach that combines conflict resolution mechanisms, inclusive growth strategies, and a strong commitment to the principles of igwebuike. igwebuike, with its emphasis on unity, collective strength, and communal harmony, offers a powerful framework for unlocking sustainable peace and development in africa. by drawing on this indigenous philosophy, african nations can address contemporary challenges in ways that are culturally resonant and effective. the principles of igwebuike can enhance conflict resolution, promote sustainable development, and strengthen social welfare systems, paving the way for a more harmonious and prosperous future for the continent. more so, by embracing the power of togetherness and collective action, african nations can build a more peaceful, prosperous, and equitable continent for all. references allison corey & sandra f. joireman. (2004). retributive justice: the gacaca process in rwanda h�ps://scholarship.richmond.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?ar�cle=1115&context=poliscifaculty-publica�ons igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 9 bbc news (2012). rwanda 'gacaca' genocide courts finish work. h�ps://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-18490348 clark, p. (2010). the gacaca courts, post-genocide justice and reconciliation in rwanda: justice without lawyers. cambridge university press. ekeke, c. (2018). igwebuike: a philosophy of unity and development. journal of african philosophy, 11(1), 1-15. francis j. david. ( 2006). peace and conflict studies: an african overview of basic concepts in best, s. g. (ed), introduction to peace and conflict studies in west africa: a reader. ibadan, spectrum books limited. kefa c. chepkwony (2008). the role of harambee in socio-economic development in kenya: a c a s e o f t h e e d u c a t i o n s e c t o r . a v a i l a b l e a t h�ps://africanphilanthropy.issuelab.org/resources/20232/20232.pdf hill martin (1991). the harambee movement in kenya: self-help, development and among the kamba of kitui district. available at h�ps://www.routledge.com/the-harambeemovement-in-kenya-self-help-development-and-educa�on-among-the-kamba-of-kituidistrict/hill/p/book/9780367717124 igbuzor otive (2011). “peace and security education: a critical factor for sustainable peace and national development”. international journal of peace and development studies vol. 2(1), pp. 1-7, issn 2141-6621. available at h�p://www.academicjournals.org/ijpds james smith. (2008). self-help, development and education among the kamba of kitui district. journal of modern african studies. published online by cambridge university press h�ps://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-modern-africanstudies/ar�cle/abs/harambee-movement-in-kenya-sel�elp-development-and-educa�onamong-the-kamba-of-kitui-district-by-mar�n-j-d-hill-london-and-atlan�c-highlands-newjersey-the-athlone-press-1991-pp-viii-329-3800/06f2e9200c63138a5c8ffbecc35ad248 kambhampati u.s. (2004). development and developing world. uk, polity press. kanu, i. anthony. (2021). igwebuike: an operative condition of african philosophy, religion and culture: towards a thermodynamic transformative ontology. maiden inaugural lecture at the tansian university, umunya, anambra state, nigeria. kanu, i. anthony (2019). on the origin and principles of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11(1). pp. 159-176. kanu, i. anthony (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african modality of peace and conflict resolution. journal of african traditional religion and philosophy (jatrep).vol. 1(1), pp. 31-40 kanu, i. anthony. (2017). igwebuike as a philosophical attribute of africa in portraying the image of life. a paper presented at the 2017 oracle of wisdom international conference by the department of philosophy, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, 27-29 april. kanu, i. anthony (2015). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutic of globalization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 1(1), pp. 1-11. mbithi, philip (1976). the harambee movement in kenya: self-help, development and education among the kamba of kitui district. institute of development studies bulletin, vol. 7(4), pp. 49-54. miller, n. (2014). the harambee movement and the politics of development in kenya. journal of eastern african studies, 8(4), 647-664. mvukiyehe, e. (2020). igwebuike-based initiatives for reconciliation and social cohesion in rwanda. journal of conflict resolution, vol. 64(3), 537-555. nwala, t. (2017). igwebuike: the igbo philosophy of unity and development. journal of igbo studies, vol. 1(1), 1-20. nze, chukwuemeka (2018). communal conflict resolution mechanisms and igwebuike igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 10 philosophy in nigeria. african journal of conflict resolution, vol. 18(2), pp. 45-62. sen a (2008). development as freedom. oxford, oxford university press. susan thompson (2015). rwanda's gacaca courts. open edition journals. available at h�ps://journals.openedi�on.org/temoigner/3537?lang=en united nations. (2020). sustainable development goals. retrieved from www.un.org united nations development programme. (2020). africa's sustainable development priorities. retrieved from h�ps://www.africa.undp.org/content/rba/en/home/sustainabledevelopment-priori�es.html undp (2007). fighting climate change: human solidarity in a divided world. human development report 2007/2008. new york, united nations development programme (undp). utomi, p. (2006). why nations are poor. lagos, centre for applied economics, lagos business school, nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol 9 no.1, 2023 www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/igwebuikejournals.php a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 132 mmebe na ntụghari mkpụrụokwu bekee n’igbo: nsogbu na ụsa nye ya daniel ihunanya ilechukwu ngalaba amụmamụ igbo, afrịka na nzikọrịtaozi mahadum nnamdị azikiwe, ọka di.ilechukwu@unizik.edu.ng na christian e. c. ọgwụdịle ngalaba amụmamụ igbo, afrịka na nzikọrịtaozi mahadum nnamdị azikiwe, ọka doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.27610.21449 ụmị ederede mgbe ọ bụla a na-ekwu maka ntụgharị, ihe ọzọ a na-ajụ ase ya bụ mkpụrụokwu a ga-atụgharị. mkpụrụokwu dị ome ntụgharị nnukwu mkpa. o nwere ike ịbụ mkpụrụokwu agụmagụ, nka na ụzụ ma ọ bụ nke mkpokọta ka ọ chọrọ iji hụ na ntụgharị ya bụ kpoo. a na-emepụta mkpụrụokwu ọhụrụ dị iche iche na mba ụwa dị iche iche iji nwee aha a ga na-akpọ ọtụtụ ihe ọhụrụ na-apụta kwa ụbọchị n’ụwa taa. mana ọ bụ ihe mwute na asụsụ igbo etorubeghị ka asụsụ ndị a a na-ekwu maka ha n’ụwa taa dị ka bekee, french, jaman, chaịna, wdg. ndị ọka ntụgharị n’onwe ha na-agabiga ihe nhịam ahụ dị egwu mgbe ha na-emepụta okwu ohụrụ. ederede a lebara anya na nsogbu dị iche iche a na-agabiga n’imebe mkpụrụokwu ọhụrụ n’igbo, mbọ ndị ọka mmụta gbarala na ihe ndị a ga-eme iji belata nsogbu ndị a. a gbasoro atụtụ nṅomite, ndaịta na nke mmebe mkpụrụokwu nke (ajụnwa 2014). a gbasoro nsoro nkanye akara ụdaolu ke green na igwe (1963), bụ nke maziri na a ga-akanye akara n’ụda ala na ụda nsụda naanị ka ụda elu wee ghara ibu akara ọ bụla. dị ka e nwere usoro ndekọ na ndesa n’odide asụsụ igbo, a gbasoro usoro ndesa n’ide mkpụrụokwu ndị dị n’ederede a. naanị mkpụrụokwu ndị e dekọrọ ọnụ bụ ndị e dekọrọ ọnụ n’akwụkwọ ọkaasụsụ igbo bụ nke ndị otu a kpọrọ spilc dere. ederede a ga-aba uru n’ụlọ akwụkwọ niile a na-amụ asụsụ igbo nye ndị nkụzi na daniel ihunanya ilechukwu & christian e. c. ọgwụdịle 133 ụmụ akwụkwọ. ndị ụlọ mgbasa ozi na otu isa ga-eritekwa nnukwu uru na mkpụrụokwu ọhụrụ ndị e mebere. o kwesịrị ka e tutekwa otu spilc na isc (the igbo standardization committee). gọọmentị kwesịrị itinye aka n’ihe gbasara ịzụpụta ndị ntụgharị na ndị mmebe okwu. e kwesịrị iwube ọba akwụkwọ ebe a ga na-achọta okwu ọhụrụ ndị e mebere. mkpọlite mmebe mkpụrụokwu pụtara ichepụta mkpụrụokwu ọhụrụadịbughị mbụ maka okwu mbịa mbịa ọhụrụ batara n‟asụsụ. a bịa n‟ihe gbasara ntụgharị, ọtụtụ ndị ọka mmụta dị iche enyela nkọwa dị iche iche gbasara ihe ọ pụtara. na nchịkọta nkọwa niile ha nyere, a ga-asị na ntụgharị bụ s n‟otu asụsụ gbanwegharịa ederede n‟asụsụ ọzọ maka inwe nghọta ihe e dere. mmebe mkpụrụokwu na ntụgharị bụ aka nrị na aka ekpe maka na omepụta mkpụrụokwu na-echepụta okwu ome ntụgharị ji arụ ọrụ ya. ya bụ na ọ pụtara na ome ntụgharị na-ejekwuru omepụta mkpụrụokwu maka inweta mkpụrụokwu ọhụrụ o ji arụ ọrụ. dị ka a maara nke ọma na ụwa anyị bi n‟ime ya na-emepe ọsọ ọsọ kwa ụbọchị. dị ka mmepe a na-aga n‟ihu, ọtụtụ ihe ọhụrụadịbughị mbụ na-awụpụta kwa ụbọchị bụ ndị anyị na-anụ maka ha mgbe niile. ihe mmepụta ọhụrụ ndị a enwebeghị ihe a naakpọ ha n‟asụsụ dị iche iche, tụmadụ n‟obodo ndị ka na-emepe emepe dị ka igbo, awụsa, yoruba, wdg, iji hụ na onye ọ bụla ghọtara ihe ha bụ. iji maa atụ, n‟oge mbụ, e nwebughị ihe ọ bụla a na-akpọ university, computer, percent, mornitor, wdg. ọ bụrụ na ndị nọ n‟ime obodo ga-aghọta ihe okwu ndị ahụ dị n‟elu na ndị ọzọ pụtara, ọ dị mkpa na a ga-atụgharị ha n‟igbo. ọ bụrụ na e mee nke a, “university” ga-abụ “mahadum,”“computer” ga-abụ igwe ozi, “percent” ga-abụ ndịnarị ebe “mornitor” ga-abụ enyo ngosi, wdg. ihe ọzọ dịzi mkpa bụ ime ka okwu ndị e mepụtara ọhụrụ na ndị a tụgharịtara n‟igbo gbasaa ma guzosie ike. tupu nke a adị ire, ọ dị mkpa ikwu na ndị igbo niile aghaghị inwe otu kwudosiri ike ga na-ahụ maka inyocha okwu ọ bụla e mebere ọhụrụ, hụ na ọ dabara ma nabata ya ka ọ banye n‟ọnụọgụmkpụrụokwu dị nankọwaokwu asụsụ igbo. gbasara nsụpe asụsụ igbo n‟ederede a, rukwee taa, a ka na-enwe ndọrọ ndọrọ gbasara ndekọ na ndesa asụsụ igbo. ọ bụ ya kpatara na e nwere otu abụọ gbasara ndekọ na ndesa asụsụ igbo. ihe ọ pụtara bụ na odee ọ bụla nwere ike ịhọrọ idesa okwu edesa ma ọ bụ idekọ ya ọnụ ma kwụdosie ike na nke ọ bụla ọ họọrọ. n‟ihi mmebe na ntụghari mkpụrụokwu bekee n’igbo: nsogbu na ụsa nye ya 134 ọnọdụ a, odee ederede a họọrọ idesa okwu edesa bụ nke kara daba n‟usoro ụtọasụsụ igbo maka na ndị na-edekọ ọnụ bụ asụsụ bekee ka ha na-elere anya eme nke a. iji ma atụ, ọ bụrụ e nwere ihe dị ka teachers na bekee, ndị ndekọ elere anya na ọ bụ otu okwu na bekee mee ya otu okwu n‟igbo ebe o doro anya na asụsụ ọ bụla nwere ụdịdi ya.mana e dekọrọ mkpụrụokwu ndị ahụ e dekọrọ ọnụ n‟akwụkwọ ọkaasụsụ igbo nke ndị otu spilc dere. ọnọdụ mkpụrụokwu igbo n’oge ugbu a ọtụtụ ndị ọka mmụta na ndị ihe gbasara asụsụ igbo na-amasị agbaala mbọ ole ike kwere ha iji hụ na asụsụ igbo towanyere na mkpụrụokwu ọhụrụ. ndị mme ntụgharị na ndị na-emebe mkpụrụokwu emebela ọtụtụ mkpụrụ okwu maka ngalaba dị iche iche metụtara asụsụ igbo. otu ihe jọrọ njọ na mbọ a ndị dị iche iche na-agba bụ na ọ bụghị ha niile bụ ndị tozuru imepụta mkpụrụokwu ma ọ bụ tụgharịta mkpụrụokwu dabara adaba. iji maa atụ, e nweela ọtụtụ mkpụrụokwu ndị ọka mmụta tozuru mepụtara ọhụrụ makpucha n‟ụlọ akwụkwọ ha dị iche iche na-eche ndị ga-ewere ha tinye n‟ọrụ, ebe ndị mgbasa ozi (ndị nta akụkọ) asụsụ igbo na-eji aka ha mebe mkpụrụokwu ndị adabaghị adaba ma na-agbasi mbọ ike ka ọ gbasaa ebe niile. iji maa atụ, ọ bụrụ na ị na-ege akụkọ ụwa nke ọma n‟igbo, ị ga-achọpụta na ihe ndị mgbasa ozi na-akpọ „permanent secretory‟ bụ ode akwụkwọ ọkpụtọọrọ ọkpụ, n‟ihi na ha amaghị na ihe ọ bụla dị ọkpụtọọrọ ọkpụ enweghị njedebe, mana „perm sec‟ na-emechaa laa ezumike nka. mmadụ nwere ike ịsị na chukwu dị ọkpụtọọrọ ọkpụ mana e nweghị ike ịsị na mmadụ ọ bụla dị ọkpụtọọrọ ọkpụ. ya bụ na ihe anyị naekwu bụ na okwu ka mma maka ‘permanent secretory’ bụ ode ‘akwụkwọ ndịgide.’ ihe kpataranke a bụ na ihe ọ bụla na-adịgide adịgide nwere mgbe ọ naanọgịde jedebe mana ihe dị ọkpụ tọọrọ ọkpụ enweghị njedebe ọ bụla. mgbe ụfọdụ, anyị ga-achọpụta na e nwere okwu ndị a na-enwe mgbagwoju anya na ntụgharị ha ma ọ bụ na mpụtara ha. ijioma (2006) ji ọmụma atụ a dị n‟ala kọwaa ihe a na-ekwu nke ọma: ọmụma atụ nke mbụ. a. “bomb” b. “nuclear weapon” c. “explosive” d. “chemical weapon” daniel ihunanya ilechukwu & christian e. c. ọgwụdịle 135 okwu bekee ndị niile dị n‟elu bụ ‘ogbunigwe’ ka ndị igbo na-akpọkọta ha niile, ebe anyị ma na n‟ihi ụdịdị ha na etu ha si akpa agwa na ndị mebere ha nyere ha ụdịrị aha dị iche iche. gịnị kpatara na igbo agaghị enwenwu aha ha n‟iche n‟iche? ọ bụ maka na ọ dị ka a ga-asị na ọ ga-ahịa ahụ inwe aha ga-adaba na nke ọ bụla n‟ime ha. e nwere ike inye ha aha otu otu etu a: a. bomb gbun gw mgbukpọ b. nuclear weapon – ogbunigwe nkụkọta c. explosive ogbunigwe mbigbọ d. chemical weapon – ogbunigwe mmiri mmụọ n‟ọmụmaatụ ndị dị n‟elu, „bomb‟ bụ ngwa agha e ji egbukpọ ndị niile nọ n‟ebe a tụrụ ya. “nuclear weapon” bụ ngwa agha na-akụkọ ọnụ tupu ọ dọta ọkụ ọ ga-eji gbu ihe dị ya nso. “explosive” bụ ụdịdị ogbunigwe na-agbasa mgbe ọ na-egbu mmadụ, ebe “chemical weapon” bụ ogbunigwe nwere mmiri nsi na-enyere ya aka igbu ọtụtụ mmadụ n‟otu oge. a gbasoro usoro mmebe mkpụrụokwu wee tụgharị ha. ọmụma atụ ọzọ ebe a na-enwe obere mgbagwoju anya n‟okwu ụfọdụ bụ n‟okwu ndị a e nwetara n‟akwụkwọ nwaozuzu na mba (2013). i lee anya ị ga-achọpụta na ọ bụ otu aha ka ndị igbo ụfọdụ na-enye okwu bekee ndị a e depụtara n‟okpuru: a. “eye brow” b. “eye lash” c. “eye lid” ọ bụrụ nae wezuga ihe ọmụmụ a, ọ bụghị ndị igbo niile maara ihe dị iche na aha otu mkpụrụowu ndị ahụ dị n‟elu na ibe ya. ihe e ji kwue etu a bụ na aha ọtụtụ n‟ime anyị na-akpọkọta ha mbụ bụ ‘iku anya.’ mana ndị ọka mmụta a kporọ aha n‟elu mere ka anyị mata aha mkpụrụokwu atọ ndị ahụ ka mgbagwoju anya ghara ịdịkwa ọzọ. lee ha: a. eye brow k anya b. eyelid egb gb r any c. eyelash m b b any o nwere ụfọdụ ọrịa ndị na-ere ọgwụ n‟akụkụ ụzọ na kwa n‟ahịa na-akpọ ọrịa nsi nwaanyị, mana i nyochaa nke ọma ị ga-ahụ na ọrịa ndị ahụ adabaghị ịkpọ ụdị aha a ma ncha. ha gụnyere: a. syphilis b. gonococcus c. gonorrhea d. candidiasis mmebe na ntụghari mkpụrụokwu bekee n’igbo: nsogbu na ụsa nye ya 136 ọ bụrụ na ị na-ege ndị na-ere ọgwụ igbo n‟ebe dị iche iche ntị, ị ga-achọpụtalarị na mgbe ha na-akọwa maka ọgwụ ha na-ere, ihe ha na-ekwukarị bụ, “ ọgwụ anyị naagwọ ọrịa nsi nwaanyị dị iche iche dị ka: sifilis, gonoria, gonokakus, kandịdaịsis. ndị ọkacha mara n‟ihe gbasara ahụ ike mere ka anyị mata na ọrịa ndị ahụ bụ ndị a na-enweta site n‟ụdị nje dị iche iche. nke pụtara na nwoke bu nje ahụ n‟ahụ ya nwere ike ibunye ya nwaanyị n‟ebughị ya ma ha nwee mmekọ; n‟aka nke ọzọ, nwaanyị nwere nje a nwere ike ibunye ya nwoke enweghị ya n‟ahụ ma ọ bụrụ na ha enwee mmekọ. gịnị kpataziri a ga-eji gụpụ nwoke kpọọ ya ọrịa nsi nwaanyị ka a gaasị na ọ bụ ụmụ nwaanyị naanị na-efesa ya. kama ịkpọ ha ọrịa nsi nwaanyị, ọ ka mma na a kpọrọ hantịrịdị ka ndị igbo si mara ha, ma ọ bụ ọrịa nsi nwoke na nwaanyị, ma ọ bụ a na-akpọ ha ihe ha na-aza na bekee n‟igbo ka a ghara inwe mgbagwoju anya. ya bụ na odee kwenyere na aha ọrịa dị iche iche nwere ike ịga n‟ihu na-aza aha ndị chọpụtara ha nyere ha na mbụ dị ka e si eme ya n‟aha mmadụ. ọ bụrụ na a na-akpọ ha ihe ndị chọpụtara ha nyere ha, ị mara na agaghị na-enwe mgbagwoju anya na mpụtara ha ma ọlị. nwosu (2010) na ndị otu nchọcha ya mebere mkpụrụokwu dị iche iche maka ọrịa ndị ka eche ndị mmadụ aka mgba n‟oge ugbu a. lee ha n‟okpuru: a. malaria ịb anwụnt b. diabetes ọrị shug c. stroke ọtụọ ọ k r d. cancer ọpụọọgbasaa e. asthma ụkwar nwamb f. hiv/aids je m m nwụ g. hepatitis amaahị umeju h. infection ọrị nj ọ bụrụ na e sekee mkpụrụokwu ndị a n‟ otu n‟otu, ị ga-ahụ na ihe e ji kpọọ malaria ịbaanwụnta bụ maka na ihe na-atanye mmadụ „malaria‟ n‟ahụ bụ anwụnta. diabetes metụtara shuga. iji maa atụ, onye na-arịa “diabetes” anaghị eri ihe shuga dị nnukwu ka shuga dị ya n‟ahụ ghara ịkarị akarị. mana odee na-ekwu na ọ gaara ịka mma ka a kpọọ ya ọrịa mmamịrị maka na o nweghị ihe ọzọ onye a na-arịa mgbe niile n‟abụghị ịgba tụụtaa ebe ọ na-achọ ebe ọ ga-anyụ mmamịrị. ọ bụrụ na ọrịa „stroke‟ abịakwasa mmadụ na mberede, ihe ọ na-eme bụ ijide ya otu ọkara ahụ kpọnwụọ, ọ bụ ya kpatara e ji kpọọ ya ọtụọ ọkara.ngwa ngwa “cancer” bara mmadụ ahụ, ihe ọ na-eme bụ ịgbasa n‟akụkụ ahụ ndị ọzọ. ọ bụ ya kpatara na ọ bụrụ na o nweghị ihe e mere ya, ọ gbasaa ebe niile ma gbue onye o ji. ya kpatara e ji daniel ihunanya ilechukwu & christian e. c. ọgwụdịle 137 kpọọ ya ọtụọ ọgbasaa.onye na-arịa ọrịa „asthma‟ na-akwa ụkwara ka nwamba, ya bụ ụdị ụkwara anaghị ekwe nkwapụta nke ọma. ọ bụ ya kpatara e ji kpọọ ya ụkwara nwamba. nwosu kpọrọ “hiv/aids” nje mminwu. ihe kpatara ya bụ maka na ọ bụ nje bụ ihe ahụ na-amịkpọ onye ọ bụla orịa a ji rukwee mgbe o dulara ya mmụọ.“hepatitis” bụ ọrịa na-akpọnwụ umeju kpamkpam. ụfọdụ na-akpọ ya ọrịa ndị ọgaranya maka na ihe ọ na-ewe iji gwọ onye ọ na-arịa abụghị obere ihe. a sị na mmadụ nwere „infection,‟ ihe a na-ekwu bụ na o nwere nje bara mmadụ ahụ ma kpalieere ya otu ọrịa n‟ahụ. ọ bụ ya kpatara e ji kpọọ “infection” ọrịa nje. ya bụ ọrịa nje na-ebute. n‟ebe ọ metụtara amụmamụ nkọwaokwu ndịnasụsụ, mba et al (2013, tụgharịrị mkpụrụokwu bekee ndị a n‟igbo: a.) abbreviation ị ch fụ b.) abridged dictionary ọ kọwa okwu nhọ rọ ch.) acronym ndeb risi d.) archaic tamchar e.) alphabetization nh zi n‟us r abịịchị f.) bilingual dictionary ọ kọwa okwu sụm bụ ọ g.) canonical form kwu z gbe gb.) collocation ngakọ okw gh.) concordance ndokọ okw gw.) lexicography ka odide ọ kọwa okwu h.) electronic dictionary ọ kọwa okwu kọ mput i.) encyclopaedia ọ kọw m okw ị.) ghost word okwu ndịhị j.) illustration ns gosi k.) lexicographer ode ọkọwa okwu kp.) paraphrase ndegharị kw.)unabridged dictionary ọ kọwa okwu dum l.) zero morphine mọfịm efu m.) valency chọmụmmeju n.) syntagmatic criteria ụzọ ntinyekọ okw odee chọpụtara na e nwere okwu ndị tofere ofe na ntụgharị ndị a dị n‟elu na ndị riri obere mperi. iji maa atụ, na (e) ebe e nwere „alphabetization‟ ome nchọcha na-atụ aro na ọ ga-aka mma ịkpọ okwu ahụ nsonabịdiị kama itụgharị ya n‟ụdịdị ahịrịokwu e tinyere ya bụ, „nhazi n‟usoro abịchịị.‟ na (l) dị n‟‟elu ome ntụgharị sị na e nwere mmebe na ntụghari mkpụrụokwu bekee n’igbo: nsogbu na ụsa nye ya 138 ike inwe naanị ọkọwami ma ọ bụ ọkọwazu, kama itinyebe mkpụrụokwu ka ọ ghara ito oke ogologo. ndegharịdị ka ọ dị na (p) nwekwara ike ịza nkwugharị. ‘mọfịm efu dị ka ọ dị na (r)n‟elu nwere ike iza aha igbo n‟ozuzu oke. e nwere ike ịkpọ ya mkpụrụ asụsụ efu. e wezuga ndị a a rụtụrụ aka, ndị ọzọ dabara nke ọma etu e si chọọ. nnaji (1995), tụgharịrị okwu bekee ndị a etu a n‟asụsụ igbo: a. martinet onye na-eme ka ndị n‟adịghị erube isi rube is n‟ike b. massacre igbu aghara aghara ch. masturbation ịkpali ihe mmadụ ji bụrụ nwoke nke e ji aka mee d.matador onye na-egbu enunu n‟ọgụ e. matrimony ọlụlụ di na nwunye f. mattock igwe e ji akụri ihe g. obedience ịkpọ isi ala ezi ome ntụgharị ọ bụla agaghị eche ka agwa ya na ntụgharị ndị a dị n‟elu adabachaghị etu kwesịrị. ụfọdụ n‟ime ha toro oke n‟ogologo. me nchọcha ederede a na-ekwu na ọ ga-aka mma na a tụgharịnworo okwu bekee ndị ahụ dị n‟elu etu a: a. martinet ọzụru b. massacre mgbupịa c. masturbation aramonwe d. matador ogbu enunu e. matrimony alụmalụ f. mattock igwe nkụri g. obedience nrube isi i lee anya ị ga-ahụ na o nweghịzi mkpụrụokwu n‟ime ndị a tụgharịnworo nwere karịa mkpụrụokwu abụọ. ntụgharị na-aka mma na iji otu okwu tụgharị otu okwu. ọ bụ ezi okwu na nke a anaghị adịkarị mfe n‟asụsụ igbo mana ọ bụrụ na a gbasie mbọ ike, a ga-ebelatanwu oke iji ahịrịokwu tụgharị otu mkpụrụokwu n‟igbo. ọ bụrụ na a ga-emenwu nke a, a ga-akwụsị ile anya n‟ihe ọtụtụ okwu e ji tụgharị otu okwu pụtara iji ma ma o zipụtakwara ihe a tụgharịrị nke ọma, kama ihe a ga na-eme bụ ịchọta otu mkpụrụokwu kpọọ ya aha anụbeghị mbụ. mgbe agaghị ete aka, onye ọ bụla amara ya ma kwụsị ịjụ ihe ọ pụtara. echerue (2006), n‟akwụkwọ ya ọ kpọrọ igbo – english dictionarytụgharịrị okwu ndị a etu a n‟okpuru: a. agreement nkwekọrịta b. good bye de eje daniel ihunanya ilechukwu & christian e. c. ọgwụdịle 139 c. gossip takaa ntaka d. greedy too akpịrị na (a) dị n‟elu, ebe ọ bụ na e nwere „general‟ na „disagreement,‟ ọ ka mma na e tinyere izugbe na ya ka o wee zue oke, ya bụ, nkwekọrịta izugbe, kama naanị nkwekọrịta. a bịa na (b), de eje bụ asụsụ nsụka dị na steeti enugwu. o nweghị mgbe ndị igbo kwenyere na a ga na-akpọ “good bye,” de eje, kama ihe e ji mara ya kemgbe ụwa bụ jee nke ọma, ebe „safe journey‟ bụ ije ọma.“gossip” kwesịrị ịbụ asịrị, ọ bụghị „takaa ntaka,‟ebe „greed‟ kwesịrị ịbụ anya ukwu. nsogbu a chọpụtara a dịlarị na mbụ chọpụta na ọ dịghị ihe ọ bụla e ji ọtụtụ nchọcha e merela gbasara mkpụrụokwu igbo eme n‟agbanyeghị ahụhụ niile ndị mere nchọcha ndị a tara n‟ije ozi ha. ọ dịkwa mkpa ka a rụtụ aka na n‟agbanyeghị na ọtụtụ ndị ọka mmụta na ụmụ akwụkwọ igbo agbaala mbọ imepụta mkpụrụokwu ọhụrụ dị iche iche mana nke bụ eziokwu bụ na akpabeghị nwa agụ aka n‟ọdụ n‟ihe gbasara imepụta ma ọ bụ tụgharịta mkpụrụokwu ndị ga-azaba aha ọtụtụ ihe enwebeghị ihe a na-akpọ ha n‟igbo. nnukwu nsogbu ọzọ igbo na-agabiga ugbua bụ ihe gbasara enweghị t ndị igbo niile nabatara ga na-anabata okwu ọhụrụ igbo ọ bụla ma mee ka o zuo igbo niile ọnụ. otu spilc bụ ndị na-emebu nke a na mbụ anwụruola ala. ọ bụzi otu isa ka a na-ekwu maka ya ugbu a mana nke bụ eziokwu bụ na otu a ejibeghị ọkpa abụọ kwụrụ chịm chịm n‟ala n‟ije ozi a chọrọ n‟aka ya. nke kazi njọ ugbu a bụ nsogbu enweghị ego a ga-eji jee ozi ma ọ bụrụgodi na e nwee otu ndị ga na-ahụ maka ịhazi okwu ọhụrụ. ụfọdụ n‟ime ndị malitere nchọcha n‟ihe gbasara imebe mkpụrụokwu agbahapụla ọrụ ha tara ahụhụ malite n‟ihi enweghị ego a ga-eji rụtọpụ ya. otu nsogbu ọzọ a ga-agbasi mgba ike bụ etu ndị ụlọ mgbasa ozi si emepụta okwu ọhụrụ aghara aghara n‟ebughị ụzọ chere ka e nyochaa, hazie ma nabata okwu ndị ahụ. ọnọdụ dị etu a agaghị enye aka ma ncha gbasara nhazi a na-agba mbọ ka a hazie asụsụ igbo ma ncha. ọtụtụ okwu ndị e mepụtara emepụta agbasoro usoro nhazi mkpụrụokwu nke o zuru ụwa, nke mere na mgbagwoju anya nke mputara mkpụrụokwu dị ọtụtụ n‟asụsụ igbo taa. e nweghị ọkọwa okwu a sara anya na mmiri dee bụ nnukwu nsogbu na-echere asụsụ igbo aka mgba n‟oge ugbu a, ebe ọ bụ na igbo kwesịrịrịị inwe nkọwaokwu asụmabụọ (bilingual dictionary), ọkọwami okwu mmebe na ntụghari mkpụrụokwu bekee n’igbo: nsogbu na ụsa nye ya 140 (encyclopaedia), nkọwaokwu nsipu (etimological dictionary), nkọwaokwu eserese (pictiorial dictionary), nkọwaokwu mkpọpụta (pronouncing dictionary), wdg. aro ome nchọcha ome nchọcha tụrụ aro ndị a: a. iwubesi otu ndị a họpụtara maka nhazi mkpụrụokwu ike o kwesịrị na a ga-atụte otu ndị a: „the igbo standardization committee (isc), the society for promoting igbo language and culture (spilc) na igbo language studies association (isa) nye ha nkwado zuru oke mgbe niile. otu ndị a aghaghị iwepụ ndọrọ ndọrọ onye bụ isi na onye bụ ọdụ n‟ụsọ ma jiri uchu bagide ọrụ ha. ọ bụrụ na a haziri otu ndị a etu a tụrụ anya, ọ bụ ha ka ọ dịịrị ịhụ na e nyochara okwu ọ bụla tupu ọ pụta n‟ọkọwa okwu. a ga-agbakwa mbọ hụ na ndị mebere otu ndị a ga-abụ ndị ọka mmụta sitere na ngalaba amụmamụ ụtọasụsụ dị iche iche. b. iwube ọba akwụkwọ nrụgara aka otu ndị ahụ a kpọrọ aha n‟elu kwesịri iwube ọba akwụkwọ ebe a ga na-edebe akwụkwọ niile ndị metụtara okwu ọhụrụ igbo niile, nchọcha ọhụrụ niile e mere na mkpụrụ okwu igbo, ma jọnal niile e nwere mmepụta okwu ọhụrụ igbo na ha. ch. ịzụpụta ndị ọka mmụta mmepụta okwu ọhụrụ mkpụrụokwu abụghị ihe onye si ebe o si o buru otu ihe makapụta kpọọ ya mkpụrụokwu. a na-agara mmepụta mkpụrụokwu ọzụzụ n‟ụlọ akwụkwọ dị elu. ọ bụ naanị mgbe mmadụ gabigachaara ọzụzụ ahụ ka o tozuru ịbụ ọka na mmepụta mkpụrụokwu ọhụrụ. a ga-agba mbọ hụ na ndị ụlọ mgbasa ozi so na ndị na-ama ọkwa natara ọzụzụ a tupu ha etozie imebe mkpụrụokwu. d. gọọment nwere oke na ọrụ a ga-ahụ na edebeghị gọọment n‟akụkụ n‟ihe gbasara ọrụ mmepụta mkpụrụokwu ọhụrụ. o kwesịrị na otu a kpọrọ „the nigerian educational research council‟ ga na-ahazi ọgbakọ nkụzi maka ime ka ndị na-emepụta mkpụrụokwu mata ebe a kwụ n‟ije ozi a. jirikwa ohere ahụ mepụta mkpụrụokwu ọhụrụ ndị metụtara ngalaba ụtọasụsụ dị iche iche. e. a gaghị agbahapụ ndị ụlọ mgbasa ozi ndị ọka mmụta na-ahụ maka mmepụta mkpụrụokwu na ntụgharị kwesịri na ha na ndị ọrụ mgbasa ozi kwesịrị ị na-arụkọ ọrụ ọnụ. nke a bụ iji gbazieere ha ụzọ nke ọma, maka na ọ bụrụ na a hapụ ha, ha emepụta okwu etu sọrọ ha gbasaara ya ọha na daniel ihunanya ilechukwu & christian e. c. ọgwụdịle 141 eze, maka na ọ bụ ndị mgbasa ozi bụ ndị ka agbasa okwu e mepụtara ọhụrụ ebe niile. nchịkọtana mmechi dị ka o si kwụrụ, ederede a agbaala mbọ ịkọwa ihe bụ mmepụta mkpụrụokwu na ihe bụ ntụgharị. omepụta mkpụrụokwu ọhụrụ na-akwado ome ntụgharị site n‟imepụtara ya okwu ọhụrụ ka ọ ga-abụ mgbe ọ bụla ome ntụgharị bịakwutere ya, o nyere ya aka. ọ bụrụ na e debeghị okwu ọhụrụ n‟ebe kwesịrị ya, ị mara na ọ gaghị eru ome ntụgharị aka nke ga-eme ka e nwee mmejọ n‟ọrụ ntụgharị ya. inweta otu mkpụrụokwu a ga-eji kọwa ihe bụkwa otu mkpụrụokwu n‟asụsụọzọ ka mma karịa iji ahịrịokwu atụgharị otu mkpụrụokwu. e nwebeghị otu kwụ chịm chịm maka nhazi asụsụ igbo na mkpụrụokwu ya bụ nnukwu nsogbu asụsụ igbo na-agabiga ugbu a. nsogbu ndị ọzọ bụ e nweghị ọba akwụkwọ, e nweghị ọkọwa okwu asụsụ igbo, e nweghị ndị a zụrụ nke ọma, wdg. ọ bụrụ na e nwee ihe ndị ahụ, ọ ga-eme ka asụsụ igbo too na mkpụrụokwu edensibịa ajaị, k. (1985). education policy research in nigeria: the state of art position, nerc conference. ajụnwa, e. (2014). a textbook of translation. nigeria: enovic ltd. anyaehie, e.o. (1997). studies in terminology. okigwe: fasmen communications. cartford, j.c. (1965). linguistic theory of translation. london:oxford university press. dubuc, r. (1978). manuel pratique de terminology, quebec linguatech. mbah, b.m. et al (2013). igbo adị. enugu: university of nigeria press. nida, e. (1964). towards a science of translation. leiden: linguatech. nnaji, h.i. (1995). modern english/igbo dictionary. onitsha: gonaj books. nwanjọkụ, a. c. (1998). terminology research and standardization. the case of igbo in contemporary scientific age. fasmen educational and research publications. nwosu, u. (2010). english igbo translation of common. benin:mindex publishing comp. okeke, v.o. (2000). the terminology development in nigerian languages. forth annual workshop on terminolgial development in nigerian languages ninlan aba. mmebe na ntụghari mkpụrụokwu bekee n’igbo: nsogbu na ụsa nye ya 142 oli, j.m., nwozuzu, g.i. & mba, b.m. (2013). english igbo medical dictionary. enugu: university of nigeria press. spilc ọkaasụsụ igbo (1985). igbo metalanguage language recommendations of igbo standardization committee. varsity industrial press. rey a. (1979). la terminologie, non et notion. paris presse universitaire de france. mbah, b.m. et al (2013). igbo adị . enugu: university of nigeria press 50 john rawls' ethical principles of justice as a solution to problems of social cooperation and injustice in contemporary democratic societies nwagbara, rufus godswill, department of philosophy, joel awoniyi school of education and humanities, babcock 'university, ilisan remo, ogun state email: godswillnwagbara@gmail.com, nwagbaragodswill@gmail.com, nwagbarag@babcock.edu.ng +234 (0)8069211771 and orji, chidi paul, ph.d. department of philosophy, university of agriculture and environmental sciences, umuagwo, imo state e-mail: hipaulco@gmail.com, paul.orji@uaes.edu.ng +234 (0)8149412995 doi: 10.13140rg.2.2.14554.96967 abstract one of the most important contemporary political philosophers, rawls's a theory of justice, published in 1971, is considered one of the milestones of political philosophy and brings a new understanding of what and how social organization should be in his work political liberalism, published in 1993. rawls tries to answer the question of how a satisfactory understanding of political justice can be grounded in contemporary democratic societies. according to rawls, in contemporary democratic societies where people are seen as equal and free, individuals or communities will inevitably adopt different religious, philosophical and moral doctrines. rawls argues that most of the different moral, philosophical, and religious views are reasonable and therefore reasonable among members of society accepts the fact that conflicts may arise key words: rawls, social cooperation, injustice, democratic societies introduction the concept of justice constitutes the subject of this article; rawls' a theory of justice constitutes our main guide. rawls sees justice as the highest of all values, and for rawls, justice requires that people be treated as an end rather than a means. rawls of course admits that concepts such as efficiency, productivity, and stability are central to a society, but he emphasizes that it is even more important to focus on justice and the relationship of institutions to just cause. to rawls, justice includes the determination of the principles chosen by some social arrangements and the distribution of primary goods among the members of the society in line with these principles. in other words, in rawls, justice appears as a convention regarding the sharing of primary goods by the members of society igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 51 with an appropriate distribution. rawls defines a society as a collection of persons who get together to construct it. in essence, a well-ordered society is one in which all members share the same moral and ethical ideals and are aware that these standards are generally met by essential social institutions. according to rawls, the fundamental structure of society—the ways in which significant institutions such as the family, political system, and economic system interact to determine people's prospects in life—is most relevant when considering justice. as a result, justice principles are intended to control society's essential foundation. furthermore, social justice imposes ancillary duties on individuals: if there are just institutions, they must follow their rules; if not, they must work toward the establishment of just institutions, to the extent that such efforts are likely to be successful and do not place an undue burden on the striving individual. this implies that any set of principles that everyone accepts must also be fair to everyone else, since if they weren't, no one would accept them. based on this, rawls regarded justice as fairness. further consideration of rawls' statement that what is fair to one is also acceptable to all is appropriate. rawls' ethical principle of justice according to rawls, justice is the first virtue of social institutions and forms the basis of social structure. thus, for rawls, all political and legislative decisions must be contained within the constraints arising from the principles of justice. according to rawls, the primary operating area of justice is the distribution of the commodity. for rawls, the commodity is one's rational possession. it encompasses all of the things one wants, such as wealth, social position, opportunity, skill, freedom, self-respect. rawls in his book a theory of justice elaborate on how justice is to be administered to the society, the most important representative of contemporary contractual ethics, "investigated how the political order and institutions can be formed according to the principles of justice, which he first considers as an ethical value" (cevizci, 2007:354). in addition, rawls sided with altruism between the poles of egoism and altruism. because “there is a principle of not taking sides on the side of altruism (every person's goodness will be considered equal), which is a principle that rawls developed in his work called a theory of justice in which he defends justice as truth” (honer, hunt & okholm, 2003:337). there are two different versions of contemporary contractual ethics. starting from the idea of basing the principles of justice on a hypothetical contract, both of these versions, which express the idea that no one's interests can be sacrificed to the interests of another, if these principles are accepted by everyone, are both of those versions, although they have adopted the classical contract view that people are equal by nature. however, he develops different views on the nature of the natural equality of men. the first of these understands the natural equality in question as the inequality of physical power, based on hobbes, and says that it leads to the recognition that it is in the mutual benefit of people to accept the conventions that recognize and protect the interests of other people. opposite to this version adopted by philosophers such as russell and david gauthier is the version that treats equality in the classical contract view, which states that people are equal by nature, as a moral equality, and makes people's interests a matter of common or igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 52 impartial interest. here is john rawls, based on a kantian rather than hobbesian idea of moral equality defender of a contractual understanding of ethics” (cevizci, 2007: 346). in order to understand what 'good' means for rawls, we must first understand aristotle's functional interpretation of 'good'. according to aristotle, the essential nature of a thing consists of its specific activity or function, and when it fulfills that function well, it becomes both the most perfect and the most real thing. from aristotle's point of view, to say that something is good means to say that it functions well within its own species, and to associate its function well with its reality. this functional interpretation of the good also serves to explain why we care about what is good. however, when we say that happiness, beauty, or freedom is good, we hardly think of the realization of this or that function. he tries to extend the main idea of his functional interpretation of the 'good' to include things that do not seem directly purposeful. rawls states that “to say something is good means to say that it has the characteristics that can be rightly expected or demanded from it” (cevizci, 2007:291). for example, the goodness of pleasure, beauty, or freedom can be explained, according to rawls, by the role they play in a good life. essentially, rawls's understanding of ethics is based on a certain understanding of the individual. rawls emphasizes the human agency – not the self-interested type of human agency, but the person who is the decision unit as a person with identity. according to rawls, the individual is not a purely rational being in pursuit of his own good, as the utilitarians predict; it is a being that behaves reasonably with a sense of fairness. that is, right precedes utility and individuals are reasonable. it is a concept related to the establishment of relations and this concept enables the concept of justice to be reached and reveals fair social cooperation. what is meant by the concept of rational is that each individual tends to satisfy their own interests and reaches the concept of good. the rational one shows the effective means to achieve the goals, the order of values and priorities. according to rawls, although both concepts complement each other, we cannot deduce the reasonable from the rational. for rawls, just as the just has priority over the good, the reasonable also has priority over the rational. guided by his own ethics, rawls opposes the idea of the highest good or what bentham and mill speak of 'the greatest happiness of the greatest number'. because, according to him, there can be no value in reaching the happiness of the greatest number of people in ways that would unfairly disadvantage minorities, especially the incapable or powerless. much more importantly, rawls argues that truth and justice are prior to and independent of the 'good' and cannot be defined through the 'good'. but his contractual ethics, or theory of justice, also represents a radical departure from viewing morality as something done around the self-governing individual, and ethics as a philosophical discipline dedicated to explaining how such an individual would act. because “rawls believes that the problem of justice is too complex to be solved by individual decisions” (cevizci, 2007: 346). believing that social institutions should not provide arbitrary benefits or advantages to some, rawls believes that justice and a just society can only be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 53 achieved through something akin to the social contract, which allows us to freely agree on how the basic institutions of society should be structured to allow for the establishment of a just society. utilitarians criticism of john rawls' ethical principles of justice the utilitarianism of jeremy bentham, who developed a utilitarian philosophy in the 19th century, it is based on the 'arithmetic of pleasures'. according to bentham's utilitarianism, which can be summarized as 'to make as many people as possible as happy as possible', pleasures and pains are natural phenomena that govern our actions. pleasures are good, pains are bad. anything that makes people feel comfortable both physically and mentally is beneficial to people. the basis of life is pleasure, so the important thing is to increase pleasures and reach more pleasure. according to bentham, there is no distinction of quality between pleasures, and any action that can bring us the greatest happiness is good. for bentham, good is useful; evil is destructive. in bentham's utilitarianism, man is thought of as a rational being that must choose between pleasures. that is, man does not jump on every object of pleasure that comes his way, like any animal; he always considers the result of his actions as a rational being. pleasures are good, but not all pleasures are equally valuable. morality shows us which pleasures are more beneficial. bentham defines this will to be decisive as 'moral arithmetic'. according to this, the existence of a pleasure level brings an arithmetic tact or calculation in the face of pleasures. according to bentham, it is necessary to understand and evaluate social life within this framework. for bentham, the purpose of politics is to protect private interests; while doing this, the happiness of the people should be considered the most (timuçin, 1992:594-595). as a matter of fact, according to bentham, when enacting laws, it should be calculated how much benefit and happiness it can bring to the members of the society in total, or it should be measured. for bentham, the function of the legislator is to encourage people to take some actions and to keep them away from others. bentham's life method is based, first of all, on 'measuring the damage caused by the action'. this harm is nothing but the pain or evil that results as a result of the action. people should be discouraged about actions that produce evil. according to bentham, law is associated with increasing the total happiness of the community. it can achieve this by preventing actions that have bad consequences. since a criminal act or attack is clearly detrimental to the happiness of the community. in general, the government should look to realizing issues that will increase the happiness of the society by punishing people who commit crimes by performing actions that the principle of utility considers bad. as a result, according to bentham, these behaviors need to be reclassified in order to determine and regulate appropriate and unsuitable behaviors. in addition, the administration should enact laws not arbitrarily or for their own personal interests, but for the greatest happiness of the greatest number of people (çelik, 2011b:159-160). bentham's views were defended and furthered by his student, john stuart mill. for mill, as for bentham, our actions are true to the extent that they take into account and provide happiness, and not true to the extent that they lead to the opposite of happiness. human nature either wants to obtain happiness igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 54 directly or a means that leads to happiness. this fact is the only possible proof of the 'utility principle'. mill, who has thought with bentham, differs from him on two important points: first, bentham argued that the amount of pleasure can be measured in a concrete and scientific way, while mill argues that there can be no way to measure the quantity of pleasures. for mill that we cannot determine the sharper of the two pains or the more intense of the two pleasurable sensations and that when we have to choose between two pleasures, we will only make a wise choice in progress. another criticism of mill to bentham is that it is not sufficient to consider pleasures only in terms of quantity. because, according to mill, there are not only pleasures that provide bodily satisfaction, but also rational, intellectual and aesthetic pleasures. moreover, there is a qualitative difference between these pleasures and bodily pleasures. for mill, to consider the concept of pleasure and happiness only at the bodily-animal level means to underestimate the human being. at this point, mill deals with pleasures by making a distinction between higher pleasures and lower pleasures. the lower pleasures are the bodily pleasures that bentham proposes to measure. on the other hand, higher pleasures are intellectual and aesthetic pleasures that are unique to humans, and according to mill, some types of pleasure are more desirable and valuable than others. in other words, mill argues that some pleasures—for example, virtues such as renunciation, sacrifice, self-sacrifice—are more valuable in terms of social usefulness (çelik, 2011b:163-164). on the other hand, in utilitarianism the happiness of each person is viewed as good for that person and therefore overall happiness is considered as the sum of the happiness of all persons. however, this principle has a difficulty: if general happiness is nothing but the general sum resulting from the sum of the happiness of the individuals, that is, if the sum of individual happiness somehow makes the general happiness, then everyone can work for his own happiness without striving for general happiness. however, it is clear that general happiness cannot be achieved in this way. because from time to time, individual pursuits of pleasure do not coincide with general happiness, on the contrary, they do. therefore, mill tries to put the emphasis on the social nature of the person to overcome this difficulty. according to him, the solid basis of utilitarianism lies in the social feelings of humanity. mill describes these emotions as a desire to be in union with beings of the same kind as us in origin. this desire is a strong principle in human nature, or it is so because it evolves over time. mill moves away from bentham's utilitarianism by stating that social feelings develop with the influence of education and advancing civilization and the more they develop, the more desirable the common good or general happiness becomes an aim that should be strived for, and turns to an ethical understanding based on a more appropriate view of human personality tries to bring usefulness closer to each other (çelik, 2011b:164-165). despite mill's efforts, many criticisms have been directed at utilitarianism, the most important of which is the ambiguity of the principle of utility, or 'the greatest happiness of the greatest number of people', which is the basis of utilitarianism. in this context, it has been pointed out that "even though the principle in question igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 55 may provide the greatest benefit for the majority, it may have very bad consequences for the minority" (cevizci, 1996:545). rawls' main criticism of creative ethics emerges at this point. essentially, can the problem of those who are in an advantageous position in the social system not getting a sufficient share of the welfare can be solved by improvements to be made within the liberal system? looking for an answer to the question, rawls sees the principle of utilitarianism as 'the greatest happiness of the greatest number of people' as unfair and unjust in terms of justice and equality evaluations. because, according to rawls, such an acceptance creates an environment that works against the minorities and the underprivileged. for rawls, utilitarianism fails to provide a basis for our sense of justice, "the principle of the greatest happiness for the greatest number may require that some individuals' freedoms or opportunities be sacrificed in order to achieve greater overall satisfaction. according to rawls, this goes against our sense of justice as righteousness” (honer, hunt & okholm, 2003:430). primarily, rawls, who tried to reconstruct the understanding of liberal democracy around the question of 'distributive justice', also aimed to liberate liberal democracy from utilitarianism, which is the dominant discourse of liberal thinking. as a matter of fact, in the preface to a theory of justice, rawls (1971:vii) states that the dominant moral philosophy in most of the modern period and in english-speaking countries is utilitarianism, and as one of the reasons for this, utilitarianism is based on content ranging from hume to adam smith, edgeworth, and sidgwick. thus, according to rawls, hitherto critics of utilitarianism have done so narrowly and have failed to develop an appropriate and systematic morality to stand firm against utilitarianism. at this point, rawls states that the aim of the theory of justice as truth/equity is to develop an alternative understanding of justice that will be superior to utilitarianism by expanding the traditional social contract doctrine and bringing it to a higher level of abstraction (rawls, 2007:2-3). in theory of justice, rawls states that “his aim is to oppose utilitarian ethics with a kantian theory of the social contract” (rawls, 1971:viii). in fact, this is due to the fact that utilitarianism is based on a teleological moral philosophy, and contractualism is based on a deontological moral philosophy. teleological ethics argues that the consequences of moral action are the only elements that determine the value and correctness of the action. it also subordinates right conduct or moral obligation to what is good or desired by man. on the other hand, "deontological ethics claims that there are actions that should be done morally regardless of the consequences of some actions, which sees duty as the basis of morality" (cevizci, 1996:132). teleological and deontological conceptions of morality are in conflict, especially regarding the primacy of the concepts of 'right' and 'good'. teleological morality gives priority to the good, while deontological morality gives priority to the right. indeed, kant and kantian liberals grounded rights beyond utility. for kantian liberals that the concept of right precedes good in two respects. the first of these is that individual rights and freedoms cannot be sacrificed for the 'general good'. the second is that the principles of justice that determine these igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 56 rights cannot be based on any conception of the 'good life'. it can provide the legitimacy of rights, not how to maximize the general welfare or the common good, but a just framework in which individuals can choose their own goals. therefore, rawls, with the same reasoning, tried to show that utilitarianism in the liberal approach could not be a strong basis for rights, by putting the understanding of right-based ethics against the utilitarian ethical understanding. as a result, rawls argues that his understanding of justice “is superior to the moral understanding of utilitarianism and comes closest to our convictions about justice and constitutes the most appropriate basis for the institutions of a democratic society” (rawls, 2007:3). john rawls' understanding of justice one of the most important contemporary political philosophers, rawls's a theory of justice, published in 1971, is considered one of the milestones of political philosophy and brings a new understanding of what and how social organization should be in his work political liberalism, published in 1993. rawls tries to answer the question of how a satisfactory understanding of political justice can be grounded in contemporary democratic societies. according to rawls, in contemporary democratic societies where people are seen as equal and free, individuals or communities will inevitably adopt different religious, philosophical and moral doctrines. rawls argues that most of the different moral, philosophical, and religious views are reasonable and therefore reasonable among members of society accepts the fact that conflicts may arise. “political liberalism is a system that can enable different reasonable views to coexist in a constitutional and democratic system. it aims to present the understanding of 'political justice'” (borovalı, 2006: x). in his work titled law of peoples and reconsideration of public reason thought, published in 1999, rawls presents his views on how a society that adopts his proposed understanding of justice should have fair relations with other societies. “the law of the peoples deals with the questions of what kind of a just foreign policy a (liberal democrat) society that has adopted the principles of justice in domestic affairs should determine, and thus what a just order should include in international relations” (borovalı, 2006: xi). however, since the concept of justice constitutes the subject of this study, rawls's a theory of justice constitutes our main guide. rawls sees justice as the highest of all values, and for rawls, justice requires that people be treated as an end rather than a means. rawls of course admits that concepts such as efficiency, productivity, stability and stability are central to a society, but he emphasizes that it is even more important to focus on justice and the relationship of institutions to righteousness. because, according to rawls, “justice includes the determination of the principles chosen by some social arrangements and the distribution of primary goods among the members of the society in line with these principles” (lenning, 2011: 38). in other words, in rawls, justice appears as a convention regarding the sharing of primary goods by the members of society with an appropriate distribution. according to rawls, justice is the first virtue of social institutions and forms the basis of social structure. thus, for rawls, all political and legislative decisions igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 57 must be contained within the constraints arising from the principles of justice. according to rawls, the primary operating area of justice is the distribution of the commodity. for rawls, the commodity is one's rational possession. it encompasses all of the things one wants, such as wealth, social position, opportunity, skill, freedom, self-respect. “how such commodities are distributed in society depends on the principles of justice” (gorowitz, 1994:271). in a theory of justice, rawls asks us to imagine a group of people coming together to discuss the principles of justice on a permanent basis. these people enter the negotiation process as free persons, but they have to live by being constrained by the principles that will emerge as a result of the negotiation, and to adopt and approve them publicly. this group of people “come together to establish a social contract in which they define the political environment in which they will be governed and specify its scope and limits” (gorowitz, 1994:272). rawls calls this the initial state. the initial situation, for rawls, is simply a means of representation: it represents parties, each representing the interests of free and equal citizens who are fairly positioned and agree on terms that limit what they can offer as good cause. in other words, the initial situation is a model – existing here and now – that expresses the conditions (conditions) set by the representatives of free and equal citizens regarding the basic structure under the rules of social cooperation. rawls argues that he put forward an idea like the initial situation because there was no way to develop a better understanding of justice for the basic structure of society, which is an ongoing and fair system of cooperation between free and equal citizens (rawls, 2007:68-70). as can be seen, the basic principles of justice are determined in the initial situation, which represents the first stage in the realization of justice. in addition, it is seen that the initial state put forward by rawls is similar to the state of nature (natural) in social contract theories. rawls states that there is no historical basis for this group of people to come together to discuss the principles of justice. so such a description is a tool, a premise that facilitates the understanding of the theory of justice. another postulate, rawls, assumes that this group of people is rational, knowledgeable in matters such as psychology, economics, and sociology, and has a set of useful and unhelpful purposes in promoting their own interests. however, rawls assumes that “each of this group of people is concerned only with promoting their own interests, determined only to achieve their own ends, and disinterested in the interests of everyone but themselves” (gorowitz, 1994:272). in the initial state, rawls imposes a limitation on the group of people who come together to choose the principles of justice, which he calls the veil of ignorance. the veil of ignorance is the situation in which the group of people who come together to choose the principles of justice have no knowledge of themselves and their surroundings so that they can be counted as representatives of free and equal citizens who will come to an agreement on fair terms. in other words, this group of people is completely ignorant of the position they will occupy in the society of the future. “the parties do not have information about their economic, class and social positions, their religion, race and ethnic groups, their gender, intelligence, age and what kind of skills they have” (rawls, 2007: 71). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 58 parties in the veil of ignorance have goals they want to achieve, but are completely incapable of distinguishing themselves from others, no matter what criteria or characteristics are used. the purpose of the veil of ignorance is to leave no opportunity for the interviewees to seek to protect their private interests at the expense of the interests of others. there is no affinity between rational interviewers who are veiled in ignorance; because, if any of these interviewees lift the veil and see their place in the real world, is the biased position helpful or harmful to them can't have any idea what will happen. in short, “interviewers are wise in general and ignorant in particular. they want to promote their own interests, but they are incapable of distinguishing them from the interests of others” (gorowitz, 1994: 273). rawls stated that, the parties under the restraint of the veil of ignorance will be motivated by the sense of justice and primary social values in the process of choosing the principles of justice. rawls points out that “attributes to individual's two moral abilities, the capacity for sense of justice and the capacity for understanding good” (rawls, 2007:64). in fact, rawls argues that “people have the capacity for sense of justice and understanding of the good to establish the idea that principles of justice emerge through an appropriate construction process” (rawls, 2007:135). the sense of justice is the capacity to understand, apply and act in line with the understanding of justice that determines the equitable conditions of social cooperation. a sense of justice is a high-level interest in developing and using the capacity to understand, apply and act on all principles of justice rationally adopted by the parties. this capacity provides assurance that it will be complied with after the parties have done their part (rawls, 2007:118-119). besides, rawls suggests that we can intuitively know the existence of our sense of justice. rawls offers here "a theory of intuition a systematic accounting of why our sense of justice is the way it is as evidence” (gorowitz, 1994:271). the capability to understand the good is “the capacity to determine, change and rationally pursue one's rational interest or well-being” (rawls, 2007:64). in addition, it includes “the capacity to understand the good, the goals and objectives that we will sincerely pursue, and the elements that will guide us throughout life” (rawls, 2007:119). rawls, following in the footsteps of kant, accepts that people are free and equal moral beings. to say that people are moral means to understand and understand their sense of justice. this means that they have the capacity to exercise (a sense of justice) and a sense of the good (a system of ultimate goals). rawls states that people are reasonable and rational, so such an admission means that they can understand these two kinds of practical principles. this means that “people also have capacities for a sense of justice and understanding of the good” (rawls, 2007: 309). another motive that will motivate the parties under the veil of ignorance in the process of choosing the principles of justice is primary social values. rawls defines primary social values as what every rational person is supposed to want. for rawls (1971:62), “primary social values enable one to have a rational life plan.” rawls divides primary social values into primary goods and natural goods. the social bases of rights and freedoms, power and opportunities, income and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 59 welfare, and self-esteem constitute social primary goods. rawls identifies other primary goods as health and strength, intelligence and imagination, and calls them natural goods. natural goods cannot be kept under direct control, they are affected by the underlying structure and appropriated. therefore, primary goods should be distributed equally to everyone. at this point, rawls assumes that the material values belonging to a certain society constitute a common pool that is divided according to rational principles. with this thought, rawls, who advocates distributive justice, sees the things that individuals have, including natural abilities, as common values that are distributed according to distributive justice. in a given distribution of natural talents, some people may gain more from the use of their talents than others. according to rawls, however, this is morally purely arbitrary, and the effects of the natural lottery must be corrected by the principle of dedifferentiation. those who gain more through their natural talents are permitted such inequalities only if they benefit the least advantaged. hence, the market in order to compensate for the privileges arising from the inequalities caused by the functioning of the economy, redistribution policies guided by nonmarket rules should be introduced. as can be understood from this, rawls, who advocates the equal distribution of social wealth, argues that significant wealth inequalities are injustice and that this injustice should be eliminated with a limited form of redistribution without undermining the market system. according to rawls, an idea of justice in terms of giving everyone what they deserve is not enough. because, according to him, no one deserved their talents or family structure. even a person's effort and hard work is a product of the natural lottery. rawls therefore rejects meritocracy, where justice is perceived as giving people what they deserve according to their merits and achievements. for rawls (1971:62), who sees “as unfair the unequal distribution of all social goodsliberty and opportunity, income and health, the social foundations of self-esteemall basic social goods such as freedom, income, wealth, money, and social prestige are equal as a distribution. therefore, for rawls, “it is rational for the parties to use primary social goods in the evaluation of the principles of justice” (rawls, 2007:119). rawls considers that all citizens have a rational life plan that requires the same kind of primary goods to be realized. rawls states that he bases this discourse on “different common sense psychological facts about human needs and their developmental stages” (rawls, 2007:216). in contrast, “utilitarianism rejects the idea that special primary principles are required for the basic structure” (rawls, 2007:294). besides, according to rawls, the most important primary social value is selfrespect. self-esteem is the belief that one's own values are fit to be realized. selfconfidence is a dimension of self-esteem and is based on one's capacity to realize one's values expresses his belief. self-confidence and self-respect are at the forefront of social good, and rawls considers these two values as the guarantee of the individual's autonomy and freedom. a publicly sanctioned distribution of fundamental rights and freedoms is, for rawls, essential to self-respect in a just society. according to rawls, “self-respect is dependent on an unbiased distribution of freedoms, so no interviewer will risk being dragged into an igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 60 unprivileged position as far as freedoms are concerned” (gorowitz, 1994: 276). rawls's use of a description like the veil of ignorance clearly reveals that he was inspired by kant. according to kant, human consciousness has an identity and only if one can move away from this identity and look at himself transcendentally (looking at ourselves objectively and self-critically from the outside), he can see what is the right behavior in the universal sense; otherwise he will only see what works for him and will find excuses. in other words, the ability of a person to look at himself independently by getting rid of his own identity means that he recognizes the authority of the behavior he wants for himself and everyone else, and therefore does not think specifically of his own benefit. misbehavior is evident in methods, not results. if we don't show others the same respect we show ourselves, whatever the result, our behavior is wrong. therefore, rights deriving from the categorical (valid for all) powers granted to everyone emerge from the kantian morality. “if we want to be able to do something ourselves, we cannot oppose the ability of someone else to do it” (ecer, 2010:4). kant states the first principle, which is one of the principles of 'willing the good', “act in such a way that the principle of your actions can be valid for all other people without hesitation. may it act as a law for all people” (kant, 2002:38). this principle, which means do not do to others what you do not want done to you, is not out of benefit, but out of respect for the essential value of human beings. it derives from the principle that no one should distinguish himself from others. therefore, as rawls himself puts it, “the things he says have a fundamentally kantian nature, they are not unknown at all, but in a way they have been recompiled” (ecer, 2010:5). in the initial situation, rawls imposes such a limitation, which he calls the veil of ignorance, to the group of people who come together to make the choice of the principles of justice, almost embodying kant's idea of 'transcendental consciousness stripped of its own identity'. according to rawls, the parties that come together under all these conditions described above will reach the following principles of justice. rawls' principles of justice according to rawls, the negotiators have no choice but to adopt the most appropriate principles for the advancement of the interests of the person who is least favored by the principles. that is, the rational persons, who have gathered for the choice of principles of justice, will realize, as far as they can tell through the veil of ignorance, that they are equally likely to benefit or suffer losses as a result of the application of principles which will raise the interests of some people more than others, and thus to follow the arrangement of life as they wish, in order to secure their own interests. he will defend the principles that give the most opportunity to everyone – and therefore to himself, whoever he is – in terms of a new necessity arises from this thinking: “the principles that will regulate the formation of the social order must be the principles that the person rationally accepts that he can live, taking into account that he can be the least privileged individual in that society” (gorowitz, 1994: 273). in the initial situation, the parties are given five alternative conceptions of justice to choose from: the first is the conception of justice as truth; second, utilitarian understanding of justice; igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 61 third, intuitive understanding of justice; the fourth is the mixed justice (intuitiveutilitarian) understanding, and the last is the egoistic understanding of justice. in the utilitarian understanding of justice, the benefit of singles or minorities is sacrificed for the benefit of the majority. the intuitive understanding of justice is also unacceptable because it sets forth the first principles and arranges them according to the total benefit. in the egoist understanding of justice, however, the power of one person is in question and the person is chasing his own interest, so this is unacceptable (macit, 2009:38-39). rawls points out that, interviewers will reject all of these hitherto existing conceptions of justice. because each of these views systematically deprives one or another segment of the society of their rights, and no rational negotiator would want to fall into such a situation. in the end, this group of people will reach “although there are different justice alternatives, the most reasonable one among them, namely, the concept of justice, which rawls calls fairness” (gorowitz, 1994:273). according to rawls (1971:302), the understanding of justice as truth is articulated in the following two basic principles of justice: 1. every human being has the equal right to enjoy the most comprehensive fundamental freedoms compatible with the similar freedom of others. 2. social and economic inequalities should be regulated. this arrangement should be as follows: a) be consistent with the principle of equitable protection so that it benefits the least advantaged most; b) positions, offices and positions should be set open to all under fair equal opportunity the first principle is called the principle of freedom, the second principle is called the difference principle, and the b option is called the principle of fair equality of opportunity. according to rawls, the interviewers followed the first principle as the second will give absolute priority over principle. also, option b of the second principle is prior to option a. that is, the principle of fair equality of opportunity precedes the principle of difference. the first principle is an absolute necessity in the establishment of social institutions and actions, and it cannot be passed to the second principle without realizing this principle. in addition, the fundamental rights and freedoms covered by this principle can never be given up for the sake of the second principle. the second principle serves the purpose of regulating social and economic inequalities and allows inequalities so long as it benefits the least privileged. “this condition, called 'chain-relatedness', is not inevitable, since it is not that all will benefit from permitted inequalities that facilitates interviewers' adoption of this principle, but that the least privileged benefit from them” (gorowitz, 1994:276). as can be seen, the principles of justice put forward by rawls aim to provide the best possible solution for the least advantaged groups in the society. thus, the principles of justice are chosen by the representatives who stand behind the veil of ignorance in the first place, and these principles are necessary for a just social order. according to rawls (2007:322), “the two principles of justice provide a better basis than traditional creative doctrine for understanding claims to freedom and equality in a democratic society.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 62 for rawls, theory of justice is an application of rational choice theory, which he calls part of rational choice theory. once one accepts the legitimacy of the initial positional description, the discussion now turns to the use of rational choice. according to gorowitz (1994:276), “rawls's reliance on using logic and establishing a principle of the kind one can approve of knowing that it applies to everyone alike is reminiscent of the kantian method and the concept of the categorical imperative that follows from it.” for kant, the categorical imperative is that one is a free and rational being. it is a principle that is applicable to the nature of the human being, and therefore equally applicable to all. “rawls, too, follows a clearly kantian way of determining the principles of justice” (gorowitz, 1994:277). after the principles of justice are determined by the interviewees, it is time to establish the social order. at this point, a political understanding that works within the limitations of the principles of justice is defined. in addition, the veil of ignorance is partially lifted when the interviewees make their choices for a sense of justice: the interviewers come to the second design stage, having knowledge of the general conditions of the society, its economic and political culture, and its natural resources. at this stage, they have to create a constitution that determines the power of the executive and the fundamental rights of the citizens. in this way, a well-calculated constitution that complies with the principles of justice will be chosen, leading to the preparation of a just and effective law. this constitution, which is limited to the understanding of justice, will “protect the freedom of conscience and thought, freedom over the person and equal political rights” (gorowitz, 1994: 277). in addition, the most important principle of justice at the constitutional level is the principle of freedom. after a just constitution is in place, the negotiators move on to another stage: they become legislators. at this stage (legislation), laws are made within the framework of the principles of justice. the veil of ignorance is lifted a little more, and all general and economic social phenomena fall into the interviewer's field of knowledge. however, personal identity and traits still remain unknown, lest there is any bias. at this stage, the principle of difference plays a leading role. the principle of difference requires that social and political policies be oriented towards maximizing the long-term expectations of the least privileged under conditions of equal opportunity. according to gorowitz (1994:278), “rawls, like the utilitarians, it is ready to allow privileges, not for the sake of maximizing the good, but only because it will bring the least privileged out of their predicament.” the final stage is the judgment stage. at this stage, the application of the laws to particular events and the (non-compliance) of the laws by the citizens are in question. at this stage, the veil of ignorance is now completely lifted; the interviewers are no longer under any restrictions in terms of information. the judgment stage corresponds to how the principles of justice, ideally formed at the theoretical level, will be applied in real life. according to rawls, the basic condition for citizens to obey the state and its laws is based on its understanding of justice. citizens' natural duty to justice is to obey the just state. the duty of natural justice envisages that citizens comply with these institutions in cases igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 63 where there are just institutions, and support the making of just arrangements in the absence of fair institutions. if the state does not rely on a sense of justice or act justly, citizens do not obey the state, and in this case, civil disobedience occurs. rawls' theory of justice appears to be a theory of social justice as it highlights a redistributive production-distribution distinction. in this theory of social justice, the state is a democratic state that does not support any religion, thought and belief system that will support the living of different thoughts, beliefs and religions, and that will ensure the existence of such an area. however, according to rawls, the virtues of just social cooperation, such as civility, tolerance, reasonableness, and fairness, are virtues that cannot be impartial and can be counseled. this is very different from the state, which imposes a certain comprehensive doctrine as a way of life. contrary to imposing a certain lifestyle, in rawls, the state supports virtues that will maintain and strengthen fair social cooperation conditions (macit, 2009:61-62). rawls claim that, “the state not only saves individuals from the obstacles related to their economic activities, but also contributes to the development of a better life for its citizens” (cevizci, 2007: 387). rawls is a redistributionist because he says that the proper function of the state is not merely the maintenance of social order, but the achievement of a distributive justice that recognizes the highest social value as providing for the needs of the most needy. for rawls, “the first obligation of the social order is to provide justice, and the legislative implications of such a view are entirely separate from the utilitarian understanding of the state as intermediary for the maximization of general happiness” (gorowitz, 1994: 279). in conclusion, although rawls is a philosopher, his theory of justice has had a profound impact on economics, which has for many years focused on selfinterest motivation. in addition, moral and political philosophies were confined to a very small area due to the dominance of the positivist point of view for a very long time. the philosopher should only analyze the meaning and use of the concepts related to moral and political philosophy, and should not make any other judgments. thus, the philosophies in question looked barren and boring, and little work had been done in these areas. there has been a tremendous development in these areas since the 1970s, the main importance of rawls' theory of justice stems from the fact that it aroused a new interest in political philosophy, and soon this interest was followed by new interests in the traditional problems of moral philosophy. ignoring the traditional division in the theory of justice as evaluative and descriptive statements, rawls turned to develop a theory of political institutions with a long philosophical tradition that he thought overpowered by positivists. rawls succeeded in reviving the presumed dead social contract theory with a skillful method. in addition, rawls tried to neither prove the idea that there could be an original social contract, nor to prove that the participation of individuals in society constitutes an unspoken contract. on the contrary, rawls bases social institutions on purely rational principles, imagining rational beings—hidden igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 64 behind a veil of ignorance—who are asked to choose and agree to forms of social institutions that will be fair to all, considering a society of the kind he would consent to if he did not know what position he would occupy within rational beings. he used the thought experiment that we can develop evaluation criteria based on it as an analytical tool. criticisms of john rawls' theory of justice rawls argues that the theory of justice as truth has two advantages over utilitarianism. the first is that our understanding of justice is better reflected in its two principles than utilitarianism. thus, rawls asserts a moral superiority for his theory. second, rawls argues that the social contract theory of justice as the equalization between free and equal rational designers is a theory that eliminates many of the biggest problems utilitarians face when trying to apply their theory to contemporary situations. because “in rawls' theory, one person's taste need not be quantitatively compared to another's. it is sufficient only to determine who is least privileged and to predict what will benefit him” (gorowitz, 1994: 279).according to gorowitz (1994:281), “rawls' theory of justice offers a new and powerful tool to shed light on social problems.” rawls, moral and political philosophy, reoriented his conceptualization with a fundamental work that is abstract but contains profoundly concrete results. in addition, in an environment where the cold war forced people to take a side between equality and freedom, rawls' theory of justice offered people a consistent and balanced understanding of justice. a theory of justice is not a theory that chooses between regimes or is intended to prove any regime. it is directly concerned with the idea of justice itself, not with a particular political regime. both this aspect of the theory in question and the sound reasoning in its content have caused many ethical theorists, political scientists or economists, who have very different political understandings, to review their thoughts. existing alternative views expressed, regardless of their views, are primarily expressed in the form of a response to it. therefore, "rawls' theory of justice is of vital importance in terms of understanding today's political philosophy" (ecer, 2010:2). however, despite all these positive aspects, rawls' theory of justice has been criticized from different perspectives. the first criticism of rawls's theory of justice concerns his understanding of the individual. collectivist thinkers and writers state that rawls builds his theory of justice on a completely abstract and asocial individual understanding that detaches people from their goals and values. because the original situation rawls uses to describe the pre-contract is on abstract human fiction. this abstract person is isolated from both his own goals and social life. this understanding of the individual supports isolation and alienation. for this reason, rawls is criticized for suggesting a human understanding that is incompatible with social design, like independent islets living on the same sea. in addition, these individuals, who are constructed in isolation from social reality, make rational decisions it is extremely difficult for them to choose the principles of justice; because social reality has a great influence on the formation of individuals' identities and preferences. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 65 another criticism of rawls's theory of justice has been made regarding the basic concepts of his understanding of justice, the initial state and the veil of ignorance. the criticisms directed to the social contract theory in the liberal tradition were also directed to rawls' initial situation. because the liberal tradition argues that such a pre-contractual period does not exist in nature. according to dworkin, a hypothetical compromise cannot be a draft version of an actual contract. also, if the idea of the social contract is not based on de facto consensus, it cannot be based on historical reality (dworkin, 2000:58). in addition, it is not possible to establish principles of justice because the parties in the initial situation are rational and seek to maximize their own interests. again, the veil of ignorance alone is not sufficient to ensure impartiality in the choice of principles of justice. since impartiality can only be achieved through intersubjective communication. in addition, in an environment where there is no bargaining and mutual negotiation, a compromise based on the free will of individuals is not possible. another criticism of the theory in question is made by economic liberals. some economic liberals, who view rawls' theory of justice as a strong egalitarian doctrine, argue that rawls's goal-statement, that is, the welfare of the least advantaged they argue that it prefers a fair distribution that maximizes in addition to this, the same people also oppose rawls' assumption that natural talents constitute a common pool to be distributed according to the principles of social justice. for example, robert nozick, who is in the libertarian movement, states that the difference principle put forward by rawls will cause injustice to those who act responsibly, use their choices wisely and work hard. according to nozick (1974), in order for the difference principle to be applied, goods must be given to people free of charge from outside. however, this is not the case in the real world: people are entitled to goods and welfare as much as they work. therefore, it is natural that there are people who earn more by working harder than people competing on equal terms. based on the difference principle, any transfer of resources from these people to others is unfair. for nozick, the redistribution of legitimately acquired property is against justice and has detrimental consequences for freedom. therefore, according to nozick, the difference principle contradicts the freedom principle. finally, one of the criticisms of rawls' theory of justice was made by amartya sen in his book “the idea of justice”. sen (2009) states that the basic rights and freedoms that rawls describes as primary goods (self-respect, basic freedoms, opportunities, income, wealth) alone cannot be sufficient to show the level of welfare of the person. according to sen, who criticizes rawls' egalitarian approach based on primary goods, even if primary goods are evenly distributed, a lack of capacity can have very different consequences. noting that despite having the same basket of primary goods, there may still be inequality among people, sen thinks that neither utility nor primary goods are suitable for the analysis of the inequality problem. because, when focusing on the real possibilities that a person has to achieve his goals, the primary goods that the person has are not sufficient, personal characteristics (such as disability, old age, illness) and the ability to achieve various lifestyles capacities should also be considered. therefore, for sen, clear inequalities in capacities should be eliminated primarily, rather than igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 66 the equal distribution of primary goods in order to ensure justice. conclusion the idea of social state and social justice began to gain its real meaning with the theory of justice created by the american philosopher john rawls. for rawls, justice is seen as equality and rawls focused on the distribution of primary goods. according to rawls, the concept of justice appears as a convention regarding the determination of the principles chosen by some social arrangements within the society and the distribution of primary goods among the members of the society in line with these principles. the difference in the quality of life between the rich and the poor has increased at a macro level, and people have more justice in the global context, amartya sen, who is one of the important thinkers of today, focuses on the problem of how a social justice that takes care of the peace and welfare of all people can be achieved in this global age, in the global world. at this point, sen criticizes rawls' egalitarian justice approach based on primary goods. according to sen, even if primary goods are distributed equally, lack of capability in individuals can have very different consequences. for amartya sen, justice means eliminating clear inequalities in capabilities. in addition, according to sen, justice requires equal access to basic capabilities such as basic health-care and education services. references borovali, m. (2006). john rawls and his political philosophy. borovalı m. and özbank m. (eds.), peoples of the law and the idea of public mind the idea (pp. xxxiii). (trans. g. evrin) istanbul: bilgi university press. 2nd edition. celik, s. (2011a). modern philosophy-i. eskisehir: anadolu university press. _______(2011b). modern philosophy-ii. eskisehir: anadolu university press. cevizci, a. (2007). philosophy. istanbul: sentez publishing. dworkin r. (2000). sovereign virtue. the theory and practice of equality, cambridge, mass.: harvard university press. ecer, a. (2010). a restoration in political philosophy: john rawls and a theory of justice. new yüksektepe e-magazine, 68, 1-10. retrieved on august 16, 2010 from http://www. magazine.yeniyuksektepe.org. gorowitz, s. (1994). john rawls: a theory of justice. de crespigny a. and minogue k.r. (edt.). contemporary political philosophers. (trans. s. can) istanbul: remzi bookstore. honer, s. m., hunt, t. c., and okholm, d. l. (2003). a call to philosophy: problems and options. (trans. hasan u.) ankara: imge bookstore. kant, i. (2000). foundation of moral metaphysics. (trans. i. kuçuradi) ankara: turkish philosophy institution. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 67 lenning, m. (2011). the concept of justice in the history of economic thought. retrieved on august 16, 2011 from 2011.fr/fullpapers/e5lenning.pdf macit, m. h. (2009). john in rawls' political liberalism rebuild. ataturk university institute of social sciences, department of philosophy. unpublished doctoral thesis. rawls, j. (1971). a theory of justice. london: harvard university press. ________(2007). political liberalism. (trans. mehmet fevzi bilgin) istanbul: bilgi university press. sen, a. (2009). the idea of justice. cambridge, massachusetts: the belknap press of harvard university press. timuçin, a. (1992). thought history. istanbul: bds publications. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 14 ai-driven early detection and prevention of youth cult recruitment in awka metropolis afunugo, kenechi nnaemeka department of religion and human relations, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka nk.afunugo@unizik.edu.ng & molokwu, geoffrey chidebem institute of theology, paul university, awka geohope4all@gmail.com abstract this study examines the integration of artificial intelligence (ai)-driven systems for the early detection and prevention of youth cult recruitment within awka metropolis, addressing the interplay between physical and digital recruitment tactics. employing a qualitative methodology that incorporates primary and secondary data collection, the research utilizes ethnographic and digital content analysis to investigate the socio-cultural and technological dimensions of cult recruitment. grounded in routine activity theory (rat), the study posits that cult groups exploit both local physical interactions and digital platforms to groom, recruit, and sustain members. these dual strategies leverage societal vulnerabilities, peer influence, and the widespread use of social media among youths. a notable gap in existing scholarship is the lack of ai-based frameworks designed to address this dual recruitment model, particularly within the nigerian context. findings reveal that digital platforms, such as social media and encrypted messaging apps, complement traditional physical recruitment methods, creating a multifaceted challenge for stakeholders. to mitigate this, the study recommends deploying ai systems to monitor digital communication patterns, alongside grassroots education campaigns targeting at-risk youth. furthermore, stimulating collaboration among local authorities, technology companies, and community leaders is essential to developing an adaptive, culturally sensitive approach to curbing cult activities. this holistic strategy offers a pathway to protecting youth and strengthening community resilience. keywords: ai-driven, youth, cult recruitment, early, detection, prevention. introduction youth involvement in cultism has increasingly shifted towards digital platforms, particularly social media, which has become a powerful tool for recruitment and initiation. globally and in nigeria, with a focus on awka metropolis in anambra state, cult groups exploit the vast reach and anonymity of platforms such as facebook, whatsapp, instagram, and telegram to lure unsuspecting individuals, especially impressionable youths. these groups craft appealing igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 15 narratives, using flashy lifestyles, promises of power, and a sense of belonging to attract their targets. they employ private chats, encrypted messaging, and targeted advertisements to engage potential recruits while concealing their identities. o. nwoye, i. edeh, and m. onwe (personal communication, december 11th, 2024) observe that in awka central hub, where public tricycle and shuttle transport services alongside academic institutions abound, cult groups leverage the high internet penetration among transit workers and students, who are their dominant targets, to spread their influence, often masking their recruitment campaigns as exclusive clubs or associations. the digital initiation process frequently involves sharing coded rituals, virtual swearing of oaths, and monitoring recruits through constant online communication, enabling cults to bypass physical barriers and evade law enforcement. sequel to the aforementioned observations, global data (2024), registers that cults have effectively leveraged the digital space, particularly social media, as a potent tool for sensitization and recruitment, exploiting its interactive and isolating nature to reach vulnerable individuals. the case of the twin flames universe (tfu), highlighted in netflix's 2023 documentary escaping twin flames, exemplifies how cults use platforms to prey on those experiencing distress or isolation, a trend exacerbated by the covid-19 pandemic. the board avers that between 1993 and 2023, the number of cults in the united states doubled from 5,000 to 10,000, a growth facilitated by social media’s ability to simulate community through echo chambers and targeted content. vulnerable individuals often encounter cult messaging while scrolling through personalized feeds, leading them into environments of manipulation disguised as virtual communities. this strategy, according to the council, aligns with panoramic waves of unregulated online interactions, where governments have struggled to impose accountability on platforms for harmful or exploitative content. consequently, cults thrive in this digital town square, exploiting the intersection of human vulnerability, algorithmic targeting, and the under-regulated nature of online spaces to consolidate power and expand their reach. dasser (2024) argues that social media platforms, driven by profit motives and engagement metrics, have become fertile ground for projecting extremist ideologies and cult-like communities, particularly in the alt-right. she elucidates that through algorithmic manipulation, platforms like tiktok prioritize sensationalist and polarizing content, ensuring prolonged user interaction while inadvertently nurturing radicalization pathways. unlike the alt-left, which leans toward academic discourse and quieter collaboration, the alt-right leverages click-bait, derogatory humor, and emotionally charged rhetoric to attract and manipulate younger audiences. this dynamic, fueled by the platforms' pursuit of return on investment, facilitates a self-reinforcing cycle of radicalization, where users are drawn deeper into ideologically toxic echo chambers. hassan (2022) compares social media tactics to cult-like techniques, highlighting how platforms manipulate behavior, thoughts, and emotions to maintain user engagement for profit. uzoigwe et al (2024) highlights the pervasive issue of cultism in nigeria's digitalized society, emphasizing how cultists leverage social media platforms for recruitment, communication, and the dissemination of propaganda, thereby expanding their influence. the author underscores that the integration of digital tools has amplified the challenges of combating cultism by facilitating igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 16 anonymous networking and the normalization of cult-related activities among youth. suanu et al (2023) in their study found that social media usage, specifically platforms like facebook, whatsapp, and instagram, significantly influences the tendency toward cultism among secondary school students in eleme local government area of rivers state, nigeria. the data indicated that these platforms independently accounted for 63.5% of the variation in students' involvement in cultism activities. this highlights the role of social media in potentially facilitating antisocial behaviors, such as cultism, among adolescents, suggesting a need for targeted interventions to guide students in using these platforms responsibly. oladujoye et al (2016) in their investigation, reveals that information and communication technologies (ict) has significantly contributed to demystifying cultism on campuses. through providing accessible information about cult groups, ict empowers students to make informed decisions, reducing forced recruitment and enhancing transparency. the authors stress that the ease of monitoring cult activities through digital tools has triggered improved communication between staff and students, contributing to a more peaceful campus environment. their findings highlight ict's transformative role in reducing conflict, promoting awareness, and offering innovative strategies for mitigating cultism in higher institutions. obayuwana et al (2023) in their inquiry identified that social media campaigns against cultism at the university of benin were highly effective, with 67.4% of respondents affirming their use to raise awareness. the authors enlighten that whatsapp (30.7%) and facebook (21.2%) were the most utilized platforms, demonstrating their effectiveness in engaging the target audience. they delineate that a significant portion (78%) of participants perceived the campaigns’ influence as positive, and 30.17% rated them as very effective. these findings align with the uses and gratifications theory, as students actively sought and engaged with preferred platforms, and the technological determinism theory, as social media shaped attitudes and behaviors towards cultism. this underscores social media’s potential as a powerful tool for addressing social issues. these already acknowledged shifts highlights the urgent need for digital literacy campaigns and robust monitoring of online activities to curb the proliferation of cultism among youth. evidently, since cultists exploit digital platforms for recruitment; and since digital platforms have been verified to be effective in combating digital youth cult recruitment: artificial intelligence (ai) offers the most effective and preeminent countermeasure through detection, monitoring, and intervention. hence, this study focuses on leveraging ai-driven systems to detect and prevent youth cult recruitment in awka metropolis, anambra state, nigeria. it addresses the interplay of physical and digital tactics used in recruitment. the research employs a qualitative methodology, integrating primary and secondary data collection methods. it utilizes ethnographic approaches and digital content analysis to explore the socio-cultural and technological dimensions of cult recruitment. the study is anchored in the theoretical framework of routine activity theory (rat). data-driven investigations the menace of secret cultism among youth in awka metropolis in awka south local government area of anambra state, nigeria; poses a significant socio-security challenge, manifesting in acts igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 17 of vandalization and alarming incidences of cult-related killings. this subculture thrives in awka urban settings, fueled by peer pressure, a quest for social identity, and the lure of perceived protection and influence. cult groups often engage in destructive activities, such as defacing public and private properties, thereby disrupting the urban aesthetic and causing financial losses. more troubling are the violent rivalries between these groups, leading to frequent clashes and the loss of young lives, destabilizing families and awka urban-center. the normalization of fear and lawlessness further undermines the efforts of law enforcement, perpetuating a cycle of violence and distrust. afunugo (2023) enunciates that the menace of cultism in awka metropolis, particularly in okpuno and awka town, has led to rampant killings and widespread destruction of properties in contemporary times. factors contributing to this crisis include the lack of parental closeness and love, the transmission of negative behavioral patterns from parents to children, societal influences, and the failure of parents to instill godly principles in their children. additionally, wealthy adult sponsors within secret cult groups exacerbate the problem by funding these activities. the author accentuates that these dynamics create an environment conducive to cultism, resulting in significant harm to lives and properties in the region. afunugo underscores the urgent need for targeted solutions to address these challenges. the editorial of this day live (2024) stipulates that the menace of cultism in awka metropolis presents a grave threat to social stability and the security of lives and property, fueled by the pursuit of supremacy, territorial dominance, and acts of violence. this pervasive issue undermines the future of youth and disrupts societal progress, demanding urgent and decisive intervention. eleke (2024) reports that a tragic mass shooting, suspected to be linked to cult activities, occurred in nibo, a suburb of awka, during the onwa asaa festival, claiming at least 16 lives and leaving the community in mourning. the attack, reportedly carried out by assailants arriving in a black lexus suv, targeted an eatery and a location near the eke nibo market, both close to the governor's lodge. witnesses described the scene as chaotic, with indiscriminate gunfire causing significant casualties, primarily among youths celebrating the festival. the editorial board relates that the local police, attributing the violence to cult-related clashes, confirmed the incident and emphasized ongoing investigations, while urging witnesses to provide information to aid in identifying the perpetrators. the community, devastated by the violence, has called on authorities to prioritize peace and security to prevent further tragedies. eleweke (2024) articulates that a surge in cult-related violence in awka urban-center has resulted in over 34 deaths within three weeks, with high-profile incidents including the killing of a tricycle revenue collector at aroma junction and a judiciary staff member near eke awka market during the easter period of 2024. notable hotspots such as ifite, okpuno, and unizik junction have witnessed multiple attacks at regular intervals. the columnist details that stakeholders like lawmakers henry mbachu and victor umeh, along with ozo ndu nwakalor and mrs. ogechukwu ekwuozor, attribute the crisis to declining moral values and ineffective community actions. despite interventions, including 54 gates, vigilant groups, and anti-cult laws, fear and community igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 18 shielding of culprits hinder progress, as noted by sp tochukwu ikenga. governor charles soludo has pledged to address the menace, urging collaborative action to restore safety. ugwu (2024) chronicles that ezinano community in awka conurbation has responded to already reckoned deadly attack that occurred on 20 october 2024 during the onwa asaa festival in neighboring nibo community. the attack, which the police attributed to a cult-related clash, equally claimed victims from ezinano, prompting the community leader, jeff nweke, to announce a n10 million bounty for information leading to the perpetrators' capture during the ezinano day cultural celebration on 1 november 2024. ugwu elucidates that mr. nweke condemned the violence and declared a zero-tolerance stance on cultism, urging residents to collaborate with security agencies. ndife (2024) relates that the national youth council of nigeria (nycn), anambra north zone, has launched gotruhub, a web application developed by hon. abuchi nduba, to address issues such as child abuse, trafficking, cultism, and inefficiency in schools and the public sector. the initiative, unveiled on december 14, 2024, at the oyi council headquarters in nteje, was supported by stakeholders from seven local government areas and praised by leaders including comr. peter maurice nnekwe and amb. innocent nduanya. this study posits that digital security in anambra state as a whole will be significantly advanced by integrating artificial intelligence (ai) into gotruhub, enabling enhanced monitoring of student records, employee performance, and community safety to relative effect, while also tackling cultism in awka metropolis. afunugo (2025, n.p) eventually streamlines that in recent years, the proliferation of digital platforms has transformed the operations of youth cults in awka, intensifying their reach and impact. these groups exploit social media and encrypted messaging apps to recruit new members, often appealing to youthful desires for belonging and status through targeted, persuasive content. furthermore, they utilize these platforms to monitor, manipulate, and identify vulnerable individuals, orchestrating violent acts with alarming precision. the author delineates that the victims are lured into premeditated traps under the guise of social or academic engagements, underscoring how technology amplifies the cults' ability to perpetrate and conceal their atrocities. this trend necessitates urgent intervention to address the nexus between technology and youth cultism, emphasizing digital literacy and robust surveillance. theoretical underpinning this study adopts the routine activity theory (rat) in reinforcing its ideas. according to cohen et al (1979), fernando (2014), kitteringham (2020) and perera (2024), routine activity theory, introduced by marcus felson and lawrence e. cohen, emerged as a significant subfield of crime opportunity theory to explain shifts in crime rates in the united states between 1947 and 1974. distinguished from theories focused on criminality, it reconceptualizes crime as an event influenced by environmental factors, emphasizing its ecological processes. central to the theory is the convergence of three elements necessary for criminal activity: a motivated offender, a suitable target, and the absence of a capable guardian. this framework underscores the impact of routine igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 19 activities of both potential victims and offenders on crime rates, redirecting scholarly focus toward situational dynamics and the availability, proximity, and exposure of targets. routine activity theory (rat) is significantly appropriate for this study as it offers a robust structure for understanding the dynamics of crime in the awka metropolis by focusing on the convergence of three key elements: motivated offenders, suitable targets, and the absence of capable guardians. unlike other criminological theories that delve into the offender's psychological or sociological background, rat emphasizes the situational and environmental conditions that facilitate criminal activities, making it especially relevant for studies exploring crime patterns within awka's urban and peri-urban settings. its emphasis on routine activities and their role in shaping opportunities for crime provides a clear lens through which to analyze how everyday behaviors, urbanization, technological advancements, and societal shifts in awka contribute to increased vulnerability or deterrence. additionally, rat's applicability in both micro and macrolevel analyses enables researchers to identify crime trends within awka and develop targeted intervention strategies that address the root situational factors, thus enhancing the study's practical implications for local policy and prevention efforts. a significant observation reveals that some awka indigenous parents rarely advise or monitor their youths, enabling unchecked adventurous tendencies that nurture cult involvement. additionally, a notable proportion remains unemployable and jobless, underscoring this theory's relevance to the study. digital recruitment strategies of cult groups in awka metropolis in the course of this research, it was discovered that cult groups in awka metropolis leverage digital platforms for recruitment, using strategies that appeal to the youth and exploit the anonymity of the online world. social media platforms such as facebook, instagram, whatsapp, and tiktok are central to their operations. these groups use targeted messaging, sharing motivational posts, promises of protection, and images of power and affluence to attract followers, especially youngsters of 15 years and above. closed groups or invite-only pages allow them to groom potential recruits while using trending hashtags to make their content relatable and appealing. messaging apps like whatsapp and telegram also play a critical role. these apps facilitate private communication, forming secret groups where discussions, planning, and initiation processes are carried out securely. encrypted chats on platforms like telegram provide additional privacy, making it difficult for law enforcement to track their activities. e. udeh, m. ezeaka, i. udensi and c. okoye (personal communication, december 10th, 2024) intimates that cult groups in awka suburbs exploit popular culture to reach young audiences. through music videos, catchy slang, and lyrics, they embed their ideologies into entertainment, making their message seem fashionable and aspirational. they assert that cult groups also enlist influencers or figures associated with cultism who subtly promote group affiliations through their lifestyle or social media presence. they enlighten that another strategy involves gamification, where online games, contests, and reward systems are used to attract recruits. winners of these activities are often drawn into the cult under the guise of camaraderie or belonging. according to observation, peer pressure and coercion are also common tactics. cultists create fake profiles to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 20 connect with vulnerable individuals, especially those seeking friendship, financial help, or mentorship. they may use cyberbullying or online threats to coerce individuals into joining. educational settings are another fertile ground for recruitment, with cultists infiltrating online forums and whatsapp groups created for students. they pose as helpful peers, offering academic materials or assistance with admission processes, only to manipulate the unsuspecting individuals. e. uyawune, j. nwana, o. uwaeme, and k. ezennia (personal communication, december 10th, 2024) elucidate that the exploitation of socioeconomic challenges is another major strategy. cult groups use online platforms to offer loans, business opportunities, or quick wealth schemes, targeting youngsters struggling with unemployment or poverty. they also pose as philanthropists, providing aid to vulnerable youth who may then feel indebted to join. additionally, false promises of employment or scholarships are used to lure unsuspecting victims. these fake job postings or networking events often lead recruits to indoctrination meetings under the pretense of professional opportunities. observations also portray that the use of video content and memes further extends their reach. platforms like youtube and tiktok are filled with videos showcasing the supposed benefits of cult membership, such as financial gain, unity, and social influence. live streams of members celebrating their affiliations subtly encourage viewers to aspire to join. viral content, including memes and short clips, is crafted to spread cult ideologies in an engaging and nonthreatening way, significantly to attract secondary school students. these strategies reflect the adaptability of cult groups in awka metropolis, as they exploit the digital age to dilate their recruitment base while evading detection. obviously, cultists within awka megalopolis increasingly exploit digital spaces for sensitization and recruitment of youngsters, leveraging social media, forums, and other online platforms to target vulnerable individuals: artificial intelligence provides an effective solution to counter this by enabling real-time monitoring, content analysis, and predictive modeling to detect and disrupt recruitment activities. through ai-driven algorithms, authorities can identify harmful patterns, flag extremist content, and prevent the spread of cult ideologies, ensuring proactive and efficient intervention in the digital space. application of routine activity theory in early detection and prevention of youth cult recruitment in awka metropolis routine activity theory is particularly suitable for studying the prevention of youth cult recruitment in awka metropolis due to its focus on the interplay between motivated offenders, suitable targets, and the absence of capable guardians. its principles help identify and mitigate vulnerabilities in minors' daily routines that expose them to recruitment by cult groups. for example, unsupervised internet access and unstructured free time create opportunities for recruiters to exploit their social and emotional needs. leveraging ai-driven tools allows adults and community leaders to act as "capable guardians”, monitoring and redirecting minors' online activities to protect them from engaging with harmful content or associations. the emphasis on environmental and situational factors ensures practical interventions that disrupt pathways leading to youth involvement in cultism. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 21 the importance of addressing the technological dimensions of youth behavior in awka suburb, particularly through mobile phones and social media, cannot be overstated. cult recruiters often exploit these platforms to lure vulnerable individuals with promises of belonging, financial gain, or protection. ai tools can analyze communication patterns, flag suspicious interactions, and provide alerts to parents, guardians, or authorities. censoring minors’ handsets becomes a method of reducing their suitability as targets, making it harder for recruiters to succeed. additionally, advanced technology enables adults to guide healthier peer relationships by identifying and intervening in behaviors that signal exposure to antisocial influences. these data-driven responses ensure a proactive approach to youth vulnerability. focusing on the role of capable guardianship reinforces communal responsibility in curbing cult recruitment in awka megacity. vigilance is crucial, particularly within educational institutions, religious organizations, and family settings. ai-driven interventions equip stakeholders with real-time insights into behavioral patterns and potential risks. this reshapes the routines of minors to emphasize positive engagements while minimizing opportunities for harmful interactions. integrating this approach with technology offers an effective mechanism for early detection and prevention, creating a safer and more structured environment for youth within awka metropolis. this theory also assists in detecting youth cult recruitment in awka metropolis through a focus on both local and digital community dynamics. understanding how recruiters exploit socio-economic challenges, peer influence, and online platforms enables targeted interventions. community engagement programs and surveillance within schools can identify at-risk individuals, while monitoring online interactions and social media groups reveals digital recruitment strategies. collaboration between educational institutions and digital experts enhances awareness campaigns and employs ai tools to flag recruitment patterns, enabling proactive measures to disrupt initiation processes. leveraging artificial intelligence (ai) in early detection and prevention of youth cult recruitment in awka metropolis artificial intelligence (ai) can play a transformative role in the early detection and prevention of youth cult recruitment in awka metropolis through its ability to analyze data, detect patterns, and offer predictive insights. one of the most effective applications of ai is in monitoring social media and online platforms. ai tools utilizing natural language processing (nlp) can analyze social media posts, chat rooms, and forums to identify keywords, phrases, or patterns associated with cult recruitment activities. sentiment analysis can detect vulnerable youth expressing frustration, isolation, or interest in cult-related activities based on their online behavior. additionally, network analysis can identify links between recruiters and potential recruits by mapping communication patterns, giving authorities and community leaders the information they need to take action. in schools, ai can be used to establish early warning systems that monitor students for signs of potential cult involvement. behavioral monitoring tools powered by ai can analyze attendance records, academic performance, and behavioral changes to flag students at risk of being targeted by cult recruiters. anonymous reporting apps can also be integrated into the system, offering igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 22 students a secure platform to report suspicious activities. ai can analyze these reports to identify recruitment hotspots within the school environment, helping to prevent recruitment before it escalates. ai can also support community and public awareness campaigns tailored to the specific vulnerabilities of awka’s youth population. ai-driven campaigns can personalize content based on data insights, ensuring that the message resonates with those most at risk. in addition, aipowered chatbots can be deployed to provide anonymous guidance and support to youth at risk of recruitment or those already seeking help, offering a discreet and immediate way to address concerns. the use of ai for crime pattern prediction can significantly enhance efforts to prevent cult activities. through predictive analytics, ai can analyze historical data on cult activities and identify trends or patterns that help predict where future recruitment efforts are likely to occur within awka borough. this allows law enforcement and community leaders to take preventive measures before recruitment strategies are put into action, making interventions more proactive in the burg. surveillance and intelligence gathering can also be improved with ai. facial recognition technology and ai-powered cctv analysis can monitor public spaces like schools, recreational centers, and streets for suspicious gatherings or known cult recruiters. additionally, speech recognition tools can process audio recordings from public places to detect phrases commonly linked to cult recruitment strategies, providing authorities with actionable intelligence apposite to awka exurb. ai can also assist in providing psychological support systems to address the emotional and psychological triggers that make youth susceptible to cult recruitment. ai-powered counseling platforms can offer virtual mental health support, guiding youth through their emotional struggles in a confidential and accessible manner. risk assessment tools can analyze socioeconomic, familial, and behavioral data to assess an individual’s likelihood of being recruited, enabling interventions that are timely and targeted. collaboration with authorities is essential for ai systems to be most effective. integrated databases can be created, where schools, community leaders, and law enforcement located within awka municipality share data on cult activities. this centralized system would enable better communication and coordinated responses to prevent recruitment efforts. real-time alerts can also be sent to law enforcement when ai systems detect potential recruitment activities, ensuring a swift and targeted response. however, there are challenges associated with the use of ai in this context, including ethical concerns. it is crucial to ensure data privacy and prevent the misuse of surveillance systems, making ethical considerations a top priority. ai should complement, not replace, human intervention, and community involvement is essential to effectively address the issue. local leaders and educators must remain actively engaged in the process. additionally, continuous training of ai models is necessary to adapt to evolving cult strategies and linguistic changes, ensuring that the systems remain effective in identifying and preventing recruitment activities. through the strategic integration of ai with strong community partnerships, awka metropolis can take proactive measures to address the threat of youth cult recruitment, creating a safer environment for the youth. conclusion igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 23 this research highlights the significant potential of artificial intelligence in addressing the growing concern of youth involvement in cult activities in awka metropolis. leveraging ai's capabilities in pattern recognition and data analysis underscores how early detection systems can proactively identify at-risk youths, potentially halting recruitment efforts before they escalate. implementing such technology could be instrumental in developing targeted intervention strategies, empowering local authorities, community leaders, and social organizations to act more swiftly and effectively in combating the influence of cult groups considering that they have evolved into recruitment via digital space. despite its promise, this study faces several limitations. the reliance on data collection from various sources introduces the challenge of ensuring the accuracy and completeness of the data germane to awka cosmopolis. furthermore, ai systems are susceptible to biases inherent in the training datasets, which could lead to false positives or missed identification of individuals at risk. another challenge lies in the integration of ai solutions into existing local law enforcement and community structures, requiring significant investment in both infrastructure and training. the study acknowledges that ai, while promising, cannot fully replace human involvement in understanding the complex social and psychological factors contributing to youth recruitment into cults. while the study offers valuable insights, it does not claim to be exhaustive in its exploration of ai's potential role in preventing youth cult recruitment in awka metropolis. further research is needed to evaluate the long-term impact of ai-driven interventions on community dynamics and the mental health of individuals involved. future studies should also explore the ethical implications of using ai for surveillance and data collection, particularly in relation to privacy and consent. an interdisciplinary approach combining ai with psychological and sociological insights could enhance the effectiveness of prevention strategies, projecting a more holistic understanding of youth vulnerability to cult recruitment in awka urban-center. recommendations this study proffers the following recommendations apropos to its explorations: 1. the government of anambra state should take decisive action to proscribe and sanction any manifestations of cult group presence, both in physical spaces and online platforms, as these behaviors undermine societal cohesion and public safety. the proliferation of such groups is often signaled through specific dress codes, coded greetings, and deliberate online content, all of which serve as a means of reinforcing identity and exerting influence over vulnerable populations. these symbolic markers, though seemingly benign, represent an implicit endorsement of violence, intimidation, and illicit activities. to combat this growing threat, the government must implement a robust regulatory framework that targets not only physical displays but also digital manifestations of cult culture. this should include strict surveillance of online spaces, penalizing the dissemination of content that promotes or glorifies cult-related practices. additionally, enforcing laws that prohibit cultrelated attire and greetings in public spaces will create a visible deterrent, signaling a firm igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 24 stance against the normalization of such groups. such a comprehensive approach would serve both as a preventative measure and as a punitive action against those who attempt to infiltrate and destabilize the social fabric of awka. 2. it is crucial for parents and guardian’s resident within awka metropolis to exercise a proactive role in monitoring their children's digital activities, as the pervasive influence of the internet exposes them to various potential risks. regularly censoring and reviewing children's phones not only ensures that they are engaging with appropriate content, but also enables parents to identify and address irregular behaviors or communication patterns that may signal exposure to harmful influences, such as online predators, cyber-bullying, or inappropriate peer interactions. furthermore, this oversight incubates a safe digital environment, allowing for timely intervention and correction, thus empowering guardians to provide guidance on navigating the complexities of online spaces while reinforcing the importance of responsible digital citizenship. 3. the pervasive menace of cultism in awka metropolis warrants consistent exposure in digital spaces; as such visibility serves to instill fear, awareness, and a profound aversion to the futile allure of joining cult groups among the younger generation. via shedding light on the violent and destructive outcomes associated with cult activities, including loss of life, personal freedom, and societal harmony, digital platforms can become a powerful tool for educating youth on the devastating consequences of such affiliations. this digital dissemination of gory details not only raises awareness but also cultivates a critical consciousness, prompting young individuals to reject the false sense of power and belonging that cultism falsely promises. furthermore, it aids in dismantling the normalization of such practices, thereby cultivating a culture of resilience and moral fortitude in the face of peer pressure and societal influences that may otherwise encourage such hazardous behaviors. 4. in awka metropolis, the issue of limiting the number of children per family warrants a comprehensive discourse among government officials, religious leaders, and key stakeholders, given the socio-economic challenges that many households face in providing for their children. the argument in favor of limiting family sizes emphasizes the responsibility of parents to ensure they can adequately care for, educate, and sustain their children. with the increasing strain on resources and the inability of many families to meet basic needs, children are left vulnerable and more likely to rely on external, often detrimental, influences for survival, such as criminal organizations or cultism. therefore, it becomes essential for policymakers to adopt measures that not only regulate family sizes but also encourage programs that empower families to meet the growing demands of nurturing and training their children. religious leaders can play a pivotal role in creating awareness and promoting responsible parenthood, while stakeholders must collaborate to provide support systems that minimize societal vulnerabilities and deter the rise of harmful alternatives for survival. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 25 5. the nigerian government must prioritize the full integration of artificial intelligence (ai) into the nation's digital infrastructure, educational systems, and social institutions to address critical societal challenges, such as youth cult recruitment in the country. leveraging ai-driven mechanisms, such as predictive analytics, natural language processing, and real-time monitoring systems, enables authorities to identify patterns and behaviors indicative of cult activities, facilitating proactive intervention. integrating ai into educational institutions not only stimulates digital literacy among students but also creates a secure academic environment where recruitment tactics are flagged and countered. embedding ai into comprehensive social systems ensures a coordinated approach to combating this menace through actionable insights for law enforcement and community stakeholders. such a strategic adoption of ai technology underscores the government's commitment to safeguarding the youth and promoting a culture of peace and academic excellence in the country. 6. miller (2020) argument that fears of ai surpassing human intelligence and taking over society are unfounded, as ai lacks the capacity for independent thought, self-awareness, and complex linguistic understanding is worth reflecting pertinent to contemporary ambivalence towards ai integration into every aspect of human endeavors alongside social institutions. the author enunciates that unlike humans, whose cognitive processes are shaped by experiences, desires, and dynamic thought patterns, ai relies solely on preprogrammed algorithms and lacks the ability to comprehend or generate consciousness. while ai has advanced significantly in assisting with tasks, its inability to externalize thoughts or interpret sophisticated language ensures that it cannot autonomously outsmart or control humans, making a technological "singularity" implausible with current developments. consequently, the nigerian government should embrace ai's transformative potential, recognizing its inability to surpass human autonomy, and leverage its numerous advantages to enhance efficiency, innovation, and development across all sectors, ensuring its full integration into social and institutional structures for national progress. references afunugo, k.n. (2025, n.p). cult killings in awka metropolis: escalating insecurity and the perilious future of the youth. tansian university journal of arts, management & social sciences. afunugo, k. n. et al (2023). the menace of cultism in awka south local government area of anambra state,nigeria.interdisciplinary journal of african & asian studies(ijaas),9(1), 1-18. cohen, l. e. et al. (1979). social change and crime rate trends: a routine activity approach. american sociological review, 44 (4), 588-608. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 26 dasser, s. (2024). does social media build community or cults? the spectator, 113(1). https://studyspec.com. eleke, d.c. (2024). suspected cultists launch deadly attack in anambra, leaving many dead. arise news. https://www.google.com.tv. eleweke, t. (2024, november 23). how cult war is unsettling anambra. daily trust. https://dailytrust.com. fernando, m. (2014, january 31).routine activity theory.in m.j. miller (ed). the encyclopedia of theoretical criminology (1st ed.). doi:10.100219781118517390. global data. (2024). cults and social media: freedom of speech or freedom to control speech? verdict. https://www.verdict.co.uk. hassan, s. (2022).how social media features parallel cult techniques. centre for humane technology. https://www.humanetech.com/insights. kitteringham, g. et al. (2020). environmental crime control. in l.j. fenelly (ed.). handbook of loss prevention and crime prevention (6th ed., pp.207-222). miller, g. (2020). artificial intelligence outsmarting humans (nah). pb:pressbooks. https://pressbooks.pub/singularityisnotnigh/chapter/artificial-intelligence-outsmarting humans-nah. ndife, d. (2024, november 11). technology : anambra youth council launch corruption to fight insecurity, corruption, in schools, public sector. anambra news and update: uchinna kachis. https://www.facebook.com/share/14kwcaaly/?mibexid=of dknk. obayuwana, b. e. et al. (2023). utilization of social media for the campaign against cultism in the university of benin. in e.s. asemah (ed.). mass media,politics and civic engagement in nigeria (pp.69-80). franklead. oladunjoye, p. et al. (2016). impact of information and communication technology in curbing secret cult activities in nigeria universities. journal of information engineering and applications, 6(8), 17-12. perera, a. (2024, february 13). routine activities theory: definition & examples. simply psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/routine-activities-theory.html. suanu, n. w. et al.(2023).the influence of social media on some anti-social behaviors (cultism and bullying) among secondary school students in eleme local government area of rivers state, southern nigeria. european journal of training and development studies, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 27 10 (1), 10-21. the editorial of this day live. (2024). awka and the renewed cult wars. this day live. https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2024/11/14/. ugwu, c. (2024, november 2). community places n10 million bounty on gunmen who killed many in anambra. premium times. https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/751396. uzoigwe, c. f. et al (2024). combating cultism in nigeria’s digital society by leveraging youth prenuership for community development. wukari international studies journal, 8(1),60 73. 147 religion and secularization in sub-saharan africa: a philosophical analysis of the present and the future victor ifeanyi ede ph.d & dominic zuoke kalu phd michael okpara university of agriculture, umudike victorifede@gmail.com ede.victor@mouau.edu.ng domziki@gmail.com; , ; kalu.dominic@mouau.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.33952.39688 abstract as humans, we acknowledge that our senses are not adequate for expressing our innermost feelings and aspirations. this is because; there is a dimension of human identity that cannot be expressed empirically. that is the essence of religiosity, spirituality or sacredness. there was a time when religiosity took centre stage in the cultures of europe and north america. later, a new deity called reason, with its sister called technology entered the cultural stage. the whirlwinds of technology and progress without ado swept aside religiosity, and secularity became the norm. however, the story is not the same in africa as africans have continued to hold religiosity tenaciously despite the influence of science and technology. africa is the theatre in which the drama of competing religions is played. africans are both the actors and the audience in their own drama, cheered by onlookers and bystanders who from time to time toss tokens of appreciation or disdain. in the meantime, africans wear the garbs of europe and north america, speak their languages, and play their music while dancing their dances. but african religiosity has remained intact. the third millennium has begun with africans taking religion seriously, while elsewhere technology and progress took centre stage. this paper analyzes the possibility of africa becoming secular societies or maintaining the current religious tempo in the nearest future. keywords: africa, philosophy, secularization, religion introduction religion for centuries has been a very important aspect in uniting people across different cultures. this is because of the common believes that people in a given culture hold. it has also been very instrumental in enhancing the buildup and retention of morals in the society. in the course of evolution especially during industrialization as well as civilization of many nations in the world, religion has experienced many challenges that have led to changes in many religious aspects. as a result, religion holds different forms and different meanings from one generation to the other. mueller (2013) noted that the enlightenment era, which gave birth to industrialized cum secularized societies, initiated ideas which attacked religion and its exalted position in the affairs of society. this led to the supposed dethronement of religion and subsequent secularization of societies. hence, modern liberal democracies emerged and introduced the principle of separation of state and religion, in which religion was thought to have exhausted its usefulness and could be conveniently relegated into antiquity (mueller 2013; wallace 2013). however, the story is not the same in africa as africans have continued to hold religiosity tenaciously despite the influence of science and technology. africa is the theatre in which the drama of competing religions is played. africans are both the actors and the audience in their own drama, cheered by onlookers and bystanders who from time to time toss tokens of appreciation or disdain. in the meantime, africans wear the garbs of europe and north america, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 148 speak their languages, and play their music while dancing their dances. but african religiosity has remained intact. the third millennium has begun with africans taking religion seriously, while elsewhere technology and progress took centre stage. this paper analyzes the possibility of africa becoming secular societies or maintaining the current religious tempo in the nearest future. conceptualizing religion and secularization religion religion, which is a matter of belief and practice, is a universal social phenomenon which seriously concerns almost every living man. the term has been defined differently by scholars depending on their orientation and perception. hence religion has no generally accepted definition. however, religion is generally understood by many as a belief in the supernatural power or the supreme being and their relationship with the nature that surrounds them. hick (1994) defined religion as the human recognition of super human controlling power and especially of a personal god or gods entitled to obedience and worship. according to agha (2012), “religion is the conscious or unconscious belief in spiritual being and elements (forces of nature) with powers” (p. 21). also, religion according to bouquet (1941) is a fixed relationship between the human self and some non-human entity, the sacred, the supernatural, the selfexistent, the absolute or simply god. one of the most popular definitions of religion is that of durkheim (1915). he defined religion as a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say, things set apart and forbidden, beliefs and practices which unite into one single moral community and all those who adhere to them. all these definitions point to the issue of beliefs. religion can therefore be defined as belief, recognition and worship of the existence of a deity or deities and divine involvement in the universe and human life. secularization the term 'secularization' denotes a process by which (gradually or rapidly, unintendedly or intentionally) the 'religious' gives way to the 'secular'. secularization occurs when religious values and beliefs are recouped with non-religious values and beliefs. nweke (2021) sees secularization as the transformation of a society from close religious value identification towards non-religious values and secular organizations. this implies that as societies progress, particularly through modernization and rationalization, religion loses its authority in all aspects of social life and governance. importance of religion in the society religion is a fundamental part of human dignity. for many adherents, it is far more than a mere lifestyle choice, it is the deepest part of who they are. to violate a person's religious freedom or require them to act against their religious beliefs or practices violates the very core of that person's being (taylor, 1995). sociological studies have shown positive benefits of religious affiliation for school performance, positive family life, well-being and contribution to community life (schludermann, et al, 2000; clark, 1998; perry, 1998; and baetz et al, 2006). religions also provide for rites of passage such as marking birth, marriage and death. religions generally promote ethical, law-abiding behaviour in their adherents. religious adherents strive to obey the law and respect the authority of the state. religion thereby fosters “moral self-government” according to sullivan (1994). kelsay and twiss (1994) argue that “cooperation, sharing, and altruism can all be related to the sense of identity that religious traditions provide.” religious institutions are the source of humanitarian work in so many igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 149 countries. religious adherents provide much of the funding as well as volunteer labour for providing humanitarian assistance. therefore, if religious adherence is valued and accommodated, the benefits that accrue to society are well-behaved citizens that contribute to the well-being of society. but if religious adherence is denigrated or shut out from public life, society will not only lose the benefits derived from religious adherents but also likely face a backlash from religious adherents. religion in african life some scholars, marx (1844); durkheim (1915); freud (1927), earlier predicted that religion would die out as societies modernize. however, this has not happened as can be seen in the impact of religion in lives of majority of world population in recent time. according to bentzen (2020), “today, 83% of the world population believe in god and the role of religion is strengthening in some societies” (p. 1). similarly, barrett and johnson (2001) cited by koenig (2009) stated that “despite spectacular advances in technology and science, 90% of the world's population is involved today in some form of religious or spiritual practice” (p. 283). this shows that religion has been serving a purpose that modernization does not fulfill. hence, sulkowski and ignatowski (2020) noted that despite progressing secularization, religion, churches, and denominational associations have an impact on individual ethical choices and business decisions. in africa, religion constitutes an inextricable part of the society. religion constitutes the main fabric of african societies, and is intertwined with their general existence, including their sociopolitical and economic development. hence, mbiti (1999) asserted that africans are notoriously religious and religion permeates all departments of life to such an extent that it is not easy or possible to isolate it. according to koenig (2009), in many african countries people who do not subscribe to any form of religion make up less than 0.1% of the population. although the african religious consciousness was initially derived from the practice of traditional religion, christianity and islam have given further impetus to this consciousness. in africa, practically all human activities and conditions including health and diseases are seen and experienced from a religious perspective. it is therefore common for africans to resort to religion in their moments of despair, disaster, fear and uncertainty. analysis today, many people are gradually drifting from religion. the establishment of scientific views to explain natural phenomenon has greatly propagated this change in the society. many nations are investing heavily on technological inventions. since the inventions are so great to many people, their attention on religion has declined significantly. this has transformed most scientists to social icons on the basis that they are able to bring into existence completely new things. with the current increase in scientific as well as technological inventions, many people are drifting into secularism. they advocate for people to be neutral in dealing with matters within the society. secularism aims to separate the government from religious beliefs, practices and religious judgment…”it holds that the basis of human decisions and activities is evidence and facts but not on religious views” (noah, 2005, p.14). owing to this, several bodies have conducted surveys to establish the magnitude to which science has influenced religious beliefs. for instance, in 2009, the pew research centre in america showed that “only 33% of scientists believed in god…17% of the public did not believe that a supernatural being, god exists and 7% believed in a personal god” (panda, 2019). the whirlwinds of technology and progress without ado swept aside religiosity, and secularity became the norm. however, the story is not the same in africa as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 150 africans have continued to hold religiosity tenaciously despite the influence of science and technology. africa is the theatre in which the drama of competing religions is played. africans are both the actors and the audience in their own drama, cheered by onlookers and bystanders who from time to time toss tokens of appreciation or disdain. in the meantime, africans wear the garbs of europe and north america, speak their languages, and play their music while dancing their dances. but african religiosity has remained intact. the third millennium has begun with africans taking religion seriously, while elsewhere technology and progress took centre stage. the question begging for answer is whether africa will be able to maintain the current religious tempo in the nearest future. current happenings in sub-saharan africa have shown that not only will there be many more african traditionalists, christians and muslims, but they are also likely to be active and devoted in their religious practices and strongly resistant to secularization. african religiosity emerges strongly in most surveys, even if it is not quite uniform. nowhere are there significant minorities rejecting or questioning the religious consensus, especially such fundamental assumptions as the belief in god. in modern times, by far the most important trend in african christianity has been toward especially enthusiastic, charismatic, and pentecostal expressions of faith. many of the newer churches use highly entrepreneurial forms of marketing and evangelism to spread that faith, commonly employing the most advanced technology. similarly, in many african societies, youths have vigorously reintroduced traditional religious practices earlier abandoned as a result of modernization. conclusion religion is the single most important aspect in bringing people together. this is due to the system of norms and values as well as practices within each religion. before the inception of the modern world and the modern liberal state, religion and religious actors were at the helm of affairs in the running of society; religion and state were effectively mixed. but the enlightenment era, which gave birth to industrialized cum secularized societies, initiated ideas which attacked religion and its exalted position in the affairs of society. however, amidst all the changes, there is always a remnant in each religion that truly holds to the initial aspects and meaning of their religion. despite the dynamism of the world, religion will remain an important social aspect. the future of religion is uncertain; however, the possibility of africa maintaining the current religious tempo in the nearest future almost a reality in the light of the high rates of african spirituality. references agha, a. u. (2012). religion and culture in permissive society. enugu: idika press. baetz, m., bowen, r., jones, g. and koru-sengul, t. (2006). how spiritual values and worship attendance relate to psychiatric disorders in the canadian population. canadian journal of psychiatry, 51, 654. bentzen, j. s. (2020). in crisis, we pray: religiosity and the covid-19 pandemic. paper presented at the virtual covid-19 seminar series at university of copenhagen, may, 2020. bouquet, a. c. (1941). comparative religion, middlesex: penguin books. clark, w. (1998). religious observance: marriage and family. canadian social trends, statistics canada . durkheim, e. (1915). elementary forms of the religious life (trans. j. w. swain). new york: macmillan. freud, s. (1927), the future of an illusion. broadview press hick, j. (1994). philosophy of religion. new delhi: prentice hall of india ltd. kelsay, j. and twiss, s. (1994). religion and human rights, (waco) koenig, h. g. (2009). research on religion, spirituality, and mental health: a review. canadian journal of psychiatry, 54(5), 283-291. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 151 marx, k. (1844). contribution to the critique of hegel's philosophy of right. deutsch-franzosische jahrbiicher, 7(10), 261-271. mbiti, j. s. (1999). african religions and philosophy. 2nd ed. oxford: heinemann. mueller, d. c. (2013). the state and religion. review of social economy 71(1): 1-19. noah, f. (2005). divided by god. new york: farrar, straus and giroux. nweke, i. o. (2021). african traditional religion vis-à-vis the tackle it suffers. journal o f religion and human relations, 13 (1), 92-109. panda, i. (2019). the future of religion. h�ps://ivypanda.com/essays/the-future-of-religion/ perry, b.g.f. (1998). the relationship between faith and well-being. journal of religion and health , 37, 125. schludermann, e.h., schludermann, s. and huynh, c. (2000). religiosity, prosocial values, and adjustment among students in catholic high schools in canada. journal of beliefs & values, 21, 99. sulkowski, l. & ignatowski, g. (2020). impact of covid-19 pandemic on organization of religious behaviour in different christian denominations in poland. religions,11, 254. sullivan, w. f. (1994). paying the words extra: religious discourse in the supreme court o f the united states, (cambridge). taylor, s. (1995). philosophical arguments. (cambridge, mass.). wallace a. 2013. religion: anthropological view. new york: random. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya nsukka art school and postmodernist impacts on modern nigerian art okoro, martins n. department of fine and applies arts, university of nigeria, nsukka martins.okoro@unn.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.31621.83688 abstract postmodernism has permeated modern nigerian and because it is a violation of the norms of modernism, critics and art commentators have expressed their worries over the negative impacts, as a result of its various paradigms – techno art, conceptual art, installation art, video art and performance art. in their own opinions, it is empty, ephemeral, highfalutin and redundant and will affect the commercial value of artwork created in this genre or category. they also raised the issue of identity, provenance, creative colonization, as well as the relevance of its historic and anthropological legacies. based on this, they are considering the future of art and artists creating postmodernist artwork. for intervention, the study examines postmodernist art in the nsukka school and demonstrates its positive impacts and contributions to art development in nigeria. data for the study were collected from extant literatures and internet sources. the data were historically analyzed using technical and stylistic methods. the study found that postmodernist artwork not only exposes practicing artists to the global art spaces through art exhibitions but also enriches them through sales by some notable auction houses. again, the works are acquired by some notable galleries and art collectors and have attracted signicant attention in the media, the simple reasons this article argues are more than enough to show that postmodernism has impacted positively, therefore, lays to rest the politics of postmodernism, substantially. keywords: postmodernist art, impacts, nsukka school, modern nigerian art introduction in order for the discussion to be lucid and to also put a historical trace on the trajectory of the art development in nigeria, it will be good to address the variable 'modern nigerian art,' 'nsukka school' and 'postmodernism.' even though, modernity had been traced to the indigenous bini artists of the sixteenth century who incorporated in their art forms, euro-christian concepts and symbols brought in nigeria by the portuguese (uche okeke, 1978), modern nigerian art started in the early 20th century from aina onabolu (1882 1963), a self-taught artist, who later enrolled in formal art training in london and paris academies, respectively. he later taught art in nigerian secondary schools and “badgered the colonial government into appointing another art teacher to assist with the responsibility of instructing an increasing number of art students in nigeria secondary schools. kenneth murray, the individual appointed in 1927 to fulll this objective, provided a counter-narrative to onabolu's anglo-nigerian prescriptions for art through his training of ve pioneer students, one of whom was ben enwonwu (1921-1994). ogbechie (2003, p. 179) noted that “he wanted them to invent a new form of production in relation to their new contexts of practice based on valorization of indigenous rural culture.” it yielded positive results in the sense that it catalyzed and revolutionized the art activities of onabolu and refocused the direction of art pedagogy and practice and laid the foundation upon which new artistic era in nigeria was built (asogwa, 2012). as ikwuemesi (1999, p. 21) notes, “murray's idea was later 97 appropriated most positively by the zaria art society, a group of radical art students at the nigerian collage of arts and science, zaria (now ahmadu bello university, zaria) in the 1950s. it was to crystallize in the hands of its members, especially uche okeke, who described the idea as “natural synthesis,” and explored it further through uli paradigm.” what can be deduced here is that it was okeke's natural synthesis of the zaria art society; modern nigerian took its root, grew and diversied. it is convenient to say that stemming from murray's transformational art training in the 1930s, the evolution of the concept of natural synthesis, no doubt, is murray's baby, its art and theory, a codication of murray's aesthetic philosophy and pedagogy (ogbechie, 2008; egonwa, 2001). nsukka school is an ideological nomenclature of the art department that stemmed from uli idiom – body and wall paintings associated with the igbo women of eastern nigeria which was introduced as a creative resource by uche okeke (1933-2016) when he joined the teaching staff in 1970. nsukka school is known for its crusading inuences and contributions to art and national development (oloidi, 2008, p. 14) because over the years, it has been playing a pivotal, if not a signicant role in the development of modern nigeria art. because its products namely; obiora udechukwu, tayo adenaike, olu oguibe, nnenna okore, ozioma onuzulike, bright eke, dilomprizulike, to mention but a few are scattered all over the world, doing exploits, it has become a movement with global manifestations (oloidi, 2008). by this, it has made its creative intelligence and ideological self-felt, not only in nigeria, but also in euro-american nations. for instance, the focus on the creative efforts of nsukka art by the national museum of african art, smithsonian institution, washington dc, usa in 1997, is a clear testimony of this creative exploits and manifestations (oloidi, 2002). following this, the nsukka school is critical in the development of modern art in nigeria, following her unique modernist disposition (chellaram, 2021). with uli, uche okeke sowed effective seed that pertained to identity (agbayi, 2003) in 1970, immediately after the nigerian-biafran. uli idiom became the only creative pool from where all creative ideas were drawn. it is to be noted that it is from uli art that all kinds of creative vision emanated and was to later lead to the unprecedented “outburst of the experimental and exploratory spirit in a radical new direction” (onuzulike, 2001, p. 7) that begot postmodernist art. postmodernism is a cross cutting current of ideas that dissolves and violates all known art and media boundaries. it stimulates the intellect towards violating the convention, the more reason the “nsukka artist constantly nds himself on the brink of creative necessity, making idealistic and artistic interface quite workable” (alu, et al., 2024, p. 56). its various paradigms are techno art, conceptual art, video art, performance art and installation art which onuzulike (2002, p. 13) writes that “its mode has come under intense criticism as mimetic of western artistic currents irrelevant to immediate concerns in a country dened by gross social, economic and technological underdevelopment.” for the fact that “yet there has remained an absence of meaningful critical assessment or scrutiny of the emergent installation artists as a focal point for resolving such notion of (ir)relevance and/or (in) authenticity” (onuzulike, 2002, p. 13), the study relying on qualitative research method seeks examining the positive impacts of postmodernism, most especially to assuage critics and writers fears that postmodernism are anti-art, antithesis to classical cultural heritages of nigeria and prioritizes global discourse at the expense of pressing local issues (ikwuemesi, 1997; ikwuemesi, 1998a; ikwuemesi, 1998b; kalilu & oladugbagbe 2022; duniya & adewumi, 2023). what these writers fail to understand is that the “artists who successfully engaged the postmodernist mode have applied it towards solving problems that are related to african and her peculiar circumstances. an “artist like el anatsui has dedicated his work to the interrogation of african history: slavery, modern day emigration to the west and other igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 98 contemporary issue, using clay, wood and lately metal, all sourced from his immediate environment. dilomrezulike has devoted most of his work to the problems that assail the contemporary nigerian urban dwellers (eneorji & eseyin, 2016). from uche okeke's modernist aesthetics to el anatsui's postmodernist art as mention earlier, “uche okeke's entry into the art department of the university of nigeria, nsukka, gave him, naturally the opportunity to present, or even impose, his already well-bred and tested ideology of zarianism. his professional and ideological position centered on curriculum domestication, art functionality, art experimentation and art experimentation” (oloidi, 2003, p. 48). the uli idiom which uche okeke had been developing about eight years earlier became a source of artistic inspiration (oloidi 2003) and made it possible for exploration, experimentation, interrogation and synthesis of this creative resource (odoh, 2011). by 1977, the art department of the university of nigeria, nsukka, had already set a glaring example in intense artistic experimentation. the evidence of strong ideological, innovative commitment and theorization became very clear and the art emanating from nsukka school set the pace for total change in naturalistic approach and restless search for the new creative voice (oloidi, 2003). in 1982, el anatsui started a new mode of art production as a result of his restless experimental energy he was developing in the late 1970s, especially with his focus on manganese cum ceramic sculpture. this exhibition, broken pot was its outcome. it was also during this period that he started experimenting with wood slashing, burning and grouping (oloidi, 2003). fullled but after clarity, he developed the eyes of eagle and saw beyond the ordinary. he began to use aluminum, copper wire and nylon rope in the execution of wonderful works of art. as noted kleinbeaur (1971), work of art is “a man-made object with aesthetic signicance; an aesthetic object which has resulted from a high level of craftsmanship.” el anatsui became recognized for his appropriation of craft ideas in the execution of captivating works of art. notable art galleries and museums in united states of america, brazil, germany, london and other places around the globe started collecting his artworks and writers such as tina yapelli, john picton, gerald houghton, yukuya kawaguchi, elizabeth lalousebek, simon njami, elizabeth peri willis, olu oguibe and anatsui's began writing about his artistic exploits. as a proof of his art inuence, he was among the 100 most inuential people in 2023, as published by times magazine, usa. in 2020, he was award skowhegan model for sculpture, skowhegan school of painting and sculpture, maine, usa and in 2015; golden lion for lifetime achievement award, 56th venice biennale, venice, italy, among others. so, from 1970 to date, nsukka school has been experiencing dynamic levels of creative activities; leading to many unpredictable creative shifts and adventures that is yielding breathtaking artwork that crystallizes the art school into one of the most respected in modern nigerian art scene to the extent that its relocation and domestication of ideas, tools and techniques has become a creative sanity in our cultural and national environment (aniakor, 1991). unequivocally, there are more than enough evidences on the outcome of postmodernist art creation in nsukka school. this is because nsukka artists are ceaselessly drawing from the fountain of this artistic mode or genre as they are being swept along by the tide of postmodernist art. these artists, no doubt, exhibit the aesthetic, conceptual and ideological afrmations of postmodernist art. they are true to their craft and purposeful in their individual approaches. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 99 el anatsui: performance art, installation art and inuence as pointed out earlier, with broken pots and offerings to the weather, el anatsui agged off postmodernist sculpture and performance art in nigeria. one important goal of the broken pots series, notes oguibe (2004, p. 98) “was to remind the viewer that the relics are not only artifact but reliquary also; a reservoir of memory from which the past, like an encryption, may be decoded and reassembled into narratives.” he further noted that: with this earthy substance, with grog composed of crushed potshards and using manganese trailings, sometimes melting in pieces of glass, he created terra-cotta works, that are dark gray and blackish in colour. these ceramic works resulted in the well-known exhibition in enugu and nsukka, and in the 1982 exhibition at the goethe institute in lagos. anatsui took to the idea of the inevitability of destruction and continuity, death and immortality, hate and love. although a broken pot does not return to its original shape, it is not negated. it passed on to another level of existence (oguibe, 2004). some of the works consist of pots which were deliberately worked to reveal their inner organic content as a sculptural mass, as if a dress is worn inside out. the result was quite refreshing (aniakor, 2005). offering to the weather (fig.1) is quite potent. ottenberg (1997) noted that offering to the weather was a huge mound of earth on top of which el anatsui had placed a large black pot he made on top of it and called it alter. in the performance, six persons covered themselves with white shawls. they carried out a ritual to the weather spirits. ottenberg views it as an excellent example of anatsui's ability to innovate and one of his most postmodern works. also, el anatsui's body of work created with aluminum stripes and other tin metal stripes, copper wire and bottle tops is evocative large size installation sculptures (see gure 2, for example). in recent times, “anatsui's experiments in these metal sculpture installations have overshadowed most of his earlier works in wood, mostly because of the astonishing beauty and technical sophistication of these new art works” (okeke, 2012, p. 204). the creative process of these sculptures involves the use of copper wire to string together hundreds of bottle caps and aluminum strips of different fig. 1: el anatsui, offerings to the weather, performance, 1984. © the artist. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 100 colours. for okeke, they have the ow of cloth hanging on colourful ligree. the “colouful, fabriclike wall sculptures juxtapose not only the social and political but also the cultural history of africa, borrowing from the stylistic and conceptual idioms of western art practice.” in the exhibition catalogue, earth growing roots, tina yupeli says “these shimmering textiles allude to the use of both cloth and liquor as currency by european slave traders on the west africa coast.” she further noted that they refer to the traditional woven kente cloth and stamped adrinka symbols of ghana, the reductive imagery of geometric abstract painting, the pressing ecological issues of consumerism and waste, and the historical and ongoing impacts of the global marketplace. the works crease, drape, undulate and fold with innite variety in order to adapt to, and conversely transform their environments. in terms of mentorship, el anatsui “is a creative mentor to many notable nsukka-trained artists whose concern for the impact of man's modern technology and consumerist culture on the natural environment has been very signicant and thought-provoking” (onuzulike, 2005, p. 43). for oloidi (2003, p. 7) “what have forced anatsui's postmodernist formalism high up on the agenda for a great many artists, have been the exhibitions of mainly young artists' works that he has curated.” in 1999, anatsui curated an exhibition, promoter of nigerian art 6 in goethe institute, lagos. onuzulike (2001, p. 9) reports that “the multi-purpose hall of the german cultural centre was nearly lled to the brim with 'strange' metaphorical works…, propelling the lagos 'vanity' collectors into an endless roam around the exhibition hall.” also, at mydim and nimbus galleries, lagos, el anatsui presented 10 artists in the 'new energies' exhibition in 2001. according to okeke (2012, p. 74) “this exhibition revealed media process and gestures, emphasized an ideology of recyclia of that transform discarded consumerist waste such as plastics, wires, cans, cartons, fig. 2: ag + ba, aluminium, copper wire and nylon rope, dimensions variable, 2014 © the artist. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 101 papers, metals sheets, and other popular industrial products into stunning and fascinating works of art. it was with their visual diagnoses of ecological feature that they in fact; present a system for reengineering the art environment through the use of recycled media.” their artwork amazed the audience. this exhibitions triggered controversy among critics. but irrespective of the controversy, el anatsui encouraged artists to delve into the creation of postmodernist art because it is the art of tomorrow (eneorji and eseyin, 2016). textile agency in the select installation art of nsukka artists in nsukka school, textile art hinged only on tying and dyeing of fabrics, printing and so on. however, over a decade ago, due to the overbearing inuence of el anatsui, some artists have extricated themselves from the conventional textile production and are using both textile and nontextile materials such as wood, cotton, ropes, metal, acrylic-yarns and appliqués to create works of art. this has widened the horizon and extended the frontiers of textile art, as works of art that is purely experimental both in forms and contents have sparked off a radical shift to the use of textiles to make socio-political and socio-economic statements; the reason textile art has achieved a level of acceptance and creative popularity. because of this, the historical notion that textile is merely a utilitarian clothing material ceases to apply. it is the avid desire and the restive search for a new mode of textile expressions and directions that culminated in the total rejection of the stereotype, thereby beginning the culture of postmodernist textile art. to buttress this point, ten installation pieces out of many deserve to be discussed because of their self-sufcient nature and uniqueness. chime and nwanna (2023, p. 29) observe that the “growing textile wastes in landlls and streets of major cities in nigeria have become a general concern. in view of the problem, it has become necessary to rescue some of these textile waste materials from landlls and streets and turn them into art by up-cycling those textile waste materials.” one of such works of art is humphry umezurike, popularly called dilomprizulike's wear and tear (fig. 3) made of discarded clothes. for him, it exposes the often overlooked and underrated elements of the african-urban communal life which largely inuence it. the alienated situation of the african in his own society becomes tragic. because of struggle inside him, a consciousness of living with the complications of an imposed civilization is not in doubt. no longer can he go back to pick up the fragments of his father's shattered culture; neither is he equipped enough to keep pace with the white-man's world. with this and other installations, dilomprizulike who is a product of nsukka school has gained a prominent position in the international art scene, to the extent that in 2005, his work was exhibited in africa remix at london's hayward gallery. he was a resident at the gasworks gallery where he prepared a piece for the victoria and albert museum. with local rubbish, he created busy street for the herzliya museum of contemporary art in israel in 2010. the piece was a reection on israel's consumer society. the above impacts positively, on modern nigerian art. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 102 textile is central element in the artwork of eva obodo. this can be glimpsed from prisoner's clothesline (fig. 4). in this work, the artist sewed trousers; blouses, shirts and knickers with jute and used blue, yellow and pink dye to drew some uli symbols on them for surface enrichment. these “clothes” are in turn, hung on a rope tied to two vertical poles on wooden pedestals to form a free standing installation. the installation provokes deeper conceptual meanings and as such is located within the connes of postmodernist art, given that installation, assemblage and grouping of textile elements are purely the hallmark of postmodernist art. obodo has exhibited his postmodern installation in kó and akaris galleries, lagos and paris, respectively. his work, crosses too many to carry has been sold by akaris. he won the 2013 smithsonian artist research fellowship award, 2002 dakar biennale, senegal and 2001 osaka trienniale, japan awards, a positive impact of postmodernist art on modern nigeria art. fig. 3: wear and tear, discarded clothes, 2000. © the artist fig. 4: prisoner's clothesline, 2021, jute, dye, cloth, wood, metal, plastic 127 1/2 x 83 1/2 x 33 7/8 in324 x 212 x 86 cm. © the artist. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 103 writes thackara (2018) “nnenna okore engages in a “slow, arduous” process of weaving, dying, winding, and teasing materials like burlap, wire and paper – sometimes sourced from west africa – to create dramatic textile installations that resemble the undulating fabrics forms of artist, el anatsui, who was once okore's teacher. down to earth (fig. 5) suggests a vivid red whirlpool giving way to a waterfall, or even the breakdown of (human) organic matter.” okore has received international acclaim for her art. she has exhibited her artworks in some notable museum like mattatuck art museum and memphis brook museum, among other. she has received upon other numerous national and international awards the prestigious fulbright scholar award in 2012. she has carried out time-honoured commissions, as well as art projects, of which a good example is the “and the world keeps turning” installation in brugge triennale, belgium in 2021, impacting positively on modern nigerian art. in hanging in balance (fig. 6), some sticks have been joined together and intricately wrapped with fabrics. also wrapped with fabrics are two round shape objects and placed in between the sticks. here, the fragility of human essence was employed, making thin branches to bear heavy load (round objects), which is a typical example of how life hangs in a balance. erasmus onyishi deployed wrapping technique to bring three-dimensional objects to life, thereby, creating artworks that break away from the convention. he has won the 2014 edition of the national art competition organized by the african artists foundation (aaf) and the nigerian breweries. this shows the positive impact of postmodernist art in nigeria. fig. 5: down to earth, burlap and dye, 2017. © the artist. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 104 on top (fig. 7) hankers after the quest for survival, depicting somewhat, a survival of the ttest, where those privileged to get to the top, stay put while those who are unlucky remain at the bottom, ghting to climb the ladder to get to the top a scenario classifying individuals into social classes. for nnorom, these social classes thus, hold some truth and conspiracy, binding them together. nnorom's body of work is typically constructed from pieces of ankara/african wax print fabric scraps collected from tailors or cast-off clothes from homes along with waste foam from furniture workshops that are wrapped and stitched into bubbles of various colours and sizes. through technical processes such as sewing, rolling, tying, stringing, and suspending, he navigates the boundaries between textiles, painting and sculpture in a poetic fashion. among other residences, nnorom has completed a residency in the uk at the art house, before he was announced the overall winner of the m & c saatchi group and saatchi change prize gallery art – a testament to the positive impact of postmodernist art. fig. 6: hanging in balance, wood, rubber, and fabric, 2013. © the artist. fig. 7: on top, cloths, 2021. © the artist. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 105 figure 8, is entitled idi n' otu: the last resort. in this installation, the artist dyed into some pieces of jute ags belonging to different countries and used them to cover a cone-like structure formed with sticks. on the top of the structure are bunch of sticks out of which ve ags are hoisted to y at full mast. right at the center of the of it, is a woven ber dyed with green, ochre and brown colours that cascades down, covering the entrance of the tent. the work forms an impression of a nest and at the artist uses it as a clarion call for unity amongst nations of the world. this work and others are testimony that chukwuemeka nwigwe has joined the league of the emerging artists who have cut their creative teeth and are also putting on the garment of postmodernism in nsukka art school. odeta žukauskien� (2023, p. 2) observed that “the textile approach is formed through art practice, encouraging experiments with materials, metaphoric concepts, and ideas.” she further observed that “postmodern thinking has liberated textile art from the narrow denition of applied art. fabric, as a warm, soft, and exible material that absorbs personal and collective experiences, has inspired the intimate and monumental works.” with knitting method that required a lot of concentration and tenacity, rita-doris uba grouped, assembled, as well as installed dolls of white and red, white and blue and other colour combinations. her understanding of colour relationship plays an important role in enhancing the aesthetics of her works. her colour schemes are emotive and communicative. through the use of cool colours, warm colours, complementary colours…, she succeeds in creating feelings of joyful exuberance, peacefulness, restfulness, and restiveness and tension (odoh, 2015). thematically, people of umuoa (fig. 9) takes after the name umuoa, okonkwo's village in chinua achebe's epic novel, things fall apart. the work insinuates abandonment, neglect and degradation to knitting method of textile production, which she reinvigorates, with a view to turning this conventional method into a conceptualized body of work (okoro, 2021). “despite the limitation of textiles to the creation of conceptual works because of its applied art status, she has continued to push the boundaries to open up new channels of expression. her work is creative, dynamic, exciting and open-minded” (agwu, 2016, p. 5). galleries and museums such as the brunei gallery, soas have featured rita doris ubah's work. fig. 8: idi n' otu: the last resort, fabrics, jute, sticks, twine, metal, 2008. © the artist. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 106 the gigantic royal chair that kenechukwu udeaja executed with bre glass, metal, ribbon, jewelry, and necklaces, bracelets, wool and other accoutrements, is an installation entitled cultural remix (fig. 10) and depicts the greatness of an igwe, traditional ruler in igboland. the royal chair, among other appurtenances is symbol of authority in igboland. it is replete with the allegory of igbo traditional authority. udeaja “arguably outmoded cultural elements and shows how they can be reinvented and mixed up for contemporary artistic purpose” (nwigwe, 2017, p. 6). the artwork in its opulent splendor shows the artist's creative ability and mastery in manipulating new media into forms and shapes (okoro, 2021). figure 9: people of umuoa, 2017, mixed media, varied sizes. photo: the author. fig. 10: cultural remix, bre, coloured material, metal, ribbon, wool and glass, 2016. photo: the author. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 107 conclusion what necessitated this study was not unconnected with the arguments that art postmodernism has provoked since its inroad in the nigerian art scene. on different occasions, writers, critics and art historians raised vital issues about postmodernist art and what it would offer to modern nigerian art. looking at it from different stand points, they raise some issues pertaining to its negative implications on the future of art, and on the young and up-coming artists in higher institutions, in terms of patronage, and commercial value, among others. the fear of permanence as to what would constitute, as well as form the basis of our tomorrow's archaeology; anthropology and history gripped them, thereby making some of them dismiss postmodernist art as anti-art, as well as highfalutin. the above submissions on the negative impacts of postmodernist art in nigerian art have been proved wrong in this study, using some artists of nsukka school who are practicing, and gaining media attention both in nigeria and abroad as a useful example. as evident, artwork produced veered off from modernist aesthetics to postmodern ethos. they are installation art created with the combination or conglomeration of unrelated things, blurring the boundaries between sculpture and textile arts. for instance, the techniques of tying, stretching and twisting materials in extraordinary ways have become common approaches in both elds of visual arts (nwigwe, 2022). the works are visual testaments of the postmodernist creations in nsukka school. in this study, it is shown that postmodernist artwork produced by the nsukka artists has been received and exhibited internationally. good example is el anatsui's works of art that have been reorganized in the international art scene. also, dilomprizulike's artwork has been show in the famous africa remix art exhibition that toured many countries around the globe. it is imperative to mention the inuence of postmodernism on non-nsukka artists such jelili atiku, peju alatise and victoria udondian. their active involvements in this current creative endeavour show the impacts of postmodernist art in nigeria art scene. in favour of postmodernist art, these artists have rejected the modernist ideal of medium and form as primary characteristics of their art. finally, it is hoped that this study will stimulate new research directions that can confront the emerging issues of art postmodernism, triggered by the socio-political conditions in nigeria. references agbayi, e. (2003) homage to asele and art in nigeria: a contemplative discourse, in homage to asele, enugu: pendulum art gallery, lagos, pp. 5-10. agwu, e. (2016) 'woven stories and conversations', in creative anthills, nsukka: department of fine and applied arts, pp. 4-5. alu, n., anikpe, e. echem, s & ogu, j. (2024) 'social narratives in polychromatic embroidery as hallmarks of eva obodo's works at the february 25-march 11, 2021 kó art exhibition', lagos, nigeria, innovations, 76, pp. 54-67. chellaram, kavita. (2021) foreword. eva obodo: recent works, the new nsukka series. lagos: kó. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 108 chime, n.f. & nwanna, c.e. (2023) 'exploration of textile waste for art production in enugu metropolis, enugu state, nigeria', journal of fine and applied arts, 9(2), pp. 39-52. duniya, g.g. & adewumi, k.c. (2023) 'contemporary nigerian artists' response to postmodernists trend and its implications for effective artistic growth', african journal of inter/multidisciplinary studies 5(1), pp. 1-11. egonwa, osa (2001) 'the evolution of the concept of 'natural synthesis', uso: nigeria journal of art, 3(1-2), pp. 52-60. eneorji, c. & eseyin, j.m. (2016) 'el anatsui and the postmodern controversy', ikenga international journal of institute of african studies, unn, 18(1), pp. 75-81. ikwuemesi, k. (1999) 'beyond these pigeonholes: redening african art in the 21st century', in aniakor, c.c. and ikwuemesi, k. (eds.). crossroads: africa in the twilight. abuja: the national gallery of art, pp. 19-28. ----------------(1998a) 'there are no installation here', glendora review, african quarterly on the arts, 2(4), pp. 7-10. -----------------(1998b) 'still on the curse of postmodernism', glendora review, african quarterly on the arts, 2(4), pp. 12-13. -----------------(1997) 'burden of the african artist: african art and the curse of postmodernism', in afrika heritage '97. enugu: the pan-african circle of artists, p. 1. kalilu, r.o. & oladugbagbe, a.f. (2022) 'an examination of postmodernism in sculptural practice in some nigerian art schools', journal of visual art and design, 14(2), pp. 191-201. kleinbeaur, e.w. (1971) modern perspective in western art history. new york: holt, rinehart and winton, inc. nwigwe, c. (2022) eva obodo's recent works: tied, twisted textiles and social life in nigeria, c l o t h a n d c u l t u r e , 2 2 ( 1 ) , p p . 7 4 8 3 . https://doi.org/10.1080/14759756.2022.2140981 odoh, g. (2015) 'a celebration of creativity and industry', in tjanting lives on, nsukka: department of fine and applied arts, pp. 7-8. odoh, g. (2011). 'uli and the dangers of creative stagnation: the need to explore new creative pathways,' in c.k. ikwuemesi (ed.). forward to the past iv: uli and the challenges of modernity. enugu: uli art and craft foundation, pp. 29 33. ogbechie, sylvester (2008) ben enwonwu: the making of an african modernist. rochester: university of rochester press. ogbechie, sylvester (2003) 'ben enweonwu, zarianist aesthetics, and the postcolonial criticism of modern nigerian art,' in c.k. ikwuemesi (ed.). the triumph of a vision: an anthology on modern art in nigeria. lagos: pendulum art gallery, pp. 175-193. oguibe, o. (2004) the culture game. minneapolis: university of minnesota press. okeke, o. (2012) artists of nigeria. sylvester ogbechie (ed.). milan: ford foundation. okeke, u. (1978) 'introduction to contemporary nigerian art'. new culture: a review of contemporary african arts, 1(1), p. 17. okoro, m.n. (2021) 'quantum leap beyond the frontiers: 'currentism' in visual arts production in the nsukka school', rupkatha journal on interdisciplinary studies in humanities, 13(1), pp. 1-16. https://dx.doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v13n1.06 oloidi, ola (2003) 'art recentism, art currentism and the physiognomy of modern nigerian art from 1970 to 2003', in dakar – art, minorities, majorities. dakar: aica press, p. 1-7. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 109 oloidi, ola (2003) 'uche okeke and his creative dynasty in nigeria', in c.k. ikwuemesi (ed.). the triumph of a vision: an anthology on modern art in nigeria. lagos: pendulum art gallery, pp. 36-54. onuzulike, o. & obodo, e. (2012) environmental and climate challenge issues in the works of some nigerian visual artists. available at: http://www.jls-online.com/article-contentvol… (accessed 10 february, 2015). -------------(2002) 'installation and conceptual wetin? current art in nigeria and questions of authenticity, identity and relevance', in changing attitude. enugu: the pan-african african circle of artists, pp. 13-20. -------------(2001) 'representing art: nsukka student' art 1993 – 2000', in c. krydz ikwuemesi and ayo adewunmi (eds.). a discursive bazaar, writing on african art, culture, and literature. enugu: the pan african circle of artists, pp. 716. simon ottenberg, (1997) new traditions from nigeria: seven artists of the nsukka group. washington dc: smithsonian institution press. thackara, t. (2018) these 20 female artists are pushing sculpture forward, artsy. retrieved 6 april 2024 from www.artsy.net žukauskien�, odeta (2023) 'textile agency in the artwork of monika žaltauskait� grašien�', arts and commerce, 1(2), pp. 1-11. https://doi.org/10.36922/ac.1867 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 110 microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.1 no. 2 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 22 augustine’s understanding of god and humanity in de trinitate by + john niyiring, o.s.a., ph.d catholic bishop of kano diocese jnniyiring@yahoo.com abstract since the starting point of augustine's trinitarian theology/spirituality is a faith based on the historical experience of god's self-revelation and self-communication as father, son and holy spirit, the first section of this piece focuses on the revelation of the divine triad in the history of salvation, and how augustine used the evidence of biblical data to conceive the christian trinity. the second section not only concentrates on augustine's theory of divine relations and how such a theory can enable us to speak and think about the trinitarian god but also accentuates the distinctive characteristics of the three divine persons. finally, the third section analyses augustine's doctrine of trinity within god himself, enunciating the generation of the son and the double procession of the holy spirit. keywords: augustine, understanding, god, humanity, de trinitate introduction one of the theological themes that occupied augustine in de trinitate was god. given that augustine's quest for god in de trinitate not only oscillates between faith and reason, emphasizing the significance of the canonical rule and charity, but also begins by examining the question of trinitarian missions, and then progresses through relations and processions, the discussion is divided into three main sections: god ad extra, divine relations and god in se. since the starting point of augustine's trinitarian theology/spirituality is a faith based on the historical experience of god's self-revelation and self-communication as father, son and holy spirit, the first section of this piece focuses on the revelation of the divine triad in the history of salvation, and how augustine used the evidence of biblical data to conceive the christian trinity. the second section not only concentrates on augustine's theory of divine relations and how such a theory can igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 23 enable us to speak and think about the trinitarian god but also accentuates the distinctive characteristics of the three divine persons. finally, the third section analyses augustine's doctrine of trinity within god himself, enunciating the generation of the son and the double procession of the holy spirit. god ad extra: the "economic" trinity christians experience god as father, son and holy spirit. augustine not only reflected on god's divine attributes but also, as a committed christian, experienced god who is trinity. there is a need to establish the scriptural foundations of augustine's understanding of god as trinity. in what follows we do not wish to present a new biblical theology of augustine's doctrine of god the trinity in de trinitate. rather, we would like to bring into relief some aspects of augustine's treatise that are of special interest for this study. the knowability of god humans value the knowledge of both earthly and heavenly realities41. can one really. know the absolute nature and being of god the trinity? god is light that is inaccessible to the mind; we cannot fully understand god: he is incomprehensible and ineffable42. our thoughts are quite inadequate and incapable of grasping and expressing the trinity as he is43. “if we say we comprehend and know god, then what we comprehend and know is not god.”if you have been able to comprehend it [what you want to say about god], you have comprehended something else instead of god. if you think you have been able to comprehend, your thoughts have deceived you”44. the prideful mind cannot know god the trinity. the intellect that does not only accept its weakness, but also relies on its own capacity and strength to attain divine knowledge is presumptuous. for the humble intellect, it is not absolutely impossible to know something about the trinity in itself for while we humbly profess the ignorance of the knowledge of god, we certainly can have a touch or taste of him. augustine argues in send. 117 (c. 418) that it is possible to have a little taste or touch of god, but to have complete understanding of him is impossible. "[h]uman knowledge is possible because of two lights: the uncreated 41trin., iv, 1: cc l, p. 159. 42 chevalier, la thcoric augustinicnnc des relations trinitaircs (fribourg cn suisse: librairic dc l'univcrsite, 1940), p. 5. 43 trin., v, 1: cc l, p. 206. 44 scrm., 52, 16: pl,38, col. 360: "si comprchcndcrc potuisti, aliud pro dco comprchcndisti. si quasi comprchcndcrc potuisti, cogitationc tua tc dcccpisti." scnnons, iii/3, p. 57. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 24 light of god and the created, mutable light which is man's intellect."45 in other words, the trinity is relatively known through the lights of faith and reason. faith purifies our minds and helps us attain knowledge of god. 11 knowledge of god which comes from the authority of faith is a gift from him to the one who humbly believes in him. faith helps us acknowledge the existence of the trinity in its authoritative... expressions in sacred scripture and tradition. however, this faith requires the warmth of the holy spirit. thus, “take a man who has been roused by the warmth of the holy spirit and has already woken up to god; and in loving him he has become cheap in his own estimation; and being eager yet unable to go in to him, he has taken a look at himself in god's light, and discovered himself: and realised that his own sickness cannot be compounded with god's cleanness. so he finds it a relief to weep and implore him over and over again to take pity and pull him altogether out of his pitiful condition, and he prays with all confidence once he has received the free gratuitous pledge of health through the one and only saviour and enlightener granted us by god”46. augustine makes a number of points in this text. first, one needs the help of the holy spirit in one's search for the knowledge of god. second, an examination of oneself in the light of god leads to the discovery of the gulf between oneself and god (for example, one's own sinfulness and god's purity)47. moreover, through our saviour and enlightener, one receives the freedom necessary for setting out to explore and know god. finally, one should confidently pray and constantly seek the face of god48. the understanding of the universal nature of things that surround us is a source of the knowledge of the trinity. our natural capacity to reason makes our knowledge and thinking about god possible. "because god has created man after his own image as a rational soul and because god continually sustains and aids the soul in its quest for knowledge, human knowledge is possible. god allows and enables us to know him (the trinity) through the essential properties of truth, goodness, love and justice, since god is truth (veritas), good itself (ipsum bonum), love (caritas), and justice (iustitia). the categories of aristotle, which treats of some of the attributes of god, can help us in our search for a 45 r. h. nash, "some philosophic sources of augustinc's illumination thcory," in augustinian studics 2 (1971), p. 49. 46 trin., iv, 1: cc l, p. 159: "q!li ucro jam cuigilauit in dcum spiritus sancti calorc cxcitatus atquc in cius amorc coram sc uiluit ad cumquc intrarc uolcns ncc ualcns eoquc sibi lucente attcndit in sc inuenitquc se suamquc acgritudincm illius munditiac contcmperari non posse cognouit, flere dulce habet et eum deprccari ut ctiam atque ctiam miscrcatur doncc cxuat totam miseriam, ct precari cum fiducia jam gratuito pignore salutis acccpto per eius unicum saluatorcm hominis et iriluminatorcm " trinity, p. 152. 47 trin., v, 2: cc l, pp. 206-207. 48 trin., xv, 2: cc la, pp. 460-462. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 25 genuine manner of understanding god. let augustine express how some philosophical categories can help us to develop a pious way of thinking about god: “thus we should understand god, if we can and as far as we can,be good without quality, great without quantity, creative without need or necessity, presiding without position, holding all things together without possession, wholly everywhere without place, everlasting without time, without any change in himself making changeable things, and undergoing nothing. whoever thinks of god like that may not yet be able to discover altogether what he is, but is at least piously on his guard against thinking about him anything that he is not”49. in this passage one observes that, for augustine, god makes himself known through philosophical categories so that with the help of reason those who seek him can understand him. the authority of faith proclaimed by the church and the power of human reason are the two lights that make god the trinity accessible to human knowledge of god. concluding, he says, god in his divine absoluteness is the inaccessible, the ungraspable, the unknown. trinity, yet, somehow, he has made himself relatively known by revealing himself to humanity. revelation and the trinity it is not an easy task to search for and to understand god50. to search for the trinity, some historical revelation of the intimate life of god is necessary51. although no human eye has ever seen god, yet, god the father has not only revealed himself figuratively through what he has made but also he makes himself known through the incarnation of his son! god has unfolded his plan of salvation through created objects. god revealed himself through the actions and speech of angels. god is manifested in the messages of the prophets. add to this is the fact that some bodily substances are at the service of god, and it becomes quite clear that although god has not shown himself to human eyes, yet, he has indirectly revealed himself to us in history. 49trin., v, 2: cc l, p. 207: "ut sic intcllcgamus deum si possumus, quantum possumus, sine qualitate bonum, sine quantitate magnum, sine indigcntia creatorem, sine situ praesentcm, sine habitu omnia contincntcm, ine loco ubiquc totum, sine tempore scmpitcmum, sine ulla sui mutationc mutabilia facicntcm nihilquc paticntcm. q!lisquis deum ita cogitat ctsi nondum potcst omni modo inucnirc quid sit, pie tamed cauet quantum potest aliquid de illo sentirc quod non sit." trinity, p. 190. 50 trin., ii, 1: cc l, p. 80. here, augustine makes a list of the obstacles that make the search for the trinity quite difficult. he specifically mentions the problem of the inaccessibility of god. 51 f. bourassa, "theologie trinitaire chez saint augustin," in grcgorianum 58 (1977), pp. 686-688. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 26 although divine revelation insists that god is inaccessible and one, it also bears witness to the possibility of plurality within the one god. the ot passages gn 1: 26; 3: 22; 11: 7; and is 6: 8 speak of god in the plural. the jewish interpretation of gn 1: 26; 3: 22; and 11: 7 is strictly monotheistic "so as to maintain the doctrine of god's unity., although there is no evidence that christian authors of the nt saw the trinitarian implications of these passages, early christian writers asserted that the texts were "proof-texts for the doctrine of the trinity"52. for example, abraham's and lot's encounters with the lord in genesis 18 and 19 respectively provoked a passionate speculation on the revelation of the trinitarian nature of god in the ancient church. first, in the gn 18 narrative, abraham sees three men and addresses them as "my lord:" "he looked up and saw three men standing near him. he said, 'my lord ...’" (gn 18: 2-3)53. the same visitors, though in the form of two angels, appear to lot who addresses them as "my lords!" "the two angels came to sodom in the evening ….when lot saw them … he said, 'please, my lords ...’" (gn 19: 1-2)54 the name "lord" in these stories oscillate between singular and plural. the dialectic of singularity and plurality of abraham's and lot's human and angelic visitors allowed augustine to make two conclusions. first, the plurality of the men or angels represents the trinity, but is itself not the trinity. second, their singularity expressed by "lord" represents their unity of divinity: thus, there is a quasi-revelation of the unity and plurality of god in the ot. another observation about the two narratives is that they contain nothing to suggest that abraham's and lot's visitors are unequal in size, age or authority. thus, for augustine, the narratives indirectly reveal the equality of the three persons of the trinity. augustine asks: “so why may we not take the episode as a visible intimation by means of visible creations of the equality of the triad, and of the single identity of substance in the three persons?"55 the divine revelation mediated through creation and the supreme manifestation, of god in the incarnation of the son form a positive source of an authentic knowledge of god who is trinity and provides a concrete moment of divine encounter. 52 a. w. wainwright, the trinity in the new testament, p. 26. also see j. lebreton, histoire du dogme de la trinite, vol. i (paris: gabriel beauchesne, 1927), pp. 552-558. 53 trin., ii, 19-21: cc l, pp. 106-108; trin., iii, 25: cc l, p. 153-156. also see van der lot; l. j., "l'exegese exa t objective des theophanies de l'ancien testament dans ie de trinitate," in augustiniana xn (1964), pp. 485-499 . 54 trin., ii, 21-22: cc l, pp. 107-109. 55 see trin., ii, 19-23: cc l, p. 105-112; for the text cited, see trin., ii, 20: cc l, 107: "cur non hic ipiamus uisibiliter insinuatam per creaturam uisibilem trinitatis aequalitatem atque in tribus personis unam demque substantiam?" trinity, p. 112. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 27 for augustine, if god revealed himself in the theophanies of the sacred scripture, it follows that scriptural incidents do more than describe god's economy in regard to humanity. through these acts one can also gain some insightful knowledge into the nature of god. therefore, it is in the divine manifestations that we investigate whether god revealed himself simply as god the father or god the son or god the holy spirit or trinity or any combination of god, father, son and holy spirit. the father and the son and the holy spirit always acted in and through angels. “sometimes it was the father who was represented by them, sometimes the son, sometimes the holy spirit, sometimes just god without distinction of persons. even if he appeared in visible or audible fashion, it was by means of his creation and not in his own proper substance. to see that substance, hearts have to be purified by all these things which are seen by eyes and heard by ears”56. in gn 3: 9, god appeared to adam under the guise of a man. augustine argues that the god who appeared to adam could have been the father, the son, the holy spirit or simply the trinity. similarly, the call of abraham in gn 12 has nothing to indicate that one person of the three or god the trinity appeared to abraham. also, the appearance of the three men to abraham under the oak of mamre (gn18), in spite of the fact that the three have a parity of everything, does not directly reveal the trinity. it is in the new testament that it becomes quite possible for us to know the trinity: the son reveals himself. though his incarnation, through the word of god the father reveals himself and the holy spirit makes himself known at pentecost. the new testament event soft the incarnation; and pentecost revealed and communicated god as trinity although such revelations did not reveal divine substance of the son or of the holy spirit to humanity. thus, augustine has shown in de trinitate that the whole trinity is relatively and effectively known and communicated through his works, thereby pointing out the significance of basing the trinitarian faith and reflection on the historical experience of god as trinity. 56 trin., 111, 26: cc l, pp. 157-158: "et aliquando pater, aliquando filius, aliquando spiritus sanctus, aliquando sine ulla distinctione personae deus per illos figurabatur etsi uisibilibus et sensibilibus formis apparens, per crcaturam tamed suam non per substantiam suam cui uidendae corda mundantur per haec omnia quae oculis uidentur et auribus audiuntur." trinity, p. 144. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 28 the divine encounter divine manifestations are moments of divine encounter, that is, qualitative occasions, when god meets humanity, not only disclosing himself but also communicating himself to men and women. the story of god encountering and relating with human beings begins in the ot and attains its zenith-point in the incarnation of the word of god in the nt. in de trinitate, augustine stresses the role of creatures in mediating god's will for humans. all divine manifestations formed a part of the divine plan of salvation, namely, the sacred history of the saving work of god. the divine manifestations of the salvation history were, indeed, directed towards the encounter of god and humanity in the incarnation of the word of god. the theophanies were not purely occasional manifestations; they referred figuratively to the incarnation of the son of god57. the deity of the father, the son and the holy spirit like his contemporary catholics and arians, augustine took the deity of the father for granted: the father is always god. his challenge was to demonstrate the deity of the son and the holy spirit. the son and the holy spirit must be shown to be god, equal in divinity to the father. in the context of the opera ad extra, he shows how the son and the holy spirit are divine by arguing that these two members of the trinity are co-equal, coeternal58 and one with the father. unity of godhead augustine rejects the idea of the son and spirit being creatures by arguing that they have substantial unity with the father. the son and the holy spirit do not simply form part of opera ad extra; they belong to a different order, the divine order. regarding his belief that the son is god, the bishop asserts: “for every substance that is not god is a creature, and that is not a creature is god. and if the son is not of the same substance as the father he is a made substance; if he is a made substance then not all things were made through him. but all things were made through him; therefore he is of one and the same substance as the father”59. 57 j. lebreton, "saint augustin theologien de la trinite. son exegese des theophanies,. in miscel/ld4 agostiniana ii (roma: tipografia pologlotta vaticana, 1931), p. 834: "les thcophanies ne sont pas des manifcstati118 purement occasionelles; elles se referent toutes a une fin unique, i'incarnation du fils de dieu. eiles no., prepatent, en meme temps qu'elles la figurent." 58 g. j. p. o'daly, "aeternitas," in augustinus-lexikon, vol. 1, cols. 159-164; van jess, w. g.,'eternity in the doctrine of st. augustine," in augustinian studies 6 (1975), pp. 75-96. 59 trin, i, 9: cc l, p. 38: "omnis enim substania quae deus non cst crcatura cst, ct quae crcatura non cst deus & ii non est filius ejusdem substantiae cuius pater, ergo facta substantia cst; si facta substantia cst, non omnia e".-im facta sun!; at si omnia per ipsum filcta sunt, unius igitur eiusdcmquc cum patre substantiae cst." trinity,71. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 29 likewise, the spirit is divine because of his consubstantiality with the father. augustine argues that the holy spirit himself "is god and not a creature. and if he is not a creature then he is not only god-for even men have been called gods (ps 82: 6)-but also true god; therefore absolutely equal to the father and the son, and consubstantial and co-eternal in the oneness of the three."60 augustine also considers the divinity of the son and holy spirit from the point of view of their missions in salvation history. the missions of the son and the holy spirit revealed their source and origin, namely, the father. if the father is god, it follows that the son and the spirit are divine because the three (father, son, spirit) are united in the father's deity. finally, the deity is the trinity. the trinity cannot be called father, the son cannot be called trinity and the holy spirit cannot be called trinity, however, the father and the son and the holy spirit are the trinity. b. the inseparability of the father, son and spirit in opera ad extra the three persons of the trinity have a relationship with the world through the divine acts of creation, redemption and sanctification. apropos of these opera trinitatis ad extra, the father, the son and the holy spirit cannot be separated. "i will say however with absolute confidence that father and son and holy spirit, god the creator, of one and the same substance, the almighty three, act inseparably."61 the divine triad made the universe and was fully involved in god's acts of self-giving (incarnation and pentecost) to humanity. "so too the trinity together produced both the father's voice and the son's flesh and the holy spirit's dove, though each of these single things has reference to a single person."62 the father, the son and the spirit relate to creatures inseparably: god the trinity relates to creation as one origin, not two or three sources. it is instructive to note that the relationship between the trinity and the world does not mean that god is a part of the world, and vice versa. god is creator, redeemer and sanctifier whereas the world with its contents is a creature to be redeemed and sanctified. 60 trin, i, 13: cc l, p. 42: "ipsc deus ct non crcatura. q!lod si non crcatura, non tantum deus (nam ct e dictisunt dij), sed ctiam uerus deus. ergo patri ct filio prorsus acqualis ct in trinitatis unitatc tialis ct coactcmus." trinity, p. 73. the emphasis has been supplied. 61 trin, iv, 30: cc l, p. 202: "sed plane fidcntcr dixcrim patrem ct filium ct spiritum sanctum unius qll.rantiae deum crcatorcm, trinitatcm omnipotcntcm inscparabilitcr opcrari." trinity, p. 175. 62 trin., n, 30: cc l, p. 203: "ita trinitas simul operata est et uocem patris et camero filii et colum"spiritus sancti cum ad personas singulas haec singula referantur." trinity, p. 176. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 30 augustine powerfully argues for the divinity of the son and the holy spirit with the help of the conception of inseparability of the father, the son and the spirit in the opera ad extra. the godhead is involved in all divine activities. the father, the son and the holy spirit act inseparably: "the trinity works inseparably in everything that god works.”63 the theophanies of the ot imply trinitarian inseparability. the divine activities in the nt are clearly the works of the father, the son and the holy spirit. the father and son have one will and are indivisible in their working; the incarnation and the virgin birth of the son were "indivisibly wrought by one and the same working of the father and the son, not leaving out, of course, the holy spirit, of whom it is said in so many words that she (mary] was found to be with child of the holy spirit."64 the sending of the holy spirit was the work of the trinity whose aim was to reveal the spirit's eternity. in sum, the inseparability of the opera trinitatis ad extra shows the divine equality, eternity and unity of the son and the spirit with the father. characteristics of opera ad extra the inseparability of the members of the divine triad in the opera ad extra does not deny the individual roles of the father, the son and the spirit in them. the activities of the father, the son and spirit in creation, redemption and sanctification are distinguishable but not separable. augustine diligently identifies the tasks of each one of the three divine persons in the economy, and, accordingly, he appropriates such divine functions to the father, the son and the spirit65. the bishop's reason for the appropriation of the divine functions is scriptural. to illustrate, according to scripture, the father's voice was heard the baptism of jesus; it was jesus who was born in the flesh, baptized, suffered death all rose again to life and ascended into heaven; and the holy spirit appeared in the form of a dove and descended upon jesus at his baptism and on the apostles at pentecost. to repeat: “so too, the trinity produced the flesh of christ, but the only one of them it belongs to is christ. the trinity produced the dove from the sky, but the only one of them it belongs to is the holy spirit. the trinity 63 trin., i, 8: cc l, p. 36: "inseparabiliter operari trinitatem in omni re quam deus operatur." trinity, p. 70 64 trin., ii, 9: cc l, p. 91: "una eademque operatione patris et filii inseparabiliter esse factaro, non utiqlk' separato spiritu sancto de quo aperte dicitur: inuenta est in utero habens de spiritu sancto." trinity, p.103.also see trin., ii, 8: cc e pp. 89-90. 65 e. bailleux, "dieu trinite et son oeuvre," in recherches augustiniennes vii (1971), pp. 195.199. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 31 produced the voice from heaven, but the only one of them the voice belongs to is the father”66. the fact that the 'opera ad extra are distinguishable not only shows that the three divine persons are united together as god, but also that they are distinct. incidentally, the conceptions of the inseparability and differentiation of opera ad extra are a perennial problem of augustine's search for god as trinity. in brief, augustine uses the conceptions of the unity of god, inseparability of the divine persons in opera ad extra and appropriation of divine functions to the father, the son and the spirit to demonstrate that the son and holy spirit are god and that the father and the son and the holy spirit are three distinct divine persons who are co-equal, co-eternal and one. the divine missions of the persons of the trinity in general terms, divine mission is "going forth from the father and coming into this world" {a patre exire et venire in hunc mundum)67. the missions of the son and the holy spirit have a trinitarian character. the son "could not be sent by the father without the holy spirit. on principle, when the father sent him, that is made him of woman, he cannot be supposed to have done it without his spirit"68 the whole trinity was involved in the conceiving and childbearing of mary.61 the missions do not imply some form of inequality or disparity or dissimilarity of substance of father, son and holy spirit. the missions revealed the father as source of deity the father alone, it is said, has not been sent {pater enim sojus nusquam jegitur missus). the father was not and could not be "sent" because he proceeded from no one. (w)hen the father is known by someone in time he is not said to have been sent for he has not got anyone else to be from or to proceed from. wisdom says, i went forth from the mouth of the most high (sir 24: 26), and of the holy spirit he says, he proceeds from the father and jn 15: 26), but the father is from no one”69. 66 serm., 52, 21 (ad finem): pi.38, col. 363: "ita trinitas fecit camem christi: sed non pertinet nisi ad solum cbristum. trinitas fecit de coelo columbam: sed non perrinet nisi ad solum spiritum sanctum. trinitas fecit de cocio voc(m: sed non perrinet vox nisi ad solum patenn." sennons, 1ii/3, p. 61. 67 trin., ii, 7: cc 1., p. 88. trinity, p. 101. 68 trin ii, 8: cc 1., p. 89: "mitti a patre sine spiritu sancto non potuit, non solum quia intellegitur pater cum misit, id (st fecit ex femina, non utique sine spiritu suo fecisse." trinity, p. 102. 69 trin., iv, 28: cc l, p. 199: "sed pater cum ex tempore a quoquam cognoscitur, non dicitur missus; nil enim habet de quo sit aut quo procedat. sapientia quippe dicit ego ex ore altissimi prodiui, et de spiritu sancto:a patre procedit; pater uero a nullo." igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 32 the sendings make us realize how important it is to have the father as the "source and origin of all deity" (propter principii comnendationem)70. similarly, augustine asserts that in the missions of the son and holy spirit into the world reveals the father as the source of deity. “elsewhere too, when he said, whom the father will send, he added, in my name john 14: 26). he did not however say, 'whom the father will send from me' as he had said whom i will send from the father an john 15: 26), and thereby he indicated that the source of all godhead, or if you prefer it, of all deity, is the father. so the spirit who proceeds from the father and the son is traced back, on both counts, to him of whom the son is born”71. he makes very much the same assertion in a sermon delivered sometime between 405 and 411: "the unity of the godhead has its basis from the father" (unitas enim divinitatis a patre habet exordium ...)72. augustine says in senn., 71 (preached between 417 and 420) that it is the father's property to be the author/origin (auctoritas) of the son and the holy spirit. again, he writes in tractate xxix, 5: for although we say and we believe that the son is equal to the father, and that there is not any diversity of nature and substance in them, that there has not intervened any interval of time between him that begets and him that is begotten, nevertheless we say these things, while keeping and guarding this, that the one is the father, the other is the son. but father he is not if he has not a son, and the son he is not if he has not a father: but yet the son is god from the father; and the father is god, but not from the son. the father of the son, not god from the son: but the other is son of the father, and god from the father73. trinity, p. 174. also see trin., xv, 47: cc la, p. 528: "pater enim salus nil est de alio, ideo solus appellatur ingenitus ...;" serm., 140,2: pi.,38, col. 773: "itaque dicimus patrem deum' nullo, filium deum de dca.” 70 trin., iv, 32: cc l, p. 205. see e. hill, trinity, p. 177; m. mellet et al., la trinite, in bibjiathiqa augustinienne, vol. xv, pp. 422-423. 71 trin., iv, 29: cc l, p. 200: "quia etiam cum dixisset: quem mittet pater, addidit in nomine mea, id tamen dixit, 'quem mittet pater a me,' quemadmodum dixit, quem ego mittam uobis a patte, uidelicet astallb quod totius diuinitatis uel si melius dicitur dcitatis principium pater est. qui ergo ex pat« procedit et !ilia ad. rcfcrtur a quo natus est filius." trinity, p. 174. 72 serm., 33, 3: pi.,38, col. 208. sermons, 111/2, p. 155. 73 in ioannis cvangejium tractatus, xxix, 5: corpus christianorum, series latina, vol. xxxvi. edited ilya r. willems (tumholti: typograhi brepols editores pontificii, 1954), p. 286: "q!lamuis enim filium patri met crcdamus acqualcm, nec uilam in cis esse naturae substantiacque distantiam, ncc inter generantcm atque gaxi8 aliquod interfuisse temporis interuallum, tamen hoc seruato et custodito ista dicimus, quod ille pater cst, ilk. pater autem non est, si non habcat filium; et filius non est, si non habeat patrem; sed tamen filius deus de,. pater autem deus, sed non de filio. pater filii, non deus de filio; ille autem filius patris, et deus de pia' translated by]. gibb and]. innes, tractates on the gospej of john in a sdect library of the nic(d(anq'" nicene fathers of the christian church, first series, vol. vii (edinburgh/grand rapids, michigan: t & t igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 33 to sum up briefly: augustine has made two points that have profound trinitarian implications. first, within the context of the trinitarian mutual relationships, the father is the source of the deity of the trinity70 and, therefore, he is the foundation of the unity of the persons of the trinity, not a blind and impersonal substance. e. hill argues that augustine's use of exordium (basis) in senn., 33, 3 indicates that he (augustine) found the et, foundation of the trinitarian unity in the person of the father.71 this is how e. hill speaks about the dogmatic "cliche" that alleges that augustine begins his trinitarian theology with divine substance and goes on from here to the persons of the trinity, whereas the ' cappadocian fathers start with the persons of the trinity and from there move on to divine ousia. augustine finds the basis or foundation of the divine unity in the person of the father. now it is almost a cliche of the history of dogma that augustine and all latin theology, after him, in developing his trinitarian theology starts with the substance and goes on from there to explain the distinctness of the three divine persons, whereas the cappadocian fathers, and all greek theology in their wake, start with the trinity of persons, or hypostases as they call them, and conclude to their unity substance or i.e ousia. ... [it] is this cliche, and not augustine, or any of the fathers, greek or latin, that implies or seems tacitly to assume that the divine substance is distinct from the divine persons, making as it were a fourth, a substratum out of which the three persons somehow emerged. but that of course, is totally erroneous74. second, the texts also do not allow us to exchange the positions of the divine persons. in other words, we cannot make the son take the position of the father; we cannot place' the holy spirit before the son and the father. “although in the trinity the father is not the son, and the son is not the father, and the holy spirit is neither the father nor the son; but the first is the father of the son, the second the son of the father, the third the holy spirit of the father and of the son”75. 74 e. hill, note 6, in serm., 33, 3: pi" 38, col. 208. sennons, 111/2, p. 158: the only emerging (or proceeding, to give its technical name) that goes on in god is of the son and the holy spirit. to think of the father emerging or proceeding is wholly mistaken, and explicitly repudiated, for example, the so-called athanasian creed. the father simply is the divine substance, the divine unity, the warp, the basis, the substratum, from whom the other two persons proceed without in the least impairing that unity, because as we say in the nicene creed they are consubstantial, homo-ousios, with the father. 75 serm., 212, 1: pi,,38, col. 1059: "q!lamvis in hac trinitate pater non sit filius, et filius non sit pater, et spiritus sanctus nec filius sit nec pater: sed ille pater filii, ille filius patris, ille spiritus patris et filii " sennons, 1li/6, p. 137. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 34 the father is, and eternally remains, the first person of the divine trinity. the first person of the trinity has never become a second person or a third person. the son has never become a father or a holy spirit. the holy spirit has never been a father or a son. the son the incarnation of the son: the mission of his humanity the son said to be sent when he appeared in the world "in created bodily form while inwardly in uncreated spiritual form remaining always hidden from mortal eyes”76. the son of god was sent by the father. the word of god is sent by him whose word he is sent; by him he is born. the begetter sends, what is begotten is sent”77 yet, the mission of the son in his incarnation has a trinitarian dimension: "he could not be sent by the father without the holy spirit" (mitti a patre sine spiritu sancto non potuit)78 the supreme mission of christ is his coming into the world as a human being at the fullness of time. the "sending" of the son by god the trinity was his being made of woman, namely, his incarnation in history. "about the son, the apostle writes, when the fullness of time had come god sent his son, made of woman, made under the law, to redeem those who were under the law (gal 4: 4)”79 augustine describes the incarnation: if you go on to ask me how the incarnation itself was done, i say that the very word of god was made flesh, that is, was made man, without however being turned or changed into that which he was made; that he was of course so made that you would have there not only the word of god and the flesh of man but also the rational soul of man as well; and that this whole can be called god because it is god and man because it is man80. 76 trin., ii, 10: cc l, p. 93: "in crcatura corporali qui intus in natura spiritali oculis mortalium semper occultus cst" trinity, p. 104. 77 trin., iv, 28: cc l, p. 198: "ab illo ... mittitur dci uerbum cuius cst ucrbum; ab ilia mittitur dc quo datum cst mittit qui genuir, mittitur quod gcnitum cst" trinity, p. 173. 78 trin., ii, 8: cc l, p. 89. trinity, p. 102. 79 trin., ii, 8: cc l, p. 89: "et dc filio quidcm ita scribit apostolus: cum autem ucnit plenitudo tcmpons, misit deus fijjum suum factum ex mujjerc, factum sub lege, ut eos qui sub lee erant redimcret.. trinity, p. 102. 80 trin., iv, 31: cc l, pp. 203-204: "si ergo a.mc quacritur quomodo factac sint ucl uoccs ucl scnsibiles formac atquc species ante incamationem ucrbi dei quae hoc futurum praefigurarcnt, per angelos ca dcum operatum esse rcspondco, quod ctiam scripturarum sanctarum testimoniis, quantum cxistimo, satis ostcndi. si autem quacritur ipsa incarnatio quomodo facta sit, ipsum dci ucrbum dico carncm factum, id cst hominem factum, non tamcn in hoc quod factum cst conucrsum atquc mutatum, ita sane factum ut ibi sit non tantum ucrbum dei et hominis caro sed ctiam rationalis hominis anima, atquc hoc totum et deus dicatur propter deuln et homo propter homincm." trinity, p. 176. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 35 this description of the incarnation emphasizes the unity of the word of god and humanity, but it is a union that does not allow the absorption or assimilation of the divinity by the humanity, and vice versa. in other words, the word of god in his incarnation neither lost his fonna dei in which he is forever one with and equal to the father and the holy spirit nor did the human nature that he received from the virgin mary cease to be human. the incarnation was an exchange between divinity and humanity. but, the incarnation of the word of god did not reveal the divinity of the son of god. "[w)hat appeared to the bodily senses of mortals was not the very substance of the word of god in which he is equal to the father and co-equal...”81 this point was important to augustine as a safeguard against an overly materialistic and anthropomorphic concept of god. the identity of christ's human nature and ours has its limits; for in the case of christ the human nature was free from both original and actual sins. lastly, as a result of the trinitarian unity, equality and inseparability, was it possible for the father or the holy spirit to be incarnated? for augustine, the incarnation belonged to the son in the proper sense. the word of god became flesh so that, through the incarnation of the word of god and his example, we might rightly live by the truth of our word. and the reason why it was not god the father, not the holy spirit, not the trinity itself; but only the son who is the word of god that became flesh (although it was the trinity that accomplished this), is that we might live rightly by our word following and imitating his example; that is, by our having no falsehood either in contemplation or in the operation of our word82. augustine in the sentences preceding this text argues that our word is in the likeness of the word of god, thereby justifying the reasonableness of the incarnation of the word of god. the word of god was first born of god, and then, all things were made through that word. the word of god could exist without its good work, namely, creation. for instance, it existed before creatures came to be. the word of god is true, implying that it always produces good things. 81 trin., iii, 27: cc l, p. 158: "non ipsum dei uerbum per substantiam qua patti acquale atque coaeternum cst, " trinity, pp. 144145. 82 trin xv, 20: cc l , p. 489: eoque non eus pater, non spmtus sanctus, non ipsa tnmtas, se so us filius quod est uerbum dei caro factum est quamuis trinitate faciente, ut scqucnte atque imitante uerbo nostro eius cxcmplum recte uiueremus, hoc est nullum habentes in uerbi nostri uel contemplatione uel operatione mendacium." trinity, p. 411. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 36 by way of comparison, our word is first born in our heart; this generated human word produces our external work. in effect, like the word of god, we utter all our works in our heart before we produce them. additionally, “there is also this other likeness to the word of god in this likeness which is our word, that we can have a word which is not followed by a work, but we cannot have a work which is not preceded by a word, just as the word of god could be, even without any creation coming into existence, but there could not be any creation except through that word through which all things were made”83. a human word which produces an external work can be a true or an untrue one. this is how augustine describes a true word: "so when that which is in the awareness is also in a word, then is it a true word, and truth such as a man looks for so that what is in awareness should also be in word and what is not in awareness should not either be in word,"84 in other words, a true human word possesses in se a truth which is necessarily made evident in that (knowledge/awareness/notitia) which it (word) reveals to the human observer, and vice versa. if our word is true, it produces a good work; if it is false, it produces a sin. a sin (peccatum) is not a right work (non opus rectum). if we are to become people who always utter a true word that produces a good work, then it is appropriate that the word of god become flesh in order to enable us to live rightly through his example of being a true word that always produces a good work. hence, the incarnation is properly the property of the son, the word of god. ii. true god and true man the son of god is true god and true man. christ is true god on account of his divine origin; he is true man because of his participation in our nature, "son of god, he is that in himself; to be son of man, that he received from us; son of god by what is his own, son of man by what is ours."85 the god-man is the word of god and flesh of man with a rational soul of man. 89 he also has one and the same will with the father: “in terms of the son's divinity, the father and the son have one and the same will, nor can it be different in any way where the nature of the trinity as a whole is immutable. but so that the mediator of god and man, 83 trin., xv, 20: cc la, p. 489: "est et haec in ista similitudine uerbi nostri sirnilitudo uerbi dei quia potest ,csse uerbum nostrum quod non scquatur opus; opus autem esse non potest nisi praecedat uerbum sicut uerbum 84 trin., xv, 20: cc la, p. 488: "q!lando ergo quod est in notitia hoc est in uerbo, tunc est uerum uerbum et ueritas qualis exspectatur ab homine ut quod est in ista, hoc sit et in illo; quod non est in ista, non sit et in illo." trinity, p. 410. 85 serm., 127,9: pl,38, col. 710: "filius dei in semetipso; filius hominis ut esset, a nobis accepit. de suo filius dei, de nostro filius hominis." sermons,iii/4, p. 287. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 37 the man jesus christ, would not do his own will, which is opposed to god, he was not only man, but god and man”86. augustine insists on the unity of christ's two natures, divine and human: "the blessed apostle teaches this unity of the person of christ jesus, our lord, including both natures, namely, the divine and the human, so that each of them shares its attributes with the other, the divine with the human, and the human with the divine”87. in christ jesus, the divinity took the name of humanity and humanity took the name of divinity, thereby enabling the mutual communion of properties (communicatio idiomatum) between them. this idea is best expressed in augustine's senn., 265b (co 412): “each substance or nature, you see, shares with the other the names that are proper to itself; both divine names with the human nature, and the human names with the divine nature; so that on the one hand the son of god can be called a man, and on the other hand the son of man can be called god, while each, all the same, is identical with christ himself”88. there were not two persons in christ; this would imply a quaternity (quatemitas) rather than the trinity. christ is a two-fold substance (gemina substantia), one person in two natures, god and man at the same time. christ is one person (christus una persona) in two natures. he is always the son of god on account of his birth in eternity, and by means of the grace of god the son of god assumed humanity in time as the son of man. he was not first created and assumed humanity, he was created in being assumed. the son of god assumed the son of man, taking the form of a servant. the son of god has the form of god and the form of a servant. in the form of god, all things were made through the son and the son is one with the father. similarly, the son does not only have life in himself: but also all that the father has belongs to him and he is true god and life eternal. in the form of a servant, christ was made of a woman. for this reason, he did the will of the father who sent him by faithfully teaching the doctrine that was the father's and undergoing his passion and the 86 contra sermonem ananorum, vii: pl,42, col. 688: "caeterum quod attinet ad divinitatem filii, una eademque voluntas est patris et filii: nec potest ullo modo esse diversa, ubi est natura trinitatis immutabilis universa. ut autem mediator dei et hominum homo christus jesus (1 tim. ii, 5) non faceret propriam, quae deo adversa est, voluntatem, non erat tantum homo, sed deus et homo " translated by r. j. teske, arianism and other heresies in the works of saint augustine: a translation for the 21st centu1y; vol. 1/18 (hyde park, new york: new city press, 1995), p. 145. 87 contra seonem arianorum, viii: pl,42, col. 688: "hanc unitatem personae christi jesu domini nostri, sic ex natura utraque constantem, divina scilicet atque humana ut quaelibet earum vocabulum etiam alteri impertiat, et divina humanae, et humana divinae, beatus ostendit apostolus " translated by r j. teske, arianism and other heresies, p. 146. 88 serm., 265b, 3: pl, suppjementum, ii, col. 531: "utraque enim subtantia sua sibi proprietatis nomina impertit, et divina humanae, et humana divinae; ut et filius dei dicatur homo, et filius hominis dicatur deus, utrumque tamen idem ipse christus." sermons, 111/7, p. 250. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 38 death on the cross. although in the form of a servant the weakness of his humanity suffered the passion and death, the son of god did not suffer these in his divinity by which he is only-begotten and co-eternal with the father. iii. union of the word and humanity and christ's power of judgement augustine defended the doctrine of the two natures of christ, divine and human, insisting that the word is not only truly divine and truly human but that there is union of both natures in his person. but how did the bishop of hippo interpret the union of the word of god and humanity in the person of christ? like other church fathers, augustine's teaching on the union of the divinity and humanity of christ was based on the analogy of the union of body and soul in a human being. however, in de trinitate, augustine demonstrates how the word of god and humanity are united in the person of christ by inquiring into who will have the power of judgement on the last day. according to scripture (jn 12: 47-50), neither the son nor the father will judge the world, but the father's word spoken by the son of man will judge on the last day. the word (the son) is god; the father's word (proclaimed by the son of man) is a stable and an unchangeable doctrine, abiding with the father. the son of god (the father's word) and the doctrine/message of the son of man (the father's word) are one, not two things. in fact, the son of man becomes the message/doctrine (father's word) that he proclaims: "the father's doctrine is the father's word, who is his only son."103 consequently, the son of god is both the father's word and word. the son of god is the father's word on account of his being in the form of god. as being in forma dei, the word is equal to the father in divinity and, therefore, will not take part in the judgment of the world; for to do so would involve the revealing of the word's divinity which is meant to remain hidden until after the judgement of the last day when the godhead will be revealed to the blessed souls. the son of god is the father's word, that is, son of man, by virtue of the form of a servant that he took. it was in forma servi that he suffered and was crucified on the cross. the judgment of the last day will be conducted by the father's word, the son of man: “both good and bad, of course, are going to look upon the judge of the living and the dead, but the bad, we may be sure, will only be able to see him in the form by which he is the son of man, though in the proud splendor, certainly, that will be his as judge, not in the mean guise he once presented as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 39 prisoner in the dock. the form of god, however, in which he is equal to the father, this the wicked will undoubtedly not see”89. the son of man will judge not through his human authority but by the divine authority of the son of god. in the same vein, "it is the son of god who is going to judge, though he will not be manifested in the form by which he is equal to the father, but in that by which he is the son of man."90 iv. the visible mission of the son revealing his eternal generation the son was sent into the world by both the son and the father, but the one who appropriately did the "sending" was the father: in order to safeguard the substantial immutability and invisibility of the divinity during the mission, the son of god put on the visible form of a servant. to be sure: "the form of a servant was so taken on that the form of god remained immutable, and thus it is plain that what was seen in the son was the work of the father and the son who remain unseen; that is the son was sent to be visible by the invisible father together with the invisible son."91 the visible "sending" of the son made known his divine procession: “so the son of god is not said to be sent in the very fact that he is born of the father, but either in the fact that the word made flesh showed himself to this world; about this he says, i went forth from the father and come into this world (jn 16: 28). or else he is sent in the fact that he is perceived in time by someone's mind, as it says, send her to be with me and labor with me (wis 9: 10). that he is born means that he is from eternity to eternity-he is the brightness of eternal light (wis 7: 26). but that he is sent means that he is owne by someone in time”92. the sending of the son of god is not to be confused with his eternal generation from the father. his being sent, in effect, implies two things. first, the 89 trin., i, 28: cc l, 70: "cum cnim et bani et mali uisuri sint iudiccm uiuorum ct mortuorum, procu! dubio cum uidcrc mali non potcrunt nisi secumdum formam qua filius hominis cst, sed tamcn in claritatc in qua iudicabit, non in humilitatc in qua iudicatus cst. cctcrum illam dci formam in qua acqualis cst patri procul dubio impii non uidcbunt." trinity, pp. 86-87. 90 trin., i, 28: cc l, p. 71: " filius dei iudicaturus est, nec tamen in ea forma apparens in qua deus est acqualis patti, sed in ea qua filius hominis est." trinity, p87. 91 trin., ii, 9: cc l, p. 92: "accepta est forma serui ut maneret incommutabilis forma dei, manifestum est quod a patte et filio non apparentibus factum sit quod appareret in filio, id est ab inuisibili patte cum inuisibili filio idem ipse filius uisibilis mitteretur." trinity, 103. lostrin., lv, 28: cc l, p. 198: "non ergo eo ipso quo de patte natus est missus dicitur filius, sed uel eo quod apparuit huic mundo uerbum caro fdctum unde dicit: a patte exii et uem in hunc mundum, uel eo quod ex tempore cuiusquarn mente percipitur sicut dictum est: mitre iuam ut .mecum sit et mecum laborer. q!lod ergo natum est ab aetcrno in aetemum est: candor est enim iuds aetemae. q!lod autem mittitur ex tempore a quoquarn cognoscitur." trinity, p. 173. 92 trin., iv, 28 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 40 incarnation of the word (visible mission) and, second, the perception of the unincarnated word of god in time by someone's mind (invisible mission). augustine defines the visible mission of the son in terms of his eternal generation: "and just as being born means for the son his being from the father, so his being sent means his being known to be from him."i09 hence, the procession of the word of god means his being generated from the father. the visible mission of the son revealed the eternal generation or procession of the word. v. the invisible mission of the son can one talk of the "invisible mission" of the son? augustine's response to this question is in the affirmative. the word of god exists in two modes: "the word in the flesh is one thing, the word being flesh another; which means the word in a man is one thing, the word being made man another.”93 the two-fold existence of the word of god justifies augustine's idea of the invisible mission of the son. he says of the "invisible sending" of the son: “when however he [the son] is perceived by the mind in the course of someone's spiritual progress in time, he is indeed said to be sent, but not into this world, for he does not then slow himself perceptibly, that is he is not available to the physical senses”94. by way of contrast, while the visible mission involves the manifestation in the flesh of the word of god (incarnation) which is made available to the senses, the invisible sending is spiritually perceptible only to one's mind. thus, the former is objective because of its historical nature while the latter is subjective. the holy spirit the visible mission of the holy spirit the holy spirit was sent into the world when he appeared in the guise of the created forms of a dove, breath of christ, violent wind and tongues of fire: "the holy spirit too, therefore, is said to have been sent because of these bodily forms 93 trin., ii, ii: cc l. p. 94: "aliud cst enim uerbum in came, aliud uerbum card', id est aliud cst uerbum in homine, aliud uerbum homo." trinity, p. 104. 94 trin., iv, 28: cc l. p. 199: "cum autem ex tempore cuiusque prouectus mente percipitur, mitti quidem dicitur sed non in hunc mundum; neque enim sensibiliter apparet, id est corporeis sensibus praesto est." trinity, pp. 173-174. also see). -l maier, us missions divines seion saint augustin (fribourg: edition universitaircs "paradosis xvi," 1960), pp. 154-160. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 41 which sprang into being in time in order to signify him and show him in a manner suited to human senses.”95 the holy spirit was sent because charity is poured out into our hearts through him; it is through him that we love god and our neighbour. the lord jesus gave him twice: first, on earth for love of neighbour and, second, from heaven for the love of god. the holy spirit reveals the divinity of jesus, for only god can give god. jesus gave the holy spirit as god, but receive him as man. the association of the holy spirit with a dove, violent wind and fire simply underlines the fact of "creation serving the creator" (creatura seruiente creaton) (wis 16: 24). the holy spirit did not take a "created form" like the son; he did not take a human form. the person of the spirit did not form an inseparable and eternal union with the dove, the violent wind and the fire that are often associated with him. we cannot say that the spirit is god and dove or god and fire, as we say the son is god and man. the spirit was not united with any of them hypostatically. yet, it can be asserted that the holy spirit was sent into the world. the mission of the holy spirit revealing his procession the visible mission of the holy spirit revealed him as the spirit of both the father and the son. augustine defines the mission of the holy spirit in the following manner. “and just as for the holy spirit his being the gift of god means his proceeding from the father, so his being sent means his being known to proceed from him."96 thus, the sending of the holy spirit in history made known his eternal procession from the father and the son. despite that, the very substance of the spirit of the father and the son in which he is coequal and coeternal with them both is not revealed. b. divine relations augustine's understanding of god in de trinitate has influenced the western church's conception of divine relations. up to the time augustine wrote his treatise on the trinity, both the latin and the greek churches held that the three persons of the trinity participated fully, equally and distinctly in one divine nature. augustine states this position as follows: 95 trin., ii, 12: cc l. p. 96: "propter has ergo corporales formas quae ad eum significandum et sicut humanis sensibus oportebat demonstrandum temporaliter exstiterunt missus dicitur etiam spiritus sanctus n trinity, p.l06. 96 trin., n,29: cc 1., p. 199: "et sicut spiritui sancto donum dei esse est a patre procedere, ita mitti est cognosci quod ab ilia proccdat." trinity, p. 174. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 42 we have remarked elsewhere that any names that are predicated with reference to each other like father and son and the gift of each, the holy spirit, are said properly in that triad or trinity, that is, they belong distinctly to the several persons; the trinity is not the father, the trinity is not the son, nor is the trinity the gift. but whatever they are each and severally called with reference to self, the trinity is also called, not three such in plural but one such; thus the father is god, the son is god, the holy spirit is god; and the father is good, the son is good, the holy spirit is good; and the father is almighty, the son is almighty, the holy spirit is almighty; yet there are not three gods, or three good ones, or three almighty ones, but one god, good and almighty, the trinity itself; and the same goes for anything else that they are each called not with reference to one another but to self. for they are called such things with respect to being, because in this case to be is the same as to be great, to be good, to be wise, and to be anything else that each person or the trinity itself is called with reference to self. and the reason there are said to be three persons or three substances is not to signify any diversity of being, but to have at least one word to answer with when asked three what or three who. and finally we observed that so total is the equality in this triad that not only is the father not greater than the son as far as divinity is concerned, but also father and son together are not greater than the holy spirit, nor any single person of the three less than the trinity itself97. this passage is a representative text of augustine's use of terms in de trinitate. it summarises and expresses both the unity and equality of divinity and the distinction of the members of the divine triad. however, the arian heresy insisted that: "whatever is said or understood about god is said substance-wise, not modification-wise. therefore the father is unbegotten substance-wise, and the son is begotten substance-wise. but being unbegotten is different from being begotten; therefore the father's substance is different from the son's."98 the arians' source of heresy was that whatever was said of god was predicated of 97 trin., viii, 1: cc 1., p. 268: "oiximus alibi ca dici proprie in ilia trinitate distincte ad singulas personas pcrtinentia quae rclatiuc dicuntur ad inuiccm sicut pater ct filius ct utriusquc donum spiritus sanctus; non coiro pater trinitas aut filius trinitas aut trinitas donum. quod ucla ad sc dicuntur singuli non dici pluralitcr trcs sed unum ipsam trinitatcm sicut deus pater. deus filius deus spiritus sanctue et bonus pater, bonus filius, bonus spiritus sanctus; et omnipotens pater, omnipotens filius, omnipotens spiritus sanctus; nec tamen tres dii aut tres boni aut tres omnipotentes, sed unus deus, bonus, omnipotens, ipsa trinitas, et quidquid aliud non ad inuicem rclatiuc sed ad se singuli dicuntur. 98 trin., v, 4: cc l, p. 208: "quidquid de deo dicitur uel intellegitur non secundum accidens sed secundwn substantiam dicitur. q!lapropter ingenitum esse patri secundum substantiam est, et genitum esse filio secundwn substantiam est. diuersum est autem ingenitum esse et genitum esse; diuersa est ergo substantia patris etfilii' trinity; p. 191. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 43 him substantially. but according to augustine, god has no modifications (accidens) and, therefore, nothing can be said of god modification-wise. he concedes, however, that there are some things that are true about god which cannot be predicated of him substance-wise. there is need, therefore, to examine augustine's metaphors of unity, equality and distinction. beginning with his theory of predicables, we shall explore his use of substantia essentia and persona in the treatise. speaking and thinking the trinity: the theory of predicables according to l hodgson, following augustine's suggestions in de trinitate, the theory of the predicables is concerned with three types of predicates: substantial, accidental and relative. “a substantial predicate indicates something without which the subject would not be what it is: man, for example, is by definition a rational being, and 'rational' is therefore a substantial predicate. but men may be white or black, tall or short, sick or well: these, therefore, are accidental predicates. and men may also be in certain relations to one another and to other created things, as are fathers and sons or teachers and pupils, not to mention relations in time and space; these are indicated by relative predicates”99. predications about god are said substance-wise or relationship-wise. a substantial predicate tells us something about the nature of a being ad se, it makes no reference to another being. for example, the statement: the "substance or being which is god is alone unchangeable, and therefore it pertains to it most truly and supremely to be, from which comes the name being. the predicate is alone unchangeable tells us something new about god ad se, namely, that his being cannot change. this new something said about god is not concerned with god's relationship with other beings which gives rise to the conception of him as father or creator. with reference to the trinity: the father is god, the son is god, the holy spirit and, indeed, the whole trinity is god. so what is affirmed of god substance-wise can be affirmed of the three persons of the trinity, individually and collectively, and such an affirmation excludes restrictive clauses that are concerned with qualification and comparison. 99 l. hodgson, the doctrine of the trinity (herts: james nisset & co. ltd., 1972), p. 149. also see aristotk. the categories, vvii, translated by h. p. co0k, in the loeb classical library (london/cambridsc, massachusetts: william heinemann ltd/harvard university press, 1962), pp. 19-63; r. j. teske, "augustine's uk of , substantia' in speaking about god," in the modem schoolman lxii (1985), p. 149: "predication according to the categories of substance, quantity and quality arc ad se; they do not contain a reference to something other dun e subject of which they are predicated. predication according to the other categories are ad aliquid and involve i reference to something other than the subject of which they are predicated-with the exception of the category of.. which involves an internal relatedness of the subject's parts. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 44 divine properties or attributes (e.g., great, good, eternal, omnipotent, godhead) are predicated of god substantially, for, in the trinity, attributes and substance are identical and the same: god's greatness is identical with his wisdom, and his goodness is identical with his wisdom and greatness. god does not participate in the attribute of immutability; rather, he is identical with his divine immutability itself; for he alone is immutable. any property affirmed of god substantially "is predicated equally and univocally of the three persons: the trinity as a whole, for example, and each of the divine persons, is equally omnipotent and omniscient”100. likewise, the trinity is one eternity, one power, one majesty: the father is one eternity, one power, one majesty; and so is the son as well as the spirit. for augustine, accident (accidens) can be conceived as something that inheres in a subject and that can be lost by a change of that reality to which it pertains or something that inheres in a subject and that, though not lost, is capable of increase or decrease or something that inheres in a subject and that, though inseparable from the subject, is nonetheless lost through the destruction of that subject. at the level of material existence, accidents inhere in reality. a change in the latter results in the loss of the former or its change in size and shape. god has no accidents; he alone cannot be modified in any way. nothing is said of god accident-wise, for god neither modifies nor possesses something in him that is changeable. hence, our understanding of augustine's use of accidental predicates at the divine level is a sine qua non for our investigation of his manner of talking and thinking about god and the three divine persons. moreover, there are some things that are true about god but cannot be predicated of him substance-wise. they are said to be relationship-wise. we cannot understand the relationship between unbegotten and begotten substancewise. divine paternity and filiation (and spiration) are not said accident-wise; they are said with reference to relation.lj6 augustine clearly and carefully delineates his theory of divine relations in the following passage: some things are said with reference to something else, like father with reference to son and son with reference to father; and this is not said modification-wise, because the one is always father and the other always sonnot "always" in the sense that he is son from the moment he is born or that the father does not cease to be father from the moment the son does not cease to be son, but in the sense that the son is always born and never began to be son. ... but since the father is only called so because he has a 100 l hodgson, the doctrine of the trinity, p.149. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 45 son, and the son is only called so because he has a father, these things are not said substance-wise, as neither is said with reference to itself but only with reference to the other. nor are they said modification-wise, because what is signified by calling them father belongs to them eternally and unchangeably. therefore, although being father is different from being son, there is no difference of substance, because they are not called these things substance-wise but relationship-wise; and yet this relationship is not a modification, because it is not changeable101. the basic point augustine expresses is that divine attributes of internal relations are not accidents. consequently, relationship predicates can help us think and talk about the internal relations within the godhead that we are not able to express by substantial statements. the holy spirit is called the holy spirit relationship-wise because he is the spirit of the father and the son102. the father is called father and origin (principium) with reference to the deity and creatures relationship-wise, and he is called father with reference to the son relationshipwise. and the son with reference to his father is called word and image relationship-wise. the son and the holy spirit with reference to creation are called origin relationship-wise.139 finally, regarding the trinitarian import of the terms unbegotten and begotten, augustine asks: and what does unbegotten mean but not begotten? so we do not leave the predication of relationship when we say unbegotten. just as begotten is not said with reference to self but means from a begetter, so unbegotten is not said with reference to self but simply means not being from a begetter. each meaning belongs to the predication that is called relationship. and what is stated relationship-wise does not designate substance. so although begotten differs from unbegotten, it does not indicate a different substance, because just as son refers to father, and not son to not father, so begotten must refer to begetter, and not begotten to not begetter103. 101 trin., v, 6: cc 1., pp. 210-211: "oicitur enim ad aiiquid sicut pater ad filium et filius ad pattern, quod ne est accidens quia et ille semper pater et ille semper filius, et non ita semper quasi ex quo natus est filius aut ex e quod numquarn desinat esse filius pater esse non desinat pater, sed ex eo quod semper natus est filius net coepi umquarn esse filius. ... sed quia et pater non dicitur pater nisi ex eo quod est ei filius et filius non dicitur nisi ex e quod habet pattern, non secundum substantiarn haec clicuntur quia non quisque eorum ad se ipsurn sed ad inatque ad alterutrum ista dicuntur; neque secundum accidens quia et quod dicitur pater et quod dicitur fiiiii aetemum atque incommutabile est eis. q!larnobrem quamuis diuersum sit pattern esse et filium esse, non et tana diuersa substantia quia hoc non secundum substantiam dicuntur sed secundum rclatiuum, quod tarnen relariuua non est accidens quia non cst mutabile." trinity, p. 192. 102 103 trin., v, 8: cc 1., pp. 214-215: "ingenitus porro quid est nisi non genitus? non ergo receditur a relatiuo icamento cum ingenitus dicitur. sicut enim genitus non ad se ipsum dicitur sed quod ex genitore sit. ita cum ingenitus non ad se ipsum dicitur sed quod ex genitore non sit ostenditur. in eodem tamen praedicamento relatiuum uocatur utraque significatio uertitur. quod igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 46 una essentia or substantia the traditional christian approach to the understanding of god in the patristic period is primarily the economic141 one which emphasized the fact that god revealed himself in salvation history as father, son and holy spirit. this implied that early discussions on the trninty began with the divine persons. although this approach had the advantage of the experience of god in history, its use of the father as the point of departure for the "trinitarian reflection often led to the subordination of the son and the holy spirit. to the problem of subordination, augustine, in de trinitate, employs the philosophical 142 143) to bring out the unity of the essence, nature and substance = emg,) unity the three persons of the trinity. conceptually, divine substance, for example, has neither nor size and, being absolute means that it is simple, indivisible, immortal, eternal, the unchangeable. the notion of the divine essence expresses the absolute unity of the italian godhead. for the african bishop, as has been indicated, the father is the basis of the godhead. the father is the unoriginate source of the one single divine nature subsisting in three persons. in augustine's trinitarian formulation, the metaphor of divine substantia enables one to explicate the principles of unity/eternity, equality and commonness/communion of father, son and spirit. the father is the source of the divine substance. the son is equal to god (the father) in all things that are said of his (god's) substance. the substance of the father and son is one. "so the son is equal to the father in every respect, and is of one and the same substance."104 the holy spirit shares in the unity and equality of the divine substance. “so the holy spirit is something common to the father and the son. he is their very commonness or communion, consubstantial and coetemal. call this friendship, if it helps, but a better word for it is charity. and this too is substance because god is substance, and god is charity” (i jn 4: 8, 16)105. augustine appropriates unity (unitas) to the father, equality (aequalitas) to the son and commonness/communion (harmony/concordia) to the holy spirit: “in the father unity, in the son equality, in the holy spirit the harmony of unity and autem relatiue pronuntiatur non indicat substantiam. ita uis diuersum sit genitus et ingenitus, non indicat diucrsarn substantiam, quia sicut filius ad patrem et non filius n pattern refertur, ita genitus ad genitorem et non genitus ad non genitorem referatur neccsse est." trinity, p. 194 104 trin., vi, 6: cc l, p. 235: "in omnibus ergo acqualis est patri filius et cst unius eiusdemque substantiac." trinity, p. 209. 105 trin., vi, 7: ccl, p. 235. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 47 equality; and these three are all one because of the father, and are all equal because of the son, and are all linked together because of the holy spirit”106. additionally, since the father, the son and the holy spirit are one substance or essence (unius eiusdemque substantiae uel esstiae) and are consubstantial whatever is said of god substance-wise can equally be said of father, son and holy spirit. whatever human speech regards as suitable to say about god "fits both the whole trinity which the one god is and each of the persons of this trinity."107 for example, if god is substantially called charity, good and wisdom, then, all and each of the triad of father, son and holy spirit is said to be charity, good and wisdom. the concept of divine substance helped augustine maintain the equality and eternity, unity and inseparability in the actions of the divine persons. “in their own proper substance by which they are, the three are one, father and son and holy spirit, without any temporal movement, without any intervals of time or space, one and the same over all creation, one and the same all together from eternity to eternity, like eternity itself which is never without verity and charity”108. concluding, augustine places emphasis on the father's substance as the foundation of the unity of the deity in order to talk about the persons of the trinity and their internal relations. a text from de doctrina christiana will go a long way towards serving as a link between this section (una essentia or substantia) and the one that follows it (tres personae), for this passage aptly introduces our next topic of discussion (tres personae) by commenting on the inexpressible substantial unity of the three and the distinction between them. thus father and son and holy spirit are both each one of them singly god and all together one god; and each one of them singly is the complete divine substance, and all together are one substance. the father is neither the son nor the holy spirit; the son is neither the father nor the holy spirit; the holy spirit is neither the father nor the son; but the father is only the father, and the son is only the son, and the holy spirit is only the holy 106 ddc., i. 5: cc xxxii, p. 9. 107 trin., xv, 7: ccl, p. 468. 108 trin., n, 30: cc l, p. 202: "in sua quippe substantia qua sunt tria unum sunt, pater et filius et spiritus sanctus, nullo temporali motu super omnem creaturam idipsum sine ullis interuallis temporum uel locorum et simul unum atque idem ab aeternitate in aeternitatem tamquam ipsa aeternitas quae sine ueritate et caritate non est " trinity, p. 175. also see e. portalic, a guide to the nought of st. augustine, p. 131: "it is the godtrinity, that is, the basic divinity unfolding itsclfinto three persons, father, son and holy spirit, without sucession of the time or nature, but not without an order of origin." igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 48 spirit. the three possess the same eternity, the same unchangeableness, the same greatness, the same power109. tres personae augustine expresses his concern over the use oftenns the "persona" and "hypostasis" in the description of trinitarian relationships. one cannot avoid the question "three what?" in trinitarian reflection. augustine observes that we reply by quoting "tres personae" in order to escape the embarrassment of keeping silent. the choice of persona came about among latin authors when they were "able to find no more suitable way of expressing in words what they understood without words."110 this is what j. burnaby says about the patristic usage of hypostasis in greek and persona in latin: “both the greek hypostasis and the latin persona in ordinary usage are terms of substance, not relation. in the proper sense, the person of god is his essential being, his substance. we can only use the term 'person' in its trinitarian application faute de mieux, and must always bear in mind that in the theology of the trinity it does not bear its ordinary sense: its implication is negative-the father is not the son, etc.-rather than positive”111. bishop augustine admits that human speech is inadequate in god-talk and that persona and hypostasis should be applied to the one indivisible divine essence which relates within itself in three ways. the absence of suitable alternative terms to express the unity and distinction of the divine triad makes us keep the traditional terms of una substantia, tres personae. however, there must be neither confusion nor mixing up of the persons, nor such distinction of them as may imply any disparity. if this cannot be grasped by understanding, let it be held by faith, until he shines in our minds who said through the prophet, unless you believe, you will not understand (is 7: 9)112. 109 ddc., i, 5: cc xxxii, p. 9: "ita pater et filius et spiritus sanctus et singulus quisque horum deus et simul omnes unus deus, et singjilus quisque horum plena substantia et simul omnes una substantia. pater net filius est net spiritus sanctus, filius net pater est nec spiritus sanctus, spiritus sanctus net pater nec filius, sed pater tanturn pater et filius tantum filius et spiritus sanctus tantum spiritus sanctus. eadem tribus aeternitas,eadem incornmutabilitas, eadem majestas, eadem potestas." translated by e. hill, teaching christianity, p. 108. 110 trin., vii, 7: cc l, p. 255. see also in ioannis evangelium tractatus, xxxix, 2-4: cc xxxvi, pp. 345346. 111 j. burnaby, -introduction," p. 22. 112 trin., vii, 12: cc l., p. 267: "neque personarurn sit confusio nec talis distinctio qua sit impar aliquid. quod si inteliectu capi non potest, fide teneatur donec inlucescat in cordibus ille qui ait per prophctam: nisi c«dideritis non intellegetis." trinity, p. 232. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 49 there are many dimensions to augustine's understanding of person. we are interested in understanding augustine's way of explaining the notion of a divine person within the context of the trinity. for our purpose we shall cite de trinitate, vi, 3. this is a classic text because it not only provides a basic set of trinitarian vocabulary, but also illuminates and explicates augustine's conception of a divine person. but now if the father is only called in himself what he is called with reference to the son, that is father or begetter or origin and if whatever else he is called, he is called it with the son, or rather in the son, so that he is called great with the greatness he has begotten, just with the justice he has begotten, good with the goodness he has. begotten, powerful with the power he has begotten, wise with the wisdom he has begotten-and so father is not called greatness itself but begetter of greatness; while the son too is indeed called son in himself: which he is not called with the father but with reference to the father, but is not in the same way called great in himself: but only with the father whose greatness he is, and wise with the father whose wisdom he is, just as he in turn is wise with the son because he is wise with the wisdom he has begotten-then it follows that whatever they are called with reference to themselves, neither is called without the other; that is, whatever they are called to indicate their substance they are both called together113. in the first place, this text delineates two ways of understanding a divine person, namely, ad se and in se. augustine asserts that the substance of the person of the father is just the father ad se substantially, the father as a person, refers to himself alone without reference to someone else. he explains this point further in another text: “thus as the substance of the father is just the father, but insofar as he just is; so too the person of the father is nothing but the father. he is called person with reference to himself; not with reference to the son or holy spirit; just as he is called god with reference to himself, and great and good and just and anything else of that sort. and just as it is the same for him to be as to be god, to be great, to be good so it is the same for him to be person”114. 113 trin., vi, 3: cc l., pp. 229-230 114 trin., vii, 11: cc l, p. 262: "quocirca ut substantia patris ipse pater est, non quo pater cst sed quo cst; ita et persona patris non aliud quam ipse pater cst. ad sc quippc dicitur persona, non ad filium uel spiritum sanctum; sicut ad sc dicitur deus fl magnus ct bonus ct iustus ct si quid aliud huiusmodi. et quemadmodum hoc illi est esse quod dcum esse, quod magnum, q\lod bonum esse, ita hoc illi est esse quod personam esse." trinity, p. 228. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 50 what augustine says of the personhood of the father ad se holds true of the cases of the personhood of the son and that of the holy spirit. "each person is a substance, and the same substance as the other persons (trin., vii, 2)”115. second, if each of the divine persons subsists in the substance and relates substantially to the other persons, then there is the problem of how to distinguish them. augustine asks: “what have we got then? is it agreed that we can call the father the person of the son and of the holy spirit, or the son the person of the father and of the holy spirit, or the holy spirit the person of the father and of the son? but that is not how we are in the habit of using person in any context; nor in the case of the trinity do we mean anything else when we say the person of the father but the substance of the father”116. from the trinitarian point of view, "father" per se/ in se signifies only father in himself with reference to someone (in patris enim nomine ipse per se pater pronuntiatur, in dei ' vero et ipse et filius et spiritus sanctus quia trinitas unus deus). the person of the father is only father in himself with reference to the son; the person of the son is only son in himself with reference to the father. the same language applies to the holy spirit. the three divine persons are distinct in reality and can be distinguished as father per se/ in se, son per se/ in se and holy spirit per se/ in se. by way of contrast, the three divine persons are not three separate individuals in the manner abraham, isaac and jacob are in the species man of the genus animal. the three persons of the divine triad are not three species of the same genus and, therefore, cannot be conceived generically. unlike a genus with all its separate individuals and diversity, divine nature is unique and transcendent; all its attributes should be expressed in the singular which is proper for it. “so whatever god is called with reference to self is said three times over about each of the persons, father, son and holy spirit, and at the same time is said in the singular and not the plural about the trinity”117. for the same reason, whatever is said with reference to the father or the son or the holy spirit is said properly (proprie) and absolutely, and not metaphorically 115 e. tcscllc, augustine the theologian, p. 298. 116 trin., vii, 11: cc l, p. 262: "q!iid ergo? num placet dicamus patrcm personam esse filii et spiritus sancti, aut filium personam esse patris ct spiritus sancti, aut spiritum sanctum personam esse patris ct filii? sed neque persona ita dici alicubi solet, nequc in hac trinitatc cum dicimus personam patris aliud dicimus quam substantiam patris." translated by e. hill, trinity, p. 228. 173trin., y, 9: cc l, p. 215. 117 trin., y, 9: cc 1., p. 216: "quidquid ergo ad se ipsum dicitur deus et de singulis personis ter dicitur patrt et filio et spiritu sancto, et simul de ipsa trinitate non pluraliter sed singulariter dicitur." trinity, p. 195. also s(c trin., viii, 1: cc 1., p. 268. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 51 (translate) or in simile (similitudinem)118. the three persons are necessarily identical with the divine nature; and so, they are coequal and coeternal. "and this three [father, son and holy spirit] is one only god, good, great, eternal, omnipotent; his own unity, godhead, greatness, goodness eternity, omnipotence”119. further, the essential and substantial unity of the three divine persons, their coequality and coeternity made augustine assert that the father is always inseparably with the son and the son is always inseparably with the father.l79 and by extension, the holy spirit is always inseparably with the father and with the son, and the father and the son are always inseparably with the holy spirit. the trinitarian inseparability excludes the implication of divine expansion: “in god, therefore, when the equal son cleaves to the equal father, or the equal holy spirit to the father and the son, god is not made bigger than each of them singly, because there is no possibility of his perfection growing”120. besides, the theory of the inseparability of father, son and holy spirit has implications for the doctrine of the profoundly intimate but unconfused trinitarian interpenetration. augustine explicates his doctrine of the interpenetration (inseparabiliter sibi cohaerere) of the three divine persons within themselves: “understand, then, beloved brethren, that the father, and the son, and the holy spirit are inseparably united in themselves; that this trinity is one god; that all the works of the one god are works of the father, of the son, and of the holy spirit”121. he beautifully sums it up: "in the supreme triad one is as much as three are together and two are not more that one, and in themselves they are infinite. so 118 trin., y, 1 i: cc 1., p. 218. also see w. g. t. shedd, "introduction," p. 6: the terms father, son and holy spirit "are literal, not metaphorical; because the relations denoted by them are etcmally in the essence. scripture clearly teaches that the father is such from eternity. consequently, 'paternity' (implied in the name father) can no more be ascribed to the first person of the godhead in the figurative sense, than eternity can be. for a person that is a father must be so in relation to the son. no son, no father. consequently, an etcmaj father implies an eternal son. and the same reasoning holds true of the relation of the father and son to the spirit. the terms father, son, and spirit, in the baptismal formula and thc apostolic benediction, must designate primary and eternal distinctions." 119 trin., y, 12: cc 1., p. 220: "et haec trinitas unus deus, solus, bonus, magnus, aeternus, omnipotens; ipse sibi unitas, deitas, magnitudo, bonitas, aeternitas, omnipotentia." trinity, p. 197. also see trin., vii, 12: cc i, p. 265. 120 trin., vi, 9: cc 1., p. 238: "in ipso igitur deo cum adhaeret aequali patri filius aequalis aut spiritus sanctw patri et filio aequalis, non fit major deus quam singuli eorum quia non est quo crescat ilia perfectio." trinity; p. 211. 121 in ioannis evangelium tractatus, xx. 13: ccxxxvi, p. 211: "intellegite ergo, fratres carissimi, patrem et filium et spiritum sanctum inseparabiliter sibi cohaerere, trinitatem hanc unum deum; et omnia opera unius dei, haec esse patris, haec esse filii, haec esse spiritus sancti." translated by j. gibb and j. innes, tractates on the gospeloejohn, p. 137. the translation has been slightly altered and the emphasis supplied. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 52 they are each in each and all in each and each in all and all in all, and all are in one”122. moreover, since they are inseparably united in themselves on account of their possession of the same divine essence, substance and being, it follows, then, that the persons of the trinity have a single will which reveals itself in the triad's indivisible action outside god, i.e., father, son and holy spirit are inseparable in operatione ad extra. and if each divine person of the trinity possesses the divine essence in a particular way it is possible to appropriate to each of them the external operations of the godhead according to their roles in salvation history. this is logically inferred from the narratives of jesus' birth, baptism, passion and resurrection and the descent of the holy spirit, where the father, son and holy spirit are inseparably present, each playing his own role. augustine found it necessary to express in clear terms the distinctness of the three divine persons, for there were people, namely, the patripassians, who got the doctrine of inseparability wrong by saying that "it was the father himself who was born of a woman, the father himself who suffered, the father himself; in fact, who is the sonthey are two names, merely. in conclusion, augustine's understanding of the person is that divine person is in relation. “[he] knows that a relation is nothing but a logical term predicable of that which is or possesses substance. he has simply pointed out that what differentiates the divine substance as it exists in the several persons of the trinity is a specific form of relation which in no way affects the 'substantial' equality of the persons”123. augustine's doctrine of god in se: the "transcendent" trinity mutual relations ad intra augustine's unprecedented emphasis on the unity within the godhead, the equality and the operation ad extra of the three persons could imply an objection to the distinction of the father, son and holy spirit, and consequently, modalism. to allay this suspicion, augustine develops the theory of mutual relations within the godhead. e. teselle argues that augustine's christian source 122 trin., vi, 12: cc l, p. 243: "in summa trinitate tantum est una quantum tres simul, nec plus aliquid sunt duae quam una, et in se infinita sunt. ita et singula sunt in singulis et omnia in singulis et singula in omnibus et omnia in omnibus et t1num omnia." trinity, pp. 213-214. the emphasis has been supplied. see also trin., ix, 8: cc l, p. 300. 123 j. burnaby, “introduction”, p. 22. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 53 for this theory was the latin translation of the oration of gregory of nazianzen124. there are two models of relations ad intra, namely, the relationship between the godhead and the three persons and the relationship among the three persons. first, there is the relationship between the divine substance (godhead) and the three divine persons. the father is the unbegotten (ingenitus); this is said with reference to himself and not to another. the unbegotten is source of the divine substance. as a result, the father relates to the godhead as its unbegotten source. the son is the begotten; this refers to a begetter. the father is beginning/origin in relation to the son because he (the father) generated/begot him (the son) (pater ad /ilium principium est quia genuit eum). but what makes the son equal to the father is not what is said of him with reference to his begetter or father. what makes him equal to the father is what he is called with reference to himself; namely, his substance. the son's substance is the same as the father's (eadem est utriusque substantia). thus, the son's relationship with the godhead is that of participation and sharing in the fullness of its divinity. similarly, what makes the holy spirit equal to the father and the son is what is said of the spirit with reference to himself; and this is said substance-wise. in effect, the holy spirit has a substantial relationship with the godhead. the substance of the godhead is eternally and immanently possessed by the three divine persons in mutual relationship. thus, the substantial relationship between the godhead and the divine triad has the inevitable corollary of "the father is god and the son is god and the holy spirit is god, and no one denies that this is said substancewise; and yet we say that this supreme triad is not three gods but one god”125. second, we have the relationship among the members of the divine trinity. following the theory of mutual relations, augustine asserts that we can maintain the unity of the divine substance or essence without the destruction of the distinction of the three persons. thus, the father is called father because he truly has a son. "it is clear, of course, that he is only called father because he has a son, since he is called father not with ' reference to himself but with reference to the son.126" the father is distinguished from the son because the father begets the son; the son is distinguished from the father because he is begotten of the father; the holy spirit is distinguished from the father and the son because he is the gift common to the father and the son. the father relates to the son as 124 e. tcselle, augustine the theologian, p. 295. 125 trin., v, 9: cc l, p. 215: "deus est pater et filius deus est et spiritus sanctus deus est, quod secundum substantiam dici demo dubitat, non tamed tres deos sed unum deum dicimus eam ipsam praestantissimam trinitatem." 126 trin., vii, 1: cc l, p. 245: "dicitur pater (quod manifestum est eum non ad se ipsum sed ad filium relatiue dici et ideo patrem quia est ei filius)." trinity, p. 218. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 54 father; the son relates to the father as son; and the holy spirit relates to the father and the son as the mutual charity between them. the generation of the son: videre patrem and gignere interior verbum videre patrem augustine employed the metaphor of seeing to explicate his insightful understanding of the son's generation from the father. the son is the son by seeing the father. in a celebrated text, he writes: [a]nd the way in which the son sees the father is simply by being the son. for him, being from the father, that is being born of the father, is not something different from seeing the father; nor is seeing him working something different from his working equally; and the reason he does work of himself is that he does not (so to put it) be of himself; and the reason he does what he sees the father doing is that he is from the father. he does not do other things likewise, like a painter copying pictures he has seen painted by someone else; nor does he do the same things differently, like the body forming letters which the mind has thought; but whatever the father does, he says, the same the son also does likewise ( 5: 19). "the same," he said; and also, "likewise"; thus showing that the working of the father and of the son is equal and indivisible, and yet the son's working comes from the father. that is why the son cannot do anything of himself except what he sees the father doing127. being from the father is being born of the father. being from the father and being born of the father are nothing but seeing the father. also, for the son, to see the father work is the same as seeing the father. the working of the father and the son's seeing of the father working happen without succession of a spacetime continuum. the working of the father and the seeing of the father working 127 trin., ii, 3: cc l, pp. 83-84: "et ita uidet filius pattern ut quo eum uidet hoc ipso sit filius. non enim aliud illi est esse de patre, id est nasci de patte, quam uidere patrem, aut aliud uidere operantem quam pariter operari; sed ideo non a se quia non est a se, et ideo quod uiderit pattern quia de patte est. neque enim alia similiter, sicut pictor alias tabulas pingit quemadmodum alias ab alio pictas uidit; nec eadem dissimiliter, sicut corpus easdem litteras exprirnit quas animus cogitauit; sed: quaecumque, inquit, pater facit, haec eadem et filius facit similiter. et haec eadem dixit et similiter, ac per hoc inseparabilis et par operatio est patri et filio, sed a patre est filio. ideo non palest filius a se facere quidquam nisi uiderit pattern facientem." trinity, p. 99. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 55 are an inseparable eternal divine act. the son's seeing of his father working indicates the son's eternal generation from his father. to buttress his argument, augustine begins in ioannis evangelium tractatus, xxi, 4 by contrasting the way the son sees the father with the manner humans see objects. we humans turn to whom or what we wish to see; we are when we are seeing and not seeing; we are seekers when we turn to seek and to see; when we have turned well towards objects and have seen them, we become humansseeing instead of the humans-not-seeing we were before. our seeing is one thing and our being humans-seeing is quite another. in other words, our act of seeing is not ourselves. our act of seeing is contingent upon our finitude. in the case of the son of god, his own act of seeing and the son-seeing (the son's very self as he sees) are not two but the same thing. for: “[i]f you could see the word's own act of seeing, by the very fact of seeing the word's act of seeing you will possibly be seeing the word itself: since the word cannot be one thing and the word's act of seeing another, because there cannot be anything there added on, or coupled, or doubled or compounded. it's something simple, you see, with an inexpressible simplicity”128. the implication of this original doctrine of augustine for the understanding of the generation of the son has been summarised as follows: "the son, by seeing the father, is the son, for his being begotten by the father consists in nothing else than seeing the father."129 e. teselle further suggests that the son "seeing the father" is the same as the son "hearing the father." and both "seeing" and "hearing" are acts of inward self relatedness achieved through the introspection of the mind within itself. “augustine first calls for introspection in order to observe that the human mind can "see" within itself: without the senses, and then suggests that the same kind of inward self-relatedness, the "seeing" and "hearing" mentioned in the passage from the fourth gospel (jn 5:19-20), is what constitutes the son: the son is this seeing and hearing, his very being is his seeing and hearing of the father”130. thus, augustine explains the generation of the son as an act of the father's mind. for this, the son is the father's intelligence. the 128 serm., 126, 15: pl,38, col. 705: "videre enim verbi si videas. forte in eo quod vides videre verbi, ipsum verbum videbis; ut non aliud sit verbum, aliud videre verbi, ne ibi sit aliquid coaugmentatum et copulatum et duplex et compaginatum. simplex enim aliquid est ineffabili simplicitate" sermons, 111/4, p. 278. 129 e. tesellc, augustine the theologian, p. 298. 130 e. tescllc, augustine the theologian, pp. 298-299. dcspitc the bishop of hipp90's orienality of the son's procession, e. t escllc is of the opinion that augustinc drew upon plotinus' doctrine of formation and actualization, see p. 299: "this is a plotinian doctrine of a formation and actualization that takes place through knowledge, now purified of any suggestion that there is potentiality within god and therefore safely applicable to god for the first time. ... plotinus (enn. v, 1,7) wrote: 'thc one is not nous. how then does it beget nous, except turning towards itself and seeing? this seeing is itselfnous.'" igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 56 origin of the son from the father is the son seeing the father (or the son hearing the father). seeing the father for the son is his being begotten from the father. it is also at once his continuing from the father and his abiding and unchanging beginning in eternity. “so, therefore, the father shows to the son the thing which he does, so that the son sees all things in the father and the son is all things in the father. for by seeing he was born and by being born he sees. but not, at anytime, was he not born and later born, just as not at anytime, did he not see and later did see; but in that which for him is 'to see,' in the same way is for him 'to be,' in the same way is for him 'not to be changed,' and in the same way is for him 'to continue without beginning and without end”131. finally, the son's act of seeing the father has implications for the christian spiritual life. in the first place, the insight of the bishop into the son being the son by seeing the father had a great influence on his search for the trinitarian image of god in the human mind 204 second, in senn., 126 (c. 417), augustine urges his congregation to understand what seeing means for the word by trying to see the word's act of seeing:is thus, on the basis of seeing, the bishop wants his listeners to constantly seek the word of god through the spiritual exercise of mental instropection. gignere interior verbum in de trinitate, augustine not only uses the idea of seeing to explain the son's generation but also explicates it by comparing it to the birth of the human word in the mind. in his search for the image of the trinity in the human mind, augustine describes how the mind gives birth to an inner word (interior verbum) in time when the mind itself cogitates on the things contained in its inner memory and how the generated word (also, the mind's inner understanding/knowledge) is joined to the mind by the mind's inner will, thereby making the mind to form a triad of memory, inner word and will. in the text that follows, augustine suggests the birth of an offspring (proles), an inner word (interior verbum), a mental word (verbum mentis) in the mind. the reason why i wanted to introduce some sort of example of thought which could show how the attention is informed in recollection by the 131 in ioannis evangelium tractatus, xxi, 4: ccxxxvi, p. 214: .sic ergo demonstrat pater rem quam facit filio, ut in patre uideat.omnia filius, et in patte sit omnia filius. videndo enim natus est, et nascendo uidet. sed non aliquando non erat natus, et postea natus est, sicut non aliquando non uidit, et postea uidit; sed in eo quod est illi uidere, in eo est illi esse, in eo est illi non mutari, in eo est illi sine initio et sine fine persistere." translated by j. w. rettig, tractates on the gospel of john 11-27 in the fathers of the church, vol. 79: st. augustine, (washington, d.c.: the catholic university of america press, 1988), pp. 182-183. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 57 things contained in the memory, and how something is begotten where a man does his thinking that is like what was in him where he was only remembering before thinking, is that the distinction is easier to observe where something crops up in time and where parent precedes offspring by an interval of time. for if we refer to the inner memory of the mind with which it remembers itself and the inner understanding with which it understands itself and the inner will with which it loves itself, where these three are simultaneously together and always have been simultaneously together from the moment they began to be, whether they were being thought about or not, it will indeed seem that the image of that other trinity belongs only to the memory. but because there can be no word in it without thought-we think everything we say, including what we say with that inner word that is not part of any people's language is rather in these three that this image is to be recognized, namely memory, understanding, and will. and here i mean the understanding we understand with as we think, that is when things are brought up that were to hand in the memory but were not being thought about, and our thought is formed from them; and the will or love or esteem i mean is the one that joins this offspring to its parent and is in a certain measure common to them both132. the inner word (understanding) is begotten in the mind within an interval of time, when our attention is informed in the recollection of (recordantis) and cogitation (cogitatio) on the contents of the memory. love (the mind's will), as the middle element, joins together this mental word and mind. it is possible for the mind to generate several offspring in time. love (will) not only form a link between the mind and the inner word but also enables the memory to bring to the mind's consciousness a particular mental word that has been buried in the memory. however, this does not mean that the mind's will comes before the inner word in time. on the contrary, the inner word always precedes the will, for 132 trin., xiv, 10: cc la, pp. 434-435: "propter hoc itaque uolui de cogitatione adhibere qualecumque documentum quo posset ostendi quomodo ex his quae memoria continentur recordantis acies informetur et tale aliquid gignatur ubi homo cogitat quale in ilia erat ubi ante cogitationem meminerat, quia facilius dinoscitur quod tempore accedit et ubi parens prolem spatia temporis antecedit. nam si nos referamus ad interiorem mentis memoriam qua sui meminit et interiorem intellegentiam qua se intellegit et interiorem uoluntatem qua se diligit, ubi haec tria simul sunt et simul semper fuerunt ex quo esse coeperunt sine cogitarentur sine non cogitarentur, uidebitur quidem imago illius trinitatis et ad salam memoriam pertinere. sed quia ibi uerbum esse sine cogitatione non potest (cogitamus enim omne quod dicimus etiam ilia interiore uerbo quod ad nullius gentis pertinet linguarn), in tribus pocius illis imago ista cognoscitur, memoria scilicet, intellegentia, uoluntate. "hanc autem nunc dico intellegentiam qua intellegimus cogitantes, id est quando cis repertis quae memoriac praesto fuerunt sed non cogitabantur cogitatio nostra formatur, et earn uoluntatem sine amorem uel dilectionem quae istam prolem parentemque coniungit, et quodam modo utrisque communis est." trinity, pp. 377-378. 207 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 58 the memory cannot recall to the mind's awareness what was not already contained in it. the generation of an inner word may be compared with the son's generation. like the inner word, the son is generated from the father as a result of the son's contemplation of the father. also, just as the will (love) joins the inner word to the memory (mind), so does the holy spirit join the son to the father and the father to the son. our mental word which lights up within us becomes a sound outside if it is uttered by the mouth, god's word became a human being by assuming flesh just as the father perfectly expresses himself by eternally generating the son, so does the mind express itself through the production of a word within itself. additionally, augustine's notion of the inner word (interior verbum) in de trinitate xiv, 10 posits that the inner word is formless and transcendent; it is not informed in any human language. the inner word, therefore, becomes the image of the son of god in the human mind. however, it is instructive to mention in passing the contrast between the mental word (verbum mentis) and the word of god. one of the differences between god's word and our inner word is that on the one hand the father's word, the father's son, is equal to the father in all things, except with respect to origin, but on the other hand our inner word cannot be equal to our memory in all respects. second, while the father's knowledge is perfect, generating a word that is perfect, divine and true, our knowledge is not perfect, producing a human word that could be true or false. third, the human word is not born of god but made by him:l) our word cannot be said to be being from being as the word of god is said to be being from being133 fourth, the word of god is god's son; it is not the product of god’s thinking, it is not god's thought, whereas our true word is formed through cogitation215 finally the generation of the son is in eternity, while the birth of the interior word happens in time. in spite of the theological weakness of the notion, augustine's comparison of the son's generation to the production of the inner word in the mind has a real spiritual significance and its relevance to christian spiritual life becomes evident. in the first place, the function of the mental word is that it gives expression to our thoughts, producing our actions: “no body voluntarily does anything that he has not previously uttered as a word in his heart”134 the speaker's voice or bodily gestures only help him to express his inner word, thereby enabling him to communicate with his listeners: [18] second, the inner word could be used for doing evil or for doing good (ad peccandum aut ad recte faciendum) the 133 trin xv, 24: cc l , pp. 497-498. 134 trin., ix, 12 (ad"finem): cc l, p. 304: "nemo enim aliquid uolens facit quod non in corde suo prius dixerit." trinity, p. 278. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 59 christian should desire and endeavour to conceive an inner word that is capable of doing good all the time. finally, and far more importantly, if a mental word is conceived and born, and if it is joined to the mind that knows and loves itself with love, it indwells in love and love in it and, both the word and love reside in the lover and speaker of the word. “so when the mind knows and loves itself, its word is joined to it with love. and since it loves knowledge and knows love, the word is in the love and the love in the word and both in the lover and the utterer”135. for augustine, when we utter a mental word that is joined to our mind with love, what is uttered indwells both our listeners and ourselves, thereby joining them and us together. the triad of the mind, its understanding/knowledge and will/love, succinctly formed by way of the nexus of love between the mind and mental word/mind's self-knowledge, leads to the trinity of the speaker, his spoken word and his listener. this insight into the triadic nature of speaker, his word and his audience is immediately relevant to the christian teacher or preacher, who forms a trinity of himself: the word he teaches or proclaims and his congregation. the teacher indwells in his pupil and his pupil in him, thus, both teacher and pupil, in the mutuality of fellowship instruct each other. this mutual fellowship between teacher and learner produces in the master an affection (affectus) for his disciple. for augustine, when the christian teacher and the neophyte are linked in mind or heart, the boredom of repeating the same truths of the christian faith to the neophyte is overcome by the teacher's affection for him. on account of sympathy, what the teacher teaches becomes new even to him every time he sets out to instruct the catechumen. augustine writes as follows about the power of the teacher's sympathy for his student: “for so great is the power of affection, that when people are affected by us as we speak and we by them as they learn, we dwell each in the other and thus both they, as it were, speak in us what they hear, while we, after a fashion, learn in them what to teach”136. 135 trin., ix, 15 (ad finem): cc l, p. 307: "cum itaque se mens nouit et arnat, iungitur ei amore uerbum eius. .. et quoniarn arnat notitiam et nouit arnorem, et uerbum in arnore est et ardor in uerbo et utrumque in arnante atque dicente." trinity, p. 279. 136 de catechizandis rudibus, xii, 17: corpus christianorum, series latina, vol. xlvi, edited by i. b. bauer (rurnholti: typographi brepois editores pontificii, 1969), p. 141: "tantum enim ualet animi compatientis affectus, ut cum illi afficiuntur nobis loquentibus, et nos illis discentibus, habitemus in inuicem; atque ita et illi quae audiunt quasi loquantur in nobis, et nos in illis discamus quodam modo quae docemus." translated by j. p. christopher, the first catechical instruction in ancient christian writers, vol. 2 (new york, n. y./ramsey, n. j.: newman press, 1946), p. 41. henceforth, the latin source of de catechizandis rudibus will be cited as cc xlvi. the english text has been altered slightly. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 60 what augustine says in this passage applies to the situation of christian spiritual direction in which there exists a triad of spiritual director, his word of direction and spiritual son/daughter. the mutuality of fellowship between the spiritual director and his disciple produces in the director a sympathy for his disciple whom he leads by example along the ascending movement to the trinity. the procession of the holy spirit eastern fathers of the church explained the origin of the son within the godhead by generation from the father that of the holy spirit by procession from father through the son. yet, the distinction between the eternal, incorporeal and inexpressibly unchangeable generation of the son and procession of the holy spirit remained far beyond the grasp and distinction of human understanding137. in his teaching, augustine distinguishes the generation of the son and the procession of the spirit by asserting that the holy spirit is the inefable communion of father and the son (ineffabilis quaedam parris filiique communio) and, therefore, he is from the father and the son. although the father and the son are described as holy and spirit, yet scripture insists that in the trinity only the spirit of the father and the son is properly (proprie) called the holy spirit138. augustine justifies why: “so the holy spirit is a kind of inexpressible communion or fellowship of the father and the son, perhaps he is given this name just because the same name can be applied to the father and the son. he is properly called what they are called in common, seeing that both father and son are holy and both father and son are spirit”139. the study of y. congar indicates that before augustine the doctrine of the procession of the holy spirit from the father and the son had been presented in various forms in the western church by tertullian, hilary, marius victorinus, and ambrose and that bishop augustine was conversant with them (228). augustine himself wrote that prior to his writing there had been learned reflections on the doctrine of the holy spirit. these speculations were aimed at distinguishing the spirit from the father and the son by a careful process of ensuring that, 137 trin., xv, 48: ccla, p. 529. 138 trin., xv, 45: tc la, p. 525. also see trin., v, 12: cc l, p. 219. zz'trin., v, 12: cc l, p. 219-220: "nam hoc ipse proprie dicitur quod illi communiter quia et pater spiritus a filius spiritus, et pater sanctus et filius sanctus. vt ergo ex nomine quod utrique conuenit utriusque communio significer, uocatur donum amborum spiritus sanctus." trinity, p. 197. 139 y, congar, i belicvr in the holy spirit, vol. iii, pp. so, 85. also see j. h. s. burleigh, "the doctrine of the holy spirit in the latin fathers," in the scottish joumal of thrology 7 (1954), pp. 113-132; b. de margene, an introduction to the history of exeesis, vol. iii: saint augustine, pp. 116-118. however, we can still assert that augustine's presentation of this doctrine was the most decisive in the life of the western church. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 61 the holy spirit is not begotten of the father like the son, for christ is unique. nor was he begotten of the son as if he were the grandson of the father, most high… [t]he holy spirit is the communion or deity, so to speak, of the father and the son, their oeoms as the greeks call it140. also, the holy spirit is the gift of god (donum dei) the father's gift of himself to the son and likewise the son's gift of himself to the father. but the holy spirit is the gift of god to us "so that we may believe that god gives no gift inferior to himself. to summarise in brief the holy spirit is distinct from the father and the son; he is not the son's son or the father's grandson; his procession is unique; and he is the unity and communion of love between the father and the son and their mutual gift to each other and to us as god's love, god's gift, the holy spirit is a person. augustinian scholars have emphasized the inseparable relationship that exists between augustine's doctrine of the spirit of the father and of the son and the theology of gift and love. the bishop of hippo articulated his doctrine of the procession of the holy spirit with the help of the metaphors of gift and love. we shall first offer in a summary form augustine's teaching on the procession of the spirit as god's gift. then, we will give a detailed presentation of what he says about the spirit's procession as love, employing the model of holy spirit as the communion of love between the father and the son. the unity of the "economic" and "transcendent" trinity in de trinitate it has become quite clear from our investigations that for augustine: from eternity, god is one essence, god is three-father, son and holy spirit. at the beginning of time, god is one essence; god is three-father, son, and holy spirit. the one god is the creator: the father, the son and the holy spirit are inseparable in their divine acts of creation, redemption and sanctification. the visible missions of the son and the holy spirit in history were inseparably carried out by the three members of the divine triad. the substantial unity of the divine persons points to divine inseparability. the generation of the son and the procession of the holy spirit indicate that there is inseparability of the three persons in the being of god. the metaphor of inseparability, as applied in de trinitate, is an ontological and relational expression of the unity of "economic" and "transcendent" trinity. the transcendent god revealed himself as a trinity of father, son and holy spirit in our history of salvation, thus, the father, the son 140 de fide et symbolo, 19: pr.40, col. 191: "servant tamen ut non genitum spiritum sanctum tanquam filium de patre praedicent; unicus enim est christus: ncque de filio tanquam nepotem summi patris communionem patris et filii, atquc, ut ita dicam, dietatem, quam graeci 8elrym appellant, spiritum sanctum. " translated by j. h. s. burleigh, faith and the creed in augustine: earlier writings, p. 364. also see e. p. meijering, augustine: de fide et symbolo (amsterdam, j. c. gieben, 1987), pp. 119123; f. bourassa, "communion du pere et du fils," in gregorianum 48 (1967), pp. 657-705. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 62 and the holy spirit of the "ecomomic" trinity are, mutatis mutandis, the eternal father, the eternal son and the eternal holy spirit of the "transcendent" trinity. to use e. hill's formula: "the economic trinity is the transcendent trinity revealed,"141 in the history of salvation, god has not only revealed his being as trinity to us, but also is god for us. further, since the publication of the studies of theodore de regnon; augustinian trinitarian doctrine has largely been seen by scholars as proceeding from the unity of divine nature to the distinction of the divine persons. the character of this theology, they assert, is rather different from that of the cappadocians which not only argues the unity of the nature of god from the unity of divine activities, but also proceeds from the diversity of the divine persons. consequently, augustine's approach to the doctrine of the trinity is considered a philosophical attempt to grasp the divine substance of the trinitarian god. to cite c. m, lacugna's understanding of augustine's rendering of the doctrine of the trinity: augustine inaugurated an entirely new approach. his starting point was no longer the monarchy of the father but the divine substance shared equally by the three persons. instead of inquiring into the nature of theologia as it is revealed in the incarnation of christ and the deification by the spirit, augustine would inquire into the traces of the trinity to be found in the soul of each human being142. by way of contrast, the cappadocians' "central concern remained soteriological. they saw as their task to clarify how god's relationship to us in christ and the spirit in the economy of incarnation and deification reveals the essential unity and equality of father, son and spirit."143 these categorizations of augustine's and the cappadocians' trinitarian understanding of god have not done justice to the facts contained in the writings of the doctors and, therefore, are a hindrance to a realistic appreciation of the saints' trinitarian contributions. in reality, as this 141 e. hill, "karl rahner's 'remarks on the dogmatic treatise de trinitate and st augustine'," p. 78. 142 c. m. lacugna, god for us, p. 44. also see t. r. martland, "a study ofcappadocian and augustinian trinitarian methodology," pp. 252-262. m. barnes disagrees with c. m. lacugna's estimation of the understanding of god the trinity rather radically on the grounds that she, in her work, god for us, uncritically embraces de regnon's paradigm of the doctrine of the trinity. he notes that she devdopes the paradigm successfully in order to critique the augustinian trinitarian component, but she seems "unaware that the paradigm is not embedded in the original texts." see m. r. barnes, "de regnon reconsidered," p. 55. also see e. muller, "the science ofthrology: a review of catherine lacugna's god for us," in gregorianum 75/ 2 (1994), pp. 311-341; t. g. weinandy, the father's spirit of sons hip: reconceiving the trinity, pp. 123-136; d. orsuto, "the father's spirit of sons hip: a significant contribution-to trinitarian theology," p.153. 143 c. m. lacugna, god for us, p. 43. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 63 study has discovered, the vigilant reader of the doctrinal themes discussed in augustine's de trinitate will arrive at the conclusion that suggests a lack of sharp contrast between the bishop of hippo's theology and that of the bishops of cappadocia. and it should be added that augustine's trinitarian theology is not only a continuation of that of the great cappadocians, but also that it is a true representative of the common faith of the ancient church265 the text that follows is worth quoting in full, for it is one of the best remarks on the trinitarian formulations of augustine and the eastern theologians: books i-iv are concerned with the interpretation of scripture on the assumption of the equal godhead of all three "persons." when scripture texts referring to christ imply subordination of the son to the father, this is generally to be explained on the lines which athanasius had laid down: the son as incarnate has the "form of a servant" as well as the "form of god," and when scripture speaks of him as inferior to the father the reference is to his human nature only (bk. i). augustine allows, however, that in some cases the reference may be to the "form of god," inasmuch as the son's godhead is itself derived from the father: here augustine follows the lead of the cappadocians. but scripture tells us of "missions" of the son and the holy spirit in temporal history. these signify visible manifestations of the second and third "persons," and are not to be limited to incarnation and pentecost, for the word and the spirit have been active in the world since its creation144. to conclude, augustine's de trinitate is a synthesis of theology and economy: "both in his explicit theory of method and in its actual implementation, the systematics of augustine emerge here as a perfect synthesis of faith and reason, of theology and the economy of salvation”145. the doctrine of the trinity of the doctor of grace has far greater implications for the christian spiritual life than the trinitarian theology of basil, gregory of nazianzen and gregory of nyssa. the image of the trinity in humanity augustine's de trinitate not only discusses god as trinity, but also offers us a doctrine of humanity. the question, for augustine, becomes precisely this, who is this human person who is capable of god? this question is a .central one in 144 j. burnaby, "introduction," pp. 19-20. 145 p. bourassa, "theologie trinitrore de saint augustin-ii," in grcgorianum 59 (1978), p. 410. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 64 spirituality. to develop augustine's trinitarian spirituality is to understanding exactly how his conception of god influenced his idea of the human person. augustine says at the beginning of book viii that he intends to seek god with the mind in a more inward manner (modo interiore) and, "[i]ndeed any and every bodily conception is to be so rejected" (ita enim respuitur omne corporeum)146 the mind must be intent upon, seeking god the trinity whom scripture has revealed as such. "and the right intent is the one that sets out from faith”147. sacred scripture has revealed that humanity was created in the image and likeness of god (gn 1: 26-27). augustine's exegesis of this passage from genesis makes him conclude that it is humanity that was made to the image and likeness of the one true god the trinity in contrast to the position of the alexandrines that the only son of god is the image (imaginem ... esse ilium) of the one god and that human beings at not the image of god but are made "according to the image" (hominem vero non imaginem sed ad imaginem)148. also, in order to recognise the image of god, augustine analyses various "trinities" with the help of his understanding of the trinitarian god which be had acquired through the concept of the unity of substance, the theory of mutual relations in trin., i-vii and the plotinian doctrine of "the mind's conversion toward itself and its becoming formed through conceptualization in the verbum mentis."149 today, scholars commonly assert that trin., lx-xv is the speculative complement of the dogmatic section of trin., i-viv. we would not seek to argue against that. however, we wish to suggest that this unqualified theological assertion risks not only the doctrine of the unipersonality of god of anti-trinitarianism, but also the possible implication that god the trinity be conceived according to the image of humanity. the supreme trinity is three divine persons (summus trinitas tres personae sint) whereas, the human soul, the image of this trinity, is one person (cum sit una persona haec imago trinitatis):1 "so the trinity as a thing in itself is quite different from the image of the trinity in another thing" (aliud est itaque trinitas res ipsa, aiiud imago trinitatis in re alia).1z in trin., i, 1 augustine has a strong admonition for his readers who try to ascribe to god the nature of the 146 trin., viii, 3: cc 1., p. 270. trinity,p. 243. 147 trin., ix, 1: cc 1. p. 292: "sed ca recta intentio est quae proficiscitur a fide." trinity, p. 270. 148 tria, vii, 12: cc 1., pp. 266-267. also see trin., xii, 7: cc 1.,p. 361; e. teseiie, augustine the pp. 300; h. crouzcl, "l'image de dieu dans la theologie d'origene," in studia patristica 11/2 (1957), pp. 149 e. teselle, augustine the theologian, p. 300. also see e. gilson, the christian philosophyofsailll augustine, translated by 1.. e. m. lynch (new york: random house, 1960), p. 214. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 65 human soul!) a trinitarian exercise that aims at investigating the inexpressible three divine persons at the level of human mind fails woefully. ____________ r. a. markus has rightly remarked that "'the psychological trinitarianism' of the second in of his [augustine's] treatise de trinitate is a study not of the divine substance and mons, but of the human soul as an image of god."150 to reiterate, books viii-xv of de linitate seek to discover in us what makes us an image of the trinity, thereby enabling us i believe in, hope in and love the trinity of father, son and the holy spirit. augustine himself affirms that "what we are asking, though, is from what likeness or comparison of thing known to us we are able to believe, so that we may love the as yet unknown god." it is clear, then, that the purpose of the latter books of de trinitate, as for the former ones, is essentially attempt to make the trinity relevant to the whole christian spirituallife by way of a profoundly contemplative search for a trinity in the image of god? that is, a contemplation of the trinity in what god himself has created; but of all his creatures "none more suitable than the one which is not called god's image for nothing" (nihil tamen est mmodatius quam id quod imago eius non trustra dicitux). to put it quite simply, viii-xv is a spiritual pedagogical programme to lead humanity to discover and love the trinity in the soul and community. the aim of this section, therefore, is not to provide a detailed presentation of the augustine’s so-called psychological trinitarian theory of the processions of the son instead, we will concentrate on what augustine describes as the triune nature of the soul (that is, a soul possessing three things that are distinct but operate inseparably), indicating in the process how the doctrine of image of god forms the theological basis for the soul’s trinitarian spiritual life. we shall first discuss in summary form the types of trinities, in de trinitate with a view to recognizing and locating the image of the trinity in also indicating that both male and female are made to image of god. finally, we will determine the originality of augustine's understanding of humanity as image of the in de trinitate and its significance. 150 r.a. markus, "marius victorinus and augustine," p. 340. also see j. m. rist, augustine, p. 145. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 66 recognising the image within traces of the trinity god is trinity and augustine in de trinitate describes the traces of god in divine attributes and in creation. on the one hand, augustine discovers trinities in the special properties of god: eternity (aetemitas), truth (veritas) and happiness (beatitas); etenity (aeternitas), form (species) and use (usus); father (pater), image (imago) and gift (munus); and origin of things (summa origo), beauty (perfectissima pulchritudo) and delight (beatissima delectatio). on the other hand, since visible creatures are vestigia of their invisible trinitarian origin, augustine finds in all the things around us a trinity of unity (unitas), form (species) and order (ordo). traces of the trinity in exterior homo augustine discovers some traces of the trinity in the "outer-man" (exterior homo): the outer-man is endowed with sensation, and with it perceives bodies; and this sensation, as can be readily verified, is divided into five parts, seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching.25 with the help of our senses we come in contact with physical objects such as people, trees, light, etc. we are able to identify three terms in the things we see: object seen (corpus visibile), internal vision (visio), and attention of mind (animi intentio)151 in this triad, the object, the internal vision and the attention of the mind are distinct, and the object appears to generate the internal vision. the distinction of three terms and the fact that the object and internal vision have a quasi-unity suggest a trace of the trinity. next, as one advances into a deeper level of the mind of the outer-man, one discovers a trinity of memory, internal vision and volition or will. .. and so one gets a trinity, out of the memory and internal sight and the will which couples them together; and when these three are coagitated into unity the result is called cogitation or thought, from the very act of coagitation."152 here too, there is a distinction of the elements of the triad; volition, the will (voluntas), links the memory (memoria) and internal vision (interna visio) to produce in them a quasi-unity. this second triad also suggests a trace of the trinity. although the two triads of the outer-man have quasi-unity and exhibit, through 151 trin., xi, 2: cc l,pp. 334-335. 152 trin., xi, 6: cc l,p. 340: "atque ita fit iua trinitas ex memoria et interna uisione et quae utrumquc copuk uoluntate, quae tria cum in unum coguntur ab ipso coactu cogitatio dicitur." trinity, p. 308. also see g. v~ "pensee et discernment chez augustin. quelques reflexions sur ie sens du terme 'cogitare,'" in rcchtrrm augustiniennes ii (1962), pp. 59-80. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 67 the distinction of their terms, some mutual relationship, they cannot be the image of god for the following reasons: first, a comparison of the trinity with the first triad shows that the father is sufficient enough to generate the son whereas the object seen is not sufficient to produce an internal vision; and second, likewise, we can compare the second triad with the trinity: the holy spirit proceeded from the father and the son whereas the volition or will produces the internal vision153. interior homo: the image of god then god said, "let us make man in our image, according to our likeness so god created man in his own image; in the image of god he created him; male and female he created them (gen 1: 26-27)154. we find traces, vestiges of the trinity in creation, however, it is true that not everything in creation which is like god in some way or other is also to be called his image, but only that which he alone is higher than. that alone receives his direct imprint which has no other nature interposed between him and itself"155 therefore, it is only in humanity that we discover the image of god; for our scripture tells us that god created humanity in god's image. if the image of god is only proper to humanity, where in humanity do we locate it? in the inner-man, interior homo, where a person "is at his best, his highest and deepest. augustine forcefully insists that the image of god in humanity is found in the highest part of humanity that is dedicated to the contemplation of truth156, namely, the human soul (anima), spirit (animus), mind (mens). moreover, augustine, in his characteristic step-by-step analysis of analogies, indicates to us the expression and location .the image of god in the human mind. he concentrates on three analogies: first, mind 'mens), knowledge (notitia) and love (amor); second, memory (memoria sui), understanding (intelligentia sui) and will (voluntas sui); third, memory of god (memoria dei), understanding of god (intelligentia dei), and love of god (amor dei). these analogies share common characteristics: they are all distinctly found in the mind; and they have substantial or essential unity that reflects the unity of the trinitarian god. although the three trinities suggest that they are images of god, augustine examines them to see if the three elements of each triad in the mind show that they are distinct and equal in their relationships. 153 e.gilson, the christian philosophy of saint augustine, p. 216 154 also see m. a. tabet, "la expresi6n imago dei (gen 1, 26-27) en ia reflexi6n agustiniana, " in augustinus 38 pp. 467479. 155 trin., xi, 8: cc 1., p. 344: "non sane omne quod in creatum aiiquo modo simile est deo etiam eius imago cst, sed ilia sola qua superior ipse solus est. ea quippe de illo prorsus exprimitur inter quam et ipsum llaiecta natura est. trinity, pp. 310-311. 156 de gcnai ad litttram, iii, 21: pi. 34, col. 293. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 68 following augustine in de trinitate, ix, e. t eselle is of the opinion that the search for the image of god leads augustine to define the mind as nosse ("the mind's knowledge of itself through self presence"), its acts are: seeking (studere), thinking (cogitare) and conceiving (verbum gignere). in trin., ix, 4, augustine argues that the mind, knowledge and love are three distinct and equal terms which show a unity of three in one. thus, the first triad (mind (mens), knowledge (notitia) and love (amor) seems to be an image of the trinity, yet, it is not the image of the trinity for two reasons: on the one hand, the triad is formed virtually by the mind whereas the trinity of the divine persons is actualised perfectly.157 on the other hand, love and knowledge are the only two of the three terms of the triad that "signify relationships"158 whereas all the three persons of the trinity have mutual relation. the second triad consists of the memory of self (memoria sui), understanding of self (intelligentia sui) and will of self (voluntas sui). de trinitate, xiv, 10 indicates that augustine has recognised in the inner memory with which the mind remembers itself: the inner understanding with which the mind understands itself: and the inner will with which the mind loves itself a quasi-image of the trinity. these three always exist simultaneously together; they are not separated by the interval of time. and, as augustine sums up in de trinitate, xiv, 13, the image of the trinity is certainly situated in the mind's act of conceiving a word and must be sought there: “and therefore when it [the mind) turns to itself in thought, a trinity is formed in which a word too can be perceived. it is formed of course out of the very act of though with the will joining the two together. it is here then more than anywhere that it should recognize the image we are looking for”159. the three acts of the mind, namely, remembering self (meminerit sui), understanding self (intellegit se) and loving itself (diligit se) exhibit unity of substance in the mind as well as show distinction in their relation. the three terms are within the mind and so this trinity is nearer to the image of god than the first. but again, the second trinity, in spite of its proximity to the image, cannot be the image of god in humanity. 157 e. gilson, the christian philosophy of st. augustine, p. 221. 158 e. hiu, the mystery of the trinity, p.126. 159 trin., xn, 13 (ad fincm): ccla, p. 441: "ac per hoc quando ad se ipsam cogitatione conuertitur fitin qua iam et uerbum possit inteuegi. formatur quippe ex ipsa cogitatione, uoluntate utrurnque iungente magis agnoscenda est imago quam quaerimus." trinity, p. 382. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 69 in a number of texts of de trinitate, augustine combines the first and the second triads (mind, knowledge, love and self-memory, self-knowledge, and self-will) and comes out with a mind that is self-possessed; for through its acts, it knows and loves itself: remembers and understands and wills itself. yet, the image of the trinity is not found in the seeking and thinking triad of a self-possessed mind. augustine summarizes the results of his discussion on the image of god as follows: “in the ninth book the discussion reaches the image of god which is man as regards his mind, and a certain trinity is discovered in it, that is mind and the knowledge it knows itself with and the love it loves itself and its knowledge with; and these three are shown to be equal to each other and of one being. in the tenth book the same matter is treated more thoroughly and with more precision, and brought to the point of uncovering in the mind a clearer trinity, consisting in memory and understanding and will”160. but augustine is not happy with this trinity of the mind as image of god; he modifies it and the result is a third triad (memory of god (memoria dei), understanding of god (intelligentia dei), and love of god (amor dei), namely, the image of god: this trinity of the mind is not really the image of god because the mind remembers and understands and loves itself: but because it is also able to remember and understand and love him by whom it was made. and when it does this it becomes wise. if it does not do it, then even though it remembers and understands and loves itself it is foolish. let it then remember its god to whose image it was made, and understand and love him. to put it in a word, let it worship the uncreated god, by whom it was created with a capacity for him and able to share in him. in this way it will be wise not with its own light but by sharing in that supreme light, and it will reign in happiness where it reigns eternal. for this is called man's wisdom in such a way that it is also god's161. 160 trin xv, 5: cc la, pp. 465-466: "in nono ad imaginem dei quod est homo secundum mentem peru en it i in ca quaedam trinitas inuenitur, id est mens et notitia qua se nouit et amor quo se notitiamque suam tria aequalia inter se et unius ostenduntur esse essentiae. in decimo hoc idem diligentius subtiliusque at atque ad id perductum ut inueniretur in mente euidentior trinitas eius, in memoria scilicet et . ituoluntate." trinity, p. 398. 161 trin., xn, 15: cc la, pp. 442-443: "haec igitur trinitatis mentis non propterea dei est imago quu" meminit mens et inteuegit ac diligit se, sed quia potest etiam meminisse et inteuegere et amare a quo facta cst cum facit sapiens ipsa fit. si autem non facit, etiam cum sui meminit seque inteuegit ac diligit, stulta cst. m~ itaque dei sui ad cuius imagin= facta est eumque inteuegat at.que diligat q\lod ut breuius dicam, colat dcum .. factum cuius ab eo capax facta est et cuius esse particeps potest; propter quod igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 70 commenting on this text, e. gilson writes: “if it [the mind] turns towards the god who made it and thereby becomes aware of its character as a divine image, then remembering itself: expressing itself in a word and loving itself will be the same as recalling god in the way he expresses himself and loves himself. by this a wisdom is born in man, a wisdom that is nothing less than i participation in god's wisdom and that restores the bond between creature and creator which was broken long ago”162. at last, then, augustine concludes that the image of god (imago dei) is the mind's capacity for participation in god the trinity.50 the human mind is god's image only in its capacity to remember, understand and love god. besides the mind's nature is incomprehensible. "he made also man after his own image and likeness, in the mind: for in that is the image of god. this is the reason why the mind cannot be comprehended even by itself: because in it is the image of god. god made us in his own image to enable us to understand him. having empowered humanity to understand, god now teaches human beings how to contemplate the trinity. "and since he [the human person) now has the capacity to understand, you [god] teach him to contemplate the trinity in unity, the unity that is trinity."163 the image of god is fully realised in humanity through humanity's obedience to god the trinity which translates into an uninterrupted contemplation of the word of god. can we conclude, then, that the father is memory, the son is understanding and the holy spirit is will? in serm., 52 (c. 413-415) the bishop hesitates to identify memory with the father, understanding with the son and will with the holy spirit. “i don't say memory is the father, understanding is the son, will is the holy spirit. i don't say it, however it may be understood, i don't dare to. let's reserve these greater matters for those who can grasp them; for the weak, as one of them, i have done what i can. i haven't introduced these three things as though they were to be equated to that divine triad, as though they were to be marshaled into an analogy, that is to say”164. this issue is revisited in epistola 169 (c. 415), where augustine tells bishop evodius that “it must not, however, be scriptum est: ecc( d6 cul/w e sapientia, et non sua luce sed summae iuius lucis participatione sapiens erit, atque ubi aetema, ibi bcata ~t." enim dicitur ista hominis sapientia ut etiam dei sit" trinity, p. 383. also see w. h. principe, "the dynamism of augustine's terms for describing the highest trinitarian image in the human person," in studia patristica(1982), pp. 12911299. 162 e. gilson, the christian philosophy of saint augustine, p. 223. 163 conf, xiii, xx, 32: ccxxvii, p. 260: "ct doccs cum jam capaccm uidcrc trinitatcm unitatis ucl unitatcm trinitatis." translatcd by m. boulding, th~ confessions, p. 365. 164 serm., 52, 23: pl.38, col. 364: "non dico, pater memoria cst, filius intcllcctus cst, spiritus voluntas cst: non dito, quomodo libct intclligatur, non audco. scrvcmus majora capicntibus, infirmis infirmi quod possumus. non dico isla illi trinitati vcnut acquanda, quasi ad analogiam, id cst, ad rationcm quamdam comparationis dirigcnda: non hoc dico." sermons, iii/3, p. 62. also scc trin., xv, 28: cc la, pp. 502-503. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 71 supposed, from our using this comparison between these faculties (memory, understanding and will) and the trinity, that the things compared agree in every particular, for where, in any process of reasoning, can we find an illustration in which the correspondence between the things compared is so exact that it admits of application in every point to that which it is intended to illustrate”165. augustine shows in the last book of de trinitate that although there are many dissimilarities between the divine trinity and the image of god,56 the mind's acts of memory, understanding and will have some sort of likeness to the father, the son and the holy spirit respectively. thus, for example, the will of god like charity fits the person of the holy spirit more than the other persons of the trinity. but if any person in the trinity is to be distinctively called the will of god, this name like charity fits the holy spirit more than the others. what else after all is charity but the will. however, even here there must be a caveat: augustine's argument in trin., xv, 28 is that the father remembers, understands and loves, the son remembers, understands and loves, and the holy spirit remembers, understands and loves; so, the father, the son and the holy spirit cannot just be taken as memory, understanding and loving. in any case, god is the original and humanity, like in a mirror, sees itself darkly as the image of god. "we do indeed recognise in ourselves an image of god, which is of the supreme trinity. it is not an adequate image, but a very distant parallel. it is not co-etemal and, in brief; it is not of the same substance as god.,, 6o thus, if the soul's memory, understanding and will cannot be strictly compared, then, it is rather far from the point to argue that augustine's investigation of the mental triad is an attempt to psychologically speculate on the transcendent trinity that has been revealed in the economy of salvation. it is clear that he explores the soul in order to demonstrate that the soul in its acts of memory, understanding and will is an image of god the trinity. to sum up, after a detailed examination of a variety of trinities with the help of the doctrine of unity of essence and the theory of distinction expressed through mutual relation, augustine recognises the image of god in the essence and the distinct activities of the mind. augustine's insight into the imago dei has its basis in humanity's capacity for participation in god (capax dei). he concludes that 165 epistola, 169,6: pl.33, cols. 744-745: "ncc ideo putanda sunt haec tria trinitati sic comparata, ut omni cx ee conveniant: cui cnim similitudini in disputando convcnicntia tanta conccditur, ut ei rei cui adhibcnda cst, cx omni parte coaptctur? vel quando cx crcatura ad crcatorcm aliquid simile assumitur?" igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 72 the image of god the trinity in humanity is humanity's capacity to participate in god. being imago dei means being able to go beyond ourselves. "our own remembering, knowing and loving point us beyond ourselves to god.”166 however, we must not dare say that the father is memory, the son is understanding and the holy spirit is will. humanity cannot fix its gaze into the light, god the trinity, because the image of god in humanity is blurred by the wickedness (iniquitas) and the weakness (infirmitas) of the mind. the "... mind of man, the natural seat of his reason and understanding, is itself weakened by long-standing faults which darken it”167. the image of god becomes fully formed only through humanity's faithful obedience to god expressed in continuous contemplation of the word. having established in this subsection augustine's understanding of humanity as image of god, it is worthwhile to examine in the next subsection the question of the possession of the image of the trinity by the male and female human beings. faced with the idea the image of god in us is the human family, namely, the union of male, female and their child, augustine argues that the image of god in humanity subsists not in such a triad but in every individual human person, male or female. imago dei: male and female to begin with, augustine repudiates with emphasis the theory that the trinity of the image of god is composed of the union of male, female and their offspring. according to this notion, man is the person of the father; what proceeds from the man, the offspring, is the person of the son; and, finally, the woman, who proceeds from the man in such a way that she is neither son nor daughter and, who, by her conceiving the offspring the man produced, is the person of the holy spirit. the conception of the holy spirit in this way seems to be supported by jn15: 26: although the holy spirit proceeds from the father, he is not a son. augustine rejects this theory because, first, it makes one think of the holy spirit as the mother of the son and the wife of the father, thereby introducing impure thoughts into the doctrine of the trinity of the image of god. also, creatures are made according to the likeness of their creator, not vice versa. moreover, the fact that wisdom is called "bride" in wis 8: 2 and that it is represented in many 166 j. m. rist, augustine, p. 90. 167 dcd., xl, 2: cc xlviii, p. 322: "... ipsa mens, cui ratio et intellegentia naturaliter incst, uitiis qun.tenebrosis et ueteribus inualida est, " translated by h. bettenson, city of god, p. 430. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 73 languages by words of the feminine gender does not mean that its sex is female. another reason for rejecting the idea of god the holy spirit as wife of god the father and mother of god the son is that it is against gen 1: 26-27. augustine argues: "our," being plural in number, could not be right in this place if man were made to the image of one person, whether of the father, or the son or the holy spirit; but because in fact he was made in the image of the trinity, it is said to our image,. and then in case we should suppose that we have to believe in three gods in the trinity, while this same trinity is in fact one god, it goes on to say, and god made man to the image of god, which amounts to saying "to his image."168 in addition to his refusal to accept the union of the male, female and their offspring as the image of the trinity, augustine rejects the view that the image is realised in a human father, mother and son. again, augustine bases his argument on gen 1: 27: "god made man to the image of god." granted, the man of the text was alone before his wife and son were made; augustine asks if that man was not made to the image of god until his wife and son were made. if scripture says he was indeed made to the image of god before his wife and son came to be, does it mean, then, that his wife was in her husband's side and his son in his father's loins? in conclusion, the image of the supreme trinity in humanity should be understood neither in terms of the union of male, female and their offspring nor in three human beings, namely, father, mother and son. as for the completion of the image in male and female, the assertion of paul in 1 cor 11: 7 presents a difficulty, for it apparently leaves the woman out of the image of the trinity. for augustine, male and female have a common human nature. human nature possesses the rational substance of mind. just as male and female are two in one flesh; both may be said to be "two in one mind" (duo in mente una)169. for augustine, male and female are made to the image of god. the imago dei is identified with human nature which is realised in both man and woman. “but we must see how what the apostle says about the man and not the woman being the image of god avoids contradicting what is written in genesis: god made man to the image of god; he made him male and female; he made them and blessed them (gn .. 1: 27). it says that what was made to the image of god is 168 trin., xii, 6: cc l,p. 360: "nostmm certe quia pluralis est numerus non recte diceretur si homo ad unius personae imaginem fieret siue patris siue filii siue spiritus sancti, sed quia fiebat ad imaginem trinitatis propterca dictum est, ad imaginem nostram. rursus autem ne in trinitate credendos arbitraremur tres deos cum sit eadem trinitas unus deus: et fecit, inquit, deus hominem ad imaginem dei, pro eo ac si diceret, ad imaginem suam." trinity, p. 325. 169 trin., xii, 3: cc l, p. 358. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 74 the human nature that is realised in each sex, and it does not exclude the female from the image of god that is meant”170. augustine does not exclude the female from being made in the image of god. the bishop interprets paul's "the man and not the woman being the image of god" as "a symbolism of something more mysterious in the obvious distinction of sex between male and female ... and if this does not refer to some hidden sacramental or symbolic meaning, it will remain quite pointless."171 besides argues augustine, the point of staging this discusion [1 cor 11: 7] has simply been to help us understand why the apostle [paul] attributes the image of god to the man only and not to the woman as well, and that he wanted to use the distinction of sex between two human beings to signify something that must be looked for in every single human being172. the imago dei transcends the sex of man and woman.74 a woman may differ from a man on account of the sex of her body, but she is "being renewed to the image of god where there is no sex" (renouatur ad imaginem dei ubi sexus nullus est)173. a man's mind "does not remain the image of god except in the part which adheres to the eternal ideas to contemplate or consult them: and it is clear that females have this as well as males. so in their minds a common nature is to be acknowledged; but in their bodies the distribution of the one mind is symbolised."174 finally, it is essential to note that since human beings exist and relate as male or female, augustine's all-inclusive understanding of humanity (male/female) as image of god neither weakens nor destroys the fundamental sexual distinction that obtains between men and women. 170 trin., xii, 10: cc l,p. 364: "sed uidendum est quomodo non sit contrarium quod dicit apostolus non mulierem sed uirum cssc imaginem dci huic quod scriptum cst in genesi: fecit dcus homincm ad imagincm dci; fccit cum masculum ct jeminam; fecit cos ct bcncdixit coso ad imagincm quippc dci naturam ipsam humanam lactarn dicit quae sexu utroque completur, nec ab intellegenda imaginc dei separat fcminam." trinity, p. 327. 171 trin., xii, 11: cc l,pp. 365-366: "... manifesto sexu masculi ct fcminac ... occultioris cuiusdam reifigurassc mysterium ... quod nisi ad aliquod secrctum sacramenti rcferatur inanc remanebit." trinity, p. 328. 172 trin., xii, 19: cc l,p. 373: "ad hoc tantummodo audicnda cst ut intcllcgatur apostolus imagincm dei uiro tantum tribucndo non ctiam fcminac, quamuis in diuerso scxu duorum hominum aliquid tamcn significare uoluissci quod in uno hominc quacrcretur." trinity, pp. 332-333. 173 trin., xii, 12: cc l, p. 367. trinity, p. 329. 174 trin., xii, 12-13: cc l,p. 367: "non maneat imago dei nisi ex qua parte mens hominis aetemis rationibus conspiciendis uel consulendis adhaerescit, quam non solum masculos sed ctiam feminas habere manifestum est. ergo in eorum mentibus communis natura cognoscitur; in corum uero corporibus ipsius unius mentis distributio figuratur." trinity, p. 329. although m. daly has a right to express her opinion, this text with others previous to it certainly fails to support her sweeping statement that augustine was a misogynist "who opined that women are not made to the image of god." see m. daly, beyond god the father: toward a philosophy of women's liberation (wndon: the women's press, 1j95), p. 3. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 75 conclusion in this chapter we sought to understand augustine's conception of humanity. we discovered that he conceived humanity as image of god or image of the trinity. if humanity is image of trinity, then humanity should have a unique relationship with the father, the son and the holy spirit. de trinitate makes the trinitarian relevant to christian spirituality; for augustine insists that the trinity is reflected. in the human soul, the image of god. as image of god, we are so close to the trinity that in the order of nature it is so arranged that there is nothing above us except god himself (sic enim ordinata est naturam ordine non locatum ut supra illam non sit nisi jile)175. here, however, the originality of the african father does not consist so much in his teaching that the soul is image of the trinity (imago trinitatis) as in his association of god's will with the person of the holy spirit, thus suggesting an intimacy between god's will (holy spirit) and the soul's will. and relying on the "analogy of the tri-personal unity of god,"176 augustine recognizes the image of god in the mind's acts of remembering god, understanding god and loving god. augustine not only rejects the notion of the family of husband, wife and child as the image of god, but also strongly affirms that both male and female human beings are the image of the trinity, if and only if, they constantly remember, understand and love the trinity. he defends the equality of the male and the female before the trinity, thereby making the image of the trinity in us the basis for living a christian life that is personal and radical. although there can be and should be particular and diverse types of christian spiritualities, yet the centre of every spirituality is the image of god in relationship with the trinity. finally, augustine’s doctrine on and the soul not only positive consequence for christian spiritual life today, but also offers us an authentic christian way of communion with the trinity in church and society. perhaps, we should ask the question: what is the nature of the journey which humanity can be united with god? augustine’s insights on de trinitate, such as the incomprehensibility and immanence of the trinitarian god, humanity as imago dei the roles of christ and holy spirit in the reformation of the image of god will go a long way in helping us in our search for god the trinity. 175 trin., xiv, 20: cc la, p. 448. 176 ijr. crouse, "in multa defluximus: confessions x, 29-43, and st. augustine's theory of pt'rsona}ity," p. 182. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 146 the practice of godfatherism and the challenges of democratic governance in nigeria: a call for socio-political liberty kpodee, neemene thankgod, phd email: kpodeethankgod@gamil.com; talkkpodee@yahoo.com tel: +2348034748056; +2348127778806 & agbo, ifeoma lynda, phd department of jurisprudence and international law, faculty of law university of port harcourt, rivers state email: agbo@uniport.edu.ng tel: +2348038883725 & victory deimodei alamene email: victorydeimo@gmail.com a doctoral student department of philosophy, faculty of humanities university of port harcourt, port harcourt, rivers state doi:10.13140/rg.2.2.25338.81600 abstract in nigeria, the phenomenon of the practice of godfatherism has been a central characteristic nature of democratic governance over the recent years. the significance of this reality as a socio-political problematique has been most amply occasioned by its manifestation in the present democratic system in the country. the extent of conflicts and crises, which has been associated with this phenomenon since nigeria’s returned to democracy in 1999 has generated and continued to call for critical reflections. going by the current wave of the evils of the politics of godfatherism and its attendance negative impact on the quest for a true democratic dividends, the study therefore explores the problem of godfatherism in post-contemporary nigerian politics with a view to relate how such practice has hampered and continued to militate against democratic governance and the desired for effective leadership drive by the godsons towards delivering people’s oriented projects. the exploratory nature of the study necessitated the adoption of library and textual methods of enquiry, which is largely analytical in nature. the study through its philosophical lens discovered that the practice of godfatherism in nigerian politics has negatively affected the thrust for good governance. hence, as a panacea, the study recommends that those saddled with leadership responsibility should be allowed by their godfathers to freely deliver their mandate to the people, rather than continually determining the fate of nigerians on the altar of their personal aggrandizement. keywords: democracy, godfatherism, good governance, nigeria, liberty, politics mailto:kpodeethankgod@gamil.com mailto:agbo@uniport.edu.ng mailto:victorydeimo@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 147 introduction the growing currency of ‘godfatherism’ in nigerian politics calls for critical reflections. thus, the ills associated with the practice of godfatherism in nigerian politic, particularly within the confined of its democratic tenet has necessitated more scholarly explorations. thus, political thinkers and analysts have looked at the concept from varying points of view. however, it is observed that in spite of these scholarly contributions, it is sad that in this post-contemporary period, the practice of godfatherism and its evils continued to negatively affect the quest for good governance in nigeria. from a general socio-political point of view, ukhun states the nature and feature of the hallmark of godfatherism in the following words: the feature of godfatherism is about relationship which exists between two or more unequal entities. in this relationship, one occupies a position of power or infleucne.one of the entities plays the piper and dictates the tune more or less on constant basis, while the other dances. admittedly, power is the determinant or fundamental feature of godfatherism… this power could be economic, political, spiritual voodoo etc (2004:82). in the light of the above, william presents the concept of godfatherism in politics as a relationship between superior and subordinate; whereby the former represented by the godfather has the upper hand because of his superior status. this assertion, clearly points to the argument that the entire edifice of godfatherism inn power is circumvents around the quest for power control. the view of ukhun shared a common solidarity of opinion with william’s thought when he confessed that; “…godfatherism can be generally seen as a practice which entails the sustenance of a kind of social and political relationship in which the subordinate looks onto the superior for the propagation and fulfillment of certain roles, desires and interests which bind both together or in which both have equal stake but with the superior determining what the subordinate gets in the process” (2004:167). it is imperative to state at this juncture that while scholars had consistently spoken against the dangers of the politics of godfatherism on governance, it is however sad to note and most worrisome that in this post-contemporary era, the phenomenon of godfatheism continued to play in in the body of nigerian politics. in lieu of the above background, the study is propelled with some fundamental socio-political curiosities. thus the present research asks the following question; what is the moral justification for the practice of godfatheism in our democratic arena? has the practice of godfatherism fare well in the nigerian political history? what is/are the effect(s) of godfatherism style of politics on the welfare and wellbeing of the state? next, should the godson continue to owe allegiance to the godfather while downplaying the primary duty to carry out policies that will tend toward the summon bonum of the people? these questions leave much to be desired. hence, the study aims to examine moral debate and justification of the practice of godfatherism within the nigerian context. it also explores historically the phenomenon of godfatherism in nigerian politics. in addition, the study intends to establish the socio-political implication of the practice of godfatherism on the current democratic practice in nigeria. lastly but most importantly, the study calls for political liberty in nigeria; where those igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 148 saddled and entrusted with leadership role should be recused and free from the bureaucratic bottleneck of the godfathers on the godsons. classification of concepts on the meaning of democracy it is not our thrust here to cajole our readers with all the existing meanings in the literature of the concept of democracy. this decision is akin to the fact that today, plethora of thinkers and scholars had offered scholarly discourses into the subject matter. in this sense, campbell (2008:4) noted that; “there exists not only one theory, concept or model of democracy, but clearly a of different theories, concepts and models.” partially these varying theories or concepts could be integrated by a meta-theory or meta-concept; at the same time, however, it also should be acknowledged that some of those theories and concepts of democracy clearly contradict each other. for bühlmann et al. (2008:5): “there is an abundant literature relating to democracy theory, with countless definitions of what democracy should be and what democracy is.” in sum of this, laza kekic (2007:1) tells us that: “there is no consensus on how to measure democracy, definitions of democracy are contested and there is an ongoing lively debate on the subject.” etymologically, the concept of democracy» is a term that comes from two greek words, namely demos (people) and kratein (to govern or to rule). textually speaking, democracy can be understood here as a form of government that allows for popular participations.. it could be direct or indirect form of democracy. different countries adopt any of these forms in practice. in nigeria of today, the indirect form of democracy is encouraged. we must also bear in mind that the concept of liberty, which is another important concept in this study, are synonymous. in most cases, they are used interchangeably. the same applies to the concept of freedom and liberty. democracy, no gainsaying, is indeed a set of ideas and principles about liberty or freedom, per se but it also consists of a set of practices and procedures that have been molded through a long, often tortuous history. in short, democracy is the institutionalization of political liberty. the concept of godfatherism according to igbini and okolie, (2020), “like most concepts in the litany of sociopolitical philosophy, the term godfatherism employed in the social sciences, for which a straightforward definition is problematic, does not lend itself to an easy definition.” therefore, in trying to understand the concept of godfatherism, adeoye (2011:5) opines “we must start by questioning the term. hence, a pertinent question to be asked in trying to understand the concept is who is a godfather? who is a godson? it is in answering this that we can easily graft the answer to the question, what is godfatherism?. ugwu and ugwuja, (2016) therefore clarified that; “the term godfather takes its root in christianity. in the christian tradition, at baptism which is a sacramental practice of the church, a godfather stands in as the child’s sponsor. he serves as a role model whose lifestyle is worthy of emulation” he performs the function of co-parenting with the parent of the child. he contributes primarily to the spiritual growth of the child, who is considered his spiritual son. he contributes to raising the child to become god-fearing, lawabiding and responsible in society. wenibowei, (2011) contends that; “the godfather usually shows love and kindness towards his godson and sometimes practically expresses his love with expensive gifts, moral suasion and so on”. it is in the same spirit of understanding and interpretation that edigin (2010:174) similarly to opines that a godfather is a human being who igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 149 plays god to his people. he provides their basic needs for them, protects them and assists them to secure and achieve their objectives. edigin (2010:175) particularly and specifically stresses that “his support could be seen as an investment, which he believes must yield some profits in the future”. the concept of liberty: its conceptual meaning it is imperative for us to state that the concept of liberty is considered a one of the core concepts and fundamental principles in democratic value in modern socio-political discourse. thus, it can be said that the notion of liberty emerged in the context of the formation of modern civil society and political authority. while the concept is intimately associated with liberal thought, liberals have looked at the notion in different ways. the term liberty is derived from the french wordliberta. it literally means freedom. as a philosophical concept within the purview of socio-political philosophy, liberty was developed by philosophers like hobbes, locke rousseau, mill and berlin. as mentioned in the penultimate brief remark above, liberty entails freedom from, or absence of restraints. a person may be considered free or at liberty to do something when his or her actions and choices are not hindered or constrained by those of another. it is important to understand that constraints refer to impediments imposed by political and other authorities. thus, imprisonment, bondage or slavery, subjection to the influence of godfathers are inimical to good governance and democratic spirit. within the context of this study therefore, we conceptualized liberty to imply the freedom of the political godsons to freely govern the country or in their respective states without the unholy coercion of the godfathers in their leadership responsibilities to the people. brief history of nigerian politics since its attainment of independence in 1960, nigerian political history over the years can be equated to a rat race. this is akin to the fact that in the civilian and military regimes alike, the control of state power has always been an object of intense, rectless and normless struggle. hence, the underdeveloped state of the nigerian socio-political affairs and its attendance entrepot character of the state have made politics in this context a unique and rather perplexing reality. from historical evidence, in nigeria, the quest for the control of state power has been and is presently being sought by all and sundry usually with cruel desperation, and with the least regards for both ethical (moral) and legal considerations. with such approach, here, it can simply be said therefore that it is the means that justifies the end and the end being acquisition and control of state power together with its resources by all means and at all costs. nigerian political history, no doubt has spanned through three if not four major era. these may include the precolonial era, the colonial era, and the post-colonial era. often, in political philosophy, we also attempt to classify or divide the eras of nigerian political development into the first republic, the second republic, the third republic and the present, which is the fourth republic. the politics of the first republic of nigeria to a large extent demonstrated the above attributes. the cruel, normless, unethical and desperate struggle for state power among politicians in this era plunged the country into a state of political anomie and chaos in the early 1960s. remarkably, it was this situation that ultimately resulted in the collapse of the first republic in 1966. this was followed by the advent of military rule which further exacerbated this situation. in practical term, the military rule also brought alongside more of anomies into the nigerian political arena. in these years of nigerian political experiences (both in the civilian and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 150 military), there is no gainsaying that governance in the country is has been tactically institutionalized with abuses and misrules. this has been amply exemplified in kleptocracy, corruption, and patronage syndrome and political of cabals. origin and history of godfatherism the thrust here is to lay the foundation and background leading to the practice of godfatherism in the nigerian politics. to undertake this primary task, suffice to say that within the broader scope and perspective, most scholars and analysts contend that the notion of godfatherism originated from the christian tradition. according to anakwenze (2004:1); “the concept of ‘godfatherism’ has its origin in christianity. godparents are chosen as surrogates to help biological (or adopted) parents raise a christian child to become a god-fearing, law-abiding adult.” similarly, odivwri et al (2003:1) have offered something more comprehensive. for them, the concept of godfatherism has its roots in the traditional practices of the orthodox christian churches. in this context, it represents a practice whereby a new christian convert is nurtured in the faith after baptism. the essence and the significance of the practice, in the views of odivwri et al, are explicitly captured down in the following passages: but because the expected new life (of the convert) is likely to conflict with the society and his/her old ways of life, a guarantor is usually needed. such a guarantor will undertake to keep a watchful eye on the newly initiated to ensure that he/she does not donate (sic) from the treasured way of the lord. the guarantor is called the godfather; one, who oversees, supervises and guides the actions of the convert. but he does not take over the running of the convert’s life. sometimes, he answers for the fallibilities of the convert (2004:1). the words ‘donate’ (sic) as used by these ebullient scholars was meant to say deviate. so the godfathers were primarily and principally introduced to help and guide the new converts through their faith in order that they do not deviate from the teaching and practice of the church faith. the above citation generally therefore underscores the original practice of godfatherism within the christian religion. it stresses the idea of christian guardianship and sponsorship, whereby an elderly christian assumes responsibility of catering for the moral and spiritual welfare of a younger (newly baptized) convert. in the same vein, the position of coker is not in any way different from the above opinion. in the words of coker (2004:33); “the church as the custodian of morality, holds in high esteems the institution of god-fatheristy as an instrument of christian guardianship.” furthermore, the above position has been further expatiated in volume 5 of encyclopedia britannica. from the standpoint of christian god-parentship, the encyclopedia (vol. 5, 326) sees a godfather as “one who stands surety for another in the rite of christian baptism” encyclopedia (vol. 5:326) echoes further thus; “in the modern baptism…the godparent or godparents make profession of faith for the person being baptized (godchild) and assume an obligation to serve as proxies for the parents if the parents either are unable or neglect to provide for the religious training of the child, in fulfillment of baptismal promises”. hence, emphasizing the cradle of godfatherism as an instrument of christian sponsorship, the encyclopedia goes on igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 151 to aver that the practice “originated not in infant baptism but in the custom that required that an adult pagan who offered himself for the rite 9of baptism) should be accompanied by a christian known to the bishop; a christian who would vouch for the applicant and undertake his supervision in the faith” (vol. 5:326). a lot have been said regarding the origin of the practice of godfatherism within the purview of christian tradition. we cannot capture all the views of the different scholars in this regard. within the context of socio-political thought, one would ask; how does the idea of godfatherism emanated? in response to this, let us avail ourselves with the writings of ibrahim. in his wordings ibrahim (2003:2) readily recollects that the practice of “godfatherism in which kingpins of the criminal underworld played a major political role first featured in political science literature in relations to the us city of chicago in the pre-world war ii era.” establishing his point further, ibrahim continues; “the heads of criminal gangs sponsored politicians in elections, manipulated the results to get them elected and, in return received protection and contracts from their political godsons. this process is consecrated in american political science literature under the euphemism of ‘party machine’ politics”(2003:2). in a related view, williams traces the advent of political godfatherism to the rise and evolution of the mafia. williams shared solidarity of opinion with ibrahim as he puts it inter alia:\ in us political literature, godfatherism is often rendered as godfatherism meaning the leader of a gang or criminal group (sic) whose high stake and interest in politics includes the advancement of personal interests through the adoption of cruel means including the sponsorship of subordinates or surrogates to position which are subject to the manipulation of the godfather (2004:166) godfatherism and democratic governance in nigeria the thrust of this section is confined on the practice of godfatherism within the nigerian fourth republic. that is, we selectively looked and unraveled the issues bothering on the politics of godfatherism since the time nigeria returned to democracy in 1999 through the present 2023/2024 political currents. on this note, focusing his lens, oghuvbu (2023:59) writes; “since the country's democratic transition in 1999, nigeria's democracy has remained incredibly dysfunctional, with politics becoming increasingly partisan and patronage becoming necessary to retain power. democracy, as a moral and legitimate means of governing a nation, has spread to many parts of the globe but it’s yet to take root, in nigeria.” in their solidarity of opinion, igbini, and okolie (2020:93) held thus; “multiple political parties, frequent and competitive elections, which would otherwise be called irreducible minimum requirements for democratic rule, have not resulted in a corresponding flourishing of fundamental liberal ideals that are vital to democracy's survival.” these ebullient scholars (2020:93) further adumbrated that “the politics of godfatherism, which denies peaceful coexistence, law and order, and all the tenets of democratic process by obstructing candidate selection and even executive selection once government is established, has resulted in a transmutation of authoritarianism rather than democratic consolidation in nigeria”. accordingly, the development of the contemporary practice of political godfatherism in nigeria started within the context of the military rule. it is to be mentioned in this study that the first to attain the status of political godfather in nigeria, particularly in the case of anambra state is prince arthur eze. commenting about him, uka (2005:3) had this to say; “prince arthur eze, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 152 a multi-millionnaire businessman, undoubtedly assumed the role of sole and ultimate political godfather in anambra state between the end of the failed (aborted) third republic and the coming of the civilian in 1999”. this fact was illustrated by the near monopoly over government contracts and patronage, which prince arthur eze enjoyed under successive military administrations in the state during the period under review. particularly, the 1998/99 electioneering saw the rise of new-breed power brokers in the state. amidst the grand politicking and maneuver that attended this electioneering, dr. chinwoke mbadnuju emerged as the state governor, alongside a political godfather, sir emeka offor. in nigeria of today, the reason for the politics of godfatherism is not far-fetched. some of these reasons are contained in the words of ahmed and ali (2019:14) as they submitted thus; “power of incumbency, influence, political thugs, money politics, lack of political knowledge, selfishness, greediness, lack of publicity, over-ambition, nepotism, and politics of regionalism are among the factors that led to the politics of godfatherism in nigeria.” according to rasak, oye and ake (2017: 79) it was revealed that a onetime governor chimaroke nnamani, affirms that godfather is “an impervious guardian figure who provided the lifeline and direction to the godson, perceived to live a life of total submission, subservience, and protection of the oracular personality located in the large, material frame of opulence, affluence, and decisiveness, that is, if not ruthless...strictly.’’ it beholds to say therefore that since the political godfathers who will enormous power and influence use their resources to put their godsons and relatives in various positions of power, it is understood that corruptive tendencies exacerbate the godfathers' economic base by causing a wide variety of difficulties in governance. such government would rather deviate from the moral responsibility and constitutional oath of office taken to uphold always the democratic tempo for the good of the people. in most occasions, these political stood and godsons tried to at all cost to massage the ego of their godfathers. reaffirming our earlier position, while decrying against the politics of godfatherism in nigeria, oghuvbu (2023: 59) buttresses that; “godfatherism is not a recent phenomenon in the political history of nigeria, however, after returning to democratic rule, the country has seen a rise in godfatherism politics, which continues to erode government credibility and render citizens' electoral worth void. also, godfatherism according to nkwede, ibeogu and nwankwo (2014:139) is the “political merchant while the political godson is the slave who is bought with a huge amount of money under a democratic oath.” there is no gainsaying that “godfatherism is amongst the most dangerous challenges to democracy today, and it persists only with the help of the government, resulting in unresponsive leadership.” hence, in their averment, ohiole and ojo (2016:3); “in nigeria, democracy is not yet completely developed, and the phenomenon of godfatherism has jeopardized the political process as well as citizens' livelihood.” this paper is therefore, aimed at filling this void in literature.” in addition, it was against this evil that kpodee neemene thankgod (2022:60) in his article maintained that: the nigerian politicians have also been known for severally and grandiloquently opaque language to give the impression that they have something good to tell the populace, whereas in actual sense, their intentions are far from what they professed; they rather meant something quite different to. for instance, within the nigerian parlance, words and phrases like national interest, one nigeria, freedom, resources control, 13% derivation, federalism, and other igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 153 forms of political grammars are mere barriers employed by the nigerian political class in their intention to continue to dominate the masses and rob them of their rights. the point to note in kpodee’s assertion above is that, within the nigerian politics, dishonesty, deception, and all forms of unhealthy as well as unethical behavours are the order of the day. godfatherism as a political parlance and phenomenon has continued to cause more harm on nigerian quest for demo0cratic liberty. thus, they political boys or godsons are mere tools used by them to amass what was supposed to be the common wealth for their selfish interest. this attitude is not telling well on our democracy, as a people. the socio-political implication of the politics of godfatherism in nigeria in the penultimate section discussed above, we generally looked at the interplay between the politics of godfatherism and its parallel relationship with democratic governance in nigeria. this section, as the sub-titled suggests, delves into a critical reflection on the implication of the politics of godfatherism on the post-contemporary nigerian socio-political situation. obviously, godfatherism in post-contemporary nigerian politics takes away the voice of the people. accordingly, ugwu, izueke and obasi (2013: 139), espoused that; “the politics of godfatherism has made growth inaccessible to the majority of the population. as a result, godfatherism politics is one of the main forces orchestrating nigeria's fourth republic's socioeconomic and political crises. godfatherism politics has had a devastating impact on state democracy and political progress in nigeria today.” it is unethical to note that in the present day nigeria, the masses whose interest democracy and democratic governance supposed to protect are not allowed or given adequate representations in the decision making process of issues that affect them. this, no doubt, has eroded the gains and tents of democracy. the evidences are glaring as the people’s power to decide the affairs of their state is wrestled off their hands and concentrated in the hands of a minority (godfathers): a group of self-seeking individuals poised on using the government for the achievement of their personal goal and aggrandizement. the politics of godfatherism has adversely opposed the quest for political liberty within the nigerian current situation. it has brought governance to its kneel. every political decision to be taken are said to be approved by the godfathers in such scenario, there can be no true democracy, and there can be no political liberty. as a result, it promotes graft, breeds severe unemployment, electoral malpractices, abject poverty, and political uncertainty, endangering the democratic process as well as citizens' socioeconomic lives. in his words, oghuvbu (2023:69): one of the most alarming and destructive effects of godfatherism in nigeria's fourth republic was to make a mockery of a genuinely democratic and transparent political mechanism in which electorates are supposed to openly nominate candidates of their choosing to represent their interests in public office. our political leaders and their mentors (godfathers) exploit the constitutive and regulative instrument for a credible democratic struggle in order to accomplish their aims. credible elections are important to stem the tide for democratic decay and rebirth in the nation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 154 this is because, according to proponents of liberal democracy, once elections are conducted correctly, democracy will bring consolidation and as a result of this, the country will experience long-term peace and security. credible elections, in essence, result in security, political stability, and socioeconomic development. on the contrary, these requirements are lacking, hence, the nigerian nation has no political liberty, in as much as those occupying political position today are mere handmaid in the hands of their political godfathers. describing this sad scenario in the light of the nigerian situation, ejiroghene augustine oghuvbu (2023:67) decries that: the resurgence of godfatherism in nigeria posed a serious obstacle to political dividends, socioeconomic growth, good governance and stability. one of the most alarming and destructive effects of godfatherism in nigeria politics is the campaigning for a genuinely democratic and transparent political mechanism in which voters are expected to openly nominate someone who will rule them and serve their interests. considering the circumstances in which godfathers imposed candidates of their choosing on the general populace, the right of appointing citizens of their choice to rule them is denied. this is, to say the least, diametrically opposed to political principles. when those holding public offices are not accountable to voters, who in any case did not vote in their election to public office, the allegiance of such public office is inevitably designated to their godfathers, negating one of the most important characteristics of governance and democracy, which is responsible and open government osakede and ijimakinwa, (2016:6) therefore argued out that; “this situation is therefore harmful to good government and political order, which are based on the rule of law, due process, responsibility, and openness of public matters.” as understood, the politics of ‘godfatherism’ is an ideological footing based on the idea that a few people with significant wealth who have the power to arbitrarily decide who gets a party ticket and also determines who wins or loses an election. it is a characteristic nature of all godfathers to rule by proxy. as a result, they use violence openly and indiscriminately against those who stand in their way, including their godsons. borrowing a leaf from kpodee neemene thankgod, (2019:58) “…ideology and leadership factors remain impediment to the practice of democracy in nigeria.” in his two concepts of liberty, isaiah berlin (1958:1) asks; “what is the area within which the subject-a person or group of persons-is or should be left to do or be what he is able to do or be, without interference by other persons.” here, berlin tried to set a limit to which godfathers should interfere in their godsons’ democratic process of governance. today, a typical of this syndrome cum scenario is the case of the former governor of rivers stateezenwo nyesom wike (the godfather) and the incumbent governor sir. amaopusenibo siminalayi joseph fubara (godson). we are witnesses to the political crisis rocking the state as the godson tries to ‘pull his head’ from the overbearing control of the godfather. siminalayi fubara, being the governor now wants political liberty from his godfather to enable him deliver the dividends of democracy to the people of the state but the godfather is bends on reminding him to keep to terms of contractual agreement. hence, the slogan “iyende bea, iyende bea” which literally means, ‘balancing and honouring the agreement.’ this igbo derived coinage and term is now gradually gaining igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 155 popularity and now becoming a household grammar in the nigeria political lexicons. nigerian politicians are now popularizing the term and trying to to adopt it our political dictions (grammar), today. and that the governor must keep to their original agreement. the character of wike as godfather to the governor whom he anointed and handed over power to is that of a fear merchant and power broker. this attribute is typically common to all political godfather in nigeria. describing the relationship between the godson and the godfather, olawale (2005:80), notes that “in certain cases, the relationship between political godfathers and their adopted sons is transactional.” as nigerians say, it's a case of “you rub my back, and i rub your back.” just like every business man/woman, godfathers invest in their godsons and expect returns after winning election. this is most times accomplished by lucrative political positions, contracts, land grants, political control and power sharing with incumbents, and, if the allegations against some of them are to be taken seriously, unjustified requests for monetary backing.” osayi (2015:6) narrated that; ‘on a regular basis, people throng in and out of their homes, running errands or requesting one favour or another”. it is also in this same spirit of obedience to the practice of godfatherism; where wike is being worshipped as a demi-god and served that led to not fewer than 26 members of the rivers state house of assembly to announced foolishly their departure from the political party, the peoples’ democratic party (pdp) that sponsored their elections, sworn on affidavit before the court but later denied their defections. this litigation is still a matter subject before the nigerian court, hence, scholars are advised not to preempt into such subject matter. we has similar experiences in the case of former governor of lagos who is now the president of the federal republic of nigerianasiwaju bola ahmed tinubu and one of his political godsonsformer governor akinwunmi ambode. it was alleged that as the then governor tried to deviate from taking orders from his benefactor, he was stopped and rigged out in his second bid to secure ticked as governor of the sate. the last to be consider here is the rift between the godfather-the continuous undue influence and interference of godfathers on godsons in governance in nigeria, has not helped the country’s dream for a better and improved democracy. it is sad that even when mill had earlier warned against such practice. mill writes; “there is a limit to the legitimate interference of collective opinion with individual independence: and to find that limit, and maintain it against encroachment, is as indispensable, to a good condition of human affairs, as protection against political despotism” (1992:8). in other words, there should be limit to the extent to which the godfathers interferes in the governance of their godsons. godsons, should be accorded political liberty and democratic license to govern their people. this scenario continues, as the case of adam oshiomole of edo state and his successor mr. godwin nogheghase obaseki is another example of godfather-godson fallout crisis in nigerian politics. it was revealed by mr. obaseki that he could no longer continue to take directives from his godfather, hence peace broke out between them, and that led to his defection and majority of his cabinet from the all progressives congress (apc) to the peoples’ democratic party (pdp). to wrap up this development, we are constantly told and have seen in the character of former president olusegun obasanjo towards all the succeeding presidents after him. he was able to use the same influenced to installed former president umaru musa yar’ dua. he tried exercising same drive of godfathers attitude on his successor if not for death that unfortunately took the man in less than two years in office. same was extended to former igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 156 president goodluck ebele jonathan and the relationship went sour as both godson and godfather went separate ways. this caused the loss of jonathan’s re-election bid to former president muhammadu buhari in 2015. with these, there is no gainsaying that the politics of godfatherism continued to permeates in nigerian politics, and this has adversely stalled democratic process in the country. conclusion as critically unraveled, it is drawn that the politics of godfatherism remains an impediment to nigeria's nascent democracy. political liberty is far-fetched in nigeria, in as much as the so called ‘godfathers’ continuous exercising enormous but unholy influences over their ‘political stooges’ who were anointed and handpicked by them; imposed on party’s members, against the popular candidate, as well as their forceful imposition on nigerians at the general poll through electoral malpractice, democratic dividends and political liberty of these godsons remains elusive and impracticable. all of these ill-fated experiences, no doubt, deny our collective quest and call for political liberty. therefore, as kpodee (2024:29) earlier captured; “to grow and improve as a people, democratically, nigerians are expected to engage in actions that are considered morally right and refrain from actions that are considered morally wrong. today, within the nigerian democratic experience, it is sad and a serious abysmal that morality is lacking.” it can be said therefore that godfathers –godsons approach to democratic governance in nigeria does not allowed for political liberty; where neither the godsons could competently delivers on his campaign promises nor granted them political liberty; wherein, they can freely provide the dividends of democracy to the people. hence, to come out of this political chain, or better still, the present democratic elusion, those saddled with leadership responsibilities; whether they came in through the back door (godfatherism) or popular choice of the people (free and fair election), must be granted full political liberty. they must be allowed by their godfathers to demonstrate their authenticity and originality, rather than being seen as inauthentic beings that can do nothing without the directive of their godfathers. works cited adeoye o.a (2011).”godfatherism and the future of nigerian democracy”. african journal of political science issn 3461-2165 vol. 5 (3), pp. 001-0015. ahmed, fatima and mustapha alhaji ali (2019). “politics of godfatherism and its implication on socio-economic and political development of nigeria.” in: american international journal of social science research, vol 4, no. 1, 9-19, anekwenze, n. (2004). “godfatherism.” a paper presented on behalf of enyimba n.a. at convention of anambra state association, usa, on october 31st. berlin, isaiah. two concepts of liberty. oxford: oxford university press 1958. bühlmann, marc, wolfgang merkel and bernhard wessels (2008). the quality of democracy. democracy barometer for established democracies. national center of competence in research: challenges to democracy in the 21st century: unpublished paper. campbell, f.j. david (2008). the basic concept for the democracy ranking of the quality of democracy. klagenfurt: university of klagenfurt press. coker, k.o. (2004). “christianity and godfatherism: lessons for nigerian politicians.” in: essence interdisciplinary – intellectual journal of philosophy, vol. 1, no. 1. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 157 edigin, l. u(2010).”political conflicts and godfatherism in nigeria: a focus on the fourth republic”. an international multidisciplinary journal, ethiopia vol. 4 (4), serial no. 17, october 2010(pp. 174-186 ejiroghene augustine oghuvbu (2023).“ godfatherism and its effects on nigeria’s democracy.” in: global journal of political science and administration, vol.11, no.2, pp.58-71. ibrahim, j. (2003). “the rise of nigerian godfathers.” in: bbc focus on africa magazine, nov. 10th, 2003. retrieved from: http//news.bbc.co.uk. igbini d.m and okolie u.c (2020) “godfatherism and its threat to the nigeria’s nascent democracy”. in: journal of public administration, finance and law, vol. 8, no.3, pp.20-42. kekic, laza (2007). the economist intelligence unit’s index of democracy. the world in 2007. london: the economist. kpodee, neemene thankgod (2019). “the problem of leadership cum ideology: the route to nigerian democratic woe.” in: philectics benin journal of philosophy, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 47-60. _____________________ (2022). “ a critical evaluation of violations of political language and its effects on nigerian socio-political and economic developments.” in: sapientia journal of philsophy, vol. 15, pp. 56-68. _____________________ (2024). “democracy, development, and the questions of moral crisis in nigeria: a critical reflection.” in: madonna university thought and action journal of philosophy vol. 2 no. 1, pp.26-34 mill, j.s. on liberty. london: david campbell;s publishers, 1992. odivwri, et al (2003). “the governors, their godfathers.” retrieved from: http;//odili.net. retrieved on the 12th may, 2024. olawale, i.a. (2005). explaining ‘godfatherism’ in nigeria politics. african sociological review. 9(2), 79-105. ohiole, k. and ojo. s (2016).political godfatherism and democratic consolidation in nigeria. empirical evidence from oyo state and kwara state. arabian journal of business and management review, 5 (8), 1-12. osayi, f.o. (2015). “regressive democracy: the monstrous role of godfatherism in nigeria”. in: international journal of politics and good governance. 6, 1-25. osakede, k.o., & ijimakinwa, s.o. (2016). political godfatherism and democratic consolidation in nigeria: empirical evidence from oyo state and kwara state. arabian journal of business and management review. 5, 1-12. rasak, b., oye, a.j., & ake, m. (2017). godfatherism and political patronage in nigeria: a theoretical overview.” in: political science review. vol. 8, no.1, 77-101. ugwu, c.e., izueke, e. & obasi, c.j. (2013). godfatherism in nigeria’s politics: a study of obasanjo’s civilian administration (199-2007). international journal of research in arts and social science. 5, 130-147. ukhum, c.e. (2004). “godfatherism: the scourge of democracy in nigeria.” in: essence interdisciplinary – intellectual journal of philosophy, vol. 1, no. 1. wenibowei m.c(2011). “political godfatherism, violence and sustainable democracy in nigeria”. in: international journal of advanced legal studies and governance, vol.2, no.1. 86 the economic cost of gulf of guinea piracy vincent okwudiba anyika, emmanuel ezi obuah & charles asuk department of history and diplomatic studies, university of port harcourt doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.33952.39688 abstract the gulf of guinea piracy apart from its threat to maritime security also has serious economic cost implications for states in the area. states have lost huge revenue due to distortions in the usual pattern of trade, and sabotage of oil facilities by petro-pirates and also incurred other direct and indirect cost as result of maritime piracy. this paper analysis the direct and indirect cost of piracy in the gulf of guinea with a view to explaining in quantitative terms the economic cost if piracy to states in the gulf of guinea area. the study is a qualitative study which involved the use of primary and secondary sources of data. quantitative data used in the study were extracted from the report of some organizations and institutions that are concerned with maritime piracy and other crimes such as the ocean beyond piracy, international maritime bureau, unodc, unsc, imo etc. the study from its findings summit that maritime piracy in the gulf of guinea come at a great economic cost to the states in the gulf of guinea. the study recommends for grater regional counterpiracy collaborations so as to reverse the economic cost that piracy has foisted in states in the gulf of guinea area. keywords: maritime piracy, economic cost, direct cost, macroeconomic cost introduction maritime piracy in the gulf of guinea has significantly impacted the economies of the gulf of guinea region's governments, particularly those in west africa. the gulf of guinea is the passageway for over 85% of west african import and export trade. states in the west african region have experienced financial downturn due to the activities of pirates in the gulf of guinea. according to ocean beyond piracy (2018), maritime piracy in the gulf of guinea cost us$820.3 million in 2018 alone. the gulf of guinea maritime zone was named the world's most dangerous shipping route in 2020 due to the increased activity of pirates there. states in the gulf of guinea area heavily depends on the oil trade, and persistent attacks on oil tankers by petro-pirates have had a detrimental effect on the states' revenue streams. the security risks brought on by maritime piracy seriously impede the sub-region's ability to thrive economically. equatorial guinea, gabon, ghana, nigeria, angola, and equatorial guinea are among the countries bordering the gulf of guinea that profit greatly from the export of oil and other goods that travel through the region. because the gulf of guinea is a vital route for ships and oil tankers, pirate activity has recently had an impact on the economies of these oil-dependent states. the gulf of guinea maritime corridor is used to transport oil produced in west and central africa to global markets. additionally, the gulf of guinea is the main entry point for imports into west and central africa. one of the main attractions for pirates operating in the gulf of guinea is the volume of maritime trade in the region. however, because of piracy, the port revenues of the states in the maritime zone have drastically dropped. pirates operating in the gulf of guinea also pilfer minerals and other export goods such as cocoa. they also kidnap sailors for ransom and take over ships in the manner of far eastern pirates. piracy in the gulf of guinea have cost states in area significant loses. for instance, the activities of pirates cost nigeria 7% of its oil wealth in 2011 (nelson, 2012). benin is among the worstaffected countries in the maritime zone. in 2012, benin's revenue plummeted by 70% because igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 87 the country's economy depended on taxes imposed on ships entering cotonou ports (nelson & ware, 2012). due to pirate activities off its coast, benin lost $81 million in port earnings in 2012 (unodc, 2012). additionally, it was said that in the three years between 2009 and 2011, west africa lost us$2.3 billion due to maritime crime (unodc, 2012). according to a different report, between 2015 and 2017, the gulf of guinea saw a rise in maritime crime, resulting in annual losses of almost us$777.1 million (imb, 2020). due to piracy, shipping companies have to pay more for insurance, which drives up the cost of shipping via the gulf of guinea and the price of imported goods, which drives up living expenses. the capacity of the gulf of guinea states to reliably provide oil to the global markets is diminished as long as pirate attacks on oil ships persist. north america, europe, and asia account for three million barrels of the region's oil production supply markets (gilmer, 2014). pirate activity has made it more difficult for states to maintain their oil production outputs at optimal level. the ongoing theft and hijacking of oil shipments have made it more difficult for oil to reach global markets, which is detrimental to the economy of the sub-region that relies heavily on oil. this study looks at the economic cost of piracy in the gulf of guinea between 2010 and 2020. it assesses the expenses incurred directly and indirectly—in the form of theft of commodities and ransom payments—as a result of the piracy in the gulf of guinea. it also looks at the direct expenses of the states in the gulf of guinea area on in navies, non-navy counter-piracy programs, legal training and trials related to piracy, acquisition of vessels, and donations to pertinent regional maritime security organizations as part of regional counter-piracy initiatives. twelve gulf of guinea countries—angola, benin, cameroon, congo, nigeria, cote d'ivoire, democratic republic of the congo, equatorial guinea, gabon, ghana, togo, and sao tome and principe—are included in the study region. direct economic cost of gulf of guinea piracy shipping businesses and states bear some direct costs as a result of gulf of guinea piracy. ransom money, pirate insurance premiums, deterrent equipment, navy deployment in piracy hot zones, piracy prosecution, and regional budgets earmarked for counterpiracy operations are a few of the direct expenditures associated with piracy. i. the cost of ransom the rising cost of ransom paid to free kidnapped crews or hijacked ships has been one of the most notable rises in the cost of piracy in recent years. pirates from the gulf of guinea usually demand ransom payments. in addition to stealing goods and selling them in black markets, pirates operating in the gulf of guinea also kidnap crew members and release them after demanding a ransom. a total of us$400,000 is thought to have been paid in ransom to pirate gangs in west africa for their ship hijackings in the gulf of guinea in 2015 (bbc, may 3, 2016). a total of us$800 million was given to pirates in 2017 in exchange for the release of hostages (ocean beyond piracy, 2018). petroleum product-carrying vessels were usually the target of a significant portion of reported pirate attacks. in december 2019, nigerian pirates abducted the nave constellation supertanker, which was sailing under the marshall islands flag. to free it, a ransom of us$11.2 million was paid (praesidium, dec. 23, 2019). table 1: cost of gulf of guinea ransom, 2010-2020 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 88 source: adapted from obp reports, 2010-2020 ransoms were paid directly for local hostages and products and oil valued at us$1–20 million a year that were taken at sea. the average ransom for a non-african captive in 2019 was us$15,000; however, by 2020, the amount demanded had increased significantly (obp, 2020). however, ransom for west african oil workers, fishers, and seafarers, have stayed consistent at us$3000–us$4000, or even as low as us$1000–us$2000 per individual (obp, 2021). cost of insurance the maritime insurance business has increased shipping rates and premiums in response to the growing threat and expense on ransom, particularly in areas designated as high-risk pirate zones. there are three primary categories of shipping insurance: cargo, hull, and abduction and ransom. insurance for kidnapping and ransom (k&r): k&r insurance often protects the crew from ransom demands, but not the ship or its contents. on the other hand, crew and property coverage have lately been added to several marine insurance policies. munich re, a major insurance company, predicts that between 2015 and 2019, k&r premiums jumped tenfold. y e a r a v e r a g e c o s t o f r a n s o m (u s $ ) t o ta l n u mb e r o f s u c c e s s fu l k id n a p p in g t o ta l c o s t o f r a n s o m (u s $ ) 2 0 1 0 9 0 0 0 7 6 3 ,0 0 0 2 0 1 1 9 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 2 1 1 0 0 0 2 6 2 8 6 ,0 0 0 2 0 1 3 1 3 0 0 0 3 6 4 6 8 ,0 0 0 2 0 1 4 1 5 0 0 0 6 9 0 ,0 0 0 2 0 1 5 1 8 5 0 0 1 9 3 5 1 ,5 0 0 2 0 1 6 2 0 0 0 0 3 4 6 8 0 ,0 0 0 2 0 1 7 2 5 0 0 0 6 5 1 ,6 2 5 ,0 0 0 2 0 1 8 3 5 0 0 0 7 8 2 ,7 3 0 ,0 0 0 20 1 9 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 4 4 ,5 6 0 ,0 0 0 2 0 2 0 4 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 5 ,2 0 0 ,0 0 0 t o ta l: 1 6 ,0 5 3 ,5 0 0 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 89 cargo insurance: this type of insurance protects cargo that is shipped by sea. it is estimated that in the last few years, the excess premium on goods passing through pirate hotspots has soared to between us$25 and us$100 per container. hull insurance: this type of insurance protects against physical damage to a ship caused by fire, piracy, sinking, capsizing, collisions, severe waves, and grounding. hulk insurance costs are predicted to have risen as a result of piracy between 2014 and 2020 (imb, 2021). from 2014 to 2020, the price of hull insurance doubled (imb, 2021). to determine the cost piracy-related insurance premiums, k&r are multiplied by 100% of the total number of ships that pass through the high-risk area of the gulf of guinea (about 15,000 ships). this provides us with an estimate of the overall cost of the k&r insurance if every ship had this insurance. we next calculate a lower bound estimate of 70% of ships acquiring insurance (oef cost of piracy model), assuming that not all ships paid insurance premiums. some studies attempting to quantify the financial effects of armed robbery and piracy in the gulf of guinea have shown that the maritime transportation industry bears extremely high expenses. shippers are required to pay these fees, which amount to hundreds of millions of dollars annually, at every stage of a normal port visit in the area. insurance companies impose higher premiums on operations in waters deemed hazardous, and numerous firms offer hazard compensation to mariners passing through such regions. ship owners frequently fortify their ships with anti-piracy measures, and some even employ security escorts or armed guards. upon arriving at a port, ships usually have to pay increased freight charges and extra security expenses. the impact of these commercial expenses associated with piracy on government revenue from transoceanic trade is significant. additionally, they lessen the competitiveness of gulf of guinea exports on the international market by indirectly increasing the cost of items imported into the region. in these ways, even when upfront direct costs (shipping insurance, security escorts, etc.) are mostly covered by foreign shipping corporations, the higher costs of security, counterpiracy operations, and insurance impose far-reaching indirect costs on african governments. table 2: cost of excess insurance premiums from transiting around the gulf of guinea y ea r k & r s u rch a rg e (u s $) t o ta l in su ra n ce cost (if a ll sh ip s p u rch ased ) (u s $) l o w er b o u n d e stim ate (1 0 % ) (u s $) u p p er b o u n d e stim ate (7 0 % ) (u s $ ) 2 0 1 0 2 0 ,0 0 0 3 0 0 ,0 0 0 ,000 3 0 ,0 0 0 ,0 00 2 1 0 ,0 0 0 ,000 2 0 1 1 2 0 ,0 0 0 3 0 0 ,0 0 0 ,000 3 0 ,0 0 0 ,0 00 2 1 0 ,0 0 0 ,000 2 0 1 2 2 5 ,0 0 0 3 7 5 ,0 0 0 ,000 3 7 ,5 0 0 ,0 00 2 6 2 ,5 0 0 ,000 2 0 1 3 2 5 ,0 0 0 3 7 5 0 0 0 0 00 3 7 ,5 0 0 ,0 00 2 6 2 ,5 0 0 ,000 2 0 1 4 2 6 ,0 0 0 3 9 0 ,0 0 0 ,000 3 9 ,0 0 0 ,0 00 2 7 3 ,0 0 0 ,000 2 0 1 5 2 7 ,0 0 0 4 0 5 ,0 0 0 ,000 4 0 ,5 0 0 ,0 00 2 8 3 ,5 0 0 ,000 2 0 1 6 2 8 ,0 0 0 4 2 0 ,0 0 0 ,000 4 2 ,0 0 0 ,0 00 2 9 4 ,0 0 0 ,000 2 0 1 7 3 0 ,0 0 0 4 5 0 ,0 0 0 ,000 4 5 ,0 0 0 ,0 00 3 1 5 ,0 0 0 ,000 2 0 1 8 3 5 ,0 0 0 5 2 5 ,0 0 0 ,000 5 2 ,5 0 0 ,0 00 3 6 7 ,5 0 0 ,000 2 0 1 9 3 5 ,0 0 0 5 2 5 ,0 0 0 ,000 5 2 ,5 0 0 ,0 00 3 6 7 ,5 0 0 ,000 2 0 2 0 3 7 ,0 0 0 5 5 5 ,0 0 0 ,000 5 5 ,5 0 0 ,0 00 3 8 8 ,5 0 0 ,000 4 6 2 ,000 ,0 0 0 3 ,2 3 4 ,0 0 0 ,00 0 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 90 source: adapted from obp annual reports 2010-2020 based on imo data, the computation above indicates that each year, roughly 15,000 vessels pass through the gulf of guinea. tankers, fishing boats, transport ships, and other commercial vessels are among them. this figure illustrates the gulf of guinea's significance as a significant shipping channel, a hub for trade, and a transit hub for energy. the growing number of piracy occurrences in the gulf of guinea has led to a boom in the insurance industry. the cost of insurance has increased steadily for ships that pass through the gulf of guinea. the cost of deterrent security equipment a growing number of pirate attacks in the gulf of guinea have prompted some ship owners to equip their vessels with security staff or deterrent technology to safeguard their crew and property from potential pirate attacks. it is difficult to find reliable information about the percentage of ships that buy deterrent equipment and the specific kind of equipment that deterrents buy. however, table 3 below lists the average cost of security personnel and deterrent equipment. since ship owners are more likely to be interested in acquiring deterrent equipment in the gulf of guinea, these rates reflect expenses for equipment utilized for transit near that region. according to the oep cost of piracy model, a ship would spend, on average, us$136,000 for every transit if they were all to install deterrent technology or employ security personnel. having known that about 15,000 ships pass through the gulf of guinea annually. the cost of deterrent equipment can be calculated. this can be done by estimating a lower bound (10% of ships) and an upper bound (70% of ships) for the overall cost of deterrence equipment to the maritime sector, just as we did for the cost of insurance premiums above. according to our calculations, the maritime industry must pay between us$360 million and us$2.5 billion annually for deterrence equipment. table 3: deterrence equipment and personnel cost e q u i p m e n t c o s t ( u s $ ) l i c e n s e d s e c u r i t y e q u i p m e n t 7 5 , 0 0 0 s o n i c d e t e r r e n c e e q u i p m e n t 1 , 3 0 0 b a r b e d / r a z o r w i r e 1 3 , 0 0 0 s a n d b a g s 1 , 4 0 0 e l e c t r i c f e n c e s 3 0 , 5 0 0 t o t a l p e r s h i p / p e r t r a n s i t 1 2 1 , 2 0 0 t o t a l s e c u r i t y c o s t i f a l l s h i p s p u r c h a s e d p e r y e a r 1 , 8 1 8 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 l o w e r b o u n d e s t i m a t e p e r y e a r ( 1 0 % ) 1 8 1 , 8 0 0 , 0 0 0 u p p e r b o u n d e s t i m a t e p e r y e a r ( 7 0 % ) 1 , 2 7 2 , 6 0 0 , 0 0 0 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 91 cost of naval forces currently, the main regional counterpiracy force active in the gulf of guinea is operation safe domain ii. naval contingents from nigeria, benin, togo, and the niger republic makeup the military formation. the participating nations in the naval patrol of the gulf of guinea zone which operate under the auspices of the g7++ friends of the gulf of guinea (g7++ gog) include the united kingdom, the united states, china, spain, japan, france, germany, and italy. the european union also takes part in anti-piracy activities in the gulf of guinea. at the moment, the gulf of guinea is patrolled by about 22 naval ships. the 2020 unodc report on maritime security states that the operating costs of a single us navy warship amount to approximately $84,794 per steaming day. we estimate that the cost of these military vessels is around us$1.4 billion annually, multiplied by the total number of 22 warships deployed and 365 days. when we factor in the operation safe domain ii administration budget and extra funding from other countries, we arrive at an approximate annual cost of us$3 billion for naval operations in the area. the cost of prosecuting pirates any state may prosecute a pirate offense under universal jurisdiction, even if there is no direct connection between the offense and the nationality of the crew, the ship owner, or the criminal. the international community has provided financial help to regional governments in order to urge them to hold piracy trials, as the gulf of guinea countries, the home base of pirates, have limited prosecutorial capabilities. nigeria and cameroon have passed anti-piracy laws recently, and some pirates have been charged with crimes and put in jail. in the many instances of piracy and armed robbery in ports and anchorages in the gulf of guinea since 2012, 141 pirates and robbers with weapons have been taken into custody. in 2021, the gulf of guinea recorded the highest number of pirate convictions in decades, with 26 pirates found guilty in three separate pirate trials. in 2019, togo found nine pirates guilty in the first trial of its sort for the g dona i hijacking. sections 3, 10, and 12 of the suppression of piracy and other maritime offenses act of 2019 (spomo) were used to sentence the first ten pirates found guilty in nigeria for the 2020 hijacking of the hai lu feng 11. the third occurrence was mostly overlooked in the area. for the 2016 maximus hijacking, seven pirates were found guilty in nigeria, albeit beyond the scope of the spomo act. nigeria and togo dominate the area in pirate prosecutions and trials, and both countries have established anti-piracy legislation. the unodc's statistics indicate that since 2019, countries in the gulf of guinea area has spent at least $350,000 on trainings pertaining to the legal aspects of piracy, with nigeria ($79,000), côte d'ivoire ($68,000), and ghana ($43,000) bearing the brunt of the costs. future years may see a rise in these costs if covid-19 limits loosen and more states pass anti-piracy laws. because there have been few trials so far, hardly much money has been spent on prosecutions. these expenses are probably going to rise in the upcoming years as more states pass legislation against piracy. the unodc global maritime crime programme in the atlantic ocean section also computed the overall expenses of recent pirate cases, estimating that each trial would cost roughly $50,000 after deducting other costs and the wages of government officials involved. when combined, the legal expenses related to counter-piracy operations are minimal in comparison to naval expenses; yet, they play a crucial role in resolving the issue. we project an average annual cost of $150,000 to $200,000 for the last three years. until there are genuine legal repercussions for offenders who are captured, pirates are unlikely to be discouraged. this makes these expenses quite significant, even though their total amount is minimal in comparison to other financial burdens on the gulf of guinea governments. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 92 table 4: prosecution of gulf of guinea pirates undertaken by different countries, 20132023 direct losses from stolen oil and goods even as late as 2015, oceans beyond piracy (obp) classified more than 80% of the occurrences in the gulf of guinea as robbery and hijacking for theft as opposed to kidnapping for ransom. when these were the main objectives of the attackers, the region suffered greatly from armed robbery and piracy, which resulted in the theft of precious gadgets, computers, phones, gasoline, motors, and oil from ships. however, the majority of public estimates of the direct costs of these types of theft have been overstated because they have been confused with other crimes. to gain a better understanding of the extent of oil theft in the niger delta area of nigeria, chatham house carried out a comprehensive study there in 2013. their thorough investigation yielded an estimated annual cost of $3 billion to $8 billion, and they made it clear that this crime occurs “onshore or in the swampy and shallow waters of the niger delta” (unodc, 2014). however, this number was soon included in an expanding collection of articles on petro-piracy, an ambiguous term that has encouraged the conglomeration of many crimes (unodc, 2014). this word is used by certain scholars and journalists to refer to oil theft in general, regardless of the location, while it is specifically used to refer to attacks at sea against oil tankers. because of this, the whole financial loss incurred by oil theft is sometimes included in the category of "maritime crime," which causes estimates of the direct costs of piracy and armed robbery at sea to be greatly exaggerated. expense of counter-piracy activities states in the gulf of guinea area bear the brunt of the direct costs associated with piracy. some states such as nigeria, benin, cameron and togo have collaborated and spearheaded counterpiracy efforts in the gulf of guinea and this comes with some financial cost. the total cost of navy expenditures, counterpiracy operations, vessel acquisitions, actions carried out in agencies other than navies, multilateral institutions, and legal reforms can be used to calculate these expenses. the best estimates from extensive government budgets, senior official interviews, news reports on public weapons sales, and international databases on defense spending are added up, and the total annual direct costs come out to about $524 million. expenditures by the business sector, foreign organizations, or navies operating outside the gulf of guinea are not included in this. over the past ten years, government spending on counterpiracy activities has grown rapidly, reaching $272 million in navy spending annually and possibly $250 million more in non-naval spending. since 2014, almost every country in the region has purchased vessels that are suitable for counter-piracy, such as patrol boats and coastal combatants, even though nigeria is investing the most. even though they are relatively tiny budget items, legal training sessions, simulated trials, and prosecutions are essential for discouraging criminal activity through the legal system. although the centers are currently underfunded, regional information-sharing centers set up as part of the yaoundé architecture for country trial suspects prosecution nigeria 26 26 cameroon 11 7 gabon 5 5 total 39 38 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 93 maritime security (yams) could increase the effectiveness of each country's counterpiracy efforts. nigeria is an exception to the general pattern of lagging investment in fleets, despite the fact that the country faces among of the worst insurgencies in the area in the north. no other gulf of guinea nation has added naval personnel at the same rate as nigeria (military balance, 2021). over the past ten years, nigeria's military troops have more than tripled. about 18% of nigeria's defense troops are currently from the country's coast guard and navy. this is the highest rate in the region and far higher than the percentage of navy personnel in nations such as côte d'ivoire (4%), togo (2%), and angola (1%). between 2012 and 2021, the overall number of military troops in the region increased by 17% to 485,000. the number of naval personnel almost doubled, from about 21,500 to 39,500, during that time. nigeria's influence in the gulf of guinea is growing because to the abrupt decline in angolan defense investment and the smaller forces in the region shifting their focus to onshore defense. slightly over one in three sailors in the region in 2012 were from nigeria. in 2021, the nigerian navy employed over two out of every three members of the regional navy. the fact that many nations do not break down spending by military service in publicly accessible open-source sources makes it difficult to estimate the amount spent particularly on naval services. on the other hand, we can use the ratio of defense personnel—navy to non-navy—to get an approximation of this. in nations that offer disaggregated defense budgets, the easy but imprecise approximation of naval spending can be obtained by multiplying the total defense budget by the proportion of defense personnel who are in the navy. for instance, the estimates produced by this method are within 3% of nigeria's publicly available naval budgets. using this strategy, we estimate that the twelve countries under study will spend $550 million on naval projects in total in 2021, with nigeria spending about $382 million (69%) of that total. using this to the full ten-year period, the twelve states have spent a total of approximately $4.5 billion on the naval since 2011. table 4: total naval spending estimates (us$ million) using navy personnel ratios source: military balance 2021 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 94 macroeconomic cost costs associated with piracy are typically concentrated on the immediate costs. when calculating the cost of piracy, secondary or indirect costs are frequently overlooked. among the indirect consequences of piracy include damages to local trade, inflation in food prices, and lost foreign money, to name a few. i. cost to regional trade the economies of states in the west african region as well as those throughout the world have been severely impacted by piracy. because of piracy, the gulf of guinea is no longer a safe haven for international trade. trade costs are impacted by piracy not only because specific ships are stopped while transporting products, but also because some maritime nations may decide not to cross the gulf of guinea. in addition, the entire commerce route is changed, insurance rates rise, cargo shippers utilize alternate ports to pick up and transport their goods, and so on, as the maritime region is perceived as being endangered by piracy. the gulf of guinea piracy has a significant negative economic impact on states like nigeria, benin, and cameroon. the costs incurred by consumers are passed on to them when piracy raises import costs. the price of imported goods could increase by 10% due to piracy (obp, 2021). fish supplies are reduced as a r e s u l t o f p i r a c y ' s i m p a c t o n t h e fi s h i n g i n d u s t r y . ii. food inflation costs bulk carriers and general cargo vessels have been the target of about 45% of piracy assaults in the (obp, 2021). most of the staple foods found in the west african region, like grains and rice, are transported by these vessels collectively. food prices are directly impacted by pirate attacks on these vessels since they cause food cargo deliveries to be delayed or, in certain situations, result in the loss of perishable supplies. the majority of the states in the gulf of guinea plagued by piracy are underdeveloped countries that rely largely on food imports. attacks by pirates may lead to an increase in food prices, which would have detrimental effects on the economy and on society. in many countries, a sharp increase in food prices may also spark riots, social instability, and possibly even hostilities. nigeria is currently seeing a significant increase in food prices, and the import tariffs on grains and rice have been waived by the federal government. therefore, a pirate attack on food cargoes could worsen the inflation of food prices and lead to societal unrest. iii. the cost of reduced foreign earnings reduced foreign earnings is one of the main costs incurred by piracy-affected states in the gulf of guinea. due to the instability and unpredictability of states impacted by piracy, foreign investors could search for other places to invest or spend their capital. for example, as a result of pirate activity in the niger delta region, some international companies working in nigeria's dangerous niger delta area moved their headquarters to other parts of the country, including lagos and abuja. in fact, a few of them departed the country. the decline in the tourism sector is another illustration of reduced foreign earning. for instance, there must have been fewer travelers to countries like gabon, angola, equatorial guinea, ghana, nigeria, cameroon, etc. as a result of piracy. the extent to which tourists choose air travel over sea travel or ship excursions is hard to gauge. because to piracy, cruise ships are avoiding the gulf of guinea, and from 2010 to 2022, fewer tourists visited the gulf of guinea on cruise ships—a 97% decrease in visitors. piracy has had a significant negative impact on the gulf of guinea countries' tourism industries, especially on businesses like boat rentals. tourists are less likely to visit the gulf of guinea seas because of the pirate infestation, which has had a negative impact on the economies of the states in the region. revenue from maritime tourism has decreased significantly in recent years. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 95 conclusion maritime piracy in the gulf of guinea has had severe consequences on the economies of states that line up the gulf of guinea. the economic costs associated with piracy in the gulf of guinea are categorized into two, direct cost and indirect or macroeconomic cost. some of the direct economic cost such as cost of ransom, which is put at over 16 million us dollar, from 2010 to 2020; and cost of insurance, which has soared over the last decade and depleted governments' revenues from transoceanic trade. the cost of excess premiums paid by shipping companies transiting the gulf of guinea from 2010 to 2020 is estimated to fall between 462 million to 3.2 billion us dollar. in a similar trend, the cost of installing deterrence equipment and employing security personnel in ships and vessels are also major costs that shipping companies bear as a result of piracy in the gulf of guinea. it is estimated that shipping companies, from 2010 to 2020 have spent between 181 million us dollar and 1.2 billion us dollar to install deterrence equipment and employ security personnel. states in the gulf of guinea area and international partners also bear the cost of deploying naval forces to secure the gulf of guinea. when suspected pirates are arrested, states spend their resources in prosecuting suspects. states in the gulf of guinea also suffer direct losses from stolen oil and goods by pirates. furthermore, some states in the region undertake in collaborative counter piracy operations which come at great economic cost. on the other hand, the indirect or macroeconomic cost of piracy such as threat to regional trade, high cost of import, high price of goods, food price inflation and reduced revenue from maritime tourism. it is from these plethora of economic costs that the paper surmises the gulf of guinea piracy constitute serious threats to the economy of states in the area. references bbc (2016, may 3). pirates paid '$400000' ransoms in west africa's gulf of guinea. bbc. h�ps://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36191477.amp bowden, a. (2010). the economic cost of maritime piracy. ocean beyond piracy. daxecker, u. e., prins, b. c. (2015). enforcing order: territorial reach and maritime piracy. conflict management and peace sciences, 33(4), 1-21. gilmer, b. (2014). political geographies of piracy: contraining threats and containing bodies. palgrave macmillan. imb (2020). commercial crime services. international maritime bureau. h�ps://www.icc-ccs.org/icc/imb imb (2021). 2021 annual piracy report. international maritime bureau. h�ps://www.icc-ccs.org/icc/imb nelson, e. s. (2012). maritime terrorism and piracy: existing and potential threat. global security studies, 3(1), 15-28. obp (2015). ocean beyond piracy annual report: the state of maritime piracy 2015 – assessing the economic and human cost. h�ps://imca-int.com/informa�onnotes/oceansbeyond-piracy-annual-report-the-state-of-maritime-piracy-2015 obp (2018). h�ps://imca-int.com/informa�on-notes/oceans-beyond-piracy-annual-report-thestate-of-maritime-piracy-2018 obp (2021). ocean beyond piracy annual report: the state of maritime piracy 2021 – assessing the economic and human cost. h�ps://imca-int.com/informa�onnotes/oceansbeyond-piracy-annual-report-the-state-of-maritime-piracy-2021 obp (2022). ocean beyond piracy annual report: the state of maritime piracy 2022 – assessing the economic and human cost. h�ps://imca-int.com/informa�onnotes/oceansbeyond-piracy-annual-report-the-state-of-maritime-piracy-2022 regan, j. (2022). varied incident rates of global maritime piracy: towards a model for state policy change. international criminal justice review, 32(4), 374-387. the military balance (2022). international institute of strategic studies, iiss. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 96 h�ps://www.iiss.org/publica�on/the-military-balance unodc (2012). maritime piracy in the gulf of guinea. united nations office on drug and crime. .h�ps://www.unodc.org/mari�me-piracy-in-the-gulf-of-guinea unodc (2021). piracy of the niger delta. united nations office on drug and crime. https://www.unodc.org unsc report (2012). report of the united nations assessment mission in the gulf on the gulf o f g u i n e a . u n i t e d n a t i o n s s e c u r i t y c o u n c i l r e p o r t . h�ps://www.securitycouncilreport.org. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 142 an evaluation of block’s critique of machine functionality onwe peter s., amadi collins c., and chukwueke-allen adaku philosophy unit, social science dept federal polytechnic nekede, owerri theopetros1979@gmail.com abstract block’s critique challenges functionalism’s notion that mental states are defined by functional roles, arguing that it neglects consciousness’ qualitative aspects (qualia). this raises doubts about machines’ capacity for genuine consciousness and understanding, despite mimicking human cognitive functions. this paper examines ned block’s argument that machines lack genuine intentionality and consciousness, despite functional equivalence to human cognition. in addressing this, the use of descriptive and analytical research methodology is employed through collecting of data from primary and secondary sources. through a critical analysis of block’s arguments, this study accessed the implications for artificial intelligence, cognitive science, and the philosophy of mind. we consider counterarguments from computationalists and functionalists, and explore the boundaries between machine functionality and genuine consciousness. keywords: ned block, artificial intelligence, chinese room, philosophy of mind, machine functionality. introduction in the realm of philosophy of mind and cognitive science, ned block’s critique of machine functionality has sparked instance debate. this is because block’s critique poses a formidable challenge to functionalism, a philosophical framework underpinning artificial intelligence and consciousness debates. block, a prominent philosopher, challenges the notion that machine can truly think or possess consciousness. functionalism asserts that mental states are defined by functional roles, rather than physical properties, suggesting any system replicating human mental functions could possess mental states. however, block contends that “functionalism overlooks the essential qualitative aspects of consciousness, which are vital for genuine understanding”75. this critique raises crucial questions: can machines truly experience consciousness if they lack subjective qualitative experiences? does functional equivalence suffice for mental state equivalence? how do we reconcile the functional and qualitative dimensions of consciousness? these puzzles point to the far-reaching implications of block’s critique for artificial intelligence research such as rethinking the notion of “intelligence” in artificial intelligence (ai) systems. reevaluating the potential for conscious machines. and lastly but not the least, addressing the explanatory gap between functional and qualitative aspects of consciousness. 75block, n. “two neural correlates of consciousness”. in the nature of consciousness: philosophical debates (1995: mit press), pp. 3 22. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 143 ned block’s seminar critique targets the heart of artificial intelligence, questioning whether machines can genuinely replicate human consciousness. at the core of his argument lies the concept of “qualia” – the subjective, intrinsic qualities of human experience. his thoughtprovoking “chinese nation” scenario illustrates the limitations of machine intelligence. “even a vast network of individuals simulating understanding through complexing tasks, lack the essential consciousness that defines human cognition” 76. this points to the fact that block’s seminar critique sparks a profound philosophical exploration into the essence of consciousness and the ethics of attributing mental states to machines. as ai technology accelerates, discerning the boundaries between human cognition and machine functionality becomes paramount. the genesis of artificial intelligence (ai), cognitive revolution and computability theory in the summer of 1956, a pivotal gathering at dartmouth college in hanover, new hampshire, marked the official inception of ai as a distinct field of research. this seminal conference, attended by ten visionary thinkers – including john mccarthy, claude shannon, marvin minsky, and arthur samuel laid the formation for thew exciting developments that would follow. bringsjord and arkoudas commenting on this advocated that from the contemporary vantage point, the dartmouth conference holds profound significance for several reasons: “first was coining the term ‘artificial intelligence’ (john mccarthy introduced the term that would define the field). second was logic theorist (lt). allen newell and herbert simon unveiled their groundbreaking programme, capable of proving elementary theorems in propositional calculus, demonstrating human-level reasoning in computational system” 77. however, while the dartmouth conference and alan turning’s influential 1950 paper, “computing machinery and intelligence”, are often cited as ai’s starting points, philosophical precursors date back centuries. thomas hobbes (17th century) foreshadowed strong ai by equating reasoning with computation. gottfried wilhelm leibniz (17th century) envisioned a “universal calculus” for resolving disputes through systematic calculation. and rene descartes (17th century) contemplated a precursor to the turning test, albeit with skepticism. rene descartes proposed two definitive tests to determine whether a machine can truly be considered human-like. at first, he proposed linguistic adaptability where he contended that machines may mimic speech and respond to physical stimuli, but they cannot engage in flexible, context – dependent conversations. according to him, they lack the ability to “arrange words in novel combinations to address unexpected topics and respond appropriately to unforeseen situations”78. even the most basic human intelligence can adapt language to convey thoughts and ideas. secondly, he proposed versatility and reason. here machines excels in specific tasks, but their capabilities are limited by their design. according to him, they “lack the universal applicability of human reasons, rely on 76block, n. “two types of functionalism”. in philosophy of mind: a beginner’s guide (2003: oneworld publications). pp. 145 – 160. 77bringsjord, s. & k. arkoudas, “the philosophical foundations of artificial intelligence”. department of cognitive science, rensselaer polytechnic institute, troy ny 12180 usa (oct. 25, 2007), p. 13. 78harnad s. “the cartesian roots of the turing test”, artificial intelligence, philosophy of mind: the key thinkers. edited by a. bailey, (2014: bloomsbury academic), p 46 -60. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 144 specialized mechanisms for each task and fail to demonstrate understanding, instead reacting solely based on programming” 79. human reason enables us to adapt to diverse situations, whereas machines are confined to their predetermined functions. descartes concludes that it is “morally impossible” for machines to replicate human behaviour in all aspects of life. these tests highlight the fundamental differences between human intelligence and machine capabilities. descartes’ tests remain relevant in artificial intelligence research, cognitive science, and philosophy of mind. they challenge researchers to create machines that truly think and adapt like humans. the dartmouth conference ignited a chain reaction of innovation, fostering collaborations and inspiring new generations of researchers. today, ai stands at the forefront of technological advancements, transforming industries and redefining human possibility. as ai continues to evolve, fundamental questions persist such as can machines truly think? what constitutes intelligence? how far can computation replicate human cognition? the dartmouth conference and its philosophical antecedents remind us that ai’s story is one of ongoing discovery, fueled by human curiosity and ingenuity. moreover, the ceremonial birthplace of ai may be traced to the 1956 dartmouth conference, but the intellectual foundations of this field lie at the crossroads of two pivotal 20th – century development. “this paradigm shift overturned behaviourism, reviving mentalistic psychology and recognizing the legitimacy of mental states, such as thoughts, beliefs, and desires”80. key figures like noam chomsky, ulric neisser, and jerome bruner paved the way for understanding human cognition. “pioneers alan turning, alonzo church, stephen kleene, and kurt godel laid the groundwork for computability theory, exploring the limits and possibilities of mechanical computation”81. their work established the theoretical foundations for machine intelligence. the intersection of these two intellectual currents gave rise to ai: cognitive revolution that is, understanding human thought processes and mental states and computability theory which refers to developing machines capable of simulating human cognition. this convergence sparked innovative ideas: i. machine simulation of human thought (could machines replicate human problem-solving and decision-making?) ii. intelligence as computation (could intelligence be reduced to computational processes?) iii. cognitive architectures (designing computational models of human theory has driven ai research, influencing ai, cognitive science, and computational modelling. the convergence of cognitive revolution and computability theory has shaped the course of ai, forging a rich intellectual heritage that continues to inspire innovation. block’s critique of machine functionality 79descartes, r. the world and treatise on man. edited by collingham, j., r. stoothoff & d. murdoch, (2014: cambridge universitypress), p. 79. 80peter n. “the legacy of the dartmouth conference”, communications of the acm, 63(10), (2020). 81bringsjord, s. & n. s. govindarajudu. “cognitive computing and the computability thesis”. journal of cognitive science, 17(2), (2017), 151 -164. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 145 block’s critique of machine functionality primarily discusses the limitations of functionalism in comprehending mental states and consciousness. his arguments challenge the notion that machines, especially those employing artificial intelligence, can be said to “think” or “comprehend” in the same way humans do. block’s critique together with the critique of hubert dreyfus and searle’s chinese room were the three philosophical criticisms of strong ai that helped to change the tide in the ai community and point to new research directions. bringsjord and arkoudas commenting on this state that “there had been several other philosophical criticisms of strong ai before these such as lucas and penrose but these three generated the most debate and have the greatest impact”82. however, before we discuss in details block’s critique, let us briefly analyze the critiques of dreyfus and searle. hubert dreyfus’s seminal critique of ai combines empirical and philosophical arguments, challenging the feasibility and theoretical foundations of ai research. dreyfus’s empirical critique focuses on ai researcher’s inability to create general purpose intelligent systems, despite initial optimism and grandiose forecasts. this criticism was largely dismissed firstly as invalid. this is because ai was a young field, and breakthroughs couldn’t be expected immediately. second, on the ground of being unfair. this was anchored on the basis that early pioneers’ enthusiasm didn’t necessarily reflect the field’s potential. however, dreyfus argues that “ai is rooted in a flawed rationalist tradition, dating back to leibniz and hobbes. this programme posits that human understanding relies on forming and manipulating symbolic representations”83. dreyfus contests this view asserting that (i) “humane understanding is non-declarative, skill-based know-how. (ii) intelligence is inarticulate, preconceptual, and phenomenological. (iii) human cognition cannot be reduced to rule-based systems”84. dreyfus highlights several capabilities and phenomena that resists computational treatment such as imagination, ambiguity tolerance, metaphor use, fringe consciousness and gestalt perception. he emphasizes the importance of relevance, arguing that “humans effortlessly distinguish essential from inessential information and draw upon relevant experiences85. he considers this “holistic context” problem a significant stumbling block for ai. his critique remains influential, with the problem of relevance persisting as a key technical challenge to strong ai (human-level intelligence), weak ai (narrow task-oriented, systems, and computational cognitive science. his critique encourages researchers to rethink the theoretical foundations of ai, in corporate embodied cognition and phenomenology, address the holistic context problem and develop more nuance understanding of human intelligence. john searle’s chinese room argument is another philosophical challenge to strong ai. searle’s argument is a thought-provoking critique of strong artificial intelligence. this philosophical attack has sparked intense date and controversy. the thought experiment runs thus: “imagine searle 82bringsjord, s. & k. arkoudas, “the philosophical foundations of artificial intelligence”. (oct. 25, 2007), p. 13. (ibid) 83 dreyfus, h. l. what computers can’t do: a critique of artificial intelligence. (1992: mit press), 219. 84 dreyfus, h. l. what computers can’t do: a critique of artificial intelligence. ibid. 85 dreyfus, h. l. what computers can’t do: a critique of artificial intelligence. ibid. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 146 inside a room, where native chinese speakers outside the room send cards with chinese questions through a slot. searle, fluent in english but not chinese, uses a rulebook (lookup table) to produce chinese responses. “the rulebook associates chinese input with chinese output, allowing searle to generate responses”86. searle’s argument focuses on the distinction between syntax (the formal rules governing symbol manipulation e.g. computer programmes) and semantics (the meaning associated with symbols and their relationships). however, it must be noted that searle doesn’t understand chinese. he processes symbols without comprehending their meaning. moreso, rulebook is syntactical. it provides formal rules for symbol manipulation, lacking semantic content. and room as a whole doesn’t understand, that is, the system (room, rulebook, and searle) doesn’t posses genuine understanding. consequently, searle argues that “syntax is not sufficient for semantics, computer programs are syntactically defined, and minds possess mental contents”87 – human minds have semantic content, enabling understanding. this implies that no computer programme alone can provide a system with a mind and programs are not minds, and cannot suffice for having minds. searle’s argument did not end without criticisms such as system reply, robot reply and connectionist reply. these criticisms never went without counter arguments. at this point, let us delve into our main discussion. ned block’s seminal critique sparks a profound philosophical exploration into the essence of consciousness and the ethics of attributing mental states to machines. as ai technology accelerates, discerning the boundaries between human cognition and machine functionality becomes paramount. let’s dive into the thought experiment involving china’s population and neuron firing patterns. “imagine each person in china sending signals to others in the same pattern as chairman mao zedong’s brain activity on his 60th birthday. during those four hours, mao felt pleased and then developed a headache. the question is whether the entire nation would experience the same mental states – pleasure followed by a headache”88. this thought experiment challenges functionalist theories, which suggest that mental states arise from functional relations among neurons. “if these relations can be replicated by china’s population, does that mean the entire nation would be in the same mental state? it seems prepositions, yet functionalists might be committed to this idea”89. however, there are concerns that any functional relation can be emulated, making it inadequate to capture mentality. this highlights the complexity of understanding consciousness and mental states. block further argued on absent qualia which challenges functionalism, questioning whether mental states can be reduced to functional roles. this notwithstanding, recent advancements in neuroscience and chaos theory undermine the argument’s assumptions. 86 searle, j. r. “is the brain’s mind a computer program? scientific american journal, 262(1), (1990), 26 -31. 87 preston, j. & m. bishop. views into the chinese room. (2002: oxford university press), p. 58. 88 block, n. “troubles with functionalism”, minnesota studies in the philosophy of science, 9(1978), 261 -325. 89livingston, r. “functionalism and logical analysis” in n, offenberg (ed.), the routledge handbook of philosophy of logical analysis (routledge: 2022), p. 43. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 147 block posits that “functionalism fails to account for qualitative mental states (qualia)”90. he uses a thought experiment involving a homunculi – headed system to demonstrate that functional equivalence does not guarantee mental equivalence. thus, he argues that: i. machine functionalism equates mental states with machine table states. ii. the homunculi – headed system lacks qualia, despite functional equivalence. iii. this casts doubt on the identity of qualitative states and machine table states. iii. consequently, functionalism’s validity is questioned91 his thought experiment involves: a control center with a bulletin board, lights, and buttons.homunculi implementing machine-table instructions. the system performs like a normal person. machine functionalism posits that mental states arise from functional relationships between components, rather than their internal constitution. however, the chinese room thought experiment reveals a troubling consequence of this theory. if the chinese simulated the correct transition table, faithfully replicating the brain’s functional relationships, they would supposedly constitute a conscious mind. this conclusion strikes us as absurd, as the simulated system backs subjective experience, sensations, pains, itches, beliefs, and desires. although the chinese system might be isomorphic to the brain at some level, it fails to harbour genuine mental states. this underscores the limitation of functionalism’s focus on structural relationships. similarly, purely computational ai systems would not possess genuine minds, despite potentially mimicking human-like behaviour. this challenges the notion that ai can truly think or experience consciousness. some functionalists argue that our intuitive rejection of the china brain’s mentality stems from “brain chauvinism” – an unjustified bias toward neurological systems. however, this perspective is difficult to accept. the chinese room thought experiment has convinced many that unalloyed functionalism is overly permissive and must be either abandoned in favour of alternative theories or significantly revised to account for the missing elements of mental experience. conclusion block’s philosophical arguments prompt a profound re-examination of intricate relationship between consciousness and physical systems. his critique underscores the urgency of addressing fundamental questions regarding the criteria for consciousness, mental state attribution and understanding machine intelligence. his seminal critique of functionalism has profound consequences for the ethical considerations surrounding ai. by challenging the notion of machine consciousness, block’s argument raises essential questions about the moral status of ai systems and the ethical frameworks guiding their design and use. his critique prompts a reassessment of the ethical frameworks applied to ai such as revisiting the turing test, rethinking the “mind” in 90 campisi, et al. “eeg non-linear features”, journal of neuroscience methods, 219(1), (2013). 91livingston, p. “functionalism, logical analysis, and the nature of thought”, syntheses, 193(10), (2016), 3051 – 3072. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 148 mind uploading, and human-centred ethics. his arguments also underscore the limitations of solely focusing on functional output in cognitive science, highlighting the crucial role of subjective experiences in mental states. this paradigm-shifting perspective emphasizes the necessity for a more holistic and integrated approach to understanding consciousness. finally, block’s seminal critique of machine functionality offers a profound philosophical framework for scrutinizing the constraints of functionalism and the elusive nature of consciousness. by highlighting the pivotal role of qualitative experiences and distinguishing between functional proficiency and authentic comprehension, block’s arguments significantly enhance, the ongoing discourse in ai and cognitive science. his critique boldly confronts prevailing assumptions regarding machine consciousness, resulting to essential debates on the limits of functionalism, consciousness and qualia, and authentic understanding. by reframing the discussion on machine functionality and consciousness, his view propels us towards a deeper understanding of human intelligence, the complexities of consciousness, and the ethical responsibilities of creating intelligence systems. references block, n. “two neural correlates of consciousness”. in the nature of consciousness: philosophical debates (1995: mit press). block, n. “two types of functionalism”. in philosophy of mind: a beginner’s guide (2003: oneworld publications). block, n. “troubles with functionalism”, minnesota studies in the philosophy of science, 9(1978). bringsjord, s. & k. arkoudas, “the philosophical foundations of artificial intelligence”. department of cognitive science, rensselaer polytechnic institute, troy ny 12180 usa (oct. 25, 2007). bringsjord, s. & n. s. govindarajudu. “cognitive computing and the computability thesis”. journal of cognitive science, 17(2), (2017). campisi, et al. “eeg non-linear features”, journal of neuroscience methods, 219(1), (2013). descartes, r. the world and treatise on man. edited by collingham, j., r. stoothoff & d. murdoch, (2014: cambridge universitypress). dreyfus, h. l. what computers can’t do: a critique of artificial intelligence. (1992: mit press). harnad s. “the cartesian roots of the turing test”, artificial intelligence, philosophy of mind: the key thinkers. edited by a. bailey, (2014: bloomsbury academic), p 46 -60. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 149 livingston, p. “functionalism, logical analysis, and the nature of thought”, syntheses, 193(10), (2016). livingston, r. “functionalism and logical analysis” in n, offenberg (ed.), the routledge handbook of philosophy of logical analysis (2022: routledge). peter n. “the legacy of the dartmouth conference”, communications of the acm, 63(10), (2020). preston, j. & m. bishop. views into the chinese room. (2002: oxford university press). searle, j. r. “is the brain’s mind a computer program? scientific american journal, 262(1), (1990). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 68 existing trends on justification for grace alone as the dogma in christian theology osana ishaya abakpa department of religious studies, national open university of nigeria, jabi, abuja osanaken@gmail.com abstract the point of departure for this study is to reassess the divergences in the theology of grace to determine its authenticity in theological spaces. historically, the concept of grace has been explored and expounded upon by numerous theologians. early church fathers, such as augustine, emphasized grace as essential for salvation and spiritual growth. during the reformation, martin luther and john calvin further articulated the doctrine of grace, highlighting its role in justification by faith alone, apart from works. this theological development was critical in shaping protestant theology and distinguishing it from catholic teachings on grace and works. the concept of grace and its relation to individual salvation is undoubtedly the most debated issue in the history of christian thought. the index of combatants is practically a who's who in christian thought: augustine versus pelagius, banez versus molina, luther versus erasmus, calvin versus pighius, and whitefield versus whitely. these arguments have continuously positioned on the same issue: whether god's saving grace is attuned to human freedom. deliberations of grace in mormon thought are too frequently carried out in virtually complete inexperience of the progression of christian thought on this subject. the misconstructions about grace are wide-ranging and so huge that it has turned out to be hard to draw a line of distinction between truth and deviation. some of such fallacies are divergences in grace. hence, when somebody affirms to have received the grace of god, as a believer, and his/her life does not echo christ and his teaching overtly, the legitimacy of such a person’s practice is debatable. in so doing, most professing christians are not living up to god’s standard and anticipation of fellow believers, some signs of limited understanding or erroneous outset of the grace that brings salvation are blamable for this melancholy. this study is undertaken to set the records straight. the researcher chose karl rahner’s transcendental method for the analytical interpretation of grace. the approach uses the principle of anthropological and theological understanding. keywords: justification, grace, christian, theology, dogma introduction the concept of grace is a doctrine that has become crucial in the teaching of christianity after the advent of the new testament church anchored on christ, who is the epitome of grace and truth. grace is a key motif of the new testament portion of the bible and it forms the core of paul’s discussion in his epistles. owing to this paul has been considered as “the apostle of grace” by some sages. nevertheless, the usage of grace has developed over centuries and transformed radically, this is moderately due to the dynamics of language and the scarce or inappropriate igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 69 understanding of the concept in the christian life. in modern christian discourse, grace continues to be a topic of significant theological reflection and debate. it is commonly preached in churches and discussed in christian literature, emphasizing its role in the believer’s life. however, differing interpretations have emerged, leading to varied emphases on the nature and implications of grace. during the sixteenth century, three theological principles came to identify the protestant reformation: sola gratia, sola fide, and sola scriptura. sola gratia (latin, ‘grace alone’ or ‘by grace alone’) emphasizes that salvation occurs by god’s ‘grace alone’ and not by human merit. sola fide (latin, ‘faith alone’ or ‘by faith alone’) is similar in that it emphasizes that people accept god’s gracious offer of salvation by (or through) ‘faith alone’ rather than by human will or good works. sola scriptura (latin, ‘scripture alone’) emphasizes that ‘scripture alone’, rather than ecclesiastical authority or human opinion, represents religious authority. as such, it is sometimes called the ‘formal principle’ of the protestant reformation, or the ‘scripture principle’. the concept of grace according to douglas, grace is the favour displayed by the sovereign creator to human sinners. this favour he likewise understands as mercy. it designates an objective relation of undeserved favour by a superior to an inferior. it goes on to say that divine grace towards mankind goes together with the ideas of covenant and election1. grace is one of the central tenets of christian theology, representing the unmerited favour and love that god extends to humanity. this divine gift is foundational to the christian understanding of salvation and spiritual life. grace is described in the new testament as how individuals are saved (ephesians 2:8-9) and as a transformative power that enables believers to live righteous lives (titus 2:11-14). another denotation of charis is favour, benevolence or goodness, liberality and generosity. this apparently is the more subjective meaning because it designates the inner sentiments of the superior towards the inferior2. charis is god’s attitude towards human beings demonstrated through kindness, favour, and helpfulness. (eph 2:8, john 1:16, 17). it is also an experience or state resulting from god’s favour, state of grace, or favoured position (romans 5:2)3. grace possesses the meaning of an undeserved blessing freely bestowed on man by god, and still more particularly, the blessing of salvation, in all the rich significance of that term, freely given to sinful man in and through jesus christ. 1 j.d. douglas, the new international dictionary of the christian church (michigan; the zondervan corporation, grand rapids, 1978), 426 2 robert w. gleason, grace (new york: sheed and ward, inc., 1962), 41-42. 3 barbara friberg, timothy friberg and neva f. miller. analytical lexicon of the greek new testament. electronic edition. grand rapids: baker books, 2000. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 70 the concept of grace in the old testament theology grace4 was articulated by the hebrew words "hen" and "hesed." the septuagint uses the word "charis" for the hebrew "hen," which appears to be consequent from the common verbal stem "hmn," which originated in ancient babylonian, akkadian, and assyrian, and also in ugartic, aramaic, syriac and arabic. it is used to denote "to find favour" or "to obtain favour," to pity the poor (prov. 14:31), or the defenceless (deut. 7:2)5. more dimly it may just signify friendly speech (prov.26:25). at first the terms are not theological. in those passages where "hen" is related to the very nature of god as gracious and merciful and full of pity, "charis" is pointedly not used at all. possibly, because the word "charis" in its classical and hellenistic usage has a sensuous substratum in its denotation, a semi-physical sense of charm and gracefulness as something aesthetically pleasing, while the hebrew "hen" never has this sense. in the old testament, the two words used to express the idea of god’s mercy or grace are; free favour-chesed (lamentations 3:22) and chen (genesis 33:15-18; jeremiah 31:2). again, douglas asserts that the idea conveyed by these two words is that of god’s mercy and favour. grace is revealed in god’s choice of and care for israel6. the term "hesed" is translated as "charis" to express spontaneous goodness or grace in a specific relationship or ongoing fellowship (gen. 19:19; 47:29; 1 sam. 20:8, 2 sam. 16:17)7. this word means the self-giving of god to israel, god himself in his good will towards men. the grace of god is but a personal relationship which god establishes between himself and men. grace (hesed) often ensues in the context of forgiveness (exod.30:7), along with an expression which points to the covenant (deut.7:9). the concept of hesed, that is, the fidelity of god, which abridges the attitude of yahweh to israel, is the adjacent phenomenon to god’s saving action and saving grace in the old testament8. the typical hesed relationship in the old testament had been on the ground between god and abraham, a man of faith who lived by fidelity to a personal relationship with god experiential through a web of obligations. abraham is faithful in all that is required of him, even to the sacrifice of isaac, the child of promise. alternatively, there is similarly the loving kindness, stability and fidelity of god towards abraham in keeping the covenant to which he has committed himself9. 4 it is used more than 25 times in the psalms as an appeal to god's favour, kindness and benevolence to hear prayers (4:1); to heal (6;2); to redeem (26:11), to set up (41:10), to pardon (51:1), and to strengthen (86:16) in the corresponding needs. 5 it is used also in the sense of "to be merciful," e.g., that of the conqueror to the conquered (josh. 11:20), or that of god to his people (ezr. 9:8). it is used in the sense of "to request," or "to beseech," directed either to people (gen. 42:21), (2 kings 1:13), or to god (deut. 3:23; 1 kings 8:33). 6 the relationship to god by the covenant is designated in exodus 20:6 and deuteronomy 7:12. the concept of grace in the old testament is found in the texts which speak of god’s relationship to israel in the covenant (i kings 8:23; isaiah 55:3). man can ask god to recall his favour. he can appeal to yahweh’s loyalty to his covenant. this happens typically when a man has desecrated the covenant and asks yahweh to remain faithful in spite of the sin. grace then takes the meaning of mercy (isaiah 62:7; jeremiah 16:5) as the letdowns of the people are stressed. 7 douglas, the new international dictionary, 526. 8 gleason, grace, 18-19. 9 gleason, grace, 23. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 71 in the old testament, the hebrew root that is generally translated as charis in greek is hen. when used in the physical sense, it entails leaning over someone, an idea resonated in the impression that the spirit litters over the waters of baptism. in the moral sense, it expresses the idea of “bending over” with favour, kindness, benevolence, protection, and love, as when the mother bends over the cradle10. in this sense, hen can be used to refer to the favour of god that translates into his provision for the salvation of man. therefore, the concept of grace in the old testament has to do with the fidelity and loving kindness of god to his chosen people whom he has elected for his purpose. mundi avers that in the pentateuch, grace is narrowed to the phrase, to find favour in someone’s eyes. this phrase is used to speak of subjects finding favour with the king or a wife with her husband. nonetheless, concerning yahweh, it means more than someone pleasing to yahweh. in psalm 84:12, grace is a protective gift of god along with glory. in proverbs 3:34 grace is where god bequeaths his favour on the humble. it brings out the aspect of being kind, gracious and merciful11. in similar construction on a concrete basis, there are two words of relevance concerning the concept of grace, these are chen (grace, favour) and chesed (gracious favour, loving-kindness, covenant love). both denoted the generous act of a superior to an inferior. but the former was more one-sided, might be given for a specific situation only and could be withdrawn unilaterally. the latter was a more relational term12. in its religious usage, the recognition was deeply rooted that god’s initiative was a lasting commitment which excluded from the outset the possibility of any comparable response. gleason argues that the whole of the old testament is a progressive, providential preparation for the christian concept of grace13. the scripture speaks strongly of sin and proclaims the grace which forgives and saves. “jeremias throws more light that god’s grace often overpowers the faithlessness of the people and that while this seems to be an occasional experience in the old testament, it is unquestionably central to the declaration of jesus. “with the prophets, this grace is promised, with jesus, it is present and is already being offered.”14. the grace of god was apparent all over the old testament by his providential acts among humanity. god’s grace was demonstrated when he clothed adam and eve while he sent them out of the garden15. the grace was much more than their problems and needs. it was overfull. one of 10 gleason, grace, 43. 11 s. mundi, an encyclopedia of theology, vol 2, contrition to grace and freedom, (new york; burns & oates ltd., 1968), 409. 12 j. d. g. dunn avers that in pauline writings grace (charis) “is a central concept that most clearly expresses his understanding of the salvation event as an act of wholly unmerited generosity on god’s part. for paul, ‘grace’ does not mean an attitude or disposition of god;” but “the wholly generous act of god; ‘grace is god’s eschatological deed”. grace has the meaning of the revelation of god’s salvation in christ, and the election of christians. “the grace of god which is given to us in christ.” (1 cor 1.4) (jesus and the spirit [london, scm, 1975], 202. 13 gleason, grace, 15. 14 joachin jeremias, new testament theology: the proclamation of jesus (new york: charles scribner’s sons, 1971), 157. 15 see criswell proclaims the abounding grace of god that as sin abounded in the garden of eden in the first adam, the greater grace of god did much more abound in the garden of gethsemane in the second adam. when sin abounded in the days of the flood, noah found grace in the sight of the lord. when sin abounded in the darkness and slavery of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 72 the oldest assertions about the god of israel to moses is that yahweh is merciful and gracious. exodus 34:6 refers to him as the god who extends grace to a thousandth generation16. basically, the old testament flinches with the gracious acts of god to adam and eve in spite of their sins. the declaration of god’s graciousness was also recurrent in many other illustrations apart from exodus. knudsen made a strong point to demonstrate the act of grace that it was not israel who chose god but god who chose israel, this motif runs through the entire old testament account17. this divine election was meant for a purpose in which the beneficiaries of god’s grace have a part to play. gleason observed that as the awareness of the israelites people (concerning sin) grows, their prayers and expectations not only reflect their incapability to abide by the law in its veracity but also divulge the necessity for a divine medicine which is proficient in working in the innermost of man’s soul to remedy his moral decadence18. the concept of grace in the new testament theology the writers of the new testament developed the concept charis not straight from profane greek literature but from the greek translation of the old testament, the septuagint. in profane greek literature, the core denotation of charis is that which shines or sparkles, which pleasures the eye. it can refer to corporal beauty, to the grace of personality, to art, music or poetry or to the pleasantness of life19. a commonly originated import of charis in old greek literature is perfection, that is, the objective perfection of a person, which renders him delightful and lovable. in profane greek literature, this objective perfection is repeatedly corporal beauty which gives grace, charm, and sweetness to the one who retains it20. the customary new testament term for grace is charis. there were conjectures that it was paul, the apostle of grace who hosted the word into new testament greek. this is because it transpires repeatedly in his epistles and writings predisposed by him21. schillebeeckx articulates that in the new testament, the word ‘charis’ (grace) is not reflected in mark, matthew, and the first and third johannine epistles. in luke, it is used eight times, but in total pauline works 60 to 100 times. the explicit theological usage of charis in the new testament is delimited virtually completely to paul egypt, the grace of god did much more abound in the sacrifice of the passover lamb…. (great doctrines of the bible volume 2 [grand rapids michigan: zondervan publishing house, 1982], 60). 16 karl h. schelke, theology of the new testament. volume 3. trans: william a. jurgens (minnesota: the liturgical press, 1973), 59. 17 knudsen, ralph e. theology in the new testament: a basis for christian faith (chicago: the judson press, 1964), 275. 18 gleason grace, 15-16. 19 gleason, grace, 41. 20 gleason,grace, 41. 21 schelke, theology, 61; see robert w. gleason corroborated on this point that the noticeable notion of grace as the gift of god arises from these sources of pauline theology. consistent with gleason, the semantic development of the concept grace is thought-provoking because, in the new testament, there are many words which are used to designate divine gift; for example, holiness, life in christ, eternal life, presence, inhabitation of the divine person (grace [new york: sheed and ward, inc., 1962], 39). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 73 and his school, although paul does not per se offer an articulated theology of grace. the early development of a theology of grace started in the new testament22. ‘grace’ did not become the midpoint of theological thinking until the later works of augustine. schillebeeckx elucidates on the deepness of the jewish tradition of ‘grace’ in the old testament. he determines that god’s lovingkindness and grace are seen chiefly, not as an inward disposition in god, but as god’s love towards men, which is exposed in acts which are astonishing and unpredicted parades of love. a historical retort to the plentiful lovingkindness of god’s love must be given in our righteousness and love for our neighbours. the other side of grace is thus judgment. in initial judaism, salvation or forgiveness of sins originates only from god’s grace based on the (gift of the) law and is given wholly to israel. this root of the countenance and reception of god’s grace is swapped by christ, and protracted to the gentiles as well23. schillebeeckx abridges the new testament view of grace as meaning “the benevolent and merciful love of god for men which brings salvation. the greek charis on the other hand suggests what brings joy, offers or denotes benevolence, and offers a reply of gratitude. it is not an explicitly religious term, before its consistent presence in the pauline writings, originally as a form of greeting. “the grace of our lord jesus christ be with you all (1 thess 1.1; 5.28). schillebeeckx asserts that this greeting can be found in every letter in the pauline corpus24. the word "charis" has become quite a different word in the greek new testament, so we may say that it depended upon christianity to realize its full meaning and to elevate it to its rightful sphere. by the grace of god, the new testament means his unmerited love towards man, which is revealed in the person, words and works of jesus christ, that is the self-giving of god to man. it is identical to the lord jesus in person, word and deed. our lord did not utter the word "grace", but he is the source of its conception through his teaching as in the "parables of grace" the lost coin (luke 15:8-10), the lost sheep (luke 15:1-7), the prodigal son (luke 15:11-32), and the labourers in the vineyard (matt. 20:1-16). he is identified as the gracious and the decisive movement of god for the redemption of men in his person. in him the grace of god became an event, for he came to seek and forgive sinners not only by his words but also by giving himself on their behalf, on the. he is the redeemer who supplied in his person, words and deeds the glorious content of the word "grace". the word "grace" appears in the new testament 152 times, and 101 occur in the pauline writings25. 22 edward schillebeeckx, christ: the christian experience in the modem world (london, scm, 1980), 84. 23 schillebeeckx, christ, 86-101. 24 schillebeeckx, christ, 102, 115. 25 in luke 4:22, the word "charis" carries us on to the peculiar christian significance. when jesus preached his first sermon in the synagogue of nazareth, it is said that his fellow town men have wondered at the words of grace. the words of christ were words of grace about grace. st. luke uses the word "charis" in acts 14:3 to characterize the good news or the message of salvation. in john 1:14, 16-17, grace signifies the outcome of the revelation of the incarnate logos in antithesis, to the law in combination with truth and fullness, which help to give its distinctive significance. in acts 6:8, it portrays the spirit-filled man. its prevailing may be seen in the church's growth in acts 11:23. in 1 peter, suffering is agreed as grace (2:19-20). 2 peter 3:18 relates "charis" to "gnosis" (knowledge). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 74 in line with douglas, in the new testament, the two corresponding greek words for grace are; eleos (romans 9:15-18) and charis (1cor. 1:14). the divine love of god and inventiveness reached their utmost expression in the person and work of jesus christ. sinners having transgressed god’s law cannot expect anything from god. god is said to be the ‘god of grace’ and christianity to be, a religion of grace26. jeremias argues that the foremost characteristic of the new people of god gathered together by jesus is their awareness of the boundlessness of god’s grace27.” grace has been described as “god’s riches at christ’s expense”; it is a wide-ranging word with endless reach carrying an infinite depth of significance, demonstrating unrestrained favour to the undeserving28.” grace is for all whom because of transgression have forfeited every claim to divine favour, and have lost all capacity for meritorious action. god’s grace is infinite, boundless, immense, unspeakable, unimaginable and unsearchable. it is the spring and source of all benefits received from god (rom. 11:6). regarding 1 peter 2:19, 20; grace implies that “which is beyond the ordinary course of what can be expected, and therefore commendable29.” in a further expression, mundi maintains that this phrase is limited to luke, paul and the epistles. the term was an important concept for the salvation brought by jesus christ. it seems to be a technical term which was developed chiefly by paul. we can observe that it converted to a kind of refrain, a greeting form used in the opening of epistles. (“…grace to you and peace…”)30. one of the features of grace in the new testament is that it stands in general for the whole salvation spontaneously bestowed by god in christ. when applied to the relationship between god and man it meant both the salvation granted by god and the thanks offered by man. emphasis of grace in pauline theology paul's view of grace differed only in one particular, that persons were justified that is, entered into a covenant relationship with god through the saving action of christ jesus, not through works of the law of moses. paul's notion of grace in no way implied that persons were free to do whatever they pleased and it is unlikely that those who understood paul to teach libertinism were jewish christians since they would have understood that the covenant relationship offered by grace required conduct in conformance with the terms of the covenant, namely those requirements stipulated by the new law of love delivered by jesus in the sermon on the mount31. paul taught that one's covenant relationship to god was not offered on conditions, it has always been offered in unconditional love or by grace. nevertheless, one had to observe the terms of the covenant relationship once entered32. 26 douglas, the new international dictionary, 426. 27 jeremias, 178. 28 herbert lockyer, all the doctrines of the bible (grand rapids michigan: zondervan publishing house, 1964), 173. 29 lockyer, all the doctrines, 163-164. 30 mundi, an encyclopedia, 410. 31 john piper, 'love your enemies.' (london: cambridge university press, 1979), 100-33. 32 morna hooker, a preface to paul (new york: oxford university press, 1980), 38-40. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 75 paul echoes at length on grace in his letter to the romans and here the aspect of gratuitousness is brought out in particular. he refers to this grace as the saving power by which he as an apostle was appointed. (rom. 1:15). accordingly, the christians in paul’s understanding can be called participants in the grace as seen in philippians 1:7. it attests consequently that grace has fundamentally the character of salvation contrary to a past ruled by sin and particularly in contrast to the vein effort to achieve justification by works done under the law (gal. 2:21; 5:4). in the dominion of grace justice is achieved through the spirit and because of faith (gal. 5:4,5) nevertheless, this grace is not given to all at once but only to those who are called and chosen to receive it. (gal. 1:6,15; rom. 11:5). and even here it doesn’t come to all in the same way. paul points out further that grace that is given through baptism is a gift (rom. 3:24), which varies from the works of the law. he refers to the fall of adam and the grace which came in jesus christ (rom. 5:12-21) and contends that grace is greater than sin and its victorious march cannot be held back by sin. hence, the upsurge of sin in the time of the law only served to validate all the more the riches of grace (rom. 5:20). paul in his writings, declared the christian gospel as an economy of grace, and jesus christ as the dispenser of grace. paul as pharisee had ought to earn salvation by his zeal for the law, but through the revelation of jesus christ to him near the gates of damascus, he discovered he was persecuting the "truth," and in need of god's grace. the commandment which was unto life, paul found to be unto death (2 cor. 12:7-9). the absolute freedom of christ's grace was another element in the apostle's conception. this brings us to his characteristic antithesis between grace and law. "we are not under the law, but under grace (rom. 6:14). we are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in christ jesus (rom 3:24). the grace that saves us has nothing to do with the law’s works (rom. 11:6), it is the "free gift" of god by "the one man jesus christ" (rom. 5:15; eph. 2:8). the grace of christ is marked by its sin-conquering power (rom. 5:20-21). it rises, superior to the law, showing its power to master sin, which is the transgression of the law (rom 5:20), for it removes the guilt; and it breaks the dominion of sin over the sinner's heart (rom 6:14,18). "charis" means "the gospel" col.1:6, and the divine favour shown in christ (eph. 1:6). it is a stream of endless benefaction, flowing from an inexhaustible fountain; the riches of christ which are unsearchable (eph. 1:7; 3:8). grace attained a universal status in the new testament in the sense that it was not restricted to the nation of israel. paul’s life was a public demonstration of this gospel of grace which proclaims the acceptance and acceptability of both gentiles and jews on the basis of trust in the faithful work of jesus christ which justifies (or sets right) sinners)33. this is not on the basis of works of the mosaic law but faith in god’s provision for all. theological tussle between paul and james it is time and again held, nonetheless, that the teachings of james contradict those of paul on this theme, and visibly uphold the doctrine of justification by works in jas. 2:14-26. many efforts have 33 ben witherington, grace in galatia: a commentary on st paul’s letter to the galatians (grand rapids, michigan: william b. eerdmans publishing company, 1998), 90-91. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 76 been made to synchronize the two. some advance on the postulation that both paul and james speak of the justification of the sinner, but that james underscores the fact that a faith which does not manifest itself in good works is no true faith, and therefore is not a faith that justifies. this is indisputably accurate. the variance between the depictions of paul and james is undeniably due partly to the nature of the opponents with which they had to address. paul had to deal with legalists who sought to base their justification, at best partly, on the works of the law. james, on the other hand, had problem with antinomians34, who claimed to have faith, but whose faith was purely a rational assent to the truth (2:19), and who repudiated the requisite of good works. as a result, he underlines the truth that faith without works is a dead faith, and therefore not at all a faith that justifies. the faith that justifies is a faith that is fruitful in good works. but it may be opposed that this does not clarify the entire trouble, since james overtly utters in verse 24 that a man is justified by works and not only by faith, and demonstrates this by the instance of abraham, who was “justified by works in that he offered up isaac” (verse 21). “thou seest,” says he in verse 24, “that faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect.” it is quite apparent, nonetheless, that in this circumstance the author is not speaking of the justification of the sinner, for abraham the sinner was justified long before he offered up isaac (cf. gen. 15), but of an additional justification of the believing abraham. true faith will manifest itself in good works, and these works will testify before men of the righteousness (that is, the righteousness of life) of him that owns such a faith. the justification of the just by works confirms the justification by faith. if james actually meant to say in this piece of his letter that abraham and rahab were justified with the justificatio peccatoris, on the basis of their good works, he would not only be in clash with paul, but would also be self-contradictory, for he unequivocally says that abraham was justified by faith. paul mentioned principally present justification, the transfer from the system of the law of moses to the lordship of christ jesus35. paul's denunciation of works pointed to ceremonial works of the law of moses; while james referred to works only in the sagacity of works of love. james's denunciation of faith entailed mere intellectual assent that was not apparent in works of love; where paul referred to faith in the sense of faith manifest in love. likewise, james did not refute faith a role in justification, but found a collaboration between faith and works which justifies a person (james 2:22). nonetheless, james used "justified" to mean "is finally judged righteous"36. paul did not use "justification" in this sense37. however, paul would agree that 34 see davids 1982, 47-51; james seems to be battling the similar distortion of paul's teachings (reicke 1974, 34-35). james's adversaries contended: "you say you have good deeds, but we have faith" (see james 2:14). they claimed as well that persons are "justified by faith alone". in romans and elsewhere paul declared that "a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law" (rom. 3:28 [kjv]; 9:32; gal. 2:16). equate james's view: "you see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith alone" (james 2:24 [kjv]). however, james is replying not to paul, but purely to a slogan resultant from paul (jeremias 1954-55, 368-71). to grasp james in clear terms is that he energetically discards the notion of faith alone (davids 1982, 50). he maintains that "faith works together with (synergei) deeds . . . works perfect and fulfill faith (james 2:22). 35 morna hooker, a preface to paul (new york: oxford university press, 1980), 32-33. 36 leonard goppelt, theologie des neuen testaments (gottingen: vandenhoeck ruprecht, 1976), 208-11. 37 reicke, bo. the epistles of james, peter, andjude. (garden city: doubleday anchor bible series, 1974), 34. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 77 judgment is "according to deeds" (rom. 2:6; 4:10; 1 cor. 3:12-17; 9:23-27;2 cor. 5:10; 6:1; phil. 2:12; 3:8, 14). augustinianism theology of salvation through grace anchored by the holy spirit st. augustine’s perception of salvation raises historical as well as contemporary concerns. chadwick portrays augustine’s struggle in his life as a series of false steps in self-assertion38. augustine refers to himself in book 1 of the confessions as, ‘scattered’ in a place of ‘disintegration’, until god gathers him and us all up. augustine wrestles with an epistemological question of, ‘how we know what we know’. in confessions, (2.2.24) he wrestles with his ambition for the things of this world as summed up in 1 john 2:16. he struggles with the philosophical descriptions of god and the world. he is unable to think of god as anything other than a ‘material’ thing. confessions, (7:112). he uses the language of conversion to describe a growing awareness of a non-material divine understanding, and argues that ‘a thing can exist that is not material’ and uses the example of moses who heard god say to him, ‘i who i am’. (exodus 3:14), (confessions.7:123). augustine comes to the conclusion of conversion by divine humility by which god does not ask us to ascend to him of our own strength, but he descends to us out of his mercy (grace) to carry us to him. he sums his understanding of faith as a quest for faith and understanding whereby christians are to look up to the one so high above them, but down to the god crucified at their feet (confessions.7:128). a focus on augustine’s convictions on faith, his views on materialism, moral questions and the two cities can contribute to a better understanding of salvation through grace39. mcgrath points out that the resources of salvation are located outside humanity in god himself an affirmation of augustine’s salvation by grace40. in his confessions avers, “as i was saying this and weeping in the bitter agony of my heart, suddenly i heard a child’s voice from the nearby house as if it might be a boy or girl saying and repeating over and over again ‘pick up and read, pick up and read’. at once my countenance changed...” (confessions viii.12.29)41. this conviction was the initial point of faith for augustine and had the power to take him to the full awareness of the christian faith. augustine commences by first confessing his wicked ways since he beheld salvation as the gracious act of god, a form of liberation from all systems of corruption. augustine maintains that the holy spirit is typically the love of the godhead and the gift of god himself which is given by his unmerited grace as he inhabits human hearts. he added that the holy spirit makes us dwell in god and god in us. from the above argument, the concept of salvation starts to arise42. augustine asserts that the gift of the love of god spawned in the hearts of humanity owes its origin to the self-giving of the holy spirit which bears unswervingly on his clear view that salvation is due to nothing other than god’s unmerited grace. the holy spirit is seen as the 38 h. chadwick, a very short introduction. (new york; oxford university press, 2001), 24. 39 augustine. confessions, trans, chadwick, h., the world’s classics, (oxford: oxford university press. 1992). 40 mcgrath a., (1993), christian theology, an introduction, 4th ed, oxford; blackwell publishing, 36. 41 augustine, confessions. 42 cited in g. bonner, “palegianism and augustine”, augustinian studies, vol.23 (1992): 28-49; 361-366. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 78 agent by which the triune makes his dwelling within human hearts and this is ultimate to augustine’s view of god’s grace. consistent with augustine human beings are enabled to love god only through god as he resides in people’s hearts and gives them the capacity to love. again, he substantiates that god’s saving grace may be seen to consist in god’s infusing the sinful human heart with the ability to love both god and neighbour. augustine forms a significant connection between the holy spirit as a gift and his characteristic notion of god’s unmerited grace43. he does this by drawing on 1 john 4:19 and romans 5:5. through the aforementioned scriptures, augustine tries to substantiate his fundamental persuasion that man must turn to god and love god only by god acting to bring love to the sinner’s heart. he goes on to say that the exclusive working of the holy spirit as a gift and the love with the godhead, leads to the generation of the love of god in human hearts wholly as a gift and consequently absolutely by grace. augustine perceives the holy spirit as the consummation of the father-son relationship which exists in love and makes possible the welcoming of the redeemed sinner into fellowship with god through spawning the saving love of god within the human heart. furthermore, he says, salvation which is initiated on the grace of god, is only possible by the self-giving of god in the person. in maintaining augustine’s argument of god’s unmerited grace, is his claim that the love of god is found only in god and hence must be given by god and that it is not merited by human effort, but impacted within and received by the human heart through the agency of the holy spirit. inyaregh emphasizes that the phrases “those he predestined, he also called” “those he called, he also justified” and “those he justified, he also glorified” reject any notion that any person could take part in one of the steps without the others44. human contribution in the grace of god erickson confirmed that from adam we only have a bad example and that adam’s sin reduced man’s freedom45. in so doing, god’s grace is necessary, thus, augustine argues that only through the power of the holy spirit, who acts to facilitate works of righteousness through kindling an inner love of god, can human beings be assimilated into affiliation in the divine life.46 he further asserts that since such partaking in god necessitates that god acts first in graciously sending the holy spirit to dwell within, the pelagian soteriological approach is questioned since in their pride they fail to appreciate that the goodness of their changeable soul comes by contributing in the unchangeable good and not by their own will. 43 bonner, “palegianism and augustine”, 29. 44abel aor inyaregh, “justification for eternal security of believers and impossibility of apostasy in romans 8: 2831” african journal of religion, philosophy and culture (ajrpc) vol. 5, 1 (june 2024), 39; doi: https://doi.org/10.31920/2634-7644/2024/v5n1a2 45 millard erickson, christian theology vol.3 (michigan; grand rapids, 1985), 909. 46 quoted in p. cary, inner grace: augustine in the traditions of plato and paul (oxford: oxford university press, 2008), 76-80. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 79 augustine fashions an effective foundation from which to argue that humankind’s highest good, participation in god’s changeless eternity and beatitude, requires that only god can activate its grasp through the absolutely gratuitous gift of the holy spirit given to engender a love of god from within. he adds that the holy spirit features conspicuously as the energetic connection between grace and love which ultimately enables humankind’s participation. divergent theological underpinnings on the theology of grace in church history, there have been significant debates over the nature of grace. the papable arguments transpired between augustine and the pelagians and between roman catholicism and protestantism. for augustine, grace was absolutely indispensable so as to start, linger and complete the salvation of faith. pelagians douglas understood grace not as a supernatural power at work in the human soul, but as the usual running of the human abilities. consequently, from their controversy, man could at will accept salvation and later if he desired, forsake his salvation47. within roman catholicism, grace has habitually been depicted as a power transferred through the priestly ministry and sacraments by which justification and sanctification are achieved. consequently, individual faith and works go hand in hand. this is superficially the view also maintained by the anglican church. protestant reformers such as luther and calvin revived the spirit of augustine (354-430)48, who underscored the sovereignty of god. specifically, augustine defended god’s sovereignty in reaction to pelagius’ view of god and salvation. pelagius (354420/40) left no writings, so we rely upon augustine for what he considered to be so frightening. pelagius thought that god fashioned people with the capability to do all that is necessary for salvation. although their ability is god-given, people must take the initiative for their salvation. people are free to choose that which is good and evil, without the help of god. pelagianism was finally measured as a heresy because it was thought to belittle god’s sovereignty by underlining how people can earn or merit salvation49. augustine was in the same way against what he called semi-pelagianism. semi-pelagianism upholds that god is required to act graciously in the lives of people so as to support their salvation. 47 douglas, the new international dictionary, 426. 48 roger e. olson says thsat in one of his final treatises, titled on the predestination of the saints, the bishop of hippo affirmed unconditional election (absolute predestination) and denied free will that could limit or resist the work of god’s sovereign grace in those whom god has chosen to save out of the “mass of perdition.” during the protestant reformation luther and calvin hark back to this later writing of augustine’s. none of them, however, entirely denied the human role of salvation; they simply gave priority to divine grace and attributed even human choices and actions— insofar as they are meritorious—to god (the mosaic of christian belief: twenty centuries of unity and diversity [downers grove, il: inter-varsity, 2002], 271). 49 l. berkhof says that pelagius digressed much further from the scriptural depiction of the application of redemption than any of the earlier church. it may even be said that he forsakes the biblical foundation which was sacred to them, and reasserted the self-sufficient principle of heathen philosophy. his notion of sin and its results led him to repudiate the absolute necessity of the grace of god in christ unto salvation, and to consider it quite thinkable for man to obtain salvation by keeping the law. he did not altogether despise the "help of grace" or the "divine assistance," but even considered this desirable "in order that what is commanded by god may be more easily fulfilled" (the history of christian doctrines [michigan: baker. book house 1980], 207). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 80 they alone, unassisted by god’s contribution to their lives, are inadequate for salvation. nevertheless, people can initiate their salvation, collaborating with god by applying or attaching their will to grace. augustine thought that semi-pelagianism made people’s will the active ground of salvation, and that too was thought to disparage god’s sovereignty. owing to the prevalent effects of sin, augustine thought that people were completely reliant on god. augustine thought that there was nothing whatsoever that people could do for their salvation. people are absolutely dependent upon god’s grace for salvation and for living the christian life. in the protestants’ camp, the reformers’ school of thought determined that roman catholicism had permitted the leaven of pelagianism, of works righteousness to infiltrate the church. since the pope and magisterium refused to renounce their heretical dogmas and practices, luther, calvin, and others sensed obligatory to protest and ultimately break away from the roman catholic church. only then would christianity be able to return to the original teachings of the bible about god’s sovereignty and salvation by grace alone. to overturn centuries of worsening leadership and doctrine in roman catholicism, schism was essential to cleanse and revive true christianity. calvin and the reformed tradition definitely represent the strongest version of augustinianism, particularly in calvin’s verification of double predestination50. double predestination avows that god foreordains both those who will be saved (elect) and those who will be damned (reprobate). there is no conditional election; god does not predestine people for salvation based upon any foreseen faith or merit. on the contrary, election is unconditional, and grace is irresistible. calvin, camping with luther, held that people are saved by grace through faith. faith is a result of grace and cannot be considered the result of human effort. puzzlingly, faith is still a task, anticipated by god, irrespective of how one interprets the concept of task. in upholding salvation by grace through faith, neither luther nor calvin totally repudiated human involvement in salvation. inyaregh taking a queue from luther and calvin asserted that assurance is confirmed for the power of god can redeem a soul and preserve that soul forever. it is attested that calvinism, is primarily a biblical idea with biblical backing, but in the same way, it is a rational tide in the salvation process. equally, if god was going to save a mortal who was unable to save himself and go through all the trouble of having his son sacrificed to afford that redemption, then he would also seal in his power and make available the gift of perseverance51. roman catholics, of course, battled the protestant reformation for several explanations. among those ins and outs, they distinguished the probable ‘mythic’ problems of barely conceived religious authority, inclined by individualism, at the council of trent. still, roman catholics like the anabaptists did not always diagnose the methodological erudition of luther and calvin. hitherto, both roman catholics and orthodox christians continue to attack the principle of sola scriptura, disagreeing with the historical, social and cultural unfeasibility of its individualistic approach to scriptural authority and interpretation52. definitely, they cogitate sola scriptura both naïve and 50 see john calvin institutes of the christian religion, 3.21.5, (philadelphia: westminster, 1960), 926. 51 inyaregh, justification for eternal security of believers, 34-35. 52 for example, see robert sungenis, not by scripture alone: a catholic critique of the protestant doctrine of sola scriptura (santa barbara: queenship publishing, 1997); joel peters, scripture alone? 21 reasons to reject ‘sola igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 81 hazardous to church unity as well as to how christianity may be applied in life and ministry. the protestant apologia for sola scriptura similarly continues today, mostly among conservatively oriented christians concerned with safeguarding scripture wholly, vis-à-vis, other potential religious authorities. while sola gratia charmingly elevates the primacy of god’s grace for the salvation of people, it does not eliminate the human undertaking in addition to the divine gift necessitated for salvation, holistically and realistically considered. a more holistic and realistic way of conceptualizing salvation is with solus gratia rather than sola gratia. god’s grace is chiefly, rather than solely, involved with providing the gift of salvation to people. people still have the task of receiving god’s gift. sola fide makes sense most in the company of sola gratia, which stresses the superiority of god’s grace, god’s initiative, and god’s sovereignty in the salvation process. it does not entail, however, that people do not have a task allied with reconciliation with god. surely salvation is made possible by the atonement of jesus christ and the authorization of the holy spirit. people are counted as righteous because of the “alien righteousness” of christ; the impelling cause of it is god alone, through the work of the holy spirit53. grounds for the doctrine of justification from eternity. abel inyaregh avers that eternal security is absolutely a biblical and theological doctrine. the new testament attests to the irreversibility of the eternal security of believers (jn.6:35-40)54. some reformed theologians also speak of justification from eternity, but at the same time decline to subscribe to the antinomian construction of this doctrine. the grounds on which they believe in justification from eternity deserve fleeting reflection55. scripture speaks of a grace or mercy of god which is from everlasting, ps. 25:6; 103:17. now all grace or mercy that is from eternity must have as its judicial or legal basis a justification that is from eternity. but in answer to this, it may be said that there are eternal mercies and loving kindnesses of god which are not based on any justification of the sinner, as, for example, his plan of redemption, the gift of his son, and the enthusiastic suretyship of christ in the pactum salutis. inyaregh underscores that the doctrine of eternal security informs that once a person experiences salvation, nothing can cause him to lose that status56. in the pactum salutis the guilt of the sins of the elect was shifted to christ, and the righteousness of christ was imputed to them. this implies that the burden of sin was lifted from their shoulders and that they were justified. now there is no hesitation about it that there was a sure imputation of scriptura’ (rockford, il: tan books, 2001); and john whiteford, sola scriptura: an orthodox analysis of the cornerstone of reformation theology (ben lomond, ca: conciliar press, 1996). 53 martin luther, two kinds of righeousness, in martin luther: selections from his writings, ed. john dillenberger (new york: anchor, 1958), 88. 54 inyaregh, justification for eternal security of believers, 29. 55 louis berkhof systematic theology (eerdmans: grand rapids, 1972), 517-525. 56 inyaregh, justification for eternal security of believers, 29. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 82 the righteousness of christ to the sinner in the counsel of redemption, but not all imputation can be called justification in the biblical nous of the term. the sinner takes delivery of the initial grace of regeneration on the basis of the imputed righteousness of christ. accordingly, the merits of christ must have been imputed to him before his regeneration. but while this reflection leads to the end that justification logically heralds regeneration, it does not prove the primacy of justification in a temporal sense. the sinner can receive the grace of regeneration on the basis of a justification, preferably prevailing in the counsel of god and certain to be grasped in the life of the sinner. children likewise need justification, in order to be saved, and yet it is quite impossible that they should experience justification by faith. but though it is perfectly true that children, who have not yet come to maturity, cannot experience passive justification, they can be actively justified in the tribunal of god and thus be in possession of that which is absolutely essential. a new testament theologian, abel aor inyaregh anchored this notion in his work on “justification for eternal security of believers and impossibility of apostasy in romans 8: 28-31” and i quote, “biblically security texts-passages abound. eternal security permits a christian believer to rest in the safety that as soon as they draw near to redemption and embrace the holy spirit’s indwelling, they are eternally sheltered in that salvation. there is nothing, they can do that can disengage them away from the promise of eternal life availed to them by god as stated in romans 8:38-39”57. grace in the spirit of god (pneumatology) according to whitacre, one of the main roles of the spirit in john is as a witness to jesus, by implication, it is the spirit which testifies to jesus (15.26), leads into all truth (16.12-15), and is the means by which christians can know that god remains in them58. this manifestation of the spirit in the disciples is in contradiction with the hearts of those who oppose jesus. it is because of the existence of the spirit that believers are able to cognize jesus and the testimony to him in the scriptures, and to recollect his words and actions (14.25-6; 15.26-7). following the same trend on the foregoing discourse, scrogg upholds that to speak about jesus christ demands reflection on the work of the spirit, which, exclusively in john, is inseparably connected with god’s act in jesus christ59. ridderbos backs up this notion in a different dimension, that the spirit has nothing new to offer, nothing that jesus has not brought. the spirit will enable the disciples to witness to jesus as he really was in his descended (not ascended) ‘glory’. testimony about jesus is conceivable for the disciples and the evangelist because they have their eyewitness experience and the witness of the spirit60. berkhof uses ordo salutis (reasonable order) to designate the order through which salvation is found in christ. he contends for a need for logical order and likewise in interrelations of different movements of the holy spirit in the grasp of the work of salvation. for him, the key emphasis is 57 inyaregh, justification for eternal security of believers, 34. 58 r a. whitacre, johannine polemic: the role of tradition and theology (chico, ca: scholars press, 1982), 98. 59 s. r. scrogg, christology in paul and john (philadelphia: fortress, 1988), 7. 60 h. n. ridderbos. the gospel of john (michigan: w b eerdmans. (1997),.15-16. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 83 not what man does in taking the grace of god but what god does. he deduces that the craving to make simpler the ordos salutis has led to unjustified restrictions61. grudem commenting on ‘regeneration’ for salvation alludes to a secret act of god in which he imparts new spiritual life to the individual as portrayed in john 3:3 8). he sees this as totally a work of god and that human beings are passive objects62. grudem augments that the exact nature of regeneration is mysterious to us –we know that somehow we who were spiritually dead in sin after the fall (ephesians 2:1) have been made alive to god in a very real sense. he argues that we don’t understand how this happens or what exactly god does to us to give us this new spiritual life. he connects this to the words of jesus to nicodemus, “…the wind blows where it wills, you hear the sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is of everyone born of the spirit” (john 3:8). jesus gave assurances that the paraclete would come (14.12-17, 26; 15.26; 16.7-11,13,14). after his death, jesus will send ‘another helper, who will abide with you forever’ (14.16), ‘the spirit of truth’ (14.17) which the world cannot receive. the holy spirit will teach them and remind them of jesus' words. (14.26). jesus will be leaving them, but he also promises his peace will remain with them (14.27; 16.33). schillebeeckx describes the gift of the spirit as “easter grace”. he says for johannine theology, the easter gift of the spirit is the gift of a divine principle of life (6.63) through which a person is born (3.3,5,7) as a child of god after the earthly jesus has departed63. moule calls the ‘farewell discourses’ in chapters 14-16, where the spirit is mentioned as destined to come in the capacity of a ‘paraclete’ (‘comforter’)” or advocate that he will “champion the cause of christ in the apostles, and, through them, in the world”. when christ has ‘gone’, the disciples “will be invigorated and consoled by the perpetual presence of the spirit. the spirit takes the place of the visible presence of jesus. there may be a future consummation of christ himself, but for the time being “the experience of the spirit” is “the mode of christ’s continued presence with his people” (john 14.18). the spirit is the continuing presence and evidence of god’s grace, revealed in jesus64. conclusion the bottom line deducing from the trending discourse avers that the holy spirit anchors the sinner through the grace of god to have faith. though god makes the first move in the redemption process, man’s true repentance and steadfast faith/walk are required. that idea of salvation is brought about by the fall of man which terminated the communion between sinful man and the holy god. man is helpless in the attempt to bring back the broken communication and god reaches out to man by his grace. this grace takes various forms (common, specific, previnient, irresistible, 61 louis berkhof, systematic theology, reprinted (usa: versa press, 2012), 416. 62 wayne grudem, systematic theology (university press: england, 2003), 699. 63 schillebeeckx, christ, .418, 422-423. 64 c. f. d. moule, the holy spirit. london, mowbray.1978, pp.36-7 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 84 and efficacious, sufficient) but generally, it is god’s favour and mercies extended to sinful man through jesus christ and the holy spirit indwelling the heart of man. bibliography augustine. confessions, trans, chadwick, h., the world’s classics, oxford: oxford university press, 1992. barbara friberg, timothy friberg and neva f. miller. analytical lexicon of the greek new testament. electronic edition. grand rapids: baker books, 2000. berkhof louis. systematic theology. eerdmans: grand rapids, 1972. berkhof, louis. systematic theology, reprinted. usa, versa press, 2012. bonner, g. “palegianism and augustine”, augustinian studies, vol.23 (1992): 28-49; 361-366. brill e. the encyclopedia of christianity, volume 1, michigan, usa; b. eerdmans publishing company, 1999. calvin john. institutes of the christian religion, 3.21.5, philadelphia: westminster, 1960. cary p. inner grace: augustine in the traditions of plato and paul. oxford; oxford university press, 2008. chadwick, h. a very short introduction. new york; oxford university press, 2001. criswell, w. a. great doctrines of the bible volume 2. grand rapids michigan: zondervan publishing house, 1982. douglas, j.d. the new international dictionary of the christian church. michigan; the zondervan corporation, grand rapids, 1978. dunn j. d. g. jesus and the spirit. london, scm, 1975. elwel, a. evangelical dictionary of theology. michigan; baker book house company, 2001. erickson, millard. christian theology vol.3, michigan; grand rapids, 1985. gleason, robert w. grace. new york: sheed and ward, inc., 1962. grudem, wayne. systematic theology. university press, england, 2003. hooker, morna. a preface to paul. new york: oxford university press, 1980. inyaregh, abel aor. “justification for eternal security of believers and impossibility of apostasy in romans 8: 28-31” african journal of religion, philosophy and culture (ajrpc) vol. 5, 1 (june 2024), 39; doi: https://doi.org/10.31920/2634-7644/2024/v5n1a2 joachin jeremias, new testament theology: the proclamation of jesus. new york: charles scribner’s sons, 1971. kanu, i. a., igwebuike as the moving spirit of pope francis’ compassionate leadership. jos studies. 28. 13-26, 2020. kanu, i. a., igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe and the inculturation of the gospel message. ogirisi: a journal of african studies. 16(1), 15-28, 2020. kanu, i. a., igwebuike theology of omenani and the missionary bifurcation of horizons. ogirisi: a new journal of african studies. 16 (1), 127-144, 2020. kanu, i. a., igwebuike theology of udi: god’s unchanging revelation and man’s changing culture. catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. 17(2), 12-24, 2020. kanu, i. a., pope john paul ii’s legacy of decolonization: towards an igwebuike transformative pedagogy. pope john paul ii journal of philosophy. 2 (1), 68-95, 2023. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 85 knudsen, ralph e. theology in the new testament: a basis for christian faith. chicago: the judson press, 1964. l. berkhof the history of christian doctrines. michigan: baker. book house 1980. leonard goppelt, theologie des neuen testaments. gottingen: vandenhoeck ruprecht, 1976. 208-11. lockyer, herbert. all the doctrines of the bible. grand rapids michigan: zondervan publishing house, 1964. luther, martin. two kinds of righteousness, in martin luther: selections from his writings, ed. john dillenberger. new york: anchor, 1958. mcgrath a., christian theology, an introduction, 4th ed, oxford; blackwell publishing, 1993. morna hooker, a preface to paul. new york: oxford university press, 1980. moule, c. f. d. the holy spirit. london, mowbray, 1978. mundi, s. an encyclopedia of theology, vol 2, contrition to grace and freedom, new york; burns & oates ltd., 1968. olson roger e. the mosaic of christian belief: twenty centuries of unity and diversity. downers grove, il: inter-varsity, 2002. peters, joel. scripture alone? 21 reasons to reject ‘sola scriptura’. rockford, il: tan books, 2001. piper, john 'love your enemies.' london: cambridge university press, 1979. reicke, bo. the epistles of james, peter, andjude. garden city: doubleday anchor bible series, 1974. ridderbos h. n. the gospel of john. michigan, w b eerdmans, 1997. schelke, karl h. theology of the new testament. volume 3. trans: william a. jurgens. minnesota: the liturgical press, 1973. schillebeeckx, edward. christ: the christian experience in the modem world. london, scm, 1980. scrogg, s. r. christology in paul and john. philadelphia, fortress. 1988. sungenis, robert not by scripture alone: a catholic critique of the protestant doctrine of sola scriptura. santa barbara: queenship publishing, 1997. whitacre, r a. johannine polemic: the role of tradition and theology. chico, ca: scholars press, 1982. whiteford, john. sola scriptura: an orthodox analysis of the cornerstone of reformation theology. ben lomond, ca: conciliar press, 1996. witherington, ben. grace in galatia: a commentary on st paul’s letter to the galatians. grand rapids, michigan: william b. eerdmans, 1998. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 28 economic integration in international economic relations (ecowas) thankgod festus lilly-inia, ph.d. department of political and administrative studies faculty of social sciences university of port harcourt, choba. & tommy enodien enodienetuk, ph.d. department of political and administrative studies faculty of social sciences university of port harcourt, choba. & napoleon nyemodumakpo ukalikpe department of political and administrative studies faculty of social sciences university of port harcourt, choba. abstract the study investigated economic integration in international economic relations with an emphasis on the economic community of west african states (ecowas). the establishment of ecowas was a milestone in the history of economic integration of member states. the myriads of socioeconomic and political problems that confront member states; low intra-trading, insecurity, political instability and general underdevelopment necessitated the establishment of ecowas. ecowas has recorded some tremendous gains; economically and politically. despite, these economic and political gains, the organization has not lived up to the expectations of the people in the subregion as general underdevelopment; insecurity and political instability still ravage the subregion. the functionalist theory of integration propounded by david mitrany was adopted as the theoretical framework. the secondary source of data was deployed for the study; it involves the collection of data from textbooks, magazines, articles etc. the paper finds out that ecowas member states have recorded some economic progress and gain since the establishment of the organization as it had the fourth largest economy among africa’s recs with a gdp of us$633.1 billion, representing about 25.5% of the continent’s total economy. the study recommends that ecowas member states should show more commitment to the process of integration in the subregion. they should be prepared to give up their national sovereignty and promote sub-regional interests for socio-economic and political integration to succeed in the sub-region. they should strive to domesticate and implement ecowas treaties, agreements, policies and programmes at the national levels. keywords: ecowas, trade, economic, integration, gdp introduction igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 29 integration is the coming together of states and pooling of resources for the benefit of the entire people in a particular region. it has to do with cooperation in trade and other socio-cultural, economic and political realms. economic integration is an arrangement among states that typically includes the reduction or elimination of trade barriers and the coordination of monetary and fiscal policies. el-agraa (1998) defines the term economic integration as the discriminatory removal of all trade impediments between at least two participating countries and the establishment of certain elements of coordination and cooperation between them. economic integration aims to reduce costs for both consumers and producers and to increase trade between the countries involved in the agreement. the last decades have seen a dramatic increase in the number of preferential trade agreements (pta), due in part to the frustration arising from the delayed completion of the uruguay round of multilateral trade negotiations. according to the world trade organization (wto), at least 100 regional arrangements had been formed by the end of 2004, nearly a third of them in the previous five years. as a result of the proliferation of ptas, the share of preferential trade has increased considerably in the 2000s, reaching 42 per cent of world trade between 2003-2007 (grether & olarreaga, 2008). it was estimated by grether and olarreaga that western europe has the largest preferential trade share, with a 70 per cent average between 1998 and 2007. it was followed by the western hemisphere and africa, with a 25-26 per cent average. asia and oceania, however, recorded very low values, which were around 4 per cent (grether and olarreaga, 2008). flores (2007), identified seven stages of economic integration; a preferential trading area, a free trade area, a customs union, a common market, an economic union, an economic and monetary union, and a complete economic integration. the final stage represents a total harmonization of fiscal policy and a complete monetary union. economic integration is sometimes referred to as regional integration, as it often occurs among neighbouring states. ethier (2006), identified some of the advantages of economic integration. according to him, they fall into three categories which are; trade creation, employment opportunities and consensus and cooperation. he further noted that economic integration typically leads to a reduction in the cost of trade, improved availability of goods and services and gains in efficiency that lead to greater purchasing power (ethier, 2006). a good example of an economic integration arrangement is the european union (eu). the european union represents an economic integration among 27 countries. others are the southern african development community (sadc) and the economic community of west african states (ecowas) etc. this paper discusses the economic community of west african states (ecowas) as an economic integration. the signing of the treaty of the economic community of west african states (ecowas) goes down in history as the first major successful effort in the sub-region’s quest for collective self-reliance. on 28 may 1975, the heads of state and governments of fifteen west african states signed the ecowas treaty in lagos, nigeria. these countries were liberia, nigeria, togo, ghana, burkina faso, ivory coast, guinea, gambia, republic of benin, niger, sierra leon, guinea bissau, mauritania, senegal and mali (akinyemi & aluko, 1983). the organization presently has fifteen members following the withdrawal of mauritania in 2000. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 30 statement of the problem according to ogwu and adebayo (2011, p.1), “ecowas is a manifestation of the desire for cooperation among the people of west africa. it is the structural embodiment of the people’s belief in a collective attack against the enduring problems of underdevelopment in tropical africa”. across the sub-region, the yearnings of the people are the same; they want to be helped out of the valley of poverty in which they are enmeshed. the language may be different, and the cultures may be diverse, but beyond all, the longing for economic emancipation through cooperation transcends all barriers. ecowas member states are mired with myriads of security and socioeconomic issues that threaten to shake the region’s relative stability and economic progress. the challenges range from terrorism and violent extremism to piracy, political instability, electionsrelated violence, drug trafficking or deadly viruses and general underdevelopment. these, as well as other security and violence-related issues, are hardly limited to one country alone but tend to lead to the spillover of instability across the sub-region. ecowas member states are also constrained by their small economies that are highly susceptible to external economic and political influences and this situation affects their socio-economic and political development. the gross domestic product of the republic of benin in 2021 was 17.14 billion usd, that of nigeria was 440.8 billion usd in 2021, mali was 19.14 billion usd in 2021 and the gambia was 2.038 billion usd in 2021 (world bank, 2021). nwaorgu (2006) noted that the idea to embark on regional integration by ecowas member states as a means of development has been predicated on certain thoughts; that since political independence, the countries in the ecowas sub-region have been faced with myriad of socioeconomic and political problems. here we hasten to say that much of the problem lies within the domain of the economy; that these problems are so acute and demanding that national solutions are inadequate if not totally impossible. there are problems of low per capita income, slim resources etc. it is the face of the debilitating economic challenges that bedevilled the people of the sub-region that necessitated the need for the establishment of ecowas. objectives of the study the work is guided by the following objectives: i. examine the objectives and organs/structures of ecowas ii. analyze the economic content of ecowas iii. identify the challenges of ecowas methodology igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 31 the historical research design was adopted for the study; it involves studying past events to understand present events in other to predict future events. the secondary source of data was utilized for this study. the secondary source of data refers to the set of data collated or authored by another person, archives, in the form of documents collected for a purpose other than the present one in which it is being used (asika, 2006). selltiz et al (2008), have declared that the usefulness of secondary sources of data lies in the fact that information of this sort is collected periodically. also, gathering of information from such sources does not require the cooperation or assistance of the individual about whom information is being sought. the sources of data for this study include; magazines, articles, textbooks, journals and seminar papers among others. the content analysis was adopted as our method of data analysis. theoretical framework the study adopts the functionalist theory of integration as its theoretical framework. the major exponent of this school of thought is david mitrany. mitrany came up with this theory in 1975. the assumption of the theory is hinged on how cooperation in specific areas can lead to a broader integration among states. these areas are; technical, economic, social, cultural etc. the functional theory was developed in order to achieve social peace and prosperity. mitrany proposed a new international order, based on trans-national cooperation (1975). writing in a period in which europe was confronting a profound crisis, mitrany managed to offer the functionalist theory arguments for global but also regional integration (1975). his main preoccupation was connected to the efficient administration of limited resources as an essential premise for durable cooperation and for the creation of what he defined as a working peace system. mitrany believes in the spillover logic which guarantees the growth of planning in the economy. while the immediate impulse of growing planning would have been the will for economic stability as well as a consequence of crisis in one or more industries, mitrany stated that the experience of planning during the first world war (ww1) proved that a control upon an industry could lead to a control upon all industries. this change in goals – specific to planning in democratic societies – could be helpful in compensation for inheriting the anti-democratic tendencies of the functional government. mitrany considers that the need for peace and social progress can be accomplished, threw another way of association of nations threw a common action of organizing the government, following the specific needs and in conformity with the time conditions (1975). the alternative to this action could be the traditional organizing, based upon constitutive documents concerning the jurisdiction, rights and competencies. continuing on this logic of organic development of the international public body, the growth of specific administrative agencies and laws is the fundament of modern government (1975). accordingly, the functionalists believe in the gradual approach towards regional and global peace. the basic assumption of functionalism is that years of wars which have scourged the human race are principally the product of a crudely organized international system, riddled and inebriated with much suspicion and anarchy (nseable, 2014). functionalism advocates that national and international life should be organized along functional lines. for these theorists, the satisfaction of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 32 the welfare needs of the people in a region is the responsibility of international or regional institutions. functionalism proposes a gradual and incremental approach to integration. for functionalists, integration begins with people coming together to solve a common problem or challenge. functionalism preaches that rather than states focusing on individual self-interest, they should seek common interests and needs of member states in the region. the theory encourages states to integrate functional areas such as economy, science, technology, society and culture. these areas are referred to as functional areas because they are vital sectors that are capable of stimulating economic growth and development. when these functional areas are allowed to develop and encouraged to spread, there will be a meaningful increase in activities that promote unity, peace, cooperation and development in the region. the relevance of this theory to the study is that through cooperation ecowas member states will be able to surmount her developmental challenges. results and discussions objectives of ecowas the aim of the ecowas is to promote cooperation and integration, leading to the establishment of an economic union in west africa to raise the living standards of its peoples, maintain and enhance economic stability, foster relations among member states and contribute to the progress and development of the african continent. to this end, the objectives include; 1. the harmonization and coordination of national policies and the promotion of integration programmes, projects and activities, particularly in food, agriculture and natural resources, industry, transport and communications, energy, trade, money and finance, taxation, economic reform policies, human resources, education, information, culture, science, technology, services, health, tourism, legal matters. 2. the harmonization and coordination of policies for the protection of the environment. 3. the promotion of the establishment of joint production enterprises. 4. the establishment of a common market through. 5. the liberalization of trade by the abolition, among member states, of customs duties levied on imports and exports, and the abolition, among member states, of non-tariff barriers in order to establish a free trade area at the community level. 6. the adoption of a common external tariff and a common trade policy vis-a-vis third countries; 7. the removal, between member states obstacles to the free movement of persons, goods, services and capital and the right of residence and establishment. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 33 8. the establishment of an economic union through the adoption of common policies in the economic, financial, social and cultural sectors, and the creation of a monetary union. 9. the promotion of joint ventures by private sector enterprises and other economic operators, in particular through the adoption of a regional agreement on cross-border investments. 10. the adoption of measures for the integration of the private sectors, particularly the creation of an enabling environment to promote small and medium-scale enterprises. 11. the establishment of an enabling legal environment. 12. the harmonization of national investment codes leading to the adoption of a single community investment code. 13. the harmonization of standards and measures. 14. the promotion of balanced development of the region, paying attention to the special problems of each member state particularly those of landlocked and small island member states. 15. the encouragement and strengthening of relations and the promotion of the flow of information particularly among rural populations, women and youth organizations and socio-professional organizations such as associations of the media, businessmen and women, workers, and trade unions. 16. the adoption of a community population policy which takes into account the need for a balance between demographic factors and socio-economic development. 17. the establishment of a fund for cooperation, compensation and development; and 18. any other activity that member states may decide to undertake jointly with a view to attaining community objectives. organs/structures of ecowas the organizational structure of ecowas consists of the following institutions and specialized agencies as gleaned from the ecowas common investment monograph (2010): institutions: 1. the authority of heads of state and government: it is the highest policy-making organ of the community organization. it is made up of heads of state and government of member states. it meets annually to discuss issues affecting the organization. it approves the appointment of the executive secretary of the organization. it approves all the treaties and agreements of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 34 community. it reviews the recommendations of the council of ministers on the policy objectives of the community. it approves proposals for the amendment of the charter of the community. 2. the council of ministers: the council of ministers consists of two representatives from each member state (30 members). it meets twice a year and it is chairmanship is held in annual rotation among member states in the community. it maintains the objectives of the council of ministers. it prepares the agenda for the meeting of heads of state and governments. it makes recommendations to the authority of heads of state and government for recommendation or consideration e.g. on the appointment of the executive secretary. it prepares the budget of the community and forwards it to the authority of heads of state and governments. it implements the decisions and resolutions adopted by the authority of heads of state and governments. 3. the executive secretariat: the executive secretariat is the administrative headquarters of ecowas and is located in abuja, nigeria. he appoints and directs all members of staff of the secretariat. he prepares and presents the annual report of the community with the authority of the head of state and government. he speaks for the organization. it carries out the day-to-day administration of the community and it is headed by an executive secretary who holds office for four years and may be re-elected. 4. the economic and social council: the economic and social council play a crucial role in advising the ecowas commission and member states on economic and social policies. it also serves as a platform for dialogue between governments, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders to address key issues facing west africa, such as poverty reduction, sustainable development, and regional cooperation. the council's work includes research, policy analysis, and the development of recommendations to advance the economic and social objectives of ecowas. it also oversees the implementation of regional programmes and projects aimed at promoting economic growth, social progress, and poverty alleviation in west africa. 5. the community court of justice: the ecowas community court of justice is the judicial organ of the economic community of west african states (ecowas). it was established to ensure adherence to the rule of law, protection of human rights, and interpretation and application of the provisions of the ecowas treaty and other related legal instruments. the court has jurisdiction to hear cases brought by individuals and corporate bodies against member states for violations of human rights, as well as cases involving the interpretation and application of community texts. it also has the authority to interpret decisions and regulations adopted by ecowas institutions. the ecowas court of justice plays a critical role in promoting human rights and the rule of law in west africa. its decisions are binding on member states, and it has contributed significantly to the development of regional human rights jurisprudence. 6. the community parliament: the ecowas community parliament is one of the institutions of the economic community of west african states (ecowas). it was established to provide representation for the people of west africa and to promote integration and development within the region. the parliament consists of representatives from each member state, including elected members and representatives of civil society organizations. its functions include: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 35 1. providing a platform for dialogue and cooperation among member states on issues of regional importance. 2. promoting democracy, good governance, and the rule of law in west africa. 3. monitoring the implementation of ecowas policies and programmes. 4. making recommendations to the ecowas commission and other institutions on matters of regional concern. 5. while the parliament does not have legislative powers, its role is advisory, and its recommendations carry significant weight in the decision-making processes of ecowas. the parliament meets regularly to discuss key issues facing the region and to make recommendations for action by ecowas member states and institutions. ecowas is also made up of specialized agencies which include: 1. west african monetary agency (wama), 2. regional agency for agriculture and food (raaf) 3. ecowas regional electricity regulatory authority (erera) 4. ecowas centre for renewable energy and energy efficiency (ecreee) 5. the west african power pool (wapp) 6. ecowas brown card 7. ecowas gender development centre (egdc) 8. ecowas youth & sports development centre (eysdc) 9. west african monetary institute (wami) 10. ecowas infrastructure projects preparation and development unit (ppdu) etc. economic content of ecowas one of the objectives of ecowas is to promote economic cooperation and development of member states, positive gains to some extent have been recorded in that direction. for instance, as reported by africa economic outlook (2020) in 2019, ecowas had the fourth largest economy among africa’s recs with a gdp of us$633.1 billion, representing about 25.5% of the continent’s total economy. this constituted an increase of 233.2% from 1990 when gdp was at us$190.0 billion. this is dominated by nigeria (gdp of us$391.4 billion in 2019 constituting 61.8% of the total) and the smallest economies are guinea-bissau, the gambia and cabo verde, each representing less than 0.5% of the community total. the report further noted that the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 36 ecowas economy grew at 3.6% in 2019. however, the covid-19 pandemic greatly affected the region, hampering growth. it was projected to grow at 4% in 2020, yet contracted by almost 1%. the pandemic caused contractions in six of its member states (mali, nigeria, sierra leone, guinea bissau, liberia and cabo verde) in 2020 (africa economic outlook, 2020). according to an oxfam report (2020), the west african region lost about us$48.7 billion in gdp and working hours, which is equivalent to 7 million jobs, in 2020. the region has an optimistic outlook with economic growth to rebound to 4.2% in 2024. this is partly due to most countries signing onto an imf support programme. currently, nine countries (senegal, benin, niger, liberia, sierra leone, the gambia, ghana, côte d’ivoire and cabo verde) are on imf-supported programmes (imf, 2023). also, long-term growth prospects are positive reflecting economic potential. the gdp of ecowas as projected by the world bank will have more than tripled by 2043, reaching about us$2.0 trillion, equivalent to an increase of 214.5% over that period. this will increase the share of ecowas in africa’s economy to about 29.2% by 2043 (world bank, 2021). the gdp increase will largely be driven by the expected growth in nigeria. despite these economic gains and prospects by member states, member states have also recorded some economic setbacks. for instance, the region suffers from high public debt. the average public debt-to-gdp ratio increased from 37.1% in 2019 to 49.3% in 2022. this increase is driven by the widening fiscal deficit, weak domestic currencies and low economic growth. the ratio is particularly high in non-oil exporting countries with the debt-to-gdp ratio reaching 73% in 2022. for instance, in cape verde, it reached 137.1% in 2022. on the other hand, it was low (37% in 2022) for the oil-exporting countries due to the surge in oil prices thereby increasing revenues (world bank, 2022). there is also the problem of external debt; a large part of external debt stems from the growing appetite for eurobond in ecowas. for instance, ghana, nigeria, côte d’ivoire, senegal and the republic of benin have all issued eurobonds over the past decade. as a result, all countries in the region are at risk of debt distress. in 2022, ghana, the gambia, sierra leone, and guinea bissau were classified as high risk, with the remaining countries at moderate risk. in fact, ghana defaulted on its debt in december 2022 and embarked on debt restructuring (world bank, 2022). there is also the problem of high inflation rate; the inflation rate grew from 9.7% to 17% (average from 2014-2020), mainly because of higher inflation rates in non-waemu countries (ghana, sierra leone and nigeria) which was primarily caused by increases in food and energy prices following russia’s invasion of ukraine. this was accentuated by the restrictive monetary policies implemented in advanced economies resulting in tight global financial market conditions. all these challenges are hampering economic recovery and growth in the sub-region these economic poor performances of member states are due largely to the fact that most countries in ecowas rely on primary commodity exports with little or no added value. for instance, nigeria's economy largely depends on exporting its oil, while ghana and côte d’ivoire rely igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 37 significantly on cocoa, gold and other mineral exports. as a result, their economies are susceptible to international commodity price fluctuations and shocks. challenges of ecowas the following are some of the challenges of ecowas as gleaned from ecowas commission (2009); 1. overlapping membership/multiplicity of association this is one challenge that has hampered the deepening of economic integration in west africa. most member states of ecowas belong to other regional and international economic organizations. some of these regional and international organizations have overlapping functions and interests which introduces duplication of efforts and policies. this has worked against the overall objectives of ecowas. 2. lack of political will to ratify/implement ecowas protocol, treaties, policies and agreements most ecowas member states and their government are unwilling or reluctant to implement ecowas treaties and agreements. they find it difficult to incorporate it into their national policies and programmes. nevin as cited in olubomehin and kawonishe (2004), observed that the real challenge facing the ecowas is how to get all member states of the organization reading from the same page. buttressing nevin, ndulo noted that the traditional explanation of the failure of integration schemes in west africa is that there is a lack of political will in the member countries that is necessary to see integration succeed, expressed in the chronic non-observance of commitments undertaken within the respective agreements and in the insufficient use of the instruments set up by these agreements (cited in olubomehin &kawonishe, 2004). this suggests that west african leaders lack the political will to make integration work. worst still is the fact that some member states are reluctant and unwilling to cede or hand over part of their national sovereignty to ecowas. this has made the organization less effective in the implementation of policies, programmes and initiatives. 3. nationalist rivalry ecowas member states rather than promote collective policies and agreement of the union have always preferred promoting national interest. oftentimes, member states have pursued policies and programmes that promote their national interest even though this is at the expense of other member states of the organization. this no doubt contradicts the spirit of unity and cooperation for which the organization was established. it hampers the harmonization of policies and programmes. 4. mono-cultural agro-based economies most of the national economies of the member states are largely monolithic. they specialise in the production of raw materials or primary products. their economies are always poorly integrated and fragmented. because member states lack the capacity to transform their primary products into finished products, they sell them to the west at cheaper prices, and when value has been added to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 38 these products, they are sold back to west africa at exorbitant prices. this hampers intra-regional trade in the sub-region. 5. unwillingness of member states to give up their sovereignty: sovereignty is the ultimate power within a state. this study found that ecowas member states are generally unwilling to give up or share their sovereignty as seen in european integration. part of the reason why the eu succeeded in implementing a custom union (cu) is because member states were willing to share their sovereignty, something which ecowas member states are not willing to do. 6. over-dependence on donor funds: ecowas member states have two main sources of finance; member states contributions and funding from international cooperating partners (icps). this study found that ecowas member states highly depend on donor funds. data released by the world trade organization in 2021 has revealed that more than 50% of the funding within ecowas member states is from icps with the eu being the major donor of ecowas member states. there is also a risk of donors advancing their own agendas in ecowas member states through conditionality attached to aid. as stipulated by the dependency theory, breaking free from dependence on donors is difficult as donors may instil punishments for attempts to break away. donors may thus, manipulate certain positions within ecowas member states in order to advance their own agendas because of the influence they hold as major funders. 7. lack of industrial capacity in ecowas member states; the non-diversity of exports within ecowas member states is considered a major factor affecting intra-ecowas trade. ecowas member states lack industrial capacity for diversified manufactured goods. as a result, the exports within ecowas countries often comprise of goods which are of little value to other member states. findings based on the study, the following observations are made: 1. the study observed that ecowas was established to help address the myriads of socioeconomic challenges that bedevilled the people of the sub-region 2. the paper finds out that ecowas member states have recorded some economic progress and gain since the establishment of the organization as it had the fourth largest economy among africa’s recs with a gdp of us$633.1 billion, representing about 25.5% of the continent’s total economy. 3. the work observed that the dominant challenges that confront ecowas member states in actualizing their objectives of economic integration are; lack of political will multiplicity of regional organizations, unhealthy rivalry among member states etc. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 39 conclusion the economic community of west african states stands as a significant regional bloc in africa, fostering economic integration, political stability, and social development among its member states. since its establishment in 1975, ecowas has played a vital role in promoting peace, security, and economic growth in west africa. through its various institutions, such as the ecowas commission, community parliament, and community court of justice, ecowas has worked to deepen regional economic cooperation, harmonize policies, and resolve conflicts within the region. it has also been instrumental in facilitating trade and investment, promoting regional infrastructure development, and advancing social and cultural exchange among member states. despite facing challenges such as political instability, security threats, and economic disparities among member states, ecowas remains committed to its founding principles of promoting economic cooperation and integration in west africa. as the region continues to evolve, ecowas stands as a beacon of regional unity and cooperation, working towards a more prosperous and peaceful west africa. recommendations the following recommendations are made: 1. ecowas member states should show more commitment to the process of economic integration in the sub-region. they should be prepared to give up their national sovereignty and promote sub-regional interests for socio-economic and political integration to succeed in the sub-region. they should strive to domesticate and implement ecowas treaties, agreements, policies and programmes at the national levels. 2. ecowas leaders should provide purposeful leadership that will drive the socio-economic and political development of the sub-region. references adebayo, o. and ogwu, j. (2011). regional integration and the challenges of development. crescent publication. akinyemi, a. and aluko, i. (1984).reading and documents on ecowas. macmillan press asika, n. (2014). essentials of research methodology. spring publisher. ecowas commission (1991). the imperative of trade liberalization scheme (etls). eowas commission ecowas commission (2009). training of anglophone trainers on the ecowas trade liberalization scheme (etls). eowas commission. ecowas common investment monograph (2010). ecowas journal vol.3 ecowas monograph (2014).the ecowas trade liberalization scheme: genesis, conditions and appraisal”, vol. 2 ethier, f. (2006). regionalism in a multilateral world. university of pennsylvania press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 40 flores, r.g. (2007). the gains from mercosur: a general equilibrium, imperfect competition evaluation. journal of policy modeling, vol.19, no. 1, pp. 1-18. grether, j. & olarreaga, m. (2008). preferential and non-preferential trade flows in world tradeí. wto, staff working paper erad-98-10. nwaorgu, o. (2006). monopoly capitalism and the development tragedy. amajov and coy nigeria publication. selltiz, c. (2008).research methods in social relations. oxford publication. world bank (2021). world development indicators. washington dc: world bank igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 9 no.3, 2023 www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/igwebuikejournals.php a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 16 the universalism of isa 56:1-8 vis-a-vis jesus’ gospel of inclusion in mk 11:17d philip igbo, cmf spiritan international school of theology attakwu, enugu, nigeria philipigbocmf@gmail.com doi:10.13140/rg.2.2.30881.58724 abstract isa 56:1-8 serves as the prologue of 56-66. this passage is characterized by its universalism. it specifies what makes one to belong to the community of god’s people in the era of salvation: keeping justice, practicing righteousness, observing the sabbath, holding fast to what is good, and refraining from evil. ‚justice‛ (mišpāṭ) emphasizes more the order desired by god, and ‚righteousness‛ (ṣeḏāqāh) accords with conformity to societal norms of justice. it also includes the elimination of anything that is at variance to peace and good order. these are the ideals which the prophet calls his hearers to hold fast to as they await the era of salvation. the imminent salvation is open to all nations. in this, isa 56:7 concludes with a strikingly universalistic note. it states that god’s salvific purpose is for all peoples without restriction. god’s salvific action involves drawing people together. this article studies isaiah’s message of inclusion (isa 56:1-8) in the light of jesus’ gospel of inclusion in mk 11:17d. the work uses an exegetical method of biblical analysis. the bible version employed in this work is the new revised standard version. keywords: justice, righteousness, salvation, house, sabbath, foreigner, eunuch. introduction the question of who can become members of the cultic community is one of the concerns addressed by isa 56:1-8. the passage addresses the concerns raised by two groups of people – the foreigner and the eunuch. the foreigner expresses fear of exclusion from the community (v.3a). the eunuch does not protest about any exclusion but about his childless situation (i am a dried-up tree, v. 3b) which seems to offer him no stake in the new era of salvation. the prophet responds to these concerns with an oracle of inclusion. god’s house is open to all without exception. the prophet announces a changed philip igbo 17 understanding of the membership of the community. it is no longer determined by ethnic or national considerations, but by a level of moral performance – doing what is right and holding fast to yahweh’s covenant (vv.1f, 4, 6). this oracle lays the door open to people who were formerly thought to be excluded. now the previous lines of exclusivity are broken down and the expanse of god’s mercy is extended. the prophet declares that god’s salvific purpose is directed to all people without restriction. structural and stylistic feature of isa 56:1-8 isa 56:1-8 falls into a three-fold structure: vv.1-2; 3-7; 8.1 the passage is characterized by repetitions that express emphasis. the recurrence of the verb šāmar (keep) in vv.1-2, 4, and 6 creates a coherent movement and unity.2 secondly, it helps to underline the author’s central theme of the necessity of human response to the imminent divine intervention.3 the triple repetition of the root qbs (to gather) in v. 8a stresses the salvific gathering of the people by the lord god. the divine name ‘yahweh’ reoccurs seven times (vv.la, 3a, 3b, 4a, 6a, 6b, 8a), three times in the context of speech formulas common to the prophetic writings: ‚thus says the lord‛ (vv. la, 4a) and ‚says the lord‛ (v. 8a). these repetitions are a reminder that it is god’s word which is given.4 background and date of isa 56:1-8 deut 23:1-8 has often been seen as a possible source of the lament by the foreigner in isa 56:3a. deut 23:3a mentions the nationalities whose descendants should not be admitted to the assembly of the lord the ammorites or moabites even to the tenth generation. in ancient judaism, foreigners were not allowed to participate in the cult (exod 29:33; 30:33; lev 29:10, 12-13; num.1:51; 3:10, 38; 16:40; 18:4, 7). even their animals were considered unsuitable for sacrifice (lev 22:25).5 another possible background of isa 56:1-8 is ezek 40-48, which constitutes a restoration program for the post-exilic community. ezek 44:9 strongly prohibits the inclusion of foreigners (benê-nēḵār) in the liturgy: ‚thus says the lord god: no foreigner“shall enter my sanctuary.‛ the third possible background of isa 56:1-8 is the rigorism of ezra/nehemiah in post-exilic judah, which appeared to forbid the inclusion of foreigners 1 p. r. ackroyd, “isaiah”, the interpreter’s one volume commentary on the bible. (nashville: abingdon. 1971): 365-366. 2 c. r. seitz, isaiah 40-66, nib vi (nashville: abingdon press, 2001). 3 p. a. smith, “rhetoric and redaction in trito-isaiah: the structure, growth and authorship in isaiah 56-66,” svt 62 (new york: brill, 1995): 53. 4 c. westermann. basic forms of prophetic speech. (philadelphia: westminster press. 1967): 93-95. 5 e. j. hamlin, “foreigner,” idb 2 (e-j), g. a. buttrick (ed). (new york: abingdon press. 1962): 310. the universalism of isa 56:1-8 vis-a-vis jesus’ gospel of inclusion in mk 11:17d 18 (neh13:3) to the post-exilic community. nehemiah, apparently on the grounds of deut 23:3 (mt 23:4), demanded the annulment of the marriages with non-israelite women (neh 13:1f). if we read isa 56:1-8 in light of the demand by ezra/nehemiah, then it is not surprising that the foreigners who had become part of the faith expressed fear of possible exclusion from the community.6 isaiah breaks new ground in calling for the inclusion of foreigners and eunuchs (who were normally excluded) into the worshipping community. isa 56:1-8 broadens the boundaries of who can belong to the worshipping community. most authors date isa 56:1-8 to postexilic period.7 analysis of isa 56:1-8 isaiah 56:1-8 serves as the prologue of isa 56-66. the passage begins with the messenger formula, ‚thus says the lord‛ (kōh ’āmar yhwh) and concludes with the oracular formula (ne’ūm ’ặḏōnāy yhwh). the messenger formula, ‚thus says the lord‛, in v.1a and v.4a, gives authority to the prophetic declaration. the formula serves to attribute divine authority to the prophetic oracle.8 the oracular formula in v. 8a adds a further note of finality and summarizes the oracle which the prophet proclaims as the explicit will of god. isa 56:1-2: the way of justice toward salvation verses 1-2 center on the theme of imminent salvation. isa 56:1 begins with an exhortation: ‚keep justice‛ (šimrû mišpāṭ) and ‚do righteousness‛ (‘ặsû ṣeḏāqāh, v.1ab) and proceeds to announce the imminence of god’s salvation: ‚for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed‛ (v.1b). this salvation is open to those who ‚keep justice‛ and ‚do righteousness.‛ the imperative, ‚keep justice‛ (šimrû mišpāṭ) in v.1a, is parallel to ‚do righteousness‛ (‘ặsû ṣeḏāqāh) in v.1b. the imperative ‚keep‛ (šimrû) introduces an accusative of obligation, i.e., what ought to be done, i.e., mišpāṭ and ṣeḏāqāh. the primary meaning of mišpāṭ is right judgment.9 in 59:14b, mišpāṭ refers to human relations in public life. the 6r. n. whybray. isaiah 40-66. (philadelphia: westminster press. 1990): 197-198. 7 c. e. hammock, “isaiah 56:1-8 and the redefining of the restoration judean community” btb 30 (2000): 49 (46-57); j. l. mckenzie, “isaiah,” dictionary of the bible (1965): 402; mckenzie. second isaiah (1968): 151; r. n. whybray. “isaiah 40-66,” new century bible commentary. (london: eerdmans. 1990): 41; c. r. north. “isaiah”. interpreter’s dictionary of the bible (1962): 742; a. s. herbert. the book of the prophet isaiah 40-66 (1975): 133. 8 b. s. childs. isaiah. (london: john knox press. 2001): 455. 9 b. johnson, “mišpat” in tdot 9, g. j. botterweck (ed). (grand rapids: eerdmans. 1998): 93. philip igbo 19 absence of justice (mišpāṭ) implies a breach in the relation between humans or between israel and god.10 justice and righteousness often form a word pair (cf. isa.1:27; 5:7, 16; 9:6; 28:17; 32:16; 33:5; 58:2: 59:9, 14), and can be regarded as synonyms. as j. l. koole has said, ‚justice‛ (mišpāṭ) emphasizes more the order desired by god, and ‚righteousness‛ (ṣeḏāqāh) stresses more the fellowship between god and people and between people themselves.11 righteousness, according to r. sutherland, accords with conformity to societal norms.12 for f. brown, s. r. driver, and c. a. briggs (bdb) ‚keeping justice‛ implies doing what is ethically right.13 the prophet calls his hearers to hold fast to these ideals as they await the era of salvation. for my salvation comes, my justice revealed (v.1b) the sequence of thought here moves from ‚exhortation‛: ‚keep justice/do righteousness‛ in 56:1a to the declaration of the imminence of salvation in 56:1b: ‚for soon my salvation will come, and my deliverance be revealed.‛ the conjunctive particle kî (for) in 56:1 introduces the motive clause and ushers in the reason why one should heed the call in v.1a: ‚for soon my salvation will come.14 the hebrew term ‚ṣeḏāqāh‛ is used in two senses in isa 56:1. in v.1a ṣeḏāqāh is used in the proto-isaian sense of ‚righteousness‛; in v.1b, it is used in the deutero-isaian sense of ‚deliverance.‛15 the practice of righteousness (ṣeḏāqāh, v.1a) is motivated by the imminence of god’s deliverance (ṣeḏāqāh, v.lb). what compels righteousness is the recognition that god is going to keep his covenant promises. the author calls on his listeners to be righteous because of the righteousness of god. although this divine redemptive act is not yet visible, its dawn is in the imminent future (is 56:1, cf. 5).16 salvation open to all humans (v.2). 10 d. kendall, “the use of mišpat in isa.59,” zaw 96 (1984): 399 (391-405). 11j. l. koole. isaiah part iii, vol 3: isaiah 56-66, historical commentary on the old testament. (louven: peters. 2001): 7. 12 r. sutherland. “righteousness” in the lutherworth dictionary of the bible. (cambridge: the lutherworth press, 1994): 766. 13 f. brown, s. r. driver, c. a. briggs (bdb), hebrew and english lexicon of the old testament. (massachusetts: hendrickson. 2003 [originally published 1906]): 842. 14 g. j. polan. in the way of justice toward salvation: a rhetorical analysis of isaiah 56-66, american university studies vii, theology and religion. (new york: peter lang. 1986): 56; cf. l. koehler et al, the hebrew & aramaic lexicon of the old testament. (cd-rom edition, 1994-2000). 15 j. w. olley. righteousness in the septuagint of isaiah: a contextual study. (missoula: scholars press. 1979): 71. 16 l. koehler, et al. the hebrew & aramaic lexicon of the old testament. (cd-rom edition, 1994-2000); bdb. hebrew and english lexicon of the old testament. (massachusetts: hendrickson. 2003): 97. the universalism of isa 56:1-8 vis-a-vis jesus’ gospel of inclusion in mk 11:17d 20 verse 2 begins by proclaiming as blessed those who keep justice and practice righteousness. this macarism proclaimed in v.2 broadens its scope and includes all who ‚keep the sabbath‛ and ‚hold fast‛ yahweh’s covenant (v.6c). verse two identifies those who will share in god’s salvation. it is open to all humans (ben-’ādām, ’ĕnôš). the two words, ’ĕnôš (mortal) and ben-’ādām (human being, literally, son of adam), are used in the most generic and universal sense. in ot usage, ’ādām and ’ĕnôš refer to mankind in general.17 this suggests that the salvation which is proclaimed as coming applied to humanity in general. the noun construct kol is inclusive. the blessedness applies to ‚all‛ (kol) who practice justice and keep the sabbath. why is so much emphasis placed on the sabbath commandment here? it is because the sabbath is the sign of the covenant (exod 31:12ff; ezek 20:12, 20). sabbath-keeping means holding fast ‚my covenant‛ (ḇerîṯî, v 6; cf. lev 26:42, 45). keeping the sabbath is a specific and symbolic example of doing the will of yahweh.18 trito-isaiah regards the observance of the sabbath as epitomizing righteousness. membership of the reconstituted community (vv.3-7) isa 56:3-7 shift the focus to who can be a member of the community. this strophe presents two classes of people the foreigner and the eunuch gives expression to their fears and sets those fears at rest. verses 3-7 follow a chiastic structure. there is an inversion of foreigner, eunuch (v.3); eunuch, foreigner (v.4-7). the concern of the foreigner is introduced first (v.3a) and responded last (vv.6-7), while the fear of the eunuch is introduced last (v.3b) and responded first (vv.4-5). the concern of the foreigner (v.3a) verse 3a expresses the concern of the ‚foreigner‛ (ben-hannēḵār): ‚the lord will surely separate me from his people.‛ whereas v. 3a and v. 6a speak of the foreigner having joined (lāwāh) himself to the lord, in v. 3b the foreigner expresses a fear of exclusion from yahweh’s people. the verb employed by the foreigner, in stating his fear, is striking. the combination (haḇdēl yaḇdîlanî) underlines the gravity of what the foreigner fears may happen. the verb bādāl usually means ‚to separate‛ or ‚to set apart.‛ the same verb is used in speaking of israel as being set apart from other peoples (lev 20:24; num 16:9; lev 20:26) and of the tribe of levi being set apart by yahweh for the sacred ministry. however, isa 56:3 refers to a separation of undesired elements. apparently, the foreigner 17 f. maass, “’adam”, tdot.1. g. j. botterwech (ed). (grand rapids: eerdmans. 1974): 75; f. maass, "‟enos”, tdot 1. g. j. botterwech (ed). (grand rapids: eerdmans, 1974): 346; h. haag “ben-‟adam”, tdot 2, g. j. botterwech (ed). (grand rapids: eerdmans, 1975): 163. 18 j. d. w. watts. isaiah 34-66, wbc 25. (dallas: word books. 1987): 248. philip igbo 21 does not complain about the decision of the congregation but about yahweh, who seems to abandon him. the concern of the eunuch (v.3b) the concern of the eunuch is contrasted with that of the foreigner. the eunuch does not protest his exclusion from the congregation but about his childless condition: ‚behold, i am a dried-up tree‛ (vhēn ’ănî ‘ēs yābēš, v.3b). the expression, ‚i am a dried-up tree‛ (v. 3b), is a deprecating remark about the eunuch’s inability to father children. the comparison to a tree (‘ēs) is a common metaphor (isa10:18; 44:4). authors like g. h. johnston19, b. kedar-kopfstein20, g. b. eager21, j. morgenstern,22 s. frost,23 and e. davis24 agree that the term, ‚eunuch‛ (sārîs), primarily and literally refers to a sexually mutilated man (deut 23:1; cf. lev 22.23-25). in the exilic times, some of these eunuchs were used for service at the imperial courts, especially in the harems.25 such physical mutilation of the privy parts, as g. h. johnson remarks, was considered contrary to the design of god, especially because it destroyed the procreative power of the israelites.26 the law (lev 21:20; deut 23:1)27 excluded people with physical blemishes from public worship28 (lev 21:16 ff; 22:24). the concern of the eunuch addressed (vv.4-5) the complaint of the eunuch in v.3b about his hopeless situation is now addressed in vv.4f. verses 4-5 present a promise-condition pattern. in v.5, yahweh promises to ‘give’ the eunuch who ‚keeps‛ the sabbaths, holds fast to his covenant, and does what pleases the lord (v.4) into ‚a monument and a name‛ (yāḏ wāšēm) within his house (v.5). verse 5 further says that the name which yahweh will give him will be better than son and daughters because it endures in perpetuity. 19 g. h. johnston. “saris,” “in dictionary of theology and exegesis. (cd rom edition). 20 b. kedar-kopfstein. “saris”. in tdot 10. g. j. butterweck (ed). (grand rapids: eerdmans. (1999): 346-347. 21 g. b. eager, “eunuch”, n. 3242. international standard bible encyclopedia, electronic edition (bible works). 22 j. morgenstern. “eunuch”, an encyclopedia of religion. vergilius ferm (ed). (new york: the philosophical library. 1945): 260. 23 s. frost. “memorial of the childless man: a study of the hebrew thought on immortality.” int 26 (1972): 445. 24 e. davis, “eunuch”, encyclopaedia judaica.6. (jerusalem: encyclopaedia judaica. 1971): 959. 25 j. blenkinsopp, “second isaiah, prophet of universalism” jsot 40, (1988): 95 (83-103.). r. n. whybray. isaiah 40-66. (london: eerdmans.1990): 198. 26g. h. johnston. “saris.” dictionary of theology and exegesis. (cd rom edition). 27 “he whose testicles are crushed or whose male member is cut off shall not enter the assembly of the lord.” (deut 23:1 [rsv]). 28 c. u. wolf, “eunuch” in idb vol 2. (new york: abingdon press. 1962): 179. the universalism of isa 56:1-8 vis-a-vis jesus’ gospel of inclusion in mk 11:17d 22 the expression, yāḏ wāšēm (monument and name) appears in the ot only here. scholars such as p. r. ackroyd,29 b. duhm,30 c. westermann31, and l. koehler and w. baumgartner32 understand the hebrew word yāḏ in this context to mean ‚monument‛ or ‚memorial‛. winkle interprets yāḏ wāšēm as ‚memorial stele‛.33 the prophet announced that the name which god will give the eunuch is an everlasting name (šēm ‘ôlām) which ‚shall not be cut off‛. to cut off one’s name, as j. blenkinsopp remarks, is equivalent to obliterating the memory of someone.34 though the eunuch may not have children to perpetuate his name, the memorial which he receives in yahweh’s house constitutes an everlasting name that endures forever. 35 it is a permanent remembrance36 of a non-physical kind. here, the name is seen in the light of an uninterrupted fellowship with yahweh. by this uninterrupted fellowship, the eunuch becomes a symbol of a life dedicated to god.37 the ‚monument‛ or the ‚name‛ that the eunuch receives is significant because it is to be ‚in my (yahweh’s) house (bəḇêṯî) and within my walls‛ (isa 56:5). here, ‚my house‛ (ḇêṯî) and ‚my walls‛ (ḥômōtay) are juxtaposed by means of an emphatic waw. this suggests that the temple building is meant. consequently, the niv interprets bəḇêṯî as ‚within my temple.‛ thus, the eunuch, who apparently cannot have a ‚house‛ of his own, is given a place in god’s house. fidelity to the covenant (isa 56:4) is the criterion for the realization of this promise. it is striking that the ‚monument‛ and the ‚name‛ which god promises the eunuch is said to be better than sons and daughters. winkle thinks that a monument stele may be better than sons and daughters in one way: it endures longer.38 the monument is a remembrance by which the eunuch’s name will be perpetuated. this new openness towards the eunuch implies that the life of the eunuch does not depend on the memories of later people (progeny) but is guaranteed by fellowship with the eternal one. this, however, involves a personal exercise of his will and depends on a level of moral performance. the eunuch, himself, is left to choose (bāhar) to align himself to yahweh, i.e., doing justice, practicing 29 p. r. ackroyd, “yad,” tdot 5. g. j. botterweck (ed). (grand rapids: eerdmans. 1986): 400-402. 30 b. duhm. das buch jesaia. 1958, p.422, quoted by g. robinson, “the meaning of rad, isaiah 56:5,” zaw 88 (1976): 282 (282-284). 31 c. westermann. isaia 40-66. antico testamento 19. (brescia: paideia editrice. 1978): 378. 32 l. koehler, w. baumgartner, the hebrew and aramaic lexicon of the old testament. (leiden: brill, 1994-2000, cd rom edition). 33d. w. v. winkle, “the meaning of yad wasem in isaiah lvi 5”, vt 47 (1997): 279 (378-385). 34 j. blenkinsopp. isa 56-66. anchor bible 19b. (new york: the anchor bible. 2003): 139. 35 winkle. “the meaning of yad wašem in isaiah lvi.5,” vt 47/3 (1997) p.384 (378-385). 36 j. l. mckenzie. second isaiah, ab 20. (new york: doubleday. 1968): 151. 37 s. virgulin. isaia. (rome: edizione paoline 24. 1968): 309. 38 winkle, vt 47 (1997) p.382. philip igbo 23 righteousness, and keeping the sabbath. on his choice will the fulfillment of the promise depend. the concern of the foreigner addressed (vv. 6-7) isa 56:6-7 offers an inclusive view of the community. in v.3a and 6ab, the foreigner (hannēḵār) is described as one who joins himself to the lord (hannilwîm ‘al-yhwh). circumcision seems to be taken for granted or is included in the phrase ‚who join themselves to the lord‛. the somewhat vague reason for ‚joining oneself to the lord‛ is explained in v.6a by a series of three infinitives to serve/minister (lešārṯô piel infinitive construct of šāraṯ) the lord, to love (le’ahăbāh qal infinitive construct of ’āhaḇ) the name of the lord, and to be (lihyôṯ qal infinitive construct of the verb hāyāh) his servants. ‚to love‛ the name of the lord‛ (isa 56:6) takes us into the ethos of deuteronomy (deut 6:5, 13; 7:9; 10:8; 13:3 etc). here the prophet announces a new understanding of membership of the community. it is no longer limited to kinship. in v.6b, membership of the community expands in scope to include ‚everyone‛ who ‚keeps the sabbath‛ (kol-šōmēr šabbāṯ), and who holds fast to yahweh’s covenant (maḥăzîqîm biḇrîṯî). the phrase, ‚hold fast to my covenant‛ (56: 4, 6) is a metonymy for ‚keep my sabbath.‛ holding fast to yahweh’s covenant and keeping the sabbath, together with observing justice and practicing righteousness become specific requirements that inclusion into the worshipping community. now the previous lines of exclusivity are broken down (isa 56:3-7) and the expanse of the lord’s mercy is extended. here, the qualification for inclusion into the cultic community is the readiness to put oneself at the disposal of yahweh. the temple as god’s house of prayer for all peoples (isa 56:7) the prophet responds to the foreigner’s fear of exclusion from the community of god’s people with an oracle of inclusion in v.7. this verse and the final oracle in v.8 further expand the universalistic note of this passage.39 god promises three things to the foreigner who keeps the sabbath – access to his ‚holy mountain‛ (har qodeš); admittance to his ‚house of prayer‛ and acceptance of their burnt offerings and their sacrifices ‚on my (god’s) altar‛ (‘al-mizbəḥî). in addition, their prayers will be acceptable in god’s house of prayer (ḇêṯî tepillāh; v.7ab). isa 56:7 is the only place in the hebrew bible where the temple is referred to as yahweh’s ‚house of prayer‛ (ḇêṯî tepillāh). the universalism and accessibility of god’s temple to all nations is expressed in declaration: “for my house 39 j. blenkinsopp. isaiah 56-66, ab 19 b. (new york: the anchor bible. 2003): 131. the universalism of isa 56:1-8 vis-a-vis jesus’ gospel of inclusion in mk 11:17d 24 shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples‛ (kî ḇêṯî ḇêṯ-tepillāh yiqqārē’ lĕkolhā‘ammîm; v.7c). the imperfect form, ‚shall be called‛ (yiqqārē’ niphal imperfect 3rd person masculine of qārā’), refers to a future that is secretly present. here, the author places emphasis on the significance of the temple as a house of prayer. this does not suggest that sacrifices and offerings are no longer acceptable; what it implies is that the basic understanding of the temple’s function has changed. it is a place of prayer (cf. 1kg 8:27-53), of communion with god,40 and a gathering place for teaching (isa 2:2-4). elsewhere in isa 2:1-4 and mic 4:1-5, zion/jerusalem is portrayed as a place where nations converge to learn of god’s way/torah. isa 56:7 is the only text where it is explicitly said that the foreigner will have equal status within the worshipping community of israel. in this, the text strikes a strikingly universalistic note. it states that god’s purpose for his house is directed to all people without restriction. this prepares the way for the final oracular statement in v.8.41 v.8: yahweh, the gatherer of israel the oracle closes in v.8 with a solemn formula of finality. the oracular formula in v.8, ne’ūm ’ặḏōnāy yhwh (utterance of the lord god), forms a literary bracket with the messenger formula in v.1 (kōh ’āmar yhwh). this formula reinforces the divine and authoritative nature of the message earlier proclaimed in vv.1-7. god is here portrayed as the one ‚who gathers‛ (meqabbēṣ piel participle masc sing of the verb qābaṣ to gather) israel’s dispersed. the theme of gathering (v.8) is associated with the motif of restoration.42 god’s salvific action involves drawing people together. those to be gathered are referred to as ‚israel’s dispersed‛ (nidhê yisrā’ēl) and a second batch is referred to simply as ‚still others‛ besides those already gathered. authors like r. e. clements and g. t. sheppard identify the ‚yet others‛ as converts from the nations.43 40 j. d. w. watts. isaiah 34-66, wbc 25. (dallas: word books. 1987): 249-250. 41 p. a. smith, “rhetoric and redaction in trito-isaiah: the structure, growth and authorship in isaiah 56-66,” vtsup. (new york: brill. 1995): 64-65. 42 g. widengren, “yahweh‟s gathering of the dispersed,” jsotsup31, w. b. barrick and j. spencer (ed). (1984): 241; b. gosse, “sabbath, identity and universalism go together after the return from exile,” jsot 29 (2005): 359-70. 43 g. t. sheppard. “isaiah” in the harper collins bible commentary. (new york: harper collins. 1988): 530. philip igbo 25 the prepositional phrase, ‚to him‛ (‘ālāw), apparently refers to israel. thus, the motif of the in-gathering is the uniting of others to israel.44 the in-gathering, as g. widengren notes, is in an eschatological future (isa 56:8).45 in the eschatological vision of the new heavens and the new earth in isa 66:22-24, the temple is the center of the re-made cosmos.46 isa 66 places the events described in the context of the end time, and therefore, parallels isa 56:1-8. isa 56:7 vis-a-vis jesus’ gospel of inclusion in mk 11:17d mk 11:17d is the climax of the temple cleansing episode in mk 11:15-17. jesus ‚entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling and those who were buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves‛ (mk 11:15). the merchants were profiteering on the pilgrims, charging commissions. the pigeon sellers were selling sacrificial offerings to the pilgrims. the priestly families seem to have had control of these businesses. jesus frowned at the commercial activities going on in the court of the gentiles, rendering the place unconducive for the gentiles worshippers.47 jesus’ protest action in the temple cleansing episode is, first, a demonstration of messianic authority. second, it is an indictment of the temple authorities for turning the temple into a bazaar, cluttering the outer court of the gentiles, and making it unsuitable as a place of worship for the gentiles who come to the temple to pray.48 jesus’ ground for taking such an action is the scripture: ‚is it not written, ‘my house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? but you have made it a den of robbers‛ (mk 11:17). jesus’ action in mk 11:17 alludes to three main ot passages. first, it alludes to solomon’s famous prayer of dedication (1 kgs 8:22-54) which asks god to hear even the ‚foreigner‛ who comes to that temple to pray. second, it alludes to isa 56:7 which proclaims the temple as a ‚house of prayer for all nations‛, and third, it alludes to jer 7:11, which cautions against making god’s temple a ‚den of robbers.‛49 44 g. j. polan. in the way of justice toward salvation: a rhetorical analysis of isaiah 56-66, american university studies series vii, theology and religion (new york: peter lang. 1986): 78. 45g. widengren, “yahweh‟s gathering of the dispersed.” jsotsup31. w. b. barrick and j. spencer (ed). (1984): 239 (227-245). 46j. blenkinsopp. “second isaiah, prophet of universalism”. in jsot 40 (1988): 97 (83-103). 47 e. p. gould. the gospel according to st. mark. critical and exegetical commentary on the gospel to st. mark. (edinburgh: t & t clark. 1983): 213. 48 m. a. awabdy & f. j. long. “mark‟s inclusive of „for all nations‟ in 11:17d and the international vision of isaiah.” the journal of inclusive biblical studies. 1 (2014): 234 (pp.224-255). retrieved january 25, 2018, from http://place.asburyseminary.edu. 49 p. perkins. the gospel of mark. nib 8. l. e. keck (ed). (nashville: abingdon. 1995): 661. the universalism of isa 56:1-8 vis-a-vis jesus’ gospel of inclusion in mk 11:17d 26 isa 56:7c offers ideological background to mk 11:17d. the quotation in 11:17d: ‚my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations‛ (ho oikos mou oikos proseuchēs klēthēsetai pasin tois ethnesin) is a literary rendering of isa 56:7c: ‚for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples‛ (kî ḇêṯî ḇêṯ-tepillāh yiqqārē’ lĕkol-hā‘ammîm). isa 56:7c states that god’s purpose for his house is directed to all people without restriction. in the temple-cleansing episode (mk 11:15-17), mark’s jesus reaffirms the very purpose of god’s temple which isaiah had earlier stated (isa 56:7): it is ‚a house of prayer for all peoples.‛ thus, mark portrays jesus as the agent of god’s international mission which is also stated in isaiah 56:1-8. it is not that jesus condemns completely the commercial activity at the temple which provided coinage and animals for offering in the temple, both of which were necessary for the normal activities at the temple. what jesus condemns is turning the outer court of the temple into a noisy, haggling marketplace,50 and disrupting the temple’s cultic life.51 by driving the merchants out of the temple, mark’s jesus clears the way, figuratively, for the restored worship of the kingdom of god, in which all nations will participate along with the israelites. jesus’ action and teaching in mk 11:17 reflect the ideological impulse of isa 56:7. conclusion isa 56:1-8 begins and ends with the assurance of salvation which consists in the ingathering of people who are to form the future israel.52 here, yahweh’s offer of salvation is all-embracing and inclusive of those who were often viewed as excluded (foreigners and eunuchs). the ‚new assembly‛ makes room for new situations and new possibilities; it opens the door of the cultic community to converts from the gentile world.53 incorporation and membership of this cultic community are determined not on ethnic or national considerations but on a profession of faith and on a level of moral performance compatible with it. it involves a commitment to doing god’s will i.e., doing what is right, practicing justice, observing the yahweh’s covenant, and keeping his sabbath. the passage invites us to guide against any narrow-minded exclusivism which tends to exclude others. references ackroyd, p. r. (1958). ‚yad,‛ tdot 5 (1986): 400-402; 50 c. f. d. moule. mark. the cambridge bible commentary. (cambridge: cambridge university press. 1965): 89. 51 w. harrington. mark (wilmington, delaware. 1979): 180. 52 blenkinsopp. “second isaiah – prophet of universalism,” jsot 41 (1988): 94. 53 a. gelston, “universalism in second isaiah”, jts 43, part 2. (1992) p.388 (377-397). philip igbo 27 ackroyd, p. r. (1971). ‚isaiah‛, the interpreter’s one volume commentary on the bible. edited by c. m. laymon. (nashville: abingdon. 1971): 365-366. awabdy, m. a. and long f. j. ‚mark’s inclusive of ‘for all nations’ in 11:17d and the international vision of isaiah.‛ the journal of inclusive biblical studies. vol 1 (2014): 224-255. retrieved january 25, 2018, from http://place.asburyseminary.edu. blenkinsopp, j. ‚second isaiah, prophet of universalism‛. in jsot 40 (1988): 83-103. blenkinsopp, j. isaiah 56-66, ab volume 19b. (new york: the anchor bible, 2003). brown, f., driver, s. r., briggs, c.a. hebrew and english lexicon of the old testament (massachusetts: hendrickson. 2003). childs, b. s. isaiah (london: john knox press. 2001). eager, g. b. ‚eunuch‛, n.3242, international standard bible encyclopedia, electronic edition (bible works). frost, s. memorial of the childless man: a study of the hebrew thought on immortality, int 26 (1972): 437-450. gelston, a. ‚universalism in second isaiah‛, jts 43, part 2 (1992): 377-397. gosse, b. ‚sabbath, identity and universalism go together after the return from exile,‛ jsot 29 (2005): 359-370. gould, e. p. the gospel according to st. mark. critical and exegetical commentary on the gospel to st. mark. (edinburgh: t & t clark. 1983). haag, h. ‚ben-’adam‛, tdot 2. g. j. botterwech (ed). (grand rapids: eerdmans (1975): 159-165. hamlin, e. j. ‚foreigner.‛ idb 2 (e-j), g. a. buttrick (ed). (new york: abingdon press, 1962): 310311. hammock, c. e. ‚isaiah 56:1-8 and the redefining of the restoration judean community‛. btb 30 (2000): 46-57. harrington, w. mark. (wilmington, delaware, 1979). herbert, a. s. the book of the prophet isaiah 40-66. (london: cambridge university press. 1975). johnson, b. mišpat. in tdot 9, g. j. botterweck (ed). (grand rapids: eerdmans. 1998): 86-98. johnston, g. h. saris. dictionary of theology and exegesis. cd rom edition. kedar-kopfstein., b. ‚saris‛ in tdot 10. g. j. butterweck (ed). (grand rapids: eerdmans. 1999): 344350. kendall, d. the use of mišpat in isa.59, zaw 96 (1984): 391-405. koehler, l., baumgartner, w. the hebrew and aramaic lexicon of the old testament. (leiden: brill. cd rom edition. 1994-2000). koole, j. l. isaiah part iii, vol 3: isaiah 56-66, historical commentary on the old testament. (louven: peters. 2001). maass, f. ‚’enos‛, in tdot 1. g. j. botterwech (ed). (grand rapids: eerdmans. 1974): 345-348. maass, f. ‚’adam‛, in tdot.1. g. j. botterwech (ed). (grand rapids: eerdmans. 1974): 75-87. mckenzie, j. l. isaiah. dictionary of the bible. (milwaukee: bruce. 1965): 397-403. mckenzie, j. l. second isaiah, ab 20. (new york: doubleday. 1968). moule, c. f. d. mark. the cambridge bible commentary. cambridge: cambridge university press. 1965). north, c. r. isaiah. in interpreter’s dictionary of the bible. vol. 2. g. a. buttrick (ed). (new york: abingdon press. 1962): 731-744. the universalism of isa 56:1-8 vis-a-vis jesus’ gospel of inclusion in mk 11:17d 28 olley, j. w. righteousness in the septuagint of isaiah: a contextual study. (missoula: scholars press. 1979). perkins, p. the gospel of mark. nib 8. l. e. keck (ed). (nashville: abingdon. 1995). polan, g. j. in the way of justice toward salvation: a rhetorical analysis of isaiah 56-66. (new york: peter lang. 1986). robinson, g. the meaning of rad, isaiah 56:5. in zaw 88 (1976): 282-284. seitz, c. r. isaiah 40-66. in nib vi. l. e. keck (ed). (nashville: abingdon press. (2001): 309-552. sheppard, g. t. isaiah. in the harper collins bible commentary. new york: harper collins. 1988): 489-537. smith, p. a. rhetoric and redaction in trito-isaiah: the structure, growth and authorship in isaiah 5666. in vtsup 62. (new york: brill. 1995). sutherland, s. ‚righteousness‛ in the lutherworth dictionary of the bible. w. e.mills (ed). (cambridge: the lutherworth press. (1994): 766-767. virgulin, s. isaia (rome: edizione paoline. vol 24, number 1 1968): 309. watts, j. d. w. isaiah 34-66, wbc 25. (dallas: word books. 1987). westermann, c. isaiah, 40-66. (philadelphia: westminster press. 1969). westermann, c. basic forms of prophetic speech. philadelphia: westminster press. 1967). westermann, c. isaia 40-66, antico testamento 19. (brescia: paideia editrice. 1978). whybray, r. n. isaiah 40-66. new century bible commentary. london: eerdmans. 1990). widengren, g. ‚yahweh’s gathering of the dispersed.‛ jsotsup31. w. b. barrick and j. spencer (ed). (1984): 227-245. winkle, d. w. v. ‚the meaning of yad wašem in isaiah lvi.5.‛ vt 47 (1997): 378-385. wolf, c. u. ‚eunuch.‛ idb vol 2. new york: abingdon. 1962): 179-180. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 9 no.3, 2023 www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/igwebuikejournals.php a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 164 affluence in poverty: the prideful nigerian prosperity gospel (ευαγγέλιο eυημερίας [evangélio evimerías]), in light of the laodicean church experience, revelation 3:16-22 stephen chukwukamadu osaji-nwafili, phd crowther graduate theological seminary igbein, abeokuta osajinwafilis@gmail.com doi:10.13140/rg.2.2.30881.58724 abstract the contemporary nigerian christian society is suffused with various shades of prosperity gospel (eσαγγέλιο εσημερίας [evangélio evimerías]), garbed with quests for materialism. this brand of gospel which references faith in god, as a panacea for poverty eradication, gateway to health stability and victory over spiritual warfare, has produced very uncomfortable superficialities of religious attitudes among nigerian christians. tracing its origin and growth, the paper highlights the prideful lushness and challenges of the trend in nigeria, in comparison with the prideful status of the laodicean church, in rev. 3:14-22. referencing the materialistic and physical health attitude, devoid of spiritual health in the laodicean socio-religious society, the paper further compares the trend with the specters of materialism and corruption in the nigeria prosperity gospel. thus, with the impoverished state of the nation’s economy, and the constant efforts of nigerians, in quests for freedom from impoverishments, many cling to this theological perceptive in attempts to bridging the gulch of class and social inequalities in nigeria. the resultant consequence has been the problem of materialism, false religious identities, free display of fake ministers and pseudo-religiosities becoming endemic in nigerian churches. there is therefore the need for christianity in nigeria to retrace her steps back to a genuine and gratifying affluence, in a spirituality that should be christ oriented. keywords: affluence, poverty, prideful, prosperity gospel, nigeria, laodicean church introduction since the advent of christianity in 1842, nigeria has experienced diverse religious colourations, reflective of her christian culture and practices. topmost of all in the contemporary, is an offshoot of an indigenous pentecostal revivalism the celebrated stephen chukwukamadu osaji-nwafili 165 ‘prosperity gospel’ (eςαγγέλιο εςημεπίαρ [evangélio evimerías]), amidst an all roundly religious society reflective of god, but garbed with endemic corruption and a high tasty quest for materialism. the extent the prosperity gospel (ηο eςαγγέλιο ηηρ εςημεπίαρ [to evangélio tēs evimerías]) has infested the nigerian religious society is prideful and overwhelming, as there is a broad drifts of human movements from the mainstream and indigenous churches, to denominations that emphasize on it. astronomically, its advances across other nigerian religious expressions like, islam and the traditional religions are also noticeably prevalent. as presupposed by (phiri, & maxwell, 2015) in (kitause, & achunike, 2015), the growth of this ‚prosperity-tinged pentecostalism‛ has advanced faster than virtually all strands of christianity, as well as other religious groups with islam inclusive. descriptively, the teaching of the prosperity gospel (ηο eςαγγέλιο ηηρ εςημεπίαρ [to evangélio tēs evimerías]) accentuates the achievement of success on the measurement of one’s level of commitment and demonstration of faith (gifford, 2006). emphasizing on this, contents of the trending gospel in nigeria, highlight more of material wealth, financial breakthroughs and the availability of divine health. it also highlights descriptive implications of themes on demonology and spiritual warfare among its devotees. gifford, in exemplifying this, remarked on the drifts the trend has made, from the known traditional pentecostal practices of speaking in tongues, prophesying and the power to heal sicknesses and diseases, to a newer dimensional brand. this according to him emphasizes the availability of wealth and material gains for its enthusiasts, in the ‘here and now’ (ehioghae, & olanrewaju, 2015). those who trend with this brand of gospel believe that wealth, financial breakthroughs and physical wellness, are achievable from god, through the kingdom principles of seed sowing, giving of offerings, tithes payment and positive confessions of faith, over dire needs and circumstances of life (stambaugh, 2020). in its flow of thought, faith ethics is one predominant ingredient that is all embracing in the theological concept of the prosperity gospel (ηο eςαγγέλιο ηηρ εςημεπίαρ [to evangélio tēs evimerías]). proudly, in the nigerian contemporary religious society, this brand of christ gospel has penetrated all the nooks and crannies of the christendom. this is not just among the so called pentecostal churches, it has also become pervasive even among the mainstream churches vis-à-vis; the anglican, roman catholic, methodist, presbyterian, african, and baptist churches among others. denominations engage in it, for stronger foundational and financial footings, for funds acquisition, human connections, projects executions and the establishment of social institutions. it can also be said to be having a very strong and proud influence on the templates that inform the socio-religious landscape of the nigerian society. noticeably, the attitudes of christians and the quests for materialism that flow with this trend, has introduced much decline in the holiness culture and heaven affluence in poverty: the prideful nigerian prosperity gospel, in light of the laodicean church experience 166 consciousness that informed the teachings of the christian church, before its advent. the nigeria society, like what was observed in laodicea, is endowed with rich mineral and human resources, often bragged about among her citizens. most often, many nigerians exhibit unusual confidence and pride, tied to such natural endowments to reducing commitments on god. observably, christianity in nigeria has thus keyed into this flashy status of portraying god’s relationship with human, on a high frequency of material wealth, wellness and health blessings. in consequence, nigerian christians being so sentimentally religious have continued to socialize their religious attitudes, under this showy confidence of human flamboyance with or without god as they relate. with this prideful and ironic overconfidence of wealth and health availability, in the prosperity gospel (ηο eςαγγέλιο ηηρ εςημεπίαρ [to evangélio tēs evimerías]), the church appears to have failed in recognizing the height of bankruptcy and syncretistic predispositions that has garbed its socio-religious interactions. therefore, like the rich and prideful laodicean society with lucrative textile, medical and banking industries, nigerians tend to define their societal wellness based on national wealth endowments. in consonance, despite the obvious spiritual futility of the laodiceans, with such claim as opined by logan, in (brand & draper & england, 2003, p. 1012), they continued to allege their prosperity to self efforts through their self-acclaimed spiritual wealth. this to them, was tantamount to their visible material wealth and opportunities available in their socio-religious and economic compositions. comparatively, and in a way, the brand of the prosperity gospel (ηο eςαγγέλιο ηηρ εςημεπίαρ [to evangélio tēs evimerías]) preached in nigeria, describes god as robustly wealthy, therefore adherents have such birthrights to wealth and prosperity, with the availability of super health conditions in all ramifications, irrespective of their moral standings. as a theological purview, this has obviously influenced the belief and worship systems of myriad of denominations in nigeria. beyond this obvious dominance, nigeria christians who are ardent followers of this doctrinal complexity, have continued to exhibit pride and celebrate confidence in material wealth, amidst a society submerged with non gradable descriptions of endemic corruption, in the face of such affluence in spiritual impoverishment. from this obvious religious decay, this paper investigates on the state of the nigerian church, under such influence of the prosperity gospel (ηο eςαγγέλιο ηηρ εςημεπίαρ [to evangélio tēs evimerías]), amidst the sad state of societal insolvency. this is done in comparison with the laodicean christian society example, with low profiled spiritual formation, that went with prideful exhibition of wealth endowments a state jesus remarked on as, affluence in poverty. stephen chukwukamadu osaji-nwafili 167 the origin and growth of the prideful prosperity gospel (εσαγγελιο eσημεριασ [evangélio evimerías]) in nigeria the brand of prosperity gospel (eςαγγέλιο εςημεπίαρ [evangélio evimerías]) domiciled in nigeria, is a prideful ideological indigenous charismatic revivalism, which came to be in the 1970s. since its advent, the trend and what it stands for, has continued to influence and impact the religious attitudes of christians in nigeria, with a high profiled level of audacity. this obviously has a common place in both the pentecostals, indigenous and mainstream churches. it is a theological ideology that has a sequential growth link, traceable to the growth and impacts of the african indigenous churches in nigeria, and a mixture of the american prosperity gospel syntax that it contracted in the 1970s. the american brand, posits a belief in the power of an individual’s mindset, in unlocking god’s blessings through positive thinking and speech. this position has some traceable links to the christian science assumptions of ‚reality being purely spiritual and the allusion of the material world (atiri, 2019). the historicity in nigeria is premised on two schools of thought, suggested to have been responsible for its advent. the first, traced the emergence to the growth of the alternative religious activities of the african indigenous churches in nigeria. demonstratively, a number of nigerian indigenous churches in the early twentieth century functioned in response to the need of presenting christianity, in a light to depict the african ecstatic religious consciousness and culture. this was as a result of the divergent transformations that christianity oscillated among the indigenous tribes in nigeria. more historically, the mainstream churches in the mid nineteenth century were brands that emerged with western coatings. these could not in any indigenous contexts, provide worship gratifications to the yearning needs of the native devotees. afrocentrically, the context due to the less empirical projections and religious answers that went with its teachings and worship culture was questioned. it was the opposite of what was predominant in the tradoreligious understandings it was meant to replace. therefore, the emergent missions were greeted with very cavernous questions on life related mysteries, the effects of social and environmental degradations which sought empirical and evidential evaluations. observably, the operational teaching and worship methodologies adapted by the mainstream missions were to the nigerian indigenous eye, mere intellectualities garbed with cultural and religious orientations of their western proclaimers (babalola, 1988). the missions according to (fatokun, 2013), were characterized by cultural imperialism, and could not provide answers to the ubiquities of religious, economic and socio-political inundations predominant among the dark-skinned west africans on the gulf of guinea. a little later, under such insatiate state, soothing religious reinterpretations, encompassed with answers to indigenous aspirations began to emerge. these were the emergence of the internally motivated pentecostal and affluence in poverty: the prideful nigerian prosperity gospel, in light of the laodicean church experience 168 charismatic navigations, through revivals, which founded the indigenous churches in nigeria. such fascinating sequence produced the spiritual ecstasies that confronted these inundations and provided a brand of charismatic pentecostalism that projected god’s holiness, righteous living and healing as well as deliverance ministries in indigenous ways. through the activities of an anglican lay reader of the niger/delta pastorate, garrick sokari braide, an indigenous prophetic/charismatic and a prayer movement emerged in 1912 (olofinjana, 2012). the pentecostal outburst and revivalism that went with it, was adaptive to the cultural and trado-religious orientations of the people. braide, was said to have espoused a more practical dimension which contextualized christianity for his niger/delta people. his theological compass dealt with idolatry (εἰδυλολαηπια [hidōlolatría]), which was a major root problem among his people. he taught that sin (ἁμαπηία [hamartia]), was the reason for their sufferings and through righteous living, he introduced them to a christian attitude of total dependence on god, whom he preached about, as the sure source of salvation and physical/spiritual healings. the theology of the new movement had to advance from bonny via urhobo land in delta state to benin and further to the yorubas (olofinjana, 2012). interestingly, with the introduction of such brand of ecstatic and demonstrative indigenous christianity, more prayer movements were introduced. the practical demonstration of the faith ethics and prayer attitude that went with such charismatic movements, were said to have confronted and cushioned the influenza epidemic that broke out in yoruba land in 1918 (kalu, 2008). progressively, with the dawning of this era, more indigenous churches adaptive of the african ecstatic and anthropocentric projected worship inclinations, were founded. christ army crusaders (cac), a group of braide’s devotees emerged after his death in 1918, promoting his adopted afrocentric theological perspectives. the same development resulted in the founding of the aladura (prayer mongers) churches in ijebu-ode and lagos. these as remarked, were religious purists who had very strong appetite for fasting and prayers, as sure means of relating with god. as pontificated in (ojo, 1998 and gaiya, 2002), the aladura churches, ‚adopted the african religious spirituality and charisma, without the traditional cultic paraphernalia.‛ a frontline worship ethics and common religious routine that went with the aladura churches, was the belief in divine healing through prayers (isichei, 1995). furthermore, the founding of christ apostolic church by joseph babalola, celestial church of christ by samuel oshoffa, cherubim and seraphim church by moses orimolade tunolase and christiana abiodun, emerged. these were through a successive internal wave of revival movement among the aladura churches between 1920 and 1947 (tuner, 1967 and omavuebe, 2021). from the website documentation of the christ chosen church of god international, then known as st joseph the apostolic church, the church in 1949, was founded in benin city, by joseph stephen chukwukamadu osaji-nwafili 169 ikechiuku anyanwu. this happened when ikechiuku felt that the mainstream churches were loosing lustre, as vehicles for gospel proclamation in nigeria. doctrinally, the constituents of preaching and revivalism among these churches were premised on themes of humanity and sin, confession, repentance, salvation, regeneration and piety. others were prophesy [foretelling and forth-telling], healing and explorations on various demonological contexts, of exorcism and deliverance (offiong, 2003). others still, included emphasis of the parousia [rapture and the place of eternity] and making of sacrifices which went with their worship dramatizations. the last obviously, was a syncretistic incorporation of the african religious culture, in their modi operandi. these as highlighted, were predominant doctrinal practices ubiquitous in their theological perspectives. they emphasized holiness and righteous living as prerequisites and sure means of god-man cordial and receiving relationships. under this wave of revivalism, christianity in nigeria retained the concept of living holy for god’s impartation, unlike the current tide of worldly living that has come to stay among christians with the influence of the neo-prosperity gospel (eςαγγέλιο εςημεπίαρ [evangélio evimerías]) proclamations. over time, as the aladura churches made advances, there were traces of deviations from biblical standards a scenario which warranted further breakups that went with their structural tides. for example, most of these churches got involved doctrinally with rituals and making of blood sacrifices, a kind of syncretistic religiosity that never went well with some devotees. from the cherubim and seraphim church therefore, came the redeemed christian church of god in 1952, with josiah olufemi akindayomi, as it founder (ogunewu, 2009). this group continued to relate on the premise of acclaimed covenantal faithfulness in services unto god, and being obedient to his word. developmentally, the 1960s and 1970s, saw the advent of a methodology of western pentecostalism that had a shift from fasting, prayer and healing ministries, as emphasized by the indigenous churches. the new wind blew in charismatic trends that emphasized on the impactful roles of the holy spirit in the church. this went with the advent of western based pentecostal churches in the likes of the assemblies of god church, four square gospel church, and apostolic church, from america, north america and britain respectively. their evangelical preachers in those eras got involved in mega church crusades, which converted souls in nigeria through the demonstrating powers of the holy spirit. at this stage of the trailing pentecostal waves, campus and interdenominational fellowship groups; like the scripture union (su), christian union (cu) etcetera, were introduced into the nigerian universities. thus some university students and lecturers fell in line, as instruments that further galvanized the pentecostal gospel proclamation, which later introduced the prosperity gospel (eςαγγέλιο εςημεπίαρ [evangélio evimerías]), into the existing churches (kalu, 2010 and omavuebe, 2021). this way, private cell communions that gave birth to a generation of campus fellowships, were founded. these affluence in poverty: the prideful nigerian prosperity gospel, in light of the laodicean church experience 170 in turn became post-denominational churches that championed televangelisms that propagated the prosperity gospel (ηο eςαγγέλιο ηηρ εςημεπίαρ [to evangélio tēs evimerías]) in nigerian. it was the religious activities of this time that suggested archbishop benson idahosa, to have been the father of prosperity gospel (eςαγγέλιο εςημεπίαρ [evangélio evimerías]) in nigeria (kituase, 2017). the second school of thought therefore points the advent of prosperity gospel in nigeria, to the ministerial navigation of benson idahosa, of the church of god mission in the 1970s. according to this historical linkage, idahosa, was said to have been influenced by this brand of gospel interpolation, as a student of christ for the nations bible institute, in the united states of america (achunike, 2007, kituase, 2017 and omavuebe, 2021). kituase, (2017) emphasizing on this, premised that such grasping of idahosa, was triggered by the suffering experiences of his youth days, and his later aspiration of becoming rich and successful in ministry. interestingly, when idahosa, started professing and teaching on this faith, it never was easy, as the content, never went down well with members of his denomination then, (the assemblies of god church, nigeria). as a minister of the church, one of the legendry narrative that trailed his ministerial navigation the procurement of a motorcycle to aid his ministerial movements, was critiqued as worldly and materialistic, thus was out rightly condemned by his superiors. from more historical details available in the religious websites and wikipedia pages that remarked on some of these post denominational and neo-prosperity gospel congregations, the likes of benson idahosa, supposedly became the superintending head of the church of god mission with headquarters in benin city, in 1972. william f. kumuyi, founded deeper life campus fellowship, which transmuted into deeper life bible church in 1973. mike okonkwo, founded the redeemed evangelical mission (trem) in 1981. same 1981, david oyedepo, emerged as the founder of the living faith church (winners chapel). this was first known as liberation faith hour ministries. in 1984, dikeji daniel miyerijesu, breaking away from the anglican church, founded god’s grace ministry in the city of warri. he is known as ‘the bishop of the whole world’ and also referenced as a living saint by the address, ‚his holiness, saint dikeji.‛ 1987 saw the founding of christ embassy by chris oyakhilome, synagogue church of all nations by temitope balogun joshua, (the man in the synagogue) and word of life bible church warri by ayo oritsejafor respectively. about this time, a secessionist group from the church of god mission, emerged and became bethsaida gospel mission under the spiritual eyes of archbishop apena, at irri town in delta state. mountain of fire ministries was founded in 1989 by dr. daniel olukoya. these and other ministries as founded, became trending gospel arenas known for the divergent and structural proclamation of the prosperity gospel (ηο eςαγγέλιο ηηρ εςημεπίαρ [to evangélio tēs evimerías]), that has survived in stephen chukwukamadu osaji-nwafili 171 nigeria till date. a striking feature that went with the functions of these postdenominational interpolations was their various mandates which also defined their identifications with the prosperity gospel (ηο eςαγγέλιο ηηρ εςημεπίαρ [to evangélio tēs evimerías]). archbishop benson idahosa, in his teachings, vibrantly proscribed the christian thoughts of poverty and piety in the theology of ‘future hope,’ for those of wealth and comfort in the ‘here’ and ‘now,’ as embraced in prosperity gospel (eςαγγέλιο εςημεπίαρ). as a trend projecting religious answers for an endemic sick, economic and degrading society, idahosa’s proclamations paved artery-vivacities for such institution among nigerian christians. it was indeed a theological industry he expanded and ran with premium flamboyancy, brandishing it as a supreme tasked evangelism. idahosa, was systematic and total with the change he introduced through prosperity gospel (eςαγγέλιο εςημεπίαρ). his brand was a mixture of the nigerian indigenous charismatism and the american ideology of faith-word and positive confession (okwori, 1995, folarin, 2007, kitause, 2017, and omavuebe, 2021), which adopted transformations that made its coloration more expectant and fitting enough, for the nigerian society, in dire need of spiritual reformation and economic overhauling. in the early 1990s, the flamboyant charismatism displayed by some of these post-denominational churches began to replicate among them, hairline fractures earlier experienced in the mainstream churches, at their advents. younger generation of religious enthusiasts started seceding with owned ministries, giving the nigerian corporate affairs commission (cac), much to do with new registrations, which commercialized christianity in nigeria. in faraway united kingdom in 1992, matthew ashimolowo, a london based nigerian, founded the kingsway international christian centre. this as a religious institution demonstrated the prosperity gospel (ηο eςαγγέλιο ηηρ εςημεπίαρ [to evangélio tēs evimerías]), through auditoria teachings and televangelism. in 1994, paul adafarasm founded the house on the rock church, lagos: an outfit that brandished the concept, in the nigerian religious space. in 1996, dr. paul idoko enenche, founded the dunamis international gospel centre, abuja and david ibiyeomie, founded the salvation ministries port harcourt, in 1997. all of these were established in major cities from where they infested every nook and cranny of the nigeria society with trends of pentecostalism. undoubtedly, prosperity gospel (eςαγγέλιο εςημεπίαρ), has spurred and improved in no small measure, the worldly standard of living of most nigerians, who have continued to adhere to its contextual, motivational sermons, and business techniques, taught by its proclaimers, in their daily religious/adventurous lives. such inspiration as derived, has made adherents not just high aimers and hard workers, but enthusiasts who try to avoid vices capable of future ruinations of their adventurous lives (kitause and achunike, 2015). affluence in poverty: the prideful nigerian prosperity gospel, in light of the laodicean church experience 172 a fecundity trail of the prideful prosperity gospel (eσαγγελιο εσημεριασ [evangélio evimerías]) in nigerian socioreligious and economic society the extent the prosperity gospel (ηο eςαγγέλιο ηηρ εςημεπίαρ [to evangélio tēs evimerías]) has infested the nigeria society, is alarming and overwhelmingly prideful. like a seed planted on a fertile soil, it sprouted and grew and was fast in spreading across the length and breadth of the post colonial religious landscape in nigeria. at inception, it was criticized by the mainstream and other indigenous churches, but today, its ingredients have fussed with the worship methodologies, parlance and practices of virtually all denominational churches in nigeria. this growth and development, has been attributed to the inevitabilities of the peoples cosmological perceptions and the corresponding responses of the indigenous charismatic religious orientations, on fallouts of life uncertainties, weak national economy, corruption, hardship and insecurities in the nigerian system, which have thrived since the post colonial and democratic eras of the 1970s and 1980s. be that as it may, the negative effects of the austerity measures adopted then through the structural adjustment program (sap), the international monetary fund (imf) implementations and the present instabilities on the national economy and continuous hardships on nigerians, have been frontline examples that have encouraged the growth of the prideful prosperity gospel in this school of thought. such fruitfulness as remarked in (kalu, 2001, magbadelo, 2004, falorin, 2006, kitause and achunike, 2015 and omavuebe, 2021,) has cruised and survived on the fighting spirit of nigerians, in attempts to alleviating the effects of poverty and submerging sufferings in society. ornately, the nigerian society has always been saddled with economic and political challenges, religious and ethnocentric disintegrations and a level of spiritual manipulation and enslavement. therefore, the fallouts of these descriptive activisms have made nigerians more religiously enthusiastic and economically investigative. these have also produced in the urban and rural convolutions, a cross-culturally au fait, with fallouts of the naissance of syncretistic entwining of such restiveness. interestingly, these pebbles have continued to structure and restructure the stimuli and responses trending with the open and secret interests of nigerians. religiously, various permutations of these interests are reflective of the interweaving implications of the people’s economic and social definitions. from this background, the post colonial economy of nigeria in the 1960s, was promising enough, to have provided nigerians with gradable levels of societal comfort. there was the oil boom era that gave the state a progressive economic growth that was amazingly blissful, but was never utilized. therefore, the failures that trailed the post colonial governments, irrespective of these natural endowments became clogs on the nation’s wheel of progress. it was amidst these clogs, that the prosperity gospel (ηο eςαγγέλιο ηηρ εςημεπίαρ [to evangélio tēs evimerías]), being introduced into the religious stephen chukwukamadu osaji-nwafili 173 space, flourished on a fertile soil of vicissitudes. pains of poverty, hardship, sickness, insecurity, unemployment, high mortality rate, fraud, hooliganism, the present trend of kidnappings for ransom, corruption, banditry, economic and political woes and above all, lack of basic amenities, has made the embrace of prosperity gospel (eςαγγέλιο εςημεπίαρ), more potent if not total in nigeria. taking their destinies in their hands, most nigerians have gone spiritual by embracing the juicy promises of the prosperity gospel (ηο eςαγγέλιο ηηρ εςημεπίαρ [to evangélio tēs evimerías]), for the purpose of solving their bedeviled states of impoverishment. (ogundu, & wori, 2021). correspondingly, the close of the 1990s and the dawn of year 2000 saw the introduction of more practical but much commercialized versions of the gospel brand. these include the prophetic, deliverance, spiritual and televangelism ministries, which brought more radical faith ethics into the system. like a surge, these commercialized versions, having shown more empirical, prophetic, spiritual and entertainment predilections, have overwhelmed nigerians. from its outburst, branches of churches which advocated for its potency have virtually been established in every nook and cranny of the nigerian society, thus producing various degrees of spiritual adultery (πνεςμαηική μοισεία [pnevmatikí moicheía]) in forms of human and object worships. through this fondness, many christians have become mere idolaters and seekers of miracles and financial breakthroughs. this has produced a religious trend that has reduced the places of piety and righteousness in man-god and man-man relationships among nigerian christians. the pulpit has become available channel for motivational speeches, teaching of economic empowerment skills and sadly, a platform for comic displays. sad enough, the bible has become an entertainment documentation used in producing worldly minded christians. by this advancement, patrick anwuzia, and his zoe ministries worldwide, trended with pumps and pageantries, brandishing this twist in theological aggrandizement. he practically demonstrated his brand, with a customized materialism that was disturbing, noting that ‘born-againism’ must be demonstrated evidentially through material prosperity. he eventually established a religious bureau christened ‘ozigbo-ozigbo’ (quick-quick) ministry, which people in quests for quick miracles patronize in their thousands till date. some of the prosperity gospellers that came onboard about this time, in their various brands include, ntia ime ntia, of the full life christian centre lagos (2000), lazarus morka, of the lord’s chosen charismatic church (2002), johnson sulaiman, of the omega fire ministry (2004), joseph haruna of the gospel of grace church and joshua iginla, of champions royal assembly kubwa, (2006). joshua iginla, introduced into the system what he termed ‚okoko,‛ (a kind of impartation and transfer of spiritual empowerment on fellow minister during conferences). same 2006 came forth chibuzor gift chinyere, of the omega power ministry in port-harcourt, a ministry that affluence in poverty: the prideful nigerian prosperity gospel, in light of the laodicean church experience 174 has boastfully emphasized on helping the downtrodden and the needy, with tithes collected from devotees. chukwuemeka ohaenemere odumeje, known as ‘the indaboski bahose,’ ‘the lion himself’ and jeremiah omoto fufeyin, also known as ‘ewere,’ of the mountain of holy ghost intervention deliverance ministry, onitsha, and christ mercy land deliverance ministry warri, surfaced in 2010 respectively. joshua selman founded the eternity network international (eni) zaria, kaduna state in 2011. contemporarily, more prophetic, deliverance, spiritual, healing and televangelism ministries have emerged with full options of the prosperity gospel (ηο eςαγγέλιο ηηρ εςημεπίαρ [to evangélio tēs evimerías]). striking feature of these post-denominational interpolations, displays very inimitable nature of various congregations, with areas of specialization determining those who became their devotees. from this development, the sick identifies with those specialized in the conducts of healing and deliverance, the unemployed, with those specialized in teaching of principles for financial transformation and economic empowerments and the needy, with those who dough out supportive incentives garbed with almsgiving. while some are trusted oases for divine impartations, others have remained channels for pseudo-religiosities and doctrinal dramatizations, infesting christianity in nigeria. in the same way, such formularies have produced some false identities, to the point of infesting the system with syncretism (ζςγκπηηιζμόρ [synkritismós]) and spiritual adultery (πνεςμαηική μοισεία [pnevmatikí moicheía]) of human and object worships. observably, high sales and the use of anointed elements for healing and deliverance, has become a routine by most pastors and prophets, in exploiting devotees for economic gains (kalu, 2008, diara and mokwenye, 2019 and akiri, 2019). for instance, the buying of ‘miracle pawpaw’ for barrenness termination and fruitfulness impartation, was introduced by benson idahosa, in the 1980s, after which the sales of other items for miracles; like oils, fruits, aprons, handkerchiefs, prayer gloves, candles etcetera, became part of the religious attitude of prosperity gospel (eςαγγέλιο εςημεπίαρ [evangélio evimerías]) proclaimers. be these as they may, payments for prayer lines and heavy seed sowing for expectant miracles; have domesticated gospel merchandising in the nigerian religious landscape. generally, eisegesis; a system of self induced biblical analysis, devoid of proper exegesis and right hermeneutical interpretation and applications, has remained the analytical springboard, and a fertile ground for the projection of the prosperity gospel theology by its handlers (ehioghae and olanrewaju 2015). furthermore, some of these commercialized brands have been very intoxicant in the proliferation of fake and prearranged miracles and prophesies often seen in crusade grounds nowadays. thus there is a very disturbing phenomenon of the use of charms, ritual killings, initiations into the occult and involvements in spiritual sacrifices, for potency of the miraculous, that are sometimes traced to prosperity gospel handlers. the stephen chukwukamadu osaji-nwafili 175 blend has constituted religious scenery of christianity mixing with spiritism and traditional religious particles a fusion that has continued to mislead the gullible. developmentally, the practice of establishing non-denominational christian centers has been another fertile method often used in the spreading of the prosperity gospel theology. most of those who attend these fellowships are members of the mainstream churches. some in quest for healing and other needs of life become permanent members, while some others patronize as regular attendees and through their mixed religious cultures, they infest and adulterate the activities of the mainstream churches. this trend has thrived majorly, through the establishment of urban christian centers, where the middle-class members of society, are used in founding such unban based congregations, that later spread into the rural religious spaces. by tapping from the better income levels of these urban settlers, the prosperity gospellers and their ministries are supported and maintained. from their well structured networking methods, mentorship and intimacy are thoroughly established between the apologists and their devotees. in another vein, through the owning of bible schools and seminaries they also indoctrinate their devotees most thoroughly. the prosperity gospellers are excellent communicators who make use of telephone conversations, distribution of newsletters, and sending of emails, to getting familiar and more hooked to their devotees (akiri, 2019). massively, the availability of the social media vis-à-vis, facebook, twitter, instagram etcetera, has made the prosperity gospellers liked, and followed by multitude of people. the media and publication streams, have also contributed to the fertility and wide range of acceptance prosperity gospel (eσαγγέλιο εσημερίας) had enjoyed, since a good number of such gospellers, now own private media and printing institutions. through mass publications and televangelism, projections are made of self-esteemed eisegetical documentations that have continued to infest and influence the inclinations of many to the juicy packages of the prosperity gospel in nigeria. this has made the brand, not only to have influenced most nigerian christians overconfidently, but birthed a religious attitude that has traversed the nation’s socioreligious differences and economic space. as a result, many nigerians, assert to the allusion that failures and disappointments are not possible because ‘god is too faithful to fail’ and that ‘what he cannot do does not exist,’ irrespective of their relationships with him. potent doctrines for expected true christian livings are twisted for the eloquence of the brand. marriage is no longer for ‘better or for worse,’ ‘for richer or for poorer,’ ‘in sickness or in health,’ but now for ‘better and best,’ ‘for richer and richest and only in health. there is therefore no room for endurance in life related issues. marriage as proclaimed must be for health and for health, no sickness, no poverty and no challenges. it must be zoomzoom and rosy-rosier affair and without the unavoidable oppositions in life related matters. such marriages established on falsehood plummet into lack of affluence in poverty: the prideful nigerian prosperity gospel, in light of the laodicean church experience 176 affection at the slightest provocation, on the claims that such were never bargained for from the outset. prosperity gospel (eςαγγέλιο εςημεπίαρ [evangélio evimerías]) has made the gullible more naïve and egregiously deceived. this has produced often in the available socio-religious landscape, a bunch of prideful noisemakers and one-way thinkers, having the form of godliness but with lack of ability to testing of the powers thereof (1thess. 5:21). this was the kind of scenario and belief system that contributed to the laodiceans’ tepid (σλιαπορ [chliaros]) attitude toward god, in their pride of natural and social endowments. having confidence in self prominence, the availability of social amenities and natural endowments within the city, produced a carnally minded status that reduced in them, the supremacy of god. challenges of the prideful prosperity gospel (eςαγγελιο eςημεπιαζ [evangélio evimerías]) in nigerian churches the prosperity gospel (ηο eςαγγέλιο ηηρ εςημεπίαρ [to evangélio tēs evimerías]), having in diverse ways infested christianity in nigeria; it has also contracted many compromising features which showcase its challenges. it tends a continuation of negative influence, on the ubiquities of nigeria religious complexity. not only has it commercialized the religious space, it has also syncretized the belief systems of many nigerians. given to the social and material gains in its web, prosperity gospel (eςαγγέλιο εςημεπίαρ), has intermixed christianity with different social institutions, to have influenced the socioreligious inclinations of many nigerians. it has garnered massive supports which has also earned its form-criticisms. observably, in the quest for power and operations to empirically impress and gratify the needs of its patronizers, many prosperity gospellers, have fallen into various forms of religious syncretism (ζςγκπηηιζμόρ [synkritismós]). these have displayed practically, the three dimensions of spiritual adultery (πνεςμαηική μοισεία [pnevmatikí moicheía]), in forms of idolatry (εἰδυλολαηπια [hidōlolatría]), covetousness (pλεονεξια [pleonexia]) and apostasy (ἀποστασία [apostasia]). the prideful influence of the trend has further produced in nigeria, a gratuitous fondness which most adherents adopt for worldly gains. there is therefore, a common attitude of people owning and prostituting with alien gods for secret powers. it has also produced in society, some degree of restraints and discrimination of desires garbed with quests for acquisition of personal and material gains, greedily pursued for keeps. such development, giving birth to a complication of egregious egoism, has further produced in nigeria, relationships of unfairness and ruthlessness in and among churches, and in other socio-religious strata under its influence. there is therefore, a prevalence of fake pastors and ministries who engage in all forms of frivolities to manipulate the gullible, in advancing the falsity of the gospel brand. in this vein, known occult shrines and traditional temples have transmuted https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%e1%bc%80%cf%80%ce%bf%cf%83%cf%84%ce%b1%cf%83%ce%af%ce%b1 stephen chukwukamadu osaji-nwafili 177 into cathedral churches where people ignorantly consult demons and fetish spirits for spiritual solutions. there are also scenarios of church leadership under the influence of prosperity gospel, being greedy and self-seeking, with the church becoming a field for the exploitation of salvation seekers. furthermore, the prosperity gospel (ηο eςαγγέλιο ηηρ εςημεπίαρ [to evangélio tēs evimerías]), falling short of serious doctrines for the stabilization of sufferings in nigeria, failed to acknowledge the fact that persecutions, pains and sufferings are parts of the cross of believers. jesus in mark 10:29-30, taught that ‘persecution’ (διυγμόρ [diōgmōs]), was one of the gains of salvation. from this teaching, christians would receive a hundred fold of houses, relatives and property ‘with persecutions’ in return. the greek preposition (μεηα [meta]) ‘among,’ which the niv bible translated as ‚with‛ in this context, appeared in its genitive form to emphasize its implication on the noun διυγμόρ (diōgmōs) rendered in the plural, masculine, genitive, form of διυγμυν (diōgmōn), to mean ‘persecutions.’ it indicates the association or combination of pain and suffering in christian life related issues. therefore, the clause (μεηα διυγμυν [meta diōgmōn]) ‚with persecutions,‛ as used, foreshadows afflictions and trials for christians, which jesus idiomatically inferred in gould’s supposition, ‚to portray a reminiscence of an idealized apocalyptic of the familiar blessings of the messianic kingdom‛ (robertson, 1997). for the apostle paul, persecutions, tribulations, afflictions, distresses, sufferings and pains sometimes typify true christian life experiences of faithful believers (1thesselonians 3:3-4, 2timothy 3:12). to portray this in context, paul’s use of the verb ζαίνυ (sainō) ‘to wag the tail,’ rendered in its present, passive, infinitive form ζιαινεζθαι (siainesthai), is reflective of the going back and forth associated with trial times and persecutions. paul by using it taught that christians should not be troubled in the face of persecutions or tribulations. (walvoord, john & zuck, 1985 p. 698). as further inferred in 1thessalonians 3:4, the greek noun θλῖτιρ (thlipsis) in it is feminine, plural, dative, form θλίτεζιν (thlipsesin), was used to indicate the expected tribulations or sure troubles of the thessalonians, which dovetails with the trials associated with true christian living in nigeria. therefore, a true and complete gospel should herald these other aspects of life, not just the rosy-rosier predilections projected by the prideful prosperity gospel (eςαγγέλιο εςημεπίαρ [evangélio evimerías]) in nigeria. although, pains and troubles can sometimes be attributed to sin (ἁμαπηία [hamartia]), it is wrong to assume that all cases of trouble and pain christians go through are results of sin (ἁμαπηία [hamartia]). thus in the context of a true and complete christ gospel, such scenarios of human sufferings and challenges, are part of tests which should be seen as gains for the building of the christian faith. in materialistic ways, the prideful prosperity gospel (eςαγγέλιο εςημεπίαρ [evangélio evimerías]), has contributed to the indices and frustrations surrounding tales of affluence in poverty: the prideful nigerian prosperity gospel, in light of the laodicean church experience 178 unemployment in nigeria. it has fuelled greed and influenced a high level of nepotism in jobs acquisition for congregational members. such people, with membership identities, are gainfully employed in places of more qualified applicants. standing on same dais with what politicians and elites with ethnic bias do, this has produced a socio-religious response that gratify the state of nepotism and impatience among nigerian youths, in their quest for material gains, speedy wealth acquisitions and better livings. in this vein, people now go to churches not for the gains of salvation, but for worldly connections and material comforts. there is therefore, a noticeable decline in the preaching of salvation gospels in nigerian churches nowadays. another trend in same direction is the specter of corruption that has sadly become prevalent in the gospel brand. most often, very corrupt elites, politicians, internet hoaxers, yahoo boys, kidnappers and even some deviants who engage in ritual killings and blood money, tend to legitimize their ill-gotten wealth through payment of tithes, fabulous donations and sponsorship of projects in churches (phiri, & maxwell, 2015 and ogundu, & wori, 2021). in return, awards of recognition and partnership are doled out to such donors for their wonderful performances (ogundu, & wori, 2021). thus there are accounts of large donors with such records of frauds and tales of corruption, paying heavy tithes and making donations into the coffers of churches nowadays, without the church questioning their sources of wealth. further still, the trend also has other shortcuts for manipulations for wealth acquisition. many nigeria youths using it as alternative for unemployment, have become founders and general overseers of trending fake churches. since there are no yardsticks or regulatory measures in determining the genuineness of such churches, even native doctors and possessors of marine spirits, have rebranded their shrines and spiritual houses into becoming churches, as a result there are hues and cries everywhere. opposed to jesus’ call for seeking first the kingdom of god in matthew 6:33, the prosperity gospel (ηο eςαγγέλιο ηηρ εςημεπίαρ [to evangélio tēs evimerías]), through its eisegetical applications, projects a jesus’ gospel of two parts that highlights his person and principles. the person of jesus and principles as eisegesized guarantees accesses to heaven and worldly prosperity respectively. thus such christians who accept his person but toil with his principles will not prosper and cannot be principal enough to deal with principalities (ibiyeome, 2021). in this regard, the church has become downtrodden with a scarcity of the true gospel of christ. what is preached about in recent times as emphasized by (orokpo, 2021) are mere principles and laws teachable in business schools. the content in his opinion, has become devoid of the essence of the true gospel and filled with upheld customs and traditions, validated with ingredients of acts and dispositions of men. with this trend, the rivulet is submerged with very boastful and arrogant self acclaimed postulations from pastors, prophets, prophetess, apostles, bishops and preachers, in their acts of high and mighty and arrogations to special claims of god. there is therefore a common trend of devotees, referencing god, as god stephen chukwukamadu osaji-nwafili 179 of whomever a pastor, prophet, prophetess or an apostle or bishop that has caught their fancy, thus displaying their denominations with so much arrogance to the mockery of others. sayings like ‚if church does not change you, change church,‛ ‚god of pastor this or that, is my god,‛ have prejudiced the religious system to the production and littering of the space with half baked devotees and denominational prostitutes. this brittle state of attitude has also made the church in nigeria prideful, boastful and arrogant like the laodicean church, in its various claims of existent and nonexistent of what god can and cannot do, irrespective of the ubiquities of their dirty and worldly lifestyles. there is therefore an unusual and false spiritual status of the church in nigeria, visible under the influence of the prideful prosperity gospel (eςαγγέλιο εςημεπίαρ [evangélio evimerías]), with a correlation of the peculiarities that marked out the worldly and tepid (σλιαπορ [chliaros]) position of the church in laodicea. the prideful religious attitude of the laodicean church (revelation 3: 14-22) the laodicean society was heavily consumed with attitudinal premonitions and practices that made it complexly socio-religious. these positioned it on a relational societal confidence that was very tepid (σλιαπορ [chliaros]) and prideful in spirituality and loud in the divides of natural endowments. the spiritual convolution of the city relegated god’s values in societal orientations and manipulations of her citizenry. like nigeria, the naturally endowed dark-skin dwelling state on the gulf of guinea, the city was situated on the bank of the river lycus, in the southwestern part of phrygia. this site as located in the present day west-central turkey was first named diospolis, after its tutelary deity, zeus, and later became known as rhoas. the political transformations of seleucid antiochus ii, in the 3rd century bc further established the city which he also named after his wife, laodice. its location in the rich lycus valley was closely situated around hierapolis and colossae, a site that distinguished it from the six other cities that went with same name. it had distances of ten (10) and six (6) miles respectively in its proximities to colossae and south of hierapolis. the location from all historical indications, favoured its development, state of wealth, the commercialization and administrative attractiveness that went with it. (beasley-murray, 1995 and rudwick, & hemer, 1996 and logan, 2004 and spence-jones, 2004 and okoh, 2019). historically, laodicea (justice of the people) was a major commercial city productive of incentives that enhanced the stable pride and self beliefs, which became part of the attitudes of her citizenry. the city had mixed sociocultural understandings full of pride that also influenced the religious behaviours of her christian community. in a socio-cultural way, the city was a centre that played host to the worship of apollo, asklepios (the healing deity) and a provincial court, where cicero, lived and wrote many of his letters. it also had temples for other deities like hades, hera, affluence in poverty: the prideful nigerian prosperity gospel, in light of the laodicean church experience 180 athena, serapis and dionysus. as one of the six cities that went with that name, it was a city of compromise and a home for many jews in diaspora, who settled there by the invitation of ramsay (keener, 1993 and robertson, 1997). the laodicean church was said to have flourished in much latter times, and played host to the church council held in a.d, 361(logan, 2004). however, the site today, is a deserted heap of ruins with deserted christian antiquity a site the turks reference as ‘old castle’ (eski hisar) (jamieson, & fausset, &brown, 1997 and youngblood, 1995). as one of the seven churches in the province of asia, the laodicean church had an early historicity, traceable to the apostolic age. it was suggested to have been established probably by one of epaphras, tychicus, onesimus or mark, who were followers of the apostle paul (youngblood, 1995). one amongst them appeared to have been the earliest evangelist to have visited the city with christ’s gospel. the city was destroyed by an earthquake in a.d. 60 and was rebuilt by its citizens without any aid or assistance from rome. this was as a result of her wealth endowments through the economic distributions of textiles and the establishment of banking and medical industries (logan, 2004). like the nigeria state, richly endowed with minerals of various kinds, agricultural products and human resources, laodicea had the production of black wool, eye ointment and the presence of industrial banking and educational systems in commercial quantities. these boosted its economic life. it was the romance with this rich economic and promising financial status that contributed to her prideful, self-satisfying and lukewarm (σλιαπορ [chliaros]) attitude in spiritual things (rev.3:14-22). from the apostolic constitutions 8.46, archippus, a possible son of philemon and one of apostle paul’s followers, was mentioned to have been the first bishop of laodicea. he was earlier admonished by paul on the need for diligence in ministry, some thirty years before jesus’ assessment and rebuke in rev. 3:14-22 (jamieson, & fausset, & brown, 1997). be these as they may, the laodicean church existed along with other six churches in the province of asia with its very deleterious idiosyncrasies. being known for its wealthy status and ubiquities of commercial industrialization and exposure, it was endowed with local products that served the needs of her citizenry and beyond. with the presence of medical institution, laodicea was producing a special eye ointment that was administered to patients with eye problems (carson, 1995 and okoh, 2019). from all indications, the laodicean society had a problem of lack of credence in its outward spirituality and cultural composition. the church as opined by swete, appeared to have also carried this pride and false claim, into its spiritual life (robertson, 1997) a sad scenario that branded it lukewarm (σλιαπορ [chliaros]), in jesus’ diagnosis and judgment. even though, the city carried solution for eye impediments and had wool for clothing, the church therein was judged to be literally blind (ηςθλορ [tuphlos]) and naked (γςμνορ [gumnos]) spiritually. they were so consumed in the fleeting pleasure and comfort of worldly offers, to the point that they stephen chukwukamadu osaji-nwafili 181 became indifferent, of god’s lasting pleasure and satisfaction. the church in the city became known and respected not for their right status with god, rather, because of their wealth which they boasted about (okoh, 2019). thus christianity in the city took a prideful dimension garbed with quests for material gains and a sad state of ignorance of their spiritual poverty (richards, 2004). the incongruity of their religious status was that the church in her self-satisfaction became lukewarm (σλιαπορ [chliaros]). the church was neither hot (οὐηε ζεζηορ [oute zestos]) nor cold (οὐηε τςσπορ [oute psuchros]) a tinge reflective of the available tepid waters in laodicea. reflective of a coloration relating to the source of waters in laodicea, a combination of the hot springs from hierapolis channeled alongside the colossae’s excellent cold drinking water often got to laodicea, not good enough tepid water for human consumption. this happens when the river lycus dries up during summer. the horrifying picture accentuated the state of the church in jesus’ diagnosis (carson, 1995). from a sad and very disappointing end, the laodicean church was ignorant of their spiritual ineptitude. apart from their tepid status, they also could not see the reality of their spiritual decomposition and they continued to display a convinced perception that portrayed their poor spiritual state, which made them relaxed and loudly unnecessarily boastful, in what appeared to be pseudo-spirituality (okoh, 2019). the damaging effect of this outburst was that the church having become spiritually blind (ηςθλορ [tuphlos]), also assumed that her numerous material possessions were, signs of god’s spiritual blessings. the situation was that bad. they could not see their wretchedness, pitiable status, poverty, blindness and outright nakedness that went with it. the visible material wealth became more valuable to them than finding eternal wealth and the essential true relationship with christ. from a footnote remark of the new international version bible, christ did reveal to the laodicean christians ‚that true value was not in material possessions but in a right relationship with god.‛ he counseled them to get from him, the right eye medication to cure their blindness, to enable a true spiritual view of their impoverished situation. against this background, the level of affluence in poverty, pride and false spiritual claims of the laodicean church correlates with the prideful and boastful status of the prosperity gospel (ηο eςαγγέλιο ηηρ εςημεπίαρ [to evangélio tēs evimerías]) in nigeria. from all indications the religious attitude of the nigerian church under the influence of the prosperity gospel (ηο eςαγγέλιο ηηρ εςημεπίαρ [to evangélio tēs evimerías]), is nothing short of the lukewarm (σλιαπορ [chliaros]) status attained in laodicea. christianity in nigeria has been heavily influenced by the commercial dictates of this new trend, to the point of producing very lackadaisical instincts among nigerian christians. a successful christian life is now premised on material gains reflective of how much money is available in someone’s account and how affluence in poverty: the prideful nigerian prosperity gospel, in light of the laodicean church experience 182 much luxurious life definition could be for the children of god. bishops, general overseers and church leaders of all kinds are now proud of their gains and achievements in materialism and luxuries. the presence of pseudo-spirituality has brought all manners of ungodliness and religious sentimentality into the nigerian church. thus true spirituality has gone to the brutish beasts with the devil opening the floodgates of materialism, sloping people to distractions and eventual destruction in hell. a correlation of affluence in poverty: trends of the nigerian prosperity gospel and the laodicean church experience despite the rich status of the laodicean church and her confidence in domesticating christian activities in the city, the church displayed very prideful and boastful selfesteemed materialistic relational lifestyle. this warranted its state of none commendations from christ the true and faithful witness. her wavering composition of not being hot (οὐηε ζεζηορ [oute zestos]) nor cold (οὐηε τςσπορ [oute psuchros]), was so disgusting to warrant christ’s threat of spewing her out like a wasted saliva in rev. 3:16. the prideful status which showcased the church’s affluence in poverty was personified in verse 17, on the account of her boastful expressions, ‚i am rich‛ (ὁηι πλοςζιορ εἰμι [hoti plousios eimi]), ‚i have acquired wealth‛ (πεπλοςηηκα [peploutēka]) and was so self-satisfied in pride to say, ‚“ and do not need a thing‛(και οςδενορ σπειαν εσυ [kai oudnos chreian echō]). this is a kind of prideful status displayed through the prosperity gospel (ηο eςαγγέλιο ηηρ εςημεπίαρ [to evangélio tēs evimerías]) in nigeria. christ as the faithful and true witness, in judgment, declared of having true knowledge of the spiritual compositions of all seven churches, (ephesus, smyrna, pergamum, thyatira, sardis, philadelphia and laodicea) in the province of asia. he opened on each by saying, ‚i know your works‛ (οἶδά ζος ηὰ ἔπγα [oida sou ta erga]) and proceeded by giving their various assessments with commendations and rebukes. he commended the first six on their various statuses of hard work, perseverance, suffering, poverty, true to faith, effectiveness, love, service and faithfulness, but for laodicea, there was none. the rebukes included the forsaking of first love, compromise, immorality and superficiality. of all seven churches, laodicea went with no commendations and was adjudged lukewarm (σλιαπορ [chliaros]) despite her religious enthusiasm and glorious financial and structural statuses. she was asked to be hot (ζήλεςε [zēleue]) in her religious dealings and repent (μεηανοευ [metanoeō]) of her lukewarmness. ζηλεύυ (zēleuō) as used, is a second person, singular, present, imperative, active of the verb ζήλεςε (zēleue), indicated the contextual warmth or feeling for true spirituality required of the church. fitting into various translations of it, the laodicean church was required to become earnest, or be zealous, or be on her mettle and be wholehearted in her spiritual composition (swanson, 1997). her call for repentance in the stephen chukwukamadu osaji-nwafili 183 use of μεηανοηζον (metanoēson), a second person, singular aorist, imperative, active of the verb μεηανοευ (metanoeō), connotes the change of her purpose required of her, to avoid the threat of christ in verse 16, which says ‚i am about to vomit you out of my mouth‛ (μελλυ ζε ἐμεζαι ἐκ ηοῦ ζηόμαηόρ μος.‛ [mellō se emesai ek tou stomatos mou]). exegetically ‘ἐμεζαι’ (emesai) is the first aorist, infinitive active of ἐμευ (emeō), the verb to vomit, which indicates the certain rejection and removal of this prideful and materialistic congregation from her once attained position in christ. this rejection was to be with extreme disgust as remarked in (robertson, 1997). correspondingly, the accuracy of jesus’ judgment was accentuated in the metaphors which qualified his omniscient predisposition in verse 14. as ‘the god of truth,’ (ὁ ἀμήν [ho amēn]), ‘the witness,’ (ὁ μάπηςρ [ho martus] ‘the faithful,’ (ὁ πιζηὸρ [ho pistos]), and ‘true’ (καὶ ἀληθινόρ [kai alēthinos]), christ is ‘the faithful, true witness ‘and the beginning of god’s creation, whose judgment is absolute and true. the designation of this truth as in the use of (ἀληθινόρ [alēthinos]), applies to that which is genuine, displaying the fact in accord with the absolute virtue of truth in christ’s adjudication (renn, 2005). the accuracy of his judgment therefore, cannot be doubted and his testimony in swete’s assertion never falls short of the truth (robertson, 1997). going by these, the offensive predominant religious attitude of the laodicean church was their prideful and continuous boastful claims of wellness and being in possession of all they wanted. they had complacency in their pseudo spiritual status, coated with materialism in christ’s judgment. on this spiritual falsehood and personalized mindset of the church, christ reiterated on their boastful affirmative in the use of ‘λέγειρ’ (legeis), a second person, singular, present, indicative active of (λέγυ [legō]) the verb ‘to say,’ to indicate the verbal and prideful materialistic predisposition of the church on her spiritual arrogance and ignorance, in the midst her of abundant of resources. the assertion connotes the opium of the people in their expression of self-will, self-satisfaction, self-righteousness and outright false judgment. be these as they may, the mindset of the church marred her spiritual composition, since the people from the fallout of their rich endowments, became blind (ηςθλορ [tuphlos]) and indifferent in taking any reasonable standing with god. depreciatively, the laodicean church in christ’s appraisal, was in a rich city demonstrating her wealth in the pride and conceit of the city’s attitude, but was poor (πηυσορ [ptōchos]) in grace, thus in a spiritual poverty that she was very ignorant of (rev. 3:17). this was in contrast with the poverty of the poor church in smyrna that was rich in grace (rev. 2:8). smyrna, one of the seven churches in the province of asia, was located on the gulf of the aegean in the north of ephesus. it was a great city in the province of asia with a seat of emperor worship and a temple to tiberius (robertson, 1997). the endured persecutions meted out on christians in smyrna, necessitated their poverty affluence in poverty: the prideful nigerian prosperity gospel, in light of the laodicean church experience 184 (πηυσειαν [ptōcheian]), but her spiritual alertness in patience and endurance made her a poor-rich church, while the laodicean church, in her pride and boasts of economic resources made her a rich-poor church. such scenario simply placed the laodicean church in an opposite parallel of the spiritual beauty of the church in smyrna. the loadicean church was therefore seen as being wretched (ὁ ηαλαιπυπορ [ho talaipōros]) pitiable (ἐλεεινορ [eleeinos]), poor (πηυσορ [ptōchos]), blind (ηςθλορ [tuphlos]) and naked (γςμνορ [gumnos]). the implication of the single article in predicate (ζς [su]) as used to qualify the boastful attitude as in, ‚you that boasts,‛ in robertson’s opinion remarked on the sharpness of the personified boastful status of the laodicean church (robertson, 1997). their being wretched in the use of (ὁ ηαλαιπυπορ [ho talaipōros]), not only connoted the pitiable state of the church, but also represented the hypothetical miserable condition and state of their distress, unhappiness, unpleasantness, contemptibility and inadequacy given to their spiritual ignorance and impoverishment. they became poor (πηυσορ [ptōchos]) not in the quality of genuine humility which leads to faithful dependence on god, but in the sense of being economically destitute (renn, 2005). in another vein but on same dais, they became blind (ηςθλορ [tuphlos]) spiritually, indicating their hypocritical selfrighteousness garbed in a spiritual tedium and a litany of insensitivity. they also became naked (γςμνορ [gumnos]), a sad tale that indicated their shameful exposure, vulnerability, destituteness and the need for assistance which they were again, most ignorant of. in christ, were the real items that triggered their boastful claims of a spiritual wellbeing which they never had. thus they were counseled to buy from him, ‘gold’ refined in fire (σπςζίον πεπςπυμένον ἐκ [chrusion pepurōmenon ek]), so they could be rich (ἱνα πλοςηηζῃρ [hina ploutēsēs]), in a way that will glorify god. the white clothes (ἱμάηια λεςκὰ [imatia leuka]) when acquired from christ, was meant to cover their shameful nakedness as in (ἡ αἰζσύνη ηη ρ γςμνόηηηόρ ζος·[ hē aischunē tēs gumnotētos sou]). this obviously in the opinion of (walvoord, and zuck, 1985 p. 939) was a symbol of righteousness meant to cover their spiritual nakedness. the eye-salve (κολλοςπιον [kollourion]) they needed was to heal their pathetic blindness (robertson, 1997). from all indications, the laodicean church was a dying but not a dead church that never realized the dangers entangling her. clearly, the church in context is an archetypal of some churches in nigeria under the influence of the prideful prosperity gospel (eςαγγέλιο εςημεπίαρ [evangélio evimerías]). these days as generally remarked in (walvoord, & zuck, 1985 p. 939), such churches in nigeria are quite unconscious of their spiritual needs and are gladly comfortable with beautiful edifices and material things their excess monies acquire. in correlation, (okoh, 2019 pp. 379-382), highlighted a list of traceable inconveniencies associated with such sad state, which are obvious with the trends of the prideful prosperity gospel predilections in nigeria. quest for materialism and worldly comfort fronted through it, has ravaged the nigerian religious landscape with mere stephen chukwukamadu osaji-nwafili 185 emotional expressions dominating the central places of the word and prayer in the worship life of the church. it has also influenced a culture where societal status and influence are used to determine positions and the pursuance of monuments rather than winning of souls in the church. it has influenced the delight of churches in the boasting of funds availability and speedy time frames for completion of projects. through these drifts, churches celebrate riches without questioning sources and quests for such riches have occupied god’s positions in both her private and corporate intermingles. sadly, the church has become lukewarm (σλιαπορ [chliaros]) in doctrine and praxis – a scenario producing broadmindedness for sin (ἁμαπηία [hamartia]) and the consigning of holiness (ἀγίαζμορ [hagiasmos]) to the background. ἀγίαζμορ [hagiasmos]) in context, is a noun derived from the verb ἀγίαζυ (hagiazō) implying, ‘to sanctify’ or ‘make holy’ (renn, 2005 p.495). in deduction of christ rebuke and call to the laodicean church, the nigeria church under the ravaging influence of the prideful prosperity gospel (το eσαγγέλιο της εσημερίας), must be earnest (ζήλεςε [zēleue]) in a true spirituality and repent (μεηανοηζον [metanoēson]) of her falsity and commodious compromise with worldly predispositions. conclusion virtually all nigerian churches are in one way or the other, involved in the allurements of the prosperity gospel (το eσαγγέλιο της εσημερίας), trending under a national economy with dwindling resources. there is therefore a disturbing drift from the preaching of salvation massages, to the proclamation of such teachings and application of principles for wealth acquisition ubiquitous in the religious landscape. these have made christianity more materialistic and anthropocentric than being christocentric and heaven-focused. negatively, prosperity gospel (eςαγγέλιο εςημεπίαρ [evangélio evimerías]) has affected the nigerian religious and socio-cultural complexness in so many ways. the ubiquities of the unavoidable connections from it have infested both the church and society, as this repulsive tepidity has become reflective of their endemic affluence in poverty. both societies have become spiritually poor (πηυσορ [ptōchos]), with the signs of the unhealthy spiritual life, evident in the displays of corruption, greed, division, spiritual shortsightedness and ill-gotten wealth celebrations in nigeria, through what is demonstrable as faith-acclaimed persuasions and application of principles. it has birthed and nurtured the problem of inequality and corruption, by offering divine justification for the pursuit of worldly comforts and amassing of wealth a trend in the church, which appears to be on same dais with the corrupt political culture of the nigerian society (smith, 2021). these in okoh’s submission have become injurious because with the persistence of such trends in the country, the consequences have sustained the production of gross economic impoverishment, breakdown of religious and social orders and the birth of callous leaders affluence in poverty: the prideful nigerian prosperity gospel, in light of the laodicean church experience 186 and followers, who have continued to make the times absolutely perilous for nigerians (okoh, 2019 p. 384). therefore, the sad state of nigeria a nation endowed with both human and natural resources cannot be over-emphasized. frustration, hunger, starvation, insecurity and unremitting trend of victimization, irrespective of such claims of affluence, have continued to hold common places in the hustling and bustling, and the daily adventurous livings of nigerians. beyond these, the socio-religious and political landscapes of the nation, have produced same tepid tendencies, which can be likened to those of the laodicean city. the nigerian church can thus be viewed through the five corrosive adjectives of christ against the laodicean church, as being wretched (ὁ ηαλαιπυπορ [ho talaipōros]) pitiable (ἐλεεινορ [eleeinos]), poor (πηυσορ [ptōchos]), blind (ηςθλορ [tuphlos]) and naked (γςμνορ [gumnos]) in the midst of hypocritical selfrighteousness garbed in a spiritual tedium and a litany of insensitivity. the cross of the matter is that the nigeria church appears to be insensitive of her spiritual needs, but comfortable with her lofty material acquisitions and celebration of all that material riches can provide. there is therefore the need for the nigerian church to be earnest (ζηλεςε [zēleue]), and yield to the call of repentance (change of attitude) as implied in the use of (μεηανοηζον [metanoēson]), which is a second person singular first aorist imperative active of μεηανοευ (metanoeō), the verb to repent. this change action must be ingressive enough to produce the right religious attitude that is christ oriented and devoid of superficial religious inclinations, as christ the owner of the church stands at the door (ἑζηηκα ἐπι ηην θςπαν [hestēka epi tēn thuran]) for a possible reentry of the righteousness of god in a superficial nigerian church. refrences achunike, h.c. (2007). prosperity preaching in the nigeria religious space. nigeria journal of social sciences, 4(1), 83-96. akili, m. (2019, january 25). the prosperity gospel: its concise theology, challenges and opportunities. [conference session]. gafcon 2018 conference, jerusalem, state of israel.https://www.gafcon.org>resources alexander, d. & alexander, p. (2000). the lion handbook to the bible. england: lion publishing plc. babalola, e.o. (1988). christianity in w/africa, ibadan: brpc ltd. beasleymurray, g.r. (1995). revelation. in carson, d.a., france, r.t., motyer, j.a., & wenham, g.j. (eds.) new bible commentary, 21st century edition (pp 1421-1455). inter-varsity press. ehioghae, e.m. & olanrewaju, j.a. (2015). a theological evaluation of the utopian image of prosperity gospel and the african dilemma. iosr journal of humanities and social sciences (iosr-jhss), 20(8) ver.ii, 69-75. https://wwwiosrjournals.org diara, b. & mokwenye, m.e. (2019). a critical analysis of the social implication of gospel merchandising among nigerian christians today. hts theological studies 75 (1), 16.https://dx.doi.org/10.4102/hts.v75i1.5391 https://wwwiosrjournals.org/ https://dx.doi.org/10.4102/hts.v75i1.5391 stephen chukwukamadu osaji-nwafili 187 fatokun, s.a. (2013). christian mission in nigeria, south of the saharan africa before the rise of pentecostalism: a historical evaluation. s.a. fatokun (ed.). christianity and african society. a festschrift in honour of pastor (dr.) gaberial oladele olutola @ 80 (pp. 43-52). ibadan, bookwright publishers (nigeria). isbn 978-978-088-928-9. folarin, g.o. (2006). prosperity gospel in nigeria: a re-examination of the concept, impact, and evaluation. african journal of biblical studies, 23(2):79-97. gifford, p. (2006). ghana’s new christianity: pentecostalism in a globalizing african economy, nova region. the journal of alternative and emergent religions, 9(3), 139-141. https://doi.org/10.1525/nr,2006.9.3.139 gaiya, m.a.b. (2002). the pentecostal revolution in nigeria. occasional paper, centre for africa studies, university of copenhagen. ibiyeome, d. (2021, december 7-12). more than a conqueror [conference session]. shiloh 2021 conference, canaan land, nigeria. isichei, e. (1995). a history of christianity in africa: from antiquity to the present. michigan: wm. b. eerdmans publication. jamieson, r. & fausset, a. r. & brown, d. (1997). a commentary, critical and explanatory, on the old and new testaments. oak harbor, wa: logos research systems, inc. (rev. 3:14). kalu, o.u. (2001). power, poverty and prayer: the challenge of poverty and pluralism in african christianity 1960-1996. frankfurt am main; new york : peter lang. kalu, o.u. (2008). african pentecostalism: an introduction. new york: oxford university press. keener, c.s. (1993). the ivp bible background commentary: new testament. downers grove, ill.: intervarsity press. kitause, r.h., & achunike, h.c. (2015). the future of prosperity gospel in nigeria. quest journal of research in humanities and social sciences, 3(7), 21-27. www.questjournals.org kitause, r. (2017). a historical study of prosperity gospel preaching in nigeria, 1970-2004. phd thesis, university of nigeria. logan, p. (2004). laodicea. in brand, c., draper, c., & england, a. (eds.), holman illustrated bible dictionary. holman publishers. magbadelo, j.o. (2004). pentecostalism in nigeria: exploiting or edifying the masses? african sociological review/revue africaine de sociologie, 8(2): 15-29. offiong, e.a. (2003). pentecostalism in nigeria, calabar experience. 1970-1995. calabar: glad tidings. ogunewu, m.l. (2009). akindayomi, josiah olufemi 1909-1980 redeemed christian church of god nigeria. dictionary of african christian biography. https://decab.org>stories>nigeria okwori, e.m. (1995). godliness for gain: an evaluation of the nigerian version of the prosperity gospel. jos: capro media services. ogundu, i.r. & wori, e.o. (2021). pentecostalism and the prosperity gospel in rivers state. british journal of education, learning and development psychology, 4(1): 16-33. olofinjana i.o. (2012, january 15). the story of an unsung hero: history and legacy of garrick sokari braide (1882-1918). israelolofinjana blog.https://israelolofinjana.wordpress.com/2012/01/15/thestory-of-an-unsung-hero-history-and-legacy-of-garrick-sokari-braide-1882-1918/ omavuebe, a.i. (2021). evaluating the nigerian prosperity gospel as a mixed ideology. issn 00918296. university of central lancashire uclan.http:dx.doi.org/10.1100918296211011732. https://doi.org/10.1525/nr,2006.9.3.139 http://www.questjournals.org/ https://israelolofinjana.wordpress.com/2012/01/15/the-story-of-an-unsung-hero-history-and-legacy-of-garrick-sokari-braide-1882-1918/ https://israelolofinjana.wordpress.com/2012/01/15/the-story-of-an-unsung-hero-history-and-legacy-of-garrick-sokari-braide-1882-1918/ affluence in poverty: the prideful nigerian prosperity gospel, in light of the laodicean church experience 188 ojo, m.a. (1998). the church in the african state: the charismatic/pentecostal experience in nigeria, journal of african thought, 2(1): 26-38. okoh, n.d. (2019). not by might nor by power –selected messages to the world, lagos, nigeria: gaskia media ltd. orokpo, m. (2021, december 29) everyone needs to listen to this.http://www.facebook.com/ emekaanslem [video post from onitsha quarry site camp meeting 2021] retrieved from http://www.facebook.com/emekaanslem/posts phiri, i. & maxwell, j. (2015). a critical generation of pastors: africa’s rapid embrace of the rotten prosperity pentecostalism provokes concern. renn, s.d. (2005). expository dictionary of bible words. peabody, massachusetts: hendrickson publishers, inc. richards, l.o. (2004). bible reader’s companion. england: kingsway communications ltd. robertson, a.t. (1997). word pictures in the new testament. oak harbor: logos research systems, inc. rudwick, m.j.s & hemer, c.j. (1996). laodicea. in marshall, i.h., millard, a.r., packer, j.i. & wiseman, d.j. (eds.) new bible dictionary. (pp 671672). inter-varsity press. swanson, j. (1997). ζηλεύυ (zēleuō) ggk2418. dictionary of biblical languages with semantic domains: greek (new testament). oak harbor : logos research systems, inc. smith, d.j. (2021). the pentecostal prosperity gospel in nigeria: paradoxes of corruption and inequality. the journal of modern african studies, 59(1), 103-122. https://dio.org/10.1017/ s0022278x2000066x 9(3), 139-141 smith, d.j. (2021, may 26). nigeria’s ‘prosperity gospel’ pentecostal churches may reinforce inequalities. the london school of economics and political science (lse) bloghttps://blogs.lse.ac.uk/africaatlse/2021/05/26/nigeria-prosperity-gospel-pentecostal-churchesmay-reinforce-inequalities-corruption/ spence-jones, h. d. m. (hrsg.). (2004). the pulpit commentary: revelation. bellingham, wa: logos research systems. stambaugh, j.r. (2020). pentecostalism as a christian mystical tradition. anglican theological review, 102(2), 316. tuner, h.w. (1967). history of an african independent church. england: oxford university press. walvoord, j. f. & zuck, r. b. (1985). the bible knowledge commentary: an exposition of the scriptures. wheaton, il : victor books. youngblood, r.f. (1995). (ed.), laodecea. new illustrated bible dictionary completely reversed and updated edition (pp 744-745). thomas nelson inc. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 55 philosophical growth and lingu-social development donatus uzoma okwara, phd obinna victor obiagwu, phd chinyere comfort igbonagwam, phd uche julia owuamanam, phd faith chinonso obumneke, phd directorate of general studies, federal university of technology owerri, imo state, nigeria. obinnaobiagwu71@gmail.com abstract the interplay between philosophical growth and lingu-social development reflects a dynamic process that shapes human understanding, cultural identity, and societal progression. this paper explores the philosophical foundations of growth as a continuous intellectual, ethical, and existential expansion, with an emphasis on its linguistic and social dimensions. language serves as a primary vehicle for transmitting knowledge, shaping thought, and reinforcing communal values, thereby playing a crucial role in social development. through historical, ethical, and contemporary perspectives, this study examines the reciprocal influence of philosophy and lingusocial development, highlighting how linguistic evolution and social structures impact cognitive growth, ethical reasoning, and cultural transformation. the paper further analyzes contemporary challenges such as globalization, digital communication, and cultural homogenization, proposing philosophical frameworks that foster inclusive and sustainable linguistic and social growth. by integrating philosophical inquiry with socio-linguistic discourse, this research offers a comprehensive understanding of how knowledge, language, and social values coalesce in the advancement of human civilization. keywords: philosophical growth, lingu-social development, language, ethics, culture, knowledge transmission introduction philosophical growth and lingu-social development are interconnected dimensions of human progress, reflecting the evolution of thought, language, and societal structures. philosophy, as a discipline, continually expands through inquiry, reflection, and critical discourse, shaping ethical standards and cultural norms. simultaneously, linguistic and social development facilitates the transmission of philosophical ideas, reinforcing collective identity and fostering intercultural dialogue. this paper explores the symbiotic relationship between philosophical thought and lingu-social development, examining historical perspectives, ethical considerations, and contemporary challenges. it argues that language is not merely a communication tool but a fundamental element in cognitive and ethical growth. through linguistic expression, philosophical ideas are formulated, contested, and preserved, influencing individual and collective worldviews. furthermore, social igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 56 structures, shaped by linguistic conventions, determine how knowledge is transmitted, ethical values are upheld, and cultural identities are maintained. by analyzing these intersections, this study aims to provide a nuanced understanding of how philosophical inquiry and language development shape human civilization. it also considers the implications of modern technological advancements, globalization, and cultural transformations on the trajectory of philosophical and social growth. historical perspectives on philosophical growth and language ancient philosophies on language and society the role of language in shaping human thought has been a central theme in philosophical traditions. ancient philosophers such as socrates, plato, and aristotle explored the connection between language, knowledge, and ethics. plato (1997) emphasized the idea of linguistic idealism, asserting that words reflect the eternal forms of reality, while aristotle (2004) approached language as a logical system that structures rational thought. in african philosophy, the oral tradition has played a significant role in knowledge transmission. the igbo concept of okwu ugwo (the debt of words) underscores the ethical responsibility attached to speech (iroegbu, 2005). similarly, the yoruba concept of ogbón (wisdom) emphasizes linguistic mastery as a marker of philosophical depth and social integrity (sogolo, 1993). these indigenous perspectives highlight the deep-seated relationship between language and ethical responsibility in social development. enlightenment and the rationalization of language the enlightenment period marked a shift towards the systematic study of language as a tool for reason and progress. immanuel kant (2002) linked human autonomy to linguistic expression, arguing that rational beings use language to establish moral laws. jean-jacques rousseau (2004), however, critiqued the artificiality of modern language, suggesting that linguistic evolution often leads to social alienation rather than genuine communal connection. during this era, linguistic determinism gained traction, with philosophers like wilhelm von humboldt (1999) proposing that language shapes thought processes and cultural identity. this idea influenced later theories of linguistic relativity, which assert that different languages create distinct cognitive frameworks, ultimately affecting philosophical outlooks and societal development (whorf, 1956). lingu-social development and ethical considerations language as a carrier of ethical values language functions as a repository of ethical traditions, shaping moral reasoning and interpersonal relationships. in deontological ethics, immanuel kant (1785) emphasized the moral imperative of truthful speech, asserting that ethical communication is a duty rather than a mere social convention. conversely, utilitarian philosophers like john stuart mill (1863) evaluated language based on its capacity to maximize societal well-being. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 57 in african ethical philosophy, the concept of ubuntu—expressed in languages such as zulu (umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu, meaning "a person is a person through others")—reinforces the communal nature of morality (ramose, 1999). linguistic expressions of ethical values thus serve as mechanisms for sustaining cultural integrity and promoting social harmony. linguistic exclusion and social inequality while language fosters unity, it can also be a tool of exclusion and oppression. postcolonial theorists like ngũgĩ wa thiong'o (1986) critique linguistic imperialism, arguing that the imposition of colonial languages disrupts indigenous knowledge systems and weakens communal identities. this aligns with paulo freire’s (1970) concept of linguistic oppression, wherein dominant linguistic structures marginalize subaltern groups and restrict their philosophical agency. efforts to reclaim indigenous languages in academic and social spheres highlight the ethical importance of linguistic preservation in fostering inclusive development. by acknowledging linguistic diversity, societies can promote ethical pluralism and enhance democratic discourse. contemporary challenges in philosophical and lingu-social growth globalization and cultural homogenization the rapid spread of global communication networks has created opportunities for cross-cultural dialogue but also threatens linguistic and philosophical diversity. the dominance of english as a global lingua franca has facilitated international discourse but has also led to the erosion of minority languages and indigenous epistemologies (phillipson, 1992). from a philosophical standpoint, jürgen habermas (1984) advocates for communicative action, emphasizing that linguistic exchanges should be based on mutual understanding rather than coercion. however, in practice, linguistic hegemony often imposes hierarchical power structures, limiting authentic philosophical engagement across cultures. technological advancements and digital linguistics the digital era has transformed linguistic interactions, raising new philosophical questions about communication ethics and identity. social media platforms, artificial intelligence (ai), and digital translation tools influence linguistic patterns, altering traditional modes of knowledge transmission (floridi, 2013). philosophers such as luciano floridi (2019) argue that digital language environments require new ethical frameworks to ensure that ai-driven communication respects human dignity and intellectual authenticity. the automation of language processing, while efficient, risks undermining the depth of philosophical discourse by prioritizing speed over contemplative thought. philosophical approaches to sustainable lingu-social development dialogical ethics and linguistic pluralism igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 58 a sustainable approach to linguistic and social development must embrace pluralism and dialogical ethics. martin buber’s (1923) i-thou philosophy emphasizes the ethical significance of genuine dialogue, advocating for linguistic interactions that recognize the intrinsic worth of the interlocutor. similarly, the african concept of igwebuike (solidarity through shared knowledge) underscores the communal essence of linguistic engagement (kanu, 2015). in practical terms, educational systems must prioritize multilingualism, fostering environments where diverse linguistic traditions coexist and enrich philosophical discourse. policies that integrate indigenous languages into formal education can preserve cultural heritage while promoting cognitive diversity. reclaiming indigenous philosophies through language the decolonization of philosophical discourse necessitates the revitalization of indigenous languages as mediums of intellectual expression. african, asian, and latin american philosophers continue to advocate for the inclusion of indigenous terminologies and frameworks in global philosophical debates (wiredu, 1996). for example, the akan concept of sankofa—which means "go back and fetch it"—encourages the retrieval of historical wisdom to inform contemporary progress. by embracing such linguistic and philosophical reclamation, societies can foster a more inclusive and sustainable intellectual landscape. conclusion philosophical growth and lingu-social development are deeply intertwined, shaping the intellectual, ethical, and cultural trajectory of societies. language is not merely a passive medium for communication but an active force in the construction of reality, ethical reasoning, and social identity. as globalization and digitalization reshape linguistic landscapes, the challenge remains to preserve philosophical diversity while embracing cross-cultural dialogue. sustainable lingu-social development requires ethical communication, linguistic inclusion, and the recognition of diverse philosophical traditions. by fostering linguistic plurality and philosophical inquiry, humanity can achieve a more equitable and enlightened future. references adams, r. (2021). philosophical perspectives on human progress. academic press. aristotle. (2004). nicomachean ethics (w. d. ross, trans.). harvard university press. buber, m. (1923). i and thou (r. g. smith, trans.). scribner. floridi, l. (2013). the ethics of information. oxford university press. floridi, l. (2019). the logic of information: a theory of philosophy as conceptual design. oxford university press. freire, p. (1970). pedagogy of the oppressed (m. b. ramos, trans.). continuum. habermas, j. (1984). the theory of communicative action (t. mccarthy, trans.). beacon press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 59 humboldt, w. von. (1999). on language: the diversity of human language structure and its influence on the mental development of mankind (p. heath, trans.). cambridge university press. iroegbu, p. (2005). kpim of personality: treatise on the human person. hope publications. kant, i. (1785). groundwork of the metaphysics of morals (m. gregor, trans.). yale university press. kant, i. (2002). critique of pure reason (p. guyer & a. w. wood, trans.). cambridge university press. kanu, i. a. (2015). igwebuike as an integrative epistemology of development. journal of african studies and development, 7(4), 63-70. ngũgĩ wa thiong'o. (1986). decolonising the mind: the politics of language in african literature. heinemann. phillipson, r. (1992). linguistic imperialism. oxford university press. plato. (1997). complete works (j. m. cooper & d. s. hutchinson, eds.). hackett publishing. ramose, m. b. (1999). african philosophy through ubuntu. mond books. rousseau, j.-j. (2004). discourse on inequality (f. philip, trans.). penguin classics. sogolo, g. (1993). foundations of african philosophy: a definitive analysis of conceptual issues in african thought. ibadan university press. whorf, b. l. (1956). language, thought, and reality: selected writings of benjamin lee whorf (j. b. carroll, ed.). mit press. wiredu, k. (1996). cultural universals and particulars: an african perspective. indiana university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 60 apocalyptic ethics in the historical jesus movement linus a. p. umaru, phd department of religion and philosophy university of jos abstract this paper investigates the ethical teachings of the historical jesus through the framework of second temple jewish apocalypticism, arguing that his moral imperatives were fundamentally shaped by an expectation of imminent divine intervention. analyzing synoptic gospel traditions, the q source, and comparative jewish apocalyptic texts (e.g., daniel, 1 enoch, dead sea scrolls), the study demonstrates that jesus’ radical ethics—including renunciation of wealth (luke 12:33), nonviolent resistance (matthew 5:44), and inclusivity of marginalized groups (luke 15:1–2)— functioned as both preparation for and performative enactment of the “kingdom of god.” engaging scholarly debates between proponents of an apocalyptic jesus (schweitzer, 1906; ehrman, 1999) and advocates of a wisdom-oriented jesus (borg, 1987; crossan, 1991), the research employs historical-critical methods, including criteria of authenticity and social memory theory, to prioritize sayings such as mark 1:15 and matthew 25:31–46. findings reveal that jesus’ ethics were rooted in cosmic dualism, eschatological reversal, and urgency, reflecting jewish apocalyptic motifs like divine judgment and resurrection. the study further examines how early christian communities adapted these ethics amid delayed eschatological expectations, fostering practices such as communal resource-sharing (acts 2:44–45) and martyrdom theology (revelation 2:10). by bridging theological and socio-political analyses, the paper reaffirms schweitzer’s “consistent eschatology” while integrating modern insights into jesus’ subversion of roman and temple hierarchies. it concludes that apocalypticism was central to jesus’ ethical vision, offering a transformative framework that sustained early christian identity and remains relevant to contemporary discussions on social justice and ethical radicalism. keywords: apocalyptic ethics, historical jesus, kingdom of god, second temple judaism, eschatology introduction the ethical teachings of the historical jesus have long occupied a central place in new testament scholarship, yet their interpretation remains deeply contested. at the heart of this debate lies the question of whether jesus’ moral imperatives—marked by urgency, radical demands for social and economic justice, and a vision of communal inclusivity—were rooted in an apocalyptic worldview anticipating the imminent arrival of god’s kingdom. this paper argues that jesus’ ethical teachings were inextricably tied to his apocalyptic proclamation, functioning as both preparation for and embodiment of the eschatological kingdom of god. by situating jesus within the sociopolitical and theological landscape of second temple judaism, this study challenges nonapocalyptic interpretations and reaffirms albert schweitzer’s (1906) foundational thesis of jesus as an apocalyptic prophet, while integrating contemporary insights into the socio-political dimensions of his movement. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 61 historiographical context and scholarly divergence the quest to understand jesus’ ethics has evolved through successive waves of scholarship, each shaped by its intellectual and cultural milieu. the “first quest” for the historical jesus, epitomized by albert schweitzer’s the quest of the historical jesus (1906), positioned jesus as an apocalyptic figure whose ethics were provisional guidelines for the brief period preceding the kingdom’s arrival. schweitzer’s “consistent eschatology” contended that jesus’ moral injunctions, such as the call to abandon wealth (mark 10:21) and love enemies (matthew 5:44), were “interim ethics” designed for a world soon to be transformed by divine intervention. however, mid-20thcentury scholarship, influenced by rudolf bultmann’s existentialist theology, dismissed schweitzer’s apocalyptic framework as untenable, reframing jesus’ teachings as timeless spiritual truths divorced from eschatology (bultmann, 1951). the “second quest” (1950s–1970s) reintroduced historical rigor, with scholars like ernst käsemann (1964) cautiously acknowledging apocalyptic elements in jesus’ message. the contemporary “third quest,” informed by advances in archaeology, social-scientific methods, and jewish studies, has polarized into two camps: those advocating an apocalyptic jesus (e.g., bart ehrman, dale allison, n.t. wright) and those proposing a wisdom-oriented or social-reformist jesus (e.g., marcus borg, john dominic crossan). marcus borg (1987) and john dominic crossan (1991), for instance, argue that jesus’ ethics—emphasizing inclusivity, nonviolence, and egalitarianism—reflect a subversive wisdom tradition rather than apocalyptic urgency. crossan’s portrayal of jesus as a mediterranean peasant philosopher, advocating for a “brokerless kingdom” through open commensality and healing, explicitly rejects apocalypticism as a later theological imposition. by contrast, dale allison (2010) and bart ehrman (1999) maintain that jesus’ teachings are unintelligible without reference to apocalyptic eschatology. allison identifies recurring themes in jesus’ sayings—future judgment, hostility to wealth, and persecution—as hallmarks of jewish millenarian movements. similarly, n.t. wright (1996) reinterprets apocalyptic language as symbolic of historical crises, arguing that jesus’ proclamation of the kingdom addressed israel’s covenantal renewal rather than cosmic cataclysm. this study engages these debates, contending that jesus’ ethics cannot be disentangled from his apocalyptic worldview, which sought to subvert both roman imperial power and temple-based hierarchies. socio-political context of first-century judea jesus’ ministry unfolded in a context of profound socio-political upheaval. roman occupation, economic exploitation, and temple corruption fueled widespread apocalyptic expectations among jewish groups. following the maccabean revolt (167–160 bce) and the subsequent hasmonean dynasty, judea fell under roman control in 63 bce, culminating in the installation of herod the great as a client king (37–4 bce). herod’s tyrannical rule and lavish hellenistic building projects, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 62 including the expansion of the jerusalem temple, exacerbated socio-economic disparities, alienating peasants burdened by heavy taxation and debt cycles (horsley, 2003). the roman annexation of judea in 6 ce and the rise of the pax romana further entrenched systemic inequality, creating a fertile ground for apocalyptic and messianic movements. texts like daniel 7–12, the psalms of solomon, and the dead sea scrolls reveal a jewish apocalyptic imagination anticipating divine intervention to overthrow oppressive powers. the qumran community, for example, withdrew into desert asceticism, preparing for a cosmic battle between the “sons of light” and “sons of darkness” (collins, 1998). meanwhile, popular movements like the zealots advocated violent resistance to roman rule, interpreting political liberation as a divine mandate. jesus’ proclamation of the kingdom of god (βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ) emerged within this milieu but subverted prevailing paradigms. unlike the qumran sectarians, jesus engaged marginalized groups—tax collectors, sinners, and women—as agents of the kingdom (luke 15:1–2), while his critique of wealth (luke 6:24) and temple practices (mark 11:15–17) directly challenged collaborationist elites. methodological framework this study employs a multidisciplinary approach, integrating historical-critical methods with social-scientific and theological analyses. the criteria of authenticity—multiple attestation, dissimilarity, contextual credibility, and coherence—are applied to evaluate gospel traditions. for instance, the multiple attestation of kingdom sayings in mark, q, and independent traditions (e.g., thomas 113) strengthens their historical plausibility. the criterion of contextual credibility situates jesus’ ethics within jewish apocalypticism, as seen in his use of danielic imagery (e.g., “son of man” in mark 13:26) and jubilee themes (luke 4:18–19). critics like chris keith (2011) caution against overreliance on these criteria, noting their susceptibility to interpretive bias. to mitigate this, the analysis incorporates social memory theory, which acknowledges the fluidity of tradition while identifying “memory refraction” points that reflect authentic historical kernels (le donne, 2009). non-canonical texts, such as the gospel of thomas, are examined to triangulate jesus’ teachings, while archaeological evidence (e.g., galilean village structures) informs reconstructions of his socio-economic context. thesis and significance this paper contends that jesus’ ethical teachings were fundamentally apocalyptic, serving as urgent responses to the belief that god’s reign was breaking into history. his radical demands— renunciation of wealth, enemy love, and inclusivity—were not abstract virtues but performative enactments of the kingdom’s values, challenging roman imperial and temple-based power structures. by reaffirming schweitzer’s “consistent eschatology” while engaging contemporary scholarship, this study bridges theological and historical analyses, demonstrating how jesus’ ethics shaped early christian communities and remain relevant to modern ethical discourse. the implications extend beyond historical reconstruction. understanding jesus’ ethics as apocalyptic reshapes contemporary theological debates, particularly in discussions of social justice, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 63 nonviolence, and ecological ethics. for instance, modern movements advocating for economic equity or climate action often echo jesus’ apocalyptic urgency, framing ethical imperatives in light of impending crisis. structure of the paper following this introduction, the paper explores the apocalyptic context of second temple judaism (section 2), analyzes jesus’ ethical teachings (section 3), examines their eschatological motivations (section 4), and assesses their impact on early christian communities (section 5). the conclusion reflects on the enduring relevance of jesus’ apocalyptic ethics and proposes future research directions. by synthesizing historical, theological, and social-scientific approaches, this study aims to illuminate the transformative power of jesus’ apocalyptic vision, offering a compelling challenge to systems of oppression and a testament to the enduring relevance of eschatological hope. exploring the apocalyptic context of second temple judaism the apocalyptic worldview of second temple judaism (515 bce–70 ce) formed the theological and cultural bedrock for the historical jesus’ ministry, ethical teachings, and eschatological vision. this period, marked by foreign domination, socio-political upheaval, and theological innovation, saw the proliferation of apocalyptic literature and movements anticipating divine intervention to overthrow oppressive powers and establish god’s reign. by examining the historical backdrop, key characteristics of apocalyptic thought, and its socio-political catalysts, this section situates jesus within a milieu defined by cosmic dualism, imminent judgment, and transformative hope. 1. historical overview of second temple judaism the second temple period began with the rebuilding of the jerusalem temple under persian rule (ezra 1:1–4) and ended with its destruction by the romans in 70 ce. during this era, jewish identity was shaped by successive imperial dominations—persian, hellenistic, and roman—each leaving distinct marks on religious thought. the trauma of the babylonian exile (586–538 bce) catalyzed theological reflection on divine justice, resulting in texts like daniel 7–12, which reimagined israel’s destiny through apocalyptic visions of cosmic battles, resurrection, and a coming “son of man” (daniel 7:13–14). the hellenistic period (332–63 bce) introduced greek cultural norms, provoking resistance movements like the maccabean revolt (167–160 bce). the book of daniel, composed during this crisis (c. 165 bce), framed antiochus iv epiphanes’ desecration of the temple as the “abomination of desolation” (daniel 11:31), interpreting persecution through an apocalyptic lens. roman annexation of judea in 63 bce exacerbated tensions, as heavy taxation, puppet rulers (e.g., herod the great), and temple corruption fueled messianic hopes for a davidic king who would restore israel’s sovereignty. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 64 2. key characteristics of jewish apocalypticism apocalypticism in second temple judaism was characterized by several interrelated themes, reflecting a worldview steeped in divine revelation and cosmic conflict: 1. cosmic dualism: apocalyptic texts depicted a cosmic struggle between divine and demonic forces. the dead sea scrolls, particularly the war scroll (1qm), described an impending battle between the “sons of light” and “sons of darkness,” led by the archangel michael and belial, respectively. this dualism framed history as a conflict between god’s sovereignty and oppressive earthly powers, such as rome. 2. eschatological hope: apocalyptic writers anticipated divine intervention to end suffering, punish the wicked, and vindicate the righteous. the book of enoch (1 enoch) envisioned a final judgment where the “elect one” would reign over a renewed creation (1 enoch 45:3–6), while daniel 12:2–3 promised resurrection for the faithful. 3. resurrection and afterlife: unlike earlier hebrew thought, which emphasized communal earthly blessings, apocalyptic texts introduced individual resurrection. 2 maccabees 7:9– 14 depicts martyrs expecting postmortem vindication, a belief that shaped jesus’ teachings on eternal life. 4. revelatory visions: apocalyptic knowledge was mediated through angels, dreams, or heavenly journeys. the apocalypse of abraham detailed celestial visions to comprehend divine mysteries, while daniel’s visions (e.g., dan 7–12) used symbolic imagery to interpret historical crises. 5. imminence of the end: apocalypticists believed they were living in the “end times,” with divine intervention imminent. jesus’ proclamation, “the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of god has come near” (mark 1:15), echoed this urgency, framing his ministry as the climax of jewish eschatological hopes. 3. socio-political catalysts for apocalyptic thought apocalypticism flourished in contexts of perceived existential threat. roman occupation, beginning with pompey’s conquest of jerusalem in 63 bce, disrupted jewish autonomy and exacerbated socio-economic disparities. the roman client king herod the great (37–4 bce) funded lavish hellenistic projects, including the temple expansion, but his tyrannical rule alienated many jews. the temple itself became a focal point of contention. while the sadducees upheld temple rituals, groups like the essenes critiqued its corruption. the qumran community withdrew to the desert, declaring the temple priesthood illegitimate and awaiting a purified sanctuary. economic exploitation—roman tribute, herodian taxes, and debt cycles— impoverished rural peasants, creating a receptive audience for movements promising divine reversal. jesus’ beatitudes (“blessed are you who are poor,” luke 6:20) directly addressed this marginalized demographic. the maccabean revolt and hasmonean dynasty (142–37 bce) briefly igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 65 restored jewish autonomy but later succumbed to corruption, fueling disillusionment. by the first century ce, many jews viewed the herodian dynasty and roman collaborators as agents of evil, necessitating divine intervention. 4. apocalyptic movements and figures several movements exemplify the diversity of jewish apocalyptic responses: • the qumran community: the dead sea scrolls reveal a sectarian group preparing for an apocalyptic war. their community rule (1qs) mandated strict purity laws and communal ownership of goods, viewing themselves as the “elect” who would survive god’s final judgment. they anticipated two messiahs: a priestly “messiah of aaron” and a royal “messiah of israel”. • john the baptist: a pivotal apocalyptic figure, john preached a baptism of repentance “for the forgiveness of sins” (mark 1:4), framing his ministry as preparation for the “one more powerful” who would baptize “with the holy spirit and fire” (matthew 3:11). his execution by herod antipas underscores the political threat posed by apocalyptic prophets. • jesus of nazareth: jesus’ teachings and actions were embedded in apocalyptic symbolism. his use of the title “son of man” (mark 8:38) invoked daniel 7:13–14, combining messianic and judicial roles. the kingdom of god (βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ) carried sociopolitical connotations, challenging roman and temple hierarchies through acts like the temple protest (mark 11:15–17) and exorcisms symbolizing satan’s overthrow (luke 11:20). 5. scholarly interpretations and debates scholars remain divided on the nature and influence of apocalypticism in jesus’ ministry: • albert schweitzer: argued jesus was an apocalyptic prophet whose ethics were “interim guidelines” for the imminent kingdom. schweitzer’s “consistent eschatology” posited that jesus’ moral injunctions (e.g., wealth renunciation) were tied to an expected cosmic upheaval. • e.p. sanders: expanded schweitzer’s framework, situating jesus within jewish restoration eschatology. sanders identified jesus’ temple actions as symbolic of its impending destruction, aligning him with apocalyptic prophets like jeremiah. • n.t. wright: reinterpreted apocalyptic language as symbolic of historical crises (e.g., the temple’s destruction). wright argued jesus’ kingdom proclamation addressed israel’s covenantal renewal rather than cosmic cataclysm, emphasizing a “now and not yet” eschatology. • critics of apocalyptic jesus: marcus borg and john dominic crossan proposed a nonapocalyptic jesus focused on wisdom and social reform. they argue sayings like the lord’s igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 66 prayer (“your kingdom come,” matthew 6:10) reflect metaphorical, not literal, eschatology 109. 6. impact on early christianity the early church inherited and adapted apocalyptic ethics. communal practices like shared goods (acts 2:44–45) and pacifism emerged as lived expressions of the kingdom’s values. paul’s letters (e.g., 1 thessalonians 4:13–17) reflect expectations of an imminent parousia, though the delayed eschaton prompted theological shifts, such as john’s realized eschatology (john 5:24). the destruction of the temple in 70 ce catalyzed reinterpretations of jesus’ prophecies. mark 13 aligns the temple’s fall with the son of man’s coming, framing it as divine judgment on corrupt institutions. the apocalyptic context of second temple judaism was not merely a backdrop but the crucible in which jesus’ ethical and theological vision took shape. his teachings on the kingdom of god, radical inclusivity, and divine judgment emerged from a tradition grappling with foreign domination, temple corruption, and the hope for ultimate redemption. by situating jesus within this milieu, we gain a fuller understanding of his mission as both a continuation of jewish apocalypticism and a transformative reinterpretation of its symbols. scholarly debates continue to illuminate how apocalyptic expectations shaped early christian identity, offering a lens through which to interpret the enduring relevance of jesus’ radical ethics in contemporary discussions of justice and hope. ethical teachings of the historical jesus the ethical teachings of the historical jesus, often radical and countercultural, were inseparable from his apocalyptic proclamation of the imminent kingdom of god. rooted in the socioreligious milieu of second temple judaism, these teachings challenged prevailing norms of power, purity, and privilege while offering a transformative vision of community grounded in divine justice and eschatological hope. this section examines key ethical imperatives in jesus’ ministry—renunciation of wealth, nonviolence, radical inclusivity, forgiveness, humility, care for the marginalized, and critique of hypocrisy—demonstrating their coherence within an apocalyptic framework. 1. renunciation of wealth jesus’ teachings on wealth were among his most radical and consistent ethical demands. sayings such as “sell your possessions, and give alms” (luke 12:33) and “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of god” (mark 10:25) reflect a profound rejection of materialism as incompatible with the values of the kingdom. the story of the rich young ruler (mark 10:17–22) epitomizes this ethic: jesus instructs the man to divest his wealth to attain “treasure in heaven,” framing economic renunciation as a prerequisite igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 67 for discipleship. this teaching emerged from the apocalyptic belief that wealth distracted from readiness for divine judgment. the parable of the rich fool (luke 12:16–21), who hoards resources only to face sudden death, underscores the transience of earthly possessions. similarly, the beatitudes’ declaration—“blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of god” (luke 6:20)—promised eschatological reversal, privileging the economically marginalized. scholarly perspectives: • john dominic crossan (1991) interprets jesus’ wealth ethics as part of a “brokerless kingdom,” advocating for egalitarian sharing in contrast to roman patronage systems. • dale allison (2010) links these teachings to jewish millenarian movements, where communal austerity prepared adherents for divine intervention. • marcus borg (1987) downplays apocalyptic urgency, framing wealth renunciation as a metaphor for spiritual detachment. 2. nonviolence and enemy love jesus’ injunction to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (matthew 5:44) subverted conventional notions of retributive justice. the call to “turn the other cheek” (matthew 5:39) and “go the second mile” (matthew 5:41) rejected violent resistance to roman oppression, advocating instead for radical nonviolence. these teachings reflected an apocalyptic trust in divine vindication: by relinquishing vengeance, believers mirrored god’s mercy, which would soon rectify all injustices. the sermon on the mount (matthew 5–7) framed nonviolence as a hallmark of the kingdom’s citizens. jesus’ refusal to sanction armed rebellion, even during his arrest (matthew 26:52), contrasted sharply with contemporary movements like the zealots, who sought political liberation through violence. scholarly debates: • walter wink (1992) interprets “turning the other cheek” as a form of creative resistance that exposed systemic humiliation without escalating violence. • richard horsley (2003) argues that jesus’ nonviolence was a strategic critique of roman imperial power, not passive acquiescence. • bart ehrman (1999) ties this ethic to apocalyptic urgency: since god’s judgment was imminent, human retaliation was unnecessary. 3. radical inclusivity jesus’ fellowship with tax collectors, sinners, samaritans, and women (e.g., luke 15:1–2; john 4:7–26) dismantled social hierarchies, signaling the kingdom’s inclusivity. by sharing meals with igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 68 outcasts (luke 14:12–14) and declaring that “the last will be first” (matthew 20:16), jesus redefined purity and belonging. his parable of the great banquet (luke 14:15–24), where the marginalized replace the invited elite, subverted expectations of who would partake in the eschatological feast. this inclusivity extended to ethnic boundaries. the good samaritan parable (luke 10:25–37) challenged jewish-samaritan animosities, while jesus’ healing of a roman centurion’s servant (matthew 8:5–13) affirmed faith beyond israel. apocalyptic framework: • e.p. sanders (1985) situates jesus’ inclusivity within jewish restoration eschatology, where the ingathering of israel’s “lost sheep” prefigured the kingdom. • amy-jill levine (2006) critiques interpretations that pit jesus against judaism, emphasizing his continuity with prophetic calls for justice. 4. forgiveness and reconciliation forgiveness was central to jesus’ ethical vision. the lord’s prayer—“forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (matthew 6:12)—linked divine mercy to human reconciliation. the parable of the unforgiving servant (matthew 18:23–35) warned that failure to forgive jeopardized one’s standing in the kingdom. jesus’ command to forgive “seventy-seven times” (matthew 18:22) transcended legalistic limits, reflecting jubilee themes of debt release (leviticus 25). his forgiveness of the woman caught in adultery (john 8:1–11) and the dying thief (luke 23:43) exemplified this ethic, offering grace even in extremis. scholarly insights: • gerd theissen (1998) connects jesus’ forgiveness to apocalyptic hope: since god’s judgment was near, reconciliation was urgent. • n.t. wright (1996) frames forgiveness as a foretaste of the new covenant, restoring relationships fractured by sin. 5. humility and servanthood jesus redefined power as servanthood, declaring, “whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all” (mark 9:35). the washing of the disciples’ feet (john 13:14–15) symbolized this inversion, challenging roman and temple hierarchies that valorized status. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 69 the beatitudes’ blessing on the “meek” (matthew 5:5) and jesus’ identification with “the least of these” (matthew 25:40) underscored humility as a kingdom value. this ethic contrasted with contemporary messianic expectations of a militaristic davidic king. apocalyptic symbolism: • richard bauckham (2011) interprets jesus’ humility as embodying the “upside-down” values of the coming kingdom. • joel marcus (2009) links servanthood to the suffering servant motif in isaiah 53, reframing messianic identity. 6. care for the marginalized jesus prioritized the poor, sick, and socially excluded, declaring, “whatever you did for one of the least of these… you did for me” (matthew 25:40). his healing miracles (e.g., mark 1:40–42; luke 17:11–19) restored individuals to community, symbolizing the kingdom’s eradication of impurity and exclusion. the parable of the sheep and the goats (matthew 25:31–46) framed care for the marginalized as the criterion for final judgment, merging ethics with eschatology. jesus’ defense of the poor widow (mark 12:41–44) and critique of exploitative elites (luke 20:47) further emphasized solidarity with the oppressed. scholarly analysis: • jon sobrino (1978) interprets jesus’ option for the poor as a theological mandate for liberation theology. • warren carter (2006) situates these acts within roman imperial contexts, where patronage systems perpetuated inequality. 7. critique of hypocrisy and legalism jesus’ condemnation of religious leaders—“woe to you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites!” (matthew 23:13)—targeted legalistic adherence to torah that neglected “justice, mercy, and faithfulness” (matthew 23:23). his emphasis on inward purity (“clean the inside of the cup,” matthew 23:26) recentered ethics on heart transformation rather than ritual observance. this critique aligned with apocalyptic denunciations of corrupt institutions, as seen in qumran polemics against the temple priesthood. jesus’ temple protest (mark 11:15–17), symbolizing its impending destruction, underscored his rejection of exploitative religiosity. interpretive debates: • e.p. sanders (1985) argues jesus opposed the temple’s commercialization, not judaism itself. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 70 • paula fredriksen (1999) views the protest as a symbolic enactment of apocalyptic judgment. 8. radical trust in divine provision jesus’ instructions to “take no thought for tomorrow” (matthew 6:34) and reliance on god’s provision (“look at the birds of the air,” matthew 6:26) critiqued anxiety over material security. the sending of disciples without “purse, bag, or sandals” (luke 10:4) modeled dependence on communal hospitality, prefiguring the kingdom’s economy. this ethic of radical trust (πίστις) assumed god’s imminent intervention, rendering earthly concerns secondary. the parable of the lilies (luke 12:27–28) reinforced this worldview, contrasting human frailty with divine faithfulness. scholarly perspectives: • gerd theissen (1998) ties this teaching to itinerant radicalism, where disciples embodied the kingdom’s values. • john meier (1994) interprets it as a call to prioritize spiritual over material priorities. jesus’ ethical teachings—wealth renunciation, nonviolence, inclusivity, forgiveness, humility, care for the marginalized, and critique of hypocrisy—were not abstract moral principles but urgent responses to the apocalyptic inbreaking of god’s kingdom. by demanding a community marked by radical equality, mercy, and dependence on divine providence, jesus subverted roman imperial and temple-based hierarchies, offering a transformative alternative rooted in eschatological hope. scholarly debates continue to illuminate the interplay between ethics and apocalypticism, affirming schweitzer’s thesis while enriching our understanding of jesus’ enduring relevance to contemporary struggles for justice. eschatological motivation for ethical behavior the ethical teachings of the historical jesus were not abstract moral principles but urgent imperatives grounded in his apocalyptic worldview. central to this worldview was the belief that the kingdom of god was imminent—a divine intervention that would dismantle oppressive powers, enact final judgment, and inaugurate a new age of justice. this section examines how jesus’ eschatological expectations shaped his ethical demands, arguing that moral behavior functioned as both preparation for the kingdom’s arrival and a performative enactment of its values. by analyzing key teachings, parables, and early christian adaptations, this study demonstrates that eschatology provided the theological framework and motivational force for ethical rigor. 1. the imminence of the kingdom and ethical urgency igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 71 jesus’ proclamation—“the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of god has come near” (mark 1:15)—framed ethical behavior within a temporal crisis. the urgency of his teachings reflected the conviction that history was approaching its climax, demanding immediate repentance and moral transformation. parables like the ten virgins (matthew 25:1–13) and the faithful servant (luke 12:35–48) emphasized vigilance, warning that the kingdom’s arrival would be sudden and unexpected. the metaphor of a thief in the night (matthew 24:43–44) underscored the unpredictability of the eschaton, urging followers to “keep awake” (mark 13:35). this urgency permeated jesus’ ethical injunctions: • wealth renunciation: the call to “sell your possessions” (luke 12:33) was not merely altruistic but a rejection of materialism incompatible with the kingdom’s values (matthew 6:19–21). • nonviolence: by advocating “turning the other cheek” (matthew 5:39), jesus discouraged retaliation, trusting divine judgment to rectify injustices (romans 12:19). • inclusivity: fellowship with outcasts (luke 15:1–2) prefigured the kingdom’s boundarybreaking community, where “the last will be first” (matthew 20:16). albert schweitzer’s (1906) “consistent eschatology” posited that these ethics were “interim” guidelines for the brief period preceding the kingdom’s arrival. however, dale allison (2010) challenges schweitzer’s assumption of a fixed timetable, arguing instead that jesus’ urgency stemmed from the symbolic potency of apocalyptic hope rather than literal imminence. 2. divine judgment as ethical motivation the threat of divine judgment loomed large in jesus’ teachings, serving as a primary motivator for ethical behavior. the parable of the sheep and the goats (matthew 25:31–46) depicted the son of man separating the righteous from the wicked based on acts of mercy: feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and visiting the imprisoned. eternal punishment (“the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels,” matthew 25:41) awaited those who neglected these duties, while the righteous inherited the kingdom. similarly, the parable of the rich man and lazarus (luke 16:19–31) warned of postmortem reversal, where the poor lazarus was comforted in abraham’s bosom, while the indifferent rich man suffered torment. these narratives tied ethical conduct directly to eschatological outcomes, merging morality with cosmic accountability. scholarly perspectives: • bart ehrman (1999) emphasizes the centrality of judgment in jesus’ message, arguing that fear of hellfire motivated adherence to his ethics. • n.t. wright (1996) reinterprets judgment as covenantal: jesus’ warnings targeted israel’s failure to embody its divine calling, not individual damnation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 72 3. the “already/not yet” tension in ethical practice jesus’ teachings reflected the tension between the kingdom’s “already” presence and “not yet” consummation. while he declared that the kingdom had “come upon you” (matthew 12:28) through his exorcisms and healings, he also anticipated its future fulfillment (luke 22:18). this tension shaped ethical behavior as both a participation in the kingdom’s inbreaking and a preparation for its completion. • healing miracles: jesus’ restoration of lepers (luke 17:11–19) and the blind (mark 10:46–52) symbolized the kingdom’s power to eradicate impurity and suffering. • table fellowship: meals with tax collectors and sinners (mark 2:15–17) enacted the messianic banquet, a foretaste of the eschatological feast (isaiah 25:6–8). • forgiveness: the lord’s prayer linked divine forgiveness to human reconciliation (matthew 6:12), emphasizing that ethical acts in the present mirrored the kingdom’s future reality. pauline theology later systematized this tension, advocating for ethical rigor amid the “already/not yet” paradox. in romans 13:11–14, paul urged believers to “cast off the works of darkness” in light of the approaching “day of salvation,” while 1 corinthians 7:29–31 advised detachment from worldly affairs (“those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it”). 4. the delay of the parousia and ethical adaptation the deferred return of christ (the parousia) posed a theological crisis for early christian communities, prompting ethical and doctrinal adaptations. the gospel of mark, written during or after the first jewish-roman war (66–73 ce), reinterpreted jesus’ apocalyptic discourse (mark 13) to address the temple’s destruction, framing it as a precursor to the son of man’s coming. paul’s later epistles, such as 2 thessalonians, countered claims that the “day of the lord” had already come (2 thessalonians 2:1–2), urging steadfastness amid persecution. the pastoral epistles (e.g., 1 timothy, titus) shifted focus from apocalyptic urgency to institutional stability, advocating for orderly worship and qualified leadership. the gospel of john’s realized eschatology transformed the kingdom’s imminence into a present spiritual reality: “whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life” (john 5:24). yet even john retained ethical mandates, particularly the “new commandment” to love one another (john 13:34–35). 5. modern debates and interpretive challenges scholars remain divided on whether jesus’ ethics retain coherence if divorced from apocalyptic expectations. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 73 • marcus borg (1987) and john dominic crossan (1991) argue that jesus’ teachings on love, justice, and inclusivity transcend eschatology, offering timeless wisdom for social reform. • dale allison (2010) counters that non-apocalyptic interpretations flatten the radicalism of jesus’ ethics, which derive their force from the belief that god’s reign is dawning. • albert schweitzer (1906) famously concluded that jesus’ ethics were rendered obsolete by the delayed parousia, though modern scholars like john p. meier (1994) reject this, highlighting their enduring spiritual and communal relevance. the parable of the talents (matthew 25:14–30) illustrates this debate. for schweitzer, the parable’s call to productive stewardship assumes an imminent reckoning. for borg, it symbolizes responsible living regardless of eschatological timelines. the eschatological motivation for ethical behavior in jesus’ teachings cannot be disentangled from his apocalyptic proclamation. the imminent kingdom demanded radical reorientation—detachment from wealth, rejection of violence, and solidarity with the marginalized—as both preparation for divine judgment and participation in the new creation. early christian communities navigated the tension between the kingdom’s “already” and “not yet,” adapting ethics to sustain hope amid delayed expectations. modern scholarship continues to grapple with the implications of jesus’ apocalypticism, affirming its centrality to his moral vision while exploring its relevance to contemporary issues like climate crisis and systemic inequality. by grounding ethics in eschatological hope, jesus offered not only a critique of power but a transformative vision of human flourishing under god’s reign. assessing the impact on early christian communities the apocalyptic ethics of the historical jesus profoundly shaped the identity, practices, and theological trajectory of early christian communities. emerging within the volatile socio-political and religious milieu of second temple judaism, these communities navigated persecution, internal diversity, and the delayed fulfillment of eschatological hopes while striving to embody the radical ethics of the kingdom of god. this section evaluates how apocalyptic expectations influenced communal practices, social cohesion, theological adaptations, and the evolving relationship between jewish and gentile believers. 1. communal practices and eschatological identity early christian communities were marked by practices that reflected jesus’ apocalyptic ethics, particularly the belief in an imminent divine intervention. the jerusalem church’s practice of communal resource-sharing—where believers “had all things in common” (acts 2:44–45)— mirrored jesus’ teachings on wealth renunciation and prioritized solidarity over material security29. this radical economic ethic, rooted in the expectation of the kingdom’s arrival, fostered a countercultural identity distinct from roman imperial and jewish temple-based hierarchies. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 74 baptism, a rite of initiation, symbolized participation in christ’s death and resurrection (romans 6:3–4), framing believers as citizens of the coming kingdom9. the eucharist, or lord’s supper, similarly prefigured the messianic banquet (luke 22:14–20), reinforcing communal unity and eschatological hope. these rituals underscored the “already/not yet” tension of the kingdom—a present reality experienced sacramentally but awaiting future consummation. 2. persecution and martyrdom as apocalyptic witness persecution under roman authorities, such as nero’s scapegoating of christians after the great fire of rome (64 ce), was interpreted through an apocalyptic lens. martyrs like polycarp and perpetua were venerated as witnesses (μάρτυρες) whose deaths paralleled christ’s sacrifice, hastening the kingdom’s triumph over evil. the book of revelation, composed amid imperial persecution, framed suffering as part of a cosmic battle between god and satan (revelation 12:7– 12), offering hope that martyrdom would lead to eternal vindication. this theology of martyrdom sustained resilience but also heightened tensions with jewish communities. while some jews likely viewed christian claims as provocative, early christian texts like the martyrdom of polycarp (c. 155–156 ce) depicted jewish leaders as complicit in roman persecution, exacerbating communal divides. 3. theological adaptations to the delayed parousia the deferred return of christ (the parousia) prompted significant theological shifts. paul’s early letters, such as 1 thessalonians (c. 50–51 ce), reflect urgent expectations of christ’s imminent return (1 thessalonians 4:13–17). however, by the late first century, communities grappled with the “delay of the parousia,” leading to reinterpretations. the gospel of john reimagined eschatology as a present spiritual reality: “whoever believes in me has eternal life” (john 5:24), emphasizing inward transformation over cosmic upheaval. the destruction of the jerusalem temple in 70 ce further catalyzed theological innovation. mark 13 reinterpreted jesus’ apocalyptic discourse to address the temple’s fall, framing it as a precursor to the son of man’s coming. similarly, 2 peter 3:8–9 reframed divine patience as an opportunity for repentance, softening the urgency of imminence while retaining ethical rigor. 4. interaction with jewish and gentile communities early christianity’s identity was forged through complex interactions with jewish and gentile worlds. initially, jewish believers in jesus (e.g., the jerusalem church under james) adhered to torah observance while proclaiming jesus as messiah. however, the inclusion of gentile converts, debated at the council of jerusalem (acts 15), redefined covenantal boundaries. pauline theology argued that gentiles could enter the kingdom without full adherence to jewish law (galatians 2:11–21), a stance that alienated traditionalist jewish christians and accelerated the “parting of the ways”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 75 by the second century, roman authorities distinguished christians from jews, as seen in suetonius’ classification of christians as a superstitio rather than a gens6. this separation was reinforced by christian anti-jewish polemics, such as accusations of deicide in the gospel of john (john 8:44), and rabbinic critiques of christian teachings in the talmud 10. 5. ethical radicalism and social critique jesus’ apocalyptic ethics—nonviolence, enemy love, and care for the marginalized—continued to shape communal life. the didache (c. 1st–2nd century ce) blended apocalyptic warnings with practical ethics, urging believers to “share everything with your brother” and reject wealth accumulation 913. early christians’ refusal to participate in roman military service or imperial cults exemplified their allegiance to the kingdom’s values, often resulting in social marginalization. the beatitudes’ promise that the “meek will inherit the earth” (matthew 5:5) subverted roman ideals of power, offering hope to oppressed groups like slaves and women. figures like lydia, a gentile convert and patron of the philippian church (acts 16:14–15), illustrate how apocalyptic ethics empowered marginalized voices within communal structures 6. institutionalization and legacy by the late second century, apocalyptic fervor gave way to institutional stability. the pastoral epistles (1–2 timothy, titus) emphasized orderly worship and qualified leadership, reflecting a shift from charismatic prophecy to hierarchical governance. the emergence of bishops and creeds, such as the nicene creed (325 ce), standardized doctrine but diluted the radical egalitarianism of jesus’ ethics. monastic movements, like the desert fathers (4th century ce), preserved apocalyptic asceticism, renouncing wealth and social ties to await the kingdom. meanwhile, the christianization of the roman empire under constantine (312 ce) transformed the faith from a persecuted sect to a state religion, complicating its ethical witness 1013. the impact of apocalyptic ethics on early christian communities was both transformative and paradoxical. while jesus’ teachings fostered radical solidarity and resistance to imperial power, the delayed parousia and institutionalization necessitated theological and practical compromises. communities navigated persecution, internal diversity, and evolving identities, leaving a legacy that continues to inform debates on social justice, nonviolence, and ecological ethics. the enduring relevance of apocalyptic hope lies in its challenge to systems of oppression and its vision of a world transformed by divine justice—a vision that remains central to christian identity despite historical ambiguities. conclusion igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 76 the ethical teachings of the historical jesus, rooted in his apocalyptic proclamation of the imminent kingdom of god, remain a transformative force in both historical scholarship and contemporary ethical discourse. this study has demonstrated that jesus’ radical demands— renunciation of wealth, nonviolence, inclusivity, and forgiveness—were neither abstract moral ideals nor provisional “interim ethics” (schweitzer, 1906) but urgent imperatives shaped by the conviction that divine intervention was at hand. by situating jesus within the socio-political and theological landscape of second temple judaism, the paper reaffirms albert schweitzer’s “consistent eschatology” while integrating modern insights into how apocalyptic hope subverted roman imperial and temple-based hierarchies. the delayed parousia did not negate the ethical vision but prompted early christian communities to adapt its principles, fostering practices like communal sharing (acts 2:44–45) and martyrdom theology (revelation 2:10) that sustained resilience amid crisis. the enduring relevance of jesus’ apocalyptic ethics lies in their challenge to systems of power and their vision of a world transformed by divine justice. modern movements for social justice, nonviolence, and ecological stewardship often echo jesus’ radicalism, framing ethical action in light of impending crisis. for instance, liberation theology’s “preferential option for the poor” (gutiérrez, 1971) mirrors jesus’ solidarity with the marginalized, while climate activism’s urgency reflects apocalyptic warnings of planetary collapse. similarly, christian pacifist traditions, inspired by the sermon on the mount, continue to resist militarism and systemic violence. these parallels underscore that apocalyptic ethics are not relics of a primitive worldview but dynamic frameworks for confronting contemporary injustices. however, the tension between eschatological hope and historical ambiguity persists. the institutionalization of christianity, particularly after constantine’s conversion (312 ce), diluted the radical egalitarianism of jesus’ ethics, aligning the faith with imperial power. yet monastic movements like the desert fathers and modern communities such as the catholic worker movement preserved the apocalyptic call to simplicity and solidarity, proving its adaptability across epochs. the challenge for contemporary theology is to reclaim this radical legacy without succumbing to fatalism or escapism, grounding ethical action in hope rather than despair. future research directions 1. intersections with contemporary crises: explore how jesus’ apocalyptic ethics inform responses to climate change, globalization, and systemic inequality. how might the “already/not yet” kingdom framework inspire sustainable and just practices in an age of ecological precarity? 2. gender and apocalyptic ethics: investigate the role of women in early christian apocalyptic movements (e.g., prophetic figures like philip’s daughters in acts 21:9) and their implications for modern gender justice. how did apocalypticism empower or constrain marginalized voices? igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 77 3. comparative apocalypticisms: analyze parallels between jesus’ ethics and other millenarian movements, such as islamic mahdism or indigenous revitalization movements. what common themes emerge in the ethical responses to colonial or imperial oppression? 4. digital apocalypticism: examine how digital media shapes contemporary apocalyptic thought (e.g., ai ethics, “doomer” subcultures). does the digital age demand new interpretations of jesus’ teachings on vigilance and community? 5. neuroscience and ethics: apply interdisciplinary approaches to study how apocalyptic hope influences moral decision-making. can neuroethical research illuminate the psychological impact of eschatological motivation? 6. revisiting pauline adaptations: reassess paul’s “already/not yet” eschatology in light of modern trauma studies. how did early christians process the cognitive dissonance of delayed fulfillment, and what lessons does this hold for communities facing protracted crises? in conclusion, jesus’ apocalyptic ethics offer more than a historical curiosity—they provide a prophetic lens through which to critique power, reimagine community, and act with urgency in the face of injustice. by engaging these teachings as both a scholarly pursuit and a lived practice, future research can bridge the gap between ancient texts and modern struggles, ensuring that the radical hope of the kingdom remains a vital force in an uncertain world. references allison, d. c. (2010). constructing jesus: memory, imagination, and history. baker academic. bauckham, r. (2011). the bible in the contemporary world: hermeneutical ventures. eerdmans. borg, m. j. (1987). jesus: a new vision. harperone. carter, w. (2006). the roman empire and the new testament: an essential guide. abingdon press. collins, j. j. (1998). the apocalyptic imagination: an introduction to jewish apocalyptic literature (2nd ed.). eerdmans. crossan, j. d. (1991). the historical jesus: the life of a mediterranean jewish peasant. harperone. dunn, j. d. g. (2006). unity and diversity in the new testament: an inquiry into the character of earliest christianity (3rd ed.). scm press. ehrman, b. d. (1999). jesus: apocalyptic prophet of the new millennium. oxford university press. fredriksen, p. (1999). jesus of nazareth, king of the jews: a jewish life and the emergence of christianity. vintage. gutiérrez, g. (1971). a theology of liberation: history, politics, and salvation. orbis books. horsley, r. a. (2003). jesus and empire: the kingdom of god and the new world disorder. fortress press. keith, c. (2011). jesus’ literacy: scribal culture and the teacher from galilee. t&t clark. le donne, a. (2009). the historiographical jesus: memory, typology, and the son of david. baylor university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 78 levine, a.-j. (2006). the misunderstood jew: the church and the scandal of the jewish jesus. harperone. marcus, j. (2009). mark 8–16: a new translation with introduction and commentary. yale university press. meier, j. p. (1994). a marginal jew: rethinking the historical jesus (vol. 2). doubleday. nickelsburg, g. w. e. (2003). ancient judaism and christian origins: diversity, continuity, and transformation. fortress press. pbs. (n.d.). jesus and john the baptist. frontline. retrieved from https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/apocalypse/explanation/jesusjohn baptist.html richardson, p. (1996). herod: king of the jews and friend of the romans. fortress press. sanders, e. p. (1985). jesus and judaism. fortress press. schiffman, l. h. (1994). reclaiming the dead sea scrolls: the history of judaism, the background of christianity, the lost library of qumran. jewish publication society. schweitzer, a. (1906). the quest of the historical jesus. a. & c. black. sobrino, j. (1978). christology at the crossroads: a latin american approach. orbis books. theissen, g., & merz, a. (1998). the historical jesus: a comprehensive guide. fortress press. vermes, g. (2011). the complete dead sea scrolls in english (7th ed.). penguin classics. wink, w. (1992). engaging the powers: discernment and resistance in a world of domination. fortress press. wright, n. t. (1996). jesus and the victory of god. fortress press. yoder, j. h. (1972). the politics of jesus: vicit agnus noster. eerdmans. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.3. no.2 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 22 global refugee crisis: seeking a permanent solution aghamelu fidelis chuka philosophy department nnamdi azikiwe university awka, nigeria helen.fidelis@yahoo.com & aghamelu helen udumaga centre for democratic and human development research omogho, nigeria helenaghamelu@gmail.com abstract recent upsurge in armed conflicts and the degradation of human rights has resulted in the astronomical rise in the number of refugees around the world. sadly the international community have failed to hold up the enactments of the united nations 1951 convention as relating to the rights of the refugees. the authors notes that the united states of america along with her allies have contributed immensely in escalating the crisis in the middle east through their strategy of providing armed and professional support for terrorist groups like al-qaeda in the cases of libya, iraq and syria. these conflicts have further increased the number of refugees in the world. in places like europe, barbed wire fences have become the welcome sign to these refugees. europe and some western states have rather deployed strategies to stop the refugees from crossing the seas rather making arrangement on how to welcome and resettle them. in seeking a solution to this menace, the pope has called for renewed solidarity and cooperation among the leaders of the world as a step in alleviating the plight of the refugees. the pontiff called for interdependence between countries and the assimilation of migrants irrespective of religious or political believes. the authors in this paper believe that the global refugee crisis in the world could be abated if the western powers respect the sovereignty of other countries and also stop the provision of arms and professional support to terrorist groups. this move will reduce the rate and severity of armed conflicts in the world. the authors also recommend the adoption of sincere collaborative effort among world leaders toward the assimilation of refugees around the world. introduction igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 23 never before has it been seen, the kind of humanitarian crisis that is presently plaguing the world since the second world war. the magnitude of these crises either from the war in syrian, the war in yemen, the activities of isis in libya and the activities of bokoharam in nigeria have resulted to the displacement of a large number of people from their home and countries of birth. this fact is accentuated by metcalfe-hough (2015) who reported that approximately 800,000 people have arrived at european union (eu) borders through irregular channels, fleeing conflict and violence at home or in search of a better life abroad since 2014. similarly, hansen (2015) observed that since 2014, almost 14 million people were displaced from their homes and, in total. hansen further noted that there are now at least 59.5 million displaced persons globally. this figure according to hansen includes 19.5 million refugees (including 5.1 million palestinians), 38.2 million internally displaced persons, and 1.8 million asylum seekers (united nations high commission for refugees (unhcr), global trends 2015). as at september, 2016, 65 million people have been displaced from their homes, mostly by war, half are children (crisis group, 2016). despite these huge numbers, it is still not a clear representation of the total amount of persons displaced daily all over the world. according to makwana (2016), the 1951 refugee convention, which was implemented in response to europe’s last major refugee crisis during world war ii, states that governments need only safeguard the human rights of asylum seekers when they are inside their territory. however, we have seen a clear violation of the agreement of the un refugee convention. this is evident in the negative disposition of some european countries towards accepting refugees. makwana (2016) opined that the response from most european governments has been to prevent rather than facilitate the arrival of refugees in order to minimise their legal responsibility towards them. furthermore, makwana noted that the eu has even gone so far as making a flawed and legally questionable deal with president erdogan of turkey to intercept migrant families crossing the aegean sea and return them to turkey against their will. there has also been a hypocritical attitude of some countries towards accepting these refugees. one would argue that the british vote in support of the “brexit” is a direct indication of their intentions not to be involved in taking responsibilities towards ameliorating the plights of the refugees because in this case there are no resources to exploit. there have been claims and counter claiming from europe that it is couldn’t afford the resources to see to the plight of the displaced igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 24 refugees rather seeking to dump these refugees on turkey and some other africa countries. it portends that europe as well as some countries in the west are only interested in involving themselves in global crisis when it suits them and looking for whom to pass on the burden when it appears not to suit them. however, these claims that refugees are financial burden to the host countries have been debunked by evidence from the organization for economic co-operation and development (oecd) in makwana (2016) who revealed that immigrant households contribute $2,800 more to the economy in taxes alone than they receive in public provision. in the uk, non-european immigrants contributed £5 billion ($7.15 billion) in taxes between 2000 and 2011. they are also less likely to receive state benefits than the rest of the population, more likely to start businesses, and less likely to commit serious crimes than natives. while oecd (2015) suggested that in the short run, processing and supporting such large numbers of asylum seekers will be costly. it also noted that in the long-run, it will depend on how well successful asylum seekers are integrated. this will require early and intensive efforts to provide language training, assess individual skills, provide school access, address health and social problems, and work with employers to help boost refugees’ chances of employment. this is why it becomes paramount to adopt new strategies or build on existing and successful strategies and mechanism which would help fast track the integration of the refugees into their host countries it appears that these views are largely elusive or purposely ignored by the leaders of some member states of the european union. according to hathaway (2016), “denying mobility rights to refugees is a strategy that appeals to states that would prefer to avoid their international duty to protect refugees. while not willing to accept the political cost of formally renouncing the treaty, states with the economic and practical wherewithal have for many years sought to ensure that refugees never arrive at their jurisdiction, at which point duties in here.” on the same vein, metcalfe-hough (2015) averred that the failure of the international community to address conflicts, violence and human rights violations in countries of origin has been another key factor in the surge in irregular migration to europe. there is no international political framework for ending the syria conflict and no clear international strategy for addressing the related conflict in iraq. afghanistan is still far from any real stability despite years of international intervention, and the international community seems to be out of ideas on how to end the decades-long conflict in somalia. efforts to address the chronic poverty, inequality, weak governance and climate and environmental changes that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 25 constitute ‘push’ factors in many developing countries like nigeria have also been inadequate. on that note, it is important that there exist a high level of coordination co-ordination between different levels of governance in the international community. this according to the oecd (2015) is paramount to preventing local communities from being overwhelmed by the number of the refugees. it is against this backdrop that this paper sought to review the global refugee crisis through literatures with a view to proffering control measures for curbing the menace. conceptualizing refugee in order to make a clear meaning of who a refugee is, it is pertinent to know the events that brought about the clear definition of who a refugee is. in 1951 the un convention relating to the status of refugees was negotiated after world war ii. the convention was originally limited both geographically and temporally: to europe and to precipitating causes that occurred before january 1, 1951. the 1967 protocol, however, removed both these limitations. currently, 145 states have signed the 1951 convention, 146 states have signed the 1967 protocol, and 142 have signed both (unhcr, 2013). a refugee is an individual who ‘owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country’ (unchr, 2011). the convention definition states that protection is reserved only for those who have left their country of origin. as such, an individual deciding to cross an international border undergoes a transformation into an ‘object of concern’ under international refugee law, for that individual is missing or has been denied protection in their country of origin and is in need of alternative sources of protection (helton, 2003). the issue of having crossed an international border is the inherent component of what establishes one as a refugee. as articulated by unhcr, whole groups may be considered as ‘prima facie’ refugees: ‘situations have arisen in which entire groups have been displaced under circumstances indicating that members of the group could be considered individually as refugees. in such situations the need to provide assistance is often extremely urgent and it may not be possible for purely practical reasons to carry out an individual determination of refugee status for each member of the group. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 26 recourse has therefore been had to so-called “group determination” of refugee status, whereby each member of the group is regarded prima facie (i.e. in the absence of evidence to the contrary) as a refugee’ (unhcr, 2011). the increasing waves of wars and terrorism globally have re-emphasized the need to redefine the criteria that qualifies one a refugee. there are many categories of the displaced beyond those who are, from a legal point of view, refugees. it is also worthy to note that there are millions of people who fled drought, famine, natural disasters, and terrorism. these categories of people have been classified by some writers and authors as refugees, but as they fall outside the main international legal instruments designed for refugees, they are not technically such. in the context of this paper, these groups or categories of person have been classified as refugees. according to hansen (2015), internally displaced persons (idps) are individuals whom states drive from their homes or who flee persecution, violence, and/or political breakdown, but who do not cross a border. in 2014, 2.6 million iraqis fled isis but remained within iraq, thus becoming idps (unhcr in hansen, 2015) and the number of idps in nigeria, as at 31st december, 2015 was 2,152,000 nigerians. hansen posited that idps outnumber refugees two to one worldwide and certainly deserve attention in their own right. it is therefore important that efforts are made across board to adopt effective measures that will help to ease the plights of these categories of displaced person with a view to integrating them into the society. this will assist in ensuring better quality of life and economic liberation for the refugees. violent conflicts major driver of the global refugee crisis in the world the global refugee crisis is in its crescendo since world war ii. according to the un high commissioner for refugees, filippo grandi, in ojeifo (2016), this is the first time in the organisation’s history that the threshold of 60 million displaced persons has been crossed. the commissioner noted that more people are being displaced by war and persecution. violent conflicts in the form of wars, persecution and revolt has been the major drivers of the global refugee crisis in the world. in the case of armed conflict, syria is a major driver of the global refugee crisis. it has been reported that over 12 million syrians have been uprooted by the conflict since 2011 – including 4.9 million registered refugees, 6.6 million internally displaced people and nearly 250,000 asylum-seekers. the cease fire agreement igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 27 between russian and the united states of america which has automatically collapsed has further worsened the volatile situation in syria leaving the people of syria at the mercy of divine intervention. years of continuous conflict have made somalia the third largest source country of refugees. some 1.12 million somalis have sought sanctuary abroad, and just as many have been displaced inside the country. ongoing attacks by the islamist insurgency al-shabaab make them reluctant to return to their homes. south sudan has suddenly become a leading source of refugees. according to the crisis group (2016) south sudan refugees stood at a gaping 778,700 at the end of 2015, and it is believed that, the number could pass the 1 million mark in 2016 if the current trends continue. the majority of refugees have fled to ethiopia, kenya, sudan and uganda. more than 1.6 million people are internally displaced. the un is sheltering around 200,000 people at six sites across the country designated for the protection of civilians, although these sites have repeatedly come under direct attack. international agencies report that the country is facing a humanitarian crisis, including an unprecedented level of food insecurity. though the main warring parties signed a peace deal in 2015, implementing the agreement has proved highly contentious. as of september 2016, south sudan stood at a risky impasse (crisis group, 2016). more than four decades of war and unresolved conflict in afghanistan have displaced millions, with the vast majority living in pakistan and iran in often precarious circumstances. in addition to the 2.7 million afghan refugees registered by unhcr, another 3 million undocumented afghans are estimated to be living in the region. ongoing violence is a major push factor. today, the taliban is expanding, controlling more territory than before; militants, particularly the haqqani network, are responsible for successive attacks in major cities, including kabul; and the islamic state has established a presence in the eastern provinces of nangarhar and kunar. the case is not different in political repression in myanmar where there are over 451,800 people living as refugees or in refugee-like situations, mostly in thailand and bangladesh. several hundreds of thousands more are internally displaced, with many living in appalling conditions in camps where they have very little access to protection or government services. even larger numbers have left myanmar to join the migrant labour pool, particularly in thailand; many are economic migrants, but a significant number fled conflict and repression (crisis group, 2016). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 28 these cases are also peculiar to other countries like nigeria were there over 2, 152, 000 displaced persons which has resulted from the activities of the armed group bokoharam. this has led to many nigerians in the northern states of borno, yobe and adamawa seeking refuge internally in the country and in other countries like niger, cameroun and chad. similarly in the central african republic the number of refugees has risen to about 470,000 out of the country, mostly to cameroon, chad and the democratic republic of congo. another 421,000 people have been internally displaced. colombia is another country which has contributed to the increased rate of refugee crisis in the world, this has been helped by decades of war between the government and the farc rebels, and this war has resulted in the displacement of 340,200 people. however, in august 2016 there has been a peace agreement between the government and the rebel forces. hopefully this will put an end to decades of conflict in the county. this will ultimately lead to the reintegration of the people to their communities/countries. the hypocrisy of the west and the syria war the position of the western powers especially the united states of america to support known terror groups in bids to unseat sitting presidents of sovereign states has continued to escalate the spate of conflicts in the middle east, therefore heightening the level of the refugee crisis. according to carley (2016), united states leaves its footprints everywhere, along with those of the british and french, you will find ruins and victims. iraq and libya are in chaos and infested with al-qaeda terrorists. war drags on in afghanistan after fifteen years. in the ukraine the us-backed fascist coup d’état has only partially succeeded and a crisis there could irrupt at any time. this clearly shows that the united states of america have not been true and sincere in its efforts to end the conflicts in the middle east. the strategy of providing ammunitions and war equipments to terrorist groups has never helped to resolve conflicts in these countries where the united states has fuelled revolt through armed struggle. supporting, van auken (2016) revealed that a vital factor in the rebel advance in october, 2015 was as a result of cooperation between mainstream rebel groups, some of which have received covert arms support from the united states, and the jihadist organization formerly known as the nusra front, which was affiliated with al qaeda. the hypocrisy of the united states is further highlighted in fisk (2016) who opined that “while qatar and saudi arabia arm and fund the rebels of syria to overthrow bashar al-assad's alawite/shia-baathist dictatorship, washington igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 29 mutters not a word of criticism against them. president barack obama and his secretary of state, hillary clinton, say they want a democracy in syria. but qatar is an autocracy and saudi arabia is among the most pernicious of caliphatekingly-dictatorships in the arab world. rulers of both states inherit power from their families – just as bashar has done – and saudi arabia is an ally of the salafist-wahabi rebels in syria, just as it was the most fervent supporter of the medieval taliban during afghanistan's dark ages.” it has also been alleged that the al qaeda forces had received not only massive amounts of weapons, but also professional military training. according to becker (2015), the united states and its nato and regional allies have funneled weapons and money to right-wing armed sectarian groups since the syrian civil war began in 2011. this quickly morphed into the dominance among the armed opposition in syria of the islamic state, al-qaeda and other groups. sadly, the western backed media have not also helped in providing sincere reportage on the events happening in syria. the western media have continually given negative reportage on the activities of the government in power in syria. it is sad to see a situation where rebel activities in syria are celebrated by news agencies in the united states. the western media have gone so far as to celebrate the exploits of “rebel” suicide bombers for providing a strategic “advantage” for the western-backed militias. among the most dishonest and duplicitous accounts of the recent fighting are those that have appeared in the pages of the new york times, whose news coverage and editorial line are carefully tailored to serve the predatory aims of us imperialism (van auken, 2016). solidarity and co-operation: a solution to the refugee crisis in the midst of this crisis, there have been increased calls by world leaders to look into the state of the refugees. this call was prompted because of the inhuman conditions in which the refugees are kept. in the words of ojeifo (2016), “some world leaders, from german chancellor angela merkel to pope francis have been in the forefront of highlighting the plights of refugees. on april 16, 2016 pope francis paid a symbolic visit to refugee camps on the greek island of lesbos. on his return to the vatican, he came back with three syrian muslim families, 12 members in all, including six children. the pontiff performed this gesture to highlight the tragedy faced by hundreds of thousands of migrants seeking to reach europe. he rescued muslims, not catholics, because his message is that we are all god’s children.” pope francis in his 2015 message igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 30 regarding the plight of the refugees stated that “the church stands at the side of all who work to defend each person’s right to live with dignity, first and foremost by exercising the right not to emigrate and to contribute to the development of one’s country of origin. this process should include, from the outset, the need to assist the countries which migrants and refugees leave. this will demonstrate that solidarity, cooperation, international interdependence and the equitable distribution of the earth’s goods are essential for more decisive efforts, especially in areas where migration movements begin, to eliminate those imbalances which lead people, individually or collectively, to abandon their own natural and cultural environment.” it is obvious that the catholic church calls for sincere and conscious efforts from every member of the society irrespective of political and religious affiliation. it is important that the leaders of the west should as a matter of urgency; consider the plight of the starving women and children who are caught in the mist of the syrian crisis. this call appeals to the good conscience of the world leaders to increase co-operation and solidarity in terms of opening up their borders and assimilating the refugees into their communities. like the pope francis elucidated, “god’s fatherly care extends to everyone, like the care of a shepherd for his flock, but it is particularly concerned for the needs of the sheep who are wounded, weary or ill.” the pope enjoined members of the church to see the migrants as brothers and sisters in search of a better life, far away from poverty, hunger, exploitation and the unjust distribution of the planet’s resources which are meant to be equitably shared by all. this perspective of the roman pontiff aligns with the igbo-african philosophy of igwebuike, which in the contention of kanu (2016 & 2017) understands the other as ibem (a part of me), and thus a complementary part of the whole. therefore, treating the other afflicted with hunger, poverty, injustice, etc., with love and kindness becomes a responsibility one owes to the self. in light of the above, the solution to the global refugee crisis requires solidarity and sincere cooperation by world leaders. europe in co-operation with their allies should make effort in putting policies in place which favours the assimilation of refugees into their host communities. it therefore becomes important to view refugees not only on the basis of their status as regular or irregular, but above all as people whose dignity is to be protected and who are capable of contributing to progress and the general welfare. when these refugees are given asylum, they should be made to be accepted by the members of the community where they seek refuge. concern for fostering good relationships with others and the ability to overcome prejudice and fear are essential ingredients for alleviating the plights of the refugees. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 31 measures for controlling the global refugee crisis it is clear that the european union’s attitude towards the refugee has been shabby and uncoordinated. this is evident in the decisions by some of its members to raise barb wired fences to halt the advances of the refugees. however, these barricades have not restrained the refugees from trooping in their thousands to europe and america. it is important that measures which are aimed at tackling the problem from the source are adopted. some of these measures include: 1. there should be a spirit of true solidarity and co-operation amongst world leaders. world leaders (especially usa and the european union) should develop a spirit of human consciousness in order to realize the pain and suffering encountered by migrants in their search for a safe heaven. 2. stop arming militias and rebels: it is saddening to see humans dying in their thousands daily as a result of combat actions by armed groups and militias. there is no doubt that some of these conflicts are funded by some governments and few highly placed individuals. this situation is very bad and needs correcting. more so, the “drama” between russian and america over syria is a case in point. it appears that some of our leaders have lost all moral consciousness; they do not care about the children and women who are major victims of these crisis. efforts should be made by parties involved towards instituting participatory dialogue where all parties involved will be ready to make some sacrifices or the other for peace to rein. according to amnesty international (2015), “ending conflicts and widespread human rights abuses are objectives that states should pursue, but they are difficult to achieve. however, individual states and the international community as a whole must recognize that they can lessen the devastating consequences of the refugee crisis on people.” 3. protection of the rights of the refugee is very paramount. the united nations must ensure that the protection of all refugees, but particularly women, children and other vulnerable groups, irrespective of their migration status, is the basis for their decision-making and action. providing appropriate protection for migrants does not mean that governments should allow blanket access (european commission, 2015). rather, it means identifying those who are in need of international protection and affording them such protection accordingly, and, for those igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 32 whose asylum claims are rejected, ensuring their humane and appropriate treatment, including safe return to their country of origin. 4. instituting participatory democracy in troubled countries: when participatory democracy is enshrined, citizens will have an input in the issues of government. participatory democracy will improve the quality of decision making in all areas of governance in the troubled countries. it will give the citizens a sense of belonging. this will curb any form of revolt or uprising. 5. curb human trafficking: efforts should be made by countries to take affirmative action against human traffickers. effective actions should be taken to investigate and prosecute trafficking gangs. there should be a corresponding action from the countries towards the victims of human trafficking. these countries should offer protection and assistance to victims of trafficking and ensure they have access to refugee status determination procedures and/or resettlement opportunities. 6. sharing responsibilities for the welfare of the refugees: the international community must share the responsibility for assisting and hosting refugees, including by resettling refugees who need it and adequately funding humanitarian programmes in other countries (amnesty international, 2015). similarly, makwana (2016) postulated that unless countries collectively pursue a radically different approach to managing forced displacement, international discord and social tensions will continue to mount and millions of additional refugees will be condemned to oversized and inhumane camps on the outer edges of civilisation. hence, the need for collaboration between countries in managing the refugee situation as it is witnessed in the world at the moment. conclusion the global refugee crisis is no doubt a momentous problem that is facing the world at the moment. however, it appears that the international community are prioritizing the not so relevant issues while giving less attention to the relevant issue. it is no secret that the global refugee crisis is a product of armed conflicts and humanitarian abuse in some countries. it is also very worrisome to note the role the united state and her allies play in escalating the violence in some countries in the middle east which has further increased the number of refugees in the world. the international community appear to have chosen to neglect the victims of this crisis. thus, ignoring the provisions of the united nations refugee igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 33 convention which was facilitated to protect people from being returned to countries where they risked persecution and human rights abuses. it is imperative that efforts are made by the international community to arrest this ugly development. by arresting this development efforts should be made through collaborative and individual actions by the states to end the conflicts in the troubled states and by improving the humanitarian in the states. recommendations in order to curb the escalation in the number of refugees, the following recommendations were made: 1. respecting the sovereignty of other countries. the policy of the united states of america in conjunction with their allies to depose sitting head of states in some countries in the middle east and africa have escalated the rate of armed conflicts in these regions and portends the escalation of more crisis in future if this unfortunate situation is not checked. 2. developing a sincere collaborative action amongst countries towards ending armed conflicts all over the world. if the armed conflicts and human rights oppression stops, it will drastically reduce the number of refugees all over the world. countries should come together and seek lasting solution towards ending these conflicts and oppressions. all parties should come to the table with complete honesty and sincerity. 3. curbing human trafficking. the issue of human trafficking is another menace that needs to be combated radically. countries should set in motion taskforces that will investigate and prosecute trafficking offenders. efforts should be made to provide support for victims of trafficking. 4. establishing a global refugee fund that will see to the plights of refugees all over the world. the fund should be committed to helping alleviate the plights of refugees and to support countries like turkey who house a huge number of refugees. 5. encouraging the enshrinement of participatory democracy in the conflict torn countries this will in a long way give the people a sense of belonging. 6. countries should show commitment towards the resettlement of displaced persons. bringing refugees directly from refugee camps and urban areas to western countries is another durable solution to alleviating the plights of refugees. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 34 references amnesty international (2015). the global refugee crisis: a conspiracy of neglect. london: amnesty international, international secretariat. carley, m. j. (2016). western hypocrisy, and why it makes the world a dangerous place. retrieved from https://offguardian.org/2016/10/22/western-hypocrisy-and-why-it-makes-theworld-a-dangerous-place/ crisis group (2016). what’s driving the global refugee crisis? retrieved 11 october, 2016 from https://www.crisisgroup.org/global/what-sdriving-global-refugee-crisis. european commission (2015). asylum in the eu. brussels: european commission. hansen, r. (2015). population displacement and the global refugee system. a report prepared for the congress of vienna 2015: in search of principles for a stable der. vienna, october 22-25. hathaway, j. c. (2016). a global solution to a global refugee crisis. retrieved 10 october, 2016 from https://www.opendemocracy.net/openglobalrights/james-chathaway/global-solution-to-global-refugee-crisis helton, a. (2003). what is a refugee? in n. steiner, m. gibney & g. loescher. problems of protection: the unhcr, refugees, and human rights (19-36). london: routledge. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. 9-18. kanu, i. a. (2016). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christianmuslim relations in northern nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 2. 1-12. makwana, r. (2016). the global refugee crisis: humanity's last call for a culture of sharing and cooperation. retrieved 18 october, 2016 from http://www.sharing.org/information-centre/articles/global-refugeecrisis-humanitys-last-call-culture-sharing-and#sthash.b1bkudfu.dpuf metcalfe-hough, v. (2015). the migration crisis? facts, challenges and possible solutions. a policy brief. retrieved 16 september, 2016 from www.odi.org. oecd (2015). living up to history by addressing the humanitarian migration crisis in europe. paris: oecd. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 2, march 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute) 35 ojeifo, e. (2016, october 18). the global refugee crisis. the guardian. retrieved from http://guardian.ng/features/youthspeak/the-global-refugeecrisis/ united nations high commissioner for refugees (2011). handbook and guidelines on procedures and criteria for determining refugee status under the 1951 convention and the 1967 protocol relating to the status of refugees. geneva: unhcr. unhcr global trends (april 2015). states parties to the 1941 convention relating to the status of refugees and the 1967 protocol. retrieved from http://www.unhcr.org/3b73b0d63.html. unhcr global trends (2013). war’s human cost. retrieved from http://www.unhcr.org.uk/fileadmin/user_upload/pdf/global_trends _2013.pdf van auken, b. (2016, august 10). the battle for aleppo and the hypocrisy of us war propaganda. retrieved from http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2016/08/10/pers-a10.html igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 146 insecurity and crime: a threat to south-east of nigeria deeply rooted in unknown gunmen ann c. onyekelu, phd department of igbo, africa and communication studies nnamdi azikiwe university, awka ann.onyekelu@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.18277.47848 abstract youths have developed from respectful and developmental force to agents of societal vices and this has given rise to questions bothering on society stability, safety and welfare. to this effect, this paper explores the past, present and future impact of youth in a community life using south-east of nigeria as a focus. nigeria as a country has suffered an unimaginable and shocking acts of terrorism which has ripped it off of many democratic gains. many economic activities are grounded partly because of this unrest as national and state budgetary allocations meant for other developmental projects are diverted to counter this deadly menace. secondly, because of the reckless negligence, lip service paying, sabotageous and pretentious temperaments of nigerian leaders in the direction of combating this dreadful demon called unknown gunmen to a halt. the welfare of its citizenry has continued to dwindle. therefore, there is the need as a country to carefully and urgently mainstream into its governance certain democratic legislative tenets to save nigerians from this inhumane assault which has held the country underdeveloped over six decades of its governance. it is with this in view that this study will attempt a review and find ways to salvaging this menace, so as to reduce the pangs of this dishonorable and monstrous act on the people. the fight against terrorism should not be treated subjectively, so as to bring culprits to book to serve as deterrent to others. keywords: insecurity, crime, terrorism, youth and unknown gunmen introduction regular killings, beheading, shooting, kidnapping which exit in the south-east of nigeria today is because of the existence of the so called unknown gunmen. the practice or habit of committing crimes by the unknown gunmen in the southeast of nigeria leads to the condition of being threatening, especially physically, psychologically, emotionally or financially. security and crime has a great relationship in the sense that authoritative and multidisciplinary analysis between security and crime, addresses much of the confusion about its nature and meaning, clarifying its relevance to criminological analysis, and giving due attention to the interdisciplinary nature of the situation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 147 the unknown gunmen operating in the south-east are terrorists. they are also human beings which we see every day. the unknown gunmen started causing havoc in the south-east since the leader of the indigenous peoples of biafra, ipob, had been arrested. they are terrorists and they are dealing with people seriously. ”unknown gunmen (ugm) are now addressed as ụmụọma (nice people) in the south-east. several communities are beginning to witness the invasion of unknown gunmen, who go from house to house, even vigilante groups are disarm and attack seriously. to identify the invaders, some residents, who do not want to be seen as leaking information on the identity and operations of the ugm, prefer to discuss their activities in hushed tones, describing them as ụmụ ọ ma (the nice people). the obstacles and the high rate of death happening in the south-east nigeria now are caused by the ugm. everyone in the south-east of nigeria is living in fear and in pain. to stop all these, the igbo people should stop fighting for biafra and focus on how to promote their economy and resources and also how to create more job opportunities for the youths. i believe by achieving this, nigerian youths will be engaged in so many works which i believe that it will help them forget the practices of unknown gunmen. history of the unknown gunmen in south-east of nigeria the issue of the unknown gunmen in the south-east region of nigeria started in the year 2021. there are two developments which took place simultaneously in enugu capital of enugu state and political headquarters of the south-east, the nigerian army launched a new military operation in the south-east. tunde (2021) says; the operation, according to the chief of army staff lt. general faruk yahaya, will curb rising cases of insecurity in the zone. it hopes to tackle insurgency, kidnapping and rising banditry in the south-east, and check wanton killings and incineration of public facilities in the zone. the second event was a meeting convened by governors of the south-east states, to explore political and operational solutions to the skyrocketing wave of insecurity and uncertainty in the region. attended by four of the five governors in the zone with the abstention of willie obiano of anambra state, the meeting also featured major political stakeholders and traditional rulers. they agreed to rejuvenate *ebubeagu* a security initiative reminiscent of the *amotekun* creation in the south-west, among others. the security outfit will draw its igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 148 membership from all the states in the south-east, to complement the efforts of regular intelligence and security services, operating in the zone. the meeting also resolved to put an end to the frequent “sit at home” orders regularly imposed on the south-east people, by the self-styled indigenous people of biafra (ipob), led by nnamdi kanu, who is being held by nigerian’s security. the sitting decried the humongous socioeconomic losses incurred by workers and business owners in the south-east, on each day the obnoxious sit at home order is enforced. the meeting equally reaffirmed the commitment of "ndigbo" to the saturday november 6, 2021 governorship election in anambra and pledged to support the conduct of an incident free poll. few days after, a gun smoke from the south-east was graciously spread all over the world on violence and bloodletting across the south-east of the country. this including anambra, imo and enugu states, where people were being hunted like game on the streets of popular state capitals. the indigenous people of biafra (ipob), founded by nnamdi kanu , is a currently active separatist movement. according to the council on foreign relations, "the federal government, recalling the civil war, is bitterly opposed to igbo separatism, as is most of the igbo establishment. the government has long sought to defang the ipob and silence kanu, sometimes through illegal or quasi-legal methods". since 2017, the ipob is designated by the nigerian government as a terrorist organization. since august 2020, violence has been escalating between the ipob and the nigerian government. in august 2020, nigerian police forces executed 21 ipob members at a meeting, with two police officers dead and both siding accused each other of firing the first shot. violence escalated during the following months, leading to a regionwide insurgency. advertisement invested with the unpleasant responsibility of doing a regularly updated headcount of casualties from faceless murderers and assassin led to sudden death of innocent souls. this ambush and calamity was done by the unknown gunmen across the states, in separate incidents. and that is how they are still attacking people till today. the unknown gunmen equally take the life of dr chike akunyili, husband of the late professor dora akunyili, who was reportedly gunned down around nkpor, the killing of somadina oforma, a member of the all progressives congress (apc), who was shot dead tuesday september 28, 2021, while attending a meeting of the party at uruagu, nnewi north local government area igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 149 (lga), of the state. apc flag bearer for the forthcoming election. the notoriety of the indigenous peoples of biafra (ipob) over the years, and more recently the involvement of the nebulous eastern security network (esn), has had fingers of accusation being pointed in their direction, after each attack. this is in spite of the routine denials of both groups, of complicity, after each criminal incident. radicalized and brainwashed by its leader, nnamdi kanu and his adherents, ipob has, in recent weeks and months, functioned as an alternate, albeit selfstyled leadership for the south-east states. in the run-up to the recent commemoration of nigeria’s 61st independence day anniversary, ipob legislated against the hoisting of the national flag on public buildings, in the entire south-east. banks, educational institutions, security facilities and so on, were placed under the order. for added effect, a sit-at-home was also proclaimed for then october 1, 2021 event. all this ugly situation continue till today. the south-east nigeria security network the eastern security network is the paramilitary organization of the indigenous people of biafra (ipob), a probiafra separatist movement. according to cable (2021) reviews that; the nigerian government saw the esn as a threat to its authority and deployed the army to locate and destroy the southeast nigeria security network bases. in january 2021, intense fighting broke out in the town of orlu, in imo state. the military confrontation lasted for seven days, until south-east security network declared a unilateral ceasefire and both sides withdrew from the city. shortly after the orlu crisis, ipob gave all the governors of south-east nigeria 14 days to ban open grazing, threatening to deploy the south-east security network to enforce a ban if the authorities did not do so. however, uzodinma (2021) state that; the south-east security network did not wait for 14 days; a few days later, south-east security network operatives attacked a fulani camp in isuikwuato, abia state, killing their livestock and burning down their houses. following the raid, some governors responded by heeding the south-east security networks call and banning. the nigerian government saw the south-east security network as a threat to its members suspected of attacking security personnel. the ector ate asserting that they have finally brought the war upon the biafran people. in response to the deaths of 20 security personnel in the region in early 2021 by unknown gunmen, including the destruction of three police stations, nigerian forces raided an south-east security network camp in aba, abia state on the night of 23rd igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 150 march, 2021. the nigerian force, numbering hundreds, captured the camp and claimed to have killed 16 south-east security network fighters. on 29th march, the nigerian police reported arresting 16 south-east security network members suspected of attacking security personnel (official 2021). on april 5, 2021, at around 2am, a prison in owerri , imo state , was attacked by gunmen who used explosives to open the administrative buildings, and then opened the inmates' cells. the prison security fled, and 1844 inmates escaped. the nigerian police blamed the attack on the eastern security network (guardian 2021). causes of insecurity and crime in south-east of nigeria there is a dramatic increase in violence, terrorism and kidnapping in south-east of nigeria today. lawless sects are raising the tempo of their campaign in various parts of the country. we hear of series of bombings, shooting and killings, kidnappings, armed robbery, and so on. these take place from north to south, east to west and almost on daily basis. the phenomenon ‘insecurity’ has been extended to cover other spheres like economic, and political insecurity. in this paper, our concentration will treat the topic holistically as it affects the life and property of the citizenry. let us now examine the cause of this problem. 1. unemployment: – the rise in crime wave in nigeria since the mid-1990s was as a result of unemployment, economic decline, and social inequality, which are abetted by inefficient and corrupt police and customs forces. the idle minds became devil’s workshop. these people are mostly youth, they are easily recruited into militant groups and trained in to rob, kill, kidnap, smuggle, highjack to mention but a few. accurate unemployment rates are difficult to obtain and generally mean little in a society where many who work are marginally employed and where begging is a socially accepted occupation. according to statistics, a tenth of the country’s young citizens are officially unemployed. young people are overwhelmed by the high unemployment rate in nigeria. every year, universities make many graduates who were unfortunately thrown onto the job market with no prospect of job opportunities. and this has lead a lot into criminal acts. unfortunately, due to bad government decisions, our factories are still not reactivating. due to the unemployment among nigerians, young people are now negatively attracted to violent crimes. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 151 2. wrong political ambition – the desire for a political office not evil but to nurse negative reasons for that ambition can result to one doing anything to attain it. south africa observed that “the current crisis which started in bauchi and has engulfed other states in the north has elements of theocratic ambitions in it”. the perpetrators of the violent activities in parts of the country are operating with a hidden agenda. they have the intention of enthroning their own type of government which is selfish, criminal and unpatriotic as nigerians. with such ambition they can try to make the country ungovernable or insecure. electioneering election periods in the country seem to be the moment of serious security challenge. “while the major political characters intensify their efforts at winning the support of the nigerian public, ordinary nigerians are daily becoming more and more apprehensive about the security implications to the country before, during and after the elections. the general anxiety over the nation’s security is germane and should be a source of concern to the government 3. poverty: the failure of nigerian governments to fix the challenges of poverty and the unequal distribution of wealth among ethnic nationalities is a major contributor to the country’s insecurity and crime. when you have a poor population, you have a serious insecurity problem. 4. kidnapping: this is another visible sign of insecurity in the country. the perpetrators of this crime do not spare anyone in this new wave of crime that seems to have supplanted armed robbery and other non-contact crimes. since this act began in nigeria, aged, children, male and female have been kidnapped for ransom. this has made life unbearable to the citizens. people now live in fear of falling victims to these criminals. kidnapping is a kind of terrorism which is the use of violent acts to achieve political goals or to force a government to act. 5. bad governance: the increasing incidents of violent attacks are symptoms of weak, marginal or exploitative government systems in nigeria. the government’s inability to provide public services and meet the basic needs of the masses has created a group of frustrated people who are easily classified as violent by any event. 6. weak judiciary system: the weakness of the nigerian judiciary system creates uncertainty in nigeria. people feel insecure when criminals are released. many criminals have bought their freedom with money in the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 152 country, the legal system has abandoned its people and released all kinds of atrocities. 7. corruption: corruption is already a part of life in the country and, unfortunately, is now part of nigeria’s economic problems, and public appropriation. it has gained popularity in our system of government. this creates financial insecurity which has exacerbated poverty, there is corruption in public office at all levels and this has created a lot of instability in our country. 8. poor security system: this is due to inadequate government security equipment in both weapons and training. it contributes to the poor disposition of the security personnel. in many cases, security officers tasked with certain security situations lack the experience and equipment to handle situations so that they will not arise. 9. porous border: nigeria shares borders with niger, burkina faso, and mali. these borders are poorly secured by the nigerian immigration and customs authorities. the porous nature of these borders has exacerbated the possible spread of terrorist activity in nigeria. with terrorism in the country there will be no room for adequate development in our country especially, the south-east of nigeria. the free flow of migrants from other countries to nigeria through our unguarded borders allows criminals to enter the country without check. solution to insecurity in south-east of nigeria 1. good governance: good governance is the solution to nigeria’s insecurity challenge. good governance is required, in which the government is accountable to the people. good governance is a function of effectiveness, foresight, transparency, reliability and credible political leadership, the driving force of which is the improvement of the collective well-being of citizens through well-designed and effectively implemented economic policies and human development programs. the focus on people as the primary goal of governance. it is time to give up negative behavior and bad political tactics so that the country can have peace. we need to capitalize on demographic dividends by investing in health, education and livelihoods, especially for our young people. there is urgent need to draw a national development plan that require the three levels of government. there should be development projects in important sectors of national life all at the same time. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 153 the authorities must additionally increase people’s dwelling requirements with the aid of setting up greater facilities of entrepreneurship throughout the nation. 2. employment and leadership development: nigeria must develop visionary leadership. leadership positions should be for people who can convey to their people the idea of a common citizenship as a transcendent factor among all nigerians, regardless of tribe, gender, religion, economic and social status that focuses on facts and pronouncements that will convincingly and positively affect all citizens of our nation. the process of developing such leadership can be challenging, but our country desperately needs leaders with a national perspective and an eagerness to change the nation. 3. appropriate education: education is a prerequisite for any form of development. adequate education is the process of teaching, training and learning, especially in schools and universities, to improve knowledge and develop skills. this is very important for national development. it is time we know that education without skills is a disservice at the highest level. it is necessary to change our curriculum and reorganize our learning institutions even from elementary to tertiary education, the government needs to include skills acquisition as a central part of the academic curriculum. it must also provide students with the necessary opportunities to learn these skills. 4. elimination of corruption: it is the cause of inequality and the unequal distribution of the wealth of nations among their citizens. corruption at all levels must be eliminated in such a way that equal rights apply to all and rights and privileges of people are not agreed upon based on bribery and tribe but on merit, defined in relation to theirs character content, their mental efficiency where there will be no discrimination. 5. economic development: the country’s economic productivity and opportunities for its citizens need to be improved. the challenge of insecurity in south-east of nigeria can be solved by accelerating development in our country. development in this context is about creating an economy with societal relevance, an economic and physical infrastructure for business activity and industrial growth like in innoson group, in order to create gainful employment, we need high-quality educational facilities and health care for the people. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 154 6. solidified border security: the federal government must face the immediate challenge of boundary porosity. the government should make concerted efforts to recruit, train and deploy adequately equipped customs and immigration personnel across borders. the government needs to invest in more effective security technologies, which will benefit border security. these technologies can include body cameras, smart license plate readers, smart vehicle underbody scanners, and more. border guards, serving to secure the border, must have adequate access to these types of resources that enable them to do their jobs effectively. 7. improvement of the criminal justice system: the judiciary should have developed time scales for cases at this stage in our development. there should have been a time to determine a cause; time to close this case; and time to pass judgment. hence, the government must ensure that criminal proceedings are successfully completed. criminals will serve their full sentences, when convicted. suspects are brought to justice earlier. procedural documents must be available to lawyers and the public in digital form. likewise, the procedure for filing a criminal complaint is to be simplified with greater consideration for the victims. there is a need to collect and monitor information so that law enforcement officers can be proactive and predict potential crimes with near perfect accuracy and not reactively. government at all levels cannot compromise in enforcing the law. law enforcement agencies must prevent and control behavior unknown gunmen that threatens life and property, protect constitutional guarantees such as freedom of expression and assembly, resolve conflicts between individuals or between citizens and their government, and identify problems that may become more serious to individuals or authorities. recommendations the researcher recommends that: 1. the government should provide employment to the youths and engaged them with skills. i believe if the youths are employed there won't be any problem of unknown gunmen. 2. if the government provide enough security and enough arm guards to the society, it will help in securing both lives and properties and also help in maintaining peace and order. the unknown gunmen won't attack anyone or destroy things. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 155 3. calling off strike will help to resolve the attack of the unknown gunmen because the students are very angry about this ongoing strike. because the students are now angry they can gang up to attack the government and even asuu and there members. 4. there is no strong security in the south-east of nigeria, a lot of blood are been shield all over south-east. therefore, the researcher advice the government to provide enough security to the society. 5. when all these is done the researcher believe that the issue of unknown gunmen will disappear in the south-east of nigeria. conclusion the practice or habit of committing crimes by the unknown gunmen in the south-east of nigeria leads to the condition of being threatening, especially physically, psychologically, emotionally or financially. security and crime has a great relationship in the sense that authoritative and multidisciplinary analysis between security and crime, addresses much of the confusion about its nature and meaning, clarifying its relevance to criminological analysis, and giving due attention to the interdisciplinary nature of the situation. in order to stop crime in nigeria, it is very necessary that, a very strong and save security is provided in the south-east of nigeria. security is everybody’s business. you can always help the security agents to help you. report all criminal activities of unknown gunmen to the security agents, so that insecurity will be a thing of the past in nigeria. effective formulation and implementation of guidelines and programs that can address the basic causes of uncertainties in nigeria is essential, particularly with regard to poverty; unemployment, injustice, corruption, porous borders and the proliferation of small arms. therefore, efforts to combat insecurity can only be effective if there is a solid combination of legislative and judicial interference with government reforms that address some serious human security challenges facing a large majority of the population in the south-east of nigeria. references cable, (2021). exclusive: military, police set to launch major operations against insurgency in the south-east. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 8. no. 3, (2022) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 156 imobighe, t. a. (2008). “warri crisis in historical and contemporary perspectives” in conflict and instability in the niger delta: the warri case. ibadan: spectrum books. inmates’ official, (2021). how gunmen attacked owerri prison, premium time, nigeria. leicher, keri. (2011). “insecurity in nigeria: rise of extreme fundamentalism”, vanguard, dec 02, nkpanom c. ejituwu ed. et al. (2005). american studies association of nigeria, journal. routledge and kegan paul, (1964) bediako, k. ‘culture’ in new dictionary of theology: sinclair sunday sun, july 17, 2010 interview with brigadier general a. s. audu, p.78. the punch newspaper editorial of july 13 2011 p.3. tunde, o., (2012). unknown gunmen, nov 6 & the epidemic of bloodletting. the guardian, (2021). nearly 2,000 prisoners escape jail in south-east nigeria. uzodinma, h, (2021). killing of esn top commander: ipob, vanguard. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 85 book review book title: pope leo xiv: son of saint augustine editors: ikechukwu anthony kanu, osa and emeka xris obiezu, osa publisher: augustinian publications, jos, nigeria year of publication: 2025 number of pages: 210 isbn: 978-978-699-107-0 reviewer: ejikemeuwa j. o. ndubisi, phd* introduction the election of robert francis cardinal prevost, osa, as pope leo xiv on may 8, 2025, marked a turning point in the history of the catholic church. for the first time, a son of saint augustine, an augustinian friar, ascended to the chair of peter. this his toric event has naturally provoked theological, ecclesial, and scholarly reflection. in response, the book, pope leo xiv: son of saint augustine, was published under the auspices of augustinian publications (nigeria), edited by ikechukwu anthony kanu, osa and emeka xris obiezu, osa. the volume gathers contributions from augustinian scholars and practitioners, most of them nigerians, who share a common spiritual and intellectual patrimony with the new pontiff. the title of the book is pragmatic and existential. by calling leo xiv a “son of saint augustine,” the editors signal not merely a biological or institutional affiliation but a spiritual genealogy. as augustine shaped the intellectual landscape of latin christianity through his writings on grace, the trinity, ecclesiology, and politics, so too, the authors argue, pope leo xiv is shaping his papacy on augustinian principles of interiority, community life, pastoral service, and love. this claim is not without precedent. throughout history, religious orders have often seen their members’ papal roles as extensions of their charisms, dominicans with pope pius v, franciscans with sixtus iv, and jesuits with francis. yet the augustinian perspective is unique, given the african origin and enduring philosophical influence of augustine of hippo, whose restless search for truth continues to inspire theology, philosophy, and ecclesial life. the present book under review aims to serve two purposes: first, to honour pope leo xiv by narrating his life, identity, and vision through an augustinian lens; and second, to interpret his papacy as an unfolding application of augustine’s theological and philosophical insights to the challenges of the twenty-first century. as bishop john namaza niyiring, osa, notes in the “foreword”, the book presents “a systematic scholarly exploration that introduces pope leo xiv to the world from an augustinian and african perspective,”50 while also challenging readers to consider how the dialogue between tradition and modernity can shape the papacy today. 50 john namaza niyiring, osa, foreword to pope leo xiv: son of saint augustine, ed. ikechukwu anthony kanu, osa, and emeka xris obiezu, osa (jos: augustinian publications, 2025), iii. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 86 overview of the book and context the book was edited by ikechukwu anthony kanu, osa, prior provincial of the augustinian province of nigeria and a leading scholar in african philosophy and theology, and emeka xris obiezu, osa, director of the augustinian centre for advocacy, justice, and peace. both editors bring significant academic and pastoral experience to the project, ensuring that the work bridges scholarship and lived ecclesial experience. the contributors were drawn mainly from among nigerian augustinians and their collaborators: charles chukwuebuka ugonwafor, osa; jude aniobodom ossai, osa; gabriel tumba hassan, osa; valentine aghoghophia ovie, osa; and michael paul pilani, among others. their backgrounds span through philosophy, theology, ecclesiology, missiology, conflict resolution, and african contextual studies, giving the book a multidisciplinary scope. this communal authorship reflects the augustinian principle of unitas, a search for truth and meaning through dialogue in community. the editors explicitly frame the methodology of the book as “the augustinian model, which makes a difficult synthesis of the fundamental elements of thought and feelings.”51 the book is divided into three main parts, each corresponding to a dimension of pope leo xiv’s self-presentation at his election: identity, ecclesiology, and global vision. the first section explores the personal and spiritual foundations of pope leo xiv’s pontificate . kanu’s chapter on the pope’s early life, education, and vocation traces his journey from chicago to peru, highlighting his exposure to diverse cultures, his engagement with liberation theology, and his years as prior general of the augustinian order. 52 another chapter by kanu, “intersection of pontifical name and vision”, examines the significance of the name leo, connecting pope leo xiv to leo xiii and his groundbreaking encyclical rerum novarum on labour rights and social doctrine. ugonwafor’s chapter, “‘i am a son of saint augustine,’” reflects on the pope’s explicit self-identification with augustinian spirituality. a final chapter of part i by kanu, “i am … an augustinian”, deepens this analysis, emphasizing leo xiv’s lifelong custodianship of august inian values such as humility, community, and love of truth. together, these chapters situate leo xiv within the augustinian patrimony of identity and spirituality, suggesting that his papacy will be defined not primarily by institutional politics but by a deep-rooted charism. the second section turns to leo xiv’s understanding of the papacy and the church. ossai’s chapter, “‘with you i am a christian, for you i am a bishop,’” situates the pope’s episcopal identity within augustine’s theology of episcopacy as service. in a very unique way, pilani’s on discipleship emphasizes leo xiv’s view that discipleship is dynamic, communal, and grounded in augustine’s anthropology. ovie’s study of mission frames leo xiv as a teacher with personal experience of missionary trials, particularly in latin america, and examines his call for a church that is both missionary and dialogical. kanu’s contextual essay on evangelization in africa interprets leo xiv’s theology of 51 ikechukwu anthony kanu, osa and emeka xris obiezu, osa, introduction habemus papam, in pope leo xiv: son of saint augustine, x. 52 ikechukwu anthony kanu, osa, “pope leo xiv: early life, education, and vocation,” in pope leo xiv: son of saint augustine, 2–14. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 87 evangelization as “the infinite grace that radiates from lives transformed,”53 showing how this resonates with africa’s pressing need for renewal and justice. this section portrays leo xiv as a pope who sees himself not as a distant monarch but as a fellow disciple and servant, committed to a synodal and missionary church. the third and last section of the book focuses on leo xiv’s global outlook, especially his commitment to peace and justice. obiezu’s chapter introduces the concept of “disarmed peace and disarming peace”, drawing on augustine’s notion of peace as rightly ordered relationships. he argues that leo xiv advocates for a peace rooted in justice and humility, one that dismantles structures of violence. the next chapter, written by hassan, expands this by linking the pope’s vision to dialogue and human dignity, emphasizing that peace is not optional but imperative. pilani’s concluding reflection frames leo xiv’s message, “peace be with you,” as a prophetic articulation of the church’s vocation as reconciler in a conflict-ridden world. the chapters of the last section collectively underline the fact that peace is the central motif of leo xiv’s engagement with the world , echoing both augustine’s city of god and leo xiii’s social encyclicals. it is pertinent to observe that the timing of the publication of this book, within a few months of leo xiv’s election, is crucial. it represents one of the earliest scholarly attempts to frame the new papacy, setting the tone for future theological and phi losophical engagements. by rooting leo xiv’s papacy in the african heritage of augustine, the authors also seek to reclaim augustine as not merely a latin or european figure but as an african intellectual and spiritual father whose legacy resonates across continents. in this sense, the book participates in a broader project of african theological retrieval, positioning nigeria and the wider african church as central contributors to global catholic scholarship. strengths of the work perhaps the greatest strength of pope leo xiv: son of saint augustine lies in its consistent effort to interpret papal leadership through augustinian categories . augustine’s reflections on episcopacy, with you i am a christian, for you i am a bishop, on the restless human heart (confessions i.1), and on peace as rightly ordered love (city of god xix.13) are woven into analyses of leo xiv’s identity, ecclesiology, and global mission. this synthesis provides not only a theological foundation for understanding the pope’s ministry but also a philosophical lens through which to interpret his responses to contemporary challenges such as globalization, migration, and technological transformation. in this sense, the book successfully demonstrates that the augustinian patrimony remains a living resource, capable of informing the highest office of the church. it places leo xiv in continuity with both augustine of hippo and leo xiii, whose rerum novarum shaped catholic social thought in the industrial age.54 53 ikechukwu anthony kanu, osa, “evangelization as the infinite grace that radiates from lives transformed”: implications of pope leo xiv’s theology of evangelization for africa” in pope leo xiv: son of saint augustine, 134 -149. 54 ikechukwu anthony kanu, osa, “pope leo xiv: intersection of pontifical name and vision,” in pope leo xiv: son of saint augustine, 15–27; see also pope leo xiii, rerum novarum (rome: vatican press, 1891). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 88 another strength of the book is the african contextual grounding of the work. augustine, though often remembered as a latin father, was a north african bishop. by reclaiming augustine’s african-ness, the authors situate leo xiv’s papacy within a wider african narrative. kanu, for instance, emphasizes the implications of leo xiv’s theology of evangelization for contemporary africa, highlighting themes of transformation, justice, and inclusivity.55 this perspective is particularly important because it resists eurocentric appropriations of augustine and asserts that the african church has a privileged hermeneutical position in interpreting both augustine and the augustinian papacy. it also testifies to the maturity of african theological scholarship, which is increasingly confident in contributing to global debates on faith, mission, and justice. it is pertinent to note that the book benefits from the diverse expertise of its contributors. some approach the pope’s identity through biography and spirituality (kanu, ugonwafor), others through ecclesiology (ossai, pilani), and others still through social ethics and conflict resolution (hassan, obiezu). this plurality of voices enriches the analysis while embodying augustine’s own commitment to community and dialogue. such multidisciplinary engagement allows the book to address not only theological questions but also practical concerns such as peacebuilding, missionary activity, and human dignity. obiezu’s essay on “disarmed peace” is particularly striking in this regard, offering a nuanced model of peace rooted in both augustine and contemporary nonviolence theory.56 although scholarly, the book is written in a style that remains accessible to a broad readership. the editors stress that the contributors sought “high scholarly quality yet [to communicate] in a manner easily readable by a wide audience.”57 this makes the book suitable not only for theologians and philosophers but also for clergy, seminarians, and lay readers interested in the papacy. the clear structure, three parts corresponding to identity, ecclesiology, and global vision, also enhances accessibility. readers can trace a logical progression from personal spirituality to ecclesial leadership to global mission. more so, the book is significant because it represents one of the earliest scholarly reflections on leo xiv’s papacy, published within few months of his election. by framing his pontificate within augustinian categories from the outset, the authors have provided a hermeneutical key that will likely influence subsequent scholarship. in this way, the book functions not only as a tribute but also as a foundational text for future studies on the augustinian papacy. weaknesses and limitations a central limitation of the book is its tone of celebration, which often borders on hagiography. while it is natural that augustinian friars writing about the first augustinian pope would adopt a tone of pride and joy, this sometimes diminishes the book’s critical 55 ikechukwu anthony kanu, osa, “evangelization as the infinite grace that radiates from lives transformed: implications of pope leo xiv’s theology of evangelization for africa,” in pope leo xiv: son of saint augustine, 134–49. 56 emeka xris obiezu, osa, “disarmed peace and disarming peace: an augustinian insight to pope leo xiv’s paradigm for global peace,” in pope leo xiv: son of saint augustine, 151–66. 57 kanu and obiezu, introduction habemus papam, xiii igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 89 edge. for instance, while contributors eloquently describe leo xiv’s humility, missionary experience, and augustinian identity, they rarely question how these ideals might clash with the realities of vatican politics, internal church divisions, or the weight of global expectations. the lack of a critical distance means that the book risks being received more as a festschrift or commemorative volume than as a rigorous theological or philosophical study. this celebratory stance may limit its appeal for non-augustinian scholars who seek a more detached evaluation of the pope’s early pontificate. while augustine was not only a theologian but also a philosopher of enduring influence, the book underutilized augustine’s philosophical legacy. references to augustine’s metaphysics of time, epistemology, or theory of knowledge are sparse. instead, the emphasis falls primarily on his pastoral theology and spirituality. for example, augustine’s reflections on the relationship between faith and reason, or his profound insights on memory and interiority (confessions x), could have enriched the discussion of leo xiv’s intellectual background and his engagement with modernity, particularly in an age shaped by artificial intelligence and digital culture. by neglecting these philosophical dimensions, the book narrows augustine’s relevance to the papacy, focusing almost exclusively on spirituality and ecclesiology. although the book effectively incorporates an african perspective, its engagement with global contexts remains limited. pope leo xiv, as a dual citizen of peru and the united states, embodies a multicultural and transnational identity. yet the contributors, predominantly nigerian augustinians, do not substantially explore how his papacy might resonate with or challenge theological developments in latin america, north america, or europe. moreover, while the book addresses pressing issues such as migration, inequality, and peace, it does not delve deeply into interreligious dialogue, secularism, or ecological crises beyond brief mentions. given that leo xiv himself has expressed concern for integral ecology and the dignity of creation, a stronger engagement with augustine’s reflections on creation and order could have offered valuable insights. another shortcoming is the near silence on doctrinal and pastoral controversies currently facing the church. the contributors affirm leo xiv’s augustinian humility and vision of discipleship but do not ask how he might address difficult questions such as the ordination of women, the pastoral care of lgbtq+ catholics, or the church’s handling of clerical abuse. these silences weaken the book’s claim to be a “systematic scholarly exploration” of the pope’s papacy. to be fair, the book was published very early in his pontificate, and it may have been premature to speculate on controversial policies. nonetheless, acknowledging these debates would have made the analysis more robust and realistic. furthermore, the book does not substantially dialogue with the broader field of papal studies. while leo xiii is frequently mentioned, there is little comparative analysis with the papacies of john paul ii, benedict xvi, or francis. such comparisons could have clarified the distinctive contribution of an augustinian pope in contrast to his dominican, jesuit, or secularly formed predecessors. the absence of this comparative framework igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 90 means that the book remains somewhat insular, rich in augustinian insight but less engaged with the broader scholarly discourse on papal identity and leadership. philosophical and theological contributions despite its limitations, the book: pope leo xiv: son of saint augustine makes several noteworthy contributions to contemporary thought. these can be grouped under four interrelated domains: philosophy of religion, ecclesiology, political theology, and african theological contribution. 1. contribution to philosophy of religion the book situates pope leo xiv’s identity firmly within augustine’s philosophy of the human person, especially the theme of interiority. augustine’s famous line, “you were within me, but i was outside myself” (confessions x.27), underscores the human search for truth within the depths of the soul. by emphasizing leo xiv’s augustinian patrimony, the contributors implicitly argue that the pope embodies a spirituality of self-knowledge leading to god-knowledge. this augustinian anthropology, which highlights the restlessness of the human heart until it rests in god (confessions i.1), provides a philosophical underpinning for leo xiv’s pastoral approach. his insistence that the church be close to those who suffer, migrants, and workers reflects a metaphysical conviction that all human longing finds fulfillment only in god. thus, the pope’s pastoral concern is not merely social but ontological, grounded in augustine’s vision of the human person as a seeker of transcendence. furthermore, augustine’s epistemological principle, crede ut intelligas (“believe so that you may understand”), illuminates leo xiv’s measured approach to modern challenges, including artificial intelligence and digital culture. while the book does not explore this deeply, it hints that leo xiv’s augustinian heritage provides resources for engaging the epistemological crisis of truth in a postmodern age. 2. contribution to ecclesiology the second major contribution is ecclesiological. the book consistently emphasizes leo xiv’s self-understanding in augustinian terms: “with you i am a christian, for you i am a bishop.” this statement relativizes hierarchical distance, presenting the pope not as a monarch above the faithful but as a fellow disciple among disciples, entrusted with the ministry of unity. in this, the book contributes to the ongoing theological discourse on synodality, a theme central to pope francis and increasingly to leo xiv. augustine’s conception of the church as a pilgrim people journeying towards the heavenly city (city of god xix) informs the contributors’ claim that leo xiv’s papacy will be marked by humility, shared discipleship, and listening. moreover, the augustinian ideal of unitas, “one mind and one heart in god” (acts 4:32, often cited in augustinian writings), emerges as a guiding principle for leo xiv’s ecclesiology. this provides a theological basis for a church that seeks reconciliation amid polarization, whether doctrinal, cultural, or political. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 91 3. contribution to political theology interestingly, the book makes a valuable contribution to political theology, particularly in its treatment of peace, justice, and social doctrine. obiezu’s notion of “disarmed peace and disarming peace” reflects augustine’s nuanced understanding of peace as more than the absence of war; it is the tranquility of order, rooted in justice and rightly ordered love (city of god xix.13). by linking leo xiv’s vision to augustine and leo xiii’s rerum novarum, the contributors suggest that the augustinian pope stands within a tradition of catholic social teaching that prioritizes the dignity of labour, the rights of the poor, and the pursuit of peace. hassan and pilani extend this argument by showing how leo xiv’s inaugural words, “peace be with you all”, resonate with global calls for reconciliation in conflict-ridden societies. here, the book advances an augustinian political theology for the twenty-first century, one that is attentive to structural injustices (migration, inequality, ecological crisis) while grounded in humility and spiritual conversion. 4. the african theological contribution a final contribution worth noting is the book’s role in advancing african theological scholarship. by foregrounding augustine’s african-ness and articulating the implications of leo xiv’s vision for africa, the authors assert africa’s rightful place in the global theological conversation. kanu’s chapter on evangelization in africa, in particular, reclaims augustine not as a distant latin father but as a north african bishop whose insights remain relevant for the continent’s struggles with poverty, injustice, and religious pluralism. this afro-augustinian hermeneutic is not only historically corrective but also theologically creative, offering new pathways for dialogue between tradition and context. conclusion pope leo xiv: son of saint augustine is both a commemorative tribute and a scholarly intervention in the early months of pope leo xiv’s pontificate. the book succeeds in situating the papacy of the first augustinian pope within the spiritual and intellectual patrimony of saint augustine of hippo. by structuring the work around identity, ecclesiology, and global vision, the contributors illuminate the augustinian character of leo xiv’s ministry: a papacy defined by humility, discipleship, community, and a deep commitment to peace and justice. the book’s strengths are manifold: it integrates augustine’s theology into contemporary papal discourse, foregrounds africa’s role in global catholicism, benefits from multidisciplinary contributions, and remains accessible to both scholarly and pastoral audiences. importantly, it provides an early hermeneutical framework for interpreting leo xiv’s papacy, highlighting his augustinian roots as a key to understanding his approach to evangelization, ecclesial leadership, and social justice. at the same time, the work is marked by limitations. its celebratory tone often overshadows critical analysis, leaving insufficient space for questions about how augustinian ideals will intersect with vatican realities. its philosophical engagement is limited, with little attention to augustine’s metaphysics or epistemology, and i ts igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 92 contextual scope remains primarily nigerian, with minimal dialogue with latin american or european theological traditions. furthermore, its silence on controversial issues within the church, such as gender, sexuality, and abuse, limits its capacity to offer a truly comprehensive assessment of leo xiv’s challenges. nevertheless, the book makes significant contributions to philosophy of religion, ecclesiology, political theology. it retrieves augustine’s anthropology of restlessness, his vision of the church as a pilgrim people, and his political theology of peace, applying them to the contemporary papacy. it also advances african augustinian scholarship, reclaiming augustine as an african thinker whose legacy continues to shape global catholicism. as a whole, the book should be read as a foundational text: not the final word on the augustinian papacy, but a vital first step in framing leo xiv’s pontificate within augustine’s intellectual and spiritual legacy. its true value may lie less in the completeness of its analysis than in its capacity to provoke further inquiry, into how an augustinian pope will negotiate the tension between tradition and modernity, unity and diversity, truth and mercy, doctrine and pastoral care. in this sense, the book embodies augustine’s own insight that every christian journey is marked by restlessness until it finds rest in god. pope leo xiv, as presented by his augustinian friars, is entrusted with guiding the church on that restless journey towards unity, peace, and truth. this book, despite its hagiographic tones, provides an invaluable resource for scholars, clergy, and laity seeking to understand both the pope and the enduring relevance of saint augustine. bibliography augustine of hippo. confessions. translated by henry chadwick. oxford: oxford university press, 1991. augustine of hippo. the city of god. translated by henry bettenson. london: penguin, 2003. hassan, gabriel tumba, osa. “‘peace be with you all’: pope leo xiv’s commitment to peace, dialogue, and human dignity.” in pope leo xiv: son of saint augustine, edited by ikechukwu anthony kanu, osa, and emeka xris obiezu, osa (jos: augustinian publications, 2025), 167–90. kanu, ikechukwu anthony osa and emeka xris obiezu, osa. “introduction habemus papam,” in pope leo xiv: son of saint augustine, edited by ikechukwu anthony kanu, osa, and emeka xris obiezu, osa (jos: augustinian publications, 2025), ix– xiv. kanu, ikechukwu anthony osa. “evangelization as the infinite grace that radiates from lives transformed: implications of pope leo xiv’s theology of evangelization for africa,” in pope leo xiv: son of saint augustine, edited by ikechukwu anthony kanu, osa, and emeka xris obiezu, osa (jos: augustinian publications, 2025), 134–49. kanu, ikechukwu anthony, osa, and emeka xris obiezu, osa, eds. pope leo xiv: son of saint augustine. jos: augustinian publications, 2025. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 93 kanu, ikechukwu anthony osa., “pope leo xiv: early life, education, and vocation,” in pope leo xiv: son of saint augustine, edited by ikechukwu anthony kanu, osa, and emeka xris obiezu, osa (jos: augustinian publications, 2025), 2–14. leo xiii. rerum novarum. rome: vatican press, 1891. niyiring, john namaza, osa, “foreword” to pope leo xiv: son of saint augustine, ed. ikechukwu anthony kanu, osa, and emeka xris obiezu, osa (jos: augustinian publications, 2025), iii–iv. obiezu, emeka xris, osa. “disarmed peace and disarming peace: an augustinian insight to pope leo xiv’s paradigm for global peace.” in pope leo xiv: son of saint augustine, edited by ikechukwu anthony kanu, osa, and emeka xris obiezu, osa (jos: augustinian publications, 2025), 151–66. ossai, jude aniobodom, osa. “with you i am a christian, for you i am a bishop: pope leo xiv’s understanding of his role as pope.” in pope leo xiv: son of saint augustine, edited by ikechukwu anthony kanu, osa, and emeka xris obiezu, osa (jos: augustinian publications, 2025), 62–79. ovie, valentine aghoghophia, osa. “‘we have to work together on how to be a missionary church’: reflecting on pope leo xiv’s missiological vision.” in pope leo xiv: son of saint augustine, edited by ikechukwu anthony kanu, osa, and emeka xris obiezu, osa (jos: augustinian publications, 2025), 103–33. pilani, michael paul. “‘peace be with you’: pope leo xiv on peace in a conflict -ridden world.” in pope leo xiv: son of saint augustine, edited by ikechukwu anthony kanu, osa, and emeka xris obiezu, osa (jos: augustinian publications, 2025), 191–210. pilani, michael paul. “‘we are disciples of christ’: pope leo xiv’s vision of discipleship vis-à-vis saint augustine’s anthropology.” in pope leo xiv: son of saint augustine, edited by ikechukwu anthony kanu, osa, and emeka xris obiezu, osa (jos: augustinian publications, 2025), 80–102. ugonwafor, charles chukwuebuka, osa. “i am a son of saint augustine: exploring the augustinian identity of leo xiv.” in pope leo xiv: son of saint augustine, edited by ikechukwu anthony kanu, osa, and emeka xris obiezu, osa (jos: augustinian publications, 2025), 28–44. 66 ontological evaluation of t. uzodinma nwala's political theory of unanimity aloysius o. dimgba ph.d department of religious studies and philosophy, abia state university, uturu aloydimgba@gmail.com dimgba.aloysius@abiastateuniversity.edu.ng, doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.25338.81600 abstract this paper is an ontological evaluation of t. uzodinma nwala's political theory of unanimity. its concern is the general loss of political and moral orientation characteristic of traditional igbo communities arising from the interference of the western political and moral values which contemporary igbo people accepted uncritically. based on the hermeneutic – phenomenological method, the paper posits that the principle of political unanimity is the panacea to the overarching problems of individualism and subjectivism that have burdened the west. the paper compares political unanimity with certain currents of political and ethical thoughts and argues that igbos' belief in community spirit is the answer to the problems of individual responsibility characteristic of liberal democracy that has become a concern to global peace. the paper concludes that traditional igbo thought of brotherhood characteristic of interest harmonisation, reconciliation and consensus provide the answer to the question of human uniqueness, personal authenticity and identity. keywords: brotherhood, consensus, individualism, politics, unanimity. introduction professor timothy uzodinma nwala, born on 20 march 1942, is a living colossus of philosophy. he was born in mbaise of present day imo state in south east nigeria. nwala observed a general loss of orientation and identity among the young generation of contemporary igbo people who accepted uncritically the western political and moral systems and values. for nwala, this disruption in the original life pattern of the traditional igbo people before the interference of the colonialists is the foundation of the political and ethical crises in igbo land because western systems and values imposed upon them are inadequate to cater for the original life pattern of the typical igbo and their collectivists' structure. he believes that a return to the indigenous igbo political mode of life will be helpful in answering most contemporary igbo political and moral questions and identity which are fast eroding away. this indigenous political life pattern he describes as unanimity. nwala has shown the deficiencies of the western democracy and its cursory decisionmaking by majority opinions which deprive the minority of the right to have their opinions reflected in a given political decision. this deprivation, for nwala, could mean a violation of their human rights and could lead to disinterest and disharmonies in politics. for nwala, political systems in igboland follows rigorous processes and compromises that lead to it where all efforts are made to contain the wishes of the majority as well as those of the minority. for nwala also, “the processes are designed to arrive at what may be abstractly called the general will of the people or community” (p.168). nwala's concern is that western practice of formal representation in council is alien to the traditional igbo orientation and does not reflect the cohesion and consensus characteristic of the spirit of brotherhood native to igbo people. it is this underlying concern of the breach of the traditional igbo political pattern and its ontological foundation that this paper intends to evaluate. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 67 meaning of politics politics connotes the activities associated with the governance of a state. it is the public engagement of the people on matters that concern them to protect and promote their well being. for blackburn, (2005, 282) “politics is about human community and government and relations between the collective and the individual”. it is the art or science of governance which characterises power attributes and power relations. from the ancient greece, politics bother on relations in community (polis – city state) affairs meant to protect the rights of the citizens in an agreed pattern of governance. plato (1997, pp. 332 336) in the republic conceived politics as harmonising conflicting interests to ensure rational and virtuous ordering of human affairs. for him, this virtuous and rational ordering will result to justice and ultimately to happiness as the end of human life in the state. however, it was aristotle who introduced empirical interpretation to politics as things concerning the polis to represent the organisation of community affairs aimed at the highest good (sommum bonum) for the community which exits for the sake of the good life or happiness of the state (pp. 29 30). aristotle compares the city state in his ideas of the hylemorphic analysis of matter and form to his ideas of the material cause (community of people), formal cause (the constitution crafted by the law giver), operated by a craftman (efficient cause) which altogether determines the aim and end of the community (final cause) (p.17). in other words for aristotle, the craftman or the lawgiver should not impose a form on materials for which it is unsuited nor the lawgiver lay down or change laws which are contrary to the nature of the citizens. though a disciple of aristotle, thomas of aquinas refuted aristotle's conception of politics as natural. thomas follows seneca to characterise politics as a sense of leadership voluntarily accepted by the governed. he associated politics with divine law and natural law as giving direction to the (human) common good, which belongs to the people (1-2,q 95, a.4, 1-2.90.a). indeed for thomas and all schoolmen, politics is an interplay of providence and human social acts to determine and structure human society and governance. modern and contemporary thought introduce a little paradigm to the earlier scholastic ideas. the difference lies in the inseparability of politics and economy and how both influence state apparatus and control over public affairs. in this direction, david easton (1981, p.13) conceives politics as “authoritative allocation of values” relating to resources and status. easton's definition indicates the processes through which citizens or communities' needs are skillfully addressed by carefully and strategically allocating benefits, rewards and penalties as well as the influences that warrant the allocations. for harold laswell, (2001, p.12) politics is “who gets what (why), when and how”. laswell underscores the power to exercise authority on the allocation of scarce resources as well as determining control on the content and context of production and distribution of goods and services within the structure of the state. common denominator between easton and laswell implicates the attribution of order, power and justice in politics and governance as well as underscores the relations between politics and economy in terms of production and equitable distribution of goods and services and the ideological leanings that determine the politics and the mode of production and distribution. in this sense, nwala (1985, p.163) defines politics to be “the continuous process by which a people organise their social life – relationships in production, exchange, distribution, exercise of authority, recognition, etc such that there is a recognised system of rules and procedures for generating further rules, to regulate their social life. according to him, it is the way a people organise their social life with respect to the system of rules and procedures for regulating their mode of social relationship (p.164). accordingly for nwala; igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 68 the system of rules are held to emanate from, promote and enforced by a recognised system of authority. the apparent aim of such rules is to ensure order and promote the welfare of all the people bound in such a social relationship. this body of rules, the manner in which the authority is exercised and further rules created, gives the way in which the welfare of the people is pursued through a mode of economic activity, gives rise to a political system. (1985, p.164) in summary, politics is the science and art of governance defined in terms of decision making and decision enforcement by a recognised authority. it is not mere activism, but the awareness that keeps one informed about the structure of his/her society and his/her place in the society to realise the laudable aim to harmonise the society for the ultimate happiness and common good of the citizens. politics is about power: power relations and power attributes. nwala's political theory of unanimity unanimity connotes common agreement of opinions. it designates a state of being in harmony in a society based on common agreements among members of the society. it describes elements of consensus and interest reconciliations among members that share similar values, norms, principles, etc in order to ensure social political stability. for nwala, unanimity does not exclude arguments or controversies as opinions may vary. it, instead, hinges on consensus, interest reconciliation and harmonisation of divergent views. it stems from a natural sympathy for one's kind given that they consider themselves as umunna (descendants of one ancestor) and related by blood in one ancestral father. the interest is to find a compromise which is agreeable or at least not unbearable because their target is to protect or uphold the omenala, the social and cosmological order handed down by the ancestral fathers. nwala notes that although the interest is to protect or uphold the social, divine and cosmic order (omenala), agreements are never allowed to militate absolutely and fatalistically against the collective interest and welfare of the community (p.170). this way, agreements must be within the reach and serve the interest of the people because the igbo respect principles and ideals. but principles and ideals according to nwala must be subjected to (as a last resort) to the practical realities of the human situation (p.170). for nwala also, even when they introduce the most far-reaching changes, they believe they are merely upholding or restoring the good old ways ordained by the all knowing ancestors. indeed, all agreements (or changes where they occur) are intended to keep the possibility of harmony. thus, unanimity is a matter of compromise and consensus where aggrieved members may adjust their interests to the common necessity for the umunna or the larger kinsmen lineage, the community. this means therefore, that political unanimity does not contradict divergence of interests. instead, it emphasises reconciliation and harmonisation of divergent interests in order to secure a stable, cohesive and ordered community. unanimity as a political principle nwala's notion of unanimity as a political principle portrays the true life setting of a typical (precolonial) traditional igbo. it emphasises consensus and interest harmonisation of divergent opinions to allow common political pursuit. for nwala, it takes rigorous processes and compromises (igba izu period of consultation) that lead to it and all efforts made to contain the wishes of the majority as well as those of the minority. in short, they are designed to arrive at what may be abstractly called the “general will” of the people or community”. unanimity becomes desirable since the igbo conceive of politics and government not as the means where by the stronger or the majority impose their will on the rest of the people but as the process of regulating normal life among brothers (p.168). here kwasi wiredu (1996, p.41) supports nwala on the idea of rigorous processes and compromises when he (wiredu) affirms that “harmonisation of different interests arrived at after a long deliberation during which a process of persuasion and in some cases motivation are employed to secure the well being of the entire igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 69 clan. wiredu continues to think that harmonisation and interest reconciliation follows what he describes as “sympathy instincts among people that are related by blood or have common ancestral root” (p.41). nwala describes this period of igba izu (consultations) as the democratic spirit which he says puts in check the apparent or possible excesses of seniority, status and achievement among the people. nwala situates his idea of political unanimity on what he describes as the “igbo principle of equality and equivalence”. he founded this principle of equality and equivalence on two related concepts of ontological common species, and brotherhood. according to him, “all who are morally worthy, are basically equal, difference in wealth notwithstanding”(p.168). he continues to explain that “all segments at the same level of the social organism are considered equal and equivalent irrespective of territorial spread and population size, work and food have to be shared equally amongst all participants and each must take its share in order of seniority” (p.168). nwala maintains that if all men are equal and all segments equivalent and each must have his fair share of work and reward, then, all must be allowed to participate in the process of decision-making (p.168). to ensure effective political system, nwala explains that although power and authority belongs to all, but by virtue of their seniority and ontological status, knowledge, moral, spiritual, intellectual qualities and economic status, some individuals are known to exercise greater power and influence than the others (p.168). besides the principle of equality and equivalence and brotherhood, nwala identified the spirit of republicanism as another element of unanimity in igbo politics. republicanism, according to blackburn (2005, p.318), emphasises the role of the active, participating citizens in governance and aims at checks and balances to prevent the emergence of faction and majority tyranny, but also to the town hall politics whereby decision making has bottom up rather than a top down structure. igbo republicanism depicts the popular igbo enwe eze. it describes the average igbo cultural orientation of distrust and resistance to subservience and domination of one over another. nwala adduced two fundamental reasons for this cultural distrust and resistance to domination and subservience. the first is the self dependence and the achievement consciousness inherent in the igbo spirit. the second is the (individual) survival instinct and competitive spirit greatly valued in typical igbo culture. in fact for nwala, the igbo man must accomplish something in his name to deserve an honourable place in his kinship group. for him also, competition is important in igbo traditional, social and communal life because a great premium is placed on achievement (p.173). the emphasis on achievement “ensures that everyone answers his name in the affairs of his community” (dimgba, 2024, p.188). indeed for nwala, competition keeps everybody and every group up and doing to retain their rightful place in the igbo scheme of things (p.173). nwala cites chinua achebe's dictum that “no man however great is greater than his people and no man ever won judgement against his clan” to further express the igbo principle of equality and equivalence and the republican spirit that make them distrustful of authority and personal rule over them. accordingly for him; ...the people defend their right to be part of the decision making process … the igbo actually resist too much governing on the part of the rulers. they may not complain very much against the decision of the amala council but personal decisions of the rulers are not always kindly welcomed because it strikes against this premordial republican spirit. they can easily understand a rule which emanates from the community as a whole because they believe that they are part of the system. (nwala, 1985, p.171) indeed, the independence spirit in the igbo makes him to think adequate and proud of himself and so resists being alienated on important decisions about himself and his kinsmen. unanimity in traditional igbo community in a typical, traditional igbo society, the political units are the ezi (family), the umunna (kindred) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 70 and the clan (village). the political system is organised along a web of kinship relations with the kinship head who is usually the oldest man as the leader. usually, the kindred heads are responsible to and represent the interests of their umunna at the amala assembly or council during deliberations. when there are issues of importance, the amala council assembly is assembled through a town crier in the village square. normally, issues discussed are always very fundamental and of common interest to the clan or village. usually, divergent opinions and interests are harmonised and reconciled to ensure common political pursuit. however, and depending on the nature of the issue at hand, some issues that are not agreed upon are postponed to another date. this is usually followed by a period of consultations (igba-izu) during which families or kindreds that are affected may reach out to the other families or kindreds for sympathy and compromise. normally, there is the common attitude to give up rights and conveniences in order to accommodate themselves and thus strengthen their common umunna heritage or kinship ties. f. n. ndubuisi (2002, p.67), captures this dominant attitude of sharing burdens and compromising comforts as the spirit of give and take which he said is at the root of the community's life because everybody is his brother's keeper. whatever happens to one will affect the entire community (kindred) because when one finger touches oil, it stains the rest of the fingers (ozumba, 2002, p.58). nwala reveals that such compromises in some cases may result to certain social or peace treaties or alliances that were often celebrated in formal ritual of blood pact (igba ndu) (p.166). thus, every family or umunna is carried along and differences are harmonised and agreed upon by the various family or kindred heads. the final decisions are generalised and made obligatory for every member of the community. to further ensure compliance, and as a check on deviants, certain invocations or incantations are made by the oldest man believed to be the living representative of the ancestors and the custodian of the customs and the traditions (omenala) of the people with the ofo (the mystic symbol of uprightness, forthrightness and powers of the community) in his (right) hand as a seal and legitimacy of the decisions. usually, the decisions are backed up with sanctions of various sorts and weights. for nwala, this is possible because of the organic nature of the igbo community which is sustained by several forces including common land and communal economic ties, blood relationship and a web of kinship ties. “all who belong to the same community are the umunna. there is also the mythical charter (omenala) which embodies the history and ideology of the political community. the charter stresses their decent from a founding father and the inevitable role of the gods of the community in its founding and protection” (p.167). nwala also cites the communalistic spirit of the traditional system as another factor in interest harmonisation and reconciliation. according to him; since the family or extended family was the basic unit of economic, social and political organisation, and since this unit occupied a given territory with which it economically and spiritually identified … and since every member was organically and socially linked to the rest through blood relationship, stability and justice were easily realisable within the system. (p.173) nwala continues to think that; a lot of social and political values follow easily from this state of affairs. such contemporary modern social problems as exploitation, alienation, victimisation, nepotism and discrimination, poverty in the midst of plenty, etc, were either non existent or where they existed, were inconsequential in affecting the basic democratic character of the society. (pp.173 174) on a similar notion, wiredu (1996, p.41), affirms that willingness to live in harmony with each igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 71 other is characterised by a natural instinct for sympathy for their kind. thus, for wiredu, consensus on the basis of agreement of every interested person makes it impossible that a minority might be excluded in the process of decision making as it obtains in western practice of democracy (p.185). indeed, for nwala, the charter is given practical symbolisation and strengthened by ritual activities many of which are designed to involve the dead members, the gods and the supernatural forces in the daily and seasonal affairs of the community. the rituals are designed “… to give life to what is an abstract idea. they are essential ingredients in social control; a web of customs and traditions and supernatural sanctions” (p.167). nwala continues to inform us that decisions and actions of the community had to be justified and given legitimacy. the justification was based on the welfare of the community and the individuals. usually, the ofo, the legal seal and symbol of authority of the amala must be present during the deliberations of the amala council and used to give legitimacy and sanction to the rules, decisions and laws. every major decision, whether of a legislative or judicial nature has to be reinforced by invoking ndi ichie (the ancestors), ala (the earth goddess) and the gods believed to have interest in the weal and woe of the unit in question. only the ritually pure, the right minded and those of transparent character could expect and received obedience. (p.169) thus, nwala tells us that ritual devices are built up around the political offices of the community in the bid to secure both effectiveness and legitimacy. for nwala, rituals are effective weapons on the traditional imagination. not only do they inspire respect, they inspire fears as well, and individuals very easily obey them. nwala cites ikenna nzimiro on the roles of ritualisation in igbo political system thus: ritualisation of political offices and laws of the state gives substantive forms to otherwise abstract ideas, endows them with an aura and respectability through their mystical force, celebrates their coming into being and their departure; and gives them human basis (even though the man celebrating the ritual may be an agent of the mystical powers). thus, it at the same time puts the offices and the laws beyond human corruption by placing them over and above human being. (p.169) nwala explains that as an aid to the effectiveness of the rituals in securing obedience and social control, sanctions which embodies both supernatural or ritualistic and human are also employed. he further explains that an interesting application of this transcendental notion of politics and government is the conception and attitude of the igbo towards new rules. he cites prof. afigbo as saying that “government and politics are not seen as a means of making new rules or creating new conditions for the life of the community, but merely as a process of making the good old rules function” (p.170). the reason according to nwala is because igbos believe that the ancestors, with the help of the tutelary gods have worked out and ordained at the beginning rules and regulations called the omenala to guide human everyday intersubjective relations. the omenala is the igbo conception of divine, cosmic and social order for social and political control. it is believed to be handed down by the ancestors and dictates and guides all forms of human intersubjective relations with fellow men, the ancestors and the gods. however, it is never allowed to militate absolutely and fatalistically against the interest and welfare of the community otherwise it will be adjusted or changed following certain divinely prescribed procedures and rituals by the community elders and priests. ontological evaluation of unanimity as a political principle nwala's political theory of unanimity is very classical and impressive. his ideals of political unanimity is a true reflection of the (political) affinity and fraternity characteristic of traditional igbo people of nigeria. it is important to note that the everyday life of the typical, traditional igboman is pervaded in his sense of morality or religiousity. this way, his everyday actions, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 72 including political actions, are guided by the desire to keep faith with the entire cosmic existence (ontological structure) as well as create or allow equilibrium among and between all cosmic entities to interplay among themselves so as to create an ontological balance among all existents. indeed for the igbo, all existents belong together and inter relate. in this sense, g. o. ozumba writes that: all existents are bound up into one by a pervading cord that maintains the balance and keeps things in their proper places. for instance, all human beings, spirits and the entire cosmos are seen as being intricately interwoven in a mesh that is called reality. the concomitant of this view is that there are no disparate units all entities are knitted together in a determinate manner. any upsetting of the position of one entity immediately affects the positioning of other entities. (pp.52 -53) here, ozumba agrees with nwala that the igbo political community includes both the living and the dead thus showing that the igbo practice of politics helps in maintaining the ontological balance of the community. the operational mode according to nwala is that every decisions and actions of the community had to be justified and legitimised based on the welfare of the community and individuals through invoking the mythical charter (omelala) binding the community into one organic whole (p.169). thus, unanimity is a natural trait in igbo politics given that no one is left behind both in decision making and distribution of values. every interest is duly considered and included in council representations and agreements. it is in the above sense of (political) inclusivity and collectivism that the ideals of equality and equivalence and brotherhood as the foundation of the igbo politics of unanimity re echoes the igbo aphorism of onye aghala nwanne ya (everybody is his brother's keeper). as both a moral and political principle, onye aghala nwanne ya designates the ideals of communal traits, mutual support and interdependence characteristic of the typical, traditional igbo that strenghtens the assurances of responsibility of welfare and support for one another. the principle negates any form of superiority complex among the umunna (the kindred) so that more than anything else, everybody is his brother's keeper. as ozumba echoes, “he knows that while protecting his brother, he is as well protecting himself. what happens to one happens to all and this makes morality a unanimous affair” (p.56). however, crucial questions still arise from the principle of equality and equivalence and brotherhood that underpins the igbo politics of unanimity. equality and equivalence encourages the igbo consciousness of republicanism, competition and achievement with their inherent challenges of self dependence and pride which ultimately result in individualism, egoism and selfishness in human nature. competition and achievement create (different) political and economic classes such that there were the ogara nya (the wealthy), the ogbenye (the poor), and of course the middle class each having different wavering influences in the political community. given the igbo seated respect for wealth and achievement, differences and disagreements are not entirely absent because they share the same human nature of egoism, selfishness and pride. as c. b. okolo observes, “man is by nature acquisitive. hobbes pessimism depicts man as selfish and egoistic. this anti – social tendencies are in the igbo as in everybody else and have been made worse by the inherited capitalistic values” (p.46). at any rate, nwala's concept of unanimity underscores the true political orientation of the traditional igbo. his notion of compromises and common agreements based on common heritage of kinship ties is an eloquent testimony of igbo humanism. unanimity and some other political/ethical theories a. unanimity and western democracy political unanimity and western democracy move in parallel lines. western democracy igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 73 is anchored on the multi-party system and the tyranny of the majority in decision making (omoregbe , 2007, p.40). the minority is constrained to consent to the tyranny of the majority. one obvious problem of western democracy is the overarching burden of individualism and subjectivism that is threatening global humanism. in unanimity, agreements are reached on the basis of compromise and interest harmonisations based on kinship ties. efforts are made to contain the wishes of the majority as well as those of the minority in the process of regulating normal life among brothers (nwala, p. 168). b. unanimity and kwasi wiredu's consensus theory the principle of consensus enunciated by kwasi wiredu is based on natural instinct for sympathy for one's kind and sympathetic impartiality. this means for wiredu, the willingness to allow other opinions even at some possible costs for one's kind on kinship or blood ties. wiredu explains that consensus does not suggest absence of divergent opinions. its emphasis, instead, is the harmonisation of such divergent views after a long period of deliberations in order to arrive at a common agreement (wiredu, p.41). political unanimity and consensus agree both in principle and practice as both emphasise compromise and interest harmonisations and reconciliations based on kinship ties. both principles supposes a kind of ubuntu, which expresses support and solidarity for one's kind in the pursuit of their common fate and common ancestral bonding. conclusion the typical, traditional igbo is communalistic in orientation. his attachment to his umunna depicts a strong tendency for social bonding and mutual interdependence that underpins his sense of brotherhood and belongingness. this sense of brotherhood makes room for their collectivist disposition that compels mutual support and compromises for common political pursuits. it is this willingness for compromise and consensus even at a possible cost for community welfare that nwala captured as political unanimity. that is the true igbo spirit of onye aghala nwanne ya because “everyone must be carried along and no one must be left behind” (dimgba, 2023, p.168). thus, the igbo conceive themselves as one people with one destiny in (one) common ancestral root which everybody is answerable to, that is, the umunna the common umbilical that holds everyone responsive and responsible to the common course of the kindred. indeed, among the igbos, everyone belongs to everyone and no one is alienated, and certainly, no one ever behaves himself bigger or superior to his umunna because the umunna as a bulwark fights the course of everybody. this, is the igbo sense of humanism where everyone is his brother's keeper because when one finger touches oil, all the other fingers are stained. references aristotle. (1962). politics trans. benjamin jowett, middlesex: penguim classics. nd blackburn, s. (2005). oxford dictionary philosophy. 2 . ed. oxford: oxford up. rddavid, e. (1981). the political system: inquiry into the state political science, 3 ed. chicago: chicago up. dimgba, a. o. (april, 2024). “ontological evaluation of the impact of political godfatherism in politics in igboland”, guu journal of humanities, 3(1), 181 – 193. dimgba, a. o. (june, 2023). “an appraisal of kwasi wiredu's ethical theory of consensus” in sapientia journal of philosophy, 18. 160 – 169. harold, l. (2001).who gets what, when and how. johannesburg: witts library. ndubuisi, f. n. (2002). “crime and punishment of an ancient african morality” in footmarks on african philosophy. ed. a. f. uduigwomen, lagos: obaroh and ogbinaka publ. nwala, u. t. (1985). igbo philosophy. lagos: lantern books. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 74 okolo, c. b. (1993). african social and political philosophy, selected essays. nsukka: fulladu. omoregbe, j. i. (2007). social – political philosophy and international relations. lagos: joja publishers. ozumba g. o. (2002) “african ethics” in footmarks on african philosophy. ed. a. f. uduigwomen, lagos: obaroh and ogbinaka publ. plato. (1997). republic. trans. john llewely davies and david james vaughan: hertfordshire wordsworth. thomas, a. (1948). summa theologica. bk.1-2, q. 95, a.4.1-2.90a, maryland: christian classics. wiredu, k. (1996).cultural universals and particulars: an african perspective. bloomington: indiana up. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 243 a semiotic exploration of the theme of love in selected johnny drille songs raifu olanrewaju farinde, phd; afolabi innocemt ariremako, phd & oluwaseun james bamisaye department of english and literary studies federal university oye ekiti raifu.farinde@fuoye.edu.ng; bamisayeseun72@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.25001.77923 abstract semiotics of love involves the decoding of the signs, symbols and other meaning structures that humans have used to express love to others. hence, this study analyses the semiotic exploration of the themes of love in selected johnny drille songs. the aim of this study is to identify the dominant signs; examine the meaning of the dominant signs used to portray love in the selected johnny drille songs; discuss the influence of these signs on the characters in the music videos as well as project how these may apply in the nigerian society. the data of this study is in form of screenshots from seven (3) johnny drille's music videos and lyrics downloaded from youtube. the three (3) music videos and their release dates are 'wait for me (2015)'', count on you (2019)' and 'loving is harder (2021)'. this study made use of descriptive qualitative method to analyse the data. the study uses ronald barthes theory which is the order of signification that involves the denotative, connotative meanings of signs and these signs are visual and verbal signs from the selected johnny drille music videos and lyrics. the study found that the denotation meaning of the theme of love in the music videos is revealed through the characters with their facial expressions, dressings, dialogues and material things and the connotation meaning of the theme of love in the music videos is displayed through the gestures, appearance and dialogue of the characters.. this study relates the concept of love shown by the characters in the music videos to real life. this study concluded that their expressions are not different from real life expression of love. the study recommends that more research should be done in semiotics of love especially in movies. keywords: semiotics, semiotics of love, love and johnny drille igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 244 introduction the term semiotics is derived from the greek word ‘seme’ as in semiotikos, a sign’s interpreter. semiotics is the systematic study of signs (eagleton, 2008). semiotics involves the study not only of what we refer to as sign in everyday speech but of anything which stands for something else. in a sense of semiotics, signs take the form of words, images, sounds, gestures and objects. modern semioticians study signs not in isolation but as part of semiotic sign system. they study how meanings are created and how reality is represented (chandler, 2007; ariremako, badmus-lawal & farinde, 2021). a sign is the link or relationship between a signified and the signifier. the signified is some entity or concept in the world while the signifier represents the signified. it is the relationship between the two that gives the sign meaning. the study of signs is the study of the construction and maintenance of reality (chandler, 2014). farinde (2011) opines that semiotics can be in conformity with signs and symbols which are all geared towards meaning. signs are usually pervasive and they are common in all areas of life. saussure and peirce are considered as the pioneers of semiotics who established two major theoretical traditions of semiotics. saussure (1915) introduces the analysis of language as a system of signs. he offers a dyadic or two part model of the sign which consists of a sign vehicle and its meaning. it is a signifier (the form made up of something physical such as sounds, letters, gestures, etc.) and signified that is the image or concept to which the signifier refers. charles pierce (1931) also states that semiotics is a science with the finding and theories and techniques to study anything that produced signs. he defines triangle theory or triangle meaning consisting of three elements; sign, object and interpretant. the sign is a thing that can be caught by human senses and representing another meaning. the object is the social context as references of signs, the interpretant is a sign user or a mental concept of one that using signs (sebeok, 2001). in the same perspective, ogunrinde , ariremako and amodu (2023:22) affirm that “ music is an essential tool in the advertising world. music is faster to get attention from an audience than other forms of advertisements, and that is because it stuck in the minds for a very long time than others”. music and picture are extremely informative. see ( dada and ogunrinde,2020 and ogunrinde and ajenifari,2021). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 245 semiotics is the study of signs and signs system. signs are the core blocks of semiotics. sign systems are known as code which includes language, gestures, objects and music. in reality a sign cannot stand alone and the code must be understood in terms of cordial influences. semiotics analyses mostly any part of communication field. a semiotic analysis usually examines how some particular text, words, images, movies, songs and any material used to construct what sort of meaning in communication (littlejohn & foss 2009). merrell (2001) opines that any sign that is complete must have a representation, a semiotic object and an interpretant and each of these signs must enjoy the company of the other two. he divides the sign into three modes thus: an icon, an index and a symbol. danesi (2004) maintains that saussure proposed the dichotomy concept of sign called as signifier and signified which cannot be separated from each other. saussure (1915) defines sign as the arbitrary relationship between signifier and signified which is called signification. social semiotics is the deepening of the theory of semiotics. social semiotics considers language and sign making widely and it is the key to the transformation of social structures. social semiotics emphasizes how people make their mark in a context of interpersonal and institutional power relations to achieve specific goals. social semiotics talk about language and the other ways of communication, especially visual signs working with each other to form a meaning (engebrestsen & kennedy, 2020). semiotics of love semiotics of love refers to the study of signs and symbols used in the representation of love, romance, and relationships in various forms of media such as music, film, and literature. humans have shown interest in the source and nature of love since the beginning of times. we have created special language, rituals, symbols, art forms, songs and courtship practices to be part of, celebrate and to admit its emotional effect over us and its capability to change the fate of people throughout the world. love is experienced in the same way all over the world and it has created different translations that are not the same in context and it maintains a basic igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 246 emotional feeling for everyone. decoding those translations is the major interest in semiotics of love, which is an approach in understanding love through the signs, symbols and other meaning bearing structures that humans have used to show it to others. how we have written about love, how we have portrayed it in music and visual images, how we have symbolized it, how we have ritualized it and how we have philosophized about it prepare the semiotic data for understanding its whole meaning and function in people’s life. the major approach used here is based on the conception that we change our affections into sign structures (words, symbols) and sign based constructions (texts, rituals) which then make us to think upon them knowingly rather than just intuitively. love is twisted together physically and emotionally with sex. the two create a semiotic opposition which is an innate ability of all human conceptual systems. another semiotic way to understand the meaning of love in human life is to determine the language used to describe, explain it and how it communicates romantic practices and traditions. people make use of metaphors to portray love and metaphor is a revelation of the unconscious cultural beliefs and events that people all over the world deem very significant. people make use of words such as sweet, attractive, passionate and enchanting and so on, to show the effects of love. the meaning of love can be determined not only in terms of how we have encoded its senses in words, portrayed it in paintings but also in how we have symbolized it across the ages (danesi, 2019). love the meaning of love is very wide. the oxford english dictionary defines love as “a feeling of affection and sexual desire for someone or person”. this concept of love is connected to one of the types of love from the ancient greek term which is eros. the term eros means the type of love that forms a blazing, strong desire for something or person and this refers to sexual attraction (internet encyclopaedia of philosophy, http://www.iep.utm.edu/love/). this concept of love differentiates the form of love ‘eros’ from other concept of love. eros gives special attention to love between man and woman on the basis of feelings of attraction and desire. this is also similar to the concept of a romantic love which is a motivational state in line with the feelings of attraction and the desire to find faithfulness with one partner (gonzaga, 2006). eros and romantic love have the same meaning which is attraction. the attraction by an individual igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 247 toward another individual is on the basis of feelings of love and concern in being together in a relationship. the 18th century witnessed a psychological lens being applied to the study of love. sternberg (1986) posits that love was conceptualized as an intricate interplay of various factors, including intimacy, passion, and commitment. this theoretical model has exerted substantial influence on contemporary psychology, significantly enhancing our comprehension of the dynamics inherent in romantic relationships. in the 20th century, love became the subject of scrutiny from cultural and social perspectives. according to illouz (1997), love was reconceptualized as a cultural construct, intrinsically linked to the values, beliefs, and norms of specific societies. she contends that modern love is characterized by an incessant pursuit of authenticity and self-fulfillment, progressively entangled within the realm of consumer culture and the market economy. romantic love is the main focus in this study. it is common in our daily life and is found in many songs and literary works. biography of johnny drille john ighodaro was born in july 1990 and is famously known as johnny drille. he is a talented singer, songwriter, record producer and song engineer. the benin born artiste came to the limelight after being signed under mavin records coupled with releasing his official debut songs ‘wait for me’ in 2015. the single was a hit and made johnny drille the favourite of lovers of alternative music in nigeria. a contestant at the sixth edition of project fame west africa, jonny drille released his debut album on the 3rd of september 2021. johnny drille was born to edo’s parents, mr and mrs ighodaro in the ancient city of benin. he and his four siblings were raised there by their parents. the ighodaros were a christian family so johhny drille grew up with deep faith and love in god. his father, who is a pastor worked as a school principal before retirement. he attended church regularly and played an active role in the choir. as a chorister, he learned what it took to make good music from composing the music lyrics to performing in the crowd. gifted with great vocals, johnny drille decided early on in life that he wanted to pursue a music career. he became igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 248 fascinated with the guitar and taught himself how to play the instrument. while he was still in the university, he composed songs and recorded them with the help of his friend who was a sound producer. johnny drille attended top public schools in benin for his elementary and secondary school education. he studied at the university of benin and graduated with a degree in english and literature. in 2013, johnny drille auditioned for the sixth season of project fame west africa. he impressed the judges at the regional levels with his performance so that he was given a spot in the house. unfortunately, he couldn’t make it to the finals of the show. in 2015, jonny drille did a cover of the song ‘awww’ by dija which went viral catching the attention of top music executive, don jazzy. don jazzy reached out to johnny drille and they began working together to fine tune his sound. as a result, he dropped his official debut single ‘wait for me’ in 2015. shortly after, he teamed up with his female colleague niniola to record the song “start all over’ in 2016. in 2017, he dropped the chart topping song, romeo and juliet which helped johnny drille’s fame spread to other countries. the single which is a love song won him many fans and became the favourite song of lovebirds in the country. johnny drille collaborated with simi to record the single, hallelujah which experienced similar success to romeo and juliet. the song was released in 2018. after several months of hard work, he released his debut album ‘before we fall asleep’ on the 3rd of september 2021. though it has been only few weeks since its release, the album has been a commercial success, receiving massive airplay on radio stations and tv stations in the country and amassing thousands of streams online. johnny drille has also earned nominations at notable music awards in the country recognizing the great work he puts into his craft (www.thecityceleb.com). the study made use of selected johnny drille songs because his lyrics are often poetic and rich in metaphorical language, providing ample opportunities for analysing the semiotic dimensions of love in his music. johnny drille genre of music is folk and alternate rock and most of his songs are based on the themes of love which is our focus in this study. aim and objectives the aim of this study is to carry out a semiotic analysis of the theme of love in selected johnny drille songs. the specific objectives are to: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 249 i. identify the dominant semiotic signs used to portray love in selected johnny drille songs. ii. examine the meaning of the dominant semiotic signs used to portray love in selected johnny drille songs; and iii. discuss the possible influence of these signs on the characters in the music videos and project how these may apply in the nigerian society. research methodology to analyse this study, qualitative descriptive approach was used. the data was collected through several organised steps. firstly, downloading research data sources from youtube. secondly, observing data sources and marking semiotics signs for further analysis. thirdly, examining the semiotic signs that have been collected for analysis with related theory, namely roland barthes semiotic theory. the data were taken in images, sentences, statements and ideas form. this study analysed the pictures in the selected johnny drille’s music video explaining denotation and connotation of the pictures. data and source of data in this study, the data are visual (song/lyrics) and verbal signs (music video) found in the selected johnny drille music videos. this study took a few steps to collect the data. the researchers downloaded the music videos of the selected johnny drille song from youtube as the source of data. secondly, the researchers watched and screenshot the scenes with the themes of love. the primary data are selected johnny drille music videos and they are “count on you (2019)”, “loving is harder (2021)” and “wait for me (2015)”. theoretical framework this study uses roland barthes (1977) semiotic theory. roland barthes’s semiotic theory is a development of de saussure’s semiotic theory, by emphasizing the interaction between the content and the individual and the cultural involvement of its users. the theory proposed is known as the “order of signification” which contains denotations, connotations and myth igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 250 which makes barthes’s theory different from saussure theory. according to barthes (1977), the sign interpretation process focuses on how the object is a system structure of the sign contained in the communication process. signification theory goes through two important processes, to create denotative meanings and connotations or myths. the signification of the first stage is the relationship between the signifier and the signification in the sign of external reality or denotation. connotation is the second stage of significance related to subjective values and creates myths. denotation is interpreted as a literal or written meaning. through denotative visual images people can interpret what they perceive with the senses without relating it to particular culture or ideology. roland barthes states that the denoted message bears the analogical properties and it is primary to the connotation in the process of signification (bouzida, 2014). in other word, denotation is the first level and basic sign that explains the relationship between the sign and its relevance to reality which produces an explicit, direct and definite meaning. roland barthes (1977) avers that connotation being itself as a system that comprises signifier, signified and as the process which unites the former to the latter and he used this to describe the signs work. it describes the interaction that occurs when the sign meets the feelings or emotion of their users and the values of their culture (fiske, 1990). connotation is an interaction that occurs when the sign is associated with the user’s feelings or culture. the meaning can be subjective or inter subjective. therefore, the level of connotation in its meaning is broader than of denotation. in finding out the meaning of connotations in a sign, we first look for deeper information about the sign that is related. which means the meaning of connotation is a subjective meaning that may be different for each person. since the connotative meaning can be found in linguistic or visual representations, this meaning will create a certain message from the representation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 251 data presentation and data analysis this study analyses the data using the order of signification theory from roland barthes which consists of denotation and connotation meaning. the analysis focuses on visual and verbal signs that reflect the theme of love in the selected songs. the data is taken from sources in the form of music videos downloaded from youtube which is then analysed to find some kind of research conclusion. the analysis and findings rely on the initial concept and research objectives. figure 1 semiotic analysis of the signs of love in the music video “count on you” by johnny drille. no visual signs verbal signs 1. i can’t wait to have you. 2. i wanna wake up next to you. 3 you have my attention oh my love. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 252 4 i plan to give you more and more 5 all my life i have waited to feel how i do now. yeah yeah. 6 nobody thought we will ever come this far. 7 i know i can count on you. my baby will be my best friend too. 8 i can be the perfect one for you. 9 i want to be with nobody else but you. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 253 denotation meaning (signifier) in the first picture, the male character is in a room inside a house with colourful curtails, a bed, bed lamps and a picture frame. this shows that he is inside his bedroom because of the background in the scene. we could see in the scene that he is in a kneeling position and holding something like a ring in his hands. his facial expression looks like someone that is nervous of something. in the picture, the clothes on his body are a black singlet and a black trouser with a visible ear ring and a neck chain. a tattoo is also seen on his muscular right arm and this indicates that he is a well fitted man. in the second picture, a male and a female character is shown on a white bed. the scene shows the male character on a bed staring at the female character sleeping. the facial expression of the male character indicates that he is happy staring at the sleeping female character. we could see in the scene that the female character is sleeping with a blanket which indicates that she felt safe and comfortable in the bedroom. the female character is put on a blue night gown. in the third picture, the male and female characters are in an open place with different clothes. the male character put on a shirt and the female character is on a beautiful and colourful dress. we could see that it is dark with bright light in their background and this indicate that it is night time in the scene. also at their background, there is a big red foam carved in the shape of love sign with red balloons decoration and there is a writing on it which says “will you marry me”. the male character is on his knees holding a ring in front of the female character. we could see that the female character is surprise, amazed and happy from her facial expression. in the fourth picture, the male character lifted up the female character in excitement and they are in the same background as the fourth picture but there are few changes. we could see some men playing the violin at their background which indicate that musical performance is on-going at the place. the facial expression of the female character shows that she is also excited and we could see a ring on her finger. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 254 in the fifth picture, we could see two pairs of diamond ring in a dark background on something like a shiny place which indicate how that the diamond is precious, important and costly. in the sixth picture, the male character put on suit and the female character put on a wedding gown and they are both on a beach. the male character is waiting patiently for the female character and also the female character is approaching the man. the male character is nervous from his facial expression. in the seventh picture, there are tears rolling down the eyes of the female character and this indicates that she is crying. the tears also indicate that she is happy to see the male character and she has been longing for the day to come. in the eighth picture, the male and female characters face each other and there is a priest between them holding a ring. their background is decorated with beautiful and colourful flowers and both characters are excited from their facial expressions. in the ninth picture, the male and female characters are showed to be holding each other hands while facing themselves. this indicates that there are having a couple’s dance and their background is well decorated with colourful clothing materials and artificial flowers. some men are also playing the violin so as to entertain both characters. the characters facial expression shows that they are happy and fulfilled. connotation meaning (signified) in the first picture, the male character is in love with someone because he is holding a ring in his hands and a ring is symbol of love and marriage. he is very nervous and he is also practicing on how he will propose to his lover thereby going on a knee in his bedroom. the male character appearance and bedroom shows that he is wealthy and can take good care of his lover. in this scene, the artist sang the lyrics “i can’t wait to have you” which shows he is deeply in love and he willing to get married to his lover. these events also happen in reality whereby a man will be nervous if his lover will accept his proposal for marriage or not. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 255 in the second picture, the male character stares at the woman on his bed and it shows he is reflecting on how he is deeply in love with the female character. he also wished that the woman will wake up right next to him every day for the rest of their lives if the woman would get married to him. the artist sang about this in the lyrics when he said “i wanna wake up right next to you”. in reality it is the wish of every man to wake up right next to his wife on bed every morning. in the third picture, the male character planned a surprise marriage proposal for his lover. he wanted to make the proposal a memorable one so as to prompt his lover to accept his marriage proposal. he organised musical bands to play at the proposal and the venue was also well decorated which shows how the male character is deeply in love with his lover. he asked his lover to marry him and hoping she would say yes to the marriage proposal. in this scene, the artist sang the lyrics “you have my attention oh my love” and this shows that the character is willing to go the extra mile to show that he would like to spend the rest of her life with her. in reality, we humans also plan memorable proposals for our lovers so as for them to accept our marriage proposals. it could be in public or anywhere that our lover will love to be. in the fourth picture, this shows that the female character was very impressed and convinced that she was going to spend the rest of her life with the male character thereby accepting his marriage proposal. they are both filled with great joy realising that they will soon get married and they would become husband and wife and probably with amazing children. all the marriage proposal preparation of the male character was very successful and this gave him so much joy. the artist sang about it in this scene where he sang the lyrics “i plan to give you more and more”. he realized that she has accepted the marriage proposal and he promised to give her all good things of life. in reality, when our lover accept our marriage proposal we tend to be joyous because we are assured our lover will become our spouse. in the fifth picture, the ring is the sign of love and marriage right from ancient times. lovers love to buy an expensive ring to seal their union if igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 256 they can afford it. the male character bought an expensive diamond ring for his lover to appreciate the love she showed to him. in this scene, the artist sang in his lyrics where he said “all my life i have waited to feel how i do now”. this showed that he is a fulfilled man and his dream of marrying his lover and giving his lover an expensive diamond ring has come to past. in reality, humans love to give their lover an expensive ring if they can afford it in order to show appreciation and care. in the sixth picture, the man became nervous on their wedding day and that the day of their wedding has finally arrived. he waited patiently for his beautiful bride in her lovely wedding dress to arrive which shows he had been expecting this lovely moment all his life. in this scene, the artist sang the lyrics “nobody thought we would ever come this far” this showed that he wanted this moments all his life and people were expecting them to break up. humans dream of getting married to whom they truly love and admire and they may get nervous on their wedding day especially the men because of the responsibility he is about to face. in the seventh picture, the female character is crying which is what we humans call tears of joy. her dream of getting married to her man has finally come to pass which she would remember and adore for the rest of her life. she would have encountered major setback in their relationship but they are getting married at the end which is a thing of joy for her. in this scene, the artist sang in his lyrics “i know i can count on you. my baby will be my best friend too”. this shows that she trusted her lover would finally get married to her and they would live a happy marriage life. in reality, it is also the joy of every woman to get married to her dream man despite the challenges they may have faced in their marriage. in the eighth picture, the priest joins them together in holy matrimony and they are officially husband and wife in a colourful wedding ceremony. the characters wishes have been fulfilled and they are filled with joy in their heart. in this scene, the artist sang in his lyrics “ i can be the perfect one for you”. this showed that they promised to be the best partner for each other thereby loving each other till death. in reality, humans love church wedding especially the christians where the priests or pastors will join igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 257 them together as husband and wife and they are expected to love each other till death part them. in the ninth picture, the characters had their couples dance with music playing in the background so as for them to enjoy themselves. this shows that they are deeply in love with each other and they are ready to spend the rest of their lives with each other. in this scene, the artist sang in his lyrics “i want to be with nobody else but you”. this shows that they are willing to become husband and wife. in reality, humans wish to spend the rest of their lives with people they truly love. figure 2 semiotic analysis of the signs of love in “loving is harder” music video by johnny drille no visual signs verbal signs 1. i go dey for you no matter the weather (i will be there for you in all situations) 2. i’m scared sometimes but then i trust you igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 258 3. you will never hurt me 4. oh my god. this my baby make me go manya (crazy) 5. oh my lord. oh my baby set me on fire 6. when you call, i don’t leave you waiting for long so why don’t you show the same attitude 7. i know my mama no like ya (my mum don’t like you) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 259 8. but my girl no bother i like ya ba bad (my girl is not worried i like her bad) 9. i go dey for you no matter the weather (i will be there for you in all situations) 10 all i want is you denotation meaning (signifier) in the first picture, the male and female characters are shown in an open space like a backyard of a house. the backyard is filled with different flowers to beautify it. the male character is on a denim jacket and a cream trouser with a pair of sneakers and the female character is on a short top and trouser. the male is sitting on a chair and looking away from the female character while the female character is standing afar looking at the male character. their facial expression and their postures show that they are not happy with each other and they have some issues in their relationship. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 260 in the second picture, the male and female characters are sitting on a bed in a room which shows that they are in their bedroom. the male character is on a singlet while the female character is half naked whereby we could see her naked back where she used the blanket to cover her waist. both characters are not facing each other and their facial expression also shows that they just had a fight and clearly they are not happy. in the third picture, the male and female characters are shown in an open place and in their background; they are rail roads and a bridge. the male character is looking directly down beside the female character while the female character faces the male character. their facial expression and body language in this scene shows that they are arguing about something. in the fourth picture, both characters are shown sleeping on a grass which shows they are outdoor. the female character sleeps on the chest of the male character. the male character is on a black t shirt and trouser while the female character put on a crop top and an orange trouser and their body language shows they are working things out in their relationship. in the fifth picture, the female character is shown looking away beside a window in a house. she is on a crop top and her necklace is also visible. there is a blood stain on her chest and also the stain could be seen on her hand and her facial expression is that of a depressed person. in the sixth picture, both characters are shown sitting on the floor of a room and they are beside the window of the room. their facial expression shows that the female character is hurt and sad while the male character is also sad and confused. in the seventh picture, both characters are shown and the male character gently holds the neck of the female character with her eyes closed. this shows that they regretted their actions towards each other and are willing to work things out in their relationship. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 261 in the eighth picture, both characters are shown placing their heads on each other’s head and their facial expression shows that they are happy and satisfied with each other. the sun set and the clouds are visible in their background which shows they are in an open place. in the ninth picture, both characters are shown in an open place holding each other’s arms while looking directly into each other’s eyes. they facial expression shows happiness and that are in love with each other. in the tenth picture, both characters are shown holding each other’s hands. they both stared into each other’s eyes happily. there is a big tree beside them and it was surrounded by grasses and some rocks and the rest of the town could be seen afar which shows that they are on a hill. their facial expression shows that they are so in love with each other. connotation meaning (signified) in the first picture, the characters are shown to be in love but they have some issues in their relationship and they are willing to work things out with each other thereby giving themselves some space as seen in the scene. the artist said in the lyrics “i go dey for you no matter the weather” (i will be there for you in all situations). this shows that the character is so much in love and would do everything possible for their love to remain strong. in reality, humans also face different issues in their love life and they would do everything possible to sustain their love towards each other. in the second picture, both characters sat on the bed and they are not fully clothed which shows that they slept on the same bed overnight and they also made love. they also didn’t face each other and their facial expression indicated that there are some issues going on in their relationship. being together on the same bed means that they are ready to solve any issues they are facing in their love life. in the lyrics, the artist said “i’m scared sometimes but then i trust you”. this shows that the character is scared to lose his lover but he is rest assured that she would never leave him. in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 262 reality, humans love to be close to the person they love even if they have issues that is why we see couples still sleep on the same bed even after a fight. in the third picture, the female character could be seen involving in a serious argument with her lover while the male character looked on just to avoid any form of violence. this shows that the male character is deeply in love and would not want to harm his lover despite their challenges in their relationship and this will also calm his lover is there is no response. the artist sang in his lyrics “you will never hurt me”. this shows that even if his lover argue a lot he is certain she would never hurt him because he knows that she also loves him. in reality, woman are known to argue a lot in a relationship but if the man is calm and patience, they would not be any form of violence in the relationship. love will be the order of the day in such relationship. in the fourth picture, both characters are shown to be relaxing whereby the female character rested on the chest of the male character. a male and female would not sleep on each other’s chest if they are not connected and not in love so this shows that they are deeply in love with each other and they both felt safe around each other. the artist sang in his lyrics “oh my god, this my baby make me go manya (my baby is driving me crazy)”. this shows that he is crazily in love and would not want to lose his lover. in reality, humans show care and affection to their lovers by having physical contacts with each other so as to feel the warmth of themselves. in the fifth picture, the female character is shown to be in pain by showing stains of blood on her chest and hands. this shows that she is heartbroken by the challenges she is facing in her relationship thereby making her unhappy and depressed but she is still in love with her man. the artist sang in his lyrics “oh my lord. oh my baby set me on fire”. this shows that there are both heartbroken but they still love each other deeply. in reality, people get their heartbroken by their lovers but it does not indicate that they cannot still reconcile and love each other. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 263 in the sixth picture, both characters are shown to be on the floor beside each other which shows that they are not willing to let go of each other despite the issues in their relationship. they are definitely not happy with themselves that is why both characters are on the floor reflecting on how they can make things right with each other. the artist sang in his lyrics “when you call, i don’t leave you waiting for so long so why don’t you show me the same attitude”. this shows that the lovers are blaming each other on how the other lover has failed to reciprocate the love shown. in reality, humans also blame each other when they have issues in their love life thereby reflecting on how they could have made things work among themselves. in the seventh picture, both characters are shown to be deeply in love with each other as they have found reason to reconcile. the scene shows that both characters have forgiven each other and they are ready to start afresh in their relationship. the artist sang in his lyrics “i know my mama no like ya (i know my mum don’t like you)”. this shows that despite his mum do not like his woman he is willing to love and care for his woman. in reality, lovers who have broken up can also reconcile with each other so as to get back together. humans give love another chance in their love life. in the eighth picture, both characters are shown being close to each other while feeling the warmth of each other. this shows that they are very attracted to each other and would not want anything to come between them in their love life. their body language shows that they want to be committed to each other. the artist sang in his lyrics “but my girl no bother, i like y aba bad (my girl is not worried i like her bad)”. this shows that the he still loves her so much despite her being a bad girl. in reality, some people love their partners so much despite their flaws and are not willing to let go of them which may or may not have some consequences. in the ninth picture, both characters are shown holding each other arms. this shows that they are comfortable with each other and they are deeply in love. in the scene, both characters maintained eye contact which can also signal love between two individuals. the artist sang in his lyrics “i go dey for you no matter the weather” (i will be with you in all situations). this igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 264 indicates that he would never leave his lover because he is so in love with her. in reality, lovers express love to each other in various ways like kissing, holding hands, caring for each other etc. in the tenth picture, the character faces each other in an open place which is very quiet and filled with nature. in the scene, it can be concluded that the characters are confessing their love for each other and their body language shows that they want to spend the rest of their lives with each other. the artist said in his lyrics “all i want is you”. this shows that he will do anything possible to never let go of his lover and he is willing to spend eternity with his lover. this artist used these sweet words to impress and to show how much he is in love. in reality, humans confess their feelings to the ones they love by taking them to a lovely place and they also use sweet words to impress their lovers. figure 3 semiotic analysis of the signs of love in “wait for me” music video by johnny drille no visual signs verbal signs 1. you are my praise and i will run to the finish line 2. i go dey pray for you every day my love (i will pray for you every day) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 265 3. you hold my love 4. darling promise will you be mine? 5. as i’m leaving you behind, i’m gonna miss your smile 6. i no go leave you run. i no go bounce your call (i won’t leave you and i will return your calls) 7. you will be always on my mind 8. i will be so far away, promise you will wait for me igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 266 9. my love i think of you tonight cos i no dey by your side (my love i’m thinking of love tonight because i’m not beside you) 10. i go see you soon. make you wait for me my dear (i will see you soon so wait for me my dear). denotation meaning (signifier) in the first picture, the male and the female character are shown to be an open place. their background is filled with different kind of trees. the female character is on a crop top and jeans while the male character is on a long sleeve t shirt and a trouser and they are casual wears which shows both character just met. the male character is carrying a big carton that is meant for the female character which shows he is helping the female character. in the second picture, both characters are shown walking together on a street in an open place filled with nature and few houses at their background. their facial expression shows that they are happy and they enjoy each other’s company. in the third picture, both characters are sited on a chair with a decorated table in a room. the room is decorated with various kinds of artificial flowers and this shows they are in a restaurant. the male character put on a shirt with a tie and a trouser while the female character put on a beautiful gown and a lovely necklace. both characters are holding a glass of wine making a cheer. their facial expression shows that they are excited. in the fourth picture, both hands of the characters are shown and a ring is visible on one of the fingers of the female character. the ring on one of her igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 267 fingers is a promise ring as a sign of love to the female character by the male character. in the fifth picture, both characters are shown hugging each other and a bus is visible beside them. the male character is on a military uniform and he is carrying a bag which shows that he is about going away from the female character. the facial expression of the female character showed that she is sad and in tears. in the sixth picture, the male character is shown writing a letter and he is also on his military uniform. this shows that he wants to communicate with the female character. in the seventh picture, the female character is shown siting on a 3 sitter chair in a room. in the scene, she is shown to be reading a letter with so much excited in her face. in the eighth picture, a new character is shown who is an elderly man and he is sitting beside the female character on a 3 sitter chair in a room. the female character is wrapped in a wrapper and her facial expression shows that she is sick. the elderly man is shown to be holding a mug cup with tea which is meant for the female character and his facial expression shows that he is very sad. in the ninth picture, the male character is shown outside of a house sitting on the floor. the male character is shown to be hurt, in sorrow and sadness from his facial expression. the elderly man is standing behind him to console him. this shows that he has received a bad news concerning the female character. in the tenth picture, both characters are shown in an open place filled with grasses. the male character is standing in a manner of waiting for someone why the female character is hugs him from behind. in this scene, the female igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 268 character is on a white dress and the male character is on a denim jacket and a trouser. connotation meaning (signified) in the first picture, the male character helps the female character to carry her big cartoon this is a sign of love shown to others. the male character is portrayed as being a perfect gentleman and a caring person by assisting the female character in carrying her load. this scene also shows that the male character has fallen in love with the female character thereby showing care and compassion towards her. the artist also said in his lyrics “you are my praise and i will run to the finish line”. the artist used sweet words here to show how deeply in love he is with his lover. in reality humans tends to show care and compassion to the people they love. they show it sometime in order to impress their loved ones. in the second picture, both characters are shown walking together on an empty road with excitement on their faces. this shows that they felt safe and are comfortable with each other. no one will want to walk with someone they are not comfortable with on an empty road. this scene helps to portray how the characters are deeply in love. the artist sang the lyrics “i will pray for you every day”. definitely anyone will want to pray for their loved ones and this shows that he is in love. in reality, people will do anything possible to show care for their lovers or loved ones which can also be in form of a prayer to a supreme authority so as to protect or do amazing things for their loved ones. in the third picture, both characters are sited in a restaurant nicely dressed which shows that they are on a date. lovers usually go on a date to have a special moment with each other and also to express their love so as for it to be a memorable day of their lives. this indicates that they are deeply in love with each other. the artist sang the lyrics “you hold my love”. this shows that he would do anything to prove his love for her. in reality, lovers go on dates to express to share a special moment with each other. dates are considered to be a special day for lovers. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 269 in the fourth picture, the male character gave the female character a promise ring as a sign that he would never leave her even if he’s far away from her and that they would eventually get married. this shows that the male character is sincere and has a genuine love for the female character. the artist sang in his lyrics “darling promise you will be miner”. he gave her the ring as a promise of love and also to ward off possible suitors because she is taken and soon to get married. in reality, lovers tends to give each other promise ring as a sign of their commitment to their relationship and to assure their partner of marriage. in the fifth picture, the male character is shown to be going on a journey and from his uniform we could see that he is a military personnel and duty calls. they hug each other which show that they will surely miss each other because of the love they have for each other. the artist sang the lyrics “as i’m leaving you behind, i’m gonna miss your smile”. this shows that he will surely miss his lover and he would not want to stay too long so as see her lover again. in reality, people also leave their loved ones behind due to unavoidable circumstances like their job and the likes. leaving a loved one behind takes a lot of courage and they would surely miss them. in the sixth picture, the male character writes a letter to his lover because he misses her and he would want to do anything possible to hear from his lover. he also knows that his lover will be waiting patiently to hear from him which shows that their love is genuine and he want to make their love stronger because of the distance between them. the artist sang the lyrics “i won’t leave you and i will return your calls”. this shows that he is committed to their relationship and he will surely reach out to her lover to make their strong firmer. in reality, distance can be a barrier in a relationship between lovers but through constant communication, this barrier can be broken and this will make their love strong. in the seventh picture, the female character received the letter from the far away male character with lots of excitement in her face. this shows that she has been expecting the letter from her lover and she received it with so much fulfilment and assurance in her heart. this indicates that their relationship is on the right tract and booming stronger despite the distance. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 270 the artist sang the lyrics “you will be always on my mind”. he wrote the letter to her to show that he misses her and that she is always on his mind. this shows the level of love he has for her. in reality, loved ones will expect feedback from their lovers that are far away so as to feel loved by them. in the eighth picture, the female character is shown to be sick because she was wrapped up in a wrapper and her dad was also shown beside her taking care of her while her lover is far away. this shows the level of love a father and a child shares. it is the duty of every responsible father to show love to their children in all situations. the artist sang the lyrics “i will be so far away, promise you will wait for me”. this shows that he knows he would not be there for her at all times because he is far away but he is assuring her that he would surely come back for her. in reality, humans will need some sort of help when faced with challenges and when their lovers are not on ground, it is the duty of families to show love to them in time of needs. in the ninth picture, the male character is shown to be in great sorrow when he heard of the demise of his lover. he felt disappointed in his self because he was not there for her when she needed him the most but he could not help the situation. this shows that he is deeply in love with her and he regretted leaving her behind. the artist sang the lyrics “my love i’m thinking of you tonight because i’m not by your side”. this shows that despite the death of his lover, her thought is still on his mind and he could not imagine life without her. in reality, sometimes humans loses their loved ones to death which could cause a great sour in their heart and will take a lot of time to heal because of the love they shared. in the tenth picture, the male character is shown in an open place feeling the presence of his lover because we could see his lover in a white dress hugging the male character. in africa which nigeria is part of, a dead person’s ghost is usually portrayed to be in a white cloth especially in movies and music videos. this shows that the male character feels he is not alone and that his lover is still waiting patiently for him wherever she may be. the artist sang the lyrics “i will see you soon so wait for me my dear”. this shows that he is sure that his dead lover is still waiting for her in the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 271 afterlife because she is in love with him and she has promised to wait for him wherever she may be. in reality, humans also believe in life after death and that they would surely see their loved ones after death. they also believe that their dead loved ones will watch over them because of the love they shared when they were alive. conclusion the semiotic signs found in the music videos are the visual and verbal signs. the first music video “count on you” is about a man who is in a romantic relationship with a beautiful woman. he loves the woman and he proposed to her to marry him which she accepted. the second music video “loving is harder” is about two lovers in a romantic relationship who are facing issues in their relationship but they were able to resolve it because of the love they have for each other. the third music video “wait for me” is about a military man who falls in love with a civilian woman. he left the woman for military service and told his lover to wait for him that he will surely be back for her. his lover died before he came back and he is still rest assured that his lover is still waiting for him in another realm. the meaning of the semiotic signs found in the music videos through roland barthes theory is denotation meaning and connotation meaning. the denotation meaning of the theme of love in the music videos is displayed through the characters with their facial expressions, dressings, dialogues and material things. they used this to portray the concept of love. the connotation meaning of the theme of love in the music videos is about the gestures, appearance and dialogue of the characters. the gestures displayed by the characters shows that they are in love with the way they hug, hold hands, and stare into each other’s eyes as well as settlement of their dispute. the choice of clothing for the characters like wearing of suit for the male character and wearing of a beautiful gown for the female character when on a date or wedding ceremony and so on shows the concept of love. the words spoken by the artist in the lyrics like using of metaphors and sweet words to express love embodies the concept of love. this study relates the concept of love shown by the characters in the music videos to real life. this study concluded that their expressions are not different from real life expression of love. this study recommends that more research should be done on semiotics of love especially in movies. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 272 references ariremako a. badmus-lawal, k. & farinde, r.o. (2021) “communicative needs in second and foreign language learning: a critical perspective”. ado journal of french and related disciplines. ekiti state university. pp 163-172. barthes, r. (1977). elements of semiology. new york: hill and wang. bouzida, f. (2014). “the semiology analisis in media studies-roland barthes approach”. proceeding of socient 14, international conference on social sciences and humanities. chandler, d. (2007). semiotics: the basic. new york: routledge. chandler, d. (2014). semiotics for beginners. new york: routledge. danesi, m. (2004). messages, signs and meanings: a basic textbook in semiotics and communication theory (3rd edn). toronto: canadian scholars press inc. danesi, m. (2019). the semiotics of love. university of toronto. palgrave macmillian: canada. eagleton, t. (2008). literary theory: an introduction. united states: university of minnesota press. engebretsen, m., kennedy, h. (2020). data visualization in society. new york: amsterdam university press. farinde, r. o. (2011). a semiotic analysis of wole soyinka’s death and king’s horseman. journal of the linguistic association of nigeria, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 51-58. fiske, j. (1990). introduction to communication studies. united kingdom: routledge. gonzaga. (2006). romantic love and sexual desire in close relationships. the american psychological association, vol.6(2). pp. 163-179. illouz, e. (1997). consuming the romantic utopia: love and the cultural contradictions of capitalism. california: university of california press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 273 internet encyclopedia of philosophy. retrieved from http://www.iep.utm.edu/love/. accessed on 1st february 2021. johnny drille. (2015). “wait for me”. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ab9dtauosmw johnny drille. (2019). “count on you”. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ryenms_skty johnny drille. 2021. “loving is harder”. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tqozcsrbws4 johnny drille’s biography. retrieved from www.thecityceleb.com/biography/johnnydrille. accessed on december 2020. littlejohn, o., stephen, w., & foss, k. a. (2009). encyclopedia of communication theory. california: sage publication. merrell, f. (2001). charles sanders pierce’s concept of the sign. the routledge companion to semiotics and linguistics. new york: routledge. saussure, ferdinand de (1915). course in general linguistics (trans. wade baskin). london: fontana/collins. sebeok, t. a. (2001). signs: an introduction to semiotics. toronto: university of toronto press incorporated. sternberg, r. j. (1986). a triangular theory of love. psychological review, 93(2), 119–135. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol 9 no.2, 2023 www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/igwebuikejournals.php a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 22 the taint of secularism on christianity in nigeria: implications for the success of christian evangelization luka markus barau department of christian religious studies kaduna state university, kadunanigeria lukmarkb@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.31621.83688 astract the 30 years of wars or reformation wars of religion were followed by secularization, a seemingly apparent solution to religious intolerance. however, despite the benefits of secularism, it became another challenge to christianity and won the struggle but not without leaving its taint on christianity. it was in this context that the missionaries made so much sacrifice and brought the christian faith to this part of west africa called nigeria. as was the case in europe, the negative impact of secularism persists in nigeria to date among christians thereby putting the integrity of the gospel into question. using a desktop preview method, this paper analyses the negative dimensions of secular humanism, a side word for secularism. the paper further examines their implications on the success of evangelization otherwise known as christian religious outreach. the biblical perspective which is considered the central christian authority is explored as a guide to true christian humanism. keywords: secularism, christianity, nigeria, christian, evangelization. introduction to justify the actions of martin luther and other reformers in church history, historians and scholars often cite the ills of the medieval church. particular reference is made to its clergy. in a nutshell, it is disparagingly called the dark ages. admittedly, there were serious dark issues that necessitated the reformation. ‚by the end of the 15th century all groups in society except those in whose interest it was to maintain the running sore of europe. the groups and their complaints were mainly the secularization and corruption of the church which had caused it to lose its raison d’etre, namely, the preaching of the gospel and the cure of souls and to become a sordid money, power-seeking institution. more than this, people chafed under the scandals arising from the benefits of clergy and the list was long‛ (ferguson et al 1988:561). therefore the reformation, unexpectedly luka markus barau 23 divided (protestant and catholics) as it turned out to be, must be appreciated. its legacies have been most debatably ‚credited with increasing literacy rates, improving lives of women, birthing modern capitalism, advancing the scientific revolution and giving rise to protestant work ethics‛ (hill 2017). of course, the above is in addition to the reformed life of the clergy, the establishment of seminaries and theological institutions etc. however, did reformation remedy all the ills of the mediaeval church? unfortunately, as the saying goes ‘a solution to one problem brings us face to face with another’ the assertion of christ that ‚a house divided against itself cannot stand‛ (mk 3:25) applies. among the sad unintended consequences of reformation were the european wars of religion or reformation wars which culminated in the 30 years war (1618-1648). it was largely a christian internecine war. it exhausted europe but thanks to the treaty of westphalia (october 1648). the wars not only exhausted europe but brought disenchantment with christianity as the official state religion. and this eventually paved way for secularism and secularization of western societies (hitchcock 1982:34). it was from this circumstance that christianity was packaged and brought to africa. from above it should be noted that secularism was not opted for as a lesser evil in the western world but as a solution to religious intolerance. in the language of upreti, ‚only a secular state is capable of protecting people’s religious and cultural rights not a theocratic state with a declared state religion. from this perspective, it can be argued that secularism is fundamentally important in protecting and ensuring people’s religious and cultural rights which constitute the integral aspect of human rights‛ (upreti 2021). this paper hereby acknowledges the positive dimension of secularism. however, the searchlight of the paper is focused on the negative impact on nigerian christianity and its implications on evangelization. the early christian missionaries must be applauded for their sacrifices and heroic effort to sow the christian faith in nigeria. their effort has undoubtedly borne much fruit. however, does nigerian christianity not bear a trace or taint of secularism? what is secularism? what are its features on nigerian christianity? what are the likely effects can it have on the success or failures of evangelization or christian outreach? and what stand does christianity take on it? this paper will attempt to examine these questions. clarification of key terms key terms that require analysis in this paper are secular humanism, secularism and secularization, evangelization and christian outreach. the taint of secularism on christianity in nigeria: implications for the success of christian evangelization 24 secular humanism, secularism and secularization it is noted that in our contemporary world ‚any research on secularism and secularization must begin with a definition of religion, immediately problems arise because of the absence of a generally accepted definition‛ (haralambos et al 1980:473). by religion here, we are concerned with active and honest participation in institutional religion namely christianity and the internalization of christian values. clarification of the term secular humanism begins with the term humanist. hitchcock identifies four quite distinct meanings of humanist (hitchcock 1982:8). first a humanist in the restricted sense is someone interested, often professionally, in those intellectual and academic disciplines called the humanist which deals with both the non-rational and rational side of man. traditionally they include literature, history, fine art, philosophy and sometimes theology. an example of this is christian humanists like c.s. lewis. the second meaning studies man as a dignified being whose deed can be noble and inspiring. the third meaning of humanist expresses a special loyalty to man as distinct from nature. man’s uniqueness is a matter of concern here though acknowledged to come from god. the fourth meaning on the other hand goes to the extreme to not only acknowledge man’s uniqueness but set him apart from god. this is where the trouble begins as the usage justifiably attracts the adjective ‚secular‛. all alone ‚to call someone humanist is usually a term of honour. it is when the adjective ‚secular‛ is added that the trouble begins‛. it comes from the latin ‚ saeculum‛ which means ‘time’ or ‘age’ (as in the latin prayer of the catholic church “in secular saeculorum” – literally ‚through all ages of age‛ commonly translated as ‚forever and ever‛. to call someone secular ‚means that he is completely time bound, totally a child of his age, a creator of history with no vision of eternity, unable to see anything in the perspective of eternity, he cannot believe that god exists or act in human affairs. moral standards, for example, tend to be merely those commonly accepted by the society in which he lives, and he believes that everything changes so that there are no enduring or permanent values‛ (hitchcock 1982:11). thus the phrase ‚secular humanism‛ and secularism will be used interchangeably in this paper. the simple definition by oxford advance learners dictionary is ‚the belief that religion should not be involved in the organization of society, education etc‛. the secularist creed as revised and published in 1973 is outlined in the humanist manifestoes (aha 1973:7-11) as follows; “ traditional dogmatic or authoritarian religions that place revelation, god, ritual, or creed above human need or experience do a disservice to the human species. luka markus barau 25 ““..we can discover no divine purpose or providence for the human species. while there is much that we do not know, humans are responsible for what we are or will become. no deity will save us; we must save ourselves. ““. we affirm that moral values derive their source from human experience. ethics is autonomous and situational, needing no theological or ideological sanction. in the area of sexuality, we believe that intolerant attitudes often cultivated by orthodox religions and puritanical cultures, unduly repress sexual conduct. the right to birth control, abortion and divorce should be recognized. from the tone of the secularist creed above, they are vehemently intolerant of religion and as advocated by paul kurtz, editor of the humanist magazine, religion should be banished from the public domain. (cf kurtz 1975:177). secularization is a process of actualizing a secularist dream, ‚the process of removing the influence or control that religion has over something‛ (oxford advanced learners dictionary). it is popularly believed that the term ‚had its origin in the peace treaty of westphalia (1648), designating the transfer of ecclesiastical property into princely hands, as the loss of the church temporal power is one of the most important dimensions of secularization‛ (ferguson et al 1988:635). however, worthy of notice is jose cassanova's (1994) analyses of dimensions of secularization. he identifies three aspects of secularization. i. secularization as differentiation; this form of secularization occurs when a non-religious sphere of life (such as the state and the economy) splits and becomes independent of religion. ii. secularization is the decline of religious beliefs and practices; in this case, secularization occurs when fewer individuals partake in religious activities. kendal project (heele et al 2000) concurs with this describing it as a decline in traditional theistic religion (based on a strong belief in god) evident by the falling numbers involved in the congregational domain. iii. secularization as privatization: this aspect of secularization explains how religion stops playing any part in public life and does not even try to influence how politicians make decisions or individuals in society choose to live their lives. in this case, religion retreats to the privacy of individuals from the public domain. constitutionally, nigeria is ambiguous on the secularity of the state. okeke (2013) noted the contradiction; ‚the nigerian 1999 constitution provided for religion and secularity and the same time in four sections. these are (1) section 10 which attempts to establish the the taint of secularism on christianity in nigeria: implications for the success of christian evangelization 26 secularity of the nigerian state by providing that the government of the federation or a state shall not adopt any religion as state religion (2) section 38 which re-enforces the right of nigerians to freedom of thought, conscience in its 4 subsections (3) section 275 and 280 which make a volt face and contradict the earlier quoted sections. section 275 provides for the creation of state sharia courts of appeal while section 280 provides for the creation of states customary courts of appeal‛ (okeke 2013). therefore as nigeria was never a christian theocratic state and is constitutionally disfavored, the first dimension of secularization does apply here fully. pam adds that ‚probably the most emotive and potentially explosive issue in nigeria today is our constitutional religious imbalance‛ (pam 2017) the second aspect of secularization the decline of christian religious beliefs and practices can hardly be applied to nigeria. pam (2017) noted that ‚the 2002 pew global attitudes project scored nigeria 92% (second only to indonesia) in the importance of religion to people‛ pam (2017). the third dimension of secularization too cannot be applied to the nigeria christian situation. however, we should bear in mind that the challenge in focus is syncretism (mixture) of christian values with secular philosophies and its effect on the success of evangelization. evangelization/christian outreach it is necessary to state that the terms ‘evangelization’ and ‘christian religious outreach’ are equivalent. while the former tends to be catholic in usage, the latter is protestant. godfrey (2014) sees both terms as ‚the effort that all baptized christians are making to call christians to keep to their faith and none christian to conversion‛ (godfrey 2014:138). besides, christian outreach, other side words include evangelism, proselytization, ministration, preaching etc. this paper employs a working definition of mcneil (2006:357) that ‚evangelization can be properly viewed as the entire work of the church to ‚proclaim the reign of god‛ mk 1:15). and that one can in summary fashion divide the responsibility of evangelization into three broad categories of ministries: i. evangelismproclamation of the gospel to the ‘unchurched’ within our society or cultures. ii. missionary activitythe cross-cultural proclamation of the gospel. iii. pastoral activitynourishing and deepening the gospel among those already committed to it. various approaches to evangelization by various christian denominations include openair preaching, trickle-down evangelism, door-to-door evangelism, ashes to go evangelism luka markus barau 27 on ash wednesday, evangelizing through the sermon, lifestyle evangelism, friendship evangelism, creative evangelism, child evangelism, using gospel tract, televangelism, radio, internet, phone, personal evangelism, creation, archeology, prophetic evangelism and use of props. features of secularism in nigerian christianity as earlier stated, the aspects of secularism to be focused on christianity in nigeria today are the few from within that tend to pose a challenge to the integrity of christianity. i. religious pluralism and relativismthese ideologies are part of secularism that followed the reformation and consequences of splits in christianity and the religious wars between denominations. a case in europe applies as nigeria tends to have more religious groups. ‚a pervasive sense of relativism leads members of european society at large to assure that religion is essentially a matter of taste, that there are many paths to heaven and that the concept of a true church is outmoded‛ (durham 2022). this phenomenon of christianity in nigeria seems to be best captured by berger as caused by secularism ‚due to secularization, berger states that religions have become almost institutionalised and marketed as a business would market a product. religions become more flexible and less attached to their roots, as they try to attract people. this way, religion loses its essence and it stops becoming about the religion and starts becoming simply about attracting people to it‛ (berger 1970). this religious pluralism caused by secularization explains the proliferation of churches or christian denominations and floods of posters in our streets to attract ‘customers’. of course, the economic dimension cannot be ignored. ii. church-state split and low political consciousness and emancipationas earlier mentioned, the church-state split in european societies marked the beginning of secularization and this was already in place before the advent of christianity in nigeria. this has a negative impact on christianity for ‚if the religion-society split gives rise to the feeling that christianity has nothing to say beyond individual salvation and no distinctive world view affecting education, politics and business, then in this sense secularization is corrosive of christianity‛ (ferguson et al 1988:634). this secular impact left many christians in nigeria with low political consciousness and a dangerously complacent attitude to non-christian domination at the federal and some state levels. however, the bitter experience of recent years is making a difference as observed by abati, ‚with muslim as nigerian president for eight years and with the nigerian christian community convinced that a muslim-led nigerian presidency persecutes christians and pampers muslims, the church of nigeria appears resolved to get into the arena of action‛ (abati 2022). the taint of secularism on christianity in nigeria: implications for the success of christian evangelization 28 iii. rationalization to religious liberalismrationalization became one of the key features of enlightenment which consequentially created liberals within the church leading to religious liberalism in europe ironically to a degree the churches themselves are primary vehicles by which secularism is spread“religious liberals applied the principle of freedom to matters of religion in roughly the same way it was applied to politics. to a certain extent, they favoured the democratization of the churches. more seriously, they applied it to belief itself. they became resistant or actively hostile to authority in religion; (hitchcock 1982:117). in the name of civilization and modernity, this same attitude persists in the nigerian church. critics of the clergy or church authority are many and often employ shrewd means to discredit church authority. when their opinion fails to count they are confrontational or take to social media to smear the authority. this same emphasis on the principle of freedom became a catalyst, logically leading to revolutions and movements which expressed them in feminism, gay culture, sexual permissiveness and perversions, and death cultures such as suicide and abortion etc. iv. desacralization/ desecrationthe desacralization thesis simply put ‚means that supernatural forces are no longer seen as controlling the world, action is no longer directed by religious belief and human consciousness has become secularized‛ (halarambos et al 2008:441). in the view of max weber, ‚the modern society is characterized by rationalization and intellectualization and above all by the disenchantment of the world, the world is no longer charged with mystery and magic; the supernatural has been banished from the society‛ (gerth et al 1948). while this notion of desacralization applies to 18th, 19th or 20th-century europe, it cannot be directly applied to africa even in the 21st century. the african worldview is still persistently very religious and in her worldview, the profane and the sacred cannot be separated‛ (kanu 2015:96) so then, how does desacralization feature in nigerian christianity? perhaps a closely related word to apply should be desecration which is ‚the treatment of a holy thing or place without respect‛ (oxford advanced learners dictionary). both desecration and desacralization express fearlessness and disbelief in the significance of the supernatural. desecrations in nigerian christianity include stage-managed miracles whose broadcasting was banned and effected 30th march 2004, the abuse of public oath-taking with the bible, the use of comedians in the churches sanctuary to entertain church members or raise funds, use of the bible or cross or biblical citations cross by the comedians, nudity and immodest dressing especially by the females in places of worship etc. v. individualization and increased privacyafrican society is known worldwide for the sense of blood ties, kinship or community living. but with the advent of colonization luka markus barau 29 and globalization rooted in secularism, individualization set in. while lamenting this challenge to evangelization, durham (2022) noted how ‚individualization makes old door-to-door contacting systems much more difficult. at a deeper level, efforts to share religious beliefs are increasingly seen as an encroachment on privacy. but efforts to share religious belief are increasingly being viewed as aggressive, impolite and wrongfully intruding on privacy‛ vi. individualization, capitalist mentality and greedwhile we admit much to appreciate from secularism, one sad development it infects christianity with is greed. in nigerian christianity, it has reached a point of scandal for the majority of adherents who are relatively poor. kanu (2015:240) associate it with capitalism and the disintegration of african kinship. ‚this (african kinship) is in clear contrast to this kind of spirit is the western capitalist mentality, which encourages unlimited personal accumulation, leading to aggression and violence and an attitude of consumerism that undermines solidarity and cooperation.‛ in this regard, the lifestyle of christian clerics and politicians in nigeria is a living testimony to the taint of secularism. the private jet pastor saga and the unprecedented luxurious life of other christian clergies only remind us of the pre-reformation church. ‚it is believed by many that lavish and ostentatious lifestyle of higher clergy which alienated them from the suffering masses contributed to the initial success of luther’s revolt and its earlier popularity with the disgruntled peasants‛. (ezewoko et al 2008:111) implications on the success of evangelization the aforementioned features of secularism (and more) in nigerian christianity as it happened in europe centuries ago have implications for evangelization in nigeria. the first implication of secularization in the church is drawn from christ’s assertion in mark 3:25 that ‚a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand‛. the phrase ‚cannot stand‛ can justifiably be taken to mean weakness or ineffectiveness. the 30 years of the reformation war (1618-1648) weakened christendom and the church-state split further loosen the church’s grip on society. on arrival in nigeria, the church-state split mentality left christians with a complacent attitude politically and relatively ineffective. the christian pluralism of denominations and relativism of religious truth has serious implications in the mind of both non-christians and lukewarm christians. scepticism is the inevitable implication as voiced out by michel de montaigne: ‚if a variety of religious groups each claim to have the truth, and each claims that all the others are in error, does it not seem reasonable that all of them are in error?‛ (hitchcock 1982:33). it was this scepticism that led many to publicly profess atheism after abandoning christianity. it is the taint of secularism on christianity in nigeria: implications for the success of christian evangelization 30 likely too that muslims in nigeria can resist evangelization on this same ground. concerning rationalism and religious liberalism, their effects are ambivalent. while it must be emphasized that not all religious truth will be appreciated by the rationalist, it in some way helps to provide a better understanding of christian truth if well defended by apologists and the church authority to be more credible. but liberalism makes christianity lose its essence and makes a compromise. in this way, its beauty is lost from the sight of potential converts and a weak member eventually falls out. most seriously, christianity is identified with westernization and immorality (or said to approve of it). desecration in its different dimensions as explained above has also succeeded in creating doubts of credibility in christianity. for example ‚i share in the scepticism that suspects some charismatic ministers who broadcast such events without adequately checking the genuineness of the miracles to aggrandize their ministries and gain followers‛ (armstrong 2004). the stage-managed miracles concerned here and another form of desecration highlighted above maliciously discredit christianity, portraying it as a scam to the outside world. the capitalist mentality and the greed it breeds which is best expressed in the life of the christian elites have done so much disservice to the image of christianity too. how can a potential convert to christianity or a lukewarm christian see the person of christ in a greedy and worldly christian cleric? in this way the success of evangelization is frustrated. the christian stand on secularism to begin with, it should be noted that ‚christians are by definition humanist. they cannot acquiesce in a philosophy which denies the goodness of god’s creation by degrading humanity. there is a god-given natural dignity to man which even the best of the pagans have recognized and which christians must affirm‛ (hitchcock 1982:9) amid a continually multiplying number of christian groups, we can only resort to a central authority, the holy bible to provide clues of the christian stand on secularism. however, we cannot exhaustively cite biblical texts on secularism. the words word and worldly seem to be used in place of secular. god created man in his image and gave him dominion over the earth (cf gen 1:26). he made him little less than god and crowns him with honour and glory. yet god commanded him ‚i am the lord your god, you shall have no other gods before me‛ (ex 2-3). luka markus barau 31 christian supporters of separation of church and state also cite the following texts as foreshadowing it; ‚my kingdom is not of this world, if my kingdom were of this world my servants would have been fighting that i might not be delivered over to the jews ( cf jn 18:36). ‚render unto caesar the things that are caesar’s and to god the things that are god’s‛ (mtt 22:21) in pauline epistles, he admonished christians to pay absolute obedience to civil authority and pray for their rulers (1 tim 2:1-2, titus 3:1, pet 2:13-17 and rom 13). however, paul acknowledges the extreme godlessness and moral perversion of secularism (cf rom 1:1832) and then warned ‚do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind‛ (cf rom 12:2) conclusion the initial struggle of christianity with secularism was gloomy as it was made more complicated with scientific growth. however, even the most orthodox and fanatical christian must admit that secularism has some benefits even to christian evangelization. education and medicine for example which were useful instruments for christian missionaries were advanced by secularism. however, the infiltration of secularism ideology continues to pose challenges not only to christian evangelization in nigeria but to our african identity. the history of christianity is a history of challenges like persecutions and heresies from which some good came out. secularism must be seen as such a formidable threat attacking from within. and newer and more effective modern ways must be developed with optimism to come with the modern challenge knowing that as far as christ is with his church ‚the power of death shall not prevail against it‛ (matt 16:18). recommendations considering the force of globalization in the 20th and 21st centuries, one can say that secularization is a global phenomenon. however, christianity is a special victim as it emerged from the same root as colonization and the negative secularization of the west which completely severed religion from state affairs. this is the more reason christians need to correct this mistaken identification. from the analysis so far, i hereby make the following recommendations: to the christian clerics, i recommend active participation in ecumenical and interreligious dialogue to help create a better understanding of christian values of secularization. the taint of secularism on christianity in nigeria: implications for the success of christian evangelization 32 to christian parents and guardians, i recommend keeping watchful eyes on your children concerning the use of television and social media. exercise your god-given right to their dressing, choice of friends and peer group and participation in christian religious activities. but with your lifestyle, you can do much more. to the generality of the christian faithful, i recommend constructive engagement in the dialogue of life with non-christians and fellow christians alike. this may include live interactions through sports, studies, invitations and visitation at major feasts like christmas or easter, sallah or weddings. also planning and execution of common projects like clearing of drainage, construction of community bridge etc are other fora to create a better understanding of selves. the pulpit is particularly an important instrument for christian clerics to teach christian values and deemphasize secular values. but above all with their personal and ecclesiastical resources at their disposal, i recommend they renounce greed and selfishness, and teach and preach by touching the lives of the needy. also as christian elders, i recommend their children and spouses not to bear the taint of secularization to attract reproach (cf titus 1:6) references aha (1973) humanist manifestoes i and ii. buffalo, n.y: prometheus books armstrong c (2004). do nigerian miracle ministries discredit the faith‛? retrieved 30th october. abati r. (2022) ‚politics and the church in nigeria‛ in premium times 15th march 2022. berger p. (1970) a rumor of angles: modern society and the rediscovery of the supernatural. london: allen lane. cassanova j. (1994) public religion in the modern world. chicago: university of chicago press. ezewoko i. & agwuocha c (2008). ‚the catholic priesthood and the problem of ‘being’ and ‘having’‛. in: nacaths, journal of african theology. vol 18 issn-1463. ferguson, s.b, wright d.f & packer j.i (1988) ‚entry on secularization‛ new dictionary of theology. gerth, h.h & mills c.w (eds)(1948) from max weber essays in sociology. london: routledge & kegan paul. godfrey, e.a (2014) ‚christian religious outreach or evangelization: the means to transformation in nigeria‛ in journal of christian religious studies. vol 2. no 2. is2276 hil,l m. (2017). ‚the reformation: its history and legacy‛. retrieved 12 october 2022. hitchcock j. (1982) what is secular humanism? why humanism became secular and how it is changing our world. michigan: servant books. haralambos m, holborn m. & heald r (2008) sociology: themes and perspectives. london: harper collins publishers. kanu, i.a (2015). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. jos. augustinian publications nigerian. luka markus barau 33 kurtz, p. ed,(1975). the humanist alternative. buffalo n.y; prometheus books mcneil l. (2006). the entry ‚evangelization‛ in the new dictionary of theology. bangalore: theological publications in india. pam, j. (2017) ‚a review of the secularity of the nigerian 1999 constitution‛ retrieved 30th october 2022. upreti g. (2021). why nepal should be a secular state? retrieved 28th october 2022. 116 artificial intelligence and its societal legal implications donatus, uzoma okwara, ph.d directorate of general studies federal university of technology owerri, imo state, nigeria & obinna, victor obiagwu, ph.d directorate of general studies federal university of technology owerri, imo state, nigeria & samuel, ugochukwu obasi, ph.d directorate of general studies federal university of technology owerri, imo state, nigeria & odera, cosmas udogu, ph.d department of philosophy seat of wisdom seminary, owerri, imo state, nigeria & nkechi, fidelia okorie department of business administration and management kingsley ozurumba mbadiwe university, ideato, imo state, nigeria obinnaobiagwu71@gmail.com doi: 10.13140rg.2.2.14554.96967 abstract artificial intelligence (ai) has drastically changed many facets of contemporary society, including the legal system and its ramifications. the legal ramifications of ai technology growth are examined in this abstract. the capacity of ai to make decisions on its own poses serious concerns about responsibility. it may be difficult for traditional legal theories to determine who is responsible for harm caused by ai systems that operate without human input. legislators and courts throughout the world are having difficulty coming up with legal guidelines that would hold ai itself, its users, or even its creators liable for damages. as ai offers previously unheard-of capacities for data collecting and processing, privacy problems are a major concern. strict guidelines on data handling procedures and openness are imposed by laws such as the ccpa in california and the gdpr in europe, which aim to strike a balance between innovation and individual rights. ai-generated content presents new problems for intellectual property laws, igniting discussions about copyright and ownership. it is getting more and harder to define authorship and ownership in the age of automated content generation and algorithmic creations. the legal environment surrounding ai is further complicated by ethical issues. robust legal dealings are necessary because of issues like algorithmic bias, prejudice, and the ethical application of ai in sensitive fields like criminal justice. in conclusion, even if ai has the potential to be a game-changer, its legal ramifications demand that privacy, liability, intellectual property, and ethical norms be carefully considered. to ensure ai's igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 117 incorporation into society is in line with core values of justice, fairness, and accountability, addressing these issues requires interdisciplinary collaboration between legal scholars, legislators, technologists, and ethicists. keywords: artifical intelligence, decision, legal, legislator, technology introduction artificial intelligence (ai) holds the potential to completely transform industries and civilizations around the globe. it is a paradigm change in technology. ai has enormous and revolutionary possibilities, ranging from driverless cars to customized healthcare. but this promise has important legal ramifications that go against accepted wisdom and pose difficult moral dilemmas. fundamentally, artificial intelligence (ai) refers to systems that are able to carry out operations like language translation, problem-solving, and decision-making that normally need human intelligence. these systems work by applying complex algorithms to analyze enormous volumes of data, frequently producing results that go beyond what can be accomplished with conventional programming. liability is one of the main legal issues that ai raises. as ai systems get more adept at making decisions on their own, it gets harder to assign blame for results. for example, in the case of autonomous cars, who bears the liability in the event of an accident—the ai, the programmer, or the manufacturer? in situations where ai's autonomous decision-making processes muddy traditional ideas of causality and culpability, existing legal frameworks may find it difficult to assign blame. ai and privacy law also interact, especially when it comes to data security and monitoring. concerns concerning individual privacy rights and the security of personal information are raised by ai's dependence on massive data collecting. european regulatory frameworks such as the general data protection regulation (gdpr) aim to tackle these issues, however they encounter difficulties in adjusting to ai-driven driven technologies that continuously evolve and exceed traditional data protection measures. as societies grapple with the implications of ai on social justice and equality, ethical considerations also loom large in the ai landscape. problems like algorithmic bias, in which ai systems unintentionally perpetuate discriminatory outcomes based on race, gender, or socioeconomic status, highlight the ethical imperative of responsible ai development and deployment. furthermore, intellectual property law faces new challenges in the realm of ai-generated creations, raising issues related to ownership and copyright when ai systems autonomously generate creative works, such as art, music, or literature. determining the legal status of ai-generated content is essential to enforcing ethical standards. in order to handle these complex issues, the legal and regulatory environment must proactively change as ai technologies continue to advance at a rapid rate. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 118 the challenge for policymakers, legal experts, and business participants is to strike a balance between innovation and regulatory supervision in order to fully utilize ai's promise and reduce any hazards to society. meaning of artificial intelligence: ai is the stimulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think and act like human. learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception and language comprehension are example of cognitive abilities. artificial intelligence, or ai, is a concept referring to computer algorithms that solve problems using techniques associated with human intelligence: logical reasoning, knowledge representation and recall, language processing, and pattern recognition. ai is currently used to build a wide variety of applications— from customer service chat bots to complex earthquake or crime prediction programs. it is the science and engineering of making intelligent machines, especially intelligent computer programs. it is related to the similar task of using computers to understand human intelligence, but ai does not have to confine itself to methods that are biologically observable. artificial intelligence (ai), sometimes called machine intelligence, is intelligence demonstrated by machines, in contrast to the natural intelligence displayed by humans and other animals, such as learning and problem solving. there are three levels of artificial intelligence: ani, agi and asi. ani (artificial narrow intelligence) – is the first level that can make a decade only in one sphere. for example, there's ai that can beat the world chess champion in chess, but that's the only thing it does. agi (artificial general intelligence) – ai that reaches and then passes the intelligence level of a human, meaning it has the ability to ‗reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly, and learn from experience. asi (artificial super intelligence) – an intellect that is much smarter than the best human brain in practically every field, including scientific creativity, general wisdom and social skills. meaning of law law refers to a system of rules and principles established by a society or government to regulate behavior and enforce order. it is typically codified and enforced through institutions such as courts and law enforcement agencies. in aquinas' philosophy, law is defined as "an ordinance of reason for the common good, made by him who has care of the community, and promulgated" (summa theologiae, i-ii, q. 90, a. 4). this definition highlights several key elements of aquinas' understanding of law: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 119 rationality: law is a product of reason, reflecting the divine order and the natural law written on the hearts of all human beings. common good: the purpose of law is to promote the common good, that is, the well-being and flourishing of individuals and society as a whole. legitimate authority: law must be established by a legitimate authority, such as a ruler or government, with the responsibility to care for the community. promulgation: law must be publicly known and communicated to those whom it governs. meaning of judiciary the judiciary is one of the three branches of government, responsible for interpreting and applying the law. it ensures that laws are applied fairly and consistently, resolves disputes, and safeguards individual rights. in many countries, it's independent of the executive and legislative branches to maintain impartiality and uphold the rule of law. the judiciary is a fundamental component of any democratic society, serving as the guardian of justice and the rule of law. its primary role is to interpret and apply laws, resolve disputes, and administer justice impartially. this branch of government comprises courts, judges, and other legal institutions tasked with ensuring that the principles outlined in a nation's constitution and laws are upheld. key functions of the judiciary include interpreting laws: the judges interpret statutes, regulations, and constitutional provisions to determine their meaning and application to specific cases as it comes. adjudicating disputes: courts hear cases brought before them and make decisions based on the facts presented and the applicable law. this process involves resolving conflicts between individuals, organizations, or the government. upholding rights and liberties: the judiciary protects individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the constitution, such as freedom of speech, religion, and due process. checks and balances: it serves as a check on the power of the executive and legislative branches, ensuring that they operate within the bounds of the law and do not exceed their authority. judicial review: in many legal systems, the judiciary has the authority to review the constitutionality of laws and government actions. this power allows courts to strike down laws or executive actions that violate the constitution. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 120 setting precedent: judicial decisions establish legal precedent, which guides future interpretations of the law and influences subsequent court rulings. independence: judicial independence is crucial to ensure that judges can make decisions free from undue influence or pressure from the other branches of government or outside interests. in sum, the judiciary plays a vital role in upholding the principles of democracy, ensuring accountability, and safeguarding the rights and liberties of individuals within a society. law and morality the effort to completely separate law from morality is a futile one. the influence of morality on the development of law is too obvious to be denied, even by the legal positivists. thus, for example, holmes admits that law is full of phraseology derived from morality, and by the mere force of language one frequently crosses from one domain to the other without realizing it (holmes, 1897). the relationship between law and morality is so close that the line of demarcation between them is not always easy to draw, because they often overlap. in all communities, says hart, "there is a partial overlap in content between legal and moral obligation (hart, 1961, 166).” the legal positivist, holmes, while trying to separate law from morality on the ground that law would be better understood if it is completely separated from morality, admits nevertheless that law is thoroughly permeated with morality, to such an extent that the history of law is "the history of the moral development of the race, and the practice of law tends to make good citizens and good men. there are, however, striking similarities and differences between law and morality. similarities between law and morality both law and morality presuppose society, and either of them would have any meaning without society. they can neither exist without society, nor can society exist without them. for they are both necessary in order to have society and ensure men's peaceful co-existence in society. hence law and morality can be seen as instruments of social control for they are both employed to control human behaviour and interaction in society in order to ensure the survival of society and men's peaceful co-existence in it (wamock, 1971). besides, law and morality also presuppose rationality and freedom, for if men were not rational and free there would be neither law nor morality. rationality and freedom are, of course, two sides of the same coin, for to be free is to be rational and to be rational is to be free; each presupposes the other. another similarity law and morality have is that both are normative, prescriptive and imperative by nature since they are concerned not with what "is", but with what "ought to be", not with facts but with values. it must be pointed out at this stage, however, that there are varieties of laws and not all of them are normative. "surely not all laws order people to do or not to do things. is it not misleading so to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 121 classify law which confer powers on private individuals to make wills, contracts or marriages, and laws which give powers to officials, e.g, a judge to try cases, to a minister to make rules, or a county council to make by-laws? from the normative or imperative viewpoint criminal law is the closest, or the most similar to morality, for, like morality "the criminal law is something which we either obey or disobey, and what its rules require is spoken of as a duty'.... the social function which a criminal statute performs is that of setting up and defining certain kinds of conduct as something to be avoided or done by those to whom it applies irrespective of their wishes. but from another point of view, international law is the most similar to morality. like morality, international law does not emanate from any identifiable legislative authority; rather it grows out of custom without positive legislation. rights and obligations are also common features of both law and morality. thus we talk of moral right as distinct from a legal right, and a moral obligation as distinct from a legal obligation. a moral right is a right conferred by the moral law while a legal right is a right conferred by civil law. similarly, a moral obligation is an obligation imposed by the moral law while a legal obligation is an obligation imposed by a civil law. g. j. warnock's distinction between what a person "ought" to do and what he has an "obligation" to do is in fact a distinction between moral obligation and legal obligation. warnock says that many philosophers fail to make this distinction, and person consequently bring confusion and nuisance into moral philosophy (wamock, 1971). the concept of justice is central to both law and morality, and this is another point of similarity between them. however, the relationship between justice and morality is different from its relationship to law. while justice is part of morality, it cannot be said to be part of law. there can be no discrepancy between justice and morality since whatever is just is morally right while whatever is unjust is morally wrong. the same cannot be said about justice and law. justice relates to morality as a part relates to a whole. although there can be no discrepancy between justice and morality, as it has just been pointed out, yet the two are not identical. the concept of justice does not exhaust that of morality, for the latter is wider than the former. justice relates to law differently from the way it relates to morality. the close link between law and morality is again evident from the fact that law can never be completely separated from morality, for there is always a certain amount of morality in law. differences between law and morality one of the striking differences between law and morality is the fact that law is external while morality is internal. law is concerned only with the "external forum" while morality is concerned primarily with the "internal forum". that is why morality concerns itself with "the adultery of the heart" whereas law does not concern itself with such a purely internal adultery so long as it remains within the "internal forum" and does not externalize itself in physical action. law is satisfied igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 122 with external conformity; as long as a legal rule is complied with externally, it is of no importance from the legal viewpoint, whether this external compliance is done with a good or a bad intention. professor pizzorni puts it succinctly thus: morality and law consider human actions, but from different points of view: morality regulates and judges such acts in their point of origin: its immediate object is free will, conscience, the interiority of the subject from which the actions originate. law, on the contrary, orders and evaluates human actions in their point of arrival: its immediate object is the action of the agent rather than his intention (pizzomi, 1971, 263). following aquinas, pizzorni maintains that law aims at making men virtuous, but that it does not try to do this all of a sudden. for men cannot be made virtuous in one day. rather. law aims at making men virtuous only gradually. "human law aims at leading men to virtue not suddenly, but gradually, and for this reason it does not impose on the masses of imperfect men all of a sudden things that are reserved for persons who are already virtuous, such as refraining from all evils. otherwise such imperfect men, in their inability to bear such a law would fall into greater evils. this explains, according to aquinas, followed by pizzorni, why law cannot prohibit all evils, since it is intended for the masses of the people who are generally morally weak and imperfect. to make such a demand on them (that is, the demand to refrain from all evils) would be demanding too much, and it would be counter-productive. such a high demand would lead the people to moral degeneration rather than moral perfection. apart from aiming at making men virtuous, law also aims at establishing justice, hence an unjust law is strictly speaking not a law but violence, corruption of law. another distinguishing feature between law and morality is that the former is coercive, coming as it does from an external authority who also enforces it while the latter is on the contrary, voluntary, coming as it does from one's personal conviction and not from any external authority. that is why kant describes the moral law as a self-imposed law. a man becomes virtuous, as aristotle says by constantly and persistently practicing virtuous actions until it becomes a habit in him. thus, a virtuous man is a man who has formed the habit of spontaneously performing virtuous actions. a habit, aristotle further tells us, is a second nature, that is, something one does spontaneously and almost naturally as part of one's normal way of behaviour. the rule of law in the rule of law, the courts play a very vital role in applying the law without respect for persons. judges must be courageous, impartial, independent, just and be respecters of no persons no matter how exalted their positions in society may be. without such an independent judiciary with incorruptible judges who are respecters of no persons, the rule of law cannot be sustained. the courts stand between the citizens and the government and must ensure that both the government and the citizens are bound by the law and their actions especially igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 123 those of government are controlled by law. not only must the government respect and obey the law in all its actions, it must also minimize arbitrariness in its policies and in its use of its power. it must be guided and controlled by the law in the exercise of its powers. this is emphasized by john locke in his second letter of civil government where he says "freedom of men under government is to have a standing rule to live by, common to every one of that society and made by the legislative power erected in it... and not to be subject to the inconstant, uncertain, arbitrary will of another man" the same point was made by dicey at the beginning of the twentieth century when he said that the rule of law implies "the absolute supremacy or predominance of regular law as opposed to the influence of arbitrary power, and excludes the existence of arbitrariness of prerogative, or even of wide discretionary authority on the part of government. the legislature also has a vital role to play in a government where the rule of law prevails. since the law, and not any particular individual, is supreme in such a government it is obvious that the legislature, the law-making arm of government, has a vital role to play and a heavy responsibility. a government of the rule of law is a government of the supremacy of law which of course does not meant supremacy of lawmakers since the lawmakers themselves are also subject to the law, like anybody else. but it does mean the responsibility of the law makers to make such laws that will ensure not only the peace and stability of the society, but laws that will help bring about the social, economic, educational and cultural environment conducive to the promotion of the dignity, the well being and happiness of the citizens. this view was articulated in 1959 in the declaration of delhi by the international commission of jurists. the function of the legislature in a free society under the rule of law is to create and maintain the conditions which will uphold the dignity of man as an individual. this dignity requires not only the recognition of his civil and political rights but also the establishment of the social, economic, educational, and cultural conditions which are essential to the full development of his personality ( j. m. elegido, p. 185). basic features of the rule of law how can we recognize a society that is governed by the rule of law? most societies today claim to be democratic and to be governed by the rule of law. even the nigerian government also claims to be a democratic government under the rule of law. there are basic features by which we can identify a society under the rule of law. first, it must be a society where government officials obey the law in their actions i.e. they subject their actions to the control of the law. again it must be a society where no retro-active laws are made; all its laws must be prospective in nature. it must be a society where there are no sacred cows, a society where nobody is above the law, a society where every citizen no matter how highly placed, obeys the law and is prosecuted for violating the law. it must be a society where the law is not a respecter of person and the law enforcement agents are also no respecter of persons. it must be a society where the judiciary is truly independent, and the judges are incorrupt, courageous, firm and are igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 124 respecters of no persons. it must be a society where the principles of justice are respected, the rights of the citizens are respected and protected by law, and justice prevails. it must be a society where the dignity of the human person and the equality of all the citizens before the law are respected and defended by all. it must be a society where state authority is exercised only according to law. it must be a society in which those who are in power "exercise their authority in such a way as to make it possible for each citizen to live his own life as an individual human being who has his own individual destiny and purpose and who is not merely a part of a great social machine, a mere cog which can be manipulated in whatever way suits best the needs of the whole" (j.m. elegido, op. cit 493). it is clear from the main features of the rule of law described above, that it is only a truly democratic society that, can be a society under the rule of law. finally a society under the rule of law must be a society in which liberty, equality and fraternity of the citizens are cherished, preserved and protected. the judicial process in this heading we are going to look at certain functions and practices of the courts. the importance of the judiciary in any democratic society is obvious. the judiciary plays the role of an impartial, disinterested, arbitrator, in matters pertaining to the law of the land. hence judges are, or at least are supposed to be incorruptible men of integrity, lawyers who are knowledgeable in law, especially the law of the land. judicial function what are the functions of the courts? they decide disputes between litigants. they decide whether a claim to a right is justified or not, whether or not legal rights exist in any situation where such a right is being claimed. they apply laws to cases presented before them. their decisions are binding on the parties in dispute. before taking a decision on any matter brought before it, the court gives each of the parties in dispute ample opportunity to present its case and argue in favour of it. it "gives the affected parties the possibility of arguing for a decision in their favour by presenting proofs and reasoned arguments. each party in dispute is, in other words, allowed to give reasons why the judge should judge the case in his favour. each of them is allowed to try and persuade the judge with evidence and arguments, to decide the case in his favour. a judge does not act on any case that is not brought before the court. a judge does not take the initiative to judge a case. the initiative must come from the litigant or litigants, as the case may be, and bring the matter to the court before a judge can proceed to decide it. judicial precedent judicial precedent (known in legal terminology as stare decisis) is the judicial practice whereby a decision, (a judgment) of a court on any issue is binding on all courts of lower rank in the same legal system. if, for example a case is brought to a covert, and a similar case had earlier been decided by a higher court in the land (in the same country) the lower court is bound to judge the case in the same way it igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 125 was judged by the higher court. the lower court cannot judge the case differently entirely or deliver a different judgment different from that of the higher court. in fact that decision or judgment of the higher court becomes a law binding on all lower courts. this is one way in which courts (indirectly) make laws. this practice derived from the english common law system. the practice, of course, presupposes a hierarchical structure of courts. in nigeria the courts are structured hierarchically as follows, first, at the bottom of the ladder, there is (1) the customary court, followed by (2) the customary court of appeal of a state followed by (3) the customary court of appeal of the federal capital territory, followed by (4) the magistrate court, followed by (5) the high court of the state, state, followed by (6) the high court of the federal capital territory followed by (7) the federal high court, followed by (8) the court of appeal, and finally (9) the supreme court, the highest court in the land. statutory interpretation statutory interpretation is another indirect way in which judges make laws. when the court gives a new interpretation to an existing law, a new law gradually emerges. this is one of the delicate duties of the judiciary. we know that laws are usually written in ambiguous ways with technical terms. they often need interpretation, and the right and competent interpreters of laws are not (as one would expect) the law-makers themselves, the legislature. no it is not the legislature, but the judiciary. the aim of statutory interpretation is to discover the meaning of a law. to do this the court eliminates ambiguities, defines terms, and harmonizes inconsistencies. in doing this they made use of canons of interpretation. the canons serve as aids to interpretation and they are of two types, representing two approaches, namely the functional approach and the literal approach. judicial discretion sometimes judges find themselves in situations where there are no clear legal rules indicating the direction along which a particular case is to be judged. these are situations of "gap", "hard cases" where there are no guidelines in terms of legal rules. in other words when there are no legal rules to guide judges, what are they to do? a judge is handling a case in court, a hard case and there is no clear legal rule to fall back on, or to resort to as a guide. what should he do? how should he judge the case? the legal positivists say that a judge is totally free to use his own discretion in such a situation. but r. m. dworkin disagrees with the legal positivists. he distinguishes between judicial discretion in the strong sense and judicial discretion in the weak sense. the situation described above is judicial discretion in the strong sense a situation where there is no clear legal rule to guide the judge. r.m. dworkin contends that even in such a situation a judge is not free to use his own discretion because if there are no legal rules to guide him there are legal principles. a judge is bound to resort to legal principles in a situation where there are no legal rules. there are always legal principles, and a judge is bound by them as he is bound by legal rules. therefore dworkin contends that there are in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 126 fact no judicial discretion in the strong sense that is, in the sense of a judge being totally free to judge the case as he feels, without the aid of either legal rules or legal principles. he contends that legal principles are part of the law; part of the legal system, and a judge cannot do without them. but what are legal principles? they are principles of natural justice, principles of the natural law. the following are some examples of legal principles which can be found in dworkin's writings (dworkin, 1977). no one shall be permitted to profit by his own fraud.""no one shall be permitted to acquire property by his own crime". in the absence of fraud, one who doesn't choose to read a contract before signing it cannot later relieve himself of its burden, the courts will not permit themselves to be used as instruments of inequity and injustice", etc. these are all examples drawn from court proceedings, principles that have been used in courts at different times. all these are principles of natural justice. many more such principles could be identified if we carefully study the principles of natural justice, principles of natural law or moral principles. judicial discretion in the weak sense is a discretion to choose between two legal principles, that is, in a situation where there are alternatives. dworkin agrees that in this situation a judge can use his discretion. for example, a judge can use his discretion to grant a bail or not to grant it, depending on the situation. again a judge can use his discretion to grant an interim injunction or not to grant it, depending on the circumstances. similarly, a judge uses his own discretion to decide what is "beyond reasonable doubt", "reasonable time", and so on. these are all cases of judicial discretion in the weak sense, and dworkin agrees that a judge is free to use his discretion in such cases. legal obligation what is the source of legal obligation? what is the justification for obeying a law? why, in other words, must i obey the law? different philosophers and jurists have given different answers to these questions. austin says the source of the obligation to obey the law is the fear of punishment for refusal to obey it. richard taylor says more or less the same thing as austin. he says the source of the obligations sanction i.e. the enforcement of the sanction, which, on other words, means the punishment for disobedience. this answer given by austin and taylor presupposes the command theory of law i.e. that law is essentially a command of a sovereign backed by force (by sanction). but as we have already seen, not all laws fall within this category. not all laws are command. there are international laws, customary laws, powerconferring laws, right-conferring laws, welfare laws. these are not command. h.l.a. hart made an important distinction between being obliged to do something and having an obligation to do something. the former means having no alternative, having no choice in the matter one just has to do it. the latter means having an alternative, having a choice, but feels that one has to do it, one has an obligation to do it. hart criticizes austin and taylor for not taking this distinction into account. he traces legal obligation to social rules which make certain kinds of behaviour a standard of conduct. the individual feels that he igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 127 ought to conform to the standard because it is demanded by the society. legal implications of ai artificial intelligence (ai) has become a disruptive force in many industries, transforming them with its capacity to analyze massive volumes of data and carry out operations that have historically required human intelligence. the swift progression of ai technologies presents a multifaceted range of legal ramifications that put current regulatory structures and ethical standards to the test. this section explores important legal issues related to artificial intelligence (ai), such as privacy, liability, ethics, and intellectual property. it emphasizes the necessity for flexible legal solutions to guarantee that advancements in ai are in line with society rights and values. liability concerns liability for autonomous decision-making is one of the main legal issues that ai presents. machine learning algorithms enable ai systems to make judgments on their own, frequently on the basis of intricate data analysis. this autonomy begs the question of who is responsible for ai failures or errors, like accidents involving self-driving cars or mistakes in computerized medical diagnosis. when conventional ideas of human accountability do not simply apply to ai-driven behaviors, determining liability becomes complex. data security and privacy the use of ai in data collecting and analysis raises additional legal and regulatory issues related to data protection and privacy. large datasets are necessary for ai systems to train their algorithms and enhance their decision-making skills. the security of personal data and people's right to privacy are jeopardized by this data-driven strategy. strict guidelines on data collection, storage, and use are imposed by rules like the gdpr in europe in an effort to allay these worries. however, adjusting these standards to account for ai technologies is still a constant struggle. ethical implications the ethical concerns of ai development and application are a major topic of discussion. the ethical necessity of responsible ai design is highlighted by problems like algorithmic bias, in which ai systems unintentionally reinforce discriminatory outcomes based on factors like gender, race, or socioeconomic status. in addition to being morally imperative, ensuring fairness, accountability, and transparency in ai algorithms is also necessary to reduce the legal dangers that come with discriminatory actions. challenges with intellectual property the ability of artificial intelligence to produce creative works on its own presents new issues for intellectual property law. who, for example, is the rightful owner of innovations or works of art made by ai systems? when ai is used in creative processes, it may be difficult for current legal systems to determine ownership and copyright. it's critical to define the legal status of content created by ai in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 128 order to protect intellectual property rights, encourage innovation, and create an atmosphere that is favorable to ai-driven creativity. policies for regulation and governance adaptive governance and regulation frameworks that take into account the special features of ai technology are necessary to address these complex legal issues. creating comprehensive laws that strike a balance between innovation, ethical considerations, and social values is a work that policymakers and legal professionals must undertake. governments, industry players, and academics must work together to shape ai regulations that uphold the rights and interests of the general public while encouraging responsible development and application. in summary, there are a wide range of complex legal ramifications related to artificial intelligence, including those related to liability, privacy, ethics, and intellectual property. the legislative and regulatory frameworks controlling the use of ai technologies must change along with the technology itself. in order to guarantee that ai advancements benefit society while reducing risks and addressing ethical concerns, proactive actions are crucial. conclusion artificial intelligence (ai) has broad and complex legal ramifications that involve many facets of ethics, society, and law. as ai technologies advance and become more integrated into different spheres of life, they present opportunities as well as challenges that require careful legal and regulatory consideration. one of the most important legal issues is liability, which arises when ai systems become more autonomous and capable of making decisions with less human intervention. who is accountable when an ai commits an error or causes harm? existing legal frameworks frequently find it difficult to assign liability in such situations, particularly when ai operates in intricate and unpredictable ways. to overcome these issues, harmonization of laws and international cooperation are crucial. artificial intelligence is not country-specific, and erratic laws can stifle creativity and raise questions about the law. global standards and best practices are intended to be promoted through initiatives such as the oecd ai p r i n c i p l e s a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l a g r e e m e n t s o n a i g o v e r n a n c e . in summary, negotiating the legal terrain of artificial intelligence necessitates a thoughtful strategy that protects core principles and encourages creativity. it requires legislators to take the initiative, for laws to keep up with technology developments, and for stakeholders to cooperate closely together. we can exploit ai's transformational potential while reducing its hazards by tackling liability, privacy, ethics, intellectual property, and international cooperation. this will ensure tha t ai wi l l benefit soc ie ty as a whole in the fu ture . references burrell, j. (2016). 'how the machine 'thinks': understanding opacity in machine learning algorithms' big data & society, 3(1), 1-12. dworkin, r. (1977). taking rights seriously. harvard: harvard university igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 129 press european commission. (2020). 'white paper on artificial intelligence' a european approach to excellence and trust. retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu fuller l. (1964) the morality of law. oxford: oxford university press. hart, h. l. a. (1961). the concept of law. oxford: oxford university press. oecd. (2019). oecd principles on artificial intelligence. retrieved from https://www.oecd.org rawls j., (1971) a theory of justice. oxford: oxford university press. raz, j. (1986). the morality of freedom. uk :clarendon press. solove, d. j., & hartzog, w. (2019). the ftc and the new common law of privacy. columbia law review, 119(7), 1687-1742. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 112 the unsustainable thesis in the pragmatic theory of truth: a critical analysis eruka, c. raphael, phd department of philosophy, madonna university nigeria, okija campus erukaraff@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.33952.39688 abstract every philosophy has a geo-socio-cultural locus. the pragmatic theory of truth is a historically recent contribution to philosophic endeavor from the new world. although the nuancing can be traced to the academic skeptics in ancient greece, it is substantially the articulation of american perception of a world view into a philosophy. this paper could not have been done if the claim remained that of an articulation or even encapsulation of a regional world view. the declaration that the world of philosophy is being proffered a theory of truth in the pragmatic theory of truth supplied the raw material for this work. this paper tried to x-ray the principles and character of any truth-claims. the pragmatic theory does not meet-up with subsisting characteristic in truth-claims. it cashes in on the workable, useful, 'successful' and whatever has instrumental or cash-value; that is, that which produces results. although these elements of the theory can be integrated into a properly developed theory of truth; in the case of the pragmatic theory of truth, this was not done. there were dislocations in the theory which cannot be reconciled to any serious attempt at developing a theory of truth. due to the glaring deficiencies in the theory, it becomes imperative to note that the thesis in the whole project cannot be sustained. the methodological approaches to the study are the critical, historical, phenomenological and expository methods. the goal was to illuminate the theory through these methods for better appreciation and execution of the task of the paper. keywords: pragmatic theory, ontology, phenomenon, fallibilism, scientific community. introduction theories of truth in whatever sense are inquiries after meaning with the embedded judgment that it is the case; that the thing is as it should or ought to be. meaning is essential because as humans we need anchor for belief and judgment. the basis of reasonable judgment is the meaning that truth can proffer. the phenomenon of human existence calls for benchmarks upon which to base sound judgments. such benchmarks have community character and have come to us down through history; in other words, they are human in presupposition. this quest is presupposed on ontology. that is to say, on foundation or source beyond man. truth thus can only be fully grasped in the context of principles in operation in human society; which principles can always be uncovered or discovered by conscious inquiry and commitment. in a certain sense, truth is always an a priori consideration. truth is the end of 'scientific' inquiry in the understanding that therein is directed the object of scientific investigation. science seeks after the truth of things. whether it will always succeed in this pursuit is contingent on methodology. how is the inquiry conducted and to what end? besides scientific inquiry, even in the conventional sense, human society is founded and organized around certain principles. these principles in their 'a priori' dimension; and, in their proper comprehension, seek to direct the human person right in the conduct of daily activities. therefore, it can only be surmised that the relation of the human person to truth properly conceived is 'a priori'. 'a posteriori' considerations can be differentiated from the 'a priori' ontological order especially in the former concretizing the principles which the latter naturally drives. it appears that this cannot be otherwise if the end is cosmic order rather than the diametric opposition. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 113 a properly formulated theory of truth, tends to accede to truth as the ontological order open to intellectual appreciation, and then concretized post-comprehension in the realities of human existence. however, the pragmatic theory, with its diversification in meanings, tends towards the individualization of criterion as springboard for judgment. sometimes the loss of community character in the scientific and rational human quest for the criterion for cosmic order becomes a feature of the pragmatic theoretical development. the more poignant loss however, seems to be the sense of the 'a priori'. criterion based on individualism seems to define the path of truth when robbed of community character, especially if we understand that community character is supposedly 'a priori' driven. the individualistic criterion-formulation is at the center of the problematic of the mismatch between judgment and the principles that should inform it; very much comparable to considering the tree apart from the roots. the lie in this approach is deep: metaphysics turns to descriptive physics of a pseudo-meta-principle, stripping the former of ontology; the object of systematic search in scientific endeavors disappears without trace since there is no room for such 'a priori' object – opening the opportunity for scientific manipulation to whatever ends driven by individual egocentricism; the sense of identity and substantiality become replaced by a dispersion of psychological impressions. the paper will argue that the theory seems not to be of truth per se, but a conversation on a pretension to the notion of truth devoid of objectivity and community scientific character driven by 'a priori' principles. protagorean subjectivism and material utility seem to be all that are left. pragmatism – the historical quest for meaning pragmatism is said to have begun with the academic skeptics in ancient greece who in wrestling with the epistemological problem of authentic knowledge settled with the merely plausible; 'adequate to the needs of practice' (rescher, 1995, p. 710). when charles sanders peirce (1839 – 1914), the pioneer american pragmatist uses the term 'practice', the true value comes from the community of scientists who make use of observations and experimentations; all under the criterion of scientific control (rescher, 1995, p. 710).the vulgarization of pragmatism by william james and dewey destroyed the place of the community of scientific inquiry and their verdicts and settled with truth as the mere adoption of any community of peoples whether those people are rigorously in search for the truth or not (rescher, 1995, p. 710). peirce who coined the term pragmatism aligned it to kant's notion, 'pragmatisch' which refers to empirical, experimental or principles opposed to 'a priori' (lawhead, 2015, p. 493). william james, who took pragmatism farther, traced his version of pragmatism to 'a greek word' that means deed, “action” or “practice” (lawhead, 2015, p. 493). some would attribute the tracing of the word pragmatism to the greeks as belonging to peirce as well (stumpf & james fieser, 2003, p. 395). perhaps in the etymological leanings, one might begin to decipher as early as possible the difference between peirce's commitment to scientific quest and the more individualized criterion which james sought to promote. peirce was given to the scientific method consisting in 'a community of investigators' the result of which would be available to everyone for validation (stumpf & james fieser, 2003, p. 396; rescher, 1995, p. 710; pirie, 2009, p. 144). in order to ensure that truth is not trivialized by the whims of individualism, peirce would require the cooperation of the scientific community, 'which cooperation prevents any individual or group from shaping truth to fit its own interests' (stumpf & james fieser, 2003, p. 396). until pragmatism began to evolve principles for the justification of the clearly immoral; traditionally, peirce meant that pragmatism would exert effort at the genuine search for the truth for enhancing the quality of human existence and ip so facto, a better world. in human existential situations, people are capable of springing up surprises consequent on their vulnerabilities. stumpf and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 114 fieser have in the piece below done a splendid job in representing peirce's swipe on the human condition: 'people are capable of lying, stealing and killing. we judge these to be wrong, not only in retrospect, but wrong because we feel that they were not inevitable when they were done. people doing these things could have done otherwise' (stumpf & fieser, 2003, p. 401). only peirce could have reached this judgment with pragmatism. james' version could have absolved all wrongs with the pre-approved individual criterion of acting. while peirce is pre-occupied with scientific inquiry, in the sense of genuine community search, james would not have anything to do with inquiry since there is nothing to search for. hear him, 'as long as our beliefs are successful, we do not need to engage in inquiry' (lawhead, 2015, p. 495). one can say without equivocation that james' truth is its spontaneous confirmation even if this tide of judgment is anti-reason, anti-order of values, anti-intellectualism, anti-science and the scientific community and anti-knowledge. james repeats the same meaning of truth in different formulations: '”truth happens to an idea. it becomes true, is made true by events''' (misak, 2001, p. 499). in another instance, james maintains that an idea 'is useful because it is true' or an idea 'is true because it is useful' (misak, 2001, p. 500). james carelessly lumps the two statements above together as if they are synonymous in meaning. truth for james is not the product of rational inquiry for which reason science would have no basis for its continued existence. peirce's pragmatism strove for impersonality and 'objective standards', while james twisted this criterion into a purely personalized and subjectivist criterion (rescher, 1995, p. 710). truth is a personalistic 'happening' in james' idiosyncracy for while peirce's is said to be scientifically elitist, james' is psychologically personalistic (rescher, 1995, p. 712). dewey is not far from this conceptualization: for him, since there is no eternal quality in things, no one can think towards truth (stumpf & fieser, 2003, p. 405). dewey particularly tried to avoid the word 'truth' in his works; in the place where he permitted that the word truth should escape from his pen, he opined that truth is “successfully guiding action” (misak, 2001, p. 505). dewey drawing from 'modern naturalism' avers that naturalism is an instrument of liberation from 'both metaphysical dualism and intellectualism' (dreyfus & wrathall, 2006, p. 469). this of course is an offshoot of social darwinism. in terms of morals, dewey maintains that a liberal society is its own criterion of truth without recourse to any principles whatsoever (schneewind, 2000, p. 154). dewey's is unarguably the philosophy against existing moral order. as peirce himself saw it, the whole moral project from james to dewey is a 'ruination' of the peircean moral order (rescher, 1995, p. 710). russell observed that james denied 'subjec-object' 'relation fundamentally' (russell, 2000, p. 767). in all, when the concept became a deviation from the intention of the pioneer of the pragmatic project, peirce, it acquired such elements in its qualifications as 'that which works; that which becomes a 'success', that which has 'cash value'. these will be pursued further. pragmatism – diverse theoretical elucidations the theory of pragmatism is an overloaded theory. the impression that one is dealing with a theory is misleading. pragmatism shelters diverse truth-claims; some of which do not have enough common grounds to belong together. on the one hand are the diversifications of the truthclaims, and on the other hand is the strangeness of these divergent truth-claims in their respective forms. the curious observation has been made 'that there are as many pragmatisms as there are pragmatists' and the differences are described as 'formidable' and again, in terms of being 'radically opposed, pragmatisms' (haack, 2003, p. 775). in the spirit of radical opposition to the ideas of the pioneer pragmatist, rorty would prefer to sustain pragmatism as a conversation that ''declares that 'true' means nothing more than 'what you can defend against all comers''' (haack, 2003, p. 775). for rorty, truth is a mere cognitive operation whose eristic import does not waver; therefore, the psychological trick towards egocentricism, provided there is the adherence to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 115 individualistic criterion of consistency and commitment to the cause that drives it. rorty's true position is avowedly a far distantiation from truth; does not seek the latter and indeed a supplantation of the historic community-character of truth by formidable egocentric individualism. one would be inquisitive to know how one who presents truth the way rorty does fares with 'rationality'. rorty's reason does not have truth for its end: it is this carrying on of conversation whose end is 'respect for the opinions of those around one' (haack, 2003, p. 775). rationality which defines the human person onto the dialogue for truth is in rorty's pragmatism defined away from the true 'a priori' end onto a purposeless superficiality of mere 'respect for the opinions of those around one'. there is no doubt that in rorty's theory: truth, rationality and the human essence have all given up on qualitative value in the reductionism to the goals of mere conversation and outward respect. in a rather different twist that borders on contradicting the vulgarizers, peirce calls for 'inquiry into the truth for truth's sake' (haack, 2003, p. 775). though angling for pragmatism, peirce stayed quite close to the correspondence theory of truth. the huge difference lies in the recognition that there is an object which one may have to inquire after. peirce leveraged on allowing the continued existence of the object of scientific inquiry. james championed the opposite (russell, 2000, p. 767). even phenomenologically, peirce respects intentionality, in so far as he permits subject-object relation since our consciousness is always consciousness of an object (dreysful & wrathall, 2006, pp. 69 – 70). peirce avers to the need for passion for truth, since one cannot seek rigorously that which one does not have emotional relation to. peirce maintains, 'in order to reason well, it is absolutely necessary to possess … a real love for truth' (haack, 2003, p. 775). his idea of truth is not only close to the correspondence theory position, it is aesthetic: 'truth is so, whether you or i or anybody thinks it is so or not' (haack, 2003, p. 775). peirce hints to the objective validity of truth – it is not egocentricism, individualistic conjectures or protagorean subjectivism. in peirce, pragmatism seems to acquiesce in the acknowledgement of general principles or objectivity and maintaining standard criterion for interpreting reality. in the hands of william james (1842 – 1910), the substantial character of pragmatism acquired a new dimension. peirce's epistemological ideological leanings got lost out entirely. the distance between james and peirce continued to widen with the gusto of james' popularization of pragmatism. according to james, the criterion of truth is to be premised on utility. this is a clear ontic case far removed from the 'a priori' and ontological notions. james is very clear that, 'the true is the useful, the expedient in the way of belief, that which works' (haack, 2003, p. 780; pirie, 2009, p. 145).truth here is contingent on perception and the judgment that proceeds from perception. first, truth is an 'a fortiori' happening; it is an effect judged to be true on the strength of post-performance. the presupposition here is that there is no object of truth to pursue: truth is nowhere in existence. what is truth is what is so perceived on 'a posteriori' reflections. if a thing is judged to be useful, it is true on the strength of that perception. that which is convenient in terms of lending itself to popular belief is true; most importantly, truth is that which works (haacks, 2003, p. 780; pirie, 2009, p. 145). practicality defines truth. if a thing delivers on practical grounds, then the thing is true. truth needs no theorizations; what is needed is post-occurrence reflection whereby truth becomes a happening notion. pragmatism – post-perception synthesis bertrand russell and g. e. moore were 'scandalized by what they saw as a crass identification of truth with utility' (haack, 2003, p.780). beyond the disappointments of these thinkers with the utility and workability theory of william james, it will make sense to begin to see james' position as the beginning of the vulgarization of the epistemological constructs, which vulgarizations manifested in more weird forms in the epistemological constructs of later pragmatists of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 116 revolutionary strand: schiller, rorty and the likes (haack, 2003, p. 775). ontological undercutting can only take the theorist to the sole recognition of concrete truths. truth to really work in the building of the community needs to be interwoven in principles that will guarantee its endurance in contributing to true humanization of the subjective agent and to proper infrastructural development. concrete truths without regard to coherence to principles of enduring validity may only pretend to achieve this feat. they cannot be truths because outside of the matrices of the intervening principles of any truth-reference. in this regard, it has been observed that james' 'concrete truths' are no truths at all: 'his distinction is between a belief being true and its being shown to be true – or more accurately, since he allows that what is true at one time 'verified' may later turn out to be false, between a belief being true and its being confirmed' (haack, 2003, p. 781). the whole idea conveys the impression that truth is our product, 'is made by us, and changes over time' (haack, 2003, p. 781). the above picture is not far from the conceptualizations of dewey on truth. john dewey (1859 – 1952), begins without presupposed ontology. the human mind, for him, must have to be freed from ontological formidability. for him, the object of truth, if indeed there is an object, 'is not an immutable, independent reality, but is changed, and is in part constituted by our cognitive interactions with it; for inquiry transforms a problematic indeterminate situation with a determinate one' (haack, 2003, p. 782). here, truth is the making of the human mind. it is all about cognitization and what is present to consciousness psychologically: for it is these that the human mind interacts with and in that interaction tends to acquire form. the problematic gives way because what passes for indetermination gives in to determination; the formless acquires form through interactions with the human cognitive process. truth remains a posterior reality of the thought process. there is no object of truth but thought produces the object not as an anterior reality but as a posterior reality of thought. it all begins and ends with human experience and the wrestling with these experiences cognitively. truth appears to have a phenomenal dimension that draws support from human thought. what dewey has to contend with is that a truth-instant from human phenomenological dispositions can have as many forms as there are the different humans that cognitize such a truth-instant. there is no truth except as given form from the mind's interaction with the indeterminate problematic – this problematic gives way to determination when the mind gives form to it. since there is no underlying principle on which to base our determinations, a truth-instant can give as many determinations as there are minds to interact with the experiences that underlie it. with dewey's pragmatism, there cannot be truth but truths. no community can be built on 'truths' especially in their discordant multiples. when peirce became aware of the consequences of the popularization of the theory he pioneered and the continued degeneration, he radically critiqued the trend by a cynicism of the populist and reactionary movement: he rebranded his original version of pragmatism – pragmaticism– and hoped no one would be able to tamper with the substance and quality of his thought any more (haack, 2003, p. 776). peirce in showing his provocation by the radicals advocates the death of any philosophy that puts forth the mutability of truth (haack, 2003, p. 783): the philosophy that claims that truth is mutable must have to die. peirce denounces the advocates of post-philosophy as 'lawless'. he writes of the need to rescue the goodship of philosophy for the service of science from the hands of 'the lawless rovers of the sea of literature' (haack, 2003, p. 784). francis bradley picked holes with the 'subordination of cognition to practice'; for him, there is 'inherent incompleteness of all merely practical interests' (misak, 1995, p. 712). many continental philosophers are disappointed in what pragmatism stands for: surmising from this that the philosophy is nothing save 'the expression of characteristically american social attributes, crass materialism and naïve democratism' (rescher, 1995, p. 712). peirce's efforts were reaffirmed including his 'statistical and probabilistic approach to the methodology and prolification of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 117 induction' among the scientific community (rescher, 1995, p. 712; misak, p. 337). in all, the fair assessment is that pragmatism is a 'muddled thinking' that fails to comprehend what is meant by truth or reality (velasquez, 1994, p. 251). the pragmatic theory of truth the pragmatic theory of truth states that truth is that which is useful, that which is expedient to belief and that which works in practice (pirie, 2009, p. 145). this obviously is the position of william james, whose dominant views on pragmatism seemed to chart the course of the pragmatic movement. james appears to be conveying the impression that there is no truth out there: truth thus is a human invention, an adventitious conclusion as to what happens and the valuation of the force of impact thereof. james thinks of truth in terms of success – the successful is true. this is not tenable. success may in an instant change to the opposite. this means that the same truth may turn to falsity. the theory falters on stability and objective value. what is the criterion for measuring success? is success a mere materialistic conception? is there a moral dimension to the understanding of that which is successful? is there an abiding value attributable to that which is successful? until these questions are properly addressed, the pragmatist concept of success remains a case of false value-reductionism. for peirce, truth is derived from the effects an action produces since our idea of everything is our idea of its sensible effects (pirie, 2009, p. 143). truth is a reality of sensible effects; the resultant impact of the thing in question. it is all about strength and force in their positive and negative valuations. truth is the human reconstruction of historical realities in relation to how the present fares with it or wants it, not necessarily the facts as they are. truth does not get pigeonholed into wishes. peirce maintains that – 'truth is the opinion generally agreed to by all who investigate' (pirie, 2009, p. 143). in another perspective, peirce theorizes on the probability of truth – all truth is provisional and probable rather than certain, (pirie, 2009, p. 143). peirce takes discretion in not ascribing to the absolutism of truth. truth should not be construed in the absolutes: at best all that is true is on the way to truth – provisional and probable. one may see in this the aspiration towards the assumption of a modest position in regard to truth and its assertions. at best this implies non-dogmatization, non-absolutization, open-endedness, the possibility of epistemological fallibilism and the readiness to shift position should new facts emerge at any other time. this methodology is not antithetical to the ontologization of truth; it only prescribes methodological process – towards the graduation to truth from any distance on the path to it. dewey's approach to truth is transactional. his intrumentalism demands 'cash' value on truth. truth gives value in the here and now. dewey 'called his pragmatism instrumentalism and used the term 'transactional' to describe a process which does not refer to an ultimate reality or to the essence of things,' (pirie, 2009, p. 147). one dares conclude that dewey theorizes on the materialism of truth. to the extent that truth cannot be based on essentiality, it has to operate based on materialization. if truth is transactional, and the 'essence' so to say, becomes the cashvalue, that is, the material worth or result, then truth is the business of truth. in mainstream business transactions, the bargain that works sails through. all that truth stands for is the beneficial value of the thing; the cash for now sort of transaction. for schiller, truth is a function of the verifiability principle. truth has to do with verification, is unequivocably committed to making and mutability (haack, 2003, p.783). schiller's truth is dependent on us – relative to our purposes (haack, 2003, p. 783). this is protagorean exemplarism: man is the measure of all things. truth is our invention – psychological, social, cultural, etc. on what is verification to be benchmarked and of what use? if things are what we say they are – then scientific truth can be directed to wished, predetermined or fixated results. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 118 science may qualify as data collation to justify pre-determinations. this is the exerting of violence on ontology to make way for the crass materialism of truth; not materialism in the marxian construct but in the sense of absolute denial of the spiritual or non-material dimension of the principles informing truth and the reductionism of these principles to the protagorean humanistic subjectivism. schiller buttresses the exposition radically: reality is nothing except as is contingent on us. we are truth, committed to mutability; not given to discoveries but to selections of what is true; since facts are made by us; 'and so is reality; facts are not discovered but selected, even made by us' (haack, 2003, p. 783). in the milieu of understanding, verifiability is nothing except pretensions to scientific validity. it is mere pretensions: nobody is seeking to discover facts, but to select what can suffice for pre-arranged or predetermined conclusion. rorty's radicalism attributes rhetoric-value to any truth propositions – true proposition is rhetoric; (haack, 2003, p. 783). he goes on to destroy criteriology. this is the absolute undoing of truth since the validity of truth claim is the product of the process to it. there is no epistemological criterion since criterion is selective human construct that may be deployed for convenience-purposes. criterion is a matter of convention and is not objectively grounded in truth, (haack, 2003, p. 784). it is paradoxical that a theory of truth would always work against formidable principles or standards for reaching truth. rorty moves on to attack philosophy: this is logical since failing this move he contradicts himself. philosophy searches for truth; rorty denies truth. what then is the need of philosophy? his eyes were already on 'post-philosophy' as a genre of literature or literary criticism (haack, 2003, p. 784). the makeshift world of literature would suffice for post-philosophy in so far as literature does away with truth and the ontological postulates. unsustainable thesis between the extremes of the pioneering ideas of peirce and the radicalism of rorty, we can begin to categorize pragmatism in terms of genuine inquiry for change and revolution in the negative sense. peircean pragmatists may be convinced there is need for modifications in the traditional theories of truth for which reason they maintain a positive view of the relevance of some of the traditional epistemological questions on truth and cognitively work on these as factorial elements of the new theoretical development. the negatively revolutionary strand of pragmatism tends to undermine both the traditional epistemological world view on truth and the genuine change agents for perhaps not being radical enough to evolve an autochthonous theorization that would epistemologically chart the course for an independent and un-mined field of truth-claims that are at best pretensions and outright contradictions to community truth-values that respect principles based on 'a priori' values in the ascension to truth. the revolutionary theories radicalize truth-contents away from the substance of truth and propose novel approaches opposed to truth. truth has to be the untruth of the what-ness of truth. ontological derivations give way to individualistic impressionisms raised to the status of truth. pragmatism in this case denies objectivity and the value that derive from it (haack, 2003, p. 775). the far reaching consequences of the revolutionary strand of pragmatism are more felt in the philosophic enterprise itself: philosophy is finally undone (haack, 2003, p. 775). the criterion of truth concerns philosophy deeply as the business of the enterprise is the uncovering of truth and the right path to make this project of uncovering a reality. with revolutionary pragmatism, every inquiry appears as nonsense as it promotes non-intentionality, the material side of the object that needs to be drawn closer to human visualization as a fruit of research. the destruction of ontology which the revolutionary strand promotes appears to be akin to the pulling of the rug from under the foot; and thus the removal of all anchors. the end of the pragmatic school, besides any new propositions it is geared to make, is actually to undercut the source of subsisting historical epistemological perspectives on truth, namely, the metaphysical prop: ''one role of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 119 pragmatic maxim is to reveal that 'almost every proposition of ontological metaphysics … is gibberish''' (haack, 2003, p. 776). what is this except the confrontation of formidable beliefs based on historically community based traditional notions of truth which in their view, have got to be overturned; a kind of clean-slate show resulting from the wiping away of the results of preceding research and the sense of intellectual history consequent on the historical value representation. the pragmatist theory of truth is no theory of truth although carelessly, it presents as one. this cannot be sustained because in this movement are theories and not just a theory. the theory is an amalgam of theories: those of peirce, james, dewey, rorty e. t. c. – four distinct theories and counting. these theories do not have so much in common as to merit them being lumped together as a theory. between the genuine seeking of change and radical, revolutionary and reactionary theories are substantially and diametrically opposed views with regard to the need and value of scientific inquiry, the end of scientific inquiry, the pre-requirements for order in the society as presupposition for any fruitful endeavor whatsoever and the absence of the respect and maintenance of the dignity of the human person whose existence would be chaotic without truthreference to moral values and the principles that inform these values. the theory of truth that veers from truth as an intentional object of inquiry cannot sustain in the category of methodologies in the quest for truth. can scientific conferences, symposia and colloquia still hold as valid inquiries after the truth in the search for social, political and technological dynamics for meeting the needs of the times? in so far as this appeals to intentional objects of inquiry which are commonly sought in the spirit of objectivity, then the continuity in the quest for a better world makes impossible the simultaneous sustainability of anti-intentionality and anti-objectivity in the quest for truth. for these theories of truth, there is nothing to inquire since there is no such object: what remains is 'group' or 'community' endorsement of workable or successful guide even when the group has no prerequisites for commitment to research or even when they could be outright fraudulent. truth becomes a chaotic individualistic whim, which if allowed as prototype, would rather do great harm to the society and the value-integrity of the actor. to the extent to which this is true of the revolutionary theories of pragmatism, then such cannot be sustained as theories of truth. all pragmatic theories seem to agree on the denial of the presupposition of 'a priori' conceptions. this general denial has to be shown to be false. this presupposition is premised on the denial of metaphysics. logical positivism had always concluded that metaphysics is meaningless; however, this is in the zero-hour of the denial of metaphysics by the positivist school. the pragmaticism of peirce is a form of positivism while james invented 'radical empiricism' (haack, 2003, p. 776; russell, 2000, p. 766). in place of metaphysics, they 'grounded their view of human life on darwinian biology' (giere, 2001, p. 308). there is no doubt that the denial of 'a priori' concepts follows from the logical positivist project; while the workability of truth comes from darwinism. this is because, 'darwinian evolution occurs by chance variation' while 'usefulness occasionally explains the survival of a new trait' (velasquez, 1994, p. 249). since the survival of metaphysics is no longer debatable, should the 'a priori' concepts not survive with it? what is this restoration of the 'a priori' principles except that truth is an ontological reality? therefore, at the level of human existence, it is an intentional object of inquiry. science has evolved methodologies of inquiry; of which the clearer we get to the object, the more illuminated the path to truth. the restoration of metaphysics to its premium place in the knowledge domain means that theories evolved in the wake of the spirited endeavor at dethronement of metaphysics can no longer be taken as proper guide to human action. even at the commonsensical level, there is the incompatibility of the theories of truth that are miles away from truth. is london a place or enugu for that matter? do they have global identities? how can one insist that one is on the way igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 120 to london when in actual fact one is on the way to ontario, canada? can the one ever reach his destination? or one claims one is enroute to enugu when one is actually heading to ibadan? can the one ever reach enugu by this method? therefore, the purported theories of truth that theorized their end or intentional objects away from truth or indeed that had no intentional objects but that depended on idiosyncracies, eccentricities and clear individualistic disorientations as criteria for truth, will not be sustained in the claimed theoretical domain. the only pragmatic-like theory of truth that attempts to rigorously search for the true in the spirit of objectivity and that seeks standards for this task is peircean 'pragmaticism'. peircean pragmaticism is a long distance from the pragmatic theories. peirce argues for the goals of the scientific community that would be ultimately justifiable as objective following from criterion for standardization. scientifically, peircean pragmaticism is instrumentalism: 'the view that theories are not true or false but are better or worse instruments for prediction and control' (misak, 2001, p. 335). one theory can only be better than the other in scientific research. to that extent, peirce subscribes to epistemological or for that matter, scientific fallibilism. what this means is that inquiry may not have at any point been pushed so far as to exhaust the truth; in that case, we may never be certain whether we have the whole truth or not at any point in time; and again that truth is 'prone to revision' (misak, 2001, p. 338; lawhead, 2015, p. 498). fallibilism is the claim above all that if we have the truth based on near exhaustive inquiry, we may still entertain the idea that more research in the future may add to what we have been able to know so far. this is very true to scientific research. morally, peirce recognizes that no society can survive the whims and caprices of crass individualism. his objective truth stance based on the standard works of a community of scientists, takes the criteriology of truth from the individual and bequeaths it to scientific collaborators. this is in diametric opposition to the views of the revolutionaries. this towers pragmaticism over and above the other 'theories'. the challenge which pragmaticism poses to truth is maily the denial of 'a priori'. peirce recognizes the fundamentality of subject-object relation. there is the problem that scientific quest, no matter how rigorous, may in the end pose problems to the truth in the real sense. this is because in spite of the rigorous scientific search, since the fundamental presuppositions differ, there may be variations in scholarly end-results of inquiry. in the broader sense, the community of scientific inquiry may end up, after near-exhaustible exertions, with diversifications of views to reflect their ideological inclinations. this can only be the expectation with the different assumptions of 'a priori' and 'a posteriori' as fundamental presuppositions of scientific inquiry. the second problematic with peirce's theory is the end of the inquiry. in talking about the theory of truth in relation to pragmaticism, we attribute to peirce's project more than peirce himself was willing to do. peirce never intended that his theory be raised to the status of a theory of truth. it was the revolutionaries, and particularly james, who consciously worked his theory into that of truth and referred to it as such. however, none of the theories of the revolutionaries, in their pretensions to truth, qualifies as theory of truth since a theory of truth cannot be seen to radically undo truth. peirce in his unassuming dispositions was interested in meaning. he called his project a theory of meaning (lawhead, 2015, pp. 496 – 498; rescher, 1995, p. 710). this can be the only reason why despite the application of scientific rigor to its height, the result of scientific inquiry for peirce is still fallibilistic: nothing says all about anything. thus, the end is not truth necessarily but at best 'on the way to truth'. qualified as provisional and probabilistic, the end of scientific research is open to further enrichment from future research (misak, 2011, p. 863). what bothers the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 121 inquirers is not truth but a good working instrument; the meaning we can get when we engage properly in scientific undertaking. since the revolutionary pragmatists obviously misfired in theorizing outside the perimeter of truth; the peircean project seriously considered the possibility of objective quests, never really the theory of truth: he was after the theory of meaning. therefore, neither pragmatism nor pragmaticism qualifies as a theory of truth; or to capture the diverse presentations of pragmatism, as theories of truth. the sustainability of the thesis in the pragmatic theory of truth is not possible; thus, 'the pragmatic theory of truth' is not a theory of truth: perhaps it may survive as theories of meaning, scientific method, interpretation of the end of scientific research, probabilism, provisionalism and fallibilism on the part of peirce or theories of post-truth, post-performance, individualistic impressionisms, selections towards prearranged results or fixations of adumbrations to truth, clear aversions to subject-object relations in any considerations of truth-theories on the parts of james, dewey and rorty. conclusion theories of truth presuppose subject-object relation. in other words, the condition of possibility of research is a function of the pre-determination of the reality of an object of quest which the researcher intends to relate to in order to make it definite and illuminated in such a way as to make its meaning clearer and less complex. the presupposition of subject-object relation implies the indispensability of ontology. if truth is such that one can say of it that it is, then the ontological character cannot afford extirpation. the un-ontological characterizations of truth, as seen in the 'pragmatic theory of truth', such as mutability, post-performance impressionisms and mere selectivity towards a predetermined result can only portray dynamic-contradictions. the 'a priori' principle which defines what is as abiding, may not equate with the 'a posteriori' principle which defines what is in terms of mutability and human invention or mere choice. this paper articulated the pragmatic theory of truth in the light of the above expositions. peirce's endeavor was for objectivity. however, peirce never angled for truth. perhaps he considered putting a finger to a thing and saying, 'it is it' to be too much of an ambitious project. peirce on the strength of his dispositions to the perception of reality was more given to the search for meaning than the search for truth. his standpoint was clear: the pragmatic theory was simply a theory of meaning. what does it mean or how do we interpret the outcome of scientific research? this has to be interpreted in terms of fallibilism. the revolutionary thinkers' declared intent of putting forward a theory of truth based on that which works, which is useful, and which is successful denied 'a priori' considerations in settling for the mutability of truth. they also seem to underscore the individualistic criteriology of what truth means. the chaotic implications of this in human social existence are unmistakable. the height of all appropriate response to this invention of 'chaos' in the name of truth is that the principles propelling this comprehension are all dynamic self-contradictions and as such far from the conceptualizations of truth. this paper tried to prove this beyond reasonable doubt. it then follows that the pragmatic theory of truth is no theory of truth at all: neither as inappropriately attributed to peirce who would not have any of the distortion of his project nor from the revolutionaries who were clearly outside any attempt at the theory of truth. references dreyfus, hubert l & wrathall, mark a. (2006) ed. a companion to phenomenology and existentialism. blackwell publishing. haack, susan (2003). pragmatism. in, the blackwell companion to philosophy. nicholas nd bunnnin & e. tsui-james (ed.). blackwell publishing company, 2 edition. giere, ronald n (2001). naturalism. in, a companion to the philosophy of science. w. h. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 122 newton-smith (ed.). blackwell publishers. lawhead, william f (2015). the voyage of discovery: a historical introduction to th philosophy, 4 edition. cengage publishers. misak, cheryl (2001). peirce. in, a companion to the philosophy of science. wh newtonsmith (ed.). .blackwellpublishers. misak, cheryl (2011). pragmatist epistemology. in, the routledge companion of philosophy. sven bernercker & duncan pritchard (ed.). routledge. pirie, madson (2009). 101 great philosophers: makers of modern thought. continuum international company. rescher, nicholas (1995). pragmatism. in, oxford companion to philosophy. ted honderich (ed.). oxford university press. russell, bertrand (2000). a history of western philosophy. routledge. schneewind, j. b. (2000). modern moral philosophy. in, a companion to ethics. peter singer (ed.). blackwell publishers. stumpf, samuel enoch & fieser, james (2003). socrates to sartre and beyond: a history of philosophy. mcgrawhill higher education. velasquez, manuel (1994). philosophy: a text with readings. wadsworth publishing th company, 5 edition igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya moral approaches to conflict resolution in tivland (tar sorun) rose yangu iordaah religion and cultural studies, benue state university roseiordaa@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.31621.83688 abstract this study explores moral approaches to conict resolution in tivland. violent conicts have continued to deteriorate in tivland resulting in forfeiture of lives and property. the study employed the phenomenological method which focused on a detailed portrayal of the experience of violent conicts. the primary sources involved the use of unstructured oral interviews. findings show that violent conicts in tivland have no ethical justications since they act against human dignity and demean the status of humans as moral agents. the research also found out that it is the observation of this study that, while peaceful societies ourish, conict-ridden societies remain poor and underdeveloped like tivland. the need for moral retrospection or evaluation toward sustainable conict resolution becomes imperative. since effective conict management usually leads to an improvement in the social relations and conditions of the parties involved, there is every need to resolve these conicts if the social conditions in tivland must be improved for good. the research argued that ethical principles are capable of reinvigorating peaceful co-existence in tivland despite decades of violent conicts. it recommended that the application of the principle of double effect and the just war doctrine are useful models in taming crises if applied adequately. the government should establish security outlets in the conict-prone areas of tivland, and all parties in conict must be conscious of our common humanity to restore the dignity and sanctity of human life. the research concludes that peace must reign in tivland if the approaches to conict resolution are applied effectively. keywords: moral approaches, conicts, conict resolution, tivland and peaceful coexistence conict resolution efforts in tivland (tar sorun) conict resolution in tivland is based on the principle of common humanity and communal living which saw africans generally to consider themselves as one people. disunity among the members was abhorred. no wonder it is common in africa to hear people saying “we are all one people, we are all africans, we are all one community” (kariuki muigua, 4). similarly, this kind of ideology is reected in many african cultures, the zulu term “ubuntu” and the swahili term “utu” meaning humanness are examples (5). peaceful coexistence was emphasized and conicts in african traditional society were seen as a threat to the existence of the society itself. in essence, they underscored corporate/communal interests as opposed to selsh ambitions or individualistic pursuits. furthermore, otite and ogionwo aver that, africans have their indigenous, dynamic ways of settling disputes and resolving conicts. an important aspect of disputes and conicts settlement among them is dialogue, talking, negotiating, clapping, humour and even shouting are social therapies in conict resolution (270). they can be described as curative social medicine in conict resolution. these indigenous ways constitute interactive variables that skillful brokers, negotiators, 119 and acclaimed local historians, philosophers and spokesmen apply to reduce tension and resolve conicts through negotiated settlement or dialogue. otite and ogionwo also emphasizes that when parties in conict decide to take their case to the indigenous court, the emphasis of the judges-elders is not on punishment or imprisonment (270). many african nationalities have indigenous systems of conict resolution that are presently extant and subsist. these systems rely on particular approaches to negotiation that respect kinship ties and elders' roles and the structures of local societies generally. this means that many societies have developed techniques, tactics and mechanisms for resolving conicts. in tiv tradition too the emphasis is much on the objective discovery of the truth followed by restitution and reconciliation, the center of attention is on the reinstallation of harmony and consensus while realizing the frequent occurrence of conicts in the family, community, or town. conict resolution in tiv is called tar sorun/soron. conict resolution efforts could be expressed as igbinda i sorun tar (literally, pathways to peacebuilding). accordingly, genger admits that tar soron is also the energy and wisdom that underlies tiv's social organization, community life, and peacemaking activities. it unites the tiv society and sustains its harmony. it empowers the tiv people to use their indigenous wisdom and values as well as conict resolution to address their challenging conicts. he compares the tiv worldview of tar sorun to the ubuntu philosophy among the kwa zulu of south africa. he notes that the constituent elements of tar soron also include personhood, humanity, community, peace, progress, respect, harmony, serenity, order, social projects, healthy relationships, togetherness, communal and individual welfare (145). one of the features that dened tiv society, in particular, was communalism (mlu mom i.e. oneness). this philosophy of life plays a central role in ensuring social justice, peace and unity among the tiv families especially in the pre-colonial era. it was a way of life where everything in the society belonged to the community and every member of the society was allowed to use it whenever he or she needed it. this philosophy was a point around which everything in the society revolved. edward atel notes that in tiv commonality, all members of the community share in the fortunes or misfortunes of its members and also contribute to their destiny (23). looking at this philosophy, the framework of communalism was built on the idea of social justice, where the common good of the people in the society was the concern of everyone. similarly, land in the pre-colonial tiv society, although of much economic value, was communally owned by the host community and a member of the community who needed land for cultivation or settlement had the opportunity to use it. as james moti points out: this commonality explains why there is no oligarchy in tiv's traditional administration and the land, which is the source of prosperity, is equitably shared. in the tiv land use system, the land is commonly owned by the ityo or ya units. in spatial distribution, each adult member of the family has the agnatic rights sufcient land to farm for his wives and children (104). leadership was also rotational among the tiv based on the principle of ya na wangbian. decisions on issues affecting the community were communally taken with the heads of families representing them. the practice of “sisters sharing” called iye ingyor or iye igyo, speaks volumes about the tiv unity. in addition, ahangba utume emphasized that, when the traditional system of marriage known as yam ishe (exchange marriage) was still in place, those who never had sisters to exchange igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 120 for wives were donated or borrowed to enable them to marry. if it were given as debt, such debts were repaid when the debtor gave birth to a female (oral interview, 2021). people with many sisters used to share with those who never had to enable them to obtain wives for themselves. even now that the system is not in place, the money paid as a bride price is shared among the “ye ingyor” (close relations). it is expressed in such maxims as kon mom ngu lun ikyo ga (a single tree cannot make a forest); ka tema imongu mbagbera ve fe iwa ye (it is by sitting together do the people of mbagbera come to discover the science of blacksmithing); as well as ya na wangbian (eat and give to another brother or sister) (azape tarvihi, oral interview). all these adages express the fact that no tiv person is an island. only through unity will they progress. as a result, every tiv person looked at himself only concerning the community into which he was born; also, the interrelationship of the community, into which was born. again, the interrelationship of the various kinds of kinship systems was such that every tiv person considered himself a member of the wider-tribal community. this is why bohannan will say that, “a tiv is and can prove it' (bohannan 33) by tracing his descent from tiv himself through a genecology. tiv principles of communalism, ya na angbian (eat and give your brother/sister) and reciprocity became the foundation for the avoidance of violent conict. reciprocity is the other principle that created an ideal environment for conict resolution. a mutual exchange of privileges, goods, favours, and obligations, among others, existed among tiv communities thus fostering peaceful coexistence and consequently eliminating the likelihood of wars and conicts. abel aor inyaregh corroborates that typical african thought promotes hospitality, love, brotherhood, togetherness, community life, caring and sharing (23). if a community was facing a calamity, like famine or the death of livestock, other communities would come to the aid of that particular community. reciprocity thus nurtured a culture of communal life which fostered relationships. reciprocity emphasized sharing and also sustained a sense of collective security through a social setup that supported egalitarian social living. it enhanced harmonious relationships by putting communal interests above individual pursuits. through this principle, individual norms were transformed into social welfare security schemes and thus a sense of justice and fairness was embedded in it as mutual trust became an overriding value. respect towards parents, elders, ancestors, and the environment was cherished and well entrenched in the customs, traditions and taboos. among the tiv, respect is called ichivir. strong traditions, customs and norms fostered respect such that wayward members of the community faced grievous consequences, such as the imposition of nes and other penalties. this way, religion played a central role in shunning conict-causing conduct. according to vashir agbe, in the traditional pre-colonial tiv society, respect for the (mbaganden) elders, (mbamaren) parents and (mbayiase) ancestors was highly regarded. it was a virtue well entrenched in the customs, traditions and taboos (oral interview). in this way, social conicts were avoided and resolved through the respect that people had for one another, parents, elders, ancestors and even the environment. generally, the tiv are a peace-loving tribe who are also welcoming. conict resolution or peacemaking ideology among the tiv people is derived from their cosmological worldview, which teaches that aondo gba tar (god created the world) and blessed it with serenity and order (genger 145). based on this ideology, humanity is fundamentally bound to have the pleasure of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 121 creation or nature. in other words, tar (which means earth) is meant to be beneted from and must be sustained through shared humanity, responsible personhood, and good use of the cosmic powers (tsav, akombo, adzov and ikyav) (torkula 26). when there is conict, the land goes bad, and the people will lack inner peace and the outside of our community will be unsafe. tar sorun therefore connotes employing every effort toward the use of all available resources to restore the goodness and peace that hitherto existed in tiv land or the community. chia acknowledges that the tar soron paradigm and its essential elements are transmitted via family training, moral discipline, community mores, parental upbringing and social groups conict resolution principles. tar soron is a collective responsibility as well as an individual duty, that is, every member and the community as a whole are key actors in the tar soron paradigm (qtd. in genger 145). thus, conict resolution in tivland can take different approaches as the saying goes “tar sorun ngu igbinda kposu kposu” (there are different pathways or patterns to conict resolution). for instance, genger has identied four key peacemaking approaches that are indigenous to the tiv people. these four approaches are elaborated under three categories: (1) violent strategies (warring and ghting) represent physical combat approaches, peace contracts (covenant relationships and intermarriage), and the restorative approach (peacemaking gathering) represents non-violent approaches. tiv's traditional approach to conicts and conict resolution takes a holistic approach. boege points out that traditional approaches cannot be compartmentalized into “political” or “judicial” or others, rather, they are holistic, comprising also social, economic, cultural and religious-spiritual dimensions. this is following the entirety of traditional lifestyle and world views in which the different spheres of societal life are hardly separated (9). terlumun agena asserts that the tiv have certain traditional institutions that administered justice, law and order in their land such as the ijir (moot), imongu (open assembly), ibumun (oath) and ikyuryan (covenant making) with religio-cultural beliefs and practices binding them (56). tiv traditional institutions are usually understood as the instrument of social organisation, which have developed independently in the context of pre-modern societal structures and tested and practised over a considerable period. they constitute the roots upon which social changes occur. he adds that tiv traditional institutions involve local actors in decision-making mechanisms in resolving conicts within and between communities. these institutions were the mbatamen (elders), kwav (age grade) which operated under four councils or levels of various lineages of sociopolitical units with traditional administrative functions: ya (compound), iye ingyor (kindred), ityo (clan kin) and tar (super clan) while the igba (maternal/matrikins) plays complementary roles (56). a typical tiv family (ya/tsombur) consists of the husband, his wives and children. the husband (nom/nomsoor/orya) is the head of the family and his authority is unquestionable. he is the overall administrator of family matters and property including bride price, inheritance and where applicable, land issues. the extended family comprising of the aging parents, in-laws, relatives and other dependants is the basic socio-political and hence, the rst institution in the management of conicts. for instance, tiv people regarded the extended family as the rst institution of conict management. disputes that transcend the nuclear family could be determined by the extended family and the neighbours. the clan is another institution in the management of conicts. the tiv consider it one of the most important socio-political organizations that knit together distant relatives, facilitating a feeling of rendering mutual support in all important matters in the interest of the clan. clan members are also guided by certain rules and regulations that are fundamental in avoiding conicts, for instance, that members of the same clan cannot inter-marry but can marry igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 122 from other clans (orkuma vanger, oral interview). torkula corroborates the above when he states that, the tiv people had practised a gerontocratic system of governance, that is, a system of government constituted and led by the elders. it is described as a system of political organisation that is seen today as stateless or segmentary. under this system, both the executive and the judiciary were fused under a council of village subunits, kindreds, clans and super clansof the same ancestry or root, each headed by the most elderly person possessing witchcraft (torkula, tiv cosmology… 2). rather than emphasize witchcraft, dzurgba states that, the administrative structure of mbatamen (the council of elders) was a quasi-representative government in which the members represent genealogical families that constitute a compound, kindred, or a clan as the case may be. the leadership was exclusively for old men, that is, elders who by all standards qualied and were physically, intellectually, emotionally and religiously eligible to gain and use power to control the people and socio-economic activities (dzurgba 126-127). old women, dzurgba emphasizes, and youths were not eligible to be part of ityo (clan) council because of their sex, experiential knowledge, religious legibility or tradition and inability to keep secrets. for that reason, the council of elders was made up of only men. this reects the system of government that is run by old people or consists of old people (126,127). the tiv gave great respect to age and the authority of elders was therefore maintained. agena submits that the tiv traditional institutions of the mbatamen (elders), kwav (age mate), igba (maternal kin) and ityo (paternal kin) operate at various levels or tiers of their government and play religio-political and social roles in resolving conicts at the ya (compound), iyeingyor (kindred), ityo (patrilinear kin), igba (maternal kin) and tar (super clan) levels as can be examined appropriately (58). these were the characters that were involved in conict resolution of different kinds mentioned by genger above. the peak of these was the ijir tamen which involved the paramount ruler, the tor tiv, council of elders, chieftaincy title holders and representation of all the tiv clans. the ijir at the level of the whole tiv land whose traditional representative forms the tar (superclan) council is referred to as the ijirtamen (council of tiv chiefs). as tradition demands, members of the ijirtamen have a unique allegiance to the swem (spiritual symbol of truth among the tiv). thus, the efcacy of the ijirtamen to end a violent conict was strictly adhered to by all tiv. this thesis shall adopt the categorization of conict resolution approaches in tivland proposed by genger. physical combat/violent approach a violent approach to conict resolution is the process of deploying war and violent ghting to impede attacks. genger attests that the tiv are peace-loving people, who do not like to instigate violence because they are not belligerent (146). however, they can go to war or undertake a form of severe ghting to secure peace for themselves and their nation. this was especially true during the pre-colonial period when other communities or ethnic nationalities came against the tiv with offensive threats, they resisted with erce ght or war to safeguard their existence and safety. the tiv fought migration and settlement wars. during this period, groups that provoked the tiv during their movements were ercely fought and defeated. the tiv use war as the last resort in the search for peace. they used it for self-defense from the surrounding communities who posed bellicose and cultural threats to them when they were migrating to their present territory (dzurgba 167). they fought resistance wars to keep the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 123 invading sokoto caliphate jihadists in the 19th century and the british colonizers in the 20th century off of their lands (173). the so-called conquest or expansionist wars they fought were proxy wars in support of and on behalf of the surrounding ethnic community, the alago of keana who invited the tiv military power to help them scare off the jihadists who regularly marauded the keana kingdom (genger, 148). it is no gainsay, therefore, that the groups that attacked the tiv when they began to settle in the benue valley were violently repelled. during the era of tribal wars, the tiv adopted a war anthem as follows: tiv translation mnyam chiem er uke mile! i dreamt that the non-tiv had drowned! ooo uke mile! oh, the non-tiv has drowned! ishima yam ngi awambe awambe! my heart is bloody bloody! ooon ngi awambe awambe! yes! it is bloody bloody! the chanting of this war anthem aroused the manness and consciousness of tiv warriors to face any form of danger and to attack ercely and bravely. apart from the pre-colonial tribal wars, earlier in our tiv history, the invading fulani jihadists intruded into tivland with their warring horses for conquest. however, the tiv were able to repel and overwhelm them with advanced weaponry of poisonous arrows and bees, and war prowess. they were chased away, thereby restoring peace within the benue valley. with this prowess, the tiv even helped other neighbouring communities to push their enemies further away from their lands. furthermore, the tiv saw war as a peacemaking tool by taking and using slave captives. for instance, genger asserts that the tiv communities took captives from the wars they fought and used them as slaves to foster peace between the tiv and the foreign aggressors. those captured in these wars were used as scarecrows to stave off potential enemies and prevent the tiv from future threats and attacks. war captives were also used as baits to achieve peace and as seals of peace covenants with their defeated communities (147). the taking of war hostages as slaves was a measure to prevent future threats and ratify peace covenants. the indigenous tiv worldview on war has a corresponding goal with the western theory of just war as both reject war for the sake of warring but see it as necessary in the quest for peace. peace contracts approach/covenant and intermarriage the tiv people value covenants and intermarriage as a traditional peacemaking strategy. generally, peacemaking agreements are done mostly in two categories; through ikyur-yan (covenants or pacts) where ayande grass was also planted as an insignia for peace; and through intermarriage. these peace accords empowered the tiv people and their warring partners to discontinue and restrain their disputes, have a considerable period of peace, and enjoy meaningful support from one another. after all, the tiv ideology that the earth is meant to be enjoyed fuels their passion for peace. thus, the tiv practiced the establishment of covenants between their clans and other nations to prevent conict and build peace. this was done especially in conict-prone or border areas. genger stressed that: the covenants between two or more tiv groups were intended to tighten their brotherhood and strengthen their value of social collaboration. the covenant prohibited the parties from initiating or participating in any violent conict against each other or in reneging on an agreed social collaboration such as rotational/band farming (ihyumbe). those parties that defaulted on their covenant igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 124 duties were to be bothered by the death spell or the curse of ill luck (148). orpin kwaghkor explained the process of resolution stating that the various parties would face one another in a circle, each presenting their grievances and seeking to persuade one another about the superiority of their positions. both parties would invite witnesses to help establish their case (oral interview, 2021). for agena, this kind of exercise is mostly raucous, and sometimes protracted and time-consuming, though not like the conventional approach where it lasts for days, weeks, or years before resolution is achieved but at the end, the decision arrived at with solemnity is accepted as sacred and binding on the entire community or parties involved. it is important to state that in traditional tiv society, decision-making takes the form of negotiations, discussions and deliberation. where a conict is carefully managed and the issue resolved, the conicting parties engage in the ritual performance of covenant-making (149). specically, adega emphasizes that after both parties have agreed on the need and satisfactory terms for peace, they resolved to enter into a covenant (117). he expressed that: the ritual performance of ifan i gberen or ifan i hamber or mngeren ma gberen is the pouring of libation and dispelling of the effecting inuence of curses pronounced during the conict. this was symbolically done by sipping water from a calabash and spitting it out to signify that, ndorough ku gba-peace will reign supreme and that, the water will put away the heat occasioned by the conict. also, the conicting parties could kuve (embrace) as a sign of peace and fraternal love between them. this is followed by the eating of kwaghyan man man msoron ma himen iyongu which is the food and beer of reconciliation indicating that conict and differences are over (adega 117). those initiating the covenant have to enter into it willingly. it is not something that can be imposed without agreement. in the covenant process, the elders normally intervene in a communal conict, and because such elders wield substantial powers “physically and metaphysically: their words are often respected. their decision is therefore binding as they are believed to have access to spiritual powers. their words are nal lest their retributive justice is turned against the disobedient ones. prayers and sacrices are offered in terms of animals and bloodshed to the supernatural forces which act as symbolic cleansing and purication of guilt and source of reconciliation. these symbolic ritual acts express commitment and trust and build more condence in the parties in conict towards the reconciliation process. agena concludes that the tiv felt that, their reconciliation is more binding and safer as they enter into the covenant with solemnity and fear. for they believe in the supernatural connectivity to enforce sanctions and plague erring offenders. to avoid incurring the wrath that violators would suffer from the supernatural beings, they are bound to obey the terms of the covenant which makes ikuryan (covenant-making) among the tiv to be very effective in conict resolution. covenant-making in tiv also involved oath-taking whereby the arbitrators (elders) recommended that the disputants must take an oath called ibumun to restrain them from going against the covenant (94-95). there are some instances among the tiv where ikyuryan (covenant-making) was initiated to resolve conicts at different levels and periods. for example, the covenant between the kusuv and ikyurav tiev in 1994 took place as a conict resolution approach. it was mediated by wantaregh paul iorpuu unongo. the two clans cooperated and entered into a covenant called igbe tse (destruction of ancestral home), named after the consequences the violators would encounter which were natural disasters especially death in their families such that their ancestral homes igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 125 would be desecrated and deserted (agena 98). again, chief j.d. dent the asor tar u tiv in 1994 also mediated in the same kusuv and ikurav-tiev conict and they entered into a covenant. a symbol of covenant establishing peace was built at their boundary. again, the conict between ipav and ukan that lingered between 1978 and 2003 was resolved in 2004 with a covenant. a traditional iyongo i mnger (water gourd) with water was given to the ukan and ipav elders. they sprinkled the water and brewed traditional beer was poured into this water gourd, the eldest persons from ukan and ipav drank from it. thus, they entered into a covenant with a solemn oath that they would never go into conicts that would result in the shedding of blood. if they did so, such a party would encounter misfortunes from god. this is said to have taken place in the year 2004. furthermore, the conict between mbaduku (vandeikya lga) and udam (obudu, cross river) between 1986 and 2000s was resolved in 2014 when the two communities came together to dialogue. they resolved at the meeting that, any member of the two communities that goes to war against the other shall develop a swollen stomach. the mbaduku people killed a goat and divided it into two gave one to udam and retained the other. the udam killed a dog, divided it into two, gave half to the tiv, and kept the other for themselves. the covenant was therefore sealed with the blood of these animals, and they called on god to help them watch over and maintain the covenant. the covenant took place in the presence of god, chiefs, elders, priests, and some government ofcials from the two lgas of vandeikya and obudu (agena 114-115). this is also similar to the covenants between kaambe, nongov in the guma local government area and mhajir, mbakor in the tarka local government area in 2011. thus, over the years, peace contracts through covenants have decisively played a major role in violent conict resolution within and around the tiv people. amid every tiv covenant is the component of ibumun, oath-taking. oath-taking is the climax and seal upon every covenant that makes it efcacious. generally, an oath is that abstemious promise that is pronounced to be binding, usually in verbal formula or emblematic action. according to perpetual waapela, oath-taking could be administered to two individuals or communities in order to promote and strengthen bonds of friendship and foster good human relationships (94). she adds that oath-taking binds two parties mystically, restraining them from hostility towards each other. the oath, so taken, creates something like a “blood bond” in which the two parties concerned relate with one another as if they were real blood relations and would refrain from acting recklessly or behaving in a manner that would create antagonism and aggression between them. waapela maintains that oath symbols used are the detective techniques or objects carved out according to the cultural postulations of a particular people dependent on their justice system. it is by these symbols that oaths are administered (94). the use of oaths is premised on the belief among the tiv that conict resolution derives from a dualism of the physical and the metaphysical. the invisible facade or the supernatural was the rst while the second was on the visible, physical aspect. in order for the continuity of the peace process to be enhanced both the visible and the invisible plays a part. first, the supernatural deities usually monitor the panorama of conict resolution to ascertain compliance with the spiritual principles associated with it to avoid misunderstanding. on the other hand, in the physical earthly realm, the peace actors not only conform to the sacred directives in order not to fall victim to the misfortune and wrath of the supernaturals but also to tag along the expected principles of conict resolution. it is to be understood that there is a connection between the two realms and balance has to be maintained between the deities and the humans' conicting situation. this is part of the essential characteristics of conict prevention in tivland. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 126 inter-marriage is another form of peace contract the tiv entered to foster stability between themselves and their conict partners. intermarriage was a viable asset for conict prevention and peacemaking strategy in the pre-colonial times between the tiv and their closest neighbours. not only did this strategy record success during the pre-colonial period, the vestiges of this practice are found in several communities in tivland today. the inter-ethnic marriage strategy promoted family, social and peaceful relationships between the tiv communities and their neighbours. the tiv also entered into exchange marriages with the ato-a-tiev (meaning, the non-tiv communities) in order to foster a peaceful relationship, consolidate peace resolutions, and promote agricultural ties between them. this strategy served us well, with those neighbors whom we encountered while we migrated and settled in this land (genger 151). according to ayangaor, the practice of marriages with the ato-a-tiev took place mostly between the tiv and their southern neighbors particularly the udam and the idoma tribes. however, the tiv were more inclined to give their daughters in marriage to the ato-a-tiev than take wives from them. in essence, this practice was conceived to establish peaceful relationships and ensure sustainable trade activities between the two communities (qtd. in genger 152). indeed, it did suppress previous hostilities and promoted greater understanding and trust so that members of both families visited, stayed, and invested in each other's community. this peacemaking approach kept the tiv's immediate neighbors, the idoma and udam from regular bloody encounters, and it remains important today. restorative/peacemaking gathering approach restorative or peace gathering is another non-violent indeginous approach to conict resolution after peace contracts. thus, the importance of family and consanguinity was rst invoked during the peacemaking gathering. the leader or facilitator of the mtem u soron ayoosu usually starts by reminding the gathering of their consanguinity as family and as members of the tiv nation. genger elaborates that, in the past, the elders initiated this popular value by digging a big heap of soil and making the conict parties stand on two opposite sides of it. in the opening address, he would remind both parties of their common progenitor and ancestry and draw their minds to the futility of ghting or harming each other. in the case of conict with outsiders, a peace circle was convened after both sides elevated the ayande grass for the cessation of antagonism and to initiate a successful peace dialogue. during this meeting, both sides recounted some points of past mutuality in their relationship and the reasons to ght no more such as shared fears, ordeals, areas of collaboration, and interests (161). the tiv deploys such terms and concepts as mtem u soron ayoosu (conict resolution sitting), mkohol u soron ayoosu (conict resolution meeting), ijir teman (arbitrative sitting), mtem u van a bem (peace-returning meeting), and in extreme cases ijir tamen will be convened. whichever nomenclature was employed or interpreted; the difference grades in restorative gathering depended on the actors that congregated. this was also based on the magnitude of the conict. for instance, ijir tamen which is the highest ruling or decision-making body in tivland would naturally involve the tor tiv (paramount ruler of the tiv nation), ator (rst class chiefs), uter (second class chiefs), mue ter, utyo mba iorov (district heads), mbatarev (kindred heads), ator a kpande and chieftaincy title holders. whereas, other lower levels of mtem u sorun tar could also be convened. this means that restorative or peace-making gatherings can be at the level of families, communities, clans, etc. however, genger was more specic. he states that: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 127 the peacemaking stakeholders,” and chronologically they include the conict parties, nuclear family heads, and extended family heads (mba yav mba ken ate – “family heads who own the succor hut”). other members of the of mtem u soron ayoosu include the welfare overseers (“a tor-a-kpande”), kindred heads (“mba tarev”), district heads ('u-tyo mbaiorov”), clan heads (“muer ter”), mega clan heads (“u-ter”), zonal clan heads (“a-tor”) the paramount leader of the tiv nation (the “tor tiv”), and the young men's age-group (154). from the position by genger above, it could be understood that these traditional chiefs address conicts at their respective leadership levels, not in isolation, but as a gathering of mtem u soron ayoosu. key matters are usually referred to the higher leaders in the hierarchy as the case demands. on the other hand, leaders at the higher levels refer conict parties or less important issues to the lower levels to respect protocol and the principles of collaboration and subsidiarity. this also ensured harmony in the society. in tivland, the value of unity and communalism were unquantied. this was evidenced in philosophies and adages like “ka tema imongo mbagbera ve fe iwa ye”; meaning, “out of togetherness, the people of mbagbera discovered the art blacksmithing” and “uwagh sen tswen hule; meaning, “a river that ows alone fails to go straight” are pointers to tiv ideology of unity. they knew that one man or one community alone could not withstand the hazards and dangers lurking in the land. they knew earlier that the only way to forge a path for themselves was to come together. this could not be possible in an atmosphere of conict amongst themselves. thus, internal squabbles were not tolerated. a people cannot be united if there is no peace, and there can never be peace if the people are not united. thus, the tiv would point out the need for brotherliness and cooperation stating, “ka tema imongo mbagbera ve fe iwa ye”. this maxim has various implications, it is in unity, collectivism, togetherness, and communality that the tiv would develop or achieve greater heights. in order to show the essence of both parties in conict to meet and deliberate for resolution, the tiv would say iwen ka i tema sha igenegh ver, item ikye ye which translates to “it takes two stones to break a palm kernel”. this is to further accentuate that by coming together even difcult ts and challenges that one man or a single community cannot handle would easily be achieved. besides the tiv would also say kon mom ngu lun kyo ga, meaning, “a single tree cannot make a forest” and that “uwagh sen tswen hule; meaning, “a river that ows alone fails to go straight”. the tiv knew that unanimity was more fullling and accomplishing as evidenced by their history of tribal wars. these pre-colonial wars taught them that there would be greatness and development in the land if they came together. according to agena therefore, when one party still disagreed in the course of discussion, they would say, ka aciin anu, akende a moughun (when they are pressing the knees, the shoulders are rising). accordingly, this points to the fact that the parties in conict need to give peace a chance by resolving their conict for development to take place (93). usually at a peace meeting, the tiv would advise the parties in conict to accept their faults so that genuine reconciliation would take place. hence, they point out that, nyinya ngu a ngahar anyiin kpa gbe (a horse has four limbs, yet it falls). this implies that to err is inevitable for human beings, but to forgive is to forge a path for development and peace to thrive. thus, one should be forgiven if one makes a mistake, for there is no infallible human (shishima 28). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 128 ijir teman became a valuable community activity as far back as the tiv discovered the need for peace. this act afforded the council of elders and relations involved in a dispute an opportunity to settle their differences. the different factions were brought together under dialogue. according to boege, the elders are highly esteemed for their knowledge of customs, myths and the history of the communities and the relationship of the parties in conicts. their rich experience in conict regulation, their skills as orators as well as their social capital as leaders of the communities empower them to negotiate a resolution to the conicts that are acceptable to all sides. therefore, the extreme wisdom and knowledge of tiv affairs displayed by elders at council meetings commanded respect and fear for them. bohanan corroborates that ijir (moot) among the tiv is an assembly of neighbours and kinsmen who decides disputes. he points out that, ikyuryan (covenant making) usually takes place following a successful completion of a moot and ritual is performed involving swem (the spiritual symbol of truth among the tiv) (qtd. in genger 153). most importantly, the core values that assisted in conict resolution were mimi/kor (truth), icivir (respect) and integrity. truth is the most fundamental key value. truth-telling practices bring credibility and success to their peacemaking gatherings. however, it is only regrettable that today the dominant western political and legal system with its exploitative and deceitful capitalist tendencies has inuenced some traditional leaders with manipulative and untruthful attitudes when they process conict resolution meetings. getting people who can speak the truth is very difcult in our (tiv) society today. more people are spreading injurious information than some know the truth. some of the leaders who facilitate peace meetings take sides thereby giving the semblance of fair judgement. for the reason of politics, few people are even neutral now. the new political way of life we have accepted has a very low content for truth and justice. but as the saying goes kor ngu ke to (there is truth in spoken words), usually, the manipulative or untruthful instances are easily detectable and are strongly detested because the approach is essentially sincere, wide open, and participatory. traditional leaders and the members of the peacemaking meeting only have to be sincere to impress the expectations of their people. the tiv believe that mimi ngu ke shima (truth comes from one's heart); is manifest in words and body language and it is essentially effective. when a conict party or member of the mtem (peace gathering) is saying the truth, one can know it in one's heart, and hear no word that antagonizes it. the person easily accepts contrary opinions and is weak when he is guilty. on the contrary, the person with logic is argumentative and not interested in restoring the ruptured situation and relationship because he is only interested in how to emerge as the winner of the case blameless. on the other hand, the tiv values respect in conict resolution situations. when given respect, the guilty party called or ibyoogh expresses remorse and apologizes more easily. in the same manner, the aggrieved party is more willing to forgive and let go and be open to the restoration of a peaceful relationship. the show of respect to both parties by the traditional leaders and members of the mtem (council) makes it easy to facilitate peacemaking or to address conict. however, most of the tiv in political positions and high places of authority in government appear to be showing disregard for tiv indigenous social systems and peacemaking values such as truth, respect, integrity and harmony. this seems to be forgetting one's own roots or abandoning their cultural values. while this is worrisome, tiv society or culture supersedes individuals and the former's worldview will always prevail. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 129 integrity, availability and good disposition are another set of interconnected values in the mtem u soron ayoosu. they indicated that the leaders lived in the community and were always available for peacemaking gatherings that provided their people with the opportunity to report cases and to be attended to for different reasons. there is more to just being available to the people. for example, the importance of the traditional leaders being disposed to listen to their people's complaints on issues is a great asset. traditional leaders who embrace a lavish lifestyle instead of leading their people have put them in harm's way. it can be argued that leaders can have their leisure, but it should not be to the detriment of their social responsibilities and ofcial duties or at the peril of the communities they serve. on the whole, the mtem u soron ayoosu works at removing the causes of the conict, addressing the situation, repairing the emerging harms, mending the ssured community and restoring the broken relationships. the tiv people are one family come what may, and this must be restored when it is threatened by any kind of conict. contribution to knowledge this study exposes ethical models that could curb violent conicts in tivland. such a model incorporates the efforts of all and sundry – traditional authority, religious leaders, government, non-governmental organizations and individuals – to work conscientiously towards the curbing of violent conicts in tiv land and elsewhere. conclusion even though violent conict has ravaged tivland over the years, the adaption of proper models and complementary measures are mapped out for a lasting solution. at the moment the spate of farmer/herder conict has become more worrisome. on this note, the government reserves the right to employ the just war principle to avert the conict. the just war doctrine offers an alternative to using moderate force in the defence of civilians. applying the just was principle will help protect the poor villagers who are facing the brunt of massacre and displacement. aquinas's principle of the double effect also proves effective on the part of the tiv. applying the principle of double effect requires the use of moderate force in self-defense. using these two principles will help ensure that, the people are defended and farmer/herder conict is averted. on the other hand, other forms of violent conicts such as political violence, and land disputes can be resolved from the ethical argument on the dignity of human life. the dignity of human life is sustained from the perspective of common humanity and the sanctity of human life. human life is given by god from conception to birth, therefore, only god reserves the right to take life. the common humanity argument refers us back to our unity, oneness and communalism of the human race. with a society built upon communal philosophy, the tiv traced their roots back to the community into which they were borne. with such shared values, respect for the traditional leadership and their authority in mediating violent conict will be restored. the introduction of western culture, christianity, western social, economic and political systems in tivland has brought about signicant changes that are inimical to tiv traditional religious and cultural practices. consequently, practices and beliefs that were aspects of the religio-cultural life of the tiv were now considered archaic, barbaric, uncivilized, or paganistic. the negative impact these attitudes have on the socio-cultural life of the people is very glaring; namely distortion of cultural values, moral degeneration, disunity, violence, hatred, and jealousy, to mention just a few. the tiv who took pride in being his brother's keeper does not see any value in the spirit of brotherhood. therefore, in models for violent conict resolution, this study submits that hence the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 130 negative impact of violent conicts overwhelms the peace and development of tiv society, all hands must be on deck to deploy the ethical models in this study for lasting peace. recommendations based on the devastating effects of persistent violent conicts in tivland and the ndings of this research, the following are recommended. i. traditional leaders in tivland must display unstained political and religious neutrality, especially in mediating violent conicts so as to regain authority and respect deserving of their positions. ii. the government and security agencies must be willing to eschew partiality, bias, and all manner of prejudice in applying the just war doctrine in violent conict situations. iii. even if a violent conict should erupt, the tiv youths must be willing, following the principle of double effect, to avoid using extreme force for self-defence. iv. the task for conict resolution must cut across all the traditional institutions such as the family, extended family, kindred, district, clan, and the level of the tiv traditional council. v. the government at the federal, state and local levels must join hands to nd a lasting solution to violent conict in tivland and beyond and to resettle the victims of violence currently living in various idp camps to their ancestral homes. vi. the government at the federal, state and local levels must cooperate in establishing security outlets in conict-prone areas such as the borders between benue state and nassarawa states, between benue and taraba states, as well as between benue and cross river states. vii. the anti-open grazing and ranches establishment law of the benue state government should be strengthened while at the same time, applying the just war doctrine to guard the entry points into benue state. works cited adega, p.a. “ate: (living room) as the centre of unity in tiv compounds” in shishima, s.d. (ed). ate: journal of african religion and culture. 1. enugu: hosnna books, 2010. print. agena, t.t. “ikyuryan (covenant making) among the tiv as a religio-cultural approach to conict resolution in benue state”. a thesis in the department of religion and cultural studies, faculty of arts, benue state university, makurdi, 2018. print. ahangba utume. oral interview, business man, konshisha lga. 16/02/21 atel, e.t. dynamics of tiv religion and culture: a philosophical-theological perspective. lagos: free enterprises, 2004. print. azape tarvihi oral interview. farmer gungul, konshisha lga. 09/02/21 boege, v. “potential and limits of traditional approaches in peacebuilding” berghof handbook ii: advancing conict transformation. (2011):.431-457. print. boege, v. “traditional approaches to conict transformation potentials of limits” <http//222.berghofhandbooknet.cpm>accessed on 20/12/2013. web. bohannan, p. “the migration and expansion of the tiv”. africa: journal of the international african institute. 24. 1 (1956): 104 – 113. print. bohannan, p. and bohannan, l. tiv economy. evanston: north western university press, 1968. print bohannan, paul and laura, g. tiv economy. evanston: northwestern press university, 1968. print. dzurgba, akpenpuun. prevention and management of conict. ibadan: loud books 2006. print. east, rupert n. (trans), akiga's story: the tiv tribe as seen by one of its members. london: oxford igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 131 university press, 1965. print. genger, peter. “mainstreaming tiv indigenous peacemaking approaches (tipa): identifying the enhancing processes, steps and actors”. a thesis submitted to the faculty of graduate studies of the university of manitoba, winnipeg, 2020. print. inyaregh abel aor. “slavery in the pauline epistle to philemon: theological, social, and economic implications for nigerian context” ilorin journal of religious studies, (ijourels), vol.11 no.2, december 2021, pp.13-28; a publication of university of ilorin, ilorin. moti, j. s. and wegh, s. f. an encounter between tiv religion and christianity. enugu: snaap, 2001. print. muigua, kariuki. “ traditional conict resolution mechanisms and institutions” fciarb, october 2017. orkuma vanger. oral interview. businessman konshisha lga, 23/04/21 orpin kwaghkor, oral interview. businessman, naka, gwer west lga. 07/10/21 otite, o. and w. ogionwo. an introduction to sociological studies 2nd ed. ibadan: henineman, 1994. print. shishima, s. d. “tiv unity and national development in nigeria” a paper presented at thewallace and wolf contemporary sociological theory. new york: prentice-hall 1986. print torkula, a. a. the cosmology in tiv world-view. makurdi: oracle, 2006. print. vashir agbe. oral interview farmer agbeede, konshisha lga. 28/03/21 waapela, n. p. “covenants as a means of enhancing social relationships in african religion.” swem: journal of religion and philosophy.3 (2008): 117-132. print. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 132 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 36 governance and leadership in africa: lessons and impacts onyema, matthias chibuzo, ph.d methodist theological institute, mission-hill, umuahia revmatthiasonyema@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.25001.77923 abstract aspiring for governance and leadership position is natural with man. someone who receives and adheres to instruction from another person many a time anticipates a day he will be in a seemingly position of dishing out instructions that should be obeyed by another. however, the way and manner many people pursue governance and leadership position leaves much to be examined.as a result, they employ different unneeded strategies to achieve their objectives. but then, getting to the office becomes a mere disappointment for lack of credibility as they exert every amount of incompetence in every area as leaders. this scenario has raised a lot of socio-political, economic and religious problems in our society. hence, this paper therefore examines the making of a governor and a leader. it discusses the craving for governance and leadership positions and its negative tendencies in africa, using nigeria as a case study. lessons and impacts, as well as factors that make for a good leadership are highlighted. it is discovered that becoming a leader is different from providing good leadership. individuals that desire to be in position of governance and leadership should know that leadership comes with responsibility which they should strive to fulfill. to be a good governor and leader, one must imbibe the virtues that such office demands. such aspirants should therefore seek proper understanding of what governance and leadership mean before aspiring for it. keywords: governance, leadership, lessons, and impacts. introduction: governance the concept of "governance" is not new. it is as old as human civilization. simply put "governance" means: the process ofdecisionmaking and the process bywhich decisions are implemented (or notimplemented). governance can be used in several contexts such as corporate governance, international governance, national governance and local governance. since governance is the process of decision making and the process by which decisions are implemented, an analysis of governance focuses on the formal and informal actors involved in decision-making and implementing the decisions made and http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/rg.2.2.25001.77923 onyema, matthias chibuzo, ph.d the formal and informal structures that have been set in place to arrive at and implement the decision. government is one of the actors in governance. other actors involved in governance vary depending on the level of government that is under discussion. in rural areas, for example, other actors may include influential land lords, associations of peasant farmers, cooperatives, ngos, research institutes, religious leaders, finance institutions political parties, the military etc. at the national level, in addition to the above actors, media, lobbyists, international donors, multi-national corporations, etc. may play a role in decision making or in influencing the decision-making process. all actors other than government and the military are grouped together as part of the "civil society." in some countries in addition to the civil society, organized crime syndicates also influence decision-making, particularly in urban areas and at the national level. similarly, formal government structures are one means by which decisions are arrived at and implemented. at the national level, informal decision-making structures, such as "kitchen cabinets" or informal advisors may exist. in urban areas, organized crime syndicates such as the "land mafia" may influence decision-making. in some rural areas locally powerful families may make or influence decision-making. such, informal decision-making is often the result of corrupt practices or leads to corrupt practices. recently the terms "governance" and "good governance" are being increasingly used in development literature. bad governance is being increasingly regarded as one of the root causes of all evil within our societies. major donors and international financial institutions are increasingly basing their aid and loans on the condition that reforms that ensure "good governance" are undertaken. definition of governance governance has been defined to refer to structures and processes that are designed to ensure accountability, transparency, responsiveness, rule of law, stability, equity and inclusiveness, empowerment, and broad-based participation. governance also represents the norms, governance and leadership in africa: lessons and impacts 38 values and rules of the game through which public affairs are managed in a manner that is transparent, participatory, inclusive and responsive. governance therefore can be subtle and may not be easily observable. in a broad sense, governance is about the culture and institutional environment in which citizens and stakeholders interact among themselves and participate in public affairs. it is more than the organs of the government. international agencies such as undp, the world bank, the oecd development assistance committee (dac) and others define governance as the exercise of authority or power in order to manage a country‟s economic, political and administrative affairs. the 2009 global monitoring report sees governance as „power relationships,‟ „formal and informal processes of formulating policies and allocating resources,‟ „processes of decision-making‟ and „mechanisms for holding governments accountable.‟ characteristics of good governance good governance has 8 major characteristics. it is participatory, consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive and follows the rule of law. it assures that corruption is minimized, the views of minorities are taken into account and that the voices of the most vulnerable in society are heard in decision-making. it is also responsive to the present and future needs of society. participation participation by both men and women is a key cornerstone of good governance.participation could be either direct or through legitimate intermediate institutions or representatives. it is important to point out that representative democracy does not necessarily mean that the concerns of the most vulnerable in society would be taken into consideration in decision making. participation needs to be informed and organized. this means freedom of association and expression on the one hand and an organized civil society on the other hand. onyema, matthias chibuzo, ph.d rule of law good governance requires fair legal frameworks that are enforced impartially. it also requires full protection of human rights, particularly those of minorities. impartial enforcement of laws requires an independent judiciary and an impartial and incorruptible police force. transparency transparency means that decisions taken and their enforcement are done in a manner that follows rules and regulations. it also means that information is freely available and directly accessible to those who will be affected by such decisions and their enforcement. it also means that enough information is provided and that it is provided in easily understandable forms and media. responsiveness good governance requires that institutions and processes try to serve all stakeholders within a reasonable timeframe. the hub of good governance: consensus oriented there are several actors and as many view points in a given society. good governance requires mediation of the different interests in society to reach a broad consensus in society on what is in the best interest of the whole community and how this can be achieved. it also requires a broad and long-term perspective on what is needed for sustainable human development and how to achieve the goals of such development. this can only result from an understanding of the historical, cultural and social contexts of a given society or community. governance and leadership in africa: lessons and impacts 40 equity and inclusiveness a society‟s wellbeing depends on ensuring that all its members feel that they have a stake in it and do not feel excluded from the mainstream of society. this requires all groups, but particularly the most vulnerable, have opportunities to improve or maintain their wellbeing. effectiveness and efficiency good governance means that processes and institutions produce results that meet the needs of society while making the best use of resources at their disposal. the concept of efficiency in the context of good governance also covers the sustainable use of natural resources and the protection of the environment. accountability accountability is a key requirement of good governance. not only governmental institutions but also the private sector and civil society organizations must be accountable to the public and to their institutional stakeholders. who is accountable to whom varies depending on whether decisions or actions taken are internal or external to an organization or institution. in general, an organization or an institution is accountable to those who will be affected by its decisions or actions. accountability cannot be enforced without transparency and the rule of law. the need for good governance: why governance matters good governance creates a strong future for an organization by continuously steering towards a vision and making sure that day-today management is always lined up with the organization‟s goals. at its core, governance is about leadership. an effective board will improve the organization‟s results, both financial and social, and make sure the owners' assets and funds are used appropriately. poorgovernancecan put organizations at risk of commercial failure, financial and legal problems for directors/trustees or allow an organization to lose sight of its purpose and its responsibilities to its owners and people who benefit from its success. the rights-based approach to governance implies that the holders of rights should also participate fully in deciding how those rights are onyema, matthias chibuzo, ph.d fulfilled, such as through participation and greater empowerment. and as the millennium declaration emphasizes, one of the most important requirements for achieving this and the mdg is “governance” the report points out that asia and the pacific has many diverse forms of democratic governments. in some cases, these have involved highly centralized administrations that have offered a limited space for popular participation. nevertheless, in recent years there have been significant changes. one of the most dramatic examples has been in indonesia, which for decades until the late 1990s had a strongly centralized administration. now the democratic government in indonesia has not only offered free and fair elections; it has also enacted a radical process of decentralization. another vital attribute of governance in mdgs is efficient and effective administration. the government of india, for example, is determined to be more responsive and accountable to the public. a further governance priority in asia and the pacific is the fight against corruption, which degrades the quality of governance and hits hardest at the poorest. the government of china for example is among those taking firm measures to combat corruption and promote integrity in governance. theories and concepts of governance in line with our pluralistic understanding of governance, team members apply a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of governance. in the following, we give an overview of the approaches used by team members in their research focusing on  argumentative theories  cultural theory  democratic and legal theories  gender theory in political science  network theories  political economy and  theories of system transition and transformation argumentative theories (herbert gottweis) argumentative theories of governance focus on the constitutive forces and formative conditions for the emergence and operation of particular governance regimes. argumentative approaches towards governance and leadership in africa: lessons and impacts 42 governance share an emphasis on language as a key feature of any policy process and thus as a necessary key component of governance and policy analysis. argumentative policy analysis links post-positivist epistemology with social theory and methodology and encompasses theoretical approaches such as discourse analysis, post-structuralist approaches, frame analysis, and interpretative policy analysis. although these different approaches are hardly synonymous, they nevertheless share the special attention they give to argumentation and language and the process of utilizing, mobilizing, and weighing arguments and signs in the interpretation and praxis of policy making and governance (fischer 2003.) this epistemological orientation is critical of the understanding that institutions of governance are not simply out there to be found by policymakers or citizens using them. rather, institutions are themselves constituted through the acts of description or use. in the context of this tradition of thinking, theories of governmentality (dean 1999) and critical discourse theory (foucault 1971, 1991; fairclough 1992) also play an important role and have shown that governance is inseparable from argumentation, discourse and the construction of political identity. cultural theory (andreas pribersky) after the linguistic turn of the seventies, the cultural turn that led to a complete restructuring of the humanities represents the second wave of qualitative approaches to gain an increasing influence on the social sciences since the eighties. the reintroduction of cultural theory as an important tool for political analysis is closely linked to some key issues of contemporary politics: the changing behaviour of consumers and voters, the loosening of traditional social relations as well as of political affiliations and the transformation of society towards new cultural group patterns reopened the question of political culture(s) as a basis for democratic governance in the advanced societies (gibbins 1989, gibbins/ reimer 1999). at the same time, the global attempts of democratization and decolonization (huntington 1991, diamond 1999) raised again the question of the establishment of stable democracies gaining actuality in the still unfinished process of democratic transformation of the former soviet bloc and soviet union (beyme 1996) and the effects of this process on the european and global political order (geertz 1996). in the process of an integrating and enlarging europe, these problems are especially sound in an increasing problem of rising nationalism and right-wing populism (pribersky 2001, pribersky/ liebhart/ kurtán 2002) or in the crisis of representation of european politics (öhner/ pribersky et al. 2005). onyema, matthias chibuzo, ph.d these political developments lead to a constant increase of the use of the term „culture‟ as an explanatory variable of political differences and encounters (huntington 1996) also in the mass media and to a reevaluation of approaches of cultural theory concerning their explanatory force for contemporary politics (schwelling 2004). the extension of political analysis of the subcultures of society by the means of a cultural studies approach or the reformulation of the term „political culture‟ from a political science (thompson/ ellis/ wildavsky 1990) and from an anthropological perspective (abélès/jeudy 1997) as well have greatly contributed to a new understanding of democratic governance, that includes the building and the participatory element of a civil society and its importance for democratic stability: therefore, these contributions are considered an ntegral part of the program of the vienna school of governance. democratic and legal theories (josef melchior, sieglinde rosenberger, werner zips) for quite a while, the implications of the various modes of governance for democracy had been neglected in governance studies that focused primarily on the efficiency and effectiveness of the given arrangements. while the new modes of governance have the potential to increase participation and citizen involvement, and they may enhance the problem-solving capacity of politics, critical questions remain. are governance practices able to overcome what putnam called 'bowling alone' (2000)? how to evaluate governance by standards of liberal democracy? how can equality of access be secured when informal networks of actors flourish? is there a bias in the new governance arrangements privileging some groups (like producers, big business, functional elites and well organized groups) over others (for instance, consumers, workers, women, immigrants, or the unemployed)? in which policy fields can new forms of participation be identified and which governance arrangements tend to escape democratic control and accountability? what about the legitimacy of non-state actors? in the context of the european union, the debate about the democratic deficit has intensified over the last two decades stimulating a broad range of answers to the question whether and how the eu and its governance structures may be democratized (antalovsky, e./j. melchior/s. puntscher riekmann 1997; melchior, j. 1999a; 1999c). the debate about any further democratization of governance in the eu draws on theories of representative democracy, direct democracy, participatory and deliberative democracy, feminism and constitutionalism (among the vast literature limited room allows only to mention a few contributions governance and leadership in africa: lessons and impacts 44 to the debate: majone, g. 1998; schmitter, p.c. 2000; among the vast literature limited room allows only to mention a few contributions to the debate: abromeit, h. 2002; melchior, j. 2004a; rosenberger, s. 2005). from a normative point of view, connecting discourse theory and forms of democratization is one of the key issues at stake. the notion of legal pluralism reflects the epistemological and indeed ideological struggles with more rigid state-centric positions that portray law as a unified, homogenous, exclusive, and territorially binding category in juxtaposition to theories of pluralistic governmentality (wiener 1999; benda-beckmann f./benda-beckmann k./griffiths 2005). one core critical aspect of research is to show, if and how a political system, network, or relationship is tied to broader society-wide communicative processes that have a democratic, legitimating quality. perhaps many of those so-called indigenous societies in africa, asia, polynesia, australia, south america and other parts of the globe turn out to fit (at least occasionally) better to a proceduralist conception of justice that combines notions of communicative competence, democracy, and rule of law, than the self-acclaimed western representatives of modernity (rouveroy van nieuwaal, e.a.b.v./w. zips 1998). a parameter of procedural justice counterfactually applied to empirical conditions lays claim to the potential of law as the guarantor of equal participation in (self-)regulatory processes beyond unilateral power and control (zips, w. 2002). gender theory in political science (birgit sauer) gender has been developed as a theory in political science since the 1970s. theories of gender point out how politics and policies structure and construct gender differences and gender inequalities. they also conceptualize the ways in which gender regimes have an impact on polities, policies and politics. starting with the integration of gender difference as a variable in studies on political behavior and mind sets, gender difference and gender relations since the 1980s have been developed as category which structures societies, economies and politics (scott 1990). in political science gender studies are located for instance in institutionalist approaches (welfare state institutions, skocpol 1992), in theories of democracy and state (phillips, squires, sauer) and in discursive approaches to policy-making (bacchi 2005). network theories of governance (gerda falkner) network theories of governance include approaches that investigate patterns of interest intermediation and public-private cooperation in the onyema, matthias chibuzo, ph.d making and implementation of public policies. their common concern is on how actors and agencies come to form networks, what holds them together, what determines their choices and how they influence political decisions (rhodes 1997; march/olsen 1989). most importantly, political scientists and sociologists have moved beyond the 1970s' and 1980s' debate on (neo) corporatism and have analyzed the rising importance of governance by policy networks (kohler-koch/eising 1999; peterson/bomberg 1999; peterson 2004). they now build on basic insights from the corporatist literature but focus more on the meso-level of governance in particular policy areas (not only on a macro-level across policies and sectors it is important to pay attention to new forms of network governance, on the one hand, and the evolution of the content of specific policies, on the other hand. also issues of legitimacy and accountability are crucial in this debate. political economy (rüdiger frank) often policy makers make and seek to sustain policy choices that are economically indefensible or unsustainable, or strongly resist reform measures. on the other hand, measures that make perfect sense from an economic point of view do not function in reality, while other, seemingly less efficient ones turn out to be the perfect match for a given politically determined situation. why do policy makers make such governance choices? why do technically sound governance measures succeed in certain environments but fail in others? how can we better understand the political economy contexts governance takes place in? one key methodological approach towards this end is the understanding of institutions or the “rules of the game in a society (north 1992). this approach helps us to directly incorporate many of the findings of east asian studies into the wider concept of governance, instead of viewing them just as the residual after all other approaches of explanation have failed. theories of transformation and transition (dieter segert/rüdiger frank/weigelin-schwiedrzik) theories of transformation and transition play an important role in the explanation of change from one regime type to another (e.g. form authoritarianism to democracy and vice versa) and in understanding the problems of governance that are involved in such changes. in the context of east-european transitions a governance problem of central importance is the simultaneity of economic, political and social change (beyer/stykow 2004). actor centered concepts play a crucial role in the governance and leadership in africa: lessons and impacts 46 analysis of system change. this approach was mainly generated by the so-called transitions to democracy school, and, later in the german discourse, by the “systemwechsel”group (merkel 1996; merkel/sandschneider/segert 1996; merkel/sandschneider 1997). the most analyzed actors were democratic party elites and interrelated with them the actors of civil society (segert 1997; kitschelt et al. 1999; merkel 2005). to understand regime, change some topics and the differences of socialist regimes are of particular importance, mainly: long term effects of the pre-socialist heritage; two different types of path dependency and recently the question of post-socialism. concerning the east european development, the transition in east germany is a special case that meets growing interest (segert 2003; land 2003, 2005). the legacy of state socialism is also stressed (bunce 1999) and leaves its mark on governing institutions and processes in the region. leadership the place of leadership in human society cannot be over-emphasized. consequently, every group and human organization requires governance and leadership for it to excel in its objectives and goals. any society without governance and leadership will certainly be disarrayed. ogunewu (2016) is of the opinion that “if an institution is to grow, mature and achieve its desired objectives, it cannot afford to toy with the issue of governance and leadership”. apart from this, the nature of leadership put on ground can render an institution a successful one or not. let a right individual mount a governance or leadership position, notable progress would be recorded, but if a wrong person, little or no progress will be emerged. it is conspicuous that some people in governance or leadership position do not seem to have the right vision of leadership and what it takes to be a good governor or a good leader. as a result, certain negative issues and problems often arise between the leader and the led. hence, this work discusses the concept of governance and leadership, theories of governance and leadership, leadership in nigeria, the challenge of leadership, factors that make a good leader, lessons, impacts and critical paradigms. concept of leadership leadership is the art of making others act or do what they may not ordinarily do or what they would want to do but not knowing how to go about it. a person who urges others to act or perform a particular onyema, matthias chibuzo, ph.d task is a leader. according to onwukwe (2017), defines it as “the act of leading. in line with this, „to lead means to guide, direct or to show the way. he furthermore says that leaders are individuals who have authority over others and are responsible for guiding actions. this invariably means that to be a leader, one is expected to guide and lead others to act or carry out a definite assignment expected of him or her. in the same vein, mary k. pratt in her definition of leadership says, “leadership is the ability of an individual or a group of individuals to influence and guide followers or other members of an organization”. in every human spheres of life, leadership is paramount if the organization must survive and achieve its aim. according to titre ande (2010), the greek word translates „leader‟ in secular word to mean a leader in business, politics or industry. similarly, quoting louis b. lundborg, horton states that a leader is one whom others will follow willingly and voluntarily. that expels out autocrats, bullies, tyrants, and all others who initiate the use of coercive power to exert their wills on others. horton also cited kenneth gangel who correctly observes that “leadership is not a political power play… leadership is not authoritarian attitude… leadership is not cultic control. the above assertions show that leadership has to do with making people to willingly accept to do certain things not by force. leadership ushers in the smooth administrative atmosphere of any group or organization. if any organization is to thrive, the leadership should cause the individuals to do certain things or act in certain ways that would favor the system using all leadership styles in existence. theories of leadership leadership theories are categorized under four main groups namely: trait theory, behavioural theory, contingency theory, power and influence theory. trait theories: this examines the type of person an individual who offers leadership is, i.e., the type of person that makes a good leader. the theory maintains that effective leaders share a number of common personality characteristics or traits. this theory notes that traits and qualities such as integrity, empathy, assertiveness, good decision making skills and likeability help in leading others. whoever possesses these traits has the tendency of being a good leader. governance and leadership in africa: lessons and impacts 48 behavioral theory: this looks at the behavioral aspect of the person that leads. the questions that beg for answers here are: does he dictate what should be done? or does he carry others along in decision-making in order to attract support and acceptance? from this notion, kurt lewin in 1930s developed three types of leaders: autocratic, democratic, and laisse-faire leaders. i. autocratic or authoritarian leader: this has to do with the type of things he does as a good leader. for example, the behavior of leaders affects their normal performance. authoritarian leadership decides what he wants and enforces it on others to carry out without consultation for anybody‟s view. the leader acts like a boss who dictates his intents and wants others to obey without question. he hardly listens to opinion of others except where the opinion favors his will. authoritarian leader is always feared by the subjects for he hardly considers other people‟s convenience in whatever he wants to do. the subordinates are only required to obey whatever the leader says; hence it is leadercentered. ii. democratic or participative leader: this is democratic in nature. other‟s feelings and their suggestions are often taken into consideration in decision-making. the leader does not assume knowledge of everything. nobody is victimized for airing his/her view. it is often said in democratic leadership that the majority carries the vote. iii. laissez-faire leader: this is the type of leader who relies on people‟s opinion with little or no opinion of his own. he wants to satisfy everybody as such can hardly be firm in any decision of his own. he is often nonchalant in his approach to his duty. similarly, peter white (1998), identifies three types of leadership style namely, dictatorial, consensus and participative-delegatory. a. dictatorial leadership: this type of leader makes all the decisions without consultations. white puts it that „a dictatorial leader makes too many decisions, seeks too little counsel, delegates too little responsibility and spends too little time in committee meetings‟. b. the consensus leader: this type of leader seeks to carry every one along and wants to be guided by every body‟s opinion. he has no firm control of the leadership and wants to satisfy everybody. he lets successive opinions to dominate without really his own. white says “a consensus leader makes too few decisions, seeks too much onyema, matthias chibuzo, ph.d counsel, delegates too little responsibility and wastes too many hours in discussion. c. the participative-delegatory leader: this type of leader clarifies the question, seeks advice, invites members to participate in group discussion, balances his own and group‟s decision-making, delegates to individuals the sub-decisions still to be made and uses committee time with careful stewardship. contingency theory of leadership: this theory states that effective leadership is contingent upon the situation at hand. the theory is of the view that one can be an effective leader under a particular circumstance and ineffective in another. so it is the situation one finds oneself in that determines the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of one‟s leadership. power and influence theory: it examines different ways the leader uses power and influence to get things done. this theory is interested in the source of the leader‟s power and the type of leadership style that emerges from there. challenges of leadership there is no gainsaying in the fact that those in leadership position encounter some challenges. some of these challenges, depending on how they are handled, can make or destroy the leader. the challenge could be internal or external. 1. internal threat sometimes a leader faces internal threat from within no matter how good he may be. the internal threat could come from fellow leaders who may be envious of his rising profile. such could sabotage every effort or good intention of the targeted leader. the overall leader after agreeing with his caucus on what should be done, those saddled with the responsibility of implementation, may intentionally fail to carry out the assignment all in a bid to discredit the one on the apex. some have lost wars to their enemies because of internal threat wherein people supposedly on their side betrayed them. similarly, things happen in every sector of life where somebody has to lead others. for instance, many times, a friend, brother, one‟s family member can be said to threaten a leader of his/her. 2. external threat governance and leadership in africa: lessons and impacts 50 a leader could equally face external threat. it could come from known or unknown enemies. apart from the fact that a leader can suffer threat internally, yet external threat abounds depending from where it may come from. the making of a good leader the question is, how can good leadership be provided? what factors can facilitate good leadership? in response, (fajana, 1997), identifies some essential factors that can help in the pursuit of good leadership which are highlighted below. personality: a leader should appear neat and responsible which can generate respect from others. knowledge: a leader should know what he is doing. he should not only be directing others how to do the work but by practical example guide them properly when necessary. when the subordinates know that he knows the work, he earns more respect and is endeared to their heart. empathy: a leader should be able to bring himself to the level or position of his subjects. he should not always express his anger at every little mistake made by his subordinates knowing, that he himself is equally susceptible to mistakes. he should share with them in moment of joy or sorrow. a good leader should be sensitive to the plight of his subordinates. task complexity: a superior should always recognize that by showing an understanding of the complexity of the task, they are registering the motivation and satisfaction of subordinates. there should also be the understanding that the goal of individual might be different from that of the organization. it is therefore the duty of the leader to see how an individual‟s goal could be harmonized with that of the group when necessary. effective communication is necessary in leadership: a good leader should not hide necessary information of what is required from the subordinates. he should also listen to and sieve irrelevant information from the real issues. onyema, matthias chibuzo, ph.d confronting problems: a good leader should be wise while tackling issues of conflicts. he should be mindful of using force in confronting problems but negotiation. conflicting information and rumors should be well-investigated and well-handled to the satisfaction of the parties concerned. thus, hasty conclusion should be avoided in unsubstantiated reports. sensitive to the need of the subordinates: a good leader should also be sensitive to the problems of the subordinates. as a sensitive leader, he should know what the crowd needs at that point in time as such made provision for them. a good leader should be sensitive to the plight of those he is leading. their welfare should not be taken for granted. sacrifice: a good leader should be ready to make sacrifice for his subjects when necessary. a good leader should therefore be ready to make sacrifice when necessary for the sake of his subjects. a worthy leader can take a risk for the good of the people he leads. courage: a good leader should be courageous. he should be able to display courage in taking certain decisions irrespective of whose ox is gored. he should not be easily influenced against what his is convinced of. he should also have the boldness to say no or yes when necessary as the case may be. furthermore, a good leader should be visionary. he should be able to think ahead and articulate things that will help his administration. in doing this, he should be able to harness potential of the people around him in order to achieve his goal. selflessness is another quality required of a good leader. he thinks of the welfare of the people under his trust. but when a leader is only concerned with what he will gain first, in carrying out any assignment, such a fellow is not a good leader. unfortunately, the opposite is the case as what characterizes leadership today in most cases both in politics and religion is selfishness. traditional approaches to governance and leadership in selected nigerian societies. governance and leadership in africa: lessons and impacts 52 africa is represented by multi-cultural practices. this diverge affects the methods to governance and leadership styles setting. generally, the approach would tend to differ from the western alternative of governance/leadership resolution in several respects. even then in africa itself, the approach may also differ from one culture to another. the ibibio of south eastern nigeria had political and judicial systems, which were as effective as those of centralized states. such states as the emirates of northern nigeria, the ancient yoruba kingdoms, the ancient ashanti kingdom of ghana, the ancient benin (edo) kingdom of nigeria to mention but a few. among the ibibios ibibio political organization was based on social organization and consisted of six administrative divisions augmented by traditional secret societies. udo (1983) lists them as follow: a. idip ete, literally, the fathers‟ womb, this consists of a man, his son, his brothers and his half brothers. b. ufok, literally a house, but also a collection of families (idip ete), which trace3d their origins to one father. c. ekpuk, a collection of ufok, which traced their origins to one father, this is the modern lineage or extended family. d. obio (village) is a collection of lineages which varied in number from village to village, and one of which was the parent and therefore senior to the rest. e. oduk (village group or sub clan) and f. ikpaisong (clan), which is a collection of village, groups which traced their origins to one village in the clan. a careful study of these structures and functions of each of the3 above would reveal that the ibibio people had a well organize3d system of government in pre-colonial times. the system listed above is available for peaceful and non-violent settlement or disputes at the individual, family, group, community, and national levels. among the efik/ibibio the law enforcement agencies were3 secret societies. they were mostly ekpe and ekpo respectively. mbiam juju and idiong (divinations) were used to establish truths among conflicting parties in matters of adjudication. all of the above handled the wholistic administration, governance and leadership issues of the people. among the yarkurr onyema, matthias chibuzo, ph.d among the yakurr of cross river the clan (kepun, plural is yekun) is a corporate body. it is patrilineal and exogamous. a number of clans make up yako village. the kepun is a ritual unit, which has joint rights in land. kepun consists of a number of lineages. obot kepun who is the most senior man and holds the office of priest, heads a kepun his responsibility is primarily to avert misfortune, or to make expiation to the spirit if wrong action is said to have angered it and so brought down sickness or some other misfortune on a kepun member. the asse priests are in charge of the village judicial administration. they play a very important role in traditional government of yako village. while the obot kepun authority is restricted to own clan, the ase priests as a group, along with the lineages exercise authority throughout the village. they are known as yabot (i.e. the elders). yabot is the plural of obot. the senior among the yabot is the leader of the entire village village. he is known as obot lopon. twenty-four members make up the council of priests headed by obot lopn. this council sees about secular as well as ritual matters in the entire village. they also settle conflict, but where they cannot settle such conflict, it will be referred to the yabot council for arbitration. among the igbos the ibo speaking people are also found in south eastern part of nigeria. they have their own traditional mechanisms for leadership matters among members. ibo law begins within the family group known as umunna. this consists of groups of compounds, each of which contains one or several small or biological families closely related to each other (oluwabamide 2003). as umunna formthe basis of the social systems, so the mode by which it is governed is the pattern of the mode of government of each larger group, be it an onuma (hamlet) nkporo (village) or obodo (village area). the government is made up of council of elders, presided over by the senior elder. the adjudicators concern themselves with the following offenses: governance and leadership in africa: lessons and impacts 54 a) offenses against the gods, which the people regard as abominable and which may likely bring disaster on the community if the gods are not appeased. b) offenses that may break up the unity and solidarity of the hamlet, village or village area. the body or council of elder‟s acts as mediators and referees in the dispensation of justice. the elders who invariably are heads of extended families are personnel of the village council and members of the village area court. normally they are on equal footing. however, for the purpose of adjudication, special reference must be made particular personages or classes namely; a) senior elder or holder of the senior ofo b) the announcers of decisions c) rich and influential men who have attained a special position as arbitrators and fanally d) titled persons.  on the whole, the above were the traditional governance and leadership system of the selected nigerian societies before the advent of western system of governance and leadership and their extant colonialism in our society at large.  it is worthy to note that the traditional system was just an easy going one without hitch and most preferable to what we are having now that seems so complicating and confusing. conclusion this article has been able to examine the concept of governance/ leadership and show that leadership has to do with guiding or directing others on what should be done which they oblige to willingly and not by compulsion. it equally means being a worthy example to the led in what is expected of them to do. to occupy a governance/ leadership position goes with certain responsibilities which the leader should not shy away from. to be a governor/ leader requires vision, knowledge, humility and diligence, among other virtues. the virtues found in a leader that actually define him. it is therefore not enough to aspire for governance/ leadership position, but understanding the demands of the office and working towards achieving them. commenting on governance/ leadership styles to adopt in order to make a good leader, (uye, 2012) says, ‟‟ leadership styles are not something to be tried on like many suits, to see which fits. rather, they should be adapted to the particular demands of the situation, the particular requirements of the onyema, matthias chibuzo, ph.d people involved and the particular challenges facing the organizations.‟‟ this simply implies that a good leader must be wise enough to know the approach to adopt at any given situation. he should be able to determine the best style to apply in any given circumstance. this is necessary because what applies in a particular situation may not work in another. references ande, t. (2010), a guide to leadership, london: spck asian development bank (2005), country governance assessment. asian development bank, (2005), governance: sound development management. cariño, ledivina v. (ed.) 2002 between the state and the market: the nonprofit sector and civil society in the philippines. quezon city: center for leadership, citizenship and democracy, national college of public administration and governance, university of the philippines, with the assistance of the ford foundation. eastern regional organization for public administration (eropa) (2000), from ewalt, jo ann g. (2001). theories of governance & new public management: links to understanding welfare policy implementation. a second draft. a paper presented at the annual conference of the american society for public administration. fajana, s. (1997), human resources management, lagos: university of lagos. government to governance, reflections on the 1999 world conferences on governance. horton, d. (2006), the portable seminary, minnesota: bethany house pub. kanu, i. a. (2019). “igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory sociopolitical system of governance”. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of thephilosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. kanu, i. a. (2023). “igwebuike socio-political philosophy: towards an indigenous political system”. aku: an african journal of contemporary research. vol. 4. no. 2. pp. 1-17. laura edgar, et al (2006) partnerships: putting good governance principles in practice. institute on governance (iog) governance and leadership in africa: lessons and impacts 56 legaspi, perla e. (2005). overview of governance framework. a working draft on a handbook on lgu-spa partnership; up ncpag. ma. oliva z. domingo, third sector governance: meanings, issues, and challenges in the philippines, national college of public administration and governance, university of the philippines. ogunewu, m. a. (2016), accentuating the pattern of biblical leadership for the contemporary church” in african journal of biblical studies vol. xxxii 1 & 2 april oct. pp99-124. oluwabamide, a.j. (2003). peoples of nigeria and their cultural heritage. lagos lisjohnson resources publishers. onwukwe, j.o (2017), „“leadership challenges and theology in nigeria‟ in undp (2004) a common view, a common journey, a common country assessment of the philippines. united nations development program & economic & social commission for asia & the pacific, (2003) promoting the millennium development goals in asia and the pacific: meeting the challenges of poverty reduction; new york. united nations development program (1997), governance & sustainable human development. a undp policy document. united nations development programme 1997a reconceptualizing governance. discussion paper 2. new york: management development and governance division, bureau of policy and programme support, undp, january. udo, e.e. (1983). who are the ibibio. africana – onitsha, feb publishers ltd. uye, e. (2012), the effective church management, port harcourt: genx print. vlassis, dimitri (2006) united nations convention against corruption, united nations office on drugs and crime division for treaty affair. white, p. (1998), the effective pastor, kaduna: evangel pub. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 43 the influence of religion, ethnicity, and democracy on sustainable development in africa elias ifeanyi e. uzoigwe, phd department of philosophy, university of calabar, nigeria eliasuzoigwe@unical.edu.ng; fruzoigwe@gmail.com & amara mary chukwuma-offor, phd department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, nigeria amchukwumaoffor@unizik.edu.ng; amarachukwumaoffor@gmail.com abstract africa is a continent characterised by rich religious and ethnic diversity, which significantly influences its political and socio-economic landscape. this study explores the interplay between religion, ethnicity, and democracy, as they impact africa’s development by reflecting on the historical roles of religious and ethnic identities in shaping societal norms, political structures, and development trajectories on the continent. the paper examines how these variables can both foster unity and drive conflict, affecting the stability and governance of various nations of africa. the study also analyses the challenges to democratic governance, such as corruption and political instability, and the impact these factors have on sustainable development on the continent. employing case studies of nigeria, south africa, and kenya, the paper highlights the complex interdependencies and unique challenges each country faces. this underscores the need for tolerance, inclusive policies, and democratic practices that harness the continent’s diversity as a strength rather than a source of division and disintegration. by way of critical analysis, the study, therefore, provides a nuanced understanding of the dynamics at play and offers recommendations for promoting peace, unity, and sustainable development in africa. keywords: africa, democracy, ethnicity, religion, sustainable development. introduction arguably, a significant aspect of africa’s splendour lies in its diversity. africa is a continent marked by an extraordinary diversity of ethnic, religious, and cultural groups. with over 3,000 ethnic groups and more than 2,000 languages spoken, the continent’s ethnic landscape is unparalleled in its complexity (mbiti, 1991). this diversity extends to religion, where indigenous beliefs coexist alongside major world religions such as christianity and islam. the cultural richness of africa is reflected in its art, music, and traditions, making it a continent of immense cultural heritage (mazrui, 1986). understanding and appreciation of the interplay between religion, ethnicity, democracy, and development in africa is crucial for several reasons. these factors are deeply intertwined and significantly influence the social and political dynamics of african countries. ethnic and religious identities often shape political affiliations and voting patterns, which can lead to both unity and division (horowitz, 1985). moreover, the success of democratic igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 44 governance and sustainable development in africa is closely linked to how these diverse identities are managed and accommodated within the political framework (diamond, 2008). therefore, the study focuses on exploring the multifaceted influences, views, prospects, aspirations, challenges, and opportunities that arise from the intersection of religion, ethnicity, democracy, and sustainable development in africa. this exploration involves an analysis of the historical context, current realities, and potential future expectations. by examining case studies of nigeria, south africa, and kenya, the study seeks to provide an understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities each country faces. ultimately, the goal is to offer insights and recommendations for promoting peace, unity, and sustainable development across the continent. historical gestalt of the place of religion in africa africa’s religious landscape is shaped by a rich history of indigenous belief systems and the spread of major world religions. indigenous religions, characterised by animism, ancestor worship, and a belief in the spiritual interconnectedness of all things, have been practiced for millennia (awolalu, 1976) before the advent of world religions like christianity and islam on the shores of africa. the spread of christianity and islam, beginning around the first millennium ce, introduced new religious dynamics to the continent. christianity arrived through north africa and later spread via european colonial missions, while islam made inroads through trade routes and conquest, especially in west africa (hastings, 1994). another important factor is religious pluralism. africa is known for its religious pluralism, with multiple faiths often coexisting within the same communities. this pluralism is not just a matter of diversity but also involves significant interaction and adaptation among religions. for example, syncretism, where elements of different religions are blended, is a common phenomenon, particularly in regions where indigenous practices are intertwined with christian or islamic beliefs (hackett, 1991). such coexistence leads to tension and confusion. similarly, religion plays a crucial role in shaping social norms, values, and political discourse in african societies. it influences various aspects of daily life, including marriage, family, and community relations, and serves as a moral compass for many individuals (peel, 2016). in politics, some religious leaders often wield significant influence, and religious rhetoric is frequently used to garner political support. this interconnectivity between religion and politics can both unify and divide, depending on the context and approach, as is the case in the 21st century africa. history has further shown that religion and ethnicity can make or mar a society. that is to say that, while religion can be a source of moral guidance and social cohesion, it can also contribute to conflict, as ethnicity often does. religious tensions in africa often arise from competition for converts, resources, or political power, and can sometimes escalate into violence (falola, 1998). for instance, the conflict between christians and muslims in nigeria has led to periodic violence and instability. such conflicts are often complex, involving not only religious but also ethnic, economic, and political factors, complicating efforts at resolution, peacebuilding and sustainable development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 45 reflecting on ethnicity in africa africa is home to an astounding array of ethnic groups and languages, making it one of the most ethnically diverse regions in the world. there are over 3,000 distinct ethnic groups, each with its own unique culture, language, and traditions (nnoli, 1995). major ethnic groups include the igbo, yoruba, and hausa in nigeria; the zulu and xhosa in south africa; and the kikuyu and luo in kenya. this linguistic diversity is equally vast, with more than 2,000 languages spoken across the continent, reflecting the deep cultural richness and complexity of african societies (heine & nurse, 2000). it is difficult, if not impossible, to reflect on ethnicity in africa without mentioning the role of the colonial era. the colonial epoch left a significant impact on africa’s ethnic landscape. european colonial powers, driven by their own strategic and economic interests, drew arbitrary borders that often split ethnic groups or forced disparate communities together into single political entities (mamdani, 1996). these artificial borders ignored existing ethnic, cultural, and linguistic boundaries, laying the groundwork for many of the ethnic tensions and conflicts that persist today in africa. colonial policies, such as “divide and rule”, exacerbated ethnic divisions by favouring certain groups over others, fostering resentment and rivalry (young, 1994). also to be noted is that ethnicity plays a key role in the personal, interpersonal, and group identities of africans. it influences social structures, community relations, and political affiliations. ethnic identity is often intertwined with cultural practices, language, and shared historical experiences, forming a core part of an individual’s sense of self and belonging (eriksen, 2002). in many african societies, ethnic loyalty can sometimes supersede national identity, impacting national unity and political stability (osaghae, 1994). in all these, ethnic conflicts are not ruled out, bearing in mind the structures put in place by the colonial masters that make it inevitable. ethnic conflicts in africa are often rooted in historical grievances, competition for resources, and political power struggles. for instance, the rwandan genocide of 1994, where tensions between the hutu and tutsi escalated into mass violence was a devastating example of ethnic conflict fueled by deep-seated historical animosity and political manipulation (des forges, 1999). similarly, in nigeria, ethnic tensions between the hausa-fulani, yoruba, and igbo have periodically led to violent clashes, exacerbated by competition for political dominance and resource control (suberu, 2001). understanding the causes and dynamics of these conflicts is crucial for devising effective strategies for peacebuilding, conflict resolution, and sustainable development. an insight into democracy in africa the evolution of democracy in africa has been shaped by a complex interplay of historical, political, and socio-economic factors. the colonial era, characterised by authoritarian rule and limited political participation, left a legacy of weak political institutions and centralised power structures (thomson, 2010). post-colonial transitions often involved the struggle for independence and the establishment of new nations. while some countries initially experimented with democratic governance, many quickly shifted to one-party states or military regimes, influenced by cold war politics and internal challenges (gyimah-boadi, 2004). the late 20th century saw a wave of democratisation, spurred by internal demands for political reform and external pressures igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 46 from international organisations. this period, often referred to as africa’s “third wave” of democratisation, brought significant political changes, including the introduction of multiparty systems and regular elections (bratton & van de walle, 1997). the establishment and functioning of democratic institutions vary widely across african countries. political structures often include a separation of powers among the executive, legislative, and judicial arms of government, although the balance of power can be uneven (cheeseman, 2015). electoral systems range from proportional representation to majoritarian systems, with varying degrees of manipulation, transparency and fairness. governance practices such as the rule of law and respect for human rights are critical to the functioning of democracy. however, the effectiveness of these institutions is frequently undermined by weak state capacity, limited resources, entrenched patronage networks (hyden, 2006), political rigging and corruption. considering the role of civil society organisations and media in democracy in africa civil society organisations (csos) and the media play crucial roles in supporting democratisation in africa. csos often advocate for political reforms, human rights, and social justice, acting as watchdogs and providing a platform for marginalised voices (diamond, 1994). the media, as a critical component of the public sphere, serves to inform citizens, hold leaders accountable, and foster public debate. however, media freedom varies widely, with many countries experiencing censorship, harassment of journalists, and state control of information (berger, 2002). despite these challenges, vibrant civil societies and independent media will be instrumental in promoting transparency, accountability, and democratic norms. it is important to note that african democracies face numerous challenges, including authoritarianism, corruption, and political instability. authoritarian tendencies persist in many countries of africa, with leaders extending their rule through constitutional amendments or manipulating electoral processes (levitsky & way, 2010). corruption remains a significant issue, eroding public trust in government institutions and hindering economic development (mungiupippidi, 2015). political instability, often exacerbated by ethnic divisions and resource competition, poses a constant threat to democratic governance in africa. coups, contested elections, and political violence are recurrent issues that undermine the democratic process (collier, 2009) in africa. a brief overview of development in africa development can be construed from diverse perspectives of human endeavours. however, we intend to highlight the economic, social and political aspects. africa’s economic development has been characterised by diverse growth patterns and a focus on key sectors such as agriculture, mining, and services in financial institutions. the continent has experienced periods of rapid growth, particularly in resource-rich countries, driven by high commodity prices and foreign investments (rodrik, 2016). however, economic growth has often been uneven, with challenges including inadequate infrastructure, political instability, and a reliance on commodity exports that leave economies vulnerable to global price fluctuations (collier, 2007). efforts to diversify economies and foster industrialisation have been critical, yet progress has been mixed, with some igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 47 countries achieving notable success while others continue to struggle with poverty and inequality (page, 2019). social development in africa involves improving education, healthcare, and social services. educational systems have expanded significantly since independence, but many challenges remain, such as high dropout rates, inadequate funding, and disparities in access (unesco, 2017), and siphoning of funds mapped out for education. in healthcare, the continent faces a dual burden of infectious diseases and rising non-communicable diseases. while there have been successes in combating diseases like hiv/aids and malaria, healthcare systems often lack the resources and infrastructure to meet the population’s needs (who, 2018). social services, including welfare programmes and housing, are essential for addressing inequality and improving quality of life, but these are often underfunded and inefficiently managed (devereux & sabates-wheeler, 2004). from the above analysis, an important question that necessarily follows is: can africa’s development be said to be sustainable? sustainable development is a critical concern in africa given the continent’s rich human and natural resources and environmental challenges. issues such as deforestation, desertification, and biodiversity loss are pressing, exacerbated by climate change and unsustainable practices (adams & jeanrenaud, 2008). resource management is crucial, particularly in sectors like agriculture, water, and mining, where the sustainable use of resources can significantly impact economic and social outcomes (scoones, 2015). efforts to promote sustainable practices include communitybased conservation, renewable energy initiatives, and policies aimed at reducing environmental degradation (sachs, 2015). in all these, there has not been a clear proof of sustainable development in africa (richard, 2024), which is as a result of african countries' inability to get the right leaders to drive their economy for the desired outcome through democratic processes. considering the role of international organisations in africa’s development international organisations play a significant role in africa’s development through aid, investment, and partnerships. institutions such as the world bank, the international monetary fund (imf), and various united nations agencies provide financial assistance, technical expertise, and policy advice (easterly, 2006). while aid has helped address immediate needs and support development projects, its effectiveness has been debated, with concerns about dependency and mismanagement (moyo, 2009). international partnerships, including trade agreements and investment initiatives, are also crucial for economic growth and development, facilitating access to markets, technology, and capital (collier, 2013). religion, ethnicity, and democracy in africa religion and ethnicity are significant factors influencing political affiliations, voting patterns, and policy-making in africa’s democracy. political parties and leaders often align themselves with specific religious or ethnic groups to gain support, resulting in the politicisation of these identities (posner, 2005). this alignment can shape electoral outcomes, as voters may prioritize candidates who share their religious or ethnic background over those with different affiliations (basedau, erdmann, & mehler, 2007). in some cases, this has led to the formation of ethnically or religiously igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 48 exclusive parties, which can exacerbate divisions and hinder national unity (reynal-querol, 2002). policy-making is also influenced by these dynamics, as governments may cater to the interests of dominant groups while marginalising others, leading to unequal distribution of resources and services (habyarimana et al., 2009). it is important to note that religious and ethnic dynamics significantly shape development policies and outcomes in african countries. these identities can affect the allocation of public goods, such as education, healthcare, and infrastructure, often leading to disparities between different groups (bates, 2008). for instance, regions inhabited by politically dominant ethnic groups may receive more development projects, while marginalised areas are neglected. additionally, religious beliefs and practices can influence attitudes towards issues like gender equality, family planning, and education, impacting social development (laitin, 1986). in some cases, religious institutions and leaders play a crucial role in providing social services, especially where state capacity is limited, thereby shaping development trajectories (rakodi, 2014). democratic governance plays a crucial role in managing diversity and promoting social cohesion in africa. democratic institutions, such as free and fair elections, an independent judiciary, and a free press, provide mechanisms for different groups to participate in the political process and resolve conflicts peacefully (mansfield & snyder, 2005). by ensuring representation and protecting minority rights, democracy can mitigate the potential for ethnic and religious tensions to escalate into violence (horowitz, 2000). however, the challenge lies in building inclusive political systems that accommodate the continent’s diverse populations. effective democratic governance requires balancing majority rule with the protection of minority rights and promoting a sense of shared national identity (przeworski, 2000). successful democracies often invest in civic education and dialogue initiatives that foster understanding and respect among different groups, thereby strengthening social cohesion (lynch & crawford, 2011). unfortunately, the continent of africa is yet to witness a democratic government depicted above. the examples of nigeria, kenya, and south africa nigeria presents a complex landscape of religious and ethnic tensions, democratic evolution, and development challenges. the country is home to over 250 ethnic groups, with the hausa-fulani, yoruba, and igbo being the largest. religious divisions between the predominantly muslim north and christian south have historically influenced political alignments and conflicts (kendhammer, 2013). nigeria’s journey toward democracy has been marked by a series of military coups and a return to civilian rule in 1999, and the establishment of the fourth republic. despite this transition, challenges such as corruption, electoral malpractice, and ethno-religious violence persist (lewis, 2006). the boko haram insurgency, rooted in the northeast’s socio-economic setback and religious extremism, exemplifies the complexities of governance and security (thurston, 2018). development challenges include managing oil revenues, diversifying the economy, and addressing widespread poverty and inequality (ogunleye, 2020). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 49 kenya’s political landscape, on the other hand, is heavily influenced by ethnic-based politics, which has often led to electoral violence. the country is ethnically diverse, with major groups including the kikuyu, luo, luhya, and kalenjin. political competition is frequently framed along ethnic lines, leading to patronage politics and inter-ethnic tensions (branch, 2011). the 2007-2008 post-election violence was a particularly stark example of how ethnic competition can spiral into widespread unrest, resulting in significant loss of life and displacement (mueller, 2011). since then, kenya has made efforts to reform its political system, including adopting a new constitution in 2010 to address issues of devolution, representation, and human rights (cheeseman, lynch, & willis, 2014). development initiatives in kenya focus on infrastructure, education, and healthcare, but challenges such as corruption and inequality persist, complicating efforts to achieve sustained economic growth and social development (ngugi & mureithi, 2020). this year, 2024, kenya has been facing significant political unrest, driven by democratic, religious, and ethnic tensions. the root causes of the current protest movements are multifaceted, stemming from long-standing grievances over political representation, corruption, and inequality, but they are also deeply intertwined with the country’s ethnic and religious diversity. at the center of the turmoil is a sharp division between the government and the opposition. it is important to note that the 2022 presidential election, which saw william ruto narrowly defeat raila odinga, has continued to spark controversy. raila odinga’s supporters, particularly from his strongholds in western kenya and parts of the coast, believe that the election was marred by irregularities and that odinga, who has run for president five times, was denied a fair victory (richard, 2024). the election result and subsequent government actions, such as constitutional amendments and economic policies, have spurred further anger, especially regarding the cost of living crisis, inflation, and accusations of corruption within the ruling administration. throughout 2023 and now in 2024, opposition-led protests, including those spearheaded by odinga’s party, the orange democratic movement (odm), have led to significant street demonstrations. protesters demand electoral reforms, transparency, and more inclusivity in the government’s economic policies. these protests have been met with a heavy-handed response from the police, leading to clashes between demonstrators and security forces. this cycle of protests and state crackdowns has only deepened the sense of political alienation among sections of the population, fueling the unrest (ketuma, 2024). similarly, south africa’s post-apartheid democracy is a testament to overcoming deeply entrenched racial and ethnic divisions. the country transitioned to a democratic government in 1994, ending decades of institutionalised racial segregation under the apartheid regime. the african national congress (anc) has since been the dominant political force, promoting a policy of national reconciliation and inclusive governance (lodge, 2002). however, the legacy of apartheid continues to manifest in economic disparities with significant wealth gaps between racial groups. despite a relatively strong economy, south africa faces challenges such as high unemployment, poverty, and social inequality (seekings & nattrass, 2005). ethnic diversity, while less politically salient compared to race, still plays a role in social dynamics, with tensions occasionally surfacing (everatt, 2016). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 50 are there opportunities amidst these challenges? one of africa’s most pressing challenges is managing religious and ethnic diversity and tensions that can lead to conflict and instability. these tensions often arise from historical grievances, economic inequalities, and political exclusion (osaghae & suberu, 2005). in many countries, ethnic and religious identities are politicised, leading to social fragmentation and violence. governments face the difficult task of promoting national unity while respecting the diverse identities within their borders. failure to adequately address these issues can result in persistent unrest, as seen in countries like nigeria and sudan (omeje, 2008). ensuring inclusive governance is another significant challenge. many african states grapple with issues of corruption, authoritarianism, and weak institutions, which hinder democratic consolidation (bratton & gyimah-boadi, 2015). inclusive governance requires fair representation of all social groups, equitable distribution of resources, and the protection of minority rights. however, the persistence of patronage systems and the lack of political will often undermine these efforts, leading to social exclusion and disenfranchisement of marginalised communities (hyden, 2013). having recapitulated these challenges, it is important to note that diversity is leveraged for economic growth. africa’s rich cultural, ethnic, and religious diversity can be a powerful driver of economic growth, and indeed, a veritable instrument of development. diverse societies can foster innovation, creativity, and a broader range of skills and perspectives (nafukho, 2008). by harnessing this diversity, countries can enhance their competitiveness in the global market and attract investments in various sectors such as tourism, arts, culture, and technology. additionally, promoting inclusive economic policies that accommodate diverse groups can lead to more equitable development and poverty reduction (page & söderbom, 2015), as well as peaceful coexistence that brings about development. democratic governance offers a valuable framework for managing diversity and fostering unity through democratic practices. by promoting political participation, transparency, and accountability, democracies can create an environment where different groups coexist peacefully and cooperate towards common goals (diamond, 2019). democratic institutions such as free and fair elections, an independent judiciary, and a free press can help mediate conflicts and ensure that all voices are heard. additionally, democratic practices can strengthen civil society, encourage dialogue, and build trust among citizens, thereby contributing to national cohesion (møller & skaaning, 2013) and sustainable development. the question is: where is africa in all these? your guess is as good as ours. conclusion and recommendations the correlation between religion, ethnicity, and democracy as they impact development is a defining feature of africa’s contemporary socio-political landscape. africa’s rich diversity in religion and ethnicity significantly influences political affiliations, policy-making, and social dynamics. the continent’s democratic evolution has been marked by both progress and setbacks, with ongoing challenges including authoritarianism, corruption, and instability. development igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 51 efforts are shaped by these religious and ethnic factors, impacting economic growth and social services. despite the challenges, there are opportunities to leverage diversity for economic advancement and to use democratic governance as a tool for fostering unity, social cohesion, and development. despite the challenges, there are prospects for development in africa. the potential for religion, ethnicity, and democracy to coexist harmoniously hinges on addressing the underlying tensions and embracing the continent’s diversity as a strength rather than a divide. prospects include the development of more inclusive political systems that reflect and respect the multifaceted identities within african societies. by promoting equity and ensuring that diverse voices from the minority and majority ethnic and religious groups are represented, africa can advance towards more stable and prosperous societies. enhanced democratic practices and sustainable development strategies can foster a more harmonious coexistence of diverse groups, leading to more resilient and unified nations. the very first recommendation is for the african countries to get their leadership right. once this is achieved, the other recommendations will bear the desired fruits, thereby bringing about sustainable development on the continent. another recommendation that will drive change is to foster positive interrelationships among religion, ethnicity, and democracy. policies that ensure fair representation of all ethnic and religious groups in political and decision-making processes are to be implemented by way of promoting inclusive governance. strengthening institutions that protect minority rights and promote social justice is crucial. enhancement of civic education and dialogue is essential. investment in programmes that educate citizens about the value of diversity and the principles of democratic governance cannot be overemphasised. facilitating dialogue among different religious and ethnic groups can help build mutual understanding and reduce tensions. addressing socio-economic inequalities is a viable way out. development and enforcement of policies that address disparities in access to resources and opportunities will help in bringing about africa’s development. focus on equitable distribution of development benefits (dividends of democracy) to reduce socio-economic divides and foster national cohesion. strengthening of democratic institutions is inevitable. supporting the development of robust democratic institutions that can manage diversity effectively and uphold the rule of law and the principle of separation of powers is key. ensure transparency, accountability, and the protection of civil liberties to build trust in the political system. to be reiterated is that diversity has to be leveraged for economic growth by recognising and harnessing the potential of religious and ethnic differences to drive innovation and economic development. inclusive economic policies that enable all groups to contribute to and benefit from the government should be encouraged. by adopting these strategies, african nations can work towards creating more inclusive, stable, and prosperous societies where diverse identities coexist harmoniously and contribute to collective sustainable development on the continent. references igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 52 adams, w. m., & jeanrenaud, s. j. (2008). transition to sustainability: towards a humane and diverse world. iucn. awolalu, j. o. (1976). what is african traditional religion? studies in comparative religion, 10(2), 1-10. basedau, m., erdmann, g., &mehler, a. (2007). votes, money and violence: political parties and elections in sub-saharan africa. nordiska afrikainstitutet. bates, r. h. (2008). when things fell apart: state failure in late-century africa. cambridge university press. berger, g. (2002). theorizing the media-democracy relationship in southern africa. nordicom review, 23(1), 49-72. branch, d. (2011). kenya: between hope and despair, 1963-2011. yale university press. bratton, m., & gyimah-boadi, e. (2015). political risks facing african democracies: evidence from afrobarometer. the oxford companion to politics in africa. oxford university press. bratton, m., & van de walle, n. (1997). democratic experiments in africa: regime transitions in comparative perspective. cambridge university press. cheeseman, n. (2015). democracy in africa: successes, failures, and the struggle for political reform. cambridge university press. cheeseman, n., lynch, g., & willis, j. (2014). “democracy and its discontents: understanding kenya’s 2013 elections.” journal of eastern african studies, 8(1), 2-24. collier, p. (2007). the bottom billion: why the poorest countries are failing and what can be done about it. oxford university press. collier, p. (2009). wars, guns, and votes: democracy in dangerous places. harper. collier, p. (2013). exodus: how migration is changing our world. oxford university press. des forges, a. (1999). leave none to tell the story: genocide in rwanda. human rights watch. devereux, s., & sabates-wheeler, r. (2004). transformative social protection. ids working paper 232. diamond, l. (1994). “rethinking civil society: toward democratic consolidation.” journal of democracy, 5(3), 4-17. diamond, l. (2008). the spirit of democracy: the struggle to build free societies throughout the world. times books. diamond, l. (2019). ill winds: saving democracy from russian rage, chinese ambition, and american complacency. penguin press. easterly, w. (2006). the white man's burden: why the west’s efforts to aid the rest have done so much ill and so little good. penguin press. eriksen, t. h. (2002). ethnicity and nationalism: anthropological perspectives. pluto press. everatt, d. (2016). non-racialism in south africa: the life and times of neville alexander. hsrc press. falola, t. (1998). violence in nigeria: the crisis of religious politics and secular ideologies. university of rochester press. gyimah-boadi, e. (2004). democratic reform in africa: the quality of progress. lynne rienner publishers. habyarimana, j., humphreys, m., posner, d. n., & weinstein, j. m. (2009). coethnicity: diversity and the dilemmas of collective action. russell sage foundation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 53 hackett, r. i. j. (1991). religion in calabar: the religious life and history of a nigerian town. walter de gruyter. hastings, a. (1994). the church in africa: 1450-1950. oxford university press. heine, b., & nurse, d. (2000). african languages: an introduction. cambridge university press. horowitz, d. l. (1985). ethnic groups in conflict. university of california press. horowitz, d. l. (2000). ethnic groups in conflict (2nd ed.). university of california press. hyden, g. (2006). african politics in comparative perspective. cambridge university press. hyden, g. (2013). african politics in comparative perspective (2nd ed.). cambridge university press. kendhammer, b. (2013). “the sharia controversy in northern nigeria and the politics of islamic law in new and uncertain democracies.” comparative politics, 45(3), 291-311. ketuma, s. c. (2024). democracy in africa: towards a renaissance. phoenix publishers, 2024. laitin, d. d. (1986). hegemony and culture: politics and change among the yoruba. university of chicago press. levitsky, s., & way, l. a. (2010). competitive authoritarianism: hybrid regimes after the cold war. cambridge university press. lewis, p. m. (2006). the dysfunctional state of nigeria. west africa review, 8(1), 1-19. lodge, t. (2002). politics in south africa: from mandela to mbeki. james currey publishers. lynch, g., & crawford, g. (2011). “democratization in africa 1990-2010: an assessment.” democratization, 18(2), 275-310. mamdani, m. (1996). citizen and subject: contemporary africa and the legacy of late colonialism. princeton university press. mansfield, e. d., & snyder, j. (2005). electing to fight: why emerging democracies go to war. mit press. mazrui, a. a. (1986). the africans: a triple heritage. bbc publications. mbiti, j. s. (1991). introduction to african religion (2nd ed.). heinemann educational books. møller, j., & skaaning, s.-e. (2013). “the third wave: inside the numbers.” journal of democracy, 24(4), 97-109. moyo, d. (2009). dead aid: why aid is not working and how there is a better way for africa. farrar, straus and giroux. mueller, s. d. (2011). dying to win: elections, political violence, and institutional decay in kenya. journal of contemporary african studies, 29(1), 99-117. mungiu-pippidi, a. (2015). the quest for good governance: how societies develop control of corruption. cambridge university press. nafukho, f. m. (2008). cultural diversity in africa: a global challenge. emerald group publishing. ngugi, b., & mureithi, c. (2020). kenya’s economy: dissecting the budget and growth path. east african educational publishers. nnoli, o. (1995). ethnicity and development in nigeria. ashgate publishing. ogunleye, o. s. (2020). the nigerian economy: problems and prospects. lexington books. omeje, k. (2008). extractive economies and conflicts in the global south: multi-regional perspectives on rentier politics. ashgate publishing. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 54 osaghae, e. e. (1994). ethnicity and its management in africa: the democratization link. malthouse press. osaghae, e. e., & suberu, r. t. (2005). a history of identities, violence, and stability in nigeria. crise working paper no. 6, centre for research on inequality, human security, and ethnicity. page, j. (2019). the future of work in africa: harnessing the potential of digital technologies for all. world bank. page, j., & söderbom, m. (2015). “is small beautiful? small enterprise, aid and employment in africa.” african development review, 27(s1), 44-55. peel, j. d. y. (2016). christianity, islam, and orisa-religion: three traditions in comparison and interaction. university of california press. posner, d. n. (2005). institutions and ethnic politics in africa. cambridge university press. przeworski, a. (2000). democracy and development: political institutions and well-being in the world, 1950-1990. cambridge university press. rakodi, c. (2014). religion and development: what are the links? routledge. reynal-querol, m. (2002). “ethnicity, political systems, and civil wars.” journal of conflict resolution, 46 (1), 29-54. richard, r. e. (2024). the current political situation in africa: the way forward. boldface publishers. rodrik, d. (2016). straight talk on trade: ideas for a sane world economy. princeton university press. sachs, j. d. (2015). the age of sustainable development. columbia university press. scoones, i. (2015). sustainable livelihoods and rural development. practical action publishing. seekings, j., & nattrass, n. (2005). class, race, and inequality in south africa. yale university press. suberu, r. t. (2001). federalism and ethnic conflict in nigeria. united states institute of peace. thomson, a. (2010). an introduction to african politics (3rd ed.). routledge. thurston, a. (2018). boko haram: the history of an african jihadist movement. princeton university press. unesco. (2017). global education monitoring report 2017/8: accountability in education. unesco publishing. who. (2018). world health statistics 2018: monitoring health for the sdgs. world health organization. young, c. (1994). the african colonial state in comparative perspective. yale university press. 22 board independence board size gender diversity and financial performance of listed insurance firms in nigeria 1 2 3 yunusa, acho , musa, jibrin success, phd and dr. achema friday 1department of accounting, federal polytechnic idah 2&3 department of accounting, veritas university abuja doi: 10.13140rg.2.2.14554.96967 abstract the effectiveness and efficiency of the board of directors as a monitoring tool for the management of an organization is essential to the performance of the firms. given that board efficiency is subject to its structure, it, therefore, becomes imperative for studies to empirically ascertain board independence board size gender diversity and financial performance of listed insurance firms in nigeria. the population comprises all the quoted insurance firms in nigeria while the filtering technique was used to arrive at a sample size of twenty-three (23) listed insurance firms in nigeria. the hypotheses were tested using a robust random effect regression model after conducting some diagnostics tests. the results of the first model show that board size, gender diversity, and board independence have a significant positive relationship with the return on equity of listed insurance firms in nigeria. the study recommends among others, that the insurance firms should constitute a small board size that is drawn from those who are well experienced and knowledgeable in the industry to bring their expertise to bear and enhance the financial performance of the firms in nigeria. the firm size should not be put into consideration when making decisions regarding board structure as it does not influence the relationship between most board structure variables and the financial performance of insurance firms in nigeria. keywords: financial performance, insurance firms in nigeria, gender introduction corporate governance has become a concern in developing economies since the financial crises in the past, which have resulted in demands for improved corporate governance practices. good corporate governance has become essential for improving firm performance, ensuring investor rights, enhancing the investment atmosphere, and encouraging economic development (moses, 2023). although attention has been given to corporate governance in developing countries, many of these countries still suffer from a lack of appropriate governance. this is seen as a contributing factor to financial crises (olee, 2023). therefore, corporate governance in both developed and developing countries has attracted considerable attention in academic research. a variety of corporate governance frameworks have been developed and adopted in different parts of the world. according to mulili & wong (2018), countries that followed civil law (such as france, germany, italy, and the netherlands) developed corporate frameworks that focused on stakeholders. on the other igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 23 hand, countries that had a tradition of common law (e.g. australia, united kingdom, usa, canada, and new zealand) developed frameworks that focused on shareholders' returns or interests. corporate governance has become a topical issue because of its immense contribution to the economic growth and development of nations. the study is motivated by the latest surrounding the reforms engendered by the corporate governance code in the nigerian insurance companies in response to corporate failure, global best practice, and their expected impact on financial performance. the corporate governance structure specifies the rights and responsibilities of the participants in the firm and also spells out the rules and procedures for decision-making. sunday (2018) agreed that corporate governance provides the structures through which the company's objectives are set and strategies, tactics and the means of attaining those objectives and monitoring performance is defined. the recent global financial crisis has negatively impacted the economy of countries, resulting to major challenges in insurance companies. the crisis was aggravated by corporate scandals around the world. these events suggest failing corporate governance, for instance the recent financial scandals due to accounting frauds and funds management in large institutions as adelphia, enron, and worldcom were traced to the behaviour of top executives and their excessive risk taking which does not serve the best interest of shareholders and other stakeholders. a vivid example of corporate failure in nigeria is the banking experienced in 2022 which led to the collapse of stock market. there was also cadbury nigeria's case of over-statement of its profit by n13.25billion between 2018 and 2019. cadbury's board was able to do this through stock buyback, cost deferrals, trade loading and false supplier's stock certificates. in 2007, nampak nigeria plc. overstated its accounts by n2.8billion, while the board of african petroleum plc. concealed n22billion in its 2000 accounts. the crisis emanated from excessive risk-taking kashyap (2018) thus increases the level of risks faced by firms (raber, 2021). this highlights the importance of appropriate corporate governance structure for managing firms' risks. insurance companies were not left out during the crisis as some of the insurance shares have become worthless. a share that was worth n2.50 became n0.50k per share, some insurance companies folded up, while some were merged, and those that could wither the storm remain afloat all because of absence of good corporate governance. insurance is a key component of the financial services sector. insurance activity promotes growth by providing a platform for efficient risk management, promotes long term savings, encourages accumulation of capital and mobilizes domestic savings for productive investment (arena, 2008). insurance services are essential for economic stability and development. a virile insurance sector is a yardstick for measuring healthy economy and efficiency of financial services sector (marijuana, 2023). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 24 the corporate governance mechanisms based on the corporate governance code of 2022 are used as the monitoring mechanisms of the management and the accountability to shareholders, which are in line with the agency theory perspective. firm size, board independence and gender diversity have been shown to affect the relationship between corporate governance and firm performance (lehn, 2018). therefore, this study uses firm size, board independence and gender diversity as the control variables. financial performance in this study is measured using return on assets (roa) as the dependent variable. the board size is very fundamental to effective corporate decision making which in turn has effect on the performance of the firm and determining the ideal board size for an organization is very important because the number and quality of directors in a firm determines and influences the board functioning and hence firm financial performance. proponents of large board size believed it provides an increased pool of expertise because larger boards are likely to have more knowledgeable and skillful people with diverse experience at their disposal. optimum board size of between a minimum of eight have been prescribed at various times by codes of corporate governance of quoted companies, banks and financial institutions in nigeria (cg code, 2018; section 5.4). board independence can either increase or decrease the financial performance of the firm in nigeria. a board of directors that consists of more independent nonexecutive directors is likely to perform better than those majorly constituted by the executive directors because of the self-interest of the individual. extant literature is of the view that the board should consist of more independent nonexecutive directors, who are likely not easily influenced by the management. the board has a great influence on firm performance in that a highly independent board will be able to effectively reduce agency problems by effectively monitoring the management to mitigate their opportunistic behavior (achema et. al. 2022) board gender diversity is a very important measure of board structure. arguments in the literature revealed that women are more diligent and conservative than their male counterparts and that their inclusion on the board will eliminate or reduce sharp practices in the firm. it is believed that women's participation on board increases the quality of corporate efficiency, which aids effective and efficient decision-making and reduces agency problems within the organization (adams & ferreira, 2009). the presence of women on boards of companies and its effect on firm performance is necessary to be studied because of the influence it has on performance. the main corporate governance theories upon which this study is based are the agency and stakeholder theories. the conceptual framework of the study is designed to address the relationships between governance practices and the performance of listed insurance companies in nigeria. the hypotheses formulated in this study are based on the relationships between corporate igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 25 governance and the firm performance of listed insurance companies. one of the major objectives of corporate governance practice is to enhance corporate performance by reducing potential conflicts between managers and the interests of the shareholders and also combined benefits of all stakeholders by considering the interests of all stakeholders. therefore, corporate governance concept is of paramount in maximizing corporate performance. theoretically, the major contribution of this study is to add to the existing debate of the appropriate model of corporate governance mechanisms in developing countries, in which there has been no clear answer regarding whether the stakeholder or shareholder would be an appropriate model for developing countries, especially for developing economy like nigeria. however, the findings of this study may suggest that the stakeholder perspective or shareholder of governance is more appropriate for developing countries like nigeria. consequently, it provides useful insights for government agencies regarding the need to implement a good corporate governance framework. these brought up the question, what are the possible obstacles/enablers to the implementation of the best corporate governance mechanisms in nigeria? also in examining corporate governance mechanisms and their compliance with codes and international best practices on insurance firms quoted in the nigerian stock exchange, previous research ( sanda, et al (2023) brown & caylor (2014) and tukur and bilikisu (2014) did not comprehensively breakdown into board independence, board size, gender diversity, hence previous researches failed to determine which particular aspect of corporate governance mechanisms have a significant effect on the financial performance of listed insurance companies in nigeria. therefore, what has not been resolved in the existing literature are the specific corporate governance mechanisms that are relevant to provide improvement in the insurance industry in nigeria, and in other to fill this gap the study will assess the effect of board independence, board size, gender diversity on the financial performance of listed insurance companies in nigeria. also, all the empirical researches reviewed in this study, none covered the period from 2012 to 2022. this study would provide up to date evidence on the effect of corporate governance mechanisms on the financial performance of insurance companies in nigeria and also differentiate it from the previous empirical studies, providing period gap to this study to cover. again, most of the studies reviewed in this study concentrated on board's independence, board size, ownership concentration, management shareholdings, and audit committee independence as proxies of corporate governance and performance measured by return on equity (roe) or return on assets (roa), without considering gender diversity. these create variable inclusion gap for this study to fill. these therefore necessitate a study of this nature to fill all the obvious igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 26 gaps raised. the main objective of the study is to board independence board size gender diversity and financial performance of listed insurance firms in nigeria. specific objectives are to: 1. evaluate the effect of board independence on return on equity of listed insurance companies in nigeria, 2. examine the influence of board size on return on assets of listed insurance firms in nigeria and 3. access the effect of gender diversity on return on assets of listed insurance firms in nigeria. in line with the objectives of the study, the hypotheses to be tested include: h : board independence has no significant effect on return on equity of listed o1 insurance companies in nigeria, h : board size has no significant effect on return on assets of listed insurance o2 firms in nigeria h : gender diversity has no significant effect on return on assets of listed o3 insurance firms in nigeria this study is limited to the practice of corporate governance in nigerian insurance firms. the effort is made to analyze the effects between the corporate governance proxies as well as the financial performances of nigerian insurance firms. the scope is limited to nigeria where corporate governance is still evolving and covers the period from 2012 to 2022 which differentiates it from previous empirical studies. corporate governance as an overall concept covers the areas of compliance with the corporate and company law, code of best practices and ethical norms and risk management in insurance firms so as to safeguard assets from expropriation and the installation and nourishment of both the statutory and internal audit functions in their helping and appraisal roles. the study involves both dependent and independent variables which is corporate governance proxies (board's independence, size of the board, gender diversity) as independent or explanatory variables, while the dependable variable is financial performance looking at three measurements on return on assets (roa) literature review in this section, conceptual issues relating to corporate governance, proxies of corporate governance, financial performance among others are discussed and presented. no generally accepted definition of corporate governance (cg) enjoys consensus in all settings and countries of the world. the concept is thus defined and understood differently in different parts of the world, depending on the relative power of owners, managers, and providers of capital (hameed, 2022). in other words, several scholars have viewed corporate governance (cg) differently from their perspectives (cai, et al. 2021). for instance, maher & anderson (2023); and craig (2019) view corporate igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 27 governance from two contrasting angles: the shareholder and the stakeholder model. corporate governance in its narrowest sense (shareholder's model) is used to describe the formal system of stewardship of the board to the shareholders. in contrast, in its widest sense (stakeholder model) corporate governance is used to describe the network of relationships between an organization and it various stakeholders. corporate governance is seen as the process and structure used to direct and manage business affairs of the company towards enhancing prosperity and corporate accounting with the ultimate objective of realizing shareholder long-term value while taking into account the interest of other stakeholders (cama, 2018) conclusively, what is evident from the various definitions received is that corporate governance is the set of structures, processes, cultures, and systems through which objectives are set, and the means of attaining the objectives and monitoring performance are determined and companies are directed and controlled. the four (4) components of effective corporate governance, as suggested by klapper & love (2018) are the board's composition (bc), board size (bs) power separation (ps), and the composition of the audit committee (cac). perhaps it may be correct to some extent but how effective is corporate governance without consideration of board independence, board size, gender diversity, and insider dealings emanating from the actions of the board and management? these factors also need to be considered as their negative contribution might have adverse effect on the running of a corporate enterprise. the board of directors plays an important role in improving corporate governance and the value of a firm (hanrahan, et al, 2023). the value of a firm is also improved when the board performs its fiduciary duties such as monitoring the activities of management and also involved in the selection of the right staff for the firm. the board consists of two types of directors, outside directors and inside directors. the outside directors are more independent than the inside directors, however, the majority of directors in a board should be independent to make rational decisions and create value for the shareholders. the role of independent directors is important to improve the value of a firm and can force the management to make unbiased decisions. the independent directors can also play the role of a referee and implement the principle of corporate governance that protects the rights of shareholders (bhagat & jeffers 2018; tomasic, et al, 2021). similarly, internal directors are also important in safeguarding the interest of shareholders. they provide the shareholders with important financial information, which will decrease the information asymmetry between management and shareholders as argued by bhagat & black (2023) and (bhagat & jefferris 2021). board independence has been suggested to help reduce the agency problem. most previous studies find better performance for firms with boards of directors dominated by outsiders. board size plays an important role in affecting the value of a firm. the role of a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 28 board of directors is to discipline the chief executive officer and management of a firm so that the value of a firm can be improved. a larger board has diverse expertise to make better decisions for the firm as the chief executive officer cannot dominate a bigger board because the collective strength of its members is higher than and can resist the irrational decisions of a single ceo pfeffer (2023) and (zahra & pearce, 2023). large board affect the value of a firm in a negative fashion as there is an agency cost among the members of a bigger board. similarly, small boards are more prone to making efficient and effective decisions because there is less agency cost among the board members as highlighted by (yermack, 2016). gender diversity can broadly be defined as the proportion of women to the members of boards of directors with regards to characteristics such as kinds of expertise, managerial background, personality, learning style, age, education, and values (swartz & firer, 2023). gender advocates suggest that to make managers and board members act ethically and efficiently there should be support for gender diversity on the boards of directors (field & keys, 2021). it has equally been suggested that the more women board members, the more there is a significant positive relationship between gender diversity and firms' financial performance (williams, 2018). empirical studies. moses, (2023) evaluates the effect of corporate governance practices on financial performance with specific reference to some selected insurance companies in nigeria. the study adopted ex-post facto research designs. nine insurance firms were purposively selected to be included in the study. the hypothesis was tested using secondary data from annual reports of selected insurance companies. the test of the hypothesis revealed an r2 of 0.529. this depicted a significant influence of the independent variable (corporate governance practices) on the dependent variable (profitability) and the p-value < 0.05. the study recommended among others that there should be corporate accountability movement in the insurance industry through well-framed mandatory corporate reporting covering all aspects of social environment and economic performance. this will be pursued logically by having a good corporate code of governance to give direction. omonu, (2023) empirically investigates the corporate governance system to find out the relationship that exists between board size, board composition, earnings per share (eps), and return on assets (roa) of quoted insurance companies in nigeria from (2008 to 2022) respectively. to accomplish the purpose of the study, data was sourced from 14 insurance companies and analyzed using pearson correlation and multiple regression analyses. the study shows that board size had a positive and statistically significant relationship with return on asset and earnings per share (eps). furthermore, the findings showed that there was a positive and statistically significant relationship with board size and earnings per igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 29 share. from the findings, he conclude that board size and board composition contribute significantly to the financial performance of insurance companies in nigeria. he therefore recommend that; regulators must ensure that competent independent members are well represented on the board of directors, and insurance companies should adhere strictly to the corporate governance code of conduct as it affects board size and board composition to achieve maximum performance. bakare, (2023) examines the effect of corporate governance on selected insurance companies using panel data which span from 2016 to 2021 five years for each of the selected insurance companies. this research statistically pinpoints the impact of corporate governance on the financial performance of insurance companies in nigeria using the data on shareholders' controlling interest ratio. the researcher subjected the data to statistical examinations using the panel least square regression and the granger causality test and the findings revealed that, in line with expectation, board size positively predicted return on assets in insurance companies. this prediction was found to be insignificant, however. the study recommends that insurance companies should possess a board size large enough to encompass individuals of diverse levels of knowledge and expertise. this would make the board competent enough to make sound decisions in diverse fields. compensation of directors should be tailored to the level of the financial performance of the insurance company. this could be done by allotting bonuses and benefits based on profitability. otorm, (2023), empirically investigates the relationship between corporate governance and financial performance of quoted insurance companies in nigeria within the period 2012 2021. it also ascertains the relationship between board size, board independence, audit committee supervision, board gender diversity, and financial performance of quoted insurance companies in nigeria. the study employs panel data from nineteen (19) sampled insurance companies quoted on the nigerian stock exchange. data were collected from annual audited reports of the quoted insurance companies. panel ols regression methodology was used to analyze the data and the data were regressed with the aid of eviews 7.0 econometric software package. the study revealed that board size, board independence, and audit committee composition hurt financial performance while board gender diversity positively influences financial performance. however, none of the corporate governance variables (bzs, bdi, bgd, and aud) significantly influence financial performance (roe). the study therefore recommends that steps should be taken for mandatory compliance with the code of corporate governance by the management of insurance companies in nigeria. attah, (2023), investigate the effects of corporate governance on the financial performance of listed insurance companies in kenya. specifically, this study examined board size, board composition, ceo duality and leverage and how they affect the financial performance of listed insurance companies in kenya. firm performance was measured using return on assets (roa) and return on equity (roe). this study adopted a descriptive research design. the study population igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 30 was all those insurance companies which were quoted on the nairobi securities exchange as at december 2021. the primary data were collected through the administration of questionnaires to the staff in these listed insurance firms. stratified random sampling technique was used to obtain the sample staff for the purpose of administering questionnaires. secondary data were collected using documentary information from company annual accounts for the period 2007 to 2011. reliability test was carried out using cronbach's alpha model. both descriptive and inferential statistics were used. data was analyzed using a multiple linear regression model. the study found that a strong relationship exists between the corporate governance practices under study and the firms' financial performance. board size was found to negatively affect the financial performance of insurance companies listed at the nse. there was a positive relationship between board composition and firm financial performance. however, the most critical aspect of board composition was the experience, skills and expertise of the board members as opposed to whether they were executive or non-executive directors. similarly, leverage was found to positively affect financial performance of insurance firms listed at the nse. on ceo duality, the study found that separation of the role of ceo and chair positively influenced the financial performance of listed insurance firms. dorathy, (2023) examines the impact of corporate governance on the performance of insurance companies in nigeria. the study covers the period of 5years between 2011 and 2023, uses multiple regression analysis to test the significant effect of each independent variables on dependent variable and data were obtained through secondary data. it was reveals that board size contributes negatively while leverage contributes positively to return on asset. management team was removed automatically by the package due to multi collinearity problem. the study concluded that corporate governance does not have significant impact on the performance of insurance companies in nigeria and recommends that naicom should improve on supervision of the nation's insurance industry activities by strengthening its inspection and enforcement divisions. this is necessary to ensure that the code of good corporate governance for insurance industry is strictly adhered to by practitioners and other stakeholders. compliance with code of good corporate governance would promote safe and sound insurance practice in the insurance industry. monday, (2023) identify the impact of corporate governance on the financial performance of insurers in ethiopia. explanatory research design was used to measure the effect of corporate governance mechanisms on the financial performance of insurers which is measured by roa. the corporate governance variables of the study are board size, board gender diversity, board business management experience, meeting frequency of the board, educational qualification of the board, board subcommittee size, firm size, leverage, liquidity, and the dividend payment policy of the company. this study used both primary and secondary sources of data which are more quantitative and qualitative. data for board size, board meeting frequency, the number of board sub-committees, board gender diversity, business management experience of board members, and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 31 the board members' educational qualifications are obtained through questionnaires administered to insurers ceos/presidents or board secretaries. data for firm size, liquidity, leverage, and dividend payment policy of insurers were obtained from secondary sources. eleven insurers were selected to investigate the impact of corporate governance on the financial performance of insurers based on a purposive sampling method. this study used random panel regression analysis. based on a regression analysis firm size, board subcommittee size, and liquidity have a significant positive impact on the roa of insurers while leverage has a significant negative impact on roa. furthermore, board size, meeting frequency of the board, educational qualification of board members, board gender diversity, business management experience of the board, and dividend payment policy have had an insignificant impact on the roa of ethiopian insurers. as further observed, most prior studies on corporate governance and performance made use of the market-based performance measure and not accounting performance measures. to cover the gaps in prior studies, this study examines the effect of corporate governance on the financial performance of nigerian insurance firms. however, from their studies, there was no empirical evidence linking insurance companies financial performance to corporate governance in nigeria apart from the one by tukur & bilikisu (2014) which dwell only on board diversity on financial performance of nigerian insurance companies though made brief reference to board size and gender diversity, but did not go further to look at other variables like board independence, board size, gender diversity, ownership concentration of shareholding, management shareholdings, audit committee independence and leadership structure that affect financial performance of insurance companies in nigeria. this study is anchored on stewardship theory because the theory is based on the assumption that the interests of shareholders and the interests of management are aligned; hence management is motivated to make decisions that would maximize the firm's performance and total value. stewardship theory has its roots in psychology and sociology. the theory is based on the assumption that the interests of shareholders and the interests of management are aligned; hence management is motivated to take decisions that would maximize the firm's performance and total value. the theory advocates that there is greater utility in cooperative than individualistic behaviour (donaldson & davis, 1991); in that, managers maximize their utility functions, while maximizing shareholders' wealth (davies, 1997). to achieve these, shareholders must authorize the appropriate empowering governance structure, mechanisms, authority, and information to facilitate the management autonomy, built on trust, to make decisions that would minimize their liability while achieving the firm's objectives (donaldson & dave, 1991). thus, stewardship theory recognizes the need for executives to act more autonomously to maximize the shareholder's returns. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 32 unlike agency theory, stewardship theory stresses the role of top management as stewards, expected to integrate their goals as part of the organization. this suggests that stewards are satisfied and motivated when organizational goals are attained. davis (1997) identifies five components of the management philosophy of stewardship: trust, open communication, empowerment, long-term orientation, and performance enhancement. daily (2023) argues that executives and directors are inclined to protect their reputations by ensuring that their organizations are properly operated to maximize financial performance. shleifer & vishny (1997) affirm that managers work to maximize investors' profit and to establish a good reputation to enable them to retain their positions. stewardship theory also advocates unifying the role of the ceo and the chairman in order to reduce agency costs (abdullah & valentine, 2022). finally, donaldson & davis (1991) show that combining both stewardship theory and agency theory improved firm performance, rather than separated. a stewardship protects and maximizes shareholders wealth through firm performance, because by so doing the steward utility function are maximized. davis, et al. (1997) and also cited in (cullen, kirwan & brennan 2021). the stewardship perspective suggests that the attainment of organizational success also satisfies the personal needs of the steward. the steward identifies greater utility accruing from satisfying organizational goals than through self-serving behavior. stewardship theory recognizes the importance of structures that empower the steward, offering maximum autonomy built upon trust. this minimizes the cost of mechanisms aimed at monitoring and controlling behaviors (davis, et al. 1997). daily (2023) contends that to protect steward's reputation as expert decision makers, executives and directors are inclined to operate the firm in a manner that maximizes financial performance indicators, including shareholder returns on the basis that firms performance directly impacts perceptions of their performance. according to fama (1980) in an attempt to be an effective steward in the organization, executives and directors are also effectively managing their careers. similarly, managers return finance to investors to establish a good reputation thus allowing them to re–enter the market for future finance (shleifer & vishiny 1997). muth & donaldson (1998) described stewardship theory as an alternative to agency theory which offers opposing predictions about the structuring of effective boards. while most of the governance theories are economic and finance in nature, the stewardship theory is sociological and psychological. stewardship theory emphasizes the roles of management and expects it to see themselves as part of the firm to maximize the financial performance. both agency and stewardship theories discuss the relationship between the shareholders and management, while agency theory distinguishes ownership from control, stewardship theory is on the functions of management in the interest of shareholders. stewardship theory did not give regard to other stakeholders but only emphasize the primary roles of management in the interest igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 33 of the shareholders. methodology an ex post facto research design was adopted for this study. the data are extracted from annual reports and accounts of the 23 insurance companies listed on the nigerian exchange group. these designs were considered appropriate for examining the relationship between variables and the impact of one variable (independent) on another (dependent). the population for this study consists of 45 listed insurance companies in the nigerian exchange group as of 31st december 2022. the time frame for this study is between 2012 and 2022. this is a ten-year period enough to satisfy all the needs for the research. using the descriptive sampling technique, this study selected 23 fully operational insurance companies from 45 insurance companies that were listed on the nigerian stock exchange as of 31st december 2022. nona probability sampling method in the form of filtering or criterion sampling technique was used in selecting the listed insurance firms. only insurance companies that meet the criteria of being listed on the nigerian exchange group since or before the year 2012 up to the period and submit their financial statements for the period covering this study. the total listed insurance companies in nigeria exchange group that are selected are twenty-three (23) in number as at 31st december 2022. the study uses a criterion sampling technique. the study used secondary data only, which was obtained from the financial statements of all the sampled firms of the study, within the period of ten years (2012 – 2022). the data in respect of the variables of the study were extracted and the respective ratios or percentages taken, from the sampled firms in order to test hypotheses of this study. the sources of the financial statement of all the sampled firms of the study are the nigeria stock exchange market fact book and annual report of the sampled firms from national insurance commission (nic) and some of the annual reports were down loaded from the insurances' corporate websites. in order to test the hypotheses of this study, multiple panel regression analysis (fixed and random effect) was employed. this is because of the effectiveness and efficiency of the technique in estimating the statistical relationship/impact of one variable on another variable. the analyses of the relationship between corporate governance and the financial performance of listed insurance companies in nigeria are conducted using stata as the software for the analysis. the explanatory variables used as proxies of corporate governance are board independence, board size, and gender diversity. the choice of explanatory variable is based on the alternative theories related to corporate governance and corporate governance variables used in previous studies conducted. board independence measure the percentage of non–executive directors to the total board size igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 34 board size measure the percentage of the total number of directors on the board board gender diversity – measure the percentage of females on the board return on equity (roe) – net income ÷ total equity source: field work 2023 model specification and justification for the models this study employed a multivariate version of the econometric model. therefore, the models designed for the study are given as: model 1 roe = α +β bind +β bs +β gd +ε -(i)it 1 it 2 it 3 it it where: roe = return on equity (financial performance) bind = board independence bs = board size gd = gender diversity α = intercept ε = stochastic error term. β , β , and β , are the parameters to be estimated.1 2 3 the a priori is such that: β bind; β bs; β gd > 0. the implication of this is that a 1 2 3 positive relationship or effect is expected between explanatory variables β 1 bind; β bs, β gd, and the dependable variable. the size of the coefficient of 2 3 correlation will assist in explaining various levels of relationship or effects between variables. the study employs secondary data from the annual or financial reports of the insurance companies listed in the nigerian stock exchange (nse) and the estimated period for the study is 2012 to 2022, a ten-year period longer enough to make a reasonable judgment on the outcome of the model. result and conclusion the descriptive statistics of the data collected for the study is presented and discussed in this section. the summary of the descriptive statistics of the data s/n variables acronym variable type justification 1 return on equity roe dependent brown & caylor(2004). adeleye and maiturare(2021). 2 board independence bind independent bhagat & jeffers (2018) and vafeas (1999) 3 board size bs independent zahra & pearce (1992) and yermack (1996) 4 gender diversity gd independent field & keys (2023) and swartz & firer (2019) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 35 collected is presented in table 4.1 as follows; table 1: descriptive statistics of the variables as indicated in table 4.1 central tendency (mean): the mean provides the average value for each variable. roa: average return on assets is 0.55. bind: average board independence is 37.49. bs: the average board size is 20.01. gd: average gender diversity is 0.54. dispersion (standard deviation, min, max): indicates the spread of the data. roa has a moderate spread (sd = 0.227). bind has a wide range (sd = 16.699), indicating high variability in board independence. bs has a low spread (sd = 0.986), indicating most values are close to the mean. gd also has a low spread (sd = 0.151), but its skewness and kurtosis suggest extreme values. shape (skewness, kurtosis): provides information about the distribution's shape. roa and bind are positively skewed (the right tail is longer), suggesting higher values. bs is slightly negatively skewed, indicating a distribution with a left tail longer than the right. gd has a high positive skew and kurtosis, indicating a highly peaked distribution with potential outliers on the right tail. each variable has distinct characteristics in terms of central tendency, dispersion, and distribution shape. roa and bind show moderate positive skewness, while bs is fairly symmetric with a slight negative skew. gd stands out with a significant positive skew and high kurtosis, indicating the presence of extreme values. following the presentation and interpretation of the descriptive statistics of the data collected for the variables of the study which to a large extent suggested that the data is not normally distributed, the shapiro-wilk normality test was conducted. the results are presented in table 4.2 as follows; table 2 results of the normality test source: stata output (see appendix for software analysis) variables min max mean sd skewness kurtosis roa 0.24 0.85 0.55 0.227 0.506 2.94 bind 3.97 71 37.49 16.699 0.561 2.993 bs 18.02 21.99 20.01 0.986 -0.162 2.496 gd 0.45 0.63 0.54 0.151 1.891 12.357 variables w v z prob>z roa 0.94935 8.538 4.969 0.00000 bind 0.96352 6.149 4.208 0.00001 bs 0.98480 2.562 2.180 0.01462 gd 0.56907 72.637 9.930 0.00000 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 36 the variables of the study are subjected to the shapiro-wilk (w) test for data normality; the technique tests the null hypothesis (that the data is normal), that is, the variable came from a normally distributed population. this may have effects on the results, as most of the parametric methods of analysis including regression assumed that the data is normally distributed, even though shao (2023) argues that the normality distribution of data has no effects on the inferential statistics, and also gaussian theory of normality distribution of data for inferential statistics which is inconsistent with shao (2023; 2019), the result of shapiro wilk (w) test of normality indicates that the variable came from the abnormally distributed population. table .3. correlation matrix of the dependent roa p-values in parentheses source: stata output (see appendix for software analysis) in this section, table 4.3.1 presents the correlation results between predictor variables (bind, bs, gd,) and the dependent variables (roa) of the listed insurance firms in nigeria. the result shows that there is a significant negative relationship between return on asset (roa) in the model and board independence (bind) from the correlation coefficient of -0.2382, at a 1% level of significance, (p-value 0.0003). this result suggests that as bind increases in the sample firms, roa would decrease. also, from table 4.3.1 the results indicate that there is a negative relationship between roa and board size (bs) from the correlation coefficient of -0.1051 which is not significant at all levels of significance (p-value of 0.0000). this implies that the more bs increases in the sample firms, roa decreases but is statistically significant. in table 4.3.1 also the results show that there is a positive relationship between roa and gender diversity from the correlation coefficient of 0.4076, with a pvalue of 0.0000. this suggests that the roa of listed insurance firms in nigeria increases with the increase of their gender diversity, which is statistically significant at a 1% level of significance. presentation of regression results and hypotheses testing the classical assumption of the regression model assumed that the error terms are variables roa bind bs gd roa 1.0000 bind -0.2382 (0.0003) 1.0000 bs -0.1051 (0.1118) -0.3900 (0.0000) 1.0000 gd 0.4076 (0.0000) -0.2223 (0.0000) -0.1367 (0.0382) 1.0000 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 37 normally distributed and independent (that is the error terms are uncorrelated); the predictor variables are not perfectly correlated (absence of multicollinearity); the variance of the error terms is constant (homoskedastic). when these assumptions have not been met, the estimators are biased and cannot be used in drawing any inference. however, the results proved an absence of perfect multi-collinearity among the independent variables, because on average variance inflation factor (mean vif) is 1.56, see appendix. the rule of thumb for the tolerance value is that any value of 1.0 and above implies the presence of perfect multi-collinearity in the estimates, while for the variance inflation factor, a value of 10 and above is an indication of perfect multi-collinearity. the evidence from breuch pagan/cook-weisberg coefficient of 11.84 with a pvalue of 0.0006 confirms the presence of the effects of heteroskedasticity, as shown in hettest result (see appendix) that is, there is constant variance in the residuals. thus, suggested fixed and random regression to solve this problem. in choosing the most appropriate between fixed and random effect regression for this study, usually two important tests are conducted; the hausman specification test and the breusch and pagan lagrangian multiplier test. the hausman specification test for model 1 suggests that there are fixed effects in the model for 2the study as evidenced by the chi of 38.22 with a p-value of 0.0000 therefore fixed effect regression result is interpreted for model 1. similarly, the hausman specification test for model 1 suggests that there are 2 fixed effects in the model for the study as evidenced by the chi of 20.17 with a pvalue of 0.0052 therefore fixed effect regression result is interpreted for model 1 regression analysis. model 3, on the other hand, has hausman specification test suggesting that there is no fixed effects in the model for the study as evidenced 2 by the chi of 3.53 with p-value of 0.8319, therefore breusch and pagan lagrangian multiplier test is conducted which suggest ols-robust regression result, as indicated that there is statistical significant difference (variances) in the 2panel (from the chi value of 0.00 with p-value of 1.0000) therefore ols-robust regression result is interpreted for model 1. table 4.4.1 presents the summary regression of the models (1, 2, and 3) of the study from which the hypotheses are tested. table 4: regression results with roa as dependent variable source: stata output (see appendix for software analysis) dep. var: roa coeff stddev t-stat. prob. bind -0.0038696 0.0008526 -3.79 0.000 bs -0.024801 0.0150044 -2.55 0.011 gd 0.9044155 0.1036569 7.78 0.000 r2 adj r 2 0.3782 fstat 22.95 fsig 0.0000 hausman 38.22 (0.0000) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 38 table 4.4.1 shows the result of the regression analysis of the effects of board independence board size gender diversity and financial performance of listed insurance firms in nigeria. the result reveals that the model is well-fitted (fstatistic = 22.95, p-value = 0.0000). the coefficient of determination (r-square), which measures the goodness of fit of the model, indicates that 45% of the variations observed in the dependent variable were explained by the independent variables. this was moderated by the adjusted r-squared to 38%, indicating that there are other variables other than our explanatory variables that might also impact the dependent variable. the result shows that bind has a negative and significant impact on the performance (roa) of nigerian insurance companies (bind coefficient = -0.00387, p-value = 0.000, t-value = -3.79). the result shows that bs, has a negative but not significant effect on the performance (roa) of nigerian insurance companies (bs coefficient = -0.024801, p value = 0.117, tvalue = -2.55). also, gd had a positive and significant effect on the performance (roa) of nigerian insurance companies (gd coefficient = 0.9044155, p value = 0.000, tvalue = 7.78). test of hypotheses in this section of the chapter, the study tested the hypotheses formulated for the study; table 4.4.1 presents the coefficients of the variables of the study from which the hypotheses are tested. the coefficients of the variables of the study are from the regression results of the models (1) used in this study. decision-based on stated hypotheses with regards to roa the results in table 4.4.1, show that board independence (bind) has a statistically significant negative impact on the roa of listed insurance firms in nigeria. that is, bind significantly decreases the roa of listed insurance firms in nigeria. thus, the null hypothesis (h0 ) which states that board independence 1 has no significant impact on the financial performance of listed insurance firms in nigeria is rejected. the study infers that bind has a negatively significant impact on the financial performance of the listed insurance firms in nigeria, during the period covered by the study. the table also shows the board size (bs) on the financial performance (roa) of listed insurance firms in nigeria is negative. that is, when bs improves roa would affect negatively, though the result is not robust. based on this, we lack evidence to reject the null hypothesis (h0 ) which states that board size has no 2 significant impact on the financial performance of listed insurance firms in nigeria. therefore, the study infers that bs has a significant negative impact on the roa of listed insurance firms in nigeria, during the period covered by the study. on the contrary, the results from table 4.4.1 show that gender diversity (gd) has a significant positive impact on the financial performance of insurance firms in nigeria. this suggests that the higher the gd of the firm the higher the roa of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 39 listed insurance firms in nigeria during the period of the study. based on this, the study rejected the null hypothesis (h0 ) which states that gender diversity has no 3 significant impact on financial performance of insurance firms in nigeria. discussion of results in the methodology of this study roa, was used as proxies for financial performance. the analysis of both models (1, 2 and 3) using fixed and random effect regression in confirming the effect of board independence, board size, gender diversity on financial performance. the inferential results on insurance companies revealed that board independence has positive effect on financial performance of nigerian insurance companies as shown by model and negative effect on financial performance of nigerian insurance companies. this is consistent with the recent studies carried out by tukur & bilikisu (2014) which revealed that there was significant relationship between corporate governance and firm performance. inferential results on board size also revealed a positive relationship between board size and the financial performance of insurance companies in nigeria using roa as the dependent variable. inferential results further revealed that gender diversity also has a positive effect on the financial performance of nigerian insurance companies used as a measure of financial performance. based on the key findings of this research, the study concludes that: board independence hurts the financial performance of listed insurance companies in nigeria board size has a positive effect on the financial performance of listed insurance companies in nigeria as revealed. gender diversity also has a positive effect on the financial performance of listed insurance companies in nigeria as explained by the model. overall the study concluded that there is a significant effect of corporate governance on the financial performance of listed insurance companies in nigeria. good corporate governance practices significantly impact a firm's performance in the nigerian insurance company. to ensure good corporate governance practices amongst insurance firms in nigeria, the following recommendations were put forward. i. board independence should be seen as sacrosanct and must be in existence to ensure that good corporate governance is in practice. this will build shareholders' and other stakeholders' confidence in the industry and thereby attract positive investment flows into the insurance market. ii. board size, gender diversity, and leadership structure, all having positive effects on the financial performance of listed insurance companies within the period of study should be constantly checked and monitored, to avoid negative impacts on the financial performance of listed insurance companies in nigeria. iii. all insurance companies in nigeria should adhere strictly to the codes of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 40 good corporate governance and ensure that they collaborate with the various stakeholders in the industry to improve the performance and growth of the insurance firms in nigeria. references abdullah, y., i. & valentine, g. (2022). does corporate government affect the capital structure decisions of ghanaian smes? working paper, university of stellenbosch usiness school, south africa. achema, f., nyor, t., agbi, s. e., & yahaya, o. a. (2022). liquidity management and profitability of listed deposit money banks in nigeria. european accounting and management review, 9(2), 83-1 attah, b. (2023), ethics and corporate governance in non-interest banking: prudent financial management: as a key to achieving organizational growth. journal of the chartered institute of banker of nigeria. babatunde, h. & olaniran, u. (2023) corporate governance and organizational performance. in a. oladimeji (ed) issues in corporate governance. lagos: financial institutions training centre bakare,i. (2023) factors influencing voluntary corporate disclosure by kenya companies. corporate governance: an international review, 14(2), 107 – 125 bhagat, h. (2021). the non-correlation between board independence and longterm performance. journal of corporation law, 24(2), 231-274 bhagat, h. & black, m., n. (2023) making corporate governance count: the fusion of ethics and economic rationality. journal of management and governance, 12(2), 135-14. bhagat, l., o. & jefferris, d. (2021). guidelines on corporate governance in public listed companies in kenya. kenya gazette notice no. 369, 122128. brown, d. & caylor, a., n. (2014) disentangling the incentive and entrenchment effects of large shareholders. the journal of finance, 57(6), 2741-2771. cai, d., b. keasey, c. & short, m. (2021). theories of corporate governance. the philosophical foundation of corporate governance. new york: routledge. craig, l/ (2019) effective governance of micro finance industry: estimating a micro finance industry. cullen, h. ,g.kirwan, a. & brennan, a.,.a (2021) corporate governance: decades of dialogue and data. the academy of management manual, 191, 1-64 daily, t. (2023) number of directors and financial performance: ameta analysis. the academy of management journal, 42(6), 674-686. davies, u. (1997). number of directors and financial performance: a metaanalysis, academy of management journal, 42(6), 674-686. davis, u. schoorman, y. & donaldson, g. (1997). toward a stewardship theory of management. academy of management review, 22, 20-47 donaldson, r. & davis, w. (1991). leading corporate governance indicators, in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 41 l.c keong (ed), corporate governance: an asia-pacific critique, sweet and maxwell asia, hong kong. dorathy, w.(2023) the impact of bigger board size on financial performance for firms the nigerian experience, journal of research in international business and management, 3(3) 85-90. duke, r. & kankpang,e. (2018). glossary of definition of corporate governance. retrieved in july 14, 2021 from http://www.google.com field, e. & keys, s. (2021) corporate governance and equity prices. quarterly journal of economics 118(1), 107-55. kajola, t. (2018) the resources dependency role of corporate directors: strategic adaptation of board composition in response to environment change. journal of management studies, 37(2), 235-255. klapper f.& love, h. (2018) theory of the firm, managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure. journal of financial economics, 3, 305360. maher, h. & anderson, m. (2023) boards of directors. a review of research agenda. journal of management, 22(3), 409-438. marijuana, u. (2023). corporate governance and firm performance: the case of nigerian listed firms. european journal of economics, finance and administrative science 14. monday, i. (2023) audit committee, board of director characteristics and earnings management. journal of accounting and economics. 333, 375400 moses, k. (2023) board characteristics and firm performance: evidence from the life insurance industry in thailand chulalongkorn. journal of economics. 16(2), 101-124. moses, k. (2023) a modest proposal for improved corporate governance. business lawyer, 481, 59-77 mulili, h. & wong, c. (2018) corporate governance and performance around the world: what we know and what we don't know. the world bank research observer, 261, 42-70. muth, u. & donaldson, n. (1998) ownership structure and corporate governance and its effects on performance in bahrain. international journal of business administration.2 (3). okpara,o. (2023). corporate governance. kasned news line, january to march 2022, issue 1. pp.3. olee, e.. (2023) corporate governance in developing countries. the case for kenya. international journal of business administration.2 (1). oluyemi, (2016) can agency theory justify the regulation of insider trading? the quarterly journal of austrian economics, 5(1), 3-38. omiya, h. (2018) size and composition of corporate boards of directors: the organization and its environment, administrative science quarterly, 17(2), 218-228. omonu, e. (2023) system dynamics modeling of firm value, journal of modelling in management 2(1), 24-39. otorm,u b (2023) the corporate objective revisited. organization science, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 42 15(3), 350-363. pfeffer, k. (2023) focusing on value: reconciling corporate social responsibility, sustainability and a stakeholder approach inn a network world”. journal of general management. raber, i.(2021). higher market valuation of companies with small boards. journal of financial economics 40, 185-211. sanda , y. (2023) how does corporate governance affect performance of banks in palestine? international journal of business, 50-62. shleifer, j. & vishiny, v (1997). corporate governance rules in ethiopia and germany. journal of central european, vol. 3456. sunday, e. (2018) an assessment of corporate governance for listed and nonlisted companies in lusaka stock exchange. journal of finance. v.21,34-45 swartz, l. & firer,i (2023). remuneration committee, board independence and top executive compensation. journal of risk and financial management, 4-28. tukur, i & bilikisu, c (2014) how fast can your company afford to grow? harvard business review, 165-142. williams,u. (2018). liquidity-profitability trade-off: an empirical investigation in an emerging market. international journal of commerce and management, 48-61. yermack, i. (2016). director characteristics and firm performance. international journal of finance, 31-55. zahra, g. & pearce,r. (2023). corporate governance and the financial performance of savings, credit and corporative societies. international research journal of arts and social science, 75-82. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 41 the fragility of democracy and the crisis of governance in africa: navigating the path between democratic ideals and dystopian realities fasiku, gbenga cornelius phd, tokula theophilus onukwuojo & stephen emmanuel department of philosophy, prince abubakar audu university, anyigba, kogi state. cfasiku@gmail.com, theophilustokula@gmail.com, emmanuelstephen864@gmail.com abstract this paper explores the ongoing challenges and fragile state of democracy in africa, where promises of democratic ideals often clash with harsh realities of governance crises, corruption, and political instability. despite the wave of democratization in the 1990s, many african nations struggle with the implementation of genuine democratic practices. the challenges include entrenched political corruption, authoritarian tendencies, weak institutions, and external interference, which have impeded democratic consolidation. with the erosion of trust in democratic systems, some african nations are increasingly experimenting with alternative governance models or variations of democracy, seeking stability over democratic purity. this paper argues that the failure of democracy in africa can be attributed to both internal governance challenges and external pressures, and it calls for a rethinking of governance models that balance democratic values with contextual realities. keywords: democracy, political instability, corruption, authoritarianism, institutional reform. introduction the state of democracy in africa remains a deeply contested and fragile concept, one marked by an array of governance crises and unmet democratic promises. following the end of colonial rule and the subsequent wave of independence movements across africa, democracy was widely embraced as the optimal path toward stable governance, human rights, and economic development. however, the idealistic aspirations of democracy have not consistently translated into effective governance or stable states. the past few decades have revealed a pervasive gap between democratic ideals and the practical realities faced by african nations. political instability, corruption, poverty, and authoritarian tendencies have significantly hindered the continent’s democratic progress. while some african countries initially demonstrated democratic promise, institutional weaknesses and systemic corruption have led many to question the sustainability of democracy. according to olukoshi, the rise of neo-patrimonialism has allowed leaders to consolidate power through patronage networks rather than democratic governance, eroding public trust in democratic institutions (olukoshi 45). furthermore, foreign interventions and economic dependency on igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 42 powerful external states have often destabilized or hindered democracy in africa. as cheeseman and fisher highlight, foreign aid and international influence can sometimes prioritize geopolitical interests over democratic development, leading to governance that reflects external priorities more than local democratic aspirations (cheeseman and fisher 102). in recent years, disillusionment with democracy’s promises has led some african nations to explore alternatives. some are experimenting with hybrid governance systems or authoritarian development models to gain stability and economic growth, even at the expense of full democratic governance. the shift towards alternative systems reflects a profound dilemma: while democracy as an ideal is appealing, its practical shortcomings and the crisis of governance have prompted a rethinking of the continent’s governance pathways. this paper will examine these challenges and explore how africa might navigate the difficult path between democratic ideals and alternative governance models that promise greater stability. historical context and challenges of democratization in africa the democratization process in africa is deeply rooted in the continent’s complex historical landscape, marked by a legacy of colonial rule, political instability, and challenges of economic dependency. as african nations gained independence from european colonial powers in the mid20th century, the promise of democracy was celebrated as a path toward self-governance, economic progress, and social stability. however, this optimism quickly encountered significant obstacles. colonial rule left african states with borders that often disregarded ethnic and cultural divisions, creating a foundation for ethnic tensions and conflicts. additionally, the departure of colonial authorities frequently left nascent states with limited governance structures and weak institutions, making democratic consolidation difficult (meredith 98). in the immediate post-independence era, many african leaders adopted one-party systems or authoritarian rule as a means of establishing control and managing diverse populations. leaders such as kwame nkrumah in ghana and julius nyerere in tanzania argued that unity was essential to nation-building and development, often at the expense of political pluralism. according to young, the push for unity over democracy resulted in governments that were more concerned with maintaining control than fostering democratic processes (young 122). by prioritizing stability and rapid development, many leaders centralized power, suppressed dissent, and curtailed political freedoms. these practices undermined democratic ideals and created a political culture where state power was often viewed as a personal asset rather than a public responsibility. the 1990s saw a resurgence of democratization efforts across africa, driven by global democratization trends, internal demands for reform, and pressure from international actors. this period, often referred to as africa’s “second liberation,” brought a wave of multiparty elections and constitutional reforms to the continent. nevertheless, the shift to multiparty systems did not necessarily lead to genuine democratic governance. in many cases, elections became a formal exercise rather than a true reflection of democratic will. leaders manipulated electoral systems, intimidated opposition parties, and used state resources to ensure electoral victories, creating what igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 43 bratton and van de walle describe as “pseudo-democracies”—political systems with the façade of democracy but lacking true democratic substance (bratton and van de walle 68). the influence of external forces also shaped the challenges of democratization in africa. western countries, often advocating for democracy, linked foreign aid to the implementation of democratic reforms. while this pressure encouraged political liberalization, it also led to “democracy by compulsion” where reforms were implemented without grassroots support or institutional capacity (huntington 34). this externally-driven democratization often lacked sustainability, as leaders would return to authoritarian tactics once foreign scrutiny waned. furthermore, foreign interests sometimes clashed with democratic priorities, as western powers supported authoritarian leaders when it aligned with their economic or geopolitical interests. the cold war is a notable example, with both the united states and the soviet union supporting authoritarian regimes to secure alliances (cheeseman 75). today, africa’s democratization remains challenged by ongoing governance crises, economic dependency, and internal divisions. corruption, weak institutions, and ethnic polarization continue to impede democratic progress. the fragility of many african states is underscored by political violence, military coups, and the persistence of authoritarian rule in some regions. as such, africa’s democratization process reflects a complex struggle to balance democratic ideals with the practical realities of governance in diverse and often divided societies. the historical context underscores the need for a uniquely african approach to democracy—one that addresses the continent’s historical legacies and prioritizes institution-building and inclusivity as foundations for sustainable governance. structural and institutional weaknesses in african democracies the fragility of democracy in africa is deeply rooted in the continent's structural and institutional weaknesses, which undermine democratic governance and hinder sustainable political development. although many african countries have adopted democratic frameworks and held multiparty elections, the persistence of weak institutions, endemic corruption, and the prevalence of neo-patrimonialism have compromised the potential for genuine democratic governance. these weaknesses create environments where democracy is nominally present but lacks the depth and resilience needed to withstand political crises and effectively represent the interests of citizens. one of the most significant structural weaknesses in african democracies is the lack of strong and independent institutions capable of enforcing checks and balances. many african countries inherited weak administrative structures from colonial regimes, which were often designed to serve the interests of colonial powers rather than build inclusive governance. according to hyden, the colonial legacy left african states with fragile political institutions that struggle to function autonomously or impartially (hyden 36). this institutional weakness persists, allowing political leaders to consolidate power and manipulate state mechanisms for personal gain. the judiciary, for example, is often vulnerable to political interference, preventing it from serving as an effective check on executive power. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 44 additionally, the weakness of political institutions is exacerbated by pervasive corruption, which further undermines democratic governance. corruption erodes public trust in democratic institutions and hinders their ability to function effectively. in many african democracies, state resources are frequently diverted for personal or political purposes, leading to a situation where loyalty and patronage are rewarded over competence and integrity. according to mbaku, corruption in africa is often systemic, creating "shadow" states where political power is exercised through informal networks rather than through formal institutions (mbaku 85). as a result, citizens are disenfranchised, and democratic institutions are deprived of the legitimacy needed to maintain public confidence. neo-patrimonialism—a system in which political leaders use state resources to secure loyalty and maintain power—further compounds the challenges facing african democracies. rather than fostering political pluralism, neo-patrimonialism creates a political environment that rewards loyalty to individual leaders over adherence to democratic principles. leaders often use their positions to build patronage networks, distributing resources and favors to their supporters and marginalizing opposition voices. according to van de walle, neo-patrimonialism is widespread in african politics, where leaders often blur the lines between public and personal interests, making democratic institutions subservient to their own authority (van de walle 54). this practice weakens the rule of law, as officials feel obligated to serve the leader rather than the public. furthermore, the lack of effective civil society and political opposition contributes to the structural weaknesses in african democracies. civil society organizations and opposition parties are essential for holding governments accountable and advocating for democratic reforms, but in many african countries, these groups face significant constraints. governments often restrict the activities of civil society organizations, sometimes even banning them or subjecting them to intense scrutiny. opposition parties are frequently marginalized, with leaders facing intimidation or imprisonment. according to diamond, the absence of a vibrant civil society undermines the democratic process, as it deprives citizens of avenues to demand accountability and participate meaningfully in political life (diamond 72). the structural and institutional weaknesses in african democracies are compounded by socioeconomic factors, including poverty, unemployment, and limited educational opportunities. these conditions make citizens more susceptible to political manipulation and patronage, as they may prioritize immediate material gains over democratic ideals. leaders exploit this vulnerability by distributing resources or benefits in exchange for political support, which compromises democratic accountability. as bayart argues, poverty and economic insecurity can entrench clientelism and inhibit the development of a politically engaged citizenry capable of demanding democratic reforms (bayart 119). in summary, structural and institutional weaknesses have significantly impeded the consolidation of democracy in africa. the legacy of colonial rule, pervasive corruption, neo-patrimonialism, and the repression of civil society have created environments where democratic governance struggles to take root. addressing these challenges will require a focus on building strong, independent igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 45 institutions that can uphold democratic principles, enforce accountability, and serve the interests of citizens. only through such efforts can african nations overcome the systemic weaknesses that threaten the future of democracy on the continent. the role of external influences on african democracy the development and trajectory of democracy in africa have been profoundly shaped by external influences, which include the roles of former colonial powers, international financial institutions, foreign aid, and global geopolitical dynamics. while foreign involvement has occasionally promoted political liberalization, external pressures and interests have also undermined authentic democratic development. the complexities of these external influences reveal a dynamic where african democracies often find themselves balancing local aspirations with international demands. one of the most significant external influences on african democracy is the legacy of colonialism, which imposed artificial borders and centralized authoritarian governance structures on african societies. many colonial administrations focused on controlling resources and populations rather than fostering democratic institutions, leaving newly independent nations with weak administrative foundations. according to young, colonialism “created states without nations,” leading to fragmented societies and fragile political institutions ill-equipped for democracy (young 73). the impact of colonial borders and administrative structures continues to reverberate in african politics, contributing to ethnic tensions, weak institutions, and centralized governance that can hinder democratic development. following independence, the cold war significantly influenced african politics, as the united states and the soviet union competed for ideological dominance in the region. both superpowers often supported authoritarian regimes that aligned with their interests, regardless of their commitment to democratic principles. during this period, leaders who adopted pro-western or pro-soviet stances were often rewarded with financial and military support, creating an environment in which democratic values were secondary to ideological loyalty. as herbst notes, cold war dynamics allowed african leaders to consolidate power and suppress opposition without fear of losing international support (herbst 101). this approach led to the entrenchment of authoritarian leaders and stunted democratic development in many african countries. the end of the cold war and the subsequent global push for democratization in the 1990s, often termed “africa’s second liberation,” marked a new phase of external influence on african governance. western governments, along with international organizations such as the united nations and the world bank, began promoting democracy and linking foreign aid to political liberalization. conditional aid, which requires recipient countries to adopt democratic reforms, has become a significant tool for influencing african governance. while these conditionalities have encouraged the adoption of multiparty elections and democratic frameworks, they have also led to “donor-driven democracies” that lack deep roots within african societies (brown 55). this form of democratization often emphasizes elections over other democratic values, creating what igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 46 carothers calls “elections without democracy,” where the electoral process is prioritized over the development of accountable and effective institutions (carothers 5). international financial institutions, such as the international monetary fund (imf) and the world bank, also play a crucial role in shaping african democracies by enforcing economic policies that impact governance. structural adjustment programs (saps), implemented by these institutions in the 1980s and 1990s, required african countries to reduce public spending, privatize state-owned enterprises, and adopt market-oriented reforms. while these measures were intended to stabilize economies, they often led to social hardship, increased inequality, and weakened state capacity. according to mkandawire, saps created “political instability and social polarization,” as governments struggled to meet the basic needs of their populations while adhering to strict economic guidelines (mkandawire 45). these economic challenges can destabilize democracies, as citizens lose faith in governments that appear unable to provide for their welfare. foreign aid remains a double-edged sword in the development of african democracies. on one hand, aid has supported civil society organizations, human rights advocacy, and electoral processes, helping to foster democratic practices. on the other hand, aid dependency can create vulnerabilities, as governments may prioritize donor interests over the needs of their citizens. according to moss, aid dependency often reduces accountability, as african governments are accountable to donors rather than to their own citizens (moss 81). this dependency can lead to a form of “democracy by demand,” where reforms are implemented to satisfy external actors rather than out of genuine commitment to democratic principles. additionally, geopolitical interests of powerful nations continue to shape democracy in africa, especially in regions rich in natural resources or those with strategic importance. for example, western nations have sometimes supported authoritarian leaders who maintain stability in resource-rich areas or cooperate in counter-terrorism efforts. according to klare, these geopolitical priorities often lead to “selective democracy promotion,” where support for democracy is conditional upon a regime’s alignment with foreign interests rather than its commitment to democratic principles (klare 23). this selective approach sends mixed messages to african leaders and citizens, potentially undermining the legitimacy of democracy as a universal value. while external influences have contributed to political liberalization and the spread of democratic ideals in africa, they have also imposed constraints that complicate the development of robust democratic systems. the legacies of colonialism, cold war dynamics, conditional aid, structural adjustment programs, and geopolitical interests have all shaped african democracies in ways that prioritize foreign interests, often at the expense of sustainable and locally driven democratic governance. addressing these challenges requires a recalibration of external engagement with african democracies—one that respects local contexts, promotes institution-building, and allows for organic democratic development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 47 exploring alternative governance models in africa amid the challenges facing democracy in africa, a growing number of nations and leaders are exploring alternative governance models as potential solutions to long-standing political and economic crises. disillusionment with the weaknesses of democratic systems—often characterized by corruption, inefficient institutions, and political instability—has led some african countries to consider models that diverge from western-style liberal democracy. these alternative governance systems include developmental authoritarianism, hybrid regimes, and traditional governance structures, each offering distinct approaches that emphasize stability, economic growth, and local traditions over purely democratic ideals. one alternative governance model gaining traction in some parts of africa is developmental authoritarianism, which prioritizes economic growth and stability over political pluralism. inspired by the rapid development seen in east asian countries such as china and singapore, this model involves strong, centralized authority that can enforce reforms and ensure economic progress. according to obadare, developmental authoritarianism emphasizes “order over freedom,” aiming to accelerate economic transformation while postponing democratic processes (obadare 56). rwanda under president paul kagame is a notable example of this model in africa, where the government has concentrated power to implement social and economic reforms with a degree of efficiency often lacking in multiparty democracies. however, while proponents argue that this approach has led to significant development gains, critics contend that it restricts political freedoms and civil liberties, raising questions about its long-term viability and ethical implications (purdeková 92). hybrid regimes, which combine elements of democracy and authoritarianism, represent another governance model that has become increasingly common across africa. these regimes maintain some democratic features—such as regular elections and formal institutions—while centralizing authority and controlling opposition. leaders in hybrid regimes often employ “competitive authoritarianism,” where elections are held, but the political environment is skewed heavily in favor of the ruling party, thereby allowing them to retain control while maintaining a semblance of democratic legitimacy (levitsky and way 23). countries such as uganda and ethiopia have adopted hybrid models, where ruling elites consolidate power but permit limited opposition as a means to prevent international isolation or domestic unrest. this approach, while criticized for restricting genuine political competition, is seen by some leaders as a pragmatic solution that balances demands for stability with limited political participation (cheeseman 117). another model that some african nations are turning to involves the incorporation of traditional governance structures into modern political systems. many african societies have rich histories of indigenous governance, rooted in customs and communal decision-making processes that prioritize consensus over competition. traditional governance structures often emphasize leadership based on social status, lineage, and communal authority rather than electoral processes. according to ayittey, the integration of traditional governance structures with modern political igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 48 institutions can enhance legitimacy, as citizens may feel a stronger connection to leaders and practices that reflect their cultural heritage (ayittey 48). for example, botswana has successfully integrated elements of traditional governance, such as the kgotla (a traditional village council), with its democratic institutions, allowing citizens to participate in decision-making at the community level while maintaining a stable national government. this blend of traditional and modern governance structures is viewed by some as a model for fostering political stability and local participation in other parts of africa (holm and molutsi 65). additionally, federalism and decentralization have emerged as governance models that seek to address the ethnic and regional diversity in many african countries. federalism allows for a division of powers between central and regional governments, enabling regions to exercise autonomy while remaining part of a larger nation-state. this model has been adopted in countries such as nigeria and ethiopia, where ethnic and cultural diversity has historically led to tensions and demands for greater self-determination. decentralization is seen as a way to reduce ethnic conflict and ensure that governance is responsive to local needs, especially in heterogeneous societies (suberu 101). however, the success of federalism in africa is mixed; while it has allowed for localized decision-making, it has also created challenges related to resource allocation, regional disparities, and tensions between central and regional authorities. the exploration of alternative governance models in africa reflects a growing recognition that western-style democracy may not be the only—or the best—solution for african nations. each model has its advantages and challenges, and the efficacy of any alternative governance system depends on how well it aligns with a country’s specific social, economic, and cultural context. scholars like shivji argue that africa’s search for effective governance should prioritize systems that reflect local realities and values rather than attempting to replicate foreign models wholesale (shivji 12). for many african countries, the goal is not merely to adopt an alternative model, but to find a balance between democratic principles and the practical needs of governance—one that promotes both stability and accountability. as african nations grapple with the limitations of democratic governance, alternative models such as developmental authoritarianism, hybrid regimes, traditional governance structures, and federalism offer promising paths. while these models challenge conventional democratic ideals, they also provide african leaders with options that may better address their unique challenges. exploring these alternatives highlights the importance of governance systems that respect african histories, values, and aspirations, offering a potential roadmap for more effective and resilient governance on the continent. conclusion the disillusionment of africa’s youth with the ruling class reflects a growing frustration over unfulfilled promises, systemic corruption, and a lack of meaningful representation. as africa faces pressing challenges, from economic instability to technological gaps, young people increasingly view the current leadership as disconnected from the realities of their lives and aspirations. the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 49 ruling class, which has often maintained power through patronage networks, outdated policies, and limited accountability, has failed to inspire hope or confidence in a brighter future. as a result, africa’s young population is calling for governance that is transparent, innovative, and responsive to their needs. they desire a system that not only addresses economic challenges but also offers them opportunities to contribute actively to societal progress. since the future belongs to this youthful generation, any alternative governance model for africa must be adaptable to their digital and forward-thinking nature. integrating youth voices into governance is crucial, as they are the most connected generation, using digital platforms to mobilize, educate, and advocate for change. models that foster inclusivity, harness digital technology, and promote social entrepreneurship will better serve africa’s unique developmental needs. for example, decentralization and federalism can empower young people at local levels, while hybrid systems could incorporate direct digital engagement to ensure transparency and accountability. additionally, incorporating digital tools for civic participation can create a governance structure that is dynamic, interactive, and inclusive. ultimately, africa’s path to sustainable development lies in governance models that embrace the energy, creativity, and resilience of its youth. by accommodating their digital skills and enthusiasm for innovation, alternative governance systems can transform the continent’s prospects, placing it firmly on the path to meaningful development. the challenge is for african leaders to recognize that empowering the younger generation is not just about reform but about reimagining governance to reflect a new era—one where africa’s youth are at the forefront of its growth, driving change through systems that value and enable their contributions. works cited ayittey, george b. n. africa unchained: the blueprint for africa's future. palgrave macmillan, 2005. bayart, jean-françois. the state in africa: the politics of the belly. longman, 1993. bratton, michael, and nicolas van de walle. democratic experiments in africa: regime transitions in comparative perspective. cambridge university press, 1997. brown, stephen. aid and influence: do donors help or hinder democracy? routledge, 2021. carothers, thomas. “the end of the transition paradigm.” journal of democracy, vol. 13, no. 1, 2002, pp. 5–21. cheeseman, nic. democracy in africa: successes, failures, and the struggle for political reform. cambridge university press, 2015. diamond, larry. developing democracy: toward consolidation. johns hopkins university press, 1999. holm, john d., and patrick p. molutsi. developing democracy when civil society is weak: the case of botswana. indiana university press, 1989. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 50 herbst, jeffrey. states and power in africa: comparative lessons in authority and control. princeton university press, 2000. huntington, samuel p. the third wave: democratization in the late twentieth century. university of oklahoma press, 1991. hyden, goran. african politics in comparative perspective. cambridge university press, 2006. klare, michael. resource wars: the new landscape of global conflict. henry holt and company, 2001. levitsky, steven, and lucan a. way. competitive authoritarianism: hybrid regimes after the cold war. cambridge university press, 2010. mbaku, john m. corruption in africa: causes, consequences, and cleanups. lexington books, 2007. meredith, martin. the fate of africa: a history of fifty years of independence. publicaffairs, 2011. mkandawire, thandika. african intellectuals: rethinking politics, language, gender and development. zed books, 2005. moss, todd. african development: making sense of the issues and actors. lynne rienner publishers, 2007. obadare, ebenezer. “the essential authoritarianism of developmental state.” journal of modern african studies, vol. 49, no. 1, 2011, pp. 56–73. olukoshi, adebayo. the elusive prince of denmark: structural adjustment and the crisis of governance in africa. african development, vol. 22, no. 2, 1997, pp. 25–48. purdeková, andrea. making ubumwe: power, state and camps in rwanda’s unity-building project. berghahn books, 2015. shivji, issa g. where is uhuru? reflections on the struggle for democracy in africa. fahamu books, 2009. suberu, rotimi. federalism and ethnic conflict in nigeria. united states institute of peace, 2001. van de walle, nicolas. african economies and the politics of permanent crisis, 1979-1999. cambridge university press, 2001. young, crawford. the african colonial state in comparative perspective. yale university press, 1994. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 51 the role of women in african indigenous religions and the early christian church aboekwe, mary emilia department of religion and human relations, chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu university anambra state me.aboekwe@coou.edu.ng / emiliachy@gmail.com abstract african indigenous religions often accorded women prominent religious roles, such as priestesses, diviners, healers, and custodians of tradition. these roles were essential for maintaining spiritual and communal balance. by contrast, the early christian church, as described in the new testament, exhibited a more complex relationship with women's leadership. although women were actively involved in jesus’ ministry and the early christian communities, their roles became more restricted over time, especially under the influence of patriarchal greco-roman culture. this article explores the significant role of women within african indigenous religions and the early christian church, comparing and contrasting their spiritual, social, and leadership functions. the study equally seeks to analyze how african indigenous religions’ perceptions of women contrasted with early christian norms and how these traditions evolved under colonialism and missionary activities. this historical and comparative analysis aims to shed light on the religious, cultural, and theological dynamics that shaped the place of women in both traditions. keywords: women, role, indigenous, christian church. introduction the role of women in religious life has been a pivotal yet under-explored aspect of both african indigenous religions and early christianity. in many african communities, women were not only active participants but also leaders and spiritual mediators, serving as priestesses, mediums, healers, and keepers of sacred knowledge. their roles extended beyond mere participation in rituals, encompassing responsibilities that were vital for maintaining cosmic and social order. in contrast, the new testament offers a mixed portrayal of women's roles in the early christian church. women such as mary magdalene, priscilla, lydia, and others played notable roles in supporting jesus’ ministry and in the spread of christianity. however, as christianity expanded within the patriarchal framework of the greco-roman world, the leadership roles available to women became increasingly restricted. interpretations of certain pauline epistles further limited women’s roles in church leadership, casting them primarily as supportive figures rather than authoritative ones. the intersection of these two traditions: africana indigenous religions and early christianity, provides fertile ground for exploring how different cultural contexts influenced the religious roles of women. while both traditions faced pressures from patriarchal norms, the outcomes diverged significantly. african indigenous religions often retained their female religious leadership roles even amidst colonialism, while christianity, under the influence of european missionaries, often marginalized these roles. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 52 this article will explore these religious dynamics, offering a comparative analysis of how african indigenous religions empowered women within spiritual and social spheres, while the early christian church's stance on women was shaped by cultural, religious, and theological factors. through this exploration, we aim to gain a deeper understanding of how gender shaped the development of religious traditions and how these roles have evolved across different historical and cultural contexts. conceptual framework role of women in african indigenous religions in african indigenous religions (air), women play a multifaceted and vital role in religious, social, and spiritual practices. their contributions vary widely across different cultures and ethnic groups in africa but share common elements of leadership, mediation, and community welfare. here’s a detailed exploration of the roles women play in african indigenous religions: 1. women as spiritual leaders and priestesses in many african societies, women occupy significant roles as priestesses, spiritual leaders, and healers. in some traditions, they act as intermediaries between the spiritual and physical worlds. • the yoruba tradition: in the yoruba religion, mbiti (1990) asserts that women serve as priestesses of various deities, known as “orisha.” female devotees, or iyalorishas, conduct rituals, ceremonies, and divinations. orunmila, the deity of wisdom and divination, is often worshipped with the help of female priestesses who have undergone rigorous spiritual training. • the akan of ghana: women serve as priestesses known as akomfo in the akan religion. they mediate between the living and the ancestors, as well as between the people and the gods. these priestesses are custodians of sacred knowledge and perform healing rituals (parrinder, 1962). • vodun in west africa: ray (1976) testifies that in vodun, particularly in benin and togo, women serve as mambos (priestesses). they preside over ceremonies, possess deep knowledge of medicinal plants, and guide the community in worship and spiritual practice. 2. women as keepers of tradition and culture women in african indigenous religions are often seen as custodians of tradition and bearers of cultural continuity. • storytelling and oral traditions: women play a central role in the transmission of knowledge, myths, and religious practices through storytelling (mbiti, 1990). they pass down the cosmological beliefs of their people, preserving the oral tradition that is foundational to african religious life. • rites of passage: women are also responsible for overseeing and conducting rites of passage, such as puberty rites, marriages, and childbirth rituals. for instance, parrinder (1962) narrates that among the bemba people of zambia, women guide young girls through chisungu, a rite that marks the transition from girlhood to womanhood. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 53 • initiation ceremonies: in many societies, women are responsible for preparing and guiding the next generation of women through initiation rites. these ceremonies not only symbolize the girls’ entry into adulthood but also emphasize the religious and spiritual roles women are expected to play in society. 3. women as healers and diviners healing is a crucial aspect of african indigenous religions, and women frequently hold the esteemed role of healers and diviners. • traditional medicine and midwifery: in many african communities, women are regarded as knowledgeable in herbal medicine and traditional healing practices. they use their knowledge of plants, spiritual rituals, and ancestral wisdom to heal both physical and spiritual ailments. ray (1976) attests that among the zulu of south africa, women healers known as sangomas are revered for their ability to communicate with the ancestors and diagnose illnesses caused by spiritual imbalances. • divination: nabofa, (1994) observes that women also act as diviners, using methods such as throwing bones, interpreting dreams, or reading the patterns of sand or cowrie shells to communicate with the spiritual realm and provide guidance to their communities. 4. women as mediators with the spirit world african indigenous religions hold a strong belief in the interconnectedness of the material and spiritual worlds. women often play the role of intermediaries or mediums. • possession and trance: mbiti, j.s. (1990) highlights the importance of women in possession rituals, particularly in shona and other ethnic groups, where women communicate with spirits during religious ceremonies. in many african religious systems, women are considered more receptive to spiritual possession. during religious ceremonies, women may enter trances and serve as conduits for spiritual entities, delivering messages or blessings from the gods or ancestors. in the shona culture of zimbabwe, for example, women are frequently possessed by spirits during bira ceremonies, where they communicate the desires and will of the ancestral spirits. • connection with ancestors: women are also seen as closer to the ancestors, particularly because of their ability to give birth. this biological link with the continuation of life allows them to act as custodians of the relationship between the living and the dead. in many african societies, it is common for women to lead ancestral veneration rites and offer sacrifices on behalf of their families. parrinder (1962) touches on the idea that women, due to their life-giving roles, are natural mediators with the spirit world and ancestors 5. women as symbolic representations of fertility and creation in many african indigenous religions, women symbolize fertility, creation, and the nurturing of life. their roles as mothers and life-givers are closely tied to religious and cosmological beliefs. • goddesses and female deities: ray (1976) explores the symbolic role of women in connection with fertility and creation, including goddesses such as oshun in yoruba religion and yasigi among the dogon. many african cosmologies feature female deities igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 54 associated with fertility, motherhood, and the earth. for instance, oshun in yoruba religion is a goddess of fertility, love, and rivers, often invoked by women seeking blessings for childbirth or relationships. similarly, the dogon people of mali venerate yasigi, a goddess linked to fertility and grain. • symbolic representation in art and rituals: nabofa (1994) discusses the symbolic role of women in art and religious practice, particularly their embodiment of fertility and their place in religious iconography. women’s bodies and their roles as life-givers are often symbolized in religious art, rituals, and ceremonies. fertility rites often involve prayers and offerings to both the earth and female deities, asking for blessings of abundance, growth, and protection over children. 6. social and political roles influenced by religion in many african societies, religion and politics are intertwined, and women play a significant role in both spheres. their spiritual authority often translates into political power, particularly in matrilineal societies. • the kingdom of dahomey: the role of women in both religious and political power structures, particularly in the dahomey kingdom, is analyzed by ray (1976), who examines how religious roles can translate into political influence. in the kingdom of dahomey (modern-day benin), women played central roles not only in religious life but also in the political sphere. the powerful mino, also known as the dahomey amazons, were an all-female military regiment that served the kingdom, blending religious duties with political and military power. • the omu of igbo culture: nabofa (1994) explores the dual role of women in religion and politics, such as the omu of the igbo people, who combines both spiritual and political authority. among the igbo of nigeria, the omu, or queen, holds both religious and political power. this position is often filled by a woman who acts as a spiritual leader, mediator, and representative of the women in her community. women in african indigenous religions are central to the spiritual, social, and political life of their communities. they hold diverse and dynamic roles as priestesses, healers, diviners, custodians of tradition, and mediators with the spirit world. their importance is deeply rooted in the religious cosmologies that emphasize the interconnectedness of the physical and spiritual realms, and their contributions ensure the survival and continuity of religious practices. role of women in the early christian church the role of women in the early christian church has been a subject of scholarly research, showing that women played significant roles in the development and spread of christianity. they were involved in a variety of functions, including leadership roles, though these were sometimes contested or restricted over time. here is an overview of their roles, supported by key academic references: women as leaders and prophets igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 55 n the early christian movement, women often held leadership positions, particularly in house churches, which were the primary venues for christian worship and community gatherings. women such as priscilla, phoebe, and junia are mentioned in paul's letters as leaders, deacons, and apostles. • priscilla: mentioned in acts and paul's letters, priscilla, along with her husband aquila, played a vital role in the early church. she was a teacher and co-worker with paul, signifying her leadership and theological influence (acts 18:26). • phoebe: in romans 16:1-2, paul refers to phoebe as a diakonos (deacon) of the church at cenchreae. the term diakonos indicates a formal role in ministry, and she is also called a "benefactor" (prostatis), suggesting a leadership or patronage role. • junia: romans 16:7 refers to junia as "outstanding among the apostles." scholarly debate has occurred over the centuries regarding junia’s gender, but most modern scholars agree she was a woman and an apostle. the leadership of these women within the early christian church highlights a significant degree of gender equality that existed before the establishment of strict hierarchies. macdonald (1996) emphasizes how women's roles in the church, including prophecy, teaching, and leadership, were perceived with both admiration and suspicion by contemporaries, especially within the context of pagan and roman patriarchal society. their prominence challenged traditional gender norms, resulting in a diverse range of opinions about their place in christian communities. the involvement of women in formal officeholding is evident in their roles as deacons, benefactors, and even apostles, suggesting a degree of institutional recognition for their contributions. eisen (2000) provides a detailed examination of epigraphical and literary evidence that shows women occupied these offices in a variety of early christian communities. according to eisen, inscriptions and other documents support the view that women like phoebe were not exceptions, but rather indicative of a broader pattern of female participation in leadership roles. women as patrons and benefactors women in the early church also served as patrons, offering financial support and hospitality to church communities. wealthy women like lydia (acts 16:14-15) were essential in the establishment and support of churches. • lydia: a businesswoman who dealt in purple cloth, lydia was the first convert to christianity in europe, and her home became a meeting place for believers. as a patron, lydia’s hospitality and financial support were critical to the growth of early christian communities. women such as lydia played a foundational role in the christian movement, using their homes for worship and providing the necessary resources for the survival and expansion of the early church. osiek and macdonald (2006) argue that women’s houses often functioned as the centers of early christian activity, serving as spaces where believers gathered for worship, communal meals, and instruction. these house churches provided women with an opportunity to exercise igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 56 authority and leadership in a religious context, even though they were excluded from formal clerical roles in later periods. the financial backing and organizational support of female patrons were vital to the sustainability of early christian communities, particularly as christianity spread across urban centers of the roman empire. osiek and macdonald further suggest that the contributions of these women, while sometimes overlooked in later ecclesiastical histories, were essential for the church’s infrastructure, allowing for the logistical support of missionaries and the care of congregants. their work ensured that the early christian movement had a physical and social foundation from which to grow. women as martyrs and saints women also played crucial roles as martyrs and saints in the early christian community, serving as inspirational figures for their steadfastness in faith. • perpetua and felicity: one of the most famous martyr stories is of perpetua, a young noblewoman, and her servant felicity, who were executed for their faith in carthage in 203 ce. the account of their martyrdom, "the passion of saints perpetua and felicity," became one of the most read and revered texts in early christianity. the martyrdom of perpetua and felicity exemplifies the profound impact women had as early christian martyrs. salisbury (1997) provides an in-depth analysis of perpetua’s story, examining how her narrative has been remembered and revered throughout christian history. salisbury explores the social and cultural contexts of perpetua’s martyrdom, illustrating how her story was used to inspire and consolidate christian identity. by focusing on perpetua’s personal sacrifice and the subsequent veneration of her memory, salisbury underscores the role of women in shaping the narrative of early christian sanctity and resilience. controversies and restrictions on women’s roles as the institutional church developed, women's roles in leadership began to diminish, particularly with the establishment of formal clerical hierarchies. paul's letters reflect some of these tensions, where he instructs women to be silent in church (1 corinthians 14:34-35) and not to have authority over men (1 timothy 2:12). however, these passages have been the subject of much debate and interpretation. kraemer and d’angelo (1999) provide a comprehensive examination of the roles women played in the early christian church, arguing that their participation was significant but increasingly restricted over time. their analysis highlights that the early church initially included a wide range of female roles, from deaconesses to leaders, but that these roles were gradually marginalized as the church’s institutional structure became more formalized and patriarchal. torjesen (1993) further explores this shift by examining the historical and theological factors that contributed to the subordination of women in the church. torjesen argues that while women held prominent positions in the early church, such as presbyters and deacons, the rise of a more igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 57 hierarchical ecclesiastical structure led to the exclusion of women from these roles. the transition from a more egalitarian community to one with strict gender roles and clerical hierarchy reflects broader societal changes and internal theological debates that constrained women's participation. both kraemer and d’angelo, and torjesen offer insights into how the roles of women were restricted as christianity transitioned from a nascent movement to an established religion. their research sheds light on the factors that contributed to the gradual diminishment of women’s roles and how these changes were influenced by broader social and theological developments. women in the early christian church were active participants, taking on roles as leaders, patrons, prophets, teachers, and martyrs. while their influence was substantial in the early phases of the church, it was gradually reduced as christianity became more institutionalized and patriarchal norms asserted dominance. nonetheless, their contributions were foundational to the spread and establishment of early christian communities. this balance of roles and restrictions reflects the complex dynamics of gender, power, and theology in the early christian world. conclusion this study underscores the significant and varied roles women have historically played within african indigenous religions and the early christian church. in african contexts, women have traditionally occupied leadership positions as priestesses, healers, and custodians of sacred knowledge, thereby maintaining social and spiritual equilibrium (abimbola, 1976; mudimbe, 1994). conversely, early christianity initially included women in pivotal roles, such as mary magdalene and priscilla, but over time, these roles were curtailed as the religion adopted patriarchal norms prevalent in greco-roman society (brown, 1989; halman, 2004). the colonial and missionary influence further marginalized women’s leadership in christian communities while african indigenous religions often retained their female spiritual authority despite external pressures (ojo, 2010). these divergent trajectories highlight how cultural, religious, and sociopolitical factors have shaped gender roles in spiritual settings, revealing profound implications for gender equality and cultural identity across african societies. recommendations 1. encourage in-depth research: future studies should explore the contemporary statuses of women within african indigenous religions and christian denominations, emphasizing how these roles have evolved in post-colonial contexts (eke, 2014). this could inform policies promoting gender inclusivity in religious practices. 2. preservation and revitalization: african communities and religious leaders should be supported in efforts to preserve and revitalize traditional female religious roles, recognizing their importance in fostering cultural continuity and empowerment (adeleke, 2011). 3. interfaith and gender dialogues: religious organizations should foster interfaith dialogues that challenge gender stereotypes, encouraging mutual understanding and the promotion of women’s leadership across faiths (moyo, 2019). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 58 4. educational initiatives: educational programs highlighting the historical contributions and leadership of women in indigenous and christian religious contexts can counteract gender biases and promote gender equality (ogunyemi, 2009). 5. policy advocacy: advocacy for inclusive policies within religious institutions can facilitate the participation of women in leadership roles, respecting traditional roles while also aligning with contemporary gender equality goals (ojo, 2010). by implementing these recommendations, stakeholders can foster a more inclusive and equitable engagement of women within diverse spiritual traditions, honouring historical legacies while embracing future possibilities. references abimbola, w. (1976). ifa: an exposition of ifa literary corpus. ifa publications. adeleke, b. (2011). gender, religion, and community development: the case of indigenous african religions. african journal of religious studies, 12(2), 89-105. brown, r. e. (1989). the birth of the messiah: a commentary on the infancy narratives in the gospels of matthew and luke. yale university press. eke, c. (2014). women’s roles in contemporary african indigenous religions. journal of african religions, 8(1), 15-33. eisen, u. (2000). women officeholders in early christianity: epigraphical and literary studies. united states: liturgical press. halman, j. (2004). women in early christianity: the shifting landscape of power. historical theology, 16(3), 283-308. kraemer, r. s., & d’angelo, m. r. (1999). women and christian origins. oxford university press macdonald, m. y. (1996). early christian women and pagan opinion: the power of the hysterical woman. cambridge university press. mbiti, j.s. (1990). african religions and philosophy. uk: heinemann. moyo, t. (2019). interfaith dialogue and gender equality in african religious contexts. journal of interreligious studies, 22(4), 44-59. mudimbe, v. y. (1994). the invention of africa: gnosis, philosophy, and the order of knowledge. indiana university press. nabofa, m.y. (1994). "the role of women in african traditional religion," orita: ibadan journal of religious studies. ogunyemi, d. (2009). women’s historical contributions in african traditional religions and christianity. african studies review, 52(2), 45-63. ojo, o. (2010). colonialism, religion, and the marginalization of women in african indigenous religions. journal of pan african studies, 4(7), 176-193. osiek, c., & macdonald, m. y. (2006). a woman’s place: house churches in earliest christianity. united state: fortress press. parrinder, g. (1962). african traditional religion. united kingdom: hutchinson. ray, b.c. (1976). african religions: symbol, ritual, and community. united states: prentice igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 59 hall. salisbury, j. e. (1997). perpetua's passion: the death and memory of a young roman woman. unted states: routledge. torjesen, k. j. (1993). when women were priests: women's leadership in the early church and the scandal of their subordination in the rise of christianity. united states: harperone. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol 9 no.2, 2023 www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/igwebuikejournals.php a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 49 george ekwuru’s afri-raciogenesis: negative discourses, western racialization and afri-zealotism: a review izuchukwu innocent emeam, phd alvan ikoku federal college of education owerri department of educational foundations and administration centiz@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.31621.83688 abstract the givens of human existence are the same for all human beings in the world. the realities of birth, terminal sickness and death are immutable packages which are part and parcel of human existence. the realities of birth: choice of parents, choice of place of birth, choice of date of birth, choice of nationality, genotype (personality make-up) and phenotype (physical characteristics of personality) are givens that no human being was given any option of choice. the type of sickness which will lead a person to death is part of the package of each personality. medical expertise can sustain life by prolonging death but not changing reality. from the inception of civilization, the west took up an aggressive position of ascribing negativity to the givens of birth and sickness to africa. the given of death which is for all mortals has analogically been also ascribed to be african. the conception of death as black, as night, as evil, and attribution of deathdealing events as african are symbolic analogies to make death an african creation. the angel of death is painted in many western pieces of literature as black and even in science fiction. the stigmatization of africa via the givens of human existence is at the root of afri-raciogenesis. the reaction of africans is like the myth of sisyphus. can the stone ever be rolled over the hill? at most, the efforts of africans at overcoming the negative labels of the west put africans always thinking in terms of validating the past and not projective thinking in the present in order to reconstruct the future. thus, africa is like prometheus in chains. prometheus can be unbound through afri-zealotism. keywords: afri-raciogenesis, negative discourses, racialization, afri-zealotism introduction the african question has become a key question not just among african scholars but also among western scholars. it has become a matter of great concern. what is the african continent? who are africans? why is africa underdeveloped? when will africa become george ekwuru’s afri-raciogenesis: negative discourses, western racialization and afri-zealotism: a review 50 a developed nation? the african question is one that by merely raising the question places the questioner on either side of the coin. on the main, it still demands lots of courage to raise the african question amid the mirage of propaganda, doctored information, misinformation and tailored stigmatization of africa. raising the african question calls to being the very being of the questioner. it raises the question are you one of them by descent, ascent or sentiment? what is your name? my name is africa. who gave me this name and where did the name come from? these are questions that african scholars are raising today about african identity. when african scholars become too sensitive to the name africa; the west shifted grounds by referring to africa as the ‚third world‛. the underlying racial discrimination remains. one world which humans inhabit cannot be parcelled out into first, second and third. it is all invention to label and hold down africa as an underdog. when the nomenclature underdeveloped was criticized as too negative for africa, it was changed to developing nation. it could have been completed as a developing nation that never develops. it is a matter of sounding nice and reducing tension among africans that it was just referred to as a developing nation. it seems that there is a big secret about africa that the world is afraid to let out. africans continue to strive to change the lumps and piles of negative imperatives hipped on their continent. aime ceasar came up with the philosophy of negritude as a way out of the circle of doom in which africa has found herself. kwame nkrumah suggested ‚consciencism.‛ and frantz fanon suggested ‚revolution.‛ all these were within the context of the struggle for independence from colonialism. in the postcolonial period, colonialism and racialism have continued at the psychological level, african scholars are suggesting the african renaissance as a way of counteracting the negative labels on africa. it is against this background that george ekwuru, a scholar of great repute has put forward the thesis on afri-zealotism as a philosophical tenet to curb the disturbing reality of western racialization and stigmatization of africans. statement of problems the question of african roots, identity, the genesis of racialization, and enduring conscious structures which have nurtured racialization against africans remain philosophically problematic. from the point of view of roots, the problems are enormous. from where did the too many tribes found on the african continent come? if we accept the thesis on hypothetical grounds that africa is the ancestral home of homo sapiens that means other races are from africa. human secondary characteristics can account for colour and hair, but the question is how, when and where did other races start seeing themselves as different stock of humanity so that africa is seen as another stock of izuchukwu innocent emeam 51 humanity. the problem of african roots must be sought in the debate between creationism and evolution; and arbitrary western intellectual claims and classifications. there is a problem with african identity. who are africans? what characteristics mark africans as distinctly africans? in matters of identity, there is self-identity and public identity. how do we delineate self-identity qualities from public-identity qualities in the flood of imposed imageries, tags, labels, and propaganda on african identity from without? what criteria can be used to identify africans all over the world? there are black people across most continents of the world and among white people. the slave trade and its consequent abolition scattered africans across america and europe. what precise identity should these africans in the diaspora claim? the african question must of necessity evokes the problem of the genesis of racialization. how did the idea of race emanate? and how did the small tribes of africa come to be lumped together and referred to as a race? what are the characteristics of a race? it is either africa is not a race or it is the universal race since her species are found amidst every other race while the species of every other race are not found within her. race is a label, a structure of discrimination. the problem of racial structures cannot be overlooked. these are the myths about africa, the negative significations and simplifications, and unscientific claims such as intelligence tests, language use and characterizations in books, films and social events. the core events are the trans-atlantic slave trade, colonialism and post-colonialism. the fifty-four nations of africa are products of western unholy amalgamation which defies the cultural, traditional and even religious sentiments of the people. these nations are still being seen and referred to as colonies of big world powers. this is why decisions about such nations cannot be taken without due consultations with their colonizers. thus, the problems of african development will remain as long as the structures for racialization and colonialism are in place. explication of concepts the concept afri-raciogenesis means ‚the gradually progressive convergence of the varied mythical and racial discourses of africa as the unique frame of its collective socioracial subjectivity and their uses as moral, philosophical and scientific axioms for the continual exploitative domination of the continent by the west.‛ (ekwuru 23). the concept can also be seen as referring to the origin and beginnings of the processes structures, and superstructures, which can be seen as policies and institutions, established orders employed to perpetually subdue and rape africa. george ekwuru’s afri-raciogenesis: negative discourses, western racialization and afri-zealotism: a review 52 the concept of negative discourses is as well important to clarify. discourse means the social production of knowledge through language. discourse refers to a literary narrative (genre) or narrative or storytelling method of speech which has the evocative power of sustaining the point of discussion in consciousness from generation to generation. it is a thoroughly rehearsed practice for social communication and domination. when a discourse becomes negative as in the case of africa then it refers to the use of narrative either literary or speech to convey wicked imagery, thought patterns, racial language, and stereotypes in describing africa. the other concept to be considered is afri-zealotism. this word is coined from the words africa and zealot. the word zealot comes from zeal or burning love or passion for a course of action. ekwuru george in his work africa and the myth of sleeping giant, towards the age of afrizealotism, described afri-zealotism as a philosophical tenet which is existential and which calls for reconstructive-self-discovery and empowerment as tools for african reconstructive redemption. it is a philosophy of passion for the course of africa. (ekwuru, 22) africa as creation of negative discourse the idea that africa is a creature of negative discourse is a distinct, indubitable and axiomatic truth. a discourse is a group of statements or speech which provides a basis or norm for talking, deliberations and discussions. it can also be seen as a literary or speech genre which a social group uses for communication purposes. it is like a narrative or storytelling pattern of speech. this is why it has enormous power and registers easily in people’s psyches without easily going away. its power of maintaining knowledge lies in the fact that it is like a refrain in music. it does not need definitions or concept analysis. an important element of discourse is that every discourse has its ‚sitz-im-leben.‛ there is no discourse from space. every discourse is therefore an expression of a life form. discourse does not necessarily follow conventional language. it is the creation of knowledge through language. the knowledge does not need to be verified, justified, or tested. a typical example of discourse is the parables of jesus christ. the west made use of negative discourses to create africa of their thoughts. the sitz-im-leben of western negative discourses about africa can be traced back to the greeco-roman period of western history. before the greeco-roman period, egypt occupied the centre of world civilization and the centre of ancient learning. the overrunning of egypt by arab barbers created the loophole the west needed to turn the hand of history and civilization. the west took up the project of erasing every known black civilization through negative discourse to rewrite the history of ideas as western. thus, the first discourse is that the vast izuchukwu innocent emeam 53 continent is the land of ‚ifri‛ which means hot land. this land of ‚ifri‛ has no past, no collective historical consciousness, and is home to primitive people, the alps and wild beasts. the negative discourse is further seen in the invention of the name africa by the greeks who divided the world into three using the mediterranean sea as a point of departure. the greeks conceived the south of the mediterranean sea as libya, the east as asia, and the north as europe. the name libya was used as a racial tag and discriminatory to distinguish the white-skinned from the ethiopians (burnt-faced). it was the romans who called the part of libya which is present-day egypt as afri and added the suffix ‚ca‛ which put together becomes africaland of afri and means land of no cold. when the arabs defeated the romans, they called the region ‚ifriqiya.‛ (parker and rathbone 5). thus, part of the negative discourse is the invention of the name africa. the second life form within which negative discourse about africa grew was the slave trade. in course of africa’s history, the west using brute force descended on africans and charted away more than 12 million people to work in their plantations. africans were dehumanized as slaves and underdogs with guns. this african experience is as bad as the jewish holocaust. to be exiled forcefully from one's home is as bad as being abandoned to die. trans atlantic slave trade gave a death-dealing shock to africa and scattered her human resources all over the world. it was a humiliation of the first order which distorted and is still distorting the image of africa abroad. on the other hand, it also distorted the image of the west as a violent, brute, and crafty race ever ready to kill, main and torture fellow human being on the altar of development and civilization. this imperialistic attitude of the west provided another matrix for the formation of negative discourses to justify the slave trade. africans were labelled as closest linked with primates and without rational souls. africans belong to the farm and should not be educated because they are ‚towel heads.‛ the rising tide of western imperialism and afri-racio-genesis the west gradually moved from negative discourse on africa to a practical negative attitude towards africans. they constituted themselves into western hegemony to rule over the world. this is the idea behind the north/ south divide. the north atlantic saw herself as the great leviathan, prometheus unbound, and the octopus sea monster that spreads fear around the world. the imperialistic posture of the west finds expression when they pounced on africa and in a round table conference parcelled out africa among themselves without any reference to the people of the continent. adiele afigbo insists that there were three levels of the scramble for and partition of africa. the first scramble and partition took place around 1100 b.c and 800 b.c when the phoenicians african territories of utica (modern tunisia) and carthage respectively. within these periods, george ekwuru’s afri-raciogenesis: negative discourses, western racialization and afri-zealotism: a review 54 there were conquest and counterconquest over the control of egypt and the whole of north africa. the second level of scramble came in the 19th century which is the real humiliating landmark in afri-raciogenesis. the third level is a scramble for and partition at the psychological and consciousness levels between the west and east. this was the scramble for the planting of political ideologies of socialism, communism, and democratic-capitalism in africa. (okere and njoku 12-25). africans were now referred to as western colonies. the word colony is in itself the fundamental word of afriraciogenesis. a colon is an imitation copy, the result of a laboratory experiment, and a robot so to say. africans are colons, but what is the original copy out of which africans were colon? if africans are the colonies while the west is the colonizers then there is a problematic of otherness. the west must take responsibility for the concept of otherness or negation of it which they created. it must be noted that the west lack sensitivity to the other. rene descartes captured this western ideology when he stated ‚cogito ergo sum‛ ‚i think therefore i am‛. this was re-emphasized by sartre when he insisted that the look of the other wants to annihilate him. it is this philosophy of the self that is behind western imperialism. the decline of a great african civilization the historical evolution of civilizations is a reality. civilizations rise and fall. this is true of the fall of the great egyptian black civilization that gave rise to greece civilization. western racists, however, try to deny that egyptian civilization was a black african civilization and try to attribute great egyptian civilization to western civilization. this thesis was put forward by champollion the younger and has become a normed reference point for western scholars on africa. (ekwuru 29). the argument is based on the colour of the skin of egyptians in the days of pharaoh. in the years before christ, egyptians were black africans. the many wars of conquest by western powers over the control of egypt and north africa were responsible for wiping out the population of black africans and the repopulation of the area with a white-skinned population. the great civilization of egypt is not a matter of dispute. it is a black civilization. this denial amounts to saying that black africans are incapable of a great civilization which is another form of afriraciogenesis. the rising of powerimpulse of the imperial culture of the west the power impulse of the imperial culture of the west means the thirst, the unbridled desire for power and the exercise of same within a particular social situation which is rightly referred to as ‚the culture of the west.‛ what theoretical framework can explain izuchukwu innocent emeam 55 away this power intoxication of the west? ali marzui as cited by ekwuru put forward the idea of three basic imperatives of god, gold, and glory. according to marzui, these three imperatives form standards that constitute the prime motives for imperial conquest and domination. he theorized that men are inspired by the search for religious fulfilment (the god standard), by yearning for economic status (the gold standard)’ or by the quest for renown (the glory standard). the theoretical position of bertrand russell seems to differ so much from that of marzui. according to russell as cited by ekwuru the highest desires of men are power and glory. power and glory are the propelling force behind human actions for greatness and conquest. in the case of the west, the cultural context of their society must be taken cognizance of. the life situation of european society and culture is that of wars and counter-wars. the culture of war and conquest seems to be a dominant character of the average european. this culture of war and aggressiveness can be found in every segment of european history: indo-european prehistoric period. marimba ani agrees with h. r. elis davidson that violence and battle characterized the lives of the heathen period in the northwestern europe. the culture of war was sustained by the social value ‚cult of nobility‛ reserved only for the warriors. thus becoming a warrior was one of the greatest achievements of men of the period and was highly valued by society. on the contrary, african culture values non-violence, dialogue and peace. these values of african culture account for the colonizability of the africans by the west. the classical greco-roman world. the greeco-roman world owes its existence and civilization to military power. civilizations are said to be built on the blood of men and new cities are built on the ruins of ancient cities. the famous greece empire was built on the great african egyptian civilization; just as the great roman empire was built on the ruins of the greece empire. the socio-cultural ideology of war and conquest dominated the social value of the period. the ancient greek philosophers and writers reflected the ideology of war in their philosophy. homer rejected war and strife, wishing for the end of strife among gods and men. heraclitus attacked homer saying that war is that through which things come into being and go out of being. in the republic, plato justified ‚the law of might is right and just.‛ aristotelian philosophy of civilization centred on the idea of the ‚natural right of conquest‛ and the west capitalized on this aristotle’s philosophy to continue their civilization by conquest. alexander the great, a disciple of aristotle, applied the philosophy of the natural right of conquest to conquer and dominate the world. alexander george ekwuru’s afri-raciogenesis: negative discourses, western racialization and afri-zealotism: a review 56 the great founded seventy cities and wanted to expand greek learning beyond bounds. the great julius caesar took after his role model alexander the great and was also influenced by napoleon bonaparte. adolf hitler was inspired and influenced by napoleon bonaparte. the roman imperial spirit. the spirit of conquest exhibited by greece as seen in the life of alexander the great was taken over by the romans. the romans conquered greece and dominated the whole world over a long period of history. the roman empire extended throughout the world. at a time civil and ecclesiastical authorities came together to form what is regarded as ceasareo-papismthe emperor of rome and the holy father (pope) ruled the world. the idea behind this was to realize one world family, one catholic religion, one universal culture and one world-wide-state. rome dominated world civilization for more than 500 years. this is why the roman imperial conquest was extensive and more enduring in the minds of men. thus, rome set the stage for imperial conquest which other european nations were to copy in the future. medieval period by the time of the medieval period, the influence of rome was on a steady decline. it was during this period that the fusion of two intellectual cultures of greco-roman culture and judeo-christian cultures of jerusalem took place and bonded together. after the collapse of the roman empire, there was no european power to take over from rome; instead, the roman states started wars of supremacy against each other. the germanic tribes dominated the scene and established states in spain, germany and france. around the 7th century, the rise of the islamic religion with its spirit of conquest created problems for the christian states of rome and the rest of europe. only the germanic tribe of franks was able to defend their people and land against islamic invaders. in the medieval era, there was a paradigm shift from power-impulseimperialistic civilization to power-impulse inter-tribal conquest and domination. the power play of the period produced two concepts of monarchies: 1. absolutist monarchies as exemplified in spain, prussia, austria, france, sweden, and russia. 2. constitutional monarchies as seen in england and holland. (ekwuru 68). the medieval period saw notable achievements in spirituality, music and arts. it must be noted that at this period the catholic church played the role of unifying people on the grounds of religion. the whole effort and activities of the church were met with a wave of intellectualism which swept across europe at the time discrediting the efforts of the catholic church and labelling the medieval period as the dark ages. izuchukwu innocent emeam 57 the age of expansion and exploration this period is located between the end of the medieval period and the beginning of the modern period and the period of scramble and partition for africa in the nineteenth century. it was petrarch who through his revivalist writings called europe back to a sober reflection on its antiquity as a way forward. he divided the whole of european history into two: european antiquity as the zenith of civilization and creativity and the dark ages. and the dark ages referred to the period of ceasaro-papism when the catholic church and the emperor especially constantine ruled over the world. it was a period when the church controlled science and knowledge. the revivalist spirit gave rise to three movements: the renaissance, the reformation and the enlightenment. the enlightenment celebrated secularism by liberating science and knowledge from the influence of religion and promoting human reason over and above faith. it was the spirit of the enlightenment that gave rise to the modern period. the height of the medieval period was the age of discovery when europe again converged its spirit of domination of others and went out in search of other nations to conquer and dominate. these nations already existed though europe claimed to have discovered them. european voyagers again demystified the fear associated with seas, rivers and long-standing forests. the driving force of europe’s conquest in this period is knowledge is power. this is the term ‚imperialistic epistemology.‛ this materialistic knowledge made the greeks and romans bold, assertive and forceful in dealing with people and events. modern period: the modern period saw the rise of secularism, materialism and science. it was a period marked by renewed vigour of the west towards a renewed culture of the conquest of other nations. by this period the european monarchies of the medieval period had consolidated into big nations and are now ready to undertake expansion projects. the british took up the imperialistic culture of civilization to colonize other nations. other nations of europe took after the british and the new wave of european conquest started. this imperialistic domination was fuelled and sustained by the culture of the west, the spirit of conquest and domination. it needs to be noted that the negative discourses on africa result in a racial africa and draws its vigour from the archives of european history: classical knowledge, religious and biblical sources, artistic stereotypes and traveller’s tales. from these archives, the renaissance, reformation and enlightenment discourses of the modern concept of otherness were formulated and expanded. george ekwuru’s afri-raciogenesis: negative discourses, western racialization and afri-zealotism: a review 58 afri-mythology: the western construction of the african black image of otherness the term afri-mythology refers to the mixture of myths and facts in designating africa. it is the production of cultural knowledge based on stereotypes of discourses from mythical reality about africa, the first of which is with the name africa. the name africa is presented by the news media across the globe as if africa is a town. the recurring theme is inside africa. the mythical reality of africa as conceived by the west is such that gov. sarah palin of the united states of america does not know that africa is a continent. the concept of africa is a paradox, a polymorphic, a polysemic or even anamorphic nomenclature to be used as it pleases the user to celebrate the stereotypes of racism. at this point, it is pertinent to understand what myth is all about. mary magoulick defined it in this way: ‚myths are symbolic tales of the distant past( often primordial times) that concern cosmogony and cosmology (the origin and nature of the universe). may be connected to belief systems or rituals, and may serve to direct social action and values.‛ (magoulick 98) the point is that myth performs a social function in a society depending on the use to which they are channelled. there are two facts about myths. myths contain known facts and mysterious elements. they know facts are the story conveying the myth, but the mysterious element is the essence of the story. it has also been argued that myths are sacred as well as profane. malinowski insists that myths must be sacred, but he underlined the fact that myths act as a charter of action for society. (malinowski 111). william hansen in his study of ancient greek myths disagrees with malinowski. he insisted that myths are secular stories that do the work of a world-forming or world-viewforming function. (hansen 22). from the foregoing, it is clear that myths are powerful tools which can be used in discourse to maintain falsehood as reality in the consciousness of society from generation to generation. this is the effect of afri-mythology on africans as well as the world. afri-mythology has produced cultural false knowledge about africa and has been the work of the western elite and western media. afri-mythology has had the following effects: 1. it has turned the western consciousness and worldview of africa into a belief system, a religion with immutable articles of faith. 2. it has given africa a stinking label. 3. the myths have produced a psycho-unconscious disorder in the average black african. 4. afri-mythology has an enslavement effect on africans. they form an encapsulation of thought and consciousness that the zeal to break the effect is even lost. 5. afri-mythology forms the basis for western inaction and lip service concerning africa. what are these myths about africa? giles bolton listed five of these myths: 1. famine is due to food shortages. this myth ignores the fact that drought, war, and lack of irrigation and fertilizer can lead to famine and food shortage. 2. africa is overpopulated and they keep having many children. this myth overlooked the fact of the african landscape and failed to consider that lack of good economic policy and political will are responsible for izuchukwu innocent emeam 59 presenting the african population as a problem. why are the population of india and china not a problem for the international community? 3. africa has many killer diseases. this myth failed to realize that there killer diseases on many other continents. these diseases kill people on those continents. if the case of africa is pathetic, it is because of poverty and not because of the continent. 4. africa has many dangerous animals. while watching a television program in new jersey, this myth was presented by showing a snake attacking a lion and the broadcaster added africa is a dangerous zone. this myth is aimed at halting tourist activities in africa. if africa has many animals it should be a blessing. the animals could be tamed and given a reserved area for tourist activities. the fact is that animals do not attack people on the streets or in their homes. no tourist has been known to devour wild animals in africa. instead, pet animals in the west are known to have grown wild and attacked their owners.5. the climate is not conducive to development. this myth is aimed at preventing the international community from assisting africa in the struggle for development. the fact is that most african nations are in the rainfall zone and enjoy year-round green vegetation. it is a continent most suited for development. the sun has been discovered as a source of electricity and can power electric cars and other electrical appliances. solar energy can help to power machines for mechanized farming. the problem is not the african climate, but poverty. (bolton 22-24). the worst of the myth is that the west holds the keys to african development. it is false because in every field of human endeavour in the world, for every ten best, an african will be counted. in many universities in the west, africans are lecturers, helping to shape the mind of western youths. how many whites lecture in africa? instead, without the blacks, western development will crumble. african geographical identity confusion the concept of africa is rightly conceived as a sculpted work. the west as artists carefully assembled their tools, matrix, and colours to sculpt africa. different western nations contributed to the sculpting this is why africa has identity confusion. this identity confusion is first in the etymology of the word africa. in the words of ekwuru, the greeks used the name ethiopia, libya, ‘afer’ respectively to designate the geographical space called africa. the romans called it africa which is a derivative form latin ‘aprica’ ‘sunny’ or from the greek ‘aphrike’ ‘without cold’. the term was used by the romans to refer to the north african coast which was regarded as the southern extension of europe. the romans also used the name ‘afriga’ to refer to the southern area of their settlement which is the name of a barber community south of carthage. (ekwuru 88) the point is there is etymological confusion about identity. the concept of africa does refer to north africa or south europe or south of carthage. in the concept, there is no inclusion of east george ekwuru’s afri-raciogenesis: negative discourses, western racialization and afri-zealotism: a review 60 africa, central africa, west africa or south africa as it is today. the concept of africa is therefore a conjecturing of ideas to designate a geographical area. the encounter between africa and europe introduced identity confusion such that africans lost self-identity for the identity of otherness. the african wants to be a white man. izu onyeocha in his work titled ‚africa: the question of identity‛ cited walter rodney who expressed this otherness in the sense of’ the more africans are europeanized, the more they are deafricanized’ (onyeocha 31). frantz fanon captured the identity confusion of otherness in the title of his work ‚black skin, white masks‛. he wrote: ‚the black man has two dimensions: one with his fellows, the other with the white man. a negro behaves differently with a white man and with another negro.‛ (fanon 17). the worst level of identity confusion is in the black man’s preference of becoming a white man instead of remaining black which is the reason behind the masking. the depiction of africa with images of blackness the west in their cultural consciousness painted africa with negative images of blackness and darkness. these representations of africa started from historical books on africa as works of herodotus, stories about africa and notes on africa by european explorers. the negative representations moved from the conjecturing of ideas to mental realities, then to conscious entities that have now fossilized in the deep unconscious. thus, the average european reacts to issues about africa from the deep unconscious frame of reference which appears immutable and justified true belief. the vocabularies of discrimination, of distinction and isolation, were originated in the greco-roman period. the words barbarians and slaves were used to discriminate between a greece and a non-greece. thus, the foundation for racial discrimination was laid by the greco-roman civilization. this is clear from the idea that greece was the civilized race and master race, while other races were uncivilized. this is a brand of raciology. in the medieval period, the vocabularies of discrimination and raciology. the greco-roman world continued as a transferred tradition. with its heavy dose of religious climate, the waters of christian baptism came to be an added phenomenon to the charter of discriminatory words. this difference was expressed in terms of the baptized and pagans. ample evidence of medieval involvement in racial differentiation and discriminatory classifications is seen in theological categories, literature and arts. the arts depicted images of semi-human and semi-animal beings, infrahuman beings without heads and eyes in the chest. these were regarded as monsters and were found at the southwestern edges of the libyan desert. (ekwuru 106). in the medieval period, words for discrimination and difference among men increased. the word moors or saracen used for arab muslims was contrasted with negro and black africans, believer contrasted with an unbeliever, white for angel, and izuchukwu innocent emeam 61 black for the devil. during the age of exploration and expansion, the vocabulary for racial discrimination and differences did not abate. the words civilized and uncivilized, normal and abnormal, structured society and unstructured society, and superior and inferior race came on board. in this period, the ‘discovered new world’ population came to be regarded as savage. savage stood for violence, sexual license, incivility and lack of civilization, and lack of sense of morality. the reports of explorers added to make the racial distinction and difference much more pronounced. afri-raciology: the dynamics of the western racialization of africa. the word race was invented as a ‚regulative category‛. this means it was to serve the purpose of adjusting, controlling, and ruling; directing, and arranging social, biological, and cultural humanity. with time it came to be applied in the classification of human beings according to race. this classification followed the science of genetics which sought to give the biological and physical basis for differentiation and variations among humanity. the theory of evolution played a major role in helping the west perfect the notion of race and racism. areoye oyebola observed in his book ‚black man’s dilemma‛ that as far back as 1738, the swedish naturalist, carolus linnaeus had assigned all men to the species of homo sapiens and divided human beings into four categories: americanus—(american indians)—tenacious, contented, free, ruled by custom. europaeus—light, lively, inventive; ruled by rites. asiaticus-stern, haughty, stingy, ruled by opinion. after (african)-cunning, slow, negligent, ruled by caprice. (oyebola 1). this classification is based on the workings of the mind. the question is what instrument of the study did linnaeus use to arrive at his conclusions? how did he arrive at the name after for africa which literarily means after the other races then came to africa? this classification placed africa at the receiving end of other races. africa as negro race is the opposite race or the alterity of the west. the word race etymologically understood means a concept to describe the nature and reality of otherness. the western race and the other race, which is africa. the west considered itself a ‚high race‛ under rationality and physical prowess while africa was considered a ‚low race‛. the claims of high race being based on rationality demand proof, the proof was provided by francis galton’s intelligence test. galton’s intelligence test is an instrument for measuring the intelligence quotient of a sample of a population or subjects based on the g-factor theory of intelligence. according to this instrument when administered to the black population, the index of the result was poor. it was concluded that the blacks had a low intelligent quotient while the whites had a high intelligent quotient. there are several flaws in the intelligence test. it was based on a g-factor theory of intelligence which is not acceptable today. psychologists are of the view that there multiple factors of intelligence. the george ekwuru’s afri-raciogenesis: negative discourses, western racialization and afri-zealotism: a review 62 intelligence test instrument of galton contains cultural bias. it is unfair to test africa on the geography, topography, and historical facts of the west. the validity and reliability of the test instrument are thus called into question. on the philosophical platform, the ideology of racism was laid by some philosophical tenets in the history of philosophy. the ideology of racism and discrimination remain embedded in the ideas of john locke who despite his ideas on human right did not extricate himself from the institution of slavery. he, instead, relegated the right of slaves and made slaves properties of their masters. david hume found himself at the centre of discriminatory ideology. he distinguished between negro and white while insisting on the superiority of the white race. there has also been found in the thoughts of immanuel kant some traces of racial anthropology and geography. in the sphere of politics, racial-politics of colour variation dominate international politics. the colour was made to signify goodness or badness. the colour black became a symbolization of negativity and underdevelopment. the colour was also made the basis of racio-aesthetics. aesthetic choice and decision are based on the identification of the colour as white. the colour black is a disadvantage and leads to disqualification. colour as a racist factor has led to the negation of the essence of the african as a human being. it has constituted a basis for aggression towards the africans and a criterion for rejection. the colour black speaks much about the quality of an african, no matter, the level of discipline exhibited by africans. afrizealotism: a philosophy of deconstruction and reconstruction of africanness afrizealotism is a philosophical current aimed at eliciting passion for africa, and a thorough deconstruction of the pyramid of racism and discrimination at the levels of words and meanings, significations and symbolifications, arts and representations, history and historicizing, and ideological currents. it is a philosophy for the positive reconstruction of values to bring out the real unbiased african values without devaluing humanity even in the so-called west. otherwise, afrizealotism will fall into the same loophole which the west has found itself. the afrizealot philosopher is first and foremost called to a vocation of appreciating the total humanity of the whole of humankind. it is holistic humanism, perfect humanity, not viewed from the prism glass of ideology or any socio-cultural or scientific imperatives. the afrizealot philosopher is called to begin philosophy of africa from the genesis of ideas. the racial genesis of africa is a collection of historical, cultural, sociological, and pseudo-science inventions over many years. this is why the afrizealot philosopher has enormous work in his hands to delve into archives of history unlock the past and unconceal the concealments based on which the truth about humanity has been distorted. doing philosophy for the afrizealot demands hermeneutics, dialects, phenomenology, and existentialism. the genesis of afri-racialism began with the izuchukwu innocent emeam 63 invention of the name africa. this is the same problem which many tribes and towns in africa face. there was amalgamation along non-existent boundaries, to the defiance of cultural identity and sociological entity of tribe. the name africa needs to be reinvented. the name africa can be collapsed to give way to independent nation states, while the umbrella name can be trans-atlantic nations. in this, the whole error of the etymology of africa as the genesis of racial discrimination will be laid to rest. the same approach can be applied to the tribes forcibly fused together as one nation. each of the tribes can be separated and recognized as a nation-state. this will foster a sense of patriotism and oneness based on which development can thrive. conclusion at the turn of this century, philosophy encountered a linguistic turn. afrizealot philosophy is a philosophy of language aimed at unravelling the etymology and roots of racial language which has provided the foundations for the continued spreading of afriraciological currents. the history and origin of words and the meanings which are ascribed to words at different epochs of history cannot be overlooked on the philosophical path of establishing and justifying the truth about africa. there is a need to study those words which establish distinct, differences, and classifications among humanity. such a study aims to purify the words of negative and derogatory meanings and usage; and set their usage on the right part. this philosophical mission is akin to what feminism is doing today about the meaning and use of words. the power of myths in social value and function cannot be over-emphasized. thus, afri-zealot philosophy has the onus of providing a counter-myth based on which the social effects of western myths on africa can be counteracted. africa is the home of myths, but african myths have not been put to constructive use to counter negative ideas and biases. adiele afigbo narrated how the myth of obaraedo was used to counter the indictment of the igbo as a disobedient race. (afigbo). philosophical demythologism is needed to counter the horrible effects of western myths on africa. this process demands an evaluative thought process to fish out and eliminate mythical elements which have been incorporated into the depiction of africa by the west. the process of demythologization may call for the book burning of notes and diaries of western explorers of africa, historical books heavily laden with myths, discriminatory vocabularies, and racial inclinations. these books are not educating humanity but de-educating humanity. these books are enemies of humankind and should not be allowed to continue to enjoy being read by the present generation. the argument can be raised that they are restricted to the archives. one day an unsuspecting mind can pick them and read; whereby getting the mind of such a fellow filled with racial ideology. george ekwuru’s afri-raciogenesis: negative discourses, western racialization and afri-zealotism: a review 64 afri-raciogenesis thrived on the dialects of discourse. this is why the afrizealot should employ the narrative method of discourse to propel the afrizealot ideology. thus, it is worthwhile for the study of african philosophy to be introduced in primary and secondary schools as ‚elementary philosophy‛. the elementary philosophy should utilize heavily the power of storytelling to undo the effects of negative discourse on the african consciousness. the importance of mass media: the press, the radio and television cannot be ignored. these are the propaganda machines of the west in sowing the seed of negative discourses. these same means of communication can be used to correct the falsehood reigning supreme in the minds of humanity about africa. afrizealot philosophy should come up with a curriculum for elementary philosophy for african nation’s school systems at primary and secondary levels. afri-zealotism should elaborate on the african philosophy of arts. this is to help in establishing solid criteria on which to base evaluation arts, and not just on colour and transient qualities. thus, the arts which before now have formed part of the structure of racism and discrimination against africans based on colour can be re-represented. there is a need to establish principles for the african philosophy of aesthetics and the philosophy of values. the central aim is to be alert and ready to counter any ideological current that aims at enslaving any part of humanity on the altar of racialization and discrimination. afrizealotism must promote record keeping, history, archaeological records, reports, diaries of african heroes, and monuments as these are important elements of discourse in the life of a people. references afigbo, a. e., scrambles and partition in african history, in the scramble for africa: the scramble continues, edited by okere, t., and njoku, c. a., owerri: whelan research academy, 2004. bolton, g., africa does not matter, new york: arcade publishing, 2008. ekwuru, g., the dynamics of afri-raciogenesis and the dialects of afrizealotism, owerri: totan publishers, 2011. fanon, f., black skin, white mask, new york: grove press, inc., 1952. hansen, w. f., anthology of ancient greek popular literature, bloomington: indiana university press, 1998. malinowski, b., magic science and religion and other essays, prospects heights: waveland press, 1992. onyeocha, i. m., africa: the question of identity, a philosophical reflection on africa, owerri: urekweson press, 1997. oyebola, a., black man’s dilemma, ibandan: board publications, 1976. parker, j., and rathbone, r., african history: a very short introduction, london: oxford university press, 2007. magoulick, m., what is myth? retrieved from: http://www.faculty.de.gcsu.edu/~mmagouli defmyth.htm 04/07/2012. http://www.faculty.de.gcsu.edu/~mmagouli/defmyth.htm http://www.faculty.de.gcsu.edu/~mmagouli/defmyth.htm microsoft word igwebuike journal vol.1 no. 2 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 91 augustine on justice: theory and praxis. by kolawole chabi, o.s.a. institutum patristicum augustinianum, rome kolachabi@gmail.com abstract augustine of hippo can be cited among the major exponents of christian philosophy and theology who, in the late antiquity, meaningfully contributed to the affirmation of christian thought in the midst of the contrasting schools of thought through which clearly sounded the death knell of the authority of the pagan thinkers as guides. in this paper the author has examined justice in augustine from the theoretical and practical points of view. for this reason, he carried out an overview of the theory of justice diffused in the various works of the bishop of hippo, without any pretention to give an exhaustive account considering the very limited space we have in this avenue. then, he considered the praxis of justice by bishop augustine in his diocese at the service of the people of god and in relation with civil authorities. keywords: augustine, justice, theory, praxis. introduction justice is one of the major issues which have always occupied the thought of thinkers, and nourished the desire of individuals and of all peoples in society down through the ages. philosophers of the olden days defined it and theorised on it, lawyers defended it and lived on it, judges applied or obfuscated it, the poor sought after it, the oppressed cried for it and rulers promoted or ignored it. the situation about this virtue seems not to have changed even in our own days. however, there seems to be an ambiguity about the notion of justice. some seem to think that justice is the ground-floor of the edifice of virtues, with charity on the upper storey. others believe that when justice prevails universally there will be no room for charity235, and there are many more variegated views. but since the social order is impossible without justice, any ambiguity surrounding this virtue interferes not only with truth with which philosophers are formally concerned, but also with that universal concern peace, which follows only upon 235 cf. m. t. clark, augustine on justice, in revue des etudes augustiniennes (reaug.) ix (1963), 87. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 92 the order established by justice not in terms of mere philosophical speculations and theories but in concrete and tangible life events through the guidance and illumination of god. in reference to the irreplaceable role of god in every human good attainment, christian apologists of the 2nd century a.d, who were formed in the context of the decadence of the philosophical inquiry into truth, came to the idea that the “dissensiones philosophorum”236 demonstrate that human reason cannot grasp truth unless it is aided by divine intervention. men will surely theorise and speculate on what justice is and how best it could function in society, but if they will not acknowledge god as its guarantor, it will only be a vice. for example, while admitting that the philosophers of his time and those who preceded them, who were indeed searchers of true wisdom, had tried in the proper way to be worthy of the renunciation of the pleasures and the practice of virtue, lactantius also warned in his divinae institutiones that these meritorious labours had brought them only to wander, contradicting themselves in error and imprecision because they had not been able to recognize that human reason is not commensurate to the nature of divine truth: “it was not possible that the higher and divine rationality of the true (divina ratio) could be manifested to man as such237”. consequently, reason itself should recognize that only christians, with their dispassionate adherence to a truth guaranteed as such by its divine origin, were placed in a position, thanks to a gratuitous act of god, to know something of the divine truth which cannot be contradicted. on the basis of this view, from the era of the emperor constantine on, christian intellectuals became aware of the fact that being in possession of revealed truths about the origin and ultimate ends of the world and humanity imposed on them the duty to replace the ancient pagan philosophers as educators and moral guides of the people of god238. augustine of hippo can be cited among the major exponents of christian philosophy and theology who, in the late antiquity, meaningfully contributed to the affirmation of christian thought in the midst of the contrasting schools of thought through which clearly sounded the death knell of the authority of the pagan thinkers as guides. retracing the process of his personal conversions, augustine openly criticised the sceptics in his contra academicos and the 236 this expression could be translated as disagreements of (or among) philosophers. it expresses the failure of classical philosophy which led thinkers of late antiquity like cicero to opt for a kind of scepticism. one the best and most recent studies on that aspect of late antiquity is that of g. d’onofrio, vera philosophia studies in late antique medieval and renaissance christian thought, turnhout, brepols, 2008, 31-35. 237 lactantius, divinae institutiones, i, 1, 15 (pl 6, 111a-113a) especially, 5, 113a : “quia veritas, id est arcanum summi dei, qui fecit ominia, ingenio ac propriis sensibus non potest conprehendi”. 238 cf. g. d’onofrio (ed), storia della teologia nel medioevo i. i principi, piemme, casale monferato 1996, 9. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 93 manicheans for their false realism in his de moribus ecclesiae catholicae. in the de vera religione written the year before his priestly ordination, augustine directly criticised classical philosophy as such, and affirmed the new christian philosophy. in this very important work of his, augustine repeats his denunciation of the proliferation of various sects of ancient philosophies to reiterate and consolidate the unity of christian school and thus assure the absolute and reciprocal identity between philosophy and religion239. however, in many aspects of this literary endeavour, augustine made use of his classical greco-roman formation background to expose the christian doctrine in a reasonable way to the people of his time. while acknowledging what in pagan philosophers does not contradict the gospel, augustine accurately elaborated his thought grounding it firmly on the authority of christ and his gospel (auctoritas) and on reason (ratio). given that this epistemological method240 pervades all the works of augustine, we need not insist that his idea on the question of justice is also guided by the same principle. in this paper we intend to examine justice in augustine from the theoretical and practical points of view. for this reason, we shall carry out an overview of the theory of justice diffused in the various works of the bishop of hippo, without any pretention to give an exhaustive account considering the very limited space we have in this avenue. then, we shall consider the praxis of justice by bishop augustine in his diocese at the service of the people of god and in relation with civil authorities. i. a theory of justice i.1. augustine’s initial reflection on law and justice241 the augustinian notion of law and justice, in the early stage of his thought includes what was common among the authorities in classical education. for example like cicero, augustine distinguished the lex aeterna (eternal law) from the lex naturalis (natural law) and the lex temporalis (temporal law). but for him, the lex aeterna was the will and wisdom of a personal creator, the eternal reason 239 cf. aug., de vera religion, 5, 8, (pl 34, 126) : “sic enim creditur et docetur, quod est humanae salutis caput, non aliam esse philosophiam, id est sapientiae studium, et aliam religionem, cum ii quorum doctrinam non approbamus, nec sacramenta nobiscum communicant ”. 240 cf. n. cipriani, i dialoghi di agostino, studia ephemeridis augustinianum 134, ipa roma 2013, 45-64. 241 in our attempt to elaborate augustine’s understanding of law and justice, we depend on experts in this field of inquiry, majorly eva-maria kuhn’s well-researched article justice applied by the episcopal arbitrator: augustine and the implementation of divine justice, in etica & politica / ethics & politics, ix, (2007), 2, 71-104, various works by fr. robert dodaro including his articles justice, in a.d. fitzgerald (ed.), augustine through the ages. an encyclopedia, eerdmans, grand rapids (michigan) cambridge 1999, iustitia/iustus (iusti), in augustinus lexikon vol. 3, 866-882, augustine on the statesman and the two cities, in mark vassey (ed.), a companion to augustine, wiley-blackwell, london 2013, 387 and his monograph christ and the just society in the thought of augustine, cambridge university press, cambridge 2004. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 94 and will of god242. in this approach we clearly see the opposition of augustine to pagan thought. the personal god commanded the observance of the natural order of things and forbade the disturbance of it243. the content of the lex aeterna was to preserve the order of creation; this was the object of their incommutabiles regulae. in god’s creation, in this ordo naturalis, everything had its due order and as a reflection of the divine, the lex naturalis or lex intima was the imprint of the lex aeterna on the human soul: “therefore, to explain briefly how i value the notion which is impressed on us by eternal law, it is the law by which it is just that everything should have its due order”244 says saint augustine. for him, in order to understand the lex aeterna and to grasp truly what was just and what was not, all human beings depended on god’s grace245. the bewildering discontinuity of human action and circumstance was the result of weakness and ignorance (infirmitas et ignorantia); time and time again they were getting in the way and stood in contrast to the invincible purpose of an omnipotent god246. this resulted in the paradox of the need for god’s privilege of grace on the one hand and free will on the other. but a reconciling view could be found already in the new testament. in the gospel according to john, christ was identified with the logos, a term that conveyed multiple traditions and encouraged diverse images and could be understood as “word” of the jewish god become fact, but also echoed the cosmic law of classical philosophy247. for augustine in like fashion, human weakness and ignorance could be overcome by christ, who was the incarnate solution to human need for god’s direct mediation248. through christ man can decipher the truth inscribed in his soul, a revelation that 242 e.-m. kuhn, justice applied, 74. 243 cf. aug. c. faust. xxii, 27 (csel 25/1, 621): lex aeterna est ratio divina vel voluntas dei, ordinem naturalem conservari iubens, perturbari vetans. and a.-h. chroust, the philosophy of law of st. augustine, «the philosophical review», 53 (1944), 196. 244 aug., div. qu. 53, 2 (ccl 44a, 88): transcripta est naturalis lex in animam rationalem; lib. arb. i, 6, 15 (csel 74, 15f.): …ut igitur breviter aeternae legis notionem, quae inpressa nobis est, quantum valeo, verbis explicem, ea est, qua iustum est, ut omnia sint ordinatissimma. 245 cf. aug., nat. et gr. 19 (csel 60, 245): aliud intellegere velle nec posse et facere contra legem non intelligendo quid fieri velit; h. welzel, naturrecht und materiale gerechtigkeit. prolegomena zu einer rechtsphilosophie, vandenhoeck & ruprecht, göttingen 1951, 53f 246 cf. p. brown, st. augustine’s attitude to religious coercion, in journal of roman studies, 54 (1964), 111. 247 jn. 1, 1-18 (prologue): “in the beginning was the word and the word was with god and the word was fully god … and the word became flesh…”. the creator of the book genesis is evoked here, of course, but also the divine wisdom of e.g. proverbs 8, 22-31, already a similar conception to the universal principle of greek thought. justin’s interpretation for instance was influenced by stoicism, when he presented christ as the logos spermatikos who ‘inhabits everybody’ (cf. apol. app. 10, 8). on the adaptability of the word logos and the understanding of the johannine gospel there is much and also much biased controversy. i found e.l. miller, the johannine origins of the johannine logos, in journal of biblical literature, 112 (1993), 445-457 quite useful, or: h.p. thyssen, philosophical christology in the new testament, in numen, 53 (2006), 133-176. in patristic thought also rom 2,14ff, and mt 7, 12 would often be quoted: the divine order is there all along, but jesus christ brings new perception of it. 248 cf. dodaro, christ and the just society in the thought of augustine, cambridge university press, cambridge 2004, 70f. augustine’s model for christ as the instructor is again cicero’s vir optimus. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 95 augustine experienced himself reading the holy scripture in a garden one day249. the correlation of divine law and justice with the lex naturalis again meant the theoretical rejection of any value in themselves of the rules of the lex humana, the leges temporales. laws and rules of the world were only binding if they were in accordance with divine law. the lex temporalis was forever changeable. it was positive law that had to be adjusted to time and place. it was only binding and just, were it drawn from the eternal law of god, which never changed: “i think you can also see that in the temporal law nothing is just and lawful that men do not derive from eternal law”250, augustine explained, and he would go further and hold that non est autem ius ubi nulla est iustitia251 – “but there is no law, where there is no justice”. a temporal law that was not just was not a law and did not cause obligation, “for, if the emperors were in error – god forbid! – they would issue laws in favour of their error against the truth, and by those laws the good would be tested and receive crowns as their reward for not doing what the emperors commanded, because god forbade it”252. but does this mean that augustine negates the value of temporal laws? first of all at a general level, augustine certainly believes that all political regimes are depraved, though he admits that some are less depraved than others and that some are less depraved at certain times in their history than at other 249 here we are making reference to the episode narrated by augustine in his confessions about his conversion. most especially his famous prayer in confessions x, 27, 38, (csel 33, 255): sero te amavi, pulchritudo tam antiqua et tam nova, sero te amavi! et ecce intus eras et ego foris et ibi te quærebam et in ista formosa, quae fecisti, deformis inruebam. mecum eras, et tecum non eram. ea me tenebant longe a te, quae si in te non essent, non essent. vocasti et clamasti et rupisti surditatem meam, coruscasti, splenduisti et fugasti caecitatem meam, fragasti, et duxi spiritum et anhelo tibi, gustavi et esurio et sitio, tetigisti me, et exarsi in pacem tuam. (“late have i loved you, beauty so ancient and so new, late have i loved you! lo, you were within, but i outside, seeking there for you, and upon the shapely things you have made i rushed headlong, i misshapen. you were with me but i was not with you. they held me back from you, those things which would have no being were they not in you. you called shouted, broke through my deafness; you flared, blazed, banished my blindness; you lavished your fragrance, i gasped, now i pant for you; i tasted you, and i hunger and thirst; you touched me, and i burned for your peace”.) translation by maria boulding, o.s.b. in rotelle, j., e., o.s.a. (ed.), the works of saint augustine. a translation for the 21st century. the confessions i/1, 2 9th edition, hyde park n.y: new city press, 2008). 250 aug., lib. arb. i, 6, 15 (csel 74, 15f.): “simul etiam te videre arbitror in illa temporalis nihil esse iustum atque legitimum quod non ex hac aeterna sibi homines derivaverint”. the translations throughout the article strongly bear on the translations given in the works of saint augustine. a translation for the 21st century, new city press, new york. 251 aug. civ. xix, 21 (csel 40/2, 408). with his opposition to the pelagian model of ‘self-perfection’ (emancipatus a deo, c. iul. imp. i, 78, augustine also replaced cicero’s concept of ius with the concept of vera iustitia. 252 aug. ep. 105, 2, 7, written after the year 406 (csel 34/1, 599): imperatores enim si in errore essent, quod absit, pro errore suo contra veritatem leges darent, per quas iusti et probarentur et coronarentur non faciendo, quod illi iuberent, quia deus prohiberet; cresc. iii, 51, 56 (csel 52, 462): reges cum in errore sunt, pro ipso errore leges contra veritatem ferunt; cum in veritate sunt, similiter contra errorem pro ipsa veritate decernerunt: ita legibus malis probantur boni et legibus bonis emendantur mali. in lib. arb. i, 5, 11, (csel 74, 12) he was explicit: nam mihi lex esse non videtur, quae iusta non fuerit (“so an unjust law does not seem to me to be a law”) and in civ. iv, 4 augustine would reference cicero’s de legibus i, 16, 43: remota iustitia, quid sunt regna nisi magna latrocinia? igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 96 times253. but it is good to acknowledge with clarke that far more than he is generally credited with, augustine appreciated the necessary role of government in the making of peace within human and among humans. far too often his name for sovereignty as “organized brigandage”254 is referred to in isolation from the context wherein he shows the contribution to the common good that can be made not by rulers who are christian, but by christian rulers who are just255. augustine did revive cicero’s view that temporal laws depended for their value on the eternal law, but he was aware of the need for implementation of temporal rules and regulations. the dynamic of change required augustine’s lawmaker to know when a just law had to be modified to bring about a sound reflection of the eternal, unchangeable principles. augustine derived the need for rule and order from the necessity of a restoring order and peace. since adam’s fall, humanity could live peacefully together only under the authority of rules accompanied by sanctions. mankind achieved justice in a peaceful society when there were laws made by humans for their fellow human beings256, where justice was “the virtue that assigns to every man his due”257. so for augustine, the very fact of living in society demands that there should be guiding principles and regulations to govern the course of events among members. he makes recourse to the all-present classical view of justice to that effect but he would also introduce the distinctive mark of his christian faith. this is what many scholars fail to acknowledge and so many end-up accusing augustine of manichaeism, or as a thinker who merely baptised ancient pagan thoughts as the title of an important book by a renowned professor suggests258. 253 cf. r. dodaro, augustine on the statesman and the two cities, in mark vassey, a companion to augustine, wiley-blackwell, london 2013, 387. 254 cf. aug. ciu. dei. iv, 4. 255 cf. m. t. clarke, augustine on justice, 91. 256 cf. ibid., xix, 6 (csel 40/2, 381): “quid ipsa iudicia hominum de hominibus, quae civitatibus in quantalibet pace manentibus deesse non possunt, qualia putamus esse, quam misera, quam dolenda? quando quidem hi iudicant qui conscientias eorum, de quibus iudicant, cernere nequeunt” (“what of those judgements pronounced by men on their fellow men, which are indispensable in cities however deep the peace that reigns in them? how sad, how lamentable we find them, since those who pronounce them cannot look into the consciences of those whom they judge.” transl. by w.c. greene, the loeb classical library, vol. vi, 143). 257 cf. aug. ciu. dei. xix, 21 (csel 40/2, 408f.): iustitia porro ea virtus est quae sua cuique distribuit. this definition of justice is also to be found in dig. 1, 1, 10 pr. (pseudo-ulpian) and inst. 1, 1 pr.; cf. d. liebs, römisches recht, 6th completely rev. ed., vandenhoeck & ruprecht, göttingen 2004, 62: iustitia est constans et perpetua voluntas ius suum cuique tribuendi. for the shift in augustine’s thought away from the ancient model, cf. r. dodaro, justice, in a.d. fitzgerald (ed.), augustine through the ages. an encyclopedia, eerdmans, grand rapids (michigan), cambridge 1999, 482. 258 j. rist, augustine. ancient thoughts baptised, cambridge university press, cambridge 1994. according to a review of this book by the augustinian scholar frederick van fleteren, the illustrious professor rist, in his intention to placate the recent critics of catholic and augustinian thinking, fell into anachronism at best, or regrettable misinterpretation at worst. while appraising his great effort, fleteren observed that rist made contradictory remarks either concerning augustine’s thought or its sources. (cf. f. van fleteren, john rist. augustine, in augustinian studies 26-2 (1995), 167-171. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 97 i.2. a christian translation of the classical notion of justice as we have seen above, the initial understanding augustine had of the concept of justice derived from the classical philosophical point of view about the notion. however, exploring his writings, one comes to discover a fundamental shift in his position on justice. while the greco-roman thinkers considered justice as a virtue (one of the four political virtues along with prudence, temperance, and fortitude) necessary in a human society, augustine accentuates his understandings of the new testament and latin patristic accounts of justice259 by equating the virtue with the love which is due to god and to neighbour. in effect, he follows christian authors in synthesising the biblical-christian and the philosophical-juridical understandings of justice grounding them in love (amor, caritas, dilectio)260. so he translated the classical notion of justice into christian terms as giving to god and to one’s neighbour the love which is due by virtue of the double commandment of love, as stipulated in mt 22:40, and thus defined justice as “dilectio dei et proximi” (love of god and of neighbour). augustine accurately develops these two aspects of justice with clear expositions. concerning the love of god, he holds that justice obliges that god be loved by humanity not according to god’s value but according to human capacity. although god can never be loved as much as he deserves to be loved, he can be “loved wholly” and “by the whole humanity261”. to give god the just measure of love is to love without measure. it is but just on god’s part, we come to see, that he should sum up all his requests of mankind in a commandment of love. for love is the one thing that is so much one’s own that circumstances and people cannot interfere with the giving of it. however, augustine reminds us that while “no other creature can separate us from the love of god”, a creature can separate us, none other than one self262. his view on love of neighbour is indicated in de trinitate 8.9-10 in conjunction with romans 13:8: “owe no one anything except to love one another”. this christian notion of justice guarantees that love of neighbour does not stand in competition either with self-love (cf. mark 12:33) or with love of god, because “true love” consists in “loving the other either because they are just or so that 259 some of the fathers who must have influenced the shift in augustine’s view of justice would included cyprian, de opere et eleemosynis; lactantius, div. inst. 5; epitome 54-55; ambrose, de officiis ministrorum 1.20-23; 1. 252; 1.130-36; 1.142; 1.188; 2.49; expositio psalmi cxviii 35.7; de nabuthae historia 47-48). 260 cf. r. dodaro, justice, in a. fitzgerald, augustine through the ages, 866. 261 aug., de moribus ecclesiae catholicae, 1, 8 (pl 32,) : “audiamus ergo quem finem bonorum nobis, christe, praescribas… diliges, inquit, dominum deum tuum . dic mihi etiam, quaeso te, qui sit diligendi modus … ex toto, inquit, corde tuo. non est satis. ex tota anima tua. ne id quidem satis est. ex tota mente tua. quid vis amplius? vellem fortasse, si viderem quid posset esse amplius. quid ad haec paulus? scimus, inquit, quoniam diligentibus deum omnia procedunt in bonum. 262 ibid., i, 12, 21 (pl 32, 170). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 98 they might become just”263. thus, living justly (iuste vivere) means loving one’s neighbours in a way that aids them in living justly by enabling them to love themselves, their neighbours, and god in the manner prescribed by divine law and by the example of christ. along this line, we discover that augustine’s directions about how to proceed along the difficult path of social justice, the provision of all men/women with what is needed for human and spiritual fulfilment, he refers primarily to the interior: “... the first thing to aim at is, that we should be benevolent, cherishing neither malice nor evil design against another”264. this justice, as the virtue which is the manifestation of the sincerity of brotherly love, does not remain within the one who loves. it is grounded in the objective social order of external goods. at times there is a tendency to think that whereas physical injury to another is an injustice, a failure to extend a helping hand is only a failure in charity to which i was not obligated. but augustine unites these two acts and regards them both as failures in justice and failures in charity: “... a man may sin against another in two ways, either by injuring him or by not helping him when it is in his power”265. in fact, failure to love one’s neighbour sufficiently, refusal to put oneself to inconvenience and unwillingness to suffer in order to assist him is called “criminal,” by augustine: a word generally descriptive of unjust acts of major proportions. this lack of charity to a neighbour is considered by him as an assault against god266. augustine puts it nicely in his comment on the passage of luke 16, 10 about the rich man and lazarus: “if you want to hear what that rich man’s crime was, look no further than what you hear from the truth: he was rich. he used to wear purple and fine linen, and feasted sumptuously every day. so what was his offence? the man lying at his gate covered with sores, and given no help267”. from another point of view, justice is understood in conjunction with augustine’s concept of order. first of all, augustine insists on order in man. justice, according to him, is one of the four main forms of loving god. from the other cardinal virtues, which are referred to in the old testament (wis. 8, 1, 4, 7), 263 aug., de trinitate 8, 9. 264 aug., de moribus ecclesiae catholicae, i, 26, 49 (pl 32, 210): “agendum autem in primis est, ut benevoli simus, id est, ut nulla malitia, nullo dolo malo adversus hominem utamur. quid enim homini homine propinquius?” 265 ibid., i, 26, 50, 210 : sed cum duobus modis peccetur in homine, uno si laedatur, alio si cum potest non adiuvetur eaque ipsa sint quibus mali homines esse dicantur 266 cf. m. t. clark, augustine on justice, in revue des etudes augustiniennes (reaug.) ix (1963), 87. 267 aug. sermo 178, 3 (pl 38, 962): quod ergo ejus crimen? jacens ante januam ulcerosus, et non adjutus. see also e.g. ep. 153, 26 or vera rel. 14, 21. cf. j. gaudemet, la formation du droit séculier et du droit de l’èglise aux ive et ve siècles, sirey, paris 19792, 178; f.-j. thonnard, justice de dieu et justice humaine selon saint augustin, in augustinus, 12 (1967), 387-402. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 99 he distinguishes it by emphasizing “right relationship”. rightly related to god, mankind is properly related within him/herself and to the external world of people and things. not only does justice produce harmony within humanity, peace among men/women, but like the other moral virtues, its value lies in preparing us for the vision of god. this vision begins now with an understanding of what we believe and to the just man/woman belongs this understanding268. this distinctive view of justice as order within humanity redounding to social order was retained by augustine until the end of his life. writing in the city of god, and defining justice in the classical way we have mentioned earlier on: “the virtues whose task is to see that to each is given what belongs to each”, augustine nevertheless says that the public order of just transactions among men/women is impossible unless there are just humans, rightly related to god by an interior order. justice begins within. there must first be “the right order within man himself”. the struggle for this internal order is always far from finished, but until justice reigns, human happiness cannot be complete. augustine advises that the subjection of humanity to god which originates personal integration begins in the mind. he tells us that the man/woman “with god in their thoughts”, is the person who is becoming just. this augustinian emphasis upon personal order as the preliminary to social order is constantly recurring. if a man/woman has no order within him/herself, “then there is certainly no justice in an assembly made up of such humans. as a result, there is lacking that mutual recognition of rights which makes a mere mob into a ‘people’, a people whose commonweal is a commonwealth”. but neither should we miss the key to this personal order, namely, an attitude of subjection to god which serves as the model for the order which should exist between the soul and the body, between reason and the irrational powers. only when this order prevails in man/woman, can he/she act justly to others. from order within, we can evolve to the “order of love” (ordo amoris) which imparts a hierarchy of goods established by god as objects of love and desire269. justice conceived according to this proper ordering of love harmonizes the volitional aspect of love with the created order of nature270. as such, justice expresses a series of right relationships which escalate in value in proportion to the order willed by god. in this context augustine defines justice as “love 268 cf. m. t. clark, augustine on justice, 87. 269 cf. aug., div. qu. 36.1-3; lib. arb. 1.11-15; c. faust. 22.27; cat. rud. 14.1-2; ep. 140.4; trin. 9.14; civ. dei 11. 17;15.22). 270 cf. aug., confessions 13.9.10; sermon 335 c.13. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 100 serving god alone and thus ruling well those things subject to human beings”271. we could remain with these hints of augustine’s reflections on justice on the theoretical level. the second articulation of our work will help us expose how augustine acted on the practical level in applying justice in concrete situations. in this first part of our investigation, we have examined how augustine made an intelligent use of the cultural patrimony available the philosophical thought of his time to set a background for what we could call his theory of justice. he valued the position of such philosophers as cicero by adopting those of their views that are not in contraction with the christian teachings and ultimately carried out a declination of secular thought into christian pattern by positing the double commandment of love god and of neighbour as the key to understand and practice true justice. ii. augustine’s administration of justice in his pastoral ministry. for augustine, justice was not restricted only to his philosophical reflection and spiritual meditation. as a bishop he fulfilled the role of a magistrate himself, and had to dispense justice in the public court. he responded to concrete problems faced by magistrates and judges. again and again augustine shows that moral reasoning must be transformed by the deeper wisdom offered by christ and the bible. on the question of activity of st. augustine as a judge, and the person of the bishop in general in his relationship with the imperial administration, there are many works carried out by distinguished researchers and specialists in the field. prominent among them are the works fr. r. dodaro, o.s.a., church and state, in a. fitzgerald, o.s.a.(ed.), augustine through the ages: an encyclopedia, 176-184 ; the one of the anglican prelate and celebrated patrologist h. chadwick, the role of the christian bishop in ancient society, in protocol, colloquy of the center for hermeneutical studies, berkeley 1979 ; a. cunningham’s the bishop in the church:patristic textes on the role of the episkopos, wilmington, glazier 1985, g. vismara’s la giurisdizione civile dei vescovi (secoli i-ix) milan, dott. a. giuffrè, 1995, to name but a few. in the context of this article, while we cannot elaborate on the various positions of researchers and historians because of the limited space we have; we shall dive into the writings of augustine himself to find out what he said and did in his position as a bishop. 271 cf. id., de moribus ecclesiae catholicae, i, 25. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 101 ii.1. recommendations on how a christian judge should carry out his functions. in his epistolary correspondences, we discover many issues augustine tackled in his ministry, which constitute important information we wouldn’t have got otherwise. on the question of justice the bishop of hippo explicitly took on the rhetoric of what in particular was required from a christian judge272. there is a fitting passage on the difference augustine drew between a christian and a non-christian judge273: the christian proconsul apringius was in charge of trials against some donatist people who had murdered and beaten catholic priests. this was at the end of the year 411, shortly after the conference of carthage. again the issue of religious peace had been settled in favour of augustine’s catholic party. the imperial commissioner, who had presided over the conference, was marcellinus, brother of apringius and augustine’s new friend274. marcellinus was actively engaged with the enactment of the laws against the donatists. upon his verdict the emperor had proscribed donatism. the clergy was to be separated and exiled, fines had to be paid and donatists’ property has to be handed over to the catholics275. the offences of murder and the injuries were usually under the jurisdiction of the proconsul, but in the person of marcellinus a special imperial commissioner in charge was still in africa. thus augustine was not sure who would take the chair in the trial and wrote them both276. he was concerned about court procedure and wanted to advise on the verdict. of course, other than with the habit of the church whose admonition should show clemency, the governance over a province had to be carried out with severity. augustine acknowledged this: sed alia causa est provinciae, alia est ecclesiae, illius terribiliter gerenda est administratio, huius clementer commendanda est mansuetudo. were apringius not a good christian, augustine would still defend the interest of the church and argue that the acts against servants of god should remain beneficial in the sense that the victims stand out as examples of patience (exempla patientiae) and that the church should not therefore be remembered in 272 cf. e. m. kuhn, justice applied by the episcopal arbitrator: augustine and the implementation of divine justice, 82. 273 aug., ep. 134 to apringius (csel 44, 84-88) 274 on augustine’s politically marginal role in african and roman politics until 412 see mclynn, augustine’s roman empire; the new friendship (ibid. 46ff.) “offered augustine access to the empire at a new level and gave him, at last, a platform from which to address marcellinus’ peers”, and thus the dedication of his city of god to his dearest son was “not incidental”. 275 cf. cod. theod. 16, 5, 52. for more detail see w.h. frend, the donatist church, clarendon press, oxford 1952, 289ff. 276 cf. aug. ep. 139 (to marcellinus, csel 44, 148-154); 133 (to marcellinus, csel 44, 80-84), 134 (to apringius, csel 44, 84-88). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 102 connection with vengeance; their blood should not be mixed with the blood of their enemies277. if apringius did not yield, augustine continues, he would suspect him of hostility. thus implicitly argued, a hostile judge could not be impartial. augustine explicitly requests the imperial judges to add his letters to the protocol of the proceedings and so appears to be prepared to take the case to the emperor’s own council278. “we act within the limits of our episcopal power when we threaten a person at times with the judgement of men but most of all and always with the judgment of god”, he would write a few years later to macedonius, then the vicarius africae279. augustine demands to have a say in the issue: firstly the church could not be held responsible in case the accused were killed, since she did not indict them for the deeds. he often stressed the obligation not to accuse. christian moral forbade it. he courageously took it as his responsibility to ask for clemency from the authority. in the aforementioned ep. 153 to macedonius he wrote in deeply touching: “we do not in any way approve the faults which we wish to see corrected, nor do we wish wrongdoing to go unpunished because we take pleasure in it. we pity the man while detesting the deed or crime, and the more the vice displeases us, the less do we want the culprit to die unrepentant. we are forced by our love for humanity to intercede for the guilty lest they end this life by punishment only to find that punishment does not end with this life” (ep. 153, 1,3.) we learnt from possidius that augustine received an answer from macedonius to his letter in which he interceded on behalf of a suppliant. macedonius, granting his request, had this to say on augustine’s wise approach: i am struck with wonder at your wisdom, both in the books you have published and in this letter which you have not found it too great a burden to send me by way of intercession for those in distress. for the former writings, my venerable lord and esteemed father, possess a discernment, wisdom and holiness which leave nothing to be desired, and the latter such modesty, that unless i do as you request, i could not regard 277 cf. aug. ep. 134, 3 (csel 44, 86). he repeated this in letter 139, 2 (csel 44, 150) to marcellinus: “propter conscientiam nostram et propter catholicam mansuetudinem commendandam”; augustine was afraid that the donatists would celebrate themselves as martyrs for their religious cause. 278 aug. ep. 139, 2 (csel 44, 151): etiam gestis iubete allegari epistulas meas. he is explicit in this regard in this letter to marcellinus: should his brother support the death penalty he should at least leave the convicted in custody until augustine asked the emperor for clemency, ut in custodiam recipiantur, atque hoc de clementia imperatorum impetrare curabimus. 279 aug. ep. 153, 21 (csel 44, 420f): agimus quantum episcopalis facultas datur, et humanum quidem nonnunquam, sed maxime ac semper divinum judicium comminantes. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 103 myself as remaining free from blame in the matter. you do not insist, like most men in your position, on extorting all that the suppliant asks. but what seemed to you fair to ask of a judge occupied with many cares, this you advise with a humble modesty which is most efficacious in settling difficulties among good men. consequently i have not hesitated to grant your request as you recommended and as i had given you reason to expect280. repeatedly augustine complained about people taking advantage of this reluctance to hand over offenders. instead the accusations here had been made by officials, maybe defensores civitatis281. but since the victims were servants of god, augustine is very clear: “we do not want the sufferings of the servants of god to be avenged by punishments equal to those sufferings”282. the defensor civitatis was a new development in criminal law283. originally the initiative of a trial had lain with the victim, the person involved. augustine thus uses a promising forensic trick. although the iurisdictio was in the hands of the magistrate, the fact that his action depended on somebody’s accusation, resulted in augustine’s argument that he should be referring to the victim’s interest, which in this case was the church. secondly he reminds marcellinus of his duty and mission: he had come to africa for the benefit of the catholic cause. augustine subtly commands regional authority to testify and decide about the content of this benefit, since he was the responsible churchman in hippo, where the crimes had transpired284. if this reminder did not show enough power of persuasion he lastly orders it as bishop to his christian son285. with a christian judge, he concludes the matter more diplomatically with apringius, he dealt otherwise; they pursued the same interest. a fellow-christian with augustine, apringius had the judicial authority that augustine lacked, so there should be no question but that he would extend his hand to help the church286. 280 possidius, vita aug., 20, 3-5. 281 aug. ep. 133, 1 (csel 44, 81) : “quia non accusantibus nostris sed illorum notoria ad quos tuendae publicae pacis vigilantia pertinebat”. in aug. ep. 134, 2 (csel 44, 85)they are the preservers of public security, cura eorum, qui disciplinae publicae inserviunt. 282 aug. ep. 133, 1, (csel 44, 81): “nolumus tamen passiones servorum dei quasi vice talionibus paribus suppliciis vindicari”. 283 fr. r. dodaro provided important information on the figure of the defensor civitatis in the time of st. augustine in his article church and state, a. fitzgerald, augustine through the ages., 179. 284 aug. ep. 133, 3, (csel 44, 83): “ut modum dispensationis meae non supergredi videar”. 285 ibid., (csel 44, 83f) “…if listening to a friend begging or a bishop giving advice would not suffice” ; see ep. 134, 1 (csel 44, 84f). 286 aug. ep. 134, 3 (csel 44, 86): subdatur sublimitas tua, subdatur fides tua; causam tecum tracto communem, sed tu in ea potes, quod ergo non possum; confer nobiscum consilium et porrige auxilium; and ep. 134, 2: christianus judicem rogo, et christianum episcopus moneo. cf. civ. v, 24: the christian rulers are to “make their power the handmaid of his majesty by using it to spread his worship to the greatest possible extent” (p. weithman, augustine’s political philosophy, in e. stump, ed., the cambridge companion to augustine, cambridge university press, cambridge 2001, 246). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 104 in another situation not involving the church, and which also seemed to lie beyond his competence, when the bishop of hippo interceded on behalf of a farmer named faventius, he was preoccupied lest the money of the wealthy opponent might prevail in court. faventius, a tenant farmer, had been taken in custody in an inappropriate manner. further he had not been granted the legally provided postponement to prepare his case. instead he had been led by force to generosus, then governor of numidia. augustine emphasized the fact that laws had been violated and asked the governor to be not only an upright, but also a christian judge and therefore to grant a delay287. these are some few examples in which, augustine recommended how christian judges should carry out their functions. 2.2. augustine’s practice as a bishop-judge when anatomizing his episcopal “burden” before his people, augustine confined himself to his specifically pastoral duties, his responsibility for their salvation and moral welfare. a good example of this outpouring of his heart is found in his heart sermon 359. augustine’s perception of his office as judge was closely linked to his duty as leader of his congregation: “i nourish you with what nourishes me, i offer you what i live on myself … i feed you on what i am fed on myself set food before you from the pantry which i too live on, from the lord’s storerooms”, he told his listeners288. he never ceased to tell, how the office was to him a burdensome and dangerous responsibility; the dominance it gave might weaken the demand of modesty, humilitas, and service for the task. in christ’s team of good pastors the bishop was to call his flock which would follow his commands289. of course as no less burdensome he perceived his duty to sit in the episcopal court. augustine’s episcopal concerns were “countless,” but he consistently singles out the demands of jurisdiction, the adjudication or arbitration of “the tumultuous 287 cf. aug., ep. 113-116, especially 115 to the bishop colleague and 116 to generosus, where he demanded: et profecto facies quod non solum integrum, verum etiam christianum judicem decet (aug., ep. 116, csel 34/1, 663). 288 aug., serm. 339, 4 = serm. frangip. 2 (ed. g. morin in sancti augustini sermones post maurinos reperti, typ. polygl. vaticanis, roma 1930, 193): inde pasco, unde pascor …. inde vobis appono, unde ego vivo, de thesauro dominico. 289 cf. f. bellentani, episcopus ... est nomen suspecti officii: il vocabolario del servizio episcopale in alcuni testi agostiniani, in vescovi e pastori in epoca teodosiana. in occasione del xvi centenario della consacrazione episcopale di s. agostino, 396-1996. xxv incontro di studiosi dell’antichità cristiana. roma, 8-11 maggio 1996, vol. i (studia ephemeridis augustinianum 58), institutum patristicum augustinianum, roma 1997, 667-682. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 105 perplexities of other people’s suits290”. augustine is by far our fullest source of information on the late antique bishop’s judicial role, and, although this material has been shrewdly analysed from different perspectives it has now been shown that the institutional basis of the episcopale iudicium was far less secure than traditionally believed291. his immersion in his flock’s “greeds and needs” (ep. 139.3) is not to be taken for granted as part of his job description. the bishop of hippo may well have invested far more time and effort in hearing cases than most other bishops – certainly far beyond the “monday slot” for which apostolic sanction was claimed in the east292. one of our most important sources about the activities of the bishop of hippo is obviously possidius’ life of saint augustine already quoted above regarding the bishop’s recommendation and intercession with secular powers. from an observer’s point of view, possidius portrayed augustine’s judicial activities modelled on the strong ideals of educational authority and wisdom applied to service of the church293. concerning court procedure, augustine was aware of being in a tricky position, since whoever decided against a friend was likely to lose one294. possidius accentuated augustine’s pastoral, administrative and forensic activities. he remembered him as working quite hard: “often he remained without food until midday, sometimes the whole day, always examining and arbitrating, focusing on the state of their christian souls, how much someone advanced in his faith and good manners or retreated from them295”. the order of procedure is again essential: augustine usually examined (noscebat) and then arbitrated (dirimebat); on the basis of the results he came to his verdicts. christian attitude and morality of the parties had a major impact, possidius stated. through the study of scriptures the bishop acquired judgments “regarding the christian soul296”. however this was not always the main issue in the process of arbitration: “and when he saw that circumstance gave the opportunity, then he taught the parties 290 aug. on the works of monks, 29.37) 291 cf. n. b. mclynn, administrator: augustine in his diocese, in m. vessey (ed.), a companion to augustine, 316. 292 cf. constitutiones apostolorum 2.47 (the best critical edition of ancient document is probably that of franciscus xavier funk, didascalia et constitutiones apostolorum, ferdinandus schoeningh, paderborn1905. 293 cf. e.m. kuhn, justice applied, 90. 294 cf. possidius, vita aug. 19, 2 (ed. w. geerlings in possidius, vita augustini. zweisprachige ausgabe, schöningh, paderborn etc. 2005, 64): de amicis vero unum esset, contra quem sententia proferretur, perditurus. 295 ibid., 19, 6, (ed. geerlings) “et eas aliquando usque ad horam refectionis, aliquando autem tota die ieiunans, semper tamen noscebat et dirimebat: intendens in eis christianorum momenta animorum, quantum quisque vel in fide bonisque moribus proficeret, vel ab iis deficeret.” 296 this claim turns out to be true, since augustine extensively quoted the scriptures in his letters to officials, making it his most prominent source of reference. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 106 the truth of the divine law, inculcated them, admonished and instructed them, how they could attain eternal life.297” augustine was settling worldly disputes according to worldly rules and only when opportuned did he lecture on the wider, godlier aspects of the laws (divinae legis veritatem). as his written questions to the lawyer eustochius show, he had a team of advisers for legal questions298. and again this duty to judge according to temporal law he had gained from paul, 1 cor. 6, 1-6: “quoniam ergo praecepit apostolus, ut saecularia iudicia si inter se habuerint christiani, ea non in foro, sed in ecclesia fiant, unde nos necesse est perpeti tales iurgantium quaestiones, in quibus nobis etiam terrena iura quaerenda sint, praecipue de condicione hominum temporali”299 the apostle has commanded that, if christians have with one another cases concerning worldly affairs that need adjudication, they should be heard in the church, not in the courts. for this reason we have to endure the sort of petitions on the part of litigants in which we have to learn the laws of this world, especially concerning the temporal condition of persons. (transl. by r. teske;). the attitude might explain the good reception he attained in his court. his courtroom was forever filling with people who expected a just decision that was free of charge and corruption; that is, they expected decisions unlike those of civil judges. he might have come across as incorruptible, diligently listening and gingerly deciding; it might have been a question of his personal charisma, but certainly his knowledge of the earthly rules could be relied on. maybe they knew better what to expect, and so they traded in their possibility to appeal at the next instance300. apart from the testimonies we get from possidius and from some of his traditionally known letters, augustine’s handling of his caseload is best illustrated through his commonitoria, the memoranda produced as part of his judicial business, whose peculiarities – on the one hand public (and copied in his archive) and on the other informal – have only recently been analysed. several such commonitoria feature in augustine’s letter collection, as instruments of 297 ibid., 19, 4 (ed. geerlings): “atque compertis rerum opportunitatibus, divinae legis veritatem partes docebat, eamque illis inculcabat, et eas quo adipiscerentur vitam aeternam (mc 10, 17) edocebat et admonebat: nihil aliud quaerens ab iis quibus ad hoc vacabat, nisi tantum obedientiam et devotionem christianam, quae et deo debetur et hominibus: peccantes coram omnibus arguens, ut ceteri timorem haberent (1 tim 5, 20)”. 298 eustochius was probably a provincial lawyer frequently consulted by augustine. 299 aug., ep. 24*, 1 (csel 88, 126). see n.65 below for an explanation about the series of letters to which this particular belongs. 300 e.-m. kuhn, justice applied, 91. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 107 negotiation or explanation; but one of the outstanding features of the “divjak” letters301 – the cache of documents that, within the last generation, have brought to our understanding of augustine’s social position – is the number of memoranda that are included or mentioned. above all, for our purposes, they provide new access to the documentation that was generated by augustine’s judicial role, at a level which has been suppressed during the selection process that resulted in the canonical letter collection. here we come closest to catching augustine the administrator in action, and close inspection suggests much more agility and imagination in his handling of business than his own rhetoric of patient victimhood would allow302. let’s now consider practical examples from the resources provided by divjak letters. from the information contained in ep.8*, we come to discover that even a nonchristian might have had higher hopes to get what he wanted and to succeed in his cause, when referring to bishop augustine instead of going to ordinary judges. augustine’s handling of the complaint of the jew licinius shows what he expected of his own colleague-bishops. it was not so opportune to teach licinius the jew about god’s justice. augustine rather rebuked one of his own colleagues, the seemingly arrogant bishop victor, who was not such a model bishop after all: the case was all about some little pieces of land, quos agellos303. it seemed they had formerly all belonged to the mother of the jew licinius. apparently the mother was not on good terms with her son. perhaps she had not been altogether happy with his choice of wife. the son had bought the land from the people to whom his mother had previously sold it. he then had given part of it to his wife upon their marriage. the whole lot had been the object of a sale of the old lady again, as if she were the proprietor. but in truth now her son and his wife were the owners of the land and were in possession of it. regardless of this fact, bishop victor, the purchaser, forcefully took possession. when licinius protested, victor replied that he had bought it from his mother. licinius should argue with her and ask victor for nothing, because victor did not owe him 301 about these previously unknown letters, there are a whole lot of issues. in 1969, johannes divjak, a scholar from vienna, came to france to work on the project. in the bibliothèque municipale of marseilles, to the delight of augustine scholars, divjak discovered a manuscript of letters that included twenty-nine letters of augustine that were wholly unknown. the manuscript in question had been produced about the year 1440 for king rené of anjou, a rich but minor monarch. this manuscript had been known, but it had never been closely examined. it was assumed that an elegant late medieval manuscript could hardly contain any new work of an author as ancient and as frequently copied as was augustine. in reference to these letters, it is conventionally agreed to abbreviate them with an asterisk in front of the number of the letter concerned. thus we shall continuously use ep. with the number followed by*. 302 cf. n. b. mclynne, administrator: augustine in his diocese, 316. 303 aug. ep. 8* (csel 88, 41-42). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 108 anything: ego emi si male mihi vendidit mater tua, cum ipsa litiga! a me noli aliquid quaerere, quia nihil tibi debeo. so licinius turned to augustine for help. licinius’s documents had proven the complaint well founded and hence had convinced augustine. his memorandum to victor provides evidence for augustine’s high regard and knowledge of property law: he reproaches bishop victor for severe ignorance of the laws (ignorantiam iuris) and sets the issues right. victor had to give back the estates because his action contradicted what justice demanded and the laws cried for, necesse est enim ut eam recipiat intercedente iustitia clamantibus legibus. ultimately he referred to the word of the apostle and cited 1 cor 10:32: no offence should be given to the jews or the greeks nor to the church – a passage that preaches respect and in a way tolerance304. better for victor thus to do what was just, rather than to risk trial before an episcopal court, melius est autem, ut a tuo carissimo frater commonitus facias quod iustum est, quam ut ista causa veniat ad episcopale iudicium. in this eventuality, victor at best would be asked to do penance, at worst he would be permanently deprived of his office as bishop305. augustine’s most extravagant hypothesizing occurs in the next divjak letter, a memorandum produced in reply to one from alypius (ep. 9*), concerning a high-profile case brought to the latter’s tribunal which had nothing to do with augustine. a vir honestus, member of the legal profession most likely, had abducted and taken with him, a nun to make her the “plaything of his debauchery”, ad ludibrium stupri de patria duxerat. this phrasing means that he – as they were not married and she had vowed abstinence – had dishonoured her, by taking her with him, be it with or without her consent306. the clerics, who had traced and found him with her, may-be in a church307, had obviously given him a good beating. in late antiquity social status and legal privilege were divided in society between more respectable and lower people, honestiores and humiliores. members of the provincial curiae for example or lawyers (as here) received better treatment especially in criminal procedure, where they were exempt from torture 304 on augustine and the jews see b. blumenkranz, augustin et le judaisme, in recherches augustiniennes, vol. i (1958), 225240 (repr. in b. blumenkranz, juifs et chrétiens. patristique et moyen age, variorum reprints, london 1977, nr. iii). in hippo there was a jewish community as well as in carthage, where augustine often went – the biggest jewish community in africa was there. 305 cf. the measures taken against bishop antoninus, a bird of the same feather, who robbed his town to build a villa for himself, augustine’s letter to fabiola, ep. 20*; see s. lancel, l’affaire d’antonius de fussala, in les lettres, 267-285 ; ch. munier, la question des appels à rome d’après la lettre 20* d’augustin, ibid., 187199. 306 though augustine uses the mild ‘duxerat’ instead of ‘abduxerat’, he is sure that she was forcefully subdued to the man’s lust. aug. ep. 9*, 2 (csel 88, 44): “libidini suae subdere”. 307 this is not obvious; it cannot be deduced from 9*, 2, but could from 9*, 3, where augustine is shocked about malefactis nequissimorum hominum, quae in ecclesia nefandis ausibus perpetrant. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 109 or beatings308. therefore unhappy about his treatment, the man had appealed to pope celestine (422-432) and had been granted a trial against the rough clerics before bishop alypius’ court. alypius was given papal order to investigate and then discipline the clerics for violating the privileged man. these developments did not much please augustine. it gave him the occasion to advise his friend in charge who had asked his opinion on the quaestio iuris.309105 augustine had already been interviewing a presbyter named commodianus, allegedly involved in the case somehow, who had complained about the oncoming trial to augustine. the latter had questioned him about details, but commodianus claimed to have seen nothing. only responsible for the subordinate clerics involved, he had not been himself present at the scene of the beating. in this confused situation augustine writes to alypius, he was worried lest the other clerics should be punished and the abductor walk away unharmed. one is tempted to detect some trace of criticism of the worldly laws310. for augustine seems to be quite excited and annoyed that honesti homines might think they could have a licence to do whatever they pleased, just because they were legally granted the privilege not to be corporally punished. augustine is much more concerned with church procedure and the treatment of cases where somebody appeals with a false or incomplete story and consequently gets granted favours. true, augustine does say that the civil laws were not useful: leges publicas nequeant. yet civil laws might have covered the offence. given the facts, a vir honestus might well be punished for the crime of stuprum (e.g.) and so lose his privileges once and for all in a trial before ordinary judges through the punishment of infamia. augustine himself is aware of this possibility, since he holds that he could not believe that clerics in defence of the lord’s house were to be punished for doing something so much less than the civil laws provided for, incomparabiliter minus quam paretur legibus publicis, and he explains their alleged motivation in beating and his justification of it: “…in order that there might be something to fear on the part of those who have no fear that the bishop or clerics may bring the civil laws to bear against them311.” another sex crime, against a nun, is treated at ep. 15*, but this time augustine seems to let off the offender lightly, recommending only that he lose his position 308 cf. aug. ep. 9*, 2 (csel 88, 43-45): cum honorem vel curiae vel fori habent, quem videtur habere iste de quo agitur. 309 alypius had (in 427) just come back from a mission to italy, where he had met celestine. this explains why he, thus known, is put in charge. 310 cf. e.-m. kuhn, justice applied, 97. 311 aug. ep. 9*, 3 (csel 88, 45): “quod donec fiat, quae sententia proferenda sit adversus dei servos qui pro domini sui domo faciunt aliquid sceleratis incomparabiliter minus quam paretur legibus publicis, ut sit utcumque quod timeant qui easdem publicas leges contra se episcopis vel clericis moveri posse non timent, omnino non video”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 110 (he was legal officer to the devout senator dorotheus). the bishop creates a mechanism that commits the senator to a certain response before he has heard the facts of the case. the danger, one suspects, was that a full investigation conducted on dorotheus’ own terms would uncover mitigating circumstances (and good land agents were hard to find). in this case, too, the nun had obviously brought her complaint to augustine, and had presumably found his own initial solution (excommunication and penance) inadequate. with his memorandum he could be seen to be taking action on her behalf. such an interpretation does not denigrate augustine: the more we recognize the limits of his reach, the more we can appreciate his skill at finding means to obtain the partial redress that would also serve to reaffirm his principles. in ep10*, augustine evokes a dramatic situation. it’s an exchange of memoranda with alypius. the main interest lies in the postscript, which takes up five sixths of the text and introduces the sensational topic of the depredations of slave traders in the territory of hippo and the kidnapping of children for sale abroad. here we see augustine at work to alleviate evil, and his method – he attaches a copy of the existing law covering such crimes, and asks alypius to secure a revision better suited to christian enforcement – has been treated as a model of carefully targeted lobbying312. but the letter is both more and less than a straightforward administrative response to a humanitarian crisis. it is peculiar, for example, that augustine chose to lead off with an assault on a farmhouse where the “slavers” killed the men and kidnapped the women and children, which was still an unconfirmed rumour, especially since his own investigations had uncovered a crime hardly less foul, a child snatched by brigands from her parents’ home. here we see the bishop applying himself with determined energy to a problem that has just emerged, and the text does show him applying a cosmetic remedy to an evil inherent in his society, and beyond his (or anyone else’s) power to solve. according to mclynn augustine was caught uncomfortably between roman law and christian charity313. in an outburst of the latter, four months previously, in his absence, his people had rescued some 120 slaves from a ship and nearby holding-pens. the fate of these unfortunates was still uncertain when augustine wrote, since “galatian slavers” (the pejorative ethnic label is repeated over and again) had found patrons to support their bid to reclaim their merchandise. augustine in his capacity of bishop tried his best to make sure 312 cf. n. b. mclynn, administrator: augustine in his diocese, 316. 313 cf. ibid., 317. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 111 excesses in this area of the society he lived in are reduced. that one on earth has been able to totally quench the fire of injustice is a fact. what we appraise in the bishop of hippo is not the solutions he brought to issues at hand, but as in the aforementioned case, his humanitarian initiatives. we could multiply examples of saint augustine’s praxis as a bishop-judge. his christian faith remains the source of inspiration. in short, this second section of our article has shed light on the praxis of augustine as a bishop with regard to justice conclusion we have looked at augustine’s thought on justice and seen how, while acknowledging some of the aspects of the traditional understanding of the notion, he grounded his position on christian faith and the heritage he got from patristic tradition. he did not limit himself to theorising or instructing on how to apply justice in society. in real life situations, moved by christian love, the bishop of hippo took concrete actions to aid those oppressed by injustice. to the limit of his power he stood against the long-standing evil that had succeeded in thoroughly pervading human society. from the texts we read and studied, we could say that injustices resulted not from the body of administration, not from its regulations and prohibitions, courts and appeal-courts, but from the weak human condition. advocates earned money to defend their clients whatever their case might be; judges accepted money for their verdicts: one sometimes had to pay money even for a just verdict: “these gains (the earnings of corruption) are as wrongly possessed as those that come through theft”, “and i would demand their restitution, but there is no judge under whom they can be claimed.314” in augustine’s experience it was beyond his immediate influence and rested in god’s hand: a confession of powerlessness by an otherwise strong-minded and always highly committed bishop in the african province of numidia315. some scholars, based on various conjectures, hold that the bishop has actually no power whatsoever to solve any social problem since the imperial legislations have never succeeded to establish a 314 aug., ep. 153, 25 (csel 44, 426): haec atque hujusmodi male utique possidentur, et vellem restituerentur; sed non est quo judice repetantur. augustine’s letter to count macedonius well displays his dark view on selfrighteous people and on forensic bribery. 315 cf. e.-m. kuhn, justice applied, 103. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 1 no 2, september 2015. issn 2488-9210(online) issn 2504 – 9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 112 lex christiana316. but augustine’s writings themselves tell us how many humanitarian initiatives he undertook in his capacity of a christian bishop-judge, some of which did have positive exits. in the last resort, we all are aware of the fact that until final judgement, the just cause will often fall short. for augustine this shortfall was exemplified by the suffering of humillimus christ. augustine’s role as a bishop was to broker for a christian caritas, that was so much closer to divine justice than any procedural and for this purpose only property-managing or order-restoring regulation. to augustine, the office and duty of a bishop was to lead in this enterprise. his conversion to christianity was the turning point: the imitation and following of christus iustus et iustificans317 became essential to find the vera iustitia and crucial to christian life and leadership318. from there he would draw his main legitimacy to instruct, admonish and teach about truth as bishop and judge. christ was the source of his call to be followed even by imperial officers of the highest status in matters of justice. 316 for further readings on this aspect one could see gaudemet, l’église, 351, where he stresses how the bishop legally to significant extent remained a private person. also c. ando, religion and ius publicum, in c. ando j. rüpke (ed.), religion and law in classical and christian rome, steiner, stuttgart 2006, 126-145 holds that theodosius did not succeed in establishing the lex christiana and so augustine remained an outsider. 317 augustine emphasises christ’s role as iustus et iustificans (cf. rm 3,26), in particular, during his controversy with the pelagians, in order to highlight the grace of christ as necessary for justification, and to underscore the exclusiveness of christ’s place in history as perfectly iustus. cf. r. dodaro, iustis (iusti), in augustinus lexikon, vol.3, 884. 318 cf. e.-m. kuhn, justice applied, 104. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute philosophy of artificial intelligence, biblical wisdom and the exodus (31:1-11) narrative: converging perspectives ikechukwu anthony kanu, phd pontifical faculty of philosophy, veritas university abuja, bwari ikee_mario@yahoo.com & pilani michael paul, phd department of theology, veritas university abuja & philip chika omenukwa, phd department of philosophy, catholic institute of west africa abstract this study explores the relationship between ai philosophy, biblical wisdom, and contemporary science, focusing on exodus 31:1-11. the historical-critical exegesis of this biblical passage reveals similarities between the divine bestowal of wisdom and skills in exodus and current ai debates. the research also explores how the philosophical underpinnings of ai development can be enriched by considering ancient scriptural paradigms and related near eastern models. the concept of divinely-inspired craftsmanship in exodus can offer fresh perspectives on ai development and implementation. this interdisciplinary approach challenges preconceptions and opens new avenues for exploring the nature of intelligence and its ethical implications. the findings suggest a novel framework for ethical decision-making and policy formulation in ai, grounded in the synthesis of philosophical reflection, scientific advancement, and scriptural wisdom. the research underscores the value of diverse knowledge systems in tackling ai implications and invites scholars, technologists, and policymakers to reconsider the role of biblical insights in shaping our technological future. keywords: artificial intelligence, philosophy, scripture, technology 1. introduction in an era where artificial intelligence (ai) is rapidly transforming our world, the intersection of technology, philosophy, and ancient wisdom has never been more relevant. this article sets out to undertake an exploration of how ancient scriptural paradigms can inform and enrich contemporary ai debates. the exegesis of exodus 31:1-11, which details the divine bestowal of wisdom and craftsmanship, provides a unique lens through which we can view current discussions about the nature of intelligence, creativity, and ethical ai implementation. this study posits that the wisdom and skills divinely imparted in the biblical narrative share intriguing parallels with the philosophical questions surrounding ai development today (gaudet et al, 2024). through the examination of these connections, the research suggests that integrating biblical wisdom with modern scientific and philosophical frameworks can offer fresh perspectives igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute on ai. such an interdisciplinary approach not only challenges existing preconceptions but also opens new pathways for ethical decision-making and policy formulation in the realm of artificial intelligence. moreover, the findings advocate for a synthesis of philosophical reflection, scientific advancement, and scriptural wisdom as a robust framework for addressing the ethical implications of ai. this approach underscores the value of diverse knowledge systems in tackling the complex challenges posed by ai, inviting scholars, technologists, and policymakers to reconsider the contributions of biblical insights in shaping our technological future. by bridging the ancient and the modern, this study illuminates how ancient wisdom can inform contemporary issues, providing a novel framework for understanding and guiding the development and ethical deployment of artificial intelligence. 2. purpose of the study the purpose of this study is to investigate the interplay between the philosophy of artificial intelligence (ai), biblical wisdom, and contemporary scientific thought through the lens of exodus 31:1-11through an exegesis of this biblical passage, the study aims to uncover the parallels between the divine bestowal of wisdom and skills as depicted in exodus and the ongoing debates surrounding ai. the research seeks to demonstrate how ancient scriptural paradigms and related near eastern models can enrich the philosophical foundations of ai development, offering new perspectives on the creation and ethical use of artificial intelligence. furthermore, the study endeavours to formulate a novel framework for ethical decision-making and policy formulation in ai, rooted in a synthesis of philosophical reflection, scientific progress, and scriptural insights. by highlighting the value of integrating diverse knowledge systems, this research encourages scholars, technologists, and policymakers to reconsider the prospective contributions of biblical wisdom in guiding the future trajectory of ai technology. 3. significance of the study this study holds significant implications for the interdisciplinary fields of artificial intelligence (ai) development, philosophical inquiry, and theological studies. the research uncovers valuable insights that bridge ancient wisdom and modern technological advancements an examination of the relationship between ai philosophy, biblical wisdom, and contemporary science through the exegesis of exodus 31:1-11. one of the primary contributions of this study is its potential to enrich the philosophical foundations of ai development. the research offers fresh perspectives on the nature of intelligence and the ethical considerations surrounding ai by integrating ancient scriptural paradigms and related near eastern models. this approach not only broadens the scope of philosophical reflection but also provides a deeper understanding of how divinely-inspired craftsmanship, as depicted in exodus, can inform contemporary practices in ai creation and implementation. furthermore, the study challenges existing preconceptions about the separation between science and religion, demonstrating that these domains can coexist and complement each other in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute meaningful ways (ecklund & park, 2009). the findings suggest a novel framework for ethical decision-making and policy formulation in ai, grounded in a synthesis of philosophical reflection, scientific progress, and scriptural wisdom. this framework emphasizes the importance of diverse knowledge systems in addressing the complex ethical implications of ai, promoting a more holistic approach to technological development. additionally, the research invites scholars, technologists, and policymakers to reconsider the role of biblical insights in shaping our technological future. by highlighting the value of ancient wisdom in contemporary contexts, the study encourages a re-evaluation of how scriptural teachings can contribute to ethical ai practices and policy decisions. this interdisciplinary dialogue promotes a more inclusive and reflective discourse on the future of ai, ultimately aiming to create a more ethically grounded and socially responsible technological landscape. 4. research questions a. how does the exegesis of exodus 31:1-11 reveal the concept of divine bestowal of wisdom and skills? b. how can the philosophical foundations of artificial intelligence be informed by ancient scriptural paradigms, particularly those found in exodus 31:1-11? c. how can the ethical considerations outlined in biblical wisdom literature provide a framework for modern ai development and implementation? d. how does an interdisciplinary dialogue between philosophy, science, and scripture challenge existing preconceptions about the relationship between religion and technology? e. in what ways can the concept of divinely-inspired craftsmanship offer new perspectives on the nature and purpose of ai in contemporary society? 5. methodology this paper combines philosophy and scripture in a unique approach called the philosophicobiblical methodology. this approach recognizes that philosophical inquiry and scriptural analysis complement each other, blending theological and philosophical thinking (kanu 2010, kanu 2011 & kanu 2012). at the philosophical level, concepts are analyzed to clarify and understand them. meanwhile, a biblical-exegetical method is employed at the theological level. unlike the patristic approach, which used philosophy to interpret theology, this approach uses both philosophy and scripture to inform and enrich each other. by integrating these two disciplines, the paper aims to deepen our understanding of complex ideas and phenomena, demonstrating how philosophical concepts can illuminate scriptural texts and vice versa (davies 2004, gracia and noone 2003, schulman 2002, kretzmann 2002, hyman and walsh 1967, catarina and stephen 2016). table 1: intersection of philosophy and scripture s/n intersection point description igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 1 ethical inquiry philosophical ethics and scriptural teachings on morality and justice can inform each other 2 metaphysics and cosmology philosophical discussions on reality, existence, and the nature of the universe can intersect with scriptural accounts of creation and the divine 3 epistemology and hermeneutics philosophical theories on knowledge and interpretation can inform scriptural exegesis and understanding 4 theology and the nature of god philosophical debates on the divine can engage with scriptural descriptions of god’s nature and attributes 5 human nature and anthropology philosophical discussions on human existence and nature can intersect with scriptural teachings on human creation, sin, and redemption 6 free will and determinism philosophical debates on agency and determinism can engage with scriptural teachings on human responsibility and divine sovereignty 7 virtue ethics and character development philosophical discussions on virtues and character can inform scriptural teachings on moral development and spiritual growth 8 political philosophy and social justice philosophical debates on politics and justice can intersect with scriptural teachings on social justice and compassion 9 aesthetics and beauty philosophical discussions on beauty and aesthetics can engage with scriptural teachings on creation, art, and worship 10 mysticism and spiritual experience philosophical explorations of mystical experiences can intersect with scriptural accounts of spiritual encounters and divine presence authors created the exploration of the intersection of philosophy and scripture, can bring about deeper insights into the human condition, morality, existence, and the divine. 6. philosophy of artificial intelligence artificial intelligence (ai) has unlocked new frontiers of innovation and efficiency in the modern world, especially as it concerns the reduction in human error, availability for those in need of being attended to, arriving at better decisions through the use of systems that are designed to analyze igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute data, recognize patterns, make decisions, and learn from experience, provide digital assistance, efficiency, better and faster analysis of data, zero risk, completion of repetitive tasks, etc (kanu 2024). this notwithstanding, what is artificial intelligence? there is no generally accepted definition of artificial intelligence (allen 1998, kirsh 1991, bhatnagar 2018). however, it is a term coined by professor john mccarthy in 1955, and defined by him as “the science and engineering of making intelligent machines” (manning 2020). the european commission (2018) defined artificial intelligence as: …systems that display intelligent behaviour by analysing their environment and taking actions – with some degree of autonomy – to achieve specific goals. ai-based systems can be purely software-based, acting in the virtual world (e.g. voice assistants, image analysis software, search engines, speech and face recognition systems) or ai can be embedded in hardware devices (e.g. advanced robots, autonomous cars, drones or internet of things applications). according to kanade (2022) “artificial intelligence (ai) is the intelligence of a machine or computer that enables it to imitate or mimic human capabilities”. kanade adds that: ai uses multiple technologies that equip machines to sense, comprehend, plan, act, and learn with human-like levels of intelligence. fundamentally, ai systems perceive environments, recognize objects, contribute to decision making, solve complex problems, learn from past experiences, and imitate patterns. these abilities are combined to accomplish tasks like driving a car or recognizing faces to unlock device screens. artificial intelligence (ai) is, therefore, the ability of a digital computer or computer-controlled robot to perform tasks commonly associated with intelligent beings. the term is frequently applied to the project of developing systems endowed with the intellectual processes characteristic of humans, such as the ability to reason, discover meaning, generalize, or learn from experience (kanu 2024). since the development of the digital computer in the 1940s, it has been demonstrated that computers can be programmed to carry out very complex tasks such as discovering proofs for mathematical theorems or playing chess with great proficiency, however, none is yet to match full human flexibility over wider domains. as a branch of philosophy of mind and computer science, philosophy of artificial intelligence studies artificial intelligence and its implications for ethics, epistemology and consciousness. it attempts to respond to the following questions: can a machine act intelligently? can it solve any problem that a person would solve by thinking? are human intelligence and machine intelligence the same? can a machine have a mind or consciousness? (mccarthy 2018, vincent 2023) this area of study can be traced to aristotle’s invention of the first system of formal logic for the governing of rationality, and as a logical framework for building computational models of reasoning (ponovski 2023). it can also be related to the automata of descartes (1996) which envisioned the emergence of thinking machines. the works of leonardo da vinci (1452-1519), igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute the first engineers to design a mechanical calculator, that of blaise pascal (1623-1662), who built one of the first working calculating machines known as pascal calculator or pascaline, gottfried wilhelm leibniz (1646-1716), who built a mechanical calculator that was somewhat more sophisticated than pascal’s, known as the leibniz’s calculator, and thomas hobbes who in his leviathan related the human person to machines are among the philosophers, with the benefit of hindsight, who contributed to the development of the philosophy of artificial intelligence (ponovski 2023). dietrich defines the philosophy of artificial intelligence as, …a collection of issues primarily concerned with whether or not artificial intelligence is possible, with whether or not it is possible to build an intelligent thinking machine. also of concern is whether humans and other animals are best thought of as machines (computational robots, say) themselves. artificial intelligence is connected to philosophy in several ways. at the level of intelligence, which is a very important philosophical concept, understood as the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving (sharma 2008, kanu 2024). at the level of ethics, given that developments in the area of artificial intelligence raise ethical or moral questions (mcnamara & van de putte 2022, thilo 2020). consciousness is an important topic in the philosophy of mind which is an important concern in the development of artificial intelligence (jaynes 2000, houghton and rochat 2003, guerin 2019). there are also questions about the possibility of machines knowing, having memory or possessing consciousness, that is acting and being aware of its actions (kanu 2024). this brings in epistemology into the discourse. 7. exegesis of exodus (31:1-11): a biblical hermeneutics of wisdom, intelligence and skills 7.1. historical and literary contexts exodus 31 is a biblical narrative that unfolds during the israelites’ journey through the wilderness after their exodus from egypt, marking a transformative phase in their identity and religious practice (sarna, 1991). the israelites, now liberated from slavery, find themselves in a liminal space, both geographically and spiritually. this wilderness setting is crucial for understanding the significance of divine instructions regarding the tabernacle and its craftsmen (propp, 2006). the israelites are forming their own social and religious institutions, and the bestowal of divine wisdom and skill upon bezalel and others signify individual empowerment and the establishment of a new societal order under divine guidance (haran, 1978). the harsh and unpredictable nature of the wilderness environment underscores the value of the skills imparted to bezalel, who was able to create complex structures and items of beauty in such challenging conditions (meyers, 2005). exodus 31:1-11 is situated within a larger section dedicated to the instructions for and construction of the tabernacle, a portable sanctuary that served as the centre of israelite worship and the symbolic dwelling place of god among the people (durham, 1987). the passage about bezalel igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute and his divinely-bestowed skills transitions from the divine blueprint to the human execution of the plan, mediated by divinely-given wisdom and skill (childs, 1974). the literary context also emphasizes the collaborative nature of the endeavour, with bezalel not working alone (alter, 2004). in conclusion, exodus 31:1-11 provides a rich backdrop for exploring divine wisdom and its possible parallels with artificial intelligence. 7.2 literary structure of exodus 31:1-11: v this literary structure presents exodus 31:1-11 as a divine instruction on the craftsmanship for the tabernacle, focusing on the divine selection of bezalel, who is entrusted with wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and various skills by god. the narrative is structured in a linear structure of a-g, with a divine speech formula signalling god’s direct communication to moses. bezalel’s abilities are detailed in his artistic design and craftsmanship in various materials. the narrative also includes the appointment of assistants, including oholiab, to emphasize the collaborative nature of the project. a concise purpose statement links divine empowerment to the fulfilment of god’s instructions. the text provides a detailed list of items to be crafted, including the tent of meeting, its furnishings, and priestly garments. the passage concludes with a brief instruction to make all items according to god’s commands, reinforcing the divine authority behind the project. all these bring the structure to the following: a. introduction: divine speech formula (v. 1) b. divine selection of bezalel (vv. 2-3) c. enumeration of bezalel’s divinely given skills (vv. 4-5) d. appointment of assistants (v. 6a-b) e. purpose statement (v. 6c) f. detailed list of items to be made (vv. 7-11a) g. concluding instruction (v. 11b) a. introduction: divine speech formula (v. 1) the formula wayüdabbër yhwh (the lord said) is a common introduction to divine speech in the pentateuch, particularly in legal and instructional contexts (childs, 1974). it belongs to the genre of “prophetic messenger formula,” indicating divine revelation (westermann, 1967). the formula serves to authenticate the following content as divinely inspired and reinforces the authority of mosaic law and instruction in israelite society (sarna, 1991). this formula often serves as a structural marker in the text to indicate the beginning of a new section or a shift in topic (propp, 2006). the concept of divine speech to a human intermediary is common in ancient near eastern literature, particularly in legal and cultic contexts (pritchard, 1969). the use of the verb dabar, (to speak) rather than ´amar, (to say) may imply a more formal or authoritative communication (waltke & o’connor, 1990). the infinitive lë´mör, (saying) is a common hebrew idiom introducing direct speech (joüon & muraoka, 2006). it reveals layers of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute meaning related to authorship, historical context, theological significance, and literary function within the broader narrative of exodus and the pentateuch (alter, 2004). b. divine selection of bezalel (vv. 2-3) the passage describing bezalel’s divine selection and empowerment in exodus 31:2-3 presents a rich synergy of theological, literary, and historical elements. the text employs key phrases such as “see, i have chosen” (rü´ë qär亴tî) and “filled him with the spirit of god” (ámallë´ ´ötô rûªh ´élöhîm), which follow a common biblical formula for divine election (childs, 1974). this narrative structure combines a genealogical record with an account of divine empowerment, reflecting a tradition of god selecting individuals for specific tasks throughout the bible (sarna, 1991). central to the passage is the rare and emphatic phrase “filled with the spirit of god” (mallë´ ´ötô rûªh ́ élöhîm), which underscores the divine origin of bezalel’s abilities (durham, 1987). this concept of the “spirit of god” in this context refers specifically to empowerment for a particular task, rather than the broader prophetic sense found in later biblical literature (meyers, 2005). the divine empowerment is further elaborated through a triadic structure of abilities: (wisdom), tübûnâ (understanding), and da’at (knowledge). these three terms also found in wisdom literature (fox, 2000) collectively represent a comprehensive set of cognitive and practical abilities. in this context, hokmâ refers to practical skill and expertise, tübûnâ to discernment and insight, and da’at to factual information and experience. together, they paint a picture of bezalel as divinely endowed with a complete set of skills necessary for his appointed task (haran, 1978). the name bezalel itself, meaning “in the shadow/protection of god,” further emphasizes the divine aspect of his selection and abilities (fager, 2008). this narrative elevates the status of craftsmanship by presenting it as a spiritual gift, emphasizing the divine origin of artistic and technical skills. while similar accounts of divinely gifted craftsmen exist in other ancient near eastern texts, such as the ugaritic keret epic, the specific combination of skills attributed to bezalel is unique to this biblical account (coogan & chapman, 2008; pritchard, 1969). this passage thus serves multiple purposes within its broader context. it legitimizes bezalel’s authority, connects craftsmanship to divine wisdom, and establishes a theological framework for understanding skill and creativity as divine gifts (fager, 2008). in doing so, it reflects both the religious beliefs and the cultural values of ancient israel, while also resonating with broader ancient near eastern traditions of divinely empowered artisans (faust, 2016). c. enumeration of bezalel’s divinely given skills (vv. 4-5) the enumeration of bezalel’s divinely given skills in exodus 31:4-5 provides a rich linguistic, historical, and theological insights. verse 4 begins with the hebrew infinitive construct “lahšöb mahášäböt,” which can be translated as “to devise artistic designs” (propp, 2006). this phraseology emphasizes both creativity and planning, setting the stage for the detailed list of skills that follows. the text employs a series of prepositional phrases (la`ásôt bazzähäb ûbakkeºsep ûbannühöºšet, in gold, in silver, and in bronze) to enumerate the materials bezalel can work with, following a common biblical pattern of listing abilities or attributes similar to wisdom literature. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute this structure, moving from general artistic designs to specific materials and techniques, serves to emphasize the comprehensive nature of bezalel’s divinely bestowed abilities (noegel, (2021). the skills enumerated in this passage correspond to known metalworking, stonecutting, and woodworking techniques in the ancient near east. the mention of gold, silver, and bronze reflects the materials commonly used in elite and cultic contexts during the late bronze and iron ages (meyers, 2005). this historical context provides insight into the technological sophistication of the time and the importance placed on these materials in religious settings. linguistically, the use of the verb “to cut” (háräš) for stonework is noteworthy, as it is also used metaphorically in wisdom contexts, which creates a link between craftsmanship and wisdom (alter, 2004). the concluding phrase “to engage in all kinds of crafts” (la`ásôt bükol-mülä´kâ) serves as a catch-all, further emphasizing the comprehensive nature of bezalel’s abilities. theologically, this list presents craftsmanship as a divinely ordained and inspired activity, elevating what might otherwise be seen as mundane skills to a sacred status. as haran (1978) notes, it implies that the creation of beautiful and functional objects for worship is a form of divine service. this concept has had lasting implications in both jewish and christian traditions. the emphasis on these particular skills reflects the values of a society that highly prized fine craftsmanship, particularly in religious contexts. it suggests a degree of technological and artistic sophistication among the israelites or, at least, their ideal self-conception (faust, 2016). it is important to note the intertextual connections within exodus itself. the skills listed here correspond to the items described in the earlier tabernacle instructions (exodus 25-30), creating a narrative link between god’s commands and their execution (durham, 1987). d. appointment of assistants (v. 6a-b) the hebrew text introduces oholiab with the phrase “wa´ánî hinnë nätaºttî ´ittô” (and behold, i have appointed with him), emphasizing divine action. it is noteworthy that oholiab is identified by his name (´ohólî´äb), patronymic (ben-´áhî|sämäk), and tribal affiliation (lüma††ë-dän). this signals that god chose oholiab individually, indicating divine selection and purposeful selection. the mention of oholiab’s father and tribe suggests spiritual continuation, inclusivity, and historical authenticity. the detailed identification lends credibility to the account, suggesting it’s a real-life account. the text then broadens to include “kol-hákam-lëb” (“all who are wisehearted”), using a construct chain common in wisdom literature. this structure, moving from the specific (oholiab) to the general (all skilled workers), is a common rhetorical device in hebrew narrative (alter, 2004). the term “hákam-lëb” (“wise-hearted”) is unique to exodus and implies both skill and understanding, bridging craftsmanship and wisdom literature, suggesting a holistic view of ability (ruark, 2019; sarna, 1991). the appointment of multiple craftsmen for sacred tasks parallels other ancient near eastern texts, such as the mesopotamian epic of atrahasis, where multiple divine beings contribute to creation (oppenheim, 1977; dalley, 2000). their partnership emphasizes the importance of collaboration in sacred work (haran, 1978). the appointment of assistants here echoes the earlier narrative of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute moses appointing judges (exodus 18), suggesting a pattern of distributed leadership and divine empowerment throughout exodus (durham, 1987). e. purpose statement (v. 6c) in v. 6c, the phrase to the effect that they make everything commanded by yhwh (wü`äsû ´ët kol-´ášer ciwwîtìºkä) serves as an apt conclusion to the preceding appointment of skilled workers, tying their roles directly to divine commandments. historically, this purpose statement underscores the theocratic nature of israelite society, where religious and societal functions were intertwined. the craftsmen, led by bezalel and oholiab, were not merely artisans but divinely appointed agents responsible for executing yhwh’s precise instructions. this reflects a historical context where religious observance and communal identity were closely linked, with the construction of the tabernacle symbolizing both spiritual and societal cohesion (sarna, 1991). literarily, the phrase employs a straightforward declarative structure, emphasizing the direct correlation between divine command and human action. the use of the verb “to make” conveys an active, ongoing process, indicating that the tasks were not one-time events but part of a continuous obligation to fulfil yhwh’s commands. this aligns with other biblical passages where obedience to divine instruction is portrayed as a perpetual duty (cf. deuteronomy 5:32-33) (durham, 1987). theologically, the purpose statement reinforces the concept of divine authority and human stewardship. the explicit reference to yhwh places the ultimate source of command beyond human leaders, asserting that all activities, especially those related to the tabernacle, are divinely mandated. this reflects a broader theological theme in the pentateuch, where yhwh’s instructions are paramount, and human leaders are intermediaries who ensure these commands are carried out faithfully (exodus 19:5-6) (alter, 2004). from a comparative perspective, ancient near eastern texts often depict temple construction as divinely sanctioned activities, carried out by skilled workers under royal or divine orders. for example, in mesopotamian literature, kings often attribute their building projects to the will of the gods, highlighting a similar blend of divine command and human execution (spaeth, 2013). this suggests that the biblical narrative fits within a wider cultural tradition where religious architecture is seen as a direct response to divine instruction. thus, the purpose statement “to make everything commanded by yhwh” in exodus 31:6c affirms the historical context of israelite society’s integration of religion and daily life, employs a literary structure that underscores continuous obedience, and conveys a theological assertion of divine authority over sacred tasks (haran, 1978). f. detailed list of items to be made (vv. 7-11a) the tent of meeting is central to israelite worship, serving as the portable sanctuary where yhwh meets with his people. historically, the ´öºhel mô`ëd reflects the nomadic origins of the israelites, providing a sacred space during their desert wanderings. theologically, it symbolizes god’s presence among his people and the covenant relationship established at sinai (finkelstein & silberman, 2001).). the ark of the covenant is the most sacred item in the sanctuary, containing igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute the tablets of the law. it serves as yhwh’s throne, signifying his rule and covenant with israel (haran, 1978). the historical context emphasizes its role in leading and guiding the israelites, particularly during their journey through the wilderness. the atonement cover (kappöºret) on the ark is where the high priest would sprinkle blood on yom kippur to atone for the sins of israel. this ritual underscores the theological theme of atonement and reconciliation between yhwh and his people (milgrom, 1991). the other furnishings of the tent (kol-külê hä´öºhel, all the furniture of the tabernacle) include various items essential for the function and rituals of the tent of meeting. the table of showbread (šulhän) holds the bread of the presence, symbolizing god’s provision and the sustenance he offers to israel (meyers, 2005). the menorah, or lampstand, provides light within the sanctuary, representing enlightenment, divine guidance, and the presence of god (levine, 1993). the altar of incense (mizbah haqqü†öºret) is used for burning fragrant incense, symbolizing the prayers of the people rising to god (haran, 1978). the altar of burnt offering (mizbah hä`ölâ) is central to the sacrificial system, where animals are offered to atone for sin and express worship (anderson, 1992). the basin (kiyyôr) is used for the priests’ ritual washing, emphasizing the importance of purity before approaching god (milgrom, 1991). the woven garments (bigdê hassüräd) are meticulously described in other parts of exodus and are essential for the priests’ service. the sacred garments for aaron include the ephod, breastplate, robe, and turban, symbolizing his consecration and unique role as high priest (propp, 2006). the garments for aaron’s sons also signify their role in the priesthood, ensuring that they serve in holiness and dignity. the anointing oil (šeºmen hammišhâ) is used for consecrating the priests and the sacred objects, symbolizing the holy spirit and the sanctification of both the people and the sanctuary (haran, 1978). the fragrant incense (qü†öºret hassammîm) is a special blend used exclusively in the holy place, signifying the unique and holy atmosphere of worship (milgrom, 1991). the detailed list of items to be made in exodus 31:7-11 emphasizes the comprehensive nature of israelite worship and the meticulous care required for constructing the tabernacle. each item serves a specific function that facilitates the worship and covenant relationship between yhwh and israel. one can then see how these items reflect the historical context of the israelites, the literary structure of detailed instructions, and the theological themes of holiness, atonement, and divine presence (childs, 1974). g. concluding instruction (v. 11b) the concluding instruction in exodus 31:11b, “küköl ´ášer-ciwwîtìºkä ya`ásû” (according to all that yhwh has commanded), functions as a summative directive emphasizing the necessity of complete obedience to divine instructions. this command highlights the precision and care required in the construction and preparation of the tabernacle and its furnishings (bills, 2020). historically, this command reflects the theocratic structure of israelite society, where religious authority and societal governance were unified under divine law. the israelites’ identity and cohesion as a community were reinforced through their collective adherence to yhwh’s commands. the meticulous execution of these instructions was not merely a ritual obligation but a demonstration of their covenant fidelity and communal unity (haran, 1978). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute literarily, this concluding instruction serves to encapsulate and reinforce the preceding detailed directives. the structure of exodus 31:7-11 transitions from a detailed enumeration of sacred items to a comprehensive command to adhere strictly to yhwh’s instructions. this literary device underscores the importance of total compliance, ensuring that every aspect of the tabernacle’s construction aligns with divine specifications (alter, 2004). the use of “küköl ´ášer-ciwwîtìºkä ya`ásû” at the conclusion reiterates the significance of obedience. this phrase ties the detailed list of items back to the divine authority, which underlines the fact that the instructions are not human inventions but divine mandates. the repetition of the command theme throughout exodus serves to remind the israelites of their continual dependence on divine guidance (propp, 2006). from the theological viewpoint, this instruction underscores the concept of divine authority and human responsibility. the meticulous adherence to yhwh’s commands symbolizes the israelites’ devotion and reverence. it reflects a broader theological motif within the pentateuch, where adherence to divine law is paramount to maintaining a proper relationship with god (childs, 1974). this command encapsulates the essence of israelite worship: it is not enough to perform the rituals; they must be carried out precisely as yhwh has decreed, reflecting his holiness and sovereignty. the concluding instruction in exodus 31:11b encapsulates the historical, literary, and theological dimensions of israelite obedience to divine commands. this directive underscores the meticulous nature of their worship practices, the unified structure of their theocratic society, and the overarching theme of divine authority within the biblical narrative. by adhering strictly to yhwh’s instructions, the israelites demonstrate their commitment to the covenant and their reverence for the divine presence among them (durham, 1987). 8. synthesis and theological import of exod. 31:1-11 the exegetical analysis of the divine appointment and empowerment of craftsmen for the tabernacle’s construction in exodus reveals insightful theological implications. the use of specific speech formulas and phrases emphasizes the divine origin and authority of the tabernacle project, reinforcing its sacred nature (waltke & o’connor, 1990; childs, 1974). this divine authority is further underscored by the presentation of craftsmanship as a spiritual gift, elevating mundane skills to a sacred status and implying that creativity and artistry can be forms of divine service (sarna, 1991; haran, 1978). the narrative links craftsmanship with wisdom traditions, suggesting an interconnection between practical skills and spiritual acumen (durham, 1987; meyers, 2005). this connection is exemplified in the description of the craftsmen as being filled with the spirit of god, indicating that their abilities are not merely human talents but divinely granted powers (propp, 2006). such divine empowerment reflects the theocratic nature of israelite society, where religious and societal functions were closely intertwined (sarna, 1991; haran, 1978). the emphasis on following god’s instructions precisely underscores the importance of obedience in maintaining the covenant relationship between god and israel (childs, 1974; alter, 2004). this obedience is not merely procedural but deeply theological, as the tabernacle and its furnishings symbolize god’s presence among the people, highlighting the concept of god dwelling with his igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute people (durham, 1987; milgrom, 1991). the meticulous care required in constructing the tabernacle reflects the holiness of god and the reverence with which he should be approached (sarna, 1991; propp, 2006). in essence, this analysis presents the construction of the tabernacle as a deeply theological act, emphasizing divine initiative, human obedience, and the sacredness of craftsmanship in service to god. it reveals a complex interplay between divine authority, human skill, and spiritual insight, all converging in the creation of a sacred space for divine-human interaction. 9. philosophy of ai through the prism of exodus (31:1-11) the narrative of exodus 31:1-11 presents a persuasive parallel to modern discussions of artificial intelligence, particularly in the realms of skill, intelligence, creativity, problem-solving, and ethical implications. in this biblical passage, bezalel and his associates are described as being imbued with divine wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and skill for their craftsmanship (sarna, 1991). this divine endowment of abilities bears a striking resemblance to the way ai systems are programmed and trained to possess specific capabilities. however, a fundamental distinction lies in the source of these abilities: while bezalel’s skills are portrayed as a direct gift from god, ai’s capabilities are the result of human design and data input (bostrom, 2014). the holistic view of intelligence presented in exodus, combining practical skills with deeper understanding, aligns with contemporary efforts in ai research to develop systems that possess both specialized capabilities and more general intelligence (goertzel & pennachin, 2007). just as bezalel received a comprehensive set of abilities, modern ai researchers strive to create systems with broad and adaptable intelligence, capable of tackling diverse challenges. the text’s emphasis on bezalel’s divinely-granted ability to “devise artistic designs” and work skilfully with various materials raises intriguing questions when juxtaposed with ai’s creative capabilities (propp, 2006). while ai systems can now generate art, music, and designs that sometimes rival human creativity, the fundamental nature and source of this creativity differ from the divinely-inspired creativity described in exodus. this prompts philosophical inquiries into the essence of creativity and whether ai-generated outputs can be considered truly creative in the same way as human or divinely-inspired creation (boden, 2004). in terms of problem-solving, the craftsmen in exodus are tasked with constructing the tabernacle and its furnishings according to specific divine instructions, requiring complex application of their skills to realize a grand design. similarly, ai excels at tackling intricate problems by processing vast amounts of data and identifying optimal solutions (russell & norvig, 2020). however, the biblical narrative underscores the importance of following divine guidance precisely, while ai’s problem-solving is rooted in algorithms and available data. this contrast highlights questions about the role of higher purpose or wisdom in problem-solving versus pure computational power. the core distinction in this comparison lies in the source of intelligence and capability. in exodus, skills and wisdom flow directly from god, representing a divine and transcendent source. ai, conversely, is a human creation, regardless of its level of advancement (kurzweil, 2005). this dichotomy raises profound philosophical and theological questions about the nature of intelligence igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute and creativity. can artificial systems ever replicate or approach divinely-given wisdom? or is there an inherent limitation to machine intelligence compared to capabilities bestowed by a divine source? ethically, exodus 31:1-11 situates the craftsmen’s work within a larger spiritual framework, with their divinely-given skills serving a higher purpose creating a dwelling place for god among the people. this imbues their craftsmanship with deep moral significance (haran, 1978). in contrast, ai development and deployment raise critical ethical questions but often lack this overarching moral framework. issues of bias, transparency, privacy, and the possible misuse of ai capabilities are major concerns in the field (bostrom & yudkowsky, 2014). the biblical narrative suggests the importance of considering the ultimate purpose and ethical implications of our technological creations. in conclusion, examining ai through the lens of exodus 31:1-11 illuminates both intriguing parallels and fundamental differences. it prompts us to consider deeper questions about the nature of intelligence, creativity, and purpose in both human-divine and human-machine relationships. this analysis demonstrates promising ways for rich dialogue between ancient wisdom traditions and cutting-edge technological philosophy, offering valuable insights for the ongoing development and ethical implementation of artificial intelligence. 10. the nexus between ai philosophy, science and scripture the dialogue between artificial intelligence, philosophy, and scripture, as exemplified in our analysis of exodus 31:1-11, presents a rich opportunity for interdisciplinary exploration. this intersection of ancient wisdom, philosophical inquiry, and cutting-edge technology offers unique perspectives on fundamental questions about intelligence, creativity, and ethics. one area of convergence lies in the exploration of the nature of intelligence. scripture, as seen in exodus, presents a holistic view of intelligence that encompasses practical skills, wisdom, and understanding (sarna, 1991). this multidimensional conception of intelligence resonates with philosophical discussions about the nature of mind and cognition (searle, 1980). similarly, ai research grapples with creating systems that not only process information efficiently but also demonstrate adaptability and general problem-solving capabilities (goertzel & pennachin, 2007). the dialogue between these fields can enrich our understanding of intelligence, pushing us to consider aspects beyond mere computational power. creativity is another area where these disciplines intersect in intriguing ways. the biblical narrative attributes bezalel’s creative abilities to divine inspiration, raising questions about the source and nature of creativity. philosophical inquiries into creativity, such as those by boden (2004), explore whether creativity can be reduced to computational processes or if it requires something more. ai’s growing capacity for generating novel artworks and designs challenges our conceptions of creativity and authorship. this three-way dialogue can deepen our understanding of creative processes and their origins. the concept of purpose and ethical frameworks provides another point of convergence. exodus places the craftsmen’s work within a larger spiritual and ethical context, giving their skills a higher purpose. philosophical ethics has long grappled with questions of purpose, value, and moral frameworks (singer, 1993). as ai systems become more igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute advanced and autonomous, the need for robust ethical guidelines becomes increasingly urgent (bostrom & yudkowsky, 2014). the dialogue between these fields can inform the development of ethical ai systems and help us navigate the moral implications of advanced technology. however, there are also areas of divergence. the source of intelligence and creativity in the biblical narrative is explicitly divine, whereas ai’s capabilities stem from human design and data. this fundamental difference raises philosophical questions about the limits of artificial systems and the nature of consciousness (chalmers, 1996). can an artificial system ever truly replicate or approach divinely-given wisdom or human-like consciousness? these questions highlight the tension between materialist and transcendent views of mind and intelligence. another point of divergence lies in the approach to knowledge and learning. the biblical narrative presents knowledge as divinely bestowed, while ai systems learn through data processing and algorithm optimization. philosophy offers various epistemological frameworks for understanding knowledge acquisition (goldman, 1986). the interplay between these perspectives can enrich our understanding of learning and knowledge, potentially informing new approaches to ai development. the interdisciplinary dialogue also reveals differing conceptions of human nature and our relationship to technology. scripture often emphasizes human dependence on divine guidance, while ai research tends to focus on enhancing human capabilities through technology. philosophical anthropology offers various perspectives on human nature and our relationship to tools and technology (ihde, 1990). this dialogue can inform our approach to ai development and integration into society. in conclusion, the interdisciplinary dialogue between ai, philosophy, and scripture offers an intersection of insights. by engaging these diverse perspectives, stakeholders can develop a more nuanced understanding of intelligence, creativity, ethics, and the human-technology relationship. this dialogue can inform ai development, enrich philosophical inquiries, and offer new perspectives on scriptural wisdom. as we continue to advance in ai technology, maintaining this interdisciplinary conversation becomes increasingly vital, ensuring that our technological progress is guided by deep ethical considerations and a broad understanding of human nature and purpose. 11. ai philosophy, science and scripture: vista for future research the interdisciplinary dialogue between artificial intelligence, philosophy, and scriptural interpretation, as exemplified in the analysis of exodus 31:1-11, signals notable implications for each field and suggests promising avenues for future research. in the realm of ai development, our findings underscore the importance of holistic approaches to intelligence and creativity. the biblical narrative’s portrayal of bezalel’s divinely-bestowed abilities encompasses not just technical skills, but also wisdom, understanding, and creative insight (sarna, 1991). this manysided view of intelligence challenges ai researchers to move beyond narrow, task-specific ai towards more comprehensive and adaptable systems. as goertzel and pennachin (2007) argue, the development of artificial general intelligence (agi) that can match human-level abilities across igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute diverse domains remains a central goal. our analysis suggests that incorporating elements of wisdom and deeper understanding into ai systems could be a fruitful direction for research. moreover, the ethical framework presented in exodus, where skills are imbued with higher purpose, has profound implications for ai ethics. as ai systems become more advanced and autonomous, the need for robust ethical guidelines becomes increasingly urgent (bostrom & yudkowsky, 2014). the scriptural perspective suggests that stakeholders should not only focus on preventing harm but also on imbuing ai systems with positive, purposeful goals. this aligns with recent calls in ai ethics for the development of “value-aligned” ai that acts in accordance with human values and societal benefit (russell, 2019). for philosophical inquiry, our analysis reinvigorates classic questions about the nature of intelligence, creativity, and consciousness. the juxtaposition of divinely-given abilities with artificially created intelligence prompts us to reconsider fundamental questions: what is the essence of intelligence? can true creativity be replicated by computational processes? these questions echo ongoing debates in philosophy of mind, such as searle’s (1980) chinese room argument and chalmers’ (1996) hard problem of consciousness. our interdisciplinary approach suggests that these philosophical inquiries could benefit from engaging with both ancient wisdom traditions and cutting-edge ai research. the implications for scriptural interpretation are equally significant. the analysis demonstrates the ways ancient texts can offer fresh perspectives on contemporary technological and ethical issues. this approach aligns with hermeneutical traditions that seek to make ancient wisdom relevant to modern contexts (gadamer, 2004). it suggests that scriptural scholars could fruitfully engage with emerging technologies and their philosophical implications, pointing to the possibility of uncovering new layers of meaning in ancient texts. thus, looking towards future research, several promising avenues emerge: i. integrative ai architectures: research could explore ai architectures that integrate aspects of wisdom, understanding, and purposeful creativity inspired by the biblical narrative. this could involve developing ai systems that not only process information but also demonstrate contextual understanding and ethical reasoning. ii. comparative studies of intelligence concepts: a comprehensive study comparing conceptions of intelligence across different cultures, philosophical traditions, and modern ai research could yield valuable insights for both ai development and philosophical anthropology. iii. ethical frameworks for agi: building on the purposeful framework suggested in exodus, researchers could develop more comprehensive ethical guidelines for agi that go beyond harm prevention to include positive, purposeful goals. iv. consciousness and creativity in ai: further philosophical and empirical research into the nature of consciousness and creativity, informed by both scriptural perspectives and ai capabilities, could advance our understanding of these complex phenomena. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute v. hermeneutical approaches to technology ethics: scholars of religious texts could develop new hermeneutical approaches that specifically address the ethical implications of emerging technologies, bridging ancient wisdom with contemporary challenges. vi. cross-cultural ai ethics: expanding our analysis to include diverse religious and philosophical traditions could enrich the global dialogue on ai ethics and development. this having been said, there is no gainsaying that the interdisciplinary dialogue between ai, philosophy, and scriptural interpretation offers rich ground for future research and development. the world that is increasingly becoming internet savvy can work towards more holistic, ethicallygrounded, and culturally-informed approaches to ai development by way of engaging these diverse perspectives. this interdisciplinary approach not only enriches each field individually but also contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of intelligence, creativity, and ethics in the age of artificial intelligence. 12. conclusion the study of artificial intelligence through the lens of exodus 31:1-11 and philosophical inquiry has provided valuable insights into the nature of intelligence, creativity, and ethical purpose in both human and artificial contexts. this interdisciplinary dialogue has highlighted the parallel between divinely-bestowed skills described in exodus and ai capabilities imbued through human design and programming. however, this contrast raises questions about the limits and potentials of ai compared to human or divinely-inspired capabilities. the holistic view of intelligence presented in the biblical narrative combines practical skills with deeper understanding and wisdom, aligning with current efforts in ai research to develop systems with both specialized capabilities and more general, adaptable intelligence. it suggests that truly advanced ai may need to incorporate aspects of wisdom and contextual understanding beyond mere computational power. creativity in both the biblical and ai contexts has yielded intriguing insights. while ai systems can now generate impressive artistic outputs, the fundamental nature of this creativity differs from the divinely-inspired creativity described in exodus. this prompts us to reconsider the essence of creativity and whether ai-generated works can be considered truly creative in the same way as human or divinely-inspired creation. the analysis has highlighted the importance of ethical frameworks and purposeful action. the biblical narrative places the craftsmen’s work within a larger spiritual and ethical context, giving their skills a higher purpose. this perspective offers valuable insights for the development of ethical ai systems, suggesting that we should strive not only to prevent harm but also to imbue ai with positive, purposeful goals aligned with human values. the interdisciplinary approach to ai development, combining ancient wisdom and philosophical inquiry, offers numerous benefits, including a nuanced understanding of ai’s nature and impact on society, a robust ethical grounding for ai development, and increased public engagement with critical issues. by embracing this interdisciplinary approach, we can guide the responsible and thoughtful advancement of artificial intelligence. references igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute [1] allen, j. f. 1998. ai growing up: the changes and opportunities. ai magazine 19(4):13–23 [2] alter, r. (2004). the five books of moses: a translation with commentary. w. w. norton & company. [3] anderson, g. a. (1987). sacrifices and offerings in ancient israel: studies in their social and political importance. scholars press. [4] bhatnagar, s. et al 2018. mapping intelligence: requirements and possibilities. in muller, v. c., ed., philosophy and theory of artificial intelligence 2017. berlin: springer. 117– 135. [5] bills, n. (2020). a theology of justice in exodus: literature and theology of the hebrew scriptures. university park, pa: the pennsylvania state university press [6] boden, m. a. (2003). the creative mind: myths and mechanisms. routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203508527 [7] bostrom, n. (2014). superintelligence: paths, dangers, strategies. oxford university press. [8] bostrom, n., & yudkowsky, e. (2014). “the ethics of artificial intelligence.” k. frankish & w. m. ramsey (eds.), the cambridge handbook of artificial intelligence, 316-334. cambridge university press. [9] catarina dutilh novaes & stephen read (2016). the cambridge companion to medieval logic, cambridge: cambridge university press [10] chalmers, d. j. (1996). the conscious mind: in search of a fundamental theory. oxford university press. [11] childs, b. s. (1974). the book of exodus: a critical, theological commentary. westminster john knox press. [12] coogan, m. d., & chapman, c. r. (2008). a historical and literary introduction to the hebrew scriptures (4th ed.). oxford university press. [13] dalley, s. (2000). myths from mesopotamia: creation, the flood, gilgamesh, and others. oxford university press. [14] davies, brian (2004). aquinas. continuum international publishing group. p. 14. [15] descartes, rené (1996). discourse on method and meditations on first philosophy. new haven & london: yale university press. [16] durham, j. i. (1987). “exodus.” word biblical commentary, vol. 3. word books. [17] ecklund, e. h., & park, j. z. (2009). conflict between religion and science among academic scientists? journal for the scientific study of religion, 48(2), 276–292. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5906.2009.01447.x [18] eric dietrich, philosophy of artificial intelligence. https://philpapers.org/browse/philosophyof-artificial-intelligence [19] european commission on ai. 2018. a definition of artificial intelligence: main capabilities and scientific disciplines. https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/definition-artificialintelligence-main-capabilities-and-scientific-disciplines [20] fager, j. s. (2008). “bezalel.” in d. n. freedman et al. (eds.), the anchor bible dictionary, vol. 1, 717. yale university press. [21] faust, a. (2016). “the emergence of iron age israel: on origins and habitus.” t. e. levy, t. schneider, & w. h. c. propp (eds.), israel’s exodus in transdisciplinary perspective, 467482. springer. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute [22] finkelstein, i., & silberman, n. a. (2001). the bible unearthed: archaeology’s new vision of ancient israel and the origin of its sacred texts. free press. [23] fox, m. v. (2000). proverbs 1-9: a new translation with introduction and commentary. anchor bible. [24] friedman, r. e. (2003). the bible with sources revealed. harperone. [25] gadamer, h. g. (2004). truth and method. continuum. [26] gaudet, m. j., herzfeld, n., scherz, p., & wales, j. j. (eds.). (2024). encountering artificial intelligence: ethical and anthropological investigations. ai research group for the centre for digital culture of the dicastery for culture and education of the holy see. eugene, or: pickwick publications. [27] goertzel, b., & pennachin, c. (eds.). (2007). artificial general intelligence. springer. [28] goldman, a. i. (1986). epistemology and cognition. harvard university press. [29] gracia, jorge j. e.; noone, timothy b. (2003). a companion to philosophy in the middle ages. oxford: blackwell. [30] guertin p. a. (2019). “a novel concept introducing the idea of continuously changing levels of consciousness”. journal of consciousness exploration & research. 10 (6): 406–412. [31] hagendorff, thilo., the ethics of artificial intelligence ethics: an evaluation of guidelines in minds and machines, volume 30, (2020): pp. 99-104 [32] haran, m. (1978). temples and temple-service in ancient israel: an inquiry into biblical cult phenomena and the historical setting of the priestly school. clarendon press. [33] houghton mifflin and rochat p (2003). “five levels of self-awareness as they unfold early in life” (pdf). consciousness and cognition. 12 (4): 717–731. [34] hyman, j.; walsh, j.j. (1967). philosophy in the middle ages: the christian, islamic, and jewish traditions. new york: harper & row. [35] ihde, d. (1990). technology and the lifeworld: from garden to earth. indiana university press. [36] jaynes j. (2000). the origin of consciousness in the breakdown of the bicameral mind. [37] joüon, p., & muraoka, t. (2006). a grammar of biblical hebrew. pontifical biblical institute. [38] kanu, a. i.; addidi, t.; kanu, c. c., “artificial intelligence and cybercrime in nigeria: towards an ethical framework”. dialogue and universalism. 32(1): 143-158, 2024. doi: 10.5840/du202434115 [39] kanu, a. i.; addidi, t.; kanu, c. c., “virtue and the business of governance in nigeria”. published in dialogue and universalism. 32(1): 207-228, 2024. doi.org/10.5840/du202434111 [40] kanu, i. a. & anetoh, b, & ejikeme, p., “information revolution and the future of humanity: a critical perspective”. estaga: journal of philosophy and arts. 1(1): 27-36, 2024. [41] kanu, i. a. & anetoh, b, & ejikeme, p., “martin heidegger on technological development”. estaga: journal of philosophy and arts. 1(2): 6-15, 2024. [42] kanu, i. a. (2010). “a discourse on the romance between philosophy and christian theology”. international journal of theology and reformed tradition, vol. 2. pp. 185-198. [43] kanu, i. a. (2011). “corruption in africa and its challenges for the enterprise of christian theology”. international journal of research in arts and social sciences, vol.4. pp. 492-500. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute [44] kanu, i. a. (2012). “on the possibility of miracles”. international journal of theology and reformed tradition, vol. 4. pp. 81-89. [45] kanu, i. a. (2024). philosophy of artificial intelligence. lecture note. department of philosophy, veritas university abuja. [46] kirsh, d. 1991. foundations of ai: the big issues. artificial intelligence 47:3–30. [47] kretzmann, norman (2002). stump, eleonore (ed.). the cambridge companion to augustine. cambridge, uk: cambridge university press. [48] kurzweil, r. (2005) the singularity is near: when humans transcend biology. penguin books, new york. [49] levine, b. a. (1993). numbers 1-20: a new translation with introduction and commentary. the anchor bible vol. 4. new york: doubleday. [50] manning, c. 2020. artificial intelligence definitions. stanford university. [51] mcnamara & van de putte 2022, lead section, § 1.2 the traditional scheme and the modal analogiesribino & lodato 2019, p. 3 [52] meyers, c. (2005). “exodus” new cambridge bible commentary. cambridge university press. [53] milgrom, j. (1991). leviticus 1-16: a new translation with introduction and commentary. doubleday. [54] noegel, s. b. (2021). wordplay in ancient near eastern texts. j. stackert et al. (eds.), ancient near east monographs (vol. 26). sbl press. [55] oppenheim, a. l. (1977). ancient mesopotamia: portrait of a dead civilization. chicago & london: the university of chicago press. [56] ponovski antonion. 2023. how did philosophy help develop artificial intelligence? https://www.thecollector.com/philosophy-artificial-intelligence-development. [57] pritchard, j. b. (1974). ancient near eastern texts relating to the old testament. princeton university press. [58] propp, w. h. (2006). exodus 19-40: a new translation with introduction and commentary: anchor bible commentaries. yale university press. [59] ruark, j. d. (2019). toward an old testament theology of light: from physical concept to metaphysical analogy (ph.d. thesis, stellenbosch university). retrieved from https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/268882742.pdf [60] russell, s. (2022). “artificial intelligence and the problem of control.” werthner, h., prem, e., lee, e.a., ghezzi, c. (eds) perspectives on digital humanism. springer, cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-86144-5_3 [61] russell, s. j., & norvig, p. (2020). artificial intelligence: a modern approach (4th ed.). pearson. [62] sarna, n. m. (1991). exploring exodus: the heritage of biblical israel. schocken books. [63] sarna, n. m., (1991). the jps torah commentary: exodus. philadelphia: the jewish publication society of america. [64] schulman, jana k., ed. (2002). the rise of the medieval world: 500–1300: a biographical dictionary. westport, ct: greenwood press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute [65] searle, j. r. (1980). “minds, brains, and programs.” behavioral and brain sciences, 3(3), 417-424. https://web-archive.southampton.ac.uk/cogprints.org/7150/1/10.1.1.83.5248.pdf [66] sharma, radha r. (2008). emotional intelligence from 17th century to 21st century: perspectives and directions for future research. sage journals. vol. 12. [67] singer, p. (1993). practical ethics. cambridge university press. [68] spaeth, b. s. (ed.). (2013). part ii. the cambridge companion to ancient mediterranean religions 197-344. cambridge: cambridge university press. https://doi.org/10.1017/cco9781139047784 https://doi.org/10.1017/cco9781139047784 [69] vijay kanade. 2022. what is artificial intelligence (ai)? definition, types, goals, challenges, and trends in 2022. https://www.spiceworks.com/tech/artificialintelligence/articles/what-is-ai [70] waltke, b. k., & o’connor, m. (1990). an introduction to biblical hebrew syntax. eisenbrauns. [71] westermann, c. (1967). basic forms of prophetic speech. westminster john knox press. 62 border closure and food security in nigeria: a study of domestic rice production in ogun and kebbi states, 2015 –2023 orungbami orunyomi ph.d. department of political science, federal university, lokoja, kogi state & otegwu isaac odu ph.d. department of political science and diplomacy, veritas university, bwari, abuja fct kusyzik11@gmail.com & michael etuk john-okon department of political science and defence studies, nigerian defence academy, kaduna okonme@gmail.comn doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.33952.39688 abstract border closure by the buhari's administration has as one of it its major objectives the increase in domestic rice production as a major means of attaining food security in nigeria. therefore border closure was perceived as means of preventing smuggling of foreign rice and protection of domestic rice industries that will make rice available and affordable for nigerians. however, after the border closure, here was a leap in rice production but there was hike in the price of rice, which made it unaffordable by most nigerians. the objectives of the study were to; identify the objectives of border closure in nigeria, analyse the interface between border closure and food security, examine the challenges experienced at the border during border closure, find out whether border closure led to guaranteed domestic rice production, examine the impediments to rice production in nigeria, and proffer solutions to the challenges confronting domestic rice production in nigeria. 391 questionnaires were shared among rice farmers and custom officers in ogun and kebbi states, while 21 respondents were interviewed and percentage tool was adopted in data analysis. the study discovered that rice farmers are confronted with high cost of production such as high price of chemicals, tractors, competition with foreign rice, insecurity, inability to access the anchor borrower's program. the study recommended among others that there should be subsidization of farm inputs, setting up of agrochemical industries, provision of incentives and adequate security for rice farmers by the government. keywords: border, border closure, food security, production, inflation introduction countries employ different strategies to guarantee security of lives and property as they interrelate with one another. depending on their national interests, some adopts free trade while others adopt protectionist policies as a tool for guaranteeing national security. the free trade policy is beneficial to nations that carry out international trades amongst themselves to exchange goods they have in abundance with commodities they lack or cannot produce in substantial quantities. such trades relates with other developmental policies to advance the living standard of the people and nationwide development (ani, baajon & samuila, 2000). the interdependence among nations led to the establishment of organizations such as general agreement on tariffs and trade (gatt) and world trade organization, free trade which has stimulated and engendered economic development and political stability among trading associates. notwithstanding these gains, free market has not been without detrimental outcomes on domestic infant industries, employment and industries, balance of payment and national igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 63 security. these detrimental outcomes associated with free trade led to the adoption of protectionism. protectionism here is can be referred to as the comprehensive government trade policies geared towards protecting and aiding domestic industries against undue competition from foreign products, reducing cost of domestic producers and restricting foreign products in domestic markets. policies aimed at achieving protectionism include high tariffs on foreign products, subsidizing domestic productions, currency control, border closure, among others aimed at protecting infant industries and creating jobs for national security (abboushi, 2010). since the classical period, countries adopt international trade as means of cross-border mobility of goods, services and persons. despite these cross-border benefits, it is precarious for nationstates to wholly depend on foreign products without appropriate regulatory measures. therefore, nation-states implement laws and evolve policies to manage their borders and control trade activities. borders are therefore frequently associated with established security perimeter for controlling entry into and out of a sovereign nation's territory (mabogunje, 2017). due to recent global uncertainties associated with issues of terrorism, seekers of greener pasture, mass migration of refugees from crises ridden zones, control of pandemic such as covid 19, countries of the world adopts border control as a veritable tool for guaranteeing national security, these include liberal countries such as united sates of america that placed restrictions on its mexico and canada (alden, 2008). this in essence depicts the dynamism and multi-faceted nature of national security. successive governments in nigeria, have implemented policies and approaches aimed at discouraging importation of different types of goods that are harmful to the economy and boost local production. these include import substitution policies, absolute ban on importation of certain category of commodities, imposition of high tariffs on foreign goods and injection of incentives such as subsidies and loans to indigenous producers. in 2013, the nigerian government began restricting importation of rice, and imposed 70% tax on the commodity; this made it cheaper to import rice through nigeria's neighbours (orjinmo, 2019). these policies decreased importation of rice directly from thailand to nigeria, nevertheless, it caused excessive increase of rice import to benin and cameroon, which serves as routes for channelling rice into nigeria through the southern and eastern borders (okorie and enwere, 2020). on assumption of office in 2015, president muhammadu buhari attempted to boost domestic agriculture, by partially closing its land borders with benin, togo, niger, cameroon and chad, citing excessive smuggling of goods into the country, in particular staple food commodities such as rice; which is mostly consumed by nigerians. as the central bank of nigeria (cbn) stopped issuance of foreign exchange for rice and other imports, the national bureau of statistics (nbs) reports showed that the nigerian government action crashed the country's food and drinks annual import bill from us$4 billion in 2017 to about $3.6 billion in 2018 and down to just about $1 billion in 2019 (trea, 2020). this ban generated enormous increase in rice smuggling via nigerian land borders, most especially thailand exploited the situation by increasing rice exports to nigeria's nearest neighbours: benin from 805,765 tons in 2015 to 1,811,164 tons and cameroon from 449,297 tons to 775,175 tons respectively (trea, 2020). the nigerian government gained huge revenue from border closure; however the domestic rice producers could not cover the deficit in the demand of rice nigerians, this triggered food price inflation, which impacted strongly negatively on nigerian consumers. the consumer price index (cpi) report released by the national bureau of statistics (nbs) in november 2019 proved that the year-on-year food inflation rate increased from 13.2% in august 2019 to 13.51% in september igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 64 2019 and then from 13.51% in september 2019 to 14.09% in october 2019, in 2020 it increased by 12.1 percent while in 2021 cpi increased by 16.47. the problematique of this research therefore is that nigeria is ranked as a country with number of extremely poor people in the world with low food security, the closure of border to guarantee food security has generated spike in food inflation particularly rice. this is counterproductive to the objectives of border closure, this research is therefore, concerned with the assessment of border closure on food security focusing on rice production. statement of the problem food security is a critical aspect of general security of countries, hence governments should accord food production the compulsory priority to ensure that food is not lacking. in order to achieve food security, the nigerian government have adopted free trade and protectionist policy especially border closure. the implementation of these policies over time has been a chequered one with attendant challenges. the nigerian government recently closed its borders to its neighbours in order to guarantee food security; it perceives land borders as both melting pots and security hot spots. the shutting of its land borders was aimed at curtailing the dumping of rice and other smuggled products into the country. through the border closure and other programs such as anchor borrower the domestic rice production increased, for example nigerian rice production rose from 2 million metric tonnes in 2015 to 9 million metric tonnes in 2021 and produces 55% of the over 14.8 million tonnes of rice production in africa (thrive agric, 2021), in contradiction, within this period the price of rice of rice increased astronomically. this research, therefore seeks to investigate why the closure of the nigerian borders that was ostensibly meant to guarantee food security led to high price of rice in nigeria, focusing on ogun and kebbi state. review of literature several scholars have conducted studies related to cross-border trade and food security. the review here will focus on border closure and domestic rice production as an aspect of food security mapping. chuma (2008), examines the nature and frequencies of rice demands and supply in nigeria, it categorically states that nigeria is currently the largest importer of rice in the world. on a comparative scale, the paper compares the ratio of local production of the nigerian rice production to that of foreign demands and consumption of locally produced products vis-avis, indonesia which had until 2004 been the world's largest importer of rice. the centrality of the author's comparative techniques and intuition centres on how indonesia has with a sense of patriotism exceeds all odds to become self-sufficient in the commodity and nigeria imported rice to the tune of 1.8 million dollars alone in 2002 and is currently above these statistics. statistical presentations put the annual demand for rice in the country at 5 million tons, while domestic production is 3 million resulting in a deficit of 2 million tons, despite the natural advantages of almost all the nigeria states on rice production. chuma's work is relevant to the understudy in the aspect of how the demands for domestic rice has been shrinking due to rice imports leading to low-capacity utilization at the small local rice mills and its impact on consumers security; how the marginal costs of non-optimal sources of rice supply increase with the increase in transport costs. most especially the current research's target on the aspect of how to attain self-sufficiency in rice production which is a major challenge that lies in improving the quality and competitiveness of domestic rice output from kebbi and ogun states nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 65 alex and chimdi's (2021), examine methods used in rice production, consumption with trade relations in the developing world. it demonstrates quality of rice economy in nigeria using salient variables like marketing, processing, and profitability to predict the comparative advantage of rice distribution. despite many government interventions on home production, including import restrictions, the authors highlight that everything appears to be not well with local production. their conclusion that frequently proper examination of trade policies in nigeria is lacking, is noteworthy. this is a really important point. our current research seeks to add to knowledge of literature gap by examining benefits and challenges of border closure due to border closures with kebbi and ogun state rice production as a microelement of agricultural food production and processing sector. similarly, omale, olorunfemi, and aiyegbajeje (2020) assessed the effects of closure of nigeria's borders focusing on nigeria's economic history from 1984, 2003, and 2019, respectively. the authors submit that while the country gained from improved revenues and enormous confiscation of contrabands, the border closure antithetical to the fundamental rights of tycoon who uses depends on products such as foreign rice as a means of livelihood. their research provides a slew of legal arguments demonstrating how the government's policies violate citizens' rights. the legal issues are tenable; however, the concern of question of how border closure has boosted rice production is a critical issue. thus, the argument could assist in probing border control challenge issues around ogun and kebbi border as a result of smuggling and price rise for rice supply and demands that involve local producers and local consumers. poorva, micheal, ken & jeske, (2022), examines the seemingly contradictory dynamics of policy implementation to demonstrate that border closure was an extension of policy decisions to hamper smuggling of contraband product, protect domestic industries and boost domestic production, not an end. it examines policies in the rice and pharmaceutical industries and finds that, while nigeria has great economic objectives, these are rarely converted into concrete industrial achievements. furthermore, it submits that regional trade challenges, especially illegal transportation contraband products are perceived as hindrances to nigeria's quest for industrialization. methodology the study employed primary and secondary sources of data collection. the primary source was based on the generation of data from the population relevant to the object of the study. the instruments adopted for the data collection include the interview and questionnaires. on the other hand the secondary method includes data from journals, paper presentations, textbooks, magazines, internet sources. the population of the study was drawn from four broad categories. these are: (i) ogun and kebbi states are the focus of this study due to the fact that they are rice producing states and they borders foreign countries and a task force on border closure were established there. the task force on border closure who are custom officers were mandated to man the borders to prevent contraband products from entering nigeria. from the pilot study 300 and 250 custom officers are located at and idi iroko border, ogun state and kamba border in kebbi state respectively. (ii) it was observed that ogun has 20 local governments with 10,000 rice farmers (rice farmers association of nigeria, 2022) while kebbi state has a 21 local government with a population of 18,000 farmers (rifan kebbi saate, 2022). it was also discovered that rice farmers are more dominant in some local governments than the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 66 others; hence the study will select two local governments from each state where rice farming is dominant. (iii) accordingly, ijebu north with a population of 1500 farmers, while obafemi owode with a population of 1,000 rice farmers (rifan ogun state, 2022). while in kebbi state, augei local government with a population of 2,500 while arugungu with a population of 2000 farmers (rifan, kebbi state, 2022). table 1 below shows the total number of farmers various local governments. table1: number of rice farmers and custom officers (i) the fourth category includes chairman of rice farmers association of nigeria (rifan) of kebbi and ogun states. those in this category include: staff of the federal ministry of agriculture, kebbi state ministry of agriculture and ogun state ministry of agriculture. the sampling method adopted for this research includes the combination of probability and non probability sampling. to obtain the sample population size of the study taro yamane's formula was adopted. the formulae states -: n = n 2 1 + (ne ). where n = sample size n= population size e= error limit. the error limit in this case is 0.05. in order to determine the sample size n= 7,130÷1 + (7,130×0.05×0.05) = 390.6, approximately 391. hence, 391 questionnaires were distributed among the respondents in this category. distribution of questionnaires on respondents s/no. unit of analysis location number total 1. kebbi state aguei and arugungu local governments 2,500+20000 rice farmers 4,500 2. ogun state ijebu north and obafemi owode local governments 1,500+1000 rice farmers 2,500 3. custom officers idi iroko and kamba borders 80 and 50 custom officers 130 total 7,130 s/no. location sam ple s ize 1 . a guei local g overnm ent 137 2 . a rugungu local g overnm ent 110 3 . o bafem i-o w ode local g overnm ent 54 4 . ijebu n orth 82 5 . id i iroko b order 4 6 . k am ba b order 4 total 391 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 67 on the other hand, interview was conducted on respondents who are knowledgeable on the field these include: chairman of rice farmers association of nigeria (rifan), in kebbi state and ogun state. those in this category include: staff of the federal ministry of agriculture, kebbi and ogun states ministry of agriculture and comptroller of customs in charge of kebbi and ogun command. twenty respondents were interviewed. to properly assess the impact of nigeria border closure on food security using domestic rice production as a research focus we adopt a mixture of methods of descriptive and inferential statistical techniques. in specific terms, the study makes use of descriptive statistical techniques of response frequency, percentage chart and rank order to provide preliminary descriptions of the variables in the research instrument so as to be able to choose a suitable technique for addressing the research questions. in order to show segments of the data distribution and compare different categorical or discrete nature of the data, bar charts descriptive technique is employed. this is because it allows for the comparison of the opinions of respondents on different response letters. to achieve the objectives of the research, descriptive statistical techniques of arithmetic mean, standard deviation and rank order employed for that purpose. given the nature of the research instrument that was designed following modified four likert format of strongly agree (sa), agree (a), disagree (d) and strongly disagree (sd). in order to objectively establish a benchmark, the response options were assigned values of sa = 4, a= 3, d = 2 and sd = 1 respectively. arising from this, the mean value for the purpose of decision making is established thus: 4 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 10 / 4 = 2.50. the mean criterion of 2.50 suggests that any questionnaire statement whose mean value response is 2.50 or above is adjudged positive and accepted in favour of the research question. however, if any has a mean value response below the criterion mean of 2.50, such questionnaire statement is adjudged negative and rejected in relation to the research question. this technique is adopted in addressing the five research questions. analysis of the impact of border closure on food security food security is a critical aspect of national security, a country without food security is perpetually dependent and susceptible to external control. according to food and agriculture organization (fao) annual report on food security “the state of food insecurity in the world 2001”: food security [is] a situation that exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life (fao, 2002). the last revision to this definition happened at the 2009 world summit on food security which added a fourth dimension – stability – as the short-term time indicator of the ability of food systems to withstand shocks, whether natural or man-made (fao, 2009). nations of the world prioritize the safety of its territorial integrity, resources and its entire citizenry. this informs the belief that national security is the preservation of independence and sovereignty of a nation state. in reality, every country has a large number of interests to protect. these interests put together constitute the national interest which originates from values, good governance and protection of social and economic wellbeing of the entire citizenry. based on this, one may describe national interest as the protection and maintenance of national interest of a state or nation (afolabi, 2016). from the above, one can state that national security transcends military armaments and protection of territorial integrity of a country into protection of lives and property and social welfare of its citizens. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 68 table 1: field responses on the questionnaire item three in relation to research question two source: researchers' computation, 2023. figure 1: bar chart of percentage responses to questionnaire statements of research question item three source: researchers' design, 2023. table 2: descriptive statistics result for research questionnaire item three response letters questionnaire statements response frequency percentage (%) response ranking a border closure increases food production. 115 29.4 1st b border closure leads to increase in agricultural income. 92 23.5 3rd c border closure reduces prices of food in the market. 99 25.3 2nd d border closure prevents dumping of foreign food. 85 21.7 4th total 391 100 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 69 sd = standard deviation; n = sample size source: authors' computation from field survey, 2023. table 1 and figure 1 present the field responses on research question which seeks to identify if or otherwise, a nexus exists between nigeria's border closure and food security in nigeria using responses from three hundred and ninety-one (391)rice farmers on four questionnaire statements. from the responses, the respondents point to the fact that item a with percentage st ndvalue of 29.4% ranks 1 , item c with percentage value of 25.3% ranks 2 , item b with percentage rd th value of 23.5% ranks 3 while item d with percentage value of 21.7% ranks 4 . this alludes to the fact why the respondents ranked item “a” (border closure increases food production). this is followed by item “c” (border closure leads to increase in agricultural income) which ranked second, item “b” (border closure reduces prices of food in the market), and “d” (border closure prevents dumping of foreign food. it could be discerned from table 1 that four questionnaire statements were raised to address research question two. on this research question, opinions of three hundred and ninety-one (391) rice farmers were sought. from their responses, mean values were computed. from the perceptions of the rice farmers, items a to d have 3.43, 2.45, 3.38 and 2.36 mean values and their respective standard deviation values of 1.39, 0.65, 1.87 and 0.98. on this basis, items a and c are accepted, while items b and d are rejected in relation to research question two. the accepted items have their mean values above 2.50 criterion mean. therefore, the perceptions of rice farmers on the nexus between nigeria's border closure and food security in nigeria are in the area that nigeria's border closure increases food production and leads to increase in agricultural income. this is however, buttressed with grand mean of 2.91, which is unfortunately remarked rejected. respons e letters questionnaire statements rice farmers: n = 391 remark s mean values (x) standar d deviatio n (sd) rank orde r a border closure increas es food production. 3.43 1.39 1st accept b border closure leads to increase in agricultural income. 2.45 0.65 3rd reject c border closure reduces prices of food in the market. 3.38 1.87 2nd accept d border closure prevents dumping of foreign food. 2.36 0.98 4th reject grand mean 2.91 1.22 accept igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 70 table 1 of the data analysis presented above, indicates that highest number of responses agrees that there is a nexus between border closure to foreign food importation and food security in nigeria, while the table indicates the benefits of border closure on food security, which include increase in food production, increase in agricultural income but it led to the increase in price of food commodities in the market and respondents also observed there is dumping of foreign foods in spite of the nigerian federal governments promulgation of the ban on those food items, the hike in price of food in the market act as an encumbrance to food security in nigeria. from the interview granted by the respondent c submit that the ban on some agricultural products, has made farmers to return to farming thereby providing income for farmers. however, they also observed some foreign agricultural products which has been a challenge to the efforts by government at guaranteeing food security. respondent a subsumed the objectives of border closure under national security he argued that for example he submits that that there are ample evidence that the rice are preserved with preservatives and have stayed for so many years and are poisonous to nigerians and poultry products were injected with preservatives called formalin that causes cancer which causes death. he also submits that report from the intelligence unit of customs report most foreign rice spends at least three years before arrival to nigeria; in this sense the rice has become stale and unhealthy for human consumption. he said since government the primary responsibility of government is the security of lives, the federal government has to close its borders to those bad products. that as regards small and light weapons, there has been a quantum illegal arms getting into the country, some the arms were traced to libya but the way they get in through illegal routes, hence government had to stop the arms importation by closing its borders. respondent a submits that at the first six of closure of nigerian borders, a lot of positive steps were recorded as farmers made money during the period but the closure was too long we should have taken advantage of the first six months, look at the recommendations, open the border for a while. respondent b, the comptroller of ogun area command nigeria customs service stated the nigerian borders was closed mainly for the proliferation of arms and ammunitions caused by crisis from lybia and stems the exportation of nigerian foods because we don't even have enough. from the above statement although nigerian government attempted to stem the importation of foreign rice and exportation of domestic but the nigeria does not have enough to feed its citizens before it closed its border. this seems to be a policy summersault as it was expected that adequate domestic food should have been produced before closing the nigerian border. respondent d who was coordinator of joint border patrol team, north west nigeria, states that the major reason for border closure was for nigeria to completely understand the trans-border crimes with the aim of interdicting them, the major crime which is smuggling, trafficking small arms and weapons and trafficking humans, insurgency and banditry. respondent e stated that the closure of border was meant to ensure national security through food security, he argued that the rice being imported into the country are not safe for human consumption as they have been stored for more than 10 years, that even the countries that produce and store them don't consume them. that the rice imported into the country are chemicalized with preservatives that are dangerous to human consumption, hence it is better to produce our rice for the safety of the nigerian citizens. the nexus between border closure and rice production respondent f alludes to the fact that the closure increased participation and production of rice farming in nigeria. the deputy director argued that at the ab initio the border closure brought igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 71 about rice scarcity but the effort of government towards self sufficiency in rice production , that before the border closure on rice, nigeria was a net importer of rice over 300 billion naira annually. he said in 2018 nigeria imported rice from asian countries such as china, thailand and india to the tonne of 365 billion naira annually, which by implications developing those economies to the detriment of the nigerian economy, which means we are creating jobs for other countries while we need jobs in nigeria. he said this made the nigerian government to ban the importation of rice in order to bring about increase in rice production and transform the nigerian economy from dependence on foreign rice to getting foreign exchange from rice production by diversify the economy and produce what we eat, even though there is a gap, we produce about 5.6 million metric tonnes and we require about 6.5 million metric tonnes per annum, there is a gap of over 600,000 metric tonnes. he argued that after the closure of its borders federal government brought about agricultural incentives such as presidential committee on fertilizer, anchor borrower program under the cbn, and training of agricultural rice farmers, among others. initially there were some hitches and people suggested that there it should be done gradually instead of closing it abruptly. he said nigeria would have been in a serious food crisis during the corona virus if not for the domestic rice production because there was closure of borders during the pandemic. succinctly, the concern of this research however, is the gap that was created which has triggered the price of rice and making it out of public reach but was not envisaged by government before closing its borders. respondent f argues that closing the border and learning in a hard way is better because it makes us sit up and employ our youths in areas of integrated rice mills, small and medium rice processors and has also opened the space for companies such as olam, afcort, indians making heavy investments in processing rice mills, which makes it great achievements. that efforts are made to de-stone the local rice, polish it and make it compete with the foreign rice. the rifan chairman of ogun state in person of mr. olalekan okusanya lawrence told the researcher that the closure of the border made nigerians to patronize domestic rice and since there is value for domestic rice, nigerians got involved in rice farming and those that were involved in rice farming expanded their farm lands. according to him, the border closure increased rice production increased and created employment. he told the researcher that before the closure of the border he was cultivating two to three hectares but during the closure of border he now cultivates about 20 hectares of land, he asserted that the multiplier effect of this is that their living conditions improved. respondent g argued that if the borders were not closed rice farmers would have been totally out of business by now, that rice farmers were encouraged to farm more during the closure of the borders. he said influx of foreign rice was totally reduced to nothing that kebbi state has arable land that can produce rice to feed nigeria and export to other countries. he said before the closure of the borders he was planting rice of 100 hectares but after the closure he has expanded and now cultivate 350 hectares of rice farm. he was able get 8 to 9 tonnes of rice per hectare which means selling to others who are not rice farmers. the rice seed certification officer of kebbi state, ministry of agriculture kebbi state, submitted that the main purpose for the closure was to stimulate rice production in kebbi state. he said most of the farmers in kebbi state are subsistence farmers who cultivate between 0.5 to 5 hectares of land but find it difficult to sell their farm products. but with the closure of the borders they were able to get patronage. respondent h submitted that border closure was government want to increase local production and reduce dependence on foreign food. the government policy of no sale of fuel in 20km from the borders has a high toll on the people living around the borders, this makes the cost of living to be high bringing about tension in the area. using rice as a case study in spite of border closure rice igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 72 foreign rice still finds way into nigerian market competing with local rice, this affected negatively food security. the cost of production is very in ogun state. also in line with the objectives of this study, four custom officers were interviewed, three of them submits that the relationship between border closure on domestic rice production was positive as there were seizures of large number of smuggled foreign rice which in turn encouraged domestic farmers to expand their farm lands and increased their incomes. on the other hand, the comptroller in charge of idi iroko borders submits that border closure only had positive impact for just six months while in the rest of the months there were negative outcomes such as increase in prices of rice, smuggling, volatile security situation in the northwest and the youth restiveness at borders which impacted negatively on rice production. he argued that nigeria doesn't even have enough rice to feed its citizenry talk more of exporting, hence closing the border exacerbated food insecurity. this statement corroborate with why there is hike in the price of rice. the deputy director, rice value chain federal ministry of agriculture argued that we produce about 5.6 million metric tonnes and we need about 6.3 million metric tonnes per annum. on the other hand, respondents d told the researcher that from his experience, kebbi has a very good climate and topography for rice farming and have one of the largest rice processing company in nigeria called afcort which was established for the processing rice paddy from rice farmers which will make rice farming more profitable and easy for local farmers, but the state was confronted with challenges of bandits and insurgents which chased rice farmers out of their farmlands. to some extent the federal government mandated the military, customs, immigration and police under a joint patrol team (jpt) to clean up the border line where most of the farmlands are situated. he stated that the wrong perception that local farmers arbitrarily increased price of rice because the foreign rice increased was not true, what really happened was that local rice became scarce which triggered rice price because farmers were chased out of their farm lands by bandits, insurgents and other criminal elements. he said the price of rice increased mainly because of the collusion of the local smugglers out of their quest for higher profits engaged bandits and other criminal elements to smuggle rice across the border into nigeria. at some points bandits started controlling rice at the borders and dictated the price of rice that the local smugglers must accept. the local traders cannot do much to save themselves hence they have to dance to the tunes or take their lives and pick their goods. this led to the smuggling of foreign rice, increased price of rice in kebbi state. but at a time the price dropped because the federal government pushed the bandits out to niger where they came from and decided to partially open the border on that axis, because chances are that our borders are unregulated. according to him, during the border closure, the government was able to mop up small and light arms weapons and pushed the insurgents back to niger, this made the rice farmers to go back to land and rice farming was increased. from the statement by respondent d the extrapolates that the manning of the borders by the custom officers has not be efficient, if bandits can operate, smuggle and control price of imported rice then there is a parallel non state actors who wields weapons which the security agents have not been able to suppressed. security challenge is another major factor affecting rice farming in ogun and kebbi state, the two are border states, hence terrorists from other countries which makes them the first victims of terrorism. rice farmers are discouraged and deterred from going to their farms due to the kidnappings and killings of farmers. according to respondent i and j, rice farmers could not access their farmlands because they were under the control of bandits and some pay taxes to the terrorists. in cases where they are kidnapped they farmer's relatives pay high ransom to free the farmers. respondent b submits that border closure impacted food security in two ways; that for example does not have enough rice to feed its people and what you don't have you cannot control it, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 73 therefore people goes to any length to bring rice into the country, in spite federal government has spent billions of naira through the cbn anchor borrower program to make sure that rice is available in the country. from his statement one can deduce that the closure of the nigerian border and other programs such as anchor borrower has not been able to ring about food security especially in the production of domestic rice. he further argued that the closure of the border exacerbated the crisis of food in nigeria, because is facing challenges of security in the north east and north west, which is not allowing farmers to access their farmlands and has made us not to have enough food. he thought in the aspect of curbing arms and other contrabands it was positive but food security was not. mr. babatunde beckley a staff ogun state agricultural development submitted that the reason for border closure was for security and discourages smuggling in order to encourage local production of foods such as rice. he said there is a relationship between border closure and food security because the porous nature of the nigerian border has led to the dumping of frozen foods and other food that are unhealthy for consumption, that border closure brought about increase in domestic rice production and reduce dependence on foreign rice. he said the ogun state government intervened in rice production in areas such as value chain and fadama incentives such as agrochemicals, seeds, fertilizers and this made ogun state to rise from number 9 to number 3 in rice production. table 2 indicates that the closure of border brought about increase in rice production, increased income of rice farmers but led to increase in price of rice and could not totally ban the importation of foreign rice. this is the problem that the research discovered and the study seeks to know why. table 5 indicates the increase in domestic rice production source: national bureau of statistics while table 3 shows the increase in the rate of inflation table 3 source: national bureau of statistics year local paddy rice production in tonnes 2015 6,209.90 2016 6,464.73 2017 6,724.60 2018 6,971.00 2019 8,277.73 2020 8,727.10 2021 9,479.80 2022 10,145.92 year rate of inflation 2015 9.00 2016 15.62 2017 16.55 2018 12.15 2019 11.39 2020 13.21 2021 16.98 2022 18.76 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 74 findings and conclusion the study was conducted against the background impact of border closure on food security focusing on rice farming in ogun and kebbi states. this was based on the problematic that during the closure of the nigerian border the price of increased in spite of increase in domestic rice production. the study discovered that rice farmers are confronted with challenges of high cost of farm inputs such as agrochemicals, modern machines and fertilizers which has affected price of rice and a setback to food security in nigeria. the rice farmers also confronted with inadequate incentives. since most of the farm inputs are imported, rice farmers need more incentives by government to reduce the cost of farm inputs. the study also found out that lack of infrastructure facilities such as feeder roads, storage facilities which has impacted on the availability and price of rice. the study discovered that in spite of the border closure, foreign rice still find its ways into the nigerian market due to challenges such as non cooperation of nigerian neighbours, underdevelopment of border communities, lack of technology in the manning of the nigerian borders, inter-rivalry among security agencies, inadequate manpower at the borders and inadequate manpower at its borders, which has hampered the effectiveness of border closures. the study finally discovered that border closure against rice importation when done in isolation cannot guarantee food security, it has engendered policy summersault. therefore for border closure to guarantee food security in nigeria, it must be done holistically by addressing the inherent challenges of rice production. references abboushi, d. (2010). trade protectionism: reasons and outcomes, competitiveness review. an international business journal, vol. 20. no.5. , 384. afolabi, bm. (2016) concept of security, reading in intelligence & security studies abbot books limited. alden, e. (2008). the closing of american border: terrorism, immigration and security. usa: acfr book, harper collins. alex, a. u., & chimdi, c. (2021). trade protectionism and border closure in nigeria: the rice economy in perspective. ujah volume 22 no.1 , 4. ani, c., baajon, a., & samuila, a. a. (2020 ). border closure: implication on nigerian economy. iosr journal of economics and finance, vol.11, issue 3 , 23 . chuma, e. (2008). impact of trade on domestic rice production and the challenge of selfsufficiency in nigeria . journal african development bank , 3. mabogunje, a. (2017). regional mobility and resource development in west africa mcgill –. montreal and london: queen's university press. okorie, j. e., & enwere, c. (2020). nigerian border closure as paradigm shift in sustainable foreign policy development in nigeria. international journal of management studies and social science research, vol.2,issue 3 , 210. omale, m., olorunfemi, j., & aiyegbajeje, f. (2020). legal viable options to incessant closure of n i g e r i a ' s i n t e r n a t i o n a l b o r d e r s . a f r i c a n i d e n t i t i e s , doi:10.1080/14725843.2020.1828037 , 8. orjinmo, n. (2019 ). nigeria border crisis fueled by rice. london: bbc news, 31 october 2019. www.bbc.com. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 75 poorva, k., michael, o., ken, u., & jeske, v. s. (2022). inconsistent policies or political realities? nigeria's trade and industrial policy imperatives. ghana: ecdpmdiscussion-paper-318. rifan. (2022). grain and feed annual. usa: global agricural information network. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 11 towards religious engagements: exploring the ethical principles of interfaith dialogue in pluralistic nigeria rose yangu iordaah, phd department of religion and cultural studies benue state university, makurdi roseiordaa@gmail.com & ikechukwu maxwell ukandu, phd department of religions and intercultural studies & centre for peace and development veritas university, abuja ukandui@veritas.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.33952.39688 abstract nigeria's north-south divide has been plagued by recurrent religious conflicts, resulting in devastating consequences, including loss of lives, injuries, property destruction, insecurity, and humanitarian crises. these conflicts, fueled by religious cosmological exclusivism and unhealthy competition, have pitted christians and muslims against each other in a struggle for power, dominance, and spheres of influence. as a form of religious engagement, interfaith dialogue has been widely recommended as a vital tool for managing these conflicts, but the ethical principles underpinning its effectiveness in nigeria's pluralistic context remain understudied. hence, this library-based research aims to address this knowledge gap by exploring the ethical principles relevant to interfaith dialogue in nigeria, using the contact theory and the dialogical model of intergroup relations (dmir) as theoretical frameworks. these frameworks suggest that intergroup contact and dialogue can reduce prejudice and improve relationships between groups, but only if certain conditions are met, such as equal status, common goals, and institutional support. through a critical and thematic analysis of secondary data from journals, books, newspapers, and reports, this study's findings will contribute to the development of a comprehensive framework for interfaith dialogue in nigeria, enhancing conflict resolution mechanisms and promoting peaceful coexistence among diverse religious groups. the proposed recommendations will be valuable for policymakers, religious leaders, practitioners, and faith-based organizations seeking to harness the potential of interfaith dialogue for sustainable peace in nigeria. keywords: ethics, interfaith dialogue, religious conflict, religious pluralism, sustainable peace in nigeria introduction ethnic, cultural, social, and religious pluralism are integral issues that mark nigerian society (aguwa, 1993). as a heterogeneous nation, nigeria is populated with innumerable multi-ethnic and multi-religious groups (abdus-sami'i, 2017) with traditional religion, christianity and islam easily standing out as the three major religions in nigeria (okwueze, 2003). as akah (2017 argues, these religions dominate the daily lives of their practitioners and because their adherence tends to be ethically oriented, they have generated intolerance and deadly violence that threaten the corporate existence and development of nigeria as a nation. as the institute for peace and conflict resolution (2012) argues, hostilities along ethnic and religious lines have the most far-reaching consequences for the nation's unity, democracy, and development. religious pluralism is part of the fabric of peoples' lives and is strongly tied to their igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 12 cultural identities (imaekhai, 2010) and shapes their social realities. this foundation lied the context for religious issues to play roles in conflict generation and resolution, and conflict serving as one key issue that affects nigeria's national life. across the north-south divide of nigeria, religious conflicts have featured prominently as one core source of violence resulting in human deaths, injuries, property destruction, insecurity, and widespread humanitarian emergencies. depicted as the major conflict parties, christians and muslims have competed for power, dominance, and spheres of influence in areas they claim as their strongholds owing to religious cosmological exclusivism and unhealthy competition. as a result, the history of religious pluralism in nigeria is replete with all kinds of sad experiences as religion seemingly becomes a step that facilitates the country's movement towards deep-seated crises (okwueze, 2003). since the country returned to civil rule in 1999 after decades of military rule, crises of religious dimensions have become a regular and constant feature of social interaction (njoku and kolapo, 2022). statement of problem one solution often recommended by scholars and researchers for the management of religious conflicts as a result of nigeria's pluralism has been interfaith dialogue with its various types and contexts. however, little efforts have gone into exploring the ethical principles that are relevant in engaging interfaith dialogue as a tool of conflict resolution in nigeria. hence, this study is aimed at determining an ethic of interfaith dialogue beyond the challenges of religious conflicts in pluralistic nigeria. research methodology the study is based on library research, adopting secondary data such as journals, books, newspapers, and reports. the collected secondary data will be thematically and critically analyzed. conceptual clarification some concepts will be briefly clarified in this section. a. ethical principles they serve as basic judgments for many particular ethical prescriptions and evaluations of human actions (the belmont report, 1978). ethical principles are fundamental guidelines that shape behavior, decision-making, and actions. they serve as a moral compass, helping individuals and organizations distinguish right from wrong and make choices that respect the rights and dignity of all individuals (national institutes of health, n.d.). b. interfaith dialogue dialogue is contextually defined as an ecumenical attempt to bring people of different faiths together on the platform of peaceful co-existence, cooperation, and tolerance (danij, 2007). interfaith dialogue also referred to as interreligious dialogue, is about people of different faiths coming to a mutual understanding and respect that allows them to live and cooperate with each other in spite of their differences (ashu, n.d.). chaudhari (2016) explains that the term interreligious dialogue refers to positive interaction between people of different communities. it also refers to as interfaith dialogue, which is about people of different faiths coming to a mutual understanding and respect that allows them to live and cooperate with each other in spite of their differences. on a contextual note, akinwumi (2021) construes the term as referring to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions, (i.e.faiths') at both the individual and institutional levels. each party remains true to its igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 13 own beliefs while respecting the right of the other to practice their faith freely. c. religious conflicts religious conflict means different things to different people. according to otite and olawale (1999), religious conflict is “the struggle over values and claims to scarce resources, status and power in which the opponents aim to neutralize or eliminate their rivals”. in the view of oyeshola (2006) religious conflict is the disagreement, dispute or controversy in ideas or viewpoints held by two or more individuals, communities, or religious groups. for davies and egbuchu (2019) it refers to a specific type of conflict between groups based on ideological dispositions along religious lines within a plural society with each striving for political relevance. in a related but comprehensive note, aliyu (2004) cited in anwuluorah, udeh, and sapientia (2019) posits that religious conflict is a process of interaction involving a struggle over claim in resources, power, status, beliefs, and other preferences and desires. d. religious pluralism akah (2017) presents religious pluralism as connoting the existence of many religions in a particular society. ilesanmi (1997) observes that religious pluralism is the presence of diverse beliefs and communities that are religious. hooft (2001) cited in ogunleye (2021) avows that religious pluralism is a situation in which various religions live side by side with each of them holding a privileged status. idowu-fearon (2009) construes of religious pluralism as a situation where people of different religious faith live together and interact at all levels without fear or prejudice. it is an attitude or policy regarding the diversity of religious belief systems co-existing in society. theoretical framework the contact theory of allport (1954) and the dialogical model of intergroup relations (dmir) by kimmerie (2015) were adopted in this study. the contact group theory was first introduced by psychologist gordon allport in the year 1954. contact theory is also known as intergroup contact theory. it proposes that interactions between different groups can reduce prejudice and improve relationships. key components of the theory include equal status, common goals, intergroup cooperation and personalized interaction. on the other hand, the dialogical model of intergroup relations was developed by psychologists tajfel and turner (1979). their original view emphasizes the importance of intergroup dialogue in shaping relationships between groups. this theory holds that individuals derive social identity or a sense of belonging and self-esteem from group members. also, groups are interconnected with their relationships influencing individual attitudes and behavior. inclusively, dialogue which entails open communication and mutual understanding between groups can reduce tensions and promote cooperation (tajfel and turner, 1979). the dialogical model encourages empathy, mutual respect and cooperation. kimmerie (2015) has contributed to the discourse on the dialogical model of intergroup relations. kimmerie views dmir as framework that is valuable for understanding and improving intergroup interactions. the model for kimmerie further acknowledges the crucial role played by social identity and interdependence in intergroup dynamics. the fact that dialogue is not just a means of exchanging information, but a way of creating a shared understanding was highlighted by kimmerie. in addition, the importance of addressing power imbalances and promoting equal status in intergroup dialogue is advocated (kimmerie, 2015). in its application to this study, both the social contact theory of allport (1954) and the perspective igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 14 of kimmerie (2015) on the dialogical model of intergroup relations suggest that intergroup contact and dialogue can reduce prejudice and improve relationships between religious groups that engage in dialogue in nigeria if such conditions and principles like equal status, common goals, and institutional support are considered as principles that should be met for an effective encounter. literature review literature on relevant themes in this study will be reviewed. the challenges of religious conflicts in pluralistic nigeria oguche (2009) argues that religious conflict has resulted in the loss of human lives especially in northern nigeria. this for him, raises the concern and throws a question as to whether nigeria is truly one nation, as southern muslims or christians can be killed in the name of religion within their own country. from a broader social perspective, oji (2015) using the boko haram example, argues that religious conflict as a challenge of nigeria's pluralism has rendered millions of nigerians homeless making them live as destitute without good shelter and adequate health care. religious conflicts in nigeria, for ejigbo (2015) has created social divides between people making their coming together difficult. he clarified his stand by remarking that christians and muslims have not been able to co-exist and work harmoniously for decades, leading to the polarization of nigerian religions. a dimension to this challenge is what samuel and anadi (2021) describes as reduction of every critical issues to religious sentiment. thus, religious conflicts in nigeria birth the beclouding of objective reasoning of most citizens particularly the political elites whenever national issues are to be discussed. for enejor (2000), the reality of religious conflict in nigeria has effects on the survival of the nigerian state, because it is a threat to national integration which has a bearing on the country's socio-cultural, political, scientific, and technological development. as an extension to nigeria's survival, the challenge has equally tarnished the image and stature of the country among other members of the comity of nations. samuel and anadi (2021) maintain that the dented national image of the nation in the international community has become widespread due to repeated violent religious conflicts. associated with the wanton destruction of lives, and personal and public property, is the problem of survival that religious conflict creates. thereby discouraging investment in the country (samuel and anadi, 2021). as a result, the country is faced with a huge problem of internally displaced persons (idps). idmc (2018) argues that most of the idp centers in the country are in the north where religious crises are prevalent. this has implications for foreign direct investments as most multinational corporations and wealthy donor states will shy away from engaging in business with the country due to the risk and uncertainty associated with a conflictridden polity (adadu, 2015). types of interfaith dialogue dialogue of life this form of religious encounter can take place in all the ordinary interrelations between people of different religions without pre-planning. it arises naturally out of the processes of life that is, from interaction, positive and negative, obvious and subtle, verbal and nonverbal, between various peoples or persons (ashu, n.d.). dialogue of common action or social dialogue this is a very creative and deliberate effort to bring understanding and peace through dialogue. in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 15 this circumstance, people from various faiths cooperate and involve themselves in joint projects for a common good such as building a road, bridge, a hospital, or a center for learning that will be beneficial to all irrespective of religious creed or affiliation. this could also come in form of establishing organizations by different religious groups to address social problems or a public policy concern (arinze, 1990). theological dialogue or discourse theology which entails the academic study of god or the study of a particular religious organization's understanding of god and his relationship to man, is not an everyday knowledge accessible to all folks. hence, specialists who are well-schooled in their faith tradition are the agents of this form of dialogue. this takes place on academic or official levels between experts, theologians, and religious leaders. the usefulness of this form of dialogue is that it helps to clarify issues, to create greater understanding, and eliminate prejudices. ashu (n.d) cautions that the aim of this form of dialogue is not to reach a common belief, but rather to clarify what each partner believes in order to appreciate the uniqueness of each other and note the spiritual values they bring. dialogue of religious experience people hold or have different experiences due to their religious beliefs and affiliations. efforts can be made to explain these unique subjective experiences to others by showing how different people experience their religion. prayer and meditation, for example, could be the subject of a dialogue of religious experience. here, relevance of interfaith dialogue the importance of interfaith dialogue is based on its several relevant uses to individuals, group relations, and national life. people learn to coexist in a pluralistic society it is learning to coexist with radically different community by appreciating the beliefs and practices of other religions. this enhanced understanding can in-turn lead to a more peaceable coexistence in a pluralistic culture as is evident in the 21st century. most faiths have more in common people learn when they talk about differences by engaging in interfaith dialogue. as people of different religious communities encounter each other in their neighborhoods where they live, in mutual service, in schools, in government, and in civic activities, the foundations established through dialogue enable and empower them to know the areas in which mutual activity can ease their living and work together in society. on the other hand, it enables them to know the areas in which religious differences can make mutual undertakings difficult. a broad openness and mindedness is gained which allows the parties to understand the common themes and similarities between their faiths. in the end, mutual dependence and complementarity are born. it births peace initiatives through interfaith dialogue, religious fundamentalism, extremism, fanaticism, and exclusivism which predispose people to acts of violence like arson, looting, genocides, gruesome murder, and violent rape among other forms of atrocities, are minimized or if not completely eliminated. in this regard, healthy interreligious relations are built and the experience of peace is guaranteed. in regions where religious differences contribute to tensions and conflicts such as nigerian society, interfaith dialogue plays a significant role in conflict resolution, peacebuilding, and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 16 reconciliation. this is the case as religious leaders and dialogue participants can use interfaith dialogue to mediate and resolve conflict parties, thus breaking down barriers. it shapes one's identity it helps people to understand their religion better in the context of pluralism, especially in the 21st-century world that is not only multicultural but also globalizing. this avails believers and those in dialogue an opportunity to re-read their scriptures, doctrines, and dogmas in the context of pluralism as an inevitable social reality. ethical principles necessary for effective interfaith dialogue in nigeria from an islamic ethical perspective, shah, hussin, majid, mohamad, and othman (2013) identified some moral values that serve as guidance for conducting dialogue with non-muslims. sincerity and integrity planned dialogue should be fostered under the sincerity and preserving truth. facts about each religion should be properly conveyed. participants should approach issues with sincerity of heat and active involvement by each religious community (akinwumi, 2021). as a corollary to this, some measure of self-criticism is needed to showcase the level of sincerity of participants in dialogue. akinwumi (2021) argues that lack of such criticism implies that one's tradition has all the answers and that will connote defeating the aim of dialogue. participants should not to come with preconceptions as to where the points of disagreement lie. participants are free to agree with their dialogue counterparts in the dialogue process provided they do not violate the integrity of their own religious tradition. by doing this, as akinwumi (2021) remarks, this will reveal the real boundaries between the religious traditions. common goals and clear objectives one relevant ethical principle is beneficence. it concerns the willingness of dialogue participants to have uppermost in their hearts and minds the desire to do well. doing good is loving one's neighbor as one's self as captured in most world religions. another clear objective of interfaith dialogue is for participants not to compare their ideals with their partners' practice. in this regard, ideals should only be compared with ideals across religious traditions and likewise practices. honoring the feelings of the listeners, managing the dialogue properly humans are religious beings who enjoy the dignity of persons because they are created in the image and likeness of god. as a result, their autonomy of person should be respected. in this context of interfaith dialogue, people should be treated with respect whether they belong to our religion or not. their status, race, decision-making capacity, and position they occupy in their religious community should not determine if they should be respected or listened to. there is a need to honor the feelings of listeners. it should go without curse and humiliation to others. equal status of interlocutors it is vital to note that dialogue as a form of peaceful communication can only take place between equals. this implies that interlocutors are meant to learn from one another and not show signs of supremacy by attempting to teach one another (akinwumi, 2021). for this to happen, there must be mutual trust at the individual level. institutional support from local, state, and federal governments should be accorded the building of trust with sensitivity given to dialogue issues and actors. minority religions and groups are in this regard entitled to a place on the dialogue table. convincing the listeners about the credibility of the dialogue makers igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 17 listeners should be convinced of the credibility of interlocutors to build their trust and confidence in them as worthy representatives. interfaith dialogue thrives better when the authenticity and reliability of those participating in the dialogue are not in doubt. their training, expertise concerning extensive knowledge and years of experience, genuine representation of their faith community, and track record of collaboration will serve as qualities that will compel co-religionists to respect the agents or participants of dialogue from their religion. conclusion this study has explored the ethical principles relevant to interfaith dialogue in pluralistic nigeria. from the research, it is obvious that interfaith dialogue is crucial for fostering mutual understanding, respect, and peaceful coexistence among diverse religious communities in multicultural and religiously diverse nigeria. the ethical principles of sincerity and integrity, common goals and clear objectives, managing the dialogue properly by honoring the feelings of the listeners, equal status of interlocutors, and convincing the listeners about the credibility of the dialogue makers should guide interfaith dialogue in nigeria if effective and efficient engagements are expected. by embracing these principles, individuals can engage in open and honest discussions, acknowledging differences, while finding common ground. this is the context that can guarantee a display of empathy, cooperation, and peaceful resolution of religious conflict in nigeria. as a tool of conflict resolution, prioritizing ethical interfaith dialogue can effectively enthrone nigeria's thrive for the betterment of harmonious relations, peaceful coexistence, and equitable society despite the diverse religious identities in the country. references abdus-sami'i, i. m. (2017). implications of ethno-religious conflicts and inter-group relations in nigeria on national development: a panacea from islam. in imam, y. o., omotoye, r. w., abioje, p. o. and ali-agan, a. i. (eds.) religion and human capital development: essays in honour of prof. yasir anjola quadri, (332-364). ilorin: department of religions. adadu, y.a. (2015). security challenges and development crises in nigeria: education as a panacea. international sustainable development review, 1 (1). 106 -117. aguwa, j. c. u. (1993). religious dichotomy in nigerian politics. enugu: fourth dimension publishing company limited. akah, j. n. (2017). religious pluralism and national development in nigeria. card international journal of social sciences and conflict management, 2(1), 105-125. akinwumi, o. s. (2021). interfaith dialogue and peaceful co-existence in nigeria. international journal of advanced research in management and social sciences, 10(3), 1-12. anwuluorah, p. o., udeh, b. and sapientia, n. a. (2019). the effects of social change and religious conflicts in nigeria: impacts on civil democracy and national integration. global journal of arts, humanities and social sciences, 7(5), 56-68. arinze, c. f. (1990). church in dialogue: walking with other believers. san francisco: ignatius press. chaudhari, p. (2016). inter-religious dialogue as a way to peacebuilding. research paper, 2 (1), 22-24. international education & research journal (ierj). daniji, f. (2007). conflict resolution studies in africa. nigeria: meks links publisher. davies, e. o. and egbuchu, s. a. (2019). dialogue as an effective mechanism for resolving nigeria. advance journal of education and social sciences, 4(4), 63-74. ejigbo, m. a. (2015). education development and national unity: issues and challenges in contemporary nigeria. keynote address presented at the 8th national conference of school of arts and social sciences, kogi state college of education, ankpa. september igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 18 th 14th 18 , 2015. enejor, m. o. (2000). the theory and practice of social problem. makurdi: aboki publishers. idmc. (2018). mid-year reports on internally displaced persons in nigeria. retrieved from h�p://www.internal-displacement.org/mid-year-figures th on 12 of august, 2024. idowu – fearon, j. (2009). building peace bridges: which mode, what pattern, what approach. new nigerian sunday february 15th p. 8. imaekhai, f.j. (2010). religion and politics in nigeria. in isiramen, c. d., imaekhai, f.j. & igbon, b. (eds.). religion and the nigerian nation: some topical issues. ibadan: en-joy press and books. institute for peace and conflict resolution. (2012). national peace policy. abuja: institute for peace and conflict resolution and united nations development programme. njoku, b. j. and kolapo, j. (2022). the rise of ethno-religious conflicts in northern nigeria: critical analysis and proposal for new resolution strategies. covenant university journal of politics and international affairs, 10(1), 3767-3789. st ogunleye, a. r. (2021). religious pluralism and inter-religious encounters in the 21 century nigeria. african journal of social sciences and humanities research, 4(2), 24-31. oguche, v. a. (2009). nigeria as a nation. makurdi: kingdom press. okwueze, m. i. (2003). ethics, religion, and society. nsukka: prize publishers. oji, g. (2015). agenda for buhari administration: curbing insurgency, ethnic militia. national mirror, april 20th p. 13. otite, o. and olawale, i. a. (eds.) (1999). communal conflicts in nigeria: management, resolution and transformation. ibadan: spectrum books ltd. oyeshola, d. (2006). conflict and context resolution. ile-ife: obafemi awolowo university press limited. samuel, o. and anadi, n. o. (2017). religious conflicts in nigeria: between secularism and state preference for religions. open journal of social sciences, 9, 20-37. shah, f. a., hussin h., majid, l. a., mohamad, s. and othman, f. m. (2013). interfaith dialogue: approaches, ethics, and issues. international journal of asian social sciences, 3(12), 2455-2468. the national commission for the protection of human subjects of biomedical and behavioral research (1978). the belmont report: ethical principles and guidelines for the protection of human subjects of research. dhew publication no. (os) 78-0012. maryland: the national commission for the protection of human subjects of biomedical and behavioral research. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 3 special edition igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 27 christian social capital as a facilitator of charitable deeds and the ugly effects of contempt in society building bartholomew chidili, phd department of chrisian religious studies kaduna state university, kaduna chidalu@yahoo.com abstract within the christian community dwells the christian community spirit which indeed produces human social capital that brings about the words of succor, sympathy and allied kindred spirits that bring healing to the brokenhearted, convalescence to the sick, warmth to the lonely and commiseration to the wounded and the bereaved. we mean that spirit of life which tends to make tangible substances count for most in the daily lives of people, namely, goodwill, fellowship, mutual sympathy and social intercourse among a group of individuals and families who make up ecclesial social unit. if a member comes into contact with his neighbor, and they with other neighbors, there will be an accumulation of social capital, which may immediately satisfy social needs and which may bear a social potentiality sufficient to the substantial improvement of living conditions in the whole community. incidentally, this actionable social capital under discussion, transcends mundanity to heavenly realms. in this regard, it is not only that the community as a whole benefits by the cooperation of all its parts, while the individual finds in his/her associations the advantages of the help, the sympathy, and the fellowship of his neighbors but that the practical behaviors touch the heavenly realms. however, within this christian spirit, there exist another spirit paul the apostle identifies as the spirit of flesh which carries out the desires of the flesh. he points out that this spirit of the flesh has desires that are opposed to the spirit of god (gal 5:19-21). in this regard, jesus in a word, identifies one of these ugly spirits as anger which degenerates to contempt that leads to destruction of all kinds including murder. jesus advises that anger should be obliterated from human vocabulary because its social capital brings nothing but decimation of life and its environs. it is under this backdrop that this essay advocates a christian character based on love; shunning in the process the behavior built on contempt. key words: social capital, works, faith, love, contempt, flesh, heaven, hell, last judgment preface as humans, we are very oblivious of the consequences of our actions here on earth. we often do things without reasoning about the consequences of our igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 28 actions, inspite of the fact that the scripture warns repeatedly that the lord will in the final day pay everyone according to each one’s deeds (mt 16:27). whereas many never give thought to such warnings, some people see the warning but think it must be for certain people and not themselves; some still think that they are so insignificant that the creator might not notice them and their actions. that is even when the hairs of our heads are known and numbered by god (mt 10:30), peoples till think that the heavenly father will not know them. when indeed we reflect deeply on biblical words, it becomes clear that none of the biblical words has been withdrawn nor is there any plan to withdraw or obliterate any of them in future. hence it is the lot of this essay to address the bulk of human acts which are essentially social; having repercussions on human persons and certainly reflecting directly on god almighty. this is why what we do on this earth must bother us as their resultant effect might be graceful or totally damaging to us everlastingly. the final verdict producing everlasting damaging or everlasting blissful effect, as can be noticed in the last judgment in matt 25:36-46, took place in spite of its surprising effect to many. the verdict which pulled such surprises like mere ‘clothing the naked’ or ‘giving water to the thirsty’ or ‘feeding the hungry, ’actually brought eternal bliss to the righteous and actually sent the indifferent and sycophants to hell. such surprises should have been avoided if humans had taken precaution, listened to the word of god and kept it. hence this essay warns us to beware of the evils of contempt and rather be awake to habitual good behaviors, since though our good behaviors here on earth are not in any way a criterion for attaining the kingdom but certainly, all the intentioned good actioners must go to the kingdom with their goods; while the bad deeds are destined to hell with all those who do them (mt 25:46). thus, when social scripture is at stake in any circumstances, any believer should stand still because the forthcoming action goes directly to god, though, it is performed by individuals or groups here on earth. for jesus says in mt 25, ‘if you do this to any of these little ones, you do it to me (25:40). perhaps that is why pope benedict xvi is right when he writes explaining that our activities as religious persons in this world are very social and interactive. in his words: “no man is an island, entirely of itself. our lives are involved with one another, through innumerable interactions they are linked together. no one lives alone. no one sins alone. no one is saved alone. the lives of others continually spill over into mine: in what i think, say, do and achieve. and conversely, my life spills over into that of others: for better and for worse.” moreover, it is not only do our actions spillover into others, or vise vasa; it also spills over to god. for igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 29 while saul was busy persecuting those who belonged to the way, jesus intervened personally by asking saul this poignant question: "saul, saul, why do you persecute me?" one would have expected the question to be “saul why are you persecuting my people, or persecuting my church?” rather, it was totally personalized by jesus, “persecuting me.” never did any person on this earth, including saul, think that what is happening on earth, like the church persecution perpetrated by saul, directly reach heaven as such. but when jesus took saul’s actions very personal and abruptly stopped saul from the mayhem, he revealed to us that saul’s persecution of the church on earth was directly a persecution of christ in heaven (acts 9:1-4). similarly, when martin de tours, a roman soldier and a christian, performed his christian charity, little did he know that he was reaching god directly. for as the story goes: ‘one cold winter day, as he was entering a city, a beggar stopped him and asked for alms. martin had no money; but the beggar was blue and shivering with cold, and martin gave what he had. he took off his soldier’s coat, worn and frayed as it was; he cut it in two and gave half of it to the beggar man. that night he had a dream. in it he saw the heavenly places and all the angels and jesus among them; and jesus was wearing half of a roman solder’s cloak. one of the angels said to him: master, why are you wearing that battered old cloak? who gave it to you?’ and jesus answered softly: ‘my servant martin gave it to me’ (cited in barclay, 2009:381). the same is true of the lord’s command in john and even in matthew, when he voluntarily permitted the disciples to forgive sins after his resurrection saying, “receive the holy spirit, any sin you forgive on earth is forgiven in heaven and any sin you retain on earth is equally retained in heaven” (jn 20:2223; mt 16:19-20). this, and other stories cited above demonstrate overtly that whatever is happening on earth occurs simultaneously in heavenly places. this understanding should always keep us awake to our daily actions on earth, for they actually reach the heavenly realms concurrently. hence, our actions must instinctively make us realize that god is our interesting partner always and that whatever affects us affects him always. hence, st augustine puts it this way, “we must realize that god is nearer to us as we are to ourselves” (confessions, 3. 6. 11). so beware of your actions always! the dynamics of the works of faith moreover, we can certainly assert that the good works mentioned in matthew 25:36-46, popularly known as ‘works of charity,’ are voluntary christian works of faith for others. they are the ways the well-meaning believers reach out to the poor and the needy. and guess what? they are neither so expensive, as to attract igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 30 negative comments from the poor; since they would have been either marginalized or excluded on grounds of exorbitance. rather, they are simple things like giving a hungry person a meal, or a thirsty person a drink; welcoming a stranger, cheering the sick, visiting the prisoner, which obviously are within the reach of every class of human persons. it is such that no one has any excuse not to perform the charitable acts. this is why people of all tribes, classes, nations and colors do them without even knowing when because they do not exert any reasonable stress on people. this is why the surprising question at the verdict time, “lord when did we see you hungry or testy etc. and supplied your needs,” because the doers of these actions performed them unpretentiously. thus, the charitable acts which are the expression of love to our brethren, are indeed an excellent preparative for the world of everlasting love. the hallmark of this love is that we must be prepared to demonstrate our readiness to do good and to communicate good wishes to all and sundry particularly to the poor and the needy always. this is the work of faith which predisposes the faithful to do good always. st benedict, calls this kind of disposition conversio morum— explaining that it is a commitment to be always a pilgrim, living an ongoing conversion of one’s way of life by an ever-fuller harmony with the principles of peace, tolerance, selflessness and generosity and the courage to say the truth about injustice” (monastics in the world). hence, the poignant question posed by james is relevant here. according to him, “what good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? this salient question goes to all believers but particularly to deep ingrained christian believers who have already imbibed the act of doing good resulting from their deep faith in christ jesus. it is strictly to them because they are the only group of believers with the ears to hear the word of god and put it into practice. that is why they never abandon the sick nor the needy without some succor. the succor then is the sign of their committed faith in the line of james’ practical faith. “i will show you my faith by what i do (james, 2:16). from this understanding we can see that those who meet their brethren at the point of need and just with a wave of hands wishing them well without doing anything, are the members of the faith community who only boast of their faith without supporting it with good needs. this type of faith james considers faith for nothing, since it has no benefit to a needy sister or brother (james 2:15-16). we know that james is downright correct when john agreed with him saying: “this is how we know what love is: jesus christ laid down his life for us. and we igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 31 ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. if anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of god be in him? dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth” (1 john 3:16-20). this becomes very relevant when we discover that the last judgment in matthew 25:31-46 was essentially based on practical mundane assistances all believers offer to the needy. the veritable succor such as drink, clothing, cheering with the sick, welcoming the strangers and visiting the prisoners were the hard facts of measurable samples for the judgment that was popularly known as ‘the last judgment!’ one would have thought that since that judgment was the last one something more expensive like gorgeous estates or the like, would have been the yardstick for qualifying the entrance in to the kingdom. but it was not because it would have ended up placing god and his angels as unserious and politically dangerous as it would have giving chance only to the wealthy; and ostensibly excluding the poor and the needy. but as it stands now the whole judgment was placed on very inexpensive and low platform which every human person could afford. this is what makes the said judgment authentic and universally just. the nature of the assistance subsists in forming the habit of doing good all the time from the biblical excerpts we discover that the assistance must be an uncalculating help. for those who got the approval of their deed helped without even thinking of helping christ at that moment, so as to pile up eternal merit; they actually helped because it was in their blood to help. they have already formed the habit of helping the needy. hence they could not but give help to where help was needed. as they have imbibed the character to help it became so natural and instinctive that they just can’t help themselves but do the needful. it was this uncalculated help that wins praise from above. christ rewarded this kind of help with heavenly bliss. whereas, on the other hand, the attitude of those who failed to help was: if we had known it was you, we would gladly have helped; but we thought it was only some insignificant person who was not worth helping.’ it is still true that there are those who will help if they are given praise and thanks and publicity; but to help like that is not to help but sycophancy; it is to pander to self-esteem. such help is not generosity; it is disguised selfishness. they help which wins the approval of god is that which is given for nothing but the sake of helping. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 32 perhaps that is why the verdict was a kind of surprise to both the good and the bad as we can depict from matthew’s presentation, "then the righteous will answer him, 'lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? when did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? when did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' (mtt 25:38-39).then, the king in his reply revealed the moment, 'i tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me' (mt 25:40). the bad asked the same question of surprise, “lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help. then the king will reveal to them the exact time the events took place saying: 'i tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me' (mt 25:44-45). and so was the verdict of the last and final judgment of the human destiny. based on this unbelievable simple social interaction, the bad goes to eternal punishment and the righteous goes to eternal life. note that the contemptuous persons will only be rewarded like habitual lovers if only they treat the world as dirt or grime. this means that they reckon the world as nothing in the fashion of st paul in philippians where paul counted all his achievements as nothing; saying: “but whatever was to my profit i now consider loss for the sake of christ. what is more, i consider everything as loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing christ jesus my lord, for whose sake i have lost all things. i consider them rubbish, that i may gain christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in christ — the righteousness that comes from god and is by faith. i want to know christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead” (phil 3:7-11). otherwise contempt is destined to the apex court of the sanhedrin, for unpalatable verdict. here then, we must consider the meaning and content of this word ‘contempt.’ what is contempt? contempt means a sense that someone is worthless – a complete loser. you can easily be extremely angry at someone and still not believe they are worthless. in fact you can be very angry with someone, like your children or spouse, and believe in their limitless value. contempt, in a way, is worse than anger because igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 33 it is more common and perhaps more hurtful. for sure hitler was mad at the jews? but it was his contempt for them that allowed him to think they did not deserve to live, observes, flowers. continuing he says, “hitler did not kill the jews because of his anger toward them, he killed them because of his deepseated belief that they were vermin – animals, undeserving of life. he had contempt for them” (flowers, 2008).the same is true of the anger of the boko haram insurgents when it degenerates into contempt. when they want to display their mayhem, they call their victims arna or kafiri, pagan or unbelievers, meaning people who deserve nothing but death. people who must be trashed and decimated for daring to answer human beings. in this kind of heightened frenzy they contemptuously crush their enemies. whoever sees what the insurgents are doing in the north east of nigeria now understands the fact that contemptuousness is really bad to the core. think of the massacre of the 59 students in buni yadi in yobe state in may 2014. or the adoption of 219 girls in chibok in april of the same year. these are dastardly contemptuous acts that remain indelibly stuck to our minds. they are bad and bitter. contempt is really bad to the core. furthermore, it is also the wisdom of david flowers that mocking is a part of contempt. he explains that contempt is that attitude that says, “you are not human. we will demean you, mistreat you, reject you, and cast you out from the fellowship of the worthy. you are undeserving of good things – of esteem, of love, of respect, of companionship, of mercy – and while we say these cruel things to you and you drop your head in shame, we will then laugh at you, enjoy your pain, and mock you for being so mock-worthy. you and your life and your concerns and your feelings – they are all garbage to us.” if you’ve been through this you know that few things in life are more painful and the pain sticks with you in some way for the rest of your life. it leaves a scar on your soul. it is not possible for people with this attitude to live in the movements of god’s kingdom because god is alive to life – he is creative and life-giving and soul-enabling. anger and contempt are destructive and life-destroying and soul-crippling (flowers, 2008). but these are not commands. if you stop using all terms of contempt tomorrow, that still does not mean the heart is okay. after all, you can refrain from anger, but some people win arguments that way – by not getting angry – then they gloat. or how about people who say, “i don’t get mad, i get even.” these are not laws or commands. they are examples of how our hearts can go wrong and how igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 34 merely adhering to a list of commands about what to do and not do will not ensure we have kingdom hearts. now certainly if we get our hearts right we will not do these things, but first things first. when we come to treasure people the way god treasures them and see them as creatures designed for his eternal purposes, we do not make an additional point of not hating them or not calling them “f-ing” jerks or “tools” or “losers.” not doing those things is a natural part of a heart that sees the world and all its creatures the way god sees them. in other words, if you have a kingdom heart, you will naturally not do these things, you won’t have to try to not do them! on the other hand not being angry with people and not calling them idiots is a poor plan for loving them (flowers, 2008). moreover, understand that whoever calls another person ‘raca’ is condemned. because raca is such that it is an almost untranslatable word, because, it describes a tone of voice more than anything else. its whole accent is the accent of contempt. to call a man raca was to call him a brainless idiot, a silly fool, an empty-headed blunder. it is the word of one who despises another with an arrogant contempt. “there is a rabbinic tale of a certain rabbi, simon ben eliezer. he was coming from his teacher’s house, and he was feeling uplifted at the thought of his own scholarship and erudition and goodness. a very illfavored passer-by gave him greeting. the rabbi did not return the greeting, but said, ‘you raca! how ugly you are! are all the men of your town as ugly as you are! ‘that’ said passer-by, ‘i do not know go and tell the maker who created me how ugly is the creature he has made.’ so, there the sin of contempt was rebuked’” (cited in barclay, 2010:161).the sin of contempt is liable to an even more severe judgment. it is liable to the judgment of the sanhedrin, the supreme court of the jews. this of course is not to be taken literally. it is as if jesus said: ‘the sin of deep-rooted anger is bad; but the sin of contempt is even worse’ (barclay, 2010:161). the sources of contempt there are various sources of contempt, but permit me to mention first the contempt from the pride of birth, that snobbery that pours its salvo on its victims as no other ugly venom ever. this is true in the unfortunate treatment of the socalled osu people in the traditional view of some igbo people. in this unfortunate philosophy, the so-called freeborn does not in any event regard osu as a human being…the freeborns believe that in human society, some class of people must be up and some class of people must be down. to ensure that they are always up, provisions are so well made that those who are down will in no way be up. osu is always made to be conscious of his debased state all the time. this is true of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 35 indian caste system where some group of people are permanently subjugated to perpetual underdog. the freeborns would love to see that their iniquities are yoked down the osu all the time since from the rite of consecration of osu, they were made to understand that that is their life mission (mgbobukwa, 1996:32). accordingly: umuosu (descendants of or children of osu) were sequestrated from society and as such suffered total ostracism. they could not sleep under the same roof with the so-called freeborn citizens called diala sons and owners of the land. they neither ate from the same pots nor drank with the same cups with the citizens. marriage between the two groups was a taboo eternally. children were forbidden to see the corpse of an osu. an osu could not be a chief or leader of any village---if the corpse of an osu was to be carried through the village of a diala, palm fronds were placed everywhere to warn the people that the evil was in the air and a bad event was to happen. if an osuhad sexual intercourse with a diala woman, the offending woman was to be dragged to the osu to marry for free. under no circumstances would a diala run into the compound of an osu even if it is raining or he was being chased with a gun or machete. if one did so, one automatically becomes an osu (cited in mgbobukwa, 1996: 34). that is a terrible contempt. contempt is bad to the core. another type of contempt comes from the snobs. snobs are persons who believe that there is a correlation between social status and human worth. essentially,the term ‘snob’ refers to persons who basically believe that some people are inherently inferior to them for any one of a variety of reasons, including real or imaginary: intellect, wealth, education, ancestry, power, physical strength, class, taste, beauty, nationality, fame, extreme success of a family member or friend, etc. these people wittingly derogate the people they regard as inferior discriminately in all areas of social contact. they permanently hold their neighbors in contempt always. william barclay wonders why knowledgeable people should also be contemptuous of their fellow humans “when the wise were never impressed with anything but their own ignorance” (barclay 2009, pp.160-162) classism as a symbol of contempt classism is another type of contempt where people are prejudiced or discriminated on the basis of social class. classism includes individual attitudes, behaviors, systems of policies, and practices that are set up to benefit the upper igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 36 class at the expense of the lower class, or vice versa (joanna, 1996).for example, middle-class and upper-class individuals in the u.s. referring to working class, white americans as "poor white trash." this can be regarded as a form of class prejudice, the insult having the capacity to be historically analogous to racist language against african-americans (ochilo, october 16, 2008). on this platform many racist americans treat the blacks and the african americans as non-human persons. it is of that stage that a black american will be offered a house to renton the phone only to lose that renting on getting to the site. the white will promptly tell the black snobbishly that someone else has taken the property. it is an ignominious situation in which many african americans and the blacks are suffering even as i write today. americans will readily tell you that there are many legislations against racism but when you get into america you discover that racism is still as thick as the bellows of smokes from a bombing. american classism is even identified as an institutionalized racism. classism as well as racism is also associated with personal or attitudinal classism which includes "white trash", "little men" or "little people", "trailer trash", "the unwashed masses", "the great unwashed", "moochers", "oiks", "proles" or proletariat and "bludgers". in earlier historical periods, classist terms and phrases such as "hoi polloi" or plebs, which are "derogatory of the lower classes", were more commonly used (bbc news. 23 december 20). these terms are derogatively used by the snobs to differentiate themselves and then subjugate and demean the underdogs. barclay rightly warns that humans “should never look with contempt on anyone for whom christ died” (barclay 2009, pp.160-162). contempt as curses the most common expression for ‘curse’ is the root qll, usually in piel or in the form of a noun, qelalah. according to its etymology, its real meaning in piel would be ‘to make small of’ ‘to deal with contemptuously’ and therefore also ‘to mock,’ ‘to make ridiculous.’ since people in antiquity attributed a very real efficacy to the spoken word, they believed that scoffing at any given person really aroused destructive powers and could diminish his happiness. hence, david calls the mocking directed against him by shimei a quelalah nimrtseth= ‘dangerous mocking’ (1kings 2:8). it is for this reason that qallel can have the meaning ‘to curse,’ though it is a question here not of a curse with determined formulae and rites but rather of an indeterminate execration, mocking, cursing or slandering. it is therefore not always possible to translate qll and its derivatives as ‘to curse,’ ‘a curse,’ etc. in order to determine the meaning, we have to note the following contexts: (a) against the king: here qellel refers not so much to a curse as to the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 37 act of condemning, slighting the king, therefore an act of lése-majesté which comes near to rebellion (judg 9:27; 2 sam 16: 5, 7, 9—13; 19:22; 1 king 2:8). against parents. qallel refers here to the refusal of obedience and the undermining of parental authority; this threatens the structure of patriarchal society and so is punishable by death ex 21:17; lev 20:9; prov. 20:20; 30:11). (c) against god. in this case qellél refers to the attitude of a person who has become disillusioned with god, who no longer takes him seriously, abuses him and tries his luck with other gods—therefore blasphemy (lev 24:11, 14f, 23; in 1 kings 21:10, 13 and job 1:5, 11; 2:5, 9, we have also to read qll instead of the euphemism ‘bless.’ the sons of eli by their unworthy conduct incurred the guilt of ‘making light’ of god (1sam 3:13), and we have a good example of how such a qeláláh works out in practice in the abusive language used by rabshakeh against yahweh (2 kings 18:30-5) and in is 10:8-11. (d) against other given persons. here, too, we can easily recognize the basic meaning of ‘making light’ of someone. just like the heroes of the homeric poems with regard to their opponents, goliath sets out to ‘make light’ of the israelites, and in particular david, by means of wordy and high sounding insults (1 sam 17:43f) when this kind of slighting of an opponent takes the form of execration we have a form similar to a curse (gen. 8:21; deut 23:5; josh 24:9; jer 15:10; ps 37:22 etc.) (scharbert, 1970: 175-176). contempt as a sign of divorce contempt in marriage often expresses the feeling of dislike toward somebody, and it implies that the other person is considered worthless and deserving no respect. contempt is conveyed through insults, name-calling, tone of voice, as well as facial expressions. contempt eats away at a relationship rapidly and painfully through criticism. criticism often leads to contemptuous comments directed at one's partner. some examples of contempt are when a person uses "sarcasm, cynicism, name-calling, eye rolling, sneering, mockery, and hostile humor" (gottman et al 29). after so many years of studying signs of marriage break-ups, john gottman came to the conclusion that contempt is the worst omen for married couples. his reason is that contempt communicates disgust to the person it is directed toward. as a result, the conflict escalates to the point of no return. disgusted marriage problems are virtually impossible to solve as one spouse regards the other as vermin leading to irreconcilable differences. typically, when one partner uses contempt, the other partner becomes defensive. becoming defensive is a very common reaction to being treated with contempt. many people become defensive when they are being criticized, but the problem igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 38 is that it never helps to solve the problem at hand. "defensiveness is really a way of blaming your partner. you're saying, in effect, the problem isn't me, it's you" (gottman et al 31). as a result, the problem is not resolved and the conflict escalates to the point of breaking up. contempt as a sign of breaking up with religious life when an avowed religious is often prone to beginning a discussion with harsh startups, such as being negative, accusatory or using contempt, the religious is heading to a break up with the avowed life. a harsh startup can lead the religious down a path of negative interaction with other members of the community. this type of negativity obviously wreaks havoc on the avowed life. the negativity becomes lethal when the religious develops complaints in everything religion. if he/she is not criticizing the local superior, he is criticizing the major superiors or the community or any talk or walk made by once regarded darling center of life. certainly, complaining about something of or in religious life is normal with religious people but when the complaint turns into criticism, it becomes a recipe for eventual break up. a complaint focuses on a specific behavior, while a criticism attacks the character of virtually every person in the community. when a religious reaches this stage she/he often slips into contempt. criticism leads to contemptuous comments directed at religious superiors and everything identified with religion. some examples of contemptuous words are "sarcasm, cynicism, name-calling, eye rolling, sneering, mockery, and hostile humor" (gottman et al 29). contempt is the worst sign because it communicates disgust to anything religion. characteristically, when a religious uses contempt, the community becomes defensive. becoming defensive is a very common reaction to being treated with contempt. many people become defensive when they are being criticized, but the problem is that it never helps to solve the problem at hand. "defensiveness is really a way of trading blames and passing bucks which means no one accepting the responsibility of the problem in question. everyone accusing everyone of being the cause. as a result, the problem defies resolution, giving rise to further escalation of the conflict. the escalating problem eventually leads the embattled religious throwing in the towel as it were, and calls it a quit. conclusion the foregoing has examined the implications of christian social capital as embedded in habitual righteousnessas well as the ugly impact of indifferent igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 39 behaviors perpetuated in the practice of contempt. the essay discovered with surprise that human actions on this earth have immediate repercussion in heaven. it further discovered among other things that forming the habit of doing good, is the hallmark of truthful sincere religious practicing. the essay also discovered to the chagrin of the indifferent and/or callous behaviorist that their activities may pay them only on this earth but no reward in heaven. hence the work recommends an immediate imperative change of attitude for people of this callous character to quit and become better persons by producing fruits worthy of the next world. we also discovered contempt to be the deadliest venom for killing individuals, communities and even marriages and religious lives. when the essay discovered the surprises pulled on the audience of the last judgment (mt 25:36-46), it became obvious that what is needed to surprise the world and indeed the eternity is the purposeful practice of good deeds and intentional execution of love without borders. hence the essay confidently concludes saying that christian social capital essentially produces love and excellent behaviors that guarantee love and peaceful coexistence here on earth. it also galvanizes the chances of gaining heavenly home. however, it is by no means the necessary passport to heaven, since heaven is gratuitous and therefore not based on our achievements—good or bad. references augustine, a. the confessions. new york: new city press barclay, w. (2009). st matthew. india, bangalore: theological publications. barclay, w. (2010). the letters of james and peter. india, bangalore: theological publications bbc news. 23 december 2012."'plebgate': met police vows 'ruthless' search for truth". flowers, d. (2008). “jesus on anger and contempt” retrieved, january 2016. sermoncentral.com gottman, j. the seven principles for making marriage work. retrieved, december, 5, 2015. www.gottman.com gottman, j. why marriages succeed or fail…and how you can make yours. retrieved december, 5, 2015. www.gottman.com joanna, k. (1996). thinking class. u.s.: south end press. isbn 0-89608-548-1. mgbobukwa, j. c. (1996). alusi, osu and ohu in igbo religion and social life. nsukka. fulladu publishing company ochilo, r. (october 16, 2008). "deep woes and prejudices behind term 'white trash'" igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 2 no 3, august 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 40 pope benedict xvi (2010). catholic social teaching, scripture guide. united states conference of catholic bishops. retrieved, jan 12 2016. usccb.org scharbert, j. (1970). “curse” in the encyclopedia of biblical theology, johannes b. bauer (ed.) vol. 1, pp. 175-176). similarities in the platonian and igbo conceptions of women: any relevance for national development? ikea, chidimma s. ph.d department of philosophy, imo state university, owerri mmaimsu@gmail.com abstract while plato acknowledged the fact of role playing vividly bestowed on the different sexes of the human kind by nature, he did not in any way place any gender (male or female) above other. igbo culture seems to also place definite roles for male and woman without a priori making the human a slave of sort. history has shown the woman as actively involved in political, social and juridical activities in igboland. the famous aba women riot is one of the numerous lucid examples. this paper takes an in-depth look into plato's and igbo concepts of the women, with specific emphasis on the possibility of using their similarities as a recipe for the solution of national development and problems playing nigeria. keywords: igbo women, plato, feminism, national development introduction every human society, however primitive has a societal organization, hierarchy and social structure, that is, a system by which the task necessary for its continuing existence are distributed among its members. these members, who are male and female are assigned roles, responsibilities, obligations and rights according to their ages, strength, abilities, etc. biologically, women are different from men and feminine roles are mostly based on local customs, traditions, gender, rather than mental capacities. this is because, women are regarded as the weaker sex. according to encyclopaedia britannica (i768:909), in the ancient period, the status of women degenerated to that of child bearing slaves. they were secluded in their homes, they had no education, they had few rights and were regarded or considered by their husbands “no better than chattels”. in other words, female companionship existed only in extramarital relations. in the igbo society, although women are cherished and esteemed high, yet patriarchy rules, that is, male chauvinism has been the order of the day. women are regarded as “birds of passage” who will leave her home for another home. recently, the former president of nigeria; mohammed buhari maintains that his wife belongs to the kitchen and the other room. based on that, the questions become; are women not persons? do women have any role to play in the society? what are the roles of women in societal development. these questions and many of its kind are the major concern of this paper. the evolution of the personality of women: women in the ancient period lived a life of seclusion. their lives were centred around their households. in the greek city state of athens (from about 500 to 300bc), women raised children, cooked, weaved as well as managed the spinning, only men could engage in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.21646.33605 104 trading as well as in soldiering. women enjoyed considerable independence and high status in egypt. marriage was monogamous and women could divorce their husbands on the grounds of cruelty or adultery, they could trade on their own account independent of their husbands, owned properties, worked in many sectors of the economy, took part in public life as well as mixed freely with men. during the middle ages, which began in the a.d 400's and lasted about a thousand years women's lives continued much as before. although women were credited with a soul equal to men in the eyes of god, yet they were regarded as temptresses responsible for the fall of adam and as second-class citizens. this could be exemplified with the pauline conception of women, thus “a man ought not to cover his head since he is the image and glory of god but woman is the glory of man” (1 cor 11: 7). he went further to say that “the women should keep silence in the churches, for they area not permitted to speak” (1 cor 14:34) however, the status of women suffered a relapse under the greek and roman families, but during the renaissance and enlightenment periods, there were fundamental changes in religious and political outlook which took root as thinkers began to emphasize on the rights of the individuals. it was a period of a great cultural and intellectual activity that centred on humanism. there were irreversible changes in the status of women in the age of reason which was a period of great intellectual activity. there were educated women, who participated in intellectual and political debates. platonic conception of women plato (428 – 347 bc) an ancient greek philosopher wrote on women in his dialogues; republic and law. he maintains that women should be regulated by law for they are part of the human race. the negligence of the female folks by the legislature was a mistake and it has made the women to grow lax thus, he states (i953:i44); that which has law and order in a state is the cause of every good but that which is distorted or ill-ordered is often the ruin of that which is well ordered. it stresses therefore that the careful considering and arranging as well as ordering of a common principle of all institutions relating to men and women greatly contributed to the happiness of the state. buttressing this point, the united nations secretary general boutrous boutrous ghali adds: without progress in the situation of women there can be no true social development. human rights are not worthy of the name if they exclude the female half of the humanity. the struggle for women's equality is part of the struggle for a better world for all human beings and all societies. regarding the leadership of the philosopher-king, plato maintains that the common good and common life involves men and women as such. they are meant to receive the same education as well as share equality in all public duties. women according to him should not be excluded from the men (macdonald, 1953): women with the right national gifts are not to be debarred by difference of sex igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 105 from fulfilling the highest function. so, when the best guardians are selected for training as rules the choices may fall upon a woman. this idea plato exemplifies by the way athenian women were treated. they lived in seclusion and their statuses degenerated to household affairs of childbearing, slaves, etc. as regards occupation, plato argues that there is no occupation that belongs to either man or women as such. he maintains that although they have different nature in which women are weaker, but they have the nature, if they have same occupation, for “many women are better and competent at many things than many men” (macdonald, 1953). natural gifts to him are found here and there, in both creatures and as such should be given equal opportunities at all level. for instance, during acting, women should have their turn on stage when the men have quite finished their performances. plato, therefore, did not see sex as a barrier for women and women development. the igbo conception of women the igbo constitutes one of the ethnic groups in nigeria. it is bounded to the east by the lands of ibibio and cross-river, to the south by the ijaw people to the west by the edo and to the north by ijala and idoma people. the igbo extend over eight of thirty six states of the federal republic of nigeria, such inhabit the entire imo, abia, anambra, enugu, ebonyi as well as some parts of delta, bayelsa and rivers states. the igbo people have a rich cultural heritage with distinct beliefs, customs, and social structures. the igbo conception of women is shaped by their traditional values, which can vary across different communities. in the pre-colonial era, the igbo women are considered to be weaker sex, yet they play a major role in agriculture cum agricultural activities, in order to meet the basic needs of the family. they planted cocoyam, vegetables amongst others. women in igbo were never idle, for a woman without a craft or trade or who was totally dependent on her husband was not only rare, but was regarded with contempt. politically, women were an integral part of the political set up of the communities. for instance, women as umuada (married daughters of the community) are known for their power drunkenness's, settlement of dispute, punishment of culprits (inclining men) which men in the community cannot do. however, the political pre-occupation of women among the south eastern nigeria varies from one community to the other. harry gailey (i970:35) accounts that: igbo women traditionally exercise more influence than was typical in an african society. in addition to their influential role as wives and mothers. they were accustomed to being consulted on issues affecting the village. even in the political society, women are accustomed to being consulted on issues affecting the village. buttressing this point, u.d. anyanwu (2000:56) assets: men generally was the leaders/heads at the igbo political structure. women did not have equal access to power and authority with men. yet women were not secondclass citizen in igbo political terms, the igbo world view was neither the man's world nor woman's. this the relevance of gender in igbo political life was in the contemporary roles which both men and women played for the political and overall health of the communities. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 106 although the women are married, they still impose sanctions on culprits in the communities. earth goddess (ala) is worshipped as ala. ala is the ruler of (all) men, and also the source of morality and protection of the harvest. she is the goddess of fertility and guardian of justice both for the human world and for the ancestral or spirit. powers and roles of women women are cherished and esteemed high as mothers. motherhood is highly valued in igbo culture. women are often regarded as the primary caregivers and nurturers within the family. the role of a mother is considered crucial in the upbringing and socialization of children. “all women are carriers and givers of life in one way or another”, says bernaditte nbuy-beye (i998:27). catherine acholonu (i995:35) maintains that “women fertility is power, wild power”. motherhood is therefore the anchor, matrix and foundation on which all else rest in the society; as such, chinweizu (1990: i5) outlines the three powers of women as follows: power of cradle, power of the kitchen and power of the womb. the power of the womb, according to him, is the greatest and priceless power of women; that is the biological foundation, anchor, strength as well as the tap-root of female power. although the placenta and umbilical cord separates the mother from the child at birth, but this separation is not a permanent but a temporary one. women are loved and cherished as sisters and daughter and as a result are protected from hard ventures such as climbing trees, hunting, going for wars etc. women in igbo society play some roles such as: complementary role. in igbo society, there is a recognition of complementary roles between men and women. both genders are considered essential for the overall well-being of the community. women traditionally play key roles in family life, nurturing, and maintaining the household, while men may be involved in activities such as farming, hunting, and community leadership. economic contribution. igbo women have historically been involved in economic activities. they participate in trade, agriculture, and various entrepreneurial ventures. in some igbo communities, women are known for their business acumen and may also engage in market activities, contributing significantly to the local economy. ceremonial and ritual roles. women in igbo society often play important roles in ceremonies and rituals. they are involved in traditional dances, rites of passage, and religious ceremonies. some of these ceremonies are exclusive to women and emphasize their spiritual and communal significance. while traditional igbo society has been patriarchal, women have had influence in decisionmaking within their communities. in some instances, women serve as priestesses, participating in religious and political matters. modern igbo society has seen increased advocacy for women's rights and political representation. although there are some obnoxious practices that oppress the women in the society, (such as obnoxious widowhood practices, female genital mutilation and so on), yet they were not totally deified. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 107 relevance for national development the african cultural world (particularly the igbo) view of women-hood is defective in the sense that it takes account mostly of the accidental attributes of women, disregarding the essential nature of humanity (men and women) and humans are endowed with reason and passion. according to g.e ogbenike (2020: i28): it is glaring that in nigeria today, women are treated as second class citizens, they do not equal their male counterparts in the area of social and economic activities and most of all in politics. these various areas of women under-representation are detrimental to the growth of the nation. when the essential nature of womanhood is taken cognizance of, then, there would be rapid development. sex is not and should not be a barrier to women development, as it brings about retarded growth in the society. when a woman is trained, the entire nation is trained. the inhuman treatments and obnoxious practices against women bring about underdevelopment in the society. olu awofeso (2014:105) notes that many have unveiled the travail of the female gender humiliation, manipulation, and marginalization through a number of culturally biased norms and gender practices which have culminated into systematic institutionalization of male superiority over the female. amina ghorfati ( 20i4:53) explains further: …woman was not considered as equal citizens, they suffered from bad treatments, discrimination and racism under man domination and rules. in spite these problems, they could challenge them and prove themselves over the society. woman in the past was living unequal and unfair life. she was prevented from doing any political, social and economic activities and her only job is being a housewife who takes care of home and children. at that time, woman was under the control of man who dominates all the fields in which he represents the symbol of power. going by the dictum, which says time changes everything and telhard de chardin says “to live is to change and to have change often is to be perfect”. this demand for change of world view on women; by not only to uplift the status of women in all spheres of life but for the development and better life of the whole human society. amina ghorfati (20i4:53) explains more: by the coming of feminism, woman was able take back her rights in addition to changing her negative image. feminism proves that woman is capable to play important roles the same as man. moreover, the most important goals of feminism were giving woman her total freedom in addition to equal opportunities in the representation of the political and social events. both men and women are all humans persons with rights, voluntas and ratio (willing and rational) who deserve to be respected. the only difference between men and women is that, all men beget and all women give birth. complementarity in this context recognizes the unique contributions each sex can make to the family structure and societal development. the concept of complementarity among the sexes centres on the idea that men and women have different strengths, attributes, and roles that complement each other in various aspects of life. also the idea of complementarity is a way to promote social stability by igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 108 establishing clear roles and expectations for each gender. this division of labour can contribute to a sense of order and predictability in societies. hence, by recognizing and valuing the diverse strengths and perspectives of both sexes, societies seek to foster cooperation and collaboration. this can lead to more comprehensive problem-solving, creativity and productivity. however, the plato's concern, together with that of igbo people is centred on the wellbeing of the society. in other words, the needs and capacities of the individuals that will lead to a better life is the vision of any progressive society. this however points at the common good. the common good serves as a guiding principle for creating a just, equitable and harmonious society. it encourages the members of any given society and institutions to consider the broader impact of their actions and decisions, ultimately contributing to the well-being and flourishing of the entire community. the igbo society cannot dream or talk meaningfully of civilization in isolation of human capital development of women, that is, when their women still remain in cultural bondage. women as such, are entitled to all their human rights as persons, so as to facilitate sustainable development. conclusion from the above analysis, it is evident that in both the platonic and igbo conceptions of women, women have a place in the society. women are humans (persons) and are part and parcel of humanity and as such should be recognized as well as given opportunities in all spheres of life. there should be the equality of opportunities for men and women as plato advocates for women occupy a greater percentage. the segregation against women will lead to retarded growth and development, since gender imbalance did not originate in the igbo traditional society but was as a result of the advent of christianity and colonialism. references acholonu catherine motherism: the afrocenric alternative to feminism, owerri, afa publication 1995 anyanwu, u.d. (20i3). for the sake of history, owerri: imo state university press. awofeso, olu et al, (20i4). “gender and political participation in nigeria: a cultural perspective”, in journal research in peace, gender and development (jrpgd). vol 4, september. chinweizu,(1990) anatomy of female power, lagos: pero press. gailey, harry. (i970) road to aba, new york: new york university press. ghorfati, amina., medini, rabha., (20i4) “feminism and its impact on woman in the modern society” www.google.com goelz, phili w. (1768), encydopedia bitannica, vol, 19 chicago, chiacgo university press. mbat, jerome p. (2006), “feminism as a philosophy of development in africa” in many land studies: an international journal of philosophy and african studies. nbuy-beya bernadeth, (1998) women who are you? a challenge? africa pauline publication. p.27 west africa. ogbenika, gregory ebalu (2020) exploring plato's idea of women in the n i g e r i a n context ph.d. ekpoma review, volume. 7. okonkwo u. & ekelakao “women in precolonial eastern nigeria: a historical overview” in journal of humanities. april 2006 p.159. kemaoo press publications. macdonald, f. (1953). transl. plato republic. oxford oxford university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 109 microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 2. no. 5 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 37 ambivalence of human existential situation as an index of rational explanation by chris o. akpan department of philosophy faculty of arts university of calabar, calabar abstract man in spite of his rationality often tend to do things that also negate the interest he at the same time attempts to conserve. his entire existence is beset by this phenomenon of ambivalence. models of explanation like the positivist and realist models, usually employed to give rational explanation on human social action have failed to make recourse to this phenomenon. their logic of explanation is more or less restrictive and lopsided in the sense that reality, for them, is limited either to observable phenomena or their underlying structures from which the observable emanates. in this exclusivist – disjunctive reasoning, they cannot claim to explain fundamentally. in this paper, we argue that to give rational explanation about man’s social behaviour demands taking the human ambivalent situation into consideration. this measure will give us the leverage to understand that reality though a complex phenomenon with diverse components could better be appreciated in a complementary way. we submit that such understanding could only be provided via “complementary reflection”, an approach which is non-exclusivist in character. introduction man belongs to the animal kingdom. yet unlike other animals, his high level of rationality, perhaps more than anything else, stands him out. in his day to day interaction with other members (men) of his society, man with his rationality, does not cease from pursuing his interest (and perhaps that of his colleagues) which is screened by the natural tendency of self-preservation: a tendency which ironically, is shared by other lesser animals with no rationality. these interests may be political, social, economic, religious, scientific, etc. in all these categories, the human existential situation, of course, demands that man cannot do without seeking and defending the interests accruing from them. such interests, it is often taken for granted, are mainly for the enhancement of man’s place in nature, which he spares little or no energy to conquer. thus man’s pursuit of interest in the world he lives is often mistakenly seen as positive in so far as he achieves his aim. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 38 what appears to be elusive to our consciousness is that this pursuit of interest is, to put it metaphorically, a double-edged sword whose one side may be blunt and the other, sharp. by this, we mean that human interests have double capacity which more often than not, are conflicting, portraying negativity and positivity at the same time. professor asouzu painstakingly and vividly captures this phenomenon as “the ambivalence of human situation” (effective, 5ff; method, 61 ff). the irony is that as highly rational animals that we are, we have often either failed to decode this phenomenon or feigned ignorance of it, or more still, tend to take it as normal with impunity. yet the damage or punishment that this phenomenon has offered us is already enormous! more ironical is the fact that models of explanation, especially in the social sciences whose subject matter is human social action, have ever been busy explaining, describing and distinguishing what constitute rational action as against irrational action without any recourse to this phenomenon. this essay, in view of such problematic, is an attempt to argue that any model of explanation in so far as it is concerned with man, his action and interaction in the society that does not take this phenomenon into consideration is defective. our submission is that understanding the ambivalence of human existential situation provides the measures towards any rational explanation, and that “complementary reflection” provides a better model to understanding this primordial phenomenon. an exposition on the notion of ambivalence of human existential situation man is a complex being, easily distinguishable from other animals in his physique, rationality, sociality, religiosity, creativity, political nature, etc. yet as part of nature, he cannot completely divorce himself from the natural tendency shared even by other beings: the tendency of self – preservation. selfpreservation therefore appears to be man’s strongest instinct and indeed the fulcrum from which man pursues his interest. professor asouzu who has to be given immense credit as the first african philosopher to expound the problems associated with the ambivalence of human interest captures it this way: “the need to self preservation is the primordial human interest around which human beings articulate their human action either individually or collectively” (method, 52). what the above means is that self-preservation has been man’s preoccupation right from the time of adam. and it is through this primeval interest that man can make meaning about his life. this primeval interest, however, actually divulges itself into several other existential interests that adorn man’s whole igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 39 existence. thus, human actions, whether individually carried out or collectively performed are more often than not influenced by this interest. the implication here is that self-preservation and its concomitant interests are not tendencies that are bad in themselves. the problem, however, is exposed when we critically examine the intrigues that characterize such interests and the intricate aims human beings associate with such pursuits. professor asouzu in his books, effective leadership and the ambivalence of human interest: the nigerian paradox in a complementary perspective, and the method and principles of complementary reflection in and beyond african philosophy has taken time to explain the phenomenon of ambivalence of human interest with some mindthrobbing concrete examples. thus there seems to be no better place to appeal to if we want to understand this phenomenon well. asouzu’s mission statement is that “human interest is ambivalent because it has a double capacity and as such can represent something negative and positive at the same time” (5). what this means is that in the course of pursuing our interest, we most time would believe that what we are pursuing is something positive; something which may be beneficial to us, without knowing that on the other side of the coin, what we will achieve at the same time is negative. this is to say that we are often being misled by our shallow, parochial and quasi insightful drives towards what we think is positive only to achieve what in the final analysis would be negative. this tendency is the root cause of social disorder, crisis, distrust and lack of our development as humans, state, nation and continent respectively. asouzu correctly sees the phenomenon of ambivalence of human interest as something that is paradoxical. he wonders how we could explain a situation where one seeks to conserve his interest but at the same time undertakes actions that would virtually lead to his destruction and in the process end up by losing whatever interest he was trying to conserve. (15-16). instances that can explain such paradoxicalities abound especially in nigeria (africa). why should a suicide bomber, for instance, engage in this bizarre activity knowing quite well that at the end he would lose his life, kill other people apart from the targeted victim(s)? why should somebody dare into a gold-mine which has been prohibited by the authority as being dangerous, knowing quite well that he may not come out safe? why do people go to vandalize pipe lines in order to scoop out fuel illegally when they also know that they may end up being burnt to death? why do people vandalize, connect, disconnect and even de-connect hightension and low-tension electric cables illegally without fear of being igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 40 electrocuted to death? most important, if they do not think of the immediate dangers to themselves, why don’t they think of how their selfish interests would negatively affect the common good? most ironical is the fact that many people would detect so many things as being wrong yet they would not help going ahead to do those things that they have detected as wrong. on top of that, they may even proffer wonderful solutions to these problems, yet they will not implement these solutions: the solutions ending up only on paper! in asouzu’s words, “we are confronted with a situation where people often choose to do those things they abhor and criticize” (21). to a large extent, some people especially the elites or what nigerians call “leaders of thought and political leaders,” have tended to project these paradoxical and contradictory ways of perceiving reality into a general law (21). in other words, our so called leaders have made uncanny efforts to project and accept abnormalities as being normal and to that extent it does not matter to them if it could be generally accepted as a paradigm. so many “why questions” as raised above on this paradoxical phenomenon need answers. the all-embracing answer as given by asouzu is that the ambivalence of human interest has rather blurred our views, forcing us to “see only the short term or ad hoc benefits of our policies and not their dangers on the long run” (29). this, of course, is true because human interest is intricately interwoven. it is not homogeneous. thus, failure to understand what we need authentically would always lead us into error of getting at, or pursuing what we do not authentically need and this will lead us into self-contradiction. he makes the point that our interests, since they are not homogeneous, “can easily conceal an aspect of their ambivalent dimension and this can lead to all sorts of mistakes” (method, 61). this phenomenon of concealment, would force our drives towards certain interest which are rather deceptive in nature. the fundamental question then is, how do we get ourselves liberated from this phenomenon? how do we escape being destroyed by this tendency? professor asouzu makes it clear that we can free ourselves from this ‘tyranny’ “only if we make concerted conscious efforts to be aware of their devastating effect (62). this means that we are not usually conscious of the dangers inherent in some of the interest we pursue. if we were, then we would know the correct avenue of how to go about realizing them. according to him, “if we were fully aware of the dangers associated with the ambivalence of our interests, we would certainly not sign our own death igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 41 warrant; we would vehemently resist those things that would complicate matters later and put us into trouble” ( effective, 6). but on a more critical note, do we really say that human beings are not sometimes aware or conscious of the dangers that lie in-wait as consequence when they take certain actions? for instance, is the suicide bomber entirely unaware of the fact that taking his life or that of other fellow human beings is wrong? is the pipe-line vandal not aware of the danger he is open to in his business of scooping fuel illegally? even before he ventures into the business, his mind is always cut between two possible alternatives life and death! yet he would ignore that inner voice which keeps warning him: ‘that something terrible could happen’. he would ignore that sub-conscious power which reminds him that the action he would want to delve into will not augur well nor promote the common good. it appears therefore, that professor asouzu’s remark that “if we were fully aware of the dangers associated with the ambivalence of our interests we would not sign our own death warrant…” (16), is similar to identifying knowledge with virtue. inyang in his “social engineering and ambivalence of human interest: the nigerian experience” correctly makes the point that professor asouzu’s position may not be far from socrates’ teaching that “knowledge is virtue and vice is attributed to ignorance of that which is good” (88). but he seems to agree totally with asouzu’s position that if we were aware of the danger of our actions we would not do it, for no man who really knows what is wrong would do it. but this position is open to the same criticism leveled against socrates’ identification of “knowledge with virtue” by aristotle. aristotle is said to have pointed out that socrates may have forgotten the influence of the irrational part of the soul and did not take sufficient notice of the fact of moral weakness which leads man to do what he knows to be wrong (copleston 109). we cannot in all honesty say, for instance, that criminals are totally ignorant people. they are people who most times have deep conviction within them that what they are doing is utterly wrong and devilish and yet would choose to do it. this does not seem to mean that they are unaware of the evil associated with their actions or that if they were aware they would not do it. the problem appears to lie in their moral weakness which is induced when the irrational part in them subjugates the rational part. asouzu even makes the point that the natural urge of self-preservation which influences human actions is not a purely rational one, hence we do at times make recourse to questionable means that we wrongly perceive as good (method, 60). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 42 be that as it may, what is significant about this phenomenon of human existential situation is that it is something that is natural. it is only when we fail to manage it successfully that we tend to act paradoxically. asouzu has propounded two basic principles of complementarism on how to manage this natural phenomenon that beset human life. these, according to him, are: i. the principle of harmonious complementation, and ii. the principle of progressive transformation. the first principle states: “anything that exists serves a missing link of reality” (effective 58). by this, it is meant that all realities are composed of diverse components or segments. the segments, if viewed singly or in isolation from the others would be meaningless and for that reason they are missing in relation to the other. for any reality to be meaningful, then, the components have to be viewed complementarily; that is, the missing components have to be brought together such that they become aware of each other. relating human social actions to this principle, it would mean that both the positive acts and the negative acts that are part of human existence should be harmoniously and mutually related such that each act serves the other in a complementary way. in this way, the negative act when linked up to its other (the positive act), would be transformed positively. this hitherto negative act which has now turned positive since it has found its missing component can become a source of joy for those who perform them. this principle has a touch of aristotle’s idea that nature abhors vacuum and would not make anything in vain. hence everything has a natural tendency towards its end. in this vein, asouzu adds the point that “their transformation (that is, human actions) to the purpose for which they are meant can be accomplished if one adheres to the second principle of harmonious transformation” (60). the demand of this principle is that we should allow the limitation of being to be the cause of joy. what this means is that we should accept our limitations and finality as humans, while making efforts to see these as conditions through which we can achieve higher level of legitimization. it is only when we gain this higher level of legitimization that our struggle and interest in the society could have authentic meaning. in his “redefining ethnicity within the complementary system of thought in african philosophy”, he explains “limitation of being” to mean “ the capacity to view and accept all stakeholders in their relativity and insufficiency and the help and services rendered to them as part of the joy igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 43 intended in one’s own action” (77). professor asouzu’s idea here is a plea for tolerance and deep understanding of the ‘facticity’ of the human situation as an imperfect one. to promote a cordial relationship and interaction, we have to integrate what we think are wrong actions, carried out sometimes unintentionally, with the positive actions, hoping that the positive actions would transform the negative acts and this will then lead to the joy of our being. ambivalence of human existential situation and the quest for rational explanation having explained the notion of ambivalence of human existential situation, the task here is to show that this phenomenon is both a veritable and indispensable index of rational explanation for human social actions. the question that looms large is, what is rational explanation? in answering this question it will be pertinent we dig briefly into the concept of rationality. the concept ‘rationality’, ordinarily is a derivative of the word reason. it entails the procedure of making and adopting beliefs, opinions, ideas, etc, on the basis of appropriate reason. in this wise, one must be seen to be capable of making decision and judgment based on appropriate reason rather than emotion or arbitrary choice before he could be said to be rational. meanwhile, we should note that the adjective ‘rational’ is used to characterize man (the agent) and man’s specific beliefs, opinions or knowledge claims or actions. in both of these cases, rationality can be contrasted with either non-rationality or irrationality (brown 744). a non-living thing, a stone or wood, for example, is not capable of any rational assessment and as such is non-rational. a being who is capable of carrying out rational assessment but who regularly violates the principles of rational assessment is irrational. aristotle is said to be the first person to have declared that rationality is the essential feature that distinguishes human beings from every other animals, thus man by nature according to him, is rational (kanu, 12). the influence of aristotle on the entire history of philosophy need not be recapped here but suffice it to remind us that he is the one who formalized and systematized all forms of human thinking and this culminated in the subject called logic. from then on most philosophers have emphasized that rational assessment or explanation requires rigorous rules of logic for deciding whether a belief, an opinion or an action should be accepted as rational or not. the rules of logic, according to these philosophers, apply to every man irrespective of his cultural background or world-view. thus the idea of rationality had since become central to the tradition igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 44 of western philosophy; and as pointed out by j. b. thomson, “it became definitive of philosophy itself” (279). the rise of modern science in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries gave additional impetus to this technical conception of rationality. thompson notes that: with the rise of the positive science, philosophy lost its pretension to provide a rational explanation of the phenomena which constitute the world. the alleged autonomy and selfsufficiency of philosophy was destroyed; thenceforth, philosophy could continue to explore the theme of rationality only in conjunction with the sciences of nature, of language, of society (279). what this implies is that logic which is part of philosophy and the method of science both became the paradigm of rational explanation. more succinctly, the scientific method, which provides the rules for gathering evidence and evaluating hypothesis on the basis of such evidence, and the fixed and universal principles of logic combined, sort of, to become the paradigm method for any form of knowledge (including the human sciences) wishing to be regarded as rational. thus any form of knowledge, beliefs, traditions and even human actions that did not conform to this paradigm was irrational. this, of course, was the prevailing attitude that made the positivists, the falsificationists and the like to attempt to demarcate science from non-science. this is why, according to aronowitz, “’rationality’ itself becomes inextricably linked to domination” (317). indeed, rationality became ideologized, and to that extent turned into a tool for the suppression and hegemonization of cultures and forms of knowledge believed to be under-developed and second-rated respectively. feyerabend made allusion to this conception of rationality as having originated in greece and later spread on to the sciences (farewell, 73). he attributed this conception of rationality to those he classified as “the founders of western culture”, which, according to him, included “aristotle, descartes, newton, kant, russell, popper and lakatos” (rationalism, 9). feyerabend said that western tradition has been influenced by the idea of rationality peddled by these people. he said that for them, a view or an idea is rational only if it emerges from the application of the procedures, rules, standards, that have been set out by them (8). in this wise one becomes rational, if and only if one’s actions or beliefs can conform to these general rules and standards. this logo-centric – scientific paradigm has had a firm grip on many models of explanation towards explaining natural phenomena and in fact, human social behaviour. but the question is, to what extent have these models of explanation succeeded in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 45 explaining, especially human actions rationally. to put it more firmly, what does it means to give rational explanation about man’s social action? man may be part of the natural order of things in the world: a world which science attempts to explain rationally. this does not mean that everything about man could as well be subjected to rational study and dispassionate investigation by deductive or inductive reason and/ or the scientific method as if he were an inanimate object or a lesser being. man with his complex nature characterized by his intention, beliefs, values, aspirations, and most important his interest and the natural instinct of self-preservation can render the logo-centric – scientific method, especially as peddled by the positivists, questionable. michael lesnoff argues strongly that the model of natural science “is inapplicable in the social sciences because the existence of social facts always implies the existence of mental state – intentions, purposes, beliefs, expectations, and awareness of rules – which are not observable by empirical methods (188). any study of man, therefore, has to take into consideration the human existential situation which, of course, is influenced by the ambivalent nature of his interest. models of explanation like the positivists model of explanation (confirmationist and the falsificationist approaches), often couched in the garb of inductive and deductive logic respectively, and to some extent the realist model, have failed to take this phenomenon into consideration when employed to explain human social action. basically, both the positivist and the realist models of explanation have been observed to be limited and insufficient in their approach to explanation of reality. to be sure, the positivist model hinges on the idea of subsuming whatever phenomenon to be explained under some kind of general law, which according to the positivist is made possible by the regularity of events observed in nature. the model simply conceives of reality as merely phenomenal or as simply made up of only observable entities. thus whatever is not observable or that cannot fit into the scheme of the general law is unscientific and therefore should be discarded. general law, it is argued, is the fulcrum that gives science its impetus of predicting events. predictability thus becomes a fundamental feature that distinguishes what is scientific and rational from that which is unscientific and irrational. a critical look at the positivist model shows that it applies the exclusivist – disjunctive kind of reasoning. but this poses a big problem to the positivist because reality is complex and not merely phenomenal. with this exclusivist igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 46 approach, the model cannot claim to give any authentic explanation which could capture reality in its totality. it is therefore defective and lopsided in its attempts to explain reality. on the other hand, the realist position on explanation is that an authentic causal explanation of event could only be achieved if we strive to uncover and understand the underlying structures, the operative mechanisms and their inter-relationship that give rise to phenomena. william outhwaite puts it this way: “realists by contrast (to the positivists) analyze causality in terms of the nature of things and their interactions, their causal power (and liabilities). the guiding metaphors here are those of structures and mechanisms in reality, rather than phenomena and events” (22). in this wise, a rational explanation is attained only if we go beyond the phenomenal or the observable to the underlying structures or essences which are believed to be the cause of the phenomena we seek to explain. this model on face value may appear to be better than the positivist model in the sense that it does not seem to limit reality to the observable entities. but like the positivist model, it has serious limitation which is in its over-emphasis on the essences or underlying structures as if the phenomenal do not count much. thus in its approach, the model appears to divorce the “real” from the “appearances” as if they have no mutual relationship. in this sense, the realist model is simply too restrictive and suffers the same fate of being lopsided in its attempt to explain reality. the two models on the whole, do not seem to bother about taking the different strands and components of reality into consideration in a complementary manner. this problem is what asouzu’s complementary approach seeks to overcome. we shall return to this soon. meanwhile, it is pertinent to also note that in their quest for criteria to determine what type of action is rational, acceptable and scientific, these models of explanation have tended to detach the problem of rationality from the existential conditions of man which is ambivalent. influenced by the scientific paradigm, these models claim that explanation could be done on the basis of humanly detached evidence. quoting ernest gellner, jacob aigbodioh captures this picture of science thus: “the salient features of scientific knowledge is that its explanatory schemata are impersonal, indifferent to idiosyncrasy and identity, and articulated in terms which are socially and morally blind, and which are, indeed, generally unintelligent without specialized and technical training” (19). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 47 the point here is that this ‘scientism’ when applied to human social situation, seems to detach the issue of what factors are responsible for the actions or the existence of the social agent from the explanatory schemata. the result of such explanatory models would always be lopsided and defective. this is why feyerabend argues that any ’rational’ procedure or ‘valid’ standard that runs counter to sociological and psychological tendencies, and that does not belong to any tradition is hopeless (rationalism, 14). ozumba seems to also support this position when he argues that “the abstract rationalistic aspect of epistemology (scientific knowledge) should be decoded and made to have bearing on human concrete existential situation.” (ozumba 17).now if human existential situation is guided and influenced by that primordial interest – selfpreservation, and since this interest in its diverse ways is not homogenous nor entirely rational, then any rational explanation about man must take this phenomenon into consideration. thus, to give rational explanation about man as a social animal is not to detach this phenomenon from the logic of explanation – making logic or scientific paradigm to dwell in a realm that cannot be brought down to bear on human existential situation. apart from social scientists employing the paradigm of science and logic to attempt to give rational explanation on human actions, each social participant (to use michael root’s term) does not seem to be bereft of ideas on how to explain his actions rationally. for example, ask any social participant why he chooses to break the pipe line or disconnect/reconnect the electric cables to suit his own fancy, or why he evades payment of tax, or why he ‘sorts’ to pass examinations or gain employment, or any favour, he will line out what appears to be very cogent and persuasive reasons – reasons that ‘caused’ him to engage in such actions. his reasons may range from negligence by government, unemployment, injustice, inequality, marginalization, favoritism to the ‘man no man syndrome’ and the like. the reasons he gives may appear to explain his actions. to this extent, he may also be said to give a rational explanation of the causes of his actions. rational explanation in this sense would mean citing an intention that is the cause of the behaviour, and describing the behaviour with some amount of reasonableness. the reasons cited usually would include beliefs, desires, interests, etc, and these, of course, are meant to show that what he did was the reasonable thing to have done in the circumstances. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 48 but the question that social scientists usually pose is, does such ‘lay man’ explanation correctly explain participants’ behaviour? some social scientists do come to the conclusion that participants’ account of what cause their behaviors is insincere and thus certain things are hidden. to that extent, social scientists discount participants account because they “believe the participant is selfdeceived and is hiding from herself the cause of her behaviour” (root 176). this explains why many social scientists put aside or look beyond participants accounts because the belief is that such accounts do not explain enough or fundamentally. this is what asouzu seems to tell us when he argues strongly that to explain ambivalent human acts like violence, graft, corruption, etc., on the basis of such other acts, as injustice, oppression, nepotism or even colonialism, etc. would amount to begging the question. he makes it clear that such ‘causal explanation’ is only touching the symptoms not the root cause of the disease. this of course, is the kind of explanation given by the layman. to give an adequate causal explanation demands that we “take the relative historical conditions of the individual into account and still be insightful. the explanation must go beyond known empirical effects but has to consider them” (method 231). the explanatory task, according to him, is to explain the most fundamental cause why people engage in acts that are ambivalent, acts that are awkwardly paradoxical. and the most appropriate approach of explanation, it seems, is the complementary approach which we mentioned in the last section of this work. a thorough look at asouzu’s complementary approach to explaining reality shows that his approach has the capacity to overcome the limitations of the positivist and realist models of explanation; models that are purely exclusivist in nature. the complementary approach is a non-exclusivist model which seeks to establish the basic relationship that makes an event possible. it seeks to understand all events, first in their historical and relative fragmentation and then in their ultimate relationship to the totality. this approach, anchored on the methodological principles of “harmonious complementation” and “progressive transformation”, is a call for every scientist and social inquirer to learn to view each component of reality as being meaningful only when understood in relation to other components. in this sense, we will learn to accept all diverse components in their relativity and insufficiency, but with a conviction that they can be mutually complemented; that is, if we have to achieve an authentic understanding of their nature. following such an illuminative approach, it would be seen that all models that are restrictive in their explanation of reality igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 49 are non-complementary. and all non-complementary models are models that are incapable of explaining the phenomenon of ambivalence that beset human existence. the bottom line of our discourse above is that any model of explanation wishing to explain the actions of that rational being (man) must go beyond the outward manifestations of man’s actions or behaviours to the fundamental causes which is the human primordial interest (self-preservation), which is not entirely rational because of its ambivalence nature. we must however, in doing this, still be insightful of the outward actions by assimilating them in a complementary way. this then is what the complementary approach does better than the other models of explanation. the significance of ambivalence of human situation as an index of rational explanation our attempt here is to show the significance that accrues from understanding or being conscious of the phenomenon of ambivalence: a phenomenon that underlies human actions. understanding this phenomenon is the measure for any rational explanation. given the fact that man is not entirely rational, for he can act irrationally at times: and given that it would be pretty difficult to mark and maintain a precise boundary between rationality and irrationality, for an act can be rational now and irrational in another sense or another moment (boudon 4), the best way to explain human action ‘rationally’ is to understand this phenomenon of ambivalence. understanding this phenomenon would mean that we must be at alert always, for one who is alert will know when the irrational part of him attempts to subjugate the rational part, especially with regard to taking actions which concerns himself and which may have immediate or later effect on others. let us explain this with the illustration of those individuals and groups who evade payment of taxes to the appropriate bodies. some individuals will give ‘rational explanation’ that government has not justified the monies that accrue from taxes, that government has not provided enough social amenities that is commensurate with the taxes they collect, and so on. hence, they conclude, there is no need to pay taxes again. on face value, the reasons they give as the cause of their refusing to pay taxes make their argument rational, for after all, if government involves reciprocity between it and the citizen with respect to observance of rules (fuller 188), then the government should justify igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 50 the taxes paid by providing these amenities, that is, if the citizens are to continue obeying the rules covering tax payments. but on a more critical look many people because of self-interest would not ordinarily want to part with their money for their belief is that government should take care of them. the question is, how many people would pay their taxes willingly if government do not remove from their sources or mount road blocks or go to houses in order to force people to comply? in nigeria in particular, it is doubtful if many people will willingly pay taxes. this is a sharp contrast to what obtains in some other countries where the citizens even beg government to increase their taxes. refusing to pay taxes, on the other hand, is irrational because it breaches a provision of the constitution of the country (we can call it a standard of rationality) which mandates every adult to pay taxes. now the individual or group who evades payment of taxes may think that he has gained something positive by saving his money but on the other side, his action will present something negative about him as a social animal and to his community. suppose his action expressed in the proposition ‘there is no need to pay taxes again’ is taken as a maxim or is generalized (that is, becomes a ‘general law’), then the little effort government has made will pale into nothingness, for the few social amenities provided through the ‘forced’ collection of taxes would not be there. the implication is that those who refuse to pay taxes and the entire citizenry will suffer the effect of such maxim. what the above tries to capture is that trying to promote self-interest above the common good is not entirely rational no matter how ‘rational’ the explanation as regards the cause of the action would appear to be. it would therefore be absurd for one to term behaviour rational when it produces undesired effects either immediately or in the long run. such behaviour is ambivalent in that it amounts to pursuing an end that one does not want. this is why asouzu makes the point that ”if we act under the assumption of unmitigated self-interest devoid of considerations for the common good, our action has an inherent moment of contradiction because in seeking to negate the common good, we indirectly also negate our own interest” (method, 237). the best way to escape this contradiction is for the human mind to come to terms with the phenomenon of ambivalence which underlies his actions, and then makes effort to pursue what is fundamentally authentic. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 51 understanding the phenomenon of ambivalence would make or enhance our moral consciousness. the issue of morality could not entirely be divorced from our conception of what rational explanation involves in so far as we are talking about human actions. human beings, according to pratt, are “typically subject to moral obligations, and this is a further difference between them and the objects studied by natural science” (90). related to this is the fact that man is a political animal. this, according to jacgues maritain is that “he is a rational animal, because reason requires development through character, training, education and the cooperation of other men and because society is thus indispensable to the accomplishment of human dignity” (qtd. in eneh and okolo 50 – 51). being a rational animal means that man naturally can discern what is good behaviour from what is bad behaviour. man only engages in bad behaviour because of interest which he may see as positive. but this is only as a result of moral weakness. if man were to take the concomitant problems associated with his moral weakness seriously then, he would always attempt to be morally upright. he would know that just as the self-need the society so does the society needs the self. this would force it on him to know that nefarious acts like embezzlement, vandalization, disregard for sanctity of human life, graft, etc. are crimes committed against himself and these would not augur well for the social order. in this way, whenever we talk of giving a rational explanation about human actions, we should also make allusion to the morality of the said action. this becomes quite important because explanation in the “human sphere”, according to pratt, “is not a matter of finding covering laws” (77). it is simply more than that. explanation of what causes human actions, especially the paradoxically puzzling types we have been discussing, entails providing deep understanding of the action. in such understanding, we assimilate what is obvious and clear to us with that which is puzzling and not immediately intelligible (onigbinde 76). for example, in explaining the action of a vandal who breaks the pipeline to scoop fuel, we will seek to explain his action by looking at his reasons which may be that: (i) he has been marginalized by government (ii) he has no employment (iii) his land which he would have cultivated has been spoilt by gas flaring (iv) the only source of income, therefore, is to scoop and sell fuel if he must survive. these reasons perhaps, are obvious facts that can be attested. but the puzzling and unintelligible part is the act of not fearing for his life or that of other members of his society. in this sense his instinct of selfpreservation has tended to subvert his rationality. thus in explaining such actions from the complementary stand-point and with reference to the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 52 phenomenon of ambivalent situation, we assimilate in a very complementary manner both the historico – environmental conditions of the individual with the primordial interest of self-preservation. it is such model of explanation that can lead us to a comprehensive understanding of the said action. this is why it would not be entirely acceptable to discount ‘participants’ account or reasons as explanation for their actions. failure to take the participants reasons for their actions into consideration in the course of explanation would in turn means undermining the human beings involved as not being rational at all. in view of this, an understanding of the ambivalent human situation becomes very significant if we must give a rational explanation of human actions. conclusion this work has been an attempt to show the inevitability of ambivalent of human existential situation as a measure of rational explanation of human actions. the ambivalence of human situations is anchored on the notion of self-preservation which man, though rational, shares with other animals that are not rational, or are of a lesser level of rationality. we have argued that models of explanation in science, employed in social theory have often detached the idea of what is rational from the human existential situation and to this extent such explanatory models have somewhat been lopsided and defective. in our exposition of the notion of ambivalence of human existential situation, we have appealed heavily to professor asouzu’s book on the subject by reviewing the basic point of his idea. we have agreed with him that the best way to give rational explanation of human action is to understand that human interest is ambivalent for this would lead us to know not only the observable effects of the actions but the latent or hidden meanings of such actions. this index of rational explanation, we should further agree with him, could best be explained through complementary reflection. “complementary reflection” could be said to be a ‘calabar school of philosophical thought’ or better still a philosophical blue-print incidentally propounded by professor asouzu. this philosophy, which to our understanding is very encompassing, seeks to build bridges of unity between and among the opposing strands of reality and competing interests, not unmindful, however, of the potentialities of each diverse strand or interest respectively. it seeks to interpret and explain realities from a complementary standpoint rather than from an exclusivist standpoint, taking cognizance of the possible usefulness of each component of reality – whether positive or negative. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 53 it is our conviction that with its underlying imperative – the principle of harmonious complementation and the principle of progressive transformation, complementary reflection could lead us to reflect critically and deeply on the limitations and facticity of human existence with a view to understanding and managing the double capacity of our interest and other intrigues associated with it. it is on this conviction that one is tempted to consider complementary reflection as a better model of rational explanation than some others that are utterly exclusivist in nature. references aigbodioh, jacob a. “imperatives of human knowledge illustrated with epistemological conceptions in african thought”. ibadan journal of humanistic studies. 7 (1997) 17-34. aronowitz, stanley, science as power: discourse and ideology in modern society. hampshire: macmillan press, 1988. asouzu, innocent. effective leadership and the ambivalence of human interest: the nigerian paradox in a complementary perspective. calabar, university of calabar press, 2003 asouzu, innocent. the method and principles of complementary reflection in and beyond african philosophy. calabar: university of calabar press, 2004. asouzu, innocent. “redefining ethnicity within ‘the complementary system of thought’ in african philosophy”.re-ethinicizing the minds?: cultural revival in contemporary thought. eds. thorsten botzbornstein and jurgen hengelbrock. amsterdam: rodopi, 2006: 63-77. boudon, raymond: the logic of social action: an introduction to sociological analysis. trans. david silverman. london: routledge and kegan paul, 1981 brown harold i. “rationality” the oxford companion to philosophy. ed. ted hundreich. oxford: oxford university press, 1995: 744-745. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 54 copleston , fredrick . a history of philosophy vol 1: greece to rome .new york: image books 1985 eneh , j . o and c. b. okoro. “the common good and political stability”. philosophy and politics : discourse on value and power in africa . ed . maduabuchi dukor . lagos: obaro and ogbinaka publishers, 1998: 4756. feyerabend , paul . farewell to reason. london: verso, 1987 feyerabend , paul . “rationalism, relativism and scientific method “. philosophy in context: an experiment in teaching .6 (1977) :7-19. fuller, l. l. “the morality of law”. introduction to jurisprudence. 4th ed. ed. lord lloyd of hempstead and m.d.a. freeman. london: vcp, 1985. inyang, j. o. “social engineering and ambivalence of human interest: the nigerian experience”. sophia: african journal of philosophy. 6:2 (2004):8397. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2012). the problem of being in metaphysics. published in african research review: an international multi-disciplinary journal. vol.6. no.2. april. pp. 113-122. lesnoff ,michael. “minds and social science”. conceptions of inquiry eds. stuart brown, et al. london: methuen, 1981:179-189. onigbinde akinyemi. philosophy and the social sciences: discourse in conceptual relationship. ibadan: frontline, 2000. outwaite, william. new philosophies of social science: realism, hermeneutics and critical theory. london: macmillan, 1987. ozumba, g. o. “epistemology and existentialism”. ndunode: calabar journal of the humanities.3.2 (2002):10-18. pratt vernon. the philosophy of the social sciences. london: methuen, 1978. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no 5, september 2016. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 55 root, michael, philosophy of social science: the methods, ideals and politics of social inquiry. oxford: blackwell, 1993. thompson, j. b. studies in the theory of ideology. cambridge: polity press, 1984. 75 human relations as foundational for religious tolerance in nigeria samuel c. izuegbu & b. a. c obiefuna department of religion and human relations, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka sc.izuegbu@unizik.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.25338.81600 abstract nigeria is not only pluralistic in terms of ethnic and cultural groupings but most sensitively, nigeria is a religious pluralistic country. religious crises, fanaticism and extremism have been witnessed in nigeria for years. this work looking at the ugly trends of religious intolerance in nigeria evident in religious conflicts, observes a lack in sound human relations. underneath these crises, good human relations is lacking. this work made use of secondary sources of information to obtain its data. the work holds that the principles of good human relations have not been effectively promoted among the adherents of various religious faiths in nigeria more than how each faith is primed above others by the adherents of the faith. it is held that good human relations is basic for solving religious intolerance in nigeria with its concomitant effects. it recommends that human relations should be a major part of the teachings of religious practitioners in nigeria; schools and other institutions of learning should have human relations as a course of study to promote its principles in nigeria. it is the conclusion of this paper that with good understanding of human relations with its attendant benefits, religious intolerance is reduced to the barest minimum. keywords: human relations, intolerance, religion, bigotry, tolerance. introduction every human society has a form of religion or the other. ezeanya (2009) asserts that history is yet to discover a religionless society. in the study of religion, scholars are aware of the sensitivity of the subject matter. everyone jealously sees his religion as the true religion even when others see otherwise. idowu (1973) understands this and presents codes in the study of religion. these codes include caution in dealing and studying other people's religion. not just that one should be cautious, there is need for openness, for one is expected to see from the lens of those in the religious faith. another code is sympathy in which case what people say about a particular religion is not all that is important but what a religion says about itself. again reverence which enable one appreciate the sacredness of other's religion and as such accord respect to the said religion. these salient codes are necessitated by unavoidable sensitivity of religion as a societal reality which is capable of uniting and at the same time disintegrating families, communities, nations and organizations. being that there are various religious faiths has made it imperative for individuals to remain careful in their dealings with other religious faith especially when they do not properly understand the tenets of such religion. be it judaism, christianity, islam, buddhism, hinduism, taoism, confucianism, african trdaitional religion or any other form, each religion has its teachings and practices which the adherents hold dear to them. in a multi-ethnic society like nigeria, religious pluralism is often witnessed. sometimes, religion in embedded in the culture of a people and for this reason, where there are different ethnic backgrounds in a country, one expects different religious faith. mmah (2012) appreciates that religion is the basis of identity and tribe, a nation or a community. however, this identity can breed conflicts. in his observation, nmah states that: this religious identity has been the foundations of the separation of each from the other and the cause of intraand inter-ethnic group conflict. for example, religious conflicts igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 76 have been known to exist between the canaanites and the israelites, the jews and muslims, the muslims and christians (as in nigeria, sudan and egypt), the hindus and the sikhs, the roman catholics and the protestants or even conscipicous rivalry between catholics and anglicans in anambra, imo and enugu states of nigeria. these conflicts more often than not are consequent upon theological indoctrination by these religious groups. (p. 413). it is therefore not utopia to state that religious groups can lead to conflicts as they exist side by side others. just like every other human organization or institution, conflicts are inevitable. however, when conflicts get to the level of intolerance, that brings in a red flag to the general peace, growth and development. it is a fact that human beings progress better when they work together without rancor. nigeria as a nation falls into the category of a country with multi-ethnic groups. there have been clear religious conflicts in nigeria. two of the dominant religious faiths: christianity and islam have been showing levels of intolerance. though, african traditional religion and other religious faiths are practiced in nigeria but the duo of christianity and islam has greater conflicts than others. these conflicts have led to different damages in the country in every sphere. many times, people lose their lives in the course of such religious conflicts. there is a kind of christianmuslim dichotomy in the country. in the political sphere of the country for instance, fielding a muslim-muslim or christian-christian ticket during political elections generate fears and questions. this is an end product of religious intolerance in the country because it has gotten to a point where people of a particular religious faith are afraid of what people of another religious faith could do against them, should they have political power. this malady of intolerance is a serious clog on the wheel of progress in nigeria as a country. for progress to be witnessed therefore, peaceful coexistence is paramount. ukor and olori (2023) make a case for peaceful coexistence that could foster inclusive growth and sustainable development in nigeria despite the cultural diversity cum pluralism in the country. in view of the above situation, the current research discusses human relations as a remedy to the menace. effective human relations where individuals relate with other in a healthy, progressive and value-oriented manner is positioned by the current research as a way out of religious intolerance in nigeria. understanding the importance of human relations and imbibing the principles in the citizens endeavours will bring down the tempo of religious intolerance in nigeria. conceptual clarifications human relations human relations is the interactions and behaviuors that exist among individuals in a given setting. it involves the way people relate with one another in a community, human organizations, workplace and generality of the society. for lussier (2008), “human relations means interactions among people” (p. 5). human relations involves the ways individuals relate to each other in group situations especially workplace. as people come together, there are expected ways of interaction among them. these come under human relations. individuals come from different backgrounds, such requires a conscious way of interaction. this idea of conscious way of interaction may be seen in the definition of lamberton and minor-evans (cited in umeanolue 2021). according to them, “human relations is the ability to work effectively through and with other people. human relations includes a desire to understand others, their needs and weaknesses, and their talents and abilities” (p. 97). this understanding of human relations by lamberton and minor-evans are considered in the current research on enhancing religious tolerance in nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 77 religion religion is one of the concepts that enjoy varied definitions which could be because of the background of the person who defines the concept. sani (2007) views religion from its root word: relegere which means to unite or to link and religio, which means relationship or bond. according to merriam (ed.) (1980), religion is the outward act or form by which men indicate their recognition of the existence of god or of gods having power over their destiny, to whom obedience, service and honour are due; the feeling of expression of human love, fear or awe of some superhuman and overruling power, whether by profession of belief, by observance of rites and ceremonies or by conduct of life. (p. 250). the above view of religion remains deficient as it only dwells on the vertical view of religion (god and man). ugwu (2002) views religion as “faith and practices involving the relationship between mankind and what is regarded as sacred” (p.2). this definition suffers the same deficiency. to make religion more encompassing, obiefuna (2008) asserts that religion involves human relation. in fact, the hallmark of religion in any society is human relation. this later horizontal understanding of religion makes it more relevant in the current research. religion therefore involves the relationship between man and god or deities (vertical) as well as relationship between man and man (horizontal). religion is man's relationship with supersensible world (the supreme being) which in turn enables him relate to his fellow man. religious tolerance religious tolerance is the ability and willingness to appreciate spiritual values, beliefs and practices which are different from one's own. the existence of different religions in a society necessitates the idea of religious tolerance. religious tolerance seeks to promote mutual coexistence of every religion in a peaceful manner without conflicts. religious tolerance is antibigotry or fanaticism. it promotes the existence of various religions and respect for each religion. in nigeria, which is the scope of the current research, religious tolerance is achieved when christians, muslims and other religious faiths appreciate that each of them have spiritual values and each can coexist with the other without discrimination or elements of religious superiority. this is a culture of peaceful coexistence among religious adherents of different religious faiths. religious intolerance religious intolerance occurs when there exists denial of right of a group to practice their religious belief. uia (nd) sees religious intolerance as acts that involve denying the right of a particular people of another faith to practice freely their religious belief. such manifests when there is discrimination, repression and religious rivalry. sulaiman (2016) mentions that such negative attitudes constantly manifest in violent outburst that spill over the political and economic lives of the citizens. evidence of religious intolerance in nigeria authors have severally acknowledged the pluralistic nature of nigeria as a country. the pluralistic character according to obiefuna and uzoigwe (2012) is evident in its varied cultures, varied ethnic groups, languages, and most importantly for the current research, varied belief (religious) systems. owing to this fact, nigeria is a country with varied worldviews. religion as it is gives meaning to worldviews. according to obiefuna and uzoigwe all these systems were pulled together (amalgamated) by the colonialists to form one nigeria without consultation, discussion and consensus. naturally, the struggle for group identity initiates and often exacerbates conflict. this is more for a nigeria of two different major missionary religions that in their maturation stem from two different igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 78 cultures, judeo-roman (christianity) and arabic (islam). (p. 137). the fact of religious pluralism in nigeria leads to religious conflicts. religious conflicts are products of religious intolerance which has been witnessed at various times and places in nigeria. religious intolerance is a dangerous wind that has blown negatively to the peaceful coexistence of nigerians especially in the northern nigeria with traces of religious intolerance in southern nigeria. intolerance is caused by certain characters of religion. obasi (2009) opines that “it is clear that religion, because of narrow-mindedness, misunderstanding, fundamentalism, or fanaticism, may also block social progress, and breakdown the social order” (p. 313). this observation is apt for the idea breeds intolerance which has led to many conflicts as witnessed in nigeria. izuegbu (2021) discussing religious bigotry as a serious challenge to security and development in nigeria sees religion promoting narrow thinking which is orchestrated by religious practices of some individuals as another character of religion that breeds bigotry which challenges security and development of a nation. this is shown in authority and dogmatism. the rigidity in belief system in most cases does not call for societal progress. enyioma (2011) is right to say that africa and especially nigeria are greatest victims of religious crises. this is a result of religious intolerance. ugwu (2009) specifically states that the two cities of kano and kaduna in the northern nigeria have witnessed serious religious crises, this corroborated agbese (2002) description of the two cities as 'hot beds' for religious crises in nigeria. the belief systems of these religions which are not considering the existence of one another is the cause. anugwom and igbo (2002) in this clarifies that muslims, for instance, believe that they have the right to “islamise” the world. this is not necessarily through persuasive arguments or evangelism but through 'holy wars' or 'jihad'. christians on their own part believe in evangelism or spreading the gospel of jesus christ. they argue that one cannot attain salvation or go to heaven except through the strict adherence to the teachings of christ. each of the two groups wants to maintain separate identity and at the same time try (sic) to win converts from the other. (p. 125). the import of the indented paragraph is that religious superiority is held by each of the two religious groups especially in nigeria. each believes in holding the truth which the other does not hold. this is a clear sign of intolerance that results into religious crises as seen in nigeria. the newswatch magazine of november 2, 2009 (cited in enyioma 2011) contains various crises in nigeria. some of the crises that are religious are here for understanding of how intolerance has led to crises in nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 79 date location principal actors/actions 1st may, 1980 zaria (kaduna state) disturbances in zaria during which property belonging to christians were destroyed. 29th – 30th october 1982 kano (kano state) muslim demonstrators burnt down churches march 1986 ilorin (kwara state) muslim and christians clashed during easter procession march 1987 kafanchan (kaduna state) clash between muslims and christians at college of education, kafanchan. loss of some properties and the burning of some mosques by christians and native kajes. march 1987 katsina, funta polytechnic (kaduna state) wave of religious riots in which muslims burnt down numerous church buildings, a nd damaged properties belonging to christians. many lives were lost. february, 1988 kaduna, kaduna polytechnic (kaduna state) religious riots, ostensibly among students, destroyed the foundation walls of the christian chapel april 1991 katsina (katsina state) religious violence spear headed by malam yahaya yakubu, leader of the fundamentalist shiite sect in katsina. it was protest over a blasphemous publication in fun times. several lives were lost and property destroyed. october 1991 kano (kano state) a peaceful procession initiated by the izala sect to halt rev. reinhard bonnke from having a crusade in kano later degenerated into a very violent and bloody religious confrontation. many lives were lost and properties destroyed january 1993 funtua (katsina state) the kalakato religious sect assaulted the village head and burnt the police vehicle. lives and property were lost december 1994 kano (kano state) communal violence triggered off by the beheading of a christian who has allegedly desecrated the quran may, 1995 kano (kano state) communal violence triggered off by quarrel between hausa and igbo led to the burning of houses, churches and shops killing innocent people february, 2000 kaduna (kaduna state) kaduna city exploded in violence as muslim and christian extremists and other hoodlums clashed over the proposal to introduce sharia september 2000 kaltungo (gombe state) a religious violence that was sparked off by the presence of the state sharia implementation committee december 2000 hadejia (jigawa state) a sectarian disturbance that was caused by a debate between muslims and christians in hadejia. there was destruction of worship centres september 2001 jos (platueau state) a violent ethnic/religious crisis between the muslim/hausa fulani and christian/indigenes igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 80 izuegbu (2021) observes that fourth republic in nigeria has witnessed series of religious conflicts. ezeanokwasa (2009) like other scholars holds that greater number of the crises were in the northern nigeria. sampson (2012) states some of the religious crises in the fourth republic. the crises which sampson observes include: violent clashes between yoruba traditional worshippers and hausa groups in sagamu, ondo state on july 1, 1999 which brought a reprisal ndcrisis of kano on 22 july, 1999. in kwara state, muslim fundamentalists attacked and destroyed over 14 churches in ilorin on december 20, 1999 where properties worth millions of naira were destroyed. in february 2000, there was riot in kaduna over the introduction of sharia where about 3000 people lost their lives. this had reprisal at aba, abia state where over 450 people were killed. there was kaltungo religious crisis in gombe in september 2000 over implementation of sharia in the state. furthermore, in october, 2001, as observed by sampson (2012), crises rocked kano as a protest to us invasion of afghanistan over osama bin laden. over 150 lives were lost. jos witnessed religious crisis in september, 2001 where mosques, churches and several property were damaged. the 2002 article authored by isioma daniel in this day newspaper led to crisis in kaduna where the muslims attacked christians and churches. this was because of 'miss world' beauty contest. over 250 people lost their lives. numan town in adamawa in 2004 witnessed religious conflict between christians and muslims which was caused by the location of the town's central mosque close to bachama paramount palace. the danish cartoon of prophet mohammed in jyllands-posten newspapaer caused religious conflict between christians and muslims in maiduguri of borno state in 2006. over 50 people were killed, churches destroyed, shops, houses, vehicles were destroyed. in 2009, nigeria witnessed the rise of boko haram sect that unleashed violence on christians in bauchi, borno, kano and yobe states. over 700 persons were reportedly killed, many were internally displaced, children were made orphans, many became widows and widowers. the kala-kato sect violence on christians in bauchi in the same year was equally witnessed. in 2010, plateau state witnessed several religious crises. the bombing of a christian church at madala, niger state in december, 2011 is an evidence of the unabated religious bigotry in nigeria. in 2012, gunmen stormed deeper life church in gombe and boko haram claimed responsibility of the killing. further still, boko haram which according to idowu (2015) started as a fundamentalist islamic sect with the purpose of helping the northern region government achieve the intention of implementing the shariah law throughout the region has been a serious threat to the security of the nation especially the north. this is a clear religious sect that is against western education (which has its root in christianity) in nigeria. the abduction and killing of the chairman of christian association of nigeria (can), rev lawan andimi in january, 2020 as reported by ndguardian newspaper of 22 january 2020 after the sect rejected n50m ransom is still an evidence of religious intolerance in nigeria. the gruesome killing of deborah samuel yakubu, a second year student of a college of education and a christian who was accused of blasphemy by th a mob of muslim students in sokoto on 12 may, 2022 is a clear sign of religious intolerance and its concomitant negative effects. it is pertinent to state that religious intolerance may be seen even among christians in southern nigeria. according to obiefuna (2018) it would appear as if all religious conflicts that cut deep wounds of loss of life and property in nigeria are caused by the muslims even in moslem dominated areas like northern nigeria. that is far from being the fact. christians equally contribute to the problems not only where they are in the majority like in the south east of nigeria but also where they are in the minority…. any religious fanatic is a militant, one way or the other. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 81 in christianity, they are found more in pentecostals and charismatics. they do not carry naked weapons but have other ways of launching their own attack and, like islamic militants, are ready to die. (p. 37). fanaticism is a product of religious intolerance where some individuals try to lord their religious belief over others. ojo (2013) observes equally that the charismatics and pentecostals are capable of causing interreligious conflict due to their attitudes even in moslem dominated areas. chiegboka (2012) reiterates that religious freedom is violated “when people are marginalized, discriminated against, denied employment, appointment, promotion because of their religious affiliation (p. 213). he further advocates dialogue and reconciliation for the common good of all. for obiefuna (2018), these crises, loss of lives and properties are recorded because there is lack of self-awareness and mutual respect. this idea is in the character of human relations. the character of human relations man by nature is a social being and a being in relation. he is born in the midst of others and cannot effectively survive without others. he feels his completeness within others and feels incomplete outside others, he is a gregarious being in collaboration with his kinds. this nature of man makes human relations an inevitable character of man in any human community. he is not created by nature to be self sufficient in such a way that he does everything alone, he has deficiencies which his interactions with others complete. it is therefore in effective human relations that realization of communal, societal, organizational and national goals depends. udezo and nwadialor (2012) describe effective human relations as positioning people emotionally, spiritually, and intellectually so as to maintain and restore relationships at all levels of human interaction, to create safe environments that nurture each individual. man, by nature is religious…. in addition to being a religious being, he recognizes that he is a being in relation. this peculiar quality makes man to be in relation not only to other beings of his own species, but to divinities and to god. (p. 239). the idea of man being a relational being shows that in his religious life, economic life, political life, communal life, spiritual life, work life and so on, he relates with people. this relation is not just irrational but well planned and cautious to enable such relations yield the needed results for general human and societal development. human relation is goal oriented. as udezo and nwadialor point out, effective human relations creates opportunity for developing qualities, attitudes and abilities which enable the individual to critical understanding of “problem of society, to understand and explain facts, opinions and ideas, to work in groups, to accept and participate in free discussions and to have value judgments and decision on a national analysis of relevant facts and factors” (p. 239). human relations is therefore the life wire of working together as a community, organization and as a nation. it prepares the mind to make critical evaluations before taking certain actions or making certain utterances. understanding human relations enables individual to understand themselves through selfawareness. one's understanding of his capabilities, strengths and talents makes him understand and appreciates his weaknesses and shortcomings. this understanding opens way for him to appreciate others who are better than him in various spheres. human relations is not what one understands from other people's lens but what an individual does by critically understanding himself. this understanding brings about confidence in oneself. psychologically, individuals who do not understand themselves feel so much inferior in comparism with others. this is capable of breeding negative human relations as such individuals see the moves of others from negative perspective even when they are not. self esteem is very critical in human relations and so, in developing effective human relations, efforts are made at making individuals have knowledge of themselves and at the same time have confidence in themselves. this will enable igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 82 one be a partaker in discussions with people of different religious faith, party affiliation and the like. this is one major peculiar character in human relations. as earlier mentioned, mutual respect is very important character of human relations. obiefuna (2018) sees this as a way of recognizing that every individual has worth. the worth-ness of the individual is not dependent on his religious affiliation. it is totally depended on him as a person with conscience and dignity, created in the image of god. izuegbu (2023) sees mutual respect as mutual regards and considerations among individuals who interact. this symbiotic regards is very vital for effective human relations. the idea of giving honour to whom it is due is apt here. in human relations, mutual respect is observed and once each honours the other, interactions move with less hitches. human relations appreciates group dynamics. pluralism in the society becomes advantage with effective human relations. group dynamics makes for appreciation of diversity, be it in religion, culture or politics. human relations rests on empathy. as long as human society is concerned, the issue of empathy is not overemphasized. people who cannot empathize cannot relate. dialogue is very critical in human relations and it is possible through understanding among people that are interacting. tolerance, justice and fairness are all in the character of human relations. so, effective human relations is not a mere practice but a committed practice where people are ready to accept others, know that people are from different background, appreciate individual and group differences, being ready to compromise for peace and hold each person, group or organization with glove of honour not dishonor. human relations as foundation for religious tolerance in nigeria the excursions in this work have made religious intolerance a fact in nigeria with its attendant negative effects. it is therefore a problem that needs solution. religious tolerance cannot exist without individuals understanding the needs for effective human relations. understanding that human beings exist for each other, breaks the jinx of religious intolerance. this understanding enables one to appreciate the fact that he, like others is first a citizen before either a christian or a muslim. this understanding brings about the brotherhood of all. seeing each other from the lens of humans than just faith is what human relations promote. the grip of religion on individual does not in any way belittle the general belongingness of every citizen to the nation. human relations brings about understanding of each person, his religious and cultural affiliation and at the same time appreciating that these differences are for complimentarily and not for division or schism. human relations promotes the dignity of the human person just like in the universal declaration of human rights. unesco (2018) sees human relations as the realization of human rights. this idea is very necessary here. human rights uphold freedom of religion and this every person is expected to respect. ewere and yakubu (2021) strongly emphasize on this by stating that there is an urgent national need for nigerians to eschew intolerance, accept religious diversity as a basic social reality of the country, and learn to live with it by accepting the fact that it is the absolute constitutional right of fellow citizens to practice any religious faith they so desire. this is because the freedom of religious beliefs and practices as stipulated in the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria as amended, grants all citizens the fundamental right to pursue their belief without discrimination and intimidation. (p. 216). in observing the rights of individuals, the principle of relativity is applied. relativity here implies that individuals should be mindful of other people's rights while he is exercising his own rights. this comes to mind when one reads udezo and nwadialor (2012) description of human relations as 'liveand let live'. this idea is embedded in the fact that in a pluralistic society, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 83 individuals should be mindful of their actions that they do not trample on others dangerously. this is what human relations upholds. there cannot be religious intolerance when an individual imbibes this understanding in his dealings with other. the human person who is both a religious person and a relational person is to be accorded respect not just corporal but equally in his belief system. observing the idea that where one's rights end, another one's rights begin is very important to the promoters of human relations. this is why it is unarguable that if there should be religious tolerance, practitioners of religious faith must know that they have their rights relative to other people's rights, though of a different faith. mutual respect is one of the pillars of effective human relations. it is important to note that what breeds intolerance in most cases is looking down on others and their beliefs. this is anomaly in human relations. human relations advocates for mutual respect. where mutual respect is observed among the religious faiths in nigeria, there would not be any sign of intolerance. most times, the way religious faiths in nigeria condemn each other with zero respect breeds problem and hence conflicts. religious tolerance is built on the sanctuary of mutual respect which is a cardinal principle in human relations. in human relations, listening and proper communication are essential. one major problem is that it seems difficult for people from other faith to listen and understudy other faiths without bias. no religious faith exists without something good from it. however, because of religious teachings, it is difficult for many to really give ears to other people's religious teaching in order to be well informed. the ill of not listening and having sound communication is religious intolerance. listening skill and communication skills are among the powerful skills human relations promote. the reason is that the two skills enhances proper understanding, critical assessment and proper situation of things. men have regretted their actions because they could not listen. people have attracted enemies to themselves because they feel communicating to certain individuals is not necessary. human relations frowns at this. religious tolerance in nigeria can only have its foundation in effective human relations. utilizing communication and listening skills opens opportunity for religious dialogue. as a formal discussion of issues of concern, dialogue can go a long way in reducing the tempo of religious intolerance anywhere in the world. every religion claims to be propagating moral teachings. there should not be moral teachings outside a community of human persons. this implies that moral teaching is because there are individuals. moral teachings are practiced in relation to other human persons, it is not solely personal. it is in human relations that moral teachings manifest. udezo and nwadialor (2012) affirms that it is a holistic relation that harnesses the moral teachings of every religion to moderate unwanted in a society. it is based on the ideology of none (sic) violence, honesty, justice, equity, tolerance, correlation, accountability, compassion and respect for differences and people. (p. 243). these moral principles religion teaches cannot be lived outside other human beings especially people of other faiths. it entails that for one to practice the moral teachings of his religion, he must be ready to relate with other humans following the moral teachings acquired. where this is not the case, it makes religion a dangerous factor than what it ought to be. the underlying factor is how effective is the human relations of adherents of a particular religion. human relations remains foundational for societal peace and progress not just a solution to religious intolerance. the morality of a religious faith is better measured by human interactions. human relations recognizes the diversity of human society. this work has equally appreciates the pluralistic nature of nigeria. group dynamic is one major areas in human relations. the import is that human beings come from different background. in most cases, they are not the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 84 makers but by providence they found themselves being of such background. many who are muslims today in nigeria are muslims because they were born by muslim parents. in the same vein, many who are christians today in nigeria are because they were born by christian parents. understanding the pluralistic nigeria from this angle will enable individuals appreciate others and tolerate others. there are differences in religious orientation. the opportunities differ and so are not the same. human relations considers all these and emphasizes on correlation of all in the same society. each individual is to appreciate the other as coming from a different background. in this regard, tolerance is promoted in human relations. proper understanding of group dynamic as a principle in human relations will go a long way in creating in the minds of nigerians of various religious faith understanding of the need for tolerance among the adherents of different religions in nigeria. the importance of human relations cannot be overemphasized in promoting positive course of any human society. this is why it is very important that human relations is taken seriously. human relations is capable of creating sense of belonging to all. where everyone feels a sense of belonging, it is possible that intolerance is defeated. there is shared ideas when there is good human relations. various religious faiths in nigeria need to come together, share ideas on how to move the nation forward. this requires effective human relations. conclusion and recommendation religion is a social reality capable of binding people together through their belief system. nigeria as a country is pluralistic in terms of religion, ethnic groupings and cultures. history has shown that the multi nature of the country in some cases has been used negatively and hence bringing the nation in conflicts. religion has been one of the most causes of the conflicts in nigeria. this is because of religious intolerance witnessed especially among christians and muslims. the intolerance has affected lives, property, progress, peaceful coexistence and general development of nigeria. this is a sorry state. religion which ought to bring solution seems to be a harbinger of societal crisis. bearing in mind that religion itself is not a problem but the individuals who practice religion are the problem, this work observes that intolerance is manmade. there is no better way of coming out of religious intolerance than through effective human relations. human relations remains sacrosanct in bringing harmony in a society. human relations is foundational for religious tolerance in nigeria. every religion has teachings in good human relations. it behooves the leaders of various religions and the adherents of such religions to see the need to emphasize more on the areas of human relations. it is the position of the current work that if people teach more and understand more on the principles and need for effective human relations, there will be religious tolerance in nigeria. effective human relations remains the basis of religious tolerance as well as peaceful coexistence in nigerian. this work recommends that institutions of learning should include principles of human relations and civics in their curriculum and such should be handled by experts who are not biased. the national orientation agencies should be alive to its responsibilities by utilizing every possible avenues to educate the masses on the principles and needs for effective human relations. religious ignorance and misinformation are major reasons for intolerance therefore, religious leaders should eschew teachings capable of breeding religious intolerance and emphasize on the need for religious tolerance among the people. politicians should desist from using religion as a weapon for their selfish ends thereby fanning the ember of intolerance. citizens should be aware that religious tolerance is a healthy way of achieving a united and progressive nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 85 references agbese, d. (2002). hot beds of religious crisis in nigeria: the case of kano state. enugu: good news. anugwom, e. e. & igbo, e. u. m. (2002). social change, social problems: a nigerian experience. nsukka: ap express. chiegboka, a. b. c. (ed.) (2012). trends in religion and society/christian ethics: selected essays of very rev. msgr. prof. j. p. c. nzomiwu. awka: fab anieh. enyioma, o. s. (2011). basics of conflict resolution. owerri: cinoryz ewere, n. & yakubu, k. b. (2021). religious intolerance and the quest for progressive change in nigeria. lwati: a journal of contemporary research, 18, 4, 200-220. ezeanokwasa, j. (2009). islamic banking, cbn, secularity and unity of nigeria. retrieved from h�ps://nairaworld.com/ar�cles/2011 on 6th january, 2020. ezeanya, p. o. (2009). socio-religious revival: the challenge of good governance in nigeria. in a. b. c. chiegboka, c. e. nwadigwe & e. c. umezinwa (eds.). the humanities and nigeria's democratic experience (pp. 183-198). nimo: rex charles & patrick. idowu, e. b. (1973). african traditional religion: a definition. london: scm. izuegbu, s. c. (2023). human relations for self and organizational development. in n. aniukwu & n. obiakor (eds.). humanities: an essential milieu (pp.64-85). awka: school of general studies, nnamdi azikiwe university. lussier, r. n. (2008). modern human relations at work. ohio: thomson/south-western. merriam, w. (ed.) (1980). encyclopedia of religion. new york: prentice hall. nmah, p. e. (2012). theological education and charcter formation in nigerian christianity: a reflection. in a. a. o. anaedo & t. n. udemmadu (eds.). the ideal man: festschrift in honour of professor obed muojekwu anizoba (pp. 413-419). awka: apple. obasi, c. o. (2009). the role of religion on issues of peace and conflict. in m. ikejiani-clark (ed.). peace studies and conflict resolution in nigeria: a reader (pp. 301-320). ibadan: spectrum. obiefuna, b. a. c. (2008). the prospects of the graduates of religion and human relations in nigeria's economy. amawbia: lamos. obiefuna, b. a. c. & uzoigwe, m. a. (2012). studying religion for sustainable development in nigeria. ujah: unizik journal of arts and humanities, 13,1,132-159. obiefuna. b. a. c. (2018). religion and human relations in contemporary nigeria: the wounds the healing (an inaugural lecture of nnamdi azikiwe university, awka). onitsha: noben. ojo, m. a. (2013). competition and conflict: pentecostals' and charismatics' engagement ith islam in nigeria. in j. azumah & l. sanneh (eds.). the african christian and islam (pp. 147-175). united kingdom: langham monographs. sani, s. (2007). the killing field: religion, violence in northern nigeria. ibadan: spectrum. sampson, i. t. (2012). religious violence in nigeria. retrieved from h�ps://www.accord.org.za th on 17 march, 2021. ulaiman, k. o. (2016). religious violence in contemporary nigeria: implications and options for peace and stability order. journal for the study of religion, 29, 1. retrieved from www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?_ar�ext&pid th on 13 september, 2023. udezo, b. o. s, & nwadialor, k. l. (2012). good governance and effective human relations: pathways to fostering ethno-religious harmony in nigeria. in a. b. c. chiegboka et al (eds.). the humanities and good governance (pp. 238-245). nimo: rex charles and patrick. ugwu, c. o. t. (2002). man and his religion in a contemporary society. nsukka: chuka. ugwu, c. o. t. (2009). religious conflicts in kano and kaduna states of nigeria. in m. ikejiani clark (ed.). peace studies and conflict resolution in nigeria: a reader (518531). ibadan: spectrum. uia (n. d.). the encyclopedia of world problems & human potential: religious intolerance. thretrieved from encyclopedi.uia.org on 13 september, 2023 ukor, o. d. & olori, o. (2023). understanding cultural dimension of peacebuilding and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 86 conflict resolutions in nigeria: a look at the overlooked. aku: an african journal of contemporary research, 4,2, 71-81. umeanolue, i. l. (2021). introduction to human relations. in d. u. mbagwu, m. muonwe & k. nwadialor (eds.). humanities: a proemic insight (pp. 95-108). awka: school of general studies, nnamdi azikiwe university. unesco (2018). human relations at the core of human rights. retieved from th on 7 september, 2023.h�p://en.unesco.org igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 2 divine reproof of oppressive labour policies in the epistle of james 5:1-6 and implications for sustainable industrial development of african nations gerald ugo nwabuisi, phd lecturer, trinity theological college, umuahia, nigeria geraldnwabuisi@trinicol.edu.ng & mercy u. chukwuedo, phd trinity theological college, umuahia mercychukwuedo@trinicol.edu.ng abstract james 5:1-6 delivers a strong condemnation of the injustices and oppression associated with labor practices perpetrated by the wealthy. this situation closely mirrors the challenges faced by african nations in today's global context, where similar issues have hindered sustainable industrial development. this paper aims to address these concerns. the research employs a hermeneutical method of data analysis to study james 5:1-6, juxtaposing its themes with the contemporary reproof directed at the likely culprits in the epistle, as well as the implications for the sustainable industrial development of african nations. the study reveals that oppressive labor policies are not new; they manifest in various forms across history. africa's share of this problem largely stems from leadership overindulgence that makes life difficult for citizens and stifles the productive potential of the continent. the paper recommends amplifying african theological voices that commend good governance and constructively condemn poor policies. political leaders and their accomplices should be held responsible and accountable for the challenging economic conditions in africa. additionally, it advocates for fostering patriotism, capacity building, and a focus on productivity, rather than a consumption-driven mindset. these measures aim to promote the sustainable industrial development of african nations. keywords: oppression, labour policies, industrial development, africa, reproof introduction labor policy can be understood as a set of laws and regulations governing work relations, including employee rights and employment rules. generally, the existence of a set of rules or actions imposed by authorities, which unfairly restrict freedom, cause hardship, or subject people to harsh control or suffering, describes the construct—oppressive labor policies. it is a form of oppression because it is an institutional unfair usage of power and authority to discriminate and place restrictions on an individual or group, inhibiting their freedom and restraining their ability to wholly embed themselves into society. fenwick, howe, marshall, and landau1 opine that 1 c. fenwick, j. howe, s. marshall, & i. landau, “labour and labour-related laws in micro and small enterprises: innovative regulatory approaches”, series on conducive policy environment for small, (2007). retrieved from http://www.ilo.org on november 26, (2025), np mailto:geraldnwabuisi@trinicol.edu.ng mailto:mercychukwuedo@trinicol.edu.ng http://www.ilo.org igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 3 labor and labor-related laws can be an important means of improving job quality and of promoting decent work, but they are often perceived by the entrepreneurs as unsustainable regulatory burdens and costs. these entrepreneurs, in turn, make harsh policies, which adversely affect the employees. succinctly, oppressive labour policies in this paper particularly point to employers’ attitudes or rules, which make life difficult for employees or labourers. oppressive labour policies constitute the major factors generating labour crises and labour unionism in most african nations. this, in turn, generally hampers development on the continent. a comparative study conducted by lex africa2 shows that north africa remains the most advanced african region in industrial development, followed by southern africa, central africa, west africa, and east africa. the slow pace of industrial development in african nations is una rguably traced to labour policies, as shown in this study. whether in the church, factory, civil service, or business premises, oppressive labour policies of any shade always have negative spillover effects on every sector of society. this submission agrees with signé and johnson,3 who argue that every industry generates substantial backward and forward linkages with other sectors. in james 5:1-6, the writer vehemently reproved the perpetrators of oppressive labour policies. this reproof is indicting, apologetic, and prophetic: a) it is indicting because it reprimands the church for projecting a negative image of christianity, thereby misleading new converts and giving room for outsiders to mock the church. b) it is apologetic because it exonerates the ideal church from negative emblems such as oppression, marginalization, wickedness, covetousness, and reckless living. c) it is also prophetic because it addresses what should be the role of the church in society. the church is to exemplify the love that characterizes the christian faith and live in harmony with everyone in righteousness. thus, this paper examines the implications of james’ reproof of oppressive labour policies in james 5:1-6 on the contemporary african nation’s sustainable industrial development. drawbacks to sustainable industrial development in africa african nations are widely acknowledged as blessed by god with natural and human resources that are capable of transforming the continent into the industrial hub of the global community. unfortunately, most of the nations in africa are generally regarded as third-world countries due to backwardness in development. ahmed, umaru, and yusuf4 note that the main motive of europeans’ invasion, occupation, and domination of africa was to exploit african resources and generate economic wealth for their mother country. rich human and mineral resources in africa 2 lex africa, “the progress of industrial development across africa”, https://lexafrica.com/2023/05/the-progressof-industrial-development-across-africa/ (may 30, 2023), np 3 l. signé & c. johnson, the potential of manufacturing and industrialization in africa. (new york: the brookings institution, 2018), 45 4 i. y. ahmed, c. umaru & r. yusuf. “an analysis of the effects of colonialism in africa,” international journal of advanced academic research 8(6), (june, 2022):47-54 https://lexafrica.com/2023/05/the-progress-of-industrial-development-across-africa/ https://lexafrica.com/2023/05/the-progress-of-industrial-development-across-africa/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 4 attract other parts of the world. some of the challenges facing developing countries are to provide; i. an equitable standard of living, ii. adequate food, iii. clean water, iv. safe shelter and energy, v. a healthy and secure environment, vi. an educated public, vii. a satisfying job for present and future generations these challenges can only be confronted in the presence of sustainable industrial development. pathetically, these challenges keep escalating daily, largely due to oppressive labour policies in most african nations. whereas it is impartial to admit that europe contributed significantly to the underdevelopment of african countries predominantly through colonization and exploitation, yet the fact remains that most of these formally colonized african countries that have regained independence from their colonial masters are still bedeviled by retrogressive structures. this incongruity leaves every scrupulous mind in total bewilderment and further suggests the existence of inherent problems in most of the african countries. there are economic fluctuations, political instabilities, cultural imperialism and diffusion, religious fundamentalism and fanaticism, social unrest, and the like. these and more adversely affect sustainable industrial development on the continent. recently, in nigeria, most foreign investors relocated to other economically thriving nations for various reasons that range from insecurity to leadership failures. whereas countries like china, the united arab emirates, japan, the united states of america, and germany have become insignias for sustainable industrial development, most african nations still grapple with elementary issues. ogujiuba, ehigiamusoe, and udefuna posit that the prominent challenges which hamper the achievement of sustainable development in africa include: extreme poverty, rapid population growth rate, rapid urbanization, deforestation, environmental impact of extractive industries, rate of economic growth, rural development, climatic variability, and natural environmental hazard. if these challenges are well handled by african leaders, the continent would proudly churn out a formidable workforce for industrial development continuously. nevertheless, a major factor in the issues affecting african nations’ industrial development is the bossiness of african leaders; most of these leaders are power intoxicated; they see their positions as life entitlements rather than transitory positions. in most of these countries, political office holders see politics as professions or careers and household inheritance; they ensure their family members are strategically positioned in places of authority and control of the nation’s resources. in these countries, nepotism, tribalism, favoritism, and autocracy are the order of the day to the detriment of the citizens. these citizens are rather used as objects and means through which the leaders’ selfish ambitions and interests are achieved. with no shame, no effective conscience, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 5 and no sense of decency, they pride themselves over their ill-gotten wealth and trample upon the poor with impunity. these leaders live in unimaginable affluence and would rather lavish huge resources on frivolities than give the poor masses what legitimately belongs to them. issues concerning these selfish leaders are never debated before being passed into law, but when it comes to matters that benefit the masses, they set up committees and initiate protracted debate sessions that often end up in unfavorable legislation. the poor masses are intentionally left to languish in pain at the instances of industrial actions before their matters are grudgingly and humiliatingly looked into with a touch of artificiality. the indices for sustainable industrial development are: growth of endogenous or internal productive capacities, especially the capacity for innovation; improvement in the environmental performance of industry; and improvements in living. these indices manifest in the presence of natural resources, labor supply, capital availability, technological advancements, consumer demand, transportation infrastructure, and government cooperation. the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs is regarded as sustainable development. thus, sustainable development calls for concerted efforts towards building an inclusive and resilient future for people and the planet by harnessing the available material and human resources for this goal. relationship between labour policies and sustainable industrial development labour policies play a crucial role in shaping industrial development, especially in the manufacturing and construction sectors. they influence the business environment, worker productivity, and overall economic growth. they can either support or hinder growth, depending on how they are structured. according to the ilo5, effective labor policies and labor sustain the decision initiation of different growth policies. some key ways labour policies impact industrial development include: a) regulating working conditions and working rights b) influencing labour costs and productivity c) affecting investment and business decisions d) shaping workforce skills and training. friendly labour policies ensure fair treatment, safety, and welfare of workers, boosting productivity and reducing conflicts. furthermore, they regulate wages, benefits, and collective bargaining, which impact production costs, influencing investment decisions. they also capture workforce development, training programs, education, and skill development initiatives to enhance human capital, driving innovation and competitiveness. they enhance industrial relations through harmonious employer-employee relationships, reducing disputes and promoting stability. friendly labour policies boost the morale of the labourers and, in turn, bring out the best in them; when workers’ welfare is adequately attended to, they are motivated to 5 ilo, work for a brighter future: global commission on the future of work. (geneva: international labour organization, 2019), 44. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 6 promote the quality products of their organization. indeed, a friendly labour policy results in labour productivity. the unfortunate outcome of oppressive labour policies in african nations is labour crises, which manifest in industrial actions and mass exodus of youths, professionals, technocrats, and entrepreneurs from the continent in search of greener pastures. labour crisis is a breakdown of cordial relationship between labour and management over the rights and interests in matters relating to organizational procedures. it is the result of an unpleasant, unfair, and unfriendly relationship and interaction between and among the parties involved in industrial relations. for instance, in nigeria, oyewale discloses that “since the return of the democratic system of governance in the country in 1999, labour crises have become endemic. it is apparent that nigeria is under a serious labour crisis with overwhelming evidence of a series of conflicts in the education sector from primary education through secondary to tertiary education.”6 when there is a delay in payment of salaries without a justifiable reason for such delay, a labour crisis may erupt for such salaries to be paid. unfriendly policies of the african leaders have adversely affected the cream of society, who would have contributed positively to the economic development of the nations. in nigeria, most of the best brains in the medical and educational sectors have relocated abroad in search of friendly working conditions and remuneration. this view is corroborated by elegbede, gbajumosheriff, and oni, who opine that “international migration of the nigerian workforce has been a major factor affecting the economic growth.”7 a situation where intellectuals are relegated to the background and ignoramuses are preferred would definitely give rise to a regressive structure and brain drain. kalu and ede8 agree that the lack of adequate infrastructure and a competitive wage are the reasons that account for the massive brain drain in nigeria. this is the pathetic situation of most african nations, where mediocrity is celebrated over meritocracy as long as the benefiting recipients have a political or filial connection with the powers that be. when the rights of a citizen are denied, the victims are not motivated to contribute meaningfully to the industrial development of such a country. akume and abdullahi9 are right in their view that if the issues bordering on labor-management relations are not properly resolved, they tend to burst their banks with resultant dire consequences on productivity/service delivery and can even bring the entire economy of the nation to a standstill. hermeneutical analysis of james 5:1-6 the text 6 b. y. oyewale. “assessment of factors responsible for incessant labour crisis in nigeria: implications for universities stakeholders.” nigerian chapter of arabian journal of business and management review, 8(1), (2022): 9-13 7 s. t. elegbede, m. gbajumo-sheriff, & o. o. oni. “a conceptual and theoretical analysis of government wage policy and labour migration in nigeria”, nigerian journal of management sciences 25(2), (october, 2024):1-8 8 d. z. kalu, & v. ede. “brain drain and underdevelopment in nigeria: socio-philosophical appraisal”, international journal of education and social science, 4 (1), (2022): 5779-6990 9 a.t. akume & y.m. abdullahi. “challenges and prospects of effective industrial conflict resolution in nigeria.” cass journal of social science, 36(2), (2013): 46-58. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 7 1 come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. 2 your riches have rotted, and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. you have laid up treasure for the last days. 4 behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the lord of hosts. 5 you have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 you have condemned, you have killed the righteous man; he does not resist you (rsv). brief background to the text the epistle of james is generally dated to the late first century ce, although some scholars argue for an earlier date if attributed to james, the brother of jesus.10 the audience was largely composed of diaspora jewish christians facing social, economic, and religious pressures.11 the socio-economic setting of the text reflects the agrarian economy of first-century palestine and the greco-roman world, where wealthy landowners controlled large estates and often exploited day laborers.12 james 5:1–6 forms part of a prophetic denunciation (a “woe oracle”) reminiscent of old testament prophetic literature such as amos 4:1 and isaiah 5:8.13 james adopts the rhetoric of an ot prophet to condemn unjust, exploitative wealth and to console the oppressed believers in the community. hermeneutical issues raised in james 5:1–6 1. lifestyle of the oppressors james paints a vivid, almost apocalyptic, portrait of wealthy oppressors whose lifestyles are marked by greed, self-indulgence, injustice, and violence. the statement that they have “laid up treasure in the last days” (v. 3) indicates moral blindness and eschatological ignorance.14 despite living at a time when divine judgment is imminent, they continue to hoard wealth excessively. james’ description implies the unrestrained accumulation of wealth—storing up money, precious metals, and expensive garments in hidden rooms, storehouses, or treasuries.15 such hoarding contradicts the jewish-christian ethic of generosity (cf. matt 6:19–21). the hoarded “treasures” 10 p. h. davids, the epistle of james: a commentary on the greek text, new international greek testament commentary, (grand rapids: eerdmans, 1982), 182. 11 d. c. allison, james: a critical and exegetical commentary. international critical commentary, (london: bloomsbury t&t clark, 2013), 45. 12 s. laws, a commentary on the epistle of james. harper’s new testament commentaries, (san francisco: harper & row, 1980), 210-211. 13 r. p. martin, james. word biblical commentary vol. 48, (dallas: word books, 1988), 176. 14 d. j. moo, the letter of james. pillar new testament commentary, (grand rapids: eerdmans, 2000), 220. 15 p. h. davids, the epistle of james: a commentary on the greek text. new international greek testament commentary, (grand rapids: eerdmans, 1982), 182. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 8 have begun to rot, decay, and corrode.16 this symbolizes both the temporary nature of material possessions and the moral corruption of their owners. their lives are characterized by “luxury and self-indulgence” (v. 5). these phrases capture a lifestyle of excessive comfort—lavish homes, costly garments, rich food, and endless feasting. they engage in reckless parties, extravagant spending, and wasteful consumption, often with their social accomplices. such indulgence mirrors the prophetic image of cattle being “fattened for the day of slaughter” (cf. jeremiah 50:27). james thus uses animal imagery to emphasize impending judgment.17 more severely, james accuses them of “condemning and murdering the righteous person” (v. 6). scholars interpret this either literally—referring to judicial corruption that results in the death of the innocent, or figuratively, referring to economic exploitation that destroys lives.18 their oppression includes: a. fraudulent withholding of wages (v. 4), a direct violation of torah commands (lev 19:13; deut 24:14–15). b. heartlessness toward the cries of the poor, which have gone unheard by humans but have reached "the lord of hosts," the divine warrior who defends the oppressed. c. intimidation, manipulation, and violent injustice destroy the righteous who cannot resist or defend themselves. the text presents a morally depraved upper class who are spiritually numb, materially intoxicated, and socially oppressive, insensitive to the suffering caused by their greed. 2. forms of oppression one form of oppression highlighted by james in his epistle is ‘keeping back by fraud the wages of the laborers who mowed the oppressors’ fields.’ this situation does not suggest unavailability of funds to pay the labourers, but a deliberate act of withholding the labourers’ wages so as to make life difficult for the labourers. ezeagba19 hints that in nigeria, many organizations always delay or refuse to pay their workers’ salaries and other emoluments even when the organization concerned has sufficient funds to pay. the oppressors in the epistle of james had no justifiable reason to hold back the labourers’ wages, but they fraudulently rested on flimsy excuses to deny or withhold the labourers’ wages. it is worthy of note that the labourers did their jobs (mowed their fields – large farm lands) as required; they left their homes with the hope of bringing back something for the upkeep of their families, but, disappointingly, the oppressor didn’t consider the job they did as deserving their legitimate reward. the oppressors didn’t have regard for the labourers’ welfare. imagine a situation where the labourers are made to understand there is no money available for their payment, while these oppressors are using the same money for 16allison, james: a critical and exegetical commentary, 684. 17 martin, james, word biblical commentary vol. 48, 181. 18 s. laws, a commentary on the epistle of james, 216. 19 e. c. ezeagba. “effects of strike cost on economic development in nigeria.” international journal of arts and humanities (ijah), 3(3), (2014): 26 -34. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 9 turnover. the oppressors have diverse ways they marginalize the labourers they intentionally subject the poor labourers to be at their mercy, so the labourer would have no option but to take whatever the oppressor offers to them as if that is what they deserve. the oppressors make the labourers believe they are being helped whenever they are given what they laboured for and is their entitlement. the oppressors may just wake up one day and decide to sack all the workers, without any notice or severance payment for the affected workers. when the labourers refuse to buy into the ideas of the employers, a labour crisis erupts. 3. state of the oppressed james presents a deeply moving and tragic portrait of the oppressed—a people in tears, powerless before their exploiters. their only language is the language of weeping; they stand before ruthless employers with tear-stained faces, pleading for what is rightfully theirs, yet their cries make no impression on the hardened hearts of the wealthy. they return home in tears, soaking their pillows at night because of hunger, financial strain, and the crushing weight of family responsibilities. this imagery echoes the plight of the israelites in egypt, whose groans rose to god as a testimony of their suffering (exod. 2:23–25). as moo notes, james intentionally uses evocative prophetic language that “captures both the desperation of the victims and the moral bankruptcy of their oppressors.”20 the poor were really helpless in the hands of their oppressors, which made james call them out. this situation is not far from what people face today in the hands of some bad leaders. in james’ depiction, crying becomes a symbol of pain, discomfort, anguish, and dissatisfaction, a vocabulary spoken only by those whose humanity has been violated. only a heartless employer can disregard the tears of laborers who poured out their time, strength, and dignity in service. david observes that the rich in this passage embody a systemic cruelty in which “the weak are denied justice because they lack the status, resources, or influence to defend themselves.”21in our world today, justice is perverted because most of the time, the poor cannot afford to pay judges. in this case, their rights are trampled upon. furthermore, james emphasizes that the oppressed are utterly unable to resist their oppressors. they lack social standing, have no financial means to pursue litigation, and possess no physical power to challenge the elite. the wealthy form ungodly alliances, protecting one another’s interests and ensuring that no legislation or judicial process favors the marginalized. this creates a closed circle of power where the vulnerable are silenced, exploited, and deprived of redress. yet, despite this imbalance, james assures that the cries of the laborers have reached “the lord of hosts”—the divine defender who hears what the powerful ignore. 4. the futility of wealth 20 d. j. moo, douglas j. the letter of james. (grand rapids: eerdmans, 2000), 224. 21p. h. davids, the epistle of james: a commentary on the greek text. (grand rapids: eerdmans, 1982), 185. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 10 regrettably, the oppressors lacked the wisdom to perceive the inevitable miseries that their actions would bring upon them. their attitudes and behaviors make this truth unmistakably clear. they speak recklessly and live without contemplating the meaning of life or their final destination beyond it. they accumulate riches that eventually rot, and their expensive garments are destined to be eaten by termites or moths. they store up gold and silver that ultimately corrode, failing to recognize— as allison observes—that such imagery serves as “a symbolic testimony against self-deceptive wealth that blinds its possessors to divine judgment.”22 these individuals gladly gather wealth and hoard it for years, even when it decays in their storehouses, rather than releasing it for the benefit of the poor. they even take pleasure in discarding spoiled resources and watching the poor scramble for them like scavengers. tragically, they live without moments of self-examination or sober reflection concerning the true purpose of life and the eschatological implications of human existence on earth. king solomon eventually reached the point of recognizing that affluence and influence, without wisdom and righteousness, amount to nothing but “vanity of vanities” (eccl. 1:2–11). 5. divine involvement the anthropomorphic nature of god becomes evident in this passage—god is portrayed as having eyes to see and ears to hear. he sees the sufferings of his people just as he did when israel groaned under the oppressive rule of pharaoh in egypt (exod. 3:7–10), and he hears the cries that rise continually before him. james emphasizes that “the cries of the oppressed have reached the ears of the lord of hosts,” indicating both the extent to which these cries have ascended and the duration of their appeal. as davids notes, this imagery underscores a “persistent, heaven-rattling lament that demands divine intervention.”23 the intensity of the oppressed people’s cries disturbs heaven itself and captures god’s active attention. this signals impending judgment on the oppressors, for god does not remain silent in the face of suffering and marginalization. he is passionately committed to defending the vulnerable—the widow, the orphan, the destitute, and all who are socially or economically deprived (ps. 10:17– 18). in line with this divine concern, james announces god’s judgment on the wealthy oppressors: “come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. your riches have rotted, and your garments are moth-eaten. your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire.” divine reproof of oppressive labour policies and implications on african nations a. god is interested in the growth and development of every society. this is in line with his creation mandate in genesis 1:28 – “and god blessed them, and god said unto them, be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” when humanity makes it difficult for development to take place in any society, 22allison, james: a critical and exegetical commentary, 689. 23 davids, the epistle of james, 187. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 11 it attracts divine displeasure, as in the case of the tower of babel in genesis 11, where the people agreed to build a great city with a tower that would reach the sky in order to avoid a second flood. god saw this move as a dangerous decision and a violation of his expansion purpose for the creation of the earth, and as such, brought about confusion in the language they spoke. according to coogan, “the confusion of tongues resulting from the construction of the tower of babel accounts for the fragmentation of human languages: god brought into existence multiple languages, rendering humanity unable to understand each other.”24 african churches should be progressive and promote whatever brings development in the society where they are. b. maltreatment of the poor—whether through withholding their legitimate wages or suffocating them under cruel practices and harsh policies is a direct violation of divine law. isaiah denounced the mistreatment of the poor in the southern kingdom of judah (isa. 10:1–3), and the prophet amos condemned the wealthy elites who oppressed the poor in the northern kingdom of israel (amos 4:1). as wright observes, the prophetic tradition consistently affirms that “god stands against every institutional structure that crushes the vulnerable.”25 god issues stern warnings against systemic injustice and oppression, and he demonstrated his commitment to justice by liberating israel from egyptian bondage (exod. 3:7–8). he remains passionately concerned when people are enslaved, marginalized, or mistreated; he is the defender and liberator of the oppressed. the rich man who ignored the suffering of poor lazarus received no commendation from god at death (luke 16:19–31). every act of cruelty against the less privileged carries serious eschatological consequences. c. the church as an agent of god in the world has a responsibility to demonstrate its theology of god’s love and love for fellow humans, and of the unity of the human race. there is no distinction between the rich and the poor as society has made it look. james’ epistle was addressed to the church, suggestive of some ungodly practices taking root in the church. the ideal church is expected to epitomize the love of god and the unity of believers, not just in spirit but in truth. when the church demonstrates god’s love within, the people without would be attracted to the church. the church should teach the world how to relate with one another as the apostle paul suggested in colossians 1:4 “masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a master in heaven.” the church must not treat its workers like outcasts; they must be properly attended to and be given what they deserve. ungodly policies must not be used as yardsticks for the employer-employee relationship of working principles in church-owned establishments. the church is not supposed to support economic systems that are profitmotivated to the detriment of the welfare of human beings. 24 m. d. coogan. a brief introduction to the old testament: the hebrew bible in its context. (oxford: oxford university, 2009), 48. 25 c. j. h. wright, the mission of god: unlocking the bible’s grand narrative. (downers grove: intervarsity press, 2006), 124. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 12 recommendations a) there is a need for african theological voices that will commend good governance and condemn constructively bad policies on the continent. this would help to reduce the aspersions cast on the church for conniving with the powers that be to oppress the poor. b) african nations should pass votes of no confidence on political leaders who oppress their workers. affected political leaders and their accomplices should be held responsible and accountable for african economic instability. c) employees in the african nations should possess a patriotic and altruistic spirit to encourage sustainable industrial development. workers should be ready and willing to make sacrifices when and where necessary. workers should not place outrageous demands on their employers. there has to be a healthy balance between the demands and expectations of both employers and employees. according to the world bank, “excessive labor restrictions may impede job creation, particularly in the formal sector, while excessive flexibility may lead to economic inequality and job insecurity.”26 d) sustainable industrial development requires human capital development for technical know-how or capacity building. employers must be willing and ready to intentionally support their employees to acquire new skills that would increase productivity and economic expansion. e) african leaders must inculcate a productive rather than a consumption mentality. unregulated reliance on foreign products stultifies local initiatives and thus must be discouraged. unguarded appetite for pleasure and frivolities must be eschewed. these encourage covetousness, which in turn leads to tampering with the rights of the poor to satisfy the leaders’ wantonness. f) the church in africa should deliberately and systematically cushion the effects of oppressive labour policies through the provision of rehabilitation centers for those who have been battered by the ill-treatment of the oppressors. the church is the hope of a common man in society who obviously does not have the wherewithal for litigation. potentials must not be stultified by the church; the poor must be provided with an adequate environment and resources to be harnessed for optimal benefit. g) african nations should ensure, through their responsible agencies, that contract agreements of employment are properly documented. the practice in most african nations is that contracts and employment can be oral or written, implied or express. contracts of employment do not necessarily have to be in writing, but it is highly recommended to have a written contract to avoid disputes and clarify 26 world bank. doing business 2020: comparing business regulation in 190 economies. (washington, d.c.: world bank group, 2020), 78 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 13 terms. according to khoso, baseer, haq, hassan, and afzal, “labor laws are crucial instruments that governments use to manage the dynamics of the labor market, influence employment rates, and promote economic growth.”27 h) there is a need for urgent labour policy reforms for both public and private sectors in african nations to avoid inequalities, abuses, and marginalization. highlighting the urgent need for strategic labour policy reforms, a study by the world economic forum notes that by 2025, 85 million jobs may be displaced by technology, while 97 million new roles could emerge.28 conclusion the paper used james 5:1-6 as a paradigm for the analysis of oppressive labour policies impinging on sustainable industrial development in african nations. the paper paid little attention to other militating factors to industrial development but concentrated on the oppressive attitudes of the leaders towards the teeming workforce of african nations, especially known for dwindling or stagnant industrial development. the paper strongly posits that the bossy attitudes and unguarded appetites for frivolities noticeable among most african leaders are responsible for oppressive labour policies on the continent. the relationship between labour policies and sustainable economic development is such that when the former is at stake, crises erupt and the latter suffers grossly. the paper recognizes theological connotations of the symbiotic relationship between friendly labour policies and sustainable industrial development in african nations. the church, theologians, and government have significant roles to play in order to create room for sustainable industrial development in africa. bibliography allison, d. c. james: a critical and exegetical commentary. international critical commentary. london: bloomsbury t&t clark, 2013. ahmed, i. y. umaru, c. & yusuf, r. “an analysis of the effects of colonialism in africa,” international journal of advanced academic research 8(6), (june, 2022):47-54. akume, a.t. & abdullahi, y.m. “challenges and prospects of effective industrial conflict resolution in nigeria.” cass journal of social science, 36(2), (2013): 46-58. coogan, m. d. a brief introduction to the old testament: the hebrew bible in its context. oxford: oxford university, 2009. davids, p. h. the epistle of james: a commentary on the greek text. new international greek testament commentary. grand rapids: eerdmans, 1982. elegbede, s. t. gbajumo-sheriff, m. & oni, o. o. “a conceptual and theoretical analysis of government wage policy and labour migration in nigeria”, nigerian journal of management sciences 25(2), (october, 2024):1-8. 27 f. h. khoso, a.baseer, m. i. haq, & s. h. i. afzal. “analysis of labor policies and their impact on employment and economic growth.” review journal of social psychology & social works, 3(2), (2025): 374-381 28world economic forum. the future of jobs report 2020. (geneva: world economic forum, 2020), 54 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 14 ezeagba, e. c. “effects of strike cost on economic development in nigeria.” international journal of arts and humanities (ijah), 3(3), (2014): 26 -34. fenwick, c., howe, j., marshall, s. & landau, i. “labour and labour-related laws in micro and small enterprises: innovative regulatory approaches”, series on conducive policy environment for small, 2027 retrieved from http://www.ilo.org. on november 26, 2025. ilo. work for a brighter future: global commission on the future of work. geneva: international labour organization, 2019. kalu, d. z. & ede, v. “brain drain and underdevelopment in nigeria: socio-philosophical appraisal”, international journal of education and social science, 4 (1), (2022): 57796990. kanu, i. a. (2012). “inculturation and christianity in africa.” international journal of humanities and social science. 2:236-244. kanu, i. a. (2012). “towards an igbo christology.” in ezenweke, e., and kanu, i. a. issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 75-103). jos: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2017). sources of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. 9(1):1-23. kanu, i. a. (2020). “igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe and the inculturation of the gospel message.” ogirisi: a journal of african studies. 16:15-28. kanu, i. a. (2020). “igwebuike theology of omenani and the missionary bifurcation of horizons.” ogirisi: a journal of african studies. 16: 127-144. kanu, i. a. (2020). “igwebuike theology of udi: god’s unchanging revelation and man’s changing culture.” the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. 17(2):1224. khoso, f. h., baseer, a., haq, m. i., & s. h. i. afzal. “analysis of labor policies and their impact on employment and economic growth.” review journal of social psychology & social works, 3(2), (2025): 374-381. laws, s. a commentary on the epistle of james. harper’s new testament commentaries. san francisco: harper & row, 1980. lex africa, “the progress of industrial development across africa”, https://lexafrica.com/2023/05/the-progress-of-industrial-development-across-africa/ may 30, 2023. martin, r. p. james. word biblical commentary vol. 48. dallas: word books, 1988. moo, d. j. the letter of james. pillar new testament commentary. grand rapids: eerdmans, 2000. ogujiuba, k., ehigiamusoe, u. k. & udefuna, p. “the challenges and implications of sustainable development in africa: policy options for nigeria”, journal of economic cooperation and development, 34(4) (2013), 77-112 oyewale, b. y. “assessment of factors responsible for incessant labour crisis in nigeria: implications for universities stakeholders.” nigerian chapter of arabian journal of business and management review, 8(1), (2022): 9-13 signé, l. & johnson, c. the potential of manufacturing and industrialization in africa. new york: the brookings institution, 2018. http://www.ilo.org https://lexafrica.com/2023/05/the-progress-of-industrial-development-across-africa/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 15 world bank. doing business 2020: comparing business regulation in 190 economies. washington, d.c.: world bank group, 2020 world economic forum. the future of jobs report 2020. geneva: world economic forum, 2020. wright, c. j. h. the mission of god: unlocking the bible’s grand narrative. downers grove: intervarsity press, 2006. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 1 matriarchy in traditional africa and its relevane to contemporary feminism evaristus emeka isife, phd department of philosophy, faculty of arts, nnamdi azikiwe university awka, anambra state, nigeria emekaisife@gmail.com: ee.isife@stu.unizik.edu.ng orcid id: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2016-9674. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.25001.77923 abstract bachofen and other evolutionary theorists gave an elaborate narration on how matriarchy began, rose, fell and was replaced by patriarchy. the conclusion is that patriarchy is superior to matriarchy and thus, is the culmination of human development. this position justifies male supremacy and the exploitive and domineering character of patriarchy. feminism arose to fight for the equality of men and women in society. this research examines matriarchy in the traditional african worldview. using the method of hermeneutics, the research attempts to interpret available data on the subject matter in accordance with the present reality. the research tries to address these issues: what is the meaning of matriarchy in traditional africa? in traditional africa, is matriarchy inferior and in opposition to patriarchy as seen in the western world? would feminism have risen in traditional africa? and how can matriarchy in traditional africa enrich contemporary feminism? the research finds out that in traditional africa both patriarchy and matriarchy are like two sides of a coin: they interacted, intersected and checked and balanced each other in their different but related spheres of power and influence through the principle of complementarity. the research finds out that contemporary feminism is being entrapped in the same flaws it accuses patriarchy offlaws of exclusion. the research concludes that contemporary feminism needs to understand and apply the principle of complementarity in its approach for it to succeed in its fight for the equality of men and women in contemporary society. keywords: traditional, african, matriarchy, relevance, contemporary, feminism. introduction in the last century, certain theories have been advanced by scholars on the existence of matriarchal and patriarchal phases in the development of human society. on the one hand, some scholars, prominent among them henry maine (1861), argued that the patriarchal system of authority was the original and universal system of social organisation. mailto:emekaisife@gmail.com http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/rg.2.2.25001.77923 matriarchy in traditional africa and its relevane to contemporary feminism 2 it was further contended that the matriarchal system was only an unstable and degraded form of social organisation which only occurred where women outnumbered men. on the other hand, according to bachofen (1861) in his das mutterecht, matriarchy was the original primate stage of culture, preceding patriarchy. bachofen (1861) has argued that before matriarchy there had been, in the history of each society, a state of sexual promiscuity, with no stable family life. thus, he saw each society as evolving through three phases: promiscuity, matriarchy and patriarchy, which is the culmination of human development. furthermore, the most noticeable characteristic of these theories was their very sweeping posture. these theories tried to postulate a pattern of development which would be true for every society. this tendency betrayed these theories as part of the whole colonial and capitalist project aimed at the domination and suppression of a part of a class or a section of society. so, patriarchy was projected by these theories as being superior and better than matriarchy. this point is made clearer by bahlieda (2015:17) when he says that “an encompassing, overarching, multidisciplinary ideology that affects everyone – men and women alikeacross multiple cultures, histories, religions, economies, geographies, and institutions.” thus, the fight for the liberation of the people from colonialism, which is a struggle for the liberation of the people from the domination of the few, brought about the fight for the liberation of women from the domination of men under the umbrella of patriarchy. so, feminism arose to fight against the patriarchal patrimony of society. williams (2003: 74) was so correct when he observed that “the problem with patriarchal, masculinist institutions is not that men are in charge or that men hold important posts. the interest of a feminist is to show that such structures and institutions are rooted in masculinist presumption and patriarchal framework.” unfortunately, feminism falls into the same fallacy of generalization that the evolutionary theorists found themselves. williams (2003:83) was quick to notice this as he observers: historically, therefore, it is a defeatist inclination if feminism is seen as constructing a universal paradigm of women's experiences which much of what serves as the content of its central grievances is the surmounting of western patriarchy, not universal patriarchy. this is because women‟s experiences globally cannot be regarded as monolithic. so, contemporary feminism has failed to take cognizance of the unique experiences of women all over the world who are suffering from evaristus emeka isife, phd different shades of patriarchy. in africa, it is even worse, as african women are battling with the two-pronged predicament of being both a woman and a black. colonialism has created an environment of strife, conflict, and contradicting positions that contemporary feminism has fallen into. hence patriarchy and matriarchy are been presented as two opposite positions of which one should be greater and should prevail. this is a consequence of the evolutionary conception of human development that presented patriarchy as the culmination of human development. on the other hand, many scholars are now moving towards the position, that instead of a universal transition from matriarchy to patriarchy, humanity has from the beginning been divided into two geographically distinct cradles of which one is favourable to the flourishing of patriarchal and the other to that of matriarchal, that these systems encountered one another and even disputed with each other as different societies, that in certain places they were superimposed on each other and even existed side by side. this is very near to the conception of these realities in traditional africa. in continuation, in traditional africa, patriarchal and matriarchal are not seen as opposites but as complementary. thus, in traditional africa, it is not a question of when or where patriarchy or matriarchy held sway but understanding the spheres of patriarchy and matriarchy in the same society. hence, dine (2007: 96) agrees with the position that in african “traditional society, the problem of women‟s emancipation did not exist because traditional society understood the positions of the sexes differently from what obtains in modern societies.” there is a clear demarcation and distinction between the roles and functions of males and females in traditional africa. it is the argument of this research that matriarchal in traditional africa plays a complementary role to patriarchal in the same society. the understanding of the distinctive roles of males and females in traditional africa through the application of the principle of complementarity has helped in bringing about unity and stability in traditional africa. what is matriarchy in traditional africa and what is its relevance to contemporary feminism? this is the focus of this research. but it is important to first clarify important concepts employed in the research. clarifications of concepts it is important to clarify important concepts that are used in this research. in the first place, patriarchy, according to encyclopedia britannica, is a hypothetical social system in which the father or the male elder has absolute authority over the family group; by extension, one or more men ( as in a council) exert absolute authority over the matriarchy in traditional africa and its relevane to contemporary feminism 4 community as a whole. the theories of biological evolution developed by charles darwin served as an impetus to many 19th-century scholars who developed a theory of unilinear cultural evolution. this theory, which was championed by bachofen( 1861), proposed that human social organisation evolved through a series of stages: animalistic sexual promiscuity, matriarchy and patriarch. patriarchy is presented as the culmination of human organisation. moreover, according to uberoi ( 1995: 196), “the term matriarchy was used in the nineteenth to designate the hypothetical form of society in which women were leaders and rulers. anthropologists now agree that there was no evidence to substantiate the claim that any society has ever come under such control.” still on this, staples ( 1981:27) defines matriarchy as “ a society in which some, if not all, of legal powers relating to the ordering and governing of the family – power over property, over inheritance, over marriage, over-the-house – are lodged in women rather than men.” many scholars, especially, staples,(1981), and gould and kolb, (1964), argue that despite the various myths about matriarchy, real matriarchy never existed in history. the present study aligns with farrar (1997: 582) that the concern of scholars “should not be whether a genuine matriarchy ever existed in africa or elsewhere for that matter. what we truly seek is an understanding of the political power and range of social status available to women in ancient and precolonial african societies.” the research, therefore, tries to examine the scope of political power available to women in traditional africa. this is what it means by matriarchy in traditional africa. furthermore, traditional africa has to do with the african worldview as was in existence before the incursion of the west into africa with slavery and colonialism. traditional african, according to isife (2022b:5152), “can be sought out from three areas: communalism(social), religious and ethics or values” uninfluenced by foreign accretion. in traditional africa, patriarchy and matriarchy are seen not as evolutionary or contradictory terms as seen in the western conception, but as complementary spheres of power control. traditional matriarchy is about the scope and status of political power available to women in traditional african societies. today, africa has changed but her social, religious and ethical aspects of living are areas where “traditional africans left their imprint on the sand of time.”(isife, 2022b:52). hence, traditional africa through these areas still exists in contemporary africa. evaristus emeka isife, phd in continuation, the principle of complementarity was first employed by bohr (1950) in quantum mechanics, a branch of physics. according to bohr (1928), nature has complementary aspects: an experiment which illustrates one of these aspects necessarily obscures the complementary aspect. to put in another expression, one can observe that each experiment or sequence of experiments yields only a limited amount of information about the system under investigation. hence, as one piece of information is gained, other equally interesting information (which could have been obtained from another sequence of experiments) is lost. explaining further the meaning of the complementarity principle, asouzu ( 2004:96) maintains that “ the human mind cannot operate without contraries and we know due to the ability of the mind to contrast and differentiate. it is for this reason that we know certain ideas better if we can contrast them with what they are not.” it is within the principle of complementarity that one can appreciate the meaning of patriarchy and matriarchy in traditional africa. finally, feminism refers to a range of political and social movements and ideologies based on the belief that women should have the same rights, opportunities and power as men, and be treated in the same way. hence, the oxford english dictionary defines feminism as the advocacy of the rights of women based on the theory of equality of the sexes. what then, is the relationship between patriarchy and feminism? allen(1999: 1087) answers that: “the very conception of patriarchy as a historical phenomenon, contingent on time and place, provided the basis for the emergence of a feminist critique of male supremacy, both in the past and in the present, that has continued throughout the century.” in continuation, williams (2003: 80 -81) maintains that: “feminism consists in the search for the method for the defence of women against the entrenched patriarchal system which tends to dominate women in social and political realm of social existence.” so, feminism fights the patriarchal system of society to restore gender equality to society. feminism is complex, vast and fragmented. hence feminism has resulted in various and different movements, with each fighting for the liberation of women from its perspective. today, one can talk of radical feminism, socialist feminism, marxist feminism, the lesbian separatist movement, womanism feminism and so on. feminist movements have been described in terms of “waves.” therefore contemporary feminism encompasses all the different divisions and waves of feminism since all are geared towards fighting for the rights of women based on the principle of equality of the sexes. the word contemporary as applied to feminism implies feminism as it is in the present moment. matriarchy in traditional africa and its relevane to contemporary feminism 6 evaristus emeka isife, phd matriarchy in traditional africa whenever the issue of matriarchy in traditional africa is brought up, there are always divergent views on whether matriarchy existed in traditional africa and if yes, what is it. but really, it is through the understanding of what matriarchy is that one can affirm or deny its existence. women play important roles in traditional africa. in traditional africa, the problem of women‟s emancipation or feminism did not exist because people understood the positions and roles of the sexes which are contrary to what is obtained in modern-day society. there are two major approaches to studying the roles of women in traditional africa. one is through the study of the roles played by royal and aristocratic women in traditional africa. many scholars have used the cases of powerful women or queens in traditional africa to prove the existence of matriarchy in traditional africa. the other approach, which this study follows, is to study the status and political authority accorded to women generally in traditional africa. hence, supporting this approach, farrar( 1997: 582), has argued that the concern should be to seek “an understanding of the political power and range of social statuses available to women in ancient and later pre–colonial african societies.” moreover, the concept of “matriarchy” has to be interpreted away from the eighteenth and nineteenth-century european cultural evolutionists understanding of it as contrary and opposite of patriarchy. in traditional africa, patriarchy and matriarchy are complementary realities which depend on and enforce each other. of course, this is different from the western conception of patriarchy and matriarchy as contraries and opposites which are in antagonism with each other and where patriarchy is placed as the acme of civilization and matriarchy as the greatest symbol of savagery. many scholars, especially african feminists, argue that patriarchy and matriarchy in traditional africa are opposed to each other. it is in this regard that amadiume( 1998,19) maintains that: this ideology of gender had its basis in the binary opposition between the mkpuke, the female mother–focused matricentric unit and the obi, the male–focused ancestral house. the structure of relationship, in the levi – straussian sense, between two paradigmatical gender structures, reflected in the wider social organisation and politics of nnobi, the contest between the moral kinship ideology of motherhood and the jural force of patriarchy. but many african scholars see this view as arising from western influence on those who held the view. that is why farrar (1997, 582) matriarchy in traditional africa and its relevane to contemporary feminism 8 opines that, in studying matriarchy in traditional africa, “we wish to more thoroughly free ourselves and our scholarship from the biases that characterize eurocentric worldview and models of history.” hence, the relationship between patriarchy and matriarchy, just like many other realities in traditional africa, follows the principle of complementarity. the argument is that matriarchy in traditional africa cannot be adequately understood in isolation from patriarchy. neither can the two be separated from each other. mkpuke and obi, umunne and umunna are two sides of a coin in the igbo/ african worldview. so, in traditional africa, both patriarchy and matriarchy exist side by side, interact with each other and each of them has its sphere of power. this research is geared towards exploring and exposing the spheres of influence of matriarchy in traditional africa. in continuation, sex distinction plays a key factor in leadership organisation in traditional africa. this implies that there are areas where women exercise their power and influence and there are areas where men likewise do theirs. the important thing is that society sees the roles or functions of men and women as complementary and as important in bringing about stability to society. according to dine (2007, 96), “by sex distinction, we mean the separation of male from female in matters of leadership.” the feminists‟ aphorism that what a man can do, a woman can do better, has no place in traditional africa. there are leadership roles assigned to men or women because of their nature as men and women respectively. so the roles assigned to women are expressed or carried out in the context of matriarchal leadership. moreover, the important question to ask is, does matriarchy in traditional africa implies that there is gender equality in traditional africa? of course, abendroth and smith( 2008:49) answer immediately that matriarchal “patterns are not just a reversal of patriarchy, with women somehow ruling men – as the usual misinterpretation would have it – rather they are, without exception, gender–egalitarian societies, and in many cases, full egalitarian societies.” but, not agreeing that traditional african society is egalitarian, omegoha (2022: 33), argues that “women have similar status with children, and in like manner were beaten frequently by men.” although there are some elements of truth in this latter position, as not everything done by our forbearers was good, the point remains that the concept of gender equality as it is known today is strange to traditional africans. and the present understanding of gender equality cannot be adequately applied to traditional africa if one should be fair to them and their history. evaristus emeka isife, phd furthermore, it has been argued that, in traditional africa, men are superior to women. hence, dine( 2007:96 – 97) supports the claim as he states that africans “conceive existence and things that exist as real and going in pairs – one naturally being higher or superior to the other… god created heavens, igwe or elu and ala ( sky and land), male and female, ala ndi mmuo na ala ndi mmadu( land of spirit and land of humans). the first in each pair is always higher than and superior to the other.” this position affirms that women are under men. hence, basden(1983: 88) supports this position as he maintains that “ women have but few rights in any circumstances, and can only hold such property as their lord‟s permit.” is man taken to be superior to women in traditional africa? if so, why? the answers to these questions require further interrogation of traditional africa which is ongoing and this research is a great impetus to that. furthermore, another aspect of matriarchy in traditional africa is the dual-sex character of its political system. this means that any position a man attains or acquires that his chief wife or wives attain or acquire the same. hence, collaborating on this point, farrar(1997:6) observes “ this practice of maintaining separate, parallel political hierarchies for the female and male sections of the population is a fundamental and presumably ancient feature of akan political organisation.” this dualsex character of the political system in traditional africa is also observed by okonjo( 1976) who studied the political organisation of the western igbo of nigeria. okonjo( 1976: 46) posits that “the monarchs were the male “obi”, who in theory was the acknowledged head of the whole community, and the female “omu”, who in theory was the acknowledged mother of the whole community but who in practice was charged with concern for the female section.” therefore, the division of spheres of power between men and women starts from the family and moves up to the community. although there are spheres of power and areas of jurisdiction between men and women in traditional africa, yet, the male is seen as the general overseer or supervisor of the affairs of the family or the community as the case may be. finally, in traditional africa, it is in the typical family setting that the sphere of power of matriarchy is well appreciated. in the traditional family, there is a man with his wife. there is the man‟s hut (his obi) which is the seat of power of his family and each of his wives has a place for cooking( ekwu) and a hut( mkpuke) where she and her children leave. the role of the obi both as the seat of power and the power of the man over her family is more of supervisory and general control. the research agrees with amadiume(1998) that the mkpuke is matriarchy in traditional africa and its relevane to contemporary feminism 10 the centre of matriarchy. it is where women exercise their power in the family and society as wives and mothers. but, both the obi and nkpuke, as asouzo(2004) argued, play complementary roles in the family. for instance, a married woman answered the name of her father instead of her husband‟s name. the researcher‟s maternal and maternal grandmothers continued to answer their fathers‟ names till they died. also, it is the right of the woman in many african cultures, especially igbo, to give names to their children. the child also answers the name of her mother for better recognition not that of her father. the child answers the name of his father mostly when there is a need to honour him. this intricacy confirms the african philosophy that the mother is supreme (nneka) in traditional africa. dimensions of matriarchy in traditional african having examined what matriarchy in traditional africa is all about, the next point is to look at the dimensions of matriarchy in traditional africa. the sphere of power of matriarchy in traditional africa is broad but most of the time not noticed easily. the first dimension of matriarchy in traditional africa is the economic dimension. women play important roles in advancing the economy of the community. this economic dimension can be traced back to the family. according to amadiume( 1998: 19),” the mkpuke, which i regard as the matricentric structure of matriarchy, is the smallest kinship unit and the smallest production unit. it is a good example of where the structure of the production unit determines the consumption unit for it is a unit which eats what it produces.” hence, matriarchy is the economic base of the family as it determines the production, distribution and consumption of goods. women in traditional africa were seen as the main drivers of agriculture which is the main economic earning of traditional africa. polygamy is highly valued in traditional africa because it was believed that more wives bring more wealth and riches to men. also, women are fully in charge of markets in traditional africa. furthermore, every woman in traditional africa is being trained towards acquiring the qualities of a good mother. women as mothers are the foundation of the social life of the community. in igbo, it is a mother (nne) before father (nna) and the igbo believe that “nne ka” means that the mother is supreme. confirming this line of thought, onukawa(1998, 208) opines that “ this is because, despite igbo patriarchy, matriarchal forces are subterranean and mystical in the culture. matriarchal heritage is superior and this explains why ala, the greatest igbo deity is a female.” socialization in traditional africa is based on matriarchy. although it may seem that women are silent in evaristus emeka isife, phd traditional africa they control the greater part of the social life of the community be it marriage, cultural festivals, rite of passage, title taking etc. the maternity of children is taken more seriously than paternity. this is one of the reasons why children answer the name of their mother or maternal uncle. the igbo used to say, “nwa ka ugwu n‟igwunne ya” meaning a child is accorded more respect in her mother‟s place of birth. in continuation, scholars, like basden (1982: 88), think that the only place left for traditional african women is the home. but this is not so. hence, according to asiimire and twinamatsiko(2021: 5), “the political power that women had in the pre-colonial ankole was very instrumental resulting from the collective voice that women had, unlike men. the council of wise women and women courts were established to preserve and uphold women's dignity.” the point is that women as mothers play active roles in their different families. thus, women as wives receive the same status as their husbands. also, women as groups play important roles in organizing the community. among the various women groups in traditional africa, two are well known. dine(2007: 129) notes that: “there are associations of two essential groups of those who are married and are living with their husbands: the married ones living with their husbands are called (ndiom ala) and daughters married out to other places are called (umuada/umuokpu).” the daughters of the land married outside the land( umuada) is the most powerful organisation in igboland. it is more powerful than the organisation of married men in the community( umunna). ubesie (1978), in dine (2007: 131), was correct to have noted that: “ in any village, when the umuada as a group, decides their capacity as daughters of the land, nobody dares to go against it.” hence, umuada is like the present supreme court which is the final destination of all cases and the last locus of judgment. finally, in traditional africa, the earth goddess ( ala) is a female and plays a key role in sustaining the peace and unity of the community. hence, abendroth and smith(2008: 51) are correct when they explain that: in matriarchy, divinity is immanent, for the whole world is regarded as divine, feminine divine. this is evident in the widely held concept of the universe as the great goddess who created everything and of the earth as the great mother who brings forth everything living. and everything is endowed with divinity, each woman and man, each plant and animal, the smallest pebble and the biggest star. matriarchy in traditional africa and its relevane to contemporary feminism 12 although, men are her priests the presence of the earth deity is to preserve and sustain the femininity and female values of the community. there is a great link and interaction between the dead, the living and the unborn which is perpetuated through the knowledge and worship of the earth goddess. crimes that violate motherhood, like fratricide, adultery, and stealing of yams, are grave and offend the deity. many sanctions are put in place to make both men and women uphold the matriarchal values of the community. although women are not fully involved in certain religious rites once a woman attains the age of menopause, she is taken as a man and plays the same or similar religious role as a man. according to carswell ( 2003), most cultural activities in traditional africa centre on upholding or preserving the feminine values of the society. one sees this in celebrations of rites of passage, childbirth celebrations, and marriage and death ceremonies. in these celebrations and ceremonies, women play centre roles. contemporary feminism and gender equality feminism can be defined as “the struggle for equal rights, and as a political and social movement. it has been described in terms of „waves”( martha easton, 2012,99). there are up to three or four such waves. the first wave started within the context of the bourgeois revolutions, precisely of the american and french revolutions of 1776 and 1789 respectively. this first wave has its foundation in the seneca falls convention held in new york in 1848, where more than 200 women gathered and discussed the social, religious and civil rights of women. but it was only in 1920 that america ratified the 19th amendment, which granted women the right to vote. thus, for easton(2012, 99), the achievement of the first wave of feminism is “women‟s suffrage.” moreover, williams (2003) was quick to observe that after the achievement of women‟s suffrage in the 1920s, there arose an enduring division within feminism between the feminist objective of equal rights with men in the public domain and the recognition of women‟s differences with men to enhance women‟s status in the private sphere of the family. this gave rise to the second wave of feminism which was concerned with fighting against wider inequality in society, trying to break the age-long stereotypes that maintain the disadvantages, especially to women. there are many strands of the second wave of feminism. for example, liberal feminism fought against domestic violence, for the provision of equal working status for both men and women and the right of women to decide on their reproduction. the achievement of the second wave of feminism is social equality. but evaristus emeka isife, phd whether the wave was successful in this regard became a big issue for the third wave of feminism. in continuation, the third wave of feminism, according to easton(2012: 99), “focused more on identity politics in the attempt to correct what some perceived as a lack of attention to race, class, religion, and other markers of difference between women.” third wavers fought for the redefinition of womanhood, gender, beauty, sexuality femininity and masculinity. it has been noted that while second-wavers were trying to establish sexual liberation, third-wavers tends to claim that gender identity and sexuality have been formed by society, and everyone should be able to choose and express their authentic gender identity. the third wavers fought the stereotypical image of women where women are seen as highly demanding, weak and dependent. they want women to have a powerful image and control of their sexuality ( burkett& brunell, 2020). third-wavers have continued to criticize second-wave feminism as exclusive, whitish, rigid, judgmental, antimale, anti femininity and anti-fun. although there are some elements of truth in this, snyder( 2008, 180) maintains that “while it is commendable that third-wave feminism makes diversity a central feature, it is a misconception to believe that second–wave feminism was composed of all white, middle-class women.” hence there are writings of feminists of colour that are parts of the second wave. also, thirdwave feminism emerged from a strand of second-wave. the diverse tone of the third wave makes it appeal to contemporary feminist movements especially third world feminism and transnational feminism. so, third world feminism and transnational feminism have one common objective against second-wave feminism and this has to do with their rejection of unfounded universalism of white feminism and their emphasis on third world women‟s complex and intersecting oppressions as well as their multiple forms of resistance to women‟s oppression. but they differ in that third world feminism is concerned about the third world women‟s actions in their particular localized or nationalized context but transnational is primarily interested in feminist organizations and movements as they occur outside and beyond individual nation-states at the transnational level ( herr: 2014). finally, according to grady (2018), quoted in bakytzhanova(2020), fourth-wave feminism, which started in 2010, created a pro – sexualization, pro–skinny, anti-fat movement. it also created a hashtag “me too” on social media to fight against harassment, violence, and overall stereotypical views about women. the fourth wave is unlike the matriarchy in traditional africa and its relevane to contemporary feminism 14 third wave for it uses the internet and social media as its main tool with which it opens the door to intersect with other movements like anti– racism, trans-sexuality, lgbt community. this research agrees with barkytzhanova(2020) that the first and second waves of feminism achieved much by getting women the right to vote, fighting for equality in working places and spaces in many spheres and spreading awareness of domestic violence. but the conflictual views and diffused goals of the third and fourth waves seem to be a drawback to the achievements of the first two waves. this has led to what dean( 2010: 9) described as “two relevant sets of narratives” regarding feminism. the first set of these narratives are melancholic narratives that present feminism as having gone into decline as a result of shifts in feminist goals and divergent and conflicting views of feminists. and the second narratives are those with positive tones that celebrate the re-emergence of dynamic feminism in recent years. this dean( 2010: 13) that: “they both converge in their emphasis on a feminist paradigm break between qualitatively different old and new feminisms. in so doing, both sets of narratives arguably over-emphasize break and discontinuity over continuity across time.” but one thing is clear from this; there is still room for evaluation and progress as women are still oppressed and there is still gender inequality in society. this is why it is important to examine how matriarchy in traditional africa can help to advance this cause for gender equality in contemporary society. relevance of traditional matriarchy to contemporary feminism traditional african matriarchy is still alive to a greater degree in contemporary africa. it is important to examine how african matriarchy will be of help in advancing the cause of gender equality in contemporary society. in the first place, the african worldview is rooted in dualism, which refers “to parts of interconnected and interactive concepts, which may or may not be opposite.” it is this dualism that will help one appreciate the relationship between matriarchy and patriarchy in traditional africa. western patriarchy was boosted by colonialism, and colonialism focused its attention on universalizing the western culture and turning in it into a paradigm for all. in the same vein, western patriarchy universalized the male experience and turns it into a paradigm for all human beings. of course, the evolutionists made every effort to demonstrate that patriarchy was the peak of human development. so, feminism started as an opposition principle to patriarchy. one of the errors of feminism, however, according to williams (2003: 83), is “constructing a paradigm of women‟s experiences in a way that seems universal in scope.” but dualism in traditional africa allows matriarchy and patriarchy to interact as evaristus emeka isife, phd complementary principles. hence the principle of complementarity as located in traditional africa needs to be applied to contemporary feminism. this will help feminism to see differences in males and females not as points of division and quarrel but that of interaction, dialogue and cooperation. it will enable feminism to see weaknesses in patriarchy as a vacuum to be filled with its own different but related principles. moreover, in traditional africa, there is a division of labour and distinction of the sexes. the principle of matriarchy in traditional africa allows both men and women to know their sexes, respect their sexes and carry out their functions according to their gender. hence, there is a difference between ontological equality and functional equality. ontologically, traditional africa believes that men and women are equal. but functionally, understanding traditional african matriarchy will help one to appreciate that function has more to do with equity rather than equality. one of the travails of feminism is its principle that “what a man can do, a woman can do better.” feminism has to acknowledge that there is a distinction between man and woman and both equality and equity have to be considered whenever one talks of what a man can do or what a woman can do. elaborating more on this, dine (2007: 100) asserts: “women recognize positively their distinctive position and roles before men. they are under men not as slaves but as integral parts of the african philosophy of family. the recognition of the role of motherhood of the womenfolk is universally upheld and indispensable element in the organisation of leadership.” it is this superior role of mother in the society as represented in matriarchy that feminism is daily sacrificing at the altar of women's liberation. this has affected both the family and society negatively. furthermore, matriarchy in traditional africa is the foundation of the family. in traditional africa, motherhood is the greatest demonstration of matriarchy. mother is supreme in africa. this point is made clearer by diop (1989: 32), as he says that “in black africa, it is almost everywhere thought that a child owes more from a biological point of view to his mother than to his father… a child is wholly what its mother is and only half of what its father is.” hence, a mother should first take charge of her family for her to take charge of society. traditional african women understood this fact and were really in charge of the family. so, sesanti (2016:489) is correct to say that in traditional africa “paternity is a probability and maternity is certain.” also in traditional igbo african society, the women's organisation, umuada, is the most powerful political organisation. contemporary women should look to matriarchy in traditional africa and its relevane to contemporary feminism 16 the family as the root of women's liberation. contemporary families are in tumult because women are no longer in control of the families. so, taiwo( 2010: 232) is correct that “the survival of the family depends fundamentally on the women.” in continuation, matriarchy in traditional africa is paradigmatic to contemporary feminism. diop( 1989) understands african matriarchy as a shift of focus from the man at the centre of control of power to the primacy of the role of the mother in economic, social, political and religious institutions. hence, amadiume(1998: 80) correctly observes that “ the european writers did not seem to have had a parallel historical experience of mother-focused systems to draw from. their patriarchal paradigm was taken from the fixed point of the father.” unfortunately, it is this patriarchal paradigm that feminism encountered and was consumed by it. thus, contemporary feminism, in the words of williams (2003:83), has“fallen into the error of constructing a paradigm of women‟s experiences in a way that seems universal in scope.” feminism is founded in the principle of monism but traditional african matriarchy operates within the principle of complementarity. thus, for contemporary feminism to be inclusive, including all women, especially black women, it has to change from the principle of monism to that of dualism or complementarity. finally, matriarchy in traditional africa is a custodian of nature and protector of the environment. this is hinged on the fact that, as amadiume(1998: 101) reiterates, traditional african matriarchy was “ couched in a very powerful goddess–based religion, a strong ideology of motherhood, and a general moral principle of love.” hence there is a strong relationship between the land and the earth goddess( ala). so the land, in the words of kanu(2021), “is not just a solid part of the universe, it is the mother that is the abode of the living and the dead as human beings come from it and are buried in its belly. it is regarded as a person and not just a thing to be used when needed. it is a person deserving respect and care.” therefore, the earth is the super mother of which every mother in the family is a real representative. understanding the earth as a mother brings in the qualities of love, empathy, care and respect and these helped traditional africans in promoting the good health of their environment. to mawere(2013, 6), and this applies to most traditional africa, “unlike in modern zimbabwe where expert science is officially used as the sole agent for environmental conservation, pre-colonial zimbabwe deployed a myriad of traditional strategies enshrined in indigenous knowledge system to conserve the natural environment.” these strategies include taboos, evaristus emeka isife, phd folktales, totems and the conception of the environment as divine and as common property. some lands, trees, animals and even human beings were dedicated to the gods. so the conception of the earth as a mother to be loved and cherished, as was applicable in african traditional matriarchal society, will help not only feminism but more so contemporary society towards the conserving of the environment. evaluation one of the main obstacles towards gender equality especially in third world countries is colonialism. although colonialism has come and gone in many parts of the world especially africa its impacts have refused to go or it has continued to exist as neocolonialism. if colonialism is a tragedy to an african man then it is a double tragedy to an african woman. woman is mostly affected by colonialism hence, ladner ( 2009: 65) was quick to note that “there can be no doubt that indigenous women have been disproportionately affected by colonialism.” this is why it is important to talk about the decolonisation of gender before one can talk about gender equality. again, ladner (2009: 72), asserts that “decolonisation must, therefore be a degendered project. it must be a project that is grounded in indigenous understandings of gender…” this is why it is important to re-evaluate matriarchy in traditional africa, as has been done in this research, to understand what roles both male and female genders played in traditional africa. some elements of traditional african values are still in existence. there has to be conscious living out of these values, especially as regards matriarchy in contemporary society. an important aspect of the african person that needs to be decolonized is the mind. this is because the mind is the centre of human activities and conscious living. in this vein, isife (2022a: 113) argues that “ the decolonisation of the african mind will channel the people‟s attention to unfolding indigenous ways of knowing and being as well as the important indigenous ways to move forward.” in africa, there should be a conscious introduction of african values, especially as regards matriarchy and the roles of gender in traditional africa, into the school curriculum. children should be made to internalize these values beginning from their homes, to the schools and religious affiliations. the government should also try to make laws and formulate policies drawn from traditional african values which will be geared towards the advancement of gender equality in public places. unfortunately, nigeria is still far from actualizing the united nation‟s 35% affirmative action for women. so matriarchy in traditional africa can only be matriarchy in traditional africa and its relevane to contemporary feminism 18 relevant to contemporary feminism if contemporary africa begins to apply its principles in her daily activities. on the other hand, there are also aspects of traditional african matriarchy that are not relevant to the contemporary world. the story of women in traditional africa is not entirely positive. although women have some spheres of power in traditional africa, yet women were not always treated as men‟s equals especially in marriage and inheritance of family property. women in some parts of africa do not inherit their father‟s property. also, widows in most traditional societies were treated badly. omegoha(2022: 33) lament this ugly situation that “apart from that, women have similar status with children, and in like manner were beaten frequently by men. they were treated as objects, not people.” this maltreatment of women by society was carried on to present-day african society. efforts are being made and should be more concerted, by all stakeholders to make women free from domination, maltreatment, subjugation and objectification by society. the values of matriarchy should be amplified with the modern values of democracy to create an equitable society for both men and women. conclusion many evolutionist scholars presented patriarchy and matriarchy as two opposing principles of which one should be allowed to stay. for these scholars, patriarchy is superior to matriarchy and is the summit of human development. colonialism rode at the back of this theory and contributed in no small measure to the exploitation and subjugation of women. feminism that rose to fight western patriarchy followed the same principle as patriarchy and alienated third-world women, especially black women. hence, traditional african matriarchy can provide an alternative to feminism towards fighting for gender equality. and traditional african matriarchy provides a better principle or rather a paradigm to underscore, understand and understudy the distinction of sexes, and gender roles as regards gender equality in contemporary society. africa is a starting point towards implementing the values of traditional african matriarchy not only because these values are coming from africa but more so because african women are worst hit by gender inequality in contemporary society. references abendroth, h. and smith k.p. (2008). “matriarchies as societies of peace,” in off our backs 38, (1), 49 – 52 allen, a.t.(1999). “ feminism, social science, and the meanings of modernity: debate on theorigin of the family in europe and evaristus emeka isife, phd the united states, 1860 – 1914, in the american historical review 104,(4), 1085 – 1914. amadiume, i. (1998). re–inventing african matriarchy, religion and culture. london & new york: zed books ltd. asiimire, d. and twinamatsiko, m. (2021). “pan african feminist perspectives promoting in matriarchy. women in pre-colonial linguistic power loss and the contemporary state of affairs ankole sub region,” open access library journal 8, e7870, 1 – 19. retrieved july 24, 2023, from https://doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1107870. asouzo, i. (2004). the method and principles of complementary reflection. calabar: university of calabar. bahlieda, r. (2015). “the legacy of patriarchy,” in counterpoints: patriarchy, leadership and education 488, 15 – 67. bachofen,j.j.(1861). das mutterrecht. stuttgart: verlag von krais & hoffmann. bakytzhanova. a. (2020). “the development of contemporary feminism,” retrieved july 24, 2023 from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/350453092. basden, g.t. (1983). among the ibos of nigeria. lagos: university publishing co. bohr, n. (1934). atomic theory and the description of nature. cambridge: cambridge university press. burkett, e., & brunell, l. (2020). “feminism” retrieved july 24, 2023, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/feminism carswell. g. (2003). “food crops as cash crops: the case of colonial kigezi, uganda,” in journal of agrarian change 3, 521 – 551. retrieved july 24, 2023, from https://doi.org/10.1111/1471 0366.00065. dean, j. (2010). re-thinking contemporary feminist politics. uk: palgrave macmillan. dine, g. (2007). traditional leadership as a sample of african democracy among the igbo of nigeria: a christian evaluation. enugu; snaap press nig.ltd. diop, c.(1989). cultural unity of black africa. london: karnak house. easton, e.(2012). “feminism,” studies in iconography, special issue medieval art history today critical terms 33, 99 – 112. farrar, t. (1997). “the queen-mother, matriarchy, and the question of female politicalauthority in pre-colonial west african matriarchy,” in journal of black studies 27, (5), 579 – 597. gould, j. and kolb, w.(1964). a dictionary of social sciences. new york: free press of glencoe. https://doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1107870 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/350453092 https://www.britannica.com/topic/feminism https://doi.org/10.1111/1471 matriarchy in traditional africa and its relevane to contemporary feminism 20 herr, r.s.(2014). “reclaiming third world feminism: or why transnational feminism needs third world feminism,” meridians 12, (1), 1 – 30. isife, e.e & agbanusi a. (2022a). “decolonization of the african mind through indigenous education: a philosophical proposal,” nnamdi azikiwe journal of philosophy 13 (1), 109 –111. isife, e.e.(2022b). “traditional african identity: the old in a new relevance,” in appon philosophical quarterly 1, (2), 48 – 60. kanu, i.a.(2021). “ala deity in igbo – african religion and environmental sustainability,” in ikechukwu a. kanu(ed.), eco philosophy: cosmology, consciousness and the environment. maryland, usa: association for the promotion of african studies, 109 – 122. kanu, i. a. (2012). the genders in christian anthropology vis-a-vis the experience of violence by women in nigeria. international journal of language, literature and gender studies (afrrev laligens). vol. 1. no.2. june 2012. pp. 1-14. kanu, i. a. (2011). women experience of violence and the resurrection faith. african journal of contextual theology. vol. 3. june. pp.125-138. kanu, i. a. (2012). the equality of sexes in j. s. mill vis-a-vis the participation of women in the nigerian labour and economy. the international journal of language, literature and gender studies (afrrev laligens). vol. 1. no.1. march 2012. pp. 1829. ladner, k.l. (2009). “gendering decolonisation, decolonising gender,” in australian indigenous law review 13, (1), 67 – 77. maine, h.s. (1861). ancient law: its connection with the early history of society and its relation to modern ideas. london: john murray publishers. mawere, m. (2013). “traditional environment conservation strategies in pre–colonial africa: lessons from zimbabwe to forget or to carry forward into the future,” in afro asian journal of social science 4, (4), 123 okonjo, k. (1976). “the dual sex political system in operation: igbo women and community politics in midwestern nigeria,” in j.h naney and g.b edna (eds.), women in africa. stanford: university of california. omegoha, f.(2022). the beauty of women in politics: nigerian perspective. enugu: black belt konzult ltd. onukawa, m.c.( 1998). “kwe – names and the complementary dual concepts in igbo” in anthropos 93, (1/3), 202 -208 evaristus emeka isife, phd sesanti, s.(2016). “ african philosophy in pursuit of an african renaissance for the true liberation of african women,” in journal of black studies 47,(6), 479 – 496 snyder, r.c.(2008). “what is third world – wave feminism? a new directions essay,” signs 34, (.1), 175 – 196. uberoi, p.(1995). “problems with patriarchy: conceptual issues in anthropology and feminism,” in sociological bulletin 44, (2), 195 – 221. staples, r. (1981). “the myth of the black matriarchy,” in the black scholar 12,(6), 26 – 34. taiwo, a.o.(2010). “power and womanhood in africa: an introductory evaluation,” in the journal of pan african studies 3, (6), 229 – 338 taylor, g.r. (1970). sex in history. new york: vanguard press. warren, k.j. (1994). “critical thinking and feminism,” in kerry walters (ed.), re-thinking reason. new perspectives in critical thinking. labany: state university of new york press. williams, w. (2003). “patriarchy, ideology and feminism: some critical notes,” in west african journal of philosophical studies 6,72 – 89. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute restoration of human dignity in the nigerian labour market in the light of rerum novarum julian chukwuemeka ibe, phd good shepherd major seminary, kaduna frjulianibe@gmail.com & jonathan a. yabiliyok, phd department of christian religious studies federal university of education, zaria jyabiliyok@yahoo.com abstract this work explores how the principles advocated in rerum novarum can serve as a panacea for addressing the challenges faced in the nigerian labor market. it aims at shedding light on the devaluation of human dignity within the nigerian labor market and explores rerum novarum, an influential papal encyclical, as a potential panacea for addressing this pressing issue. the article begins with and introduction and then clarifies some important concepts. it discusses the relationship between human dignity and human labour. next, it proceeds to make an exposition of the nigerian labour market and discusses challenges confronting human dignity in the labour market. the study gives a brief overview of the encyclical rerum novarum and using the document, attempts to address the concerns in the nigerian labour market. thus, it proposes respect for the dignity of labour, just distribution of resources, fair wages, safe working conditions, rights of workers, gender equality among others. it is hoped that these recommendations, when properly implemented, will help in upholding the dignity of the human person within the nigerian labour market. keywords: human dignity, human labour, labour market, rerum novarum. 1. introduction in 2022, nigeria witnessed one of the longest and most depressing strike actions when members of the academic staff union of universities commenced an indefinite strike which lasted for eight months, that is from february 14 to october 14, 2022. leaders of the union cited poor remuneration, inadequate funding for public universities, and the demand for university transparency and accountability solution (utas), instead of the integrated payroll and personnel information system (ippis), as a platform for paying university staff (bolaji, 2022). this strike is only one of many instances of the situation in the nigerian labour market. in today’s globalized world, the fair treatment and recognition of human dignity within the labor market are essential components of a just and equitable society. unfortunately, these principles remain elusive in many regions, including nigeria, where the labor market is plagued by systemic challenges that devalue the intrinsic worth of individuals. this devaluation of human dignity not only hampers economic progress but also perpetuates social inequality and fosters discontent among the workforce. rerum novarum, which translates to "of new things" in english, is an encyclical issued by pope leo xiii in 1891. it serves as a foundational document of catholic social thought igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute and has significant implications and relevance for many societal issues, including the restoration of human dignity in the nigerian labor market. the nigerian labor market, like many others around the world, faces issues such as exploitation, poor working conditions, and insufficient compensation.1 2. conceptualization of terms human dignity: human dignity refers to the inherent worth and value that every individual possesses simply by virtue of being human. it encompasses the fundamental rights, freedoms, and respect owed to all individuals, regardless of their social standing, occupation, or economic status.2 in theological anthropology, human dignity is often emphasized as being grounded in the belief that humans are created in the image and likeness of god (cf. gen. 1:26-27). according to theologian hans and von balthasar, "the dignity of man is rooted in his creation in the image and likeness of god and in his vocation to share in god’s own life".3 human labour: human labor refers to the physical and mental effort exerted by individuals to produce goods or services. it encompasses a wide range of activities performed by individuals in various sectors of the economy, such as agriculture, manufacturing, services, and professional work; and it involves the application of knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform tasks or complete projects that contribute to economic growth, innovation, and societal development. it is a critical component of a productive and functioning society.4 in theological anthropology, human labor is understood as being uniquely significant and dignified. theologian pope john paul ii, in his encyclical laborem exercens, emphasized the importance of work as a fundamental dimension of human existence.5 according to catholic social teaching, human labor not only enables individuals to provide for their needs but also contributes to the development of their dignity, creativity, and self-realization. the concept of work is deeply rooted in the biblical narrative, with genesis 2:15 stating, "the lord god took the man and put him in the garden of eden to work it and take care of it."6 labour market: the labor market refers to the mechanism through which individuals exchange their labor and skills in return for financial compensation. in other words, it refers to the supply and demand for labor in an economy, where individuals seeking employment interact with employers offering job opportunities. it encompasses the overall dynamics and interactions between employers, employees, and job seekers in the process of labor exchange. the labor market includes factors such as wages, job availability, job requirements, skills needed, and the mobility 1 funmi adewumi and adebimpe adenugba, the state of workers right in nigeria: an examination of the banking, oil and gas and telecommunication sectors” (nigeria: friedrich-ebert, 2010), 12. 2 a. smith, “the inherent worth of human dignity,” journal of philosophy, 20, no. 1 (2010), 15. 3 hans urs von balthasar, love alone is credible (san francisco: ignatius press, 2001), 143. 4 j. doe, “the significance of human labour in shaping personal identity,” journal of human development 30, no. 1 (2015), 42. 5 pope john paul ii, encyclical on human work laborem exercens (vatican: libreria editrice vaticana, 1981), par 4. 6 the holy bible: the new revised standard version catholic edition (bengaluru: theological publications in india, 2021). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute of workers. it is influenced by various economic, social, and political factors and plays a crucial role in determining the allocation of human resources, income distribution, and overall economic performance. theologically, the labor market can be seen as a context in which individuals exercise their ability to work and participate in economic activities. however, it is crucial to ensure that the labor market respects human dignity and promotes just and fair conditions for all. hence, from a theological perspective, the labor market must be guided by principles of social justice and human solidarity. catholic social teaching, for example, emphasizes the importance of fair wages, safe working conditions, and the protection of workers' rights. the biblical book of james warns against exploiting workers and says, "look! the wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you." (jas. 5:4 nrsv). 3. relationship between human dignity and human labour human dignity and human labor are two interconnected inseparable components that form the essence of human existence. both aspects are integral to society, shaping individual self-worth and the collective well-being of communities. there are several ways in which human dignity and human labor are interconnected; even though the relationship that exists between both of them is a complex and multifaceted one. firstly, work or if you like human labor is of the means through which individuals express their dignity and self-worth. it provides a sense of purpose, fulfillment, and personal development. engaging in meaningful and productive work allows individuals to contribute to the betterment of society and to affirm their inherent value as human beings. additionally, the conditions in which individuals perform their labor can significantly impact their sense of dignity. hence, decent work, characterized by fair wages, safe working conditions, and respect for workers’ rights, is a fundamental component of upholding human dignity. conversely, when individuals are subjected to exploitative labor practices, such as forced labor or unfair wages, their dignity is undermined.7 the relationship between human dignity and human labor also extends to the concept of social justice. recognizing and respecting the dignity of workers entails ensuring equal opportunities and non-discrimination in employment. it involves creating a society that values the contributions of all individuals and provides them with the resources and support necessary to live a dignified life. this includes access to education, healthcare, social protection, and the right to organize and bargain collectively.8 furthermore, the advancement of technology and the changing nature of work raise important questions about the preservation of human dignity. as automation and artificial intelligence increasingly replace certain types of jobs, it becomes crucial to ensure that individuals are not deprived of meaningful work opportunities. on this note, efforts should be made to re-skill and retrain affected workers, promote job creation in emerging industries, and provide a social safety net to support those who may be displaced. by and large, human dignity and human labour are inseparable components of human existence, and the relationship that exists between them is 7 doe, “the significance of human labour in shaping personal identity,” 109. 8 smith, “the inherent worth of human dignity,” 45. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute intertwined and mutually reinforcing. the ability to engage in meaningful work not only shapes personal identity but also fosters social cohesion and promotes overall well-being.9 meanwhile, upholding human dignity requires creating an environment where individuals can engage in dignified work, are treated with fairness and respect, and have access to the necessary resources for a decent life. by valuing and respecting human labor, societies can foster a sense of dignity and promote social justice for all.10 4. an exposition of the nigerian labour market the labor market, also known as the job market, refers to the supply of and demand for labor, for which employees provide the supply and employers provide the demand. it is a major component of any economy and is intricately linked to markets for capital, goods, and services.11 the nigerian labour market is a complex and dynamic system that plays a crucial role in the country’s economic development and social progress. it encompasses various sectors and industries, offering employment opportunities to millions of individuals while also presenting challenges and disparities. one of the key characteristics of the nigerian labour market is its large and growing workforce. with a population of over 200 million people, nigeria has a significant labour force that continues to expand. this presents both opportunities and challenges, as the country must effectively harness the potential of its workforce to drive economic growth and improve living standards. however, the nigerian labour market also faces several issues and structural challenges. one of the most pressing concerns is the high rate of unemployment, particularly among the youth. the lack of job opportunities, coupled with inadequate skills and education, creates a significant barrier for many individuals seeking employment. in fact, according to the national bureau of statistics (nbs), the unemployment rate in nigeria was 33.3% in the fourth quarter of 2020, with the youth unemployment rate standing at 42.5%. this high rate of unemployment presents a significant challenge for the country's economy and social stability which may result to social unrest and economic inequality.12 another thing to take note of is that the labour market in nigeria is heavily reliant on oil and gas, which account for a significant portion of the country’s gdp and export earnings. however, the volatility of the oil market has led to job instability and a lack of diverse employment opportunities. in addition, the low level of industrialization in the country has also contributed to limited job prospects for a large segment of the population.13 moreover, there is a significant disparity in wages and income distribution within the nigerian labour market. the gap between high-income 9 r. brown, “human dignity and the promotion of overall well-being,” journal of ethics 25, no. 3 (2012), 142. 10 smith, “the inherent worth of human dignity,” 27. 11 will kenton, “labor market explained: theories and who is included,” accessed november 21, 2023, https://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/labor-market.asp#:~:text. 12 national bureau of statistics. (2021). labour force statistics volume 2: employment by sector. nbs. accessed november 21, 2023, https://www.nigerianstat.gov.ng/home/employee-browse_pub 13 international labour organization. (2019). labour market policies in nigeria: addressing decent work deficits and targeted employment creation, accessed november 21, 2023, https://www.ilo.org/employment/areas/nationalemployment-policies/wcms_732315/lang--en/index.htm igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute earners and low-income earners is quite significant, exacerbating wealth inequality and social disparities. efforts should be made to address this gap through policies that promote fair wages, social protection, and inclusive growth. meanwhile, the nigerian government recognizes the importance of addressing these labour market challenges and has taken various initiatives to promote job creation and skill development. policies and programs such as the national social investment program (nsip) and the national youth employment program (nyep) aim to reduce unemployment and improve the employability of nigerians, particularly the youth.14 in addition, there is a need for increased investment in education and vocational training to equip individuals with the necessary skills for today’s job market. strengthening the linkages between educational institutions and industries can help bridge the skills gap and ensure that graduates are better prepared for the demands of the labour market. by and large, the nigerian labour market is a complex environment with both opportunities and challenges. addressing issues such as unemployment, informal employment, and income inequality requires comprehensive policies and concerted efforts from the government, private sector, and civil society. by promoting job creation, enhancing skills development, and ensuring equitable access to opportunities, nigeria can harness the potential of its labour market to foster sustainable economic growth and development. 5. challenges confronting human dignity in the nigerian labour market by the very fact that one is ‘human,’ one is automatically entitled to a dignified labour. by a dignified labour, it means that no human person is to be used as a machine or a means to an end. to use the human person as a means is to dehumanize the person which is a direct attack on the person’s dignity. hence, in the nigerian labour market, there are several challenges that can potentially impact human dignity. here are some key challenges: a. unemployment: high levels of unemployment in nigeria pose a significant challenge to human dignity. when individuals are unable to find suitable job opportunities, their ability to support themselves and their families is compromised. unemployment can lead to frustration, poverty, and a lack of access to basic necessities, which can undermine a person’s dignity. b. inadequate working conditions: many workers in nigeria face poor working conditions, including long working hours, lack of safety measures, and inadequate compensation. these conditions violate the dignity of workers as they compromise their physical and mental well-being and fail to provide fair rewards for their labor.15 the result of such conditions is sudden union actions and strikes. these strikes often deal a major blow to the economy and affects workers. c. exploitation and informal employment: a significant proportion of the nigerian labour market operates in the informal sector, where workers often lack legal protections, fair pay, 14 a. b. oduaran, “the nigerian education system and labour market,” african journal of education and development studies 5, no. 3 (2017), 188-203 at https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajesd/article/view/161631 15 akeem ayofe akinwale, “precarious working conditions and exploitation of workers in the nigerian informal economy,” social science and diliman 10, no. 1 (2014), 121-122. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute or social benefits. they may also face exploitation and abuse by unscrupulous employers. this undermines human dignity by denying individuals the rights and protections they deserve.16 d. discrimination and inequality: discrimination based on factors such as gender, ethnicity, religion, or disability can adversely affect human dignity in the labour market. when individuals are subjected to unfair treatment or denied opportunities based on arbitrary factors, it erodes their sense of self-worth and equality. e. skills mismatch: the nigerian labour market often experiences a mismatch between the skills possessed by job seekers and those demanded by employers. this leads to underemployment or unemployment of qualified individuals and hampers their ability to contribute meaningfully to society. such situations can create a sense of frustration and loss of dignity among job seekers.17 addressing these challenges requires concerted efforts from multiple stakeholders, including the government, employers, trade unions, and civil society organizations. it is crucial to promote inclusive economic growth, invest in education and skills development, strengthen labor laws, and enforce regulations to ensure fair and decent working conditions for all. additionally, combating discrimination and promoting equality in the labour market are essential for upholding human dignity in nigeria. 6. overview of rerum novarum rerum novarum, which means “of new things” in latin, is considered a foundational text of modern catholic social teaching, and the first in the series of the great encyclical letters on social questions.18 it is a significant encyclical and one of the most influential documents in the history of catholic social teaching issued by pope leo xiii on may 15, 1891. it addresses the challenges faced by workers during the industrial revolution. it addresses the social and economic conditions of the time and offers principles and guidelines for the just treatment of workers and the proper organization of society. the encyclical was written in response to the profound social changes brought about by the industrial revolution, which had led to the rise of industrialization, urbanization, and the emergence of mass poverty in many parts of europe. pope leo xiii sought to address the issues arising from this context and promote social harmony, justice, and the dignity of every human person. in rerum novarum, pope leo xiii acknowledges that the struggle between capital and labor has become a prevalent and urgent concern. he emphasizes the rights of workers and condemns both the abuses of unrestricted capitalism and the extremes of socialism and communism. the encyclical sets forth key principles for social and economic justice, including the following: 16 oteh chukwuemeka, “labour exploitation in nigeria: a case study of union dixon salt plc lagos,” international journal of development and management review (injodemar) 3, no. 1 (may, 2008), 35. 17 akinwale, “precarious working conditions and exploitation of workers in the nigerian informal economy,” 122. 18 joseph neuner and jacques dupuis eds., the christian faith in the doctrinal documents of the catholic church. seventh revised and enlarged edition (bangalore: theological publications in india, 2001), 905. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute a. dignity of the human person: rerum novarum upholds the inherent dignity of every person, regardless of their social or economic status. it emphasizes that work is not merely a means of earning a living but an essential part of human fulfillment and self-expression.19 b. just wage and workers’ rights: the encyclical insists on the right of workers to receive a just wage that ensures a decent standard of living for themselves and their families. it calls for the elimination of exploitation, unjust working conditions, and the excessive accumulation of wealth by employers.20 c. right to form associations: rerum novarum affirms the right of workers to form associations, such as labor unions, to protect their interests, negotiate with employers, and promote solidarity. however, it also emphasizes the importance of peaceful and cooperative relationships between employers and employees.21 d. private property and the common good: the encyclical defends the right to private property but also emphasizes that it has a social purpose. it argues for a just distribution of wealth and the responsibility of the wealthy to use their resources for the common good.22 e. role of the state: rerum novarum recognizes the role of the state in promoting social justice and intervening for the common good. it calls on governments to enact laws and policies that protect the rights of workers, regulate industry, and balance the interests of employers and employees.23 many of the positions in rerum novarum are supplemented by later encyclicals, in particular pius xi’s quadragesimo anno (1931), john xxiii’s mater et magistra (1961) and john paul ii’s centesimus annus (1991), each of which commemorates an anniversary of the publication of rerum novarum. 7. restoring human dignity in the nigerian labour market in the light of rerum novarum a. respect for the dignity of labor: rerum novarum emphasizes the inherent dignity of labor and the rights and just treatment of workers. in addressing the nigerian labor market, it is essential to recognize the equality and value of all workers, irrespective of their roles. prioritizing fair wages, adequate working conditions, and social security schemes according to the principles of rerum novarum can naturally lead to the restoration of human dignity for nigerian workers. b. just distribution of resources: nigeria faces significant disparities in the availability and allocation of resources. rerum novarum promotes the need for a more equitable distribution of these resources.24 the nigerian labor market is marked by wealth 19 pope leo xiii, encyclical on capital and labor rerum novarum (1891), par 40. https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_15051891_rerum-novarum.html. 20 ibid; par 43-48. 21 ibid; par 49. 22 ibid; par 15-22. 23 ibid; par 35-41. 24 rerum novarum, par 37. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute polarization and a wage gap. implementing policies to ensure fair distribution of resources, enforcing progressive taxation, and implementing social welfare programs can help restore human dignity, particularly amongst marginalized workers. c. fair wages: rerum novarum calls for just wages that provide workers with a decent standard of living.25 in nigeria, there is a prevalent issue of low wages and exploitation, particularly in sectors such as agriculture and informal work; many workers earn wages that are not commensurate with the value of their labor, leading to financial struggles and a compromised standard of living. implementing the principles of rerum novarum would require employers to pay fair and living wages, ensuring that workers can support themselves and their families with dignity. d. safe working conditions: another crucial aspect emphasized in rerum novarum is the need for safe and healthy working conditions.26 many workers in nigeria face hazardous environments, lack of protective equipment, and unhealthy practices. by adhering to rerum novarum, employers would be obligated to provide safe working conditions, thereby enhancing the dignity and well-being of workers. e. rights of workers: rerum novarum asserts the importance of recognizing and respecting the rights of workers. this includes the right to form and join trade unions, the right to collective bargaining, and the right to fair treatment and non-discrimination. in nigeria, there is a need for stronger protection of workers' rights and the promotion of a culture that values and upholds these rights. f. ensuring workplace safety and health: rerum novarum recognizes that workers have the right to safe and healthy working conditions.27 in nigeria, the labor market encounters issues such as work-related accidents, occupational hazards, and exploitation. adherence to international safety standards, strict enforcement of workplace safety laws, and guaranteeing appropriate care for injured workers can help restore human dignity by prioritizing the physical well-being of nigerian workers. g. feminism and gender equality: rerum novarum does not extensively address issues of gender equality and feminism. however, integrating the principles of dignity and equality espoused in rerum novarum can inspire efforts to challenge gender discrimination in the labor market, including the gender wage gap, gender-based violence, limited leadership opportunities, and dismissive attitudes towards and unfair treatment of women workers. h. promotion of entrepreneurship and proper regulation: rerum novarum defends the role of small-scale ownership and fair business practices.28 encouraging entrepreneurship and supporting small and medium-sized enterprises can generate employment opportunities, alleviate poverty, and dignify occupational engagement in nigeria. however, any relaxation in regulations must ensure protection against labor exploitation and encourage fair competition. 25 rerum novarum, par 46. 26 ibid; par 39. 27 ibid; par 55. 28 rerum novarum, par 46. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute i. ethical and responsible business practices: rerum novarum promotes ethical business practices based on solidarity and respect for workers’ rights. implementing corporate social responsibility (csr) initiatives, responsible supply chain practices, and ethical recruitment and employment practices can ensure fair treatment of workers, safe working conditions, and contribute to restoring human dignity within the nigerian labor market. above all, accepting and implementing the principles of rerum novarum can serve as a panacea towards the restoration of human dignity in the nigerian labor market. by strengthening the respect for labor, promoting just distributions of resources, fostering empowerment and subsidiarity, upholding the right to form trade unions, and equipping workers with adaptation skills, nigeria can work towards an inclusive and equitable labor market, ultimately restoring human dignity for all workers. 8. summary rerum novarum, published by pope leo xiii in 1891, addressed social and economic rights, including the rights of workers in the wake of the industrial revolution. despite its age, the encyclical provides timeless principles for defending and promoting human dignity within the labor market. by analyzing its key tenets and applying them to the nigerian context, we explore how the principles of rerum novarum can be utilized to restore and enhance human dignity in a contemporary labor market setting. while there is an intrinsic link between human dignity and labor, this assignment examined the current state of the nigerian labor market, identifying the factors contributing to the devaluation of human dignity and highlighting the numerous challenges that jeopardize the dignity of workers and undermine the realization of dignified work for all. furthermore, this article explored the relevant labor laws, regulations, and policies in order to assess their effectiveness in ensuring the protection and promotion of workers’ rights and dignity. and finally, it aims to encourage policymakers, labor unions, employers, and employees to rethink the prevailing labor practices and institutional frameworks in nigeria and consider the implementation of the principles of rerum novarum as a means to restore human dignity within the labor market. 9. conclusion in conclusion, the devaluation of human dignity in the nigerian labour market is a pressing issue that needs to be addressed urgently. the exploitation and mistreatment of workers, the lack of job security, and the absence of fair wages all contribute to the erosion of human dignity in this context. however, one potential solution that holds promise is the adoption of principles outlined in rerum novarum as a panacea to the prevailing challenges. by applying the principles of rerum novarum, the nigerian government can enact policies that promote human dignity in the labour market. they can prioritize the enforcement of fair labour standards, ensure the provision of decent wages, and protect workers’ rights to organize and bargain collectively. implementing these measures would help to restore the value of human dignity and create a more equitable and just labour market in nigeria. however, it is important to recognize that addressing the devaluation of human dignity in the nigerian labour market is a complex and multifaceted challenge. relying solely on rerum igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute novarum as a panacea might not be sufficient. it requires a comprehensive approach that involves regulatory reforms, education and skills development, and economic policies that promote inclusive growth. therefore, while rerum novarum provides a valuable framework for restoring human dignity in the nigerian labour market, its principles should be complemented with other strategies to address the systemic issues at hand. by adopting a holistic approach, involving stakeholders at various levels, and utilizing existing international frameworks for labour rights, nigeria can work towards a labour market that upholds and values the dignity of all workers. bibliography adewumi funmi and adebimpe adenugba. the state of workers right in nigeria: an examination of the banking, oil and gas and telecommunication sectors.” nigeria: friedrich-ebert, 2010. akinwale, akeem ayofe. “precarious working conditions and exploitation of workers in the nigerian informal economy.” social science and diliman 10, no. 1 (2014): 117-146. anderson, l. “the role of human labour in fostering social cohesion.” journal of sociology 40, no. 2 (2016): 100-140. balthasar, hans urs. love alone is credible. san francisco: ignatius press, 2001. bolaji, afeez. “strike called off, but asuu’s labour issues unresolved”, university world news, 17 october, 2022, https://www.universityworldnews.com, accessed 04.04.2025. brown, r. “human dignity and the promotion of overall well-being.” journal of ethics 25(3) (2012): 90-150. doe, j. “the significance of human labour in shaping personal identity.” journal of human development 30, no. 1 (2015): 40-120. international labour organization. (2019). labour market policies in nigeria: addressing decent work deficits and targeted employment creation, accessed november 21, 2023, https://www.ilo.org/employment/areas/national-employmentpolicies/wcms_732315/lang--en/index.htm johnson, m. “ethical considerations in human labour practices.” journal of business ethics 35, no. 4 (2014): 50-80. jones, s. “human dignity and the promotion of overall well-being.” journal of social sciences 45, no. 2 (2018): 70-100. kenton, will. “labor market explained: theories and who is included.” accessed november 21, 2023, https://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/labor-market.asp#:~:text. national bureau of statistics. (2021). labour force statistics volume 2: employment by sector. nbs. accessed november 21, 2023, https://www.nigerianstat.gov.ng/home/employeebrowse_pub igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute neuner joseph and jacques dupuis eds. the christian faith in the doctrinal documents of the catholic church. seventh revised and enlarged edition. bangalore: theological publications in india, 2001. oduaran, a. b. “the nigerian education system and labour market.” african journal of education and development studies 5, no. 3 (2017): 188-203, https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajesd/article/view/161631 oteh, chukwuemeka. “labour exploitation in nigeria: a case study of union dixon salt plc lagos” international journal of development and management review (injodemar) vol 3 no. 1 may, 2008), 35. pope john paul ii. laborem exercens: encyclical on human work. vatican: libreria editrice vaticana, 1981. pope leo xiii. rerum novarum: encyclical on capital and labor (1891). https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_lxiii_enc_15051891_rerum-novarum.html. smith, a. “the inherent worth of human dignity.” journal of philosophy, 20, no. 1 (2010): 1040. the holy bible: the new revised standard version catholic edition. bengaluru: theological publications in india, 2021. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 3 the stereotypical portrayal of thewoman in sayaka murata’s convenience store woman chukwujekwu orajiuka department of english language and literature nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. cc.orajiuka@unizik.edu.ng & sylvanus onyeachulam department of english language and literature nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. cc.onyeachulam@unizik.edu.ng abstract this article is devoted to the main character of convenience store woman by sayaka murata. the novel is in many ways autobiographical and based on sayaka murata’s own life experience, she managed to deeply reveal many of the current problems of modern society in japan by the example of the image of the main character in the novel. in the main, the novel depicts the wonder and vulnerability of a culture of convenience and conformity, while also highlighting the gender discrimination faced by women in contemporary japan. the pivotal issue raised is about the stereotype of women who are influenced by patriarchal culture and gender discrimination in society. this article aims to explain the forms of woman stereotypes and also show how woman characters can break these stereotypes. the descriptive qualitative method was used in this research, which applied simone de beauvoir's theory of existentialist feminism and mansour fakih's concept of gender discrimination about the relationship with the concept of gender that leads to discrimination. the results of the analysis show that the stereotype of women consists in three forms, namely: women as mothers, women as incompetent people, women as sex objects. keywords: stereotype, patriarchal, discrimination, dehumanisation. introduction the novel reflects the atmosphere of a store familiar to the japanese, which is an integral part of city life in japan. the novel received the akutagawa prize in 2016. the work is largely autobiographical. sayaka murata has been working in a minimarket for 18 years. based on her personal experience, she wrote the novel convenience store woman. in principle, the novel gives more specific information about the female image in modern japanese literature. the main female image of the novel, keiko furukura, has some problems with her temper as she does not fit into the usual concepts of society. she, in her opinion, seems ‘normal’, but this does not allow her to become part of a society in which her normal behavior is neither natural nor rational, but represents a complete rejection and misunderstanding of her intentions on the part of society, as it differs from the usual stereotypes by its spontaneity and individuality. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 4 at the beginning of the novel, the narrator, keiko furukura, has been working in the same store for 18 years. keiko’s direct and independent attitude to the world around her leads to the fact that in childhood she experienced a deep psychological trauma. everyone concentrated on bringing her to a normal state and forcing her to adapt to society, ‘cure’ her of an ailment that no one could clearly describe to her. her only connection to the human world is her younger sister, who overcomes this gap by explaining to her why people find her behavior strange and advises her on how to act in such a way as to avoid condemnation and discontent on their part. therefore, even as a child, keiko decides to hide her true character and put on a mask of ‘normality’. ‘i will no longer do anything on my own’, she recalls, ‘i will either just imitate what everyone else is doing, or just follow the instructions [4]’. after graduation, furukura works as a shop assistant. the japanese minimarket, like most japanese institutions, operates in accordance with clearly defined rules: at the entrance, customers are greeted with certain phrases, and perform daily routine tasks (re-stocking on shelves, preparing products, helping customers). for her, this is everything she could have dreamed of, and that’s why she has been working in it for 18 years. keiko finds her destination in the store, which allows her to forget about the impulses of her extraordinary personality. she has practically no life outside of her job. keiko furukura also relies on the personality and behavior of her colleagues to maintain her ‘normality’ [5]. she secretly imitates them in everything. ‘my current self is almost completely formed from the people around me’, she muses at one point. ‘currently, i am 30 percent made up of ms. izumi, 30 percent of sugawara, 20 percent of the manager, and the rest is occupied by previous colleagues [4]’. furukura’s sister, who has been a support for her since childhood, helps her to come up with bizarre stories about her parents and ill-fated love relationships to explain her long stay in the minimarket and the status of an unmarried woman. but the older furukura gets, the less convincing these arguments become for others. furukura herself would be happy working in the store for the rest of her life, but that would be unacceptable to the society she lives in. ‘if it’s very difficult to find a good job, then at least you should get married,’ her classmate’s boyfriend says at a meeting she attends [4]. however, everything begins to change when she meets shiranha, a new employee of the minimarket, working for a short time, who did not fit into the automated environment of the store at all. his sullen, negative attitude to everything did not allow him to work in the store for a long time. he is convinced that society has turned away from him and that everyone is hounding and persecuting him. therefore, he does not even try to seem normal, and very soon he is fired from the minimarket. but when the main character gets to know him better, it becomes clear that shiranha’s initially seemingly hostile attitude towards people is actually rooted in his inability to fit into society. the reason that prompted him to get a job in the store was, as he himself admits, ‘hunting for a bride’ [4]. shiranha is a pathetic and at the same time quite typical image of that kind of youth who cannot understand why he is such a loser in life but has neither motivation nor the slightest desire to do anything about it, to change his current situation. furukura, under her friends’ pressure and family, to find a partner, thinks about dating shiranha: their fictitious marriage will force her friends and family to stop constant interrogations about her, as relatives and friends will be calm about the fact that she has arranged her personal life. and shiranha’s igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 5 only requirement is that she allows him to completely isolate himself from the outside world and live in her bathroom and feed him like a pet. in this case, he no longer needs to try his best to justify his existence in a world where society and established stereotypes put pressure on him as well as on the main character. here we see a modern example of the gender division of labor: furukura is expected to interact with society, work and provide for both of them, while shiranha will stay at home and play with his tablet. in essence, stereotypes will always be a part of life and nobody is ever separated from the stereotypes given by the people around us. according to narwoko & suyanto, stereotype is the labeling of certain parties or groups which always results in harming other parties and causing injustice(322) . stereotypes are a form of judging someone without considering the merits of the value. in this paper, the stereotype is ascribed to women. this proves that women are still shackled by the existence of prejudice and negative labeling, thus giving rise to gender inequality. patriarchal culture also influences the formation of women's stereotypes. jane pilcher & imelda whelehan state through walby, that patriarchy is a system of social structures and practices in which men dominate, oppress and exploit women (50 key concept in gender studies). walby identifies six structures of patriarchy (household production, paid work, the state, male violence, sexuality, culture) that together are argued to capture the depth, pervasiveness and interconnectedness of women’s subordination. patriarchal culture also affects women's perceptions, according to those who adhere to patriarchal culture, women must follow what is considered appropriate by society and must not deviate from rules or norms. this is in accordance with the opinion o'brien in enclycopedia of gender and society states: that women's stereotypes can be divided into three. firstly, women are stereotyped as mothers who provide and support others, vulnerable, dependent, and weak. secondly, women are stereotyped as childlike who are immature and incompetent people. this view causes some people to neglect women's intelligence and competence. thirdly, women are considered sex objects (379). according to sayaka murata, the japanese author of this novel, her inspiration from working as an employee at a convenience store gave birth to the novel. the novel was written in 2016 and translated into english in 2018, has won various awards such as the akutagawa prize, is a best-selling novel, and received positive reviews from leading critics. in this study, the research focuses on analyzing the story and proving only the theory used in this research. the aim of this research is that the researcher wants to explain the form of stereotypes women and their effects on women. the research intends to present the form of stereotypes are given to the woman characters in this novel. the research wants to reveal how the woman characters in this novel are trying to break the stigma or stereotypes attached to them. thus, the research employs a feminist approach. this approach is deemed appropriate because in the story plots, setting and conflict, it explains the development of feminist signs and the way main character behaves. research method the method used in this research is descriptive qualitative, applying simone de beauvoir's theory of existentialist feminism and the concept of gender discrimination by mansour fakih. this study poses two primary research questions : 1. what are woman stereotypes reflected in novel? 2. how does woman character break the stereotype in the novel? igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 6 textual analysis the novel describes keiko furukura as cheerful. keiko is energetic, kind and polite, but she can't understand human emotions or thoughts, so she tries to adapt to her environment. in the end, the differences between keiko and society give her a negative label because she can't meet society's expectations. the novel's stereotypes of women are tied to patriarchal culture and gender inequality. many of the preconceptions about women stem from society's perspectives. this study poses a primary question: what are woman stereotypes reflected in the novel, convenience store woman, by sayaka murata. first discussion is describing woman stereotypes reflected in the novel ; second discussion is showing woman stereotypes reflected in the novel, referring to o’brien’s categorization of women stereotypes in enclycopedia of gender and society. woman as mother according to abdul munfim sayyid hasan, mother is a woman who has gone through the process of pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and raising her child with love and tenderness (65). however, sometimes all women are not destined to be a mother for some reasons, such medical reasons as not ready to have children. but the view of people in general says that every woman who is married will definitely become a mother and have children. women are stereotyped as mothers and are described as vulnerable, dependent, and weak. mothers are in both denotative and connotative sense described as having a gentle attitude and very fond of their children. a mother is also stereotyped as only being responsible for taking care of household needs. after miho married, she and her husband bought a secondhand house where she now often holds little parties with her friends. there are times when i feel like it’s too much bother, knowing i have to work the next day. but it’s the only connection i have to the world outside the convenience store and a precious opportunity to mingle with “normal” women my age, so i usually accept her invitations. today there was yukari and her young child, and satsuki, who was married but still childless, and we had all brought cakes along to have with tea. (32) it is obvious that a normal woman, as understood by keiko furukura, is her friend, miho. she has become a good wife and mother for her children, married and then plans to buy a house for her husband and children to live in. keiko felt a precious opportunity to be able to hang out with a ‘normal’ woman of the same age as her because with it she can understand what normal women around her are like. ‘everyone should bring their husbands and kids too. let’s do another barbecue! ‘yay! that’s a fab idea. it’d be great if all our kids can make friends with each other.’ ‘yeah, good thinking!’ satsuki sounded a bit envious, so yukari prompted her. ‘you are planning on having kids, aren’t you, satsuki?’ ‘sure, i want them. i’ve been relying on nature to take its course, but i suppose i should start being a bit more proactive about conceiving.’ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 7 ‘oh yes,’ miho said. ‘the timing is perfect now.’ (35) this clearly is the picture of women who are married. they will gather together with their respective families to show a normal life, thence, making some women jealous, as shown by satsuki who feels jealous because all of her friends already have children while she does not have children. sometimes things like that arise because of pressure such as questioning when to have children from family and society or oneself. this tarries with simon de beauvior's assertion in the second sex, that ‘woman is just uterus’ (1949). that is to say that the fate of women is determined by this anatomy and, in consideration thereof of the natural order, it will be difficult to change due to patriarchal culture, underscoring gender discrimination. thus, we encounter a dialogue between shiranha and keiko, ‘i suppose it is unreasonable to feel that way. if you can get them to stop complaining just by getting married, then that would be the simple and sensible thing to do, wouldn’t it?’ ‘don’t make it sound so easy! we men have it much harder than women, you know. if you’re not yet a fully edged member of society, then it’s get a job, and if you’ve got a job, it’s earn more money, and if you earn more money, it’s get married and have offspring. society is continually judging us. don’t lump me together with women. you lot have a cushy time of it,’ he said sullenly. ‘well then, marriage won’t solve anything then, will it? isn’t it pointless?’ i said. but shiraha didn’t answer and carried on talking heatedly. ‘i read history books trying to and out when society went so wrong. but however far back i went, a hundred years, two hundred years, a thousand years, it was always wrong. even if you go back as far as the stone age!’ (91-92) hence it is clear that shiranha and keiko have divergent views on marriage. keiko says that marriage does not solve all the problems of one's life, as against shiranha who says society will continue to judge someone who is considered not to be a full member of society, and being a full member of society constitutes in getting a job, earning money, getting married and begetting children. woman as immature and incompetent women are always stereotyped as immature, incompetent, thought to have childish attitude, considered to be so weak and so vulnerable, owing to the way of thoughts between women and men: women rely more on feelings than logic, in contrast to men who prioritize logic over feelings. to the male folk, this difference in thinking makes women immature and incompetent in making decisions because they are more concerned with feelings than logical thinking, when i was in my early twenties it wasn’t unusual to be a freeter, so i didn’t really need to make excuses. but subsequently everyone started hooking up with society, either through employment or marriage, and i was the only one who hadn’t done either. (37) ‘freeter’, according to wikipedia, is a japanese expression for people who do not have fulltime jobs or are unemployed, excluding housewives and students. freeter is also described as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 8 semi-intrusive. in the quote above, keiko is a freeter and it has been so since the age of 18. but, in general, people will stop being freeter by trying to find a more promised job or get married. in contrast to keiko, she is still a freeter for 18 years and no idea of changing jobs or getting married. this makes keiko look incompetent at work because she just does the same job for years without any real purpose. this is captured in the following dialogue between shiranha and keiko, ‘nobody in the store has ever talked to me like that before.’ ‘that’s because you’re just too far out there. a thirty-sixyear-old, single convenience store worker, probably a virgin at that, zealously working every day, shouting at the top of her lungs, full of energy. yet showing no signs of looking for a proper job. you’re a foreign object. it’s just nobody bothered to tell you because they nd you too freaky. they’ve been saying it behind’ (125-126). here, shiranha tries to explain to keiko that people talk about a person's shortcomings. he implies that these people will talk about him and keiko to live under the same roof to convince people that they are a ‘normal’ people. shiranha himself thinks those people would talk about how immature keiko is by allowing a man to live with her without any clear bond. but keiko naively convinced herself that no one talks like that. woman as sex object arivia states that most women do not realize that women's bodies belong to women, so they perceive their bodies as ‘something’ that is very foreign to themselves (2003). hence, the construction of female sexuality includes the body, the desire, and the sexual relations. beauvior opines that as a sexual object, woman are expected to fulfill the beauty standard that requires women’s bodies to be slender and not loaded with fat, muscular, supple and strong. the objectification of women’s bodies has a purpose to satisfy men pleasure (262). obviously, women are seen as sex objects by men in the most obscene verbal harassment of women while discussing sexual orientation: ‘you know, i’ve got quite a few gay friends,’ miho intervened, ‘so i kind of get it. these days you can also be asexual or whatever you like.’ ‘oh yes, i heard that’s on the increase. like there are young people who just aren’t interested in it at all.’ ‘i saw a program on tv about that. it’s apparently really hard for them to come out too.’(38) this underpins an assessment made by other people towards people who have different sexual orientations. miho says that people who have sexual orientations, such as gay and asexual people, are very difficult to open up about it, because attraction to different sex is a disease or an aberration. asexuality is the lack of sexual attraction to other people or the absence of interest in or desire for sexual activity. in this case, keiko's friends have a prejudice that keiko is asexual because she has no desire to have a partner or get married. ‘you need to wake up, furukura. to put it bluntly, you’re the lowest of the low. your womb is probably too old to be of any use, and you don’t even have the looks to serve as a means to satisfy carnal desire. but then neither are you earning money like a man. far from it, you’re only working part-time without even a proper job. frankly speaking, you’re just a burden on the village, the dregs of society.’ ‘i see. but i’m not capable of working anywhere else except the convenience store. i did give it a go, but igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 9 it turns out the convenience store worker mask is the only one i’m t to wear. so if people don’t accept that, i have no idea what i can do about it.’ ‘that’s why contemporary society is dysfunctional. they might mumble nice things about diversity of lifestyles and whatnot, but in the end nothing has changed since prehistoric times. with the birthrate in decline, society is regressing rapidly to the stone age, and it’s going beyond life just being uncomfortable. society has reached the stage in which not being of any use to the village means being condemned just for existing.’ (108) the social context that emerges from the quotation above is that of shiraha as a man who is of the belief that humans who have crossed the age limit which should only add to the results of the hard work they did when they were young, unlike keiko who is still looking for a purpose in life, has not been successful, is not married, does not have a job. shiranha thinks she has failed in society. shiraha's words are very obscene, denigrating, relegating, indecent, subjugating and offensive to women. he demeans keiko as a woman by saying that keiko's womb and appearance will not be able to satisfy men and, based on those demeaning words, it is obvious that his society take women as sex objects, thereby discriminating against keiko as a middle-aged woman who is unmarried and has only worked part-time all her life. this is closely related to beauvoir's statement about feminist existential theory which says that as culture develops, men assume that they can dominate women by creating myths about women. men are always looking for the ideal woman who will make him complete. this is what shiranha does to keiko by using words that tend to discriminate. ‘back at the store, i was angling for marriage, sure, but you’re far from being my ideal marriage partner, furukura. you don’t earn much working in a convenience store, which means i won’t be able to start my own business, and i won’t even be able to satisfy my sexual needs with someone like you.’ (109) clearly, shiranha's words are very condescending on keiko. shiranha only uses keiko to fulfill all his needs but look down on keiko because he thinks keiko is unattractive to him and can't satisfy him in terms of sexuality. this statement also advances simone de beauvoir's view that men are always looking for the ideal woman who will make him complete. beauvoir shows that their works reflect the ideal woman, and they see this as their patriarchal rights and heritage. this is exactly what shiranha does; he only uses keiko as a support for his life, and it saves himself and keiko from the bad views of society, even though it is actually keiko who is burdened. she says, ‘if i go out, my life will be violated again. when you’re a man, it’s all “go to work” and “get married.” and once you’re married, then it’s “earn more” and “have children”! you’re a slave to the village. society orders you to work your whole life. even my testicles are the property of the village! just by having no sexual experience they treat you as though you’re wasting your semen.” ‘i can see how stressful that would be.’ ‘your uterus belongs to the village too, you know. the only reason the villagers aren’t paying it any attention is because it’s useless. i want to spend my whole life doing nothing. for my whole life, until i die, i want to just breathe without anyone igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 10 interfering in my life. that’s all i wish for,’ he nished, holding his palms together as if in supplication. (110-111) here, shiranha's words to keiko seem to open up keiko's thoughts that her life will always be viewed badly by society, based on the indices of living a ‘normal’ life. shiranha denotes that life is governed by the views of the society, asserting to keiko that her uterus belongs to the village, which underscores the fact that everything about a woman’s existence is solely dependent on society's views. gender inequality is surmised here, thus: ‘everyone has to toe the line. why am i still doing casual work even though i’m in my midthirties? why haven’t i ever had a girlfriend? the assholes don’t even bat an eyelid when they ask whether i’ve ever had sex or not, and then they laugh and tell me not to include prostitutes in the count. i don’t make trouble for anyone, but they all seem to think nothing of raping me just because i’m in the minority.’ (89-90) shiranha maintains his implicit agreement with societal norm, stressing that everything must conform to the views of society, such as having a good job, having a partner, getting married and then having children. and it won't be a problem for him because he's in the minority or doesn't count. he further tells keiko, ‘you’re still in a dead-end job at your age, and nobody’s going to marry an old maid like you now. you’re like secondhand goods. even if you are a virgin, you’re grubby. you’re like a stone age woman past childbearing age who can’t get married and is left to just hang around the village, of no use to anyone, just a burden. i’m a man, so i can still make a comeback, but there’s no hope for you, is there, furukura?’ (93) shiranha thinks keiko a helpless thing that only roamed the village and is useless to anyone, a mere object of satisfaction. conclusion as a woman who lives in a patriarchal culture, in the novel, keioko, and of course, every other woman (like her) is soused in gender discrimination. it therefore becomes unjust treatment and assumption against someone, particularly based on a person’s sex, to stick to the role he or she should play in the society. the different role however, leads to the harm and the loss of person’s right in life especially for woman who lives in patriarchal culture. keiko often received negative views from the people around her, ranging from family to her friends. keiko is often considered an incompetent person because she only works as a convenience store clerk, and does not try to find competent and promising work. keiko is also not considered immature because unlike her other friends who get married and then have children and are considered unable to be an ideal partner because of her old age. keiko also got very inappropriate words from shiranha that seemed condescending to her humanity. finally, it can be concluded in this study that the stereotype of women still exists and becomes a problem in society. the stereotype of women is still felt by many women and is still happening today, and it should be reduced to all women, because women are also free to make their choices and the direction of their life goals. bibliography igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 11 beauvoir: perjuangan perempuan di ranah domestik’. jurnal ilmiah sosiologi (sorot). 2019. 1(2), 1–13. https://ojs.unud.ac.id/index.php/sorot/article/view/51955 de beauvoir, s.. “the second sex. in classic and contemporary readings in sociology”. 2014 1(1), 1–32. http://repository.ut.ac.id/4666/1/sosi4418m1.pdf fakih, mansaour. analisis gender dan transformasi sosial. yogyakarta: insistpress, 2008. female authors (ideologicala gynocritical feminist literary criticism)”. international journal of linguistics, literature and culture. 2018. 4(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.21744/ijllc.v4i1.584 junaidi, h. “ibu rumah tangga: streotype perempuan pengangguran.” an nisa’a. 2017. 12(1), 77–88. junaidi, l. m. “stereotypes as the ideology of feminism in novels authorized by indonesian kanu, i. a. & adidi, t. (2022). “jeremy bentham’s utilitarian ethics and human rights: a philosophical analysis of the morality of the rights of commercial sex workers”. in kanu, ikechukwu a.; pwakim gideon & igboechesi stanley (eds.). theology, philosophy, and education in the 21st century: festschrift in honour of the distinguished emeritus professor, the right rev. msgr. cletus tanimu gotan (73-84). jos university press: plateau state. kanu, i. a. (2012). “the genders in christian anthropology vis-a-vis the experience of violence by women in nigeria”. international journal of language, literature and gender studies. 1. 2. 1-14, 2012. kanu, i. a. (2018a). “african liberation theology and women’s experience of violence and discrimination in africa”. in i. a. kanu; e. j. o. ndubisi & c. c. kanu (eds.). africa at the crossroads of violence and gender inequality: the dilemma of continuity in the face of change (424-447). bloomington, usa: author house publication. kanu, i. a. (2024a). “ethic of reciprocity and the experience of widows in nigeria”. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life, 21(2): 89-100. kanu, i. a. (2024b). “women, violence and christian eschatological hope”. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life, 21(2): 37-54. kanu, i. a. and ndubisi, e. j. o. (2023). the economy of feminist ethical theory. in kanu, ikechukwu a.; bazza, m. b.; bakwap p.; kanu c. c.; martin onukwuba; dokpesi, t. (eds.). the economy of leadership and social transformation in contemporary africa: essays in honor of professor ichoku hyacinth ementa (275-296). jos: augustinian digital press. kanu, i. a., “an enquiry concerning the religio-cultural experience of women in nigeria: towards a philosophy of reciprocity”. international journal of language, literature and gender studies. 1. 2. 50-60, 2012. kanu, i. a., “gender and good governance in john lock: religious and political perspectives”. amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. 13. 1. 88-97, 2015. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 12 kanu, i. a., “the equality of sexes in j. s. mill vis-a-vis the participation of women in the nigerian labour and economy”. the international journal of language, literature and gender studies. 1. 1. 18-29, 2012. lorena, d. b. “analisis sosiologis tokoh utama keiko furukura dalam novel “konbini murata, sayaka. convenience store woman. translated by ginny tapley takemori. london: murdianto. “stereotipe , prasangka dan resistensinya ( studi kasus pada etnis madura dan ningen” karya sayaka murata.” narwoko & suyanto dalam sosiologi: teks pengantar dan terapan. 2009. 322 nugroho, n. p. l. m. p. w. b., & mahadewi, n. m. a. s. “feminisme eksistensial simone de pilcher, j., & whelehan, i. 50 key concepts in gender studies. 2004. portobello books, 2018. salviana, v., & soedarwo, d. ’pengertian gender dan sosialisasi gender”. sosiologi. 2016. selkli, a., & supit, i. “stereotypes and feminism in the movie.” 1945. 2, 1–9. tionghoa di indonesia). qalamuna. 2018. 10(2), 137–160. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 60 adoption of ict tools for internal communication in nigerian cooperative unigwe, rosemary ifeyinwa, ph.d & okika nnaemeka ibinedion university, okada, edo state ifeyinwa.rosemary@iuokada.edu.ng, okikia.nnaemeka@iuokada.edu.ng abstract this chapter explores the adoption of information and communication technology (ict) tools for internal communication in nigerian cooperative societies. cooperatives remain essential vehicles for grassroots economic development, promoting savings, access to credit, and collective enterprise. however, traditional communication methods such as face-to-face meetings and printed notices often fall short in terms of timeliness, accessibility, and consistency, especially in rural and low-resource contexts. with the emergence of mobile phones, social media, email, and cooperative management software, ict has become an increasingly vital tool for enhancing communication, transparency, and member engagement. drawing from real-life case studies across four regions in nigeria, this chapter highlights both the benefits and challenges of ict integration in cooperatives. it also offers practical recommendations for policymakers, cooperative leaders, and development partners on how to strengthen ict adoption through digital literacy programs, infrastructure investment, simplified tools, and inclusive strategies. the chapter argues that digital transformation in cooperatives must be intentional, inclusive, and tailored to context if it is to foster equitable participation and sustainable growth in nigeria’s cooperative sector. keywords: ict, communication, nigeria, information. cooperatives introduction cooperative societies have long been pillars of grassroots economic empowerment and social development in nigeria. originating from both formal and informal mutual aid arrangements, cooperatives serve as critical platforms for individuals especially those in rural and low-income communities to pool resources, access credit, promote savings, and engage in group investments. they also play a significant role in fostering social capital, trust, and collective bargaining power among members (chambo, 2009). in a country where the formal banking sector often excludes the poor and rural dwellers, cooperative societies have provided a lifeline for millions, helping to finance small businesses, pay school fees, invest in agriculture, and respond to household emergencies. despite their many benefits, the efficiency and impact of cooperatives depend largely on how well internal communication is managed. communication within a cooperative society involves the flow of information between leaders, members, staff, and committees—ranging from meeting announcements and financial updates to training materials and urgent alerts. as cooperatives grow in size and complexity, maintaining open, transparent, and timely communication becomes increasingly essential. it enhances member participation, facilitates quicker decision-making, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 61 builds trust in leadership, and ensures that all members are kept abreast of developments that affect them. however, many nigerian cooperatives still rely on traditional methods of communication, such as handwritten notices, physical meetings, and verbal announcements. while these approaches have served their purpose in the past, they are often inefficient and unsustainable in today’s fast-paced environment. face-to-face meetings, for example, may be difficult to organize regularly due to members’ geographic dispersion, work schedules, or security concerns. printed memos can be lost, delayed, or never received. moreover, such methods are highly vulnerable to disruptions—whether due to health pandemics, transportation issues, or natural disasters—which can paralyze communication and stall cooperative activities. in this context, the adoption of information and communication technology (ict) offers a compelling solution. ict encompasses a broad range of tools and platforms that enable the storage, processing, and exchange of information electronically. these include mobile phones, text messaging services, email, social media platforms (such as whatsapp and facebook), digital financial services (like mobile money), and more recently, dedicated cooperative management applications and enterprise resource planning (erp) systems. these tools are capable of transforming how cooperative societies communicate internally, making it possible to reach members instantly, share documents digitally, organize virtual meetings, and maintain permanent records of interactions and decisions. globally, the digital transformation of organizations has become a defining feature of modern governance and development. in nigeria, too, digital tools are becoming increasingly embedded in daily life, even among rural populations, thanks to the rising penetration of mobile phones and internet services. cooperative societies stand to benefit immensely from these trends if they can harness ict appropriately. for example, mobile group chats can be used to coordinate meetings and share reports, while digital surveys can be deployed to collect member feedback or vote on important issues. email and cloud-based platforms can improve recordkeeping and reduce administrative burden, while digital wallets and payment apps can streamline financial transactions and reduce errors in manual bookkeeping. nevertheless, the journey toward digital integration is not without its challenges. issues such as limited ict literacy, poor network infrastructure, high data costs, and resistance to change remain significant obstacles—particularly in rural cooperatives. this chapter, therefore, seeks to explore the current state of ict adoption for internal communication in nigerian cooperative societies. it will examine the various tools in use, the benefits and challenges encountered, and the strategies that can enhance digital inclusion and efficiency. ultimately, it aims to provide a roadmap for strengthening communication and fostering innovation in the cooperative movement through the strategic use of ict. 2. conceptual clarification igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 62 a clear understanding of the core concepts in this study information and communication technology (ict), internal communication, and cooperative societies is essential to ground the discussion of ict adoption in nigerian cooperative settings. these concepts are interrelated and central to how cooperative societies function, adapt, and thrive in the digital age. information and communication technology (ict) information and communication technology (ict) is a broad term that encompasses all technological tools and applications used to manage, process, store, and communicate information electronically. these include traditional technologies like telephones and radios, as well as modern digital tools such as mobile phones, email, the internet, social media, cloud computing, and enterprise resource planning (erp) systems (unesco, 2019). ict is not merely a tool of convenience but has evolved into a strategic asset that supports efficiency, transparency, and scalability in both public and private sectors. in the context of cooperative societies, ict tools range from basic mobile phone calls and sms services to more advanced tools like whatsapp group chats, email newsletters, and digital financial applications. some cooperatives especially urban or professionally managed ones have begun using software solutions specifically developed to support cooperative operations, such as membership databases, accounting platforms, voting systems, and digital loan tracking tools. the integration of ict into organizational communication has been associated with improved decision-making, real-time collaboration, and enhanced access to information (laudon & laudon, 2020). for cooperatives in nigeria, where members often live in dispersed or rural areas, ict tools bridge geographic gaps and provide continuous access to important updates and services. however, the effectiveness of ict tools depends largely on factors such as availability, digital literacy, affordability, and institutional support. internal communication internal communication refers to the process of exchanging information, instructions, ideas, and feedback among individuals and groups within an organization. it includes both formal communication (e.g., memos, reports, emails, and official meetings) and informal communication (e.g., chats, verbal updates, and social interactions) (cornelissen, 2020). internal communication ensures that members are aware of the organization’s goals, activities, decisions, and expectations. it also plays a key role in motivating members, building a sense of belonging, resolving conflicts, and promoting transparency. in cooperative societies, effective internal communication is essential due to their democratic structure and participatory decision-making processes. unlike traditional hierarchical organizations, cooperatives rely on the active engagement and contributions of their members to function optimally. members need timely access to information on savings, loan policies, dividend distribution, elections, and emergency decisions. internal communication, therefore, is not just operational it is a pillar of cooperative governance. when internal communication breaks down, cooperatives risk facing misunderstandings, delayed decision-making, financial mismanagement, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 63 and even member apathy or withdrawal. this is why the introduction of ict tools such as group messaging apps, sms broadcasts, email bulletins, and virtual meeting platforms can make a meaningful difference. these tools help reduce delays, minimize communication costs, and expand the scope of member participation, especially during emergencies or times when physical gatherings are impractical. however, internal communication is not just about transmitting messages; it is also about building trust, clarity, and shared understanding among cooperative members. therefore, the success of ict-enabled internal communication depends not only on the availability of technology but also on how well it is used to facilitate meaningful, inclusive, and transparent dialogue. cooperative societies a cooperative society is an autonomous association of individuals who voluntarily unite to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise (international cooperative alliance [ica], 2021). cooperatives are founded on principles such as voluntary and open membership, democratic member control, member economic participation, and concern for community. in nigeria, cooperative societies are legally recognized and regulated under the nigerian cooperative societies act. they are classified into various types, including credit cooperatives, agricultural cooperatives, marketing cooperatives, consumer cooperatives, and multi-purpose cooperatives. while many are small and community-based, others operate on larger scales and engage in sophisticated financial, agricultural, and business operations. the primary goal of cooperatives is to empower members economically and socially. in many rural areas, cooperative societies fill critical gaps left by the formal financial system, such as access to credit, savings opportunities, and collective investment schemes. they also serve as vehicles for delivering government grants, agricultural subsidies, and donor-funded projects. however, cooperative societies face numerous organizational challenges. these include limited administrative capacity, lack of formal training, poor recordkeeping, and communication breakdowns between executives and members. this is where the integration of ict tools becomes particularly relevant. by digitizing communication processes and reducing dependency on manual systems, cooperatives can increase transparency, streamline operations, and build stronger connections among members. moreover, the demographic landscape of nigerian cooperative members is changing. younger members, many of whom are digitally literate, are entering cooperatives with higher expectations for communication speed and digital access. this generational shift further compels cooperative leaders to adopt modern ict tools to stay relevant and competitive. interrelationship of the concepts these three concepts ict, internal communication, and cooperative societies are closely interconnected. cooperative societies depend on internal communication to maintain transparency, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 64 democracy, and participation. ict tools serve as enablers that strengthen this communication, making it faster, cheaper, and more inclusive. however, the adoption of ict in cooperatives must be context-sensitive, considering local infrastructure, digital literacy levels, and cultural attitudes toward technology. in the case of nigeria, where digital inclusion remains uneven and rural-urban disparities are prominent, the adoption of ict for internal communication must be accompanied by capacity-building and policy support. as this chapter will demonstrate, understanding these conceptual linkages is key to designing effective strategies for digital transformation in nigerian cooperative societies. 3. theoretical framework understanding the adoption of information and communication technology (ict) tools for internal communication in nigerian cooperative societies requires a robust theoretical lens. two influential theories provide insights into how and why cooperative members and leaders choose to adopt or reject digital communication tools: the technology acceptance model (tam) and the diffusion of innovations (doi) theory. these frameworks explain the dynamics of technology adoption in social and organizational settings, helping to illuminate the motivations, barriers, and strategies that influence ict uptake in cooperatives. technology acceptance model (tam) the technology acceptance model, developed by davis (1989), is one of the most widely used models for explaining and predicting user behavior in relation to information systems. tam is rooted in the theory of reasoned action and posits that two key beliefs determine an individual's intention to use a technology: • perceived usefulness (pu): the degree to which a person believes that using a particular technology will enhance their performance or productivity. • perceived ease of use (peou): the degree to which a person believes that using the technology will be free of effort. according to the model, when individuals perceive a technology to be both useful and easy to use, they are more likely to accept and adopt it. these perceptions influence the user’s attitude toward the technology, which in turn shapes their behavioral intention and actual usage. in the context of nigerian cooperative societies, tam helps to explain how members evaluate ict tools such as whatsapp, mobile banking apps, email, or cooperative management systems. for example, if a cooperative secretary believes that using a group messaging app will simplify coordination and save time, and if the app is easy to operate even for low-literate users, the likelihood of adoption increases. conversely, if the tool appears complex or if members do not see clear benefits, resistance is likely. moreover, tam has been expanded in subsequent research to include other variables such as social influence, facilitating conditions, and technological self-efficacy (venkatesh & davis, 2000). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 65 these extensions are particularly relevant in cooperatives where peer recommendation, leadership endorsement, and access to training significantly shape members’ willingness to engage with ict. diffusion of innovations (doi) theory the second theoretical lens applied in this chapter is the diffusion of innovations theory developed by everett rogers (2003). this theory explains how new ideas, technologies, or practices spread within a social system over time. the model outlines five stages of the innovation-decision process: 1. knowledge: awareness of the innovation and understanding of how it functions. 2. persuasion: forming a favorable or unfavorable attitude toward the innovation. 3. decision: engaging in activities that lead to a choice to adopt or reject the innovation. 4. implementation: putting the innovation into use. 5. confirmation: seeking reinforcement of the adoption decision and evaluating outcomes. rogers identifies five characteristics of innovations that affect their rate of adoption: • relative advantage: the degree to which an innovation is perceived as better than the idea it replaces. • compatibility: the extent to which the innovation is consistent with existing values, past experiences, and needs of potential adopters. • complexity: the degree to which an innovation is perceived as difficult to understand or use. • trialability: the ability to experiment with the innovation on a limited basis. • observability: the extent to which the results of the innovation are visible to others. doi is particularly useful in explaining the gradual and uneven spread of ict tools among nigerian cooperatives. for example, urban cooperatives with younger, tech-savvy members may adopt mobile money apps quickly due to their relative advantage and compatibility with mobile lifestyles. in contrast, rural cooperatives may resist new tools due to complexity, lack of trialability, or the absence of observable success stories. the role of opinion leaders such as cooperative presidents, secretaries, or extension agents is also emphasized in doi theory. these individuals often influence other members by modeling the use of new ict tools, thereby accelerating diffusion within the group. in many nigerian cooperatives, change agents from government or ngos also play a vital role in facilitating ict adoption by providing training, technical support, and success demonstrations. relevance of the theories to nigerian cooperatives igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 66 together, tam and doi offer complementary insights. tam focuses on the individual-level perceptions and attitudes toward ict tools, while doi explores the social and systemic dynamics of technology spread. in nigerian cooperatives, both individual beliefs (such as ease of use) and collective processes (such as leadership influence and trial opportunities) determine whether an ict tool will be adopted for internal communication. for instance, a cooperative member may find a mobile app useful and easy to use (tam), but still not adopt it if the rest of the group does not see its value or if network connectivity is poor (doi). similarly, a tool may be compatible and advantageous at the organizational level (doi), but may still fail if members are not trained to use it effectively (tam). applying these frameworks to nigerian cooperatives helps to identify leverage points for policy intervention, training, and system design. it highlights the need to consider both technical usability and social readiness when promoting digital communication tools. 4. ict tools commonly used in nigerian cooperatives the adoption of information and communication technology (ict) tools by cooperative societies in nigeria is growing, although it varies significantly based on location, organizational structure, digital literacy, and leadership vision. internal communication within cooperatives refers to the sharing of information, updates, instructions, and feedback among members, executives, and subcommittees. the ict tools adopted for this purpose range from basic mobile phones to sophisticated management software. this section explores the major ict tools currently in use among nigerian cooperatives, their purposes, accessibility, and limitations. mobile phones (calls and sms) the most widely used ict tool in nigerian cooperatives is the mobile phone. due to its affordability and ubiquity, mobile telephony through both voice calls and short message service (sms) serves as a foundational tool for internal communication. it enables cooperative leaders to communicate meeting reminders, loan repayment schedules, or emergency updates to members who may live in remote areas. according to the nigerian communications commission (ncc, 2023), nigeria has over 200 million active mobile subscriptions, indicating deep mobile penetration even in rural communities. cooperatives often maintain a list of members’ phone numbers and rely on direct calls or group sms blasts for mobilization. while sms is less interactive than other platforms, it is accessible on all phone types and does not require internet access, making it ideal for cooperatives with lowincome or elderly members. however, challenges with this method include the cost of bulk sms services, limitations in message length, and the lack of engagement features that support two-way communication or media sharing. whatsapp and other messaging apps igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 67 whatsapp has rapidly become one of the most popular platforms for cooperative communication. it supports both real-time chat and asynchronous communication, allowing members to send and receive messages, documents, voice notes, and images at their convenience. whatsapp groups are used for multiple purposes: distributing minutes of meetings, coordinating loan disbursement updates, sharing government policy changes, and posting reminders. the platform’s end-to-end encryption and wide adoption among smartphone users make it a preferred tool, especially in urban and semi-urban cooperatives. some cooperatives even create separate whatsapp groups for executive members, loan officers, and general members to streamline communication. telegram and facebook messenger are also used in a few cases, particularly where members prefer those platforms or where more structured channels (e.g., telegram channels) are needed. nevertheless, the effectiveness of these apps is tied to internet access, data affordability, and smartphone ownership, which remain limitations in rural settings (gsma, 2022). email communication email remains a relevant but underutilized tool in most grassroots cooperatives in nigeria. it is more common in professionally run cooperatives, such as those formed by civil servants, academic institutions, or large trade associations. email is valued for its formal tone, document storage capabilities, and traceability. it is used to send official notices, loan agreements, financial reports, and policy documents. however, for most rural cooperatives with low literacy levels or limited access to computers and internet-enabled devices, email is less practical. in addition, members often check emails less frequently than mobile messaging apps, which diminishes its immediacy and engagement potential. video conferencing platforms (zoom, google meet) the covid-19 pandemic triggered a growing awareness of video conferencing tools among nigerian cooperatives, particularly those located in urban areas. platforms like zoom and google meet enabled virtual annual general meetings (agms), executive planning sessions, and training workshops. for cooperatives with members across states or in diaspora, virtual meetings became a strategic tool for ensuring inclusivity and continuity. these platforms support screen sharing, recording, and real-time collaboration. however, their effectiveness depends heavily on internet connectivity, data cost, and digital skills. many cooperatives still prefer physical meetings due to network instability and the learning curve associated with navigating video platforms. digital financial platforms and mobile money while not traditionally classified as communication tools, mobile banking apps, mobile money platforms (e.g., opay, paga), and ussd codes have become vital channels for financial communication in cooperatives. these tools enable members to check balances, receive payment confirmations, and monitor loan repayments. some cooperatives have integrated mobile banking igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 68 with communication updates such as sms alerts or app notifications thus merging financial services with internal information flow. as digital financial services expand, cooperatives that adopt these tools enjoy faster transaction times, increased transparency, and reduced fraud. nonetheless, there remains a trust gap among older members unfamiliar with digital banking, along with infrastructural limitations in underserved regions. cooperative management software and enterprise platforms in recent years, several nigerian cooperatives have started exploring digital platforms specifically designed for managing cooperative operations. examples include coopmis, mobicoop, and coopbanker. these platforms integrate communication tools with member databases, savings and loan modules, report generation, and real-time notifications. these systems help cooperative executives streamline administrative tasks, reduce paperwork, and enhance accountability. some platforms allow members to log in to view their contributions, apply for loans, or access financial statements. communication features such as automated sms alerts, dashboards, and online bulletin boards are also embedded in these platforms. however, adoption remains limited due to cost, complexity, and low technical capacity. cooperatives need external support, such as donor grants or government subsidies, to afford these tools and train members on their usage. social media pages and websites although less common, some large or urban-based cooperatives maintain a facebook page, twitter account, or even a simple website. these are mainly used for external communication, such as promoting cooperative activities, attracting new members, or posting updates. internally, they may also be used to share agm highlights, executive committee announcements, or educational content. nevertheless, managing a digital presence requires dedicated personnel, technical skills, and consistency resources that many grassroots cooperatives lack. 5. factors influencing adoption of ict tools in nigerian cooperatives while information and communication technology (ict) tools present significant opportunities for improving internal communication in cooperative societies, their adoption is not uniform across nigeria. several interrelated factors technological, human, organizational, cultural, and environmental determine the extent to which cooperatives embrace or resist ict tools. understanding these factors is essential for designing effective interventions, supporting cooperative transformation, and promoting inclusive digital engagement. digital literacy and educational background digital literacy is a foundational determinant of ict adoption. it refers to the ability to effectively use digital tools, navigate applications, interpret data, and communicate in a digital environment igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 69 (unesco, 2019). in many nigerian cooperatives, especially those located in rural areas, the educational levels of members are relatively low, and familiarity with digital platforms is limited. while some members may be comfortable using basic mobile phones for calls or sms, they may find it difficult to operate smartphones, install apps, or navigate user interfaces on platforms like whatsapp, zoom, or email. cooperative leaders who lack digital competence may also struggle to coordinate communication using ict. this often results in overreliance on traditional face-to-face meetings or printed circulars. moreover, older members tend to exhibit higher resistance to digital tools compared to younger, tech-savvy members, thus creating a generational gap in communication practices. efforts to improve ict adoption, therefore, must include structured digital literacy training customized to members’ literacy levels and ongoing technical support. accessibility of ict infrastructure access to reliable ict infrastructure remains a critical barrier. although nigeria has made significant progress in mobile network expansion, large portions of rural communities still suffer from poor or unstable internet connectivity, erratic electricity supply, and insufficient telecom coverage (world bank, 2021). this directly limits the ability of cooperatives to use internetdependent tools such as email, cloud-based storage, zoom, or cooperative management software. even when mobile network coverage is available, the cost of data subscriptions and mobile phone devices (especially smartphones) is often prohibitive for low-income members. additionally, the poor state of rural road networks affects the distribution and maintenance of ict hardware such as modems, solar panels, and computer systems. to ensure equitable ict adoption, there is a need for public-private investment in infrastructure and access-enabling policies, including subsidized internet services and solar-powered digital centers in cooperative communities. cost and affordability cost is a major determinant of ict usage among cooperatives. this includes both the initial cost of acquiring digital devices (e.g., smartphones, laptops, routers) and the recurring costs of data subscriptions, software licenses, device repairs, and ict training. most cooperatives operate on limited budgets and depend heavily on member contributions. allocating funds to digital tools may seem secondary compared to pressing needs such as loan disbursement, member welfare, or office space. moreover, where digital platforms are perceived as expensive or complex, cooperatives may prefer lower-cost alternatives such as whatsapp or sms. even these, however, carry data or airtime costs that not all members can afford regularly. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 70 to encourage uptake, cooperative federations, ngos, and government agencies should consider providing cost-sharing schemes, digital grants, or community-based technology access models (such as shared devices or digital hubs). leadership commitment and vision leadership plays a pivotal role in whether or not ict tools are adopted within a cooperative. cooperative executives particularly the president, secretary, treasurer, and information officer act as gatekeepers for change. if they possess a clear vision, embrace innovation, and actively promote the use of digital tools, adoption becomes much more likely. conversely, where leaders are resistant to change, lack interest in digital tools, or fear losing control due to increased transparency, ict adoption is often stalled. leaders who monopolize communication or fear member empowerment through open channels may deliberately avoid tools like group chats or shared dashboards. therefore, fostering transformational leadership that is, leadership committed to learning, innovation, and digital inclusion is essential. leadership training programs that integrate ict awareness and change management can serve as catalysts for digital transformation in cooperative societies. organizational culture and structure the internal culture of a cooperative influences how readily new technologies are accepted. organizations with a hierarchical and rigid communication style may struggle to adopt participatory ict tools that require open sharing and feedback. in contrast, cooperatives with a more collaborative and transparent culture tend to be more adaptive to digital innovations. additionally, the presence of dedicated roles such as a communications officer, ict coordinator, or digital secretary can facilitate smooth implementation of ict tools. cooperatives with clear information flow structures, regular meetings, and documentation practices are more likely to integrate ict successfully. where cooperative societies are fragmented, informal, or lacking functional committees, introducing ict tools without addressing foundational structural issues may yield poor results. policy environment and institutional support the policy landscape and institutional support mechanisms significantly affect ict adoption. while the nigerian government has initiated policies aimed at digital inclusion—such as the national digital economy policy and strategy (ndeps) cooperatives are rarely the direct focus of such initiatives (federal ministry of communications and digital economy, 2020). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 71 similarly, state and local cooperative departments often lack the capacity or funding to drive ict training or digital resource provision for cooperatives. in some regions, cooperative officers are themselves unfamiliar with modern ict tools. greater collaboration is needed between government agencies, cooperative federations, ngos, and ict service providers to design cooperative-specific digital transformation programs, policy frameworks, and regulatory incentives. peer influence and social norms the adoption of ict tools in cooperatives is often influenced by peer learning and social validation. according to rogers’ (2003) diffusion of innovations theory, individuals are more likely to adopt an innovation when they observe peers or opinion leaders successfully using it. in cooperatives, this may include executive members who introduce whatsapp communication, younger members who assist older ones with mobile banking, or sister cooperatives that demonstrate best practices in digital communication. when early adopters within a cooperative set positive example such as resolving issues faster through group chats or reducing meeting costs through zoom other members gradually buy in. however, if ict use is associated with elitism, complexity, or exclusion, adoption is likely to be resisted. hence, fostering a culture of shared learning, inclusiveness, and peer mentorship is crucial for building confidence and sustained ict usage. 6. benefits of ict adoption in nigerian cooperatives the integration of information and communication technology (ict) into cooperative societies’ internal communication systems has brought about notable improvements in organizational efficiency, transparency, participation, and overall productivity. while challenges remain, the benefits of ict adoption are increasingly evident across many cooperatives in nigeria especially those that have embraced innovation and digital engagement. this section outlines the key advantages that ict tools offer to cooperative societies in their quest for growth, inclusiveness, and sustainability. improved speed and timeliness of communication one of the most immediate benefits of ict adoption is the enhanced speed of information dissemination. traditional communication methods such as physical meetings, notice boards, and printed memos are often subject to delays, logistical bottlenecks, and limited reach. ict tools particularly mobile phones, sms, and instant messaging platforms like whatsapp enable cooperative leaders to share updates with members instantly, regardless of location. for example, a loan committee can use a whatsapp group to schedule an emergency meeting, send reminders about payment deadlines, or share documents in real time. such tools eliminate the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 72 need for travel or printed materials, thereby speeding up decision-making and improving the responsiveness of cooperative management. timely communication also enhances operational efficiency by reducing lags in financial reporting, project implementation, and crisis response particularly important in cooperatives that handle multiple member transactions or seasonal farming cycles. greater transparency and accountability transparency is a core principle of cooperative governance. ict tools help strengthen transparency by creating clear communication channels and digital trails that can be referenced at any time. platforms like email, group messaging apps, and cooperative management systems allow for the regular circulation of financial reports, meeting minutes, audit findings, and policy updates. the availability of such information fosters accountability, as members can verify decisions, question inconsistencies, and demand explanations based on written records. in many cooperatives where trust issues or suspicions of mismanagement have previously hindered member engagement, the ability to access digital records or participate in virtual discussions has been transformational. additionally, digital platforms discourage gatekeeping behavior by leaders who might otherwise manipulate or withhold information. when properly used, ict tools enable all members regardless of status or geography to stay informed and involved in cooperative affairs. enhanced member engagement and participation ict tools can significantly improve member engagement, especially in large cooperatives or those with members dispersed across rural and urban locations. digital platforms break down geographic and temporal barriers, allowing members to contribute to discussions, vote on key issues, or access resources without needing to be physically present. for example, cooperatives may use google forms or whatsapp polls to conduct member surveys, solicit feedback, or organize virtual elections. this enhances inclusivity and ensures that decisions reflect the collective will of the membership, in line with cooperative democratic principles. moreover, younger members who are often more digitally active are more likely to engage when communication is conducted through modern platforms. this has the added benefit of bridging generational divides and renewing interest in cooperative activities among youth, who may otherwise view cooperatives as outdated institutions. improved record-keeping and information management a major operational advantage of ict adoption is the improvement of record-keeping and document management. manual systems such as paper-based ledgers, meeting minutes notebooks, and printed receipts are prone to loss, damage, errors, and manipulation. digital platforms offer more secure, searchable, and organized alternatives. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 73 cooperative software and cloud storage systems allow cooperatives to maintain accurate member records, monitor savings and loan histories, and archive decisions for future reference. these systems reduce administrative burden and support continuity during leadership transitions, audits, or reporting exercises. even simple tools like excel spreadsheets, google drive folders, and email archives contribute to better documentation and retrieval of information. this becomes especially useful when applying for government grants, donor funds, or regulatory compliance certifications, which often require verifiable documentation. cost reduction and operational efficiency though initial ict investments may require capital outlay, digital tools often lead to long-term cost savings and improved efficiency. for example, using whatsapp to share meeting notices or monthly financial summaries is far cheaper than printing and distributing hard copies. similarly, organizing virtual meetings reduces the cost of renting venues, providing refreshments, or transporting members. moreover, ict tools automate many administrative processes such as dues collection notifications, reminders for loan repayments, or generation of financial summaries thus reducing human error and saving staff time. in the long run, the reduction in administrative overhead and logistical expenditures contributes to better financial management and allows cooperative funds to be redirected toward productive investments or member benefits. better coordination of cooperative activities cooperative societies often manage multiple activities simultaneously—ranging from financial services to agricultural marketing and social projects. ict tools help coordinate these activities more effectively by providing platforms for information sharing, scheduling, reporting, and collaboration. for example, cooperative subcommittees (such as credit, education, or welfare committees) can use dedicated communication groups or shared calendars to organize their functions independently while staying aligned with the executive leadership. digital dashboards and task trackers can also help monitor progress and accountability. in multi-branch cooperatives, ict tools enable central coordination while preserving local autonomy. each unit can report activities digitally while the central office maintains oversight and integrates information for unified decision-making. strengthened member trust and organizational credibility igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 74 when communication is consistent, transparent, and responsive, members are more likely to trust their cooperative leadership. this trust is vital for member retention, voluntary contributions, and long-term loyalty. ict-enabled communication creates an environment where members feel heard, respected, and empowered to contribute, thus enhancing cooperative solidarity. furthermore, cooperatives that maintain a strong digital presence through websites, social media, or mobile apps gain public visibility and credibility. this can attract new members, establish relationships with external partners, and build the cooperative’s reputation as a modern and forward-thinking institution. 7. challenges to ict adoption in nigerian cooperatives while information and communication technology (ict) offers a promising pathway for transforming internal communication in nigerian cooperative societies, its adoption is often fraught with multifaceted challenges. these challenges vary by context urban versus rural, formal versus informal cooperatives, and literacy levels among members but they ultimately constrain the ability of cooperatives to harness the full potential of digital communication. this section outlines the primary obstacles hindering the successful uptake and integration of ict tools in nigerian cooperatives. low digital literacy and technological skills one of the most persistent challenges facing cooperatives is the low level of digital literacy among members and leadership. many cooperative members, especially in rural areas, have limited experience using digital devices or applications beyond basic phone calls and text messaging. the ability to use smartphones, install apps, access email, or navigate financial platforms is often taken for granted in urban contexts but remains a barrier for many grassroots participants (unesco, 2019). even among cooperative executives, digital competence is inconsistent. inadequate skills prevent leaders from effectively managing digital communication platforms, utilizing cooperative software, or leveraging social media tools. as a result, digital tools are either underused or misapplied, leading to frustration, errors, and resistance. without sustained investment in digital training and ict orientation programs, even cooperatives that acquire the right tools may struggle to use them effectively. infrastructure limitations poor ict infrastructure significantly impedes digital communication efforts. many rural parts of nigeria suffer from unreliable electricity, weak mobile network coverage, and slow or unaffordable internet access. according to the world bank (2021), while mobile network coverage has expanded in nigeria, the quality of service in rural and underserved communities remains low, resulting in frequent signal drops, low bandwidth, and high latency. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 75 electricity challenges further exacerbate the problem. power outages make it difficult to charge phones or run digital devices regularly, creating a dependency on alternative energy sources such as generators or solar panels both of which require capital investment. moreover, the cost of internet data and mobile devices remains high relative to average income levels in many cooperative communities. these infrastructure-related barriers result in inconsistent communication and discourage cooperatives from relying on digital systems as their primary mode of engagement. financial constraints ict adoption comes at a cost, and many cooperatives lack the financial capacity to procure and sustain the use of digital tools. expenses such as smartphones, computers, software subscriptions, internet data, ict training, and technical support can place a heavy burden on cooperatives that already operate on tight budgets. for example, subscribing to cooperative management platforms like coopmis or hosting zoom meetings requires regular funding. likewise, creating and maintaining a website or digital archive demands both technical expertise and financial investment. since most cooperative societies prioritize loan disbursement, savings mobilization, or member welfare over digital investments, ict is often relegated to a secondary priority. this budgetary limitation creates a digital divide where only well-funded, urban-based cooperatives can afford comprehensive digital solutions while rural and informal cooperatives remain left behind. resistance to change and cultural barriers another common obstacle is resistance to change, which is often rooted in cultural practices, agerelated bias, or fear of the unknown. some cooperative leaders and members may perceive ict tools as unnecessary, elitist, or even disruptive to traditional processes. in cooperatives with strong interpersonal cultures, face-to-face meetings and verbal communication are seen as more trustworthy than impersonal digital communication. older members, in particular, may feel alienated by digital platforms and be reluctant to participate in whatsapp groups, virtual meetings, or app-based voting systems. this can create internal divisions within cooperatives and complicate efforts to implement digital innovations equitably. moreover, some members associate ict tools with surveillance or loss of control, especially when they enable greater transparency and recordkeeping. as a result, they may resist the use of such tools to protect their status or avoid accountability. change management strategies that emphasize inclusion, gradual integration, and peer support are therefore necessary to overcome resistance and foster collective digital buy-in. lack of institutional and policy support igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 76 despite the central role of cooperatives in nigeria’s grassroots economy, institutional support for digital transformation in the sector is weak. most state cooperative departments lack the funding, personnel, or technical capacity to guide cooperatives on ict usage or provide standardized digital tools. national ict policies such as the national digital economy policy and strategy (ndeps) focus more broadly on digital inclusion, education, and e-government but do not address the unique needs of cooperative societies (federal ministry of communications and digital economy, 2020). there are no specific government-funded programs targeting digital training, cooperative software development, or subsidized ict access for cooperatives. this policy vacuum leaves cooperatives to fend for themselves or depend on ngo interventions that are often limited in scope and sustainability. the absence of regulatory incentives or guidance also means that ict integration is inconsistent and fragmented across the sector. trust issues and cybersecurity concerns as cooperatives begin using digital platforms for financial transactions, data storage, and communication, concerns around security and privacy are emerging. some members fear that using mobile banking, online voting, or cloud storage may expose them to fraud, hacking, or identity theft. past experiences with mobile money scams, email fraud, or unauthorized access to cooperative funds have made some societies skeptical of digital platforms. without proper cybersecurity education and secure infrastructure, these concerns discourage ict adoption. additionally, poorly designed platforms or lack of encryption can compromise member data, eroding trust in the cooperative’s digital system. this makes it imperative for cooperatives to adopt secure ict solutions and engage in continuous cybersecurity awareness. language and literacy barriers nigeria is a linguistically diverse country, and many cooperative members—especially in rural areas speak only local languages or have limited formal education. most ict tools, applications, and training materials are presented in english or require basic reading proficiency. this creates communication barriers, as members may not understand app interfaces, email instructions, or virtual meeting protocols. the lack of ict tools in indigenous languages further limits adoption and reinforces digital exclusion. to overcome this, developers and cooperative leaders need to prioritize language localization, use voice-based apps or videos, and simplify user interfaces to accommodate all literacy levels. case illustration: egbe progress cooperative, ogun state igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 77 egbe progress cooperative society, located in ifo local government area of ogun state, nigeria, offers a compelling example of how a mid-sized rural cooperative can gradually adopt ict tools to strengthen its internal communication and overall operational efficiency. established in 2007 with 45 members mostly farmers, petty traders, and artisans egbe progress cooperative has grown to over 120 active members by 2024. its evolution in digital communication practices reflects both the opportunities and challenges faced by grassroots cooperatives navigating the digital age. background and organizational setup egbe progress cooperative began with traditional communication methods: face-to-face monthly meetings, handwritten records, and physical notices posted at the local town hall. communication was often delayed, and members who traveled or relocated temporarily missed key updates. this led to frequent miscommunication, late loan repayments, and declining participation in group projects. in 2018, under the leadership of its then-new president, mrs. felicia oyelade, the cooperative embarked on a gradual digital transition. recognizing the limitations of the manual system, she proposed the use of mobile phones and group messaging apps to improve communication flow and transparency. ict tools adopted 1. whatsapp group communication: the first major step was creating a whatsapp group for all members who owned smartphones. this became the primary channel for: • announcing meeting dates and times • sharing minutes and resolutions • reminding members of loan repayment deadlines • circulating photos of cooperative projects (e.g., cassava processing shed, goat farm) to ensure inclusion, younger members helped elderly members set up whatsapp or shared updates with them verbally. 2. sms for non-smartphone users: for the 30% of members who lacked smartphones, the cooperative adopted a bulk sms platform through a local ict vendor. this service was used to send short but essential updates such as: • agm reminders • financial obligations • new membership approvals igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 78 3. use of email for executive correspondence: executive members including the president, treasurer, and secretary began using email to exchange scanned documents, send reports to the ogun state cooperative department, and correspond with partner organizations. this introduced a more formal and traceable communication line for administrative matters. 4. adoption of a basic digital ledger app: in 2022, with support from a local ngo, the cooperative introduced a simplified bookkeeping app called coopcash, developed by a nigerian tech startup. the app, operated by the financial secretary, helped in tracking member contributions, generating receipts, and providing digital loan histories. observed benefits • faster information flow: members now receive information instantly, rather than waiting for monthly meetings or printed notices. • improved participation: meeting attendance rose from 60% to 85%, with more members actively contributing to discussions, both online and in-person. • greater transparency: members can now view financial updates and ask questions via whatsapp, reducing suspicion and gossip. • reduced operational costs: the need for printed materials and frequent travel for minor updates decreased significantly. • crisis communication: during the covid-19 lockdown, the whatsapp group allowed leaders to coordinate palliative distribution and provide safety information, ensuring no member was left out. challenges encountered • digital literacy gap: some elderly members struggled with smartphones and relied on others for updates, creating occasional delays and dependence. • data and electricity costs: high data costs and irregular power supply limited how often members engaged online. • network downtime: mobile network disruptions affected real-time updates, especially during storms or regional outages. • app maintenance: the coop cash app occasionally faced bugs, and the cooperative had to hire an external technician for troubleshooting. mitigation strategies igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 79 • monthly ict workshops were introduced to help less tech-savvy members. • the cooperative negotiated a discount with a local mobile provider for bulk data bundles. • printed summaries of digital discussions were occasionally circulated for transparency. • the cooperative earmarked ₦5,000 monthly from administrative dues to fund ict operations and software support. lessons learned the egbe progress cooperative case illustrates that: • digital tools can be adopted even in rural, low-income cooperatives with the right leadership and member orientation. • whatsapp and sms are highly effective low-cost tools for grassroots internal communication. • sustainable ict adoption requires ongoing training, a budget line for tech maintenance, and inclusive strategies that consider both literate and semi-literate members. case illustration 2: unity women multipurpose cooperative, enugu state overview: unity women multipurpose cooperative society (uwmcs), based in nsukka, enugu state, is a women-led rural cooperative focused on agro-processing, microcredit, and household savings. it was founded in 2012 with 37 women and has grown to 95 active members by 2023. the cooperative operates primarily among female traders, farmers, and widows. ict tools and innovations: • mobile money integration: in 2019, uwmcs partnered with a local fintech company to introduce mobile money platforms (e.g., paga and opay) for internal savings and loan repayments. members were trained to send weekly savings via ussd codes using basic phones. • interactive voice messaging (ivm): recognizing that many members were semi-literate, the cooperative adopted an ivm service that allows leadership to send pre-recorded voice messages in igbo. these messages contain reminders about meetings, loan deadlines, and empowerment workshops. • whatsapp audio sharing: for members with smartphones, short audio recordings of meeting summaries and financial updates were sent via whatsapp to improve comprehension. impacts: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 80 • higher financial inclusion: 72% of members began using mobile money services by mid-2021, reducing the risk of cash loss and enabling faster financial transactions. • better inclusion of low-literate members: voice-based messaging improved accessibility for women who previously struggled to engage with printed memos. • enhanced leadership visibility: executive members used whatsapp status updates to show project milestones and funding successes, strengthening member trust. challenges: • lack of consistent electricity in villages delayed phone charging and message delivery. • some fintech agents delayed withdrawals or overcharged for services. key lesson: ict adoption must consider the linguistic and literacy realities of rural women. by using voice and vernacular communication, cooperatives like uwmcs achieve better inclusion and responsiveness. case illustration 3: progressive youth cooperative, kano state overview: progressive youth cooperative is an urban-based cooperative located in kano city. established in 2016 by a group of unemployed graduates and artisans, it focuses on digital entrepreneurship, technical skill training, and cooperative finance. the membership consists mostly of youths aged 18–35. ict tools and innovations: • google workspace integration: the cooperative uses google docs, sheets, and forms to share reports, track attendance, and collect member opinions on new initiatives. • telegram channel: due to whatsapp’s participant limit, the cooperative migrated to telegram, which allows up to 200,000 members and file sharing without compression. • zoom for virtual training: progressive youth hosts monthly webinars and digital skill sessions via zoom and google meet to train members on topics such as coding, forex, and digital marketing. • custom web portal: in 2022, a member-developed portal was launched, allowing users to log in, update savings records, and generate personal account summaries. impacts: • digital skill enhancement: over 60% of members acquired at least one new digital skill, increasing their income opportunities. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 81 • transparent operations: members could monitor their cooperative accounts in real-time, boosting trust and engagement. • remote participation: diaspora members remained actively involved, voting and contributing via digital tools. challenges: • internet costs remain high for low-income youth. • some tools like google forms required regular re-training for new users. • occasional phishing attacks led to a stronger focus on digital security. key lesson: youth-led cooperatives can serve as early adopters of sophisticated digital tools. however, continuous capacity building and cybersecurity awareness are essential to maintain digital trust. synthesis of lessons across cases case key tools used unique adaptation main outcome egbe progress cooperative, ogun whatsapp,bulk sms, email, coopcash app blending low-tech and digital tools faster, transparent communication unity women cooperative, enugu mobile money, voice messaging, whatsapp audio vernacular and voicebased tools for rural women improved financial inclusion and access progressive youth cooperative, kano google tools, zoom, telegram, custom portal web-based automation and digital skills training strong youth engagement and realtime access case illustration 4: tiv farmers' cooperative union, benue state overview: the tiv farmers' cooperative union (tfcu), headquartered in gboko, benue state, is a large agrarian cooperative with over 300 registered members engaged in yam, cassava, and rice farming. the cooperative was established in 2009 to pool resources, access government interventions, and enhance market access for smallholder farmers. the union has multiple satellite groups across three local governments. ict tools and communication strategy: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 82 1. radio and sms broadcasts: due to the wide geographical spread of members and inconsistent mobile network coverage, the cooperative partnered with a local radio station (harvest fm makurdi) to air weekly bulletins about cooperative updates, market prices, and weather forecasts. this was complemented by sms alerts using frontlinesms—a free, open-source bulk sms platform to reach members in remote villages. 2. interactive whatsapp groups by zone: instead of one large group, tfcu created zonal whatsapp groups (e.g., gboko, buruku, and katsina-ala) to reduce message overload and improve coordination within each area. zonal leaders would forward key summaries from central leadership to their groups, enabling a decentralized but synchronized communication system. 3. mobile photography for field reports: agricultural extension workers within the union began using smartphones to take photos of crop diseases, pest infestations, and flooding incidents. these were shared via whatsapp with the union’s technical team and, in some cases, uploaded to the nigeria agro-extension network (naen) portal for expert advice. impacts: • timely agricultural support: farmers received real-time updates on rainfall patterns and pest alerts, helping them plan activities better. • decentralized coordination: zonal whatsapp groups improved ownership at the grassroots level and reduced delays in communication. • evidence-based reporting: photo reports allowed the union to apply for intervention support from agricultural agencies and ngos with proof of need. challenges: • limited smartphone ownership among older farmers, requiring reliance on zonal leaders or youth. • dependence on local radio meant updates were subject to airtime availability and sponsorship costs. • extension officers needed support for device maintenance and data purchase. mitigation and innovation: • younger cooperative members were assigned as "digital liaisons" to assist less tech-savvy elders. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 83 • the cooperative allocated part of its annual surplus to fund airtime and bulk sms services. • they began exploring voice assistant apps (like viamo’s 321 service) for agricultural tips in tiv language. key lesson: in agriculture-focused cooperatives, combining traditional tools like radio with mobile-based platforms allows for wide coverage and relevance. decentralized communication structures empower local leadership and improve responsiveness to urgent needs. final thoughts on case studies these four cases ranging from women’s cooperatives in enugu to youth-led cooperatives in kano, to large agricultural groups in benue illustrate the diversity and adaptability of ict integration in nigerian cooperatives. each cooperative has tailored ict tools to its membership base, literacy levels, and communication needs, revealing that there is no one-size-fits-all approach. however, common success factors across the cases include: • strong leadership with digital vision • youth involvement in ict facilitation • context-sensitive use of tools (e.g., voice over text, group segmentation) • partnerships with local tech actors or ngos these case studies underscore that the future of cooperative communication in nigeria is hybrid blending mobile technology, traditional media, and localized human facilitation for inclusive and sustainable engagement. 8. recommendations for strengthening ict adoption in cooperatives in light of the benefits and challenges identified, it is clear that a strategic and inclusive approach is needed to foster effective ict adoption in nigerian cooperative societies. these recommendations focus on capacity-building, infrastructure development, policy advocacy, and stakeholder collaboration to ensure sustainable digital integration and enhanced internal communication within the cooperative movement. launch cooperative-specific digital literacy programs to bridge the digital skills gap, it is critical to initiate targeted digital literacy training for both cooperative members and leaders. such programs should cover the basics of mobile phone usage, social media management, email communication, online meeting platforms, and digital finance. importantly, they must be tailored to different literacy levels and delivered in both english and local languages. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 84 training could be facilitated through partnerships between: • state cooperative departments • local government authorities • ngos working on rural development and financial inclusion • technology firms offering corporate social responsibility (csr) programs workshops should be hands-on, interactive, and community-based. training younger members as digital champions can also promote peer-to-peer learning and long-term sustainability. improve rural ict infrastructure to address the infrastructural divide, the federal and state governments must invest in expanding rural broadband access, improving network coverage, and supporting off-grid energy solutions such as solar-powered digital centers. public-private partnerships (ppps) can play a vital role in reducing the cost of internet access and extending connectivity to underserved areas where most cooperatives operate. additionally, the universal service provision fund (uspf) under the nigerian communications commission can be leveraged to establish ict hubs or mobile learning kiosks where cooperative members can access digital tools and services at subsidized rates. provide financial and technical support to cooperatives to overcome the cost barriers to ict adoption, government agencies and cooperative federations should create grants, microloans, and digital toolkits to help cooperatives: • acquire smartphones, laptops, and projectors • subscribe to cooperative management software • develop mobile apps or sms-based communication systems • train their executive and administrative staff these supports should prioritize rural and low-income cooperatives to prevent digital exclusion. in addition, cooperatives should be encouraged to budget for ict-related expenses and allocate a small percentage of their annual surplus for digital transformation initiatives. promote the use of simple, localized ict tools not all cooperatives need sophisticated software platforms. sometimes, low-cost and culturally appropriate tools are more effective and sustainable. cooperatives should be encouraged to: • use whatsapp or telegram groups for meeting reminders and real-time discussions igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 85 • adopt voice-based messaging systems for low-literacy members • use bulk sms platforms with localized language options • explore cooperative software that allows offline use and local currency integration developers should be incentivized to create open-source, multilingual platforms tailored to the unique needs of nigerian cooperatives especially those operating in agriculture, trade, and community finance. encourage leadership buy-in and innovation culture cooperative leaders play a decisive role in ict adoption. therefore, targeted leadership development programs should be organized to: • enhance their ict awareness and capacity • inspire them to model digital behavior (e.g., holding virtual executive meetings, using email or apps for official communication) • equip them with change management skills to lead digital transition without alienating members furthermore, cooperatives should cultivate an innovation-friendly organizational culture that encourages experimentation, tolerates learning from mistakes, and recognizes digital success stories within the group. mainstream ict in cooperative education and policy digital communication and ict tools should be mainstreamed into the national cooperative education curriculum. this includes: • updating the syllabi of cooperative colleges and training centers • producing manuals and guides on cooperative ict usage • training extension officers and cooperative inspectors on digital facilitation methods at the policy level, the federal department of cooperatives should develop a national ict framework for cooperatives in collaboration with stakeholders. this framework would: • set minimum digital communication standards • recommend platforms and tools suitable for different cooperative types • define roles for government, ngos, and private sector actors • provide a roadmap for digital inclusion over a 5–10-year period foster strategic partnerships with ict stakeholders igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 86 digital transformation in cooperatives cannot be achieved in isolation. strategic partnerships with ict companies, universities, tech hubs, and development agencies should be pursued to: • pilot cooperative-specific applications • create content and tools in indigenous languages • share innovations across states and regions • conduct monitoring and evaluation of ict adoption impacts for example, tech startups can develop mobile tools for cooperative accounting or inventory management, while universities can assist with research and training. similarly, donor organizations can sponsor digital hubs in rural cooperatives as part of economic empowerment projects. create feedback loops and monitoring systems to ensure accountability and continued relevance of ict tools, cooperatives must establish feedback mechanisms that capture: • member satisfaction with digital platforms • barriers encountered during implementation • suggestions for improvement these insights should be reviewed regularly during executive meetings and reported in annual cooperative reports. furthermore, federations and apex bodies can develop ict readiness assessment tools to periodically evaluate the digital maturity of member cooperatives and guide strategic support. conclusion strengthening ict adoption in nigerian cooperatives requires a comprehensive, inclusive, and multi-stakeholder approach. digital transformation must go beyond acquiring devices or installing apps it demands investment in people, systems, and enabling environments. by prioritizing digital literacy, improving infrastructure, incentivizing leadership, simplifying tools, and embedding ict in cooperative policies and education, cooperatives can unlock the full potential of digital communication. this will not only enhance internal engagement and transparency but also position nigerian cooperatives as resilient, future-ready institutions in a rapidly digitizing world. the integration of information and communication technology (ict) into the internal communication structures of nigerian cooperative societies represents both a necessary evolution and a strategic imperative in today’s digital economy. as demonstrated throughout this chapter, cooperatives long recognized for their role in grassroots economic empowerment stand to gain igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 87 significantly from embracing digital tools that enhance transparency, speed, engagement, and recordkeeping. the chapter has established that ict tools such as mobile phones, whatsapp, email, cooperative management software, and mobile money platforms are being increasingly adopted, albeit unevenly. these tools serve not only as communication channels but also as facilitators of democratic participation, financial accountability, and operational efficiency. cooperatives that leverage these tools can better mobilize members, disseminate critical information, manage resources transparently, and respond to both opportunities and crises in real time. however, despite these benefits, the widespread adoption of ict remains constrained by several challenges including limited digital literacy, poor infrastructure, high costs, cultural resistance, and lack of institutional support. these barriers are more pronounced in rural and informal cooperatives, where the digital divide threatens to widen existing inequalities and limit access to modern tools that could otherwise uplift their operations. to address these gaps, the chapter has proposed practical recommendations, such as launching cooperative-specific digital literacy programs, improving rural ict infrastructure, subsidizing digital access, encouraging leadership buy-in, simplifying tools, and developing a national cooperative ict policy framework. strategic partnerships with ict stakeholders and the embedding of ict in cooperative education and governance structures were also emphasized as vital pathways for sustainable transformation. ultimately, for nigerian cooperatives to remain relevant, resilient, and responsive to member needs, they must embrace the digital future with intentionality and inclusiveness. ict adoption should not be viewed as a luxury or optional upgrade but as a foundational component of modern cooperative governance. as global trends shift toward e-cooperatives, virtual communities, and digitally enabled value chains, nigerian cooperatives have an urgent opportunity to innovate, adapt, and lead in ways that are both locally rooted and globally connected. the road ahead requires investment, collaboration, and a reimagining of how communication, trust, and participation are cultivated in the digital age. with the right policies, tools, and mindset, cooperative societies in nigeria can successfully harness ict not only to improve internal communication but also to strengthen their collective impact on national development and social transformation. references chambo, s. a. (2009). agricultural cooperatives: role in food security and rural development. international cooperative alliance. unesco. (2019). ict in education. https://en.unesco.org/themes/ict-education cornelissen, j. (2020). corporate communication: a guide to theory and practice (6th ed.). sage publications. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 88 davis, f. d. (1989). perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information technology. mis quarterly, 13(3), 319–340. https://doi.org/10.2307/249008 federal ministry of communications and digital economy. (2020). national digital economy policy and strategy (ndeps) 2020–2030. https://www.nitda.gov.ng gsma. (2022). the mobile economy sub-saharan africa 2022. https://www.gsma.com/mobileeconomy/sub-saharan-africa/ international cooperative alliance (ica). (2021). what is a cooperative? https://www.ica.coop/en/cooperatives/what-is-a-cooperative laudon, k. c., & laudon, j. p. (2020). management information systems: managing the digital firm (16th ed.). pearson. mazzei, a. (2014). internal communication for employee enablement: strategies in italian companies. corporate communications: an international journal, 19(1), 82–95. https://doi.org/10.1108/ccij-08-2012-0060 nigerian communications commission (ncc). (2023). industry statistics: subscriber data. https://www.ncc.gov.ng/statistics-reports/industry-overview rogers, e. m. (2003). diffusion of innovations (5th ed.). free press. unesco. (2019). digital literacy: a toolkit for policy makers. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000370934 unesco. (2019). ict in education. https://en.unesco.org/themes/ict-education unesco. (2019). information and communication technology (ict) in education. https://en.unesco.org/themes/ict-education venkatesh, v., & davis, f. d. (2000). a theoretical extension of the technology acceptance model: four longitudinal field studies. management science, 46(2), 186–204. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.46.2.186.11926 world bank. (2021). nigeria digital economy diagnostic report. https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 211 marian societies in nigeria: towards an enlightened devotion to the blessed virgin mary ibe, julian chukwuemeka, phd albertine institute, fayit – kafanchan frjulianibe@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.25001.77923 abstract this article discusses marian societies in nigeria with the aim of highlighting their various spiritualities and therefore, engender more devotion to our blessed mother. the church has, in her various mariological teachings, emphasized the role of the blessed virgin mary in the history of salvation, as well as her maternal intercessory role in the lives of christians. this has given rise to various marian devotions with varying spiritualities. this study begins with an introduction and clarification of relevant terms. it presents the origin of marian devotions and discusses five popular marian devotions: our lady queen of all hearts, the legion of mary, the blue army of our lady of fatima, the block rosary crusade and the mary league association. it emphasizes the importance of devotion to mary and addresses some misconceptions about the church‟s devotion to the blessed virgin mary, explaining the nature of true devotion. the article exposes the extremism of marianism, which is a danger to marian spirituality, and concludes. keywords: mary, devotion, marian devotion, marianism. introduction the place of the blessed virgin mary in the history of salvation has remained very controversial. this is because some people have decided not to accept and acknowledge her as the mother of god, that is, mother of god the son made incarnate in our lord jesus christ. mary plays a prominent role in these significant events of christ‟s incarnation at christmas and his resurrection at easter. for some, mary should not be given any special place in the church‟s worship and devotion because she is mere mortal like any human. they often ask: can anything good come from devotion to mary? mary is distinguished by the fact that she, through her life, was totally dedicated to god.4 she deserves special place in our lives as christians. this is made manifest in the various forms of devotions accorded her in the church. this work aims at bringing to limelight the nature of various genuine devotions to mary in the church which will help christians, most especially, catholics, to 4 george muller, “mary: model of evangelization” in the bulletin dei verbum no. 22 (germany: catholic biblical federation, eng. ed., january-march 1992), 20. mailto:frjulianibe@gmail.com http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/rg.2.2.25001.77923 ibe, julian chukwuemeka, phd 212 better understand, appreciate, and cultivate a proper devotion to her who is the mother of god and the church. it would achieve this by first clarifying some terms. then, it would proceed to discuss the historical foundation of marian devotions in the church, the various forms of devotions to mary, necessity of devotion to mary, true devotion to mary, misconception about marian devotions and many others. clarification of terms for a proper understanding of the said topic, the following terms would be clarified: devotion and marian devotion. devotion devotion is from the latin word „devotio‟, which means „vow‟ or „total dedication‟. this refers to piety in general or deep reverence for the holy in prayer. thus by devotions, we refer to prayers, rituals, spoken formulas, or physical gestures, used in private or with others to worship god, to honour mary and the saints, to request for divine help.5 marian devotion devotion is also seen as the joyous dedication of oneself to god and to others for the sake of god and for the promotion of his kingdom here on earth. it is in this sense that one talks about devotion to mary, that is, the joyous dedication of the whole self to her and to her service through imitating her virtues and footsteps in our service to god and humanity.6 it can also be intercessory, whereby she is called upon for assistance. it can also be reverential, which emphasizes and praises the irreplaceable position mary occupies as the mother of the saviour. origin and historical development of marian devotions in order to talk about devotion to mary in the church, one must fall back to the words of evangelist luke who made it known that the blessed mary said: “from now onward, all generations will call me blessed, for the almighty has done great things for me.” (luke 1:48-49). this laid the foundation for marian devotions in the church. the first historical indication of devotion to the mother of jesus was found in the roman catacombs as early as the first century. it was clear from the number of locations of representations of mary that she was seen not only as an historical person, but also as assign of protection, of defence 5 reynolds r. ekstrom, the concise catholic dictionary, (bandra, mumbai: st. pauls, 1995), 95. 6 anthony o. nwachukwu, what a model is mary the mother of jesus, (owerri: assumpta press, 1995), 33. marian societies in nigeria: towards an enlightened devotion to the blessed virgin mary 213 and of intercession.7 the eastern church may be rightly regarded as having originated the teaching about mary and devotion to her. it was the eastern church that gave rise to the apocrypha, specifically the protoevangelium of james. the traditions concerning mary were contained in these books and prompted devotions to her. there was also a practice of devotion in the east as early as the beginning of the 3rd century. a greek papyrus found in egypt and dating from the early 3rdcentury has the marian sub praesidium (under your patronage). this, thus, proof that the mother of god, was venerated even before the council of ephesus in the 5th century. 8 however, it was at the council of ephesus in 431 a.d that the title, „mother of god‟ was officially ascribed to mary by the church following some serious debate. after which large churches were dedicated to her in central ecclesial locations of rome, jerusalem and constantinople. after the council of ephesus, there was a tremendous flourishing of devotion to mary both in the east and the west in the form of prayers, hymns, liturgical feast and artwork.9 the council of ephesus served to foster marian devotions and this is acknowledged in the dogmatic constitution on the church, vatican ii, lumen gentium, 21 november: “accordingly, following the council of ephesus, there was a remarkable growth in the cult of the people of god towards mary, in veneration and love, in generations and imitation, according to her own prophetic words: all generations shall call me blessed…”.10 from the 5th century, liturgical feasts of mary were celebrated. the first was a remembrance of mary as part of the christmas season. later came the feats of the annunciation, assumption and others. in the 7th century, the marian antiphon “ave maris stella” was written, followed by a stream of hymns and antiphons through the centuries. during the 10th century, the little office of the blessed virgin mary appeared, saturdays were devoted to mary and the title mother of mercy spread throughout the west. the 11th century witnessed the beginning of the cathedral of notre dame de chartres, the composition of the hail, holy queen and the “alma redemptoris mater”. just before the time of saints francis and dominic, the litany of 7 t. barga, behold your mother, (jos: fab aneih, 2009), 124. 8 a. buono, “eastern church and mary” in dictionary of mary, (bandra, mumbai: st. pauls, 2006), 123. 9 t. barga, behold your mother, 125. 10 vatican ii, lumen gentium, dogmatic constitution on the church, 1964, no 66. ibe, julian chukwuemeka, phd 214 the blessed virgin was shaped and the first half of the hail mary was used in prayer.11 in the 13th century, the scapular was presented to saint simon stock; duns scotus defended the doctrine of the immaculate conception and the month of mary was dedicated to mary. the 15th century saw the writing of the memorare; thomas kempis urged recourse to mary in the spiritual life; a feast of the sorrows of mary was established; the rosary was approved by pope alexander vi; michelangelo carved the pieta, and the salve regina was the first prayer recited in the new world by columbus and his crew. the blessed virgin appeared to juan diego at guadalupe in 1531 and in 1543 martin luther affirmed the immaculate conception. more feasts and writings evolved in the subsequent centuries. in 1830, the miraculous medal was struck in response to a vision given to saint catherine labour. in 1854 the dogma of mary‟s immaculate conception was proclaimed. in 1858 our lady appeared to saint bernadette and in 1917, to the children at fatima. in 1921 the legion of mary was founded. the dogma of mary‟s assumption was proclaimed and a marian year observed in 1950. we could, therefore, conclude that devotion to mary began with the first followers of jesus, and those who came after them, reflecting on her role in the life of jesus and the scriptures, they probably, at least intuitively, saw mary as an intercessor with her son and the father. they also saw her as the first disciples and the model for all who could follow christ in truth and in spirit. popular marian devotions in the catholic church throughout history, lay people who wish to devote themselves more closely to a spiritual life and apostolic work devoid of religious vows or the ministerial priestly commitment formed marian associations or confraternities. they include:  our lady queen of all hearts  the legion of mary,  the blue army of our lady of fatima,  the block rosary crusade  the mary league association our lady queen of all hearts this devotion is composed of those faithful who wish to live their baptismal vows by means of a total consecration to christ through the 11 yohanna jacob, “devotion to mary”, (kaduna: abbey digit-all print, 2015), 48. marian societies in nigeria: towards an enlightened devotion to the blessed virgin mary 215 hands of mary. they practice true devotion to mary as taught by st. louis de montfort. this devotion consists in giving oneself entirely to mary in order to belong entirely to jesus through her. it requires us to give: i. our body, with its senses and members; ii. our soul with its faculties; iii. our present material possessions and all we shall acquire in the future; iv. our interior and spiritual possessions, which include our merits, virtues and good actions of the past, the present and the future. the nature of this association is such that it gathers together the faithful, clerics or lay, who, desiring to be witnesses to the truth of the gospel, intend to live the commitments of their baptism with the help of a total consecration to christ through the hands of mary. they commit themselves to the practice of true devotion to the blessed virgin taught by st. louis-marie de montfort, whom they choose as spiritual guide and master. members of this association are commonly identified with the brown scapular with which the image of the miraculous medal is attached. they call themselves “slaves of love” in every spiritual and theological sense of the word love. this is because after undertaking the total consecration members engage in humble sacrificial service to all and sundry wherever they find themselves. st. pope john paul ii, was a true follower of this spirituality. he further enriched the devotion with a plenary indulgence, granted in perpetuity, to be gained by members of the association, under the usual condition, on the day of their enrolment, first saturday of every month, holy thursday, and the liturgical celebration of the following feasts and solemnities: annunciation of the lady – dec. 8, christmas – dec.25 and the feast of st. louis de montfort – april 28. the legion of mary the word „legion‟, according to harper‟s bible dictionary, is a large unit of soldiers in the roman army. “legion” (for we are many) appears as the name of a demon exorcised by jesus in mark 5:9 (cf. also luke 8:30). the name “legion of mary” is derived from the roman legion. as the name suggest, legionaries of mary are soldiers called to a spiritual battle against the forces of darkness and evil through prayers and works of charity. its apostolate is centered on the promotion of “the glory of god through the sanctification of its members by prayers and active cooperation, under ecclesiastical guidance, in mary‟s and the ibe, julian chukwuemeka, phd 216 church‟s work of crushing the head of the serpent and advancing the reign of christ.”12 frank duff an irish lay man is the founder of the legion of mary. at the moment, legionaries worldwide are praying for his beatification. the legion of mary is open to all catholics who faithfully practice their religion, are animated by the desire to fulfil their role in the church‟s apostolate through membership of the legion; and are prepared to fulfil each and every duty which active membership of the legion involves.”13 the legion promise presents four vital points which includes: it is a prayer addressed to the holy spirit, it emphasizes humility, it encourages union with mary; and it demands strict observance of the legionaries discipline. the legionaries see themselves too as “handmaids” ready to work according to the word of god. legionaries‟ devotion and spirituality could be summarized in the latin maxim: “laborare et orare”, that is, “to work and to pray” this should be distinguished from “laborare est orare” (to work is to pray). for the legionaries, one cannot and does not substitute the other. the two go hand in hand. they therefore, go for their weekly meeting to pray first, after which they share themselves in pairs to go out for the work they do on weekly basis. devotion to mary as we mentioned earlier, can be imitatory or exemplary, whereby mary is honoured in view of the life she led, a life of faith, humility and love.14the legionaries‟ devotion is embedded in their two-fold work of sanctifying themselves and serving their neighbours with whom they intend to share the love of god. the spirituality of the legion it said to be that of mary because legionaries‟ aspire after her profound humility, her perfect obedience, angelic sweetness, her altogether spotless purity, her heroic patience, her heavenly wisdom, her self-scarifying courageous love of god, and her faith.15 the blue army of our lady of fatima the blue army of our lady of fatima is a public international association of the christian faithful that has as its general purpose “the promotion of the authentic teaching of the roman catholic church and the strict adherence to the tenets of the gospel; the personal sanctification of adherents through faithful adherence to the message of fatima and the promotion of the common good by spreading the 12 the official handbook of the legion of mary, (dublin: conciliumlegionismariae, 1993), 11. 13 the official hand book of the legion of mary, 80. 14 a.o. nwachukwu, what a model is mary the mother of jesus, 33. 15 “spirit of the legion”, in the official legion hand book, 12. marian societies in nigeria: towards an enlightened devotion to the blessed virgin mary 217 fatima‟s message.” this pious group is gradually dying because many people are not aware of its activities especially in some dioceses and parishes in nigeria. it was founded by an american priest, herold colgan, in the year 1947, under the guidance of fatima‟s virgin. he made a vow to make her known; if our lady could cure him of a severe heart disease. eventually, he was cured by our lady. he preached the message of fatima in his parish. “on a quest to know how any people who are fulfilling our lady‟s request in the parish, they will be our lady‟s blue army against the red tides of atheism.”16 the blue army has its world headquarters in the domus pacis (“house of peace”), a pilgrim guest house in fatima, portugal. due to its fast spread, there necessitated the erection of a new society. the decree of erection of the world apostolate of fatima was signed on 7 october (the feast of the holy rosary), 2005. then, on 3 february 2006, the world apostolate of fatima held an official ceremony for the consignment of the decree and the approval of its statutes at the pontifical council for the laity in rome. devotion in the blue arm involves the following: to offer up every day the sacrifices demanded by one‟s daily duty to the faithful observance of god‟s law; to say five decades of the rosary daily while meditating on the mysteries; to wear the brown scapular of our lady of mount carmel as a sign and reminder of personal consecration to our lady. the membership of the blue army are of three categories namely; i. ordinary members: are those who make and keep the pledge, wear their scapulars, pray the daily morning offering and recite the rosary. this is good for those who are at present members of other church societies. ii. militant crusade: are those who make the pledge and keep it with additional obligation of recruiting at least three members within a year. they meet once a month (first saturday of the month). iii. eucharistic crusaders: they are those who live the message in depth as did the children of fatima and spend one hour each week known as the “cell hour of holiness”. they are also known as the blue army parish cells and like living cells, they grow and divide and they may be the militant crusaders who meet monthly. block rosary crusade 16 anselm uba, manual of the blue army of our lady of fatima, (bodija: claverium press, 1990), 1. ibe, julian chukwuemeka, phd 218 since the rosary is composed, principally and in substance, of the prayer of christ and the angelic salutation, that is, the our father (pater noster) and the hail mary (ave maria), it was without doubt the first prayer and the principal devotion of the faithful and has been in use all through the centuries, from the time of the apostles and disciples down to the present. it was only in the year 1214, however, that the church received the rosary in its present form and according to the method we use today. it was given to the church by st. dominic, who had received it from the blessed virgin as a means of converting the albigenses and other sinners 17 . the albigenses denied the mystery of incarnation, rejected church sacraments and condoned many secular activities considered evil by the catholic faith. among the efforts by the church to combat this heresy was the organization of the mendicant orders, including one led by st dominic. the dominicans as they became known, tried to reverse the vile teachings of the albigenses by roaming the countryside preaching against the heresy, trying to influence the fallen away back into the church. tradition has it that st dominic‟s efforts were most effective following a visit from the blessed virgin mary in the year 1214. in his dream mary gave dominic the rosary and instructed the saint to preach the rosary as part of his effort to thwart heresy18 block rosary is a marian devotion which is connected with the visit of icons of mary, or statues of mary from house to house, and from one family to another, where special veneration is given to mary and the holy family. block rosary crusade is an indigenous pious society whose aim is to propagate the fatima message in 191719. the block rosary is a powerful means to deepen christian life in the family and in groups of families through community building and concern. it also intensifies the devotion to jesus and virgin mary. in addition to mean an effective means of stimulating parish devotion, group, and is highly recommended by st. louis marie de montfort. in his book, "the secret of the rosary." he lists these benefits: i. normally, our hearts are far more alert during public prayers, than when we pray alone. ii. when we pray in common, the prayer of each one belongs to all. we make one great prayer together, so that if one person is not praying well, someone else in that same gathering who prays better make up for his deficiencies. in this way, those who are 17 https://m.theholyrosary.org. retrieved on 20th june, 2022. 18 timothy barga, behold your mother, 2 nd ed, nigeria: jos, fab anieh nigeria limited, 2019, 174. 19 https://www.brcblog.org,history of the block rosary crusade marian societies in nigeria: towards an enlightened devotion to the blessed virgin mary 219 strong uphold the weak. those who are fervent inspire the lukewarm. iii. pope urban viii who was very blessed to see how devotion to the holy rosary had spread in the city of rome, and how it was being said in two groups or choirs, attached 100 days extra indulgence whenever the rosary was said in two groups. this was set out in his brief “ad perpetuam rei memoriam” written in the year 1626. iv. public prayer is far more powerful than private prayer, to appease the anger of god, and to call down his mercy. holy mother church, guided by the holy spirit, has always advocated public prayers in times of public tragedy and suffering20. mary league girls association this association of devotees to mary is also known as catholic girls organization (c.g.o). this marian movement is a popular devotion in igboland and has been attributed to blessed cyprian iwene tansi of aguleri. he initiated this marian movement in order to protect and prevent the adolescent christian girls from moral mutilations. it also helps to secure the traditional principle of the sacredness of virginity of young girls before marriage as well as to preserve the girls from being tainted with nonchristian fetish customs and practices. this league helps to keep the young girls at the close watch and under the protective eyes of the church, availing them at the same time with a set of stringent rules to observe and follow to ensure that the catholic faith is ever alive and active in them. through this way, the young girls are challenged to live out the principal message of the gospel. through this association, young girls are urged to contribute to the success and order in the indigenous apostolate and community life through their manual labours, cleaning of the rectory, church and environments as well as support the clergy by the supply of the needs at will. the mary league girls association helps to make liturgical celebrations in the parishes very lively and active. dancing, clapping of hands as well as beating of instruments are now introduced by the mary league association. the members also help in teaching catechisms to the children, youths and adults. they also visit the sick and fallen catholics in their homes to pray for them, offer them some gifts, share their problems with them, offer them hope and sustain them in the catholic faith. in this way, they make great contributions in the spread of the 20 louis marie de montfort, the secret of the rosary, usa: montfort publication, 1954,65-73. ibe, julian chukwuemeka, phd 220 catholic faith in igboland and beyond. the first friday or first saturday of every month is their special day of masses, prayers and meetings. they maintain yearly feasts along the feast of mary like 25 march and 8 december, the annunciation and the immaculate conception respectively21. importance of the devotion to mary god did not have to use mary either in terms of the incarnation or in terms of redemption, but the fact of divine revelation is that it was god's will that mary has a central role. true devotions to mary lead one to the eucharistic jesus. therefore, devotion to mary is not arbitrary like a preferred devotion to an individual or patron saint, nor is it extraordinary. rather, it is an ordinary and natural part of living out the mystery of christ's mystical body and the communion of saints. however, an explicit veneration of mary is a necessary condition for the full flowering and normal adult maturity of christian life. for this reason, therefore, schillebeeckx admonished that the christian who is explicitly aware of the part allocated to the mary in the divine pastoral plan of god cannot afford to neglect the blessed virgin in his or her explicit life of faith. if for any reason one does that, such a person will inevitably do a grave injustice to his divine vocation, misinterpret the objective and basic features of the christian way of life and indeed remain deaf to god's loving care and project. such a christian will moreover, fail to be fervently committed to faith, and will not throw himself or herself into the great ocean of god's love which would carry him/her along towards the full maturity of personal holiness and witness. it is for same reason therefore, that one cannot call mary mother without genuine devotion and veneration of her. a mother always has a special place in the family not based on power of authority but of care and dedication to the welfare of the members of the family. pius xii in his encyclical letter, mystici corporis as quoted in schillebeeckx expresses that it is only when one is in full communion with the church as a community that one can speak of mature christianity. this is because full christian life can only be in church life. in the same manner, we may concluded that the full christian life must necessarily be essentially marian life, as an irreplaceable function has been assigned to mary with the christian order of salvation by god. therefore it is important to note that all justified and genuine veneration to mary are based and founded on the development of marian dogmas. this 21 https://repozytorium.kul.pl, the identity of the catholic church in igboland, nigeria. marian societies in nigeria: towards an enlightened devotion to the blessed virgin mary 221 explains clearly that devotion to mary to a greater extent is an expression of christian life and faith in the god made man. mary's presence in the divine plan of salvation explicates god's maternal love for humanity and so adds something greatly to the redemption brought by christ her lord. st. john damascene teaches that to be devoted to mary is a great weapon that god gives to those he wishes to be saved. st. louis de montfort equally preaches that one can have an intimate union with god or perfect fidelity with the holy spirit without being closely united with and dependent on the blessed mary ever virgin. whosoever finds mary, finds life because the true life and true way is jesus christ-fruit of her womb. but we cannot find mary if we do not search for her and neither can we search for her if we don't know her; we don't look or desire for something unless we know what it is. therefore, any devotion whether it be to mary or any other saint that does not have jesus as its centre is false and misleading. we should therefore venerate and honour the blessed virgin mary as much as possible, thus imitating god who has honoured her to the point of calling her by the dear name of mother; imitating the angel gabriel, repeating often his angelical salutation, imitating st. elizabeth, by proclaiming her blessedness among women, uniting our if we try to praise her here on earth as she is praised by the angels and weak voice with the grandiose choir of all generations of christians. if we try to praise her here on earth as she is praised by the angels and saint in heaven, we shall have done what is most pleasing to god her true god and only son22. misconception: veneration or adoration of mary there are some misconceptions about devotion to mary not only from outside the church, but even among members of the church. many people do not see the point of going to mary, when the whole idea of the christian religion is that, jesus is the sole intermediary between humanity and god. the problem actually is that some people see all forms of devotion to mary as worship, which for them is against the second commandment: “you shall have no other gods to rival me” (ex 20:3). they find it difficult to understand why the church venerates mary to such extend, let alone participate in such devotion to her. they consciously or unconsciously assimilate the notions of veneration and adoration and there lies the entire problem. catholics do not worship mary. what is done is veneration which is different from adoration in the context of devotion. to clarify this misconception therefore, a basic 22 timothy barga, behold your mother, 2 nd ed, nigeria: jos, fab anieh nigeria limited, 2019, 161. ibe, julian chukwuemeka, phd 222 theological distinction between devotion as adoration and devotion as veneration is necessary. in classical theology, there are three categories of degrees of devotion namely: latria, dulia and hyperdulia. latria: this means adoration. it is the worship and homage that is rightly offered to god alone who has the supreme lordship over all beings. it is the acknowledgement of excellence and perfection of an uncreated, divine person. it is the worship of the creator that god alone deserves. dulia: it is otherwise known as veneration. it is the honour due to the excellence of a created person such as the saints. we venerate the saints because they have won the crown of victory in the kingdom of god after their earthly pilgrimage. they are now members of the triumphant church interceding for us. hyperdulia: this is a higher level of veneration superior to dulia. it is an exalted level of honour for a created person whose excellence rises above that of every other created person. it is at this special level of veneration, that we find the proper devotion ascribed to mary. this is because of her unique privilege of being so intimately involved in god‟s plan of salvation as the mother of the saviour, through her perfect obedience to the will of god. it is therefore clear that marian devotions are not in any way placing the blessed virgin mary on equal level with jesus christ.23 characteristics of true devotion to mary firstly, true devotion to our lady is interior; that is to say, it comes from the spirit and the heart. it flows from the esteem we have of her, the high idea we have formed of her greatness, and the love which we have for her. secondly, it is tender; that is to say, full of confidence in her, like a child's confidence in his loving mother. this confidence makes the soul have recourse to her in all its bodily or mental necessities, with much simplicity, trust and tenderness. it implores the aid of its good mother, at all times, in all places, and about all things; in its doubts, that it may be enlightened in its wanderings that it may be brought in to the right path; in its temptations that it may be supported; in its weaknesses, that may be strengthened; in its falls that it may be lifted up; in its discouragement that it may be cheered; in its scruples, that they may be taken away; in its crosses, tools, and disappointments of life, that it may be consoled under them. in a word, in all its evils of 23 yohanna jacob, “devotion to mary”, (kaduna: abbey digit-all print, 2015), 118. marian societies in nigeria: towards an enlightened devotion to the blessed virgin mary 223 body and mind, the soul's ordinary refuge is in mary, without fearing to be importunate to her or to displease jesus christ. thirdly, true devotion to our lady is holy, that is to say it leads the soul to avoid sin, and to imitate in the blessed virgin particularly her profound humility, her lively faith, her continual prayer, her universal mortification, her divine purity, her ardent charity, her heroic patience, her angelic sweetness, and her divine wisdom. these are the ten principles virtues of the most holy virgin. fourthly, true devotion to our lady is constant. it confirms the soul in good, and it does not let it easily abandon its spiritual exercises. it makes it courageous in opposing the world in its fashions and maxims, the flesh in its weariness and passions, and the devil in his temptations. so that a person truly devoted to our blessed lady is neither changeable, irritable, scrupulous, nor timid. it is not that such person does not fall, or change sometimes in the sensible feeling of devotion, or in the amount of devotion itself. but when he falls he rides again by stretching out his hand to his mother. if he loses the taste and relish of devotion, he does not disturb himself because of that; for the just and faithful client of mary lives on the faith of jesus and mary, and not on sentiments and sensibilities. fifthly, true devotion to our blessed lady is detached; that is to say, it inspires the soul not to seek itself but god only and god in his holy mother. a true devotee of mary does not serve the august queen from a spirit of lucre and interest, not for its own good, whether temporal, corporal, or spiritual; but exclusively because she merits to be served, and god alone in her. he does not remember mary precisely because she does him good, or because he hopes in her; but because she is so worthy of love. it is on this account that he loves and serves her as faithfully in his disgusts and dryness, as well as in his sweetness and sensible fervours. he loves her as much on calvary, as at the marriage of cana24. marianism: a danger to marian spirituality the proliferation of marian devotions and spiritual practices are on the increase especially in our time. good as that may be, however, therein are dangers to place her above and against the church‟s understanding of her place in our salvation in christ. schillebeeckx, in charity, cautions that in as much as our plea for an explicit veneration of mary is a 24 frederick william, true devotion to mary, united kingdom: london, catholic way publishing, 2013, 53-54. ibe, julian chukwuemeka, phd 224 necessary condition for the mature christian life, we must be conscious of the danger inherent in popular devotion to her. it could happen unconsciously that emphasis is unduly shifted in such popular manifestations of marian worship. the shift of emphasis is often quite spontaneous; occasionally it can be traced to the activity of certain marian movements which have placed themselves under the protection of mary. it is, most important to remember that mary can only be understood when seen in the perspective of christ and that it is an error to view christ from the perspective of mary. this is itself an exaggeration of undue emphasis that constitutes marianism 25. mary herself cannot take that from us her children. indeed, our way to christ is through mary. this fact is, however, often falsely presented or interpreted. one of the commonest errors is to think that the man jesus is rather remote from man and that the gulf is, as it were, bridged by mary. to consider mary in this way as the link between ourselves and a distant jesus christ is totally to misconstrue the deepest meaning of the incarnation. schillebeecbx stresses this fact “this in turn inevitably leads to a fundamental falsification of the central christian vision of life – the significance for us of christ‟s sacred humanity as the divine organ instituted by god for our salvation. christ was born of mary. because of this, he is emphatically one of us. he was brought to us by mary”26. therefore, our relationship with him could be direct. however, jesus offers his great gift of redemption to us in a special form through mary. this gift is realized in a sublime and universal manner for our benefit in mary who was the first to accept christ‟s gift in the most sublime character. consequently together with mary, and under her influence, we have direct access to christ. in this case it is better to think of christ as giving mary to as our mother, rather than of mary as giving us christ, “behold thy mother, behold thy son (jn. 19:26). it is in this context that the phrase “through mary to christ”, emphasized in various papal documents might be correctly understood in at its deepest level. as our mother, mary can teach us how to be christian in our lives. to live in unity with her is essentially and in the purest sense a christocentric life, and for this reason it is impossible for her children to go astray27. conclusion 25 schillebeeckx edward, mary mother of the redemption, london: sheed and ward, 1978, 140. 26 ibid 27 timothy barga, behold your mother, 2 nd ed, nigeria: jos, fab anieh nigeria limited, 2019, 168167. marian societies in nigeria: towards an enlightened devotion to the blessed virgin mary 225 marian devotion is something very common nowadays. mary is seen as a helper and great intercessor. but that does not negate the fact that when it comes to marian devotions there are two sides, bothering on two extremes: those who overindulge and those who out rightly condemn any display of affection to mary. whichever way it is considered, it is difficult to witness a balanced attitude towards mary. those who are opposed to marian devotion continue to castigate those involved on false premises, while those who engage in it continue to give their opponents reasons to criticize them. since devotion to mary falls within the fringes of popular devotion, it is largely left at the discretion of the lay faithful, without sufficient theological parameters to guide them. that is what we attempt to do through this work by clarifying the forms of veneration due to mary and by given an insight on the various devotions to mary. mary is theothokos as admitted by the council of ephesus (431 ad) and as such it is not out of line that christians render her particular respects through acts of devotedness. she is not competing in any way with her son, being saved herself, but she is a sure way to the heart of her son. bibliography barga, timothy. behold your mother, 2nd ed, nigeria: jos, fab anieh nigeria limited, 2019. buono, a. “eastern church and mary” in dictionary of mary, bandra, mumbai: st. pauls, 2006. ekstrom, reynolds r. the concise catholic dictionary, bandra, mumbai: st. pauls, 1995. flannery, austin (ed). lumengentium: dogmatic constitution on the church, insecond vatican council:the conciliar and post-conciliar documents, dominican publications, 1998. kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). mary as the mother of god. lagos: hansel communications. isbn: 978-978-55668-6-4. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.25160.88321 kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). the veneration of the saints. lagos: hansel communications. isbn: 978-978-55668-9-5. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.25999.74407 kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). the assumption of the blessed virgin mary. lagos: hansel communications. isbn: 978-978-55028-9-3. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.28516.32649 kanu, ikechukwu a. (2018). mary: mediatrix of all graces. lagos: hansel communications. isbn: 978-978-54447-4-2. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.33549.49126 marie de montfort, louis. the secret of the rosary, usa: montfort publication, 1954. https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.13140%2frg.2.2.28516.32649?_sg%5b0%5d=41bglehzqjpavz91pdxwsqa_prxvojbbmfuadydtnlv8rd_b72hnk6en2ieztiuu58t4kd_ptuqlpagd0etiappj-a.s-jlpmvpm129-7hkmx2od8ze5ih0bxgdcfu0nfju0v8bxrxnrpyo2urlr42l9udtny3svnn_yhgvk4_6ki4tfq ibe, julian chukwuemeka, phd 226 muller, george. “mary: model of evangelization” in the dei verbum no. 22 germany: catholic biblical federation, eng. ed., january march 1992. nwachukwu, anthony o. what a model is mary the mother of jesus, owerri: asumpta press, 1995. schillebeeckx, edward. mary mother of the redemption, london: sheed and ward, 1978. the official handbook of the legion of mary, dublin: conciliumlegionismariae, 1993. uba, anselm. manual of the blue army of our lady of fatima, bodija: claverium press, 1990. william, frederick. true devotion to mary, united kingdom: london, catholic way publishing, 2013. yohanna, jacob. devotion to mary, kaduna: abbey digit-all print, 2015. https://m.theholyrosary.org. retrieved on 20th june, 2022. https://repozytorium.kul.pl, the identity of the catholic church in igboland, nigeria. https://www.brcblog.org, history of the block rosary crusade igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute appraising african biblical hermeneutics in contemporary christian practice in nigeria peter o. alli, phd, solomon i. ikhidero, phd, & godwin a. etukumana, phd department of religious management and cultural studies, faculty of arts, ambrose alli university, ekpoma, edo state, nigeria. fadap4life@yahoo.com, solomonikhidero@gmail.com abstract the art of spreading the christian message is a vital component of the church tradition, serving as a means of spiritual nourishment, community building, and social empowerment. however, the process of interpreting and applying biblical texts in context is complex and multifaceted. this paper examines the role of african cultural hermeneutics in the christian liturgical message within the african context. the paper employs a qualitative research methodology grounded in an extensive literature review and critical analysis. it reiterates the need to interpret the biblical message within the african context, rather than relying solely on the western context. the paper argues that africans must understand christian scripture within their cultural context for it not to lose its validity and authoritative relevance within the african setting. it highlights ways in which the african hermeneutics informs and transforms the preaching ministry in african communities. it thus posits that afro-centric hermeneutics immerses itself in the african socio-cultural context to make the christian faith appealing and relevant to the african readers of the christian scripture and preachers of the christian gospel. keywords: african, biblical, hermeneutics, christianity, liturgy, nigeria, inculturation. introduction african scholars have consistently stressed the necessity of connecting biblical truth to the everyday life of africans (mbiti, 1989; adamo, 2015a; ukpong, 2000). ikechukwu kanu, citing ikenga metuh, comments that any theological application to africa must take account of africans who are the recipients of faith within the context of their culture, religion and civilisation (metuh, as cited in kanu, 2012). indeed, african biblical hermeneutics emerged from various movements that challenged the efforts of early missionaries to discredit aspects of african indigenous beliefs and practices. undoubtedly, african indigenous practices and beliefs have long provided practical solutions to common challenges such as illness, malevolent spiritual forces, and personal struggles. however, with the arrival of western missionaries, many african christians were encouraged to abandon these traditional approaches to problem-solving without practical alternatives. “the missionaries presented the bible as the sole solution, but failed to provide guidance on how to apply its teachings to everyday life” (hans moscicke 2017, 130-135). as a result, valuable cultural practices like ritual ceremonies, herbal medicine, divination, and sacrifices, which had long protected and empowered african communities, were hastily discarded. unfortunately, the euro-american interpretation of the bible has not equipped african christians to address their unique contextual needs (adamo 2015b 38). the western approach to reading the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute bible has largely neglected the importance of understanding its relevance to african realities. this has created a spiritual void, leaving many without practical tools to navigate life’s challenges. it is essential to reclaim and integrate indigenous wisdom with biblical teachings, fostering a more holistic and contextually relevant approach to faith and problem-solving (adamo 2015b, 39). today, there is no gainsaying that a gulf exists between the christian faith and cultural beliefs and practices, which is the real life of the nigerian (african) people. this is due to the methodological applications of the early evangelizers, who apparently demonised african traditional spirituality in their evangelical messages. an example of this is the way and manner in which the missionaries downplayed esan cultural values (peter alli and solomon ikhidero 2024, 258). benedict agbo recalls cases in nigeria, especially in the eastern part, where african christians did not have a friendly evangelical experience, characterised by a lack of dialogue between african culture and the christian religion. in his words: we heard stories of the tearing of african drums, xylophones and other african instruments by the white missionaries who saw them as rustic artefacts of a heathen culture. this negative mindset influenced many of our indigenous clerics who suffered from some cultural alienation (agbo 2024, 85). john mbiti (1986) sets the stage for an african contextual understanding of the bible. in his assertion, the african traditional heritage, religions, and philosophies represent a kind of praeparatio evangelica —a sine qua non and filter for an african interpretation and understanding of the christian faith, as well as a basis for its inculturation and contextualization (aloo mojola 2022, 8). justin ukpong (2000, 11) distinguishes ‘two currents of academic readings of the bible in africa, one follows the western pattern, while the other follows the african pattern of linking the text with the african context’. tuesday adamo puts it succinctly that, african biblical hermeneutics is vital to the wellbeing of african society (adamo 2015a, 60). reflecting on the current state of african society raises important questions. notably, the influence of western christianity and civilization on biblical interpretation. as a result, the biblical worldview and valuable african cultural principles have been marginalized in african biblical preaching and interpretation, warranting critical examination and reconsideration. african biblical scholars thus seek to bring the ancient and foreign biblical texts closer to the people, in terms of domesticating them and filtering them through local cultural grids and filters (mojola 2022, 8). for example, ukpong’s inculturation agenda focuses on the incarnation of the gospel in a culture and the evangelisation of that culture (ukpong 2000, 13). in ukpong’s analysis, true success is visible when it is in synchronising with the cultural understanding and thinking of ordinary readers or ordinary simple people found in african villages or cities. chris manus (2003, 35) believes that there should be an appropriate methodology by which the academically trained interpreter employs the resources of african social, religious, and experiential contexts to examine biblical texts and derive meanings suitable to the african context. there have often been fears, however, that such contextual interpretation would give rise to interpretive abuse, manifesting as eisegesis – imposing one’s meaning on the text. this misuse igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute stems from the assumption that the bible’s meaning is obvious, leading to a lack of rigorous study and resulting in preachers making assumptions without proper understanding, which many believe is a trend in nigeria’s christian religious landscape. the consequences of this interpretive abuse are far-reaching, leading to a distorted understanding of god’s word and its relevance to african contexts. furthermore, such interpretive abuse would usually undermine the credibility of african preachers and the effectiveness of their ministry. scholars have also not ruled out the effect of western colonisation on african thought as a prime instigator of such hermeneutical abuse (segun jesutunwase, 2022, p. 191). indeed, ogunbiwaje (2015) in his work emphasises the grossly negative influence that colonisation has had and continues to have on all spheres of nigerians’ lives, particularly as shown in the neglect of the good cultural values inherent in nigerian cultural heritage. this negligence appears to have led to significant corruption among african church leaders in nigeria. africans and their rich cultural values, which are deeply rooted in the culture of ancient biblical civilisations, have suffered over the years due to the impact of western civilisation on african culture, as well as the dynamics of african cultural experience through the phenomena of slavery and colonialism (segun jesutunwase, 2022). jesutunwase thus lamented how many of the western missionaries and the eurocentric biblical scholars have colonised the african tradition, african christianity, and african biblical studies. it is on this note that this paper attempts to add its voice to the call for an african cultural biblical hermeneutics to examine the intersection of african culture and biblical interpretation. methodology the paper employed a mixed-methodology approach. it comprehensively examines available literature on african cultural hermeneutics, particularly in african contexts. this process involved analysing scholarly publications, books, articles, and relevant theological writings that explore the interpretation of the bible within african cultural and linguistic contexts. the sources consulted encompassed seminal works authored by african theologians, biblical scholars, and hermeneutics experts, along with historical texts that offer valuable insights into the inception and evolution of these interpretive perspectives. nature of african biblical hermeneutics ‘hermeneutics’ is a term derived from the greek word ‘hermeneuo’, which means ‘to interpret’ (tuesday adamo, 2015, 60). according to ebele chukwuka (2022, 2), “hermeneutics is the science of textual interpretation and comprises a wide range of disciplines, which helps to control subjective influences in the study of the old testament and hebrew scriptures”. adamo explains further that ‘hermeneutics concerns itself with the very nature of language, meaning, communication, and understanding. it involves an examination of the entire interpretive process, in this case, of christian scripture, with exegesis being the tool used for the historical aspect of hermeneutics (adamo 2015b, 60). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute african biblical hermeneutics, as defined by adamo, is a methodological resource that makes african social and cultural contexts the subject of interpretation. in the words of adamo (2015b,60), “it is a reappraisal of ancient biblical tradition from the context of african worldviews, cultures and life experiences, to correct the effect of the cultural, ideological conditioning in which the west schemed africa out in the business of biblical interpretation. it is the rereading of the christian scripture from a premeditatedly africentric perspective. african biblical hermeneutics is contextual because interpretation takes place within a specific context. african biblical hermeneutics is the principle of interpreting the bible for transformation in africa. otherwise known as african cultural hermeneutics or african biblical transformational hermeneutics or african biblical studies. elizabeth mburu (2019, 5-6) views this as a contextual hermeneutic that has direct application to african biblical interpretation, with the ultimate goal of linking the biblical text to the culture of the people, aiming to transform the lives of those within that cultural setting. in other words, transformation in terms of biblical preaching is only possible when the bible is preached to africans in africa, based on the context of the african people (mbuvi 2023, 104-107). adamo was quick to reiterate that this african biblical transformational hermeneutic(s) do not claim one-hundred per cent objectivity. according to him: …a casual glance at the history of biblical hermeneutics reveals that there has never been an interpretation that has been without references to or dependent on a particular cultural code, thought patterns, or social location of the interpreter. no individual is entirely detached from everything in his or her environment or experience and culture to be able to render one hundred per cent objectivity in every interpretation. the fact is that every interpreter is biased in some ways. therefore, to talk of uniform, unconditional, universal, and absolute interpretation or hermeneutics is unrealistic. such does not exist anywhere in this world. one who interprets tends to bring his or her own bias to bear, consciously or unconsciously, on how the message is perceived (adamo 2015a, 33). african cultural hermeneutics is typically african in the sense that it consciously or unconsciously borrows heavily from african cultural heritage in its dialogue with the gospel of christ (gathogo & kinyua, 2010, 251). kelebogile resane (2018, xx) thus emphasises the need to connect biblical truth to everyday life in africa. he explains further that life experiences should intertwine with the biblical narratives. the bible story is not a distant mythology coloured with mystics and mysteries. instead, it should be what the african people experience every day. this indicates one of the ways we can achieve african hermeneutics and interpretation. storytelling conveys the message directly to the context of the listeners, who understand the story within that context. african preaching cannot be achieved without invoking the african tradition, mores, and values that are embedded in the people’s story. the application of story helps in penetrating the cultural beliefs of the people (mburu 2023, 5-7). key features of african biblical hermeneutics igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute african cultural hermeneutics have evolved through various exegetical approaches, including african liberation hermeneutics, inculturation hermeneutics, and contextualization hermeneutics. african liberation hermeneutics has its starting point in the “social and material life” of “the black struggle for liberation.” here, african biblical scholars contend that bible translation endeavours should seriously consider liberating ideals that encapsulate inclusivity, diversity, feminist, black, and african theological perspectives (resane 2018, 9). inculturation hermeneutics, a second approach, is a process of acculturation. according to luzbetak (1988, 65), it entails learning from other people’s cultures. inculturation hermeneutics is a dynamic process involving translation, assimilation, and transformation to confront new norms and forms of life (pobee 1992b 34-44). justin ukpong observes that african socio-cultural concerns did not reflect in missionary and western academic forms of biblical interpretation. inculturation hermeneutics thus arose as a response, “paying attention to the african sociocultural context and the questions that arise there from” (ukpong 2000, 4). he further elaborates that inculturation hermeneutics “designates an approach to biblical interpretation which seeks to make the african context the subject of interpretation” (ukpong 2000, 5); it implies that the african worldview should inform the interpretive process. contextualization hermeneutics gives greater attention to self-theologising. it seeks to retain the positive aspects of indigenisation while avoiding the harmful elements, such as colonial connotations. indeed, colonialism resulted in a profound marginalisation of african ways of being, knowing, and doing, with the consequence of colonising the minds of african people. contextualisation hermeneutics, according to resane (2018, 9), thus gives greater attention to selftheologising. it seeks to retain the positive aspects of indigenisation while avoiding the harmful elements, such as colonial connotations. contextualisation relates to other terms that grapple with similar issues, such as adaptation, incarnation, possession, and accommodation (de vries 2016:2). from the foregoing observation, african biblical hermeneutics is an interpretive approach that prioritises the african social and cultural context in understanding the bible. this methodology re-examines ancient biblical traditions and african worldviews, culture, and life experiences to counteract the cultural and ideological conditioning imposed on africa and africans in biblical interpretation. it involves a deliberate afrocentric rereading of christian scripture, acknowledging that interpretation is always context-specific. analysing the biblical text through the lens of african worldviews and culture would challenge the eurocentric hermeneutical hegemony and preserve the african identity and god-given heritage. more so, it will help tap into indigenous resources and reject the imposition of western intellectual traditions. african biblical hermeneutics seeks to create a more inclusive and contextual understanding of the bible, one that resonates with the experiences and perspectives of african communities. african hermeneutics is not just a belief in a construct or dictum; it is an active engagement with the truth, as it unfolds in real-life situations. african hermeneutics acknowledges the fact of humanness, as well as the circumstances and cultural surroundings, which always make theology igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute ‘fit for life’. it is for this reason that justin ukpong argues in line with justin ukpong position that bible translation should take the context, such as naming ceremonies, seriously (ukpong 2000, 24). citing west, resane asserts that biblical interpretation in africa typically consists of three poles: the pole of the biblical text, the pole of the african context, and the pole of appropriation. there is no doubt that the bible and culture should engage in dialogue during the translation process. the biblical text and african context do not add their voices to the conversation. the human element, with its experiences, should forge a partnership with text and context to dialogue. the dialogue between text and context is a real flesh-and-blood convergence (resane 2018, 11-12). vernacular hermeneutical preaching and interpretation have provided the african people with the ability to see the bible as their own. whenever the bible is translated into a new language, it fosters a sense of ownership in the lives of the speakers of that language (mbuvi 2023, 70-71). based on andrew mbuvi’s assertion, the process of vernacular hermeneutical translation of the biblical text enables the bible to be stripped of its colonial element and decolonises its contents to the benefit of the vernacular-speaking people (mbuvi 2023, 71-72). through the process of translating the bible into vernacular and the language of the people of africa, the reader discovers that the bible has many parallels with african culture and traditions. it reveals within the narrative the contributions of african people in the biblical history and narrative. the engagement between biblical text and african context is fundamental to african biblical scholarship. the dialogical dimension of biblical interpretation has always been an explicit feature of african biblical hermeneutics. the bottom line is that the interpreter and the text should be in synergy to make the text relevant to the african context and experiences. this does not mean divorcing the text from its historical reality, but rather contextualising the text for african readers. citing roberts, rosane points out that “western sources often influence african theologians, but the african personality radiates throughout their thought (rosane 2018, 35).” by the application of vernacular hermeneutics, the bible as a text becomes what an average african can categorically claim as their own. it strips it off the white man culture and rhetoric, decolonises it, and contextualises it to the context of the african socio-religious experience. the place of african biblical hermeneutics in contemporary african christianity osadolor imasogie alleges that, “christianity, for many africans, will not cease to be a foreign religion until incarnation takes place (imasogie 1983, 23-24). kwame bediako (1992, 16-18) adds that christianity will not have an indelible effect on african soil unless it is owned and controlled by the african people. both imasogie and bediako have the same concern about the biblical interpretation in africa. for christianity to have its roots in africa, the bible must be interpreted and preached in a manner that reflects african understanding. this is not unrelated to the fact that western hermeneutics is viewed as individualistic, detached, hypothetical, and futuristic, and therefore considered irrelevant to empirical realities. the idiomatic and proverbial expressions of the bible are, in many cases, also encased in african knowledge systems. according to rosane, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute many african proverbs, philosophies, and worldviews can complement and enhance biblical truth. in his words, … motho ke motho ka batho can be used to enhance the biblical concept of communion or togetherness of christians, which gives a perfect picture of ecclesia. the letsema concept can be used to express cooperation or strength in unity; while the ujamaa in swahili expresses peoplehood or familyhood – the biblical principle of church as a family or the people of god… in fact, ujamaa could serve christians in understanding the mystery of the trinity because in the trinity, the question is not of an “intellectual puzzle” but of a concrete life of sharing (2018, 9-10). similarly, alli and ikhidero (2024, p. 260) in their study on the harmonisation of esan traditional values with christian evangelism, reiterate how the esan concept of ehi (guardian angel) aligns with the catholic church's tradition of celebrating the holy guardian angels on october 2nd every year. according to scripture and tradition, angel guards and assist us at every moment (exodus 23:20-23; matthew 18:15, 10). also, african names traditionally confer a unique identity to a person. this is why children were not considered to have a complete identity until they were given names. according to adamo, this is an expression that reflects name theology; as names are so important in african tradition, so also is it in ancient israel. names mean the totality of what a person is, including his or her power, character, and honour. traditional africans do not bear names that lack meaning (4). among the edo of nigeria, many theophoric names refer to god. for example, osakpolor (god is great), osagie (god sent). these names are not just given; they are attached to some circumstances under which a person is born. in corroboration of the above, rosane (2018, 10) adds that giving a name was often associated with the circumstances of the birth of a child, for instance, the coming of the first rains, the night or the day on which a child was born. it was a way of remembering a person’s time of birth—other names referred to characteristics of the child’s birth or characteristics of the mother’s pregnancy. according to rosane (2018, 70), african names are always an expression of faith in this god. parents are personally involved with the circumstances under which the baby is born. the context, which is the circumstances under which a person is born, plays a role in bringing faith into memory. the westerners would not understand this situation, but the african readers see it and recognise it as something special. however, in the western context, it is unusual. it reiterates here in line with rosane’s position that african indigenous names are hermeneutical, possessing value in hermeneutical and exegetical processes. they communicate feelings, perceptions, and worldviews, and serve as a memorial to the generation that gave birth to these children. concerning some setswana (african) preachers, rosane (2018) notes that several african preachers have begun indigenising biblical names, translating their meanings into the local language. for example, names like moses (montshiwa the drawn out one), abraham (ramerafe or rabontsi, i.e., father of nations or multitudes), miriam (khutsafalo sorrow or bitterness), igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute elizabeth (maikano goad’s oath), peter (lefika the rock), etc. (rosane 2018, 10-11). these translations of biblical names into indigenous african languages play a crucial role in bible translation processes, as they assist readers in easy identification. today, most catholic churches in nigeria now baptise infants with indigenous african names, which was not possible in the past. eisegesis and the african biblical hermeneutics eisegesis, a term used to describe the interpretation of a text by reading one’s own biases and assumptions into it, has been a pervasive issue in modern biblical interpretation and preaching (rosane 2018, 6). this approach to biblical interpretation has led to a proliferation of subjective and often contradictory teachings, undermining the authority and integrity of the bible. to avoid this loophole, the african preachers must show their commitment to objective interpretation and ensure that their messages are grounded in the true meaning of scripture. this can be done through a careful and rigorous study of the scripture in its original languages and translating it faithfully into the language of the hearers. “the 16th-century reformation, led by martin luther, marked a significant turning point in church history, making the bible accessible to the masses and stripping the clergy of their exclusive control over scripture. as campbell notes, for centuries, the handcopied latin scriptures were primarily confined to the domain of scholars, who were themselves bound by the canons, traditions, and hierarchy of the catholic church. the church believed that restricting access to the bible would prevent interpretational abuses and maintain political, social, and religious stability, which depended on a uniform understanding of god’s word. as a result, legitimate interpretations were limited to approved christian scholars and dogma, with bishops, archbishops, and the pope serving as the ultimate authorities on truth and defenders of god’s word. however, with luther’s reforms, this paradigm shifted dramatically. the bible was transformed into the ‘people’s book,’ and individual interpretation and understanding were encouraged, paving the way for a more personal and direct relationship with scripture. concluding remarks this article carefully examines the role of hermeneutics in african biblical interpretation. it showed that there is no universal, uniform or absolute interpretation of the bible. this is because every interpreter brings their own bias, consciously or unconsciously, to the way the message is perceived. in order to maintain the integrity of the gospel, therefore, it is crucial to strike a balance between cultural relevance and biblical fidelity. while acknowledging the importance of cultural context, we must ensure that the biblical worldview remains paramount, guiding our interpretation and application of the biblical text. by doing so, we can avoid the pitfalls of syncretism, where cultural values supersede biblical truth. indeed, we can develop a robust and authentic african christian identity, rooted in the authority of scripture and responsive to the unique challenges and opportunities of our context. ultimately, our goal is to foster a community of african preachers and interpreters who engage in responsible, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute contextually aware, and biblically grounded hermeneutics, empowering them to proclaim the gospel with clarity, conviction, and cultural sensitivity. references adamo, d. t. (2015a). what is african biblical hermeneutics? black theology, 13(2), 59–72. https://doi.org/10.1179/1476994815z.00000000047 adamo, d. t. (2015b). the task and distinctiveness of african biblical hermeneutics. old testament essays, 28(1), 31–52. https://doi.org/10.17159/2312-3621/2015/v28n1a4 adamo, d. t. (2015c). what is african biblical hermeneutics? university of stellenbosch. agbo, b. (2024). indigenous compositions for post-colonial liturgical music in nigeria. sapientia foundation journal of education, sciences and gender studies (sfjesgs), 6(1), 85–100. agboada, e., & appiah, f. k. (2023). reincarnation christology in african christian theology. e-journal of religious and theological studies, 9(12), 593–606. alli, p. o., & ikhidero, s. i. (2024). inculturating esan traditional values with the christian faith. benin journal of religions and society, 6(2), 257–267. appiah-kubi, k. (1987). man cures, god heals: religion and medical practice among the akan of ghana—friendship press. bediako, k. (1992). theology and identity: the impact of culture on christian thought in the second century and in modern africa. regnum. bediako, k. (1995). christianity in africa: the renewal of a non-western religion. orbis books. chukwuka, e. c. (2022). african contextual hermeneutics. verbum et ecclesia, 43(1). https://doi.org/10.4102/ve.v43i1.2507 de vries, b. a. (2016). towards a global theology: theological method and contextualisation. verbum et ecclesia, 37(1), a1536. https://doi.org/10.4102/ve.v37i1.1536 gathogo, j. m., & kinyua, j. k. (2010). afro-biblical hermeneutics in africa today. churchman, 124(3), 251–265. jesutunwase, j. s. (2022). biblical hermeneutics in pentecostalism. international journal of arts, communication and pedagogy, 191. hans, m. (2017). reconciling the supernatural worldviews of the bible, african traditional religion, and african christianity. missionalia, 45(2), 127–143. https://doi.org/10.7832/45-2-162 izibili, m. a. (2008). reincarnation “iroso” in esan: a myth or reality. studies of tribes and tribals, 6(2), 105–109. kanu, i. a. (2012). inculturation and the christian faith in africa. international journal of humanities and social science, 2(17), 236–244. käsemann, e. (1964). essays on new testament themes. scm press. resane, k. t. (2018). biblical exegesis and hermeneutics of biblical texts: african approaches. pharos journal of theology, 99. luzbetak, l. j. (1988). the church and cultures: new perspectives in missiological anthropology. orbis books. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute mbaya, h. (2013). symbolism, tradition and identity in the anglican mission in east and central africa 1861–1960s: the significance of giving ‘christian’ names. journal of theology for southern africa, 146, 60–78. manus, chris u. 2003. intercultural hermeneutics in africa: methods and approaches. nairobi: acton. mbiti, j. s. (1989). african religions and philosophy (original work published 1969). heinemann educational books. mbiti, j. s. (1986). bible and theology in african christianity. oxford university press. mburu, e. (2019). african hermeneutics. hippo books. mbuvi, a. m. (2023). african biblical studies: unmasking embedded racism and colonialism in biblical studies. t&t clark. mojola, a. o. (2022). african biblical hermeneutics in a state of flux: towards refocusing its trajectory. verbum et ecclesia, 43(1), a2507. https://doi.org/10.4102/ve.v43i1.2507 mugambi, j. n. k. (1964). african heritage and christian witness. acton publishers. nyamiti, c. (1991). african tradition and the christian god. acton publishers. oduyoye, m. a. (1995). hearing and knowing: theological reflections on christianity in africa. orbis books. ogunbiwaje, j. s. (2015). the impact of christianity on traditional marriage in yagbaland with special reference to sudan interior mission/evangelical church winning all (sim/ecwa), 1985–2010 [master’s thesis, kogi state university]. osadolor, i. (1983). guidelines for christian theology in africa. africa christian press. pobee, j. s. (1992a). exploring afro-christianity: a theological essay. peter lang publishing. pobee, j. s. (1992b). christ the ancestor. in f. chimhanda (ed.), skenosis: christian faith in an african context (pp. 34–44). mambo press. resane, k. t. (2018). biblical exegesis and hermeneutics of biblical texts: african approaches. pharos journal of theology schüssler fiorenza, e. (1988). the ethics of biblical interpretation: de-centring biblical scholarship. crossroad publishing. udo, e. j. (2017). the abuse of biblical interpretation in nigerian churches. journal of biblical studies, 10(2), 123–135. ukpong, j. s. (2000). development in biblical interpretation in africa: historical and hermeneutical directions. in g. west & d. musa (eds.), the bible in africa: transactions, trajectories and trends (pp. 11–28). brill. 152 good leadership as catalytic agent to sustainable development in nigeria evaristus ifeanacho, phd department of religion and human relations, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka eo.ifeanacho@unizik.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.33952.39688 abstract leadership greatly determines to which side a nation tilts. a nation is progressive if the leaders are foresighted and translates the policies into concretely positive action. in the same way, a nation is considered to be retrogressive if the leaders are bereft of ideas that could move the nation in the right direction or lack the capacity of translating good ideas into reality. growth of nation is not measured merely by its procreative ability that is manifested in population boom; but by the economic growth founded on adequate employment of knowledge economy. such growth is reflected in the production and export capacity of such a nation. it is such consistent advancement in production and not consumption that leads to development. however, sustainable development is seen as a pointer to how far all-round transformation is essential ingredient in the overall leadership of a nation. the african cultural heritage is rich with imitable leadership values that ought to be revived. such values surely aid sustainable development. it goes to say that leadership bereft of sustainable development leaves nothing to be desired. in that vein, the researcher aims at unravelling the crucial role of leadership values in the development of any african nations particularly nigeria. keywords: leadership, sustainability, sustainable development, environment introduction in chemistry, catalyst refers to a substance that has the capacity of initiating a chemical reaction more quickly but at the same time remains unchanged. it has to be noted immediately that catalyst varies according to the work that is to be accomplished. therefore, there are various forms of catalyst and each performs a specific reaction. one that functions in a particular situation may not be used to execute an action in another; otherwise, it may not effect any reaction. the variation in form notwithstanding, they perform the same function but each in its suitable context. a catalytic agent is that which is able to accomplish such action. in the chemistry of socio-political engagement, a person or something that causes such speedy change ipso facto plays that role. every nation desirous of progress hungers and actually needs sustainable development in order to engender continual growth of such a nation. however, sustainable development is not a given that comes from the blues rather it is nurtured through visionary leadership. foresightedness and reliability remain the badge of any leadership that is worthy of the name. there are necessary ingredients that promote sustainable development. among them and crucial though is good leadership that is founded on the primacy of the culture of learning and critical thinking. when the splendour of knowledge is prioritized and translated into concrete life of the nation, surely all-improvement becomes assured. africa in general and nigeria has a rich cultural heritage with regard to leadership. leaders are chosen based on the record of good character and personal integrity evidenced in truthfulness, readiness to serve, honesty, disposition to give pride of place to welfare of the community to mention but a few. these values are the centrifugal force of any sustainable development in any igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 153 african society. unfortunately, these cultural values are speedily being eroded. consequently, leadership in africa is now in a comatose state. nigeria for instance is currently experiencing a constant downturn in sustainable development. the reason is obvious; all the african cultural values that could have nourished such development are being constantly sacrificed at the altar of endemic corruption. leadership is at its best an epitome of government by the worst (kakistocracy). the leaders represent the proverbial nero that was playing fiddle while rome was burning. the researcher aims at investigating on how good leadership found on durable african cultural values could be a panacea to the current state of affairs with regard to sustainable development in nigeria in particular and africa in general. understanding the concept of leadership leadership is very crucial in government because it goes to give direction to the ship of the nation. without a focused, visionary leader, a nation wanders like a rudderless ship. however, dreams must be translated into reality. davis (1967:96-97) considers leadership as “the ability to persuade others to seek defined objectives enthusiastically. it is the human factor which binds a group together and motivates it towards goals”. in another context, leadership is viewed by middlemist and hitt (1981:384) as the “process of providing direction and influencing individuals or groups to achieve goals”. to a great extent, therefore, fullan (2007:9) opines that leadership has a lot to do with leaders influencing their followers to act for certain goals that represent motivation, aspirations and expectations of both the leaders and followers. it is important to note that leadership is not only about influencing others but it has also to do with coordination and giving a sense of direction in an organization. obviously, when a nation, an organization, an institution is guided in the right direction, leadership creates a vision for the future. masango (2003) opines that “africa has a rich heritage of leadership, but it is not uniform. among african cultures, there are some similarities, but there are also differences from time to time, from place to place, from people to people. these differences in leadership were affected by the christian and muslim faiths as they were introduced into africa.” we must not however forget the fact that in the rich african cultural heritage bears witness to the fact that “leadership skills can be taught but leadership is earned; it is earned by consistently demonstrating competency, compassion, a sense of justice and unity. the values that a leader carries with him/her demonstrate a legitimate sense of care for people coupled with accountability.” however, let us examine some styles of leadership. leadership styles: african dimension ordinarily, style refers to the way in which something is said or done. according to johnson (2000:192) the style with which an action is taken carries messages as well as the substance of the action. on that note, style affects the legitimacy, credibility and believability of an action. in the context of leadership, olagboye (2004:41) maintains that styles refer to the “various patterns of behaviour which leaders adopt in the process of guiding the efforts of their subordinates toward the attainment of organizational goals.” therefore, each leadership style is associated with a particular type of behaviour. in fact, one is considered to be an effective leader if he/she is able to identify the demands of the situation and the level of readiness of his/her followers. consequently, the appropriate leadership style applied by a leader should vary according to the readiness level of the followers. marzano (2005:18) in this regard opines that, “the effective leader realizes that no leadership style is appropriate for all followers and all situations and accurately discerns which styles are igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 154 appropriate for which follower in which situations.” olagboye (2004:49-50) thus affirms that a leadership style has to be dynamic and flexible, rather than rigid and static. to that effect, leadership depends very much on the style that is applied. if a proper style of leadership is employed definitely it will yield positive result, otherwise the result will be negative. the main leadership styles to be examined include: democratic, autocratic and laissez-faire. that will lead us to the consideration of some african leadership styles. democratic style leaders who apply this style set policies through group discussion and decision, encouraging and helping group members to interact, requesting the cooperation of others, being considerate of the members' feeling and needs. in this leadership style, every member of the group is accorded due respect, welfare of the group members is given adequate attention, group members are frequently involved in decision making, individual and group initiatives are encouraged. this is the style that is applicable in the collegial model of leadership in which there is involvement and participation of all the members. in this democratic style, the leader is not seen as the boss but primus inter pares (first among equals). he coordinates and directs affairs in order to yield positive result. for the leader to arrive at such positive result, he still has to be more broad-minded in his administration bearing in mind that proper leadership is not a one-man affair. inasmuch as this style has many positive elements, it must not be forgotten that it could be corroded by unhealthy politicking among members with the aim of having their ideas dominate in the overall running of the school. decisions could also be delayed especially in cases that need urgent attention. such attitude does untold harm to the progress of this style of leadership. consequent upon these negative factors, it becomes obvious that no single leadership style has all the ingredients necessary for the smooth-running of a nation. autocratic or authoritarian style in this style, leaders dish out orders and determine all policy without involving group members in decision-making, and expect unquestionable obedience. here according to olagboye (2004:43) group members are denied due respect; their welfare is neglected and decisions are imposed on them, group and individual initiative and creativity are discouraged. there is really little or no allowance for cooperation or collaboration. the end result is that such leadership style directly or indirectly reduces job satisfaction and productivity. therefore, an authoritarian leader tends to give greater prominence to the demands of his office, realization of task with little or no attention to the promotion and respect of the dignity of the citizenry. laissez-faire style according to bass (2006:193), “laissez-faire leadership means that the autonomy of one's followers is obtained by default. the leader avoids providing duration and support, shows lack of caring for what the followers do, abdicates responsibilities by burying himself or herself in busy work, deflecting request for help, abdicating any responsibility for follower performance, absenting himself or herself from the scene physically or mentally.” in this style of leadership, the leader does not participate in the group's decision-making at all. he has neither a clear vision of the goals of his group or organization nor does he develop policies for it. the members of the group have the freedom to do as they wish and take their own decisions. in fact, in this style of leadership avolio (1991:193) observes that leaders delay and appear indifferent to what is happening. they avoid taking stands on issues, don't emphasize results, refrain from intervening and fail to follow-up. such leadership style will surely affect productivity and encourage nonigwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 155 committal attitude. however, one cannot say with every certainty that one style is entirely productive in every situation. under an autocratic leader, the followers will be more dependent on the leader because all power is centred on him and he does not encourage participative involvement. on account of an evident lack of freedom and dialogue, hostility is bound to increase. in his absence, every work grinds to a halt. whereas when placed under a leader that uses democratic style of leadership, the same followers will definitely breathe a new administrative air, which will promote initiative, friendliness and responsibility. so, even in the absence of the leader, work goes on. under a laissez-faire leader, the tendency is that of entire laxity, lack of control and commotion. generally, the most effective leadership may be those who demonstrate concern for the well-being and contributions of group members and at the same time structure members' responsibilities. the inability to adopt a leadership style that will engender positive progress and achieve excellent performance will be considered as poor leadership. at this juncture, it is important to note that some african leadership styles include community-oriented leadership, participative leadership and servant-leadership. community-oriented leadership in the kind of leadership witnessed in africa, primacy is given to development of the community. the role of a leader is to serve the community and work for the common good. leaders are expected to be selfless, honest and humble. they must also be able to build consensus and unite people towards a common goal.” (h�ps://hidayatrizvi.com/african-leadership-vs-westernleadership/) in this way, a strong team spirit is created and based on that a durable sense of unity is engendered. it stresses on the value of interdependence as presented by tutu (1989:71) thus, “in our african language we say, “a person is a person through other persons.” i would not know how to be a human being at all except (that) i learned this from other human beings. we are made for a delicate network of relationships, of interdependence. we are meant to complement each other. all kinds of things go horribly wrong when we break that fundamental law of our being. not even the most powerful nation can be completely self-sufficient.” this is central message of ubuntu philosophy (umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu – a person is a person because of or through others). to that effect, it is difficult for the leader to think only of himself because he is consciously or unconsciously guided by the fact of “i am because we are,” or “i am related, therefore, i am” (gathogo, 2001:21). and the igbos have the philosophy of anyị bụ ofu (we are one), reflecting the spirit of unity. since we are one nobody should think evil of the other; and to harm the other is to harm myself because the other is part of me and i am part of the other. as a corollary mbiti (1969:102) adds: “i am, because we are; and since we are, therefore i am.” it is a communitarian style of leadership promotes participation. no one is left out. participative leadership participative leadership has much to do with the degree of participation of subordinates in the process of decision-making. hence, williams affirms that 'leaders usually consult with subordinates and integrate their suggestions into decisions, accommodating multidimensional communication with subordinates”. in this vein, the leader does not take unilateral decisions; on the contrary, he is open and willing to carry others along. it is not a passive participation but one that is requires total commitment and shared responsibility for the realization of necessary goals. therefore, participative leadership is a collaborative effort to achieve shared goals. participative leaders understand better the necessity of involving those affected by the decisions. participative leadership lays emphasis on the power the group has in the decision-making process. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 156 consequently, unilateral decision is highly downplayed. since it is a shared leadership, individual rights are respected and democratic principles are applied in the administrative process. no one is marginalized because each member has a legitimate force in the system. servant leadership the concept of servant-leadership coined by robert greenleaf (2002) later became widespread. it “emphasizes increased service to others, a holistic approach to work, promoting sense of community, and the sharing of power in decision making”. in fact, the servant-leadership spears (2003:16) affirms, manifests its outstanding difference in “the care taken by the servant – first to make sure that other people's highest priority needs are being served. the best test is: do those served grow as persons; do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely to become servants?” in fact, this servant-leadership concept reflects the african leadership style and as such stands as the turning point of every durable model of leadership. in africa, a leader is seen as a servant of their tribe or community, so africans treat a leader as an appointee to serve the people. julius nyerere of tanzania stands tall as a good example of servant leadership. with his philosophy of ujamaa he aimed at self-reliance in order to break away from the colonial dependence. understanding sustainable development according to cassell's (1968) latin dictionary the verb sustain derives from the verb sustinere meaning to hold up, sustain, support, among others. the noun form sustainable came to be included in the english dictionary in 1987 (newton and freyfogle, 2005). further still, carlowitz in his sylvicultura oeconomica oder anweisung zur wilden baumzucht (chart 1), published in 1713 presented the novel idea of nachhaltend or nachhaltig (sustainable), pointing to the pillars of ecology-nature, of economic and of social ethics (pisani, 2006). as such, the term sustainable can be conceptualized as a basis, as an umbrella term, that supports and includes the idea of sustainability and sustainable development, having the worry about future existence of natural resources to support the continuation of human life as its foundation (feil and schreiber 2017). on the other hand, sustainability has different meaning in diverse areas of its application. for cavalcanti (2003) sustainability “means the possibility of obtaining continuously conditions equal to or greater life for a group of people and their successors in given ecosystem.” sachs (1997) understands “sustainability as a dynamic concept that encompasses a process of change and the concept is subdivided into five dimensions: social, economic, ecological, geographical and cultural.” lester wrote that “a sustainable society is one that can meet their needs without compromising the chances of survival of future generations” (brown, 1980; andrade, 2004). from the foregoing, “a sustainable society is one that can meet their needs without compromising the chances of survival of future generations” (brown, 1980). 'development' is a concept which is contested both theoretically and politically, and is inherently both complex and ambiguous … recently [it] has taken on the limited meaning of the practice of development agencies, especially in aiming at reducing poverty and the millennium development goals (thomas, 2004: 1, 2). the term “development” has various meaning to different people and can be explained in different contexts. “development should be seen as a progress towards complex goals such as the elimination of poverty, the provision of employment, the reduction of inequality and the guarantee of human rights.” (abuiyada 2018:115) in fact, development has diverse meanings and most often it is understood in terms of economic growth. consequently, it is measured only in terms of annual increase in per-capita income or gross national product without paying attention to how it is distributed and the level people's participation in in effective growth (mahmoud, 1991). according to seers (1972) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 157 “development means the conditions for realization of the human personality. its evaluation must therefore take into account three linked criteria: where there has been a reduction in (1) poverty, (2) unemployment, (3) inequality”. further still, development is also understood in the words of pearson (1992) as “an improvement qualitative, quantitative or both in the use of available resources”. it is most often viewed through the prism of economic, social and political improvement in the life of a nation made manifest in environmental and socio-political transformation. the indices of such transformation are evident in better health care, alleviation of poverty, food security, housing, education and eradication of gender inequality. pearson also asserts that development does not refer to one particular perspective on social, political and economic betterment. instead, it is a hybrid term for a myriad of strategies adopted for socio-economic and environment transformation from current states to desired ones. sustainable development should 'meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs'. this involves integrating three 'pillars' of sustainability: environmental, economic and social. sustaining sustainable development there are severally factors that aid sustainable development. but it is obvious that none these factors will yield much fruit if good leadership is lacking. i. promotion of learning for any nation to boast of sustainable development, education must be given a primary position. it is obvious as confirmed by abera (2023:69) that “the education of today is crucial to enhancing the ability of the leaders and citizens of tomorrow to create solutions and find new paths to a better, more sustainable future.” the training of the mind helps man to subdue the earth and make positive use of it. so the dividend of education is not usually immediate but all the same education is recognised as having one of the highest long-term returns on investment of all development goals. education serves as an important means of implementation for sustainable human development due to the number of positive benefits it brings across the development goals. undoubtedly, quality improvement in education will touch every facet of development, namely, economy, health care, eradication of poverty, employment, promotion of self-reliance to mention but a few. summarily, quality education “is about what and how people learn, its relevance to today's world and global challenges, and its influence on people's choices. many now agree, quality education for sustainable development reinforces people's sense of responsibility as global citizens and better prepares them for the world they will inherit” (buckler and creech 2014: 28) “education is key to the global integrated framework of sustainable development goals. education is at the heart of our efforts both to adapt to change and to transform the world within which we live. a quality basic education is the necessary foundation for learning throughout life in a complex and rapidly changing world” (irina bokova, director general of the united nations educational, scientific and cultural organization (unesco), in unesco 2015: 3). “education is also an important means of implementation for sustainable development, and it provides an important construct where the perceived tensions between economic, social and environmental development can be harmonised and integrated into a single concept and pursuit of sustainable well-being for all.” (didham r.j. – ofei-manu p., 2012:97) sustainable development has education as its major driving force. it refers to “education practices that encourage changes in knowledge, skills, values and attitudes to enable a more sustainable and just society for humanity. it aims at empowering and equipping current and future generations to meet their needs using a balanced and integrated approach to the economic, s o c i a l a n d e n v i r o n m e n t a l d i m e n s i o n s o f s u s t a i n a b l e d e v e l o p m e n t . igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 158 ( ). h�ps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sustainable_development all in all, following the un resolution it becomes necessary to “further reaffirm that full access to quality education at all levels is an essential condition for achieving sustainable development, poverty eradication, gender equality and women's empowerment, as well as human development, for the attainment of the internationally agreed development goals.”(un general assembly, resolution 66/288: the future we want (27 july 2012: para. 229). further still, education systems are not only fundamental in development but carneiro (1996) maintains that they remain “a source of human capital (becker), cultural capital (bourdieu), and social capital (putnam). instead of being 'a wolf to his fellowman' (homo homini lupus), man may thus become 'a friend to man' (homo homini amicus) through an education that has remained faithful to its community goals.” ii. gender equality the equality of person regardless of the gender has to be given a primacy of place. women and men, girls and boys should be given equal conditions, treatment and opportunities for realizing their full potential, human rights and dignity, and for contributing to (and benefitting from) economic, social, cultural and political development. gender equality is, therefore, the equal valuing by society of the similarities and the differences of men and women, and the roles they play. it is based on women and men being full partners in the home, community and society. equality does not mean that women and men will become the same but that women's and men's rights, responsibilities and opportunities will not depend on whether they are born male or female. gender equality implies that the interests, needs and priorities of both women and men and girls and boys are taken into consideration, recognizing the diversity of different groups and that all human beings are free to develop their personal abilities and make choices without the limitations set by stereotypes and prejudices about gender roles. gender equality is a matter of human rights and is considered a precondition for, and indicator of, sustainable people-centred development. (h�ps://www.unicef.org/rosa/media/1761/file/genderglossarytermsandconcepts.pdf accessed 21/4/2024) iv. creation of human rights awareness “knowledge is power” says francis bacon. it is knowledge that makes one know his right. if one does not know his/her rights, he/she will continuously wallow in the dark as far as those rights are concerned. human rights awareness campaigns, in the words of munir (2024) therefore “serve as catalysts for positive change, especially for vulnerable groups in our population. by educating, advocating, and promoting inclusivity, these campaigns contribute to the building of a society where everyone can enjoy the fundamental rights and freedoms they deserve. as we work towards a more just and equitable world, let us recognize the transformative power of human rights awareness in empowering the vulnerable and creating lasting societal change.” it is when these rights are guaranteed and respected that development will be sustained; because each individual will aim at doing what is right for the good of the other and the entire nation. iv. food security it is when the basic needs, food, shelter etc are taken care of that their potentials can be profitable harnessed. food security, as defined by the world food summit in 1996, is “when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life”. (food and agriculture organization (2001). food insecurity, on the other hand, as defined by the united states department of agriculture (usda), is a situation of “limited or uncertain availability of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 159 nutritionally adequate and safe foods or limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways.” food security is the state of having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. the availability of food for people of any class, gender or religion is another element of food security. similarly, household food security is considered to exist when all the members of a family, at all t i m e s , h a v e a c c e s s t o e n o u g h f o o d f o r a n a c t i v e , h e a l t h y l i f e . ( ) h�ps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/food_security accessed 2/6/2024 food security is sustained when there is reasonable constancy regarding availability, access, utilization, and stability. (food and agriculture organization 2009) these four pillars could be fundamentally realized through giving primacy to agriculture, respecting ecology, avoiding environmental degradation that could lead to severe climate change. otherwise there could be a relapse into food insecurity and famine will become the order of the day. factors that hinder sustainable development there are several factors that hinder sustainable development but we concentrate on the major ones i. poor leadership it is pertinent to commence our examination of poor leadership through the interrogative stance of kellerman (2004:xv-xvi). “what does poor leadership mean? is it synonymous with bad leadership? does it mean leadership that is immoral, unethical? or does it mean leadership that is corrupt, incompetent, grossly entangled in mismanagement and squandermania, visionless, lost in wonder of the enormity of his authority, uncertain of aims and objective of leadership, ignorant of the inner and outer logic of governance, ineffective? ... what is to be done to maximize good leadership and minimize bad leadership.” poor leadership used synonymously with ineffective leadership, is in the words of helms (2012:5) is “leadership that fails to achieve its self-set goals chiefly because of the incompetence, the ignorance, the rigidity or intemperateness of the leader...” other similar forms of poor leadership are inefficient leadership that invests too many resources – human and material – and incurs unreasonably high costs in the process of achieving its goals. another branch of poor leadership is that which is characteristically devoid of concrete agenda and lacks substantive and clearly defined goals. there is also another form of poor leadership which has to do with leadership characterized by leaders that have minimal idea of what to do with their power. ii. lack of attention to education education rules the world. education propels any sustainable development programme. it is used to safeguard health, environment, and general well-being of the society. so the lack of it does untold harm to sustainable development. it is therefore the primary duty of any good leadership to prioritize education. in fact, nevin (2008:49) maintains that “education for sustainable development (esd) promotes the development of the knowledge, skills, understanding, values and actions required to create a sustainable world, which ensures environmental protection and conservation, promotes social equity and encourages economic sustainability.” in the words of socrates “there is only one good, knowledge, and only one evil, ignorance.” when proper attention is not given to education its resultant negative effects are not igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 160 only colossal but spiral in nature because it touches every aspect of life. by so doing, sustainable development is hampered. iii. environmental degradation undoubtedly environmental degradation is deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources which includes all the biotic and abiotic element that form our surrounding that is air, water, soil, plant, animals, and all other living and non-living element of the planet of earth. (bourque et al. 2005). this environmental degradation has both human and natural causes. the human causes are mainly from urbanization, deforestation, overpopulation, industrialization. all these elements in the long run generate a loss of biodiversity. the natural causes like drought, hurricane, earthquake, typhoon etc do untold harm to the environment. to that effect, diop (2015) affirms that “environment degradation exacerbates poverty particularly in the rural areas as the poor rely on the ecological system for their livelihoods (food, energy and medicine). because women and girls bear the brunt of food, water and energy provision to their families, water shortages and deforestation mean that women and girls have to walk longer distances to fetch water and collect firewood.” when the environment becomes so vulnerable, investing in agriculture becomes difficult and by extension hunger assumes the centre stage. the ripples of its negative effects are reflected in the harm they do to sustainable development. conclusion there is no gainsaying the fact that good leadership is the fulcrum of any sustainable development. such leadership is founded on the use of critical reasoning process. it demands an evaluative process which the leader employs in decision making. good leadership no doubt is always visionary in attitude and painstaking in churning out and execution of developmental principles and broadminded in the translation of ideas into concrete reality evidenced in the spreading of sustainable projects anchored on production. in fact, no sustainable development principles will see the light of the day when kakistocratic government (government by the worst) is in place. in the same vein, bad leadership which most of the african countries are experiencing has become the undoing of the continent. consequently, development has remained at its lowest ebb, looting is done with reckless abandon and proliferation of injustice is wantonly celebrated. in order to be liberated from the quagmire of bad leadership, the rich african cultural heritage of leadership values founded on integrity, truthfulness, respect for the other, promotion of communal life have to be revived in order to promote a viable development in africa. references abera h.g. (2023).the role of education in achieving the sustainable development goals (sdgs): a global evidence based research article. international journal of social science and education research studies. volume 03 issue 01. abuiyada, r. (2018). traditional development theories have failed to address the needs of the majority of people at grassroots levels with reference to gad. international journal of business and social science. vol. 9, no. 9. 115-119. avolio, b.j. and b.m. bass (1991). the full range of leadership development: basic and advanced manuals, binghamton, ny: bass, avolio, & associates. bass, b. (1981). stogdill's handbook on leadership: a survey of theory and research, new york: free press. bass, b.m. and r. e. riggio (2006). transformational leadership, new jersey: lawrence erlbaum associates publishers. bourque, c.p.a. et al. (2005). spatial extent of winter thaw events in eastern north america: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 161 historical weather records in relation to yellow birch decline. global change biology, 11(9): 1477-1492. burns, j.m. (1978). leadership, new york: harper & row. carneiro, r. (1996). revitalizing the community spirit: a glimpse of the socializing role of the school in the next century. in learning: the treasure within (pp. 201–204). paris: unesco. cavalcanti, c. (org.). (2003) desenvolvimento e natureza: estudos para uma sociedade sustentável. são paulo: cortez. didham r.j. and ofei-manu p. the role of education in the sustainable development agenda: empowering a learning society for sustainability through quality education. diop, n. (2015). gender equality and sustainable development: achieving the twin development goals in africa. global sustainable development report. p.3. feil, a. and schreiber, (2017). sustainability and sustainable development: unraveling overlays and scope of their meanings. v. 14, n. 3, article 7, rio de janeiro, jul./sept. 2017. food and agriculture organization (2001). the state of food insecurity in the world 2001. rome. food and agriculture organization declaration of the world food summit on food (2009). security. fullan, m. (2007). leading in a culture of change, san francisco: jossey-bass inc., publishers. gathogo, j. (2001). the truth about african hospitality: is there hope for africa? mombasa: the salt. greenleaf, r.k. (2002). servant leadership, a journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness, new york: paulist press. helms l., (ed.) (2012). poor leadership and bad governance: conceptual perspectives and questions for comparative inquiry. in helms l., (ed.), poor leadership and bad governance, massachusetts: edward elgar publishing limited. humes, w. (2004). the discourses of educational management. in tomlinson, h. (ed.), educational management, vol.2, new york: routledgefalmer. th johnson d.w and f. p. johnson (2000)., joining together, group theory and group skill, 7 edition, london: allyn and bacon. kellerman b. (2004). bad leadership, boston, harvard business school publishing. mahmoud, f. (1991). “african women and feminists schools of thought”. in suliman, m. (ed.) and moser, c. (1993). gender planning and development: theory, practice and training. london: routledge. marzano, r.j. et al. (2005). school leadership that works, virginia: association for supervision and curriculum development. masango, m. (2003). leadership in the african context. the ecumenical review, vol. 55, n. 4. mbiti, j. (1969). african religions and philosophy. nairobi: eaep. middlemist, d.r. & hitt, m.a. (1981) organizational behaviour: applied concepts, science research associates, chicago. munir, z., empowering the vulnerable: the significance of human rights awareness campaigns, h�ps://www.linkedin.com/pulse/empowering-vulnerable-significance-human-rightsawareness-munir-jziof accessed 19/5/2024. nevin, e. (2008). education and sustainable development. corriddi j. (ed.) policy & practice: education for sustainable development. lisburn: impression print and design ni ltd. newton, j. l. and e.t. freyfogle, (2005). sustainability: a dissent. conservation biology, v. 19, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 162 n. 1. 23-32. olagboye, a.a. (2004). introduction to educational management in nigeria, ibadan: daily graphics nigeria limited. pisani, j. a. (2006). sustainable development – historical roots of the concept. environmental sciences, v. 3, n. 2, 83-96. seers, d. (1972). 'what are we trying to measure?' journal of development studies, 8 (3): 21–36. spears, l.c. (2003). understanding the growing impact of servant-leadership. in beazley, h. et al., (eds.), the servant-leader within a transformative path, new york: paulist press. thomas, a. (2004). the study of development. paper prepared for dsa annual conference, 6 november, church house, london. tutu, n. (1989).the words of desmond tutu. london: hodder and stoughton. united states department of agriculture food and nutrition service. accessed 24/5/2024.. williams, f.k. et al., leadership, theories of, in f.w. english, (ed.), encyclopedia of educational leadership and administration.590. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 2 artificial intelligence and digital colonialism in africa ikechukwu anthony kanu, phd department of philosophy, veritas university abuja abuja ikee_mario@yahoo.com https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1977-202x1 & ogochukwu agatha okpokwasili, phd department of philosophy, nnamdi azikiwe university awka ao.okpokwasili@unizik.edu.ng abstract a cursory glance at the historical development of the relations of africa with the west, reveals that colonialism did not end but only evolved into a neocolonialism. while the former framework focused on acquisition of land asset (land grab), the present colonialism focuses on the exploitation of data asset (data grab), threatening new dimensions of our lives and future, still with the tact of a civilization mission. through data colonialism effected with ai a social order is created that extracts data from persons generating massive wealth for few on a global scale. with three in eight people using facebook, one in eight people using tiktok, etc., africa again faces new threats of political domination and stagnation as digital technologies echoes the colonial era's power dynamic where technical advancements widened the gap between africa and the rest of the world. the relevant questions in this work include: who data is extracted from, for what, and on what terms? this paper argues that al as the product of western technologies continuous, without violence, comes with the same colonial goals of explore (in this case, data territoriesgoogle, amazon, facebook, etc), expand (expanding platforms and connections between platforms), exploit (exploiting new ways to sell apps and targeted advertising) and exterminate (eradicating alternative ways of thinking, and shaping thinking on racism and genocide). the paper using the critical and analytical methods, will examine the various ways ai continues to perpetuate colonial domination. this paper argues that ai has increased africa’s dependence on the west, and challenges the colonial power structure. the paper proposes a change in the way ai is developed and used and encourages programs that will thrive on a balance of relations between africa and the west. keywords: artificial intelligence, colonialism, neo-colonialism, technology, africa introduction artificial intelligence just like every academic inquiry started with wonder filled with fantasies, dreams, possibilities and imagination. sharma et al said that “the origins of artificial intelligence can be traced back to early philosophical discussions that pondered the possibility of creating machines with human-like intelligence”1. they further argued that, “the hunt to duplicate human 1 twinkle sharma, poonam, renuka arora. 2024. “the evolution of artificial intelligence a comprehensive review”. international journal of science, engineering and technology. 12:3. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 3 thought processes and problem-fixing skills have been a recurring topic in various intellectual traditions at some point of history”.2 alan turing in his test, which later became known as the “turing test” spoke of the capacity of computers for the capability of human intelligence3..john mccarthy described the term artificial intelligence (ai) as the science and engineering of making intelligent machines4. intelligent machines or ai has become part of man’s existence even before it started gaining momentum in recent times, and has literally taken over the way we live, think and work. it is all over the place including in our homes where we command alexa to perform simple human tasks like putting on the lights and opening and closing of doors, in our transport system where we have electronically driven cars, in our health sectors, where we can diagnose ailments through the aid of machine. as the world is moving on a fast lane, ai seems to be the answer it needs and questions. however, the growth and advancement of ai poses a number of concern and threats especially for africans. kumar; ikash; mohith; ajayaganesh were of the opinion that as ai advances, it is important to consider the ethical implications and ensure that it is developed and deployed in a responsible manner.5 there are concerns about the potential for ai to exacerbate biases and discrimination, as machines may learn from data that reflects existing societal biases6. this can result in unfair and discriminatory decision-making, such as in hiring or lending decisions7 . beneath the surface of ai’s potential benefits in all of today world economy, lies a complex web of power dynamics that can perpetuate colonialism, exploitation of data and political domination. this is particularly felt in the global south, like africa, where ai has become an integral tool in the colonial matrix of power. this paper will, therefore, study the potential of artificial intelligence for data exploitation in africa. this notwithstanding, what is artificial intelligence? understanding artificial intelligence ghosh and thirugnanam hold that artificial intelligence (ai) is the branch of computer science, which makes the computers to mimic the human behavior and to assist humans for better performance in the field of science and technology8. they went further to state that replicating human intelligence, solving knowledge-intensive tasks, building machines, which can perform tasks, that require human intelligence, creating some system which can learn by itself are the few specific goals of ai9. 2 ibid 3 turing, a. m. 1950. “computing machinery and intelligence”. mind. 59(236), 433–460. 4 ibid 5 s. k. dhaswin kumar1, r. vikash, s. m. mohith, v. ajayaganesh. 2023. “evolution of artificial intelligence (ai)”. international journal of research publication and reviews. 4(5): 678-686 6 ibid 7 ibid 8 ghosh, m., thirugnanam, a. (2021). introduction to artificial intelligence. in: srinivasa, k.g., g. m., s., sekhar, s.r.m. (eds) artificial intelligence for information management: a healthcare perspective. studies in big data, vol 88. springer, singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-0415-7_2 9 ibid igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 4 andreas kaplan and michael haenlein, avers that artificial intelligence is a system's ability to correctly interpret external data, to learn from such data, and to use those learnings to achieve specific goals and tasks through flexible adaptation10. this simply means ai’s ability to solve problems through data interpretation. explaining this further, they said that, ai has elements of cognitive and emotional intelligence, i.e., understanding human emotions, and the use of these in its decision making 11 . at the humanized level, ai exhibits characteristics of all types of competencies (i.e., cognitive, emotional, and social intelligence), and is able to be self-aware in its interactions just the same way humans do.12 colonialism, neo-colonialism and the african continent according to ocheni and nwankwo, colonialism is the direct and overall domination of one country by another on the basis of state power being in the hands of a foreign power (for example, the direct and overall domination of nigeria by britain between 1900-1960). the first objective of colonialism is political domination. the second objective is to make possible the exploitation of the colonized country.13 africa was conquered by the europeans in the late 18th and 19th centuries. european colonialist’s main objective was political domination followed by exploitation.14 ocheni and nwankwo link colonialism to the quest for raw materials by the european world: the industrial revolution was a revolutionary trend in the history of mankind. the problem of how to lubricate machineries came up with the emergence of the industrial revolution. the slave trade and slavery have by this fulfilled their basic function of providing the primitive capital. the quest for the investment of the accumulated capital and the need for raw materials led to the colonization of africa15. chinweizu adds that: when europe pioneered industrial capitalism, her demands upon the resources of the world increased tremendously. in addition to obtaining spices for her tables and manpower for her mines and plantations in the americas, europe set out to seize for her factories the mineral and agricultural resources of all the world. her need to take african manpower to the americas declined. she needed instead to put african labour to work in africa, digging up for her the riches of african mines; the trading companies that had for centuries bought and sold on africa’s coast were found16. 10 kaplan, a. m., & haenlein, m. 2009. “the fairyland of second life: about virtual social worlds and how to use them”. business horizons. 52(6), 5. 11 ibid 12 janah, l. 2018. how east africa trains ai. retrieved from linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-eastafrica-trains-ai-leila-janah 13 stephen ocheni, basil c. nwankwo. 2012. “analysis of colonialism and its impact in africa”. cross-cultural communication. 8 (3), 46-54. 14 ibid 15 ibid 16 chinweizu, c. a. 1978. the eest and the rest of us. lagos: nok publishers (nigeria) ltd, pp. 5-55 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 5 europe, therefore, sought to control mineral and agricultural resources worldwide to supply the machinery and mass production at the heart of industrial capitalism. in africa, this shift meant a reduced focus on exporting enslaved african labor to the americas. instead, europe needed african labor to remain in africa and extract valuable resources like gold, diamonds, and other minerals directly from african lands. european powers and trading companies, which had previously engaged primarily in coastal trade, expanded their reach inland to seize control of these resources. this resulted in the establishment of colonial administrations and economies that were structured to extract wealth from africa for european gain, ultimately intensifying european imperialism across the continent. in order to gain full control. according to chinweizu: the european powers began systematically to interfere with the sovereignty of african states and to intrude upon their internal affairs. the europeans began to help one faction to depose a ruler and install another, and to bestow honours, titles and recognition upon those whose rule they found it in their interest to support. the officially trumpeted goals of such interference were to suppress the slave trade and to promote “legitimate” trade.17 modern day colonialism has shifted ground. it no longer relies heavily on land and slave trades. it has metamorphosed into artificial intelligence. africa’s data, resources and manpower are being syphoned on a daily basis. it undermines local innovations while suppressing african cultures and perspectives, thus threatening the continents digital sovereignty. the imposition of western knowledge and value systems has discarded the indigenous knowledge of the african people, regarding them as primitive or superstitious. this has resulted in linguistic, cultural and heritage losses18. succeeding colonialism is neo-colonialism. it refers to the continuation of colonial practices, power and influences in the post-colonial era through economic, political and cultural means. kwame nkrumah described neo-colonialism as the last stage of imperialism: the neo-colonialism of today represents imperialism in its final and perhaps its most dangerous stage. in the past it was possible to convert a country upon which a neo-colonial regime had been imposed, egypt in the nineteenth century is an example, into a colonial territory. today this process is no longer feasible. old-fashioned colonialism is by no means entirely abolished. it still constitutes an african problem, but it is everywhere on the retreat. once a territory has become nominally independent it is no longer possible, as it was in the last century, to reverse the process. existing colonies may linger on, but no new colonies will be created. in place of colonialism as the main instrument of imperialism we have today neo-colonialism. the essence of neo-colonialism is that the state which is subject to it is, in 17 ibid 18 stephen ocheni, basil c. nwankwo. 2012. “analysis of colonialism and its impact in africa”. cross-cultural communication. 8 (3), 46-54. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 6 theory, independent and has all the outward trappings of international sovereignty. in reality its economic system and thus its political policy is directed from outside.19 kwame nkrumah argued further that: africa is a paradox which illustrates and highlights neo-colonialism. her earth is rich, yet the products that come from above and below her soil continue to enrich, not africans predominantly, but groups and individuals who operate to africa’s impoverishment. with a roughly estimated population of 280 million, about eight per cent of the world’s population, africa accounts for only two per cent of the world’s total production. yet even the present very inadequate surveys of africa’s natural resources show the continent to have immense, untapped wealth20. the colonizers are no longer looking for new territories to invade and conquer. african countries are still controlled by western powers through subtle21. neo colonialism exploits and controls world economies, world cultures, societies especially the african nations through economic exploitation, debt dependency, unequal trade agreements, erasure of indigenous cultures, social unrest, human right abuse, environmental degradation and health crisis. the dependency rate on western technologies is nothing but neo-colonization. africa is now facing new threats and challenges with the rise of artificial intelligence22. menon notes that: as digital technologies become the dominant driver of the global economy, africa finds itself once again faced with the prospect of developmental stagnation. in an increasingly technological age, parallels to the colonial era can be made, particularly in reference to the detrimental impact on the african economy and the continent’s developmental trajectory. ai, which drives these technologies, is informed by algorithms. the biases inherent in these algorithms lead to digital discrimination. this discrimination has resulted in a new form of colonialism, referred to as digital neocolonialism, which denotes the exclusionary barrier that has been created by algorithms23. this places africa as a continent that exist only to serve the interest of the west and nothing more. artificial intelligence and digital neo-colonialism in africa 19kwame nkrumah. 1966. neo-colonialism, the last stage of imperialism. usa: international publishers co. inc., p. 1 20 ibid, p. 14 21 ibid 22 ibid 23 sunita menon. 2023. “postcolonial differentials in algorithmic bias: challenging digital neo-colonialism in africa”. scripted. 20(2), p. 2 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 7 in africa, ai is in huge use: aurora health (kenya) is leveraging ai to develop tools for improving cardiovascular healthcare, providing innovative solutions in medical diagnostics; cropscan (kenya) combines solar-powered iot devices with ai to enhance precision farming, benefiting smallholder farmers; cure bionics (tunisia) uses ai to create smart, customizable 3d-printed prosthetic arms for individuals with limb differences; devisionx (egypt) offers low-code platforms for ai-based computer vision applications, simplifying the development process for various industries; kalio (cameroon) focuses on ai-powered iot solutions tailored for agriculture, aiming to increase productivity and reduce waste; kitovu (nigeria) uses ai to develop tools for optimizing agricultural warehouse management and supply chains; nextai studios (kenya) creates toys embedded with ai for emotion detection, designed to support children’s mental health; sparcx (south africa) applies ai in radar signal processing to improve system efficiency in aerospace and defense sec24. arakpogun et al, thinks that in order to avoid a repeat of the missed opportunities from the previous industrial revolutions that have left a negative legacy for african countries, governments must create an enabling environment for these ai startups to flourish and accelerate the socio-economic development of africa25. these ai start-ups have taken the first step to overcome the infrastructure and resource constraints prevalent across africa to engineer local solutions.26 thus, if africa cannot effectively integrate into this new digital economy, it risks economic marginalization. this would mean missed opportunities for growth, innovation, and job creation, which are essential for addressing poverty and improving standards of living. economically marginalized regions often face broader political and social impacts, making it harder for african nations to assert their interests and values on the global stage. thus, menon noted that: in an increasingly technological age, parallels to the colonial era can be made, particularly in reference to the detrimental impact on the african economy and the continent’s developmental trajectory. ai, which drives these technologies, is informed by algorithms. the biases inherent in these algorithms lead to digital discrimination. this discrimination has resulted in a new form of colonialism, referred to as digital neocolonialism, which denotes the exclusionary barrier that has been created by algorithm27. with three in eight persons in africa using facebook, one in eight people using tiktok, africa finds itself once again faced with the prospect of developmental stagnation. menon notes further that: in an increasingly technological age, parallels to the colonial era can be made, particularly in reference to the detrimental impact on the african economy and the continent’s 24 onyeagoro, j. 2024. ai startups in africa. https://techafricanews.com/2024/09/26/ai-startups-in-africa-shaping-thefuture-of-the-continents-digital-transformation 25 emmanuel ogiemwonyi arakpogun1, ziad elsahn1, femi olan1, farid elsahn. 2024. artificial intelligence in africa: challenges and opportunities newcastle business school. northumbria university, newcastle upon tyne. 26 ibid 27 sunita menon. op. cit. p.1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 8 developmental trajectory. the biases inherent in these algorithms lead to digital discrimination. this discrimination has resulted in a new form of colonialism, referred to as digital neocolonialism, which denotes the exclusionary barrier that has been created by algorithms28. this suggests that africa, as a continent, is at risk of being left behind or marginalized in the rapidly advancing global economy driven by digital technology. here’s a deeper look at what this means: around the world, digital technologies like artificial intelligence, data analytics, blockchain, and cloud computing are transforming industries, creating new business models, and driving economic growth. these technologies are central to modern innovation, efficiency, and competitiveness, especially in economies that are becoming more interconnected globally. artificial intelligence (ai) and the place of africa in the colonial matrix of power sits at the intersection of technology, history, power dynamics, and postcolonial theory. it touches on how ai, as a global technology, can reinforce or challenge existing power structures rooted in colonialism.29 the colonial period was defined by the process of imposing european constructs and standards on non-western nations, particularly in the 19th and 20th century. this was done through acquiring, dominating, and exploiting territory with the imposition of western, in particular european, ideals.30 the idea of a colonial matrix of power was a concept developed by anibal quino in his work titled of “coloniality of power”31. this is to the enduring systems of power that was established during the colonial era. the colonial matrix of power divides the world into core (developed, wealthy, often western) and periphery (developing, economically dependent) countries, reinforcing dependency and inequality. modern global capitalism, which emerged in this colonial context, perpetuates economic inequalities between these groups, maintaining economic control by wealthier nations over poorer ones. this structure influences who controls and profits from technology and its development, with ai largely developed by corporations and researchers in core nations. quijano highlights how colonialism established western knowledge as "universal," sidelining indigenous and non-western ways of knowing. in ai, this manifests in data collection, algorithm design, and problem-solving approaches that often exclude diverse cultural perspectives. for example, algorithms trained primarily on western data sets may fail to understand or represent experiences and realities outside of this context, leading to biases that favor certain groups over others. 28 ibid 29 isabella basaglia. 2012. ‘contribution of post-colonial theory to the construction of identity in international relations’. cross-sections 71. 30 ibid 31 quijano, a. 2000. coloniality of power, eurocentrism, and latin america. nepantla: views from south. 1(3), 533580 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 9 mbembe in his ‘necropolitics’ introducesd the concept of necropolitics, which can be extended to how ai technologies can perpetuate colonial forms of control and domination over african bodies and spaces. he argues that “technology (including ai) in the context of africa is a continuation of colonial power dynamics. mbembe discusses how the technologies of control that developed during colonialism are now embodied in modern technologies” 32 . according to mbembe, the digital realm, rather than offering liberation or decolonization, is often a new site of domination, where african nations and peoples are subject to the surveillance, economic extraction, and cultural marginalization enabled by ai technologies33. more than 90% of the average african person is hooked up either on facebook, twitter, instagram, tiktok, youtube or whatsapp. while registering in all these social media platforms, one has to provide basic information like names, emails, birthdays, location, workplace, etc. this makes it easier for a person to be tracked through ai technology. whereas colonisation was preoccupied with wealth and labour extraction, neocolonisation, while furthering such ambitions, is indelibly implicated with forms of data extraction through surveillance.34 conclusion the advent of artificial intelligence and its rapid adoption places africa within a complex web of global power dynamics, often referred to as the “digital colonial matrix of power.” while ai promises significant advancements in fields such as healthcare, agriculture, education, and finance, the reality is that much of this technology, and the data that fuels it, remains under the control of powerful foreign corporations and governments. these entities, based primarily in the global north, are able to harness vast amounts of data from african users and use it to refine ai models, influence local markets, and establish digital dependencies that echo the economic and political imbalances of past colonial relationships. the concept of a “digital colonial matrix” highlights how these imbalances manifest, often leading to the marginalization of african voices, cultures, and values in the development of ai systems. for instance, african data is frequently exported and analyzed without regard for local data sovereignty or ethical standards, creating systems that may not accurately represent or serve african societies. this unequal dynamic risks locking african nations into roles as mere data providers rather than active participants and innovators within the global ai economy. further, the algorithms and ai tools developed from this data often reinforce stereotypes, biases, or cultural misunderstandings, as they are largely shaped by perspectives from outside africa, reflecting the values of distant developers rather than local communities. 32 mbembe, a. 2003. “necropolitics”. public culture. 15(1), 11-40. 33 ibid 34 anthony downey. 2021. “the algorithmic apparatus of neo-colonialism: or, can we hold “operational images” to account?” the nordic journal of aesthetics. 61–62, pp. 78–82. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 10 in order to negotiate this digital matrix, african countries must prioritize policies that promote data sovereignty, ethical ai practices, and local innovation. strengthening local ai industries, investing in technological education, and developing region-specific frameworks for data governance are essential steps to ensure that africa can harness ai in ways that align with its developmental goals and cultural values. by supporting local ai initiatives and fostering publicprivate partnerships that prioritize african agency, governments can help shape an ai landscape that respects the rights and dignity of its citizens. moreover, as global awareness of digital colonialism grows, there is an increasing call for international corporations that ensures ethical ai practices and equitable data sharing. african nations can work collaboratively, both regionally and with like-minded global partners, to advocate for transparency, accountability, and fairness in ai development and deployment. establishing frameworks for ethical ai that address issues like data privacy, bias, and autonomy will be instrumental in shifting the global ai ecosystem towards one that values inclusivity and equity. these notwithstanding, ai and data exploitation present both a challenge and an opportunity for africa. the continent stands at a crossroad where it can either be subject to digital colonialism or become a leader in rethinking how data and ai can serve society inclusively. achieving the latter will require a commitment to fostering local talent, investing in digital infrastructure, and enacting policies that protect african data from exploitation. by taking these steps, african nations can harness ai’s potential as a force for empowerment rather than exploitation, contributing to a more just and balanced global digital economy. in this way, africa has the opportunity not only to defend its digital sovereignty but also to redefine the future of ai in ways that honor its rich cultural diversity and advance its aspirations for growth, self-determination, and resilience in the digital age. recommendations in order to counter the challenges posed by the intersection of artificial intelligence (ai) and data exploitation within africa’s digital context, it is essential for the continent to take proactive and strategic measures that ensure equitable, inclusive, and ethical participation in the global ai ecosystem. in order to do this, the paper recommends that: 1. africa should prioritize the establishment of robust legal frameworks that assert data sovereignty and provide clear guidelines for the collection, use, and distribution of african data. these frameworks should ensure that african nations have control over their citizens' personal and collective data, preventing its exploitation by foreign corporations without adequate compensation or accountability. 2. africa needs to build a more self-reliant and resilient ai ecosystem, and invest heavily in the development of local ai talents. this includes supporting stem education, promoting digital literacy across all levels of society, and encouraging local universities and research institutions to offer specialized programs in ai, machine learning, and data science. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 11 3. african governments and private sectors should prioritize the establishment of ai research centers and innovation hubs across the continent. these centers would serve as incubators for local ai startups, entrepreneurs, and researchers, enabling them to collaborate on projects that address specific african challenges, such as healthcare delivery, food security, climate change, and financial inclusion. 4. given the fragmented nature of african digital economies, regional cooperation is crucial to addressing the challenges of data exploitation and ai development. regional bodies such as the african union (au), economic community of west african states (ecowas), and the east african community (eac) should work together to create harmonized data protection and ai policies that are consistent across borders. 5. africa must develop ethical guidelines and standards for the deployment of ai technologies. these guidelines should be rooted in african cultural values, human rights, and social justice. ethical considerations such as transparency, fairness, accountability, and non-discrimination should be central to ai development and deployment. african countries should be at the forefront of advocating for the ethical use of ai, ensuring that ai systems do not reinforce existing biases or perpetuate harmful stereotypes. 6. africa should actively engage in global ai governance discussions to ensure that the continent’s interests are represented and that its voice is heard in international ai policymaking forums. 7. ai presents an opportunity for africa to modernize public service delivery, enhance governance, and drive inclusive economic growth. governments should invest in ai tools that can improve the efficiency of public administration, healthcare, education, and transportation. 8. africa must encourage the creation of sustainable and inclusive business models that leverage ai to drive economic growth while ensuring social benefits. these models should prioritize the creation of ai-driven solutions that are accessible to all segments of society, particularly marginalized and underserved communities. 9. in order to avoid falling into a new form of digital colonialism and exploitation, african countries must take a proactive stance in shaping the future of ai and data governance. the recommendations outlined above, ranging from strengthening legal frameworks to fostering regional cooperation and developing local ai expertise, are essential steps toward creating a more equitable, self-sufficient, and ethically grounded ai ecosystem in africa. bibliography arakpogun, emmanuel ogiemwonyi, ziad elsahn, femi olan, and farid elsahn. “artificial intelligence in africa: challenges and opportunities.” newcastle business school, northumbria university, newcastle upon tyne, uk, 2024 basaglia, isabella. “contribution of post-colonial theory to the construction of identity in international relations.” cross-sections 8 (71): 2021. chinweizu, c. the west and the rest of us. lagos: nok publishers (nigeria) ltd., 1978. dhaswin kumar, s. k., r. vikash, s. m. mohith, and v. ajayaganesh. “evolution of artificial intelligence (ai).” international journal of research publication and reviews. 4(5): 678–686, 2023. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 12 downey, anthony. “the algorithmic apparatus of neo-colonialism: or, can we hold ‘operational images’ to account?” nordic journal of aesthetics 30(61-62):78-82, 2021. doi: 10.7146/nja.v30i61-62.127862 edelman, benjamin, and michael luca. “digital discrimination: the case of airbnb.com.” harvard business school working paper 14-054, 2014. ghosh, m., thirugnanam, a., introduction to artificial intelligence. in: srinivasa, k.g., g. m., s., sekhar, s.r.m. (eds) artificial intelligence for information management: a healthcare perspective. studies in big data, vol 88. springer, singapore, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-0415-7_2 janah, leila. “how east africa trains ai.” linkedin, 2018. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-east-africa-trains-ai-leila-janah. kanu, a. i.; addidi, t.; kanu, c. c., “artificial intelligence and cybercrime in nigeria: towards an ethical framework”. dialogue and universalism. 32(1): 143-158, 2024. doi: 10.5840/du202434115 kanu, a. i.; addidi, t.; kanu, c. c., “virtue and the business of governance in nigeria”. published in dialogue and universalism. 32(1): 207-228, 2024. doi.org/10.5840/du202434111 kanu, i. a. & anetoh, b, & ejikeme, p., “information revolution and the future of humanity: a critical perspective”. estaga: journal of philosophy and arts. 1(1): 27-36, 2024. kanu, i. a. & anetoh, b, & ejikeme, p., “martin heidegger on technological development”. estaga: journal of philosophy and arts. 1(2): 6-15, 2024. kanu, i. a., “colonialism and the igbo struggle with climate change”. pakistan journal of life and social sciences. 22(1). 1349-1367, 2024. https://doi.org/10.57239/pjlss-202422.1.0091 kanu, i. a., “decolonization: towards an igwebuike transformative pedagogy”. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of philosophy and theology. 3(1): 1-19, 2023. kanu, i. a., “the colonial legacy: the hidden history of africa’s present crisis”. the international journal of arts and humanities. 1(1):123-131, 2012. kanu, i. a., “the trans-atlantic slave trade: a historico-philosophical analysis”. lwati: a journal of contemporary research. 10(4):131-143, 2013. kaplan, andreas m., and michael haenlein. “the fairyland of second life: about virtual social worlds and how to use them.” business horizons. 52(6): 5, 2009. mbembe, achille. “necropolitics.” public culture. 15(1): 11–40, 2003. menon, sunita. “postcolonial differentials in algorithmic bias: challenging digital neocolonialism in africa.” scripted. 20(2): 1–394, 2013. nkrumah, kwame. neo-colonialism: the last stage of imperialism. new york: international publishers co. inc., 1966. ocheni, stephen, and basil c. nwankwo. “analysis of colonialism and its impact in africa.” cross-cultural communication. 8(3): 46–54, 2012. onyeagoro, j., ai startups in africa. https://techafricanews.com/2024/09/26/ai-startups-inafrica-shaping-the-future-of-the-continents-digital-transformation, 2024. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 13 onyiah, s. c.; ndubisi, j. o. e; kanu, a. i., “navigating the ethical implications of artificial intelligence through carol gilighan’s ethics of care”. aquino journal of philosophy. 4(2): 1-12, 2024. quijano, aníbal. “coloniality of power, eurocentrism, and latin america.” nepantla: views from south. 1(3): 533–580, 2000. sharma, twinkle, poonam, and renuka arora. “the evolution of artificial intelligence: a comprehensive review.” international journal of science, engineering and technology. (12) 3, 2024. terreblanche, sampie. “the exploitation of africa and africans by the western world since 1500: a bird’s eye view.” paper presented at the ubuntu conference, law faculty, university of pretoria, august 2–4, 2011. turing, alan m. “computing machinery and intelligence.” mind 59(236): 433–460, 1950. microsoft word igwebuike journal vol. 3. no. 1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 82 matriliny and the sanctity of yam among the cross river igbo charles okeke okoko, phd department of history and international relations, abia state university, uturu printabookcharlie60@gmail.com abstract there are certain categories of property that members of the matrilineages among the cross river igbo area cannot dispossess of the offspring of their deceased brothers without his permission while he was alive. the seizure of the yam, which had, and still has, severe consequences checked the excesses of the ikwu umunne (matrikins) who readily swooped on their brothers’ property at their death. the paper concluded that the spirituality of, and the reverence accorded to yams, its cultivation and god, nfijioku, prohibited its seizure. keywords: matriliny, sanctity, yam, igbo, cross river introduction the cross river igbo area is one of the five subcultural groups that make up igboland. the area lies to the northwest of the cross river valley and comprises the abam, edda, ihechiowa, ohafia and ututu, among others. however, there are differences in opinion regarding the communities that really make up the cross river igbo. philip nsugbe and ogbu kalu have included in their classifications the nkporo, abiriba, ezza, ikwo and ezzikwo, afikpo, uburu, okposi, unwana, igbere, isu, ukwa and arochukwu. significantly, only the arochukwu are not matrilineal (okoko, 1983; 1986; 2015). the cross river igbo communities are spaced into slightly different vegetation zones, from the derived savanna to the tropical rainforest zones. it has an alternating wet and dry seasons. the people practice sedentary agriculture which has encouraged the maximal concentration of populations. this, therefore, does not entail the periodic uprooting of settlements and their relocation to unfarmed areas. rotational bush fallowing is preferred and it is largely employed to increase the yield of exhausted soil and it also reduces the risk of premature re-cultivation of tracts of land. the cross river igbo people have a root crop economy, and the cultivation of some of the root crops is regarded as prestigious. there are a variety of yams, such as white yam (dioscorea rotundata) which in turn has varieties, namely, akuru and eziji; yellow yam (dioscorea cayensis) – oku, which matures late; and water yam (dioscorea alata) – mbila (mvula), which matures early and is not popular. it is used in supplementing white yams between march and may which marks the period of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 83 the planting season every year. it was, and still is, not prestigious if a man cultivates/cultivated only water yam. yam is not indigenous to africa. but the varieties of yams available for consumption and cultivation raise the issue of the existence of indigenous species that would have been domesticated from the wild. these are in addition to the ones introduced from outside, specifically overseas, into igboland. the origin of yams is not what this paper seeks to survey but what underpins the spirituality attached to them to the extent that they are revered by the people and cannot be seized like other property, such as houses and hoes, by the matrikins among the cross river igbo. it becomes pertinent to survey “yams” from the points of cultivation to harvesting which has assumed the dimension of rituals and underpinned by festivities in all of igboland. this is because the reverence associated with the cultivation is well planned, thought out, and associated with the people’s religion and sustenance. it is a man’s product and certain aspects of its cultivation, such as mound making and staking, are carried out by the men (okoko, 2014). yam cultivation bush clearing usually starts in earnest in january and is usually finished by the end of february, to avoid the coming rains. expert climbers lop off the treetops, igbo elu, and sticks for staking yams are collected in the process. in the first week of march, when it is felt that the bushes have dried well, the lineage heads give the order for their burning. this is done in a bid to avoid a situation where some will not be well burnt. the ash base formed as a result of the burning serves as manure. during mound making, care is taken to mix effectively the outer layer of earth containing the ashes with the inner layer. four days after bush burning, though this varied, un-burnt sticks and tree stumps are removed from the land surface for easy making of mounds. this activity is known as ikpa achichi. yam planting starts with the early rains and ends, usually, before april, unless the rains do not come on time. this is the time when women start planting other crops in-between the yam mounds. when the yam tendrils shot out, the men will stake them to the sticks cut during bush clearing. this process of staking is locally called ‘igba akaji’. the men are now relatively free from farm work, except that they make occasional trips to the farm, to see how the yams are growing. this is, again, when men embarked on wars in pre-colonial times, but they normally returned by early august for the new yam festival. one can safely say here that abam military campaigns, except in emergency cases, were carried out after the planting season. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 84 new yam festival preliminary activities leading to the new yam festival start between late may and early june, annually, marking the end of the planting season. this varies among the communities of the cross river or eastern igbo because some start theirs from june. the season is enunciated with the wrestling ‘omume ngba’ festival, during which wrestling contests are held between compounds and sub-clans, to find out who is the best wrestler among the people and possibly represent them in inter-clan contests. the ‘omume ngba’ festival is also a period when the remains of the last season’s stock of yams are disposed off or eaten, to make way for the present season’s bounty. this festival officially marks the end of famine, ‘unwu’, which lasts between march and august each year, in most igbo communities. two other events, preparatory to the new yam festival, are the ‘ibu ite’ and ‘ite ochichi’, which are totems symbolizing fertility. these sub-festivals mark the climax of ‘omume ngba’. at this time sacrifices are made to the earth goddess, ‘ali’, the renowned deity of fertility and agricultural productivity. this ritual is performed by women who are past the ages of mating, their menstrual circles and are in their eighties (80s), as evidenced by their tapered and dangling mammary glands. these qualities imbue them with the required purity to qualify to sacrifice to ‘ali’. except the loin cloths tied on their waists, they perform this ritual bare-bodied. as their solemn procession traverses the village, headed to the shrine of ‘ali’, they sing thus: ole nde wo iyabara ole nde wo iyabara (the mystical content of this song cannot be translated to the uninitiated) other deities sacrificed to are ‘igwe’ – the sky god for its benevolence in bringing enough rains throughout the farming period, ‘kamalu oba’ and ‘kamalu agbata-uzo’ for guiding the barns and protecting all those going out of, and coming into, the village. they are expected to deal decisively with whoever comes to abam with any evil intent. rituals are observed in honour of their patrilineal ancestors and matrilineal ancestresses. the ‘omume ngba’ festival is also the period when maidens are initiated into womanhood. it is their official public outing adorned in the latest hairdos and ‘uri’ (dye) robbed at certain parts of their bodies, indicating vital zones. the aim is to attract members of the opposite sex. it is intended to flaunt their chastity as symbolized in the way they are dressed, all bare-bodied, except for some three to four strings of beads, ‘asii’ worn around their waists on skimpy waist cloth, showing off nice legs and fully formed, erect and bubbly breasts. the new yam festival also gives young men of marriageable age to sight, and possibly choose, prospective wives. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 85 there is also the symbolic ‘umuagbogo’ bath (maiden bath) in the ‘idogo’ spring in the ozu village in abam. the spring, which empties into a cave-like natural pool is so revered that the fish in it, that is of the catfish ‘arira’ species, is deified. a bath in the ‘idogo’ spring is an annual purification rite for maidens in ozu abam. the fish are referred to as ‘nwaoma’ (that is the beautiful children of the idogo deity). women who are having their menstrual flow and have given birth to twins are forbidden to set foot in this spring. during the pre-new yam festival of clearing the paths, ‘ibuo uzo iyi’, leading to streams and dredging the streams, ‘ikwo iyi’, of the accumulated silt of the previous season, the ‘nwaoma’ fish, which are no longer scared of people as a result of the constancy of this activity, are carefully handled and praised in the process. the efficacy of the ‘idogo’ deity was tested in immediate post-nigeria-biafra civil war abam. it is recounted that some nigerian soldiers stationed in ozu abam, who unknowingly feasted on the ‘nwaoma’ died afterwards. the corpses of these soldiers looked charred and dark, exactly like the skin of the ‘nwaoma’ catfish. it is not in the people’s account if the military authorities investigated this occurrence. although traditionally ambiguous, these deaths were attributed to either diarrhea or acute dysentery (a. u. agada). prelude to the new yam festival, an annual cleaning ritual is undertaken as a reception for the new yam. all the paths leading to major farm areas are weeded and trimmed. women and young maidens embark on full-scale cleaning of streams, compounds and decoration of huts. agada 4 thinks that the reason for such cleaning is to make up for the neglect during the farming period. the various compounds are made to wear new looks, preparatory to the new yam festival. the fences round the compounds are mended, and the huts, which in pre-zinc and cement times, were either of mud or thatch, are remade and decorated with chalk, ‘nzu’ and ‘uri’ a species of ochre mixed or fermented in water with some herbs to produce an alluring fragrance and which could, also, ward off evil spirits. these decorations, in pre-zinc and cement times, came in various colours of red, yellow, brown and white. although cement and zinc are now used in place of red earth and thatch, the annual cleaning ritual still takes place. after the pre-new yam ‘ibu ite’, ite ochichi’ and ‘ikpirikpe’ ceremonies, comes the ‘ikeji’. the ‘ikeji’ is a period when farmers embark on a test-harvest, to ascertain the extent of the maturity and size of yam tubers, prelude to proper harvesting and festival. the ‘ikeji’ is the climax of the anticipated new yam festival. the songs sang at this time are indicative of the longing for new yams created by the period of famine, ‘unwu’. sang essentially by children, it goes like this: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 86 oreyi mo moo mooo ji nnam no ra-ubi na aguu mo moo! mooo!! moooo!!! ananta moo mooo kpogorikpo o! oo!! ooo!!! this song, which defies accurate literal translation, is aptly in regret, bemoaning why the ‘ikeji’ is not the actual harvesting of yams. the children wonder why there should be so many yams in the farms while they go hungry. the children range themselves at the entrance to major farm paths where those that went for the ‘ikeji’ would definitely pass enroute to the village, and sing after those carrying baskets, ‘abo’ of new yams. this gloating is associated with the traditional notion of the importance of yam as a food item. in another song (sang by the afikpo – ehugbo), the yam is portrayed thus (agada): the yam is palatable it has no bone it does not need anything else to take with it salt, oil, pepper, it has them all the yam is good. as is the practice in igboland, eight market weeks precede the new yam festival in early august, terminating on an ‘nkwo’ day. before the new yam festival proper, relatives and friends exchange pleasantries and gestures. young unmarried and betrothed girls fetch bundles of firewood from the wild and give to their aged female relatives, friends and mothers’-in-law. this is known as ‘nku ikeji’. according to agada: the girls do that to remind their relatives of their lineage and connections and also to make sure that those relatives and friends have sufficient wood to eat (sic) the new yam while the relatives in return give them gifts such as coconut and fish. young males also undertake to repair the cracked mud walls and leaking roofs of the aged, related or not. this act of compassion has been thrown into the dustbin of history, especially with the pervasiveness of wage labour. close relatives and the christian churches now carry out this responsibility. to entertain the elders during the festival, certain age grades are mandated to undertake a hunting, ‘igba nta’, expedition to harvest enough bush meat that will be used in preparing a sumptuous meal befitting the occasion. it is usually the melon, ‘egusi’, soup with specially baked melon balls, ‘ahu’ eaten with pounded yam. these igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 87 delicacies are reproduced in all homes with assorted fish and meat. in appreciation of the role played by the family head, members usually made contribution of yams to him before and after the new yam festival. this gesture is known as ivutaji. although the ozu abam, for instance, are matrilineal, they are in practice unilineal, tracing descent not entirely from the mother’s side but also from the father’s lineage. however, it is the ‘obi-asato’ eight patrilineal families among the ozu abam of the ohafor sub-clan that enunciate the new yam festival after which the matrlineages join in the celebration (okoko, 1986). the period of the eight market weeks is marked by utmost peace, to the extent that anything that would cause or create any form of disturbance or misgiving is avoided. in pre-modern times, death at this period is seen as a taboo. the corpses of such dead persons are usually buried secretly and without rites. or the bereaved family will keep the death unannounced. this is unlike in present times when the corpse will be deposited in a mortuary. the dead, at this period, are regarded as having defiled the land. fighting, quarrelling and even crying are forbidden. children will not be punished to the extent of inducing loud crying. in some igbo communities, such as ehugbo (afikpo), the dead would be thrown into the evil forest as punishment for dying during a holy season. others hold that the gods feast on such corpses. after the obi-asato initiates the new yam festival, having made sacrifices to appropriate deities, such as kamalu, kamalu oba, kamalu agbata-uzo and nfijioku yam deity, the new yam festival starts in earnest at the last nkwo market day of the igbo eight market weeks. families troop to their farms, carefully selecting, by adult males, the yam mounds, which are assumed to have matured and bigger tubers in them. matured yams can be identified through the extent of the shriveled or dried leaves on the yam stems. the new yam festival marks the end of the igbo year. starting with the commencement of omume ngba ceremony, each family makes sure that its stock of old yams are disposed of. at best, they are eaten up as a sign of the passing season – ichu ava. the iri-ji festival begets the igba-aju, which is when relatives and friends invite or visit each other for feasting. it affords the people the opportunity to know how they fared during the farming and famine ‘unwu’ periods, how good their harvests were, and how they celebrated the new yam festival. the annual new yam festival in most parts of abam, is usually concluded by the igba ekpe ceremony, which comes up in early september. the igba ekpe runs through a period of four years, for any age grade involved in the maturity rite for both males and females (douglas kalu, 2013). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 88 the matrikins and yams the matrikins readily swooped, and still do, on the property of a deceased matrikin and deprive his biological children and wife of them. the property ranges from the movable to the immovable. matriliny, which emphasizes the trace of descent and inheritance to the motherline views with fear any attempt to deprive the matrilineage its property. this is against the background that matriliny insists that property owned by the deceased revert to it since their brother’s biological children and wife belong to another matrilineages, unarguably their mother’s, where they stand to inherit property, titles and offices. thus, leaving a matrikin’s property to his offspring amounts to a total loss to the matrilinage and a double inheritance to the offspring. the matrikins over the years and till the present (2016) seized everything that ranged from lands, houses and farms. except in post colonial when fathers made it clear that certain of their property be left for their offspring. but this has been adhered to if the said property are privatelyowned, independently of matrilineal property. it is common knowledge that some matrikins, in spite of such declarations, have attempted dispossessing the children. some even went to the extent of vandalizing such designated property. this is, however, common if the children are not grown and could be intimidated. according to ukpai uka (2013), the most important thing is for the father to point out to his matrikins what he wants the children to inherit before his death since there have always been squabbles over property. the irony of the situation is that matrikins were, and are still, not perturbed by the bonding between father and children (especially the sons who should have been their natural heirs) through consanguinity and upbringing. the matrilineage in the cross river igbo area has been the primal institution that determined, and still determines, inheritance and succession. it is so entrenched that even in post colonial times, with the trappings of modernity and christianity notwithstanding, the ikwu umunne could lay claims to even purchased or private lands and movable property, such as cars, houses and clothing. in essence, whatever landed property which a father gives to the children, other than privately acquired ones, will revert to his ikwu at his death. ukpai (2013) further illustrated ikwu prevalence when he narrated how the ikwu mgbereola to which he belonged retrieved a landed property which was rightfully given to his brother, david uka. continuing, david was given a piece of land to build a house by the ikwu. but along the line, david discovered that the topography of the land was not suitable, as it will need a lot of money to check erosion, and sold the land to someone else who is not from the mgberemola matrilineage, however, without consulting them. the ikwu promptly forbade the buyer from laying claims to the land. this is in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 89 spite of the fact that david’s building on the ikwu-given land had reached the dpc level. all logic succumbed to ikwu principles. according to isaac okorafor ike (2014), captain chibuike usim (retired) in ozu abam, for instance, had to buy back his father’s car from his matrikins when there arose the controversy over who would keep the car. it was, and still, not the custom for the son to buy the car but because the bonding between chibuike and his father was high and essentially because he could afford it decided to do so. as mentioned earlier, matrliny is predicated on the fact that every biological father belongs to a matrilineage which is different from that of the wife to which their children traditionally belong, and from where they stand to inherit wealth; and that the wealth one gets from his mother’s matrilineage is more substantive than the perishable property one could hope to inherit from his father, if any at all. this is because the tangible and immovable property, such as land and economic trees, belong to his father’s matrilineage. the matrilineage is a communalistic/cooperative endeavour which has the duty imperative to protect matrilineal property. yet, the yam cannot be seized by the matrikins. certain events, as oral traditions recount, that occurred among the various communities of the cross river igbo led to the reverence of yams. there are certain property which members of an ikwu cannot seize or share without the permission of the deceased. in the absence of such permission, perhaps as a result of sudden death, the elders would supervise the sharing; making sure that the children of their dead brother got the greater share of yam seedlings for cultivation. in any yam barn, there are the type of yams that are for eating and the others that are for planting. the ones for planting which are usually smaller in size have a greater spiritual value attached to them since they anchor a continuum in yam culivation. it was a kind of ‘curse’ for a man’s plantable seedlings to drastically reduce in number. sacrifices were promptly made to nfijioke or kamalu uzo oba. two examples have been used to buttress the sacredness of yams among the ohafia. before nnam kalu eke died, he showed his children what rightly should be theirs after his death. that they should inform his brothers and sisters, or members of his matrilineage, in general, of his say so. he equally advised that his yams must only be shared amongst his children. but that if any member of his ikwu insists on having a share, the children should not quarrel with the person, the battle which has been declared between the living and the dead should be left for him alone to fight. eventually, one of the sisters, who insisted, as a matter of ikwu principle, and pried off some yam seedlings from his brother’s children without their permission, is said to have dropped dead enroute to her farm with the seedlings. another example is the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 3 no 1, january 2017. issn: 2488-9210(online) 2504-9038(print) (a publication of the augustinian institute in collaboration with aatrepscholars) 90 refusal of a stepmother to give yam seedlings to her eldest stepson. we are told that she dropped dead, too, enroute to her farm with the seedlings. conclusion this paper surveyed the spirituality of yams among the matrilineal communities of the cross river igbo. this has been buttressed by the fact that the matrikins who have the propensity to swoop on their brothers’ property at their death. the emphasis placed on the cultivation, the processes of tending, harvesting and associated festivities, of yams imbued it with some degree of reverence and spirituality. the yam in igbo culture has its specialist god “nfijioku” that was sacrificed to in the event of low harvest of yams or its tendrils get blighted or eaten up by pests. the matrikins who deprived their brothers’ offspring of yam seedlings all died mysteriously along farm paths. it is held that nfijioku usually carried, and still carries, out the killings. references 1. charles okeke okoko, “matriliny and gender dichotomy among the cross river igbo, 1900-1991”, ph.d thesis, department of history and international relations, abia state university, uturu; “the abam of the cross river igbo: a historical study, m. a. dissertation”, department of history, university of nigeria, nsukka, 1986; and “the abam and her aro neighbours”, long essay, department of history, university of port harcourt, 1983. 2. charles okeke okoko, “new am festival in an igbo community: the abam” in c. e. ejikeme (ed), nigerian peoples and cultures, okigwe: whytem publishers nigeria, 2014, pp. 216-230. 3. ibid. 4. a. u. agada, “new yam festival in afikpo”, anu magazine, cultural division, ministry of education and information, owerri, imo state, no date, p. 64. 5. agada, pp. 64 –71. 6. narrative by douglas kalu, 56, and ayi agwu ayi, 56, ozu abam, 11/03/2013. 7. ukpai uka, 65, owutu edda, farmer, interviewed 21/10/2013. 8. isaac okorafor ike, 56, historian, ozu abam, 15/12/2012. 97 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.33952.39688 abstract this study critically examines the impact of urination posture on bladder health and overall urinary function, focusing on three primary postures: standing, sitting, and squatting. each posture is analyzed for its physiological implications, including bladder emptying efficiency, post-void residual volume, and pelvic muscle strain. the merits and demerits of each posture are discussed in relation to gender, age, and specific health conditions, such as prostate enlargement and lower urinary tract symptoms (luts). scientific evidence highlights the sitting posture as the most beneficial overall, promoting complete bladder emptying, reducing residual urine, and supporting pelvic health. while standing offers convenience, particularly for men, it can contribute to incomplete bladder emptying and increase the risk of urinary tract infections (utis) and other complications. squatting, although highly effective in promoting urinary and bowel function, may not be practical or accessible for all individuals. the findings suggest that sitting, particularly for individuals with bladder or prostate conditions, is the optimal posture for long-term urinary health. keywords: urination, posture, bladder, prostate, urinary health. introduction urination is an essential bodily function that helps in maintaining the balance of fluids and the elimination of waste products from the body. while the act of urination may seem straightforward, the position one assumes during urination plays a crucial role in the effectiveness of the process. posture can influence not only how efficiently the bladder empties but also have long-term implications for pelvic health, urinary tract infections (utis), and conditions such as urinary incontinence. over time, various cultures and societies have developed different postures for urination, and these practices have evolved based on environmental, cultural, and anatomical considerations.� scientific studies have revealed that the posture a person assumes during urination can significantly affect the urinary flow rate, post-void residual volume (pvr) — the amount of urine left in the bladder after urination — and the health of the pelvic floor muscles. this examination delves into three primary urination postures: standing, sitting, and squatting, each with its advantages and disadvantages. it critically analyzes which of these postures may be most beneficial for different individuals, considering factors such as gender, age, and specific health conditions.� types of urination postures the three most common urination postures practiced across different cultures and societies are standing, sitting, and squatting. each posture has unique physiological implications, influencing �burnett, holly, sandra a. wilson, and patrick green. "cultural influence on urination posture: the role of squatting and its impact on pelvic health." journal of urological research 18, no. 2: 2020.123-135 �shafik, ahmed, and samy el-sibai. "effect of body position on uroflowmetry and post-void residual urine volume in healthy men." journal of urology 163, no. 6: 2000. 1762-1766 urinating ogaba solomon isenyo solomonogaba5@gmail.com issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy, federal university wukari, taraba state department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) an epistemological investigation into the best posture for akaangee nathaniel aondoakura department of nutrition and dietetics, federal medical centre, makurdi, benue state, nigeria akaangeenat@gmail.com 98 the efficiency of bladder emptying and the pressure exerted on the pelvic floor muscles. 1. standing posture standing is the most common urination posture for men across cultures, but it is also occasionally practiced by women, especially in situations where they are unable to sit on a toilet seat due to hygiene concerns. in this posture, the individual remains fully upright, with their legs slightly apart, allowing gravity to aid in the process of urination.� · gender considerations: men generally find the standing posture convenient as it aligns naturally with their anatomy, with the urine flowing downward. women, however, find this position less practical due to the anatomical structure of the female urethra. · cultural influence: many cultures, especially in the western world, have developed toilets designed to facilitate standing urination, especially for men, with the use of urinals in public restrooms. 2. sitting posture the sitting posture, primarily associated with women, involves sitting on a toilet seat, where the thighs support the body, and the pelvic floor muscles are more relaxed. this posture is widely practiced in modern societies with seated toilets and is also often adopted by men in cases of medical conditions or personal preference.� · gender considerations: women are more likely to adopt the sitting posture because it allows them to urinate more easily, considering the structure of the female urinary tract. men may also sit to urinate in certain situations, such as when dealing with prostate enlargement or lower urinary tract symptoms (luts).� 3. squatting posture the squatting posture involves a deep squat where the thighs are parallel to the ground, and the body is leaned slightly forward. this posture is widely used in cultures where squat toilets are prevalent, especially in parts of asia, africa, and the middle east. squatting is considered one of the most natural postures for urination and defecation.� · cultural influence: in countries where squat toilets are prevalent, the squatting posture is the norm, and people are more accustomed to this position from a young age. this posture is less common in western societies, where seated toilets dominate. · health considerations: squatting is often recommended for its potential health benefits, particularly for bladder and bowel function, as it promotes a more natural alignment of the urethra and pelvic organs. merits and demerits of urination postures each posture comes with its own set of advantages and disadvantages. these factors are crucial �de jong, bert h., michael r. franklin, and joris v. muller. "the effect of body position on urinary flow and residual �volume in healthy males." urology journal 17, no. 4: 2004.365-370 schneider, thomas, laura e. manning, and thomas j. wagner. "post-void residual volume in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia: a comparison of sitting and standing positions." prostate health journal 10, no. 3: 2016.56-61 �yang, jian, mark w. thompson, and alice p. richardson. "systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of sitting versus standing posture on male uroflowmetry and post-void residual volume." international urology and nephrology 54, no. 1: 2022.121-130. �tanagho, emil a., and jack w. mcaninch. "impact of urination postures on pelvic health: a review of global practices. " urological sciences journal 45, no. 1: 2018. 99-106 �farag, michael a., and olivia b. hamdi. "urological health and body posture: examining the effects of squatting on bladder function." international journal of urology 12, no. 3: 2015. 222-230 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 99 in determining the health outcomes related to urinary function, bladder emptying, and long-term pelvic health.� �. standing posture · merits: o convenience: standing urination is quick and easy for men, particularly in public or outdoor settings. it allows men to urinate without needing to remove all their clothing, making it highly practical. o hygiene in public settings: standing avoids the need for direct contact with toilet surfaces, reducing the risk of exposure to germs and bacteria in public restrooms. o simplicity: the standing posture allows for efficient urination with minimal effort, which is particularly beneficial in scenarios where time is a factor. · demerits: o incomplete bladder emptying: several studies have shown that standing does not allow for complete relaxation of the pelvic floor muscles, leading to incomplete bladder emptying, especially in men.� this residual urine in the bladder can increase the risk of utis and other bladder-related complications. o pelvic strain: the standing posture can place strain on the pelvic floor muscles, especially in men with prostate issues or lower urinary tract symptoms (luts). this can lead to difficulty initiating urine flow, dribbling, or discomfort during urination.� o health risks for prostate conditions: for men suffering from benign prostatic hyperplasia (bph) or other prostate-related conditions, standing may exacerbate the difficulty of urinating, leading to higher post-void residual volumes�� (de jong et al. 2004). 2. sitting posture · merits: o better bladder emptying: sitting is associated with a more complete emptying of the bladder, especially in men. by sitting, the pelvic floor muscles are more relaxed, and the bladder is able to fully contract, reducing the amount of residual urine.�� this is especially beneficial for individuals with lower urinary tract symptoms (luts) or prostate issues. o reduces pressure on pelvic muscles: the sitting posture reduces the strain on the pelvic muscles and urethra, making it a more comfortable position for men �schneider, thomas, laura e. manning, and thomas j. wagner. "post-void residual volume in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia: a comparison of sitting and standing positions." prostate health journal 10, no. 3: 2016.56-61. �yang, jian, mark w. thompson, and alice p. richardson. "systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of sitting versus standing posture on male uroflowmetry and post-void residual volume." international urology and nephrology 54, no. 1: 2022.121-130. ��de jong, bert h., michael r. franklin, and joris v. muller. "the effect of body position on urinary flow and residual volume in healthy males." urology journal 17, no. 4: 2004.365-370. ��schneider, thomas, laura e. manning, and thomas j. wagner. "post-void residual volume in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia: a comparison of sitting and standing positions." prostate health journal 10, no. 3: 2016.56-61. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 100 and women alike. this can prevent issues such as pelvic organ prolapse or urinary incontinence, particularly in women.�� o beneficial for prostate issues: men suffering from bph or other prostate conditions may find the sitting posture preferable, as it reduces the pressure on the prostate and allows for better urine flow. studies have shown that sitting can reduce the symptoms associated with bph, including difficulty in starting and stopping urine flow.�� · demerits: o public hygiene concerns: sitting requires contact with toilet surfaces, which can be unsanitary, especially in public restrooms. this increases the risk of exposure to bacteria and germs. o less convenient for men: for men accustomed to standing, sitting may be perceived as less convenient, particularly in public or outdoor settings where access to clean toilet seats may be limited. 3. squatting posture · merits: o natural alignment for bladder and urethra: squatting aligns the bladder, urethra, and pelvic organs in a way that allows for efficient urine flow and complete bladder emptying. studies have shown that this posture reduces postvoid residual volume, which is critical in preventing urinary tract infections (utis).�� o pelvic health benefits: the squatting position has been shown to reduce pressure on the pelvic muscles, which can prevent conditions such as urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. this position is particularly beneficial for women, as it allows for full relaxation of the pelvic floor muscles during urination and defecation.�� o dual function for bowel movements: in addition to its benefits for urination, squatting is also highly effective for bowel movements. the position helps to straighten the rectum, facilitating easier defecation and reducing the risk of constipation and associated pelvic floor dysfunction. · demerits: o physical discomfort for some: squatting requires a significant amount of flexibility and strength, particularly in the knees, hips, and lower back. for individuals who are not accustomed to this posture or have joint issues, maintaining a squat can be physically challenging and uncomfortable. o limited accessibility in modern toilets: in many western societies, squat toilets are uncommon, and modern restrooms are typically equipped with seated ��inoue, yusuke, hiroshi kobayashi, and yoko sato. "influence of urination posture on uroflowmetry and pelvic floor muscle function in men with lower urinary tract symptoms." bmc urology 16, no. 2016. 23: 1-9 ��de jong, bert h., michael r. franklin, and joris v. muller. "the effect of body position on urinary flow and residual volume in healthy males." urology journal 17, no. 4: 2004.365-370. ��burnett, holly, sandra a. wilson, and patrick green. "cultural influence on urination posture: the role of squatting and its impact on pelvic health." journal of urological research 18, no. 2: 2020.123-135 ��hamoud, khalid, and mustafa e. khan. "the role of squatting in pelvic floor health: a comparative analysis of urination postures in asian cultures." asian journal of pelvic medicine 22, no. 5: 2018. 311-322 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 101 toilets. this lack of accessibility makes squatting impractical in certain settings. o not suitable for elderly or disabled individuals: squatting may not be a feasible posture for elderly individuals or those with physical disabilities. the deep squat position requires significant muscle strength and joint flexibility, which may be diminished with age or certain health conditions. which posture is best and why? after an extensive examination of the different postures, sitting emerges as the most beneficial posture for urination, particularly when considering long-term health outcomes. the scientific evidence overwhelmingly supports the sitting posture as promoting better bladder emptying, reducing post-void residual volume, and alleviating pressure on the pelvic muscles. these factors are particularly important in preventing urinary tract infections (utis), incontinence, and other bladder-related conditions.�� for men, especially those with prostate enlargement (bph) or lower urinary tract symptoms (luts), sitting has been shown to improve urine flow and reduce the amount of residual urine left in the bladder. this is crucial in preventing bladder infections and reducing the need for frequent trips to the bathroom. while standing may be more convenient in some situations, the health risks associated with incomplete bladder emptying make it less ideal for long-term bladder health. for women, the sitting posture provides better support for the pelvic floor muscles, which is vital in preventing pelvic organ prolapse and maintaining overall pelvic health. the sitting position also allows for complete bladder emptying, reducing the risk of urinary tract infections (utis) and other complications. while squatting has its advantages, particularly in terms of bladder emptying and promoting pelvic health, it may not be practical or accessible for everyone, especially in societies where squat toilets are uncommon.�� the squatting posture, although natural and beneficial for both urination and bowel movements, can be physically demanding and uncomfortable for individuals who are not used to it or have joint and mobility issues. in modern societies where seated toilets are more common, squatting may also be impractical. nonetheless, for individuals accustomed to this posture, it remains an excellent option for optimal bladder health and pelvic floor function.�� in contrast, the standing posture, while convenient for men, has been shown to contribute to incomplete bladder emptying and can place unnecessary strain on the pelvic muscles. this increases the risk of residual urine in the bladder, leading to infections and other complications over time. for men with prostate issues or lower urinary tract symptoms, standing is especially problematic as it can exacerbate difficulty in urinating and increase the likelihood of post-void residual volume.�� conclusion in conclusion, the choice of urination posture has significant implications for bladder health, ��de jong, bert h., michael r. franklin, and joris v. muller. "the effect of body position on urinary flow and residual volume in healthy males." urology journal 17, no. 4: 2004.365-370 ��schneider, thomas, laura e. manning, and thomas j. wagner. "post-void residual volume in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia: a comparison of sitting and standing positions." prostate health journal 10, no. 3: 2016.56-61 ��feneley, michael p., philip t. grundy, and sarah k. boyd. "bladder emptying efficiency and post-void residual urine: a comparison between sitting and standing positions in elderly males." urological studies 34, no. 2: 2019. 178-185 ��schneider, thomas, laura e. manning, and thomas j. wagner. "post-void residual volume in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia: a comparison of sitting and standing positions." prostate health journal 10, no. 3: 2016.56-61 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 102 pelvic floor function, and overall comfort. while standing is convenient, particularly for men, it is less effective in terms of bladder emptying and may contribute to long-term health issues, especially in individuals with prostate conditions or lower urinary tract symptoms. squatting, though natural and beneficial for complete bladder emptying, may not be practical or accessible for everyone due to physical discomfort or the lack of squat toilets in many societies. the sitting posture, particularly for individuals with bladder or prostate conditions, emerges as the most beneficial overall. it provides the best support for the pelvic floor muscles, ensures complete bladder emptying, and reduces the risk of complications such as urinary tract infections and pelvic organ prolapse. while individual preferences and cultural practices will always play a role in determining urination posture, sitting offers the greatest long-term benefits for urinary and pelvic health. bibliography burnett, holly, sandra a. wilson, and patrick green. "cultural influence on urination posture: the role of squatting and its impact on pelvic health." journal of urological research 18, no. 2: 2020.123-135 de jong, bert h., michael r. franklin, and joris v. muller. "the effect of body position on urinary flow and residual volume in healthy males." urology journal 17, no. 4: 2004.365-370 farag, michael a., and olivia b. hamdi. "urological health and body posture: examining the effects of squatting on bladder function." international journal of urology 12, no. 3: 2015. 222-230. feneley, michael p., philip t. grundy, and sarah k. boyd. "bladder emptying efficiency and post-void residual urine: a comparison between sitting and standing positions in elderly males." urological studies 34, no. 2: 2019. 178-185. hamoud, khalid, and mustafa e. khan. "the role of squatting in pelvic floor health: a comparative analysis of urination postures in asian cultures." asian journal of pelvic medicine 22, no. 5: 2018. 311-322. inoue, yusuke, hiroshi kobayashi, and yoko sato. "influence of urination posture on uroflowmetry and pelvic floor muscle function in men with lower urinary tract symptoms." bmc urology 16, no. 2016. 23: 1-9. schneider, thomas, laura e. manning, and thomas j. wagner. "post-void residual volume in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia: a comparison of sitting and standing positions." prostate health journal 10, no. 3: 2016.56-61 shafik, ahmed, and samy el-sibai. "effect of body position on uroflowmetry and post-void residual urine volume in healthy men." journal of urology 163, no. 6: 2000. 17621766. tanagho, emil a., and jack w. mcaninch. "impact of urination postures on pelvic health: a review of global practices." urological sciences journal 45, no. 1: 2018. 99-106. yang, jian, mark w. thompson, and alice p. richardson. "systematic review and metaanalysis of the effects of sitting versus standing posture on male uroflowmetry and post-void residual volume." international urology and nephrology 54, no. 1: 2022.121-130. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 113 addressing marginalisation and political injustice: the case for rotational presidency in nigeria" justine arinze tansian university umunya, anambra state justin4all2004@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.25001.77923 abstract this study critically examined the contentious notion of ‘rotational presidency in nigeria’. while some proponents argue that the competence of presidents should be considered against their regional origin, others contend that such a stance may have misleading consequences. notably, since the 60-year-old existence of nigerian as a republic, the northern region has produced more presidents and dominated national leadership for 40 years, raising concerns about whether the best is only found therein. the study employed a time series research design and documentary method to collect both qualitative and quantitative data from secondary sources. using the content method of analyses, the work addressed and redressed the impacts of marginalisation and political injustice on nigeria's democracy. this research, therefore, advocates for the rotation of the presidency among all geopolitical zones of nigeria to foster equity and fairness and also to exploit diverse leadership qualities to necessitate nigeria's socio-economic and political development. the study concludes that ensuring a balanced representation in the nation’s apex office will reduce political violence, address ethnoreligious agitations, and ultimately contribute to the stability and prosperity of nigeria's often troubled democracy. keywords: rotational presidency, nigeria, marginalisation, political injustice. introduction a chequered history has characterised nigerian politics. after going through british rule from 1861 to 1960, the young nation adopted a federal system of government and its attendant parliamentarism, through which sir abubarkar tafewa balewa became the first prime minister. this birthed the first federal republic in 1963, leading to dr nnamdi azikwe‟s ceremonial presidency. however, nigeria surprisingly started to experience ethnic tensions and political instability in its infancy, resulting in several bloody and bloodless military coups. the significant but failed biafran secession from nigeria during the civil war that lasted from 1967-1970 during the reign of mailto:justin4all2004@gmail.com http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/rg.2.2.25001.77923 justine arinze 114 major general yakubu gowon is a proof of the country‟s democratic nightmare and still leaves an imprint in the current polity of nigeria. there were several attempts to reinstate a democratic government which punctuated the military regimes. of all, the obasanjo-shagari military-civilian transition succeeded first but was truncated by another military coup led by general muhammadu buhari in december 1983. the nation underwent several other military coups, rules, and reforms, however, none of them was able to place the country in its desired sustainable political trajectory, not until 1999 when gen abdulsallami abubakar eventually handed the government over to president olusegun obasanjo for a sustainable civilian rule. following the political history of nigeria, the need for political stability, equity and fair play cannot be overemphasised. as obi 2017 opins, the issue of ethnicity and religiosity are found to be the topmost cause of nigeria's political inequality and instability and they are rooted in nigeria's history, culture, and political institutions. as a multi-ethnic nation, political equity and justice are crucial for nigeria's progress, social harmony, economic development, and democratic consolidation (adelana, 2022). the foundation for inclusive governance, economic growth, and positive international relations, which are crucial for the well-being and prosperity of any nation and its citizenry are lacking in 21st-century nigeria. hence, this paper examines the role of rotational presidency in addressing the problems of marginalisation and political injustice. research design and methodology the study employed a time series research design to analyse political trends. it utilised a qualitative approach and collected data through the documentary method. secondary data were obtained from textbooks, journals, conference papers and internet resources. the study adopted content analysis and systematic logical induction to analyse the collected data. conceptual clarifications: rotational presidency, marginalisation and political injustice: 1. rotational presidency is a system of government in which the office of the president is rotated between different regions or ethnic groups. this system is often used in countries with a history of ethnic or regional conflict, as it can help to promote addressing marginalisation and political injustice: the case for rotational presidency in nigeria" 115 peace and stability by ensuring that all groups have a fair share of power. 2. marginalisation is the social exclusion of individuals or groups from full participation in society. this can be due to a variety of factors, including race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or socioeconomic status. marginalised groups are often denied access to resources and opportunities, and they may experience discrimination and violence. they may also be stigmatised and stereotyped. 3. political injustice is a concept that refers to the unfair and unequal distribution of political power and influence. it is often contrasted with political equality, which simply means that all citizens have the same legal rights and opportunities to participate in the political process. conceptual framework rotational presidency as described by hartzel and hoddie (2003), a political power-sharing agreement mandates or facilitates the participation of a broad set of decision-makers in government. the parties to such agreements are usually ethnic groups, political parties, armed forces, or other organisations representing social groups with opposing interests (hartzell and hoddie 2003, 2007). power sharing aims to ensure that no groups, and ideally no citizens, suffer policies that are seriously detrimental to their interests. the two basic principles of rotational presidency are equity and fairness. the principle of equity preaches that all regions or ethnic groups should have an equal opportunity to hold the office of president by rotating the presidency between different regions or ethnic groups, or by setting quotas for the number of presidents from each region or ethnic group. the principle of fairness means that the best candidate for the presidency should be elected. this can be achieved by using a fair electoral system, such as a single transferable vote system, which allows voters to rank their preferences for candidates. marginalisation and political injustice according to causadias and taylor (2018), marginalisation is a multifaceted, dynamic, context-dependent, and diversified web of processes that has probabilistic implications for development, is anchored in power imbalance, and is systematically targeted at particular groups and individuals. justine arinze 116 political injustice, on the other hand, is the denial of political rights to individuals or groups. among them are the freedoms to vote, hold public office, and take part in political activities. according to gaus and shoelandt 2018, political injustice stems from marginalizations inherent in political institutions and for societies to quell such, members of top political bodies must, in tandem with the social contract theory, seek terms with which all can live, albeit such terms may not be their most preferred possibility (van schoelandt and gaus 2018). marginalisation and political injustice are often interconnected. for example, marginalised groups are often denied political representation, which can make it difficult for them to advocate for their respective interests. this can lead to further marginalisation, as these groups are unable to participate in the political process and have their voices heard. the consequences of marginalisation and political injustice in a given society include but are not limited to increased poverty and inequality, reduced access to social amenities, increased crime and violence, social unrest and total instability. historical overview of nigeria's political system the political system in nigeria has evolved since its independence from the colonial rule of great britain on october 1, 1960. the first republic existed from 1960-1966 when nigeria eagerly embraced its new status as a parliamentary democracy with a post-independent structure of federalism. before independence, the country witnessed the rise of prominent political parties such as the national council of nigeria and the cameroons (ncnc), led by nnamdi azikiwe, the northern people's congress (npc), led by sir ahmadu bello; and the nigerian national democratic party (nndp), led by chief obafemi awolowo; in this era, some ethnic inclinations already began to crystallise. however, they made concerted efforts that fostered the nigerian independence of 1960 through agitations by labour movements and cultural organisations. after gaining independence, a federal structure was constituted in 1963 that led nigeria to being a republic for the first time. however, the first republic faced challenges like ethnic and regional tensions, corruption, and political instability, which eventually led to a military coup in 1966. (onwuatuegwu, 2020). following the coup, nigeria experienced a tumultuous period marked by a series of military coups and counter-coups. major general yakubu addressing marginalisation and political injustice: the case for rotational presidency in nigeria" 117 gowon assumed power and led the country through the nigerian civil war (1967-1970), which aimed to address the secessionist aspirations of the southeastern region (biafra). after the war, general gowon initiated plans to transition nigeria back to civilian rule but was overthrown in 1975 by general murtala ramat mohammed. however, his tenure was short-lived as he was assassinated the following year, leading to general olusegun obasanjo taking charge and overseeing the transition to civilian rule. the second republic began in 1979 with the adoption of a new constitution and the return to civilian rule. during this period, the national party of nigeria (npn), led by president shehu shagari, held significant sway in the political landscape. however, economic challenges, corruption, and political unrest plagued the era, culminating in another military coup in 1983. the military once again assumed power in 1983 through a coup led by general muhammadu buhari. nigeria witnessed a series of military governments, with frequent leadership changes, as the nation grappled with its challenges. general ibrahim babangida came to power in 1985 and introduced a transition program aimed at returning nigeria to civilian rule. this process faced a major setback when the presidential elections held on june 12, 1993, were controversially annulled. general sani abacha took power in 1993 and ruled until he died in 1998, paving the way for the eventual return to civilian rule. the fourth republic dawned in 1999 when olusegun obasanjo, a former military head of state, was elected as president under the banner of the people's democratic party (pdp). this marked nigeria's triumphant return to democracy after years of military rule. since then, nigeria has witnessed the rotation of power between different political parties and presidents. the political system follows a presidential model, featuring a multi-party system and periodic elections at the federal, state, and local levels. rotational presidency, marginalisation and injustice in nigerian politics during the tenure of the late gen. sani abacha, the rotational presidency concept was first established in nigeria through a national constitutional convention held in 1995.at the conference, it was decided to divide the country into six geo-political zones and to fill national political positions through a rotation system that would ensure equal representation from each zone. this rotational principle was justine arinze 118 meant to be included in the draft constitution and applied across all levels of government, with a provision for a transitional period lasting 30 years (njoku, 2005). however, this plan did not see the daylight as obviously, it is absent in the 1999 constitution. furthermore, the people's democratic party (pdp) and the all progressives congress (apc), nigeria's two most powerful political parties, are committed to justice, equity, and fairness in their respective constitutions. according to okwudiri and ugwuerua (2014), the policy of rotation and zoning was enshrined in the pdp constitution (article 7.2 (c) ) but had various lacunae that made it vulnerable to manipulations by the party‟s executive and zoning committees, respectively. hence, the idea of zoning was not once again effectively practised during the sixteen-year rule of the pdp let alone being sustained in the nation's politics. in the same vein, article 20 (e) of the apc constitution clearly states: “without prejudice to article 20(u) and (iii) of this constitution, the national working committee shall subject to the approval of the national executive committee make rules and regulations for the nomination of candidates through primary elections, all such rules, regulations and guidelines shall take into consideration and uphold the principle of federal character, gender balance, geo-political spread and rotation of offices, to as much as possible ensure balance within the constituency covered” (apc constitution, article 20 {e}) just as in the case of pdp, the constitution did not make clear provisions on the modalities of enforcing the rule, subjecting it further to manipulations and misinterpretations. from the purview, it is obvious that the principle of rotational presidency or zoning, as seen by major nigerian political institutions, is only a charade used by political elites and is robbed of its earlier stated principles which are equity, justice and fairness. to underscore this, the political marginalisation of some geopolitical zones is glaring in the post-independent and post-military regimes of the nigerian government as contained in tables 1.1 and 1.2. addressing marginalisation and political injustice: the case for rotational presidency in nigeria" 119 table 1.1: geopolitical zones of nigeria's presidents from 1963 to 1999 s/n geopolitical zone tenure (years) 1 north-west 11 2 south-west 4 3 north-central 18 4 south-east 199 days source: wikipedia ("list of heads of state of nigeria", 2023) table 1.2: geopolitical zones of nigeria's presidents from 1999 to 2022 s/n geopolitical zone tenure (years) 1 south-west 8 2 north-west 11 3 south-south 6 source: wikipedia ("list of heads of state of nigeria", 2023) from the tables 1.1 and 1.2 above, the nothern zones of the country had held national leadership for a total of 40 years out of the 60 years that nigeria had existed as a republic. breaking the figures down, the northwestern zone has ruled more than any other for 22 years, both in the military and civilian regimes (murtala mohammed, shehu shagari, sani abacha and muhammadu buhari). their runner-up, the northcentral zone dominated the military regime with a total of an 18year rule (yakubu gowon, ibrahim babangida, and abdulsalami abubakar). third position southwest had had their fair share of a total 12-year rule (olusegun obasanjo‟s double tenures both as a general and a civilian and the few months of chief ernest shonekan). at justine arinze 120 present, they have another potential 4-year addition if the incumbent president bola ahmed tinubu completes his tenure. the south-south managed to clinch the fourth position through the 6-year reign of goodluck jonathan. the southeastern part only got a glimpse of the apex position through gen aguiyi‟s ironsi‟s short military regime. note that the ceremonial leadership of dr. nnamdi azikiwe (southeast), ran concurrently with the prime ministership of sir abubakar tafawa balewa (northeast) from 1963-1966. therefore, the southeast and northeast zones of the country have fallen through the cracks in nigerian apex leadership, raising the national question of whether they are no longer part of nigeria. little wonder, disruptive agitations sprout from the last three zones stated above. according to a study conducted by olaiya et al (2014), over 70% of the legislators out of a sample size of 150 believe that without the zoning principle, there is a potential for the government apparatus to be manipulated by a particular ethnic group and therefore support the zoning principle as a means to resolve these contentions and establish a lasting peace. in support, akinola (1996) cited in ambali and mohammed (2016) argue that since 1960, the main source of conflict in the nigerian polity has been several failed attempts by the country to base its democracy on foreign political systems instead of seeking a system of governance best applicable to its unique multi-ethnic, religious and cultural state. a glimmer of hope came when the 1995 national constitutional conference tried to change this status quo by adopting a rotational presidency. it seemed a practical solution to address the contention since it reduced concerns about ethnic dominance in the presidency. however, the absence of the rotation principle in the nigerian constitution left it devoid of long-term sustainability. fast forward to 2023, the internal pdp and apc architecture of zoning was jettisoned in 2022, when the parties decided to throw the presidential ticket open in their primary elections, after practising the same for years, buttressing the point that is only tool used when it seemed favourable and not according to the rule of law. thus, akinola et al (1996) asserted that the absence of power rotation in the nigerian constitution and the inadequate adherence to the principle of rotation by political parties significantly contribute to political violence, instability, and the underdevelopment of nigeria. addressing marginalisation and political injustice: the case for rotational presidency in nigeria" 121 some authors criticise rotating the presidency among geopolitical zones because they believe it may lead to conflict among states of a zone over which state produces candidates. olugbade (1992: 320) also expressed concerns about introducing further problems into the country's federation through zoning. on the other hand, some suggest that instead of implementing zoning, the focus should be on empowering the marginalised people of nigeria economically and politically for development (abubakar, 1998: 173). in relation, adelana (2022) suggests that power rotation, regime change, or power shifts based on geopolitical or ethno-religious considerations may not effectively address the challenges of insecurity and secession agitations in nigeria. he explores the concept of political power rotation in nigeria's fourth republic and its relationship with security and integration challenges and argues that while power rotation is believed to promote fairness and mitigate fears of majority tyranny, the focus should shift towards cultivating good leadership qualities such as vision, integrity, and the ability to unite people. the study emphasises that nigeria needs improved security, lasting peace, ethno-religious harmony, nationbuilding, and democratic sustainability. it suggests that the real problem lies not in the ethnic or regional origin of the president but in the inter-class conflicts for control of state power. ultimately, it highlights the importance of practising good governance and transcending regional divisions for nigeria's progress and sociopolitical stability. having evaluated the arguments of various authors who are for and against the principle of presidential power rotation, this research deduces that while the minority of authors in the discourse posit that rotational presidency is not the solution to, or may exacerbate nigeria‟s problems of inequity and marginalisation, the majority agree that it is a panacea for peace, justice, equity, good governance and development, recommending that it should be enshrined in the constitution. however, little or no further studies have delved into the intricacies of what the policy should contain. considering the negligence and calculated manipulations of the power rotation proposition by the major political parties, even though it is contained in their constitutions, this work contends that the mere constitutionalisation of rotational presidency is inadequate to address the problems of marginalisation and political injustice in the country. hence, the relevance of this research. some ethnic and regional agitations in nigeria: the marginalisation and political injustice as x-rayed in the justine arinze 122 analysis above have orchestrated significant and seemingly intractable ethno-religious conflicts in nigeria since it attained independence in 1960. the most notable conflict was the nigerian-biafran war which according to onwuatuegwu (2020) has remained a dark point in the history of human civilization in nigeria and africa, leaving a death toll of over 2,000,000 (onuoha, 2016). the impact of other prominent regional conflicts, involving various separatist and militant groups, influenced the country's political stability are evaluated below: 1. movement for emancipation of the niger delta (mend) (20042014) the movement for the emancipation of the niger delta (mend) was one of the largest militia organisations in nigeria formed in 2004, operating in the oil-rich niger delta region. economic inequalities in nigeria are believed to contribute to the rise of the group. its focus on attacking oil infrastructure, exploiting and oppressing civilians, and causing environmental devastation is because of partnerships between corporations and the nigerian government. primarily composed of ijaw members, mend disrupted the activities of international oil firms and the nigerian government, citing economic disparities, environmental degradation, and fraud in the niger delta as their reasons. they employed various strategies such as armed assaults, kidnapping, murder, pipeline destruction, and oil theft. mend utilised swarmbased manoeuvres, speed boats in swamps to attack the government's defences. their objectives include localising oil control and seeking reparations from the government due to environmental degradation resulting from the oil industry activities in the region. the group's activities, including guerrilla warfare, sabotage, theft, kidnapping, and property destruction, posed a regional threat in the niger delta and throughout nigeria. 2. niger delta avengers (2016-present): the niger delta avengers emerged in 2016 as a militant group operating in the niger delta region. their activities of bombing pipelines, oil infrastructure, and wells had severe consequences for the region and the nation. moreover, it negatively impacted the revenue generated by the states in the region. the state's share of the 13 per cent derivation is determined by the amount of oil they produce. the militants' actions, coupled with the decline in global oil prices, resulted in a reduction in oil production and subsequently affected the states' budgets, leading to a shortage of funds for the provision of social addressing marginalisation and political injustice: the case for rotational presidency in nigeria" 123 amenities. according to governor okowa of delta state (onabu & iroegbu, 2016), the region is suffering financially, environmentally, and economically due to the pipeline bombing by the niger delta militants. the group was targeting oil pipelines and other crucial infrastructure, costing the central government n1.3 billion ($6.72 million) every day and making it difficult to implement the 2016 budget of n6.07 trillion (eziukwu, 2016). the group's actions have also had an effect on marine security in the gulf of guinea, leading to an upsurge in pirate attacks coming from the niger delta area. in the gulf of guinea, criminal gangs from nigeria that operate in the niger delta are involved in 70% of piracy-related crimes. nine of the 12 attacks that were reported in the gulf of guinea during the first quarter of 2016 originated in nigeria (onuoha, 2016). the niger delta insurgents' activities also had an impact on nigeria's ability to produce electricity. electricity output has decreased as a result of the bombing of gas pipelines that deliver gas to power plants, with capacity falling from roughly 4,800 megawatts in august 2015 to 1,000 megawatts in may 2016. (onuoha, 2016). the nation's economy's productivity and service delivery have suffered as a result of this downturn. 3. boko haram (early 2000s-present): boko haram, also known as jama'atul ahlus sunnah lidda'wati wal jihad, began as a small-scale islamic movement in maiduguri, borno state, about 2002, with a concentration primarily on preaching and almsgiving. the nigerian government's crackdown on the group's adherents, which resulted in muhammad yusuf's death as their spiritual and political leader, however, marked a dramatic change in the group's operations in 2009. around 13,000 people were killed by boko haram between 2009 and 2015. the gang has intensified its attacks against law enforcement officers, governmental agencies, educational facilities, mosques, and the general populace. the kidnapping of 250 schoolgirls in chibok in april 2014 was one prominent occurrence. the group's menace undermines nigeria's ability to function as a cohesive political entity. the sect leader declared the territory under their control to be a new islamic caliphate in august 2014, with stringent sharia laws in place. (shuaibu et al, 2015). 4. indigenous people of biafra ipob (2015 present): the 2012-founded ipob, which replaced massob, has also contributed to the instability of nigerian politics. protests, run-ins with the police, and disruptions of public events have resulted from the group's probiafran separatist ideology, especially in the southeast. as a result of several military crackdowns on ipob activities in the country's justine arinze 124 southeast between 2015 and 2017, there were numerous reports of protestors being killed during various protests at owerri, aba, asaba, and port harcourt (johnson and olaniyan, 2017). after then, the group started fighting against nigerian security forces. the arrest and arraignment of the igbo separatist group's leader maazi nnamdi kanu by the federal government on about 15 counts, including terrorism and treasonable crime, increased the commotion the group was causing. for instance, a compulsory monday sit-at-home policy, a disguised curfew, has been enforced by the non-state group in the southeastern states of the country since july 2021 and defaulters severely punished. this civil unrest has claimed many lives and properties of innocent easterners and is almost coming to stay in the region since the demands of the group are not yet met. addressing marginalisation and political injustice: the case for rotational presidency in nigeria" 125 table 1.3: summary of major ethno-religious conflicts in nigeria source: wikipedia from table 1.3, it is clear that some agitations spiked at the advent of former president muhammadu buhari‟s tenure in 2015. this points to the fact that agitations for self-independence either by governance or resource control were rekindled in some quarters of the country during this period, buttressing their marginalisation and leading to political instability. in line with this, terwase (2016) opined that the proliferation of secessionist groups during buhari‟s regime is tightly connected with the truncation of the zoning formula earlier adopted by the people‟s democratic party, through which their past administrations ensured a balanced occupation of the executive and legislative arms of government by candidates from the major ethnic groups of nigeria. through an empirical analyses of the agitations of the above-mentioned groups and their implications on peace and political stability, one can easily deduce that each tends to fight for the rights of people from one or more of the six major geopolitical zones of the country, maintaining an ethnic or religious inclination. also, they have been pivotal in disrupting political stability in nigeria at various points in the nation's history. s/n agitation or conflict start date end date duration (years) 1 mend 2004 2014 10 2 niger delta avengers 2016 present 7 3 boko haram insurgency 2002 present 21 4 ipob protests 2015 present 8 justine arinze 126 mend, niger delta avengers, boko haram insurgency, and ipob movements with their concomitant conflicts, fueled by ethno-religious tensions, secessionist aspirations, and political grievances, underscore the point that there have been severe marginalisations of some ethnic minorities in the nigerian polity, hence the pockets of grievances from such regions. olaiya et al (2014) support this proposition that ethnic conflicts have negatively impacted the country's democracy in the past. conclusion against this backdrop, the various challenges to the implementation of the rotational presidency have been appraised. in contrast to the arguments by various authors concerning the workability of the rotational presidency in addressing marginalisation and political injustice for the peace and progress of nigeria, this paper asserts that the principle of rotational presidency remains a formidable solution to the problems in question. criticism that the principle would not address the nigerian question is too close to call. above all, this paper affirms that the loopholes that shroud the idea are the reasons why the principle may seem ineffective. if properly addressed in line with the principles of equity, justice and fairness, and enshrined in the constitution with an explicit successive plan and strict enforcement, the issue of marginalisation will be completely addressed and the nation will once again enjoy stability, peace, and a rapid socio-economic and political development. hence the solution to the nigerian question transcends above factoring it into the constitution to defining the practical guidelines to be followed. recommendation the study therefore recommends that federal governments should set up an all-encompassing committee to address the issue, that would marshal out in clear detail how rotational presidency should be coded into the constitution, practised and sustained. the committee should comprise stakeholders from all the ethnic groups and religious affiliations of the country, including youth forums and women's social groups. the deliberations and proceedings of such would be representative of popular opinions and would address the problems of marginalisation and political injustice in nigeria. suggestions for further studies the study takes into account the proliferation of agitations and separatist groups in the country. the four selected for the study are only sample size from the whole and the most prominent in terms of disrupting political stability in the country. also, a cursory look at this work shows apparent addressing marginalisation and political injustice: the case for rotational presidency in nigeria" 127 loopholes for exploitation, especially for critical minds on the aspect of the possibility of the implementation of the recommendations therein. however, the nature of research is such that it is never ended; hence from the academic point of view and from research, propositions have been made. it therefore becomes the preoccupation of the policymakers to see to the implementations if objectively, these recommendations can ameliorate nigerian political squabbles and tension. however for those who genuinely feel that more need to be done especially on the aspect praxis of implementation and not just theory, the research goes on. bibliography [1] j. m. causadias and a. j. umaña-taylor, “reframing marginalization and youth development: introduction to the special issue.,” american psychologist, vol. 73, no. 6, pp. 707–712, sep. 2018, doi: https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000336. [2] w. elekwachi, “crude oil theft in the niger delta: the oil companies and host communities conundrum,” www.academia.edu, vol. volume vii, no. issue i, jan. 2020, available: https://www.academia.edu/41710057/crude_oil_theft_in_the_ niger_delta_the_oil_companies_and_host_communities_con undrum. [3] i. johnson and a. olaniyan, “the politics of renewed quest for a biafra republic in nigeria,” defense & security analysis, vol. 33, no. 4, pp. 320–332, oct. 2017, doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/14751798.2017.1382029. [4] m. kulungu, “movement for the „emancipation of the niger delta‟ (mend) constitutes a threat to the u.s. national security,” oalib, vol. 08, no. 06, pp. 1–17, 2021, doi: https://doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1107465. [5] s. s. shuaibu, m. a. salleh, and a. y. shehu, “the impact of boko haram insurgency on nigerian national security,” international journal of academic research in business and social sciences, vol. 5, no. 6, jul. 2015, doi: https://doi.org/10.6007/ijarbss/v5-i6/1676. [6] i. t. terwase, h. m. yerima, a.-n. abdul-talib, and m. b. ibrahim, “the issues behind agitations, conflict and war: a case of nigeria,” international review of management and marketing, vol. 6, no. 7s, pp. 17–21, oct. 2016. available: https://econjournals.com/index.php/irmm/article/view/3165. [7] u. njoku, between rotational presidency and inventing the structures of social justice. www.kenu.com/publication, 2005, p. 1. [8] dr. o. chukwuma nwosu and e. ugwuerua, “rotational presidency and political corruption in nigeria: a critical https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000336 https://www.academia.edu/41710057/crude_oil_theft_in_the_niger_delta_the_oil_companies_and_host_communities_conundrum https://www.academia.edu/41710057/crude_oil_theft_in_the_niger_delta_the_oil_companies_and_host_communities_conundrum https://www.academia.edu/41710057/crude_oil_theft_in_the_niger_delta_the_oil_companies_and_host_communities_conundrum https://doi.org/10.1080/14751798.2017.1382029 https://doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1107465 https://doi.org/10.6007/ijarbss/v5-i6/1676 https://econjournals.com/index.php/irmm/article/view/3165 justine arinze 128 evaluation of president obasanjo and umoru musa yar‟ adua‟s regime, 1999-2010,” iosr journal of humanities and social science, vol. 19, no. 12, pp. 50–57, 2014, doi: https://doi.org/10.9790/0837-191255057. [9] i. n. onwuatuegwu, “a research review on 50 years after the biafran war,” international journal of engineering applied sciences and technology, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 570–578, may 2020, doi: https://doi.org/10.33564/ijeast.2020.v05i01.100. [10] a. akinola, “the significance of political equity and stability for nigeria‟s development,” journal of african studies and development, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 1–12, 2016. [11] c. obi, “the challenges of political equity and stability in nigeria,” journal of african policy studies, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 113– 128., 2017. [12] c. hartzell and m. hoddie, “institutionalizing peace: power sharing and post-civil war conflict management,” american journal of political science, vol. 47, no. 2, pp. 318–332, 2003, doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/3186141. [13] t. a. olaiya, d. o. apeloko, i. n. amanchukwu, and b. w. shiyanbade, “rethinking zoning formula as political panacea for ethnic conflict and governance crisis in nigeria,” research on humanities and social sciences, vol. 4, no. 26, p. 1, 2014, available: https://www.iiste.org/journals/index.php/rhss/article/view /17638. [14] f. c. onuoha, “the resurgence of militancy in nigeria‟s oil-rich niger delta and the dangers of militarisation,” al jazeera centre for studies, jun. 08, 2016. https://studies.aljazeera.net/en/reports/2016/06/resurgencemilitancy-nigerias-oil-rich-niger-delta-dangers-militarisation160608065729726.html [15] a. eziukwu, “nigeria loses another n1.3 billion daily to attacks by niger delta avengers,” premiumtimesng.com, jun. 05, 2023. https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/204715nigeria-loses-another-n1-3-billion-daily-attacks-niger-deltaavengers.html. [16] c. onuoha, “the nigerian civil war: a historical interpretation,” www.semanticscholar.org, 2016. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/the-nigerian-civilwar%3a-a-historical-interpretationchidiebere/2195343302d3f36875999fe7136a4180589c699a [17] m. a. onabu and n. l. iroegbu, “tackling the drivers of militancy in the niger delta: lessons from the amnesty https://doi.org/10.9790/0837-191255057 https://doi.org/10.33564/ijeast.2020.v05i01.100 https://doi.org/10.2307/3186141 https://www.iiste.org/journals/index.php/rhss/article/view/17638 https://www.iiste.org/journals/index.php/rhss/article/view/17638 https://studies.aljazeera.net/en/reports/2016/06/resurgence-militancy-nigerias-oil-rich-niger-delta-dangers-militarisation-160608065729726.html https://studies.aljazeera.net/en/reports/2016/06/resurgence-militancy-nigerias-oil-rich-niger-delta-dangers-militarisation-160608065729726.html https://studies.aljazeera.net/en/reports/2016/06/resurgence-militancy-nigerias-oil-rich-niger-delta-dangers-militarisation-160608065729726.html https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/204715-nigeria-loses-another-n1-3-billion-daily-attacks-niger-delta-avengers.html https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/204715-nigeria-loses-another-n1-3-billion-daily-attacks-niger-delta-avengers.html https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/204715-nigeria-loses-another-n1-3-billion-daily-attacks-niger-delta-avengers.html https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/the-nigerian-civil-war%3a-a-historical-interpretation-chidiebere/2195343302d3f36875999fe7136a4180589c699a https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/the-nigerian-civil-war%3a-a-historical-interpretation-chidiebere/2195343302d3f36875999fe7136a4180589c699a https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/the-nigerian-civil-war%3a-a-historical-interpretation-chidiebere/2195343302d3f36875999fe7136a4180589c699a addressing marginalisation and political injustice: the case for rotational presidency in nigeria" 129 program,” african conflict & peacebuilding review, vol. 6, no. 1. pp. 113–132, 2016. [18] o. s. adelana, “political power rotation, national security and integration in nigeria‟s fourth republic,” redeemer’s university journal of management and social sciences, vol. 5, no. 1, aug. 2022, accessed: jul. 08, 2023. [online]. available: https://www.runjmss.com/index.php/runojs/article/view/39 [19] c. van shoelandt and g. f. gaus, political and distributive justice. oxford university press, 2018. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199645121.013.34. [20] all progressive congress, “apc constitution,” all progressive congress, 2014. https://officialapc.ng/apc-constitution/. [21] k. olugbade, “the nigerian state and the quest for a stable polity,” comparative politics, vol. 24, no. 3, p. 293, apr. 1992, doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/422134. [22] wikipedia, “list of heads of state of nigeria,” wikipedia.org, jan. 22, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/list_of_heads_of_state_of_niger ia. [23] a. r. ambali and a. l. mohammed, “sustainable democracy and political domination: a rotational presidency among nigerian ethnic groups,” jas.uitm.edu.my, vol. 13, no. 1, p. 5, 2016. available: https://jas.uitm.edu.my/index.php/14-archieve2015/9-current-issues [24] i. a. kanu (2019). “igwebuikecracy: the igbo-african participatory socio-political system of governance”. tolle lege: an augustinian journal of the philosophy and theology. 1. 1. pp. 34-45. [25] i. a. kanu (2023). “igwebuike socio-political philosophy: towards an indigenous political system”. aku: an african journal of contemporary research. vol. 4. no. 2. pp. 1-17. https://www.runjmss.com/index.php/runojs/article/view/39 https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199645121.013.34 https://officialapc.ng/apc-constitution/ https://doi.org/10.2307/422134 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/list_of_heads_of_state_of_nigeria https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/list_of_heads_of_state_of_nigeria https://jas.uitm.edu.my/index.php/14-archieve-2015/9-current-issues https://jas.uitm.edu.my/index.php/14-archieve-2015/9-current-issues igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 62 a critique of perspectives and challenges of the new partnership for africa’s development (nepad) orji, chidi paul, ph.d. department of philosophy, university of agriculture and environmental sciences, umuagwo, imo state hipaulco@gmail.com, paul.orji@uaes.edu.ng orcid id: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-2941-5398 & nwata, ulunwa philip, ph.d. department of business administration, faculty of arts, management & social sciences, university of agriculture and environmental sciences, umuagwo, imo state, nwataulunwaphilip@gmail.com & nwagbara, rufus godswill, department of philosophy, babcock university, ilisan remo, ogun state godswillnwagbara@gmail.com, nwagbarag@babcock.edu.ng abstract african leaders sought to address the continent's development issues after earlier attempts failed, and they came to the view that the continent needed to reconsider its development strategy if it was to have any significance in the global community in the twenty-first century. nepad represents essentially a commitment made by african leaders based on a shared and unwavering belief that it is their urgent responsibility to end poverty and set their nation, both individually and collectively, on a course toward sustainable development. poor social life and underdevelopment on the continent, which show up as poor health, general poverty, infant mortality, and economic backwardness, have been a difficult concern for african political leaders ever since african nations gained political independence. therefore, nepad is thought to lessen africa's marginalization and neglect in international economic interactions while reorienting the continent toward long-term development. examining nepad's effects on africa is the primary objective of this research. and how the people have been given fresh hope and optimism thanks to nepad's programs. important policy frameworks and initiatives have been built for africa's socio-economic sectors, including infrastructure, science and technology, education, ict, agriculture and food security, and capacity building. through nepad, africa has seen a decade of transformation and notable advancements in the implementation and policies of political and socioeconomic governance. peace and security, governance, economic progress, and the empowerment of women and youth have all seen some degree of achievement. keywords: nepad, africa, nigeria, development, health mailto:paul.orji@uaes.edu.ng https://orcid.org/0009-0000-2941-5398 mailto:nwataulunwaphilip@gmail.com mailto:nwagbarag@babcock.edu.ng igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 63 introduction the new partnership for africa's development (nepad) has been referred to by various combinations of architects and prominent supporters, typically portraying nepad as an effort to address africa's enormous development challenges; some have even dubbed it africa's "marshall plan." others see it as a development strategy and a program of the african union (au). critics, on the other hand, portray nepad as a "neo-liberal" project, which is obviously at odds with the views of its supporters, who see it as a revolutionary plan; some have even dubbed it the "africanization of gear." regardless of the name or epithet, nepad has generated a lot of debate. development, peace, security, government, and democracy are all directly linked. it appears to have two distinct justifications and has been regarded seriously by both proponents and opponents of nepad. its goal is to instill a culture of democracy, accountability, and "good" governance in african politics. in contrast, it aims to establish a "new" and improved partnership with the industrialized north to include them in efforts to support these new african projects through debt relief, increased official development assistance, infrastructure development, and direct foreign investment. thus, nepad is predicated on a trade-off: the industrialized nations of the globe would recommit to africa's development in return for african leaders holding one another responsible. we must raise the question, "what prompted nepad?" to properly appreciate what nepad is. what is the origin of nepad? nepad really is visionary. it aims to fundamentally alter both intra-african politics and africa's foreign policy. the post-cold war reality of power disparities between industrialized northern nations and africa served as the impetus for nepad. it is an attempt to respond to the political and military withdrawal of western nations from the continent as well as the failure of external powers to fulfill their historical responsibilities to the region. nepad is also an effort to counteract unfavorable views about africa. re-engaging with the continent would help stop the continent's rising poverty and inequality and help change africa's political, economic, and social landscapes if the outside world responded to nepad in a good and productive way. thabo mbeki made it clear that he was determined to combat afropessimism in the industrialized world even before he was elected president. he sought to dispel the notion among western governments, investors, and observers that africa was home to a number of kleptocratic states, most of which are autocratic and have a high tendency to violate democracy and human rights. however, nepad is more than just an effort to improve africa's reputation abroad. nepad also targets african ruling elites and other african communities. africans should abandon the victimhood culture and mindset, according to nepad. it believes that by rejecting the alleged propensity to attribute all of africa's problems to the outside world, it is adopting a highly "mature" stance. to do this, it seeks to instill in african politics the idea of "taking responsibility" for the continent's own errors and to become more critical of its own political evolution. the perception of the west in africa, on the other hand, was that of a group of strong white states that are racist and believe that africa has lost its strategic importance after the end of the cold war. such governments increasingly abandoned their political and economic responsibilities to the continent because they did not see the need to deploy soldiers to distant nations on the "dark continent," which they understood little about and much less about. every piece of evidence supporting africa's present high degree of poverty and marginalization in all igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 64 spheres has been studied, documented, and debated. these raise the question of how to halt this downward trend and firmly place africa back on the global development agenda, as well as on the path to sustainable and irreversible development, so that africa may make a genuine claim to this millennium. effort to address issues in africa, including poverty, underdevelopment, undemocratic governments, and a lack of cooperation among african states, is the new partnership for africa's development (nepad). nepad, which was started by the most powerful african nations and backed by the developed world, sparked a heated discussion over whether it would be a true answer for africa or "another false dawn." based on the understanding that africa has and will continue to offer much to the world and humanity, and that the rest of the world owes it a duty to respond to its current situation, african heads of state conceived nepad as a development framework that will do just that, which is why partnership is so important. nepad wants to unite the continent as an economic and trading bloc and increase its competitiveness; it wants to change the current global market and financial architecture; and it acknowledges that to do so, africa must first organize itself, and that all african nations must cooperate in order to achieve shared goals and objectives. the foundation of new partnership for africa’s development contribution to africa the new partnership for africa’s development (nepad) was formed after a long search for a framework to guide africa’s socio-economic transformation. there was a need to address poverty and african marginalization within the world economy. also, the millennium development goals (mdgs) set by the un in 2000 prompted the urgency to adopt and implement the mdgs. this led to the initiation of nepad by presidents bouteflika (algeria); mubarak (egypt); obasanjo (nigeria); wade (senegal); and mbeki (south africa)."the nepad is a programme adopted by the african union focusing on political leadership and accountability of african leaders; to themselves, their people and their counterparts," said dr. reuel khoza, chairman of the nepad business foundation. "nepad aims to promote and sustain socioeconomic development and foster the adoption of policies that are in line with global practices. its purpose is to eradicate poverty, halt the marginalization of africa in the globalization process, promote the empowerment and economic integration of women, and achieve the mdgs." added to this, nepad is structured to provide leadership and management through the collective vision of african leaders seeking to promote a positive value system, norms, and standards. this is done through various committees: heads of state and government implementation committee (hsgic), nepad steering committee, and the nepad secretariat. the african peer review mechanism is accepted by member states of the african union as an african selfmonitoring mechanism. it aims to foster the adoption of policies, standards, and practices that lead to political stability, high economic growth, and sustainable development, and accelerated sub-regional and continental economic integration through the sharing of experiences and best practices, and is important to the sustainability of nepad. in monitoring the progress made by nepad so far, african leaders have taken various steps to analyze its progress: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 65 1. what has the international impact of nepad been? 2. are conditions for african development being addressed? 3. are leaders, countries, and organizations now conducting business differently? 4. are perceptions about the continent changing? 5. have african relations with development partners changed? 6. has the implementation of programmes and projects started? there have been encouraging and significant results registered during the last few years in several areas, such as: 1) the african union (au): it is leading in conflict resolution and peacebuilding in several countries. budgets, mandates, and leadership of key organs of the au are being reinforced. 2) consolidation of democracy: installation of democratic governments and improved macroeconomic management on the continent has increased. successful democratic elections and peaceful changes in leadership are more frequent with a reduction in unconstitutional changes in leadership. post-conflict reconstruction initiatives are being developed. good governance, democracy, and the promotion of human rights are becoming the norm in africa. african leaders have committed themselves to increasing national budget allocations. 3) african peer review mechanism: the aprm has received international acclaim, and the first sets of reviews have been completed in ghana, rwanda, south africa, and algeria. twentysix countries have acceded to the aprm. the aprm process is addressing corruption, poor governance, and inefficient delivery of public goods and services to its citizens. 4) priority areas: agriculture, infrastructure, icts, science and technology, environment, and regional economic integration, which were not among the top priorities of the development agenda of international partners, have now become core issues. furthermore, the successful development and launch of the investment climate facility (a public-private financial facility) has been implemented. this facility is aimed at making african countries more attractive to investment globally. 5) health: the emergence of the global fund to fight aids, tb, and malaria provides resources for the overarching strategy to address aids and its impact on development. increased support for integrated health systems to deliver programmes and new approaches to training and retention of health workers is emerging. countries have moved to implement the nepad health strategy, and the partnership with the world health organization continues to yield positive results. 6) infrastructural development: in the past five years, the african development bank and the world bank have increased priority to projects under the nepad short-term action plan for infrastructure development. several regional infrastructure projects have been brought to the implementation stage. infrastructure development has also been given a further boost by the un millennium project and the commission for africa, recommending increased development partner support for infrastructure development. development partners have established the infrastructure consortium for africa to meet priority infrastructure needs on the continent. 7) african economic growth: the average economic growth rate for the continent in 2004 was 5.4% (the highest in 8 years). according to the international monetary fund, for 2006, it is projected to increase to 5.7%. the challenge is to maintain the trend and to increase the rate igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 66 further towards the 7% target. nepad has also forged global partnerships with industrialized and developing countries and multilateral organizations. this has resulted in increased development assistance (oda) flows to africa. over the past five years, nepad has ensured increased oda to africa. african leaders have placed the african development agenda high on their priorities. it has been well received by the united nations the office of the special advisor on africa, the european union, the organization for economic cooperation and development (oecd), the commonwealth, and the world trade organization. nepad and the prospect of african development the search for a pan-african initiative and structure that can lead to the social and economic transformation of the continent of africa in a rapidly “globalizing world” climaxed with the launching of the new partnership for african development (nepad). this initiative is faced with certain challenges that constitute its problems. nepad’s overall success is anchored on three human factors. these include :(i) leadership, good governance, and accountability (2) foreign western partners, and (3) african people. on the first challenge, nepad is a pledge by african leaders based on a common vision and shared conviction that they have a pressing duty to eradicate poverty and to place their countries on the path of sustainable growth and development, and at the same time to participate actively in the world economy and body politics. consequently, the leaders have a duty to sell nepad to the african people and convince african partners that they are ready to participate in the world economy and body politics. the ability of the african economy to participate in a competitive style is directly a factor of its economic governance. economic governance revolves around sound economic management and performance of an economy over time, and sound economic management must result in sustainable economic growth and development nepad: between hope and despair is the new economic partnership for africa's development (nepad) a panacea for africa's development problems or just another fad destined for the continent's development cemetery? this question has been posed since the inception of nepad in 2001. and it keeps on popping up like the proverbial frog on the beer mug. the popular and/or political critique is that nepad is a creation of a few african leaders, notably thabo mbeki of south africa, olusegun obasanjo of nigeria, abdoulaye wade of senegal, and abdelaziz bouteflika of algeria, with backing from the west. and that is why even the namibian government was initially skeptical about the whole idea, especially with regard to the peer review mechanism, one of its central pillars. that critique is justified, but there is the risk of throwing out the baby with the bathwater. ideas must be looked at from their own internal strength and coherence, and not necessarily where they originate. this, however, is not to disregard issues of democratic participation and the question of power in the generation of ideas. there is (or should be) a difference between setting an agenda for popular discussion and debate and pushing that agenda onto a passive populace. agendas must, ideally, become blueprints and visions only after an exhaustive public debate and some degree of consensus. what we need to do, therefore, is to look backward to move forward igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 67 historically speaking. we need to ask: what happened to the long and worthy list of similar grand plans, ideas, and initiatives meant to accelerate the development of africa over the past three or four decades since independence? the architects of nepad have to answer that question much more comprehensively before they can convincingly present their case. or have they? secondly, we need to adopt a critical and deconstructionist attitude, i.e., lay bare the plan to see what its strengths and weaknesses are and how it can situate itself within the broader trajectory of contemporary global forces. according to ebegbulem, adams & achu: the quest for african development and more equitable forms of engagement between africa and the western world is not entirely new. yet, the new partnership for africa’s development (nepad), which was inaugurated in 2001 in abuja, has continued to generate enormous attention both within and outside africa. nepad has become the issue at national, african, and global fora, as africa grapples with the real concern of daily survival, overcoming poverty, conflict, and disease, and reaping the fruits of development (ebegbulem, adams & achu, 2012:270). there is yet another subtle aspect about plans, visions, and initiatives that is less recognized, especially in positivist scholarship, for plans are usually used as a way of demarcating boundaries and framing the way problems and issues are thought about. it is a process of excluding alternatives that are sometimes not acceptable to those drawing up the plans. because one is, in a sense, saying: this is the way we should think and ultimately proffer solutions to this or that problem. and in certain instances, especially those plans that are couched in futuristic terms, they serve to postpone problems and thus ease demands on the political system, at least for a while namibia's vision 2030 is a case in point. the new partnership for africa's development (nepad) must be seen in that light. like its predecessors, for example, it metamorphosed from the merger of the millennium africa recovery plan and the omega plan leading to the new african initiative (nai) and eventually to nepad. so, the fundamental question is whether nepad will succeed where others wavered. how different is it from the others or what has changed, locally and globally, since the inception of nepad to make it succeed? on what grounds does it stake its claims as the panacea for the continent's declining fortunes or, more broadly, as the harbinger of the much-talked-about african renaissance (itself an essentially contested idea)? ebegbulem, adams & achu point out that: the emergence of the new partnership for africa’s development (nepad) is basically a pledge by african leaders predicated on a common and firm vision that they have a pressing duty to eradicate poverty and place their country, both individually and collective on a path of sustainable development. nepad, therefore, incorporates a commitment by african leaders to create and consolidate basic processes and practices of governance that are in line with the principles of transparency, respect for human rights, promotion of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 68 rule of law, accountability, integrity, etc. the challenging concern of african political leaders since the attainment of political independence by african countries has been the question of the continent's poor social life and underdevelopment on the continent, which manifests itself in the form of poor health conditions, general poverty, infant mortality, and economic backwardness. it is therefore believed that nepad will reposition the african continent on the path of long term development and minimize its marginalization and neglect in international economic relations. nepad is, therefore, a commitment by african leaders to accelerate the integration of the african continent into the global economy, as well as a call to the rest of the world to partner with africa in her own development based on her own agenda and programme of action. (ebegbulem, adams & achu, 2012:270271). before venturing into tackling these questions, one has to spell out very briefly what nepad is. so what is it? "this new partnership for africa's development is a pledge by african leaders based on a common vision and a firm and shared conviction that they have a pressing duty to eradicate poverty and to place their countries, both individually and collectively, on a path of sustainable growth and sustainable development and at the same time to participate actively in the world economy and body politic." several aspects are immediately discernible from this statement. these are: 1. the emphasis on african ownership of nepad and the role and responsibilities of leaders to see the plan through. 2. second is the commitment to forging a new partnership with the west and international financial institutions (ifis). 3. thirdly, there is talk of creating an enabling environment by minimizing conflict through the promotion of good governance, macroeconomic stability, and maintaining transparency and accountability in both the public and private realms. these elements are seen as the right mix for pursuing the nepad development agenda, which includes, inter alia, social and economic regeneration of the continent, poverty reduction, and economic empowerment of the people. and like many other plans before it, nepad is also premised on sectoral strategies and all sectors are ably covered. this entire venture is not without a heavy price tag, as an estimated us$64 billion per year is needed to achieve an annual seven percent growth rate. where are the money and resources going to come from? several strategies are envisioned. a capital flow and market access initiatives to include domestic savings and investment, debt cancellation, production diversification, foreign direct investment, access to foreign markets for africa's primary commodities, etc. but it is also hoped that the bulk of the money will come from the so-called development partners the industrialized west, the g-8, and ifis. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 69 proponents of nepad point to the peer review mechanism and its commitment to good governance and to the fact that it does not heap blame on the west for the continent's problems as some of its strongest trump cards. perhaps that is why the g-8 countries are said to be supportive of nepad. it is the in-thing in town. the commonwealth is also very supportive of nepad. our strategic collaboration with nepad on economic and political issues will, i'm sure, bear fruit, and we look forward to the development synergies in many areas, including the nepad peer review mechanism." fine words indeed. but are they going to take africa to greater heights this time around? one doesn't want to pour cold water on the continent's new child. but looking back, nepad is likely to flounder like many of the previous plans. first of all, there is basically nothing new in the nepad that has not been encapsulated in the previous plans before it. in fact, some like the lagos plan of action or the revised framework referred to earlier, were more "african" and more "radical" as they put more emphasis on self-reliance, self-sustainability, democratization of the development process, and finally, a fair and just distribution of the fruits of development through the progressive eradication of unemployment and widespread poverty. none of these radical agendas got implemented as they were resisted and eventually jettisoned. instead, we ended up on the west/world bank's favourite agenda, structural adjustment programmes. it will really take a great leap of faith to assume that nepad will succeed. as it stands now, nepad's agenda reflects many of the assumptions that characterized the neo-liberal socio-economic and political programmes that were designed for africa in the late 1980s and 90s. we have noted earlier that some of the previous plans failed because of a lack of political will and resources, and sometimes resistance from the international financial institutions. other scholars have been pointing to africa's over-reliance and dependency on the goodwill of others and the unpredictable fluctuations of the world market, which africa has no control over. although some naïve individuals keep telling us that more globalization, not less, is good for africa, despite the negative consequences to the contrary. as samir amin noted a few years ago, africa is already the most globalized continent in the world and yet the most marginalized. yet nepad still advocates for greater participation in the world economy. but on whose terms? by trying to march towards its future hand-in-hand with its colonial, mono-cultural, lowproductivity, and excessively dependent and open economy, africa has ensured no dignified future for itself." and this is probably the fate that will befall nepad and thus africa. nepad’s view on the global political-economy contrary to much criticism that nepad only focuses on partnership with the outside world, and does not talk enough about intra-african partnerships, nepad does have clear political economy perspectives on the african dimension itself. nepad points out that the building of cross-border and trans-african road networks, railways, and other means of transport and communication, and the consolidation of joint energy, water, and other systems, will be far more igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 70 effective and beneficial than economies of scale. nepad calls for the creation of an ‘essential regional public good’ to ‘enhance regional cooperation and trade’. nepad clearly placed a great deal of stress on ‘capital flows’ within africa and from abroad. in nepad’s own words, there is `…an urgent need to create conditions that promote private sector investment by both domestic and foreign investors’. nepad encourages ‘the promotion of intra -african trade and investments’ through ‘the harmonization of economic and investment policies and practices’. nepad offers ‘great investment opportunities’, especially through ‘publicprivate partnerships’, as well as ‘lowering the risks facing private investors’. nepad proposes the establishment of a financial market integration task force to ‘speed up financial market integration’. nepad further calls for ‘the deepening of financial markets within countries, as well as cross -border harmonization and integration’. the ‘co-ordination of national sector policies and effective monitoring of regional decisions’, and `the promotion of policy and regulatory harmonization’, according to nepad, is necessary to facilitate cross-border interaction and marketenlargement’. nepad aptly recognizes that most african economies are vulnerable because of their dependence on primary production and resource-based sectors. african economies have ‘narrow export bases,’ and they are in `urgent need to diversify production’. it is vital, says nepad, that african countries ‘pool’ or combine their resources within regional production strategies, and stimulate ‘cross-border interactions among african firms’, as well as cross-border inter-sectoral linkages. nepad speaks out against the ‘absence of fair and just rules’ as far as the global trading system is concerned, and seeks to address the ‘unfavorable terms of trade’ facing africa. it also speaks out against ‘biases in economic policy and instability in world commodity prices’ that affect africa negatively. as such, nepad seeks ‘a new global partnership’ and declares that international multilateral institutions and the world’s most industrialized nations have an ‘obligation’ to negotiate more favourable terms of trade for african countries within the multilateral framework. nepad further encourages african states to actively engage the multilateral system of rules and regulations being created and implemented under the world trade organization (wto). nepad also recognizes ‘the new trading opportunities that emerge from the evolving multilateral trading system. on globalization, nepad nepad’s criticism from african constituencies apart from the weaknesses on the part of the g-8-africa action plan, nepad faced a more serious challenge in africa. criticisms against nepad came in two forms. ngos and other civil society organizations (csos) complained about the lack of consultation with this sector and that nepad was a top-down process. this sector was also highly critical of what they saw as the ‘neo-liberal’ economic prescriptions embedded in nepad, which, according to them, smacked of a self-imposed structural adjustment programme. on a more positive note, many cso organizations came out in support of the political aspects of nepad, in particular the insistence on democracy, accountability, and good and democratic governance. the second challenge came from other african governments. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 71 just like csos, many such governments also complained about the lack of consultation by the nepad architects. concern was also expressed that some supporters of nepad wished to see nepad as some super program outside the confines of the african union (au). to be sure, many autocratic african governments were critical of nepad because they were visibly threatened by nepad’s strong emphasis on democratic and accountable governance. in the end, a revised nepad was adopted by the au as the ‘economic programme’ of the union, and the nepad steering committee was increased from 15 to 20 african states during the official launch of the au in durban, south africa in july 2002. preconditions for nepad's success quite understandably, some have wondered whether nepad will be no more successful than many well-intentioned projects in the past. the conditions for the success of the project are: peace and security: the absence of violence and unnecessary crises on the continent will create an investment-friendly environment capable of attracting foreign investment as well as foreign capital inflows. this is sine qua non for the realization of the ideals of nepad. good governance: nepad emphasizes the existence of a link between development on one hand, and democracy, respect for human rights, and good governance on the other. corrupt practices can distort the electoral processes and the extent to which elected leaders actually represent the interests of their constituencies. corruption can distort the independence of the judiciary as well as the oversight functions of the legislature. the ultimate effects of such corrupt practices are the erosion of accountability and a reduction in the standards of governance. this monster called corruption must be eliminated if nepad is to succeed. self-reliance: african cannot depend on external financing for the success of nepad. african states must vigorously and consistently fund the project, as this will confer respect and integrity on the continent. thus, the dream of placing africa on equal footing in global affairs will be realizable. availability and accessibility of relevant information: accurate, timely, and relevant information is a vital resource to any meaningful and sustainable development. information is one of the critical factors that define the progress of advanced countries. africa must invest heavily in the generation and management of this fifth factor of production, which developing nations have consistently ignored to their detriment. information is a desideratum for the success of nepad in its various aspects and processes. library and information centres: societies risk stagnation unless they make constant provision for the injection and absorption of new knowledge. libraries and information centres are the intellectual storehouse serving as a giant memory. a society without well-developed libraries is tantamount to a person without a brain and memory. these institutions function as an agency for acquiring, organizing, and preserving for use, knowledge as fixed in any recorded igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 72 format. information is a powerful tool for personal, organizational, and national development. it is said to be an inessential part of a nation's resources, and access to it is one of the basic human rights; information is not only a national resource vital for scientific and economic progress but is also seen as a medium for social communication. nepad’s strength and impact nepad is bound to succeed, for it represents perhaps the most significant initiative ever advocated for moving the african continent from crisis to renewal. given that it is based on a set of internationally accepted core principles that are recognized as prerequisites for sustainable growth and development, it has great potential for success if implemented by the majority of african states. indeed, there is much riding on nepad. it holds considerable promise for economic, political, and social development in africa. however, the consequences of its failure will be costly and will undoubtedly return the continent to its marginalized status and prove the african pessimists right. though nepad may be a plan “of extraordinary vision and immense realism, as the canadian prime minister, jean chretien, is reported to have said, to succeed, african leaders will need to put their houses in order. if african leaders will passionately take up the joint responsibility of developing the capacity to sustain growth at a level required to achieve poverty reduction and sustainable development by developing positive home-grown economic plans through better anti-smuggling measures and strong manufacturing base; placing increased emphasis on science, research and technological innovation and creating the kind of climate that will retain africa’s technocrats; strengthening mechanism for conflict prevention, management and resolution; promoting and protecting democracy and human rights; ensuring good governance and fight against corruption; ensuring more access to international market and less dependent on aid for several years of aid have not and will not solve africa’s problems and aid by its very nature is political; restoring and maintaining macroeconomic stability; instituting transparent legal and regulatory framework for financial markets and auditing of private companies and the public sector; promoting the role of women in social and economic development; and making room for human security for the primary aim of development should be to ensure a better standard of living for present and future generation/ development is not merely about increasing the gross domestic product or the per capita income but a process of empowerment and self-reliance; a freedom from want, depreciation and marginalization. nepad’s mechanism for sustainable development in africa the nepad framework declares that there are preconditions for sustainable development in africa. these are peace, security, democracy, good governance, human rights, and sound economic management. these preconditions need to be analyzed in detail. hope groups the core principles of nepad into five. the first principle is “good governance” in the areas of corporation, economy, and politics. one of nepad’s characteristics is its emphasis on good governance to achieve economic growth and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 73 development. promoting the rule of law, institutional reforms, enhancing accountability, participation, and responsibility are aims of good political governance. in this context, nepad presented a concrete step, named the african peer review mechanism (aprm), in 2002. on the other hand, economic governance entails things like transparent management, regulating fiscal policy, public expenditure management, and debt management, etc. lastly, good corporate governance refers to the development of corporate structures in africa in order to maintain the global standards to attract private international capital flows. nepad’s principle of “entrenchment of democracy, peace and security” is a crucial point for the success of the project. most of the african nations live under dictatorial regimes, suffer from long civil wars, terrorism, and crimes, etc. developmental goals of africa cannot be achieved within unstable social and political environments. another core principle is “sound economic policy-making and execution. the main purpose of nepad is firstly to achieve regional economic integration and then link the whole continent to the globalization process. the nepad framework document entails the restoration and maintenance of macroeconomic stability and introduces appropriate institutional frameworks to achieve these standards. any project for africa’s development needs to be owned by africans themselves. the main flaw of the previous initiatives was the indifference of african governments and people to them. nepad aims for full “domestic ownership and leadership” to find permanent solutions to africa’s problems. nepad attaches great importance to “productive partnerships” between africa and its bilateral and multilateral partners. this principle regulates the co-operation between the donor and recipient countries. theoretically, it includes the partnership of all african states to maintain an overall political, social, and economic development and improvement of africa through cooperation. the other side of this partnership is the contribution of the industrialized states to the project. nepad is another african initiative that leans upon the aid of rich donor states. however, the concept of “partnership” seems to be problematic. nepad, being a leader-driven initiative, is criticized for insufficient popular participation and ownership. somalia, zimbabwe, liberia, the democratic republic of congo, and many other african countries are not ready to be an automatic member of nepad, which has obviously ambitious political aims for the whole of africa, such as peace, security, and democracy. thus, the term “enhanced partnership” is offered for nepad’s structure, which refers to a selective, limited partnership between rich states and africa. however, this contradicts nepad’s main goals, which envisage a collective development for the continent. on the other hand, the nature of this partnership is debated too. a partnership between the poor south and the rich north is not a partnership of equals. nepad is not a project of mutual interests. financial support of industrialized states in return for good governance in africa raises doubts about either the will of the north or the sustainability of the project. this “partnership of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 74 unequal partners always contains danger to give priority to wealthy states' interests instead of the weak ones. evaluation as mentioned before, nepad declares that the socio-economic development of africa can only be achieved with good governance in politics, economy, and corporate. the african peer review mechanism (aprm) is one of nepad’s concrete steps, which increases hopes for africa’s development in good governance and democracy. the characteristic of this mechanism is that the states voluntarily join it and agree to be examined by other african states in terms of nepad guidelines. experts assess and critique the countries’ performance in democracy and political governance, economic governance and management, corporate governance, and socio-economic development. 29 african countries have signed the aprm memorandum of understanding and are open to being “inspected” by their peers. these countries are: algeria, angola, benin, burkina faso, cameroon, djibouti, egypt, ethiopia, gabon, ghana, republic of congo, kenya, lesotho, mali, malawi, mauritania, mauritius, mozambique, nigeria, rwanda, sao tome principe, senegal, sierra leone, south africa, sudan, togo, tanzania, uganda, and zambia. five of them have completed the process: algeria, ghana, kenya, rwanda, and south africa. each country review team will be headed by a member of the apr panel, supported by experts in each of the four focus areas of the aprm. these experts may be drawn from the in-house resources of the apr and nepad secretariats, or they may come from supporting organizations such as the african development bank (adb) and the un economic commission for africa (uneca), as well as from other african union (au) organs such as the african court on human and peoples’ rights. the peer review process is composed of five stages: firstly, a background study is done, and information is collected by the aprm secretariat. besides, the government of the country being reviewed completes a self-assessment questionnaire and prepares a draft national action plan. secondly, the aprm review team, composed of experts in four focal areas, visits the country, conducts interviews with related groups and sectors, and makes investigations during their visit. thirdly, the review teams prepare a draft report of their analysis and recommendations for the next review and discuss it with the government. in the fourth stage, the participating heads of state and government reviews the draft report and come up with a decision according to the will of the reviewed states’ improvement and the will to cooperate. the decision may be to give more assistance or impose measures. in the end, the report is made public and tabled in various regional and sub-regional institutions. aprm aims to include both governments and civil society within the reforming process. however, aprm also has serious flaws that bring along suspicions about whether it is a pathway for africa’s socio-political improvement or a false dawn. the aprm secretariat is criticized for being understaffed and lacking research capacity. on the other hand, the independence of reviewing bodies is crucial for the process. if the government of the state being reviewed finds igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 75 the opportunity to influence the apr panel, this means the failure of the mechanism and may even bring the danger of whitewashing corrupt governments via the aprm process. the weakness of civil society in african states is another problem because aprm needs full participation and ownership by both official organs and society in theory. jordan draws attention to the contradiction of the aprm principles, which lead to a failure for the socio-political improvement envisaged by it. nepad secretariat 2002a declares that: “the primary purpose of the aprm is to foster the adoption of policies, standards and practices that lead to political stability” and nepad secretariat 2003c asserts that “[t]he overall objective is to consolidate a constitutional order in which democracy, respect for human rights, the rule of law, the separation of powers and effective, responsive public service are realized to ensure sustainable development and a peaceful and stable society.” these aprm base documents emphasize both political stability and democracy, although they are two different concepts that generally cannot be pursued at the same time. a government may have the chance to find an excuse for its undemocratic policies, such as suppressing political freedom on the grounds of political stability, as in the case of rwanda. although aprm is seen as nepad’s most concrete step, it has important weaknesses that prevent to get the intended results. for example, submission to aprm is voluntary. this means that no state can be forced to be reviewed, and they can leave the mechanism if they wish. on the other hand, nepad has no power to compel the countries to either sign up or to comply with the standards of good governance. the fact that aprm has no power to impose sanctions and measures causes the comment that it has “no teeth”. inefficiency of the mechanism to promote good governance and democracy can be witnessed in examples of corrupt top government officials in africa, and also in zimbabwe and swaziland, which adopted nepad and aprm but are still known for their human rights restrictions and abuses. besides, although democracy is a core principle for nepad, africa is still a continent of undemocratic changes of governments. the nepad spirit has been unsuccessful in avoiding the military coups in equatorial guinean 2004 and mauritanian 2005. there are examples of managed and manipulated elections, as occurred in togo in 2005. aprm seems to be a dogooder but an inadequate effort for africa’s democratization process. naturally, democratization and good governance demands should come from the society. one of nepad’s main themes is its peace and security mission. the nepad framework declares that “efforts to build africa’s capacity to manage all aspects of conflict must focus on the means necessary to strengthen existing regional and sub-regional institutions especially in four key areas: prevention, management and resolution of conflict; peacemaking, peacekeeping and peace enforcement; post-conflict reconciliation, rehabilitation and reconstruction; combating the illicit proliferation of small arms, light weapons and landmines. this shows the will of nepad to end the western states’ direct peacekeeping operations on the continent and replace the regional organizations for such activities by using domestic as well as external resources. the us supported this vision of nepad and began to work directly with igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 76 regional organizations such as the intergovernmental authority on development (igad) and the au to resolve the conflicts in sudan and darfur, respectively. the us is also involved in the establishment of the african crisis response initiative (acri), which has 9000 soldiers for peacekeeping and peace-enforcing duties in africa. on the other hand, the uk and france also developed initiatives to enhance africa’s capacity in conflict management. the uk supplied logistics to the economic community of west african states (ecowas) for its peace operations in liberia and sierra leone. however, africa’s peace and security problem has not been resolved. there has been a success in ending the conflict in angola and mozambique, but darfur, somalia, and the democratic republic of congo (drc) are still arenas of violence. moreover, the ivory coast, liberia, and sudan still pose danger with their fragile status. the initiative does not provide a concrete plan to maintain peace and security on the continent, although it provides one (aprm) to achieve good governance. however significant the level of debt write-off, however sincere the will to implement the nepad action plans, nothing positive will be achieved in terms of sustainable development outcomes if there are major deficits in capacity. he offers a fundamental capacity development programme with change and transformation at the individual, institutional, and societal levels. namely, these are public services, the legislative bodies, the justice systems, the local governments, civil society, the private sector, and infrastructure. effective partnerships are crucially important during this process. in our opinion, defining the problem and making suggestions to overcome the capacity deficits are necessary to provide an improvement in nepad’s implementation. however, i think that the causes of chronic capacity deficits in africa and nepad’s failure to achieve its goals must be the same. if there had been the necessary will and ability to overcome the capacity deficits of africa, perhaps there would be no need for nepad.nepad’s most important disadvantage is its dependency on foreign states. having a colonial past with the industrialized states of north america, many africans believe that they are responsible for the current underdevelopment and insecurity of africa. there are serious doubts about nepad that it serves the interests of them instead of africa. this, in turn, mitigates africa’s dependence on the world economy, its status as a supplier of raw materials, and an importer of manufactured goods. in addition, regionalism insulates africa’s nascent industries against international competition.” he offers an integration including marginalized regions in africa, latin america, and the arab world. he asserts that this integration is also an alternative to globalization and not initiated from the top but from below by various sectors. the european union may serve as a model for africa’s regional economic integration. long-term economic development should rely on africa’s domestic sources and capacity instead of foreign aid. furthermore, the measures that can be taken under an institutional umbrella may also prevent the continent from the adverse effects of the globalization process and the global economic crisis. conclusion the demands placed on nepad will be far more than its capacity to meet as its implementation gains momentum. the continent's needs are so great, the causes of african poverty are so igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 77 complex and interconnected, and nepad's financial and technical resources are so alluring that this is inevitable. however, aside from operational overload, there is a risk that nepad will waste its most valuable assetits status as a regional institution that derives its legitimacy from its democratic roots and goals on a regional and global scalein meeting too many demands. this preliminary commentary suggests that in the next phase of nepad's development and discussion, every proposed action or program should be subjected to three tests: whether it effectively utilizes nepad's regional status without repeating the work of other regional agencies; whether it specifically and peculiarly requires the unique authority of nepad, which comes from its claim to speak for the people of africa through democratically elected heads of state; and whether it will benefit africa's poor in the short, medium, and long term. although it is hoped that these criteria will aid in prioritizing among the many actions that have already been proposed and will be proposed for nepad, it is more likely that as the debate progresses, nepad will proactively generate programs and actions that are uniquely suited to it; in that case, the framework proposed here will have served not only as a gatekeeper but may also prove beneficial in maximizing nepad's unique strengths. africa has developed tangible projects with budgets and schedules from the start of nepad and conducted a thorough evaluation of its needs at the regional level. these budgets have been submitted to africa's financial partners, foreign private sector businesses, and the african private sector. there has been a conference on nepad funding. nepad has been accepted as the foundation for future ties with africa by the un and the oecd. in fact, the program was endorsed by the un general assembly in a resolution as the overall framework that the un system and the international community should focus their efforts on in order to promote the development of africa. african heads of state have been invited by g-8 leaders to present on nepad many times. to maintain continuous communication with african leaders, high-ranking officials serve as special representatives. g-8 leaders responded to nepad by adopting an african action plan (aap) and have started putting the plan into action, fulfilling their pledge to strengthen ties with african nations whose performance aligns with nepad pledges. the quality of the relationships, especially those between africa and the industrialized nations of the north, will be a deciding element in nepad's ability to establish and sustain fruitful collaborations with industry, regional organizations, civil society, and development partners. since some of the reasons for africa's underdevelopment are due to forces and conditions that african leaders are unable to alter on their own, even though the causes of the continent's underdevelopment are partially "african" (such as corruption, mismanagement, and governments). the system that regulates international trade is a clear example. a trading system that encourages free commerce in goods and services that allows developed nations to compete is overseen by the world trade organization (wto). on the other hand, the wto system permits protectionism in sectors like textiles and agriculture, where the developed world cannot compete. here, a strong cooperation is obviously required to provide benefits for the weaker party as well. a healthy partnership also necessitates the development of mutual respect, trust, and shared ideals so that partners may cooperate for their mutual gain. africa will expect the parent igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 78 countries of transnational corporations operating in africa to fulfill their responsibilities in guaranteeing transparency and corruption-free operations by enforcing appropriate codes of conduct and business practices, even though african governments are responsible for setting the standards as well as the institutional and legal frameworks for good corporate governance. the commercial sector, particularly multinational corporations and state-owned entities, is also expected to exhibit corporate social responsibility and consideration for the local environment in which they operate in africa. companies must maintain accountability, transparency, fiscal restraint, and corruption-free procedures while acknowledging that profit is the primary driver of investment. the transfer of suitable technology, together with employment creation and workforce training, is another aspect of their duties. to accomplish the admirable goals of nepad, we hope that africa and all of its partners in this project will cooperate. the implementation of nepad will be a lengthy and ongoing task, just as we should recognize that it is an extension of the african renaissance, a concretization of the renaissance, and essentially the means by which the renaissance would be delivered. even if nepad is predicated on a simple agreement, there is a trade-off since it seeks to shut down the conversation of the deaf by securing a partnership between african leaders and the g-8 and other developed nations, but this relationship is by no means assured. there is undoubtedly a need for a deal: that the industrialized powers will grant africa more access to their markets, lessen and, ideally, eliminate the continent's enormous debt load, and ensure more aid flows to africa in return for africa holding itself politically and economically responsible and thereby fostering the attraction of foreign capital to the continent. the continent sorely needs these resources to improve its health and education systems and create infrastructure. references akande l (2002). obasanjo, african leaders outline nepad’s success path. nigeria world. glose press. bukarambe, b. (2004). historical overview of africa's development efforts. in: nepad in the nigerian dock. niia. ebegbulem, j.,adams j.,& achu,a.(2012). the challenges of integrating africa into the globalized world through new partnership for africa’s development (nepad). international journal of humanities and social science vol. 2 no. 6 [special issue. hope, k.r. (2002). from crisis to renewal: towards a successful implementation of the new partnership for africa’s development. african affairs hope, k.r. (2006). prospects and challenges for the nepad: addressing capacity deficits’ journal of contemporary african studies, vol.24. african affairs hammed, h., & kabo, s. (2013). african peer review mechanism and crisis of good governance in africa. journal of law, policy and globalization vol.19. issn 2224-3240issn 2224 izeze, e. e. (2004), keynote address. in: nepad for journalists. niia. kanu, i. a. (2013). african identity and the emergence of globalization. american international journal of contemporary research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 34-42. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 79 kanu, i. a. (2013). globalisation, globalism and african philosophy. c. umezinwa (ed.). african philosophy: a pragmatic approach to african problems (pp. 151-165). germany: lambert. kanu, i. a. (2013). on the sources of african philosophy. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 337-356. kanu, i. a. (2013). the dimensions of african cosmology. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 533-555. kanu, i. a. (2014). a historiography of african philosophy. global journal for research analysis. volume. 3. issue. 8. pp. 188-190. kanu, i. a. (2014). being and the categories of being in igbo philosophy. african journal of humanities. volume 1. issue 1. pp. 144-159. mayaki, i. (2012). africa’s decade of change. kenya: nepad planning and coordinating agency. mayaki, i. (2012). nepad and the next phase in african development. chatham house. nadudere, d. (2002). nepad: historical background and its prospects (a presentation at african forum for envisioning africa. kenya university press. ogbinaka, k. (2006). nepad: continuing the disconnections in africa? the journal of pan african studies, vol.1, no.6. omotayo, g. (2012). olusegun obasanjo: passing the torch. the teacher gospel ministry omoweh, d. (2004). theoretical perspectives on the new partnership for africa's development (nepad), in: nepad in the nigerian dock. niia. perry a (2007). thabo mbeki: the dream deferred. the times magazine the foundation of new partnership for africa’s dev 44 effect of the 2022 flooding on food security in ogbaru local government area, anambra state, nigeria ogechukwu m. chuks-ezekwibe, phd. department of history and international studies nwafor orizu college of education, nsugbe ogechuks1410@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.33952.39688 abstract flood disasters hamper sustainable development, food security and growth in the society. the losses from natural disasters like flood are increasing and have a disproportionate impact on the less developed countries as they are known to destroy the standard of living and overall development prospects of the people(abbade, 2017). this paper intends to bring to the fore, the economic effects of the 2022 flood disasters on food security and market activities in ogbaru local government area, anambra state, and the extent food insecurity has affected the economic development of the state. the methodology of this paper is based on descriptive and qualitative analysis of available data, using primary and secondary sources. the findings of the paper indicate that flooding causes the soil to be infertile as the topsoil is lost due to erosion; it reduces the habitat for tropical organisms and restricts the use of the land for other purposes; and causes the destruction of food and fodder crops which in turn leads to acute food shortage. the study recommends among other things, that there should be a legislation against the indiscriminate dumping of refuse and the erection of buildings in swampy areas, the depth and width of the river bed should be increased in its capacity to carry larger loads of flood plain, and proper care should be taken in the design and construction of network of canals. keywords: ogbaru, food security, flooding, market activities, anambra state. introduction flood is a great flowing or overflowing of water, especially over land not usually submerged (dictionary.com, 2024). flood could also be seen as the inundation of a normally dry area caused by rising water in an existing waterway, such as a river, stream, or drainage ditch (weather.gov, 2024). floods can happen during heavy rains, when ocean waves come on shore, when snow melts quickly, or when dams or levees break. damaging flooding may happen with only a few inches of water, or it may cover a house to the rooftop. flooding as noted by odufuwa (2019), are the most frequent disaster and widespread natural hazards of the world and the united nations (2020), noted that, flooding have caused 84% disaster deaths in the world with an average of 20,000 deaths per year, which makes only a few countries immune to flooding. the growing flood scenarios in different parts of the world have resulted in loss of human lives, displacement of people, loss in properties and general damage to the environment. developing countries have been identified to be the most vulnerable to the impact of flooding due to their low adaptive capacity. while nigeria regularly experienced seasonal flooding, the flood incidence of the year 2022 has been the worst recorded since the 2012 floods that occurred in nigeria (maclean, (2022). the 2022 flooding occurred between april and november, 2022 (bbc, 2022) and sixteen states out of the 36 states in nigeria were said to have suffered major losses as a result of the flood disaster. the states include the following: adamawa, anambra, bayelsa, benue, cross river, delta, jigawa, kogi, nasarawa, sokoto, katsina, zamfara, niger, kano, yobe, and rivers sates. over two million people were said to be affected by the flooding and the outbreak of cholera in the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 45 northeast within the period was attributed to the contamination of water sources by flooding and was responsible for the death of about 100 people (davies, 2022). as of october, 2022, over 600 people have been killed and over 2,400 have been injured (maclean, 2022). by august there had been 372 deaths (ogune, 2022). the floods were said to have completely or partially destroyed over 200,000 homes (maclean, 2022). also, the flood was noted to have destroyed an estimated 110,000 hectares of agricultural land and the prices of food have been known to been inflated by 23 per cent (ope, 2022). according to the united nation's food and agriculture organization and world food programme (2022), “nigeria faces a high risk of catastrophic hunger levels which is as a result of flood disaster ravaging the country. in a briefing on 13 october 2022, un humanitarian coordinator for nigeria matthias schmale indicated that 19 million people in nigeria were food insecure and 14.7 million children were at risk of malnutrition. some 400,000 children in the north and northeast of the country and another 500,000 in the northwestern states of sokoto, zamfara, and katsina were at risk of severe acute malnutrition (united nation, 2022). also, according to the unicef report of 2022, more than 2.5 million people in nigeria are in need of humanitarian assistance – 60 per cent of which are children – and are at increased risk of waterborne diseases, drowning and malnutrition due to the most severe flooding in the past decade, (unicef, 2022). flooding in anambra state is caused majorly by overflow of water from major rivers. the situation is exacerbated by climate change with increased and irregular rainfall. some of the major rivers include the river niger, whose overflow causes flooding in ogbaru, onitsha south and onitsha north local governments; and the omambala river, whose overflow causes flooding in anambra east and west local governments respectively. the extent of damage caused by the flood disaster of 2022 on food security and the search for plausible ways to avert incurring major losses from flood disaster has spurred the interest for this research. conceptual clarification for proper understanding of this paper, the concepts “food security” and “flooding” will be clarified. the concept of food security is used to refer to the state of having considerable access to a large amount of healthy food available in large and affordable quantity for people of all class, irrespective of gender or religion (wikipedia, 2024). similarly, household food security is considered to exist when all the members of a family, at all times, have access to enough food for an active, healthy life.individuals who are food-secure do not live in hunger or fear of starvation. food security includes resilience to future disruptions of food supply, which could occur as a result of various risk factors such as droughts and floods, shipping disruptions, fuel shortages, economic instability, and wars (fao, 2018). the concept of food security has evolved over time and the pillars of food security include food availability, food access, and food utilization, food stability, food agency and food sustainability (fao, 2009). food availability, in a nutshell, relates to the supply of food through production, distribution, and exchange; food access refers to the affordability and allocation of food, as well as the preferences of individuals and households; food utilization entails the metabolism of food by individuals; food stability on its part, refers to the ability to obtain food over time; food agency refers to the capacity of individuals or groups to make their own decisions about what foods they eat, produced, and how that food is produced, processed, and distributed within food system, and their ability to engage in processes that shape food system policies and governance and; food sustainability refers to the long-term ability of food systems to provide food security and nutrition in a way that does not compromise the economic, social, and environmental bases that generate food security and nutrition for future generations. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 46 flooding on the other hand, is the over flowing of water either as a result of torrential rainfall, a broken dam, a high rise in the volume of water in rivers, ocean or seas as a result of melting ice caps or prolong rainfall, thereby flooding its neighbouring environment and beyond. flooding can be very dangerous depending on the nature and level of water volume involved. often, when flowing water is termed “flood”, danger or disaster is implied. indeed flooding have been associated with huge economic loses, disruption and loss of lives. wisner (2019) submits that flooding accounted for the largest share of economic loses and fatalities from all natural hazards experience in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s. according to smith (2019), more than any other environmental hazard, flooding brings benefits as well as loses. emetuo (2021), argues that they “are a natural phenomena that have always existed, and people have tried to use them to advantage to the extent possible.” along the flooding river and downstream delta wetlands, such as those created by the river niger, flooding is critical for maintaining and restoring many of the important services provided to humans by wetlands ecosystems. classifications of flooding in the views of wisner (2019), flooding can be classified into three categories namely: river flood: this is a type of flooding which occur as a result of riverbanks overflowing due to heavy rainfall over a large catchment area, or by melting of snow or sometimes both, especially in the mountainous tracts. river flooding takes place in river systems, with tributaries that may drain into a large geographic area and encompass many independent river basins. the amount of flooding depends on moisture in the soil, vegetation cover, and depth of snow and size of catchments basin. coastal flood: this type of flooding is associated with tropical cyclones (harsh winds arising at the ocean surface). coastal floods are often aggravated by wind induced storm surges along the coastline. sea and ocean water floods the inland coasts affecting kilometres of tracts. prolonged and indefinite rains in the rainy season marked from june-september results in extreme flood in coastal river basins. flash flood: flash floods occur within six hours of the beginning of rainfall and are characterized with rising clouds, thunderstorms and . this results from surface runoff from a tropical cyclones torrential downpour, particularly if the catchments slope is not able to absorb and hold a significant amount of water. other causes of flash flooding include dam failure, sudden break up of glaciers etc. these offer potential threats in the areas where the terrain is steep, surface runoff is high, water flows through canyons and where severe rainstorms are likely. the types of flooding prevalent in ogbaru local government area basically, flooding is a complex issue because of its types, causes and impact on the society. in ogbaru, the major types of flooding experienced are the fluvial and pluvial flooding. fluvial flooding occurs when rivers and streams break their banks and water flows out onto the adjacent low-lying areas (the natural floodplains). this can arise where the runoff from heavy rain exceeds the natural capacity of the river channel, and can be exacerbated where a channel is blocked or constrained or, in estuarine areas, where high tide levels impede the flow of the river out into the sea (floodinfo.ie, 2024). pluvial flooding on the other hand, occur when the amount of rainfall exceeds the capacity of urban storm water drainage systems or the ground to absorb it. this excess water flow overland, ponding in natural or man-made hollows and low-lying areas or behind obstructions. this occurs as a rapid response to intense rainfall before the flood waters eventually enter a piped or natural drainage system (floodinfo.ie, 2024). causes of flooding in ogbaru local government area flooding in ogbaru is majorly caused by the following factors: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 47 heavy precipitation heavy precipitation is a form of climatic change which refers to instances during which the amount of rain or snow experienced in a location substantially exceeds what is normal ( , 2024). climate change is a global phenomenon, but the developing countries of www.epa.gov the world are disproportionately suffering from the impact (akeh and mshelia, 2016). the weather pattern in many parts of the globe has changed and, in nigeria, climate-related events are manifesting in disasters such as flooding and droughts. climate change will steadily and continuously increase flood risk in the coming years by inducing changes in sea levels, an increase in river flows, and heavier, prolonged rainfall durations (akeh and mshelia, 2016). major flooding incidents in ogbaru have particularly been witnessed after high rainfall events. climate change effects manifest according to the region; for instance, the dry northern arid areas are becoming drier while the wet southern areas are experiencing increasingly we\tter conditions (olaniyi et al, 2019). the river basins of niger-benue, anambra, and sokoto-rima are also exposed to flooding due to the bursting of river banks (nenime, 2015). the impact of climateinduced flooding is usually enormous, particularly in the coastal areas where rising sea levels and precipitation are expected to be higher. climate induced flooding is considered a serious challenge because many parts of nigeria, including ogbaru local government area, lack the needed infrastructure to conduct and channel rainwater and surface run-off water, which exacerbates the risk of flooding. poor physical planning and implementation of planning regulations: the state of urban planning in nigeria leaves a lot to be desired. poor urban planning practices and implementation are a leading cause of flooding in nigeria. lack of adherence to planning regulations has seen the construction of buildings on floodplains and drainage pathways that cause flooding. according to aliyu and amadu (2017), the rate of urbanization in nigeria is high (at over 50%) and is set to increase in the coming years. unfortunately, the high rate of urbanisation in nigeria as a whole and anambra state in particular, is not accompanied by appropriate urban planning and infrastructural development to cater to the growing population (adekola and lamond, 2018). good planning practices incorporate sustainable drainage management to cater to the needs of the population, and this is lacking in the ogbaru local government area (adedeji et al, 2012). in most states in nigeria (anambra state inclusive), urban planning laws and policies compare to international standards only on paper. the actual implementation of these laws and policies has left a lot to be desired (echendu, 2019). development control and zoning are not being enforced. along with this, infrastructural decay, the indiscriminate construction of buildings, and informal settlements that characterize the urban planning sphere, all contribute to flooding in nigeria (ezeh, 2021). poor drainage infrastructure and waste management: salami et al (2017), attributes lack of adequate waste management and drainage infrastructure as one of the leading causes of flooding in ogbaru. poorly constructed and managed drainages are the hallmark of nigerian cities, where drainages in many places are open and small (echendu and georgeou, 2021). their small size makes them unable to support large volumes of water during heavy rainfall. the absence of covers makes them easy dumping sites by undisciplined citizens. most of the drains are also characterized by their poor or absent connectivity to adequate discharge points (frimpong, 2013). it is not uncommon to see drains flood settlements due to poor connectivity and sub-optimization whereby drains from a community can discharge into another community and cause flooding. the poor conditions of existing drains make them likely to cause, rather than prevent, flooding. as a result, the existing drainage is not completely adequate to discharge run-off, thereby increasing the risk of flooding (cirella and iyalomhe, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 48 2018). effects of flooding meyer and auriacombe, 2019) stated the effects of flood as follows: 1. damage to residential and commercial building as a result of rising flood water. 2. they are dangerous for villages lying in the coastal areas as it sweeps away everything, which comes into its path. in mountainous areas flood is the chief cause of landslides. 3. flooding carry pollutants from the land or urban areas into the rivers and streams that are used by human communities, thereby, resulting in water borne diseases. 4. flooding also make soil infertile, as the topsoil is lost due to erosion, 5. flooding causes serious damage to cropland by eroding soil and washing away seeds or ruining crops every year hence making it difficult for farmers to provide food for its growing population. 6. fisherman, local people, cattle, animals and vegetation suffer a great loss of life and property. most of the deaths are reported to be from drowning. 7. fresh water supplies by all sources are nearly destroyed and contaminated hence the areas falling under the impact of flooding is exposed to water borne diseases. 8. the destruction of food and fodder crops lead to acute food shortage. effect of flooding on food security as mentioned earlier, the concept of food security encompasses the availability, access, utilization, and stability of food. flooding impacts all these different aspects. however, the majority of food security programs and policies have focused on food availability by seeking to increase production while neglecting other areas (firdaus et al, 2019). this approach is evident in nigeria's current applications, where production alone formed the focus of the policy. the other concepts of food security are however, discussed below. flooding and food availability: food availability refers to the availability of sufficient amounts of food. regular availability is dependent on sufficient production levels that only a healthy, disaster-free environment can ensure (gil et al, 2019). food production levels in nigeria are below demand despite agriculture being the second most important economic activity after crude oil. the perennial nature of flooding disasters further impact production levels on both the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, the two main food production interfaces. flooding degrades the environment, destroys crops, farm settlements, livestock, and seedling stores (echendu, 2020). this reduces harvest and affects the next planting season, culminating in a food shortage crisis. human production capital is also affected as, during flooding, people are at risk of physical injuries and ill-health. flooding, therefore, have a chain reaction effect and represent a threat to food security by affecting the production of food (armah et al, 2010). flooding and food access: flooding impact on access to food, which is the ability to secure or obtain food as determined by purchasing power and affordability. it is the capacity to obtain sufficient nutritious food. shocks on the food system due to flooding directly affect accessibility. high prices of food due to limited supply after flood disasters deny the majority of the population who live in abject poverty access to food (hallegatte et al, 2020). as a result, food scarcity ensues and the forces of demand and supply come into play, increasing food prices beyond that which the poor can afford. small igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 49 holder rural farmers like ogbaru, who cultivate, process, and eat directly from their farms are the worst affected by flooding disasters flooding and food utilization: food utilization is the most important but least researched aspect of food security due to its complexity (zewdie, 2014). it is the ability of the body to absorb the needed nutrients from food. it is having the necessary nutritional intake and encompasses food safety and quality issues. according to fao (2008), it is the nutritional worth of food, makeup and ways of food preparation, the social values attached to food that determine the type of food consumed at different times and events, and the safety and quality of food supply which can result in nutrient loss and food-borne diseases if the standards are poor. food availability and access are the precursors to food utilization. (hwalla et al, 2016). the high prices and unavailability of certain types of food force consumers to limit their consumption and opt for less nutritious but more filling food, which impacts food utilization. flooding and food stability: food stability is ensuring that there is food availability, access, and utilization at all times (hwalla et al, 2016). vulnerabilities and shocks on the food system due to flooding seriously affect food stability. this is because of the impact on other aspects of the food system. a decline in agricultural productivity because of flooding impacts the availability of food. subsequent shortfalls in supply increase prices of food, making it inaccessible to a large section of nigeria's population. inaccessibility of food affects its utilization which in turn affects food stability. flooding thus present a severe shock to the entire food system in nigeria. ways to address flooding to improve food security in ogbaru as the causes of flooding in ogbaru have been identified, measures that can help address them and mitigate the impact on food security are highlighted below: improved physical planning: urban planning has a role to play in reducing the impact of flooding on food security. the unregulated or poorly regulated nature of urban development in nigeria has contributed majorly to flooding incidences due to developments on floodplains and natural drain paths (idoko, 2016). the urban growth pattern, therefore, deserves closer attention, with good regulations and effective implementation put in place. as much as possible, agricultural lands should be sited further away from flood-prone areas and restricting the building of impervious surfaces near water bodies will help manage flooding. planning for, and construction of flood control infrastructure should be factored in during the planning process. this is to enable a flood-free environment in which farming can thrive and cater to the food needs of the population. waste management is a core part of urban governance and citizen waste management sensitization is needed to discourage the indiscriminate dumping of refuse which blocks drainages and causes flooding. adequate waste collection and treatment facilities need to form a core part of urban management and governance (the lancet public health, 2020). newly constructed residential as well as commercial buildings should have foundations that are strong enough to withstand flood conditions. improved farming practices more support, effort, and investment in research and development to develop flood-resistant, high yield, and a quick-maturing variety of crops will help in improving food security. this is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 50 necessary because, despite the best efforts to manage and control flooding, flood disaster still occur from time to time. early maturing varieties, as was introduced in bayelsa state in the aftermath of the 2012 flooding disaster in nigeria (nenime, 2015), should be made widely available in ogbaru, so that many farmers could have access to such varieties. improved varieties of crops make it possible for the plants to mature before the onset of heavy rains associated flooding. indigenous practices undocumented local meteorological knowledge based on traditional beliefs, practices, and observation has been known to help locals predict flooding on a long-term and seasonal basis (nemine, 2015). curating and documenting such knowledge, which could be transferable, can help in calculating the best farming periods and strategies and help in managing flooding. this knowledge could be applied during research for the development of new crop varieties to factor in the flooding window. infusion of scientific and indigenous knowledge and practices could further enrich practices. grey and green infrastructure grey infrastructure consists of structures like dams, dykes, and drains. they have traditionally been used in managing flood risks with good performance (alves et al, 2018). green infrastructure on the other hand, refers to multipurpose natural solutions that also provide ecosystem services such as recreation while also providing flood protection (dipeolu and ibem, 2020). a combination of grey and green infrastructure in managing flood risks is advocated as a better way to improve resiliency (alves et al, 2018). the construction and improvement of the drainage system; the construction of buffer dams in needed areas and dredging of rivers to increase its capacity to carry larger loads; establishment of networks of canals from river systems; and the construction of artificial dams and canals along flood areas, are measures that can help control flooding. dams can serve a dual purpose of providing electricity and a source of water for irrigation, thereby boosting agriculture. conclusion and recommendation flooding is the most common and recurring natural disaster in ogbaru local government area, anambra state, nigeria. the 2022 flood disaster was however, recorded to be the most devastating after the 2012 flood disaster. the damage and losses recorded during the 2012 flood disaster were severe; however, the 2022 floods, which were on a multidimensional scale, had more devastating effects on food security in ogbaru. the floods disrupted agricultural activities, resulting in poor crop yields, food scarcity, increased food prices and diminished access to nutritious food. for many households, the floods caused food insecurity, with 60 percent reported to have experienced hunger; 69.2 percent – a food shortage and 84.9 percent unable to eat a healthy nutritious meal due to the impact of the floods (nfirmar, 2023). the above indices is a clear pointer to the fact that the 2022 flood disaster had adversely affected food security in ogbaru, and if no decisive effort is channeled into avoiding a recurrence, the aftermath of future recurrence will be more devastating. it is against this backdrop that this paper makes the following recommendation: · that there should be a legislation against the indiscriminate dumping of refuse and the erection of buildings in swampy areas by the authorities; · the depth and width of the river bed should be increased in its capacity to carry larger loads of flood plain, and proper care should be taken in the design and construction of network of canals; · more support, effort, and investment in research and development to develop floodresistant, high yield, and a quick-maturing variety of crops for flood prone areas igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 51 references abbade, e. b. (2017). world journal of science, technology and sustainable development. 14. adedeji, o.h, bashir, o.o, and adebayo, o.h. (2012). “building capabilities for flood disaster and hazard preparedness and risk reduction in nigeria: need for spatial planning and land management”. journal of sustainable development in africa 14. adekola, o. and lamond, j. (2018). “a media framing analysis of urban flooding in nigeria: current narratives and implications for policy”. regional environmental change 18 akeh, g.i and mshelia, a.d. (2016). “climate change and urban flooding: implications for nigeria's built environment”. moj ecology & environmental science 1: 1–4] aliyu, alhaji a., and lawal amadu. (2017). urbanization, cities, and health: the challenges to nigeria—a review. annals of african medicine 16. alves, a., gersonius, b., sanchez, a., vojinovic, z., and kapelan, z. (2018). multi-criteria approach for selection of green and grey infrastructure to reduce flood risk and increase co-benefits. water resources management 32. armah, f.a., yawson, d.o., yengoh, g.t., odoi, j.o., and afrifa, k.e. (2010). impact of flooding on livelihoods and vulnerability of natural resource dependent communities in northern ghana. water 2. thbbc news (2022). “nigeria floods: overwhelming disaster leaves more 600 people dead”. 16 october, 2022. retrieved july, 2024. cirella, g. and iyalomhe, f. (2018). flooding conceptual review: sustainability-focalized best practices in nigeria. applied sciences 8. davies, r. (2022). “nigeria – 300 dead, 100,000 displaced as government warns of worsening floods”. nigeria floodlist. dipeolu, a.a., and ibem, e.o. (2020). green infrastructure quality and environmental sustainability in residential neighbourhoods in lagos, nigeria. international journal of urban sustainable development 12. echendu, a.j. (2019). urban planning, sustainable development and flooding: a case study of port harcourt city, nigeria. master's thesis, western sydney university, penrith, australia. echendu, a.j. (2020). the impact of flooding on nigeria's sustainable development goals (sdgs). ecosystem health and sustainability 6. echendu, a. j. and georgeou, n. (2021). 'not going to plan': urban planning, flooding, and sustainability in port harcourt city, nigeria. urban forum 32. ezeh, o.k. (2021). trends of stunting prevalence and its associated factors among nigerian children aged 0–59 months residing in the northern nigeria, 2008&–2018. nutrients 13: 4312. fao, (2009). “declaration of the world food summit on food security. rome: food and agricultural organisation of the un. fao. (2020). climate change and food security: a framework document. rome: fao. firdaus, r. b., gunaratne, m.s., rahmat, s.r., and kamsi, n.s. (2019). does climate change only affect food availability? what else matters? cogent food & agriculture 5. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 52 frimpong, a. (2013). perennial flooding in the accra metropolis: dissecting the causes and possible solutions. african social science review 6. gil, j., pytrik, r., giller, k., todman, l., whitmore, a., and ittersum. m., (2019). sustainable development goal 2: improved targets and indicators for agriculture and food security. ambio 48. hallegatte, s., vogt-schilb, a., rozenberg, j., bangalore, m., and beaudet, c. (2020). from poverty to disaster and back: a review of the literature. economics of disasters and climate change 4. hwalla, n., sibelle e. l., and bahn, r.a. 2016. nutrition security is an integral component of food security. frontiers in life science 9. idoko, ikani daniel. 2016. an impact assessment of flooding on food security among rural farmers in dagiri community, of gwagwalada area council, abuja, nigeria. agricultural development 1. maclean, r. (2022). “nigeria flood kill hundreds and displace over a million”. the new york times. meyer, n., and auriacombe, c. (2019). good urban governance and city resilience: an afrocentric approach to sustainable development. sustainability 11. nemine, e. l. (2015). “flood disasters in nigeria: farmers and governments' mitigation efforts”. journal of biology, agriculture and healthcare 5. nigeria flood impact,recovery and mitigation assessment report, 2022-2023. olaniyi, o.a., olutimehin, i.o. and okanlawon a. f. (2019). “review of climate change and its effect on nigeria ecosystem”. international journal of rural development, environment and health research 2. salami, r.o., jason, k. and giggins, h. (2017). vulnerability of human settlements to flood risk in the core area of ibadan metropolis, nigeria. jàmbá: journal of disaster risk studies 9. smith , f. (2019) .how are people affected by flooding? avai lable onl ine: h�ps://sciencing.com/how-are-people-affected-by-flooding-12510012.html (accessed on 15 january 2022). the lancet public health. (2020). will the covid-19 pandemic threaten the sdgs? the lancet. public health 5. unicef. (2022). the sustainable development goals global report. edited by lois jensen. new york: united nations. zewdie, a. (2014). impacts of climate change on food security: a literature review in sub saharan africa. journal of earth science & climatic change 5. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 13 marketing in pandemic: the lived experiences of small businesses in covid-19 and lessons learned catherine chiugo kanu, ph.d business education department, university of nigeria, nsukka catherine.kanu@unn.edu.ng & ikechukwu anthony kanu, ph.d department of philosophy, veritas university, abuja ikee_mario@yahoo.com & zulikat w. abiola school of business administration, university of lagos wura_abiola@mtransformation.com abstract this study investigates the experiences of nigerian small businesses in marketing their goods at the peak of covid-19 and the lessons learned. the sample consisted of 21 marketers selling in an open street market in southeast nigeria. an ethnographic approach was used to gather data from the perspective of the cultural insider. concerning the experiences of the marketers at the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, data analysis revealed four categories that included communication, social responsibility, distribution, ethics, and purchasing. for the lessons learned, five categories also emerged, namely: market intelligence, succession planning, digitalization of communication and distribution, and resources. findings suggest that small businesses need to make the improvements they need to succeed in their marketing roles. business educators, consultants, and small business coordinating organizations should provide educational programmes to equip small business marketers with the competencies they need to survive the pandemic and cope with the new normal. keywords: marketing, covid-19, ethnography, micro business, small and medium enterprises introduction globally, small businesses are experiencing a hard time due to the coronavirus pandemic (covid-19). the world health organization, who (2020), describes covid-19 as an infectious disease caused by the sars-cov-2 virus. the disease mainly causes headache, fever, sore throat, cough, acute respiratory distress syndrome, acute cardiac injury, upper airway congestion, pharyngalgia, myalgia, diarrhea, and anemia among others (chen et al, 2019). covid-19 is easily transmissible from human to human through daily unhygienic activities like close contact, coughing, and sneezing (lin et al, 2020; wu et al, 2020; european medicines agency, 2023). the virus was first identified in wuhan, china, in 2019 (perlman, 2020) and was declared a pandemic in 2020, after it spread to many countries in the world. the disease has the main features of a pandemic, including high rates of attack, infectiousness, severity, and contagiousness (noor and maniha, 2020; morens, folkers, and fauci, 2009; kelly, 2011; cascella et al, 2023). unfortunately, as of april 4, 2020, there were 1,051,697 confirmed covid-19 cases and 56,986 deaths (who, 2020). although the covid-19 pandemic came as a surprise to many, it is not a completely novel challenge. similar pandemics such as the russian flu (1888), spanish flu (1918), and asian flu igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 14 (1956) had occurred in the past and claimed millions of lives (noor and maniha, 2020; kępińska, 2020; us food and drug administration, 2023). however, for many micro, small, and medium enterprises (msmes) in nigeria, covid-19 is their first experience of a pandemic. unfortunately, reports on the impact of covid-19 indicate that small businesses have been the worst hit by the virus (ilo, 2020; andersson et al, 2023). in addition, a survey of 10,000 small business owners by goldman sachs (2020) found that 96 percent of small businesses were negatively impacted by the coronavirus, while 51 percent reported that their businesses could not survive 3 months of an economic shutdown. micro enterprises in nigeria are those with less than 10 employees, a total asset of less than n5 million (excluding land and buildings) and operated by sole proprietors while small and medium enterprises are entities with asset base of n5 million and not more than n500 million (excluding land and buildings) with employees of between 11 and 200 (central bank of nigeria, 2014). to reduce the spread of covid-19, many nations resorted to lockdowns, including the closure of borders. businesses that did not provide essential products were completely closed, while those that provided essential products were open but had limited operations less access to goods/raw materials, and little or no physical contact with their customers, who were advised or instructed to sit at home. these events had remarkable consequences for various business functions. however, their consequences for the marketing function were more tremendous given that marketing is the function that interfaces with customers, requiring some personnel to be in the field. covid-19 caused significant changes to the key drivers of consumer behaviour. the disease, along with preventive measures adopted in many countries, rendered many consumer behavioural patterns obsolete and therefore changed the way marketing could be successfully conducted. marketing, which typically involves the creation, communication, and distribution of values as well as the establishment and maintenance of strong customer relationships (kotler and keller, 2016), required new strategies and skills at the peak of the pandemic. small business owners who meaningfully connected with their customer base, developed stronger community ties, improved their own skill sets, and innovated their business models emerged stronger than ever before (liguori and pitzz, 2020). given the need to help marketing personnel navigate the turbulence caused by covid-19, scholars were attracted to studying how covid-19 impacted marketing in business organisations. thus, early studies were devoted to the impact of the pandemic on marketing, but most of the studies were conceptual (for example, he and harris, 2020; czifra and molnár, 2020; and liguori and pittz, 2020). while these early studies provided the much-needed quick support to marketing practitioners and researchers, there is a need for a deeper understanding of how marketing was conducted as well as the lessons learned to guide future decisions. these important insights can best be obtained by studying the situation as an insider. thus, this study is an ethnographic research that explores 1) the lived marketing experiences of small businesses in covid-19; and 2) lessons learned from marketing during the covid-19 lockdown. context this study was conducted in a street market located in enugu, the south east region of nigeria. the market lies on a street of approximately 0.5 kilometers and offers mainly essential products such as groceries, unpacked foodstuffs, household items, personal care, and healthcare products. there were 62 shops/kiosks in the market at the time of this study. most of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 15 businesses located in the market were micro, small, and medium enterprises (msmes). given that msmes in nigeria were already facing challenges of poor funding and low managerial skills, their abilities to withstand the challenges of the pandemic were limited. buying and selling were going on in the market from 7 am to 8 pm every day throughout the period of the lockdown. moreover, in most parts of nigeria, people needed to go out and buy essential items for themselves and their households. this allowed the author to conduct this study. twentythree (23) participants were initially recruited for the study, but only 21 stayed with the project to the end. this study is important because it contributes to the body of knowledge in marketing in small businesses during the pandemic and therefore, makes significant novel contributions. first, it provides a firsthand account of real experiences and the practice of marketing in pandemics. the study also explores the lessons learned, which will be useful in making decisions in the future. overall, the study provides rich information that could inform further research, marketing strategies, and policies for various audiences, including marketing personnel, business owners, scholars, and business educators in similar locations. the future dimension in this study is important because as long as international travel, globalization, and migration continue to increase, pandemics will keep reoccurring (madhav et al, 2017). marketing and pandemics in pandemics, economic activities are disrupted as the global economy and financial markets are severely affected. the covid–19 and its mitigation measures disrupted transportation and distribution systems and caused huge reductions in income and a sharp rise in unemployment in almost all countries of the world. ilo (2020) reported that about 2.7 billion workers, representing about 81% of the world’s workforce, were negatively affected by the pandemic, while the income of many self-employed workers collapsed as of april 2020. besides the economic shocks and catastrophic losses that threatened the existence of businesses, many lives were lost, which led to deeper emotional pain for individuals, families, and communities. all together, these make production and marketing of goods difficult and alter the entire market and customer landscape – behaviours, needs, and priorities (mckibbon and sidorenko, 2006). consumers' needs and wants shifted from social products like apparel towards essential products, especially food, dietary supplements, and medications that can help prevent or cure the disease in question. shifts in customer wants and needs towards these essential products or the intention to shift were reported in many countries (gain, 2020, and kats, 2020; mckinsey and company, 2020). other data sources show that infotainment and games, which keep customers busy at home, also increased in demand. for example, hoekstra and leeflang (2020) state that netflix attracted about 16 million new subscribers between april and june 2020 and that games and puzzles were increasingly popular as the board game trekking the world generated revenues of about $100,000 in one week. in addition, behaviours such as less frequent purchases, bulk buying, and panic buying are common (whitten 2020). besides the customer landscape, regulations are also changing with new rules (such as the sit-at-home order aimed at reducing the spread and impact of the pandemic. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 16 these sudden and uncomfortable changes were opportunities in disguise, which required marketers to be agile, flexible, and discerning. marketers who understood this changed their marketing goals and ideologies in line with the events in the market and altered their marketing practices across the entire marketing value chain from production through communication and distribution to customer relationship management. formulating new marketing goals and strategies is critical for the survival of businesses in the pandemic. as rumelt (2008) avers: “there is nothing like a crisis to clarify the mind. in suddenly volatile and different times, you must have a strategy. by strategy, i mean a cohesive response to a challenge. a real strategy is neither a document nor a forecast but rather an overall approach based on a diagnosis of a challenge. the most important element of a strategy is a coherent viewpoint about the forces at work, not a plan.” a popular tool for formulating effective and holistic marketing strategies is the 7ps framework. the 7ps (product, price, place, promotion, people, process, physical evidence), known as "marketing mix," are critical variables of marketing that are normally used as a framework to develop marketing strategies. marketing mix has been recognized as a set of factors that a firm can control to satisfy customers and obtain the desired response from them (mccarthy and perrreault in rafiq and ahmed, 1995; kotler and armstrong, 2019). the concept of marketing mix was first used by neil borden in 1953 (wolf and crots, 2011) and popularized by mccarthy, who suggested that the four ps (product, price, place, and promotion) are the primary ingredients of marketing strategy (rafiq and ahmed, 1995). booms and bitner added three more ps (people, process, and physical evidence) with a view to addressing the challenges of marketing services (booms and bitner, 1982). applying the 7ps framework in developing marketing strategies in the pandemic means that firms examine the changes that have occurred (and are likely to occur) in the business environment and ask pertinent questions (what and how) about each p in the framework. for example, what are the products that consumers now need, and how can we manufacture or offer the essential products? what prices are consumers willing to pay for these essential goods, and how can we offer goods within the acceptable price range? where are the customers now, and how can we get our products across to those places? what media have become popular for promotion, and how can we use the media to promote goods and services? what are the skills required for successful marketing at this time, and how can we equip our people with the skills to take up the new challenge? applying the framework enables firms to ensure that no main variable has been overlooked in their strategy formulation. methodology design ethnographic design was used in this study. ethnography is an important design in marketing research that offers exclusive, investigative, and organic contributions. this design helps to gather data from the perspective of a cultural insider (magilvy et al, 1987; muecke, 1992; mcllroy and storebeck, 2011) and enables researchers to collect valid and reliable data through the development of close and continuing contact with those being studied (gold, 1997). the design is also useful in gaining insights into patterns of behavior and for predicting future trends (pearson, sytiva, and hart, 2013). given the foregoing, this design is appropriate for this study, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 17 which explores the lived experiences and lessons learned of 21 marketing personnel in small businesses operating in a market during the covid-19 lockdown in nigeria. participants were given two free listing tasks. they were asked to list the noticeable changes in consumer behavior since the covid-19 lockdown. they were also asked to list the important skills for successful marketing in the covid-19 era. ethnographic semi-structured interviews and informal interviews were used to collect data during observations. an ethnographic semi-structured interview was used because it is appropriate in studies that are multifaceted and sensitive (chattergee and kumar, 1999). the semi-structured interview allowed for detailed exploration of the issues (britten, 1995) from the points of view of the study subjects (bogdan and biklen, 1992). thus, it allows the researcher to understand the society for what it is rather than impose their views (or views of other professionals) on the data collection process (weber in gold, 1997). in addition, covid-19 is a relatively new phenomenon. exploratory approaches are considered appropriate for under-researched areas to provide direction for future intervention studies (hair, wolfinbarger, otinau, and bush, 2010; medical research council [mrc], 2013; kanu, 2020; kanu and ojo, 2021). in implementing the design, the researchers were actively involved in helping the small businesses implement or review their marketing strategies. getting into the marketing activities of the businesses and participating in the process rather than merely observing helped the author to develop personal connections and cordial relationships with the participants, which made it easy for the author to interact with participants and access rich data. interactions were done face-to-face and virtually on mobile phones and social media (whatsapp). participants the 83 salespersons doing business in the 62 shops/kiosks operating in the market were observed during the study. however, only 21 participated fully in the study and responded to surveys. all the participants consented to sharing their experiences and lessons learned with the researchers. before the recorded interview sessions, each participant completed a detailed personal information form, which included a description of themselves and their businesses. see table 1 for participants’ descriptions. procedure in each of the 21 businesses, the person responsible for marketing the products offered by the business was recruited to participate in the study. before data collection, permission was obtained from the managers of the businesses (in situations where the managers were not participants in the study). data gathering on the experiences of the marketers was done through direct observations conducted for a total of 230 hours between 10.00 am and 5 pm from april 2020 to march 2021. observations lasted 1 to 3 hours at a time, depending on the availability of the author. the sit-at-home order in nigeria at the time of this study limited the period of observation. data gathering on the lessons learned was collected through face-to-face and telephone interviews between march 2021 and january 2022. in addition, the participants completed an 8-item demographic survey and created a list of answers to two questions (freelisting). semi-structured interviews were conducted. the interview questions were clustered into two distinct thematic categories. the first section of the interview explored each participant’s marketing experiences during covid-19. the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 18 second section invited participants to narrate lessons they learnt as well as steps they would take in the future to improve performance in pandemics. thus, participants had an opportunity to reflectively describe and discuss how their experiences would inform their preparations for uncertainties in the future. each interview lasted between 20 to 30 minutes. extensive field notes were kept of observations and interviews, and the responses were transcribed verbatim by the researcher. semi-structured interviews were either filmed or taped, depending on what the participant allowed. the participants were assigned pseudo initials to protect their identity. analysis the data gathered by freelisting was analysed. the frequency of responses across lists and the sum rank of responses across all lists were determined and used to calculate cultural salience for the freelisting data. cultural salience (s) was calculated as s = f2/(n(∑r). salience is relative (quinlan, 2005), and determining which items are salient is not standardized (quinlan, 2019). therefore, while there is no drawn boundary in this study for stating that an item is not important, based on the recommendations of benard (2011), only items mentioned by 10% or more of participants in this study are considered salient. interview data were analysed using thematic and critical discourse analysis. at the beginning, the data were organized into categories through the use of the discourse thematic content analysis method. this involved coding the texts into thematic categories based on content (leedy and ormond, 2005; miles and huberman, 1994). following this stage, a critical discourse analysis method was applied in listening/watching the interview text again (fairclough, 1995, 2003; janks, 1999). the purpose was also to analyse non-verbal communication and uncover the social context, hidden power relations, and ideologies embedded in the narratives provided by the participants (mengibar, 2015). ethics and rigour the research goals and objectives were presented to all participants at the point of recruitment, and their consent was gained before the study. participants agreed that pseudonyms should be used instead of real names or real initials. each participant chose a pseudo-initial while the author ensured that every initial was unique. the author examined the research proposal with each participant. all participants (and the author) agreed that if the study is conducted as proposed, there will be no opportunity for exploiting or harming any participant in the research process. to ensure credibility, the author checked with each participant after their interviews to find out if they were satisfied with their responses or if they needed to add or remove anything in their narratives. in addition, participants were shown the interpretation of their narratives and the categories where they had been placed (lincoln and guba, 1985) to confirm if they were appropriately positioned results sample the survey and structured interview sample included 21 marketing personnel, and the population observed during the 77 observation periods included 56 salespersons selling in the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 19 street market located in south-eastern nigeria. participants ranged in age from 25 to 60 years. a majority of the participants were female (n = 13). in addition, a majority have had training in business/entrepreneurship (n = 14). participants provided information about their educational level, type of business, and position in the business (see table 1) table 1: self-described profile of the participants name gend e r age r a n g e ( y r s ) educati o n l e v e l type of busin ess business a g e (y rs ) position business t r a i n i n g 1 a d male 25-40 b.sc supermarket 4 owner man ager yes 2 b o fema l e 25-40 o’leve l grocery kiosk 2 sales person no 3 n d male 25-40 b.sc chemist 7 manager yes 4 n g fema l e 41-50 m.sc grocery kiosk 4 owner man ager yes 5 cj male 25-40 b.sc food stuff 2 owner man ager yes 6 m m fema l e below 2 5 bsc chemist 2 sales person yes 7 fd male 40-60 b.sc animal feed 5 owner man ager yes 8 ij fema l e 25-40 o’leve l food stuff 3 owner man ager yes 9 c a fema l e below 2 5 ond animal feed 6 sales person yes 10 m b fema l e 40-60 b.sc supermarket 4 owner man ager no igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 20 11 ci fema l e 40-60 ond supermarket 4 owner man ager yes 12 d d male 40-60 m.sc grocery kiosk 6 owner man ager yes 13 jb male 25 -40 o’leve l food stuff 2 owner man ager no 14 en male below 2 5 o’leve l animal feed 5 manager yes 15 fb fema l e 25-40 m.sc supermarket 6 owner man ager yes 16 k c fema l e 25-40 o’leve l grocery 3 owner man ager no 17 fs fema l e below 2 5 o’leve l food stuff 4 manager no 18 ik fema l e below 2 5 b.sc food stuff 2 salesperson no 19 el male below 2 5 o’leve l grocery 2 owner man ager yes 20 m o fema l e 25-40 o’leve l super market 3 owner man ager yes 21 en fema l e 41-60 b.sc supermarket 1 salesperson no analysis of freelisting data (table 2) shows that participants listed bulk buying, infrequent purchases, shift towards essential products, panic buying, choosing of healthier alternatives, increased haggling, and buying on credit as important changes in consumer behavior in the covid-19 lockdown. participants also mentioned impatience and a request for home delivery as part of the changes in consumer behavior during the covid-19 lockdown. however, given that they were not mentioned by up to ten percent of the participants, they are not considered culturally salient. table 3 shows that creativity and innovation, social media marketing, customer data management, market intelligence, collaboration, problem solving, e-commerce, and adaptability are some of the very important skills for successful marketing in the covid19 lockdown. other skills listed were decision-making, empathy, interpersonal skills, and financial management. since product packaging and inventory management were not mentioned by up to 10% of the participants, they are not considered culturally salient. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 21 table 2: free listing responses on change in consumer behavior in the covid-19 era what are the noticeable changes in consumer behavior during the covid-19 lockdown? responses f ∑r n s (salience) 1 bulk buying 15 19 21 0.5639 2 infrequent purchases 16 22 21 0.5541 3 shift towards essential products 19 36 21 0.4775 4 panic buying 9 10 21 0.3857 5 choosing healthier alternatives 9 24 21 0.1607 6 increased haggling 7 20 21 0.1166 7 buying on credit 5 32 21 0.0372 8 impatience 2 8 21 0.0238 9 request for home delivery 1 6 21 0.0079 notes: responses are listed in order of salience, highest to lowest. f = frequency of response across all lists, ∑r = sum rank of the responses over all lists. n = total number of all respondents. s = f2/(n(∑r)). table 3: free listing responses on skills for successful marketing in the covid-19 lockdown what are the skills for successful marketing in the covid-19 era? response f ∑r n s (salience) 1 creativity and innovation 19 18 21 0.9550 2 social media marketing 16 15 21 0.8126 3 customer data management 16 17 21 0.7170 4 market intelligence 17 20 21 0.6880 5 collaboration 14 20 21 0.4666 6 problem solving 12 16 21 0.4285 7 e-commerce 12 18 21 0.3809 8 adaptability 10 16 21 0.2976 9 decision making 7 14 21 0.1666 10 empathy 4 9 21 0.0846 11 interpersonal skills 3 7 21 0.0612 12 financial management 3 12 21 0.0357 13 product packaging 2 3 21 0.0634 14 inventory management 2 4 21 0.0476 notes: responses are listed in order of salience, highest to lowest. f = frequency of responses across all lists, ∑r = sum rank of the responses over all lists. n = total number of all respondents. s = f2 /(n(∑r)). lived marketing experiences of small businesses in the covid-19 era participants’ narratives uncovered their experiences as well as their challenges and concerns. thematic analysis of the contents revealed five dominant themes, including communication, social responsibility, distribution, ethics, and purchasing. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 22 communication some participants (n=7) reported that they reached out to customers who were staying home during the lockdown through phone calls, sms, and whatsapp. sending solidarity messages and checking on customers elicited different responses– happiness, surprise, and irritation. however, irrespective of the responses they received, three participants said that reaching out to customers made them feel responsible. as one participant expressed, nd: usually, i don’t call my customers if we don’t have any serious business together, but the covid-19 lockdown is different. i have called some customers to check on them, some were surprised, and some were very happy, depending on the relationship, i think. in any case, i feel satisfied that i have done what i was supposed to do. fb: i thought it was a time to show solidarity… but some customers were not comfortable with my calls, a customer was wondering why i called …and i simply told her i was just checking up. she said, “okay, thank you,” but i could tell from her voice that she wasn’t happy. meanwhile, some participants (n=2) found it odd to call a customer for reasons other than business, while some (n=8) reported that they wanted to reach out to their customers but didn’t have their contact information. bo: …it’s odd to call a customer, just to greet” jb: i wanted to reach out to my customers, but i didn’t have their contact information. i feel bad because i lost touch with some of them who are staying at home a participant said she did not have contact information for her customer, but started gathering it immediately after the lockdown was announced. mb: we didn’t keep a customer database before covid-19, but we started building one immediately lockdown was announced, so we were able to catch some old customers and get their contacts before the lockdown became serious. that helped me stay connected with some old and new customers. participants (n=6) narrated how they changed their communication to conform to the covid situation. some reported that they included covid-related images in their business premises to help customers stay safe. en: we simply added ‘stay safe’ to our customer goodbye greetings … then we pasted images of someone wearing a face mask, and also someone washing hands on the walls, and also made social distancing marks on the floor of our store. it made customers feel that we care about their safety, and even though some customers did not respect the social distancing order, they knew we were responsible. ci: when we sell products, we explain to the customer how that product can help the customer prevent or cure covid (if any) or how they can get the most benefits out of the product. by so doing, we had sales increase for some personal and healthcare products. social responsibility four participants reported that they partnered with politicians to donate palliatives. mo: i shifted my marketing efforts from individual consumers to politicians and religious organizations that were sharing food items with the less privileged. i was igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 23 happy to be part of the process of helping the needy, and i also made a lot of sales as i supplied food items to 10 politicians and 8 churches at a little profit. a few participants (n=4) narrated how they helped customers who were in economic difficulties during the lockdown and how they benefited from rendering such assistance. cj: when loyal customers come around and i see they can’t afford their necessities, i just let them go with those things at a price they were able to pay, especially if they are things that we harvest from our farms. it strengthened my relationship with the customers. bo: some customers ask to buy my goods on credit and promise to pay on a particular day, but the days will pass, and many won’t pay. some of them eventually paid, but some are yet to pay. …and i know i am going to have some bad debts, but i am glad those customers are committed to my business …i’ve gotten lots of referrals from those customers. three respondents mentioned that spreading information about how to stay safe from coronavirus made their businesses appear responsible. nd: i educated people on the need to and how to stay safe from the virus. i printed some flyers, and i also got some from other sources. …when i gave them to customers and spoke to them about the virus, they were comfortable, seeing us as careful salespersons and trusting our service more. distribution many participants (n=12) said that a lack of e-commerce skills, digital platforms, and technologies made it difficult to sell goods to customers through digital media and technology. jb: i’ve been told that i can post and sell my goods on whatsapp and other platforms, but i don’t have an android phone, and i don’t even know how to operate it. when i ask them here to teach me, they are not very open to teaching. however, two participants reported that they learnt and started using social media after the lockdown was announced, while three participants said they used other people’s social media handles to sell their products. ca: i had to learn how to use whatsapp status to sell my product, and it worked extremely well because i got a lot of orders from my contacts and referrals, too. dd: i do not have social media skills, but i asked my daughter to use her social media handles to sell. it was amazing because she understood it and had a lot of followers. three participants reported that even when they offered to deliver the goods to customers’ houses, some customers were not comfortable with the idea. ik: if you are a small local business, you have to be close with a customer to be able to deliver edibles like vegetables to that customer’s house. some customers were not comfortable when i said i could deliver food stuff to their homes; they preferred to come to the market to get them, so they just asked me to get the items ready for collection. el: when i offered to deliver some goods at home to a customer, the customer openly told me, “i don’t want a relationship beyond customer relationship.” ethics respondents reported that customers perceived the enforcement of covid rules, such as social distancing, hand washing, and wearing of face masks, differently. while some found it annoying (n=7), some found it safe. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 24 bo: when we asked some customers to wear their face masks or wash their hands, they got angry. some will even ask you: do you think i have covid?” mm: some customers didn’t like those covid rules, like wearing face masks and washing hands …and we found that customers did not like to wash their hands when the hand washing facilities are below standard, like where there is no running water or where the water is not clean. one customer said, “i don’t want to get coronavirus from washing my hands here.” ik: some customers don’t like to wear the face masks at all or to wear them correctly, but if i wear my own and sanitise my hands before attending to them, they will be very comfortable. so we always wear our own to make customers comfortable. sometimes we insist that customers should comply, and we have a set of customers who like our shop because we always insist. concerning pricing, respondents reported that they hiked prices to make a profit and to be able to repurchase goods. however, a few participants reported that they had to reduce prices for some classes of customers to help them cope with the pandemic. participants narrated as follows: mo: we increased prices to be able to make profit and also to be able to buy the products again when the goods finish…some products are scarce and cost of transportation has increased so if one is not careful, one will not be able to buy goods again after selling the one that is available now. ij… we didn’t increase the prices of goods. some customers cannot afford the normal prices, let alone the hiked prices. we even reduce the prices sometimes to help customers afford. purchasing participants (n=14) reported a hard time with purchasing during the lockdown. specifically, they experienced scarcity of goods and higher cost of goods and higher cost transportation. fs: wholesalers used to bring goods to our shops, but they no longer bring them, so getting goods is currently hard, and when you order, the goods take a long time to come with high prices. some participants (n=12) reported that they added new lines to their merchandise due to the covid situation. most of what they added were nose masks, face shields, hand sanitisers, and disinfectants. a few participants (n = 3) reported that they integrated cheaper alternatives in order to offer affordable goods to their customers. ci: we bought and sold a lot of hand sanitizers, disinfectants, and nose masks, and we sold them a lot because people wanted to stay safe or were forced by banks and other organizations to use them. ij: we bought more of cheaper goods because the expensive ones were no longer selling well at some point. thematic analysis of the lessons-learned thematic analysis of the contents revealed five dominant themes, including market intelligence, coopetition, succession planning, digitalisation of communication and distribution, and resources. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 25 market intelligence participants (n=7) described how the lockdown came to them as a surprise and emphasized the need to be proactive, to understand what is happening or about to happen, and make necessary preparations en: … we heard that someone coming from abroad brought a disease to lagos …and the next thing we heard was that everybody should sit at home. fb: i was about to travel to buy goods, and all of a sudden, i was told commercial vehicles had stopped working. i didn’t see the lockdown coming, and when it came, i didn’t see it lasting too long since coronavirus is not strong in nigeria, but like a joke, the lockdown took a whole year. ng: we didn’t have a chance to prepare …one needs to follow up certain news and watch the trends of regulations and forecast the direction it’s going to take. some participants (n=3) also mentioned the need to be adaptable and to face reality. ng: one needs to be able to make decisions quickly and act fast on survival plans. right now, i think and implement my plans fast. it’s better to face reality. if i fail, i will try another one fast… it is better than doing nothing, and time is passing. two participants expressed how they benefited from consulting those who had more knowledge. as one participant expressed: ca: when lockdown started initially, there was a lot of confusion about the best thing to do. the rules were not clear, and there was so much uncertainty about tomorrow. but at some point, i realized that it is better to consult people who know better to help rather than remain in confusion throughout the lockdown. coopetition cooperation among small business competitors was reported to be an effective way forward for small businesses to survive covid-19. four respondents commented on the need for competitors to collaborate to find solutions that work for all. although the businesses were already doing this, some participants felt there was a need to do more. mb: as business owners, we met regularly to analyse how things were changing and how we should also change or navigate the hard times and protect our businesses el: there is a lot of competition in this market, but business people need to take it easy; the pandemic era is not a time for competition, but a time to come together and strategise to ensure we all survive the hard times. …small businesses need to work together during tough times succession some participants (n=3) narrated experiences relating to succession planning – situations where an inadequate or no succession plan didn’t go well for the businesses. el: we lost our dad recently, and there was no one to take over the business, so i am just trying to do it because this business pays all our school fees, but it’s tough because i’m just learning it now. ik: my mum used to sell here, but she no longer comes out. she has diabetes, and they said she shouldn’t come out again because she can easily be infected with coronavirus. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 26 i had to start selling these things; …but it’s not even my kind of thing because i hate to sell these food stuff. digitalisation several participants reaffirmed the need to keep a customer database and to digitalise communication and distribution. as some participants expressed, fd: one big lesson from this covid-19 lockdown is to keep a customer database, even if it’s to write the numbers down in a jotter. when almost everything halted all of a sudden, it was hard to reach some important customers. also, it’s important to know how to advertise goods on social media. it’s one of my priorities as soon as lockdown is over. cc: i will buy an android phone and learn how to use at least whatsapp. during the lockdown, customers usually said, “send the picture, let me see,” but i couldn’t …i had to beg other people to help me send the pictures, and sometimes they don’t help me. some participants (n=3) narrated how they corrected their mistakes and started doing things right without further delay. ng: i made a mistake, yes, but i did not allow my mistake to kill my business. i was determined to start correcting them. when i met old customers again anywhere, i collected their numbers and also collected numbers from new customers. i lost some of my customers because i lost touch with them, but i got some new ones, and i am following up with them. concerning distribution, participants (n=9) strongly emphasised the need for social media and e-commerce platforms. mb: during the lockdown, we realized that e-commerce was necessary, and we started building a website gradually. meanwhile, we explored the option of partnering with established e-commerce platforms like jumia to sell, and it is working. ij: before the lockdown, i wanted to start selling my food stuff on social media but a friend told me that my products were not packaged so the pictures will not look nice so i dropped the idea then but during the lock down, i started displaying the food stuff on my whatsapp status without packaging and i sold a lot of goods and get a lot of referrals …now i know i can sell anything on social media. resources several participants (n=8) mentioned the need for basic tech devices such as android or iphones, or other lessons, and laptops. besides these work tools, many of the participants (n=12) emphasized the need for appropriate human and financial resources. mb…every business, no matter how small, should have basic tools and equipment and such as phones; these are basic things, and because they are costly, they are not things you want to buy when there is a downturn. fd: what i regretted most was that i didn’t have any social media handle and no customer contacts. participants (n=5) cited the need to have committed and capable human resources. others mentioned financial resources cc: myself and my sales boys were all stock; all of us were not it literate. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 27 en: savings is very important. when lockdown was announced, many people here (including myself) didn’t have money to stock up on goods, and we were buying goods at exorbitant prices. also, i think small businesses need to keep a good percentage of their assets liquid. i tried to sell some land to enrich my shop, but i couldn’t find anyone to buy the land. it was hard to survive the pandemic. discussion the findings provide a deep understanding of how markets and marketing changed during the lockdown, as well as what small businesses did to increase their chances of survival. given that pandemics always come along with threats to lives and livelihoods, fear, scarcity and unpredictability, and a reduction in social contact, it was no surprise that participants listed bulk buying, infrequent purchases, shift towards essential products, panic buying, choosing healthier alternatives, increased haggling and buying on credit as some noticeable changes in consumer behavior at the peak of the coronavirus. these findings are in line with gain 2020, kats, 2020, and whitten, 2020. some of the findings are obtainable across many countries. for example, mckinsey and company (2020) surveyed in 45 countries and found that consumers in these countries indicated their intention to shift towards essential products. marketing in a changing world certainly requires specific skills. participants listed creativity and innovation, social media marketing, customer data management, market intelligence, collaboration, problem solving, adaptability, decision making, empathy, and interpersonal skills as some of the important skills required for success in the marketing role in the pandemic era. these findings agree with the conclusions reached by liguori and pitzz (2020) as well as czifra and molnár (2020). participants narrated their marketing experiences at the peak of the coronavirus pandemic. the narratives were around 5 themes, namely: communication, social responsibility, distribution, ethics, and purchasing. specifically, participants expressed how they changed their communication. they sent customers solidarity messages; changed their languages and images to conform to the covid-19 situation, for example, pasting images of face masks and hand washing in their business premises; provided product information related to covid-19, and encouraged customers to stay safe. participants felt that these acts were rewarding. meanwhile, some participants who did not keep customer contact information said they were unable to reach out and thus lost touch with some customers. accordingly, participants emphasised that creating and maintaining an up-to-date customer database is critical to connecting with customers and maintaining strong relationships during pandemics. these findings concur with the conclusions of dore et al (2020) that during the covid-19 pandemic, companies that lead with empathy and genuinely address customer needs can strengthen relationships. it was interesting to find that participants, although running micro and small businesses, understood the need for social responsibility. participants reported that during the lockdown, they partnered with philanthropists to donate palliatives to people, made goods affordable for customers in financial crisis, and spread information about the disease to enable customers to stay safe. the participants said that these acts were both psychologically and economically rewarding, in line with hoekstra and leeflang (2020) and dore et al. (2020). participants described customers’ responses to their efforts to enforce some rules to prevent the spread of covid-19. they expressed that some customers did not like the enforcement of the measures, especially hand washing. describing the reasons for such behaviours, participants mentioned igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 28 that the facilities for hand washing were substandard. some participants also said they hiked their prices, not just to make more profit, but to be able to reorder the goods. on the other hand, some participants said they reduced the prices instead to assist their customers. participants reported that purchasing was difficult as they experienced scarcity of goods and higher cost of goods and transportation, which agrees with (begley, 2013). participants narrated how they increased sales by advertising products on social media and using e-commerce platforms, in line with czifra and molnár (2020). unfortunately, many of the marketers did not have adequate digital skills to digitalise operations, a situation they described as a major setback in their marketing efforts at the peak of the pandemic. concerning the lessons learned, five dominant themes emerged, including market intelligence, coopetition (cooperation in competition), succession planning, digitalization of key marketing processes and resources (digital tools, human, and financial resources). participants felt that the lockdown took them by surprise and therefore thought that there is a need for businesses to follow trends of events and regulations, forecast future events, make decisions fast, and face the realities. interpretation of data also reveals that regular meeting of competitors was an effective way for small businesses to think together and find solutions to common problems. however, they felt that they needed to do more of it; to reduce competition and increase cooperation in times like the pandemic, to ensure the survival of their businesses. given that pandemics, beyond livelihoods, also threaten lives and health, it was found that small businesses, most of which are family businesses, should take succession planning seriously to survive pandemics. participants reported that death and ill-health unexpectedly created vacancies in businesses at the peak of the pandemic, and are disrupting their business activities. participants also emphasized the need for businesses to digitalize operations, especially communication and distribution, in line with adhi et al. (2020). participants also felt that digital skills and literacy are paramount to successful marketing in the pandemic, and many of them reported that their lack of digital literacy prevented them from performing optimally participants also expressed the need for small businesses to own basic work tools, including android phones, social media handles, and other e-commerce platforms. in addition, participants felt the need for committed and capable human resources, financial savings, as well as the need to keep a reasonable part of their assets liquid so that they can get quick access to the money they need to manage a crisis. conclusion and recommendation this study has deepened and expanded the understanding of how small businesses conducted marketing activities at the peak of covid-19. their products at the peak of covid-19. interpretation of the data indicates that proactiveness, adaptability, empathy, and responsibility are important for small businesses to survive pandemics and cope with the new normal. history has shown that pandemics occur from time to time, and experts anticipate that pandemics will keep reoccurring as long as international travel, globalization, and migration are on the rise. thus, covid-19 is partly a warning about the nature of things to come. given the foregoing and the fact that some changes that occurred during the pandemic may never reverse, it is recommended that small businesses develop the skills that have been identified, not just to be able to cope with future challenges but also to cope with the new normal. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 29 in addition, business educators, consultants, and small business coordinating organisations should integrate the teaching of the identified skills in their training programmes to help small businesses acquire the necessary skills to cope with the pandemic and other hard times. as seen in this study, a pandemic can threaten or claim the lives of key stakeholders in small businesses, which are usually family businesses. small businesses should therefore plan for succession by training interested and capable members of the family to be capable of managing the business if need arises. references adhi, p., davis, a., jayakumar, j., &touse, s. (2020). reimagining stores for retail’s next normal. london: mckinsey & company andersson, n. w., thiesson, e. m., hansen, j. v., hviid , a. (2023). “safety of ba.4-5 or ba.1 bivalent mrna booster vaccines: nationwide cohort study”. bmj. 2023;382:e075015. doi:10.1136/bmj-2023-075015 benard, h. r. (2011). research methods in anthropology: qualitative and quantitative approaches. 5th ed. lanham: altamira/rowman & littlefield; 2017 berrone, p., cruz, c., & gomez-mejia, l. r. (2012). “socioemotional wealth in family firms”. family business review, 25(3), 258–279. (doi:10.1177/0894486511435355) bogdan, r. d., & biklen, s. k. (1992). qualitative research for education. boston, ma: allyn& bacon. booms, b. h., & bitner, m. j. (1981). “marketing strategies and organization structures for service firms”. in j. h. donnelly & w. r. george (eds.). marketing of services (47– 51). usa: american marketing association. brewer, d. d. (2002). “supplementary interviewing techniques to maximize output in free listing tasks”. field methods, 14(1),108–118. (doi:10.1177/1525822x02014001007) britten n. (1995). “qualitative interviews in medical research”. british medical journal, 311(6999), 251-253. cascella, m; rajnik, m; aleem, a; dulebohn, s. c.; di napoli, r. (2023). features, evaluation, and treatment of coronavirus (covid-19). retrieved 10/5/23 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/nbk554776. centers for disease control and prevention. (1918). pandemic influenza: three waves. (https://nwww.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/1918-commemoration/threewaves.htm) chattergee, s., & kumar, a. (1999). “ethnographic exploration”. afterimage, 27(3), 6–7. chen n., zhou m., dong x., qu j., gong f., han y., qiu y., wang j., liu y., wei y., xia j., yu t., zhang x., zhang l. (2020). “epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 99 cases of 2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia in wuhan, china: a descriptive study”. the lancet, 395(10223), 507–513. (doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(20)30211-7) european medicines agency (2023). comirnaty: ema recommends approval of adapted covid-19 vaccine targeting omicron xbb.1.5. accessed october 4, 2023. https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/news/comirnaty-ema-recommends-approval-adaptedcovid-19-vaccine-targeting-omicron-xbb15 fairclough, n. (1995). critical discourse analysis. london, uk: longman gain 2020. spanish agriculture and food situation covid-19 update. united states department of agriculture, foreign agricultural service. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 30 (https://apps.fas.usda.gov/newgainapi/api/report/downloadreportbyfilename?filen ame=spanish%20agriculture%20and%20food%20situation%20covid19%20update_madrid_spain_04-12-2020) gold, r. l. (1997). “the ethnographic method in sociology”. qualitative inquiry, 3(4), 388402. hair, j. f., wolfinbarger, m. f., ortinau, d. j., bush, r.p. (2010). essentials of marketing research. irwin: mcgraw-hill. he, h. & harris, l. (2020). “the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on corporate social responsibility and marketing philosophy”. journal of business research, 116, 176-182. hoekstra, j. c., leeflang, p. s. h. (2020). “marketing in the era of covid-19”. italian journal of marketing. 249–260. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43039-020-00016-3 international labour organization. (2020). ilo monitor: covid-19 and the world of work. second edition updated estimates and analysis.(https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@dgreports/@dcomm/document s/briefingnote/wcms_740877.pdf. janks, h. (1999). “critical discourse analysis as a research tool”. in j. marshall & m. peters (eds.). education policy. the international library of comparative public policy (49– 62). cheltenham, uk: elgar john person, b. s., spiva, l., hart, p. (2013). “the culture of an emergency department: an ethnographic study”. international emergency nursing. 21 (4), 222-227. kanu, i. a. (2020). “covid-19 pandemic and the health of african migrants”. amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. 18. 2, 56-64. kanu, i. a. (2020). “saint augustine and covid-19 pandemic: the future and divine providence”. tansian university journal of arts, management and social sciences. vol. 7. pp. 151-162. kanu, i. a; ojo m. i. (2021). “the impact of lockdown on education in southwestern nigeria”. in kanu, i. a.; omojola immaculata; kanu, c. c.; asanbe michael; kanu, u. e. (eds.). new trends in science, technology, management and social sciences in africa: proceedings of the first international conference of villanova polytechnic, imesi ile 10th and 11th july 2019 (5-14). abuja: altograde. kanu, i. a (2015) a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a (2015) african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a (2016) igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2(1): 61-66. kanu, i. a (2016) igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities 2(1): 23-40. kanu i. a (2017) igwebuikeconomics: towards an inclusive economy for economic development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3(6): 113140. kanu i. a (2017) sources of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. 9(1): 1-23. kats, r. (2020). coronavirus is changing how consumers shop. insider intelligence. (https://www.emarketer.com/content/coronavirus-is-changing-how-consumers-shop) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 31 kelly, h. (2011). “the classical definition of a pandemic is not elusive”. bulletin of the world health organization, 89, 540–541. (doi: https://doi.org/10.2471/blt.11.089086). kępińska, a. p., iyegbe, c. o., vernon, a. c., yolken, r., murray, r. m., pollak, t. a. (2020). “schizophrenia and influenza at the centenary of the 1918–1919 spanish influenza pandemic: mechanisms of psychosis risk”. front psychiatry, 11(72). (doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00072). kotler, p & keller, k. l (2016). marketing management. 15th ed. new jersey: pearson. kotler, p. (1999). kotler on marketing: how to create, win, and dominate markets. usa: the free press. kotler, p., armstrong, g., harris, l.c., & he, h. (2019). principles of marketing. (european ed.). london: prentice hall ksiazek, t. g., erdman, d., goldsmith, c. s., zaki, s. r., peret, t., emery, s., tong, s., urbani, c., comer, j. a., lim, w., rollin, p. e., dowell, s. f., ling, a. e., humphrey, c. d., shieh, w. j., guarner, j., paddock, c. d., rota, p., fields, b., derisi, j., yang, j. y., cox, n., hughes, j. m., leduc, j. w., bellini, w. j., anderson, l. j. & sars working group. (2003). “a novel coronavirus associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome”. the new england journal of medicine, 348 (20), 1953–1966. (doi: 10.1056/nejmoa030781). leedy, p., & ormond, j. (2003). practical research planning and design. englewood cliffs, nj: prentice hall. liguori, e., &pittz, t. g. (2020). “strategies for small business: surviving and thriving in the era of covid-19”. journal of the international council for small business, 1(4), 15. (doi:10.1080/26437015.2020.1779538) lin, q., zhao, s., gao, d., lou, y., yang, s., musa, s. s., wang, m. h., cai, y., wang, w., yang, l., & he, d. (2020). “a conceptual model for the coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) outbreak in wuhan, china with individual reaction and governmental action”. international journal of infectious diseases, 93, 211–216. (doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2020.02.058) lincoln, y., & guba, e., (1985). naturalistic inquiry. newbury park, california: sage lu, l. c., rose, g. m. & blodgett, j. g. (2019). “the effects of cultural dimensions on ethical decision making in marketing: an exploratory study”. journal of business ethics 18, 91–105. (doi: https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1006038012256) madhav, n., oppenheim, b., gallivan, m., mulembakani, p., rubin, e., & wolfe, n. (2017). pandemics: risks, impacts, and mitigation. washington (dc): the international bank for reconstruction and development/the world bank. magilvy, j. k., mcmahon, m., bachman, m., roark, s., evenson, c. (1987). “the health of teenagers: a focused ethnographic study”. public health nursing, 2, 35–42. mcilroy, g.,&storbeck, c. (2011). “development of deaf identity: an ethnographic study”. journal of deaf studies and deaf education, 16(4), 494– 511(doi:10.1093/deafed/enr017) mckibbon w., & sidorenko a. (2006). global macroeconomic consequences of pandemic influenza. lowy institute for international policy, sydney, australia (www.lowyinstitute.org/publication.asp?pid=345) mckinsey & company (2020). consumer sentiment and behavior continue to reflect the uncertainty of the covid-19 crisis. https://www.mckinsey.com/business igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 32 functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/a-global-view-of-how-consumer-behavioris-changing-amid-covid-19. medical research council. (2008)..framework for complex interventions. london: mrc mengibar, a. c. (2015). “critical discourse analysis in the study of representation, identity politics and power relations: a multi-method approach”. communication & society 28(2), 39-54 miles, m. b., &huberman, a. m. (1994). qualitative data analysis. (2nded.). london, uk: sage morens, d. m., folkers, g. k., fauci, a. s. (2009). “what is a pandemic?” the journal of infectious diseases,200(7), 1018-1021. (doi: 10.1086/644537. pmid: 19712039) muecke, m.a. (1992). “on the evaluation of ethnographies”. in j.m. morse (ed.), critical issues in qualitative methods. beverly hills, california: sage noor, r., &maniha, (2020). “a brief outline of respiratory viral disease outbreaks: 1889–till date on the public health perspectives”. virus disease. 31. 441–449. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13337-020-00628-5. pearson, j., spiva, l., & hart, p. (2013). “the culture of an emergency department: an ethnographic study”. international emergency nursing. 21 (4). 222-227. (doi:10.1016/j.ienj.2012.10.001) perlman, s. (2020). “another decade, another coronavirus”. the new english journal of medicine 382:760-762. (doi: 10.1056/nejme2001126) quinlan, m. b. (2005). “considerations for collecting freelists in the field: examples from ethnobotany”. field methods,17(3), 219–234. quinlan, m. b. (2017). “the freelisting method.inp. liamputtong”. handbook of research methods in health social sciences. (1431-1446). (doi:10.1007/978-981-10-2779-6_122) rafiq, m., & ahmed, p. k. (1995). “using the 7ps as a generic marketing mix: an exploratory survey of uk and european marketing academics”. marketing intelligence& planning. 13 (9), 4-15. rumelt, r. p. (2008). strategy in a “structural break”. (https://www.mckinsey.com/businessfunctions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/strategy-in-a-structural-break) us food and drug administration (2023). updated covid-19 vaccines for use in the united states beginning in fall 2023. accessed october 4, 2023. https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/updated-covid-19-vaccines-use-unitedstates-beginning-fall-2023 whitten, s. (2020). board games, yoga mats, and yeast: what people are buying as they heed coronavirus stay-at-home orders. cnbc. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/23/whatpeople-are-buying-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak-andwhy.html. wolfe, m. j. sr. & crotts, j. c. (2011). “marketing mix modeling for the tourism industry: a best practices approach”. international journal of tourism sciences, 11(1). 1-15 world health organisation (2020). coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) situation report 75. https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situationreports/20200404-sitrep-75-covid-19.pdf?sfvrsn=99251b2b_4. world health organization (2021). coronavirus disease. (https://www.who.int/healthtopics/coronavirus#tab=tab_1. wu, d., lu, j., ma, x., liu, q., wang, d.,gu, y., li, y., & he, w. (2020). coinfection of influenza virus and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (sars-cov igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 33 2). the pediatric infectious disease journal. 39 (6). (doi: 10.1097/inf.0000000000002688) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 3 reconciliation in 2 corinthians 5:11–21: a missiological mandate for the fractured church of the 21st century linus a. p. umaru, phd department of religion and philosophy faculty of arts, university of jos abstract this study examines the apostle paul’s theology of reconciliation in 2 corinthians 5:11–21 as a missiological mandate for the contemporary church, arguing that the text’s radical vision of katallagē (reconciliation) transcends individual spirituality to address systemic fractures in the 21st-century global church. through exegetical analysis of key greek terms— katallagē (reconciliation), kainē ktisis (new creation), and presbeuomen (ambassadors)—the paper demonstrates how paul redefines reconciliation as both a divine act and a communal ethic, challenging the corinthian church’s factionalism and roman imperial hierarchies. the study further bridges biblical theology and contemporary praxis by interrogating modern obstacles to reconciliation, including racial segregation, political polarization, and ecological exploitation. by employing a tripartite methodology—exegesis, historical theology, and global case studies (e.g., post-genocide rwanda, brazil’s evangelical-political divide)—the paper reveals how the church’s failure to embody paul’s “ministry of reconciliation” (5:18) perpetuates societal fragmentation. conversely, it highlights transformative models such as colombia’s mennonite peace communities and australia’s #just churches movement, which operationalize 2 corinthians 5 as a blueprint for justice-oriented discipleship. the study concludes that reconciliation, as a missiological imperative, demands the church confront its complicity in systemic sin and reimagine its vocation as an agent of christ’s “new creation” (5:17). this interdisciplinary approach advances pauline scholarship by synthesizing soteriological, ecclesiological, and socio-political discourses, offering a timely critique of reductionist, individualized interpretations of reconciliation. keywords: reconciliation, 2 corinthians 5, new creation, ambassadorship, systemic sin, missiology introduction the fractured church in a fractured world the 21st-century church exists in a paradox: it proclaims a gospel of reconciliation while often mirroring the divisions of the world it seeks to transform. from the racialized violence exposed by the black lives matter movement to the weaponization of christianity in populist regimes (e.g., brazil, hungary), the church’s credibility as a “reconciling community” hangs in the balance. against this backdrop, paul’s discourse in 2 corinthians 5:11–21 emerges as a prophetic text, offering not only theological depth but a missiological roadmap for the church’s renewal. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 4 problem statement and research gap while reconciliation is a well-trodden theme in pauline studies, scholarship often limits its scope to individual salvation (schreiner, 2010) or abstract cosmic renewal (wright, 2015). few works explore how paul’s katallagē directly confronts systemic sin, whether in 1st-century corinth or today’s geopolitics. for instance, campbell (2009) frames reconciliation as a critique of roman imperialism but neglects its implications for modern ecclesial complicity in oppression. similarly, global reconciliation movements (e.g., south africa’s truth and reconciliation commission) rarely engage deeply with pauline theology, favoring secular frameworks (tutu, 1999). this study addresses this gap by positioning 2 corinthians 5:11–21 as a missiological manifesto that bridges theological rigor and praxis in contexts of division. thesis statement this paper argues that paul’s theology of reconciliation in 2 corinthians 5:11–21 provides a transformative, countercultural framework for the church to confront 21st-century fractures. by grounding reconciliation in christ’s substitutionary death (5:14–15), paul redefines the church’s identity as a “new creation” (5:17) tasked with dismantling systemic injustice and fostering radical unity. methodology and original contribution the study employs three methodological lenses: 1. exegesis: close analysis of greek terms (e.g., katallagē, ktisis) and literary context. 2. historical theology: tracing reconciliation’s ecclesial application from augustine to bonhoeffer. 3. case studies: examining reconciliation praxis in divided contexts (e.g., myanmar’s persecuted church, u.s. evangelical racial divides). this interdisciplinary approach uniquely synthesizes biblical studies, ethics, and missiology, challenging the church to move beyond sentimentalized unity toward costly, justice-oriented reconciliation. why 2 corinthians 5:11–21?a paul’s letter to the corinthians mirrors today’s ecclesial crisis: a church divided by leadership cults (1 cor 1:12), economic inequality (1 cor 11:20–22), and cultural accommodation (2 cor 6:14– 18). in 5:11–21, paul responds not with abstract theology but a missiological call to embody christ’s reconciliation. his emphasis on “ambassadors” (5:20) and “new creation” (5:17) critiques both corinth’s factionalism and rome’s empire—a dual challenge relevant to churches complicit in modern power structures. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 5 structure of the paper 1. exegesis: unpacks paul’s theology of reconciliation, focusing on greek terms and sociohistorical context. 2. historical framework: contrasts pauline reconciliation with constantinian compromises and enlightenment individualism. 3. contemporary challenges: analyzes racial, political, and ecological fractures through global case studies. 4. pathways forward: proposes liturgical, ethical, and structural practices for embodying reconciliation. urgency for the church today the stakes are high. pew research (2023) reports that 68% of u.s. christians believe the church is “too divided” to address societal issues. meanwhile, global south churches—such as nigeria’s persecuted christians—embody reconciliation amid violence but lack platforms to shape global discourse. this study thus speaks to both academia and practitioners, offering a vision of reconciliation that is theologically robust and practically actionable. exegetical analysis of 2 corinthians 5:11–21 1. context and structure paul’s second letter to the corinthians addresses tensions surrounding his apostolic authority and the congregation’s wavering loyalty (barnett, 1997). in 5:11–21, paul shifts from defending his ministry (2 cor 2:14–5:10) to articulating the theological basis for reconciliation. the passage hinges on two key motifs: (1) the “new creation” (5:17) and (2) the “ministry of reconciliation” (5:18). 2. theological themes • reconciliation as divine initiative: paul asserts that reconciliation originates in god’s act of “not counting people’s sins against them” (5:19, niv). the greek term katallagē (reconciliation) denotes a restoration of relational wholeness, emphasizing god’s unilateral grace (harris, 2005). • christ’s substitutionary role: the phrase “one died for all” (5:14) underscores christ’s death as the means of reconciling humanity to god and to one another (wright, 2015). • ambassadorial mission: believers are entrusted with the “message of reconciliation” (5:19) and called to act as christ’s ambassadors (5:20), mediating god’s forgiveness in a broken world. 4. ethical imperatives igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 6 paul’s appeal—“be reconciled to god” (5:20)—carries communal implications. reconciliation is not optional but a non-negotiable mark of the church’s faithfulness (keener, 2019). theological implications for the church 1. reconciliation as missional praxis paul’s theology dismantles the sacred-secular divide. reconciliation is not a peripheral social agenda but the heart of the gospel (lederleitner, 2023). the church’s failure to address racial segregation, economic disparities, and denominational schisms betrays its ambassadorial calling. 2. the challenge of new creation the “new creation” (5:17) redefines identity in christ, transcending ethnic, cultural, and social barriers (gorman, 2001). for example, the south african truth and reconciliation commission (1996) demonstrated how confessing systemic sin could catalyze societal healing—a model the church must emulate. contemporary challenges and applications 1. case study: racial reconciliation despite progress, many churches remain segregated (emerson & smith, 2000). paul’s vision demands intentional dismantling of racial hierarchies, as seen in multiethnic congregations like mosaic church (los angeles), which prioritizes diversity as a theological imperative (rah, 2015). 2. political polarization in an era of ideological tribalism, the church must resist aligning with partisan agendas. instead, it should embody the “ministry of reconciliation” by fostering dialogue across divides, as modeled by initiatives like braver angels (usa). 3. ecumenism and interfaith engagement paul’s emphasis on unity challenges denominational isolationism. the global christian forum exemplifies how diverse traditions can collaborate without compromising doctrinal distinctives (walls, 2022). 3. exegetical analysis of 2 corinthians 5:11–21 3.1 literary context: paul’s apostolic suffering and the corinthian crisis paul’s second letter to the corinthians is steeped in tension. the congregation, influenced by rival “super-apostles” (11:5), questioned paul’s authority, motives, and even his physical suffering (4:7–12; 11:23–30). in 5:11–21, paul transitions from defending his weakness as a mark of authentic apostleship (4:7–5:10) to articulating a theology of reconciliation that reframes suffering as participation in christ’s redemptive mission (barnett, 1997). the passage’s urgency arises from the corinthian crisis: their factionalism (1 cor 1:10–13) betrayed a failure to grasp igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 7 the horizontal implications of the gospel (keener, 2019). for paul, reconciliation is not abstract but a lived reality that validates his ministry and rebukes the corinthians’ divisiveness. structural breakdown: • 5:11–13: paul’s sincerity as an ambassador of christ. • 5:14–15: christ’s death as the catalyst for communal transformation. • 5:16–17: the “new creation” redefining identity. • 5:18–19: god’s initiative and the “ministry of reconciliation.” • 5:20–21: the church’s ambassadorial role and christ’s sin-bearing. 3.2 key greek terms and theological nuances 3.2.1 katallagē (καταλλαγή): divine-human reconciliation the term katallagē (5:18–19) denotes a radical restoration of relationship, often used in secular greek for political peace treaties (harris, 2005). paul, however, subverts the term by framing reconciliation as god’s unilateral act: “god was reconciling the world to himself in christ” (5:19, niv). the aorist participle katallaxantos (ὁ καταλλάξαντος) emphasizes a completed divine action, negating any human contribution (hooker, 1971). this challenges the corinthian tendency to view reconciliation as a transactional negotiation (winter, 1994), reframing it instead as a gift demanding response (5:20). 3.2.2 diakonia tēs katallagēs (διακονία τῆς καταλλαγῆς): the ministry of reconciliation the phrase “ministry of reconciliation” (5:18) ties paul’s apostolic calling to the church’s collective mission. the term diakonia (service) echoes christ’s self-emptying in philippians 2:7, suggesting that reconciliation is enacted through sacrificial love (gorman, 2001). for paul, this ministry is not optional but an obligation (5:14: heis hyper pantōn apethanen—“one died for all”) that flows from christ’s substitutionary death. 3.2.3 kainē ktisis (καινὴ κτίσις): new creation as cosmic renewal the declaration “if anyone is in christ, kainē ktisis” (5:17) is often individualized, but the greek ktisis (creation) carries cosmic overtones. paul evokes isaiah’s promise of “new heavens and a new earth” (isa 65:17 lxx) to signal that christ’s resurrection inaugurates the renewal of all things (wright, 2015). this redefines the church as a microcosm of god’s restored creation, where “the old has gone, the new has come” (5:17)—a direct challenge to corinthian divisions rooted in social status (1 cor 11:17–22). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 8 3.3 theological tensions and scholarly debates 3.3.1 vertical vs. horizontal reconciliation a key debate centers on whether paul prioritizes reconciliation with god (vertical) or among humans (horizontal). schreiner (2010) argues that 5:18–19 focuses on god’s forgiveness (“not counting trespasses”), making horizontal reconciliation secondary. conversely, gorman (2001) contends that vertical reconciliation is inseparable from its horizontal outworking: “the one who died for all demands that those who live no longer live for themselves” (5:15). this tension mirrors the corinthian context: their failure to reconcile with paul (2:5–11) exposed a failure to grasp the gospel’s ethical demands. 3.3.2 hyper (ὑπέρ) and the scope of christ’s substitution the phrase heis hyper pantōn apethanen (“one died for all,” 5:14) raises questions about substitutionary atonement. the preposition hyper (ὑπέρ) can mean “for the benefit of” or “in place of,” with campbell (2009) advocating for the latter as a critique of roman imperial sacrifice. this positions christ’s death as a counter-imperial act that liberates the pantōn (“all”) from systemic sin (harrill, 2012). for the fractured church today, this demands solidarity with marginalized communities, as christ’s death dismantles hierarchies of power. 3.3.3 ambassadors (presbeuomen) in roman context paul’s use of presbeuomen (“we are ambassadors,” 5:20) borrows from roman political discourse, where ambassadors (legati) negotiated peace for the empire (georgi, 1986). by casting believers as christ’s ambassadors, paul subverts imperial authority: the church’s mission is not to broker compromises but to proclaim god’s already-achieved reconciliation (5:19). this challenges modern churches that align with state power, urging instead a prophetic stance against oppression (e.g., apartheid, xenophobia). 3.4 the “new creation” (5:17) as ecclesial identity paul’s claim that “the old has passed away” (5:17) deconstructs identities rooted in ethnicity, class, or religious pedigree (gal 3:28). the greek ta archaia (τὰ ἀρχαῖα, “old things”) refers to the prechrist order, including the corinthian factions. for käsemann (1971), the “new creation” is an apocalyptic reality that nullifies human divisions. this confronts today’s church: if racial or economic hierarchies persist, it betrays a failure to inhabit the kainē ktisis. case in point: in roman corinth, the erastus inscription (rom 16:23) reveals a city stratified by wealth. paul’s insistence on “not regarding anyone according to the flesh” (5:16) condemns such stratification. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 9 similarly, the modern church’s complicity in redlining or caste systems contradicts its new creation identity (rah, 2015). rhetorical structure and chiastic patterns paul employs a chiasm to center christ’s death as the pivot of reconciliation: a – 5:11–13: paul’s sincerity before god b – 5:14–15: christ’s death for all x – 5:16–17: new creation b’ – 5:18–19: god’s reconciliation through christ a’ – 5:20–21: paul’s ambassadorial plea this structure highlights the kainē ktisis (5:17) as the theological climax (witherington, 1995). intertextual echoes • leviticus 16 (day of atonement): paul’s language of "not counting trespasses" (5:19) resonates with the scapegoat ritual (seifrid, 2000). • isaiah 53 (suffering servant): the "one who knew no sin" (5:21) evokes the servant’s substitutionary suffering (hays, 1989). 3.5 ethical imperative: “be reconciled to god” (5:20) the aorist passive imperative katallagēte (καταλλάγητε, “be reconciled”) in 5:20 is grammatically striking. while god is the reconciler (5:18), the passive voice signals human receptivity (thrall, 1994). this echoes jesus’ sermon on the mount: “be reconciled to your brother” (matt 5:24). for the church today, reconciliation is not optional but a non-negotiable mark of discipleship, requiring concrete acts of restitution (e.g., reparations for slavery) and forgiveness (e.g., post-genocide rwanda). 3.6 synthesis: paul’s vision for the fractured church paul’s exegesis of reconciliation in 2 corinthians 5:11–21 is both theological and subversive. by grounding reconciliation in christ’s death and resurrection, he destabilizes corinthian factionalism and imperial power structures. the church’s calling is not to maintain the status quo but to embody the “new creation” through radical unity and justice. as hays (1996) notes, “the church is the message”—a living hermeneutic of god’s reconciling love. paul’s argument culminates in 5:21: christ becomes "sin" (ἁμαρτία) so believers become "the righteousness of god" (δικαιοσύνη θεοῦ). this communicatio idiomatum (exchange of attributes) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 10 underscores reconciliation’s cost: divine justice is satisfied through christ’s vicarious death, enabling the church’s transformative mission (gorman, 2017). key implications for today: 1. anti-dualism: the "new creation" (5:17) rejects sacred/secular divides, demanding reconciliation in politics, economics, and ecology. 2. communal identity: the church is a reconciled and reconciling community, not a collection of individuals. 3. prophetic challenge: paul’s theology condemns churches that prioritize institutional survival over justice. 4. historical and theological framework 4.1 reconciliation in early church praxis the apostolic church operationalized paul’s reconciliation theology as both spiritual and social renewal. the didache (late 1st century) mandated communal confession and restitution before eucharist participation, framing reconciliation as a precondition for worship (holmes, 2007). similarly, augustine’s city of god contrasted the pax romana (superficial peace through coercion) with the pax christi (peace through justice), arguing that the church must model divine reconciliation amid earthly fragmentation (augustine, 426/1968). this patristic vision, however, eroded under constantine, as the church’s alliance with imperial power diluted its prophetic edge. for example, the council of nicaea (325 ce) prioritized doctrinal unity over addressing socioeconomic inequities, foreshadowing christendom’s complicity in colonialism (jenkins, 2008). 4.2 medieval and reformation shifts the medieval sacrament of penance reduced reconciliation to individualized absolution, neglecting its horizontal dimensions ((hillerbrand, 2007)). luther’s the freedom of a christian (1520) reclaimed paul’s "ministry of reconciliation" (2 cor 5:18) by emphasizing justification by faith— yet his polemics against peasants’ revolts (1525) exposed a failure to apply reconciliation to class struggle (hillerbrand, 2007). calvin, conversely, linked reconciliation to social ethics, urging geneva’s church to care for refugees (reid, 2014). this tension—personal salvation vs. systemic justice—still haunts protestantism. 4.3 modern secular models and their limitations the enlightenment redefined reconciliation as a rational social contract (e.g., rousseau’s social contract), divorcing it from theological roots. john rawls’ theory of justice (1971) epitomizes this secular shift, framing fairness as a neutral ideal rather than a divine mandate. such models, however, struggle to address moral guilt (e.g., apartheid, genocide). in contrast, desmond igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 11 tutu’s ubuntu theology—"i am because we are"—reconnected reconciliation to communal restoration, albeit with mixed results in post-apartheid south africa (tutu, 1999). 4.4 pauline theology vs. postcolonial critique postcolonial scholars challenge western interpretations of 2 corinthians 5 as complicit in colonial violence. musa dube (2000) argues that “ambassadorship” (5:20) was weaponized to legitimize missionary imperialism. conversely, kwame bediako (2004) reclaims paul’s “new creation” (5:17) as a decolonial framework, citing ghanaian churches that indigenized christianity while resisting cultural erasure. this debate underscores the need for a self-critical missiology that acknowledges historical harm while reclaiming paul’s subversive potential. 5. contemporary challenges 5.1 racial and ethnic fragmentation case study 1: the u.s. evangelical church and black lives matter despite 2 corinthians 5:16’s call to “regard no one according to the flesh,” 86% of u.s. evangelical churches remain racially homogenous (pew research, 2022). the murder of george floyd (2020) exposed this divide: while 70% of black protestants saw systemic racism as a “major problem,” only 25% of white evangelicals agreed (prri, 2020). churches like brooklyn’ crenshaw christian center exemplify reconciliation praxis, hosting “truth & reconciliation” forums that address redlining’s legacy (rah, 2020). conversely, the southern baptist convention’s slow repentance for its pro-slavery origins (duesing, 2018) reveals the cost of neglecting paul’s mandate. case study 2: casteism in indian christianity dalit christians, comprising 60% of india’s church, face caste-based discrimination even within congregations (webster, 2022). the national council of churches in india (ncci) has adopted 2 corinthians 5:17–20 to advocate for caste abolition, yet upper-caste clergy often resist. this mirrors corinth’s class divisions (1 cor 11:17–22), demanding a reclamation of paul’s “new creation” as caste-blind unity. 5.2 political polarization and nationalism case study 3: brazil’s evangelical-populist alliance under president bolsonaro (2019–2022), 70% of brazilian evangelicals supported policies marginalizing lgbtq+ and indigenous communities (freston, 2021). mega-church leaders framed this as “spiritual warfare,” distorting paul’s “ambassadorship” (5:20) into partisan loyalty. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 12 conversely, the evangelical front for the rule of law mobilized pastors to defend democracy during the 2023 insurrections, embodying 2 corinthians 5:18–19’s call to “reconcile the world.” case study 4: myanmar’s church amid military oppression since the 2021 coup, myanmar’s persecuted christians have risked imprisonment to shelter muslims and buddhists, embodying christ’s “ministry of reconciliation” (5:18). kachin baptist leaders cite 2 corinthians 5:20—"we plead with you: be reconciled to god"—as a call to nonviolent resistance (lian, 2023). 5.3 ecological disintegration case study 5: indigenous christians and amazon deforestation brazil’s conselho nacional de igrejas cristãs (conic) links 2 corinthians 5:17 (“new creation”) to land defense, training pastors in sustainable agriculture. this contrasts with u.s. evangelical dismissals of climate activism as “secular” (kearns, 2022), highlighting the ecological implications of paul’s cosmic reconciliation. case study 6: pacific island churches and climate migration tuvalu’s congregational church, facing existential threats from rising seas, reads 2 corinthians 5:19 (“reconciling the world”) as a mandate to lobby for fossil fuel divestment. their “climate apostles” initiative merges evangelism with climate justice (matagi, 2023). 5.4 theological obstacles to reconciliation 1. cheap grace: bonhoeffer’s warning against “cheap grace” (1937) applies to churches that reduce reconciliation to forgiveness without justice. for example, rwanda’s post-genocide churches often prioritized “forgive and forget” over prosecuting perpetrators (longman, 2023). 2. prosperity gospel: nigeria’s megachurches preach material blessing while ignoring poverty’s systemic roots, contradicting paul’s call to “no longer live for themselves” (5:15). 6. practical pathways for the church 6.1 liturgical practices: embodying reconciliation through worship a. communal lament and confession paul’s call to "be reconciled to god" (2 cor 5:20) begins with confronting brokenness. drawing on soong-chan rah’s prophetic lament (2015), churches must incorporate lament into worship, creating space to grieve systemic sins like racism, colonialism, and ecological exploitation. for igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 13 example, first baptist church of ferguson, missouri, hosts annual liturgies of repentance for its historical silence during racial violence, mirroring the south african truth and reconciliation commission’s public confessions (tutu, 1999). b. eucharist as a reconciling act the eucharist, as a foretaste of the "new creation" (5:17), challenges divisions of class and ethnicity. the community of sant’egidio in rome exemplifies this by sharing meals with refugees, embodying paul’s vision that "christ’s love compels us" (5:14). james k.a. smith (2013) argues that such practices "rehabituate" communities toward reconciliation through repeated embodied acts. c. baptism and identity reorientation baptism into the "new creation" (5:17) dismantles hierarchies of race, caste, and gender. in india, dalit christians reclaim baptism as a rejection of caste impurity, publicly burning sacred threads in ceremonies (webster, 2022). this mirrors paul’s insistence that "from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh" (5:16). 6.2 ethical imperatives: justice as reconciliation in action a. reparations and economic justice paul’s admonition to "no longer live for themselves" (5:15) demands material restitution. the episcopal church’s $1.7 million reparations fund for descendants of enslaved people (2021) operationalizes this ethic. korie edwards (2022) frames reparations as a "sacramental return," aligning with paul’s theology of katallagē (reconciliation) as restored relationships. b. restorative justice moving beyond punitive models, churches can adopt restorative circles, as seen in colombia’s mennonite peace churches, where victims and perpetrators of violence co-create healing (schirch, 2023). this mirrors paul’s appeal to the corinthians to "make room in your hearts" for the repentant (2 cor 7:2). c. advocacy and solidarity as "ambassadors" (5:20), churches must advocate for marginalized communities. the ecumenical accompaniment programme in palestine and israel (eappi), which trains christians to monitor human rights abuses, exemplifies this ambassadorial role through nonviolent presence igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 14 6.3 structural reforms: dismantling systemic sin a. leadership diversification paul’s critique of corinth’s factionalism (1 cor 1:12) challenges homogeneous leadership. churches like mosaic la mandate multiethnic elder boards, reflecting the "new creation" (rah, 2015). studies show diverse leadership increases congregational empathy (emerson & smith, 2000). b. equitable resource allocation the jerusalem council’s sharing of resources (acts 15) models paul’s vision of economic reconciliation. the presbyterian church (usa)’s "matthew 25 initiative" redistributes 40% of denominational funds to poor congregations, embodying christ’s "having nothing, yet possessing everything" (2 cor 6:10). c. policy accountability churches must adopt anti-oppression policies, as seen in the united methodist church’s "dismantling racism" audits (2020). bonhoeffer’s costly grace (1937) warns against reconciliation without accountability: "cheap grace is grace without discipleship." 6.4 educational initiatives: forming reconciling communities a. theological education seminaries must integrate reconciliation studies into curricula. duke divinity school’s "reconciliation certificate program" trains leaders in conflict mediation, grounding practice in pauline theology b. intercultural competence training workshops like the intercultural development inventory (idi) help congregations navigate diversity, addressing paul’s call to "become the righteousness of god" (5:21) through humility. c. youth and family discipleship the peace catalyst curriculum, used by australian churches, teaches children conflict resolution through biblical storytelling, echoing paul’s "ministry of reconciliation" (5:18). 6.5 global partnerships: learning from the margins a. south-south collaborations igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 15 churches in the global north must defer to majority world wisdom. the nairobi statement on reconciliation (2022), drafted by african theologians, reinterprets 2 corinthians 5 through communal ubuntu ethics, challenging individualistic western models. b. climate justice networks the pacific conference of churches links ecological stewardship to 2 corinthians 5:19’s "reconciling the world," advocating for fossil fuel divestment as missional obedience. conclusion the apostle paul’s exposition of reconciliation in 2 corinthians 5:11–21 resounds as a prophetic and missiological mandate for the church in an era marked by fragmentation. at its core, this passage reframes reconciliation not as a peripheral social agenda but as the heartbeat of the gospel—a divine initiative (katallagē) that restores broken relationships between god, humanity, and creation. paul’s theology dismantles the corinthian church’s factionalism and rome’s imperial hierarchies, presenting reconciliation as both a cosmic reality (“new creation,” 5:17) and a communal ethic (“ministry of reconciliation,” 5:18). for the contemporary church, this dual emphasis demands a radical reorientation: to embody christ’s ambassadorial mission (5:20) by confronting systemic sin and fostering unity amid diversity. the exegetical analysis reveals that reconciliation originates in god’s unilateral act of grace (“not counting trespasses,” 5:19), accomplished through christ’s substitutionary death (5:14–15). this theological foundation challenges the church to move beyond sentimentalized notions of harmony, instead embracing costly discipleship that addresses racial injustice, economic inequity, and ecological exploitation. historical and contemporary case studies—from south africa’s unfinished reconciliation to myanmar’s persecuted church—illustrate both the transformative potential and perilous shortcomings of applying pauline reconciliation. while desmond tutu’s ubuntu theology and colombia’s mennonite peace communities exemplify the integration of justice and grace, the persistence of casteism in indian christianity and political weaponization of faith in brazil underscore the church’s ongoing complicity in division. the practical pathways outlined—liturgical lament, reparations, restorative justice, and structural reforms—provide a blueprint for the church to operationalize its ambassadorial calling. by recentering worship on the eucharist’s reconciling power, diversifying leadership, and forging global partnerships, the church can incarnate the “new creation” as a countercultural witness. yet this mission demands vigilance against the allure of “cheap grace” and cultural captivity, as bonhoeffer warned. the church’s credibility hinges on its willingness to confront its historical and present failures, whether through reparative economics or solidarity with marginalized communities. in conclusion, 2 corinthians 5:11–21 issues an urgent summons: the church cannot proclaim christ’s reconciliation while perpetuating division. to inhabit paul’s vision, it must reject partisan igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 16 allegiances, dismantle oppressive systems, and prioritize the shalom of the vulnerable. this study bridges biblical scholarship and missiological praxis, arguing that reconciliation is not merely a theological concept but the church’s raison d’être. as the fractured body of christ navigates the complexities of the 21st century, it must rediscover its identity as a “new creation”—a community where the old order of exclusion gives way to the radical inclusivity of the cross. the stakes are nothing less than the gospel’s integrity and the church’s witness to a watching world. future research directions: 1. interrogating the role of technology in fostering or hindering reconciliation in digital communities. 2. exploring pauline reconciliation in interfaith and postcolonial contexts beyond the cases examined. 3. assessing the ecological implications of “new creation” theology in climate-vulnerable regions. this paper affirms that the church’s missional vitality depends on its courage to embody reconciliation as a lived hermeneutic of the gospel—a task as urgent today as in first-century corinth. references the greek new testament (ubs5). (2014). deutsche bibelgesellschaft. septuagint (lxx). (1851). rahlfs, a. (ed.). deutsche bibelgesellschaft. barnett, p. (1997). the second epistle to the corinthians. eerdmans. beale, g. k. (2011). a new testament biblical theology: the unfolding of the old testament in the new. baker academic. campbell, d. a. (2005). the rhetoric of righteousness in romans 3:21–26. t&t clark. furnish, v. p. (1984). ii corinthians. doubleday. georgi, d. (1986). the opponents of paul in second corinthians. fortress press. gorman, m. j. (2001). cruciformity: paul’s narrative spirituality of the cross. eerdmans. gorman, m. j. (2017). apostle of the crucified lord: a theological introduction to paul and his letters. eerdmans. hafemann, s. j. (2000). 2 corinthians. ivp academic. harris, m. j. (2005). the second epistle to the corinthians: a commentary on the greek text. eerdmans. hays, r. b. (1989). echoes of scripture in the letters of paul. yale university press. keener, c. s. (2018). 2 corinthians: a commentary. baker academic. schreiner, t. r. (1998). romans. baker academic. seifrid, m. a. (2000). christ, our righteousness: paul’s theology of justification. ivp academic. witherington, b., iii. (1995). *conflict and community in corinth: a socio-rhetorical commentary on 1 and 2 corinthians*. eerdmans. wright, n. t. (2015). paul and the faithfulness of god. fortress press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 17 grindheim, s. (2021). "paul’s apostolic defense in 2 corinthians 5:11–21." journal of biblical literature, 140(2), 391–410. meyer, j. (2019). "divine non-imputation in 2 corinthians 5:19: a linguistic analysis." novum testamentum, 61(3), 267–285. moule, c. f. d. (1959). "the judgment theme in the sacraments." in w. d. davies & d. daube (eds.), the background of the new testament and its eschatology (pp. 464– 481). cambridge university press. seifrid, m. a. (2014). "the ‘new perspective’ and 2 corinthians 5:21." westminster theological journal, 76(1), 129–146. louw, j. p., & nida, e. a. (1996). greek-english lexicon of the new testament based on semantic domains (2nd ed.). united bible societies. winter, b. w. (2001). philo and paul among the sophists: alexandrian and corinthian responses to a julio-claudian movement (2nd ed.). eerdmans igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 169 examination of social justice issues in modern nigerian society in the light of john rawls philosophy orji, chidi paul, ph.d. department of philosophy, university of agriculture and environmental sciences, umuagwo, hipaulco@gmail.com, paul.orji@uaes.edu.ng & olaiya, olajumoke olufunmilola educational foundations dept.; federal college of education (technical), akoka, lagos. olajumoke.olaiya@fcetakoka.edu.ng, olajumokeolaiya@gmail.com & nwagbara, rufus godswill department of philosophy, babcock 'university, ilisan remo, ogun state godswillnwagbara@gmail.com, nwagbarag@babcock.edu.ng & egberongbe tijani taiwo ph.d. department of philosophy, olabisi onabanjo university ago iwoye, ogun state. egberongbetaiwo@oouagoiwoye.edu.ng titaiwoegbe@gmail.com & joachim okoroafor phd directorate of general studies, gregory university, uturu, abia state, nigeria. j.okoroafor@gregoryuniversityuturu.edu.ng & iyadunni olamilekan department of philosophy, olabisi onabanjo university, ago iwoye, ogun state. lokoinmillion2005@yahoo.com & chukwu peter damian ezechi directorate of general studies, gregory university uturu abia state d.ezechi@gregoryuniversityuturu.edu.ng & ese henry inoke department of philosophy, university of port harcourt (uniport), rivers state. henryinoke@gmail.com abstract nigeria is plagued by numerous forms of ethnic and political conflicts. the british government's colonial occupation of the country is the cause of this. as a result, the country is divided along ethnic lines and people today live in inequity. these discrepancies cause crises because national resources are allocated in an unequal manner. ethnic relations are further strained as a result of nigeria's many ethnic groups. however, in a welfare state, overlapping consensusas rawls put it—can become a national consensus when the constitution protects underprivileged ethnic groups through mutual understanding and a readiness to change one's mind to suit the needs of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 170 others. a just and equitable welfare society must provide interethnic cooperation, peaceful coexistence, and constructive connections in a multiethnic state like nigeria, where there is division, antagonism, unhealthy rivalry, and evident imbalances between the ethnic groups. keywords: john rawls, social injustice, welfare, overlapping consensus, nigeria introduction africa's numerous ethnic groups and their relations are one of the continent's problems. nigeria, a case study nation with an estimated 250 ethnic groups, has a lengthy history of colonial control that has persisted into the present political era, resulting in uneven relations between the many diverse ethnic groups. the leadership approach, according to osuji, is focused on race interests and individual riches, which has led to the well-known lack of a shared national mission. the british deliberately seeded a compound ethnic conflict (osuji, 2018:148). nigeria's political system has had numerous difficulties since its founding, the majority of which may be attributed to ethnic politics and mentalities. nigeria's leaders refused to let the country's values—such as integrity, respect for the rule of law, and a dislike of corruption and ethnocentrism—influence their actions or perspectives (emordi, 2008:47). the issue of maintaining political stability and communal cohesion arises when people cannot agree on how to define social fairness. how can political unity and stability be preserved in a society when viewpoints are all-encompassing, diverse, and occasionally contradictory? thus, the main argument of this essay is that ethnicity is the main thing preventing nigeria from developing as a country. meaningful development will not happen if the issue is not successfully resolved; instead, it will remain elusive and illusive. the ethnicity of nigerians is determined by genetic affinity. it is a spontaneous, natural event. it can therefore be used profitably to promote human happiness in addition to being beneficial on its own. an ethnically heterogeneous group claims to be related by blood or heritage. there may be wide variations in the gathering's size and location. all ethnic groups share the following traits: claim of a common ancestry that needed to be passed down through several generations (osuji, 2018:151). the psychological effect of sharing a common ancestor strengthens people's sense of unity and connection to one another. the risk of aestheticism is that it produces and maintains separation. the federal employment character act, the national youth service corps program, and the unity school systems are just a few of the programs that have been implemented to mitigate the detrimental effects of racial prejudice. now, though, it is a part of the country's development. the argument for introducing social justice (equity and fairness) into nigerian politics was evaluated in this essay, along with the applicability of john rawls' overlapping consensus to resolve the growing ethnic disputes. rawls attempts to create a practical formula for a fair and equitable distribution of rights and liberties, as well as a strategy for distributing socioeconomic benefits, such as money, health, education, and other political rights, in order to meet the concept of an overlapping consensus. conflicts between nigeria's numerous ethnic groups over the country's resources continue to be a cause of unhappiness and a danger to the nation's political stability, unity, and peace. an analysis of nigeria's ethnic conflicts reveals a history of political upheaval and changing coping mechanisms specified in the constitution, which apply to a range of ethnic groups. nigeria's many ethnic groups are currently fiercely competing with one another igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 171 on matters like power and resource distribution. numerous governments have made fruitless attempts to address the aforementioned issues. this study adopts an analytical approach. it examines nigeria's issues with political instability and ethnic relations through critical analysis. nigeria's social injustice and ethnic problem, which is only becoming worse, will be critically examined in this study in an attempt to have a comprehensive conversation about the difficulties in ethnic relations. through his overlapping agreement, it will also emphasize the applicability of john rawls' social justice theory. it will also be shown what john rawls's overlapping consensus means. with the help of rawls' overlapping consensus, a new socio-political welfare framework is created in nigeria, acting as a model for addressing concerns of social inequality. the issues of social justice in nigeria: an overview nigeria has seen numerous ethnic, political, and economic crises. there are a lot of different opinions about this. while some attribute this issue to inept leadership, others attribute it to the british government's colonial domination over the country (olugbemi & osuji, 2021:28). there are now differences among the people as a result of the country's ethnic division. unfair resource distribution across the country has led to rivalries. tensions occur when one ethnic groupespecially the minority ethnic groupsis marginalized at the expense of another. in terms of leadership and governance, it is challenging for one ethnic group to become the dominant force. and as a result, people are now distrustful and antagonistic to one another. therefore, the problem of ethnic relations is made worse by nigeria's many ethnic groupings. people become more confusing, dehumanizing, unfair, unbalanced, and biased as a result. the two principles of justice proposed by john rawls two principles of justice will be agreed upon by the individuals in the hypothetical original situation, rawls argues. simply put, rawls states that the first of the two principles is as follows: every individual must have the greatest complete basic liberty that is consistent with the equal rights of others. according to rawls (1989:60), social and economic inequalities should be arranged so that they are (a) rationally expected to benefit all parties and (b) connected to positions and jobs that are available to everyone. in rawls' view, the second rule is to prioritize the first. every person's rights must be respected if society is to be just. everyone in society is treated fairly, according to the argument, as long as individual liberty is respected. the socioeconomic status differences that exist in all societies are the subject of another principle. following this, rawls states that "as a general comment, these principles concern mainly, as i said, the basic structure of society" (rawls 1989:61). he says that "a just society can be established with just two principles, like justice." this is due to multiple factors. the first is that, based on a contract, persons in a fictitious starting situation select these principles. "what rawls means by justice is defined by these two principles" (rawls 1989:61–62). as in the original argument, everyone behind the curtain of ignorance is equal since they are unaware of the details. rawls is aware that people in every community are aware of their financial success and social status. according to rawls, not everyone should enjoy the same social and economic advantages. people who are already less fortunate shouldn't be harmed by any disparity. inequality in society must benefit everyone. rawls states that the second principle "relates, roughly, to the distribution igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 172 of income and wealth and to the design of organizations that use hierarchies or differences in authority and responsibility" (rawls 1989:61). the principles ought to be arranged in a sequential fashion, with the first principle coming before the second, in accordance with rawls. this ordering states that greater social and economic advantages cannot be used as an excuse or payment for a deviation from the equal liberty institutions required by the first principle. rawls (1989:61) argues that the structures of authority and the distribution of wealth and income must be in line with the rights to equal citizenship and opportunity." when it comes to social and economic distributions, the principles are set up to prevent the violation of basic rights and freedoms. economic disparities are only acceptable provided they do not further separate the less fortunate. the fundamental rights and liberties of any group of people cannot be threatened by an unequal wealth distribution. this interpretation of justice as fairness holds that a society can only be deemed just and equitable if it can be shown that any inequities are beneficial to everyone. a society must uphold its basic freedoms and rights and allocate its resources in a way that satisfies the dual ideals of justice and fairness in order to be deemed just. in these hypothetical systems, everyone will receive the same treatment. people will always be mainly interested in basic necessities and freedom. therefore, even in situations where resources are allocated unfairly, fundamental rights are maintained. rawls wrote, "imagine, then, a hypothetical initial arrangement in which all the social primary goods are equally distributed: everyone has similar rights and duties, and income and wealth are shared equally." he depicts this distribution in this way. this current state of affairs provides a benchmark for evaluating progress. if certain differences in income and organizational power give everyone a better starting place, then those differences are consistent with the universal knowledge, claims rawls (1989:62). according to rawls, a theoretical model can be used to determine whether a society is just or not. a society is deemed just if it upholds justice and fairness with the same steadfastness as the society from which it originated. if it turns out that it was not constructed according to the two principles, society may use them to make the necessary changes. according to rawls, a society cannot be considered just unless its rights and liberties are safeguarded above its social advantages. disparities in social and economic standing could be seen as somewhat justifiable if institutions place a high priority on protecting individual rights and freedoms. according to rawls, the equality of every individual's rights and liberties within a society is all that is necessary to be considered just. john rawls's original position the original position is to introduce a reasonable framework or strategy for the development of justice principles in order to guarantee that the principles agreed upon at the end of consultations are fair and, therefore, carry the kind of drive that confers participation and expected legitimization, submission, and acknowledgment (rawls, 1993:256). the original position was founded on kant's concept of autonomy and the categorical imperative. the first viewpoint according to rawls (1993:251) is a "procedural interpretation" that clarifies the character of people as free, equal, and rational. from rawls' point of view, there can be no universal moral notion of justice. a democratic state can now tolerate a variety of inconsistent ideas of what is good because to the establishment of constitutional governments and the institutions of large igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 173 industrial market economies (rawls, 1993:108). as a result, justice is separated from its members' loyalties and moral development. as rawls advises, we should not begin with the good as it is independently defined in order to affect their way of life. our character is essentially shown by the values we are prepared to accept as directing the circumstances in which these objectives are to be established and the methods by which they are to be achieved, rather than by our goals themselves. the objectives that the self supports come second since the self comes first (rawls, 1971:560). people are hidden beneath a veil of ignorance, and nobody knows anything specific about them, others, or their social and historical circumstances. freeman argues that "the parties' decision is to be based solely on their knowledge of general facts that they share with each other, which includes general knowledge of psychology, economics, and other relevant social, biological, and physical sciences" (freeman, 2007:155). rawls goes on to say that "the individuals in the first position are reasonable." people assume that because they are logical, they have a sense of justice (rawls, 1977:145). since certain actions are clearly just while others are blatantly unjust, rawls' logic implies a natural sense of justice and evil. every individual will benefit from selecting a justice notion that serves their particular interests (rawls, 1977:142). this indicates that they are not influenced by religion or other elements and they do not consider any specific good to be an end in and of itself. according to rawls "the choices of the parties in the original position will be restricted by natural laws, and those deciding will have certain inclinations to choose among them" (rawls, 1971:159-161). these "assumptions," though, must be accurate and appropriately broad. rawls concludes by saying that "there may be good reasons for enshrining convictions of justice more directly into first principles" (rawls, 1977:8). the convictions will be made public in this way. accordingly, people's perceptions of justice are greatly influenced by institutions and society. according to rawls, moral character and a sense of justice are developed through the family. a country's politics and constitution must be just, equal, and fair in order to govern a "well-ordered" society, the institutions and groups that make up society, and the family. the veil of ignorance: john rawls' concept and application in order to apply and elucidate his ideas of justice, rawls mainly use a hypothetical scenario in which everyone is initially placed behind his veil of ignorance. rawls believed that the only way to guarantee justice and equity during the establishment of a society was to remove this curtain of ignorance. the veil of ignorance protects every future member of the new civilization from some realities about their unique situation. this suggests that, in the interim, no one will be able to predict with any degree of accuracy what they will become in the new society. before the guiding principles for the society are chosen, no member of the projected society will be aware of his responsibilities or duties because everyone's knowledge of his situational role, position, or profession will only become known once a viable thesis of governance has been widely accepted. according to rawls' theory, each and every citizen ought to select one or more of these principles. both men and women work in a variety of occupations in this society, including lawyers, doctors, teachers, farmers, clerks, carpenters, drivers, mechanics, the wealthy and the impoverished, the industrious and the smart, leaders, and politicians, among others. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 174 people would be more inclined to favor or support a specific vocation, role, or position if they were aware of what it would include beforehand. thus, in rawls' view, everyone must be informed before selecting the principles. according to rawls, the goal of consensus-building or selection is to maintain social fairness and equality. in the first paragraph of a theory of justice, rawls asserts that the first and most significant virtue of social organizations is justice. this is because any unjust social system, regardless of how well-functioning or efficient it is, must be altered or abolished. society must be viewed as a cooperative project with reciprocal advantages. members of society must be seen as offering fundamental social advantages on an equal footing with individuals. since everyone is in an equal position and no one can develop principles to favor his particular situation, a just agreement or contract leads to the principles of justice. these social goods include things like money, income, opportunities, freedoms, rights, and power. people worry about how the benefits of their cooperation will be distributed when none of the parties to the arrangement benefit, which leads to the topic of distributive justice (rawls, 1977:10). the ensuing vision of justice must be ensured in order to attain a careful equilibrium. in this instance, our inherent sense of justice and our moral principles align. they would also agree with those who took the original stance. the first principle, also known as the liberty principle, is followed by the second principle, also known as the difference principle. unless doing so will benefit the most vulnerable members of the community, benefits to society should be distributed fairly. that's why rawls (1977:62) described justice as "simply inequalities that are not to the benefit of all." people's physical and mental characteristics vary according to the socioeconomic class they were born into. the rewards and benefits that these natural and social events offer to society should be balanced. john rawls' overlapping consensus: it’s relevance according to rawls, a society that is well-ordered can only be expected to establish and preserve the type of political stability necessary for an overlapping agreement to exist. the "reality of reasonable pluralism," or the inevitable and unavoidable existence of a plurality of incompatible and incommensurable reasonable comprehensive doctrines, necessitates an overlapping consensus (rawls, 1993:36). the variety of opposing and incommensurable "reasonable comprehensive philosophical and moral doctrines found in modern democratic societies are not a mere historical condition that may soon pass away; it is a permanent feature of the public culture of democracy," according to rawls, and as such, they will emerge and endure in all democratic societies (rawls, 1993:36). therefore, any idea of justice that seeks to create the foundation for a community in order must be able to deal with this reality in a suitable manner. according to rawls, the foundation of a well-ordered society can only be established by an overlapping agreement that considers the fact of reasonable plurality. therefore, rawls argues that the public conception of justice must provide the "right" form of stability, or "stability for the right reasons" (rawls, 1996:42), in order to produce the kind of political stability required to establish and maintain a just and stable democratic government. this implies that citizens must act morally in order to uphold the idea of justice, according to rawls. in the pluralistic societies of today, to act justly, one must recognize igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 175 and be willing to follow the rules of permissible plurality. in rawls' opinion, living inside a fundamentally just framework promotes the willingness and desire to act in this manner. they will observe that in order to be stable enough to establish and maintain a well-ordered society, the public's concept of justice needs to satisfy two requirements: it must be willingly and freely supported by at least a substantial number of people." the political notion of justice may engage "each citizen's reason" from within the confines of his or her own comprehensive doctrine, even though the overlapping agreement only concerns this conception (rawls, 1996:143). people with different ideologies are able to accept the overlapping consensus's demands as morally sound. according to john rawls, the existence of this shared moral affirmation guarantees that support for the overlapping consensus will not alter in reaction to "shifts in the distribution of political power" or changes in people's individual circumstances, to the extent that this is humanly possible (rawls, 1996:148). according to rawls, people will continue to support opposing political philosophies even if those philosophies eventually take over society and gain more relative weight (rawls, 1996:148). a political concept of justice enables an overlapping agreement that can offer the "greater" degree of stability required to create and preserve a wellordered society. in fact, rawls contends that the emergence of an overlapping consensus—which is therefore desirable due to its distinct qualities that allow it to garner the moral support necessary to accomplish its goals, requires the establishment of a political conception of justice. awelfare state framework the term "welfare state" refers to a system in which the government bears the primary responsibility for providing social and economic security to its citizens in the form of health care, education, social security benefits, pensions, and other benefits (concise oxford english dictionary, 2009:453). the idea was first proposed in the 1942 beveridge report and was implemented by several british administrations in the 1940s. since then, the welfare state has experienced significant transformation and is now recognized by many developed countries. in addition, there has been a noticeable departure from the social democratic legacy that developed in britain in the 1940s (esping-anderson, 2000:162-163). it can be said to have split into three different types: the corporatist and stratified "conservative" form found in germany; the market-driven "liberal" model found in australia and the usa; and the universalist "social democratic" type found in germany. the fundamental principles of all three versions, albeit with varying degrees of welfare provided, are that society must ensure that each member has a sufficient standard of living, and that every citizen has a political right to a minimum standard of living, nutrition, health, housing, and education (lehning, 2009:213). a fundamental aspect of all these social achievements that ensured citizens' care "from the cradle to the grave" was the understanding that the adverse effects of a market economy needed to be minimized. the impetus for these developments was this realization of the interplay between the market and the state, or more specifically, the person in a market-governed society. the recognition that these issues were, at least in part, systematic rather than the result of individual errors or failures followed this realization (concise oxford english dictionary, 2009:385). rawls' theory of social justice and a welfare structure igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 176 given that rawls' "theory of justice" focuses on balancing morally arbitrary injustices while upholding fundamental human rights, it provides a very good explanation of many of the main principles and objectives of the contemporary welfare state (birnbaum, 2010:496). in his landmark book a theory of justice, published in 1971, rawls defined this fundamental idea as "justice as fairness". according to him, his participants must be rational, uncoerced, have a solid grasp of human behavior, society, and political and economic structures, as well as an equal voice (holt, 2011:395). from this veil of ignorance, rawls asserted that all individuals in the original situation will adhere to one of two fundamental principles of justice: the allocation of economic and social goods and the allocation of civil and political rights. every person has the right to the most extensive set of fundamental rights that is compatible with a similar system of liberty for others, according to rawls' first principle (rawls, 1971:250). this idea thus includes fundamental liberties like the freedom of expression, of religion, of political association, and so forth—all of which are recognized as features of a liberal democratic state. the basis for the allocation of economic and social resources should be "social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they are both (a) to the greatest benefit of the least privileged and (b) attached to the offices and positions open to all under conditions of fair equality and opportunity" (rawls, 1971:83). the dual form of the welfare state has a considerable impact on the "original position's perception of its legitimacy," and condition (a) is rawls' "difference principle." according to the same principle, this call for a welfare state, which is required to provide free education to all people it serves at a respectable level. however, it also permits those same wealthy individuals to pay higher taxes than others, as long as the extra funds are subsequently allocated to the less fortunate members of society (stanford encyclopedia of philosophy, 2013). rawls also refers to "negative income tax" (birnbaum, 2010:498), which is a guaranteed minimum income for everyone living below a certain income threshold. since neither pure capitalism nor complete socialism can be achieved, the welfare state appears to be the most logical and widely accepted middle ground between the two radical ideologies. the fact that the "veil of ignorance" eliminates the arbitrary nature of social gain is another feature that distinguishes his "original attitude" and the resulting society from a more capitalist, libertarian interpretation. the fact that rawls' "original position" is now regarded as a support of the welfare state may be explained by this ambiguity between libertarianism and egalitarianism. as long as it benefits all parties involved, his "difference principle" supports the disparities of market capitalism and imposes no limitations on those who are fortunate enough to benefit from it. furthermore, it offers the least fortunate members of society enough social protection. regarding nigeria's welfare state, there are two ways to understand rawls' theory of justice. one is that the welfare state that rawls argues we ought to establish under the idealized conditions of the "original position" is actually very comparable to the one that is in place now. as in a true welfare state, the government would meet our material necessities, including health care, education, and social security benefits. whatever our position in rawls' hypothetical nigerian society, we would all have the same fundamental rights. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 177 the need for a welfare state structure and a rawlsian approach to issues of social justice in modern nigerian society rebuilding nigeria's institutions is essential to resolving ethnic tensions in the nation. this highlights the essential principles of rawls' theory of social justice, which accords great importance to freedom, equality, and the well-being of the underprivileged. the distribution of rights, responsibilities, privileges, and other contentious issues in nigeria will be governed by the two guiding principles. they would only be applicable to nigerian society's fundamental structures. one interpretation of rawls' emphasis on his first principle is that it reflects his unshakeable and unrelenting devotion to the liberal school. however, it is important to remember that these principles are meaningless unless nigeria becomes a liberal society. they would also control the allocation of social and economic advantages. liberty highlights how important it is for every individual in society to be untouchable. the rights necessary for good social administration include moral, intellectual, and political (the ability to vote and hold public office), and they uphold ideals such as freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, freedom of conscience, and freedom of thought. the first principle states that these liberties should be equally available to all citizens (rawls, 2001:53). the principles would also dictate how social and economic advantages are distributed, but it's crucial to keep in mind that they have no real significance until nigeria develops into a liberal society. liberty emphasizes how crucial it is that all members of society remain untouchable. the freedoms necessary for efficient social governance encompass political, intellectual, and moral arenas (such as the ability to vote and hold public office), and they promote concepts such as freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of conscience, and freedom of thinking. according to the first principle, all citizens ought to have equal access to these freedoms. when choosing the kind of social-political structure for the country, the ideal of liberty would also ensure that the two guiding principlesliberty, equality, and welfarerepresent a viable alternative, especially when they are uncertain of the direction of future events, regardless of the economic, social, and political circumstances of the participants in the national dialogue. the second concept, equality of opportunity, is one that the country's ethnic groupings would naturally support. a key component of the second principle is ensuring that nigerians with comparable capacity and resources encounter comparable conditionssocial inequality promoting the welfare and interests of the most disadvantaged. the second principle, which deals with discrepancies, is where the difference principle originates. despite its lower ranking on the lexical hierarchy, this principle is fundamental and essential to rawls' larger goal, which involves the welfare of the socially disadvantaged to some extent. according to rawls, this principle "requires that existing inequalities must contribute effectively to the benefit of the least advantaged; otherwise, the inequalities are not permissible," regardless of how much people are motivated to work in order to earn their larger shares of the output (1999:64). but does he have the right to give the first principle more weight than the second, considering how important liberty is in modern society? people are free to enjoy what is lawfully theirs as long as it is their private property, therefore no member of the public or government should be able to impede any igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 178 individual's freedom, according to mill (1987:128), who shares rawls' first principle, which emphasizes the primacy of liberty. does this imply that people are free to act however they like if society has no power to control how they behave in matters that affect them? one person's freedom cannot be sacrificed for another's freedom. freedom comes with duties, and unbridled rights and liberties can backfire. is the state able to intervene at this point? there are instances when people make choices that, in contrast to what mill would have us believe, may not damage others but may injure them personally, therefore no member of society is ever fully independent. are the state or other members not entitled to act in these situations? according to john stuart mill's theory of liberty, the individual must be the first to intervene and serve as the last arbiter. people are free to act in whatever way they see fit, both legally and socially, and they are also free to bear the consequences of their choices. "neither one person nor any number of persons is warranted in saying to another human creature of ripe years that he shall not do with his life for his own benefit what he chooses to do with it" refers to the fact that he is the one who is most concerned with his own well-being; that society's interest in him as an individual is fractional and entirely indirect, except in regards to his conduct toward others; and that the average man or woman possesses infinite knowledge. according to rawls, the fundamental institutions of society are in charge of governing society; hence, wealth will be redistributed to help the poor. while broad standards outlining expectations should be established, mill responds that personal matters should be left up to individual freedom. a person's life can only be influenced by society through ideas and advice. although it is impossible to compare the negative consequences of disregarding counsel or the opinions of others, the consequences of allowing others to decide what is suitable for them are far greater. ultimately, it is up to each individual to determine what is best for them. conclusion one of the divisive topics surrounding the allocation of national resources and public sector jobs is inequality, a problem that frequently surfaces in nigerian national discourse. the major goals of rawls' theory of social justice are to alter the incentives and rights that this system provides, as well as the rules by which it operates. for instance, this strategy can be advantageous for fiscal and economic policy, as well as income and taxation. it has less to do with specific transactional circumstances and scenarios and more to do with the context of such transactions. the basic practical goal of rawls' theory of social justice is to ensure that no member of society is ever left behind. when the agreements end, these ethnic groups will have made way for the establishment of individual liberties and rights that were established in accordance with rawlsian intentions, rather than how to come up with a new system or social-political welfare structure based on these two principles. this is likely acceptable because there would be no need to defend particular ethnic groups and the interests of all people would be taken into account equally. a well-ordered society, as defined by rawls, is a welfare society that is guided by a common public understanding of justice. this implies that there is a concept of justice that the people at a given time in their history understood and accepted. it follows that the lack of this agreement inside the political system exacerbates issues with unity, political instability, and ethnic relations igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 179 among the many ethnic groups, including those in nigeria. it is clear that when nigeria was established and the amalgamation occurred in 1914, there was no shared sense of justice among the populace. when nigeria gained its independence in 1960, it was also evident that no philosophy, paradigm, or set of principles had been established for the creation of the country's basic social structure. from the beginning, these fundamental defects were the root cause of nigeria's social unfairness issue. the liberal worldview is timeless, and for these and other reasons, nigeria must embrace it. it is a philosophy that prioritizes freedom, individual liberty, rights, welfare, equality, free and fair elections, constitutional democracy, and unrestricted access to social institutions. references birnbaum, s. (2010). “radical liberalism, rawls and the welfare state: justifying the politics of basic income”, critical review of international social and political philosophy, (13). concise oxford. (2009). concise oxford english dictionary. oxford university press. emordi, e. (2008). “economics of nation-building under the military in nigeria” in contemporary essays on nigeria society, economy and law, emordi, s. e. edeko, b. o. iganija (eds.). ambrose alli university publishing house. esping-anderson, i. (2000). “three worlds of welfare capitalism” in pierson, c. and castles, f(eds) “the welfare state: a reader”. polity press. holt, j. (2011). “the choice of economic systems in the rawlsian original position”, critique: journal of socialist theory, (39). kanu i. a. (2010). “a discourse on the romance between philosophy and christian theology”. international journal of theology and reformed tradition. 2. 185-198. kanu i. a. (2011). “corruption in africa and its challenges for the enterprise of christian theology”. international journal of research in arts and social sciences. 4. 492-500. kanu i. a. (2012). “on the possibility of miracles”. international journal of theology and reformed tradition. 4. 81-89. kanu i. a. (2020). “igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe and the inculturation of the gospel message”. ogirisi: a journal of african studies. 16(1),15-28. kanu i. a. (2020). “igwebuike theology of omenani and the missionary bifurcation of horizons”. ogirisi: a new journal of african studies. 16(1), 127-144. kanu i. a. (2024). “the inculturation of consecrated life in africa: towards a logic for promoting indigenous gifts of fidelity”. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. 21(1), 245-265. kanu i. a. (2012). “inculturation and christianity in africa”. international journal of humanities and social science. 2(17), 236-244. kanu i. a. (2016). “igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2(1), 61-66. lehning, p. (2009). “john rawls: an introduction”. cambridge university press. mill, j. (1987). utilitarianism & other essays. ed. allan ryan. penguin books. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 180 olugbemi, v., and osuji, u. (2021). “gender equality and national \development: a historicalviewpoint” sapientia global journal of arts, humanities and developmental studies (sgojahds). 4(2). osuji, u. 2018). “evolving authenticity: a logical inquest from tradocultural to socialpolitical ideals” in scientia: plasu journal of general studies, 1, issues 1. rawls. j. 1971). theory of justice. oxford university press. rawls. j. (1989). theory of justice. oxford university press. rawls. j. (1993). political liberalism. columbia university press. rawls. j. (1996). political liberalism. columbia university press. rawls. j. (2001). justice as fairness: a restatement. harvard university press. rawls. j. (2003). political liberalism expanded. columbia university press. stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. (2013).“distributive justice”, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/justice-distributive/. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 165 navigating the ethical landscape of artificial intelligence: accountability, bias, and human-centric design chinda clifford linus school of arts and social sciences, adamawa state college of education, hong chindalinus200@gmail.com & john markus department of christian religious studies, adamawa state college of education, hong sinamalla71@gmail.com abstract this research explores the ethical dimensions of artificial intelligence (ai) through the lenses of accountability, bias, and human-centric design. as ai technologies increasingly influence critical decision-making in various sectors, understanding who bears moral responsibility for ai-driven outcomes becomes paramount. this study evaluates existing accountability frameworks and proposes enhancements to ensure ethical responsibility in ai deployment. furthermore, it addresses the pervasive issue of bias in ai algorithms, examining methodologies for identifying and mitigating biases to promote fairness and equity. finally, the research emphasizes the principles of human-centric design, advocating for the development of ai systems that prioritize human values and welfare. by integrating these themes, this study aims to contribute to the discourse on responsible ai development, providing actionable insights for policymakers, technologists, and ethicists in creating equitable and trustworthy ai systems. keywords: artificial intelligence, accountability, bias,ethical , human-centric and design introductions the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (ai) technologies has transformed numerous sectors, including healthcare, finance, and transportation, offering unprecedented opportunities for efficiency and innovation. however, these advancements have also raised significant ethical concerns that necessitate careful examination. this study focuses on three critical areas: accountability, bias, and human-centric design, which are essential for navigating the ethical landscape of ai. as ai systems increasingly make decisions that affect human lives, the question of accountability becomes paramount. traditional frameworks of accountability may not adequately address the complexities introduced by ai, particularly when decisions are made autonomously by algorithms. scholars argue that establishing clear lines of accountability is crucial to ensure that developers, organizations, and users are responsible for the outcomes of ai systems (https://alchemy.works.com, 2024). this includes understanding who is liable when ai systems cause harm or perpetuate bias, which is a growing concern in sectors such as criminal justice and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 166 healthcare (https://www.linkedin.com, 2024). bias in ai systems is a pervasive issue that can lead to discriminatory outcomes, particularly when algorithms are trained on historical data that reflect societal inequalities. research indicates that ai can inadvertently perpetuate and even exacerbate existing biases, leading to unfair treatment in areas such as hiring, lending, and law enforcement (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/article, 2024). addressing algorithmic bias requires robust data collection practices, diverse representation in ai development teams, and ongoing monitoring to ensure equitable outcomes. the ethical implications of biased ai systems highlight the need for transparency and fairness in algorithmic decision-making processes. human-centric designcentric design principles emphasize the importance of prioritizing human values and needs in the development of ai systems. this approach advocates for the involvement of diverse stakeholders, including end-users, in the design process to ensure that ai technologies are accessible, inclusive, and beneficial to all. by focusing on human welfare, designers can create ai systems that enhance decision-making capabilities while minimizing risks associated with automation and algorithmic decision-making. the integration of human-centric design in ai development is essential for fostering trust and ensuring that technologies align with societal values. navigating the ethical landscape of artificial intelligence requires a comprehensive understanding of accountability, bias, and human-centric design. by addressing these critical areas, this study aims to contribute to the ongoing discourse on ethical ai development, providing insights that can inform policymakers, technologists, and ethicists in creating responsible and equitable ai systems. artificial intelligence artificial intelligence (ai) refers to the capability of machines and computer systems to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence. these tasks include learning, reasoning, problemsolving, perception, language understanding, and decision-making. ai systems can analyze data, recognize patterns, and make predictions based on the information they process. the technology encompasses various subfields, including machine learning, natural language processing, and robotics, among others (https://www.ibm.com, 2024). in the context of this write up "artificial intelligence and lockean epistemology," ai raises significant questions about the nature of knowledge and how it is acquired. john locke's epistemology emphasizes that knowledge is derived from sensory experience and that the mind is a blank slate at birth, shaped by interactions with the world (https://projectqsydney.com, 2024). this empirical approach contrasts with how ai systems generate knowledge, which is primarily through data processing rather than sensory experience. accountability in ai accountability in artificial intelligence (ai) is a critical issue as ai systems increasingly influence decision-making across various sectors, including healthcare, finance, and law enforcement. the complexity of ai technologies, particularly their "black box" nature, complicates the assignment of responsibility when these systems produce harmful or biased outcomes. accountability in artificial intelligence, addresses some key issues which include: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 167 19. responsibility and liability: one of the foremost challenges in ai accountability is determining who is responsible when an ai system causes harm. traditional accountability models, which typically assign responsibility from executives to managers, struggle to adapt to the decentralized and automated nature of ai systems. this raises questions about whether developers, users, or organizations should be held liable for the actions of ai (https://cmr.berkeley.edu.com, 2024). for instance, in the case of autonomous vehicles, if an accident occurs, it is unclear whether the manufacturer, the software developer, or the vehicle owner bears responsibility (2024). 20. transparency: the "black box" nature of many ai systems makes it difficult to understand how decisions are made. this lack of transparency can obscure the decision-making processes, making it challenging to hold anyone accountable for adverse outcomes. stakeholders, including users and affected individuals, often lack the means to interrogate ai systems effectively (2024). transparency is essential for accountability, as it allows for scrutiny of ai outcomes and helps identify the sources of errors or biases in decision-making (novelli, 2024). 21. regulatory frameworks: as ai technologies evolve, there is a pressing need for regulatory frameworks that establish clear guidelines for accountability. current regulations often lag behind technological advancements, leading to gaps in accountability mechanisms (novelli, 2024). the european union's proposed ai act aims to create a risk-based regulatory framework that holds ai providers accountable based on the level of risk their systems pose to individuals and society. this approach emphasizes the need for compliance, oversight, and enforcement to ensure responsible ai deployment. 22. shared accountability: some experts advocate for a model of shared accountability, where multiple stakeholders including developers, users, and organizations are collectively responsible for the outcomes of ai systems. this approach recognizes that accountability in ai is multifaceted and cannot be assigned to a single party (https://cmr.berkeley.edu.com, 2024). shared accountability can help distribute responsibility more equitably, but it also complicates the identification of specific failures and the implementation of corrective measures (2024). 23. ethical oversight: establishing ethical oversight mechanisms, such as independent audits and oversight committees, can enhance accountability in ai. these bodies can monitor ai systems' performance, ensure compliance with ethical standards, and intervene when necessary (2024). ethical oversight is particularly important in high-stakes areas like healthcare and criminal justice, where ai decisions can significantly impact individuals' lives (novelli, 2024) 24. explainable ai (xai): igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 168 the development of explainable ai (xai) is a crucial step toward improving accountability. xai aims to make ai decision-making processes more transparent and understandable to users and stakeholders, thereby facilitating accountability (novelli, 2024). by providing clear explanations for ai decisions, organizations can better address concerns about bias and errors, fostering trust and accountability in ai systems (novelli, 2024) accountability in ai is a multifaceted issue that requires careful consideration of responsibility, transparency, regulatory frameworks, and ethical oversight. as ai technologies continue to advance, establishing robust accountability mechanisms will be essential to ensure that these systems operate fairly and ethically. bias in ai bias in artificial intelligence (ai) refers to the systematic and unfair discrimination that can arise from the data, algorithms, and design choices used in ai systems. as ai technologies become more prevalent in decision-making processes across various sectors, understanding and addressing bias is crucial to ensure fairness and equity. ai systems learn from training data, and if this data is unrepresentative or reflects historical prejudices, the ai will likely produce biased outcomes. for example, facial recognition systems have been shown to misidentify individuals with darker skin tones due to a lack of diverse training data (https://www.ibm.com, 2024). data bias can also stem from sampling issues, where certain groups are overrepresented or underrepresented in the datasets used to train ai models. this can lead to skewed results that do not accurately reflect the broader population. i. algorithmic bias: the algorithms themselves can introduce bias based on how they are designed and the features they prioritize. for instance, if an algorithm is programmed to weigh certain characteristics more heavily, it may inadvertently discriminate against specific demographic groups. algorithmic bias can also occur due to programming errors or the unconscious biases of developers, which can influence how data is processed and interpreted. human biases can manifest in ai systems through the choices made during data collection, labeling, and model training. developers may unconsciously favor certain datasets or perspectives, leading to biased outcomes (https://cte.ku.edu.com, 2024) cognitive biases, such as confirmation bias, can also affect how ai systems are trained and evaluated, reinforcing existing stereotypes and prejudices (2024). ii. cultural and societal bias: ai systems often reflect the cultural and societal contexts in which they are developed. for example, generative ai models trained on predominantly western datasets may produce outputs that reflect western values and norms, potentially marginalizing other perspectives. this cultural bias can lead to ai systems that do not adequately serve diverse populations, resulting in inequitable access to services and opportunities (https://cte.ku.edu.com, 2024). iii. confirmation bias: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 169 ai systems can reinforce flawed ideas or biases by providing only the views or representations that users expect. this can create echo chambers where users are only exposed to information that aligns with their existing beliefs, further entrenching biases. the tendency of ai to confirm existing biases can be particularly problematic in areas like news dissemination and social media, where algorithmic recommendations shape public discourse (https://cte.ku.edu.com, 2024). iv. mitigation strategies: to address bias in ai, organizations can implement several strategies, which includes among others; ensuring that training data is diverse and representative of the population can help reduce bias, conducting regular assessments of ai systems for biased outcomes can help identify and rectify issues promptly. building diverse teams of developers can bring various perspectives to the design process, reducing the likelihood of bias. developing ai systems that provide clear explanations for their decisions can enhance transparency and accountability, making it easier to identify and address biases (https://cte.ku.edu.com, 2024). bias in ai is a multifaceted issue that requires ongoing attention and proactive management. by understanding the sources of bias and implementing effective mitigation strategies, organizations can work towards creating fairer and more equitable ai systems. human-centric design human-centric design (hcd) is an approach that prioritizes the needs, behaviors, and experiences of users throughout the design process. it aims to create solutions that are not only functional but also resonate with users on a personal level. despite its well-intentioned philosophy, hcd faces several key issues that can undermine its effectiveness. some of the components of human-centric design include; vi. business prioritization over user needs: one of the most significant challenges in hcd is the tendency for business goals to overshadow user-centered objectives. companies often prioritize profit-driven decisions, such as implementing intrusive advertising or compromising user privacy for data monetization, which can lead to user dissatisfaction and mistrust (julian, 2024). this misalignment raises questions about the true commitment to hcd principles within organizations. vii. superficial application: critics argue that hcd is sometimes applied superficially, focusing on creating aesthetically pleasing designs without addressing deeper user needs or systemic issues. this can result in solutions that are user-friendly but fail to solve meaningful problems or consider broader societal impacts (https://marvelapp.com, 2024). the emphasis on user experience can lead to a neglect of strategic considerations, such as sustainability and scalability. viii. lack of inclusivity: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 170 hcd processes can inadvertently exclude marginalized groups if the design teams lack diversity or fail to engage with a wide range of users. this can result in products that do not meet the needs of all potential users, perpetuating existing inequalities (jussi, 2021). ensuring inclusivity in the design process is crucial for creating equitable solutions. ix. anthropocentrism: hcd is often criticized for its anthropocentric focus, which prioritizes human needs at the expense of environmental and societal considerations. this perspective can lead to designs that contribute to ecological degradation or social injustice, as the broader impacts of design decisions are overlooked (jussi, 2021). a shift towards more holistic design approaches that consider the interconnectedness of all life is necessary. v. ux patterns: the rise of "dark ux" patterns design strategies that manipulate users into making decisions that may not be in their best interest poses a significant ethical challenge for hcd. these practices exploit cognitive biases to maximize engagement and profit, often at the expense of user autonomy and well-being (julian, 2024). this contradiction undermines the foundational principles of hcd. vi. need for systemic change: many critiques of hcd emphasize the need for a systemic approach that goes beyond individual user experiences to address larger societal and environmental issues. this includes considering the implications of design decisions on communities and ecosystems, rather than focusing solely on user satisfaction (https://marvelapp.com, 2024). a more integrated approach can lead to solutions that are not only user-friendly but also socially and environmentally responsible. human-centric design holds great potential for creating meaningful and impactful solutions, but it must navigate significant challenges to fulfill its promise. by addressing issues such as business prioritization, superficial application, inclusivity, anthropocentrism, dark ux patterns, and the need for systemic change, designers can work towards a more ethical and effective practice that truly centers on human needs and broader societal impacts. evaluating the ethical landscape of artificial intelligence: accountability, bias, and human-centric design evaluating the ethical landscape of artificial intelligence (ai) through the lens of ethics involves a critical examination of three key areas: accountability, bias, and human-centric design. each of these areas presents unique ethical challenges and opportunities for fostering responsible ai development and deployment. effective accountability mechanisms are essential in ai to ensure that developers and organizations are held responsible for the decisions made by ai systems. the ethical implications of accountability extend beyond legal liability; they encompass moral obligations to stakeholders affected by ai outcomes. establishing robust governance frameworks that include transparency, documentation, and oversight is vital. these frameworks help build trust in ai technologies, ensuring that stakeholders can hold parties accountable in cases of harm or igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 171 bias. bias in ai is a critical ethical concern, as it can lead to unfair treatment of individuals or groups, particularly marginalized populations. bias can be introduced at various stages of the ai life cycle, including data collection, model training, and deployment. for instance, machine learning models trained on biased datasets can perpetuate existing inequalities, resulting in discriminatory outcomes. to address this issue, it is crucial to implement bias auditing tools that can identify and mitigate biases throughout the ai development process. these tools utilize statistical and computational methods to ensure that ai systems are fair and equitable, thereby aligning with ethical principles of justice and fairness. moreover, involving diverse stakeholders in the ai development process is vital for recognizing and addressing potential biases. engaging individuals from various backgrounds can help ensure that ai systems are designed to meet the needs of a broad range of users, thereby promoting inclusivity and equity. human-centric design-centric design (hcd) emphasizes the importance of placing users at the center of ai development. this approach aims to create ai technologies that are not only effective but also accessible and beneficial to all users. by prioritizing the needs and experiences of individuals, hcd can help mitigate biases and enhance the overall user experience. implementing hcd principles requires collaboration among multidisciplinary teams, including ethicists, social scientists, and community members. this collaborative approach ensures that ai systems are developed with a focus on societal benefits and ethical standards, ultimately leading to more transparent and accountable ai technologies. navigating the ethical landscape of ai necessitates a comprehensive approach that integrates accountability, bias mitigation, and human-centric design. by fostering transparency and inclusivity in ai development, stakeholders can work towards creating technologies that not only advance innovation but also uphold ethical standards and promote social equity. conclusion navigating the ethical landscape of artificial intelligence is a critical endeavor that requires a comprehensive understanding of accountability, bias, and human-centric design. the ethical implications of these components underscore the importance of responsible ai development that prioritizes transparency, fairness, and user-centered approaches. to effectively address these ethical challenges, stakeholders must engage in ongoing dialogue and collaboration, integrating diverse perspectives and expertise throughout the ai lifecycle. by establishing robust accountability frameworks, actively mitigating bias, and embracing humancentric design principles, the ai community can work towards creating technologies that not only drive innovation but also promote social equity and ethical integrity. ultimately, fostering an ethical ai landscape is essential for ensuring that these powerful technologies benefit all members of society, paving the way for a more just and inclusive future. references julian s. (2024). the death and rebirth of human centered design. ai & soc 27, 30-40. jussi p. (2021) "human-centric design: an introduction". springer, cham, switzerland. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 172 kanu, i. a., “african and western perspectives on being in metaphysics”. amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. 9(1)149-165, 2011. kanu, i. a., “locke’s agnosticism of substance and orthodox christian faith”. amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. 12(1)1-13, 2014. kanu, i. a., “anglican church men, descartes and john locke on innate ideas: religion and philosophy in dialogue”. amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. 12(1)91-99, 2014. kanu, i. a., “personal identity: theological and philosophical perspectives”. amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. 13(1)1-13, 2015. kanu, i. a., “extra religio-metaphysical concept of freedom and necessity in david hume”. amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. 14(1)1-7, 2016. kanu, a. i.; addidi, t.; kanu, c. c. (2024). “artificial intelligence and cybercrime in nigeria: towards an ethical framework”. dialogue and universalism. 2024, 32(1)143-158. kanu, i. a.; pilani m. p. and omenukwa, p. c. “philosophy of artificial intelligence, biblical wisdom and the exodus (31:1-11) narrative: converging perspectives”. tuijin jishu/journal of propulsion technology. 2024, 45(3)3030-3044. novelli, c., taddeo, m. & floridi, l. (2024). accountability in artificial intelligence: what it is and how it works. ai & soc 39. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 16 the integration of artificial intelligence (ai) in pastoral care for nigerian christians: prospects and pitfalls stephen c. nnadi, phd. department of religion and human relations, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka; & george c. asadu, phd. department of religion and cultural studies, university of nigeria, nsukka. george.asadu@unn.edu.ng abstract this work, “the integration of artificial intelligence in pastoral care for nigerian christians: prospects and pitfalls,” explores the impact of ai in nigerian christianity. technological innovation always plays a role in shaping religious beliefs and practices. for example, the invention of the printing press, which made the bible more accessible to many people, subsequently triggered a reformation in christendom when some christians exposed the inconsistencies between church doctrines and practices, leading to the birth of new denominations. this experience points to a possible similar outcome of the interaction of ai with christianity. using the secondary sources of data gathering, the researchers who are participant-observers surmise that the use of ai in pastoral care could be both good and bad as it applies to the peculiarities of nigerian christianity. while appreciating the utility value of ai in religion, the work opines that the pitfalls of its overuse in christian pastoral care outweigh the advantages. ai has possibilities that can greatly enhance pastoral care and still intrinsically depreciate the depth and power of beliefs and practices. this work challenges christian caregivers to think critically about how emerging ai technologies can best be used without compromising the essence of religious faith. this cautious approach requires that limits be set on the use of ai in nigerian christianity. keywords: prospects and pitfalls, artificial intelligence, pastoral care, nigerian christians. introduction technological innovation has always played a significant role in religion. one of gutenberg’s major motivations for inventing the printing press, for example, was to make the bible more accessible to people. that accessibility, which was achieved, triggered a fundamental shift in how christianity was understood and practiced. the availability of printed bibles and religious texts subsequently instigated religious reformation movements in christendom. with ordinary people able to read the bible for themselves, they began to notice inconsistencies between church practices and biblical teachings. print technology also became a powerful tool for reformers such as martin luther, john calvin, and huldrych zwingli, who used it to challenge the authority of the roman catholic church. the theological disagreements that followed led to the birth of new christian denominations that now exist and give christianity its identity and shape in the world. https://techpoint.africa/news/church-is-here-to-solve-church-administration-problems/ https://techpoint.africa/news/church-is-here-to-solve-church-administration-problems/ https://techpoint.africa/general/churchplus-quest-become-global-contender-church-management-solution/ https://techpoint.africa/news/church-is-here-to-solve-church-administration-problems/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 17 artificial intelligence (ai) is both the theory and the development of computer systems that are able to perform tasks normally requiring human intelligence. this includes visual perception, speech recognition, decision making, and translation between languages. consequently, it is the simulation of human intelligence by machines, the applications of which include expert systems, natural language processing, speech recognition, and machine vision. generally, ai places the ability in a digital computer or computer-controlled robot to perform tasks commonly associated with intelligent beings (humans). the term refers to the project of developing systems endowed with human intellectual processes of reasoning, discovering meaning, generalizing, and learning from past experiences. copeland (2024) states that artificial intelligence, in the limited sense, is found in apps as diverse as medical diagnosis, computer search engines, voice or handwriting recognition, and in chatbots. ai has revolutionized life in modern times by driving innovation, automating tasks, and creating new possibilities and methodologies across all fields of human endeavour, serving as a modern utilitarian reality rather than a futuristic concept. ai’s growing integration into daily life also raises crucial questions in modern society regarding ethics, bias, personal privacy, the future of employment (as it engenders both job creation and job displacement), among other concerns. salhab and aboushi (2025) assert that ai influences various aspects of human life beyond just the computer industry, and this makes it essential for everyone to embrace and understand ai, which makes ai literacy an essential skill that everyone should acquire in response to this new era of technological advancement in the modern world. the origin of artificial intelligence ai-generated information surmises that the earliest substantial work in the field of artificial intelligence was done in the mid-20th century by the british logician and computer pioneer, alan mathison turing. he gave considerable thought to the issue of machine intelligence, and one of his colleagues, donald michie, later founded the department of machine intelligence and perception at the university of edinburgh. later in 1948, he introduced many of the central concepts of ai in a report entitled “intelligent machinery. one of his original ideas was to train a network of artificial neurons to perform specific tasks, an approach described as “connectionism. turing also experimented with designing chess programs, which resulted in the deep blue chess machine that can compete with human chess players, coming into existence in 1997. howartificial intelligence works artificial intelligence systems work by ingesting large amounts of labelled training data, analysing the data for correlations and patterns, and using these patterns to make predictions about future states. lakowski (2024) states that in this way, a chatbot that is fed examples of text can learn to generate life-like exchanges with people, or an image recognition tool can learn to identify and describe objects in images by reviewing millions of examples. lakowski further intimates that ai programming focuses on cognitive skills that include the following: 1. learning – acquiring data and creating rules for how to turn it into actionable information. the rules are called algorithms. 2. reasoning – this focuses on choosing the right algorithm to reach a desired outcome. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 18 3. self-correction – designed to continually fine-tune algorithms and ensure they provide the most accurate results possible. 4. creativity – the use of neural networks, rule-based systems, statistical methods, and other ai techniques to generate new images, new texts, new music, and new ideas. artificial intelligence is important for its potential to change how human beings live, work, and play. it has been effectively used in business to automate tasks done by humans, including customer service work, fraud detection, and quality control, and can perform these tasks much better than human beings in a number of areas. this is particularly when it comes to repetitive, detail-oriented tasks such as analysing large numbers of documents to ensure that relevant fields are filled in properly. ai tools are known to often complete jobs quickly with relatively few errors. because of the massive data sets it can process, ai can also give enterprises insights into their operations that they might not have been aware of. artificial intelligence refers to the whole system of computers as well as their programming, which perform mental work that typically involves tasks that rely on the intelligence of man, including acting or making decisions based on rational thinking processes. aspects of ai manifest in mobile applications – programs or software that are made to operate in mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets. this also includes chatbots, which are apps that a user can use to engage in a conversation with ai that responds synchronously in real time. in the field of religion, there are examples of mobile apps with which one can chat with “divine figures” which include ai god chat, ai jesus, ganesh gpt, gita gpt, hadith gpt, historical figures, and text with jesus, and jewish prayer chatbots. risks associated with artificial intelligence ai poses certain risks in terms of ethical and socio-economic consequences. as more tasks become automated, especially in areas like marketing and healthcare, many workers are poised to lose their jobs. although ai may create some new jobs, these may require more technical skills than the jobs ai has replaced. it has certain biases that are difficult to overcome without proper training. example predictive policing algorithms used to predict where crimes are most likely to occur may lead to over-policing in such areas. as humans are inherently biased, algorithms are bound to reflect human biases. privacy is another aspect of ai that raises concerns. ai often involves collecting and processing large amounts of data. there is the risk that this data will be accessed by the wrong people or organizations. with generative ai, there is the possibility of manipulating images to create fake profiles. ai can also be used to survey populations and track individuals in public spaces. usman (2023) notes an unfounded fear about the ai apocalypse – a myth that the ai system will develop to a stage of super intelligence, which would eventually decide to become the master of the earth and lead to machines dethroning humanity. this superstitious inclination emanated mainly from the circles of religion by people opposed to the prevalence and growing popularity of ai in the modern world. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 19 artificial intelligence and religion as noted in other fields of human life, ai has the potential to influence and reshape how individuals engage with religious and spiritual practices. with its ability to process vast amounts of data and simulate human-like interactions, ai presents intriguing possibilities within the realm of religious experience. alkhouri (2024) postulates that ai can assist individuals in finding personalized spiritual guidance, provide virtual companionship, or even simulate encounters with divine figures, though questions may arise about the authenticity of and ethical implications of ai-driven religious experiences. it is noteworthy that while ai does not inherently enquire about the fundamental essence of spirituality, belief formation, and the human experience, it prompts discussion on how it might influence or impact these aspects of religion. while spirituality, belief-formation, and the human experience are distinct from one another, they are interconnected with yet separate from religious experiences. the challenge generated is how technology, through ai, can enhance or potentially depreciate the depth, authenticity, and transformative power of religious beliefs and practices. alkhouri (2024) surmises that as researchers delve into the influences of ai on the psychology of religion, they must explore the ethical considerations, potential biases, and unintended consequences that may arise, noting the need to strike a crucial balance between technological advancements and preserving the fundamental aspects of spirituality, personal growth, and genuine human connection. in his own contribution from the viewpoint of african traditional religion, ariyo (2024) states that ai is influencing religion by providing new tools and perspectives on age-old beliefs and practices. in the african context, where spirituality and tradition play major roles in daily life, ai’s impact on religious practices is profound and multifaceted. ai techs like machine learning, natural language processing, and robotics should be integrated into the different aspects of african religious practices to allow new ways to communicate with the divine, ancestors, and spiritual forces. he postulates that communication is an area where ai will influence religion, as ai-powered chatbots and virtual assistants will be used by religious leaders and practitioners to offer guidance, answer questions, and deploy spiritual counselling to devotees who need it, as these techs enable more personalized interactions and can serve a larger audience that transcends physical boundaries and time constraints. ariyo further notes that ai can help in the preservation and dissemination of traditional knowledge and practices in the aspect of helping to digitize ancient texts, oral traditions, artifacts, and rituals, and making them more accessible to younger generations and scholars, arguing that such digital preservation ensures that the rich cultural and spiritual heritage of africa is not lost to time. in this scenario, robotics can help in performing intricate and potentially dangerous rituals, lowering an over-reliance on human practitioners and also ensuring consistency and accuracy in the ritual processes. this implies that artificial intelligence is a significant aspect of africa’s embracing of modernization and the new challenges it presents, among which is the preservation and revitalization of traditional religious practices, which are important aspects of africa’s cultural heritage and identity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 20 ariyo postulates that the future of ai in african religious practices will help improve how people engage with spirituality and culture. this is in terms of continued integration of ai-powered techs in religious rituals and ceremonies, incorporating the use of ai chatbots for spiritual guidance, virtual reality, immersive religious experiences, and ai algorithms for the interpretation of religious texts and teachings. another possible area of influence is the trend of the growing digitization of religious practices, with more religious organizations embracing online platforms, social media outreach, and community engagement. this shift towards digital platforms should lead to a more inclusive, globally-connected religious community transcending geographical boundaries. in this regard, ai could open up and democratize access to religious knowledge, allowing individuals to deepen their spiritual practices independently of pastors, and thereby allowing a more tailored and meaningful connection to spirituality. however, this goes with an underlying concern that ai will negatively affect human-to-human interactions in religious spirituality, and equally diminish the role of traditional religious leaders in a digitized religious landscape, and these fears are not unfounded. the multi-faceted usage of ai has also made it possible for it to be used as a new frontier in religion and spirituality, as it has its effects on both religious and non-religious individuals. on this premise, tsuria and tsuria (2024) state that understanding how ai re-presents religion and spirituality can help scholars, policy-makers, and religious leaders to make sense of what information the average user of generative ai is exposed to. this is because, as ai becomes a prevalent communication technology tool and a new frontier for knowledge acquisition, the usage of ai will inevitably inform and construct people’s worldviews and faith. ai is known to understand different religious languages and traditions and can construct prayers in different religious traditions, respecting subtle differences and biases between religions. ingber, cited in tsuria and tsuria (2024), surmises that when considering ai as a new frontier for the representation of religions in the “marketplace of ideas,” it can be noted that when compared to “cold media” such as encyclopaedias or even web browsers, the ai responses to prompts tend to lack sources or references, which weakens its credibility. ty (2023) posits that religion, which has been a vital component of human life, is part of ai and has influenced it, especially in the aspect of morality and ethics. this is in line with the adjustments and at times, compromises that humanity has been constrained to make throughout the ages, with each technological advance recorded in human history. ai in this sense has affected man’s religious practices and ethical sense cum orientation. the exponential rise in the usage of ai-powered tech has grave implications and poses quandaries about the meaning of life, the purpose of religion, the connection between human beings and robots, as well as the integrity of traditional practices in religious observances as we know them. ty (2024) asserts that mankind has reached an “anthropocene age” in which humankind transforms nature itself and human beings themselves. going further to describe this new age, ty refers to the seeding of the clouds to artificially produce rain at will, the ability to implant all kinds of things in the body, disruptive techs such as robotics, the internet of things (iot), virtual reality, and other things now exponentially transforming how man lives and operates in his daily life. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 21 ai technology has made it possible for new forms of religious expression and community building. social media platforms, for instance, have become virtual spaces where believers can share their faith, connect with like-minded individuals, and participate in online religious community activities. this has not only improved the reach of religious messages but also offered a platform for african religious leaders to reach a global audience, just like other religions. as ai becomes a prevalent communication technology tool and a new frontier for knowledge acquisition, the use of ai is bound to inform, construct, and influence people’s worldviews and faith in the modern world. christianity andartificial intelligence christians are tasked with the imperative to reflect on the implications of ai through the lens of their faith. gonzalez (2024) states that christianity has areas of common interest that it shares with ai. these include the sanctity of human life, which ai technology promotes through its advanced medical diagnoses, patient care, and life-saving treatments, and ai’s ability to automate repetitive tasks, which frees up human energy and time for more meaningful pursuit which aligns with the christian calling of the wise stewardship of time, talents, and resources. however, ai raises ethical questions surrounding privacy, data security, and decision-making processes, as christians are called to protect the dignity and rights of individuals, ensuring fairness and justice. excessive reliance on ai can also lead to a devaluation of human interaction, empathy, and compassion, in direct negation of the christian call to love one’s neighbours as oneself, which genuine care technology should not be allowed to replace. gonzalez (2024), in a significant way, refers to the incarnation of christ in the christian teaching as god’s preference for originality over artificiality, pointing out that god sent his son to become fully man to relate with mankind, instead of sending a hologram of himself to let humanity know what he was like. he surmises that artificial intelligence is a human creation, and like all things about man are blighted by the reason of man’s imperfection, and hence, true spirituality will never be found through artificial intelligence. all the highpoints of christian spirituality, like love, inner peace, and joy, cannot come from a computer algorithm, but through intimate personal connection with god and his human agents. also, the healing of broken souls can hardly be achieved through any software machine programming, no matter how high-tech it is. another christian approach is that ai aligns with biblical stewardship principles by harnessing tech to enhance and care for god’s creation. this viewpoint sees ai as a tool god gives to better the world and aid people, which is in line with the christian duty to use talents and resources wisely. however, the christian community has raised concerns about ai’s ethical implications, including privacy, autonomy, and the risk of employment displacement. many christians urge strict ethical norms and restrictions to guarantee that ai is utilized in a way that respects human dignity, promotes equality, and serves the community. the concept of “jesus ai,” which comprises ai systems meant to mimic or portray religious figures such as jesus, elicits conflicting reactions from christians. many see it as a valuable igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 22 instrument for evangelization or religious instruction, making christian teaching more accessible in a modern digital manner. others are sceptical or dismissive of the concept, fearing that it devalues or distorts fundamental components of their faith. christians are concerned that such techs are going to contribute to misunderstandings about the divine nature of the teachings of jesus, particularly if ai-generated content differs from orthodox christian doctrine. ministry brands (2025) points out that the vatican highlighted this mindset in 2020 with the call for ai ethics, which urged a global commitment to an ethical approach to ai. this implies that ai must not be given autonomy in making judgments with serious ethical implications, particularly in human rights and social justice. the role of human pastors serves as a foundation for the suggested ethical paradigm, which calls for the regulation of ai apps to prevent unfavourable outcomes, including loss of privacy, inequity, and job displacement. other major aspects of ai tech that are available for christians include: turboscribe – an ai-powered transcription service that instantly turns audio and video recordings into precise text. turboscribe allows churches to transcribe sermons, lectures, and meetings, providing written content for websites, newsletters, or study guides. bible answers ai – this is an ai platform that uses advanced tech to answer christian-related inquiries. bible answers helps a church improve its educational and outreach capacities by responding quickly and accurately to congregational questions regarding faith, scripture, and doctrine. clearchat this is an ai-powered chatbot created to help visitors to websites by answering inquiries and giving guidance. this helps to promote digital hospitality by making church websites more interactive and responsive to new or prospective members, particularly during initial contact and interactions. church loom – this is a content creation tool employing ai to convert sermons and spoken messages into usable multimedia formats. it helps churches swiftly generate high-quality content for social media, websites, and marketing materials. bible.ai – this is a platform that provides millions of ai-powered responses rooted in biblical knowledge. bible.ai assists pastors and educators in offering thoroughly researched, scripturally sound responses and materials for the dissemination of christian knowledge. christian pastoral care and the role of artificial intelligence in christianity, pastoral care typically involves the practitioner (normally a priest, pastor, or other trained personnel) and their client sitting together, with the client sharing personal details. the practitioner listens attentively, keeps the information confidential, and offers the appropriate guidance and counsel. it is a christian approach to cure mental and spiritual distress and has been in place since the beginning of the christian religion. it is also an easy and often preferred contact point for religious people seeking help with psychological problems or personal issues. pastoral care in christianity is rooted in the biblical metaphor of a pastor or shepherd looking after the flock under his care, involving guidance, encouragement, and care through all circumstances. this care aims to help believers grow in their faith, deepen their relationship with god, and support one another through a variety of practices like prayer, counselling, teaching, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 23 and visitation of those in need. the provision of pastoral care occurs in various contexts, including handling congregations, hospital chaplaincy, crisis intervention, telephone help-lines, caring for the aged and the physically-challenged, end-of-life care, grief support, etc. in christianity, the role of pastors encompasses a multifaceted set of responsibilities driven by a commitment to spiritual leadership and community service. the duties of a pastor revolve around guiding church congregations in matters of faith, providing pastoral care, and ensuring the spiritual well-being of the members. pastors lead worship services, deliver sermons, and oversee various church ceremonies like baptism, weddings, and funerals. the role extends beyond these visible activities as they are deeply involved in the personal lives of their congregation, offering counselling, support, and guidance in times of need. religious leaders argue that tech, no matter how advanced, must not be viewed as a source of religious inspiration or spiritual understanding, pointing out that ai lacks fundamental human characteristics such as empathy, moral judgment, and the ability to engage in profound ethical and theological reasoning. ai does not take the role of human leaders in pastoral care and spiritual leadership, even while it processes information and offers data-driven insights. allen and chat gpt (2023) aver that one significant concern regarding ai in christian religious settings revolves around ‘playing god’. critics argue that the creation of advanced ai systems with human-like intelligence can be viewed as an attempt by humans to assume god-like powers, potentially challenging divine authority. the concept of playing god raises questions about the boundaries of human agency and the limits of human creativity in relation to god’s sovereignty. as religious communities hold specific biblically founded moral and ethical values that guide their practices and beliefs, the introduction of ai may introduce conflicts between principles encoded within the ai systems and orthodoxy (beliefs), and orthopraxy (practices) upheld by christians. the use of ai-powered chatbots for religious counsellors raises concerns about the authenticity and meaningfulness of the counsellors’ experience. human counsellors provide unique, empathic, and spiritual guidance, which ai systems cannot authentically replicate. while ai tech can enable virtual religious ceremonies and rituals, allowing individuals to participate remotely, the substitution of physical presence with virtual experiences may raise questions about the authenticity and spiritual significance of such practices. furthermore, ai’s ability to process vast amounts of data and make connections may lead to theological distortions due to misinterpretation that would create theological confusion, resulting from a lack of contextual sensitivity necessary for accurate theological analysis. this could invariably lead to heresy that is usually precipitated by wrong interpretation and application of religious texts. allen and chat gpt (2023) surmise that these misinterpretations can lead to apostasy, leading some to wonder if satan uses ai to distract humans from god, as charged by some christians who are reluctant to adapt ai technology wholly in the formulation and shaping of christian spirituality. this means that the failures and shortcomings of ai can have eternal consequences. ai may be an avenue to challenge traditional theological concepts and interpretation, and undermine the rich tradition of theological scholarship and the human capacity for discernment and interpretation of sacred texts. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 24 if not employed with caution, ai tech can easily contribute to the devaluation of human life and the erosion of authentic human connection. this may undermine the significance of human relationships and diminish the value of fellowship and community, which are highly regarded in religious contexts. using ai tech in prayer reaches a living person down the virtual chain, but relief to the supplicant gained through physical christian fellowship intercession is much more effective and authentic. the increased reliance on ai may seriously impact one’s perception and value placed on human life within church settings, because treating ai systems as a replacement for human interactions potentially dehumanizes individuals. stoddart (2023) states that love is a vital ingredient in human pastoral care, but doubts whether there can be artificial kenotic (self-emptying) love. in his submission, while there is the possibility of programming a form of kenosis into an algorithm, pastoral care is not a case of merely imparting information, but of fixing someone’s problems through interpersonal relationships, where the value of being cared for is reflected in the costliness of the attention given. when attending to a person, a caregiver is not concurrently available to another person. presence, in this sense, is not a connection into a system but a connection to another human person. tech-assisted activities are not substitutes for human care. stoddart (2023) surmises that christians should remain alert to the robotic mimicry of emotions that might lure them into substituting costly biological and empathetic presence of the human pastoral care giver with artificial non-biological systems. this cautious approach aligns with the contention that ai-driven pastoral care becomes a do-it-yourself pastoral care, which rules out the distinctiveness of both the human and divine otherness. this also downplays the second outstanding feature of pastoral care, which is the strong emphasis placed on the worth of human persons. wilks, cited in xu (2025), avers that the term ‘artificial companion’ is coined to refer to all computational artefacts that are designed to ‘get to know their owners’ by offering aspects of personalization. xu (2025) poses the other pertinent questions about the application of artificial companions to religious pastoral care. as pastoral care is one of the major pillars of religious communities, aidriven pastoral care puts religious ministers on edge and perplexes and disrupts some religious communities. pastoral care is inherently relational in the sense that ministers and other caregivers benefit from the practice through establishing or strengthening human-human and/or human-god relationships. in other words, care receivers benefit from pastoral care because the ministers assist in developing their relationships with other people and with god. on the other hand, ministers who engage in pastoral care stand to gain by growing spiritually through the process, deepening their own understanding of their relationship with the care-receivers and with god, and learning from their clients’ life experiences. this cannot be said of the ai-driven pastoral care systems because the relationship between ai ministers and human users is, by nature, the relationship between self and an artificial self. xu surmises that this basically makes it a selfpastoral care that rules out both the divine and human otherness, which features prominently in inter-personal human pastoral care. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 25 the prospects of ai in christian pastoral care mcdonald (2015) defines pastoral care as the emotional, physical, and spiritual duties that a pastor supplies to the religious community under their jurisdiction. this practice exists in many spiritual and religious faiths and is often considered inclusive of religious and non-religious forms of support, found in both secular and religious communities. pastoral care is a christian approach to improve mental distress and has been practiced since the formation of the christian church, an easily and often preferred contact point for religious people seeking help with spiritual and psychological problems or personal issues. according to postman (1993), in the modern world, technological advancements increasingly shape people’s lives, in a culture that seeks its authorization in technology, finds its satisfaction in technology, and takes orders from technology. artificial intelligence has started to make its mark in the religious communities, offering new possibilities and opportunities for pastors to enhance their ministry. howard (2023) explores the areas in which ai can be advantageous to pastors and pastoral care as follows: preparation of sermons ai-powered tools can aid pastors in researching and organizing relevant content, scriptures, and the historical context of biblical passages for their homilies. with the assistance of ai, pastors can access vast databases, theological texts, and commentaries to enhance their biblical knowledge and ensure reliable interpretations. ai can even help generate sermon outlines based on chosen themes or biblical passages, providing valuable insights and fresh perspectives. writing/editing besides sermon preparation, most pastors write newsletter articles, blog columns, devotionals, reference letters, emails, and social media posts. ai can assist in generating ideas, doing research on specific topics, providing templates for correspondence, finding relevant illustrations, and proof-reading of one’s work. pastoral care and counselling virtual assistants driven by ai algorithms can quickly locate and generate resources to assist the pastor in ministering to those seeking spiritual guidance and counselling. such may include scriptural references, prayers, and counselling. services, and grief support. these resources can be made accessible even when the minister is not physically available. ai enhances how churches reach out to and connect with their members. for example, ai chatbots provide 24-hour assistance by answering questions and providing spiritual counsel outside of typical church office hours. it broadens the church’s reach and guarantees ongoing participation with the community. community engagement and outreach ai can be crucial in connecting pastors with their congregations and facilitating community engagement. social media monitoring tools can help pastors understand the concerns, interests, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 26 and questions of their community members, enabling them to tailor their messages and programs to address these needs effectively. data analysis and decision-making with ai’s capacity to analyse vast amounts of data, and by examining demographic information, attendance records, and engagement metrics, pastors can gain insight into the needs and preferences of members of their congregations. language translation and interpretation in an increasingly multi-cultural world, ai-powered language translation tools can assist pastors in presenting their sermons (written or oral) in multiple languages. these translation tools can also help pastors communicate effectively with speakers of other languages during counselling sessions or hospital visits, ensuring that no one is deprived of pastoral care due to language limitations. administrative assistance employing ai to accomplish routine administrative tasks can free up a pastor’s time to focus on other meaningful interactions and activities within their communities. in some churches, whether due to budget cuts or personnel realignment, administrative support has shifted from administrative staff to the minister himself. a virtual assistant can enable pastors to minimize these tasks, cut costs, and still be prominent and effective in their ministry activities. the problems involved while the utility value of ai in the christian religion is high and appreciable, it is pertinent to state that, like in other human inventions, technology is not infallible. cofield (2023) postulates that it is possible ai can pull and disseminate incorrect information, and without proper bible study, a preacher may be conveying an incomplete or, at worst, an incorrect message. authenticity comes more from the preacher’s own spiritual discernment through personal study, where god speaks directly to the person. for example, when ai-generated copied and pasted messages are used, the preacher runs the risk of losing originality and sounding like a machine. other negative impacts of the use of ai in the church include: reduced human interaction using ai-powered communication tools and platforms in church settings has reduced face-toface contact between worshippers. digital tools expand the reach of church events and programs, but they decrease the human interaction that is the key to creating a vibrant and encouraging church community. privacy concerns the danger of data breaches and improper use of personal information rises as churches use ai tech for improved data management and customized offerings. data breaches are concerning, considering the sensitive nature of data commonly handled by churches, such as personal, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 27 financial, and spiritual information. privacy is threatened seriously, for example, when one makes a confidential confession about one’s sins to an ai ‘priest’. no one knows to what extent the information given out would travel, and into how many wrong hands it would get, thereby defeating the spiritual purpose of the religious act. dependency on technology an over-reliance on ai and digital tools leads to churches relying on tech for fundamental operations such as administration, service planning, and community participation. this reliance jeopardizes the church’s ability to function independently of technology, perhaps exposing it to disruptions in technological services or changes in tech policy. ethical and moral issues challenges occur when ai systems are utilized, when important ethical concerns are involved, perhaps leading to conclusions that contradict established moral or religious norms. this could also result from misalignment with religious values. ai’s ability to misinterpret or wrongly depict religious teachings poses a huge risk. congregants become confused about religion if ai-driven information or decisions conflict with doctrinal truths, and this factor can disrupt the established moral orientation of christians. job displacement using ai to automate administrative work and certain parts of pastoral care results in job displacement inside churches, which contributes to a hike in the unemployment problem. the transformation affects career prospects and volunteer roles, which are needed for engaging community people in meaningful ways. however, ai invariably creates new roles that may lead to a productivity boom. the only problem involved in this regard is the management of the transition. when the re-training of workers to acquire new skills in the use of ai is unavailable or inadequate, the backlash from job losses is readily compounded in ways that adversely affect productivity and output. de-personalization of the pastoral ministry in the pastoral care of christians, the priests have a central role to play as the human intermediaries between god and man. ai presents a rare fusion of faith and technology that claims the ability to fill the gaps that can exist in the priest-worshipper relationship. some ai chatbots have ai priests that one can freely chat with for counselling and guidance in spiritual matters. many christians see this as a spiritually dangerous trend. an intelligent but soulless machine cannot really do much in deep spiritual matters that aim for the profound spiritual results desired in the religious experience. the robotic ai priest has no personal faith in the christian salvation message and cannot believe things the way human beings do, though ‘he’ is programmed to retain and dispense information about religious beliefs. this cannot effectively fit into the role of a human priest with a real human touch in religious counselling, and cannot offer guidance from personal experience. the ai priesthood is limited in other broader areas of the priestly work and pastoral care in that it cannot administer the church’s sacraments, among other roles. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 28 ideological (theological) manipulation with its rising popularity and wide acceptability across the globe, ai is taking on more of an autonomous kind of identity where it can almost think for itself, as well as think for consumers who rely on it. however, the pertinent question on the mind of those who care to ask is who controls ai? carpenter (2023) postulates that many of these programs are controlled by people who are definitely ideologically on the left, who are, in many cases, hostile to christianity, or at least theologically pseudo-christians. then, on the other hand, atheist scientists who may be significant stakeholders in the ai field can make a lot of input in the programming of ai apps. these people may not have the kind of theological guardrails, morals, and ethics that obtain in the christian religion, potentially leaving some dangerous implications for christians who use ai apps in an uncensored manner. liberal theologians and biblical revisionists who are entrenched in the ai tech industry might use their vantage point to gradually and subtly reshape the theological landscape of christian theology in modern times. factors in the nigerian christian experience okpanum and omehie (2024) posit that nigeria, as a developing country, boasts a large, young, and tech-savvy population – a prime demographic factor for ai development and adoption. additionally, the presence of global tech companies with their expertise in ai research and development can further accelerate ai innovation in nigeria, coupled with the country’s presence and participation in the international endorsement of the bletchley declaration on ai safety in the summit held in november 2023 in the uk. commenting on nigeria’s progress in the adaptation of ai, effoduh (2021) posits that nigeria is one of the first countries in africa to establish a national centre for artificial intelligence, daubed the national centre for ai and robotics (ncair), commissioned in abuja 2020 as a response to the directive for all agencies under the ministry of communications and digital economy to formulate practical strategies for enhanced implementation of the digital economy. additionally, effoduh surmises that cross river state is the first state in nigeria to have set up a ministry of robotics and ai in 2019 to enable the state to empower and equip the youth to be players in the emerging ‘fourth industrial revolution’. as of september 2021, there are about seventy-five private organizations in nigeria (businesses, start-ups, etc.) that are using, creating, or adopting ai systems in their work, also stating that there are presently seven major ministries, departments, and agencies that have mandates to advance and/or regulate the use of ai across the country. the influence of ai on the christian religion in nigeria is clearly growing, and its usage is, in some cases, unavoidable. kabah (2024) states that for bible study in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic, many churches opted to minimize their in-person attendance to church events and gatherings, including group bible study groups and prayer meetings. churches responded to such reduced attendance by using ai-powered tech. in a similar vein, the ai systems can also help to keep christian fellowships and pastoral care flowing in times of extreme insecurity when freedom of human movement is seriously impeded. nigeria is a country known for a plethora of terrorist acts, insurgencies, political instability, ethnic agitations, and religious fundamentalism, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 29 all of which aggravate the insecurity problems from time to time across various regions of the nation. ai can help keep the church going when it is forced to go underground, or when physical attendance at church activities is impeded by prevailing unfavourable circumstances. generally, the use of ai systems by pastoral care-givers in nigerian christianity will lead to improved access to teaching aids, enhance the availability of relevant materials, better preparation and delivery of bible study and sermons in churches, and expanded evangelization and discipleship training activities across many christian denominations for the teeming population of the christian faithful in the country. in terms of the multiplicity of languages and dialects in the country, ai-powered systems can go a long way in facilitating quicker translations of the bible and other christian documents for the languages of the over 250 ethnic groups in the country, thereby enhancing the growth of the religion in africa’s most populous country. the same goes for the automatic translation and transcribing of campground and retreat messages for the benefit of participants from different ethnic cum language backgrounds. ai could also be used to create digital content and online religious broadcasts (and podcasts) that make for a wider reach to inaccessible areas due to poor roads and mobile communication networks, among other impediments. it is pertinent to note that the literacy and poverty level of nigeria’s population constitutes a problem in that the uneven distribution of wealth favours a minority of the privileged class who have easy access to the nation’s resources. consequently, the number of the citizenry that can afford android phones and other gadgets to access ai technology is not as high as in the developed countries of the world. this obviously is a limitation to the harnessing of the advantages of the use of ai systems in the country, which also applies to christian leaders and their members. another factor that shapes nigerian christianity is the cut-throat competition among christian denominations. this malady is fuelled by the proliferation of churches and the quest for more resources through getting new members. aspects of the rivalry also extend to space and influence in the society, which leads to ‘membership snatching’, which prioritizes fishing from other churches’ ponds instead of working to convert new believers into the christian faith. this also makes indiscriminate building of places of worship and establishment of ‘ministries’ the major focus of churches and individuals, at the expense of shared mission, and this, most times, undermines christian unity in the country. sarumi (2024), while noting that competition is a natural part of human existence, decries the disheartening trend of competition among churches in nigeria, which obviously lowers the standard teachings of orthodox christianity if nigerian pastoral care givers are allowed to design ai systems, chances are that the prevalent competitive rather than the collaborative spirit in the mission of the church will mar the contents so produced with denominational biases, aimed at affirming group superiority at the expense of true christian pastoral care. it will also undermine basic christian theologies in the race for more members and influence, tending towards heretic, sugar-coated teachings designed to lure and sway people from their churches. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 30 another concern is that the use of ai systems can make pastors lazy by encouraging them to rely solely on them for tasks like the preparation of sermons and bible study guides. in an economically backward country like nigeria, where religion is exploited for money-making purposes, and the sermons of popular so-called ‘motivational’ preachers are packaged for sale, ai-powered systems can be applied to churn out such messages in large numbers without minding the theological correctness of the contents. the fear is that pastors who mimic the messages of popular pastors to achieve ministerial fame may resort to complete dependence on ai for sermon writing, thereby under-using their potentials and becoming stunted in their natural writing abilities, and in their inspiration for sermon generation, whereas life-impacting messages for spiritual renewal hardly happen without the connection to and guidance from the holy spirit. in the same vein, ai systems could tempt many who want a slice of the financial cake to produce and flood the ‘christian market’ with uninspired “copy and paste’ devotionals, bible study materials, gospel music, and pseudo-christian literature, a trend that is already on in nigerian christianity. in the roman catholic practice of the confessional – penitential members confessing their sins privately to a priest and obtaining counsel and absolution (a declaration of forgiveness), it is obvious that few christians in nigeria and elsewhere can really trust an impersonal ai ‘machine priest’ with the intimacies of their moral failures. this constitutes a real danger of the loss of privacy and confidentiality required for such a deep and solemn spiritual exercise. whereas chatbots like the “ai jesus” and other “chat with a priest” systems are programmed to give audience and thereafter, provide scripturally-based advice in a virtual confessional booth, the technologies lack a personal human interactive touch and do not provide real absolution for the confessed sins that can truly lift the burden of moral guilt from the penitent person as it obtains in the case of an encounter with a human priest. conclusion artificial intelligence or ai is seen by many to be a brave new frontier of technology, one that will make people’s day-to-day lives simpler, easier, and more efficient. despite all the benefits this technological revolution promises, tech experts, legislators, and religious leaders are becoming increasingly concerned that if this technology falls into the wrong hands, the consequences can be detrimental, dire, and perhaps change the course of humanity forever. however, each new wave of innovation has raised ethical concerns about its effect on the christian faith. in the age of the printing press, critics feared that mass-producing the bible would encourage inaccurate interpretations. this actually happened. extremists and political actors also exploited the press to spread propaganda disguised in biblical language, blurring the line between truth and error to popularize their ideologies. parallels still obtain in modern times as every technological leap brings both progress and peril. for instance, while live-streaming platforms allow people to participate in church services from any part of the world, these same innovations can lead to distraction, diminish the authenticity of worship, promote artificial and superficial religious engagement, and expose more people to heretical teachings. https://techpoint.africa/insight/british-platform-mixlr-in-nigeria/ https://techpoint.africa/insight/british-platform-mixlr-in-nigeria/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 31 in some ways, the same concerns raised when the printing press was invented still hold for ai. while access to information has become easier, the discipline required to study, reflect, and build conviction risks being lost. in the end, the pastors conclude that technology itself is neither good nor bad—its impact depends entirely on how it’s used. the intersection of artificial intelligence (ai) and christianity represents one of the most significant religio-technological challenges of our modern times. this study has critically examined the implications of ai for christian pastoral work in view of its belief systems, moral agency, and the spiritual authority and relevance of pastors in the nigerian context. it has also interrogated how ai technologies ranging from voice-activated scripture applications to automated sermon generators and ai-driven spiritual counselling tools are not only reshaping pastoral communication but also altering the structures of the christian religious experience itself. from the analysis presented in this paper, and in the context of christianity in nigeria, the influence of ai is both promising and problematic. on one hand, ai offers unprecedented opportunities to reach wider audiences, preserve religious texts, and modernize the stale and parochial methods of religious institutions. on the other hand, it threatens to erode communal spiritual practices, replace traditional authority with technological intelligence, and ‘mechanize’ and ‘commodify’ sacred rituals for theological or denominational ends. ai’s incursion into christian pastoral care must not result in a loss of the personal touch inherent in the moral agency of the priest and his office, or spiritual authenticity being replaced by superficial spirituality. rather, it should challenge religious scholars and clerics to consider how new technologies might be integrated into african christian spiritual and moral landscapes without allowing machines to control the essence of religious faith. references abiodun, b. (2025). “some nigerian pastors are using ai for their work, but there are spiritual downsides. at https://techpoint.africa. retrieved on november 21, 2025. alkhouri, k. i. (2024). “the role of ai in the study of the psychology of religion. at https://www.mdpi.com. retrieved on march 12, 2025. allen, s. m. & chat gpt. (2023). “the theological and ethical dangers associated with using ai in christian religious settings. at https://firebrandmag.com. retrieved on march 27, 2025. ariyo, o. (2024). “spirits in the machine: ai and africa’s religious practices”. at https://www.thecable. retrieved on july 8, 2024. carpenter, c. (2023). new tbn examines “the rise of artificial intelligence and how it might impact the church”. at blogs.crossmap.com. retrieved on november 21, 2025. cofield, e. (2023). “the sermonator: exploring the pros and cons of using artificial intelligence technology in ministry. at https://replantbootcamp.com. retrieved on march 27, 2025. copeland, b. j. (2024). “artificial intelligence. at https://britannica.com>artificial intelligence. retrieved on november 25, 2024. effoduh, j. o. (2021). “fact sheet by jake okechukwu effoduh for paradigm initiative in https://techpoint.africa https://www.mdpi.com https://firebrand https://replantbootcamp.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 32 nigeria”. at https://paradigmhq.org. retrieved on october 13, 2024. gonzález, e. (2024). “artificial intelligence and christianity”. at https://goodnewsunlimited .com. retrieved on october 12, 2025. howard, b. (2023). “ways ai can assist pastors”. at https://chchurches.org. retrieved on march 25, 2025. kabah, s. (2024). “ai: opportunities and threats in pastoral ministry. in international journal of pastors. at https://www.ministrymagazine. retrieved on march 27, 2025. kanu i. a. (2015). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu i. a. (2017). igwebuikeconomics: towards an inclusive economy for economic development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 6. 113-140. kanu i. a. (2017). sources of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. 9. 1. pp. 1-23. kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. kanu, a. i. (2017c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 7. pp. 165-183. laskowski, n. and tucci, l. (2024). “what is artificial intelligence?” at https://www.techtarget.com>ai-a. retrieved on november 24, 2024. mcdonald, d. (2015). “pastoral care (1): definitions and background”. the gospel coalition australia. retrieved on december 14, 2024. ministry brands. (2025). “what do christians believe about artificial intelligence?” at https://www.ministrybrands.com. retrieved on march 26, 2025. okpanum, i. and omehie, k. o. (2024). “artificial intelligence in nigeria: how ready are we?” https://bussinessday.ng. retrieved on july 8, 2024. postman, n. (1993). technopoly: the surrender of culture to technology. new york: knopf. rees, s. (2023). “what is christian meditation?” at https://abide.com. retrieved on march 22, 2025. salhab, r. and aboushi, m. (2025). “influence on ai literacy and 21st-century skills on the acceptance of generative artificial intelligence among college students. front. educ. 10.1640212. doi: 10. 3389/feduc.2025. 1640212. retrieved on october 9, 2025. sarumi, o. s. (2024). “taking the church from competition to collaboration.” at https://churchtimesnigeria.net. retrieved on october 22, 2025. stoddart, e. (2023). “artificial pastoral care: abdication, delegation, or collaboration?” at https://research-portals.st-andrews.ac.uk. retrieved on october 18, 2025. tsuria, r. and turia, y. (2024). “artificial intelligence understanding of religion: investigating moralistic approaches presented by generative artificial intelligence tools”. at https://www.mdpi.com. retrieved on july 19, 2024. ty, r. (2023). “impact of ai-powered technology on religious practices and ethics: the road ahead. journal of religion and social communication, vol. 21 no. 2, 2023. usman. (2023). “artificial intelligence (ai) in nigeria”. at https://www.medium .com. https://paradigmhq.org https://chchurches.org https://www.ministrymagazine https://bussinessday.ng https://abide.com https://www igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 33 retrieved on july 10, 2024. xu, x. s. (2025). “christian pastoral care and companionable ai”. at https://www.technomoralfutures.uk. retrieved on october 19, 2025. https://www.technomoralfutures.uk igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 89 digital inclusion and gender development: closing the ict gender divide in rural communities unigwe, rosemary ifeyinwa, phd & omoruyi josephine, ph.d ibinedion university, okada, edo state ifeyinwa.rosemary@iuokada.edu.ng, omoruyi.obiajulu@iuokad.edu.ng abstract digital inclusion has become a fundamental driver of social and economic development in the 21st century, yet a significant gender divide persists, especially in rural communities of developing nations. this article explores the intersection of digital inclusion and gender development, focusing on the pressing need to close the information and communication technology (ict) gender gap in underserved rural areas. the digital gender divide disproportionately affects women and girls, limiting their access to vital digital resources, skills training, educational opportunities, and economic empowerment. this exclusion undermines broader gender development goals and reinforces existing inequalities in education, healthcare, employment, and civic participation. drawing on global and regional data, the article identifies key factors contributing to the divide, including infrastructural limitations, socio-cultural norms, digital illiteracy, and policy gaps. it emphasizes that bridging the divide requires a multi-dimensional strategy that combines infrastructure investment, inclusive policy-making, community engagement, and culturally sensitive digital literacy programs. particular attention is given to empowering rural women through relevant and localized content, support for female entrepreneurship, and targeted ict education. by closing the ict gender gap, rural women can gain meaningful access to digital tools that enable them to participate more fully in the economy, improve their quality of life, and contribute to community development. the article concludes that digital inclusion is not merely a technological issue but a gender justice imperative. without deliberate and sustained interventions, the digital divide will continue to hinder gender development and social transformation in rural communities. keywords: information, communication, technology, digital inclusion, gender development introduction in today’s knowledge-driven and globalized world, digital technology serves as a cornerstone for development. it underpins economic growth, facilitates the delivery of essential services, enhances educational outcomes, fosters innovation, and empowers individuals to participate meaningfully in civic and public life (world bank, 2016). icts ranging from internet access and mobile phones to digital platforms and applications have transformed nearly every sector, from agriculture and healthcare to governance and commerce. for example, digital tools enable farmers to access market prices, students to pursue online education, and citizens to engage with government services remotely. however, the benefits of this digital revolution are not equitably shared. a significant digital gender divide continues to marginalize women and girls, particularly in rural igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 90 and low-income communities where technological infrastructure is weak and socio-cultural norms remain restrictive (gsma, 2022). the ict gender gap is both a symptom and a cause of gender inequality. women in rural areas often lack access to mobile devices, internet connectivity, and digital literacy training, making it difficult for them to fully participate in the information society (unesco, 2019). moreover, gendered expectations, lower income levels, and mobility restrictions further compound these challenges. according to the international telecommunication union (itu, 2023), women globally are 19% less likely to use mobile internet than men, with the gap even wider in subsaharan africa. bridging this divide is therefore not only a matter of digital equity but a prerequisite for sustainable gender development. without intentional efforts to address the systemic barriers women face in the digital space, broader development goals including those outlined in sustainable development goal 5 (gender equality) and sdg 9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure) will remain out of reach. understanding digital inclusion digital inclusion refers to targeted efforts that ensure all individuals and communities—including the most disadvantaged have equitable access to digital technologies and the skills required to use them effectively and meaningfully. in the nigerian context, digital inclusion has become increasingly urgent as the nation continues to digitize its economy, education, healthcare, and governance systems. however, a significant proportion of nigeria’s population, especially those in rural areas and among vulnerable groups like women and girls, remain digitally excluded (national digital economy policy and strategy, 2020). digital inclusion in nigeria rests on three essential pillars: 1. access to affordable and reliable internet and digital devices while nigeria has made significant strides in expanding mobile connectivity, access to affordable and high-speed internet remains a major challenge in rural areas. according to the nigeria communications commission (ncc, 2023), broadband penetration reached about 45% in urban areas, but many rural communities still lack infrastructure, including mobile towers and power supply. the gender gap is especially pronounced gsma (2022) reports that nigerian women are 29% less likely than men to use mobile internet, largely due to affordability and device access. 2. digital literacy and skills training low digital literacy is a critical barrier for many rural nigerians, particularly for women and girls, who often have lower educational attainment and limited exposure to ict training. in many northern and rural southern states, cultural norms and early marriages restrict girls’ access to education. a report by unicef (2022) found that only 1 in 4 girls in rural northern nigeria attends secondary school, reducing their chances of developing igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 91 digital skills. as a result, women are less represented in the digital workforce and entrepreneurial ecosystem. 3. meaningful content and services relevant to users' needs even when connectivity and skills are addressed, the digital landscape in nigeria often lacks local-language content and context-specific applications that serve rural women's interests. issues like maternal health, access to agricultural inputs, market prices, or women's rights are underrepresented in many digital platforms. un women nigeria (2021) emphasizes the need to develop gender-responsive technologies that reflect the lived experiences of rural women and amplify their voices in civic and economic life. in nigeria’s rural communities, all three components of digital inclusion are often weak or entirely absent. structural barriers such as poverty, illiteracy, cultural resistance to female technology use, and patriarchal household roles severely limit women’s ability to participate in the digital space. for example, rural women frequently bear the bulk of domestic and caregiving responsibilities, leaving them with little time or flexibility to learn new technologies. in some communities, social norms actively discourage women from using mobile phones or the internet due to fears of exposure to “immoral” content or male-dominated online spaces (eze, 2020). these barriers not only restrict access but also reinforce a cycle of exclusion, deepening gender inequality. addressing this divide in nigeria requires gender-sensitive policies, grassroots digital literacy programs, culturally respectful community engagement, and a commitment to affordable access. bridging this gap is essential if nigeria is to achieve inclusive national development and meet its obligations under sdg 5 (gender equality) and sdg 9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure). methodology this study adopts a qualitative desk review methodology. it synthesizes data from international development reports, peer-reviewed journal articles, nigerian government policies, and reports from non-governmental organizations. the aim is to provide an evidence-based understanding of the digital gender divide in rural communities and propose practical, context-specific interventions. conceptual clarification digital inclusion refers to efforts aimed at ensuring that all individuals and communities, especially the most disadvantaged, have access to and the ability to use digital technologies effectively. it involves three core components: (1) access to affordable and reliable internet and digital devices; (2) digital literacy and skills training; and (3) meaningful content and services that respond to users’ specific needs. in rural nigeria, these components are often inadequate or altogether absent. women and girls face additional hurdles due to poverty, lower literacy levels, gendered expectations, cultural norms, and infrastructural barriers. these constraints not only limit their ability to benefit from icts but also exacerbate pre-existing inequalities in education, employment, and health. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 92 the gender dimension of the ict divide globally, women are 17% less likely to use mobile internet than men, with the disparity widening significantly in low-income and rural settings (gsma, 2022). this digital gender divide reflects not only unequal access to technology but also systemic inequality in education, income, and societal roles. in sub-saharan africa, where digital infrastructure is still developing and sociocultural constraints are deeply entrenched, the gender gap in mobile internet usage is even more pronounced. women in rural areas are significantly less likely to own mobile phones, have limited or no internet access, and are often excluded from digital education, financial technology, and entrepreneurship opportunities (itu, 2023; world bank, 2021). several interrelated factors contribute to this persistent divide: affordability of devices and data services: many rural women cannot afford smartphones or consistent data plans. according to the alliance for affordable internet (a4ai, 2021), cost remains a major barrier, with women disproportionately affected due to lower income levels and financial autonomy. limited digital skills and confidence: a lack of formal education, exposure to ict tools, and digital literacy programs means many women lack the confidence or knowledge to use digital platforms effectively. in some studies, rural women express fear of "spoiling" a device or being shamed for not knowing how to use it (unesco, 2019). cultural norms discouraging female technology use: in many rural african communities, traditional gender roles discourage women from engaging with technology. there are often social stigmas attached to women using mobile phones, sometimes associated with promiscuity or disobedience. these perceptions are particularly strong in patriarchal societies where female mobility and autonomy are restricted (eze, 2020; gsma, 2020). infrastructural barriers: many rural areas still lack reliable electricity, stable mobile networks, or accessible ict centers. the absence of physical infrastructure reinforces the digital exclusion of rural populations, especially women who are less likely to travel long distances for access due to household responsibilities or safety concerns (ncc, 2023). the digital gender divide is not only about access to technology it is fundamentally about access to power, opportunity, and agency. when women are excluded from the digital ecosystem, they are deprived of tools that could enhance their education, improve maternal and child healthcare, expand economic participation, and amplify their voices in civic and political decision-making processes. for example, digital tools can allow women to access agricultural information, apply for microloans, sell products online, participate in virtual learning, and advocate for their rights. without intentional interventions, these missed opportunities perpetuate cycles of poverty and gender-based marginalization (un women, 2022). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 93 addressing this divide requires multi-sectoral collaboration among governments, civil society, the private sector, and communities to implement gender-responsive ict policies, promote digital literacy for women and girls, and ensure that connectivity is affordable, safe, and relevant for all. implications for gender development information and communication technologies (icts) have transformative potential for promoting gender development, especially when access, affordability, and digital literacy are addressed. digital inclusion equips women and girls not only with tools for communication but with pathways to education, health, income generation, and civic empowerment. in contexts like nigeria where rural women have historically been excluded from many spheres of public and economic life icts can serve as a catalyst for structural change. when women are digitally included, they gain access to several life-changing opportunities: online education and vocational training: digital platforms allow women and girls to participate in distance learning, acquire marketable skills, and pursue higher education even in rural or restrictive environments. this is particularly valuable for women whose movement is limited by household responsibilities or socio-cultural expectations. according to unesco (2021), digital learning has helped bridge the education gap for women in sub-saharan africa by providing flexible, scalable access to knowledge and skills. in nigeria, platforms like the digital youth nigeria program and google digital skills for africa have begun offering free online courses on business, tech, and entrepreneurship to underserved populations, including women. information on healthcare, reproductive rights, and financial services: icts provide women with vital health-related information, especially in rural areas where healthcare infrastructure is lacking. mobile health (mhealth) applications can help women track pregnancy, access maternal health services, and receive reminders for child immunizations. the world health organization (who, 2022) has emphasized the role of icts in improving reproductive health outcomes by reducing the information gap. similarly, access to mobile financial services allows women to open bank accounts, save, borrow, and participate in the formal economy. in nigeria, platforms like paga and kuda are helping women manage finances and access loans without needing to visit a physical bank. opportunities for remote work, e-commerce, and entrepreneurship: digital inclusion expands women's access to remote work opportunities, including freelance writing, virtual assistance, online tutoring, and e-commerce. these options are particularly relevant for rural women who face mobility restrictions or who care for children and elderly family members. the international finance corporation (ifc, 2021) notes that digital platforms have enabled thousands of african women to start micro-enterprises from home, particularly in fashion, crafts, catering, and cosmetics. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 94 moreover, e-commerce platforms like jumia nigeria, instagram, and whatsapp business have empowered rural women to market products beyond their local communities, accessing a wider customer base and increasing their income. platforms for civic participation and advocacy: icts provide women with tools for civic engagement, allowing them to join online advocacy campaigns, participate in virtual town halls, and express their views on governance and social issues. social media platforms have become vital spaces where women raise awareness about gender-based violence, push for legal reforms, and support each other across geographic boundaries. during nigeria’s #endsars protests, for instance, many female activists used social media to mobilize support, call out police abuse, and demand justice demonstrating how icts can amplify marginalized voices (amnesty international, 2021). broader gender development outcomes: closing the digital gender divide leads to increased agency and autonomy for women. it enables them to make informed decisions about their lives, participate in income-generating activities, and contribute to national development. ict inclusion also promotes: greater economic participation: women can start businesses, find employment, and build financial independence. improved family and community well-being: educated and empowered women often reinvest in their children’s education and health. more gender-equitable societies: as more women enter public spaces and economic activities, gender norms begin to shift, fostering more inclusive and democratic communities (world bank, 2022). in sum, icts are not just tools they are enablers of social mobility, gender equality, and development justice. but without deliberate efforts to close the gender gap in digital access, the transformative potential of technology will remain unrealized for millions of women. theoretical framework this study is grounded in the capability approach developed by amartya sen (1999) and expanded by martha nussbaum (2000), which frames development as the expansion of individuals’ freedoms to achieve the lives they have reason to value. rather than measuring progress solely through economic indicators or material assets, the capability approach emphasizes the real opportunities and agency that people have to function and flourish. in the context of digital inclusion, this framework recognizes that access to information and communication technologies (icts) is not an end in itself, but a means through which individuals especially women in marginalized settings can exercise voice, participate in economic activities, access education and health services, and engage fully in civic life. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 95 applying the capability lens to rural women in nigeria, digital exclusion becomes more than a technological gap it reflects a capability deprivation that limits their freedom to pursue education, work, and self-determination. it highlights how intersecting factors such as poverty, illiteracy, gender norms, and infrastructural deficits constrain women's ability to convert ict access into meaningful use and empowerment. furthermore, the study is informed by elements of feminist political economy theory, which examines how gendered power relations and institutional arrangements perpetuate inequality. this perspective helps to explain why digital transformation policies in nigeria often neglect rural women, and why market-driven ict initiatives may reinforce, rather than resolve, existing disparities. together, these frameworks guide the analysis of digital inclusion not merely as a technical challenge, but as a question of justice, rights, and structural reform. strategies to close the ict gender divide in rural areas bridging the gender digital divide in rural regions, particularly in nigeria and sub-saharan africa, requires multi-pronged, inclusive, and sustainable strategies. these approaches must address the root causes of digital exclusion—ranging from structural poverty and infrastructural deficits to cultural norms and systemic gender bias. the following strategies present a comprehensive framework to guide government action, private sector involvement, and civil society engagement: 1. infrastructure expansion: expanding digital infrastructure is foundational to achieving digital equity. many rural areas in nigeria still lack basic internet connectivity, stable electricity supply, and telecommunications infrastructure. according to the nigerian communications commission (ncc, 2023), broadband penetration is still unevenly distributed, with rural communities significantly underserved. • to close the digital gap, governments must collaborate with telecom operators to: • expand last-mile broadband connectivity; • invest in solar-powered ict infrastructure for off-grid communities; • support innovation in low-cost, durable devices. the world bank (2021) highlights that infrastructure-led policies not only increase access but also reduce costs, particularly for women who are more likely to rely on shared or public digital resources. example: the nigerian national broadband plan (2020–2025) recommends prioritizing rural connectivity and promoting affordable broadband to underserved populations. 2. gender-responsive ict policies: ict policies and digital economy frameworks must be explicitly gender-responsive. this means setting measurable goals to increase women’s digital access, skills, and leadership in ict sectors. policies should be inclusive of rural contexts, with affirmative actions, such as quotas or funding incentives for women-led tech initiatives. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 96 the african union digital transformation strategy (2020–2030) advocates for integrating gender equity targets in national digital roadmaps, while un women (2022) urges countries like nigeria to adopt gender audits of ict projects to ensure inclusiveness. recommendation: nigeria's national digital economy policy should incorporate gender impact assessments and allocate a dedicated budget line for rural women’s digital empowerment. 3. digital literacy and skills training: digital literacy remains a significant barrier for rural women, many of whom have low levels of formal education and limited exposure to technology. community-based, gender-sensitive training programs are essential to help them develop functional digital skills such as using mobile phones, navigating online platforms, and protecting online privacy. • training should be: • conducted in local languages; • delivered by female facilitators to boost confidence and trust; • adapted to women’s daily schedules and caregiving roles. unesco (2019) emphasizes that such inclusive digital education improves women’s ability to participate in markets, access health and education services, and assert their civic rights. example: the digital skills nigeria initiative implemented in partnership with microsoft is one example that can be scaled up in rural areas with targeted gender programming. 4. cultural sensitization and community engagement: in many nigerian communities, patriarchal norms, religious traditions, and fear of moral decay discourage women from using digital tools. it is essential to involve community gatekeepers, including traditional rulers, religious leaders, and male family members, in conversations about the benefits of women’s digital participation. • culturally tailored campaigns should: • debunk myths around women and technology; • highlight success stories of rural women benefiting from ict; • promote family and community gains from women's digital empowerment. • gsma (2020) recommends “whole-of-community” approaches, which reduce resistance and create a supportive ecosystem for rural women to thrive digitally. • suggested strategy: collaborate with faith-based organizations and women's cooperatives to deliver digital sensitization sessions and promote social acceptance. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 97 5. content localization and relevance: even when access and skills are addressed, many rural women remain disengaged due to the irrelevance or inaccessibility of digital content. platforms and applications must be developed or adapted to reflect rural women’s real-life needs, priorities, and languages. • relevant content areas include: • agricultural training and weather forecasts; • maternal and reproductive health information; • market prices, loan opportunities, and financial literacy. the international telecommunication union (itu, 2023) stresses that contextualized digital content increases engagement and usage among marginalized populations. example: the use of whatsapp groups in nigeria’s farming communities where extension workers share voice notes in local languages has proven effective in improving agricultural output among women farmers. 6. support for women entrepreneurs: women’s digital inclusion is incomplete without access to economic empowerment opportunities. establishing ict hubs, e-commerce platforms, and digital cooperatives for rural women can transform local economies and enhance female-led enterprises. • support mechanisms should include: • mentorship for women in tech and e-commerce; • access to micro-loans or start-up grants; • integration into digital marketplaces (e.g., facebook marketplace, jumia). according to the international finance corporation (ifc, 2021), women in sub-saharan africa are more likely to start micro-businesses but are underrepresented in digital trade due to lack of training and digital tools. policy recommendation: smedan and nitda should fund and support digital women entrepreneurship centres in each senatorial district, prioritizing rural communities. to close the ict gender divide in rural nigeria, strategies must go beyond infrastructure to address social norms, education gaps, content relevance, and economic barriers. a holistic, gendersensitive digital inclusion policy not only uplifts individual women but strengthens entire communities by promoting equitable development, resilience, and innovation. critique of current policy gaps in nigeria igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 98 despite nigeria's public commitment to promoting digital inclusion through frameworks such as the national digital economy policy and strategy (ndeps) 2020–2030, glaring gaps persist in both policy design and implementation when it comes to addressing the specific needs of women and girls in rural communities. while the policy outlines broad goals such as improving broadband penetration, digital literacy, and job creation, it fails to mainstream gender as a cross-cutting concern, particularly in rural development programming. key institutions like the national information technology development agency (nitda) and the small and medium enterprises development agency of nigeria (smedan) have launched initiatives intended to support digital skills acquisition and entrepreneurship. however, these programs often lack gender-disaggregated data, making it difficult to assess how many rural women benefit from such interventions. according to a 2022 report by un women nigeria, the absence of gender-focused indicators in national ict and economic empowerment programs is a major barrier to inclusive growth and accountability. furthermore, nigeria’s digital economy policies remain heavily urban-centric. most government and private sector digital literacy programs are concentrated in state capitals and urban centers, with limited infrastructure or personnel allocated to rural areas where over 60% of women live (national bureau of statistics, 2023). the rural-urban divide is exacerbated by challenges such as unreliable electricity, poor internet coverage, and cultural norms that discourage female participation in technology none of which are directly addressed in a systematic way in the current policy landscape. another critical issue is the lack of sustainable funding and gender-responsive budgeting. while the digital economy policy mentions the need for partnerships and private investment, there is no dedicated budget line or affirmative action targeting rural women’s digital empowerment. without financial incentives or mandatory inclusion targets, implementation remains ad hoc and dependent on the discretion of individual agencies or state-level actors. the absence of monitoring and evaluation mechanisms that track gender-specific progress also means that even well-intentioned policies cannot measure their impact or identify areas needing improvement. additionally, there is a lack of coordination between ict-focused agencies and those working in gender affairs, such as the ministry of women affairs, which could otherwise serve as a conduit for integrating women’s voices into policy-making. in essence, gender equity remains a peripheral concern in nigeria’s digital development framework. the failure to embed gender as a core element of digital transformation strategy risks reproducing existing social inequalities. rural women—who already experience compounded disadvantages may continue to be excluded unless policies become intentionally inclusive, datadriven, and locally rooted. policy recommendations for closing the gender digital divide in rural nigeria igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 99 bridging the gender digital divide in rural nigeria requires coordinated, multi-sectoral action that addresses the socio-economic, cultural, and infrastructural barriers limiting women's digital inclusion. the following policy recommendations are proposed to ensure that women and girls in rural areas are not left behind in nigeria’s digital transformation: 1. invest in gender-responsive digital infrastructure the federal and state governments, in partnership with the private sector, should prioritize the expansion of broadband connectivity and mobile networks in rural and underserved areas. however, beyond mere infrastructure, there must be intentional investment in facilities that cater to women's realities such as safe community ict hubs that consider mobility restrictions and cultural expectations. example: the nigerian communications commission (ncc) could expand the universal service provision fund (uspf) to target ict deployment in rural women’s cooperatives and vocational centers. 2. promote affordable access to devices and data subsidizing the cost of smartphones and data plans for women in rural areas through targeted government initiatives or public-private partnerships can significantly improve access. consideration should be given to voucher schemes, community ownership models, and lowinterest digital microloans for female entrepreneurs. policy integration: align with the national broadband plan (2020–2025) and the digital economy policy and strategy framework to prioritize affordability for women and marginalized groups. 4. implement nationwide digital literacy programs for women and girls tailored digital literacy training integrated with basic education and vocational skills should be rolled out through existing educational institutions, women’s centers, religious organizations, and local ngos. content should be available in local languages and delivered by female facilitators where possible to enhance participation and relatability. recommendation: federal and state ministries of women affairs and education should collaborate with nitda and ngos to develop gender-sensitive ict curricula for rural deployment. 4. address cultural and social barriers through community engagement igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 100 to overcome socio-cultural resistance to women’s use of technology, awareness campaigns must engage men, community leaders, religious authorities, and traditional institutions. programs should demonstrate the social and economic benefits of women’s digital inclusion, using storytelling, media, and peer influencers to shift perceptions. approach: leverage local radio programs, community theatre, and school outreach programs to normalize female digital empowerment. 5. encourage women’s participation in tech innovation and entrepreneurship government agencies such as the small and medium enterprises development agency of nigeria (smedan) and bank of industry should incentivize women-led digital enterprises and provide training on e-commerce, mobile banking, digital marketing, and fintech tools. this will ensure that rural women not only consume digital tools but also become creators and innovators within the digital economy. support: establish "digital women innovation grants" for rural tech start-ups and cooperatives. 6. strengthen monitoring and gender data collection a major gap in addressing digital inequality is the lack of sex-disaggregated data on digital access, literacy, and usage. the national bureau of statistics (nbs) should collaborate with telecom operators and research institutions to generate reliable data to inform policies and measure progress. policy priority: include gender-disaggregated ict indicators in national surveys such as mics and ndhs. 7. ensure online safety and digital rights for women fear of online harassment, cyberbullying, and privacy violations discourages many women from engaging in digital spaces. the government should enforce digital safety regulations, provide cybersecurity awareness training, and ensure that rural women are informed about their digital rights and access to redress mechanisms. legal framework: update the cybercrimes (prohibition, prevention, etc.) act of 2015 to include gender-sensitive provisions and work with security agencies to enforce them in rural settings. closing the gender digital divide in rural nigeria is both a moral obligation and a strategic necessity for national development. by implementing these policies, nigeria can empower millions of rural women to become active participants in the digital economy, thereby advancing gender equality, reducing poverty, and accelerating progress toward sustainable development goals (sdgs) particularly sdg 5 (gender equality), sdg 4 (quality education), sdg 8 (decent work), and sdg 9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 101 conclusion digital inclusion is no longer a luxury it is a fundamental necessity for equitable and sustainable development in the 21st century. as digital technologies become deeply embedded in every sector from education and healthcare to agriculture, commerce, and governance exclusion from the digital space increasingly translates into exclusion from opportunity. for millions of women and girls in rural nigeria and across sub-saharan africa, the digital divide is not just a technological issue; it is a developmental injustice that perpetuates poverty, reinforces gender inequality, and hampers national progress. if we are truly committed to achieving gender equality (sdg 5) and inclusive rural development (sdg 9 and sdg 10), then closing the ict gender gap must be a strategic priority. empowering rural women through affordable access to digital tools, gendersensitive ict education, and localized content equips them to improve their livelihoods, make informed decisions, and participate fully in society. research shows that when women are digitally empowered, their families benefit through better health and education outcomes, their communities become more resilient, and their local economies are stimulated through increased productivity and innovation (world bank, 2021; un women, 2022). moreover, bridging the digital divide enables women to raise their voices, advocate for their rights, and shape the policies that affect their lives. this is not just about access to technology it is about access to power, agency, and opportunity. the future of gender development, particularly in rural settings, will be determined by the actions we take now to ensure that digital transformation is inclusive, equitable, and just. let us begin by prioritizing rural women not as afterthoughts in ict policy, but as key stakeholders and agents of change. the digital future must not be built on inequality. it must be built with the full participation of everyone, starting today. references alliance for affordable internet (a4ai). (2021). affordability report. retrieved from https://a4ai.org amnesty international. (2021). nigeria: 'they don't care if it kills us': how the government is failing women human rights defenders in the context of #endsars protests. eze, c. (2020). gender and mobile technology use in rural nigeria. journal of african media studies, 12(3), 301–315. fraser, n. (2009). scales of justice: reimagining political space in a globalizing world. columbia university press. gill, r., & scharff, c. (eds.). (2011). new femininities: postfeminism, neoliberalism and subjectivity. palgrave macmillan. gsma (2022). the mobile gender gap report 2022. retrieved from www.gsma.com gsma. (2020). connected women: the mobile gender gap report. retrieved from https://www.gsma.com gsma. (2022). the mobile gender gap report 2022. retrieved from https://www.gsma.com ifc. (2021). women and e-commerce in africa: the impact of covid-19 on women-led businesses. retrieved from https://www.ifc.org igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 102 international finance corporation (ifc). (2021). women and e-commerce in africa: the impact of covid-19 on women-led businesses. itu (2023). measuring digital development: facts and figures. international telecommunication union. retrieved from www.itu.int ministry of communications and digital economy. (2020). national digital economy policy and strategy (2020–2030). national broadband plan (2020–2025). federal ministry of communications and digital economy, nigeria. national bureau of statistics. (2023). demographic and health survey report. national digital economy policy and strategy (ndeps) 2020–2030. federal ministry of communications and digital economy, nigeria. ncc. (2023). industry statistics report. nigerian communications commission. retrieved from https://www.ncc.gov.ng nitda. (2023). annual ict skills development report. nussbaum, m. c. (2000). women and human development: the capabilities approach. cambridge university press. sen, a. (1999). development as freedom. new york: alfred a. knopf. true, j. (2012). the political economy of violence against women. oxford university press. un women nigeria. (2021). gender and ict in nigeria: policy brief. retrieved from https://nigeria.unwomen.org un women nigeria. (2022). policy brief on gender and digital access. un women. (2022). gender equality and digital inclusion. retrieved from https://www.unwomen.org unesco. (2019). i'd blush if i could: closing gender divides in digital skills through education. retrieved from https://unesdoc.unesco.org unesco. (2021). leveraging ict to achieve gender equality in education. retrieved from https://www.unesco.org unicef. (2022). girls’ education in nigeria: data and challenges. retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/nigeria who. (2022). digital health and innovation: empowering women through mhealth in africa. retrieved from https://www.who.int world bank (2016). world development report 2016: digital dividends. washington, dc: world bank. retrieved from www.worldbank.org world bank. (2021). digital economy for africa initiative (de4a). retrieved from world bank. (2022). digital economy for women in africa: policy brief. retrieved from https://www.worldbank.org igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 161 the church-family in africa that witness the gospel to everyone: perspectives from luke 3:4-6 and isaiah 40:4-5. michael ufok udoekpo, phd department of theology veritas university, abuja ufokism@yahoo.com; udoekpom@vertas.edu.org doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.25001.77923 abstract scriptures portray god’s saving activity in the world in many ways, including the fact that god is shaping a people, an inclusive church-family for himself. this boundless love of god becomes clearer in luke’s gospel and in its isaiah’smosaicprecursor that says, “every valley shall be filled, and every mountain shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of god” (luke 3:5-6; isaiah 40: 4-5). recognizing the pastoral challenges facing the church-family in africa today and using luke’s gospel as its textual point of departure, this paper intertextually explores the various theological, metaphorical and missionary dimensions of this isaianic-lukan saying. it illustrates the unity and the prophetic mission demanded of contemporary church-family in africa, especially in this era of the pontificate of pope francis. keywords: church-family, africa, witnessing, gospel, inclusiveness, prophetic. introduction scriptures portray god‟s saving activity in the world in many ways.1 even though it is impossible to state comprehensively all that biblical literature claim god is doing, it is clear that god is inclusively and without boundaries shaping a people, the church, god‟s family for himself, in christ. several studies (scobie, the ways of our god, 2003,, 469-651; cazelles, “the unity of the bible and the people of god,”1966, 1-10; deutsch, “the biblical concept of the “people of god,”1972, 4-12 and martens, “the people of god,”2011), have noted this message of unlimited mercy of god throughout the ot and nt. it is more pronounced in luke 3:5-6, and in its mosaic-precursor, isaiah 40:4-5, that says, “every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the 1 by “scriptures” i am referring to both the old testament/hebrew bible (ot) and the new testament (nt). mailto:ufokism@yahoo.com mailto:udoekpom@vertas.edu.org http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/rg.2.2.25001.77923 michael ufok udoekpo, phd 162 rough ways made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of god” (nrsv). this study, “the church-family in africa that witness the gospel to everyone: perspectives from luke 3:4-6 and isaiah 40:4-5,” identifies “church-family” as the people distinguished from all other human communities by faith, hope, and love that derive from, and center around jesus christ and his redemptive work (udoekpo, obadiah, 2022, 69). 2 its mission according to komonchack (1993, 35) derives immediately from this identity, for even by its very existence the church, as the social and historical sign of christ‟s redemptive work, exists in order, as its instrument, to evangelize, and to keep alive the memory of jesus of nazareth, to communicate his offer of salvation to everyone. some of her challenges, blessings and prospects have been addressed in the ecclesia in africa (eia), in africae munus (am), by the synod fathers as well as in the instrumentum laboris of the symposium of episcopal conference of africa and madagascar (secam), who is currently marking her golden jubilee. specific challenges listed in these documents include; poverty, political instability, social disorientation, war, misery, despair, lack of peace, justice, reconciliation and constructive dialogue. others captured in nwachukwu (one faith many tongues, 2017, udoekpo, ecumenical,2023)) and in the lineamenta,family of god on mission (1999) are; division, ethnocentrism, mismanagement of ethnicity and diversity, tribalism, selfishness, kidnapping, violence and terrorism. the church-family in africa is equally counting her many blessings such as the sacramental life of the church, a deep sense of the sacred, of the existence of god, lively liturgy, and a cherished sense of family values. these blessings and values are blessings and values we hope will remain assets to the mission the church-family in africa who, as noted in by john paul ii, in ecclesia in africa (nos.42-43), is aspiring to accomplisha faithful, committed, united, selfless and obedient church-family, with a renewed zeal of bearing witness to christ, and of reaching out to everyone. echoes of such aspiration and yearnings are heard in recent interventions and hopeful responses of several african scholars, diligently documented in orobator(reconciliation, justice and peace, 2011;orobator, the church we want, 2016; udoekpo, worship in amos 5,2017; udoekpo, limits of a divided nation, 2020). 2 in this category belongs the catholic “church” as well as other “church” denominations.” the church-family in africa that witness the gospel to everyone: perspectives from luke 3:4-6 and isaiah 40:4-5. 163 in line with pope francis‟ spirit, these african scholars and theologians are hoping for a prophetic church that goes forth to the margins; a church that is biblical, pastoral, and not self-referential, and a church that leads the way. they are hoping for a church that engages in constructive dialogue, a church that is inclusive, selfless, and peaceful, just and charitable. african scholars would also like to see a church that cares, protects members, manages her ethnicity well, loves and trusts them as a loving family. they desire a church that is a servant to all, male and female, a voice to the voiceless, to the rich and the poor, as well as a voice to children and adults. this work therefore intertextually and theologically studies luke 3:4-6 and isaiah 40:4-5. it aims to highlight those theological metaphors, hidden pastoral motifs, prophetic symbols and missionary values of these texts, especially the ones that would serve the needs of africa and the church she longs to become. the intertextual approach adopted in this study presupposes among other things and as noted by martens (“people of god,” 226) “that texts are a mosaic of earlier texts…texts reuse and adapt earlier texts.” if i may observe, additional essays illustrating intertextuality as a method of biblical exegesis, include martens („reaching for a biblical theology of the whole bible,‟2001, 83101; house, “biblical theology and the wholeness of scripture, 2001, 267-279; fewell, reading texts, 1992; hays, echoes of scripture in the letter of paul, 1989; brawley, text in pours forth speech, 1995; sommer, a prophet reads scripture, 1998, 40-66). according to robbins (exploring the texture of texts, 1996, 40), it is “a text‟s representation of, reference to, and use of phenomena in the “world” outside the text being interpreted.” in other words, “the intertexture of a text is the interaction of the language in the text with “outside” material …historical events, texts, customs, values roles, institutions, and systems” robbins, 40, soulen, handbook, 2001, 87-88). this approach offers a perspective of continuity in faith and serves as reminder to contemporary church in africa of the corrective value of the biblical image and theology of the church as a family, servant, herald, prophet, wilderness, the voice and the way to all africans. it attempts an illustration of biblical and theological unity of the prophetic and salvific missions of evangelization the church-family in africa has received from christ. reading it in today‟s era of the pontificate of pope francis is also refreshing and unique. it hopes to meet the primary goal of emphasizing the role and mission of the contemporary church in michael ufok udoekpo, phd 164 africa in the light of lessons drawn from luke 3:4-6 and deutero-isaiah 40:4-5. working images of the churchfamily in africa images of the church found in various ecclesiastical documents, theological commentaries and literature, include: the church as the mystical body, paradox a mystery, people of god, temple of the holy spirit, flock and sheepfold, the house in which god dwells, the bride of christ, our mother, the holy city and the first fruits of the coming kingdom(cf. henri de lubac, the church: paradox and mystery 1967/1969); lumen gentium,196; gaudium et spes, 7 december, 1965). this paper, as earlier noted, closely and complementarily follows the church as a family, the way, the wilderness, prophet, herald and servant. in his apostolic exhortation (evangelii nuntiandi, no.71), paul vi calls the family a “domestic church.” the family, in john paul the ii‟s view (familiaris consortio, no.15), points the “way of the church.” the church-family, john paul ii and pope francis (ecclesia in africa, nos. 63-64; lumen fidei, no. 52; evangelii gaudium, no.66), insist, must remain the guiding principle for evangelization, or witnessing of the gospel to everyone in africa. this family mystery, benedict xvi agrees with john paul ii (cf. ecclesia in africa, no. 63; africae munus, nos. 7-9) must continue to reflect the church in africa that “emphasizes care for others, solidarity, warmth in human relationship, acceptance, dialogue and trust.” benedict xvi (africae munus, no.42) goes on to note that the family that the church in africa should emulate is the “sanctuary of life.” according to him (africae munus, no 43) it is a place that propagates the “fundamental elements of peace: justice and love between brothers and sisters.” in his awareness of this ecclesial mission, firmly rooted in scriptures (ot and nt), gerhard lohfink (jesus and community, 1982/84), points out that critical ecclesiology “has long asked if the historical jesus really founded a church.” to lohfink (xi), this question must have been asked in a wrong way “since it is not so much of an exaggeration to say that jesus could not have found a church since there had long been one god‟s people, israel.” in his view, jesus, rather directed his effort to israel and sought to gather it in view of the coming of the reign of god and to make it into the true people of god, sanctified by his death. echoes of lohfink‟s remarks are heard in scobie‟s work, the ways of our god: an approach to biblical theology (2003). scobie (2003, 469) observes that “recognition of “the people of god” as a major biblical theme does not depend in any narrow sense on the use of a particular terminology, but rather in the broadest possible way on the church-family in africa that witness the gospel to everyone: perspectives from luke 3:4-6 and isaiah 40:4-5. 165 the fact that the “story line” of salvation history (heilsgeshcichte), is largely the account of relations between god and israel in the ot and god and the church in the nt.” in the ot, israel is known as a “people” (΄am, in the mt; and laos in the lxx), chosen by god from among the nations (gôyȋ m; and ethnē in the lxx). the actual phrase, “people of god” occurs only eleven times, but phrases such as “my people,” “your people,” and “his people” are frequent (about 300 times). in other words, israel‟s story as god‟s people begins with the call of abraham as an individual in genesis 12:1-3. god brings abraham and his descendants, “children of israel” (bǝ nêyisrᾱ ᾽ ēl) into a being. related terms used to describe them are, qᾱ hᾱ l and ΄ēdhᾱ h. while qᾱ hᾱ l translates “congregation” or “assembly” or a group of people gathered for a purpose such as battle (1 sam 17:47), covenant at mount sinai or for worship (ps 22:22), ΄ēdhᾱ h translates idea of an assembly or gathering and stresses corporate unity. in the lxx qᾱ hᾱ l translates ekklēsia, while ΄ēdhᾱ h translates synagōgē, and never as ekklēsia (scobie, 470). it is in the story of this assembly, israel, that we find rooted, images of the church as the people of god, a chosen and elected people (bᾱ char), a congregation of israel, a covenant community (gen 9:1-17; gen 15; 17; exod 19-24; 2 sam 7; 23:5; ps 89:3, 28; 1 kgs 8:23-2; jer 33:21), the faithful remnant, leading to the nt renewed israel (cf. scobie, 470-486). in other words, the bible is concerned throughout with the relationship between god and people of all walks of life, including africans. notably, with the birth of christ, that relationship continues in the nt and fulfils the promises made to abraham and his descendants (luke 1: 54-55). bender (nature of church, 1962, 14-66) speaks of this church as the body of christ, called to respond to god‟s gracious acts. okure (“churchfamily of god,” 2011, 13-24) in one place describes this church as the community of believers (including the church), humanity and the entire creation (2 cor 5:19; col 1:20, eph 1:10; john 12:32; john 11:52). in another place, okure (“becoming the church of the new testament,” 2016, 93-105) sees the nt church in the light of pope francis, as the church that comes alive when lived and witnessed by going forth (matt 28:16-20) to the poor and the margins. several images of the church, in fact about ninety-six analogies, are listed in minear (images of the church in the new testament, 1960/2004), in addition to the one we find in avery dulles‟s models of the church. michael ufok udoekpo, phd 166 most significant for us as noted earlier in lohfink (jesus and community, 39-44), is the basic principle of the synod and secam fathers, namely, the church as family of god‟s people. this principle is based, in part, in the ministry of jesus who said in matthew 12:50 “whoever does the will of my father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” and in mark 10:28-30 christ‟s disciples have to make sacrifices, perhaps leaving their natural families; they gain a new family of „brothers and sisters, mothers and children.” above all, in galatians 6:10 believers are “those of the family of faith (tous oikeious tēs pisteōs).” they are children of god, their father, and thus brothers and sisters of one another (rom 16:1; 1 cor7:15; jas 2:15).this is god‟s family of faith, the church in africa that africans yearn to fully become. the role of this churchfamily, as a community without boundary, a community for all, a prophet, herald, way, wilderness and servant from the perspectives of luke 3 4-6 and isaiah 40:4-5 deserves our attention. becoming a church-family in africa-perspective from luke 3:4-6 as observed in culpepper (luke, 2015, 3), luke‟s gospel is one of the treasures of biblical literature. christologically, it presents jesus not only as the son of god, a prophet, lord of history, messiah and son of man, but as redeemer and savior of the world. luke 3:1-6 draws some prophetic allusions, symbols, motifs and images, from mark and deutero-isaiah. with these borrowings, he offers the church in africa something to think about as the way, wilderness, prophet and family to all people. luke historically presents john the baptist‟s activities as the eschatological prophets in the likes of elijah (cf. luke 1:16-17). in vv. 12a luke fixes the date of john‟s calling. in v. 2b he describes the call of john and the place of john‟s ministry in verse 3. in vv. 4-6 luke presents john‟s ministry as a fulfilment of the scripture, and remarkably writes: as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet isaiah, “the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: prepare the way of the lord, make his path straight. (v.5) every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, (6)and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of god ( nrsv). echoes of this lukan passage is heard in the beginning of mark‟s gospel (1:1), which introduces john the baptist as a prophet who came to prepare the way for the lord. john successfully prepared the lord‟s way by baptizing all people (luke 3:21; mark 1:5; matt 1:5). luke intertextually adapts and reuses mark to make his theological points concerning john the baptist. first, he creatively moves mark 1:2, the quotation from malachi 3:1, to another place in luke 7:27, and then the church-family in africa that witness the gospel to everyone: perspectives from luke 3:4-6 and isaiah 40:4-5. 167 positions deutero-isaiah‟s quotation of mark 1:3 (isa 40:3) after his introduction of john‟s ministry (3:4). luke is then left with mark 1:4, which he shifts to another place in luke 3:3b, and then adds that “the word of god came to john son of zechariah in the wilderness” (luke 3:2b). clearly, luke is interested in stressing three things: first, the prophetic dimension of john the baptist, the prophet (nᾱ bȋ ’). second, the theological significance of the place of his ministry as en tē erēmōi (in the wilderness), which he repeatedly use (luke 1:80; 3:2b), including v. 4 “the voice of one crying out in the wilderness” (phōnē boōvtos en tē erēmōi. and third, the content of the ministry of john the baptistas a tireless prophet. a prophet, as rightly noted by udoekpo israel’s prophet, 2018, 2-3) and anderson (understanding the ot, 196, 248) speaks on behalf of one another, especially the deity. israel‟s prophets were divinely called to preach and interpret the covenant theology of god‟s people, of their time and culture (cf. wifall, israel’s prophets, 1974, 12; udoekpo, day of yhwh, 2010, 276-77). while engaging in this mission, udoekpo, (israel’s prophets, 5), and heschel (prophets, 1962, 1-31) affirm, they remain sensitive to evil (amos 8:4-8; jer 2:12-13). a prophet recognizes the importance of trivialities is luminous, explosive, pursues the highest good, and practices austerity and compassion. he or she makes sure that few are guilty while all are responsible. a prophet is like a blast from heaven that faces a coalition of callousness and authority and embraces loneliness and misery. he is a messenger, god‟s partner and associate (heschel, prophets, 3-31, udoekpo israel’s prophets, 5; udoekpo, “i shall feed them”). from lukan‟s perspective, john the baptist is a prophet, god‟s messenger and his associate. the church in africa like john must be prophetic in her mission. this same message is heard in ecclesia in africa, and africae munus. in these documents the synod fathers, like evangelist luke, invites the church-family in africa to review her prophetic mission of justice and peace, dialogue and reconciliation, family values, and gospel inculturation, simplicity of life, caring for the planet, courage and compassion in evangelization, and selflessness in reaching out to the poor with a sense patriotism and common good. in terms of the place of john‟s ministry, en tē erēmōi (in the wilderness), luke has a message for the church in africa. he suggests that there is still room to work hard to become that church-family in the wilderness christ expects of her. wilderness is used here symbolically as common michael ufok udoekpo, phd 168 motif in biblical tradition (cf. acts 7:36-44; talmon, “the desert motif,‟ 1966, 31-63; baker, “wilderness, desert,” 2003, 893-97; wright, “wilderness,” 2005, 848-854; funk, “the wilderness”, 1959, 205-214). additionally, in schofield (“wilderness,” 2010, 1337), it is noted that “literarily and symbolically, wilderness has been an important backdrop for the development of jewish identity. from early biblical narratives, frequently set in the wilderness, to second temple literature, the wilderness becomes a theologically charged image, (re)used and thematized by various jewish groups.” sometimes midbᾱ r/erēmos (wilderness) in the torah is portrayed as a place of testing. according to burntt (2013,”eschatological,” 1-24), it is a place where life necessities are not sufficient (num 14:26-35; deut 9:7). in the prophetic books, hosea sees the desert (midbᾱ r/erēmos /wilderness) as the place of god‟s covenant renewal with his people, israel (halot, 2:546-547). africans in their own “deserts” of insufficiencies of food, water, light, good roads, stable democracy, rule of law, good leadership, freedom of worship and other fundamental human rights, hopes for a better tomorrow. in luke‟s gospel “wilderness” has a positive connotation as a place where prophets are called (1:80; 3:2) for a deeper encounter with god (1:80; 4:42; 5:16). the prophetic-church-family in africa and her agents of evangelization (bishops, priests, religious, consecrated persons, catechists, and lay faithful), are invited into a deeper relationship with christ (ecclesia in africa, nos. 88-89). luke‟s use of wilderness motif has also strengthened his prophetic portrait of john. he links john with moses, elijah who all received their calling in the desert (exod 3; 1 kgs 19:4-18). in luke the seeming insufficiency of the hospitable region of desert is meant to highlight the hope, the sufficiency of a new exodus, the way of the lord, the eschatological renewal of god‟s people occurring in the wilderness (burnett, eschatological, 9). again in luke‟s view john is an itinerant preacher of the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sin (luke 3:3b). baptism for him is the outward sign of repentance (vv.8, 10-14). it is a sign of total surrendering to god and of the gathering of everyone into that universal family of god‟s children, including the churchfamily in africa. luke’s use of 2 isaiah 40:3-5 (lxx) the church-family in africa that witness the gospel to everyone: perspectives from luke 3:4-6 and isaiah 40:4-5. 169 in addition to lukan portrayal of john as a prophet called to preach baptism of repentance in the wilderness, luke appeals to isaiah 40:3-5 that says; (v.3)a voice crying out in the wilderness/desert, prepare the way of the lord! make straight in the wasteland a highway for our god. (v.4) every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill shall be made a plain, the rough country, a broad valley. (v.5) then the glory of the lord shall be revealed, and all people/flesh mankind shall see it together, for the mouth of the lord has spoken (nab; lxx).3 unlike mark, luke uses this text differently. koet (“isaiah in lukeacts” 2005, 79-100), notes luke omits most of mark‟s introduction and extends isaiah‟s quotation (isa 40:3) in mark 1:2 to isaiah 40:3-5 in luke 3:4-6, which “anticipates and clarifies the activities of john.” such activities are close to the heart of the churchfamily in africa throughout this paper. deutero-isaiah 40:1-11 bears the essence or the center piece of the prophet‟s universal message of salvation, reused by luke. according to webb (message of isiah, 1996, 161), “this opening part of chapter 40 is like the overture to a great musical composition.” major themes found here include(v.1) comfort, (v.2) atonement, (v.3) the way of the lord, (v.4)the glory of the lord, (vv.5) the power of the word of god, (v.8ff) the city of god, (9)and the might and tenderness of zions savior (vv.10-11). it reflects a human journey but the coming and presence of god dominates, which is relevant for the church-family in africa. whybray (second isaiah, 2003)45, points out that isaiah 40:1-11 highlights the fact that: (1) those exiled are to take heart because their sins have now been expiated and their term of punishment over (vv. 12); (2) the lord is now about to come to the assistance of his people in such a decisive fashion that the whole world will be amazed at his revelation of his glory (vv. 3-5); (3) the guarantee of this message of hope, comfort and restoration is the word of the lord spoken through the prophet, which is all powerful, and compared with all human activity is tremendously important ( vv. 6-8). verses 3-5 in particular are filled with promises of covenant restoration with the people. even though israel has been exiled in babylon (isa 39), 3(v.3) phōnē boōntos en tē erēmō hetoimasate ten hodon kuriou eutheias poieite tas tribous tou theou hemōn (v.4) pasa pharagxh plērōthēsetai kai pan oros kai bounos tapeinōthēsetai kai estai panta ta skolia eis eutheian kai hē tracheia eis pedia (v.5) kai ophthēsetai he doxa kuriou kai ophetai pasa sarxh to sōtērion tou theou hoti kurios elalēsen. michael ufok udoekpo, phd 170 this ordeal will not last. israel shall be redeemed and comforted (isa 40:2). there will be another exodus beginning with a voice crying for a highway construction from babylon to judah in the west, through the impassable arabian desert (branick, understanding the prophets, 2012, 192). this highway will not be like others; it will level the hills and mountains, reveal god‟s greatness, and bring salvation to people of all nations (vv. 3-5). a point to note here also is that there is a difference in the location of the voice of isaiah 40:3 in different texts. in the masoretic text, the dead sea scrolls, and the targumim of isaiah the location burnette (“eschatological,” 15), is in the wilderness, namely “a voice cries, in the wilderness.”(qōl qōrē’ bamidbar). while in the lxx of isaiah closely followed by luke, the voice is “crying out in the wilderness” (phōnē boōntos en tē erēmō), prepare the way for the lord (hetoimasate ten hodon kuriou). commenting on this, joseph fitzmyer (luke, 1981-83, 461) suggests that since the new exodus did not materialize in the second temple judaism as humanly expected, luke the historian concluded that the wait was over and that john is “the voice of one crying out in the wilderness (v.3b). lukan wilderness, a place of john‟s preaching (en tē erēmō/ midbᾱ r), is significant for the church-family in africa. as suggested by the secam bishops, it is a place of repentance and conversion as well as a place of renewed commitment to bearing witness to christ (secam, instrumentum laboris, 3-4). it is a place for learning on how to endure testing in the midst of poverty, deficient democracy, disunity, management of ethnicity and strife to cultivate genuine spirit of disposition in encountering a merciful god, with the hope for a better future. in addition, the phrase hetoimasate ten hodon kuriou (prepare the way of the lord) have relevant functions worth taking note of. first, it functions as a pointer to the infancy narrative of the gospel where the angel gabriel prophesied that john will prepare (etaoimasai) a people for the lord (luke 1:17). zechariah filled with the holy spirit also said in luke 1: 76 that john will “prepare his way” (etomasai hodous autou). second, it looks forward through the gospel and projects into the acts of the apostle where we find the early christians being referred to as the people of “the way,‟ (acts 9:2; 18:25; 19:9, 23; 24:14, 22), derek/hodos. commenting on this blenkinsop (isaiah, 2006, 181-184), suggests that “the use of derek as a group designation is admittedly not so clear in qumran as hodos is in acts, but usage in the various rules favours that the church-family in africa that witness the gospel to everyone: perspectives from luke 3:4-6 and isaiah 40:4-5. 171 conclusion; the members are „the elect of the way‟ (1qs ix 17-18) and „the perfect way‟ (1qmxiv 7), while recidivists are those who „deviate from the way‟ (cd 1 13; ii 16).” these functions project the very concept of evangelization familiar to us. for example, in the lineamenta for the first national pastoral congress in nigeria (1999, 19), it was stated that “evangelization was the task jesus entrusted to his church at the point of his departure from this world to return to his father.” he mandated his apostles to “go therefore, make disciples of all nations; baptize them in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands…. (matt 28:19-20; mk 16:15).” evangelization, pope paul vi stresses: means bringing the good news into all the strata of humanity, and through its influence transforming humanity from within, and making it new; “now i am making the whole of creation new.” (rev 21:5 2 cor 5:17; gal 6:15)… the purpose of evangelization is therefore precisely this interior change, and if it had to be expressed in one sentence the best way of stating it would be to say that the church evangelizes when she seeks to convert, solely through the divine power of the message she proclaims, both the personal and collective consciences of the people, the activities in which they engage, and the lives and concrete milieu which are theirs (evangelii nuntiandi, no. 18). the church in africa, must lead the “way” of christ to people and people to christ in various ways through various agents and in areas of peace, justice, reconciliation, dialogue, unity, communalism, moral teaching, media, and inculturation. africae munus (nos. 99-131) lists these agents to include: bishops, priests, missionaries, permanent deacons, consecrated persons, seminarians, catechists and lay people. this is in addition to the holy spirit, the church and family listed in ecclesia in africa (no. 92), and in the church in nigeria: family of god on mission (nos. 34-39). in this light, africae munus (no. 30) describes the church in africa as a “sentinel” or a “watchman.” as the way, a watchman or a sentinel, the church in africa “feels the duty to be present wherever human suffering exists and to make heard the silent cry of the innocent who suffer persecution or of peoples whose government mortgage their present and the future for personal interests (africae munus, no. 30). this vocation and mission of the church-family requires humility and docility in spirit. it requires the type of docility we see in the suffering michael ufok udoekpo, phd 172 servant of god of second isaiah, closely reused by luke. like the suffering servant of second isaiah, the church-family in africa must see herself as a leader-servant. she must continue to sing the four songs of the suffering servant of yahweh, individually and collectively (cf. isaiah 42: 1-4; 49:1-16; 50:4-9; 52:13-53:12). such music is in line with the very concept of election we began this essay with. election, as cited by scobie (ways of our god, 472) must come with a responsibility. according to shaw, (pilgrim people, 1990, 8), election as it relates to the “the notion of a people of god is never a claim to superiority but rather a call to service.” abraham and his descendants, as we noted, were blessed in genesis 12:2, so that they in turn could be a blessing to others. it is the church-family vocation to be of service to humanity. avery dulles (models of the church, 81-113) has commented extensively on this servant model of the church. in one place he wrote: the church is the body of christ, the suffering servant, and hence the servant of the church. “so it is that the church announces the coming of the kingdom not only in word, through preaching and proclamation, but more particularly in work, in her ministry of reconciliation, of binding up wounds, of suffering service, of healing… and the lord was the „man for others,‟ so must the church be „the community for others….‟”(models of the church, 85). in addition to all this, the church in africa must continue to pay closer attention to the universal story of salvation in luke 3:5 and isaiah 40. 45 directed to “all flesh,” (pasa sarx, kol-bāśār). intertextually, one notices that starting in luke 3:5 there is a departure from mark. luke prefers to lengthen isaiah‟s quotation from isaiah 40:3 to isaiah 40:5. he follows the lxx of isaiah 40 closely with few changes (burnett, “eschatological,” 17). he skips panta (all) from his quotation and alters a singular noun tracheia (rough “way”, “country”) to plural tracheiai (roughs or” rough ways”). luke also deletes eis pedia (plain) and inserts eis hodous leias (smooth ways) affirming his fondness of the way (burnett, 18). rhetorically the levelling of the roughness or the crookedness of ways, the valleys filled, and mountain brought low, are the challenges facing the church-family in africa. these “roughness” and “valleys,” are neutralized and eliminated not only by the presence of god in her midst, but in the humble evangelizing and prophetic missions of the church. david balch (“luke”, 2003,1110)suggests that these valley and mountain imageries be viewed as a fulfilment of the magnificat, where the lord “scattered the proud,” “ brought down the powerful,” “filled the church-family in africa that witness the gospel to everyone: perspectives from luke 3:4-6 and isaiah 40:4-5. 173 the hungry with good things,” and “sent away the rich empty handed” (luke 1:51-53). however, as luke sums up his use of isaiah 40:3-5, he skips the phrase kaiophthēsetai hē doxa kuriou (the glory of the lord shall appear) from isaiah 40:5, perhaps in his view, the glory of the lord is near. for him, with the prophetic role of john, the glory of the long awaited savior is near. luke, as affirmed in burnett (“eschatological,” 18) therefore uses the remaining section of isaiah word-for word: kai ophtai pasa sarx to sotērion tou theou (and all flesh shall see the salvation of god). for isaiah, the oppressed, whether in babylon exile or scattered throughout ravished judah, are not just part of all flesh, they are a covenant people. many, including meek (gentile mission,2008, 200 and nolland (luke, 1989-93, 138) have observed that “one of the clearest rationales for luke‟s extension of the isaiah quotation is visible with isaiah‟s universal emphasis on divine salvation to all flesh and mankind, whose preaching is entrusted as well to the church-family in africa. it‟s a reminder of simeon, who, when taking the baby jesus proclaims him as to sōtērion (the salvation) of god that according to mallan (reading, 2008, 71) has been prepared for “all peoples, a light for revelation to the gentiles and for the glory of your people israel (luke 2:30-32).” in fact, it is only as the narrative of luke-acts unfolds that this promise comes to fruition as the gospel is taken to jews, samaritans and gentiles ( acts 1:8; acts 2-7; acts 8; acts 10-11; 15). this has led to culpepper‟s (“luke” 16) evaluation that “luke‟s most dramatic insight is his perception that jesus announced salvation for all people alike.” in luke, god sent elisha and elijah to a widow in sidon and to a leper from syria (luke 4:24-30), territories outside israel. in luke, inclusiveness of god‟s mercy knows no bounds. it reaches to those from the east, west, north and south (luke 13:29). god‟s son, the christ of luke sent his disciples to inclusively preach to all nations (luke 24:47; acts 1:8). he gives the church-family in africa a template for out-reach to sinners, samaritans, tax collectors, men, women, the outcast, the poor and the rich. and a template to upset “through the power of the gospel, mankind‟s criteria of judgment, determining values, points of interest, lines of thoughts, sources of inspiration and models of life which are contrast with the word of god and the plan of salvation” (evangelii nuntiandi, no. 19). christ also gives the churchfamily in africa a template for dialogue and listening skills to everyone, “and not simply those who would tell him what he would like to hear” (evangelii nuntiandi, no. 31). of course, this is the church michael ufok udoekpo, phd 174 pope francis prefers. he also prefers a church that is “living in the midst of the homes of the sons and daughters” (evangelii nuntiandi, no.28). he prefers a church that is “in contact with the homes and lives of its people, and does not become a useless structure out of touch with people or a self-absorbed cluster made up of a chosen few”(evangelii, nuntiandi, no. 28). he prefers a church-family in africa which „goes forth‟ and whose doors are open to everyone” (evangelii gaudium, nos. 43-47; udoekpo, israel‟s prophets, 81-86). conclusion in the preceding discussion on “the church-family in africa that witness the gospel to everyone” with “perspective from luke 3:4-6 and isaiah 40:4-5,” the following conclusions can be drawn: (1) the churchfamily in africa are not only faced with many challenges and blessings and prospects as discussed thus far, but is still growing into becoming that which christ commanded. (2) the church-family in africa is invited to become the way, the sentinel, the watchman, a prophet and a servant leader in the likes of the suffering servant of deutero-isaiah and john the baptist. she is invited to become an agent of evangelization who witness the gospel to everyone, poor and rich alike, irrespective of gender, culture, socio-political class and geographical boundaries.(3) above all, the church-family in africa must reread and relate isaiah 40: 4-5 and luke 3:4-6 in such a way that she can draw lessons from its rich metaphors, symbols, images and theology of the church as family, servant, herald, prophets, wilderness, the voice and the way to salvation for all africans. references baker, d.w. (2003). “wilderness, desert,” in dictionary of the old testament: pentateuch, edited by t. d. alexander and d. w. baker, pp. 893-97. downers, grove: ivp. balch, d. (2003). “luke” in eerdmans commentary on the bible, edited by james dunn .grand rapids, eerdmans. bender,h. s. (1962). these are my people: the nature of the church and its disciple according to the new testament. scottsdale, pennsylvania: herald press. benjamin d.; sommer, b. d. (1998). a prophet reads scripture: allusions in isaiah 40-66. stanford: stanford university press. benedict xvi . (2011). africae munus post-synodal apostolic exhortation on the church in africa in service to reconciliation, justice and peace, “you are the salt of the earth… you are the light of the word (mt 5:13-14)” .vatican city: libreria editrice vaticana, 2011. the church-family in africa that witness the gospel to everyone: perspectives from luke 3:4-6 and isaiah 40:4-5. 175 bernard anderson, b. (1986). understanding the old testament.new jersey; princtice-hall. blenkinsopp, j. (2006). isaiah 1-39. ab 19a .new york: doubleday. branick, v. (2012). understanding the prophets and their books.new york: paulist press. brawley, r. l. (1995). text in pours forth speech: voices of scripture in luke-acts. bloomington: indiana university press. burnett, c. (2013). “eschatological prophet of restoration: luke‟s theological portrait of john the baptist in luke 3:1-6,” in neotestamentica 47 (2013), 1-24. catholic secretariat of nigeria. (1999). church in nigeria: family of god on mission; lineamenta for the first national pastoral congress. nigeria: catholic secretariat. catholic secretariat of nigeria. (1999). church in nigeria: family of god on mission; lineamenta for the first national pastoral congress.(nigeria: catholic secretariat of nigeria. cazelles, h. (1966). “the unity of the bible and the people of god,” scripture 8 (1966), 1-10. culpepper, r. a. (20150.“the gospel of luke: introduction, commentary, and reflections,‟ nibc vol. 8, edited by leander e. keck.nashville: abingdon press. de lubac, h. (1969). the church: paradox and mystery, translated from french original [paradoxe et mystère de l’eglise, paris: montaigne, 1967], by james r. dunne .staten island, new york: ecclesia press. deutsch, r. (1972). “the biblical concept of the “people of god,” southeast asia journal of theology 13 (1972), 4-12. dulles, a. c. (2002). models of the church. expanded edition.new york, doubleday. fewell, d. n. (1992). reading texts: intertextuality and the hebrew bible. louisville: westminster john knox. fitzmyer, j. a. (1981/83). the gospel according to luke, 2 vols; ab 2828a (garden city: doubleday. funk, r. (1959). “the wilderness” in jbl 78 (1959), 205-214 kanu, i. a. (2018). theological echoes vis-a-vis the suffering of women in african. oracle of wisdom journal of philosophy and public affairs. vol. 2. no. 3. pp. 88-97. koehler, l. and walter b. (1995).halot. leiden: e. j. brill. 2. 546547. hays, r. (1989). echoes of scripture in the letter of paul. new haven: yale university press. house, p. r. (2001). “biblical theology and the wholeness of scripture: steps toward a program for the future,” in scott j. michael ufok udoekpo, phd 176 hafemann, (ed). biblical theology: retrospect and prospect, pp. 267-279.downers grove: ivp; leicester: apollos. john paul ii. (1982). the family in the modern word, encyclical letter familiaris cosortio. kenya: pauline publication. john paul ii. (1995). ecclesia in africa; post-synodal apostolic exhortation on the church in africa and its evangelizing towards the year 2000; “you shall be my witnesses” (acts 1:8)” vatican city: libreria editrice vaticana. koet, b. (2005). “isaiah in luke-acts” in isaiah in the new testament, edited by steve moyise and maarten menken, 79-100. london: t &t clark. komonchack, j. a. (1993). “the catholic university in the church,” in catholic universities in the church and society: a dialogue on ex corde ecclesiae, edited by john p. langan and foreword by leo j. o‟donovan.washington dc: georgetown university press. lohfink, g. (1984). jesus and community: the social dimension of christian faith. translated (wie hat jesus gemeinde gewollt? zur gesellschaftlichen dimension des christlichen glaubens[freiburg: herder, 1982) by john p. galvin .philadelphia: fortress press.. mallan, p. (2008). the reading and transformation of isaiah in lukeacts (new york: t&t clark. martens, e. a. (2011). “the people of god,” in central themes in biblical theology: mapping unity in diversity, edited by scott j. hafemann, and paul r. house. grand rapids: baker academic. martens, e. a.(2001). „reaching for a biblical theology of the whole bible,‟ reclaiming the old testament: essays in honour of waldemar janzen. winnipeg: cmbc publications. meek, j. (2008).the gentile mission in old testament citations of acts.new york: t & t clark. minear p. s.(1960). images of the church in the new testament. foreword by leander e. keck. louisville; kentucky: westminster john knox press. nolland, j. (1989). luke. 3 vols, wbac 35 a, b, c (dallas, word, 1989-93. nwachukwu, f. (2017). one faith many tongues: managing diversity in the church in nigeria. abuja, nigeria: pauline publications. okure, t. (2011). “church-family of god: the place of god‟s reconciliation, justice and peace” in reconciliation, justice and peace: the second african synod, edited by orobato.pp. 13-24. new york: orbis. the church-family in africa that witness the gospel to everyone: perspectives from luke 3:4-6 and isaiah 40:4-5. 177 okure, t. (2016). “becoming the church of the new testament” in the church we want: african catholics look to vatican ii, edited by orobator, pp. 93-105. new york: orbis. orobator. a. e.(2011), reconciliation, justice and peace: the second african synod. maryknoll, new york: orbis, 2011. orobator, a. e. (2016). the church we want: african catholics look to vatican iii .maryknoll, new york: orbis. pope paul vi. (1975). apostolic exhortation, evangeilli nuntiandi: on evangelization in the modern world .vatican city; libreria editrice vaticana. robbins, v. k. (1996). exploring the texture of texts: a guide to sociohistorical interpretation .harrisburg, pennsylvania: trinity press. robbins, v. k. (2001).texture of texts, 40, and richard n. soulen and r. kendal soulen, handbook of biblical criticism, third edition, revised and expanded. louisville: westminster john knox, 2001. scobie, c. h. h. (2003). the ways of our god: an approach to biblical theology (grand rapids: eerdmans. secam. (2018) instrumentum laboris of the secam golden jubilee year july 2018-july 2019, 3-5. second vatican council.. (1964). dogmatic constitution on the church, lumen gentium, 21 november, 1964. second vatincan council. (1965). pastoral constitution on the church in the modern word, gaudium et spes, 7 december, 1965. shemaryahu, talmon, s. (1966). “the desert motif‟ in the bible and the qumran literature” in biblical motifs; origins and transformation.cambridge, 31-63. mass: harvard university press. schofield, a. (2010). “wilderness,” in eerdmans dictionary of early judaism, edited by john collins and daniel harlow. grand rapids, michigan. shaw, j. m. (1990). the pilgrim people of god: recovering a biblical motif (minneapolis: augsburg. udoekpo, m. u. (2023). “ecumenical, ecclesiological and interreligious implications of the prophecy of zephaniah 1-3.” in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol 9. no.2, www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/igwebuikejournals.php. udoekpo, m. u. (2022). “the prophetic mission of obadiah in the context of african christianity,” a biblical approach to mission in context: a festschrift in honor of sr. prof. teresa okure, pp.6985. eugene, oregon: wifp & stock. http://www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/igwebuikejournals.php michael ufok udoekpo, phd 178 udoekpo. m. u. (2020). the limits of a divided nation with perspective from the bible. eugene, oregon: resource publications. udoekpo, m. u. (2010). re-thinking the day of yhwh and restoration of fortunes in the prophet zephaniah: an exegetical and theological study of 1:14-18; 3:14-20. atid 2. bern: lang. udoekpo, m. u. (2017). rethinking the prophetic critique of worship in amos 5 for contemporary nigeria and the usa. eugene, oregon: pickwick publications. udoekpo, m. u. (2013). review of “i shall feed them with good pasture” (ezek 34:14): the shepherd motif in ezekiel 34: its theological import and socio-political implications, by ignatius m.c. obinwa, catholic biblical quarterly 75, no. 3 (2013): 561–63 udoekpo, m. u. (2018). israel’s prophets and the prophetic effect of pope francis: a pastoral companion .eugene; oregon: wipf & stock. webb, b. (1996). the message of isaiah; on eagles’ wings.downers grove; illinois: intervarsity press. whybray, r. n. (2003). the second isaiah. new york: t &t international. wifall, w. (1974). israel’s prophets: envoys of the king .chicago; franciscan herald. wright, a. (2005). “wilderness,” in nibd 5, (2005), 848-854. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 28 marx's theory of dialectical materialism as a contemporary model for nation building: a critical analysis orji, chidi paul, ph.d. department of philosophy, university of agriculture and environmental sciences, umuagwo, imo state paul.orji@uaes.edu.ng, hipaulco@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.31621.83688 abstract karl marx's bundle of ideas, postulates, and views is known as dialectical materialism. in it, he speculated about political and economic remedies to the issues facing france. it was a response to what he perceived as unfairness and social and economic wrongs that were quickly establishing themselves as the norm in his society. the relevance of actual circumstances in terms of class, labor, and socioeconomic interactions was underlined by the marxist dialectic. contrarily, the hegelian dialectic emphasizes the notion that inconsistencies in natural occurrences can be resolved by deciphering them and synthesizing a resolution while preserving their essential characteristics. marx thought addressing and rearranging the social organization systems at the core of the issues would be the most effective way to handle the issues brought on by stated contradictory phenomena. with this in mind, the goal of this research work is to critically analyze marx's theory of dialectical materialism and then show how, if properly embraced in society, it may aid in the building of a nation. this study will eventually come to the conclusion that, despite communism's failure in practice, it still contains some key ideas and principles that are essential to the advancement of a nation. keywords: karl marx, dialectical materialism, capitalism, nation building introduction a new era of outcome-oriented philosophy and practical dialectics is claimed to have started when karl marx entered the philosophical scene, replacing the age of speculative philosophy and that of spiritualizing dialectics. philosophy's goal is to alter the world, more so than dialectics', instead of interpreting it. marx believed that sociopolitical and economic issues have confronted humankind throughout history. karl marx, a well-known philosopher, however, developed his "dialectical materialism" theory in an effort to address these problems. he developed this as a critique of the overly-spiritualized dialectics and philosophical theories of george wilhelm friedrich hegel, whose ideas predominated the intellectual life of his day in germany and other areas of europe. dialectics is typically understood to refer to a methodical, progressive discovery of truth, reality, or a solution to a problem by the elimination of unnecessary components and the synthesis of components that are essential to opposing ideas. in philosophy, dialectics is a mental premise as well as a strategy for addressing societal issues. there are various schools or types of dialectics, such as the historical dialectics that rousseau accepted, the dialectics of the spirit that hegel adopted, and the sociopolitical dialectics that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya adam smith adopted. marx's brand or school of dialectics, however, is known as dialectical materialism, which is a term that was also used by the early materialists, such as the atomists, leucippus, and democritus. the dialectics of the early atomists were signicantly revived, reformatted, and modied by marx. in contrast to hegelian and ficshterian spiritual dialectics, he termed it dialectical materialism. this was in keeping with his goal to transform philosophy from a problem-interpreting discipline, as marx viewed it in hegel and ficshte, into a practical and resultoriented discipline. marx believed that his theory would nally remove racial injustice, political repression, labor indignity, and poor leadership; as a result, it would become a vehicle for building nations. marx was drawn to the tangible world and focused on outcomes and solutions, but he was unable to live without hegel and other inuential gures. due to his keen interest in transforming or re-building society through philosophical difculties, marx started out his adult life as a young hegelian, one of several intellectual groupings that were inspired by the philosopher hegel. how society should be run in terms of its socioeconomic system was marx's main preoccupation. marx and engels came to the conclusion that, particularly in the early 1840s, hegelian philosophy was being misused in an effort to explain the social unfairness in industrialized or developing nations like germany, france, and the united kingdom. marx developed a materialistic account in his own dialectics, emphasizing the materialist view that the concrete and material world shapes the socio-economic affairs of society, which in turn determine the socio-political realities of the state. this is in contrast to the conventional hegelian dialectics, which emphasized the idealist view that human experience is dependent on the mind's perceptions. he saw the raw materials in the social superstructure. as a modern idea for nationbuilding, marx's theory of dialectical materialism is being critically analyzed in this essay. particularly noteworthy is the fact that marx refers to these particles as the classes of people in the state although the theory adopts a materialist perspective on society as it was advanced by atomistic particles. these classes, which marx refers to as "atomistic parts," are not only at odds and at odds with one another all the time. marx thinks that conict resolution through dialectics, or what he saw as conquering opposites, will improve societal strife. the proletariat should own and manage the means of production while the stronger atom, or the bourgeoisies, suffer. this is the only thing that can be held accountable for all of the state's issues, from politics to economics, from education to development. marx conceived that this battle was also to blame for other problems such as political oppression, underdevelopment, insecurity, and poverty. marx holds that society is unable to resolve this conict and reach its full potential because of religion, which marx claims is an inherently evil force. therefore, his proposed theory, known as marx's dialectical materialism, or the practical resolution of class conict, must result in a violent revolution, a communist revolution, which would change every state from this type of capitalist arrangement to a socialist setting and then to a communist society. marx sees this as the most effective starting point for real nation-building. how much of marx is correct, though, is the real question. marx fails to demonstrate how the nal dictatorship of the proletariat will give rise to progress and nation-building in any modern state, including nigeria. this work has been criticized for failing to address one of marx's issues, which is that revolution begets revolution. in light of this, a thorough analysis comparable to the one done in the current study is necessary. one can support the marxian theory of dialectical materialism, which proposes a kind of forceful 29 or violent takeover of power from the capitalists, or rather the bourgeoisies, by the proletariat, by taking into account the current state of society, especially in our nation, nigeria, the level of injustice in society, bad governance, and the oppression of the oppressed, as well as gender inequality in developing countries. marx's attempt to address political injustice through dialectical materialism should be appreciated, but the theory itself generates additional issues that obstruct progress. marx, for example, felt that everyone should be treated equally and have equal access to the resources needed for human existence and education, regardless of where they work or are from. marx also respected equality and human rights. in a fully developed marxist society, the emphasis on free health care, education, and gender equality would substantially contribute to the abolition of gender stereotypes, which are still a big issue in today's communities, particularly those in developing nations. marx's theories raise many intriguing questions that beg for solutions. these include: is religion a natural part of human nature or not? is a revolution the best method to resolve a dispute? is communism really the ideal system for society to adopt? finally, how can we compromise between the two classes? these are the problems that this study project focuses on. marx theory of dialectical materialism marx's form of dialectics, known as dialectical materialism, became the marxist-leninist party's worldview. it is known as dialectical materialism because it takes a dialectical approach to examining and understanding natural phenomena, yet its perspective of these phenomena and theoretical underpinnings are materialistic (audi 2006:538). famous individuals from the modern era include friedrich engels and karl marx. marx and engels developed dialectics further to give them a modern scientic shape by retaining only the "rational kernel" of hegelian dialectics and discarding its hegelian idealistic exterior (audi, 2006:538). in presenting his own theory, karl marx writes: not only is my dialectic approach distinct from hegelian thought, it also stands in stark contrast to it. according to hegel, the real world is merely the exterior, phenomenal form of "the idea," which he even elevates to the status of an independent subject by giving it the name "the idea." hegel views thought itself as the creator of reality. the ideal, in contrast, is nothing more to me than the material world as it is mirrored by the human mind and expressed in thought forms (marx 1938, xxx). in addition, according to engels, "all nature, from the smallest thing to the largest, from a grain of sand to the sun, from the protista (the basic living cells) to man, is in a constant state of coming into existence and disappearing from existence, in a constant ux, in a ceaseless state of movement and change" (engels 1938:8). consequently, dialectics "takes things and their perceptual images essentially in their interconnection, in their concatenation, in their movement, in their rise and disappearance" (engels 1938:8), according to engels. engel's stance on the dialectics of nature is that the natural occurrences can only be comprehended and interpreted within a dialectical framework. marx's historical dialectic is regarded as a movement inherent to objective reality; it has frequently been implied in society with competing interests (marx 1873:316); this suggests a conicting rather than a harmonious type of development because the dialectic is an exchange of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 30 theses and antitheses that leads to a synthesis of the conicting claims. in essence, the conict movement (opposition and confrontation) is what marxist dialectical materialism refers to when this movement is at odds. therefore, with regard to marx, there is an opposition between the two rights, both of which bear the stamp of the law of exchanges. force makes a choice between equal rights. the denition of a working day thus emerges in the history of capitalist production as the outcome of a conict, a conict between collective capital, or class capitalists, and collective labor, or the working class (marx 1873:164). the idea of the proletariat's conict with capitalists is connected to marx's dialectical materialism. it highlighted the materialist theory that socio-economic relations are shaped by the concrete environment and that these interactions in turn dene the socio-political reality (sperber 2013, 8). dialectical materialism examines the factors that inuence growth; it nds that political systems and social norms are reective of economic activity; and that shifts in human society provide the demands of life for different social classes. a subset of materialism, in general, is dialectical materialism. it declares that the material world is paramount. in contrast to hegel's theory, which holds that idea comes before matter, this means that matter comes rst. the way hegel described it is how absolute sets itself apart by internal action. it is a procedure where a starting point (thesis) is refuted in order to establish a second that is in opposition to it (antithesis). to get to the third position, which represents the synthesis of the two proceedings in which both are transcendedthat is, annihilated while yet being preserved on a higher plane of existencethis second position is in turn denied by the negation of the negation. afterwards, this third phase functions as the starting stage of a new dialectical process leading to a new synthesis, and so forth (al-hikmat 2019:2). marx's theory of dialectics differs from hegel's in that it is a method for empirically studying processes in terms of interrelation, development, and transformation rather than a method for producing preconceived results (sperber, 2013:10). when the dialectical method is used to study economic problems, phenomena are not viewed separately from one another, by bits or pieces, but in the inner connection as an integrated total, structured around and by a dominant mode of production, according to ernest mandel in his introduction to the penguin edition of marx's capital (mandel 1976:18). when marx started reading hegel again in 1857, the concept of dialectical materialism was created. marx adopted a realist epistemology as opposed to hegel. his economic and philosophical texts' pragmatic ambiguities were abandoned, and he changed his views to become a classic materialist. karl marx attempted a dialectical justication of the labor theory of value while also being inuenced by hegel. in the holy family, he abandoned his positivist critique and began utilizing dialectic to uncover a reality that was previously unavailable under the surface. however, his materialism and dialectic were at odds. at the level of economic argument, the philosophical level of reasoning that denied the association of reality with praxis was maintained. marx's labour theory of value karl marx employed the idea of labor power extensively in his critique of the political economy of capitalism. marx made a distinction between the ability to perform labor, or labor power, and the actual act of performing labor, or labor (ben 2010:20). every civilization possesses labor power, but the conditions under which it is exchanged or integrated with the instruments of production to produce commodities and services have changed signicantly over time. marx postulates that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 31 under capitalism, the creative forces of capital appear to be equivalent to the productive powers of labor. "labor power at work" does, in fact, become a part of capital; it serves as working capital. work degenerates into mere labor, workers becoming an impersonal labor force, and management gains primary control over the work environment. in chapter 6 of the rst volume of capital, karl marx presents the idea as follows: the collective of a person's physical and mental abilities that they use anytime they create something useful of any kind is referred to as labor power or capacity for labor (marx 2021:26). he goes on to say that labor power, however, only materializes through its exertion and mobilizes through employment. however, a certain amount of human muscle, nerve, brain, and other tissues are lost as a result, and these need to be repaired (marx 2021:27). although the idea of "human capital" has been used to compare marx's concept of labor power to, marx himself may have believed that the idea was a reication meant to suggest that workers were a form of capitalist. for instance, according to apologetic economists, [the worker's] labor force symbolizes his capital in commodities form and provides him with ongoing income, according to marx's statement in capital vol. 2, volume 2. in fact, rather than being his wealth, labor force is his property (self-renewing, reproducing). it is the only good he can and must constantly sell in order to survive, and it only functions as capital (a variable) in the hands of the capitalist buyer. according to those economists, the fact that a man is forced to sell his labor power, i.e., himself, to another man, shows that he is a capitalist because he always has "commodities" (himself) up for sale. in this sense, a slave is also a capitalist, despite being sold once and for all by another as a commodity. this is because a slave's nature as a commodity requires that its buyer make it work continuously as well as provide it with the means to survive so that it can continue to do so. (marx 2021:27). commodity, by virtue of its economic and social nature, possesses two special qualities that are related to its value. these distinctive qualities include "rst and foremost, a thing that satises a human need; second and foremost, it is a thing that can be exchanged for another thing" (lenin 1978:19). in light of the fact that commodities are constantly exchanged with one another, despite their uniqueness and diversity, it is difcult to determine what these varied objects have in common within a system of social interactions. however, the shared connections that they have are the result of labor. the worth of labor and the worth of commodities differ from one another. the former should be comprehended from its foundation because it comes before the latter. the phenomena of the worth of labor can be described in monetary terms or in terms of the caliber of the job produced. speaking of the value of labor, marx asserts that its monetary form is its required or natural price. on the other side, they discuss market labor rates, which are rates that uctuate above and below the required rate. (marx 1990:675). since commodity prices uctuate over time, it often has an impact on the market price of labor by raising or lowering the necessary price, which represents the overall cost of production. as a result, a commodity can only be traded on the open market if "labor exists at all times." however, if the worker could give it a life of its own, he would be selling a commodity rather than labor (marx 1990:675). there are two options if an eight-hour workday and a four-dollar value are assumed. perhaps the worker earns four dollars for eight hours of work, which is the price of his labor wage, or there is no surplus value for the purchaser of his labor. for eight hours of work, he either receives nothing or less than $4. for marx, it is impossible to enunciate or codify the rst. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 32 marx maintains that as a result, "the value of a commodity is determined not by the quantity of labor objectied in it but by the quantity of living labor necessary to produce it" (marx 1990:676). this is due to the unevenness of the means of production of goods as a result of technological improvement. marx explores the topic of "how is the price of labor determined?" according to his theory, labor's natural price depends on the relationship between supply and demand and is set at the point when supply and demand is in equilibrium (marx 1990:678). instead than analyzing the price uctuation caused by supply and demand, the analysis should center on this inherent price. marx contends that when political economists sought to determine the value of labor, they were actually asking, "what is the cost of production (which the cost of is producing or reproducing the worker)?" (marx 1990:678). since the state of being is inherent in the personality of the worker, it is vital to combine the value of labor with the value of labor power. however, the worth of labor power is determined throughout the course of the worker's life and corresponds to a specic working day length. therefore, according to marx, "the value of labor must always be less than its value-product" (marx 1990:679), which means that in a capitalist system, the value of labor must always be less than the good being produced in order for the capitalist to have surplus value and generate prot. dialectics and the social relations of production marx opposed with hegel's notion that dialectic forces, or forces between classes, are what cause history to occur. remember that hegel was an idealist philosopher who thought that genuine truth is an ideal in a world of appearances. marx, however, accepted the idea of dialectic but disagreed with hegel's idealism because he did not believe that the material world conceals the "real" world of ideals from us. on the contrary, he believed that historically and socially, particular ideologies prevented people from clearly understanding the material conditions of their lives. thus, his historical materialism is the methodological approach of marxist historiography that focuses on human societies and their historical development, contending that they exhibit a variety of discernible trends. as the materialist interpretation of history, this was initially put forth by karl marx (1818–1883). it is, at its core, a historical theory that holds that the organization and progression of society are primarily determined by the interaction between a society's technological and productive capability and its social relations of production. the application of dialectical materialism's guiding principles to the study of social life, the phenomena of societal life, and the study of society and its history is known as historical materialism. a contribution to the critique of political economy; men engage in specic, will less relationships as part of the social manufacture of their own existence, relationships that serve as machinery for the development of their material powers. the economic framework of society is comprised of the whole of these production interactions. the way that people live their material lives impacts how they live their social, political, and intellectual lives; men's social existence shapes their consciousness, not the other way around. the material productive forces of society interact with the current production relations at a specic stage of development. the modication of the superstructure of the entire system eventually resulted from the changes to the economic underpinning. it is crucial to distinguish between the legal, political, religious, artistic, or philosophic change and the material transformation of the economic situation of production, which can be obtained with 33 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya the accuracy of natural science. this period of transformation cannot be judged by its consciousness, just as one does not judge a person by how they perceive themselves. on the other hand, this consciousness must be explained by the contradictions of material life and the conict that exists between the social forces and the relations of production. (marx 1977:9). in order for future generations of humans to survive, they must produce and reproduce the material necessities of daily life (seligman 1901:163). this is the fundamental reality that historical materialism is based on. marx then expanded on this idea by claiming that people must join into extremely precise social ties, or more specically, "relations of production," in order to have enough output and exchange. humans work cooperatively on the environment, but they do not all carry out the same tasks; instead, there is a division of labor, in which individuals not only carry out various tasks but also have the ability to prot from the labor of others by owning the means of production. the nature and extent of these productive forces-which include the means of production including tools, instruments, technology, land, raw materials, and human knowledge and abilities-that are present at any particular moment in history inuence the relationships. marx believed that because the capitalist class was always transforming the means of production, it was the most revolutionary class in history. people engage in the sale of their labor power in capitalism when they accept payment for the work they have completed over a specic period of time, which enables them to subsist. the term "proletarian" refers to individuals who sell their labor power in order to survive, whereas "capitalist" or "bourgeois" refers to those who purchase labor power, which is typically someone who possesses land and technology for productive purposes. marx also thought that capitalism was prone to produce crises and a decreasing amount of work. marx came to the conclusion that the rate of prot would decline even as the economy developed because he thought that surplus value from work was the source of prots. communism as the final stage in marx's dialectics marxist politics calls for the destruction of the state and the establishment of global communism as a new world order; these are anticipated progressive processes. a "true democracy" according to marx and engels is communism, as stated by allen w. wood in his book karl marx, who claims: marx, on the other hand, agrees with the rst point of view that there is no need for the social environment to be as negative as it is. we should support communism if capitalist social connections are a contributing factor to the world's ugliness and cruelty and if it allows for greater freedom for individuals to develop more kind and compassionate interpersonal relationships (allen 1981:260). in this society, the state has completely disappeared, there are no classes, and private property is nonexistent. the constitution was drafted by the people and represents the authentic expression of their will now that they have their own sovereignty. so, the constitution is created by the people according to their own needs and interests. in considering the best way to attain "true democracy," marx and engels stressed on the proletarian revolution, as he claims in his communist manifesto that: the communists despise hiding their beliefs and objectives. they openly admit that the only way to achieve their goals is by the violent overthrow of all current societal norms. let a communist revolution make the aristocracy quake. the only thing the proletariat stands to lose is their chains. they need to win the planet. united are the working people of the world (marx 1848:30) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 34 since every social formation is the result of the growth of the material powers of production in society, the capitalist state contains the germ of this revolution within itself. the proletariat's dictatorship results inevitably from the class struggle. the dictatorship itself, however, simply serves as a bridge leading to the elimination of all classes and the creation of a society without classes. the new global order thus represents a step forward from earlier nations, states, tribes, and other racial or class divides. the former soviet union's mikhail gorbachev's top aide georgi shakhnazarov claims that "our epoch is the epoch of the revolutionary transformation of capitalist society into communism" (shakhnazarov 1981:18). the ultimate objective of marxism is the development of international communism, which gives the people control over the means of production, eliminates classes and the state, and creates a global society based on consensus and cooperation. conict between socialist and capitalist societies, however, will continue to exist until international communism becomes a reality. warfare will be a part of this battle as a continuation of class hostility. nations under socialist rule will clash, just as the bourgeoisie and the proletariats do. marxists therefore seek to construct a world communism and abolish all forms of governmental authority. as a result, they are ready to subdue, terrorize, and attack the opposition. political and economic implication of marx class theory karl marx and friedrich engels' economic and political ideology places a strong emphasis on the idea of class struggle as they predicted that society would inevitably progress from bourgeois oppression under capitalism to a socialist and ultimately classless society. one of the traditional economists, karl marx, supported the "labour theory value" to account for relative variations in market prices. according to this idea, "the value of a produced economic good can be measured objectively by the average number of labor hours required to produce it". the fundamental tenet of the materialistic conception was the foundational signicance that economic factors played in society. the superstructure, which is made up of the state, the law, the government, as well as art, culture, and philosophy, is responsible for everything else. marx went on to claim that human institutions and behavior are inuenced by the economy; as a result, the superstructure is conditioned by and dictated by the economic base. karl marx asserted that "it is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence, but, on the contrary, their social existence determines their existence" (marx 1997:11–12). the consciousness also changes when the economic foundation of society is altered. typically, when the economic base changes, the superstructure also changes as a result. marx stated: the material forces of production in society clash with the existing relationship of production—or what is only a legal manifestation of the same thingwith the property relation in which they had previously been at work at a specic moment in their development. these relationships, which stem from the ways in which the forces of production are developing, affect the economic basis and more or less swiftly transform the entire superstructure (marx 199:12). marx outlined the ve historical stages of economic growth. slavery, feudalism, capitalism, and primitive communism were among them. there are contradiction-producing factors present in every step (apart from the ultimate one), which makes revolutions inevitable. the current state of affairs would serve as the thesis, with its igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 35 conicts creating an antithesis. the solution would then form the synthesis, which would then serve as the thesis. this cycle would continue until a perfect society was achieved. politically, the class struggle is the primary driver of historical change under capitalism, which brought about inescapable pain and should be replaced by socialism rst, followed by communism. his works sparked political upheaval, uprisings, and the creation of new governmental structures. the foundation of his social class theory is how we understand social stratication and inequality. therefore, based on marxian viewpoints, the systems of stratication in stratied societies were derived from the links of the social groupings to the forces of production. the two main social classes are the governing class and the subject class. the ownership and control of the production forces by the ruling class is the source of its power. the subject class is dominated, exploited, and subjected by the ruling class. there is a fundamental conict of interest between the two classes as a result. marx analyzed historical social systems and discovered a common pattern of development among them. marx was able to develop a precise framework for the development of humanity as a result of this and his outlook on the future. the relevance of marx's theory of dialectical materialism to nation-building as a profound theory of change and development, marx's dialectical materialism approached the problem of development from a very fundamental angle. the undercurrent of materialism in it implies that the ideas that eventually fuel societal advancement are birthed from the material circumstances. marx's rejection of capitalism for its exploitative nature is essentially emphasized by his dialectical materialism. he clearly has moral objections to capitalism. it strives to achieve an objective moral ideal. this critique also highlights a fundamental problem of ideology: that it's being dominated by the interests of the ruling class. marx's materialist interpretation of history argues that all social institutions are shaped by the creation of the resources necessary to sustain human life and the trade of those resources. in other words, fullling one's basic requirements for food, shelter, and clothing is what keeps human society alive. so it makes sense to talk about humans in terms of praxis, or their practice of meeting needs. marx would consequently characterize man as a laboring, producing, or creative being, aside from as a part of nature, a logical being, a social being, etc. only when a man uses his intelligence to meet his wants does he attain his full potential. thus, a man's work becomes what makes him who he is. his examination of the capitalist system surely draws attention to simple truths. for instance, it notes that the material order signicantly shapes the human mind and has a signicant impact on a society's ideals. additionally, there is no denying the fact that capitalism society is extremely stratied and built on a variety of different ideologies. nevertheless, to rule out the existence of universal ideas, as marx did, would be an overstatement and perhaps an extreme presumption. despite the uidity of the substructure or material order, some fundamental concepts, such as justice and equity, can nonetheless serve as the foundation for ideologies. as a result, when concepts of justice are more motivated by the spirit of reciprocal fairness, they may be regarded as universal. humans also have the capability to change along with the changing material order, adjusting to the shifting substructure, thanks to their capacity for reason. because of this, the denial of the existence of the idea of eternal and universal norms is relative rather than absolute. it is subjective, but not objective. the idea of labor as a social activity shows another application of marx's materialist philosophy. as they look for a means of subsistence, men have always been motivated to band together in an effort to subdue the forces of nature. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 36 humans organize themselves to collect raw materials, create, use, and maintain machinery, construct and staff factories, and other tasks. the convergence of these productive factors results in the improvement of human abilities, potentials, and production relationships as well as the advancement of production tools. therefore, there is a connection between human wants and the resources available to meet them. the way that marx's materialist ideology projects the interests of the working class is one of its distinctive features. the goal of marx's political philosophy is to free the masses from exploitation, which is particularly evident in the alienation of labor. in actuality, marx and engels' historical materialism has a revolutionary bent, acts as the working class's weapon in the ght against capitalism, and is a dependable method of reshaping human society. marx's materialist ideology and its ramications thereby highlight the signicance of philosophy for the advancement of society. in essence, marxism gives a scientic view of the universe and in fact acts according to scientic principles, particularly as shown in the ideas of dialectical materialism. by doing thus, it draws attention to the connections between philosophy and science that already exist. marx's philosophy primarily demonstrates the scientic shape it adopts by systematically combining "materialism" and "dialectics." philosophers viewed these ideas differently before him. for example, feuerbach was a materialist but not a dialectician, whereas hegel was a dialectician but not a materialist. these ideas were incorporated by marx into his dialectical-materialist worldview. marx's dialectical materialism is an approach to philosophy that emphasizes doing rather than just thinking. karl marx asserts that while philosophers have all attempted to make sense of the world in their own unique ways, what is really needed is for the world to be changed since only through action can the oppressed and exploited man be freed and have his human dignity returned to him (marx 1887:27). marx's theory of dialectical materialism provides a thorough justication for social transformations and their causes. additionally, it offers workable plans for advancing a country's social, economic, and political development. conclusion any nation's social, political, and economic problems heavily inuence the composition and course of the country. improved intellectual capacity and progress-oriented practical activities are mostly necessary for the endeavour to secure a signicant transformation of a society's social and political systems. marx is concerned that the majority of philosophers and social scientists only interpret and theoretically analyze social reality, making little to no concrete efforts to bring about benecial change. his philosophy, which successfully combines theory and practice and offers a strong foundation for social change, clearly lls this need. karl marx, however, placed a high importance on human rights and equality. he rmly believes that everyone, regardless of color, sex, or religion, should have access to the resources needed for human existence and education. if fully implemented, his theory would emphasize free health care, free education, and gender bias or inequity, which would signicantly aid in the abolition of gender stereotypes. once more, karl marx can be seen as a possible solution to some of capitalism's problems. even though it promotes quality and competition, capitalism also has a signicant monopolization problem. when a company or industry has accumulated enough wealth and notoriety to completely control its market segment, it becomes a monopoly. as a result, there may be less pricing competition, less possibilities for entrepreneurs, and smaller businesses that fail. according to marx's theory, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 37 businesses should be governed by the state. this could help prevent monopolies because, if one company starts to dominate the market, other smaller businesses can be given more funding to catch up or the dominant company can lose funding to give the other businesses a chance. marx's theory on the various social classes might offer insightful recommendations on how these classes can interact to form a whole and so show how society functions as a single entity. additionally, his theory may be used as a mode of study to look at the connection between ownership, power, and social change and can be used to shed light on a wider range of social transformations than just those that are now in fashion. marx's theory has additional relevance in that it can aid in considering the present from a longterm perspective through his historical sense, as well as in understanding the underlying dynamics of a society as a whole and not just their functionality as separate units. this refers to all of its various classes and members, as marx views the development from a historical perspective and can, therefore, identify the movements and preferences of that society. conclusively, even though marx's projection of communism over capitalism has failed in practical application, it still offers important principles and thoughts essential for every political and social system. if these essential principles and thoughts can be abstracted from his theory and adopted in our current political and social system, especially our nigerian system, it will greatly aid in development and the building of our great nation. references allen, w. (1981).wood, karl marx. routledge taylor & francis group press. al-hikmat, t. (2019). a journal of philosophy, vol. 39. audi, r. (2006). cambridge dictionary of philosophy. cambridge: cambridge university press. batra, r. (2011). “sarkar, toynbee and marx”. prout globe. engels, friedrich. (1938). antidurhring cited in joseph stalin. dialectical and historical materialism ___________ (1938). dialectics of nature cited in joseph stalin. dialectical and historical materialism ben, f. (2010). marx's capital (5th ed.). pluto press. mandel, ernest. (1976). introduction to karl marx, capital, .penguin, vol. i. marx, karl. (1887). capital, frederick engels (ed.), samuel moore and edward aveling (trans.). progress publishers. ___________ (1938). capital. george allen & unwin press ltd., vol. i ___________ (1977). a contribution to the critique of political economy.progress publishers): notes by r. rojas. ___________(1990). capital vol 1, pengium classics. ___________(2001). preface to a critique of political economy. the electric book company. ___________(2021). “economic manuscripts: capital vol. 1chapter six”. marxists.org. marx, karl., & engels, friedrich. (1968), (1877). “letter from marx to editor of the otetchestvennye zapisky”. plato. (1974). the republic. second edition, penguin books ltd. popper, karl. (2002). conjecture and refutations: the growth of scientic knowledge. routledge. seligman, edwin. (1901). the economic interpretation of history, political science quartely. sperber, jonathan. (2013). karl marx: a nineteenth-century life. live right press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 1, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 38 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 13 exploring the depictions of conversation dominance in adong’s silent voices gada, jemimah dan’azumi department of english and drama, kaduna state university jemimahgada@gmail.com abstract this paper investigates depictions of conversation dominance in selected conversations of the literary textsilent voices to underscore female dominance as evidenced in the use of commands, declaratives, and interrogatives. it is a qualitative study that employs systemic functional linguistics (sfl) tools to analyse how the choices made in language reveal roles assumed by speakers in a conversation. specifically, the mood system is explored to uncover dominance in mixed-gender conversations from the text. a purposive sampling technique is adopted to extract relevant excerpts from the study. the analysis reveals that females tend to use imperatives and declaratives more than their male counterparts. on the other hand, the males use more interrogatives (open interrogatives) demanding large chunks of information which typically signal dependence on the females for information thereby tagging the males as the controlled and the females as the controllers during the conversation. even in their use of interrogatives, the females used more polar questions that tended to demand short answers, again portraying them as the controllers in the conversations. the study concludes that females too dominate males in conversations contrary to the popular stance by previous scholars that males are the controllers in mixed-gender conversations. keywords: systemic functional linguistics, interrogative mood, imperative mood. introduction conversation dominance refers to the ability of a speaker to control the flow, topic, and structure of a conversation, often exerting power through language. this concept is deeply rooted in sociolinguistics and discourse analysis, where language is studied as a tool for establishing power dynamics and social hierarchies (tannen, 1993). scholars argue that conversational dominance often manifests through strategies such as turn-taking, interruptions, and the imposition of topics, revealing underlying power relations (fairclough, 1989). drama, as a literary genre, provides a rich platform for exploring conversational dominance, as its dialogue-driven structure mirrors real-life interactions. the use of language in drama not only advances the plot but also reflects social and interpersonal dynamics, including power struggles (culpeper, 2001). in this context, adong’s silent voices is a compelling text, offering nuanced insights into power relations within a post-conflict society. set against the backdrop of the ugandan civil war, the play delves into themes of trauma, gender, and justice, where conversational exchanges often highlight imbalances of power between characters. previous studies on silent voices have largely focused on its thematic exploration of gender and war, but limited attention has been given to its linguistic elements, particularly how conversational dominance shapes character relationships and reflects societal hierarchies igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 14 (adong, 2012). this gap underscores the importance of analyzing dialogue in the play, as it provides a lens through which power dynamics are articulated and contested. drawing on frameworks of discourse analysis, this study seeks to examine how conversational dominance is depicted in silent voices. by exploring the interplay between language, power, and social context, this research aims to contribute to the understanding of how linguistic choices in drama reflect and reinforce societal structures (halliday & hasan, 1976). the work shows the role of language in establishing, creating, and sustaining dominance in conversation within the framework of systemic functional linguistics (sfl) narrowing down to the metafunction referred to as interpersonal function, specifically the mood system. the mood system is explored because it offers tools that can be used to analyze how the choices made in language reveal roles assumed by speakers in a conversation. the approach shows how interactants can develop personal interest through language and how a specific speaker shows dominance through the grammatical choices they make. theoretical consideration – the mood system the mood system is defined as “choices between different roles which a speaker can select for himself and his hearer” (berry, 1975, p.166). this establishes that the speaker who starts a conversation can think in advance what role he/she will take in the communication process. thus, mood choices can only be selected in linguistic exchanges. the mood system has been divided into two possible choices to be made: communicating either in an indicative mood or in an imperative mood. matthiessen and halliday (1997, p. 5) state that “the choice in the mood system between ‘indicative’ and ‘imperative’ is realised structurally: only indicative clauses normally have a subject”. the most used type of mood is the indicative mood. regarding this, halliday and matthiessen (2004, p. 114) stated that this is “the grammatical category that is characteristically used to exchange information”. generally, when somebody selects to speak in an indicative mood making statements or talking about any topic, he/she is not always expecting an answer from the people around. nevertheless, there are cases when that speaker expects something from the hearers. when this happens what he/she expects is just a verbal response. indicative mood is subdivided into two available terms: declarative and interrogative. aijmer (2016, p. 5) states that “in a declarative clause the speaker is giving some information to the hearer. in an interrogative clause the speaker assumes the role of asking for information”. these represent the two more common patterns of starting a conversation between two people or more. a speaker can select if he/she wants to communicate the message with a declaration or through a question in advance. both declarative and interrogative sentences have different syntactic patterns. through saying a statement people could agree or disagree with what was said and start the exchange of utterances even when the speaker does not expect a response from the hearer (berry, 1975). the speaker just wants other people to listen to what he/she is saying. in advance, he/she takes on the role of informant while for the person who hears the message the role of the informed. on the other hand, through asking a question, a probable exchange of utterances could start. a question generates any type of conversation. in advance, he/she takes the role of informed, and for the person who hears the question the role of the informant. it is the opposite of the declarative mood stated above, yet it continues to be an indicative mood. when a speaker igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 15 starts a conversation through a question, he “is expecting a verbal response from his hearer” (berry, 1975, p.167). the more questions the questioner asks, the larger the process of communication will be. likewise, the interrogative mood is a system on its own. among this, other choices can further be asked: closed and open interrogative. closed interrogative sentences are used when the speaker wants to get a very short answer, actually he/she expects either a yes or a no as an answer. they are also called polar questions. when a speaker selects to make this type of question, he/she is acting as the controller of the conversation. nonetheless, open interrogative sentences are used when the speaker wants to get a larger answer, he/she has expectations about the hearer’s response. they are also called content questions. when a speaker selects to make this type of question, the hearer is acting as the controller of the conversation. with regard to the imperative mood, león (2004) claims that this “is the most obvious manifestation of the interpersonal instrumental function – that of influencing other people’s behaviour” (p. 65). through commands, a speaker can persuade other people to do what he/she wants them to do. due to this fact, matthiessen, teruya, and lam, (2010) mention that “this mood allows people to exchange goods and services” (p. 146). language is a connection between our desires and how through it a speaker can generate a specific behavior in other people or how it can make them do specific acts in specific contexts. mehwish, moazzam, fakharh, and bahram (2016) establish that this mood “expresses authority… and describes the status and/or power relations of the participants involved in the discourse” (p. 7). usually, a speaker who gives commands to other people has a strong capacity to be obeyed by them. this speaker controls the social exchange and expects some form of action from the hearers who are controlled. moreover, imperative mood is a system on its own. among these, other choices can further be made: exclusive and inclusive imperative. when a speaker says an exclusive imperative sentence he/she does not become a doer of the action. he/she expects other people to make what he/she stated and follow his/her commands without refuting. meanwhile, when a speaker says an inclusive imperative sentence, he/she becomes a doer of the actions. it is recommended to focus on the type of clause that is being analyzed and its function in the language to make its interpretation more accurate. previous study recent studies have explored the concept of conversational dominance in literary and linguistic contexts, providing insights into its depiction in drama. bayat and yüksel (2018) analyzed how gender influences conversational dominance in english as a foreign language (efl) learners. their study revealed that male participants often dominate conversations through interruptions and control of topics. this framework can be applied to silent voices to examine gendered power dynamics among characters. similarly, king (2011) studied turntaking in edward albee’s who’s afraid of virginia woolf? demonstrating how interruptions and overlaps signal power struggles between characters. these findings provide a methodology for analyzing similar linguistic strategies in silent voices. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 16 similarly, al-shalawi (2023) explored the role of conversational implicatures in revealing power dynamics in english drama. the study highlights how indirect communication can be a tool for asserting dominance, an approach that can be extended to silent voices. chang, chen, and bamman (2023) presented a dataset for studying conversation disentanglement in movies and tv series. their work provides tools to analyze overlapping dialogues and identify dominant speakers, applicable to the multi-party interactions in silent voices. likewise, sanford (2024) investigated overtalking as a mechanism for conversational dominance in social interactions. the study provides a lens to analyze verbosity and its role in establishing authority among characters in silent voices. also, tannen (2020) revisited gendered conversational styles, emphasizing interruptions and topic control as key indicators of dominance. these sociolinguistic patterns align with the strategies used by characters in silent voices to navigate power relations. this review underscores how linguistic strategies such as interruptions, overtalking, and implicatures contribute to conversational dominance in drama, with specific relevance to adong’s silent voices. the current study, however, notes that research is scarce in the aspect of carrying out an investigation on adong’s silent voices using halliday’s metafunction of mood as an analytical tool. the study is therefore set to investigate this lacuna in order to underscore that declaratives, interrogatives, and imperatives are linguistic choices that can be used by speakers to portray dominance in mixed-gender conversations. methodology this study adopts a qualitative descriptive approach. data were collected from mixed-gender conversations in the play silent voices and thereafter conversations that depict the notion of dominance especially by the female characters over the males are randomly selected. in line with the qualitative analysis procedure, the data were identified, classified, and interpreted in a form of discussion to underscore that females too dominate males in conversation. sfl is used as a tool for analysis because it explains very well the linguistic phenomena that occur in communicative settings through its detailed textual and contextual components. the study therefore presents and analyses the three mood structures (declarative, interrogative, imperative) in tables using simple percentages. thereafter, a discussion ensues portraying mood systems as linguistic resources for displaying conversation control or dominance between the characters in the play. analysis, findings, and discussion in this section, the findings from the study are hereby presented and thereafter a discussion follows. table 1 below demonstrates that a total number of 108 clauses are found in mother’s utterances from her conversation with her son omony, out of which 10 are imperatives, 21 are interrogatives and 39 are declaratives. omony has a total of 179 clauses from the conversation with his mother and margaret his lover, out of which 02 are imperatives, 51 interrogatives, and 63 declaratives. margaret has a total of 118 comprising34 interrogatives and 21 declaratives no imperatives. also, the husband registered 02 imperatives, 10 interrogatives, and 13 declaratives from the conversation between him and his wife. while his wife had a total of 49 clauses out of which 02 are imperatives, 15 interrogatives, and 32 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 17 declaratives. finally, bishop has a total of 11 clauses comprising declaratives, there are no imperatives and interrogatives. this is summarily captured in table 1 below: table 1: types of mood and percentage of analysed data in the text mother omony husband wife margaret types of clause numbe r of clauses % numbe r of clauses % numbe r of clauses % numbe r of clauses % numb er of clause s % imperatives 10 9.3 02 1.11 02 4.6 04 8.6 06 4.8 interrogativ es 20 18.5 51 28.5 15 34.9 10 21. 8 34 27.5 declarative s 78 72.2 126 70.4 26 60.5 32 69. 6 84 67.7 total 108 100 179 100 43 100 46 100 124 100 interrogative mood asking and giving information is a pattern that cannot be separated from good communication. also, if any question occurs, there must be an answer to complete the pattern. however, in the conversation between mother and omony, we find evidence of an asymmetrical relationship because omony is mother’s son. it is suggested that mother takes the role of the informed and omony (her son) whom the question is directed at takes the role of the informant. mother starts the conversation by answering greetings from omony and margaret. however, as soon as mother gets a complete identity of the ‘visitor’ the whole tone of the conversation changes. we see her bombarding omony with questions. the type of questions asked are referred to as open interrogatives normally used when a speaker wants an elaborate answer. when a speaker chooses to use this type of question, he/she is acting as the controller of the conversation. this is seen in the excerpt below: excerpt 1 mother:(to omony, wary.) what is she doing here? omony: mother! she is a good friend. mother: that’s not what i asked you. silent voices in awpn p.148 however, there are instances whereby omony uses open interrogatives in sourcing information from his mother and margaret his lover. in such instances, he takes the role of the inquirer while his mother and margaret take on the role of informants. he then becomes the controlled while the latter is the controller in the conversation that ensues between them. such open interrogatives require a large chunk of responses, unlike the closed interrogatives. examples include the excerpts below: excerpt2 (mother versus omony) omony: whose granddaughter and why can’t i marry her? mother, is there something you’re not telling me? igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 18 mother: they messed up everything. and yet they were rewarded with big cars and big houses! blood cars! omony: who? margaret’s grandfather? mother: no, all of them. those so-called liberators! omony: and what has that got to do with margaret? mother: just listen to your mother, son. omony: why are you so bitter, mother? mother: you don’t know what you are talking about. silent voices in awpn p.149 it is obvious from the excerpt above that mother is in control of the conversation. even though omony is the one sourcing for information to find out why she is not willing to accept margaret his girlfriend, yet she chooses the amount of information she releases. from the kind of interrogatives used by omony-wh-questions, one would expect long responses from mother. however, she decides using declaratives what to tell him making him more confused than he was at the beginning of their conversation. likewise, in the conversation between omony and margaret, we see instances whereby margaret takes the position of the hearer thereby acting as the controller of the conversation. omony is seen again to use open interrogative sentences which demand elaborate answers as against the polar type of interrogatives as demonstrated by the excerpt below: excerpt 3 (omony versus margaret) (omony enters with a five-liter jerrycan of kerosene. margaret approaches him, anxiously.) margaret: you can’t stay here. omony: why? margaret: you will be killed! they are all very furious. if they come back and find you here, they will kill you. you must run for your life. run! omony: what are you talking about? you are not making any sense, margaret. margaret: they say your mother has killed fiona. they wanted to kill her but the police rescued her. if they come back and find you here, it will end badly. you must get out of here. silent voices in awpn p.165 likewise, a similar scenario plays out in the conversation between husband and wife in the excerpt below: excerpt 4 husband:what do you mean, so? even if i wanted to move, there is the issue of job transfer. wife: then ask for one. husband: what? i only recently asked for one. they could misunderstand me and just dismiss me. listen honey, we can’t just move like that without any plans! without any where to go! wife: i don’t care where we go as long as we leave this cursed place! even if it means giving the street children some company! silent voices in awpn p. 162 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 19 all the interrogatives examined above play vital functions in the unfolding of events in the play silent voices. this is because as a result of the responses to the questions, the communication keeps enlarging among the interactants. also, from the way the interrogatives are used, one is left with no doubt that the interactants have choices either to use open-ended or closed-ended interrogatives. closed interrogative sentences are used when the speaker wants to get a very short answer, actually he/she expects either a yes or a no as an answer. they are also called polar questions. when a speaker asks to make these types of questions, he/she is acting as the controller of the conversation. nonetheless, open interrogative sentences are used when the speaker wants to get an elaborate answer, he/she has expectations about the hearer’s response. they are also called content questions. when a speaker selects to make this type of question, the hearer is acting as the controller of the conversation. the analysis so far is a demonstration that females dominated or controlled the males in the conversations because they acted as the controllers by asking polar questions or acting as respondents to open interrogatives requiring large chunks of information thereby controlling which information to release and which to withhold. overall, omony asked 51 questions as against 20 and 34 by his mother and margaret respectively. similarly, husband used 15 interrogatives as against 10 used by his wife. imperative mood aside from the interrogatives, imperatives are used in the conversations between the interactants in the play. with regard to the imperative mood, león (2004, p. 65) claims that this “is the most obvious manifestation of the interpersonal instrumental function – that of influencing other people’s behaviour”. likewise, mehwish, moazzam, fakharh and bahram (2016) posit that this mood (imperative) expresses authority and describes the status and power relations of the interactants. here the speaker controls the social exchange and expects some form of action from the hearers who are the controlled. this is demonstrated vividly in the text from the excerpts below: excerpt 5 (mother turns sharply to margaret, horrified by her presence.) mother: i think you should leave… omony:what! (margaret is confused.) mother: just leave young lady and avoid trouble. omony: mother you can’t just . . . / margaret: it’s okay, omony. margaret hands omony the groceries and exits. (omony makes to follow her, calling out after her.) mother: let her go! omony: mother, what was that all about? mother: i said let her go! (omony is speechless. amid the argument, mother returns unconsciously to her winnowing.) silent voices in awpn p. 148-149 it is obvious from the excerpt examined above that mother is the one who wields power and authority among the trio. because of her status that is, mother to omony, she orders margaret out of their house and omony is helpless to stop it. he watches helplessly as margaret walks out of the house. of course, his mother expects him to obey her which he did. therefore, the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 20 power relationships between mother and omony appear to be best expressed in the imperative clause. the kind of imperatives mother uses here is referred to as exclusive imperatives because she does not become the doer of the action but expects others and in this case, omony /margaret to obey her command without challenging her authority. however, we see a different usage of imperatives between omony and margaret. her status is that of a lover, therefore, it is different from that of omony’s mother. the commands she dishes to omony are spurred on as a result of the love that she has for him and her concern for his safety. when she could not succeed in making omony do the needful by using exclusive imperatives such as – “run! go now! just go now!” she resorted to the use of the inclusive imperative“come with me then” including herself in carrying out the action. this is seen in the excerpt below. excerpt 6 margaret: …you must run for your life. run! omony: what are you talking about? … margaret: they say your mother has killed fiona… omony: (shocked.) what? that’s insane! … margaret: go now! omony: i am not going to run away like a criminal for something i am sure my mother didn’t do. .. margaret: just go, now! (omony stands still staring at her. the crowd’s noise draws closer. margaret grabs omony’s hand) margaret: come with me then.… (margaret drags omony out of the room. a crowd floods the house but as they see noone, they exit yelling bloody murder.) silent voices in awpn p.164-166 declarative mood aijmer (2016, p. 5) states that “in a declarative clause the speaker is giving some information to the hearer. the preponderant presence of major declaratives is therefore indicative of an information-centered conversation in the conversations analysed in the play. however, what is most interesting about the declarative clauses is that they are not only informative but they express command, demand, and request, demonstrating a relationship of dominance in the conversation of the interactants. an example is the clause used by mother in the conversation that transpired between her and her son omony when she refused to accept his girlfriend margaret. it is a request as well as a command: excerpt 7 omony: why are you so bitter, mother? mother: just listen to your mother, son. silent voices in awpn p.149 likewise, the conversation between omony and margaret is seen to be mostly declarative even though this is considered evidence of conversation dominance whereby the hearer serves as the informant, providing information to the interrogator. in this instance, margaret is the hearer therefore she is the controller of the conversation between her and omony. omony depends on her and she in turn chooses the type of information she releases to him. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 21 omony: what are you talking about? you are not making any sense, margaret. margaret: they say your mother has killed fiona. they wanted to kill her but the police rescued her. if they come back and find you here, it will end badly. you must get out of here. silent voices in awpn p.165 conclusion the paper has attempted to explore the notion of dominance in mixed-gender conversations by applying sfl’s interpersonal metafunction as a theory narrowing it down to the mood system as the effective analytical tool. applying the mood system helps the researcher to examine in great detail how the expression of dominance appears at the textual level. three types of clauses, imperative, interrogative, and declarative are found to be used in signifying conversation dominance in the literary text. the imperative clause is found to be used more by the females in the text than the males. these included both the exclusive and the inclusive imperatives. also, in the use of interrogatives, the females tend to use polar interrogatives as against the males who used more of the open interrogatives. declaratives were mainly used in response to the open interrogatives from the males. here, the females are seen to be the controllers of the conversation because they decide the amount of conversation to be released to the males. therefore, they (females) use more the declaratives in their interaction with the males because they wield power in terms of the information they have at their disposal while the males depend on them for such information. it can safely be concluded therefore that using the tools in the mood system, the study has demonstrated that females too sometimes dominate males in conversation as against the popular view of previous scholarships. references al-shalawi, m. (2023). a pragmatic analysis of conversational implicatures in english drama and their role in teaching critical literacy. researchgate. bayat, n., & yüksel, i̇. (2018). gender and conversational dominance in efl learners. cogent e ducation, 5(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186x.2018.1560602 chang, p.-c., chen, l., & bamman, d. (2023). conversation disentanglement in multi-party interactions: a dataset and analysis. arxiv preprint gada, j. (2012). the role of mood in conversational dominance: a case study of silent voices. academia.edu kanu, i. a. (2012). “the genders in christian anthropology vis-a-vis the experience of violence by women in nigeria”. international journal of language, literature and gender studies. 1. 2. 1-14, 2012. kanu, i. a. (2024a). “ethic of reciprocity and the experience of widows in nigeria”. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life, 21(2): 89-100. kanu, i. a. (2024b). “women, violence and christian eschatological hope”. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life, 21(2): 37-54. kanu, i. a., “the equality of sexes in j. s. mill vis-a-vis the participation of women in the nigerian labour and economy”. the international journal of language, literature and gender studies. 1. 1. 18-29, 2012. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 22 kanu, i. a., “gender and good governance in john lock: religious and political perspectives”. amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. 13. 1. 88-97, 2015. king, e. (2011). turn-taking and power dynamics in dramatic dialogue: a study of edward albee’s who’s afraid of virginia woolf?. innervate. sanford, l. (2024). overtalking and conversational dominance as tools of intimidation and control. medium. tannen, d. (2020). gender and conversational style revisited. oxford university press. adeyanju, d.s and olaniyan, k.k. (2016), mood structure and functions in problem statements of arts-based research article abstracts in language, context and society: a festschrift for wale adegbite (ed). ile-ife: obafemi awolowo university press. aijmer, k. (2016), modality and mood in functional linguistic approaches in the oxford handbook of modality and mood online, doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199591435.013.22. al-shboul, y., & huwari, i.f. (2016). congratulations strategies of jordanian efl postgraduate students. indonesian journal of applied linguistics, 6(1). https://ejournal.upi.edu/index.php/ijal bankole, i. j. (2015), a systemic functional analysis of english mood system in selected dramatic texts. an unpublished dissertation submitted to the school of postgraduate studies ahmadu bello university, zaria in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of a master of arts degree in english language. berry, m. (1975). introduction to systemic linguistics 1. london: batsford. coates, j. (2004). women, men, and language: a sociolinguistic account of gender differences in language (2nd ed.). london, uk: longman. dahunsi, t.n., & babatunde, s.t. (2017). mood structure analysis and thematisation patterns in niyi osundare‟s “my lord, tell me where to keep your bribe”. international journal of english linguistics. http://www.ccsenet.org/index.php/about gustafito, j. b., & kamayana, i.g.n.p. (2019). mood and transitivity system in the dialogue of novel entitle “the fault in our stars”: systemic functional linguistic studies. litera: jurnal literabahasa dan sastra. https://jurnal.undhirabali.ac.id/index.php/litera halliday, m.a.k. (1994). an introduction to functional grammar (2nd ed.). london: edward arnold. huiqun, y. (2017), interpersonal meaning of mood and modality in english. public service advertising texts advances in computer science research (acsr), volume 76, 7th international conference on education, management, information and mechanical engineering. https://www.atlantis.press.com/proceedings/emim-17/25879261 león, e. (2004). an introduction to systemic-functional grammar: a guide for efl students. caracas: universidad pedagógica experimental libertador, vicerrectorado de investigación y postgrado. lyons, j. (1977). semantics ii. london: cambridge university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 23 matthiessen, c. m. i. m. & halliday, m. a. k. (1997). systemic functional grammar: a first step into the theory. london: higher education press. mehwish, n., moazzam, a., fakharh, m. & bahram, k. (2016). systemic functional linguistics mood analysis of the last address of the holy prophet (pbuh). international journal of language and linguistics, doi:10.11648/j.ijll.s.2016040101.11 pasakara, c. (2017). the interpersonal metafunction and translation of power relations: a case study of fifty shades of grey in manusya: journal of humanities, special issue no.23. http://www.arts.chula.ac.th/~manusya/journal/index.php/manusya permata, a.f.a.a.s. (2015). mood types analysis of teaching and learning process in immersion class of theresiana 1 senior high school. available at http://eprints.dinus.ac.id/17323/ rika, e.p.k. (2018). an analysis of the mood system in utterances between poppy and branch in trolls movie (based on systemic functional grammar), an unpublished thesis submitted as a partial requirement for the degree of sarjana in english letters department of islamic education and teacher training faculty the state islamic institute of surakarta. sapir, e. (1921). language: an introduction to the study of speech. new york: harcourt brace. susanthi, i.g.a.a.d., pastika, i.w., yadnya, i.b.p., & satyawati, m.s. (2018). language function used in elt textbook focused on medical conversation. journal of language teaching and research, 9(1). http://www.academypublication.com/jltr/ sw, a.w. (2015). apologizing strategies realization of indonesian: a case study of the university of kuningan students. english review: journal of english education, 2(2). http://usnsj.com/index.php/jee/ syal, p. and jindal, d.v. (2007). an introduction to linguistics: language, grammar and semantics. new delhi: phi learning pvt. ltd. waluyo, s. (2017). apology response strategies performed by efl learners. metathesis: journal of english language, literature, and teaching, 1(2). http://journal2.um.ac.id/index.php/jellit/index igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 58 impact of the ipob sit-at-home order on the economy of southeast geopolitical zone of nigeria: a case study of ideato nation ifeanyi, ugochukwu sanctus & ojiako, ekele u. k.o. mbadiwe university, ideato, nigeria ugochukwu.ifeanyi@komu.edu.ng; ekele.ojiako@komu.edu.ng abstract this study explores the impact of the indigenous people of biafra (ipob) sit-at-home order on the economy of ideato nation within the southeast geopolitical zone of nigeria. the research aims to analyze the effects of movement restrictions on key markets, agricultural activities, healthcare, education, and retail services. employing a structured questionnaire with 173 respondents, the study assesses how the sit-at-home order has disrupted trading activities, hindered agricultural productivity, and affected access to essential services. the statistical analysis, utilizing pearson’s product moment correlation coefficient, tests four hypotheses related to the economic repercussions of the sit-at-home order. the findings reveal significant adverse effects on market activities, with a notable decline in revenue generation, particularly in key markets such as orie akokwa and eke obodo ukwu. additionally, agricultural transport has been severely impacted, limiting farmers' abilities to sell their produce. the healthcare and education sectors also reported disruptions, highlighting the broader implications for community welfare. overall, the study underscores the need for dialogue between ipob and local authorities to address grievances while minimizing economic fallout. recommendations include engagement with ipob, support for farmers, economic diversification, engaging in community awareness campaigns, and strengthening local economic support mechanisms and enhancing access to essential services during movement restrictions to foster resilience in ideato nation’s economy. keywords: ipob, sit-at-home order, ideato nation, economic impact, agriculture, healthcare, market activity, correlation analysis. introduction the indigenous people of biafra (ipob) emerged as a separatist group advocating for the independence of the southeastern geopolitical zone of nigeria, largely populated by the igbo ethnic group. the ipob sit-at-home order, first issued in 2017, became a recurring protest mechanism aimed at drawing attention to the group’s political demands, especially the release of its leader, nnamdi kanu, and the broader call for an independent biafra state (okeke & ugwu, 2020). this order, which mandates the closure of businesses, schools, and public services, has had profound effects on the economy of the southeast geopolitical zone of nigeria, particularly in regions like ideato nation, comprising ideato north and south local government areas (lgas). the persistent sit-at-home enforcement by ipob operatives has resulted in significant disruptions to economic activities, adversely affecting livelihoods in a region already grappling with infrastructural deficits and economic stagnation (oguamanam, 2021). the ipob sit-at-home order’s impact on businesses in the southeast, especially ideato nation, has been severe. businesses are often forced to shut down on mondays, leading to an overall reduction in trading days, limiting access to markets, and exacerbating unemployment and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 59 poverty levels. small and medium-sized enterprises (smes), which form the backbone of the region’s economy, have particularly suffered, with many reporting drastic declines in revenue and profitability (chukwu, 2022). furthermore, the informal sector, which dominates the economic landscape in ideato, has been hit hard, with traders and artisans unable to carry out their daily economic activities, thereby affecting their household incomes and general economic well-being (nwankwo, 2021). the economic paralysis caused by the sit-at-home order has also discouraged potential investors, contributing to the economic isolation of the region (ugochukwu & ejiofor, 2023). the economic impact of the ipob sit-at-home order on ideato nation is a reflection of broader economic disruptions in southeast nigeria. ideato, like other parts of the region, has experienced a decline in productivity due to the restriction of movement and business operations on sit-at-home days (eze, 2021). the economic theory of opportunity cost is highly relevant here, as the losses incurred on these enforced shutdown days represent the forfeiture of potential economic gains, including income and investment (okafor, 2022). in historical terms, this scenario aligns with the theory of political resistance movements, which suggests that economic sabotage is often employed as a tactic to force political change, though at a high economic cost to the affected population (ude, 2020). the frequent disruptions to commercial activities in ideato nation mean that businesses lose not only immediate revenue but also long-term growth prospects, as sustained instability discourages local entrepreneurship and external investments (akam & onyema, 2019). in addition to the economic effects, the sit-at-home order has further deepened the marginalisation of the southeast region, which already struggles with limited federal government attention and investment (onyeji, 2023). for ideato nation, which relies heavily on agricultural and small-scale trade, the economic repercussions are especially pronounced. the inability of farmers to transport their produce to markets on sit-at-home days has led to post-harvest losses, further aggravating food insecurity and inflation within the local economy (obi & nnadi, 2021). moreover, the lack of adequate financial support from the government for local businesses during these periods of economic inactivity has worsened the situation, pushing many families into deeper levels of poverty (mbah, 2022). the ipob sit-at-home order, while a political tool for the expression of grievances, has imposed significant economic hardships on the southeast geopolitical zone, particularly ideato nation. the frequent disruptions to economic activities, coupled with the absence of mitigating measures from the government, have stifled economic growth and worsened living standards in the region. understanding the balance between political movements and economic stability remains critical for addressing these challenges, as highlighted by the intersection of historical and economic theories in this context. the indigenous people of biafra (ipob) sit-at-home order has disrupted economic activities in southeast nigeria, with ideato nation—a critical trade hub—suffering significant setbacks. ideato nation, comprising ideato north and south local government areas, is strategically located, sharing borders with orlu, anambra, and okigwe senatorial zone, and is connected by vital road networks. its major markets, such as orie akokwa, afor urualla, and nkwo umuchima, play crucial roles in regional trade, agriculture, and retail services. however, the sit-at-home order has led to the closure of these markets on designated days, reducing trading igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 60 opportunities, causing post-harvest losses for farmers, and disrupting transportation networks. additionally, the healthcare and education sectors have been negatively impacted, with limited access to essential services and disrupted school activities. given ideato’s economic potential as a trade center, the persistent enforcement of the sit-at-home order poses a serious threat to its economic growth, stifling local businesses and aggravating poverty. this research seeks to analyze the specific economic impacts of the ipob sit-at-home order on ideato nation, examining the effects on key sectors and the long-term implications for the region’s economic development. the main objective of this paper is to assess the impact of the ipob sit-at-home order on the overall economy of ideato nation. this will involve evaluating the extent to which economic activities such as trade, agriculture, and services have been disrupted by the sit-at-home enforcement. the specific objectives include: i. to analyse the effect of the sit-at-home order on key markets in ideato nation: the study will focus on major markets such as orie akokwa, afor urualla, eke obodo ukwu, ntueke, osina, and nkwo umuchima, examining how the periodic closures have affected trading activities and revenue generation. ii. to investigate the correlation between the sit-at-home order and agriculture in ideato nation: the study will explore how restrictions on movement have affected farmers’ ability to transport goods, sell produce, and sustain agricultural activities. iii. to evaluate the effect of the sit-at-home order on healthcare, education, and retail services in ideato nation: this objective will assess the extent to which these essential sectors have been affected by the inability of residents to access services due to movement restrictions. iv. to examine the long-term economic implications of the sit-at-home order for ideato nation’s development: the study will analyse how the continued enforcement of the sitat-home order could affect the region’s future growth, investment potential, and overall economic stability. review of related literature the ipob sit-at-home order, a political tool employed by the indigenous people of biafra to push for the release of their leader and to advocate for biafran independence, has had farreaching economic consequences. studies on the impact of such political movements globally and locally show a common pattern of economic disruptions and social instability. for instance, studies by udeh and onuoha (2020) reveal that politically motivated shutdowns in conflict zones, like in myanmar and venezuela, led to sharp declines in local economies due to business closures and restricted movement. similarly, investigations into catalonia’s independence protests showed that political actions such as strikes can significantly impact local and regional economies (gonzalez & esteve, 2018). locally, the southeast region of nigeria has borne the brunt of the ipob sit-at-home order. a study by okeke et al. (2021) found that the sit-at-home directive has caused extensive economic damage, with daily income losses for local businesses and reduced productivity across key sectors such as agriculture and trade. the analysis by mbah and ude (2022) corroborates this, highlighting the devastating effects on small and medium-sized enterprises (smes) in the region, with ideato nation as a focal point of economic decline due to its reliance on markets and trade routes. ekechi and nwankwo (2021) further emphasize how igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 61 agricultural productivity in the southeast has been stifled by the inability of farmers to access markets, causing post-harvest losses and reducing food supply. relevant theories provide a framework for understanding the situation. from an economic perspective, the theory of opportunity cost is pertinent. according to okafor (2020), the southeast region, particularly ideato nation, incurs significant opportunity costs due to the enforced sit-at-home order, as the potential income and economic activities lost on these days cannot be recovered. historical theories of resistance, as discussed by uche and obi (2019), highlight how political movements often use economic disruption as a tool for drawing attention to their cause, albeit at a significant social and economic cost to the local population. globally, the use of economic sabotage as a tool for political expression has been studied in places like kashmir and palestine, where protests and strikes have paralysed economic life (ahmed, 2019; el-sayed, 2020). these movements share similarities with ipob’s strategy, where prolonged shutdowns weaken local economies but also draw international attention to their political grievances. in the case of ideato nation, studies like that of nnamdi and ogbu (2022) demonstrate that local economies that rely heavily on agriculture and market trade are especially vulnerable to such orders, as farmers and traders depend on daily economic activities for their livelihoods. furthermore, the socio-economic consequences of prolonged shutdowns in nigeria’s southeast echo findings from studies on the impact of civil disobedience globally, where regions subject to periodic strikes experience stagnation and rising poverty levels (johnson & khan, 2017). as shown in ogu (2023), the enforcement of the sit-at-home order in nigeria has led to a collapse of business confidence, a drop in investment, and rising inflation due to supply chain disruptions. in summary, studies suggest that politically motivated economic shutdowns, like ipob’s sitat-home order, have profound and lasting impacts on regional economies. for ideato nation, a commercial hub in southeast nigeria, the effects are particularly severe, as disruptions to markets, trade, agriculture, and essential services have hindered the region’s development trajectory. these are the basis for the hypotheses, stated in null form: h01: there is no significant and positive effect of the sit-at-home order on key markets’ activities in ideato nation h02: the sit-at-home order has no significant effect on agricultural activities in ideato nation h03: there is no significant relationship between the sit-at-home order and healthcare, education, transport, and retail services delivery in ideato nation h04: the sit-at-home order does not have any long-term economic implications on the economic development of ideato nation these findings underscore the need for policymakers to address the root causes of such protests to mitigate their economic impact and promote regional stability. research methodology this study employs a survey research design to examine the impact of the ipob sit-at-home order on the economy of ideato nation. this design is suitable for capturing the perspectives and experiences of respondents regarding the economic implications of the sit-at-home order, allowing for the collection of relevant quantitative data. this methodology is appropriate as it igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 62 enables the collection of quantitative data from a diverse group of respondents, facilitating an understanding of public opinion and economic implications at a specific point in time. population and sample size the target population for this research includes 400 individuals, comprising market men and women operating in key markets like orie akokwa, afor urualla, eke obodo ukwu, ntueke, osina, and nkwo umuchima; agriculturalists including smallholder farmers and livestock keepers; and healthcare, education, transport, and retail services providers. a convenience sampling method was used to determine the sample size, resulting in a sample of 200 participants. this sample size, n, was calculated using the taro yamane formula: n = � 1+�(�)2 where n is the population size, and e is the margin of error (5% or 0.05). substituting the values provides: 400 1+400(�)2 = 400 2 = 200 research instrument the primary instrument for data collection is a structured questionnaire, designed to align with the research objectives and hypotheses. the questionnaire was divided into two sections: the first section gathered demographic information, while the second section focused on specific questions related to the economic impact of the sit-at-home order. the market union leader in eke obodoukwu, the woman leader in akokwa and youth chairman in obioha were magnanimous in helping mobilise respondents and collect the necessary data for this study. to enhance understanding, some questions were translated into local vernacular and pidgin english, ensuring clarity for all respondents. the questionnaires were administered personally by the researcher, with assistance from local community members to facilitate participation. data collection process the questionnaire was distributed among the selected participants in various markets and agricultural settings. each participant was instructed to complete the questionnaire by marking their responses in the provided options. the personal administration of the questionnaires helped clarify any ambiguities and ensured higher response rates. data analysis the collected data were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistical methods. descriptive statistics, such as frequencies and percentages, were employed to summarize the demographic characteristics of the respondents and their responses to each question. this initial analysis provided insights into general trends and patterns within the data. for hypothesis testing, the pearson’s product moment correlation coefficient was utilised to analyse the relationship between the variables. pearson’s product moment correlation coefficient (often denoted as r) measures the strength and direction of linear relationship between two (or more) continuous variables. it ranges from -1 to 1, where 1 indicates a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 63 perfect positive linear relationship, -1 indicates a perfect negative relationship, and 0 indicates no linear relationship. the regression model is given by y = α + βx --(1) where α = �� = �� − ���, � = �σ��−(σ�)(σ�) �σ�2−(σ�)2 , �� = the mean of y, and �� = the mean of x. each of the hypotheses was tested from questions drawn from the concepts and theories adopted in the course of the study. the responses were categorised using the 4-point likert scale (viz. strongly agreed, agreed, disagreed, and strongly disagreed). three questions were posed for each of the hypotheses. to quantify the data (i.e. derive the numerical weights for the responses), all the responses for each scale were assigned numerical weights and summated, and from there the final data extrapolated as in egbulonu & ojiako (2018). strength of association the decision rule is, with a significance level (α) of 0.05 used, if p-value < 0.05, we reject the null hypothesis (that there is a significant correlation). however, if p-value ≥ 0.05, we fail to reject the null hypothesis (there is no significant correlation). the strength of correlation is given by: 0.0 – 0.1 no correlation, 0.1 – 0.3 weak correlation, 0.3 – 0.5 moderate correlation, 0.5 – 0.7 strong correlation, 0.7 – 1.0 very strong correlation. for each of the four (4) models, the variables were derived from the research objectives and hypotheses and data synthesised from the questions posed in the questionnaire (see appendix). data analysis was conducted using spss version 23, which provided the necessary tools for the implementation of the pearson’s product moment correlation coefficient model and for conducting all statistical tests. this software enabled comprehensive analysis and interpretation of the data, facilitating a deeper understanding of the economic impacts of the sit-at-home order in ideato nation. this methodology is designed to provide a robust framework for understanding the socioeconomic consequences of the sit-at-home order, enabling informed discussions and potential policy recommendations based on the findings. data presentation and analysis the analysis and interpretation were derived from the findings of the study. a total of two hundred (200) questionnaires were administered to respondents of which only one hundred and seventy-three (173) were returned and validated. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 64 the frequency tables below provide a comprehensive demographic breakdown of the 173 respondents, crucial for understanding the context of the study. frequency tables table 4.1: gender of respondents frequency percent valid percent cumulative percent valid male 81 46.8 46.8 46.8 female 92 53.2 53.2 100.0 total 173 100.0 100.0 source: authors’ survey, spssv.23; ©2024 the distribution shows a slight female majority (53.2%) over males (46.8%). this relatively balanced ratio might influence perspectives on the socio-economic impacts of the sit-at-home order, as gender roles often dictate participation in economic activities. females may have different economic responsibilities, especially in the context of markets and households. table 4.2: age of respondents frequenc y percent valid percent cumulative percent valid 18-25 40 23.1 23.1 23.1 26-35 48 27.7 27.7 50.9 36-45 36 20.8 20.8 71.7 46-55 26 15.0 15.0 86.7 56 and above 23 13.3 13.3 100.0 total 173 100.0 100.0 source: authors’ survey, spssv.23; ©2024 the age group of 18-35 years comprises 50.8% of respondents, indicating a predominantly youthful demographic. this age group is often more engaged in informal sectors, which can be significantly affected by economic disruptions. younger individuals may lack the financial buffers that older age groups might possess, making them more vulnerable to economic instability. table 4.3: occupation of respondents frequenc y percent valid percent cumulative percent valid farmer 53 30.6 30.6 30.6 trader 52 30.1 30.1 60.7 transport worker 33 19.1 19.1 79.8 civil servant 23 13.3 13.3 93.1 other 12 6.9 6.9 100.0 total 173 100.0 100.0 source: authors’ survey, spssv.23; ©2024 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 65 the predominant occupations are farmers (30.6%) and traders (30.1%), highlighting the reliance of ideato nation on agriculture and commerce. the high percentage of farmers suggests that the agricultural sector is crucial for the local economy, and disruptions in this sector could lead to food insecurity and reduced income for many families. table 4.4: location of respondents frequenc y percent valid percent cumulative percent valid orie akokwa 17 9.8 9.8 9.8 afor urualla 25 14.5 14.5 24.3 eke obodo ukwu 39 22.5 22.5 46.8 ntueke 28 16.2 16.2 63.0 osina 38 22.0 22.0 85.0 nkwo umuchima 26 15.0 15.0 100.0 total 173 100.0 100.0 source: authors’ survey, spssv.23; ©2024 table 4.5: monthly income level frequenc y percent valid percent cumulative percent valid less than ₦30,000 22 12.7 12.7 12.7 ₦30,001 ₦60,000 30 17.3 17.3 30.1 ₦60,001 ₦90,000 27 15.6 15.6 45.7 ₦90,001 ₦120,000 60 34.7 34.7 80.3 ₦120,001 and above 34 19.7 19.7 100.0 total 173 100.0 100.0 source: authors’ survey, spssv.23; ©2024 a significant portion of respondents (34.7%) earn between ₦90,001 and ₦120,000. this indicates a moderate economic status; however, it also suggests that many households live close to the financial edge. economic disruptions from the sit-at-home order could lead to significant hardship among these households, potentially pushing them below the poverty line. overall, the frequency tables reveal a community heavily reliant on agriculture and informal trading, with a youthful population that is particularly susceptible to economic disruptions. test of hypotheses for hypothesis 1: h01: there is no significant and positive effect of the sit-at-home order on key markets’ activities in ideato nation igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 66 h11: there is a significant and positive effect of the sit-at-home order on key markets’ activities in ideato nation variables considered market impact, revenue impact, and transport impact the regression result is given below: table 4.6: correlations: market impact, revenue impact, and transport impact market impact revenue impact transport impact market impact pearson correlation 1 .829** .081 sig. (2-tailed) .000 .288 n 173 173 173 revenue impact pearson correlation .829** 1 .036 sig. (2-tailed) .000 .641 n 173 173 173 transport impact pearson correlation .081 .036 1 sig. (2-tailed) .288 .641 n 173 173 173 **. correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). source: authors’ computation; spss v.23 ©2024 interpretation of data from the data analysed, the pearson correlation coefficient (r = 0.829, p < 0.05) indicates a very strong negative relationship between the sit-at-home order and market activities. this result leads to the rejection of the null hypothesis, confirming that the sit-at-home order substantially disrupts trading activities. the magnitude of the correlation suggests that even a brief enforcement of the order can lead to significant revenue losses for key markets. decision: we reject the null hypothesis (h01) as there is a significant correlation between ebanking activities and agricultural output. for hypothesis 2: h02: the sit-at-home order has no significant effect on agricultural activities in ideato nation h12: the sit-at-home order has a significant effect on agricultural activities in ideato nation variables considered agriculture impact, revenue impact, transport impact, and productivity impact the regression result is given below table 4.7: correlations: agriculture impact, revenue impact, transport impact, and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 67 productivity impact agriculture impact revenue impact transport impact productivity impact agriculture impact pearson correlation 1 .784** .610** .671** sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 n 173 173 173 173 revenue impact pearson correlation .784** 1 .384** .515** sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 n 173 173 173 173 transport impact pearson correlation .610** .384** 1 .433** sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 n 173 173 173 173 productivity impact pearson correlation .671** .515** .433** 1 sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 n 173 173 173 173 **. correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). source: authors’ computation; spss v.23 ©2024 interpretation of data from the data analysed, the correlation (r = 0.784, p < 0.05) between the sit-at-home order and agricultural activities indicates a profound negative impact, particularly on transportation and market access for farmers. the rejection of the null hypothesis highlights that the restrictions significantly hinder farmers’ ability to sell produce, affecting their livelihoods and local food supply. decision: we reject the null hypothesis (h02) as there is a significant correlation between ebanking activities and agricultural output. for hypothesis 3: h03: there is no significant relationship between the sit-at-home order and healthcare, education, transport, and retail services delivery in ideato nation h13: there is a significant relationship between the sit-at-home order and healthcare, education, transport, and retail services delivery in ideato nation variables considered healthcare delivery impact, education impact, and transport impact the regression result is given below: table 4.8: correlations: healthcare delivery impact, education impact, and transport impact igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 68 healthcare delivery impact education impact transport impact healthcare delivery impact pearson correlation 1 .514** .467** sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 n 173 173 173 education impact pearson correlation .514** 1 .641** sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 n 173 173 173 transport impact pearson correlation .467** .641** 1 sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 n 173 173 173 **. correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). source: authors’ computation; spss v.23 ©2024 interpretation of data with correlations of healthcare delivery (r = 0.514), education (r = 0.641), and transport impacts (r = 0.467), the data illustrates a substantial negative relationship between the sit-athome order and access to essential services. the rejection of the null hypothesis emphasizes that movement restrictions severely limit residents’ ability to access healthcare, education, and transportation, further exacerbating socio-economic conditions. for hypothesis 4: h04: the sit-at-home order does not have any long-term economic implications on the economic development of ideato nation h14: the sit-at-home order does not have any long-term economic implications on the economic development of ideato nation variables considered long-term economic impact and investment deterrence the regression result is given below table 4.9: correlations: long-term economic impact and investment deterrence long-term economic impact investment deterrence long-term economic impact pearson correlation 1 .713** sig. (2-tailed) .000 n 173 173 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 69 investment deterrence pearson correlation .713** 1 sig. (2-tailed) .000 n 173 173 **. correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). source: authors’ computation; spss v.23 ©2024 the correlation (r = 0.713, p < 0.01) between long-term economic impact and investment deterrence confirms that the sit-at-home order has significant long-term implications. the rejection of the null hypothesis reflects concerns about potential declines in investment and economic stability as continuous disruptions create an unfavorable business climate. discussion of findings the findings underscore the severe economic ramifications of the ipob sit-at-home order on ideato nation. 1. market disruptions: the strong negative correlation between the sit-at-home order and market activities indicates that closures not only impede immediate trading but also damage long-term business relationships and consumer trust. traders may seek alternative markets or cease operations altogether, leading to reduced economic vitality. 2. agricultural challenges: the adverse effects on agriculture highlight a critical vulnerability within the local economy. farmers’ reliance on immediate sales means that transportation restrictions can lead to wasted produce and lost income. this situation can create a cycle of poverty, as farmers may lack the financial resources to recover from such losses. 3. access to services: the impact on healthcare and education illustrates a broader societal challenge. movement restrictions prevent individuals from accessing vital services, which can have cascading effects on community health and educational attainment. for instance, delays in healthcare can lead to worsening health conditions, which may further strain community resources. 4. long-term implications: the potential for long-term economic decline raises concerns about the sustainability of local businesses and agricultural practices. investment deterrence due to ongoing instability may discourage new ventures and hinder economic growth, perpetuating a cycle of underdevelopment. conclusions the ipob sit-at-home order has had a profound negative impact on the economy of ideato nation, disrupting key markets, agricultural activities, and essential services. the demographic analysis reveals a community highly dependent on informal trading and agriculture, making it particularly vulnerable to economic shocks. the strong correlations observed indicate that the repercussions of the sit-at-home order may extend beyond immediate financial losses, posing long-term risks to economic stability and growth. recommendations igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 70 1. engagement with ipob: local authorities should engage in dialogue with ipob to address underlying grievances while finding ways to minimize economic disruptions during future sit-at-home orders. 2. support for farmers: implement programmes to support farmers, such as providing transport subsidies or creating alternative marketing channels to ensure that agricultural produce reaches markets even during restrictions. 3. enhanced access to services: develop strategies to maintain access to essential services like healthcare and education during movement restrictions. mobile clinics and online learning platforms could be explored to ensure continuity of services. 4. economic diversification: encourage diversification of the local economy beyond agriculture and informal trading. initiatives could include vocational training and support for small businesses to create a more resilient economic base, and 5. community awareness campaigns: conduct community awareness campaigns about the implications of the sit-at-home order, emphasizing the importance of maintaining economic activity while also addressing security concerns. by implementing these recommendations, ideato nation can work towards mitigating the adverse effects of the sit-at-home order while fostering a more resilient and sustainable economy. references ahmed, a. (2019). political protests and economic shutdowns: lessons from kashmir. journal of conflict economics, 15(3), 45-60. akam, j., & onyema, n. (2019). ipob sit-at-home order and its economic consequences in nigeria's southeast. journal of african studies, 12(2), 33-45. chukwu, a. (2022). the effects of the sit-at-home protests on small businesses in eastern nigeria. nigerian economic review, 18(3), 76-85. egbulonu, k.g. & ojiako, e.u. (2018). community mobilisation and rural development: a case study of mbara ozioma foundation, ehime mbano, nigeria. international journal of innovation and research in educational sciences, 5(4), 385-393. ekechi, f., & nwankwo, p. (2021). ipob sit-at-home order and its impact on agricultural productivity in southeast nigeria. journal of development studies, 22(4), 120-135. el-sayed, r. (2020). civil disobedience and economic impacts: a study of the palestinian protests. middle eastern economic review, 10(2), 70-85. eze, e. (2021). economic instability and regional protests: a study of ipob's sit-at-home order. journal of political economy, 20(1), 45-60. gonzalez, j., & esteve, r. (2018). the economic costs of political protests in catalonia. european political economy review, 30(1), 50-67. johnson, p., & khan, m. (2017). civil disobedience and regional economies: global perspectives on protest-induced economic losses. journal of global economics, 18(2), 55-72. kanu, i. a. and okoye, o. precious (2022). “the biafran war: lessons for nigeria”. oracle of wisdom journal of philosophy and public affairs. vol. 6. no. 1. pp. 158-168. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 71 kanu, i. a. and okoye, o. precious (2022). “the nigerian civil war: lessons for the igbo people”. oracle of wisdom journal of philosophy and public affairs. vol. 6. no. 1. pp. 143-152. kanu, i. a. and precious okoye (2022). “tourism, the diaspora and ikeji festival of arondizuogu: culture and the exigencies of modernism”. ochendo: an african journal of innovative studies. vol. 3. no. 2. pp. 144-161. mbah, a. (2022). poverty and the economic impact of political protests in nigeria. african development quarterly, 15(4), 22-35. mbah, u., & ude, o. (2022). the economic consequences of ipob's sit-at-home order in southeast nigeria. african economic review, 29(1), 95-110. nnamdi, c., & ogbu, k. (2022). economic disruptions and political protests: the case of southeast nigeria. journal of nigerian studies, 17(3), 100-115. nwankwo, u. (2021). southeast nigeria's informal sector and the ipob sit-at-home order. journal of development studies, 19(2), 51-67. obi, k., & nnadi, o. (2021). post-harvest losses and food security in the context of ipob protests. agricultural economics journal, 13(2), 109-120. ogu, a. (2023). business confidence and the impact of ipob protests on investment in nigeria's southeast. journal of african business studies, 25(2), 55-68. oguamanam, c. (2021). ipob and the southeast economy: a critical examination. economic affairs in nigeria, 14(3), 88-99. okafor, c. (2022). opportunity cost and economic downturns: lessons from nigeria's southeast. journal of economics and policy studies, 16(2), 37-49. okafor, j. (2020). opportunity cost and the economic implications of civil unrest in nigeria. economic policy journal, 20(2), 45-58. okeke, i., & ugwu, d. (2020). the politics of biafra: ipob and its sit-at-home strategy. contemporary political review, 23(4), 67-82. okeke, i., eze, a., & onuoha, d. (2021). the economic fallout of the ipob sit-at-home directive in southeastern nigeria. nigerian economic journal, 28(3), 89-105. onyeji, i. (2023). marginalization and economic decline in nigeria's southeast: the role of federal policies. african economic journal, 17(1), 25-40. uche, o., & obi, c. (2019). political resistance and economic consequences: understanding the ipob movement. journal of african history, 34(2), 60-78. ude, p. (2020). resistance movements and economic consequences: the case of ipob. journal of african history and political movements, 11(1), 55-70. udeh, r., & onuoha, s. (2020). economic shutdowns in conflict zones: global lessons for nigeria. african peace and conflict studies, 12(1), 77-95. ugochukwu, f., & ejiofor, j. (2023). the sit-at-home protests and its investment implications for southeast nigeria. investment studies journal, 10(2), 19-32. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 72 appendix r es po nd en t id m ar ke t im pa ct a gr ic ul tu re im pa ct r ev en ue im pa ct t ra ns po rt im pa ct pr od uc tiv ity im pa ct h ea lth ca re d el iv er y im pa ct e du ca tio n im pa ct l on gte rm e co no m ic im pa ct in ve st m en t d et er re nc e 1 15 18 19 12 16 12 12 17 17 2 20 13 14 13 19 13 13 15 14 3 17 13 16 15 18 15 15 13 12 4 13 14 12 16 20 16 16 20 19 5 14 17 14 19 12 19 19 12 13 6 16 15 13 14 17 14 14 19 20 7 19 16 18 18 14 18 18 11 12 8 12 13 11 20 11 20 20 16 14 9 18 18 19 17 20 17 17 17 20 10 15 17 16 14 19 14 14 15 19 11 17 16 18 15 14 15 15 18 15 12 12 15 11 16 17 16 16 14 19 13 20 16 19 12 18 12 12 20 17 14 18 13 15 19 11 19 19 15 20 15 14 15 14 13 16 13 13 19 12 16 13 13 13 12 12 12 12 11 12 17 19 16 18 15 17 15 15 12 15 18 16 18 20 11 14 11 11 16 14 19 11 15 11 18 12 18 18 18 14 20 14 18 15 20 16 20 20 14 12 21 16 17 19 12 15 12 12 17 15 22 13 15 11 17 19 17 17 20 19 23 18 14 18 16 12 16 16 15 20 24 15 16 14 11 17 11 11 13 15 25 12 16 12 20 20 20 20 18 14 26 14 14 15 13 14 13 13 12 19 27 20 17 19 16 18 16 16 11 13 28 17 16 17 14 15 14 14 17 14 29 19 18 19 15 20 15 15 19 12 30 12 15 14 20 16 20 20 14 18 31 16 17 18 12 19 12 12 12 14 32 15 14 15 13 12 13 13 20 11 33 11 13 11 15 14 15 15 15 12 34 18 14 19 11 20 11 11 19 20 35 20 17 19 13 12 13 13 12 19 36 17 17 18 16 19 16 16 20 15 37 14 18 14 19 20 19 19 18 15 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 73 38 19 15 20 12 14 12 12 11 12 39 12 15 12 18 16 18 18 17 18 40 15 18 16 20 19 20 20 14 14 41 18 19 18 19 14 19 19 19 20 42 13 14 15 11 14 11 11 12 12 43 17 16 19 15 19 15 15 15 16 44 14 12 14 13 12 13 13 18 18 45 19 18 19 12 18 12 12 13 15 46 16 18 17 18 17 18 18 17 19 47 12 16 13 20 15 20 20 14 14 48 20 18 17 14 19 14 14 19 19 49 14 12 15 20 12 20 20 16 17 50 13 20 12 19 20 19 19 12 13 51 17 18 20 11 18 19 12 20 17 52 19 12 19 15 12 20 11 12 14 53 20 14 20 18 14 12 19 11 12 54 14 11 12 19 11 15 20 17 18 55 11 15 12 16 15 19 12 19 20 56 15 17 14 20 17 12 14 14 13 57 18 14 19 12 14 20 15 12 11 58 12 20 13 15 20 14 19 20 18 59 19 20 20 12 14 15 11 15 14 60 17 16 16 14 15 20 19 19 18 61 14 16 16 12 19 11 20 12 13 62 20 20 20 15 19 14 11 20 18 63 11 14 14 19 12 15 20 18 16 64 16 15 15 11 14 19 18 11 13 65 19 18 18 15 20 11 14 17 15 66 14 14 14 20 19 12 15 13 11 67 20 18 18 15 12 19 11 14 14 68 15 18 18 19 14 12 16 16 15 69 12 13 13 11 20 14 15 19 17 70 11 11 11 12 19 20 14 12 10 71 18 20 20 12 16 14 15 18 20 72 17 17 17 17 17 20 15 15 17 86 ontological evaluation of t. uzodinma nwala's political theory of unanimity aloysius o. dimgba ph.d department of religious studies and philosophy, abia state university aloydimgba@gmail.com dimgba.aloysius@abiastateuniversity.edu.ng; doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.10003.90409 abstract this paper is an ontological evaluation of t. uzodinma nwala's political theory of unanimity. its concern is the general loss of political and moral orientation characteristic of traditional igbo communities arising from the interference of the western political and moral values which contemporary igbo people accepted uncritically. based on the hermeneutic – phenomenological method, the paper posits that the principle of political unanimity is the panacea to the overarching problems of individualism and subjectivism that have burdened the west. the paper compares political unanimity with certain currents of political and ethical thoughts and argues that igbos' belief in community spirit is the answer to the problems of individual responsibility characteristic of liberal democracy that has become a concern to global peace. the paper concludes that traditional igbo thought of brotherhood characteristic of interest harmonisation, reconciliation and consensus provide the answer to the question of human uniqueness, personal authenticity and identity. keywords: brotherhood, consensus, individualism, politics, unanimity. introduction professor timothy uzodinma nwala, born on 20 march 1942, is a living colossus of philosophy. he was born in mbaise of present day imo state in south east nigeria. nwala observed a general loss of orientation and identity among the young generation of contemporary igbo people who accepted uncritically the western political and moral systems and values. for nwala, this disruption in the original life pattern of the traditional igbo people before the interference of the colonialists is the foundation of the political and ethical crises in igbo land because western systems and values imposed upon them are inadequate to cater for the original life pattern of the typical igbo and their collectivists' structure. he believes that a return to the indigenous igbo political mode of life will be helpful in answering most contemporary igbo political and moral questions and identity which are fast eroding away. this indigenous political life pattern he describes as unanimity. nwala has shown the deficiencies of the western democracy and its cursory decisionmaking by majority opinions which deprive the minority of the right to have their opinions reflected in a given political decision. this deprivation, for nwala, could mean a violation of their human rights and could lead to disinterest and disharmonies in politics. for nwala, political systems in igboland follows rigorous processes and compromises that lead to it where all efforts are made to contain the wishes of the majority as well as those of the minority. for nwala also, “the processes are designed to arrive at what may be abstractly called the general will of the people or community” (p.168). nwala's concern is that western practice of formal representation in council is alien to the traditional igbo orientation and does not reflect the cohesion and consensus characteristic of the spirit of brotherhood native to igbo people. it is this underlying concern of the breach of the traditional igbo political pattern and its ontological foundation that this paper intends to evaluate. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 87 meaning of politics politics connotes the activities associated with the governance of a state. it is the public engagement of the people on matters that concern them to protect and promote their well being. for blackburn, (2005, 282) “politics is about human community and government and relations between the collective and the individual”. it is the art or science of governance which characterises power attributes and power relations. from the ancient greece, politics bother on relations in community (polis – city state) affairs meant to protect the rights of the citizens in an agreed pattern of governance. plato (1997, pp. 332 336) in the republic conceived politics as harmonising conflicting interests to ensure rational and virtuous ordering of human affairs. for him, this virtuous and rational ordering will result to justice and ultimately to happiness as the end of human life in the state. however, it was aristotle who introduced empirical interpretation to politics as things concerning the polis to represent the organisation of community affairs aimed at the highest good (sommum bonum) for the community which exits for the sake of the good life or happiness of the state (pp. 29 30). aristotle compares the city state in his ideas of the hylemorphic analysis of matter and form to his ideas of the material cause (community of people), formal cause (the constitution crafted by the law giver), operated by a craftman (efficient cause) which altogether determines the aim and end of the community (final cause) (p.17). in other words for aristotle, the craftman or the lawgiver should not impose a form on materials for which it is unsuited nor the lawgiver lay down or change laws which are contrary to the nature of the citizens. though a disciple of aristotle, thomas of aquinas refuted aristotle's conception of politics as natural. thomas follows seneca to characterise politics as a sense of leadership voluntarily accepted by the governed. he associated politics with divine law and natural law as giving direction to the (human) common good, which belongs to the people (1-2,q 95, a.4, 1-2.90.a). indeed for thomas and all schoolmen, politics is an interplay of providence and human social acts to determine and structure human society and governance. modern and contemporary thought introduce a little paradigm to the earlier scholastic ideas. the difference lies in the inseparability of politics and economy and how both influence state apparatus and control over public affairs. in this direction, david easton (1981, p.13) conceives politics as “authoritative allocation of values” relating to resources and status. easton's definition indicates the processes through which citizens or communities' needs are skillfully addressed by carefully and strategically allocating benefits, rewards and penalties as well as the influences that warrant the allocations. for harold laswell, (2001, p.12) politics is “who gets what (why), when and how”. laswell underscores the power to exercise authority on the allocation of scarce resources as well as determining control on the content and context of production and distribution of goods and services within the structure of the state. common denominator between easton and laswell implicates the attribution of order, power and justice in politics and governance as well as underscores the relations between politics and economy in terms of production and equitable distribution of goods and services and the ideological leanings that determine the politics and the mode of production and distribution. in this sense, nwala (1985, p.163) defines politics to be “the continuous process by which a people organise their social life – relationships in production, exchange, distribution, exercise of authority, recognition, etc such that there is a recognised system of rules and procedures for generating further rules, to regulate their social life. according to him, it is the way a people organise their social life with respect to the system of rules and procedures for regulating their mode of social relationship (p.164). accordingly for nwala; igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 88 the system of rules are held to emanate from, promote and enforced by a recognised system of authority. the apparent aim of such rules is to ensure order and promote the welfare of all the people bound in such a social relationship. this body of rules, the manner in which the authority is exercised and further rules created, gives the way in which the welfare of the people is pursued through a mode of economic activity, gives rise to a political system. (1985, p.164) in summary, politics is the science and art of governance defined in terms of decision making and decision enforcement by a recognised authority. it is not mere activism, but the awareness that keeps one informed about the structure of his/her society and his/her place in the society to realise the laudable aim to harmonise the society for the ultimate happiness and common good of the citizens. politics is about power: power relations and power attributes. nwala's political theory of unanimity unanimity connotes common agreement of opinions. it designates a state of being in harmony in a society based on common agreements among members of the society. it describes elements of consensus and interest reconciliations among members that share similar values, norms, principles, etc in order to ensure social political stability. for nwala, unanimity does not exclude arguments or controversies as opinions may vary. it, instead, hinges on consensus, interest reconciliation and harmonisation of divergent views. it stems from a natural sympathy for one's kind given that they consider themselves as umunna (descendants of one ancestor) and related by blood in one ancestral father. the interest is to find a compromise which is agreeable or at least not unbearable because their target is to protect or uphold the omenala, the social and cosmological order handed down by the ancestral fathers. nwala notes that although the interest is to protect or uphold the social, divine and cosmic order (omenala), agreements are never allowed to militate absolutely and fatalistically against the collective interest and welfare of the community (p.170). this way, agreements must be within the reach and serve the interest of the people because the igbo respect principles and ideals. but principles and ideals according to nwala must be subjected to (as a last resort) to the practical realities of the human situation (p.170). for nwala also, even when they introduce the most far-reaching changes, they believe they are merely upholding or restoring the good old ways ordained by the all knowing ancestors. indeed, all agreements (or changes where they occur) are intended to keep the possibility of harmony. thus, unanimity is a matter of compromise and consensus where aggrieved members may adjust their interests to the common necessity for the umunna or the larger kinsmen lineage, the community. this means therefore, that political unanimity does not contradict divergence of interests. instead, it emphasises reconciliation and harmonisation of divergent interests in order to secure a stable, cohesive and ordered community. unanimity as a political principle nwala's notion of unanimity as a political principle portrays the true life setting of a typical (precolonial) traditional igbo. it emphasises consensus and interest harmonisation of divergent opinions to allow common political pursuit. for nwala, it takes rigorous processes and compromises (igba izu period of consultation) that lead to it and all efforts made to contain the wishes of the majority as well as those of the minority. in short, they are designed to arrive at what may be abstractly called the “general will” of the people or community”. unanimity becomes desirable since the igbo conceive of politics and government not as the means where by the stronger or the majority impose their will on the rest of the people but as the process of regulating normal life among brothers (p.168). here kwasi wiredu (1996, p.41) supports nwala on the idea of rigorous processes and compromises when he (wiredu) affirms that “harmonisation of different interests arrived at after a long deliberation during which a process of persuasion and in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 89 some cases motivation are employed to secure the well being of the entire clan. wiredu continues to think that harmonisation and interest reconciliation follows what he describes as “sympathy instincts among people that are related by blood or have common ancestral root” (p.41). nwala describes this period of igba izu (consultations) as the democratic spirit which he says puts in check the apparent or possible excesses of seniority, status and achievement among the people. nwala situates his idea of political unanimity on what he describes as the “igbo principle of equality and equivalence”. he founded this principle of equality and equivalence on two related concepts of ontological common species, and brotherhood. according to him, “all who are morally worthy, are basically equal, difference in wealth notwithstanding”(p.168). he continues to explain that “all segments at the same level of the social organism are considered equal and equivalent irrespective of territorial spread and population size, work and food have to be shared equally amongst all participants and each must take its share in order of seniority” (p.168). nwala maintains that if all men are equal and all segments equivalent and each must have his fair share of work and reward, then, all must be allowed to participate in the process of decision-making (p.168). to ensure effective political system, nwala explains that although power and authority belongs to all, but by virtue of their seniority and ontological status, knowledge, moral, spiritual, intellectual qualities and economic status, some individuals are known to exercise greater power and influence than the others (p.168). besides the principle of equality and equivalence and brotherhood, nwala identified the spirit of republicanism as another element of unanimity in igbo politics. republicanism, according to blackburn (2005, p.318), emphasises the role of the active, participating citizens in governance and aims at checks and balances to prevent the emergence of faction and majority tyranny, but also to the town hall politics whereby decision making has bottom up rather than a top down structure. igbo republicanism depicts the popular igbo enwe eze. it describes the average igbo cultural orientation of distrust and resistance to subservience and domination of one over another. nwala adduced two fundamental reasons for this cultural distrust and resistance to domination and subservience. the first is the self dependence and the achievement consciousness inherent in the igbo spirit. the second is the (individual) survival instinct and competitive spirit greatly valued in typical igbo culture. in fact for nwala, the igbo man must accomplish something in his name to deserve an honourable place in his kinship group. for him also, competition is important in igbo traditional, social and communal life because a great premium is placed on achievement (p.173). the emphasis on achievement “ensures that everyone answers his name in the affairs of his community” (dimgba, 2024, p.188). indeed for nwala, competition keeps everybody and every group up and doing to retain their rightful place in the igbo scheme of things (p.173). nwala cites chinua achebe's dictum that “no man however great is greater than his people and no man ever won judgement against his clan” to further express the igbo principle of equality and equivalence and the republican spirit that make them distrustful of authority and personal rule over them. accordingly for him; ...the people defend their right to be part of the decision making process … the igbo actually resist too much governing on the part of the rulers. they may not complain very much against the decision of the amala council but personal decisions of the rulers are not always kindly welcomed because it strikes against this premordial republican spirit. they can easily understand a rule which emanates from the community as a whole because they believe that they are part of the system. (nwala, 1985, p.171) indeed, the independence spirit in the igbo makes him to think adequate and proud of himself and so resists being alienated on important decisions about himself and his kinsmen. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 90 unanimity in traditional igbo community in a typical, traditional igbo society, the political units are the ezi (family), the umunna (kindred) and the clan (village). the political system is organised along a web of kinship relations with the kinship head who is usually the oldest man as the leader. usually, the kindred heads are responsible to and represent the interests of their umunna at the amala assembly or council during deliberations. when there are issues of importance, the amala council assembly is assembled through a town crier in the village square. normally, issues discussed are always very fundamental and of common interest to the clan or village. usually, divergent opinions and interests are harmonised and reconciled to ensure common political pursuit. however, and depending on the nature of the issue at hand, some issues that are not agreed upon are postponed to another date. this is usually followed by a period of consultations (igba-izu) during which families or kindreds that are affected may reach out to the other families or kindreds for sympathy and compromise. normally, there is the common attitude to give up rights and conveniences in order to accommodate themselves and thus strengthen their common umunna heritage or kinship ties. f. n. ndubuisi (2002, p.67), captures this dominant attitude of sharing burdens and compromising comforts as the spirit of give and take which he said is at the root of the community's life because everybody is his brother's keeper. whatever happens to one will affect the entire community (kindred) because when one finger touches oil, it stains the rest of the fingers (ozumba, 2002, p.58). nwala reveals that such compromises in some cases may result to certain social or peace treaties or alliances that were often celebrated in formal ritual of blood pact (igba ndu) (p.166). thus, every family or umunna is carried along and differences are harmonised and agreed upon by the various family or kindred heads. the final decisions are generalised and made obligatory for every member of the community. to further ensure compliance, and as a check on deviants, certain invocations or incantations are made by the oldest man believed to be the living representative of the ancestors and the custodian of the customs and the traditions (omenala) of the people with the ofo (the mystic symbol of uprightness, forthrightness and powers of the community) in his (right) hand as a seal and legitimacy of the decisions. usually, the decisions are backed up with sanctions of various sorts and weights. for nwala, this is possible because of the organic nature of the igbo community which is sustained by several forces including common land and communal economic ties, blood relationship and a web of kinship ties. “all who belong to the same community are the umunna. there is also the mythical charter (omenala) which embodies the history and ideology of the political community. the charter stresses their decent from a founding father and the inevitable role of the gods of the community in its founding and protection” (p.167). nwala also cites the communalistic spirit of the traditional system as another factor in interest harmonisation and reconciliation. according to him; since the family or extended family was the basic unit of economic, social and political organisation, and since this unit occupied a given territory with which it economically and spiritually identified … and since every member was organically and socially linked to the rest through blood relationship, stability and justice were easily realisable within the system. (p.173) nwala continues to think that; a lot of social and political values follow easily from this state of affairs. such contemporary modern social problems as exploitation, alienation, victimisation, nepotism and discrimination, poverty in the midst of plenty, etc, were either non existent or where they existed, were inconsequential in affecting the basic democratic igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 91 character of the society. (pp.173 174) on a similar notion, wiredu (1996, p.41), affirms that willingness to live in harmony with each other is characterised by a natural instinct for sympathy for their kind. thus, for wiredu, consensus on the basis of agreement of every interested person makes it impossible that a minority might be excluded in the process of decision making as it obtains in western practice of democracy (p.185). indeed, for nwala, the charter is given practical symbolisation and strengthened by ritual activities many of which are designed to involve the dead members, the gods and the supernatural forces in the daily and seasonal affairs of the community. the rituals are designed “… to give life to what is an abstract idea. they are essential ingredients in social control; a web of customs and traditions and supernatural sanctions” (p.167). nwala continues to inform us that decisions and actions of the community had to be justified and given legitimacy. the justification was based on the welfare of the community and the individuals. usually, the ofo, the legal seal and symbol of authority of the amala must be present during the deliberations of the amala council and used to give legitimacy and sanction to the rules, decisions and laws. every major decision, whether of a legislative or judicial nature has to be reinforced by invoking ndi ichie (the ancestors), ala (the earth goddess) and the gods believed to have interest in the weal and woe of the unit in question. only the ritually pure, the right minded and those of transparent character could expect and received obedience. (p.169) thus, nwala tells us that ritual devices are built up around the political offices of the community in the bid to secure both effectiveness and legitimacy. for nwala, rituals are effective weapons on the traditional imagination. not only do they inspire respect, they inspire fears as well, and individuals very easily obey them. nwala cites ikenna nzimiro on the roles of ritualisation in igbo political system thus: ritualisation of political offices and laws of the state gives substantive forms to otherwise abstract ideas, endows them with an aura and respectability through their mystical force, celebrates their coming into being and their departure; and gives them human basis (even though the man celebrating the ritual may be an agent of the mystical powers). thus, it at the same time puts the offices and the laws beyond human corruption by placing them over and above human being. (p.169) nwala explains that as an aid to the effectiveness of the rituals in securing obedience and social control, sanctions which embodies both supernatural or ritualistic and human are also employed. he further explains that an interesting application of this transcendental notion of politics and government is the conception and attitude of the igbo towards new rules. he cites prof. afigbo as saying that “government and politics are not seen as a means of making new rules or creating new conditions for the life of the community, but merely as a process of making the good old rules function” (p.170). the reason according to nwala is because igbos believe that the ancestors, with the help of the tutelary gods have worked out and ordained at the beginning rules and regulations called the omenala to guide human everyday intersubjective relations. the omenala is the igbo conception of divine, cosmic and social order for social and political control. it is believed to be handed down by the ancestors and dictates and guides all forms of human intersubjective relations with fellow men, the ancestors and the gods. however, it is never allowed to militate absolutely and fatalistically against the interest and welfare of the community otherwise it will be adjusted or changed following certain divinely prescribed procedures and rituals by the community elders and priests. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 92 ontological evaluation of unanimity as a political principle nwala's political theory of unanimity is very classical and impressive. his ideals of political unanimity is a true reflection of the (political) affinity and fraternity characteristic of traditional igbo people of nigeria. it is important to note that the everyday life of the typical, traditional igboman is pervaded in his sense of morality or religiousity. this way, his everyday actions, including political actions, are guided by the desire to keep faith with the entire cosmic existence (ontological structure) as well as create or allow equilibrium among and between all cosmic entities to interplay among themselves so as to create an ontological balance among all existents. indeed for the igbo, all existents belong together and inter relate. in this sense, g. o. ozumba writes that: all existents are bound up into one by a pervading cord that maintains the balance and keeps things in their proper places. for instance, all human beings, spirits and the entire cosmos are seen as being intricately interwoven in a mesh that is called reality. the concomitant of this view is that there are no disparate units all entities are knitted together in a determinate manner. any upsetting of the position of one entity immediately affects the positioning of other entities. (pp.52 -53) here, ozumba agrees with nwala that the igbo political community includes both the living and the dead thus showing that the igbo practice of politics helps in maintaining the ontological balance of the community. the operational mode according to nwala is that every decisions and actions of the community had to be justified and legitimised based on the welfare of the community and individuals through invoking the mythical charter (omelala) binding the community into one organic whole (p.169). thus, unanimity is a natural trait in igbo politics given that no one is left behind both in decision making and distribution of values. every interest is duly considered and included in council representations and agreements. it is in the above sense of (political) inclusivity and collectivism that the ideals of equality and equivalence and brotherhood as the foundation of the igbo politics of unanimity re echoes the igbo aphorism of onye aghala nwanne ya (everybody is his brother's keeper). as both a moral and political principle, onye aghala nwanne ya designates the ideals of communal traits, mutual support and interdependence characteristic of the typical, traditional igbo that strenghtens the assurances of responsibility of welfare and support for one another. the principle negates any form of superiority complex among the umunna (the kindred) so that more than anything else, everybody is his brother's keeper. as ozumba echoes, “he knows that while protecting his brother, he is as well protecting himself. what happens to one happens to all and this makes morality a unanimous affair” (p.56). however, crucial questions still arise from the principle of equality and equivalence and brotherhood that underpins the igbo politics of unanimity. equality and equivalence encourages the igbo consciousness of republicanism, competition and achievement with their inherent challenges of self dependence and pride which ultimately result in individualism, egoism and selfishness in human nature. competition and achievement create (different) political and economic classes such that there were the ogara nya (the wealthy), the ogbenye (the poor), and of course the middle class each having different wavering influences in the political community. given the igbo seated respect for wealth and achievement, differences and disagreements are not entirely absent because they share the same human nature of egoism, selfishness and pride. as c. b. okolo observes, “man is by nature acquisitive. hobbes pessimism depicts man as selfish and egoistic. this anti – social tendencies are in the igbo as in everybody else and have been made worse by the inherited capitalistic values” (p.46). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 93 at any rate, nwala's concept of unanimity underscores the true political orientation of the traditional igbo. his notion of compromises and common agreements based on common heritage of kinship ties is an eloquent testimony of igbo humanism. unanimity and some other political/ethical theories a. unanimity and western democracy political unanimity and western democracy move in parallel lines. western democracy is anchored on the multi-party system and the tyranny of the majority in decision making (omoregbe , 2007, p.40). the minority is constrained to consent to the tyranny of the majority. one obvious problem of western democracy is the overarching burden of individualism and subjectivism that is threatening global humanism. in unanimity, agreements are reached on the basis of compromise and interest harmonisations based on kinship ties. efforts are made to contain the wishes of the majority as well as those of the minority in the process of regulating normal life among brothers (nwala, p. 168). b. unanimity and kwasi wiredu's consensus theory the principle of consensus enunciated by kwasi wiredu is based on natural instinct for sympathy for one's kind and sympathetic impartiality. this means for wiredu, the willingness to allow other opinions even at some possible costs for one's kind on kinship or blood ties. wiredu explains that consensus does not suggest absence of divergent opinions. its emphasis, instead, is the harmonisation of such divergent views after a long period of deliberations in order to arrive at a common agreement (wiredu, p.41). political unanimity and consensus agree both in principle and practice as both emphasise compromise and interest harmonisations and reconciliations based on kinship ties. both principles supposes a kind of ubuntu, which expresses support and solidarity for one's kind in the pursuit of their common fate and common ancestral bonding. conclusion the typical, traditional igbo is communalistic in orientation. his attachment to his umunna depicts a strong tendency for social bonding and mutual interdependence that underpins his sense of brotherhood and belongingness. this sense of brotherhood makes room for their collectivist disposition that compels mutual support and compromises for common political pursuits. it is this willingness for compromise and consensus even at a possible cost for community welfare that nwala captured as political unanimity. that is the true igbo spirit of onye aghala nwanne ya because “everyone must be carried along and no one must be left behind” (dimgba, 2023, p.168). thus, the igbo conceive themselves as one people with one destiny in (one) common ancestral root which everybody is answerable to, that is, the umunna the common umbilical that holds everyone responsive and responsible to the common course of the kindred. indeed, among the igbos, everyone belongs to everyone and no one is alienated, and certainly, no one ever behaves himself bigger or superior to his umunna because the umunna as a bulwark fights the course of everybody. this, is the igbo sense of humanism where everyone is his brother's keeper because when one finger touches oil, all the other fingers are stained. references aristotle. (1962). politics trans. benjamin jowett, middlesex: penguim classics. ndblackburn, s. (2005). oxford dictionary philosophy. 2 . ed. oxford: oxford up. rd david, e. (1981). the political system: inquiry into the state political science, 3 ed. chicago: chicago up. dimgba, a. o. (april, 2024). “ontological evaluation of the impact of political godfatherism in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 94 politics in igboland”, guu journal of humanities, 3(1), 181 – 193. dimgba, a. o. (june, 2023). “an appraisal of kwasi wiredu's ethical theory of consensus” in sapientia journal of philosophy, 18. 160 – 169. harold, l. (2001).who gets what, when and how. johannesburg: witts library. ndubuisi, f. n. (2002). “crime and punishment of an ancient african morality” in footmarks on african philosophy. ed. a. f. uduigwomen, lagos: obaroh and ogbinaka publ. nwala, u. t. (1985). igbo philosophy. lagos: lantern books. okolo, c. b. (1993). african social and political philosophy, selected essays. nsukka: fulladu. omoregbe, j. i. (2007). social – political philosophy and international relations. lagos: joja publishers. ozumba g. o. (2002) “african ethics” in footmarks on african philosophy. ed. a. f. uduigwomen, lagos: obaroh and ogbinaka publ. plato. (1997). republic. trans. john llewely davies and david james vaughan: hertfordshire wordsworth. thomas, a. (1948). summa theologica. bk.1-2, q. 95, a.4.1-2.90a, maryland: christian classics. wiredu, k. (1996).cultural universals and particulars: an african perspective. bloomington: indiana up. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 105 صفات عباد الرحمن في سورة الفرقا the characteristics of servants of the most merciful (alrahman) in surah al-furqan auwalu abdullahi department of islamic studies, faculty of humanities, northwest university, kano auwal013@gmail.com & sani musa ayagi, phd department of islamic studies, bayero university & abba abduhamid dandago yandutse college, kano abbahameed@gmail.com abstract the researchers summarised their study of the noble verses from surah (al-furqan), in which allah almighty describes the servants of the most merciful as possessing humility, forbearance, piety, fear of allah’s punishment, spending in praiseworthy ways, devotion to monotheism, safeguarding themselves and their honor, and repentance. the study highlights that those who embody these qualities will be rewarded with salvation and paradise, while those who reject them will face punishment. it also emphasises the importance of supplication, reliance on allah, and the warning against falsehood concerning allah and his message. the methodology adopted in this research is the analytical-prescriptive approach. the researcher traced the verses in surah (al-furqan) and interpreted them based on the understanding of the righteous predecessors and the noble hadiths. finally, the researcher recommended reading the noble verses of surah (alfurqan 63-77) and applying them in daily life, as they can help improve behaviour, foster positive thinking, and strengthen one’s relationship with allah and others. المستخلص: لخص الباحث، بحثه المتواضع اآليات الكريمة من سورة الفرقان، حيث وصف هللا تعالى عباد الرحمن بالتواضع، واإلحتمال، والتقوى، والخوف من عذاب هللا، واإلنفاق في المحمودة، والتوحيد، والحفاظ على النفس والعرض، والتوبة، ويشير إلى أن من لجنة، بينما من يخالف يخالفها سيعاقَب بالعذاب، ويُؤّكدُ على أهمية الدعاء والتوكل على يتبع هذه الصفات سيجزى بالسالمة وا هللا، والتحذير من كذب على هللا ورسالته. ومنهج المتّبعة في هذا البحث: هو منهج الوصي التحليلي، قد تتبع الباحث اآليات في الشريفة. وأخيًرا أوصى الباحث بقراءة اآليات الكريمة من سورة الفرقان وتفسيره على حسب فهم صلف الصالح، واألحاديث ( وتطبيقها في الحياة اليومية، يمكن أن تساعد في تحسين السلوق والتفكير اإليجابي وتعزيز العالقة مع هللا 77-63سورة الفرقان ) واآلخرين. بسم هللا الرحمن الرحيم مقدمة البحث: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 106 الحمدهلل الكريم المنان الذى بمنه وكرمه خلق اإلنسان وأعطاه النطق السليم وعلمه البيان وامره بقوله الذى ال عوج فيه وال شنان فصالته وسالمه على خير خلقه محمد من ساللة عدنان القائل )كلكم راع وكلكم مسؤول عن رعيته( وعلى آله وصحبه المتعطرين فى كل مكان. أما بعد: إن سورة الفرقان هي إحدى السور المباركة في القرآن الكريم، وتحتوي على العديد من اآليات التي تصف صفات عباد الرحمن. هذه الصفات هي مميزات يجب أن يتصف بها كل مسلم، لكي يحقق الجنة والسالم. في هذا البحث، سنقوم بدراسة صفات عباد دراسة بمثابة مرجع هام لمن يريد أن يتعرف على هذه الصفات ويطبقها في حياته. الرحمن في سورة الفرقان، وستكون هذه ال سنقوم بتحليل اآليات الكريمة التي تصف صفات عباد الرحمن، وستكون هذه التحليالت بمثابة أساس للبحث. كما سنقوم بتقديم بعض التوصيات العملية التي يمكن أن تساعد في تطبيق صفات عباد الرحمن في الحياة اليومية. شرح عناصر الموضوع: شيء خصائص ذكر أي "وصف" الفعت من مشتقة وهي "صفة"، جمع هي اللغة: في الصفات معنى .15أوحالته واما في اصطالحا: الصفات لغةً من الّصفة وهو الحالة التي يكون عليها الشيء من نعته وحليته، وهي عند النحويين الكلمة التي تعطي داللة على معنى يضاف إلى االسم لتدل على حالة له وهي النعت، واسم المفعول، واسم .16الفاعل، والصفة المشبهة، واسم التفضيل التقوى يتحلون بصفات الذين الصالحون المؤمنون هم الرحمن" "عباد الشرعي: في اصطالح كلمة واما .18. عباد الرحمن؛ هم عباد من عباد هللا تعالى نسبهم إليه وإلى اسمه الرحمن 17والورع.. سبب نزول سورة الفرقان: نزلت سورة الفرقان في السنة العاشرة من البعثة، في الفترة بين الهجرة إلى الحبشة وحادثة اإلسراء والمعراج، نزول هذه وقد ُوصفت هذه الفترة بعُنف وقَسوة المشركين؛ للقضاء على الدعوة وات ّباع كافة السُّبل لتحقيق ذلك، فكان 19السورة بمثابة مؤازرةٍ لرسول هللا وتطمينه، وتثبيته في مواجهة وصدّ كيد المشركين. ُسول يَأُْكُل ومّما يُظهر ذلك عندما عيّر المشركون رسول هللا ب فَْقره، حيث قال هللا تعالى: )َوقَالُوا َمال َهـذَا الرَّ يًرا(، َل إ لَْيه َملٌَك فَيَُكوَن َمعَهُ نَذ ي ف ي اأْلَْسَواق لَْواَل أُنز الطَّعَاَم َويَْمش فحزن رسول هللا لذلك فواساه هللا تعالى بقوله: )َوَما 20 َن اْلُمْرَسل يَن إ الَّ إ نَُّهْم لَيَأُْكلُوَن الطَّعَاَم َويَْمُشوَن ف ي اأْلَْسَواق َوَجعَْلنَا بَ ْعَضُكْم ل بَْعٍض ف تْنَةً أَتَْصب ُروَن َوَكاَن َربَُّك أَْرَسْلنَا قَْبلََك م يًرا(. بَص 21 ‘22 كما أّن هللا تعالى قد عرض على رسول هللا إعطاءه خزائن السموات واألرض دون أن يُنقص من ذلك شيئاً ن تَْحت هَ ي م ن ذَل َك َجنَّاٍت تَْجر ّ ي إ ن َشاَء َجعََل لََك َخْيًرا م ا اأْلَْنَهاُر َويَْجعَل مّما له عنده تعالى، حيث قال تعالى: ﴿تَبَاَرَك الَّذ 24إاّل أّن رسول هللا أراد أن يجمع له هللا ذلك في اآلخرة. 23ا﴾، لََّك قُُصورً التعريف بسورة الفرقان آياتها سبع وسبعين، وكلماتها ثمانمئة واثنتين تعدُّ سورة الفرقان من السور المجَمع بأنَّها مكيّة، وتبلغ عدد وسبعين، وحروفها ثالثة آالف وسبعمئة وثالث وثالثين، وكان نزولها في السنة العاشرة من البعثة كما أشير إلى ذلك 25مسبقاً. بيروت. -(، لسان العرب، دار صادر711ابن المنظر) 15 .)( 27-11-2017تعريف ومعنى صفات هللا تعالى "، المعاني لكل رسم معنى، اّطلع عليه بتاريخ 16 من سورة الفرقان. 63ابن كثير)(، "تفسير القرآن الظيم" عند تفسير األية 17 .29عبد الرحمن حبنكة ، صفات عباد الرحمن فى القرآن دراسة فى طريق التفسير الموضوعي، صفحة 18 .6، جزء 105(، بيروت: دار التقريب بين المذاهب اإلسالمية ، صفحة 1(، الموسوعة القرآنية، )الطبعة 1420جعفر شرف الدين ) 19 7الفرقان، آية: 20 20الفرقان، آية: 21 .192الثقافية، صفحة (، بيروت: مؤسسة الكتب 1(، أسباب النزول )الطبعة 1422السيوطي ) 22 .10الفرقان، آية: 23 . 332(، الدمام:دار االصالح، صفحة 2(، أسباب نزول القرآن )الطبعة 1412الواحدي ) 24 .1، جزء 340(، بصائر ذوي التمييز في لطائف الكتاب العزيز، القاهرة:المجلس األعلى للشئون اإلسالمية، صفحة 1416الفيروز آبادي ) 25 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 107 موضوعات سورة الفرقان: يأتي: ما الفرقان منها تناولتها سورة دّة موضوعات ع عليه 26هناك والثناء تعالى الحديث عن وحدانية هللا 27وتمجيده، وبيان صفاته سبحانه وتعالى، . والحديث عن أعمال الكافرين بكونها ُمهدرةٌ باطلةٌ كالسراب يوم القيامة. ّي واالقتداء باألنبياء وقصصهم. 28والحديث عن إنكار المشركين للبعث وليوم القيامة. مؤازرة 29الدعوة والحّث على التأس وعلى هذا يتضح لنا أن سورة الفرقان 30رسول هللا صلّى هللا عليه وسلّم وتأييده وتطمينه وثبيته في مواجهة المشركين. قد تناولت عدة مواضيع منها: وحدانية هللا تعالى وثناء عليه وتمجيده و وصفات عباد الرحمن وغير ذلك كما ذكرناه عانفا. صفات عباد الرحمن: كانت الحضارة اإلنسانية الربانية التي لم يعرف تاريخ البشرية لها مثيالً نتيجة تطبيق عباد الرحمن لشرائع ربهم. فكان نتيجة المنهج الرباني الذي أنزله هللا على رسوله صلّى هللا عليه وسلّم الفئة المؤمنة من عباد الرحمن التي قان: حيث قال هللا تعالى:تتحدث عنها اآليات الكريمة في آخر سورة الفر بسم هللا الرحمن الرحيم لُوَن قَالُوا َساَلًما ﴿ يَن يَْمُشوَن َعلَى اأْلَْرض َهْونًا َوإ ذَا َخاَطبَُهُم اْلَجاه ْحَمن الَّذ بَادُ الرَّ دًا َوق يَاًما ۋَوع ْم ُسجَّ يَن يَب يتُوَن ل َربّ ه ې َوالَّذ ْف َعنَّا َعذَاَب َجَهنََّم إ نَّ َعذَابََها َكاَن َغَراًما يَن يَقُولُوَن َربَّنَا اْصر ا َوُمقَاًما ۇئَوالَّذ يَن إ ذَا أَْنفَقُوا ېئ إ نََّها َساَءْت ُمْستَقَرًّ َوالَّذ فُوا َولَْم يَْقتُُروا َوَكاَن بَْيَن ذَل َك قََواًما إ الَّ َمْن تَاَب ڦ يَُضاَعْف لَهُ اْلعَذَاُب يَْوَم اْلق يَاَمة َويَْخلُدْ ف يه ُمَهانًا ٹْلَق أَثَاًما َمئلَْم يُْسر يًما ُ َغفُوًرا َرح ْم َحَسنَاٍت َوَكاَن َّللاَّ ُ َسيّ ئَات ه ُل َّللاَّ َل َعَماًل َصال ًحا فَأُولَئ َك يُبَدّ َل َصال ًحا فَإ نَّهُ ڍَوآَمَن َوَعم َوَمْن تَاَب َوَعم َراًما ڑ يَتُوُب إ لَى َّللاَّ َمتَابًا وا ك وا ب اللَّْغو َمرُّ وَر َوإ ذَا َمرُّ يَن اَل يَْشَهدُوَن الزُّ ْم لَْم ۋَوالَّذ ُروا ب آيَات َربّ ه يَن إ ذَا ذُّك َوالَّذ ا َوُعْميَانًا وا َعلَْيَها ُصمًّ رُّ يَن يَقُولُوَن َربَّنَا َهْب لَ ٹيَخ ْلُمتَّق يَن إ َماًما َوالَّذ ةَ أَْعيٍُن َواْجعَْلنَا ل يَّات نَا قُرَّ نَا َوذُّر ْن أَْزَواج أُولَئ َك ۓنَا م يَّةً َوَساَلًما ا َوُمقَاًما ۈيُْجَزْوَن اْلغُْرفَةَ ب َما َصبَُروا َويُلَقَّْوَن ف يَها تَح يَن ف يَها َحُسنَْت ُمْستَقَرًّ قُْل َما يَْعبَأُ ب ُكْم َربّ ي لَْواَل ۉَخال د .﴾ۇئ دَُعاُؤُكْم فَقَدْ َكذَّْبتُْم فََسْوَف يَُكوُن ل َزاًما هذه الآليات هي المقطع األخيرة في سورة الفرقان، وجاءت على أربعة أقسام: لُوَن : قسم من التحلي بالكماالت الدينية، وهي قوله: ﴿أولا يَن يَْمُشوَن َعلَى اأْلَْرض َهْونًا َوإ ذَا َخاَطبَُهُم اْلَجاه الَّذ .31﴾قَالُوا َساَلًما ا إ لًَها آَخَر َواَل : وقسم من التخلى عن ضالالت أهل الشرك، وهي قوله: ﴿ثانيا يَدُْعوَن َمَع َّللاَّ يَن اَل َوالَّذ ُ إ الَّ ب اْلَحّق َواَل يَْزنُوَن َم َّللاَّ .32﴾يَْقتُلُوَن النَّْفَس الَّت ي َحرَّ ا دًا َوق يَاًما : وقسم اإلستقامة على شرائع اإلسالم، وهي قوله: ﴿ثالثا ْم ُسجَّ يَن يَب يتُوَن ل َربّ ه يَن يَقُولُوَن ې َوالَّذ َوالَّذ ْف َعنَّا َعذَاَب َجَهنََّم إ نَّ َعذَابََها َكاَن َغَراًما ا َوُمقَاًماۇئ َربَّنَا اْصر فُوا َولَْم ېئ إ نََّها َساَءْت ُمْستَقَرًّ يَن إ ذَا أَْنفَقُوا لَْم يُْسر َوالَّذ ُ إ الَّ ب اْلَحّق وَ مئيَْقتُُروا َوَكاَن بَْيَن ذَل َك قََواًما َم َّللاَّ يَن اَل يَدُْعوَن َمَع َّللاَّ إ لًَها آَخَر َواَل يَْقتُلُوَن النَّْفَس الَّت ي َحرَّ اَل يَْزنُوَن َوالَّذ َل َعَماًل َصال ًحا ڦ يَُضاَعْف لَهُ اْلعَذَاُب يَْوَم اْلق يَاَمة َويَْخلُدْ ف يه ُمَهانًاٹ ل َك يَْلَق أَثَاًما َوَمْن يَْفعَْل ذَ إ الَّ َمْن تَاَب َوآَمَن َوَعم يًما ُ َغفُوًرا َرح ْم َحَسنَاٍت َوَكاَن َّللاَّ ُ َسيّ ئَات ه ُل َّللاَّ َل َصال ًحا فَإ نَّهُ يَتُوُب إ لَى َّللاَّ َمتَابًاڍ فَأُولَئ َك يُبَدّ يَن ڑ َوَمْن تَاَب َوَعم َوالَّذ َراًما وا ك وا ب اللَّْغو َمرُّ وَر َوإ ذَا َمرُّ .33﴾ اَل يَْشَهدُوَن الزُّ ا يَن يَقُولُوَن َربَّنَا َهْب لَنَا : وقسم تطلب الزيادة من صالح الحال، وهي قوله: ﴿رابعا يَّات نَا َوالَّذ نَا َوذُّر ْن أَْزَواج م ْلُمتَّق يَن إ َماًما ةَ أَْعيٍُن َواْجعَْلنَا ل 34. 74﴾. الفرقان: قُرَّ . 18، جزء 314(، التحرير والتنوير، تونس:الدار التونسية، صفحة 1984ابن عاشور ) 26 . 19، جزء 6(، دمشق:دار الفكر، صفحة 2(، التفسير المنير في العقيدة والشريعة والمنهج )الطبعة 1418وهبة الزحيلي ) 27 . 2، جزء 1785(، دمشق:دار الفكر، صفحة 1(، التفسير الوسيط )الطبعة 1422وهبة الزحيلي ) 28 . 1797مصدر السابق: 29 . 7، جزء 3831(، القاهرة:دار السالم، صفحة 6(، األساس في التفسير )الطبعة 1424سعيد حوى ) 30 . 63الفرقان: 31 . 68الفرقان: 32 . 72-64الفرقان: 33 .67البن عاشور، التحرير والتنور: 34 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 108 ا: وَر ﴿ وقسم من اتصف بحسن األخالق ويصونون أوقاتهم عن الضياع والعبث: خامسا يَن اَل يَْشَهدُوَن الزُّ َوالَّذ َراًما وا ك وا ب اللَّْغو َمرُّ . 72﴾ الفرقان َوإ ذَا َمرُّ وجاءت هذه الصفات من خالل احدى عشر ُخلقاً هي من أسس األخالق اإلسالمية، وهي: .التواضع .1 .والحلم .2 .قيام الليل .3 والخوف )الخشية من عذاب هللا(. .4 وترك اإلسراف واإلقتار)اإلقتصادي(. .5 .والبعد عن الشرك .6 .واجتناب القتل .7 .والنزاهة عن الزنى .8 .والتوبة .9 والتأثر بآيات القران: .10 الدعاء بصالح األزواج والذرية:. .11 :يجدر بنى أن نلقي نظرة مفصلة مختصرة على كل صفة من صفات عباد الرحمن، لكي نستفيد منها ونطبقها في حياتنا اليومية أول: التواضع: جل: م، َوَضعَةً، ب الفَتْح : أي أزلها. وتََوَضع الرَّ إذا معنى التواضع، لغة: يقال وَضَع فاُلٌن نَْفَسهُ َوْضعاً، وُوُضوعاً ب الضَّ 35تذَلََّل، وقيل: ذَلَّ وتخاضع. ق يل: رضا اإلنسان بمنزلة دون ما يستحقه فضله ومنزلته. وهو وسط بين الكبر واما معنى التواضع في اصطالحا: 36والضعفة، فالضعفة: وضع اإلنسان نفسه مكانا يزرى به بتضييع حقه، والكبر: رفع نفسه فوق قدره. يَن يَْمُشوَن َعلَى اأْلَْرض َهْونًا التّواضع من أجّل الّصفات وأكرمها، وقد وصف هللا تعالى عباده بهذ الّصفة وقال: ﴿ ﴾. الَّذ يَن يَْمُشوَن َعلَى اأْلَْرض َهْونًا ﴾؛ أي: بسكينة 37ووقار من غير جبرية وال استكبار.قال اإلمام ابن كثير رحمه هللا: قوله تعالى: ﴿ الَّذ وأما التواضع في حديث الشريف: روى مسلم عن أبي هريرة رضي هللا عْنه، عن رسول هللا صلى هللا عليه وسلّم قال: ما نقصت صدقة من مال، وما زاد ا، وما تواضع أحد هلل إال رفعه هللا. 38هللا عبدًا بعفو إال عزًّ ثانيا: والحلم: الف الطَّيش والسَّفه، وحلمُت عنه أحلم، فأنا َحليم، وَحلُم الرجل وتحلَّم؛ أي: تكلَّف ْلم لغة: األناة وترك العَجلة، وهو خ الح ْلم. 39الح لم اصطالًحا، فهو الطُّمأنينة والسكون، وضبط النفس والطبع عند َسْورة الغضب مع القدرة والقوة، وقيل: هو تأخير مكافأة أما الح قّ ها بجناية في حّقٍ ُمستَعَظم. الظالم، وقيل: هو احتمال األعلى األذى من األدنى، ورْفع الُمؤاخذة عن ُمستح 40 إساءة الجهَّال عليهم، والعفو عن َسفَه الحلَم عن فذكر من خصالهم وأخالقهم الرحمن، تعالى على عباد أثنى هللا قد يَن اْلغَْيَظ َواْلعَاف يَن َعن 41﴾ ۆ ۆ ۈ ۈ ٴۇالمسيء إليهم، فقال تعالى: ﴿ م ، وقال تعالى في سرد صفات المتقين: ﴿ َواْلَكاظ ن يَن ﴾ بُّ اْلُمْحس ُ يُح .42النَّاس َوَّللاَّ . 343\22مرتضى الزبيدي، تاج العروس، 35 .299األصفحاني، الذريعة إلى مكارم الشريعة، ص 36 .121، ص6تفسير ابن كثير، جـ 37 .69مسلم، حديث 38 ابن فارس، الصحاح للجوهري، ومقاييس اللغة ، مادة: حلم 39 .294؛ والتوقيف على مهمات التعاريف للمناوي ص635؛ والكليات ألبي البقاء ص125؛ والتعريفات ص129: 1مفردات الراغب 40 . 63الفرقان 41 ١٣٤آل عمران: 42 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 109 والحلم عن إساءة المسيء واإلعراض عنه عند َسورة الغضب، قوة ليس ضعفًا، فقد قال النبي صلى هللا عليه وسلّم: يد الذي يَْمل ك نفسه عند الغضب( ، وعندما جاء رجل إلى النبي صلى هللا عليه وسلّم، 43)ليس الشَّديد بالصُّرعة؛ إنما الشَّد ني، قال:)ال تغضب(، فردَّد مراًرا، قال: )ال تغضب(. 44وقال له: أوص ا: قيام الليل: ثالثا ف بأنّه: الوقت الُممتدّ من غروب الشمس إلى طلوع الفَْجر الصادق من القيام في اللغة ضدّ الجلوس، أّما الليل في اللغة، فهو يُعرَّ 45اليوم التالي. ف قيام الليل في االصطالح الشرعّي بأنّه: قضاء الليل، أو جزٍء منه حتى وإن كانت ساعةً بالصالة، أو غيرها من العبادات؛ يُعرَّ إذ ال يُشتَرط في القيام أن يكون طوال الليل، وقال ابن عبّاس رضي هللا عنهما إّن قيام الليل يكون أيضاً بأداء صالة لى أداء صالة الصُّبح جماعةً أيضاً؛ استدالالً بما أخرجه اإلمام ُمسلم في صحيحه عن عثمان العشاء جماعةً، والعَزم ع َشاَء ف ي َجَماَعٍة فََكأَنََّما قَاَم ن ْصَف ال لَّْيل، َوَمْن بن عفان َرضي هللا عنه، أّن النبّي عليه الصالة والسالم قال: )َمْن َصلَّى اْلع ْبَح ف ي َجَماَعةٍ يُعَدّ قيام الليل من النوافل، وهو ُسنّةٌ ُمؤكَّدةٌ أمَر هللا بها نبيَّه محّمداً 46فََكأَنََّما َصلَّى اللَّْيل ُكلَّهُ(. َصلَّى الصُّ 47صلّى هللا عليه وسلّم. ْم يَن يَب يتُوَن ل َرب ّه إّن عباد الّرحمن ليسوا كغيرهم؛ فهم يُمضون اللّيل ساجدين قائمين، يقول فيهم هللا تعالى: ﴿َوالَّذ دًا َوق يَاًما ﴾ ُسجَّ ، ومن المعلوم أّن وقت اللّيل يخلد فيه النّاس للّراحة والّسكون بعد التّعب، لكّن عباد الرحمن آثروا القيام 48 على الّراحة وتركوا فراشهم الدافئ ليتلذّذوا بمناجاة الخالق، فيكون بذلك قيامهم وسجودهم وذكرهم دليالً على صدق 49إيمانهم وإخالصهم ومحبّتهم هلل تعالى. 50قال رسول هللا صلى هللا عليه وسلّم: يا عبدهللا ال تكن مثل فاُلٍن؛ كان يقوم الليَل، فترك قيام الليل!. ا: والخوف )الخشية من عذاب هللا(: رابعا .52والفََزعْ 51لخوف لغة: أصل الكلمة: الخاء، والواو، والفاء ) خوف( أصل واحد يدل على الذعر؛ الّرجاء و الطمع توقّع محبوب : توقّع مكروه عن أمارة مظنونة، أو معلومة، كما أنّ اَْلَخْوفُ واما اصطالحا: .53عن أمارة مظنونة، أو معلومة، و يضادّ الخوف األمن، و يستعمل ذلك في األمور الدنيوية واألخروية يظّل عباد الّرحمن في خوف دائم من عذاب هللا تعالى وسخطه، فيطلبون منه ويرجونه النّجاة من عذاب النّار، ْف َعنَّا َعذَاَب َجَهنََّم إ نَّ َعذَابََها َكاَن َغَراًما﴾ يَن يَقُولُوَن َربَّنَا اْصر ، فهم في خوف ورجاء دائماً، 54قال هللا تعالى فيهم: ﴿َوالَّذ تعالى ما يتمتّعون به من األخالق الفاضلة وهذا الخوف إنما هو جزء من اإليمان، وقد جاء دعاؤهم هذا بعد أن ذكر هللا وتواضعهم مع النّاس، وقربهم من هللا عّزوجل ومناجاته، وبعد ذلك ذكر خوفهم من هللا؛ ليبيّن لنا أّن اعتمادهم كلّه على العذاب خالقهم في أن ينجيهم من عذاب جهنّم ال على أعمالهم، العذاب الذّي وصفه هللا تعالى بالغَرام بفتح الغين؛ أي 55الّشديد والثّقيل المالزم لصاحبه. قالت عائشة: يا رسول هللا أهو الذي يزني، ويسرق، ويشرب الخمر وهو يخاف هللا عزَّ وجّل؟ فقال لها: "ال يا بنت .56الصديق، ولكنه الذي يصلي ويصوم ويتصدق وهو مع ذلك يخاف هللا عزَّ وجّل" ا: وترك اإلسراف واإلقتار )اإلقتصادي(: خامسا .عن أبي هريرة رضي هللا عنه 2609؛ ومسلم في البر والصلة واآلداب برقم 5763أخرجه البخاري في األدب برقم 43 .5765أخرجه البخاري في األدب برقم 44 .34، جزء 117وزارة األوقاف، الموسوعة الفقهية الكويتية )الطبعة األولى(، صفحة 45 .656مسلم، 46 .532(، مختصر الفقه اإلسالمي في ضوء القرآن والسنة ، صفحة 2010محمد بن إبراهيم التويجري ) 47 . 64الفرقان: 48 200(، بيروت:دار الكتب العلمية، صفحة 1(، تفسير ابن باديس في مجالس التذكير من كالم الحكيم الخبير )الطبعة 1995عبد الحميد بن باديس ) 49 235 . (. 1159إمام البخاري، صحيح البخاري ) 50 . 336إبن فارس ، المقاييس في اللغة، ص: 51 مصدر السابق. 52 . 303األصفحاني، مفردات ألفاظ القرآن، ص 53 . 65الفرقان: 54 . 783(، دمشق:دار القلم، صفحة 1(، الوجيز )الطبعة 1415علي الواحدي ) 55 (. 3175أخرجه الترمذي في كتاب التفسير ) 56 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 110 واالسراف لغة: مصدر من أسرف اسرافاً، والسرف اسم منه، يقال أسرف في ماله: عّجل عليه من غير قصد، وأصل 57هذه المادة يدل على تعدي الحد، واالغفال أيضاً للشيء. 58وقال علي ابن أبي طالب َرضي هللا عنه: "كل ما زاد على االقتصاد اسراف". فُوا َولَْم يَْقتُُروا َوَكاَن بَْيَن ذَل َك قََواًما﴾، يَن إ ذَا أَنفَقُوا لَْم يُْسر فهم أيضاً يتوّسطون في النّفقة، فال يُسرفوا إسرافاً 59قال هللا تعالى: ﴿َوالَّذ زائداً بغير وجه حّق، وال يقتروا ويبخلوا ويمنعوا حقوق هللا تعالى وحقوق العباد، إنّما يكونون قواماً بين ذلك ُمعتدلين 60بال إفراط وال تفريط. وصف أصحاب محمد صلى هللا عليه وسلّم أنهم كانوا ال يأكلون طعاماً للتنعم واللذة، وال يلبسون ثوباً للجمال والزينة، بل كانوا يأكلون ما يسد الجوعة، ويعين على العبادة، ويلبسون ما يستر العورة، ويكّن من الحر والقر، قال عمر رضي هللَا .61ال يشتهي الرجل شيئاً إال اشتراه فأكلهعنه: كفى سرفاً أن ا: والبعد عن الشرك )إخالص العبودية هلل وحده(: سادسا ّرك في اللُّغة هو: ات ّخاذ الشَّريك والن ّد، ويكون ذلك بأن يُجعل أحدٌ شريكاً ألحٍد آخر إّما من الناس أو غيرهم، الش ومنه الشركة: حيث إّن الشركة تقوم على تشاُرك مجموعة من األشخاص بملك عقاٍر واحد، أو مؤّسسٍة واحدة، ويُقال: 62ك في أمره غيره إذا جعل ذلك األمر الثنين. أشرك بينهما إذا جعلهما اثنين، أو أشر ْرُك باهلل هو أن يُجعََل له َشريٌك(. 63واما في اصطالحا: قال ابُن قُتَيبةَ : )الّش 64 من صفة عبادالرحمن أنّهم ُمخلصون هلل تعالى وحده في عبادتهم ودعائهم له، وال يُشركون معه أحداً، قال هللا يَن ال يَدُْعوَن َمَع َّللاَّ إ لهاً آَخَر﴾؛ تعالى: ﴿َوالَّذ فعباد الرحمن يعلمون أّن الّشرك من أعظم الذّنوب وأقبحها، وال يصّح 65 66إيمان من جعل هلل تعالى ندّاً أو شريكاً. كما نص عليه حديث رسول هللا صلى هللا عليه وسلّم، فعن عبد هللا بن مسعود َرضي هللا عنه أنه سأل رسول هللا صلى هللا عليه وسلّم أي الذنب أعظم عند هللا؟ قال: "أن تدعو هلل نداً وهو خلقك، قال: ثم أي؟ قال: أن تقتل ولدك مخافة أن .67يلة جارك"يطعم معك، قال: ثم أي؟ قال: أن تزني بحل ا: واجتناب القتل: سابعا وقال الراغب األصفهاني: "أصل القتل 68القتل لغة: أصل مادة )قتل( تدل على إذالٍل وإماتٍة. وهما معنيان متقاربان. 69إزالة الروح عن الجسد كالموت، لكن إن اعتبر بفعل المتولي لذلك يقال: قتٌل، وإذا اعتبر بفوت الحياة يقال: موٌت". 70واما اصطالحا: عرف القتل بتعريفات عدة منها ما ذكره السيوطي أنه "فعل في محل يتعقبه زهوق روح المقتول به". إّن من أعظم الذّنوب بعد اإلشراك باهلل تعالى هو قتل النّفس البشرية بغير حّق، وهذا ما ال يفعله مؤمن حقيقي ،﴾ إ الَّ ب اْلَحق ّ ُ َم َّللاَّ الَّت ي َحرَّ ووجه الحّق هنا يراد به 71وال يتّصف به عباد الّرحمن، قال هللا تعالى: ﴿َوال يَْقتُلُوَن النَّْفَس 72القصاص، فال ُمسّوغ للقتل في الّشريعة اإلسالمية إاّل القصاص. .15الشيخ محمد علي األنصاري: دراسة حول االسراف في الكتاب والسنة، ص 57 .359مركز األبحاث االسالمية، تصنيف غرر الحكم ودرر الكلم ، ص 58 . 67الفرقان: 59 . 10، جزء 58عبد الكريم الخطيب، التفسير القرآني للقرآن، القاهرة: دار الفكر العربي، صفحة 60 .71/ 2أخرجه عبد الرزاق في تفسيره: 61 .2017-3-28محمد صالح المنجد، "ما هي حقيقة الشرك وما هي أقسامه"، اإلسالم سؤال وجواب، اّطلع عليه بتاريخ 62 د، وأديب لغوّي، وقد هو أبو محمد عبدهللا بن مسلم بن قتيبة الدينورّي، ويُعَرف بابن قتيبة، وهو أحد أعالم القرن الثالث الهجرّي، فهو عالم، وفقيه، وناق 63 نّه ُول د في مدينة بغداد، ولكّن اختلفت المصادر التاريخيّة في تحديد يوم والدته؛ فمنها ما ذهب إلى أنّه ُول د في مدينة الكوفة، ومنها ما ذهب إلى أ هـ.213الرأي الراجح أنّه ُول د سنة .27ابن قتيبة، غريب القرآن، ص: 64 . 72الفرقان 65 . 17، جزء 10517(، تفسير الشعراوي، صفحة 1997محمد الشعراوي ) 66 .17/ 5؛ والترمذي، كتاب التفسير: 63/ 1؛ ومسلم، باب كون الشرك أقبح الذنوب: 34/ 8رواه البخاري، كتاب الديات: 67 .٥/٥٦مقاييس اللغة، ابن فارس 68 . ٣٩٣الراغب األصفهاني ، المفردات، ص 69 .٨٥السيوطي ، مقاليد العلوم، ص 70 . 72الفرقان: 71 . 17، جزء 10517(، تفسير الشعراوي، صفحة 1997محمد الشعراوي ) 72 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 111 القتل، ألنها فيها النفس في حاالت تستحق إال المعصومة النفس قتل اإلسالم أزال لقد حرم ما الجرائر ارتكبت من عصمتها، وقد أخبر رسول هللا صلى هللا عليه وسلّم عن هذه الحاالت التي تهدر فيها النفس فتستحق القتل، بقوله: "ال يحل دم امرئ مسلم يشهد أن ال إله إال هللا وأني رسول هللا إال بإحدى ثالث: الثيّب الزاني، والنفس بالنفس، والتارك لدينه .73ق للجماعة" المفار ا: والنزاهة عن الزنى: ثامنا وأشهر معانيها الفاحشة المعروفة، والّزنا يمدّ ويقصر، يقال: 74تطلق مادة )ز ن ي( على معاٍن مختلفة غير متداخلة. . والمرأة تزاني مزاناةً وزناء أي:تباغي. نائ يٌّ ، وإلى الممدود ز يٌّ نَو 75زنى يزني زنًا وزناًء، والنسبة إلى المقصور ز ؛ أو من غير نكاح وال شبهة نكاح، أو إيالج فرج في 76ومعنى االصطالحي: هو الوطء في قبٍل خاٍل عن ملٍك وشبهةٍ فرج مشتهى طبعًا محرم قطعًا. 77 عباد الرحمن ال يقعون بالباطل والكبائر ككبيرة الّزنا، ويحرصون على تحصين فروجهم، قال هللا تعالى: ﴿َوال يَْزنُوَن﴾ يَْشَهدُوَن 78 ﴿الَ تعالى: قال هللا باإلقرار، أو بالعمل، أو بالقول، أشكاله سواًء بكّل الباطل يَجتنبون أنّهم ، كما وَر﴾ 80، أي أنَّهم ال يُقّرون بالباطل أبداً. 79الزُّ إضاعة األنساب، وانتهاك إن الزنا من أعظم الذنوب بعد الشرك باهلل، فقد قرنه هللا بالشرك، وقتل النفس، لما فيه من الحرمات، وإشعال العداوة والبغضاء بين الناس، من إفساد كل منهم امرأة صاحبه، أو ابنته، أو أخته، وفي ذلك خراب للعالم، ولهذا كان الزاني المحصن من الثالثة الذين أحل هللا دماءهم، روى البخاري ومسلم من حديث عبد هللا بن مسعود: عليه وسلّم قال: "ال يحل دم امرئ مسلم يشهد أن ال إله إال هللا وأني رسول هللا إال بإحدى ثالث: الثيب أن النبي صلى هللا . وقد توعده النبي صلى هللا عليه وسلّم حين قال: "ال يزني 81الزاني، والنفس بالنفس، والتارك لدينه المفارق للجماعة" .82الزاني حين يزني وهو مؤمن" ولذلك أخذ النبي صلى هللا عليه وسلّم البيعة من أصحابه على أن ال يقعوا في هذه الفاحشة، روى البخاري ومسلم من حديث عبادة بن الصامت: أن النبي صلى هللا عليه وسلّم قال وحوله عصابة من أصحابه: "بايعوني على أن ال تشركوا .83باهلل شيئًا، وال تسرقوا، وال تزنوا" ا: والتوبة: تاسعا التوبة لغة: توب: التّاء والواو والباء كلمةٌ واحدةٌ تدّل على الّرجوع. يقال: تاب من ذنبه، أي رجع عنه، يتوب 3.84إلى َّللّا توبةً ومتابًا، فهو تائٌب. والتّوب: التّوبة. قال َّللّا تعالى: ﴿َوقَاب ل التَّْوب غافر﴾ سورة الغافر معنى االصطالحي: التوبة في الشرع: الرجوع عن األفعال المذمومة إلى الممدوحة؛ والتوبة النصوح: أال يبقي على ا وجهًرا . قال الطبري رحمه هللا: "التوبة من العبد إلى ربه: إنابته إلى طاعته، وأوبته إلى 85عمله أثًرا من المعصية، سرًّ ما يرضيه بتركه ما يسخطه من األمور التي كان عليها مقيًما مما يكرهه ربه، فكذلك توبة هللا على عبده هو أن يرزقه العفو والصفح ع العقوبة إلى التعريف في االصطالح ال 86نه"ذلك، ويتوب من غضبه عليه إلى الرضا عنه، ومن . يخرج عن معناه في اللغة. / 5؛ وصحيح مسلم، باب ما يباح به دم المسلم: 38/ 8رواه الشيخان: انظر صحيح البخاري، كتاب الديات، باب قول هللا تعالى: ) أَنَّ النَّْفَس ب النَّْفس (: 73 106 . .٣/٢٦ابن فارس ، مقاييس اللغة، 74 ١١٥الجرجاني ، التعريفات، ص 75 .١١٥التعريفات، الجرجاني ص 76 .٢/٤٣٣الهداية في شرح بداية المبتدي، المرغيناني 77 . 72الفرقان: 78 . 73الفرقان: 79 .1، جزء 40(، مكة المكرمة:دار عالم الفوائد، صفحة 1(، جامع المسائل )الطبعة 1432أحمد بن تيمية ) 80 (. ١٦٧٦(، ومسلم برقم )٦٨٧٨البخاري برقم ) 81 (.٥٧(، وصحيح مسلم برقم )٦٨٠٩صحيح البخاري برقم ) 82 (. ١٧٠٩(، ومسلم برقم )١٨البخاري برقم ) 83 .٣٥٧، اييس اللغة، / ١ابن فارس 84 .٧٠الجرجاني ص ، التعريفات، 85 . ٥٨٧/ ١الطبري، جامع البيان، 86 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 112 وقد كانت للصحابة الكرام مواقف عجيبة في توبتهم، ورجوعهم إلى هللا واستقامتهم، فكان الواحد منهم إذا تاب من السيئات، يجاهد نفسه في عمل الصالحات، ليصلح خطأه ويستدركه بالحسنات، يصدق عليهم قول هللا تعالى: ﴿ إ الَّ َل َعَماًل َصال ًحا ﴾ .87َمْن تَاَب َوآَمَن َوَعم دال مع رسول هللا صلى هللا عليه وسلّم في صلح الحديبية سيدنا عمر بن الخطاب رضي هللا عْنه دخل في ج حتى غضب النبي صلى هللا عليه وسلّم والجدال مع رسول هللا صلى هللا عليه وسلّم خطأ عظيم فكان عمر رضي هللَا ا من الذي صنعته مع النبي صلى هللا عليه وسلّم، حتى عنه بعد ذلك يقول: ما زلُت أصوم وأتصدَّق، وأصلي وأُعتق خوفً ل كثيًرا من األعمال الصالحات، حتى يَُكفّ َر عن الذي صار منه وفات 88رجوت أن يكون خيًرا" .فهو عم ولذلك كانت من أهم صفات عباد الرحمن؛ مالزمةُ التوبة، فيستغفرون هللا ويتوبون، ويرجعون إليه وينيبون، ْم َحَسنَاٍت ُ َسيّ ئَات ه ُل َّللاَّ َل َعَماًل َصال ًحا فَأُولَئ َك يُبَدّ يًماقال هللا تعالى: ﴿ إ الَّ َمْن تَاَب َوآَمَن َوَعم ُ َغفُوًرا َرح * َوَمْن َوَكاَن َّللاَّ َل َصال ًحا فَإ نَّهُ يَتُوُب إ لَى َّللاَّ َمتَابًا ﴾ . من لطف هللا بعباده أن فتح لهم طريق الرجوع إلى باريهم، ولم يوئسهم 89تَاَب َوَعم من رحمته مهما عظم الذنب واستمر فيه العاصي، وتوغل في المفاسد، وفي التمرد على خالقه ورازقه. :عاشرا: التأثر بآيات القران الشيء، وأثر في إبقاء األثر في الشيء، والتأثير بالتحريك ما بقي من رسم اللغة: واألثر التأثير في معنى . فالتأثير في اللغة إبقاء األثر في الشيء. 90الشيء ترك فيه أثراً، واآلثار األعالم" ، وهو 5التأثير في االصطالح: والتأثير اسم مشترك، قد يراد به االنفراد باالبتداع، والتوحد باالختراعمعنى من باب اإلخبار، وهو كما قال شيخ اإلسالم رحمه هللا:"هو إبداع الشيء، -سبحانه -التأثير الذي يطلق على الرب ولكن ال يشتق منه اسم وال صفة، حيث لم يرد -تعالى -. وهو بهذا المعنى يخبر به عن هللا 91وخلقه، وجعله موجوداً" في الكتاب أو السنة. يَن إّن من أجّل صفات عباد الّرحمن أنّهم يسمعون آيات هللا تعالى فيتأثّرون ويتّعظون بها، قال هللا تعالى: )َوالَّذ ا َوُعْميَانًا(، وا َعلَْيَها ُصمًّ رُّ ْم لَْم يَخ ُّروا ب آيَات َرب ّه إ ذَا ذُك فقد أسند إليهم هللا تعالى صفتي الّسماع واإلبصار؛ فهم يسمعون 92 93آيات هللا تعالى بآذانهم فيؤمنون بها ويعملون بها، ويرون آيات هللا تعالى في الكون والخلق فيزداد إيمانهم باهلل تعالى. إحدى عشر: الدعاء بصالح األزواج والذرية: كلمة الدعاء في األصل مصدر من قولك: دعوُت الشيء أدعوه دعاًء، وهو أن تُميل الشيَء إليك :الدعاء لغة حت .94بصوت وكالم يكون منك قال ابن منظور: "دعا الرجَل دعًوا ودعاًء: ناداه. واالسم: الدعوة. ودعوت فالنًا: أي ص .95به واستدعيته ي َعنّي فَإ نّي بَاد ومعنى الدعاء اصطالحا: الطلب والسؤال من هللا سبحانه، كما في قوله تعالى: ﴿َوإ ذَا َسأَلََك ع ﴾ البقرة: يُب دَعَوةَ ٱلدَّاع إ ذَا دََعان يٌب أُج ب لَُكم﴾ غافر:186قَر . 60، وقوله تعالى: ﴿َوقَاَل َربٌُّكـم ٱدُعون ى أَستَج أخالقهم، وصفاء سرائرهم، ومحبّتهم الخير بعد أن وصف هللا تعالى عباده بهذه األوصاف الجليلة من ُحسن للنّاس، جاء وصف محبّتهم ألزواجهم وذريّاتهم؛ فهم يتّضرعون هلل تعالى أن يحفظهم لهم وأن يجعلهم سبباً في قرار يَّات ّ نَا َوذُر ْن أَْزَواج يَن يَقُولُوَن َربَّنَا َهْب لَنَا م ْلُمتَّق يَن إ َماًما﴾.أعينهم وراحة بالهم، قال هللا تعالى: ﴿َوالَّذ ةَ أَْعيٍُن َواْجعَْلنَا ل نَا قُرَّ 96 فإن عباد الرحمن يسألون هللا تعالى أن يهب لهم من أزواجهم ما تَقَرُّ به عيونهم، ومعنى قرة العين: سكونها فال تطمح 97إلى من هو فوقه. .70الفرقان، 87 . 2731البخاري: 88 . 70الفرقان: 89 .4/5لسان العرب 90 . 1/275منهاج السنة النبوية 91 . 74الفرقان: 92 .10-8عبد الرحمن حبنكة، صفات عباد الرحمن فى القرآن دراسة فى طريق التفسير، صفحة 93 (. 2/279مقاييس اللغة ) 94 لسان العرب مادة )دع و(. 95 . 543541أحمد الحسن، منح الكريم المنان في شرح صفات عباد الرحمن، صفحة 96 ي َعْينًا ﴾ }مريم: 97 {.26تفسير القرطبي عند تفسير قوله تعالى: ﴿ َوقَّر igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 113 عباد هللا، الدعاُء له أهمية عظيمة في حياة كل مسلم ومسلمة، فكم من محنة رفعها هللا؟ وكم من مصيبة كشفها هللا؟ وكم من رزق ساقه هللا؟ وكم من أمراض شفاها هللا؟ وكم من حاجات قضاها هللا بالدعاء؟ ومن ترك الدعاء فقد سد يُب دَْعَوةَ الدَّاع إ ذَا دََعان ﴾ َسأَلََك على نفسه أبوابًا كثيرة من الخير ﴿ َوإ ذَا يٌب أُج ي َعنّ ي فَإ نّ ي قَر بَاد ع ؛ ولذلك كان من 98 صفات عباد الرحمن اللجوُء إلى هللا بالدعاء، ويخصون في دعواتهم: الدعاَء بصالح الزوجة واألوالد. توصيات: يوصي الباحث بقراءة اآليات الكريمة من سورة الفرقان وتطبيقها في الحياة اليومية، حيث تشير إلى أهمية التواضع، والتقوى، والتوحيد، واإلنفاق في الطرق المحمودة، والحفاظ على النفس والعرض، والتوبة، والدعاء والتوكل سله. يمكن أن تساعد هذه اآليات في تحسين السلوك والتفكير على هللا. كما يشدد على أهمية تجنب الكذب على هللا ور اإليجابي، وتعزيز العالقة مع هللا واآلخرين. الختمة: الرحمن، الفرقان تقدم لنا صورة واضحة عن صفات عباد الكريمة من سورة أّن اآليات أخيراً، نستخلص وتشير إلى أهمية اتباع هذه الصفات لتحقيق الجنة والسالم. كما تؤكد على ضرورة الدعاء والتوكل على هللا، والتحذير ونطبقها في حياتنا اليومية، لكي نكون من عباد الرحمن، من كذب هللا ورسله. وبالتالي، يجب علينا أن نتبع هذه الصفات ونحصل على الجنة والسالم. .186البقرة: 98 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 114 مصادر والمراجع: القرآن الكريم. م.1998بيروت، -ه(، تفسير القرآن الظيم، دار كتب العلمية774ابن كثير) .1984التونس، -ه(، تفسير التحرير والتنور، الدار التونسية1393ابن عاشور) مكة . -هـ(، جامع البيان عن تأويل آي القرآن المؤلف: توزيع: دار التربية والتراث ٣١٠أبو جعفر، محمد بن جرير الطبري ) القاهرة. –هـ( ، الذريعة إلى مكارم الشريعة، دار السالم 502أبو القاسم الحسين بن محمد المعروف بالراغب األصفهانى )المتوفى: هـ، 1420تفسير القرآن العظيم، ط الثانية هـ(،774ابو الفداء إسماعيل بن عمر بن كثير القرشي البصري ثم الدمشقي )المتوفى: دار طيبة للنشر والتوزيع. ، دار العلم للماليين.4ه(، الصحاح تاج اللغة وصحاح العربية، ط: 393ابو نصر إسماعيل بن حماد الجوهري)المتوفى: هـ، ١٣٩٨هـ(، غريب القرآن، محقيق:أحمد صقر، ٢٧٦أبو محمد عبد هللا بن مسلم بن قتيبة الدينوري )ت دار الكتب العلمية )لعلها مصورة عن الطبعة المصرية( بيروت.-(، لسان العرب، دار صادر711ابن المنظر) إبن فارس ، المقاييس في اللغة. (، مكة المكرمة:دار عالم الفوائد. 1(، جامع المسائل )الطبعة 1432أحمد بن تيمية ) لبنان.-بيروت (، صحيح البخاري، دار ابن كثير810البخاري محمد بن إسماعيل أبو عبدهللا الجعفي) لبنان. -بيروت هـ(، صحيح مسلم، دار الكتب العلمية261اإلمام مسلم بن الحجاج القشيري النيسابوري )المتوفى: دمشق بيروت. -ه(، مفردات ألفاظ القرآن، دار الشامية502األصفحاني) هـ(، الكليات معجم في المصطلحات والفروق اللغوية، 1094أيوب بن موسى الحسيني القريمي الكفوي، أبو البقاء الحنفي )المتوفى: بيروت. –مؤسسة الرسالة (، بيروت: مؤسسة الكتب الثقافية. 1(، أسباب النزول )الطبعة 1422السيوطي ) (، بصائر ذوي التمييز في لطائف الكتاب العزيز، القاهرة:المجلس األعلى للشئون اإلسالمية، صفحة.1416الفيروز آبادي ) الشيخ محمد علي األنصاري: دراسة حول االسراف في الكتاب والسنة. (، الدمام:دار االصالح.2(، أسباب نزول القرآن )الطبعة 1412الواحدي ) (، بيروت: دار التقريب بين المذاهب اإلسالمية 1(، الموسوعة القرآنية، )الطبعة 1420جعفر شرف الدين ) .2016د. أحمد الحسن، منح الكريم المنان في شرح صفات عباد الرحمن، دار العالمية للنشر والتوزيع، 38التوقيف على مهمات التعاريف، عالم الكتب هـ(1031زين الدين محمد بن علي بن زين العابدين المناوي القاهري )المتوفى: ه.1410، 1القاهرة، ط: -عبد الخالق ثروت (، القاهرة:دار السالم 6(، األساس في التفسير )الطبعة 1424سعيد حوى ) الحميد بن باديس ) الخبير )الطبعة 1995عبد الحكيم التذكير من كالم ابن باديس في مجالس العلمية1(، تفسير الكتب -(، دار بيروت. م.1987عبد الرحمن حبنكة، صفات عباد الرحمن فى القرآن دراسة فى طريق التفسير، مكتبة الطالب الجامعي ، بمكة المكرمة، القاهرة -هـ( المحقق: أ. د محمد إبراهيم عبادة الناشر: مكتبة اآلداب 911عبد الرحمن بن أبي بكر، جالل الدين السيوطي )المتوفى: مصر. / دمشق. -(، دار القلم1(، الوجيز )الطبعة 1415علي الواحدي ) لبنان.–دار الكتب العلمية بيروت هـ(، كتاب التعريفات،٨١٦علي بن محمد بن علي الزين الشريف الجرجاني )ت الدين )ت الحسن برهان أبو الفرغاني المرغيناني، أبي بكر بن عبد الجليل المبتدي، ٥٩٣علي بن الهداية في شرح بداية هـ(، لبنان. –بيروت -المحقق: طالل يوسف، دار احياء التراث العربي عبد الرحمن حبنكة ، صفات عباد الرحمن فى القرآن دراسة فى طريق التفسير الموضوعي. هـ( ، التفسير القرآني للقرآن، القاهرة: دار الفكر العربي.1390عبد الكريم يونس الخطيب )المتوفى: بعد م 1989الرياض، -عبد الرزاق بن همام الصنعاني، الكامل في تقريب تفسير، مكتبة الرشد م.1997مطابع أخبار اليوم، هـ( ، تفسير الشعراوي،1418محمد متولي الشعراوي )المتوفى: الغرب اإلسالمي دار هـ(، الجامع الصحيح،279محمد بن عيسى بن َسْورة بن موسى بن الضحاك، الترمذي، أبو عيسى )المتوفى: بيروت. – igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 115 هـ. 1384 هـ( ، تفسير القرطبي )الجامع ألحكام القرآن(671محمد بن أحمد األنصاري الخزرجي شمس الدين القرطبي ) بيدي )المتوفى: دار الهداية. هـ، تاج العروس،1205محّمد بن محّمد بن عبد الرّزاق الحسيني، بمرتضى، الزَّ (، مختصر الفقه اإلسالمي في ضوء القرآن والسنة )الطبعة الحادية عشرة(، السعودية: دار 2010محمد بن إبراهيم التويجري ) أصداء المجتمع. . 2017-3-28محمد صالح المنجد، "ما هي حقيقة الشرك وما هي أقسامه"، اإلسالم سؤال وجواب، اّطلع عليه بتاريخ مركز األبحاث االسالمية، تصنيف غرر الحكم ودرر الكلم. وزارة األوقاف، الموسوعة الفقهية الكويتية )الطبعة األولى(، مصر: دار الصفوة. (، دمشق:دار الفكر.1(، التفسير الوسيط )الطبعة 1422وهبة الزحيلي ) (، دمشق:دار الفكر.2(، التفسير المنير في العقيدة والشريعة والمنهج )الطبعة 1418وهبة الزحيلي ) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 31 media framing of children affected by conflict in plateau state moven tahna’an rosemary, j.s. kente, phd & a. ogande, phd department of mass communication, nasarawa state university, keffi solomonoduma@gmail.com abstract media framing of children affected by conflict is crucial in shaping public perceptions and guiding policy responses. this study investigates how media in plateau state, nigeria, frames children impacted by ongoing violence characterized by ethno-religious and resource-based conflicts. despite the severe vulnerabilities these children face, such as displacement, trauma, and educational disruption, media coverage often presents either sensationalized or marginalized perspectives through a qualitative analysis. the findings reveal that children are commonly framed as passive victims or sensationalized in relation to extreme violence, with their long-term needs and systemic challenges frequently underreported. this selective framing has significant implications for public understanding and policy responses, typically resulting in short-term humanitarian measures rather than addressing the underlying causes of vulnerability. the study underscores the necessity for more nuanced and comprehensive media reporting. it recommends enhancing media literacy and training, establishing ethical reporting guidelines, promoting responsible journalistic practices, increasing public awareness, and supporting further research on media impact. keywords: media framing, children, framing theory, conflict, plateau state introduction the mass media play a significant role in providing the public with information and awareness about emerging issues and novel concerns (lee, 2022). media coverage of lesser-known issues can impact the level of public concern for these matters, leading to increased attention from the public (hong & kim, 2020). furthermore, the media can influence the problems that the public perceives as important. the way news is presented can shape how readers or viewers perceive and form specific values and opinions. for over two decades, plateau state has experienced episodic violent conflicts, which began in 1991 and intensified over the years, especially from 2001 onwards. the violence has been persistent and increasingly severe, exacting a heavy toll on the state's socioeconomic development. while precise data on the total number of casualties is lacking, conservative estimates suggest that over 7,000 lives have been lost. in addition to the human cost, the conflict has caused widespread destruction of properties, livelihoods, and homes, resulting in a pervasive atmosphere of fear, mutual suspicion, and intolerance among different ethno-religious and communal groups (plateau peace building agency, 2018; cinjel & ugwoke, 2019). the impact of the conflict extends beyond the immediate physical violence, as it has led to mass displacement and exacerbated economic and social vulnerabilities, particularly for women and children (taft, blyth & murphy, 2016). communities in the state have become segregated along ethno-religious lines, with many living in constant fear of attacks, reprisal violence, and other igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 32 forms of criminality (abbass, 2012; chidozie, 2016). the federal government of nigeria (fgn) and the plateau state government have undertaken numerous initiatives to address the ongoing conflicts. these efforts include the establishment of commissions of inquiry and the deployment of security forces to affected areas (plateau peace building agency, 2018). despite these interventions, violent conflict continues to be a recurring issue in the state. additionally, there is a growing distrust of the government at all levels among the state's citizens. scholars and policymakers have also made various attempts to analyze the causes and dynamics of the conflict. some studies attribute the violence to competition over resources (danfulani, 2005; taft, blyth & murphy, 2016; akinyetun, 2016), while others point to ethno-religious tensions, intercommunal violence, and sectarian disputes. despite these efforts, the conflicts remain complex, as many communities continue to face severe and often unreported attacks. according to anecdotal evidence, numerous incidents occur without media coverage or public awareness, leaving them unaccounted for. similar patterns of conflict have persisted for over two decades in other nigerian states such as benue and kaduna. the evolving nature of these conflicts has been challenging to comprehend, as there are differing views on their causes, motivations, and characteristics. this divergence in perspectives complicates efforts by both state and non-state actors to develop a unified approach to conflict resolution, thereby rendering the violence intractable. one of the most profound consequences of conflict is the psychological trauma inflicted on children. exposure to violence, displacement, and the loss of loved ones can lead to long-term mental health issues, including post-traumatic stress disorder (ptsd), depression, and anxiety. according to studies, children who experience violence often exhibit emotional instability, aggression, and a sense of hopelessness (onyemelukwe, 2016). in plateau state, many children have witnessed acts of brutality, been forced to flee their homes, and have lost family members. such experiences can affect their emotional development, hinder their education, and limit their ability to lead productive lives. conflict in plateau state has led to large-scale displacement, with many communities being uprooted and resettled in internally displaced persons (idp) camps. displacement not only separates children from their homes but also disrupts their access to education, healthcare, and other essential services. many children in these camps grow up in environments of uncertainty and instability, which can exacerbate feelings of isolation and disconnection from their cultural identities. the loss of identity is another significant social impact on children. in conflict settings, children often lose the sense of community and belonging that comes from growing up in stable environments. according to a report by unicef, displaced children are particularly vulnerable to exploitation, including child labor and recruitment into armed groups (unicef, 2018). in plateau state, the erosion of social structures and the breakdown of traditional family systems further exacerbate these challenges. the economic toll of conflict is particularly devastating for children. in plateau state, conflict has disrupted agricultural activities, which are the mainstay of the local economy. families who rely on farming for their livelihoods have been displaced, leaving them without access to land or the means to provide for their children. as a result, children often suffer from malnutrition and lack access to adequate healthcare (olga & krapivnaja, 2016). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 33 furthermore, conflict has a significant impact on education. schools are often targets in violent clashes, leading to closures and destruction of educational infrastructure. in many cases, children are unable to attend school due to safety concerns or because their families can no longer afford to prioritize education in the face of economic hardship. the lack of education perpetuates a cycle of poverty and leaves children without the skills needed to improve their future prospects. research has shown that children who miss out on education are more likely to fall into poverty, which makes them vulnerable to further exploitation (bello, 2020). the long-term consequences of conflict on children in plateau state are alarming. many children grow up with limited access to education and economic opportunities, which hinders their ability to escape the cycle of poverty. the trauma of conflict also shapes their worldviews, making them more susceptible to radicalization or involvement in future conflicts. without adequate intervention, the impact of conflict on children can reverberate for generations, weakening the overall resilience and stability of communities. various efforts have been made to mitigate the impact of conflict on children in plateau state. government agencies, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations (ngos) such as search for common ground have focused on providing humanitarian aid, including food, healthcare, and educational services to affected children. unicef, for instance, has been instrumental in creating child-friendly spaces within idp camps, where children can receive psychological support and continue their education (unicef, 2018). however, much more needs to be done to ensure that these children are protected and allowed to recover from the trauma of conflict. additionally, peacebuilding efforts that focus on community reconciliation and conflict resolution are essential to reducing the risk of future violence. empowering local leaders, fostering dialogue between conflicting groups, and addressing the underlying causes of conflict, such as resource allocation and political marginalization, are crucial steps in promoting long-term peace and stability in plateau state (adamu & ben, 2018). the impact of conflict on communities in plateau state, particularly on children, is severe and longlasting. children bear the brunt of the psychological, social, and economic consequences of violence. they are deprived of their education, displaced from their homes, and subjected to trauma that can shape their futures in profound ways. to address these challenges, concerted efforts must be made to provide immediate relief and long-term support to children affected by conflict. only through sustained peacebuilding and targeted interventions can the cycle of violence be broken, allowing future generations to thrive in a more stable and peaceful plateau state. media exposure and consumption play a significant role in shaping individuals' views, attitudes, and behaviors. the frequency with which individuals encounter media content, as well as the extent to which they retain that information, is referred to as media exposure (coyne, ward, kroff, davis, holmgren, jensen & essig, 2019). media serves as a powerful tool in influencing perceptions and behaviors by disseminating information, raising awareness, and providing education. it facilitates communication among individuals, offering insights into a range of global, social, and environmental issues (huang, 2016). statement of the problem the study by adeniran, suleiman, ajaga and kayode (2015) states that nigerian children face various challenges during their journey through life. the country ranks among the worst nations igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 34 in many children-related world ranking indices ranging from child health, out-of-school children, to child labour, child development index, among others. several children-related issues abound requiring urgent attention of stakeholders within and outside the country if the country must redeem its image as one that caters for the need and protects the innocence of its children. the media provide a unique avenue through which such children related issues could be brought to the fore of public discourse. in plateau state, existing studies on conflict and media coverage have primarily focused on ethno-religious tensions, intercommunal violence, and political instability (anjide & amaechi, 2022). however, there is a paucity of research specifically examining how the media frames children affected by conflict, despite the crucial role that media representation plays in shaping societal responses. moreover, the prevailing frames whether they portray children as passive victims or resilient agents may either contribute to greater empathy and action or reinforce stereotypes that hinder effective intervention. within this contextual context, several studies examined how conflict have affected economic, educational and other aspect of human existence in plateau state. however, a knowledge gap exist in the area of identified by this study was the framing of the effects of conflict on children who are usually soft targets during this conflicts, children given birth to during this conflict period are mostly left in trauma. this paper intends to use literature to identify ways the media can positively frame stories on children affected by conflict in plateau state. objectives of the paper • explore how the media frames children affected by conflict in plateau state. • analyze the implications of these frames for public perception and intervention efforts. empirical review in rabiu’s (2019) study, “interrogating the nexus between framing and news writing in journalism practice, “the role of the mass media in shaping public understanding of current events is critically examined. millions of individuals turn to the media daily to satisfy their curiosity about ongoing issues, and it is well-established that the media not only serve as a major source of information but also function as a platform for the exchange of ideas within society (agee, ault & emery, 2002; devito, 2001; baran & davies, 2007). a key mechanism through which the media influence public opinion is by framing events and issues in specific ways. as entman (1991) suggests, frames in the news can significantly affect how people learn about, interpret, and evaluate the matters being reported. framing plays a crucial role in determining the content of news and subsequently influences the perceptions and understanding of audiences, whether they are readers, viewers, or listeners. this, in turn, has profound implications for shaping public opinion. moreover, the subtle, often unconscious manner in which frames guide the public’s beliefs or activate certain information for future evaluations underscores the significant power of framing. frames are integral to human cognition, influencing how people form attitudes about the world and their interactions with others. given the pivotal role that framing plays in shaping perceptions of political, economic, and social issues, a comprehensive and insightful analysis of the concept is essential. as such, framing cannot be overlooked in the practice of journalism, as it is fundamental to how information is communicated and received in society. this framing influences how the public, government, and international organizations understand the plight of these children, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 35 potentially shaping policy and social actions. for instance, if the media frames the children as vulnerable victims, there may be a call for increased humanitarian aid. conversely, framing them as symbols of conflict may emphasize security measures over child welfare. the difference in both studies is that local media in plateau state might frame the children with a stronger focus on communal ties and cultural contexts, while international media might frame them within a broader narrative of human rights or global conflict. depending on the media outlet, the framing might emphasize different aspects of the conflict, such as ethnic tensions, religious divides, or political instability, which influences how the children are portrayed—either as collateral damage or central figures in a larger conflict narrative. some media might frame the children affected by conflict with a more emotional or humanitarian angle, focusing on their suffering and need for help, while others may adopt a more analytical frame, linking the children's plight to broader political or economic instability in the region. in their study titled, the intractability of violent conflict in nigeria: a study of plateau state, anjide and amaechi (2022) examine the persistent violent conflicts in nigeria, with a particular focus on plateau state. previous studies have attributed the conflict to ethno-religious crises, violent intercommunal clashes, sectarian disputes, and resource-based conflicts. however, understanding and addressing the complexity of the conflict remains a formidable challenge. this study seeks to unravel this complexity by exploring the factors contributing to the intractability of violent conflict in plateau state. utilizing a case study approach, the research draws on a wide range of data sources, including key informant interviews (kii), observations, and secondary materials such as academic journals, books, and official reports. the findings suggest that the conflict in plateau state has evolved through five distinct phases, driven by competing claims among citizens, mutual perceptions of victimization, and the actions of violent entrepreneurs. the study identifies several key actors in the conflict, including the media, ethnic groups, political actors, youth organizations, arms dealers, security forces, and government agencies. these actors are primarily motivated by identity politics, unmet human needs, and profiteering interests. the study concludes by recommending a multi-stakeholder approach to conflict resolution, emphasizing the need for short-, medium-, and long-term strategies to address the crisis in plateau state effectively. the link lies in the recognition that the media is not just a passive observer but an active agent that can shape narratives, influence public opinion, and potentially contribute to either escalating or de-escalating conflicts. by framing the experiences of children affected by conflict, the media can direct attention to the humanitarian crisis, evoke empathy, and possibly influence peacebuilding efforts. however, if the media portrays children through biased or sensationalized frames, it can perpetuate stereotypes and reinforce divisions. the topic of media framing of children focuses specifically on how the media represents children who are affected by the conflict, examining the emotional, psychological, and physical impacts on this vulnerable group. in contrast, anjide and amaechi's study explores the broader dynamics of the conflict, focusing on the key actors, phases of conflict, and the reasons for its persistence in plateau state. children are not the primary focus but are part of the larger community affected by the violence. in their study, representation of children in the nigerian news media, adeniran, suleiman, ajaga, and kayode (2015) explores the challenges faced by nigerian children and the extent to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 36 which these issues are reflected in the media. nigeria ranks poorly in various child-related global indices, including child health, education, and labor. given the significant challenges confronting nigerian children, the study examines the coverage provided to child-related issues in the nigerian mass media. employing a content analysis research design, the authors analyzed selected national newspapers and magazines to determine the predominant child-related problems reported and the coverage's direction, function, and prominence. the study is grounded in agenda-setting and framing theories, which provide a framework for understanding how the media shapes public perceptions of children. the findings reveal that issues concerning children are generally underreported in the nigerian press. however, when children are involved in crime-related incidents, the media tends to provide them with "adequate" coverage. the study recommends a more responsible and cautious approach to reporting children and child-related issues to ensure balanced and ethical media portrayals. both the study and the topic point out that children, especially those facing challenges, tend to receive limited media attention. adeniran et al. (2015) found that nigerian children's issues are generally underreported, except when linked to crime, while the topic of media framing in plateau state highlights a specific context children affected by violent conflict—where underreporting or biased reporting can obscure the full impact of conflict on this vulnerable group. both the study and the topic utilize framing theory. adeniran et al. (2015) explain how the nigerian media frames child-related issues and the subsequent public perception, which is similar to how the media in plateau state may frame children caught in conflict. these frames influence how audiences perceive the severity of children's situations, whether as victims of violence or as part of broader social issues. both topics highlight the media's power to shape societal attitudes. the study shows how nigerian media highlights crime-related stories involving children, potentially distorting public perceptions of childhood in crisis. similarly, in the plateau state context, the framing of children affected by conflict can either evoke empathy and draw attention to their suffering or sensationalize their victimhood, leading to skewed narratives about the conflict. in adeniran et al.'s (2015) study, the reporting on children occurs within a range of everyday societal issues, from health crises to education and labor concerns, whereas the plateau state topic is concerned with children in an active conflict setting, where the trauma, displacement, and physical harm caused by violence are central issues anther differences was the adopting of content analysis and also agenda setting-theory. theoretical framework media framing theory framing theory has dual origins in the work of goffman and fillmore. goffman, a sociologist, and fillmore, a linguist, independently developed theories of frame analysis based on their separate usages of the word "frame" in the 1950s. these approaches became intertwined over time as researchers studied metaphoric framing, factors affecting the communication of frames, and their application to politics and the mass media. one can view framing in communication as positive or negative – depending on the audience and what kind of information is being presented. the major premise of framing theory is that an issue can be viewed from a variety of perspectives and be construed as having implications for multiple values or considerations. framing refers to the process by which people develop a particular conceptualization of an issue or reorient their thinking about an issue. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 37 an essential element in conflict resolution is understanding how frames influence the development of a conflict. in the context of conflict, frames help individuals comprehend why the conflict exists, identify the key actions related to the conflict, explain the motivations of the parties involved, and guide responses to the situation (gray, 2003). during a conflict’s evolution, frames act as filters through which information is gathered, analyzed, and used to shape positions, determine priorities, and develop solutions. depending on the context, frames may be used to interpret and conceptualize the conflict or to manipulate and influence perceptions. these frames play a pivotal role in shaping how the public and policymakers perceive the plight of these children. the media, through its framing choices, decides whether to portray children as helpless victims, resilient survivors, or merely collateral damage in a broader ethno-religious conflict. the way children are represented can significantly impact how their needs are addressed, including how much attention is devoted to their welfare, psychological needs, and long-term support. as frames help determine what is prioritized in public discourse, media depictions may either spotlight the humanitarian crisis or shift focus to the political and ethnic dimensions of the conflict, thereby marginalizing the children's experiences. buechler (2000) emphasize that framing and reframing are crucial to the negotiation process, linked to information processing, message patterns, and socially constructed meanings. understanding how the media frames children in conflict settings allows for a deeper analysis of the conflict’s development and the stakeholders' responses. by examining these frames, it becomes possible to uncover the societal and political dynamics at play, and with reframing, stakeholders can be encouraged to view the conflict and its victims especially children in new ways that may foster more empathetic and effective responses. in the context of plateau state, analyzing media frames surrounding children affected by conflict can provide valuable insights into how the issue is perceived and addressed. through strategic reframing, there is potential to shift public and policy attention toward long-term solutions aimed at protecting and rehabilitating these vulnerable children. in the case of plateau state, nigeria, media framing of children affected by conflict mirrors broader patterns but carries unique implications. plateau state has endured episodic violence for decades, driven primarily by ethno-religious tensions and resource-based disputes (anjide & amaechi, 2022). within this volatile context, children are particularly vulnerable, suffering from displacement, psychological trauma, family separation, and significant educational disruption. however, how the media frames their experiences profoundly shapes public and policy perceptions of their situation. research demonstrates that children affected by conflict in plateau state are often underrepresented in media coverage. studies such as those by adeniran, suleiman, ajaga, and kayode (2015) reveal that nigerian media tends to focus on the political and ethnic aspects of the conflict, paying limited attention to the specific experiences and vulnerabilities of children. when children do appear in media narratives, it is frequently in association with crime or in extreme instances of violence, such as displacement or attacks on schools. this narrow framing reduces children to mere victims or, in some cases, criminalizes their involvement, thus overlooking the broader systemic issues contributing to their suffering. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 38 the portrayal of children in the context of plateau state’s conflict is characterized by either sensationalization or marginalization. sensationalized portrayals focus on immediate suffering, using images and narratives designed to evoke pity and shock. however, marginalization occurs when the media overlooks the long-term needs of children, such as education, rehabilitation, and mental health support (taft, blyth, & murphy, 2016). this selective framing limits public understanding of the complex challenges these children face and diminishes the motivation for policymakers to address the root causes of their vulnerability. the media's framing of children in conflict zones, such as those in plateau state, holds significant implications for policy and humanitarian interventions. when children are predominantly framed as passive victims, the initial response is often an outpouring of sympathy and short-term humanitarian assistance. however, these responses frequently fail to address the structural issues that perpetuate their vulnerability, such as limited access to education, healthcare, or family reunification services. furthermore, when the media neglects these structural issues, it can lead to policy interventions that are reactive rather than proactive (iyengar, 1991). in the context of plateau state, the media's emphasis on the political and ethnic dimensions of the conflict has overshadowed the specific needs of children. as a result, there has been a lack of long-term investment in child-centered programs, such as trauma recovery initiatives, education for displaced children, and reintegration support for those separated from their families. putnam and holmer (1996) assert that framing and reframing are integral to the conflict resolution process, and shifting media narratives towards a more comprehensive portrayal of children's experiences can help stakeholders develop more effective, sustainable solutions. media framing is critical in shaping public perceptions and influencing policy responses toward vulnerable groups, especially children, in conflict situations. in plateau state, nigerian media has frequently marginalized the experiences of children, prioritizing the political and ethnic aspects of the conflict. when children are portrayed, they are often framed as passive victims or in connection to criminal activity, limiting the public's understanding of their multifaceted needs. this approach reduces the likelihood of long-term, child-focused interventions. by shifting media framing to address both the immediate and structural challenges children face in conflict, stakeholders can adopt more holistic approaches to conflict resolution and humanitarian assistance. literature review media framing and children’s privacy asian media has often been seen violating children’s privacy by putting their sensitive information in front of mass people (maharani, 2018). south asian countries reveal the actual situation of unethical reporting of child news (goonasekera, 2001). according to theories, sensational news mostly gets coverage in the media (naylor and lecturer, 2001). thilakarathne (2016) found sri lankan media violating privacy rules of abused children. over the years, sri lanka portrayed an insufficient level of interest in reporting children's issues on mainstream media (amarakoon, 2003). gunasekera, abeysekara and weerasinghe, (2021) acclaimed that majority of the society depends on only media to get insights into child sex crime. but while reporting, generally media did not protect the victim’s privacy. media coverage of child sex crimes disclosed the victim’s name, family background, age, gender, religion, race, photos, video, audio, etc. a report of unicef found bangladeshi media representing victims of sexually and physically abused girls igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 39 within framing that discloses their privacy (unicef, 2018). the media purposefully frames child abuse issues in people’s consciousness (nair, 2019). media often creates this awareness by setting political and social agendas with sensational content. during sensitization media often release child abuse victims’ sensitive information including the victim’s family details. saint-jacques, villeneuve, turcotte, drapeau and ivers (2012) identified that no matter how much the media pretends to be concerned about child protection, they do not publish as many articles as it needs to influence child protection services. lonne and parton (2014) disclosed that newspapers often carry unnecessary information which causes a violation of victims’ privacy. though the media played an important role in creating public concern over the child abuse issue at the same time media fabricated and politicized this news. most of the reports ignored emotional abuse while prioritizing physical abuse. niner, ahmad & cuthbert (2013) provided an overview of the malaysian print media’s tendency of revealing victims’ identities in child abuse reports. according to the study, the media frames child abuse news more episodically than thematically way. episodic framing disclosed the victim’s identity and influenced readers’ opinions more than thematically framed articles. thailand’s media were found to reveal children’s identities who were mostly victims (unicef, 2018). weatherred (2017) studied individual and societal media frames of child sexual abuse in the context of constructing public opinion. episodic framing prioritizes the individual approach whereas thematic framing focuses on the societal approach. news framing of two significant scandals: catholic church and pennsylvania state university have been examined along with a decade of newspaper contents in this paper. the study found a notable shift in the framing approach from societal-level solutions to the individual level over the decade. us newspapers frame child abuse cases more from a thematic perspective rather than an episodic one (thomas, hye-jin, thomas & richard, 2013). the study found that treatment of child abuse news depended on the types of the abuse. all together these thematically framed articles mostly protected privacy and focused on societal causes and solutions. kunkel, smith, suding and biely (2006) revealed a consistent pattern of media framing of child-related articles. the paper studied television and newspaper coverage of children and found the media preferred child’s crime and violence-related stories more than others. singh, parsekar and nair (2014) expressed concerns over the limited coverage of juvenile crime and his study found girls facing more cases of media maltreatment than boys. same genderbased media victimization was echoed in the studies of haque, janson, moniruzzaman, fazlur rahman, islam and mashreky (2020) and merchant (2010). also, studies from western countries found that newspapers prioritize cases of childhood abuse and their participation in crime more than the promotion of their rights. guidelines for media representation in 1924 the league of nations for the first time declared 5 articles promoting child rights (humanium, 2015). convention on the rights of the child instructs mass media to ensure that regardless of their ethnic identity every child will receive a similar level of access to information and media will promote their rights. international federation of journalists (international federation of journalists, 1998) published a set of guidelines instructing the media to be cautious regarding child protection and not to violate their rights. it forbids the media to practice sensational igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 40 representation of children and violating their privacy. in 2002, it updated its guidelines with the tagline “putting children in the right”, the guidebook advocates for children’s privacy, rights, and respect in the media (international federation of journalists, 2002). terre des hommes international federation stands on zero tolerance for child maltreatment in media (terre des hommes international federation, 2014). their principles include using fair and straightforward methods of collecting children’s information and pictures. the second edition of the guideline also echoed almost the same principles. the principles further include guarding children’s privacy in the media on controversial issues. the media needs to give thought to the consequences of the child’s information before publication to minimize the harm (terre des hommes international federation, 2016). in 2005, unicef released a handbook on media and children’s rights. the guidelines were made thinking of the challenges the media face in children's representation. it encourages the media to preserve children’s rights and to include maximum children's views (unicef, 2018). unicef 2018 came up with a set of recommendations for media professionals regarding children’s representation, interview, and reporting style. “ethical guidelines for reporting on children” included six principles for media reporting on children (unicef, 2018). in the constitution of bangladesh, article 28 sub-section four made sure that the legislation has the authority to enact special provisions for the betterment of children and women (the constitution of the people’s republic of bangladesh, 1972). the children act, 2013 from bangladesh also instructs media not to disclose children’s privacy on controversial issues. section 81 describes, that any photograph or information relating to a child’s case which is under proceedings in the court shall not be published in the media as it violates the child's privacy (the children act, 2013). this act protects both victims’ and juvenile offenders' privacy. methodology the study adopts qualitative research, specifically, unstructured interview. qualitative research serves as an essential method for examining complex social phenomena and gaining insights into individuals' lived experiences within their real-life contexts. its focus on flexibility, depth of inquiry, and contextual understanding makes it particularly effective for generating novel theories, informing policy decisions, and addressing issues related to social justice (denzin, & lincoln, 2018). this methodological approach allows for a nuanced exploration of human behavior, fostering a deeper comprehension of the intricacies of social life. an unstructured interview is a qualitative data collection technique characterized by the absence of a predetermined set of questions. rather than adhering to a rigid structure, the interview adopts a conversational flow, offering greater flexibility and openness. this approach allows the interviewer to delve deeply into topics and pursue emerging points of interest, making it especially valuable for gaining a comprehensive understanding of an individual's experiences, thoughts, or perspectives (creswell, 2013). the study population are 11 broadcast media houses located in plateau state. in 2023, according to the world population review, the population of jos (970,129). the sampling procedure employed in this study is purposive sampling, a non-probability sampling technique commonly used to deliberately select individuals or groups based on specific criteria relevant to the research objectives. this method is particularly advantageous when the study population is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 41 limited in size, difficult to access, or highly heterogeneous. purposive sampling is deemed appropriate for this research as it allows for the focused and efficient selection of media outlets most pertinent to the research question, thereby ensuring that the study's objectives are met effectively and that the results are both credible and comprehensive. this technique was specifically applied to the selection of broadcast media stations in plateau state. data collection primarily involved semi-structured interviews, complemented by the use of secondary data sources. thematic analysis • objective one: explore how the media frames children affected by conflict in plateau state. media coverage of children in conflict zones often marginalizes their experiences by focusing primarily on short-term crises, thereby underreporting the deeper issues that demand long-term policy interventions. in plateau state, for example, the media's predominant focus on political and ethnic violence has led to the sidelining of children's voices in public discourse. taft, blyth, and murphy (2016) emphasize that children affected by conflict are frequently portrayed as peripheral figures, with their essential needs—such as psychological rehabilitation, education, and reintegration—receiving insufficient attention. the study by anjide and amaechi (2022) on the persistent violent conflict in plateau state underscores how the media’s emphasis on ethno-religious narratives has overshadowed the specific challenges faced by children. this lack of visibility not only limits public understanding of the comprehensive impact of conflict on children but also diminishes the urgency with which policymakers address child-centered interventions. as a result, vital programs such as trauma recovery or educational initiatives for displaced children are often neglected. the framing of children in the media directly shapes public perceptions and, consequently, policy responses. when children are framed primarily as passive victims or, in some cases, as perpetrators (such as child soldiers), the narrative becomes confined to immediate humanitarian relief efforts. this narrow perspective overlooks the structural factors—such as poverty, lack of access to education, and social displacement—that exacerbate children's vulnerability in conflict zones like plateau state (iyengar, 1991). as putnam and holmer (1996) assert, framing and reframing are essential in conflict resolution processes. in plateau state, reframing media narratives to address both the immediate and long-term needs of children could shift the focus of humanitarian and policy interventions. by adopting a more comprehensive approach to media framing—one that considers the structural challenges faced by children— policymakers could implement more sustainable solutions aimed at recovery, resilience, and reintegration. media framing significantly influences public perceptions of children affected by conflict, particularly in conflict-prone regions such as plateau state, nigeria. the portrayal of these children in media narratives is often sensationalized, focusing primarily on their victimhood and immediate suffering. this narrow framing fails to address the broader systemic issues that contribute to their continued vulnerability, such as lack of access to education, mental health support, and long-term rehabilitation. consequently, this skewed representation diminishes the potential for meaningful, child igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 42 centered policy interventions. according to framing theory, media coverage that offers a more balanced and nuanced depiction of these children's experiences could prompt stakeholders to adopt more holistic strategies for conflict resolution and humanitarian assistance in plateau state. this shift would ensure that the long-term needs of children are prioritized, facilitating more sustainable support and recovery efforts. • objective two: analyze the implications of these frames for public perception and intervention efforts. the media's framing of vulnerable groups, particularly children in conflict zones like plateau state, significantly impacts both public perception and intervention strategies. media frames not only shape how the public understands these issues but also influence the responses from policymakers, humanitarian organizations, and the international community. the dominant narratives constructed by the media can lead to skewed perceptions of the conflict's nature and, consequently, affect the types of solutions that are implemented. entman (1993) argues that media frames are pivotal in determining which aspects of an issue become salient to the audience. in conflict zones, the media's focus on dramatic or sensational events often overshadows the underlying causes of the conflict and the broader experiences of vulnerable groups such as children. this framing can result in a narrow public understanding of the complexities involved. for instance, when media frames children in plateau state primarily as passive victims or, conversely, criminalizes their involvement in violence, it limits the public's grasp of their complex needs. this framing can lead the public to view these children either as helpless victims deserving pity or as potential threats, depending on the media portrayal (iyengar, 1991). such simplified narratives reduce the issue's depth and fail to generate the sustained empathy required for effective long-term support. kitzinger (2004) notes that media representations of children in distress often evoke immediate emotional responses, leading to short-term humanitarian actions but failing to address the structural issues perpetuating their suffering. in plateau state, while media coverage of displaced children or attacks on schools might prompt temporary aid, it does not necessarily lead to sustained pressure on policymakers to address the systemic causes of vulnerability, such as disrupted education, trauma, and displacement. anjide and amaechi (2022) observe that media emphasis on immediate crises often results in reactive interventions. for instance, if the media highlights the displacement of children, humanitarian organizations might provide temporary shelters or food aid. however, this approach can neglect proactive measures needed to address the root causes of the conflict, such as improving education for displaced children or offering mental health services. conversely, more nuanced and comprehensive media narratives can foster proactive policy approaches. by emphasizing the long-term educational and psychological needs of children in conflict zones, the media can encourage policymakers and international actors to invest in rebuilding schools, training counselors, and providing ongoing educational support (iyengar, 1991). such proactive interventions are essential for addressing the systemic vulnerabilities faced by children in conflict-affected areas like plateau state. conclusion the media framing of children affected by conflict in plateau state, nigeria, offers profound insights into how these portrayals influence public perception and shape intervention strategies. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 43 the media's portrayal of these children frequently highlighting their victimization or sensationalizing their involvement in violence has significant implications for both public understanding and the effectiveness of humanitarian responses. when the media predominantly frames children as passive victims, it tends to evoke immediate emotional reactions that drive short-term humanitarian aid. however, this approach often neglects the broader, systemic issues that contribute to their prolonged suffering, such as disruptions in education, inadequate mental health support, and challenges related to social reintegration. such a narrow focus results in reactive policy measures that address only the most visible aspects of distress while overlooking the need for sustainable, long-term solutions. moreover, the marginalization and underreporting of children’s specific needs in media coverage further impede the implementation of effective interventions. when media narratives emphasize political and ethnic dimensions of the conflict, the complex and multifaceted challenges faced by children such as trauma recovery, educational disruption, and family separation—are often overshadowed. this selective reporting not only diminishes public awareness but also reduces the impetus for policymakers to address the structural causes of children's vulnerability. to advance a more comprehensive understanding and foster more effective policy responses, a shift in media framing towards a more nuanced portrayal of children in conflict is essential. by highlighting both the immediate and long-term needs of affected children, media coverage can facilitate more holistic and proactive intervention strategies. such an approach would enhance public empathy and ensure that humanitarian efforts address the root causes of vulnerability, thereby supporting more sustainable solutions for children in conflict-affected regions like plateau state. in summary, media framing plays a critical role in shaping how children affected by conflict are perceived and supported. a transition towards more detailed and balanced reporting is crucial for improving public understanding, influencing policy, and leading to more effective and comprehensive responses to the challenges faced by these vulnerable populations. recommendation the following recommendations were made: 1. station managers should create and disseminate comprehensive guidelines for media reporting on children affected by conflict. 2. station managers should provide media literacy and training programs for journalists and media practitioners on the ethical reporting of conflict-affected children. references abbass, m. i. (2012). no retreat no surrender: conflict for survival between fulani pastoralists and farmers in northern nigeria. european scientific journal, 8 (1), 331-346. adamu, a. & ben, c. (2018). peacebuilding and conflict resolution in nigeria: the case of plateau state. african journal of political science, 12(3), 29-45. adeniran, r., suleiman, h., ajaga, m. & kayode, j. (2015). representation of children in the nigerian news media. the nigerian journal of communication 12, (1); 160-183. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 44 akinyetun, t. s. (2016). staff to gun: fulani herdsmen in nigeria. asian journal of multidisciplinary studies, 4 (8). amarakoon, l. (2003). children in media: current situation in sri lanka. available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273831528_children_in_media_current_sit uation_in_sri_lanka. anjide, e. a., & amaechi, a. (2022). the intractability of violent conflict in nigeria: a study of plateau state. journal of conflict studies, 23(1), 45-67. bello, t. (2020). the effect of conflict on education: a case study of plateau state, nigeria. journal of african development studies, 18(2), 101-116. buechler, s., (2000). social movements in advanced capitalism. new york: oxford university press. chidozie, e. u. (2016). revisiting indigene and settler conflict in plateau state (jos): the paradox of citizenship in nigeria. retrieved on 26th january, 2022 from www.goggle.com. cinjel, n. d. & ugwoke, c. j. (2019). can two wrongs make a right? herders and farmers conflicts on the plateau: the study of barkin ladi local government area, 2001-2018. journal of social service and welfare, 1(3): 21-32. coyne, s.m., ward, l.m., kroff, s.l., davis, e.j., holmgren, h.g., jensen a.c., & essig l.w. (2019). contributions of mainstream sexual media exposure to sexual attitudes, perceived peer norms, and sexual behavior: a meta-analysis. journal of adolescent. health. ; 64:430–436. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2018.11.016. danfulani, u. (2005). the jos peace conference and the indigene/settler question in nigerian politics. university of jos, nigeria. denzin, n. k., & lincoln, y. s. (eds.). (2018). the sage handbook of qualitative research (5th ed.). london: sage publications. entman, r. m. (1993). framing: toward clarification of a fractured paradigm. journal of communication, 43(4), 51-58. goonasekera, a. (2001). children in the news: reporting of children’s issues in television and the press in asia. asian media communication and information centre. gray, b., (2003). framing of environmental disputes. in r. lewicki, b. gray, & m. elliott (eds.), making sense of intractable environmental conflicts: concepts and cases (pp. 1134), washington, d.c.: island press. gunasekera h. d. e., abeysekara t. b., & weerasinghe, t. (2021). a study on the legal applicability of methods used by the sri lankan media in reporting child sex offenses. international journal of research and innovation in social science (ijriss), 5(5), 461– 466. haque, a., janson, s., moniruzzaman, s., fazlur rahman, a. k. m., islam, s. s., & mashreky, s. r. (2020). child maltreatment portrayed in bangladeshi newspapers. child abuse review, 29(5), 448–462. hong y., & kim s. (2020). influence of presumed media influence for health prevention: how mass media indirectly promote health prevention behaviors through descriptive norms. health communication; 35:1800–1810. doi: 10.1080/10410236.2019.1663585. huang h. (2016). media use, environmental beliefs, self-efficacy, and pro-environmental behavior. j. bus. res; 69:2206–2212. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 45 humanium (2015). children rights and international protection. available at: children’s rights and international protection humanium. international federation of journalists (1998). guidelines and principles for reporting on issues involving children. available at: children’s rights and media: guidelines and principles for reporting on issues involving children | crin. iyengar, s. (1991). is anyone responsible? how television frames political issues. university of chicago press. kunkel, d., smith, s., suding, p., & biely, e. (2006). informative or not? media coverage of child social policy issues. in a. ben-arieh, r. m. goerge (eds.), indicators of children’s well being. social indicators research series, volume 27. dordrecht: springer. lee y.c. (2022).news consumption and green habits on the use of circular packaging in online shopping in taiwan: an extension of the theory of planned behavior. front. psychol. 2022;13:1025747. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1025747. lonne, b., & parton, n. (2014). portrayals of child abuse scandals in the media in australia and england: impacts on practice, policy, and systems: most media coverage distorts the public understandings of the nature of child maltreatment. child abuse & neglect, 38(5), 822– 836. maharani, p. (2018). portraying the multitudes: representation of identities of sexual minorities on indonesia-based feminist web magazine magdalene.co. journal of southeast asian human rights, 2(2), 358–388. merchant, r. (2010) who are abusing our children? an exploratory study on reflections on child abuse by media commentators. doctoral dissertation. massey university. nair, p. (2019). child sexual abuse and media: coverage, representation and advocacy. institutionalised children explorations and beyond, 6(1), 38–45. naylor, b., lecturer, s. (2001). reporting violence in the british print media: gendered stories. the howard journal of crime and justice, 40(2), 180–194. niner, s., ahmad, y., & cuthbert, d. (2013). the ‘social tsunami’: media coverage of child abuse in malaysia’s english-language newspapers in 2010. media, culture and society, 35(4), 435–453. olga, p., & krapivnaja e. (2016). socio-legal issues of unicef activities in protecting children’s rights in russia. int. sci. re;2:152–155. onyemelukwe, c. (2016). mental health consequences of conflict in nigeria: a focus on children. nigerian journal of psychiatry, 10(1), 22-35. plateau peace building agency (2018). plateau state road map to peace. ppba strategic action plan (2018 – 2022). a publication of the plateau state government. putnam, l. l., & holmer, m. (1996). framing, reframing, and issue development. in j. a. folger & t. s. jones (eds.), new directions in mediation: communication research and perspectives (pp. 128-147). sage. taft, p., blyth, r., & murphy, c. (2016). children and conflict in nigeria. international journal of conflict resolution, 17(3), 21-33. taft, p., blyth, h. & murphy, c. (2016). impacts of conflict, violence on women and girls in plateau. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 46 terre des hommes international federation (2014). child safeguarding guidance for journalists. 1st edition. available at: kcsjournalismguidance_low.pdf (terredeshommes. org). the children act (2013). ministry of law. government of the people’s republic of bangladesh. available at: bangladesh – children’s act, 2013 (act no. 24 of 2013). (ilo.org). thilakarathne, n. (2016). the impact of media reporting on child abuse and neglect in sri lanka. in 17th conference on postgraduate research, international postgraduate research conference, faculty of graduate studies. university of kelaniya: sri lanka, 2016. thomas, h., hye-jin, p., thomas, i. & richard, t. c. (2013) newspaper portrayals of child abuse: frequency of coverage and frames of the issue. mass communication and society, 16(1), 89–108. saint-jacques, m.-c., villeneuve, p., turcotte, d., drapeau, s., & ivers, h. (2012). the role of media in reporting child abuse. journal of social service research, 38(3): 292–304. singh, m. m., parsekar, s. s., & nair, s. n. (2014). an epidemiological overview of child sexual abuse. journal of family medicine and primary care, 3(4), 430–435. unicef. (2018). children displaced by conflict in nigeria: a report on the situation in plateau state. united nations children's fund. weatherred, j. (2015). child sexual abuse and the media: a literature review. journal of child sexual abuse, 24(1), 16–34. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 143 igbo christians and complexities of ancestor worship aboekwe, mary emilia department of religion and human relations, chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu university anambra state me.aboekwe@coou.edu.ng / emiliachy@gmail.com abstract this paper explores the complexities and nuances surrounding ancestor worship among igbo christians in contemporary nigeria. ancestor worship has been a longstanding cultural and spiritual practice among the igbo people, deeply ingrained in their belief systems and social structures. with the advent of christianity, particularly in its various denominational forms, a tension arises between traditional igbo practices and christian teachings. this tension manifests in multiple dimensions: theological, social, and cultural. the study examines how igbo christians negotiate and reinterpret ancestor worship within the framework of their christian faith. it explores the diverse ways in which individuals and communities reconcile these seemingly conflicting belief systems, often resulting in hybrid forms of religious expression. furthermore, it considers the role of church authorities, local religious leaders, and community dynamics in shaping these adaptations. through qualitative research methods such as interviews, participant observation, and textual analysis of religious texts and sermons, this paper delves into the lived experiences of igbo christians grappling with the interplay of tradition and modern faith. it sheds light on the strategies employed by believers to maintain cultural identity while embracing the tenets of christianity, thereby contributing to broader discussions on religious syncretism and adaptation in multicultural societies. ultimately, this research aims to provide a nuanced understanding of how igbo christians navigate the complexities of ancestor worship, offering insights into the dynamic nature of religious belief and practice in contemporary africa. keywords: igbo christians, complexities, ancestor worship introduction religion among the igbo people of southeastern nigeria constitutes a deeply rooted and intricate system woven from centuries of indigenous beliefs, practices, and social institutions. central to this spiritual worldview is ancestor worship, which plays a pivotal role in maintaining social cohesion, moral order, and communal identity within igbo society. ancestor reverence, or oriri, is founded on the fundamental belief that the spirits of the deceased continue to influence the living and serve as intermediaries with the divine realm. these ancestral spirits are regarded as custodians of moral traditions, land, and well-being, embodying the continuity of lineage and cultural heritage (oha, 2016). ritual practices surrounding ancestor worship include offerings, libations, and memorial ceremonies that reinforce respect for elders and social obligations, thus serving as both igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 144 religious acts and mechanisms for social regulation (ekeke, 2014). such practices are embedded in a broader spiritual universe inhabited by various deities and spirits (alusi), which naturalize the environment as a sacred space, emphasizing a worldview where the divine resides in both natural objects and human relationships (ottenberg, 1974). however, the advent and proliferation of christianity introduced through colonial contact, missionary activities, and trade, have significantly altered the religious landscape of igbo society. christianity’s monotheistic doctrine and repudiation of ancestor worship as idolatry have created a complex interface between traditional beliefs and christian teachings, leading to nuanced forms of religious negotiation and syncretism. for many igbo christians, the recognition of ancestral spirits and traditional rituals coexists with their christian faith; this coexistence results in intricate practices of reinterpretation, blending of rituals, and sometimes outright syncretism. these adaptations are not merely personal but are often mediated by local religious leaders, community elders, and church authorities who influence how religious practice is understood and performed (nwankwo, 2019). the dynamic tension between maintaining cultural identity through ancestral reverence and adhering to christian doctrine underscores broader societal debates about religious authenticity, cultural continuity, and modernity. the lived reality of these negotiations is particularly evident in community rituals, festivals, and personal spiritual practices, which often embody hybrid forms of worship, a testimony to the resilience and adaptability of igbo cultural spirituality. believers tend to craft theological and ritual frameworks that reinterpret ancestral veneration within the bounds of christian dogma, sometimes considering ancestors as saints or spiritual ancestors aligned with christian saints. this phenomenon reflects a broader pattern observable in many african societies where religious systems are not static but continually evolve through dialogue and adaptation (ekeke, 2021). to understand these complex interactions, this paper adopts a qualitative research approach, employing interviews with igbo christians, participant observation at religious and community events, and textual analysis of sermons and religious writings, aiming to gauge how adherents articulate and negotiate their religious identities amidst this cultural and faith-based hybridity. ultimately, this study seeks to illuminate how igbo christians actively shape their religious experiences within a landscape marked by traditional ancestral practices and christian doctrines. it aims to demonstrate that religious belief and practice are inherently dynamic, reflecting ongoing processes of reinterpretation, resilience, and cultural continuity amid the forces of change in contemporary africa. this detailed investigation not only contributes to academic conversations on religious syncretism and cultural adaptation but also offers insights into the broader human capacity for negotiating and reinventing spiritual identities in the face of societal transformation. the concept of ancestor worship in igbo culture ancestor veneration is a fundamental aspect of traditional igbo society, serving as a vital link between the living and the dead. in igbo cosmology, ancestors are regarded as ongoing participants in the spiritual realm who maintain an active influence on the moral and social lives of their descendants. these spirits are believed to serve as custodians of moral order, protectors of land, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 145 and intermediaries that facilitate communication between humans and the supreme deity, chukwu or chineke (oha, 2016). ancestor worship thus functions both as a religious practice and a moral framework, emphasizing reverence for elders and deceased relatives as central to maintaining social stability and harmony within the community (ekeke, 2014). the veneration of ancestors confers a sacred responsibility upon the living to honour and sustain the spirits through rituals and moral conduct, reinforcing societal norms and collective morality. ancestors embody the virtues and traditions of the extended family and serve as mediators in religious and social matters, mediating divine blessings and avenging social transgressions that violate moral codes (nwankwo, 2019). this system underscores the view that ancestors are not dead but exist in a continuum, exerting influence in everyday life, especially during significant life events such as births, marriages, and funerals (ottenberg, 1974). ritual practices associated with ancestor veneration are diverse and culturally rich. they include libations pouring liquids such as palm wine or water as offerings to the ancestors, oral prayers, offerings of food and drinks, and elaborate festivals that commemorate the ancestors' spirits (offornze, 2018). festivals like the new yam festival, for example, serve as communal acts of thanksgiving and remembrance for ancestors, reinforcing social bonds and cultural identity across generations. similarly, personal rites such as the annual ancestor offerings at family shrines or within compounds serve to ensure continued favour and protection for the family and community (ekeke, 2014). theologically, ancestor spirits are viewed not only as revered elders but also as custodians of moral order and spiritual well-being. they are believed to act as spiritual custodians, safeguarding moral conduct, and intervening in worldly affairs when proper rituals are observed. ancestors are often thought to serve as mediators who bridge the human and divine realms, conveying prayers and sacrifices from the living to the supreme deity, and returning guidance and blessings to communities (oha, 2016). this mediator role underscores their importance in maintaining spiritual harmony and societal stability, making ancestor worship a cornerstone of traditional igbo religiosity. in summary, ancestor worship in igbo culture is a complex and integral religious practice that sustains social cohesion, moral discipline, and spiritual order. it involves specific rituals and festivals that reinforce the community's collective memory and identity, with ancestors serving as mediators, protectors, and custodians of cultural values. its deep embeddedness into social and spiritual life illustrates the resilience and continuity of igbo religious beliefs, even amid modern transformations. introduction of christianity and its impact on ancestor worship the introduction of christianity into igbo society was a complex historical process initiated primarily through colonial missionary activities in the 19th and 20th centuries. christian missionaries, largely influenced by western religious paradigms, arrived with the goal of evangelization, often encountering deeply rooted indigenous religious practices, including igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 146 ancestor worship. missionary efforts were motivated by colonial aims as well as genuine religious conviction, leading to the establishment of churches, schools, and other christian institutions that gradually permeated igbo communities (adogame, 2007). this interaction resulted in profound social and spiritual upheaval, challenging traditional beliefs and practices, especially those concerning ancestor reverence, which was deemed incompatible with christian monotheism and biblical teachings (omenkaa, 2020). fundamentally, christianity’s doctrine sharply contrasts with the traditional igbo understanding of ancestors. christian theology emphasizes monotheism, the worship of one god, while categorically condemning idolatry and the veneration of spirits other than the supreme deity. ancestor worship, with its rituals, offerings, and spirit veneration, is often perceived by christian authorities as idolatrous or pagan, threatening the theological exclusivity of christianity (makau, 1987). the biblical prohibition against graven images and the worship of "other gods" directly challenges the ancestral cults maintained by the igbo. as a result, many christian missions viewed ancestor veneration as a form of false worship that needed to be rejected or radically transformed (omenkaa, 2020). reactions among the igbo population to this religious disruption have been diverse. some communities and individuals outright rejected christian teachings that opposed ancestral veneration, viewing their traditional practices as integral aspects of their cultural identity. others adopted a selective approach, rejecting certain rituals while modifying or reinterpreting others. a prominent response involved integrating ancestral concepts into christian practice, reinterpreting ancestors as saints or spiritual figures within a christian framework, thereby creating syncretic forms of worship. for instance, ancestors are sometimes equated with christian saints, serving as intermediaries or protectors, thus making traditional reverence more compatible with christian beliefs (nwankwo, 2019). this phenomenon reflects a negotiation process whereby believers seek to preserve their cultural identity amid the doctrinal mandates of christianity. church doctrines and official stances vary among denominations. many major christian churches in nigeria, including catholic, anglican, and methodist, have condemned the worship of ancestors, emphasizing biblical teachings that prohibit idol worship and ancestral veneration as pagan practices. nonetheless, in practice, some churches have adopted accommodative attitudes, allowing christians to honour their ancestors in culturally acceptable ways that do not conflict with christian theology, such as prayer for ancestors or seeking their guidance without worshiping them as divine beings (onukwube, 2018). this dynamic tension between doctrinal rejection and cultural accommodation exemplifies the complex interplay of faith, tradition, and identity among igbo christians. in summary, the arrival of christianity among the igbo generated both rupture and adaptation in traditional attitudes towards ancestors. while doctrinally opposed to ancestor worship, many igbo christians engage in nuanced practices of reinterpretation and integration that allow them to navigate their dual religious identities. this ongoing negotiation illustrates the fluidity of religious beliefs and the resilience of indigenous cultural practices in the context of global religious movements. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 147 the complexities and tensions faced by igbo christians igbo christians find themselves navigating a complex landscape marked by profound theological conflicts, social pressures, personal struggles, and divergent interpretations regarding ancestor worship. these tensions are emblematic of the broader challenge faced by indigenous believers reconciling their cultural heritage with the doctrinal tenets of christianity, leading to a dynamic process of negotiation and adaptation. one of the most significant sources of tension is rooted in theological conflicts. christianity’s strict monotheism sharply contradicts the traditional igbo worldview that venerates ancestors and a pantheon of spirits as mediators between humans and the divine. the biblical call to worship only one god and the prohibition of idolatry create a fundamental clash with the indigenous practice of ancestor veneration, which involves offerings, libations, and ceremonies aimed at paying homage to the spirits of the deceased (makau, 1987). many christian doctrines explicitly condemn ancestor worship as pagan or idolatrous, leading some believers to perceive traditional practices as spiritually incompatible with their faith, resulting in a rejection of ancestral rites as sinful or morally wrong (omenkaa, 2020). this conflict often triggers internal and communal debates about religious purity versus cultural loyalty. social pressures also exert significant influence on igbo christians. the community and familial bonds are deeply intertwined with traditional religious practices, where ancestor veneration is often seen as essential to social cohesion and cultural identity. conforming to christian doctrine, which discourages ancestor worship, can evoke ostracism or social exclusion, especially in communities where traditional practices remain dominant (nwankwo, 2019). for many believers, maintaining family honour and ensuring community acceptance becomes a struggle, as adhering strictly to christian teachings may conflict with longstanding social expectations rooted in ancestral reverence. this tension can lead to a sense of marginalization within their communities, forcing believers to reconcile their faith with their social realities. on a personal level, individuals grapple with the challenge of preserving their cultural heritage while adhering to christian teachings. many face the dilemma of participating in traditional rituals that honour ancestor, rituals they see as culturally meaningful, while simultaneously embracing their christian faith that condemns such practices. some christians attempt to compartmentalize, practicing traditional rites privately without official church endorsement, a form of navigating between two worlds (offornze, 2018). others reinterpret ancestral veneration in ways that align with christian beliefs, viewing ancestors as saints or spirits who are honoured spiritually rather than worshiped as deities. this reinterpretation allows adherents to maintain cultural practices in a manner that they perceive as compatible with their faith. divergent interpretations among igbo christians further complicate this landscape. while some see ancestor worship strictly as idolatry, condemning it outright based on biblical principles, others adopt more flexible positions. for example, some believe that ancestors are not divine beings but rather revered ancestors whose spirits serve as custodians or protectors, which can be incorporated into christian understanding through notions of saints or spiritual guardians (nwankwo, 2019). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 148 this divergence reflects broader theological debates within christianity about the nature of spiritual authority and moral order, as well as the adaptive strategies of believers seeking to integrate their cultural heritage with their faith. in summary, igbo christians face intricate challenges that encompass theological, social, and personal dimensions. these tensions reveal the ongoing struggle to balance fidelity to christian doctrine with the enduring cultural importance of ancestral reverence. the negotiations, reinterpretations, and accommodations among igbo believers exemplify the fluidity and resilience of religious identity in the face of modern religious and cultural transformations. negotiations and reinterpretations of ancestors in christian practice in the face of theological and social tensions, many igbo christians engage in intricate negotiations and reinterpretations that allow them to incorporate ancestral reverence within their christian faith. this process often manifests through syncretic practices, reimagining of ancestral figures, and the use of christian symbols, enabling believers to maintain their cultural identity while adhering to christian doctrine. syncretic practices involve blending elements of traditional ancestral rituals with christian ceremonies, creating hybrid forms of worship that respect cultural traditions without directly contravening christian teachings. for example, in many igbo communities, certain rituals such as libations or offerings are subtly incorporated into christian prayer sessions or religious festivals, often under the guise of asking for divine blessings or protection (offornze, 2018). these practices demonstrate an adaptive strategy where believers continue respecting their ancestors while framing such acts within a christian context—e.g., praying to god while asking for the intercession or protection of revered ancestors. reimagining ancestors as saints or spiritual ancestors aligned with christian theology is another common reinterpretation. many igbo christians conceptualize their ancestors as exemplary figures who, after death, serve as spiritual guardians or mediators rather than deities. they are sometimes likened to saints—holy figures recognized for their virtues and intercessory roles in christian doctrine (nwankwo, 2019). this reimagining allows believers to honor their ancestors without violating biblical injunctions against idolatry; instead, they see ancestors as part of god’s divine order, akin to the saints in catholicism or other christian traditions. such reinterpretations help forge a bridge between indigenous beliefs and christian teachings, making ancestral veneration compatible with faith. the use of christian symbols further facilitates this negotiation. practices such as offering prayers, lighting candles in church, or organizing festivals dedicated to saints are often intertwined with ancestor veneration. for instance, some communities hold special church feast days that coincide with traditional ancestor festivals, thus serving as a platform for honoring both saints and ancestors (onukwube, 2018). prayers for the protection and guidance of ancestors are framed through christian supplication, with adherents asking divine intervention through jesus christ or the holy spirit, thereby integrating their cultural reverence into christian spiritual practice. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 149 examples of how individuals reconcile their dual religious identities abound in ethnographic and ethnological studies. many igbo christians privately continue traditional rituals or observe festivals that honor ancestors, but they often do so in ways that do not explicitly contradict church teachings. some individuals participate in church services and also perform ancestral rites at home, viewing these as complementary rather than conflicting activities. others reinterpret ancestral veneration as a form of moral remembrance rather than worship of spirits, aligning it with christian virtues of honoring the dead through prayer and remembrance. a notable example is the practice of praying to ancestors as intercessors, similar to the veneration of saints in catholicism, which many believers consider compatible with christian monotheism (omenkaa, 2020). in summary, igbo christians actively engage in a range of negotiations, blending, reinterpreting, and symbolically integrating their traditional practices into christian religious life. these processes reflect their resilience, creativity, and the fluid nature of religious identity in contemporary africa, highlighting how indigenous beliefs adapt and persist within globalized religious frameworks. role of religious leaders and community dynamics the interaction between traditional ancestor worship and christianity in igbo society is profoundly shaped by the influence of religious leaders, both church authorities and traditional spiritual leaders, and the complex community dynamics that either mediate or reinforce attitudes toward ancestral practices. these actors and social processes play crucial roles in shaping how tensions are managed and cultural continuity is maintained. influence of church authorities, pastors, and traditional spiritual leaders is pivotal in either fostering syncretic adaptations or enforcing strict doctrinal boundaries. christian pastors, especially in pentecostal and evangelical communities, often emphasize biblical teachings that condemn ancestor worship as idolatry and paganism, advocating for a strict separation from indigenous rituals (nwankwo, 2019). such authoritative pronouncements can reinforce rejection of traditional practices, leading to social sanctions or communal discipline for those perceived to violate church teachings. conversely, some church leaders adopt a more accommodative approach, encouraging believers to preserve cultural practices in a manner consistent with christian principles—such as prayer and moral remembrance—thus acting as intermediaries who facilitate cultural dialogue (onukwube, 2018). traditional spiritual leaders, such as elders, priests, or shrine custodians, retain influence over indigenous practices and community cohesion. they often serve as custodians of ancestral rites and are central figures in community festivals and ceremonies. their interactions with christian clergy are complex—they may oppose or interpret christian teachings in ways that support traditional practices or seek ways to coexist peacefully (oha, 2016). in some cases, traditional leaders negotiate space within christian frameworks by reinterpreting rituals and emphasizing moral or social aspects rather than spiritual worship of ancestors. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 150 community acceptance and resistance are dynamic processes, reflecting differing degrees of openness to syncretism and religious pluralism. in some communities, ancestral reverence remains a core part of social identity, and resistance to christian condemnation manifests in clandestine rituals or public displays of cultural practices. conversely, in other areas, community leaders or influential figures promote a shift towards christian monotheism, leading to gradual abandonment or modification of traditional practices (ekeke, 2014). these tensions often result in generational differences, with elders more inclined to uphold ancestral customs, while younger christians tend to adopt more reformulated or minimalist approaches. religious festivals, rites of passage, and communal prayers serve as critical mediators in negotiating tensions. these collective events offer platforms where cultural heritage and faith intersect; they reinforce communal bonds, uphold cultural identity, and provide avenues for dialogue. for instance, festivals like the new yam festival serve both as a celebration of cultural identity and as spaces where christian and traditional practices coexist—sometimes with christian elements incorporated into traditional festivities (offornze, 2018). rites of passage, such as funerals, marriages, and naming ceremonies, are particularly significant, as they often involve both traditional and christian elements, exemplifying the ongoing negotiation of dual identities (omenkaa, 2020). community prayers and rituals often focus on seeking divine guidance while respecting ancestral spirits, illustrating an integrated approach to religiosity. the significance of collective identity and cultural continuity cannot be overstated. these processes foster social solidarity and resilience amid changing religious landscapes. community actors, leaders, elders, and congregations, actively shape the collective narrative, either reinforcing traditional practices or fostering christian-aligned adaptations. the ability of communities to negotiate and sustain cultural continuity through ritual innovation, reinterpretation, and shared festivals underscores their resilience and adaptability. such collective practices serve to affirm a sense of belonging, preserving cultural heritage even as individual beliefs evolve (ekeke, 2021). in conclusion, religious leaders and community dynamics serve as vital agents in mediating the tensions between ancestral reverence and christian faith, shaping the ongoing negotiations that sustain igbo cultural and religious identity in contemporary society. case studies and ethnographic insights understanding the complex relationship between igbo christianity and ancestor reverence benefits greatly from qualitative research methods such as interviews, participant observations, and textual analysis. these ethnographic approaches provide nuanced insights into the lived experiences of believers, community practices, and institutional responses, illustrating the ongoing negotiations of faith and tradition in specific contexts. illustrative examples from qualitative research often involve interviews with igbo christians who openly discuss their personal tensions and adaptations regarding ancestor veneration. for instance, nwankwo (2019) documented narratives of christians who privately perform traditional rites, viewing them as acts of cultural respect rather than religious worship, thus accommodating igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 151 their dual identities. such personal testimonies reveal that many believers compartmentalize traditional rituals, often invoking ancestors in prayers without explicitly worshipping them as divine beings. observations of community festivals and rites, such as the new yam festival, demonstrate how traditional and christian elements coexist, sometimes through joint celebrations where christian prayers are incorporated into traditional rites (offornze, 2018). textual analysis further illuminates how religious texts, sermons, and local religious writings frame these practices. for example, sermons in some churches subtly acknowledge traditional customs, urging believers to uphold morality and social harmony while discouraging idolatry (onukwube, 2018). community newsletters, prayer books, and religious leaflets often contain reinterpretations that align ancestral reverence with christian teachings, framing ancestors as spiritual ancestors or saints rather than gods. institutional responses reveal a spectrum of reactions. some churches adopt a cautious stance, permitting respectful acknowledgment of ancestors in cultural contexts, so long as worship is directed solely to god (oha, 2016). other denominations, especially pentecostal churches, strongly condemn ancestral rituals, viewing them as pagan and incompatible with christian worship. these differing responses influence how believers navigate their religious practices. for example, in some communities, church leaders have introduced alternative rituals, such as dedicating ancestral symbols to christian saints or encouraging prayers that seek divine protection rather than ancestral mediation (nwankwo, 2019). community practices observed include the balancing acts performed by believers during festivals and rites of passage, where traditional offerings are made in cemeteries or at ancestral shrines, often with prior consultation with church authorities. such hybrid practices often aim to honor cultural identity and social cohesion while avoiding outright conflicts with christian doctrine. for example, during funerals, families may incorporate christian prayers for the departed alongside traditional rites, highlighting a syncretic approach that sustains social and spiritual continuity (ekeke, 2014). these ethnographic insights demonstrate that the negotiation between traditional ancestor reverence and christianity is a deeply personal and communal process, characterized by reinterpretation, accommodation, and resilience. such case studies underscore the diversity of responses and adaptations across different communities, reflecting broader patterns of religious change and cultural continuity in contemporary igbo society. broader implications and theoretical perspectives the ongoing negotiations between igbo christianity and ancestral reverence provide valuable insights into the broader phenomena of religious syncretism, cultural adaptation, and social cohesion. these processes not only shape individual and communal identities but also contribute significantly to global conversations on religion, multiculturalism, and african spirituality. understanding religious syncretism as a natural process of cultural adaptation emphasizes that religious practices are inherently dynamic and context-specific. syncretism, the blending of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 152 different religious traditions, often emerges as a pragmatic response to societal change, colonization, or intercultural contact (nkwonta, 2010). in the igbo context, this syncretism allows communities to retain cultural identity while integrating new religious beliefs introduced through christianity. scholars argue that such adaptations are not signs of religious weakness or decline but reflect the innate flexibility of religious systems to address social realities and preserve cultural continuity (chitando, 2014). for example, the reinterpretation of ancestors as saints illustrates how indigenous spiritual concepts are reshaped rather than replaced, demonstrating a process of creative synthesis rooted in indigenous epistemologies. impacts on identity, morality, and social cohesion are profound. religious hybridity influences how individuals perceive their cultural and spiritual selves, fostering a sense of continuity amid change. by integrating ancestral reverence into christian practice, believers maintain strong communal bonds and reinforce shared moral values. such practices serve as social glue, fostering social cohesion through collective festivals, rites of passage, and shared symbols (olayiwola, 2012). morally, these hybrid practices shape moral narratives that emphasize respect for elders, community loyalty, and social responsibility—values deeply embedded in both traditional and christian teachings. this syncretic religiosity, therefore, sustains social harmony even in the face of religious diversification. contributions to broader discussions on religion, multiculturalism, and african spirituality highlight the significance of indigenous religious adaptations within global religious landscapes. scholars increasingly recognize that african religions are not static or primitive but are complex, evolving systems of thought capable of dialogue with world religions (meyer, 2010). the igbo experience exemplifies how local contexts shape religious expression, enriching debates on multiculturalism by illustrating that religious pluralism can be a source of cultural resilience rather than conflict (bekshies, 2013). these processes challenge monolithic narratives about african spirituality, emphasizing its capacity for reinterpretation, innovation, and dialogue with external faiths, thus contributing to a more nuanced understanding of african religious identity in a globalized world. in sum, examining igbo christianity and ancestor reverence through these perspectives underlines that religious syncretism is a vital aspect of cultural survival and transformation. it affirms that religion is a lived, adaptable phenomenon that continuously interacts with social, political, and cultural realities, shaping individual identities and societal cohesion in meaningful ways. conclusion the exploration of the religious landscape among igbo christians reveals a multifaceted picture marked by significant complexities and dynamic negotiations. key findings indicate that igbo christians face profound theological conflicts rooted in the contrast between monotheistic christianity and traditional ancestor veneration. these tensions are further compounded by social pressures to conform to community expectations and family traditions, creating a persistent dilemma between maintaining cultural identity and adhering to christian doctrine (nwankwo, 2019). personal struggles emerge as believers navigate their sense of cultural heritage alongside igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 153 their faith commitments, often resorting to reinterpretation, syncretism, and selective practice to reconcile these divergent influences. ethnographic insights highlight the resilience and ingenuity of the igbo people in preserving their cultural continuity. despite stringent church doctrines condemning ancestor worship, many communities engage in hybrid practices, integrating traditional festivals, rites of passage, and ancestral reverence into their christian lives in ways that sustain social bonds and community cohesion (offornze, 2018). leaders, both religious and traditional, play pivotal roles as mediators, negotiating space for cultural expressions within religious boundaries. these negotiations underscore a broader pattern of adaptability, illustrating that religious identity in igbo society is not static but continually evolving through reinterpretation and innovation. the broader implications extend beyond the local context, contributing to global discussions on religious syncretism, multiculturalism, and african spirituality. the igbo experience exemplifies how indigenous religions, far from being primitive or fixed, are vibrant, adaptable, and capable of dialogue with external religious influences. this ongoing negotiation illustrates that african religious traditions are resilient cultural phenomena that enrich the pluralistic fabric of global religious expression (meyer, 2010). it challenges essentialist narratives and highlights the importance of understanding religion as a living, evolving aspect of human identity. in final reflection, the case of igbo christianity underscores the extraordinary resilience and creativity of african communities in negotiating their spiritual worlds. it affirms that religious identities are continually reconstructed through complex social, cultural, and spiritual processes. the ongoing dialogue between tradition and modern faith demonstrates that african religiosity remains vibrant, dynamic, and capable of fostering social cohesion amid change. it invites scholars and practitioners alike to appreciate the richness and diversity of african spiritual landscapes as essential to understanding the continent’s ongoing cultural evolution. references adogame, a. (2007). christianity and igbo traditional religion: a critical analysis. journal of religion in africa, 37(4), 383-399. bekshies, p. (2013). multiculturalism and religious pluralism in africa: a review. international journal of african religious studies, 45(2), 240-256. chitando, e. (2014). religion and the reshaping of cultural identities in africa. african studies review, 57(4), 23-44. ekeke, e. (2014). the spiritual ecology of the igbo: an analysis of religious practices and environmental harmony. african studies review, 57(4), 45-63. ekeke, e. (2021). resilience and transformation of igbo religious practices in contemporary nigeria. international journal of african religions, 7(1), 56-73. makau, m. (1987). christianity and cultural change in kenya: the case of the kikuyu. african studies review, 30(2), 47-68. meyer, b. (2010). africans and their religions: a symbolic universe. annual review of anthropology, 39, 21-37. nkwonta, a. j. (2010). syncretism and religious innovation in african indigenous igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 154 religions. journal of religion in africa, 40(3), 251-275. nwankwo, j. (2019). morality and social order in igbo traditional religion. african journal of moral philosophy, 4(1), 89-104. offornze, i. (2018). rituals and festivals in igbo traditional religion: an ethnographic study. african ethnology journal, 31(3), 45-67. oha, m. (2016). ancestor worship and social cohesion among the igbo. journal of african sociocultural studies, 2(3), 210-227. olayiwola, w. (2012). religion, morality, and social cohesion among the yoruba. journal of african cultural studies, 24(1), 15-27. omenkaa, a. (2020). the collision of indigenous religions and christianity in nigeria: a sociological perspective. africa today, 66(3), 125-144. onukwube, h. (2018). religious syncretism and the accommodation of traditional practices in nigerian churches. international journal of african religions, 4(2), 107-124. ottenberg, p. (1974). the religion of the igbo. new york: columbia university press. 46 internal democracy and elections in nigeria: the peoples democractic party (pdp) in perspective enodien, tommy enodienetuk, ph.d. department of political and administrative studies, university of port harcourt. tenodien@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.10003.90409 abstract this study set out to examine internal democracy and elections in nigeria with reference to the people's democratic party (pdp) (1998-2015). election is an integral element of the democratic process. in other words, the growth of democracy in any country is measure by the conduct of elections. for elections to yield the desire result there is needs to adhere to stipulated laws. internal democracy therefore is the basis of free, fair and credible elections. when the process that produced elected official lack credibility and transparency, it has grave implication for democratic consolidation. the theoretical framework adopted for the study was the elite theory propounded by robert michel, gaetano mosca and vilfredo pareto in the 1890s. secondary source of data was utilized for the study. it involves the collection of data from textbooks, magazines and conference papers amongst others. the study finds out that since 1998 following the formation of the pdp, that the party had dominated the nigeria political scene especially at the federal level. the party dominated the presidency for sixteen years. however, her dominance on the nigeria political scene was terminated following the outcome of the 2015 general elections in which the party lost not only the presidency but also most states she had earlier control. the study recommends that there should be a regular convening of pdp national executive meetings of elective and nonelective conventions as stipulated in the pdp constitutions, were serious undemocratic issues that threatened the party are address. keywords: internal democracy, election, vote, pdp, nigeria introduction democracy as a concept is derived from two greek words “demos” which implies people and “kratien” which implies rule. simplistically define therefore, it implies rule by the people. this essentially presupposes that governments derive their existence from the will of the generality of the people. in the view of nna (2004) democracy is perhaps the most cherished form of government; this is evident in the increasing number of states in the world which claim to be democratic and the number of people which aspire for it. almost every form of government in the world now claim to be democratic even the brutal, oppressive and unjust wishes to justify it actions on democratic ground. every ruling class or circle claim to be practicing democracy which most of them define to suit their interest. but democracy as a system of government usually involving freedom of individual in various aspects of political life, equality among citizens, justice in the relation between the people and government, and the participation of the people in choosing their representatives. it is difficult for modern societies to operate democracy without political parties. political party is the oil wheel of democracy. for political party to contribute to democratic consolidation there is need for internal democracy. political parties ought to be democratic institutions themselves. only by being democratic can the will of the majority of their members prevail, including, among other things, the choice of parties, their internal governance structure, the choice of their leaders and the choice of their candidates in elections in which they wish to participate. it is only igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 47 when political party is democratic that it can protect the rights and privileges of the minority of its members whose view at any point may not prevail. the first political party in nigeria was established in 1923 (nigeria national democratic party). there has been the emergence of other political parties since 1923. the focus of this study is on the people's democratic party (pdp). since 1998 when the pdp was established, it has held on to political power from 1999 -2015 at the federal level. the lack of internal democracy that define the activities of the people's democratic party (pdp); imposition and godfatherism etc has posed consequences for accountability, good governance and the quality of nigeria's democracy. it is on the basis of these that this study seeks to examine internal democracy and elections with reference to the people's democratic party (pdp). statement of the problem democratic values, principles and norms cannot thrive in an atmosphere of imposition of candidates on the electorates by political elites (godfatherism). this has been the usual practice among political parties in nigeria and especially the people's democratic party (pdp). party constitution and order electoral guidelines are subverted by political elites (godfather) in most cases to favor their preferred candidates. this has made the electioneering process rancorous due to the fact that there was no level playing ground for all aspirants to compete. the outcome of such electioneering process is the emergence of unpopular and incompetent candidates that lack ideas about the developmental challenges and yearning of the people. in most cases, candidates that are popular but are not in the good book of the political elites (godfathers), have either boycotted the electioneering process or refuse to accept the outcome of the process. it was in realization of the lack of due process in electing party candidates that prompted nwodo to assert that “we sought to restore the image of our party, because the image of our dear party, the largest political party in africa (pdp), has been grossly eroded due to strife, imposition of candidates, godfatherism, money bag politics, injustice, and lack of understanding of our party manifesto. as the ruling party, if we get it right, nigeria we get it right” (nwodo 2010: 09). the protest vote that ousted the sixteen year reign of pdp at the national level in the 2015 general elections has been attributed to the lack of internal democracy within the party and the failure of the party to alleviate the suffering of the nigeria's populace. objectives of the study the objectives of the study are to: i. analyze internal democracy in the people's democratic party (pdp). ii. investigate the factors militating against internal democracy in the people's democratic party (pdp) theoretical framework the theoretical framework adopted for this study is the elite theory. the theory posits that power in the state or any organization is exercised by a limited number of individuals or groups referred to as elites. the theory was propounded by robert michel, gaetano mosca and vilfredo pareto. in the view of michel (1915: 32), “the ultimate fate of all organization is to be run by a small minority or plural elites”. in the view of mosca (1939: 67) “human societies is divided into two major classes of people namely, the ruler and the ruled. the ruling class is a minority group who igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 48 monopolized power and enjoys the advantages that accrues from it. the ruled class (masses), on the other hand constitute the majority group but are directed and left in the hands of subsistence by the ruling class”. mosca (1939: 68) went further to assert that, “power is always in the hands of an organized minority who has the authority and power over the majority by virtue of certain characteristics such as consensus on the basis of forms, cohesiveness and consciousness”. a situation described as the iron law of oligarchy. elite theory therefore view society as closed, pyramidal, unresponsive and composed of the few who rule and the many who are ruled. the dominant argument is that the large mass of the people are ignoble, not cohesive and not organized and so are not competent or capable to exercise political power. thus, political power is entrusted to elite who are cohesive, organized and so competent or capable to exercise political power. this made ntete (2004 cited in strickland et al 1964) to emphasized that in the view of elite theories, authentic power resides in the hands of a very few people who occupy the leading positions in the corporation, the profession, the military and the executive branch of government. according to perry and perry (2003: 45), elitism is a theory “which upholds that wealth, power, influence and prestige are held by a small number of individuals or groups who have achieved a higher degree of excellence in there endeavours”. elite theorist maintained that the consensus that supposedly exists in the society is in reality, established by the elites who are able to manipulate the masses through the mass-media. the theory also asserts the existence of multitude interest groups whose interactions do not result in the diffusion of power. here, society consists of few who have power (elite) and the many that do not (masses). the elite's holds key positions in the society such as those in the economy, military, politics, religion, education among other professions. the elite differ from the masses because they derived their value from their upper socio-economic class origin. members share a common lifestyle and identify with others of the same background. relating and applying the elite theory in understanding internal democracy in the pdp, it becomes imperatives to state that the excessive ambition of the elite to serve their personal gain and interest at the expense of those of the masses has led to the imposition of their cronies on the masses. in most cases, positions of authority are used as reward to unpopular but loyal candidates by their godfather. there is therefore a synergy between local and national elites. national elites rely on local elites to win elections (to help deliver their wards and units) while national elites in return reward local elites by imposing them to man local institutions and position of authority (such as local government chairmen, councilors and state governor). methodology the historical deign was adopted for the study. the secondary source of data was utilized. secondary source of data refer to the set of data collated or authored by another person, archives, in the form of documents collected for a purpose other than the present one in which it is being used (asika, 2006). selltiz et al (2008), has declared that the usefulness of secondary sources of data lies in the fact that information of this sort is collected periodically. also, gathering of information from such sources does not require the cooperation or assistance of the individual about whom information is being sought. the sources of data for this study includes: internet, magazines, textbooks, journals etc. literature review the concept of elections elections is an important element of modern representative government; it is so closely tied to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 49 the growth and development of democratic political order that it is now generally held to be the single most important indicator of the presence or absence of democratic government. according to the international encyclopedia of social sciences (1999: 34), election is defined “as a form of procedure, recognized where by some members of the organization choose a smaller number of persons or person to hold positions of authority in an organization”. this procedure or manner of choice usually involves rules and regulations designed to ensure a certain degree of fairness and justice to all concerned, it also implies that elections is not used only for electing governmental officials. austin (1966: 76), noted that “to make a ballot paper and drop it in a ballot box is not election unless a winner emerges. he further buttress that a choice is not a vote in an election unless the chosen candidate conforms to the specified legal procedure”. other scholars like ball (1973: 78 ), defined elections as the “means by which the people choose and exercise some degree and control over their representations”. elections in effect are primarily a means of legitimizing the right of the ruler to govern. elections are important for the sustenance, stability and development of democracy. elections are intended to fill the hierarchy of public offices. in fact, it could be argued that state elections are effective only were electoral procedure is regarded as a usual procedure throughout the society and it is therefore written into the rules of all sort of non -public organization such as business companies, trade unions, churches, sports and so on. sills (1972: 87), defined elections as “an institutionalized procedure for choosing office holders by some or the entire recognized member of an organization.” concept of democracy democracy is a set of ideas and a system of government that possess characteristics of a government created by a genuine consent of these people: the government must uphold the principles of the rule of law and the government also exists for the people. in other words, it must be responsive to the duties it owes the citizenry as a government. hence appadorai (1968: 96), posits that “democracy is the governing power exercise either directly or indirectly through representatives, periodically elected by the electorates.” furthermore, the concept of democracy was made clearer by robert dahl` in some of his contributions to democratic politics, where he decided in some method to state the concept of “polyarchy'' in the position of democracy. modern democratic form of government has been practice through representative government because of large population and the size of modern states which has become too large for all the citizens to assemble. representative form of democracy is the form of government in which those who governed are representative of the people. although, there appears to be a universal appeal for democracy as against other forms of government, there appear also to be no universal standard for it application, thus, there is the liberal, socialist and even the african conceptualization of democracy. there are universal democratic principles, popularly refers to as the features of democracy. as gleaned from alapiki (2010:59), they are. 1. the presence of universal adult suffrage: this is the provision granting all adult members of a state, the right to vote and be voted for. 2. periodic elections: there should be free and fair elections whereby the electorates choose their representative and the government is made accountable to the people. 3. fundamental human rights: the relevant rights include rights to life, freedom of movement and association, freedom of speech and religion, freedom from arbitrary arrest. the mass medical-radio, newspapers and television should be free. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 50 4. independence of the judiciary: the judiciary should be independent so as to protect the rights of the citizens in the state. this is an aspect of separation of power in government and the rule of low. concept of internal democracy political parties are institutions that are carriers of democratic principles in any organized society. thus, there are a number of institutional guarantees that parties have to fulfill if they were to effectively meet what is expected of them in a democracy. according to scarow (2004: 88), internal democracy “is a very broad term describing a wide range of methods for including party members in intra-party deliberation and decision making”. it is democracy within the party and the extent to which a party subscribes to and abides by the basic and universal democratic tenets. as tyoden (1994: 23) argues, “hardly is a political system adjudged democratic without the central placement of political parties in its political process”. as ihonvobere (2004:99) posits, “political parties in nigeria, seek political power for the purpose of protecting the territorial integrity of nigeria and promoting the security, safety, welfare of all nigerians, to promote and establish resilience of the party system and by extension the fate of democracy and the nature of the political system itself”. in the same vein, mersel (2006: 66), asserts that “various democracies in recent times have faced the problem of nondemocratic political parties, a situation where most parties only focus on external activities, neglecting internal planning an organization”. mersel (2006: 67) further maintained that “in determining whether a political party is democratic, attention should be given to party's goals and practices. this is because some parties often ignore essential elements such as their internal structures”. the idea is that parties must be democratic not only externally in their operations, but also internally in the organizational functions. the interplay between parties and democracies should reflect the party's adherence not only to democratic goals and actions but also to internal democratic structures (mersel, 2006). results and discussions an assessment of internal democracy in people's democratic party (pdp) the manifesto of the people's democratic party (pdp) has one edition since it was established in august 1998. the original edition of the manifesto is a twenty eight (28) pages booklet with thirty one (31) provisions covering the following issues: resolution on party formation, political objectives of the party, indivisibility of the nigeria polity, the judiciary and the administration of justice, economy, agriculture, rural development, industrialization, health, education, science and technology, defense, transport, communication, internal security, energy, water supply, labour employment and wages, natural resources, iron and steel, youth and sports, nigerian culture, women, human rights, environmental obligations, civil service, traditional rulers, housing, tourism, land, and foreign policy. the manifesto spells out the mission statement of the party, (including the structure, organization and mechanism for electing its members.) its programs and how the party plans to carry out such programs. the manifesto is prefaced by a preamble which laments the chequered political history of the country. the preamble is followed by the resolution on party formation passed at the sheraton hotel abuja on wednesday august 19th 1998. the section on the direct principles and mission statement of the party makes a strong assurance to the people of nigeria about the party's commitment to democracy and party politics. the statement read “we of the people's igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 51 democratic party affirm our belief in the supremacy of the constitution of the federal republic of nigeria and the sovereignty of the nigerian people. having examined the relevant provisions of the constitution of nigeria, we hereby affirm our commitment to strict observance and enforcement to the provisions. as a political party, we shall conform to the spirit and the letter of the provisions of the manifesto” (pdp constitution, 1999 as amended). a review of the pdp manifesto reveal that the inability of the party to fulfill its manifesto to the nigerian populace was due to nonadherence to internal party processes (party rules and regulations as it pertain elections of party candidates). there was highhandedness and impunity among the party leadership. beginning from 1999 general elections, the activities of the party was a zero-sum game as winner takes it all. the president and governors where in charge of the affairs of the party structure, they dictate who gets what when and how. according to olaniyan, (2009: 71) “once the president or governor is in control of the political structure, his political kingdom is assured smooth sail or less turbulence in the shark infested and muddy waters of nigerian politics”. olaniyan, (2009: 72), went further to state that “the control of the party structure leverages the position of the governor or the president in many ways; the most important being that during the party primaries, members of the executive committee at the ward and local government levels are members of the congress for the election of the chairman in a local government election. for the state congress, the nomination of the governorship candidate of the party consist of delegates of all the wards chairmen, secretaries, the three-man delegates, local government chairmen, vice chairmen, secretaries, youth leaders, woman leaders and the organizing secretaries are all statutory delegates. so, it is the electoral value of these party officials during primaries that make the control of the party structure from the ward to the national levels a prized asset in the electoral fortune of the political party. however, in the control of the party structure, the governor or the president remains impregnable except there arises a force of greater or equal control of resources (money and goodwill from the presidency or high echelon of the party) and in that case, a challenge could be sustained against his interest. it was the rise of some forces and the control of resources equal or greater to that of the various governors or senators and others that gave rise to the electoral misfortunes of some of the governors, senators and so on which created the impression of change in the electoral culture of the parties. after the national party executive of the pdp and governors had given the president automatic ticket, the presidency and the national party office had presumably conceded to second term governors the right to nominate their successors and the added right to aspire to the position of a senator for others, the governors went home celebrating (this has been the usual tradition since the inception of the party in 1999). governors become dictators in their various states but this assurance from the presidency and the national party office literally elevated them to the status of emperors whose words were laws and so some discountenanced any form of consultations or advice from stakeholders on the choice of candidates to succeed them and other positions. in their respective states they were used to running roughshod on their hapless party members and they hardly listen to anybody in terms of advice or consultations in the management of the party (rourke, 2010). meanwhile, it has to be noted that the successes of the winners of the various pdp primaries were sometimes not as a result of any credible, free and fair contest where the candidates were afforded equal opportunities for instant, during the 2007 pdp presidential primaries held in eagle square igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 52 we notice that umaru yaradua who was a late comer for the contest and unpopular candidate, clinch the ticket against the likes of peter odili, rochas okorocha among others who were popular in the race for the ticket. nothing as such happened from 1999-2015. what usually transpired was that during the filing of nomination forms for the election of the various delegates to the party congresses and convention, each faction prepared a list of its own delegates and obtains forms for them. at, the end it is the list accepted and validated by the national party office that wins. so, once your list of delegates is not accepted by the national office of the party you are as good as a loser. what remained for you was to make as much noise as possible and perhaps explore the avenue of utilizing the various judicial remedies such as injunction or declaration to harass the party and your opponent (tenuche, 2014). for instance, before the 2015 general elections, peoples democratic party (pdp) had said that it only printed one form for the presidential post, meant for the then incumbent president goodluck jonathan. expectedly, some members of the party, who also wanted to contest the presidential election, threatened to head to court to challenge the party's stance and this manifested during the primary election as he was endorsed as a consensus candidate (tenuche, 2014). the outcome of the action of the national leadership to shut out other aspirants from the presidential race made some governors and other bigwig of the party to defect to other party citing the lack of adherence to due process in the party. this invariably led to the abysmal failure and performance of the party at the 2015 general elections. this scenario also played out in many states where the party primary where manipulated to favor certain individuals (most preferred candidates) without recourse to due process (internal democracy). factors militating against internal democracy in the people's democratic party (pdp) opinion diverged among scholars as well as politicians on abysmal performance of the pdp in the 2015 general elections. scholar such as jarnadu (206:12) attributes the factors militating against the pdp to internal wrangling in pdp and stated that it was responsible for its failure in the 2015 general elections. some other factors identified by him includes: party ideological foundation, candidate selection problem, zoning formula, money politics, powerful influence of political elite and incumbency factor. these factors are critically examined below: poverty of party ideology: ideology is one ingredient that consolidates and defines any political party. it is like a superstructure upon which every other thing is built on. party ideology precedes party structure, manifesto, and organization. by party ideology, we mean a set or body of ideas, representations and beliefs common to a specific social group. the question is what is the ideology of the people's democratic party? is the party progressive, conservative, leftist, rightist, reactionary, revolutionary? although the party (pdp) has claimed to be rightist on paper, but this has not significantly reflected in its programs and policies. until this is addressed, the problem of internal democracy will persist in the pdp and other political parties in nigeria. in tandem to the above argument, tenuche (2014: 31) noted that, “poverty of ideology, the idiosyncratic character of executives, godfatherism, improper conduct of primaries, e.t.c were the critical issues as well as factors responsible for the current internal wrangling in people's democratic party (pdp) in nigeria's fourth republic”. similarly, anthonia (2014: 8) observed that, “the problem of pdp today has to do with the party's constitutional defects, imposition of candidates on members, lack of political ideology, godfatherism as well as the conduct of faulty primaries”. these according to them were the features of most nigerian political parties today. candidate selection: the question is who selects the party members that desire to contest in an election? what are the laid down processes for selecting a candidate in a party? is the selection igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 53 based on their credentials and loyalties to the party or based on their deep pockets (money in their wallet) or popularity of their godfathers? as scarrow (2005: 18) noted, “recruiting and selecting candidates is a crucial task for parties, because a party profiles during elections and while in office, are largely determined by which candidates are chosen and where their loyalties lie”. whichever procedure is adopted, it is the responsibility of the party to decide who is eligible to contest or participate in the election. the assumption is that selection should be based on good standing of members. in other words, selection of candidates should be devoid of prejudice, class and ethnic chauvinism. anyaoku (2010: 45) argues that “to ascribe undue influence, especially self-serving influence to the parliamentary group of the party in the selection of candidates would seriously undermine the democratic process”. this is a serious problem in pdp. candidates on the platform of pdp are in most cases been hand-picked by their godfather rather than emerging through free, fair and credible democratic process as stated in the party constitution. haruna (2007: p.23) made a comprehensive study of peoples democratic party and democratization process in nigeria where he observed that “the party has grappled with the problem of conducting free and fair intra-party elections which according to him is one of the hallmarks of democracy”. haruna (2000: 237), further stated that “the primary elections of december 1998/1999 were plagued with much contention that the party lost in a number of states as a result of frauds that were perpetuated. for example, the loss of governorship position in jigawa, kebbi, zamfara and kogi states for the party was directly attributable to the contentious conduct of the governorship primaries in those states as well as the inability of the national leadership of the party to mediate and bring about harmony”. table that shows the names of states control by pdp at various times since her formation in 1998. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya s/n states control by pdp period number national assembly 1 abia, adamawa, akwa ibom, anambra, bauchi, bayelsa benul, cross river, delta, ebonyi, edo, enugu, imo, kaduna, kanu, katsina, nasarawa, niger, plateau, rivers, taraba 1999 elections 21 senate (59) and house of representative (206) 2 abia, adamawa, akwa -ibom, anambra, bauchi, bayelsa, benue, cross river, delta, ebonyi, edo, ekiti, enugu, imo, kaduna, katsina, nasarawa, niger, ogun, ondo, osun , oyo, plateau, rivers, taraba 2003 election 27 senate (76) and house of representative (223 ) 3 akwa -ibom, bauchi, benul, bayelsa, corss -river, delta, edo, ebonyi, enugu, imo, kaduna, kano, katsina, nasarawa, ekiti, niger, plateau, rivers, taraba, adamawa, gombe, bornu 2007 general elections 28 senate (85) seats, and house of representative (260) seat 4 abia, akwa -ibom, bauchi, benue, bayelsa, cross river, delta, edo, ebonyi, ekiti, enugu, imo, kaduna, kano, katsina, nasarawa, ekiti, niger, plateau, rivers, taraba, adamawa, gombe, bornu 2011 general elections 24 senate (51) seats, and house of representative (241) 5 abia, akwa -ibom, bayelsa, cross river, delta, ebonyi, ekiti, enugu, gombe, rivers, taraba 2015 general election 11 senate (43) seats and house of representative (145) seats. 54 source: mempen (2016). party funding: what makes any political party solid is funding, that is, the amount of financial backing it enjoys from members. that is why most times founders of political parties are more interested in attracting members who have economic power than those who have the intellectual capital. this buttresses marx's argument on the 'materialist conception of history: that it is the economy (economic power) that serves as the foundation upon which is erected the superstructure of culture, law and government. similarly, mills (1956), in his famous work, 'the power elites' argues that “political power resides in the controlling positions of powerful institutions. the means of exercising power in any institution or social groups are narrowly concentrated in a few hands. he puts it thus: they rule the big corporations; they run the machinery of the state, political parties and claim its prerogatives. they direct the military establishment and occupy the strategic command posts of the social structure in which are now centered the effective means of the power and the wealth and celebrity which they enjoy. to be celebrated, to be wealthy, to be in power requires access to major institutions, for the institutional positions men occupy determines in large part their chances to have and to hold valued experience (mills, 1956). as griner and zovatto (2005) advance that money and democracy have a complex relationship, especially since the affluent role of private money in politics can have many distorting effects such as, corruption, buying of votes and clientelis. when a party is well funded, it may be able to achieve a lot of things. but the financiers usually have some strings attached to it. in 2002, preparatory to the 2003 general elections, peoples democratic party (pdp) campaign team organized a launching to boost the campaign. this attracted a wide range of technocrats, captains of industries, political elites and bureaucrats. in that event, over six billion naira was realized. while some of the donors are key political actors and members of the pdp, others are not, but well connected to the presidency and the party. the party at the end of the day usually compensates or rewards such donors with contracts and political appointments. drawing on anambra state chapter of pdp, chief emeka offor and chris uba, between 1999 and 2006 made the state ungovernable simply because they were one of the outstanding financiers of pdp. to be specific, between 1999 and 2003, chief emeka offor not only tormented dr. chinwoke mbadinuju, then governor of anambra state but also dominated the running of the affairs of the state because he was his godfather and need to be rewarded. it was a similar case between 2003 and 2005 when dr. chris ngige was the governor of anambra state. chris uba attempted to colonize the state on the ground that he single-handedly sponsored ngige's candidacy. the climax of the ugly scenario was the abduction of the governor in july 2003 by a group of hired police team. interestingly, the then ruling party-pdp did not bother either to carry out any investigation or any disciplinary actions. instead, the governor was abashed, taunted and made to leave the party with ignominy. this, it may not be out of place to infer that peoples democratic party has been perhaps, inadvertently hijacked by political machines, kleptocrats and plutocrats. findings based on the data presented, the following findings are made: i. it was observed in the course of the study that one of the reasons behind pdp failure was due to the absence of internal democracy that characterized the party. the imposition of candidates as party flag bearer during primaries elections was the bane of the party. ii. it was also observed in the course of the study that the emerging party stalwart (political elites) of the pdp had deviated from the vision of the founding father which lay emphasis on the people igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 55 as the most significant instrument of the party. it was believed that the founding father had conceived power to belong to the people and not a single individual or groups of individuals. the outcome of the 2015 general elections was a reflection of a clear deviation from the principles of the party (emphasis on internal democracy). conclusion this study essentially examined some of the hindrances to internal democracy in nigeria's political parties especially in the people's democratic party. these include, non-observance of the code of conduct document which all the political parties assented to and endorsed to guide their conduct and performance particularly during elections, the non-transparent system of choosing candidates in primary elections as well as conducting elections into elective positions of the party (party congresses: national, state, local and ward congress) and the executive arrogance within the party (pdp) which have not only the party apart but also occasioned the decampment of many party stalwarts. this undemocratic tendency is not peculiar to the pdp alone as it is a major feature of most political parties in nigeria. to check some of these undemocratic attitudes and behavior in nigeria's political parties,(especially in the pdp),the study adopts some recommendations made by international organization for sustainable development (osd) which are contained in a communiqué issued at the end of a national workshop on enhancing internal democracy of political parties in africa: recommendations base on the findings, the following recommendations are made: i. there should be a regular convening of pdp national executive meetings of elective and non elective conventions as stipulated in the pdp constitutions, were serious undemocratic issues that threatened the party are address. ii. there should be observance of party financial guidelines, internal dispute resolution mechanisms, transparency in party financial administration, and conclusive party primaries references alan, b.(1973). modern politics and government. mac macillian press. alapiki, h. (2010). politics and governance in nigeria. shape publisher. appadorai, a.(1968). the substance of politics. oxford: oxford university press. awosika, cited oyediran o. (199) political parties, in oyediran o. and a. agbaje (eds) nigeria: politics of transition and governance, 1986 – 1996. russell press limited, basford. challenges of internal democracy in nigeria's political parties: the bane of intra -party conflicts in the peoples democratic party of nigeria©2011 global journals inc. (us.). dahl, r. ( 1963). perfect to democratic theory. chicago university press. dahl, r. (1971). polyarchy: participation and opposition. yale university press; schedler, a. (1998) what is democratic consolidation?, journal of democracy 9, 2, 9293. david, s.(1972). international encyclopedia of the social science. macmillian press. haruna, d. (2007). political parties and democratization process in nigeria: a case study of peoples democratic party (pdp). an unpublished ph.d. dissertation submitted to the department of political science, ahmadu bello university, zaria.. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 56 ihonvbere, j. o. (2004). the obasanjo second term in office: reinventing and repositioning nigeria for growth, stability and democracy. retrieved 26, august, 2024. mersel y. (2006) the dissolution of political parties: the problem of internal democracy. oxford journals 7 (8); 34-56 metuh o. (2010). things fall apart for pdp. daily sun, tuesday, november 2, p. 26. michel, r. (1915). politics of llinois. washington: chapman publication. mosca, g (1939). element discienza political of 1896. oxford university press. nnoli, o. (2003). introduction to politics (second edition). enugu: panafrican centre for research on peace and conflict resolution. nwodo, o. (2010). 'nwodo unveils reform agenda for pdp'. the punch, friday, november 19, olaniyan, a. (2009). inter and intra-party squabbles in nigeria in ogundiya (ed.). re democratization in nigeria. pareto, v (1935). trahato di sociologia general (translated as the mind and society. vol.4.) rourke, p. (2010). don't vote, it just encourages the bastards. grove-press. scarrow, s. (2005). political parties and democracy in theoretical and practical perspectives: implementing intra-party democracy. ndi press tenuche, m. (2014). ruling party and governance in nigeria, in olu obafemi, sam egwu, okechukwu ibeanu and jubrin ibrahim (eds.) (2014), political parties and democracy in nigeria. vintage art gallery limited. tyoden s. (2002). inter and intra party relations: towards a more stable party system in nigeria. the constitution: a.j constitutional dev. 3 : 1 – 33. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 24 exploring the construction ofmasculinities in selected nigerian video films agboola olubunmi tayo, phd department of english, ajayi crowther university, oyo ot.olufolabi@acu.edu.ng & dare samuel olugbenga department of english, adeyemi federal university of education, ondo dareso@aceondo.edu.ng abstract masculinity has been an important topic in the study of gender and film, and this research seeks to contribute to the discourse on the representation of masculinities in nigerian video films. previous studies have largely focused on masculinity within the domestic sphere in nigerian films and literature, leaving the role of masculinity in the crime genre underexplored. this study aims to fill this gap by analysing how the crime genre shapes the construction of masculinity in kemi adetiba’s king of boys and jade osiberu’s gangs of lagos. the study employs raewyn connell’s concept of hegemonic masculinity as theoretical framework. using an interpretative research design, the study analyses samples of nigerian video films: kemi adetiba’s king of boys (2018) and jade osiberu’s gangs of lagos (2023) to explore the ways in which masculinities are constructed, challenged, or subverted. findings reveal that the two films challenge dominant patriarchal norms and stereotypes by presenting alternative forms of masculinity, including non-traditional gender roles, emotional vulnerability and transgressions. the study concludes that nigerian video films have the potential to contribute to the deconstruction of dominant patriarchal masculinities, and recommends that filmmakers and other cultural producers consider the impact of their representations of masculinities on society. keywords: masculinities, exploring, nigerian video films, construction. introduction since the achievement of women’s voting rights, gender debates have gained global prominence. feminism, which emerged in the late 19th and 20th centuries with the ultimate goal of addressing the age-long issue of gender inequality, has indirectly influenced the shift from the traditional roles and expectations assigned to male and female in the society. in african society, particularly in the nigerian context, traditional gender roles have been fashioned such that men are expected to be dominant and assertive while women are expected to be submissive and stay at the background of affairs. solanke (2013) aptly captures it in one of his writings that: over the eons, man has posed as speaking for and on behalf of god and tradition. his assumed positions on social issues, therefore, are regarded as infallibles. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 25 however, in recent times, there has been a gradual interchange in gender roles as we have begun to see several instances in which both men and women manifest behaviours and discharge functions that cut across the traditional gender boundaries. these changes have been brought about as a result of the different reactions against feminism, particularly with regards to the radical turn of the movement which has led to the rise of ideologies such as womanism, motherism, masculinism, among several others. in turn, these ideologies have informed many theories in gender studies of which the theory of masculinity is one. masculinity refers to the societal construct of attributes, ideas, roles, manners of expression and behaviours perceived to be representative of the male figure (adeagbo & olukilede, 2019). masculinity, like feminism, is a fluid concept whose interpretation varies from person to person, society to society, generation to generation. it is a social construct that encompasses attributes that are widely interpreted as “male-typed behaviours” which are classified as hegemonic masculinity, complicit masculinity, subordinated masculinity, and marginalised masculinity. hegemonic masculinity, which is the focus of this study, refers to the dominant form of masculinity in a given society. it is typically associated with power, dominance, and control (connell 1999). in nigeria, traditional forms of hegemonic masculinity have often been associated with violence, misogyny, and homophobia (amoda & taiwo, 2011). however, in recent years, there has been a shift towards the emergence of alternative forms of masculinity that challenge traditional gender roles and stereotypes. (adedun, 2018). this shift has been reflected in nigerian video films, where both male and female characters are increasingly exhibiting traditionally masculine traits and behaviours, such as physical strength, assertiveness, and aggression. this also is found in our oral past in the heroic stories of ẹfunṣetan aniwura of ibadan, mọrèmi of ile ife, emotan of benin and queen amina of zazzau ever before the advent of masculinity studies. in the global media world, the nigerian film industry, nollywood, has become a force to reckon with, ranking second in the world in terms of annual film output, with an estimated viewership of over 100 million people (okolo, 2010). this makes it a virile medium for the portrayal of social realities and ideological reorientation. nigerian video films are well known for their element of didacticism and have become a cultural phenomenon with a huge social impact. the impact of nigerian video films on society is diverse. on one hand, they serve as a source of entertainment and means of escape for many people, providing a means of relaxation and enjoyment. on the other hand, they have been criticised for promoting negative stereotypes and perpetuating certain social vices, such as gender imbalance, religious bigotry, corruption and thuggery, to name but a few. while some nollywood films have garnered praise for promoting positive social messages, such as gender equality and hiv/aids awareness, others have been criticised for their negative portrayal of women and the reinforcement of gender stereotypes. scholars such as nwaegbu, (2014) have noted the prevalence of hypermasculine characters in nigerian video films, perpetuating the idea that men should be dominant and aggressive. in all, there is no downplaying the relevance of nigerian video films as artistic tools used to reflect the social realities of the nigerian populace. if film is seen as an edited reality and a mirror of society like drama, then a film reflects the value of a society, and can be used to influence and change the society. literature review igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 26 masculinity studies and its evolution over time masculinity as a field of study developed as a result of the direct contributions of the feminist movement (carrigan, connell, & lee, 1985; gardiner, 2005). however, it was not until the 1980s that masculinity and the study for the degree of what could be termed "manliness" began to gain interest among scholars such as carrigan, connell, & lee (1985), connell (1987) and clatterbaugh (1990). evolving over time, the study of masculinity has come to include a more diverse range of perspectives and voices, including those of men who do not conform to traditional masculine roles and women who do not conform to traditional feminine roles. scholars such as kimmel, (2013) and hooks, (2004) have explored the intersections of masculinity with race, class, and sexuality, highlighting the ways in which masculinity is not a fixed concept, but rather shaped by various social and cultural factors. in the nigerian context, masculinity has historically been associated with the notions of power, dominance, and subjugation of the female gender. this has been reflected in the country's political, social, and economic structures, which have traditionally been male-dominated. however, this notion of masculinity is now being challenged by a new generation of nigerian men and women who are questioning traditional gender roles and advocating for more gender equality. the trending development in nigerian video films of today now includes the portrayal of heterogeneous representations of masculinity. these representations are often informed by the everyday experiences of nigerians, as well as broader socio-political and cultural trends. for example, some films have explored the impact of economic hardship on men's ability to provide for their families, while others have addressed the rise of gender-based violence and the need for men to take responsibility for their actions (aluko, 2020). repeatedly, the reinforcement of hegemonic masculinity in nigerian video films is perpetuated through the portrayal of violence as a means of asserting power and dominance. this can be seen in the prevalence of action films in which male characters engage in physical combat as a way of resolving conflicts. at the same time, however, some films are challenging this narrative by portraying men who reject violence and instead choose to use alternative means of resolving conflicts. (udogu, 2019). simultaneously, there is an introduction of female characters who navigate their existence by resorting to violence in several films such as the omo ghetto franchise (2010), king of boys (2018) and gangs of lagos (2023). finally, it is important to note that the evolution of masculinity in nigerian video films is not happening in a vacuum. rather, it is reflective of broader changes happening within the nigerian society as a whole. it is also a refraction of global trends towards greater gender equality. as such, it is important for scholars and filmmakers alike to continue exploring and challenging traditional notions of masculinity in order to create a more inclusive and equitable society. nigerian masculinity in historical and cultural contexts masculinity in nigeria has been shaped by a number of historical and cultural factors that have contributed to the creation of a unique form of masculinity that is deeply embedded in the country’s social fabric. a significant factor that has shaped nigerian masculinity is the country’s colonial past. as a former colony of the british empire in the 19th century, the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 27 country’s social and cultural landscape has been largely influenced by british culture. the british colonists permeated the nigerian society with their own version of masculinity which included ideas about stoicism, emotional restraint, and individualism. these ideas were in direct contrast to the traditional nigerian ideas about masculinity, which emphasised communal values and social connectedness (gbogi, 2015). the impact of colonialism on nigerian masculinity was further compounded by the country’s postcolonial experience. obadare (2010) avers that after gaining independence in 1960, nigeria struggled to establish a stable and functioning democracy. this period was marked by a series of military coups, economic hardship, and social unrest, which had an intense impact on nigerian masculinity. consequently, the nigerian society became more violent and aggressive, and men were forced to adopt more aggressive forms of masculinity as a means of survival in this challenging environment. despite the challenges posed by colonialism and postcolonialism, nigerian masculinity has remained resilient and adaptive. nigerian men have found creative ways to navigate the various social and cultural factors that have shaped their masculinity and they have created a unique form of masculinity that is deeply rooted in their cultural heritage. this form of masculinity is characterised by a strong emphasis on social connectedness, emotional expressiveness and communal values. one of the most notable features of nigerian masculinity is its emphasis on communal values. nigerian men are expected to be connected to their families, communities, and other social networks. they are expected to be responsible for the well-being of their families and communities, and they are often judged by their ability to fulfil these responsibilities. this emphasis on social connectedness has created a unique form of masculinity that is deeply rooted in the nigerian society (morrell, 2001; beynon, 2002). theoretical framework the theoretical framework of this paper is hinged on raewyn connell's theory of hegemonic masculinity which refers to the dominant form of masculinity in a given society. according to connell (1999), hegemonic masculinity represents the cultural ideal of masculinity that is seen as natural and normal, and that all other forms of masculinity are judged in relation to it. this ideal is usually characterised by traits such as physical strength, emotional stoicism, competitiveness and aggressiveness. connell argues that this ideal is not innate, but rather constructed through social practices and reinforced through institutions such as media, education and politics. this theory provides a framework for understanding how gender and power intersect in society and how the dominant ideals of masculinity can be harmful to men and women who do not conform to them. research methodology and scope the paper employs an interpretative research design, utilising a content analysis of two selected nigerian video films, namely, king of boys (2018) and gangs of lagos (2023). the two films have been selected because they are relatively new, being released in the last decade. this implies that the films bring fresh perspectives and offer new narratives on masculinity that reflect contemporary societal changes. data collection was achieved through an analytical identification of characters, themes and representations of masculinity in the two films. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 28 emerging masculine behaviours in kemi adetiba’s king of boys the film, set in lagos, nigeria, tells the intriguing story of alhaja eniola salami, a powerful businesswoman who covets a political seat in the country. although wealthy, influential and a feared ruler of the underworld, eniola does not get her political wish. she is opposed by the likes of makanaki, a ruthless gangster, who seeks to avenge the murder of his father, and other political adversaries who pursue a vendetta against her. along the line, eniola gets framed and arrested by the country’s financial crime commission but is acquitted for lack of evidence. she later loses her two children as a result of the power struggle and has to flee the country to brooklyn, united states, where she continues to control the lagos underworld with the advent of telecommunications. overall, the film explores relevant themes such as corruption, political violence, family, loyalty and redemption. a significant portrayal of masculinity in the film is exemplified by the female protagonist, eniola salami. the title of the film describes eniola as the “king of boys.” she is referred to as “king of boys because she dominates the underworld of lagos. also, the word “boys” which is an euphemism for the underworld presupposes the idea that the aforementioned underworld is a place for men. it is however interesting to find that not only is eniola, a woman, a member of that underworld but also the leader of it. this portrayal resonates with connell’s hegemonic masculinity which is typically associated with power, dominance, and control. as “king”, eniola is allocated 40% due from loot from every robbery that takes place in the city. she is assertive, contrary to the societal construct of female attributes, violent if need be, feared and respected by all, hardened criminals even. eniola’s political ambition birthed her desire to keep retaining power, dominance and control. the roles she played as “king” conforms to the tenets of traditional hegemonic masculinity as it relates to the attributes of a king and as a female; however, this comes with a slight departure as eniola is not a man but a woman. as a woman, she assumes the roles that are typically reserved for men in the society and her quest for power challenges traditional gender roles. this deliberate oxymoronic reference speaks volumes about the way nigerian filmmakers are beginning to redefine masculinity in their films in the present day. in kings of boys, kemi adetiba presents a typical scenario of a deconstruction of gender roles as construed by society in a way that forces the audience to have a rethink about constructing or reconstructing genders role ascription in the society. the first scene of the film presents the feminine side of eniola as a gentle socialite with the expected roles of her gender. however, the audience soon realised that this is a total misconception of the true person of eniola after witnessing the way she gruesomely murders a victim in the next scene. eniola bludgeons the victim to death with a hammer, with a single blow, for taking time to answer her question. afterwards she asked her goons to “clear the mess” without the slightest betrayal of emotions other than a smile; it was as if nothing had happened. even her thugs shivered. the gruesomeness of the murder and her choice of words totally negate the societal expectations of the female gender. this is the first inkling of the manner at which the film redefines gender roles. eniola’s use of language has a fluidity which allows her to switch seamlessly to that side of her she wants to project as occasion demands; just as we witnessed at the party scene and the murder scene described above, qi pan (2011) examines the features of female language and concludes that it is a form of social dialect that is shaped by “physiology, psychology…influence of the society and the culture”. pan classified factors that shape the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 29 female language into social and cultural factors. the former include women’s social status and sex role socialisation while the latter include the in gender culture and in gender ideology. in gender culture refers to how a culture conceives and asserts the male-female hegemony and most cultures place the man above the woman. pan argues that even the bible supports this because it demands that women obey their husbands and this has affected how culture views the way women should behave, their use of language inclusive. women’s vocabulary should be polite even when it comes with expletives. expletives are also used by women as a way of avoiding unpleasant expressions. it also reveals their love for “refined and veiled and indirect expressions”. quoting jefferson (1922), pan gave an example that is apt to this study, “for example, women say…” the other place” instead of “hell”, specifically eniola freely uses the word “hell” as and when she chooses. she tells makanaki, “i will wait for you in hell”. arguably, her position as the king of the underworld has already conferred or forced on her, another role which is different from that of her gender. she also confidently affirms to makanaki and other members of the table. the “table” is the meeting of the leaders of the various clans in the underworld and even some religious leaders; eniola affirms that “nothing moves in lagos” without the knowledge of members of the table. eniola who is the oba (king) of the table boasts that the yoruba saying “olorun o ni je ka ri laburu” (may god not allow us to see evil) was about her. she declares, “i am laburu, god’s worst punishment in a person…i swear in front of everybody here today, including the man of god that i, eniola salami will stretch her hands over your dead body”. the tone of her declaration, the fire in her eyes and their wider pragmatic implications send shivers down the spine of other members of the table. it must have further shredded their expectation of the comportment of a female. eniola’s use of language is devoid of the respectfulness and submissiveness that are expected of females. it is not that she does not have them but she puts them to use only when she deploys them as a strategy to employ her feminine nature for some nefarious ends. eniola has a social status that allows her to dine with the high and mighty. the political class which understands the depth of her connections with the underworld is in awe of her. even before aare, the political godfather of the land, she stands up to him but is also quick to apologise when occasion demands it. this apology is not like submissiveness which is the attribute of females. it is however a tactic that underscores her deadliness and crowns her as a femme fatale. it veils her seething anger and allows her time to strategise. her ascension to the position of the king at the table of the underworld clearly shows her ruthlessness and foregrounds how her character continues to (de)construct gender attributes. wiping of chief’s family in a well orchestrated accident smirks of a level of wickedness and debauchery that society does not associate with the female gender. however, her personal experiences and ideology have developed ruthlessness as a social construct in her feminine body. she orders murders, high heists, robberies with impunity. the robbery carried out on the political elites could not go on until eniola had greenlighted it. men shiver at the mention of her name; even men who are leaders of their respective gangs within the wider lagos underworld. even during her travails when other powers of the underworld and politics came for her head, she was still able to maintain her dignity of person at a time when she was mourning the loss of her two children and within the echelon of the underworld. she did not cower with death staring down her face. she chose to die a hero and planned to wait for makanaki in hell. this also aberrates the roles ascription structures of the society on gender lines. a bereaved person should be calm and uninterested in life, especially a woman. expectedly, eniola is a different person; she is a woman, not a female. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 30 another deconstruction of the gender stereotyping in the story is depicted in the role reversal that we see in the characters of eniola’s children, kiitan and kemi; the former is a male while the latter is a female. however, this description seems to be valid only when we use physiology as yardstick, other than this, kiitan embodies the expected attributes of females more than those of his sex as a man. kemi, the daughter, interacts more with the underworld and understands the way “things work” more than kiitan, the son. she laments how her brother is bereft of the psychosocial and political encumbrances around their mother. both were always in argument. during one of their sessions, kemi told kiitan to his face, “i am more of a son than you would ever be”. this is indubitably true considering all the dirty works she has done for her mother the king which has secured her trust for her. she fearlessly stood up to makanaki, at the table when he disrespected her mother. “makanaki, se nkan n se e ni? what sort of insult is that?” (makanaki, is something wrong with you? what sort of insult is that?). she was also beside her mother and got her bail before she was assassinated in place of her mother. kiitan, on the other hand, only discovered how amaka, his girlfriend, has been a mole for enemies in getting the needed information to assassinate his mum. this led to the death of his sister. he could only commit suicide after realising how “useless” he has been and how much he has cost his family. for a son, born into a family that controls the underworld, society expects kiitan to have dispositions, both mentally and physically that puts him in the thick of things. however, his case was different. he was more of the female, the female-son. throughout the story, eniola is in a position that pitches her against a patriarchal system that operates a societal belief structure which believes that women should be seen and not heard, for one that is highly connected, politically and to the underworld, she must be used and dumped. she was used to achieve their political ends most especially during elections and dumped afterwards. she challenges them and would not accept that position. she was ready to go the whole hog to seek a redress. as much as the institution she faces dealt with her, she was still able to hold her own against them. formerly, nollywood films such as mufu olosa oko (2013) alani pamolekun (2015) to mention a few, have been known for portraying male characters as highly ambitious kingpins, criminal masterminds, and gangsters. even when there is an inclusion of female characters, they usually do not take the lead as males. however, eniola’s character and the totality of her characterisation stands this traditional gender stereotyping on its head. it is a total deconstruction of the violent-male, peacefulfemale belief and ideals. this is highly reflective of the trend that is observable in gender reality of late. we are beginning to see an increase in the way men and women in nigeria evince behaviours and roles that overlap the normative expectations of their respective genders. the portrayal of kemi, eniola’s daughter, is also not very different from that of her mother’s as we are made to see a strong-willed, intelligent and ambitious young woman who does her best to stay relevant in her male-dominated society. as much as kemi was murdered prematurely, her ideological leanings and actions clearly suggest that she would have been more ruthless than eniola, her mother. let us also consider the different ways odogwu malay and makanaki demonstrated masculinity in the film. odogwu malay concocts and executes a successful robbery plan with makanaki and while odogwu wants to remit the customary percentage of the loot to eniola, makanaki strongly opposes it. here, we are made to witness two different portrayals of masculinity at play. while the character of makanaki reinforces hegemonic masculinity which is typical of most african men, odogwu malay, on the other hand, demonstrates that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 31 which is similar to transgressive masculinity which refers to a radical rejection of traditional and hegemonic masculinities and a deliberate deviation from gender norms and expectations. transgressive masculinity often challenges the idea of a fixed, binary gender system and may embrace a more fluid and non-conforming approach to gender (connell, 1995). in other instances in the film, odogwu malay resorts to violence and desires power, thereby alternating between several forms of masculinity. construction of masculine behaviours in jadesola osiberu’s gangs of lagos the film, also set in lagos, nigeria, follows the story of a trio, obalola, ify, and gift, who are exposed to the gangster underworld at a young age and have to survive amid the treacherous realities that surround their lives. they are taken in by ninalowo, a gang leader of isale-eko area of lagos, who intended to help them through school. ninalowo is, however, murdered and the trio work for kazeem, another ruthless and scheming gang leader. kazeem’s inordinate lust for political power leads to his killing of london, a rival gang leader over his support for a governorship opposition candidate, for which he frames ify and later kills too. devastated at the loss of their friend, obalola and gift engage in a fierce vengeful war with their boss, kazeem and other selfish and oppressive sit-tight leaders, with gift fatally shooting and killing kazeem. jade osiberu’s gangs of lagos reflects gender stereotypes and role reversal. these are found in the characters and their characterisation, thematic preoccupation, the plot and other important elements that marks the literariness of the story. it is discovered that the concept of masculinity which is in preponderance in the story is hegemonic but many other evidence of gender transgression abound in the film. it is a game of power, greed, over ambition and violence. jade osiberu's gangs of lagos presents a host of characters whose constructs, attitudes and behaviours challenge traditional concepts of masculinity. their representations transgress traditional gender norms and expectations. one of these characters is gift, who happens to be a member of the trio that propelled the plot of the story. gift, as a young girl, finds herself in the midst of friends who are boys: obalola and ifeanyichukwu (also called ify or panama). their relationship and bond is extraordinary for young people growing up in a crime and violence-ridden environment. let us consider the following excerpt: ify: (speaking to obalola after robbing a woman of her bag.) eje mi ni e now. ko s’eni to le fall eje mi bayen. (you are my blood. no one messes with my blood). gift: me nko? (what about me?) ify: chill, you are our bro ify & obalola: omo aye for life, (street brothers for life). gift: (laughs and joins them) omo aye for life. (street brothers for life)... ify: (facing gift) why are you doing like a girl? gift: kin wa n’imi tele o? who am i before? ify & obalola: you're a boy joor. in the above excerpt culled from the film, gift is referred to as a boy by her friends, obalola and ify, because that was how they see and perceive her. however, when she reacted to this igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 32 in a way, her masculinity was questioned by obalola. she, nonetheless, affirmed that she is a girl and not a boy. regardless, the boys still insisted that they are all blood brothers. indirectly, the portrayal in that scene is like a foreshadowing of what gift later became in the film. contrary to erstwhile portrayal of females in nollywood films of the past, gift is highly opinionated, a skilled fighter, and a brutal gang leader. in several situations when the gangs are at war, gift is seen showing great skill in martial arts and the use of weapons. she is not afraid of violence; the sight of blood does not faze her. gift’s masculine representation is further strengthened by the fact that she is the only lady in her group and is always at the forefront of all the gang wars. despite being a woman, it was her bullet that killed kazeem, the wicked and oppressive eleniyan, the head of the gang. osiberu intentionally introduced this to engrave the deviation in gender attributes in the minds of the audience. it also forces these thoughts into their psychosocial orientation so that they can begin to question the places of attributes like ruthlessness, maybe wickedness, tactfulness and aggressiveness as yardsticks for gender classification. this foregrounds ify and obalola’s assertion that gift is a boy, a male. in a sense, the film suggests that gender deviation could be nurtured over time. so also, the relationship and friendship of obalola, gift and ify throughout the film is devoid of gender consciousness. the trio transgressed gender norms in their actions in the film. ify, who is a male, reveals more of the feminine attributes. he is soft, emotional, a music lover, not aggressive, and barely takes to violence. even in a discussion with ekun, a leader of a rival gang, obalola refers to ify as “pana kekere” (harmless pana). ify’s portrayal contradicts the tenets of hegemonic masculinity which expects men to be assertive, aggressive and dominating. this contrasts sharply with gift. she, on the other hand, bravely asserts her intentions and carries them out in a gang dominated by men. she partakes in the bulk of the violence in the film unlike ify who barely avers his intentions, let alone carries them out. while the characterisation of gift, though a woman, conforms to traditional masculinity, that of ify veers off and takes on a modern form. going further, the death of ify caused great sorrow to obalola, gift and their gang. this also allows for another deviation from gender roles as we see ify's mother, who is supposed to be sober, mournful and quiet, having lost her son, refuses to show any of these attitudes at his funeral. instead, she accepted the death of her son with equanimity and a boastful speech calling for vengeance. this goes against the ascribed feminine qualities expected of a mother in such a situation. her speech inspired a bloody revolt by the members of the various gangs against the eleniyan. jade osiberu’s gangs of lagos further deconstructs masculinity through the representation of power dynamics in the film. the male figures in the film, as represented by the likes of olorogun agba, the long reigning governor of lagos, alaye bambam, the retired eleniyan, and kazeem, the current eleniyan, have dominated power in isale eko for decades using the erukus at their beck and call to intimidate, blackmail and even eliminate the slightest appearance of opposition. the conflict in the film is heightened by the emergence of a woman, bamidele olanrewaju, who is contesting the governorship seat with olorogun agba. as a woman, olanrewaju boldly resisted the many tactics employed by olorogun agba to stop her from running for governor. although a number of olanrewaju stalwarts such as london, were killed, the conclusion of the film hinted at a likely victory for her. interestingly, we can also find a number of instances in the film where hegemonic masculinity was reinforced. first, we see that the many scenes of violence and murders igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 33 brought about by wars between the gangs led to hundreds of casualties. a very good example is in the reprisal murders carried out by ninalowo’s gang after his murder, illustrating the yoruba saying that “kings are not buried alone.” in this instance, as revealed by the narrator in the film, at least a hundred men, not women, were killed. this perpetuates the traditional practice by filmmakers in associating short lifespan with male characters. secondly, the lead character, obalola, on his part, is saddled with the responsibility of assuming his late father’s position as eleniyan “the owner of men.” to achieve this, he has to toughen up and embrace a life of violence; a necessary feature of hegemonic masculinity. this is evident in the way he takes pride in himself as “obalola” (a king tomorrow). it is the same story for kazeem who in his bid to rule the entire isale eko gangs and also secure the governor’s seat for his political godfather, olorogun agba, goes on a murdering spree, orchestrating the deaths of obalola’s father ogunmola, among several others. we cannot also ignore the opening scene of the film in which ogunmola, obalola’s father, stands up to challenge the masked stranger who has invaded his home. here, he displays the need to protect his family, a very common attribute expected of men in a typical african setting. also, the setting of the film, isale eko, which translates to “lower part of eko” gives credence to the assumption that one’s environment wields great influence on how one perceives and exhibits gender roles. the film unequivocally presents isale eko as a dystopian community where intimidation, robbery, thuggery, violence and bloodletting reign supreme. to adapt in this kind of environment, it is expected that one toughens up and be daring in the face of danger. this is exactly the case of the character of the “orobo woman” whom the trio robs at the beginning of the film. the “orobo woman” fearlessly called to bluff the threat made by ify who approached her with a knife, asking that she surrender her bag. however, she later gave in when obalola threatened her little child. it can thus be inclined that the environment also contributes to the construction of gender. conclusion in this study, we have seen the different ways nigerian filmmakers are now portraying gender in films. in king of boys, the female protagonist, eniola, defies traditional gender roles of her society, conforming to strong masculine traits that have erstwhile been associated with men, most especially in the quest for political power leveraging on the ruthlessness of the underworld. gift also displayed the deviation in gender roles as she demonstrated attributes that society tagged “male or masculine”. to achieve a balance in these role reversals, ify in gangs of lagos and kiitan in king of boys did not measure up to society’s expectation of their roles as males in comparison to kemi in the former and gift in the latter film. these films also provide imaginative and relatable realities which the audience might not have witnessed before and foreground the possibility of this in real life. this is perhaps reflective of the gender evolution of the day. it is also noteworthy that the two films are directed by women who are thriving in the male-dominated post of directors in the nollywood industry. the possibility that the gender of these directors might have somehow influenced the portrayal of gender roles in the films cannot be ruled out. as the world navigates progressively towards gender equality, it is becoming even more necessary to reconsider the definition of what could be termed masculinity. men and women are forced to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 34 begin to consider gender role ascription anew and in ways that accommodate emerging contemporary understandings in gender relations. the setting of the two films in lagos suggests a metaphorical reference to the idea that urbanisation wields a large influence on the emerging masculine behaviours of present times. we also witnessed men who exemplified a milder form of masculinity. people express masculinity irrespective of their genders and this notion is now being portrayed and reinforced in contemporary nigerian video films. through these portrayals of gender realities, the society is compelled to begin to redefine the markers of male and female as people are grouped along gender lines. works cited adeagbo, o., & olukilede, t. (2019). masculinity in nigeria: a review of literature and policy documents. journal of gender studies, 28(4), 412-425. adedun, e. t. (2018). masculinities in contemporary nigerian video film: a study of three films. journal of pan african studies, 11(6), 216-230. aluko, o. (2020). nollywood and emerging masculine behaviours. journal of african cinemas, 12(1), 75-89. amoda, o., & taiwo, o. (2011). hegemonic masculinity, culture and globalization: nigeria and the politics of exclusion. journal of pan african studies, 4(9), 99-111. ayodabo, s.j. (2021). the constructions of masculinity in selected nigerian children’s literature. an unpublished phd thesis submitted to the university of ibadan postgraduate college beynon, j. (ed.). (2002). masculinities and culture. open university press. carrigan, t., connell, r. w., & lee, j. (1985). toward a new sociology of masculinity. theory and society, 14(5), 551-604. clatterbaugh, k. (1990). contemporary perspectives on masculinity: men, women, and politics in modern society. westview press. connell, r. w. (1987). gender and power: society, the person, and sexual politics. stanford university press. connell, r. w. (1999). masculinities. st. leonards, new south wales: allen & unwin. donaldson, mike. (1993). “what is hegemonic masculinity?” theory and society, 22: 643– 657. gardiner, j. k. (2005). masculinity studies and feminist theory: new directions. columbia university press. gbogi, t. (2015). masculinity and colonialism in nigeria: the influence of british ideas on nigerian masculinity. international journal of humanities and social science research, 4(1), 10-23. hooks, b. (2004). the will to change: men, masculinity, and love. atria books. james o. okolo. (2010). nollywood: a case study of the rising nigerian film industry. journal of pan african studies, 3(6), 25-44. https://www.jpanafrican.org/docs/vol3no6/nollywood.pdf kanu, i. a. (2012). “the genders in christian anthropology vis-a-vis the experience of violence by women in nigeria”. international journal of language, literature and gender studies. 1. 2. 1-14, 2012. kanu, i. a. (2024a). “ethic of reciprocity and the experience of widows in nigeria”. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life, 21(2): 89-100. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 35 kanu, i. a. (2024b). “women, violence and christian eschatological hope”. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life, 21(2): 37-54. kanu, i. a., “the equality of sexes in j. s. mill vis-a-vis the participation of women in the nigerian labour and economy”. the international journal of language, literature and gender studies. 1. 1. 18-29, 2012. kanu, i. a., “gender and good governance in john lock: religious and political perspectives”. amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. 13. 1. 88-97, 2015. kimmel, m. s. (2013). angry white men: american masculinity at the end of an era. nation books. morrell, r. (2001). masculinity in africa. men and masculinities, 4(4), 302-318. nwaegbu, j. i. (2014). video-film in nigeria: the alternative to nollywood. journal of african cinemas, 6(1), 45-63. https://doi.org/10.1386/jac.6.1.45_1 obadare, e. (2010). the paradox of nigerian masculinity. journal of men’s studies, 18(2), 119-132 pan, q. (2011). on the features of female language in english. theory and practice in language studies, 8(1), 1015-1018 solanke, s. o. (2013). “humans as voices of god and tradition?” rethinking the subjugation of the african woman in mariama ba’s so long a letter. rupkatha journal on interdisciplinary studies in humanities, vol. v, number 2, 329-336, http://rupkatha.com/v5/n2/28_mariama_ba_so_long_a_letter.pd adetiba, k. (director). (2018). king of boys [motion picture]. nigeria: kemi adetiba visuals. osiberu, j. (director). (2023). gangs of lagos [motion picture]. nigeria: amazon prime video igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 18 christian diviners: inculturation from below? lawrence n. nwankwo department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe university awka abstract the igbo traditional practice of seeking information from diviners is very much alive in the church in igboland. diviners who identify with the igbo ancestral religion exist side by side with christian diviners. the latter claim being gifted by god with insights into future events. can the prevalence of this phenomenon of christian diviners be accounted for as inculturation from below? this is the problematic of this write-up. using a hermeneutical approach, effort is made to situate the divination by christians within the socio-historical and cultural development in the bible of the understanding and practice of prophecy and to explore the circumstances that reckon this practice in the 21st century life-context of igbo christians. the recommendation is to live by faith rather than by sight where faith implies trust in god while exercising due diligence in judgement and decision-making rather than relying on private revelation. keywords: inculturation, divination, prophecy, private revelation. introduction divination is a common practice in igbo traditional religion, as it is in many other religions. in times of crisis, ‘i je ju ase’ – which literally means – to go and make inquiries from the diviner, is the culturally sanctioned approach to take. the diviner is expected to find out the deity or spirit that is behind the crises and possibly also what it would take to rectify things. the appeasement of such an interfering deity or spirit is believed to restore the cosmic balance that would end the crisis. a practice analogous to divination has become prevalent in popular christianity in south-eastern nigeria. consultation is prominent in the programme of activities of those who, for ease of reference, i have called ‘christian diviners.’ those undergoing crisis due to downturn in business, career challenges, ill health, fertility problems, etc. consult these men or women of god for supernatural insight into the source of their problem. in some cases, the consultation aims at finding out not just the spiritual beings behind the misfortune but also the human beings working in consort with the spirit forces. this angle comes out clearly in ọlụ ezinaụlọ – family ministry – where kindreds engage the services of the ‘christian diviner’ to find out who among them is or are purportedly holding the others down through ‘occult’ means.1 as in the traditional setting, such consultations are also made on behalf of another. a mother was worried that her daughter was not yet married. she went to one of the christian diviners for a prayer session. the message given to her was that another man whom the daughter had refused to marry had tied her up in the spirit 1 lawrence nwankwo, “ọlụ ezinaụnọ and neo-christianity: a critical reflection on a practice in igboland,” the return of the gods, festschrift in honour of prof. jude emeka madu, eds. b.a.c obiefuna, et al., (onitsha: coskan, 2018) 401-409. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 19 world such that unless this ‘spiritual chain’ is broken, the girl would be experiencing what is called ‘promise and fail.’ this means that suitors would come, promise to marry her but along the line would fail her by absconding without any reason. some of these ‘christian diviners’ peddle messages purportedly from god without any solicitation from the supposed beneficiary. there are cases of strangers walking up to people and delivering to them what they claim to be messages from god. indeed, the services of the ‘christian diviners’ have even enlarged beyond those of their counterparts in the traditional igbo setting. they are not only consulted in moments of crisis understood as moments of difficulty but also in moments of crisis understood as moments of important and life-changing decisions. thus, people take the names of their prospective wives and husbands from men and women of god to ascertain the one approved by god.2 in the face of the widespread nature of this phenomenon, can one term what is taking place as inculturation from below? that is, recognition that divination, albeit in the christian context, has become de facto an important feature of christianity in igboland. are all the cases of purported messages from god actually from god? even if, some of the messages are from god, is it right for one to build one’s life around such ‘extraordinary’ insights into the sequence of events? in other words, is this widespread phenomenon an aberration or a bold step towards assimilating a genuine value and practice in igbo traditional religion into christianity? the first step in our reflection would therefore be an exploration of the demands of inculturation in order to gain a template for the reflection on the phenomenon of ‘christian divination.’ inculturation and the vatican ii document ad gentes divinitus pope francis, in line with the magisterium of his predecessor, pope st. john paul ii, notes that “through inculturation, the church ‘introduces peoples, together with their cultures, into her community,’ for ‘every culture offers positive values and forms which can enrich the way the gospel is preached, understood and lived.’ in this way, the church takes up the values of different cultures and becomes sponsa ornate monilibus suis, ‘the bride bedecked with her jewels’ (cf. is 61:10).”3 although the evangelization of china by st. francis xavier and his jesuit companions showed sensitivity and respect for the chinese culture, the church in the period of missionary expansion 2i wonder if in the traditional igbo setting people felt the need to consult the diviner before marriage. the current prevalence of this particular form of consultation shows the socio-cultural changes with regard to the institution of marriage. people, especially women, no longer marry so early and most marriages are no longer arranged marriages. on the one hand, with many suitors coming for marriage and many prospective wives jostling to secure that position and on the other hand, the difficulties associated with failed marriages staring them in the face, the burden of making the choice of a life-partner has become so high for young men and women. this leads many to make recourse to christian divination as a means of overcoming the uncertainty of the outcome of the choice of partner and to have a divine seal of approval for their eventual choice. 3 pope francis apostolic exhortation evangeliigaudium, no. 116 http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazioneap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium_en.html accessed on january 4, 2014. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 20 to africa was ensconced in a eurocentric vision. european culture was seen as normative. christianization was synonymous with westernization. it took world war ii, the decolonization struggle, and the shift from the normative to the anthropological understanding of culture to move the church to a rediscovery of the vision of justin martyr with regard to the relationship of the christian faith and other cultures. this rediscovered vision shines through in the documents of the vatican ii council. faced with the challenge of articulating the relationship between christianity and the ‘pagan’ culture of his time which had produced the great philosophical tradition in which he was trained before he converted to christianity, justin martyr proposed a framework of relationship in which christianity is in continuity with ‘pagan’ cultures while also in discontinuity. he spoke of the seed of the logos (logos spermatikos) scattered in all cultures and religions.4 this is the principle of continuity. every culture has seeds of the logos – who is jesus christ – planted in it. but the fullness of this logos is to be found in christianity. in this bold move, he unfolded a common ground between christianity and other cultures and religions. unlike tertullian, whose rhetorical question, “what has athens in common with jerusalem?”5 indicated that christianity has no common grounds with the greek culture, justin martyr not only advocated for such a common ground but also sketched a hierarchical scheme in which christianity represented the highest and the best while acknowledging that ‘pagan’ philosophy and cultures have some value. as already noted, the vision of justin martyr was taken up in the vatican ii council documents. while rejecting the exclusivism of tertullian, the council fathers affirmed in nostra aetate no. 2 that the catholic church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in non-christian religions. “she has a high regard for the manner of life and conduct, the precepts and doctrines which, although differing in many ways from her teaching, nevertheless often reflect a ray of that truth which enlightens all men.” this positive valuation of other religions and cultures based on a view of them as reflecting rays of that truth or containing seeds of that logos, (to use the formulation of justin martyr) gave rise to an emphasis on mission in terms of the incarnation of the gospel in the cultures of the different peoples. thus, in ad gentes 22, mission was seen no longer in terms of transplanting the church in europe or elsewhere to other places but in terms of inculturation. deploying an organic metaphor, the council father affirmed that “the seed which is the word of god grows out of good soil watered by the divine dew, it absorbs moisture, transforms it, and makes it part of itself, so that eventually it bears much fruit. so too indeed, just as happened in the economy of the incarnation, the young churches, which are rooted in christ and built on the foundation of the apostles, take over all the riches of the nations which have been given to christ as an inheritance (cf ps 2:8). they borrow from the customs, traditions, wisdom, teaching, arts and sciences of their people everything which could be used to praise the glory of the creator, manifest the grace of the savior, or contribute to the right ordering of christian life.” 4justin martyr, dialogue with trypho, a jew,http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.viii.iv.iii.html accessed on february 20, 2012. see also clement of alexandria, stromata, bk 1, ch.5, see http://www.ccel.org/schaff/anf02.vi.iv.i.ix.html accessed december 15, 2011. 5 tertullian, de prescr. adv. haer. 7, http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf03.v.iii.vii.html accessed february 10, 2012. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 21 as already noted, inculturation is proposed by the council fathers as the way to mission. the seed of the gospel has to grow in the native soil of the different peoples in which it is preached. it is to be nourished by that soil, transforming these nutrients and making them part of itself. as the church does this, it shows forth her catholicity, which does not only mean universality in terms of geographical spread but also universality in terms of embracing and preserving all truths and values from different cultural backgrounds as long as these are not bound up with superstition and error (sacrosanctum concilium 37). in sum, it is taken that just as in the incarnation, the word took flesh without absorbing or annihilating human nature, in the same way, elements of a culture which reflect the light of jesus can be taken up and brought into the church.6 as communities strive to introduce elements of their culture into the church, jesus christ, the logos of god, remains the touchstone and measure of what is to be admitted. inculturation, therefore, is not the haphazard adaptation of any cultural element, however cherished or widespread, in a community. there has to be a process of discernment, which has to start with an in-depth understanding of the word revealed by god within the tradition of the church. this grounding in the teachings of the church would then aid the search for how the “faith can be explained in terms of the philosophy and wisdom of the people and how their customs, concept of life and social structures can be reconciled with the standard proposed by divine revelation” (ad gentes 22). in the light of the above, it can be said that what i have called ‘inculturation from below’ – that is, the canonization of any practice in popular religiosity as genuine inculturation – is not accurate. acculturation, that is, the assimilation of cultural elements into christianity, has to be accompanied by theological discernment. in this discernment process, jesus christ, the word of god, remains the touchstone. as regards divination, a lot more has to be done apart from the widespread nature of the practice to speak of its inculturation or lack thereof. divination: another face of the phenomenon the bible is clear on its injunction against divination, fortune-telling, sorcery, interpretation of omens, inquiry from the dead and other ritual practices of the peoples among whom the israelites settled. in deut 18:9-12, it is stated, “when you have entered the country given you by yahweh your god, you must not learn to imitate the detestable practices of the nations there already. there must never be anyone among you who makes his son or daughter pass through the fire of sacrifice, who practices divination, who is a soothsayer, augur or sorcerer, weaver of spells, consulter of ghosts or mediums, or necromancer. for anyone who does these things is detestable to yahweh your god; it is because of these detestable practices that yahweh your god is driving out these nations before you.” (see also micah 5:12) as king of israel, saul proscribed such practices. but before the battle with the philistines in which he lost his life, he went in disguise and consulted the witch at endor (1 sam 28:7). divination often evokes the image of an exotic ritual: the throwing of shells or any other ritual object and attending to the pattern made by these objects, the reading of palms, reading of the configuration of the intestines of an animal. the nigerian film industry, nollywood, has 6 see lawrence nwankwo, “religion, culture and social regeneration,” a bountiful harvest: festschrift in honour of very rev. msgr. prof. j.p.c. nzomiwu, ed. chiegboka a.b.c et al (nimo: rex charles, 2012) 354-364. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 22 popularized divination in terms of internal audition and visions granted exclusively to the diviner by spirit beings in virtue of his or her charisma as a diviner. whatever the means employed, the ultimate aim is to access and provide information that is not ordinarily available to human beings. in the light of this distinction between means and end, divination or fortune-telling is essentially about accessing information which is ordinarily not available to human beings. for example, information about the outcome of a choice of a marriage partner, whether the marriage would be successful or unsuccessful, is ordinarily not available at the time the marriage is being contracted.7 similarly, the famous line from shakespeare’s macbeth, which states that there is no art to find the mind’s construction on the face, makes it clear that people’s deepest motives and their life histories are not written on their faces for others to read off. to read people’s minds or motives for action borders on divination or fortune-telling. if we go back to the old testament, we see the prophets being consulted in times of war. these prophets were requested to inquire from yahweh whether the israelites would be victorious or not. would such services provided by the prophets be seen as analogous to divination or fortune-telling despite the old testament ban on such practices? divination and the institution of prophecy in the old testament the prophets played significant roles both religiously and politically in the history of israel. following god’s directive, samuel anointed saul king of israel. the ascension of david to the throne is presented as a consequence of divine election, as attested to by the anointing by samuel, even when david was still a lad and the working out of this divine choice through david’s successful military exploits. similarly, ahijah the prophet had symbolically confirmed to jeroboam, son of nebat his leadership of ten of the twelve tribes of israel before the political schism occasioned by rehoboam’s insensitivity to his people’s request (1 kings 11:29-31; 12:120). elijah the prophet was sent to anoint jehu, son of nimshi king of israel and hazael as king of aram (1 king 19:16-17). it may be argued that it was such endorsement by the prophets that emboldened the individuals (saul, david, jeroboam, jehu, hazael etc.) to play the roles they did, but the sense of the narrative is that yahweh is the lord of history and was directing history in line with his will. the prophets are presented as recipients of the information about the future turn of events as willed by god. there are other, more mundane presentations about the activities of the prophets that present them as those in possession of extraordinary knowledge and sources of information that are not otherwise available to other human beings. some stories about the prophet elisha credit him with parapsychic abilities such as clairvoyance. in 2 kings 6:12, it is reported that elisha divulged to the king of israel the secret war plans made by the king of aram in his bedchamber, and in v. 32, he is presented as having the power to know of the plan to kill him hatched by the king. as gehazi, his servant, was denying his meeting with naaman, elisha informed him that he was present, although not physically, at the meeting (2 kings 5:26). such extraordinary knowledge is also credited to ahijah the prophet. king jeroboam sent his wife to him to find out what would happen to abijah, his sick son. the wife was to disguise herself. notwithstanding the disguise and the fact 7 what may be available is a reasoned calculation based on evidence as regards the outcome of the marriage relationship. even then, one can only speak of the probable turn of events in the future. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 23 that ahijah could not see because of age, “yahweh told him, ‘jeroboam’s wife is now on her way to ask you for a prophecy about her son, as he is sick. you will tell her such and such. when she comes she will pretend to be some other woman’” (1 kings 14:5). prophets were also consulted to know the outcome of wars. before the siege of ramoth in gilead, king jehoshaphat insisted that the prophets be consulted to find out whether yahweh would guarantee them victory. not convinced about the endorsement of the military campaign against ramoth in gilead by the band of four hundred prophets provided by king ahab, jehoshaphat asked, “is there no other prophet of yahweh here, so that we can enquire through him?” at this request, micaiah son of imlah was brought and he told ahab and jehoshaphat that ahab would be killed in the campaign against ramoth in gilead and israel would be defeated. he even explained how a deceptive spirit was put in the mouths of all the prophets of ahab to entice him to go to battle and die. with prophets pitched against each other, ahab chose to go to war and indeed died there (1 kings 22:5-38). one can raise questions about micaiah’s response. if yahweh had wanted ahab to be deceived into going up to ramoth in gilead to die and had put deceptive spirits in the mouths of the other prophets, why would micaiah blow the whistle? that is why he would thwart god’s plan by warning ahab. would god be working at cross purposes with himself? or is this a warning about an uncritical adoption of the way the prophets and their activities are presented? be that as it may, it is easy to show the complexity of the use of the term prophet (nabi’) in the old testament and of the evolution of the institution of prophecy in ancient israel from a period of close mirroring of the practices prevalent among their neighbors to a period when such ‘extraordinary’ powers were not associated with prophets. this corresponds to a shift from oral proclamation about prophets to written records credited to the prophets. with regard to the complexity of use of the term, it is noteworthy as gerhard von rad observed that “our general use of the term ‘prophets’ gives the impression of a uniformity which did not in fact exist.”8 it is interesting to note that the designation ‘prophet’ and ‘prophetess’ as the case may be was used for abraham (gen 20:7), moses (deut 34:10), aaron (ex 7:1) miriam (ex 15:20). it is hard to see the commonality between these figures and elijah or micaiah son of imlah to warrant the application of the same term ‘prophet’ to them. but this shows the great range of meanings that the term prophet has. it is also easy to see that there is a development of the institution of prophecy in israel. there were the ecstatic and mantic groups that used music to work themselves into frenzy (1 sam 10:9-14). as gerhard von rad put it, the prophets were children of their milieu. their prophetic utterances 8 “in the sources nathan is everywhere designated as prophet … but on the other hand, gad sometimes functions as ‘david’s seer’ (2 sam 24:11) and sometimes as prophet (1 sam. 22:5; 2 sam 24:11). amaziah addresses amos as ‘seer’… whereupon the latter retorts that he is no ‘prophet’ (amos 7:12, 14). in 1 sam 9:9, prophet and seer are designated as synonymous terms, though it is said that the use of the terms had changed with the passage of time.” he concludes that “this remarkable fluctuation in the terms employed warns us against regarding any specific text as an altogether direct reflexion of what the actual usage was. the narrators’ own preconceptions always play a part; and, more particularly, the terms used in the various text-groups are those current in the places where the texts originated.” gerhard von rad,old testament theology, vol ii: the theology of israel’s prophetic tradition, trans. d.m.g. stalker (new york: harper & row, 1965) 6. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 24 and comportment were not simply out of their personal experience of yahweh. “research has … clearly shown that the prophets were much more directly involved in concepts common to the ancient east, in cult, and in myth, and even in what were termed primitive ‘magical’ ideas.”9 however, the transition from oral proclamation of prophecy, that is, from a narrative form of report to written records or logia of the prophet, marked an important step in the development of the institution. the narratives about elisha, for example, celebrated him as possessing a charisma that gave him the power to perform miracles and display supernatural knowledge. in jeremiah, the weeping prophet who suffered greatly in the hands of his people, one sees a different picture of a prophet as someone who spoke, suffered rejection, and felt abandoned as he strove to call the israelites back to covenant faithfulness as the basis for their wellbeing. in sum, there is a shift in narratives about prophets being possessors of supernatural power and knowledge about events to prophets being bearers and interpreters of god’s word to the people. in the later stages of its development, the messages of the prophets were rarely addressed to single persons,10 much less were the prophets consulted like ahijah was (1 kings 14:1-5), to find out the cause of people’s illness and misfortune. in other words, there was a gradual purification of elements of divination understood as a manifestation of supernatural knowledge about people and events from the prophetic ministry. divination in the new testament the central figure of the new testament is jesus christ. in him, god walked the streets of palestine as a true human being. in his life and ministry, he showed individual christians and the church the path to follow. one sees little of what we have called divination in his life and ministry. more precisely, there are many accounts, especially in the gospel of john, of jesus’ supernatural knowledge of persons and things, but these are presented more as a way of drawing attention to the person of jesus than as legitimization for the practice of what we have called divination. for example, in his first meeting with nathaniel, jesus commented that “there truly is an israelite in whom there is no deception.” this prompted nathaniel to ask, “how do you know me?” (jn 1:47). similarly, at jacob’s well, the woman gave a technically correct answer. only the supernatural knowledge of jesus supplied the detail about the woman’s marital history, which prompted her to remark, “i see you are a prophet, sir” (jn 4:16-20). after his discourse at capernaum on giving his followers his body and many of his followers were complaining, the gospel writer noted that “jesus knew from the outset who did not believe and who was to betray him” (jn 6:64). the celebration of his last passover was set within the context of an awareness on the part of jesus that his hour had come to pass from this world to the father (jn 13:1,11,27,28). before his arrest at the garden across the kidron valley, it is reported that “knowing everything that was to happen to him, jesus came forward and said, ‘who are you looking for?’” (jn 18:4). 9 gerhard von rad, ibid., 4. 10 “these exceptions apart, what distinguishes the great prophets whose works have been preserved to us from their predecessors in israel and analogous figures in the middle east, is that their message is addressed to the whole nation.” see henry wansbrough, (ed.) “introduction to the prophets,” jerusalem bible (london: darton, longman & todd, 1985) 1159. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 25 despite jesus’ supernatural knowledge, his attitude and conduct are markedly different from that of the slave-girl variously described as the ‘soothsayer’ or the ‘fortune-teller’ of philippi. this girl was said to make a lot of money for her master by foretelling the future (acts 16:16). the issue at stake here is not the money-making or the fact that she was doing this through the power of an evil spirit.11 rather, by foretelling the future and availing people of her supernatural knowledge of events and of the future, the slave-girl was promoting a way of life that dispensed with the uncertainty of the future. in jesus’ life and ministry and the life and ministry of the early christians, there was no preoccupation with unveiling the future through supernatural knowledge. the conclusion that one can draw from the above exploration is that there is a need for caution with regard to the desire to know the hidden things about events, persons and the future. the caution is not only because of the need to test the spirit that is providing the information, but above all, because we are invited to live by faith and not by sight. living by faith and not by sight (2 cor 5:7) according to aristotle, “all men by nature desire to know. an indication of this is the delight we take in our senses; for even apart from their usefulness, they are loved for themselves, and above all others, the sense of sight. for not only with a view to action, but even when we are not going to do anything, we prefer seeing (one might say) to everything else. the reason is that this, most of all the senses, makes us know and brings to light many differences between things.” these are the opening words of aristotle in his metaphysics.12 while aristotle contrasts the human desireto-know to the instinctive behavior in animals, i want to use his remark to draw attention to the constant struggle between the human desire-to-know, the tendency to walk by sight, that is, in the clarity of knowledge and the reality that human life in some significant areas has to be lived in the dim light offered by faith. the attraction of divination down the ages has been that it promises to provide more information and light over areas of life that are otherwise gray if not opaque; areas which god invites people to walk in faith but not by sight. the lure of walking by sight illumined by the extra information that divination provides can be compared to the attraction of the ‘tree of knowledge of good and evil’ in the genesis account of the fall. one way of interpreting this story of paradise is that there was one important matter on which god wanted human beings to trust him on. trust is supposed to maintain the boundary between creator and creature and this need for trust is symbolized by and focused on by the tree of knowledge of good and evil.13 while this is most likely not a physical tree, its description as tree of knowledge of good and evil gives a clue as to what is at stake. knowledge in the semitic way of thinking is primarily experiential and not intellectual knowing. the title of the tree therefore 11 see the story about carl, a psychic who was under the influence of demonic forces and could read people’s thoughts and states of mind in malachi martin, hostage to the devil: the possession and exorcism of five contemporary americans (new york: quality paperback book, 1976, 2000) 321-381. 12 aristotle, metaphysics, trans. w.d. ross, http://classics.mit.edu/aristotle/metaphysics.1.i.html accessed on january 8, 2014. 13 see heinrich spaemann, “die angebissene frucht,” die sache mit dem apfel: eine modern wissenschaft von sündenfall, ed. joachim illies (freiburg im breisgau: herder publication, 1972) 90-102. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 26 connotes that god did not want the first human beings to come to knowledge of good and evil through their own experience but to trust god to be their guide and father. the fall consists in the fact that adam and eve insisted on knowing, on experiencing and deciding for themselves as regards good and evil. analogously, there are things left concealed by god – the future, the direction of divine providence, etc – and with regard to which god invites human beings to exercise trust. with regard to the future, for example, human beings are invited to do their best and leave the rest to god by exercising faith. but there is a permanent lure to uncover the future and, with the knowledge thus gained, to make decisions in the present. this attraction is what constitutes the drive to harness supernatural knowledge for the benefit of living in the present. as in the case of adam and eve, this drive often leads to brokenness. an exaggerated but true story of someone’s commitment to walking by sight and not by faith will illustrate my point. long before the popularization of ‘christian diviners’ in the mainline churches, an uncle of mine decamped to one of the christian groups with strong attachment to igbo traditional religion. that step began his gradual alienation from the rest of the family and his dependency on ‘dreams and revelations’ and on his ‘pastor.’ he relocated to the church while his family lived in his family house. one day, his mother became critically ill. he was informed. initially, he agreed to come down the next day. but he did not show up. later, he explained that he had a nightmare and his pastor interpreted it as revelation that his proposed trip to attend to his sick mother should be canceled. what has happened is that his dream was interpreted rightly or wrongly as revelation of the future. this added information formed the basis of his decision not to come to attend to the sick mother who had a hard time forgiving him for this neglect. in contrast, a person who walks by faith would trust in divine providence and would rush back home to show filial love to the sick mother without thinking twice about coming to any harm himself. another true story is about a prospective couple who had to call off their engagement because four out of the five ‘christian diviners’ visited by themselves and by proxy, counseled against the marriage on the basis that they had revelation that both were not meant to be couples. yet, these young people had known and related closely with each other since their childhood. from the human point of view, they possess the requisite qualities that would make their marriage successful. but in the glare of the excess light shed by the ‘christian diviners’ and the supposedly supernatural information supplied, they called off their engagement with bitterness and brokenness. there is no way of knowing whether theirs was the best decision or not. but ordinarily, one would expect that god would want them to make decisions based on the information available to them and trust him to lead them on in life instead of seeking through the ‘christian diviners’ to unveil the future and on that basis make decisions in the present. living by faith and private revelation as can be seen from the above, our question is not about the possibility of supernatural knowledge or put differently, it is not about whether there can be ‘revelation’ through dreams or otherwise. rather, this possibility notwithstanding, should one hang on them or live by them? igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 27 christianity is a revealed religion. this means that at the heart of it is the revelation of god in jesus christ. christianity is not the outcome of a human search for god but the gift of god to humanity in jesus christ. this gradual uncovering of god took different forms in times past but climaxed in the life and ministry of jesus christ, true god and true human being. revelation is closed yet open. it is closed in the sense that it is definitive. nothing would supersede what has been revealed in jesus christ. but it is still open in the sense that through the ages, the holy spirit leads the church to new insights into the one revelation in jesus christ. besides the revelation in jesus christ, which is accounted for as public revelation, there are private revelations. these do not belong to the deposit of faith and every christian is free to accept them or not because these are not necessary for salvation. it is easy to see why one is not under any obligation to accept private revelation. first, there is the challenge of discernment. as st. paul put it, the existence of counterfeit apostles and dishonest workers disguising themselves as apostles of christ should not astonish anyone because even satan disguises himself as angel of light (2 cor 11:14-15). this discernment is a complex and delicate matter. the second reason is that god’s will is also revealed in the natural laws through which god governs the universe. if god had wanted, he would have made knowledge of the future accessible to human beings. but god chose otherwise and invites all to exercise judgment and to trust his lead. inculturate divination? concluding reflection from the above, i hope that it has become pretty clear that notwithstanding the widespread practice of christian divination in the church in igboland, that it is not a development in the right direction. it is as if some elements of the traditional worldview have surreptitiously taken up a commanding position in the christian consciousness and become the hermeneutical key to the understanding and interpretation of other elements of the christian faith. the result is that a phase in the development of the institution of prophecy in the old testament, when people consulted prophets as channels of supernatural knowledge about the future and about hidden causes of events, is now highlighted as the norm of christian living. our exploration however has shown that at the heart of the christian faith is an invitation to live by faith and trust in the guiding hand of god rather than in the frenzied search for ‘hidden’ information about events and the future, in order to live by sight. the element of the traditional igbo worldview that is responsible for the widespread practice of christian divination has been analyzed by ogbu u. kalu, in an article aptly titled ‘precarious vision.’14 this vision is based on the division of reality into the spirit world and the human world and the heavy traffic between the two. human beings can influence events in the spirit world and vice versa. events are not therefore seen as manifestations of at least the permissive will of god much less as an outcome of a chain of inner worldly causes. rather, events are resultants of the interaction between the denizens of the spirit world and the human world. against this background, it is important to have information about the configuration of forces at work in the shaping of 14ogbu u.kalu, “precarious vision: the african perception of his world,” readings in african traditional religion: structure, meaning, relevance, future, ed. e.m uka (bern: peter lang, 1991) 11-18. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 28 history both individual and collective in order to find ways and means of influencing them to one’s benefit. this makes the work of the diviner indispensable for life in the traditional igbo set up. it is this indispensability that has been imported into christianity and has given rise to the widespread practice of consultation of ‘christian diviners.’ but this is coming at a cost of undermining the christian understanding of divine guidance of the world, diminishing the role of divine providence and diverting attention from the christian vocation of living by faith rather than by sight. most importantly, this practice has robbed people of their god-given intelligence and will with which to evaluate events and situations in order to make choices. the result is a constant abdication of personal responsibility in one’s life, since, at one point or another it is either a spirit or another person who is responsible for what goes on in people’s lives. in psychological terms, this is actually a regression towards a more primitive way of understanding and dealing with life’s challenges rather than a progression towards a more differentiated consciousness that is increasingly realistic in understanding, evaluating and dealing with life issues. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 29 bibliography aristotle, metaphysics, trans. w.d. ross, http://classics.mit.edu/aristotle/metaphysics.1.i.html accessed on january 8, 2014. clement of alexandria, stromata, bk 1, ch.5, see http://www.ccel.org/schaff/anf02.vi.iv.i.ix.html accessed december 15, 2011. justin martyr, dialogue with trypho, a jew, http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.viii.iv.iii.html accessed on february 20, 2012. kalu, ogbu, u., “precarious vision: the african perception of his world,” readings in african traditional religion: structure, meaning, relevance, future, ed. e.m uka (bern: peter lang, 1991) 11-18. martin, m., hostage to the devil: the possession and exorcism of five contemporary americans (new york: quality paperback book, 1976, 2000). nwankwo l.n., “religion, culture and social regeneration,” a bountiful harvest: festschrift in honour of very rev. msgr. prof. j.p.c. nzomiwu, ed. chiegboka a.b.c et al (nimo: rex charles, 2012) 354-364. nwankwo, l.n., “ọlụ ezinaụnọ and neo-christianity: a critical reflection on a practice in igboland,” the return of the gods, festschrift in honour of prof. jude emeka madu, eds. b.a.c obiefuna, et al., (onitsha: coskan, 2018) 401-409. pope francis apostolic exhortation evangelii gaudium, no. 116 http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/apost_exhortations/documents/papafrancesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium_en.html accessed on january 4, 2014. spaemann h., “die angebissene frucht,” die sache mit dem apfel: eine modern wissenschaft von sündenfall, ed. joachim illies (freiburg im breisgau: herder publication, 1972) 90-102. tertullian, de prescr. adv. haer. 7, http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf03.v.iii.vii.html accessed february 10, 2012. von rad, g., old testament theology, vol ii: the theology of israel’s prophetic tradition, trans. d.m.g. stalker (new york: harper & row, 1965) 6. wansbrough h., (ed.) “introduction to the prophets,” jerusalem bible (london: darton, longman & todd, 1985) 1159. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 54 revisiting empedocles’ philosophical postulations to science hillary oguejiofor eze, ph.d. department of philosophy, alex ekwueme federal university, ndufu-alike, ebonyi state larryoeze@yahoo.com & celestine edozie anyaorah, ph.d. department of philosophy, alex ekwueme federal university, ndufu-alike, ebonyi edozie.celestine@gmail.com abstract a philosophical postulation is a foundational assertion or assumption proposed to explore, explain, or analyse philosophical concepts or questions. philosophical postulation to science denotes the way philosophy has influenced and has been influenced by scientific inquiry. it concerns the foundational mass views, principles, and conceptual frameworks that govern how scientists develop theories. the origin and nature of the universe have always posed serious wonder (cosmological wonder) to man right from the time of his ingress into this existential universe. unarguably, it is a cosmological wonder that gave birth to knowledge (science). empedocles of the ancient greek city of acragas (modern-day agrigento) in sicily, a presocratic philosopher and well-known ancient greek cosmologist or materialist (c.492 – 432bc), rationalized and came up with four “roots” or elements: earth, water, air, and fire, as the basic constituents of the material universe. although his predecessors had a monistic view of the universe, empedocles refused to toe their line of thought. rather, he thought out a pluralist view of the universe and remains the first ancient greek philosopher to come up with a pluralistic view of the material composition of the cosmos. this paper employs analytic and hermeneutical methods to evaluate the philosophical postulations of empedocles to science. the paper argues that empedocles’ four “root” or elements are foundational to the development of science, especially chemistry and physics. it also posits that his philosophy of “love” and “strife” is still influencing the calamitous climatic changes in our universe today, consciously or unconsciously. the paper further avers that the progress of development and advancement in scientific knowledge, understanding, and technological innovations witnessed in our world today is a result of the gradual accumulation of knowledge of the universe over the centuries. the paper concludes that the philosophy of empedocles is foundational to the development of science; that his philosophy is still influencing our world today, whether we are aware of it or not. keywords: empedocles' philosophy, scientific development, elements. introduction philosophy is a rational endeavor to answer the most general questions about the nature of reality and human existence. it does not ask questions about the nature of a specific field of existence (as the physical or the historical realms) but about the nature of reality, which is effective in all mailto:larryoeze@yahoo.com mailto:edozie.celestine@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 55 realms (tillich, 1957). philosophy strives to understand absolutely everything about the universe. it (philosophy) is the science that investigates the nature of being as it is in itself. it is the science of sciences (scientia scientiarum) or the queen of sciences. according to alex rosenberg, philosophy deals initially with the questions that science cannot yet or perhaps can never answer, and with the further questions of why the sciences cannot answer these questions (rosenberg, 2005). science asks questions that relate to a particular field, trying to understand how that field of existence operates, but philosophy attempts to have a holistic view of the why of existence in general. science as a distinctive enterprise remains the unique contribution of western thought to all the world’s other cultures, which it has touched. it seems to have begun with ancient greeks, and the history of science from the ancient greeks to the present is the history of one compartment of philosophy after another, breaking away from philosophy and emerging as a separate discipline (rosenberg, 2005). science did not just emerge from nowhere. it has a beginning; in fact, every age has its science and scientists. the scientific enterprises of a particular age help in the formation of better scientific ideas of another age, most of the time. in the words of nathan smith, “the ancient greek philosophers were known as sages. this is because sages are most of the time associated with mathematical and scientific discoveries and, at other times, with their political impact (smith, 20220. empedocles, who is known to come from an aristocratic family, lived in acragas in sicily (kulcu, 2003). he was a prominent figure in ancient greek philosophy and science, often considered a pre-socratic thinker. empedocles was known for his theories about the fundamental nature of the universe, positing that all matter is composed of the four elements (air, fire, water, and earth) and that these elements are constantly being combined and separated by the forces of “love” and “strife”. plato of athens and aristotle of stagira developed these views. aristotle introduced the concept of the quintessence – a fifth element that filled the universe beyond the terrestrial sphere. in the middle ages and the renaissance, the four elements became integral to alchemy and early chemistry. it is the belief of the alchemists that by manipulating these elements, matter can be transformed (e.g., turning base metals into gold). this empedoclean theory of four elements has a grave influence on the foundation of chemistry and physics; the development of the scientific method; and the transition to modern science. the theory has a serious, enduring cultural impact and interdisciplinary influence. empedocles philosophy the rational explanation of nature beyond mythologies in the ancient era of philosophy is considered the starting point or terminus a quo of scientific thoughts. it is the natural philosophers who actually began a critical reflection on the nature and operations of the universe, which closed the door of myths and opened the door of logos. if scientific thoughts should be described as a way of reasoning or thinking that gives rise to the generation of knowledge, within the limit of episteme, through observation, experimentation, and testing of facts, it owes its foundation and origin to ancient times. empedocles of acragas in sicily made an important contribution to the growth and development of scientific thought. empedocles, who was both a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 56 philosopher, physician, scientist, and politician, lived around 492 – 432bc, spent his life in the southern part of sicily, and concretised a pluralistic cognition of philosophy and reconciled warring, debates, or views about change during his time (kulcu, 2003). the philosophy of parmenides, that being is permanent or unchanging, and the philosophy of heraclitus, that being is perpetually in flux or ceaselessly changing, were apparently irreconcilably contradictory. empedocles' philosophical thought is a candid attempt to reconcile these opposing philosophical views. in the words of brook noel moore and kenneth bruder: the next major greek philosopher, empedocles (em – peduh – kleez] (c. 490 – 430), thought that true reality is permanent and unchanging, yet he also thought it absurd to dismiss the change we experience as mere illusion. empedocles quite diplomatically sided in part with parmenides and in part with heraclitus. he was possibly the first philosopher to attempt to reconcile and combine the apparently conflicting metaphysics of those who came before him (moor and bruder, 2002). for empedocles, change in the universe is real. but in the midst of this change, something or some things remain permanent and unchanging. in other words, if everything is perpetually or ceaselessly changing as put forward by heraclitus, how can we be sure of our knowledge of reality at all? and if everything is permanent as thought out by parmenides, how can we account for the vagaries of life that stare us in the face? this led empedocles to come up with four basic roots or elements that make up the material universe. the words of moore and bruder are also important here: according to empedocles, the objects of our experience do change, but these objects are composed of basic particles of matter that do not change. these basic material particles themselves, empedocles held, are of four kinds: earth, air, fire, and water. these basic elements mingle in different combinations to form the objects of experiences as well as the apparent changes among these objects (moore & bruder, 2002). the coming into being of any material reality is a result of the joining together of these four elements. it is also the separation of these elements that brings about the disintegration of matter. this action of joining together and separation is made possible by two opposing forces. empedocles called these two antagonistic forces “love” and “hate”. “love” is in charge of the joining together of the four elements in required proportions to bring about the existence of any physical reality. “hate” is responsible, on the other hand, for the actual separation of the elements. the action of joining together of the elements to form matter is known as generation, while the separation upon degeneration of matter is called corruption. roberto barbosa de castilho writes that: the elements join to form matter (generation) and separate upon degradation (corruption) by the action of two antagonistic forces, love and hate. the force of attraction (love) is responsible for the aggregation of the elements in different proportions and generating the substances, while the force of repulsion (hate) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 57 leads to the separation of the elements and degradation of the substance (castilho, 2021). the continuity of life is absolutely dependent on the maintenance of equilibrium between the force of love and hate. in the context of empedocles’ philosophy, equilibrium means balance or a state of stability that results from the interplay of his two basic forces of love (philia) and hate (neikos). in other words, when “love” and “hate” are in a balanced condition, which brings about a temporary stability of the universe, where none of the forces dominate, equilibrium takes place. it is this balance that gives room for the co-existence of order and chaos, growth and decay, which is pivotal to the empedoclean concept of the eternal cosmic cycle. put differently, equilibrium in this context refers to the dynamic balance point where love and hate are in harmony, eschewing either from taking upper hand on the other, ensuring the maintenance of the prevailing cycle of change and stability in the universe. furthermore, according to empedocles, the joining of the elements is not haphazardly done. no. it is achieved through mathematical proportions so that stability will be accorded to the object formed. ierodiakonou submitted that: “…bones consist of four parts fire (4f), two of earth (2e), and two of water (2w), and no air (0a), while the tendons derive from fire and earth mixed twice the quantity of water. the “chemical” formula or the proportion of the four elements for the formation of the bones might be: e2 w2 a0 e4) (ierodiakonou, 2005). again, it is very important to note that empedocles did not support his four-element theory with any experimental proof. however, there are some scientific views of his that he based on experiment. for instance, through experiment, he showed that the existence of “air” is real and is not just a space. this he carried out with a clepsydra, a vessel with a hole in the bottom and one in the top. he placed the bottom hole of the vessel underwater and observed the vessel fill up with water. if, however, he puts his finger over the top hole, then the water does not enter the hole at the bottom, but it does once he removes his finger. empedocles correctly deduced that the air in the container prevented the water from entering (mac tutor, empedocles of acragas). empedocles' influence on the development of physics empedocles significantly influenced the development of physics by formulating the theory that all matter is made up of four basic elements: earth, air, water, and fire. he also proposed the idea that these “roots” or elements are unified or disintegrated by the action or forces of “love” and “hate”. this influenced his ideas on physics and cosmology. his four-element theory furnishes the underlying structure for the knowledge of the composition of matter, which laid the foundation for subsequent theories. aristotle, for instance, followed this line of thought while developing his theories (byjus.com). again, empedocles' idea of two antagonistic forces, love (attraction) and strife (repulsion), operating on the four roots or elements, supplied an explanation for the multiplications and alterations inherent in nature. the creation and destruction of various substances is the influence of these two forces, which propel the joining and separation of the elements. empedocles' approved cylindrical view of the universe (cosmic cycle), where the elements join and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 58 disintegrate when affected by the forces of love and strife. this leads to the endless cycle of growth, decay, and regeneration (byjus.com). empedocles also held the belief that light travels through space and takes time to reach the eye (byjus.com). he also maintains that light takes time to travel from one place to another, but that we cannot perceive its motion. he was aware that the moon shines by light reflected from the sun and also knew the cause of a solar eclipse (healy, 2003). this idea predates modern scientific understanding of light. although his theory of light was not developed, it is foundational to the finite speed of light associated with modern physics, like ole romer, who first measured light’s speed in the 17th century, and albert einstein, who incorporated the finite speed of light into his theory of relativity. empedocles also proposed a theory of perception that has its roots in his larger cosmological ideas. he suggested, in his theory of perception, that perceptual experience is made possible by the interaction of the four elements (earth, air, water, and fire) with our sense organs. he approved the idea that perceptual ideas are the effect of some sorts of “effluences” or “images” emitted by objects, which enter the sense organs. specific parts of the body are equipped to receive particular kinds of effluences – eyes for visual effluences, ears for auditory effluences, etc. sensation or perception takes place by the interaction of these effluences with the right sense organ. for empedocles, these effluences are matter-like, and the mixture or separation of the basic elements of the universe can influence them. most of the later ideas of perception have their root in this empedoclean theory of perception. this stresses the need for interaction between objects in the external cosmos and internal sense organs. his theory is a precursor to the naturalistic theories of sensory experience. empedocles’ influence on chemistry the term for chemistry in the modern chinese is “hauxue” which literally stands for “science” of material change”. depending on context “huaxue” may precisely be translated as “science of becoming, influencing, (material) changing into, turning into, transforming, converting, digesting, incinerating, melting, dissolving, thawing (brakel, 2014). the materialist, empedocles, proposed that matter is made up of four basic and indivisible elements: earth, air, fire, and water. it is worthy of note that these elements were not meant to be literal substance but rather primordial “roots” from which all other things were made. empedocles introduced the forces of “love” and “strife”. it is these two concepts (love and strife) that govern the interactions between the elements. love was responsible for bringing the elements together, while strife caused them to separate. it is this idea of forces acting upon elements that provides a framework for understanding chemical reactions and transformations. empedocles' theory, while not scientifically accurate in the modern sense, can be considered the earliest endeavor to explain the composition and transformation of matter. he recognized that something was preserved during these transformations, which he attributed to the four elements. this is a proto-chemistry. his theory, despite its inaccuracies, was a significant step towards the foundation and development of scientific thinking. it significantly influenced the development of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 59 chemistry by the introduction of the concept of elemental substances and the forces that govern their interactions. his view that matter is composed of four elements – earth, air, fire, and water – served as a foundational idea in understanding the composition of the physical universe. while this theory was later superseded by modern chemistry, it laid the groundwork for the study of matter and its transformations. barbosa de castilho submits that: although the conception of the chemical elements in modern chemistry is different from the theory of four elements, that theory was valuable as an intellectual effort to understand nature and transmutation and to conciliate reason and sense, besides being the first theory postulating the pluralism of matter’s composition, in opposition to monism. i argue that chemistry has a past, and it is important to know the theory of the four elements for its historical value because it can be considered an introductory chapter of chemistry, introducing the concept of indestructible elements and the proportional combination of them in western thought (de castilho, 2021). the four elements of empedocles remain the historical development of the science of chemistry. one major problem plaguing the theory is its inability to criticize facts. the theory was downright explanatory. again, there was no experimental evidence given to support the theory. in fact, the words of barbosa de castilho capture it all: “the failure to criticize facts and inferences that underpin the theory and then propose a new or innovative experiment are the main problems with the theory. ideas like equilibrium and proportion of combination are the main contributions of the theory of four elements” (de castilho, 2021). the theory of four elements gave chemical elements in modern chemistry a simple beginning. knowledge is progressive. one can rightly argue that the four roots of empedocles are different from the modern chemical elements, but the theory of four roots was its foundation. that is why de castilho remarked that: today, we know more than a hundred chemical elements, so the roots of empedocles are very different from the present chemical elements. psychologically, it is quite unreasonable to postulate that matter is composed of more than a hundred elements. the easiest way to speculate about the composition of matter is to begin with one or four elements. our perception is not prepared to deal with hundreds of elements at once—therefore, we need mathematics. the concept of the chemical elements has evolved from the simplest (one, four …) to the more complex (more than a hundred) by combining new experiments with new theories. even considering the epistemological rupture of the four elements with the modern chemical elements, we can say that the theory of four elements was important to ancient chemistry and gave us fundamental concepts like combination, proportion, and balance (barbosa de castilho, 2021). with everything included or counted, the contribution of the four roots or elements of empedocles to the development of chemistry is immense. one can say that the four-root theory is not a precursor to modern chemistry, properly speaking. be that as it may, it is right to remark igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 60 that a bad theory is better than none. in other words, the past of modern chemistry of today is empedocles’ four elements. conclusion empedocles’ four roots, or elements—earth, air, fire, and water—are foundational to the development of the sciences of chemistry and physics, and even medicine. his four-element theory provided the underlying structure for the knowledge of the composition of matter, which laid the groundwork for subsequent theories. his idea of two opposing forces, “love” and “strife,” which operate on the four elements, explained the changes inherent in nature. basic concepts like alterations, combinations, proportions, and equilibrium, which are at the heart and soul of empedocles’ philosophy, are crucial to the development of the science of physics, chemistry, and medicine. references barbosa de castilho, r. (2021). “the theory of four elements through history and its influence on the development of chemistry. philosophy studies 11(12), pp. 914 – 922. brakel, jaap van. (2014) “philosophy of science and philosophy of chemistry. international journal for philosophy of chemistry. 12-57. https://www.hyle.org>journal>issues>vanbrakel. accessed on 7th june, 2025. byjus.com.empedocles.influence.on.physics.com. accessed on 30 – 05 – 2025. kulcu, recep. (2003). pioneers of scientific thought: empedocles and anaxagoras. international journal of research and innovations in social science. 14(2), pp. 1252 – 1257. healy, w. p. (2003). “electrodynamics, quantum”. encyclopedia of physical science and technology. (3rd edition). https://www.sciencedirect.com/ science/article/abs/pii/ bo122274105002076. accessed on 31 – 5 – 2025. ierodiakonou, k. (2005). “empedocles on colour and colour vision: oxford studies in ancient philosophy. 29 pp. 1 – 39. kanu i. a. (2015). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. kanu, a. i. (2017c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 7. pp. 165-183. kanu, a. i. (2017d). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 6. pp. 16-50. kanu, a. i. (2017f). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. pp. 153-160. https://www.sciencedirect.com/%20science/article/abs/pii/%20bo122274105002076 https://www.sciencedirect.com/%20science/article/abs/pii/%20bo122274105002076 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 61 moore, b. n., & bruder, k. (2002). philosophy: the power of ideas. boston: mcgraw– hill higher education. rosenberg, alex (2005). philosophy of science: a contemporary introduction. london: routledge. smith, nathan (2002): introduction to philosophy. houston: poenstax. sundrine, akhila. meaning of philosophy. https://www.scribed.com/ document/33055398/ meaning-of-philosophy. accessed on 17/5/2025. tillich, paul (1957). dynamics of faith. new york: harper and row. https://www.scribed.com/%20document/33055398/%20meaning-of-philosophy https://www.scribed.com/%20document/33055398/%20meaning-of-philosophy igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 22 african liberation theology: its roles towards achieving authentic african life james n. nnoruga & casmire osigwe department of religion & human relations nnamdi azikiwe university awka, nigeria jn.nnoruga@unizik.edu.ng; cn.osigwe@unizik.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.25001.77923 abstract africans and african theologians are faced with many conflicting world views and bad conditions of life in general which range from racial segregation, political instability, religious and ethnic clashes, lack of harmony with african religion and christian religion, modern culture (globalization), socio-economic exploitation, oppression of africans by their colonial masters and oppression of africans by africans themselves, in the course of living out their authentic life as an african people. to achieve a better and sustainable way of living in this age of globalized world, there is a need to employ the principles or the tenets of african liberation theology, to minimize the sources of tension from the emerging issues emanating from conflicting world views and bad conditions of life. these salient or emerging issues confronting living authentic african life will be managed or enhanced properly with the tenets of african liberation theology. african liberation theology and its tools are employed here to redirect the life of africans and their social, economic, and political well-being for better living and purposeful life. this write-up draws up data, heavily from the experience of african people within and outside african societies. this shows that african people are treated in an exploitative manner both as individuals and as countries all over the world in many areas of life hence the emergence of african liberation theology. keywords: liberation, theology, social, political, african introduction the african continent has suffered and has been marginalized greatly for years and even today by their colonial masters and through some activities of the missionary enterprise though not intentionally intended by the missionaries themselves. within these years of suffering and oppression which is still going on in different forms, their lives kept changing from one degradation to another. the economic activities, political, social, human interactions, culture, and religion changed from their originality to forced modern life or put bluntly to march the way http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/rg.2.2.25001.77923 james n. nnoruga & casmire osigwe of life of their colonial masters without checking or evaluating their life situations or world views. africans are always under pressure to assimilate the culture of other continents of the world while other continents assimilate new cultures willingly. though, some changes or transformations were for better living while some came as a result of racism, oppression, and domination. the african continent was seen by colonial masters as a virgin land to be exploited hence the sharing of african nations by the world powers occurred in the berlin conference without involving the africans themselves. the world powers never considered africa to be in the same class as them because of racism. ojukwu (1969) during the struggle for biafran freedom cried out that: i have for a long time thought about this predicamentthe attitude of the civilized world to this conflict. the more i think about it the more i am convinced that our disability is racial. the root cause of our problem lies in the fact that we are black. if all the things that have happened to us had happened to other people who are not black, if other people who are not black had reacted in the way our people have reacted these two long years, the world’s response would surely have been different. (p. 5). the above explanation or insight given by ojukwu explains, on the contrary, the urgent attention being given to ukraine due to the invasion by russian country, but this urgency to stop the war and supplying of international aid cannot happen or take place when any of the african countries are involved in any invasion or genocide whether from within or from outside of the african countries, rather fueling of the crisis will be in their mind in a shrew way so that the world powers will be supplying arms and ammunition to the detriment of the developing countries. again, the above statement shows how africans are treated in the issues concerning their development physically, economically, socially, and culturally. african liberation theology therefore was born out of pity or it came as a movement or struggle to liberate africans from all sorts of oppression found among them and from outside of african continents, be it from political, social, racial, or economic oppression and so on. the african liberation theology as proposed by some scholars aims or struggles for total and vehement rejection of all sorts of evils that wreck, or ruin the authentic existence and life of african nations and the revival of african heritage in all forms. the african liberation theology in the course of history was seen as a kind of movement that metamorphosed into african nationalism, panafricanism, the negritude movement, and african personality, african liberation theology: its roles towards achieving authentic african life 24 designed to ensure the full realization of authentic african existence in their march to self-determination. this is important to be noted, judging from the attitude or treatment of the european world since the 15th century toward africans in terms of exploitation, racism, and their economic policies which were geared to under-develop africa, this affected and oppressed the fundamental human rights of the african continents even till today, hence the need for african revival. for the europeans started with the transportation of millions of africans using them as slaves for different purposes. they justified this slave trade with reference to biblical passages violently applied out of context. when the depopulation of africa became no longer profitable due to sanctions from other world powers, they started to exploit the natural resources of the african continents. to continue with this exploitation, they hoisted or install puppet african administrations to create the illusion of political independence, while retaining the control of the government and the economy of the african continent. this of course bred many consequences seen in the african continents today which led to political instability, cultural degradation, epileptic power supply, epileptic economic growth, and unending killings going on in different countries of africa, in the african land in the name of religious and ethnic clashes. this is what rodney (2009) described as the perpetual developing of the african continent. while some argued that the african continent will perpetually remain the world’s underdogs in everything since they are still in the bondage of the social, political, and economic growth of their oppressors. the above situation in the african continent has generated many kinds of conditions which have caused ripple effects on the mentality or worldview of africans. this made the africans reduce all their problems to the point of view of religious factor which is to say that any bad condition is caused by the devil or have the devil’s manipulations. these of course gradually snowballed into a growing number of churches in african continents daily. this again revitalized the worship of african traditional religion by the youths who believes that it will help to solve their economic hardship because the gods have been abandoned and they want to return. going further, its effects like in nigeria have bred many issues like banditry, unknown gunmen, herdsmen, bandits, terrorist attacks, ritual killings, trafficking, and organ harvesting. this in turn accounts for the excessive brain drain taking its toll on african nations to another part of the world, either for safety or for economic growth (nnoruga and osigwe, 2023). african james n. nnoruga & casmire osigwe liberation theology tends to restore the natural and human capital development of africans through its principles. this is part of the struggle that was fought by most african nationalists so that the african continent will not be swept down or away by the stronger governments and other continents of the world. towards the origin of african liberation theology: an overview liberation theology is a theology that originated from the perspective of the poor, the oppressed, the marginalized, the wretched, and the voiceless of the world. for umeh (2017), it is a theology that recognizes the social aspect of the gospel and the need for social actions in the alleviation of human suffering. it is equally a theology that takes seriously the political dimension of the christian faith, which… can be understood in the world of the poor. the world of the poor …is the key to understanding the christian faith, to understanding the activity of the church and the political dimension of that faith and that ecclesial activity. (p. 87). this means that liberation theology is a guidance and reflection of christianity that is identifiable with those who suffer, that represents freedom of transformation. as already hinted earlier, liberation theology is a situational theology that can originate anywhere but, historically it originated in latin america. as a historical theology, umeh argued that it is rooted in the practical faith of the believing community to transform the world with the liberating message of the gospel. it calls for authentic solidarity with the poor by analyzing with them the reasons or causes of their poverty and suffering. from all these explanations, it can be understood that the interest of liberation theology is to let the gospel shine on earthly realities so that human beings, especially the poor, may be liberated from poverty and miserable life. the biblical foundation of liberation theology can be ascertained from the actions of jesus christ both from the old testament and the new testament. liberation theology entails any action in favour of the poor as a practical expression of christian love. umeh (2017) expressed the biblical foundation thus: in the bible, god is presented as upright and just. he is presented as god interested in the well-being of all especially the poor (cf., ps 94, deut 10;18; 24: 14-18; ex 22: 21-24; si 35: 12-19). god reveals himself in the old testament as the liberator of the oppressed and the defender of the poor, demanding from man faith in him african liberation theology: its roles towards achieving authentic african life 26 and justice towards man’s neighbour. it is only in the observance of the duties of justice that god is truly recognized as the liberator of the oppressed….almost all the prophets of the old testament from hosea to malachi stood for the just treatment of the poor, the weak, and the disadvantaged members of society. in the new testament, the dignity of the poor and the entire human person is practically expressed in the incarnation of jesus christ….the essence of incarnation, god’s self-manifestation in the world, is to save the entire human race from powers of darkness and sin…he is the fulfilment of the prophecy to the israelis: the spirit of the lord is on me, for he has anointed sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives, sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim a year of favour from the lord (luke 4, 18). (pp. 94-95). as stated earlier, there are many trends or strands in african theology which keep emanating as history or events as time goes on. as of now, there are many currents in the theology of liberation in africa which include: african liberation theology, african women’s liberation, african cultural liberation, south african black theology, and a host of others. it is in this sense that one can add or say biafran liberation theology that is using the instrument of theology as a module to solve the problems of the biafran agitations. for liberation theology according to oborji (2005): …seeks through the gospel, to address the oppressive elements in a traditional culture, and focus on the political and economic situation of the particular cultural context to liberate the people from the forces of sin and death, reinforce their identity, and give a new orientation to their advancement….the theology of liberation in africa therefore, in its various expressions, arises out of the concern of the theologians to address the people’s experience of exploitation, oppression, and injustice. (p. 155). since the emergence of liberation theology and other currents in theology, cone (1979) and most scholars have been asking what has the gospel message to do with the oppressed blacks or africans in their struggle for liberation. most scholars especially european scholars did not conceive nor do they assume that meaningful dialogue can come from black people or oppressed people of the world in the search for a contemporary understanding of the gospel message. unfortunately, oguejiofor (1996) queued into the same thought pattern as thus: that african traditional religion cannot play the role philosophy naturally plays in the elaboration of theology. moreover, most of what we have today in the studies on african traditional james n. nnoruga & casmire osigwe religion hardly goes beyond phenomenological studies and is not yet critical enough to provide the basis for speculative theology. hence, like african christian theology itself, many theories are left untested, uncriticized, and reflected. furthermore, studies in african traditional religion are yet to reach the level of showing how this religion still influences the life of africans. (p. 26). this shows that most of the new theological ideas came from the europeans and africans, though more from europeans with a racial undertone. this explains again that the experiences of the people must be evaluated or looked into which most scholars did not put into consideration, hence before any liberation can take place and be worth fighting for, or be denounced as seen above, their experiences from all forms must be considered and taken into account and these experiences differ greatly from one continent of the world to another. the experiences of the black americans among the whites are different from the experiences of the blacks in south africa and africans in general differ from each other. but at the foundation of it, all is the use of the gospel message as a tool for liberation, just like the people of israelites were liberated from the land of egypt by god. the contents of liberation must come from the oppressed, which must be understood by the people liberating the oppressed in line with the gospel message. hence, oguejiofor (1996) confirmed that “theology that can be a response to the african’s yearning for god, for salvation, should be embedded in his culture, and also rise above that culture” (p. 25). in the course of liberating africans through history, to become independent and authentic nations, africans struggled from time to time as a group of africans coming together in and outside of the shores of africa, and as african continent coming together again to liberate the african continent. this struggle went through processes or stages undertaken by the african people themselves. according to han (2013), during the period of agitation for independence, early african intellectuals were concerned not only with political matters but also with the promotion of the african cultural-religious heritage. although the main goal was to regain political self-control in africa, cultural liberation was not excluded. african intellectuals and nationalists recognized that there would not be genuine political liberation without cultural liberation. the negation of african culture, to the african people, meant to deprive african people of their very identity; the revitalization of african culture meant to recover african identity. (pp. 23-24). african liberation theology: its roles towards achieving authentic african life 28 the struggle for self-affirmation and independence by africans became a matter of priority among african intellectuals. this liberation of the african continent from the destructive influences and bondages of western colonization touched all faces of african life. the above struggle in africa to gain independence in political and cultural life gave rise to major categories of movements:pan-africanism and african nationalism, and the negritude movement and african personality. pan africanism according to legun (1966) is the expression of a desire for african unity among the africans whose ancestors originally came from africa. this refers to the earlier assertion made above that the african liberation struggle was started or carried on by africans in diasporas and later joined by africans in their homeland. the reason for pan-africanism according to legun was very easy to understand because the blacks were seen as slaves who have been made homeless by their transfer to foreign countries and subjected to alien cultures from all ramifications. this shows that they are outcasts who are only good at labouring on the plantation of their masters, being robbed of their dignity as human beings, being used as machines, and with no claim of being of equal value in the sight of god. on this last premise, african theology employs the gospel message as a tool for liberation in the african continent. ajala (1973) referred also to the emergence of pan-africanism as a recognition of racial solidarity due to racial discrimination under the pressure of colonialism, led by africans themselves in different parts of the world, to the awareness of their blackness and common heritage. from the perspective of movement, obijekwu, muomah and onebunne (2018) expressed that: it becomes a trend in human affairs and society at large; a movement, towards freedom or total independence. panafricanism was championed by african descendants, or african americans, who had like minds towards the liberation of africa and securing freedoms, justice, and equality for themselves in their sojourn land. its thrust was to fight against racism, colonialism, slavery, discrimination segregation, social justice, inequality, exploitation, dehumanization, and all other sorts of social evils that came with the colonizers. (pp. 223-224). from the above explanation, it means that pan-africanism aimed to fight for african independence, or rather it involves the reposition of african sovereignty. it is purely a movement for african liberation and independence and proper repositioning. james n. nnoruga & casmire osigwe the pan-african congresses reached another dimension or stage of development when african nations began to gain their independence one after the other. but it reached its apogee with the establishment of the organization of african unity (oau) in may 1963 with the view of achieving genuine african unity. with the end of the second world war, african people according to legum (1966) who by the accident of colonial expansion, happen to find themselves in a particular territory become the constituent elements of the new nation. the focus started shifting from pan-africanism to african nationalism on the african continent. african nationalism arose in response to african demands for independence and freedom from foreign rule. this was a kind of unifying factor among the african people who transcended tribal or ethnic interests. geiss (1968) observed that pan-africanism and african nationalism were interconnected even though they were not identical. the combined forces or influences of pan-africanism and african nationalism are seen in the writings of the early african theologians, that is, their emphasis on political self-determination, and the preservation of the african cultural-religious heritage, these inspired the early african theologians who were influenced by the political domination of the western world meted out to africans (muzorewa, 1985). these movements provided the general basis and context upon which liberation theology is done by african theologians. so, ideally speaking, panafricanism and african nationalism are the most important factors that contributed to the emergence of african liberation theology because they involve or express the desire for african unity among all people whose ancestors originally came from africa. this has helped africans to stimulate and rediscover their values, at the same time relate the christian gospel to african culture. the roles of the concerns of african liberation theology towards being authentic african as earlier noted, african liberation theology emerges and seeks to reflect and solve the problems of millions of african people oppressed in various ways in and outside of the african continent. having based its reflection on the gospel and experiences of black people, it advocates eradicating injustices in all forms and establishing a society that is fair and just for everyone. this will lead to the building of a just society for human society where injustice is minimally reduced. everything about liberation theology centres mostly on the well fair of the poor, uplifting the poor, and establishing the oppressed poor to the normal life of human dignity. so, liberation theology in general can be applied to several places and areas of life where minorities and poor people suffer african liberation theology: its roles towards achieving authentic african life 30 oppression and injustices. this is why we can see or hear liberation theologies that emerged from different places as we rightly have today: black liberation theology, feminist liberation theology, asian liberation theology, biafran liberation theology, and hence african liberation theology. as of today, these liberation theologies are no longer based on the foundation of fixed theological formulations but based on the everchanging circumstances and human experiences undergone in the digitalized or globalized world daily. in the course of liberating african nations, many methodologies or means were applied depending on the type of condition or situation that existed in the place concerned. but at the root of all methodologies lies the gospel message as a means of liberation. according to joseph (1970), this gospel message in the light of liberation theology seeks to interpret the condition of the oppressed people in the light of god’s revelation in jesus christ. here the theologians or the scholars are attempting to interpret the christian faith (the gospel) to make it concrete with the african’s quest for freedom and liberation. in this way, the dignity of africans will be restored among the other continents of the world with equal status. describing the situation or the picture of the african continent in the past few years and even now by many scholars, it shows the sorry state of african nations. according to oborji (2005), it looks like a scene from a horror film while cone (1979) describes the african situation as being in a moral crisis, material crisis, and spiritual crisis. african people seem unable to effectively counter disruptive forces that undermine their quality of life. africans seem unable to collectively define their situation, discover the nature of their problems, and develop sustained coalitions that can resolve their dilemma. in the same vein, mbefo (1996) describes the african situation in terms of slavery and servitude which today is causing a brain drain all over africa with its labour shortages as its consequence in different sectors of life. he described it as thus: …the opening out into opportunities of enhanced socio-economic living linked to the high technologies of the western countries should not be total nor unbridled. for an african without sufficient skills and qualifications to decide to abandon his fatherland in pursuit of low-grade jobs in europe or america in the hope of cheap money would amount to a new form of enslavement, “slavery in reverse gear”. it is an enslavement that is now freely chosen rather than unwillingly imposed. (pp. viiiix). james n. nnoruga & casmire osigwe this means that the african liberation theology is tackling the issues of racism meted out against africans, political instability among african nations caused by bad government and dictatorial rule, poor economic conditions, mass illiteracy, manipulation of africa by the industrialized nations, countless wars and massive corruption going daily in africa. african theology being a contextual theology aims to take african realities, conditions, and situations seriously, in terms of solving the crises bedevilling africans. it also aims at motivating africans to appreciate who they are and authentically live the life of africans in all dimensions. according to umeh (2017), it is a theology that uses the past to build the present so that the future will stand on a solid foundation. it is a theology of the present because it takes the present realities seriously and tries to answer the question; what will jesus of nazareth do if he should come to africa now? he will not be happy with the miserable situation in which africans live. (p. 97). this means that it is a theology that argues that the situation of poverty, suffering, oppression, drain brain, and exploitation as they exist in african nations today. some politicians in nigeria recently repeated the above issue that god will not be happy that people are dying of hunger, banditry, and ritual killings, so they proposed a new nigeria where all things can work again for the good of the common people. so african liberation theology helps africans to revitalize or rediscover or reflect on their situation of things. african liberation theology aims at purifying the cultural values of african people which in the past or even now were not in conformity with modern-day development but it seeks to purify or examine those elements of african culture that can positively contribute to the liberation of africans and to project them with the other cultures of the world. this of course involves decolonizing the mental attitude being carried around by africans in their way of thinking and having been subjugated for centuries and brainwashed for years that their culture is a bad or fetish one. ekwuru (1999) expressed the above thus: through this type of ideological framework, the colonized were psychologically conditioned to believe the fact that they embodied a human nature that was racially and culturally deficient. for this reason, then, all the elements of their cultural civilization were condemned and discredited. in the mission schools, they were taught that their religion was paganish and african liberation theology: its roles towards achieving authentic african life 32 heathen, …. in which case then, the only way towards cultural salvation was to wash themselves clean of every bit of their low and inferior cultural givens, to imbibe the perks of a higher and superior culture from the hands of the colonizer. (p. 40). uzukwu (1996) earlier expressed the same view that the africans were treated as having neither culture nor religion nor social, economic, or political values worth preserving. this means a total change of identity of the african person, and culture and this led to the abandonment of the indigenous values to embrace those of the western world. indeed, most africans as of today prefer to go back to those countries of the west and equally prefer goods made in foreign continents at the expense of made-in-african goods. african liberation theology seeks to restore confidence to the african people by reminding them that their cultural and religious values are good like other cultures of the world, culture can change and not be static. african liberation theology aims at ending political instability and epileptic growth in economic growth in all african countries. the bad situation in african countries necessitated many african counties to keep borrowing for consumption, which leads to corruption, poor health care, brain drain, poverty, and so on. there is no economic plan for the future growth of the country, the african leaders try by all means to remain in power till death even when incapacitated. there are no strong institutions in african countries that can support democratic governance rather what they have are strong individuals that steal and impoverish the country. the colonial masters continue to exploit the raw materials in the african countries, thereby continuing to underdevelop the african countries. on how europe underdeveloped africa, rodney (2009) commented: it is also worth noting that africa was denied the opportunity of developing healthy trade links with parts of the world other than europe and north america. some trade persisted across the indian ocean, but on the whole, it is fair to say that the roads in africa led to the seaports and the sea lanes led to europe and north america. that kind of lopsidedness is today part of the pattern of underdevelopment and dependence. (p. 280). african liberation theology is a theology that deals or concerns itself with human development, evangelization, and growth of the christian faith. hence, it encourages people to take their political responsibilities seriously and merely wait for divine intervention (umeh, 2017). this is also about taking up handwork and building small-scale industries than james n. nnoruga & casmire osigwe waiting for miracles to be millionaires without handwork or products. equally, on the global level, african liberation theology calls for the need to dismantle the unjust existing world economic policies and political policies that are dehumanizing for immigrants, especially from africa. african liberation theology also concerns itself with the end of the wars and coups going on within the african countries. this forestalls peace and development in africa in general. okafor (1997) reported that: for the continent of africa, the year 1994 was a year of disaster. across the continent, there was lamentation and great suffering caused by genocidal and fratricidal wars. it was a year of ethnic plague. in rwanda, east of africa, the ethnic conflict between the tutsis and hutus was climaxed by the gruesome massacre of thousands of tutsis and moderate hutus. on the west coast of africa, liberia was being ravaged by an internecine war. nigeria, on the other side, was on the brink of civil war following renewed crisis on the annulled 12 presidential election results. in the northern fringes of ghana, a bloody ethnic confrontation had erupted leaving many people dead. northwards, somalia was bleeding as the two rival factions engaged themselves in bloody combat. in sudan, too, military operations were mobilized against secessionist groups, killing many and rendering others homeless. thus, the ill wind of ethno-religious conflicts blew across africa leaving in its trail unprecedented human, economic, social, and ecological disasters. (p. vi). from the above, it is obvious that african liberation theology is advocating for the love of the neighbours which knows no limitations nor religious bounds but love that addresses communally the basic issues affecting africans as a continent. conclusion the struggle for african liberation theology as an ideology and as a movement ought to be continued to improve the living conditions or standards of the african people lavishing in poverty, injustices, poor health care, instability of all kinds, and so on. this of course when taken care will improve the freedom needed for proper development. just like the church in africa has been making efforts to address the issues of human freedom and rights which has been a mere fantasy in the african continent. the manipulative actions of some foreign countries for their selfish gain also need to be curtailed to achieve maximum peace and development among africans. african liberation theology: its roles towards achieving authentic african life 34 references ojukwu, e. (1969). the ahiara declaration (the principle of the biafran revolution). geneva: mark press. oborji, f. a. (2005). trends in african theology since vatican ii. a missiological orientation. rome: leberit srl press. han, y. s. (2013). the understanding of god in african theology: contributions of john samuel mbiti and mercy amba oduyoye. south africa: university of pretoria. legum, c. (1966). pan-africanism and nationalism. in j. c. anene and g. brown (eds.). africa in the nineteenth & twentieth centuries. (pp. 528-539). ibadan: ibadan university press. ajala, a. (1973). pan-africanism: evolution, progress and prospects. london: andre deutsch ltd. geiss, i. (1968). the pan-african movement. london: methuen & co. ltd. muzorewa, g. h. (1985). the origins and development of african theology. new york: orbis books. joseph, a.j. (1970). the episcopal address to the 27th general conference of the christian methodist episcopal church. in g. a. wilmore and j. h. cone (eds.). black theology: a documentary history 1966-1979. (pp. 280-287). new york: orbis book. cone, j.s. (1979). message to the black church and community. in g.a. wilmore and j.h. cone (eds.). black theology: a documentary history 1966-1979. (pp. 345-3449). new york: orbis book. kanu, i. a. (2010). a discourse on the romance between philosophy and christian theology. international journal of theology and reformed tradition, vol. 2. pp. 185-198. kanu, i. a. & elizabeth ezenweke o. (2010). the dynamics of human suffering in operative theology. internationaljournal of theology and reformed tradition, vol. 2. pp. 168-182. kanu, i. a. (2016). misericordia vultus and the contexts for the jubilee year of mercy. international journal of management science and entrepreneurship. vol. 7. no. 5. pp. 114-123. kanu, i. a. (2016). miserando atque eligendo: the consecrated life as a mission of mercy. international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 7. no. 5. pp. 92-100. mbefo, l.n. (1996). coping with nigeria’s two-fold heritage. onitsha: spiritan publications. rodney, w. (2009). how europe underdeveloped africa. abuja: panaf publishing. james n. nnoruga & casmire osigwe nnoruga, j. n. and osigwe, c. a. (2023). brain drain in nigeria: a challenge to human capital development. nigerian journal of african studies, 5(2), 23-31 oguejiefor, j. o. (1996). philosophy in the evolution of contemporary african christian theology. inaugural lecture series,1. bigard memorial seminary enugu. obijekwu, m. i., muomah, r. i. & onebunne, c. k. (2018). pan africanism and african sovereignty in a world of change. in i. a. kanu, c. c, kanu & k. nwadialor (eds.). african governance and development issues in a world of change: the change patterns of a static universe. pp. 237-264. uk: authorhouse umeh, e. c. (2017). african theology of solidarity in addressing freedom of religion in nigeria. aba: rex digital press. ekwuru, e. g. (1999). pangs african culture travail. owerri: totan publishers limited. uzukwu, e. e. (1996). a listening church: autonomy and communion in african churches. new york: orbis books. okafor, f. u. (1997). preface. in f. u. okafor (ed.), new strategies for curbing ethnic & religious conflicts in nigeria. vi-ix. enugu: fourth dimension publishers. greenhouse gas emission and energy consumption disclosure on market competitiveness of listed nonfinancial firms in nigeria agbo, emmanuel, uchenna, uwaleke & achema, friday department of accounting, veritas university abuja achemaf@veritas.edu.ng abstract this study examinedthe effect of greenhouse gas emission (ghgd) and energy consumption disclosure (ecdi) on the market competitiveness of listed non-financial firms on the nigerian exchange group (ngx).market competitiveness was proxied using the market-to-book ratio (mtbr).the study anchored on two theories: 'agency theory' and 'stakeholder theory'. the expost facto research design was used and a purposive sample of thirty-eight non-financial firms listed on the ngx during the study period were selected as the sample. this study utilised secondary sources of data, from annual financial statements retrieved from the machameratios® database. the data were analysed using multiple regression techniques. the results showed a significant negative effect of the ghgd on mtbr (p=0.0164); while ecdi had a non-significant positive on the mtbr (p=0.1140) of listed non-financial firms. the study concludes that ghg emissions and energy consumption disclosure affect the market competitiveness of listed non-financial firms in nigeria. the study recommends that management and boards of non-financial firms should strive for increased transparency and disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions by companies. companies can enhance their reputation among environmentally conscious investors by disclosing their ghg emissions, demonstrating their commitment to sustainability and climate responsibility. the management of non-financial firms should improve the energy consumption disclosure of their activities. companies can enhance investor trust and confidence by disclosing their energy consumption levels and providing valuable information about their operational efficiency and resource management practices. keywords: greenhouse, gas emission, energy consumption, disclosure, market competitiveness. introduction market competitiveness refers to the level of competition among producers in a market. a competitive market is characterized by many producers competing to provide consumers with the goods and services needed. market competitiveness is influenced by various factors such as corporate political activity and corporate social responsibility enhancing firm competitiveness, especially in developing markets (adomako et al., 2023). additionally, ownership concentration, financial policy, and profitability significantly affect the market value of non-family firms, with leverage and profitability positively impacting market value (miao et al., 2022). firms must assume responsibility for environmental protection initiatives, such as reducing carbon emissions, utilising green energy, and reducing the effects of climate change, etc. (zhang & lucey, 2022). research indicates that there is a direct relationship between market competitiveness and disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions (prado‐lorenzo et al., 2009). companies that disclose greenhouse gas emissions voluntarily through platforms like the carbon disclosure igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.21646.33605 1 project (cdp) are viewed more favourably by investors, suggesting that such disclosures are valued in the market and can influence equity values (griffin et al., 2017). energy consumption disclosure can influence consumer behaviour by affecting how individuals discount future operating costs, ultimately guiding them towards more energy-efficient choices (kontokosta, 2013). energy disclosure plays a crucial role in transforming market behaviour by providing transparent information on energy performance (heinzle, 2012). since the early 90s till date, firms have been pressurised to meet demands for different types of performance from their multi-faceted stakeholders, along with regulatory enforcement (bodhanwala & bodhanwala, 2018; nishitani et al., 2017). consequently, firms have incorporated environmental management, mandatorily and voluntarily, in an effort to enhance their environmental performance (nishitani et al., 2017). thus, nonfinancial firms need to respond to social and environmental matters. as a response, the nigerian exchange group (ngx) has demonstrated efforts at integrating sustainability into existing business models, which culminated in the production of the sustainability disclosure guidelines (sdg), covering environmental, social, and governance (esg) issues. thus, it would signal management efficiency and be a sign for the capital market to enhance credit ratings (jeroh & okoro, 2016). recently, little amount of work has been done to increase environmental awareness in developing countries and to look at the effect on the market competitiveness of firms (kavitha & sulaipher, 2023). this is because studies have shown that reporting only the economic dimension of an organization is not sufficient for, investors and other stakeholders to demand that companies report their environmental and societal impact (maama & appiah, 2019). prior research documents mixed findings on the relationship between environmental disclosures and corporate performance using global or national datasets (sekhon & kathuria, 2019). fatemiet al. (2018) using the bloomberg esg score find that such disclosures increase market valuation. studies such as zhang and lucey (2022) revealed that esg performance has a significant positive effect on firm performance. hasanet al. (2022) in india, showed that esg positively associated with financial performance. buallay (2021) using a worldwide sample of agricultural firms showed that esg had a non-significant positive relationship with roa, roe and tobin's q. the non-financial industry has continued to be a defining aspect of the nigerian economy. non-financial firms are the main subjects of resource consumption and environmental damage (tang et al., 2022).the current study intends to address the population gap from prior studies, by looking at non-financial firms categorisation, and more specifically heavy polluting industrieson the ngx.secondly, the study intends to address the variable gap from prior studies, by looking at the influence of greenhouse gas emission disclosure and energy consumption disclosure on the market competitiveness of listed non-financial firms in nigeria. stakeholder pressure increases after events like emissions that have a negative impact on social and environmental well-being (sisaye, 2021). in the nigerian context, studies that investigate factors influencing environmental accounting information disclosure fall into two groups: those that focus on determinants (onyali, okafor, & egolum, 2014). the second line of research focuses on the nexus of environmental accounting information and corporate performance. they include studies by asuquo, dada, and onyeogaziri (2018), green accounting by egbunike and okoro (2018), and sustainability accounting and reporting by nnamani, onyekwelu, and ugwu (2017). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 2 another stream included studies on the banking industry by onyekwelu and ekwe (2014), and telecommunication companies by udeh and ezejiofor (2018). this justifies the necessity to look into how non-financial firms that are publicly traded account for ghg and energy consumption disclosure. the specific objectives of the study are to: 1. evaluate the effect of greenhouse gas emission disclosure on the market-to-book ratio of listednon-financialfirms in nigeria. 2. determine the effect of energy consumption disclosure on the market-to-book ratio of listednon-financial firms in nigeria. literature review greenhousegas emission disclosure (ghgd) greenhouse gases trap heat and make the planet warmer. a worldwide agreement for reducing ghg emissions, the kyoto protocol, was ratified by more than 160 countries in 1997. the target was a reduction of 5.2% from 1990 levels within the year 2012 (cucchiella et al., 2017). human activities are responsible for almost all of the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere over the last 150 years (usepa, 2023). ghg has become a major factor that hinders global sustainable development and endangers human life (peng et al., 2022). the united nations and the european union have further mentioned the 17 goals for people, planet and the post-2015 eu and global development framework to integrate ecological protection and sustainable development into their longterm development strategies. the main sources of ghg due to human activity are: · carbon dioxide (co2): co2 is naturally present in the atmosphere as part of the earth's carbon cycle, but human activities such as burning fossil fuels for electricity, heat, and transportation have significantly increased its concentration in the atmosphere. · methane (ch4): human activities emitting methane include leaks from natural gas systems and the raising of livestock. methane is also emitted by natural sources such as termites. in addition, natural processes in soil and chemical reactions in the atmosphere help remove ch4 from the atmosphere. · nitrous oxide (n2o): human activities that contribute to n2o emissions include agricultural and industrial activities, as well as fossil fuel combustion. · f-gases: these are a group of trace gases that include hydrofluorocarbons (hfcs), perfluorocarbons (pfcs), and sulfur hexafluoride (sf6). ghg contributes to pollution, biodiversity loss, and emissions, among others (rahi, akter, & johansson, 2022). the methane emissions resulting from the inefficiency of the flare combustion contribute significantly to global warming. this is particularly so in the short to medium term, according to the intergovernmental panel on climate change, methane is over 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide as a warming gas in a 20-year timeframe. secondly, black carbon more commonly known as soot is another pollutant released by gas flares. black carbon is produced through the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels and despite remaining in the atmosphere for just a few days or weeks, black carbon may have the second-largest warming effect on the atmosphere, after carbon dioxide.the failure to consider ghg by stakeholders can result in conflicts and reduce financial performance (arvidsson, 2014). presently, companies cause a lot of environmental problems because of profit maximization, endless needs, rapidly advancing technological developments, and unconscious consumption of natural resources, as they execute their operations (hasan & hakan, 2012). according to ali (2002), there are several reasons for the growing interest in such costs, such as strategic cost leadership, prioritizing such costs for managerial decision making and the growing demands from different stakeholders (government, investors, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 3 lenders, banks, non-governmental organizations, etc.) to have such data. they further noted that many environmental costs can be significantly reduced or eliminated as a result of business decisions, ranging from operational and housekeeping changes to investment in cleaner production, to redesign of processes/products. studies have substantiated the link between ghg disclosure and the market competitiveness of non-financial firms across several contexts. the study by lu et al. (2017) demonstrates that environmental accounting can influence specific behaviours that result in the efficient use of capital, which in turn can enable corporate managers to make better investment decisions. by examining manufacturing enterprises in 30 different nations, el ghoul et al. (2018) discovered that csr can assist lower the cost of equity capital and decrease firms' risk exposure, easing financial limitations. energy consumption disclosure (ecdi) energy consumption is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. according to the united nations, cities consume 78% of the world's energy and produce more than 60% of greenhouse gas emissions. the energy supply sector, which includes electricity, heat, and other energy, is the largest contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, responsible for approximately 73% of total emissions (united nations, 2023). energy consumption is an important means of corporate environmental governance strategy (tang et al., 2022). presently, global organisations and scholars alike have argued for the use of sustainable practices or green innovations in business and production. ecdi is important in today's business environment, which is highly competitive and volatile due to frequent changes and rapid advancements in technology. this non-financial disclosure can help managers in the fulfilment of their strategic objectives (alewine & stone, 2013).firms with responsible energy consumption satisfy the interests of stakeholders which improve firm performance (aboud & diab, 2018). using data from china's 209 listed companies that belong to heavily polluting manufacturing industries, xie et al. (2019) found that both green process innovation and green product innovation can improve a firm's financial performance. farza et al. (2021) investigated the relationship between green innovation and corporate financial performance for german hdax companies from 2008 to 2019 and found a linear positive effect of green innovation on different financial performance measures. zeng et al. (2010) found that cleaner production activities positively influenced financial performance indicators in chinese firms. yet others, such as de azevedo et al. (2019) examine the role of green innovation intensity on financial performance based on data from 356 multinational firms and found that there is no significant association of green innovation's intensity with firm financial performance in the immediate year. furthermore, energy consumption disclosure mitigates the information asymmetry between investors and enterprises and enables investors to better measure the potential risks and future opportunities of enterprises and reduce their investment risks (healy & palepu, 2001; dhaliwal et al., 2011). lucato et al. (2017) found a non-significant link between environmental management and corporate performance. market competitiveness market competitiveness refers to the ability of a company to effectively compete in the market against its rivals (burinskienė & daškevič, 2023; li, 2020). it involves optimizing resources, implementing strategic marketing strategies, and continuously evaluating and adjusting these strategies to gain a competitive edge (turgunpulatovich, 2022). market igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 4 competitiveness refers to the capacity to sustain or grow market share through low costs or product features in comparison to similar industries in other countries (turgunpulatovich, 2022). evaluating market competitiveness involves assessing various factors such as product competitiveness, market conditions, and sales performance (shvindina, 2022).the process of assessing an organization's level of competitiveness starts with evaluating the impact factors. these factors, which can be either endogenous or exogenous depending on their sphere of influence, play a crucial role in determining competitiveness (achema et al, 2022). endogenous factors, which are internal to the organization, include processes, systems, human capital, organizational structure, efficiency, and practices.internal factors within businesses and organizations work together to enhance productivity and establish a sustainable competitive edge.considering external factors is crucial, as organizations are integrated into industries and function within various environments. external factors have the potential to impact an organization's competitive standing by influencing and altering the external resources and opportunities available (kotenko, heiets, & yacout, 2021). competitive strategies vary among businesses, with some focusing on being market leaders, challengers, followers, or niche players. theoretical framework agency theory agency theory was proposed by jensen and meckling (1976). according to jensen and meckling (1976),an agency relationship is a form of “contract under which one or more persons (the principal(s) engage another person (the agent) to perform some service on their behalf which involves delegating some decision-making authority to the agent”. the theory implies that agency costs arise from the divergence of ownership and control (murekefu & ouma, 2012). agency cost is an internal cost which arises between management (agent) and shareholder (principal), because of the differing interests of the two groups (jensen et al., 1992; jensen & meckling, 1976). there are two types of agency costs present in an organization: first, due to conflicts between shareholders and management (myers, 1977) and the other due to conflicts between shareholders and debt holders (la portaet al., 2000). in addition, free cash flow (fcf) is also a form of agency cost which increases agency costs as managers use this for their own compensations and benefits or use in some low returns projects (zhang, 2009; yermack, 2006). agency theory is an important issue in corporate governance and has a significant impact on corporate decisions, such as environmental accounting information disclosure, among others and ultimately the performance of the organization (byrd, 2010).eisenhardt (1989) outlined two streams of the theory which developed over time: the principal-agent where both act in concert and the positivist perspective where they are likely to have conflicting goals. she further explained that the agency problem arises when “(a) the desires or goals of the principal and agent conflict and (b) it is difficult or expensive for the principal to verify what the agent is actually doing”. agency theory rests on a number of assumptions, including human assumptions, of selfinterest, bounded rationality and risk aversion; organisational assumptions, of partial goal conflict among participants, efficiency as the effectiveness criterion and information asymmetry between principal and agent; and, information assumptions, on information as a valuable commodity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 5 stakeholder theory the stakeholder theory was propounded by r. e. freeman (1984). according to the stakeholder theory, management choices should balance and accommodate all stakeholders' interests. according to freeman (1984), managers are required to comprehend the organisational strategy utilised by organisations to manage their interactions with stakeholders as well as the range of transactions that take place between those organisations and their stakeholders. based on a stakeholder perspective, companies need to fulfil expectations beyond mere shareholder interest, satisfying many stakeholders, such as employees, customers, suppliers, financiers, communities, government bodies, political groups, trade associations, and trade unions (freeman, 1984; ifeani et al., 2016). according to freeman (1984), a firm interacts with a wide range of stakeholders, including governments, rival businesses, groups that support consumers and the environment, the media, and others. in this regard, firms benefit from social and environmental responsibility, where stakeholder relationships are key to the expression of such responsibility (sisaye, 2021). stakeholders have different expectations of firm performance, and firms need to please the different stakeholders to ensure long-term survival and success. freeman and reed (1983), state that “management thought has dramatically changed in recent years. there have been, and are now underway, both conceptual and practical revolutions in the way that management theorists and managers think about organizational life”. the authors have proposed two definitions of stakeholders: a wide and a narrow sense. the wide sense includes “any identifiable group or individual who can affect the achievement of an organization objectives” whereas the narrow sense includes any identifiable group or individual on which the organization is dependent for its continued survival. freeman et al. (2010) hold that: (1) the basic objective of a firm is to create value for stakeholders; (2) business is a set of relationships among groups which have a stake in the business activities; (3) business is about how customers, suppliers, employees, financiers (such as stockholders, bondholders, banks, or investors), communities, and managers interact and create value (achema friday, 2023). empirical review agyemang et al. (2023) conducted a study titled “environmental accounting and performance: empirical evidence from china”. using a sample of fifty-one companies in the mining sector, the authors utilized secondary data from 2000 to 2020 and utilized the common correlated effects mean group (ccemg) estimation for the long-run analysis. the ccemg estimator was employed because it deals with possible cross-sectional dependencies, heteroscedasticity, serial correlation, and endogeneity, thereby freeing the results from these issues. the findings revealed a mixed conclusion between board attributes and eaid. moreover, the findings posit that both eaid and epi have a positive slope connection with the profitability of the mining firms. agyemang et al. (2023) studied “assessing the impact of environmental accounting disclosure on corporate performance in china”.this explored the relationship between eaid and firm performance using a sample of 34 listed mining companies and secondary data from 2000 to 2018. the study identifies 12 variables to measure firm performance and uses principal component analysis (pca) to reduce them to four factors. the gmm igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 6 regression analysis is then employed to analyze the data. the results show that there is a positive relationship between eaid and return on equity and quick ratio, while return on assets (roa) has a positive but insignificant link with eaid. javed (2023) conducted a study titled “environmental management accounting and corporate performance: the mediating role of corporate environmental ethics: evidence from the manufacturing sector”. the study adopted a quantitative design and relied on primary data from the indian manufacturing sector. the sample comprised 384 participants which were analysed using cfa and sem. the results showed that ema adoption was positively associated with firms' financials, environmental, and social performance; which was significant and positive. wanget al.(2023) examined the “impact of environmental information disclosure on corporate performance in the building material industry”. the sample comprised chinese a-share listed companies in the building materials industry from 2015 to 2019. the data were analysed using multiple regression techniques. the results showed that environmental information disclosure significantly positively correlated with corporate performance at the 1% level. zhang and lucey (2022) conducted a study titled “sustainable behaviors and firm performance: the role of financial constraints' alleviation”. the sample comprised 215,110 firm-year observations from global, publiclytraded firms during the period 20162020. the data were analysed using the multiple regression technique and the results revealed that esg performance has a significant and positive effect on firm performance. rahiet al. (2022) conducted a study titled “do sustainability practices influence financial performance? evidence from the nordic financial industry”. they adopted a quantitative design. the sample comprised 39 financial firms in the nordic region, i.e., sweden, denmark, finland and norway. the study relied on secondary data obtained from the thomson reuters eikon database from 2015 to 2019. the data were analysed using the fixed effects model and generalised method of moments. the empirical results revealed that esg is negatively related to financial performance, i.e., return on invested capital, return on equity and eps. hasanet al. (2022) conducted a study titled “does corporate social responsibility disclosure impact firm performance? an industry-wise analysis of indian firms”. the sample comprised 287 indian firms. the study relied on secondary data from the financial year 2014 to 2019. the data were analysed using the pooled ols, fixed and random effects models. in consumer goods, consumer services and heavy engineering, esg was positively associated with financial performance; while, in the healthcare, energy and utility firms, the relationship between esg and financial performance was negative. buallay (2021) conducted a study titled “sustainability reporting and agriculture industries'performance: worldwide evidence”. the sample comprised 1426 observations from 31 countries over ten years, i.e., from 2008 to 2017. the secondary data were analysed using multiple regression techniques and the dependent variables were: roa, roe and tobin's q. the results showed that esg had no significant relationship with roa, roe and tobin's q. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 7 dakhli (2021) undertook a study titled “the impact of corporate social responsibility on firm financial performance: does audit quality matter?”. the sample comprised 200 french firms. the secondary obtained from annual financial reports from 2007 to 2018. the data were analysed using the panel regression technique. the results showed that esg positively affected firm financial performance measured using the roa, roe and tobin's q. buallayet al.(2020) conducted a study titled “corporate social responsibility disclosure and firms' performance in mediterranean countries: a stakeholders' perspective”. the quantitative study relied on secondary data from 203 firms listed in six mediterranean countries for a period of 10 years, i.e., 2008 to 2017. the results showed that csr disclosure negatively affects operational and market performance but had no effect on the financial performance proxy. alareeni and hamdan (2020) conducted a study titled “esg impact on performance of us s&p 500-listed firms”. the quantitative study employed a sample of the us s&p 500listed companies. the study utilised secondary data from the period 2009 to 2018 analysed using the panel regression technique. the results showed a positive association between esg disclosure and firm performance. however, the environmental and corporate social responsibility dimensions are negatively associated with roa and roe. these variables are positively related to tobin's q. the corporate governance disclosure is positively related to roa and tobin's q, and negatively related to roe. buallayet al. (2020) conducted a study titled “sustainability reporting and performance of mena banks: is there a trade-off?” the sample comprised 59 banks in the middle east and north africa (mena) region. the study relied on secondary data from annual financial reports from 2008 to 2017. the results showed a significant positive effect of esg on firm performance, i.e., proxied using roa and tobin's q. sekhon and kathuria (2019) conducted a study titled “analyzing the impact of corporate social responsibility on corporate financial performance: evidence from top indian firms”. the study employed a quantitative approach and the sample comprised the top 137 companies listed in cnx-500. the secondary data covered from 2008 to 2017. the data were analysed using a panel regression technique. the study finds a negative influence of csr on financial performance, i.e., proxied as roe. bodhanwala and bodhanwala (2018) conducted a study “does corporate sustainability impact firm profitability? evidence from india”. the sample comprised 58 indian companies that regularly participate in the thomson reuters asset 4 esg database. to examine the effect of sustainability (environmental, social, and governance) on company profitability, an empirical multivariate panel data model is created. additionally, the study aims to determine whether high-ranking businesses perform superior to low-ranking businesses. a parametric t-test was used to test this. the study finds a significant positive relationship between sustainability and firm performance measures (roic, roe, roa and eps). the evidence suggests that firms that practice remarkable sustainable development strategies report higher profitability and have substantially low gearing levels. cucchiella et al. (2017) conducted a study titled “the management of greenhouse gas emissions and its effects on firm performance”. the study sample comprised 500 italian igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 8 firms from 2008 to 2013 for a total of 2904 observations. to achieve this purpose, this paper applies a simple theoretical model derived from a cobb–douglas production function and an inverse demand function to identify how these effects influence a firm's economic performance. the results showed that ghg management brings about an increase in sales through an increase in demand by environmentally conscious customers and through cost reductions given by the improvement in productivity. nishitani et al. (2017) undertook a study titled “does corporate environmental performance enhance financial performance? an empirical study of indonesian firms”. this study examines if a firm's environmental performance improves its financial success and why this occurs using data from a questionnaire survey of indonesian businesses. the main findings of the regression analysis are as follows. first, firms that implement environmental management more aggressively are more likely to reduce greenhouse gas (ghg) and pollution emissions. second, firms that reduce ghg emissions to a greater extent are more likely to enhance profit further, whereas this is not the case for firms that reduce pollution emissions more. third, firms that reduce ghg emissions more are more likely to improve productivity and are not more likely to increase sales. in prior studies the firm performance has mostly been measured using two main methods in the classical research literature: one is the value measurement based on the capital market, such as tobin's q; the other is accounting profitability indicators, such as return on net assets and return on total assets. in most studies, scholars use profitability indicators to represent the financial performance of enterprises. therefore, this study selects the market-to-book (mtb), which can reflect the utilization efficiency of total assets.previous research attempting to link environmental and financial performance produced mixed results. this study focuses on the connection between greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption disclosure on the market-to-book ratio of listed non-financial firms in nigeria. methodology the study employed the expost facto research design, in which the observer has no direct control of the variables because their manifestations have already occurred. the area of the st study is nigeria, as the study focuses on non-financial firms listed on the ngx as of 31 december 2023. the study sample comprised thirty-eight listednon-financial companies st listed on the nigerian exchange group (ngx) as of 31 december 2023. the sample was selected usingthe purposive sampling technique. thestudy utilised secondary data from the annual reports of the selected oil and gas, industrial goods and consumer goodssectors of ngx. the companies and allied matters act require companies to keep and produce accounts that render a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company. method of data analysis the data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistical techniques. the hypotheses were tested using the multiple regression technique. multiple regression is a statistical technique to analyze the relationship between a single dependent variable and several independent variables (sekaran & bougie, 2010). the study used panel regression analysis to capitalize on its strength to control for omitted/unobservable variables that threaten causal inference in observational studies (halaby, 2004). the panel data approach is consistent with the cross-sectional and time-series properties of the data and is employed in studies by agyemang et al. (2023) in china and javed (2023). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 9 control variables the study employs the firm size and firm leverage as control variables in this study. younis and sundarakani (2020), using a sample of firms in the uae found that there is a positive relationship between firm size and environmental performance, economic performance and social performance. firm size has also been employed in the study by oraka and egbunike (2016). they found a negative effect of firm size on total asset turnover and cash flow ratio. firm size positively correlated with the current ratio.alareeni and hamdan (2020) on a sample of the us s&p 500-listed companies showed that esg, csr, evn and cg tend to be higher with firms that have high assets and high financial leverage. furthermore, bodhanwala and bodhanwala (2018) using a sample of 58 indian companies that regularly participate in the thomson reuters asset 4 esg database find evidence that firms that practice remarkable sustainable development strategies report higher profitability and have substantially low gearing levels. and, the study by tang et al. (2022) also employed the company size (size) and capital structure (lev), as control variables to rule out the influence of other factors on the dependent variable. liu et al. (2021) also included firm size and leverage in examining the impact of natural resources and the environment on firms. model specification the following model from the study of oladele et al. (2021) was adapted for the study. the model is specified as follows: roa= β + β env + β bc + β emr + β cr + ʃ ………. (1)0 1 t 2 t 3 t 4 t it where: roa = returns on asset env = environmental reporting bc = board composition emr = employee relations cr = community relations the modified model is shown below as follows: mtbr = β + β ghgd + β ecdi + β fsiz + β flev + µ …(2)it 0 1 it 2 it 3 it 4 it i where: mtbr = market to book ratio ghgd = greenhouse gas emission disclosure ecdi = energy consumption disclosure fsiz = firm size flev = firm leverage β = intercept (constant) 0 β – β = coefficients of the explanatory variables 1 4 µ = error term i variables in the model the following firm-specific dependent, independent and control variables were included in the model analysis: table 1: list of variables for multiple regression analysis igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 10 source: researcher's compilation (2023) data analysis descriptive statistics the descriptive statistics were computed for the dataset in this section using the key parameters. the results revealed important information about the distribution and central tendency of the data. table 2:descriptive statistics of model variables source: e-views 11 key: mtbr-market to book ratio; ghgd-greenhouse gas emission disclosure; ecdienergy consumption disclosure; fsiz-firm size; flev-firm leverage. the table above indicated that on average the value of mtbrof the sampled companies was 2.88 while its median value was 0.67. the maximum value of mtbr was 140.87 while the minimum was 0.00. the skewness and kurtosis had positive values of 7.99 and 76.63, which implies that the distribution is peaked than normal. the j-b statistic confirms the non-normality of the distribution. the average ghgd is 2.33, the median value is 3.00. variables description source mtbr market value of equity/capitalisation book value of equity liu et al. (2021) ghgd ‘1’ if an item of ghg is disclosed, ‘0’otherwise zhang & lucey (2022);, akter, & johansson (2022) ecdi ‘1’ if an item of energy consumption is disclosed, ‘0’otherwise zhang & lucey (2022); rahi, akter, & johansson (2022) fsiz natural logarithm of total assets younis & sundarakani (2020) flev debt to total assets younis & sundarakani (2020) mtbr ghgd ecdi fsiz flev mean 2.875618 2.326582 2.093671 7.338772 50.51680 median 0.670000 3.000000 2.000000 7.562265 61.97000 maximum 140.8700 5.000000 5.000000 9.378765 1449.190 minimum 0.000000 0.000000 0.000000 4.758056 -1844.060 std. dev. 11.46723 1.479874 1.573523 1.030886 230.7540 skewness 7.994443 -0.492545 0.091670 -0.443743 -2.851256 kurtosis 76.62645 2.307198 1.912168 2.455042 40.03716 jarque-bera 93425.71 23.87077 20.02966 17.85085 23111.95 probability 0.000000 0.000007 0.000045 0.000133 0.000000 sum 1135.869 919.0000 827.0000 2898.815 19954.13 sum sq. dev. 51809.96 862.8709 975.5342 418.7139 20979477 observations 395 395 395 395 395 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 11 the maximum value of ghgd was 5.00 while the minimum was 0.00. the skewness had a negative value of -0.49 and kurtosis showed a positive value of 2.31, which implies that the distribution is moderately peaked. the j-b statistic confirms the non-normality of the distribution. the mean of ecdi is 2.09, the median value is 2.00. the maximum value of ecdi was 5.00 while the minimum was 0.00. the skewness and kurtosis showed positive values of 0.09 and 1.91, which implies that the distribution is platykurtic having a thin tail. the j-b statistic confirms the non-normality of the distribution. the control variables of fsiz and flev showed mean values of 7.34 and 50.52. the median values were 7.56 and 61.97 respectively. the skewness showed negative values of -0.44 and -2.85; while, the kurtosis showed values of 2.46 for fsiz which implies a platykurtic distribution and the flev had a value of 40.04 i.e., a leptokurtic distribution with a very long and thick tail. the j-b statistics for both fsiz and flev with p-values <.05 confirm the non-normality of the distribution. correlation matrix the correlation matrix is a square matrix that displays the correlation coefficients between each pair of variables in a dataset. table 3:correlation analysis of model variables source: e-views 11 key: mtbr-market to book ratio; ghgd-greenhouse gas emission disclosure; ecdienergy consumption disclosure; fsiz-firm size; flev-firm leverage. mtbr negatively correlated with ghgd (r=-0.03), ecdi (r=-0.02), and the control variables of fsiz (r=-0.34) and flev (r=-0.42). in the case of ghgd, there exists a positive correlation with ecdi (i.e., r=0.87), fsiz (r=0.02), and flev (r=0.13). the correlation between ecdi and fsiz showed a weak positive correlation (i.e., r=0.04). ecdi positively correlated with flev (r=0.08). fsiz positively correlated with flev (r=0.14). the hausman test supported the use of fem in the case of the study sample, since, the pvalue is small (p < 0.05). test of hypotheses table 4:ols regression output for the test of hypotheses mtbr ghgd ecdi fsiz flev mtbr 1 -0.02542 -0.02443 -0.33761 -0.41524 ghgd -0.02542 1 0.865328 0.024203 0.126313 ecdi -0.02443 0.865328 1 0.040898 0.080926 fsiz -0.33761 0.024203 0.040898 1 0.141161 flev -0.41524 0.126313 0.080926 0.141161 1 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 12 source: e-views 11 the r-squared value of 0.806indicates that about 80.6% of the variability in the data can be explained by the regression model. the adjusted r-squared is slightly lower at 0.785and penalizes the addition of unnecessary variables which makes it a more reliable measure of the model's effectiveness. thus, 78.5% of the systematic variation in mtbr was jointly explained by all the explanatory variables.the model is statistically significant (fstatistic=38.046) with a p-value=0.0000 < .05. the durbin-watson value of 1.173; suggests a positive auto correlation. hypothesis one: ho : there is no significant effect of greenhouse gas emission disclosure on the market-1 to-book ratio of listed non-financial firms in nigeria. ghgd as an independent variable to mtbr appears to have a negative coefficient (i.e., 0.087) which is significant at a 5% level. this, therefore, implies that an increase in ghgd will cause a decrease in mtbr. this evidence, therefore, leads to a rejection of the null hypothesis and acceptance of the alternatehypothesis; thus, “there is a significant effect of greenhouse gas emission disclosure on the market-to-book ratio of listed non-financial firms in nigeria”. v ariab le c oeffic i en t s td . e rro r t-s ta tis tic p rob . c 14 .1806 3 2 .147878 6 .602156 0 .0000 g h g d 0 .08767 3 0 .036350 -2 .411899 0 .0164 e c d i 0 .06534 4 0 .041239 1 .584518 0 .1140 f s iz 1 .52137 1 0 .281199 -5 .410302 0 .0000 f l e v 0 .00144 2 0 .000420 -3 .432268 0 .0007 r-squared 0 .80694 0 m ean dependen t var 6 .4886 12 a djusted rsquared 0 .78573 0 s .d . dependen t var 6 .8692 14 s .e . o f reg ression 3 .48021 3 s um squared resid 4299 .7 19 f-sta tis tic 38 .0462 8 d urb in-w atson stat 1 .1733 47 p rob(f-statis tic) 0 .00000 0 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 13 hypothesis two: ho2: energy consumption disclosure does not affect the market-to-book ratio of listed non-financial firms in nigeria. ecdi as an independent variable to mtbr appears to have a positive coefficient (i.e., 0.065) which is not significant at a 5% level. this, therefore, implies that an increase in ecdi will cause an increase in mtbr. this evidence, therefore, leads to a rejection of the alternatehypothesis and acceptance of the null hypothesis; thus, “energy consumption disclosure does not affect the market-tobook ratio of listed non-financial firms in nigeria”. discussion of findings the result showed that ghg emission disclosure negatively affectsthe market-to-book ratio of listed non-financial firms. the findings are supported by rahi et al. (2022) in the nordic region, i.e., sweden, denmark, finland and norway using the fixed effects model and gmm revealed that esg is negatively related to financial performance, i.e., return on invested capital, return on equity and eps.in the mediterranean region, buallay et al. (2020) showed that csr disclosure negatively affects operational and market performance. likewise, sekhon and kathuria (2019) in india find a negative influence of csr onroe. however, in contrast, alareeni and hamdan (2020) in the us showed a positive association between esg disclosure and firm performance. however, the environmental and csr dimensions were negatively associated with roa and roe. nishitani et al. (2017) in indonesiashowed that firms that reduce ghg emissions to a greater extent are more likely to enhance profit further. cucchiella et al. (2017) using a sample of 500 italian firms showed that ghg brings about an increase in sales through an increase in demand by environmentally conscious customers and through cost reductions given by the improvement in productivity. the second hypothesis showed that energy consumption disclosure positively affects the market-to-book ratio of listednon-financial firms.the findings are somewhat consistent with agyemang et al. (2023) in china which revealed that eaid and epi have a positive slope connection with profitability.also, javed (2023) in india showed that ema adoption was positively associated with firms' financials, environmental, and social performance. wanget al. (2023) using chinese a-share listed companies showed that environmental information disclosure significantly positively correlated with corporate performance. from a global perspective, zhang and lucey (2022) using a sample of 215,110 firm-year observations from global, publicly traded firms revealed that esg performance has a significant and positive effect on firm performance. in france, dakhli (2021) showed that esg positively affected financial performance measured using the roa, roe and tobin's q. bodhanwala and bodhanwala (2018) in india finds a significant positive relationship between sustainability and firm performance measures. conclusion the study concludes that ghg emissions and energy consumption disclosure affect the market competitiveness of listed non-financial firms in nigeria. the data utilised in this study was analysed using descriptive statistics, a correlation matrix, and fixed effect model regression (fem). the fem regression was used to test the hypotheses. the empirical results specifically showed that ghg disclosure negatively affectsthe marketto-book ratio; while energy consumption disclosure positively affectsthe market-to-book igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 14 ratio of listed non-financial firms. based on the findings, the study makes the following recommendations in the nigerian context as follows: 1. the management and board should strive for increased transparency and disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions by companies. this is because investors are increasingly considering environmental performance as a factor in their investment decisions. companies can enhance their reputation among environmentally conscious investors by disclosing their greenhouse gas emissions, demonstrating their commitment to sustainability and climate responsibility. furthermore, greenhouse gas emission disclosure can also provide valuable insights into a company's risk management practices and long-term sustainability strategy. this information can help investors better evaluate the company's potential for future growth and profitability, leading to a higher market-to-book ratio. 2. the management and board should improve the energy consumption disclosure of their activities. the disclosure of energy consumption data by companies can have a significant impact on their market-to-book ratio. in today's business environment, there is a growing awareness and focus on sustainability and energy efficiency. companies that transparently disclose their energy consumption practices demonstrate their commitment to responsible environmental stewardship, which can positively influence investor perception and valuation. investors are increasingly considering energy efficiency as a key factor in assessing a company's long-term viability and potential for growth. companies can enhance investor trust and confidence by disclosing their energy consumption levels and providing valuable information about their operational efficiency and resource management practices. references aboud, a., & diab, a. (2018). the impact of social, environmental and corporate governance disclosures on firm value. journal of accounting in emerging economies, 8(4), 442-458. achema friday: liquidity management and firm value of listed deposit money banks in nigeria. iosr journal of business and management (iosr-jbm), vol. 25, no. 12, pp 2319-7668. december, 2023 adomako, s., abdelgawad, s. g., ahsan, m., amankwah-amoah, j., & liedong, t. a. (2023). nonmarket strategy in emerging markets: the link between smes' corporate political activity, corporate social responsibility, and firm competitiveness. journal of business research, 160, 113767. agyemang, a., yusheng, k., kongkuah, m., musah, a., & musah, m. (2023). assessing the impact of environmental accounting disclosure on corporate performance in china. environmental engineering & management journal (eemj), 22(2), 389397. agyemang, a. o., yusheng, k., twum, a. k., edziah, b. k., & ayamba, e. c. (2023). environmental accounting and performance: empirical evidence from china. environment, development and sustainability, 1-26. alareeni, b. a., & hamdan, a. (2020). esg impact on performance of us s&p 500-listed firms. corporate governance, 20(7), 1409-1428. alewine, h. c., & stone, d. n. (2013). how does environmental accounting information influence attention and investment? international journal of accounting and information management, 21(1), 22-52. ali, m. e. (2002). transfer of sustainable energy technology to developing countries as a means of reducing greenhouse gas emission-the case of bangladesh: review of relevant literature. discussion paper no. 02.08 – august 2002, department of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 15 applied and international economics, massey university, new zealand. arvidsson, s. (2014). corporate social responsibility and stock market actors: a comprehensive study. social responsibility journal, 10(2), 210-225. asuquo, a. i., dada, t. e., & onyeogaziri, u. r. (2018). the effect of sustainability reporting on corporate performance of selected quoted brewery firms in nigeria. international journal of business & law research, 6(3), 1-10. bodhanwala, s., &bodhanwala, r. (2018). does corporate sustainability impact firm profitability? evidence from india. management decision, 56(8), 1734-1747. buallay, a. (2021). sustainability reporting and agriculture industries' performance: worldwide evidence. journal of agribusiness in developing and emerging economies. buallay, a., fadel, s. m., al-ajmi, j. y., & saudagaran, s. (2020). sustainability reporting and performance of mena banks: is there a trade-off? measuring business excellence, 24(2), 197-221. buallay, a., kukreja, g., aldhaen, e., al mubarak, m., & hamdan, a. m. (2020). corporate social responsibility disclosure and firms' performance in mediterranean countries: a stakeholders' perspective. euromed journal of business, 15(3), 361-375. burinskienė, a., & daškevič, d. (2023). contemporary concept of business competitiveness. management/vadyba (16487974), 39(1). byrd, j. (2010). financial policies and the agency costs of free cash flow: evidence from the oil industry. irabf, 2(2), 23–50. cucchiella, f., gastaldi, m., & miliacca, m. (2017). the management of greenhouse gas emissions and its effects on firm performance. journal of cleaner production, 167, 1387-1400. dakhli, a. (2021). the impact of corporate social responsibility on firm financial performance: does audit quality matter? journal of applied accounting research. de azevedo rezende, l., bansi, a. c., alves, m. f. r., & galina, s. v. r. (2019). take your time: examining when green innovation affects financial performance in multinationals. journal of cleaner production, 233, 993-1003. dhaliwal, d. s., li, o. z., tsang, a., & yang, y. g. (2011). voluntary nonfinancial disclosure and the cost of equity capital: the initiation of corporate social responsibility reporting. the accounting review, 86(1), 59-100. dhar, b. k., sarkar, s. m., & ayittey, f. k. (2022). impact of social responsibility disclosure between implementation of green accounting and sustainable development: a study on heavily polluting companies in bangladesh. corporate social responsibility and environmental management, 29(1), 71-78. egbunike, a. p., & okoro, g. e. (2018). does green accounting matter to the profitability of firms? a canonical assessment. ekonomski horizonti, 20(1), 17-26. eisenhardt, k. m. (1989). agency theory: an assessment and review. international journal of management, 5, 341-353. el ghoul, s., guedhami, o., kim, h., & park, k. (2018). corporate environmental responsibility and the cost of capital: international evidence. journal of business ethics, 149(2), 335-361. farza, k., ftiti, z., hlioui, z., louhichi, w., & omri, a. (2021). does it pay to go green? the environmental innovation effect on corporate financial performance. journal of environmental management, 300, 113695. freeman, r.e. (1984). strategic management: a stakeholder approach. pitman, boston, ma. freeman, r. e., harrison, j. s., wicks, a. c., parmar, b. l., & de colle, s. (2010). stakeholder theory: the state of the art. cambridge university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 16 freeman, r. e., & reed, d. l. (1983). stockholders and stakeholders: a new perspective on corporate governance. california management review, 25(3), 88-106. 1 2 3 4friday achema , terzungwe nyor , samuel eniola agbi , onipe adabenege yahaya : liquidity management and profitability of listed deposit money banks in nigeria. european accounting and management review. vol. 9, no. 2, pp 83-100. may, 2022 griffin, p. a., lont, d. h., & sun, e. y. (2017). the relevance to investors of greenhouse gas emission disclosures. contemporary accounting research, 34(2), 1265-1297. halaby, c. (2004). panel models in sociological research: theory into practice. annual review of sociology, 30, 507-544. hasan, i., singh, s., & kashiramka, s. (2022). does corporate social responsibility disclosure impact firm performance? an industry-wise analysis of indian firms. env i ronmen t , deve lopmen t and sus ta inab i l i t y , 24 (8 ) , 1014110181.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-021-01859-2 hasan, ş., & hakan, ö. (2012). the importance of environmental accounting in the context of sustainable development and within ifrs evaluation. 3rd international symposium on sustainable development, may 31 june 01 2012, sarajevo. a v a i l a b l e [ o n l i n e ] a t : http://eprints.ibu.edu.ba/1282/ healy, p. m., & palepu, k. g. (2001). information asymmetry, corporate disclosure, and the capital markets: a review of the empirical disclosure literature. journal of accounting and economics, 31(1-3), 405-440. heinzle, s. l. (2012). disclosure of energy operating cost information: a silver bullet for overcoming the energy-efficiency gap? journal of consumer policy, 35(1), 43-64. ifeani, o.e., oge, m.g., & gozie, a.c. (2016). effective stakeholders' management in banking industries. international journal of information, business and management, 4(1), 32-36. javed, s. (2023). environmental management accounting and corporate performance: the mediating role of corporate environmental ethics: evidence from the manufacturing sector. journal of environmental accounting and management, 11(01), 41-52. jensen, m.c., & meckling, w.h. (1976). theory of the firm: managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure. journal of financial economics, 3(4), 305-360. jensen, g. r., solberg, d. p., & zorn, t. s. (1992). simultaneous determination of insider ownership, debt, and dividend policies. journal of financial and quantitative analysis, 27(2), 247-263. jeroh, e., & okoro, g. e. (2016). effect of environmental and dismantling costs on firm performance among selected oil and gas companies in nigeria. sahel analyst: journal of management sciences, 14(5), 14-26. kavitha, t. n., & sulaipher, m. (2023, may). environment accounting and reporting in fossil fuel sector in india. in aip conference proceedings (vol. 2477, no. 1). aip publishing. kotenko, s., heiets, i., & yacout, d. (2021). organizational competitiveness: a systematic literature review. marketing i menedžment innovacij, (3), 175-187. kontokosta, c. e. (2013). energy disclosure, market behavior, and the building data ecosystem. annals of the new york academy of sciences, 1295(1), 34-43. la porta, r., lopez‐de‐silanes, f., shleifer, a., & vishny, r. w. (2000). agency problems and dividend policies around the world. the journal of finance, 55(1), 1-33. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 17 liu, c., su, k., & zhang, m. (2021). water disclosure and financial reporting quality for social changes: empirical evidence from china. technological forecasting and social change, 166, 120571. li, y. (2020, september). research on the construction of marketing competitiveness evaluation index system based on association rules algorithm. in 2020 international conference on advance in ambient computing and intelligence (icaaci) (pp. 135-138). ieee. lucato, w. c., costa, e. m., & de oliveira neto, g. c. (2017). the environmental performance of smes in the brazilian textile industry and the relationship with their financial performance. journal of environmental management, 203, 550556. lu, l. y., shailer, g., & yu, y. (2017). corporate social responsibility disclosure and the value of cash holdings. european accounting review, 26(4), 729-753. maama, h., & appiah, k. o. (2019). green accounting practices: lesson from an emerging economy. qualitative research in financial markets, 11(4), 456-478. miao, l., zhuo, y., wang, h., & lyu, b. (2022). non-financial enterprise financialization, product market competition, and total factor productivity of enterprises. sage open, 12(2), 21582440221089956. murekefu, t. m., & ouma, o. p. (2012). the relationship between dividend payout and firm performance: a study of listed companies in kenya. european scientific journal, esj, 8(9), 199-215. myers, s. c. (1977). determinants of corporate borrowing. journal of financial economics, 5(2), 147-175. nishitani, k., jannah, n., & kaneko, s. (2017). does corporate environmental performance enhance financial performance? an empirical study of indonesian firms. environmental development, 23, 10-21. nnamani, j., onyekwelu, u., & ugwu, o. (2017). effect of sustainability accounting and reporting on financial performance of firms in nigeria brewery sector. european journal of business and innovation research, 5(1), 1-15. nurvita, t., & priambodo, a. (2022). the effect of environmental performance, company's characteristics and good corporate governance (gcg) on environmental disclosure (empirical study of mining companies listed on the indonesia stock exchange (idx) 2015-2019). baskara: journal of business and entrepreneurship, 4(2), 145-162. oladele, r., aribaba, f. o., afolabi, y. a., adele, h. a., ahmodu, o. a., babatunde, a. d., & tuoyo, c. a. (2021). triple bottom line reporting and corporate performance of listed manufacturing firms in nigeria. academy of accounting and financial studies journal, 25(7), 1-11. onyali, i. c., okafor, t. g., & egolum, p. (2014). an assessment of environmental information disclosure practices of selected nigerian manufacturing companies. international journal of finance and accounting, 3(6) 349-355. onyekwelu, u. l., & ekwe (2014). does corporate social responsibility predicate good financial performance. esut journal of management sciences, 8(1), 1-10. oraka, a. o., & egbunike, f. c. (2016). appraisal of environmental accounting information in the financial statements of consumer goods manufacturing companies in nigeria. ng-journal of social development, 5(6), 6-28. peng, c., fu, w., jiang, h., & zou, y. (2022). the impact of environmental information disclosure on enterprises' green preference of outbound investment: evidence from china. frontiers in psychology, 13, 985727. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 18 prado‐lorenzo, j. m., rodríguez‐domínguez, l., gallego‐álvarez, i., & garcía‐sánchez, i. m. (2009). factors influencing the disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions in companies worldwide. management decision, 47(7), 1133-1157. rahi, a. f., akter, r., & johansson, j. (2022). do sustainability practices influence financial performance? evidence from the nordic financial industry. accounting research journal, 35(2), 292-314. sánchez‐medina, p. s., díaz‐pichardo, r., & cruz‐bautista, m. (2016). stakeholder influence on the implementation of environmental management practices in the hotel industry. international journal of tourism research, 18(4), 387-398. sekaran, u., & bougie, r. (2010). research methods for business: a skill-building approach. chichester: wiley. sekhon, a. k., & kathuria, l. m. (2019). analyzing the impact of corporate social responsibility on corporate financial performance: evidence from top indian firms. corporate governance, 20(1), 143-157. shvindina, h. (2022). economic competitiveness: an overview of multilevel concept. responsible consumption and production, 160-172. sisaye, s. (2021). the influence of non-governmental organizations (ngos) on the development of voluntary sustainability accounting reporting rules. journal of business and socio-economic development, 1(1), 5-23. tang, y., yue, s., ma, w., & zhang, l. (2022). how do environmental protection expenditure and green technology innovation affect synergistically the financial performance of heavy polluting enterprises? evidence from china. environmental science and pollution research, 29(59), 89597-89613. tantua, b., agbalaiko, e. g., & etale, l. m. (2023). green accounting and corporate viability of selected oil industry firms in nigeria. european journal of accounting, auditing and finance research, 11(7), 16-30. turgunpulatovich, a. o. (2022). the concept of forming the competitiveness of small business entities and its essence. asia pacific journal of marketing & management review, 11(07), 46-55. udeh, f. n., & ezejiofor, r. (2018). effect of sustainability cost accounting on financial performance of telecommunication firms. journal for studies in management and planning nigeria, 4(6), 223-250. u n i t e d n a t i o n s ( 2 0 2 3 ) . g e n e r a t i n g p o w e r. av a i l a b l e [ o n l i n e ] a t : https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/climate-solutions/cities-pollution united states environmental protection agency [usepa] (2023). sources of greenhouse g a s e m i s s i o n s . a v a i l a b l e [ o n l i n e ] a t : https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions wang, h., bao, x., & wang, y. (2023). the impact of environmental information disclosure on corporate performance in building material industry. in the complexities of sustainability (pp. 299-321). wang, k., cui, w., mei, m., lv, b., & peng, g. (2023). the moderating role of environmental information disclosure on the impact of environment protection investment on firm value. sustainability, 15(12), 9174. xie, x., huo, j., & zou, h. (2019). green process innovation, green product innovation, and corporate financial performance: a content analysis method. journal of business research, 101, 697-706. yermack, d. (2006). flights of fancy: corporate jets, ceo perquisites and inferior shareholder returns. journal of financial economics, 80(1), 211-242. younis, h., & sundarakani, b. (2020). the impact of firm size, firm age and environmental management certification on the relationship between green supply chain practices igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 19 and corporate performance. benchmarking: an international journal, 27(1), 319346. zeng, s. x., meng, x. h., yin, h. t., tam, c. m., & sun, l. (2010). impact of cleaner production on business performance. journal of cleaner production, 18(10-11), 975983. zhang, y. (2009). are debt and incentive compensation substitutes in controlling the free cash flow agency problem? financial management, 38(3), 507-541. zhang, d., & lucey, b. m. (2022). sustainable behaviors and firm performance: the role of financial constraints' alleviation. economic analysis and policy, 74, 220-233. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 20 14 a comparative analysis of arendt's and marx's conceptions of history ogaba, solomon isenyo department of philosophy, federal university wukari, taraba state solomonogaba5@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.10003.90409 abstract the aim of this paper is to bring out the similarities and differences between arendt's and marx's conceptions of history and to state the position of arendt as to whether she is a marxist or non-marxist. in the words of philip hansen “arendt sees marx as the last great thinker in the western traditional political thought.” also, young-bruehl talking about the relationship between arendt and marx writes: “towering over the work of arendt is the figure of karl max” young-bruehl, 278). from the foregoing one might be tempted to conclude that arendt was a marxist. but, can this be true? in attempt to answer this question birthed this paper. the work uses the proper method of philosophical analysis which includes; the use of the method of exposition , the analysis of terms and concepts where necessary and general evaluation of arguments. the paper uncovered that though, marx's and arendt's conceptions of history shares a lot of common grounds in relation to methodology and focus but concluded that arendt had a conservative conception of history while marx believes in the dynamics of inevitable change in historical development of the society. keywords: arendt , marx , history , hermeneutics, conservative . background to the study in the “poetics” aristotle argued that poetry is superior to history, because poetry speaks of what must or should be true (certainty). this reflects early axial focus (good/bad, right/wrong) over metaphysical focus for what “is.” accordingly, classical historians felt a duty to ennoble the world. in keeping with philosophy of history, it is clear that their philosophy of value imposed upon their process of writing history (philosophy influenced the method and hence product). herodotus, considered by some as the first systematic historian, and later plutarch freely invented speeches for their historical figures and choose their historical subjects with an eye toward morally improving the reader. history for them was supposed to teach one good example to follow. the assumption that history “should teach good examples”, influenced how history was written. event of the past are just as likely to show bad examples that are not to be followed, but these historians would either not record them or re-interpret them to support their assumptions history's purpose. from the classical period to the renaissance, historians alternated between focusing on subjects designed to improve mankind and on a devotion to fact. history was composed mainly of hagiographies of monarchs or epic poetry describing heroic gesture such as the song of roland about the battle of rondeaux pass during charlemagne's first campaign to conquer the iberian igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 15 peninsula. in the 14th century, ibn khaldun, who is considered one of the fathers of philosophy of history, discussed his philosophy of history society in detail in his muqudddimah. his work was culmination of earlier works by muslims thinkers in the spheres of ethics, political sciences, and historiography, such as those of “al-farabi ibn miskawayi, al dawwani, and nasir al-din altui”(mowlana;2001). by the 18th century, historians had turned towards a more positivist approach focusing on fact as much as possible, still, with an eye on telling histories that could instruct and improve. starting with fustel de coullanges and theodor mommsen, historical studies began to progress towards a more modern scientific form. in the victorian era, the debate in historiography thus, was so much whether history was interested to improve the reader, but what causes turned history and how historical change could be understood. hegel's phenomenology of spirit was a classical work of this era. in the twentieth century, philosophy of history took a new dimension known as hermeneutics (arendt:2017). this approach focuses on the meaning of the actions and intentions of the historical individuals rather than historical wholes. the method of understanding makes a methodology of this approach; it invites the thinker to engage in an active construction of meanings and intentions of the actors from their point of view (arendt:2017). this line of interpretation of human history found expression in the philosophical writings of ricoeur and foucault. this tradition approaches the philosophy of history from the perspective of meaning and language. it argues that historical knowledge depends upon interpretation of meaningful human actions and practices. historians should probe historical events and actions in order to discover the interconnections of meaning and symbolic interaction that human actions have created. there was an important new turn in the mid-twentieth century, as philosophers attempted to make sense of modern historical developments including war, ethic and national hatred, and holocaust. narratives of progress were no longer compelling, following the terrible events of the first half of the twentieth century. the focus of this approach might be labelled history as “remembrance”(arendt :2017). contributors to this stand of thought emerged from twentieth century european philosophy, including existentialism and marxism, and were influenced by the search for meaning in the holocaust. paul ricoeur, domini la capra and michael kammen are figures to mention here. having reviewed the forgoing literature, it becomes obvious that the concern of the ancient philosophical historians was that of promoting morality. while during the renaissance the concern was to devotion to fact, while the 18th century philosophical historians have a positivist concern to facts. and in the twentieth century the concern of philosophical historians was on history as remembrance. hence, the need to compare and contrast arendt's conception of history from that of marx cannot be overemphasized. this is owing to the fact that, there have been a controversy as to whether arendt was a marxist or non-marxist. this is because of her enigmatic way of thoughts and writings. according to the internet encyclopedia of philosophy arendt, is a “heterodox” thinker with complicated argumentation (2015). the same encyclopedia described her as, “a most challenging figure for any one wishing to understand the body of her work in pollical philosophy” (2015). owing to the complex nature of arendts historical , political, and philosophical thoughts, it becomes rather difficult to hold her as a marxist or non-marxist. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 16 marx's conception of history karl marx was born in trier in germany in 1818. he obtained higher education in the university of bonn and berlin. as a student, he was influenced by the teaching of g. w. f. hegel. he joined the young hegelians of the doctors' club in berlin, where he came under the influence of the leftist radicalization in atheism, and republicanism, preferring communism to monarchianism. he was also largely influenced by feuerbachian atheism humanism. he was also influenced by the ancient materialist such as democritus and epicurus. marx's hegellian heritage marx was greatly influenced by hegel's works especially the philosophy of history. marx accepted hegel's dialectic but rejected his metaphysical idealism and gave the dialectics a materialist interpretation. hegel was an idealist while marx was a materialist. marx contrasting his dialectic with that of hegel writes: “my dialectic method is not different from the hegelian; but is its direct opposite. to hegel, the life process of the human brain... is the demiurgeous of the real world and the real world is the only external phenomenon of 'the idea' with one on the contrary, the idea is nothing else than the material world reflected by the human mind and translated into forms of thought.... with him it is standing on its head. it must be turned right side up again, if you would discover the rational kernel within the mystical shell (marx :1961). historical materialism marx holds a materialist conception of history. historical materialism therefore, is the special application, which marx gives to hegel's idea of philosophy of history (idike:2002). marx, engels and their followers believed that the highest determinant of human history is the sum of the relations of economic production. that is, the economic structure of society is the real foundation on which rises a legal and political superstructure and to which corresponds to definite forms of social consciousness (marx:1977). the moving force in history therefore is economic production. according to engels, historical materialism is: the view of the course of history which seeks the ultimate cause and the great moving power of all important historic events in the economic development of society, in the changes in the modes of production and exchange, in the consequent division of society into distinct classes, and in the struggle of these classes against one another (engels:1892). from the foregoing, it is pertinent to note that production has a dual significance. marx distinguishes two aspect of the mode of production that: the relation of man to nature is determine by his force of production and that men out only act on nature in order to produce but also on one another co-operating mutually in the exchange of activities that involved that relations of production(nwoko:2006). for, example, if the ownership of means of production is private, relations would be those igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 17 of dominations, exploitation and subordination between workers and entrepreneurs, and if ownership is communal, the relationship would be that of co-operation and mutual assistance. human historical development is hinged on these two aspects of the relationship in economic production (the productive forces and the relations of production). as such, marx classified the historical development of human social activities (societies) into five stages: primitive or ancient society, society of slavery, feudal society, bourgeois society, and socialist society (marx:1992). arendtian conception of history a brief biography of hannah arendt the political philosopher, hannah arendt, was born in hanover, germany, in 1906, the only child of secular jews. she studied classic, christian theology and philosophy. she was tutored by martin heidegger and karl jesper but was more influenced by heidegger's phenomenology. works written by her include, the origins of totalitarianism, the human condition eichmann in jerusalem: a report on the banality of evil. and thinking and moral considerations. she died on december 4, 1975, having only just stated work on the third and final volume of judging. arendtian dualistic perspective on history what is the meaning and significance of a genuine history? the foregoing question was what informed or triggered arendt's outlook on history. in the concept of history. arendt identifies two distinct notions of history that have played a central role in western culture: ancient and modern. the ancient notion of history was developed in the context of greek experience and was intimately associated with the polis (public realm). while the modern notion dates from the beginning of the modern scientific revolution, roughly the late middle-ages, although it full impacts was not felt until the seventeenth century(arendt:1993). for arendt, it is the modern notion which has been powerfully at the centre of the kind of historical consciousness which has proved so baleful for a genuine politics, and it thus provides the primary focus of her account. arendt is not so concerned with history as a technical discipline or with the status of historical explanation, but rather the significance of historical consciousness for the quality of public life (politics). in her view, this consciousness shapes a way of thinking about the world that is dangerously inappropriate for a true pubic action (politics). arendt in her essay titled: “the concept of history” examines the meaning of a genuine history and its significance. for arendt; a genuine history is one that is objective in outlook and possesses an element of remembrance (audience) which helps to capture the original events as they are. in her views, it is only the ancient notion of history that has the aforementioned features of a genuine history. according to hansen, “the objectivity arendt defends is not that of the modern natural science with their epistemological commitment to mathematical formulation, deductive and nomological laws. it is rather sensuous objectivity which has the subjective as one of its elements (arendt: 1993).consequently, she sees modern historical consciousness as process consciousness, that we see ourselves as radically determine and thus unfree (arendt:1959). hence, her negative conception of modern history. so, for arendt the modern notion of history is deficient because it lacks the kind of sensuous objectivity mentioned earlier. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 18 in talking about the significance of genuine history, arendt argued that a genuine history is sure to guarantee the permanent status of the polis (public sphere). she rates politics as the highest of all human endeavour because it is in the politics that human freedom is sure, and the realm of politics is the public sphere (polis). for her, what makes human being unique as humans is their capacity to exercise their individual freedom, and she associated freedom with action (speech) which can only be manifested in polis (public sphere). and the permanent guarantee for the existence of the polis as earlier stated is the presence of a genuine history. for her, it was only the greek polis that has survived all these while until the advent of historical consciousness as process consciousness. modern history for her, somehow combines action and fabrication “thinking in terms of processes, on the one hand, and the conviction, on the other that i know only what i myself have made.” hence, the dilemmas of modern historical consciousness and experience, which reflects the ability of people at one and the same time to create norms, practices and institutions, what arendt calls additions to the human artifice (arendt:1959). while seeing them as gaining meaning from a nature-like process over which they exercise no control. thus, the problem of meaning in human existence. for hansen, this is arendt's ontology of history (hansen.1993). a comparative analysis of arendt's and marx's conceptions of history areas of convergence ü both were concerned with the causes of modern human misery, utilizing a theory of alienation as an explanation. ü both arendt and marx used the method of hermeneutics in their historical presentation. ü they saw the importance of history as a necessary tool for understanding the present. ü they hold an ontological outlook on history. ü they saw the importance of the individual (historical actors) in the making and shaping of history. ü both arendt and marx recognized the creative capacities of men in historical development. ü they recognized the role of labour in human historical development. ü they both saw forms of alienation in relation to labour in historical development and productivity. areas of divergence ü arendt holds an existentialist conception of history while marx holds a materialist conception of history. ü arendt was concerned with the (qualitative status) content of history while marx was concerned with history as a process in the development of human society. ü she upholds objectivity in history while marx believes in the dialectic of change. ü she holds a conservative conception of history while marx's conceptions of history is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 19 linear progressive. ü arendt relegated the importance of human labour to the background while marx upholds significance of human labour in historical development. ü marx was concerned about the alienation of man from his labour while arendt was concerned with social alienation from human existence. concluding remark in conclusion, having x-rayed the similarities and differences between arendt's and marx's conception of history it certainly became obvious that hannah arendt was no marxist. reason being that, she was basically ontological in her outlook on history while, marx's outlook on history was basically materialistic. in support of my claim, martin, hill who is one of the outstanding translators or arendt's works writes; “arendt was certainly no marxist and had little sympathy for marxism in any of its form. 'orthodox or 'critical', soviet' or western. (1999:64). references adrent, h. (1959). the concept of history. chicago: university of chicago press, p. 88. arendt, h.(2017). “philosophy of history”. standford encyclopedia of philosophy arendt, h. (1993). politics, history and citizenship, trans. phillip hansen. cambridge uk:polity press, p. 17 engels, f. (1892). introduction to socialism, utopia and scientific . oxford:oxford university press. hansen, p. (1993). politics, history and citizenship. cambridge uk, polity press, http://www.iep.utm.edu/a/arendtphilosophy.htm. idike, emmanuel. (2001). introduction to social and political philosophy. enugu: goodseed publisher. p. 116. marx, k. (1977). selected writtings. oxford: oxford university press. p. 380 marx, k. (1992). wage, labour, and capital in selected works. london: lawerence and wishart. marx, k. capital vol. 1 (1869), ed. fredrich engels, trans. samuel moore and edward aveking. london: lawrence and wishart, 1961. mowlana,h. (2001). “information in the arab world” cooperation south journal. p. 1-7. nwoko, t. m. (2006). basic world political theories ed. f. o. c. njoku. enugu: snaap press, 2006. p. 180. the internet encyclopedia of philosophy” http://www.iep.utm.edu/a/arendt.htm).retrieved march 15, 2015. young-bruehl, e. (1982). hannah arendt, for love of the world. new heaven and london: yale university press, p. 278. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 74 poetry as a channel for effective communication among youth in the contemporary nigerian society marie c. obasi & oni moyosoreoluwa sabinah department of mass communication, caleb university, imota macwudo@gmail.com abstract this study titled, “poetry as a channel for effective communication and creativity among youth in the contemporary nigerian society” investigated the extent youth still use poetry for communication and how effective poetry is as a means of communication and creativity among youth in the contemporary nigerian society. emotional communication theory serves the theoretical foothold. the study adopts pragmatic research design which informs the use of mixed research method with focus group discussion (fgd) and social survey as instruments for data collection. a total of 400 undergraduate students in caleb university, lagos took part in the study. findings indicated that most nigerian youth in the contemporary society failed to engage with poetry regularly in their daily lives because they feel it does not worth the stress. rather, the youth prefer to express themselves with emojis and other already made digital and ai generated signs and symbols. the study also established that most of the understudied youth think that not all messages can be communicated through poems. the study concludes that although contemporary nigerian youth know that poetry can help young people develop creativity and confidence, some factors prevented them from either composing their own poems or engaging with that of others including negative comments from social media, complex nature of poems, poor language development, mental laziness, creative blockage between them and their audience, environmental stress and misinterpretations from their audience. keywords: contemporary, effective communication, nigerian society, poetry and youth introduction poetry is a significant and powerful tool for communication. it was one of the forms of communication that was used in the traditional african societies. linguistic resources like riddles, proverbs, folksongs, idioms, wise saying, folktale, myths, legends, oral history, chants, incantations, superstitious beliefs and much more are all forms of poetry that was used in the traditional african societies to preserve the cultural heritage and social cohesion. akporherhe and oghenerioborune (2021) state that folktale, a form of oral poetry was a unique medium for transmitting african cultures verbally or non-verbally by performers from one generation to another using the indigenous languages of the society that produced them. similarly, odueme (2019) describes african spoken words as a lively art genre that is ingrained in the everyday experiences of the african people. speaking of the central role of poetry in the african traditional communication, essien (2014) as cited in olusola (2015), disclose that africans never passed sensitive information in a straight forward manner but through poems and other forms of arts which were handed down through the ages. since, many african societies had no written traditions then, this form of documentation facilitated easy retrieval of facts for the enlightenment of future generations. hence, african history, culture and tradition are closely intertwined with oral poetry and other forms of arts. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 75 this implies that in the traditional african communication system, poetry is a clever and unique medium that was efficiently employed to communicate and preserve knowledge, information, thoughts and evoke the right emotions or to create the ideal environment in any given context. as a specialized art form and unique channel of communication, the ability to compose and perform poetry was a mark of wisdom, a source of pride for the performers in traditional african societies. hence, poetry was a cultural heritage and source of communication that was mostly linked with royalties. court poetry flourished in the ancient african kingdoms. poets were often associated with nobles, the greats and other groups that had honor and prestige in the society. hence, praise words performance or ‘drum poems’, forms of oral poetry was used during great cultural festivals or functions like enthronement of a new a king or similar functions, or even to signal the presence of a king in a palace by some african societies including yoruba, igbo, hausa, zulu, sotho, bornu and many others (finnegan, 2012). in other words, poetry was used and is still use on special occasions to honor royalties and to commemorate significant events. it further indicates that the objective of composing and performing spoken poetry is functionality. odueme (2019) captures this fact vividly where he defines african oral art as exclusive collection of oral or spoken expressions which is created in order to reconstruct the past and is made up of opinions, images, ideas, views, assumptions and reactions of people. in essence, african poetry was intended for the entire community. this view reechoes with those of obaje and yakubu, (2012) as citied in obaje (2022), who disclose that african poetry was intended for the entire community, not just a few individual entertainers or persons. hence, as a mass medium of communication, poetry was used to pass down african history orally. unlike in the pre-colonial and colonial nigerian society where poetry was usually performed at the community level, in the post-colonial cum post-independence era, sizeable amounts of individual notable poets arose including wole soyinka, chinua achebe, christopher okigbo, tanure ojaide, clark and many others (falade, 2013). this shows that communication keeps evolving according to the experiences and advancement of a generation. with the advancement in communication and media technologies, today, poetry is used by individuals in the comfort of their homes to express themselves, to vent their emotions. with the increasing desire for individuality, to be locked up with one’s cell phone and other mobile communication devices, some individuals still use words and other symbols to express their emotions in non-prose manner. but a good poet is one that can stimulate the audience’s sentiments and curiosity in their identity on a deep personal level and fosters a relationship (fisher, 2012 as cited in paglinawan, 2023). this means that in the contemporary society, poetry is still an effective means of communication as it enhances literacy, builds community and emotional resilience. poetry will help young people to develop language skills, promote creativity, and express themselves in new and innovative ways. this is what effective communication, the transfer of information with understandable codes and symbols effortlessly is all about. this thought resounds with that of srisermbhok (2017) who avers that poetry can aid teens and children express themselves through metaphor, imagery and symbolic language, including devastating events or portions of themselves that are not yet suitable for the public to be aware of. as citizens of a world that has become a digitalized global sitting room, young people produce igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 76 diverse multimodal creative media contents including digital poems which can be share with wide audience across the globe. hence, these advancements in media technologies could increase exposure, appreciation and relevance of poetry among the youth today (curwood, 2019). yet the reverse seems to be the case as there seems to be lack of appreciation of and exposure to poetry among youth today. naklen (2023) attributes the lack of exposure to the versatility of poetry among young people today to their vulnerability to such publicize display of deep emotions. in other words, display of emotions via poetry in the cyber space can expose them to both praise and attack depending on the angle the audience receives the poems. besides, the advancement in digital communication technologies, artificial intelligence machines and other sophisticated technologies also came with its own challenges including lack of creativity, mental laziness, lack of transparency, bias, unfair and erroneous evaluations and much more (obasi, aondover & abdullahi, 2024). against this backdrop, the study set out to examine the extent youth in the contemporary nigerian society still use poetry to communicate their ideas, feelings and to enhance their creativity and personal growths. objectives of the study 1. examine the extent to which youth in the contemporary nigerian society still use poetry for communication 2. examine the extent to which poetry is an effective means of communication among youth in the contemporary nigerian society. 3. identify the challenges of using poetry as a means of communication among youth in the contemporary nigerian society. empirical study on poetry as an effective means of communication poetry like other oral communication is passed down through generations by word of mouth (darah, 2021). as an art form, poetry is a creative narrative that is skillful delivered to the audience. like a form of expression, poetry is a kind of solution to individuals’ ability to represent or express their thoughts, ideas, emotions and experiences (gintsburg 2019). poetry as a channel for effective communication sheds light on how poetry serves as a powerful tool for critical thinking, self-expression and social change across various fields of life. against this backdrop, the following studies were reviewed. as a form of artistic expression, the influence of poetry in many disciplines has also been recorded. in the field of education, the transformative power of poetry as a communication aid has been documented. a study by kilag et al (2023) that explored the effect of poetry integration on language acquisition, cultural appreciation, cognitive and emotional engagement, as well as the overall language learning experience revealed that poetry integration positively influences language acquisition, as learners showed improved vocabulary acquisition, reading comprehension, and language proficiency. the rhythmic patterns and emotional appeal of poems also improved learners' phonological awareness, pronunciation, and language fluency. moreover, poetry exposed learners to varied cultural perspectives, fostering cultural appreciation and intercultural communicative competence. the study also found that the emotional engagement with poetry enhanced positive affective environment by lessening anxiety and boosting motivation in language learning. poetry equally improved cognitive abilities of the learners as indicated in the improved critical thinking skills and a more comprehensive understanding of language structures and usage. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 77 effective integration of poetry brought about a dynamic and inclusive learning environment and empowered learners to connect deeply with the language and their own linguistic identities (kilag et al, 2023). these findings confirm assertions by turco (2020) who states that just as language is the medium for expression, poetry is "the art of language.” in essence, as a form of artistic expression, poetry is a valuable tool for effective communication. speaking of the communicative effect of poetry in the nursing profession, and its use in education, patient care, and research, hunter (2002) states that poetry is a rich textual medium that can assist in illuminating nursing's core belief about the uniqueness of the nurse–patient relationship, and enhance the ‘art’ of nursing and ‘ways of knowing’. moreover, the use of poetry in the nursing profession gives insight, new meaning and understanding about the profession and the patients served. this idea finds bearing with that of chavis (2011) who describes poetry as powerful springboards for growth, self-enhancement and healing. this indicates that as a unique medium for human expression, poetry enables human thoughts and feelings as well as daily human experiences to escape from the unconscious state of the mind to the conscious state. weingartner (2023) describes poetry as a form of free expression that can be limited only by the imagination of the author. poetry can be used to reflect the authour’s humorous and serious side because it is quiet, meditative and private. moreover, it amazes and deepens people’s understanding of human realities. in other words, poetry enables people to connect with their inner and exterior experiences of life. this could be the reason why a writer can express his feeling in five lines, while another can do the same in five stanzas. ollila and jantas (2006) defines poetry as any kind of verbal or written language that is structured rhythmically and is intended to tell a story or convey any kind of emotion, idea, or state of being. this indicates that poetry is the most vivid form of expression that can give life to human perception of ideas emotions or anything (burchell, 2010). hence, as a form of an artistic expression, poetry has the ability to turn every form of human perception into life because it is that form of life that can turn everything into language. it follows that since poetry makes language to become a form of life, every good poems can unquiet the readers. theoretical framework in their work, "towards a theory of emotional communication," bartsch and hübner (2005) proposed a model of emotional communication. although, they rightly observed that: “there is no single communication theory that covers the entire bandwidth of emotional communication” (p.6), they failed to propound a theory because according to them, emotional communication is complex and cannot be treated within a single theory of communication. however, in 2022, rachmad, yoesoep edhie propounded emotional communication theory to address the importance of emotions in communication. the theory underscores the crucial role of emotions in effective communication especially in this digital era, where interactions often occur indirectly and through various media (rachmad, 2022). the central idea of this theory is that emotions influence how human communicate and how well or poor messages are received. it follows that if emotions are well managed, they can either reinforce messages or build deeper connections; but if not, they can lead to misunderstandings and conflicts (rachmad, 2022). this fact reechoes with those of bartsch igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 78 and hübner (2005) who disclose that the expression of emotion during the communication process enhances cognitive assessment and acquisition of detailed information. similarly, kallio (2018) avers that non-verbal communication element including speaker’s emotions and much more enhance the understanding of a spoken message. this indicates that poetry is an indirect expression in rhythmic words of several emotions that dominate the author’s central feeling or feelings that proceeds directly from that (siregar, 2020). this may explain why poems are usually short because they condense the expression of emotions into concise form (johnson-laird & oatley, 2022). the theory is relevant to the study as it indicates that poetry can be an effective communication tool for youth to express themselves. since poetry evokes emotions (johnson-laird & oatley, 2022), it can be a powerful communication tool for young people to express themselves in more authentic and meaningful ways, which can lead to increased motivation, confidence in their learning process (hsiao-chien, 2014). methodology the research employs the pragmatic approach of research design, which informs the choice of mixed method research design. questionnaire, a quantitative research method was used to get numerical data on how often youth use poetry to communicate effectively and the challenges they faced in using poetry as a means of communication. while focus group discussion (fgd), a qualitative research method was used to delve into the experiences and perceptions of youth that engage with poetry and the challenges they faced in that regard. using taro yamane’s formula, sample size of 400 was drawn from unknown target population of youth in nigeria. purposive and convenient sampling strategies were used to select young people between 18 to 26 years in the faculties of college of arts, social and management sciences (casmas), college of pure and applied sciences (copas) and college of environmental sciences and management (colesma), caleb university, lagos. out of the 400 questionnaires that were distributed to respondents, 378 (i.e. 95% feedback rate) was completed and collected in the march 2024. for the fgd, one fgd was held in each of the three selected faculties in the understudied university. one fgd had 8 participants while two had 7 participants each. thus, a total of 22 participants took part in the one-time fgd in the month of march 2024. the same questions were used in all fgd. data presentation and analysis demographic data of respondents fig 1: gender distribution of respondents igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 79 source: (field survey 2024) data in the figure 1 above indicates that 41.3% (165) of the respondents were males, while 58.7% (225) were females. table 1: extent youth in the contemporary society use poetry to communicate s/n statement very well well not well very poor 1. i understand what poetry is all about 19.3% (73) 35.5% (134) 30.7% (116) 14.5% (55) 2. i engage with poetry as a form of expression in my daily life 11.4% (43) 24.1% (91) 29% (110) 35.5% (134) 3. i enjoy receiving information or messages through poetry 13.5% (51) 23.3% (88) 33% (125) 30.2% (114) source: (field survey 2024) data in table 1 above indicate that 19.3% (73) of the respondents understand very well what poetry is, while 35.5% (134) of them understand it well. 30. 7% (116) do not understand it well, and 14.5% (55) have very poor understanding. it also shows that 11.4% (43) of the respondents have very high engagement with poetry, while 24.1% (91) of them have high engagement. 29% (110) have moderate engagement with poetry, and 35.5% (134) of them have low engagement. the table equally shows that 13.5% (51) of the respondents enjoy receiving information and messages through poetry very well, while 23.3% (88) of them do so well. 33% (125) of them rarely enjoy receiving information and messages through poetry and 30.2% (114) of them do not. table 2: effectiveness of poetry as a channel of communication among present day youth s/n statement very well well not well very poor 1. i use poetry to express personal experiences 22.2% (84) 22% (83) 23.3% (88) 32.5% (123) 2 poetry can be used to raise awareness about social issues 19.6% (74) 32.3% (122) 36.2% (137) 11.9% (45) 3. i use poetry to raise awareness about social issues 0%(0) 0%(0) 0%(0) 0%(0) source: (field survey 2024) figures in table 2 above show that 22.2% (84) of the respondents use poetry to express themselves very well; 22% (83) of them do so well; 23.3% (88) of them rarely do so while 32.5% (123) of them do not use poetry for expression. it equally shows that 19.6% (74) of respondents feel poetry can be used to raise awareness for social issues very well; 32.3% (122) of them believe it can be used to do so well, while 36.2% (137) respondents feel it cannot be used to do so well, then 11.9% (45) of them feel it cannot be used to do so at all. it also indicates that 0%(0) of the respondents use poetry to raise awareness about social issues. table 3: challenges youth face when using poetry igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 80 s/n statement very high extent high extent some extent low extent 1 i find it challenging to express my thoughts through poems 29.1% (110) 28.6% (108) 25.1% (95) 17.2% (65) 2. i encounter difficulties to connect with the themes and messages in poems 16.9% (64) 32.5% (123) 33.1% (125) 17.5% (66) 3. i find it challenging to relate with the messages passed through poetry 17.2% (65) 29.1% (110) 33.9% (128) 19.8% (75) source: (field survey 2024) data in table 3 above show that 29.1% (110) of the respondents find it challenging to express their thoughts through poetry to a very high extent, 28.6% (108) of them finds it challenge to high extent, 25.1% (95) of them finds it challenge to some extent while 17.2% (65) of them finds it challenge to do so to low extent. it also indicate that 16.9% (64) of the respondents encounter difficulties in connecting the themes and messages in poems very high extent, 32.5% (123) of them do so high extent, 33.1% (125) of them also find it difficult to do so some extent and the remaining 17.5% (66) of them connect with the themes and messages in poems to low extent. the table equally shows that 17.2% (65) of the respondents find it challenging to relate or resonate with the messages passed through poetry very high extent, while 29.1% (110) of them find it challenging to high extent 33.9% (128) of them find it challenging to some extent and 19.8% (75) of them find it challenging to low extent. focus group discussion (fgd) on the question, how often do you engage in composing or reciting poetry to express thoughts and emotions, 42% of participants said they engage in poetry either by writing, performing or by reading, while 58% of them did not. for instance, participant 1 said: “i engage with poetry when i am happy, sad or moody”. however, participant 2 said: “i rarely engage with poetry. it is not just my thing to see a poem and listen to it and understand it”. also, participant 3 said: “i rarely use poetry to express my thoughts. i just feel it doesn’t worth that stress. like sometimes, after posting, you may just feel worse than you were feeling before because of other people’s comments on it”. on the question, do you think that poetry is an effective tool for expressing social issues? 30% of the respondents it is, 50% of them said it is not while then the remaining 20% was indecisive. for instance, participant 4 said: “yes, poetry is an effective tool for expressing social issues especially in olden days where there were wars. poetry was written about the soldiers and cultural clashes between villages”. however, participant 5 stated: “i feel poetry can best convey emotions rather than social issues. i just feel poems have limited effects, not all messages can be communicated through poems”. similarly, participant 6 said: “i don’t believe it can be an effective tool because all the poems i have seen were about war, vanity of people, and such messages didn’t result to any progress in the society as far as i am concerned”. also, participant 7 said: “poets have different ways they convey their messages and that limit the ways poetry can be an effective communication tool. if a poet decides to use metaphor or personification throughout his poem, what happens to those that can’t comprehend what he is talking about? so, i just believe that poetry can’t be effectiveness tool to communicate social issues”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 81 on the fourth question, do you believe that poetry can help young people to develop creativity and confidence? 83% of the respondents said yes, while 17% of them said no. for instance, participant 8 said: “speaking from experience, writing poetry has enhanced my creativity and confidence because i am able to let my emotions out and not box them in. the more i write, the more i discover my writing abilities. now i am happily share my experiences with others on social media platforms”. also, participant 9 said: “yes, because when you engage with poems of others on social media platforms, you get the inspiration and confidence to want to write yours. for example, i like ibquake, a spoken word poet. listening to her give me confidence and make me want to try writing mine”. however, participant 10 said: “i don’t think poetry can help boost one’s creativity or confidence. what if the people around you don’t appreciate your writings or see it as a sign of weakness? many negative comments on social media can stop someone from writing”. similarly, participant 11 said: “i totally disagree, poetry can’t help to boost one’s creativity or confidence; in fact, it weakens them. many people out there aren’t ready to understand you, so what’s the point of writing or sharing it with people that thinks you have lost it”. due to the pessimistic attitude of most of them, the researcher asked them if negative comments has ever discouraged them from engaging with poetry? 50% of the respondents said yes, 42% of them said they have no idea since they don’t write or recite poetry, while the remaining 8% of them said negative comments did not discouraged them from engaging with poetry. for instance, participant 12 said: ‘yes, i feel discouraged when people can’t see things from my own view and then it is always difficult for me to explain to them what i am trying to say through my writeups and it is like a mental gap comes between me and them”. likewise, participant 13 said: “yes, i have received discouraging responses about my poems from people that don’t understand. it made it hard for me to keeping writing and sharing”. however, participant 14 said: “i don’t write poems, so i don’t feel discouraged by anyone”. participant 15 said: “no, i don’t allow people’s negative comments to discourage me because i believe everyone writing is unique. so, i have found a way to navigate through it and just express my emotions through my writings”. the participants identified other challenges to using poetry for communication as, creative blockage between them and their audience, school stress and misinterpretations from their audience. discussion of findings research objective i: the extent youth still use poetry for communication figures in tables 1 revealed that less than 50% of the respondents truly understand what poetry is. data in the table also indicate that less than 50% of them engage with poetry regularly in their daily lives. it equally shows that the same less than 50% of them truly enjoy receiving information and messages through poetry. this finding corresponds with evidence in fgd where one participant said: “i rarely engage with poetry. it is not just my thing to see a poem and listen to it and understand it”. similarly, another participant also expresses dislike for poetry by stating: “i rarely use poetry to express my thoughts. i just feel it doesn’t worth it that stress”. this finding corresponds with that of mckenzie (2023) who discloses that poetry can be too wordy and complex for youth and that writing is something that young people dread. in other words, in this era of artificial intelligence and other advanced digital media technologies, most young people may prefer to express themselves with emojis and other igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 82 many easy and already made ai generated signs and symbols than compose their own poems or words. research objective 2: the extent poetry is still effective means of communication and creativity among present day youth data in tables 2 show that about 45% of the respondents use poetry to express themselves well. figures in the table also reveal that over 51% of the respondents feel poetry can be used to raise awareness for social issues. data in the table equally reveal that 0% (0) of the respondents has ever used poetry to raise awareness about social issues. this finding corresponds with evidence in fdg where 30% of the respondents think that poetry is an effective tool for expressing social issues. when asked to explain how poetry can be used to express social issues, one of the participants said: “yes, poetry is an effective tool for expressing social issues especially in olden days where there were wars. poetry was written about the soldiers and cultural clashes between villages”. no other social issues were identified by the participants except use of poetry to communicate wars and clashes in the olden days and such communication according to them cannot bring progress in a society. hence, most of the respondents felt poetry can best be used to convey emotions because not all messages can be communicated through poems. although evidence from fgd reveal that majority of the respondents agreed that poetry can help young people to develop creativity and confidence, some of them disclosed that negative comments from the audience on social media actually weakened their creativity and confidence and discouraged them from writing. naklen (2023) states that attacks in the cyber space on young people are behind the decrease in display of emotions via poetry among present-day youth. research objective 3: the challenges of using poetry as a means of communication among youth figures in tables 3 reveal that over 50% of the respondents find it very challenging to express themselves through poetry, difficulty to understand themes and messages in poems and hard to relate with the messages passed through poetry. in other words, they found it difficult to either compose or encode their own poems or to decode poems written by others. this finding corresponds with evidence in fdg where about 42% of the respondents said that they do not write their own poems or recite those written by others and 50% of them said negative comments from the audience discouraged them from engaging with poetry. however, only 8% of the respondents said negative comments did not discouraged from engaging with poetry from people did not discouraged them from engaging with poetry. the participants identified other challenges to using poetry for communication as, creative blockage between them and their audience, school stress and misinterpretations from their audience. this finding reechoes with that of mckenzie (2023) who states that most youth struggle with language development and that misinterpretation can become barrier for them to voice out their feeling effectively through poetry. similarly, herbet (2022) disclose that because most young people find it uneasy to express their feelings, sometimes they struggle to express themselves in ways that they would not. hence, instead of using words to express themselves, some may prefer to use signs and symbols like emojis, drawing or paintings to bring out their inner thoughts. no wonder, the emotional communication theory posits that emotions can drive young people to communicate in certain ways and that the environment has a big part to play has it can influence the type of emotions they feel (hsiao-chien, 2014). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 83 conclusion the study discovered that although poetry is a tool for effective communication and boosting creativity, most nigerian youth in the contemporary society fail to engage with poetry regularly in their daily lives because they feel it does not worth the stress. most young people would prefer to express themselves with emojis and other easy and already made digital and ai generated signs and symbols, than compose their own poems or words which they see as too wordy and complex. the study also established that none of the understudied youth has ever used poetry to raise awareness about social issues because to them, poetry can best be used to convey emotions and not all messages can be communicated through poems. the study identified that the only social issues the youth feel that can be communicated through poetry was wars and clashes and that such communication cannot bring progress in a society. the study also found that majority of the respondents agreed that poetry can help young people to develop creativity and confidence, some of them disclosed that negative comments from the audience on social media weakened their creativity and confidence and discouraged them from writing. besides negative comments, the study identified other factors that prevent contemporary youth from either composing their own poems or engaging with poems written by others as complex nature of poems, poor language development, mental laziness, creative blockage between them and their audience, environmental stress and misinterpretations from their audience. references akporherhe, f., & oghenerioborue, u.p. (2021). verbal folklores and cultural transmission through african indigenous languages. journal of lexicography and terminology 5(1), 56-75. bartsch, a., & hubner, s. (2005). towards a theory of emotional communication: comparative literature and culture, 7 (4). https://doi.org/10.7771/1481-4374.1278 burchell, h. (2010). poetic expression and poetic form in practitioner research. educational action research. 18 (3), 389 400 chavis, g. g. (2011). poetry and story therapy: the healing power of creative expression. jessica kingsley publishers. https:www.books.google.com darah, g. g. (2021). creativity and performance in oral poetry. in: akinyemi, a., fatola, t. (eds) the palgrave handbook of african oral tradition and folklore. palagrave macmillan, cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55517-7_1 falade, a. d. (2013). oral tradition in africa: poetry as a means of preserving cultural heritage and engendering social change among the yoruba. https://www.ibadan,academia,edu>... finnegan, r. (2012). poetry and patronage in oral literature in africa. http://books.openedition.org/obp/1191 gintsburg, s. (2019). oral poetry as an expression of the creativity we all share. orforcrea. university of navarra in pamplona, spain. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/749952. herbet, e. (2022). the power of youth poetry. the children’s society. https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/what-we-do/blogs/young-minds-expressingthemselves hsiao-chien l. (2014). using an arts-integrated multimodal approach to promote english learning: a case study of two taiwanese junior college youth, 13(2) 55-75 http://education.waikato.ac.nz/research/files/etpc/files/2014v13n2art4.pdf igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 84 hunter, l. p. (2002). poetry as an aesthetic expression for nursing: a review. journal of advanced nursing. https://www.wiley online library johnson-laird, p., n., & oatley, k. (2022). how poetry evokes emotions. act psychologica, 224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2022.103506 kallio, k. (2018). 16. multimodal register and performance arena in ingrian oral poetry. registers of communication, 18. kilag, o.k., dumdum, j. n., quezon, j. & malto, l. (2023). the pedagogical potential of poems: integrating poetry in english language teaching (elt). excellencia: international multi-disciplinary journal of education. 1(1), 42 – 55. https://www. multijournals.org/index.php/excellencia-imje/article/view/4 mckenzie, j. (2023). poetry is a good youth development. https://teeninprint.com/6-reasonson-why-poetry-is-good-for-students-development/ naklen e. (2023). poetry as healing: coping with teenagers challenges through verses. https://www.theteenmagazine.com/poetry-as-healing-coping-with-teenagechallenges-through-verses obaje, a. (2022). oral poetry as channel for communication. cross-cultural communication, 8(4) obasi, m. c., aondover, e. m. & abdullahi, a. m. (2024). artificial intelligence (ai), a deep learning or cheating tool among nigerian university students in film and media studies. international journal of communication odueme f. & edoama (2019). orality, memory and the new african diaspora poetry: examining tanure ojaire’s poetics. university of lagos, nigeria ollila, b. & jantas, j. (2006). the definition of poetry. www.joejantas.wordpress.com olusola, e. (2015). “church as family and use of new media in her task as an agent of socialization viz-a-vis group media in nigeria”. in f. nwaigbo & et al, theology and family in the africa context (117-134). catholic institute of west africa paglinawan, a. j. (2023). semantic analysis on the corpora on spoken learners. international journal in advance studies (1) rachmad, y. e. (2022). emotional communication theory. roermond designer boek internationale uitgeverij, speciale editie. https://doi.org/10.17605/osf.io/3cz4h siregar, i. (2020). semiotic touch in interpreting poetry. britain international of linguistics arts and education. https://biarjournal.com srisermbhok, a. (2017). using poetry to enhance learners’ communication skills. the new english teacher, 11(1), 120-120 turco, l. (2020). the book of forms: a handbook of poetics. https://books.google.com weingartner, j. (2023). poetry and identity. https://www.facinghistory.org/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 2 understanding the african peoples' traditional religious and cultural belief system for easier and better health administration in african communities mbama, ezekiel iloabuchi department of theology and religious studies, duquesne university of the holy spirit, pittsburgh, pennsylvania, united states of america ezekieliloabuchisdm@gmail.com abstract life is very precious and every individual seeks medical attention on a slight health challenge because life comes first before other things follow. even before the advent of orthodox medicine there have different beliefs about different sicknesses and ways of curing them. since the advent of the orthodox medicine there have been many changes and altercation in those traditional beliefs about certain sicknesses and the means and manners of treating them. yet, some core traditionalists and even some christian believers still in their traditional religious belief in the healing of their sicknesses. it therefore becomes a challenging issue to the orthodox health workers as health administrations after all struggles becomes waste of energy owing to the understanding and traditional religious belief of a patient. many attempts have been made by the orthodox medical professionals to handle the issue of health administration in the midst of african traditional religious belief to no avail. thus it becomes pertinent that health workers and administrators take into consideration and even more serious, understanding the traditional religious belief of the local community where they work to be able to function well and excel in their health administration. this research is therefore a thoughtful recommendation to the orthodox health workers to strive to understand the traditional religious belief of any community they found themselves for easier and better health administration because when a person’s religious belief is understand it is will be very easy to understand his or understanding of the sickness he/she is suffering from and a better way of administering medications without complications. keywords: traditional religious belief, cultural belief, orthodox medicine, health administration, traditionalist, community. introduction it has been a recurring incident that orthodox medical professionals encounter different traditional religious and cultural belief systems in different communities within africa especially in nigeria while administering medications or while on health rallies. these experiences have been reported to be a sort of barrier to their effort in the health administration most especially in the rural areas of the african communities. it has to be known however that every culture has its manners and ways of dealing with health and illness before the world become a global community. nweke and mbama (2023) noted that “before universal culture contact and civilisation there has been different ways of diagnosing, discovering, preventing, and treating sicknesses and various diseases in different traditions and cultures in the world” (p,62). it is good to understand the fact that culture contact does eliminate the entire belief of a people. it is on that base that nweke and mbama (2023) notified us that “this civilization however did not eliminate the traditional ways of healthcare of the whole world including africa. therefore, despite the presumed generally accepted ways of practising medicine known mailto:ezekieliloabuchisdm@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 3 as orthodox, africa still values the old unique though improved ways of practising medicine in african traditional religion” (p62). these religious and cultural belief systems cannot just be erased in a few generations. it is very important to understand that as religious and cultural beliefs are handed to the people from one generation to another, that there is the need to deal with a people according to their religious and cultural beliefs for a better and ideal relationship. it is ideal know as nweke and mbama (2023) have observed that african traditional religious belief system in an attempt to offer medication to a patient, diagnose disease from various angles such as: spiritually, physically, psychologically, morally and socially to be able to determine the really cause of the sickness because in african traditional religious and cultural belief system every disease has spiritual, moral and social implications (pp 62-63). it is on the ground of this that this research tends to make possible recommendations on the ways of health workers understanding the peoples’ religious and cultural belief systems to enable function proficiently and actively in whatever community they found themselves. explanation of the key concepts key concepts are the major words or words that appear frequently in a research or the terms that help in conveying meaning about the research topic. it is therefore always necessary to make a clearer explanation of certain terms in a research to be able to drive home the intended meaning. traditional religious belief: religious belief or practice existed in africa before the diffusion of western religion and islam. this is often referred to as african traditional religious belief (akinsola, 2002). traditional religious belief in africa is the indigenous religion and belief of africans. it is the way of worship and belief system of the africans (nweke, 2017). this religious belief according to nweke is found in almost all the activities of the african man (2017, pp. 12-13). for ekwunife traditional religious beliefs are “those institutionalised beliefs and religious culture, transmitted to the present by successive african forbearers mainly through oral traditions such as myths and folklores, songs, rituals, proverbs and so many other means (1990, p.1), cultural belief: culture is a general way and pattern of life of a people in a particular society in relation to their natural environment and their religious belief systems. for purushothama, (2015) culture is the unique possession of man and a way of life developed by him to guide and control his activities. that is to say that culture is a unique way of life created and developed by man to serve as rules and guidelines for his social and religious activities. helman (1994) in his own view understands culture to be a set of guidelines which individuals inherit as members of a particular society and which informs them how to view the world, how to experience it and how to behave in it in relation to others, to the supernatural beings and to the natural environment. wikins (1979) seems to render a detailed explanation of the definition of helman when she averred that human behaviour is divided into three parts: the instinctive or inborn behaviour that is of biological origin, experiential behaviour which resulted from the personal individual engagement with societal activities in solving problems with assistance or guidance, and the behaviour learnt from others. this third part of the human behaviour for wikins includes ideas, techniques, and habits, which are passed on from one generation to another which are virtually a set of solutions to problems that in the course of time, others have met and solved before. she is however of the view that the learnt behaviour is known and is referred to as culture. this is also in line with the idea of kluckholm who defined culture as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 4 that which is learned by people as a result of belonging to some particular group which is virtually shared with others. akinsola (2002) simply said that culture is a pattern of life of a group or society. cox and mead (1975) are of the view that culture is a body of learned values, beliefs, and behaviour expectations which individuals derive from those with whom they interact. african cultural beliefs are those traditional and cultural activities and ways of life of the africans that was handed to them from their ancestors. african culture has different values attached to it. according to ozumba (2010, p 194) “...traditional cultural values include hospitality, brotherhood, humanity, compassion, generosity, caring for others, interdependence, solidarity, reciprocal obligation and social harmony. these are the hallmarks of native african cultural values mirrored through their communalism, humanity and brotherhood.” orthodox medicine: orthodox medicine can be referred to as contemporary way of handling health issues and diseases as against the traditional way. however, according to nweke and mbama “... when we speak of orthodox medicine it can be clearly understood that we speaking of the patterns and manners of practising and administering of the medicine and treatment of illnesses that are universally accepted by the general public and all religions in the contemporary society, including some members of african traditional religion (2023, p.65). health administration: this involves all the activities of institutions, persons, and resources that work together to promote, restore, and maintain health by delivering services to meet population needs. it encompasses not only hospitals and doctors but also preventive programs, community health initiatives, public health measures, and the policies. traditionalist: a traditionalist is a person who strongly believes and accept the traditional religious and cultural belief systems as against the western religion and culture. it can be seen someone who stands firm in the defence of his traditional and cultural norms against any western or external influences. community: the definition of community in the context of this work will not be taken loosely as many authors due such as making reference to religious community like christianity or islamic community or workers’ community such as health workers’ or teachers’ community. rather in the context of this work community is understood from its traditional and cultural sense. in that case we may fall to the definitions of community by some scholars in purushothama (2015). for example, for bogardus ‘a community is a social group with some degree of we-feeling and living in a given area’. in this definition community is not just a social group but to a social group that lives together in a particular geographical area sharing some cultural identities and other things. this also relates to the definition of eshleman and cashion who defined community as ‘a collection of people within a geographic area among whom there is some degree of mutual identification, interdependence, or organisation of activities. also, ‘a community is spatial or territorial unit of social organisation in which people have a sense of identity and a feeling of belonging.’ however, in his summary of the definitions of other authors purushothama gives some ideas of what community but the most captivating among them are the 2nd and 3rd ideas which can be combined to say that a community is “a geographical area or locality that shares a common culture and a social system which organises their activities” (2015, p.36). it goes to mean that community is not just social group that shares common goals or common ideas but those who live in particular cultural setting with a common igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 5 understanding of that culture from which they identify themselves. it is a cultural identity rather than institutional identity that defines a community. african traditional worldview worldview can be referred to as the basic structured understanding of the universe and its activities in relation to the maker of the universe of a people. according to nweke (2017) “at the core of every person’s being lies the worldview that constitute the control box of culture that determines thinking, acting or doing and determining values (p.101). fowler (1997) in nweke (2017) presents the term worldview as a construct about the make-up of life as it struggles with the question of reality, truth, ethics and history (p.100). ekwunife makes a clearer picture of the african traditional worldview as the africans view the world in two different spheres. for him africans view the world as an intricate co-penetrating and highly structured two realitiesthe visible and invisible. the visible sphere consists of whatever can be perceived with human sense in the heavens and on earth. the invisible is the sphere of the ultimate reality – god, the deities or divinities, ancestors, innumerable spirits, good and evil. the ultimate reality is at the helm of affairs, while human beings are at the centre. the invisible sphere dictates the pace, regulates and influences what happens at the visible sphere (1990, p. 25). nweke makes cognisance of the interaction of these two non-distinct worlds of africans. therefore, there is a thin separation between the two world (2017, p.102). the separation may not be necessarily due to a gap of distinction but possibly on the basis of hierarchy between the ultimate reality and the humans. it is very essential to note according to nweke that this worldview exerts strong shaping influence and power not just on a person’s individual life style but also on the generality of the life style of the whole people who accept the worldview (2017, p.101). that is to say that the african worldview shapes their reasoning, structures their understanding of life and defines their concept of life activities. there are many other things that constitute the african traditional world but this particular worldview is very essential to the work as it aids the understanding of african communities about health, illness, disease and the causes or possible sources of disease and illness. influence of traditional religious belief on health and illness in africa according to nweke and mbama (2023) “though religion emanates from culture but when it has been handed down through many generations, it becomes traditional” (p63). that is to say that traditional religious belief is a practice and patterns or modes of worship received from the ancestors by a people. that is why when asked what traditional belief is in africa, nweke 2017 would simply say that “it is the way africans worship their god” (p12). for ekwunife traditional religious beliefs in africa are “those institutionalized beliefs and practices of the indigenes of africa which are rooted in the past african religious culture, transmitted to the present by the african successive forbearers mainly through oral traditions such as myths, songs dances, religious works of art, proverbs, pithy sayings and names (1990, p1). it is even clearer when nweke and mbama (2023) defined traditional religious beliefs as “… the religious elements and practices of the africans which resulted from their ancient cultures through igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 6 which they relate with supreme being which was handed over to the present generations by the generation of the ancestors”(p64). in the observation of nweke and mbama (2023), civilisation did not flush the religious and cultural beliefs of the africans about health and illness and their understanding of human nature and people who are bound by their culture and traditional religious beliefs often criticize orthodox medicine saying that it explains the causes but fails to explain why a disease strikes one particular individual out of many people living in the same environment. the simple explanation given by such a culture-bound person is that there is more to disease than an ordinary eye can see. they believe that it is likely that a witch or wizard is punishing the patient possibly because he had exchange of words with an evil person or that he is suffering the consequences of his hidden evil actions (akinsola, 2002). that is why most african societies still insist on appeasing the gods in the case of certain sicknesses. akinsola clearly observed that “appeasing the gods through sacrifice is a common phenomenon in africa” ((2002, p.26). he explained that, the sacrifice can be in form of food item (e.g. yams, oil, meat, kolanut, cooked beans), clothes or other items important to those making the sacrifice. the sacrifice is usually carried to the remote place in the belief that spirits dwell in such hidden areas. the intention is appease the gods so as to prevent the occurrence of certain diseases, to cure a patient or to stop an epidemic (akinsola, 2022, p.26). as nweke and mbama (2023) already observed that civilisation has not been able to wipe african traditional religious system from the african, the african traditional belief system still manifests in their christianity and islamic religious practices. for example, “it is a common practice among the members of some indigenous african christian religious sects to offer sacrifices consisting of items, such as coins, candles and white clothes which is intended to appease the evil spirit believed to be causing or influencing the cause of a disease. belief of this kind influences people’s perception of illness and their pathways to health” (akinsola, 2002, p26). even some african christians and muslims are still caught in this web of believing that sicknesses and human problems are caused by witchcrafts and that god only has solution to them. some of them go as far as offering sacrifices to appeasing the evil spirits believed to be the cause of their diseases and health challenges. african traditional medicine and orthodox medicine african traditional religion medicine has for a long period of time been in conflict with the orthodox medicine due to the attitude of the practitioners but not the practice in itself. the orthodox medical practitioners since the inception of the orthodox medicine have always seen african traditional medicine as inferior, uncertified, and scientifically not verified. in nweke and mbama “african traditional religion medicine is understood as the contribution of knowledge and practice used in diagnosing, discovering, preventing and treating diseases in african traditional setting” (2023, p.67). they assert that in african traditional religion medicine there are specialists in every healthcare system and each makes referrals where an illness is not within their own specialisation. so, any family that possesses the knowledge of medicine in african traditional religion medicine are usually specialists in a particular area or igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 7 field (pp.67-77). based on the assertion of onyewuchi (2022) that african traditional health practitioners consider human person as being made up of physical, spiritual, and moral aspects and as such believe that the harmonious functioning of these aspects of human person signifies good health, nweke and mbama concluded that “the treatment of a sick person involves not just aiding his/her physical ailment alone but also the spiritual, moral and social components of his/her being” (2023, p.68). orthodox medicine according to nweke and mbama (2023) is the means or manner of treatment or cure for disease that is believed to have been certified and accepted generally by the public. they still believe that the orthodox medicine has its areas of specialisation just as they are in african traditional religion medicine (pp.68-73). orthodox medicine unlike the african traditional religion medicine that uses diviners to discover the cause of illness, tries to trace and identify each disease using technical diagnoses. most times the reluctance of the orthodox health practitioners on the culture of the patients results from their undermining of the african traditional religion medicine. but nweke and mbama voiced out that “it is worthy of note that the orthodox medicine is seen as certified and generally accepted does not imply that everyone believed in it. there are still many african traditionalists who have vowed never to go the english hospital or take any medicine that is not traditional ...” (2023, p.76). therefore, there is need to understand a patient who might unconscious when he/she was brought to the hospital, his/her cultural background and why such decision was taken him/her. this will enable the healthcare practitioner to attend to this patient convincingly. cultural influence on health and illness and treatment thought process of a particular society stems from their cultural customs and ill behaviour is the evaluation people make of their own state of health and their subsequent actions. nnebedum (2019) made it clear that the culture of a particular people entails the totality of their perceived and lived experience which implies that culture is not developed in a single day or decided in a meeting rather it develops as years unfold and it evolves as the people evolve. it gives meaning and identity to the life of the people from which it evolves but may be meaningless to the people outside the area of the evolution. in the same way “the health of the members of the society is closely related to the cultural practice inherent in that area (akinsola, 2002, p.24). even the illness of an individual in a particular society is a function and outcome of the cultural and religious beliefs and socio-economic factors of that society and the level of socialisation of the individual involved. it is the same also that cultural beliefs and ideologies about the cause and course of disease influence the ways in which different disease conditions are perceived and the subsequent actions taken. certain patterns of behaviour which would be defined in our society as pathological and abnormal may be considered as normal in other cultures (akinsola, 2002, p.25). ezejimofor also observed that “health attitudes of people differ in so many ways: most people find it difficult to change agelong traditional practice while some are quickly influenced by guided information ...” (2023, p.2). akinsola went on to explain that the occurrence of malnutrition among african children is not just merely due to poverty but is closely attached to cultural patterns concerning food in african societies such as the choice of food, length of cooking and how it is cooked, how and where it is served, and the storage system. he cited example of some parts of nigeria where much meats and eggs are not given to children because it is believed that it an encouragement igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 8 to children to steal when they grow older. this belief system is not really peculiar to nigeria alone. the story of akinsola (2002) on the views about cultural food taboos expressed by some undergraduate students at moi university, eldoret, kenya, and the university of bostswana, goborone, bostwana, and the belief of most people of ivory coast that children eat smaller meat and than their elders that vegetables are only for medical purposes but not for cooking of food confirmed the similarity of cultural belief systems among these societies. thus, the lion’s share of the meat and eggs are reserved for elders. so, the children’s weaning food is all about much of carbohydrates with negligible amount of protein if at all there is. “to some extent the cultural context defines what conditions are recognised, the causes to be attributed to them, and which persons have legitimate authority to assess and define such condition” (david mechanic cited in winefield and peay, 1980). i have observed also that an individual’s level of education, profession or even type of occupation especially in africa does not most of the time influence as much his/her illness behaviour. for instance, on the 29th of august, 2025 i entered a pharmacy in ebonyi state to get some drugs and i saw something that would have put into a confused state if not for my wealth experience of african traditional religious and cultural belief system. the nurse in charge of dispensary in the pharmacy who happens to be a close friend of mine had a bottle of brownish liquid at the counter beside her. when i enquired from her what it was, she plainly and boldly told me that it is herbal medicine that she went to collect from a traditional medicine practitioner for infection. when i enquired more why a professional nurse should go to a herbalist for a treatment she refused to attend to question but tried attend to what i had come to the pharmacy to do so that i could leave. it was more confusing when i read the narrative of akinsola about a medical doctor who said that, ...his negative attitude towards traditional medical practice did not arise because he did not approve of its existence or efficacy, but rather because the practice is fraught with deceit and superstitious beliefs. he stressed that, if by chance he should obtain a traditional preparation that worked well for any of his health needs he would discard all the belts he used to hold up his trousers and make a local type of belt instead that would hold that medicinal preparation in (2002, p27). akinsola thus concluded that this statement of the medical doctor in spite of his knowledge, years of study and professionalism in the orthodox medicine would prove to the whole world that he does not feel ashamed to be associated with the practice of traditional medicine. the orthodox ways versus traditional religion ways of understanding illness and health administration in african communities. in the old days the african traditional religion medical practitioners and healers take care of every type of diseases and illnesses whether chronic or otherwise. most times, depending on the type or nature of the disease and illness and the family of the patient, especially in the case of mental illness or tuberculoses, the gods are usually consulted through the ancestors to the ascertain cause of the disease and if it can be cured or not. in fact, till the present day “many people also believe that hospitals have no effective treatment for these diseases. hence, at present, in many parts of africa especially rural areas, the relatives of mentally ill patients and even aids sufferers prefer to consult traditional healers” (akinsola, 2002, p26). orthodox medicine on the other hand approaches every disease scientifically through scientific laboratory igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 9 processes. this is a process through which orthodox medical practitioners search to discover and dictate the a disease or the cause of the disease or illness. however, sometimes as nweke and mbama (2023) observed that this scientific process does not give a satisfactory discovery let alone treatment. when laboratory science could discover or dictate a disease or the cause of illness even when a person is critically down, the orthodox medicine and its practitioners become handicapped in the form or pattern of treatment to be offered to the patient. i have had such experience of some patients who were taken to the hospital in different periods of times and to different hospitals and they were diagnosed but nothing was found as the causes of their illnesses. one of these patients who was a close friend of mine and final year student of laboratory science department of ebonyi state university, abakaliki, ebonyi state, nigeria was critically ill and was rushed to the state university hospital but after all the diagnoses nothing significant was really discovered. however, seeing how critical the young man was first aid treatment was given to him but the situation became worse than it was. seeing the situation as it was, his siblings with insistence of the parents retrieved him from the state university hospital and took him to a traditional healer and the healer after certain consultations confirmed that it was poison. the traditional healer also confirmed that nothing can be done on the situation again because according him the orthodox medicine that was given to the patient had a critical reaction to the poison to the point that it the survival of the patient was not assured he was taken back to the hospital. my friend actually later died. another incident as such occurred when the wife of my friend was critically ill in kano state of nigeria where they reside. however, after all the efforts in the hospitals both public and private within the northern part of the country without success she was brought to the eastern part of nigeria, precisely anambra state and later to ebonyi state where she was taken to the traditional healers and it was confirmed that it was poison. the woman actually died after all was done just as the traditional healer confirmed that it would be very difficult for her to survive because of how long the poison has lasted in her body system and the reaction of the orthodox medicine that has been administered to her. poison in the understanding of the african traditional religion medical practitioners is actually not the same in the understanding of the orthodox medicine. in the orthodox medicine, poison can be referred to any substance taken by a person that is toxic to the biological system of the body. the term poison in the understanding of the african traditional religion and cultural belief system is not simply understood as it is understood in the orthodox medical field. for example, poison for the orthodox medical practitioners is any harmful substance to the health system; a medical condition caused by food or drugs that have adverse effect on the human body system or toxic effect of insecticides. on the other hand, poison in the african traditional religion and cultural belief system is either a physical substance injected into someone’s food or spiritual illness prepared by a witch or evil person and spiritually injected into a person’s body system which usually defies any scientific discovery and diagnoses or orthodox medical treatment. in orthodox medical field, poison can be anything like food not well prepared or expired drugs or expired drinks that was consumed by an individual unknowingly but in african traditional religion and cultural belief, poison is purely an intentional activity whether physical or spiritual targeted to killing the victim. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 10 understanding the peoples’ traditional and cultural belief system as a way forward for easier and better health administration in african communities i once had a discussion turned a serious argument with a pharmacist in nigeria about the cultural view point of orthodox medical practitioners. he was of the view that african culture and tradition has nothing to offer in terms of healthcare system. in fact, he condemned totally any form of african traditional medicine and any attribute of african culture in development health care. with that i observed why some orthodox medical practitioners do not and cannot make impact in the african society. njoku (2016) argued that this mindset did not just evolve. rather it is a mindset that evolved from the european christian missionaries and colonial masters who perceived africans as inferior, undeveloped, equipped with an inferior culture relative to theirs, and therefore without a medical practice worth the name. it was a mental dismissal of a people and carryover of the then enduring racist inclination. flowing from a dominant evolutionary theory of civilisation, this mindset fuelled the so-called idea of the ‘civilisation of the natives’ it constituted the one of the strongest motivations of the missionaries and colonial masters and was a key justification of the colonial enterprise. rather than talking ‘with’ the people, it was more of idea of talking ‘to’ the indigenous people who were assumed to have nothing to offer. this mindset created a situation where the trained missionary medical practitioners or healthcare providers were not predisposed to listen but were interested in their own ways of doing things. this mental disposition according to anojulu (2019) is a product of narrow-mindedness blinded by cultural bias, prejudice and superiority complex which prevents the orthodox medical fanatics in africa from seeing the importance or contributions of culture and religious beliefs to the healing of their patients. anojulu (2019) was sad that orthodox medical fanatics forget that the accidents of birth and geography determine to a very large extent to what people see as disease or illness and how they adapt to healing and health care. in the cause this research, i encountered social worker in the ministry of health and social welfare in ebonyi state. this social worker narrated to me his experience of a traditional priest in ogboji in izzo imoha of ezza north local government area of ebonyi state who refused his children to be immunised for three consecutive times due the priest’s cultural and religious understanding until he (the social worker) appeared on the scene. the traditional priest believed with his religious and cultural intents that the large number of infertility and barrenness in our young ones witnessed in african communities today is as result of such drugs (immunisation) administered to the children at the early stage of life. then the thing goes to weaken them and makes them infertile. it took the social worker a great deal and owing to the fact that the social worker understands the traditional priest’s language he (the social worker) was able to convince the traditional priest and he allowed the immunisation of the children to take place. rev sister ezejimofor, perpetua, the former provost of ebonyi state college of nursing sciences, uburu, made the observation about the influence of culture on the people view on health issues and how some people find very difficult to adapt. she said that the “health attitudes of people differ in so many ways: most people find it difficult to change age-long traditional practice while some are quickly convinced by guided genuine information for the purpose of changing attitudes of people. therefore, individuals differ in level of motivation or readiness to change as a result of the influence of packaged health communication (2023, p.2). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 11 the above observation propelled konnur to strongly believe that when a healthcare providers understands the culture of the society they work, it enables them to study and learn why others differ in thinking, reasoning,, likes and dislikes, abilities,, beliefs and cultural customs (2013, p.16). it will also help them to understand the patients’ level of attachment to cultural customs and be able to have a cordial and harmonious relationship with patients which will only not ease the patients anxiety but also the healthcare provider. health communication as proposed by ezejimofor cannot be effective if the people are not understood from their cultural context. understanding people’s cultural context will aid the healthcare professionals to understand the people’s health behaviour and will fast-track health communication. that is why in her concluding remark in the maiden magazine published in 2023 by the ebonyi state college of nursing sciences, uburu, ezejimofor, who doubled as the provost and the editor-in-chief of the magazine agreed that “it is our belief that for nations to thrive in good health management and meeting her citizen’s health needs, there should be access to relevant, reliable and culturally appropriate information that enables the general public, patients, healthcare providers, public health professionals and others to address personal and public health concerns”(2023, p.2). akinsola (2002, p26) recommends that “nurses who are the backbone of primary health care programmes in sub-sahara african countries, should intensify health education to create awareness about the aetiology and natural history of common diseases so as to break the cycle of ignorance, disease and poverty.” nurses and doctors should be able to understand their environment and their patients’ religious and cultural belief so that a patient’s attention can be captured and be educated better in order to respond positively to treatment. in the same view, understanding the religious and cultural beliefs of a community according to ezejimofor will enhance health communication between healthcare providers and patients. it will in turn attract the benefit of health communication such that “it enhances audience knowledge and awareness regarding health related issues, it influences behaviours and attitudes of the public towards health issues, it demonstrates health practices in endemic situation, it demonstrates the benefit public health advocacy outcomes, it improves patient-health provider dialogue” (2023, p.2). akinsola (2002) in the same vein, suggests that health care administrators should also follow the pathways to health which includes all sources of treatment available in our indigenous african communities and not only western or scientific medicine known as orthodox medicine. the view of akinsola supports the idea of robinson (1973) which asserts that man’s social physical environment determines to a certain degree the way in which he lives and this is intimately bounded with his exposure and susceptibility to disease conditions. his pattern of life, his worldview, the work he does, the place he lives and the recreation which he pursue may all increase or decrease the likelihood of adaptation to treatment and may encourage or impede their healing. akinsola (2002) therefore warns that the health care administrators in the healthcare system should be aware and must work with fact that • illness is not merely a biological issue but has numerous inter-relations with social and cultural phenomenon. • social and cultural variables are important determinants of exposure to illness. • social and cultural factors are important in the perception and classification of illness. • social and cultural factors are important in the behavioural response to illness. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 12 i conclusively say here that once a people’s culture is understood, such people is understood and once a people’s culture is conquered, such a people is conquered. thus, your ability to convince a patient and guaranteed him healing within his cultural setting the easier and better he responds to treatment. it is therefore necessary as i have noted earlier that cultural norms, values and beliefs significantly influence interpersonal communication, operations and expectations within the healthcare administrators in the african communities, understanding cultural differences, etiquette, and norms is very essential for effective healthcare administration. it also very vital for healthcare administrators to note every patient has the right care and treatment that is free from discrimination and bias. thus, healthcare administrators in african communities must strive to provide culturally competent services that take cognisance of the diversity of patients’ backgrounds, cultural identities, and experiences. this suggests therefore that the healthcare provider must be aware of the patients’ own biases, seeking to understand the patients’ perspectives, manage them and adapting interventions that is culturally sensitive references akinsola h. y. (2002). behavioural science for nurses: perspective from medical sociology and psychology 2nd ed. gaborone: bay publishing (pty) ltd. anojulu, a. (2018). god is not a christian. in the beauty of african beliefs and practises: dialogues and reviews. focus. a publication of st pope john paul ii seminary, awka, vol. 20 (12): pp 40-41. cox, c. and mead, a. (1975). sociology of medical practice. london: collier macmillan ltd. ekwunife, a. n. o. (1990). consecration in igbo traditional religion. enugu: snaap press ltd. ezejimofor, p. (2023). editorial comment. health sprint magazine, vol 1, 1 (4): pp1-2. helman, c. g. (1994). culture, health and illness 3rd ed. oxford: butterworth heinemann. kanu, i. a. (2013). on the sources of african philosophy. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 337-356. kanu, i. a. (2013). the dimensions of african cosmology. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 533-555. kanu, i. a. (2014). a historiography of african philosophy. global journal for research analysis. volume. 3. issue. 8. pp. 188-190. kanu, i. a. (2014). being and the categories of being in igbo philosophy. african journal of humanities. volume 1. issue 1. pp. 144-159. kanu, i. a. (2014). igwebuikology as an igbo-african philosophy for catholicpentecostal relations. jos studies. 22. pp.87-98. kluckholm, c. (1962). culture and behaviour. new york: the free press of glencoe. njoku, a. (2015). christianity and igbo traditional religion: the beginnings of a dialogue. in christian faith and igbo in dialogue. the splendour, a publication of blessed iwene tansi major seminary, onitsha, 14 (12): pp 5-9. nnebedum, e. (2018). african culture: the good, the bad and the ugly. in the beauty of african beliefs and practises: dialogues and reviews. focus. a publication of st pope john paul ii seminary, awka, vol. 20 (12): p 3. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 13 nweke, i. o and mbama, e. i. (2023). african traditional religion medicine and orthodox medicine in conflict in nigeria: an evaluation. international journal of general studies (ijgs), vol. 3 no 2 (4-6): pp62-84. nweke, i. o. (2017). african traditional religion in the midst of secularism. onitsha: spiritan press. ozumba, g. o. (2010). philosophy and method of integrative humanism. calabar: jochrisam publishers. purushothama, g.s. (2015). sociology for nursing and health sciences 2nd ed. new delhi: jaypee brothers medical publishers (p) ltd. robinson, d. (1973). patients, practitioners and medical care: aspects of medical sociology. london: heinemann. wikins, e. (1973). an introduction to sociology. london: macdona;d & evans. winefield, h. and peay m. (1980). behavioural science in medicine. london: george alien and unwin. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 274 moral justification of war and its effect on mankind: a philosophical examination orji, chidi paul ph.d department of philosophy, university of agriculture and environmental sciences, umuagwo, imo state. hipaulco@gmail.com, paul.orji@uaes.edu.ng abstract technology advancements and increased skill in warfare pose a continual threat to our life today. war grew more harmful as civilization developed and became better structured. with a single click of a button, we now possess the capacity to annihilate the whole globe. in spite of this, we see that we are progressively unleashing a technological global catastrophe that has the potential to wipe out mankind as we are driven by certain factors to wage war with increasingly advanced and contemporary weaponry. as a result, we are now the most potentially harmful species on earth. in order to ascertain the moral justification for war, this essay attempts to consider its reasons. this allows the paper to focus its discussion on two important facets of the study of war. it looks at two things: first, the current reasons for war; and second, the moral justification for war among humans. keywords: moral, justifications, war, rights, mankind introduction the study on the subject of war in history started around 2,000 years ago when thucydides recounted the events of the peloponnesian war (431–400 bc). from then, a number of academics have come to believe that managing present wars and averting or reducing the likelihood of future ones need an understanding of what constitutes war. scholars' submissions naturally differ according to their philosophical backgrounds. people's views on a few specific wars are reflected in the following discussion of this article. is war, however, really necessary? how much does war make sense morally? our discussion of the moral justifications for war delves into the second part of these problems. in order to achieve justice and as a show of strength and domination, several sides would sometimes engage in warfare. when a prospective dispute parties is prepared to go to war, the other side is prepared to either confront its attacker in self-defense or concede its authority and accept conditions. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 275 concept of war one of the many characteristics of war is violence. "the fundamental idea of violence is that it is the intentional use of physical force to harm or kill another human," claims nicholson (1992:17). an extreme example of this occurs during a war, when the deliberate use of force results in the deaths of some combatants and onlookers, frequently in enormous numbers. the purpose of the war is, in fact, this. we agree that the state of war is the pinnacle of crisis, as described by nicholson. mao tse tung(1972:2), who views war as "the highest form of struggle for resolving contradictions, when they have developed to a certain stage, between classes, nations, states, or political groups, and it has existed ever since the emergence of private property and classes," draws a connection. this definition outlines what counts as a war, including the nigerian civil war and other major conflicts in human history. according to wright (1966), war is the violent collision of different but related things. further qualifying these confrontation entities" status as "independent political units" is a preference of some researchers. an armed confrontation involving two autonomous political units and organized military formations is referred to in this context as war. this term has a narrow meaning since, aside from the possibility that the opposing parties are not independent (sovereign) political entities, more than two nations or political entities may fight the same war, as evidenced by the allied forces' war with iraq. a more thorough definition of war as a genuine, deliberate, and widespread armed conflict between societies may be found in the stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (2002). it views war as a phenomenon that only happens between political communities, which are seen to be entities that either already exist as states or want to do so. according to this definition, a dispute between two people or groups cannot be considered a war unless there is an armed conflict that is real, extensive, and involves fighting each other. thus, hostility between states or inside a state or territory that is carried out by the use of military forces is defined as war by the international relations dictionary. when two or more states formally proclaim that they are at war with one another, this is known as a state war in law. furthermore, there is disagreement among international jurists on the specific circumstances, intents, or behaviors that, according to legal definitions, qualify as war. however, there are many different kinds of war. the word "war" is used differently these days. it includes phrases like igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 276 "guerrilla warfare," "preventive warfare," "political warfare," "propaganda warfare," "psychological warfare," "nuclear war," "inter-state warfare," "cold war," "hot war," "guerrilla warfare," and so on. we frequently see phrases like "imperialist wars," "liberation wars," or "wars of national liberation," "revolutionary wars," and so forth, even in the communist enclave various wars, in various periods and locations, have been observed by us. indeed, as palmer and perkins (2002:187) note, "no period of human history has been free (from war), whether tribe against tribe or nation against nation." evidence of its atrocity does not need to be provided. from his perspective, war is a violent act used to force the other side to submit to the aggression's wishes. though not every political issue can be classified as a war, we must exercise caution when defining it. "the majority of academics concur that warfare involves the disciplined application of force by individuals arranged in an efficient hierarchical structure," (lackey, 1994: 201). therefore, "wars" do not include simple skirmishes or feuds between two communities, like the one between the umuleri and aguleri in eastern nigeria, the niger delta crisis in nigeria, or the muslim boko haram crisis that began in maiduguri in borno state and spread to other parts of the country. similarly, we have to acknowledge that just because we define war as the application of force for political ends, it does not entail that only state or governments may wage war. on the other hand, even inside the state, revolutionaries, organizations, or leaders of liberation movements might punish people via war. one such attempt was made by rebel commanders (charles taylor and yorme johnson) against sergeant samuel doe's regime during the liberian civil war. nevertheless, war is inhumane regardless of the form it takes. regardless of position, age, gender, color, or creed, it damages and kills lives. normal existence is made impossible by war, which places a great load on humanity. it is undoubtedly a "curse" that the whole community must deal with or work to eradicate from the planet. however, we must comprehend this puzzle's foundation in order to solve it. the diagnosis of war's root causes is supposed to help policymakers devise ways to stop them from happening. how then do wars come about? narratives explaining the reasons for war war is a complicated thing. people have fought wars for a variety of causes, using a variety of strategies and tactics, and with varying degrees of success throughout history. the reasons, methods, and outcomes of various military operations such as the german attack on belgium in 1914, the german attack on poland and france in 1939, the italian conquest of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 277 ethiopia, the japanese attack on china, the spanish civil war, the nazi conquests of czechoslovakia, denmark, belgium, and holland, the two world wars, the nigerian civil war, the american invasion of iraq, and so forth, varied. as a result, there has been considerable disagreement in the ideas and research on the causes of war over whether factors may be considered similar to all of these horrific occurrences in human society. for instance, thucydides (1954: 49) said that sparta's dread of the growing athenian dominance was what ultimately led to the peloponnesian war. however, thucydides' theory of the reasons for war (especially the peloponnesian war) is not a sufficient explanation for why wars occur. war has persisted since humanity has failed to maintain peace, claims kagan (1995). thucydides' description of the peloponnesian war (413–410 bc) serves as an example used by kagan to bolster his claims. he holds that athens, the leading city-state in greece at the time, failed to uphold the peace that had been achieved as a result of its dominance, which led to the outbreak of the conflict between athens and sparta. according to kagan, greece was already at peace because of athens' dominance, and athens was responsible for maintaining this peace. sadly, it allowed for the possibility of conflict by failing maintaining this tranquility. accordingly, kagan thought that athens' inability to prepare for and organize a war in order to maintain peace, rather than sparta's military aggressiveness, was what actually caused the conflict. the assertion made by kagan (1995:281) that "the second world war emerged from the flaws of the previous peace and the failure of the victors to...vigilantly and vigorously defend the settlement they imposed" is similarly baseless. kagan, on the other hand, believes that pacifism contributes to conflict and opposes it. since it discourages militarism, pacifism, in his opinion, breeds conflict. absence of military might breeds weakness, which breeds instability, which breeds the potential for conflict. in contrast to military deterrence, kagan supports the pacifist and liberal ideologies of increased understanding, charity, and patience as means of preventing conflict. he is adamant that peace does not maintain itself. instead, much as in battle, it calls for proactive effort. states that want to maintain peace must so keep a powerful military and be prepared to use it when needed. we disagree with kagan, though, in that war cannot and ought not to be maintained by war because war breeds war, and any peace that is achieved via force is a "de-facto" peace that is based more on dread igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 278 of punishment than on commitment to human growth and respect for mankind. a "peace by force" like this can never last. some academics have stated that man's innate hostility is what starts wars. undoubtedly, the battle for survival is a common occurrence among all living creatures, but it is particularly true of humans; this is a type of social darwinism. with humans, competition for supremacy is inherent. the development or emergence of leadership is one outcome of this kind of rivalry. aggression has been said to foster the formation of leadership since leaders are accountable for upholding discipline, enforcing group cohesion, and making strategic decisions. in the quest for existence, non-aggressive species and groups of individuals typically do not survive very long. as a result, it's said that group cohesiveness requires fighting. today's mankind faces the challenge of controlling violence without wiping off the planet. according to stevens (1989), there are fundamental purposes that war has fulfilled that have helped ensured the survival of the species. he argues that historically, conflict has maintained social equilibrium between communities and the natural world. additionally, peace and social structures within tribes have been aided by war. he claims that when a group challenges other groups, it becomes more profoundly conscious of its own togetherness. for stevens, this is accomplished by meeting archetypal wants, which if unmet might undermine social cohesiveness. as a result, fear of an outside adversary discourages conflict inside the group, with hostility instead being channeled toward the shared opponent. as indicated by davie (1929), unorganized population converts are transformed into well-trained soldiers under the command of a war chief. dictatorships, monarchies, and dynasties are established in this way: once peace is won, the victorious war chief or leader frequently maintains his dominance. the threat of war and the means of organizing it developed into intriguingly significant tools for social integration as human groups grew larger and more complex. national prestige, imperialism, acquisition, irredentism, national leaders' diversionary tactics, religious and ideological extremism, mutual mistrust and suspicion, sociological and political disputes, and human aggression are, in his opinion, the root causes of international wars. the six reasons of war, on the other hand, are listed as follows: kind of regime, interactive behavior, lateral pressure, weapons race, deterrent and other threats, war, and ranking among states. however, the mobilization of the warrior's corporate aggressiveness is necessary for the effective pursuit of war. encouraging hostility is a fundamental component of military igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 279 training. military training aims to free aggressiveness and impulses from the superego's control and place them under the collective authority of the military hierarchy. military men are naturally aggressive both physically and mentally. bringing attention to the use of this innate biological tendency in humans to defeat his foes is the aim. soldiers or military recruits lose their prior identification as civilians when they accomplish this. in order to have soldiers ready for any aggressive conduct, military trainers trigger and direct biological imperatives. it has been contended by academics that the biological necessity for humans to engage in warfare is the source of conflict. are certain conflicts morally acceptable, though, given all of these established reasons? when does war become acceptable? we must first take the ethics of war and peace into consideration in order to respond to these inquiries. the ethics of war and peace concerning the ethics of human engagement in warfare, this is a philosophical facet of war. philosophy's basis in international relations and peace studies is evident in this significant field. to assess the two main tenets of international relationswar and peaceit employs ideas, namely ethical theories: according to palmer and perkins (2002), theory and philosophy are intimately related, and in the field of international relations, philosophy may even be more significant than theory. this explains why their observations are accurate. philosophy addresses significant facets of human character and behavior, social norms and behavior, the forces and principles that underpin and drive national and international activity, and judgments and theories about values. for a social philosopher, these and many others related issues are deeply troubling. according to feliks gross, a philosophy of international relations may thus be a suitable word for this field of ideology, vision, values, principles, future goals, and solutions in the field of foreign politics (palmer and perkins, 2002: xvii). the ethics of both war and peace are based on this surrender. the three traditional schools of thought on the morals of war are pacifism, realism, and just war theory. according to the just war theory, there are situations in which politically autonomous communities can legitimately use force or go to war on a global scale. this implies that, on sometimes, war is ethically justified. realism, on the other hand, is of the opinion that morality has no role in the pursuit of war. rather, power and national security are what drive governments or policy makers during a conflict, according to realists (morgenthau, 1985). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 280 in the sense that it views all forms of war as bad and immoral, pacifism is entirely different from the other two viewpoints. we conclude that the fair war theory is the most contentious of the three because it views war as occasionally just and occasionally unjust, given the motivations underlying realists' acceptance of war and pacifists' rejection of it. thus, it is up to us to decide when war is justified and when it is not. in contrast, lackey (1994) contends that a war is ethically justified when it is just. justice, human rights, the common good, and any other pertinent moral principles are considered, evaluated, and compared to the available evidence and one another before drawing this conclusion. however, the majority of wars entail the use of force, which pacifists detest and see as man's inhumanity to man and is frequently disastrous. if this is accepted as the proper mindset and the foundation of human relations, are there any alternative ways for us to structure the society without using force? in order to answer this, we must first examine the just war theory in order to provide some clarity regarding the morality of war. morals of war and its implications it is difficult to define the moral of war when we take into account the opinions and sentiments of individuals from various historical periods and geographical locations on the practice of warfare. some of the greatest thinkers and academics in human history have praised the benefits of conflict. as aristotle defended slavery, so too did certain ancient philosophers and intellectuals defend war as an essential tool for further society and human advancement. their perspective was that war was a means of bringing out the best in people, shielding the economy from harm, achieving and maintaining political and economic autonomy, and so on. undoubtedly, there are many who think that world war ii was ethically acceptable; nevertheless, the fundamental issue with this perspective is that it offers no assistance to those who advocate for pacifism, which opposes the use of force in warfare. this exemplifies the kind of conundrums that this portion of the article attempts to solve within the framework of "just war theory." aristotle's politics is where the just war doctrine originated. it is used to describe a battle that is ethically just or justifiable. the argument is made by assessing the conflict via the application of specific ethical principles and standards. gonsalves (1985: 522) asserts that "war is the ultimate in human social failure." in contrast to natural calamities, war appears pointless and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 281 senseless, but it is a completely human endeavor motivated by hatred, jealously, ambition, and passion. gonsalves brings out two important issues: does this imply that a nation should suffer in silence when it strikes another nation for any reason? or do the latter have the right to redress, resistance, and self-defense? the foundation of just war theory is the belief that nonviolence is the norm (hollenbach, 1983: 16–24). the idea makes an attempt to assess war and maintains the moral justification of force usage in specific circumstances. according to the theory, it is imperative to look into the moral justifications for fighting and the best way to conduct the conflict. this clarifies the dispute between pacifism and realism and the just theory of war. st. thomas aquinas believed that in order for a war to be considered fair, it had to meet three requirements: it had to be proclaimed by an authorized body, it had to have a legitimate reason, and it had to be waged with honorable intentions. therefore, the just theory of war aims to examine the justice and injustice of choosing to go to war in order to exact revenge as well as the justice and injustice of going to war and carrying it out. according to lackey (1994: 201), "in just war theory the term "just" and "unjust" are logical contraries." it also determines which of the fighting sides is just or unjust. thus, in a battle, the righteous side may be one side at most. however, it is erroneous to assume that if one side can be proven to be unfair, then the other can also be proven to be just. it is conceivable for both sides to be unjust. it is equally feasible for a fair war to be waged in an unjust manner, and for an unjust war to be waged rigorously in compliance with accepted norms of warfare, as noted by gonsalves (1985). the difference between morally appropriate or required wars and morally unacceptable wars is clarified by these three components of the just war theory. justification for engaging in a war this relates to the military's or the armed forces' moral application. it mandates that the state only go to war when it is justified. aristotle states that "we wage war, for the sake of peace" (politics, 1333 a). as stated according to john stuart mill (1867: 209), "human beings must be willing, when need be, to battle for one against the other, as long as justice and injustice has not terminated their ever-renewing fight for ascendancy in the affair of mankind." a clash of interest between two politically autonomous societies that cannot be controlled and leads to war is what the battle between justice and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 282 injustice is. during his discussion of the second just war principle, st. thomas aquinas (1988: 222) states that "...a just cause is required, namely that those who are attacked should be attacked because they deserve it on account of some fault." just theory maintains that "right intention" is one of the additional prerequisites for war. ideal intent for war just cause is closely allied with valid objective. a state's armed forces must be used with good aim. it is acknowledged that the head of state possesses the authority to direct the armed forces to perform any task that is suitable for them. however, the real reason for going to war needs to be ethically acceptable and legitimate; is it self-defense? or is it to protect citizens' lives and rights? or is it to protect independence or sovereignty? or is it to increase the state's geographical boundaries? in order to decide if something is right or unjust, all of these need to be outlined and weighed against moral standards. as to the third just war theory concept of st. thomas aquinas, the war ought to be waged with morally correct intentions. nonetheless, gonsalves' explanation of the "right intention" aims to protect the rights of all people, even those of troops conscripted by the government or state leaders. he states: "conscientious objection is a painful problem in which an individual's conscience conflicts with the leader of the nation." the underlying ethical precept is that no nation has the authority to compel its citizens to act in a way that they really believe to be immoral. whether one feels this way about all wars or simply this one in particular, it is ethically required of someone recruited to participate in what appears to be an unjust war to refuse to combat. the matter at hand does not concern whether the individual's assessment is objectively correct or incorrect. gonzález (1985: 529). a fundamental area that requires attention is leadership competence. although some of this will be covered earlier in this work, it is important to emphasize here that the commander's or head of state's integrity is crucial when it comes to both assuming leadership roles and managing the nation on a day-to-day basis. after all, most decisions made by someone put in charge of a country will be made poorly if they are a psychopath, criminal, insane, or indecent. in actuality, there are specific attributes that a leader should have and should be selected based on; these attributes include vision, charisma, education, commitment, possession of instruments of wisdom and sound judgment, etc. according igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 283 to plato, in order to be in the realm of forms, which is the home of truth, a person must be a philosopher king who is above mistake. the relative importance of good over evil prior to going to war, the involved state must assess the overall good expected to come from the war. if the state believes that going to war will advance the general welfare of its citizens, protect the state's independence and integrity, uphold justice, or allow for self-defense, then going to war is justified. however, in doing so, the state must ensure that the proportion of the overall good that will come from the war is fairly high (the utilitarian principle of "the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people" may be used to assess the value of the war proactively). jeremy bentham's hedonistic calculus, for instance, may be used by a leader to assess the benefits of war by calculating the pleasure that the state's citizens will derive from it. guidelines for seeking and obtaining pleasure are included in the hedonistic calculus. our choice of pleasure is determined by seven criteria: (a) intensity: this means we should search for intense pleasure that will involve less agony throughout the conflict; (b) duration: this means we should search for pleasure that lasts longer rather than that which is fleeting; (c) certainty: this means we should only select pleasure that is certain; the concepts of propinquity and fecundity tell us to prioritize the pleasure that comes from the war now over the pleasure that will come from it later. purity instructs us to choose only pure pleasure and to avoid choosing between pain and pleasure. as well as (f) extent: we must ensure that the majority of people benefit from the conflict. in order to prevent their nations from suffering more evils, leaders may learn a lot from bentham's calculus and approach their acts with a proactive mindset. nevertheless, not every one of them is applicable in every military scenario. war as the last route another is the need that just war be employed as a last resort. it is important to realize that war is the last choice after all other channels of conflict resolutiondiplomacy, negotiation, mediation, economic pressure, etc. have been followed. under such circumstances, a state will have to prepare to fend off any aggressor and save its citizens, assets, and sovereignty. if a state's strength keeps it from facing the enemy, it may approach the international community for assistance. if not, it should be ready to lose and be humiliated. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 284 on the other hand, a pacifist does not consider war to be the final choice. two extreme views on war are pacifism and militarism. wars are an unavoidable way to resolve conflicts or get what they want, according to militarists. in contrast, the pacifist detests using force to resolve conflicts or seek justice. there is no moral case for war in the eyes of pacifists. an example of this intellectual movement in action was gandhi, who lived in india. war, in his opinion, cannot occur if people choose not to engage in combat. the possibility of victory in the war in their 1991 book a quick & dirty guide to war, james f. dunnigan and austin bay said, "no one can predict an outbreak of war by psychic magic or mathematical hocus-pocus." however, much as meteorologists can anticipate a hurricane's path, intelligent analysts can assess the possibility of war or armed conflict. a state must be well-prepared and certain of its victory before entering a conflict. sending soldiers into combat when you know they will fail serves no purpose. if a leader of state engages in such behavior, they have disregarded their duties and committed war crimes. consequently, it is anticipated that a decent level of readiness will always be shown. prior to starting a battle, the army needs to be sufficiently strong and trained. as a matter of fact, the army's proficiency with military strategies, its ability to employ a wide range of weaponry, its soldiers' skills, their knowledge of terrain, their ability to accurately assess the strength of their opponents, and other factors all play a role in determining the army's superiority in combat. all of these precautions and procedures are vital, but it is important to remember that they do not ensure victory in battle. a strong army might occasionally lose a war due to an error in judgment. when an aggressor chooses to use a pacifist state as a pretext to inflict terrible pain on its adversaries rather than honoring or respecting the spirit of such moral principles, the issue becomes even more complicated. rights of war this has to do with fairness in war and throughout wartime. this is under the purview of the military commander, who is in charge of developing and carrying out the state's war strategies. the strategies that will be used to carry out the battle are created by him or her. thus, we are forced to consider the troops' morality and war style under rights of war. rules for fighting the war must be followed, such as: how and when a soldier may be killed in combat; who is morally justified to be killed during the war (enemy soldiers and their noncombatants); noncombatants should not be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 285 attacked unless absolutely necessary; soldiers must use proportionate force to achieve their goals (weapons of mass destruction, for example, are deemed too much to use in conventional warfare); soldiers may not use weapons or tactics that will harm themselves, and so on. justice after war when a war comes to an end, this is justice. the aim of this concept is to govern the conclusion of a war and the subsequent peace process. the five guiding principles are given careful thought, including: having a justification or reason for ending the war; having the right intention to do so; making a strong enough public declaration to that effect; focusing punitive measures on the elites who are driving the aggression; and imposing reasonable and appropriate sanctions on the aggressor without causing the citizens to lose their rights. however, when decisions are made to end the war, several of these concepts are rarely taken into account. for example, it is plausible that after a string of harsh actions taken against them, either explicitly or secretly, by the relevant authorized authority, citizens may start to demand mercy. because of this, the "justice after war" concept enhances the other tenets of the just theory of war. conclusion the contradiction of war is that, although it can occasionally be beneficial, no nation should hope for war. it comes down to a great deal of need. factors, some of which have been covered before in this work, force us to go to war. there are, in fact, good reasons to support war; our sole objection is to its darker side. as an illustration, many governments in the modern world sprang from liberation wars. there are wars that are both essential and superfluous. however this essay criticizes the circumstances that may lead to war, not the war itself. a significant portion of future wars can be avoided when crises are promptly recognized, handled, and resolved by taking the required action. war must be fought with careful thought and rigorous adherence to the just theory of war if this strategy fails and it becomes the only alternative that remains. references aquinas, t. (1988). “summa theologiae”, ii-ii, in william baumgarth and richard regan (ed.), on law, morality and davie, m. (1929). the evolution of war. yale university gonsalves, m. (1985). fagothey’s right reason: ethics in theory and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 286 practice , (9th edition). publishing kegan, d. (1995). the origins of war and preservation of peace. anchor lackey d. (1994). “war and violence” in larry may and shari collins sharratt (eds.), applied ethics: a multicultural prentice mao, t. (1972). six essays on military affairs. foreign language morgenthau, h. (1985). politics among nations (the struggle for power and peace. nicholson, m. (1992). rationality and analysis of international conflict. cambridge university palmer, n., & perkins, c. (2002). international relations (the world community in transition) third revised edition. krishan stevens, a. (1989). the roots of war. paragon thucydides. (1954). the peloponnesian war, (translated by warner). penguin wright, q. (1942). a study of war. university of chicago igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 34 an overview of god, allah, and chineke in christianity, islam, and atr and the use of technology in educational delivery afamnede godfrey oguechuo, phd & nweke innocent ogbonna, phd department of religion and human relations, chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu university, igbariam campus ga.oguechuo@coou.edu.ng; ekediaon45@gmail.com/ekedaion@yahoo.com. abstract there have been disputes, quarrels between the three major religions in nigeria, namely christianity, islam, and african traditional religion. this quarrel has continued and has gone as far as claiming lives. these issues prompted the researcher to go into the area of god, allah, and atr., and the use of technology in educational delivery. ln trying to delve into the area, the researcher did a comparative study of the three major religions in nigeria, and on what they believe in, it was discovered that all three major religions in nigeria have what they believe in. for christianity, it is god, for islam, it is allah, and for atr, it is chineke. the researcher went further to discover that these three names in the three major religions are functionally the same and regarded as the highest being. the researcher also proposed that the teaching and learning of these beings, be it god, allah, or chineke, could be studied using the internet, distance learning, and a digital library instead of mere guessing. this is as a result of the fact that preservation of the knowledge of god, allah, or chineke in christianity, islam, and african traditional religion is now technologically driven. the researcher did this using a technological educational approach. it recommends that there is no need for the tension between the three major religions; there is no need for the understanding between god, allah, and chineke since functionally they are the same. it equally recommends that technology should be used in this study since the world is now digitally friendly. keywords: overview, god, allah, chineke, technology, educational delivery. introduction religion is a vital aspect of human existence. many people understand religion from different perspectives. religion might be seen as a double-edged sword, which can either have a positive or a negative effect on a society. this is why nweke (2020) asserts that "religion gives answers to a lot of things and problems people face in the world; at the same time, religion has also ruined a lot of people because of the way people understand it"(p.42) religion has most times been conceived in terms of a belief in a supreme reality. in this regard, every religion has a concept of the supreme being in its respective religious practices, which vary from one another. for nweke i (2020), "belief in god is real and unique"(p.42). this is to say that the belief in the supreme being is a reality, but every religion has its unique way to describe the nature of this supreme being. god is, most time, the basic object of many religions, and as such, religion could also be defined in terms of the worship of god. this concept of god may differ based on the religion in question. it may be the same god, but is talked about in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 35 different ways by different religions. apart from the concept of god, there are also other characteristics and elements that these religions have and share in common, even though their approaches may differ. basically, there are three majorly recognized religions in nigeria, namely, christianity, islam, and african traditional religion. these three religions have flourished in the country for a long time, and their survival could be attributed to many factors. christianity and islam are foreign religions and are not originally part of the african community, but they have been allowed to thrive irrespective of the existence of an indigenous religion that is characteristically african. the concept of god is something that cannot be separated from african traditional religion, irrespective of the views and opinions of other religions, which may see african traditional religion as a fetish religion or the religion of the dark world (ugwu & ugwueye, 2004). supporting the above, nweke (2020) said, "african traditional religion has been seen by many from a negative point of view"(p.44). the african traditional religion adherent, in his way, communicates with the supreme being just like his counterparts in christianity and islam. while the christian used the term god to refer to their supreme being, islam regards the supreme being as allah, and the traditional religion of the igbo people in nigeria would refer to god as chineke. against this background, the aim of this work is directed towards an examination of the concept of the supreme being as seen in the three religions in nigeria. an attempt would also be made to look at the characteristics of these religions. the concept of god as seen in christianity, islam, and african traditional religion god: christianity admittedly, different religions have different notions and beliefs about god. our attention here is, however, focused on the christian's view of god. as one of the monotheistic religions, christianity believes and teaches the existence of a supreme being called god. god is primarily the creator; he is responsible for the existence of everything other than himself. more specifically, god, for the christians, is the one who creates 'from nothing', ex nihilo. he makes things to be without there being anything before his creative act, save himself. existence as a whole is thus possible because of god: the universe began to exist because god made it so. god's creative work is just as present in the continued existence as it was before time began; god is both the initiating and the constantly sustaining cause of the universe and all it contains. consequently, the catechism of the catholic church holds that god is one of three persons; this becomes the fulcrum of the doctrine of the trinity; he is both transcendent and immanent. the church further teaches that god can be known through the created world and the natural light of human reason. god made all things, and he is their finality and eternity. he is merciful, all-loving and infinitely good (ccc. 36) furthermore, everything other than god is totally dependent on god for its existence and for its being. god is everywhere since he is making everything that exists to be what it is for as long as it exists: creatures constantly owe all that they are to god, and any causal activity of theirs is, first and foremost, god's causal activity in them. god is omnipresent, immutable, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 36 unchangeable, omnipotent, omniscient, eternal, among many other attributes. he exists necessarily, while other beings have contingent existence, for he exists at no particular time and therefore neither existed at some instant in the past nor will exist at some instant of time in the future; and so is his activity. since all began in him, all will also return to him— eschatology. for christians, god is merciful and forgiving rather than vengeful. in collaboration with the above, nweke (2020) posits "the concept of god as a benevolent and forgiving rather than vengeful is a main tenet of the christian faith"(p.43). this is to say that god prefers forgiveness when humanity erred and asks for it rather than punishment. chineke: igbo the igbo tradition holds that one supreme being is known as chineke, which means 'god who creates' or 'god the creator'. this meaning tells that the igbo tradition attributes all created things to god. this describes how powerful this chineke (god) is to have created these mighty things that we see, how organized god is to have arranged the world in the manner it is arranged, and how magnificent in beauty he is that he beautified the world in the manner it is beautified. chineke, who continues to do wonders, is so great that he provides rain and food at their seasons. however, the spelling or pronunciation of these names of god in different dialects of the igbo tradition might look different, but they have the same meaning. for instance, the nsukka people of enugu state call god ezechitoke, which means the king spirit that is the creator. another common and popular name of god in igbo usage is olise (god). other expressions about god may include, olise-okike (god the creator); olise-biko (god please); olise-emeka (god has done well). chukwu is another name attributed to god in the igbo tradition. this means big god or great god. agreeably, to have called god big or great means there are other gods referred to as small gods in the igbo tradition. these gods are those the igbo people believe are closer to us, even though they operate in the realm of the supreme, but serve as intermediaries between chukwu (god) and humans. examples of these gods are ancestors, divinities, spirits, and what have you. these gods receive their authority from chukwu (god), the supreme being. and they are at the service of humans who invoke them daily. god, the creator, is the controller of heaven and earth, but gives responsibilities to these gods who serve as his messengers. more so, nweke (2017) identified some major qualities of the african supreme god. these are: supremacy, omnipresence, impartiality, swiftness in action, genderless, cultureless, without race, and just. in african god is second to no other creature, god is everywhere and nothing is hidden from his sight; he does not show partiality, he does not delay in judgement, god is neither male nor female and does not have any cultural or racial background (p. 112). the use of the third-person masculine pronouns "he," "him," or "his" here is a result of the limitation of human language in describing god. another important name in the igbo tradition is chi. chi refers to individual gods. this chi is present in the life of every individual. chi is also the life force energy behind human actions. it is also the life spirit (mmuo) of a person; the success of individuals is dependent on their chi, and this chi also protects them from danger. chi is the individual angel; they are not seen but always there with individuals they are guiding. this traditional belief is not based on christian belief because it has been the life of the people before the advent of christianity in the land. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 37 before the missionaries arrived in the southern part of nigeria, the igbos had their own experience of the supreme being (god), the creator of heaven and earth. our fathers worshipped this same god of heaven. they did communicate with him in their way. they knew the chukwu (god) they worshipped, and god in return answered their prayers. chiokike, chineke, or chukwu, as igbo tradition calls god, does not mean three supreme beings rather an expression that tells how mighty and powerful god is. it is interesting to know that in igbo tradition, meaning is very essential, and the meaning attached to names summarizes everything about that name. but the white man did not know this, if not. he would have adopted the name chiokike, chineke, or chukwu as the name of god, or have told the people, if it was difficult for him to pronounce, chiokike, chineke or chukwu, and whatever name they call god is the same god whom he preaches. the white man made our fathers believe that whatever they knew about god was what they taught them, and they allowed themselves to be deceived. but the challenge was that our people were not educated, and that was why they could not defend what they believed; instead, they saw these missionaries as one of the intermediaries they invoked on a daily basis, which seemed more real to them. however, chukwu or chineke is the igbo name of god. and it is not the missionaries who brought the idea of the supreme being to us. our fathers knew god because god also appeared to them and communicated with them. god did not speak english, latin, or greek to them; he spoke their language to them. therefore, the god who lived with them, spoke with them should also have a name to describe his personality. he remains, in the igbo tradition, chineke (god the creator) or chukwu (the great god). nweke (2020) noted that " the belief in the supreme being in igbo religion as well as african religion is axiomatic"(p.45). one needs to be taught before he knows. allah in islamic religion according to nweke i (2020), "islam is one of the world’s greatest religions founded in the seventh century ad by mohammed"(p3). for nweke i (2020), "islamic religion has also its beliefs and doctrines like god, apostles, koran, angels, last judgment, etc. they equally have five obligations: profession of faith, ritual prayer, almsgiving (zakat), ramadan fast, and pilgrimage"(p.43) archer (2014) observes that the islamic religion is a religion that can be found in many countries and among many cultures of the world. in spite of the diversity of culture and nationality, muslims share a common faith that brings them a sense of peace and stability in their individual and community life. the islamic religion ranks among the leading religions of the world in terms of the population of faithful adherents. the word islam means submission to, and peaceful worship of the one almighty god. the religion teaches universal values like equality, honesty, and humility. however, as observed by archer (2014), in today's world, muslims are often linked with radicalism and intolerance: their beliefs are misunderstood and even despised. stereotypes and misinformation are spread out of ignorance or deliberately promoted for political or social purposes. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 38 in the arabic language, allah is usually conceived as "the god" (al-ilah). however, in islamic theology, the belief in allah as the supreme being is tenaciously held and defended. allah for the muslims is the almighty, transcendent, and all-knowing god. for the muslims, allah is the only god, and besides him there is no other. the word tawhid is used to describe the oneness of allah, which is the fundamental belief of islam. there are ninety-nine names of the muslim god, and each name gives him many attributes. through their recitation and reflection upon these names, the muslims often try to understand god more. islamic adherents believe allah to be responsible for the creation of the cosmos and that all things which have come to exist are a manifestation of his greatness. allah is also a sustainer, the merciful one who reaches out compassionately to his people. the greatness of allah is most times expressed in declarations such as allahu akbar (god is great). for the islamic adherents, nothing can ever happen unless it is caused or permitted by allah, and he knows the destiny of all creatures. this is the reason why a muslim making plans sometimes says, in sha’allah (god willing) or ma sha' allah (whatever allah wills). among the typical muslims, giving thanks to allah could also be seen in the expression al-hamdu li-llah (thanks be to allah). the various expressions by them portray their belief in allah and their thought of allah as the central point of their life. in the islamic religion, intermediaries or special devices are not needed to reach out directly to allah. in addition, the muslims believe that allah fashioned man out of dust, but the angels were made out of light. these angels are responsible for administering allah's kingdom, and they have no freewill of their own but full obedience to allah. it is typical of the muslim to also believe in the life after. for them, allah rewards the just and faithful with heaven, while the unrepentant sinner would be condemned to eternal damnation. characteristics of these religions belief in the supernatural the three religions believe in the existence of transcendental beings that are beyond the visible. for instance, in african traditional religion, nweke i (2020) asserts that "the principal god of igbo is called chineke"(p.45). without the belief in the supernatural, no religion will exist as a religion based on the speculation that religion emerged from the belief in supernatural beings. buttressing on the above, edward taylor described religion as the belief in spiritual beings, "animism" (corrigan j. et al., 1998, p. 3). the african traditional religionists believe that the ancestors, spirits, and divinities, though invisible, still influence certain happenings in the visible realm. christianity and islam believe in the afterlife and the existence of saints in paradise. monotheism christianity, islam, and african traditional religions are monotheistic religions. each professes belief in one god. however, inasmuch as each professes one god, each also differs in the ways the one god is conceived. unfortunately, sometimes people misconstrue the unique ways african traditionalists profess the one-god chukwu. in the african traditional religion, god is one but other beings serve as intermediaries. these intermediaries should not be seen in terms of the existence of many gods. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 39 assertively, the singular god worshipped by christians is the same god worshipped by muslims and african traditionalists (corrigan, j. et al., p.134). the muslims believe in the existence of the absolute sovereign god, allah. this belief in the one god is known in arabic as tawhid and means “to acknowledge as one, and to make one” (corrigan, j. et al., p.135). it points to the oneness of god. sacred and profane in each of these religions, there is a marked distinction between things that are sacred and those that are profane. sacred refers to something that is dedicated to the service of god, worthy of religious veneration, or entitled to reverence and respect. religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices related to sacred things; things set apart. so, each of these religions has things set apart and considered sacred. also, in each of these religions, there are places that are sacred, such as shrines, churches, and mosques. there are also months or certain specified days that are considered sacred, for example, among the igbo traditional religion, arothe eighth day afo uku is dedicated to obasi bi n’elu (ekwunife: 1990, p. 42). in the african traditional religion, for instance, the ikenga and ofo are objects considered sacred. there are times as well that are considered sacred, especially times for worship and sacrifices. christians dedicate sunday as a holiday, while muslims hold friday as a day set aside for the juma’at prayers. profane can mean to treat something sacred with abuse, irreverence, or contempt. in the african traditional religion, whenever there is a profanation of what is sacred, it calls for cleansing and atonement. in other words, profane may mean things not concerned with religion; things apart from religion. deviating from that which is sacred is yielding to the profane. religious symbols and symbolism the essence of symbolism lies in the recognition of one thing as standing for (representing) another; the relation between them is normally that of concrete to abstract, particular to general (lehrmann and myers, 2001, p. 64). the relation is such that the symbol by itself appears capable of generating and receiving effects, and such effects are often of high emotional change (lehmann and myers 2001, p. 65). certain symbolic actions in these religions clarify the understanding of phenomena of religious change. there are some forms of symbolic acts, language, and behaviour that convey meaning to the believers of these religions. generally, symbols are things that express and communicate to a group which owns its deeper realities other than the signifier, as well as their multiple meanings. among the igbo of southern nigeria, trees like the cotton plant, ogilisi, and iroko are often dedicated as symbols to chukwu. (ekwunife, 1990, p. 42). as the cross is a symbol of great significance to the christian, so is the moon and star of equal significance to the muslims. moral code/ethics another common characteristic of these religions is the moral code. without a moral code, there will be disharmony and chaos in these religions. from the onset, religion and morality have been closely intertwined in that both exert influences on each other. sometimes it becomes even difficult to distinguish between what constitutes moral instruction and religious instruction. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 40 each of these religions, african traditional, christianity, and islam, possesses their moral code. these are rules and directives on how adherents ought to behave. the adherents are expected to abide by these rules so as to maintain decorum in the place and order of worship. in the african traditional religion, while certain acts are considered good and rewarding, there are also illicit acts that are forbidden and regarded as taboos. in the islamic religion, it is a taboo for a woman to slaughter the sacrificial lamb. in the christian religion, a believer is forbidden to eat meat on good friday. essentially, rules and taboos are meant to guide and restrict adherents against certain acts of touching or speaking, seeing, eating, etc. keeping the rules will amount to beneficial rewards, while breaching them will unleash dangers, punishment, and calamities. the christians have the decalogue, which guides their behavior towards doing good and avoiding evil. in the islamic religion, the sharia stipulates the law and distinguishes acts that are haram (forbidden) from acts that are rewarding halal. world views the three religions have their respective world views. broadly speaking, a worldview can be described as the way a person perceives, interprets, and relates to the universe and everything in it (ekwunife, 1990, p. 53). the african traditional religionists perceive their world sometimes as a two-tier or three-tier structure of two interacting realitiesspiritual and material (ekwunife, 1990, p. 53). similarly, christianity and islamic worldviews are related to the two visible and invisible structures of reality. these religions believe that the transcendent god is mighty and surpasses the visible-materialistic world. consequently, what the material world cannot offer, they believe in the providence of an omnipotent god. prayer and communication prayer is an act of communication by humans with the sacred or holy god, the transcendent realm, or supernatural powers. it expresses a human desire to enter into contact with the sacred or holy (ekwunife, 1990, p. 56). african traditional religions, christianity, and islam have regard for prayer. prayer occupies a central position in these religions. since these religious beliefs in the existence of supernatural beings beyond the physical grasp of humans, they implore channels through which the supernatural is invoked. the african traditional religionist prays constantly. sometimes they pray in groups or individually. sometimes they express the forms of prayers in words. for example, in the igbo traditional worship, these words include “ikpe ekpele", 'igo ofo', 'ikpolu chukwu isi ala', 'ibeku chukwu', 'ma obu chineke ma obu ndi muo', 'iyo ayiyo'. (ekwunife, 1990, p. 56). sacramental the new dictionary of theology defines sacramental as "sacred signs which bear a resemblance to the sacraments in so far as they signify the effects, especially of a spiritual kind, which are obtained through the church" (komonchak et al., 2019, p. 992). the sacramental is not only peculiar to the according to nweke i(2020)," some practices of islamic religion were just a continuation from african cultures"(p.44). the muslims and traditional religion adherents also have sacraments which are most time regarded as powerful articles that confer special benefit or grace upon their users. the catholics have rosaries, scapulars, sacred medal, and so on. just like catholics have the rosary and pray it, the muslims also have their beads of prayer, which they call tasbih. using these beads, the muslims recite and praise the names of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 41 allah. in the african traditional religion, sacramental also exist. among the igbo people. items like kola nuts, alligator pepper, and white chalks are considered as sacramental as they confer some spiritual benefits upon their users. the kolanut as a sacrament is a symbol of communion, welcome, and used to initiate a peace talk with a bid to make reconciliation between warring parties. what the kolanut is to the african traditionalist is what the eucharist is to the catholics. alligator pepper and white chalk are also sacramental to the igbo people, both respectively signifying cleansing and welcome. evaluation/conclusion from our examination of these different religious traditions, we have realized that without god or the idea of the holy, there would be no religion. god is the center of all these religious life, beliefs, and practices. god in the three religions revealed himself in the creation, prophecy, and historical events. the idea of god is part and parcel of the three religions and constitutes the major object of these religions. apart from this, we can also see many characteristics that show that many things unite these religions than separate them. in the three religions examined in this work, god has different names which adherents cherish. all these names depict god's attributes or characteristics as seen by the adherents. he is seen to be the creator, infinite, pure, eternal, holy, unmoved mover, immanent, sovereign, and transcendent. his moral attributes include essential goodness, kindness, pity, rightness, justice, love, and so on. it is out of his goodness that he created everything perfect. also, the three religious traditions have certain human terms or qualities that are used to describe god. god is seen as father, mother, having large eyes, etc. in the different religious traditions as discussed above, we can also notice that this god is worshipped directly or indirectly through sacrifices, prayers, songs, music, proverbs, festivals, and feasts. some dissimilarities can also be found in these three religions. one major dissimilarities between islam and the other two religions is that it does not believe in the existence of intermediaries that help in getting to god or worshipping allah. african traditional religion recognizes the existence of intermediaries like deities, ancestors, and oracles in reaching the supreme being, and the christians, especially the catholics, often implore the intercession of saints and martyrs in praying to god. notwithstanding, between african traditional religion and christianity, the dissimilarities readily identifiable are that while african traditional religion believes in offering sacrifices to appease the supreme being, christianity holds that christ, in the history of salvation, has paid the ultimate price, and as such, there is no need for further sacrifice. islam too does not believe in offering sacrifices even though, like christianity and african traditional religion, almsgiving, fasting, and abstinence and preached. this discussion has also shown that these religions are unique in their beliefs, and it is not always the case that one religion copied from another. for instance, as observed from above, african traditional religion has the concept and notion of god even before the advent of the europeans into the continent. although the religion of the africans was greatly influenced by the colonial masters, there still exist rich elements and cultures that were not blotted out of the religion. appropriately, the african traditional religion is independent of any other religion as it is unique in the same way as christianity and islam. for this, nweke (202) advises that "no religion should be seen as superior to the other"(p.47). this fact can also be a major point for interreligious dialogue and discussion. every religion should be respected and cherished, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 42 as no religion is superior to another. this should be the basis for religious tolerance in any country. the above was supported when nweke i (202) said "... by doing this atr, christianity, and islam can co-habit and have peace,love, unity and understanding between them"(p.47). references archer, p. (2014). religion 101 from allah to zen buddhism: an exploration of the key people, practices, and beliefs that have shaped the religions of the world. adams media, u.s.a. catechism of the catholic church, revised edition. (2013). st. paul's publication, nigeria. corrigan, j. denny, f. eire, c, & jaffee, m. (1998). jews, christians, muslims: a comparative introduction to monotheistic religions. prentice hall int. ltd., new jersey, usa. ekwunife, a. (1990). unpublished sist lecture note on african traditional religion attakwu, enugu, nigeria. kanu, i. a (2015) a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a (2015) african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a (2016) igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2(1): 6166. kanu, i. a (2016) igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities 2(1): 23-40. kanu i. a (2017) igwebuikeconomics: towards an inclusive economy for economic development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3(6): 113-140. kanu i. a (2017) sources of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. 9(1): 1-23. kanu, i. a (2020) igwebuike theology of udi: god’s unchanging revelation and man’s changing culture. catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. 17(2): 12-24. kanu, i. a (2020) igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe and the inculturation of the gospel message. ogirisi: a journal of african studies. 16(1): 15-28. kanu, i. a (2020) igwebuike theology of omenani and the missionary bifurcation of horizons. ogirisi: a new journal of african studies. 16(1): 127-144. kanu, i. a (2020) igwebuike theology of udi: god’s unchanging revelation and man’s changing culture. catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. 17(2): 12-24. komonchak, j., collins, m, & lane, d. (eds.). (2019). the new dictionary of theology. theological publications, bengaluru: india. lehmann, a. & myers, j. (2001). magic, witchcraft, and religion: an anthropological study of the supernatural, 5th edition. mcgraw-hill, inc., new york. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 43 nweke, i. (2017). african traditional religion in the midst of secularism. spiritan press, onitsha, anambra, nigeria. nweke, i (2020). african traditional religion in the context of increasing christian and islamic encounter. spritan press, onitsha, anambra state, nigeria plantinga, a. (1980). does god have a nature? milwaukee, wi. swinburne, r. (1993). the coherence of theism, rev. ed. oxford university press, oxford. ugwu, c. e. & ugwueye, l. e. (2004). african traditional religion: a prolegomenon. merit international publications, isolo, lagos. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 168 is it ever right to use violence to establish peace? kathleen mcgarvey, phd veritas university abuja kitmcgarvey@gmail.com doi:10.13140/rg.2.2.25338.81600 abstract the just war theory provides a moral justification for the use of armed force under certain circumstances, seeing war as sometimes a necessary evil and setting principles for its use. pacifism is that ethical response which rejects war under all circumstances. both of these positions, although taking opposite sides of the spectrum, imply a moral presumption against war and armed conflict. scholars and activists in both fields put forward diverse arguments to support their claims. criteria for the justification for war can be and are used and abused by the stronger nations of the world to justify wars for ulterior, often times selfish, economic interests. military expenditure globally has serious social and economic implications, and undoubtedly a reduction in this spending and a redirection of these funds for the benefit of human and social development would result in a more peaceful world. many today believe, that the just war theory is one from which we must distance ourselves and seek a world of justice and peace through nonviolent means. our world would indeed be a different place if the intentional promotion of sustainable peace building and human security was at the centre of all political, social, and economic activity. keywords: just war theory, war system, pacifism, sustainable peacebuilding introduction the phrase ‘violence begets violence’ is well known and equally well tested, used by many proponents of non-violence over the years and proven by the devastation of the sad, long, cyclical, human history of violence and wars. pope francis in his encyclical on fraternity and social friendship writes: “every act of violence committed against a human being is a wound in humanity’s flesh; every violent death diminishes us as people… violence leads to more violence, hatred to more hatred, death to more death. we must break this cycle which seems inescapable” (2020, n.227). there are primarily two ethical responses to war and armed conflict, both which imply a moral presumption against war, namely the just war theory and pacifism. while pacifism is that ethical response which rejects war, the just war theory provides a moral justification for the use of armed force under certain circumstances, seeing war as sometimes a necessary evil and setting principles for its use. this paper will look at both responses, as well as at their criticisms, shortcomings, and alternatives. the just war theory and the morality of war the original just war theory (jwt) is often attributed to the philosophical works of st augustine (354-430) and st thomas aquinas (1225-1274), two leading catholic theologians. mailto:kitmcgarvey@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 169 these had, as the just war theory purports to have today, a presumption against war at the back of their minds. the recent revival of interest in the jwt as a feature of secular political discourse is attributed to michael walzer, a prominent american political theorist and moral philosopher, with his classic work, just and unjust wars (1977), following the highly questionable role of the us in the vietnam war. the jwt attempts to provide systematic moral constraints or conditions of armed force in the context of contemporary social and political conflict. it establishes criteria for the moral permissibility of war and armed conflict in two primary categories, jus ad bellum (justice of going to war) and jus in bello (justice during war). today some, including walzer (2004), but particularly canadian philosopher, brian orend (2006: 160-221), would add criteria for jus post bellum (justice after war), basically dealing with the criteria of law in the transition from conflict to peace as a distinct category within the jwt. the jwt is based on the premise that sovereign states have the legitimate authority to use violence by way of collective armed force in certain circumstances, having the right both to build the infrastructure for this and to use it under certain criteria in defence of the state and its citizens. the criteria for the jus ad bellum have expanded over time to generally now include seven, namely legitimate authority, last resort, just cause, proportionality between offence and response, right intention, formal declaration of war, and reasonable hope of success. since most wars today are within states rather than between states, that legitimate authority can be accorded to a nationalist or resistance non-state group challenging the ‘state capture’ by their purported sovereign powers who are using the state apparatus for their private ends. the justification of violence or armed force stems from the right of an individual or of a state to self-defence against aggression. conflicts within states, such as in kosovo and rwanda, gave rise to arguments in favour of international humanitarian intervention, including military force, now framed in terms of the ‘responsibility to protect’, permitting the deliberate violation of a state’s sovereignty to protect the fundamental rights of the people within that jurisdiction. thus, ‘humanitarian intervention’ and pre-emptive or preventive war are also considered as just causes for using armed force. the criteria for jus in bello (conduct during war) are proportionality (not only in terms of casualties and damage done but also in terms of methods used) and non-combatant immunity. by merely looking at these criteria as justifications for war, clearly they can be used and abused by the stronger nations of the world to justify wars for ulterior, often times selfish economic, interests. as is well known, we find the jwt so often referred to today by us presidents and other world leaders to defend or justify their attacks in the so called ‘war on terror’ (o’driscoll, 2011), despite the numerous civilian killings, prisoner abuses, and other atrocities these wars included and resulted in. indeed, as pope francis writes: “war can easily be chosen by invoking all sorts of allegedly humanitarian, defensive, or precautionary excuses, and even resorting to the manipulation of information. in recent decades, every single war has been ostensibly ‘justified’” (2020: n. 258) in a strong defence of the just war principles, michael walzer, in the last chapter of the 4th edition of his book on just and unjust wars, offers an ‘afterword’ to discuss the ‘myth’ of a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 170 world without war, basically a world of nonviolent defence, a ‘war without weapons’ (walzer, 2006: 329-335). walzer believes that the success of non-violence as a defence against armed force depends on the restraint put on soldiers by the just war principles, particularly that of non-combatant immunity; if soldiers are trained in and believe in this rule of war, they will refuse to carry out or support any tyrannical or terrorist type violence against non-armed civilians involved in non-violent resistance. if soldiers cannot be counted on to adhere to this moral code, “nonviolence is either a disguised form of surrender or a minimalist way of upholding communal values after a military defeat.” (p.333) hence, while walzer offers many reasons why he believes non-violent defence is an illusion, he concludes with the strong phrase in defence of just war principles, saying, “the restraint of war is the beginning of peace” (p. 335). critics of the jwt today say that it may have made sense at a time in history when the idea about self-defence was truly about defence, rather than “serving as a euphemism for conquest and consolidation of power by imperial-minded nation states.” (jackson, 2020). many believe it is no longer useful as a moral compass for war, primarily because of the actors involved and the weaponry used. since war within states in the form of terrorist, guerrilla and other insurgencies is the predominant expression of warfare today, and since this asymmetrical warfare is to be confronted today on a global scale, hamner hill, a political scientist in missouri, argues that the jwt is “inadequate as a conceptual framework for dealing with the war on terror” (hill, 2010: 77 & 86) for decades now, criticism of war by catholic leaders as well as by other analysts, has focused on its failure to satisfy the norm of non-combatant immunity, and the devastating suffering of civilian populations, sadly often simply referred to as ‘collateral damage’ and hence ‘justifiable’ in that their death was not the intended consequence of a particular act of war (miesels, 2014). for pope francis, this failure is especially evident in the plight of war’s victims, especially refugees (2020: 261). many proponents of nonviolent peacebuilding, for example harry van der linden, a professor of philosophy and ethics, in a critique of walzer’s just war theories, also raises the issues, not critiqued by walzer, of the expenditure used in warfare, especially that of the us, the use (excuse) of war to expand us military base globally, and the economic interests that stimulate warfare, all of which need to be considered in any analysis of the justice or otherwise of war (van der linden, 2005). military expenditure globally has serious social and economic implications, and undoubtedly a reduction in this spending and a redirection of these funds for the benefit of human and social development would result in a more peaceful world. the fact that global military expenditure is now at its highest level since the end of the cold war (unoda, 2020) highlights this harsh truth. while political philosophers and theorists of international relations continue to reshape in contemporary times the jwt as a framework for the justification of war as a necessary evil, others like pope francis believe it is a theory from which we must instead distance ourselves and seek a world of justice and peace through nonviolent means. in what many consider a very historic moment in church doctrine, in a footnote in his encyclical fratelli tutti, pope francis igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 171 states that the jwt, which was originally a concept forged by saint augustine, is one “that we no longer uphold today” (2020: fn. 242). debate within the catholic church about the jwt has been ongoing for some time, with calls advocating for nonviolence and the abandonment of the jwt meeting with controversy and division (cahill, 2019; pax christi international, 2016). thus, in not only calling for an end to wars, as popes before him have done, but in distancing himself from the theory of just war of st augustine, and in rejecting the “rational criteria elaborated in earlier centuries” (2020: 258), pope francis has taken a step no previous pope has done. pacifism and the ethical rejection of war pope francis may be the first pope to distance himself from st augustine on this point, but many other people have for long provided ethical considerations to the moral decisions around war and armed conflict. pacifism, conventionally defined as refusing to participate in the preparation or the act of war for ethical or religious reasons, provides a political and structural critique of the social, economic, and political factors that produce war and conflict. instead of providing constraints for armed force and justifying its use under certain circumstances, proponents of pacifism, for varied and sometimes contradictory reasons, all see war as never being justified. according to cheyney ryan, who writes on political philosophy and global justice, “pacifism is often regarded as an unworldly doctrine. in my view, it is just the opposite: it is the critique of actually existing war, in all its excesses, insanities and horrors. as such it is a call to responsibility for political philosophy to confront the realities of their own time.” (ryan, 2013: 979). andrew alexandra, an australian philosopher engaged in the area of the ethics of war and peace, notes that pacifism tends to be rejected, even in the academic field, because it is claimed there is no empirical evidence to its effectiveness. yet, as he points out with a rich bibliographical evidence, there exist numerous examples of political campaigns as well as of civil resistance and other nonviolent tactics which were effective, and numerous books have been published giving historical evidence as well as providing insights into the non-violent strategies which can and have been successful. (alexandra, 2015: 43-44; see also bond, kruegler, powers & vogele, 1997). brian orend’s book, the morality of war (2006), is considered a classic due to its reviews of contemporary conflicts and wars in light of the jwt. in the second part of this book, he examines two ‘large and influential rivals to jwt which must be explored’ (p. 223), namely realism and pacifism. realism, which i will not seek to elaborate on in this essay, is basically a world where people do whatever they must do to save themselves and hence there is no need for any morals or norms to guide them (pp. 223-243). while orend dismisses pacifism as unrealistic and extreme, i present his arguments here in some detail because of his prominence and influence in the circle of just war proponents. acknowledging that there are many kinds of pacifism and that “different pacifists think pacifism differently, and offer various kinds of justification for their beliefs” (p. 244), orend says that “what unites all forms of pacifism – the basic proposition, or lowest common igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 172 denominator – is opposition to warfare” (p. 244). pacifists do not reject violence in all its forms, but they reject the ‘specific kind and degree of violence that war involves’ (p. 244). among the varied forms of pacifism, some are religiously inspired, such as leo tolstoy, the quakers, dorothy day, primarily opposed to any killing of a human being because it is against the religious belief in the sacredness of all life. of course, as already noted above, even within faith communities there is a diversity of perspectives. other proponents of pacifism are of a more secular, political orientation, while they may or may not necessarily be also religiously motivated. within this field, orend categorizes three groups, “(1) a more ‘teleological’ form of pacifism (or tp) which asserts that war and killing are at odds with human excellence and flourishing; (2) a more ‘consequentialist’ form of pacifism (or cp), which maintains that the benefits accruing from war can never outweigh the costs of fighting it; and (3) a more ‘deontological’ form of pacifism (or dp), which contends that the very activity of war is intrinsically unjust, since it violates foremost duties of morality and justice, such as not killing other human beings.” (2006: 245). others, such as ryan, identify only two types of pacifists, namely personal (anti-killing for deontological reasons) and prophetic (anti-war for consequentialist reasons) and see that some of the most influential figures in the pacifist tradition, namely martin luther king and gandhi, have combined the two types, as undoubtedly is true of many pacifists who are opposed to killing per se and are also very much concerned about the consequences of war (ryan, 2013). in his criticism of the teleological position, which is basically one based on human virtues, with which all that is associated with war is at odds, orend believes it is somewhat utopian and unrealistic given that the aggressor is not necessarily moved by these same ideal virtues and hence injustice will be allowed to reign in the pacifist’s refusal to use violence in the name of peace. pacifists, however, contend they do not allow injustice to reign in favour of peace but rather they use nonviolent means such as civil disobedience combined with other economic or diplomatic sanctions to expel the aggressor. needless to say, not all people, including orend, are convinced of the effectiveness of nonviolent action in overthrowing unjust and tyrannical regimes and aggressors, and he refers to walzer’s theory, which i have mentioned earlier, that unless aggressors follow the code of jus in bello and its call for non-combatant immunity, they will not be swayed from their goal by these nonviolent protests. (2006: 246-250). the consequentialist form of pacifism, which is more anti-war than anti-killing, holds that the consequences of war mean that it makes the world a worse rather than a better place. consequentialist pacifists look not only at the scale of human casualties of war but also the complex collective social, economic and political costs of preparing for war as well as of the destruction it brings. orend believes the human, economic and social costs of war, must be compared to the possible costs of inaction, of no armed resistance to aggressors, and asks “not resorting to war to defend political sovereignty and territorial integrity may well be tantamount to rewarding aggression in international relations…”. he refers to rwanda as a case in point, where due to inaction, hundreds of thousands were allowed to die. (p. 251). undoubtedly cases such as the rwanda genocide do provide a good argument for ‘armed force’, but a pacifist response to such situations would be to emphasise that unjust political systems and the many human rights abuses are at the root of such violence and that it is this structural violence in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 173 today’s world that must be examined, just as there is need for improved early warning as well as conflict management structures and processes, rather than to consider it a justification for war (see for example shao, 2019; see also the international report on lessons to be learnt from the rwanda experience). also worth considering here is whether the situation of the people in iraq or libya was in any way improved after the violence inflicted there in the name of war on terrorism, or whether indeed it is not true that these wars “fertilized the fields of alqaeda and the islamic state to grow”, causing an increase in violent insecurities which continue to plague these countries and beyond their borders (johansen, 2017, 526). for the deontological position of pacifism, which sees killing as an immoral action in itself, and war as intrinsically unjust, the “supposed ‘justice’ of the goal sought, through war, does not redeem the injustice of the means used to pursue it” (orend, p. 254). hence “war ought never to be resorted to: there is always some vastly superior option with regard to international dispute-resolution, such as diplomacy, sanctions or organized campaigns of non-violence” (p. 254). in response to this position, orend argues for the individual right to kill in self-defence if s/he is instead to be killed, and defends the jwt which upholds the right to self-defence, and indeed the responsibility to protect the ‘innocent’ (2006: 254262). his overall view of pacifism is that “while well-intentioned, seems, in effect, to reward aggression and to fail to take measures needed to protect people from aggression” (p. 263). in what might be a response to this form of criticism, ryan reminds us that ‘political pacifists do not deny the right to selfdefence; on the contrary, they affirm it. what they deny is that war has anything to do with that right – indeed, they claim that it denies this and other fundamental human rights” (2013: 982). just as critics like orend see pacifists as unrealistic, so ryan contends that proponents of the jwt are unrealistic in the claim that a just war is one that does not involve massive human rights violations, since such a war is simply not possible. pacifism and the structural critique of the war system “war is not an event but a system, a war system’” (ryan, 2013: 983). andrew alexandra (2003) compares the war system to the market system where “war as a political institution consists not simply of episodes of armed conflict between states and the rules and norms governing such conflicts, but also the whole complex of activities and organisation that lead up to and make possible such episodes.” (quoted in ryan, 2013: 983). the sovereign state is at the core of the war system, and this sovereignty is ultimately protected through possessing and using if necessary, military force. the sovereign state has the right to use aggression when necessary in the name of self-defence, thus it has the right to build up its military infrastructure and to use this force in the name of security. simply put, this obviously then becomes a matter of who can be most aggressive, who has the stronger defence, and who has control over the elements that allow such a build-up of strength. in short, it becomes a competition in military strength, thus making the production, distribution, as well as the use of such strength a key element in international relations, whether in terms of access to and market control of the raw materials or natural resources and the personnel required for this infrastructure, or in terms of their threat and use. control over nuclear weapons have of course become central. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 174 global industrial capitalism is also obviously a key factor in this scenario. mention must be made here of the military-industrial complex which defines the nexus between the military and the economic establishment of those who live off weapons manufacturing and which “typically attempts to marshal political support for continued or increased military spending by the national government” (weber, 2020). pacifists today, as well as people concerned with security studies, environmental concerns, human rights, and many other fields which now acknowledge the devastation of war, provide a structural critique of the underlying system of war as an institution, based on the sovereign state and the military complex that complements it. they provide not only ethical arguments but also comprehensive structural and political critiques in their rejection of war and collective violence. they emphasize the need to find an alternative way, a ‘peace system’ rather than a war system, which defends human security rather than state security, a world where relationships within and between nations and states are built, not on control and competition, but on reciprocity, cooperation, and interdependence. robert johansen, professor emeritus of political science and peace studies working with the kroc institute for international peace studies, strongly believes that instead of seeing peace as a ‘side benefit of military preparedness’ based on the adage ‘if you want peace, prepare for war’, what is needed is a global strategy for peace and human security (2017). in this strategy towards a global positive peace, he names six guidelines which include: reducing fears by addressing all people’s security fears (he emphasizes all); having a human-centred approach to security in terms of human rights of all and thus addressing structural violence of poverty, racism and other injustices; the principle of reciprocity in human conduct including not only in but between nations, with particular reference to the issue of control over nuclear weapons; equity in all relationships, including in the present international economic system which favours the wealthier nations and persons of the world; a strengthened rule of law where countries and individuals can rely on the law rather than on armed violence to achieve justice; and the active promotion of democratic governance which ensures that all people of the earth are represented as equals at national as well as international levels. johansen states an obvious but much ignored fact that “all contemporary security problems, ranging from terrorism to the spread of weapons of mass destruction and the weaponization of space and from lifethreatening poverty and gross violations of human rights to environmental degradation… can be more effectively addressed if they are viewed as problems of governance rather than as problems to be solved by deploying military power” (2017: 534). today, there are numerous books, articles, websites, education resources, academic and research institutes, national and international movements and organizations, civil society organizations, faith and secular groups, interfaith organizations, all working towards the promotion of human rights, justice, peace, democracy, reconciliation, dialogue, and conflict transformation; calling for an end to racism, sexism, corruption, the demilitarization of security, the destructive elements of capitalism; promoting increased education and practice at all levels in managing conflicts without violence; raising awareness of and promoting care of the environment; and basically all seeking the creation of a culture of peace rather than of war and violence. this growing awareness and engagement of people from all levels of society, at igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 175 local and global levels, gives hope for a ‘global coalition’ which can bring “work for more effective human-centred global governance and [] incentivize new directions for powerful vested interests that now oppose change” (johansen, 2017: 535; see also diane francis, 2013). conclusion: sustainable peacebuilding a world without violence, a world where sustainable peace can be enjoyed by all people, in every situation, is a goal which i believe is worth striving towards. it is important to believe, in hope, that it is possible, knowing it requires commitment, time and effort. john paul lederach, who is widely known for his work in peacebuilding and conflict transformation, reminds us that peace is not a product, but is a long-term, ongoing process and changing structure, essentially based on relationship building and the development of support infrastructures which enhance people’s capacity to adapt and respond to relational needs (1999: 35). pope francis in fratelli tutti reminds us that peace is a tireless commitment, a neverending task, involving the promotion of a culture of encounter where the common good and the human person is at the centre of all political, social and economic activity (2020: n. 232, 233). johan galtung, considered the father of peace studies, who distinguished between negative peace as the absence of violence or war, and positive peace as the integration of human society, has long called for the need for sustainable peace building. (galtung, 1969). fifty years after his writings became known, together with george webel, he published the handbook on peace and conflict studies, a rich volume which in itself is evidence of the serious and broad nature of this field of study today. he wrote: “looking back, say 50 years, the progress in peace and conflict studies is astounding, as evidenced by the chapters in this book. perhaps one of the most important factors indicative of this progress, present in all chapters, is the use of the word ‘peace’ itself. peace is used unashamedly, no apology needed, as a subject to be explored in all possible directions, no holds barred.” (galtung & webel, 2007: 397) we pray our world leaders as well as people at the grassroots and at every level of society will continue to explore all possible non-violent directions towards human security and sustainable peace, with ‘no holds barred’. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 176 references alexandra, andrew (2015). ‘liability, war, and peace’. the philosophical forum. pp. 41-53 bond, douglas, kruegler, christopher, powers, roger s. & vogele, william b. (eds.) (1997, 1st edition). protest, power, and change: an encyclopaedia of nonviolent action from act-up to women’s suffrage. routledge cahill, lisa sowle (2019). ‘just war, pacifism, just peace, and peacebuilding’. theological studies, vol. 80(1) 169-185 francis, diana (2013). ‘making peace global’. peace review: a journal of social justice. vol. 25:1. pp. 42-50. gdams 2020 statement (2020). ‘healthcare not warfare’ available at https://www.peace-edcampaign.org/healthcare-not-warfare-gdams-2020-statement/ hill, hamner (2010). can just war theory survive the war on terror. the journal of the institute of justice & international studies. pp. 77-86 jackson, peter (oct. 2020). ‘the vatican says no to just war, upsetting the ny times’, https://www.fairobserver.com/region/europe/peter-isackson-pope-francis-the-vaticancatholic-church-just-war-ny-times-christianity-27697/ accessed december 2020 johansen, robert (2017). ‘the global forum: developing a grand strategy for peace and human security: guidelines from research, theory, and experience’. global governance 23, pp 525-536. lederach, john paul (1999). the challenge of the 21st century just peace. utrecht: european centre for conflict prevention. in p. b. peace, 35 inspiring stories from around the world, pp. 27-36 meisels, tamar (2014). fighting for independence: what can just war theory learn from civil conflict. social theory and practice, vol. 40, no. 2, april: 304-326. o’driscoll, cian (2011). talking about just war: obama in oslo, bush at war. politics vol. 31(2), 82–90. orend, brian (2006). the morality of war. canada: broadview press. pax christi (2016). ‘appeal to the catholic church to re-commit to the centrality of gospel nonviolence’. consensus statement of the conference on nonviolence and just peace, rome, april 2016. available at pax christi international website, https://www.paxchristi.net/news/appeal-catholic-church-recommit-centralitygospel-nonviolence/5855 philpott, daniel & power, gerard (2010). strategies of peace. oxford university press. pope francis (2020). fratelli tutti, encyclical on fraternity and social friendship. dublin: veritas. ryan, cheyney (2013). ‘pacificism, just war and self-defense’. philosophia 41: 977-1005. shao, caroli (summer 2019). ‘comprehending just peacemaking theory and its application to the rwandan genocide’. available at https://collected.jcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1118&context=mastersessays steering committee of the joint evaluation of emergency assistance to rwanda (march 1996). the international response to conflict and genocide: lessons from the rwanda experience. available at https://www.oecd.org/derec/unitedstates/50189764.pdf unoda (united nations office for disarmament affairs) (april 2020). rethinking unconstrained military thinking. occasional papers, n. 35. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 177 van der linden, harry (2005). ‘questioning just war theory: review of michael walzer, arguing about war, new haven: yale university press (2004)’ radical philosophy review. pp. 235-239. webel, charles and galtung, johan, eds. (2007). handbook of peace and conflict studies, routledge. weber, rachel n. (2020). ‘military-industrial complex’. encyclopædia britannic. available at https://www.britannica.com/topic/military-industrial-complex education in the light of deut 6: 8: a panacea to curbing the acts of banditry, kidnapping and terrorism in the middle belt region (north central) nigeria bulus audu makama, phd department of christian religious studies, kaduna state university abijahabm@gmail.com & george odafe, phd department of christian religious studies, kaduna state university george.odafe@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya abstract this study argues that education is a panacea to the recurrent ethno-religious violence and insecurity in the middle belt of north central nigeria perpetrated under the banner of faith and god. the study argues that some of the perpetrators of this viciousness deliberately distort scriptures to gratify their selfish interests and in the process manipulate unsuspecting believers to assist them in their narcissistic and cruel interests. to change this retrogressive narrative, the article contends that educati on is the answer to preventing the perennial violence in the middle belt. this demands educating the citizenry of the middle belt to eschew every feature that encourages violence and insecurity. taking deut 6:8, the paper presents the procedure to adopt in going about educating the people of the middle belt. with a close reading of deut 6:8, the paper asserts that the educating must be given to all human beings, and in every facet and forum of life. the purpose is to engrain in them the measures and modalities for averting drives that lead to violence and insecurity in the middle belt. key words: education, deut 6:8, insecurity, middle belt, development introduction: motivation for the study michael kodzo mensah describes education as the act of transferring knowledge in the form of experiences, ideas, skills, customs and values from one person or another or from one generation to generations. he argues that such transfer of knowledge, which is all-encompassing, economic, socio-cultural, religious, and moral, is intended to ensure that younger generations are equipped with the tools required not simply for survival but for the advancement of society1. this education can be acquired formally or informally, verbally or nonverbally or in written form. education gives birth to knowledge and it is the key to remedy and curbing insecurity, globally and locally. this is because insecurity/violence (heb. ָסָמח) is a threat found throughout human history and can be traced to biblical times.2 since independence from the british on 1 october 1960 through the 1980s to date, ethnic and religious violence have become disturbingly 1 michael kodzo mensah, “shema as paradigm (dt 6:4-9). the bible, education and the quest for development in contemporary ghana”, scriptura 122/1 (2023), 3. 2 eben scheffler is a professor from unisa. in his article “reflecting on (non-) violence in the book of deuteronomy in (old testament) canonical context,” he argues that, in recent pentateuch scholarship, the book of deuteronomy is allocated a central place. this is not only with regard to the history of the origin of the pentateuch, but also in constructing the theology of the pentateuch, even the tanach, at large. scheffler, e. 2014. “reflecting on (non -) violence in the book of deuteronomy in (old testament) canonical context.” old testament essays 22(2), 579-596. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.21646.33605 124 more frequent in nigeria, and their levels have increase day-by-day in the middle belt of north central nigeria.3 in the middle belt, violence has been denoted as a common means of resolving conflict in its societies. this is a painful development since violence always leaves a lot of problems in its wake. therefore, insecurity and violent conflict prevention is an imperative to be pursued in all fronts, because ethnic and religious violence undermine the status of christian believers as children of god. one of the most preventative measures of conflicts in the middle belt is education. and the bible has glowing examples of how to go about the education process. this conviction has motivated this study to argue that sufficient or quality education has the potentials to curb insecurity. for insecurity undermines development and as well human dignity in the middle belt region. any activity which undermines human dignity denies the middle beltans their inalienable gift from god. the quality of the gift is aptly expressed by nico vorster 4: theologically speaking, humankind is god’s property. humans belong to their creator, for they are his workmanship and are obliged to do his will. persons do not belong to other persons and therefore have a god-given property in their own person. this entails that persons are entitled to god-given rights that protect their basic properties; it also implies the correlating duty to respect similar properties of other individuals. the human person’s most basic property is the right to dignity. christian ethicists have, at least since the time of ambrose of milan, grounded their understanding of human dignity in the biblical concept of the imago dei, a concept which indicates the basic unity of humankind. according to this view, human dignity entails that human beings are entitled to be treated as worthy of respect and concern, because they stand in a special relationship to god. as observed above, violence against humans undermines the dignity of its victims. the violation of human dignity is sinful because it defies god by alienating the god-given property from its beneficiary. to uphold this dignity, this paper takes the prescription in deut 6:4-9 to teach the paradigm for pursuing human dignity in the middle belt, by suggesting ways of preventing unnecessary reoccurrence of violence in the region. the method to be employed to exegete the text is close reading. the history and socio-cultural context of the middle belt5 the middle belt region of north central nigeria predominantly consists of the gbagyi, birom, jugun, idoma, tiv, mada, egon, hausa and fulani, kurama, amawa, gure, 3ayuba, mavalla, conflict transformation: churches in the face of structural violence in northern nigeria. (woodstock road: regnum books international, 2014) and bulus audu m, “a theological interpretation of violence (ָסָמח) in relation to joshua, son of nun: a paradigm for a christian conflict prevention in northern nigeria” (phd dissertation stellenbosch university, 2020). 4vorster, n, “a theological perspective on human dignity, equality and freedom” in verbum et ecclesia, (2012) 33(1): 1-6. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/v33i1.719. 5to understand the background of northern nigeria, the study briefly talks about nigeria as a whole. however, the focus is specifically based on kaduna and plateau states in which the two are part of the 19 states in northern nigeria. it is assumed that the outcome for kaduna and plateau states regarding violence could be representative of similar occurrences in northern nigeria. this is because kaduna state is the state of the researcher’s origin while plateau is the researcher’s neighbouring state. the researcher understands the violent conditions in kaduna and plateau well than in other places due to their proximity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 125 surubu, tsam, ikulu, atyap, bajju, ham, kaninkom, koro and many others tribes. in 1900, nigeria became a british colony. this was a result of the 1885 treaty of berlin which granted northern nigeria to britain. britain already had a protectorate in southern nigeria. frederick lugard, who was the british governor at the time, negotiated with and sometimes coerced the emirates of the north into accepting british rule. in pursuit of this objective, lugard realised that the best option was to seek the consent of the local rulers through a policy of indirect rule. in the indirect rule administrative system, the british utilised traditional rulers and their traditional political institutions to govern the people. laws and policies were formulated and enforced through this indirect rule. traditional rulers only served as intermediaries between the people and the british government. in 1914, lugard decided to merge the northern nigerian protectorate with southern nigeria.6 the middle belt is a multi-ethnic society that is rich in similar traditions and customs that are both indigenous and modern. these traditions and customs are embedded in a very rich and diverse cultural heritages which are upheld and hallowed, religiously. the cultural heritages are showcased in many festivals which provide entertainment to the people and visitors from many nations all the year round. the indigenous way of dancing, songs, and dressing during their annual cultural days have won pride of place at international festivals.7 these cultural heritages equally provide the veritable tools of unity and progress for the various ethnic groups in the region.8 the socio-cultural context of the middle belt is highlighted in its cultural treasures and artefacts which occupy significant places of honour in galleries throughout the nation and beyond. the belt is known for different types of arts, which primarily include ivory carving, grass weaving, wood carving, leather and calabash work, pottery, painting, cloth weaving and glass and metal work. the belt’s clothing is unique and attractive. lace, jacquard, adire, and ankara are some of the materials used to make dresses in nigeria. the people wear agbada (bubbanriga) caftan and western attire too.9 the common religions in the middle belt include christianity, islam and african traditional religions (atr). the quantity of contemporary christian-muslim population ratio is a highly contentious issue. however, there is a widespread belief that nigeria as a whole is equally divided between christians and muslims, although there are many other religious groups which form part of the population.10 and the 6osuji, innocent, 2014. 7ayuba, mavalla, conflict transformation: churches in the face of structural violence in northern nigeria. (woodstock road: regnum books international, 2014)and nguvugher, c. d,conflicting christologies in a context of conflicts: jesus, the isawa, and christian-muslim relations in nigeria (bukuru, jos: acts, 2010). 8ezekiel, l. g, “a missiological critique of the world council of churches’ notion ofjustice peace: its implication and contextual relevance for overcoming violence and peacebuilding in the multireligious community of jos, nigeria” (phd dissertation, university of kwazulu-natal south africa, 2015). 9osuji, innocent, “the nigerian culture and traditions: nigeria the giant of africa (2014)”availableat:https://osujiinnocent.wordpress.com/nigeria-independent/the-nigerian-culture-andtraditions// (accessed 28th september 2015). 10stefanos, n, foundation publication: religious intolerance: a threat to nigeria unity (jos: stefanos foundation, 2010). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 126 middle belt is no exception to this controversy. the region has an estimated 200 ethnic language groups11 whose citizenry are predominantly farmers. the hausa majority in the core northern nigeria do not recognize the predominance of christian population in the region.12 this dominance is informed by the fact that christianity has had a great impact in the region through the provision of good education, health, and some social amenities. the refusal of the hausas to accept christian dominance has partly been responsible for some of the most heinous attacks of christians for their faith and their growing population.13 until recently, its people were generally hospitable and accommodating; and so, they coexisted peacefully with each other as nigerians. the region’s contemporary history has reduced it into a hot bed of violent circumstances and epitomic life threatening happenings in northern nigeria. this unfortunate developed has deprived the region its appellate as a place where unity is realised in the midst of diversity. while there are many reasons for insecurity in the middle belt region, in most cases, they are reduced to either religion or ethnic conflicts because these are the most convenient reasons which can generate support. these infantile reasons gain support because of improper education. it is the argument of this paper that if the citizenry of the middle belt is properly educated, religion and ethnicity will not be reasons for violence in the region. aside religion and conflicts, this paper discusses below some other areas of which the people of the belt need to be educated about in order to forestall the reoccurrence of violence in the region. exegesis of deut 6:8. deut 6:8 is collocated in deut 6:4-9 which has been described by elisha kwabena marfo as a self-contained unit marked by “hear o israel” in v. 4 and a paragraph marker called a setuma in v. 914. it is not easy to determine the literary form or genre of the text15. but the content of deut 6:4-9 is technically called the shema. it has been described as the foundation of the jewish faith, and is an exhortation to israel to acknowledge god as her own. deut 6:4-9 is so foundational that it is recited by observant jews as a morning and evening prayer. since we are applying a close reading of this text, this paper shall not concentrate on the reactional history of the text nor shall we concentrate on the syntax of the text. our concern is the pedagogical importance of the passage, because the pericope outlines the foundational elements of instruction, those to be instructed and even the time of instruction. michael mensah observes that the nature of the instruction the text 11gat, a., and yakobson, a, nations: the long history and deep roots of political ethnicity and nationalism (london: cambridge university press, 2013). 12matthew kukah h,democracy and civil society in nigeria (ibadan: spectrum books ltd, 1999)and daniel, nicodemus. p, “preaching reconciliation: a study of the narratives in genesis 37-50.” phd dissertation. stellenbosch university, 2017). 13kadala, e, turn the other cheek: a christian dilemma (bukuru: african christian textbooks (acts), 2009) and ezekiel, l. g, 2015). 14 elisha kwabena marfo, “an exegetical study of deuteronomy 6:4 and its educational/missiological implication in africa”, journal of aiias african theological associations 6 (2-17), 79-80. 15 bruce e. willoughby, “a heartfelt love: an exegesis of deuteronomy 6:4-19”, restoration quarterly 20 (1977) 73-87. 75 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 127 prescribes is however not a matter of absolute consensus16. this is true because the text may imply a mechanistic rote method of education of simple repetition. this is not the concern of this paper. it showcases the process of education. deut 6:4-9 is divided into two parts: 6:4-5 and 6:6-9. verses 4-5 introduces the socalled urdenteronomium in deuteronomy 12-26 and it concludes in deuteronomy 28 with the first blessings and curses. these verses are also understood as a declaration of faith, with verse 7 as an injunction to educate the children through the monotheistic creed, and verses 8-9 as the injunction to memorise the words through the use of phylacteries and door inscriptions. the difficulty, admittedly, is where to place verse 6. however, our concern in this paper is verses 7-9 which talks about the manner of instruction of the shema. the method of instruction of the shema is based on the principle of diligence, regularity and pragmatism. from this passage, we derived three dimensions of education. the first is in verse 7a with the verb šinnēn which means “to repeat, sharpen”. the emphasis is to be laid on repetition. the mode of instruction is underscored by the piel verb dibbēr in verse 7b. dibbēr highlights giving constant and repetitive instructive through spoken words. what comes across in verse 7 according to michael mensah is a cognitive or intellectual dimension of education, aimed at equipping the child with the knowledge of god’s law17. however, the point being equipping the child with knowledge by repeatedly and constantly speaking about it. combined with verse 9, verse 8 drives at involving the sense and the holistic aspect of man in the education: physical development, intellectual growth, spiritual maturity and social interaction. elisha kwabena marfo contends that when these areas are not fully developed, then education has not achieved its right goal and purpose on the individual18. from the foregoing, the education measures adopted to prevent violence conflicts in order to avoid debasing human dignity in the middle belt must be constant and repetitive. it must be spoken of in every forum and at every given opportunity. the medium of this constant education must be positively employed. it should exist to ensure that it serves to promote the features which encourage peaceful coexistence. it should not be the avenue for the wrong dissemination of information. the areas where this is to be happen is what we shall concern ourselves with below. education/the media education is vital because the situation in the middle belt is so volatile that violence can sometimes be ignited even by what is not necessarily part of the region. educating communities and the society about happenings around them through the media is one of the factors that unintentionally reduce or contributes to some of the insecurities experienced in the middle belt region. by reporting things that are happening in the world the media is providing a good service to the world. however, some of the reports bear unintended consequences. this happens when the media repeatedly underscores an insignificant issue. tensions that take place in other parts of the world when reported 16 michael kodzo mensah, “shema as paradigm (dt 6:4-9), 4. 17 michael kodzo mensah, “shema as paradigm (dt 6:4-9), 7-8 18 elisha kwabena marfo, “an exegetical study of deuteronomy 6:4”, 82-83. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 128 in nigeria lead to conflict among inhabitants of the middle belt region. for example, conflicts between muslims and european people or american people can provoke tensions and even open conflict between muslims and christians in the middle belt. unfortunately, sometimes people in nigeria will identify with conflicting groups overseas and associate local people with the enemies of the group they identify with overseas. such knowledge comes through media and that makes media to be identified as one of the factors that can ignite conflict in nigeria. sometimes, an incident that took place and is reported by the media in the middle belt may confirm stereotypes that one group holds about the other group and sometimes leading to tensions.19 if christians and muslims are engaged in a conflict somewhere in the world, through media such news reaches the middle belt as well. when such news reaches the region, it is not impossible that such news can trigger “revenge” attacks on the locals on something they are not part of or even do not know about. for example, the issue of salman rushdie’s satanic verses became an issue of contention in nigeria. in kaduna, the researcher’s home city, there were marches by muslims to hand over a letter of protest to the british consul. despite the fact that deut 6:8 calls for educating people at all times and in all facets, educating citizens wrongly about happenings around them through the media is not part of the goals of this pericope. to incorrectly educate people is another factor that causes or fuels religious, political, economic and ethnic conflict in northern nigeria. through the media, people tend to perceive conflict in one place as part of a conflict in another, causing enmities in one part of the country to spill over into other regions. an act of violence in one place is used to confirm the stereotype of the enemy in another place, or even to provoke revenge or reprisals attacks elsewhere in the world. against this backdrop, therefore, any offensive incident perpetrated against islam (for an example by any western country) leads to a backlash on christians in the middle belt. so also, offensive incidents perpetrated against political parties and ethnic groups often leads to clashes. triggers of some of these conflicts are neither from the middle belt nor from other parts of nigeria, but outside the country. a clear example of this ugly phenomenon of destructive education through the media is the danish cartoons which triggered off much destructions in many states in nigeria.20 what have danish cartoons created by a journalist sitting in the comfort of his office in denmark to do with a poor man/woman thousands of miles away in hot kaduna, kano or maiduguri? the media was wrongly utilized to exacerbate conflicts by giving a biased account. this could also be seen in the february 2000 sharia riot and the november 2008 conflict in kaduna and jos, plateau state, nigeria. the british broadcasting corporation (bbc) and voice of america (voa) hausa service were media houses that gave accounts that fuelled the conflict.21 media should learn to educate people properly according to the spirit of deut 6:8. again, however, the media remains one of the important institutions in public governance. the public expects the media to provide information and create platforms for open conversation or dialogue on issues affecting the people. one of these issues 19kadala, e, (2009). 20 ibid, 2009:78. 21 ibid. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 129 includes conflict prevention, mitigation and transformation, while in some cases, the media transmission of fake news have escalated violent conflicts. the media are both a friend and a foe to a peace process. the media can foster human security if genuine news is aired but there is also evidence that the media can reinforce motives for fuelling wars especially when news transmitted are insightful and inflammatory. they can be instruments for peace and conflict management, which promotes messages and strategies that can lead to peaceful agreements and tolerant behaviour in a given society if their news is not biased, offensive or provocative. however, the media can also be a weapon of violence, propagating biased information and manipulating societies or groups in conflict with divisive ideologies and harmful actions.22 from the foregoing, the need for religious and secular education to everyone irrespective of age or class is the drive deut 6:8. to follow this text’s expectati ons is to proffer panacea to insecurity in the middle belt region. deut 6:8 requires that respect for parent, leaders and everyone in a reciprocal manner would help avert channels of insecurity. consequently, deut 6:8 calls for constructive drive to effect ive education and communication through the media on rules and regulations that unite on matters of religion and ethics needs to be pursued. educating citizens through the media to provide and create platforms that will result to conflict prevention and transformation is sine qua non. political affiliation in the middle belt, ethnicity is a social phenomenon that is manifested in interactions among individuals of different ethnic groups. this is within a political system where language and culture are the most prominent attributes. according to çancı and odukoya,23 “[t]he formation of dialects within languages was one of the ways in which ethnicity – both small-scale and large-scale – became fixed in nigeria.” historical events like the jihad (holy war) of usman dan fadio, and colonialization have led to the growth and spread of the hausa/fulani hegemony in northern nigeria. this is why the hausa/fulani would always want to rule the country like in the period of president muhammadu buhari, a hausa/fulani from the northern part. the event made this group a very strong force, which has manipulated political and economic power in the north to its advantage. the jihad has subjugated independent communities and tribes under the emirates created by it. while on the other hand, colonialism has cobbled together independent communities that had successfully resisted the jihad under the leadership of the emirs for easy maintenance of indirect rule. consequently, ethnic conflicts have arisen as efforts by subjugated communities to free themselves from the age long domination by the hausa/fulani. a typical example of this age long struggle is the zangon kataf conflict of kaduna state in may 2002. according to mavalla (2014:114), since colonialism, the kataf people have been subjugated under the emir of zaria, and the emir chose their local rulers or district heads. the kataf people accused the emir of zaria of favouring the hausa settlers in cases of land disputes and also accused him of treating them as slaves in their motherland (mavalla, 2014:114-116). 22ezekiel, l. g, 2015:91-92). 23çancı, h and odukoya, o.a. “ethnic and religious crises in nigeria: a specificanalysis upon identities” (1999–2013). the european journal of social science research, 23 (3), (2013) 87-110. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 130 similar cases of minorities trying to gain political freedom from pre-colonial and colonial subjugation exists in the north. for example, is the tafawa balewa religious cum ethnic conflicts of bauchi state, which have persisted for a long time. kadala (2009:105) points out that the underlying factor of violence in bauchi state is the hausa/fulani attempting to totally subject the seyawa people of bauchi state to the scope of their feudal exploitative system. today, christ ians in northern nigeria are becoming economically dynamic and powerful. due to settlers from the south and east, in the north, there has been an increase of indigenous christians who are up and rising to break the muslim monopoly of the economy. for example, the dry season farming sector is an area where the hausa/fulani were in control before, but today indigenes are firmly in control and are doing well (kadala, 2009:105). from the foregoing discussion, it has become clear that the hegemony hitherto enjoyed by the hausa/fulani of northern nigeria has dwindled (mavalla, 2014:114-116; afanifowose, 1982:1). the few educated elites among the hausa/fulani are afraid because of the precarious position in which they live. the last resort for the hausa/fulani is violence.24 this underscores the hausa adage which says “tabarmar kunya, da hauka ake nade ta” which simply means, “the shamed will resort to anything to cover his shame”. since the culture of the middle belt region reveres honour and shame,25 no one will like to be shamed as such violence has become the last resort to hausa/fulani group. therefore, the fact remains that the spates of insecurity we see within the middle belt today are means through which the hausa/fulani are trying to get their grip back on their lost glory. deut 6:8 calls for a persistent education on the right political attitude and dispensation that builds and enables growth. the following are the major political conditions that have led to violent reactions and confrontation in kaduna, jos and beyond in the middle belt. this has led to scores of deaths and massive destruction of lives and property. if there are particulars of the education deut 6:8 calls for, find them below: i) the political condition of the imposition of candidates to contest certain political electoral positions by the government and political parties. for example, the ruling party against the popular will of the people, contributed greatly to instigating violence in the area and beyond (ezekiel, 2015:84). this is most pertinent in southern kaduna where political contestation has been high as religious and ethnic affiliations have been used in fuelling the process. the ruling political party has been accused of complicity 24 individual and groups throughout history, have, in one form or another, resorted to violence or its potential use as a tactic of political action. violence has been used by groups seeking power, by groups holding power, and by the groups in the process of losing power for many decades ago in nigeria. also, violence has been pursued in the defence of order by the privileged, in the name of justice by the oppressed, and in the fear of displacement by the threatened (anifowose, 1982:1). 25the concept honour and shame is a compound word that refers to social evaluations of behaviour and the partial loss of dignity or respect in the presence of others by an individual (bulus, 2017:193).desilva (2008: 287) elucidate that, “honour refers to the experience of being esteemed by one’s group or other social entities on the basis of embodying that which is deemed desirable, virtuous and socially productive. shame refers, generally, to the opposite experience of being devalued and belittle on the basis of failing to measure up to transgressing the same.” invariably, the concept honour goes beyond wealth, while shame provokes a feeling of low esteem on the wrong doer, regardless of the person’s objective status. in honour and shame cultures, mostly in africa and parts of asia, people would go to the extent of killing others as a way of revenging the death of their fellow brother just to regain their dignity or the dignity of their ethnic, political or religious group. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 131 in the imposition and non-adherence to the principles of internal democracy within the party structure and governance framework (ezekiel, 2015:84). ii) again, some government policies suggest exclusion of some groups from active involvement in governance. to further worsen the situation, government infrastructural projects are hardly, not sited or undertaken in some areas that are considered either as strongholds of the opposition or presumed clusters for the non-natives. such government policies include guidelines for accessing educational scholarships awarded by the state government and other educational and health incentives (ostien, 2009: 13; 29 and ezekiel, 2015:84). iii) other reasons that causes religious and ethnic violence include tension that are likely to end in violent insurrection. these comprises of certain statements and actions of political leaders that are gratifying and/or tolerant to religious sentiment. it is a common phenomenon that some government officials and prominent political actors who prey on religion are often religionist politics. such actions make the political space nonneutral and unsafe for those considered to not belong to the so-called religious majority. religion and ethnicity are used not only as a cloak for trying to gain political power but also as a means for trying to gain economic wealth. this is because some politician and individual has and are enjoying the recurrent violent activities (insecurity) in the middle belt region and will not want it to end. in essence, the study is making a case that people use religion to “justify” violence or “motivate” violence even though their real motivations are not religious but political and/or economic. economic factors the quest for economic gain is often a cover for perpetrating violence in the middle belt. as such, economic policies and resource distribution play a significant role in the life of any society. in this regard, any imbalance or depravation in economic projection and distribution may adversely undermine the well-being of the society, leading to civil strife and citizens’ dysfunction. some of the noticeable economic factors and forces that have led to the disruption of peace and peaceful coexistence in kaduna, jos and by extension northern nigeria include the following: i) the growing population of unemployed and unemployable youths has contributed to the insurrections experienced in kaduna, jos and beyond. the jobless youths are easy prey to be used by conflict mongers to foment and cause trouble that often leads to senseless destruction of lives and property. similarly, the collapse and destruction of some business facilities and premises (shopping malls and main market spaces) which hitherto have served as major enterprises and sources of economic empowerment for many individuals created unrest and despondency, thereby aggravating the worsening condition of the populace.26such situations have undoubtedly contributed immensely 26 economically, one can say that the recurrent violence in northern nigeria has caused the region to become backward and underdeveloped. unemployment has become rampant due to the closure of many factories/industries as a result of violence. livelihood has become very difficult since a lot of people have lost their properties or jobs. as of today, the rate of poverty is higher in the northern part than in the southern part of the country. in his view, chiroma (2014:86) submit that “[m]any resources that were meant for development projects have been diverted to relief services and the deployment of security personnel.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 132 to the insecurity experienced in the middle belt region and most especially kaduna, jos and their environs. ii) the unequal access to resources and limited job opportunities is another economic factor of the recurrent violence in northern nigeria. it is strongly argued by samuel kunhiyop (2010:110) that: “economic tension also rises when new resources, hitherto unallocated, are to be distributed, and when the new patterns of distribution create alterations in the existing ranking of individuals.” the lack of job opportunities has no doubt played an active role on the violent conflicts experienced. this is not a case of gaining employment but a situation of having a job that can give the huge population of jobless youths some means of income and sustenance. after completing their studies in both primary, secondary and tertiary institutions, a lot of youths roam the streets due unemployment. with this situation the youths are easily dragged into violence of any kind either ethnic, religious or political. therefore, job creation is by and large a panacea to the current insecurity militating against the flourishing of the region. iii) one other economic factor to the recurrent insecurity in the middle belt is that when kaduna and plateau state governments banned the use of motorcycles for commercial purposes (popularly known as okada). the action of the government aggrieved the youths and resulted in violent protest in kaduna and other parts of northern nigeria. the use of motorcycles (motorbikes) for commercial purposes has been a common means of income for a number of households in the region. it got worse when proper arrangements for alternatives were not made by government to cushion the anticipated negative impact of the ban. this thereby forced the youth to resort to violence, protesting the actions of government and insensitivity to their plights (krause, 2011:26). the quality of education that is needed to teach the youth and the larger society how to generate wealth must be constant and regular as deut 6:8 prescribes. this is imperative because it is indisputable that poverty or economic disorder has profound effects on the peace of any human society (ezekiel, 2015: 87). poverty and economic dislocation have contributed heavily to the violent conflicts experienced in kaduna, jos and beyond. poverty dehumanizes and also takes away the dignity of the human person. worse of all, it makes the human person susceptible to commit crime and be turned into a tool for violence. job creation as well as legitimate acquisition of wealth is helpful for peace building in the middle belt region. conclusion the growth and development of any nation or regions within it cannot be attained with an adequate pattern, structure and system of education. where the citizenry lack education they become open to preventable violence. this article taking the forceful call for education through teaching in deut 6:8 calls for the need for a constant effort at educating the citizenry of the middle belt in fronts. the article contents that it will help curb the recurrent insecurities through banditry and kidnapping within the middle belt of north central nigeria. the paper asserts that where there is adequate security, there will be political and socio-economic development within the region. this study submits that the recurrent insecurity in this region has caused it preventable backwardness and underdevelopment, because the region is faced with an army of the unemployed, difficult livelihood and bleak future. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 133 however, a new middle belt is possible if education is considered as a remedy. education should be measured as a blessing not a cause to the under development of the region for the flourishing of every sons and daughters of the soil. references anifowose, remi. 1982. violence and politics in nigeria: the tiv and yorub experience. lagos: nok publishers. arnold, guy. 1977. modern nigeria. london: longman group limited. audu, bulus. m. 2016. “abuse of power and sexual violence: a close reading of 2 samuel 11 against the background of boko haram atrocities in nigeria.” mth thesis stellenbosch university, stellenbosch. audu, bulus. m. 2020. “a theological interpretation of violence (ָסָמח) in relation to joshua, son of nun: a paradigm for a christian conflict prevention in northern nigeria.” phd dissertation stellenbosch university. biwul, joel k.t. 2017. “brothers in conflict: reading the prophet obadiah against the context of the political and religious hostility and violence in nigeria.” old testament essays, 30(1), pp.30-55 bulus, zahariah. t. 2017. “sin of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation: an appraisal of exodus 20:5 and deuteronomy 5:9 in relation to an african theological understanding of original sin.” phd dissertation, stellenbosch university. burns, a. 1972. history of nigeria. london: george allen and unwin ltd. çancı, h and odukoya, o.a. 2013. “ethnic and religious crises in nigeria: a specific analysis upon identities” (1999–2013). the european journal of social science research, 23 (3), 87-110. crowder, m. 1962. the story of nigeria. london: faber and faber. daniel, nicodemus. p. 2017. “preaching reconciliation: a study of the narratives in genesis 37-50.” phd dissertation. stellenbosch university. desilva, d.a. 2008. “honour and shame.” in tremper longman iii and peter enns (eds.) dictionary of old testament wisdom, poetry & writings. england: inter -varsity press. ezekiel, l. g. 2015. “a missiological critique of the world council of churches’ notion of justice peace: its implication and contextual relevance for overcoming violence and peacebuilding in the multi-religious community of jos, nigeria.” phd dissertation, university of kwazulu-natal south africa. falola, toyin. 1998. violence in nigeria: the crisis of religious politics and secular faseke, babajimi o. 2019. “nigeria and the organization of islamic cooperation: a discourse in identity, faith and development, 1969–2016” in religions, 10(3): 156. ideologies. rochester, ny: university of rochester press. gat, a., and yakobson, a. 2013. nations: the long history and deep roots of political ethnicity and nationalism. london: cambridge university press. kadala, e. 2009. turn the other cheek: a christian dilemma. bukuru: african christian textbooks (acts). kukah, m. h. 1999. democracy and civil society in nigeria. ibadan: spectrum books ltd. kunhiyop, s. 2008. african christian ethics. nairobi: hippo books. krause, j. 2011. a deadly cycle: ethno-religious conflict in jos, plateau state, nigeria. geneva: geneva declaration secretariat. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 134 marfo , elisha kwabena. 2017. “an exegetical study of deuteronomy 6:4 and its educational/missiological implication in africa”, journal of aiias african theological associations 6. 74-84. mavalla, a. 2014. conflict transformation: churches in the face of structural violence in northern nigeria. woodstock road: regnum books international. mensah, michael kodzo. 2023. “shema as paradigm (dt 6:4-9). the bible, education and the quest for development in contemporary ghana”, scriptura 122/1 1-14. nguvugher, c. d. 2010. conflicting christologies in a context of conflicts: jesus, the isawa, and christian-muslim relations in nigeria. bukuru, jos: acts. osuji, innocent. 2014. “the nigerian culture and traditions: nigeria the giant of africa.”availableat:https://osujiinnocent.wordpress.com/nigeria-independent/thenigerian-culture-and-traditions// (accessed 28th september 2015). ostien, philip. 2009. “jonah jang and the jasawa: ethno-religious conflict in jos, nigeria.”muslim-christian relations in africa .http://www.sharia-inafrica.net/pages/publications.php accessed on 9 may 2012. scheffler, e. 2014. “reflecting on (non-) violence in the book of deuteronomy in (old testament) canonical context.” old testament essays 22(2), 579-596. smith, m. 2015. boko haram: inside nigeria’s unholy war. london/new york: i. b. tauris and co. ltd. stefanos, n. 2010. foundation publication: religious intolerance: a threat to nigeria unity. jos: stefanos foundation. vorster, n. 2012. “a theological perspective on human dignity, equality and freedom” in verbum et ecclesia, 33(1): 1 -6. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/ ve. v33i1.719. willoughby, bruce e. 1977. “ a heartfelt love: an exegesis of deuteronomy 6:4-19”, restoration quarterly 20. 73-87. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 135 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 103 modern information ecosystem and the philosophy of posttruth: a paradigmatic inquiry through the lens of matthew (28:11-15) ikechukwu anthony kanu, phd department of philosophy, veritas university abuja abuja ikee_mario@yahoo.com https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1977-202x & michael paul pilani, phd department of theology, veritas university abuja pilanimaria@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6549-6201 abstract this paper explores the phenomenon of post-truth through an innovative philosophico-biblical approach, analysing the concept in the light of a paradigmatic hermeneutic of matthew (28:1115). the study employs yuval harari’s perspective on misinformation as a framework, alongside a detailed exegesis of the matthian passage, for an understanding of the phenomenon of post-truth. the analysis reveals key post-truth elements in the biblical narrative. these elements mirror contemporary post-truth tactics, demonstrating that the prioritization of narrative power over objective reality is not a uniquely modern phenomenon. the philosophico-biblical approach underscores the complex interplay between truth, power, and social cohesion, providing a deeper understanding of how false narratives gain traction. the paper submits that the recognition of the historical continuity of truth manipulation enhances the ability to critically engage with information and foster a more truth-oriented society. keywords: post-truth, philosophical, biblical, matthew, manipulation introduction in an era where the concept of truth seems increasingly fluid, the phenomenon of “post-truth” has emerged as a critical subject of inquiry across multiple disciplines. this paper seeks to examine the dynamics of post-truth through an innovative philosophico-biblical approach, focusing on the narrative found in the gospel of matthew (28:11-15) as a historical case study. through the interweaving of contemporary philosophical discourse with biblical exegesis, the study aims to demonstrate that the challenges posed by post-truth are not merely a product of our digital age but are rooted in longstanding human tendencies to manipulate and construct reality. the philosophico-biblical approach employed in this paper offers a unique contribution to the ongoing scholarly on-going conversations about post-truth. this bridging of ancient wisdom with modern philosophical thought, seeks to provide a more nuanced understanding of how false igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 104 narratives, powered on emotions and subjective whims, gain traction and persist in cultural consciousness. this interdisciplinary perspective allows the study to explore the complex interplay between truth, power, and social cohesion in both historical and contemporary contexts. furthermore, our research addresses key philosophical questions about the nature of truth, the social construction of reality, and the ethical implications of narrative manipulation. we examine how economic disparities, institutional authority, and strategic communication have been leveraged throughout history to shape public perception and suppress inconvenient truths. this historical continuity challenges humanity to reconsider its approaches to combating misinformation and fostering a more truth-oriented society in the digital age. the manipulation of truth for political or social gain is not a modern phenomenon. scholars have long recognized that the construction and dissemination of narratives, regardless of their veracity, have been crucial tools in shaping public opinion and maintaining power structures. arendt’s seminal work on totalitarianism highlights how the systematic distortion of truth can undermine the very fabric of society. 35 orwell’s prescient observations about political language and its capacity to make “lies sound truthful and murder respectable” continue to resonate in contemporary discussions of post-truth politics.36 these foundational thinkers laid the groundwork for understanding how deliberate fabrications can become entrenched in public consciousness, a theme that is central to our analysis of matthew (28:11-15). the concept of post-truth has gained significant traction in recent years, with scholars across disciplines attempting to define and analyze its implications. mcintyre argues that post-truth represents not a denial of truth’s existence, but rather the subordination of truth to personal beliefs and political agendas.37 this perspective aligns closely with our examination of how religious authorities in matthew’s narrative prioritized maintaining their power over acknowledging factual events. kalpokas extends this analysis, suggesting that post-truth thrives in an environment where the rapid circulation of information outpaces our ability to verify its accuracy.38 this modern dynamic adds a new dimension to the age-old practice of truth manipulation, as illustrated in our biblical case study. the intersection of philosophy, theology, and narrative studies provides a rich terrain for examining the nature of truth and its manipulation. ricoeur’s work on narrative identity offers insights into how stories shape our understanding of reality, both individually and collectively.39 this philosophical framework complements theological perspectives on truth, such as those 35 arendt, h. 1966. the origins of totalitarianism. new york: harcourt, brace & world, 474. 36 orwell, g. 1968. “politics and the english language”. in sonia orwell and ian angus (eds.). the collected essays, journalism and letters of george orwell (122-130). london: secker & warburg, 127. 37 mcintyre, l. 2018. post-truth. cambridge, ma: mit press, 5-6. 38 kalpokas, i. 2019. a political theory of post-truth. cham: palgrave macmillan, 27-28. 39 ricoeur, p. 1984. time and narrative. kathleen mclaughlin and david pellauer (trans.). chicago: university of chicago press, 52-54. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 105 explored by vanhoozer, who examines the concept of truth in biblical narratives.40 by synthesizing these interdisciplinary approaches, the study can develop a more nuanced understanding of how narratives like that found in matthew 28:11-15 operate on multiple levels—historical, theological, and philosophical—to shape perceptions of truth. by examining post-truth through this philosophico-biblical lens, the paper intends to contribute valuable insights to ongoing discussions about epistemology, media literacy, and the nature of truth in our contemporary world. ultimately, this paper seeks not only to deepen our understanding of post-truth as a phenomenon but also to equip readers with a historical perspective that may enhance our collective ability to critically engage with information and navigate the complex landscape of truth and falsehood in the 21st century. philosophico-biblical approach the philosophico-biblical approach makes a beautiful combination of the theological and philosophical patterns of thinking and research. at the philosophical level, a conceptual approach is undertaken. the conceptual approach is undertaken at the philosophical level because philosophy engages mainly in the study of concepts with the aim of clarifying their objects and understanding them. given that an analysis of concepts may help the understanding of the phenomenon that the term denotes. at the level of theology, a biblical-exegetical method is adopted for the purpose of using philosophical concepts for a better understanding of scripture, and the employment of scripture to further a contemporary philosophical appreciation of reality. this complementary approach is based on the connection between theology and philosophy, as there is an inescapable philosophical element in every theology41. unlike the patristic approach that employed philosophy at the service of theology, giving christian interpretations to neoplatonic concepts such as logos, divine mind, soul, creation, problem of evil universals, particular, freedom and foreknowledge, thus creating no clear cut distinction between philosophy and theology42, the present approach employs philosophy and scriptural texts for the 40 vanhoozer, k. j, 1998. is there a meaning in this text?: the bible, the reader, and the morality of literary knowledge. grand rapids: zondervan, 198-200. 41 kanu, i. a. 2010. “a discourse on the romance between philosophy and christian theology”. international journal of theology and reformed tradition. 2. 185-198; kanu, i. a. 2011. “corruption in africa and its challenges for the enterprise of christian theology”. international journal of research in arts and social sciences. 4. 492-500; kanu, i. a. 2012. “on the possibility of miracles”. international journal of theology and reformed tradition. 4. 8189. 42 schulman, jana k. 2002. the rise of the medieval world: 500–1300: a biographical dictionary. westport, ct: greenwood press, 45; davies, brian. 2004. aquinas. continuum international publishing group. 14; gracia, jorge j. e. and noone, timothy b. 2003. a companion to philosophy in the middle ages. oxford: blackwell, 16; kretzmann, norman and stump, eleonore. 2002. the cambridge companion to augustine. cambridge, uk: cambridge university press, 50; hyman, j., walsh, j. j. 1967. philosophy in the middle ages: the christian, islamic, and jewish traditions. new york: harper & row; catarina dutilh novaes & stephen read. 2016. the cambridge companion to medieval logic. cambridge: cambridge university press igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 106 service of each other. therefore, while the exegesis of a scriptural text deepens an understanding of a philosophical concept, philosophical concepts, which are useful tools for clarification and development of ideas, helps a better understanding of what is happening in the scriptural text. in this case, the philosophico-biblical approach finds a nexus between the scriptural and the philosophical. theoretical framework harari developed a framework in which he argued that fake news is old news, implying that at the outset of the 21st century, truth is not in worse shape than it was in previous epochs. in arguing that it is not a new phenomenon, he avers that the fake news is a phenomenon that typifies homo sapiens, which is rooted in the human ability to create stories and fabrications and even believe them. he thinks that this is the basis of the human fabrication of myths, religions, and ideologies, which enable the creation of cooperation and ties between complete strangers43. the purpose for this fabrications is based on the preference of homo sapiens for power over truth, and have invested more time and effort in ruling the world than in trying to understand it. differentiating the approaches towards fake news in the different ages in human history, is the advent of technology, which enables the human person in the present age to tailor propaganda on an individual basis, and match the lies to the individual prejudices. these created stories, which are lies are used to reinforce the prejudices of those believing in them, to exacerbate the rifts in society, and puncture the democratic system from within. philosophical understanding of post-truth the concept ‘post-truth’ gained significant attention in recent years, particularly after being named the 2016 word of the year by oxford dictionaries44. post-truth describes a cultural and political context in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief45. in a post-truth society, the boundary between truth and falsehood becomes blurred, leading to a situation where subjective interpretations and false information can 43harari, n. y. 2018. op. cit. 44 oxfordlanguages. 2016. word of the year 2016. https://languages.oup.com/word-of-the-year/2016. oxford living dictionaries. 2016. op. cit. 45 harsin, j. 2018. “post-truth and critical communication studies”. oxford research encyclopedia of communication, 20; kalpokas, i. 2018. a political theory of post-truth. cham, switzerland, 23; cosentino, g. 2020. social media and the post-truth world order : the global dynamics of disinformation. cham: palgrave macmillan, 50. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 107 gain more traction than verified facts46. it represents a significant shift in the way information is perceived and disseminated. the question of truth has been a major preoccupation of philosophy, and perspectives on post-truth always draws from a particular theory of truth. even though scholars like baggini have argued that post-truth has nothing to do with the philosophical traditional theories of truth, when he wrote that: the merits of these competing theories are of mainly academic concern. when people debate whether there were weapons of mass destruction in saddam hussain’s iraq, whether global warming is real and anthropogenic, or whether austerity is necessary, their disagreements are not the consequence of competing theories of truth47. 46d’ancona, m. 2017. post truth: the new war on truth and how to fight back. london, 25; rommetveit, k. 2022. post-truth imaginations: new starting points for critique of politics and technoscience. london: taylor & francis, 16. 47 baggini, j. 2024. what can philosophy add to the post-truth crisis? https://www.thetls.co.uk/philosophy/contemporary-philosophy/post-truth-philosophers-essay-julian-baggini igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 108 however, looking at this more broadly, reveals that the issue of post truth cannot be discussed without relations to truth, which has been a major philosophical issue over the years. post truth draws on historical precedents, not only where propaganda and misinformation have been used to influence public perception48, but also in philosophy, where philosophers in the likes of hannah arendt, bruno latour, max weber, friedrich nietzsche, etc., constitute fundamental conceptual resource for the development of post truth theory. in recent times, it has been used to describe a distinctive kind of politics that is full of deception. arendt had argued that truthfulness and honesty have never been counted among the virtues of a politician49. discussions on post truth always goes back to orwell who wrote that: “political language – and, with variations, this is true of all political parties, from conservatives to anarchists – is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind”50. it is in this sense that hannah arendt and george orwell are considered among those who already in the mid-20th century identified the harbingers of the post-truth phenomenon51. the philosopher mcintyre argues that the post-truth phenomenon is not a denial of the existence of truth and facts, but the subjugation of facts to personal subjective perspective52. dennett, during an interview describes the post truth era as a period of epistemological murk and uncertainty, such that we have not experienced since the middle ages. marmot discussed the post truth phenomenon in relation to the lies of the brexit supporters and us president trump and his administration53. while the america philosopher frankfurt talked about post truth differentiating between a liar and a “bullshitter”, who both are concealing something from their audience54. in the face of these perspectives, brahms avers that: the variety of interpretations of the post-truth phenomenon reflects one of its most prominent characteristics – the confusion surrounding it and the difficulty in understanding it. but one common denominator within this diversity is the sense that something is happening: whether it’s an old phenomenon, a new phenomenon, or the revamping and intensifying of an old phenomenon, people are rallying around the new concept and calling it the post-truth phenomenon. all consider the post-truth phenomenon detrimental, and try to understand it in order to cope with it55. these notwithstanding, the advent of digital media and social networks has amplified the spread of misinformation, making it easier for falsehoods to reach a wide audience rapidly56. this digital 48 maras, s. 2013. objectivity in journalism. cambridge, u.k.: polity press; heit, h. (2018). “there are no facts ...’ nietzsche as predecessor of post-truth?”. studia philosophica estonica. 11 (1): 44–63; sokal, a., bricmont, j. 1999. fashionable nonsense: postmodern intellectuals’ abuse of science. picador usa; foucault, m. 2001. truth and power. in faubion, james (ed.). power: essential works of foucault. new press. 49 arendt, h. 1972. op. cit. 50 arendt, h. 1972. op. cit. and orwell, g. 1968. op. cit. 51 d’ancona, m. 2017. op. cit. 52 mcintyre, l. 2018. op. cit. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 109 landscape allows for the rapid dissemination of information without the rigorous vetting processes typically associated with traditional media outlets. in relation to politics, post-truth politics poses significant challenges for democratic societies. in a landscape where facts are sidelined, public discourse can become polarized, and trust in institutions can erode57, it can lead to a fragmentation of shared reality, where different segments of the population base their beliefs on entirely different sets of facts. more so, the erosion of a common factual foundation undermines informed decision-making, which is crucial for the functioning of a healthy democracy and society58. addressing the post-truth phenomenon requires a multifaceted approach59. biblical exegesis of matthew 28:11-15: a post-truth narrative historical and literary context the historical context of matthew (28:11-15) is situated in the immediate aftermath of jesus’ resurrection. it involves the roman occupation of judea and the political tensions between jewish religious authorities and jesus’ followers. from the literary point of view, this passage is unique to matthew’s gospel and provides a counter-narrative to the resurrection story. in this regard, the author of the gospel presents two narratives of the event: on the one hand, from the immediate context, the disciples of jesus were convinced that the tomb where jesus was buried is empty, implying that jesus rose from the dead (28:1-10). on the other hand, in the context of the present text (28:11-15) there is scheme by the elders to conceal the truth through falsification and financial gratification of the truth bearers, namely the guards. the text runs as follows: while they were going, behold, some of the guards went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. and when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sum of money to the soldiers and said, “tell people, ‘his disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ and if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” so they took the money and did as they were directed; and this story has been spread among the jews to this day. literary structure of matthew 28:11-15 53 marmot, m. 2017. “post-truth and science”. the lancet 389. no. 10068: 497-98. 54 frankfurt, h. g. 1986. on bullshit. princeton and oxford: princeton university press, 19. 55 brahms, y. 2024. philosophy of post-truth. https://www.inss.org.il/publication/philosophy-of-post-truth/#_edn12 56 mcintyre, l. 2018. op. cit. 57 suiter, j. 2016. post-truth politics. political insight. 7(3): 25-27. 58 lewandowsky, s., ecker, u. k. h., & cook, j. 2017. beyond misinformation: understanding and coping with the “post-truth” era. journal of applied research in memory and cognition. 6(4): 353-369. 59 wardle, c., & derakhshan, h. 2017. information disorder: toward an interdisciplinary framework for research and policy making. council of europe, 33. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 110 the literary structure of matt 28:11-15 in this paper is built around the element of post-truth therein. based on this, it comes in a linear form with four divisions designated as a, b, c and d. “a” is tagged as “initial report” consisting of only one verse (v. 11), where the guards are said to have reported the strange experience they had. however, in vv. 12-13 (b) the elders, fearing the implication of the report, contrived and carefully crafted a conspiracy that would counter the disciples’ resurrection claims. in “c” (v. 14) they hatched a preemptive damage control that would assuage pilate’s punitive measures. the narrative ends by reporting the execution of the false narrative and successful outcome, which is designated as “d” (v. 15). therefore, for the purpose of this paper, the literary structure of matthew 28:11-15 is spelt out thus: initial report (v. 11), conspiracy formation (vv. 12-13), preemptive damage control (vv. 14) and execution and propagation of false narrative (v. 15) a. initial report (v. 11) in v. 11 the story commences with a presentation of two groups hurrying away from the tomb with a message to deliver: “the women have a message of hope and victory for the disciples, the guards one of confusion and failure for the priests.”60 thus, the guards are reported as going to report to the chief priests (archiereusin) about their experience of earthquake and “what took place” which moved them to say, “truly this was the son of god!” in 27:54. the term koustōdias, which is the plural of the latin loanword, custodia refers to guard composed of soldiers. these guards may most probably be referring to those pilate speaks about in 27:65. this links matt 28:11-15 to 27:6266.61 france argues consistently and convincingly that the soldiers may most probably be jewish temple guards and not roman platoons as attested in 27:65-66. in this regard, he advances a few reasons: first, he argues that if they were roman soldiers, they would have reported to pilate and not the priests. second, their willingness to take orders from the priests about what they are to say and not pilate instead and even accept money as bribe; and third that the priests and elders believe that it is possible for pilate to be kept in the dark about the matter.62 still in v. 11, the title archiereusin refers to the head of the jewish religion and president of the sanhedrin as attested to in mark 14:60f, 63; john 18:19, 22, 24.63 albright and mann aver that by reporting to the chief priest first, the soldiers must have thought that the matter is of utmost concern to the former.64 some writers affirm that perhaps matthew writes about the experience and report of the soldiers to underscore the point that the empty tomb story is accepted by both believers and unbelievers.65 b. conspiracy formation (vv. 12-13) 60 france, r. t. 2007. the gospel of matthew. grand rapids: wm. b. eerdmans publishing, 1104. 61 harrington, d. j. 1991. the gospel of matthew. in daniel j. harrington (ed.). sacra pagina, vol. 3 (400-415). collegeville, mn: liturgical press, 410. 62 france, r. t. 2007. op. cit., 1104. 63 gingrich, w. 1979. archiereus. in greek-english lexicon of the new testament. grand rapids: zondervan, 27. 64 albright, w. f. and mann, c. s. 1971. matthew, the anchor bible. new york: doubleday, 359. 65 albright, w. f. and mann, c. s. 1971. op. cit. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 111 fearing that the deception they had earlier suspected of the disciples might come to fruition,66 the chief priests contrive with jewish elders to conceal the testimonies of the soldiers.67 they are charged to change the narrative – from what they saw and attested to (27:54) to accusing the disciples of stealing jesus’ body from the tomb 28:130. to buy their silence, they (chief priests and elders) bribed them. the money (arguria) given in bribe is qualified here with the adjective hikana (large). however, gingrich says that while the term can be literally translated as “large,” in the given context, it refers to something that has reached or attained the “extent that is quite enough.”68 france corroborates this rendering and posits that matthew employs the use of hikanos idiomatically to mean “substantial quantity.” perhaps the rendering arguria hikana here therefore, is meant to convey the idea that the bribe is “enough money,”69 quite a sufficient sum,70 beyond resistance and could easily buy the truth from the soldiers. at this juncture, it is worth noting that the plan of the high priests and elders, who have been the chief antagonists of jesus since the beginning of the passion story, is called a symboulion. according to timothy friberg, this is a consultation with a negative and malicious connotation which is a consistent characteristics of the sanhedrin in their relation to jesus71 (see matt 12:14; 22:15; 27:1, 7). it suffices to say therefore, that what is playing out here is an assembly of powers (chief priests and the elders), whose agenda is deliberate fabrication and “plotting together” powered by economic manipulation.72 c. pre-emptive damage control (vv. 14) the religious leaders believe that pilate, like them, would be keen to prevent any public excitement or potential rebellion that might arise due to the discovery of jesus’ empty tomb. they assume pilate shares their concern about maintaining order and avoiding unrest among the people.73 thus, to ensure that the soldiers do not entertain fear that pilate may impose punitive measures on them upon learning of the falsified report, they (jewish leaders) allay their anxiety through proactive damage control measures. the word employed for convincing pilate here is “peisomen.” in his analytical lexicon friberg renders the word peisomen variously as “convince, persuade, strive to 66 ibid 67 pilani, m. p. 2023. amos polemical mission against religious hypocrisy (amos 5:21-27) in african context. in michael ufok udoekpo, mary jerome obiorah, and luke e. ijezie (eds.). biblical approach to mission in context: a festschrift in honour of sister professor okure, shcj. paulines publications west africa. 68 gingrich, w. 1979. op. cit. 93; danker, f. w. 2000. who is also of the same opinion in his work, the concise greek-english lexicon of the new testament. chicago: university press, 20. 69 france, r. t. 2007. op. cit. 1103. 70 arndt w. f. and gingrich, w. f. 1979. hikanō. a greek english lexicon of the new testament and other early christian literature. chicago: university press, 374. 71 friberg, t. 2005. symboulion. in analytical lexicon of the greek new testament. victoria, bc: trafford publishing, 350; harrington, “the gospel of matthew,” 410. 72 france, r. t. 2007. op. cit., 1105. 73 harrington, d. j. op. cit. 410. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 112 please (possibly with bribes or promises)” or even “to mislead” by persuasion.74 france believes that the jewish elders “know their man well enough to be confident that, if necessary, he can be kept happy with a further bribe.”75 at this point, with sufficient financial gratification and punitive threat neutralized the truth as initially attested to by the soldiers can be laid off, even perpetually as the following verse (15) affirms. d. execution and propagation of false narrative (v. 15) the falsified narrative appears to be easily propagated. but what they propagate is what they have been instructed (edidachthēsan). this word is an aorist passive of the verb didaskō (to teach, instruct). the gospel writer may have employed the use of this benign rendering, to show how easily it is for the chief priests and elders to conceal truth and lie; and that they even go as far as to “teach” or even give express “instruction” to others to do the same, so long as it suits their agenda against jesus.76 france insists that “the fact that the story is spread among jewish people is further indication that it is jewish temple guards who were spreading it, not roman soldiers”77 especially as the audience would typically be jewish people and not non-jews. the impression one gets here is that the guard readily agrees to conceal the truth to spread the false version of the resurrection story out of deference for the elders as well as the financial gratification that comes with the reverence they have for their employees, if we are agree with france on the identity of the guards. two key factors are to be noted in the conclusion of the narrative, namely, the widespread dissemination of the false information and the long-term entrenchment of the lie in public consciousness as well as the unfortunate damaging effect of these two factors78. assessing post-truth through the lens of matthew 28:11-15 from the foregoing exegesis of matthew 28:11-15, the sacred author presents a striking example of post-truth dynamics in biblical narrative. this passage, unique to matthew’s gospel, offers a counter-narrative to the resurrection story, illustrating how truth can be manipulated and false information propagated for political and religious ends.79 the passage begins with two competing narratives: the disciples’ belief in jesus’ resurrection and the guards’ report of the empty tomb.80 this sets the stage for the manipulation of truth that follows. the juxtaposition of these narratives creates a tension that reflects the broader conflict between jesus’ followers and the religious establishment. the guards’ report to the chief priests serves as a catalyst for the subsequent actions, 74friberg, t. 2005. peitho. analytical lexicon of the greek new testament. victoria, bc: trafford publishing, 350 75 france, r. t. 2007. op. cit., 1105. 76 ibid, 1106 77 ibid 78 france, r. t. 2007. op. cit., 1106. 79 pilani, m. p. 2023. socio-political neophobia: the bane of advancement in nigeria as a nation. in kanu i. a. et al (eds.). the economy of leadership and social transformation in contemporary africa: essays in honour of professor ichoku hyacinth ementa (227-250). jos: augustinian digital press. 80 friberg, t. 2005. op. cit., 350. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 113 highlighting how unexpected information can prompt powerful entities to engage in truth manipulation. the chief priests and elders, representing established power structures, engage in a “symboulion” – a consultation with malicious intent.81 their response to the guards’ report demonstrates key elements of post-truth. first, there is a deliberate fabrication of falsehood, as they construct a narrative that directly contradicts the guards’ testimony. this fabrication is not merely a passive denial but an active creation of an alternative reality. second, the passage reveals collaboration among influential figures to construct an alternative narrative. the chief priests and elders work together, pooling their authority and resources to create a more convincing lie.82 this collaborative aspect underscores how post-truth often relies on networks of power rather than isolated individuals. third, the use of economic power to manipulate truth-bearers is evident. the religious leaders leverage their financial resources to influence the guards’ testimony. this demonstrates how economic disparities can be exploited in post-truth scenarios, with those in power using their wealth to shape narratives favorable to their interests. the use of “arguria hikana” (sufficient money) to bribe the guards is a crucial post-truth element.83 this highlights how economic incentives can be leveraged to suppress truth and promote falsehood. the term “hikana” suggests that the amount was carefully calculated to be just enough to ensure compliance, reflecting a strategic approach to truth manipulation. this financial aspect of posttruth demonstrates how economic pressures can be used to override ethical considerations and personal integrity. the leaders’ promise to “peisomen” (persuade or possibly mislead) the governor showcases another post-truth tactic: anticipating and neutralizing potential challenges to the false narrative.84 this preemptive action reveals a sophisticated understanding of information control. by addressing potential obstacles in advance, the religious leaders aim to create a seamless and unassailable false narrative. this aspect of post-truth highlights how those in power can manipulate not just the immediate narrative but also shape the context in which that narrative will be received and evaluated. the instruction (edidachthēsan) given to the guards to spread the false story represents the institutionalization of the lie.85 this demonstrates how post-truth narratives can be systematically disseminated through official channels. the use of the term “edidachthēsan” (were instructed) implies a formal process of indoctrination, suggesting that the false narrative is not merely suggested but becomes an official account that the guards are expected to propagate. this institutionalization of falsehood fired by emotions shows how post-truth can become embedded in 81 friberg, timothy, barbara friberg, and neva f. miller. 2000. analytical lexicon of the greek new testament. grand rapids: baker, 200. 82 pilani, m. p. 2022. amos 7:10-17 a paradigm for interpreting modern ministers. in bernard ukwuegbu et al. (eds.). the bible on ministries and ministers, ed. , acts of the catholic biblical association of nigeria vol. 14 (6987). port harcourt: caban, 87. 83 gingrich, f. wilbur. 1983. shorter lexicon of the greek new testament. chicago: university of chicago press, 83. 84 france, r. t. 2007. op. cit. 1104. 85 albright and mann, matthew, op. cit. 359. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 114 societal structures, making it increasingly difficult to challenge or correct. matthew’s note that this story was “spread among the jews to this day” illustrates the long-lasting impact of successfully propagated post-truth narratives.86 this final observation underscores the enduring nature of wellcrafted false narratives. once a post-truth account gains traction, it can persist in the public consciousness for generations, shaping perceptions and beliefs long after its initial creation. this longevity highlights the challenges of combating post-truth narratives once they become established. as a concluding remark, matthew (28:11-15) provides a remarkably modern illustration of posttruth dynamics. it demonstrates how powerful entities can construct and disseminate false narratives, using financial incentives, institutional authority, and strategic communication to suppress truth and shape public perception. the deliberate creation and spread of misinformation by those in authority illustrate a key aspect of post-truth culture. this biblical account therefore, serves as a cautionary tale about the vulnerability of truth in the face of coordinated misinformation campaigns, offering insights that remain relevant in today’s complex information landscape. the dynamics of post-truth: a philosophico-biblical approach post-truth, as a concept, represents a significant challenge to both philosophical and theological understandings of truth and reality. from a philosophical perspective, post-truth can be seen as an evolution of longstanding questions about the nature of truth, knowledge, and social reality. the biblical narrative in matthew (28:11-15) provides a striking historical example that illustrates many of the key dynamics at play in our modern conception of post-truth. at its core, post-truth represents a prioritization of narrative power over objective reality. as harari argues, this tendency is deeply rooted in human nature and our capacity for creating and believing in shared fictions. the biblical account in matthew demonstrates this clearly, showing how religious and political authorities actively constructed a false narrative to counter the truth of jesus’ resurrection. this aligns with philosophical perspectives that highlight how power structures often shape what is accepted as “truth” in society. the post-truth phenomenon, as seen in both contemporary discourse and the biblical narrative, reveals a complex interplay between truth, power, and social cohesion.87 in matthew’s account, the chief priests and elders prioritize maintaining their authority and preventing social upheaval over adherence to factual truth. this echoes modern concerns about how post-truth politics can undermine democratic institutions and social stability. philosophically, post-truth challenges traditional epistemological structures. it doesn’t necessarily deny the existence of objective truth, but rather suggests that emotional resonance and personal belief often take precedence over factual accuracy in shaping public opinion. the biblical narrative 86 davies, w.d. and dale c. allison. 1997. a critical and exegetical commentary on the gospel according to saint matthew. edinburgh: t&t clark, 19. 87 usman j. h. and paul, p. m. 2024. “conflict resolution beyond identity: insights on peacebuilding from acts 6:17." journal of religion and society. 13. 58-73. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 115 illustrates this by showing how a fabricated story, backed by authority and financial incentives, can gain widespread acceptance despite contradicting eyewitness accounts. the use of economic power to manipulate truth, as seen in the bribery of the guards in matthew’s account, reflects philosophical concerns about the intersection of capitalism and truth. it raises questions about how economic disparities can be exploited to shape narratives and control information, a concern that remains highly relevant in our current media landscape. from a theological perspective, the post-truth narrative in matthew presents a profound challenge to the concept of divine truth. it shows how even in the face of miraculous event, human institutions can construct alternative realities that obscure spiritual truths.88 this tension between divine revelation and human manipulation of truth remains a central concern in many theological traditions. the longevity of the false narrative, noted by matthew as persisting “to this day,” speaks to philosophical ideas about the social construction of reality. it demonstrates how collectively accepted narratives, even if false, can become deeply embedded in cultural consciousness and resist correction over time. in both the biblical account and modern post-truth discourse, the researchers see a strategic approach to narrative construction. the preemptive measures taken by the religious leaders to neutralize potential challenges to their false narrative mirror contemporary concerns about the sophisticated nature of misinformation campaigns. the philosophico-biblical approach reveals that post-truth, far from being a purely modern phenomenon, has deep historical roots. it suggests that the struggle between factual truth and socially constructed narratives is an enduring aspect of human society. however, modern technology and media landscapes have amplified these dynamics, creating new challenges for maintaining a shared understanding of reality. in conclusion, this philosophico-biblical discourse on post-truth highlights the complex interplay between truth, power, narrative, and social reality. it demonstrates how ancient wisdom and contemporary philosophical thought can provide valuable insights into navigating the challenges of our current “post-truth” era. by recognizing these longstanding dynamics, one may be better equipped to critically engage with information and strive for a more truth-oriented society. recommendations based on the foregoing study, the following recommendations would be of great service for the good of modern society where post-truth is increasingly becoming a norm: a. develop educational curricula that integrate historical examples of truth manipulation, such as matthew (28:11-15), alongside contemporary case studies. this approach can enhance critical thinking skills and media literacy by demonstrating the long-standing nature of post-truth tactics. b. interdisciplinary research collaborations between philosophers, theologians, and media studies experts should be encouraged to further explore the intersection of ancient wisdom 88 richard, g. e., paul, p. m. and azuwike, a. 2024. "religio-political situation in northern nigeria: the limits of the law and fault lines in christian response to islam". journal of religion and society. 13. 1-17. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 116 and modern information ecosystems. this could yield novel insights into combating misinformation. c. ethical guidelines for institutional communication that draw on both philosophical principles and religious teachings about truth-telling should be implemented. this could help organizations resist the temptation to engage in post-truth practices for short-term gains. d. public awareness campaigns that highlight the historical continuity of truth manipulation should be created, using examples like the matthew narrative to illustrate how post-truth tactics have evolved over time. this could foster a more discerning public attitude towards information consumption. e. in an era when scientific innovations are enhancing the quality human progress, there is need to develop ai and machine learning algorithms that incorporate historical patterns of truth manipulation to better detect contemporary forms of misinformation and manipulated news. this technologically enhanced approach, grounded in historical understanding, could improve fact-checking processes. f. community stakeholders should establish interdisciplinary think tanks focused on developing strategies to promote a “truth-oriented society.” these groups should draw on philosophical, theological, and social scientific expertise to address the complex challenges of maintaining shared truths in a diverse, digital world. conclusion this philosophico-biblical examination of post-truth, centered on matthew (28:11-15), reveals that the manipulation of truth for political and social gain is not merely a modern phenomenon but a persistent feature of human society. this bridging of ancient wisdom with contemporary philosophical thought, is employed to illuminate the persistent nature of truth manipulation and its profound implications for our understanding of reality, power, and social cohesion. the striking parallels between the post-truth dynamics evident in the biblical narrative and those observed in our current digital age underscore the timeless challenge of maintaining a shared understanding of truth. from the deliberate fabrication of falsehoods by the chief priests to the economic manipulation of the guards, the matthew account presages many of the tactics employed in today’s post-truth landscape. this historical continuity suggests that our struggle with truth is not solely a product of technological advancement but is deeply rooted in human nature and social structures. however, this realization need not lead to pessimism. instead, it equips one with a broader perspective from which to address contemporary challenges. the recognition of the long-standing nature of truth manipulation, can aid one to develop more nuanced and effective strategies for promoting critical thinking, media literacy, and ethical communication in our increasingly complex information ecosystem. moreover, the analysis highlights the crucial role of interdisciplinary approaches in tackling the post-truth phenomenon. meanwhile, the synthesis of philosophical inquiry, theological insight, and historical analysis demonstrated in this study offers igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 117 a model for future research, emphasizing the value of diverse perspectives in understanding and addressing multifaceted societal issues. as the human society traverse the turbulent waters of our post-truth era, the lessons drawn from matthew’s account remind all that the pursuit of truth has always required vigilance, critical thinking, and a willingness to challenge entrenched narratives. the persistence of truth manipulation throughout history should not discourage one but rather steel our resolve to foster a more truth-oriented society. in conclusion, this study not only deepens our understanding of posttruth as a phenomenon but also provides a foundation for developing more robust strategies to combat misinformation and promote truthfulness in public discourse. by learning from both ancient wisdom and modern scholarship, humanity can better equip itself and future generations to discern truth amidst the cacophony of competing narratives, ultimately striving for a society where factual accuracy and ethical integrity are valued above expedient fictions. in doing so, humanity can honour the enduring quest for truth that has characterized human inquiry throughout the ages, while addressing the unique challenges of our time with wisdom, discernment, and unwavering commitment to the pursuit of truth. bibliography albright, w. f. and mann, c. s. matthew, the anchor bible. new york: doubleday, 1971. arendt, h. crises of the republic; lying in politics, civil disobedience on violence, thoughts on politics, and revolution. harcourt brace jovanovich, 1972. arendt, h. the origins of totalitarianism. new york: harcourt, brace & world, 1966. arndt w. f. and gingrich, w. f. hikanō. a greek english lexicon of the new testament and other early christian literature. chicago: university press, 1979. baggini, j. what can philosophy add to the post-truth crisis? https://www.thetls.co.uk/philosophy/contemporary-philosophy/post-truth-philosophers-essay-julianbaggini, 2024 brahms, y. philosophy of post-truth. https://www.inss.org.il/publication/philosophy-ofpost-truth/#_edn12, 2024. carole c. “interview with daniel dennett”. the guardian, february 12, 2017. catarina d. n. & stephen r. the cambridge companion to medieval logic. cambridge: cambridge university press, 2016. cosentino, g. social media and the post-truth world order: the global dynamics of disinformation. cham: palgrave macmillan, 2020. d’ancona, m. post truth: the new war on truth and how to fight back. london, 2017. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 118 d’ancona, m. post-truth: the new war on truth and how to fight back. london: ebury press, 2017. danker, f. w. who is also of the same opinion in his work, the concise greek-english lexicon of the new testament. chicago: university press, 2000. davies, b. aquinas. continuum international publishing group, 2004. davies, w. d. and dale c. a. a critical and exegetical commentary on the gospel according to saint matthew. edinburgh: t&t clark, 19. foucault, m. truth and power. in faubion, james (ed.). power: essential works of foucault. new press, 2001. france, r. t. the gospel of matthew. grand rapids: wm. b. eerdmans publishing, 2007. frankfurt, h. g. on bullshit. princeton and oxford: princeton university press, 1986. friberg, t. peitho. analytical lexicon of the greek new testament. victoria, bc: trafford publishing, 2005 friberg, t. symboulion. in analytical lexicon of the greek new testament. victoria, bc: trafford publishing, 2005. friberg, t., barbara f. and neva f. m. analytical lexicon of the greek new testament. grand rapids: baker, 2002. gingrich, f. w. shorter lexicon of the greek new testament. chicago: university of chicago press, 1983. gingrich, w. archiereus. in greek-english lexicon of the new testament. grand rapids: zondervan, 1979. gracia, j. j. e. and noone, t. b. a. companion to philosophy in the middle ages. oxford: blackwell, 2003. harari, n. y. “the truth about fake news,” yediot ahronot. 20, 2018. harari, n. y. 21 lessons for the 21st century (kinneret-zmora-bitan dvir, 2018. harrington, d. j. the gospel of matthew. in daniel j. harrington (ed.). sacra pagina, vol. 3 (400-415). collegeville, mn: liturgical press, 1991. harsin, j.. “post-truth and critical communication studies”. oxford research encyclopedia of communication, 2018. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 119 heit, h.. “there are no facts ...’ nietzsche as predecessor of post-truth?”. studia philosophica estonica. 11(1): 44–63, 2018. hyman, j. and walsh, j. j. philosophy in the middle ages: the christian, islamic, and jewish traditions. new york: harper & row, 1967. kalpokas, i. a political theory of post-truth. cham, switzerland., 2018 kalpokas, i. a political theory of post-truth. cham: palgrave macmillan, 27-28, 2019. kanu, i. a. “a discourse on the romance between philosophy and christian theology”. international journal of theology and reformed tradition. 2. 185-198, 2010. kanu, i. a. “corruption in africa and its challenges for the enterprise of christian theology”. international journal of research in arts and social sciences. 4. 492-500, 2011. kanu, i. a. “on the possibility of miracles”. international journal of theology and reformed tradition. 4. 81-89, 2012. kretzmann, n. and stump, e. the cambridge companion to augustine. cambridge, uk: cambridge university press, 2002. lewandowsky, s., ecker, u. k. h., & cook, j. beyond misinformation: understanding and coping with the “post-truth” era. journal of applied research in memory and cognitio. 6(4): 353-369, 2007. maras, s. objectivity in journalism. cambridge, uk: polity press, 2013. marmot, m. “post-truth and science,” the lancet 389, no. 10068: 497-98, 2017. mcintyre, l. post-truth. cambridge, ma: mit press, 2018. mcintyre, l. post-truth. london and cambridge: mit press, 2018. mcintyre, l. post-truth. massachusetts: mit press, 2018. orwell, g.. “politics and the english language”. in sonia orwell and ian angus (eds.). the collected essays, journalism and letters of george orwell (122-130). london: secker & warburg, 1968. oxford living dictionaries. word of the year 2016-post truth. https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/word-of-the-year/word-of-the-year-2016, 2016 oxfordlanguages. word of the year 2016. https://languages.oup.com/word-of-the-year, 2016 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 120 pilani, m. p. amos 7:10-17 a paradigm for interpreting modern ministers. in bernard ukwuegbu et al. (eds.). the bible on ministries and ministers, ed. , acts of the catholic biblical association of nigeria vol. 14 (69-87). port harcourt: caban, 2022. pilani, m. p. amos polemical mission against religious hypocrisy (amos 5:21-27) in african context. in michael ufok udoekpo, mary jerome obiorah, and luke e. ijezie (eds.). biblical approach to mission in context: a festschrift in honour of sister professor okure, shcj. paulines publications west africa, 2023. pilani, m. p. socio-political neophobia: the bane of advancement in nigeria as a nation. in kanu i. a. et al (eds.). the economy of leadership and social transformation in contemporary africa: essays in honour of professor ichoku hyacinth ementa (227250). jos: augustinian digital press, 2023. richard, g. e., paul, p. m. and azuwike, a. "religio-political situation in northern nigeria: the limits of the law and fault lines in christian response to islam". journal of religion and society. 13. 1-17, 2024. ricoeur, p. time and narrative. kathleen mclaughlin and david pellauer (trans.). chicago: university of chicago press, 1984. rommetveit, k. post-truth imaginations: new starting points for critique of politics and technoscience. london: taylor & francis, 2022. schulman, j. k. the rise of the medieval world: 500–1300: a biographical dictionary. westport, ct: greenwood press, 2002. sokal, a. and bricmont, j. fashionable nonsense: postmodern intellectuals’ abuse of science. picador usa, 1999. suiter, j. “post-truth politics”. political insight 7(3): 25-27, 2016. usman j. h. and paul, p. m. 2024. “conflict resolution beyond identity: insights on peacebuilding from acts 6:1-7." journal of religion and society. 13. 58-73, 1973. vanhoozer, k. j. is there a meaning in this text?: the bible, the reader, and the morality of literary knowledge. grand rapids: zondervan, 1998. wardle, c., & derakhshan, h. information disorder: toward an interdisciplinary framework for research and policy making. belgium: council of europe, 2017. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 159 taxonomizing christian political participation and democratic deepening in contemporary nigeria hosea nakina martins department of christian religious studies, taraba state university jalingo hoseanakinamartins81@gmail.com & daniel d. zading, ph.d department of arts education, taraba state university, jalingo danielzading@gmail.com abstract nigeria is a pluralistic society where christianity, islam and african religion exist virally side by side. christian political participation for democratic consolidation in contemporary nigeria has been under threat due to lackadaisical attitudes of some christians, financial responsibility, lack of funding, prevalent rate of nepotism, tribalism, corruption, rigging, thuggery and threat to life. the paper is aimed at re-wakening consciousness and attitudes of christians towards active participation in political and democratic deepening in contemporary nigeria. also, the paper is a clarion call for christians from respective denominations to form one body and become active political participants in facets of political position by giving it the christian qualities. the paper made use of comparative, descriptive, field survey, participant observation and analytic methods of research. data were collected from the field by participant observation, focus group discussions (fgd) and books. the research uncovers that, lack of christians active participation in politics has yielded low result of democratic dividends and deepening which is lamentable today. other actions which render active christian political participation in democratic deeping include killing, rigging, nepotism, deformation of character, envy and hatred, religious sentiments, tribalism, threats to life, lack of show of love, wrong perception of politics as dirty games, injustice and lack of financial support. the research recommends active and genuine christian participation in politics in deepening democracy in contemporary time. the lives of christian politicians should also reflect that of christ who is an ideal role model for leadership. christian leaders should also encourage fellow christians to actively participate in politics in order to bring about the needed change where love , transparency, hardwork, equity and justice, and fear of god exist in a world inhabited by christ faithful. keywords: christian, contemporary, democratic, nigeria, politics and taxonomising introduction christianity is indeed theocentric religion which is pervasive and influential in modeling the lives of its adherents after its founder (jesus christ). hence, this monoththeistic religion exerts strong influence on politics especially in the areas of affiliation, campaign hustling, voting behaviour, public opinion and pressure groups… apart from participating in all political process, christians are natural citizens of the nation, and are expected to be conscious of their political right and responsibilities (dzurgba 22). hence, the dynamism of man is manifold: biological, active, logical, man is indeed un-escapable to its facets in daily life experiences. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 160 in gen (1:26-28), we were made to understand that god is the creator of man, who is both a social and religious being. god asserts with imperative that, man should subdue and conquer the world which is a political environment (julius 72). by virtue of man’s creation, he has the mental faculty to high rationality to rule over all that god created (charles, oral interview). man has the general direction of proceedings not only in the world but also the biological gardens in his self assigned superior position in creation, which he concedes in place of higher order of existence (oguche 37). man’s consciousness is a gift from god which he occupies in political events (39). it is worth gain saying that as asserts, almajiri political democracy requires some level of citizens participating in its process of decision making which many christians have failed to take cognizance of this opportunity by participating in political deepening of democracy in contemporary nigeria (oral interview). many christians see politics today as a dirty game; an activity of crooks, liars, criminals, thugs and as an institution, where nepotism, financial involvement and, occultic band and intoxication with power exist (ojo145). nigeria being a pluralistic nation where democracy is highly practiced since its inception on may 29th 1999, many christians failed to participate actively in politics in order to give it a true face of god' kingdom here on earth, and has created a vacuum where so many ills prevailed without being corrected through virtuous christians teachings on love, justice, fearness and active deepening of democracy in contemporary time (lydia, oral interview). a look at our political activities today is marked with full pledged of injustices, corruption, rigging, killing of opponents, use of diabolical powers to attack opponents, high involvement of politicians in secret cult organizations to seek for power and protection (augustina augustine, oral interview). there is also, lack of trust and fear of god among some christian politicians, representation and poor service delivery amongst others disgusting actions happening in politics. thus, with all these ungodly activities, many christians have failed to actively participate in order deepen political consolidation bearing christian virtues as integral recipe for an idle christian political participation for a better society(jerome, oral interview) . christians involvement in political deepening of democracy has not been effective as found among adherents of other faiths like islam and african religions(faith, oral interview). nigeria which happens to endowed with both human and natural resources; it has all it takes to make the citizens the happiest people on earth (“hope in a hopeless situation” 4). however, due to wrong perception and active christians participation in deepening democracy, essential christian values are left out in bringing the true face of god in a bitter politics like ours today. hence man is the only rational being capable of deciding about himself and with tendency to self realization (adah 16). but many christians failed to actively participate and deepen democracy in contemporary nigeria based according unchanged perception. furthermore, another worrisome scenario is the lackadaisical attitudes and lack of unanimous support and encouragement of fellow christians to participate in politics by deepening democratic in contemporary nigeria has become worrisome till day. it is interesting to reiterate further that, politics, which cuts across all facets of human life, which christians ought to actively involved in deepening and re-sharping its fruits for collective efforts has a long way to the promise land (gbadamosi 365). politicians have simply exalted fraud, to art and succeed in former enviable economic structure to ship load of wreck, which has continued unbated igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 161 (ojakamnor 90). hence, ungodliness found in democratic governance ravishing nigerian democratic system today is lamentable and until it’s addressed by christian active participation for the consolidation of democratic governance in contemporary nigeria, the institution will continue to be without being injected without religious vitality for democratic consolidation in contemporary nigeria (joy, oral interview). christians owed it a duty to actively participate in politics in order to change it's encapsulated negative narrative which constitute an impediment to christian political participation in deepening democracy in contemporary nigeria. the crus of this research is centred on exploring christian political in deepening democracy with the view of proffering some recommendations to shaping the face of democracy by christian involvement in politics. elucidation of key terms: i. democracy: democracy is delivered from o. greek words ‘deµos’ ‘demos’ the people and “kpatiav” ‘kratein’ to rule, which translates to mean a form of political system in which the people of a country rule themselves. it is basically a system of government where free and equal rights of participation of every person are unhindered by sex or state of birth (chidili 9). abraham lincoln defines it as “the government of the people, by the people and for the people, under the rule of law (jumma 2-3). fairchild also defines democracy as “philosophy or a social system that stresses participation in and proportional control of, the affairs of the community by the individual members, on the basis of his personal selfhood (9.v) as a human being, regardless of his qualities, rank, status, or possession (89). democracy further suggests conditions of equality and liberty which supports individualism. in addition, it suggests also the majoritarian devices by which society reaches conclusions about the programmatic content of its day-to-day practices (lenkin 71). ii. politics: politics from the greek word ‘πo^is, ‘polis’ which literally means city (bryan 202). in another word also politics means the theory, art and practice of government (fairchild 224). vernon further sees politics “as a struggle among actors pursuing conflicting as government, like in voting, forming political parties or in exerting influence (27). politics in gbenda' definition “is the means through which governance is made possible and effective (365). iii. christian: a christian is a servant/follower of christ. the word was first given to believers in christ in syria antioch by non christians because they see people following the teachings and way of christ. the word ‘christian’ appeared three times in new testament in acts 11:26, 26:28, 1st peter 4:16. in acts 26:28, herod agrippa ii used it satirically to paul saying, “almost thou persuaded to be a christian/a follower of christ. while in 1st peter 4:16. apostle peter wrote to warn the elects in parts of asia minor to not be ashamed if called on to suffer as christians (julius 68-69). anyacho went further to buttress similarly on who a christian is in this excerpt “a person who follows the teachings of jesus christ or one who believes in jesus christ” (192). a christian is also seen as that individual who having decided personally, acted upon his decision by accepting jesus christ as his lord and savior in response to god’s love towards mankind, assumed the responsibility for life in the world imitating christ (julius 69). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 162 biblical origins of political thought many people think that politics is not a biblical term or has its origin from the creation. god is the architect of creation and made men the care taken of all he has created. the bible is full of politics ranging from theocracy to monarchy, etc. even the trinity is not found anywhere in the bible yet it is one of our central christian belief in god the father, son and holy spirit (olatunde 52). the book of gen 1:1-12 did re affirm the power god gave man to subdue and conquer the earth.” power was created and embedded in man and woman by a sovereign or most powerful god. it is in this context that the man and woman are able to gain knowledge, express ideas, reasons, and critically make decisions, choices and exercise free will. god charged man to reproduce babies in order to increase the population of human beings on earth. haven completed his work of creation of political society, god exercise his devolution of power and delegation of duties. the sovereign god directed the couple saying ‘subdue’ the earth and have ‘dominion’ over it. this means that it is politics that determines the quality, quantity and houses, electricity, road construction, transport, communication and business (dzurgba 43&40). god himself is the ordainer and initiator of politics. he conducts the selection of leaders, approves, ordains, dethrones leaders or kings. no one can ascend to a throne, post, or an office without his approval (julius 72). as earlier reiterated, man was given power to exercise over things in the world. god endows man with ruling ability (gen 1:26-28). hence the whole earth is a political society, with man a political and rational being at the helm of affairs. in another instance again, god also appointed abraham to be the father of a multitude generation (nation) (gen 12). in gen 20:1-8 also, god is vividly seen controlling the political affairs in gerar where abimelech was king. in gen 41:37-46, we were meant to understand how god sponsored joseph, a slave that was sold by his brothers and he rose to the rank of a minister in charge of food in egypt during pharoah. the ascension of solomon to the throne in israel’s history was as a result of political scenario (1 kgs 1:28-48). the political election and ordination of jehu son of nimshi as king over israel was dramatic as instructed by the prophet (2nd kings 9:1-13). the book of esther (2:1-9) vividly expounds the divine program of a political agenda of persia and media with over 127 provinces. stretching from india to cush under the kingship of king xavier whose royal throne was the citadel of susa became queen not by chance, magic but by divine and political inter-play for the modifications of some political roles. furthermore, man is a social being who receives perfection from god as the origin of nature and political formulations to guard man in his dealing with his fellow beings (okeke 116). in another enticing episode to buttress the origin of politics from the biblical perspective, the mother of john zebeddee came to jesus and requested for a political appointment for her two sons in jesus’s cabinet. her request was this “let one of my sons sit on your right hand and the other one on your left (matt.20:20-28), (julius 573). from all these instance having here, they buttress that politics has its origin from god since the creation of man to govern the whole universe. there are many biblical instancesthat prove the origin or foundation of politics. democracy as governance method and model for efficacy in contemporary society igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 163 in this except, democracy is viewed as a method and a model for efficacy in contemporary society.it is indeed very important that every start on the aspects of democracy. these democratic process; and democracy is considered as a model of government that is democratic stand. democracy as a new method or process of government refers to how democracy functions in other words the basic principles involved in the operation of domestic system. thus, it vividly states the waya democratic government works as opposed to dictatorship. democracy as a model for efficacy in contemporary society refers to the actual structure or shape that democratic government takes. modern political scientists talk to socialist democracy. therefore, marxism and communism, conservative democracy typically obtainable in great britain and liberal democracy typically also obtained in the united states of africa (ukpong 101-102). barriers to christian democratic deepening in contemporary nigeria christian participation for democratic deepening in nigeria are hindered by the following factors: i. many christians see venturing into politics as a dirty game that only those who are greedy occultically quest for power and money, or even those who are morally corrupt and dishonest dable into it (innocent, oral interview). hence, nigerian politics has been perennially bedeviled by lies, deceit, bribery and corruption, nepotism; sit tightism, rigging and electoral malpractice and power intoxication. these summed cogent reasons constitute a big obstacle to their political participation for democratic deepening in contemporary nigeria (ojo 145). politics is an ungodly affair considered by many christians as a secular and non christian perspective (yams at 65). ii. many christians consider political participation as factor to spiritual derailment. thus, instead of christians to see joining politics as an activity to change its ugly face for the better political democratic realization of its dividend that has been bedeviled by immoral practices (yusuf, oral interview). for these reason, christians consider not joining politics as a spiritual derailment; where people search for occultic powers to secure seat or eliminate their opponents using charms and hired killers. thus, because of these factors which constitute in declining their spiritual state, they fear to join politics which they ought change its dirty facets impacts for good. hurera furthermore maintains that, "bad and dainting of notion of politics makes christians to stay of the game" (oral interview). there is also difficulty associated with politics. in like manner also, godfrey reiterates that, "some people resort to corrupt practices, abuse of the mandate poor masses, as well as violation of electoral laws, recruitment of ethnic militias, thugs, kidnappers, hooligans and assassins for the purpose of using violence to deal with rivals outside constitutional and lawful political processes" (oral interview). hence, christians feared participating in politics for this reason (julius 74). iii. another reason of not joining politics by christians is for the maintenance of true discipleship and total submission to loyalty and obedience to god, so that they are precluded from participating in any political activity (haniel,oral interview). thus, for such christians, they see their non participation in politics as way of maintaining themselves for the services of god. others refused participating in politics due to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 164 distraction from following the will of god if they ventured into political participation (julius 75). iv. inspite of all other problems bedeviling christian political participation in deepening democracy, there is also a challenge of separating the wheat from the chaft [good from the bad] (ojo 152). augustina further observed that, "christian feared unnecessary tension that might catch up with them" (oral interview). in view of the above, yusuf captured that, " this posed a serious challenge to active christian political participation in consolidating democracy in contemporary nigeria"(oral interview). our political landscape has also remained dominated by unnecessary acrimony and tension existing among political leaders today (mujah and udoma 10). v. attainment of political positions by our leaders today depend on violent financial strength, occultic promises to retain power, also posed a serious challenges to full christian political participation in democratic deepening in contemporary nigeria. as exhumed kotasori," one to succeed in today, politics he or she must have the financial muscles to compete and even contest for any political position because of the high cost of political party forms and campaigns" (oral interview). money is a legal tender that lack of it impedes fellow christians from venturing into politics talk more of deepening it in contemporary society for the betterment of humanity. vi. there is lack of unity among the various christians denominations of unanimously support christians vying for any political position (martina, oral interview). furthermore as maintained davoro, "many christians are divided, and they only attached support of relevance to their church or denominational membership" (oral interview). denominational rivalry is on the rise among christians, which has posed a big challenge to full christian participation in consolidating democracy in contemporary nigeria. helen laments sentimental statements like “is he from our church or which church does she worship?” often exercebate discrimination against supporting a unanimous candidate to vote for any political position (terence, oral interview). recommendations despite the challenges of christian political participation for democratic deepening in contemporary nigeria, the paper has the following recommendations: i. politics is in the biblical, and christians should get actively venture into it. christians are expected to function as harbingers of peace, love and justice for better realization of development (lami, oral interview). hence, authentic christian participation in political can bring about genuine and desired resolution for a true humanistic governance in the country (yamsat 6). also christian politicians should fulfill all godly promises, and political mandate in accordance with developmental program of enhancing the realization of equality, peace and justice an love which should be respected by all people (esthons and ima-abaking 92). ii. the church therefore should encourage the unity of all christians despite varying denominations existing. she should unite, support and encourage faithful christians, irrespective of sex, gender upon who god has bestowed the gift of political leadership to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 165 actively partake in politics and making genuine representation of god in the world of human affairs for the betterment and deepening of democracy in contemporary nigeria (james, oral interview). furthermore, the church should continue to educate and enlighten its members on the need to politically and actively join in the rescue mission of deepening democratic governance in contemporary nigeria. iii. christians must eschew denominational sentiment when it comes to selecting and electing leaders to represent the people in governance. ben further reiterate that, " christians should choose leaders who possessed high moral virtue in order to bring positive development in the country and not to comprise their quest for true humanism for mere material and selfish aggrandizement (oral interview). as dabot further reiterates that, christians should as chew political unhealthiness rivalry which is an impediment to full delivery of christ’s face in politics. hence, its good to always embark on positive projects for an overwhelming majority (115). iv. the church should continue to give moral support where and when necessary for the success of christians who join politics to emulate and x rayed. thus, let them be guided by the genuine love of christ and service to humanity (dasat, oral interview). christians who participate in politics should also truly represent the image and figure of god as the ordainer of just politics which should reflect in their lives in milieu. v. the church should continue to give educational services and moral services apart from spiritual education is the bedrock to any development, and development can only be realizable when unnecessary ingredients are cooked and consumed via education ( gamsari, oral interview). education also as we have seen already is an important cornerstone in democratic polity, and while the lack of it corrodes the basic foundation for true and active participation in democratic dispensation. christians should make adequate use of educational attainment for liberation from intellectual poverty (ukong 116-117). just as the early missionaries’ strife and brought education, contemporary church should be saddled with the responsibility to reinvigorate the educational institutions for the benefit of the masses. christians should regard education of their children in institutions of their choice as a major responsibility which must not be compromised under any hardworking circumstance (asaph, oral interview). hence parents should corporate with relevant authorities to ensure education is given place in their midst (ojo 148). vi. christians must be actively prayerful, lovable and never to compromise the ethics of their faith as heralds of god’s kingdom here by engaging immorality. they should be spiritually charged so as not to summon to any search for cultic powers to unethically deepening of democracy in contemporary nigeria which will be a total failure (gabriel, oral interview). vii. christians should allow their religious principles to guide their right resolutely and relentlessly for truth, justice and peace in the country so that respect for the love of god and the dignity of man would be firmly established. hence, christians should have it as a duty to remain firm and be inspired by the plan of god’s purpose to save mankind from sins by actively participating in political participation for deepening of democracy in contemporary nigeria (mujah and udoma 10). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 166 viii. equal opportunities should also be given to those who want to aspire to leadership positions in the political field (paschaline, oral interview). hence, such candidates should be known to be persons of proven moral integrity, who possess general leadership qualities and who put god first in their attitude to deepening democracy (ojo 147). ix. christian political leaders should exhibit sense of honesty and god fearing, responsible for the ethical probity of the entire citizens whom they come to serve (cukwurah 91). they should also be role model after christ in sharping the true face of nigeria politics with the need of giving it a purpose in a world of uncertainties will, and giving gods people the chance to be the imago dei (image of god) as the world watched to be humanly and spiritual reformed for good. y. hence, they are called upon to a lacritily participate in politics in order to exercise their true christian apostolate. a stand of disengagement from politics by christians is unrealistic, futile and self-defeatist. hence, christians should actively participate in politics by injecting ideal humanistic a value into it for better deepeing of democracy in contemporary time(patricia, oral interview). x. there should be contextualization of biblical interpretations for informed political participation and deepening( paschaline, oral interview). xi. in another vein, as maintained slyvanus, "there should also be strategic partnership between faith based organisations and democratic institutions"(oral interview). xii. capacity building with god fearing initiative for christian leaders in political deepening should be encouraged and sustain by relevant authorities(augustina augustine ,oral interview). conclusion politics frantically involved how to organize and govern the society for the interest of all. it is an urgent necessity which revolves around people, power distribution, application as well as control and management of labor, works and material resources, diplomatic relations and calls for social welfare, justice, emancipation, respect for dignity of all men as created by god. christian political participation in deepening democracy in contemporary nigeria is a welcome development. as further observed, "over the years, there has been lackadaisical attitude by christians in political participation and democratic deepening in contemporary nigeria has been very poor indeed" (ben, oral interview). virtuous teachings of christianity ought to have been a sign post to directing christians in bringing immediate picture of a just, religious and orderly system which has failed on the project by aloofing herself from participation (ben, oral interview). hence, the face of politics today has remained battered and lacking virtuous ingredients due to christian participation to salvage the system, politics cannot be separated from human behaviour of groups as well as individual in matters that have to do with the course of government and existing influence (raphael 27). christians should participate actively in politics as ordained by god and must fulfill their political promises, carry out their mandate in accordance with justice, righteousness, peace, love devoid of any rancor. hence their coming into politics as agents of moral and spiritual change, who will give a democracy a better humanistic shape amidst the evil rocking its true expression of love and consolidation in contemporary nigeria. furthermore, christian political participation igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 167 for deepening of democracy in contemporarily nigeria is one of the most vital activities which could foster the realization of peace, love, justice, and remedy to the battered image about balanced democracy which when integrated with godly vitality will necessitates greater efficiency and betterment of the masses. hence, sharing in the mission and agenda of jesus christ was not just lift in the hands of the apostles chosen and formed. christian participation in deepeming democracy and in contemporary nigeria is a step in the right direction for humanistic and godly sustenance of democracy in contemporary nigeria which is ravished by moral ills. works cited anyacho, ernest o. essential themes in the study of religion. obudu: nigeria link printing and publishing, 2005. print. adah, peter. “a theological response to the problem of ecology in nigeria”. the awakening light magazine 7.2, 2006. print. bryan, g. ed. politics. black’s law dictionary 7th edition. minnesota: west group, 1999. print. chukwurah, a. oye. “political leadership and ethical probity” shalom proclaim peace, 5.2, 1987. print. chidili, barthlomew. “democracy as an african traditional value”. gadfly magazine 5.10, 2008/2009. print. dzurgba, akpenpuun. christian ethics in contemporary society. ibadan: distance learning centre, university of ibadan, 2003. print. dabot, timothy n. jesus christ: the positive controversial figure of our time. optimal vintage, 2021. print. esthons, faith iliya and ima – abasiking. “ethnicity, religion and sustainable development in nigeria; the christian perspective”. swem journal of religion and philosophy, 4. 2014. print. fairchild, henry pratt (ed). dictionary of sociology. totowa new jersey: little field, adams and co, 1966. print. gbadamosi, o. “christianity and politics in africa: critical evaluation” samson, a. fatokun. christianity and african society. ibadan: book wright publisher, 2013. print. gbenda, joseph. s. african religion and christianity in a changing world: a comperative approach. nsukka: chuka educational publishers, 2016. print. “hope in hopeless situation”. the gadfly magazine, 5.10 2008/2009. print. hornby, a, s. oxford advanced learner’s dictionary 6th edition. oxford university press, 2010. print. julius, isaac jesuvi “christian perspectives on politics: the nigerian experience” .kashere journal of christian studies, 1: 2019. print. jumma elijah. “reasoned democracy: a tool for effective governance in karl jasphers political thought”. gadfly magazine, 5.10, 2008/2009. print. jakamnor, c.e. “nigeria we hail thee”. ambassador publications iperu-remo, 2009. print. kanu, i. a. a hermeneutic approach to the study of african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. jos: augustinian publications, 2015. print. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 168 kanu, i. a. (2019b). an igwebuike approach to the study of african traditional naming ceremony and baptism. international journal of religion and human relations. vol. 11. no. 1. pp. 25-50. kanu, i. a. (2017g). igwebuike and the logic (nka) of african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 2 no.1. pp. 61-66. kanu, i. a. (2015a). african philosophy: an ontologico-existential hermeneutic approach to classical and contemporary issues.nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2013). on the sources of african philosophy. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 337-356. kanu, i. a. (2013). the dimensions of african cosmology. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 533-555. lenkin, thomas p. the study of political theory. new york: random house inc., 1955. print. mujah, cosmos b. and udoma, linus “beware of the yeast of pharisees… mk8: 15 transition from civilian to government in nigeria”. awakening light magazine, 6.9, 2003. print. ojo, g.a. “religion and politics in a pluralistic society: the case of nigerians in shalom proclaim peace, 5.2, 1987. print. oguche, albert. “man: the centre of activities”. the gadfly magazine, 4.3 1995. print. raphael, d. problems of political philosophy. hong kong: macmillan press limited, 1981. print. ukpong, justin. “social and economic development and the nigerian political order”. shalom proclaim peace, 5.2, 1987. print. vernon, d. political science: a philosophical analysis. standford university press, 1960. print. okeke, nicholas. “achieving christian humanis in africa”. nacaths journal of african theology, 17, 2007. print. the holy bible revised standard version. india: catholic book agency, 2000. print. yamsat, p. the christian becoming a political leader. bukuru: christian text books, 2011. print. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 102 national housing policy and the challenges of urbanisation in nigeria kussah, terwase kimbir, ph.d. department of political science and diplomacy, veritas university, abuja kussahterwasekimbir@gmail.com abstract the provision of adequate housing that is safe, secure, accessible, affordable, and wholesome is a fundamental human right, as encoded in the united nations habitat agendathe global call on human settlements. nigeria has formulated and implemented several housing policies and programmes in an attempt to ameliorate the housing situation of the citizens, with limited success. thus, they continue to experience rapid urban population growth that is not being matched by adequate planning and management in terms of housing needs. this paper, therefore, examines the relationship between housing policies and urbanisation in nigeria over the years. the study is anchored on the theoretical assumption of the rational comprehensive model, which contends that planning techniques and methods promote urban development based on top-down approaches. the paper utilised a mixed-method of data collection, which was analysed using content analysis. the study found that the inability of successive governments in nigeria to curb urbanisation challenges is a function of the disconnect between housing policy making and consistency in policy implementation, which leads to the inability to deliver on the types of houses the citizens need. the study recommends consistent, measurable, and sustainable housing programmes that are public-sector-led but privatesector-financed through a robust public-private partnership. keywords: housing programmes; informal settlements; urbanization; housing provision; urban development. introduction nigeria, like most countries in sub-saharan africa, is immersed in absolute, massive, and pervasive poverty. consequent upon the above, the material and existential conditions of most nigerians are quite debilitating. thus, even as population growth has surpassed the rate of food production, the country’s housing and urban settlement conditions have continued to deteriorate. housing has been globally acknowledged as a social good, and inadequate housing condition is also considered a major social problem. good quality housing that is safe, secure, accessible, affordable, and sanitary, as a fundamental human right encoded in the united nations habitat agenda, is lacking for a sizeable number of people in nigeria (okolie, 2001). the perennial housing challenge in the world, mostly in the developing economies, is increasing at an alarming rate, and there is an urgent need to ameliorate and address affordable housing provision. to deal with this problem, various strata of governments are updating their knowledge on global housing policy approaches in order to formulate robust policy frameworks. thus, governments’ planned actions and activities aimed at addressing challenges of inadequate housing conditions are conceived as social intervention programmes. over the years, successive governments in nigeria have developed initiatives and programmes on mass housing development, in an attempt to address the housing needs of the citizens (fgn, 2022). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 103 but in spite of these spirited efforts in making adequate and affordable housing available to the majority of the people, a significant proportion of urban residents in nigeria do not have access to decent housing at an affordable cost. they are currently grappling with the challenges of urbanization, especially in the area of housing provision. over the past six decades, there have been three identifiable major housing policies in nigeria. the first national housing programme of 1981/82 focused on addressing the prevailing quantitative housing deficit in the country. the policy was designed to provide low-income houses in all the state capitals of the federation, popularly known as shagari low-cost housing, under the supervision of the federal housing authority. in addition to the above, the policy encouraged private entrepreneurial initiative in housing development. the policy framework opened a partnership between the government and the private sector in working towards an effective housing delivery system. the arrangement was designed in such a way that the government would play the role of an ‘enabler’ while the private sector provided the vehicle for the delivery of the housing infrastructure. the policy recorded very little success because the political landscape was not conducive, coupled with the ousting of the government by the 1983 military coup. the policy, however, succeeded in drawing attention to the festering housing problem, significant shortfall in housing provision, and the realization that housing problems would not be solved by a generous infusion of money alone (agbola, 2004; bello, 2019). the second strand of nigeria’s national housing policy was from 1991 to 1999; an era that witnessed an ambitious housing policy with the slogan “housing for all by the year 2000ad”. the goal was for all nigerians to have access to decent housing at an affordable cost before the end of the year 2000. the policy is targeted to address many of the vexed problems of the housing sector. it was projected that 700,000 housing units would be built each year to bridge the demand-supply deficit, and that 60% of the houses were to be built in urban areas. the policy restructured the financial routing of accessing loans by creating a two-tier structure, which had the federal mortgage bank of nigeria as the supervisory institution and primary mortgage institutions as primary lenders. this policy subscribed to the then prevailing international opinion that governments should not engage in direct construction but should, instead, provide the enabling environment for the implementation and actualization of policy objectives and directives of the private and community sectors. in the process of actualizing the major thrusts of the housing policy, many jobs were created. the potential of using housing as a job creation and poverty alleviating strategy was manifest (agbola, 2004). in spite of these efforts, the demand for housing was still very high. this necessitated fundamental rethinking and the need for more pragmatic solutions to resolve the backlog of housing needs. the third policy stream focused on the use of the private sector as the main catalyst for housing delivery in nigeria, while governments concentrated on the provision of basic infrastructure for housing development. the policy sought to stimulate large numbers of private sector real estate developers in the development of estates with houses for sale at affordable prices to low and middle-income groups in the country. to this end, the government facilitated the formation of the real estate developers association of nigeria (redan) with the primary aim of active participation in housing delivery to the citizens at an affordable rate. it was promised that redan as a critical stakeholder, would be given the necessary incentives in the housing delivery under various mass housing facilitation programmes. issues in the land use act were igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 104 equally given attention for review as well as tax holidays (agbola, 2004). the national housing policy at this time also aimed at mobilizing primary mortgage institutions to assist nigerians eager to buy houses to be able to do so. it was equally promised that the federal mortgage bank of nigeria would be repositioned to enable it to provide more funds to primary mortgage institutions. the main policy thrust was on institutional reform, capacity building, local building material manufacturing, and adequate access to building land. despite these policy efforts, housing delivery remains a major challenge in nigeria, and the need for adequate housing and urbanization processes rages on. while housing construction is in arithmetic progression, migration to urban areas is in geometric progression, and a rapidly expanding population leads to severe overcrowding, congestion, and attendant slums. thus, the cost of living has forced many nigerian urban dwellers to live in slums, shanties, and squatter settlements that do not have the needed amenities for a decent living, while governments continue to engage in policy somersault. against the backdrop of this development, this study examines the link between housing policies and challenges of urbanization in nigeria over the years. to evaluate the linkage between policy making and satisfaction of urban housing needs in nigeria, this study poses the following research question: did inconsistencies in government housing policies account for the proliferation of informal urban settlements in nigeria over the years? literature review housing policy and the growth of informal settlements: housing in all its ramifications is much more than shelter. it includes utilities and community services such as electricity, water supply, access roads, sewerage, drainage, and disposal facilities, among others that go to make a community or neighbourhood a liveable environment (national rolling plan, 1991-95:235 in okolie, 2001). housing, including its policy, is intricately connected to the dynamics of housing transformation. it refers to the measures put in place by the appropriate authorities to sufficiently house its citizens, which is a vital consideration when it comes to assessing the performance of any government in the housing sector. the housing delivery process translates the policy framework into something that can be seen and felt by observers and beneficiaries. the outcome is viewed on the grounds of its adequacy or otherwise, and how it affects the social well-being of the people. thus, the route towards fulfilling that ambitious housing program for a country is encoded in what is referred to as the national housing policy. in many developing countries, including nigeria, the public housing crisis has escalated unabated despite a number of the government’s acclaimed policies, programmes, and strategies being engaged in addressing the problem (darmola & ibem, 2010). housing delivery requirements, however, vary from region to region and are influenced by the population landscape and the characteristics of individuals within a particular jurisdiction. in the united kingdom, a systematic review by gallent (2009) revealed that the social composition of rural areas should be taken into consideration to develop a focused and appropriate strategic approach for housing policies and to provide the necessary developmental support. reflecting on the reasonable implementation of the housing policy, the housing policy has four major criticisms of the reasonableness of housing delivery. the four problems include “the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 105 poor location of housing development; the poor quality of many houses built; the lack of effective assistance in maintaining housing stock; and the failure of housing delivery to address the housing backlog”. peripheral locations affect the livelihoods of the beneficiaries as there are no social services, vegetation, schools, clinics, and job opportunities needed for a healthy and sustainable development, thereby creating mono-functional settlements. as most employment opportunities are still largely concentrated in the urban areas, the peripheral locations mean higher cost of transportation costs to the residents (un-habitat, 2016). most housing policies in developing countries have failed to create long-term sustainability in the delivery of low-cost housing, rather informal settlements. rapid growth of informal settlements is one of the largest problems of urban areas in developing nations, including nigeria. these settlements are common and typically the product of an urgent need for shelter by the urban poor. it is reported that 78.2% of the urban population in developing countries lives in informal settlements. moreover, they are growing at least twice the rate of planned settlements (unhabitat, 2016). rural-urban migration and poverty have led to the growth of informal settlements, which are urban areas that develop and grow without planning, and in which basic facilities are mostly lacking. informal settlements have been part and parcel of nigeria's system, and its realities define the nature and character of an average urban area. they constitute a significant proportion of the urban economy. these informal settlements such as sabo (ama-hausa) in southern nigeria, makoko in lagos and others are built on government land or any derelict land for which layouts are never prepared and development are not subject to any control, and when layouts or building plans are prepared, they never conform to the acceptable standard (oluwatosin, 2020; jelili, ajibade, alabi, 2022). it is widely acknowledged that informal settlements and the processes that lead to their formation and perpetuation are poorly understood. it is almost a truism that formal systems of land delivery have continuously failed to cope with the demands of rapidly growing urban populations in nigeria. people in informal areas live in conditions of extreme poverty with limited state capacity to address their alarming needs (john-nsa, 2022). the prevalence of informal processes in urban areas in nigeria has been explained, firstly, as a response to the failure of statutory and customary tenure systems to meet the needs of lower-income groups, which invariably represent the majority of increasing urban populations. secondly, informal settlements are seen as a reflection of the continuity of traditional practices of land delivery as they play out in the urban sphere, and the beginnings of penetrations and expressions of organic or indigenous processes of human settlement evolution (agbola, 1994). according to afolayan (2017), an informal settlement is any human settlement or use of land in an urban centre that is at variance with the expected standard and regulation. in his argument, informal settlements do not only include urban slums, but poor housing near the city centre, within the city, and those that develop at the periphery of the city, where the land is accessible at a relatively cheap price. he associated informal settlements with overcrowded houses, an absence or insufficient provision of basic amenities, unsanitary environmental conditions, and deteriorating housing. thus, the important point in all the definitions of informal settlements is the lack of requisite permit or legal title for the use of land; however, the spatial dynamics of urbanization has to be taken into consideration in forming an appropriate definition of what is termed informal settlements, especially in a developing country like nigeria. adediji & ezinyi igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 106 (2010) note that, growth of informal settlements is affected in three distinct but overlapping ways which are: expansion, densification and intensification. informal settlement expansion can be inward, outward or independent from a known boundary of existing settlement. the main function of the expansion process is that the settlement size increases in leaps. oluwatayo & opoko (2014) argued that the growth of informal settlements in developing countries is attributed to ‘accelerated globalization and structural adjustment policies’, including deregulation controls, privatization of urban services, massive state engagement in the urban and housing sector. unfortunately, these rules have increased inequalities, insecure tenure, inefficiency, skewed wealth and resource allocations. additionally, the problem of forced ejection and lack of access to basic services constantly contribute to undermine the socio-economy of the poor households. given these challenges, it has become increasingly clear that public and private formal land as well as housing delivery models cannot respond to the demands of the urban poor. thus, informal settlements are frequently occupied by migrant labourers and immigrants. this implies that inhabitants of informal settlements have a higher possibility of being evicted than in legally built private housing, the latter has the safest tenure status. jelili & ogunkan (2018) and wahab (2018) note that a common phenomenon that distinguish informal settlements from formal settlements are: the former do not adhere to local building codes, have either low levels of amenities or no infrastructure altogether, poorly maintained or not serviced at all, have no security of tenure and are characterized by a rather non-functional pattern. factors that have led to the springing of informal settlements in nigeria are massive rural-urban migration, poverty, communal clashes, unequal distribution of wealth, poor land delivery systems, inability of the government to define a clear and long-term land and housing policy, and high demand from very low-income groups that makes the management and upgrading of these settlements more difficult. reasons for the increase in migration are mainly attributed to urban centres offering better possibilities of employment, education and access to social infrastructure. it is noted that prevalence of informal settlements is a serious concern as they provide abodes for different categories of people who live in substandard living conditions. anugwom (2001) traced the casual roots of the collapse of mass housing policy in nigeria to the contradictions in the institutional mechanisms of decision making and implementation process, rather than the policy. bryman, (2004) highlights the shortcomings of public housing policy as it is bedeviled by institutional rigidity, uncoordinated initiatives and awful project design which characterize many large-scale public housing projects. the above scholars generalized the failures of national housing policies on the government. these observations underscore the imperative to access not only the products of the public housing (the housing estates), but also the institutional frame work and housing delivery process of federal housing authority and other agencies. several scholars (anugwom (2001; aribigbola, 2008; mustapha, 2009) carried out work and documented studies in nigeria by way of reviewing government housing policies and programmes which affect housing provision. darmola & ibem (2010) noted that the provision of housing is not only a quantitative problem, but also a qualitative problem in the sense that housing contributes to the reproduction of different components of labour power with different incomes and housing needs. despite the public sector's participation in housing as direct house building of low-income houses, oluwatosin (2020) was of the view that housing conditions of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 107 the low-income earners had not shown any significant improvement over the years. the most challenging problem facing the public sector is role definition in housing provision. it has been enmeshed in direct house building and of ensuring enabling environment for housing development. scholars (aribigbola, 2008; gboegum, 2022; jelili, et al, 2022) have suggested that informal settlements' housing problems cannot be eradicated. even the developed nations have some pockets of informal settlements and destitute. in nigeria, the problems of squatting, slums, squatter settlements are common sight in major urban centres like lagos, port-harcourt, kano, ibadan, owerri, and enugu. okolie (2001) and anugwom (2001) have criticized public housing programmes for failing to provide quality, affordable and adequate housing units to target population in the country. according to okolie (2001), nigerian housing problem has not been comprehensively studied, but there is enough information to conclude that the magnitude of the problem is quite serious, ……till date, nigerian government has not been seen to have any housing plan for its workforce”. many studies and scholars have attempted to present a detailed analysis and arguments on the different reasons that led to the failure of public housing policies in nigeria. some of these reasons borders on excessive politicization, elite and official corruption that festered fraudulent practices during implementation of the programmme; while others have emphasized the issue of incompetent contractors and inadequate supervisory technical staff superintending over the projects (momah, opaluwah & albeera, 2018; aluko,2010). some other studies identified issues of excessive costs of completing such public housing; problems of targeting beneficiaries and sharp housing allocations practices that limited the possibility of such housing reaching the poor for whom they were built in favour of higher income earners (omigbadun,, 2020). government housing policies have not been people/workers centered and has been treated with neglect to the detriment of improved quality service delivery. the selfishness and visionless political leadership of the successive administrations towards affordable housing make it impossible for the realization of the objective (okolie, 2001). in view of this, the current approaches to public housing be based on market-friendly policies and strategies that encourage reduction in government’s direct involvement in public housing provision but that should not preclude government’s social responsibility, rather it implies the production of housing through collaborative approach in an integrated manner. much of the above literature have showed different reviews, appraisals, and assessments of the performance and challenges of the past public housing policies and programmes in nigeria, but the broad and superficial perspectives many of these previous studies have assumed contributed to obscuring our understanding of the origins of the challenges confronting public housing delivery system, rural-urban migration and growth of informal settlements in nigeria. this development is also partially responsible for forestalling the evolution of pragmatic solutions in the lingering decent, affordable urban housing provision in nigeria. this paper employed secondary method of data collection and analysed the data descriptively. this paper applied the rational comprehensive model by grant (1985). this theory is centred on how public policy decision-making are taken in order to solve the problems of society, for the benefits of the citizens. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 108 verification, discussion and analysis generally, inconsistencies in housing policies and the growth of informal settlements. the housing sector is the substratum of the economy of developed nations. in the more advanced countries like canada, japan, the united states of america, and great britain, this sector contributes between 30% and 70% of their gross domestic product (gdp). investment in housing accounts for 15% to 35% of aggregate investment worldwide. this sector employs approximately 10% of the labour force globally. the housing sector in nigeria contributes 0.38% to its gdp. these countries rose to become the greatest developed nations on the wave of housing development (fgn, 2012). the housing sector has the potential to generate employment, increase productivity, raise the standard of living, alleviate poverty, reduce crime rate, militancy, and substantially address wealth distribution as well as security concerns. however, urbanization has always been problematic and has posed challenges for successive governments. it has been observed that rapid urbanization and poor economic growth have compounded the problems of inadequate housing in nigeria. inconsistencies in housing policy the provision of adequate housing that is safe, secure, affordable, and sanitary is an integral part of the fundamental human right, as encoded in the united nations habitat agenda. housing has been globally accepted as the second most important human need. it is a basic necessity for human existence, and an essential component to the advancement of the quality of life of the citizens. these universally accepted facts have been acknowledged by successive nigerian governments, as evident from the pockets of uncoordinated initiatives and programmes in mass housing provision and development over the years. despite these efforts, housing provision remains a serious problem. the existing institutional framework for implementing housing policies in nigeria is weak. lack of up-to-date and detailed records has been the blight of housing provision in nigeria. also, there is a lack of comprehensive policy, legal, and institutional frameworks that provide clear-cut guidelines and procedures for the development and implementation of housing. successive federal and state governments have been inconsistent in their methods and approaches to resolving daunting housing challenges. this is evident in somersault strategies aimed at achieving the objective of the national housing policy, and the institutional framework for it. in nigeria, the position as at pre-29th may, 1999 was that in 1975, the federal ministry of housing, urban development and environment was carved out of the ministry of works; and the nomenclature of the ministry was changed in 1978 to the federal ministry of works and survey. the civilian administration that ushered in on 29th may, 1999, created the much-desired federal ministry of housing. by the fourth quarter of 2006, the federal ministry of housing was renamed as the federal ministry of housing and urban development. early in 2007, the name was further igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 109 elongated to the federal ministry of environment, housing, and urban development. thus, in 2015, the ministry was emerged with ministry of power, and named ministry of power, works and housing. then in 2019, the power sector was unbundled, and we have the ministry of works and housing. frequent changes in policies, personnel, and institutional arrangements underscore the lack of importance of providing for housing and the low priority accorded to housing production and provision. furthermore, successive governments have formulated several policies to ameliorate housing problems, urban renewal, and development; however, the attempts to implement these key policy instruments have experienced numerous challenges. firstly, the process of land acquisition is often shrouded in problems that create implementation delay, even with the national land policy and land reform programme. secondly, the policy is often affected by bureaucratic issues and delays in the provision of services. lastly, the site and services scheme, which is widely considered a housing option for the poor and low-income earners, is not often implemented to benefit such a category of people (afolayan, 2017; oluwatosin, 2020). the lack of consistency and continuity in government policies and programmes is another problem that has had detrimental impacts on housing policies in nigeria, where each administration comes with new policies and programmes without resorting to what the preceding government had done, even when they are of the same political party. consistency and continuity in housing programmes are the substance for sustainable housing provision and development. an unstable political environment does not provide a proposal for sustainable housing development. the constant changes in government policies over the years swept the agencies and altered the vision of government in some core areas of governance. this has undermined the structures and the institutional framework for housing provision (jelili & ogunkun, 2018). housing programmes have been politicized to the extent that the ruling political parties use housing programmes to secure patronage from the people and reward political loyalists by allocating and awarding contracts for housing projects on a political basis. most administrations at sub-national have not been supporting the implementation of housing policies and programmes initiated by the federal government, particularly where they are not in the same political party. in nigeria, it is evident that the articulation, formulation, and implementation of public housing suffer from planning inconsistency and weak organizational structures due to political instability, and undue centralization of decision making and execution. for instance, most of the houses built by the government tagged low-income housing, are rather too expensive for the low-income earners, and will be acquired by the rich who had housing properties. also, many of the housing units were located many kilometers away from those who require them and from the functionally active boundaries where socio-economic activities take place within the cities. the location of housing units at the city’s periphery means a higher cost of transportation for the residents of the houses. also, to be considered is the level of inconsistency by the government in its approach and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 110 strategies aimed at achieving the goal of the national housing policy, as housing matters are frequently transferred to different government ministries from one administration to the other. for instance, the housing reforms embarked on by the federal government under president obasanjo’s administration involved the establishment of the federal ministry of housing and urban development. the ministry was to supervise the federal mortgage bank of nigeria, especially in the disbursement of loans from contributions into the national housing trust fund. the ministry has now been changed, and metamorphosed into the federal ministry of power, works and housing (2015-2019), and later the ministry of works and housing (2019 to date). a more worrisome aspect of this institutional transformation is that the housing component of the ministry is always subsumed under the works sector, and the housing sector plays the second fiddle both in attention, resource allocation, and disbursement (gbonegun, 2022). according to ateje (2022), the lack of information and data, which have been expressed on many occasions, is a cause for deep concern since the formulation of any successful housing policy must be predicated on a reliable housing information system. therefore, financial and human resources must be allocated to facilitate the development of a comprehensive, accessible, up-to-date, and transparent database on the housing market. there is a disconnect between the policy implementation and the objectives. in agreement with the preceding viewpoint, aribigbola (2008) on the evidence of implementation of housing policy in nigeria with akure as case study, revealed that the majority of the city residents are in low low-income bracket, which the policy supposedly deemed to address, but cannot afford housing being constructed under the programme. he averred that the policy has not made any significant impact on housing delivery. additionally, the primary mortgage institutions, which are the catalyst of the policy implementation, are not available in the state, and most of the residents are not aware of the policy and its potential in house financing. there is a cumbersome regulatory approval process in nigeria’s housing sector. the lengthy and complicated regulatory approval process hinders efficiency within the housing delivery system. while certain mechanisms put the government are necessary, they tend to lengthen the regulatory process for obtaining planning approvals. in particular, the extensive delay caused by government referral agencies concerning planning approvals has serious cost implications for private developers and ultimately affects the final cost to housing consumers. there is poor coordination of housing agencies and laws in nigeria. some of the important agencies responsible for housing provision include, federal housing authority (fha), federal mortgage bank of nigeria (fmbn); federal mortgage finance limited (fmfl), urban development bank of nigeria, nigeria building and road research institute, and the supervising federal ministry of works and housing. although the roles of these agencies in housing delivery are important and clear, there is still a lack of inter-agency co-operation and coordination for efficient and effective housing delivery. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 111 some of the laws (edicts) and decrees, which, in one way or the other, impact housing production in the urban areas include, federal planning act (cap 135 of 1971), land use decree no 6 of 1978, and land title vetting decree no 52 of 1993. the major issue in land administration has to do with allocation, utilization, and management. these are some of the issues the urban and regional planning laws tried to address; however, in some states, the law works only where there is no conflict with the state's physical planning and urban development laws. there are a lot of breaches and contraventions of the provisions of the master plan and housing policies. the federal government institutionalized the land tenure system in nigeria through the enactment of the land use decree (act) of 1978. this tenure system is premised on rights of occupancy that brought all land within the nation under government control; local government, the governor of each state, or, in certain circumstances (e.g., where land contains or has mineral deposits), the federal government. in each state, the governor is the ultimate trustee of land, which is held in perpetuity for all the citizens, and the governor is assisted in his duties by a land use and allocations committee (luac) (land use act, 1978, chapter 202, sections 1and 2). the land use act also favours a top-down, non-consultative and elitist master planning approach to urban planning, with little regard for the internal dynamics of the city center, rendering urban areas exclusive and controlled by the governor. furthermore, decreeing that all improvements to the land, all sub-leases, all mortgages, and other changes be approved by one individual – the governor -based on the governor’s whim and caprices, as well as discretion of the usefulness of such changes, severely hampers the efficiency of land use and allocation. the land use act further creates the opportunity for land allocation and rental rates to be based on political consideration, as it will provides an unclear description of how rentals should be calculated, while also providing the governors the authority to reduce rents or eliminate rents when he is satisfied that it would be in the public interest to do so. these laws have inherent challenges in both their interpretation and execution. for instance, the land vetting decree (no. 52) of 1993 vests all land within 100 meters of nigeria’s shoreline in the federal government. this decree not only exiled the jurisdiction of lagos state to the shorelines but also backdated its commencement to 1967. the effect of this is that all past certificates of occupancy given by the lagos state government in exercise of its right under the 1978 land use decree became null and void. the resultant conflicts from the implementation of this decree were that some companies that were in the lagoon foreshore along ozumba mbadiwe had to possess two certificates of occupancy (one from the lagos state and the other from the federal government). from the foregoing, the land use act has become a hindrance to making land accessible for housing. this issue has been responsible for the lengthy administrative procedure of securing the certificate of occupancy, the document that confers ownership of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 112 land to the individual from the government. also, the act has not assured security of title, and costs remain expensive, while access to titled and registered land is difficult and problematic. the housing development policies are designed to favour the middle and upper classes. proposed housing for the poor is not enough and is often hijacked by the rich, and the poor cannot afford the cost of ownership. the building of houses in nigeria is currently primarily done by the private sector, and approximately 90% of urban housing is constructed by private developers. with an estimated population of over 200 million according to world bank figures, nigeria has a housing deficit of over 22 million, and needs to build an average of 750,000 housing units per year (ateje, 2022). due to housing deficit and cost of building materials such as sand, roofing sheet, tiles, cement, and granite, whose prices have risen by 80%, property managers have increased rent in almost all locations across the country. rent in major cities has gone beyond the salaries and wages of an average worker. the scenario is far higher than the 20-30% recommended by the united nations. the cumulative impact is on the urban poor who live as tenants in overcrowded and dilapidated structures in squatter settlements. growth of informal settlements in nigeria the united nations human settlements programme (unhs), describes slums as a wide range of low-income settlements and poor living conditions, which include the vast informal settlements that are quickly becoming the most visible expression of urban poverty. according to un-habitat, over 880 million people live in urban slums globally, and a sizeable proportion of this number is in sub-saharan africa, with nigeria having the largest proportion (omigbadum, 2020). slum mushrooming in city centers in nigeria is worsened by the cumulative effects of economic downturn, increasing inequality, and the growth of urban population as a result of rural-urban migration. the growth rate of urban population is faster than economic growth and increasingly outpaces the ability of the country’s health and social services to provide appropriate, necessary care. as nigeria has higher slum proliferation rates than other african countries, the yearly rate of urban growth in lagos, abuja, port-harcourt, kano, and ibadan is about 4.53percent (akinwale, 2021). lagos metropolis represents the epitome of urban decay, replete with environmental challenges ranging from squatter settlements to crime and delinquency. the population growth of lagos has been largely attributed to migration from other places, which accounts for up to eighty percent. this growth rate, reaching up to ten percent over the last decade, has translated into an unprecedented demand for land housing. it is, therefore, a common phenomenon to see undeveloped land being taken over by the rural immigrants and leading to uncontrolled and unorganized developments of slums and informal settlements. these areas usually lack basic infrastructural facilities and are characterized by very poor environmental conditions. as most of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 113 these slums are densely populated, with some estimates indicating that more than seventy-five percent of urban slum residents live in a room with an average of nine persons. these slums and informal settlements are notably seen in agege, ajegunle; amukoko, ijora-badia, bariga, ijeshatedo itere, ilaje, iwaya, makoko, mushin, oke-offa-babasale, somolu, and ikorodu (akinwale, 2021; ateje, 2022). figures 1and 2 below are a manifestation of the outcome of the growth of slums and the informal settlement explosion via the aggravation of urban blight and squalor, resulting in the majority of urban residents living in sub-human conditions in slums and squatter settlements. thus, the inhumane living environment of urban slum dwellers in nigeria is exacerbated by harmful pollution and unsafe housing situations. the federal capital territory is not an exception in terms of housing deficit, as indicated below in the table. s/no. area council names of slums and illegal settlements 1. abaji no presence of government housing, illegal settlements 2. amac nyanya, jukwoi, urozo, karshi, gwarinpa & maitama villages. 3. bwari dutse alhaji, mpape, kuchiko, barangoni & kogo 4. gwagwalada giri village, 5. kuje no presence of government housing, illegal settlements 6. kwali no presence of government housing, illegal settlements the above is an indication of housing deficit in the federal capital territory, abuja, and the emergence of informal settlements across all the area councils of the fct. the urban slum dwellers are deprived of essential basic social amenities and are confronted with poor living conditions due to population density, overcrowding, unemployment, poverty, lack of drinking water, inadequate liquid and solid waste management, noise pollution, poor health care access, poor structural quality of housing, cultural dislocation and insecure residential status. the above situations make the informal settlements breeding grounds for diseases such as tuberculosis, hepatitis, dengue, pneumonia, malaria, cholera, and diarrheal diseases. urban slum residents are at a high risk of non-communicable diseases such as asthma, heart disease, mental health problems, including anxiety, depression, insomnia, and substance abuse, as they adopt an urban lifestyle while lacking knowledge and information regarding health and health care (omigbodun, 2020; akinwale, 2021). nigeria has a challenge of cancelling a deficit of 22 million housing units (ateje, 2022). in our focus group discussion ten respondents from department of lands and housing development of the ministry of works and housing unanimously agree that the 22 million housing units backlog is speculative and mere guess by nigerian authorities, but in reality, it may be more than that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 114 considering that last population and housing census was conducted in 2006, which is nearly twenty years. as a result of this backlog, slum housing conditions have become prevalent… (face-to-face focus group discussion by the researcher). the situation of slums in some urban centres of nigeria, as seen in the figure, shows the real condition that slum dwellers are confronted with. source: jelili et al, (2022). informal urban migrant settlement in nigeria: environmental and socio-economic dynamics of sabo, ibadan. another group in our discussion averred that the government should make housing a major component of rural development, focus on urban development is a major cause of rural-urban migration. lastly, another set of interviewees said that the government should advance a consistent, measurable, and sustainable housing policy led by the government and driven by collaboration between the public sector and private sector. the unprecedented expansion of urban populations causes rapid increases in the land demand for urban land. but urban land is location-specific and urban plots cannot easily be reproduced, and the demand is met by converting rural land at the urban periphery. tenure systems largely determine the ease or difficulty of land acquisition. also, land acquisition is determined by the market, either overtly in a free and open market or covertly as the latent value of a controlled commodity. urban land markets, with their relatively fixed supply and the often defective and imperfect nature of the market, become unaffordable to the poor urban majorities. in nigeria, the federal government lacks commitment to urban development and management. this is evident in infrastructure management and the support of development in cities and towns. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 115 the constitutional role of the federal government is clear in the exclusive list, which confers powers to act on any national issues. despite this clear functional role, the federal government in many cases ignores its role in many urban areas within the states and leaving the states to deal with the issues. although the constitution in the concurrent list makes provision for cooperation of the states and federal government, in most cases, when a state acts on a federal urban issue, there are problems with the federal government refunding the money to the states. frequently, it has contributed to the development of informal settlements in urban areas. the government’s lack of engagement in housing development for the citizens is also partly responsible for the unorganized and uncontrolled development of housing. the burden of these challenges is borne by the poor people and the low-income groups who lack the financial resources to access adequate housing. table 1: slum-upgrading by federal ministry of power, work and housing, 2008-2017 period access roads/drainage street lights and rural electrification public buildings/utilities total 2008 nil nil 1 1 2009 nil nil 4 4 2010 24 29 24 77 2011 72 15 86 173 2012 88 63 86 237 2013 41 58 72 171 2014 46 14 160 220 2015 61 10 45 116 2016 28 82 130 240 2017 nil nil nil nil grand total 360 (15.7%) 271(11.9%) 608(33.1%) 1239(60.27%) source: federal ministry of power, works and housing, 2018. the above table shows the implementation of slum-upgrading during the period 2008-2017. a total of 1239 projects were executed. urban renewal and slum upgrading projects comprising :( access roads/drainages; solar powered street lights and public buildings and utilities) accounted for 60.27% of the projects earmarked for execution. the available number of projects implemented showed that the government is not doing enough to uplift and improve the environmental and living conditions of the slum dwellers in the urban areas. the fact is that the number of informal settlements has been on the rise as people move from the rural areas to urban centers, and increasing housing deficits of 22million units and the growing number of urban areas with population of one million and above, the performance of the government is not satisfactory. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 116 a recent forecast indicates that 63.6% of nigerians will live in urban areas in 2030, and a sizeable number, mostly the poor and the low-income earners, are likely to live in slums and squatter settlements if urgent and proactive action is not taken (jelili et al, 2022). the slum conditions in nigeria are already frightening for the reason that the proportion of people affected by slum situations is such a significant part in sub-saharan africa. from the foregoing, we therefore accept and validate our hypothesis, which states that there is a relationship between inconsistencies in housing policies and the growth of informal settlements in nigeria. summary, conclusion and recommendations the study set out to examine the relationship between national housing policies and challenges of urbanization in nigeria from 2000 to 2022. existing scholarship highlighted the link between ruralurban migration and urbanization, which accounts for the growth of informal settlements. however, the gap in the literature reviewed showed that housing policies in nigeria reflect priorities defined by the political economy and that the outcome has often favoured the political elite and their social network. because of this, we sought to examine whether inconsistencies in housing policy formulation and implementation are responsible for the proliferation of informal settlements in nigeria, with its attendant social ills. we adopted the theoretical underpinnings of the rational comprehensive model to explicate the link between the inconsistencies in housing policies and the growth of informal settlements in nigeria. the theory of the rational comprehensive model contends that planning techniques and methods promote urban development based on top-down approaches. thus, rather than implementing home-grown and people-driven strategies predicated on specific cultural context and milieu, planning models have been implemented by “highly-qualified" planners premised under clear western influences and inadequate planning regulations through the power of a “modern state”. it shows that housing and urban-related problems in developing countries are, in part, a consequence of mismanaged urban planning. to generate data for the study, we utilized a survey (focus group discussions) and documentary method of data collection to generate data from key informants and secondary sources like books, journal articles, conferences and seminar papers, official publications of government agencies and institutions, as well as relevant newspaper articles. data were analyzed using content analysis premised on logical deductions, retrieving meaningful information from documents. from the analysis, the study found that the nigerian government and the citizens have not been coping well with the enormous housing deficit as a result of various policy inconsistencies. and that the inability of the nigerian government to reduce urbanization challenges is intrinsic in the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 117 disconnect between these policies and the housing provision, and on reliance on the public sector to deliver the types of houses the people need. the present housing delivery arrangements have accentuated vertical and horizontal inequity, and the gaps between the rich and the poor have been widened. the study also revealed that nigerian housing policy is beleaguered with a major predicament of how to strike a balance between market liberalization, government intervention, and social mechanisms in the housing process to achieve the desired objective of ensuring adequate access to decent housing for all. conclusion the findings demonstrate that nigeria is witnessing rapid urban growth, and it is therefore argued that investing in urban centers is central to securing the next stage of development. the growth of slums and informal settlements is an indicator that urban planning, management, and governance have failed to address the challenges of urbanization in nigeria. past attempts at housing delivery, efficient urban development failed due to the absence of a clear focus on policies and the pursuit of mandates by the agencies saddled with housing provision. the observations explicate the theoretical significance of the study, as it offered a new insight into the policy twists of housing development to the exclusion of poor and low-income earners and to the benefit of the political elite and their social network. recommendations 1. consistent and sustainable housing policies should be advanced, led by the government and driven by public-private partnerships. 2. the government should make housing a major component of rural development, focus on urban development is a major cause of migration and urban challenges references agbola, t. (2004). readings in urban regional planning. ibadan: macmillan nigeria limited adediji, d. and eziyi, i. (2010). urban environmental problems in nigeria: implications for sustainable development. journal of sustainable development in africa, vol. 12, no.1 afolayan, a.s. (2017). exploring real estate investment as a housing finance option in nigeria. ethiopian journal of environmental studies and management. vol. 10. no. 1. pp. 1-10. akinwale, p.o. (2021). “ensuring healthy living conditions: https://www.urbanet.info/nigerialagos-slums-urban-health/ aluko, o.e. (2010). the impact of urbanization on housing development: the lagos experience, nigeria. ethiopian journal of environmental studies and management. vol 3. no.3. anugwom, e.e. (2001). urban poverty in e. o. ezeani and n. n. elekwa (eds), issues in urbanization and urban administration in nigeria. enugu: jamoe enterprises (nigeria). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 118 aribigbola , o. (2008). housing policy formulation in developing countries: evidence of programme implementation from akure, ondo state, nigeria. journal of human ecology. vol.23. no.2, pp 125-134. ateje, n. (2022). “the role of data in housing development in nigeria”. housing development programme: african independent television (ait), abuja, august. awotona, a. (1987). housing policy in nigeria: government policies for housing nigeria’s urban poor and the working class, laudable promises, great expectations, colossal failure. habitat international, vol. 11; issue 2. pp. 89-103. bello, o. (2019). review of the housing policies and programmes in nigeria. international journal of contemporary research and review. vol.. 10. no.2. issn 0976-4852. bryman, a. (2004). social research methods. oxford: oxford university press. daramola, a. and ibem, o. (2010). urban environmental problems in nigeria: implications for sustainable development. journal of sustainable development in africa. vol.12. no.1. pp.124-145. federal government of nigeria (1991). national housing policy, abuja. federal government of nigeria (2004), national housing policy draft, abuja. un-habitat. (2007). milestones in the evolution of human settlements policies,1976-2006: state of the world cities report 2006/2007. mdgs and urban sustainability, 30 years of shaping the habitat agenda. united kingdom. gallent, n. (2009). affordable housing in england. towards a more systematic approach”. planning practice and research. 24 (2) pp.263-283. gbonegun, v. (2022). “despite inflation, unfriendly policies, real estate shows resilience”. guardian, december 8th. jelili, m.o. and ogunkan, d. (2018). urbanization and informal land use in nigeria. in i. mensah and h. l. cai (eds.), china-africa urban development forum. accra: ghana university press. jelili, m.o; ajibade, a.a. and alabi, a.t. (2022). informal urban migrant settlements in nigeria: environmental and socio-economic dynamics of sabo, ibadan. geo-journal. 88 (7) 1-8. john-nsa, c. (2022). “understanding the factors influencing the spatial dynamics of informal settlements: the case of enugu city, nigeria”. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/trp/article/view/223034. momah, j; opaluwah, a. and albeera, h. (2018). challenges facing nigeria’s urban environment: the abuja case. journal of sustainable development in africa, vol 20, no.2. mustapha, o.b. (2009). “squatter settlement, accessibility of land and the urban poor: nigeria surveyors’ key role in accelerated development”. eliat, israel, may 3-8,2009. okolie, a.m. (2001). a critical assessment of urban housing programmes in nigeria. in e. o. ezeani and n. n. elekwa (eds), issues in urbanization and urban administration in nigeria. enugu: jamoe enterprises (nigeria). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 119 oluwatayo, a. and opoko, a. (2014). trends in urbanization: implications for planning and lowincome housing delivery in lagos, nigeria. journal of architecture research, vol 4 (1), pp.15-26. oluwatosin, a. (2020). mapping makoko: how data could help legitimize nigeria’s informal settlement. https://www.how-data-could-help-legitimize-nigeria’s-informal-settlement. omigbodun, a. (2020). “nigeria’s urban slums and the health problem”. www.vanguardngr.com/2020/02/nigeria-urban-slums-and-health-problem oyewale, i.o. (2020). challenges of urbanization and urban growth in nigeria. american journal of sustainable cities and society; vol 1. issue 2. un-habitat. (2016). “urbanization and development: emerging futures, in world cities report”. nairobi, kenya. wahab, b. (2018). transforming nigeria's informal settlements into liveable communities: strategies and challenges. in j. u. ogbazi and l. b. achi (eds), enhancing the liveability of informal settlements in nigeria. enugu: ezu book limited. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 202 gender as a driver of contemporary violent extremism: focus on boko haram and related islamic jihadi groups in nigeria kathleen mcgarvey, phd veritas university abuja kitmcgarvey@gmail.com doi:10.13140/rg.2.2.25338.81600 abstract nigeria’s boko haram has, according to a united nations department, helped to shape the definition of what constitutes violent extremism today. the dynamics of identity and ideology fuel northern nigeria’s islamic extremism, and gender is instrumental in recruitment, radicalization and participation in these movements and their activities. certainly, there are a multiplicity of both push and pull factors which drive extremism in the structural context of northern nigeria’s society, including socio-economic poverty, poor governance, illiteracy, political ideologies, as well as a history of prolonged and unresolved conflicts. in examining the drivers of violent extremism in this context, it is necessary, and indeed critical, to consider not only the structural socio-economic conditions, but also the dynamics of religious identity and ideology played in the field of politics, and within that interplay, to consider the religious rhetoric which defines and shapes gender relations at national and local levels. similarly, gender is a necessary factor in policy making and implementation approaches which attempt to prevent and to counter terrorism in this region. there is need for greater recognition of the fact that both men and women are perpetrators and victims of extremist violence, and that men and women experience this violence differently. equally, there is need for both perspectives to be heard, including their experience and their suggested pathways, for countering the spread of such violence. keywords: gender, women, violent extremism, boko haram, nigeria introduction boko haram and its splinter jihadi movements, prevalent in northern nigeria today, have greatly destabilized an already tottering nation which is identified as “a new global hotspot for jihadist activity” (eprs 2021:1). nigeria, where religion and politics are firmly intertwined, was until recently ranked “the poverty capital of the world” (oluwole 2022) and is high on the list of the world’s most violent countries (world population review 2023). nigeria also ranks 123 out of 146 countries in the world economic forum’s gender gap index (wef 2022), with patriarchal norms and gender roles deeply embedded and perpetuated by both culture and religion (okenyodo, 2016:100). this paper examines how the dynamics of identity and ideology fuel northern nigeria’s islamic extremism, and how gender is instrumental in recruitment, radicalization and participation in these movements and their activities. it also examines how gender is a factor in policy making and implementation approaches which attempt to counter terrorism in this region and looks at how women’s mailto:kitmcgarvey@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 203 leadership might help to resist and prevent extremist ideologies and the violence they sanction. violent extremism and its ‘drivers’ in northern nigeria “there is no universally agreed definition” (unodc 2018b) of the complex phenomenon which is termed violent extremism. however, in its p/cve policy framework, the nigerian government has defined it “as the beliefs and actions of persons who support, promote or use ideologically motivated violence to achieve social-economic, political, ethnic and religious objectives” (federal government of nigeria 2017: 14). nigeria’s boko haram has, according to a united nations department, helped to shape the definition of what constitutes violent extremism, through its spread of “messages of hate and violence as well as religious, cultural and social intolerance” (unodc 2018b). boko haram emerged in 2002 in north-eastern nigeria, primarily as a proselytist (dawah) movement. its proper name, jama'atu ahlis sunna lidda'awati wal-jihad means 'people committed to the propagation of the prophet's teachings and jihad'. in 2009, it became more radical, violent and prominent, adopting “the tactics of global salafi jihadist groups” (mohammed 2014:9), “driven by a desire for vengeance against the state and western related institutions” (barkindo et al 2013:14). boko haram pledged allegiance to isil in march 2015 and thus became the islamic state west africa province (iswap). iswap separated from boko haram in 2016 and thus the two groups continue active today (eprs 2021: 5; gti 2020: 103). another splinter faction emerged in 2012, ansaru, first called ‘al-qaeda in the lands beyond the sahel’, and whose arabic name now is jamāʿatu anṣāril muslimīna fī bilādis sūdān 'vanguards for the protection of muslims in black africa' (mohammed 2014: 30). “ansaru is especially active in nigeria’s north-west and north-central zones… at the start of 2022, ansaru reconfirmed its allegiance to al-qaeda in the islamic maghreb (aqim)” (iss: 2022). each of these ultra-salafi radical jihadi movements continue to attack each other as well as other targets, causing countless deaths, destruction and general insecurity and fear. certainly, as elsewhere, there are a multiplicity of both push and pull factors which drive this extremism. socio-economic poverty and poor governance are prevalent in nigeria, with northern nigeria suffering the highest levels of poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, lack of opportunities, and poor governance. northern nigeria has also endured prolonged and unresolved conflicts between the majority hausa/fulani (muslim) ethnic groups and the many other minority ethnic groups (christian) who originate from and/or inhabit the northern states. socio-economic development is hampered due to corrupt governance and incessant conflicts, and to the use of religious arguments to justify certain traditions such as the almajirai system which allows thousands of young boys to wander the streets as beggars (cf. edinyang et al 2020), or girl marriage and polygamous households which ensure high levels of female poverty and illiteracy. these can be considered some of the push factors within the structural context of the society from which today’s jihadi extremism emerges. according to the unodc, pull factors can include “collective grievances and victimization stemming from domination … distortion and misuse of beliefs, political ideologies and ethnic and cultural differences” (unodc 2018a). since independence igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 204 in 1960, there has been in northern nigeria an ongoing islamic radicalization nurturing a sense of being marginalised as muslims within the secular state. radical islamic movements have continuously emerged, seeking to further a political islamist agenda. for example, the izala movement, born in the 1980s, otherwise known as jama’atu izalatul bid’a wa ikamatu sunna (the society for the removal of innovation and the establishment of the sunna), was a form of salafi islam which condemned what it considered the innovations and apostasies of most muslims in northern nigeria. it began as an insurgent movement, was repressed, but has since been revived with a change in tactic and is today hugely influential among the muslim elite and political leaders of northern nigeria as well as among women and youth groups. the izala movement encourages female subordination and seclusion, but it also advocates for women’s education, both quranic and western. it is from izala, now considered by many nigerian muslim scholars as ‘mainstream salafism’, or as ‘peaceful salafism’, that today’s violent jihadi movements have emerged (tarhbalouti 2019; amara 2013). some scholars would claim that violent extremism is a “highly gendered” activity (ndung’u & shadung: 2017; dharmapuri: 2016) and indeed gender can be considered under the umbrella of both push and pull factors for violent extremism in northern nigeria. gender relations formed an important part of the reform which uthman d’an fodiyo called for during his jihad which led to the establishment of the sokoto caliphate that ruled for one hundred years over the area now encompassing northern nigeria (mcgarvey 2009: 90-96). once the british conquered the caliphate in the early 1900s and formed the country which is now nigeria in 1914, an agreed policy of indirect rule allowed the emirate system to continue; during colonial years dan fodiyo’s interpretation of gender relations, including the system of female seclusion, increased (mcgarvey 2009:101-104). in 1976 the muslim sisters organization was established and from this, in 1985, came the federation of muslim women’s associations in nigeria (fomwan). both of these organizations serve to give muslim women, particularly their leaders, a strong foothold with muslim politicians and through them they seek to give voice to women’s concerns, and promote the education, empowerment and rights of women. they do so within an islamic framework, finding in islam an ally for their ‘feminist’ consciousness (cf. mcgarvey 2009: 163-199). the debate around the place of shari’a law within the nigerian constitution has continuously raised its head (kukah 1993: 115-144; mcgarvey 2009: 89-142). in 1999, following a return to democratic rule after years of military dictatorship, twelve northern state governors announced its extended implementation as the legal and administrative system in their jurisdiction. loud in this debate were issues surrounding gender relations, with restrictions on women’s movements and the sentencing to lashing and stoning of pregnant unmarried girls and women. through various women’s rights ngo’s, justice was sought in shari’a courts, within an islamic framework, referring solely to islamic law. fowman, at first critical of these ngos, has since used this same strategy in their shari’a project (launched in 2004) to promote muslim women’s rights (mcgarvey 2009:199-214). this debate and the notion of promoting human, including women’s, rights within the shari’a, in line with international human rights norms, in a secular pluri-religious democratic society as nigeria pertains to be, continues to be hugely problematic (kendhammer 2013). due to the continued abuse of women’s rights in many households and communities, it is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 205 not surprising that issues around gender are also of great significance in the emergence and splintering of nigeria’s islamic jihadi movements. thus, as we examine the drivers of violent extremism in this context, it is necessary, and indeed critical, to consider not only the structural socio-economic conditions, but also the dynamics of religious identity and ideology played in the field of politics, and within that interplay, to consider the religious rhetoric which defines and shapes gender relations at national and local levels. gender as instrumental in recruitment, radicalization and participation in nigeria’s jihadi movements and their activities from its emergence in 2002, much attention was given to women in boko haram’s rhetoric and actions, calling for restrictions on women in some areas of life while also promoting their access to islamic education and financial empowerment (icg 2016: i). while izala, fomwan, and other groups advocate for women’s economic empowerment and education, the fact is that such opportunities are denied the majority of girls and women in northern nigeria. thus, boko haram in its initial stages appealed to women because it gave them the opportunity to study the quran and arabic; it encouraged marriage within the movement and offered financial assistance; it emphasised respect for the female body as correct adherence to islam and encouraged full niqab; it initially allowed women to attend the mosque (icg 2016: 5-6). according to reports, the year 2013, following boko haram’s becoming a more violent insurgency, “marked a significant evolution in its tactics, in which one of the main features is the instrumental use of women” (zenn & pearson 2014:47), the extensive targeting of christian women (cf. barkindo et al 2013), and the inclusion of women in its operations (cf. icg 2016; zenn & pearson 2014). it began to recruit women “with a mixture of coercion and incentives” (icg 2016:6). the world has heard of the kidnapping of the chibok girls from a boarding school. there are many other reports of women and girls kidnapped, forced to marry with compulsory conversion to islam, rape, physical abuse of female christian students for not covering their heads or wearing provocative clothing, and so on. a study on the targeting of christian women and girls by boko haram refers to the ideological and doctrinal justification for this particular tactic, primarily that christian women are “the weakest members of an infidel cast” (barkindo et al 2013:14; see also zenn & pearson 2014: 49-50). women are also used as “symbols of revenge” (botha 2021: 269) and as “bargaining chips with the nigerian government” (bloom & matfess 2016: 109), such as where christian women and girls are abducted in retaliation for the governments imprisonment of the wives and daughters of boko haram members (bloom & matfess 2016: 112; barkindo et al 2013:16). females are required in boko haram to satisfy male fighters, ensure the production of future generations of jihadists, maintain order and carry out domestic duties in the camps. in boko haram, women also play “an increasingly important role in the tactical operations” (bloom & matfess 2016:108): they carry weapons to and for the insurgents, help carry out attacks, abductions and slaughters, and basically are involved in all operations except in leadership. a huge increase in the number of boko haram female suicide bombers has been noted in all research conducted in recent years (ejiofor 2022; botha 2021). some females do this willingly, while many, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 206 in diverse ways, “have been robbed of their autonomy to make that choice” (bloom & matfess 2016: 111). there have also been cases of men disguised as women, presumably because women tend to be less easily searched or suspected, and “mirrors a pattern seen in adaptive responses of other terrorist organisations in times of unique pressure on men” (zenn & pearson 2014: 48). “[t]he debate over women’s proper role in society is “a contentious battleground in the debate between salafi groups in northern nigeria” (bloom & matfless 2016: 116) and “the symbolism of female-led attacks has been a means by which boko haram has distinguished itself from similar movements and local rivals” (ibid: 108-109; see also botha 2021: 269). a very significant difference between the boko haram and iswap movement, noted by the tony blair institute for social change (bryson & bukarti 2018), is that “the former relies heavily on female operatives, while the latter repudiates the entire principle. each side gives a contrasting theological justification for its position” (bryson & bukarti 2018:3). iswap believes women should be “kept at home” (ibid. 10) and looked after while boko haram insists there “are situations in which women are allowed to engage in acts of violence” (ibid. 10). why women would willingly join boko haram is a big question with many answers. some researchers would suggest there is not “any significant gender difference in the motivating factors for joining violent extremist groups “(okenyodo 2016:103). others see the need to consider the social, economic and political avenues which more specifically lead women and girls to join (cf. botha 2021: 266 – 268). certainly, in northern nigeria, poverty is rampant, and women, largely uneducated, are dependent economically and otherwise on their husbands for their own livelihood and that of their children. it is not altogether surprising that some would choose to join a movement such as boko haram. others are coerced by their family members, some are homeless beggars who have been displaced and are easy to recruit, some are lured by a little money, some impregnated through rape are shunned by their own communities and hence feel compelled to join the group, some have been married to slain or arrested members of the group and want to take revenge on behalf of their husband, and some have been radicalised and freely accept and support the salafi ideology of the group (cf bloom & matfess 2016: 111; icg 2016; ejiofor 2022). oluwaniyi notes the “intersection of the push and pull [motivating] factors for women’s recruitment” (2021: 459) which explain “why women are victims and perpetrators in terrorist activities (ibid: 457). as temitope ola elaborates on very well, the four models which can categorize why women join such movements, that is coerced, revolutionary, delinquent, and women clientelism models, are all applicable in this context (ola 2020). gender as a factor in approaches to prevent or counter extremist violence in this region the primary response of the nigerian government to the threat posed by the violent extremism has been force, mainly through the military and security agencies, including a civilian joint task force which was established to assist the military in 2012. due to the brutality of all these agencies, local communities feel more protected by the jihadi groups, thus leading to their strengthening rather than weakening (onuoha 2014:175-176; botha 2021). other initiatives to counter and prevent extremist violence have been initiated by the government, including its ddr igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 207 programme, operation safe corridor, but most of these have been found greatly lacking. women and girls who were rescued or who fled the extremist groups reported to suffering further abuse and inhumane conditions in military barracks and camps for displaced persons (icg 2019). women who leave the extremist groups, freely or due to being rescued, often find themselves ostracized by the families and communities, and thus prefer to re-join both for personal as well as social and economic reasons (moaveni 2019; botha 2021: 271). sven botha, describes this as a “participatory cycle of violence”, where women and girls are first induced to join, then become victims or enablers of violence, then fleeing boko haram they find one hell replaced by another, and finally they reintegrate into boko haram due to social isolation and economic hardship (botha 2021: 272). the sincerity of the government to combat boko haram is often questioned and it is queried whether some of the deradicalization programmes are in fact used as centres to continue radicalization, since most participants in these programmes returned to join boko haram (botha 2021: 270; see also icg 2019 and gti 2020). for example, aisha wakil, known as mama boko haram, supposedly a peace negotiator, was recently convicted of conspiracy and fraud (dnbstories – online). scholars and analysts point out the importance “of critically reflecting on the gendered practices that guide the governance of terrorism and violent extremism” (rothermel & shepherd 2022: 530). un security council resolution 2242, adopted in 2015, outlines expectations and provisions towards “a gender perspective, and a concern for women’s rights in” (ibid. 525) government efforts to counter violent extremisms. possibly as a way of showing regard to this resolution, in its 2017 p/cve framework and national action plan the nigerian government acknowledged the strategic role women can “play in the treatment, rehabilitation and reintegration of violent extremist offenders” (federal republic of nigeria 2017: 18). it refers to their ‘emotive role’ as mothers to change the violent behaviour of their children who might be extremist offenders, and to their role in the home and community to pick up early signs of radicalisation and to transmit counter-messages to break this “cycle of radicalisation” (ibid). thus, funds were given to various ngos to give income generating and other empowerment programmes to women in various northern states, such as the ‘mothers school for prevention of violent extremism’ organised by the women’s interfaith council in kaduna in july 2017 (mcgarvey 2022: 107 – 108; see also botha 2021: 274). these initiatives are no doubt invaluable, but many more are required. recommendations are made by analysts and scholars on how to better counter and prevent northern nigeria’s extremist violence through a more gendered lens. primary among these are acknowledging that women are not only victims but are also perpetrators of violence. to counter this violence there is need for greater recognition of the fact that men and women experience this violence differently and thus there is need for both perspectives to be heard, including their experience and their suggested pathways for countering the spread of such violence. analysts also suggest a greater inclusion of women in “intelligence gathering” (nwangwu et al 2021) for more effective “prevention of violent extremism” (ibid: 14), in appreciation of the knowledge women have within “their homes, families and communities” (ibid: 13). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 208 such knowledge includes women’s awareness as well as experiences of “grievances, marginalization, corruption and ideologies that may contribute to self-radicalization or recruitment” (ibid: 2) not only of women but also of young people and indeed the wider community. also noted is the need to “strengthen the place of gender-sensitive religious leaders and scholars” (botha 2021: 278). it has been reported that fomwan has engaged imams involved in the ddr programmes on preaching on the rights of women (dahir 2020:42). given the continued radicalization that has taken place within ddr related camps, the appointment of some of these religious teachers is indeed ambiguous. conclusion the strength of fomwam and other muslim women’s organizations which were so instrumental in promoting women’s rights within an islamic framework during the shari’a debate, has been weakened due to the emergence of these extremist salafi jihadi groups. this is primarily because it is the muslim community itself which is divided (tarhbalouti 2019; kukah 2022: 43-83; igboin 2022). in this delicate situation where nobody knows where another might lean and aware that political, security and other social agencies contain many sympathizers and sponsors of these extremist groups, it is more difficult to recruit allies who will endorse readings of islam which are more favourable to gender quality (cf. kendhammer 2013). as they did during the shari’a debate, fomwan in collaboration with other ngos and interfaith groups, can combine the propagation of islam with gender sensitive islamic scholars, and other collaborators, to help change the gender dynamic in communities where violent extremism is still rampant. they can be more engaged in designing rehabilitation and reintegration programmes at a local level, in mobilising support for the ddr processes, in promoting reconciliation and dialogue, and in helping to reduce stigma. they can be more engaged in the dissemination of positive religious messaging, in promoting non-violence, and in providing education and mentoring to women and girl returnees, and they can lead the way in welcoming returnees back into the communities (dahir 2020: 44-46). fomwan as well as other muslim women’s, interfaith, and women’s ngos, are best placed to address the issue of gender as a driver in northern nigeria’s violent extremism. they must do so within the parameters of the patriarchal culture and the religious sensitivities of this society. they will have to navigate carefully and astutely if they so choose and if they have the courage and conviction to do so. references amara, ramzi ben (2013). the izala movement in nigeria: its split, relationship to sufis and perception of sharīʿa re-implementation. available online at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286473495_the_izala_movement_i n_nigeria_its_split_relationship_to_sufis_and_perception_of_sharia_reimplementation. barkindo, atta, gudaku, benjamin tyavkase and wesley, caroline katgurum (2013) ‘our bodies, their battleground: boko haram and gender-based violence against christian women and children in north-eastern nigeria since 1999’, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 209 nigeria’s political violence research network (npvrn) working paper no. 1, abuja-nigeria, available at: <https://www.worldwatchmonitor.org/research/3117403> [accessed 1st december 2022]. bloom, mia and hilary matfess, ‘women as symbols and swords in boko haram's terror’, prism 6, no. 1, 105-121. botha, sven (2021). ‘the women and girls associated with boko haram: how has the nigerian government responded?’, south african journal of international affairs, 28:2, 263-284, doi: 10.1080/10220461.2021.1927167 bryson, rachel & audu bulama bukarti (2018). ‘boko haram’s split on women in combat’ tony blair institute for global change, available at https://institute.global/policy/boko-harams-split-women-combat (accessed 15th december 2022) dahir, habiba (2020). ‘shared spaces: gender and religion in nigeria’s programme for disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration’ in muhammad n. lemu et al, voices from kenya and nigeria: working with religious actors to prevent extremism. tony blair institute for global change, 40 – 46. available online at https://institute.global/policy/voices-kenya-and-nigeria-workingreligious-actors-prevent-extremism. dharmapuri, s. (2016). unscr 1325 and cve: using a gender perspective to enhance operational effectiveness’, in nc fink, s zeiger and r bhulai (eds), a man’s world? exploring the roles of women in terrorism and violent extremism. hedayah and global center on cooperative security, pp. 36-53. available at https://www.globalcenter.org/wpcontent/uploads/amansworld_full.pdf dnbstories (2022). who is mama boko haram. online at https://dnbstories.com/2022/06/who-is-mama-boko-haram-biographyfamily.html accessed 9th january 2023. edinyang, sunday david, maxwell richard bassey & doris emmanuel ushie (2020). ‘almajiri system of education and the emergence of religious extremists in nigeria’. journal of educational and social research, vol 10 no 2 march 2020, 103-111. ejiofor, promise frank (2021). ‘boko haram, women, and suicide bombing in the lake chad region’, peace review, 33:4, 460-469, doi: 10.1080/10402659.2021.2042998 european parliament research service (eprs) (sept 2021). jihadist networks in subsaharan africa origins, patterns and responses. available online at https://www.europarl.europa.eu/regdata/etudes/brie/2021/698048/eprs_b ri(2021)698048_en.pdf federal republic of nigeria (2017). policy framework and national action plan for preventing and countering violent extremism: partnering for safer and resilient communities, august 2017. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 210 igboin, benson ohihon (2022). ‘small fires causing large fires’: an analysis of boko haram terrorism–insurgency in nigeria. religions 13: 565. available online at https://doi.org/ 10.3390/rel13060565 global terrorism index (2020). measuring the impact of terrorism. institute for economics & peace, sydney, november 2020. available from: http://visionofhumanity.org/reports (accessed 15th december 2022). icg international crisis group (2016). nigeria: women and the boko haram insurgency, africa report no. 242, 5th dec. icg international crisis group (2019). ‘returning from the land of jihad: the fate of women associated with boko haram’ africa report n°275, 21 may. iss regional office for west africa, the sahel and the lake chad basin (june 2022), ‘ansaru’s comeback in nigeria deepens the terror threat’, available at https://issafrica.org/iss-today/ansarus-comeback-in-nigeria-deepens-the-terrorthreat (accessed 15th december 2022) kendhammer, brandon (2013). ‘islam and the language of human rights in nigeria: “rights talk” and religion in domestic politics’ journal of human rights, 12:469–490, kukah, matthew h (1993). religion, politics and power in northern nigeria, spectrum books, ibadan, nigeria. kukah, matthew h (2022). broken truths: nigeria's elusive quest for national cohesion, adonis & abbey publishers. mohammed, kyari (2014). ‘the message and methods of boko haram’ in pérouse de montclos (ed.) boko haram: islamism, politics, security and the state in nigeria. 9 – 32. mcgarvey, kathleen (2009). muslim and christian women in dialogue: the case of northern nigeria: 42 (religions and discourse), verlag, peter lang. mcgarvey, kathleen (2022). ‘women of faith working together as mothers of a culture of peace: the women’s interfaith council in northern nigeria’ in ezra chitando & ishanesu sextus gusha (eds.) interfaith networks and development case studies from africa, palgrave macmillan, switzerland, pp. 99-115. moaveni, azadeh (2019). ‘what would make a woman go back to boko haram? despair’ in the guardian – international crisis group, commentary, 14th january. (available online) ndung’u, irene & mothepa shadung (2017). ‘can a gendered approach improve responses to violent extremism?’, institute for security studies, africa in the world report 5. available at https://issafrica.org/research/africa-report/can-agendered-approach-improve-responses-to-violent-extremism (accessed 6th january 2023). nwangwu, chidiri, freedom c. onuoha, gerald e. ezirim & kelechi c. iwuamadi (2021). ‘women, intelligence gathering & countering violent extremism in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 211 nigeria: a postcolonial feminist discourse’, democracy and security, volume 17:3. available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/17419166.2021.1920929. okenyodo, kemi (2016). ‘the role of women in preventing, mitigating and responding to violence and violent extremism in nigeria’ in nc fink, s zeiger and r bhulai (eds), pp. 100 116. ola, temitope p. (2020). ‘understanding the roles of women in boko haram’s terrorism’. journal of international women's studies, 21(1), 2-12. oluwaniyi, oluwatoyin (2021). ‘why are women victims or perpetrators in nigeria’s boko haram? recruitment, roles and implications’ in journal of contemporary african studies, vol. 39, no. 3, 454-469. oluwole, victor (2022) ‘nigeria is no longer the poverty capital of the world but still has over 70 million people living in extreme poverty the highest in africa’ posted online 22nd march 2022. available at https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/markets/nigeria-is-no-longer-thepoverty-capital-of-the-world-but-still-has-over-70-million/2txm7g3 onuoha, freedom (2014). ‘boko haram and the evolving salafi jihadist threat in nigeria’, in pérouse de montclos, ed. boko haram: islamism, politics, security and the state in nigeria. 158 191 pérouse de montclos, marc-antoine, ed. (2014). boko haram: islamism, politics, security and the state in nigeria, african studies centre (asc), institut français de recherche en afrique (ifra), west african politics and society series, vol. 2. rothermel, ann-kathrin & laura j. shepherd (2022). ‘introduction: gender and the governance of terrorism and violent extremism’, critical studies on terrorism, 15:3, 523-532, doi: 10.1080/17539153.2022.2101535 tarhbalouti, yasmina (2019). from rebellion to cooperation: the evolution of the izala movement in nigeria. available online at https://afriquedecryptages.wordpress.com/2019/06/14/from-rebellion-tocooperation-the-evolution-of-the-izala-movement-in-nigeria/ unodc united nations office on drugs and crime (2018a), drivers of violent extremism, online at https://www.unodc.org/e4j/en/terrorism/module-2/keyissues/drivers-of-violent-extremism.html (accessed 6th january 2023) unodc united nations office on drugs and crime (2018b), 'radicalization' and 'violent extremism' online at https://www.unodc.org/e4j/zh/terrorism/module2/key-issues/radicalization-violent-extremism.html (accessed 6th january 2023) wef world economic forum (2022). global gender gap report. available at https://www3.weforum.org/docs/wef_gggr_2022.pdf world population review (2023). https://worldpopulationreview.com/countryrankings/most-violent-countries igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 212 zenn, jacob and elizabeth pearson (2014). ‘women, gender and the evolving tactics of boko haram’, journal of terrorism research (jtr), volume 5, issue 1 (special issue) – february, 46 – 57. zenn, jacob and caleb weiss (2021). ‘ansaru resurgent: the rebirth of al-qaeda’s nigerian franchise’ in perspectives on terrorism, october 2021, vol. 15, no. 5: 46-58. lexical choices and pragmatic acts in commercial motorists' discourse in lagos state, nigeria abiodun c. ayeni department of english and literary studies veritas university, abuja abstract this paper examined the pragmatic roles that lexical choices play in understanding the communication between commercial motorists -taxi/bus drivers/conductorsand commuters in lagos state, nigeria. using jacob mey's pragmatic act theory, the study identified, categorised, and analysed commercial motorists' lexical choices and language use at various bus stops and motor parks in lagos. one hundred and eight (108) lexical items were collected from recorded conversations between motorists and commuters. these lexical items were categorised into the following categoriality practs: pre-boarding, boarding, on-board, and disembarking. fifty-four (54) lexical items were randomly selected and transposed into writing for analysis. adopting mixed methods of qualitative and quantitative data analysis, the sampled data were coded according to the number of practal functions identified in each categoriality pract, to follow the thread of a particular pract. seventeen (17) practal functions, one from each categoriality practs, were randomly selected and analysed. on-board categoriality pract had eight (8) practal functions, which happened to be the highest, followed by pre-boarding with five (5), boarding with three (3), and disembarking with one (1) practal function. seven of the identified practal functions appeared under more than one categoriality practs, making the types of practal functions found in the study, ten. they are; informing, instructing, requesting, inquiring, urging, warning, appealing, felicitating, demanding, and complaining. the study revealed that the lexical choices, coinages, and linguistic extensions (shaperly, agbero, how far, one-chance) used by commercial motorists and passengers in lagos are informed by the mixture of the indigenous language (yoruba), popular nigerian english, and pidgin english. the paper concludes that the pragmatic engagement of these choices displays the tact commercial motorists and passengers use in achieving effective communication among themselves. keywords: lexical choices, pragmatic act, practs, practal functions motorists' discourse introduction language has been identified as an indispensable medium of communication through which humans conduct effective exchange of information, ideas and emotions which is greatly determined by the linguistic choices they make. these choices are also constrained by the interactants and the context within which language is used, making language an interactional activity that transpires in real-life settings between people (ayeni, 2020). this paper examines the interaction between commercial motorists and commuters in the context of bus stops and motor parks in lagos whether boarding or in-boarding transportation. lagos was formerly nigeria's capital and one of the most densely populated commercial cities in nigeria, hence, the demand for commercial vehicle service in lagos will undoubtedly be on the high side. linguistic studies of public transportation or commercial vehicle discourses in nigeria have concentrated on semiotics, sociolinguistics and language navigation such as: mazzoli (1995), mgbemena (2013), jolayemi and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.21646.33605 21 olayemi (2017). some other studies on public transportation (ogunbodede, 2008; olorunfemi & adeniran 2018; salau, 2015) ranged from the improvements of the public transportation system to the expectations of commuters' satisfaction with the public transport system. on the other hand, studies on lexical choices centred on stylistics literary (ankah, kwasi and namekye, 2017; yeibo, 2011) and, stylistics linguistic studies (adedeji, 2017). as these studies investigated public transportation/commercial vehicle discourses and stylistic studies, studies on lexical items and the use of language by commercial motorists have been partially omitted or wrapped around many other concerns. this study therefore acknowledges this gap, thus, the motivation for investigating lexical choices and pragmatic acts in commercial motorists' discourse. the analysis will not only explore lexical choice but will also examine lexical coinages and their usage. the study will also account for the frequencies of the practal functions found in the various categoriality practs in the discourse. therefore, the study will identify and account for the lexical choices used in the discourse of commercial motorists and the pragmatic acts these lexical choices perform in their respective contextual communicative domain. given the second language context where this discourse is situated, the study will reveal the peculiar effects the l1 or mother tongue have on the english language as used by commercial motorists. it will also, examine how the english language co-exists with the local language to facilitate communication in commercial motorists' discourse in lagos state, nigeria. clarification of terms lexical choice lexis refers to the word, phrase or speech of a language. it originated from the greek thlanguage and became prominent in linguistics studies since the 15 century, initially in scholarly and philosophical contexts. its adoption and adaptation into various fields demonstrate the dynamic nature of language where words can migrate across languages and disciplines, acquiring new meanings and connotations. alo (1995) defined lexis as, “the level of linguistic analysis and description concerned with how the vocabulary of a language is organized” (p.18). lexis as a linguistic phenomenon, covers a wide range of linguistic areas; general knowledge of words and special loan words inclusive. the point here is that the rationale for studying the nature of a lexeme is to decode the meaning of the lexeme (i.e., lexis as semantic markers or signifiers). determining the meanings of an utterance is not an easy task, especially when the utterance is a mixture of specific local registers. this is because the intention of the speaker is largely conjectured, and may not be accurately located. locating the speaker's meaning is largely assumed in uttered sentences, as speakers may mean one thing while the hearer may misinterpret what the speaker means. so, it is the hearer's task to determine what exactly the speaker means. the intended meaning of the speaker depends largely on the context in which language is used; that is, who is speaking? to whom are they speaking? what circumstances led to the utterance/speech? and so on. silverstein (2004), working within the frame of lexical performance as a function of shared knowledge about the world, asserts that any time one uses a word or an expression, it indexes specific values within such knowledge schemata. each such schemata of conceptual information is now made relevant to discursive interaction. for him, selecting appropriate lexical items, and understanding them depend on shared cultural knowledge between interactants. silverstein (2004) further argues that language is not just a matter of individual expression but it is deeply embedded in social and cultural practices, hence: stereotypic meaning –cultural conceptsattached to words and expressions exist in a complex space between authorizing and authorized discursive engagements of the people in a population, and such stereotypes are not uniformly distributed igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 22 across the population. (p.632). motorists' terrain discourse in lagos popular nigerian english (pne) and/or nigerian pidgin english (npe) are mainly used in commercial motorists' communication in lagos state, nigeria. the style of communication among commercial motorists could be generally classified as informal. in most communities in nigeria, especially lagos, the standard english (se) is combined with the indigenous language which in this context is the unofficial language of the people. in lagos, the yoruba language is mostly used. the npe is also used sometimes, mostly by the not-too-educated and non-yoruba commercial motorists and commuters. mostly, in the interactions between commercial motorists and commuters, the npe is preferred. this is to ensure that the interactants understand themselves. it is also because the npe is a language of shared cultural knowledge between commercial motorists' and commuters (silverstein, 2004). where a passenger cannot speak either the, npe, pne, or se, the indigenous language (yoruba) is used. if the conductor cannot speak the indigenous language -which is in very rare cases-, other commuters in the vehicle will help. the main goal of commercial motorists; discourse is to strike transactional and interactional functions of a language. transactional function captures the business of talking at motor parks or bus stops, while the interactional deals with interpersonal features. in serving the transactional functions, -the major business transacted at the motor parks/bus stops between commercial motorists-, the pne, or the indigenous language (yoruba), -which must be intelligible to both interactants-, is used at motor parks/bus stops to establish casual, cordial or professional relationships. commercial motorists exchange pleasantries, ask after one another's family, and sometimes crack jokes at the park to kill time and boredom, especially when waiting for their turns to drive commuters to their various destinations. the same exchange of pleasantries is done with commuters in some cases. if the commuters are elderly, and understand and speak yoruba, they are greeted and ushered into the vehicle in yoruba; or npe. above all, commercial motorists and commuters' communication is situated in a socio-cultural and situational context, where the situation determines lexical choices or preferred language of communication. theoretical framework this study adopts jacob mey's pragmatic acts theory which situates speech acts in discourses mey's main criticism against the speech act theory is that for speech acts to be . effective, they should be situated: ''they both rely on and actively create the situation in which they are realized.” in sum, ''there are no speech acts, but only situated speech acts, or instantiated pragmatic acts'' (mey, 2001, p. 218). as a consequence, the emphasis is not on conditions and rules for an individual speech act, but on characterizing a general situational prototype (what mey calls a pragmeme) that can be executed in the situation. in other words, a pragmatic act involves adapting oneself to a context, as well as adapting the context to oneself (odebunmi, 2006). hence, the theory of pragmatic acts is central to the present study. at the centre of the pragmatic acts is the language that was engaged in performing the acts. for pragmatic acts, the individual's perspective and context are both important. there is a need to determine the language the individual needs to perform an act, and the language needed ''to create the conditions [for them] to perform a pragmatic act'' (mey, 2001, p. 214). from the individual's perspective, language adaptability may be invoked to generate meaning (mey, 2001, p. 214–215; verschueren, 1999, p. 147). furthermore, according to mey (2001), if the focus of pragmatic acts is in the environment igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 23 in which both speaker and hearer find their affordances, such that the entire situation is brought to bear on what can be said in such situations, as well as what is actually said; the central concept in the theory of pragmatic acts is the pragmeme. a pragmeme is a generalized pragmatic act which deals with ideas in an utterance and not the exact words uttered. a pragmeme can be instantiated through individual pragmatic acts, which mey (2001) calls ''practs”. practs are the concrete occurrences of a pragmeme, to which there may be several practal functions. the appeal to the context serves to determine the specific meaning accruing to the situated use of a literal speech act (geis, 1995). thus, “access to a pragmeme, one is not only exposed to language but a bit of culture” (allan, capone & kecskes, 2016, p. xviii). practs also are constrained by contextual and cultural variables (vasilescu, 2018). this projects capone's (2005, p.1355) definition of the pragmeme as “a situated speech act in which the rules of language and of society combine in determining meaning” or briefly put, “speech act in context” (capone, 2018, p. 91). therefore, a pragmeme has to be contextualized in the social praxis of a culture (capone, 2016), this is why “the norms for the interpretation of pragmeme come from the society perspective of language” (capone, 2005, p. 1358). hence, mey's (2001) pragmatic act theory will help to categorise the data into practs and practal functions for easy analysis. methodology one hundred and eight (108) recorded lexical items were collected from five (5) popular motor parks/bus stops -oshodi bus stop, yaba bus stop, obalende bus stop, berger motor park, and ojuelegba motor parkin lagos, between march and may 2023. fiftyfour (54) lexical items were randomly selected and transposed into writing for easy analysis. using the qualitative and quantitative methods, the data was coded as text 1 – test 4, going by the identified categoriality practs. the texts were further sub-numbered as text 1a, test 1b, and text 1c, for instance, to follow the thread of a particular categoriality pract, according to the number of practal functions identified in each categoriality pract. one (1) randomly selected data from each identified practal function was analysed, making a total of seventeen (17) practal functions analysed. jacob mey's pragmatics act theory helped in categorising the data into practs and practal functions; which, in turn, helped by unearthing the contextual meanings of the utterances found in the data. data presentation the four (4) categoriality practs -pre-boarding, boarding, onboard, and disembarking and ten (10) practal functions observed in this study are presented in table 1 below. table 1: a summary of practs and practal functions found in the study practal functions categoriality practs preboarding freq. boarding freq. onboard freq. disemk. freq. total perc. % informing 12 3 13 28 51% requesting 4 2 4 1 11 20% urging 2 1 2 5 9% instructing 2 2 4% inquiring 1 1 2 4% warning 1 1 2 4% demanding 1 1 2% complaining 1 1 2% appealing 1 1 2% felicitating 1 1 2% total 54 100% igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 24 table 1 above presents the four categoriality practs found in the study as well as the distribution of the ten practal functions across the four identified practs. from the table, informing practal function has the highest occurrence of 50% mainly found in on-board and pre-boarding practs respectively. the table also shows that requesting and urging are next with 20% and 9% occurrences while inquiring and warming followed with 4% occurrence and demanding, complaining, appealing and felicitating had the least at 2% occurrence. it is important to note that only one instance of practal function (requesting) was observed in the disembarking pract in the study. this may be due to the fact that during embarking commuters are more concerned in alighting and going about their business rather than engage in any form of discourse beyond bidding farewell if they so wish. table 2: breakdown of practal functions for pre-boarding above is a breakdown of the practal functions of pre-boarding practal function with informing as the highest frequently used. table 3: breakdown of practal functions for boarding table 3 above is the breakdown of boarding categoriality pract informing again accounted for the most frequently used practal function followed by requesting and urging. table 4: breakdown of on-board practal functions. p racta l f u n ction f req . p ercen tage % in fo rm ing 12 60% r equesting 4 20% u rg ing 2 10% inqu iring 1 5% w arn ing 1 5% t ota l 20 100 ̂ p racta l f u n ction f req . p ercen tage % in form ing 3 50% r equesting 2 30% u rg ing 1 20% t ota l 6 100 ̂ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 25 p r a c t a l f u n c t io n f r e q . p e r c e n t a g e % i n f o r m in g 1 3 4 8 .2 % r e q u e s t in g 7 2 5 .9 % i n s t r u c t in g 2 7 .4 % w a r n in g 1 3 .7 % d e m a n d in g 1 3 .7 % c o m p la in in g 1 3 .7 % a p p e a l in g 1 3 .7 % f e l i c i t a t in g 1 3 .7 % t o t a l 2 7 1 0 0 ̂ on-board categoriality pract came up with the highest number of practal functions in the study with a frequency of eight (8) practal function. among the eight (8) practal functions in the study, informing emerged the most frequently used with a frequency of thirteen (13). table 5: samples of lexical choices used in performing pragmatic functions utterance lexical choice pract practal function test1c: chairman, how far? chairman, how far pre-boarding inquiry text 1d: enter the garage, enter the garage come see the bus you go join garage pre-boarding urging test 2d: madam i beg dress well, this chair na four people e dey carry. dress well boarding urging test 2b: wole pelu change e o, emi oni change o! enter with your change o, i no have change o! change o boarding warning text 3a: oga, carry go the road clear. oga, carry go, the road clear. on-board informing text 3h: officer i twalay! i twalay! on-board felicitating text 1f: oga no pass there o, area boys go attack you. area boy disembarking warning text 4: can i have my balance, please? balance disembarking demanding igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 26 discussion of findings the discussion of findings in this study is taken separately according to the four categoriality practs identified in the study. this is so because the lexical items found in the study may bear the same practal function but perform different pragmatic acts. pre-boarding pre-boarding is one of the categoriality practs found in the interactions of the lagos commercial motorists/commuters at the motor parks and bus stops. in pre-boarding, commuters are heard asking questions about the route buses would follow and, conductors are also heard advertising the routes/destinations of the various buses. pre-boarding examines the discourse of commuters' inquiries of where a particular commercial vehicle is going or the route it would take to its destination. bus drivers discuss with one another about happenings at the park, happenings on their various routes as they journeyed to or from a destination, or personal issues -depending on how close they are-, while waiting for their turns when commuters would board their vehicles. likewise, bus conductors, their colleagues, and commuters are also seen having discussions and conversations. preboarding in this study is characterised by informing, requesting, urging, inquiring, and warning, as seen in table 2 above. it is further laced with utterances of linguistic borrowing and semantic shifts. informing based on table 2 above, informing is a dominant practal function as it accounted for the most frequent (60%) practal function of pre-boarding categoriality pract. this may be so because information is needed at the motor parks and bus stops; even drivers inform one another of happenings on their way and in the park, just as seen in the extract below. in text 1a for instance, a bus driver, while waiting for his turn for commuters to board his vehicle, had an encounter with one of the casual workers (agbero) at the motor park. after the uproar, sitting with a colleague in their usual mannerism made the following statement to a colleague: text 1a: the behaviour of agberos in this park is getting out of hand. in the above statement, the speaker, a bus driver at the park, is informing the national union of road transport workers (nurtw) chairman of his experience with one of the agberos, in the park which has led to his conclusion that the excesses of the agberos in that park is getting out of hand. agbero in the above extract is a pragmatic act that expresses the pragmeme of thugs or hoodlums. this can also be substantiated by several other concrete pragmatic acts from the yoruba language where it was borrowed, depending on the context of usage. in transportation, which is our concern, an agbero could be a conductor or tout. a person who assists passengers in boarding vehicles, collects fares, and helps the driver navigate through traffic. in a broader sense, an agbero could mean a hustler or a troublemaker. according to mey (2001), if pragmatic acts are context-derived and context-constrained, the context within which the lexicon agbero was used suggests the same as above. it could also be deduced that the speaker in his speech is stating the identifiable excesses of the so-called agberos at the park. making use of a sentence like; the behaviours of and is getting out of hand is a pointer to informing, showing that the speaker is giving the listener a piece of information. the lexicon agbero is a borrowed word from the yoruba language coinage. it was coined from the noun phrase ah-geh-roh. the speaker's choice of the lexicon can be understood or interpreted in line with silverstein's (2004) argument which states that wherever a word or igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 27 an expression is used in an utterance, it indicates specific values within the knowledge of the schemata. in addition, the lexicon agbero, drawn from the immediate society, is used and accepted by the users to determine the meaning of the lexicon. this buttresses the claim of allan, kecskes and capone (2016) that a pragmeme is a situated speech act where the rules of language and that of society combine to determine the intended meaning as a socially recognised object, sensitive to social expectations about the situation in which interpretation is embedded. requesting requesting's 20% frequency under the pre-boarding categoriality pract may not be far from the fact that in pre-boarding, bus conductors, as well as commuters, make various requests such as, the destination of the bus, the route it will follow, denominations of currencies held by commuters, and so on, to have a trouble-free ride. a good example of requesting is seen in text 1b where a commuter is putting a request across to a bus driver, hence: text 1b: could you please carry me to mile 2? the speaker here is literarily requesting the bus driver to take him to a destination he intends to go to; mile 2. in most cases, linguistic elements like; could and please are often used for requests. this is so because requests come with some degree of politeness. according to collins english dictionary (2016), the meanings of the word carry are: i. to hold or move something from one place to another, ii. to support or bear the weight of something, to bear or endure a feeling or emotion, iii. to have a thought or idea that persists, to convey or transmit information, idea or message, iv. to spread or propagate something, v. to continue or sustain an activity, process or situation, vi. to maintain or uphold a standard, tradition or responsibility, vii. to transfer a value or quantity from one place to another, viii. behave in a certain manner. with the above list of the meanings of carry, it is evident that there is to some degree, a semantic extension of its meaning as used in the above extract. the meaning of carry in the above extract is extended to relate to an animate object too (human beings), instead of only inanimate and abstract objects. this can be attributed to a direct translation of the word carry -gbefrom the yoruba language, which is used for both animate and inanimate objects. nevertheless, the semantic content of most se words used in pne are either shifted or extended beyond their denotations in the nigerian sociolinguistic context, yet their meanings are still properly conveyed just as is seen in the lexicon carry as used in the extract above. inquiring mostly, inquiring as used by lagos commercial motorists at motor parks and bus stops does not appear as a request for information or a wish/desire to know something; it is usually used as felicitation. this is seen in test 1c where a commercial bus driver, in a bid to exchange pleasantries with a colleague, had to say: test 1c: chairman how far? in standard english, functions as a noun phrase so, it does not make complete how far sense nor pass for a complete interrogative construct as it appears to be. however, how far in nigerian pidgin english is a common greeting or inquiry that can have different meanings depending on the context of its usage. a few possible interpretations of it are: i. how are you doing? ii. what's up? iii. how's business? iv. how's life treating you? so, in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 28 this context, how far is a pragmatic act with either of the above-stated pragmemes. again, for the speaker to have used the above utterance, there must have been an established shared situation knowledge (ssk) by the interactants (mey, 2001). this also takes us back to allan, kecskes and capone's (2016) definition of pragmeme which states that it is a situated speech act where the rules of language and that of the immediate society where language is used, come together to determine the meaning of an utterance. this definition suggests that the sociolinguistic context where an utterance is made has to be put into consideration during meaning-making. if this is put into consideration, then the utterance above is meaningful. chairman, how far, performs diverse speech acts but in this contest, inquiry is identified. this is because commercial motorists use how far to inquire about the well-being of one another. this is justified by the fact that when the utterance (chairman how far?) is said to someone at the motor park, the response is usually fine, thank you, or i dey!!, as the case may be, or if the addressee feels otherwise, he would respond in the negative. it is also necessary to know that the person addressed in the extract as chairman is not a chairman in the real sense of it. the lexicon chairman is a general sociolinguistic expression used by the motor park community to make an addressee feel important, highly placed and respected; hence, situating the meaning of the lexicon chairman in the contextual usage. urging at most bus stops/motor parks in lagos, bus conductors are usually seen urging commuters to board their buses in a bid to take off fast. a good example of this illustration is seen in text 1d where a bus conductor is urging a potential passenger to walk into the motor park and board his bus instead of boarding one outside the park. text 1d: enter the garage, enter the garage come see the bus you go join the above speaker, a bus conductor, is not only preventing the on-coming commuters from taking a roadside vehicle but also urging them to take their vehicle which is parked inside the motor park otherwise known as garage. the repetition of, enter the garage depicts urging in npe which cannot be disassociated from the resultant effect of the domestication, nativization, and acculturation of the english language in nigeria (jowitt, 2000). this is further buttressed by odebunmi (2006) who holds that the socio-cultural differences that exist between the english people and nigerians allow new lexical items to develop. most nigerian words; especially in the south-western (kia-kia, were-were,) are repeated for emphasis, hence, enter the garage, enter the garage. furthermore, to a certain degree, there is a semantic shift in the use of the word garage in the utterance above. the standard english meaning of the word garage has been altered as the intended meaning of the speaker is a motor park where commercial vehicles are parked, waiting for commuters, and not an outbuilding or part of a building for housing automobiles (garage). this usage in lagos state motor parks has yielded a semantic change as a different intention for the word (garage) is shared in that community and has become established in its usage. warning warning is one of the least frequently used practal functions under pre-boarding. warning in this study occurred as two commuters were waiting for a bus to board, one made a move to join a moving vehicle that seemed suspicious while the other tried warning him. the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 29 interlocutors here are two commuters by the bus stop. an example of warning as a practal function under pre-boarding categoriality pract is seen in text 1e. text 1e: don't board that cab, it is a one-chance a warning is a statement, signal, or alert that informs someone of a potential/imminent danger, risk, or problem. don't board that cab in the above text is an obvious warning. the lexicon don't is a negation and a warning pointer, while don't board that cab is an outright, obvious warning. to further buttress this, the speaker did not only warn the intended passenger but went on to say the reason why he should not board the cab -it is a one chance. the term one chance originated in lagos state in the 1990s when an unsuspecting commuter boarded a bus along the road whose conductor was shouting, one chance, one chance, meaning, there was just a vacant seat left in the vehicle. on the way, the vehicle occupants robbed him of his belongings and threw him out of the moving vehicle (nairaland.com). one chance is a pragmatic act that expresses the pragmeme danger, impersonator with criminal intent, criminal-minded occupants, and so on. so, in the utterance above, the speaker is warming the commuter that the occupants in the vehicle he was trying to board looked suspicious of having criminal intent. boarding boarding is another categoriality pract found in the lexical choices of lagos commercial motorists and commuters. in organised boarding, commuters are seen in a long queue boarding a bus one after the other while the conductors of the buses are seen standing by the side of their buses, giving the boarding commuters necessary information and making some requests from the commuters. on some occasions, when boarding is unorganised, that is, when there are more commuters than the available buses, boarding becomes chaotic, as commuters would have to struggle their way into the buses. in other cases, buses and some commuters wait for other commuters to join the bus to make a full load. boarding in this study is characterised by three practal functions namely; informing, requesting, and urging, as presented in table 3 above. boarding categoriality pract is marked by lexicons of linguistic borrowing, linguistic coinages, and semantic shifts. informing informing, the most frequently used practal function in the pre-boarding categoriality pract is coincidentally the most frequently used practal function of boarding categoriality pract. this may not be disassociated with the fact that commuters, as well as drivers and conductors/request information from one another as they get on the bus or embark on the journey to various destinations. a clear case of informing under this categoriality pract is seen in text 2a. text 2a: the driver won't move the bus until he gets full-load. in the above extract, a commuter was informing a seatmate -another commuterwho was prompting the driver to start moving that the vehicle would not move until it is filled up. full-load is a hyphenated compounding of an adjective (full) and a noun (load), which could be similar to compounding like blackboard and cupboard -solid compounding. but in full-load, the referent to as load in this context are human beings who are to be conveyed from one point to another, and not load as in weight or quantity of goods. full-load in this context is a linguistic transfer from the popular nigerian english (pne) usage. hence, a linguistic semantic extension of the meaning from goods (load) to human beings. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 30 requesting as found in this study under boarding categoriality pract, requesting is mostly used by bus conductors and commuters. requesting in lagos state motor parks/bus stops is the act of asking for something (by a commuter to a bus conductor/conductor or vice versa). the below extract from text 2b is an example of requesting under the boarding categoriality pract. text 2b: wole pelu change e o, emi oni change o! enter with your change, i no have change o! the utterance above was made by a conductor to his potential passengers, requesting them to board the bus with their change handy. the first obvious linguistic approaches used in the extract are code-mixing and code-switching. in the above text, it is obvious that the bus conductor is requesting the commuters boarding the vehicle to board with their change wole pelu change e o. this means the commuters should board the vehicle with the exact fare to their various destinations handy. he did not stop at that, he went further to say the reason for his request emi oni change omeaning, he does not have smaller denominations of the nigerian currency to give to them as their balance if they give him a larger currency denomination; hence, i no have change o! text 2b is also one with codemixing, that is, it has a mixture of the yoruba code and the pne code wole pelu change e o, emi oni change oand code-switching; which is, the switching from the yoruba code to the pidgin english code -enter with your change, i no have change o! the lexicon change as used here refers to the amount of money given back to someone as a balance from a certain high currency denomination given for their bus fare. the use of the word change in this context has some connotations of semantic shift in the sense that change is used in the place of balance. urging urging as seen in this study is a way of persuasion that comes normally from a bus conductor to a commuter(s) to do something as seen in text 2c where a bus conductor is urging a group of commuters to board his bus, hurriedly. text 2c: enter, enter sharperly! in the above text, the repetition of the lexicon enter denotes urging as seen in most nigerian languages. the idea behind this repetition is that saying a word once is not powerful enough to buttress urging, hence the repetition. repetition of words has already been encountered and addressed above. they are products of emphasis and linguistic transfer. word stress in yoruba sentences is marked by the repetition of the word emphasised; this, the conductor transferred to the english language; enter enter, sharperly! sharperly is a slang that originated from the motor parks/bus stops in nigeria, and it is overtly used by commercial motorists. the coinage comes from the lexicon sharp. before now the slang used to express haste was sharp sharp. as time went on, with the dynamic nature of language, it now changed to shaperly. on-board on-board is the third categoriality pract found in the language use of the lagos commercial motorists and commuters. here, passengers are all seated and the vehicle is moving to a specified destination. commuters are seen discussing with one another, the driver requesting or instructing the conductor to do something, the conductor giving commuters information about the journey, the driver shouting out at another driver on the road, and so on. on-board is characterised by eight practal functions, the highest number of practal igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 31 functions in on-board categoriality pract. this may be because on-board, when the actual movement of commuters from one point to another, is characterised by many requests/inquiries to avoid mistakes that might impede a smooth journey to desired destinations. the practal functions found here include; informing, requesting, instructing, warning, demanding, complaining, appealing, and felicitating. this is illustrated in table 4 above. on-board is further marked by linguistic borrowings, linguistic coinages, and semantic shifts. informing informing. being the highest practal function in on-board categoriality pract should not be a surprise as, the three language users, -commercial drivers, conductors, and commutersin this study at, one time or the other, need one piece of information or another. in some instances, it is the bus driver who informs his conductor about something or vice versa; in some other instances, it is the conductor who informs the commuters or vice versa, as seen in text 3a where the bus conductor, after seeing that the road was traffic free, shouted out at the bus driver to divert into the next lane as he moved. text 3a: oga, carry go the road clear. the complete utterance in text 3a -oga, carry go, the road clearis a product of the pidgin english which is translated, thus: boss, you can move on, the road is clear. this translation into se has brought about an element of ambiguity in the road is clear. in se or pne, the expression, the road is clear, there is no roadblock, there are no checkpoints, there are no federal road safety officers on the road, there are on police officers on the road, and other stop and check situations common in nigerian roads generally. going by the pidgin english translation, it is obvious that the bus conductor is informing his oga –the bus driverabout the situation on the road. the opening of the utterance above, oga. carry go is a pidgin slang that originated from lagos commercial motorist and later spread to most motor packs in the country. the word oga is a borrowed lexicon from the yoruba language which means boss while carry go means move on, there are no obstacles, or, the road is free. requesting requesting is to politely or officially ask for something. requesting occurs when a bus conductor asks a commuter to do something; the commuter requests something from the conductor or a fellow commuter; the bus driver requests the conductor to carry out a task; or the bus conductor to another bus driver. an example of requesting is seen in text 3b. text 3b: i beg comot this molue for road make i pass joor. in the above text, a danfo bus conductor is requesting that another bus driver leaves the road for his bus to gain access hence the locution i beg coomt this molue for road make i pass joor. this is a pidgin english/yoruba construction, meaning, please remove this molue from the way so that i can gain access. i beg is a pidgin english phrase which means please, or kindly, while joor is a yoruba word that also means please. when the lexicon please or kindly opens a sentence, it signifies the onset of a request. the pidgin english lexicon comot is a coinage from come out, used to mean, 'remove from', 'get away from', or 'get out of'. in the utterance above -which is our concern-, it is used as remove from. molue is a term used in nigeria to refer to a large rickety bus often in a state of disrepair, used for public transportation. the lexicon molue is derived from the yoruba language meaning to carry many things or to be loaded. it is also believed that it is a coinage from the english words, mould it; perhaps referring to the construction of the vehicle. the molue is a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 32 privately owned commercial bus in lagos, seating about forty-four commuters in the bus, with a long steel metal or long wood as a seat, to sit as many as four or more commuters. it also has a long vertical rod at the middle section of the roof area of the bus, running from the front of the bus to the back, where other commuters without seats (maybe more than the number with seats) hold on to, standing, while the bus is on motion. all these characterises the name molue. instructing referring to table 4 above, instructing is the third most frequently used practal function of the on-board categoriality pract. in this study, instructing is seen from the bus driver to his conductor when the bus driver instructs his conductor to carry out a task. this is clearly illustrated in text 3c when an officer of the lagos state transport management agency, popularly known as lastma, apprehended a bus driver for driving on a lane meant only for lagos state government buses. the bus driver quickly instructed his conductor to arrange for the lastma. text 3c: ojo, arrange for lastma text 3c above is a pidgin english construction with which a bus driver gave his conductor an instruction to arrange for lastma. ojo, obviously is the name of the bus conductor who the bus driver called and gave an instruction to arrange for the lastma. the lexicon arrange is a slang for southwestern motorists which means to give a certain amount of money as a bribe to someone. the driver now in his utterance ojo, arrange for that lastma means that ojo should give some specified amount of money to the lastma officer as a bribe so that he would let them go unprosecuted. normally the amount of money to be given is usually known to all parties. the same lexicon –arrange-, portrays a semantic shift as used in the construction above. arrange, which means 'to plan'; 'to prepare for', or 'to put in a particular order' is now used to mean, putting some amount of money together for someone as a bribe. warning warning in this study was used only once. this cannot be disassociated with the fact that among the locutions of commercial motorists, there is hardly a need for warning, and so, warnings are not frequently used. consequently, the second warning practal function in this study is seen in text 3d where a bus driver shouts out a warning to another bus driver. text 3d: if you hit my body, you go pay o! the above utterance can be translated as, “if you bash my car, you will pay.” in the above utterance, the body of the vehicle is referred to as my body. this utterance is typically an utterance of lagos commercial motorists. they feel that saying, my car/vehicle's body is too lengthy, let alone saying, the body of my vehicle/car. so, in a bid to cut it short, they arrived at my body. in nigerian pidgin english, when the lexicon o ends an utterance, it signifies one of/or two things: warning and/or emphasis. in the above context, the speaker ended the above utterance with o as both a warning and an emphasis. demanding demanding, as captured in table 4 above, is one of the least frequently used practal functions. demanding practal function had only one appearance and accounted for 3.7% frequency. this is because demanding as a practal function is tied to the fact that demanding is only used by one of the three interactants in this investigation, the commuter. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 33 to demand means to ask for something authoritatively, in a way that shows that one does not expect to be refused what is being demanded. mostly, on-board demand comes from commuters who have given a higher than their fare currency denomination to the conductors and are demanding their balance. this demand is made authoritatively because conductors are in the habit of pretending to have forgotten that certain commuters gave them a currency higher than their fares, for their fares to be deducted. it is generally believed that bus conductors intentionally collect the money and keep quiet, hoping that commuters would forget to ask for their balance. if the commuters eventually forget to ask for the balance, the conductors keep it. a good example of this is seen in text 3e where a commuter is demanding for her change from the conductor of the bus she boarded. text 3e: conductor, give me my change. text 3e above can be classified as a pidgin english construction -because of the use of the lexicon change. the commuter here gave the bus conductor a higher currency denomination for her fare to be deducted from and the bus conductor is pretending not to remember. so, the commuter is authoritatively demanding for her change. a bus conductor is responsible for collecting fares from or selling tickets to passengers, assisting passengers, and announcing stops, amongst other duties. in larger towns or cities, a conductor sells tickets on a bus or other public vehicles. it is a common feature in many local bus services, in larger towns and cities to have conductors to help out by overseeing the happenings in the vehicles, including collecting fares from commuters. the lexicon conductor has since been adopted and is still in use in nigerian motor parks and bus stops for someone who follows and helps commercial drivers in their vehicles, mainly, to collect transport fares from commuters. complaining complaining is an expression of dissatisfaction or annoyance about something or telling someone that something is wrong. complaining as a practal function in this study is usually seen between a conductor and a bus driver, a conductor and another conductor, a commercial vehicle driver and another, or between commuters in the same commercial vehicle as clearly seen in text 3f below where a commuter is complaining to another in the same vehicle that their driver is rough. text 3f: this danfo driver is rough. after carefully observing the driving conduct of the danfo bus driver a commuter boarded, he concluded that the driver was rough and decided to share his observation with his seatmate on the bus; hence the utterance in text 3f -this danfo driver is rough. the lexicon danfo is a popular coinage used for a specific type of 12 – 14-seater bus used in lagos by commercial motorists. the name danfo is derived from the yoruba language, which means, hurry or fast. other people also interpret it as sitting alone on a seat in the bus. the derivation of this word is from the comparison of the danfo and the molue buses, where in the former, a commuter sits alone in a fast-moving commercial vehicle, with no room for standing, and in the latter, a long metallic seat is moulded for as many as 4 passengers who sit shoulder to shoulder, with others standing (see text 3b above). appealing appealing is another practal function that is scarcely used in this type of investigation. nevertheless, appealing practal function appeared once in the on-board categoriality pract. appealing is the act of making a special or serious request for something to be done in one's favour. as earlier stated, this practal function is hardly seen to be used between interactants in this kind of study, hence the only one found was used by a driver to a passenger, as seen in text 3g. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 34 text 3g: oga, abeg, drop make you take okada come meet us for front, road safety go catch me. the above location, -oga, abeg, drop make you take okada come meet us for front, road safety go catch meis a pidgin english construction which means, kindly alight from the bus and join us again somewhere in the front after we must have driven past the road safety officers so they don't apprehend me for overloading. abeg is a pidgin english word that means please or kindly. the danfo bus has two seats at the front which logically should seat not more than two commuters, but this danfo driver had three commuters squeezing in the seat meant for two. on seeing the federal road safety commission officers ahead, he pleaded with the third passenger to take an okada and join them at the front, far away from the federal road safety commission officers. the lexicon oga is borrowed from the yoruba language, which means boss (see text 3a above). using the word oga to address someone could be an ego-massaging act, depending on the speaker's intention. in nigeria, okada refers to a popular mode of transportation -motorcycles used for commercial transportation. the term okada originated from the name of a nigerian businessman, chief augustine okada, from okada town in benin, edo state of nigeria, who founded the okada airline in the 1980s. the airline coincidentally folded up about the same time these motorcycles started coming into nigeria. okada town was where the motorcycle first gained prominence, hence okada became synonymous with the motorcycle. felicitating felicitation refers to expressing congratulations, praise, or goodwill to someone on a special occasion, achievement, or milestone. it could also mean the exchange of pleasantries. this could be so because interactants here may not have any business felicitating with one another on-board. if they must felicitate, they would either do so at the pre-boarding or the boarding stages. this explains why felicitating in this categoriality pract has a low frequency distribution. the only identified felicitating practal function in this study ensured between a danfo driver and a police officer as the driver was driving past. text 3h: officer i, twalay! the utterance above is a pidgin english construction with a slang word. in the above scenario, a danfo driver was driving past and saw a police officer. he then decided to extend felicitation by saying, officer i, twalay. the lexicon twalay is believed to have originated from the yoruba language where tua leyin means, how are you doing? or how is life treating you? it is also a casual way of asking about someone's well-being or state of mind which is similar to saying, how is it going? or what's up? in informal settings. in this context, twalay is a friendly and informal greeting often used among friends or in casual social settings. the lexicon officer is a general title given to all uniform personnel -not minding their ranksby commercial motorists anywhere they find them . disembarking disembarking is the act of leaving or alighting from a commercial vehicle after getting to one's destination. disembarking in this study is the categoriality pract with the least number of practal functionsjust one. this is expected because little or no conversation is done during disembarking, as all discussions during any journey are done at the preboarding, boarding, and on-board stages. as such, disembarking in this study is characterised by only requesting practal function as captured in table 1 above. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 35 requesting requesting practal function is the only practal function identified in disembarking categoriality pract. as earlier observed, this is solely associated with the fact that the discussants here carry out almost all discussions at the pre-boarding, boarding, and onboard stages of their journey. requesting is an act of asking for something politely as earlier illustrated in text 4 below. text 4: can i have my balance, please? the above utterance started and ended with the lexicons; can and please, respectively. these lexicons are pointers to politeness. in the text above, a commuter on a bus, after getting to his destination and on the verge of alighting from the bus, turned to the bus conductor and requested his balance. the word balance in this context is the amount left after the bus fare has been deducted. presumably, for the speaker to have asked for his balance from the bus conductor, he must have before now, given the bus conductor a currency denomination, higher than the fare to his destination. again, can i have my balance please is a pragmatic act that expresses the pragmeme, give me what is authentically mine. the speaker may have used the above expression just to be polite. conclusion four categoriality practs -pre-boarding, boarding, on-board, and disembarkingwere found in this study, from which seventeen practal functions were identified. seven of the identified practal functions appeared under more than one categoriality practs, making the types of practal functions found in the study, ten. they are; informing, instructing, requesting, inquiring, urging, warning, appealing, felicitating, demanding, and complaining. the study has shown that each categoriality pract derived its contents from the interactions between commercial motorists and commuters. also, each lexical choice is aimed at a function, hence, the practal functions. therefore, the utterances by lagos motorists and commuters perform pragmatic functions. the utterances identified in the study have a mixed colouration of popular nigerian english and nigerian pidgin english. these are further garnished with some linguistic borrowings and semantic shifts. however, all categories of utterances and usage are adapted to the pragmatics of local interactions to achieve the meanings intended by the interactants. the linguistic borrowings and the code-mixing/code-switching found in the study are peculiarities that identify the language use of lagos commercial motorists and their commuters. it is near impossible to separate a people from the culture and sociological patterns they are accustomed to, so too it is to try to isolate a language from interacting with another in the same environment; owing to the social-linguistic ways of the life of users. this study has not only provided access to the intended meanings of words in commercial motorists and commuters' communication, it has also given insights into the degree of the adaptation and nativization of the english language in the environment. future research can compare the characteristics of the words used by commercial motorists in lagos with those of other parts of nigeria. references adedeji, i. (2017). stylistic functions of lexical choices in selected utterances of nigerian politicians. retrieved from https://nigeriareposit.nln.gov.ng/handle/20.500.14186/811 akmajian, a., demers, r. a. farmer, a., k., & harnish, r. m. (2012). linguistics: an in t roduc t ion to language and communica t ion . re t r ieved f rom https://www.abebooks.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 36 allan, k., kecshes, i. & capone, a. (eds.) (2016). pragmeme and theories of language use. cham switzerland. springer. alo, m. (1995). applied english linguistics: an introduction. addy link austin, j. (1962). how to do things with words. clarendon press. ankrah, g., kwasi, o. & nyamekye, p. (2017). lexical choices in “the road not taken” by poem written by robert frost (1874-1963). retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejel.v0i0.568 ayeni, a. c. (2020). conversation analysis in an els classroom interaction. igwebuike: african journal of arts and humanities. 6 (9), 38 51 capone, a. (2005). pragmemes: a study with reference to english and italian. journal of pragmatics 37 (9), 1355–1371 capone, a. (2018). pragmemes and theories of language use. retrieved from https://www.springer.com. collins english dictionary online. (2016). retrieved from https://amazon.com geis, m. (1995). speech acts and conversational interaction. cup, cambridge university press jowitt, d. (2000). nigerian english usage: an introduction. longman. mazzoli, m. (2015). language nativization and ideologies in ajégúnlè retrieved from http://www.pmanonline.net/index.html mey, j.(2001). pragmatics: an introduction. uk: blackwell publishers. mgbemena, j. (2013). language, communication on wheels and national development: the inscriptions on a tricycle (keke). international journal of english and literature4(10), 529-537. odebunmi, a. (2006). locutions in medical discourse in southwestern nigeria. journal of international pragmatics association 16(1), .25-41 odebunmi, a. (2006). a pragmatic reading of ahmed yerima's proverbs in yemoja, attahiru, and dry leaves on ukan trees. intercultural pragmatics 3 (2), 153–169 doi 10.1515/ip.2006.010 ogunbodede, e. (2008). urban road transportation in nigeria from 1960 to 2006: problems, prospects and challenges. ethiopian journal of environmental studies and management, 1(1). 7-18. olorunfemi, o. & adeniran, o. (2018). assessment of passengers' satisfaction of public transport system in akure-owo axis, nigeria. american international journal of multidisciplinary scientific research, 4(1). salau, t. (2015). public transportation in metropolitan lagos, nigeria: analysis of public transport users' socioeconomic characteristics. journal of urban planning and transport research, 3(1), 132-139. silverstein, m. (2004). cultural concepts and the language-culture nexus. current anthropology, 5(45), 621-652. verschueren, j. (1999). understanding pragmatics. arnold press. versilescu, a. (2018). refusals: the pragmeme and the practs. retrieved from https://www.semanticscholar.org yeibo, e. (2011). patterns of lexical choices and stylistic function in j.p. clarkbekederemo's poetry. international journal of english linguistics. 1(1). 137 149. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 37 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 79 agitations and salvaging nigeria or saving nigerians: a phenomenological ontology of the forces of re-structuring and de-structuring joseph n. agbo, ph.d department of philosophy, ebonyi state university, abakaliki jeocoagbo@gmail.com abstract this essay tries to show that the challenge facing nigeria is not as simple as it has been addressed, especially socio-politically. it argues that unless the challenge is interpreted, understood and addressed ontologically, no far-reaching solution can be fostered or suffice. thus this essay attempts to prove a set of mutually inclusive theses: one, that agitations in nigeria cannot be addressed without an ontological understanding and solution to the being of nigeria as such; two, that agitations without political participation is nothing but noisemaking expression of frustration; and three, that the best way to salvage nigeria is to save nigerians and if two of them cannot be saved then let nigeria die so that nigerians (the human beings in her territory) can live. the goal of the paper is ontological, while its methods are historical, phenomenological and hermeneutic. in conclusion, the paper submits that neither restructuring nor de-structuring can salvage or save nigeria or nigerians, respectively, if any of them occurs via a violent route. keywords: agitation, de-structuring, nigeria, nigerians, phenomenological ontology, restructuring. introduction the next set of essays tells the story of an idealist nigerian. born of the igbo stock, who felt optimistic about the salvation of nigeria. it can still happen! but now that i know that there are fundamental, foundational issues that my ideals and ideas cannot wish away. the salvaging of nigeria appears bleak and seems like trying to squeeze water through your hands: the more you squeeze it, the more the water vanishes!!! these essays are reflections on an orphaned country, corruption and ethnic nationalistic expressions. that was at the time when opc was the only dominant ethnic pressure on the nigerian state. no mend, no avengers, no boko haram, no ipob, just an emerging massob. interestingly, what we now call “abacha loot” was in the author’s radar as far back as 22 years ago. (agbo, 2021 b:34) “street demonstration alone cannot achieve the right to self-determination…neither is any violence needed to accomplish self-determination in the 21st century …organization, international litigation, diplomacy and publicity must harness the awareness which street demonstrations have created. tyrants have no ears. they do not listen. they only issue orders and are in love with listening to their own voices only”.onyesoh (2017:118) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 80 recently, i published about seventy-three (73) of the over two hundred (200) articles i had written in various nigerian newspapers between 1998 and 2003. the opening quote is, thus, my way of describing, with the advantage of hindsight, what i wrote those years. that nigeria is a country groaning under a self-inflicted burden is a fact known by many. that she is a huge disappointment to her citizens and the shocked world is equally undeniable. that the decay, destruction, dearth and death within the nigerian state is threatening her survival as a subject of international law and a geopolitical entity can also not be gainsaid, even by the most optimistic analyst. however, that nigeria’s problem is ontological appears to be known only by a few historically, critically and analytically minded people. those who think that nigeria has political, economic or security problems are on top of the tree, cutting branches, shedding leaves and plucking some of the (sometimes) ripped and (sometimes) rotten fruits. but they need to come down and join those of us at the root of the tree, for the odious task of root digging to locate and solve the problem (agbo, 2018). why is nigeria in turmoil? and why are ethnic nations within her territory reacting adversely? why are nigerians agitating? what hope for survival does nigeria have if this boiling point continues? can nigeria be salvaged? can nigerians be saved? can both nigeria and nigerians be saved? if it becomes inevitable to save only one of the two, which one should be saved and which should be sacrificed? can re-structuring salvage nigeria and save nigerians simultaneously? will de-structuring make nigerians live better, fare better and act better? what is the current structure of nigeria that requires restructuring? can the current mode of agitation across nigeria bring nigeria to a better situation? can de-structuring be done without collateral damage to human lives and infrastructures? who is afraid of either restructuring or de-structuring? what can phenomenology, ontology or ontological analysis bring on board to help provide a correct interpretation, deep understanding and enduring solution to the problem on the ground? these questions and similar ones shall be on our thoughts as we navigate through this essay. our purpose is to show that no simplistic solution exists to the problem at hand and that without at least an ontological understanding of the nigerian quagmire, no socio-political solution would suffice. in the process of achieving this purpose, we shall prove a set of mutually inclusive theses: one, that agitations in nigeria cannot be addressed without an ontological understanding and solution to the being of nigeria as such; two, that agitations without political participation is nothing but noisemaking expression of frustration; and three, that the best way to salvage nigeria is to save nigerians and if two of them cannot be saved then let nigeria die so that nigerians can live. what shall we do with a country that the lagos weekly record, a colonial newspaper, describes in 1919, in the following words: “the three basic principles responsible for the successful working of the nigerian system are fear, ignorance and military terrorism” (kirk-green, 1968: 272). or the one described as “a gang land of unprecedented impunity” (soyinka, 2009); whose leaders are a band of mosquitoes that stumbled on a nudist family igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 81 to be able to achieve these modest purposes and prove our theses, this essay has been structured as follows: after this introductory part, it shall clarify certain concepts that are crucial in the process of the essay. such concepts include phenomenology, ontology and ontological analysis, forces, restructuring, de structuring, agitation, self-determination, etc. next, we shall explicate the primacy of ontology in any understanding or interpretation of reality. the next two sections shall then capture the ontological history of nigeria and then expose her theaters of agitation, with a brief discussion on the biafran dimension so that the discussion can be contextualized. after these, the next section shall then discuss the twin forces of restructuring and de-structuring, to find out if any spiritual prophecy, scientific prediction, and/or political prognostication can ensure any of them occurring as a result of the agitations. we would thereafter conclude our discussion. to be able to realize all the above purposes and objectives, we shall employ historical, expository, phenomenological and analytic methods of research. in the process of this presentation, i shall share some of my experiences in the biafran agitations since i am not just an armchair theorizer. i am a scholar and intellectual who believes in engaging and participatory social engineering. this is part of my philosophy of “refl-action”, that permits you to think-to-do and to do if-thought (agbo, 2013). let us proceed. concept clarifications and theoretical framework according to the oxford advanced learners' dictionary of current english, 5th edition ''salvage’ ‘means ''the removal of a damaged ship and its cargo from the sea'' or ''the removal of property for future use likely to have been damaged by fire, flood, etc.'' it also defines ''save'' as: ''make or keep somebody safe from harm, loss, etc.'' the understanding given of 'salvage' is very appropriate for the current fixation in nigeria. it conjures the imagery of a rescue mission. the nigerian stateship has gone adrift and is heading almost into the bermuda triangle. no doubt, she needs an anchor to salvage it and her cargo the people of nigeria! saving the people in the country becomes possible, either within a salvaged country or outside it if the attempt at salvaging would bring about loss or harm for the agbonifos, oluwoles, harunas, okonkwos, enos, attahs, jumais, okons, ijeomas, etc in nigeria. my understanding of “ontology” in this essay would be heideggerian. it is the conception of reality as it is, in itself, unhindered and unmediated. thus, ontology is understood in this work as the exhibiting of the general profiles, modes, aspects, manifestations, etc of any reality at all. for heidegger, therefore, “the task of ontology is to explain being itself and to make the being of entities stand out in full relief” (heidegger, 1962:220). i would shortly link this further with phenomenology as i examine the theoretical framework of this essay. within the nigerian sociopolitical environment, the term “re-structuring” has gained the status of eternal truth in the past few years, especially since the presidency of muhammadu buhari began in 2015. in fact, in today’s nigeria, the word “restructuring” has become more popular than the word “democracy”. there are many different views about the concept but the major reason for the demand is that the nigerian state as presently structured, is choking the people and the ethnic nationalities therein before the coming of the british. the demand is thus for nigeria to be restructured into a true igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 82 federal state. our phenomenological ontological analysis of this concept would help us to properly capture its meaning. of course, “de-structuring” here has the meaning of “disintegration” or “secession” or independence” for any people or ethnic nationality no longer comfortable with the current status quo. a milder conception of “de-structuring” may refer to the idea embedded in “confederation”. here, the country would be deconstructed into autonomous regions, with a very weak centre. these two concepts are the two forces pulling the nigerian state and trying to take her away from the current situation this current force is a third one and it is best captured by what chineizu (2015) calls “caliphate colonialism” – the current condition of nigeria created and tenaciously sustained by the fulani islamic oligarchy. the choking atmosphere in which the nigerian state currently exists has led to a plethora of “agitations” across the land. the term “agitation” in this essay would have a double connotation. on the one hand, it would mean an expression of discontent with ill-treatment, and, on the other hand, it would mean a demand for exit from the current state. as an “expression”, it seeks for a better say, participation and recognition in the scheme of things. however, agitation as a “demand” for exit seeks a right to self-determination to assert a different identity. this essay is carried out within the theoretical framework of phenomenological ontology, which for heidegger, is not a philosophy but philosophy as such: for heidegger, the demand or need to exhibit reality as it is, in itself (which is the task of ontology), requires a method that would carry out that exhibiting without hindrance. that method is phenomenology. conceiving “phenomenon” as “that which shows itself in itself,” heidegger (962: 202), argues that ontology carries out that task. as something that lays bare the phenomenal structure of any reality at all, this essay believes that both nigeria and nigerians are classical phenomena; and thus, there is a need for a deep ontological analysis of their existence, both in their separatedness as well as in their relatedness. if we do not explain or analyze what is going on in nigeria in a presuppositionless way, we are going to put pressure on such phenomena. the result is that they would not freely “manifest as they are in themselves”. they would end up manifesting the way “we have made them to”. to be able to properly describe the twin forces of restructuring and destructuring, and give them “scientific definiteness as we encounter (them) phenomenally” (heidegger, 1962:61), we must ensure that we do so unrestricted by our own emotions, idiosyncrasies and judgments. thus, heidegger (1962:58) writes, “only as phenomenology is ontology possible…” ontology attempts to uncover being–itself (sein), the human being (dasein) and beings (seinde). heidegger’s primary task was to uncover this being of beings and phenomenology takes up on itself the task of this uncovering. the primary task of making clear in what ways the being of entities is encountered via the objects that confront consciousness daily becomes that of phenomenology. the desire and the need to have unhindered access to the being of beings make phenomenology an inevitable method for ontological enquiry. the ontological task of explaining, elucidating and displaying the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 83 general profiles of reality requires a method that seeks to display that reality the way it is in itself. in describing how we gain knowledge through phenomenological research, heidegger asserts: the achievement of phenomenological access to the entities we encounter consists in thrusting aside our interpretative tendencies which keep thrusting themselves upon us and running along with us, and which conceal those entities themselves as encountered of their own accord (heidegger,1962:63) thus, we hope that when we carry out a phenomenological analysis of the current situation in nigeria, there would be no hiding place for anything since all manifests, all phenomena, and every reality would be allowed to unveil themselves the way they are in themselves and consequently, described as such. the primacy of ontology before i go on to a full discussion of these issues that surround the agitation for restructuring or destructuring of the nigerian state, it would be necessary to understand the importance and significance of ontology. although our theoretical framework, heidegger’s phenomenological ontology, has been sketched out in the previous section, it would be necessary to give a brief restatement of the values of ontology to understand why this essay is circumscribed within its confines. in this essay, we follow heidegger to reject the conception of ontology as a branch of metaphysics or what is generally called metaphysics specialis, a view dominant in western philosophical tradition. that ontology is fundamental to and in every enquiry is what heidegger brought to philosophy and it has dovetailed into all disciplines. “researchers in fields such as knowledge engineering, information system modeling, artificial intelligence, formal and computational linguistics, information retrieval, library science, knowledge management have come to realize that a solid foundation for their research calls for serious work in ontology, understood as a general theory of the types of entities and relations that make up their respective domains of enquiry” (guarino and musen, 2005: 1). understanding the relations among entities in reality is of crucial importance in any ontological analysis (agbo, 2017). and now that ontology has become the foundation of scientific, linguistic, computer, management and various types of knowledge based research, it would even be more critical at the socio-political realm. for indeed, all these other disciplines exist in order to improve the welfare of man in society. substances, objects, events, processes, etc, are the concerns of any ontological enquiry. the general and embracing nature of ontology is captured by barry smith and christopher welty in their essay, “ontology: towards a synthesis”. according to them: philosophical ontology is the science of what is, of the kinds and structures of objects, properties, events, processes and relations in every area of reality... the term ‘ontology’ (or ontologia) was itself coined in 1613, independently, by two philosophers, rudolf giickel (goclenius), in his lexiconphilosophicum and jacob lorhard (lorhardus), in his igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 84 theatrum philosophicum. its first occurrence in english as recorded by the oed appears in bailey’s dictionary of 1721, which defines ontology as ‘an account of being in the abstract’. regardless of its name, what we now refer to as philosophical ontology has sought the definitive and exhaustive classification of entities in all spheres of being. it can thus be conceived as a kind of generalized chemistry. (smith and welty, 2001) the above quotation not only tells us what philosophical ontology is, it also tells us the historical derivation of the term “ontology”. that ontology is the study of being, the existent, that which is or can be, is known by almost anyone who has attempted to study it. what is the nature of existence? how is reality structured? what is the relations among entities? by way of summing up what we have been discussing on the values or primacy of ontology, paul glen (1945:10) argues that “ontology satisfies the inner desire of the human mind for unified knowledge and a clear view of reality in a various and complex universe.” thus, the unity of phenomena, the relations among objects, events, processes, etc, as well as clarity of perception are what any ontological analysis seeks to engender. and this is what this work wants to achieve by ontologically analyzing the twin forces of re-structuring and destructuring of the current structure of the nigerian state. finally, let us conclude this section by noting that in “the limits of ontological analysis,” panayot butcharov says that ontology has two fundamental tasks: “the account of the ultimate sorts of entities and the account of the ultimate unity of complex entities (1984:140) consequently, the complexities and diveraties of interpretation of the puzzle that has been named “nigeria” cannot be fully, thoroughly and correctly address unless done from the hallowed foundation of ontology and within the context of this essay, phenomenological ontology. for in truth, if we undervalue ontology, we obstruct the development of thought (reality)” (bucharov, 1984:140). against this reality of the values and virtues of ontology, let us see if we can attempt answers to the ontological questions asked by the sections that follow. what is nigeria? the above question is not a geographical one. it is neither political nor economic. it is an ontological one. it focuses on the search for those logically necessary and existentially significant conditions by which and through which the nature of nigeria can be described or describable. the question sees nigeria as a classic phenomenon that requires deep, clear and unified unveiling. a colleague and bosom friend of mine, dr. odiche ude of the department of mass communication, ebonyi state university, abakaliki, nigeria, has been writing a book with the ominous title, only in nigeria. but he has not been able to bring out the book for the last decade or thereabout. why? the book is about occurrences, events and happenings that have or can only take place in nigeria, and cannot happen anywhere else on planet earth. so each time he wants to go to press, something bombastic and flabbergasting would happen again: i have advised him to start publishing the book in batches, for no one knows when these fantastic occurrences would cease. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 85 phenomenologically considered, nigeria exhibits different modes and profiles. nigeria is a place (the niger area), a period (1914), a person (a britained fulani), a park (where amusements occur), and above all, a phenomenon (manifesting preposterous propensities, profiles and processes). or how else can one define or describe a country whose president would travel to the united kingdom on march 6, 2022 for medical attention, and the, 3 days later (march 9), a whopping 10 billion naira is appropriated for the presidential wing of the aso rock clinic? (premium times newspaper, march 9, 2022). notice that this fund is not for the entire clinic, but just for the “presidential wing” of the aso villa clinic. nigeria, thus, cannot be understood without grasping the philosophy of (the “whys” and “hows”) such occurrences. to account for such occurrences, one must go to the root, to the ontological foundation of the country. how did nigeria come into being? the being of nigeria cannot be discussed without 3 events of monumental proportion. the first was the 1804 usman dan fodio’s jihad that occurred in nigeria’s northern area, whose effects on interpersonal relations have been thoroughly examined by nmah and amanambu (2017: 47 71). the second was the infamous berlin conference of 184-5, and the third was the amalgamation of the northern and southern protectorates to form “nigeria” in 1914 by frederick lugard. chinua achebe, in his last major work, there was a country: a personal history of biafra, captures these events: great britain was handed the area of west africa that would later become nigeria, like a piece of chocolate cake at a birthday party. it was one of the most populous regions on the african continent, with over 250 ethnic groups and distinct languages. the northern part of the country was the seat of several ancient kingdoms, such as the kanem-bornu, which shehu usman dan fodio and his jihadists absorbed into the muslim fulani empire. the middle belt of nigeria was the locus of the glorious nok kingdom and its world-endowed terra-cotta sculptures. the southern protectorates were home to some of the region's most sophisticated civilizations. in the west, the oyo and ife kingdoms once strode majestically, and in the midwest the incomparable benin kingdom elevated artistic distinction to a new level. across the niger river in the east, the calabar and the nri kingdoms flourished. if the berlin conference sealed their fate, then the amalgamation of the southern and northern protectorates in inextricably complicated nigeria’s destiny. animists, muslims and christians alike were held together by a delicate, some say artificial, lattice (achebe, 2014: 1-2). what can be gleaned from the above is that nigeria was not given birth to by nigerians. the implication is that nigerians became orphans before they were born and nigeria became childless moments after delivering her children. the igbo child remained igbo but tried to see if he or she could accept nigeria as a foster-parent. the fulani child remained fulani, ditto for the hausa, yoruba, efik, ibibio, jan, benin, nape, urhobo, itsekiri, etc children. however, the more the igbo tried to accept nigeria as a foster parent, the more they suffered from that parent. it was not difficult to know which of the tribal-children of nigeria believes in her the most. in the first republic, while the north formed the northern people’s congress (npc) and the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 86 west action group (a.g.) which was formed from an autochthonous yoruba movement, egbe omo oduduwa, the east (under the great zik) formed the national council of nigerian and the cameroons (ncnc). however, at independence in 1960, the word “cameroun” was changed to “citizens”. what is the ontological status of a country where one part, the south, is conceived as a wife to the other, the north? in 1913, louis vernom harcourt, then secretary of state for the colonies had rang the wedding bell for the north and south and asked luggard to conduct the marriage. in his words: we have released northern nigeria from the leading strings of the treasury. the promising and well conducted youth is now on allowance on his own and is about to effect an alliance with a southern lady of means. i have issued the special license and sir frederick lugard will perform the ceremony, may the union be fruitful and the couple content. -lord lewis vernon harcourt (quoted in agbo, 2021:1 ) the “promising and well-conducted youth” here is the fulani north, while the “southern lady of means”, was the southern protectorate. as a “lady of means”, it is obvious that nigeria is in this existential malady because some people are interested in the wealth in the south. and when obafemi awolowo declared that: nigeria is not a nation; it is a mere geographical expression. there are no nigerians in the same sense as there are english, welish or french. the word “nigeria” is merely a distinctive appellation to distinguish those who live within the boundaries of nigeria from those who do not – awolowo (1947) thus, for awo (and unfortunately for many today), nigeria's only ontology is defined in geographical terms. therefore, if boris johnson, emmanuel macron and mohammadu buhari were to meet at a lobby during a meeting and johnson says, “i am an english man” and macron says, “i am french”, buhari cannot say “i am nigerian”, for he would be uttering an ontological falsehood. however, if buhari says, “i am fulani”, he would be on familiar ontological ground. the cultural-ontological differences among ethnic nationalities in nigeria were exalted to the level of immutable truth at the birth of nigeria; first by the colonial overlords, and then later by leaders of nigerian extraction. is it any wonder, then, that sir ahmadu bello continued to talk about “the mistake of 1914” (a reference to the amalgamation). and later, just eleven days after independence in 1960, ahmadu bello was to utter the most audacious and annoying statement ever made about nigeria. he said: “the new nation called nigeria should be an estate of our great-grandfather, othman dan fodio? we must ruthlessly prevent any change of power. we use the minority in the north as willing tools and the south as a conquered territory. we must never allow them to rule over us. we must not allow them to have control over their future”? (parrot newspaper, in agbo 2020a: 135 october 12, 1960). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 87 many of those who have made comments on this saduana pronouncement have referred to it as nothing short of a “battle cry”, a sort of “declaration of war”. thus, to the fulani, of the saduana extraction, the question, “what is nigeria?” has a straightforward answer: “nigeria is a fulani estate”! period! and if anyone has given this ontological claim existential expression in the past 108 years of nigeria’s epileptic being, it is muhammadu buhari. the social, political, economic and cultural spaces in nigeria is currently under fulani annexation. the result is increase in the fragility of “the artificial lattice” holding nigeria together. unity is decreed from the top as the people and their ethnic cleavages attempt to outwit one another. our unity is “non-negotiable,” and i have discussed the insensibility and even the logical impossibility of a unity that is “nonnegotiable” (agbo, 2020a: 82-113). odumegwu ojukwu puts this ontological problem of unity when he writes: nigeria never was and can never be a united country. the very nature of nigeria inevitably gave rise to political power groups, goaded by sectional rather than national interest. these groups were clearly defined and perpetuated by the constitution itself. the veneer of unity generated and maintained by the veiled became exposed with the coming of disjointed mass…. nigeria was not united the nigerians knew it. ojukwu. (1969:1) when views like these are subjected to critical ontological analysis, the result can be scary. what is the ontological status of “never was” (the past) and “can never be” (the future) in the being of nigeria? how can “the very nature of nigeria” be understood? and if division or division (double vision) is part of the constitutional provision, how does such a country survive? why would agitations not become a permanent feature and the future of such a territory? or have we forgotten one of the slogans of the founders of the american revolution: when injustice becomes the law, resistance becomes a “duty”? in my recent book, sinking structures on faulty foundations: socio-philosophical essays on the a-b-c-d of nigeria’s “failure” state(2021), i had discussed 4 critical areas that the nigerian state failed to address and which has resulted in her becoming, not just a failed state, but a failure state as such: these 4 areas are represented by “a” for amalgamation and the problem of unity; “b” for biafra and the igbo question and the identity question; “c” for constitution and the challenge of a grad norm, structure and formation; and “d” for the niger delta and the economic problem of fiscal federalism. the nature, hopes, structure, and destiny of the nigerian state are difficult to pin down. it is a country at war with itself on all fronts, almost a gigantic human abattoir. life has almost become meaningless in nigeria, and it is perhaps a miracle that “the artificial lattice” is still hanging there. however, no one should be surprised at the agitations all over nigeria. it is a reflection of a fundamental, foundational and ontological problem. perhaps, after the pogrom in the north in 1966 and the genocidal war against biafra, it seems like dying or being killed has become a major part of what it means to be “nigerian”. but “what and where is nigeria today after spilling the blood of millions of people in undertaking the task to keep nigeria one?” (ezeani, 2014: xvi). the questions “what is nigeria?” “where is nigeria” bring us right back where we began in this section. for “what is x?” is an ontological one, while “where is x? is not a geographical one. it is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 88 not a question of nigeria’s location in space. it is, rather, a request for how far she has gone in fulfilling her manifest destiny. it is a search for what she has done to ensure that nigeriansmohammed, ada, oghere, bosede, okoro, adewale, dipriye, akpan, igbinedion, ihua, etc, within her territory survive. or would she ignore nigerians as they continue to agitate, thus it is a question of where she is in time; that is, it is a historical question. dipo fshino(2012) almost got exhausted in his search for " who is the nigerian", since neither location nor the diverse cultural groups located within the nigerian space could help him. but what is the philosophy of these agitations? let us attempt an answer. a theater of agitations and operations the question “what is the philosophy of the agitations? seeks the “why” and “how” of the agitations in nigeria. how have agitations been carried out in nigeria and why? and going by our last sub-section, is anybody surprised? can any genetic manipulation make a snake give birth to a tortoise? why is the response of the nigerian state to these agitations coming by way of “operations”, military operations? nigeria is a huge theater of military operations, from the north to the south. all the agitations as well as other criminal activities, have one operation or another launched against them. these operations reveal a failure of civility, a desperation to hold the country together by mere force of arms. it is a country at war with itself and its citizens. without going into details about when they were formed or for what purpose, check these out: operation mesa, operation safe haven, operation delta safe, operation ruwan wuta, operation lafiya dole, operation shran daji, operation harbin kunama, operation crocodile smile, operation python dance, operation safe corridor, operation gama aiki, operation crackdown, operation tsera tekun, operation awatse, etc. from our discussion in the last section, it should not be a surprise to anyone that nigeria in recent times has exploded into a theater of agitations. it would be sheer naivety and a display of historical ignorance for anyone to think that agitations in nigeria is a phenomenon of the 1990s or the 2000s. agitations have always been part of nigeria’s constitution or formation. she was born into it and had continued to thrive therein. the only difference is that as a result of what has been called “systemic injustice (nwankwo, 2004 :), these agitations have grown in scope, number and intensity. however, in his essay, “separatist agitations in nigeria since 1914”, tekena tamuno (1970:576), says that minority agitations have been in nigeria since the 1920s. that is to say that it began at the dawn of the amalgamation. before we continue our analysis, let us examine the meaning of agitations “or what it means to “agitate”. the word “agitate”, according to the oxford advanced learners’ dictionary of contemporary english, 5th edition, simply means “to make a person feel disturbed, anxious or excited for or against something”. without this inner feeling, the second meaning of “agitate” (which is relevant for our context) would not happen: “to demand something publicly or to take part in a campaign igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 89 for or against something”. thus, the word “agitation”, means “a public protest about or discussion for or against something”. thus, the ideas of “publicly” and “protest” are crucial in understanding the phenomenon of agitation: agitation as a feeling would not be socially useful unless it is publicly expressed. on the other hand, public expression of agitation would be impossible without an inner feeling of it. having said that, i would want to group the agitations in nigeria into four (4) major types: identity agitations, political agitations, economic agitations and religious agitations. although these types are not mutually exclusive (one agitation type can also be identified in the other type), there is a sense in which they can be disentangled for pedagogic analysis to foster better and deeper understanding. the biafran agitation, for example, directly has a bearing on the first three types and indirectly on the fourth. it is an attempt by the people to assert their identity, decide their political authority and control their economic endowments, especially those that nature has provided them in their earth's crust and the seas. on the other hand and equally, the biafrans are also saying that they are predominantly not muslims and so should not be compelled, forced, or coerced into it. on the part of the ja’amatu alis sauna lidha awati wal-jihad, simply known as boko haram, one can see that the demand of the group is, first and foremost, religious, and then identitarian. the group seeks a separate state where their members would practice islam without any inhibition or adulteration its collaboration with the islamic state west african province (iswap) justifies this religious classification of their type of agitation. again, by insisting that they want to be in a world or society driven by the arab-islamic culture, they are attempting to assert an identity that is somehow different the agitations in the niger-delta of nigeria present us with a classic case of economic agitation. in my essay, “nationalism and the niger-delta minority question in nigeria: a philosophical reexamination”, i had tried to express this in the following words: the politics of crude oil exploitation has ensured that international and (unfortunately) even national concern over the niger delta has revolved mainly around “stability” and a fugitive kind of “peace”...the conflict in the niger delta state moved from boro’s desire for an independent niger delta state to the demand for “resource-control”, if nigeria’s claim to “federalism” would be taken seriously. it was this demand to; at least, control the oil-resource and the frustration of the citizens of the niger-delta that snowballed into the militancy that began in the early-1990s. (agbo, 2021a:317) the fact that the nigerian state over the years, failed to recognize the super-majority contributions to the economic respiration of the country was a major challenge of identity to the niger-delta crises. consequently, in a bid to demand recognition the region unleashed a level of militancy that became dwarfed only by the boko haram carnage in the north. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 90 the desire to assert their cultural identity and take charge of their political space have largely been at the core of agitations in the yoruba-dominated western nigeria. from the awolowo-akintola crisis of the 1965 general elections to the crises of the annulled june 12 presidential elections, from the formation of the egbe omo oduduwa by awo to the o’odua people congress (opc) in the 1990s, the yoruba have perfected a way to get what they want from nigeria. this view of mine becomes buoyed as i once again read a newspaper article i wrote about opc 23 years ago (1999), when the group was unleashing mayhem in lagos and ibadan, where i lived and studied for 16 years. the article, inter alia, said: i was shocked that the federal government waited for the mile 12 killings before it came out with a definite statement on opc. and even at that, only time will tell whether the president’s pronouncements are not just lips service. we know that the gulf between words and actions in nigeria is legendary and an unbridgeable one. a look at page 2 of the opc “mission statement” shows that the group had as far back as four years ago marked out where to attack. it has systematically unleashed mayhem on the areas mentioned therein. these include shagamu, the seaports, mile 12 market, etc. and if we go logically, we can conclude that their next point of terror would be the murtala mohammed airport, lagos – also mentioned in the document. yet as its murderous hurricane sweeps through the land, we are still paying semantic attention to these abominable acts. consequently, the sooner opc is comprehensively dealt with, the better for nigeria (agbo, 2021 b:56) incidentally, opc has not only survived, it is also a registered political party in nigeria! there is a virtue that ndigbo needs to learn from the yoruba: how to plan. when pa abraham adesanya, then leader of the pan-yoruba group, afenifere, told some of us in 1993 that they (the yoruba) left ruben abati in the guardian newspaper because, in his words, “we would need him tomorrow”, i did not understand the utterance. about two decades later, when abati was in charge of what news showed or should not come out of aso rock villa during the presidency of goodluck jonathan, i then understood the grand old afenifere leader! certainly, the current “yoruba nation” agitator, sunday adeyemo (a.k.a. sunday igboho) is not alone, rascal voice shouting on the streets. i would make more comments on his styles and strategies in the course of this essay. the biafran agitation biafra is one of the greatest puzzles, diplomatic conspiracies and human tragedies that has faced (and still faces) the world. and as far as nigeria is concerned, the biafran agitation stands at the pinnacle and the foundation of her survival. biafra is a puzzle because never in the history of the human race has a people a clear case of unfair treatment and yet even the people at the receiving end appear to be so disunited. thus, is biafra truly ''a nation divided against itself’’? (chiluwa, 2018). many unbiased analysts have pointed to the conspiracy by some of the superpowers at the height of the biafran debacle in 1967 to 1970 (ezeani, 2014; jorres, 1972; aneke, 2007). of course, the cost in human lives, both in the war and the current resurgence, is unimaginable and this fact is awash in literature. i do not want to rehash the story of biafra again here. i have done so in my essay, ''biafra: the philosophy of the historical ignorance of a critical generation’’ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 91 (agbo, 2015). the interest within the context of our discussion is to examine the values, necessity, significance and consequences of the biafran agitations of the past two decades or thereabout. this began in 1999 with the coming on board of the movement for the actualization of the sovereign state of biafra (massob) led by chief ralph uwazuruike and the indigenous people of biafra (ipob) led by mazi nnamdi kanu, currently on trial by the nigerian state. it is the activities of these two groups that resurged and globalized, respectively, the agitation for biafra's selfdetermination. unfortunately, both uwazuruike and kanu were together in massob but neither of them currently heads the original massob. when few years ago, as a result of internal squabbles among the leaders, uwazuruike was removed and replaced by uchenna madu, the former had to form a new organization that now go by the name bim massob 'bim' here meaning biafran independence movement. for about 18 years, i watched from the sidelines the activities of the pro-biafra groups, especially massob and ipob, worried and unimpressed. i am worried by the fact that many people, especially the ever-increasing number of pro-biafra groups, think that biafra is a jamboree, a tea party of some sort. i am not impressed by the sheer number of probiafra groups, gallivanting and perambulating over the places and thinking that a new country or the solution to marginalization would come by sloganizing or continuous reiteration. when i physically got involved in the biafran struggle, i was concerned about the level of disunity among the pro-biafra groups. and it became my very first course to address. i had joined the group named movement of biafrans in nigeria (mobin) because it believes in the legal, political and diplomatic methodologies to self-determination. i became its director of political education and governance. i got involved in serious mass education of our people on the right way to pursue self-determination. in 2018, following the efforts of a few like-minded comrades, the coalition of pro-biafra groups was born and we continued to meet monthly in enugu to see if unity could be forged. i remember that at one point, there were over 20 groups in the coalition! and one wonders, how can over 20 groups be pursuing one thing? what is the reason why they could not just become one, united and be in one accord? the original draft from where the essay, “creating a process not, a mandate: one philosopher’s reflection on biafra’s quest for self-determination” (agbo, 2020b), was first presented at the 51st anniversary of biafra’s declaration held at rojenny stadium, orba, anambra state on may 30, 2018. the paper was concerned with raising awareness on the inevitability of the political, the legal and the diplomatic in biafra’s quest for self-determination. some months later, i was appointed by the coalition to head a “think tank” committee of five. i produced a document titled, “thinking into a tank: biafra liberation organization, worldwide (blow): structural organigram for a united struggle” (agbo, 2020a: 173 184). i urged the committee to seriously think of collapsing into one huge organization, no matter the name, so that we can have our energies, intellectual and material resources, channeled towards one purpose and to ensure that we speak with one voice. i wrote inter alia: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 92 without a unified platform, anchored on a political process, driven by a legitimate governmental structure, the world would think that we are joking. though biafra is on the lips of millions across the world, both biafrans and non-biafrans alike, this massive awareness will not change anything till the year 3000 unless we move from di-vision (double vision) to uni-vision (single vision). this is a spiritual law: no kingdom divided against itself would stand! biafra is more than a talk show. biafra is not an event that we mark. it is not a memory that we share. it is the destiny of a people. (agbo, 2021a:177) unfortunately, after that first meeting of the committee, we never met again. even our preliminary discussions were never presented to the coalition. the reason is phenomenologically manifest: no one of the major group leaders wants to submit to another or collapse their group! how can there be freedom or independence for a people, in 2023, without involvement in the political process? how can we be running around on the streets alone or making broadcasts without having or seeking to take political authority of that territory? how can we expose ourselves to murderous reaction by a government that does not mind if biafrans die, and then expect anything more than a verbal response from the world community? what did the world do when 3 million biafrans were killed between 1967 and 1970? do we have to sacrifice ourselves because we want our territory to become a new geopolitical entity and a subject of international law? my interactions with the leaders of the probiafra groups, my understanding of the structure of the current international security order, my modest knowledge of the history of liberation movements all over the world, as well as my study of the character and structure of the nigerian state tell me that this sort of agitation by ipob, massob or any other group would only result in plenty of motion without movement. during my first private meeting with nnamdi kanu on may 8, 2017 (16 days after he was released from kuje prison), i had told him that there was no need for one more death on the streets of biafra land; that even if the nigerian. state kills a million biafrans on the streets, the world would say that it is “nigeria’s internal affairs; that the world would not listen to him if he is promoting anarchy (that was when he was saying that there should be no election in anambra state); and that unless corebiafrans take over the political space in biafra land, the biafran struggle would not even have started. in 2021, i was at ralph uwazuruike’s house in owerri with few friends. during our interaction, i reminded him of how the massob he led then asked ndigbo not to take part in the nigerian census of 2006, because ndigbo “are biafrans, not nigerians”. i reminded him again that we are still in nigeria, 15 years after, and (unfortunately) using the population figure arbitrarily allotted to us after the census to receive allocations from the center. now, ipob has moved ndigbo from a voluntary sit-at-home to a compulsory one and then to a deadly and destructive one. our lives are being taken away by all manner of killers while our economy is being destroyed. imagine what would happen to the igbo society if all these biafran buffs on the streets, shouting “biafra or death”, would galvanize and channel that energy into the political process; elect core-biafrans and make them responsible to the people! would our territory igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 93 suddenly become positively transformed, just because we have a “biafra” with a mindset reading “nigeria”? is self-determination simply a demand for a change of name? the legitimacy or the moral imperative of the biafran agitation is no longer at issue. what is at issue is the method and how feasible they would be in the overall realization of that quest. i have tried to briefly carry out a phenomenological description of how that agitation has proceeded in the past 2 decades and what i think should be done. it has been sketchy because biafra is not the main focus of the essay. but my idea has been that: unless biafrans activate the political, legal and diplomatic platforms of their struggle, the international community would neither take them serious nor would they be able to extricate themselves from nigeria’s stranglehold, even if they fight another war! they must find a way to navigate through a country that invites boko-haram for discussion after killing thousands of their “fellow countrymen and women” yet would maul biafrans on the streets for daring to protest peacefully; a country that would invite terrorizing and murderous fulani herdsmen for dialogue, but would arrest farmers for daring to complain! it is no longer wisdom to allow this senseless slaughter of biafrans in the name of agitations for biafra to continue. agitation without engaging participation is frustration and noise making. (agbo, 2020b: 36). restructuring and de-structuring the nigerian structure the agitations that are sweeping across the nigerian space-violent and peaceful, political and economic, gender-based and end-sars, etc-are reflections of a sick country. this sickness began at the very birth of nigeria and has become exacerbated by “systemic injustice “perpetuated by the desire for control and domination by the hausa/fulani feudal and religious (islamic) oligarchy. thus, the hard truth is that the current structure of the nigerian state can no longer sustain the demands of the different peoples and the ethnic nationalities within its territory. consequently, if there is any modern african state that needs to be rescued from the hegemony of ethnic nationalism, it is nigeria (agbo, 2021c). the nigerian state presents a classic case of a country where the occupation of socio-political, economic, military and cultural spaces by one ethnic nationality has resulted in a in near-permanent crises and conflicts in the state. it is necessary to note that before independence in 1960, the leaders of the various ethnic nationalities in nigeria knew that nigeria had to survive and progress as a federation or it would not survive. so they spent about 10 years (1950 1959) trying to structure the country into a federation, first of 3 regions. thus, it can be said that nigeria had a structure at independence in 1960. in 1963 when the mid-western region was created via a referendum, nigeria had one federal constitution and four regional ones. it also operated the cabinet system of government, which she inherited from the british colonial master. by the time what achebe (2012: 3) refers to as the “naively idealistic coup” of january 15, 1966, occurred, nigeria was never going to be the same again! twenty-eight years of the rape and ravaging of her resources and people by different military juntas (interrupted only by another failed igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 94 attempt at democratic governance between october, 1979 and december, 1983), ensured that the nigerian state lost its original structure. she became shapeless and formless. during these 32 years, all the leaders, except the six and a half months of major gen. j. t. u. aguiyi-ironsi (january – july, 1966) and the 43 months of lt. gen. olusegun obasanjo (february, 1976 – september, 1979), were all northerners. what was the purpose of changing to the presidential system of government during the second republic, different from the cabinet system that was in place at the collapse of the first republic? why did nigeria not go back to where it fell in 1966? how come the murtala regime in 1975 made it appear as though nigeria began in that year? what is the current structure of the nigerian state that can make re-structuring a necessity and a possibility? for, indeed, there must be a structure before one can talk of restructuring. in an earlier reflection, on former president goodluck jonathan’s “transformation agenda”, i had asked what the “form” of nigeria is, so that when that is determined, then we can start discussing the idea or need and possibility of “transforming” (agbo, 2019a: 145 177). one of the tragedies inherent in the hullabaloo over restructuring in nigeria is that some people think that they are doing us a favor. but as noted earlier, nigeria at independence had a structure. it was the years of military governments that have made it appear as though nigeria is a hijacked field, an “estate” of the caliphate. however, what is at stake is the need to salvage a country that is choking its citizens and its ethnic building blocks out of existence. what is being demanded is actually a return-structuring and not just a restructuring (agbo, 2021a: 52-72). the idea of “return-structuring” here is a call for an ontological return to the spirit of the 1963 republican constitution that sought to enthrone “liberty, equality and justice”. the truth, therefore, is that: what we had in 1963 was a situation whereby a constitution created or spelt out the character of the state. the current situation (from 1979) is a situation where the state creates itself and thereafter creates a constitution for the people! administrators of the nigerian state, those who control the instruments of coercion, decided, according to their whims and caprices, what the state should be like. it was like man creating god in his image, instead of god creating man in his image! a state or a government cannot create itself. it is not done that way. the managers of the state must derive power from the constitution. anything outside this is illegitimate. section 14 of the 1999 constitution still states that sovereignty belongs to the people. but how can sovereignty belong to the people who were not allowed to make their constitution? that is why we should "sincerely be talking about return-structuring" since, technically speaking, we do not have a structure to restructure now! (agbo, 2021a: 59). those who say that restructuring has many versions are not sincere to themselves. restructuring is an admission of the existential fact and ontological truth that the nigerian state, as presently igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 95 structured, cannot meet the aims and aspirations of her citizens, the various peoples and ethnic nationalities within her geopolitical space. the niger-deltans are saying, “our ancestral land is feeling the pressures of oil exploitation and exploration; and our lives are being cut short by environmental pollution”. the biafrans are saying, “we are a people with a different identity, do not lump us into an unmitigated universalism of a modern state that we did not participate in forming”. on their part, oduduwa’s children are asking,” who is this nigeria that has taken over our seas and ocean and is determining who gets what, when and how?” those in hausa land, on their part, are screaming, “until sheu uthman dan fodio compelled us with his jihad in 1804, we had lived here on our peaceful territory”. and in response to all these agitations, the fulani are saying, “nigeria is our estate, nigerians are potential muslims; if you do not submit, you will be humiliated, colonized or killed”. it, therefore, seems that the major reason why the country changed to the american presidential system (without adopting the type of american constitution), is to enable the caliphate to exercise powers similar to those wielded by the military. so, while the united states federal constitution would be terse because there are constitutions in each of the 50 federating units, nigeria would structure itself into a country of 36 states with one constitution! this is a constitution that practically plays god over the people within the nigerian state. the british cabinet system, where there is collective responsibility, where government stands or falls together, would not be useful for the dominating agenda of the caliphate. in an earlier essay, i had characterized the situation in nigeria in terms of the current structure, the idea of restructuring and the challenge of de-structuring, with the metaphors of abuja, aburi and araba (agbo, 2019b). abuja represents the current castrating structure that nigerians are crying about and trying to extricate themselves from. aburi, on its part, is a metaphor for a restructuring of nigeria back to how it was agreed in aburi, ghana, between january 4 and 5, 1967. it was gowon’s rejection of the aburi accord that led to the declaration of biafra and the war that followed. araba (a hausa language word that means “share” or “divide”) is a metaphor for de-structuring or disintegration. to many people in the south of nigeria, the most available, perhaps, even justifiable and desirable solution to the conundrum in nigeria, is the disintegration of the country. it seems to be the most psychologically satisfying option to a lot of people, including this author. however, the difference between this author and many of the other pro-disintegration buffs is that he tries to see how and in what ways the disintegration of nigeria would happen! that is to say, “does the mere break-up of nigeria mean or result automatically to better living for nigerians? realizing the challenges faced by nations that have gained independence via violent means, is it still plausible for a nonnegotiated exit or integration of the contemporary nation state? and by the way, is independence an end in itself? or is it a means to an end? that is to say, do people or a territory become better economically, politically, culturally, etc, just because they have become independent? why is it, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 96 for example, that the biafran case has remained unresolved even though her case is as clear as crystal? what is the contribution of international capitalism and imperialism in deciding which people should be independent and who should not? why would the world watch eritrea and ethiopia fight for 30 years (1962-1991), until eritrea won and pushed ethiopian forces out of its territory? why should thousands of sudanese die over several decades before the united nations, owing to obama’s african link, stepped in in 2005? would the world have watched two european nations kill themselves for 20 years before intervention? why did east timor get a quick response from the u.n. in 2006? why is the international community paying lips service to the crises in ethiopia’s tigray region for about one year now? is it not the case that there is a conspiracy, both by african nations and their international imperialist collaborators, to suppress the biafran struggle to avoid the obvious bandwagon effect it would have among other liberation movements across the continent? a critical examination of the demand and quest for political independence reveals that without the blessing of the big nations, no place is allowed to achieve political independence. economic and political factors, together with historical and psychological considerations, come into play in the quest for political self-determination. no doubt, the biafran quest challenged the concept of selfdetermination after both world war 1 (1919) and world war. after the failure of the biafran quest, everyone knew that it would be a herculean task to secure political independence, especially in africa. according to peri permir: indeed, given that an ethnic redrawing of the african political map would give birth to over 300 new states, the oau adopted, on the eve of its creation in 1963, the binding principle of uri possidetis, namely, implicit respect for existing boundaries, in a separate resolution from its charter. consequently, members of the oau have been largely faithful to the policy of not granting assistance to secessionist movements in black africa, a prominent illustration being their refrain from providing support to the biafran movement during the nigerian civil war.(permir, 1997:16) in truth, “in biafra, africa died” (ezeani, 2014). biafra’s freedom would have sparked freedom for the whole of africa. thus, realizing that independence statehood is not a simple issue in today’s world, we must be courteous while agitating so that human lives would not become bargaining chips. self-determination does not mean today what it meant in 1919 and 1945. for the league of nations that was established after world war 1, it was used to foster peace among the big powers. in 1945 following the emergence of the united nations organization, it was used to provide freedom from colonial domination (onyesoh, 2017: 120). in the past 31 years, only 9 countries have gained political independent statehood. five of the nine were fallout from the breakup of the soviet union in 1989. these are czech republic and slovac igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 97 republic (from the former czechoslovakia) and mote negro, serbia and kosovo (from former yugoslavia). the other 2 are east timor (now timor-leste, 2006) and palau, a country of about a million people in micronesia. the remaining two are in africa: eritrea and south sudan. it is important to remember that the world stood, almost hands akimbo, while ethiopia and eritrea fought for 30 years! (1962-1991). it was in 1991 that eritrea won the war, drove ethiopia out of eritrea, conducted a referendum and declared independence. the story of sudan has led analysts to wonder why a country would fight for decades before the world moved into the country in 2005 to intervene and divide the country. according to charles nixon (1972), the biafran case brought into sharp focus the new context, the multi-lateral character and the enormous responsibility facing the international community in any consideration, desire or demand for self-determination. according to him the biafran challenge. raised a series of critical problems for the concept of self-determination and its use as a principle governing the feelings of people caught in the process of political change. there are three problems highlighted by this particular case: the problem of the new context in which claims to self-determination will arise, the problem of the multilateral character of the claims involved, and the problem of the international character of the responsibilities generated by such claims (492-3). nixon’s thoughts, expressed half a century ago, is as true today as it was then. if the crisis that hit the soviet union had not happened, czechoslovakia and yugoslavia would probably still be in existence. but the people who existed in those territories are still there answering to other names, so there is nothing divine about the nigerian state. however, if it must cease to exist, it should be done in a way to prevent collateral damage. the truth is that if nigerian leaders refuse to allow the country to be restructured, these agitations may not lead to restructuring, but they would ensure that the country would remain in constant crisis. however, if all the other ethnic nations were to decide to collapse the country and go their separate ways, perhaps it would be feasible. for as the biafran case has shown, no single nationality can decide to, as it were, “check out”, without dire consequences. and since biafra is my immediate universe of existence, i want to reiterate that pro-biafran agitators should learn from the yoruba strategy of relating with nigeria. the synergy between yoruba elders and youths, their mastery of how to use governmental structures to agitate and their tenacious hold on their cultural foundations, has been the fillip that always drives their struggles in nigeria. imagine the fact that it is respected and renowned individuals in yoruba land that is backing sunday adeyemo. prof. banji akintoye is someone i know very well the ilano omo oodua worldwide organization is not driven by neophytes. without an inner discussion and guidance, the “yoruba nation” agitators would not have just moved into the streets. the fact that opc is today a political party is such an eye-opener to those of us in biafra. indeed, circumstances are not always and everywhere the same, but there is always something to learn from history and other climes. that is why i have continued to request one example in the history of humanity where there has been a successful igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 98 liberation struggle without a political angle, without political participation, involvement or programme. all these agitations are targeted at the political control of either nigeria or the territory of the agitators. i must, therefore, end with betolt brecht, who states with admirable insight that: the worst illiterate is the political illiterate. he hears nothing, sees nothing, takes no part in political life. he doesn't seem to know that the cost of living, the price of beans, of flour, of rent, of medicines all depend on political decisions. he even prides himself on his political ignorance, sticks out his chest and says he hates politics. he doesn't know, the imbecile, that from his political non-participation comes the prostitute, the abandoned child, the robber and, worst of all, corrupt officials, the lackeys of exploitative multinational corporations. the implication of the above is that after the spiritual aspect of man, no other part is as important as the political. conclusion fortunately, this is a conclusion wherein nothing is really concluded. for no one, no work, no symposium, workshop, talk-shop or conference can conclude this matter. that nigeria’s problem is ontologically rooted at her birth, is the thesis phenomenologically presented in this essay. that there is nothing sacrosanct about a country that must be the name “nigeria”, has also been implied in the presentation. again, that if there is an inevitable choice to save either of the two, nigeria or nigerians, the former should be sacrificed, has equally and obviously been presented. this essay has also noted that there is a need for the peaceful restructuring of nigeria, especially bearing in mind that the world of the 21st century is one wherein the use of force as a weapon or means of dispute resolution has become very unpopular and obsolete. the reaction of the world to russia’s invasion of ukraine points to the unpopularity of violence. the fact that ukraine is an independent country has made global reactions punchier. whatever happens in nigeria, no matter how violent and destructive they are, would always be seen as an “internal affair” of nigeria. that is why in spite of the carnage in northern nigeria (including the callous murder of over 300 muslim shites in one fell swoop), the war against boko haram and bandits, the constant murder of villagers and farmers by fulani herdsmen militia, and the frequent attack on flag-waving biafran agitators, the world has maintained an almost conspiratorial silence. the best we have got has been verbal condemnation that, at the end of the day, would amount to nothing those who think that violence would be used to subject, subordinate and subjugate the peoples of nigeria should know that there is a limit to what the people can endure. similarly those who imagine that violent agitations is the best response to the quagmire and fixation in nigeria should equally remember that violence is the cheapest and easiest response to any problem. dialogue and engaging confrontation would always win at last. works cited igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 99 achebe, chinua (2012). there was a country: a personal history of biafra london: penguin books, agbo, joseph n.(2020b) creating a process not a mandate: one philosopher’s reflection on biafra’s self-determination” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no. 1 , 133-164. agbo, joseph n. (2013) “the principle of ‘refl-action’ as the basis for a culture of philosophy in africa”, in filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religions, vol 2, no 2, pp 423-456. agbo, joseph. n. (2020a), “biafra: the philosophy of the historical ignorance of a critical generation”, in t. uzodimma nwala, et al. (eds) igbo nation: history and challenges of rebirth and development. ibadan: kraft books. pp 347 – 379 agbo, joseph. hundred years of britain’s nigeria: a historical and philosophical analyses of the idea of a ‘non-negotiable’ unity” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6, no.2 (2020), 82-113. agbo, joseph n. (2020), ''the poverty of the forces of statism and democratism in addressing the niger-delta question in nigeria, in sophia: journal of philosophy and public affairs, vol.19, no.2, pp.229-241. agbo, joseph. n., (2021) “sinking structures on faulty foundations: socio-philosophical essays on the a-b-c-d of nigeria's 'failure' state (abakaliki: alpha citizens advocate press). agbo, joseph n. (2017). “from abstract individuals to phenomenological citizens: an ontological resolution of a paradox of democracy”, paper presented at the 2nd african philosophy world conference held at the university of calabar, calabar, nigeria, 12th -14th october agbo, joseph n., (2019.) “transforming the formless: the inevitability of a new constitution for the survival and development of nigeria” philosophy and praxis: journal of the nigeria philosophical association vol. 9, pp 145-177. agbo, joseph n, (2021b) at times like these: essays on refl-active social engineering (abakaliki: alpha citizen advocate press). agbo, joseph n (1998) the scourge of coruption,: thisday newspaper october 9, 12 agbo, joseph n(2021c) “rescuing the modern african states from ethnic nationalism: afro constructivism and immanent metaphysis of development”, paper presented at the annual conference of the association of philosophy professionals of nigeria held at the university of benin, nigeria, october 2021 agbo, joseph n. (2018).igbo phobia: a cursory analysis of the historical, economic and political conditions of ndigbo in nigeria; enugu: tadi prints, aneke, luke(2007) the untold story of the nigeriabiafra war new york: triumph publishing, awolowo, obafemi (1967)thoughts on nigerian constitution oxford u.p brecht bertold, www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/iliteracy igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 100 butcharov, panayot (1984). “the limits of ontological analysis” in classics of analytical metaphysics edited by larry lee blackman new york; university press of america, 135-149. chinweizu, (2015). caliphate colonialism: the taproot of the trouble with nigeria lagos: clear coast communications, chiluwa, innocent (2018). a nation divided against itself: biafra and the conflicting online protest discourses. discourse and communication 12 (4):357-381. dornan, robert k., (2016) “nigeria: former us congressman and biafra relief flights pilot robert dornan backs referendum, in international business times, 22 march, emekesri, emeka adolph (2012) biafra or nigerian presidency: what the ibos want london: christ the rock community,. ezeani, emefiena (2014) in biafra africa died: the diplomatic plot london: veritas lumen publishers,. fashina, dipo, (2012). “who is the nigerian?” the national scholar, vol. 9, no.1 glenn, paul j. , (1945).ontology london: b. herder book company guarino, nicola and musen, mark a(2005) “applied ontology :focusing on content in applied ontology,vol 1, no1 pp 1-5 jorre, john de st. (1972.) the nigerian civil war london: hodder and stoughton, harper ,richard h.r “the metaphysis of communications overload, https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/harpervinciarelli-et-al.pdf heidegger, martin (1962)being and time, trans. by john macquarie and edward robinson, london: basil blackwell, kirk-green, a.m.h., (1968).. the amalgamation of nigeria: a documentary record london: frank cass and co. ltd nixon, charles r. (1972), “self-determination: the nigeria/biafra case”, in world politics, vol. 24, no 4 473-497. nwankwo, authur a. (2004), “the nigerian experiment: is it working?” in c.s. mormoh, uche jack osimiri and a.i. umezulike (eds.). law, democracy and its dividends enugu: snaap press ltd., 447-465. ojukwu, odumegwu(1969) biafra: selected speeches of c. odumegwu ojukwu new york: harper and row publishers, onyesoh, chukwuemeka, (2017)to the rescue: the right to self-determination, the pathway to a genuine federation of peoples without shared values enugu: bbk permir, peri (1997) “nationalism, ethnicity and democracy: contemporary manifestations”, the international journal of peace studies vol.2,no.2. soyinka, wole (2007). “foreword” in wilmot, patrick nigeria: the nightmare scenario ibadan: fanafina, tamuno, tekena n. (1970). “separatist agitations in nigeria since 1914”, in, the town of modern african studies, vol.8, n0.4 the constitution of the federal republic of nigeria, 1999 (2011, as amended) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 101 uzodimma nwala, et al (eds) igbo nation: history and challenges of rebirth and development. ibadan: kraft books. pp 347 – 379 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 9 no.3, 2023 www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/igwebuikejournals.php a publication of the department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 150 robert nozick’s notion of ‘minimal state’ and the controversial water resources bill in nigeria charles nweke, phd & odu ozoemena paul department of philosophy nnamdi azikiwe universty, awka-nigerian kesun2002@yahoo.com doi:10.13140/rg.2.2.30881.58724 abstract justice is commonly defined as given each one his due. the state is supposed to the purveyor of justice for the citizens; she is supposed to be a mechanism that enables the reign of justice for all within the polis. by this descriptive, the state is apparently a powerful mechanism because she has the capacity to make and execute the law; to determine and punish crime. but, what becomes the fate of the masses when the state becomes abusive of power and begins to neglect the liberties of the masses? it is to overcomes the possibilities of occurrences like this that nozick postulates that the idea of the minimal state. for him, state authority and powers are to be so minimal that it should concern only the defense of the rights and liberties of the masses from abuses. hence, the core function of the state is to make laws that promote the freedom of the mases; not those that negate such freedoms. how well does the nigerian state fit this nozickian postulation? this article studies nozick’s idea of the minimal state. it uses this viewpoint to critically access the controversial water resources bill in nigeria. the article finds out that contrary to nozick’s viewpoint the nigerian state is a ‘maximal state’. it concludes that, among other excesses, the water resources bill represents a core maximalist tendency of the contemporary nigeria state. keywords: authority, bill, entitlement, justice, law, power, state, resources introduction the purpose or end of the state has been a subject of endless debate among political philosophers. the question of what purposes does the state exist to serve or what is the function of the state has been asked many times in every age since human existence. it has charles nweke & odu ozoemena paul 151 been a perennial challenge among political thinkers. as anifowose rightly suggests, ‚it is indeed the fundamental question of political thinkers which seeks to examine whether the state should do certain things or refrain from them.‛i different answers have been proposed by various political philosophers according to their interests. for plato ‚a good state, like a good individual, should exemplify moderation in character, thereby possessing the qualities of wisdom, courage, temperance and justice.‛ii according to aristotle, the purpose of the state is ‚to ensure good life, and an instrument for individual’s self-protection.‛iii while locke postulates that ‚the great and chief end of men uniting into a common wealth and putting themselves under government is the preservation of their property which is expressed as lives, liberties and estates.‛iv therefore, he identifies three purposes for which the state exists to include the duty to protect society from the violence and invasion of other independent societies; the duty to protect subjects from injustice, by establishing a system of justice; and the duty of erecting and maintaining certain public works and institutions that will care for the wellbeing of the subjects. appadorai equally pointed out that the essence of the state is connotative of the centrality of the state in improving the lives of the generality of the masses in a society under its control.v furthermore, herbert spencer asserts that the state is nothing but a natural institution for preventing one man from infringing the rights of another.vi according to jeremy bentham, the best known exponents of the utilitarian school of thought, the purpose of the state is a legal entity, with individualism as its ethical basis; and to provide the greatest happiness to the greatest number of individuals under its jurisdiction.vii similarly, anifowose avers that the state is not an end itself but merely the means to an end. the state, thus, exists to enable the mass of men to realize social good on the largest possible scale. it exists to enable men to, at least, realize the best in themselves.viii according to laski, therefore, men can be enabled to realize the best in themselves only if the state provides rights, such as the right to work, right to education, right to basic freedoms of speech, press, association and religion; the right to vote and be voted for, etc.ix for the seventeenth and eighteenth century’s liberal democratic theorists, the sole function of the state is ‚to settle and prevent conflict or to put it in another way, the keeping of order and the maintenance of' security.‛xthis position has been labeled a negative function for ‚. . . it is the prevention of harm to existing rights or existing well-being, as contrasted with a positive function of adding to well-being or of adding new rights or redistributing old ones.‛ximore modern theorists see the function of the state to consist in the promotion of welfare and justice. this is dubbed the positive function. it is now regarded as a responsibility of the national community as a whole, in its organized robert nozick’s notion of ‘minimal state’ and the controversial water resources bill in nigeria 152 capacity, to increase in some degree the well-being of its members and to make fairer the distribution of rights which they enjoy.xii there is difference of opinion on how far the state should go in ensuring welfare and social justice. even these two terms are themselves controversial. totalitarianism is the theory that the state should undertake all possible social functions. other versions of the positive function of the state may include communism and socialism. now the idea of the minimal state can be viewed as a version of the negative function of the state. the doctrine of the minimal state requires that state’s interventions ‚be minimal, limited to the negative function of preventing one individual or group from encroaching on the liberty of another.‛xiii outside of this, the promotion or pursuit of further positive good should be left to the business of the individual. the state should only try to leave to each individual as large an area of liberty as possible for him or her to pursue these ends. this article exposes nozick’s idea of the minimal state. it evaluates the function of the state in nigeria vis-à-vis nozick’s postulations. specifically, the article uses the controversial water resources billin nigeria to demonstrate the shortcomings of the nigerian state with respect to the idea that the ideal state is supposed to exercise the barest interference with the rights and liberty of the citizens. nozick’s concept of minimal state minimal state refers to a state with the best possible amount of powers. it is a term used in political philosophy to describe a situation where the state’s duties are so minimal that they cannot be increased much further without becoming a form of anarchy. this was introduced by robert nozick’s work, anarchy, state and utopia, which was his most influential work supporting libertarianism. nozick’s starting point, is a society in which no government exists. in this situation, he maintains that people largely, although not entirely, respect the rights and liberties of others. among these rights are self-ownership and the right to acquire property; otherwise economic liberty. nozick emphasizes economic liberty in his ‘minimal state’. this economic liberty is identified with capitalism. he regards economic liberty as central to other types of liberty like political and individual liberties. he argues, ‚. . . economic liberty is the most important kind of freedom, both in itself and as the supposed foundation of all the other kinds of liberty“ that communism lacks freedom of speech and freedom of religion and so on, is because it restricts economic liberty.‛ nozickean (libertarian) minimal state discourages taxation calling it a ‚legalized plunder.‛xiv the argument here is that it limits the liberty of the individual to act as he wishes regarding that portion of his income. he opposes vehemently the rawlsian idea of ‘redistribution of property’ in order to rectify charles nweke & odu ozoemena paul 153 the injustices which were committed in acquiring some of them and balance up, a sort of, the inequalities among individuals. he condemns it since this position boils down to taxing the rich in order to help the poorer ones. nozick believes that a state should be ‘minimal’ concerning itself only with narrow functions of protection of citizens against force, theft, fraud, enforcement of contracts, and so on; that any more extensive functions given to the state would violate persons’ rights not to be forced into doing certain things, and this is unjustified; and that the minimal state is inspiring as well as right.xv regarding the maintenance of law and order, nozick is reluctant in accepting it as included in the state’s job. he suggests: ‚even police protection ought ideally to be paid for directly by those who wish to buy such protection and can afford it.‛xvi more so, nozick argues that the minimal state is the only morally justifiable form of government. this contention rests upon his understanding of the separateness of each person, the existence of inviolable rights, and the side constraint that these rights impose on the behaviour of others. he claims that persons are rational and they are moral agents, for they have free will. in addition, they have the ability to regulate and guide their lives in accordance with some overall conception of their choice. nozick asserts, thus: ‚a person is a being able to formulate long term plans for its life, able to consider and decide on the basis of abstract principles or considerations it formulates to itself and hence not merely the plaything of immediate stimuli, a being able to limit its own behavior in accordance with some principles or picture it has of what an appropriate life is for itself and others and so on.‛xvii when a person shapes his or her life in accordance with some overall plan, that person gives meaning to his or her life.xviii persons, as such, are separate entities capable of determining the meaning and direction of their lives. put slightly different, we are all separate existences capable of leading separate lives.xix for nozick, the significance of each person’s possession of self-ownership is that people should not be used as resources or as means of achieving some end. it is wrong, he states, to treat people as if they are merelyof instrumental worth, or to sacrifice one person for another.xx the separateness of each person means that each person’s body and liberty are separate and distinct from those of others. they belong to each person and not to someone else. as such, nozick argues that only each person has the right to decide what happens to her or his life, body, liberty or property. being inviolable and exhaustive, these rights are absolute. nozick claims that the rights of others determine the constraints on our actions.xxi that is, a person’s rights are not merely superficial claims that can be overridden. rather, they are boundaries not to be crossed without the free consent of the robert nozick’s notion of ‘minimal state’ and the controversial water resources bill in nigeria 154 person whose rights they are. elaborating on this, nozick avers that ‚there are different individuals with separate lives and so no one may be sacrificed for others, and this underlies the existence of moral side constraints, but it also leads to a libertarian side constraint that prohibits aggression against another.‛xxii therefore, a person cannot violate the rights of others through either interference or aggression. nor can a person infringe upon other people’s rights in pursuit of some object or goal, even if that goal is to achieve an overall minimization of the violation of rights.xxiii it is on this basis, therefore, that nozick rejects utilitarianism. nozick asserts that a person’s rights are so strong and far-reaching that ‚they raise the question of what, if anything, the state and its officials may do?‛ in anarchy, state and utopia, nozick considers these issues. is it possible, he asks, to justify the existence of a state? if so, what are the limits on the state’s exercise of its coercive power? alternatively, is anarchy the only option? nozick commences his treatment of these questions by stating that if having government is superior to the most favourable state of anarchy, then the existence of the state is justified. the best possible state of anarchy that could reasonably be hoped for is one in which people had the-freedom to do as they chose, but nevertheless restrained their actions in such a way that they respected the rights of others. in the lockean ‘state of nature,’ for example, anyone can do what she or he wants to do so long as it is within the bounds of the laws of nature.xxiv the laws of nature hold that no one may harm another in health, life, liberty, or possessions. they also hold that a person has a right of self-defense against those who would transgress those rights. when such transgressions do occur, nozick notes, individuals have a right of rectification. generally, it is obvious that the idea of the minimal state is calling for a radical limitation of the influence of a state power to the barest necessary minimum possible. the idea of the minimal state is actually saying that the concern for the individual’s liberty is the supreme and, perhaps, the only value in the society and that the state’s power should be curtailed so extensively as to give the liberty of the individual the highest possible expression. it follows that the state may not impose taxation or use its coercive apparatus for the purpose of getting some citizens to aid others against their will, nor prohibit activities of people for their own good or protection. otherwise, the state shall be seen as perpetuator of injustice instead of justice. it is evident from the above that robert nozick is a headstrong libertarian. he stated categorically that the minimal state is the most extensive state that can be justified and that any state more extensive violates people’s rights and is therefore unjust. his minimal state is the embodiment of the doctrine of rights and his theory of justice can be regarded as a treatise on rights with particular reference to ownership of property. he posits that the charles nweke & odu ozoemena paul 155 state has no right to seize the resources of individuals in order to distribute them according to any principle whatsoever. it follows that nozick is interested in what distributive justice would consist of in a minimal state. thus, his theory of justice can be viewed as a description of the operations of the minimal state insofar as distribution of resources is concerned. stemming from nozick’s concept of minimal state is his entitlement theory which defines how individuals may justly come to possess things. the entitlement theory defines his conception of justice. the entitlement theory robert nozick introduced novelty in the concept of justice by affirming that justice is not about who get what but rather who is entitled to what. the rationale or the significance of robert nozick’s entitlement theory is that it not only describes what justice requires in a social relation of distribution but also, and more importantly, it persuasively demonstrates why other theories of justice are defective. one important pitfall of the other theories, according to him, is that endorsing a view of the good that may guide decisions of distributive justice, they tend to discriminate against certain groups by limiting their rights and liberties to act in certain ways they would have preferred to. hence, his theory promises to be value neutral. before he articulated his theory of justice, he first (in the first part of his bookanarchy, state and utopia) sketched a minimal state, which, as it were would provide a framework for the theory. most critics of the libertarian minimal state complain that it allows for far too little government and thus conclude that a more-than-minimal state is necessary in order to fulfill the requirements of distributive justice. so their theories of distributive justice or what 1 may simply like to call distributive models include: capitalism (to each according to their work); socialisrn (to each according to their need); egalitarianisrn (to each equally); aristocracy (to each according to their ‚inherited station‛) and kraterism (to each according to their power to grasp what they want).xxvjohn rawls, for example, insists that the state must engage in redistributive taxation in order to ensure that a fair distribution of wealth and income obtains in the society.xxvinozick’s answer to this objection constitutes his ‚entitlement theory of justice‛. nozick started by emphasizing that it is only the individuals’ efforts and transactions in a free market that give them moral claim over what they obtain provided that certain principles of justice in holdings are observed. thus he criticized the idea of conceiving ‘distributive justice’ as if there is a distributor, different from the distribution itself, which doles out shares to people according to some earlier specified criteria. this is what he finds wrong with rawls’ theory of justice, first and foremost. he states that distribution does not imply a system whereby ‚something or mechanism uses some principles or robert nozick’s notion of ‘minimal state’ and the controversial water resources bill in nigeria 156 criteria to give out a supply of things. there is no central distribution; no person or group entitled to control all the resources, jointly deciding how they are to be doled out. what each person gets, he gets from others who give to him in exchange for something, or as a gift.xxvii a true understanding of distribution according to nozick is akin to the sort of distribution that occurs (or happens) in people choosing their mates in marriage. when fresh students of a particular university, for example, gather in the campus, choosing of new friends in the new environment represents the sort of distribution nozick is referring to here. he stressed that ‚there is no more a distributing or distribution of shares than there is a distributing of mates in a society in which persons choose who they shall marry.xxviiiso nozick’s entitlement theory is simply suggesting that anybody is entitled to whatever he gets in the above described sort of distribution insofar as the three principles of justice in holding are fulfilled. the controversial water resources bill and nozick’s minimal state the nigeria pre-colonial era witnessed water policies aimed at the development of water for domestic and agricultural usage. the establishment of the nigerian geological survey (ngs) in 1917 was to search for groundwater in semi-arid areas of former northern nigeria. the systematic investigations conducted in towns and villages for hand dug wells commenced in 1928. however, from 1950s the political configuration of the country was such that water policy evolved on regional rather than national basis.xxix such policies through water acts mainly concern water and electricity supplies and for navigation within each of the regions. the 1972–74 droughts in the sahelian region including nigeria were instrumental in considering water policy development on national level. it became obvious that policy for water resources development for effective coordination must evolve and formal legislation at national level became paramount. thus, in the mid-1970s the federal ministry of water resources and the river basin development authorities (rbdas) were established. in 1981, the national committee on water resources was established to guide the two bodies. its mandate was to ensure rational and systematic management of the nation’s water resources. in 1979, the river basins development authority decree was promulgated. it repealed the 1976 river basins development decree with its 1977 amendment, created eleven river basins development authorities with their functions and provided for the establishment of committees.xxx this decree was also repealed in the river basins development authorities act of 1986 and re-established eleven river basins, set out functions and empowered them to establish, operate and regulate advisory committees. the 1990 rbdas act maintained the 1986 act but increased the river basins to twelve. the mandates given to the rbdas in 1976 was enormous (i.e. planning and developing charles nweke & odu ozoemena paul 157 water resources, irrigation work and the collection of hydrological, hydro-geological and meteorological data) but was narrowed down to large scale single purpose irrigation projects. then emerged decree no. 101 cited as water resources decree effective on august 23, 1993 and updated as water resources act (wra) 2004. the act vests rights and control of all water including all water-course affecting more than one state on the federal government through the federal ministry of water resources. sequel to the water resources act 2004, national water resources master plan was completed in 1995. the objective was to ensure optimum use of the nation’s water resources. it provided for developmental scenario through well formulated strategies in the short and long term by the year 2000 and 2020 respectively. today, wra 2004, minerals act of 1990, national inland waterways authority (niwa) decree 13 of 1997; rbda act of 1990 and state water edicts are relevant in the development and management of the nation’s water resources. the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria empowers both the states and the local governments to make laws relating to water. in essence, the states and the local governments have the constitutional power to legislate on all waters within their jurisdiction not covered by the exclusive legislative list (ell) for development and management. this appears to be the trend regarding the management of water resources in nigeria until the emergence of the buhari administration which tried to give more impetus to federal control over water resources in nigeria through the infamous national water resources bill. the national water resources bill was first introduced in the 8th assembly in april 2017 during president muhammadu buhari’s first term. the bill passed in the house of representatives but failed in the senate. it was therefore jettisoned after the senate committee on water resources to which the bill was referred could not report back on it before the 8th assembly came to an end in june 2019 as a result of the controversy surrounding the bill.xxxi on july 7, 2020, the national water resources bill was reorganized and reintroduced in the 9th house of representative by its sponsor, honourable soda soli from katsina state and of the apc (all progressive party). the bill was eventually passed and forwarded to the senate for concurrence. the bill sought to transfer the control of water resources from the state to the federal government. the faulty manner by which the bill was reintroduced puts to question the motifs of its sponsors. ogunmupe, like many other concerned nigerians, suggests that ‚at present, the bill is being used to polarize the country along ethnic lines.‛xxxii several prominent nigerians have expressed their reservations on the bill. benue state governor, samuel ortom states clearly that his state is not a party to the bill. according to him, ‚the federal government’s insistence to take over control of water resources across robert nozick’s notion of ‘minimal state’ and the controversial water resources bill in nigeria 158 the country is tantamount to the suppression and enslavement of indigenous people of this country.‛xxxiii the national water resources bill seeks to ensure that the nation’s water resources are adequately protected from degradation and pollution, and hence enhance citizens’ rights to clean water, sanitation and hygiene. it also seeks to create the following establishments: a national council on water resources; a nigerian water resources regulatory commission; river basin development authorities; a nigeria hydrological services agency; and a national water resources institute. the bill will empower the nigeria water resources regulatory commission it seeks to create with the authority to issue licenses. there are several concerns about the bill. it seeks to create in one full swing, four new agencies of government. for a country crying over excessive numbers of regulatory agencies, several of which are redundant, underfunded or unfunded, and mostly inefficient, this seems to be another ill-fated government legislation. the bill seems set to create an added layer of licensing simply aimed at generating money rather than any added value. with government agencies having the reputation of collecting funds and fees from the masses without applying same to the welfare of the public, there is the question whether this does not add to those concerns. with boreholes being dug across the country, most because of government infrastructural failures, the licensing regime will naturally add to the burden of citizens rather than address any important public concern. more concerning is the fact that the bill bears striking similarities with the late sani abacha lands decree no. 52 of 1993. this anarchical degree controversially declared all lands within 100metres of the shoreline of nigeria and any other land reclaimed from any lagoon, sea or ocean in or bordering nigeria as belonging to the federal government.xxxiv under the dictatorship of abacha, this decree was invoked to appropriate prime lands in some coastal states. of particular note was the acquisition of lands in ikoyi foreshore, banana island and the atlantic coasts of lagos state. these were appropriated by the abacha regime and shared to family members, friends and business associates without any national interests or value considered. the fear regarding the water resources bill is that it also has provisions similar to general abacha’s decree no. 52 of 1993. it has provisions that give the federal government powers over water affecting more than one state, including water beds and banks of such water bodies. this is why the bill is generating so much debate and controversy. what is the implication of passing such a bill vis-à-vis nozick’s theory of justice? would a justice system that follows the blueprint set by nozick permit ‘a federal control over all the water resources scattered across all the states and regions of nigeria’? obviously, as ogunmupe observed earlier on, the water resources bill (like many others in nigeria) is not exempt from the influence of ethnic politics. little wonder then that the fellows charles nweke & odu ozoemena paul 159 fronting the passage of the bill are from the same region of the countrythe north, whose interests are expected to be promoted by the bill. the bill therefore further substantiates the claim that ethnic chauvinism is a primary factor determining the direction of government policies in nigeria. this fact has been more clearly demonstrated in the buhari presidency. moreover, the bill when fully implemented will make it even more difficult for the masses to have access to quality and portable drinking water. so, instead of collaborating with the federating units (the states) and local governments to address the increasing lack of quality and portable water supply in the country, the central government forwarded to the 9th assembly a bill rejected by the 8th designed to further commercialize access to water by the masses. hence, ‚through the bill, the federal government will take over water resources from the states, license the supply and commercialize the use of water. what is more, government that has failed to supply water to the people will turn around to give approval and charge people for digging boreholes.‛xxxv this is grave injustice done to the people by the state which is supposed to protect the rights and interests of her citizens. if the citizens cannot find justice from the institutions of the state, specifically from those who they vote into power, what becomes the fate of the citizens outside of their country? of course, as noted earlier, the bill does not affect all the citizens in the same way: to some it is an advantage; to others, it is a grave disadvantage. ogunmupe notes, ‚since the bill contravenes parts of the constitution and relevant judicial authorities, some states and cultural groups have accused the federal government of seeking to take over the water resources of some sections of the country in order to implement the obnoxious rural grazing policy through the back door.‛xxxvi the water resources bill is therefore one of the many ways power struggle and competition for resources in the nigerian state is manifested between the two major divides – north and south regionsthat make of the country. apparently, due to the growing effects of climate change and the continuous desertification of northern nigeria regions closer to the sahel, the political elites from that region are looking for subtle ways to re-channel the vegetation and water resources in the south of nigeria to their favour. this also explains the recurrent attempts by the buhari administration to implement the policy on nationwide grazing reserves. recall that nozick’s proposes a ‘minimal state.’ the water resources bill goes completely against nozick’s idea of the minimal state. in fact, in the ideal nozickian state, the state is just inasmuch as it does little to determine, control or undermine the economic, social, and even political freedom and rights of the masses. that is, the lesser the state attributes authority and power to determine the outcome of the lives of the citizen, the more just the state becomes. nozick believes that a state should be ‘minimal’ concerning itself only with narrow functions of protection of citizens against force, theft, robert nozick’s notion of ‘minimal state’ and the controversial water resources bill in nigeria 160 fraud, enforcement of contracts, and so on; that any more extensive functions given to the state would violate persons’ rights not to be forced into doing certain things, and this is unjustified; and that the minimal state is inspiring as well as right. nozick argues that the minimal state is the only morally justifiable form of government. this contention rests upon his understanding of the separateness of each person, the existence of inviolable rights, and the side constraint that these rights impose on the behavior of others. therefore, for nozick, the state exists only because it is an institution that protects and ensures the freedom and rights of the citizens. the state is not supposed to be unnecessarily involved with the economic wellbeing of particular citizens to the extent of making policies that give citizens undue advantages over the others (as is the case with nigeria). the state is supposed to be a harbinger of justice; and this it does by ensuring the freedom of all citizens equally as far-reaching as possible. the water resources bill of the buhari administration does not represent this nozickian sentiment in anyway; it is therefore criminal and unjust. in fact, nozick even raises questions on the need for the existence of a state. he agrees that there is need for people to exist as a collective under one body called a state, nation. he however, completely cancels out the existence of an anarchical state. he actually forbade anarchism in the state to the extent of forbidding the state from the use of coercive power or abuse of political authority. nozick asks, is anarchy the only option? he replies, thus: ‚the best possible state of anarchy that could reasonably be hoped for is one in which people had the freedom to do as they chose, but nevertheless restrained their actions in such a way that they respected the rights of others.‛xxxvii what nozick points out here is that the state must be organized in such wise that it permits the freedom of the masses to the extent that such freedom does not cause harm to others. by implication, never should the state at any time impose her will on the masses. never should the state make legislation or laws that do not completely represent the will and consent of the people. the water resources bill is definitely an anomaly in the light of nozick’stenentson justice. it is an imposition of the will of the state over a section of the masses in order to score cheap ethnic chauvinistic goals. contrary to nozick’s teaching, even though the nigerian state is convinced that the majority of those in the southern region are against the passage of such a ridiculous bill, the federal government went ahead to present same to the bicameral legislative houses. ordinarily, in the light of nozick’s liberal justice theory, the bill is supposed to have proceeded from the grassroots to the top, not vice versa. the government is supposed to propose only bills that completely represent the will of the masses. the masses should actually be deciding the direction of government charles nweke & odu ozoemena paul 161 policies, not those in government making decisions without cognizance given to the will of the masses or even ignoring the masses when they eventually raise objections. this article is therefore convinced that the water resources bill is one of many legislations in nigeria influenced by ethnic politicking. the policy is completely antipeople and is hence contrary to nozick’s theory of justice captured in his idea of ‘minimal state’. the government of nigeria has no business, according to nozick’s principle, with determining the management and control of water resources scattered all over the federating units making up the country. the water resources belong to the indigenous people; they are therefore supposed to be given total control over same. the state’s function is to make laws to ensure the maximum protection of the rights of this people to ownership of these water resources; not making laws that would deprive them of the resources and even cede same to others who have no rights of ownership to same resources. conclusion this article has exposed a core aspect of nozick’s theory of justicehis idea of the minimal state. in fact, nozick notion of the minimal state is the logical foundation upon which his principles of justice by acquisition, transfer, rectification are built. as radical libertarian, nozick is of the opinion that the function of the state should not be the interference of the freedom of the masses. in fact such functions must have at the top of the priority list the enhancement or creating of the required environment for the furtherance of the freedom of the people. in other words, the function of the state is to enact laws that would enable the masses have greater liberty; and to eschew every tendency or possibilities that would negate or hinder the liberty of the citizens. this can only imply that the function of the state in relation to the welfare of the citizens, for nozick, must be as infinitesimal as possible if the state is to be considered an ideal. as usual, nozick sounded too radical here. he bequeaths an almost extreme liberty to the masses to the extent that the state may not be able to exercise control over her own citizens. such can also lead to anarchy in the state. however, nozick makes such lofty claims on the minimal state because he is aware of the existence of power drunken elements in the state (like in nigeria) who would wantonly employ the machineries of the state to perpetrate injustice to all or a section of the citizenry. nozick’s postulation is therefore targeted at protecting the masses from the tyranny of the state; from abuse of political power and blatant disregard for political legitimacy. the water resources bill, still being debated, in contemporary nigeria is act that constitutes an abuse of both political power and political legitimacy. it is an abuse of political legitimacy because it fails to rely robert nozick’s notion of ‘minimal state’ and the controversial water resources bill in nigeria 162 or seek the consent of the masses; and it is an abuse of political power because the nigerian state sought to legitimize the bill even though she knows it is against the will of the majority of the citizenry. this is a major interference and a massive breach of the liberties and rights of the nigerian citizenry. this article is therefore of the viewpoint that the nigerian state is a direct opposite of nozick’s postulations on the minimal state. the state in nigeria is thus a ‘maximal state’ because it interferes regularly with the liberties of the masses and enact laws that hinders such liberties. endnotes ir. anifowose, ‚state, society and nation‛, in anifowose, r &enemuo, f.c. (eds), (elements of politics. lagos: malthouse press limited, 1999), p.98. iis. mukhergee and s. ramaswamy, a history of political thought: plato to marx. 2 ed, (phi learning private limited delhi -110092, 2013) p. 97. iiiibid, p.115. ivibid, p.230. va. appadorai, the substance of politics. (new delhi: oxford university press. 1974), p.40-42 vir. anifowose, p.98 viis. mukhergee and s. ramaswamy, p.324. viiir. anifowose, p.98. ixa. appadorai, p.40-41. xd. d. raphael, problems of political philosophy, (london: the macmillan press ltd., 19761, p.46. xi ibid. xiiibid, p.48. xiiiibid, p.47. xivrobert nozick, anarchy, state and utopia p.169. xvibid, p.ix xvijenny teichman and katherine c. evans, philosophy: a beginner's guide, (oxford: basil blackwell ltd., 199 1 ), pp. 127. xviirobert nozick, anarchy, state and utopia p.49 xviiiibid, p.50. xixibid, p.33. xxibid. xxiibid, p.29. xxiiibid, p.33. xxiiiibid, p.33. xxivibid, p.10. xxvmichael boylan, "justice, community and the limits to autonomy‛, in social and political philosophy: contemporary perspectives, ed. james p. sterba (london: routledge, 2001) p. 190. xxvia. salahuddin, ‚robert nozick’s entitlement theory of justice, libertarian rights and the minimal state: a critical evaluation‛. j civil legal sci 7: 234. doi: 10.4172/2169-0170.1000234. (2018), p.2 xxviinozick, anarchy, state and utopia p.149 https://doi.org/10.4172/2169-0170.1000234 charles nweke & odu ozoemena paul 163 xxviiicasey rentmeester, ‚the need for basic rights: a critique of nozick’s entitlement theory‛, p.25. xxixs. o. adeyemi, ‚water policies for the future,‛ convocation lecture. university of maiduguri, maiduguri, nigeria, 1987. xxxriver basins development authorities, rbdas (1979). river basins development authorities decree 1979, decree no. 87. http://faolex.fao.org/faolex/index.htm. accessed 05/12/2022. xxxiolayinkaokeola, ‚challenges and contradictions in nigeria’s water resources policy development: a critical review,‛ international journal of science and technology, vol. 6, no. 1, 2017, 1-19, p. 4. xxxiibayoogunmupe, ‚implications of water resources bill 2020,‛ the guardian, https://guardian.ng/opinion/implications-of-water-resources-bill-2020/. accessed 02/12/2022. xxxiii ibid. xxxivokeola, ‚challenges and contradictions“,‛ p. 5. xxxvogunmupe, ‚implications of water resources bill 2020.‛ xxxvi ibid. xxxviinozick, anarchy, state and utopia, p. 43. http://faolex.fao.org/faolex/index.htm.%20accessed%2005/12/2022 https://guardian.ng/opinion/implications-of-water-resources-bill-2020/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 23 corporate social responsibility in nigeria's oil sector through kantian ethics: using kant's duty-based ethics to critique shell, chevron, and nigerian oil companies' obligations toward host communities chinedu s. ifeakor, phd. department of philosophy, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka cs.ifeakor@unizik.edu.ng abstract the paper examines the application of corporate social responsibility (csr) practices in the oil industry of nigeria on the basis of the deontological ethics established by immanuel kant by applying the categorical imperative to consider the moral obligations of shell, chevron, and the nigerian oil companies to the host communities. judging by the data of 2023-2024 provided, this discussion shows the essential gaps between the csr of companies and the moral requirements of kantian ethics. host communities have been treated by businesses as a means to business ends as opposed to being an end in themselves despite the fact that businesses have spent billions in community development programs, which has violated the essence of human dignity that forms the main premise of kantian philosophy. it is proposed in the paper that actual kantian csr would require the companies to place moral responsibility, rather than profit maximization, at the centre of their activities and make sure that their conduct can be universalized without contradiction. keywords: corporate social responsibility, kantian ethics, niger delta, shell, chevron, deontological ethics, host communities introduction: oil extraction and moral responsibility with the 1956 discovery of the first commercial oil in oloibiri, multinational corporations such as shell and chevron as well as state-owned enterprises have taken over nigeria oil business creating immense wealth at the expense of the host niger delta communities, who are continuously destroyed, and marginalized, by their activities (itu, 2024). confronted by increasing criticism and violent resistance, oil companies have launched massive corporate social responsibility efforts, and have collectively committed hundreds of millions a year to community development projects. these csr initiatives are still ethically questionable. this essay uses the critical application of deontological ethics by immanuel kant to evaluate the shell, chevron, and nigerian oil corporations in respect of whether it has exercised its moral responsibilities to the host communities under the umbrella of csr. the categorical imperative proposed by kant provides strict rules that can be used to assess the moral obligation of corporations based on the dignity of human beings as part of rational beings and the moral maxims must be moral universally (kant, 1785). contrary to the consequentialist approaches that determine the value of actions by their consequences, kantian ethics determines the value of an action by its purposes and principles. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 24 the discussion is particularly relevant to the oil industry in nigeria where companies conduct business in poor environments extraction of resources worth billions. the following are the research questions: (1) how do csr practices of major oil companies in nigeria relate with kantian morals? (2) do such companies see host communities as an end, or a means to business? (3) what would really kantian csr in nigerian oil fields entail? kantian ethics and corporate responsibility: philosophical foundations foundations of kantian deontology the ethical behavior of moral philosophy expressed by immanuel kant in groundwork of the metaphysics of morals (1785) has a foundation on duty. to kant, the moral value does not come due to the consequences but as a consequence of doing what duty demands and this is motivated by respect to moral law (kant, 1785). this deontological theory is called so because of the greek word deon (duty), which is the opposite of consequentialist theories that base their judgment on the outcome of an action. the highest principle of morality (that is the categorical imperative) demands rational agents to act in ways that they can will at the same time as general principles. in various formulations, kant designed this principle, the one that is most applicable to corporate ethics is: "you must also act according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law; and acts you must also in such a way that you treat humanity, in your own person or in the person of any other, never, however, merely as a means to an end, but always at the same time as an end" (kant, 1785). categorical imperative and corporate responsibility when applied in relation to business ethics, the categorical imperative would make businesses do things they would not reasonably contradict or otherwise, not consistent with moral ethics should they be applied universally (mclaren, 2024). the former condition is violated when the conduct of corporations relies on maxims, the application of which would in the long run bring to extinction the opportunity to engage in business or social co-operation. the second formulation also does not allow looking at stakeholders such as host communities as a simple means of getting profits without taking into account their fundamental dignity and self-agency. the principle of autonomy developed by kant is anticorporate-community relations. independent actors have the ability to decide on themselves in a rational way and ought to be taken as ends (herman, 1996). this principle challenges paternalism csr programs that force the development priorities on communities without consulting or actually respecting their ability of making self-determinations. perfect and imperfect duties in csr according to kantian ethics, there are two types of duties namely, perfect duties that do not permit exceptions and imperfect duties that do not prohibit discretion in accomplishment (kant, 1785). examples of perfect duties in a business setting would be not to lie to stakeholders or to cause unwarranted damage to the environment, and imperfect would be positive duties to promote the growth of the community or encourage education. this model determines the nature of the csr undertakings of oil companies as genuine moral duties or charity. in kantian assessment, it is required that businesses determine and perform igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 25 flawless responsibilities to the host societies and then undertake imperfect responsibilities as part of the voluntary social investment schemes. philosophical analysis of csr practices in nigerian oil operations shell's csr approach and kantian evaluation the csr activities that shell undertakes in nigeria represent one of the biggest programs of corporate community investment in the world. in 2023, a total of 42.2 million of the shell company was donated directly as social investment in education, health, enterprise development, and infrastructure (shell, 2022). in line with unep cleanup recommendations, the company also donated 751 million to the ogoni trust fund to clean up the environment by 2023. the kantian view of the shell maxim will seem to be: shell will invest in the host community development so that we can have the social license to operate and minimize the risk of operating. the universalizability test also doubts whether every extractive company would be able to implement this maxim without contradiction. when every company would consider csr as a risk management but does not take it as a moral responsibility, it would lead to instrumental community treatment and even poor consideration of actual community needs. the transition of shell to host communities development trusts (hcdts) under the petroleum industry act 2021 is a positive sign since it takes into consideration the autonomy of communities to make decisions. however, paternalism as the historical feature of the company, which entails development priorities determined by corporate and not community needs, goes against the principles of kantian autonomy and respect (okeke et al., 2020). the csr practices are not in consistent compliance with the humanity formulation of kant. among the positive features, one can distinguish large investments in education (more than $3 million in 2023), healthcare programs that allow 40,000 safe births, and the development of programs in enterprises (shell, 2022). possibly, these programs can increase the capacities and autonomous agency of the community members. nevertheless, critics note that shell csr orientation is tilted towards philanthropic efforts rather than working on environmental degradation caused by operations and propose that communities are viewed as a means to reduce reputational and operational risks and not as something worthy of respect (okeke et al., 2020). claims of respecting the dignity and wellbeing of community are undermined by decades of oil spills and gas flaring and laggard attempts by the companies. chevron's market systems approach the nigerian csr of chevron has developed to what the firm refers to as corporate social enterprise that focuses more on economically sustainable development as opposed to the traditional philanthropy. in 2010 chevron created the niger delta partnership initiatives (ndpi) foundation, which provided market systems development projects in the market in terms of aquaculture, oil palm, and cassava value chains with the foundation of 100-million dollars (european centre for development policy management, 2018). the development approach of market systems that chevron is utilizing can be effectively aligned to the kantian approach rather than the conventional csr practices. the company may igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 26 also consider communities as independent economic actors that can develop on their own rather than charity recipients by focusing on the growth of the local economic capacity and value chain. the ndpi approach used participatory value chain analysis that involves domestic partners with respect to community knowledge and decision-making ability in line with the perspective of seeing community members as ends who have rationality that qualifies them to contribute in making life-related decisions (development alternatives inc., 2018). the maxim of chevron would be like this: we shall invest in the building of local economical systems that would form mutually beneficial ties between our activity and host societies. this principle seems more generalizable than the purely philanthropic ones since such a strategy does not lead to dependency but aims at the fundamental economic institutions. however, critics observe that even the innovative practice by chevron still is based on the business risk management and regulatory compliance, but not the realization of the natural moral duties towards communities. company resources support the fact that stability of the community reduces operational risks and improves the performance of a business, suggesting the existence of instrumental, but not strictly moral motivation. nigerian oil companies' obligations the subsidiaries of nnpc ltd. and other indigenous businesses in nigeria with marginal fields have undertaken less comprehensive csr activities as opposed to foreign businesses. being a national oil company, nnpc ltd. has certain issues in balancing between commercial and national developmental obligations. based on the kantian view, national oil companies may have more moral responsibilities to the host communities than foreign mncs as they enjoy political affiliation with the host populations. the categorical imperative commits agents to do what they can will as the moral laws to their moral community. the commercial orientation of nnpc limited as a result of its transformation in 2021 casts doubt on the fact that profit maximization may still be consistent with kantian duties to other citizens. the fact that the company is not transparent about its investments in communities and environmental performance implies that the company may fail to consider its flawless obligations not to harm and respect the dignity of the members of the community (natural resource governance institute, 2025). according to kantian perspectives, the native firms that are granted priority under local content regulations have an even bigger responsibility to the host communities. universalizability would require such companies to give disproportionately to the community development as compared to their shareholding or production level may be. nevertheless, the studies indicate that the majority of indigenous businesses are not funded and do not have the technical capabilities to conduct a large-scale csr program, citing systemic problems that make ethical behavior in radically diverging performing businesses unable to align (atoyebi, 2024). perfect duties: environmental harm prevention and honesty using kantian analysis on the corporate conduct of the nigerian oil industry, it is possible to state that a number of perfect duties cannot be broken by companies. protection of the environment is an ideal responsibilitya firm should not cause unnecessary damage to the environment of host communities. the categorical imperative demonstrates that systematic igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 27 environmental depreciation could not be willed as a universal law, as it would worsen the factors to flourish humanity and business survival. this ideal responsibility was not followed by shell because the company was historically flaming its gases over a period of decades even though there were other options. despite the fact that the company cut the routine flaring by more than 60 percent compared to 2000, nonessential flaring is still morally unacceptable according to kantian analysis (shell, 2022). honesty and transparency are ideal responsibilities entailing avoidance of deceiving host community on operational risks, environmental impacts, and company intentions. kant regarded lying as wrong in all circumstances since it is regarded as issues of subjugating the autonomy of individuals by using them as objects to suit the purpose. companies that falsify the information in environmental reports, exaggerate the operational risks, or empty promises of community development do not fulfill this core need. this business ethics is legally enforced by the disclosure requirements in nigeria extractive industries transparency initiative. the second ideal responsibility is respecting community autonomy, business firms should respect the self-determining ability of communities and should not dictate to them paternalistic developmental models, which presuppose that community members are not rational enough to decide on their priorities. institutional reforms for kantian csr in the light of this analysis, some recommendations can be formulated on how the csr of the oil sector can be in line with the kantian moral principles. corporate-controlled csr programs should be replaced by community-controlled development funds, and the companies will be contributing resources to community-controlled organizations with real control over development priorities and implementation. the participation of the environmental management process must assure the protection and restoration programs of the environment that engage positive community participation on the planning, monitoring, and evaluation of the environment by understanding the capabilities of the community and valuing the community knowledge. clear accountability mechanisms should facilitate monitoring and reporting of environmental and social performance to communities so that they can make informed community choices. operational changes corporations must adopt proactive environmental requirements as the best possible practices irrespective of the domestic laws, and environmental protection should be a flawless obligation. community autonomy and self-determination rights are important in making significant operational decisions with meaningful community consent processes by host communities. csr programs should focus on capacity building that will help the communities to grow on their own and not to create dependency relationships. challenges and conclusion the following kantian criticism of the csr of the nigerian oil industry shows that there are huge gaps between the activities of the companies and the moral imperatives, which can be discussed on the ground of the categorical imperative. in spite of the fact that such companies igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 28 as shell and chevron use billions of dollars in the community development program, they are rather inclined to instrumentalize the host communities instead of admitting their innate dignity and sovereignty. the traditional philanthropic model of shell is paternalistic, and it does not respond to the kantian principles of autonomy and self-determination. the community economic capacity aspect of market systems development would be more aligned with the kantian ethics, but chevron is highly driven by business as opposed to other factors such as morals. the nigerian oil companies such as nnpc ltd. are the laggards in the use of csr compared to foreign companies with perhaps more moral obligations due to the national nature of their operations. the kantian csr solution needs major shifts in paradigm: the instrumental to the reverent treatment of community, the paternalistic to the participatory development, the discretionary philanthropy to the binding moral obligations. this would entail institutional changes such as community based development fund, participatory environmental stewardship and accountability systems. the categorical imperative, which focuses on the human dignity and universalism, can help greatly in changing corporate-community relationships in extractive industries. nevertheless, they come into play only when they deal with more structural imbalance and power dynamics that limit the actions of corporations and community agencies. research should be conducted on how the kantian doctrines can be applied with other theories of morality such as indigenous african ethics to come up with culturally sensitive method of corporate responsibility in developing situations. further, a study of the community perception of corporate moral responsibility would create knowledge on how universal moral principles can be successfully implemented in various cultural environments. the shift of the oil industry in nigeria to have legally recognized host community development trusts is a move towards believing that corporate moral responsibilities are not voluntary but compulsory. but authentic attention to community dignity and autonomy would be achieved only by going beyond legal adherence to duties to the moral change that kantian ethics is founded on. references atoyebi, o. m. (2024, july 12). corporate social responsibility vis-à-vis the duties of oil producing companies and the need for an enabling legislation omaplex law firm. omaplex law firm. https://omaplex.com.ng/corporate-socialresponsibility-vis-a-vis-the-duties-of-oil-producing-companies-and-the-need-foran-enabling-legislation/ bowie, n. e. (2017). business ethics: a kantian perspective. cambridge university press. carroll, a. b. (2015). corporate social responsibility: the centerpiece of competing and complementary frameworks. organizational dynamics, 44(2), 87–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2015.02.002 chevron corporation. (2018). nigeria highlights of operations. chevron.com. https://www.chevron.com/worldwide/nigeria https://omaplex.com.ng/corporate-social-responsibility-vis-a-vis-the-duties-of-oil-producing-companies-and-the-need-for-an-enabling-legislation/ https://omaplex.com.ng/corporate-social-responsibility-vis-a-vis-the-duties-of-oil-producing-companies-and-the-need-for-an-enabling-legislation/ https://omaplex.com.ng/corporate-social-responsibility-vis-a-vis-the-duties-of-oil-producing-companies-and-the-need-for-an-enabling-legislation/ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2015.02.002 https://www.chevron.com/worldwide/nigeria igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 29 development alternatives inc. (2018). in niger delta, chevron launches new paradigm for corporate social investment. dai publications. https://dai-globaldevelopments.com/articles/daideas-innovation-in-action-chevron/ european centre for development policy management. (2018). chevron's corporate social enterprise in nigeria. https://ecdpm.org/work/leveraging-private-investment-forsustainable-development-volume-7-issue-2-spring-2018/chevrons-corporatesocial-enterprise-in-nigeria herman, b. (1996). the practice of moral judgment. harvard university press. idemudia, u. (2007). corporate partnerships and community development in the nigerian oil industry: strengths and limitations. geneva: united nations research institute for social development. itu, m. (2024). corporate social responsibility and sustainable development: a study of shell petroleum development company of nigeria and nigeria agip. aksu journal of administration and corporate governance, 4(1), 46–59. https://doi.org/10.61090/aksujacog.2024.004 johnson, r., & cureton, a. (2022). kant's moral philosophy. stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant-moral/ kant, i. (1785). groundwork of the metaphysics of morals. cambridge university press. https://cpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com/blog.nus.edu.sg/dist/c/1868/files/2012/12/kantgroundwork-ng0pby.pdf kanu, i. a. (2012). the problem of personal identity in metaphysics. international journal of arts and humanities. vol.1. no.2. pp.1-13. kanu, i. a. (2012a). the concept of life and person in african anthropology. in e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (eds.). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 61-71). nigeria: augustinian. kanu, i. a. (2012b). towards an igbo christology. in e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (eds.). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 75-98). nigeria: augustinian. kanu, i. a. (2013). african identity and the emergence of globalization. american international journal of contemporary research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 34-42. kanu, i. a. (2013). globalisation, globalism and african philosophy. c. umezinwa (ed.). african philosophy: a pragmatic approach to african problems (pp. 151165). germany: lambert. manby, b. (1997). the price of oil: corporate responsibility and human rights violations in nigeria's oil producing communities. refworld. https://www.refworld.org/reference/countryrep/hrw/1999/en/97545 mclaren, n. (2024, april 24). universal principles in the boardroom: applying kant's categorical imperative to ethical business. medium. https://medium.com/@nicholasmclaren/universal-principles-in-the-boardroomapplying-kants-categorical-imperative-to-ethical-business-ceb54d283989 natural resource governance institute. (2025). national oil company profile: nnpc. https://resourcegovernance.org/publications/national-oil-company-profile-nnpc okeke, m., ifeanyi, tochukwu, v., & okechukwu, a. c. (2020). multinational corporations and corporate social responsibility: an investigation of shell and https://dai-global-developments.com/articles/daideas-innovation-in-action-chevron/ https://dai-global-developments.com/articles/daideas-innovation-in-action-chevron/ https://ecdpm.org/work/leveraging-private-investment-for-sustainable-development-volume-7-issue-2-spring-2018/chevrons-corporate-social-enterprise-in-nigeria https://ecdpm.org/work/leveraging-private-investment-for-sustainable-development-volume-7-issue-2-spring-2018/chevrons-corporate-social-enterprise-in-nigeria https://ecdpm.org/work/leveraging-private-investment-for-sustainable-development-volume-7-issue-2-spring-2018/chevrons-corporate-social-enterprise-in-nigeria https://doi.org/10.61090/aksujacog.2024.004 https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant-moral/ https://cpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com/blog.nus.edu.sg/dist/c/1868/files/2012/12/kant-groundwork-ng0pby.pdf https://cpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com/blog.nus.edu.sg/dist/c/1868/files/2012/12/kant-groundwork-ng0pby.pdf https://www.refworld.org/reference/countryrep/hrw/1999/en/97545 https://medium.com/@nicholasmclaren/universal-principles-in-the-boardroom-applying-kants-categorical-imperative-to-ethical-business-ceb54d283989 https://medium.com/@nicholasmclaren/universal-principles-in-the-boardroom-applying-kants-categorical-imperative-to-ethical-business-ceb54d283989 https://resourcegovernance.org/publications/national-oil-company-profile-nnpc igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 30 its relationship with their host communities in nigeria. researchgate, 4(5), 127–135. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/363896383 shell. (2022). fact sheet: 2022 key developments. www.shell.com.ng. https://www.shell.com.ng/media/nigeria-reports-and-publications-briefingnotes/fact-sheet-2021-key-developments.html wikipedia. (2024). petroleum industry in nigeria. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/petroleum_industry_in_nigeria https://www.researchgate.net/publication/363896383 http://www.shell.com.ng/ https://www.shell.com.ng/media/nigeria-reports-and-publications-briefing-notes/fact-sheet-2021-key-developments.html https://www.shell.com.ng/media/nigeria-reports-and-publications-briefing-notes/fact-sheet-2021-key-developments.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/petroleum_industry_in_nigeria igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 116 vernacular architecture: insight from the egbebelu farmstead in southeastern nigeria okoro, martins n. department of fine and industrial arts university of nigeria, nsukka abstract vernacular architecture is gradually becoming extinct due to modern influences, necessitating proper scholarly documentation for posterity where such structures remain. this paper examines vernacular buildings in the egbebelu settlement located in ugwogo-nike, enugu east local government area of enugu state in southeastern nigeria. while in-depth studies have been conducted on other geographical areas that comprise ugwogo-nike, to the best of the researchers, no such study has been undertaken on the egbebelu settlement, particularly regarding its built environment, which still contains occupied traditional buildings. the paper explores the concept of vernacular shelter, delves into the typologies, and examines the materials utilized in their construction. the study employs a qualitative research design, and data were analyzed descriptively. photographs of vernacular architecture are incorporated into the paper for enhanced illustration. the survey draws upon the igbo concept of aka aja aja n’ebute ọnụ mmanụ mmanụ (literally: it is the hands that cultivate that bring about an oily mouth), an underlying symbolism that informs the egbebelu settlement vernacular architecture. the investigation reveals, among other findings, that all residential units in the study area exhibit shared visual or structural characteristics, which categorize them as rectangular and square house types. these structures primarily serve the dual purposes of providing temporary accommodation for agricultural workers during the cultivation season and facilitating the storage of agricultural produce during the harvest period. keywords: vernacular architecture, egbebelu farmstead, ugwogo-nike, community, southeastern nigeria introduction vernacular architecture refers to the enclosure of a given space with structures constructed using materials sourced directly from the environment for the habitation of humans and animals, protecting from weather conditions. in corroborating the above, ene-orji (2022: 66) notes, "traditional architecture has long been used as an index to measure humankind's state of development of their response to their environment, in terms of using available materials to afford protection over the elements, animals and fellow people." aniakor (2002: 272) observes that as an "art of space, the built environment is thus architecturally planned to reflect important conceptual principles whose meanings lie in the organization of space elements in a family compound, village or town." architecture is defined as the art or practice of designing and constructing buildings, and it remains a central social institution and the progenitor of all arts throughout human civilization (aniakor, 1978). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 117 the concept of vernacular architecture and arts is intrinsically linked to a people's worldview. this connection provides a valuable perspective on their habitation and survival strategies. african societies have historically maintained their architectural traditions derived from their cosmology. furthermore, the shape of a dwelling can reveal more about a society than other aspects of material culture (whiting and ayers, 1968). this suggests that a house type can provide valuable evidence regarding people's ontology. for instance, among the arochukwu igbo, the interior of a house serves dual functions as both a living room and a burial chamber. according to aniakor (2012: 276), this factor "endows it (the house) with spiritual authority and enhances the vitality of interior space, providing a channel through which a deceased occupant returns to the world of the ancestors." lavenderjean (nd) also posits that traditional african architecture is "an architectural fashion that is designed based on local needs, availability of construction materials and reflecting local african traditions." as with most architectural traditions globally, african architecture has been subject to numerous external influences from the earliest periods for which evidence is available. since the late 15th century, western architecture has influenced coastal areas, resulting in the construction of many larger buildings, particularly in urban centers. colonialism has exerted the most significant influence on traditional houses, leading to the widespread use of durable concrete, block, and zinc buildings. while traditional architecture is gradually becoming obsolete, there exists a settlement where its presence remains resistant to the influence of modernization and persists to the present day. egbebelu ugwoko nike, enugu, has maintained its traditional architectural practices. several studies have been conducted on nike town and its communities (of which egbebelu is a part) regarding aspects such as its distorted history, stream quality, nutritional status and periodontal disease, and the development of its natural lakes. however, to the knowledge of the researcher, no studies exist specifically on egbebelu (see ogochukwu & nwagbara, 2014; amalu & ajake, 2019; umeanoeto et al., 2019; okwesili et al., 2023; ugwumba, 2023). in light of this, the present study surveys vernacular architecture and examines and evaluates settlement patterns, house types, and building materials, employing a qualitative research approach to understand the built environment. this qualitative study explores the igbo proverb "aka aja aja n'ebute ọnụ mmanụ mmanụ," which can be interpreted as "hands smeared with sand lead to an oily mouth." this saying suggests that diligent work and cultivation result in bountiful harvests, allowing one to feed well. the concept emphasizes the connection between hard labour and the rewards it brings, particularly in the context of agricultural productivity. it also conveys the notion that diligence leads to reward and emphasizes that labor is a prerequisite for sustenance. this principle underpins the rationale for the construction of temporary dwellings in the egbebelu farm settlement, which serve as accommodations during periods of cultivation and harvest for both familial and commercial purposes. the following questions form the basis of qualitative data analysis, which encompasses the range of processes and procedures whereby the researcher transitions from the collected qualitative data into some form of explanation, understanding, or interpretation of the subject of their investigation. these questions will be instrumental in comprehending the vernacular architecture of the egbebelu settlement: what is the location of the egbebelu settlement? what types of buildings are present in the settlement, and what are their purposes? which building materials are utilized in their construction? what techniques have been adopted igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 118 for their construction? what are the sociopolitical and socio-economic functions of the settlements? overview of vernacular architecture vernacular architecture encompasses tribal rural settings and settlements that span centuries. aripita and bijay (2023:435) are of the view that architecture is indigenous to the location, sensitive to climate, built with materials, and arises from the culture of a place. it evolved over generations and is specific to the geographical location, and addresses the needs of the people. vernacular architecture is broadly defined in three ways. first, "it consists of village/town settlements composed of individual house units and family compounds with their structural and conceptual layout" (aniakor, 2005:109). second, prussin (1969) notes that it is a formal and graphic quantification of a culture's symbolic system, and third, as given by (aniakor, 2005: 109) "it refers to giving processes of building technology in which building materials drawn from the immediate environment are transformed through their skillful manipulation into three-dimensional structures." the art historian chike aniakor's reflections on vernacular architecture are highly informative. this analysis will draw extensively from these scholarly sources. consequently, people's worldviews play a significant role in the conception of vernacular buildings in africa. a pertinent example is the fang people of northern cameroon who migrated to gabon through a north-south movement, more accurately described as an upstream and downstream movement, which they conceptualize as opposing each other in a manner analogous to the sky opposing the earth, the village space to the surrounding bushes, and men to women. in this context of binary opposition, the location of houses in fang villages is conceived and constructed to reflect the notion of historic north and south migration. specifically, men's buildings face women's in opposing directions. another relevant example is the igbo people's profound engagement with dualism, which is encapsulated in a saying that, when a thing stands, another thing stands beside it (ihe kwụrụ, ihe akwụdobe ya). this concept manifests in the space divisions that are conceived in a binary manner in vernacular architecture, where the men's section, called the obi, contrasts with the women's section, which is separated by a wall at the side or behind. ecology plays a significant role in determining the materials with which vernacular architecture can be accomplished. natural resources such as soil, vegetation, climate, and annual rainfall enable an understanding of the type of building materials to be used in construction. for example, wood, vegetal leaves, and grass are utilized for building construction in vernacular architecture. there are, indeed, different types of houses in vernacular architecture, namely: the round/cone type, which consists of a circular ground floor plan, cylindrical walls, and a conical roof; the impluvial courtyard, formed when a rectangular floor plan is constructed with several rooms against the back wall, such that these rooms have an internal focus by overlooking a central impluvial courtyard; the rectangular wattle and daub, where palm sticks as frames are daubed with mud clay to reinforce them and the roofs are thatched with raffia, grass, and leaves; the rectangular house type, which has a rectilinear plan and rectangular walls surmounted by a gabled roof and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 119 then stabilized by wooden posts and thatched with grass; and the square house type, which is a square base plan structure whose walls are surmounted by a pyramidal roof with low eaves (aniakor, 2005). constructional techniques in vernacular architecture encompass a systematic process of house construction following the building methodologies of linear wood, post and beam, wet wall, wattle and daub, and banco construction. linear wood construction involves arranging mangrove poles in a linear vertical pattern to structurally enclose house walls, surmounted by a gable roof thatched with forest leaves or palm mats. wattle and daub construction refers to the structure of the raffia pole framework on all four sides of what would constitute the four walls of a house, with poles positioned at the four corners for reinforcement and stabilization, surmounted by gable roof poles arranged in a vertical and horizontal format and covered with raffia palm, mat, or grass. as observed by chukwu (2015:11), wattling involves the use of slim-size wooden poles of about 2 cm in diameter and length of wooden poles of about 6 cm for the exercise. in the process, the wattle was used to crisscross the length of the wooden poles right from the base to the uppermost level of the walling skeletal framework, providing approximately 2.5 cm spacing between one horizontal level and the other. vertical wooden poles and slim horizontal wooden poles (wattle) were knotted or tied together at various points to produce a solid and compact skeletal framework. the gap between one vertical pole and the other, as well as gaps between one horizontal wattle and the other, were to accommodate balls of puddled mud that would normally be placed there to fill the gap, and flash up the skeletal framework of the building wall partition. post and beam construction involves the utilization of substantial forest posts for residential construction, which function as structural support for the horizontal poles on which the vertical wooden posts rest and are thatched with grass. it is noteworthy that post and beam construction techniques are frequently employed in the process of building technology for square and rectangular house types. banco construction incorporates a mixture of vegetable material with clay to achieve latent structural quality and load-bearing capacity of the building, while wet-wall construction entails the puddling of mud in the rainy season, which is accumulated and stored for subsequent use in house construction. in this specific constructional technique, walls are erected from the foundation on a row-by-row basis until they attain the required height, with each row allowed to dry before the addition of the next row. the house wall is typically cylindrical. a conical roof is constructed on the ground before being elevated and secured. the roof is conical in shape with vertical rafters that are intercepted by rings of rope work that maintain the roof framework in position, terminating in the conical apex, and held in place by an internal basket (aniakor, nd). following construction, both interior and exterior decorations are applied. these are categorized into three types: painted decorations, incised and molded decorations, and carved decorations, which demonstrate the synergy between art and architecture. utilizing the igbo decorative pattern as an illustrative example, decoration in painting relies exclusively on the use of earth colors and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 120 plants as pigments to create uli designs on the walls (see fig. 1). for enhanced clarity, "uli is the cultural heritage of the igbo people of southeastern nigeria. it is the art of body and wall paintings practiced in southeastern nigeria by the igbo women. in this study, the bodies were decorated with indigo dye obtained from several species of plants identified with the following botanical names: rothmania witfieldi, rothmania hispiole, rothmania cuspica, and rothmania urcelli" (ikwuemesi, 2011:5). utilizing four colors (white, yellow, red, and black) derived from charcoal, talcum powder, white chalk, and camwood, they also adorned the walls of shrines and dwellings with symbols and motifs. while the body variant persists for approximately two weeks, the site-specific mural painting, such as the mbari mud structure, is not enduring, as it deteriorates and collapses over time. beds and seating projections are typically constructed with mud and are categorized as molded decorations in vernacular architecture. incised decoration involves the utilization of plates to imprint designs on walls before drying, while "carved decoration consists of house posts, carved stools and other related furnishings, carved doors and panels, and other towering carved posts" (aniakor, 2005:12). fig. 1: vernacular shelter painted with uli symbols. © c.k. ikwuemesi. ene-orji (2022: 69) posits that "architectural symbolism is pertinent to all the physical, spiritual, psychic, metaphoric, linguistic, and artistic attributes that a building connotes or denotes, as well as cultural practices that have come to be associated with a house unit or architectural space, as a reflection of a people's worldview or belief system, hence as long as a man is alive, his obi exists as a symbolic representation of his person, family, and compound." this assertion suggests that vernacular architecture possesses inherent significance for male inhabitants. the igbo people of southeastern nigeria hold a strong belief in life after death. they "believe that their deceased only transit to the spiritual realm to dwell among their ancestors" (asogwa & odoh, 2021). to illustrate igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 121 this concept, the arochukwu example is employed. in their belief system, obi symbolizes the rite of passage. it is within a man's obi that he is interred upon death to facilitate his joining of ancestors in the afterlife. this aligns with rapoport's (1969) argument that vernacular architecture fundamentally expresses culture. furthermore, the significance attributed to a man's obi (house) is reflected in the igbo name, obiefuna, which translates to "let the existence of the house not end." consequently, it is the aspiration of a man to produce a male heir who will inherit his house upon his transition to the ancestral realm. according to aniakor (nd), this concept encapsulates the historical continuity of man-made structures. thus, the interplay of people's worldview, symbolic system, and ecology in the construction and decoration of houses is crucial to comprehending vernacular architecture, which serves as the rationale for the survey of vernacular architecture in the egbebelu settlement of ugwogo-nike. egbebelu farmstead the igbo people conceptualize their world through binary ideation. they posit that phenomena exist in two distinct forms. this binary ideation reflects an igbo land tenure and dual system of social organization, which delineates the village settlement into compound land and outer farmland, as observed by agujiobi (2018:178). most igbo communities operate within two domains, commonly referred to as uno and agụ. uno constitutes the primary residential district of the indigenous population, including traditional rulers and chieftains. this area serves as the locus for the entirety of the town's social activities. agụ represents a temporary settlement, typically established along the periphery of the main village, predominantly surrounded by vegetation. as agriculture is considered a primary occupation among the igbo, farmers often construct settlements in the agụ where they reside and cultivate crops during the agricultural season. the uno, as an established settlement pattern, reinforces the concept of binary opposition in igbo vernacular architecture. over time, certain agụ settlements have evolved to attain the status of small towns or communities. frequently, such locations are designated by names that combine the main residential district with agụ as either the prefix or suffix. examples of such are obinagụ, ndiagụ, agụ-echara, agụ-ibagwa, agụobowa, and agụibeje, among others. social organization is defined as the manner in which human groups are socially structured for collective protection, identity, and social solidarity, as well as kinship, economics, rituals, and political associations (aniakor, n.d.). egbebelu's social organization is exclusively agricultural; the inhabitants establish residence there for farming purposes, rendering the location an agrarian settlement. consequently, egbebelu is not classified as a community but rather a temporary farm settlement—agụ of the ugwogo-nike people, situated along the enugu-nsukka expressway, approximately 20 miles from the primary community, ugwogo. as egbebelu does not possess the status of a small town, it is not recognized as a constituent of the community in ugwogo-nike; however, its architecture remains a significant subject of study, particularly for future reference. egbebelu consists of approximately thirty buildings where natives reside temporarily during the agricultural season, as well as during the period of garri processing. garri is a fine and coarse granular flour derived from cassava roots. it is the product obtained when cassava is fermented, dried, and ground (vihi, et al., 2022). in things fall apart the spatial organization of okonkwo's homestead is described thus: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 122 okonkwo’s prosperity was visible in his household. he had a large compound enclosed by a thick wall of red earth. his hut, or obi, stood immediately behind the only gate in the red walls. each of his three wives had her hut, which together formed a half moon behind the obi. the barn was built against one end of the red walls, and long stacks of yams stood out prosperously in it. at the opposite end of the compound was a shed for the goats, and each wife built a small attachment to hers for the hens. near the barn was a small house, the medicine house or shrine, where okonkwo kept the wooden symbols of his god and of his ancestral spirits. he worshipped them with sacrifices of kolanut, food and palm wine, and offered prayers to them on behalf of himself, his three wives and eight children” (achebe, 1958: 11-12). ezeagu (2012) similarly asserts that the majority of igbo dwellings were private and constructed alongside other structures within a family compound, typically enclosed by a substantial wall. the primary entrance was generally a gate. the principal materials utilized in the construction of igbo houses include mud, timber, and raffia/palm stems, which are employed for the support of walls and roofs. there exists a variety of shapes and sizes of buildings and compounds, in which most structures are situated, as well as public buildings. while the aforementioned authors provide a clear description of traditional igbo architecture in its general context, the houses found in egbebelu exhibit a notable distinction. this divergence may be attributed to its nature as a settlement—a temporary residence for inhabitants who are predominantly engaged in agricultural pursuits. broadly speaking, all the houses maintain a standardized condition and are arranged in linear formations, adjacent to one another. none of the houses is enclosed by fencing as described by ezeagu (2012); however, the materials, techniques, and typologies, as will be subsequently examined, remain consistent. the entrance to the egbebelu community is narrow, and due to its sloping geographical location, it is challenging to observe the buildings while in transit, except for a few that are situated near the route, which require an observant eye to perceive. the buildings in egbebelu are near one another (see fig. 2). as a typical igbo community, the buildings are distributed randomly in terms of their organization. the settlement also possesses a square, although it is not comparable to a typical igbo square, which is usually spacious. the square in egbebelu can accommodate approximately seventeen individuals during a social gathering. it also functions as a marketplace. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 123 fig. 2: panoramic view of egbebelu setting. photo: okoroafor. in igboland, the village square, otobo or ilo, serves as the meeting point for the indigenous population. it is a venue for social gatherings for the entire community. village meetings, masquerade performances, maiden dances, wrestling matches, and traditional festivals such as the new yam festival take place at the village square. disputes and issues that involve the entire village are also resolved there. in some villages, the square serves a dual function of social gathering and marketplace. a passage in things fall apart succinctly captures this thus: "the whole village turned out on the ilo, men, women and children. they stood round in a huge circle leaving the centre of the playground free. the elders and grandees of the village sat on their stools brought there by their young sons or slaves. okonkwo was among them. all others stood except those who came early enough to secure places on the few stands which had been built by placing smooth logs on forked pillars" (achebe, 1958:37). to convene to discuss issues of security and other socio-political and socio-economic activities, the surrounding environment of egbebelu square is consistently maintained in a clean state. wooden chairs have been permanently affixed to the ground on all corners of the square. at the center is also another chair, utilized as a table. according to okeke anaegu (personal communication, 2022), during periods of leisure, the inhabitants engage in the eche game while seated at a table on wooden chairs. the eche game involves placing small stones in small apertures of a carved wooden board to acquire more stones than one's opponent to achieve victory. the game is played by two individuals. house types in egbebelu farmstead and their building materials aniakor (nd) observed that architecture is built in an environment which consists of various house units, arranged peculiarly across the landscape of a village or town. he notes that while house types may be regarded as the physical expression of their owners’ social system, they are constructed within the constraints imposed by the obtainable building materials, the type of climate against which they afford protection and the financial resources available. he further states that in structural terms, a house type is the label that we use to identify an architectural style. in other words, a house type is a building form that occurs in large numbers within a locale, a village, and sub-region. house types are useful for identifying architectural styles and their distribution pattern. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 124 igbo traditional architecture has been summarized in five shapes, namely, square, rectangle, circle, cylinder and cone (aniakor, 1978). buildings in egbebelu are rectangular, except for one small square building without windows (see fig. 3). suffice to say that majority of the rectangular buildings are of the same shape, except in sizes and kitchen positions. okpọsi, ukpi or bamboo sticks are mainly used for the roofing and the roofing supports. it is to be noted that nearly all the buildings in egbebelu have undergone roofing transformation. while some still maintain raffia and banana leaf roofs, others are roofed with asbestos or waterproofs. fig.3: square house type with wide entrance door for ventilation. photo: okoroafor. the rainforests, which extend very much into the hinterland of the settlement, are an excellent source of assorted types of wood suitable for different uses in house construction. for example, ukpi is used for the posts and beams that carry the buildings. palm tree, aside from its economic value, also provides construction materials timber, fronds and fibers. bamboos are also used in building for roof construction. the standard element of roof construction in egbebelu is the forked post. it is generally made of ukpi wood which is either driven into the ground or into the rectangular bases of the loam. forked posts carry horizontal beams and purlin elongated eaves fixed near the walls or within them bring extra stability to the rampart. the spine of the roofing contains most of the forked post, since the roofing and the building walls slope towards the backrest and as such, adding an extra stability to the building (see fig. 4). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 125 fig. 4: showing a shelter wall that slopes towards the backrest. photo: okoroafor. purlins and ridge beams are typically constructed from robust trunks of slender trees, split trunks of thick trees, or solid bamboo. the ribs (ikpele) of palm fronds also function as rafters when they are thick and as battens when they are thin. in cases where the roof is subjected to heavy layers of grass thatch, midribs are utilized for both rafters and battens and are positioned in close parallel courses. the battens are placed above and beneath the rafters and secured with cords fabricated from climbing plants. for roof thatching, palm fronds or grasses are employed through matting or close binding, although numerous buildings now utilize asbestos zinc roofing. for wall construction, red loam soil known as aja-ụrọ is preferred and generally considered optimal. the construction methodology for walls is determined by the available earth characteristics, and due to the presence of suitable red earth in egbebelu, it is utilized in house construction. similar to other igbo communities, two distinct methods of wall erection are employed. these methods involve either constructing a thick solid layer of processed loam or utilizing the wattle and daub technique. as there is no evidence of wattle and daub in the majority of deteriorating old buildings (fig. 5), it is inferred that the former wet-wall method was employed. to render the wall non-load bearing, forked wood is utilized as beams to support the bamboo thatched roof (fig. 6). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 126 fig.5 & 6: falling old building and load bearing free wall showing fork wood carrying the roof. photo: okoroafor. the walls, measuring approximately 6 to 7 feet in height, are organically connected to the roof but rarely directly support the purlins and rafters. this load is typically borne by forked posts anchored to the foundation base. the doors of the buildings are of simple design, primarily consisting of panel doors devoid of carved decorations, affixed to the door posts within the walls, and typically serve as the sole openings in the structures. windows, where present, are constructed with two wood panels joined by a 'z'-shaped wood component at the rear. from a general perspective, as previously stated, buildings in egbebelu are rectangular in shape, with size and veranda serving as the primary distinguishing features. in some instances, the veranda runs in close parallel to the building's façade, while in others, it is situated on either the left or right side (figs.7 & 8). some verandas serve as kitchens (fig. 9). for structures lacking a veranda, the kitchen is located in the open space in front of the house. figs. 7 & 8: building with veranda. photo: okoroafor. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 127 fig. 9: veranda used as kitchen. photo: okoroafor. another distinguishing feature of the building is the location of the animal enclosures, such as the cattle or sheep kraal, goat pen, and chicken coop. these animal enclosures are typically constructed at the rear of the buildings (see fig. 10). fig. 10: animal house. photo: okoroafor. an examination of the interior of one of the houses revealed two rooms. it was observed that loam is utilized to create a pavement that functions as both a sleeping and sitting surface. the pavement constructed for the bed is of sufficient size to accommodate two individuals (fig. 11). even with the loam pavements, the bed incorporates wooden forked pillars for structural support. the room is sufficiently spacious to accommodate visitors who come to purchase agricultural produce. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 128 fig.11: room showing pavement as bed. photo: okoroafor. a house within the entire settlement was observed that was not constructed with loam. it is situated near the periphery of the egbebelu settlement. instead, it was constructed entirely of bamboo. upon inquiry, the resident owner, mr. agbo, stated, "the tedious nature of loam processing made me to use bamboo all-through and since i am also a carpenter by profession, the building did not take me much time" (personal communication, 2022). the rear of the structure is enclosed with bamboo, where he houses his livestock and stores agricultural produce. at the primary sides of the building are load-bearing forked wooden posts, each supporting the purlin that connects all the wooden elements used for the roofing. the veranda is the most expansive in the settlement and also serves as the kitchen area. as observed, the interior differs from the other buildings. it consists of a single hall without partitions or demarcations for separate rooms. the occupant suspends some of his garments on sticks attached to the bamboo structure and stores others inside locally woven baskets placed atop planks affixed to forked posts that he has installed in the ground (fig. 12). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 129 fig. 12: agbo’s house made of bamboo sticks. photo: okoroafor, 2022 conclusion vernacular architecture is rapidly disappearing in igboland. while a limited number of villages, communities, and towns retain complete traditional architectural structures, others have been significantly influenced by modernization, as evidenced by the incorporation of locally sourced materials with foreign elements such as zinc, asbestos, and tarpaulin in their roofing. the egbebelu farmstead in ugwogo nike, enugu state, exemplifies the remnants of vernacular architecture in igboland. this is due to the predominantly rectangular buildings in egbebelu farmstead being roofed with asbestos, waterproof materials, and tarpaulin. their walls are constructed of mud. the buildings in the settlement are arranged and constructed in a simple maze-like pattern, each facing the gap between adjacent structures, derived from the igbo maxim agbata obi mmadu bụ nwanne ya (one's neighbor is one's brother). it serves as a representative example of an agrarian settlement that has not yet fully discarded its vernacular structures and replaced them entirely with modern construction. this study facilitates an understanding of vernacular architecture, constructed to provide shelter for farmers during the agricultural season. the vernacular architecture in the egbebelu settlement demonstrates that "various factors of architectural planning offer considerable scope for understanding the igbo world and its cultural environment" (aniakor, 2002: 298). it is anticipated that this investigation will stimulate further research on vernacular architectures that remain extant in other regions of igboland, considering that "indigenous shelter in africa have been victims of the erosion of western-type modernization" as observed by aniakor (2011: 86). in this study, no claim is made of presenting entirely novel ideas. rather, the objective is to synthesize ideas from diverse sources within the context of our examination of the egbebelu farmstead vernacular architecture. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 130 references agujiobi-odoh, n. (2018) igbo arts in the period of social change: the dynamics of tradition and modernity. in onyeji, c., agujiobi-odoh, n. & amonyeze, c. (eds.), readings in humanities, 178-184, nsukka: faculty of arts, university of nigeria, nsukka. achebe, c. (1958) things fall apart. london: pearson education. amalu, t. & ajake, a.o. (2019) developing natural lakes for socio-economic development: the case of nike lake enugu state, nigeria, geojournal 84(1), doi: 10.1007/s10708018-9873-4 aniakor, c.c. (2012) architecture as a social art and index for economic growth and development. in astride memory and desire: peoples culture and development in nigeria, 359-379, enugu: abic books. aniakor, c.c. (2011) global changes in africa and indigenous knowledge: towards its interrogation and contestations. in sam onuigbo (ed.), indigenous knowledge and global changes in africa: history, concepts and logic, 55-108, nsukka: institute of african studies, university of nigeria, nsukka. aniakor, c.c (2002) igbo architecture. in g.e.k. offormata (ed.), a survey of the igbo nation 272-299, onitsha: africana first publishers limited. aniakor, c. (1978) house types and decoration on southern nigeria, presence africaine, no 108, 19-35. arpita s. & bijay k.d. (2023) vernacular architecture of indian: an overview, isvs e-journal 10(7), 435-448. asogwa, o. & odoh, g. (2021) reappraising the iconography and ethno-aesthetics of adada masquerade of the nsukka igbo, southeastern nigeria, cogent arts & humanities 8(1): 1909221, doi: 10.1080/23311983.2021.1909221 chukwu, j.c. (2015) traditional igbo building architecture: an historical perspective, arts and design, 34, 7-14. ene-orji, c. (2022) traditional igbo architecture: a symbolic evaluation, african arts 55(2), 66-81. ethel, a., ochiagha, c.s., & obodoechiijeoma, f. (2022) relationship between nutritional status and periodontal disease among pregnant women attending abakpa nike health center, enugu, enugu state, nigeria, journal of clinical image and medical case reports 3, 1-5, doi: www.doi.org/10.52768/2766-7820/1775 ikwuemesi, k. (2011) forward to the past: uli history, essence and new possibilities. in forward to the past iv: uli and the challenges of modernity, enugu: uli art and craft foundation, p. 5. lavenderjean (nd) http://cloudmind.info/architecture-houses-designed-based-on-local-needsavailability-of-construction-materials-and-reflecting-local-traditions/ ogochukwu, c. and nwagbara, a.o. (2014) determination of the total waste by mass generated from ogburugbu area, abakpa nike, enugu, nigeria, international journal of scientific research and engineering studies 1(6), 23-30. okoye, c.b. & ukanwa, o.e. (2019) igbo traditional architecture: a symbol of igbo cultural identity, international journal of science & engineering research, 10(11), 84-88. okwesili, l.c., ukaba,k.o, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 131 emechi, e.& nwafor, s.c. (2023) water quality assessment of umuchigbo stream, abakpa nike, enugu east local government area, enugu,” international journal of chemistry studies 7(2), 23-26. prussin, l. (1969) architecture in northern ghana: a study of forms and functions. berkeley and los angeles: university of california press. rapoport, a. (1969) house form and culture. n.j. englewood cliffs: prentice-hall inc. ugwu, j. (2023) inversion of nikeland by the igala, izza-okpoto and aro: ugwogo nike past, present, umeanaeto, p.u., onyido, a.e., ifeanyichukwu, m.o. & anumba, j.u. (2019) mosquito dynamics and malaria in alulu-nike community, enugu east lga enugu state, nigeria, journal of parasitology 40(1): 1-17. doi: 10.4314/njar.40i1.2 vihi, s.k., chomini, e.a., tor, l.g., jesse, b., dalla, a.a. & bassey, e.a. (2022) factor influencing adoption of improved cassava-garri processing technologies among rural women in vandeikya local government area of benue state, nigeria, fudma journal of agriculture and agricultural technology 8(1), pp. 177-188, https://doi.org/10.33003/jaat.2022.0801.082 whiting, j.w.m. & ayers, b. (1968) inferences from the shape dwellings. in f.c. chang palto alto (ed.), settlement archaeology, 117-133, california: national press books. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 34 decolonising african environmental ethics: a path to african societal development evaristus emeka isife, phd. department of philosophy, bigard memorial seminary, enugu, nigeria ee.isife@stu.unizik.edu.ng orcid id: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2016-9674. abstract there is a significant connection between environmental ethics and societal development. this is because environmental ethics are governing principles regulating human activities towards preserving the ecosystem; creating order and meaning, and fostering human self-actualisation and societal development. environmental ethics is, therefore, the catalyst behind the equilibrium seen in the ecosystem. since environmental ethics also gear toward coordinating human environmental interactions and experiences into a logical, beneficial system, the ethics are most importantly the fulcrum of sustainable societal development. crafted from people’s experiences and standing as rational responses to the environment, environmental ethics pragmatically prevail in traditional african societies. these ethics were at different stages of evolution and practices before colonialism. these evolution stages and practices are continuously distorted and hindered by colonial tenets. today, african environmental ethics consists more of western colonial elements, which draw back the african and do not satisfy human needs in the modern african world. the fundamental drift of african environmental ethics is therefore part of the root of the evident truncation and crises in the being of african societies and societal developmental trajectory. it thus means that the present crises of development in africa are so because the traditional environmental ethics by which africans realise, define, and actualise themselves has been ridiculed and dampened by the colonial episteme. this is such that africans no longer find in traditional environmental ethics the stable and ideal foundation of their integral existence and developmental trajectory. relying on colonial tainted environmental ethics, therefore, many africans now neglect the autochthonous traditional environmental ethics that in the past held african societies in being and formed the ground of african gradual and peculiar development. yet, the present race of african countries to develop sustainably along contemporary environmental ethics that are laden with colonial principles has remained unattainable. this is based on the unsuitability of colonial environmental ethical principles in the african world. this is more so based on the inability of the african to effectively identify with colonial ethical principles that do not emanate from nor cohere with her environment and nature. these saddening situations not only portray colonialism as an african predicament; they raise the question of how authentic african environmental ethics could be rescued from the western hegemonic elements that gag human freedom and hamper human emancipation in the african context. the chapter attempts this philosophical rescue; analytically revealing some of those traditional environmental ethics, the hegemonic colonial tenets subduing their practices, and the ineffective discordance colonial ethical conundrum has brought to bear on the african. the chapter therefore opts for the decolonisation of contemporary african environmental ethics; upholding the excavation of traditional african environmental ethics and dismantling of colonial https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2016-9674 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 35 principles that vary authentic traditional african environmental ethics. this critical endeavour really gears towards decolonisation of african environmental ethics. the discourse moreover argues for the hybridisation of african environmental ethics that should subsist in complementarity and integration rather than exclusion and dismissal of epistemic options or pragmatic practices that can guarantee african sustainable development. the chapter notes the importance of building african development on the autochthonous environmental ethics and rationally shifting from the present colonial discordant tenets brought to bear on african environmental ethics through decolonisation and reconstruction that will guarantee human selfactualisation and societal development in african places. keywords: africa; decolonisation; development; environment; ethics introduction in many ways, different african cultures were shaped by “positive moral attitudes toward the natural environment and its human and non-human components” (kelbessa 2015:387). the post colonial anthropocentric environmental ethics in african countries are therefore, more of the dire aftermath of colonialism. colonialism in africa offered an “environment of strife, conflict, and contradicting positions” that now distorts contemporary african societies (isife 2023:3). horsthemke (2017:2-3) even recounts that with colonialism, the motivation for a focus on indigenous african environmental ethics was denigrated, despised, and suppressed through an already set colonial system of thought. africa is consequently plagued by “several environmental issues, ranging from gully erosions, desertification, flooding, overpopulation, water pollution, and co2 emissions” that afflict societal development (ifeakor & otteh, 2021:151). most of the environmental predicaments in africa might have resulted from the weakening earth, yet these occurrences are deepened by colonial anthropocentric environmental ethics that poorly check human activities and consider other components of the environment as only having instrumental value. colonialism, with its wave of western civilisation, significantly transformed african perceptions, beliefs, traditions, values, norms, ethos, and other principles that make up traditional environmental ethics (mawere, 2013:1). the resultant anthropocentrism from this unsolicited meddling is incongruent with african personhood; hence, it has persistently generated environmental crises, which ultimately have led to developmental crises. this is more so because african understanding of the environment is taken “to be fundamentally different from western approaches and so might augment some fresh insights into the global efforts to deal with the environmental crisis” (chemhuru 2019:2). given that african societal development and life support initially hinged on traditional environmental ethics, it has now become imperative for africa to shift her thinking, decolonise and embrace most of these pristine environmental ethics again (maathai 2010:272). but how then would africans actualise effective environmental ethics that would guarantee societal development through decolonisation? the importance of this question is more glaring as the present generation and leadership of africa are products and beneficiaries of the existing environmental ethics that are laden with colonial variables. this generation of africans and their leadership, too, are products of african societies whose judicial, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 36 educational, political, economic, and administrative systems are still controlled by colonial systems. decolonisation of african environmental ethics, however, gears towards the excavation of authentic african autochthonous environmental preservation values. these were the effective values that guaranteed a harmonious environment and societal development before colonialism. thus, traditional africans did not only have knowledge of the laws of nature; they observed the mathematical equations and measurements that accompanied the science of their environment. as such, african traditional environmental ethics holistically extended “moral community to include the entire ecosystem” (tosam 2019:173). the pristine and pre-colonial african societies prescribed and regulated rights and modes of relating within and with the environment to preserve the environment, promote the circle of life, and ensure societal development. african traditional environmental ethics ensured that human activities are rightly directed towards nurturing interdependence and harmonious relationships among the entities within the environment. the ethics thus saved the african environment from degradation and fostered development in pre-colonial african societies. obviously, the lingering colonial environmental tenets alienate the africans and keep them away from the pragmatic traditional environmental morality that spurred their societal evolution. the result is glaring in the exploitative way the africans relate to one another and their environment, and these defective relationships undermine societal development in africa. in line with this regrettable environmental situation, ogungbemi (2008:332) also recounts that in present-day africa, the modern usage of our land by our society does not reflect a a similar degree of awareness of the importance of forests and trees for the maintenance of environmental values. the drive to develop has led to the wholesale abandonment of traditional practices…as if development and modernisation were incompatible with the conservation of the forest and protection of trees. the consequence of this has been a breakdown in environmental stability. logically, therefore, the unstable environment is a product of ineffective environmental ethics. ineffective environmental ethics directly undermine positive societal modernisation and sustainable development. this is because positive societal modernisation and sustainable development are largely compatible with effective conservation of the environment. positive societal modernisation and sustainable development are largely absent in africa because the colonial anthropocentric environmental morality practiced on the continent places intrinsic value on humans and instrumental value on non-humans; hence, the ethics have failed to guarantee the fervent foundation needed for african societal development. the magnitude of this failure now makes germane the clarion call for decolonisation of african environmental ethics in complementarity with other environmental preservation moralities that can be pragmatic and useful on the continent. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 37 the african perception of the environment quite many scholars hold that “each society’s perception of nature profoundly influences the way it treats nature, and how a society relates with nature can either enhance or degrade the health of the environment” (gratani, sutton, butler, bohensky & foale 2016:2; see also tosam 2019:173). the fair treatment of the environment in traditional africa evidently indicates its positive perception of nature. in the african traditional relationship with nature, therefore, men and women recognize the importance of water and air management to our traditional communities. the ethics of not taking more than you need from nature is a moral code. perhaps this explains why earth, forest, rivers, wind , and other natural objects are traditionally believed to be both natural and divine (ogungbemi 2008:206). though the african population was then much less than now, this friendly situation explains why less degradation of the environment and environmental hazards existed in pre-colonial africa. the traditional african perception of the environment was not only inductive, deductive, or logical reasoning. realities were perceived through other modes like imagination, intuition, and feelings. hence, the “deepest expression of the africans has been through art, myths and music, rather than through the western mode of logical analysis” (isife 2023:49). a harmonious environment, however, existed in pre-colonial africa because traditional africans viewed the environment as a major contributor to sustainable societal development. the existing realities within the environment were indeed seen as contributing to human wellbeing and a hitch-free circle of life. at the peak of this perception was a general belief that conservation of nature in the environment and ecosystem was both for human and environmental survival. this belief was strongly based on the knowledge that human and nature’s “interests are mutually reinforcing” (tosam 2019:181). this traditional african-nature relationship indeed reflects what could be called anthropo-environmentalism. kelbessa (2018:309) depicts this interconnectedness in his assertion that, unlike mainstream western ethics, african environmental philosophy has renounced anthropomorphism, anthropocentrism, and ethnocentrism, and recognises the interconnectedness of human beings with the natural environmentment and its parts. in african worldviews, the physical and the metaphysical, the sacred and the secular, the natural and the supernatural are interrelated. human beings are part of the natural environment. based on this interconnectedness, people were encouraged through cultural traditions and practices to act towards restoring to nature the loss human activities incurred on it. this underscored the various traditional restrictions african communities imposed on people regarding their activities against the environment and the realities within it. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 38 there was also a pantheistic perception of the environment in pre-colonial africa, which shaped the traditional environmental ethics. invisible forces were taken to inhabit environmental entities like hills, mountains, rocks, trees, streams, forests, and so on. on this basis, ikuenobe (2014:10) argues that in pre-colonial africa, nature has an intrinsic value because it is sacred and divine, the repository and dwelling place of spirits, and contributes to the order and harmony of the whole universe. given the pantheistic view of nature; to morally respect nature is to morally respect the gods, spirits, ancestors, god, and humans, all as an integral part of nature. it is this african belief that the spirits and gods inhabit some of the environmental elements that underscored and explained the sacredness, reverence, and awe traditional africans accorded the environment and environmental entities. this sacredness attached to the environment not only informed the traditional environmental ethics; it specifically became the reason why people were forbidden to pollute streams and rivers, or cheat or deceive others, or to kill certain animals, like totemic, rare species, pregnant animals, young and sick animals, and animals that are not edible. this perception also guided people against felling certain trees or plucking unripe fruits. because the environment was taken to possess forces, there was also much traditional personification of natural realities and anthropomorphism in pre-colonial africa. in this way, environmental realities were immortalised in the human naming system, proverbs, songs, riddles, wise sayings, analogies, parables, celebrations, festivals, dance, and songs. in these intrinsic values, reverence and recognition are placed on the environment; traditional africans maintained a slim line between humans, plants, animals, and inanimate things (tangwa 2007:387). along this lane, kelbessa (2015:400) reveals that in pre-colonial africa, different ethnic groups believed they had kinship or a mystical relationship with different animals, plants, or a piece of land. a particular physical object serves as an emblem or a symbol of a particular society recognized as its totem. the members of the group are required to refrain from attacking, killing, and eating their totem. in the knowledge of these, kasere (2010:1) claims that the african perception of the environment has “far more to do with the belief system of indigenous people who associated their survival with that of certain species.” from all indices, therefore, the traditional african perception of the environment was that of accommodation. in this direction, human beings viewed themselves as co-occupants of the environment with other species, but without a mandate to dominate, subdue, and exploit nature. as such, non-human existents, unseen realities, and people yet unborn were recognised and accommodated in daily decisions and dealings (ibanga 2018). congruently, both young and old igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 39 members of the traditional african communities were discouraged from abusing, mistreating, or harming the environment by way of pollution, deforestation, indiscriminate fruit plucking, indiscriminate killing of other environmental beings, exploitation of fellow humans, and overexploitation of the environment. based on these, ikuenobe (2014:2) remarks that “the activities that have raised environmental concerns in africa did not exist prior to colonialism because africans had conservationist values, practices, and ways of life.” quite remarkable still is that it was this balanced perception of the environment that formed traditional african environmental ethical concepts. concepts of african environmental ethics the concepts of african environmental ethics were the autochthonous philosophical thought systems that prevailed in african communities before colonialism. these environmental moral concepts are premised on the knowledge that nature is independent of man for existence and function, while humans have to “seek to co-exist peacefully with nature and treat it with some reasonable concern for its worth, survival and sustainability” (ogungbemi 2008:207). concepts of african environmental ethics were articulated from the “human knowledge of the workings of the universe” (isife 2023:39). hence, they were laws for the smooth workings of nature and conscientious codes meant to be applied to balance human activities within the environment for the benefit of man and other ecological realities. concepts of african environmental ethics indeed covered “a wide range of notions, philosophies, ideologies, and movements which are aimed primarily at addressing environmental conservation, preservation, protection, restoration, and improvement” (omosolu & inja 2019:88). no wonder (ekwealo 2017:52) maintains that, african environmental ethics deals with the fundamental principles that govern the relationship between man and the environment based on the african worldview [by analyzing] the basic terms like man, environment, spirit, et cetera, and examining the approaches by which [they are] known. this means that the concept of african environmental ethics cuts across every aspect of the environment; their interrelatedness, dependency, and the whole economy and circle of life. it addressed the unwholesome habits of humans and other realities in the environment, and paves way for a beneficial circle of life (osuji 2012:116). the concept of african environmental ethics therefore focuses on, the fundamental governing principles that define humananimal-plant-inanimate-posterity nexus based on african worldviews, analysing the basic concepts such as human and nonhumans, animate and inanimate, and examine the processes by which they (ought to) relate, for the purpose of facilitating an understanding of the ontology of man within the context of an environment it shares with non humans (ibanga 2017:1867). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 40 this insight further portrays the concepts of african environmental ethics as sets of governing principles and philosophical thoughts that not only prescribe ways of life and values, but analyses the basic concepts in the african environment based on african experiences and culture. apart from these meanings, african environmental ethics could be understood as part of the african environmental philosophy that, unlike the western colonial morality, recognised the “interconnectedness and interdependence of all beings and the more-than-human world” (kelbessa 2015:387). on this note, african environmental ethics embody the conservation, preservation, protection, restoration, and improvement of the balance in human activities within the environment. kelbessa (2018:312) explains this indigenous morality as a “branch of philosophical ethics that studies the ethical relationship between human beings and the natural environment” and comprehensively interrogates the wider “relation of environmentalism to philosophy, culture, life, and thought.” in this way, african environmental ethics stand as traditional pragmatic moral principles meant for the conservation of the environment for the present and future generations, and for the health of the mother earth. from every indication, therefore, concepts of african environmental ethics are those african traditional moral principles that distinguish right and wrong, good and bad, and just and unjust, in relation to the african environment. it is also the indigenous environmental morality that maintained harmonious relationship within the natural environment and emphasises that life within the environment is relational. in this direction, the concept of african environmental ethics focuses on those moral principles that “take into account the relationships and connectedness of everything in nature” and “seek to promote harmony, solidarity, respect, and mutual co-operation” (kelbessa 2015:399). among africans, different indigenous cultural concepts, such as ubuntu (bantu), ukama (shona), hunhu (shona), ujamaa (tanzania), igwebuike (igbo), and others, have been used to project the relational nature of african environmental ethics in the african world. traditional african environmental ethics emanating from this discourse at this juncture is the critical question of what constitutes african environmental ethics. the skeptical nature of this question, however, warrants the answer that if there were no effective environmental ethics in pre-colonial africa, human and other beings in the african environment would not have had a harmonious existence before colonialism. precolonial africa, therefore, knew the laws and workings of nature, and were proficiently managing their environment and ventures; hence the recorded development at that period. in all traditional african societies, the natural environment was truly considered common property and was sustainably managed through the wise deployment of knowledge and ethical systems that were part of customary laws. african environmental ethics however evolved from the african perception of nature and the great need to sustain “africans in a diverse, complex and risk prone environment” (isife 2023:47). thus, indigenous african societies employed different but related beliefs, religious tenets, and empirically tested practices, values, customs and traditions to sustain their igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 41 environment, to foster societal stability and development. those religious-cultural tenets and praxis that stood as traditional african environmental ethics range from taboos, values, ethos, and norms. other components of traditional african environmental ethics were totems, customs and traditions, concepts of humanness, and a conception of environment as a common property (mawere 2013:6). these ethics were profoundly visible in the cautiousness traditional africans applied in their attitude and relation to plants, animals, and inanimate things that constitute the environment (ogar & bassey 2019:80). african environmental ethics indeed stood as moral codes designed to keep a reasonable balance among the various realities constituting the ecosystem. application of these moral codes was truly the promotion of environmental well-being, greater shared identity, and human goodwill enjoyed in pre-colonial africa. worth noting, however, is that these ethics were profoundly part of the way of life of indigenous africans who were connected to the environment. as noted earlier, the components of traditional african environmental ethics were indeed shrouded in myths, documented and captured in folklores; folktales, folksongs, folkdance, folk drama, stories, legends, proverbs, parables, riddles, jokes, festivals, naming systems, symbols, drawings, sculptures, carvings, and artifacts. they also reflected the values, norms, reverence, sacredness, and awe africans place on the environment and ecosystem. with many equivalent terms, however, traditional africans thrive with common environmental philosophical ethics that recognize the oneness of being and influence correct behaviour within the environment and towards nature. it is the knowledge of this common philosophical ethics that kelbessa (2018:309) understands as “common features of african worldviews in relation to the natural environment and its parts.” most of the traditional african environmental ethics could, indeed, be traced to african traditional religion. it is on this basis that ekei (2001:7) claims igbo (african) ethics as “religious ethics or morality.” african traditional religion (atr) was indeed very close to nature, hence it “created eco-friendly structures, practices and sanctions that were of enormous benefit in protecting the environment” (onah, ali & eze 2016:304). thus, most traditional african environmental ethics were thought to have been ordered by supernatural beings within atr; those ethics were also kept as part of african traditional religious worship. appearing to differ from these views however, ogungbemi (2008: 206) holds that “the philosophy behind this belief may not necessarily be religious but a natural means by which the human environment can be preserved, the ethics of care is essential to traditional understanding of environmental protection and conservation.” yet, ogungbemi (2008:206) was quick to espouse that “in our traditional relationship with nature, …the ethics of not taking more than you need from nature is a moral code” that “explains why earth, forest, rivers, wind and other national objects are traditionally believed to be both natural and divine.” in all these, the constituents of traditional african environmental ethics form the larger cultural traditions and traditional religious practices that define african relationships within and with the environment. at this juncture, mawere (2013:13) points out that in these traditional environmental ethics, there was an informal mutual understanding at all levels of the community in terms of how, when, by what means, and by igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 42 whose resources were harvested and used. activities like fruit harvesting, cutting down of trees, hunting, fishing, grazing and gathering of other resources from the the environment was also regulated by these customary laws enshrined in indigenous knowledge systems. notwithstanding their limitations, these management strategies had the merit that communities had a strong sense of ownership of the powers to conserve, manage, and administer their own environment and all the resources existing therein. this created a strong sense of responsibility and promoted a sustainable relationship between humans and nonhumans or nature in general. unfortunately, these environmental moralities are minutely applied in contemporary african societies. they have been overshadowed by colonial anthropocentric moralities that now hinder societal development on the continent. what then were the main reasons behind the hitch-free traditional environmental ethical practices in pre-colonial africa? the answer to this question is predicated more on the socio-religious nature of these traditional environmental ethics. nature of african environmental ethics in pre-colonial times the environmental ethics practiced by africans in pre-colonial societies possessed social sanctions, religious, and fear-inducing consequences. this is as those ethics were profoundly religious because of their link to the sacred beings in atr. in fact, “religion and morality are closely interwoven,” complementary and inseparable in traditional africa (okafor 1992:32). hence, religious-related practices were taken seriously by indigenous africans “because of their strong belief in the intricate interactions of this world with the invisible world of reality” (onah et al 2016:303). africans also attached importance to their traditional environmental ethics and related fairly with their environment because of their belief that spirits and gods dwelt in environmental entities. indeed, the need for unsoiled rapport with the spiritual realm and unseen world propelled the praxis of traditional african environmental ethics and esteem of those ethics, the ecosystem, and entire environment especially because of the thought of their being divinely ordered. on these bases, tosam (2019:172) adds that “african environmental ethics extends the moral community beyond anthropocentric concerns by including non-human animals, plants, the unborn and the supernatural into the moral universe.” as such, the religiously inclined environmental ethics required africans to maintain unalloyed ontological and ethical balance with other realities in the environment for their welfare and that of others, and to avert the wrath of the unseen realities (mbiti 1969; ekwunife 2004). thus, the larger result of the diffusion of traditional religion in the pre-colonial african world was the efficacy of african traditional environmental ethics visible in how it fostered a pragmatic check on human activities that contribute to the environmental crisis; such as unbridled dependence on wood as fuel, overigwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 43 cultivation and over-grazing that put pressure on the natural environment, ecosystem, biodiversity and societal development (tosam & mbih 2015). given that african environmental ethics was instrumental in maintaining social cohesion, peace, and social order in pre-colonial society, it was also hinged on many social sanctions (okafor 1992:38). as such, those ethics did not only exist as virtue but consequential ethics. this was in the sense that they conveyed teachings on living correctly, good behaviour, upright living, being in harmony with the environment/other elements within the ecosystem, and preserving the environment in order not to incur the sanctions of the community nor the misfortune and wrath of the unseen realities. in the knowledge of these sanctions, mawere (2013:7) reveals that social sanctions were not only “to correct the behavior of the young/to teach the young members of the society, but also the adults about how they should conduct and behave themselves before others and the natural environment.” such social sanctions as known in traditional societies ranged from ostracisation, prohibition, fining, to banishment from the community. based on these, traditional african environmental ethical principles became effective social practices and strategies that conserved and sustained the environment and ecosystem, and checked and balanced human activities within the environment. it became an effective restraint on people with a tendency to embark on activities that produce negative consequences on the environment and society. colonial understanding of the environment the colonial understanding of the environment stems from the traditional western ethical perspectives, which are anthropocentric in nature. the anthropocentric understanding of the environment is derived from the western philosophy of the environment. this materialistic philosophy was glaringly projected by protagoras who taught that man is the “measure of all things” (stumpf 1994:32; russell 2004:83). worth noting is that this western moral episteme boosts human arrogance within the environment, but blocks a lot of what humans can learn from and about nature, daunts human quest that ordinarily birth new knowledge, and drives human to worsen the environmental crises. aristotle in “politics” (bk. 1, ch. 8) reiterated this western colonial stand, insisting that “nature has made all things specifically for the sake of man.” this human-centered environmental philosophy shaped the colonial ethics in africa. colonial ethics in turn, varied african environmental ethics significantly and accord a greater amount of intrinsic value to human beings. on the other hand, the non-human elements within the african environment are accorded instrumental value for the sole purpose of fostering human wellbeing. this means that non-human beings that make up the environment are at their expense considered, towards the protection or promotion of human interests. in line with this thought, ikuenobe (2014:12) documents that, european colonial powers view africa’s communion with and respect for nature in negative terms; as a sign of savagery, barbarism, lack of intelligence and rationality; supposedly reflecting in african’s inability to see the utility of natural resources to exploit and use them for human interest. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 44 the above colonial ethical thought in african environment encouraged the belief that the value of non-human things in the environment is merely instrumental to maintaining human wellbeing. in spite of this understanding, colonial anthropocentric environmental ethics merely rejects some extreme anthropocentricism. such extremity is often located in extreme anthropogenic or humancaused environmental devastation which will in a short while affect humanity or colonial interests directly. this later consideration is often taken because human existence and wellbeing are still believed by the colonists to be dependent on nature; hence the fear that extreme destruction of the environment might damage human wellbeing. this notwithstanding however, colonialism cared less about the dilapidating african environment nor the cruel treatment of humans and non-human beings, except when such treatments were viewed to portend dire inevitable consequences for colonial interests or the privileged members of the society. the hegemonic nature of colonialism made this mode of thought the modus operandi and modus vivendi in modern african societies--a culture that now ravages the african environment and draws-back societal development. this long term repercussion was why kant (1997) in his moral lectures on “duties to animals and spirits” warned that cruelty to the environment and non human beings encourage human development of character that would be congruently non sensitive to cruelty towards humans. colonial distortion of african environmental ethics the fundamental question facing this treatise is; why the decolonisation of african environmental ethics? what went wrong with traditional african environmental ethics that held pre-colonial african societies in being? the answer to these questions lies in the fact that these indigenous environmental ethics are now shrouded with western environmental morality. this hegemonic union even glued the african environment to western influenced environmental communities that today shape the trend of human relationship with and within the environment. these environmental communities like united nations environment programme (unep), etc, function to foster colonial environmental ethics elsewhere and within the african continent. thomas kuhn, in his work “the structure of scientific revolution,” admitted the existence of similar communities in the area of science which decides in every part of the world what paradigm is acceptable or not (isife 2023:43). besides, the advent of western colonialism introduced a materialist approach in the african environment. this is an approach that is purely exploitative and discriminatory to the unprivileged humans, animals, plants and other elements in the environment. this is also a mechanistic approach that viewed african environmental ethics as anachronistic, and encouraged “subjection and destruction of the traditional african holistic and conservationist values and practices” (tosam 2019:174). colonial distortion of african environmental ethics was further propelled by “international economic pressures” which the colonists brought to bear on the african environment (ogungbemi 2008:330). the colonial approach was deepened through western religion, education, technology, norms and values that undermined african environmental values. wiredu in ibanga (2018:133) recognised the existence of these colonial channels and reveals that colonial distortion of african environmental ethics occurred through igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 45 “language, politics and religion.” in all these channels, the most active is language. this is as colonial training in african environmental ethics is conducted in colonial languages and foreign concepts. the distortion of african environmental ethics moreover happened through religious and school activities, government legislation and local administration. through these means, africans were socially, economically, politically and psychologically instilled with humancentered notion of the environment stemming from western ethical thought. subtly, africans were pushed to shroud their autochthonous environmental ethics, values and practices with western anthropocentric ethics that “ascribe very little or no moral worth to nonhuman creatures” (gudorf & huchingson 2010:4). traditional african environmental ethics thus became increasingly marginalised by educational establishments, governments and policy makers despite its potential to contribute to human well-being, environmental and societal development (kelbessa 2015:387). this was followed by the colonists’ enforced legislations, monitoring techniques and conservation measures that geared towards full exploitation of the african environment. the indigenous ethical strategies that previously conserved the environment and ensured societal development became despised and demeaned. human activities in africa then plunged to utter disregard for pro-environmental values and customs. as such, many africans developed a moral attitude and responsibility towards self, and broadly towards other humans (tosam 2019:172). all these culminated in human exploitation of their kind and the natural environment, thereby hindering societal development. colonialism further mounted pressure on african environment through draconian land use acts and colonial administrative laws. the land use acts and administrative laws undermined african traditional common property management of the environment that was characterised by community participation. conservation of the environment and checks on human activities then depended on ineffective policing and colonial coercive force. the colonists, nevertheless, colonised the environmental ethics through censorship of indigenous african environmental ethics. this gave the colonists an edge and control over african communities, and explains why indigenous knowledge regarding the environment was not regarded. this environmental agenda deprived the environment and the entities therein the importance and priority they deserve despite their contributions to human livelihood and ecosystem. it also brought nature-cultureventure dichotomies that hampered african sustainable societal development (mawere 2013:15). yet, post-colonial governments flowed along this colonial tide. this gesture recalls the popular assertion that african politicians and those in government consider themselves as “colonial replacements” (ona 2006:18; chinweuba 2020:120). in the post-independence era, african countries were also left with drives to catch up with the developmental pace of the western world. this led to indigenous but unguided exploration of african natural resources, and deepened the distortion of the environment. yet, this post-colonial exploitation of the environment has even been purposefully structured disadvantageously to the african environment by the colonists. be that as it may, it cannot be overemphasised that the african colonial experience paralysed traditional environmental ethics. thus, the post-colonial african constitutions are replete with environmental conservation strategies and inalienable rights of human and non-human beings igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 46 that are merely in principle. hence, in practice, many african countries are notorious for environmental rights abuse and the destruction of nature. unfortunately, there is also the fact that interested persons or groups from some foreign countries are colluding with the indigenous people and governments in destroying the african environment through indiscriminate felling of trees, illegal mining of mineral resources, poaching, and so on. with the natural habitats destroyed in the endless pursuit of wealth and development along the colonial environmental ethical model, human, animal, and plant species are unprecedentedly alienated from the environment. the deprived natural activities of these environmental elements had, in turn, deprived africans of the necessary conditions for societal development. this regrettable situation in africa now shows vividly the human thinking that sustainable societal development can be achieved independent of traditional environmental ethics and that indigenous knowledge and other cultural ecological values are worthless and counterproductive. to set africa on authentic societal development, therefore, decolonisation and reconstruction of her traditional environmental ethics in complementarity with other functional ethics has now become imperative. decolonising african environmental ethics towards african societal development the place of traditional african environmental ethics espoused in this treatise makes the process of decolonisation quite imperative. yet, the decolonisation of african environmental ethics has to begin with what has been referred to as “setting the record straight” (isife 2023:45). this involves making contemporary africans aware that the present environmental ethics are more of a colonial construction; hence the increasing corruption and backwardness in the african continent. from this vantage point, articulation of indigenous ethics based on common origins for collective survival of africans from economic, political, educational, cultural, and administrative strangulation posed by the present environmental ethics is required. this is more so because decolonisation of african environmental ethics would be effective with a prior understanding of indigenous african environmental ethics and utilisation of its philosophies and perspectives. this exercise is more necessary towards fostering the public education of the masses on the decolonised environmental ethics and exposing the evil of colonialism on indigenous ecological ethics. besides setting the record straight on traditional african environmental ethics, one would like to ask the following questions: what then is the type of decolonisation africa needs in this contemporary time, when comparative advantage is on societal development? what pattern must decolonising african environmental ethics take to ensure sustainable societal development? africa needs a progressive decolonisation that expunges non-functional colonial and indigenous tenets from the indigenous environmental ethics. decolonisation of african environmental ethics should then focus on the articulation of functional indigenous environmental conservative morality that underscored the evolution of development in pre-colonial african societies. referring to this, fasiku (2008:110) observes that the importance of decolonisation is because of the philosophical solutions to most philosophical problems in modern africa, which are cognitive in traditional african environmental ethics. in resuscitating and applying functional indigenous environmental ethics, therefore, it means that “indigenous worldviews, philosophies, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 47 and ways of knowing and applying those teachings in a contemporary context represent a web of liberation strategies [that] indigenous peoples can employ to disentangle themselves from the oppressive control of colonising state governments” (simpson 2004, in mawere 2013:6). through the auspices of african studies, indigenous education programmes and policies, genuine decolonisation will continue through clarification, expounding, and justification of the valuable aspects of the indigenous environmental ethics from the hooks of colonial tenets. decolonisation in this direction will also follow the part of critically distilling and appraising the ideas stuck in traditional african environmental ethics and the colonial coated environmental ethics based on african functional ontology. this is followed by a critical reconstruction of pre-colonial and post-colonial environmental ethics, distilling traditional “anachronistic ideas” from ones that can “allow human flourishing within our african world” (osuji 2012:111). in this sense, decolonised african environmental ethics will rid itself of ineffective and perverse knowledge that lacks philosophical benefits in modern africa. evidently, colonisation of traditional african environmental ethics was also conceptual. proportionately, decolonisation has to be conceptual; that is, de-centering foreign conceptual frameworks embedded in indigenous environmental ethics. this also calls for a general rethinking of the colonial environmental moral concepts towards yielding more comprehensible traditional meanings. along this lane, sifting off unimportant colonial environmental terms, concepts, and theorems that lack pragmatism in contemporary africa is quite essential. this process includes incisive and intrusive analysis into terms, concepts, and meanings in indigenous environmental ethics in order to de-centre western terms, concepts, and meanings imposed on african words, concepts, thoughts, and aphorisms. in this direction, western concepts like humanism and objectification have to be de-centered to downplay their exploitative character on the environment. reconstructing and replacing those colonial terms, concepts, and meanings with indigenous ones would ensure decolonisation and correction of colonial distortions of indigenous environmental morality. in this sense, decolonisation of african environmental ethics would entail deconstructing african environmental ethics, amending the many years of distortions of african environmental consciousness, and making functional indigenous african environmental ethics relevant on the continent. in this direction, understanding and internalizing decolonised african environmental ethics by indigenous africans would be enhanced, and african environmental ethics would be more relevant to contemporary african societies. in upholding functional excavated traditional african environmental ethics and dismantling of colonial moral principles that gag its practicality, african environmental ethics would once more lead to sustainable human endeavours and societal development. this is a development that would authentically reflect the nature of traditional africa that does not consider development as merely material, “in terms of the material transformation of nature, but a process that was in harmony with all the forces of nature” (tosam 2019:185). this is so because african environmental ethics harbour a variety of techniques that can protect the environment and mitigate environmental and societal problems. on this basis, ugwuanyi (2011:108) even vouches igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 48 that “environmental ethics based on african worldview provides a viable alternative to address the environmental challenges of modernity.” decolonisation must, moreover, be complementary, giving rise to hybridisation to produce the desired effect. as the decolonisation of african environmental ethics requires reconstruction of existing indigenous morality, it also warrants integration of epistemic options or pragmatic practices that can guarantee african sustainable development. africans must in this contemporary time not succumb to the present geopolitics with its alignment, nor to the existent pan-tribalism, nor to western universalism on the continent. it rather has to recline to epistemic options in other places, which are relevant in contemporary african societal development. in this way, decolonisation of traditional environmental ethics must embrace cooperation and complementarity of what functionally ensures rapid development elsewhere. this is the sort of environmental ethics lee kuan yew (2000) encouraged in post-independence singapore. india, china, japan, south korea, the uae, and qatar also encourage similar environmental ethics through their educational systems, economic policies, administration, and skills acquisition, hence they are now among the first-world countries. the imperative of complementary environmental morality for decolonising african environmental ethics there is no doubt about the larger efficacy of traditional african environmental ethics in precolonial times. but can this environmental ethics still be effective in contemporary africa towards achieving societal development? this question has become relevant as time and space are changing in today’s world. based on the changing cosmic situations, it however stands that traditional african environmental ethics can only be functional in decolonised, reconstructed, and complementary form. this is because traditional african environmental ethics are also dominant with practices that are not healthy to the environment. such dominant practices ranged from environmental pollution to “excessive use of fuel wood and constant bush burning that increases air pollution, affects air quality and depletes the forest and other natural habitats” (ifeakor & otteh 2021:161). these extreme practices call for the reconstruction of african environmental ethics and deployment of other functional environmental conservation strategies towards a gainfully contemporary african situation. the need for this complementarity also depends on the reason that reconstructed african environmental ethics may not solve all african environmental challenges based on its limitations and the magnitude of african challenges in contemporary times. how then can reconstructed african environmental ethics be effectively applied in diverse african societies? this question not only alludes to the need for multi-approaches in solving african environmental problems but also the cooperation of all africans in this direction. the application of african environmental ethics can also be achieved through governments’ legislation. in this direction, the reconstructed african environmental ethics can be made functional in consonance with existing environmental laws. of course, this environmental ethics and the laws backing them will be more functional with the enhanced collaboration and participation of the local people. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 49 to achieve societal development that would meet the needs and aspirations of the present african generation without “compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs” therefore, there is an urgent need for decolonisation of african environmental ethics (mawere 2013:19). this decolonisation will give room for reconstructed customary laws and traditional environmental conservation strategies enshrined in indigenous knowledge systems to function effectively. it would then make african indigenous ethics available for incorporation in the educational programmes and policies of african countries, and also make the ethics render its service as the fulcrum of societal development. importance of education in imbibing decolonised african environmental ethics decolonisation is incomplete without the decolonised contents being part and parcel of people’s lives. as such, one of the fundamental questions that begs for answers in this treatise centres on how decolonised african environmental ethics can be instilled into contemporary africans. this question seeks functional or effective means through which reconstructed african environmental ethics can be instilled into the public. apart from government legislations, programmes, and policies, fanon (2001:161) appears to have answered part of this question when he exposes the importance of education in the decolonisation process. making the reconstructed environmental ethics part of the african educational experience would therefore remain a critical step in the decolonisation agenda. in this direction, educational programmes, policies, teaching, and learning contents have to bear the reconstructed african environmental ethics. such education will further reawaken environmental consciousness in the larger population and set africa on its authentic, sustainable developmental trajectory. for better results, public education in african countries has to project adherence to the reconstructed environmental ethics as civic responsibility. this will help to increase patriotism, make further decolonisation possible, and draw more indigenous people to embrace the reconstructed environmental morality. african educational contents stand to change the colonial perception of the environment prevalent in post-colonial africa. it is in the knowledge of this that onebunne and kanu (2022:118) aver that “african development simply rests more on welldefined, mapped-out africanised curricula and a functional african philosophy of education that is african.” problem of colonial languages in effective decolonisation of african environmental ethics an envisaged hindrance to decolonisation of african environmental ethics is the persistent use of foreign languages in africa. those languages cannot guarantee effective decolonisation of african environmental ethics. this is because african environmental ethics embodies indigenous concepts, beliefs, thoughts, traditions, customs, values, norms, and aphorisms. these contents cannot be effectively interpreted in foreign languages. on this note, it has been argued that “the tool of analysis is germane for understanding of african worldviews and thought systems” (ibanga 2018:131). in this context, therefore, only african indigenous languages are relevant to decolonising african environmental ethics and philosophy. this is due to the reality that only igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 50 african indigenous languages contain those forms and reasoning that can express african worldviews, concepts, aphorisms, expressions, etc as contained in african environmental ethics. decolonisation of african environmental ethics, too, requires clarification of the meanings of words, concepts, and aphorisms in use. as such, indigenous languages in the decolonisation process enable inward penetration of the ethics in context in order to appreciate and explore the valuable and esteemed philosophical data inherent and peculiar in the ecosystem and indigenous ethics (fasiku 2008). further, it is only with the indigenous languages that description, interpretation, and analysis of african environmental ethics can be “developed into coherent, unique and novel philosophical ideas and ideals” (fasiku 2008:110). conclusion the chapter viewed decolonised and reconstructed african environmental ethics as the basis for african societal development. it reveals that western colonial environmental morality shrouded indigenous african environmental ethics and renders it redundant. these decades of siege became the historic provenance of crises in the african environment and societal developmental trajectory. relying on environmental ethics tainted by colonialism for decades, many africans neglect the autochthonous environmental ethics that held african societies in being and formed the ground of african gradual and peculiar development before colonialism. yet, the present effort being made by african countries to develop sustainably along colonial environmental ethics has remained unattainable. consequently, the piling magnitude of the crises resulting from colonial environmental conservation strategies indeed draws back african societies and does not satisfy human needs in the contemporary african world. this situation also creates other societal problems that make decolonisation of african environmental ethics quite imperative. decolonisation in this context revolves around deconstructing epistemic westernisation and indigenous ethical epistemicide, amending the many years of distortions of african consciousness and making indigenous conceptual schemes relevant to the contemporary needs of africa. the success of these deconstructions will indeed promote african studies that derive from the african environment. it will promote indigenous environmental ethics that have the potential to foster social order in africa, as it did in pre-colonial times. it will also foster the actualisation of profitable environmental ethics that would provide the needed ground for sustainable african societal development. due to the present changing human environment and the magnitude of the myriad of predicaments facing the continent, africa now requires an environmental ethics that has the full potential to preserve the environment, ease societal crises, and guarantee sustainable development. because of the complexity of these needs, africa urgently requires decolonisation of environmental ethics in complementarity with other epistemic strategies that have solved societal challenges and ensured societal development elsewhere. thus, africa needs a decolonised but hybridized environmental ethics in which the pragmatic indigenous environmental ethics would incorporate other functional knowledge forms to ensure sustainable societal development. obviously, the application of the decolonised and hybridised igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 51 environmental ethics needed by africa requires modern legislation and incorporation into development and education programmes, strategies, and policies of diverse african countries. references aristotle. 1948. politics. (trans. by barker, e). oxford: england: oxford university press. chemhuru, m. 2019. introducing african environmental ethics. in the african environmental ethics: a critical reader, edited by munamato chemhuru (9 – 27). switzerland: springer nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978 3 030 – 18807 – 8. chinweuba, g. e. 2020. the spectre of democracy and governance in nigeria. nasara journal of philosophy 5(1): 115-135. http//:www.journals.fulafia.edu.ng/index.php/najop ekei, j. c. 2001. justice in communalism: a foundation of ethics in african philosophy. lagos, nigeria: realm communications ltd. ekwealo, c. j. 2017. ndu mmili ndu azu: an introduction to african environmental ethics. lagos, nigeria: redcom. ekwunife, a.n.o. 2004. values in traditional and modern nigerian society: a study in leadership. in religion and societal development, edited by m. i. okwueze (1-10). lagos, nigeria: merit international publications. fasiku, g. 2008. african philosophy and the method of ordinary language philosophy. the journal of pan african studies 2(3):100-116. gratani, m., s. g. sutton, j. r. a. butler, e. l. bohensky, and s. foale. 2016. indigenous environmental values as human values. cogent social science 2: 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2016.1185811 gudorf, c. e. and j. e. huchingson. 2010. boundaries: a casebook in environmental ethics. washington dc, usa: georgetown university press horsthemke, k. 2017. indigenous (african) knowledge systems, science and technology. in the palgrave handbook of african philosophy, edited by a. afolayan and t. falola (1-19). new york, usa: palgrave-macmillan. doi. 10. 1057/9791-1-137-592-0_38. ibanga, d. a. 2017. patterns, trends, and issues of illicit wildlife hunting and trade: analysis based on african environmental ethics. international journal of development and sustainability, 6(11): 1865-1890. ibanga, d. 2018. concept, principles, and research methods of african environmental ethics. africology. the journal of pan african studies 11(7): 123-141 ifeakor, c. s. and a. otteh. 2021. african environmental ethics: towards a non– anthropocentric african environmentalism in african eco-philosophy: cosmology, consciousness and the environment, edited by i. a. kanu (151-187). maryland, usa: the association for the promotion of african studies ikuenobe, p. a. 2014. traditional african environmental ethics and colonial legacy. international journal of philosophy and theology 2(4):1–21. https://doi.org/10.15640/ijpt.v2n4a1 isife, e. e. 2023. african environmental ethics and the challenge of decolonizing science and technology for africa’s growth and development. aku: an african journal of contemporary research. 4(1): 39-50. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.21236.83849 isife e. e. 2023. matriarchy in traditional africa and its relevance to contemporary feminism. https://doi.org/10.1007/978 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 52 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities 9(4):1-21. kant, i. 1997. lectures on ethics. (trans. by p. heath, edited by p. heath, and j.b. schneewind). cambridge, england: cambridge university press. kanu i. a. (2015). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu i. a. (2017). igwebuikeconomics: towards an inclusive economy for economic development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 6. 113-140. kanu i. a. (2017). sources of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. 9. 1. pp. 1-23. kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. kanu, a. i. (2017c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 7. pp. 165-183. kanu, a. i. (2017d). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 6. pp. 16-50. kanu, a. i. (2017f). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. pp. 153-160. kasere, s. 2010. campfire: zimbabwe's tradition of caring. http://www.unsystem.org/ngls/documents/publications.en/voices.africa/ kelbessa, w. 2015. african environmental ethics, indigenous knowledge, and environmental challenges. environmental ethics: an interdisciplinary journal dedicated to the philosophical aspects of environmental problems. 37(4):387-410. kelbessa, w. 2018. environmental philosophy in african traditions of thought. envionmental philosophy 40:309-323 maathai, w. 2010. we are called to help the earth to heal. in moral ground: ethical action for a planet in peril, edited by k. d. moore and m. p. nelson (275-278). san antonio, tx, usa: trinity university press mawere, m. 2013. traditional environment conservation strategies in pre-colonial africa: lessons for zimbabwe to forget or to carry forward into the future? afro asian journal of social sciences 4(4):1-23. mbiti, j. s. 1969. african religions and philosophy. london, england: heinemann. ogar, j. n. and s. a. bassey. 2019. african environmental ethics. rais journal for social sciences 3(1):71-81. ogungbemi, s. 2008. an african perspective on the environmental crisis. in environmental ethics. readings in theory and application, 2nd edition, edited by l. j. pojman, and p. pojman (204-332). belmont, c.a., usa: wadsworth publishing company. okafor, f. u. 1992. igbo philosophy of law. enugu, nigeria: fourth dimension publishing co. omosulu, r., and t. inja. 2019. humanism and environmentalism: a dialogue. nnamdi azikiwe journal of philosophy 11(2):87-100. ona, i. 2006. the battle of democracy: social justice and punishment in africa. enugu, nigeria: fidgina global books. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 53 onah, n. g., a. ali, and e. eze. 2016. mitigating climate change in nigeria: african traditional religious values in focus. mediterranean journal of social sciences 7(6): 299-308. onebunne j. i., and i. a. kanu. 2022. african philosophy of history and african philosophy of education: a critical complementarity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities 8(3):108-131. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.18277.47848 osuji, u. 2012. uwandu: the igbo metaphysical environment–a critical study. journal of african environmental ethics and values 3:107-123. russell. b. 2004. history of western philosophy. york, usa: routledge. simpson, l.r. 2004. anticolonial strategies for the recovery and maintenance of indigenous knowledge. american indian quarterly 28(3/4): 373-384 stumpf, s. e.1994. philosophy, history and problem. new york, usa: mcgraw hills. tangwa, g. b. 2007. some african reflections on biomedical and environmental ethics. in a companion to african philosophy, edited by k. wiredu (387–395). oxford, england: wiley-blackwell. http://doi.org/10.1002/9780470997154.ch31 tosam, m. j. 2019. african environmental ethics and sustainable development. open journal of philosophy 9:172-192. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojpp.2019.92012 ugwuanyi, l. o. 2011. advancing environmental ethics through the african world-view. mediterranean journal of social sciences 2(4): 107–114 world commission on environment and development (wced), 1987. our common future oslo: world commission on environment and development. yew, l. k. 2000. from third world to first. new york, usa: harpercollins publishers. 1 wife's subjection and husband's headship in urhobo and christian marriages: a christo-feminist theological and liberatory approach mark ikeke, phd department of religious studies and philosophy, delta state university, abraka, nigeria drikeke@delsu.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.25338.81600 abstract marriage whether in the christian or different cultures remains an important human and social institution that is necessary for the survival of humanity. in marriage, the wife and husband play different roles. the way to understand the role of the husband as head and the wife as his companion and suitable helpmate continues to be the subject of debate. this paper uses critical analysis and hermeneutics to argue that the headship of the man is not for domination, conquest, or subjugation of the wife, rather headship is for service and building up family members. the subjection of the wife needs to be understood in a critical christ-centered, feminist, and liberatory manner. subjection is not subserviency of slavishness. the misunderstanding of the role of wife and husband has often led to domestic violence, abuse, and many other problems in marriages. the paper concludes that the roles of wife and husband should be redeemed following the healthy praxis of christ and feminism. keywords: marriage, wife, subserviency, feminism, husband introduction an issue that has remained troubling and has not helped serve authentic freedom and the human rights of women/wives is the misunderstanding and the misappropriation of biblical texts for the dehumanizing treatment of women in the name of so-called traditional christian values. the misunderstanding and misappropriation of texts or traditions to dehumanize women is not limited to the christian tradition. this unhealthy interpretation of texts and praxis fostering oppression of women can also be found in urhobo cultural texts and praxis. the goal of this paper is to critically, analytically, and hermeneutically examine some of the biblical and urhobo cultural texts/beliefs that people have used to subjugate women in the name of improper forms of husband's headship. the goal of the paper is not to deny the subjection of wives or the headship of husbands but to argue for a healthy, christo-centric, and proper understanding of these issues. a proper understanding of these issues is necessary for creating healthy and prosperous marriages and families and safeguarding the human rights and freedom of women in a society that is still predominantly patriarchal. in carrying out the goal of this paper, the following procedure shall be adopted. hereafter the paper will make a conceptual analysis and clarification of the basic concepts. this will be followed by an examination of wives' subjection and husband's headship in christian and urhobo marriages. then there will be an appraisal of these issues in the light of a christofeminist and liberatory perspective. the way forward shall then be sought before the paper is brought to a conclusion. this paper has a special focus and will not delve into issues like the history of marriage, duties, and functions of marriage, types of marriages, and many other controversies about marriage. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 2 conceptual analyses rhodes (2003) defines marriage from a biblical perspective as a god-founded institution from genesis 2 verse 18 in which a man gets united with a woman to be a helper to each other beginning with betrothal and the wedding. biblical marriage is not just the wedding but also the entire life that the married couple has to live together thereafter in having and raising children, serving god and neighbour, and carrying out their duties in life. according to wynn (2017) marriage, “a common feature of all human society is an institution composed of a culturally accepted union of a man and a woman in husband-wife relationship as well as roles that recognize an order of sexual behavior and legalize the function of parenthood” (p. 676). christian marriage is grounded in biblical values that see marriage as a covenant of the two partners with themselves and god, and through their marital life, they are to serve god. the holy see(1994) states that marriage is: “the matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptized persons has been raised by christ the lord to the dignity of a sacrament” (p. 400). rhodes (2003) states that christians are followers of christ and they are a distinct group of people separate from judaism. christians have accepted and adopted the teachings, messages, and practice of jesus christ of nazareth as their way of life. the word christian was first used in the bible in acts 11:26 to refer to those who followed christ, those who were christ-like or followers of the way. christians follow the christian religion which is one of the world's main religions. though there are varieties of “christianities” all derive their origins from the life, message, and ministry of jesus christ. eruvbetere (2003) writes that the urhobo people are the largest ethnic group in delta state in nigeria, located in the niger delta, estimated at 2 million people and have neighbours like the itshekiri in the south, the bini in the west, the isoko in the east, the ukwuani in the north; and their main occupations are trading, fishing and farming, though the discovery of oil has brought jobs in the oil industry to some. sorokwu (2017) writes that urhobo marriage takes place between a man and a woman with the support of both families, the marriage is not just a union of the two persons but also of both families, the union is seen as sacred and even at the death of the husband the woman remains part of the family, with the woman passed on to another member of the family to ensure stability and support for the woman. eruvbetere (2003) states that: “urhobo traditional marriage is unique to urhobo culture and traditions. indeed, marriage in the urhobo worldview is an enduring institution. it is sacred. it looms large enough to tie two independent families together forever. when blessed with offspring, especially male offspring, the nuptial knot is wedded with a cord that neither death nor divorce can break or separate.” this paper is written from the perspective of a christo-feminist theological and liberatory approach. these concepts must be also interrogated. wienclaw (2017) writes that: the movement of feminist theology reexamines sacred biblical texts on women and their roles and denounces practices that subject women to inferior positions or see them as inferior; and it also advocates for equity for women, justice, freedom from all structures that marginalizes women. slee (2003) writes that feminist theology rages against sexism and androcentrism, and whatever privileges the positions and places of men over women, whereby men are assigned to the public square and women to private. a christo-feminist theological approach is a feminist theology that is rooted in the egalitarian values that christ taught, and for which he lived and died. jesus had a healthy relationship with women and spoke positively of women and their issues. he never put women down as was common in some strands of the jewish tradition. he saw men and women as equal in god and deserving of equal treatment. the term liberatory is used in this work to mean igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 3 freedom from oppressive structures, situations, and realities. the approach in this work is that the way that the headship of husbands and by extension men have been exercised and lived in urhoboland and the pauline new testament context is oppressive to women and wives. it has obliterated the rights of women and denied wives their dignity. feminism is used here as the empowerment and affirmation of the dignity and rights of women. the goal of this work is to show that wives in marriage and family have co-responsibility with their husbands and that their subjection does not mean domination. wife's subjection and husband's headship in urhobo and christian marriages sociologically some duties have been assigned to wives and husbands in married and family life. in christianity, there are biblical passages that spell out these duties. unfortunately, these texts have not always been understood the same way and there are diversities of interpretations and practices. christian marriages are generally informed by the pauline texts in ephesians that is why in most readings for christian weddings or celebration of marriage this text is read. most of the most popular passages about the roles and duties of wives and husbands are found in the pauline epistles. they are so popular that they are often read at wedding masses, services, and functions. a presentation of some of these texts and how they have been understood is pertinent here. the apostle saint paul provides some basis for husband headship over women. he states that the woman is the weaker sex, the woman was the first to fall and led the man to fall also, the woman is for child-bearing, etc. see what he avers in the following verses: “let a woman learn in silence with all submissiveness. i permit no woman to teach or to have authority over men; she is to keep silent. for adam was formed first, then eve; and adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. yet woman will be saved through bearing children, if she continues in faith and love and holiness, with modesty” (1 timothy 2:11-15, rsv). some have interpreted this passage to mean women are to keep silent in public and if they must it must be in private in submission. it is tragic how the woman is portrayed as being deceived and seen as a transgressor, while the man who also fell in the genesis text is glossed over. in this text from 1 timothy, the role of the woman is seen as it is only to bear children, and without this, they cannot be saved. a literal reading can imply a woman who does not bear children and does not get married cannot be saved. there are many all through history and even in the church who have used these verses for the suppression of women. women are to keep silent even in church and are to ask their husbands at home. the headship of the man/husband becomes a vehicle to keep women in the background, restrict them to domestic chores, and deny them public roles. if a woman is attempting to enter a public role she is often told that her place is in the kitchen. the man/husband should be head both at home and in public. alabi (n.d) writes that certain sacred texts have been misinterpreted to enforce women's submission, but the reality is that a deep study of these texts indicates that they do not mean gender discrimination nor women's subjugation and amba oduyoye has shown that the pauline texts in ephesians 5:21-25, 28, 31, 33 should be read in the light of contextual and cultural applications. it is troubling to simply carry pauline texts that are often influenced by household codes in greek and roman households and place them into today's contexts without critical hermeneutics. okure (2007) writes that the household code found in ephesians 5:21ff originated from an unredeemed culture not the liberatory gospel of jesus christ, which is good news. borg and crossan (2009) have argued that passages from paul have been used to justify slavery, subordination of women, and unjust government. they state that not all that we find in the pauline letters come from the radical and revolutionary paul. some are attributed to him. paul who preached radical equality of men and women in christ and equality of all races counts not igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 4 turnaround and justify slavery, racism, and women's subordination. borg and crossan (2009) follow the line of thinking that some reactionary disciples of the original paul are reacting against their master paul in these passages that run in conflict with the original vision of paul. the point to be noted is that whatever is not in line with the gospel of justice, liberation, and healthy living as children of god that is found in paul or any other writings of the sacred texts should be subjected to critical cultural hermeneutics. even if it is the original paul who became reactionary or conservative in his later life, it is still important to re-interpret him within his context. his reactionary teachings that are contrary to human values and dignity should not be upheld. in urhobo traditional marriage as in many types of african traditional marriages, male headship in life and marriage implies that a man can marry many women (polygamous marriage). in this type of marriage, the women's rights are often infringed upon and the man is allowed to treat his wives the way he desires. eruvbetere (2003) writes that urhobo men see it as their natural right to have and enjoy many women. his word is often final. i have heard women call the husband “massa,” a way of calling master. the mentality of calling the european invaders masters or the biblical practice of a woman calling her husband master has prevailed in many urhobo marriages. the man is called a master: human words and language matter. the word master makes men feel superior, inflate their egos, and see themselves as conquerors. many urhobo men can hardly see meaning in the admonition of jesus, “ neither be called masters, for you have one master, the christ ” (matthew 23:10, rsv). while it is true that the text is not to be taken literarily the fact is that if the term master is to be used it should be seen as a call to service, sacrifice, solidarity, not oppression or suppression. the headship of the man/husband is for service and protection of the family. headship is not domination or subjugation of others. iguanre and windapo (n.d) cite oyatoye to state that in many traditional cultures especially in yesteryears the wife (because she is a woman) is seen as the weaker sex, physically vulnerable, and they are to lie in submission which includes being under the man during the sexual act and they are to be passive. this is also present in urhobo culture. in traditional urhobo society, the wife is not to be seen sitting with the husband to eat together, she is to prepare the meal, place it on the table, and wait on her husband. she must be nearby waiting for any order that may come from the husband. she is to kneel in submission when presenting food and other items to her husband, the head. she is not to respond even when the husband insults her as she is presenting the meal. for some the subjection of a wife to her husband also implies that a wife cannot undertake any endeavour in life without approval from the husband. a wife is to depend totally on the husband including for economic resources. and even if a wife perchance brings income and economic resources home the husband must be in charge of allocation as the husband desires. the way forward in the light of a christo-feminist and liberatory approach when it comes to the management of economic resources and income brought by the wife into the home, there should be co-responsibility and collaboration between wife and husband, and not only the husband should be solely in charge of the management of the resources and finances brought by the woman. and by the way, this should apply not only to the economic resources and income brought by the wife but also that brought by the husband. after all, marriage is a partnership of life between the wife and husband, god, and other stakeholder institutions. the purpose for which marriage and family life exist such as the birthing and education of children, health and wellbeing of the couples, and other social roles all require the collaboration of both husband and wife. a family is a unit, and so also is the marriage between a wife and husband. they need to have a shared vision and mission. the economic resources and finances that come into the home then ought to be accountably shared in meeting the needs of the marriage and family. there is a need igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 5 for collective decisions in financial matters, and not in the name of headship of husband putting all decisions into the hands of man. it ought to be realized that marriage is not a sole proprietorship and the husband is the sole administrator. marriage should be informed by democratic values and the principles of justice. there is a pauline verse in which he speaks of submitting or subjecting yourself to one another. this verse comes before paul speaks of the subjection of women to men or wives to their husbands. the submission or subjection of wives comes within the context of mutual submission paul affirms in the previous verse. husbands are also to subject themselves powell (2002) opines that: scripture does not mandate a wife giving unquestioning obedience to a husband any more than a husband giving unquestioning obedience to a wife. 'be subject' in the nrsv is probably better understood as 'be submissive', since the submission paul is requiring is not something enforced but embraced voluntarily, out of love for christ and for one another. another way of thinking of it may be giving in. giving in to others or compromising our needs or wishes is something that is necessary to make a relationship work and is eventually a mark of strength, not weakness. the relationship advocated is not one of doormat to exploiter but of equals giving in at appropriate times to each other in love (p.703-704) men who are husbands should see their headship of families as a call to service and stewardship. the apostle paul is clear that their headship is like that of christ. they should be quick to ask themselves how christ exercises his headship over the church. powell (2002) rightly notes that the headship of the husband is not in the sense of rulership, lordship, governorship, or boss but in the light of christ's self-giving one of sacrificial love and care. in urhobo culture, the husband should be seen as head for service not in domineering and authoritarian rulership over their wives. this is where a healthy reading of the texts in wedding and marriage celebrations and married life comes into place. christian ministers in urhoboland and elsewhere should see it as their duty to campaign for healthy marital relationships rooted in mutual self-giving. there should be healthy and human-affirming interpretations of scriptural texts. every human being, including wives, is created with certain human rights and inalienable dignity. the rights of wives to live healthy lives and have their human rights respected should be affirmed. religion does not have the power or government to take away the rights of people or subjugate them. texts in the scripture including pauline texts should be read in the light of the liberatory and justice values that jesus preached and lived for in the gospel. in the life and ministry of jesus, he affirmed the dignity and value of not only women but wives. to the question of divorce brought to him jesus asserts that it was not so from the beginning. god planned that there should be no divorce, and even when the law of moses permitted it, it was to make it hard for husbands to throw out their wives as they like. alabi (n.d) writes that women like men are created in god's image and likeness, they are to govern with men over god's creation, from genesis 1:26 she is blessed and endowed with blessings as the man having divine privileges, she is not subsidiary and before genesis 3:16 which some use to teach that women are cursed and are to be subjugated to men, god had already coffered his original blessings. alabi (n.d) shows further that the institution of marriage from genesis 2:18-25 shows that though the male is distinct from the female, sexual difference is not a basis for patriarchy, adam in seeing the woman did not see her as a property, a subordinate, a nonentity, a subsidiary or slave but appreciated woman, who is now his wife with the beautiful words (this is now bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh). the woman (wife) is of the same natural stuff as the man. the wife is created to be a helper and companion. the wife helps the husband not as an inferior or subordinate but as a partner. true biblical headship does not mean that the husband is up and the wife is down. the relationship between husband and wife should be a cooperative one not competitive or a military school of commandry where the husband exercises authority like pagan igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 6 monarchs. catholic secretariat of nigeria (2010) states that: “women, just like men, are created in the image and likeness of god. created by god, in this context, means that they too are endowed with wisdom and knowledge, which men seem to have made their prerogative” (p. 15). it is necessary to restate this because often women and wives are not part of decision-making. in urhoboland some husbands have failed to train their girl-child and have refused to allow their wives into politics, business, and into the economic world. this author has seen situations in which husbands made their wives domestic housewives without outdoor functions except to go to the market to buy foodstuff and come home to cook. this of course is extremely dangerous. if the husband dies before the wife the wife is put into economic jeopardy as she has no source of income. in the biblical tradition, prophetess deborah was a wife, but that did not stop her from being a judge, mediator, and leader in war. there is a need for correct hermeneutics of the biblical texts, especially the pauline texts. it is important to note that ephesians is considered by some scholars not to be written by paul but by his followers. powell (2002) disputes this and affirms that it was written by paul from prison. powell (2002) argues that the instruction for wives' submission should not be separate from the “mutual submission of all believers within the body of christ but flows from it. it shows that paul is not requiring submission from wives only and therefore relegating wives to a subordinate place within marriage(p. 701). submission and giving way to one another should inform all types of human relationships. relationships are places of mutual interactions in those engaged in the relationships. it is mutual supporting, teaming together, and enriching one another in achieving common and personal goals. they are not battlegrounds for conquest or one party oppressing and suffocating the other in the name of headship. taking a look at the bible from its origin, mathews(2002) argues that genesis 1 and 2 establish a relationship of equality between males and females in marriage, but in genesis 3 the relationship of equality gives way to the hierarchical relationship in marriage as a result of the fall as women from there on are seen as properties to be owned and given in marriage as they are bartered by their fathers; “…the picture in the old testament is not one of unrelenting hierarchy, individual women exercised political, religious and familial authority in ways that challenged the prevailing patterns of hierarchy” (p.702). for the sake of this paper which focuses on wives and husbands, the example of wives who played critical roles in scripture such as deborah, huldah, abigail, naomi, ruth, and anna, should be highlighted. mathews (2002) in arguing for equality in the home over hierarchicalism states further the followings: (1) in 1 corinthians 7:3-5 both wife and husband have needs that should be met as both partners reciprocally exercise authority and rights over one another, and decision making rooted in consensual partnership; (2) ephesians 5 verse 22 that calls for wives submission to their husbands should not be separated from verse 21 that enjoins mutual submission; (3) the passage in ephesians 5 is not that of husbands exercising authority or power over wives but wives devotion to their husbands following the manner of christ to the father and husbands showing sacrificial love to their wives (which is equally a form of submission). havener (2001) corroborates the idea that verses 22-24 of chapter 5 of ephesians should not be taken out of context and seen as putting down women, and it is noted that husbands and wives are united in the body of christ. barclay (1976) one of the most notable biblical scholars writes that the love required of husbands is sacrificial, purifying, caring, and unbreakable, and real love is above extracting service from the wife and does not see the wife as an object to simply wash clothes, cook meals and take care of children. jesus related to women in his ministry healthily. many of the women he related to were wives at home. even though the samaritan women had suffered in different marriages jesus spoke with her affirming her humanity. conclusion igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 7 this paper did a reinterpretation and reimagining of the texts in ephesians chapter 5 that has been used to justify the oppression of wives and by extension women. it also looked at urhobo culture in examining how wives have been maltreated. the study was done analytically and hermeneutically using ideas from feminist theological and christ-liberatory perspectives. the paper argued that men and women, husband and wives are radically equal in christ. equality does not mean they play the same roles or occupy the same position. it should be that the position of the husband at home is that of headship, but it is argued that headship is for service and healthy leadership at home and in society. biblical passages should be reinterpreted and never be used to suppress or oppress women/wives. if there is a proper understanding of the headship of husbands and the subjection of women, it will help build more peaceful marriages and families. references alabi, d.o. (n.d). a theological and religious critique of the personhood of a woman in a patriarchal context. in y.o.o. akorede, and a.a. asinyanbola (ed.), the feministwomanist dialectics: a critical source book, a festschrift in honour of professor mrs akachi aminora-ezeigbo (pp. 303-327). essex, uk: lyette books. barclay, w. (1976). the daily study bible: the letters to the galatians and ephesians. bangalore: theological publications in india. borg, m.j., and crossan, d. (2009). the first paul: reclaiming the radical visionary behind the church's conservative icon. london: society for promoting christian knowledge. catholic secretariat of nigeria. (2010).the dignity of the nigerian women and her right to womanhood. abuja: catholic secretariat of nigeria. eruvbetere, j.o. (2003). urhobo traditional marriage and modern influences upon its institutions.https://www.waado.org/urhobo_kinsfolk/archive/conferences/fourth_annu al/cultural_session/marriage-eruvbetere.html havener, i. (2001). collegeville bible commentary: first thessalonians, philippians, philemon, second thessalonians, colossians and ephesians. bandra, mumbai: st pauls. iguanre, s., and windapo, g. (n.d). women as clog in the wheel of feminism. in y.o.o. akorede, and a.a. asinyanbola (ed.), the feminist-womanist dialectics: a critical source book, a festschrift in honour of professor mrs akachi aminora-ezeigbo (pp. 51-63). essex, uk: lyette books. mathews, a.p. (2002). hierarchicalism and equality in the home. in catherine clark kroeger and mary j evans (ed.), the ivp women's bible commentary (pp. 702-703. downers grove, illinois: intervarsity press. powell, c.m. (2002). ephesians. in catherine clark kroeger and mary j evans (ed.), the ivp women's bible commentary (pp. 694-706). downers grove, illinois: intervarsity press. rhodes, r. (2003). understanding the bible from a to z. eugene, oregon: harvest house publishers. slee, n. (2003). feminist theology 101. h�ps://www.movement.org.uk/resources/feministtheology-101 sookwu, v. (2017). how traditional marriage is contracted in urhobo. h � p s : / / d a i l y t r u s t . c o m / h o w t r a d i � o n a l m a r r i a g e i s c o n t r a c t e d i n urhobo/#:~:text=indeed%2c%20urhobo%20marriage%20is%20a,both%20families%20are%2 0deeply%20involved. wienclaw, r.a. (2017). feminist theology what is it?. https://leeuniversity.libguides.com/c.php?g=776352&p=6721258 wynn, j.c. (2017). marriage. in rodney j hunter et al. (ed.), dictionary of pastoral care and counseling (pp. 676-679). bangalore: theological publication in india. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 134 catholic knighthood and secret societies: investigating the spirituality of the order of the knights of st. mulumba michael muonwe department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe university, awka me.muonwe@unizik.edu.ng doi: abstract the paper delves into the unique character of catholic knighthood, explicitly focusing on the order of the knights of st. mulumba and contrasting it with secret societies. it discusses the knights' core values, spirituality and operations by critically examining primary and secondary literature on the subject matter. an important discovery is that the order of the knights of st. mulumba was established as a counterforce to the activities of secret societies, particularly among the nigerian elites. their operations are deeply rooted in the catholic tradition, with a spirituality that centres on trust in god, justice, and service to others. as an ecclesial organisation, the order operates with transparency and complete obedience to church authority, a sharp departure from the clandestine nature of secret societies and their anti-christian beliefs and practices. by examining the order's mission and activities, the paper underscores its role as a beacon of the catholic faith, inspiring respect and admiration for its steadfast commitment to challenging the influence of secret societies in today's nigerian society. keywords: knights, mulumba, catholic, secret societies introduction knighthood, a noble catholic organisation, has a rich history that dates back to its secular origin from the feudal society of the middle ages when it was established as a title of honour for services in society (okafor, 2001). the catholic church adopted knighthood during the crusades in the middle ages when christians organised themselves into religious-military orders to wage battles against enemies of christianity. this historical context provides a deep understanding of the roots of catholic knighthood. the rules governing the monastic orders were applied to the order of the knights who fought on the side of the church against invaders in the holy land and ensured the safety of pilgrims. some prominent orders of the knights during the time were the knights of malta or knights of hospitallers, founded in 1113; the equestrian order of the holy sepulchre of jerusalem; the knights templars, founded in 1118 but later disbanded by pope clement v in 1312, the teutonic knights, established in 1198, and the order of st john of jerusalem. in modern times, knighthood has evolved significantly. in today's catholic church, knights are no longer called upon to participate in physical battles or wars to defend the faith. instead, they are tasked to deepen their spirituality for a more profound spiritual warfare aimed at defending the catholic faith against secular and ungodly forces that assail its doctrine and practice. as odinkemelu (1993, p. 132) suitably notes, the shared igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 135 goal of modern knighthood in the catholic church is to unite catholics “to engage in the lay apostolate catholic action in the new era of evangelisation. it aims to promote its members' moral, intellectual, spiritual, and material welfare and the catholic community.” indeed, knighthood in the church is much deeper than a mere title or reward for loyalty to the church. it goes much deeper to embrace total commitment to god, the church, and the world, and it is laden with responsibilities and challenges. in the catholic church today, there are different orders of knighthood. papal knighthood is conferred on catholic lay faithful by the pope. he may do so out of his discretion or in response to a request from a person's local ordinary (chiegboka and ezenweke, 2010). they include the order of christ, the order of the golden spur, the order of piano, the order of saint gregory the great, the order of pope saint sylvester and the equestrian order of the holy sepulchre of jerusalem (baccani, p. 4-5). some non-papal knights are the order of the knights of st. john international and the order of the knights of st. mulumba, the order of the knights of st. columbus, among others. when rev. fr. abraham anselm isidahome ojefua, a catholic priest and monk, founded the indigenous order of the knights of st. mulumba in nigeria on 14 june 1953, at the instance of the catholic bishops conference of nigeria (cbcn), he had two primary objectives. the first was “to counteract the harm done by many secret societies to the church and to arrest the efflux of the christian enlightened members into those harmful secret groups.” second, “to bring catholics together in a fraternal association for the good and progress of the church, the welfare of its clergy, wellbeing of members of the order in particular and nigeria in general” (ksm nigeria, our history, para. 3-4). given these initial objectives, the members make considerable effort to live their lives according to the demands of the gospel and the mind of the catholic church. in addition to these original objectives, today, the order aims at “fostering perfect christian life among members, making the order africa–wide and encouraging inter-religious dialogue” (para.4). it is unfortunate that in nigeria, some people misconceive the operations, activities and mission of the catholic knighthood as close to those of secret societies. some even accuse the catholic organisation of being a secret society. this paper investigates the core values and spirituality of the knights of st. mulumba to show that catholic knighthood, as an organ for grassroots evangelisation in the church, is utterly different from secret societies. the catholic church and secret societies barker (2006) defines a secret society as an association known by the concealment of its activities, events, inner operations, or membership. their members are often drawn from the crème of the society. according to introvigne (2000), their secrecy can range from essential elements like passwords to elaborate rituals, private languages, costumes, symbols, and loyalty oaths to maintain strong bonds among members. axelrod (1998) identified three primary characteristics of secret societies: their exclusivity, claim to possess secret knowledge, and favouritism among members. he further notes that most often, they do not have clear goals and missions, even though some are known to have political goals. some of the world's known secret societies are freemasonry, which ridley (2011) dubbed the most powerful, rosicrucians, the order of assassins, the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 136 illuminati, and skull and bone. browne (2007) mentions some prominent past american politicians who were members of some of these secret societies, like skull and bones, which has existed at yale university in the usa for over 150 years. rosen (1903) affirms a marked shift in the identity and operations of secret societies from what they were before the twentieth century and what they became afterwards. in their earlier days, he asserts, people knew just about their existence while details about their membership and meeting places remained largely shrouded in secrecy. the twentieth century saw a change that brought some of their hitherto hidden activities and membership to light. according to him, from thence, a secret society came to mean: [a] society with secrets, having a ritual demanding an oath of allegiance and secrecy, prescribing ceremonies of a religious character, such as the use of the bible, either by extracts therefrom or by its being placed on an altar within a lodge room, by the use of prayers, of hymns, of religious signs and symbols, special funeral services, etc. p.2. from rosens' submission, it is clear there are some forms of borrowing of religious rituals, symbols, and practices by secret societies, which they adapt to suit their activities and beliefs. indeed, the bible does not have the same meaning within the christian religious context as it would among these groups. it could best be a parody. from the point of view of the catholic church, katzer (1895, cited in rosen 1904) sketches four significant characteristics of a secret society: they (1) unite their members for the purpose of conspiring against the state or church; (2) demand the observance of secrecy to such an extent that it must be maintained even before the rightful ecclesiastical authority; (3) exact an oath from their members or a promise of blind and absolute obedience; (4) make use of a ritual and ceremonies that constitute them sects. p.3. apart from their secrecy, anti-catholic doctrines, and political intrigues, their demand for absolute loyalty from their members is a threat to the loyalty demanded by the church from her members. the catholic church has always condemned their beliefs and activities and debarred catholics from joining them, most notably freemasonry, under the pain of ex-communication. the catholic church first prohibited catholics from membership in freemasonry and other secret societies in the bull, in eminenti, issued by pope clement xii (1738). even though the document directly refers to freemasonry, it also applies to similar associations that had harmed the peace of the state and the wellbeing of souls. pope clement xii notes that these societies are bound by an oath of secrecy using the sacred scriptures and are determined to maintain an inviolable silence about their joint activities. according to him, were they not doing evil, they would not have hated the light so much. therefore, joining them is tantamount to being smeared with the evil and dishonour they are known for. several subsequent popes reaffirmed this condemnation, judging them as unfit for the salvation of souls. the code of canon law (1917, para. 2335) automatically excommunicated catholics who enrolled in freemasonry and similar associations. even though the current code of canon law (1983, par. 1374) does not specifically single out freemasonry as the preceding code did, it, however, states that “a person who joins an association which igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 137 plots against the church is to be punished with a just penalty; one who promotes or takes office in such an association is to be punished with an interdict.” an interdict in the catholic church means prohibiting someone from participating in certain liturgical rites of the church. what is clear is that the penalty is not explicitly spelt out in the canon. it only requires that it be just. what makes for a just penalty depends on the circumstances of each case. the uncertainty surrounding the current code led the congregation for the doctrine of the faith (1983) to issue a declaration the same year the code was promulgated, specifically banning catholics from membership in freemasonry. to make clear the reason behind the declaration, it began with these words, “it has been asked whether there has been any change in the church's decision in regard to masonic associations since the new code of canon law does not mention them expressly, unlike the previous code” (para. 1). in response to this, the document states categorically: “therefore the church's negative judgment in regard to masonic association remains unchanged since their principles have always been considered irreconcilable with the doctrine of the church and therefore membership in them remains forbidden” (para 3). for the catholic faithful who enrol in them, it says they “are in a state of grave sin and may not receive holy communion” (para. 3). it also points out that local bishops do not have the power to reconsider this condemnation no matter any specific situation regarding masonic associations within their jurisdiction (para. 4). unlike the secret societies, the orders of the knights of the church have documented missions, goals, and structures accessible to the public. even though they have a selection process for membership, they are open to catholics who have shown some demonstrable stability in their faith commitment. they also operate within established ecclesiastical and ethical frameworks, which contradict the goals of secret societies. these will be examined below with specific reference to the order of the knights of st. mulumba. spirituality of the order of the knights of st. mulumba it is essential to begin this section with a brief examination of the nature of spirituality in general, then christian and catholic spirituality, before delving into the spirituality of the order of the knights of st. mulumba. this helps to situate the spirituality of the order properly where it belongs. a sound spirituality of the order must be understood within the context of catholic spirituality, the fundamental element of which is communion with god. in the words of st. augustine (confessions, bk. 4, ch. 2), “god is the source of all good, and to be separated from him is the greatest evil.” this means our relationship with god is the source of our identity, purpose and strength. for a catholic, it is the starting point of all other aspects of catholic spirituality, like the sacraments, scripture, morality and devotion to the saints. otherwise, all these would be empty practices. what is spirituality? in today's usage, the term spirituality has various meanings for different people. traditionally, spirituality was closely related to religion and religious practices. in the past, once spirituality was mentioned, religion came to the fore. nevertheless, with the influence of secularism in the west, especially since the end of the second world war in 1945, there has been an attempt to separate the spiritual from the religious. sheldrake's (2012) study shows the development of modern spirituality and how the shift from its igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 138 traditional association with religion occurred, including the influence of romanticism, psychology, and eastern religion. with this shift, spirituality became more linked with individual, subjective experiences. rather than god, the self assumed the centre of many people's lives. spirituality came to denote the recovery of one's true self through individual practices, like meditation, esotericism, free expression of self, etc. that is why someone can describe himself or herself as spiritual but not religious. the rise of the new age movement in the 1970s and 1980s in the west also significantly contributed to this. the new age movement believes in personal spiritual growth, esotericism and acquiring mystical knowledge. it is known for its eclectic approach to spirituality. thus, it appropriates many traditions from the east and the west, including tarot telling, yoga, astrology, meditation, mediumship, etc., to reach perfect fulfilment and refinement of the person (melton, clark & kelly 1990). even though the new age movement has waned in the west, the split between spirituality and religion has not been healed. in africa, the situation is different. religion permeates every facet of the life of the people. that is why mbiti claims that religion for africans is an ontological phenomenon, meaning that it has to do with the fundamental question of being and existence (mbiti, 1999, p. 15). relating this to the relationship between religion and spirituality, one can say that the two are still very much tied together in africa. it sounds strange for one to be identified as spiritual without being connected to one form of religion or another, be it the african traditional religion, christianity, judaism or islam. the african sees spirituality as an attempt to connect or reconnect with the spiritual forces operative within his or her environment to achieve a profound spiritual balance between himself or herself and these forces. it is a spirituality based on the belief that all created realities are connected to the creator-spirit, god, making people struggle to reunite with him (adofo, 2016). the african understanding of spirituality is very close to what waaijman (2022) describes as the traditional meaning of spirituality, which he says involves reconnecting to what could be termed the original form humans had at the point of creation. this process entails the re-formation of the person to recover what waaijman calls “the image of god,” which is man's original shape. this reformation, waaijman asserts, is adapted to a specific mould representing this original shape as understood by different religious traditions. for judaism, this mould is the torah; for christians, it is christ; for buddhism, buddha; and islam, muhammad. in order words, it means reconnecting to the most sacred reality in these different religions and allowing that reality to shape one's life to recover what this life initially was and what it is intended to become by its creator. synder and lopez (2007) generally define spirituality as the pursuit of life's ultimate or sacred meaning. this pursuit often involves exploring one's connection to something greater than oneself, whether it be a higher power, nature, or a set of values, and provides a sense of belonging, peace and fulfilment. christian spirituality given the above, christian spirituality would mean modelling our lives after jesus christ, who is not just a figure but the perfect image of the invisible god and the firstborn of all creation (col 1:15). he offers meaning to the lives of christians. therefore, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 139 christian spirituality without jesus christ as its source, force, and end is not a christian spirituality but something else. catholic identity (2020) identifies three essential characteristics of christian spirituality: (a) christian spirituality is sacramental. this means that god has a hidden presence in all created reality. this calls for respect for all created reality and channelling them towards attaining the creator's plan for them. (b) christian spirituality in relational. it is not confined to the self but realised in our relationship with our brothers and sisters, neighbours, and the world around us. it is community-based and finds its fulfilment within a community – the church. (c) it is transformational. it is a spirituality that surrenders to the workings of the holy spirit who changes us, offering hope to the despaired, faith to the doubtful soul, peace to the troubled, joy to the grieving and united humanity. these characteristics are critical in the myriad forms of christian spirituality spanning epochs and traditions. catholic spirituality dwyer (2019) understands catholic spirituality as the concrete way the catholic faith and teachings abide in an individual believer, influencing his or her practical and daily life. according to him, for the faith to be genuine, it must be transformational. it must be able to alter an individual's sense of his or her identity and mission, thus affecting his or her relationship with the people and the world around him or her. dwyer sees authentic catholic spirituality as both individual and corporate. these are two sides of the same coin because the relationship with jesus christ automatically entails a relationship with one's fellow human beings, with the body of christ, the church, part of which we are. therefore, any privatised spirituality is not genuine. in other words, any catholic spirituality expressed or lived without authorisation from the church is not genuine and must be shunned. catholic spirituality is ecclesial because it is supremely realised within the context of the worshipping community, the church, nurtured by the same body of christ with jesus christ as the head. it entails obedience to the guidance of the holy spirit through the church under the guidance of the clergy, to whom jesus handed over the church before he left the world to his father. so, any spirituality by the catholic faithful not sanctioned by the church raises questions of authenticity. any form of spirituality adopted by the catholic faithful must receive the stamp of authenticity from the hierarchy, which received the divine mandate from jesus to lose and bind (cf. mtt 18:18-20). the second point dwyer brings out is the incarnational character of catholic spirituality. any genuine catholic spirituality must not be restricted to the purely spiritual but must also be expressed in the day-to-day lives of christians, just as jesus christ, who is god, found a dwelling among us in the flesh. there must be a correspondence between faith and life, love of god and love of neighbour (mk 12:30-31), the spiritual and the physical. catholic spirituality should, therefore, take seriously jesus' charge that we love our neighbour. charity is central to any catholic spirituality. we must be involved in the practical daily lives of others, especially when they are in need, assist them, and offer them hope. charity is one of the theological virtues; others are faith and hope. they are so called because of three primary reasons, as put forward by st. thomas aquinas: “first igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 140 because their object is god since they direct us aright to god: secondly, because they are infused in us by god alone: thirdly, because these virtues are not made known to us save by divine revelation, contained in holy writ” (summa theologica, q. 62, art. 1). st. paul ranks charity as the highest of all virtues, and declares that christian piety and spiritual gifts are nothing without it (1 cor. 13:1-13). another characteristic of catholic spirituality is that it is biblical. the fathers of the second vatican council called for a return to the sacred scripture and the tradition for sound theological reflection. the same is true of catholic spirituality. aumann (1985, p. 3) points out, “the closer any spirituality is to the bible, the more authentic it is.” amidst the diversity traditionally part of catholic spirituality, aumann asserts that “the sacred scripture ever remains the unifying factor and the ultimate standard” (p.3). furthermore, catholic spirituality is christocentric. auman (1985) argues that christ is the ultimate model of spirituality, and, for a catholic, living a spiritual life involves participating in his divine nature through the holy spirit. this means sharing the same life that jesus lived as god and man. aumann notes that any attempt to create a more modern or updated theology is misguided, as christ's teachings are timeless. to live a catholic spiritual life is to experience christ's presence in the present as a pilgrim on a journey and to allow his teachings to guide our actions in all aspects of our lives. catholic spirituality is eschatological. it is a spirituality that looks forward to the last things and the coming of jesus on the last day. the last things include death, judgment, heaven (purgatory), and hell (catholic church, 1994a, nos. 1001, 1020-1050). the church believes that on the last day, christ will return for the final judgment of the living and the dead. this second coming is called the parousia. at his coming, there will be the resurrection of the dead; the righteous will live forever with him (rom 8:11). this belief influences catholic spirituality and liturgical practices. it strengthens the belief in the communion of the saints in christ and popular devotions, like praying for the dead and devotion to the saints. further, genuine catholic spirituality is liturgical. the eucharist, the centre and heart of catholic liturgical worship, is the source and summit of christian life (vatican council ii, 1964a no. 11). so, any catholic spirituality not rooted in it loses its meaning. our spirituality must proceed from and lead back to the liturgy. any liturgical spirituality is simultaneously a paschal spirituality because it draws its strength from the mystery of the death and resurrection of our lord jesus christ, the mystery of our salvation that is reenacted and celebrated in the liturgy. spirituality of the order of the knights of st. mulumba when one talks about the spirituality of the order of the knights of st. mulumba, one is not talking about anything other than the spirituality of the catholic church, as lived explicitly by the members of the order. it is a spirituality that originates and derives its sustenance from the spirituality of the catholic church. the constitution of the order (2020, part. 1, art. 4.1 clearly states that “the order is one and indivisible and is founded upon the principles of catholic action as enshrined in canon 2099 [sic] of the canon law” (can. 299 instead). article 4.2 states, “the order is submissive to the ecclesiastical authority in consonance with canon 2098 [sic] of the canon law” (can. 298 instead). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 141 this already tells anyone that the first element of the order's spirituality lies in its total obedience and submission to the guidance of the church's magisterium, whose possession and exercise of the authority derive from her obedience to the mandate given to her by jesus christ. this immediately marks it out from secret societies that work at cross purposes with the church. the code of canon law (1983, para. 299) states, “the christian faithful are free, by means of a private agreement made among themselves, to establish an association to attain the aims mentioned in can. 298 & 1, with due regard to the prescription of the can. 301 § 1.” the aims mentioned in can. 298 § 1, which can. 299 refers to, include the following: the perfection of life, public worship, and apostolic work, which includes evangelisation, piety or charity, and animating the temporal order with the christian spirit. can. 301 § 1 talks about the exclusive right of competent ecclesiastical authority “to erect associations of the christian faithful which set out to teach christian doctrine in the name of the church or to promote public worship or which aim at other ends whose purpose by nature is reserved to the same ecclesiastical authority.” all these show the intention of the founder and the members of the order to maintain a wholly and entirely ecclesial and ecclesiastical spirituality. it is ecclesial because it is a communal affair realised within the context of the community of the faithful. it is not an isolated form of spirituality that works independently of the church's rich spiritual treasures and long-established tradition. it is ecclesiastical because it needs the endorsement of competent church authority to function effectively. the ecclesial and ecclesiastical nature of the order of the knights of st. mulumba is a strong backbone in the order's effort to realise its objectives. it is only when the order is firmly anchored in the body of christ, which is the church, that it can be appropriately directed, guided, and guarded to avoid the allurement of the secret cults and be better positioned to be a light to their counterpart wandering and groping in the darkness of sin and error. some elements of the spirituality of the order could be gleaned and developed from her mission as outlined in the order's website (ksm nigeria, our mission). it includes the following. (a) complete trust in god: one of ksm nigeria's missions is trusting god always instead of human beings or material possessions. even though it appears fifth on the list, i consider it the most basic and significant. trusting god in all things involves total surrender to god and complete obedience of faith. this full trust in god made abraham's faith very firm in his irresistible obedience to god's words, even when they appeared strange, like when god called him out of his country and people to a land he knew next to nothing about (gen 12:1-9), and when he asked him to sacrifice his only son, isaac (gen 22:1-19). even in such circumstances, maintaining one's relationship with god entails continuous communication and communion with god at prayer, through jesus christ, in the holy spirit. a knight who does not lead a life of prayer is in danger of losing the faith, especially in moments of temptation. to trust in god entails being vanguards of prayer in their igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 142 families, places of work, offices, and political, cultural, or social associations in which they are involved. it involves emulating the wonderful and faithful life of the patron saint of the order, st. mulumba, who defied bodily harm and physical pain and opted to stand firm in moments of torture. in the ksm nigeria anthem, the knights pledge to emulate his faith and courage, who, even after his four limbs were chopped off, did not succumb to satan's fury but lingered on from thursday to sunday before finally surrendering to death. (b) working for a just society: justice is one of the cardinal virtues, along with prudence, fortitude, and temperance. it is sometimes seen as the most important of the cardinal virtues. they are called cardinal virtues because they are the hinge (cardo, in latin) on which other virtues turn (catholic church, 1994a, no. 1805). as a moral virtue, justice perfects the will and inclines it to render to each what is due to him or her. to live a spiritual life imbued with justice means respecting the rights of god and neighbour. as the ksm mission puts it, it is a virtue that members should practice at all times and in all places for the good of humanity. (c) attending to the needs of the less privileged: this is related to the virtue of justice discussed above. the less privileged, as contained in the ksm mission, includes the poor, the destitute, the disadvantaged, and the oppressed. this touches the heart of the church's social teaching. jesus' entire life on earth was spent fighting for the marginalised and outcast, which earned him the appellation “friend of tax collectors and sinners” (cf. mtt 9:11). ksm lists the following charitable works as part of the order's commitment: “visit to hospitals, the needy, prisons, support to religious houses, donations to orphans, disabled and old people's homes… convents, monasteries and development of parishes” (ksm nigeria, charity). the order indicates it is also involved in insurance and investment programmes and offers scholarships and church loans. it is part of what helps for spiritual growth. st. john exhorts christians to show their love for god through love for their neighbour. according to him, “if a man says, i love god and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love god whom he has not seen?” (1 john 19-20). (d) promoting order and discipline in society: nigeria is often described as a lawless society. abubakar (2022) refers to it as “a country where lawlessness seems to be the only 'operating law.'” the knights are, therefore, summoned to swim against this ugly current and help instil order and discipline in society by their way of life. (e) being catholic in word and deed: included in the ksm mission is their desire to live and defend the catholic faith. what does it mean to live a life that is catholic? it means living according to the depositum fidei (deposit of faith) handed over by christ to the apostles and from them to their successors down to our time. ksm spirituality upholds this in their day-to-day life with others, in word and deed. their commitment to this is reflected in their anthem that ends with the following, “may we evangelise more by deeds than mere words. amen.” it is a call to become active evangelizers working to spread the kingdom of god on earth and win souls for god. ekandem (1993) affirms the immense contributions that their services have made to the growth of the catholic igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 143 church in nigeria since their foundation. he also expresses his satisfaction with their ability to always search for what they can do for the church, their brave and courageous defence of the faith, and their generous support of the church. (f) commitment to ecumenism: ksm nigeria's spirituality is open to promoting unity among christians, which the vatican council ii (1964b, no. 1) states is one of its principal tasks and a sign of the action of the holy spirit. ecumenism helps to bind together the hearts and minds of christians to realise the prayer of jesus that we, christians, become one as he and the father are (jn 17:21). just as the knights make efforts to promote fraternity among members, they also spread out hands of fellowship to other catholic men and women and non-catholics, aware that christians must be bearers and promoters of love among themselves to become faithful witnesses. however, there should be some caution in carrying out this aspect of the church's action to avoid falling into what kasper (2004, para. 2) terms “dogmatic relativism, indifferentism and pure pragmatism,” which attack the truth of the faith, which the council says subsists in the catholic church, even though its elements could be seen outside her visible boundaries. conclusion: the unyielding light of catholic knighthood the order of knights of st. mulumba nigeria stands as a beacon of catholic faith in a world increasingly shrouded by secrecy and moral ambiguity. unlike their clandestine counterparts, the secret societies, the knights operate transparently, their goals and activities readily available for public scrutiny. their foundation rests upon the bedrock of catholic doctrine, with complete obedience to church authority ensuring their path remains illuminated by the light of christ. that is why they enjoy the full support of ecclesiastical authorities. at the same time, the church continues to reiterate its ban on secret societies because their mission and activities are against the ideals of the christian faith and the principles of the church. the spiritual core of the order pulsates with a vibrant energy. it compels knights to cultivate a life of unwavering trust in god, a cornerstone for weathering any storm of temptation. it fuels their untiring commitment to justice, a virtue that propels them to champion the rights of the marginalised and fight for a more equitable society. this same dedication to justice extends to the less privileged, for the knights understand that true spirituality necessitates a compassionate heart that reaches out to alleviate the suffering of those in need. ksm does not shy away from the challenges of the modern world. they strive to be exemplars of order and discipline in our lawless society. they recognise the power of deeds over mere words, and their commitment to living a demonstrably catholic life is a potent force for attracting others to the faith. their ecumenical spirit fosters unity amongst christians, a vital step towards realising christ's fervent prayer for the oneness of his flock. in sum, ksm offers a compelling alternative to the shadowy world of secret societies. their unwavering adherence to catholic principles, dedication to social justice, and commitment to spreading the gospel through word and deed make them a force for good in a world desperately in need of christ's light. by remaining firmly rooted in the fertile soil of catholic tradition, the order ensures its continued flourishing, a testament to the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 144 enduring power of faith and the transformative strength of christian fellowship. references abubakar, a. (2022). nigeria: a nation with laws that prefers to operate on lawlessness. the cable, 11 may 2022. https://www.thecable.ng/nigeria-a-nation-with-lawwhich-prefers-to-operate-on-lawlessness/. adofo, d.k.y. (2016). ancestral voices: spirit is eternal. scotts valley, ca: createspace. aquinas, t. summa theologica. translated by the fathers of the english dominican p r o v i n c e . h � p s : / / w w w . d o c u m e n t a c a t h o l i c a o m n i a . e u / 0 3 d / 1 2 2 5 1274,_thomas_aquinas,_summa_theologiae_%5b1%5d,_en.pdf. augustine. (2016). the confessions of saint augustine. translated by e.b. pusey. overland park, ks: digireads. aumann, j. (1985). the christian spirituality in the catholic tradition. san francisco, ca: ignatius. axelrod, a. (1998). the international encyclopedia of secret societies and fraternal orders. new york: checkmark. b a c c a n i , a . m . ( n d . ) . t h e k n i g h t s o f t h e h o l y s e e . https://presidenza.governo.it/ufficio_cerimoniale/pubblicazioni/ordinicavaller eschiengsantasede_20150331.pdf. barker, c. e. (2006). secret societies: a reader. london: routledge. browne, s. (2007). secret societies and how they affect our lives today. carlsbad, ca: hay house. catholic church. (2001). the 1917 pio-benedictine code of canon law: in english translation with extensive scholarly apparatus by edward n. peters. san francisco, ca: ignatius. catholic church. (1999). the 1983 code of canon law. washington, dc: canon law society of america. catholic church. (1994a). the catechism of the catholic church. ibadan: pauline. c a t h o l i c i d e n t i t y . ( 2 0 2 0 ) . a c a t h o l i c s p i r i t u a l i t y . h�ps ://catho l i c iden�ty.bne .catho l i c .edu .au/scr ipture/s i tepages/catho l i c spirituality.aspx?csf=1&e=cyvov9. chiegboka, a.b and e.o. ezenweke. (2010). the identity, rights and challenges of catholic knights in the church. ujah: unizik journal of arts and humanities 11(1), 150-182. doi: 10.4314/ujah.v11i1.66315 clement xii (1938). in eminenti, on freemasonry. papal encyclicals online. h�ps://web.archive.org/web/20120212182746/h�p://www.papalencyclicals.net/clem12/c1 2inemengl.htm. congregation for the doctrine of the faith (1983). declaration on masonic associations. https://web.archive.org/web/20010314042333/https://www.vatican.va/roman_c uria/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19831126_declaration -masonic_en.html. dwyer, s. (2019). catholic spirituality: introduction. h�ps://www.catholic.au/s/ar�cle/catholic-spirituality-introduc�on. ekandem, d. (1993). the knights in the catholic church. in r.e. odinkemelu (ed.), knighthood: an instrument for nation building (pp. 109–113). enugu: chuka. introvigne, m. (2000). social aspects of anti-cult movements. lanham, md: university press of america. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 145 thkasper, w. (2004). 40 anniversary of vatican ii decree unitatis redintegratio. h�ps://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/40th-anniversary-of-va�can-ii-decree-unita�sredintegra�o-2328. katzer, f. x. (1895). pastoral. cited in rosen p. (10 march 1904). “what constitutes a secret society.” the catholic telegraph 73(10), p.3. ksm, nigeria. charity. https://ksmnigeria.org/charity/. ksm, nigeria. our history. . h�ps://ksmnigeria.org/our-history/ ksm nigeria. our mission. . h�ps://ksmnigeria.org/our-mission/ ksm, nigeria. (2020). the constitution of the order of the knights of saint mulumba nigeria. enugu: black belt konzult. mbiti, j.s. (1999). african religions and philosophy. 2nd ed. oxford: heinemann. melton, j. g., clark, j. & kelly a. (1990). new age encyclopedia: a guide to the beliefs, concepts, terms, people, and organizations that make up the new global movement towards spiritual development, health and healing, higher consciousness, and related subjects. detroit, mi: gate research. odinkemelu, r.e. (1993). knighthood: an instrument for nation building. enugu: chuka. okafor, j. (2001). knighthood: a secret society? makurdi: onaivi. rosen, p. (1903). the catholic church and secret societies. oakland, ca: university of california libraries. sheldrake, p. (2012). spirituality: a very short introduction. oxford: oxford university press. synder, c.r. and lopez s. j. (2007). positive psychology. oaks, ca: sage. vatican council ii. (1964a). dogmatic constitution on the church, lumen gentium. h�ps://www.va�can.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_va�can_council/documents/vatii_const_19641121_lumen-gen�um_en.html. vatican council ii. (1964b). decree on ecumenism, unitatis redintegratio. h�ps://www.va�can.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_va�can_council/documents/vatii_decree_19641121_unita�s-redintegra�o_en.html. waaijman, k. (2002). spirituality: forms, foundations, methods. leuven: peeters. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 31 feminism and the commercialization of women in contemporary society: the ethical narratives philip osarobu isanbor department of philosophy, seminary of all saints, ekpoma, nigeria philip.isanbor@uniben.edu ochid id: 0000_0002_9128_6467 & andrew onwudinjo institute of humanities, pan atlantic university, lagos, nigeria aonwudinjo@pau.edu.ng abstract the contemporariness of the gender agenda projects the concerns to assess the values of women in relations to trending civilization interests along sexuality and gender. such arrangement showed the level of individual responsiveness and resilience, as some feminist groups with the ethics to overcome the challenges of women in the society, regarding their gender limitations have been in the decreasing tide of values. this is due to the imposing nature of the society on the promotion of women’s weaknesses rather than their strengths as persons. contemporarily, the feminist groups are concerned about the rate of the commercialization or commodification of women, especially the promotion of commerce using female gender as objects of advertisement and enterprises. with this development of values, the female genders are mainly seen or regarded as mainly objects of livedexperiences rather than as subjects of lived-experiences. the commercialization or commodification of women thus poses significant ethical concerns, as it reduces the individual to objects for transaction rather than recognizing their intrinsic worth and autonomy. the practice perpetuates gender inequality, objectification and leads to women exploitation. feminist movement therefore seeks to analyze these ethical implications as crucial attention for fostering a society that values human dignity and promotes fair and respectful treatment of all individuals. employing the expository and phenomenological methods of analysis, the paper projects the importance of ethical educating or reorienting the human society on the values of feminist ethics as approaches in handling the societal perception of women, not be to be objects of trade and business advertisement. it concluded that with proper ethical education or reorientation on the values of women and on the needs to overcoming the growing tide of the commercialization or commodification of women in the society. keywords: commercialization/commoditification, feminist ethics, human values, gender agenda, women introduction the advent of the feminist movement in the recent centuries placed a quest for gender equality in all human spheres. before now, in the ancient ionian era, women are inferior and what they owe the society is just domestic responsibility. this is evident in plato’s republic when he refuted vehemently the participation of women in partisan politics and aristotle annexing this mailto:philip.isanbor@uniben.edu mailto:aonwudinjo@pau.edu.ng igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 32 fact in his reproductive hylomorphism theory where he distinguished man been the form, while women been ordinary matter in the production, that is a common object. these views and many other erroneous thought abrogated the essential and diverse roles of women in the society, as great contributor to the various fields such as education, healthcare, politics, business and many more, thus viewing the feminine gender as a mere commodity. viewing women as objects in society perpetuates harmful stereotypes and reinforces gender inequality. these dehumanizing perspectives can manifest in various forms, from objectifications in media and advertising to unequal treatment in professional and personal spheres. addressing these issues involves challenging societal norms, promoting gender equality, and fostering a culture that values women for their ability rather than reducing them to mere objects. exploring the ethical implications of viewing women as object of commerce raises critical questions about human dignity, equality, and societal values. this perspective not only challenges fundamental principles of respect but also prompts a deeper examination of the consequences on individual well-being and broader social dynamics. thus, this paper seeks to critically evaluate the ethical implication of the idea that views women as an object of commercialization in the society. clarification of terms commercialization: commercialization is the process of bringing new products or services to market. the broader act of commercialization entails production, distribution, marketing, sales, customer support, and other key functions critical to achieving the commercial success of the new product or service. it is also the condition of being focused on the profitable aspects of something, especially to excess. it is to manage on a business basis for profit. the verb commercialize comes from the adjective commercial, “done for financial profits,” and its root, the latin word “commercium” which means ‘trade.” it is when one takes an activity or an organization and manages it so that it results in a profit, one commercializes it. commercialization is sometimes negative because it has a sense of valuing profits over anything else. it can also be positive like the commercialization of life-saving drug when it leaves the lab and hits the market. commercialization refers to the whole process of the business of selling something. the words commercial, commercialize, and commercialization all relate to commerce, which is the exchange of goods and services.1 commercialization which in this context also means “commodification” happens when something or someone turns into a money-making business. it can also be good thing, but it’s often used in the negative, like when the commercialization of a holiday means you just have to buy stuff. meanwhile, commercialism is an attitude or philosophy devoted to supplying goods and services and making profits. the root of commercialism is commerce, which is the buying and selling of things. it can help you remember what commercialism is if you remember that commercials try to sell you things. however, to say something is commercialized, it is used or changed in such a way that it makes money or profits, often in a way that people 1. “commercialization” vocabulary.com, dictionary, vocabulary.com, accessed november 20, 2023, https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary commercialization. https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 33 disapprove of. disapproval, it seems such a pity that a distinguished and honored name should be commercialized in this way. feminism: this is the belief in social, economic, and political equality of the sexes. although largely orientating in the west, feminism is manifested worldwide and is represented by various institutions committed to activity on behalf of women’s rights and interests. it is the belief that women should be allowed the same right, power, and opportunities as men and be treated in the same way, or the set of activities intended to achieve this state. however, feminism is about all gender having equal rights and opportunities. it’s about respecting diverse women’s experiences, identities, knowledge and strengths, and striving to empower all women to realize their full rights. it’s about leveling the playing field between genders, and ensuring that diverse women and girls have the same opportunities in life available to boys and men. meanwhile, we exist to advance and protect the rights of diverse women and girls. at its core, feminism is the belief that women deserve equal social, economic, and political rights and freedoms. over the years, feminism has focused on issues like the right to vote, reproductive and sexual freedom, and equal play. feminism, has also explored racism, gender norms, selfexpression, and much more.2 feminism is the social movement that seeks equal rights for women. widespread concern for women’s rights dates from the enlightenment; one of the first important expressions of the movement was mary wollstonecraft’s a vindication of the rights of women (1792). the 1848 seneca falls convention, convened by elizabeth cady stanton, lucretia mott, and others, called for full legal equality with men, including full educational opportunity and equal compensation; thereafter the woman suffrage movement began to gather momentum.3 gender inequality: this is a human discrimination on the basis of sex or gender causing one sex or gender to be routinely privileged or prioritized over another. gender equality is a fundamental human right and that right is violated by gender-based discrimination. gender equality is, first and foremost, a human right. it implies that women, men, boys and girls of all classes and races participate as equals and have equal value. they enjoy equal access to resources, freedoms and opportunities to exercise control. however, the root causes of gender inequality are gender bias and social norms that restrict women’s rights and opportunities, which together with preference/comparative advantage between men and women, are the root drivers of gender gaps. gender inequality is the prejudicial treatment of people based on their gender while it affects women and girls most prominently, gender inequality is not limited to male/female binary. gender inequality occurs when people face discrimination, fewer opportunities, and increased violence because of their gender: via the effects of economic inequality, less political representation, unequal education, lack of healthcare provision for women, increased social violence on girl-children and women and enequal household 2. “feminism.” merriam-webster.co. dictionary, merriam-webster, accessed november 21, 2023, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/feminism 3. encyclopeadia britannica, 15th ed. (1998), b.c. “feminism.” igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 34 responsibilities. when gender inequality exists in a society, it produces unequal outcomes that hurt not just those targeted because of their gender, but everyone else, too.4 cultural and legal views of women as commodities the idea of women being treated as commodities is reflections of the historically patriarchal and oppressive nature of some societies, where women are seem as objects to be bought, sold, or traded for the benefit of men. this can manifest in various forms, such as forced marriage, human trafficking, and sexual exploitation. treating women as commodities devalues their inherent worth and reinforce harmful gender stereotypes. it perpetuates a systemic inequality where women are viewed as possessions rather than equal individuals with their own autonomy and agency. this dehumanizing treatment of women can lead to physical and emotional abuse, as well as lasting psychological trauma. it is important to challenge and dismantle the mindset that allows women to be viewed as commodities, and instead recognize and respect their inherent dignity and rights as human beings. this involves promoting gender equality, fostering education and empowerment for women, and advocating for the eradication of all forms of exploitation and discrimination. treating women as commodities refers to the practice of viewing and exploiting women as objects that can be bought, sold, or traded for the benefit of others. this dehumanizing perspective diminishes women’s autonomy, agency, and value as individuals.5 it can take various forms, including: 1. forced marriage: in some cultures, women may be married off without their consent, often for financial or social again. they are essentially treated as a commodity that can be traded between families. 2. human trafficking: women and girls re frequently victims of human trafficking for sexual exploitation and forced labor, where they are bought and sold like commodities for profit. 3. sexual exploitation: the commercialization of women’s bodies for sexual gratification whether through pornography, prostitution, or other forms of sex work, reduces women to objects for men’s pleasure, disregarding their consent and wellbeing. 4. mail-order brides: in some instances, women from economically disadvantaged countries are sought by men from wealthier nations who essentially “purchase” them with the promise of a better life, often without considering their agency or desires.6 historical development of women as objects and of commerce and inequality under the foregoing themes, an attempt was made to establish the meaning of the principal concepts in this enterprise, viz., objects of commerce, women and feminine inequality. and from the articulations we found out that the concept describes how women have been treated as commodities and objects of service as well being treated unequally and unjustly which is 4. “gender inequality” vocabulary.com, dictionary, vocabulary.com, accessed november 21, 2023, https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary. gender inequality. 5. “commodities” vocabulary.com, dictionary, vocabulary.com, accessed november 25, 2023, https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary. commodities. 6. “commodities” vocabulary.com, dictionary, vocabulary.com, accessed november 25, 2023, https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary. commodities. https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 35 summarily called in technical terms the commodification of women. now, in this section we shall take a voyage down memory lane to ascertain how this practice has evolved from the time of the ancient civilizations down to our contemporary era. this shall be treated under different demarcations, namely; the ancient era, medieval era, modern era and contemporary era the ancient civilizations and the commodification and unequal treatment of women taking a study of the ancient civilizations on the topic under review with express focus on one particular group would result to arriving at a particularly narrow and limited view of the situation in general. thus we shall consider the ancient athenian civilization, ancient mesopotamian civilization, ancient egyptian civilization and lastly the ancient eastern civilization. now athens, one of the city-states in ancient greece is hallmarked by the democracy system in operation. we must note however, that the democracy in practice today was developed from and differs slightly from that of the one practiced in athens. while it was the rule the majority, this majority count was determined by the votes cast by the male heads of family. by implication, the women did not have suffrage nor political rights. in more specific terms, women ancient athens had no legal rights whatsoever, they could not own property, they could not vote neither could they participate in government.7 their role as defined by the society was to serve as housekeepers and bear children, especially male children or as william o’neal puts it, they were primarily meant to be wife and mother.8 it also noted that in ancient athens, even female children were not allowed the opportunity of being given formal education. h. i marrou opines that there is no mention of formal education of athenian girls in the classical period.9instead the girls were to be with their mothers gleaning domestic skills such as wool spinning, cloth making and food preparation, the art of housekeeping and marriageability as these were very much needed so as to ensure matrimony. in egypt, however, the case was apparently different. women took up a wide range of responsibilities both in public sphere apart from being home keepers and child bearers. the egyptian women had freedom to indulge in commerce, own properties, sue and be sued and even represent their husband in some specific rituals and activities. lehman and troolin held asserted that this way of life was rooted in the egyptian doctrine of ma’at which encouraged harmony and balance and equality in all areas of life.10 equally lehman and troolin remarking on the situation of things in ancient egypt, avowed that egypt were a nation ahead of time.11 this is owing to the fact that egyptian female were seen and held as equal to their male counterparts which is new trend in our world today under the ship of feminism. despite the disparity in the treatment of women within these two societies discussed more attention would be given to the situation of classical athens so long as the topic in question is concerned. 7cedar school, “women in ancient greece,”accessed on december 1st 2023, https://www.cedarbankschool.westlothian.org.uk 8 william j o’neal, “the status of women in ancient athens,” in international social science review 68, no. 3(1993): 115-121. 9 h.i marrou, a history of education in antiquity (madison: the university of wisconsin press, 1956), 197. 10candace lehman and amy troolin, “egyptian women, rights, roles and modern treatment,” accessed on 1st december, 2023, https://www.study.com/academy/lesson/egyptian-women-royalty-privileges-tradition. 11lehman and troolin, “egyptian women, rights, roles”. https://www.study/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 36 the medieval era and the commodification of women and preponderance of feminine inequality the medieval era was significantly marked by the predominance of the church and aristocracy. in the medieval era, women were often viewed as second-class citizens and faced significant limitations and restrictionsranging from being conceived as deceitful, sexual, innocent or incompetent.12 they were sometimes objectified and exploited for commercial purposes, such as prostitution, due to poor living conditions and poverty. equally women were widely considered lower than men, thus not worthy of performing the same task or activities that men typically did.13 while women from more modest backgrounds worked alongside men in medieval guilds, they still faced challenges and restrictions, including lower pay and limited opportunities for advancement. the lives of women in the middle ages were determined by the church and the aristocracy, and women were not passive victims of the religious and political patriarchy, despite the restrictions they faced. talking about education of females in the middle ages, only those who opted to be nuns, life of dedicated service of god and the poor, had the opportunity of a much more thorough education. in contrast, a woman’s education did not go beyond basic reading abilities coupled with instructions on how to do homely activities.14 in the aspect of politics and governance women were voiceless and law was man’s law. the modern era and the commodification of women the modern era witnessed a seismic shift from dictatorship of the church and aristocratic elites over the life of people to the rise of science and technological discoveries. with this new discovery came also new forms and ways in which the commodification and unequal treatment of women was perpetrated. during this era, women were often treated as inferior to men and faced significant discrimination. women were depicted as weak, dutiful, and inferior to men, and their intelligence and judgement were often regarded with contempt. the industrial revolution also had a major impact on the treatment of women, with gender being a significant influence on salary. women tended to receive between one third to one half of a man average salary, and many were forced to enter the workforce to provide for their families, often facing harsh conditions and low pay. the gender wage gap during the industrial revolution was based on real differences between male and female productivity, and women were sometimes excluded from industries where labour markets were less competitive by men’s distributional coalition, which uses discriminatory language to justify their attempt to maintain higher wages by excluding women.15 in the modern era women continued to face discrimination and inequality, with gender inequality being a key driver of poverty and a fundamental denial of women’s rights.16 12 “women in medieval literature and society,” accessed on december 1st 2023, https://www.sites.udel.edu/britlitwiki/women-in-medieval-literature-and-society. 13 “women in medieval literature and society.” 14 “treatment of women in medieval times,” accessed on december 1st 2023, https://www.bartleby.com/essay/women-the-roles-of-women-in-medieval-times. 15 eric schneider, review of gender, work and wages in industrial revolution britain, technology and culture 52, no.1(2011): 195-196. 16 “gender justice and women’s right,” accessed on december 1st 2023, https://www.oxfam.org/. https://www.sites.udel.edu/britlitwiki/women-in-medieval-literature-and-society igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 37 contemporary manifestations of women as object of commerce it is quite obvious that women have been subjugated because of their personality roles in the society. hence with this stereotype, they are seen as an end to a means; be that as it may, in our society today the commodification of women, treating them as objects for commercial gain, raises significant ethical concerns. this practice encompasses various forms, including sex trafficking,17 forced labor, and exploitation in the entertainment and advertising industries. the ethical implications of treating women as objects of commerce are multifaceted and encompass issues related to human rights, gender equality, and societal attitudes towards women.18 hence, we shall be looking at the modern manifestation of women as an object of commerce that can be seen in various aspects of society, including advertising, the entertainment industry, and the globalized world. advertising: women are often objectified in advertising; with the idea that "sex sells" this means that women's bodies and sexuality are used to promote products and services, reducing their value to mere objects for profit.19 the objectification of women in the world of advertising, today women have often been objectified and used as a tool to sell products. this practice has been prevalent for decades and has sparked numerous debates about the portrayal of women in marketing campaigns.the objectification of women in advertising can be seen across various mediums such as print, television, and digital platforms. it is a complex issue that raises questions about gender equality, societal norms, and the impact of such representations on individuals and society as a whole. the objectification of women in advertising has deep roots in history. throughout the 20th century, advertisements frequently depicted women as objects of desire, often emphasizing their physical appearance and using sexualized imagery to capture attention.20 this approach perpetuated stereotypes and reinforced traditional gender roles, positioning women as passive objects rather than active participants in society. for instance, in africa during the slave trade era, some african women were used as an entertainer in british gathering such that he africa women will be force to showcase her body because of the amazing beauty which most african women possess so in other to enhance their racial discrimination towards africans as (black), who often are regarded as apes. however, the portrayal of women as objects in advertising has significant implications for society.21 it not only perpetuates unrealistic beauty standards but also contributes to the normalization of gender-based discrimination. research has shown that 17alina sajed, women as objects and commodities. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190846626.013.363 18alina sajed, women as objects and commodities 11 january 2018 https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190846626.013.363 19 kellie, dax j et al. “what drives female objectification? an investigation of appearance-based interpersonal perceptions and the objectification of women.” plos one vol. 14,8 e0221388. 23 aug. 2019, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0221388 20 kathy l. peiss, american women and the making of modern consumer culture 1998 “the journal for multi-media history” 21kaydee gilson, https://westminsteru.edu/student-life/the-myriad/the-commodification-and-exploitation-ofwomen-from-the-core-to-the-periphery-in-relation-to-the-united-states-and-thailand.html igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 38 exposure to objectifying portrayals of women can lead to negative psychological effects, including body dissatisfaction and low self-esteem among both men and women. in recent years, there has been a growing awareness of the harmful effects of objectifying women in advertising. many brands and marketers are now striving to adopt more inclusive and empowering representations of women in their campaigns.22 this shift reflects a broader societal movement towards gender equality and the recognition of the importance of diverse and respectful portrayals in advertising. meanwhile as it stands now in our societies, governments and regulatory bodies should also take steps to address the objectification of women in advertising.23 some countries like the united state of america, england, germany, switzerland e.t.c. have implemented guidelines and regulations that aim to promote responsible and non-exploitative depictions of women in marketing communications. these measures serve as a means to hold advertisers accountable for their representations and encourage ethical practices within the industry.in all, the objectification of women in advertising is a multifaceted issue with far-reaching implications. while progress has been made towards more respectful portrayals, there is still work to be done to challenge harmful stereotypes and promote positive representations of women in marketing. entertainment industry: in the world of pop music, artists are often expected to conform to certain rules, including objectifying their bodies to gain fame and success.24 this is also evident in the film and television industries, where women are often portrayed as objects of desire or as mere decoration. the entertainment industry has a long history of treating women as commodities, using their physical appearance and sexuality to attract audiences and generate revenue. these practices are evident in various forms of entertainment, including film, television, music, and live performances.25 women are often objectified and exploited for their looks, talent, and demand, leading to a culture of commodification that can have detrimental effects on women’s well-being and societal perceptions; women are reduced to their physical attributes rather than being valued for their skills and talents. this is perpetuated through marketing strategies, media representation, and societal norms that prioritize women’s appearance over their abilities. as a result, women are often portrayed as commodities to be consumed by the audience, reinforcing harmful stereotypes and unrealistic beauty standards.26 the exploitation of women’s sexuality is another prevalent issue in the entertainment industry. female artists, actors, and performers are often pressured to conform to sexualized roles or personas in order to gain visibility and success. this can lead to a culture of exploitation where women are valued primarily for their sex appeal rather than their artistic contributions. the 22 joseph kay women on the market-luce irigaray on december 13, 2012. https://libcom.org/article/womenmarket-luce-irigaray 23 kilbourne, jean. “can’t buy my love: how advertising changes the way we think and feel.” free press paperbacks, 2000. 24 the commodification of women’s bodies by ruth akinradewo 25kellie, dax j et al. “what drives female objectification? an investigation of appearance-based interpersonal perceptions and the objectification of women.” plos one vol. 14,8 e0221388. 23 aug. 2019, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0221388. 26fredrickson, barbara l., and tomi-ann roberts. “objectification theory: toward understanding women’s lived experiences and mental health risks.” psychology of women quarterly, vol. 21, no. 2, 1997, pp. 173-206. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 39 prevalence of sexual harassment and abuse further underscores the systemic issues within the industry.27 the sex industry is a complex and multifaceted industry that encompasses a wide range of activities, including prostitution, pornography, and sex trafficking.28 exploitation within the sex industry refers to the coercion, manipulation, and abuse of individuals for financial gain or other benefits. this exploitation can take various forms, which should not be limited to human trafficking, but forced labor, sexual slavery, and the commercial sexual exploitation of children.29 we shall be looking at some various forms of exploitation such: human trafficking involves the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of persons through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. in the context of the sex industry, individuals may be trafficked for forced prostitution or other forms of sexual exploitation.30 in this view, women are mostly used as a tool in carrying out this act such that it goes against the fundamental human right because some traffickers are meant to watch or play as a guard towards human trafficking. in some cases, individuals within the sex industry are subjected to forced labor, where they are coerced into providing sexual services against their will. this can involve physical and psychological abuse to maintain control over the individuals. sexual slavery refers to situations where individuals are held against their will and forced to engage in sexual activities for the financial gain of others, this form of exploitation often involves severe physical and emotional abuse.31 however, another aspect which is one of the most distressing aspects of exploitation in the sex industry is the commercial sexual exploitation of children. this is evident in our society today, because sex predators are now in the verge of abusing children who are considered as vulnerable in the societies meanwhile their vulnerability is rampart but corrective measures are to be put in place by government agencies, so as to enable smooth and healthy society. children are particularly vulnerable to exploitation and may be forced into prostitution or pornography production. hence, exploitation within the sex industry is a pervasive issue that requires comprehensive efforts at legal, social, and economic levels to address effectively. understanding the various forms of exploitation, its contributing factors, impact on victims, and ongoing efforts to combat it is crucial in working towards a world free from such abuses.32 online platform and image commodification: women on online platforms are complex and multifaceted issue that encompasses various aspects of gender, technology, and commerce. the digital age has brought about new challenges and opportunities in the way women are portrayed, marketed, and consumed online. from social media to e-commerce websites, women are often depicted as objects of desire, beauty, and consumerism, leading to concerns 27united nations on crime and drugs https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/humantrafficking.html. 28 united nation office on drugs and crime, an introduction to human trafficking: vulnerability, impact and action. 29united nations on crime and drugs https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/humantrafficking.html. 30goffman, erving. “gender advertisements.” harper & row, 1979. 31banet-weiser, sarah. “empowered: popular feminism and popular misogyny.” duke university press books, 2018. 32dines, gail. “pornland: how porn has hijacked our sexuality.” beacon press, 2010. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 40 about their representation, and the perpetuation of harmful stereotypes. through online platforms, it is a longstanding and concerning issue. in various industries, women have been objectified and marketed as commodities, reducing their worth to their physical appearance or societal stereotypes. in online platforms, including social media, e-commerce sites, and other digital spaces, have both perpetuated and challenged this trend.33 this commodification of women on online platforms through image-based marketing strategies has wide ranging implications for individuals, society, and regulatory frameworks. addressing these complex issues requires a multi-faceted approach that involves stakeholders from various sectors working together to promote more inclusive, respectful representations of women in digital spaces. platforms frequently use images of women in ways that may objectify or stereotype them. whether its clothing, beauty products, or various goods, marketing strategies often rely on using women's images to sell their products; this can reinforce gender stereotypes and contribute to the perception of women as objects meant solely for consumption. online marketing and the values of women: it is truism, that influencers and celebrities often promote products and services by leveraging their image and lifestyle; contributing to the commodification of their personality. this phenomenon extends to e-commerce websites where women’s bodies are used to sell products, perpetuating unrealistic beauty standards and reinforcing the notion that women’s worth is tied to their physical appearance.34 hence, the objectification and commodification of women’s on online platforms can have detrimental effects on their self-esteem, mental health, and overall wellbeing. constant exposure to idealized images can lead to body dissatisfaction, comparison, and feelings of inadequacy among women. moreover, the portrayal of women as objects for consumption can contribute to the normalization of gender-based violence, harassment, and discrimination. the perpetuation of narrow beauty standards through commodified images further marginalizes individuals who do not fit into these limited ideals. gender disparities in paid opportunities: gender disparities in pay and opportunities persist in the entertainment industry, with women often receiving lower compensation than their male counterparts for similar work. additionally, women are frequently underrepresented in key creative roles such as directing, producing, and writing. this lack of representation limits the diverse perspectives and narratives that are brought to the forefront in entertainment, perpetuating a cycle of commodification and marginalization. commercialization of women and some ethical narratives aristotle it's crucial to remember that, by today's standards, aristotle frequently held views about women that were highly problematic. according to him, women are less valuable than males and need to be viewed as "objects of commerce." notwithstanding, it remains imperative to scrutinize the ethical ramifications of these perspectives, given their significant impact on subsequent intellectuals and their continued applicability in contemporary society.35 the notion that women ought to be viewed as property or as things that can be purchased and sold is one of the 33https://westminsteru.edu/student-life/the-myriad/the-commodification-and-exploitation-of-women-fromthe-core-to-the-periphery-in-relation-to-the-united-states-and-thailand.html. 34 zoovu https://blog.zoovu.com/women-vs-men-gender-differences-in-purchase-decision-making/ 35 "the impact of aristotle's views on women as commodities," in encyclopedia of philosophy, vol. 1, ed. donald m. borchert (detroit: macmillan reference usa, 2006), p. 896. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 41 main ethical ramifications of aristotle's perspective on women. this can result in a number of issues, such as a disregard for the autonomy and rights of women. aristotle's perspective also has an ethical implication in that it reinforces a patriarchal society in which women are viewed as inferior to males. 36numerous problems may result from this, such as a lack of chances and respect for women in the workplace as well as a failure to acknowledge the accomplishments of women. it may also result in a misogynistic and violent culture towards women. there are several ethical ramifications to aristotle's conception of women as commodities, many of which persist to this day. the ethical implications include impact on women's healthcare access. access to vital healthcare treatments, like reproductive health, is frequently withheld to women who are viewed as commodities, which can have detrimental effects on their overall health and wellness. the effect on women's financial standing and capacity to provide for their family is a further cause for concern. poverty and economic instability may result from this, which may then encourage more marginalization and exploitation. women's mental health and self-esteem can suffer greatly from the dehumanizing component of seeing them as commodities. more so, possibility of exploitation of women is one further ethical implication of aristotle's perspective. women may be perceived as commodities that can be used for financial advantage if they are perceived as commodities. prostitution and other detrimental activities like human trafficking may result from this. it may also result in a culture of objectification, where women are not regarded as human beings with intrinsic worth and dignity but rather as objects. from the perspective of objectification, which can affect how women are seen, treated, and valued in society as a whole, women who are seen through a prism of intrinsic inferiority run the risk of having their humanity and agency ignored. jean jacque rousseau prominent philosopher of the eighteenth century jean-jacques rousseau had strong opinions about the place of women in society. his views on women as commodities were entwined with his more general conceptions of women's nature and function. the gender roles and social conventions that were common in rousseau's day strongly influenced his ideas. 37rousseau felt that a woman's main duty was to serve her husband and children, which led him to view women as commodities. this can lead to low self-esteem of women who might feel that that is all they can contribute to the society he maintained that since women's primary function was to take care of the home, they shouldn't be permitted to possess property or carry on business. according to rousseau, women were expected to be submissive to men and to be loyal to their families. this viewpoint, which was consistent with the patriarchal beliefs of the time, saw women as objects to be used for the advantage of males. hence, rousseau's views on women's roles in society were shaped by his larger philosophical system, especially by his notion of the "natural" order. 38he argued that women were naturals at some things, which fit them for 36 "aristotle's views on women," in the ethics of aristotle: a new translation, ed. jonathan barnes (new york: oxford university press, 2014), p. 20. 37 "the impact of rousseau's views on women," in the cambridge companion to rousseau, ed. patrick riley (cambridge: cambridge university press, 2001), 80. 38 patrick riley, the general will before rousseau: the transformation of the divine into the civic (princeton: princeton university press, 2015), 19. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 42 particular roles in the household. rousseau felt that these innate characteristics made women unfit to participate actively in the political or economic arenas, therefore confirming their perceived inferiority to males. moreover, rousseau's conceptions of the division of labour within the family also influenced his views on women as commodities. 39he supported a conventional division of labour in which women were given interior obligations such as caring for the family and nurturing, while males were allocated outward ones like supporting the family through trade and commerce. this distinction served to strengthen the idea that women were more valuable for their contributions to the home than for their capacity for economic action. the dominant socioeconomic structures and gender dynamics of the eighteenth century are reflected in rousseau's ideas on women as commodities and in his more general conception of women's place in society. 40despite controversy and criticism, his theories provide insightful perspectives on historical perceptions of gender roles and how women are treated in social contexts. simone beauvoir’s view beauvoir contended that women were frequently viewed as goods or as exchangeable sexual commodities. she thought that the objectification of women had several detrimental repercussions, one of which being the denial of women's human potential. additionally, she contended that by treating women like objects, this hindered them from being recognized as whole moral agents and strengthened gender stereotypes. according to beauvoir, women's objectification prevents them from realizing their full potential as people. 41society denied women the chance to grow into unique, independent individuals with full intellectual potential by treating them as nothing more than objects. consequently, this prolonged their enslavement and curtailed their prospects for individual and occupational development. beauvoir further argued that treating women like objects upheld societal attitudes that weakened women's agency and moral standing and reinforced gender stereotypes. 42women were denied the respect and recognition they needed as complete moral individuals capable of making significant contributions to society, by being reduced to objects of desire or trade. for feminist thought and activity, beauvoir's examination of the objectification of women as commodities has had a profound impact. her work has influenced current conversations about gender equality, individuality, and dispelling damaging stereotypes that restrict the opportunities and agency available to women. furthermore, the notion that women's liberation must be linked to the emancipation of all people, and that patriarchy is an oppressive system, is one of the most important consequences of beauvoir's work. 43she maintained that women's troubles were a component of a wider system of inequality rather than being distinct from other social problems. she felt that in order to eradicate this inequity, society needed to be completely restructured, with changes made to 39 jane rendall, the origins of modern feminism: women in britain, france and italy (new york: palgrave macmillan, 2012), 45. 40 jean-jacques rousseau, emile, or on education, trans. allan bloom (new york: basic books, 1979), p. 24. 41 simone de beauvoir, the second sex, trans. h. m. parshley (new york: knopf, 1953), 437. 42 beauvoir, the second sex, 529. 43 beauvoir, the second sex, 634 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 43 how families are viewed, how people interact economically, and how work is defined. hence, beauvoir proposed that women should be able to define themselves through their own experiences and actions rather than through their biological sex. this idea is related to her concept of "existentialism," which is the belief that people create their own identities through their choices and actions. 44another implication of beauvoir's work is that people should be judged based on their achievements and actions rather than on their gender or other biological characteristics. john stuart mill’s view prominent political economist and philosopher of the 19th century john stuart mill was a fervent supporter of women's rights. mill expressed his opinions on women's oppression and the need for social reform to solve this issue in his seminal work "the subjection of women." 45he argued that patriarchal societal institutions were responsible for the unfair treatment of women. according to mill, giving women the same legal and educational rights as men will not only address this injustice but also help build a more just and equitable society that benefits all people. mill's utilitarian ideology, which emphasizes maximizing happiness and well-being for the largest number of people, is the foundation of his perspective on the subordination of women. according to him, depriving women of their rights goes against the concepts of fairness and utility and impedes the advancement of society. 46moreover, mill maintained that the cultivation of a genuinely meritocratic society depended on judging people according to their innate qualities and character rather than their gender or other unchangeable traits. more so, "the subjection of women" is still regarded as a foundational text in the history of feminist political theory because it offered a rigorous philosophical framework for arguing for gender equality and questioning long-standing social conventions. mill's views are still relevant in today's debates about gender parity and the continuous fight for women's rights. mill claimed that women should be granted the same rights to liberty as males, allowing them to fully actualize their potential. he defined liberty as the freedom to follow one's own objectives and interests without undue interference from others. 47mill's larger philosophy of individual autonomy and self-determination is the basis of his view of liberty as the cornerstone of gender equality. he argued that a person's ability to make decisions about their life shouldn't be restricted by social norms and traditions. this position is consistent with his support for women's rights, as he felt that giving women equal freedom would enable them to actively engage in society and further civilization. furthermore, mill rejects paternalistic views and the imposition of traditional gender roles, which is highlighted by his emphasis on liberty as a way to gender equality. 48he made the argument that everyone, regardless of gender, ought to be free to choose their own paths and follow their dreams without being restricted by arbitrary social norms. in conclusion, the core of john stuart mill's arguments regarding gender equality was his conception of liberty that is, the ability to follow one's own objectives and interests 44 beauvoir, the second sex, 635 45 john stuart mill, the subjection of women, ed. susan mendus (london: penguin, 1998), 16. 46 stuart mill, the subjection of women, 60. 47 stuart mill, the subjection of women, 65 48 john stuart mill, "the subjection of women," in john stuart mill, on liberty and the subjection of women, ed. alan ryan (new york: penguin, 1987), p. 173. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 44 free from external interference. he aimed to remove obstacles that prevented women from fully engaging in society and reaching their full potential by promoting equal liberty for them. evaluation treating women as commodities is deeply rooted in patriarchal and oppressive attitudes that have been perpetuated through cultural, social, and economic practices. it not only exploits women but also contribution to systemic gender inequality and reinforces harmful stereotypes. however, addressing this issue requires challenging traditional gender roles, advocating for women’s rights and empowerment, promoting education and economic opportunities for women, and combating the underlying social and economic factors that perpetuate the commodification of women. it also involves creating and enforcing laws and policies that protect women from exploitation and providing support for those who have been victimized. ultimately, it requires a concerted effort to change societal attitudes and norms to value and respect women as equal. flowing from the cultural patriarchal understanding, women in the society are often subjected to domestic functions founded on the belief that it is their sole responsibility to compliment men in marital life. this kind of subjugation shows the level of stereotype that exists from the time of old. this attitude towards the women placed them in the inferior position in marital life and shows the oppressive nature where women are seen and bought or sold, or traded in marriage. this conception often leads to forced marriage, without the consent of the lady thus leads to human trafficking and sexual exploitation. these attitudes towards women portray a systematic inequality where women can only be seen as possession rather than individuals with dignity and distinctive equal right and autonomy. this is a call to challenge and dismantle the erroneous mindset that viewed women as inferior to men in the society. the feminist movement therefore grabs the need to request for human dignity in both political, social and economic spheres of life. this movement advocates abolishing the cultural belief system that run through the marital life. little wonder that some members of the feminist movement refuse to marry and prefer to be a single mother rather than being an object in marital bondage. hence it seeks for the recognition of respect that is inherent in all human person, and call for self-dignity and rights as human beings. it requires the need to see women also as a valuable gender that could contribute to the wellbeing of human society, promoting gender equality, fostering education and empowerment for women and need to eradicate all form or discrimination. notably in the ancient ionia era, women do not have suffrage nor political right, thy have no legal right of which they could not own property, vote or participate in government. this could raise the question of the main purposes in the society. their role was to serve as housekeepers and bar children. all these boiled down to the opinion that only sees women as object of domestic responsibilities. this opinion is obvious in many of our rural contemporary society, where illiterate is t its peak and women are seen as object that only supplies children and do their house shores, thus not to involve in partisan politics or decision making in the society. the medieval era recorded to be the era of the church and aristocracy portrays women seen as second class citizens. this is also evident in today’s society where women in the religious igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 45 spheres are not been allowed to take some functions as men do. the leaders of the church in most cases are men, mainly because women are seen within the worshipping centers as inferior in spirit and divine possessiveness. they are faced with many restrictions even in the traditional belief where women of the houses are restricted from performing some official ritual ceremony because they are being seen as unclean. it is quite obvious in the contemporary time that women in most cases are seen as means to an end and object of sexual gratification. these include the trends of sex trafficking, breast milk bank, forced labor, victims of rape, and exploitation in the entertainment and advertising industries. women nudes are being used as object of advertisement s it is belief that it quickly appeal to human emotions more than that of men. entertainment industries used women as object to gain many more customers and patronage, for instance is the case or strippers in the night clubs and beer parlors. it is notable that in today’s society, employees that work in the social centers are mostly women of which because of their struggle to meet daily needs are being raped, molested, exploited and been abused in many ways without any legal refinement. more also, women are often objectified with the notion that ‘sex sells’ meaning that women’s bodies and sexuality are used to promote products and services, reducing their value to mere objects for profit. this centered around the conception that their sexual displays appeal to sexual emotions, those eradicating the religious notion that the human body is the temple of god conclusion the issue of women inequality that result from the erroneous conception of seeing women as object of commerce is an existential concern that exist and still persist in the society. we understand that, for instance, the use of commodified images of women influences consumer behavior by shaping perceptions of beauty, desirability, and social status. marketing strategies often rely on objectifying representations of women to create aspirational narratives that link products or services with an idealized lifestyle.49 this can lead to the reinforcement of traditional gender roles and stereotypes, as well as the reinforcement of consumerist culture that equates women’s value with their ability to consume or embody certain ideals. so, in addressing the objectification and commodification of women on online platforms presents regulatory challenges due to the global nature of the internet and varying legal frameworks across jurisdictions. while some countries have implemented measures to combat harmful representations of women in advertising and media, enforcement remains a significant challenge in the digital landscape. therefore, the rampart trends that seen women as object of commercialization remain a perennial issue in all sphere of human life even in the midst of the present feminist movement. in all, there is a need to call for the recognition of human dignity without sexual discrimination or bias, as the paper requests for sexual equality and the respect for human dignity irrespective of the gender of the individual. 49 kellie dj, blake kr, brooks rc. what drives female objectification? an investigation of appearance-based interpersonal perceptions and the objectification of women. 2019;14(8):e0221388. published 2019 aug 23. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0221388 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 46 bibliography "aristotle's views on women," in the ethics of aristotle: a new translation. edited by jonathan barnes. new york: oxford university press, 2014. "the impact of aristotle's views on women as commodities," in encyclopedia of philosophy, vol.1, edited by donald m. borchert. detroit: macmillan reference usa, 2006. "the impact of rousseau's views on women." in the cambridge companion to rousseau. edited by patrick riley. cambridge: cambridge university press, 2001. “treatment of women in medieval times.” accessed on december 1st 2023, https://www.bartleby.com/essay/women-the-roles-of-women-in-medievaltimes. “women in medieval literature and society.” accessed on december 1st 2023, https://www.sites.udel.edu/britlitwiki/women-in-medieval-literature-andsociety. alina sajed, women as objects and commodities 11 january 2018 https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190846626.013.363 beauvoir, simone. the second sex, trans. h. m. parshley. new york: knopf, 1953. candace lehman and amy troolin. “egyptian women, rights, roles and modern treatment.” accessed on 1st december, 2023. https://www.study.com/academy/lesson/egyptian women-royalty-privileges-tradition. cedar school, “women in ancient greece,”accessed on december 1st 2023, https://www.cedarbankschool.westlothian.org.uk dines, gail. “pornland: how porn has hijacked our sexuality.” beacon press, 2010. https://westminsteru.edu/student-life/the-myriad/the-commodification-andexploitation of-women-from-the-core-to-the-periphery-in-relation-to-the-unitedstates-and thailand.html encyclopeadia britannica, 15th ed. (1998), b.c. “feminism.” “gender inequality” vocabulary.com, dictionary, vocabulary.com, accessed november 21, 2023, https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary. gender inequality. eric schneider, review of gender, work and wages in industrial revolution britain, technology and culture 52, no.1(2011): 195-196. isanbor, p. o. (2024). feminist ethics, single motherhood and the question of child development. the progress: a journal of multidisciplinary studies, vol.5, no. 2, pp. 24-33. joseph kay. women on the market-luce irigaray on december 13, 2012. https://libcom.org/article/women-market-luce-irigaray kanu i. a. (2017). igwebuikeconomics: towards an inclusive economy for economic development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3. no. 6. 113-140. kanu i. a. (2017). sources of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. 9. 1. pp. 1-23. kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. https://www.sites.udel.edu/britlitwiki/women-in-medieval-literature-and-society https://www.sites.udel.edu/britlitwiki/women-in-medieval-literature-and-society https://www.study.com/academy/lesson/egyptian https://www.study.com/academy/lesson/egyptian https://westminsteru.edu/student-life/the-myriad/the-commodification-and-exploitation https://westminsteru.edu/student-life/the-myriad/the-commodification-and-exploitation https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary https://libcom.org/article/women-market-luce-irigaray igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 8, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 47 kanu, a. i. (2017c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 7. pp. 165-183. kanu, a. i. (2017d). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 6. pp. 16-50. kanu, a. i. (2017f). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. pp. 153-160. kanu, i. a. (2010). towards an african cultural renaissance. professor bassey andah journal of cultural studies. volume 3, pp. 146-155. kanu, i. a. (2012). a metaphysical epistemological study of african medical practitioners. in o. e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (2012). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 227-240). nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2012). being qua belongingness: the provenance and implications of pantaleon’s redefinition of being. uche: journal of the department of philosophy, university of nigeria, nsukka. vol. 17. pp. 57-58. kaydee gilson. accessed on december 1st 2023. https://westminsteru.edu/student life/themyriad/the-commodification-and-exploitation-of-women-from-thecore-to-the periphery-in-relation-to-the-united-states-and-thailand.html. kellie, d. j, blake, k. r, & brooks, r. c. what drives female objectification? an investigation on appearance-based interpersonal perceptions and the objectification of women. 2019;14(8):0221388. published 2019 aug 23. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0221388 mackinnon, catharine. towards a feminist theory of the state. cambridge: harvard university press, 1989. marrou, h. a history of education in antiquity. madison: the university of wisconsin press,1956. mill, john stuart. "the subjection of women." in john stuart mill, on liberty and the subjection of women. edited by alan ryan. new york: penguin, 1987. mill, john stuart. the subjection of women, ed. susan mendus. london: penguin, 1998. peiss, kathy. american women and the making of modern consumer culture 1998 “the journal for multi-media history.” rendall, jane. the origins of modern feminism: women in britain, france and italy. new york: palgrave macmillan, 2012. riley, patrick. the general will before rousseau: the transformation of the divine into the civic. princeton: princeton university press, 2015. rousseau, jean-jacques. on education. tranlated by allan bloom. new york: basic books, 1979. sarah, banet-weiser. “empowered: popular feminism and popular misogyny.” duke university press books, 2018. william j o’neal, “the status of women in ancient athens,” in international social sciencereview 68, no. 3(1993): 115-121. women’s lived experiences and mental health risks.” psychology of women quarterly, vol. 21, no. 2, (1997). 173-206. https://westminsteru.edu/student%09life/themyriad/the-commodification-and https://westminsteru.edu/student%09life/themyriad/the-commodification-and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 132 globalisation and development challenges in nigeria thankgod festus lilly-inia, ph.d department of political and administrative studies university of port harcourt, choba & michael okiemute okore, ph.d department of political science ignatius ajuru university of education, rumuolumeni & tommy enodienetuk enodien, ph.d. department of political and administrative studies university of port harcourt, choba. abstract this study examined globalisation and the development challenges in nigeria. the opening of national borders, markets and economies of nations for the free flow of goods and services, which globalisation seeks, has further deepened economic development among developing countries, particularly in nigeria. this is so because nigeria and indeed other developing countries lack the capital and technology to compete with those of the industrialised countries. the study aimed to examine the impact of globalisation on nigeria’s developmental challenges. the study adopted the dependency theory developed by raul prebisch in the 1950s. the methodology deployed for the study was the secondary method. it involves the collection of data from such sources as textbooks, newspapers, magazines and seminar papers, among others. the study found that nigeria’s development challenges are numerous, including: poverty, insecurity, unemployment, corruption, poor leadership and social inequality among others. the study recommends that nigeria needs to delink from the global capitalist system. the global market was not established to address the economic needs of nigeria, but rather it was established to advance the economic interests of western industrialised nations. on that premise, nigeria needs to look inward in her quest for economic development. keywords: globalisation, development, poverty, unemployment, gross domestic product (gdp) introduction globalisation refers to the amplification of universal social relations which tie distant localities in such a way that local happenings are influenced by events occurring miles away and vice versa. this view embodies some interrelated ideas of ‘accelerating interdependence’. accelerating interdependence is understood to be the growing intensity of international enmeshment among national economies and societies such that developments in one country have an impact on another country. time-space compression refers to how globalisation appears to shrink geographical distance and time. in a world of near-rapid communication, distance and time no longer seem to be major limitations on the patterns of human organisation and interaction (mcgraw, 2012). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 133 globalisation seeks to create a global village through the shrinking of diverse cultures, ideas, people, economies etc. the advent of a global economy and culture can be described as a network society that is grounded in new communications and information technology (castell, 2013). information and technology are the propelling force behind globalisation. some scholars, such as ake (1984) and egware (1989) view globalisation as the continuation of modernisation and an agent of imperialism which militates against the wealth, freedom, democracy and happiness of developing countries. these scholars view globalisation as harmful and perceive it as a force that brings about increased domination and control by wealthier and overdeveloped countries over the poor and underdeveloped countries. they feel that it widens the gap between the ‘haves’ and ‘have not’ (ake, 1984). the misery, poverty, unemployment and inequality, among other social squalor bedeviling developing countries, can be attributed to globalisation. globalisation has compounded the development of developing countries, especially those of africa and nigeria in particular. development that is supposed to be people-centred and oriented has been focused on profit and wealth generation rather than the satisfaction of human needs. the marxian view of development laid emphasis on man as the epicentre of genuine development. according to the marxists, development begins with man and ends with man. the nigerian state has gone through different relationships of control, domination and exploitation, beginning from imperialism to colonialism and now globalisation. these relationships were never favourable to the nigerian people nor did they address their development challenges. imperialism and colonialism exploited the resources of the nigerian state (human and material resources). under imperialism, nigeria’s raw materials were bought at cheaper prices and the finished products were sold at exorbitant prices to nigeria’s markets. globalisation, which preaches the unification of national markets and economies, has not helped in addressing the development aspirations of nigerians. the opening of national markets, economies and borders, which globalisation seeks, is not intended to fast-track development in nigeria but rather to deepen the misery, poverty, and unemployment and widen the inequality gap in the international system. statement of the problem development issues have become a recurring issue in nigeria, coupled with the series of contradictions inherent in every epoch of nigerian society; the country has passed through different stages ranging from primitive to slave society, colonialism, decolonisation, neocolonialism and globalisation. of all these stages, globalisation seems to have a debilitating negative impact on nigeria’s development. this is due to the goal of globalisation, which emphasises profit and wealth creation rather than the satisfaction of human needs. any development policy that is not focused or anchored on man is not genuine development and such policy will achieve little or nothing. the opening of markets, national borders and economies which globalisation seeks only deepen the miseries and engender poverty and inequality on a wide scale in nigeria. it is not intended to address the development challenges of nigeria. but rather serve the interest of western industrialised countries because they have the capital and technologies which are the oil wheel of globalisation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 134 nigeria provides the raw materials, which are bought at cheaper prices by the western industrialised countries. the country also provides a market for the sale of finished products of the industrialised countries. these finished products are usually sold at exorbitant prices. the opening of national borders and markets, which globalisation portrays, is unhealthy for nigeria’s economy as it does not encourage the growth of her local industries. nigeria’s local industries cannot compete with those of the industrialised countries because they lack the capital and technological know-how. this has further complicated nigeria’s development aspirations. the numerous development challenges that engulf nigeria today can be linked to the forces of globalisation. these challenges include: insecurity, poverty, unemployment and social inequality among others. nigeria earned around us$500 billion from oil revenue since the 1970s yet remains mired in poverty, unemployment, bourgeoning domestic debt, infrastructural squalor, abysmal health and educational services and attendant social frustration and unrest etc. the poverty level in nigeria is so alarming, about 70% of the nigerian populace lives below one us dollar, which is the standard of measuring poverty according to the united nations development programme (undp, 2020). the unemployment level has risen to 30%. also, the inflation rate as of 2024 was 34.80% (undp, 2024). the security challenges are so enormous, they range from terrorism in the northeast, banditry in north central, southwest and southeast and eastern security network in the southeast etc. there is a proliferation of small and light weapons in nigeria. the war against terrorism has become complicated owing to the forces of globalisation, which support the free movement of people, goods and the opening of markets etc. it is against this backdrop that the paper examines globalisation and the development crisis in nigeria, 1999-2021. the study aims to examine the impact of globalisation on nigeria’s development crisis. the specific objectives are to examine the role of globalisation on nigeria’s economy, and analyse nigeria’s development challenges. in addition to this introduction, the paper is structured into four sections: section one, methodology and theoretical framework, section two, literature review, section three, results and discussion and the last section focuses on the conclusion and recommendations. section i methodology the study adopted the historical research design; it has to do with studying past events to understand present events in order to be able to predict future events. the source of data for this study includes: magazines, textbooks, journals and seminar papers, among others. the content analysis was adopted as the method of data analysis. theoretical framework the study adopted the dependency theory as its theoretical framework. the theory was developed in the late 1950s under the guidance of the director of the united nations economic commission for latin america, raul prebisch. prebisch and his colleagues were troubled by the fact that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 135 economic growth in the advanced industrialised countries did not necessarily lead to growth in the poorer countries. indeed, their studies suggested that economic activity in the richer countries often led to serious economic problems in the poorer countries. such a possibility was not predicted by neo-classical theory, which had assumed that economic growth was beneficial to all even if the benefits were not always equally shared. prebisch's initial explanation for the phenomenon was very straightforward: poor countries exported primary commodities to the rich countries, who then manufactured products out of those commodities and sold them back to the poorer countries. the value added by manufacturing a usable product always costs more than the primary products used to create those products. therefore, poorer countries would never earn enough from their export earnings to pay for their imports. prebisch's solution was similarly straightforward: poorer countries should embark on programs of import substitution so that they need not purchase the manufactured products from the richer countries. the poorer countries would still sell their primary products on the world market, but their foreign exchange reserves would not be used to purchase their manufactured products from abroad. the theory emerges to contribute to the dominant argument on underdevelopment. it responded to the modernisation theory, which locates the causes of the underdevelopment of third-world countries in their internal factors and presumes that external contact would be instrumental in achieving development. the theory is predicated on the following assumptions; 1. dependency theorists believe that the economic misery, poverty, diseases, unemployment and inequality among other negative vices that are experienced in developing countries can be explained by the forceful integration of third-world economies into the global capitalist system where they are conditioned to the position of producer of raw materials and the consumer of finished products from industrialised western countries. this has stifled economic development in developing countries. 2. dependency theorists suggest that alternative uses of resources are preferable to the resource usage patterns imposed by dominant states. there is no clear definition of what these preferred patterns might be, but some criteria are invoked. for example, one of the dominant state practices most often criticised by dependency theorists is export agriculture. the criticism is that many poor economies experience rather high rates of malnutrition even though they produce great amounts of food for export. many dependency theorists would argue that those agricultural lands should be used for domestic food production to reduce the rates of malnutrition. 3. the diversion of resources over time (and one must remember that dependent relationships have persisted since the european expansion beginning in the fifteenth century) is maintained not only by the power of dominant states but also through the power of elites in the dependent states. dependency theorists argue that these elites maintain a dependent relationship because their private interests coincide with the interests of the dominant states. these elites are typically trained in the dominant states and share similar values and cultures with the elites in the dominant states. thus, a dependent relationship is a voluntary relationship. one need not argue that the elites in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 136 dependent states are consciously betraying the interests of the poor; the elites sincerely believe that the key to economic development lies in following the prescriptions of liberal economic doctrine. applying and relating the dependency theory to understanding the development crisis in nigeria, it becomes pertinent to say that most of the development crises that bedevil the nigerian state today are due to her dependent nature on industrialised countries in the global economic system. nigeria is one of the major producers of crude oil and other agricultural products (cocoa and groundnut, etc). these products are usually sold at the global market at cheaper prices to foreign countries (her major trading partner). these products are refined and sold back to nigeria at exorbitant prices. the local industries and refineries that are supposed to refine these products are not functioning; the economy depends basically on crude oil for survival. this has grave implications for poverty and unemployment. a dependent economy is not capable of addressing or meeting the needs of its populace. most of the crises experienced in nigeria today (kidnapping, terrorism and banditry among others) are economic issues and a proper economic policy can address these issues. section ii concept of globalisation scholars of international relations have defined globalisation in so many ways that now it appears the phenomenon is everything or nothing at all. however, it is tidy to merely state the confusion about the many definitions of globalisation without giving some idea of what they are. ake (1981) refers to the phenomenon basically as the march of capital all over the world in search of profit. according to nwaorgu (2006), this does not appear to be new, as that has been the driving force of capitalism and capitalist expansionism. this tag is well with what the multinational corporations are accused of. thus, it becomes pertinent here to ask if globalisation is another name for imperialism. to further drive it home ake (1981), explains globalisation “as part of the expanding structural differentiation and functional integration in the world today”. it is all about interdependence and cooperation among the nations of the world. it is the forging of a feeling of commonness and oneness which transcend national boundaries, transforming narrow national interest into a global and all-embracing interest. baylis and smith (1997) cited in bauman (2023), have argued that globalization is and emphasises, the process of increasing interconnectedness between societies such that events in one part of the world, more and more effects on people and societies far away. according to nwaorgu (2006), these events are primarily tripodal; they can be social, economic and political, etc. baylis and smith (cited in nwaorgu, 2006) opined that in each of the dimensions, the world is shrinking, and this is not unnoticed by the people. scholte (1997) cited in nwaorgu (2006), defined globalisation as the process whereby social relations acquire relatively distanceless and borderless qualities so that human lives are increasingly played out in the world as a single place. simply put, globalisation is the broadening and deepening linkages of national economies into a worldwide market for goods and services, especially capital. scholars such as aliyu (1996), egware (1998), and nemedia (1998) hold the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 137 view that this phenomenon is a process of increasing interdependence and integration occasioned by the free flow of capital, people, ideas, images and values across natural boundaries at a speed unprecedented in human history (cited in nwaorgu, 2006). one may be tempted to ask whose ideas, image, culture, values, lifestyle, etc american, asia or african? based on this conception, one can conclude that globalisation is nothing short of the domination of the poor and weak states of the world by the highly industrialised world. according to nwaorgu (2006, p.133), “it negates the whole idea of globalised when about 75% of the world’s wealth is domiciled by nature, in the areas occupied by more than 75% of the global population, but is appropriated by the part of the world with less than 25% of the world’s population”. rosenau (1997) cited in nworgu (2006), explains globalisation: from the standpoint of change, thereby characterising it as a process and not just a prevailing state of affairs or a desirable end. he also pointed out that globalization is not the same thing as complex interdependence. interdependence, in this case, refers to structures that link people and communities together (rosenau 1997, cited in nwaorgu, 2006). according to rosenau (1997) cited in nwaorgu (2006), globalisation refers neither to values nor to structure, but to sequences that unfold either in the mind or in behaviour, to processes that evolve as people and organisations go about their daily tasks and seek to realize their particular goals what distinguishes globalising process is that they are not hindered by territorial or jurisdictional barriers. in a broader perspective, aina (2012) cited in dicken (2023), posits that globalisation depicts the transformation of the relations between states, institutions, groups and individuals, the universalisation of certain practices, identities and structures, and perhaps more significantly, the expression of the global restructuring that has occurred in recent decades in the structure of modern capitalist relations. in the most generic and broadest sense, kwanashie (2009) cited in gereffi and fernandez-stark (2023). sees globalisation as a part of the movement of history as evident in certain forces that appear to push for increasing integration of human activities, with emphasis in the contemporary world focused more on the economic aspect of the process. it is a process of increased integration of national economies of states with the rest of the international system to create a more coherent global economy, kwanshie (2009) cited in gereffi & fernandez-stark (2023). the process has been increasingly propelled by the revolutionary trend in information technology that combines advancement in computing electronics, and telecommunications, which has brought up a highly dynamic process of storing, processing, transmitting and presenting information kwanashie, 2009) cited in gereffi & fernandez-stark (2023). as yagub (2013) copiously observes, globalisation refers to the tremendous revolutionary changes that have affected our planet as a result of changes that have also taken place in information and communication technologies processes that have, cumulatively, led to the villagisation of the globe. concept of development according to the united nations development programme (undp) with the human development index (hdi) the phenomenon is conceived in terms of human development. it defined human development as: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 138 the process of enlarging the range of people’s choices – increasing their opportunities for education, health care, income and employment, and covering the full range of human choices from a sound physical environment to economic and political freedoms. human development is concerned both with developing human capabilities and with using them productively. the former requires investments in people and the latter that people contribute to the gross national product (gnp) growth and employment (undp, 1992, p.2). the united nations development program in its 1993-97 environmental data report (1997, p.207) stated that the central goal of development should be the improvement of the well-being of the people in the society. as the report puts it: “meeting the people's need for food, water, shelter, and employment, thereby improving human well-being, is the central goal of development”. in this report, we see that emphasis is being placed on people as the means and end of development. development is centred on the people and every strategy initiative of development must be such that will improve the living standard or living conditions of the people. thus, development is people-oriented. it seeks to take care of the basic needs of the people. the world commission on environment and development (umed, 1993), defined development in terms of sustainable development; sustainable development here is seen “as meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the needs of the future generation (umed, 1993, p.207). development must therefore be able to take care of present realities as well as future realities. the goals of development as espoused by the world commission on environment and development (umed) should be to take care of the present generation and to also take care of the coming or future generation. we therefore assume the core values of development to be life sustenance, self-esteem and freedom. section iii results and discussions the role of globalisation on nigeria’s economy developed nations have been the beneficiaries of globalisation as their share of world trade and finance has continually expanded at the expense of developing countries. data released by the world bank group (2024), revealed that developed countries, particularly those in the g7, play a substantial role in global trade. in 2014, the g7 nations accounted for approximately $12.63 trillion in trade, representing a significant portion of global trade volume. additionally, advanced economies, which include the g7 countries, comprise about 57.3% of global gdp based on nominal values and 41.1% based on purchasing power parity (ppp), indicating their dominant position in international trade. this is higher compared to those of developing countries in africa and latin america etc., which contribute 23.9% to global gdp (nominal) and 34.3% (ppp) in 2024, underlining their growing importance in the global trade system (world bank group, 2024). again, financial wealth is mainly concentrated among developed countries. as of 2021, the g7 countries (excluding the european union) represented around 53% of global net wealth, with the inclusion of the eu bringing the total to over 60%. this concentration stresses the financial dominance of developed countries over those of developing countries (nigeria inclusive) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 139 (unctad, 2020). conversely, developing regions such as those in sub-saharan africa hold a minimal share of global wealth, with net worth contributions of 1.5% (ppp) and 0.5% (exchange rates) as of 2024 (imf, 2024). this view was echoed by onah (2005) when he stated that developing countries, with particular emphasis on the nigerian economy, have for years experimented with various development strategies and programs to attain self-reliance from dependence on other countries. concerning nigeria's development situation, onah (2005, p.80) posits that “nigeria’s economic potential and prosperity is constrained by many structural issues, such as inadequate infrastructure, limited foreign exchange capacity, tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade, currency devaluation and obstacles to investment”. according to him, inflation, unemployment, and other vices continue to be on the increase, thereby prohibiting foreign trade investment (onah, 2005). he concluded by stating that in the early 1970s, nigeria had made visible progress in closing the income gap relative to advanced economies, but the case cannot be said of the country today in this era of globalisation. (onah, 2005). onah (2005: p.79), traced all these development challenges in nigeria to the influence of globalization. according to him, the opening up of national boundaries and markets has done more harm to the nigerian economy. in his words, the spate of globalization through the lumping of national economies of the world together has stifled economic growth in developing nations” (onah, 2005). he located the problem within the context of the absence of technology and capital. according to him, nigeria's industries lack the technology and capital to compete with those of the industrialized western nations, and this has made it difficult for her to enjoy the benefits of globalization. rather than globalization bringing about economic growth and development, it has compounded issues for nigeria as inflation, unemployment, inequality and insecurity are on the increase (onah, 2005). onah (2005) identified some negative influences of globalisation on nigeria’s economy, which are discussed below: 1. in the area of trade, importation of foreign goods is high without having our own products purchased by other countries in a reciprocal manner, leaving us at a disadvantage in terms of unfavourable terms of trade and deficit balance. 2. due to globalisation with regard to security, the issue of boko haram has brought about fears and uncertainties, leaving industries, businesses and professionals unable to function properly. nigeria as a developing country, is yet to evolve a mechanism that can handle and absorb this shock. 3. nigeria continues to open up its economy in competition with other advanced countries in the global market, leaving the economy to remain stagnant and if not controlled, it is likely to worsen due to the weak capacity of the economy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 140 4. globalisation has allowed developing countries like nigeria to live at the mercy of the superpowers of the developed countries putting developing countries in a disadvantageous position in terms of military, economic health and other related issues 5. rapid capital flows arising from globalisation can pose difficulties for macroeconomic management. a weak external sector can be financed only temporarily as hidden current account deficits easily show up when capital starts flowing outwards as soon as the investment climate becomes unfavourable. thus, excessive growth in investment, financed by foreign capital when domestic savings are low, could result in difficulties, especially current account deficits, with concomitant problems for macroeconomic stability. 6. with the rapid integration of financial markets. it becomes difficult to control effectively the movement of capital across national boundaries. more importantly, the distinction between destabilising and stabilising short-term capital flows becomes blurred. sterilisation policies may also prove difficult to implement successfully as a result of the cross-border operations of the multinational financial institutions that accelerated the process of international transmission of funds with the aid of advanced information technology. 7. another problem associated with globalisation is the rapid spread of shocks and disturbances from one financial market to another. although such shocks can be absorbed by large markets, they nonetheless constitute obstacles to the achievement of macroeconomic stability. the rapid inflow of capital to take advantage of high domestic interest rates may undermine the pursuit of macroeconomic stability if such flows are not based on improved domestic economic fundamentals. to sustain the inflow, interest rates may have to be maintained at high levels with attendant inflationary pressures, especially when capital inflow cannot be sterilised. 8. a more serious problem is the sustained increase in the real exchange rate, which may be counter-productive, especially for external sector competitiveness when funds start flowing outwards on the realisation by investors that there are no more long-term prospects for productive investment in an economy. it follows that globalisation, especially financial markets integration, has serious implications for macroeconomic management. nigeria’s developmental challenges poverty, unemployment, corruption, and inequality, among others are the major development challenges confronting nigeria. successive governments since the attainment of political independence have been grappling with these problems. the rationale behind the formulation of different development plans for the nation was necessitated by the need to address these challenges. the unemployment and inflation rates today are so alarming. the current inflation rate as of 2021 was sixteen per cent, while the unemployment rate within that period stood at thirtythree per cent (national bureau of statistics, 2021). corruption is endemic in nigeria as it has denied the populace the privilege of enjoying governmental programmes and projects. nigeria is rated as one of the most corrupt countries in the world. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 141 the gross domestic product (gdp) of nigeria between 2015 to 2021 was low compared to those of 2012 to 2014. the gdp reflect or defines the economic performance of a nation. thus, the nigerian economy has underperformed since 2016 till date. below is a table that reveals nigeria's gdp from 2010 to 2024. fig. 1: nigeria’s gdp between 2010-2024 source: world bank (2024) the table above reveals that nigeria’s gdp was at its highest peak in 2014, followed by 2013, 2019, and 2022 etc. in 2010 and 2017, nigeria's gdp was at its lowest in the period under review. studies have shown that numerous factors affect development in nigeria (makinde, 2005; babawale, 2007; nnabuife, 2010; yunusa, 2009; itah, 2012; gberevbie, shodipo & oviasogie, 2013). makinde (2005), maintains that the imposition of policies on citizens by the government, lack of adequate human resources or capital to implement these plans/policies, corruption and lack of credible leadership are the major challenges to nigeria’s development. most national development problems in nigeria arise as a result of poor implementation of policies and subsequently lack of adequate and reliable human resources. makinde (2005) further maintained that most policies of developing nations are imposed on the masses. the policies are made by the government without considering the target population; as such, the masses are not allowed to contribute in the formulation of policies that concern their well-being. in addition, there are no igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 142 adequate human resources or capital to implement these plans as a result of the low quality of human development in the country. records from the united nations development programme (2014) revealed that nigeria ranked number 152 out of 187 countries in human development, which is the average quality of life and standard of living. the report puts nigeria’s human development index at 0.381, which is below the prescribed level (undp, 2014). thus, in such instances, continuity is absent in policies when the tenures of specific governments come to an end. the report also noted that although corruption is a global issue, nigeria as a country is caught in the web of corruption. oftentimes, funds that are set aside for implementing policies are usually siphoned off to the detriment of the entire country (undp, 2014). in addition, the lack of credible leadership that can recognise and articulate the specific needs of the people also poses a challenge to development. dike (2010) also stressed the fact that leadership has become a bane to development in nigeria. to him, most of the so-called leaders do not understand that leadership entails assuming responsibilities for certain important issues. poor governance on the part of the leaders has also resulted in inappropriate checks and balances and mechanisms to regulate the affairs of government officials and institutions. as such, politics is seen as a ‘do or die affair’, while ethical politics is delegated to the background. the leadership structure in nigeria is also said to be poor due to the inadequacies in accountability and transparency of public affairs management in nigeria (gberevbie, shodipo & oviasogie, 2013). in addition, the improper assessment of policies implemented also serves as a challenge to development (itah, 2012). most policymakers fail to assess the goal-achievement gap factor, implying that policymakers often fail to assess the level of achievement of certain implemented public policies. the reason for this is that most leaders present policies that are too cumbersome and difficult to achieve within the short period spent in office. as such, most plans for national development are usually abandoned at the end of such tenures and subsequent governments also fail to continue on the plans which were left uncompleted. this, therefore, explains the reasons for numerous abandoned projects found in these developing nations. section iv conclusion development has been conceived as a process, it is a process in which every nation of the world, whether developed or developing, is involved. it is all-embracing and encompassing, as every nation of the world is in the business of development today. nigeria, like most countries of the world, is thirsting for development. this is predicated on numerous development plans put forward by successive governments. despite these efforts aiming at attaining economic development, the country is far from attaining real economic development. this is evident in the numerous development challenges that bedevil the country. some of these challenges are poverty, unemployment, insecurity, corruption, and inequality, among others. the poverty and unemployment rate in nigeria is so alarming, over seventy (70%) of nigerians live below the poverty line. according to the united nations development program, those who igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 143 live below one dollar per day are said to be poor (undp, 2010). the unemployment rate in nigeria as of 2024 is 34.80%. insecurity is at a high level. the activities of boko haram, herdsmen and militants etc have cripple economic activities in northern nigeria. social inequality, which is the gap between the rich and the poor, is high. there is corruption in nigeria and corruption is so endemic in the system. there is hardly any day that passes by without alleged corruption cases being reported in the media. globalisation has also compounded nigeria’s development crisis. the opening of national borders, markets and economies for the free flow of goods and services has pushed nigeria to the periphery. nigeria’s industries lack the technology and capital to compete with those of the industrialised nations. the global market has conditioned nigeria to act as the supplier of raw materials, whose value has not been added. these raw materials are usually bought at cheaper prices and, after being processed, are sold back to nigeria at exorbitant prices. nigeria also provides the markets for the sales of industrialised finished products. for any development policy and programme to have a positive impact on the people, it must be tailored to the yearnings and needs of the people. nigeria must look inward to address its developmental crisis. nigeria’s problems require nigeria’s solution. for economic development to occur, nigeria’s policymakers must diversify their economy, the agricultural and mining sectors need to be harnessed. recommendations 1. nigeria’s development problems require local solutions. for economic development to occur, nigeria’s policymakers must diversify their economy, the agricultural and mining sectors need to be harnessed to create more economic opportunities for the people in terms of employment generation and an increase in the gdp. 2. there is a need for nigeria to delink from the global capitalist system. the global market was not established to address the economic needs of nigeria, but rather it was established to advance the economic interests of western industrialised nations. on that premise, nigeria needs to look inward in its quest for economic development. references andre, g. (1972). the development of underdevelopment, in james d. cockcroft, andre gunder frank, and dale johnson, eds., dependence and underdevelopment. garden city press. baylis, j. & smith, s. (1997). the globalization of world politics. an introduction to international relations (3rd edition). oxford university press. dike, v. (2010). revising the instrumental leadership problem in nigeria. ibadan university press. international monetary fund (imf). (2024). world economic outlook: a long and difficult ascent. international monetary fund. makinde, t. (2005). problems of policy implementation in developing nations: the nigerian experience. journal of social science, 11 (1). nwaorgu, o.c. (2006). monopoly capitalism and the development tragedy. amajov and coy nigeria igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 144 onuoha, f. (2012). small arms and light weapons proliferation and human security in nigeria. african centre for the constructive resolution of disputes. undp. (1992). human development report. oxford university press undp. (1997). united nations development programme human development report. oxford university press undp. (2004). united nations development programme human development report. oxford university press united nations conference on trade and development (unctad). (2020). world investment report 2020: international production beyond the pandemic. unctad. world bank group. (2024). world development indicators. world bank. 188 examining teens' level of facebook use in southeast nigeria: the impact of parental mediation bartholomew nnaemedo department of mass communication, abia state university uturu & walter ihejirika faculty of communication and media studies, university of port harcourt & paschal ihechu, phd department of mass communication, abia state university uturu nnaemedobartholomew@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.33952.39688 abstract this study examined the level of facebook use of 15-19-year-old teens in southeast nigeria: the impact of parental mediation. it embodied four research objectives and four research questions. the study's theoretical frameworks were the theories of planned behaviour and parental mediation. besides, the study adopted a survey as its research design. the research instruments were questionnaires and informant interviews. the sample size for the questionnaire-based or quantitative survey research design was 400, calculated using the taro yamane formula. besides, the sample size for the interview-based or qualitative survey research design was 40, obtained using the hagaman and wutich data saturation method. the study presented and analysed its data using a 5-likert scale, frequency table, simple percentage, and weighted mean scores. the findings showed that 15-19-year-old teens operated functional facebook accounts. hence, facebook was popular among them. the findings also indicated that most teens started to use facebook after thirteen years of age. further, the findings revealed that most teens spent 30 minutes to two hours per facebook visit. likewise, the findings showed that most teens used facebook multiple times daily. besides, the findings indicated that parental mediation positively and negatively impacted 15-19-year-old teens. subsequently, this study recommends, among others, media literacy to ensure optimal facebook use among teens and their parents. keywords: duration, facebook, parental mediation, reactance, and teenagers introduction it is no longer news that contemporary society is a digital era, evidenced by the rapid phasing out of traditional media (calvert, 2015). hence, today, there is an emphasis on new media, especially social media, comprising collaborative projects, content communities, blogs and microblogs, virtual game worlds, virtual social worlds, and social networking sites (kaplan & haenlein, 2010). some examples of social networking are twitter, telegram, whatsapp, youtube, facebook, etc. today, facebook leads other social networking sites, followed by youtube and whatsapp (dixon, 2024; statista, 2024a; orioque, 2021). the london school of economics and political science (2017) and facebook users by country (2024) also classified it as the leading global social network site. as of feb 9, 2024, the fourth quarter of 2024, facebook has approximately 2.1 billion daily active users and 3.1 billion monthly active users (statista, 2024b; dixon, 2024; kemp, 2024). it is the third most visited site, with google and youtube taking the first and second positions, respectively (kemp, 2019; similarweb, 2024). extant studies have shown that young people are the most active users of facebook (rideout, foehr, & roberts, 2010; monks et al., 2015; calvert, 2015). the studies have also shown that the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 189 extent of their facebook use varies. for instance, rideout et al.(2010) underscored that social media, especially myspace, facebook, and video sites such as youtube, now consume more than seven and a half hours of teenagers between 8-18 years daily. however, mensah & solomon (2019) and tayo, adebola, & yahya (2019) also stated that they consume much of young people's time. for instance, while mensah & solomon (2019) said they take 1-4 hours daily, tayo et al. (2019) noted that they consume 2-3 hours daily. extant studies showed that parents have employed several strategies to control their children's facebook. they include restrictive mediation, active mediation, co-use, participatory learning, distant mediation, monitoring, interpretative, enabling, and wholeness approach (livingstone & helsper, 2008; zaman, nouwen, van attenhoven, de ferrers & looy, 2016; smahelova, juhová, cermak, &smahel, 2017). despite previous studies on the level of facebook use among young people, as shown above, there remains a knowledge gap concerning the level of facebook use by 15-19-year-old teenagers in south-east nigeria: considering parents mediation. it is this epistemological gap that this paper aims to fill. the study's location is south-east nigeria, which includes imo, abia, anambra, enugu, and ebonyi. research objectives this study examines the level of facebook use of 15-19-year-old teens in south-east nigeria: the impact of parental mediation. specifically, it i. studies 15-19-year-old teens' facebook statuses in southeast nigeria, ii. determines 15-19-year-old teens' frequency of facebook use in southeast nigeria, iii. investigates 15-19-year-old teens' facebook duration in southeast nigeria and iv. considers the impact of parental mediation on 15-19-year-old teens' level of facebook use in southeast nigeria. research questions centrally, this study raises the following research question: what is the level of facebook use among 15-19-year-old teenagers in southeast nigeria? specifically, this study asks: i. what are the facebook statuses of the 15-19-year-old teens in southeast nigeria? ii. what is the frequency of facebook use by 15-19-year-old teens in southeast nigeria? iii. what is the duration of facebook for 15-19-year-old teens in southeast nigeria? iv. what impact does parental mediation have on 15-19-year-old teens' level of facebook use in southeast nigeria? literature review to undertake a good literature review of the subject matter of this study, it is crucial to begin with the meaning of social media as an umbrella embodying social networking sites from which facebook exists as a subset. the first work that deserves attention here is nations (2021), which defines social media as web-based communication applications or tools that allow people to interact or interrelate with each other by sharing and consuming information. likewise, dollarhide (2023) defined social media as computer-based technology enabling users to exchange ideas, thoughts, and information through virtual networks and communities. the two definitions above show that social media are interactive and computer-mediated. hence, hadiapurwa, joelene, nugraha, & komara (2023) correctly viewed social media as interactive digital channels for virtually creating and sharing information, ideas, and interests through communities and networks. another interesting fallout from hadiapurwa et al. (2023) is that it igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 190 emphasised user-generated content as one of social media's basic features. social media embody collaborative projects, content communities, blogs and microblogs, virtual game worlds, virtual social worlds, and social networking sites (kaplan & haenlein, 2010). social networking sites include whatsapp, youtube, telegram, facebook, etc. facebook is a foremost subset social networking site (whatis.com, 2013; kashif, 2013; popiołek, 2015; orioque, 2021; etc.). chowdhury & saha (2015) define it as an "internet-based social space designed to facilitate communication, collaboration, and content sharing across networks of contacts" (p.28). likewise, amante & mendes (2017) described it as a social network site that enables or allows users to create profiles that join or combine information provided by themselves and their friends. following boyd (2008), amante & mendes (2017) assigned four functions to facebook: persistence, replicability, scalability, and searchability. persistence shows that the recording and archiving of online expressions are automatic. replicability indicates that its content is duplicable. scalability implies that the potential visibility of content in networked publics is great. finally, searchability portrays that its content is accessible to the networked public through search. a significant aspect of facebook concerns the frequency and duration of its use, especially among young people. mathew, ogedebe, & ogedebe (2016) did empirical studies on the frequency of facebook use in north-east nigeria. the findings showed that most respondents accessed their facebook accounts daily. nevertheless, unlike this study, it did not focus its investigative searchlight on any particular age group. mensah & solomon (2019) undertook an empirical survey of senior high school students in a related development. the findings indicate that young people spend 1-4 hours on social media daily. likewise, tayo et al. (2019) undertook a similar study among obafemi awolowo university undergraduate students and found that social media consumes 2-3 hours of their time daily. however, the last two empirical studies depict that young people use social media for diverse purposes such as socialisation, information sharing and gleaning, academic, business, and entertainment. parents have also adopted measures to control their teens' facebook use, such as restrictive mediation, co-use, active mediation, participatory learning, distant mediation, and a wholeness approach (zaman et al. 2016). besides, smahelova et al. (2017) included supervision, parent as a role model, and trial and error to the list of strategies. extant studies have also revealed that children sometimes resist parental mediation, leading to psychological reactance, which is an aversive affective reaction towards regulations that intrudes into their perceived freedom or autonomy (brehm & brehm, 1981; valkenburg & peter, 2013; steindl, jonas, sittenthaler, traut-mattausch, & greenberg, 2015; white, rasmussen, & king, 2015; liu, wu, sun, bai, & duan, 2023). the implication is that parental mediation could trigger teens' reactance. theoretical framework the theoretical frameworks for this study are the theory of planned behaviour and parental mediation theory. suffice it to discuss them one after the other. the theory of planned behaviour the theory of planned behaviour was advocated by icek ajzen in 1985. it arose from the theory of reasoned action proposed by martin fishbein and icek ajzen in 1980. it embodies six constructs: attitudes, behavioural intention, subjective norms, social norms, perceived power, and perceived behavioural control (ajzen, 1991). attitude is the extent to which a person igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 191 effectively or ineffectively appraises an interested behaviour. behavioural intention represents the motivational factor influencing a given behaviour. a solid inclination to undertake the behaviour represents the probability of performing the behaviour. subjective norms are beliefs about people's endorsement or discontent with a behaviour. social norms stand for the customary behaviour and codes regulating a group. perceived power is the perceived presence of factors that improve or impede behaviour performance. perceived behavioural control portrays a person's perception of ease or difficulty intrinsic in interested behaviour performance (lamorte, 2016). therefore, the theory of planned behaviour enables one to understand people's attitudes, resulting in their physical actions. it aims to illuminate all behaviours in which one can exercise self-control. besides, it can predict and explain many health-related issues and habits, such as smoking, drinking, utilisation of health services, breastfeeding, and substance use. hence, it would help this study to examine the level of facebook use by 15-19-year-old teenagers in southeast nigeria. parental mediation theory nathanson (1999) was among the earliest literature on parental mediation theory, where he used it to discuss parental control of children's television use. other literature used it to discuss parental regulation of children's online media (cark, 2011; zaman et al., 2016). livingstone & helspher (2008) applied it to all media. for clark (2011), parental mediation theory has evolved to consider how parents utilise interpersonal communication to moderate the adverse effects they believe communication media has on their children. so, the theory deals with different ways parents control their children's facebook use. it embodies active, restrictive, monitoring, co-use (co-viewing), distant and participatory mediation. parental mediation theory is appropriate to this study as its components served as proper tools for determining the impact of parental mediation on the level of teens' facebook use in southeast nigeria. research methodology this study used a quantitative (questionnaire-based) and qualitative (semi-structured informant interviews-based) survey research design. the target population is 3,002,493, and the study population is 1,904,376. the two are the 2022 projected populations of 13-19-year-old and 1519-year-old teens in southeast nigeria, respectively. the projections for the two populations rest on the national population, which was conducted in 2006 (national population commission, 2020). the sample size for the quantitative survey research design is 400, calculated using the taro yamane formula. besides, the sample size of the qualitative survey research design is 40, obtained using hagaman & wutich's (2017) data saturation method. the study also used secondary sources such as books, journals, the internet, etc. further, it analysed data using a 5likert scale, simple percentages and weighted mean scores. data presentation and analysis the data presentation and analysis involve quantitative and qualitative data. the former entails tabular presentations of the four research questions outlined above, using a 5-likert scale (ranging from strongly agree strongly disagree), and analysed with a frequency table, simple percentage, and weighted mean scores. the latter, qualitative data presentation and analysis, follows it. starting the two processes with research question one (rq1) suffices. here, rq stands for research question. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 192 rq1: what are the facebook statuses of 15-19-year-old teens in southeast nigeria? to tackle research question one, the researcher asked the respondents to rate the three questions in table one below. what follows is the result of their response. table 1: teens' facebook users and their statuses table 1, index 1, shows that 185 respondents strongly agreed that they have functional facebook accounts, while 201 moderately supported them. the weighted mean score is 4.48, so accepted. therefore, the findings indicated that all the respondents had functional facebook accounts. likewise, table 1, index 2, portrays that 211 respondents use facebook as their favourite social networking site, while 170 respondents do not use it in a like manner. however, only 5 respondents were indecisive. the weighted mean score is 3.18, so accepted. thus, the findings showed that facebook was the favourite social networking site of most 15-19-year-old teens in southeast nigeria. besides, table 1, index 3, indicates that 54 respondents admit that they started using facebook before 13 years of age, as opposed to 325 respondents who maintained a contrary view and 7 who were undecided about it. the weighted mean score is 2.04, so rejected. in the qualitative domain, 40 interviewees were asked whether they had a functional facebook account, considered it their favourite, and opened it before they were 13. interestingly, their responses corroborated the result of the quantitative analysis above. rq 2: what is the frequency of facebook use by 15-19-year-old teens in southeast nigeria? the researcher asked the respondents three questions to address research question two, as shown in table 2 below. the table also shows their responses. table 2: teens' frequency of teens' facebook use indices sa 5 a 4 u 3 d 2 sd 1 σ f σfx wms x remarks 1. i have functional facebook accounts 185 47.9 % 201 52.1 % 0 0 0 386 100 % 1729 4.48 89.6% accepted 2. facebook is my favourite social networking site. 108 28% 103 26.7 % 5 1.3% 92 23.8 % 78 20.2 % 386 100 % 1229 3.18 63.6% accepted 3. i began to use facebook before 13 years of age 30 7.8% 24 6.2% 7 1.8% 196 50.8 % 129 33.4 % 386 100 % 788 2.04 40.8% rejected igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 193 table 2, index 4, indicates that 205 respondents admitted visiting facebook multiple times a day, while 179 maintained a contrary view, and 2 were undecided. the weighted mean score is 3.21, so accepted. therefore, the findings showed that 15-19-year-old teens in the southeast visited facebook multiple times daily. table 2, index 5 reveals that 76 respondents admitted using facebook once a week, while 302 completely differed with them, and 8 were undecided. the weighted mean score is 2.43, so rejected. hence, the findings showed that most 15-19-year-old teens in the southeast did not use facebook weekly. table 2, index 6 portrays that 17 respondents use facebook once a month, while 364 disagreed with them, and 5 maintained undecided status. the weighted mean score is 2.08, quite below the average score, so rejected. thus, the findings showed that most 15-19-year-old teens in the southeast did not use facebook monthly. in the qualitative survey research design, the 40 interviewees were asked whether they used facebook multiple times daily, weekly, or monthly. their responses verify the result of the quantitative analysis above. therefore, 15-19-year-old teens in the south visited facebook multiple times daily. rq 3: what is the duration of facebook for 15-19-year-old teens in southeast nigeria? to address the above research, the researcher asked the respondents three sub-questions, as shown in table 3 below. the table also embodies their responses. table 3: teens' facebook duration indices sa 5 a 4 u 3 d 2 sd 1 σ f σfx wms x remarks 4. i use facebook multiple times a day 120 31.1% 85 22% 2 0.5% 113 29.3% 66 17.1% 386 100% 1238 3.21 64.2% accepted 5. i use facebook once a week 50 12.9% 26 6.7% 8 2.1% 256 66.3% 46 12% 386 100% 936 2.43 48.6% rejected 6. i use facebook once a month 15 3.9% 2 0.5% 5 1.3% 340 88.1% 24 6.2% 386 100% 802 2.08 41.6% rejected igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 194 table 3, index 7 indicates that 63 respondents admitted that they visited facebook beyond 2 hours daily, as against 320, which completely differed from them, and 3 maintained an undecided status. the weighted mean score is 2.40, so rejected. table 1, index 8 indicates that 303 respondents admitted visiting facebook between 30 minutes to 2 hours daily, 74 adopted a contrary view, and 9 opted for a neutral stance. the weighted mean score is 3.87 and is accepted as having scaled above the minimum score. thus, the findings showed that most 15-19-year-old southeast teens visited facebook between 30 minutes to 2 hours daily. table 1, index 9 reveals that 78 respondents visited facebook below 30 minutes daily, 311 maintained a contrary position, and 7 adopted a neutral stand. the weighted mean score is 2.32, so rejected since falling below the minimum score. therefore, the findings showed that most 1519-year-old south-east teens did not visit facebook for less than 30 minutes daily. from the qualitative domain, the researcher asked the 40 interviewees about the duration of their facebook use, the rationale behind the duration, and their uses of the site. interestingly, their response to the first sub-question aligned with the quantitative survey results for teens' duration of facebook visits. their response to the second sub-question indicated that the socio-economic situation informed the duration of teens' facebook of the geopolitical zone. finally, their response to the third sub-question showed that 15-19-year-olds visited facebook for information gathering and dissemination, to connect with people, etc. nevertheless, they noted that some teens abused the site. rq 4: what impact did parental mediation have on 15-19-year-old teens' level of facebook use in south-east nigeria? the researcher asked the respondents five questions to address research question four, as shown in table four below. what follows is the outcome of their response. indices sa 5 a 4 u 3 d 2 sd 1 σ f σfx wms x remarks 7. i visit facebook for more than 2 hours daily. 50 12,9% 13 3.4% 3 0.8% 296 76.7% 24 6.2% 386 100% 927 2.40 48% rejected 8. i visit facebook between 30 minutes to 2 hours daily 125 32.4% 178 46.1% 9 2.3% 56 14.5% 18 4.7% 386 100% 1494 3.87 77.4% accepted 9. i visit facebook below 30 minutes daily 46 11.9% 22 5.7% 7 1.8% 245 63.5% 66 17.1% 386 100% 895 2.32 46.4% rejected igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 195 table 4: impact of parental mediation on the level of teens' facebook use igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya table 4, index 10, indicates that 175 respondents admitted that their parents' efforts to monitor indices sa 5 a 4 u 3 d 2 sd 1 σ f σfx wm s x remark s 10. my parents' efforts to monitor my facebook use violate my online privacy. 92 83 49 78 84 38 6 1179 3.05 accepte d percentage (%) 23. 8 21. 5 12. 7 20. 2 21. 8 10 0 61 11. it is proper for my parents to set rules about where i can use facebook. 101 113 51 40 81 38 6 1271 3.29 accepte d percentage (%) 26. 1 29. 3 13. 2 10. 4 21 10 0 65.8 12. it makes for my facebook safety. 110 103 58 54 61 38 6 1305 3.38 accepte d percentage (%) 28. 5 26. 7 15 14 15. 8 10 0 67.6 13. it makes me adopt secret ways to bypass my parents' control of my facebook use, such as password-hiding, couse avoidance, etc. 98 95 42 64 87 38 6 1211 3.14 accepte d percentage (%) 25. 4 24. 6 10. 9 16. 4 22. 5 10 0 62.8 14. it makes me seek peer support for my facebook activities. 78 97 54 81 76 38 6 1178 3.05 accepte d percentage (%) 20. 2 25. 1 14 21 19. 7 10 0 61 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 196 their facebook activities violated their online privacy. then, 162 opposed the view, while 49 were indecisive. the weighted mean is 3.05 and hence accepted. subsequently, the findings revealed that parental facebook monitoring mediation violated the facebook privacy of 15-19year-old teens. table 4, index 11, shows that 214 respondents upheld that it is proper for their parents to set rules to restrict their places of facebook use, while 121 disagreed with the proposition. 51 were undecided. the weighted mean is 3.29, and so is accepted. the findings showed that most 15-19year-old teens in the zone admitted the appropriateness of their parents' location-based rulesetting measures. table 4, index 12, shows that 213 respondents agreed that parental mediation is for their online safety. i15 opposed it, while 58 were undecided. the weighted mean score is 3.38 and hence accepted. so, the findings showed that most teens held that parental mediation is for their online safety. table 4, index 13 shows that 193 respondents admitted that parental mediation made them adopt secret online behaviours to bypass their parents' facebook control. i51 opposed it, while 42 were undecided. the weighted mean score is 3.14 and hence accepted. so, the findings showed that most teens maintained that they adopted secret online measures against their parents' facebook mediation. table 4, index 14 indicates that 175 respondents admitted their parents' attempts to control their facebook use made them seek peer support for their facebook activities. 157 opposed it, while 54 were undecided. the weighted mean score is 3.05, so it is accepted. the finding showed that parental mediation made the teens seek peer support for their facebook activities. in the area of qualitative analysis, the researcher asked the 40 interviewees whether their parents' efforts at moderating their facebook use violated their online privacy, made them adopt secret online parental mediation bypass measures, sought peer support for their facebook activities, or whether it was for their online safety and whether they considered the location-related rules set by their parents as proper. their answers corroborated the findings from the quantitative analysis. discussion of findings the analysis of the first research questions indicated a high level of facebook usage among 1519-year-old teens in the southeast, as portrayed in indices 1-3 in table 1. index 1 shows that all the respondents (386 or 100%) had functional facebook accounts. index 2 reveals that most (211 or 54.66%) used the site as their favourite. index 3 indicates that most (325 or 84.20%) began to use the site after thirteen years. the quantitative survey results corroborated the above findings. therefore, the above findings helped the researcher address the first research question by asserting that examination of facebook statuses of 15-19-year-old southeast teens indicated that they had functional facebook, most regarded facebook as their favourite site and visited it between 30 minutes to 2 hours daily. the above findings validate mahmood et al. (2019), okocha & agbele (2023), and statista (2024a&b). these works of literature underscore the popularity of facebook among young people compared with their usage of other social networking sites. the findings also validate the theory of planned behaviour, which indicates how teens' constant interaction with the facebook virtual setting can improve their site usage. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 197 also, the findings from the analysis of the second research question showed a high frequency of facebook use among 15-19-year-old teens in the southeast, as depicted in indices 4-6 in table 2. index 4 shows that 205 (53.12%) respondents used facebook multiple times daily. index 5 indicates that 302 (78.24%) objected to using facebook weekly. index 6 shows that 364 (94.30%) objected to using it monthly. the result of the qualitative survey also agreed with the findings above. therefore, the above findings enabled the researcher to address the second research question thus: 15-19-year-old teens in the southeast used facebook multiple times daily. the findings corroborate those of mathew et al. (2016), who showed that facebook users access it daily. however, unlike in this study, the users are mixed up. the findings also further confirm the theory of planned behaviour, which indicates how teens' continuous interaction with the facebook virtual environment could enhance their site usage. besides, the third research question analysis showed a long duration of facebook use among 1519-year-old teens in the southeast, as portrayed in indices 7-9 in table 3. index 7 shows that 320 (82.90%) respondents rejected visiting facebook beyond 2 hours daily. index 8 indicates that 303 (78.50%) accepted visiting facebook between 30 minutes to 2 hours daily. index 9 shows 311 (80.57%) disagreed that they visited facebook below 30 minutes daily. the qualitative survey results corroborate the findings above. further, it portrayed that socio-economic factors, such as availability of power supply, funds, etc, influenced teens' duration of facebook visits. it also showed that teens visited facebook for information gathering, sharing, and other interpersonal reasons. therefore, the above findings helped the research to address the third research question thus: 1519-year-old teens in the southeast visited facebook between 30 minutes to 2 hours daily for information gathering and sharing and other interpersonal reasons; the duration, which depended on socio-economic factors such as availability of power supply, fund, etc. however, this study differs somewhat from mensah & solomon (2019) and tayo et al. (2019) regarding the duration of a facebook site visit. first, the extant works of literature were not specifically on facebook but on social media in general. second, they differed in terms of time range. for instance, while mensah & solomon (2019) put it at 1-4 hours, tayo et al. (2019) had it as 2-3 hours. the findings of this study showed that 15-19-year-old teens in southeast nigeria spend between 30 minutes to 2 hours per facebook visit. perhaps the differences in duration between this study and previous ones could also have arisen due to the socio-economic factors cited above. as teens require light sources to charge their phones, such affects the duration of their facebook visits. the findings also validate the theory of planned behaviour, which indicates how teens' constant interaction with the facebook virtual setting can improve their site usage. for example, it portrays how teens, due to their experience of the positive comments about others' posts, are encouraged to imitate or take to and repeat similar actions, resulting in constant site visits. therefore, facebook's popularity, frequency and long duration among 15-19-year-olds in southeast nigeria could have arisen due to reinforcement given to the site by other users, ipso facto, authenticating the theory of learned behaviour. the analysis of the fourth research question shows parental mediation had positive and negative impacts on 15-19-year-old teens in the zone, as depicted in indices 10-14 in table 4. index 10 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 198 shows that 175 respondents admitted that parental facebook monitoring mediation violated their facebook privacy. index 11 indicates that 214 held that it was proper for their parents to set rules to restrict their places of facebook use. index 12 reveals that 213 respondents admitted that parental mediation was for their online safety. index 13 indicates that 193 respondents agreed that their parents moderated their facebook use and made them adopt secret facebook bypass measures. index 14 reveals that 175 respondents agreed that their parents' efforts to control their facebook use made them seek peer support for their facebook activities. the findings of the qualitative analysis verified the above findings. hence, the findings above enable the researcher to address the fourth research question by stating that parental mediation positively and negatively impacted 15-19-year-old southeast teens' facebook use. positively, as it was for their online safety, its location-based rules were considered proper. negatively, it infringed on their online privacy, made them adopt secret behaviours, and sought peer influence. the findings above corroborate sadiku, ashaolu, ajayi-majebi, & musa (2021) on the need for parents to set rules towards their teens' online safety. the results also verify harrison-evans & krasodomski-jones (2017) and liu et al. (2023), who critiqued parental monitoring mediation as possessing the possibility of generating counterproductive attitudes in young people. also, the findings authenticate the theory of planned behaviour, as parental mediation coupled with proper motivation could lead to teens' view of the parents' facebook measure as something meant for their safety. the theory also explains why improper parental mediation and motivation could negatively impact teens. the findings also verify parental mediation theory, which considers how parents use interpersonal communication to regulate the antithetical effects they believe communication media has on their children. summary of findings this study examined the level of facebook use by 15-19-year-old teenagers in southeast nigeria: the impact of parental mediation. subsequently, below is the summary of the findings: i. most 15-19-year-old southeast teens had functional facebook, regarded facebook as their favourite site, and visited it between 30 minutes to 2 hours daily. ii. most 15-19-year-old teens in the southeast use facebook multiple times daily. iii. most 15-19-year-old teens in the southeast visited facebook between 30 minutes to 2 hours daily for information gathering and sharing and other interpersonal reasons; the duration depended on socio-economic factors such as availability of power supply, funds, etc. iv. most 15-19-year-old teens in the southeast admitted that their parents' facebook mediation had positive and negative impacts on them. conclusion this study dealt with facebook, a social networking site. it examined the level of facebook use among 15-19-year-old teens in southeast nigeria. it discovered a high level of site usage in the zone. besides, the findings also showed that teens visited it between 30 minutes to 2 hours daily, and most used it multiple times daily for diverse interpersonal engagements that could be constructive or deconstructive. further, the study discovered that the duration of site use is influenced by socio-economic factors such as the availability of power supply, funds, etc. that explains the difference in duration between this study and previous ones. the users need electricity to charge their phones for subsequent facebook activities. whereby this is unavailable, the duration of their site use is also affected. besides, the study found that parental mediation positively and negatively impacted teens. the study finally recommends that parents igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 199 and stakeholders involved in teens' development should embark on media literacy to train parents and teens on responsible facebook usage. it also suggests that parents employ tested and more advanced facebook users to teach their teens how best to use the site. further, parents should create activities that regulate their teens' facebook activities towards responsible site use. recommendations given the level of facebook among 15-19-year-old teens in the southeast, as depicted in the findings, this study recommends the following in tandem with the research objectives: i. since facebook trends among most 15-19-year-old teens in southeast nigeria, there should be stress on media literacy in the zone using various platforms available here, such as churches, schools, traditional authorities, etc. media literacy is for parents and teens. parents ought to know about the site to moderate their teens' usage of it better. nemo dat quod non habet – no one gives what he does not have. ii. parents should engage their teens in monitored activities that encourage optimal facebook usage to moderate the frequency of their facebook usage. parents who cannot employ sophisticated monitoring instruments can use other activities within their control, such as ensuring their teens have study timetables and keeping to them. iii. parents should teach their teens proper use of time by letting them know there is time for everything. such would expose teens to the danger of time-wasting on their facebook accounts. iv. parents should avoid facebook's mediatory actions that could demean the dignity of the teenagers. references ajzen, i. (199 1). the theory of planned behaviour. organisational behavior and human decision processes. 50. 179-211. 10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-t amante, l & mendes, c.m. (2017). young people on facebook: privacy management. a theoretical approach on youth's view of privacy on this social network. revista observatório, palma. 3(4). 56-91. 10.20873/uft.2447-4266.2017v3n4p56. https://www .researchgate.net/profile/. brehm, s. s., & brehm, j. w. (1981). psychological reactance: a theory of freedom and control. new york: academic press. calvert s. l. (2015). chapter 10: children and digital media. http://cdmc.georgetown.edu/ wp-content/upload. clark, l. s. (2011). parental mediation theory for the digital age. communication theory, 21, 323–343. dollarhide, m. (2023). social media: definition, importance, top websites and applications. in investopedia. (http://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/social-media.asp. dixon, s.j. (2024). facebook: number of daily active users worldwide 2011-2023. in. statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/346167/facebook-global-dau/ facebook users by country (2024). https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/ facebook-users-by-country hadiapurwa, a., fina, e.n.j., nugraha, h., & komara, d.a. (2023). social media usage for language literacy development in indonesia. jurnal kajian informasi & perpustakaan, 11(1), 109-126. 10.24198/jkip.v11i1.40208. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 200 hagaman, a.k., wutich, a, . (2017). how many interviews are enough to identify metathemes in multisited and cross-cultural research? another perspective on guest, bunce, and johnson's (2006) landmark study. field methods, 29(1), 23–41. https://doi.o orioque, 2021rg/10.1177/1525822x16640447. harrison-evans, p., & krasodomski-jones, a. (2017). the moral web: youth character, ethics, and behaviour. demos. https://demosuk.wpengine.com/wpcontent/uploads/2017/09 /demj5689-the-moral-web-ethics-and-behaviour-on-social-media-170908-web-3. kaplan, a.m., haenlein, m. (2010). users of the world, unite! the challenges and opportunities of social media. business horizons 53(1), 59-68. http://michael haenlein. eu/publications/kaplan. kemp, s. (2019). digital 2019: global digital overview. https://datareportal.com/reports/digi tal-2019-global-digital-overview kemp, s. (2024). digital 2024: global overview report. https://datareportal.com/reports /digital-2024-global-overview-report lamorte, w. (2016). behavioural change models. https://sphweb.bumc.bu.edu/otlt/mphmod ules/sb/ behavioralchangetheories/index.html. liu, j., wu, l., sun, x., bai, x., & duan, c. (2023). active parental mediation and adolescent problematic internet use: the mediating role of parent-child relationships and hiding online behaviour. behavioural sciences, 13(8), 679. 10.3390/bs1308067h�ps://doi.org/ livingstone, s., & helsper, e. i. (2008). parental mediation of children's internet use. journal of broadcasting & electronic media, 52(4), 581-599. doi: 10.1080/0883815080243. mahmood, q.k., zakar, r. &zakar, m.z. (2018): role of facebook use in predicting bridging and bonding social capital of pakistani university students. journal of human behaviour in the social environment, 1-18. doi:10.1080/10911359.2018. mathew, j., ogedebe, p., & ogedebe, s.m. (2016). a survey of facebook usage in north-east of nigeria. new media and mass communication, 53, 46-51 mensah, e & solomon, k. (2019). social media use and moral development of students: a cross-sectional survey. international journal of innovative research and development. 8(11), 93-100. 10.24940/ijird/2019/v8/i11/nov19025 monks, h., cardosoa, p., papageorgioua, a., carolana, c., costelloa, l., &thomasa, l. (2015). young people's views regarding participation in mental health and wellbeing research through social media. the international journal of emotional education, 7 (1), 4-19. nations, d. (2021). what is social media? https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-social-mediaexplaining-the-big-trend-3486616 national population commission. (2020). population projections and demographic indicators national and states. https://factcheckhub.com okocha, d & agbele, d. (2023). mediating democratic engagement: the impact of new media on nigerians' involvement in political and civil life. in j.e chukwuere, d. adom, j. j. dyikuk (eds.) disruptive social media: towards a resilient social media ecosystem in africa. mahikeng, south africa: jozac publishers. orioque, j.a. (2021). student use of facebook groups as a support for academic learning. international journal of applied science and engineering, 18(4), 1-8. https://gigvvy .com/journals/ijase/articles/ijase-202106-18-4-001. popiołek, m. (2015). the role of facebook in the process of acquiring information. own research study. journal of education culture and society, 1, 75-85. 10.15503/jecs 20151.75.85. rideout, v.j., foehr, u. g. & roberts, d. f. (2010). generation m2: media in the lives of 8 to 18-year-olds. a kaiser family foundation study. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ sadiku, m.no., ashaolu, t.j., ajayi-majebi, a., & musa, s.m. (2021). digital safety. international journal of scientific advances, 2(5), 793-979. -2. 10.51542/ijscia.v2i5.21. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 201 similarweb. (2024). top websites ranking. https://www.similarweb.com/top-websites/ smahelova, m., juhová, d., cermak, i., & smahel, d. (2017). mediation of young children's digital technology use: the parents' perspective. cyberpsychology: journal of psychosocial research on cyberspace, 11(3), article 4. https://dx.doi.org/10.5817/cp statista (2024a). most popular social networks worldwide as of january 2024, ranked by number of monthly active users. https://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/globalsocial-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users/?ref=buffer.com. statista. (2024b). number of monthly active facebook users worldwide as of 4th quarter 2023. https://www.statista.com/statistics/264810/number-of-monthly-active-facebook-usersworldwide/ steindl, c., jonas, e., sittenthaler, s., traut-mattausch, e., & greenberg, j. (2015). understandstanding psychological reactance: new developments and findings. zeitschrift fur psychologie, 223(4), 205–214. https://doi.org/10.1027/2151-2604/a000222 tayo, s.s., adebola, s.t., & yahya, d.o. (2019). social media: usage and influence on undergraduate studies in nigerian universities. international journal of education and development using information and communication technology, 15(3), 53-62 the london school of economics and political science (2017). social media platforms and demographics. https://info.lse.ac.uk/staff/divisions/communications-division/digital communications team/assets/documents/guides/a-guide-to-social-mediaplatformsand-demographics valkenburg, p & peter, j. (2013). the differential susceptibility to media effects model. journal of communication. 63(2), 221-243. 10.1111/jcom.12024. whatis.com (2013). facebook definition. internet technology glossary. retrieved from http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/facebook white, s. r., rasmussen, e. e., & king, a. j. (2015). restrictive mediation and unintended effects: serial multiple mediation analysis explaining the role of reactance in us adolescents. journal of children and media, 9(4), 510-527. zaman, b., nouwen, m., van attenhoven, j., de ferrers, e. & looy, j. v. (2016). a qualitative inquiry into the contextualised parental mediation practices of young children's digital media use at home, journal of broadcasting & electronic media, 60(1), 1-22. https:// core.ac.uk/download/. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 163 domestic environment and nigeria's international relations thankgod f. lilly-inia, ph.d & loveday, mkpae department of political science, university of port harcourt. thankgodfly24@gmai.com lovedaymkpae@gmail.com; doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.33952.39688 abstract the paper explored the domestic environment and nigeria's international relations. the need to address domestic issues which usually arise from the domestic environment of states is the driving force behind interactions between and among states. foreign policy is the projection of the national interest of a state in the global system. nigeria is mired with numerous domestic problems such as insecurity, infrastructural decay general underdevelopment etc. these amongst others form the locus of her engagement with other states in the international system. the study adopted the realist theory propounded by hans j. morgenthau in 1948 as its theoretical framework. it situated nigeria's interactions with other states in the global system within the context of her national interest. the secondary source of data was applied for the study; it involves the collection of data from textbooks, articles, seminar papers, journals etc. the study observed that interactions between and among states in the global system are inevitable because no state is an island of its own. the study recommends that the nigerian government should appoint people who have vast knowledge about nigerian foreign policy to man the ministry of foreign affairs to help give direction to the formulation and implementation of policies that reflect the domestic needs of nigeria in the international arena. keywords: environment, nigeria, international, politics, government introduction international relations according to hartman (2009), refers to the political activities and other kinds of interactions among two or more states. hartman further noted that the academic field of international relations is a branch of political science that is concerned with the study of relations between states, the foreign policy of nation-states, and the mechanisms and institutions (such as international organizations, inter-governmental organizations, international and national nongovernmental organizations and multinational corporations) through which states interact (hartman, 2009). quincy (2007) in his submission noted that international relations are the relations between groups of major importance in the life of the world at any period of history. the study of international relations involves many subjects such as international and regional peace and security, international organizations, nuclear proliferation, globalization, human rights, economic development, intervention, international financial relations, and international trade relations etc. the interdependence of the global system attests to the relevance of international relations. no state in the international system is an island as states depend on each other in one form or the other in order to survive. the interactions of states are usually influenced by their national interest. in other words, states relate with each other in other to actualize their national interest. the national interest of a state is usually predicated on its domestic issues. put differently, national interest emanates from the domestic environment of a state and is projected into the global arena. foreign policy therefore becomes the means of pursuing and actualizing the national interest of a state. according to obi (2009, p.42), foreign policy “denotes a pattern of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 164 values expressed through government authoritative statements to give a sense of the goals, objectives, hopes and aspirations of the issuing country in relations with other countries”. it is a pattern through which nations relate with each other to promote and protect their national interest. this is why emeka (1992, p.12), postulate that “the foreign policy of a nation is intended at manipulating the global community with the power at the disposal of the nation in other to actualize the national objectives of that nation”. nigeria's interactions with other states in the global arena are with the intent of addressing her numerous domestic problems. these problems include but are not limited to insecurity, infrastructural decay, general underdevelopment etc. it is against this background that this paper intends to examine the domestic environment and nigeria's international relations (2015-2023). statement of the problem states are rational actors in the global system. every state has certain goals they seek to actualize. these goals vary from state to state and are usually influenced by domestic events. the wave of insecurity in nigeria orchestrated by boko haram, banditry, herdsmen-farmers clashes, eastern security network (esn), islamic state of west african province (iswap) and kidnapping etc. pose a major challenge and threat to the socio-economic, and political development of nigeria. the threat posed by these security challenges necessitated the need for the federal government to seek bilateral and multilateral agreements with other countries to nip these security threats in the bud. for instance, in a bid to curb the activities of boko haram, the federal government formed the joint multinational task force with neighbouring countries such as cameroun, niger, chad and central africa republic. also, security threats from boko haram, made the nigerian government sign a bilateral agreement with the united states of america for the sales of arms to nigeria to enable her to combat the menace of boko haram. for instance, nigeria purchased four rigid-hulled inflatable boats. the boats were delivered by asis boats a company from the united arab emirates. furthermore, the country bought ten songar uavs from turkey's asiguard. the uavs are slated to assist the nigerian police in fighting gang violence in urban cities. the nigerian police already bought alti transition uavs from south africa, the french elistair orion fixed-wing aircraft and four chinese ar-500b airborne unmanned helicopters (africa and the arms trade, 2022). china supplied the ch-3 to nigeria's government prior to 2014, along with yc-200 guided bombs and ar-1 air-to-ground missiles. in 2020, the nigerian air force (naf) chief, air marshal sadique abubakar, disclosed that the naf had concluded the acquisition of eight wing loong ii, ch-4, and ch-3 drones etc (chibundu, 2017). the proliferation of small and light weapons (salw) which is a major threat to national security prompted the nigeria government to sign bilateral agreements with her neigbohouring countries such as cameroon, niger, benin republic and chad. domestic events have propelled nigeria to establish economic ties with other countries. in other to address the problem of decayed infrastructure in nigeria, the federal government of nigeria signed several bilateral relations with china that led to the chinese government constructing several railway lines in nigeria. also, the nigeria government borrowed trillions of naira through that bilateral agreement. the comatose state of nigeria's refineries prompted her to establish ties with the usa, france, italy and germany for the sales of her crude oil. the fact that states are always bedevilled with domestic events has thereby necessitated the need for international relations. aim and objectives this paper aims to examine nigeria's domestic environment and international relations. the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 165 paper is guided by the following objectives: i. examine nigeria's domestic problems. ii. analyze nigeria's national interest. iii. make appropriate recommendations on how to address nigeria's domestic problems in the international arena. methodology the historical research design was adopted for the study; it involves studying past events to understand present events in other to predict future events. the secondary source of data was utilized for this study. the secondary source of data refers to the set of data collated or authored by another person, archives, in the form of documents collected for a purpose other than the present one in which it is being used (asika, 2006). selltiz et al (2008), have declared that the usefulness of secondary sources of data lies in the fact that information of this sort is collected periodically. also, gathering information from such sources does not require the cooperation or assistance of the individual about whom information is being sought. the sources of data for this study include; magazines, newspapers, textbooks, journals and seminar papers among others. the content analysis was adopted as our method of data analysis. theoretical framework the theory adopted for this study is the realist theory propounded by hans j. morgenthau in 1948. the theory derives its impulse from the perspective that the nature of man is sinful and conflictual. realism holds that political theory must flow from observation of the history and experience of people and nation-states and that these show a pattern of violent and aggressive behaviour (richard and sinclair, 1996). thus, the highest moral duty of the nation-state is its own preservation. to accomplish this, states must utilize power. according to morganthau (1978, p.57), “the interest of nation-state defined in terms of power, is the main moral guide in which policy is developed, but prudence in pursuing that interest is the primary ethical guide for policy makers''. in the world of power politics, states must increase their power to guarantee their survival. according to morganthau (1978, p.56), “thus, the goal of state has come to include the search for ways to acquire and keep power, increase power and demonstrate power. in short, in a world of conflicting states seeking power, or a world confirmed by historical experience and by the nature of man, states must engage in power politics in order to survive, and they should do anything prudent or otherwise to achieve that goal''. according to walker (1993, p.33), “there is no single tradition of realism but rather a knot of historically constituted tensions, contradictions and evasions''. there are therefore different types of realism which timothy (1993), has distinguished into three: classical realism (up to the twentieth century), modern realism (1939 – 1979) and neo-realism (1979 to date). timothy (1993, p.43), admits that “this periodization do not however overcome the problem of diversity since not all classical writers agree on the causes of war, or whether the balance of power is a natural state or one which must be created for the effective management of global power”. walker (1993) further distinguished between historical realism and structural realism. machiavelli is regarded as the leading proponent of historical realism. he advocates a set of ideas which permit nation-state leaders to bring the external environment under their control. e.h carr can be regarded as a modern machiavelli. to carr (1976, p.17), “nations of power must advocate for a foreign policy which recognized the interplay of power and morality, force and appeasement. it is his idea that brutal force alone cannot keep and control any population in a state of perpetual submissiveness to authority''. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 166 relating and applying the realist perspective in understanding the domestic environment and nigeria's international relations, it becomes imperative to state that states are conceived as rational actors always on the move to influence the policies and actions of other states in the international community with the sole aim of actualizing their national interest. the realist theory is relevant for this paper because it conceived states as rational actors always in the move to protect their national interest. the need for establishing relations with other states in the global system is to address the domestic needs of a state. thus relations between or among states is not permanent but rather perpetual based on the interest or goal a state seeks to actualize. results and discussions nigeria's domestic problems nigeria is mired with numerous domestic problems such as insecurity orchestrated by the activities of boko haram, islamic state of west african province (iswap), niger delta avengers (nda), movement for the emancipation of the niger delta (mend), indigenous peoples of biafra (ipob), niger delta volunteer force (ndvf), banditry and herdsmen etc. infrastructural decay and general underdevelopment etc. these domestic problems form the corner stone of her interactions with other states in the global community. it is therefore important to discuss some of these problems. with regard to boko haram, the group which carries out its operation mainly in the northeast region, has wreaked havoc on the people of the region. the group was founded by mohammed yusuf in 2002, the group was led by abubakar shekau until his death. nigeria has been ranked third of the 162 countries in the world that have been worst hit by terrorist attacks according to the 2015 global terrorisms index, due to the high rate of terrorist activities by the boko haram sect. the 2023 rating by the global terrorisms index sees nigeria moved to eight positions (gti, 2023). below is a table that depicts the 2023 rating by global terrorisms index indicating nigeria's position. table one: table showing the global terrorism index source: gti (2023) going by the latest ranking, nigeria only fared better than afghanistan, burkina faso, somalia, mali, syria, iraq and pakistan which occupied first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh s /n c o u n t r y t o t a l d e a t h s in c e 2 0 0 7 1 a f g h a n is t a n 1 8 5 0 0 2 b u r k in a f a s o 3 51 5 3 s o m a l i a 9 0 5 7 4 m a l i 3 4 4 2 5 s y r i a 6 0 4 8 6 i r a q 3 6 5 5 1 7 p a k i s t a n 1 4 9 2 0 8 n ig e r i a 1 0 7 6 8 9 m y a n m a r 1 0 3 6 1 0 n ig e r 1 8 4 2 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 167 position respectively (gti (2023). the sect formally calls itself “jama'atul alhul sunnah liddo' wati wal jihad” which means “people committed to the propagation of the prophet's teachings and jihad” (nwanegbo &odigbo, 2013). their violent action started in 2009 and it has led to the death of many including the displacement of thousands from the northeast region. below is a table that depicts the nature of violent attacks from the deadly islamic sect. table two: table showing data on the violent attacks by boko haram from 2009-2022 s/n date of attack state location of attack impact 1. july 27, 2009 yobe attack on potiskum, yobe state divisional headquarters 4 peopl e killed 2. march 13, 2009 plateau pantha, northern part of jos plateau state 300 people killed 3. oct. 1, 2010 explosion near the eagle’s square, abuja 12 people were killed, many injured 4. dec. 24, 2010 plateau a bomb attack, in barkinlad i, jos plateau state 8 people killed 5. jan. 21, 2011 borno attack on borno state governorship candidate of all nigerian people party (anpp), alhaji modu gubio 7 people killed 6. march 30, 2012 yobe a bomb planted by boko haram in damaturu, yobe ex ploded and injured a police officer 1 injured 7. july 12, 2012 borno boko haram threw an explosive device on a moving military vehicle in maiduguri 5 people killed 8. feb. 4, 2012 yobe attacks in geri dam 7 people killed 9. oct. 3, 2013 born o boko haram attack baga market in maiduguri 3 people killed 10. jan. 15, 2013 yobe attacks by boko haram in damaturu, yobe state 150 people killed 11. july 10, 2014 borno explosion in maiduguri 5 people killed 12. nov. 12, 2014 bauchi bomb e xplosion in police station misau 7 people killed 13. dec. 10, 2014 bauchi bombing of mubi 37 people killed 14. march 14, 2015 yobe multiple attacks in churches in damboa 12 people were injured injure 15. sept. 12, 2015 borno bombing of the view ing centre in maiduguri 45 were killed, and several people were injured. 16. oct. 14, 2015 kano bombing of kano central mosque several people injured 17. jan. 8, 2015 borno bombing of miami market 45 people were killed and several injured 18. jan. 18, 2017 yobe attack on bus station in potiskum, yobe state 4 killed many injured 19 march 15, 2020 yobe abduction of government college school girls several injured 20 april, 29, 2022 abuja attacked on kuje prison many were injured and the facility destroyed igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 168 source: (adebayo, 2022) iswap is another armed group that constitutes a serious security threat to nigeria with devastating effects on the people in nigeria and the northeast region in particular. iswap is a splinter group from boko haram. as succinctly captured by starting in abdulrahman (2017), 2015, boko haram found itself under increasing pressure from the nigerian military and its regional allies, which fed its internal divisions, causing it to shrink in power. in march of that year (2015), boko haram lost its self-proclaimed capital, gwoza, to nigerian troops, and over time, notable towns it had overrun in borno state fell back into government hands, forcing the group back into safe havens on the periphery of lake chad, in the sambisa forest and in hills and mountains east of gwoza ( . boko haram's retreat exacerbated longstanding abdulrahman, 2017) personality clashes and doctrinal differences within the organization. the group was still intact in march 2015 when shekau pledged allegiance to isis leader abu bakr al-baghdadi and it took up the name islamic state of west africa province (iswap) . but a year later it (akinyetun, 2017) fractured in two. following the lead of mamman nur and abu musab al-barnawi, a son of mohammed yusuf, a number of senior leaders split off from shekau's forces. nur and al-barnawi's faction, retaining the name iswap, gained recognition from isis and attracted a growing number of militants (akinyetun, 2017). iswap's leadership has changed in the intervening three years. in 2018 an internal dispute reportedly led to the execution of nur, and in march 2019, it announced that abu musab had been replaced by another (albeit unrelated) al-barnawi, abu abdallah. shekau remains in control of a rump faction of boko haram that reassumed the group's original name, jama'tu ahlis sunna lidda'awati wal-jihad (jas). according to “their akinyetun (2017;132), sway is limited to the marshland around and islands of lake chad, parts of the mandara hills on the nigeria-cameroon border, and the inaccessible forests of borno and yobe states – terrain that provides cover from nigerian and allied air power”. moreover, iswap has been expanding its reach. as observed by in december 2018, it overran a major military base in ajibefun (2016), baga, on the shores of lake chad, which the nigerian army had recaptured in february 2015. on 23 february 2019, the day of nigeria's general elections, iswap launched its first-ever attack on borno state's capital, maiduguri, firing rockets at military targets. banditry is another armed group fuelling insecurity in nigeria. the activities of this group are mainly in the northwest region. katsina state is one of the states in the northwest that is presently affected by banditry, cattle rustling and kidnapping which started from july 2018 to date. this affects mainly the eight frontline local government areas (lgas) namely jibia, batsari, safana, danmusa, kankara, faskari, dandume and sabua. this situation has become so bad that in january 2019, the governor of katsina state lamented that katsina state is under serious siege by bandits and kidnappers, even though i as a governor am not safe (aminu, 2019). ojewale (2021, p.102) in his submission, aver that “the phenomenon of rural banditry, which recently gained currency in nigeria's public discourses, is a fallout of persistent violence in rural communities within the last ten years”. the results had been traumatic. he went further to posit that “there had been a massive loss of thousands of lives, forced displacement of locals and devastation of monumental proportions in states like benue, kaduna, katsina, zamfara, plateau, niger, nasarawa, taraba, yobe gombe and others across northern nigeria (ojewale, 2021). although rural banditry is also reelected in criminal escapades like cattle rustling, kidnapping, armed robbery, drug abuse, arson, rape and other forms of violence, the brazen and gruesome massacre of agrarian communities with sophisticated weapons by suspected herdsmen and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 169 reprisal attacks from surviving victims threw it up to the front burner of national security. pastoral resolve group (a social group comprising farmers) noted that there is a symbiotic relationship between the two production systems agricultural and pastoral, but conflicts had arisen because of their reliance on land and its related resources. thus, the declining capacity of the state to moderate these conflicts and undertake effective policing of rural areas led to the unending cycle of violence (ojewale, 2021). herdsmen are another armed group fuelling insecurity in nigeria. the activities of this group are mainly in north-central nigeria. according to the activities of herdsmen are a ibrahim (2017), threat to the economic, political and social security of nigeria and a major factor associated with its underdevelopment; because it discourage both local and foreign investments, reduce the quality of life, destroy human and social capital, damaged relationship between citizens and the states, thus undermining democracy, rule of law and the ability of the country to promote development. the current conflict in nigeria between the fulani herdsmen, farmers and their neighbours stems from a long history of feuding, farming and herding ibrahim, 2017). the ( herdsmen crisis has now changed the dimension from the usual crisis known to nigeria; militancy and cultism etc. herdsmen attacks on communities have taken more lives in the past few years than boko haram and has been described by the world terrorism index as the third most deadly group in the world; nigeria's most prominent terrorist organization and has not shown any sign of slowing down in its deadly pace (global terrorism index, 2019). with regard to decayed infrastructure in nigeria, nigeria has embarked on relations with other states in other to address this deficit. china's engagement in nigeria amounts to total financing commitments of us$5.4 billion. the initiation of these activities dates back to 2002 with the agreement on the first phase of the national rural telephony project (nrpt) when china's two telecom giants zte and huawei began actively pursuing equipment supply and network rollout projects for both fixed and wireless services in the country (nye & keohane, 2009). in march 2002, china machinery and equipment import and export company (cmec) and shandong power construction company agreed to a $390 million deal with the nigerian ministry of power and steel to build two gas-fired power plants with a total capacity of 670 megawatts (nye & keohane, 2009). cmec president li shuzhi said the plants would help ease the electricity shortage in nigeria and promote economic and trade cooperation between the two countries. in 2006, there was a substantial scale-up in china ex-im bank financing with almost us$5 billion of projects agreed. these included contributions of us$2,5 billion to a major lagos kano railway upgrading project, a contribution of us$1 billion to the abuja rail mass transit project, which involves the construction of a high-speed rail link between lagos and abuja, as well as a light railway system connecting murtala mohammed international airport and nmandi azikwe international airport with the lagos and abuja city centres respectively (nye & keohane, 2009). in a bid to further address the infrastructural decay in nigeria in april 2016, former president buhari visited china in other to consolidate the existing bilateral relations between the two countries. the two heads of state signed a memorandum of understanding (mou) on petroleum cooperation. the deal provided for substantial chinese investment in the nigerian oil industry. as part of the agreement, nigeria granted china four drilling licenses in exchange for commitments to invest us$4 billion in oil and infrastructural projects (costa, 2019). nigeria was also to provide a guarantee when absolutely necessary and the removal of the linkage of the oil block to the china exim bank facility (okeke, 2018). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 170 in september 2018, nigeria signed a $328 million loan with china to heavily boost the development of telecommunication infrastructures in nigeria. china provided the financing for the following projects in nigeria; abuja-kaduna railway, abuja metro light rail, abuja and port harcourt airport terminals. others include; lekki free trade zones, ogun – guangdong, zungeru hydro power dam, 3,050 mw mambilla hydroelectric power station and university of transportation, daura etc. nigeria's national interest it appears difficult to identify nigeria's conception of national interest since its independence. according to adigbuo (2011, p. 981), “while it is difficult to define the national interest of nigeria, it is even more difficult to redefine it because of the variegated diplomatic permutations and ideologies nigeria adopted over the years”. some foreign policy experts believe that nigeria has no clear-cut political ideology and national interest. part of the policy facilitations is attributable to the fact that foreign policy is inextricably linked to its domestic policy (adigbuo, 2011). the seeming reason for the foregoing observation is that since independence, nigeria's national interest has more often than not, been defined by the executive arm of government dominated by the petty bourgeoisie in alliance with the comprador elite. generally, the process in the formulation and/or conduct of nigeria's foreign policy is dominated by the prime minister/president or the head of state relying on the advice of the foreign affairs ministry and other relevant arms of the federal bureaucracy (akindele, 2003). essentially, the trends in nigeria's foreign policy indicating its national interest have not been very stable over time; nevertheless, it has always assumed the minimal core elements of national interest viz: protection of sovereignty and territorial integrity and the security of the country. since nigeria's independence, it was only on three occasions that members of ngos, international relations experts and representatives of the organized private sector were formally involved in the process of defining nigeria's national interest (akindele, 2003). they were so involved in 1961, 1986 and 1988. these attempts to get individuals and groups outside the bureaucratic system in the process of determining nigeria's national interest revealed a wide gap between the perspective of the ruling class and that of the masses. historically, the definition of nigeria's national interest has primarily reflected the realist perspective. it has also occasionally mirrored the behavioural and marxist political economy paradigms. in the early 1960s, under the first civilian administration of abubakar tafawa balewa, nigeria oscillated between realism and idealism (akali, 1996). the four principal foreign policy goals of nigeria then were: i) decolonization; ii) pan-africanism or pan-african solidarity; iii) national economic development; and iv) world peace. as far as the balewa administration was concerned, four major challenges coinciding with the four foreign policy goals confronted nigeria. the first challenge was the nature and methods of african unity. the subsets of this challenge could be framed in questions such as, “how can we bring the peoples of africa together to achieve the feeling of oneness?” “should we tackle our problems in africa sub-regionally or continentally; “do we aim at achieving immediate political union of all african states or do we start from economic and cultural relations?” the second challenge was on the issue of decolonization. the questions centered on issues such as how to assist the remaining dependent territories in africa to attain full independence within the shortest possible time; and how to tackle the problems of territories where minority european settlers lived. the third challenge bordered on the strategy for economic development. the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 171 questions were the strategies to tackle the shortage of capital and technical skills needed for economic development, especially to be free from the contending ideological blocs then. the fourth challenge concerned world peace. the central issue was what nigeria could do to contribute to world peace (akali, 1996). in 1961, the balewa administration convoked an all nigeria's peoples conference to formulate nigeria's response to the challenges earlier outlined. the 300 participants were drawn from among nigerians in and out of government representing the various shades of political beliefs in the country. although the outcome of the conference was mired in controversy between governmental and non-governmental representatives, there were areas of minimum agreement (akinyemi, 1979). on african unity, the conference recommended that nigeria should accept in principle the imperative of the political union of african states and to this end explore the possibility of an african defense force. further, the nigerian government should work for the merger of the casablanca and monrovia blocs so as to create a common institutional framework for the solution of african problems. on the question of decolonization, the conference urged that aid should be given to african nationalists struggling for the independence of their countries (akinyemi, 1979). on development, the conference proposed that nigeria should accept economic aid from both the east and west in the global ideological divide and pursue a strategy of sub-regional integration, starting with the liberalization of nigeria's immigration laws to accommodate the inflow of citizens of neighbouring countries. and on world peace, the conference urged that nigeria should pursue a policy of non-alignment, to this end, the anglonigeria defense pact should be abrogated (akinyemi, 1979). subsequent administrations consolidated these core interests of nigeria in the formulation of foreign policy. findings based on the data presented, the following findings are reached: i. it was observed in the course of the study that interactions among states in the global system are inevitable owing to the fact that no state is an island of its own. through international relations, states interact and address their problem. ii. the work observed that international relation is fueled by domestic problems that bedevil states. these problems vary from state to state. within the context of nigeria, the common domestic problems that affect the nigerian state are; insecurity, decayed infrastructure, general underdevelopment etc. iii. the paper observed that nigeria has attempted to address some of these problems (insecurity, decayed infrastructure, general underdevelopment etc.) by establishing relations with other countries in the global system. conclusion the nexus between the domestic environment and international relations has over the years garnered significant research attention (kaarbo, 2015; cantir & kaarbo, 2016; eksteen, 2019; saroha, 2019). existing studies have however extensively concentrated on how the domestic setting influences foreign policy output and consequent international reactions. foreign policy is made and conducted in complex domestic and international environments. nigeria's foreign policy flows from her domestic environment which often reflects her domestic challenges and it is predicated on her national interest. this interest ranges from insecurity, economic opportunities and the need to promote good neighbourliness etc. the rationale behind interaction stems from the fact that no state in the world is an island. thus, whether developed or underdeveloped, technologically advanced or backward, every state needs the other for survival. even the most technologically developed western states still to some extent rely on other states for survival. this reliance can take the form of trade and military or technological assistance in the case of developing states. states in their interactions with other states must bear in mind their igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 172 domestic challenges which naturally ought to be the watchword and guiding principle in international relations. nigeria's foreign policymakers and implementers have not fared better in this direction. she has not effectively utilized the instrumentality of foreign policy to address the numerous domestic challenges that confront the nigerian state. some of the bilateral and multilateral agreements entered between nigeria and other states in the international system for the purpose of addressing some of her domestic challenges have not lived up to expectations. for instance, despite spending huge amounts of money in the purchase of arms to confront insecurity that threatened the different parts of nigeria, insecurity has not abated and there is no sign of its cessation. again, nigeria's bilateral agreement with china especially in her quest to redress the infrastructural decay has not yielded much fruit. the term of such an agreement is lopsided as it was tilted in favour of china which has seen nigeria according to information obtained from the office of debt management office, nigeria's debt obligations to china increase by almost half a billion dollars in the second half of 2023 to $5.16 billion (dmo, 2023). these debts are attributed to various bilateral agreements on the execution of infrastructural projects in the country. recommendations i. the nigerian government should appoint people who have vast knowledge about nigerian foreign policy to man the ministry of foreign affairs to help give direction to the formulation and implementation of policies that reflect the domestic needs of nigeria in the international arena. ii. nigeria foreign policymakers should at all times project nigeria's interest above any other interest in her foreign policy formulation and implementation. this is important so as to address the numerous challenges that bedevil nigeria; insecurity, infrastructural decay, underdevelopment etc. iii. nigeria foreign policymakers and implementers should be guided by the foreign policy objectives of nigeria which place nigeria's interest above subregion, regional and global interest. this is the only way her domestic concerns or issues can be addressed. references abdulrahman, u.l. (2017). understanding farmers-herdsmen conflict and the way forward. sage publications. adigbuo, e. r. (2011). “green tree agreement on bakassi peninsula. ababa press ltd. africa and the arms trade (2022). arms trade bulletin october. december 2022 ajibefun, m. b. (2016). social and economic effects of the menace of fulani herdsmen crises in nigeria. great future press. akali, r. (1996). issues in international relations and nigeria's foreign policy. bob academic press. akindele, c. (2003). “nigeria peacekeeping at what cost?.” nigerian: tribune, 16 august 2010. akinyemi (1979). “mohammed/obasanjo foreign policy” in o. oyediran edition of the nigerian government and politics under military rule. macmillan publication. akinyetun, t. s. (2017). in his article “staff to gun: fulani herdsmen in nigeria. sage publications. asika, n. (2009). essentials of research methodology. spring publisher. asobie, h. (2001). globalization: a view from the south, in fasunwon, a. f., a critical analysis of the institutional outcomes of nigeria's economic diplomacy. journals of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 173 international relation, 3(5); 43-51 cantir, c., & kaarbo, j. (eds.). (2016). domestic role contestation, foreign policy, and international relations. routledge. carr, e.h. (1976). an introduction to the study of international relations. warner publication costa, r. (2019). china: the emerging gian: palmgrove publications eksteen, r. (2019). the effect of domestic affairs on foreign policy, with specific reference to current events in the united states of america. tydskrif vir geesteswetenskappe. ibrahim a. g. (2017). violent conflicts, conflict resolution and peace building. global best practices and new perspective public lecture. kaarbo, j. (2015). a foreign policy analysis perspective on the domestic politics turn in ir theory. international studies review, 17(2), 189-216. morganthau, h. (1978). politics among nations. englewood publication nye, j. & keohane, r. (2009). analysis of the imperfect imbalance of trade relations between nigeria and china. shanghai press. obi, e. (2009). fundamentals of nigerian foreign policy. enugu: book point limited. oche, c. (2019). nigeria vs china human rights stand, new york, usa virgin press. ofo, e. (1994). chinese investments in nigeria. glow press. okeke, b. (2018). nigeria-china labour relations. ikenga publishers. osuagwu, p. (2006). china: the one belt one road policy on africa. palmgrove publications saroha, j. k. (2019). a study on domestic politics and international relations. international journal for research in applied sciences and biotechnology, 6(2), 14-16. selltiz, c., wrightman, d., and cook, g. (2008). research methods in social relations. oxford publication. timothy, d. (1993). the globalization of world politics. ipmann press. walker, r.b. (1993). international relations as political theory. cambridge university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 36 john rawls on civil disobedience and the constraints of nigerian democracy ebeh john igbogo, phd department of philosophy, prince abubakar audu university, anyigba ebeh4u@gmail.com & fasiku, gbenga cornelius phd department of philosophy, prince abubakar audu university, anyigba cfasiku@gmail.com or gbenga.fc@ksu.edu.ng & yusuf, iliasu department of philosophy, prince abubakar audu university, anyigba yusufiliasu119@gmail.com abstract this paper examines john rawls’ theory of civil disobedience within the context of nigeria’s democratic context, emphasizing the tensions and possibilities it presents. rawls defines civil disobedience as a public, nonviolent and conscientious act aimed at bringing about a change in laws or policies considered unjust within a near-just society. applying this to nigeria, a democracy marred by systemic corruption, ethnic divisions and weak institutions, the paper explores how rawls’ constraints, such as publicity, nonviolence and fidelity to law, are challenged. the paper critically argues that while rawls’ template offers valuable insights into the legitimacy of civil disobedience, adapting these principles to nigeria requires addressing the unique socio-political realities of the country. by examining notable instances of civil disobedience in nigeria, such as protests against police brutality and election malpractice, the paper highlights the need to balance rawlsian ideals with practical strategies for achieving justice in a fragile democracy like nigeria’s. keywords: john rawls, civil disobedience, democracy, justice, nigeria. introduction civil disobedience has long been a vital instrument for resisting injustice and advocating for change within societies. john rawls, one of the most influential political philosophers of the 20th century, provides a comprehensive framework for understanding the nature, justification, and limitations of civil disobedience in his seminal work, a theory of justice. rawls defines civil disobedience as a public, nonviolent, and conscientious political act undertaken to bring about a change in unjust laws or policies in a near-just society (rawls 320). while this framework is rooted in liberal democracies with stable institutions, applying his theory to countries with fragile or evolving democratic systems, such as nigeria, raises mindboggling questions about its significance and adaptability. nigeria’s democracy, often described as fragile and constrained, is characterized by systemic corruption, weak institutions, ethnic divisions, and recurring social unrest. civil disobedience in nigeria, exemplified by protests such as the #endsars movement and demonstrations igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 37 against electoral malpractice, highlights the complexities between citizens’ demand for justice and the government’s often repressive responses. this context challenges the applicability of rawls’ constraints on civil disobedience, particularly his emphasis on adherence to legal boundaries and the expectation of a just system as a backdrop for such acts. this paper therefore examines the theoretical and practical implications of rawls’ philosophy of civil disobedience within the nigerian democratic framework. it argues that while rawls’ principles provide a foundational lens for analyzing civil disobedience, they require significant adaptation to address the unique socio-political realities of nigeria. by exploring key cases of civil disobedience in the country, the paper's highpoint is the need to rethink rawlsian ideals in light of the challenges faced by citizens in fragile democracies. john rawls’ concept of civil disobedience john rawls, in his landmark work a theory of justice, provides a rigorous philosophical framework for understanding civil disobedience within a democratic society. he defines civil disobedience as a “public, nonviolent, conscientious yet political act contrary to law usually done with the aim of bringing about a change in the law or policies of the government” (rawls 320). rawls’ approach situates civil disobedience as a form of political protest that operates within the bounds of a near-just society, aimed at correcting specific instances of injustice without undermining the broader legal framework. according to rawls, civil disobedience is a moral act grounded in fidelity to law and justice. it is not mere lawbreaking but rather a deliberate and conscientious act performed in public to highlight injustices and appeal to the sense of justice within the community. the act must be nonviolent, as rawls insists that violence undermines the legitimacy of civil disobedience by violating the respect owed to individuals and the democratic process (322). rawls outlines three key conditions that justify civil disobedience in a democratic society. first, the injustice must be clear and significant, targeting violations of fundamental liberties or principles of justice. second, civil disobedience should be used as a last resort, only after all legal means of rectifying the injustice have been exhausted. third, the act should aim to maintain the integrity of the political system by demonstrating respect for democratic principles, even as it challenges specific laws or policies (326-328). rawls further argues that civil disobedience serves an important role in stabilizing democratic societies. by providing a mechanism for citizens to express dissent and challenge injustice, it acts as a safety valve for addressing grievances that, if left unresolved, could lead to social unrest or undermine the legitimacy of the system (331). however, rawls emphasizes that civil disobedience is only justifiable in societies that are “nearly just,” where basic democratic structures are intact, and the rule of law is generally upheld. in societies where justice is systematically absent, rawls suggests that more radical forms of resistance may be necessary. in sum, rawls’ concept of civil disobedience is deeply rooted in his broader theory of justice, which emphasizes fairness, equality, and the protection of basic liberties. it provides a framework for challenging injustice while maintaining respect for democratic institutions and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 38 the rule of law. this framework, however, raises questions about its applicability in contexts where democratic structures are weak or absent, such as in fragile democracies like nigeria. the features of nigerian democracy nigerian democracy, while modeled after global democratic principles, is shaped by unique historical, social, and political dynamics that set it apart. since the transition from military rule to civilian governance in 1999, nigeria has struggled to establish a democratic system that is inclusive, transparent, and accountable. however, the country’s democratic experience has been characterized by significant challenges and contradictions that raise questions about its stability and effectiveness. one defining characteristic of nigerian democracy is electoral irregularities and political violence. elections in nigeria are often marred by vote-buying, rigging, and manipulation of results. the use of political thugs and violence to intimidate voters and opponents remains prevalent, undermining the credibility of the electoral process (omotola 37). despite the establishment of the independent national electoral commission (inec) to oversee free and fair elections, its operations have frequently been criticized for lacking independence and transparency. another key feature is systemic corruption. corruption pervades all levels of governance in nigeria, weakening public institutions and eroding trust in democratic processes. from embezzlement of public funds to nepotism and patronage systems, corruption significantly hampers nigeria’s ability to achieve good governance (ibrahim and ibeanu 12). this endemic issue not only limits the capacity of elected officials to deliver public goods but also discourages citizen participation in democratic governance. nigerian democracy is also characterized by ethnic and regional divisions, which heavily influence political alignments and policy decisions. with over 250 ethnic groups, the country’s federal structure has been a source of both unity and division. political power is often distributed along ethnic lines, and the zoning arrangement for key positions aims to ensure inclusivity. however, this system has sometimes deepened ethnic rivalries, as leaders prioritize regional interests over national unity (suberu 79). furthermore, weak institutional frameworks undermine the consolidation of democracy in nigeria. the judiciary, legislature, and law enforcement agencies often lack the autonomy and resources to function effectively. political interference in these institutions weakens the rule of law and accountability mechanisms, creating a system where powerful elites operate with impunity (adebanwi and obadare 45). the prevalence of social and economic inequality also defines nigerian democracy. despite being africa’s largest economy, nigeria experiences widespread poverty and unemployment. these conditions exacerbate voter apathy and alienation from the political process, as many citizens feel disillusioned with the ability of democracy to improve their lives (ake 5). lastly, nigerian democracy is marked by a vibrant civil society and media, which play a crucial role in holding governments accountable and mobilizing citizens. protests such as the #endsars movement and advocacy by organizations like the socio-economic rights and accountability project (serap) demonstrate the resilience of civil society in addressing democratic deficits (amnesty international). the media, though sometimes constrained by state censorship, remains a vital platform for public discourse and criticism of governance. nigerian democracy is a complex and evolving system shaped by historical legacies, socioigwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 39 political diversity, and institutional weaknesses. while progress has been made since the return to civilian rule, significant challenges remain, requiring reforms to strengthen institutions, reduce corruption, and foster inclusivity in governance. civil disobedience in the nigerian context civil disobedience in nigeria has emerged as a critical tool for challenging systemic injustice, political oppression, and institutional failures within the country’s fragile democratic framework. unlike john rawls’ idealized view of civil disobedience as a nonviolent, public, and conscientious political act performed in a near-just society (rawls 320), the nigerian context often presents a different reality. here, civil disobedience frequently arises in response to deep-seated corruption, poor governance, and widespread socio-economic inequality, conditions that undermine the principles of justice and fairness. one of the most prominent examples of civil disobedience in nigeria is the #endsars movement, which began as a protest against police brutality, particularly by the special antirobbery squad (sars). the movement gained national and international attention as young nigerians organized peaceful protests across the country, calling for systemic reforms in governance and accountability. despite adhering to the principles of nonviolence, many protests were met with violent repression, culminating in incidents such as the lekki toll gate shooting in october 2020. this highlights a key challenge of civil disobedience in nigeria: the state’s often hostile response to dissent, which undermines the effectiveness of nonviolent resistance. civil disobedience in nigeria is also shaped by the country’s ethnic and religious diversity, which can complicate efforts to mobilize nationwide movements. protest movements often face the challenge of overcoming ethnic and regional divisions to build broad-based coalitions capable of advocating for systemic change. for instance, protests against electoral malpractice and corruption, while impactful, are frequently fragmented along ethnic and political lines, reducing their overall effectiveness in addressing national issues (ibrahim and abdu 45). additionally also, economic inequality and widespread poverty further complicate civil disobedience in nigeria. many nigerians face daily struggles for survival, making sustained participation in protests or acts of resistance difficult. this economic hardship is often exploited by political elites who use financial incentives or intimidation to suppress dissent (ihonvbere 89). these socio-economic factors challenge rawls’ assumption of a nearjust society where citizens have the means and freedom to engage in conscientious acts of disobedience. even with these challenges, civil disobedience in nigeria remains a powerful expression of citizens’ demands for justice and accountability. movements such as the fuel subsidy protests of 2012 and the continued push for electoral reforms illustrate the resilience of nigerians in using nonviolent resistance to challenge systemic failures. however, the success of these movements often depends on their ability to sustain momentum, overcome divisions, and resist state repression. in the nigerian context, civil disobedience serves not only as a means of addressing specific grievances but also as a broader critique of the country’s democratic shortcomings. while rawls’ framework provides a theoretical foundation for understanding civil disobedience, the nigerian experience highlights the need to adapt these principles to account for the unique socio-political realities of fragile democracies. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 40 rawlsian constraints and their applicability in fragile democracies john rawls’ framework for civil disobedience is grounded in a theory of justice that presumes the existence of a near-just society, where democratic principles are largely respected and the rule of law is robust. rawls outlines key constraints on civil disobedience, which include publicity, nonviolence, and a respect for the law. however, applying these constraints in fragile democracies such as nigeria raises significant challenges due to the compromised nature of democratic institutions and the pervasive nature of systemic injustice. rawls asserts that for civil disobedience to be legitimate, it must occur in a society where the basic structure of justice is in place, even if certain laws or policies are unjust. the first constraint, publicity, demands that acts of civil disobedience be openly and transparently communicated to both the government and the public (rawls 320). this condition relies on the assumption that democratic institutions, such as the media and the judiciary, function freely and without obstruction. however, in fragile democracies like nigeria, media censorship, the intimidation of journalists, and the suppression of dissenting voices by government forces make it difficult for civil disobedience to be fully publicized without facing repercussions. in such an environment, the act of publicity itself becomes a form of resistance against state power, often putting activists at risk of arrest or violence (amnesty international). the second constraint, nonviolence, requires that civil disobedience be carried out without resorting to harm or the threat of harm. rawls contends that violence undermines the moral legitimacy of the protest and damages the social contract upon which democracy is built (rawls 322). in theory, this aligns with the principles of nigerian civil disobedience movements, such as the #endsars protests, which have predominantly emphasized peaceful demonstrations against police brutality. however, in practice, state violence and police repression frequently lead to the escalation of peaceful protests, as seen in the tragic events of october 2020, when peaceful protesters were shot at the lekki toll gate in lagos (amnesty international). the government’s violent response to nonviolent protest complicates the application of rawlsian nonviolence, as it transforms nonviolent movements into confrontations with state power, often provoking further civil unrest. the third constraint, respect for the law, demands that civil disobedience be conducted in a way that acknowledges the authority of the legal system, even as it challenges specific laws (rawls 328). this constraint assumes that the legal system is largely fair and just, capable of enforcing fundamental rights. however, in fragile democracies such as nigeria, the legal system is often criticized for its inefficiency, bias, and susceptibility to political influence. the judiciary is frequently seen as compromised, and the law is selectively applied, often to the benefit of the political elite. this creates a paradox for rawlsian civil disobedience, where citizens may feel compelled to break laws that are fundamentally unjust, such as laws that enable corruption or violate human rights. in this context, the respect for law constraint may be seen as impractical, as the legal system itself is perceived by many as an instrument of oppression rather than justice. rawlsian civil disobedience also assumes that the society in which it takes place is "nearly just," where most citizens are capable of participating in democratic processes and where democratic institutions are generally effective (331). in fragile democracies like nigeria, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 41 where corruption, political patronage, and the exclusion of marginalized groups persist, the social contract is often broken. this reality challenges the assumption that civil disobedience can be effectively used to reform laws within a democratic framework when the very democratic structures are dysfunctional. citizens in such societies are often forced to use civil disobedience not only to challenge unjust laws but to call attention to the deeper flaws in the democratic system itself, which may require more than just legal reforms. finally, while rawls’ constraints on civil disobedience provide a foundational structure for understanding political resistance in just societies, their applicability in fragile democracies such as nigeria is limited. the corruption of democratic institutions, state violence, and social inequality present significant barriers to the effective use of civil disobedience in accordance with rawlsian principles. these challenges necessitate a rethinking of how civil disobedience functions in contexts where the social contract is fragile and the rule of law is undermined by entrenched power structures. challenges to civil disobedience in nigeria civil disobedience in nigeria is often hindered by a range of socio-political, economic, and institutional challenges that weaken its effectiveness and limit its potential as a tool for driving meaningful change. while civil disobedience remains a powerful avenue for citizens to protest against injustice and demand accountability, the unique characteristics of nigeria’s fragile democracy pose significant obstacles to its practice. one of the primary challenges is state repression and violence. the nigerian government has frequently responded to acts of civil disobedience with excessive force, including arrests, intimidation, and the use of lethal weapons against peaceful protesters. a striking example is the #endsars movement, which sought to end police brutality and demand systemic reforms. despite its nonviolent nature, the protests were met with violent crackdowns, including the notorious lekki toll gate shooting, where security forces reportedly opened fire on unarmed protesters (amnesty international). such responses not only discourage public participation but also create a climate of fear that stifles future acts of civil disobedience. another major obstacle is ethnic and religious divisions, which fragment collective action and make it difficult to build unified movements. nigeria is a diverse nation with over 250 ethnic groups and multiple religious affiliations, and these divisions are often exploited by political elites to undermine protests. movements that are perceived to represent specific ethnic or regional interests may struggle to gain nationwide support, limiting their impact and effectiveness (ibrahim and abdu 63). this fragmentation often prevents civil disobedience from addressing national issues in a cohesive manner. corruption and political manipulation further hinder civil disobedience in nigeria. political elites often use financial incentives or threats to suppress dissent and divide protest movements. the pervasive culture of patronage and the lack of accountability within government institutions weaken the moral authority of protests and make it difficult for movements to achieve their goals (ihonvbere 78). in addition, the co-optation of civil society leaders or activists by powerful interests dilutes the integrity of resistance efforts. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 42 the prevalence of poverty and economic inequality poses another challenge to civil disobedience. many nigerians face daily struggles to meet basic needs, leaving them with little capacity to participate in prolonged protests or acts of resistance. economic hardship also makes citizens vulnerable to financial inducements by political elites, who exploit this vulnerability to weaken opposition movements (ake 9). this reality often limits the scale and sustainability of civil disobedience in nigeria. media suppression and misinformation also play a significant role in undermining civil disobedience. while nigeria has a vibrant media landscape, journalists and media outlets often face censorship, harassment, or outright shutdowns when reporting on protests or dissenting voices. in addition, the spread of misinformation and propaganda by both the government and non-state actors can distort the narrative of civil disobedience, delegitimizing movements and reducing public support (adebanwi and obadare 51). lastly, institutional weaknesses and the absence of a near-just society compound the challenges faced by civil disobedience in nigeria. john rawls’ framework for civil disobedience assumes a functioning democratic system where laws are generally fair, and citizens trust in institutional mechanisms to address grievances (rawls 320). however, in nigeria, weak institutions, lack of judicial independence, and a history of electoral malpractice create an environment where citizens often perceive the system as incapable of delivering justice. this erodes the confidence needed to engage in constructive civil disobedience and may push some groups toward more radical or violent forms of resistance. civil disobedience in nigeria faces significant challenges stemming from state repression, ethnic divisions, corruption, economic hardship, media suppression, and institutional weaknesses. despite these obstacles, movements like #endsars demonstrate the resilience and determination of nigerian citizens to demand justice and accountability. addressing these challenges requires strengthening democratic institutions, fostering national unity, and ensuring the protection of citizens’ rights to protest and dissent. adapting rawls’ theory to the nigerian context john rawls’ theory of civil disobedience is built on the premise of a “near-just society,” where democratic institutions are generally fair, and the rule of law is respected (rawls 320). however, in fragile democracies like nigeria, where systemic corruption, weak institutions, and social inequalities prevail, rawls’ framework requires significant adaptation to remain applicable. the challenges posed by nigeria’s socio-political realities necessitate rethinking some of rawls’ principles to make them relevant to the country’s context. rawls’ concept of civil disobedience assumes a functional legal and political framework where injustices are exceptions rather than systemic issues (329). in nigeria, however, the prevalence of institutionalized corruption, electoral fraud and political repression undermines the basic structure of justice. to adapt rawls’ theory, one must recognize that civil disobedience in nigeria often targets not just isolated injustices but systemic failures. consequently, civil disobedience in nigeria may take a broader scope, addressing fundamental issues like corruption, the lack of transparency, and ethnic marginalization. rawls emphasizes that civil disobedience must be a public act aimed at appealing to the majority’s sense of justice (320). while publicity remains essential, the nigerian context requires a nuanced approach due to the state’s frequent suppression of dissent. protesters in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 43 nigeria often face arrests, intimidation, or violence for openly challenging the government. movements may need to rely on decentralized and covert mobilization strategies, such as the use of social media, to build momentum while protecting activists from persecution. the #endsars protests, for example, effectively leveraged digital platforms to amplify their message globally while countering state censorship (amnesty international). rawls’ insistence on nonviolence as a cornerstone of civil disobedience presents challenges in nigeria, where peaceful protests are often met with violent crackdowns. while nonviolence remains an important ethical principle, nigerian activists may need to adopt defensive strategies to protect themselves and their movements. additionally, the moral burden of maintaining nonviolence must be placed on the state, emphasizing that the legitimacy of civil disobedience is eroded not by protesters but by the government’s violent responses (ibrahim and ibeanu 57). rawls also argues that civil disobedience should demonstrate respect for the law, even when opposing unjust policies, to preserve the integrity of the democratic system (rawls 328). in nigeria, where the judiciary is often perceived as corrupt or politically compromised, fidelity to law must be reconceptualized. rather than adherence to a flawed legal system, nigerian activists may focus on fidelity to universal principles of justice and human rights. this shift allows civil disobedience to challenge not only specific laws but also the broader structural injustices embedded in the legal and political framework. nigeria’s ethnic, regional, and religious diversity often fragments collective action, posing a significant obstacle to effective civil disobedience. adapting rawls’ theory requires prioritizing inclusivity and coalition-building to unify diverse groups under common goals. successful movements in nigeria, such as the fuel subsidy protests of 2012, demonstrate the importance of transcending ethnic and regional divides to achieve widespread participation (omotola 45). such inclusivity strengthens the moral and political legitimacy of civil disobedience, making it more effective in addressing systemic issues. rawls’ theory assumes that citizens engaging in civil disobedience have the capacity and resources to participate. however, widespread poverty in nigeria limits many citizens’ ability to engage in prolonged protests or acts of resistance. to adapt rawls’ theory, movements must address the economic realities of their participants by creating support networks, such as food distribution and financial assistance, to sustain engagement. these measures not only enhance participation but also build solidarity within the movement. this, adapting rawls’ theory of civil disobedience to nigeria requires recognizing the unique challenges posed by the country’s fragile democracy. by rethinking the assumptions of a near-just society, modifying the principles of publicity and fidelity to law, and addressing the socio-economic and ethnic complexities of nigerian society, rawls’ framework can be transformed into a practical tool for addressing systemic injustice. ultimately, the success of civil disobedience in nigeria depends on its ability to navigate these challenges while maintaining its commitment to justice and accountability. conclusion adapting john rawls’ theory of civil disobedience to the nigerian context highlights the complexities of applying philosophical frameworks in societies marked by fragile democratic institutions and systemic injustices. while rawls’ principles of publicity, nonviolence, and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 44 fidelity to law provide a strong ethical foundation for civil disobedience, their practical implementation in nigeria must account for unique challenges such as state repression, corruption, ethnic fragmentation, and widespread poverty. to make rawls’ theory relevant in nigeria, it is essential to expand its scope to address systemic failures rather than isolated injustices. civil disobedience in nigeria must not only seek to reform specific laws but also aim to strengthen democratic institutions and ensure greater accountability and justice. this requires leveraging modern tools such as social media for publicity, fostering unity across ethnic and religious divides, and addressing the socioeconomic barriers to citizen participation. ultimately, rawls’ theory can serve as a guiding framework for nigerian civil disobedience movements, but its principles must be adapted to reflect the realities of a fragile democracy. by emphasizing inclusivity, resilience, and fidelity to universal principles of justice, civil disobedience can remain a powerful tool for challenging oppression and advancing democratic ideals in nigeria. works cited adebanwi, wale, and ebenezer obadare. democracy and prebendalism in nigeria: critical interpretations. palgrave macmillan, 2013. ake, claude. democracy and development in africa. brookings institution press, 1996. amnesty international. “nigeria: authorities must end impunity for police brutality.” amnesty international, 2020, www.amnesty.org. ibrahim, jibrin, and hussaini abdu. democracy and governance in nigeria. centre for democracy and development, 2006. ibrahim, jibrin, and okechukwu ibeanu. the 2011 elections and democracy in nigeria. centre for democracy and development, 2012. ihonvbere, julius o. the nigerian transition: third republic and beyond. vantage publishers, 1997. kanu, i. a. & paul t. haaga (2012). “the implications of hubert hart’s concept of political obligation for the nigeria public service”. the international journal of arts and humanities. vol.1. no.1. pp.110-122. kanu, i. a. & paul haaga (2012). “h. l. a. hart’s foundations of rights vis-a-vis the african experience”. annals of humanities and development studies. vol. 3. no. 2. pp. 40-52. omotola, j. shola. “elections and democratic transition in nigeria under the fourth republic.” african affairs, vol. 109, no. 437, 2010, pp. 37-54. rawls, john. a theory of justice. revised ed., harvard university press, 1999. suberu, rotimi t. federalism and ethnic conflict in nigeria. united states institute of peace press, 2001. 78 foreign direct investment on employment generation in nigeria akinnigbagbe omolara and achema friday, phd department of accounting, veritas university, abuja, nigeria achemaf@veritas.edu.ng doi: 10.13140rg.2.2.14554.96967 abstract the study looks at how foreign direct investment affected employment generation in nigeria for the past 24 years, from 1999 to 2022. ex-post research design was used in the study. the central bank of nigeria statistical bulletin was used for the study's data collection. the augmented dickeyfuller (adf) test was used in the study's unit root test and pre-test analysis. regression was utilized after analyzing the unit root test. the study discovered a positive and considerable effect of foreign direct investment on employment generation in nigeria. the study suggested that government should make concerted efforts to attract more of foreign investors into nigeria so as to encourage production and generate employment opportunities. government of nigeria should ensure that fdi are in major sectors of the economy such as oil and gas, manufacturing and banking. keywords: foreign direct investment, employment generation, nigeria and employment creation introduction the impact of fdi as a tool of employment creation in developing economies cannot be undermined. over the years, fdi has been positively and significantly contributing towards economic growth and development through job opportunities and technological transfer in many developing nations (timothy et al, 2022). unemployment has been high or rising in several developed countries; at same time, their outward foreign direct investment (fdi) has been increasing as well. this coincidence has fuelled concerns that fdi outflows may be one of the causes of unemployment (jamuna, 2020). salami (2013) stated that the relationship between foreign direct investment and other macro-economic variables (that is, gross domestic product (gdp), employment generation, exchange rate and so on) in nigeria is yet unclear and also recent evidence shows that the relationship may be country and period specific, therefore gives room for more studies to be done in examining the relationship between foreign direct investment itself and other macro-economic variables. according to world bank (2013), reports stated that the level of job creation does not have a proportional movement with the level of working population in nigeria. as observed in national bureau of statistics bulletin (nbs) published in 2010, the youths within the range of 15 and 24 had an unemployment rate of 40 percent. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 79 according to world bank development indicators (wdi) (2021), nigeria attracted approximately $89,570.52 million in fdi inflows with an average of 1.41 percent from 1996 to 2020. it is expected that these capital inflows will boost socio-economic activities; however, taking the trade as a percentage of gdp as an example, the average is 36.63 percent, which is far below expectations, especially when compared to countries such as south africa, which has traded as a percentage of gdp at 51.59 percent, egypt at 46.37 percent, kenya at 48.89 percent, and rwanda at 38.73 percent. in terms of economic performance, gdp growth averaged 4.87 percent, which is still below the level that can generate significant economic performance indicators and is one of the reasons why unemployment (percentage of the total labor force) and inflation averaged 5.00 percent and 12.21 percent, respectively (abubakar et al 2023). the variable was investigated in earlier studies by babasanya (2018) ajayi et al (2019); adeyemi et al (2020) timothy et al (2022). none of the studies that were examined used the years 2019, 2020, or 2022. the main goal of this study is to look at how the foreign direct investment in nigeria is affected employment generation in nigeria. more specifically, this study wants to know how foreign direct investment in nigeria affects employment generation. this study's focus is solely on how foreign direct investment affected employment generation. the study lasted for 24 years, from 1999 to 2022. this time frame was chosen because it coincided with when nigerians heavily utilized adopted democracy which gave birth to export promotion and import substitution strategy in nigeria. the following hypothesis was stated in a null form: h : there is no significant effect of foreign direct investment on employment o1 generation in nigeria concept of foreign direct investment foreign direct investment (fdi) can be described as a flow of capital and technology knowhow from one (home) country to another (host) country (ajayi et al, 2019). foreign direct investment is net inflows of investment to acquire a lasting management interest (10 percent or more of voting stock) in an enterprise operating in an economy other than that of the investor. also, it is the sum equity capital, reinvestment of earnings, other long term capital, and short term capital, as shown in the balance of payments (imf, 2007) cited in adeyemi et al (2020). according to opusunju and akyuz (2022) foreign direct investment is an investment by foreign firms or affiliate into the host country by transferring their capital, knowledge, expertise and technology into the host country in order to generate profit and paying certain economic obligation such as taxes and also reinvesting their capital, providing equity capital to the host country and ensure good intra company loans. foreign direct investment (fdi) can be defined as the financed by a loan gained in a host country, payments in exchange for equity (patents, technology, machinery etc.), and other methods (isaac et al 2023). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 80 concept of employment generation the term employment is used to describe a situation whereby able-bodied men and women who are qualified by the condition to work in any given society can gainfully secure jobs whereby he or she will not be exploited on securing the job and equally optimize his or her capability in terms of his marginal labour production. the full employment of labour does not imply that there is no allowable unemployment percentage level but if it is not within the framework of the accepted level considered as full employment for either the developed or developed countries as the case may be, it will not be a serious case for policy decisions (adeyemi et al, 2020). employment is a relationship between two parties, usually based on a contract, one being the employer and the other being the employee. it is also defined as situations whereby able-bodied men and women who are qualified by the condition to work in any given society can gainfully secure jobs whereby he or she will not exploited on securing the job and equally optimise his or her capability in terms of his marginal labour production (babasanya, 2018). the term employment is used to describe a situation whereby able-bodied men and women who are qualified by the condition to work in any given society can gainfully secure jobs whereby he or she will not be exploited on securing the job and equally optimize his or her capability in terms of his marginal labour production (abaukaka, 2014). empirical studies timothy et al (2022) examine the effect of fdi on employment in ecowas sub region between 1990 and 2019. the study utilizes a panel autoregressive distributed lag model to analyze the short run and long run relationship between fdi and employment across ecowas sub region. in the short run, the impact of fdi on employment is negative and statistically not significant. meanwhile, in the long run fdi has a positive and statistically significant impact on employment rate. this implies that fdi has the capacity to generate employment in countries in ecowas sub region. ajayi et al (2019) investigate the impact of foreign direct investment (fdi) on the employment and unemployment rate in nigeria. the study use yearly data on employment and unemployment rate collected from cbn statistical bulletin, national bureau of statistics and world bank indicators for the period 1960 – 2014 to achieve its objective and all analysis were done with e-view 9.5. the study employed vector autoregression (var) to model the employment and unemployment rate in nigeria. the findings of the study suggested that fdi had a significant and positive impact on employment, fdi granger-cause employment, employment granger-cause fdi, unemployment granger-cause employment and employment also granger-cause unemployment. also, unemployment granger-cause fdi and fdi granger-cause unemployment. this implied that fdi has a significant role on employment rate in nigeria and this should not be minimized. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 81 adeyemi et al (2020) examine the role of foreign direct investment on employment generation in nigeria. the objectives of this study include: to investigate the impact of fdi on employment; to examine the long-run linear relationship between fdi and employment in nigeria; and to determine the direction of causality between fdi and employment level. the study therefore employed multiple regression, johansen co-integration and causality to ascertain the specific objectives of the study. the instrument used for this study is secondary data. the data for the study was obtained from cbn statistical bulletin, 2019, national bureau of statistics, 2019, and world bank indicators, 2019. stata12 statistical package was used for the estimation. the result of the multiple regressions suggests that wage has a negative and significant impact on employment, while gross domestic product is significant and positive as well. the study further shows that foreign direct investment has a significant but negative impact on employment, also, the result shows that, real exchange rate is a negative and non-significant determinant of employment in nigeria while, inflation rate is a positive but not a significant determinant of employment. the adf statistic confirms that the long run relationship is significant at 1%. the results show that, fdi significantly causes employment but employment does not significantly cause fdi. babasanya (2018) examined the relationship between foreign direct investment and employment generation in nigeria between the period of 1999 and 2016. to empirically establish the relationship, some variables are incorporated into the study such as employment rate as the dependent variables while the independent variables include foreign direct investment, gross domestic product and exchange rate. findings showed that foreign direct investment has a positive relationship with employment rate in nigeria. labour demand theory the aggregate demand for labour is one of the most important relationships in macroeconomics. most studies implicitly adopt a neoclassical framework for the formulation of the demand for labour schedule, and hence, according to theory, the aggregate demand for labour is assumed to be negatively related to real wages and positively related to output. the dependent variable is usually total employment or hours worked while independent variables are either real wages, or some other measure such as real unit labour costs, and real gross domestic product. the demand for labour is affected by several variables including wages, economic growth, domestic investment, technology and government (massoud, 2008). demand for labour is a derived demand. if there will be a demand for goods and services, there will be a demand for labour as well. the theoretical model on which this study is based is the labour demand theory. the building of the model showing the impact of fdi on employment is based on the assumption that fdi, where it generates and expands businesses, it can help stimulate employment and raise wages (zeqiri et al).this research focuses on the labour demand theory because the theory tries to analyze links between the demand for labour and a variety of economic factors. this theory best suits this igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 82 study because it intends to investigate whether fdi adds to the overall employment generation in nigeria which the labour demand theory captures. methodology the study adopted ex-post facto research design and this is because the study tried to find out the cause-and-effect relationship between the variables. the study relied on reports from central bank of nigeria for secondary data and the reason is that data obtained from central bank of nigeria are unique. the study surrogated manufacturing employment generation as employment level or rate. employment rate (er) is expressed as a function of foreign direct investment (fdi). the functional form of the first model can be expressed as: er= f (fdi)………… (1) where: er= employment (numbers of labour force) fdi= foreign direct investment the structural expression of the model can be stated as: er = b + b fdi + u …………………… (2) t 0 1 t t where: b = intercept of the model; b = coefficient of fdi in the model; u= error 0 1 term; t=time trend. based on theoretical postulation, it is expected that the coefficient of fdi to be positive. that is (b >0). effort was also made to log the necessary data as revealed 1 in equation 3 below. ler = b + b lfdi + u …………………… (3)t 0 1 t t where, l is defined as natural logarithms of the variable in question. imr was not logged since they are in rate. when a data is expressed in rate or differenced there is no need to log the data again since it has been scaled down (gujarati, 2004). result and discussion table 1: descriptive statistics the descriptive statistics shows that the average scores for fdi and emg are 1.30 and 2010500 respectively and the jargue-bera probabilities on fdi shows that fdi emg mean 1.30e+08 2010500. median 346989.4 2010500. maximum 8.80e+08 2022000. minimum 36282.10 1999000. std. dev. 2.88e+08 7071.068 skewness 1.840568 9.89e-17 kurtosis 4.519443 1.795826 jarque-bera 15.85947 1.450035 probability 0.000360 0.484316 sum 3.13e+09 48252000 sum sq. dev. 1.90e+18 1.15e+09 observations 24 24 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 83 the data are not normally distributed since the probability is less than 5% but emg indicated that data are normally distributed. the maximum value of emg is higher than fdi which implies that more emg influence fdi in nigeria table 2: histogram test of normality however, the data set were logged and the probabilities were greater than 5% which implies that the histogram test of normality shows that data are normal since jargue-bera value is 2.613 and probability value of 0.27 which indicated that data are normally distributed. unit-root test in order to properly examine the trend relationship and the nature of stationarity between the variables of interest, the augmented dickeyfuller (adf) test for unit root was employed. the test for stationary is important so as to avoid misleading or spurious results. the decision rule for the augmented dickey fuller (adf) test is as follows: if the calculated value of the augmented dickey fuller (adf) test statistic is greater than the critical value at a particular significance level, the alternative hypothesis of stationarity is accepted. conversely, if the augmented dickeyfuller (adf) test statistic is less than the critical value at a particular significance level, the null hypothesis of nonstationary is accepted. thus, such series will have to be re-differenced till it/they become stationary. source: author's computation using e-view 9.00 probability values are indicated by * table 2: unit root test variable level of stationarity adfstatistic significant values 1%, 5%, 10% order of integration prob.(5%) lfdi constant 5.91 -3.76, -3.00, -2.64 1(1) 0.00* lemg constant 6.02 -5.58, -4.24, -3.59 1(2) 0.01* igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 84 because the values of its adf test statistics at first differences are greater than their corresponding critical values at 5% level of significance, table 2 indicates that the lfdiand lemg are stationary at first difference and stationery at second different but not stationary at level. additionally, the variables are incorporated into the orders 1(1) and 1(2), indicating that the regression model is more acceptable and suitable for the investigation. table 7: regression result source: e-view output, 2017 decision rule: 5% since the f-statistics is significant at the 5% level of significance, the regression result demonstrates that the model is appropriate for the investigation. the outcome also demonstrates that the amount of foreign direct investment inflow in nigeria has a positive and large effect on the employment generation in nigeria. given that the p-value is less than 5%, this effect is substantial. we can therefore rule out the other hypotheses and draw the conclusion that the amount of foreign direct investment inflow in nigeria has a unique and considerable effect on employment generation in nigeria. only 78% of the variation in foreign direct investment inflow in nigeria can be used to describe employment generation in nigeria, according to the r2 value of 0.78, while 22% can be attributed to other factors that were not taken into account in the regression model, or error term. discussion of finding the study discovered a positive and considerable effect of foreign direct investment inflow in nigeria on employment generation in nigeria. this study shows that foreign direct investment inflow in nigeria contribute significantly to employment generation and also have positive contribute to the growth of dependent variable: lemg method: least squares date: 07/24/23 time: 16:44 sample: 1999 2022 included observations: 24 variable coefficient std. error t-statistic prob. c 14.50151 0.001427 10163.77 0.0000 lfdi 0.000889 9.94e-05 8.936863 0.0000 r-squared 0.784033 mean dependent var 14.51389 adjusted r -squared 0.774217 s.d. dependent var 0.003517 s.e. of regression 0.001671 akaike info criterion -9.870884 sum squared resid 6.14e-05 schwarz criterion -9.772713 log likelihood 120.4506 hannan-quinn criter. -9.844840 f-statistic 79.86752 durbin-watson stat 0.501203 prob(f-statistic) 0.000000 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 85 employment in nigeria. the study is in line with the findings of timothy et al (2022); adeyemi et al (2020) who found a positive and significant effect of foreign direct investment on employment generation in nigeria. the study is supported with labour demand theory which indicates that the impact of fdi on employment is based on the assumption that fdi, where it generates and expands businesses, it can help stimulate employment and raise wages (zeqiri et al).this research focuses on the labour demand theory because the theory tries to analyze links between the demand for labour and a variety of economic factors. this theory best suits this study because it intends to investigate whether fdi adds to the overall employment generation in nigeria which the labour demand theory captures. conclusion and recommendations according to statistical findings, there is a positive and considerable effect of foreign direct investment inflow in nigeria on employment generation in nigeria. this study shows that foreign direct investment inflow in nigeria contribute significantly to employment generation and also have positive contribute to the growth of employment in nigeria the study recommended that , government should make concerted efforts to attract more of foreign investors into nigeria so as to encourage production and generate employment opportunities. government of nigeria should ensure that fdi are in m a j o r sectors of the economy such as oil and gas, manufacturing and banking. references timothy, a. a., olawunmi, o. & bukonla, g. o. (2022). effect of fdi inflows on employment generation in selected ecowas countries: heterogeneous panel analysis. journal of a p p l i e d statistics, 13(1) 241-263 jamuna, p. a.(2020). effect of foreign direct investment on employment in home countries. international journal of business management, 2(3) 55-67 ajayi, a., rafiu, o. a. & samuel, o. a. (2019). impact of foreign direct investment on employment and unemployment rate in nigeria: application of vector autoregression(var) models (19602014), asian journal of advanced research and reports 6(1): 1-15 adeyemi, a. a., hassan, a. e., adebisi, r. o., adegbola, m. m., odetoyinbo, y. o.(2020). role of foreign direct investment on employment generation in nigeria. international j o u r n a l o f academic multidisciplinary research, 4(9) 117-127 massoud, n. (2008). assessing the employment effect of foreign direct investment inflows toegypt: does the mode of entry matter? paper presented on the unemployment crises in t h e a r a b c o u n t i e s . r e t r i e v e d fromwww.economicswebinstitute.org/essay/fdiemploymentegypt.pdf babasanya a. o. b.(2018). foreign direct investment and employment igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 86 generation in nigeria. journal of economics and sustainable development, 9(4) abaukaka, t. o.(2014). foreign direct investments and employment generation nexus in nigeria. journal of educational and social research, 4(5) 33-54 opusunju, m. i. & akyuz, m. (2022). causal effect between balance of payment and foreign direct investment in oil and gas sector in nigeria. journal of global economics and business, 3(8) 57-81 isaac, j. m., arinzechukwu, j. o., ruth, a. p., azuakolam, d. m. (2023). impact of foreign direct investment on financial institution performance in nigeria: a study of jos metroplolitan city of plateau state. american journal of applied scientific research, 9(2) 27-42. abubakar, s., ibrahim, d. m. & eleojo, j. e. (2023). foreign direct investment, trade openness and economic performance in nigeria: does governance quality matter? african journal of economic review, 11(3) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 287 a philosophical inquiry into the possibility of a universal culture joachim ireruke ukutsemuya, phd directorate of general studies federal university of petroleum resources, effurun ukutsemuya@gmail.com abstract culture as a people`s way of life is the common definition of culture. however, there is what is known as the proper definition of culture. it is a people`s response to the challenges of existence in order to ensure the good life. this definition gives meaning to every other definition of culture as it is based on the essence of culture. this discourse assesses the possibility of the whole world having one and the same culture from the point of view of the proper definition. through critical analysis it finds that, in the essence of what culture is all about, all cultures of the world are the same. however, this sameness in culture when it operates in particular situations of human environments, it diversifies. thus, there is the call for universal and particular considerations in matters of people`s attitude towards life. it is hoped that this will ensure a more peaceful world, reducing some of the unnecessary tensions in our world. keywords: culture, proper definition, essence, universal, particular and peaceful world introduction as already indicated, we are operating by the strict conception of culture which is a people`s inventions, material and immaterial to confront the problem of their existence in order to live the good life. given the definition of culture as a people’s response to challenges from their environments with the target of living satisfied and comfortable, could there be a sense in which one could talk about a universal culture, meaning a single culture for all peoples of the world? what about the differences of environments that we have around the world? will these allow possibility of one culture for all in the world? using the analytical methodology, this discourse sets out to explore the concept of culture, its possibility of universality and making recommendations there from, to guide relations among the different peoples of the world to ensure a peaceful co-existence that allows the cultivation of our world that serves all humans. culture igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 288 the “strict” conception of culture refers to the totality of a people’s response to the task of human existence. it is the series of solutions invented by a people to tackle the challenges of life in their environment. it is in this regard that culture is defined as the totality of a people’s way of life,1 that is, their spiritual and material inventions consisting their ideas, institutions and material productions for survival and progress of their community. anthony o’ hear, elaborating on this idea of culture, says that this idea of culture comprises language, customs, morality, types of economy and technology, art and architecture, modes of entertainment, legal systems, religion, systems of education and upbringing, and much else besides; everything, in other words, by virtue of which members of a group endow their activities with meaning and significance.2 this idea of culture is accessible to every member of the society as the society forms her young ones according to her way of life. it is also important to note that because the strict conception of culture is open to reviewal of values or culture, by the fact of changing environment, it is in harmony with the etymological meaning of the word culture. the word culture derives from the latin word “cultura”3 which referred to cultivation in farming. but this meaning soon took on rich, extended meanings, relating especially to the cultivation or improvement of something, as in individual education. from this understanding, by the 17th century, this process of personal cultivation had extended to an accepted marking of a state of superior cultivation or refinement. consequently, writers began to differentiate between cultured and uncultured or vulgar. this differentiation brought about distinction of societies into civilized versus savage or barbarous peoples.4 the strict conception of culture as the totality of a people’s approach to life5 in order for them to live comfortably and satisfactorily, conceives life not as an already completed project but a project that is in the process of being completed. in this sense, we imagine all that comes on the way of the human person living comfortably and satisfactorily; we imagine the idea that the human person must invent to serve as a map in the direction that he/she must go in life in order to avoid the life of misery; we think of the inventions that he/she must make to avoid the hazards of nature and ensure life of comfort and satisfaction. within this context, human life is conceived as insecurity as life on its own does not produce the ideas and materials that the human person needs to avoid the infra, toilsome and miserable life. the human person has to act by inventing ideas and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 289 materials to guarantee satisfactorily living. the ideas and materials that are invented by the human person to enable him/her live satisfactorily and comfortably are what is referred to as culture. culture therefore becomes the program of sustenance of the human person in form of ideas and materials invented. in this wise, the purpose of culture is to provide satisfaction, comfort and security for the human person in existence. the universality of culture we might begin by asking: what is meant by a universal culture? in answer to this question, it is important to note that a universal culture means the same culture for everybody in the world.6 it is what is meant by neokantianism when it talks of orientating mankind, of transforming it according to an idea, which is nothing other than the kantian ideal of cosmopolitan humanity.7 the neo-kantian concept of man as a cultural phenomenon implies that real personal development lies in the shaping of the individual to ideals, in the adjustment of behavior to standards, to what should be done. these standards have universal validity. biographical and instinctive impulse must be submitted to a superior, to the ideal. freedom does not mean spontaneity; it is not appetite nor caprice, but thought and education, in other words, the active shaping of the individual by universal values. there have been arguments against the idea of a universal culture. k. c anyanwu, for instance, condemns the idea of a universal culture. in his opinion, every culture in the world comes from a unique environment. different people have their different cultures.8 so that to have a universal culture for anyanwu, amounts to proclaiming the superiority of one culture over others. he thinks that since peculiar environment generated different cultures, it will not be fair for one to be universalized at the expense of the others. his argument is within the context of the “superiority of western culture” over other cultures. he however accepts the possibility of dialogue among the cultures of the world not on the basis of superiority and inferiority but on the basis of mutual enrichment of each other. lucius outlaw, entering the discourse of a universal culture, appears to be a moderate. he is against total relativism and total objectivism.9 in a nutshell, he accepts a universalism that gives place to particularism of different cultures. in arguing out his position, he acknowledges that the individual cultures live side by side with other cultures of the world in the globe. that to talk of elimination of universalism, amounts to individual igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 290 cultures living with other cultures in a global community without regulating norms. this of course translates to anarchy and chaos.6 laws are needed to regulate activities of our global community. universalism provides laws to regulate the living together of the different cultures in a single world. on the other hand, relativism, for outlaw, respects the autonomy and dignity of individual cultures that make-up our global community.10 wiredu acknowledges the existence of different cultures.11 he holds that the relationship of superiority and inferiority should not exist among cultures. it is his view that different cultures of the world are capable of enriching one another. he particularly states that one of the benefits of interaction of the cultures of the world is that other cultures help us reevaluate our own culture and its structure.12 it is within this context he talks about the principle of charity13that is, that other cultures have something to offer. this principle of charity connects with the principle of humanitythat is, that all human beings in the world are capable of rationality, being rational. within the context of the respect that must be accorded all cultures, wiredu, opines dialogue among cultures of the world implying that the west can benefit from the east, africa and vice versa. ben-ami scharfstein in his support for cross-cultural dialogue, thinks it is time for western philosophers to study non-western philosophy with the same seriousness with which they study their own.14 he opines that western philosophy stands to gain from this interaction. it is this matter he expresses thus: contemporary philosophers of every western sort stand to gain in the variety of perspectives they can share, in the store of their ideas and nuances of ideas, and in their conceptual precision if they study non-western philosophies just as seriously (and, after they know them generally) as they study their own. when it will no longer be possible to maintain the old, exclusive habits of mind, philosophers will wonder how their predecessors could once have been so blind to what has become so plainly true. the sociology of the profession creates difficulties for a western philosopher who ventures outside the limits of western thought. but there are good philosophical reasons to be beyond our usual western selves and begin to philosophize in a more adequately human spirit.15 david elliot in his review of the book of jay newman titled: “inauthentic igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 291 culture and its philosophical critics” notes three reasons why newman rejects the idea of relativism. first, contrary to many anthropologists, newman insists that there are uniformities in human nature. second, he holds that relativists must confront the basic fact that most people are fascinated by otherness and difference and regard these as sources of potential enlightenment. finally, he holds that relativists must also confront the fact that “comparatively neutral” people can regularly and successfully judge the value of competing cultural products, even if these products are from different contexts.16 from the points above therefore, it will be clear that newman acknowledges the reality of different cultures in a single world. he however does not believe that there cannot be interaction among these different cultures. for him the dialogue of these cultures can be rewarding to the partners. mahatma gandhi recognizes the existence of different cultures. he however supports the idea of dialogue among the cultures of the world. he detests one culture imposing itself on others. he feels that if through dialogue a member of one culture feels like embracing other cultures, they should be free to do so. according to manisha barua, gandhi felt that it is the duty of every cultured man and woman to read sympathetically the scriptures of the world. to respect other religions, a study of their scriptures is a sacred duty. to understand the point of view of other faith requires tolerance, sympathy, broad mindedness, humility and willingness to recognize truth wherever it is to be found.17 the possession of these qualities, enables us to appreciate other’s faith, traditions, customs, culture and way of life. the prophets and seers of different religions brought to mankind the consciousness of the unity underlying the whole universe and a deep sense of brotherhood of man. gandhi therefore felt a need of the comparative study of religions to pave the way for unity and brotherhood among the followers of different religions.18 gandhi is not an uncritical recipient of culture. he had a critical attitude to the culture he inherited. any aspect of his culture that does not make sense, he does not hesitate criticizing it and calling for a reform of it. this point is what manisha makes about gandhi as a hinduist, when he says: “but gandhi at the same time was very radical in his approach and he did not hesitate in criticizing those aspects of hinduism which did not appeal to his reason.19” gandhi sees god as the truth that man seeks.20 all human beings aspire to the truth. for gandhi, different cultures should be respected. he thinks that any culture that will bring about the enhancement of the human igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 292 society should be adopted. gasset on his part, on the discourse of a universal culture, rejects a universalism that does not recognize particularism. it is this idea that sanchez refers to when he says that on the basis of gasset’s intellectual commitment to the transformation of spanish society, his thought was to evolve until he reached the conclusion that spain’s salvation could only be achieved by making use of its own energies and possibilities, its idiosyncrasies and historical reality.21 the neo-kantian – gasset advocated man as a producer of culture, a creator of ideal forms, a human individual working towards the construction of a culture that would be valid for all mankind. gasset gradually discovered that an individual of this kind is an abstraction, and that rationalism –which is a form of idealism – had forgotten the real and concrete man who lives in a real and concrete situation. it was necessary to look around this man for him to be revealed in his radical reality, and this meant overcoming the narrow – sightedness of rationalism.22 a new approach had to be adopted to the understanding of man, and gasset’s encounter with phenomenology23 was to help him on this new intellectual path. his dissatisfaction with the concept of man as a cultural being began to grow in 1911 and this estrangement can be seen clearly in his meditations on quixote, written in 1914. when he turned his attention to man himself, to his concrete reality, gasset saw that man’s being is the act of living; life is the radical and indispensable reality which must be taken as the basis for action, which must be made use of.24 for sanchez, this conviction of gasset which prevented him from considering culture as an autonomous and independent sphere, was gradually to become one of the keys of his philosophy, as he was to remind us in his later years: ‘the first thing, then, which philosophy must do is to define this fact, to define what my life, our life, the life of each one of us.25 living is the radical way of being: all other things and ways of being are to be found in my life, within it, as a detail of it or reference to it.’26 in the tug –of –war between nature and nurture, life and culture, the latter lost the dominance it had gained during the ortega’s idealistic stage and came to be thought of as a manifestation of life. culture was henceforth felt to consist of living life to the full. in all of the above therefore, the concrete human person who lives in a specific environment, has to be served by a culture emanating from the challenges of his/her specific environment. the meaning of this is that the idea of universal culture cannot do away with particularity of culture, by igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 293 which we mean culture created to confront challenges of living among a people in a specific environment. it can then be said that while we could have the sense of universal culture by the fact that culture amongst humans is always synonymous with the sustenance of humans; making them have the good life as opposed to the toilsome and miserable existence, it is right to talk about the particularity of culture which situates the universal concept of culture within a specific environment and amongst a people. thus, we have the universality and particularity senses of culture. conclusion the very idea of the necessity of the universalistic and particularistic senses of culture should instruct humans about tolerance of one another. we all share in human condition by the very fact of the universal sense of culture that is the same among humans. yet, we are to respect our differences by the fact of the particular sense of culture that emphasizes differences of environment giving us our unique identities. as the principle of charity stresses, by our rationality as humans, dialogue and not imposition among humans in terms of culture can be mutually very enriching for the good and advancement of our world. endnotes 1. wiredu, k.1980, philosophy and an african culture. london: cambridge university press, p. 10 2. o` hear, a.1998. culture. routledge encyclopedia of philosophy craige, e. (ed). london: routledge, 1998, p. 746 3. marcus, g.e.1997.culture. encyclopedia americana. p.36 4. ukutsemuya, j.i. the crisis of culture in africa: a case of genuine developmental problem in the continent. anyigba journal of arts and humanities. vol.13. no.4 p. 203 5. wiredu, k.1980, op cit 6. ebijuwa,t. 1999, ethical relativism and the conflict of moral values: towards a theory of universal morality, 102ff 7. sanchez, j. e., jose ortega y gasset, 1883-1955, retrieved from http://www.piedraverde.com/ortega/crono/ortegae.pdf , 4 8. anyanwu, k. c. 1983, the african experience in the american market place, 21-22 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 9. no. 4. (2023) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 294 9. outlaw, l. 1983, philosophy and culture: critical hermeneutics and social transformation. philosophy and culture oruka, h. o. and masolo, d. a. ed., 26-27 10. hobbes, t. 1963. leviathan. social and political philosophy, somerville, j. and santoni r. e. eds., 143 11. wiredu, k. 1998, can philosophy be intercultural? an african viewpoint diogenes, 154-155 12. can philosophy be intercultural? 13. feldman, r. charity, principle of. routledge encyclopedia of philosophy craig, e., ed., 282-283 14. scharfstein, b. the western blindness to non-western philosophies. retrieved from http://www. bu. edu/wcp/papers/compscha. htm 15. the western blindness 16. elliot, d., inauthentic culture and its philosophical critics by jay newman. retrieved from http://info. wlu. ca/~wwwpress/jrls/sr/issues-full/28. 3/elliott. r. html 17. barua, m., gandhi and comparative religion, retrieved from http://www.bu.du/wcp/papers/comp/compbaru. htm 18. gandhi and comparative religion 19. gandhi and comparative religion 20. gandhi and comparative religion 21. jose ortega y gasset, 6 22. jose ortega y gasset 23. orringer, n. 1998, ortega y gasset, jose. routledge encyclopedia of philosophy craig e., ed., 166 24. orringer, n. 1998, ortega y gasset, jose, 6 25. gasset, o. 1960, what is philosophy, 202 26. what is philosophy igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 150 the imago dei and the vocation of consecrated life: understanding identity. peter ikechukwu okonkwo, phd department of theology, veritas university abuja okonkwop@veritas.edu.ng abstract: this paper examines the intersection between the theological concept of imago dei (image of god) and the vocation of consecrated life within the christian tradition, emphasising how this connection shapes both individual and community identities among consecrated persons. understanding this relationship is timely and crucial, given the contemporary societal and ecclesial dynamics surrounding identity and vocation. the literature highlights key themes such as human dignity, holiness, and the significance of community life, categorising discussions from historical development to modern interpretations. drawing upon primary theological texts, writings of early church fathers, and contemporary theological discourse, this work analyzes the essential elements of consecrated life as a lived expression of imago dei. findings indicate that consecrated life is fundamentally rooted in the vocation to reflect god's image through acts of love and service; however, gaps remain in applying these frameworks in today’s work, highlighting the need for further exploration of modern challenges faced by consecrated persons. the insights gathered suggest significant implications for the field of theology, particularly in shaping the identity and mission of consecrated individuals, with future research needed to innovate ways to embody the imago dei amidst evolving societal challenges. keywords: imago dei, consecrated life, humanity, theological, biblical. introduction the question of human identity and vocation has always been central to christian theology, particularly through the lens of imago dei; the belief that humanity is created in the image and likeness of god (genesis 1:26–27). this theological concept not only affirms human dignity but also provides a foundation for understanding the purpose and mission of individuals within the christian narrative. within this framework, the consecrated life characterized by the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience can be interpreted as a concrete embodiment of the ¨imago dei¨, reflecting god's image through radical discipleship and communal witness. contemporary scholarship has explored the imago dei using the biblical, philosophical, ethical, and anthropological context, yet there remains a need to specifically examine how this doctrine shapes the vocation and identity of consecrated persons. the intersection of these two concepts raises critical questions: in what ways does consecrated life express the divine image? how does living out this vocation reinforce or renew one’s participation in god's likeness? these questions gain urgency amid today’s shifting cultural and ecclesial landscapes, where identity, vocation, and spiritual purpose are increasingly contested and reimagined. this study addresses these questions by engaging with scripture, the early church fathers, theological anthropology, and canonical insights. it argues that consecrated life is not merely a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 151 discipline of self-denial but a transformative vocation that mirrors the divine relationality, creativity, and love inherent in the imago dei. methodologically, the paper draws on biblical exegesis, patristic interpretation, and contemporary theological reflection to elucidate how consecrated persons actualize their divine resemblance through community, service, and sanctity. in doing so, this article aims to contribute to the ongoing theological discourse on vocation and human dignity, offering a renewed vision of consecrated life as both a personal and prophetic witness to the image of god in a fragmented world. the concept of imago dei, or the image of god, is foundational to christian theological anthropology, offering profound insight into human identity, dignity, and vocation. rooted in the creation narrative of genesis 1:26–27, this doctrine affirms that humanity is uniquely fashioned to reflect the divine nature. however, the theological implications of imago dei extend beyond the old testament and find renewed expression in the new testament, particularly in the person of christ, who is described as the perfect image of the invisible god (colossians 1:15). this study will examine the theological foundations of the imago dei as presented in both the old and new testaments, highlighting the continuity and development of the concept across biblical texts. by doing so, it seeks to establish a scriptural framework for understanding how the vocation of consecrated life embodies and actualizes this divine image in a contemporary ecclesial context. scholars have described various theological significance and implications of imago dei. dan, (2024) in his opinion ascertains that every human being possesses inherent dignity and worth, derived from their creation in god's image (dan, 2024). this understanding challenges our personhood as consecrated persons being examples of faith and beacons of hope to the faithful, we are therefore called as those sharing in the prophetic ministry of christ, to bear witness as prophets by challenging some dehumanising ideologies and practices, emphasising the moral responsibility to treat every individual with respect and unities. furthermore, the doctrine affirms that sin distorts but does not erase the imago dei, suggesting that embracing christ’s call fully restores the consecrated person’s original purpose which is sanctification in christ. imago dei refers to the belief that human beings are made in the image of god. this concept was first introduced in the creation narrative of genesis 1:26-27, where god created humankind in his own image, after his likeness. the imago dei is only explicitly mentioned three times in the entire old testament (gen 1:26–27; 5; 1–3; 9:6). the latter two references clearly echo the first, which is the primary text. it comprises four declarations: (a) god’s statement: ‘let us make humans (in our image, after our likeness, v26a), (b) god’s statement that humans shall rule over the animals (v26b), (c) god’s creation of humans (in his image, 27a), (d) god’s creation of humans (as male and female, v27b), followed by divine blessing and the commandment to be fruitful, multiply, fill and subdue the earth, and have dominion over the animals (v28). this expresses the unique status of human beings as bearers of god’s image, as the psalmist expresses with apt surprise at the extent of the unimaginable love, thus he exclaimed; “what is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man that thou visitest him? thou hast made him little less than the angels, thou hast crowned him with glory and honor and hast set him over the works of thy hands.” (ps. 8:5-7). this foundational declaration of genesis emphasizes not only the uniqueness of human beings among igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 152 creation but also sets a framework for understanding our relationship with god. the book of genesis from a theological point of view and not a scientific account tells us of the account of the creation of the earth and its fullness, but in a more particular way, the creation of the human person, created differently from other creatures. this differentiation in the creation of the human person makes mankind unique and of a higher status than all other creatures. there are a number of importance that can be pointed out in god’s plan of making humans a part of himself. the concept of imago dei is not very frequent in the new testament either, it was explicitly mentioned only in 1 cor 11:7; 15:49, 2 cor 4:4, rom 8:29, col 1:15–16, jas 3:9, and assumed in the gen 1:26 – allusions of eph 4:24, heb 1:2 and possibly phil 2:6. at first glance the most striking fact is that none of these texts are about the human creature, but about christology, soteriology and ethics. they do not address anthropology (with the possible exception of 1 cor 11:7) or human dignity, except for jas 3:9, where creation in the image of god, possibly alluding to gen 9:6, is the basis for the admonition against cursing a fellow human being. most of all new testament mentions of imago dei are found in the pauline letters, and for paul, the starting point is a direct identification of ‘the image’ with jesus christ: (2 cor 4:4). in the context of 2 corinthians, the gospel is defined as ‘the gospel of the glory of christ’, and the text clearly expresses a kind of identification of christ with the creator of genesis 1, particularly emphasising the creator’s divine presence in the world, which is expressed through christ’s glory (2 cor 4:6). the point, firstly, is that ‘the one god of creation is himself revealed in and as his glory and image, jesus the messiah, whose face moses was not allowed to see (exod 33.20) but christians are allowed to see’ as suggested by kugler who terms this ‘divine christology’ (kugler, 2020). secondly, that this entails a transformation of believers to resemble christ/‘the image’, meaning that through faith which is the act of seeing christ as the image of god), believers are transformed into his likeness (2 cor 3:18). similar to this first point is col 1:15–20, which states the superiority of christ over the ‘thrones and rulers, powers and authorities. in contrast to this, v15 presents christ as the ‘image of the invisible god’ and, hence, as the firstborn of creation. thus, the text identifies christ as mediator of creation and emphasizes that he exactly because of this is able to reconcile all things to himself through his blood on the cross (maqoma, 2020). while a thought similar to the second (soteriological) point of transformation of believers according to the image can be found in rom 8:29, which speaks of god predestining believers to be conformed to the image of his son. in this text, st. paul clearly presents the ‘image of god’s son’ as the paradigm and teleological goal for salvation of believers. st. paul’s reference to christ as imago dei is a way of saying that ‘jesus is the indispensable model or pattern’ for the transformative process of salvation. in saving believers, christ performs an ‘adamitic’ act, for just as adam’s fall became prototypical for the sin and death of the entire human race, christ’s resurrection and exaltation became prototypical for salvation. therefore, jesus can be designated as god’s ‘image’ just as adam in gen 1:26. this understanding implies that christ accomplished the true human existence, which adam failed ps 110 in light of ps 8. ‘the divine program for man, which broke down with adam, has been run through again in jesus – this time successfully’. according to greenberg et al., (2024) ‘image of god’ is solely a human category which expresses the true ‘adam-humanity’, which jesus fulfilled in his resurrection, and which is reproduced in believers igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 153 and which the consecrated person fashions themselves after. this ‘image’ of christ as analysized by st. paul represents the divine pattern for creation, in accordance with which human beings are created and the consecrated persons should thus follow. in col 3:10, paul encourages being clothed in the newness of christ thus, consecrated persons are exhorted to live in accordance with the reality that they have, through faith and baptism, and through their consecration put off the old human being and put on the new, which is being renewed in the image of its creator as explained in "can. 573 §1. the evangelical counsels, accepted by the profession of the evangelical life, are meant to free the consecrated person from the obstacles which hinder the following of christ, and to make him or her more conformed to christ, the supreme model of all perfection." this canon emphasizes that the ultimate goal of consecrated life is to follow christ, and that the evangelical counsels (poverty, chastity, and obedience) are meant to facilitate this goal by freeing the consecrated person from obstacles and making them more conformed to christ (barton, 2025). a similar thought can be seen in the gen 1:26 allusion in eph 4:24, where the new human being is described as being ‘created according to god’. as in 2 cor 4:4.6, the likeness to the image of god is expressed in terms of knowledge. however, the specific content of this likeness is manifested in a certain ethical behaviour. col 3:12–17 elaborates on this behaviour, which includes qualities such as compassion, kindness, and forgiveness. it takes on the character of imitating christ (imitatio christi) which the consecrated persons are to be identified with). therefore, christ’s forgiveness serves as both the foundation and the model for consecrated persons forgiveness of one another (col 3:13). ‘conformitas and imitatio belong together’. the same thought can be found in the possible gen 1:26-allusion in in phil 2:6. from this pauline explanations we will understand what karl ramah means when he says that there is no theology without an anthropology (mackie, 2017). this is basically because of the singular reason of the holy exchange where god became man and made man divine, thereby uplifting the place of humans. image of god and human identity understanding the image of god in the human person is of paramount importance in the life of every human person especially for consecrated persons who have dedicated their lives to spiritual service and community living. this understanding shapes the identity, mission and community relational dynamics of the consecrated persons equipping them to engage with the world in a transformative manner. it not only enriches their lives but also challenges them to respond to the needs of others with deep respect, love and compassion, consciously reflecting the divine presence in every encounter within their communities and the society. in addition, it can have deep implications for the identity of the consecrated persons and their relationships with others in the following ways. i. foundation of dignity and value: first we notice the invitation used, a divine communication was manifested: “let us make man in our image” (gen 1:26). which was not the case of other creatures. in creating other things, there was just a statement of a word “let there be” and it brought forth all created things into existence. through this invitation “let us” the extent of attention, love and care god put into the creation of man, making man both the center of creation and an a dignified being is revealed (ember & aaron. 1905). thus, recognising that every human person is created in the image of god gives a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 154 background for inherent dignity and worth of each individual person and in a special way for consecrated persons, it creates the awareness and fosters deep respect for all members of the community and those they serve, promoting an environment of love and acceptance of all. ii. motivation for service: the creation account in genesis affirms the profound intentionality behind the formation of the human person: “then god said, ‘let us make man in our image, after our likeness’” (gen 1:26). the use of the verb make in this context suggests a deliberate and intimate divine act, distinguishing humanity as the culmination of creation. this theological insight has significant implications for consecrated life. it reveals that human beings, uniquely crafted in the image of god, are not accidental beings but are formed through divine intentionality and purpose. for those in consecrated life, this understanding serves as a compelling motivation for mission and service. recognising that every person reflects the imago dei inspires consecrated individuals to engage in acts of love and self-giving. their service becomes a vocation rooted in theological anthropology, manifesting through compassionate care, solidarity with the marginalized, and a commitment to embodying god’s love in the world (john paul ii, 1996; nwachukwu, 2010). iii. community and communion: the biblical affirmation that humanity is created in god's "image and likeness" (gen 1:26) conveys a profound theological truth about human dignity and relationality. the phrase signifies not only humanity’s resemblance to the creator but also a call to reflect divine attributes in relationship with others. herzfeld (2020) notes that the terms image and likeness imply a form of representation, akin to a mirror reflecting its source—suggesting that humans are designed to mirror god’s nature in both individual character and communal life. this understanding is particularly formative for consecrated persons, whose vocation is deeply rooted in imitation of christ and communal witness. recognising a shared divine origin invites them to transcend personal or cultural differences, fostering unity, mutual support, and communion within their religious communities and in broader ecclesial and social contexts. the imago dei, therefore, becomes not only a foundation for personal identity but a guiding principle for building authentic, inclusive, and loving relationships that reflect the relational nature of god. iv. created with purpose and responsibility: the sequence of creation, with humanity formed last (gen 1), does not imply insignificance but rather intentionality—god prepared creation as a suitable dwelling for the human person. this act affirms human dignity and the uniqueness of sharing in god's image. despite the fall and its consequences (gen 3:17– 19), the imago dei remains, underscoring humanity’s role as steward and crown of creation (chen et al., 2020). for consecrated persons, this understanding deepens their call to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 155 spiritual reflection, prayer, and responsible service. their vocation thus becomes a visible extension of god’s presence, marked by love, justice, and mercy. v. witness to the world through moral and ethical standards: a defining mark of humanity’s exalted status in creation is found in genesis 2:7, where god breathes life into the human person, setting them apart from all other creatures. this divine breath often understood as spirit or life-force imparts consciousness, moral awareness, and the capacity for relationship with god. for consecrated persons, this spiritual dimension becomes the foundation of their ethical and prophetic witness. it calls them to embody god’s love through the pursuit of justice, peace, and human dignity. rooted in this understanding, their vocation becomes a living testimony of faith and redemption, as echoed in st. paul’s theology of transformation through christ (rom 8:29). in this way, consecrated life not only reflects the imago dei but serves as a moral compass in a fragmented world. historical context and biblical foundations of imago dei historically, the imago dei can be traced back to the bible. the creation account genesis 1:26-27 states, "let us make man in our image, after our likeness." gen2.7. “yahweh god fashioned man of dust from the soil. then he breathed into his nostrils a breath of life, and thus man became a living being”. consequently, the human person began to share in the image of god as a result of this divine breath in them and this is the most the distinguishing factor between humans and other creatures. from the explanation of the word breath, it has been found to mean life or spirit, and spirit from the word spiritus means breath, courage, vigor, soul, life. it could also mean a life principle, especially in humans, regarded as inherent in the breath or as infused by a deity or as the thinking, motivating, feeling part of a man. further studies on this, shows that it is this breath of god in man that makes the human person to be conscious and manifest in a cognitive and intelligible way. this spirit of god in man is therefore what directs the human person’s specific purpose of serving god and returning back to him. it gives the human person a complete centeredness, creative freedom, possibility for self-actualization and the ability for selftranscendent, and so makes man a co-creator with god, a small god. theology speaks of man in his relationship to god as being less than the angels heb 2.7 yet superior to the animals gen 1:28. these blessings of god was lost at creation when man disobeyed god in sin thus also losing the friendship which he holds with god. in spite of sinfulness god’s call, with which he must freely cooperate, destines him to abiding union in his totality with the triune god. the early church fathers such as augustine, irenaeus, origen of alexandria, cyprian of carthage, augustine of hippo, basil the great amongst others have expanded on this idea and its implications for our identity as consecrated persons, interpreting the image of god as reflecting aspects of god's nature in humankind—such as reason, free will, and the ability to love. they highlighted that for consecrated persons to achieve this renewal of self the life of virtue, simplicity, and detachment, and of cultivating a deep relationship with god through prayer and spiritual discipline. 1. st. irenaeus of lyons (130-202ad) he emphasized that the imago dei is the basis for human dignity and worth. he posits that the incarnation of christ or the holy exchange where god became human and human became divine is the restoration of the image of god in humankind lost igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 156 after human’s had sinned. he also expresses the consecrated life as a means of attaining holiness and participating in christ restoration and salvation of humanity. 2. st. origen of alexandria (185-254ad) origen developed the concept of the imago dei as a dynamic and relational reality, he expressed the consecrated life as a means of cultivating virtues and growing in likeness to god. he recommended that christians and consecrated persons should engage in spiritual disciplines such as prayer, asceticism, penance, etc. so as to enable them conform their lives to the image of god. 3. st. cyprian of carthage (200-258ad) st. cyprian made emphasizes on the importance of living a life of moral integrity and virtue as consecrated persons. he saw the consecrated life as a means of participating in christ’s priestly ministry and offering spiritual sacrifices to god. he thus, stressed unity and communion in the community as a means of building up the body of christ. 4. st. augustine of hippo (354-430) st. augustine of hippo on his part developed a rich theology of the imago dei, he laid emphasizes its trinitarian dimension. he explained the consecrated life as a means of participating in the divine life and growing in likeness to god. he also emphasized the essence of love, humility, and detachment in the consecrated life. 5. st. basil the great (329-379) st. basil made emphasizes on the importance of living a life of simplicity, humility, and detachment as a consecrated person. he explained the consecrated life as a means of participating in christ’s ministry of reconciliation and offering spiritual sacrifices to god. he stressed the importance of community life and mutual support among consecrated persons as a way of promoting god’s image in humankind. throughout the middle ages (500-1500ad), theologians like thomas aquinas further developed the concept, linking it to human rationality, will and moral capacity. making the imago dei a cornerstone for discussions on ethics, human rights, and the intrinsic value of human life. also st. bonaventure emphasized the imago dei as a spark of divine light present in every human soul, and it is capable of being fanned into flame through spiritual practices and contemplation. in contemporary times, the concept of the human person as imago dei—the image of god—has become the subject of extensive discussion and philosophical reflection. this understanding emphasizes the intrinsic dignity of every human being and has inspired various movements and religious communities dedicated to upholding and promoting this dignity. one such example is the missionary sisters of the divine image (msdi), whose foundational charism is rooted in the belief that every person reflects the divine image and is, therefore, deserving of profound love, respect, and care. their mission, as articulated in the msdi constitution and grounded in the gospel (matthew 25:40), is centered on promoting the dignity of the human person in god, a calling that informs their life of consecration and service. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 157 recent pontiffs have made significant theological contributions to the understanding of the imago dei. pope st. john paul ii, in documents titled veritatis splendor and evangelium vitae, emphasized the centrality of the imago dei in affirming the dignity and worth of every human person. he articulated that human dignity is not merely a social construct but is intrinsically rooted in humanity's creation in the image and likeness of god (john paul ii, 1993, 1995). his reflections underscore the moral and ethical implications of this belief, especially in matters concerning life, freedom, and human rights. following him, pope benedict xvi and pope francis have continued to explore and expand upon this theme in relation to anthropology, ecology, and social justice. pope benedict xvi, also laid emphasizes on the imago dei as the basis for understanding human identity and dignity. he sees the imago dei as the reality of the human person rooted in being created in the image and likeness of god, and only having fulfillment in the person of jesus christ. pope francis, in his laudato si opines that the human person is the first point of care….. the doctrine of the imago dei which asserts that every human being is created in the image and likeness of god and thus possesses inherent dignity and worth shapes in many ways the personal identity and communal relationship of consecrated persons whose has been called to follow christ and be configured to him. can 575 and who has also been called to be mindful of their responsibility to promote the unity and communion of the church, and to avoid anything that could harm it. can 580. the different implications for this identity include: i. understanding oneself as an image of god instills a sense of intrinsic value which encourages the consecrated persons to cultivate self-respect and esteem in themselves and their mission. this idea of being created in god’s image helps to the consecrated persons to align their life purpose with divine intentions. which guides their decision making and sense of fulfillment and direction. the consciousness of the image of god in the consecrated persons reminds them of their moral responsibilities in reflecting god’s characteristics in their lives which they promised to live by through their profession of the evangelical vows. this idea also fosters a sense of equality and respect among consecrated persons. which depicts obedience. the consciousness of being made in the image of god encourages relationships of love, service, care and support in imitation of jesus who came to serve and not to be served and who instructs his followers to love as he has loved which expresses the vow of chastity. the sense of every person as the image of god also leads consecrated persons to a communal responsibility for one another as seen in the lives of the apostles who sold everything and brought the money for communal use (acts 4:32-35) which expresses the vow of poverty. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 158 understanding consecrated life. the term consecration is derived from the word holy or holiness which comes from the hebrew word “qadosh” and the greek word hagios which are translated in their verb forms as ‘to consecrate’, to make holy or to sanctify’ (nwachukwu, 2010). it is an act by which a person or a thing is separated from secular or profane use and dedicated permanently to the sacred by prayers, rites, ceremonies. consecration as an act effect an intimate transformation in the essence of the object and it is usually permanent and can be neither revoked nor repeated. the book of the old testament serves as the basis for many kinds of consecrations today. ex 39, 1sam 10, 1 chronicles 16, numbers 6: 5-7.12. etc. consecration makes the person or thing consecrated to become nearer to god and thus become an instrument to achieve the salvific plan of god and claim all creation back to god. they consecrated persons or things are holy in so far as they serve as god’s extraordinary channels of communication and revelation. thus, the church refers to the religious as those who make christ visible and felt in the world. the rite of consecration introduces the person, thing, place into the realm of god’s holiness which signifies that these things and persons are not holy in themselves but are made holy through their involvement in the service of the holiness of god and his worship. hence the religious life is consecrated because it is validated within the context of the celebration of the holy eucharist which inaugurates the consecration (nwachukwu, 2010). theological foundations of consecrated lifebiblical and patristic foundations: the consecrated life is rooted in the baptismal consecration, through which the consecrated person was made a living temple of the holy spirit and was vitally incorporated into the mystery of the death and resurrection of christ and into the church. the creation of humanity in the image of god provides the foundation for consecrated life, which is a response to god’s invitation to live a life of holiness and dedication. biblical foundations: 1. old testament roots: the concept of consecrated life has its roots in the old testament, where we find examples of individuals dedicating themselves to god's service, such as nazarites (numbers 6:1-21) and prophets (cf 1 samuel 3:1-21). 2. in the new testament, jesus' call to discipleship (matthew 4:18-22, mark 1:16-20, luke 5:111) provides a foundation for consecrated life. jesus' disciples left everything to follow him, demonstrating a radical commitment to god's will. 3. apostolic life: the apostles' way of life, as described in the acts of the apostles (acts 2:4247, 4:32-35), provides another biblical foundation for consecrated life. the apostles shared their possessions, lived in community, and dedicated themselves to prayer and ministry. also, st. paul's writings on the charisms (1 corinthians 12:1-31, romans 12:3-8) and the call to holiness (1 thessalonians 4:1-8) also provide a foundation for consecrated life. patristic foundations 1. early christian communities: the early christian communities, as described in the writings of the church fathers, such as st. ignatius of antioch (epistle to the ephesians, 9.1-2) and st. cyprian of carthage (on the unity of the church, 6), provide a foundation for consecrated life. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 159 2. the rise of monasticism in the 3rd and 4th centuries, exemplified by st. anthony of egypt and st. pachomius, provided a new expression of consecrated life. monasticism emphasized the importance of community, prayer, and work. 3. consecrated virginity: the early church fathers, such as st. athanasius (life of st. anthony, 3.3-4) and st. jerome (epistle 22, to eustochium), wrote about the value of consecrated virginity, which became a foundation for consecrated life. 4. apostolic life and community: the church fathers, such as st. basil of caesarea (long rules, 7.2-3) and st. augustine of hippo (rule for the servants of god, 1.1-2), emphasized the importance of apostolic life and community, which provided a foundation for consecrated life. from these biblical and patristic foundations, we can identify several key principles that underlie consecrated life: 1. radical commitment to god's will: consecrated life involves a radical commitment to god's will, as exemplified by jesus' call to discipleship. 2. community and communion: consecrated life emphasizes the importance of community and communion, as seen in the apostolic life and the early christian communities. 3. prayer and contemplation: consecrated life values prayer and contemplation, as exemplified by the monastic tradition. 4. service and mission: consecrated life involves a commitment to service and mission, as seen in the apostolic life and the charisms. 5. holiness and sanctity: consecrated life aims at holiness and sanctity, as emphasized by st. paul's writings on the call to holiness. all these key elements make consecrated life in imitation of jesus, the bedrock of our participation in the imago dei. the inter-relationship of imago dei and consecrated life: the creation of humanity in the image of god provides the foundation for consecrated life, which is a response to god’s invitation to live a life of holiness and dedication through the evangelical counsels. many theologians have attributed that being made in the image of god is importantly related to the concept of vocation into the consecrated life because the consecrated life springs from the election of the israelite’s as god’s holy nation, chosen people and royal priesthood. in the theology of israel’s election, the covenant serves as the framework that establishes the relationship between god and his people israel who have been called to embody god’s will and serve as light to the nations. this also is the case of the consecrated persons who are equally called to the holiness of god and beacons of faith to others. just as the covenant binds israel to god in a unique way, the evangelical vows of chastity, poverty and obedience binds the consecrated persons to christ and so to god. the canon law 573.p 1 describes the consecrated life as a state of life which by profession of the evangelical counsels, is dedicated to god. the covenant relationship of god and the israelites is a relationship based on love and fidelity. this fidelity and love for the consecrated persons is assumed in christ the first image of the invisible god. vc, 15. again, just as the covenant assures israel of god’s faithfulness rather than their merit, the consecrated person is only able to attain their identity as imago dei through christ. thus redemptoris donum, 7 describes the consecrated life as a special manifestation of christ’s faithfulness to the church and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 160 to humanity, and it is a means of deepening one’s communion with god and with others through prayer, contemplation and service. consecrated life as an expression of imago dei: every vocation recalls a history of a journey with god and consecrated life in a special way mirrors god’s intended relationship with humankind who were created in his image. st. paul highlights the gracious nature of god’s action in christ by calling attention to its character as gift. in his letter to the romans, 3,24, paul explains salvation as god’s gracious gift of justification to sinners and this justification is gotten based on the new relationship established in the righteousness of christ who liberates humanity from the boundage of sin and restores them in the image of god through baptismal consecration and the vocation to consecrated life. (rom 6-8). as described in rom 3,2126; 4, 24-25 and 8,32, grace is basically the nature of god’s saving work in christ on behalf of sinful humanity. this is clearly seen in consecrated life which is decribed as grace and which is attained by obedience from the heart to the gospel and liberation from sin for a new form of service to righteousness. this is because the consecrated life is a means of imitating christ, who is the perfect image of god (heb 1:3) and it serves as a means of perfection of charity, which is the fulfillment of the imago dei (1jn 4:8). consecrated life also, stands as a sign of eschatology to the world reminding human beings of their dignity as image of god and their special essence to return to god (nwachukwu, 2002). the future of consecrated life and imago dei the imago dei reflects the trinity, which is the source of all holiness and dignity and is fulfilled in christ the perfect image of god the father. the consecrated life is a means of participating in christ’s mission and of imitating his exemplary life through the evangelical vows old means of fulfilling it while the imago dei is the foundational belief for understanding the call to holiness demanded of consecrated persons. vatican ii’s lumen gentium emphasizes that all christians are called to holiness, yet consecrated persons embody this call in a distinctive manner, reflecting the divine image through their commitment to god and service to humanity. the future of consecrated life must therefore be situated within the context of this theological understanding especially as the world faces challenges such as secularism, pluralism, relativism and indifference to spiritual matters, consecrated life can offer a prophetic witness to the imago dei through their acts of love, community living, service, etc. challenges to identity in consecrated life a number of contemporary issues, poses significant challenges to consecrated life, including decline in vocation and need for adaptation in ministry. however, these challenges also present opportunities for renewal and reimagining the meaning of the call to consecrated life today. the post-synodal apostolic exhortation vita consecrata no. 5, highlights the importance of being rooted in the word of god and open to signs of times (john, 1996). this call is a call to consecrated persons to seek innovative ways to live out their charisms while engaging with contemporary issues as the future of consecrated life lies in its ability to embody the love of christ in a way that recognizes and uplifts the dignity of humankind. therefore, the future of consecrated life must embrace a holistic understanding of the imago dei that transcends individualism and embraces igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 161 communal engagement as pope francis says, if we want to be true witnesses of the risen lord, we need to live together (vatican news, 2015). conclusion in conclusion, the exploration of the imago dei as it pertains to the vocation of consecrated life illuminates the profound relationship between the divine and human experience. the notion that consecrated persons embody god's image emphasizes their unique dignity and purpose within both the church and society. by adhering to the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience, consecrated individuals are not only called to follow christ but also to model his virtues in their interactions with others. the emphasis on community and communion further enhances the understanding of their identity, inviting them to foster environments of mutual respect, love, and service. moreover, the insights drawn from scripture and teachings of the early church fathers underscore the ongoing relevance of this theological framework in contemporary discussions about identity and mission in a rapidly changing world. it becomes evident that embracing the imago dei fosters a deeper commitment to justice, peace, and the promotion of human dignity. therefore, the calling to live out the imago dei remains a vital aspect of spiritual formation and the prophetic witness of consecrated persons, challenging them to reflect divine qualities in their everyday lives and contribute meaningfully to the world around them. references ember & aaron. 1905. “the pluralis intensivus in hebrew”. american journal of semitic languages and literature 21:195–231. nwachukwu, ms. (2010) consecrated-a vision of religious life from the viewpoint of the sacred. change publications ltd. isbn 978-978-901-690-7 nwachukwu, ms. (2002) creation-covenant scheme and justification by faith: a canonical study of the god-human drama in the pentateuch and the letter to the romans (roma: editrice pontificia universita gregoriana, 255-287. john paul ii. (1996). vita consecrata: post-synodal apostolic exhortation on the consecrated life and its mission in the church and in the world. libreria editrice vaticana. https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jpii_exh_25031996_vita-consecrata.html vatican news. (2015). pope francis: religious life is a call to joy and to witness to god's love. https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2015-11/pope-francis-address-religious.html dan l., (2024). the imago dei: biblical foundations, theological implications, and enduring significance. verba vitae vol. 1, no. 3-4 coleman, r. (2024) the imago dei: the distinctiveness of humanity. old testament essays 36, no. 649-82. https://doi.org/10.17159/2312-3621/2023/v36n3a7. kugler, c. (2020). paul and the image of god. . https://doi.org/10.5771/9781978707399. greenberg, i., brown, i., moseson, e., kutash, e., korn, e., & whitfield, s. (2024). the human being as the image of god. modern judaism, 44, 107 108 135 136 166 167 189 190 194 195 199 200 201 89. https://doi.org/10.1093/mj/kjae014. barton, s. (2025). christ and creation in the synoptic gospels. journal for the study of the new testament. https://doi.org/10.1177/0142064x241300470. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 162 mackie, j. l. (2017). a level religious studies anthology. in pearson education limited, pearson edexcel level 3 advanced gce in religious studies (pp. 4–5). https://qualifications.pearson.com/content/dam/pdf/a%20level/religious%20studies/20 16/specification%20and%20sample%20assessments/gce2016_al_religstd_antholog y.pdf herzfeld, n. (2020). do we image god on-line? the opportunities and challenges for authentic relationships in cyberspace. theology & sexuality, 26, 108 99. https://doi.org/10.1080/13558358.2020.1790986. john paul ii. (1996). vita consecrata: post-synodal apostolic exhortation on the consecrated life and its mission in the church and in the world. libreria editrice vaticana. https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jpii_exh_25031996_vita-consecrata.html nwachukwu, m. s. (2010). consecrated: a vision of religious life from the viewpoint of the sacred. change publications ltd. cyprian of carthage. (n.d.). treatise 9: on the advantage of patience*. retrieved from [https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/050709.htm](https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/05 0709.htm) irenaeus. (n.d.). st. irenaeus and the imago dei: the importance of being human. retrieved from [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236822764\_st\_irenaeus\_and\_the\_imago\_ dei\_the\_importance\_of\_being\_human](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/23 6822764_st_irenaeus_and_the_imago_dei_the_importance_of_being_human) missionary sisters of the divine image. (n.d.). postulants and foundress of the missionary sisters of the divine image*. retrieved from [https://divineimagesisters.com/uncategorized/helloworld/](https://divineimagesisters.com/uncategorized/hello-world/) st. andrews encyclopaedia of theology. (n.d.). image of god (imago dei). retrieved from [https://www.saet.ac.uk/christianity/imageofgod](https://www.saet.ac.uk/christianity/im ageofgod)st. basil's wisdom on community. (n.d.). the living church. retrieved from [https://livingchurch.org/covenant/st-basils-wisdom-oncommunity/](https://livingchurch.org/covenant/st-basils-wisdom-on-community/) the dynamism of imago dei in augustine's anthropology and trinity. (2011). jian dao, (36), 71–129. retrieved from [https://resources.abs.edu/wp-content/uploads/yam-cheuk-yinthe-dynamism-of-imago-dei-in-augustines-anthropology-andtrinity%ef%bc%9aa-study-on-de-trinitate-xiv-xv-jian-dao-issue-36july-2011-71-129.pdf](https://resources.abs.edu/wp-content/uploads/yam-cheuk-yinthe-dynamism-of-imago-dei-in-augustines-anthropology-andtrinity%ef%bc%9aa-study-on-de-trinitate-xiv-xv-jian-dao-issue-36july-2011-71-129.pdf) thomas aquinas. (n.d.). imago dei in thomas aquinas. saint anselm college. retrieved from [https://www.anselm.edu/sites/default/files/documents/institute%20of%20sa%20studie s/brown.pdf](https://www.anselm.edu/sites/default/files/documents/institute%20of%20s a%20studies/brown.pdf) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 163 puskas a., (2024). perceiving god: the spiritual senses in bonaventure's mystical theology. religions, 15(8), 902. [https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15080902](https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15080902)([mdpi][8]) okonkwo peter, kanu, a. i. and paul pilani (2025). “internal governance in consecrated life and in allied matters: canonical and theological perspectives”. amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 23. no. 1. pp. 1-23. okonkwo peter, kanu, a. i. and paul pilani (2025). “safeguarding minors and vulnerable adults in the nigeria church: canonical and legal perspectives”. amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 23. no. 1. pp. 62-81. okonkwo peter, kanu, a. i. and paul pilani (2025). “the canonical and theological perspectives of faith, doctrine and governance on staff policies in nigerian catholic universities”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 11. no. 1, pp. 210-235. okonkwo peter, kanu, a. i. and paul pilani (2025). “synodality in the life and mission of the church: perspectives from canon law, scripture and ecclesiology”. ohazurume: unizik journal of culture and civilization. vol. 4. no. 1. 1-16. okonkwo peter, kanu, a. i. and paul pilani (2025). “rights, obligations and financial responsibilities of consecrated persons: a canonical/theological perspective”. crowther journal of arts and humanities, volume 22. number 1. pp. 1-19. 68 examination of the causes of political instability and the implications in modern society orji, chidi paul, ph.d department of philosophy, university of agriculture and environmental sciences imo state paul.orji@uaes.edu.ng, hipaulco@gmail.com & nwagbara, rufus godswill department of philosophy, joel awoniyi school of education and humanities, babcock 'university, ilisan remo, ogun state nwagbarag@babcock.edu.ng doi: 10.13140rg.2.2.14554.96967 abstract politics uncertainty is a social reality. in politics, political instability is a frequent phenomenon that always threatens the nation's unity and peaceful coexistence. political instability results from the general public's perception of social injustice and discrimination as well as the government's failure to solve the problems faced by the majority of people. consequently, a breakdown of political instability, together with its sources and national implications is examined in this study. even the most developed nations in the world are not completely immune to it, despite significant national leaderships taking efforts to reduce its incidence. however in order to address the problem, a full grasp of the traits, causes, and origins of political instability is required. this paper's primary goal is to achieve this. as a result, the study looks at the traits and underlying reasons of political instability in modern society. keywords: political instability, politics, good governance, national unity introduction political instability is a widespread occurrence that still controls the political landscape in many nations. political instability is the innate propensity of a government to fall, either as a result of developing hostilities or disputes between different political groups, which can occasionally turn violent. a quick change in government or policy can also lead to political instability and raise the risk of more instability in the future. there is a close relationship between political stability and economic prosperity. political instability can impede development through repression and unfavorable change and lead to social, ethnic, or national disintegration. additionally, it might lead to increased foreign influence or foreign interference. uncertainty brought on by an unstable political climate might slow down investment in the nation in issue and slow down the rate of economic growth. furthermore, political instability and the fall of governments can result from weak economic performance. these circumstances are a recurring and major factor in the political unrest that certain nations experience. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 69 every political system, including democratic ones, has its weaknesses. regardless of the political regime's internal strife, corruption and drastic changes can also cause instability and eventually lead to a government's fall, either peacefully or violently. with the potential to bring about change quickly, this might occur gradually or quickly. in many of the world's former stable governments experiencing unpredictable major upheavals can cause severe disruptions to daily life and inadequate security conditions that are conducive to the growth of serious criminal activity and terrorism in today's cultures. in the era of social media and technological advancements, this can also occur quickly, leading to the rapid development of dangerous situations in previously thoughtto-be safe nations and areas. in addition to posing a risk to the safety of anyone caught in these zones, this can also have an adverse effect on transportation connections through and around the region of disruption or violence. for example, nigeria usually referred to as the "giant of africa," has seen and continues to experience numerous unstable phases of violence and strife. experiences with rivalry and mistrust among different ethnic groups have resulted in political instability throughout the nation, making the process of breaking through the political power corridor violent and contentious. nigeria is still impacted by the oppressive and unfair systems that the previous colonial rulers left behind, dating back to the pre-independence era. inadequate state structures and a never-ending battle for political dominance are the inevitable consequences. this often comes at the expense of the general populace's wellbeing and the nation's overall development. this is true even though the country has an abundance of natural and human resources. nigeria gained independence in 1960; however the country's efforts to achieve political stability and growth have remained elusive. this must be related to the turbulent political and social climate of the nation, which is reflected in the prevalence of poverty, corruption, shoddy planning and execution, and overall societal indiscipline. throughout nigeria's decade of independence and the years after the civil war that started in 1967 and ended in 1970, political instability has been a significant problem that has shaken the nation with bloodshed. given the geopolitical environment of nigeria, there have been several instances of intermittent violence as well as counterattacks by other regions. the underlying causes of the nation's violence consistently result in unpredictably bad events like bombings, the killing of innocent people, and the political unrest that destabilizes already vulnerable areas. without the anxiety and threats that have engulfed the country up to this point, none of this would have happened. political instability: conceptual clarification political stability is the reverse of political instability, and grasping this concept requires knowledge of it. in light of this, we looked at other people's ideas of political stability and came to the conclusion that political stability is the consistency of a government and its actions intended to fulfill its duties to the people. political stability fosters social, economic, and political development and includes national security, good governance—that is, the pursuit of the common goodand social peace. we define political instability as the absence of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 70 aforementioned, in keeping with the definition of political stability given above. political instability can thus be defined as the shakiness of a government and its actions intended to fulfill its duties to the people in a way that undermines its fundamental principles. according to unah, political instability can also be referred to as the phenomenon of change itself, which is defined as frequent social change, especially when that change disrupts the current political order (unah, 1995: 106). political instability is a type of social instability. based on the aforementioned, the hobbesian hypothetical state of nature, in which individuals do as they like, whenever they please, and in whatever way they please, best describes a politically unstable society. there is a constant state of conflict and the associated uncertainties because of the heinous circumstances in the natural world. this condition of affairs has an impact on all aspects of societal life; as a result, life is short, cruel, and unpleasant. fundamentally, the ideas of political stability and instability are notions of politics. however, these ideas turn sociopolitical and philosophical when philosophy shines its light on politics. the origin of philosophy is man. he is both the creator and the recipient of civil society at the same time. thus, there is a close connection between philosophy and society. this is due to the fact that "all human transactions, be they intellectual or practical, take place within the matrix of society, within a social context." (unah, 2002: 10). men engage with one another, have disagreements and work through them, and reach compromises for the benefit of each person as well as society as a whole when they live together. nevertheless, there are times when a lack of social harmony causes civilization to be upended completely. such social unrest or political instability can be philosophically attributed to two things: (1) the essence of man; and (2) the dynamic nature of society. the conception of man as a being philosophical inquiry into the essence of man remains a topic of fascination. there are philosophers who believe that man is fundamentally good, while others believe that he is egotistical and evil. some, however, saw him as a hybrid of the two. based on thomas hobbes, society can only escape the state of naturewhich is anarchy and political instability—if it is governed by an absolute power like the leviathan? this is based on hobbes' belief that the character of man is the fundamental cause of his fictitious condition of nature. hobbes' theory of man can be summed up as follows: hobbes believed that man was fundamentally selfish and that his appetites, desires, and passions drove him to action rather than his brain or reason. in this kind of war, there is no organized conflict, but rather a never-ending fight between all individuals, driven mostly by rivalry, insecurity, and a desire for glory. there is no justice or law. man's life is short, brutish, unpleasant, and impoverished (appadorai, 1968: 22). in appadorai's analysis of human nature, hobbes' perspective is likely to have had some influence. he argues that: generally speaking, two facts emerge from the observation of man's existence around us: first, every man wants to act and think how he pleases, but second, because he is a member of society, he cannot have his own way. when two men have different desires, they clash. as such, the government must regulate the relationships between the various members of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 71 society (3). though they differ from hobbes in that they do not consider nature to be a state of conflict, john locke and j.j. rousseau nevertheless perceive it as a state filled with dread. it is impossible for us to focus on just one facet of humanity. ignore the opposing party. humanity has shown itself to be a reasonable being on many occasions and a beastly being on others. based on human nature, the knowledge that he is the primary source of political unrest. according to existentialists, who believe that man is a creature of his environment and must find meaning in his life, this study concurs. almost without exception, he finds himself in a predicament from which only he can escape. man, realizing the void within him, tries his hardest to rid himself of all obstacles. the ongoing conflict between humans and the natural world escalates into a deep-rooted sense of unease, which j.p. sartre attributes to nothingness. the emptiness of man and the absurdity of life are captured by nothingness. it motivates him to work at bridging the gaps in his life and rescuing the various predicaments he finds himself in. in light of the aforementioned, unah states that "being human is the origin of every form of instability" (unah, 1995: 105). the strength of society given that society is composed of and governed by individual men, it follows that society itself must be dynamic if man is dynamic. society provides tangible expressions for the byproducts or manifestations of man's rationality. philosophers, particularly social philosophers, have proposed concepts targeted at defining societal goals in their endeavors to transform their own worldviews. as stated by e. k. ogundowole, a society's life endeavor, as well as that of individual personalities in a sense, consists of national groups, social organizations, and other human communities. (ogundowole, 1991) in order to complete assigned societal duties, collaboration between genuine people, both the led and the leaders. this is so because society is an assembly of people. these contributions add up to the ontological definition of society as interpersonal relationships. according to unah: existing in a social context and engaging in human interaction with others is the primary original meaning of society. however, the inherent conflicts and friction that come with this kind of unrestricted engagement made it necessary to direct and control human interaction (unah, 2002: 11). sometimes achieving social harmony is hampered by the challenge of combining individual and communal interests. even members of the ruling class may differ on what constitutes the societal tasks of a given era. the completion of the assigned tasks might not follow the anticipated pattern, even in cases where the ruling class agrees. all of the preceding points to the fact that conflict and disagreement lead to change, which is a natural part of society from the outset. this is due to the fact that although man cedes part of his liberties and rights to society, he yet holds onto those that are essential and unalienable. he is unwilling to let go of these. plato's view of the essence of man and how it translates to society led him to insist that philosophers become rulers or rulers become philosophers. a just society can only be governed by people who are qualified to do it. the impact that human nature has on society was recognized by aristotle, hobbes, locke, rousseau, marx, and other scholars. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 72 the background causes of political instability political instability has socioeconomic roots, which are in fact an empirical reflection of societal socioeconomic situations. they represent the particular response of man to the state's acceptance or rejection of his ceding of some of his liberties, rights, and sovereignty. these reasons are frequently connected to how a person or group perceives injustice or a lack of justice being done to them. therefore, it follows that these are responses, either individual or collective, to the policies and programs of the government—or lack thereof. we will address these issues under the following four headings: economic, racial, and lack of effective governance, as well as office persistence economical causes of political instability the next most important thing to a man after his life and health is his economy. to the extent as humanly practicable, man must be able to safeguard his life and health, which requires a robust economy. so, it should come as no surprise that the majority of men would do whatever it takes to improve their financial situation. however, a portion of a man's economic rights are given up to the state for the straightforward reason that society would descend into anarchy if every individual had unfettered freedom to pursue his economic interests. as a result, it is the responsibility of the government to control citizens' economic activity in a way that ensures everyone has the chance to reach their full potential. when there is economic disparity and/or economic mismanagement, economic crises either ultimately lead to political instability or have the capacity to do so. in his remarks made on july 20, 2002, to the united nations security council. according to ambassador jean david levitte, permanent representative of france to the european union, "economic and social development is the first aspect of conflict prevention" (levitte: 2000). he stated that "poverty leads to frustration and revolts which may degenerate into conflicts." as stated by freedom house incorporated, political instability is a direct result of income inequality. it states that "income inequality ultimately leads to instability, which in turn causes slow or negative growth, and, ultimately, weaker democracy" (freedom house: 2000). a severe economic environment brought on by the government's economic policiesor lack thereofis also included in the definition of economic crisis, which goes beyond economic disparity. political instability may also result from poor economic management and the government's incapacity to steer the economy. this has been the main cause of political unrest and recent government changes in brazil, indonesia, and argentina. the fact that the working class in marx and engels' western europe contributed significantly to the development of the intellectual and economic pillars of marxismhistorical materialism and dialectical materialismis, of course, undeniable. cultural discrimination even in some of today's most developed societies, cultural discrimination in multiethnic societies frequently results in political instability. for instance, the circumstances that gave rise to the irish republican army (ira) in the united kingdom have not entirely disappeared. in less developed societies, social discrimination is often exacerbated by ethnic competition for state resources. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 73 caprioli and trumbore perceive this as assuming the risk of being unstable in politics. a situation in which societal norms and policies sustain political and economic inequalitya society that arbitrarily discriminates against certain of its members. (gledisch, 2003: 7). they also embrace the view expressed by van evera (8) that "the risk of wars increases with the severity with which nationalities oppress minorities living in their states." political stability is impacted in such societies by ethnic disparities in access to economic and political resources. examples of nations where ethnic discrimination has frequently resulted in political instability include rwanda, burundi, sudan, and nigeria. lack of good governance the ability of a government to efficiently manage the state's resources so that it can meet the basic needs of the populace and enable them to realize their full potential within a democratic political framework based on the rule of law is known as good governance (abati, 2000: 4). accordingly, the africa leadership forum has determined the following indices of effective governance: 1. effective and flexible governmental administration; 2. sound economic management; 3. fair play, justice, and equity in government programs and initiatives; 4. a real improvement in citizen welfare and quality of life; 5. fundamental human rights and the rule of law; 6. the public sector should become less politicized; the public should be able to approve public 7/ political leadership through democratic channels; 8. accountability and openness; 9. law and order in the public sphere; 10. discipline; 11. carrying out wise foreign policy; and 12. political stability (somorin: 2001:1). respecting the aforementioned aids the state in achieving its goals. on the other hand, their nonexistence indicates poor governance, which could spark uprisings and wars and ultimately cause political instability. obstinacy of office the obstinacy of office, or the sit-tight syndrome, among public office holders is a contemporary socio-political source of political instability. the struggle between the ruling class and the ruled is exacerbated when leaders continue to hold onto power despite clear instances of poor governance. many societies have suffered greatly as a result of this condition, including tunisia, egypt, libya, cameroon, togo, algeria, haiti, zimbabwe, and nigeria, to name a few. african leaders "always find it difficult to go on retirement because they regard political office as traditional stool from which there is no exit except to god's headquarters," babarinsa likely concluded as a result of the syndrome's prevalence in african states (babarinsa: 2005: 5). goerge ayittey is interested in this problem. according to ayittey (1993), there has to be fully independent election commissions, press freedom achieved, an independent judiciary, and impartial, professional security services in order to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 74 stop the sit-tight syndrome and war scenarios in africa. when the aforementioned elements are absent from a society, conflict typically arises between those who support the overthrow of the existing order and the establishment of a new one, and those who occupy positions of authority in the obsolete order and their sympathizers. the previous system usually crumbles in the ensuing conflict, which brings down the office holders. the state and its citizens experience only fleeting satisfaction when such a battle is won, as the newly elected officials immediately begin formulating plans to stay in power. this leads to further hostilities, and the unstable situation persists. this section of the study has addressed the factors that lead to political instability. states, as well as the people and organizations that comprise them, are frequently negatively impacted by political instability. the impact of political instability on the economy and society political instability causes a state's population to become impoverished and hinders the state's economic and political advancement. an atmosphere of uncertainty is produced by socio-political instability. states with high levels of political instability make greater investments in their armed forces and police, often at the expense of the welfare interests of their citizens. more instability results from this frequently. additionally, capital flight brought on by political unrest damages the economy. in general, political instability causes impacted societies to grow less politically and economically. as a result, these societies are referred to be the least developed. causes of political instability in nigeria: an overview the primary source of political instability in nigeria most of the time are internal reasons. a particular instance is the political class's lax adherence to the fundamental principles of constitutionalism and democracy (kew, 2006). according to harriman (2006), this kind of environment has led to the misuse of authority, blatant corruption, manipulation of the electoral process, intolerance of political opposition, and institutional deterioration. this goes against the principles of governance, which need social interaction between the ruled and the ruled in a political community (adejumobi, 2004). since january 15, 1966, there have been numerous military engagements in national politics as a result of the political class's inability to maintain effective administration. their professional duty is to maintain peace and quiet, but instead of using the armed forces to defend the nation's territorial integrity, they meddled in politics. an unstable political system exists in the nation, as seen by the unhealthy and fierce power struggles that occur between the military hierarchy and the political elite as well as between civilians and soldiers. egbon (2001) pointed out that, any state's political structure becomes unstable when the armed forces become involved, which in turn causes economic collapse and is essentially a result of the state's leadership issues. politicians in nigeria frequently cause political instability because they view politics as a business where they igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 75 can make money. this is because of their greed for power. he went on to say, "the problem with nigerians is that they go into politics when they want money." therefore, the politicians would embezzle the funds that could have been used for the nation's progress. despite having a big domestic market, a wealth of natural resources, and a significant amount of human capital. an additional reason for the ongoing violence and the subsequent political instability in the nation is the impunity of the masterminds who incite, organize, fund, and even arm the rioters. in the event that they are found guilty and given lengthy prison terms, they are never charged or put on trial in any court. some of the powerful and privileged people in society are the ones who encourage violent disputes. some people have the impression that they are untouchables, and those who follow them share this belief. since many of these sponsors have never been held accountable for their horrible acts, they return to plot more rounds of hostilities and carnage. furthermore, there is a lack of crisis management training among the police and other security agencies. throughout violent outbursts, the rioters are often described as being "too tough" for the inexperienced and inexperienced police to control. it is unexpected that the rioters frequently have sophisticated weapons and are well-prepared. conflicts also continue to arise in nigeria because the government has never followed the advice of the judiciary and other inquiry bodies on violence and civil disobedience. political instability frequently results from this in the nation. the fact that nigeria is a multiethnic state means that when many ethnic groups believe their aims and desires cannot be fulfilled concurrently, war and political instability will result. thus, it makes sense that there would be unrest, opposition controversy, and political instability when there is inequality in access to control over natural resources and political power, as was the case during the nigerian civil war, niger-delta militant uprisings, and ongoing boko haram insurgencies, among other instances. the foregoing makes it abundantly evident that nigerian politics have historically been the antithesis of those in developed nations, and nigerian politicians in particular continue to adhere to outdated ideals like broken pledges, political corruption, avarice, violence, tribalism, and intimidation. fraud, embezzlement and misuse of public funds, inflation in contract awards, a lack of accountability and transparency in governance, and inequality in wealth distribution are a few examples of how political instability is said to appear. political unrest has a discernible effect on nigerians' lives, leading to underdevelopment, corruption, and economic distortion. implications of political instability in modern nigeria society political instability has far-reaching effects and consequences on the entire nation. there is much that nigeria could do better given the prevalence of violent conflicts that have consistently resulted in political instability for more than 50 years. some of the ramifications in nigeria include the following. the nigerian state's inadequate utilization of its natural and human resources is the first issue. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 76 nigeria has thus been permanently stuck with poverty, hunger, and other signs of an economic downturn. second, there are always going to be casualties from political unrest. many people have died as a result of violent upheavals in nigeria. for example, the 1967–1970 nigerian civil war claimed the lives of about two million people. a number of other lesser crises in the nation, such the ongoing insurgency by boko haram, have also resulted in fatalities. because of the impact on the youthful workforce, the death toll has an impact on the country's economy. many nigerians who were bright and skilled were killed by boko haram insurgents, while hundreds of oil workers and foreigners have perished in the brutal wars in the niger delta (o'neil, 2004). additionally, government revenue generation is negatively impacted, particularly during periods of industrial unrest. the country would have lost a great deal of money as a result of these strikes. furthermore, political unrest may serve as a deterrent to increased foreign investment in the nation. foreign investment growth and flow have also been slowed down by nigeria's ongoing violent conflicts. nigeria's economy is fragile, and no foreign investor will be enticed to make investments there. while political unrest and insecurity may deter foreign investors from making investments in nigeria, the country's general atmosphere of peace, security, and stability will draw tourists from abroad (ajayi, 2004). however, another wave of refugees and internally displaced persons has resulted from political, religious, and sectarian strife in the nation. those who lived in the areas devastated by conflict were forced to evacuate and seek sanctuary in other states, towns, or foreign nations. not only do refugees and internally displaced people have an impact on the economies of their host countries, but they also introduce unfamiliar faces to their new communities, placing additional strain on the social services available to them. conclusion clarifying the notion of political instability was the intended objective of this paper. its origins and causes were also studied extensively. our sources for these were the socio-political factors and intellectual works. humans are dynamic beings who alternate between egocentricism and altruism, according to the philosophical source. having written the book and living in the world, since it becomes challenging to combine the interests of various groups and individuals to achieve the common good, man's character are reflected in the dynamic of his endeavor, society. human response to governmental actions can be traced back to socio-economic and political origins. human nature naturally dictates that a person should want to maximize their happiness and reduce their own suffering as much as feasible. in light of how political instability affects society, people, and organizations, we believe that it stifles the development of the state and its citizens. therefore, if the majority of the aforementioned recommendations are put into practice in order to support national economic development and guarantee accountability and transparency in government operations, there will need to be a concerted effort by all citizens of the nation to put an end to all forms of political instability. taking into account the research igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 77 results, it is suggested that political figures make sure that all of their acts are transparent and accountable, especially when it comes to money. to combat corruption in all areas of national life, citizenspolitical leaders in particular and public servantsmust possess the necessary resolve. a fundamental reorientation regarding societal ideals is necessary for politicians. all educational levels around the nation ought to offer courses on political education and incorporate it into their curricula. when there is a breakdown in law and order anywhere in the nation, law enforcement officials need to be ready to respond quickly and decisively. lastly, legislation against hooliganism, thuggery, and vandalism should be enacted by the national assembly and applied equally for all. references abati, r. (2000). political parties and good governance in nigeria. africa leadership forum. adejumobi, s. (2004). democracy, good governance and constitutionalism in africa in sylvester odion-akhaine, governance: nigeria in the world. lagos: centre for constitutionalism and demilitarisation 2. ajayi, a. (2004). afenifere to revive nadeco against obasanjo nigeria tribune, 2 april. appadorai, a. (1975). the substance of politics. oxford university press. awolowo, 0. (1968). the people's republic. oxford university press. ayittey, g.(1993). africa betrayed. st. martin's press. babarinsa, d. (2005). the awoists as a strong breed.". ell magazine no. 17. tell communications. egbon, s. (2000). political soldiering: nigeria man in horse. john jacobs publishers. freedom house (2000): income inequality and economic growth. http://www.freedomhouse.org/research/ freeworld. kew, d. (2006). nigeria in sanya t. (ed.) countries at the crossroads, freedom house. levitte, j. (2000): role of the security council in the prevention of armed conflicts. fadec publishers ogundowole, e. (1991) . echoes of social change. west publications limited. o'neil, s. (2004). five killed in delta gun battle. the comet newspaper. april, 29.. somorin, k. (2001). public service and good governance. africa leadership forum. unah, j. (1995). essays in philosophy. panaf publishing inc.. _______ (2002). philosophy, society and anthropology. fadec publishers. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 2, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 174 insecurity challenges, bane to national development: the nigeria experience ekenedilichukwu a. okolo, ph. d & abalogu, divine maduka, ph. d department of religion and human relations nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state ea.okolo@unizik.edu.ng, dm.abalogu@unizik.edu.ng. doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.33952.39688 abstract presently, the nigeria society is suffocating from series of societal challenges of which insecurity is obviously inclusive and occupies a prime spot in the nation's structural process. the heightened rate of insecurity challenges in the history of the country is considerably alarming, with myriad effects visible in all ramifications and dimensions of the society. the nigeria nation is grappling with the endemic realities of underdevelopment which is intricately linked to the issues of insecurity in the country. urban and infrastructural development is among the sustainable development goals (sdgs) adopted by the united nations member states with an actualization target in the year 2030. despite the concerted effort in achieving this goal, insecurity has continued to pose a big threat by frustrating all the available avenues employed for the development of the country. developmental blueprint employed by the government seems to be unattainable due to the indices of insecurity challenges evident in terrorism, kidnapping, arm robbery, banditry, vandalization and massive destruction of lives and properties which have subjected the populace to live in abject fear, tension and apprehension. against this backdrop, it will be worthwhile to posit that for development to be achieved in nigeria, the trend of insecurity must be arrested. this study adopts the sociological method of research and will be framed with structural functionalism theory. the paper therefore observes that insecurity challenges are rife in nigeria which is the rationales for underdevelopment of the country. it further observes that the reason behind insecurity challenges is based on poverty, unemployment, agitations and unsatisfactory ends among the ethnicities in nigeria. it finally observes that if the challenges of insecurity are tackled, the development of the country will take an unprecedented acceleration. the paper concludes that nigeria government should be alive and active in her war against insecurity in nigeria which will give way to national development. the study therefore recommends that the government and all well-meaning nigerians should take the insecurity situation of the country seriously. also, the government should create a forum for dialogue among the aggrieved ethnic groups for the resolution of protest and agitations. finally, nigerians should endeavor to build legacies of peace for an environment devoid of hostility, tension, apprehension and fear towards achieving the sustainable development goals. keywords: insecurity, challenges, bane, national development, nigeria, experience. introduction from the world on go, the development of any nation has been a general responsibility of every sector in the society which the role of security sector cannot be overemphasized. the presupposition is that the nation's development can be measured by the level of the security that is recorded in such a nation. when a nation is ripple of issues of insecurity, it adversary affects the development of that nation. this is not different from what is presently obtained in nigeria. the level of insecurity as witnessed in nigeria today has reached its crescendo which has contributed to the state of things in the nation. in the northern part of the nation, the incessant killing of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 175 people by boko haram, the herdsmen attack, the bandits and the likes. in the east, the herdsmen attack, kidnapping and other life threatening issues have always been witnessed. all these have made the attention of the government to be shifted to fighting them and thereby using resources meant for development to spend on fighting insecurity in the land. the nigeria project as the quest for a prosperous and unified state of nigeria is often termed “work in progress”. with over 200 million people, nigeria is one of the largest countries in the world. in this globalized age, it is also possible to find thousands or even hundreds of thousands of nigerians in many of the major urban centers of the world. it is right to say that most nigerians living in other parts of the world left nigeria to find greener pastures. however, you cannot talk about greener pastures without talking about the value of life and properties. greener pastures include security; hence, insecurity has exported most of nigerians out of the shore of the nation. security is everybody's business and it is one of the fundamental human rights of the people, that is why it is stated in section 14 (2)(b) of the nigerian 1999 constitution as amended that “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of the government”. at a time like this when the right of a common man is violated, it becomes a challenge and a problem. in nigeria, insecurity took a different shape within the past twelve years. this is because for this space of time, no day goes by without a report of one insecurity challenge or the other. unfortunately, everyone is at the receiving end. it is no longer the ordinary citizens who are only the victims but also those who may be referred to as first class citizens. it is important to note that the level of insecurity in nigeria has become a major issue for the government since 1990 when the activities of the niger delta militants started and in recent time when boko haram insurgency arose. national development has witnessed unprecedented security challenge and drop down in its road to success. for ewetan and urhie (2014), these challenges range from kidnapping, suicide attacks, bombing, ritual killings, assassinations, armed robbery and the likes and have led to the destruction of lives and properties, hindered business activities, discouraged local and foreign investors and increases government expenditure on security. all of these stifle and retard nigeria's socio-economic development. this study therefore aims at reviewing the insecurity challenges which kills the national development in nigeria and as well, seeks practical ways of handling these challenges in nigeria. theoretical framework the theoretical framework for this work will be limited to structural functionalism which is one of the traditional theories in sociology. its fountainhead could be traced to august comte (1798 – 1857) while the likes of herbert spencer and robert maton pitched to its development. the theory was said to be later ameliorated by the french sociologist; emile durkheim (1858-1917) and the american sociologist; talcott pason (1902-1979). structural functionalism sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to advance solidarity and firmness or peace. this approach looks at both social structure and social function. the former includes family, religion, law, economy, and class which significantly influence larger systems such as economy, legal, political and cultural system. it could also be said to be the framework upon which a society is established. it determines the norms and patterns of relations between the various institutions of the society. the later addresses society as a whole in terms of the functions of its constituent elements namely norms, customs, traditions and institutions. for this theory, all parts work together to keep the society functioning and any subsystem that is affected will affect the general system. in other words, any flux in one part of the society causes flux in another part. historically, functionalist compares society with a living organism and as well, draws analogy between them. that is why omonijo, anyaegbunam, obiorah, uche, shaibu and ogunwa (2017) view it like a living organism whose parts work together for its survival, society in the same manner has various parts which enable it to meet its needs towards igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 176 survival (p.63). these systems or parts are being regarded as institutions and they perform specific roles towards maintaining the whole. the parts that work together include political, economy, technology, industry, education, religion, social control or social order. on the specific roles, it could be manifest and latent and they have continued to hold the society together (merton, 1938). relating the theoretical framework to insecurity sees insecurity as a subsystem of social control of institution of human society that affects a section of the society, “functional prerequisite” for the survival of its members to prevent them from extinction. there are two ways to view the role of discrepancy and obligation of agencies created to checkmate insecurity. firstly, violent conflicts that generate insecurity such as armed robbery, assassination, kidnapping, terrorism etc. provide unofficial or illegal employment for those who indulge in them (global terrorism index, 2015; haralambos et al., 2008; ngwama, 2014; oputeh, 2015). these activities enable them to adjust or design an immoral means of survival (merton, 1938). this is because the unemployment rate just like poverty rate is skyrocketing in the contemporary nigeria. secondly, it provides a means of occupation and career development for security personnel in their various agencies in the society. their roles of maintaining law and order are essential for cohesion and smoothly running society (andersen and taylor, 2006). therefore for omonijo et al (2017), “the manifest roles of these agencies are evident in the system maintenance within the threshold of employment opportunity for individual members and the safety of the general society while the latent role is the implication of insecurity to the wellbeing of nigerians and national development” (p.63). this theory was silent about the consequences and the disastrous nature of insecurity which is costly. money meant for human capital development and natural development is being diverted to reintegrate the bereaved families and victims of insecurity, renovation of properties destroyed and ransom being demanded in most cases. this has to play with the psychological state of mind of intending investors thereby driving them away. conceptual understanding of insecurity scholars have made some efforts in contributing to the concept of insecurity. among these scholars is beland (2005), who posits that insecurity is a state of fear or anxiety due to absence or lack of protection. achumba, ighomereho and akpan (2013), see insecurity from two perspectives. for them, insecurity is first, the state of being open or subject to danger or threat of danger, where danger is the condition of being susceptible to harm or injury. the second perspective happens to be the state of being exposed to risk or anxiety where anxiety is a vague unpleasant emotion that is experienced in anticipating of some misfortunes. achumba et al (2013) in another way envisaged insecurity as the embracing of lack of stability and continuity of livelihood, lack of predictability of daily life, absence of protection from crime and exposure to psychological harm. ewetan and urhie (2014) on their view see insecurity as a breach of peace and security, whether historical, religious, ethno-regional, civil, social, economic and political that contributes to recurring conflicts and leads to wanton destruction of lives and properties (p. 44). insecurity which is the direct opposite of security is seen by hornby (1995) as lack of security, state of uncertainty or the state of being subject to danger, vulnerability etc. for ota (2012), insecurity means threat to life and property, threat to peace, security and effective social living. otto and ukpere (2012) view insecurity as lack of protection from hidden and hurtful disruptions in the patterns of daily life in homes, office or communities. udeh, okoroafor and ihezie (2013) visualize insecurity as the fear of unknown. for them, it is a feeling of trepidation and unsafe (p.96). in other words, it is a case of a person being vulnerable to damage, injury or loss from both internal and external cause. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 177 a review and background of insecurity challenges in nigeria nigeria has gotten to the stage whereby no day passes without reports of one insecurity challenge or the other. nigerians wake up to news about kidnapping, armed robbery, bombings, banditry, ritual killings and in general, wanton killings. more to worry about is the fact that in spite of the huge resources being pumped into the security and defense sector, there has not been a corresponding outcome. for the last few years, the federal government earmarked not less than n10 trillion for the defense of the territorial integrity and internal security of the nation (falana, 2010). yet, it still becomes a trend making nigerians question those resources being pumped to the sector. the insecurity challenges in nigeria have gotten to the level whereby no one wishes to be identified with it. this is a state whereby everyone is clueless on what to do. those residing in the north-east, north central, north-west, south-south and south-east regions hardly sleep with both eyes closed because the government that is entrusted with the security of life and properties are helpless. it is indeed a grave concern to all and sundry which makes well-meaning citizens of the nation to question how things arrived at such stage where no one is safe and everyone is a suspect. the northern nigeria is being subjected to the boko haram which has stayed for years. the north eastern experience with boko haram insurgency has left the nation with pathetic thoughts. the north western geo-political zone is trapped in banditry, ethno religious wars and killings, illegal mining and kidnapping. in the southern part of nigeria, it is the same. in the south west of nigeria, cybercrime, extra judicial killings, ritual killings, kidnapping, armed robbery and wanton killings are being featured in their zone. south east is now a paradise for unknown gunmen, secessionist agitation, herder-farmer clash, domestic violence and commercial crimes, while south south is plagued and threatened by militancy, kidnapping and environmental agitation as well as ritual killings and cyber crimes. surprisingly, nigeria perceived to be the giant of africa has been witnessing unprecedented insecurity challenges. the dilemma in which insecurity has kept nigeria as a sovereign state is unquantifiable and unimaginable. the struggle of nigeria being a developing state is real and yet, the nation is no place to be found among other nations. this is definitely due to the prevalent insecurity that is hindering the nation's development. nigeria endowed with both human and natural resources has kept its citizens with the option of leaving the country. best brains out of human development exports themselves abroad so as not to be a victim of nations present predicament.. since nigeria's independence, the demand for true federalism and political restructuring by various ethnic nationalists in nigeria has not waned. however, the 1966 coup is unbeatably the ugly startup for the insecurity experienced today in nigeria. the coup was staged and led by igbo christian officers, while northern soldiers, primarily muslims, led the counter coup. this was done with the excuse of curbing corruption which led to the loss of lives of high-ranking personalities. with the counter coup, there was an immediate consequence which was mutual distrust between different ethnic groups; igbo ethnic group and hausa/fulani ethnic group precisely. that distrust provides strong underground currents in which insecurity survives in nigeria today. the demand for biafra also paved way for the secessionist agitations and the militias of different tribes in nigeria. also, the results of the unjust killing of niger delta activists like ken saro wiwa was the rise of the niger delta militia which immediately secured the consciousness of most niger deltans. insecurity challenges can also be traced to the military rule when large quantities of arms were brought into the country for the use of the military during the nigerian civil war. soon after the civil war, the arms were used by some civilians and ex-military men for dirty purposes such as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 178 armed robbery. the level of insecurity assumed dangerous dimensions when some of these weapons got into the hands of some unemployed youths who used it for deviant purposes. while some researchers attribute youth violence to peer group influence and other psychological factors associated with growing up. others emphasized the impact of political and economic factors such as ethnic agitation, political agitation, unemployment, structural adjustment program (sap) as triggers of violent reactions among the youth (ubong, 2014). however, since the homecoming of democracy in 1999, the insecurity in the nation has been disturbing too and in the past twenty three years, things have sincerely worsened. though one can understand that conventional crimes exist in a human society especially after civil wars, in nigeria, it is much. this is because the more recent experience in violent extremeness, insurgency and other forms of militancy have made the situation much more complex (adagba, ugwu and eme, 2012). examples of insecurity challenges in nigeria nigeria is a nation where insecurity survives and grows. it gets worse as days go by and this has exposed the nation to the world on a negative reason. some of the examples of the common day insecurity in nigeria are clashes between herders and farmers, boko haram, banditry and kidnapping, niger delta militancy, unknown gunmen, police brutality, rituals and wanton killings. a. clashes between herders and farmers: nigeria's farmer and herder conflicts have brought about material losses, injury and death and are likely to increase food insecurities and poverty. the farmer and herder insecurity are series of disputes over land resources across nigeria between the fulani herders and the non-fulani farmers. this has been prominent especially around the middle belt since the return of democracy in 1999. more so recently, the south east region is experiencing it. from 2010 to 2022, nigeria lost over 15,000 citizens and about 110,000 displaced from their homelands in over 1000 recorded violent clashes between herdsmen and farmers in the nation. the driving force of the clashes is the competition for available resources especially grazing land. it seems that the government has abandoned the grazing reserve system created by the northern region in 1965. under the grazing reserve system, government provided space, water and vaccinations for the livestock while the herdsmen paid taxes to the government in return. swiftly, gently and subsequently, the grazing reserve system was abandoned due to the neglect of the agricultural sector as the mainstay of the country's economy. consequently, grazing resources which were under a neglected agricultural sector could not be sustained. it received less or no attention from succeeding administrations. as a fall back, herdsmen began to resort back to their traditional and sectional grazing routes which had been interrupted with industrialization, urbanization, demographic and other natural factors. this however, led to clashes and conflict with farmers and host communities. this conflict has been on the increase in recent times and now, numbered as one of the major threats to nigeria national security. so far so good, lives have been lost. in june 2012, at chakaruma village in jos, two people were killed. in july of that same year in maseh, tse and shong villages in jos, one hundred and ninety two people were killed and the communities razed down. in august 2012, ojankele and ijegwu communities in benue state were attacked leaving twelve people dead amidst properties. same happened in september of that same year at ubiaja, edo state. in october 2012, dallyam, rargho and lotton villages in jos and yogbo in benue state were attacked with thirty four people killed. 1n 2013 january, five hundred and seventy people were killed with twenty houses razed down at wadaton gerba village in jos, amla village in benue and more deaths occurrences. b. boko haram: the emergence of boko haram insurgency has introduced a terrorist dimension into the criminal space in nigeria. series of bombing have been carried out by the sect as well as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 179 taking hostage of innocent citizens. unfortunately, the united nations building in abuja was not spared in the spree. over the years, this example of insecurity has created widespread insecurity across northern nigeria, increased tensions between various ethnic communities, interrupted development activities, frightened off investors and generated concerns among nigeria's northern neighbours (adebayo, 2014). they have been responsible for the bombings in borno and yobe states and also are behind the january 20th attack in kano that led to the death of over two hundred people and three major attacks in abuja including the un headquarter bombing in august 2012. it is important to note that boko haram's attack is also targeted at churches and mosques. attacks on churches and mosques are particularly disturbing because they are intended to inflame religious tensions and upset the nation's social cohesion (eme et al, 2012). the sect was founded in 2002 in maidugri with the aim of establishing a shari'a government in borno state under governor ah modu sheriff. the recruitment into the sect were unemployed youths, whose situation has made them dissatisfied with the irresponsible leadership of all levels of government, unemployment , poverty, corruption and insecurity. various scholars have seen this as a major concern to know the origin and ideology of this sect. for eme and ibietan (2012), jama'atu ahlia sunna lidda'awati wal-jihad better known as boko haram is an islamic terrorist group that has a strong operational base in the northeast of nigeria. according to lister (2012), the foot soldiers of the sect are disgruntled youths who have been paid by unscrupulous northern politician to cause mayhem in the country because of their selfish reasons and ambition. cook (2011); awojobi (2014); onuoha (2014) were of the opinion that they (youths) are enlisted into the boko haram because of the prevalence of poverty in the north. aside the killings, kidnapping and bombing of the sect, their activities impede national development of not only north east region but nigeria at large. c. banditry and kidnapping: banditry according to dami (2021) refers to armed violence driven principally by the criminal intent to steal and plunder (p. 301). for him, it is motivated by the quest for economic accumulation. the victims of banditry are individuals who they seem valuable and necessary to breed out funds or any valuable item. it can come in form of raids. banditry has reached some alarming heights in recent years. continued insecurity, desertification and possible jihadist influence have allowed for such alarming height. the origin of this banditry can be traced back to herder-farmer conflicts that plagued nigeria. there are the likes of ali kchalla, dogo gide, kachalla halilu sububu seno, kachalla turji, dan karami, adamu aliero yankuzo, ansaru, bello turji and many others leading one bandit gang or the other. the violence unleashed typically involves scores of gunmen on motorbikes sweeping into villages, shooting sporadically and carting away valuable things. zamfara and kaduna are some of the states affected majorly in this banditry saga. in march 2022, a train heading for kaduna from abuja was attacked by bandits and dozens of people were abducted by suspected bandits who bombed the rail tracks. this incident happened couple of days after unidentified gunmen had stormed the kaduna airport. kidnapping on its own works hand in globe with banditry and is also a security concern which spreads like wildfire. uzorma and nwanegbo-ben (2014), see kidnapping as the act of seizing and detaining or carrying away a person by unlawful force or by fraud, and often with a demand for a ransom. it involves taking a person from their family forcefully without their consent with the motive of holding the person as a hostage and earning a profit from their family or the nation (p.14). kidnapping has so far become a lucrative business for many jobless youths. recently, old men patronize the business too after seeing how the jobless youths do cash out. aside the banditry and kidnapping experienced in the north, south east and south west have patronized it too and it is worse in these later regions. hardly a day passes by in nigeria without a report of a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 180 case of kidnap. it is therefore no longer news that kidnapping is a heinous but lucrative business which has hampered national development. d. niger delta militants: following years of neglect and marginalization by the federal government, corruption at all levels of the nigeria state and ecological devastation by oil companies, the niger delta is extremely poor despite oil wealth. this neglect reality has provided a very much fertile ground for conflicts to erupt which has resulted to the niger delta militancy. in that way, they assume protests and agitations as well as demand for adequate share of oil wealth and environmental protection. this militancy is also as a result of the petroleum industry's pollution of the environment, which has affected the way the indigenes earned their living (farming and fishing). generally, there is a great resentment that the region does not benefit enough from the oil wealth. under the principle of federal character, oil revenue is shared out by the federal government to the states and local government. the federal government retains for its use, about half of the revenue. there is a bonus paid to the oil producing states that is contentious; the recipients see it as too small, while most of the rest of the country see it as too large. under these circumstances, discontent is endemic among people in the delta and periodically erupts into insurrection. presently, the nigeria government made the insurrection to run a relatively low level by paying off or settling the militants and their leaders: with that, niger delta militancy reduced to its minimal level. e. unknown gunmen: unknown gunmen saga has been prevalent in the south eastern part of the country. this issue of unknown gunmen started in the early months of 2021 and has actually kept the region in cold shivers running down everyone's spine. it is assumed that it all started due to the agitation for the republic of biafra. it is also assumed that the trend got worst when the leader of the indigenous people of biafra was arrested. the first occurrence was a compulsory sit at home every mondays. those stepping out of their houses for work or business were doing that at their own risk. subsequently, due to the fact that these gunmen were unknown, people started to hide under the mask of unknown gunmen to commit crimes. finding shows that the unknown gunmen saga has more hold in anambra followed by imo state then enugu state. it is not much heard in abia and ebonyi state in the south east region. governments' response to insecurity challenges in nigeria no government survives in a challenged society especially when it is the issue of insecurity. most administrations have been contributing their quota in the fight against insecurity. the government seems determined and robust in ensuring that they enhance security of lives and properties. the government believes that in spite of all the insecurity challenges, the nation is unshaken and unbuttered. for them, the nation's resolve and will to take the nation to a secured height remains strong. nigeria enacted the anti-terrorism legislation after the united states blacklisted her and her citizens for terrorism in january, 2010. this terrorism prevention act was signed into law in june 2011. to help the fight against terrorism and insecurity, the government pin pointed that insecurity cannot survive without sponsoring its stands which brought about the money laundering probation act in 2011 which is aimed at cutting off financial support for insecurity. the federal government also established the joint task force in maiduguri in 2011 when the issue of boko haram activities was at its peak. this joint task force included the army, navy, air force, nigeria police force and the dss. it allowed for co-ordinate intelligence gathering and sharing among the security formations. the country as well, closed the borders between northern nigeria and the neighbouring states of chad, niger and cameroon after it was established that the insurgents causing insecurity were using porous borders. this particular move was meant to curtail the activities of boko haram, preventing them from escaping into neighbouring states and cutting off their supplies from foreign terrorist networks. lovers of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 181 nation outside africa had to provide training, technical and intelligence support so as to assist in the fight against insecurity. these have been some of the responses when it comes to boko haram and banditry. in the southern region of nigeria, the government responses or ways of curtailing insecurities has always been deploying of joint task forces and enforcing curfews so as to curb the rate at which crime happens. during the yar'adua's administration in july 2009, it marked the first response of nigeria government to combating insecurity menace following the arrest and extrajudicial killings of the then boko haram leader; muhammed yusuf. in order to improve nigeria's international security profile, the yar'adua's government and administration established a strong hard military power which solomon (2013) refers to as kinetic operations. this response was considered by many nigerians as a total end to insecurity especially boko haram without knowing that there is more to it. late yar'adua's death hindered the government effort in improving her security profile. during the administration of president goodluck jonathan, the administration established the terrorism preventive act (tpa) and an office of national counter terrorism co-coordinator. his administration also declared six month state of emergency in borno, yobe and plateau state on the 1st of january, 2012 as these areas were considered as the transit roads for movement. on 13th may, 2012, another state of emergency was imposed but this time, adamawa was included. there was also an establishment of national counter terrorism strategy (nactest) which was also an effort or response to improve nigeria's security system. it was considered for implementation in april 2014 as a policy framework for counter terrorism (eji, 2016). as a security measure, it was systematized into five roles. the first is forestall; that is to prevent people from becoming terrorists, the second is secure which aims at increasing safeguard against terrorist groups; the third is identifying aims at preemption through discovery, the forth was aimed at reducing the impact of attacks from terrorism and lastly is implement which serves as a framework for mobilizing a coordinated cross-governmental counter terrorism effort (eji, 2016). during president muhammed buhari's administration, he replaced the heads of nigeria's security institutions and as well, purchased military and security technologies. one of the key statements muhammad buhari made during his campaign towards the 2015 presidential election was to strengthen nigeria security system thereby putting an end to insecurity especially boko haram and banditry which had been a major threat. as a result of that, he replaced the heads of security. this was few weeks after he was sworn in. more so, in the first year of his administration, pmb spent a lot on military and security technologies which includes drone, closed circuit television (cctv) among others in the north east nigeria (moss, 2018). furthermore, in a bid to fight insecurity, his government response to the challenge was seen with the approval and establishments of regional security outfits such as amotekun and ebube agu. kidnapping on its own has received response from the government. this is due to the fact that it poses serious security threat and the aftermath of the crime which is ransom is very outrageous. in most cases when the ransom is not met, murder becomes the available option. also, most kidnappers are targeted at getting ransoms and still murder the victim. kidnapping by bandits and insurgents is among the biggest organized or gang crime in nigeria and a serious security challenge. on the government response, the nigeria senate has passed a bill imposing jail terms of at least fifteen years for paying a ransom to free someone who has been kidnapped and made the crime of abduction punishable by death in cases where victims die. on the kidnapping that comes with banditry which has put the nation's security in the frontiers of terrorism, the government has not been sleeping about it. government has responded with a dialogue, settlement and peace missions. this response was at the early stage of banditry in 2016 when some state governments leaned heavily on negotiation and settlement to end it. the state igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 182 governments paid away as compensation to identified leaders of bandits in return for peace. states like sokoto, zamfara and kastina further offered an amnesty hinged on renouncing banditry and kidnapping and the surrender of weapons. in the same stem, a famous islamic cleric; sherik ahmad gumi initiated a peace mission aimed at reaching a consensus between the government and the bandits leaders. in 2018, government efforts turned to military aerial bombardment of occupied forest used by bandit strongholds. the effort was strengthened by the seizure of telecommunication services in path of the region for several weeks in the last quarter of 2021. this was to undermine the ability of the groups to communicate and receive information about military activities. there is also another government response in regards to insecurity which could be seen with a federal high court proscribing bandits as terrorist organizations. this was intended to ensure that the appropriate level of force, tactical and operational assets and resources were deployed and used against the bandit groups; in other words, tougher sanctions for the bandits. furthermore, in the niger delta, government has granted amnesty to the erstwhile militants as well as setting up rehabilitation program for them. government has also setup several extra ministerial bodies such as the oil mineral producing area development commission (ompadec), niger delta development commission (nddc), technical committees, ministry of the niger delta and the national council of niger delta (adegbami, 2013). insecurity challenges: bane to national development insecurity challenges have proven to be bane to national development over time. no country can survive or flow with insecurities roaming everywhere. the atrocities of insecurities hamper on the successful thriving of the nation's progress. by so, a country cannot achieve development unless it seeks first ways to achieve security and as well, control her territory. here in, security of human lives and properties are ultimate because human deposit resources and therefore, human resources are necessary and integral for growth, progress and development. in other words, the beauty of development in a nation lies in the contribution of diverse human resources. however, the increasing state of insecurity in the nation as a result of boko haram, banditry, kidnappers, herdsmen, unknown gunmen, niger delta militancy and several other wanton killing going on have made the nation's development to be hindered. nigeria as a matter of fact is still referred to as a developing country. some nations that got their independence after nigeria have place in the world when it comes to development but a country which is known as the giant of africa seems to be stricken and crippled with insecurity. firstly, nigeria has been blacklisted among the top terrorized nations in the world. this blacklisting has deprived the sovereign state from many good tidings and as well, affects the nation's gdp. there is a great decline in foreign investments and partnership, a decline in the nation's forex. national development is simply facing a serious backdrop. while several factors could have contributed to insecurity and low level of national development in the nation; in the case of nigeria, there is no doubt that bad governance and leaders in power are the major causes because bad governance and leadership breed poverty and unemployment which causes the insecurities trending in nigeria. conventional wisdom subscribes that insecurity rises with poverty and unemployment. the common line that holds both boko haram, herdsmen-farmers clash, banditry and kidnapping, unknown gunmen and niger delta militancy is poverty and unemployment. this trend of insecurities has affected the economic, social, and psychology of the citizens. the economic, social and psychological costs of the insurgency cannot be quantified. commercial activities in the north east and southeast have been reduced because of the unprecedented attacks of the boko haram, unknown gunmen and bandits. banks, markets, schools and shops do not open regularly due to the fear of the coordinated attacks from boko igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 183 haram. this, on a general note hinders growth in a society because everywhere is in chaos and the run for life is the utmost. africans believe in the sacredness of life that is why there is an igbo mantra “onye oku na agba beya anaghi achu oke” supports the importance and sacredness of life. also, insecurity impinges on the political stability of the nation. this is so when there is an unstable political system due to crisis. the government in power however, becomes distracted and carried away from pursuing the goal of transforming the country so as to be a developed nation. in this situation, instead of funding the different sectors comfortably, the government channels all her energy and resources to security either by buying more weapons or by settling the insurgents. for example, the 2012 security budget took n921.91 billion when compared to other sectors like health, agriculture, information and education. in the last five years, about 12 trillion naira has been budgeted for security and defense to tackle the myriads of security challenges. thirdly, the foreign direct investment (fdi) in nigeria has dropped to the minimal. this is not new to any nation that suffers insecurity. when there are insecurity challenges in the country, foreign investors are scared away from coming to invest their capital and contribute towards the nation's development; in other words, jeopardize foreign investment in the country. there is no investor whether local or foreign that will be motivated to invest in an insecure and unsafe environment. in civilized world, investors are not only looking for high returns on their investments but also safe paradise for their investments. thus, the alarming level of insecurity in nigeria has made the economy unattractive to the economic thereby, tampering with national development. the conscious awareness of the igbo philosophy of aku-ruo-ulo becomes weak because insecurity is not good for investment. there are cases of some businessmen and manufacturing companies having to relocate particularly from the north in recent times to peaceful parts of the country (nwagboso, 2012). many of the igbos and yorubas from southern nigeria who were engaged in various business in northern nigeria had to return to their home states to avoid the violence orchestrated by the terrorist group; boko haram (suleiman, 2012). there is also a heavy negative impact that affects the development of the nation which happens to be absence of the dividend of democracy. for udekigbo (2022), there are benefits enjoyed by the masses who vote in the government in power. these benefits are referred to as the dividend of democracy. insecurities rob the masses of these benefits. the government will find it difficult to take up any project in a community or state that is being ravaged by insecurity. oil prediction has also drastically been on a decline as a result of the niger delta militancy and kidnapping of oil workers in the south south region. in 2011, nigeria was estimated to have lost about 600,000 barrels of crude oil on the daily basis to illegal bunkers which amount to about 3.7 trillion naira yearly (the punch, 2011). between january 2021 and february 2022, nigeria lost about 3.2 billion dollars. beside, the wave of kidnapping in some parts of nigeria has forced investors, businessmen and companies to relocate to peaceful environments. thus the decline in foreign investment in nigeria as a result of insecurity when combined with effects of global economic showdown has caused the closing down of thousands of factories in nigeria (omoyibo and akpomera, 2012). other ways that insecurity has retarded the nation's development according to ewetan and ubah (2014) include i. social dislocation and population displacement. ii. social tensions and new pattern of settlement which encourages muslims/christians or members of an ethnic group moving to muslim/christian dominated enclaves. iii. heightens citizenship question which encourages hostility between indigenes and settlers. iv. dislocation and disruption of family and communal life. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 184 v. general atmosphere of mistrust, fear, anxiety and frenzy. vi. dehumanization of women, children and men especially in areas where rape, child abuse and neglect are used as instruments of war. vii. deepening of hunger and poverty in the polity. viii. discourages local and foreign investment as it makes investments unattractive to business people. ix. halts business operations during period of violence and outright closure of many enterprises in the areas or zones where incidence of insecurity is rife and are on daily occurrences. x. increases security spending by business organizations and government. xi. migration of people from area or region where there is prevalence of insecurity. however, the ability of government to provide a secure and safe environment for a successful growth in the development of the nation has led to resentment and stagnation of the national development hence, for ewetan and urhie (2014), the bane of nigeria's development is insecurity (p.59). practical ways of handling insecurity challenges in nigeria according to sanusi (2014), there is need for more proactive measures to curb insurgency in the country and the government owes it as a duty to provide means of livelihood for the citizens. sanusi further maintains that, no matter how much the government spends on security forces, there will not be security until these people have food on their table. poverty and hunger need to be dealt with as the first measure to handling insecurity. poverty, hunger and unemployment make people vulnerable to radicalization and drive conflict. what is required is sincere policy implementation to lift nigerians out of these circumstances. one cannot separate poverty from insecurity and terrorism. nigeria being among the top countries terrorized, also ranks top among the poverty stricken country. efforts should be made towards reducing poverty and generating employment for the unemployed. this will not only reduce the rate of insecurities but will also increase the productivity of the nation hence, the development become progressive. this can be achieved by ensuring that policies are tailored towards the poor and unemployed. by so doing, the government will restructure and redesign approaches that will permanently reduce insecurity. the government should come out clear too when dealing with insurgents. one cannot be sponsoring evil and fight the same evil he or she is sponsoring. in government, due to political crises, some top officials have been mentioned to be great sponsors of these insurgents. nigeria and the citizens become a playground for their play. these government officials and authorities in some cases command the security men to go and fight the insurgents they are sponsoring which if the insurgents are caught, a means of safety for them will be made. those that suffer to this cause are the security men who risk their lives in fighting insecurity. they are the ones at the frontline of insecurity engaging the insurgents. also, the rule of law guaranteed with quality leadership should not be farfetched from practically tackling insecurity. the rule of law holds supreme the laws of the land which everyone must abide with irrespective of position or office. a society that does not uphold the law is baptized with chaos. this is why ozigbo (2019) sees rule of law in nigeria as a mirage (p.278). there is actually, no respect for the law because everyone wants to show how much power he/she wields and all these create a state of disorderliness coupled with anarchy and lawlessness. a democratic sovereign state like nigeria must be law abiding and as well, be under the law. all these come with a quality leadership which also guarantees security in any given society. plato in his right understanding considered quality leaders as those who must have the capacity for abstract thinking and altruistic consideration of events and issues especially in performance. hence, quality leadership has nothing to do with igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 185 religion, ethnicity, region or social status and strata. it is a leadership that “would not be limited to championing the cause to their home state, tribe or religious groups, but rather focused on deeds and pronouncements which convincingly and positively impact on the entire citizenry of the federal republic” (kufor, 2012). nigerians have seen what bad leadership which brings about the nonchalance attitudes towards security has kept nigeria and its development. over the years, it has been obvious that the bane to national development is in the failure of leadership because with good leadership, it could resolve its inherent problems such as tribalism, lack of patriotism, social injustice and cult of mediocrity, indiscipline and corruption (achebe, 1983). it is truly the time for nigerians to start yearning for good leaders so that the locust may not rise another time. yearning for good leaders is only possible by voting wisely. having the rule of law and quality leadership will definitely ensure stability, serenity, development and security. government should fund the security group well enough to the extent that they have every resource in their finger tips. securing weapons and funding their trainings is highly recommended so that they can withstand and engage the insurgents causing insecurity in the nation. by so doing, security issues and threats through modern method of intelligence and advanced technology will help reduce the issues which the nation is facing. ewetan and urhie (2014) suggest that the real panacea for solving insecurity challenge in nigeria is for government to accelerate the pace of development (p.60). with development, ewetan and urhie were referring to creating an economy with relevant social, economic and physical infrastructure for business operation and industrial growth to provide gainful employment, high level of educational facilities and medical care for the people. conclusion the presence of security in any nation boosts the morale of the citizens and attracts investors around the world. it gives an assurance and guarantee that the nation is ready to partner with other nations in doing business. this is because there is an absence of threat to lives and properties. the presence of security also removes the nation from being one of the top terrorized countries in the world. in nigeria, there is an uprising in insecurity which has as much, attracted attentions of scholars. the insecurity alone is a threat to the existence of the nation. the security of everyone should at this time be the number one goal and determination of the government. the elimination of insecurity is however not an easy task but the government should wake up from their slumbers and get things right. a time will come in nigeria when nothing can be done and the nation will keep borrowing to sustain her nation. however, if insecurity keeps trending and keeps skyrocketing, then the dream of a sustainable continuous growth of the nation and national stability will only be a fairy tale and mirage. meanwhile, security is every ones business and the development of the nation is everyone's business too, so curbing insecurity is in everyone's hands. more so, the government should try and listen up to public opinions on ways of curbing insecurity. most citizens have vital information that may help as well as security strategy to get rid of the criminals. it is only when the security issues in nigeria is arrested that she can attend to her expectation and be regarded as a serious nation in the commit of nations. reference achebe, c. (1983). the trouble with nigeria. nigeria, fourth dimension publishers achumba, i.c., ighomereho, o.s. & akpan-robaro, m. o. m. (2013). security challenges in nigeria and the implications for business activities and sustainable developmenmt. journal of economics and sustainable development. 4, 2, 79-99. adagba, o., ugwu, s. c., & eme, o. i (2012). activites of boko haram and insecurity question in nigeria. arabian journal of business and management review. 1, 9, 77-99. adebayo, a. a. (2014). implication of 'boko haram' terrorism on national development in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 186 nigeria. a critical review. in mediterranean journal of social sciences. 5, 16, 480-489. adegbami, a. (2013). insecurity. a threat to human existence and economic development in nigeria. in public policy and administration research. 3, 6, 8-13. anderson, m. l & taylor, h. f. (2006). sociology understanding of a diverse society. thomas wadswort: britain. beland, d. (2005). the political construction of collective insecurity. from moral panic to blame avoidance and organized irresponsibility. center for european studies. working paper series 126. cook, d. (2011). the rise of boko haram in nigeria, combating terrorism centre. retrieved th25 august, 2022. eji, e. (2016). rethinking nigeria's counter terrorism strategy. international journal of intelligence, security and public affairs. 18, 3, 198-220. eme, o. i. & ibetan, j. (2012). the cost of boko haram activities in nigeria. arabian journal of business and management review. 2, 2, 10-32. ewetan, o. and urhie, e. (2014). insecurity and socio-economic development in nigeria. journal of sustainable development. 5, 1, 40-63. falana, f. (2015). insecurity in nigeria. a menace to national development. premium times. retrieved from h�p://opinion.premium�mesng.com/2015/07/17/insecurity-in-nigeria-amenace-to-na�onal-development-by-femi-falana on 22th august, 2022. haralambos, m. and holborn, m. (2008). sociology themes and perspectives. london, haper collins. hornby, a. s. (1995). oxford advanced learners dictionary of current english. oxford: oxford university press. kendall, d. (2007). sociology in our times. britian, thomson wadswort. kufor, j. (2012). nigeria. the imbalanced development causes insecurity in nigeria. this day newspaper; lagos. liadi, o. (2013). sociological theories. an introduction. ibadan, university of ibandan. merton, r. k. (1938). social structure and anomie. american sociological review. 3, 6, 72-82. moss, k. (2018). nigeria terror. the rise of bokon haram. james maidon university. retrieved from on 27th august, 2022.h�ps://commons.lib.jmu.edu/honors/201019/607/ ngwama, j. c. (2014). kidnapping in nigeria. an emergency social crime and the implications for the labour market. international journal of humanities and social science. 4, 1, 133145. nwagboso, c. i. (2012) security challenges and economy of the nigerian state 2007-2011. american international journal of contemporary research. 2, 6, 244-258. omogibo, k. u. & akpomera, e. (2012). insecurity mantra. the paradox of nigerian growth and development. european scientific journal. 8, 15, 132-142. omonijo, d. o., obiorah, c. b., uche, o. o. c., anyaebunam, m. c., shaibu, a. o. and ogunwa, e.c. (2017). exploring social theories in the study of insecurity in contemporary nigeria. in journal of social sciences research. 3, 7, 59-76. onuoha, f. c. (2014). why do youth join boko haram? united states pace institute. 2301 constitution ave., nwwashington, dc 20037. oputeh, m. (2015). nigeria and the menace of armed robbery. the nation. available: h�p://thena�ononlineng.net/nigeria-and-the-menance-of-armed-robbery/ ota, e. n. (2012). terrorism and the new world order. in j. i onuoha & s. n. ezeribe (eds); issues in contemporary social discourse. liu: house of excellence ventures. otto, g & ukpere, w. i. (2012). national security and development in nigeria. african journal of business management. 6, 23, 6765-6770. ozigbo, b. i. (2019). insecurity in nigeria. genesis, consequences and panacea. european journal of social science studies. 4, 4, 270-281. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 187 solomon, e. (2013). boko haram. developing new strategy to combat terrorism in nigeria. the u n i t e d s t a t e s a r m y w a r c o l l e g e . r e t r i e v e d f r o m h�ps://apps.d�c.mil/s�/pdfs/ada590264.pdf on 27th august, 2022. ubong, k. (2014). security challenges in nigeria and its implications for business and sustainable development. retrieved from h�p://nsacc.org.ng/security-challenges-innigeria-and-its-implica�ons-for-business-ac�vi�es on 23rd august, 2022. udeh, s. c., okoroafpr, e. c. & ihezie, u. r. (2013). insecurity and national economic development implications for nigeria's vision 20:2020. international journal of development and management. 8, 1, 93-109. uzorma, n. & nwanegbo-ben, j. (2014). challenges of hostage-taking and kidnapping in the south-eastern nigeria. international journal of research in humanities, arts and literature. 2,6, 132. wolfers, a. (1962). national security as an ambiguous symbol in walfer. baltimore: john hopkins university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 94 examining the trauma facing womenwithoutmale children in igboland and the church response nwokedi, godswill okechukwu department of religion and human relations, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka +2347066291865 email: godswillnwokedi@gmail.com & albert ulutorti green department of religious studies, university on the niger +2348068290645 albert.green@uniniger.edu.ng & kanu, amara faith department of religion and human relations, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka +2348137354889 email: amarachik889@gmail.com abstract this research explores the trauma experienced by women without male children in igboland and the church's responsibility. the study begins with an introduction that articulates the statement of the problem, highlighting the cultural and emotional burden placed on women who are unable to bear male offspring. the work enumerates the reasons why the male child is so highly desired in igbo society, including the preservation of the primogeniture tradition, fulfillment of sociocultural and religious responsibilities, performance of certain political duties, and as a source of prestige and honor within the community. the study further identifies the perceived causes of “maleness absence” in families, ranging from divine providence to biological or medical factors, sexual immorality, and promiscuity. the traumatic experiences endured by women without male children are also discussed in detail, such as psychological distress, depression, repeated childbearing and its damage to the reproductive system, extramarital affairs, polygamy, and even death. the study adopts a qualitative approach, relying on descriptive and analytical methods. data were sourced from secondary materials, including books, journal articles, and relevant biblical texts, as well as interviews and oral testimonies from women in selected communities in igboland. finally, the research examines christian perspectives on addressing the trauma of these women, offering practical and spiritual interventions such as enacting and enforcing laws against discrimination, promoting the proper implementation of the child rights act, encouraging societal acceptance of child adoption, preaching and teaching the value of all children, counseling, prayer, and regular bible study. keywords: trauma, women, male child, igboland, church, response. introduction children are essential to the survival, continuity, and development of society. as today’s children are tomorrow’s leaders. children are the heritage of the lord (psalm 127:3-5), and in the igbo context, children are regarded as the pride of their parents and the greatest value the mailto:godswillnwokedi@gmail.com mailto:albert.green@uniniger.edu.ng mailto:amarachik889@gmail.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 95 society possesses. this is why children are mostly cherished and consciously protected from all forms of hazards and abuse. the importance attached to children in igbo society is the reason children are not only trained and cared for by their parents alone but by the entire community. this is shown in the names we bear, such as nwaora, adaora, amongst others. children are biological offspring of one’s parent which grows to become adults. the childhood period covers the crèche, nursery or early childhood (0 to 5 years), primary (6 to 12 years), and secondary school (12 to 18 years). during this period, children are placed under the care of the adults who may be their parents or guardians, older siblings. this period is made up of infancy, childhood, early, and late adolescence stages of development. according to adeyemo and bamidele (2016), during this period, children develop their personality and character. they are very dependent on the significant others, those on whom they model their behaviour, through observation, repetition, and imitation. their physical, mental, social, spiritual, and emotional developments start and progress to the peak at the young adult stage. for children to become responsible and useful adults, they need adequate parental training, love, and care from their family members, as well as their formal and qualitative informal education. these will enable them to develop their mind, intellects, and skills to be able to contribute meaningfully to society in the future. for female children, this may not be actualized because of male child preference in igbo society. nwokocha (2007) observes that male-child preference has remained one of the most lasting cultural values in societies where male children are accorded special recognition and or higher status relative to their female counterparts. igbo people attach strong significance to male children. a man who died without a son lived a worthless life; he is inherited by his brothers, and is soon forgotten since his branch of the family tree has ended (isiugo-abanihe 1993). in traditional igbo society, the status of a man is assessed by the number of his sons. therefore, if a man with many sons is viewed as a wealthy or an accomplished man, his neighbours cautiously avoid confrontation or litigation with him, he can contest for traditional political positions, and he is assured of a befitting burial at death. for a woman, the birth of a male child is of paramount importance as well, because it establishes her in the family. she is said to have taken root or established a solid foundation when the first son arrives. since the birth of a son ensures marital security, given the prevailing high childhood mortality, just a son is not enough. isiugo-abanihe (1993) thinks that the desire to ensure that at least one survives his father encourages prolific childbearing. the above insight implies that the importance attached to male children defies gender boundaries; both husbands and wives desire male children for their culturally perceived significance (acsadi and johnson-acsadi, 1991). in igbo land, there are certain political, cultural, and religious rites which only male children are customarily authorized to perform. such as breaking of kola nut (iwa/ ichi oji), pouring libation (itu mmanya), and so forth. akpan (1995) enunciates that the justification for the desirability of males derives from the tradition that allows only the first son to inherit the ofor title, the symbol of family authority. he is then automatically bestowed with the onus of both settling disputes and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 96 apportioning farmlands among family members each planting season. similarly, the son represents the family in religious matters. a man who died not having a son is seen as unaccomplished and or a misfit. the birth of a male-child thus establishes a man's worthiness on one hand and the legitimacy of marriage on the other. it is apparent that the quest for such legitimacy motivates women to continue bearing children in anticipation of the 'desired child' even in conditions that threaten their lives (arkutu, 1995), a situation which not only explains high fertility but also high maternal mortality and morbidity. the trauma women without male children face in the igbo geographical territory is too much. they are disrespected, cajoled, called all sorts of evil names, blamed for not bearing male children, sometimes beaten by their husbands’ relatives, and forced to quit the marriage. wives, who refuse to go out of the marriage even when their husbands have remarried are not allowed to get a tangible share of their husbands’ properties. thus, exploring trauma and how women without male children in igbo are affected by their experience is the main thrust of this research. further research will proffer solution to the problem. reasons for wanting of male issues the issue of valuing male children more than females is an age-old tradition dating back to the ancient near east. yahweh created adam and gave him authority, but such authority was not given to eve. the same yahweh commanded abraham to circumcise all the male people under his household including new born males born to abraham’s family, must undergo circumcision after 8 days (gen. 17: 10-14). according to el-gohary (2015), per the sign of the covenant between yahweh and abraham, as quoted in the hebrew bible (torah), abraham was to circumcise himself, his sons, and his slaves and servants. women were not included. it was further exemplified in the birth of moses, when pharaoh commanded that every hebrew newborn male be killed (ex 1:15–16). baloyi and manala (2019) point out that, besides being regarded as a threat in times of revolution, the male children were people who would bring hope and revival to the nation, which pharaoh wished to keep under egyptian domination. therefore, by eliminating the male hebrew children, pharaoh was denying the hebrews the power and authority that would have been vested in their males. more so, as yahweh decided to do something to pharaoh and the egyptians that would pain them, he killed the firstborn male children, excluding the female ones (ex 12:12). this really was painful and unbearable for pharaoh and his people. these biblical accounts help to explain why many ethnic nationalities came to ascribe more power to males than to females, thus affirming the perception of male children as more important than females. maintenance of the culture of primogeniture the desire to have male children is because male children are regarded as heirs of property. baloyi and manala (2019) assert that it has been observed that among many african tribes, a daughter was not supposed to inherit the property of her parents because she would be expected to get married, and the property was expected to remain in the family. modo (1999) enunciates that a male child is needed in the home for smooth transfers of family property, which is normally from father to son. a male child becomes the centre of all training and importance. as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 97 he grows, his father tells him some secrets about family property and relatives, and at times ends by saying in case you do not see me tomorrow. the mother of the boy assists the father in reminding him of what to tell the boy. in short, the social gap between the man and his wife is closed on the arrival of the boy; consequently, all his relatives of the man, who had previously hoped to share his property because he had no male child, now look somewhere else for such. any husband without a male child must make efforts to bear a son who will succeed him. the firstborn male child at birth is immediately seen as the head of the family who is to succeed his father and continue the family lineage. it is a duty for every man to get married, and if a man has no children or only daughters, he finds another wife so that through her, children may be born who would survive him and keep him in personal immortality. performance of certain socio-cultural and religious duties igbo people are deeply religious. religious roles are necessary for the proper functioning of society. according to nwokocha (2007), although igbo people acknowledge that chukwu (god) is the supreme being, they equally believe that men have some role to play in effectively relating with god transcendentally. women cannot and are not permitted in any circumstance to undertake certain socio-cultural and religious ritual activities perceived as consistent with the life of the community. in igbo culture, there are certain socio-cultural and religious rituals and rites that only men can perform. they include: i. the traditional kola rites and rituals (ichi/iwa oji) the igbo people have a common understanding of the importance and the significance of the kola nut (oji). chinedu (2022) explains that kkola nut is a white, yellow, or red coloured nut or seed of the tree of the proximate genus, cola acuminata (kola nut), which contains phytochemicals like caffeine, theobromine, theophylline, polyphenols, and so on. kola nut has the shape of a human heart. it is the heart of the igbo people (oji bu mkpuru obi ndi igbo). perhaps that is the reason we say that oji bu omenala jikotara ndi igbo onu, meaning that kola nut is the culture that unites the entire igbo ethnic nationality. kola nut is the heart of igbo culture and tradition. among the igbo people, the kola nut is a highly valued and indispensable product and commands our respect in a way no other product has done. below are some of the igbo people's basic uses of the kola nut as enumerated by chinedu (2022): a) welcome/hospitality b) rites, rituals, and ceremonies c) commerce/marketing d) oath-taking, covenants, and settlement of disputes e) divination and prophecy f) medical and mystical uses of the kola nut. (g) opening prayers/sacred communion h) food/nutrition i) cleansing/flavouring j) sacrifice/worship igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 98 in igbo culture, the traditional kola rites and rituals (ichi/ iwa oji) are exclusively for the male gender, and the female folk are usually excluded. a male elder performs the kola nut rituals among the igbo people. such an elder is a symbol in itself and represents the voice of the community (ukpokolo, 2011). among the igbo people, in any social gathering where the kola nut is presented, there are three stages of rites that follow before it is eaten. ukpokolo (2011) narrates thus: these are igosi oji (the presentation of the kola nut), iwa oji (the breaking of the kola nut), and ita oji (the sharing and eating of the kola nut). the first stage is the igosi oji (presentation of kola nut). in a family gathering, it is the duty of the head of the family to present the kola nut. the kola nut is, then, handed over to the eldest male in the gathering, in whose hands lie the power to communicate with the cosmic forces about the people’s need for peace, progress, and development. the elder, thus, has the power to determine peace and progress. the eldest person approximates the ancestors, the continuity, and the essence of the community. just like the entry of the kola nut, the handling of the kola nut by the eldest represents a passage of authority to the one who embraces the collective identity and integrity. (p. 169). there are certain taboos associated with the kola nut in igbo land. ihediwa, nwashindu, and onah (2014) observe that because of the premium placed on oji in igbo cosmology, women do not break the kola nut. according to chinedu (2022), the kola nut is not presented to women in any gathering at this stage of ritual performances, except that after the ritual performances, when the kola nut plate is passed round for people to take a piece, women also take from it. also, a woman does not climb the kola nut tree. in fact, it is culturally unacceptable for a woman to pray with the kola nut in her hand in the ritualistic way a man does. according to agbanari, cited by chinedu (2022), says that, an if a visitor comes into a polygamous home and the head of the household is not around, the women must look for any male, no matter how young, to present the kola nut. the reason is based on the fact that the igbo kola nut is accompanied by the symbolic act of communicating with the spirits of the ancestors. in the igbo culture, ichi/iwa oji is a cultural and religious office restricted only to the male sect, because the reason is that kola nut is used to communicate with the deities and shrines, and the woman does not feed the deities. ii. itu mmanya rites and rituals (libation) palm wine (nkwu elu) has many religious and traditional symbols and significance in igbo land. as kola-nut (oji) is symbolic and of significant value in igbo culture, so is the palm wine. the ontological significance of palm wine cannot be overemphasized. in igbo territory, it is believed to have more ontological perfection than any of the local wine species. onuegbu, obiajulu, and nnajiofor (2015) explain that this point is accentuated by the fact that the igbo african cannot hold any ceremony unless it is available. this fact is also corroborated by the inevitable use of palm wine in pouring libation (itu mmanya). its use is anchored on the belief that palm wine has more ontological potency, a kind of force that makes it acceptable to our ancestors and our forebears. apparently, the force inherent in our local palm wine is not visible, yet such an invisible nature reinforces the belief in its power of spiritual transcendentalism and cultural communion. nwachukwu (2014) affirms that the libation ritual called itu mmanya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 99 precedes all traditional igbo public and private events, including traditional marriage and meetings, and other get-togethers. during the celebration of traditional festivals and other ceremonies in igbo land, like the coronation of kings, ichi nze n’ozo, and so on, pouring of libation using palm wine (nkwu elu) is normally carried out first before other crucial parts of the events take place. this could be equated to the opening prayer by priests in christian gatherings. in igbo culture, it is believed that the use of palm wine for libation (itu mmanya) serves as a connection between the living and the ancestors. according to chukwuma (2021), during itu mmanya, the living call on the attention of ancestors and make requests, which the ancestors, who serve as intermediaries between man and chukwu (the supreme being), carry the requests of the living to chukwu and also intercede on their behalf. the invocation with the palm wine is a superficial symbol of imploring for an intimate spiritual grace of providential gods at events where individuals share a feeling of purity, protection, and hope. in affirmation of the above viewpoint, onuegbu, obiajulu, and nnajiofor (2015) agree that libation with palm wine is a symbol of intimacy with the ancestors and harmony with the living. during ceremonies, libation with palm wine is ritually carried out, symbolizing the safe cyclic passage of the forebears from the spirit realm to the physical world. even in the itu mmanya rites and rituals of igbo culture, it is solely reserved for men. performance of certain traditional political duties in the socio-political structure of the igbo people, females are not recognized or welcomed in the assembly of men. even in modern politics, only a few women win elections. okoh (2022) observes that in modern politics, most of them do not get the support of their husbands, families, and friends. so rather than lose their loved ones, most women would rather let go of their political quest. when a woman’s family members fail to support her, are it outsiders who will? for instance, the ohaneze ndigbo gathers in a true igbo traditional setting, where women are not part of it (aligwekwe, 1991). eze and chigbo (2018) elucidate that in families without a male child are alienated in village and community meetings where only males are recognized as bona fide members. the above explanation is said to have placed a premium on male children over and above female children and has led to male-children preference in igbo. this further hurts mothers without male issues. exclusion of women in traditional politics is not peculiar to the igbo ethnic nationality alone in northern nigeria, especially among the moslems, where women are not given the same platform to contest for traditional political positions. male child as source of prestige male children are a source of social prestige and even wealth for the family (nwokocha 2007). people respect a man when they know that he has many sons of their age and social standing. this is biblically affirmed in psalm 127:5: “happy is the man who has his quiver full of sons! he shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate. amongst the igbo people, for instance, men enjoy a great deal of socio-cultural prestige. eze and chigbo (2018) enunciate that there are special privileges and honors reserved for persons and families whose male children are warriors. when a family has male children who possess valor and prowess in the security sphere of life and warfare, it gives such a family some bragging rights over other igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 100 families that have no male children. this is well depicted in things fall apart. in his classic novel, things fall apart, which explored the contact between the western and the igbo cultures, religions, and civilizations, chinua achebe’s chief protagonist, known as okonkwo, received great respect on account of his wonderful exploits in wars. even when okonkwo breached the law of the land by committing murder, albeit involuntarily, his military and gallant exploits for his community merited him some empathic, honest sympathizers (achebe, 1994). moreover, according to eze and chigbo (2018), in the continuous transmission of life in the family lines, males play exclusive roles, as well as reserve a pride of place for themselves in the whole dynamic interaction of family life. the reason for the vantage position of the male gender in igbo society is not unconnected to the patriarchal nature of that society. being a patriarchal society, then, the males are groomed from an early stage in life to assume a position of importance, honor, and authority over and above their female siblings. male children as a source of protection in igbo society, as in most african traditional societies, it is the prerogative of the male gender to provide security. the need for male children is on this premise; it is a social security for the elderly by their sons. nwokocha (2007) opines that it is expected of males to join the military and to defend women, children, the sick, and the weak. in some cultures, the male youths are looked upon by their parents to work or be involved in one business or the other, make money, and take good care of their parents. they are to continue to care for their immediate family and their parents as well. this role is expected of every male youth to fulfill and any male youth who fails to fulfill this role, other family members will not be happy with him. in the community, people avoid making trouble with families that have their quiver full of male children. male children make everything possible to protect their parents, fathers' landed properties, and so on. a man who has male children will not be afraid to speak with his enemies because his soldiers (male children) are around peradventure trouble arises. nwokocha (2007) pointed out that men engage in more meaningful economic activities and, therefore, are better placed to take care of their aged parents more. this does not mean that women do not take care of their parents; however, they are married out and are not always close to their parents like their male counterparts. male children as a source of marital security, love, and stronghold for women in marriage a male child solidifies a woman in marriage. it establishes her in the family. she is said to have taken root or established a solid foundation when the first son arrives. since the birth of a son ensures marital security, this encourages prolific childbearing. there is the desire to bear more sons to ensure that at least one survives his father (isiugo-abanihe, 1993). handwerker (1989) is of the view that childbearing was a singularly important mechanism used by women to gain access to the resources on which their material welfare depended. childlessness is therefore a matter of deep and intimate concern to the individual, family, society, and ethnic group. chinyere (2013) asserts that since marriage in igbo is mainly for procreation, hardly possible for igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 101 people marry for only companionship. a childless woman can go to any length to get a child. it is also a known fact that most women in igbo territory can do anything to bear male children because having at least a male child gives her 90% rights to stay in her husband’s house. moreover, eze and chigbo (2018) opine that women gain and maintain their husbands’ love when they deliver male children. this was seen in the case of leah, who was hated by her husband jacob, but after she gave birth to a male child, leah said that jacob would love her (gen.29: 32). this love extends to the husband’s relatives, as they will accord her great respect and treat her well. even when a problem arises between the wife and husband, the husband's relatives encourage her to stay because of the children. this will be the opposite if she has no children, especially male ones. factors that could make one not produce a male child divine factor children are the heritage of the lord (psalm 127:3-5). this shows that god has the right to give and withhold a male child from a family. according to nwokocha (2007), god’s infinite power cannot be questioned by mortal beings. he is all-powerful but loving and gives to every man according as he wills. the divine factor as a result of not giving birth to a male child in marriage is not new. it has its root from the old testament. yahweh closed sarah’s womb (gen.16:2), and at his own appointed time, he gave sarah a son (gen.21:1-2). another case is that of rachel. yahweh closed rachel’s womb (gen.29:31). rachel was so discomforted that she confronted jacob but jacob’s response to her is a pointer that it is only yahweh that could give or withhold children from man (gen.29:32). hannah was another person that could not bear children as a result of divine factor (1 sam.1:5). michal was another example (2 sam.6:23). okoh (2022) concludes thus; we can see that birth is not of man's making; it is nature and also by chance or probability, so whatever sex (man or woman) is a gift from god. igbo people believe that god is the giver of children; hence, families who have male children appreciate god through the names they give to their children, such as onyinyechi-god’s gift, kanayochukwu-keep asking from god, chiomagod is good, among others. there is a belief among the igbo people that evil spirits, ghosts, and witches can cause women not to bear male children. belief in spirits and witches is part of african traditional religion (atr). yambasu (2002) states that most african peoples believe that their world is full of a myriad of spirits. they include non-ancestral spirits, nature spirits, human spirits, witchcraft, and ghosts (conteh 2008). kehinde (2013) elucidates that foreign investigators of the people’s religion tend to dismiss such powers as superstitious, but this is a reality, as igbo people have a strong conviction that these mysterious powers are there and manifest themselves in the form of incantations, magic, sorcery, and witchcraft. these powers, if used in an evil way, can disrupt peace and cause fear and suspicion in society. conteh (2008) writes that there are bad spirits in atr like witches, and wicked dead relatives who have not received proper burial rites, are believed to become malevolent spirits roving around in the night or day, inflicting mischief on the innocent, especially their enemies or infants. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 102 mckinney (1985) defines witchcraft as an inherent capacity to exert supernatural influence over another person. this influence frequently causes harm, and it explains phenomena such as breaches in social relations, anti-social behaviour, unexpected occurrences, sickness, and death. this belief is a philosophical attempt to deal with the question of evil. it has its own natural logic. evans–pritchard, quoted by nmah and onukwube (2019) view that this explanatory system provides answers to questions of why particular occurrences happen to specific individuals at the time they do. it does not invalidate their understanding of the empirical cause and effect of an occurrence. rather, it deals with its ultimate cause. there is a strong belief that witches can cause a woman to give birth to a male child (modo 1999). if a woman is pregnant, the witches, through their sorcery power, can identify the gender of the child. according to chinonso gift (personal communication on 15 february 2025), if they found out that the new baby will be a male child, they will either kill or turn the gender to a female just to frustrate the mother, especially when she is looking for a male child. biological/medical factor eze and chigbo (2018) describe that biologically, from the science of genetics, a man has the y chromosome, which is the major determinant of the sex of a boy. most people have one pair of sex chromosomes per cell, usually, female have two x chromosome and males have one x and one y. nweze (2014) affirms that both sexes retain one of their mother's x chromosome and females inherit a second x chromosome from their father. males inherit their father's y chromosome instead. from the elementary knowledge of biology, both sexes, male and female, are determined by the man. being determined by the man means that men by nature possess xy chromosomes and women by nature possess xx chromosomes (okoh 2022). therefore, during intercourse, it is what the man gives to the woman that determines the gender of the child, either male or female. however, intake of hard drugs, lack of a balanced diet, excessive consumption of artificial sugar, and so on could prevent a man from producing enough sperm (y chromosome) that would form a male child. this could lead to a lack of male children in the family. it is observed that the lack of education and inadequate information about the above viewpoint has led many people, especially in rural areas, to blame the woman for not bearing male children instead of the man. moreover, they sympathize with the man and encourage him to take a second wife. sexual immorality and excessive flirting there is a high rate of sexual immorality in society. this is shown in the reported cases of rape. many youths are guilty of sexual immorality. indecent dressing and sex abuse appeared to be one of the most serious and most common immorality among the youths. some pentecostal churches in nigeria allow their members, especially youths, to wear indecent dress to church services as they aver that god looks at the heart, not your physical appearance. the female folks may dress to kill as they seduce the pastor and the male members, which could lead to sexual immorality. there are cases of sexual harassment, rape allegations, and assault as a result of sexual immorality. many people think that some couples at their youthful age were involved in sexual igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 103 immorality and subsequent abortions. now they are married, god decided to punish them by not giving them any more male children. trauma facing women without male children psychological trauma the psychological trauma that women without male children in igbo experience could be compared to that of victims of boko harm insurgency in north west nigeria. the inability to bear a male child in marriage causes unbearable emotional pain and psychological trauma. according to ojedokun (2015), it affects the victim’s social life, changes the victim’s perception of reality, and everything. they are faced with feelings of anxiety, depression, loss and helplessness, frustration, and rejection from people. under such conditions, their husband will threaten to bring in another woman who would bear male children for him. eze and chigbo (2018) narrate that the woman may try to resist such a plan, fight, or attempt to leave the marriage (flight) or become helpless and remain in the marriage (freeze). the freeze condition implies that their existing coping skills have been surpassed by the threats and difficulties they face in their marriage due to not being able to give birth to a male child. that freezing is trauma. hatfield and mcgaugh (2012) observe that they may begin to have cognitive failure and information processing difficulties occurring due to the consolidation of difficult emotional experiences that may affect the modulation of the hippocampus memory process influenced by the amygdala. such women live in excruciating emotional and mental torture and a distortion of positive living. the resultant effect of this distorted process may affect the coherence of their other levels of functioning. in igbo land, some women without male children have been abused both verbally and physically by their husbands or husbands’ relatives. the lives of the affected women are completely disconnected because of the violence and emotional challenges they face. violence, of course, is associated with symptoms of psychological trauma (singer, angin, song, and lunghofer, 1995), and exposure to conditions where life becomes meaningless can be a source of psychological trauma for these concerned women. the traumatic experience of women in the condition above is one of pity because their personal lives become less meaningful for reason of both the physical and mental pains they are immersed in. eckenrod (2008) is of the view that experiencing such life-threatening situations leads to bodily responses and immune system failures. these conditions are considered the physiological effects and cause emotional and psychological problems (corbett and milton, 2011). eze and chigbo (2018) state that although an individual’s interpretation of an event is important, sometimes the situation may just be so overwhelming that meaning-making and appraisal of the situation become even more difficult. in that kind of situation, a person’s cognition has already been disconnected by the weight of the difficult experience. just like the experience of women without male children in igbo culture, it is not about what they appraise the situation sometimes; their pain comes from the knowledge that their husbands could marry another woman, and their igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 104 own girl children, if they have any, will not inherit anything from their father. such women are helpless even in their thinking. furthermore, trauma exposure creates a fault line in the thought processes of trauma individuals. what happens is that people in trauma situation begin to see the world as an unsafe place for their existence. brewin and holmes (2003) opine that this psychic dysfunction is a mental defeat situation where an individual experiences helplessness in a profound state that makes categorization of either their emotions or their beliefs difficult. this situation, as supported in the above authors’ work, could drive an individual to lead life through an irrational lens since their psychological well-being is altered by traumatic experiences. eze and chigbo (2018) think that women without male children in igbo territory are sometimes seen as witches who eat up their male children in the womb. okereke joy (personal communication on 15 february 2025) states that sometimes their immediate family denies them and joins hands with their in-laws to refer to them as witches. under this condition, the woman involved has no trust in her own home as well as from her husband’s home. she is helpless, as she cannot even comfortably go back to her parents since they have also accepted that she is a witch. betrayal trust trauma (btt) is very challenging, and experiences like this can be seen as a near-death experience because the affected women may have suicidal ideations. more so, levine (1997) enunciates that the psychological effects of trauma and reactions to traumatic experiences may differ across individuals because trauma affects people in different ways. what happens during a period of intense emotional disruption is that people experiencing trauma tend to bring in different defence mechanisms to avoid traumatic memories. however, brewin and holmes (2003) argued that a traumatic memory breaks into consciousness and intrudes in different forms, such as flashbacks and nightmares. thus, avoiding traumatic memory may not help the trauma victim since these experiences keep surfacing into awareness. avoidance can be a worthwhile memory defense mechanism, but when the experience becomes self-defeating, repressed memories will be forced into consciousness (eze and chigbo, 2018). for women without male children in igbo land, they are always forced by insults, violence, emotional torture, and guilt to remember their predicaments each day of their lives because they are always unfulfilled. moreover, naso (2008) has it that psychological and mental functioning is disorganized during trauma as the situation makes connections between the inner world and the person’s outer world difficult. also, articulation and having a felt sense of self become disconnected. the disconnected sense of self in trauma, constituted in an intersubjective context, causes effects and pains because it cannot find a relational home in which to be held (stolorow 2011). again, eze and chigbo (2018) support that this coincides with the inability of victims of trauma to articulate and integrate their sense of cohesion because both their inner worlds and their relationships with the outer environment are affected. this may also explain why some of the women without a male child in igbo shut down contact with the outer world because even the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 105 outer world of their cultural context sees them as incomplete solely on the basis that they do not have a male child of their own. the experiences of women without male children in igbo land resemble those of psychological trauma since it disconnects the affected women’s integral functioning and affect their sense of self-construction. according to eze and chigbo (2018), they are losing life meaning and experiencing betrayal, trust trauma (btt) owing to the rejection that sometimes comes from their own original family. this further justifies the psychological trauma experienced, orchestrated by a feeling of helplessness from people who should have served as a relational home for their painful experiences to be held. depression/insomnia mothers who suffer trauma are always in a state of depression. experiences of their ordeal in the hands of loved ones leave them emotionally drained and induce feelings of restlessness and temporary sadness. ifeanyichukwu, paul and duru (2017) attest that depressive feeling can also trigger other life threatening feelings in victims such as helplessness, hopelessness, weight loss, loss in appetite, loss of interest in activities going on around someone, unexpected bitterness and lack of ability to take decisions, and in most extreme cases nurturing of suicidal tendencies or feeling of losing the zeal to live. often, women who pass through the difficulty of not bearing male children find it difficult to tell others of their experiences and end up living with the trauma, pain, and sense of disillusionment. repeated childbearing/damage of the female reproductive organ as a result of the high demand for male children in igbo, mothers who have only female children continue to give birth, seeking male children. this gives rise to repeated childbearing, which, if not given enough intervals, could lead to damage of female reproductive organs. adeyemo and bamidele (2016) view that repeated child bearing makes them suffer from vesico vaginal fistula (vvf) (and other complications as a result of repeated child bearing that virtually destroy their reproductive organs. this is more risky in rural areas with few medical facilities; hence, mothers may not access adequate treatment. extramarital relationships according to mayuya (2012), observations in cases of childless couples, especially sonless marriages, show that there are instances where the man is so desperate for a son from his wife and that he ends up having extramarital affairs. some husbands have affairs for the sake of having a boy child. baloyi and manala (2019) state that the extreme stress that the couple experiences because of the strong desire to have male children often drives men to try to father a male child outside their marriages. the worst part of this matter is that sometimes, some of the relatives of the husband are aware of this secret game, and they pretend that they do not know. but when the “side chick” gets pregnant and delivers a male child, they will collectively join hands to bring her home to the surprise of the wife. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 106 polygamy in igbo, children are regarded as the crowning glory of a marriage. evidence shows that in some instances, those who cannot bear children are regarded as abnormal and outcasts (baloyi and manala 2019). hence, polygamy becomes a solution or a way of begetting children in barren marriages. although childbearing is applauded, male children are given more priority than female children. so even if a woman has many female children and no male, the husband can marry another wife to bear male children. polygamy has adverse consequences in families. competition and unhealthy rivalry could be seen in a family where there are two or more wives. there is jealousy, envy, and strife present in some polygamous homes. when one of the wives in a polygamous marriage is barren or has no male child, and the other wife has her bosom full of male children, it may make the first one become a thorn in the flesh of the latter. she could insult and ridicule her. this could lead to frequent fighting and quarrelling among them. this was done by peninnah to hannah (1sam. 1:2 and 6). domestic violence chhikara, jakhar, malik, singla, and dhattarwal (2013) explain that domestic violence is a pattern of abusive behaviours by one partner against another in an intimate relationship, such as marriage. in igbo society, women without children, particularly male children, are the most vulnerable to domestic violence. it is observed that women are often in great danger in the place where they should be safest, within their families. for many, homes are where they face a regime of terror and violence at the hands of somebody close to them (husband) (coomaraswamy, 2000). since it has been established above that a male child makes a husband love the wife more, as well as the in-laws. a barren woman or even a mother of female children would inevitably be hated. when there is no love in marriage, there will be a crisis, and most times, wives are at the receiving end. a lot of women without male children are prone to physical torture in their husbands’ homes. sometimes, they are beaten up by their husbands or husbands’ relatives at the slightest provocation. this is done so that she can pack out of her matrimonial house, for another woman to enter. physical beating could result in physical injury. physical injury involves physical suffering or bodily harm. it includes: throwing things, punching, hurting, pushing, shoving, grabbing, shaking, throwing things at or slapping the victim. twisting arms, legs, and fingers. kicking, biting, hair pulling, banging, or shaking the head. choking, attempted strangulation, smothering. beating up (pinned to the wall/floor, repeated kicks and punches). deep cuts with weapons, knives, guns, poisoning the victim, and other types of contact that result in physical injury to the victim. so lack of male children could lead to domestic violence meted out to women. broken marriage husbands in search of male issue involve in infidelity. ojedokun (2015) observes that most marriages run into problems as a result ofdishonesty from most men (husbands) who engage in extramarital affairs. extramarital affairs or infidelity have been observed to be the root cause of broken homes in most parts of the world. also, wives without male children face domestic igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 107 violence, psychological trauma, and other humiliating actions by their husbands or in-laws. this could make them quit the marriage to have her peace. death in the quest to get pregnant and bear a male child, some women drink all kinds of traditional herbs or concoctions to be able to conceive and bear male children, which, if taken in excess without prescription, may destroy their reproductive organs and subsequently lead to death. the ill treatment meted out to them and the psychological trauma experienced by these women have negative effects on them. eze and chigbo (2018) said that the cultural practices of male child preference might be responsible for the high mortality rate among married women in igbo land because psychological trauma is a silent killer. in some cases, where some of these women make frantic efforts to resist the abuse, often see themselves out of their husbands’ home leaving their children behind. even when they are allowed to go with their children, they are left with nothing to take care of the children. according to ojukwu and ibekwe (2018), to save themselves and their children from starvation, some decide to stay back and remain in perpetual agony, which oftentimes leads them into depression and eventual untimely death. a good example is late nwachukwu osinachi, a renowned gospel singer who died as a result of domestic violence perpetrated by the husband. church social responsibility towards trauma-facing women without male children the church is not only the moral conscience of society, but it also has other social responsibilities it offers to society. they include: campaign against discrimination against female children nigeria is a democratic society where respect for the dignity of the human person is enshrined in the constitution. it could be observed that there is discrimination against female children in society. moreover, sometimes women without male children are also discriminated against in society. this is true because in some cultures, female children do not inherit their late fathers’ assets. also, women without male children get little or no share of their husbands' properties and assets after the death of their husbands. hence, this could be considered an infringement on their fundamental human rights. the church, from the beginning, upholds justice, equity, and dignity of the human person; she frowns at discrimination based on race, religion, gender, and so forth. she ensures that people are not denied their fundamental human rights. it was the church that made efforts to abolish the slave trade, which infringed on the fundamental human rights of victims of the slave trade. the contemporary church could make efforts to do the same. the church could work with various stakeholders, such as the human rights commission, the ministry of women affairs and social development, national assembly, among others, to enact a law banning all forms of discrimination against female children as well as mothers without male children in the society. the first move for the actualization of the abolition of various forms of slavery in igboland was first carried out by archdeacon g. t. basden of the church missionary society (cms) in 1933. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 108 in a letter to the then legislative council of the southern province, basden (1982) submitted that the government should take steps to investigate the osu system. this form of slavery is at the moment causing great bitterness of feelings in certain parts of owerri province. it is a disintegrating force that is causing division between villages and individuals, e.g., when members of one family are divided owing to some being regarded as freeborn while one or more others are seen as osu. basden’s appeal was instrumental to the abolition of the osu caste system in igbo land. in affirmation to the above statement, ubaka and ugwuja (2014) report that: in 1956, the eastern nigeria colonial government did not waste time outlawing the osu caste system practice in 1956. the osu prohibition act came in the wake of the balonwu commission’s report that all forms of slavery had become anachronistic to the igbo nation. speaking boldly on the floor of the house, the premier of the eastern region, owelle (dr) nnamdi azikiwe, averred that it takes moral courage for any person to attempt to disturb what is revered as tradition, but it takes social vision for the duly accepted representatives of the people to abolish such a tradition in the interest of social justice. thus, a plethora of punitive measures were canvassed in the osu prohibition act of 1956 to finally put to rest all issues and pathologies associated with the caste system in igbo land (p. 294). similarly, the contemporary church should work hand in glove with the national assembly to ensure that there is an enactment to prohibit all forms of discrimination against female children and women without male children in society. this will help to curb the psychological trauma of women without male children. campaign for enabling laws there is a need to campaign for enabling laws, such as the proper implementation of the child rights act 2003. according to nzarga (2016), the child rights act 2003 was passed into law by the national assembly of nigeria. it states that a child shall be given such protection and care as is necessary for its well-being, retaining the right to survival and development, also to name and registration at birth. nzarga (2016) observed that the child rights act, in its rightsresponsibilities approach, is culturally sensitive, compatible, relevant, and above all, in the best interest of the nigerian child and every child at that. for the proper implementation of the child rights act, the following should be done according to nzarga (2016): 1. more advocacy for the passage of the child rights law should be done in the states that have yet to pass the law. the nigerian government should also emphasize the need to accelerate the implementation of the law, not just at the national and state levels, but at the local government level, which forms the grassroots of our government system in nigeria. 2. unification of all our laws should be done so that what is applicable in one state is also applicable to the other. 3. the government should make funds available for the proper implementation of the child's rights act. 4. the human rights commission should work on strategies/modalities ensure the enforcement of the child rights act in all states that are unwilling to domesticate it. if the above viewpoints igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 109 are adhered to by the nigerian government, it will help in the adequate protection of girl children in the society. proper implementation of the child rights act will go a long way to prove to the general public that the same opportunity exists for both male and female children in society. hence, there is no need for parents to think that male children have a greater opportunity than their female counterparts. this will further help to parents to learn to value, appreciate, and cherish their children, no matter the sex. it is hoped that the stakeholders instrumental to the governance of our nation will take a bolder step in the implementation of this act in all the states of nigeria. conclusion marriage in igbo land is tied to childbearing. any marriage without children is not considered blessed. igbo land seems to have a cultural practice that places a preference on male children over female ones. this cultural practice, as shown in this research, is a long-held value that is rooted in their traditional religious worldview. it is a patriarchal society where the birth of a male child brings louder joy and fulfillment to the family than that of a female child. the male child preference cultural practice leaves women without male children in excruciating conditions that make life meaningless to them. the trauma that these women suffer is better told than experienced. they are seen as witches eating up children. others are forced out of their matrimonial home, while those who refuse to go suffer domestic violence. however, christianity affirms that god is the giver of children and that no gender should be preferred over the other. if there is no child or male child in marriage, the christian religion advocates for child adoption over polygamy, which is associated with various problems. christianity further advocates for love and care of children, no matter the gender. she further upholds gender equality. hence, the church could collaborate with other stakeholders in the society to see that the psychological trauma of women without male are ameliorated. recommendations the research makes the following recommendations: a. the national assembly should consider enacting some laws that will benefit female children and help to reduce the emotional torture women face when they have no male children. b. the research recommends government intervention in adequate education of female children to equip them to stand up in defense of their rights in their various communities. c. the church should partner with the government to ensure that people perpetrating domestic violence against women without male children or female children are punished in accordance with the law. d. the nigerian government should strengthen the power of its relevant agencies in protecting child rights and enhancing their opportunities. such agencies should be empowered to deal with the protection of girls’ rights. e. there is a need for the media to enlighten the public on the benefits of child adoption and dangers of extra marital relationship as well as problem associated with polygamous marriages. references igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 110 achebe, c. (1994). things fall apart. new york: anchor books. acsadi, t.p. and jonhson-acsadi, g. (1991). social and cultural factors influencing maternal and child mortality in sub-saharan africa. new york: defence for children international u.s.a. adeyemo, o.a & bamidele, f. (2016). the menace of domestic violence: improving the lives of women in nigeria. in african journal of legal studies, 9, 177–198. akpan, w.i. (1995). the male-factor and family size in rural development. lbom journal of social issues, 2 (1). aligwekwe, p. (1991). the continuity of traditional values in the african society: the igbo of nigeria. owerri: totan. arkutu, a.a. (1995). healthy woman, healthy mothers: an information guide. new york: family care international inc. baloyi, m.e. & manala, m.j. (2019). reflections on challenges of preferring the male child in an african marriage – a practical theological observation. verbum et ecclesia,40(1),1-9. basden, g.t. (1982). among the ibos of nigeria. london: university publishing company. brewin, c. & holmes, e. (2003). psychological theories of posttraumatic stress disorder. clinical psychology review, 23 (3), 339–376. chhikara, p., jakhar, j., malik, a., singla, k. & dhattarwal, s.k. (2013). domestic violence: the dark truth of our society. in journal of indian academic forensic medical research, 35,71-80. chinedu, p.b. (2022). the philosophical, cultural, and theological symbolism of the kola nut (oji igbo). in international journal of research in engineering and science (ijres), 10, 11, 199-204. chinyere, n.t. (2013). socio-religious implications of child adoption in igboland, south-eastern nigeria, mediterranean journal of social sciences, 4, 13, 705-710. chukwuma, f.c. (2021). the socio-religious significance of palm wine in umuduru egbeaguru of onuimo local government of imo state, south-eastern nigeria. a project submitted to the department of religion and human relations faculty of arts, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. conteh, s.p. (2008). the place of african traditional religion in interreligious encounters in sierra leone since the advent of islam and christianity. a thesis submitted to the department of religious studies, university of south africa. coomaraswamy, r. (2000). domestic violence against women and girls. retrieved on 28 june, 2025. from http:// www.unicef-icdc.org corbett, l.,& milton, m. (2011). existential therapy: a useful approach to trauma? counselling psychology review, 26(1), 62-74. eckenrod, e. (2008). psychological/emotional trauma of donor families. transplantation proceedings, 40(4), 1061-1063. el-gohary, m.a. (2015). circumcision: history, philosophy, and facts. open journal of urology, 5, 114-117. eze, e. o. & chigbo, k. (2018). cultural practices of male child preference as a determinant of psychological trauma among women in south eastern-nigeria. international journal of indian psychology,6-7,90-104. http://www.unicef-icdc.org igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 111 ifeanyichukwu, o., paul s.c., & duru t.o.k.(2017). the emerging trend in culture of domestic violence in nigeria: causes, theoretical assumptions andimplications. research journal of humanities, legal studies and international development, 2, 1, 53-149. ihediwa, n.c., nwashindu, v. & onah, c.m. (2014). kola nut (oji) cultural festival in ezinihitte mbaise, imo state. journal of tourism and heritage studies 3,1,38-47. isiugo-abanihe, u.c. (1993). socio-cultural context of high fertility among the igbo. paper presented at a seminar on women and demographic change in subsaharan africa. senegal: dakar. kehinde, o. g. (2013). survival of african traditional religion in a pluralistic religious african society. a dissertation submitted to the department of religion and cultural studies, university of africa, nsukka. kanu, i. a. (2013). african identity and the emergence of globalization. american international journal of contemporary research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 34-42. kanu, i. a. (2013). globalisation, globalism and african philosophy. c. umezinwa (ed.). african philosophy: a pragmatic approach to african problems (pp. 151-165). germany: lambert. kanu, i. a. (2013). on the sources of african philosophy. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 337-356. levine, p. (1997). waking the tiger: healing trauma. california: north atlantic books. modo, i. v. o.(1999). a cultural panacea to the problem of malelessness in igboland of nigeriaclan study eze-chima. journal of african anthropology, 6,1,199-205. naso, r. (2008). rethinking trauma: a critical view of invalidation. psychoanalytic psychology, 25(1), 67-78. nwachukwu, n. (2014). how we drink palm wine. retrieved on 15 february 2025, from www.vanguardngr.com/how_we_drink_palm_win/ nwokocha, e.e. (2007). male-child syndrome and the agony of motherhood among the igbo of nigeria. international journal of sociology of the family, 33, 1, 219-234. nzarga, f. (2016). impediments to the domestication of nigeria child rights act by the states. in journal of humanities and social sciences, 6, 9, 123-130. ojedokun, i. m. (2015). extramarital affair as a correlate of reproductive health and home instability among couples in ibadan, nigeria. in african journal of social work, 5, 2, 139. ojukwu, e. v. & ibekw, e. u. (2020). cultural suppression of the female gender in nigeria: implications of igbo females’ songs. journal of music and dance, 10, 1, 1-13. onuegbu, f.c., obiajulu, m. & nnajiofor, o. (2015). the ontology of nkwu-elu and its relevance in the igbo african socio-cultural society and beyond. unizik journal of arts and humanities, 7, 8, 90-111. singer, m., angin, t., song, l., & lunghofer, j. (1995). adolescents’ exposure to violence and associated symptoms of psychological trauma. the journal of the american medical association, 273 (6), 477-482. http://www.vanguardngr.com/how_we_drink_palm_win/ igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 112 stolorow, r. (2011). the phenomenology, contextuality, and existentiality of emotional trauma: ethical implications. journal of humanistic psychology, 51(2), 142-151. ubaka, k. c. & ugwuja, a. a. (2014). ohu/osu caste system in awo-omamma and nsukka communities: impediments to national integration. in unizik international journal of humanities, 4,1, 290-314. ukpokolo, c. (2011). gender, symbols, and traditional peacemaking among the nanka-igbo of south-eastern nigeria. in journal of human affairs 21, 163–183. yambasu, s. j. (2002). dialectics of evangelization: a critical examination of methodist evangelization of the mende people in sierra leone. accra: aog. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 85 assessing the prevalence of political instability in contemporary society orji, chidi paul, ph.d. department of philosophy, university of agriculture and environmental sciences, umuagwo, hipaulco@gmail.com, paul.orji@uaes.edu.ng & olaiya, olajumoke olufunmilola educational foundations dept.; federal college of education (technical), akoka, lagos. olajumoke.olaiya@fcetakoka.edu.ng, olajumokeolaiya@gmail.com & egberongbe tijani taiwo, ph.d. department of philosophy, olabisi onabanjo university ago iwoye, ogun state. egberongbetaiwo@oouagoiwoye.edu.ng titaiwoegbe@gmail.com & iyadunni olamilekan department of philosophy, olabisi onabanjo university, ago iwoye, ogun state. lokoinmillion2005@yahoo.com & joachim okoroafor, phd directorate of general studies, gregory university, uturu, abia state, nigeria. j.okoroafor@gregoryuniversityuturu.edu.ng & nwagbara, rufus godswill department of philosophy, babcock 'university, ilisan remo, ogun state godswillnwagbara@gmail.com, nwagbarag@babcock.edu.ng & chukwu peter damian ezechi directorate of general studies, gregory university uturu abia state d.ezechi@gregoryuniversityuturu.edu.ng & ese henry inoke department of philosophy, university of port harcourt (uniport), rivers state. henryinoke@gmail.com abstract uncertainty in politics is a social fact. the nation's unity and peaceful coexistence are constantly threatened by political instability, which is a common occurrence in politics. the sense of social unfairness and discrimination by the general public, coupled with the government's inability to address the issues that most people encounter, leads to political instability. thus, a breakdown of political instability, together with its causes and national ramifications, is investigated in this research. despite major national leadership efforts to lower its occurrence, it nevertheless affects even the most developed countries in the world. this study examines the prevalence of political instability is in modern society using critical analysis approaches. however, a thorough understanding of the characteristics, causes, and sources of political instability is necessary in order to solve the issue. this is the main aim of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 86 this work. thus, the study examines the characteristics and fundamental causes of political instability in contemporary society. keywords: political instability, politics, good governance, national unity introduction a common phenomenon that continues to dominate the political scene in many countries is political instability. the natural tendency of a government to collapse due to escalating tensions or disagreements between various political factions that can occasionally degenerate into violence is known as political instability. in addition to causing political instability, a sudden change in government or policy can increase the likelihood of future instability. political stability and economic prosperity are intimately related. every political system, including democratic ones, has its weaknesses. an unstable political climate can cause uncertainty that slows down investment in the country in question and slows down the rate of economic growth. political instability and the fall of governments can result from poor economic performance. political instability can hinder development through repression and unfavorable change and lead to social, ethnic, or national disintegration. it may also result in increased foreign influence or interference. corruption and significant changes can also lead to instability and ultimately the peaceful or violent overthrow of a government, regardless of internal political struggle. this could be slow or rapid, with the ability to bring about change rapidly. major, erratic upheavals in many of the world's former stable regimes can seriously disrupt daily life and result in insufficient security, which encourages the rise of terrorism and serious criminal activity in today's societies. this can also happen fast in the age of social media and technology, which can accelerate the emergence of dangerous circumstances in countries and regions that were previously believed to be safe. in addition to endangering the safety of anyone caught in these areas, this can also negatively impact transportation connections through and around the violent or disrupted area. for instance, nigeria, often known as the "giant of africa," has seen and still experiences many unstable periods of violence and strife. political instability spread throughout the country due to rivalry and mistrust between various ethnic groups, making the process of breaking through the political power corridor violent and contentious. nigeria is still affected by the unfair and oppressive systems left behind by the previous colonial rulers, which date back to the pre-independence era. the inevitable results are weak state institutions and a never-ending struggle for political supremacy. the welfare of the general public and the advancement of the country as a whole are frequently sacrificed in the process. despite the nation's wealth of natural and human resources, this is still the case. nigeria attained independence in 1960, but the nation has struggled to establish political stability and progress. this must have something to do with the nation's unstable political and social environment, which is seen in the high rates of poverty, corruption, poor planning and execution, and general lack of discipline in society. political unrest has been a major issue that has shook nigeria with violence during a decade's time of independence and in the years following the civil war, which began in 1967 and ended in 1970. several incidents of sporadic violence and counterattacks by other regions have occurred due to nigeria's geopolitical situation. the root causes of violence in the country routinely lead to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 87 unpredictable negative outcomes, including as bombings, the deaths of innocent people, and political instability that destabilizes already vulnerable regions. none of this would have occurred if the nation hadn't been gripped by the fear and danger that have pervaded it thus far. a discussion of political instability it is necessary to understand political instability in order to understand political stability, which is the opposite of political instability. as a result, we examined other people's conceptions of political stability and concluded that it is the consistency of a government and its activities meant to fulfill its obligations to the people. political stability comprises social peace, good governance (i.e., the pursuit of the common good), and national security. it also promotes social, economic, and political progress. according to the preceding definition of political stability, we define political instability as the lack of the aforementioned. the uncertainty of a government and its acts meant to fulfill its duty to the public in a way that undermines its fundamental ideals can thus be defined as political instability. according to unah, political instability is also known as the phenomena of change itself, which is characterized as frequent social change, particularly when that change upsets the established political order (unah, 1995: 106). one form of social instability is political instability. in light of the aforementioned, a politically unstable society is best described by the hobbesian hypothetical state of nature, in which people act whenever, however, and however they wish. due to the terrible conditions in the natural world, there is continuously conflict and the uncertainty that goes along with it. this state of affairs affects every facet of society; hence, life is brief, harsh, and disagreeable. at their core, political stability and instability are concepts related to politics. these concepts, however, become philosophical and sociopolitical when philosophy illuminates politics. philosophy has its roots in man. he is simultaneously the one who creates civil society and the one who receives it. philosophy and society are therefore closely related. the reason for this is that "all human transactions, be they intellectual or practical, take place within the matrix of society, within a social context." [unah, 2002: 10]. when men coexist, they interact, resolve conflicts, and make concessions that benefit both the individual and society at large. however, societal discord can sometimes lead to the total upheaval of society. two philosophical explanations for such social discontent or political instability are (1) the essence of man and (2) the dynamic nature of society. the idea of man as a being the philosophical examination of the nature of man continues to be an intriguing subject. while some thinkers think that man is inherently good, others think that he is selfish and wicked. but for some, he was a cross between the two. according to thomas hobbes, a society can only be freed from the state of naturewhich is political instability and anarchyif it is ruled by an all-powerful entity like the leviathan. this is predicated upon hobbes' contention that the essence of man's imaginary state of nature is his character. one way to summarize hobbes' view of man is as follows: according to hobbes, man is inherently selfcentered and is motivated to act by his passions, appetites, and desires rather than by his intellect or reason. this type of war is characterized by an unending struggle between all people, primarily motivated by rivalry, insecurity, and a desire for glory, rather than an igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 88 organized combat. there is neither law nor justice. man has a brief, harsh, unpleasant, and poor life (appadorai, 1968: 22). appadorai's interpretation of human nature probably drew some inspiration from hobbes. according to his argument, two realities generally arise from the observation of man's existence around us: first, every man wants to behave and think as he pleases, but second, he cannot have his own way because he is a part of society. two men collide when their desires diverge. as a result, the government has to control how different elements of society interact with one another (3). john locke and j.j. rousseau see nature as a condition of dread, but they are different from hobbes in that they do not view it as a state of conflict. focusing on a single aspect of mankind is not feasible. disregard the opposition. throughout history, humanity has demonstrated itself to be both a sensible and a ferocious entity. the understanding that he is the main cause of political instability is based on human nature. this study agrees with existentialists, who hold that humans are products of their surroundings and need to find purpose in their lives. in nearly every case, he is put in a situation that only he can deal with. recognizing the emptiness within himself, man makes every effort to purge himself of all impediments. according to j.p. sartre, the constant struggle between people and nature intensifies into a pervasive uneasiness that he attributes to nothingness. nothingness captures the folly of life and the emptiness of man. it inspires him to put in the effort to close the gaps in his life and get out of the different situations he finds himself in. unah asserts that "being human is the origin of every form of instability" (unah, 1995: 105) in light of the previously described. the strength of society considering that society is made up of and run by individual men, if men are dynamic, then society must also be. society gives the results or expressions of man's rationality concrete forms. philosophers, especially social philosophers, have attempted to change their own worldviews by putting out ideas aimed at establishing society ideals. a society's life endeavor, as well as that of individual personalities in a sense, is made up of social organizations, national groups, and other human communities, according to ogundowole (1991). collaboration between real people—both the led and the leaders—is necessary to fulfill assigned societal obligations. because society is a collection of individuals, this is true. together, these ideas provide the ontological notion of society as interpersonal relationships. according to unah, the fundamental original meaning of society is to exist in a social setting and connect with others. nonetheless, it became important to guide and regulate human interaction due to the disputes and friction that naturally accompany this type of unfettered participation (unah, 2002: 11). the difficulty of balancing individual and collective interests can occasionally impede the attainment of social harmony. conflict and disagreement lead to change, which is a natural part of society from the beginning. this is because, even though man gives up some of his liberties and rights to society, he still retains those that are essential and unalienable. thus, even members of the ruling class may disagree about what the societal tasks of a given era are, and the completion of the assigned tasks may not follow the expected pattern, even in cases where the ruling class agrees. these are things he refuses to part with. plato insisted that either ruler become philosophers or philosophers become rulers because of his perspective of the nature of man and how it relates to society. it is only possible for a just igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 89 society to be run by qualified individuals. many academics, including aristotle, hobbes, locke, rousseau, and marx, acknowledged the influence that human nature had on society. the historical root causes of political instability the economic conditions of society are empirically reflected in political instability. they stand for man's unique reaction to the state's acceptance or rejection of his giving up some of his rights, freedoms, and sovereignty. these factors are often linked to the way an individual or group feels that they are not being treated fairly. as a result, these are either individual or group reactions to the government's policies and programsor lack thereof. under the following four topics, we will discuss these issues: economic, racial, ineffective governance, and tenacity in office political instability's economic implications a man's economy is his second most significant concern after his life and health. man needs to be able to protect his life and health as much as is humanly possible, which calls for a strong economy. the fact that most men would stop at nothing to increase their financial status should therefore not be surprising. nonetheless, the state is granted some of a man's economic rights for the simple reason that if everyone had complete autonomy to follow their own financial interests, society would collapse into anarchy. to guarantee that everyone has the opportunity to realize their full potential, the government must regulate citizens' economic activity. economic crises either eventually cause or have the potential to cause political instability when there is economic inequality and/or economic mismanagement. when he addressed the united nations security council on july 20, 2002. the permanent representative of france to the european union, ambassador jean david levitte, asserts that "economic and social development is the first aspect of conflict prevention" (levitte: 2000). he said that "poverty leads to frustration and revolts which may degenerate into conflicts." according to freedom house incorporated, income inequality directly contributes to political instability. it claims that "income inequality ultimately leads to instability, which in turn causes slow or negative growth, and, ultimately, weaker democracy" (freedom house, 2000). beyond economic disparities, the concept of economic crisis also includes a terrible economic situation caused by the government's economic policies—or lack thereof. ineffective economic management and the government's inability to control the economy can also lead to political instability. political instability and recent changes in administration in argentina, brazil, and indonesia have been primarily caused by this. it goes without saying that the working class in marx and engels' western europe made a substantial contribution to the formation of the two philosophical and economic cornerstones of marxism: dialectical materialism and historical materialism. effects of cultural discrimination political instability is often the result of cultural discrimination in multiethnic societies, even in some of the most developed societies of today. in the uk, for example, the conditions that led to the formation of the irish republican army (ira) have not completely vanished. in less developed societies, ethnic competition for state resources frequently makes social discrimination worse. for caprioli and trumbore, this means taking on the risk of political instability. a situation where social norms and policies perpetuate economic and political inequalitya society that discriminates against some of its members without cause (gledisch, 2003: 7). additionally, they agree with van evera's (8) perspective that "the risk of wars igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 90 increases with the severity with which nationalities oppress minorities living in their states." ethnic differences in access to political and economic resources have an effect on political stability in such societies. ethnic discrimination has often led to political instability in countries such as burundi, nigeria, rwanda, and sudan. inadequate governance in a democratic political system founded on the rule of law, good governance is the capacity of a government to effectively manage the state's resources in order to meet the fundamental needs of the people and allow them to reach their full potential (abati, 2000: 4).consequently, the following measures of effective governance have been established by the africa leadership forum: 1. a genuine improvement in the welfare and standard of living of citizens; 2. sound economic management; 3. fair play, justice, and equity in government programs and initiatives; 5. fundamental human rights and the rule of law; 6. less politicization of the public sector; 7. public approval of political leadership through democratic channels; 8. accountability and transparency; 9. public law and order; 10. discipline; 11. implementing prudent foreign policy; and 12. political stability (somorin: 2001:1). upholding the aforementioned helps the state accomplishes its objectives. however, its absence suggests bad leadership, which may lead to revolutions and conflicts and ultimately political instability. obstinacy of office one modern sociopolitical source of political instability is public office holders' obstinacy, often known as the sit-tight syndrome. when leaders maintain their positions of authority in the face of blatant examples of bad administration, the conflict between the ruling class and the ruled is intensified. tunisia, egypt, libya, cameroon, togo, algeria, haiti, zimbabwe, and nigeria are just a handful of the many societies that have suffered significantly as a result of this condition. according to babarinsa, the syndrome is common in african governments, which is perhaps why african leaders "always find it difficult to go on retirement because they regard political office as traditional stool from which there is no exit except to god's headquarters" (babarinsa: 2005: 5). ayittey goerge is intrigued by this issue. ayittey (1993) asserts that in order to prevent war scenarios and the sit-tight syndrome in africa, unbiased, competent security services, journalistic freedom, and totally independent electoral commissions are necessary. lack of the aforementioned components usually results in conflict between individuals who favor overthrowing the current order and establishing a new one and those who hold positions of power in the outmoded order and their supporters. the resulting conflict typically brings down the office holders as the previous system collapses. winning such a battle brings only temporary satisfaction to the state and its citizens, as the newly elected officials immediately start making plans to maintain their position of authority. as a result, the unstable situation continues and more hostilities arise. the study's section on political instability has covered the contributing factors. political instability often has a negative effect on states and the individuals and institutions that exist within them. political instability's effect on the economy and society political instability impedes a state's economic and political progress and makes its citizens poor. socio-political instability creates a climate of uncertainty. politically unstable states invest more in their police and military, frequently at the price of their inhabitants' welfare. this often leads to increased volatility. additionally, the economy suffers from capital flight triggered by political upheaval. political instability generally igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 91 results in afflicted cultures becoming less economically and politically active. these societies are hence known as the least developed. an overview of the factors contributing to political instability in nigeria in nigeria, internal factors are typically the main cause of political instability. one example is the political class's loose adherence to the fundamental principles of democracy and constitutionalism (kew, 2006). harriman (2006) claims that this type of environment has resulted in institutional deterioration, blatant corruption, abuse of power, intolerance of political opposition, and manipulation of the electoral process, all of which are against the principles of governance, which require social interaction between the ruled and the ruled in a political community (adejumobi, 2004). due to the incapacity of the political class to sustain efficient administration, there have been multiple military interventions in national politics since january 15, 1966. despite their professional obligation to keep the peace, they interfered in politics rather than utilizing the armed forces to protect the country's territorial integrity. the country's political structure is unstable, as seen by the unhealthy and intense power battles between the political elite and the military hierarchy, as well as between soldiers and civilians. egbon (2001) pointed out that, any state's political structure becomes unstable when the armed forces become involved, which in turn causes economic collapse and is essentially a result of the state's leadership issues. politicians in nigeria frequently cause political instability because they view politics as a business where they can make money. this is because of their greed for power. he went on to say, "the problem with nigerians is that they go into politics when they want money." therefore, the politicians would embezzle the funds that could have been used for the nation's progress. despite having a big domestic market, a wealth of natural resources, and a significant amount of human capital. the impunity of the masterminds who agitate, organize, finance, and even arm the riots is another factor contributing to the country's persistent violence and the ensuing political instability. they are never prosecuted or tried in any court, even if they are convicted and sentenced to long prison terms. some of society's most fortunate and powerful individuals are the ones who incite violent conflicts. they are perceived as untouchables by some, and their followers also hold this view. many of these sponsors return to plan further rounds of violence and bloodshed since they have never been held responsible for their heinous deeds. additionally, the police and other security agencies lack crisis management training, and during violent outbursts, the rioters are often described as "too tough" for the inexperienced and inexperienced police to control, despite the fact that they are often well-prepared and possess sophisticated weapons. conflicts also persist in nigeria because the government has never heeded the advice of the judiciary and other inquiry bodies regarding violence and civil disobedience, which frequently leads to political instability in the country. nigeria is a multiethnic state, so when many ethnic groups feel their goals and desires cannot be met at the same time, war and political instability will ensue. therefore, when there is unequal access to political power and control over natural resources, as was the case during the nigerian civil war, niger-delta militant uprisings, and ongoing boko haram insurgencies, among other instances, it makes sense that there would be political instability, opposition igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 92 controversy, and unrest. it is clear from the above that nigerian politics have always been the opposite of those in developed countries, and nigerian politicians in particular still uphold antiquated principles such as violence, tribalism, avarice, political corruption, broken promises, and intimidation. political instability can manifest itself in a number of ways, including fraud, embezzlement and misuse of public funds, inflation in contract awards, a lack of accountability and transparency in governance, and disparity in wealth distribution. nigerians' lives are clearly impacted by political upheaval, which causes economic distortion, corruption, and underdevelopment. political instability's effects on contemporary nigerian society the nation as a whole is affected and impacted by political instability in significant ways. given the prevalence of violent conflicts that have continuously led to political instability for over 64 years, nigeria could do much better. some of the ramifications in nigeria include the following: first, the nigerian state has not made adequate use of its natural and human resources, which has left nigeria permanently stuck with poverty, hunger, and other indicators of an economic downturn; second, there will always be casualties from political unrest; there have been many deaths in nigeria due to violent upheavals. for instance, about two million people died during the 1967–1970 nigerian civil war, and several other smaller crises in the country, including the ongoing boko haram insurgency, have also resulted in deaths. the death toll has an effect on the country's economy because of the impact on the young workforce; hundreds of foreigners and oil workers have perished in the brutal wars in the niger delta, and government revenue generation is negatively impacted, especially during periods of industrial unrest. the country would have lost a significant amount of money as a result of these strikes. moreover, political instability might discourage more foreign investment in the country. nigeria's persistent violent conflicts have also hindered the growth and flow of foreign investment. due of nigeria's shaky economy, no foreign investor will be persuaded to invest there. nigeria's overall climate of peace, security, and stability would attract foreign tourists, despite the fact that political upheaval and instability may discourage foreign businessmen from making investments there (ajayi, 2004). nonetheless, the country's political, religious, and sectarian conflict has led to yet another wave of refugees and internally displaced people. the people who lived in the war-torn areas had to leave and seek safety in other states, cities, or other countries. internally displaced people and refugees not only affect the economies of their host nations, but they also put more demand on the social services that are available to them by bringing strangers into their new communities. conclusion the purpose of this paper was to clarify the concept of political instability. extensive research was also done on its causes and origins. intellectual works and socio-political aspects served as our sources for them. according to the philosophical source, humans are dynamic creatures that shift between egocentricism and altruism. man's nature is reflected in the dynamics of his endeavor, society, since it becomes difficult to combine the interests of different groups and individuals to achieve the common good after writing the book and living in the world. political and socioeconomic factors have influenced how people react to government activities. it is inherently human nature for people to strive to maximize their enjoyment and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 93 minimize their own pain. we think that political instability hinders the growth of the state and its people because of the impact it has on society, individuals, and organizations. therefore, there will need to be a coordinated effort by all citizens of the country to end all forms of political instability if the majority of the aforementioned recommendations are implemented in order to support national economic development and ensure accountability and transparency in government operations. in light of the findings of the study, it is recommended that political leaders ensure that all of their actions are open and accountable, particularly when it comes to financial matters. in order to fight corruption in all spheres of national life, citizens—political leaders in particular and public servants—must have the requisite determination. politicians need a basic reorientation with respect to society values. political education should be taught at all educational levels in the country and included in the curriculum. anywhere in the country, law enforcement personnel must be prepared to act swiftly and forcefully in the event that law and order is compromised. finally, laws prohibiting vandalism, thuggery, and hooliganism ought to be passed by the national assembly and applied uniformly to everyone. references abati, r. (2000). political parties and good governance in nigeria. africa leadership forum. adejumobi, s. (2004). democracy, good governance and constitutionalism in africa in sylvester odion-akhaine, governance: nigeria in the world. lagos: centre for constitutionalism and demilitarisation 2. ajayi, a. (2004). afenifere to revive nadeco against obasanjo nigeria tribune, 2 april. appadorai, a. (1975). the substance of politics. oxford university press. awolowo, 0. (1968). the people's republic. oxford university press. ayittey, g. (1993). africa betrayed. st. martin's press. babarinsa, d. (2005). the awoists as a strong breed.". ell magazine no. 17. tell communications. egbon, s. (2000). political soldiering: nigeria man in horse. john jacobs publishers. freedom house (2000): income inequality and economic growth. http://www.freedomhouse.org/research/ freeworld. kanu i. a. (2010). “a discourse on the romance between philosophy and christian theology”. international journal of theology and reformed tradition. 2. 185-198. kanu i. a. (2011). “corruption in africa and its challenges for the enterprise of christian theology”. international journal of research in arts and social sciences. 4. 492-500. kanu i. a. (2012). “on the possibility of miracles”. international journal of theology and reformed tradition. 4. 81-89. kanu i. a. (2020). “igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe and the inculturation of the gospel message”. ogirisi: a journal of african studies. 16(1),15-28. kanu i. a. (2020). “igwebuike theology of omenani and the missionary bifurcation of horizons”. ogirisi: a new journal of african studies. 16(1), 127-144. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 94 kanu i. a. (2024). “the inculturation of consecrated life in africa: towards a logic for promoting indigenous gifts of fidelity”. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. 21(1), 245-265. kanu i. a. (2012). “inculturation and christianity in africa”. international journal of humanities and social science. 2(17), 236-244. kanu i. a. (2016). “igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2(1), 61-66. kew, d. (2006). nigeria in sanya t. (ed.) countries at the crossroads, freedom house. levitte, j. (2000): role of the security council in the prevention of armed conflicts. fadec publishers ogundowole, e. (1991) . echoes of social change. west publications limited. o’neil, s. (2004). five killed in delta gun battle. the comet newspaper. april, 29. somorin, k. (2001). public service and good governance. africa leadership forum. unah, j. (1995). essays in philosophy. panaf publishing inc. unah, j. (2002). philosophy, society and anthropology. fadec publishers. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 95 an examination of amartya sen’s idea of justice and the question of ethnic crises in modern nigerian society nwagbara, rufus godswill department of philosophy, babcock ‘university, ilisan remo, ogun state godswillnwagbara@gmail.com, nwagbaragodswill@gmail.com, nwagbarag@babcock.edu.ng & orji, chidi paul, ph.d. department of philosophy, university of agriculture, umuagwo hipaulco@gmail.com, paul.orji@uaes.edu.ng abstract since the creation of the country called nigeria, there has been debate on the issue of peaceful coexistence among the different ethnic groups in nigeria. the nation has faced a series of ethnic, political, and economic crises; this has divided the ethnic lines bringing about disparities among the people. these disparities have raised rivalries due to the unequal distribution of the nation's resources and this is due to manipulation of power by the elite group. this study adopted analytical method and uses the tool of critical analysis. this is to analyse ethnic crises and political instability in contemporary nigeria. the ethnic crises are more compelling when viewed against the many occasions of injustice and unfair treatment suffered by the marginalised, disadvantaged, and vulnerable ethnic groups in nigerian society by the ruling elite. findings revealed that ethnic crises are one of the challenges facing the stability of nigeria as a nation. it is on this premise that this research is based. amartya sen’s idea of justice will end the ethnic crises by adhering to it. through amartya sen’s niti and nyaya, human reason can differentiate between justice and injustice through the realization process. the study concluded that ethnic crises have led to economic loss and rivalries between various ethnic groups. contemporary nigeria can end ethnic crises by adopting amarya sen’s niti and nyaya, and it is possible through public reasoning to end injustice among various ethnic groups in contemporary nigeria. keywords: ethnic crises, injustice, ethnic, amartya sen. introduction many african countries such as the democratic republic of congo, rwanda, uganda, somalia, sudan, burundi, and many more have experienced a series of crises, that occurred between communities, ethnic groups, and religious groups and nigeria is not excluded. crises have been linked to ethnicity and have led to serious loss of lives and properties in many areas of the country. nigeria is a country in the continent of africa, with over 250 ethnic groups and 120 different languages spoken in the country. nigeria has two major religious affiliations which are christianity and islam and diverse ethnic groups. the ethnic groups have all seen themselves as rivals competing for power and decision-making over economic resources. ethnicity is characterised by a common consciousness of being and this factor, more than any other, defines the boundary of the group that is relevant for understanding ethnicity at any point in time (nnoli, 1980). ethnicity, in addition, often contains an obscured class component which becomes a tool for the elite members of society to hold on to their privileges. ethnicity, according to nnoli (1980) is a social phenomenon that is associated with interactions among members of different ethnic groups. nnoli explained that ethnic groups are social formations distinguished by the communal character of their boundaries. he igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 96 noted that such groups may be distinct in terms of language, culture, or both. according to nnoli, language has clearly been the most crucial dividing factor in africa and nigeria in particular. nigeria is seen as a plural society due to different ethnic groups, religion, language, culture and institutional arrangements. as a heterogeneous society, over 250 ethnic groups have been identified each interacting with one another in competition for power and wealth. this has resulted in ethnic conflicts (salawu & hassan, 2011). the history of ethnic crises in nigeria can be traced back to the colonial and post-colonial periods. ojo (2014) posited that the colonial tripartite division of nigeria prevented a nigerian nationalistic movement, manipulating geographical boundaries to reinforce separation between ethnic groups and transforming ethnicity into an identity by which to gain political power. this structure and other administrative decisions emphasized ethnic nationalism and regional politics, resulting from significant uneven development within each region. according to ebegbulem (2011), the colonial division of nigeria that reinforced ethnic groups, the rise of ethno-political consciousness, and the development of ethnic/regional political parties demonstrated that the british administration intentionally prevented the rise and success of nigerian nationalism, instead promoting ethnic nationalism as a means to gain political power. it is believed that lord frederick lugard's 1914-18 constitutional exercises, which resulted in the amalgamation of the separate protectorates of southern nigeria and cameroon with the protectorate of northern nigeria, were carried out without any explicit consent from nigerians. as a result of this action, okoye (2005) opined that provinces and other divisions were created according to the wisdom and convenience of imperial british officials. this influenced the ethnic consciousness of nigerians. the ethnic crises in the country can also be traced to the creation of three regions by the british government using the two major rivers, the niger and the benue rivers to divide the country into three geographical units, namely, the north, east, and west. the unjust nature of the division is encapsulated in the words of ojo (2014) who averred that the: division exacerbated the country's ethnic problems. firstly, the regions were not equal; the northern region was the size of the eastern and western regions combined. secondly, the three regions were created without due consideration of minority groups that abound in these regions. the philosophical and historical analysis of the crises of ethnic crisis in nigeria indicates that there has been a succession of political instability and mutable constitutional strategies for solving ethnic diversity. presently in nigeria, there is rivalry among the ethnic groups over issues such as power and resource sharing formula. successive governments have tried to find a lasting solution for inequality, marginalization, and ethnic crisis in the abovementioned problems, all to no avail. ethnic crises in nigeria from the eve of civil war nigeria has evolved over the ages of different historical experiences in different geographical regions, into a modern and complex heterogeneity of groups and cultures. these nations with different languages and ideologies have been brought together by a” mere geographical expression”. (awolowo, 1947). almost six decades of political independence and over hundred years of marginalisation, the nation is still being confronted with the challenges of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 97 national unity. (duyile, nwachukwu, ediagbonya, & pelumi, 2020). nigeria is undoubtedly a country with a great political and economic potential in the developing world. it is a country with many ethnic groups with diverse cultures. in terms of population and geographical spread, the major cultural groups of nigeria are the hausa, yoruba, igbo, fulani, ibibio, kanuri, tiv, edo, nupe and ijaw. (duyile, ediagbonya, & buhari, 2020). in 1960, nigeria became a self-governing state with sir tafawa balewa as the inaugurating prime minister and dr nnamdi azikiwe as the president. nigeria became a republic in 1963. the country ran into a civil war in 1967 to 1970. the process of reconstruction and rehabilitation was partially successful after the end of the war. nigeria can be seen in terms of its internal and external waters. the internal waters are the rivers and lakes body within its territorial land space. the external waters are the seas and oceans within its border environs. the basic infrastructure in nigeria is in a semi-comatose state, and this can be traced to the events during colonial times. the colonial impact on infrastructure was exploitative. (duyile, 2016). the british intention of developing infrastructure in the land space called nigeria was to exploit the mineral resources in the soil and transport the agricultural produce for onward sealift to europe. for example, a nigerian navy commander, akinfemi duyile (hydrography department), said that “even though the bakassi and the fishing settlements historically belong to the obong of calabar,” (duyile, 2015), nigeria do not even a territory it created and ethnicity is associated with land and kindred. as observed by malam abubakar imam, “we despise each other, we call each other ignorant. the south is proud of its western knowledge and culture – we are proud of our eastern culture. (alegbeleye, 2014) the plain truth is that the common people of the north put more confidence in the white man than in either their black southern brothers…” (alegbeleye, 2014). this is an apt description of the scenario of the early years of the nation. crises are not new to human societies, they are part of human existence, they are as old as human history because they have been in existence in all areas of human endeavour. but co-existence in nigeria has not always been without stress, tension, violence and crisis. nigeria has a long history of ethnic crises. since the emergence of the recent democracy in the country in 1999, the nation has witnessed series of violent clashes. a country with ethnic crises cannot but experience monumental loss of lives, destruction of property worth billions of naira. from 19992013, the country had witnessed many violent inter-ethnic crises. as observed by onodugo, amujiri, and nwuba (2015), ethno-religious crisis with their multi-dimensional consequences has been an obstacle to progress, economic prosperity, and political stability and over all socio-economic development of nigeria because of its destructive nature. (onodugo, et. al, 2015) ethnicity is a social phenomenon that is manifested in interactions among individuals of different ethnic groups within a political system where language and culture are the most prominent attributes. ethnicity is natural in almost all societies made up of more than one ethnic group. alegbeleye (2014), defined ethnicity as a situation in which individuals in a particular ethnic group consider themselves or are considered by others to have common affinity which distinct them from other groups in the society. ethnic crisis is a concept that is difficult to define and perhaps, more difficult to comprehend. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 98 crises between ethnicities are a phenomenon that has occurred for ages and is not peculiar to nigeria. several scholars have taken issue with the term ‘ethnic crisis’ (alternately ‘ethnic war’ or ‘ethnic violence’)—loosely defined as a political or social crisis involving one or more groups that are identified by some marker of ethnic identity. crises have been viewed in many different ways by various scholars. attempts have been made by researchers to conceptualize conflict and one of the most quoted traditional definitions of crisis regards crisis as” … a struggle over value and claims to scarce, status, power and resources in which the aims of the opponents are to neutralize, injure or eliminate their rivals” (onodugo, amujiri, & nwuba, 2015) causes of ethnic crises in nigeria several scholars like ojo (2014), nnoli (1980), egwu (2001), and ebegbulem (2011) to name a few, have suggested that competition for scarce resources are a major factor in the ethnic crises in nigeria. in a country with diverse ethnic groups like nigeria, there are competitions for the scarce resources of the nation. in this case, states act with a bias to favour a particular ethnic group, and behaviors such as preferential treatment, tribalism, and nepotism fuel ethnic crises. it can be attributed to many factors, and they come in different dimensions. some of the factors are: colonial legacy, boundary disputes, struggle for power and resources, struggle for citing of local government headquarters or government institutions, failure of the traditional model to solve crisis, poverty, perceived lack of sincerity and fair play on the part of government, manipulation of the elites in the society, ethnic intolerance and religious intolerance (ojo, 2014). ten major factors that cause ethnic crises are as follows: 1. disputed territorial claims: farmers and pastoralists, fishermen and pond owners and so on have clashed throughout nigeria over the uses or exploitation of land and water resources. the problem of land resources as a factor in ethnic crisis has been a major issue between communities and ethnic groups. all pieces of land in nigeria belong to one ethnic group or the other, thus propelling ethnic crisis. 2. the imperatives of culture-bound occupation: as observed by several scholars interactions of a group’s heritage, ecology, technology population movements, and physical environmental resources, members of certain ethnic groups have learned to survive in certain occupations in which they have also achieved some preserve. for example, cattle rearers in need of pastures in the northeastern and northwestern areas of the country have engaged in violent crises over the limited and scarce land pastures for their animals with farmers over the crops and farmland destroyed by animals. there has been a loss of life and property from these ethnic violent clashes. 3. scarcity of resources: resources are minimal and scarce in the nation that is blessed with over 10 million people and thus stiff competition exists on the political and economic spheres. there are inter-ethnic and intra-ethnic crises in the race for political positions. 4. multiculturalism and strategic use of symbols: symbols have a strong connection to the culture of the people. ethnic symbols are protected as a common heritage of the community or ethnic group. so any perceived disregard or humiliation for the culture of any ethnic group had led to crisis. a good example is the hausa and yorubas in sagamu in 1999. 5. religion and ethnic crisis: ethnicity crisis hardly happens in isolation or a vacuum, but it mingles with other variables such as religion and class. in northern nigeria igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 99 however, the two concepts are so interwoven to the extent that crises between groups in the region tend to be quickly interpreted as ethnic or religious crises. experiences from the past have shown that most violent crises result from an interplay of ethnic, religious, political, socio-economic, and cultural differences. for example, during ethnic crises in volatile crisis areas in northern nigeria like kaduna or kano, an igbo muslim or yoruba muslim may not be regarded as a muslim by the hausa neighbor but seen as from a different ethnic group. 6. ethnicity, class, and ethnic crisis: ethnic consciousness is prevalent in nigeria. national class interests are insignificant when the choice of identity is involved in important issues of individuals or communities. the upper or middle social classes in nigeria are known to have used ethnic coloration to mobilize the people for support to positions of power and to foster ethnic crisis. this tendency of not establishing the boundary between ethnic, religious, cultural or political issues especially during moments of crisis and violence has for want of a better expression been captured by some scholars as an “ethno-religious crisis” or identity crisis. 7. the structural basis of ethnic crisis: the pluralism of a nation makes it susceptible to crisis. the crises are a result of limited access to political, economic, and scarce resources. thus, ethnic crises are not inevitable in such multiethnic societies as nigeria. 8. internal colonialism: the different ethnic groups have unequal population size and access to political authority. 9. unintended consequences of political development 10. external forces from the points highlighted, the causes of crises in the country can be explained from many perspectives. scholars have offered multiple explanations for the ongoing ethnic crisis in nigeria. amartya sen's understanding of justice according to sen, although the issue of social justice has been discussed for ages, the social and economic transformations that emerged with the european enlightenment in the 18th and 19th centuries caused the political climate to change in europe and america, and the concept was strongly supported by the changing political climate. thus, the line of thought on justice among the main philosophers has been divided into two different directions and two different approaches. the first of these approaches is the justice approach, which was initiated by the works of thomas hobbes in the 17th century and followed by important thinkers with different styles such as rousseau, locke, kant, and rawls. this approach is the 'social contract' theory, which focuses on social justice mechanisms and is dominant in today's political philosophy. sen also calls this approach the transcendental institutionalism approach. another approach to justice is the influence of different institutions advocated by smith, condorcet, wollstonecraft, bentham, mill, and marx. it is the comparative theory of justice, which argues that justice can be possible by comparing different lifestyles under it (sen, 2009:6-7). for sen, in the transcendental institutionalism approach, rather than comparing justice and injustice in actual societies, it is aimed to define the nature of the just and it is tried to diagnose what perfect justice is without focusing directly on actual societies. sen evaluates this feature of this approach, which focuses on the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 100 fair organization of institutions rather than people and actual societies, as a contractual mode of thinking and states that a hypothetical social contract situation is assumed in this thinking mode. the obvious relevance of this social contract is to offer an ideal alternative to chaos/confusion. emphasizing that the transcendental institutionalism approach is arrangement-focused, sen states that “the results of this approach lead to the development of theories of justice that focus on the transcendent identity of ideal institutions” (sen, 2009:6). pointing out that the other approach to justice, the comparative justice approach, is a realization-focused approach, sen points out that comparative theorists try to correct it by clearly showing the injustice in the world and that social realization (actual institutions, behaviors and other effects on human life) states that they focus on the results). “these theorists, instead of limiting their studies to the transcendent investigation of a perfectly just society, have conducted studies involving the comparison of existing or probable societies, and have directed all their attention to the abolition of injustice in the world” (sen, 2009:7). in making a crucial difference between the arrangement-focused approach to justice and the realization-focused approach to justice, the realization-oriented approach, that is, the comparative justice approach focuses its attention on the actual behavior of people rather than the obedience of ideal behavior. while the regulation-oriented approach (transcendental institutionalism approach) asks 'how is a competent just institution', the realization-oriented approach asks the question 'how can justice be developed'. the realization-oriented approach focuses not only on institutions and rules but also on the actual realization of justice in societies, that is, it focuses attention on comparison/comparison instead of following a transcendent route (sen, 2009:7-9). sen argues that the dominant view regarding justice in today's political philosophy is the view of transcendental institutionalism and shows john rawls as the representative of this view in our time. sen states that it is possible to clearly see the principles of justice in rawls's a theory of justice, in which the norms of right behavior in the moral and political context are illuminating, and our relationship with perfectly just institutions is fully defined/determined. regarding justice, sen states that he sees two problems in the transcendental institutionalism approach, which includes rawls. first, even under strict conditions of open-minded scrutiny and impartiality (for example, in the original position rawls described) there can be an unreasonable agreement on the nature of a just society. according to sen, this is an agreed-upon transcendent solution and it is a question of feasibility of the conclusion reached. another of these problems involves the actual selection demands for a comparative framework of justice in the application of practical reason and the selection of the improbably improbable perfect situation from among possible alternatives. according to sen, this is “the redundancy problem of research in terms of a transcendent solution” (sen, 2009:9). in rawls' theory of justice, a hypothetical state of equality (the original position) is assumed to exist at the outset, and it is assumed that people who have no knowledge of themselves (under the veil of ignorance) will unanimously choose one thing in choosing the two principles of justice. however, rawls fails to show why different alternative views on justice were not chosen. here, sen, in his approach to justice, tries to show that rawls' description of these principles of justice is a mistake. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 101 sen, claims that, other alternative approaches can easily dismiss rawls's argument, which he formulated to draw attention to objectivity because it is not a useful and credible argument. for this reason, sen states that the fulcrum of rawls' theory of justice is blocked. sen's interest is focused on how to reduce injustice even though we have different perspectives on an ideal system with a rational consensus. in this context, sen sees “the diversity of systems and lifestyles not as an error or mistake, but as things that signify human freedom” (sen, 2009:12). sen argues that it is impossible to reach a perfect consensus on what a just world is. justice can have multiple competing causes, all claiming to be impartial. because sen (2009:16) argues that “there is more than one value and criterion system to think about justice”. sen (2009:54), states that the concept of truth is the basic concept of rawls' theory of justice, "the principles of justice in rawls' formulation determine the basic social institutions that regulate society." the need for accuracy arises when negotiating within an imaginary original situation to determine the principles of justice in impartiality. “justice as truth has been central to political thought from the very beginning as a right” (sen, 2009:55). the structural purpose of righteousness practice includes identifying appropriate principles that determine the unanimous selection of just institutions needed for the basic structure of a society. in rawls, accuracy and impartiality are combined for the selection of appropriate principles of justice. sen compares rawls to kant at this point. according to sen, “those who defend a universal law, as kant did, accept that the characteristics such as not being emotional and being objective are shared by most people” (sen, 2009:57). at this point, sen, talks about the multiplicity of competing objective principles and tries to explain this with the example of three children with a flute (sen, 2009:16): there is a flute, and there are three children named anne, bob and carla. one of these three children will have the flute. anne says she deserves this flute only because she knows how to play the flute; bob wants that flute given to him because he has no toys; carla claims to have produced the flute herself. sen emphasizes that each child in the example above has different reasons for owning the flute, and in this case, the decision about whom to give the flute to will be very difficult. according to sen, different theorists such as utilitarians, economic egalitarians, and liberals will think differently about who should be given the flute. for example, economic egalitarians will support bob because he is the poorest; liberals will want the flute to be given to carla since carla is the one who produced the flute; utilitarians will support giving the flute to anne since only anne knows how to play the flute and in this case she will get the greatest pleasure while playing the flute. according to sen, for rawls and his followers, only one of these children will be right and the decision will be made accordingly. the transcendental institutionalism approach, in which rawls is also included, attributes to justice a necessity and universality that can be applied at all times and everywhere. sen, who argues that this is not possible, emphasizes that in rawls' model of justice, there is only one type of just society, which is defined by reference to principles. that is, plausible, reasonable answers to the pluralism existing in the modern world cannot be seen within this ideal form of rawls and all other alternatives fail. however, according to sen, in the example of three children, giving the flute to one of the children causes us to contradict at least one principle of justice every time: if the flute is not given to anne, it will lead to human performance to the abolition of poverty if the flute is not given to bob; if the flute is not given to carla, it would be inconsistent with one's right to enjoy what is the result of one's own effort. the focus should be on choosing among possible igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 102 alternatives, rather than discussing perfect solutions that are potentially unusable. sen (2009:16) tries to explain this choice with the following example: “if we try to choose between picasso and dali, we should not do it by referring to the diagnosis that mona lisa is the most ideal painting in the world.” according to sen, in the example of 'three children with a flute', each of these three children's justified arguments shows non-arbitrary reasons and different types of impartiality. sen argues that the peaceful settlement of such conflict can only come from a social negotiation and not from any social institution. he emphasizes that this is possible by excluding criteria that do not originate from common sense to measure justice (sen, 2009:14-15). according to sen, the example of the flute reflects different fundamental ideas, which are considered separately and defended impartially, about the nature of a just society. therefore, it does not seem possible to determine the institutions needed for the basic structure of society and to establish the principles of justice altogether. for this reason, sen states that “it is very difficult to use the whole procedure of justice as the correctness developed by rawls in his theory” (sen, 2009:57). rawls, in his book theory of justice, argues that people who come together in the initial situation will not choose other alternative ideas about justice and that the establishment of principles of justice will emerge in a single way. sen considers this approach of rawls as an effort to reach a transcendent ideal. indeed, according to sen, rawls himself later admitted that in the original position it was a problem to reach unanimous consensus on the single choice of principles of justice, but this incorrigible problem has had devastating effects on the theory of justice as truth. however, rawls' theory, according to sen, “played a great role in our understanding of various aspects of the idea of justice and enriched political philosophy with its thoughts” (sen, 2009: 58). on the other hand, sen (2009:18) sees that “the importance of experiences and realizations in human life cannot be replaced by knowledge about the creation and regulation of institutions and rules”. because for sen, people's actual lives are closely related to an achievement/skill-based understanding of justice and there is a need for such an approach to justice. according to sen, institutions and rules are of course very important and they affect situations and events to a great extent. however, institutions and rules give only a certain part of the actual world, that is, this organizational picture does not include the ability or inability to manage one's own life. therefore, sen, sees himself closer to the justice tradition (comparative justice approach) to which thinkers such as adam smith, jeremy bentham, john stuart mill, and karl marx adhere. sen states that comparative theorists focus directly on social realization (the consequences of actual institutions, behavior, and other influences) by clearly demonstrating the injustice in the world and striving to correct injustice. according to sen, “these thinkers believed that injustices were correctable by gathering around the desire to eliminate injustice, rather than designing a completely unjust world” (sen, 2009:7). at this point, sen especially finds smith's theory of moral sentiments important and supports it. instead of the veil of ignorance put forward by rawls, sen defends the concept of an impartial audience put forward by smith. according to sen, rawls used the concept of the veil of ignorance to bring objectivity to the discussion of justice. rawls argued that participants chose the principles of justice under a hypothetical imaginary situation, assuming that participants under the veil of ignorance did not know their own position. on the other hand, smith put forward the concept of a neutral audience. smith defined an impartial spectator who supervises, questions, or to some extent shapes an individual's moral actions. the individual in the society controls the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 103 rightness or wrongness of his moral action, just as if he were another person (impartial audience), and his action is shaped accordingly. the individual and the neutral audience are like two different selves and may not always be consistent with each other. the impartial spectator is a second self-established in one's imagination, not one's character. however, it precedes one's character and controls and shapes the other to a certain extent. in other words, for smith, emotions and reason play a role together in shaping our actions or in the formation of character (metin, 2010:68-69). sen refers to the concept of an impartial audience, which smith put forward as a means of achieving objectivity in public debate. sen sees smith's principle of the neutral audience as a more useful and uncomplicated application than the veil of ignorance in rawls' original position. according to sen, the impartial audience guides a perspective that takes into account deficiencies and incompleteness, does not need a fully competent, just world, but considers a reasonable and credible understanding of justice sufficient. guided by such a perspective, sen argues, we must rely on our capability to determine justice, keeping it out of our interests and orientations. justice is subjective and it cannot be universal. on the other hand, sen (2009:2021) refers as a useful example to two different words in the sanskrit literature on ethics and legal doctrine in the ancient indian legal system in order to better understand the contrast between the regulation-oriented approach and the realization-oriented approach to justice. niti and nyaya are two different concepts that replace/used justice in classical sanskrit literature. these concepts are both different and related to each other. elite theory and ethnic crises in contemporary nigeria ethnicity often contains an obscured class component which becomes a tool for the elite member of the society to hold on to their privileges. most of the ethnic crises in contemporary nigeria is being influenced by the ruling elite, this elite group seizes power and manipulates the political and economic resources to their own favour bringing about injustice, disparities rivalry among the various ethnic groups in nigeria. the marginalised masses are subdued and dominated without being heard, for their voice to be heard, they choose violence leading to ethnic crises. some of the propounders of this elite theory are jonathan parry, robert michaels, pareto and mosca as well as st. simon (mazi mbah, 2006:285). johnson (2005) averts that “elite theorists emphasize the degree to which interlocking corporate and foundation directorates, old-school ties, and frequent social interaction tend to link together and facilitate coordination between the top leaders in business, government, civic organizations, educational and cultural establishments, and the mass media”. he stresses further that this "power elite" can effectively dictate the main goals if not always the practical means and details for all important government policy-making as well as dominate the activities of the major mass media and educational/cultural organizations in society under their control over the economic resources of the major business and financial organizations in the country. their power is seen as based most fundamentally on their economic resources and especially on their positions within the top management of the big corporations and does not depend upon their ability to garner mass support through efforts to "represent" the interests of broader social groups, most times this elitist group may not be majority group but they aim to grab power and amass wealth and control the available resource. elitism is discriminatory, pre-emptive, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 104 preventive, and saviours of a divine right to say what politics ought to be. claim the political office and tend to disregard and snob mass opinion and competence (mazi mbah, 2006:284}. according to johnson (2005), elitist theoreticians differ somewhat among themselves, the exact degree of agreement or disagreement usually prevails within its ranks, and the degree of genuine concern for the broader public welfare that enters into their choices of public policy goals, but all such theorists broadly share the notion that it is these few thousand elite groups mostly from minority groups, who run the country and determine the basic directions of public policy, certainly not the manipulated and powerless masses of ordinary voters choosing among candidates at election time, they are "movers and shakers" of the political and economic resources of the country. this ethnic group dominates and controls the power and resources for the betterment and enrichment of themselves depriving some ethnic groups of access to power and available resources. this has generated disparities and unrest among the people leading to division and crises among themselves. mazi mbah (2006:283) in his definition on elite averts that “in its general sense the elite denotes a group of persons who in any society hold positions of eminence in politics it denotes specifically those who exercise preponderant political influence. he stressed further that they are political entrepreneurs, the establishment, and the governing minority. the ruling elite are known by high degree of elite consciousness or organisation which they possess. they may be a caste, a ruling class, in aristocracy of some form or they may be lacking in any conscious linkage other than occupation of authority positions. in nigeria they may go by the designations: leaders of thought, the v.i.p., the heavy weights, men of timber and calibre, the kingmakers, who in general feature as prominent in social and political affairs. from the elite point of view, politics is seen in terms of a small group dominating the whole society and making the important decisions i.e. big decisions. the elite approach to politics comes in when there is a conscious effort and practise to exercise exclusive decision-making as a prerogative of social position or class. in nigeria's political dispensation, the ruling elite are from the various ethnic groups, they dominate both the political, economic and resources of the state to amass wealth for themselves. they dominate the key sectors of the state by appointing their royalist to head those sectors as ministers for instance power sector. the elite claim and retain powers by perpetuation until circumstances eject them from power. “they are either born to rule or made to rule” (mazi mbah, 2006:285). democracy is to them, an easy political nomenclature by given the elite the choice to constitute themselves into a caste. most times, it is assumed that the masses are disorganised and therefore the interest of small elite are will be normally accepted in the society. they normally control access into their ranks i.e they control recruitment into their ranks elites believe that political power like other social values is distributed unequally which mean that they can place people by their share of any good wealth, skill or political power (mazi mbah, 2006:287). because they control power and economic resources, they decide whom to be in office. most time they are being refer to as the cabal. at times due to hardship and poverty, they use their influence to turn the ethnic groups against themselves in order to cover up their selfish motive. nepotism and tribalism is being perpetrated by most of this elite group. for them to shield themselves from law they introduce immunity clause. they appoint into office their loyalties who work according to the dictate of this elite group. crises in the contemporary nigeria are traceable to the role and impact of the elite in contemporary political dispensation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 105 critical analysis of ethnic crises in nigeria nigeria has witnessed series of ethnic crisis which has led to loss of lives and destruction of properties. some newspapers have published date of some of the crises from 1999 to 2002. sources of this report are from 2000 annual report on the human rights situation in nigeria, tell magazine, september 24, 2001, the nigerian tribune september 19, 2001, and the punch newspaper, november 22, 2002. some of these crises are as follows: may 30-june 9, 1999: renewed warri communal clash in delta state. july 18,1999: oodua people’s congress and hausa traders clashed at sagamu, ogun state. november 25,1999: communal clash in lagos between oodua people’s congress and hausa traders. january 25,2000: communal clash in brass local government area of bayelsa state. january 29,2000: communal clash in etsako local government area of edo state. january 30,2000: communal clash at etsako local government area of edo state february 2,2000: boundary dispute between communities in akwa ibom and cross rivers state. february 21,2000: sharia riots in kaduna. february 28,2000: religious riots in aba, abia state, reprisal killing from the kaduna mayhem. march 5,2000: epoch of ife – modakeke war of attrition. march 16,2000: renewed hostilities between the people of eleme and okirika in rivers state. march 28,2000: religious riots in damboa, borno state. april 8,2000: communal clash in ovia south local government area of edo state. may 18,2000: local farmers and fulani cattle rearer’s clash in saki, oyo state. may 23,2000: renewed religious riot in kaduna. june 5,2000: epoch of the owo mayhem in ondo state. june 12,2000: communal clash in isoko north local government area of edo state. june 23,2000: communal clash between the people of ikot offiong and oku-iboku of cross river state. july 1,2000: the commencement of communal clash at ikare akoko, ondo state. july 21,2000: renewed hostilities between the ijaws and urhobos in delta state. august 12,2000: communal clash in bendel local government area of abia state. august 22,2000: violent clash at agboma community in epe local government area of lagos state. october16,2000: igbos and hausa traders clashed at alaba rago market area of lagos state. december 11,2000: renewed clashes between ife and modakeke. march 13,2001: renewed communal clashes at owo, ondo state. april 13,2001: religous riot in kano state may 12.2001: communal clash between the ijaws and itsekiri of delta state. july 2,2001: communal clash between odimodu and ogulagba communities of delta state. july 12,2000: ethnic violence in nassarawa state. september 7,2001: religious clash in jos, plateau state. september 16,2001: religious riot in kano. september 18,2001: religious riot in benue state. january 12,2002: oodua people’s congress clash at owo, ondo state february 2,2002: oodua people’s congress and hausa people clashed at idi-araba, lagos state. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 106 february 26,2002: communal clash between apprapum and osatura communities of cross rivers state march 10,2002: egbira youth’s revolt on local government creation march 30-april 2,2002: all peoples party intra party clash at ilorin, kwara state august 31,2002: communal clash at ado-ekiti september 3,2002: renewed communal clashes at owo, ondo state. november 21,2002: religious riots in kaduna state and abuja there are many dimensions to the different ethnic crises in the nation such as resource exploitation; corrupt elites and colonization all play a part in the conflicts. the overall context of the violence outlined above has to be located in the manner in which minority and majority relations have been conducted in the recent past, and the manner in which different ethnic groups perceive the past blinded by the ethnic tensions of the present. to a certain extent, the emergence of ethnic politics can be understood in the context of colonialism and some colonial practices and policies put in place by the british government during colonialism. from the very start of colonialism, the british introduced an extremely divisive and parochial form of limited representation based on economic status, ethnicity and political preference. however, this system has in many ways survived to date, and is the precursor of the current ethnic crises. the growing propensity of protracted ethnic crisis is potentially destructive to the extent that if nothing is done it can compromise the corporate existence of the country. so far, there appear to be no singular phenomenon in the history of nigeria that shows the inability of the various identities to live together peacefully and pursue the goal of development than the regular occurrence of ethnic crisis. what the country is experiencing is a recurring spate of violence that is deeply rooted in mutual suspicion and hatred among the various ethnic and groups in the country. the aftermath of these violent crises bears destruction, physical and mental devastation, death, maiming of people, destruction of property and economic stagnation, disruption of the educational development of northern nigeria with frequent closure of schools during crises. the nation’s diversity has continued to threaten its progress and even its existence. this is because of our orientation of non-commitment to the ideal of the nation but rather to our various ethnic identities. this is reflected in the frequent occurrence of ethnic and other crises that have afflicted the country since independence and particularly in the past two decades. these phenomena threaten the country's fragile democratic institutions and impede its socioeconomic growth by diverting much needed funds from development initiatives to military and counter insurgency activities as well as to re-building destroyed infra-structure. the political process in the country is also influenced by ethnicity; religion and sometimes caste in those socio-cultural markers such as ethnicity and religion often play a vital and even strategic role. a number of factors have contributed to the incessant occurrences of ethnic crisis in nigeria. thus, from the different crises mentioned earlier, the causes of crisis in the country can be explained from many perspectives. scholars have attributed the causes of these crises to various factors like struggle for land resources, traditional authority, competition for economic and political spaces, clash of values and way of lives, religion and ethnicity and religious manipulations. poverty and unemployment, failure of the government security intelligence and law enforcement agencies in bringing the culprits to book, northern igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 107 nigeria’s tradition for carrying out jihadist islam. the imposition of sharia law in some northern parts of the country, lack of understanding of what the islamic faith preaches and indigene and settler controversy according to egwu, 2001. conclusion the ethnic crises have resulted in economic losses and rivalries between various ethnic groups in nigeria. the evaluation of the "federal character" strategy led to additional state and local government unit divisions to better reflect ethnic recognition and representation. it also involved an agreement on proportional representation of political parties, which was assumed to reflect ethno-regional interest in the executive cabinet, and on the rotation of state offices among ethnic regions. these initiatives were thought to provide a long-term solution to ethnic inequality and crisis, but they appeared to have been compromised. a philosophical and historical analysis of nigeria's ethnic crisis reveals a history of political instability and shifting constitutional approaches to resolving ethnic diversity. the ethnic groups in nigeria are currently at odds with one another over matters like the allocation of resources and power. to no success, successive governments have looked for a long-term solution to the issues of marginalization, inequality, and ethnic crises. by implementing amarya sen's niti and nyaya principle, which he outlined in his book idea of justice, modern nigeria can effectively resolve ethnic conflicts. by doing this, ethnic divides will be eliminated and equality, harmony, and peace will be fostered. the government has tried, but has not been able, to stop ethnic crises in nigeria today. the issue of finding a common ground for social justice and fair treatment raises concerns about maintaining political stability, peaceful coexistence, and unity within society. given the current state of ethnic crises and instability in nigeria, how can we maintain political stability, peaceful coexistence, and unity in a society made up of diverse ethnic groups and occasionally at odds with one another? sen's idea of justice addresses the concepts of social injustice and ethnic crises by outlining a practical formula for the equitable distribution of individual liberties, rights, and socioeconomic benefits, which include income, health, education, and other political rights. sen's theory niti and nyaya can put an end to ethnic conflicts. according to sen, the niti is a concept of a just society, a means of codification, and a procedural sense of justice. nyaya is a comprehensive conception of justice that has been achieved. it emphasizes attention to the finer points of the outcome and stands for a practical and comprehensive concept of justice. the primary objective of nyaya is to stop the injustice of "big fish eating small fish," or matsanyaya. the primary function of justice is to prevent this from happening, and "justice in the fish world" should not be permitted to intrude into the human world. sen, central acceptance is not about critiquing institutions and laws, but rather about societies coming to their own conclusions and realizing justice with nyaya consciousness. in order to accomplish this, he emphasizes the need to replicate genuine democratic opportunities and dialogue spaces, and he calls for the differentiation of justice and injustice through a process of realization, emphasizing public reason through human reason. this will end social injustice and usher in a system of equality and fairness, ending ethnic division in the nation. references alegbeleye, g. (2014). ethno-religious crisis and socio-economic development in nigeria: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 108 issues, challenges and the way forward. journal of policy and development studies, 10. awolowo, o. (1947). path to nigerian freedom. london: faber and faber ltd. duyile, w. a. (2016). the nigerian marine department contribution to british colonial economy. the nigerian journal of economic history, 15(1), 166. duyile, w. a., nwachukwu, j. u., ediagbonya, m., and pelumi, o. p. (2020). the gender questions in nigeria's fourth republic, 1999-2015. new delhi, india ebegbulem, j. (2011). ethnic politics and conflicts in nigeria: theoretical perspective. khazar journal of humanities and social sciences. egwu, s. (2001). ethnic and religious violence in nigeria. african centre for democratic governance. encyclopaedia britannica (2021). justice. retrieved july 21, 2021 from https://www.britannica.com/topic/justice-social-concept johnson p. m. (2005). a glossary of political economy terms copyright. retrieved on july 5, 2024 from https://webhome.auburn.edu/~johnspm/gloss/elite_theory.phtml kanu i. a. (2010). “a discourse on the romance between philosophy and christian theology”. international journal of theology and reformed tradition. 2. 185-198. kanu i. a. (2011). “corruption in africa and its challenges for the enterprise of christian theology”. international journal of research in arts and social sciences. 4. 492-500. kanu i. a. (2012). “on the possibility of miracles”. international journal of theology and reformed tradition. 4. 81-89. kanu i. a. (2020). “igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe and the inculturation of the gospel message”. ogirisi: a journal of african studies. 16(1),15-28. kanu i. a. (2020). “igwebuike theology of omenani and the missionary bifurcation of horizons”. ogirisi: a new journal of african studies. 16(1), 127-144. kanu i. a. (2024). “the inculturation of consecrated life in africa: towards a logic for promoting indigenous gifts of fidelity”. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. 21(1), 245-265. kanu i. a. (2012). “inculturation and christianity in africa”. international journal of humanities and social science. 2(17), 236-244. kanu i. a. (2016). “igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2(1), 61-66. mazi mbah, c.c. (2006). political theory and methodology. rex charles & patrick ltd. metin, o. (2010). invisible adam smith: a pessimistic view of the production process. h. kapucu. istanbul: bilgi university press. nnoli, o. (1980). ethnic politics in nigeria: enugu. fourth dimension publishers. ojo, j.s. (2014). prebendalism, socio-linguistic and ethnic politics: the bane of nigerian democracy. international journal of politics and good governance, 5. (5.1), 1-23 okoye, s. (2005). a realistic and credible road map for achieving a people's national constitution for nigeria. nigeria world. onodugo, i., amujiri, b. a. and nwuba, b. n. (2015). ethnoreligious crisis and nigerian democracy. international journal of innovative science, engineering & technology, 6. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 109 salawu, b. and hassan, a. o. (2011). ethnic politics and its implications for the survival of democracy in nigeria. journal of public administration and policy research, 3(2), 28-33. sen, a. (2009). the idea of justice. cambridge, massachusetts: the belknap press of harvard university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 3 the challenges of christian participation in politics in taraba state damian tersoo anyam, ph.d & julius lahbanya nyasi department of religion and cultural studies, benue state university, makurdi nyasi1963@gmail.com; dammydutts@gmail.com abstract taraba state, nigeria, presents significant challenges for christians in politics due to systemic biases and structural impediments, which limit their effective participation and lead to religious bias influencing candidate selection, policy formulation, and electoral outcomes. christian politicians often face systematic exclusion and marginalisation within political parties and electoral systems, hindering their ability to represent their constituencies effectively and raising ethical dilemmas regarding the intersection of religious principles with political pragmatism. this study explored these challenges, examining how historical grievances, socio-economic disparities, and inter-religious tensions shape christian participation in politics in taraba state, thereby contributing to a deeper understanding of the moral implications of their involvement in governance. employing a qualitative research design with an exploratory approach, in-depth interviews were conducted with key stakeholders, including christian leaders, politicians, and community members actively involved in politics in taraba state. additionally, document analysis of relevant church statements and political documents supplemented the interview data. thematic analysis was utilised to identify recurring patterns, themes, and insights derived from the qualitative data, providing a nuanced understanding of christian involvement in politics. the findings revealed that ethical dilemmas are faced by christian politicians in balancing their religious convictions with the demands of political responsibilities. inter-religious tensions complicate the political environment, impacting coalition-building and governance dynamics in taraba state. systemic biases and structural impediments lead to the marginalisation and exclusion of christian politicians within political parties and electoral systems in taraba state. findings also showed that strategic mobilisation of religious affiliations and communal grievances during electoral cycles influence voter behaviour and coalition dynamics. also, allegations of corruption and misconduct among christian politicians underscore the ethical imperative for transparency and accountability in public service. recommendations included prioritizing initiatives aligned with christian ethics, organizing educational programs to enhance ethical engagement, and promoting transparency and accountability in public service. in conclusion, the study underscored the importance of ethical leadership and the need for greater christian engagement in politics to ensure inclusive governance and societal progress in taraba state. keywords: christian, challenges, politics and taraba state igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 4 introduction christian participation in politics in taraba state, nigeria, from 1999 to 2024, confronts significant challenges shaped by religious identity amidst a diverse socio-political landscape. christians constitute a substantial demographic within taraba state, yet their political engagement is fraught with systemic biases and structural impediments. the pervasive influence of religious bias permeates political processes, affecting candidate selection, policy formulation, and electoral outcomes (omotola 115). these challenges highlight the complexities faced by christians in navigating political roles amidst historical grievances, socio-economic disparities, and interreligious tensions. according to omotola, religious bias remains a critical issue where christian politicians encounter systematic exclusion and marginalisation within political parties and electoral systems in taraba state. this exclusionary practice not only limits their ability to effectively represent their constituencies but also perpetuates socio-political inequalities that undermine democratic principles of equal participation and representation (118). furthermore, ethical dilemmas arise concerning the alignment of religious convictions with public policy, posing challenges for christian leaders in balancing personal faith with broader governance responsibilities (adeyemi 115). recent electoral cycles in taraba state have witnessed the strategic mobilization of religious affiliations and communal grievances during campaigns, influencing voter behavior and coalition dynamics (yakubu 125). the use of religious rhetoric in political discourse underscores its polarizing effect on electoral outcomes, complicating efforts towards inclusive and issue-based campaigning (125). moreover, allegations of corruption and misconduct among christian politicians underscore the ethical imperative for transparency and accountability in public service (okafor 135). the challenges of christian participation in politics in taraba state from 1999 to 2024 underscore broader issues of religious bias, ethical dilemmas, and institutional barriers that influence democratic governance. this essay aims to explore these challenges comprehensively, drawing on scholarly insights and empirical evidence to illuminate the complexities faced by christians in engaging with political processes and advocating for inclusive political practices. conceptual clarification politics: the term "politics" encompasses a diverse array of interpretations and definitions among scholars, illustrating its intricate and multifaceted nature. david easton defines politics as "the authoritative allocation of values for a society" (easton 129), emphasizing its role in determining societal norms and priorities. harold lasswell's perspective describes politics as "who gets what, when, and how" (lasswell 5), highlighting the competitive distribution of resources and power among various actors. max weber's definition emphasises politics as "the striving to share or influence the distribution of power" (weber 78), focusing on the dynamics of power and governance within states and societies, reflecting both conflict and negotiation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 5 these definitions, while insightful, also reveal certain limitations. easton's broad definition lacks specificity regarding the mechanisms of value allocation, while lasswell's focus on distribution oversimplifies the complexities of political motivations and strategies. weber's emphasis on power dynamics overlooks cooperative aspects of political interactions. in the context of christian participation in politics in taraba state, these definitions are crucial for understanding how religious beliefs intersect with political responsibilities, influencing decision-making processes guided by ethical and moral considerations. for this study, a nuanced definition of politics is essential one that incorporates traditional elements of power and governance while acknowledging the unique dynamics of religious involvement. politics is defined here as the process by which societal decisions are made, allocating resources, influencing power structures, and reflecting collective values, with a particular emphasis on ethical considerations. this definition facilitates an exploration of christian engagement in taraba state's political landscape, highlighting both its pragmatic impacts and the ethical imperatives that shape christian political actions. christian participation: "christian participation" encompasses a broad spectrum of activities where individuals identifying as christians actively engage across social, political, and economic spheres, guided by christian values and teachings to integrate faith into societal contributions. recent scholarship offers varied perspectives on this concept: banks and ledbetter define it as applying christian ethics in all aspects of life, emphasizing faith's influence on societal structures (22). chaplin focuses on political involvement to advocate biblical principles in governance (45), while bane and mead highlight christian activism addressing social injustices (33), each perspective contributing different insights into engagement forms and motivations. these definitions reveal strengths and limitations: banks and ledbetter's broad view lacks specificity on engagement forms; chaplin's political focus overlooks non-political dimensions, and bane and mead's activism-centric approach may narrow participation to social issues alone. in taraba state's context, understanding christian participation in politics requires integrating these perspectives amid regional complexities of religion, ethnicity, and socio-economics. thus, for this study, "christian participation" is defined as christians' intentional involvement in political processes, informed by christian ethics to foster justice, peace, and societal welfare. this definition acknowledges diverse engagement forms and ethical considerations, aiming to comprehensively explore christian impact on taraba state's political landscape. methodology the study utilises a qualitative research design with an exploratory approach. this methodological framework aims to deeply investigate the phenomenon of christian engagement in politics in taraba state, allowing for a nuanced exploration of its moral implications within the region. data collection involves conducting in-depth interviews with key stakeholders including christian leaders, politicians, and community members actively involved in politics in taraba state. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 6 additionally, document analysis of relevant church statements and political documents related to christian participation supplements the interview data. the analysis of collected data follows a thematic analysis approach, focusing on identifying recurring patterns, themes, and insights derived from qualitative data. this methodological choice enabled the researcher to uncover the underlying motivations, challenges, and impacts associated with christian involvement in taraba state's political landscape. the selected qualitative methodology is justified by its capacity to provide a comprehensive understanding of the complexities surrounding christian participation in politics, aiming to capture diverse perspectives and experiences of stakeholders involved and enriching scholarly discourse on the subject matter. the challenges of christian participation in politics in taraba state christian participation in politics in taraba state, nigeria, from 1999 to 2024 is marked by intricate challenges deeply embedded in the region's socio-political fabric. this period has been characterised by pervasive religious bias and discrimination, which often marginalise christians within the political sphere (omotola 112). moreover, issues of moral compromise and corruption pose significant ethical dilemmas for christian politicians, influencing their roles and decisions ( 115). inter-religious tensions further complicate the political environment, impacting coalitionbuilding and governance dynamics (118). additionally, socio-political pressures, stemming from economic disparities and historical grievances, shape electoral processes and governance outcomes, perpetuating inequities despite constitutional guarantees of secular governance ( 121). this study examines these complex dynamics to elucidate the enduring challenges faced by christians engaging in politics in taraba state. religious bias and discrimination religious bias remains a persistent challenge affecting christian participation in politics within taraba state, nigeria. the state, situated in the middle belt region, reflects nigeria's diverse religious landscape, predominantly comprising christian and muslim communities (james yaro, oral interview). historical and colonial legacies have contributed to the politicisation of religious identities, shaping contemporary political dynamics where discrimination based on religious affiliation influences electoral processes and political representation (geoffrey gashi, oral interview). in the realm of political representation, christians often encounter systematic hurdles that hinder their ability to secure nominations and hold significant offices compared to their muslim counterparts. this disparity not only marginalises christian interests but also perpetuates inequalities in decision-making bodies, impacting governance outcomes. legislative biases further exacerbate these challenges, with policy decisions and legislative agendas occasionally favoring specific religious groups, thereby disadvantaging others (istifanus rokoba, oral interview). electoral violence and intimidation also play a crucial role in perpetuating religious bias in taraba state politics. reports indicate instances where elections have been marred by violence targeting igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 7 christian candidates and their supporters, creating a climate of fear and obstructing democratic processes (ojo 34). such incidents not only undermine electoral integrity but also deter christians from actively participating in political activities due to safety concerns. media portrayal significantly influences public perception and voter attitudes towards christian politicians in taraba state. biased media coverage may reinforce stereotypes or negative narratives, thereby marginalising christian voices and affecting electoral outcomes (amadi 91). moreover, legal and institutional frameworks occasionally reflect ambiguous or discriminatory practices that disadvantage christian participants in political processes (okonkwo 122). these legal interpretations and administrative practices contribute to an environment where equitable political engagement remains elusive for many christians. moral compromise and corruption christian participation in politics in taraba state, nigeria, is often hindered by moral compromise and corruption, which undermine ethical governance and public trust. the state's diverse religious demographics present complex challenges for christian politicians (anthony odey, oral interview). moral compromise, where personal gain outweighs public service, contributes to widespread corruption, eroding the credibility of christian political engagement. corruption manifests through various forms such as embezzlement and abuse of power, significantly impacting governance in taraba state (saul john, oral interview). these unethical practices not only violate moral norms but also hinder socio-economic development and perpetuate inequalities, particularly affecting marginalised communities. christian leaders implicated in corruption scandals compromise their integrity and erode public trust, diminishing their effectiveness as ethical leaders. moral compromise extends beyond individual actions to institutional practices and policy decisions. corrupt legislative processes often prioritise personal or group interests over public welfare, undermining democratic principles like transparency and accountability (saul john, oral interview). such ethical deficiencies distort representation and governance effectiveness. also, electoral processes in taraba state reflect challenges of moral compromise, where christian politicians resort to unethical tactics like vote-buying or electoral fraud to secure power (karbon philip ben, oral interview). these practices distort democratic processes, disenfranchise voters, and perpetuate corrupt cycles that hinder genuine democratic progress. media influence plays a crucial role in shaping public perception of christian politicians involved in moral compromise and corruption. biased media coverage can expose or shield unethical practices, influencing voter attitudes and electoral outcomes. negative portrayals stigmatize christian leaders, reinforcing stereotypes and eroding public trust in their ability to govern ethically (ashumato repas, oral interview). also, ashumato repas opines further that legal frameworks in taraba state often struggle to effectively combat corruption among christian politicians, with inadequate regulatory oversight and enforcement mechanisms. accountability igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 8 gaps perpetuate unethical practices and hinder efforts to promote integrity in political leadership (oral interview). ethical dilemmas of christian participation in politics christian involvement in politics in taraba state often confronts ethical dilemmas rooted in conflicting moral principles and societal expectations. these dilemmas arise from navigating between upholding religious values and participating effectively in the political process, which often requires compromise and negotiation. christian participation in politics in taraba state presents ethical dilemmas rooted in the intersection of religious principles and political pragmatism. scholars such as keneth sunday highlight the challenge of maintaining ethical integrity while navigating the competitive and often corrupt political landscape. christian politicians face pressure to compromise on moral principles in exchange for political support or advancement, which can undermine their credibility and the trust of their constituents (oral interview). this dilemma is exacerbated by socio-economic factors and systemic corruption, which incentivise unethical behaviour and compromise among political actors. furthermore, geoffrey shugabba discusses the ethical implications of alliances and coalitions formed by christian politicians to gain political leverage. according to geoffrey shugabba, strategic alliances with non-christian groups or individuals may raise questions about ideological consistency and loyalty to religious values (oral interview). such alliances are often necessary for coalition-building and legislative effectiveness but can pose ethical challenges regarding policy alignment and accountability to christian constituents. in the context of electoral campaigns, ethical dilemmas arise concerning the use of religious rhetoric and identity politics to mobilise voters. victor elkanah observes that, appeals to religious identity and communal grievances can polarize the electorate along religious lines, undermining efforts towards inclusive and issue-based campaigning (oral interview). this strategy may yield short-term electoral gains but risks perpetuating divisions and sectarian tensions within taraba state's diverse religious landscape. moreover, the ethical conduct of christian politicians is scrutinised in their decision-making processes and policy advocacy. uzzaja dauda argues that the prioritisation of religiously motivated policies may conflict with broader public interests and constitutional principles of secular governance (oral interview). this tension raises ethical questions about the balance between religious convictions and the responsibilities of public office, particularly in a pluralistic society like nigeria. case studies from recent political scandals underscore the ethical challenges faced by christian politicians in taraba state. for instance, allegations of corruption and misconduct among elected officials have tarnished the reputation of christian leaders and eroded public trust in their ability to uphold ethical standards (uzzaja dauda, oral interview). such incidents highlight the ethical igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 9 imperative for transparency, accountability, and integrity in governance, irrespective of religious affiliation or political allegiance. in response to these dilemmas, ethical frameworks and codes of conduct have been proposed to guide christian politicians in navigating their roles and responsibilities. tongah litus suggests that adherence to ethical principles such as honesty, accountability, and respect for the rule of law can mitigate the ethical risks associated with political participation (oral interview). moreover, according to lydia andrew, civic education and leadership training programs aim to equip christian politicians with the ethical tools and competencies necessary to uphold moral integrity in public service (oral interview). inter-religious tensions inter-religious tensions in taraba state from 1999 to 2024 have been a significant challenge, marked by a series of conflicts and clashes between different religious groups. these tensions have often stemmed from a complex interplay of factors, including historical grievances, political manipulation, economic disparities, and social divisions. the re-introduction of democracy in nigeria in 1999 brought about a resurgence of identity-based conflicts, with religion being a key fault line in taraba state. the ethno-religious conflicts in taraba state have had profound effects on the social fabric of the region, leading to loss of lives, displacement of communities, and a pervasive climate of fear and mistrust. women and children have been particularly vulnerable in these conflicts, facing heightened risks of violence, displacement, and loss of livelihoods. the impact on children's education and psychological well-being has been severe, with many experiencing trauma and disrupted schooling (beauty sale, oral interview). the dynamics of inter-religious tensions in taraba state have been exacerbated by external influences, such as political actors exploiting religious identities for their own gain. this manipulation of religious sentiments has fueled animosities and deepened divisions within communities, making reconciliation and peacebuilding efforts more challenging. the lack of effective conflict resolution mechanisms has further perpetuated the cycle of violence and distrust between religious groups (john mamman, oral interview). inter-religious tensions in taraba state have historically been rooted in colonial-era policies that favored one religious group over another. this historical backdrop has fueled distrust and marginalisation among christians, impacting their political participation. electoral processes often exploit religious identities, leading to divisive campaigning based on religious affiliations rather than merit or policy (rebecca anthony, oral interview). such manipulation undermines democratic principles and exacerbates tensions between religious communities, hindering effective christian involvement in politics. legislative bias and discriminatory policies further complicate the landscape. laws perceived as favoring one religious group can marginalise others, limiting their political influence. for example, zoning policies may disproportionately affect christian communities, curtailing their igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 10 representation (gloria gedda, oral interview). moreover, inter-religious tensions frequently escalate into violent conflicts, disrupting governance and exacerbating socio-political instability (ojo 2018, 92). these conflicts result in displacement, loss of life, and economic downturns, all of which impede efforts to foster inclusive political processes. in response, civil society organisations and religious leaders have attempted reconciliation initiatives. these efforts aim to promote dialogue and understanding between christian and muslim communities, mitigating tensions and fostering peaceful coexistence (cordelia moses, oral interview). however, challenges persist due to deep-seated mistrust and the politicisation of religious identities. economic disparities also contribute to inter-religious tensions. socio-economic inequalities can be exacerbated by political decisions perceived as favoring one religious group over another, further alienating marginalised communities (cordelia moses, oral interview). this economic dimension underscores the interconnectedness of social, economic, and political factors in perpetuating inter-religious tensions and hindering christian participation in taraba state politics. socio-political pressures taraba state, located in nigeria, exhibits a diverse religious landscape, primarily divided between christians and muslims. this diversity often translates into complex inter-religious dynamics that influence political participation and governance. historically, taraba state has experienced significant inter-religious tensions rooted in demographic shifts and historical grievances. christians and muslims constitute the major religious groups, each seeking representation and influence in political decision-making processes (tongah litus, oral interview). the demographic distribution and historical interactions between these groups have shaped their political engagements and perceptions of power and influence. the allocation of political power in taraba state often exacerbates inter-religious tensions. political offices and electoral processes are frequently contested along religious lines, leading to perceptions of marginalisation and exclusion among minority religious groups, including christians. for instance, disputes over electoral outcomes have historically polarized christian and muslim communities, impacting their respective political engagements and representation (geoffrey gashi, oral interview). instances of electoral violence in taraba state have been linked to religious identity politics. during elections, violence and intimidation tactics have targeted communities perceived to support candidates based on religious affiliations (victor elkanah, oral interview). such incidents highlight the challenges christians face in participating in politics without fear of reprisal or marginalisation based on their religious identity. the formulation of policies in taraba state often reflects religious influences, which can either facilitate or hinder christian participation in politics. islamic principles, at times, influence igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 11 legislative decisions and policy implementations that may not align with christian beliefs (uzzaja dauda, oral interview). this dynamic presents a significant challenge for christians seeking to engage politically while upholding their religious convictions. christian organisations and leaders advocate for religious freedom and tolerance as crucial components of navigating inter-religious tensions in taraba state(anthony odey, oral interview). advocacy efforts aim to safeguard religious rights and promote peaceful coexistence among diverse religious communities. however, challenges persist in translating advocacy into tangible political outcomes that benefit christian communities. recommandations the study indicates that christian politicians in taraba state encounter substantial challenges, such as systemic biases, moral compromise, inter-religious tensions, and allegations of corruption, which impede their effective participation in politics. to address these issues, the following recommendations are proposed: i. the taraba state christian association and faith-based advocacy groups should bring up initiatives that prioritize and align with christian ethics, emphasizing integrity and transparency in politics to restore public trust in christian leaders. ii. the taraba state ministry of education and christian educational institutions should develop and organize educational programs that equip christian politicians and community members with knowledge about ethical governance and political responsibilities to foster accountability. iii. the taraba state government and anti-corruption agencies such as the icpc should advocate for stronger legal frameworks and regulatory oversight to combat corruption effectively and ensure that ethical standards are upheld in political practices. iv. the taraba state interfaith council and local religious leaders should facilitate interfaith dialogues to mitigate religious tensions, promote mutual understanding, and foster collaborative efforts among different religious groups in the political arena. v. community development organizations and local government councils should promote grassroots mobilization to actively involve christian communities in the political process, ensuring their voices are heard and represented in governance. conclusion based on the findings of the study, it is evident that christian politicians in taraba state encounter significant challenges including systemic biases, moral compromises, inter-religious tensions, and allegations of corruption that hinder their effective participation in the political landscape. the study highlights the need for targeted initiatives to promote ethical leadership, enhance educational programs on governance, strengthen legal frameworks, encourage interfaith dialogue, and increase community engagement. addressing these areas is crucial for restoring public trust, ensuring accountability, and fostering a more inclusive and ethical political environment. by implementing these recommendations, it is possible to mitigate the obstacles faced by christian politicians and support a more transparent and effective governance system in taraba state. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 12 works cited abubakar, yusuf. religion and politics in nigeria: the taraba state experience. ibadan: university press, 2020. print. adeboye, joshua. ethical leadership and good governance: the crcn perspective. lagos: christian publishers, 2021. print. adewale, david. ethics and leadership: methodist perspectives on political engagement. lagos: methodist press, 2018. print. adeyemi, esther. religious freedom and interfaith relations in nigeria. abuja: unity publishers, 2023. print. afolabi, funmilayo. interfaith relations and religious tolerance in nigeria. abuja: unity publishers, 2021. print. akintola, ade. religion and politics in nigeria. ibadan: university press, 2010. amoke, o.j. "the meaningful participation in decision-making." journal of public administration, finance and law, issue 28, 2023. print. bane, mary jo, and lawrence m. mead. poverty, welfare, and religion: poverty and religion in contemporary america. new york: oxford university press, 2020. print. banks, robert, and bernice m. ledbetter. reviewing leadership: a christian evaluation of current approaches. grand rapids: baker academic, 2018. benedict xvi. caritas in veritate. vatican city: libreria editrice vaticana, 2009. chaplin, jonathan. faith in democracy: framing a politics of deep diversity. london: scm press, 2021. print. colson, charles. god & government: an insider's view on the boundaries between faith & politics. grand rapids: zondervan, 2007. print. crcn synod. proceedings of the crcn synod on christian engagement in politics. jalingo: crcn press, 2018. print. crcn synod. resolutions and recommendations of the crcn synod. jalingo: crcn press, 2020. print. easton, david. the political system: an inquiry into the state of political science. new york: knopf, 1953. print. falola, toyin. colonialism and christianity in west africa. london: c. hurst & co. publishers, 1998. print. francis. laudato si'. vatican city: libreria editrice vaticana, 2015. print. garba, musa. ethics and policy making in nigeria: a case study of taraba state. kaduna: northern nigerian publishing house, 2021. print. ibrahim, salisu. political rhetoric and religious polarization in nigeria. lagos: delta publications, 2019. print. john paul ii. centesimus annus. vatican city: libreria editrice vaticana, 1991. print. john xxiii. pacem in terris. vatican city: libreria editrice vaticana, 1963. print. kanu, i. a., “a reassessment of african theology in the period after africae munus”. innovations, number 76, march, pp. 1083-1101, 2024. kanu, i. a., “igwebuike as an indigenous ontological logic for synodality”. jos studies. volume 30, december, pp. 43-54, 2023. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 13 kanu, i. a., “igwebuike integrative anthropology”. scope. vol. 14. no. 2, june, 466-473, 2024. kanu, i. a., igwebuike as the moving spirit of pope francis’ compassionate leadership. jos studies. 28. 13-26, 2020. kanu, i. a., igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe and the inculturation of the gospel message. ogirisi: a journal of african studies. 16(1), 15-28, 2020. kanu, i. a., igwebuike theology of omenani and the missionary bifurcation of horizons. ogirisi: a new journal of african studies. 16 (1), 127-144, 2020. kanu, i. a., igwebuike theology of udi: god’s unchanging revelation and man’s changing culture. catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. 17(2), 12-24, 2020. kanu, i. a., pope john paul ii’s legacy of decolonization: towards an igwebuike transformative pedagogy. pope john paul ii journal of philosophy. 2 (1), 68-95, 2023. kukah, matthew hassan. religion, politics and power in northern nigeria. ibadan: spectrum books, 1994. print. lasswell, harold d. politics: who gets what, when, how. new york: mcgraw-hill, 1936. print. mcsmith, johan. understanding the laity: a theological perspective. london: christian academic press, 2018. print. nmah, p.e. "political corruption in nigeria." journal of public administration, finance and law, issue 28, 2023. print. nwagbara, vitalis. the role of the church in nigerian politics. enugu: snaap press ltd., 2001. print. nwosu, chika. clergy and politics: the nigerian dilemma. enugu: eastern academic press, 2023. print. odey, joseph. democracy and religious bias in nigeria: the case of taraba state. jos: plateau publishing company, 2018. print. ogundipe, oluwaseun. christianity and political engagement in nigeria. abuja: pearl publishers, 2012. print. ogunmola, olufemi. the role of the church in political discourse: challenges and opportunities. jos: hilltop publishers, 2019. print. ojo, emmanuel o. politics and christian participation in nigeria. lagos: concept publications, 2004. print. ojo, samuel. christianity and politics in contemporary nigeria. ibadan: hope publishing house, 2019. print. olatunji, michael. challenges of religious pluralism and political engagement. jos: hilltop publishers, 2022. print. oyediran, o. political participation in nigeria. ibadan: spectrum books, 2002. print. paul vi. populorum progressio. vatican city: libreria editrice vaticana, 1967. print. umcn discipline. book of discipline of the united methodist church in nigeria. abuja: umcn press, 2020. print. usman, ahmed. development and social justice: the role of politicians in taraba state. abuja: federal university press, 2019. print. weber, max. politics as a vocation. philadelphia: fortress press, 1965. print. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 14 list of informants sn name age sex occupation location date 1. james yaro 63 male farmer kwaji 11/04/2024 2. geoffrey gashi 55 male priest donga 13/04/2024 3. istifanus rokoba 59 male businessman jalingo 24/05/2024 4. anthony odey 40 male technician sunkani 18/06/2024 5. lydia andrew 34 female electrician baisa 19/05/2024 6. saul john 46 male pastor mayo-gwoi 22/05/2024 7. karbon philip ben 52 male lecturer gembu 13/05//2024 8. ashumate repas 30 female trader wukari 10/05/2024 9. keneth sunday 40 male engineer donga 07/09/2024 10. geoffrey shugabba 56 male accountant bali 08/06/2024 11. victor elkanah 40 male journalist zing 13/06/2024 12. uzzaja dauda 53 male pastor kurmi 18/06/2024 13. beauty sale 35 female hairdresser kunini 08/05/2024 14. tongah litus 48 male teacher pantisawa 11/06/2024 15. john mamman 50 male farmer gassol 11/05/2024 16. rebecca anthony 55 female teacher gassol 13/06/2024 17. gloria gedda 60 female retired teacher bali 11/06/2024 18. cordelia moses 42 female nurse kpanti-sawa 12/05/2024 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 124 the ethics of redistribution: william h. shaw's case for economic justice nyamigim austin ntol and uke innocent anthony department of philosophy, nnamdi azikiwe university, akwa inyamigima@gmail.com; innouke4real@gmail.com abstract this research paper examines william h. shaw's ethical arguments for economic justice, focusing on his case for redistribution as a means of addressing economic inequality. through a critical discourse analysis of shaw's writings, this study explores his ethical principles and values that underpin his advocacy for redistribution. shaw's ideas on economic justice are situated within the context of capitalist systems, and his critiques of exploitation, alienation, and social injustice are examined. the paper argues that shaw's ethical framework provides a compelling case for redistribution as a moral imperative, highlighting the need for a more equitable distribution of resources and wealth. shaw's argument against the utilitarian approach, which prioritizes overall happiness over individual rights and dignity, is also examined. instead, shaw advocates for a distributive justice approach that prioritizes the well-being and agency of marginalized communities. by applying shaw's ethical principles to contemporary economic systems, this research aims to contribute to the ongoing debate on economic justice and the ethics of redistribution. through the application of philosophical method of critical analysis, shaw's work within this study demonstrates the relevance and significance of his ideas for addressing economic inequality and promoting social justice. keywords:william h. shaw, economic justice, ethics, redistribution introduction the united states' taxation system, a cornerstone of its economic framework, has been instrumental in shaping the nation's development. however, as william h. shaw astutely observes in business ethics, the distribution of tax burdens and benefits is far from equitable. shaw argues that the federal government's tax policies disproportionately favor the upper class, comprising affluent entrepreneurs and corporations, while the middle class bears a significant share of the tax burden. as shaw notes, "the tax system in the united states is designed to benefit the wealthy at the expense of the poor and middle class" (shaw, 1990, p. 123). this imbalance is particularly striking when comparing the tax obligations of the middle class to those of the wealthy elite. shaw contends that this skewed distribution undermines the principles of fairness and justice, ultimately hindering the nation's progress as it is the case in the nigerian context. echoing shaw's concerns, other scholars have also criticized the regressive nature of the us tax system. going by this background, the outcome trickles down to other nations of the world especially, nigeria. for instance, economist joseph stiglitz argues that "the tax system has become a key instrument for increasing inequality" (stiglitz, 2012, p. 150). similarly, philosopher john rawls emphasizes the need for a fair tax system, stating that "the purpose igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 125 of taxation is to redistribute wealth and income to achieve greater equality" (rawls, 1971, p. 278). this paper will explore shaw's vision for a more just and equitable economic system, with a focus on taxation and economic distribution. for a more comprehensive approach through the philosophical hermeneu-analytic method, this paper shall be subdivided into the following subsections, the concept of justice in general and some basic principles that have been proposed as standards of economic distribution which dwells on the nature of justice in its utilitarian dimension and mill's theory of justice. it further will delve into the utilitarian approach to justice in general and economic justice in particular. in the third instance, the paper shall expose the libertarian approach which includes an exposition on nozick's theory of justice: markets, free exchange and property rights which places a moral priority on liberty and free exchange. the fourth section accounts for the contractarian and egalitarian theory of john rawls with three key concepts of the "original position", the "nature of choice" and the "veil of ignorance". finally, this work shall critically evaluate the justice and economic distribution with a view of looking at the challenges and strengths of this economic system within the purview of rawls and mill. within this critical framework the benefits and burdens of justice and the utilitarianism in economic distribution will be visited and a valid conclusion to capture it. the concept of justice in general and some basic principles of economic distribution the concept of justice is complex and multifaceted, and has been debated by philosophers and scholars for centuries. at its core, justice is concerned with fairness, equality, and the well-being of individuals and society as a whole. according to shaw, "justice is a matter of giving each person what they deserve, based on their actions and circumstances" (shaw, 1991, p. 85). this definition highlights the importance of considering individual merit and circumstances when evaluating justice. in the utilitarian dimension, justice is concerned with maximizing overall happiness or wellbeing. as philosopher jeremy bentham notes, "the greatest happiness of the greatest number is the measure of right and wrong" (bentham, 1789, p. 113). this means that economic distribution should aim to benefit the majority, rather than just a privileged few. the utilitarian approach prioritizes the overall well-being of society, rather than individual interests or rights. in this context, mill's theory argues that "each person's happiness is a good to that person, and the general happiness is a good to the aggregate of all persons" (mill, 1861, p. 34). this highlights the need for economic distribution to prioritize individual well-being while also considering the greater good. by understanding the principles of justice and their application to economic distribution, we can better evaluate the fairness and equity of economic systems. furthermore, the concept of justice is closely tied to the idea of distributive justice, which concerns the fair distribution of resources and benefits within society. as philosopher john rawls notes, "distributive justice is concerned with the distribution of benefits and burdens among individuals" (rawls, 1971, p. 10). this highlights the importance of considering how economic distribution affects different individuals and groups within society. the utilitarian approach to justice in general and economic justice in particular igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 126 the utilitarian approach to justice, as mentioned earlier, prioritizes the overall well-being of society. in the context of economic justice, this means that economic distribution should aim to maximize overall happiness or well-being. according to shaw, "the utilitarian approach to economic justice emphasizes the importance of maximizing overall utility or happiness" (shaw, 1990, p. 90). this approach is often criticized for prioritizing the majority over individual rights and interests. one of the key challenges of the utilitarian approach is determining how to measure overall happiness or well-being. the utilitarian approach "the utilitarian approach assumes that happiness or pleasure is the only thing that matters, but this is a narrow and misguided view" (nozick, 1974, p. 45). nozick argues that individual rights and liberties are essential to a just society, and that the utilitarian approach neglects these important considerations. moreover, the utilitarian approach can lead to the tyranny of the majority, where the interests of the majority are prioritized over those of minority groups. this can result in vulnerable populations, such as the poor and marginalized. as philosopher john rawls notes, "the utilitarian approach can lead to the sacrifice of individual rights and interests for the sake of overall happiness" (rawls, 1971, p. 25). in addition, the utilitarian approach assumes that happiness or pleasure is the only thing that matters, but this is a narrow and misguided view. other values, such as freedom, equality, and justice, are also essential to a just society. as philosopher amartya sen notes, "the utilitarian approach neglects the importance of individual freedom and autonomy" (sen, 1992, p. 12). shaw argues that the utilitarian approach to justice is based on the principle of maximizing overall happiness or pleasure. however, shaw notes that this approach has several limitations. firstly, it can lead to the tyranny of the majority, where the interests of the majority are prioritized over those of minority groups (shaw, 1991, p. 89). secondly, the utilitarian approach can result in the exploitation of vulnerable populations, such as the poor and marginalized, for the benefit of the majority (shaw 1991, p. 90). thirdly, shaw argues that the utilitarian approach neglects the importance of individual rights and liberties, and can lead to the sacrifice of individual interests for the sake of overall happiness (shaw, 1991, p. 91). in all indications, shaw suggests that the utilitarian approach to justice is limited in its ability to address issues of economic justice and distributive justice. on this idea, nozick and rawls made inputs to substantiate their claims. the utilitarian approach they opined can lead to the exploitation of minority groups for the benefit of the majority. as nozick argues, "the utilitarian approach can lead to the use of individuals as means to an end, rather than as ends in themselves" (nozick, 1974, p. 50). this can result in the violation of individual rights and liberties, and can perpetuate social injustices. additionally, the utilitarian approach assumes that happiness or pleasure can be measured and quantified, but this is a problematic assumption. as rawls notes, "happiness and pleasure are complex and multifaceted concepts that cannot be reduced to a single metric" igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 127 (rawls, 1971, p. 30). moreover, the utilitarian approach neglects the importance of distributive justice, which is concerned with the fair distribution of resources and benefits. as sen argues, "distributive justice is essential to ensuring that individuals have the capabilities and resources they need to live a fulfilling life" (sen, 1992, p. 20). in contrast to the utilitarian approach, alternative approaches to justice, such as the libertarian and rawlsian approaches, prioritize individual rights and liberties, and emphasize the importance of distributive justice and individual autonomy. the libertarian approach to economic justice the libertarian approach to economic justice emphasizes individual rights and freedoms, particularly in the context of economic activity. according to nozick, individuals have rights to their lives, liberties, and properties (nozick, 1974, p. 10). this approach prioritizes individual autonomy and freedom of choice, and argues that economic distribution should be based on individual merit and voluntary exchange. the key principles of libertarianism include individual rights, free market, and limited government interferance. libertarians believe that individuals have inherent rights to their lives, liberties, and properties, and should be free to engage in voluntary exchange and pursue their own self-interest. they advocate for a free market economy with minimal government intervention, allowing individuals to make their own choices. however, criticisms of libertarianism argue that it neglects issues of social justice, such as inequality and poverty. critics also argue that libertarianism assumes equal opportunities for all individuals to succeed, but this is not always the case. furthermore, libertarianism neglects the role of luck and privilege in economic success, according to rawls (rawls, 1971, p. 15). notable libertarians include adam smith, known for his concept of the "invisible hand," which suggests that individual self-interest can lead to socially beneficial outcomes. robert nozick argued that individuals have rights to their lives, liberties, and properties, and that economic distribution should be based on individual merit. ayn rand advocated for a laissezfaire capitalist system, where individuals are free to pursue their own self-interest without government interference. the libertarian approach: market and free exchange. libertarians argue that individuals should be free to engage in voluntary exchange and market transactions without government interference. according to adam smith, "the market is a more efficient allocator of resources than the government" (smith, 1776, p. 456). this approach emphasizes the importance of individual freedom and choice in economic matters. property rights and the role of property rights on economic growth libertarians also emphasize the importance of property rights, arguing that individuals have a right to their property and should be free to use it as they see fit. according to nozick, "property rights are essential to individual liberty" (nozick, 1974, p. 175). this approach prioritizes individual ownership and control over property, and argues that government intervention in property rights is unjustified. furthermore, shaw in his exposition explains that libertarian approach emphasizes the importance of individual freedom and limited government intervention in promoting economic growth. according to milton friedman, "free markets and limited government are igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 128 essential for economic growth and prosperity" (friedman, 1962, p. 20). libertarians argue that government intervention in the economy can lead to inefficiencies and stifle innovation, while free markets allow for the efficient allocation of resources and promote economic growth (hayek, 1944, p. 25). the role of property rights in economic growth libertarians also emphasize the importance of property rights in promoting economic growth. according to hernando de soto, "clear and secure property rights are essential for economic growth and development" (de soto, 2000, p. 50). property rights provide individuals with the incentive to invest and innovate, leading to economic growth and development. critique of libertarian approach critics argue that the libertarian approach neglects issues of inequality and social justice. according to rawls, "the libertarian approach assumes that individuals are responsible for their own economic circumstances, but this neglects the role of luck and privilege" (rawls, 1971, p. 15). critics also argue that the libertarian approach prioritizes individual rights over social welfare, and that this can lead to negative social consequences. rival principles of distribution. shaw posited the rivalry in the distribution chain and tagged it along five basic principles which are essentially akined to a company, government agencies and business practices. they include distributions according to individual needs, to each according to equal share, according to individual efforts, according merit and finally to each according to social responsibility. this is why shaw opined that "on the idea of distributive justicethat is, the proper distribution of social benefits and burdens (in particular, of economic benefits and burdens)-five principles might be used as a basis for distribution"(shaw, 1991, p.86). he elucidated these principles of distributive justice in the following perspectives; distribution according to individual needs which prioritizes the allocation of resources based on individual requirements, ensuring that everyone's basic needs are met (1991). for instance, in a healthcare system, resources would be distributed based on medical need, rather than ability to pay. for the second principle which is distribution according to equal share, he holds that the principle advocates for an equal distribution of resources among individuals, regardless of their contributions or needs (1991). for example, a cooperative business might distribute profits equally among members. in this third principle, shaw sees distribution according to individual efforts which links resource allocation to individual hard work and productivity (1991). in a capitalist system, individuals are rewarded based on their labor and innovation. in the fourth principle, distribution according to merit allocates resources based on individual talent, skill, and achievement (1991). for instance, academic scholarships might be awarded based on academic merit. finally, in the distribution according to social responsibility shaw maintains that this principle prioritizes resource allocation based on social welfare and the greater good (1991). for example, taxes might be distributed to fund public goods and services. shaw in his business ethics summarizes nozick's arguments against redistributive policies, including his claims that they involve coercion, violate property rights, paternalistic, and undermine self-reliance (shaw, 1991 p.89). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 129 shaw's discussion of nozick's ideas highlights the tension between economic justice and individual rights, with nozick prioritizing the latter. shaw's presentation of nozick's arguments provides a clear overview of the libertarian approach to justice and its implications for business ethics. to this effect he says "a belief in these rights shapes nozick's specific theory of economic justice, which he calls the "entitlement theory". essentially, nozick believes that we are entitled to our holdings (that is, goods, money and property) as long as we have acquired them fairly. stated another way, if you have acquired your possessions without violating anyone's lockean rights, then you are entitled to them and may dispose of them however you like"(shaw, 1991, p.93). further on his rejection of redistributive policies, nozick argues that redistributive policies, such as welfare programs, violate individual rights and freedoms in several ways such as; -.coercion: nozick argues that redistributive policies involve coercion, as they force individuals to give up their property (in the form of taxes) without their consent (nozick, 1974, p. 55). -violation of property rights: nozick argues that redistributive policies violate individual property rights, as they take from some individuals and give to others (nozick, 1974, p. 60). paternalism: nozick argues that redistributive policies are paternalistic, as they assume that the government knows better how to spend individuals' money than they do themselves (nozick, 1974, p. 65). -undermining of self-reliance: nozick argues that redistributive policies undermine selfreliance and individual responsibility, as they create a culture of dependency on government support (nozick, 1974, p. 70). nozick advocates for a minimalist state that protects individual rights and freedoms, rather than a welfare state that redistributes wealth. he argues that individuals should be free to choose how to spend their own money, rather than being forced to support others through taxation (nozick, 1974, p. 75). shaw's book summarizes nozick's arguments against redistributive policies, including his claims that they involve coercion, violate property rights, are paternalistic, and undermine self-reliance (shaw, 2010, pp. 88-91). shaw's discussion of nozick's ideas highlights the tension between economic justice and individual rights, with nozick prioritizing the latter. shaw's presentation of nozick's arguments provides a clear overview of the libertarian approach to justice and its implications for business ethics. the contractarian and egalitarian theory of john rawls john rawls contractarian and egalitarian theory examines three key concepts of original position, the nature of choice and the veil of ignorance we shall briefly consider these three key concepts briefly. original position: rawls' original according to shaw's analysis is a thought experiment where individuals come together to form a social contract, behind a "veil of ignorance" (shaw, 1991, p. 92). as rawls himself explains in shaw, "the original position is a device of representation that enables us to extract the appropriate principles of justice" (1991). similarly, philosopher will kymlicka notes, "the original position is a hypothetical situation igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 130 in which rational individuals choose principles of justice from behind a veil of ignorance" (kymlicka, 2002, p. 57). it is worthwhile to note that from shaws analysis of the original position, once an individual is out of his or her original position, he becomes aware of his or her personal choices and interest. they may now become better placed to take the right steps towards achieving their goals and ultimate good in life. thus he states "of course, once people are outside of the veil of ignorance, they will have more specific ideas about what is good for themthey may choose a life built around religion, one spent on commerce and industry, or one devoted to academic study"(shaw, 1991, p.103). -nature of choice: in rawls' original position, individuals make choices based on rational self-interest, but with a twist. since they are behind the veil of ignorance, they don't know their personal characteristics or position in society. as rawls argues, "the parties in the original position are rational individuals who are concerned to maximize their own interests" (rawls, 1971, p. 143). kymlicka adds, "the choice in the original position is a rational choice, but it is not a self-interested choice in the ordinary sense" (kymlicka, 2002, p. 60). veil of ignorance: the veil of ignorance is a key component of rawls' original position. it ensures that individuals make choices without knowing their personal characteristics or position in society. rawls explains, "the veil of ignorance prevents the parties from knowing their own abilities, strengths, and weaknesses" (rawls, 1971, p. 19). kymlicka notes, "the veil of ignorance is meant to ensure that the principles of justice are chosen impartially, without bias towards one's own interests" (kymlicka, 2002, p. 58). furthermore, shaw explains more that the veil of ignorance is a thought experiment device that ensures individuals in the original position make choices without knowing their: personal characteristics (e.g., intelligence, talent, or abilities), social status or position in society, individual interests or biases. this veil ensures that choices are made impartially, without favoring one's own interests. rawls argues that the veil of ignorance allows individuals to choose principles of justice that are fair and universal (shaw, 1991, p.93). kymlicka adds that the veil of ignorance "prevents the parties from knowing their own place in society, their own abilities, or their own conception of the good" (kymlicka, 2002, p. 58). to substantiate this further, shaw opines that " behind what rawls calls "though ignorance" people in the original position know nothing themselves personally or about what their individual situation will be once the rules are chosen and the veil is lifted. they do, however have a general knowledge of history, sociology and psychologyalthough no specific information about the society they will be in once the veil is lifted" (shaw, 1991, p.102). by combining the original position, nature of choice, and veil of ignorance, rawls' theory provides a framework for determining principles of justice that prioritize fairness, equality, and individual rights. rawls two principles to drive home his three concepts of original position, nature of choice and the veil of ignorance, rawls discusses two principles guiding the economic and social structures of society. where the first emphasizes is on equality of rights to the exclusive scheme of equal basic liberties compatible with a similar scheme of liberties for all. and the second, that social and economic inequalities are to meet two conditions: ato the greatest expected igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 131 benefits of the least advantaged and battached to offices and positions open to all under conditions of fair opportunity. first principle: shaw echoing rawls position posits that the first principle is that each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive basic liberty compatible with a similar liberty for others" (shaw, 1991, p.103). this principle emphasizes the importance of equal basic liberties, such as freedom of speech, religion, and association. rawls argues that these liberties are essential for individuals to develop and pursue their own conception of the good life. second principle: the second principle is that social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they are both: to the greatest expected benefit of the least advantaged and attached to offices and positions open to all under conditions of fair equality of opportunity" (rawls, 1971, p. 83). shaw notes that this approach is applied to the differences in economic reward to workers like salaries, honors, rewards, privileges, honorarium etc. shaw contends that according to this perspective, "rawls's second principle states insofar as inequalities are permitted-that is, insofar as it is compatible with justice for some jobs or positions to bring greater rewards than others-these positions must be open to all. in other words, there must be meaningful equality of opportunities in the competition of individuals..."(shaw, 1991, p.105). this principle addresses economic and social inequalities, ensuring that theybenefit the least advantaged members of society (the "difference principle"), and secondly, they are tied to positions and offices that are accessible to all, under conditions of fair equality of opportunity. rawls' two principles work together to create a just society, where basic liberties are protected and economic inequalities are addressed in a way that benefits the most vulnerable members. kymlicka summarizes rawls' principles as follows: "the two principles of justice require that basic liberties be equally protected, and that social and economic inequalities be arranged to benefit the least advantaged" (kymlicka, 2002, p. 63). he examined these principles with incomes of different classes, especially the first of the second principle using the analogy of two circular diagrams like a pie-chat with the first one representing the first principle where the chat had equal eight angles inside and the second representing the second principle where some triangles where bigger than the others in page 105. the diagram described in shaws analysis, with two circular charts resembling a pie chart, is a visual representation of how rawls' principles would allocate resources and benefits to different classes or groups. the first diagram, with equal eight angles, represents the first principle, which emphasizes equal basic liberties for all. each angle or slice of the pie represents an equal share of liberties, symbolizing the equal protection of basic rights and freedoms. the second diagram, with varying-sized triangles, represents the second principle, which addresses economic and social inequalities. the different-sized triangles may represent different classes or groups, with the larger triangles symbolizing those who have more resources, benefits, or advantages. the diagram illustrates how the second principle aims to reduce inequalities, ensuring that the benefits and resources are distributed in a way thatbenefits the least advantaged (the smallest triangles) and as it is tied to positions and offices open to all under fair equality of opportunity. by using this diagram, rawls illustrates how igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 132 his principles would work together to create a more just and equitable society, where basic liberties are protected, and economic inequalities are addressed in a way that benefits the most vulnerable members. to substantiate the analogy of the diagram, it is pertinent to take a close look into rawls consideration of the diagram as presented by shaw. rawls uses two circular diagrams to illustrate his principles of justice (shaw, 1991, p. 105). according to kymlicka, the first diagram represents the first principle, where eight equal angles symbolize equal basic liberties for all. each angle represents an equal share of liberties, emphasizing the equal protection of basic rights and freedoms (kymlicka, 2002, p. 63). the second diagram represents the second principle, addressing economic and social inequalities. varying-sized triangles symbolize different classes or groups, with larger triangles representing those with more resources and benefits (shaw1991, p.105). this diagram illustrates how the second principle aims to reduce inequalities, ensuring benefits and resources are distributed to benefit the least advantaged (rawls, 1971, p. 83). by using these diagrams, rawls visualizes how his principles work together to create a just and equitable society, protecting basic liberties and addressing economic inequalities (shaw, 1991, p. 106). theory of justice: a critique of utilitarianism within this ideology expoused by rawls as a follow up on his two principles, shaw makes us to understand that this approach is postulated as to serve as an alternative to utilitarianism which rawls reject on grounds the greatest happiness which utilitarianism conceive as the highest good if it has to do with the greatest number of people interchanges the good and pain of a few that is neglected in the whole. this reanslates to the unfair and unequal distribution of burdens and benefits. according to shaw, "rawls intends his theory for a fundamental alternative to utilitarianism, which he rejects on the grounds that maximizing the total well-being of society could permit an unfair and unequal distribution of burdens and benefits. utilitarian in rawls view treats people's pleasure and pains as completely interchangeable" (shaw, 1991, p.106). rawls' theory of justice: a critique of utilitarianism rawls presents his theory as an alternative to utilitarianism, which he rejects for allowing unfair and unequal distributions of burdens and benefits (1991). rawls argues that utilitarianism: maximizes total well-being, regardless of individual distribution treats people's pleasures and pains as interchangeable, disregarding individual rights and dignity rawls contends that utilitarianism fails to consider the fairness of distribution, allowing for exploitation and inequality (rawls, 1971, p. 27). in contrast, rawls' theory prioritizes fairness and justice, ensuring that the basic structure of society is designed to benefit the least advantaged (1991). basic structure: the subject of justice igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 133 rawls focuses on the basic structure of society as the primary subject of justice (shaw 1991, p.107). the basic structure includes: social and political institutions economic systems distribution of resources and benefits rawls argues that the basic structure should be designed to ensure fairness, equality, and justice, rather than solely maximizing overall well-being (1991). rawls passages as reflected in shaw's work simply. shaw explains that the passages he quoted from rawls work central are inevitable because they emphasize on the natural differences between human beings as it has to do with their physique, intellect, skill and many other natural endowments. in his understanding, there is practically nothing attached by society to such difference. so "for rawls, a desireable feature of any account of justice is that it strives to minimise the social consequences of purely arbitrary, natural differences"(shaw, 1991, p.108). rawls' emphasis on benefits and burdens is a crucial aspect of his theory of justice. he argues that a just basic structure should distribute benefits and burdens fairly among members of society. this means that the advantages and disadvantages of social cooperation should be shared equitably. benefits, in this context, refer to the advantages that individuals gain from living in a society, such as: wealth and income, power and influence, opportunities for education and personal development and access to healthcare and other social services rawls contends that these benefits should be shared fairly, meaning that everyone should have equal access to them, regardless of their background or circumstances. on the other hand, burdens refer to the disadvantages or costs that individuals bear as a result of social cooperation, such as: taxes and other financial contributions, responsibilities and obligations to others, hardships and sacrifices made for the greater good rawls argues that these burdens should also be distributed fairly, meaning that everyone should contribute their fair share, and those who bear a greater burden should be compensated accordingly. rawls' focus on benefits and burdens highlights the importance of reciprocity and mutual advantage in social cooperation. he argues that individuals have a duty to contribute to the system that benefits them, and that those who benefit more should contribute more. this ensures that everyone benefits fairly and that the system is stable and just. in addition, rawls' emphasis on benefits and burdens emphasizes the importance of protecting individual rights and interests. he argues that individuals have a right to a fair share of benefits and should not be forced to bear an unfair burden. this protects individuals from exploitation and ensures that their interests are taken into account. viewed wholistically, rawls' discussion of benefits and burdens provides a nuanced understanding of how a just basic structure should distribute advantages and disadvantages. it highlights the importance of fairness, reciprocity, and individual rights in ensuring that everyone benefits from social cooperation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 134 critical evaluation and conclusion william h. shaw's application of rawls' theory of justice to economic systems presents a compelling case for economic justice through redistribution. shaw's argument that economic inequalities should be arranged to benefit the least advantaged members of society is a powerful critique of unchecked capitalism. however, critics may argue that shaw's approach oversimplifies the complexities of economic systems and neglects the potential unintended consequences of redistribution. moreover, shaw's reliance on rawls' idealized theory of justice may be seen as detached from the practical realities of economic policy-making. some may argue that shaw's emphasis on economic justice neglects other important ethical considerations, such as individual freedom and responsibility. in conclusion, it is noteworthy to say that shaw's case for economic justice through redistribution presents a thought-provoking ethical framework for addressing economic inequalities. by applying rawls' principles of justice to economic systems, shaw challenges us to reconsider the moral implications of economic policies and practices. while critics may raise important objections, shaw's work remains a significant contribution to ongoing debates about economic justice and the ethics of redistribution. ultimately, shaw's argument underscores the need for a more nuanced understanding of economic justice, one that balances individual rights and freedoms with the need for greater economic equality and fairness. as we continue to grapple with the complexities of economic systems and their impact on society, shaw's work serves as a valuable reminder of the importance of ethical consideration in economic policy-making. recommendations after a careful study and evaluation of shaw's work on rawls theory of economic justice, it is worthwhile to make the following inputs consequent to the subject matter of the topic "the ethics of redistribution: a case for economic justice". integrating care ethics: we could explore how care ethics, which prioritizes empathy, care, and compassion, could complement rawls' justice-based approach to redistribution. this might provide a more holistic understanding of economic justice. contextualizing redistribution: we could examine how different cultural, historical, or social contexts influence the ethics of redistribution. this might help identify more effective and culturally sensitive approaches to economic justice. redistribution beyond economics: we could investigate how redistribution applies to noneconomic spheres, such as education, healthcare, or environmental resources. this might broaden the scope of economic justice and highlight new areas for ethical consideration. empirical analysis: we could conduct empirical research to assess the impact of redistribution policies on economic justice and social outcomes. this might provide valuable evidence to inform ethical decision-making. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 135 philosophical critique: we could critically evaluate the underlying philosophical assumptions of rawls' theory and shaw's application, exploring potential biases or limitations. this might lead to a more nuanced understanding of the ethics of redistribution. these contributions would build upon the foundation established by rawls and shaw, offering new perspectives and insights to advance the discussion on the ethics of redistribution. reference shaw, w.h. (1991). business ethics. wadsworth publishing co. stiglitz, j. e.(2012). the price of inequality: how today's divided society endanger's our future. w.w. norton and company. rawls, j. (1971). a theory of justice. harvard university press. bentham, j, (1789). an introduction to the principles of moral and legislation. london: pyne publishing. mill's, j. s. (1861). utilitarianism. london: parker, son and bourn. norzick, r. (1974). anarchy, state and utopia. new york: basic books. sen, a. (1992). inequality reexamined. oxford university press. rand, a. (1967). capitalism: the wealth of nations. london: w. strahan and t. cadell publishing co. de soto h. (2000). the mystery of capitalism: why capitalism triumphs in the west and fails everywhere else. new york: basic books. freidman, m. (1962). capitalism and freedom. chicago university press. klymlicka, w. (2002). contemporary political philosophy: an introduction. oxford university. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 1 table of contents implications of folk songs for education in africa ikechukwu anthony kanu, phd marketing in pandemic: the lived experiences of small businesses in covid-19 and lessons learned catherine chiugo kanu, ph.d, ikechukwu anthony kanu, ph.d, & zulikat w. abiola an overview of god, allah and chineke in christianity, islam and atr and the use of technology in educational delivery. afamnede godfrey oguechuo, phd & nweke innocent ogbonna, phd global media, local conflict: bbc and al jazeera’s jos 2010 coverage abiodun c. ayeni, ph.d. appraisal of hyper technological advancements in the light of pantaleon iroegbu’s model (a philosophical insight) ignatius c. uzondu, ph.d social media and infidelity in marriage vis-à-vis ccc 2380: a moral-theological study of igbo christian families, nigeria chukwudebelu, cyprian oluchukwu the land question: a philosophical examination of indigeneship and settlership concepts in nigeria amos francis dike, phd, michael enyinwa okoronkwo, phd, & dike, uzoma amos, phd national housing policy and the challenges of urbanisation in nigeria kussah, terwase kimbir, ph.d. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 2 implications of folk songs for education in africa ikechukwu anthony kanu, phd department of philosophy, veritas university abuja ikee_mario@yahoo.com orcid id: 0000-0003-1977-202x abstract the study of african songs has moved beyond dispassionate inquiry and the antiquated perspective that considered it a subject fit only for speculation by idle minds. with the present development in the area of african renaissance, acknowledging and claiming the african cultural heritage, the occasion has arisen to once again study african traditional songs to see their contributions towards the development of education in africa. there are several works investigating african traditional songs from a variety of perspectives; however, the beauty of the present work is the connection it makes between education and african traditional songs. the burden of this work is to study african traditional songs, their dimensions or types, and their contribution, particularly, to the area of education. to achieve this, the phenomenological and hermeneutic methods of inquiry were employed. this research discovered that african traditional songs, handed down from one generation to another orally, permeate every facet of african life and thus occupy a fundamental place in the african traditional educational heritage. it further recommended the employment of african indigenous folk songs in educational institutions in africa, more importantly, at the primary and secondary levels. in this way, the african will be taught within categories that he or she understands and appreciates. keywords: african, songs, education, traditional, societies, hermeneutics, value, educative. introduction education, as an activity that goes on in every society, has its aims and methods determined by the nature of society in which it operates. in traditional african societies, where knowledge was orally transmitted from one generation to another, the methods employed would certainly be different. it is, therefore, not surprising that proverbs, stories, songs, myths, symbols, etc., were employed for the accumulation, preservation, organization, and transmission of knowledge and experience from one generation to another. through the use of these vessels and methods of knowledge, the natured and nurtured elements of individuals were developed to make them fit into society. in this way, people were socialized and made full-fledged members of the traditional society (kanu 2015). they were employed, under the guidance and control of selected social agenciesparents, sacred specialists, kings, elders, etc., to intentionally foster among its members its norms, values, purposes, and organizations. this is meant to guide the members of society in the proper direction so as to enable them to achieve their goals, needs, and aspirations. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 3 in the colonial era, indigenous african music and culture were considered evil and unacceptable for use in schools and places of worship. thus, they were excluded from school curricula, and a central place was given to european music and instruments; this was promoted in schools and churches around africa. it is, therefore, not surprising that from the time of nineteenth-century colonialism, european music dominated the educational system in colonial schools. this led learners to come to the belief that there is only one music system in the world, that is, european music (nompula, 2011). in the post-colonial era, this development began to be challenged. the south africa music education society (sames) formed in 1985 is known to have encouraged educators to begin discussing and debating the principles and processes of forming a new music curriculum in south africa in such a manner that music education develop a conceptual approach that leads to the adoption of a broader view of music (oehrle, 1986 and 1994). agreeing with the above perspective, blacking (1967 and 1979) contends that each culture has its pitch and sounds that are accepted as music. scholars have also argued that african traditional music is of great value in education owing to its ability to develop children’s creative ability (campbell, 1991; floyd, 1995; sloboda, 1985). this research focuses on african folk songs and their relationship to the education of the child. african folk songs are a characteristic musical expression that plays a fundamental role in the life of the african people. children begin to sing as soon as they can make an understandable word. this singing does continue through life, in the school, in the farm, in the local kitchen, during a conversation, during storytelling, courtship, marriage ceremonies, initiation rites, at meals, war, funerals, on the road, in squares, etc. (senoga-zake, 1990). and by african folk songs, the definition of the international folk music council (scholes, 1970) is adopted, as: … the music that has been submitted to the process of oral transmission. it is the product of evolution, and it is dependent on the circumstances of continuity, variation, and selection… it can also be applied to music that originates with an individual composer and has subsequently been absorbed into the unwritten, living tradition of a community. (p. 366). concerning culture and history, the igbo folk songs are closely related to the igbo culture and history. it serves as a storehouse for culture and history, and also as a medium for transmitting that culture and history. with this understanding, questions concerning the educational value of igbo songs begin to emerge. thus, this piece investigates the educative value of african traditional folk songs. methodology for this research, the qualitative method of research would be employed given its appropriateness for the study of the nature of the relationship between african folk songs and education. the document study or document analysis approach will be used by the researcher for the purpose of reviewing written materials on this subject and using their critical findings for the development of the present piece. thus, primary and secondary materials will be consulted during this research. the phenomenological research design will be used for the understanding and description of the essence of the folk song phenomenon among the african people (berger, 2013). this will be based on lived experience, which will expand the knowledge about the folk song phenomenon. folk songs will, therefore, be studied as it is among the african people, focusing more on the igbo-african culture area (aspers and corte, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 4 2019). following a better understanding of african folk songs will be a presentation of the critical findings of the researcher on african folk songs, especially as it relate to education. theoretical framework the inculturation theory is used to underpin this study. as a concept, it was first introduced into the academic community by cardinal sin of manila at the synod on catechesis held in rome in 1977, with a focus on the need for an inculturation of catholicism in a variety of forms. generally, emerged as a theory in a bid to make the christian religion, coached in western culture at home in africa through dialogue. shorter (1988), metuh (1993, 1996a, and 1996b), and walligo (1991 and 1996) had maintained that communication between human cultures can only take place effectively through dialogue and participation, through listening, and through readiness to learn. kurgat (2009) avers that it is only through interdependence in corporation and congruence that conversions can successfully take place. there is an emerging consensus that culture is a developing process in which there is and there must be a continuous dialogue between faith and culture. this is still very important as schreiter (1991) observes that much of the continent of africa still staggers under the burden of neo-colonialism and continued economic subordination to the powerful cultures of europe, asia, and north america. this theory is relevant in this study because we are dealing with developing an african educational methodology that would be in tandem with the african spirit. its emphasis on dialogue, participation, through listening, and through readiness to learn are very important principles for the development of an african system of education that allows for the interaction between education and culture. types of african songs the major characteristic of african folk songs is that they have functions. thus, nnamani (2014) associates african songs with activities such as work, games, dances, wars, religious ceremonies, etc. no one in africa sings without a purpose. it is therefore not surprising that the different types of african songs differ with the differing activities or events that they accompany. these include: 1. entertainment songs these songs are sung to entertain people who have come together for a celebration. they are usually praise songs to give accolades to the brave, like warriors, hunters, chiefs, kings, etc. they occupy a very important place in the gatherings of africans in traditional societies, and even in contemporary times. 2. war songs these are sung before going into war to boost the morale of the warriors. these songs are so powerful that they can turn a weakling into a warrior; they can drive the mind into doing things that until hitherto it could not conceive of doing. this can also be sung before a wrestler goes onto the open floor for a contest with his opponent. he is called all kinds of great names to boost his morale. 3. funeral songs these songs are sung to pour out grief, pain, and sorrow over the death of a loved one. it also tells the great work that the dead has done and how the person in question would be missed by society. it also gives hope to the living that the dead still lives and has not completely departed. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 5 4. manual labour songs this relates to the songs of war. just as war songs boost the morale of warriors, manual labour songs have a way of boosting the morale of workers, especially farmers or weavers, etc., to work harder. it energizes the worker and makes the tedious interesting. women sing these songs while sweeping, pounding, grinding, cooking, farming, and during other domestic duties. men sing them during hunting, fishing, farming, palm wine tapping, etc. during the slave trade, african slaves used songs to boost the overall happiness of the people they worked with. during times of difficult labour, they would break out into songs to pass the time and to lift their spirits of distraught workers. 5. religious songs these are sacred songs with extraordinary powers sung during religious festivals or worship at shrines in supplication and for spiritual upliftment. it is in this regard that nzewi (1989) opines that worship finds its most respectful and satisfying mode of address in songs. agu (1990) observes that they are sung in praise of the deity before whose shrine worshippers have come to welcome his or her presence to grant their requests. these songs are sung to glorify the deity and prepare the grounds for the manifestation of its power. during the singing, drums are used, dancing and clapping are allowed. most times, in shrines where you have mediums, such songs throw them into ecstasythey become possessed and fall to the ground, revealing things that are hidden. thus, quarcoopome (1987) avers that: singing generates the avenue for expressing certain sentiments or truths, and in the context of rituals, they demonstrate the faith of the worshipper from the heartfaith in god, belief in and about divinities, assurance and hope about the present, and with reference to the hereafter. (p. 37). 6. victory songs these are songs sung for warriors when they have returned from war. it is a welcome song, usually sung when they have won a victory over the enemies of the village. no one sings these songs when warriors have failed in a battle. this can also be sung after a wrestler has won his opponent in a wrestling contest. 7. consolation songs these are songs sung to console a person who has misfortune befallen. usually, it is geared towards giving the person hope, making him or her understand that all is not lost and that if there is life, new opportunities would avail themselves. from the foregoing, it is observable that african songs permeate every facet of african life, such that it is difficult to witness a social gathering that is devoid of songs and dances. at a local level, they occupied the place of the press, radio, and publication in traditional african societies. okafor and emeka (1995) write that: “music is unquestionably, the most widely practiced of the traditional arts in nigeria. at any time of the night or day, somewhere in the land, some music is being made” (p. 105). igbo-african traditional musical instruments african songs are usually accompanied by instruments. the instruments employed, especially among the igbo-african people during singing include giant slit wooden drums, flute, metal gong, xylophone, etc. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 6 table 1: igbo-african traditional musical instruments s/n instrument use/value picture 1 flute the oja (flute) is a piece of wood designed with a cavity inside. the top has a wide opening to fit the shape of the human lower lip, a small hole on the bottom, and two smaller holes closer to the top on the exact opposite side. the artist blows the musical sounds through the wide opening while placing the thumb and the ring fingers simultaneously on the two smallest holes to control the rhythm. the bottom hole, which is left alone at all times, controls the musical rhythm outflow. it accompanies dances and songs, or is played as a solo. 2 pottery drum the udu (pottery-drum) is a sphere object made of clay, with a hollow inside and a small round open mouth. the primary function of the udu is to produce a musical bass. the artist accomplishes this by taping the open mouth with a round and flat object. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 7 3 rattle the ichaka is made of gourd or calabash loosely covered with beads. when tapped or shaken, it produces a rattling sound to complement other instruments. 4 talking drum/cylin der drum the igba (cylinder-drum) is a piece of hollow wood covered at one end with animal hide held down tight with fasteners. the artist carries it over his shoulder with the help of a shoulder strap. the artist produces the sound by beating on the animal hide with his fingers or a combination of one set of fingers and a special stick 5 slit drum the ekwe (slit-drum) is a tree trunk, hollowed throughout its length from two rectangular cavities at its ends and a horizontal slit that connects the cavities. the size of the slit-drum depends on its use and significance. its significance includes use as a musical instrument at coronation, cultural events, and rituals. the different sounds of the drum summon the citizens to the monarch's palaces or town squares. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 8 6 gong the ogene (gong) is the most important metal instrument among the igbo people. they were made originally in bronze but, in modern times, are mainly made of common metal with a bulging surface in an elliptical-shaped rim, and tapering like a frustum to its handle. it is hit about its rim by a stick to produce different tunes. 7 thumb piano the ubo-aka is a "thumb piano" of the igbo people of southeastern nigeria. this instrument features a woodburnt hardwood soundboard (with cut-out handholds) mounted on an incised, wood-burnt gourd resonator. instead of the traditional metal cuffs around each key, a metal chain is stretched across the key. author created critical findings the study of african traditional music in relation to education has led to the following critical findings that are fundamental to the consideration of the educational value of african traditional folk songs. 1. a cursory glance reveals that african music is increasingly being enthusiastically appreciated around the globe, even in the most conservative circles. this development is the outcome of a better understanding of the structural and sociocultural significance of african folk songs. this is also changing and correcting stereotyped ideas about african traditional music, as merely a noise, and as evil. this growing acceptability of african traditional songs is creating a strong basis for their employment in educational institutions in africa and beyond. according to nketia (1974), this is important as african songs are not just songs, but also a language which is used for communication. 2. african traditional songs are very instrumental in the teaching of children manners and correct social behaviour. these correct social behaviors emerge as the lessons learnt at the end of a good number of african songs. thus, weinberg (1984) avers that through indigenous music, children, especially, not only learn the language of the community but also how to behave. it is also in this regard that nketia (1974) and steward (1998) strongly hold that african igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 9 traditional songs promote a co-operative spirit among people, and at different levels in the society, and bring about the maintenance of order in society. these songs warn, praise, and entertain the listeners. during public functions, sometimes, the songs are sung by masquerades, with the intention of backing that which is taughtcultural values, customs, and moral codes with the authority of the ancestors. 3. african traditional songs are also a great source of education about the history of a people or a society. this is important as some of the african songs are about the society’s past and values, or about an event that has happened in the past. these songs are transmitted orally from parents and elders of communities to the next generation. historical songs involve detailed narrations of events with brief allusions to significant incidents and accounts of descent from ancestors. as these songs are sung, the child is educated about who he or she is, where he or she is coming from. this self-understanding helps the child to know where he or she is going, having known where he or she has come from. this also helps the child to prepare for the future, having learnt from the past. 4. african traditional songs have the capacity for developing the confidence level and selfesteem of children who engage in their singing. it also helps to improve the creative skills of children, and their composition and co-operative skills. as they sing and learn new songs, their power of imagination, aural acuity, memory, and cognitive skills are also improved (campbell, 1991). in songs also, many children who have no voice as a result of their constricting environment are afforded an opportunity to express their originality. 5. as in the case of african folktales, african traditional songs can be used in varied fields or areas of study. this dynamic character that african songs possess makes them more positioned for use in the education of the child. ofei (1974) argues that: there are songs about historical events and people. there are songs that deal with various aspects of tradition, as well as songs that make references to the environment. therefore, the music education program can form a part of a properly integrated school curriculum, remembering that music in the past was not only a means of entertainment but also a means of education. 6. african songs carry within them elements of culture, aesthetics, linguistics, and practicality; it is holistic. given this, it has the capacity for preparing african children for all life phases of the future. through the tonal inflection of words, children learn how to differentiate the pronunciation of words that may have the same spellings but different meanings. noble ideas are also communicated to the listeners as a way of boosting their commitment towards the good. during such songs, social vices are discouraged and virtues are promoted. conclusion the strong connection between african songs and education in traditional african societies is based on the fact observed by onwuekwe (2005 & 2006) that african songs involve the language, customs, and values of traditional african societies. okafor (1998 & 2005) and nwamara (2015) further observe that african songs are integrated with every facet of traditional life, from birth to death, and convey african history and culture. if that is the case, african songs are very significant instruments for education and learning, the transmission of history and knowledge. because of their educational value, they are usually short and repetitive to enhance remembrance, and also as a reorganizing principle. the brevity and repetitive nature igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 10 of such songs is necessary so that the message may not be lost. thus, although african songs entertain, they are also a medium for the transmission of cultural values and knowledge. it was such an important means of communication that during the slave trade, slaves used songs to communicate hidden advice and coded maps with full details on how to escape to canada, which was then a non-slave state. the foregoing has studied the fundamental place that african songs occupy in traditional african societies. it has further studied the dimensions of african songs, which reveals that it is an almost indispensable variable in virtually every dimension of african traditional life. in our time of cultural renaissance, an attempt to reaffirm the african cultural heritage, this piece argues that african traditional songs were a huge dimension of the african traditional educational system. it is a method of education that speaks to the african spirit. it recommends that such traditional songs should be reintroduced into our educational systems to boost academic performance among the young. this is very crucial as african traditional songs beautifully synthesize the elements of entertainment and learning. however, with the advent of western education, little or no time has been given to african songs as a means of transmitting knowledge. thus, mbiti (1969) rightly observes that “as with proverbs, the collection and study of religious songs is very scanty, and yet this is another rich area where one expects to find repositories of traditional beliefs, ideas, wisdom and feelings” (p. 87). there is, therefore, a need to revive african traditional songs through documentation and recording. there might also be a need to introduce some modern elements where necessary to make it fit into contemporary times. there is also a need to establish folk music centers and associations; it should be encouraged and incorporated into the school curriculum; there should be official governmental recognition and sponsorship of african folk music. this would help in the preservation of african culture and the transmission of the rich historical heritage embodied in them. references agu, d. c. c. (1990). the primacy in igbo traditional religion. in e. ekpunobi and ezeaku (eds.). socio-philosophical perspective of african traditional religion. enugu: new age publishers. blacking j. (1967). venda children’s song. chicago: the university of chicago press. blacking j. (1979). the power of ideas in social change: the growth of the africanist idea in south africa. the queen's university papers in social anthropology. 3. 107-140. campbell, p. (1991). lessons from the world: a cross-cultural guide to music teaching and learning. new york: schirmer books. floyd sa 1995. the power of black music: interpreting its history from africa to united states. new york: oxford university press. kanu i. a. (2015). a hermeneutic approach to african traditional religion, theology and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu i. a. (2017). igwebuikeconomics: towards an inclusive economy for economic development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3(6). 113-140. kanu i. a. (2017). sources of igwebuike philosophy. international journal of religion and human relations. 9(1). 1-23. kanu, a. i. (2016). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2(1). 97-101. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 11 kanu, a. i. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3(2). 153-160. kanu, a. i. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3(7). 165-183. kanu, a. i. (2017). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3(6). 16-50. kanu, i. a. (2012). a metaphysical epistemological study of african medical practitioners. in o. e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (2012). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (227-240). nigeria: augustinian publications. kanu, i. a. (2012). being qua belongingness: the provenance and implications of pantaleon’s redefinition of being. uche: journal of the department of philosophy, university of nigeria, nsukka. 17. 57-58. kanu, i. a. (2012). from ‘onye’ to ‘ife’ hypothesis: the contribution of edeh to the development of the concept of being. lwati: a journal of contemporary research. 9(4). 218-223. kanu, i. a. (2012). inculturation and christianity in africa. international journal of humanities and social science. 2(17). 236-244. kanu, i. a. (2012). the functionality of being in pantaleon's operative metaphysics vis-a-vis the niger delta conflict. african research review: an international multidisciplinary journal. 6(1). 212-222. kanu, i. a. (2012). the problem of being in metaphysics. african research review: an international multi-disciplinary journal. 6(2). 113-122. kanu. i. a. (2012). towards an igbo christology, in ezenweke, e.o and kanu, a.i. (eds) issues in african traditional religion and philosophy. nigeria: augustinian publications. kurgat, s. g. (2009). the theology of inculturation and the african church. international journal of sociology and anthropology. 1(5), 90-98. mbiti, j. s. (1969). african religions and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational publishers. metuh, e. i. (1993). incarnating christianity in african world-views. in j. ukpong (ed.). the church in africa and the special african synod (9-23). port harcourt: ciwa. metuh, e. i. (1996a). african inculturation theology: africanizing christianity. onitsha: imico. metuh, e. i. (1996b). evangelization and contextual theology in the third tillennium. onitsha: imico. nketia j. h. (1974). the music of africa. new york: w.w. norton & company. nnamani, s. n. (2004). the role of fold music in traditional african society: the igbo experience. journal of modern education review. 4(4). 304-301. nompula, y. (2011). valorising the voice of the marginalized: exploring the value of african music in education. south african journal of education . 31. 369-380 nwamara, a. (2015). igbo folk songs: towards reviving and preserving the igbo musical culture. in nwauwa, o. a & c. j. korieh (eds.). perspectives on the igbo: multidisciplinary approach (263-275). usa: goldline and jacobs publishing. nwezi, m. (1989). women in igbo musical culture. the nigerian filed. 54. 133-144. oehrle e (1986). the first south african national music educators’ conference in context of world music education. proceedings of the first national music educators’ conference. durban, south africa: sames. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 12 oehrle e (1994). editorial-the talking drum. 3(1), 23. ofei, p. (1974). a basis for the development of music curriculum for ghanaian elementary schools. colorado: university of colorado. okafor, r. c. (1998). ezeagu atilogu: the legendary igbo troupe. enugu: new generation books. okafor, r. c. (2005). music in nigerian society. enugu: new generation books. okafor, r. c. and emeka, l. n. (1994). cultural expressions in nigeria. in r. c. okafor and l. n. emeka (eds.). nigerian peoples and culture (104-123). enugu: enugu state university of technology. onwuekwe, a. i. (2005). african music composition and total inflection of the indigenous words: the case of igbo language. ogirishi: a new journal of african studies. 3(4) 13-24. onwuekwe, a. i. (2006). music and cultural expression in nigeria: historical and contemporary trends. in n. ojiakor and i. ojih (eds.). readings in nigerian peoples and culture (80-98). enugu: ngib publishers. quarcoopome, t. n. (1987). west african traditional religion. ibadan: african universities press. scholes, p. a. (1970). the oxford companion of music. london: oxford university press. schools, p. (1977). folk song. oxford: oup. schreiter, r. (1994). constructing local theologies. maryknoll: orbis. senoga-zake, g. (1990). folk music of kenya. kenya: uzima. shorter, e. (1988). towards theology of inculturation. maryknoll: orbis. sloboda j. (1985). the musical mind. oxford: clarendon press. stewart e. (1998). african american music: an introduction. new york: schirmer books. walligo, j. (1991). african christology in a situation of suffering. in r. j. schreiter (ed.). faces of jesus in africa (164-180). new york: orbis. walligo, j. (1996). inculturation: its meanings and urgency. kenya: st paul. weinberg p. (1984). hlabelela mntwanami. johannesburg: raven press. aspers, p. and corte, u. (2019). what is qualitative in qualitative research. qual sociol. 42, 139–160. berger, r. (2015). now i see it, now i don’t: researcher’s position and reflexivity in qualitative research. qualitative research. 15(2), 219-234. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 44 global media, local conflict: bbc and al jazeera’s jos 2010 coverage abiodun c. ayeni, ph.d department of english and literary studies, veritas university abuja, nigeria ayeniabbey2013@gmail.com abstract this paper examines the ideological function of language in shaping the crisis, as reflected in the headlines of the 2010 jos crisis from bbc and al jazeera. using van dijk’s (2006) sociocognitive approach to critical discourse analysis as its theoretical framework, the study employs a qualitative method to analyze 30 purposively selected headlines from bbc and al jazeera websites. findings in the study identify five discursive strategies— negative labeling, evidentiality, numerical framing, lexicalization, and metaphor language —used in bbc and al jazeera’s news headlines of the 2010 jos crisis, in constructing social divisions, animosity, and bias. the study highlights that these discursive techniques shape audience perception by reinforcing specific ideological narratives. the headlines consistently categorise subjects into two religious groups attacking each other, -fight between muslim and christian communities, hausa-fulani herders massacred more than 100 christians, jos city, divided into muslim and christian areas-, further dividing them and fanning the flame of disunity among them. ultimately, the study reveals a recurring pattern of bias in the deadlines, demonstrating how language is strategically used to influence public understanding and reinforce societal divisions. it also reveals that, in the action-oriented narrative presented by both media headlines depict muslim actors as strongly associated with violent actions, while christian goals are predominantly portrayed as victims. furthermore, the structural choices within bbc and al jazeera’s headlines deliberately obscure information regarding agency in the crisis. keywords: global media, local conflict, jos crisis, language choice, discourse analysis introduction the jos crisis of 2010, a violent conflict that erupted in the city of jos, nigeria, serves as a stark reminder of the complex and often volatile nature of local conflicts in the modern era (ostien, 2009; higazi, 2011). as global media outlets increasingly turn their attention to such conflicts, how they frame and narrate these events can have profound implications for public perception, policy responses, and the conflict's trajectory. the 2010 jos crisis, often referred to as the "jos riots" or "jos violence" in media reports, was framed differently by the bbc and al jazeera. research suggests that the bbc's coverage tended to focus on the humanitarian aspects of the crisis, highlighting the plight of displaced persons and the role of nigerian security forces in responding to the violence (adebayo, 2011). in contrast, al jazeera's reporting was more likely to contextualize the crisis within broader themes of religious and ethnic tensions in nigeria, drawing attention to the historical antecedents of the conflict (higazi, 2011). notably, some media outlets, including al jazeera and bbc, prominently used the term justified to describe the crisis, instead of opting for more general terms like "violence" or "clashes" (ostien, 2009). this disparity in framing reflects the different editorial priorities and audience expectations of the two outlets, shaping public perceptions of the crisis in distinct ways (entman, 1993). the phrase jostified aptly demonstrates the dynamic and versatile nature of language, which can be shaped and molded to convey nuanced shades of meaning. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 45 language serves as a fundamental tool for human communication, enabling individuals to convey thoughts, emotions, and ideas (chomsky, 1965). the prime use of language lies in its capacity to facilitate social interaction, foster relationships, and construct identity (halliday, 1978). through language, individuals can express their needs, desires, and intentions, thereby negotiating meaning and creating shared understanding (grice, 1975). furthermore, language plays a crucial role in shaping cultural norms, values, and beliefs, influencing how individuals perceive and interact with the world around them (whorf, 1956). effective language use enables individuals to convey complex ideas, persuade others, and negotiate social hierarchies. moreover, language is dynamic, constantly evolving to reflect changing social contexts, cultural norms, and technological advancements (bourdieu, 1991). hence, the linguistic choices of a particular expression over other choices privilege one viewpoint over others. it is no news that the media is known for exploiting these language potentials in promoting personal interests. as a result, malcolm x holds that, “the media's the most powerful entity on earth. they have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. because they control the minds of the masses” (www.brainquote.com). this emphasizes the need for scrutiny of news stories before they are embraced and influence decision-making. malcolm x highlights the profound impact of language in shaping and reflecting human experiences, as language serves as a tool for strengthening connections within the realm of power. thus, this study critically examines the ideological functions of language in shaping the bbc and al jazeera's representation of the 2010 jos conflict. specifically, it addresses two fundamental areas: first, it examines the representational strategies these media outlets employed to define the actors, their actions, and the material processes central to the conflict. second, it explores how language is manipulated to construct a favourable self-image while depicting others in a negative light within their reporting. concept clarification global media global media refers to the interconnected system of communication and information dissemination that spans national borders. it includes various forms of mass communication such as television, radio, newspapers, and the internet, shaping public opinion, cultural exchange, and the spread of news and entertainment worldwide. the globalization of media has transformed how information is produced, shared, and consumed, enabling instantaneous communication and access to diverse content. while it offers opportunities for cultural exchange, it also raises concerns about media imperialism, cultural homogenization, and the digital divide. the dominance of western media corporations in global media flows has raised concerns about cultural homogenization and media imperialism (herman & mcchesney, 1997). thus, the bbc and al jazeera have significantly impacted the global media landscape, offering diverse perspectives and challenging traditional western dominance in news dissemination. the bbc's role as a public service broadcaster grants it significant power in shaping public opinion and discourse. its mission to "inform, educate, and entertain" has been the guiding principle since its inception, with a focus on providing impartial news and information (bbc charter, as cited in document 2). this mission has enabled the bbc to become a trusted source igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 46 of information, playing a crucial role in bringing the nation together during times of crisis and celebration. the bbc's use of power also raises questions about accountability and representation. critics argue that the bbc's coverage and programming do not adequately represent diverse perspectives or communities, which can limit its appeal and relevance to certain audiences, just as it named the 2010 crisis, jostified. the bbc's use of power in broadcasting is complex, influencing various aspects of society, culture, and the media landscape (el-nawawy & powers 2010). al jazeera's launch in 1996 marked a significant shift in global media dynamics, providing an arab perspective on global issues and challenging western dominance in news dissemination. nevertheless, al jazeera's use of power in broadcasting is particularly significant in the arab world and beyond. this challenge to western media hegemony has been seen as an exercise of power, allowing al jazeera to shape public opinion and influence discourse in the arab world (seib, 2008). al jazeera's coverage of international news has been praised for its diverse perspectives, offering insights into the complexities of global issues. by providing a platform for diverse voices and opinions, al jazeera has exercised its power to shape public opinion and influence discourse in the arab world (lynch, 2006). al jazeera's use of power has also been seen in its ability to influence policy and shape public opinion (seib, 2008). by providing a platform for diverse voices and opinions, al jazeera has exercised its power to shape the narrative on key issues, influencing policy and public opinion in the world; just as it named the jos 2010 crisis jostified, and it remained. local conflict local conflict refers to disputes or tensions that arise within a specific geographic or social context, often involving local communities, groups, or individuals (autesserre, 2010; krause, 2018). these conflicts can be driven by various factors, such as resource competition, cultural or ethnic differences, or power struggles ( ostby, 2016). local conflicts can take many forms, including communal violence, land disputes, or resource-related conflicts (rustad & binningsbø, 2018). they can also be characterized by their intensity, duration, and impact on local communities (raleigh, 2018). in some cases, local conflicts can be linked to broader national or international issues, such as political instability or economic inequality (cederman et al., 2017). the causes of local conflict can be complex and multifaceted, involving historical, social, economic, and cultural factors (ostby, 2016). the consequences of local conflict can be severe, including displacement, injury, or loss of life, as well as damage to infrastructure, livelihoods, and social cohesion (fjelde & ostby, 2020). jos, the capital of plateau state in nigeria, has faced numerous serious crises over the years, with the 2001 and 2010 conflicts standing out as the most severe. these local clashes left lasting impacts on the region, shaping its socio-political landscape. the 2001 jos crisis erupted in jos, the capital of plateau state, from the 7th to the 13th of september, 2001 (human rights watch, 2001). the conflict was fueled by longstanding tensions between different ethnic groups and between those labeled "indigenous" or "nonindigenous" inhabitants of the area (ostien, 2009). according to human rights watch, the dispute was more political and economic than religious, stemming from a battle for control of political power and economic rivalry (human rights watch, 2001). the violence resulted in the deaths of over 1,000 people, with many more injured, and tens of thousands displaced (bbc news, 2001). homes, businesses, and places of worship were destroyed, leaving deep scars on igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 47 the community (human rights watch, 2001). the crisis was marked by attacks on both christians and muslims, with both sides suffering significant losses (ostien, 2009). the 2010 jos crisis was yet another violent conflict that erupted on the 17th day of january, 2010. the conflict was fueled by longstanding tensions between different ethnic groups, particularly between the hausa/fulani muslims and the indigenous christian communities, over issues surrounding political power and resources (adeleye, 2017). the violence resulted in the deaths of over 265 people, with some reports estimating the death toll to be higher. many homes were burned, and thousands were displaced. the conflict took on religious dimensions, with churches and mosques being targeted (international crisis group, 2012). the crisis highlighted deep-seated issues of identity, belonging, and resource control. in reporting this crisis, some media outlets, including bbc and al jazeera, simultaneously called it jostified, with jos in white and tified in red. in the context, bbc and al jazeera might be using this term and semiotics to paint how critical the violence and bloodshed were (jos is bleeding) due to the complex historical, ethnic, and religious tensions underlying the conflict. beyond the symbolic significance of its colors, the word subtly evokes notions of chaos and bloodshed. this thoughtful coinage demonstrates the flexibility of language in shaping and conveying meaning. empirical review a substantial body of research (akpan et al. 2013; adam 2018; adediran 2023; owolabi et al. 2023) has explored the impact of the media reportage on society. akpan, et al. (2013) explored the role of the media in nigeria’s crises in the niger delta, boko haram and the jos crises; specifically examining the impact of the reportage on the environs, while adam (2018) examined the implications of media reportage in local communities in nigeria. adediran (2023) studied the role of mass media in crisis management in nigeria, while owolabi et al. ( 2023) examined the patterns of media reportage of security threats in nigeria. the above reviewed paper has in one way or another studied the input of the media in either the jos conflicts or nigeria’s crises as reported by the media. however, these investigations were not carried out from a linguistic perspective, which the present study addresses. other scholarly studies (krause 2011; segun & ebenezer 2013; nwagbaga et al. 2015; abdullahi et al. 2015) characterised the conflicts in jos and its surrounding areas as ethnic, religious, or a combination of both. while krause (2011) states that poor conflict resolution in jos escalated political tensions into widespread violence, causing trauma and weakening peace efforts, segun and ebenezer (2013) emphasise that jos conflicts require a multifaceted approach, including policy reforms, interfaith dialogue, and youth employment. nwagbaga et al. (2015) on the other hand posit that the jos crisis endures as jasawa demands for shared control clash with the indigenes' inflexible values, though past recommendations might ease tensions while abdullahi et al. (2024) believe that the nigerian press, driven by commercial and political interests, exacerbated conflicts instead of promoting peace. these studies primarily addressed non-linguistic issues but also examined the jos crisis and media coverage, which align with this paper's focus and contribute to its analysis. some scant linguistic attention (ambe-uva 2010; tian 2018) was given to media reportage. ambe-uva (2010) examined identity, politics, and the jos crisis, while tian (2018) analysed igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 48 the guardian news reports of china’s military parade that marked the seventieth year of the second world war from a discursive viewpoint. ambe-uva’s (2010), through interviews and content analysis, links the jos conflict to an indigene-settler dynamic mingled with ethnic, religious, and political factors, suggesting that improved governance and a robust democracy are key to resolving the crisis while tian’s (2018) study reveals that there is bias in media reportage and this media bias in both reporting and western criticism of china's parade underscores the importance of critical thinking for english majors. these, also not too linguistic, but they bordered around predilection in media reportage, which is also an area the present paper is interested in. on the other hand, omolabi (2023) and ayeni (2024) carried out a critical discourse analysis on print media and social media, respectively. while omolabi (2023) studied the discourse techniques used in insurgent reports of nigerian newspapers, ayeni (2024) examined the ideological underpinnings of the language used by boko haram terrorists. these two reviews are significantly relevant to the present study as they are linguistically based and were carried out with the same theory as that for the present study. however, the studies failed to articulate the dynamics of social power and its effect on lexical choices. secondly, they ignored the discourse patterns/strategies used in their data, which constitute the main concerns of this study. theoretical framework van dijk's (2006) social cognitive model provides the theoretical underpinning for this study. as a leading figure in critical discourse analysis (cda), particularly in media discourse, van dijk explores how dominant groups shape perceptions of marginalized communities. his (2001) cda model comprises three interrelated dimensions -discourse, cognition, and societywhich together demonstrate how discourse both reflects and reinforces ideological structures. van dijk's analysis integrates sociological and discourse perspectives, focusing on syntactic patterns, lexical choices, semantic structures, and textual organization. his method combines interpretative (textual) and social (contextual) approaches to provide a comprehensive framework for studying media discourse in media education. a key aspect of his cda is cognitive analysis, which examines the relationship between personal and social cognition, including comprehension, interpretation, and evaluation in discourse. van dijk's approach explores the link between discourse and social inequality, dominance, and ideology, with cognitive processes acting as a crucial bridge. his top-down cda method reveals systemic injustices within discourse. he extends his study to include cognitive aspects of news comprehension, retention, and reproduction, examining how media shapes understanding. his analysis highlights the interconnections between structural composition, production processes, and cognitive comprehension within their wider social framework. van dijk's study examines discourse at two levels: microstructure and macrostructure. the microstructure focuses on the semantic, syntactic, lexical, and rhetorical elements that ensure coherence in a text, including quotations and reporting styles that establish factuality in news stories. the macrostructure explores the thematic and organizational patterns of news articles, reflecting broader ideological strategies. these strategies involve positive self-presentation, where writers depict their group ("us") favorably, and negative self-presentation, which positions the "out group" ("them") negatively. through semantic macro-ideological approaches, discourse reinforces divisions such as "good" vs. "bad" and "superior" vs. "inferior," shaping in-group favoritism and out-group derogation (igwebuke, 2018). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 49 methodology this study utilizes qualitative content analysis to investigate the form and function of global media cooperations.it examines materials from two globally circulated media outfits, -bbc and al jazeera. using a purposive sampling technique, twenty news articles from the period of january to march 2010 were selected from the bbc and al jazeera websites.these articles were chosen based on criteria such as accessibility, availability, regularity, distribution, and content relevance to the study. the data were coded for easy reference/identification and then analysed using van dijk’s socio-cognitive approach to critical discourse analysis. data presentation and analysis media coverage on crisis in nigeria employs a range of discursive techniques, including eyecatching headlines with: negative labelling, evidentiality and authority references, numerical framing (often referred to as the number game), lexicalisation, metaphorical language, hyperbolic commentary, victimization narratives, the use of euphemism and a host of others. a. negative labelling broadcasters often use negative labeling as a strategic tool to frame news narratives in a way that is immediately attention-grabbing and emotionally charged. they strategically choose specific negative descriptors -as seen belowto create a memorable, though simplified, narrative that influences public perception (entman, 1993). text 1: at least 13 people killed in attack by muslim herdsmen on byei village, 30km south of jos. al jazeera, march 17, 2010. text 3: hundreds of people are reported killed after clashes between muslim and christian gangs in jos. al jazeera, 19th january 2010. text 15: muslim hausa-fulani herders massacred more than one hundred christians in dogo-nahawa village near jos. al jazeera, 7th march, 2010. text 22: nigerian ethnic violence ‘leaves hundreds dead’. bbc, 8th march, 2010. text 25: nigerian religious riots ‘kill 200’ in jos. bbc, 20th january, 2010. each of the above text’s headline emphasises lethal violence -killed, massacred to create an immediate impression of brutality and threat. for instance, text 1 states, at least 13 people killed in attack by muslim herdsmen on byei village, embedding violence as the central idea. this not only captures the reader’s attention but also assigns a lasting negative identity to the group mentioned -muslim herdsmenby associating them with extreme violence rather than describing a more nuanced event. furthermore, the texts intentionally highlight religious and ethnic identifiers (muslim, christian, hausa-fulani) as essential qualifiers for the act of violence. for instance, text 3 uses muslim hausa-fulani herders massacred... to foreground the ethnic affiliation, thus contributing to a narrative that frames these groups as inherently violent. this kind of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 50 identification encourages audiences to associate certain groups with deviant or extremist behaviour, reinforcing pre-existing biases and stereotypes. also, the headlines present intricate socio-political conflicts in a highly simplified manner. by labeling events as riots, clashes, or violence with a focus on the death tolls, reducing multifaceted causes -historical, economic, and politicalinto a binary of good versus evil. this simplification aligns with negative labeling practices by portraying one side, often the religious or ethnic minority implicated in acts of violence, as the other or the threat, without addressing contextual complexities. in essence, these texts serve as examples of negative labeling by using charged language and group identifiers to portray specific groups as violent and dangerous. the choice of words and simplification of events contribute to a narrative that marginalises these groups, reinforcing social divisions and pre-existing biases. this approach highlights how media framing can be leveraged to shape public opinion by constructing an image of otherness around the labeled actors. b. evidentiality evidentiality is a discursive strategy used by broadcasters to indicate the source and reliability of the information reported. by employing evidentiality, broadcasters can build credibility, manage uncertainty, and frame narratives in a way that subtly guides audience perception, as can be seen in text 1, text 3, and text 23 below. text 1 : at least 13 people killed in attack by muslim herdsmen on village of byei, just 30km south of jos. al jazeera, march 17, 2010. text 3 : hundreds of people are reported killed after clashes between muslim and christian gangs in jos. al jazeera, 19th january 2010. text 23 : central nigeria attacks lead to ‘at least 100 deaths.’ bbc, 7th march, 2010. the phrase at least in text 1 serves as an evidential marker by qualifying the number of fatalities, indicating that the reported figure is a minimum estimate. this signal of uncertainty implies that the actual toll could be higher, inviting the audience to consider the possibility of additional, unconfirmed casualties. also, by using at least in the same text, the broadcaster is managing the presentation of factual information while subtly communicating caution about the precision of the data. this reinforces the credibility of the report by acknowledging informational limits. the word reported in text 3 shifts responsibility for the information, indicating that the deaths are based on accounts from sources rather than the broadcaster’s direct observation. this marker introduces a level of remoteness or uncertainty regarding the details and proper verification of the information. the use of reported not only helps delegate the sourcing of the claim but also allows the broadcaster to distance themselves from the absolute certainty of the figure. this technique enhances the report's transparency by signaling that the information is conveyed indirectly and may be subject to confirmation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 51 similar to text 1, the use of at least in text 23 qualifies the death toll, marking the figure as an initial approximation. again, this evidential marker functions to create a sense of provisionality regarding the death toll. it indicates that while the reported figure is significant, there might be more casualties that have not yet been verified. this careful presentation underscores the uncertainty inherent in disaster reporting and helps maintain the broadcaster’s credibility. across these texts, evidentiality is deployed through markers like “at least” and “reported” to manage and communicate the certainty of the reported information. these phrases signal that the numbers given are approximations or based on external reports, which subtly influence the audience’s reception by emphasizing both caution and reliability. this strategic use of evidentiality not only shapes how the events are understood but also reinforces the authenticity and transparency of the broadcast narratives. c. numerical framing numerical framing, otherwise known as the number game is a broadcasting strategy that involves presenting data and statistics in ways that shape audience perception. broadcasters achieve this by selectively choosing figures, manipulating scales, providing comparisons, and using rhetorical anchoring, which are seen in the texts below. text 4: 464 die in 4 days of nigerian ethnic clashes. al jazeera, 22nd january, 2010. text 6: hundreds of people died in fresh clashes in jos. al jazeera, 7th march 2010. text 14: up to 300 feared dead after fighting between muslim and christian communities. al jazeera, 20th january, 2010. text 23 : central nigeria attacks lead to ‘at least 100 deaths.’ bbc, 7th march, 2010. text 25 : nigerian religious riots ‘kill 200’ in jos. bbc, 20th january, 2010. text 30 : nigeria charges 49 over jos killings. bbc, 11th march 2010. text 4 -464 die in 4 days of nigerian ethnic clashesrelies on precise, concrete numbers 464 and 4 daysto immediately communicate scale and urgency. presenting an exact death toll over a short period emphasizes the rapid escalation and intensity of the conflict, framing the clashes as both severe and time-critical. the specificity lends an appearance of accuracy and gravitas while driving home the magnitude of the tragedy. also, the time-frame -4 daysin this headline amplifies the sense of urgency and rapid development. in text 6, -hundreds of people died in fresh clashes in jos, the use of the quantifier hundreds provides a less precise but still substantial indication of casualties. this general number, though vague, creates a sense of significant loss and widespread impact. the lack of an exact figure may serve to underscore uncertainty or variability in the available data, yet it still functions to intensify perceptions of disaster and prompt emotional responses from the audience. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 52 the phrase, up to 300 in text 14 frames the casualty count as a maximum potential toll. this implies that the number could have been lower, but might also be a warning of a worst-case scenario. this phrasing introduces a conditional quality, suggesting uncertainty while still emphasizing the potential for high loss. it casts the event as one with severe -and possibly escalatingconsequences, intensifying concerns about the conflict’s development. by employing the phrase at least 100 deaths in text 23, the headline conveys that the reported number is a minimum threshold, implying that further casualties might have occurred but remain unconfirmed. this use of qualifiers not only introduces an element of uncertainty but also serves to stress that the actual impact could be greater, thus drawing additional attention to the seriousness of the situation. phrases also frame the number as a provisional estimate, hinting that the situation might be worse than reported, thereby heightening public concern. text 25 -nigerian religious riots ‘kill 200’ in josuses a specific figure -200to communicate the scale of the fatalities directly. the precise number, in contrast to more tentative phrasing, presents an assertive and definitive snapshot of the event. this can convey both finality and high impact, influencing the audience to perceive the riots as an unequivocal and significant episode of violence. the headline in text 30 -nigeria charges 49 over jos killingsshifts the focus from the event’s casualties to an official legal response, using the precise number 49 to indicate the extent of governmental action. the numerical detail here not only quantifies accountability but also frames the narrative around a measurable legal outcome. in doing so, it presents the state response as both targeted and proportionate, suggesting that the problem has been addressed to some degree. ultimately, numerical framing is employed here to structure the audience’s interpretation of the conflict. the chosen numbers and qualifiers are not merely factual details; they are carefully selected to frame the news in a way that guides the viewer's understanding, emotional response, and perception of the severity of the conflict and the effectiveness of responses d. lexicalisation lexicalisation involves the deliberate choice of specific words and phrases to frame stories in a particular way. in lexicalisation, language with strong connotations is used to influence how the audience perceives an event. the use of these charged lexical items helps in establishing a strategic narrative framework that may reflect underlying ideological biases as seen in the texts below. text 5: tension remains in nigeria, jos. al jazeera, 7th march 2010. text 9: deadly clashes rock nigeria's city. al jazeera, 18th jan. 2010 text 12: massacre leaves nigerians on edge. al jazeera, 10th march, 2010 text 19: jos crisis: when will the killings end? bbc, 26th january 2010. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 53 text 20: nigeria text messages ‘fuelled jos riots.’ bbc, 27th january, 2010. text 28: africa violence in jos, nigeria. bbc, 19h january 2010. the word tension in text 5 is deliberately neutral and ambiguous. rather than describing an active conflict, it suggests an ongoing state of unrest or unease that may or may not escalate. this lexical choice softens the immediacy of potential violence while still alerting the audience to instability. also, by emphasizing tension instead of violence or conflict, the headline sets a cautious tone that invites the reader to expect further developments. the geographic marker jos localizes the effect, implying that while the situation is serious, it might be contained regionally. the lexicon, deadly in text 9 immediately suggests fatal consequences, instilling urgency and emotional weight even before additional context is provided, while clashes depict conflicts in an active, albeit ambiguous, manner, allowing audiences to envisage violence without pinpointing exact causes. here, the headline constructs a more dramatic and urgent narrative, distancing itself from a mere report of an incident to creating an image of a significant and unsettling upheaval. together, the words prime viewers to interpret subsequent details as part of a severe, ongoing conflict, thereby subtly molding public understanding and emotional response. massacre in text 12 is one of the most potent and charged lexical items available in a broadcast context. it implies a large-scale, indiscriminate loss of life and carries strong emotional and moral weight. the phrase “leaves nigerians on edge” suggests that the event has pervasive psychological effects, instilling fear and anxiety throughout the population. this headline not only presents a factual account but also aims to shape the audience’s emotional response, conveying urgency, shock, and a deep sense of insecurity. the use of “crisis” in text 19 frames the situation as exceptional and exigent, while the inquisition “when will the killings end?” personalizes and dramatizes the event. it implies recurrence and unresolved violence, which in turn can heighten public concern and imbue the crisis with an air of hopelessness and moral urgency. this text invites the audience to reflect on the socio-political dynamics at play by questioning the duration of the violence. it compels the public to seek accountability and resolution, thus nudging discussions towards systemic and political responses. the term fuelled in text 20 is particularly strategic as it suggests that the riots were not spontaneous but were stoked by deliberate actions, via text messages. it attributes causality to a specific medium -text messageswhich can invoke debates around the role of media and technology in inciting or controlling unrest. by focusing on fuelled, the headline shifts the narrative from one of merely describing violence to one of investigating its origins. this invites audience members to question the mechanisms of influence and control in modern society, potentially laying the groundwork for broader discussions on media responsibility. in text 28, placing africa at the beginning of the headline serves to broaden the context: while the event is localised in jos, situating it within africa can evoke wider regional connotations igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 54 and stereotypes. the straightforward use of “violence” leaves little ambiguity about the nature of the incidents. this headline uses general but powerful lexical items to standardize the understanding of the event. it may also contribute to certain continental narratives where africa is often associated with instability, thereby influencing readers’ predispositions before they even read the detailed content. across these texts, the broadcast strategy hinges on the selective use of emotionally charged and ideologically loaded words. the differences in lexical choices -from tension and crisis to massacre and fuelledindicate an underlying intention to mold public perception in line with varying degrees of severity and causality. while some headlines adopt a more measured tone (as in text 5), others use vivid, dramatic language to both inform and mobilise, aiming to elicit a strong emotional response. e. metaphorical language metaphorical language in broadcasting is a strategic tool used to frame events, evoke emotions, and simplify complex information. it is used to shape narratives by making issues more relatable, emotionally engaging the audience, and subtly influencing public opinion. below are examples of the use of metaphorical language. text 2: a church is burned and eight people are hacked to death in an attack by muslims in mazzah village, located 14km from jos. al jazeera, march 17, 2010. text 10: nigeria cracks down after attack. al jazeera, 9th march, 2010 text 16: they killed them, cut their bodies, put fire on them and their babies. bbc, 11th march 2010. text 27: jos city, divided into muslim and christian areas. bbc, 19h january 2010. text 2 uses vivid, emotionally charged language phrases like burned and hacked to death to intensify the portrayal of violence. this figurative language not only reports the tragic events but also symbolises an attack on community identity and values, particularly by invoking images of a sacred church and brutal killing methods. this language, while emotionally powerful, can reduce complex situations to simplistic narratives and further embed harmful stereotypes by tying violent acts directly to a specific religious group. the metaphor cracks down in text 10 employs metaphoric language to convey a forceful and decisive response by the authorities. it is used to describe the state's response to an attack. the metaphor encapsulates the state's response to an attack by highlighting its urgency and severity. it paints a picture of a decisive government action while suggesting that this response is deeply intertwined with underlying social divisions and tensions. the excerpt in text 16 uses intensely graphic and emotive language to transform a factual account of violence into a profound metaphor for moral decay. each phrase detailing killings, dismemberment, and burning is deliberately evocative, intended to shock and engage readers deeply. this vivid imagery not only describes brutal acts but also symbolises a broader igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 55 breakdown of human decency and society, thereby amplifying the narrative to evoke strong moral and emotional responses. text 27 utilizes the metaphorical term, divided, to frame jos city as not merely a geographically separated area but as a space marked by deep ideological and social fault-lines between muslim and christian communities. this succinct phrasing encourages audiences to visualise entrenched segregation and potential tension, subtly influencing interpretations of local social dynamics. the above texts employ metaphorical language—whether through explicit metaphoric phrases or through vivid, evocative descriptions—to create strong visual images and emotionally charged narratives. such strategies shape public perceptions by linking specific incidents to broader societal and political themes, thereby guiding the audience's understanding and emotional response to the events. findings the analysis reveals that news writers predominantly use specific discursive techniques to enhance information delivery and increase audience acceptance of news reports. journalists use catchy headlines to capture attention, frame narratives, simplify complex information, guide readers’ focus, and a lot more. they employ some strategies in framing their headlines to send coded messages to their audience. the key strategies identified in the analysis include negative labelling, evidentiality, numerical framing, lexicalisation, and metaphoric language. for instance, negative labelling in the headlines tactfully described specific agents -muslim herdsmen, nigerian riot, muslim hausa/fulani herdsmennegatively. with the use of evidentiality and authority references, al jazeera and bbc reporters managed their uncertainty by using, at least, and reported. through the use of numerical framing seen in the data, the reporters emphasize the severity of killing and death tolls in jos by selectively choosing figures of the killing to shape audience perception. meanwhile, with lexicalisation, the reporters deliberately chose words and phrases with strong connotations -tension, violence, crisis, deadly clashesto influence the audience’s perception of the crisis. also, with metaphorical language, -hacked to death, divided, killed them, cut their bodies-, the reporters framed the crisis to emotionally engage the audience and subtly influence their opinion. finally, the study highlights the above five key discursive strategies used by al jazeera and bbc in reporting the jos 2010 crisis, showing how the journalists consistently employ these techniques to shape narratives and guide public perception of the crisis. also, it reveals that both media headlines depict muslim actors as strongly associated with violent actions, while christian goals are predominantly portrayed as victims. conclusion this study critically examines language, as used in news headlines by al jazeera and bbc in reporting the jos 2010 crisis. despite journalists' claims of objectivity, findings in this study reveal that al jazeera and bbc news-headline reports are shaped by specific linguistic ideologies that subtly reflect the writers' perspectives rather than presenting events as neutrally occurred. hence, the mass media plays a significant role in shaping readers' viewpoints, influencing public perception, and exerting control over collective thought. using van dijk's igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 56 socio-cognitive approach to cda, the study explores how various discursive strategies used by bbc and al jazeera to frame the jos 2010 crisis. through some linguistic tools, -negative labelling, evidentiality, numerical framing, lexicalisation and metaphoric language-, the language used in reporting the crisis highlights the extent of the death-troll during the crisis, reinforcing a dichotomy between regional and religious groups. references abdullahi, s. h., abdullahi, h. a., & igbashangev, p. a. (2024). reporting ethno-religious conflict: the jos crises in nigerian press. international journal of international relations, media and mass communication studies. 1(10), 50 70. adebayo, a. a. (2011). media coverage of the jos crisis: a study of the guardian and daily trust newspapers. journal of conflict and communication, 10(1), 1-12. adediran, i. a. (2023). the role of mass media in crisis management in nigeria. global journal of arts, humanities and social sciences. 11(7) 32 43. adeleye.a. o. (2017). jos crises, peacemaking and its challenges, 2001-2010. asian journal of humanities and social studies, 5(5). ambe-uva, t. n. (2010). identity politics and jos crisis: evidence, lessons and challenges of good governance. african journal of history and culture. 2(3), 42-52. autesserre, s. (2010). the trouble with the congo: local violence and the failure of international peacebuilding. cambridge university press. ayeni, a. c. (2024). a critical discourse analysis of social media terrorists’ threats in nigeria. international journal of social science research and anthropology. 6(6). 79 91. ayeni, abiodun c. (2024). lexical choices and pragmatic acts in commercial motorists’ discourse in lagos state, nigeria. igwebuike: african journal of arts and humanities 10 (3) 21 37. ayeni, abiodun c. (2024). a critical discourse analysis of social media terrorists’ threats in nigeria. international journal of social science research and anthropology 6 (6), 79 91. ayeni, abiodun c. (2021). disarming inyamiri in nigerian social media discourse. veritas journal of humanities. 3 (1), 118 – 130. ayeni, abiodun c. (2021). pragmatic analysis of the nigerian national pledge. language and studies in society. 623 – 635 ayeni, abiodun c. (2020). conversation analysis in an els classroom interaction. african journal of arts and humanities. 6 (9), 38 51 bbc news. (2001, september 18). nigeria's deadly religious clashes. bbc news. bourdieu, p. (1991). language and symbolic power. t.j. press ltd, padstow, cornwall. cederman, l. e., gleditsch, k. s., & buhaug, h. (2017). inequality, grievances, and civil war. cambridge university press. chomsky, n. (1965). aspects of the theory of syntax. mit press. el-nawawy, m., & powers, s. (2010). al-jazeera english: a conciliatory medium in a conflictdriven world. in m. bunzel (ed.), global media and communication in the arab world (37-55). cambridge scholars publishing. entman, r. m. (1993). framing: toward clarification of a fractured paradigm. journal of communication. 43(4), 51-58. fjelde, h., & ostby, g. (2020). economic inequality and violent conflict. annual review of political science, 23, 279-297. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 57 grice, h. p. (1975). logic and conversation. in speech acts (41-58). halliday, m. a. k. (1978). language as social semiotic. edward arnold. herman, e. s., & mcchesney, r. w. (1997). the global media: the new missionaries of corporate capitalism. continuum. higazi, a. (2011). the jos crisis: inter-religious tensions and conflict. review of african political economy, 38(128), 277-285. human rights watch. (2001). jos: a city torn apart. human rights watch. igwebuke, e. (2018). discursive strategies and ideologies in selected newspaper reports on the nigerian-cameroonian bakassi peninsula border conflict. journal of conflict. 3 international crisis group (icg). (2012). curbing violence in nigeria (1): the jos crisis. africa report no 196. lynch, m. (2006). voices of the new arab public: iraq, al-jazeera, and middle east politics today. columbia university press. krause, k. (2012). hybrid violence: locating the local in highly fractured conflicts. civil wars. 14(2), 177-195. malcolm x. (n.d.). “the media’s the most powerful entity on earth…” brainy quote. retrieved may 25, 2025, from: www.brainquote.com nwogbaga, d. m. e., odoh, s. i. & nnaji d. o. (2015). analysis of ethno-religious crisis in nigeria: the jos (plateau state) experiences, 2001-2011. african journal of politics and administrative studies. 8(1). ostby, g. (2016). inequality and conflict in africa. in a. langer & f. stewart (eds.), horizontal inequalities and conflict: understanding group violence in multie thnic societies. (171-187). palgrave macmillan. ostien, p. (2009). jonah jang and the jasawa: ethno-religious conflict in jos, nigeria. muslim-christian relations in africa. ostien, p. (2009). jonah jang and the jasawa: ethno-religious conflict in jos, nigeria. muslimchristian relations in africa. owolabi, a. o., alade, m. & onwuka, v. i. (2013). patterns of media reportage of security threats in nigeria. global journal of arts, humanities and social sciences. 11(7), 3243. owolabi, i. (2023). a critical discourse analysis of selected print media reports on insurgency in nigerian newspapers. journal of languages, linguistics and literary studies 3(1). 20 29. raleigh, c. (2018). conflict and the changing dynamics of climate and security. nature climate change. 8(5), 363-366. rustad, s. a., & binningsbo, h. m. (2018). conflict trends in africa, 1989-2016. peace research institute oslo (prio). segun, j. & jegede, a. e. (2013). ethnicisation of violent conflicts in jos. global journal of human social science and political science. 13(7). retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/306065654 seib, p. (2008). the al jazeera effect: how the new global media are reshaping world politics. potomac books. tian, x. (2018). critical discourse analysis of news reports based on the guardian news report of china’s military parade to mark the 70 years of the second world war. theory and practice in language studies. 8(4), 433-444. van dijk, t. a. (2006). discourse and context: a sociocognitive approach. cambridge university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 58 whorf, b. l. (1956). language, thought, and reality. mit press. the ecological balance between land use, land resources and environmental issues in africa charles b. berebon, phd department of philosophy, rivers state university, port harcourt charles.berebon@ust.edu.ng & amadi, cornelius chukwudi, phd department of philosophy, rivers state university, port harcourt cornelius.amadi@ust.edu.ng abstract this study investigates the intricate connection between african environmental issues, land use, and resource use. a significant problem in land management is the variety of landscapes, growing population, and economic development. the research illuminates unsustainable land practices, deforestation, soil degradation, and urbanisation that have resulted in the destruction of ecosystems and the modification of natural habitats. these anthropogenically generated changes aggravate environmental problems such as soil erosion, water scarcity, biodiversity loss, and climate change. land resources significantly shape ecological circumstances. the varied landscapes of africa have priceless resources such as fertile soil, freshwater, and mineral resources. sustainable land management policy frameworks call for cooperation between governmental institutions, civil society organisations, academic institutions, and local communities to solve these environmental concerns. understanding the complex interactions between land use and african resources requires useable strategies. this work argues that creating protected areas, zoning laws, encouraging good agriculture and forestry practices, and promoting environmental education at all levels of schooling can help africa achieve sustainable land use. further integration of indigenous knowledge and customary land management techniques is required. as a result of this integration, african communities will become much more closely knit. the current issue requires immediate attention. fostering interdisciplinary cooperation and using a comprehensive approach are necessary. a healthy and prosperous future for africa is possible when economic development is combined with environmental preservation. keywords: land, resources, africa, environment, authorities introduction a rich tapestry of ecosystems that have long supported the continent of africa's people and wildlife are found in this region of unparalleled natural beauty and diverse terrain. it is impossible to overstate the importance of land use and land resources in africa, which not only serve as the basis for the livelihoods of millions of people but also serve as the foundation for the region's environmental well-being. the continent of africa is home to a diverse range of habitats, including lush rainforests, vast savannas, arid deserts, arable farms, clean wetlands, and steep mountain ranges. astonishingly diversified fauna finds habitat in these varied settings, which also support the agricultural activities that support communities throughout the continent. land resources constitute the backbone of african economies, from small-scale subsistence farming in rural communities to large-scale commercial agriculture that sells to international markets and feeds entire nations. while igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.21646.33605 38 land use provides these immediate crucial satisfactions of human needs, it also leads to alteration of lots of functions of the ecosystem, such as provision of potable water, maintenance and regulation of climatic cycles, maintenance of soil fertility and others. as a part of the ecosystem that holds an intricately webbed relationship between humans and the rest of the biodiversity, lands must, therefore, be handled with care and utmost caution, as continued wanton destruction of land in particular and the ecosystem in general will not augur well with humanity. the reason is simply because there is an interdependence of life and living of the whole of the biodiversity. there is no single life that is self-sufficient and independent as everything in nature has an interwoven web of existence. about this, eboh notes that “every single species serves a useful purpose. if some of them should disappear, edward wilson says, new sources of scientific information will be lost. vast potential 1 biological wealth will be destroyed.” poor handling of this relationship that exists among all the biodiversity by human agents has led to the destruction of the ecosystem, causing near and actual extinction of certain species of the flora and fauna, denying the ecosystem the benefit of the contribution of these species in its overall good and life. the consequences of these nixious actions have been dire, as disastrous natural phenomena like erosion, earthquake, volcanic eruption and other related disasters, which clearly 2indicate the destabilization of nature and its cosmic relationship with humans have become almost regular occurrences. in africa, as in many parts of the world, the complex relationships between concerns relating to land use, land resources, and the environment provide a pressing dilemma that requires our immediate attention. the sustainability of land use practises in africa, however, is challenged by a variety of problems. the continent's limited amount of arable land is under intense pressure from population expansion, urbanisation, and agricultural expansion. this pressure, along with soil erosion, climate change, deforestation, and water scarcity, creates hazardous conditions. the deterioration of once-vibrant ecosystems, the loss of biodiversity, and the worsening of climate-related issues are all visible, highlighting the tenuous connection between land usage, land resources, and environmental challenges. solving these issues is essential for africa's sustainable development; failing to do so is not 3merely bad for the environment, but will ultimately lead to ecocide. the way we utilise the land in the future will have an impact on our ability to fight poverty, provide food security, protect biodiversity, and slow down climate change. in light of this, we need to make an effort to fully understand the challenges and opportunities that african land use and land resources present. this series of articles will look at the different facets of land use and land resources in africa, as well as the challenges of sustainable agriculture, conservation efforts, urban planning, and the laws necessary to encourage harmonious cohabitation between people and the environment. we endeavour to raise awareness of the critical issues facing the continent in order to inspire people from all walks of life to collaborate in conserving its unique land resources for future generations and elicit a dialogue that transcends all barriers. the following chapters will examine the pressing environmental problems that africa is currently facing, the innovative solutions being implemented, and the necessity of taking coordinated action to ensure that the intricate relationships between land use, land resources, and environmental sustainability are acknowledged and addressed. acting now will help ensure that africa 1 m.p. eboh (2001), “ecofeminism: a poli�co-revolu�onary discourse.” journal of gender studies, (1, 3), 26. 2 m. elechi (2023), “ecogynism as unspoken dialogue between humans and nature.” dialogue and universalism: journal of the interna�onal society for universal dialogue, (33, 2), 208. 3 m.p. eboh (2000), “eco-violence against women and nature,” maria pauline eboh (ed.), philosophical cri�cisms: anthology of gender issues, (port harcourt: pearl publishers), 87. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 39 and its breath-taking landscapes have a more prosperous and peaceful future. land use in africa: patterns and implication land use in africa is characterised by intricate patterns and significant implications for the environment and sustainable development. agriculture is the most prevalent land use because it provides a living for the majority of the population. however, using conventional farming techniques can lead to soil erosion and deforestation, which can have long-term negative effects. africa is getting more urbanised, which is causing cities to expand and the demand for land to rise. due to this conversion of agricultural land into urban areas, the availability of food may be jeopardised. unplanned urban growth, which also puts a burden on resources, exacerbates the lack of infrastructure and pollution. mining and industrial activity considerably speed up the alteration of the land. natural resource extraction results in habitat destruction, soil contamination, and water pollution. the local communities that depend on the land for their survival may be impacted by these acts, which may also disrupt ecosystems and endanger wildlife. land use in africa is a complex combination of agriculture, urbanisation, industrialization, and mining, these come with significantly unintended implications for the ecosystem, which ultimately lead to environmental hazards. sustainable land management and moral development methods are necessary to achieve a balance between human requirements and environmental preservation and to ensure the continent's future. corroborating this, stephen kendie avers that: population growth and the increasing economic and technological push to exploit the land and land-based resources have accelerated the breakdown of traditional value systems. in most african countries, over 70% of the population derive their livelihood from the land. this extreme dependence on nature in subsistence farming, fuel wood extraction, hunting, etc. is also associated with growing poverty and is one reason for the reported high rates of land degradation in the african continent. the other reason is the ever-present urge by national governments to export more in the search for foreign exchange to redeem growing 4 national debts. the need for a proper guide for the use of land in africa is even more pertinent at this time than ever as africa has the record of the highest pressure on land than any other part of the world. due to limited employment options in africa, with the astronomical rise in population, and the quest for increased generation of foreign exchange by the national governments, lands in africa are exposed to unprecedented pressure than ever 5experienced. for bakuttswahbakut, as the population of the world increases, so also have the levels of human economic activities. thus, the increase in population and the corresponding increase in human economic activities with their consequent impact on the environment are visibly retarding the condition of life on earth. it is obvious that there is a cause-andeffect relationship between human economic activities and the damage done to the environment. in essence, the ecosystem was being degraded by the human pursuit of development and modernity. it is also clear that most of the seas and oceans of the world are 4 b.s., kendie, “the planning and management of land resources in africa,” encyclopaedia of life support systems (eolss), (regional sustainable development, (vol. 1), 5 b.s., kendie, “the planning and management of land resources in africa,” 6 b.t., bakut (2020), the environment, peace and conflict in africa, in introduc�on to peace and conflict igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 40 over-fished, and the soil is being degraded and eroded on a large scale throughout the world 6 due to man's economic activities. observing the events and following the debate between scientists on the nature and impact of the crisis on the entire world, in 1972 the united nations organised an international conference on the human environment in stockholm (later to be called the stockholm conference). the conference was aimed at establishing an international framework to promote a more coordinated approach to pollution and other environmental problems. but fundamentally, the stockholm conference made the link between the need to develop by the developing countries (the southall african countries and the other non-western developed countries) and the price of such development-further destruction of the ecosystem,was made. how will african countries and the rest of the developing world develop, without further destroying 7 the environment? land resources in africa: potential and challenges land resources in africa offer significant potential for economic development and livelihoods, but they also come with a host of challenges that must be addressed to ensure sustainable and equitable use. here, we will explore both the potentials and challenges associated with land resources in africa. potentials of land resources in africa: agricultural potential: africa possesses vast tracts of arable land, making it capable of significantly increasing agricultural production. with the right investments in technology, infrastructure, and sustainable farming practices, the continent can boost food security and reduce poverty. natural resources: africa is rich in natural resources, including minerals, oil, and gas. these resources are essential for both domestic consumption and export, providing revenue for governments and fostering economic growth. renewable energy: the continent has abundant renewable energy sources, including solar and wind. harnessing these resources can reduce energy poverty and promote sustainable development. biodiversity: africa is home to diverse ecosystems and wildlife, attracting tourism and providing opportunities for conservation and eco-friendly tourism. urbanization: as africa urbanizes, its land resources offer opportunities for infrastructure development, real estate, and industrial growth, driving economic expansion. challenges associated with land resources in africa: land degradation: destructive practices like deforestation, logging, urbanization and unsustainable farming practices, have led to land degradation in many regions, reducing 17 b.t. bakut (2020), the environment, peace and conflict in africa, in introduction to peace and conflict studies in west africa . igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 41 agricultural productivity and threatening food security. land conflicts: land disputes are common in africa, often due to unclear land tenure systems and competing claims. these conflicts can lead to violence and hinder investment. inadequate infrastructure: poor infrastructure, including roads and irrigation systems, limits the efficient utilization of land resources for agriculture and other economic activities climate change: africa is vulnerable to climate change, with rising temperatures and erratic rainfall patterns affecting agriculture and water resources. adaptation strategies are necessary to mitigate these impacts. land grabbing: there could be displacement of some individuals or even local communities, as a result of investors, whether foreign or local, and governments acquiring large tracts of land for agricultural or extractive purposes. this could lead to social unrest and environmental concerns. land use planning: many african countries lack comprehensive land use planning, leading to indiscriminate and disorderly infrastructural sitings on the land, thus, resulting in haphazard development that can harm ecosystems and lead to inefficient land use. poverty and inequality: high levels of poverty and income inequality in africa can hinder equitable access to and benefits from land resources, exacerbating social tensions. environmental conservation: balancing the need for economic development with environmental conservation is challenging. unsustainable practices can threaten fragile 8ecosystems and biodiversity. even though africa has great land resources for economic and agricultural growth, these resources face threats and their sustainability can only be achieved through good stewardship. land resources in africa hold immense potential for economic growth and development, but realizing this potential requires addressing the associated challenges. additionally, addressing poverty and inequality is crucial to ensuring that the benefits of land resources are shared more equitably among all segments of society. ethical issues on land use and land resources environmental philosophers have seen a need to improve on our present ethical codes in order to take into account our behaviour towards the environment. this has developed into a branch of ethics called environmental ethics. although some philosophers believe that the present ethical codes are adequate to include non-humans simply by extension, some have seen the need to create a completely new ethical and metaphysical description that is human-centred or anthropocentric. to avoid anthropocentrism philosophers have developed an ethics termed 'biocentric ethics'. biocentric ethics refers to any theory that views any life as possessing intrinsic value. aldo leopold (1949) argues that a thing is right where it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. it is wrong when it tends otherwise. the moral theory of aldo leopold is an invitation for a visit to our interrelationships with nature in which humans have the responsibility and the 8 open ai.(2023). chatgpt(mar 14 version) [large language model]. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 42 stewardship towards care. although practical solutions are being found to some environmental problems nothing can be done really effectively without a coherent theory to underpin practical decisionmaking. however, one way to promote any idea is through education, creating literacy on the subject matter. it is fundamental now that environmental education is taught from the nursery to the secondary sections of every school and by government mandate a compulsory subject and in the tertiary institutions, environmental philosophy is made a compulsory course for all faculties in all tertiary institutions. by introducing environmental education to our school curriculum across all page levels, we will be establishing the sustainability of every solution that will be proffered toward environmental preservation because posterity will always be informed. given that environmental issues have become a global issue, several earths submit have been held to address environmental issues and this study encourages us to adopt their recommendations where necessary. rio+20 is one of the earth summits organised by the united nations with the aim of identifying and recommending problems and solutions to humanity's pressing challenges and obstacles to development and a better life. since 1992, the summit has paid more attention to the environment as a sure way to sustainable development, after all, without it we cannot even be. the purpose of the rio+2012 issues briefs is to provide a channel for policymakers & other interested stakeholders to discuss and review issues relevant to the objective and themes of the conference, including a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication. the goal is to ensure that while we are 'developing we are not also 'dying', that is our methods and models of development must be all-embracing like that of the 'green economy' which includes renewable energy, green buildings, sustainable transport, water management, waste management. the implementation of a green economy guarantees the survival and continuity of biodiversity. the green economy is defined as an economy that aims at making issues of reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities and that aims for sustainable development without degrading the environment. a study of ecological and environmental issues reveals that the national as well as international survival of our world depends on our involvement in the very survival of the human species and the natural endowments by which man, through its proper management, improves his standard of 9 living and makes this global village a better place to live in. environmental education as a means for sustainable development the greatest lesson in environmental philosophy, therefore, is that man is bound to face, or rather, is facing an environmental crisis, that human life is in great danger if he does not change his ways, the ways man relates with other 'members' of their environment. as posited by j.u. emeh: “philosophy of environmental education is the logical reflection on and of the essential values or meanings of the educational process as a means of 10 environmental conservation and sustainability. when we engage the tool of philosophy (which is to question) on the issues of environmental degradation and climate change in order to ascertain the what, why, and how of the problems, we find out that it is a result of 9 b.c.berebon and j.g. gwatana,(2022) environmental philosophy: revisi�ng the paradigm shi� and environmental preserva�on, aquino journal of philosophy,(nsukka: university of nigeria) 58-59 10 b.n. elijah, (2019), environmental philosophy: its prac�ces as seen in the life prof. b.e nwigwe, ramifica�ons of wisdom, festschri� in honour of prof. boniface e. nwigwe (port harcourt: university of port harcourt press) 255 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 43 certain incautious human activities. for several decades and centuries, issues of values, good, bad, right, and wrong have been limited within the horoscope of the human space, ignoring the presence and importance of other biomes in our ecosystems, therefore our attitude and activities toward this other biomes is the reason for the destruction of both our environment and our very selves. thus, the ethics of value has had to be redirected from anthropocentrism to more holistic ethics of values for the entire ecosystem. this new paradigm is expressed in environmental ethics or what some call 'anti-anthropocentrism', which is seeking the value for and the protection and preservation of our environmental forces. in a bid for survival in situations of lack and scarcity, people resort to various safe and unsafe means of surviving, therefore, poverty is not left out as it has contributed to the further destruction of the environment. environmental deterioration has exacerbated the paucity of resources and forced people to adopt survival strategies that are harmful to the environment. philosophy has the potential to salvage and rehabilitate the environment, and biodiversity through an imperative critical appraisal. environmental and development policymakers who ignore indigenous environmental philosophy can never achieve the success they desire, since the environmental movement began four decades ago, there have been many different opinions as to what roles humans should play in protecting and preserving the environment, whether it is important (ethical viewpoint), and also the environment's impact on animals, economics, and creation change. many people assume that the environment is in no danger and that we do not need to worry about recycling, protecting animal rights, and preserving the environment for future generations. we seem to overlook the fact that, humans are just another living being on the planet and have an equal part in the ecosystem as other living things. therefore, life on earth should be treated as a single living system that includes interdependent living beings with their own rights. on the other hand, the destruction of the scenery, water pollution, air pollution, and similar environmental problems due to the increase in technology is not only affecting human beings (increase in health problems like asthma), but is also affecting other living things and changing the natural environment we live in. however, if science and technology can create these problems, they should also have a solution to them. for the past few years, 11humans have been blamed for their domination and greed toward nature. for tete, at the heart of the environmental crisis is a crisis of education, that is, the failure of modern education to improve “the incredible intricacies of plant and animal community”. human relation to nature has been largely destructive because available education has been decisively anthropocentric, that is, characterized by undue emphasis on human economic interest to the neglect of environmental health. the environmental education in vogue still considers nature important only for human purposes. the purpose of an ecological education is to fill this gap and thus inspire a new civilization of environmental protection. 12 the environmental education should not just stop at the classroom, the grassroots and communities are called to take local actions to address the environmental crisis. the government and corporations within communities should take the initiative and a holistic approach to environmental issues, leading to cultivating values and attitudinal approaches, and developing innovative solutions to the environment rather than destroying it. the advocacy is a call for a systemic change towards an eco-friendly 11b.c.berebon and j.g. gwatana, (2022) environmental philosophy: revisi�ng the paradigm shi� and environmental preserva�on, 57-58 12 f. tete, (2023) environmental ethics, a mul�disciplinary introduc�on, (akwa ibom: inela ventures and publishers ltd) 162 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 44 environment, paving the way for a more sustainable harmony with the natural world. environmental policy on land resources and land use in order for the african union to assist member countries in addressing land issues that underpin the sustainable and inclusive development of the continent, there is a need for all stakeholders and the continent's development partners to have a shared vision regarding the need for land policy development as an important process in national development. throughout africa, therefore, there is no doubt the need to inform land-related legislation or institution building with an assessment of policy concerns in that sector. what the vision statement set out above offers is a set of parameters, drawn from emerging best practices, within which the comprehensive and systematic development of new or revision of existing land policies, laws, and institutions ought to occur. that land policy development has already become a major item in africa's economic and political reconstruction agenda is no longer in doubt. central to that exercise is the conviction that past policies, many of which have been ad hoc or sector-specific have failed to resolve fundamental problems 13 underlying the sustainable development of the land economy and those of related sectors. face to the alarming threats related to land degradation, the earth's resources have become a major challenge both for environmental reasons (stability of ecosystems, geochemical cycles) and socioeconomic (food, agriculture, fisheries, industrial application) that simply for ethical reasons, as to know the intrinsic value of life. the international community is gradually adopting an arsenal of legal and normative instruments designed primarily to regulate the exploitation of different forms of land use and preserve specific elements of biodiversity. these policies seek to reconcile the conservation of natural resources and economic development. conservative policies are aimed to protect natural and built resources, including built heritage, by limited access or by an outright denial of access. these policies usually lead to the creation of conservation areas and spaces. governments take several steps and are equipped with various instruments relating to land use towards the conservation of different forms of land use, including soil, water, vegetation and habitats. conservation of land and soil by adopting land use plans based on scientific studies, as well as local knowledge and experience and capacity classifications of land use. in this context, agricultural policies and land reforms are essentially aimed: at improving soil conservation including the introduction of farming methods and sustainable forest in order to ensure land productivity in the long term; and fight against erosion caused by the misuse and mismanagement of land that can cause a loss of soils and vegetation surface; fight against pollution caused by agricultural activities, including aquaculture and animal husbandry; conservation policies relating to non-agricultural forms of land use (relating to public works, mining, waste disposal, etc.) are establishing standards and practices that do not support the erosion, pollution or other forms of land degradation. bconservation of water resources these policies include the rational management of water resources to ensure: maintenance of essential ecological processes and hydro-protection of human health against pollutants and waterborne diseases; prevention of damage that may have harmful effects on human health or natural resources by the discharge of pollutants; prevent excessive abstraction, to the benefit of downstream communities; implement planning policies, conservation, management, use and development of groundwater and surface water, as well as collection and use of rainwater, in order to ensure to people a 13 framework and guidance on land policy in africa: a framework to strengthen land rights, enhance produc�vity and secure livelihoods, https://www.un.org/en/land-naturalresources-con�lict/pdfs/35-en-%20land%20policy%20report_eng%20181010pdf.pdf th (retrieved 11 october,2023) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 45 sufficient and continuous supply of suitable water; rational management and water conservation in irrigated agriculture, to ensure greater food security and durable agroindustrialization. cconservation of vegetal cover these policies aim adoption of plans scientifically established, based on judicious traditions in the conservation, use and management of forests, woodlands, grasslands, wetlands and other areas of vegetation, taking into account the social and economic needs of populations and importance of vegetation to maintain the water balance of an area. other measures are taken to control fires, forest exploitation, land clearing, grazing by domestic animals and wildlife, and invasive species, and to create forest reserves and implement reforestation programs where they are needed. dconservation of species and genetic diversity implementation of conservation policies of genetic diversity are made under land use plans and sustainable development, particularly the conservation of species and their habitats, with a social, 14economic and environmental value, or those found only in particular areas. conclusion africa is confronted with a complex and diverse challenge that demands thoughtful, longterm solutions. this predicament revolves around the intricate interplay among land use, resources, and environmental issues. the continent's cultural, economic, and ecological systems are deeply intertwined with its varied and abundant landscapes. however, this delicate balance is currently under immense strain due to rapid urbanization, population growth, agricultural development, and resource extraction. to address these pressing concerns comprehensively, africa must employ a holistic land management plan. such a plan should promote sustainable agriculture practices while prioritizing ethical land utilization and the preservation of vital ecosystems. in addition to implementing new plantings and reforestation efforts, it is imperative to provide ample funding for robust environmental education initiatives that encourage active community involvement. by empowering individuals and communities to safeguard their natural heritage through informed decision-making processes, the foundations will be laid for a brighter future in africa. to ensure significant progress in land use planning and resource management, it is essential for governments, local communities, ngos, and international partners to cooperate. understanding the inherent connection between land, resources, and environmental well-being allows africa to strive towards a future where its distinctive landscapes are protected, its people prosper, and its ecosystems flourish. this future not only benefits the continuity but also safeguards the planet's invaluable biodiversity while combating climate change globally. although addressing complex interactions between land usage, resources, and environmental challenges presents a difficult task for africa, it also provides an opportunity to pave the way for a resilient and sustainable future on this extraordinary continent. reference bakut t.b. the environment, peace and conflict in africa, introduction to peace and conflict studies in west africa. (ibadan: spectrum book, 2020). berebon c.b. and gwatana j.g., environmental philosophy: revisiting the paradigm 14 intosai wgea research project land use and land management prac�ces in environmental perspec�ve, h�ps://www.environmental-audi�ng.org/media/1219/land-use-research-project_ dra�.pdf th (retrieved 11 october,2023) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 46 shift and environmental preservation, aquino journal of philosophy, (nsukka: university of nigeria, 2022). eboh “ecofeminism: a politico-revolutionary discourse.” journal of gender studies, (1, 3, 2001). eboh m.p. “eco-violence against women and nature,” maria pauline eboh (ed.), philosophical criticisms: anthology of gender issues, (port harcourt: pearl publishers, 2000). elechi, m. “ecogynism as unspoken dialogue between humans and nature,” dialogue and universalism: journal of the international society for universal dialogue, (33, 2, 2023). elijah, b.n. environmental philosophy: its practices as seen in the life prof. b.e nwigwe, ramifications of wisdom, festschrift in honour of prof. boniface e. nwigwe (port harcourt: university of port harcourt press, 2019). framework and guidance on land policy in africa: a framework to strengthen land r i g h t s , e n h a n c e p r o d u c t i v i t y a n d s e c u r e l i v e l i h o o d s , h� p s : / / w w w. u n . o rg /e n / l a n d n at u ra l re s o u rc e s co nfl i c t / p d fs / 3 5 e n %20land%20policy%20report_eng%20181010pdf.pdf (accessed 11 october 2023). intosai wgea research project land use and land management practices in e n v i r o n m e n t a l p e r s p e c t i v e , h � p s : / / w w w . e n v i r o n m e n t a l audi�ng.org/media/1219/land-use-research-project_dra�.pdf (accessed 11 october 2023). kendie, “the planning and management of land resources in africa,” encyclopaedia of life support systems (eolss), (regional sustainable development, (vol. 1), h�ps://www.eolss.net th . (retrieved, 24 april, 2024). openai . (2023) . cha tgpt(mar 14 vers ion) [large l anguage mode l ] . h�ps://chat.openai.com/chat tete f. environmental ethics, a multidisciplinary introduction, (akwa ibom: inela ventures and publishers ltd, 2023) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 47 95 social media and mental health challenges among awka young adults, 20202024 idara c. aniefiok-ezemonye department of history and international studies, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka ic.aniefiok-hanson@unizik.edu.ng & godswill nwachukwu department of history and international studies, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka onydikachukwugodswill@gmail.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.10003.90409 abstract an increasing number of young adults are immersed in a virtual world where social media dominates their daily lives, but beneath the digital facade are people struggling with the weight of virtual existence which ranges from depression, anxiety, low self-esteem to even suicidal thoughts. the paper seeks to explore the intricate relationship between social media use and mental health among young adults in awka, examine the factors are driving this relationship, propose ways in which the negative effects of social media on them can be mitigated and also promote healthier online interactions. by examining the period from 2020 to 2024, the paper also seeks to provide a context related to the covid-19 pandemic which significantly increased social media use adopting the social comparison theory. the data for this paper comprises surveys and structured questionnaires administered to young adults between the ages of 18 and 30 in awka; these surveys contain detailed information about their social media usage patterns, types of platforms used, duration of use and the nature of their interactions online. existing literature on social media and mental health were also adopted to compare them with global trends and studies. the findings of the paper reveal that social media has become an essential part of human life, exerting a significant influence on individuals. on the one hand, the benefits of social media, such as online/offline chatting, video calling, sharing thoughts, posting photos, accessing real-time news, advertising, and conducting meetings, are rapidly attracting users. on the other hand, it has led to unhealthy addiction, resulting in various social, physical, and mental health issues. this will contribute to a broader understanding of the mental health implications of social media and provide insights for developing strategies to mitigate its negative effects while enhancing its positive aspects. keywords: social, mental, health, covid-19, human life introduction with the fast-paced evolution and rapid advancements in technology, life has become more convenient. however, these advancements have also brought about new challenges. among the myriad technological developments, social media has emerged as a dominant force, becoming so integral to daily life that many find it indispensable. the advent of smartphones has further accelerated the proliferation of social media use. according to the 2020 global report by 'we are social' and 'hootsuite,' the number of active social media users reached 3.80 billion in january 2020, marking an increase of over 9 percent (321 million new users) from the previous year globally, more than 5.19 billion people now use mobile phones, with an increase of 124 million users (2.4 percent) over the past year. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 96 nearly 60 percent of the world's population is now online, and trends suggest that more than half of the global population will use social media by mid-2020. this trend is revolutionizing how society communicates, shares ideas, and accesses products or services. research has shown that excessive use of platforms like facebook can lead to significant mental health challenges, including anxiety, depression, and loneliness. among awka young adults, the impact of social media on mental health is particularly significant. awka, the capital city of anambra state in nigeria, has witnessed a surge in social media usage among its youth population. this demographic is particularly vulnerable to the mental health implications of social media due to their high levels of engagement and interaction online. studies indicate that young adults are more likely to experience negative mental health outcomes from social media use, such as cyberbullying, social comparison, and reduced face-toface interactions. in recent years, the role of social media in shaping mental health has stirred significant attention. research indicates that while social media can provide social support and enhance self-esteem through positive interactions, it can also contribute to negative mental health outcomes such as anxiety, depression, and loneliness. the pervasive nature of social media means that users are constantly exposed to idealized representations of others' lives, which can foster feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem. this phenomenon, often referred to as "social comparison," occurs when individuals compare themselves to others based on the content they see online, leading to negative self-perceptions. the period between 2020 and 2024 has been marked by significant global events, including the covid-19 pandemic, which has further intensified social media use as people turned to digital platforms for connection and information. social media has transformed how individuals communicate and interact, offering unrestricted connectivity and access to information. platforms such as facebook, instagram, twitter, and tiktok have become deeply ingrained in daily life, especially among young adults. these platforms are not merely tools for communication but also for self-expression, entertainment, and information sharing. social media allows users to connect with friends and family, follow trends, and engage in various forms of content creation and consumption. for young adults, social media is a significant space for socialization and identity formation. theoretical framework there are several theoretical frameworks that explain the impact of social media on mental health. however, the research will adopt the social comparison theory. social comparison theory posits that individuals evaluate their own worth by comparing themselves to others. this theory is particularly relevant to social media, where users are constantly exposed to idealized portrayals of others' lives, which can lead to feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem. for instance, viewing curated images of friends' achievements or lifestyle can create unrealistic standards that users feel pressured to meet. empirical research on the relationship between social media use and mental health has yielded a range of findings, highlighting both potential benefits and risks. social media provides significant social support by enabling users to maintain relationships with friends and family, share experiences, and seek advice. studies have shown that social support received through social media can enhance self-esteem and reduce feelings of loneliness. facebook use was associated with improved social capital among college students, which in turn igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 97 was linked to better psychological well-being. social media allows young adults to explore and express their identities. by sharing personal achievements, interests, and views, users can gain a sense of belonging and validation. literature review there are numerous literature on social media with diverse perspectives and dimensions. however, this present study concerns itself with the impact of social media on the mental health of awka young adults. the rapid proliferation of social media has profoundly reshaped the way individuals interact, communicate, and perceive themselves and others. this section of this research provides a comprehensive review of the existing literature on the relationship between social media usage and mental health, with a specific focus on young adults in awka, nigeria, between 2020 and 2024. it explores theoretical framework, empirical findings, and the unique socio-cultural context of awka to provide a well-rounded understanding of this complex issue. according to manago, facebook use helped young adults navigate their social worlds and contributed to their sense of identity and community. however, there are numerous negative effects which includes, anxiety and depression; high levels of social media use have been linked to increased anxiety and depression. this is often due to the pressures of presenting a perfect online image and the fear of missing out (fomo). facebook use predicts declines in 13 subjective well-being among young adults. similarly, a study by pantic notes that excessive social media use is associated with higher levels of anxiety and depression. excessive social media use, especially before bedtime, can disrupt sleep patterns, leading to poor sleep quality, which is closely linked to various mental health issues. levenson emphasizes that the association between social media use and sleep disturbance has a negative impact on young adults' mental health. the anonymity and reach of social media platforms can facilitate cyberbullying, which has severe psychological effects on victims. patchin and hinduja in their work finds that victims of cyberbullying are at a higher risk of developing anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. exposure to idealized body images on platforms like instagram and tiktok can lead to body dissatisfaction and eating disorders among young adults. social comparison with these images often results in negative self-perception. fardouly also notes that social comparisons on social media significantly impact young women's body image concerns and mood. in awka, young adults are increasingly adopting social media, mirroring global trends. however, the sociocultural dynamics of this region add unique dimensions to the way social media influences mental health. talking about cultural norms, nigerian culture, which places a high value on community and social relations, can amplify the social support benefits of social media. conversely, it may also heighten the negative impact of social comparison and cyberbullying. the communal nature of nigerian society means that social media interactions often extend offline, affecting real-world relationships and social standing. the level of internet access and the quality of digital infrastructure in awka can influence how social media is used and its subsequent effects on mental health. limited access can lead to a digital divide, where only certain segments of the population can fully engage with social 23 media. this divide can exacerbate feelings of exclusion and anxiety among those with less access. socio-economic challenges and unemployment in nigeria may exacerbate the stress and anxiety associated with social media use, as young adults compare their lives with their peers globally. according to okoye, unemployment among nigerian youths is a significant stressor that can be intensified by social media, where the success of peers is frequently showcased. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 98 moreso, studies indicate that nigerian youths predominantly use social media for social interaction, entertainment, and news consumption. social media usage among nigerian youths is high, with significant implications for national development. research by ajayi (2019) suggests that there is a strong correlation between social media use and mental health issues among nigerian adolescents, with significant levels of anxiety and depression reported. a study by popoola highlights the prevalence of cyberbullying among nigerian youths, noting its severe psychological impacts, including depression and low self-esteem. social media and mental health challenges among awka young adults the use of social media has become part of the daily life activity of the young adults of awka. one of the biggest nigerian universities (nnamdi azikiwe university) is situated in awka and thus response has been gotten from students of the university as regards impacts of social media and health challenges. other young adults who reside in awka but are not students of the university also gave their feedback regarding the impact of social media and mental health on them. while social media offers numerous benefits, such as connectivity, entertainment, and information sharing, it also presents significant mental health challenges. this section of the research explores these challenges, drawing on existing research and local contexts to provide a comprehensive overview. the use of social media among young adults in awka has surged upward in recent years. platforms like facebook, twitter, instagram, and tiktok are particularly popular. these platforms allow users to connect with friends, share experiences, and stay updated with global trends. however, the pervasive use of social media can lead to and has caused several psychological issues, including anxiety, depression, and stress. this chapter presents the findings of the research conducted to investigate the mental health challenges associated with social media use among young adults in awka, nigeria. using a mixed-methods approach, data was collected through structured questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. the results were analyzed and discussed in the context of existing literature to provide a comprehensive understanding of the issue. this chapter also includes the analysis of demographic data, social media usage patterns, mental health impacts, and coping mechanisms. the study included 200 respondents aged 18-30 years, with a balanced gender distribution. the majority of participants were university students (65%), followed by young professionals (25%), and unemployed individuals (10%). this demographic profile reflects the diverse experiences and perspectives of young adults in awka. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 99 the survey revealed that social media usage is pervasive among young adults in awka. most respondents (80%) reported using social media daily, with an average usage time of 3-4 hours per day. the most popular platforms were facebook (60%), instagram (50%), and whatsapp (45%). the frequency and duration of social media use were consistent across different demographic groups, indicating a widespread reliance on these platforms for communication, entertainment, and information. the study found significant associations between social media use and mental health challenges among young adults in awka. high levels of social media use were correlated with increased anxiety and depression. approximately 70% of respondents reported experiencing anxiety, and 55% reported symptoms of depression related to their social media activities. key contributing factors included the pressure to present a perfect online image and the fear of missing out (fomo). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 100 young adults in awka employ various coping mechanisms to manage the stress associated with social media use. the most common strategies included limiting social media usage (40%), seeking support from friends and family (35%), and engaging in offline activities (25%). however, some respondents indicated that they struggled to find effective ways to cope with social media-induced stress. while asked in the interview “what strategies do you use to manage any negative feelings that arise from social media use?” some responses have included; “i go offline and address my mind about who i am and my destination”. this shows how pressured many young adults can be as a result of what they see on social media. for someone to go offline on social media and begin to address his mind shows how challenged the person is already. this could lead to anxiety, depression and lots more. social media and anxiety one of the most significant mental health challenges associated with social media use is the increase in anxiety. the constant exposure to idealized images and lifestyles can create feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem. for instance, seeing peers' curated posts about their achievements, vacations, or social lives can lead to negative self-comparison and a sense of falling short. this phenomenon, known as "social comparison," is a significant predictor of depression and anxiety in young adults. studies have shown that high levels of social media use correlate with increased symptoms of depression and anxiety. in a recent survey via a structured questionnaire, the questions asked “how often do you feel anxious or stressed after using social media?” it was obvious that a lot of young people were filled with anxiety after accessing social media. they tend to have fears as to whether they are doing well or not. below is the bar chart of young adults who participated in this questionnaire. social media and depression in awka, young adults have increasingly turned to social media platforms like facebook, instagram, and twitter to connect with peers, share personal experiences, and stay informed. however, this increased usage has brought about several mental health challenges, including depression. several studies have highlighted how excessive use of social media can lead to feelings of inadequacy, loneliness, and eventually depression. structured questionnaires distributed to young adults in awka revealed that a significant number of respondents reported feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and isolation after prolonged use of social media platforms. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 101 these feelings are often exacerbated by social comparison, where users compare their lives with the seemingly perfect lives of others they see online. the structured questionnaires distributed in awka were designed to assess the extent to which social media usage contributes to feelings of depression among young adults. the results were telling: frequency of social media use: a majority of respondents indicated that they spent more than three hours per day on social media platforms. this heavy usage correlates with higher reports of depressive symptoms, such as feeling overwhelmed and isolated. feelings after using social media: about 60% of respondents reported feeling sad or anxious after using social media, with some admitted to experiencing these feelings frequently. the data also showed that these feelings were more pronounced among users who spent more time on social media, particularly those who engaged in social comparison. impact on daily life: many respondents noted that their depressive feelings often interfered with their daily activities, including their studies and social interactions. this disruption of daily life is a clear indication of the negative impact social media can have on mental health. the constant exposure to idealized images and the pressure to maintain a certain online persona contribute to the development of depressive symptoms. moreover, the lack of sufficient mental health resources in awka exacerbates these issues, leaving many young people without the support they need to cope with their feelings. social media and self-esteem social media has become an integral part of the daily lives of young adults in awka. while it serves as a platform for connection, entertainment, and self-expression, it also presents significant challenges to users' self-esteem. social media often creates an environment of constant comparison, validation-seeking, and pressure to project a perfect life. these factors have been shown to negatively impact self-esteem, especially among young people who are still forming their identity. the structured questionnaire revealed that approximately 73% of respondents regularly compare themselves to others on social media. this comparison is often based on curated images and posts that reflect an idealized version of life, leading to feelings of inadequacy and dissatisfaction with one's own appearance or achievements. according to social comparison theory, individuals tend to measure their self-worth by comparing themselves to others, and on platforms like instagram or facebook, such comparisons are inevitable. some respondents highlighted how viewing posts of friends traveling abroad or acquiring new material possessions led them to feeling unsuccessful, despite their personal achievements. this feeling is reinforced by the carefully curated nature of content on social media platforms, where users primarily showcase their happiest and most successful moments. this discrepancy between real life and portrayed life on social media often leads to distorted self-perception. the data also revealed significant gender differences in how social media affects self-esteem. among female respondents, 82% reported feeling pressure to look a certain way after seeing beauty and fitness influencers on platforms like instagram. in contrast, only 56% of male respondents reported feeling similar pressures related to appearance. this finding reflects broader global trends in which women are more likely to be influenced by beauty standards promoted on social media. research indicates that exposure to idealized body images can lead to body dissatisfaction and a decrease in self-esteem. the pressure to conform to these standards can result in a negative body image, particularly among young women who feel they cannot live up to the expectations set by igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 102 influencers and celebrities online. while social media can negatively impact self-esteem, efforts to mitigate these effects such as promotion of digital literacy, encouragement of young adults to critically engage with content as well as understanding the edited and curated nature of social media will do a lot of good. social media and bullying social media has become a significant platform for bullying, often referred to as cyberbullying. in awka, many young adults report experiencing various forms of online harassment, ranging from negative comments to threats, which negatively affect their mental health. this behavior can escalate feelings of anxiety, depression, and social isolation, as victims struggle to find refuge even in their virtual spaces. studies suggest that the anonymity provided by social media platforms can embolden bullies, making it easier for them to target others without facing immediate repercussions. conclusion the paper has shown that social media has become a huge part of the daily lives of young adults in awka, from the responses gathered, it is clear that a significant number of young adults in awka experience mental health issues directly related to their social media use. about 70% of respondents admitted to feeling anxious after spending time on social media, while 55% said they felt depressed. the most common reasons for these feelings were the pressure to keep up with what others are doing and the constant need to compare their own lives with the seemingly perfect lives of their friends and influencers they follow online. despite the extensive research on social media and mental health, several gaps remain that need to be addressed. most studies have been conducted in western contexts, with limited research focusing on african populations, including nigeria. additionally, there is a need for longitudinal studies that track changes in social media use and mental health over time, especially considering the rapid evolution of social media platforms and usage patterns. studies should examine the role of moderating factors such as offline social support, personality traits, and coping mechanisms in mediating the impact of social media on mental health. understanding these dynamics within the context of awka, nigeria, is crucial for developing targeted interventions and support systems for young adults. some recommendations have been made to: it is important to teach young people how to use social media in a healthier way. schools, universities, and community groups should introduce programs that help young adults understand that what they see on social media is often not real life. these programs can help them learn to critically evaluate the content they see, so they don't fall into the trap of comparing themselves to the perfect images they come across online. understanding that people only post their best moments could help reduce the negative impact social media has on mental health. we need to create awareness about the importance of setting limits on how much time people spend on social media. constantly being online can increase feelings of stress and anxiety, so young adults should be encouraged to take breaks, limit their usage, and participate in offline activities like sports, hobbies, and spending time with friends and family in the real world. there should be community campaigns or social media challenges that promote these healthy habits and remind people that it's okay to log off sometimes. many young adults in awka don't have easy access to mental health services, so it's important to change that. universities should have more counselors available to help students who are struggling with issues related to social media use. additionally, there should be more community igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 103 outreach programs focused on providing support for young adults who are dealing with anxiety, depression, or low self-esteem. this could include workshops, seminars, and even support groups where young people can talk about their experiences and find healthier ways to cope. cyberbullying is a growing problem that affects the mental health of many young adults in awka. social media platforms and local authorities need to work together to create stricter rules against online harassment. there should be public campaigns to raise awareness about cyberbullying, encouraging people to report it when they see it and providing guidance on how victims can protect themselves. schools and universities should also play a role by educating students about the dangers of cyberbullying and teaching them how to prevent and respond to it. many young adults, especially women, feel pressured to meet unrealistic beauty standards set by influencers and celebrities on social media. this can lead to low self-esteem and body image issues. to counter this, there should be campaigns promoting body positivity, where young adults are encouraged to embrace their natural looks and stop comparing themselves to photoshopped and filtered images online. social media influencers who promote healthy and realistic lifestyles should be given more visibility to help shift the focus away from perfection and toward self-acceptance. schools can also organize workshops to address these issues and empower young people to feel confident in their own skin. endnotes simon kemp, digital 2020: global digital overview (we are social & hootsuite, 2020). kemp, digital 2020: global digital overview. kemp, digital 2020: global digital overview. jean m. twenge, "more time on technology, less happiness? associations between digitalmedia use and psychological well-being," current directions in psychological science 28, no. 4 (2019): 372-379. . igor pantic, "online social networking and mental health," cyberpsychology, behavior, and social networking 17, no. 10 (2014): 652-657. leon festinger, "a theory of social comparison processes," human relations 7, no. 2 (1954): 117-140. nicole b. ellison, charles steinfield, and cliff lampe, "the benefits of facebook 'friends:' social capital and college students' use of online social network sites," journal of computer-mediated communication 12, no. 4 (2007): 1143-1168. ellison, steinfield, and lampe, "the benefits of facebook 'friends,'" 1143-1168. nicole b. ellison, charles steinfield, and cliff lampe, "the benefits of facebook 'friends:' social capital and college students' use of online social network sites," journal of computer-mediated communication 12, no. 4 (2007): 1143-1168. brian a. primack et al., "use of multiple social media platforms and symptoms of depression and anxiety: a nationally-representative study among u.s. young adults," computers in human behavior 69 (2017): 1-9. brian a. primack et al., "use of multiple social media platforms and symptoms of depression and anxiety: 10. manuel castells, the internet galaxy: reflections on the internet, business, and society (new york: oxford university press, 2001). tarleton gillespie, custodians of the internet: platforms, content moderation, and the hidden igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 104 decisions that shape social media (new haven: yale university press, 2018). world health organization, "mental health: strengthening our response," who,2021, h�ps://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-strengthening-ourresponse. american psychiatr ic associat ion, "what is mental heal th?" apa, 2020, h�ps://www.psychiatry.org/pa�ents-families/what-is-mental-health. national institute of mental health, "mental health information," nimh, 2021, h�ps://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/index.shtml. jane d. mcleod, edward j. lawler, and michael schwalbe, handbook of the social psychology of inequality (new york: springer, 2014), 167-187. kathleen m. pike, "the impact of culture on mental health," psychiatric times, april 2019, h�ps://www.psychiatric�mes.com/view/impact-culture-mental-health. anthony j. marsella, "globalization and mental health: an overview," world mental health, february 2012, .h�ps://www.globalmentalhealth.org wor ld hea l th organ i za t i on , "men ta l hea l t h a t l a s 2020 , " who, 2020 , h�ps://www.who.int/publica�ons/i/item/9789240036703. vikram patel and martin prince, "global mental health: a new global health field comes of age," jama psychiatry 67, no. 6 (2010): 599-601. adebayo popoola, "cyberbullying in nigeria: prevalence and impact on students," journal of psychological research 12, no. 2 (2020): 97-108. jean m. twenge and w. keith campbell, the narcissism epidemic: living in the age of entitlement (new york: free press, 2009), 53-55. ethan kross et al., "facebook use predicts declines in subjective well-being in young adults," plos one 8, no. 8 (2013): e69841, h�ps://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.006984 lauren e. sherman et al., "the power of the like in adolescence: effects of peer influence on neural and behavioral responses to social media," psychological science 27, no. 7 (2016): 1027-1035, .h�ps://doi.org/10.1177/0956797616645673 leon festinger, a theory of social comparison processes (stanford university press, 1954), 118-120. jean m. twenge, igen: why today's super-connected kids are growing up less rebellious, more tolerant, less happy–and completely unprepared for adulthood (new york: atria books, 2017), 34-35. meier, e.p., & gray, j., "facebook photo activity associated with body image disturbance in adolescent girls," cyberpsychology, behavior, and social networking 17, no. 4 (2014): 199-206. fardouly, j., diedrichs, p. c., vartanian, l. r., & halliwell, e., "social comparisons on social media: the impact of facebook on young women's body image concerns and mood," body image 13, (2015): 38-45. fardouly, j., diedrichs, p. c., vartanian, l. r., & halliwell, e., "social comparisons on social media. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 4, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 129 ai-driven early detection and prevention of youth cult recruitment in awka metropolis afunugo, kenechi nnaemeka department of religion and human relations, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka nk.afunugo@unizik.edu.ng & molokwu, geoffrey chidebem institute of theology, paul university, awka geohope4all@gmail.com abstract this study examines the integration of artificial intelligence (ai)-driven systems for the early detection and prevention of youth cult recruitment within awka metropolis, addressing the interplay between physical and digital recruitment tactics. employing a qualitative methodology that incorporates primary and secondary data collection, the research utilizes ethnographic and digital content analysis to investigate the socio-cultural and technological dimensions of cult recruitment. grounded in routine activity theory (rat), the study posits that cult groups exploit both local physical interactions and digital platforms to groom, recruit, and sustain members. these dual strategies leverage societal vulnerabilities, peer influence, and the widespread use of social media among youths. a notable gap in existing scholarship is the lack of ai-based frameworks designed to address this dual recruitment model, particularly within the nigerian context. findings reveal that digital platforms, such as social media and encrypted messaging apps, complement traditional physical recruitment methods, creating a multifaceted challenge for stakeholders. to mitigate this, the study recommends deploying ai systems to monitor digital communication patterns, alongside grassroots education campaigns targeting at-risk youth. furthermore, stimulating collaboration among local authorities, technology companies, and community leaders is essential to developing an adaptive, culturally sensitive approach to curbing cult activities. this holistic strategy offers a pathway to protecting youth and strengthening community resilience. keywords: ai-driven, youth, cult recruitment, early, detection, prevention. introduction youth involvement in cultism has increasingly shifted towards digital platforms, particularly social media, which has become a powerful tool for recruitment and initiation. globally and in nigeria, with a focus on awka metropolis in anambra state, cult groups exploit the vast reach and anonymity of platforms such as facebook, whatsapp, instagram, and telegram to lure unsuspecting individuals, especially impressionable youths. these groups craft appealing narratives, using flashy lifestyles, promises of power, and a sense of belonging to attract their targets. they employ private chats, encrypted messaging, and targeted advertisements to engage igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 130 potential recruits while concealing their identities. o. nwoye, i. edeh, and m. onwe (personal communication, december 11th, 2024) observe that in awka central hub, where public tricycle and shuttle transport services alongside academic institutions abound, cult groups leverage the high internet penetration among transit workers and students, who are their dominant targets, to spread their influence, often masking their recruitment campaigns as exclusive clubs or associations. the digital initiation process frequently involves sharing coded rituals, virtual swearing of oaths, and monitoring recruits through constant online communication, enabling cults to bypass physical barriers and evade law enforcement. sequel to the aforementioned observations, global data (2024), registers that cults have effectively leveraged the digital space, particularly social media, as a potent tool for sensitization and recruitment, exploiting its interactive and isolating nature to reach vulnerable individuals. the case of the twin flames universe (tfu), highlighted in netflix's 2023 documentary escaping twin flames, exemplifies how cults use platforms to prey on those experiencing distress or isolation, a trend exacerbated by the covid-19 pandemic. the board avers that between 1993 and 2023, the number of cults in the united states doubled from 5,000 to 10,000, a growth facilitated by social media’s ability to simulate community through echo chambers and targeted content. vulnerable individuals often encounter cult messaging while scrolling through personalized feeds, leading them into environments of manipulation disguised as virtual communities. this strategy, according to the council, aligns with panoramic waves of unregulated online interactions, where governments have struggled to impose accountability on platforms for harmful or exploitative content. consequently, cults thrive in this digital town square, exploiting the intersection of human vulnerability, algorithmic targeting, and the under-regulated nature of online spaces to consolidate power and expand their reach. dasser (2024) argues that social media platforms, driven by profit motives and engagement metrics, have become fertile ground for projecting extremist ideologies and cult-like communities, particularly in the alt-right. she elucidates that through algorithmic manipulation, platforms like tiktok prioritize sensationalist and polarizing content, ensuring prolonged user interaction while inadvertently nurturing radicalization pathways. unlike the alt-left, which leans toward academic discourse and quieter collaboration, the alt-right leverages click-bait, derogatory humor, and emotionally charged rhetoric to attract and manipulate younger audiences. this dynamic, fueled by the platforms' pursuit of return on investment, facilitates a self-reinforcing cycle of radicalization, where users are drawn deeper into ideologically toxic echo chambers. hassan (2022) compares social media tactics to cult-like techniques, highlighting how platforms manipulate behavior, thoughts, and emotions to maintain user engagement for profit. uzoigwe et al (2024) highlights the pervasive issue of cultism in nigeria's digitalized society, emphasizing how cultists leverage social media platforms for recruitment, communication, and the dissemination of propaganda, thereby expanding their influence. the author underscores that the integration of digital tools has amplified the challenges of combating cultism by facilitating anonymous networking and the normalization of cult-related activities among youth. suanu et al (2023) in their study found that social media usage, specifically platforms like facebook, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 131 whatsapp, and instagram, significantly influences the tendency toward cultism among secondary school students in eleme local government area of rivers state, nigeria. the data indicated that these platforms independently accounted for 63.5% of the variation in students' involvement in cultism activities. this highlights the role of social media in potentially facilitating antisocial behaviors, such as cultism, among adolescents, suggesting a need for targeted interventions to guide students in using these platforms responsibly. oladujoye et al (2016) in their investigation, reveals that information and communication technologies (ict) has significantly contributed to demystifying cultism on campuses. through providing accessible information about cult groups, ict empowers students to make informed decisions, reducing forced recruitment and enhancing transparency. the authors stress that the ease of monitoring cult activities through digital tools has triggered improved communication between staff and students, contributing to a more peaceful campus environment. their findings highlight ict's transformative role in reducing conflict, promoting awareness, and offering innovative strategies for mitigating cultism in higher institutions. obayuwana et al (2023) in their inquiry identified that social media campaigns against cultism at the university of benin were highly effective, with 67.4% of respondents affirming their use to raise awareness. the authors enlighten that whatsapp (30.7%) and facebook (21.2%) were the most utilized platforms, demonstrating their effectiveness in engaging the target audience. they delineate that a significant portion (78%) of participants perceived the campaigns’ influence as positive, and 30.17% rated them as very effective. these findings align with the uses and gratifications theory, as students actively sought and engaged with preferred platforms, and the technological determinism theory, as social media shaped attitudes and behaviors towards cultism. this underscores social media’s potential as a powerful tool for addressing social issues. these already acknowledged shifts highlights the urgent need for digital literacy campaigns and robust monitoring of online activities to curb the proliferation of cultism among youth. evidently, since cultists exploit digital platforms for recruitment; and since digital platforms have been verified to be effective in combating digital youth cult recruitment: artificial intelligence (ai) offers the most effective and preeminent countermeasure through detection, monitoring, and intervention. hence, this study focuses on leveraging ai-driven systems to detect and prevent youth cult recruitment in awka metropolis, anambra state, nigeria. it addresses the interplay of physical and digital tactics used in recruitment. the research employs a qualitative methodology, integrating primary and secondary data collection methods. it utilizes ethnographic approaches and digital content analysis to explore the socio-cultural and technological dimensions of cult recruitment. the study is anchored in the theoretical framework of routine activity theory (rat). data-driven investigations the menace of secret cultism among youth in awka metropolis in awka south local government area of anambra state, nigeria; poses a significant socio-security challenge, manifesting in acts of vandalization and alarming incidences of cult-related killings. this subculture thrives in awka urban settings, fueled by peer pressure, a quest for social identity, and the lure of perceived igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 132 protection and influence. cult groups often engage in destructive activities, such as defacing public and private properties, thereby disrupting the urban aesthetic and causing financial losses. more troubling are the violent rivalries between these groups, leading to frequent clashes and the loss of young lives, destabilizing families and awka urban-center. the normalization of fear and lawlessness further undermines the efforts of law enforcement, perpetuating a cycle of violence and distrust. afunugo (2023) enunciates that the menace of cultism in awka metropolis, particularly in okpuno and awka town, has led to rampant killings and widespread destruction of properties in contemporary times. factors contributing to this crisis include the lack of parental closeness and love, the transmission of negative behavioral patterns from parents to children, societal influences, and the failure of parents to instill godly principles in their children. additionally, wealthy adult sponsors within secret cult groups exacerbate the problem by funding these activities. the author accentuates that these dynamics create an environment conducive to cultism, resulting in significant harm to lives and properties in the region. afunugo underscores the urgent need for targeted solutions to address these challenges. the editorial of this day live (2024) stipulates that the menace of cultism in awka metropolis presents a grave threat to social stability and the security of lives and property, fueled by the pursuit of supremacy, territorial dominance, and acts of violence. this pervasive issue undermines the future of youth and disrupts societal progress, demanding urgent and decisive intervention. eleke (2024) reports that a tragic mass shooting, suspected to be linked to cult activities, occurred in nibo, a suburb of awka, during the onwa asaa festival, claiming at least 16 lives and leaving the community in mourning. the attack, reportedly carried out by assailants arriving in a black lexus suv, targeted an eatery and a location near the eke nibo market, both close to the governor's lodge. witnesses described the scene as chaotic, with indiscriminate gunfire causing significant casualties, primarily among youths celebrating the festival. the editorial board relates that the local police, attributing the violence to cult-related clashes, confirmed the incident and emphasized ongoing investigations, while urging witnesses to provide information to aid in identifying the perpetrators. the community, devastated by the violence, has called on authorities to prioritize peace and security to prevent further tragedies. eleweke (2024) articulates that a surge in cult-related violence in awka urban-center has resulted in over 34 deaths within three weeks, with high-profile incidents including the killing of a tricycle revenue collector at aroma junction and a judiciary staff member near eke awka market during the easter period of 2024. notable hotspots such as ifite, okpuno, and unizik junction have witnessed multiple attacks at regular intervals. the columnist details that stakeholders like lawmakers henry mbachu and victor umeh, along with ozo ndu nwakalor and mrs. ogechukwu ekwuozor, attribute the crisis to declining moral values and ineffective community actions. despite interventions, including 54 gates, vigilant groups, and anti-cult laws, fear and community shielding of culprits hinder progress, as noted by sp tochukwu ikenga. governor charles soludo has pledged to address the menace, urging collaborative action to restore safety. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 133 ugwu (2024) chronicles that ezinano community in awka conurbation has responded to already reckoned deadly attack that occurred on 20 october 2024 during the onwa asaa festival in neighboring nibo community. the attack, which the police attributed to a cult-related clash, equally claimed victims from ezinano, prompting the community leader, jeff nweke, to announce a n10 million bounty for information leading to the perpetrators' capture during the ezinano day cultural celebration on 1 november 2024. ugwu elucidates that mr. nweke condemned the violence and declared a zero-tolerance stance on cultism, urging residents to collaborate with security agencies. ndife (2024) relates that the national youth council of nigeria (nycn), anambra north zone, has launched gotruhub, a web application developed by hon. abuchi nduba, to address issues such as child abuse, trafficking, cultism, and inefficiency in schools and the public sector. the initiative, unveiled on december 14, 2024, at the oyi council headquarters in nteje, was supported by stakeholders from seven local government areas and praised by leaders including comr. peter maurice nnekwe and amb. innocent nduanya. this study posits that digital security in anambra state as a whole will be significantly advanced by integrating artificial intelligence (ai) into gotruhub, enabling enhanced monitoring of student records, employee performance, and community safety to relative effect, while also tackling cultism in awka metropolis. afunugo (2025, n.p) eventually streamlines that in recent years, the proliferation of digital platforms has transformed the operations of youth cults in awka, intensifying their reach and impact. these groups exploit social media and encrypted messaging apps to recruit new members, often appealing to youthful desires for belonging and status through targeted, persuasive content. furthermore, they utilize these platforms to monitor, manipulate, and identify vulnerable individuals, orchestrating violent acts with alarming precision. the author delineates that the victims are lured into premeditated traps under the guise of social or academic engagements, underscoring how technology amplifies the cults' ability to perpetrate and conceal their atrocities. this trend necessitates urgent intervention to address the nexus between technology and youth cultism, emphasizing digital literacy and robust surveillance. theoretical underpinning this study adopts the routine activity theory (rat) in reinforcing its ideas. according to cohen et al (1979), fernando (2014), kitteringham (2020) and perera (2024), routine activity theory, introduced by marcus felson and lawrence e. cohen, emerged as a significant subfield of crime opportunity theory to explain shifts in crime rates in the united states between 1947 and 1974. distinguished from theories focused on criminality, it reconceptualizes crime as an event influenced by environmental factors, emphasizing its ecological processes. central to the theory is the convergence of three elements necessary for criminal activity: a motivated offender, a suitable target, and the absence of a capable guardian. this framework underscores the impact of routine activities of both potential victims and offenders on crime rates, redirecting scholarly focus toward situational dynamics and the availability, proximity, and exposure of targets. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 134 routine activity theory (rat) is significantly appropriate for this study as it offers a robust structure for understanding the dynamics of crime in the awka metropolis by focusing on the convergence of three key elements: motivated offenders, suitable targets, and the absence of capable guardians. unlike other criminological theories that delve into the offender's psychological or sociological background, rat emphasizes the situational and environmental conditions that facilitate criminal activities, making it especially relevant for studies exploring crime patterns within awka's urban and peri-urban settings. its emphasis on routine activities and their role in shaping opportunities for crime provides a clear lens through which to analyze how everyday behaviors, urbanization, technological advancements, and societal shifts in awka contribute to increased vulnerability or deterrence. additionally, rat's applicability in both micro and macrolevel analyses enables researchers to identify crime trends within awka and develop targeted intervention strategies that address the root situational factors, thus enhancing the study's practical implications for local policy and prevention efforts. a significant observation reveals that some awka indigenous parents rarely advise or monitor their youths, enabling unchecked adventurous tendencies that nurture cult involvement. additionally, a notable proportion remains unemployable and jobless, underscoring this theory's relevance to the study. digital recruitment strategies of cult groups in awka metropolis in the course of this research, it was discovered that cult groups in awka metropolis leverage digital platforms for recruitment, using strategies that appeal to the youth and exploit the anonymity of the online world. social media platforms such as facebook, instagram, whatsapp, and tiktok are central to their operations. these groups use targeted messaging, sharing motivational posts, promises of protection, and images of power and affluence to attract followers, especially youngsters of 15 years and above. closed groups or invite-only pages allow them to groom potential recruits while using trending hashtags to make their content relatable and appealing. messaging apps like whatsapp and telegram also play a critical role. these apps facilitate private communication, forming secret groups where discussions, planning, and initiation processes are carried out securely. encrypted chats on platforms like telegram provide additional privacy, making it difficult for law enforcement to track their activities. e. udeh, m. ezeaka, i. udensi and c. okoye (personal communication, december 10th, 2024) intimates that cult groups in awka suburbs exploit popular culture to reach young audiences. through music videos, catchy slang, and lyrics, they embed their ideologies into entertainment, making their message seem fashionable and aspirational. they assert that cult groups also enlist influencers or figures associated with cultism who subtly promote group affiliations through their lifestyle or social media presence. they enlighten that another strategy involves gamification, where online games, contests, and reward systems are used to attract recruits. winners of these activities are often drawn into the cult under the guise of camaraderie or belonging. according to observation, peer pressure and coercion are also common tactics. cultists create fake profiles to connect with vulnerable individuals, especially those seeking friendship, financial help, or mentorship. they may use cyberbullying or online threats to coerce individuals into joining. educational settings are another fertile ground for recruitment, with cultists infiltrating online igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 135 forums and whatsapp groups created for students. they pose as helpful peers, offering academic materials or assistance with admission processes, only to manipulate the unsuspecting individuals. e. uyawune, j. nwana, o. uwaeme, and k. ezennia (personal communication, december 10th, 2024) elucidate that the exploitation of socioeconomic challenges is another major strategy. cult groups use online platforms to offer loans, business opportunities, or quick wealth schemes, targeting youngsters struggling with unemployment or poverty. they also pose as philanthropists, providing aid to vulnerable youth who may then feel indebted to join. additionally, false promises of employment or scholarships are used to lure unsuspecting victims. these fake job postings or networking events often lead recruits to indoctrination meetings under the pretense of professional opportunities. observations also portray that the use of video content and memes further extends their reach. platforms like youtube and tiktok are filled with videos showcasing the supposed benefits of cult membership, such as financial gain, unity, and social influence. live streams of members celebrating their affiliations subtly encourage viewers to aspire to join. viral content, including memes and short clips, is crafted to spread cult ideologies in an engaging and nonthreatening way, significantly to attract secondary school students. these strategies reflect the adaptability of cult groups in awka metropolis, as they exploit the digital age to dilate their recruitment base while evading detection. obviously, cultists within awka megalopolis increasingly exploit digital spaces for sensitization and recruitment of youngsters, leveraging social media, forums, and other online platforms to target vulnerable individuals: artificial intelligence provides an effective solution to counter this by enabling real-time monitoring, content analysis, and predictive modeling to detect and disrupt recruitment activities. through ai-driven algorithms, authorities can identify harmful patterns, flag extremist content, and prevent the spread of cult ideologies, ensuring proactive and efficient intervention in the digital space. application of routine activity theory in early detection and prevention of youth cult recruitment in awka metropolis routine activity theory is particularly suitable for studying the prevention of youth cult recruitment in awka metropolis due to its focus on the interplay between motivated offenders, suitable targets, and the absence of capable guardians. its principles help identify and mitigate vulnerabilities in minors' daily routines that expose them to recruitment by cult groups. for example, unsupervised internet access and unstructured free time create opportunities for recruiters to exploit their social and emotional needs. leveraging ai-driven tools allows adults and community leaders to act as "capable guardians”, monitoring and redirecting minors' online activities to protect them from engaging with harmful content or associations. the emphasis on environmental and situational factors ensures practical interventions that disrupt pathways leading to youth involvement in cultism. the importance of addressing the technological dimensions of youth behavior in awka suburb, particularly through mobile phones and social media, cannot be overstated. cult recruiters often exploit these platforms to lure vulnerable individuals with promises of belonging, financial gain, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 136 or protection. ai tools can analyze communication patterns, flag suspicious interactions, and provide alerts to parents, guardians, or authorities. censoring minors’ handsets becomes a method of reducing their suitability as targets, making it harder for recruiters to succeed. additionally, advanced technology enables adults to guide healthier peer relationships by identifying and intervening in behaviors that signal exposure to antisocial influences. these data-driven responses ensure a proactive approach to youth vulnerability. focusing on the role of capable guardianship reinforces communal responsibility in curbing cult recruitment in awka megacity. vigilance is crucial, particularly within educational institutions, religious organizations, and family settings. ai-driven interventions equip stakeholders with real-time insights into behavioral patterns and potential risks. this reshapes the routines of minors to emphasize positive engagements while minimizing opportunities for harmful interactions. integrating this approach with technology offers an effective mechanism for early detection and prevention, creating a safer and more structured environment for youth within awka metropolis. this theory also assists in detecting youth cult recruitment in awka metropolis through a focus on both local and digital community dynamics. understanding how recruiters exploit socio-economic challenges, peer influence, and online platforms enables targeted interventions. community engagement programs and surveillance within schools can identify at-risk individuals, while monitoring online interactions and social media groups reveals digital recruitment strategies. collaboration between educational institutions and digital experts enhances awareness campaigns and employs ai tools to flag recruitment patterns, enabling proactive measures to disrupt initiation processes. leveraging artificial intelligence (ai) in early detection and prevention of youth cult recruitment in awka metropolis artificial intelligence (ai) can play a transformative role in the early detection and prevention of youth cult recruitment in awka metropolis through its ability to analyze data, detect patterns, and offer predictive insights. one of the most effective applications of ai is in monitoring social media and online platforms. ai tools utilizing natural language processing (nlp) can analyze social media posts, chat rooms, and forums to identify keywords, phrases, or patterns associated with cult recruitment activities. sentiment analysis can detect vulnerable youth expressing frustration, isolation, or interest in cult-related activities based on their online behavior. additionally, network analysis can identify links between recruiters and potential recruits by mapping communication patterns, giving authorities and community leaders the information they need to take action. in schools, ai can be used to establish early warning systems that monitor students for signs of potential cult involvement. behavioral monitoring tools powered by ai can analyze attendance records, academic performance, and behavioral changes to flag students at risk of being targeted by cult recruiters. anonymous reporting apps can also be integrated into the system, offering students a secure platform to report suspicious activities. ai can analyze these reports to identify recruitment hotspots within the school environment, helping to prevent recruitment before it escalates. ai can also support community and public awareness campaigns tailored to the specific igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 137 vulnerabilities of awka’s youth population. ai-driven campaigns can personalize content based on data insights, ensuring that the message resonates with those most at risk. in addition, aipowered chatbots can be deployed to provide anonymous guidance and support to youth at risk of recruitment or those already seeking help, offering a discreet and immediate way to address concerns. the use of ai for crime pattern prediction can significantly enhance efforts to prevent cult activities. through predictive analytics, ai can analyze historical data on cult activities and identify trends or patterns that help predict where future recruitment efforts are likely to occur within awka borough. this allows law enforcement and community leaders to take preventive measures before recruitment strategies are put into action, making interventions more proactive in the burg. surveillance and intelligence gathering can also be improved with ai. facial recognition technology and ai-powered cctv analysis can monitor public spaces like schools, recreational centers, and streets for suspicious gatherings or known cult recruiters. additionally, speech recognition tools can process audio recordings from public places to detect phrases commonly linked to cult recruitment strategies, providing authorities with actionable intelligence apposite to awka exurb. ai can also assist in providing psychological support systems to address the emotional and psychological triggers that make youth susceptible to cult recruitment. ai-powered counseling platforms can offer virtual mental health support, guiding youth through their emotional struggles in a confidential and accessible manner. risk assessment tools can analyze socioeconomic, familial, and behavioral data to assess an individual’s likelihood of being recruited, enabling interventions that are timely and targeted. collaboration with authorities is essential for ai systems to be most effective. integrated databases can be created, where schools, community leaders, and law enforcement located within awka municipality share data on cult activities. this centralized system would enable better communication and coordinated responses to prevent recruitment efforts. real-time alerts can also be sent to law enforcement when ai systems detect potential recruitment activities, ensuring a swift and targeted response. however, there are challenges associated with the use of ai in this context, including ethical concerns. it is crucial to ensure data privacy and prevent the misuse of surveillance systems, making ethical considerations a top priority. ai should complement, not replace, human intervention, and community involvement is essential to effectively address the issue. local leaders and educators must remain actively engaged in the process. additionally, continuous training of ai models is necessary to adapt to evolving cult strategies and linguistic changes, ensuring that the systems remain effective in identifying and preventing recruitment activities. through the strategic integration of ai with strong community partnerships, awka metropolis can take proactive measures to address the threat of youth cult recruitment, creating a safer environment for the youth. conclusion this research highlights the significant potential of artificial intelligence in addressing the growing concern of youth involvement in cult activities in awka metropolis. leveraging ai's igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 138 capabilities in pattern recognition and data analysis underscores how early detection systems can proactively identify at-risk youths, potentially halting recruitment efforts before they escalate. implementing such technology could be instrumental in developing targeted intervention strategies, empowering local authorities, community leaders, and social organizations to act more swiftly and effectively in combating the influence of cult groups considering that they have evolved into recruitment via digital space. despite its promise, this study faces several limitations. the reliance on data collection from various sources introduces the challenge of ensuring the accuracy and completeness of the data germane to awka cosmopolis. furthermore, ai systems are susceptible to biases inherent in the training datasets, which could lead to false positives or missed identification of individuals at risk. another challenge lies in the integration of ai solutions into existing local law enforcement and community structures, requiring significant investment in both infrastructure and training. the study acknowledges that ai, while promising, cannot fully replace human involvement in understanding the complex social and psychological factors contributing to youth recruitment into cults. while the study offers valuable insights, it does not claim to be exhaustive in its exploration of ai's potential role in preventing youth cult recruitment in awka metropolis. further research is needed to evaluate the long-term impact of ai-driven interventions on community dynamics and the mental health of individuals involved. future studies should also explore the ethical implications of using ai for surveillance and data collection, particularly in relation to privacy and consent. an interdisciplinary approach combining ai with psychological and sociological insights could enhance the effectiveness of prevention strategies, projecting a more holistic understanding of youth vulnerability to cult recruitment in awka urban-center. recommendations this study proffers the following recommendations apropos to its explorations: 1. the government of anambra state should take decisive action to proscribe and sanction any manifestations of cult group presence, both in physical spaces and online platforms, as these behaviors undermine societal cohesion and public safety. the proliferation of such groups is often signaled through specific dress codes, coded greetings, and deliberate online content, all of which serve as a means of reinforcing identity and exerting influence over vulnerable populations. these symbolic markers, though seemingly benign, represent an implicit endorsement of violence, intimidation, and illicit activities. to combat this growing threat, the government must implement a robust regulatory framework that targets not only physical displays but also digital manifestations of cult culture. this should include strict surveillance of online spaces, penalizing the dissemination of content that promotes or glorifies cult-related practices. additionally, enforcing laws that prohibit cultrelated attire and greetings in public spaces will create a visible deterrent, signaling a firm stance against the normalization of such groups. such a comprehensive approach would igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 139 serve both as a preventative measure and as a punitive action against those who attempt to infiltrate and destabilize the social fabric of awka. 2. it is crucial for parents and guardian’s resident within awka metropolis to exercise a proactive role in monitoring their children's digital activities, as the pervasive influence of the internet exposes them to various potential risks. regularly censoring and reviewing children's phones not only ensures that they are engaging with appropriate content, but also enables parents to identify and address irregular behaviors or communication patterns that may signal exposure to harmful influences, such as online predators, cyber-bullying, or inappropriate peer interactions. furthermore, this oversight incubates a safe digital environment, allowing for timely intervention and correction, thus empowering guardians to provide guidance on navigating the complexities of online spaces while reinforcing the importance of responsible digital citizenship. 3. the pervasive menace of cultism in awka metropolis warrants consistent exposure in digital spaces; as such visibility serves to instill fear, awareness, and a profound aversion to the futile allure of joining cult groups among the younger generation. via shedding light on the violent and destructive outcomes associated with cult activities, including loss of life, personal freedom, and societal harmony, digital platforms can become a powerful tool for educating youth on the devastating consequences of such affiliations. this digital dissemination of gory details not only raises awareness but also cultivates a critical consciousness, prompting young individuals to reject the false sense of power and belonging that cultism falsely promises. furthermore, it aids in dismantling the normalization of such practices, thereby cultivating a culture of resilience and moral fortitude in the face of peer pressure and societal influences that may otherwise encourage such hazardous behaviors. 4. in awka metropolis, the issue of limiting the number of children per family warrants a comprehensive discourse among government officials, religious leaders, and key stakeholders, given the socio-economic challenges that many households face in providing for their children. the argument in favor of limiting family sizes emphasizes the responsibility of parents to ensure they can adequately care for, educate, and sustain their children. with the increasing strain on resources and the inability of many families to meet basic needs, children are left vulnerable and more likely to rely on external, often detrimental, influences for survival, such as criminal organizations or cultism. therefore, it becomes essential for policymakers to adopt measures that not only regulate family sizes but also encourage programs that empower families to meet the growing demands of nurturing and training their children. religious leaders can play a pivotal role in creating awareness and promoting responsible parenthood, while stakeholders must collaborate to provide support systems that minimize societal vulnerabilities and deter the rise of harmful alternatives for survival. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 140 5. the nigerian government must prioritize the full integration of artificial intelligence (ai) into the nation's digital infrastructure, educational systems, and social institutions to address critical societal challenges, such as youth cult recruitment in the country. leveraging ai-driven mechanisms, such as predictive analytics, natural language processing, and real-time monitoring systems, enables authorities to identify patterns and behaviors indicative of cult activities, facilitating proactive intervention. integrating ai into educational institutions not only stimulates digital literacy among students but also creates a secure academic environment where recruitment tactics are flagged and countered. embedding ai into comprehensive social systems ensures a coordinated approach to combating this menace through actionable insights for law enforcement and community stakeholders. such a strategic adoption of ai technology underscores the government's commitment to safeguarding the youth and promoting a culture of peace and academic excellence in the country. 6. miller (2020) argument that fears of ai surpassing human intelligence and taking over society are unfounded, as ai lacks the capacity for independent thought, self-awareness, and complex linguistic understanding is worth reflecting pertinent to contemporary ambivalence towards ai integration into every aspect of human endeavors alongside social institutions. the author enunciates that unlike humans, whose cognitive processes are shaped by experiences, desires, and dynamic thought patterns, ai relies solely on preprogrammed algorithms and lacks the ability to comprehend or generate consciousness. while ai has advanced significantly in assisting with tasks, its inability to externalize thoughts or interpret sophisticated language ensures that it cannot autonomously outsmart or control humans, making a technological "singularity" implausible with current developments. consequently, the nigerian government should embrace ai's transformative potential, recognizing its inability to surpass human autonomy, and leverage its numerous advantages to enhance efficiency, innovation, and development across all sectors, ensuring its full integration into social and institutional structures for national progress. references afunugo, k.n. (2025, n.p). cult killings in awka metropolis: escalating insecurity and the perilious future of the youth. tansian university journal of arts, management & social sciences. afunugo, k. n. et al (2023). the menace of cultism in awka south local government area of anambra state,nigeria.interdisciplinary journal of african & asian studies(ijaas),9(1), 1-18. cohen, l. e. et al. (1979). social change and crime rate trends: a routine activity approach. american sociological review, 44 (4), 588-608. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 141 dasser, s. (2024). does social media build community or cults? the spectator, 113(1). https://studyspec.com. eleke, d.c. (2024). suspected cultists launch deadly attack in anambra, leaving many dead. arise news. https://www.google.com.tv. eleweke, t. (2024, november 23). how cult war is unsettling anambra. daily trust. https://dailytrust.com. fernando, m. (2014, january 31).routine activity theory.in m.j. miller (ed). the encyclopedia of theoretical criminology (1st ed.). doi:10.100219781118517390. global data. (2024). cults and social media: freedom of speech or freedom to control speech? verdict. https://www.verdict.co.uk. hassan, s. (2022).how social media features parallel cult techniques. centre for humane technology. https://www.humanetech.com/insights. kitteringham, g. et al. (2020). environmental crime control. in l.j. fenelly (ed.). handbook of loss prevention and crime prevention (6th ed., pp.207-222). miller, g. (2020). artificial intelligence outsmarting humans (nah). pb:pressbooks. https://pressbooks.pub/singularityisnotnigh/chapter/artificial-intelligence-outsmarting humans-nah. ndife, d. (2024, november 11). technology : anambra youth council launch corruption to fight insecurity, corruption, in schools, public sector. anambra news and update: uchinna kachis. https://www.facebook.com/share/14kwcaaly/?mibexid=of dknk. obayuwana, b. e. et al. (2023). utilization of social media for the campaign against cultism in the university of benin. in e.s. asemah (ed.). mass media,politics and civic engagement in nigeria (pp.69-80). franklead. oladunjoye, p. et al. (2016). impact of information and communication technology in curbing secret cult activities in nigeria universities. journal of information engineering and applications, 6(8), 17-12. perera, a. (2024, february 13). routine activities theory: definition & examples. simply psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/routine-activities-theory.html. suanu, n. w. et al.(2023).the influence of social media on some anti-social behaviors (cultism and bullying) among secondary school students in eleme local government area of rivers state, southern nigeria. european journal of training and development studies, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 142 10 (1), 10-21. the editorial of this day live. (2024). awka and the renewed cult wars. this day live. https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2024/11/14/. ugwu, c. (2024, november 2). community places n10 million bounty on gunmen who killed many in anambra. premium times. https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/751396. uzoigwe, c. f. et al (2024). combating cultism in nigeria’s digital society by leveraging youth prenuership for community development. wukari international studies journal, 8(1),60 73. 22 a philosophical evaluation of the core principles of yoruba beliefs regarding the relationships between god, humanity and the cosmos peter abiodun ojo department of philosophy peterojo2008@gmail.com doi:10.13140/rg.2.2.25338.81600 abstract this study, "a philosophical evaluation of the core principles of yoruba beliefs regarding the relationships between god, humanity, and the cosmos," examines the intricate connections among these fundamental elements from a traditional yoruba perspective. several fallacies about african philosophy, particularly the notion that africans lack philosophical inclination, are attempted to be refuted by the critical exposition for the benefit of western readers. an understanding of yoruba culture is necessary before delving into the relationships between god, man, and the universe. the yoruba people's philosophical position is understood in light of their geography, language, beliefs, and social structure. this study of african philosophy looks at elements, sources, techniques, and a problem. the study provides insights into yoruba concept of god's existence, primacy, and eternity by delving deeply into the nature, attributes, omnipresence, omnipotence, transcendence, and moral aspects of god in yoruba belief. the study also looks at how the yoruba define man, highlighting their sociological and anthropological viewpoints that highlight the intricate relationship between man and nature, the notion of an eternal soul, the belief in reincarnation, and the characteristics that, in yoruba philosophy, characterize human life. a careful analysis of god's relationship with man and the universe reveals the importance of the creator-creature relationship, god's omnipotence, and the cosmic order that was ordered by god. examining the yoruba people's beliefs—transcendence, reincarnation, and their seeming dependence on gods as intermediaries—the work emphasizes the community's brotherhood and solidarity while denouncing the theological foundations and purported dogmatism of their philosophical approach. keywords: yoruba belief, divine attributes, african philosophy, omniscience and cosmos introduction the yoruba people of nigeria are endowed with a complex cultural fabric that is based on a philosophy that deftly weaves together the concepts of god, man, and the cosmos. their worldview and way of life are shaped by a complex network of connectivity that goes beyond simple spirituality and is deeply ingrained in their belief system.� examining this paradigm is similar to embarking on a philosophical journey across a terrain where the holy, the cosmic, and the human converge to form a stunning whole. olodumare, the supreme being, and humanity are believed to be connected by a pantheon of deities called orishas,� which are the center of yoruba belief. by emulating emotions, human traits, and natural components, these orishas symbolize a variety of facets of life. they represent the diversity and depth of human experience, serving as both divine representations and guides in our world. also, the yoruba lay a great deal of stress on god, man, and the cosmos' interconnectedness and interdependence with one another in their conception of their interactions. as a microcosm of the cosmos, man is �smith, oluwakemi. "ethnic diversity and conflict in nigeria: a comparative study of the hausa-fulani, yoruba, and igbo ethnic groups." journal of black studies, vol. 48, no. 6, 2017, pp. 571–587. �idowu, e. bolaji. olodumare, god in yoruba belief. london: longman, 1962. p. 61 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 23 intimately connected to both the divine and cosmic forces. the foundation of ethical behavior and communal life is this connection, which promotes a sense of responsibility for both the environment and other people.� essential elements of the dynamic equilibrium that the yoruba belief system embodies are harmony and balance. this harmony is reflected in the concept of ori, which represents a person's inner consciousness and destiny. furthermore, the intricate cosmology of the yoruba people consists of both visible and invisible levels in their universe. orun, the spiritual realm, is home to heavenly creatures and ancestor spirits, whereas aye, the visible realm, is the material world as perceived by the senses. the seamless connection between diverse worlds is the basis of yoruba ceremonies, rites, and divination practices, which are meant to maintain equilibrium and seek guidance from supernatural entities. in addition, the yoruba cosmogony tells the story of creation and the continual cycle of existence. its discussion of legendary tales, divine interventions, and the never-ending dance between order and chaos mirrors the cyclical pattern of existence itself. yoruba philosophy is based on the communal fabric of society and emphasizes reciprocity, interconnectedness, and the maintenance of cosmic equilibrium. this relationship incorporates aspects of the natural world, animals, plants, and spirituality in addition to the human sphere, which promotes a holistic perspective on life. through the relationships between god, man, and the cosmos, yoruba theology displays a fundamental connectivity that transcends boundaries and embodies a holistic understanding of existence. a deep respect for the interconnection of all elements of creation is promoted by this philosophical worldview, which masterfully weaves together the sacred, the personal, and the cosmic. the purpose of this paper is to critically explain african conceptions of god, man and cosmos with the aim of bringing out their relationships. the scope of the subject will need a critical, philosophical, and minimally biased/subjective approach to the task. analysis of god, man and his characteristics as a rational animal shall follow. the list proceeds to explain the cosmos as an entity. a critical look at the connections among the previously listed would then be done and conclusion would be drawn. a discourse on african philosophy generally speaking, philosophy studies anything that comes under its umbrella. it harvests human conjecture while accepting critical explanation and reality-investigation. african philosophy, according to pantaleon iroegbu in his book "enwisdominaton and africa philosophy," is the thoughtful investigation into the issues and challenges that face people in the african continent with the goal of developing methodical justifications and enduring solutions.� it's a multifaceted research that has philosophical and african components. african in that it provides answers to queries about god, spirits, the afterlife, humanity, neighbors, and other dimensions of existence and supernatural entities. the debate on african philosophy is a complex one that has been ongoing for decades, with scholars, philosophers, and thinkers like kwasi wiredu, ogunmodede and oladipo engaging in discussions about the nature, scope, and validity of african philosophical thought. this debate centers on the question of definition of african philosophy, some philosophers argue that african philosophy should be understood in terms of its distinct cultural and historical contexts, while others advocate for a more universal definition that encompasses philosophical inquiry conducted by africans or about africa, regardless of the cultural background of the philosopher. there is also the problem of universalism and particularism, those who argue for the universality �falola, toyin, and matthew m. heaton. a history of nigeria. cambridge university press, ����. p.��� �panteleon iroegbu. enwisdomization and african philosophy. owerri: int. university press, ����. p. ��� igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 24 of philosophical concepts and methods and those who emphasize the particularity of african philosophical traditions. the issue of relevance and application is another debate in african philosophy. advocates of african philosophy often highlight its relevance to contemporary issues facing african societies, such as development, governance, and identity politics. they argue that african philosophy can provide insights and solutions that are grounded in african cultural and social realities. however, critics sometimes question the practical utility of african philosophy outside of academic circles or its ability to address global philosophical concerns. overall, the debate on african philosophy is ongoing, characterized by diverse perspectives and approaches. while there are disagreements about its definition, scope, and relevance, there is however a growing recognition of the richness and diversity of african philosophical thought and its potential contributions to global philosophical discourse. the yoruba race the yoruba people are not limited to nigeria; they are also found in dahomey, senegal, jamaica, brazil, and several other countries of africa. the old benin kingdom's land fell under the fierce force of britain in 1893. on the french frontier, it is located in the west, south of the jebba and south of the okpara river. they speak a language related to the sudanic language family called yoruba. they have great regard for marriage and the idea of celibacy is seldom discussed among them since polygamy is a well-established culture with many implications.� farming is their primary occupation and one method yorubas show off their prosperity is by the collection of property, which includes spouses, land, animals, and other items.� the chief magistrate, known as the "baale," is the only alternative to the monarchical (king) style of administration that is now in place in yoruba nation. also, they hold that since god is too great for humans to approach directly, he must be approached through intermediaries, or divinities. god the african understanding of god is that he is inquisitive.� and according to africans and yorubas in pa r t i cu la r, t hese qua l i t i e s—omnisc ience , omnipresence , and omnipotence—comprise his divine attributes.� god is adored in all religions and cultures because he is the pinnacle of absolute divinity and is beyond human comprehension. god is frequently seen as the origin of creation, wisdom, and cosmic order. he is also thought to be omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. worldview depicts a variety of things, ranging from a single all-powerful being to gods with many facets.� this divine presence gives rise to ideas of love, justice, mercy, and guidance that provide consolation, direction, and moral guidance. the image of god differs. the concept omniscience – all knowing (ologbon/oloyejulo), means "only god is wise olorun nikan logbon,"�� as yoruba people say. being a sage is the highest title that can be bestowed upon someone. someone who is regarded as wise belongs to a unique class. it is said that god is the source of all wisdom, knowledge, and comprehension. because man is finite, his intelligence is restricted. "what do you do in concealment that god's eyes do not reach?" yoruba do ask. god is called "oba to ri bi toju o to, abe ti lu kara bi ajere," meaning "he who sees both the inside and outside of man" (the discerner of hearts). omnipresence 'oba to wa nibi gbogbo' is �smith, oluwakemi. "ethnic diversity and conflict in nigeria: a comparative study of the hausa-fulani, yoruba, and igbo ethnic groups." ibid. pp. 571–587. �ibid �ngozi, adebayo. "exploring african spiritual paradigms: insights into the divine inquiry" in journal of african philosophy, vol. 32, no. 4, 2023. pp. 123-140 �idowu, bolaji. olodumare, god in yoruba belief. ibid. p. 38 �mbiti, john s. concept of god in african. london: s.p.c.k, 1970. p. 90 ��idowu, bolaji, ibid. p.41 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 25 the proof that god is "contemporary of everything." supernaturally strong individuals do occupy two places. since he created everything and by virtue of his supremacy, he is present everywhere and at all times, he does not require invitations or bilocation to be present. the aforementioned evidence demonstrates that the yoruba call god "oba lailai". omnipotence – all powerful, 'alagbara nla/algbara julo is the fact that heaven and earth hold the greatest power for the almighty god. for all intents and purposes, olodumare's perpetual existence has been accepted as true without inquiry by the yoruba. god chose the path for man when he created him. his earthly ministers are those divinities more powerful than man.�� africans generally perceive god's power in natural phenomena; for example, thunder is said to be the resounding voice of god.�� people believe that it is "easy to do as that which god performs; difficult to do as that which god enables not" because things are achievable when they follow his orders. god is equally praised by the ngombe as "the all-power and first judge."�� additionally, the most warlike zulu nation in south-africa, conceive of god as the 'irresistible'. the abaluyla look at the omnipotence of god in a different text, they believe that god has the power to alter the natural laws which he has established.�� they therefore pray him to let natural phenomena continue normally – just in case he should change them. the ashanti take god as 'the powerful and source of power'. in terms of time, the future was almost nonexistent in the african conception of time, which placed more emphasis on the past and present than on the future.�� there isn't a single tale for the future; all of our myths are for the past. individuals believe that god exists somewhere beyond the past, thus their lives are rooted in it. consequently, the akans honor the one who never fades. the yoruba, just as it appears in judeo – christian thought refer to him as "arugbo ojo," meaning "ancient of days." god is shown in all of the above as transcendent, above temporal comparison, and is put as far as possible. in terms of space, distance and outreach, it is reasonably simple to establish parallels between space and other tangible comparisons. africans express their understanding of god primarily through language. in fact, it appears as though the sky is calling men to look up at it, offering them an endless display of distance and space. the gikyu are so convinced that the heavenly bodies and occurrences are god's manifestations that it is banned for anyone to look up at the sky during a thunderstorm, even though the yoruba referred to him as "oba airi—the invisible king." for some people, god's transcendence is synonymous with devotion and exaltation—he is deserving of honor. in terms of human explanation, it is infinite for some people, and infinite for others. the external attributes of god the yoruba say, "he is unmade; no one is made up of him, and no one is beyond him." there is nothing beyond him because he is the embodiment of everything that existed in the old testament. to support this view, the gikuyu hold the following beliefs: god is alone, he is neither a child nor an old man, and he will remain the same for all eternity. god has no father, mother, wife, or children.�� ��ibid, p.44 ��fatima nkrumah, "divine echoes: exploring the symbolism of thunder in religious thought". 2022. journal of comparative religion, vol. 47, no. 2, pp. 213-230 ��kwame osei, "exploring the divine attributes: reflections on the all-powerful and first judge". 2023. theological review, vol. 68, no. 3, pp. 45-62 ��nomusa khumalo, "exploring cultural perspectives on the divine: conceptions of god among the zulu nation and the abaluyla people". 2021, african studies journal, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 78-94 ��kwesi amoah, "exploring african cosmologies: the ashanti concept of god and temporal perspectives". 2022. african studies quarterly, vol. 38, no. 3, pp. 112-129 ��wanjiku njeri, "exploring gikuyu cosmology: beliefs and conceptions of the divine", 2023. african cultural studies journal, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 45-62 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 26 god as the first and last cause is the notion that specifically portrays god as the first being, the source of all things, and the ultimate power and authority over all.�� for this reason, he is called by the yoruba "ibere ati opin, ohun gbogbo, oba lana, oba loni, oba titi aye anipekun, eleda, oba to wa kaye to wa, ti o si tun wa nigba taye o ba si mo." god is already regarded as the initial cause in these descriptive names, even if he is not the reason. the spiritual attribute of god can be understood through this poem among the yoruba. oni olorun ni ola olorun na ni to lo le yaworan olorun se boun lo ro ta n so jade lenu oba tin be ti o si tun ma be olorun to to fun-un�� since god is spirit and invisible, he is represented by images like stone, water, iron etc. ageless god without termination, he endures from everlasting to everlasting. the yoruba also call him the mighty immovable rock that never dies. as in a popular song – they sing” one never hears of the death of god. the following are the moral attributes of god as seen and experienced by the yoruba through history, piety, mercy, kindness, love, comfort, faithfulness, goodness, anger, will, justice, righteousness and holiness. man according to myths, the original state of man was that of happiness, childlike ignorance, and immortality. it is nearly impossible to give a definition of man that will be satisfactory to all schools of thought in african philosophy.�� man is a social being; among the yoruba of nigeria, a man cannot live independence of others “igi kan o le da gbo se”. this above in the communal living of man, it also prove that man is a socio-rational being. man relate horizontally with man and vertically with god; the spirits, the departed ones and ancestors. man realizes his destiny in the community.�� the culture of the yoruba is built on their ancestral father-oduduwa, and it is impossible to build a culture without a base, and this base is the rationality of the yoruba, which also embraces their logic. the yoruba have a coined name for man, which is' eniyan' that is “eni ti a yan” 'one that is chosen'. the general african doctrine of man does not admit the dualism which is the characteristic of western – greece roman culture. man is not split into two conflicting principles, the body and the soul. but african anthropology conceives man as one unit.�� some african anthropology including the yoruba, identify four principles in each man; the soul, the destiny soul, the ancestral spirit, human beinghimself (eniyan) 'real person'.�� soul, 'emi' is conceived as a vivifying principle, a life force which links man is a serious relationship with the other life-forces in the universe. destiny soul, 'ayanmo emi' is believed that it incarnates man and links man with his family, clean and other human society. the ancestral sprit – 'emi awon baba nla' is believed that it incarnates and links man with his family, clan and other human society. the yoruba people also hold the belief that humans possess numerous souls, as listed by emefie metuh.�� first, there is the breath-related "emi." it is found in the man's vital force, or life ��ibid ��this is commonly said by the elders during the moon tale ��panteleon iroegbu. enwisdomization and african philosophy. ibid ��emefie ikenga metuh. god and man in african religion. london: geoffrey chapman bk. pub, ����. p. �� ��fadipe n. a. sociology of the yoruba. ibadan: university press, ����. p. ��� ��ibid ��emefie ikenga metuh. god and man in african religion. ibid. p. �� igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 27 essence, as well as in the lungs and chest. when "emi" exits the body, the man dies. moreover, it might exit the body as you sleep and get caught or consumed by witches. witches are able to assault people with their own "emi." then there is the 'iponri' or personal destiny.�� this is associated with the head-'ori', and conceived of as a spirit – double. one part is in heaven and acts as a guardian spirit, the other is a person's head and represents his destiny. the spirit guarding in heaven choses a person's 'ori' or destiny before he is born, kneeling before olodumare the creator who their upon fixed it on the head. thereafter the 'iponri' in heaven helps a person to realize his destiny on earth. 'iponri' also called the 'eleda', represents the partial rebirth or reincarnation of an ancestor, so it is sometimes called the person's guardian ancestor. also, associated with the man is 'ojiji'shadow, which follows him about but has no function. man and nature are inseparable; in fact, they are closely linked. there is the existence-centered context of the cosmos. in nature, man fulfills his destiny (ayanmo), but with the previously mentioned supernatural extension. about man and immortality, the yoruba people have the belief that human spirit is eternal. he'll make it through bodily death one way or another. he will nevertheless retain his identity as a person in it, partially as a disembodied spirit and fully as an incarnated person. according to oladipo in his paper, 'the yoruba conception of a person', emi of a person can be seen to be similar in certain respects to okra of the akans. they are both for instance regarded as the undying part of man which is given directly by the creator before man is born into the world. also, emi of yorubas like okra of akan he claimed can advise a person on what to do and what not to do.�� however, they are not the same, for instance the akan according to gyekye regarded okra as transmitter of the individual destiny. but the yoruba see it in another way, ori according to him is the embodiment of individual's destiny, the individuality element which is claimed to be responsible for a person's personality.�� and in the words of segun gbadegesin, ori called inner head is the bearer of a person's destiny as well as determinant of personality. this view of gbadegesin is questionable as only ori cannot be regarded as determinant of man's personality. furthermore, barry hallen and sodipo�� opined that, a person in yoruba philosophy is composed of three essential components: the body (ara); the life-giving element (emi); and the spiritual head (ori), which determines one's fate. the tripartite conception of a man is the term used to describe this viewpoint. the term "body," or ara, refers to all of the physical components, such as the brain, intestine, liver, and so forth, that together form an individual. according to popular belief, emi is the immaterial component that supplies the energy needed for a person to be considered conscious or alive. also, bolaji idowu concurs with this submission when he also opines that “emi” is the life giving force of man. its presence or absence he says in man makes the difference between life and death.�� the yoruba belief is that emi lives on even after departing from the body and the original body that serves as house for the emi that lives on can be seen in other places by people who don't know that, emi has departed his or her original house. ��olufemi adeoye, "exploring yoruba concept of destiny: the notion of 'iponri” african cultural perspectives, vol. ��, no. �, pp. ��-�� ��oladipo o. “the yoruba conception of a person. an analytico-philosophical study” in international studies in philosophy, (usa, vol ��, ����) p.�� ��gbadegesin, s. “an outline of a theory of destiny”, ibid ��hallen, barry, and sodipo, j.o, knowledge, belief, and witchcraft: analytic experiments in african philosophy , (stanford. stanford university press, ����) p.�� ��bolaji idowu, god in yoruba belief, (longmans, ����) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 28 cosmos the universe, or cosmos, is all of space and is thought to be a well-ordered structure. to elaborate on the definition provided above, the cosmos is the manifestation of every natural entity that inhabits space, the sky, and even beneath the ground. africans believe that these objects are the work of god or a physical embodiment of his omnipotent might. the yoruba people also think that these bodies are divinities in and of themselves, which is why they need to be worshipped and revered. the heavens, the sky, the firmament, the sun, the moon, stars, rain, rainbows, thunder, lightning, wind, storms, earth, rivers, lakes, rocks, metals, and clay, day and night, heat, and cold, are some of the elements that make up the universe.�� the african belief that heaven is the home of god (olodumare) and the place from which he oversees all that occurs on earth is known as heaven, sky, and firmament.�� the yoruba people, in particular, believe that the sky and firmament hold the sun, moon, and stars in place and serve as a border between heaven and earth. man is made of light by the sun and moon. mythology states that the sun and moon were friends up until their argument, at which point god intervened and gave the sun more light and the moon less, creating day and night. ever since that day, the two have never again been together. rain on the other hand represents god's favor bestowed upon both good and evil people on earth. agriculture has advanced as a result of it. on the other hand, the rainbow, also known as "osumare," is a symbol of god's covenant with humanity and the beauty of god's creation. thunder and lightning is known among the yoruba as a searcher for lost items; it becomes involved, thunders, and brings out the item with the appropriate punishment meted out to the culprit. when the god of thunder, or "sango," becomes irritated, people appease him so that he won't become irritated with them. it is said that lightning is "oya," the beloved spouse of sango, the erstwhile monarch of oyo town. additionally, it is belief that god recognized earth and earthquakes and made the world to be the home of humans. "ile ogere a fokoyeri" is how the yoruba refer to olodumare blessing humanity and providing for their needs.�� the result of the earth's god being irritated is earthquakes. and people do make all the sacrifices necessary to please it. relationships between god and man it is important to talk about the relationships that africans, and yoruba people in particular, have with god after examining what god is thought to be in african conceptions. it will be important to understand that the yoruba, as an ethnic community, rely entirely on oral tradition to pass along their history and culture. the relationship between the creator and the created is the first type of intimacy that is aroused between them. most africans consider god to be the creator, so this is the most common attribute of god's works or activities. people believe that man did not fall from the sky or emerge from any substance, but rather that god created him out of clay and breathed life into him to give him the name "eleda" among the yoruba. the idea is communicated by affirming unequivocally that god is the creator of everything.�� the creativity of god is more pictured in a popular song but unconfirmed source among the yoruba. the leader sings the main part and others respond. olorun eleda chorus; ye, ye, ye o da eniyan ��idowu, bolaji. african traditional religion. london: fountain publications, ����. p. �� ��ibid ��ibid ��ibid igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 29 o tun fun la'ya lati ma bi si ati lati ma re si o da aye ninu ominira re o si bunkum fun in contrast, man believes that god is the source of his being and that god is in charge of him. people's names, such as "olaolu" (god's wealth), "oluwadamilola" (the lord blesses me), and "temitope" (my quantity of thankfulness), graphically illustrate this type of relationship. the concept of reincarnation and the immortality of the soul originated from the idea that man will return to god after death, either for reward or punishment.�� relations between god and cosmos the cosmos is viewed as having been created and arranged by god, and the other bodies in it are considered to be his ministry. when he commands, they comply. nonetheless, different african societies have different ideas. for example, an earthquake is the rapid collapse or breaking of the epicenter; it does not happen in the yoruba's sphere of influence, therefore they are largely unaffected by it. the bambiti believe that god is out for a stroll. the importance that rain plays in african conceptions and lives is also readily apparent to all. a few examples of these people are the "olokun worshipers" and "yemoja worshipers." they believe that the provision of water in all its forms is a result of god's action, and they make numerous invocations, sacrifices, and offerings to ask for god's guidance during difficult times. a proverb also states that god has authority over water. "oba onibu ore eni buburu ati rere tin rojo sori eni" africans believe that the sun, moon, stars, and other manifestations of the universe serve as a bridge between them and god because they perceive god to be too majestic for humans to approach directly. in summary, god is the one who creates, corrects, and governs the universe. relations between god, man and cosmos as observed previously, the initial type of connection among them is the creator-creature relationship. the universe and man were both created by god, it is widely acknowledged, and both species strive toward their creator in order to find happiness. a different sort holds that, among the yoruba in particular, god's existence is essential while man's is contingent; in other words, all living things rely on god to survive and continue to exist. subject relationships are another kind of relationship. people view god as their minister and the cosmos as their subject. it should be mentioned that, for example, the temperature has a direct bearing on man's life and provides him with a means of conceiving, loving, and worshiping god. man uses his surroundings to fulfill the desires of his creator. it is imperative to understand that, aside from god, africans often believe that others depend on one another. conclusion this rigorous study has shown that africans do, in fact, have a conception of god. they have an abstract idea of god, nevertheless, and christian theology shows that god is more immanent than transcendent. "and the word was made flesh, and dwelt among us."�� the yoruba theory of the immortal soul of man, which emanates from god's breath, contradicts the transcendence of god, further undermining their claim that god is wholly transcendental. because god is the source of man's soul, which is always with his soul, god is present in and with man. these individuals also hold reincarnation to be true. if this isn't the case, then why, instead of seeing their current life as a continuation of their previous lifetimes, do the so-called reborn people appear as infants and have to start their battle over? they have not been able to respond ��emefie ikenga metuh. god and man in african religion. ibid, p. �� ��see the holy book of the christian, john chapter �:�� igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 30 appropriately, which suggests that the reincarnation notion is not well defined. this group of people has a commendable understanding of god, but based on the paper's content, it appears that they employed a dogmatic group of people who are still deeply committed to august comte's logical positivist understanding of the theological stage of human society. instead of employing science to provide an explanation for a confusing universe, they quickly bury the truth by creating gods and spirits. even yet, i still realize that they have an awareness of the world around them, even though their methods and approaches seem archaic and nonscientific in the perspective of modern philosophy. furthermore, the numerous theories and beliefs of this tribe reduced man to nothing more than a "robot" that is incapable of accomplishing anything on its own and is dependent on a rational creature—in this case, "god"—to survive. speaking a language unique to the sudan, this tribe becomes its handmaids since they are unable to comprehend the content of their surroundings and instead choose to exploit it. additionally, they contend that even though god created humans, he can only be contacted by deities. why, i wonder, does god alone have the right to talk with man directly? in contrast to the individualistic culture of the west, they continue to be a one nation that cherishes community over individuals and lives in brotherhood, in spite of all the criticism discussed above. bibliography emefie ikenga metuh. god and man in african religion. london: geoffrey chapman bk. pub, 1981. emordi e.c. lecture note on african history and civilization. 1996. fadipe n. a. sociology of the yoruba. ibadan: university press, 1970. hornby a.b. et al. oxford advanced learners dictionary of current english. london: elbs and oub 1974. idowu, bolaji. olodumare, god in yoruba belief. london: longman, 1962. idowu, bolaji. african traditional religion. london: fountain publications, 1973. mbiti, john s. concept of god in african. london: s.p.c.k, 1970. panteleon iroegbu. enwisdomization and african philosophy. owerri: int. university press, 1994. panteleon irogbu. the kpim of philosophy. owerri: int. universities press limited, 1995. robert edward breman. o. p. the image of his maker. usa: b.p.c, 1948 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 130 protracted boko haram terrorists' violence and financial commitments to counter-terrorism efforts by the nigerian state: between optimism and despair olugbenga seun aina & olakunle olasupo thompson department of communication and general studies, federal university of agriculture, abeokuta ainaos@funaab.edu.ng doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.33952.39688 abstract the resolve to subjugate boko haram terrorism and restore social order in the northeast and nigeria as a whole is at the top of the wish list of the nigerian state. however, the spiralling nature of the asymmetric conflict and the gruesome records of atrocities perpetrated by the terrorist group have not only intensified the apprehension regarding the dynamic trend of its violence and attendant realities, but also cast a scepticism on the effectiveness of the counter terrorism efforts of the nigerian state. this paper examines the consequences of the heinous activities of the boko haram terrorists and the efforts of the nigerian state in combating terrorism in the northeast nigeria. it further discusses the obstacles associated with the substantial financial expenditure on counter terrorism operations and also examines how sambisa forest militates against the concerted efforts to end the menace. this article argues that while there are few glimpses of optimism, the despair seems to be much more as a result of many debilitating factors such as corruption, secrecy in military spending among other things. the article concludes that a comprehensive cum effective strategy to combat terrorism in the interest of peace and meaningful development in the northern nigeria requires a balance between both the military and the civilian procedures. the article recommends among other things the need to address the root causes of terrorism while government also improves accountability of the funds dedicated to the counter-terrorism operations. keywords: boko haram, counterterrorism, protracted, terrorism, violence, introduction the global landscape is engulfed with armed conflicts and violence arising from internal wars, interstate wars and terrorism, which have manifold negative impacts on the sustainability of both domestic and international peace (kegley and wittkopf, 2004). many empirical evidences substantiate the prevalence of political violence across the world, as there is a manifestation of one variant of violent conflict or the other in different countries and every continent of the world (osaghae, 2005; lrene, 2023; prio, 2024). violence, which is the hallmark of terrorism, manifests through the harm inflicted on people by restriction of freedom, various forms of assault and killing of persons as well as destruction of valuable property (girvertz, 1974). the instrument of terrorism are varied and the propensities for terrorism are wide-ranging, but the fact is that terrorism revolves around the adoption of threat of violence as a strategy of achieving particular aims with a view to inducing fear in the victims in a ruthless manner without any regard for or conformity to humanitarian norms (kegley and wittkopf, 2004). the recent and current experiences also pose a serious challenge to human security at national, regional and international levels (kegley and wittkopf, ibid). this threat seems to dominate the polity in developing countries domiciled in asia, middle east and africa. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 131 in africa, the complexity of factors such as historical, cultural, political, economic relation, external actors etc. account for violence as a systemic variable. that is, violence is a product of the interplay of congeries of forces in a socio-political system (osaghae, 2005). from the 1970s hitherto, the enduring image of africa has been of a continent of conflict and violence perennially on the verge of survival. africa thus embodies an assemblage of nations that are prone to violence and terrorism arising mostly from conflictual socio-political and economic settings, where force and conflict make the everyday life of its inhabitants (idowu, 2005). the historical context of violence is central to explaining present-day conflicts in africa, as most historical and anthropological accounts paint a largely violent past in most parts of the continent (osaghae, 2005). africa has the weakest economy and many poverty-ridden states in the world and because of the prevalent structural problems, is vulnerable to many social, economic, political and environmental crisis. the failure of a government to carry out its conventional obligation for the citizen leads to disappointment, grievances and the quest for power to influence change. this has been the cause of different radical movements in the annals of history (forest, 2014). one recent radical movement which has become a global threat is the boko haram. boko haram is a radical islamic terrorist' organization predominantly operational in nigeria (imhonopi and urim, 2016). the terror incidents masterminded by the lslamist group are so intense that combating the threat has become the topmost political agenda in the country at the expense of socio economic undercurrents such as poverty, lack of basic and health facilities, unemployment which have been identified as partly responsible for the emergence of this menace (adesoji, 2010; okafor, 2011). this paper examined the consequences of the heinous activities of the boko haram terrorists and the efforts of the nigerian state in combating terrorism in the northeast nigeria. it further discussed the obstacles associated with the substantial financial expenditure on counter terrorism operations. as well as the prospects and despairs of the government efforts. this article contended that while there are few glimpses of optimism, the despair seems to be much more as a result of many debilitating factors such as corruption, secrecy in military spending among other things. extremism and boko haram in the northern region: an overview in the late 1970s, the gradual downward spiral of the economic condition began to dampen the hearts of many people leading to the emergence of dissenting groups in nigeria. one of such groups was maitasine movement under the leadership of muhammadu marwa who exploited the growing economic disparities between the rich and the poor to incite the poor citizens of the rural communities in northern nigeria to believe that their misery was occasioned by the intrusion of foreign western culture. he gave many inciting lectures against the rich elites and the government and eventually had many disciples. maitasine commenced series of violent attacks at kano in december 1980, which was subdued by the military and claimed marwa's life. boko haram has a historical connection with maitasine uprisings in the 1980s and this reveals its strong opposition to western civilization. two years later, maitasine riots resurfaced in maiduguri, borno state (operational base of boko haram) and the nigerian security forces crushed the last maitasine riot in 1985. nevertheless, the northern nigeria experienced several ethno-religious conflicts such as zango-kataf which were repressed by the military government between 1985 and 1999 (komolafe, 2013). boko haram, which simply refer to the prohibition of western education, is an extremist lslamists terrorist group prominent in northeast nigeria that further extends its influences to cameroon, chad and niger republic. the group whose official name is “jama'atu ahlis sunnah lidda'awati wal-jihad” meaning “people who are devoted to the spread of the prophet's teachings and jihad” began in 2002. the group gained significant recognition under the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 132 leadership of muhammed yusuf who was a young islamic cleric that influenced and incited his followers to oppose western education vehemently through his teachings. boko haram cannot be regarded as an integrated, monolithic group because there are different factions within the movement that differ about strategies and sometimes contend against each other for attention and membership. they however share the same belief that the northern region was an islamic society before the advent of colonialism with western civilization that is diametrically opposed to the tenets of islam (forest, ibid). thus, this extremist group not only desires the establishment of an islamic state and introduction of sharia law in nigeria but also contends with any economic and socio-political activity perceived to have western influence or involvement. besides, boko haram terrorists also wish to replace the modern political system in the nigerian state with the ancient muslim caliphate system similar to the famous sokoto caliphate in the precolonial period (gebremichael et. al., 2018). these ideologies have remained the driving force for boko haram, but the group has evolved its tactics over the years despite the government efforts to curtail its heinous activities (komolafe, 2013). the ideological basis of boko haram is parallel to other terrorist groups such as the al qaeda in the maghreb (aqim), al shabaab, ansauru, hezbollah, the islamic state, and others, whose cause is established on and propelled by islamic fundamentalism. the members of such groups constitute threats to the general public, particularly in circumstances where their target is a secular nation that favours the co-existence of many religious traditions (imhonopi and urim, 2016). thus, boko haram and its most dangerous faction the islamic state of west africa province (iswap) have persistently remained the chief security concern as a result of gruesome records of horrors and atrocities perpetrated majorly within the nigerian state. the movement that began purely as an insurgency later transformed into a full-blown terrorists' movement responsible for a large number of deaths and wanton destruction of property. boko haram assumed international dimension through its successful alliance with al qaeda in the islamic maghreb making it not only a regional menace but also a threat to global community (knoechelmann, 2014). the initial headquarters of boko haram group was located in borno state's capital-maiduguri, in the northeast region of nigeria where it carried out several attacks that prompted the intervention of the nation's armed forces whose operation culminated in the seizure of the group headquarters and the demise of its leader in july 2009. these led to the escalation of the crisis as this group was forced out of maiduguri and members fled to rural villages and particularly sambisa forest, which provide safe haven for them. the group under the new leadership of abubakar shekau vowed to avenge the murder of its leader by the nigeria security forces, declared allegiance to al queda in 2010 and began terrorism on a full scale (albert, 2017; gebremichael et. al., 2018). boko haram has progressively employed unselective violence towards the actualization of its social reform agenda while there have been indigenous, national and transnational efforts to subdue the movement (serrano and pieri, 2014). since the death of mallam yusuf and the internationalization of boko haram, the group has unleashed violence against the nigerian state. on 26 august 2011, the united nations edifice in abuja was attacked by this radical group through a suicide bomber which occasioned the death of 23 people and left several other innocent individuals seriously wounded (who, 2021; united nations, 2022). on 14 april 2014, this ruthless group kidnapped over 250 girls of the government secondary school located in a small christian town of chibok in borno state. since 2009, this group destabilized the northeastern region of nigeria, which has now spiralled to other parts of the country particularly including the nations' federal capital territory-abuja. the attacks of this group have led to food insecurity, mass displacement of innocent people (many of whom are children) from their homes, loss of property, poor access to sanitation and clean water, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 133 malnutrition and exponential increase of schoolchildren in the northeastern nigeria that is generally believed as the epicentre of terrorists' activities (raji, et. al., 2021). throughout 2014, the terrorist group successfully seized huge number of territories in northeastern nigeria that is more or less the size of belgium (reuters, 2015 and 2016; sahara reporters, 2021). in the same year 2014, boko haram exterminated almost 7,000 people to become one of the most lethal terrorist groups in the world (hendrix, 2015; united states house hearing-114 congress, 2016). besides, boko haram launched massive attacks on daily basis against the security forces, education institutions, christians, churches, media personnel as well as muslims they perceived not to be sympathetic to their cause. the extension of its atrocious activities into chad, niger and cameroon, which are countries sharing boundary with nigeria has posed a critical regional security challenge ever since (gebremichael et. al., 2018). recent statistics clearly reveals that book haram terrorists' group has exterminated more than 35,000 people while over 2.3 million people have suffered from displacement and property worth more than n16 billion have been destroyed since its inception (raji, 2021; statista, 2022). worryingly, there appears to be a linkage between the terrorist group and armed bandits. in fact, the two seems to have worked together at various levels and stages. this unwholesome development provoked the backing and concerted efforts of the african union (au) for the resuscitation and deployment of a multinational joint task force (mnjtf), a united multinational armed forces consisting of benin, cameroon, chad, niger and nigeria with headquarters in n'djamena-the capital of chad, mandated to subjugate terrorists' activities in the sub region (gebremichael et. al., ibid). owing to the seemingly incapability of the armed forces to effectually get rid of the terrorists' activities in the northeast, vigilante groups also came together and formed the civilian joint task force (cjtf) in 2013 in order to complement the efforts of the armed forces to fight boko haram and shield the local communities against attacks. members of this the civilian joint task force assisted the nigerian security forces by fighting alongside with them to avert the capture of maiduguri by boko haram in 2014 (gebremichael et. al. ibid). however, since the eviction of these terrorists from maiduguri, there has been an upsurge in suicide attacks in the northern nigeria. actually, the group is an expression of a broad socio-economic underdevelopment as well as political illegitimacy and both the historical narratives and modern grievances have propelled members to uphold its ideology. this is because political and socio-economic provocations are largely prevalent in the northern nigeria than other parts of the country and boko haram, like other religious terrorist groups across the world, refer to local conditions to justify its ideology and pursue the agenda of establishing an islamic state (forest, 2014). the impenetrability of the group has also come from its refuge in the infamous sambisa forest. the extremely vast sambisa forest is the refuge of terrorists in the northeast region of nigeria and it plays a prominent role in the protraction of boko haram violence and the obstructions recorded by the national and regional armed forces in their counter terrorism operations. the forest was established as a game reserve in the present-day borno state by the colonial government in the 1950s because of its unique vegetation and concentration of animals. it was found to be the best endowed habitat for animals in the northern guinea/sudan savannah. the federal government in the 1970s gazetted the forest and the sambisa forest reserve was commissioned by the then military administrator of borno state in person of muhammed buba marwa for the promotion of tourism, conservation and academic research in the early 1990s (kayode, 2014; albert, 2017). however, the poor commitment towards the realization of the intended purposes of sambisa forest reserve for almost a decade led to its hijack by some armed groups that were using the forest as their hideout (hendrix, 2015; albert, 2017). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 134 evaluation of government's spending on counter terrorism the massive security threat of boko haram led to the resolve by the nigerian government to wage counter terrorism war against this extremist group. however, despite the deployment of large security forces to the northern region coupled with the allocation of 20% of the country's budget for defence sector by president jonathan led administration in 2014 with a view to combating terrorism, there was rather an upsurge in violent activities of this notorious group (udo, 2014, forest, 2014). it is noteworthy that nigerian state spent $2.42bn and $1.62bn on the military in 2013 and 2017 respectively. between 2010 and 2017, nigerian government allocated over 6.7 trillion naira to the security sector in order to strengthen its capacity for counter terrorism operations. apart from the above allocation, federal government borrowed an extra budgetary allocation of the sum of 1 billion dollars to finance counter terrorism operations. there was also a release of $21 million for the multinational joint task force (mnjtf) in 2015 (ogbonnaya, 2020). in 2018, us$1 billion was apportioned to the nigeria army from the excess crude oil account for the procurement of weapons and security equipment to strengthen the war against boko haram insurgency in the northeastern region (anadolu, 2017). being an effective member of the trans-sahara counterterrorism partnership (tsctp), nigeria was also aided with $10.6 million value of training, equipment and advisory support for counter terrorism efforts between 2017 and 2020 (u.s. bureau of political-military affairs, 2022). figure 1: budget allocation to nigerian army, navy and air force, (2015-2022) among the sub-saharan african states, nigeria occupies the first position on the list of countries with the highest defence spending at $5.8 billion in 2022. the report of world bank discloses the amazing rise in the budget of nigeria's defence by 262% within the space of five years. in 2016, the approved defence budget was $1.72 billion, the budget for 2017 was $1.62 billion, the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 135 allocation for military spending for 2018 was $2.04 billion, the military budget for 2019 was $1.86, the budget for 2020 was $2.57 billion in 2020 and the nigerian state massively enlarged its military expenditure to $4.5 billion in 2021. this data shows that nigeria has expended more than $19.9 billion between 2016 and 2022 to boost its military and security architectures arising from the recurrence of domestic violence across the country particularly in the northern region (babatunde-lawal, 2022). besides, the allocation of nigerian state defence in 2022 budget was 15%, which is remarkably higher than the combination of allotments to health (7%) and education sectors (5%) (ogbonnaya, 2022). the country's defence budget for 2023 was n1.383 trillion while the 2024 budget for defence alone is n1647 trillion, about 5.7% of the entire 2024 budget. in addition to that, n455 billion allocated for the nigeria police in 2021, n559 billion in 2022 and n838 in 2023. in 2024, the police budget is n969.6 billion (plac, 2024). the nigerian state seriousness to counter terrorism war is the northeast sub region is evident in the fact that it is the only financial contributor to the multinational joint task force (mnjtf) activities (nan, 2016). the federal government also allocated another n500 million for the prosecution of boko haram suspects and other criminal cases in the 2022 budget apart from the n300 million earlier voted for the prosecution of “on-going” cases, some of which are boko haram related (ejekwonyilo, 2022). however, in spite of government counter-terrorism expenditure and efforts, the growing and daunting incidence of terrorism continues to be worrisome because it increases the level of insecurity and under-development. the vulnerability of the nigerian state to terrorist attacks thwarts political stability, hinders economic growth and frustrate government efforts towards the attainment of rapid industrialization (imhonopi and urim, 2016). terrorism has not only had a significant negative impact on economic growth and investment but also altered the composition of government expenditure, with the defence component of government expenditure rising in comparison with other expenditure items (chuku et al, 2017). despite this heavy financial commitment, the nigerian state is yet to overcome terrorism. the nigerian government earmarked n1 trillion in the 2023 budget approved by the national assembly to finance the on-going war against terrorism and banditry across the nation (sahara reporters, 2022). the economic and financial crime commission (efcc) also confirmed that the counter-terrorism war by the nigerian state has gulped over 6 trillion naira between 2008 and 2021 (omolaoye, 2021). the concerted efforts and financial responsibility of the government to counter terrorism operations by the security forces over the years have managed to yield negligible results as the country is still ranked as one of the states most affected by terrorism on the global terrorism index (ogbonnaya, 2020). peace seems not to be the horizon but an illusion in the northeast. in its 12th years of operation in the northeast, boko haram has killed several thousands of people and its displacement of over 2 million people has led to an upsurge in the number of nigerian refugees in neighbouring countries of cameroon, chad and niger (erezi, 2022). truly, the success of the military in driving terrorists' groups out of major cities led to sharp reduction of hostilities and insecurity of lives and property in the major city centres from late 2015 to first quarter of 2018. however, nigeria's strategic efforts to checkmate the group has not been efficacious but rather assist the group to quickly transmute into frightening international force (forest, ibid). the month of december, 2019 recorded the execution 11 abducted christians by iswap to revenge the killing of islamic state leader abu bakar al baghdadi by the united states forces. in january 2020, the group killed lawan andimi the chairman of the adamawa state chapter of the christian association of nigeria (can). it also abducted some university teachers in yola and carried out several premeditated attacks in borno state. the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 136 terrorists relocated to rural and remote areas where they constantly attack vulnerable villages, military facilities and government infrastructures ever since (duerksen, 2021). both gubio and jere local government areas of borno state experienced outrageous abduction as well as the killing of hundreds of their residents between june and november 2020 while many people met their sudden death during the series of rocket attacks, which put maiduguri city in disarray between december 4 and 23, 2021 (ogbonnaya, 2020, gov.uk, 2022). although terrorism remains a serious threat in sub-sahara africa as it accounts for 48% of total global death from terrorism, the counter insurgency efforts in nigeria decreased boko haram's activities as only 64 attacks was attributed to the organization in 2021. the fall in deaths from boko haram terrorism by 92% from 2,131 in 2015 to178 in 2021 contributed to nigeria recording the second largest decline in deaths from terrorism in 2021 with the number falling by 47% to 448. therefore, nigeria has now been placed in the sixth position from the fourth position it consistently maintained since 2017. it is to be noted that the boko haram's decline coincides with the death of the group leader, abubakar shekau who committed suicide during a skirmish with iswap in may 2021 (global terrorism index, 2022). however, the spate of terrorism is not abated in 2022 as a number of cruel attacks were recorded in ondo state, kogi state, niger state and abujathe federal capital territory. on june 5, 2022, not less than 40 christians were exterminated in a catholic church while observing a mass service in owo, ondo state (world report, 2023). in july 2022, the kuje prison in abuja was bombed and many prisoners including some arrested boko haram members escaped, some policemen were killed in suleja, niger state while improvised explosive devices (ieds) attacks and bomb attacks were conducted at different locations in kogi state in april and december, 2022 (ogbonnaya, 2022). apart from the encumbrances of sambisa forest, corruption is another major factor militating against the counter-terrorism efforts in nigeria. the funds for counter terrorism are not judiciously utilized and the operations are less effective. this is because substantial portion of the fund allocated for counter-terrorism operations are embezzled by conflict entrepreneurs among the top officials in the military and the security sector. this position is justified by the allegations levelled against both the office of the national security adviser regarding the diversion of $2.1 billion earmarked for the procurement of weapons and the office of the chief of defence staff for another 3.9 billion scandals in 2015. besides, there was a discovery of $43 million cash meant for undercover operations by the national intelligence agency in a secluded residence in lagos in 2017 while the $1 billion from the excess crude oil account allocated to the nigeria army for arms procurement was declared missing in 2018. the clandestine nature of military expenditure, which necessitates the exemption of military spending from audit exercise due to its sensitive nature, gives room for misappropriation of allocations for counter terrorism operations (ogbonnaya, 2022). between optimism and despair it is disheartening that the nigerian state witnessed a tragic level of insecurity in recent time owing to terrorist attacks in different places, in spite of its investment on counter terrorism over the years (world report, 2023). however, considering the doggedness and financial commitments of the nigerian government to end the menace, there seems to be some glimpses of optimism for the restoration of social order in the northern region. the reviewed national counter terrorism strategy (nactest), the policy framework and the national action plan to checkmate violent extremism have continued to improve the governmental capacity to counter the upsurge of terrorism thereby raising a ray of hope (edokpa, 2021). the tenacity of the security forces to get rid of terrorists in the region have yielded some positive results as they have not only arrested several terrorists but also succeeded in exterminating many members of this igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 137 dangerous groups, including a good number of boko haram/iswap diehard commanders (sanusi, 2022; abubakar, 2023). another success recorded by the military operations was the mass surrender (more than 82,000 so far) of boko haram terrorists and their families to the troops of operation hadin kai (ophk) in the northeast (sahara reporters, 2023). the laying down of arms by the surrendered ex-combatants was not unconnected with the demise of boko haram leaderabubakar shekau who died in a clash with iswap on may 19, 2021, coupled with the continued hostility between the two factions ever since (momoh, 2023; abubakar, 2023; obiezu, 2022). in its concerted efforts to eradicate terrorism and curtail the scourge of insecurity, the nigerian state successfully established new structures and institutions. some of the initiatives are the national centre for the control of small arms and light weapons (nccsalw) and enactment of some legislations including the terrorism prevention act 2013 (amendment) for the prosecution of captured perpetrators of terrorism (edokpa, ibid). between 2019 and 2022, more than 4,000 arrested terrorists had been prosecuted and those who were convicted are serving various jail terms while others are awaiting trials (iroanusi, 2020; abu-bashal, 2021; nwezeh, 2023). besides, a non-kinetic approach called operation safe corridor (opsc) was also established in september 2015 which encourages willing and repentant boko haram and iswap members to surrender and undertake a structured de-radicalization, rehabilitation and reintegration programmes. this initiative has reportedly graduated more than 3500 surrendered ex-combatants who have been reintegrated into the society (sahara, reporters, 2023). however, despite the exertions of the government in ensuring adequate financial provision for arms procurement and logistic supplies, conflict entrepreneurs in the security sector engage in false procurement deals and other illegal extra military activities at the expense of the nation's security. it is pathetic that equipment shortfalls, poor weapons and logistic supplies were the reasons adduced by the military spokesperson for the death of almost 200 soldiers in a boko haram ambush and attack on 157 task force battalion in metele, borno state. it has been argued that except the nigerian government check corruption in the top echelon of the military and thwarts the activities of conflict magnates that undermine security operations, it may be difficult to adequately counter terrorism. this is because violent extremism will continue to thrive in the region and the battle against terrorism will be an endless one. thus, there is need to reinforce both legal and institutional structures to contend with corrupt practices in the security sector that frustrate counter terrorism efforts (ogbonnaya, 2022). the current realities in the nation attest to the fact that the end of the conflict is not yet in sight as the expected triumph over boko haram terrorism still hangs between optimism and despair. this is because the cessation of violent extremism being experienced in the northern nigeria requires total dislodgement of the terrorists from the sambisa forest that provides a safe haven and operational headquarters for them, stoppage of corrupt practices in the security sector and more importantly, the removal of the underlying causes of the protracted violence. the truth is that, until the factors militating against the success of counter terrorism efforts are decisively dealt with, the unbidden but incessant terrorists' violent activities would not be eradicated but might rather grow worse. furthermore, the boko haram terrorists cannot be successfully eliminated through the adoption of adversarial conflict management strategies alone. it is to be recalled that the emancipation of 103 out of over 250 school girls was not through the military intervention but the product of the negotiation between boko haram and the nigerian government facilitated by the international committee for red cross (council on foreign relations, 2022). the financial commitments to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 138 military counter terrorism operations alone cannot eradicate terrorism because the success of military operations is not the panacea to its causal factors ranging from bad governance, corruption, poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and inaccessibility to adequate social amenities and infrastructure as well as basic support services in the region (ibegbu, 2009, ajah, et al, 2020). thus, there is need for an extensive approach to combating terrorism in nigeria while the weaknesses of boko haram ideology and activities must be understood and considered as part of the strategy (forest, 2012). conclusion and policy recommendations the most reasonable and enduring solution to this protracted domestic terrorism that would lead to the stoppage of unwarranted financial wastage by the nigerian state is a systematic riddance of its underlying causes. it is pathetic that the failure of the government to address the root causes of terrorism has degenerated to banditry in the northeast and north central nigeria, which has become another serious security challenge like boko haram to the polity (ogbonnaya, 2020, plac, 2024). the history of religious conflicts in nigeria shows that apart from the purported religious propensities, there are some underlying factors that prompted the conflicts. the problematic political and socio-economic situations in nigeria have contributed immensely to the persistence of religious crisis in the country. the sustained structural problems such as corruption, poverty, unemployment, hunger and lack of infrastructural facilities will continue to promote the cause of boko haram terrorists' violence. it has been discovered that there are many supporters of boko haram ideology, grievances and its actions, and until the socio-economic challenges which are the causal factors are dealt with, the ideology will continue to appeal to frustrated young minds and may be difficult to get rid of it (forest, 2012, plac, 2024). thus, the superlative strategy for the nigerian government to defeat boko haram is to be financially committed to the counter terrorism military operations and simultaneously address squarely the socio-economic and political challenges that are the root causes of the lingering terrorism in the northeastern region (komolafe, 2003). in fact, if the nigerian government through the security forces were to defeat and end boko haram terrorism without proffering a lasting panacea to the socio-economic grievances, there would be no guarantee of a long-term security and sustainable peace in the region as another rebellious group would emerge to take its place. therefore, the hope of restoring both economic and socio-political stability in the northern nigeria lies on the government readiness to address the underlying causes of the violence, which serve not only as persuasive mechanisms for terrorism but also as an impetus for the frustrated individuals who are incited and swayed to join the vicious movement. references abubakar, u. (2023). boko haram kills 300 fighters planning to surrender. punch newspaperhttps://punching.com/boko-haram-kills-300-fighters-planning-to surrender/ abu-bashal, a. (2021). 500 boko haram members jailed in nigeria. anadolu agency. h�ps://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/500-boko-haram-members-jailed-in-nigeria-sincefebruary/2185867 adesoji, a. (2010). the boko haram uprising and islamic revivalism in nigeria. africa spectrum, 45, 2, 95-108. ajah, b. o., dinne, c. e. and salami, k. k. (2020). terrorism in contemporary nigerian society: conquest of boko haram, myth or reality. international journal of criminal justice sciences; thirunevel, vol. 15, issue 2 doi:10.5281/zenodo.4741879. albert, l. o. (2005). “africa and international terrorism” in perspective on peace and conflict in africa. essays in honour of gen. (dr.) abdusalami abubakar, (ed.) i.o. albert, ibadan: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 139 peace and conflict studies, university of ibadan in collaboration with john archer publishers, pp 44-55. albert, l. o. (2017). beyond nigeria's sambisa: forests, insurgency and counter insurgency in africa. university lecture, university of ibadan, ibadan university press. anadolu agency, (2017). nigeria: $1b earmarked for fighting boko haram terrorism. https://www.aa.com.tr>africa>nig. babatunde-lawal, a. (2022). increasing nigeria's defence budget to improve security. h�ps://businessday.ng/research-post/ar�cle/increasing-nigeria-defence-budget-to-improvesecurity/ chuku c, abang d. and isip, i (2017). growth and fiscal consequences of terrorism in nigeria. working paper series n° 284, african development bank, abidjan, côte d'ivoire. available online at https://www.afdb.org/en/documents/publications/working-papersseries/ council on foreign relations 2022. conflict with boko haram in nigeria. centre for preventive action. . department of the army and department of the navy. 2013. united states of america counterinsurgency, joint publication, washington dc: joint chiefs of staff, 22 november pubs/jp3_24.pdfwww.d�c.mil/doctrine/new duerksen, m. (2021). nigeria's diverse security threats. africacenter.org th edokpa, g. (2021). “measures to eliminate international terrorism” statement at the 76 s e s s i o n o f t h e u n i t e d n a t i o n s g e n e r a l a s s e m b l y , n e w yo r k . https://www.un.org/en/ga/sixth/76/pdfs/statements/int_terrorism/02mtg-nigeria.pdf ejekwonyilo, m. (2022) 2022 budget: nigerian govt. votes n500 million for prosecution of b o k o h a r a m s u s p e c t s , o t h e r s h�ps://www.premium�mesng.com/news/headlines/508524-2002-budget-nigeria-govtvotes-n500million-for-prosecution-of-boko-haram-suspects-others.html erezi, d. (2022). nigeria improve by two places on global terrorism index. the guardian. h�ps://guardian.ng/news/nigeria-improve-by-two-places-on-global-terrorism-index/ forest, j. j. f. (2012). confronting the terrorism of boko haram in nigeria. joint special operations university jsou report 12-5, the jsou press, macdill air force base, florida, .h�ps://jsou.socom.mil gebremichael, m. et. al. (2008). conflict analysis & insights: nigeria conflict insight. vol.1, ins t i tu te for peace and st ra teg ic s tudies , addis ababa univers i ty. https://www.africaportal.org/documents/18173/nigeria_formatted_final_21.02.2018.p df girvetz, h. (1974). “anatomy of violence” in reason and violence. s. m. stanage (ed.) little fields: adam and co. gov.uk (2022) terrorism – nigeria travel advice h�ps://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel advice/nigeria/terrorism. hendrix, s. e. (2015). combating terrorism and violent extremism in nigeria: defining a new approach to winn ing modern j ihad i s t conflic t . 49 int 'l l . 427 , https://scholar.smu.edu/til/vol49/iss3/10. ibegbu, c. (2009). insecurity, terrorism and intelligence failures in nigeria. retrieved from url: h�p://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/ar�cles/cecil-ibegbu/insecurity-terrorism-andintelligence-failures-in-nigeria.html. ldowu, l. o. (2005). “a philosophical analysis of conflict in africa” in perspective on peace and conflict in africa. essays in honour of gen. (dr.) abdusalami abubakar, (ed.) i.o. albert, ibadan: peace and conflict studies, university of ibadan in collaboration with john archer publishers. irene, m. (2023). armed conflicts survey 2023 editor's introduction. international institute igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 140 for strategic studies. https://www.iiss.org/en/publication/armed-conflictsurvey/2023/editors-introduction/ imhonopi, d. and urim, u. g. (2016). the spectre of terrorism and nigeria's industrial development: a multi-stakeholder imperative. african journal of criminology and justice studies: ajcjs, vol. 9, issue 1. iroanusi, e. (2020). justice ministry proposes n2 billion for prosecution of boko haram suspects, prison decongestion, others. premiumtimesng.com/nues/headlines/425300justice-ministry-proposes-n2billion-for-prosecution-of-boko-haram-suspects-prisondecongestion-others.html kayode, b. (2014). inside nigeria's sambisa forest, boko haram hideout where kidnapped school girls are believed to be held. the nation, 29 april. kegley, c.w. and wittkopf, e. r. (2004). world politics trend and transformation. thomson wadsworth, usa. knoechelmann, m. (2014). why the nigerian counterterrorism policy towards boko haram has failed: a cause and effect relationship. international institute for counter terrorism (ict) working paper, 32. komolafe, a. a. (2013), military culture and counter insurgency in the twenty-first century: defeating boko-haram in nigeria. citation/ad1022985h�ps://apps.d�c.mil/s�/ momoh, m. (2023). nigeria's boko haram fighters surrender after clash with iswap. the east africa. https://www.eastafrica.co.ke/tea/rest-of-africa/boko-haram-fighters-surrenderto-nigerian-troop-4098382?view=htmlamp nan (2024). ecowas allocates $25m to fight terrorism in nigeria, others. https://nannews.ng/2024/04/19//ecowas-allocates-25m-in-2024-to-fight-terrorism-innigeria-others/ nan (2016). nigeria'll not question neighbours's financial commitment to war against boko haram. guardian.org. nwezeh, k. (2023). military to reintegrate 613 repentant terrorists into society. h�ps://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2023/01/06/military-toreintegrate-613repentant-terrroists-into-society obiezu, t. (2022). nigerian analysts skeptical about alleged mass surrender of insurgents.. h�ps://www.voanews.com/amp/nigerian-analysts-scep�cal-about-alleged-masssurrender-of-insurgents-/6567635html ogbonnaya, m. (2020). has counter-terrorism become a profitable business in nigeria, institute for security studies (iss). https://issafrica.org>iss-today> ogbonnaya, m. (2022). can nigeria finance its war against insurgents? institute for security studies (iss). https://issafrica.org>iss-today> omolaoye, s. (2021). nigeria spent n6trn to fight terrorism in 13 years, efcc discloses https://guardian.ng/news/nigeria-spent-n6trn-to-fight-terrrorism-in-13-years-efccdicloses/ osaghae, e. e. (2005). “violence in africa: state, ethnic and regional dimensions” in perspective on peace and conflict in africa. essays in honour of gen. (dr.) abdusalami abubakar, (ed.) i.o. albert, ibadan: peace and conflict studies, university of ibadan in collaboration with john archer publishers, pp 44-55. oyedeji, o. (2022, april 4) “analysis: what are the implications of nigeria's growing insecurity?” dataphyte. https://www.dataphyte.com/latest-reports/analysis-what-arethe-implications-of-nigerias-growing-insecurity/ plac (2024). security budget rises, yet insecurity worsens. https://placng.org/legist/securitybudget-rises-yet-insecurity-worsens/ p r i o ( 2 0 2 4 ) . c o n fl i c t t r e n d s : a g l o b a l o v e r v i e w , 1 9 4 6 2 0 2 3 . https://www.prio.org/publication/14006. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 141 raji, s. & hamzat, a. a. (2021). north-eastern nigeria: assessing the response capacity of national emergency management agency to the plight of internally displaced persons. heliyon, volume 7, issue 6, 2021 .h�ps://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.eo7274 r e u t e r s ( 2 0 1 5 ) . tw o b l a s t s i n n o r t h e a s t n i g e r i a ' s p o t i s k u m k i l l 1 0 . h�ps://ww.reuters.com/ar�cle/nigeria-violence-blast/two-blasts-in-northeast-nigeriapo�skum-kill-10-ukl5noz13ah20150615. reuters (2016). without aid, 49,000 children will die this year in northeast nigeria: un. https://www.reuters .com/article/us-nigeria-security-aid-iduskcn1100f sahara reporters (2021). how boko haram controlled nigerian territory “the size of b e l g i u m ” u n d e r j o n a t h a n g o v e r n m e n t p r e s i d e n c y. h � p s : / / s a h a r a reporters.com/2021/11/26/how-boko-haram-controlled-nigeria-territory%e2%80%98-size-belgium%e2%80%99-under-jonathan-government-%e2%80%93. sahara reporters (2022). buhari to spend another n1trillion to fight boko haram, bandits in twilight of administration. sahara reporters, new york. https://sahara reporters.com/2022/10/10/buhari-spend-another-n1trillion-fight-boko-haram-banditstwilight-administration. sahara reporters (2023). nigerian army receives over 100 boko haram terrorists, families who surrendered in borno. h�ps://saharareporters.com/2023/01/24/nigerian-armyreceives-over-100-boko-haram-terrorists-families-who-surrendered-borno sanusi, a. (2022). troops arrest several terrorists, kill scores, rescue civilians. punch newspapers. https:// punching.com/troops-arrest-several-terrorists-kill-scores-rescuecivilians/ serrano, r. and pieri, z. (2014). by the numbers: the nigeria state's effort to counter boko haram in perouse de montclos, m (ed.) boko haram; islamism, politics, security and t h e s t a t e i n n i g e r i a . i b a d a n : i f r a n i g e r i a . av a i l a b l e o n l i n e a t h�p://books.openedi�on.org/ifra/1703> statista (2022). death caused by boko haram in nigeria 2022 by state. .statista. h�ps://www com/statistics/1197570/deaths-caused-by-boko-haram-in-nigeria/ u. s. bureau of political-military affairs (2022). u.s. security cooperation with nigeriafact sheet. h�ps://www.state.gov/u-s-security-coopera�on-with-nigeria/ udo, b. (2014). jonathan signs nigeria's 2014 budget as defence gets 20 percent. https://www.premiumtimes.com/business/161390-jonathan-signs-nigerias-2014budget-defence-gets-20-per-cent.html united nations (2022). secretary-generals remarks at wreath laying ceremony at un house in abuja, nigeria. h�ps://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/speeches/2022-05-04/remarkswreath-laying-ceremony-un-abuja-nigeria united states house hearing 114 congress (2016). boko haram: the islamist insurgency in west africa. pkg/chrgh�ps://www.govinfo.gov/content world health organization (2021). united nations holds 10-year memorial for the un house bombing. h�ps://www.afro.who.int/news/united-na�ons-holds-10-year-memorial-unhouse-bombing world report (2023). nigeria human rights watch. h�ps://www.hrw.org/worldreport/2023/country-chapters/nigeria igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 37 identiying the didactics and theatrical dimensions in traditional marriage ceremony in arondizuogu emmanuel o. iroh, ph.d department of theatre and film studies nnamdi azikiwe university, awka e.o.iroh@.unizik.edu.ng; irohemmaogbo@gmail.com. https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8377-8078 doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.33952.39688 abstract drama is the representation of life. a lot of dramatic elements are embedded in the african traditional marriage. marriage is universal as almost all races marry and are given in marriage. marriage ceremony is part and parcel of the traditional african society. it is a consummation of love where two young adults (male and female) are officially joined together as husband and wife and they live together as one to procreate. it is celebrated with pomp and pageantry. this study therefore seeks to expose and highlight the drama in african traditional marriage as well as the lessons derivable from the ceremony. the work is hinged on the postulation of peter brook's theory of empty space which propagates for the conversion of any empty space to stage. according to him, instead of waiting for a comfortable theatre building adorned with curtains, lights and seats, we should convert any space available to be used as a performance space since there is no boundary between life and theatre. this is because, theatre is life and life is theatre. the work is qualitative and it used ethnographic research approach of participant observation as well as the library to explore the dramatic elements in african traditional marriage. the data was analyzed through the descriptive analysis. the result of the study acknowledged that though traditional marriage ceremony in arondizuogu is a cultural ceremony for perpetuating life, embodies didactic lessons of communual coexistence and love as well as dramatic elements of dance, costume and make up, setting, properties, languages; it also attracts large audience from far and near to make it a total theatre. the study concludes that african traditional marriage is a total theatre with full compliments of dramatic elements of performance space, dance, costume and make up, properties, dialogue and a large audience from far and near. it is also a tool for teaching community values, norms and ethics. keywords: didactics, drama, theatre, traditional marriage, ceremony, introduction have ye not read, that he, which made them at the beginning, made them male and female. and said, for this cause shall a man leave father and mother and shall cleave to his wife and they shall twain be one flesh/ wherefore they are no more twain but one flesh. what therefore god has joined together, let no man put asunder (matthew:19: 4-6). generally, in igbo land, traditional marriage is a communal and social affair that cannot be held by an individual or his immediate family alone. this is because, the igbos believe that the child does not belong to the immediate family but to the whole kindred and village. this holds true with the general saying that “oha nwe nwa” literally interpreted as “the child belongs to the community”. there may not be a generally accepted definition of marriage as every community sees marriage as part of their culture. according to odejobi odejobi (2013) cited by alowolodu o. odunayo, olusanya, o. oyewole, marriage is “a social institution that unites people in a special form of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 38 mutual dependence for the purpose of finding and maintaining a family. it is a culturally sanctioned union between two or more people that establish certain rights and obligations between them, their children and their in-laws” (23). ryan t. anderson asserts that “marriage is based on the truth that men and women are complementary, the biological fact that reproduction depends on a man and a woman, and the reality that children need a mother and a father… marriage exists to bring a man and a woman together as husband and wife to be father and mother to any children their union produces” (1). this is corroborated by onwuka, who avers that marriage is an integral part of the social circle through which every boy or girl (man or woman) as far as not sworn to celibacy is expected to pass (219). oti e.o agrees that marriage is “a union of a man and a woman” (99). contributing, aaron a. r. nwabude submits that “in africa, especially in igbo land; marriage is the only known and acceptable incubator for the raising of socially balanced and functional mor-al society (children)” (225).furthermore, microsoft encarta dictionary gave an elaborate definition of marriage as a “legal relationship between spouses: a legally recognized relationship, established by a civil or religious ceremony, between two people who intend to live together as sexual and domestic partners; marriage ceremony: the ceremony in which two people are joined together formally in wedlock” (np), while tradition is defined as “custom or belief: a long-established action or pattern of behavior in a community or group of people, often one that has been handed down from generation to generation; body of customs: a body of longestablished customs and beliefs viewed as a set of precedents”(np). tradition can be explained to mean a way of doing something that has existed for a people from generation to generation.marriage is important in african society. it is the foundation of family system. memunat olayemi mahmud accepts that “in africa, especially the yoruba social cultural semiosphere, marriage is regarded as a sacred institution, therefore, solid foundation, based on traditional ethics and values attached to it must be deployed in all the processes” (40). this is further accentuated by ogoma daniel who submits that: marriage occupies an important position in the affairs of africans, especially in the past. without marriage, there is no family, and without a family, one could not bear children. the connection between marriage and family can hardly be separated among the t r a d i t i o n a l africans” (95-96). the above statement is reminding us of the sacrosanct position africans placed the institution of marriage in the past. it was an abomination for young girls to get pregnant outside marriage. such misdemeanor was meant with serious consequences like banishment from the community or death. from the above, traditional marriage is a people's way or method of uniting young couples in a traditional manner to live as husband and wife to fully accomplish the creators mandate of procreation. however, man being a social animal of high order, does his things in an orderly way. one of these ways is the traditional marriage ceremony. the ceremony usually brings joy and contentment to the parents of the girl to be married. this is so because, pregnancy out of wedlock is highly condemned in every igbo land so much so that unmarried girls who get themselves pregnant are seriously reprimanded by the society. thus parents feel fulfilled and happy that their daughter has done them proud by keeping herself to be lawfully given out in marriage. the ceremony attracts relations, (maternal and paternal), friends of the bride and groom, men and women from the community, visitors, friends and well-wishers. it is celebrated with great igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 39 display of spectacle. beyond the pomp and pageantry associated with the celebration of traditional marriage ceremony, lie some theatrics and didactic lessons which this works aims to expose. as earlier stated, drama is the representation of life on stage, screen for educative, entertainment, information, purposes. drama teaches us about life and how to handle or manage life situations. we learn about our culture while watching or are engaged in drama. values of our society, culture and religion, are also treated in drama. a lot dramatic elements are embedded in the african traditional marriage. theoretical framework this work is hinged on peter brook's “the empty space” theory. according to brooks any space that is convenient should be used for or as performance space for the dissemination of theatrical message for the good of mankind, instead of waiting for a comfortable theatre building adorned with curtains, lights and seats since “everything is potentially theatrical, theatre is about life, and life about theatre, then there is no boundary between them”. according to brooks, any space can be converted to a stage and used for performance provided there are actors walking across such stage and spectators watching them. brook submits that “i can take any empty space and call it a bare stage. a man walks across this empty space whilst someone else is watching him, and this is all that is needed for an act of theatre to be engaged. yet when we talk about theatre this is not quite what we mean. red curtains, spotlights, blank verse, laughter, darkness, these are all confusedly superimposed in a messy image covered by one all-purpose word” (7) commenting on the value of the empty stage theory, negin djavaherian asserts that “with his notion of 'empty space' brook redefined the fundamental principles of theatrical space and laid down a path for discovering the invisible that leads to enhanced spectator experience” (np). what the above means is that spectators will now have more opportunities for performances to be taken to them and more opportunity for them to participate. the didactics and theatrics in traditional marriage ceremony in arondizuogu. arondizuogu is the largest and most dynamic of the numerous aro settlements outside arochukwu, their ancestral home from where they migrated. according to oral history, arondizuogu may have been founded around the early eighteenth century by izuogu mgbokpo, a great merchant and warrior; a grandchild of oke nnachi, one of the founding fathers of arochukwu. his father, akuma nnachi migrated from utughugwu, and founded amankwu amangwu. he had six sons including izuogu as the second son. as the process of migration and expansion continued, izuogu was allocated another area, which he developed and called amanku akuma nnachi. thus, he became the founder of amankwu village arochukwu as well as arondizuogu. izuogu's mother mgbokpo is from ohafia. aro-ndi-izuogu literally means the aro of izuogu's people. presently, it is in three local government areas of imo state, namely ideato north, okigwe and onuimo local government areas. according to ndubuisi iroanofe, “in arondizuogu, marriage ceremony is an important exercise and before a man and woman who are not related are declared husband and wife by custom and tradition of arodizuogu, certain conditions must be fulfilled” (62). in other to fulfill these conditions and obtain approval for the traditional marriage, there are many traditional marriage obligations and stages/phases the intending in-law must conclude before the bride is finally handed over to him as his legal wife. some of the include ibu-mmanyaajuju or iku aka n'ibo/ uzo (knocking at the door), ipia akirika (settlement of the bride price) ibu mmanya or igbankwu (wine carrying) but this work will concentrate on the final phase leading to the handing over of the bride to her husband which is the ibu mmanya or igbankwu (wine carrying). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 40 usually, traditional marriage starts with knocking on the door (iku aka n'ibo/uzo) by the prospective in-law. this is to familiarize himself with his prospective in-laws. the next ceremony will be to ask for the things to be done. he schedules for the ipia akirika separately or he combines it with ibu mnaya. he collects a list of requirements for the traditional marraige ceremony (igba nkwu). tentative date may be chosen but not made public until the plans are concreticized. on the agreed date by both families, the arena is well decorated. a special “stage” is set aside for the bride and groom; some, with raised platform or just fitted carpet. the arena which may be an open field, space in the bride's compound serves as the auditorium or reception ground. it is adorned with canopies and seats for the invited guests who are members of the audience. there is a public address system for music interludes. the arrival of the groom's family marks the official opening of the ceremony. however, as a convention, they do not come into the bride's compound directly. they wait at the entrance until the bride's father as the chief host, accompanied by his kinsmen goes to welcome them into his compound. the waiting further justifies the igbo saying that the child belongs to the community (oha nwe nwa). this is where the drama begins. movement 1 (the bride's father accompanied by his kinsmen and women welcomes their guests at the gate) chief host: my in-laws, you're welcome. in-laws: (chorus) thank you. leader of the in-laws: we have come as we agreed. chief host: (to his kinsmen): umunnem, before us are our in-laws from ndi-ejezie izuogu. they said that they saw a ripped bunch on my palm tree and have come to seek our permission to cut it and carry it home. chief host kinsmen: nnoonu oooo. you're all welcome. (they step out for h a n d s h a k e a n d w e l c o m e e m b r a c e a n d d a n c e i n t o t h e compound to their canopy). the chief host, while going to welcome his visitors, called his kinsmen to accompany him. it shows that “oha nwe nwa” (the child does not belong to the biological parents alone. again, the scene reveals the kind disposal and hospitality of the arondizuogu community towards their visitors. they welcomed their visitors in a convivial manner, embracing and laughing. it would not have been movement 2 (at the visitor's canopy) the chief host presents kolanut and welcome wine to his in-laws, accompanied by two elders. chief host: my in-laws, this is kolanut. and the water (hot drink) to wash it down your throats. leader of the in-laws: thank you. the kolanut has reassured us that we are accepted here. chief host: (shakes the palm wine, pours a little into a cup and drinks) i have certified it fit and safe for your consumption. when you break your kola, give me my share. leader of the in-laws: (stretching his hand into the kolanut plate, brings out one lobe and hands over to him). as tradition demands, this is your igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 41 share of the kolanut (aka oji). this scene exposes the importance of kolanut in igbo land in general and arondizuogu in particular. the presentation of kola nut signifies the official opening of a ceremony. again, a visitor to your house is not relaxed until kolanut is presented. he does not say his mission until after the presentation of kolanut. movement 3 (the leader of the in-laws accompanied by some elders, with yam, palm wine (nkwu enu) and a cock goes to the canopy of his in-laws) leader of the in-laws: we thank you for the kola and the water for washing down the k o l a n u t s w h i c h y o u p r e s e n t e d t o u s . yo u k n o w a p e r s o n o n a j o u r n e y d o e s n o t s t o p u n t i l h e r e a c h e s h i s d e s t i n a t i o n . we c a m e f o r a p u r p o s e , a n d t h a t i s w h y w e a r e p r e s e n t i n g t h e s e i t e m s t o inform you that we are ready to commence this ceremony. chief host: (receiving the items) thank you. (he hands them over to his k i n s m e n , w h o s c r u t i n i z e t h e m ) . t h i s g o a t i s m a l n o u r i s h e d . i t i s not worth our expectation. they should take it back and bring a bigger and well fed one. leader of the in-laws: laughs (we understand your objections. however, we are a u g m e n t i n g t h e m a l n o u r i s h e d g o a t w i t h t h i s t o k e n . ( h a n d s s o m e money to the eldest man who counts and reply) eldest man: this is a sign that this marriage will last long. negotiations and a g r e e m e n t s w i t h o u t m u c h s t r e s s i s t h e h a l l m a r k o f s t a y i n g t o g e t h e r . we a c c e p t t h e m o n e y f o r a u g m e n t i n g t h e g o a t a s a s i g n of goodwill and healthy relationship with our in-laws. it teaches that in life and marriage, disagreement must be resolved amicably. again, we must not be rigid in our thinking or life. that life is a give and take situation. if you bend for me, i bend for you. life goes on. as they go back to their canopy, the bride's mother accompanied by her friends come out to greet their visitors. most times, the popular sweet mother by prince nico mbaraga is played for her. she dances around the canopies briefly before exiting. the bride, accompanied by bridesmaids comes out for the first time to greet her quests. she dances round the canopies as she is appreciated by her guests who spray her money. after her first appearance, she goes back inside the house to change into another costume before coming out again. this time, she dances straight to her father's canopy where the father will give her wine to look for her husband and bring him to him. this is the climax of the celebration. if she returns the glass with the drink, the ceremony will end abruptly, signifying she rejected the groom, but if she finds him and returns an empty cup with her husband, the ceremony continues. she kneels down with her husband in front of her father to receive the drink: father of the bride: (pours wine into a glass cup and hands it over to her) adam, take this drink, look for your husband. if you find him, b r i n g h i m h e r e , t h i s c e r e m o n y w i l l c o n t i n u e , b u t i f y o u r e t u r n t h e drink to me, then our visitors will rise and go home. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 42 bride: (rises, accompanied by her bridesmaids, dances around the c a n o p i e s , l o o k i n g f o r h e r h u s b a n d . m o s t o f t h e t i m e s h e i s t a u n t e d b y s o m e m e m b e r s o f t h e a u d i e n c e w h o s t r e t c h o u t t h e i r h a n d s d e m a n d i n g t h e d r i n k b u t s h e d a n c e s a w a y i n s e a r c h o f h e r h u s b a n d w h o m a y h a v e g o n e t o h i d e i n a n o t h e r c a n o p y . t h i s i s p a l p a b l e a n x i e t y i f t h e s e a r c h b e c o m e s l o n g . e v e n t u a l l y , w h e n s h e fi n d s h i m , k n e e l s d o w n a n d h a n d s h i m t h e d r i n k . h e j o y f u l l y d r i n k s t h e w i n e a s s h e i s s t i l l k n e e l i n g d o w n a n d a f t e r w a r d s a s s i s t t h e b r i d e in getting up as they dance to his in-laws canopy to be blessed: (bride and groom are kneeling down as the father blesses them). father in law: it is difficult and challenging to give your daughter in marriage. h o w e v e r , s i n c e a f a t h e r w i l l n o t m a r r y h i s d a u g h t e r a n d i t i s o b l i g a t o r y , w e m u s t s u c c u m b t o t h e c a l l i n g . t o d a y i s i n d e e d a g r e a t d a y b e c a u s e i t g i v e s a g r e a t h o p e t h a t a n o t h e r f a m i l y i s b e i n g made through us to the glory of god. we are happy and not afraid because by god's grace, we brought her up well. we are confident that she will be a good wife, mother and great companion to her husband, just like her mother is to me. our prayer is that god will be the foundation of your union. he will bless you with children; both male and female as well sustain you i jesus name, amen. (the both stand up and dance to their seat). the final stage of the ceremony is the handing over of the bride to her husband. significantly, the bride is not handed over to the husband but to a go between, onye aka ebe, who in turn hands over to the father in law or the leader of the team. father of the bride: i am handing over my daughter to you as tradition demands. take her as your daughter and t rea t her as one of your own. may god bless this marriage in jesus mighty name, amen. onye aka ebe: (to the father in law or the leader of the team) your ears are not blocked. as the tradit ion demands, i am handing over your wife to you. take care of her as your daughter. i don't want to be involved i n s e t t l i n g q u a r r e l s b u t t o s h a r e i n t h e j o y s a n d h a p p i n e s s o f t h e fami ly. they shal l en joy a peaceful and f ru i t fu l marr iage in jesus name, amen. father in law: my in-laws, i want to thank you for accepting and trusting us. this is journey shall be like a flowing stream that will not dry. we shall take care of your daughter and she will take care of us. they shall be fruitful and happy. the lessons from the above scene are very clear. instead of handing over his daughter to her husband, she was handed over first to the “onye aka ebe” (the go between) who in turn handed her over to the father in law. this shows that a woman in arondizuogu is not only married to her husband but to the whole family. again, the father in laws has more experience in marital affairs and should guide the young couple to stabilize. not necessarily interfering in their marital life but act as a role model. the onye aka also made it clear that he will not be interested in being called to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 43 settle quarrels, admonishing the young couples to live in peace and harmony conclusion the research methodology, which is ethnography and the empty space theory, helped the researcher in locating and properly identifying the didactic as well as the dramatic elements in traditional marriage in arondizuogu. the researcher was present at the marriage ceremony used as case study. the father in laws compound (empty space) served as the stage, the arena for the ceremony and reception venue. the invited quests and family members from both families served as the audience. the dress of the bridal team and their accompaniments are the costume, properties and make up. there was music and dance to make the traditional marriage ceremony a total theatre. works cited brook peter. the empty space. touchstone rockefeller center. new york.1968 ironafe ndubuisi. cultural and social activities in arondizuogu upto 2000. an unpublished ph.d thesis, department of history, abia state university, uturu. 2023. mahmud memunat olayemi. a study of the yoruba traditional marriage as a rite of passage. international journal of african society, cultures and traditions vol.10, no.1, pp.40-52, 2021. <httpswww.eajournals.org> accessed 24/12/23 negin djavaherian not nothingness: peter brook's 'empty space' and its architecture 2012 nwabude, a. a. r. (2022). traditional african (the igbo) marriage customs & the influence of the western culture: marxist approach. open journal of social sciences,10, 224-239. https://doi.org/10.4236/jss.2022.102016 odunayo, alowolodu o., olusanya, o. oyewole. “traditional marriage customs and marital stability among married people in yoruba ethnic group” iosr journal of humanities and social science (iosr-jhss) volume 24, issue 5, ser. 1 (may. 2019) 23-27 doi: 10.9790/0837-2405012327 accessed 12/12/23www.iosrjournals.org ogoma, daniel ebu. “reflection on an african traditional marriage system” journal of social sciences and public affairs. volume 4, number 1, 2014 < > accessed www.eprints.imu.edu.ng 05/05/24 oti e.o. nigerian peoples and cultures: an incisive and analytical compendium. social-edge associates, olodi apapa lagos 2005. ryan t. anderson. marriage: what it is, why it matters, and the consequences of redefining it backgrounder | no. 2775 march 11, 2013 <http//www.report.heritage.orgbg2775> igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 28 moral concerns with euthanasia chidiebere obi, phd department of philosophy, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka ccy.obi@unizik.edu.ng abstract euthanasia or mercy killing has generated arguments and counter-arguments on its moral justifiability. there are cases where terminally ill-patients request for euthanasia; this is because, to them, life has become meaningless hence, the justification for the request. there are also some cases where a patient may be incapable to make such request but the physician deems it fit that the patient be administered lethal drugs. doctors on the other hand are duty bound to preserve the lives of their patients and when faced with a case of euthanasia, does it run contrary to this duty? in other words, is euthanasia against the hippocratic oath? does euthanasia pose a threat to the sanctity of human life? does it encourage slippery-slope? these questions and more were ethically appraised by this study and it submits that even though preservation of life is paramount, what happens if life becomes a threat to itself? what happens when my continuous living happens to be the reason why i do not want to live? these rhetorical questions give credence to a possible conclusion on the moral justifiability of euthanasia. keywords: euthanasia, bioethics, hippocratic oath, moral introduction euthanasia is another controversial matter in bioethics. the term euthanasia is derived from greek words eu and thanatos meaning good death. most times, people suffer from terminal ailments without any hope for cure and such condition is usually accompanied with severe pain and agony. ending the life of such a patient by a physician is called euthanasia. thus, euthanasia means easy death or mercy killing. it is the termination of the life of the terminally ill patients at their request or in their interest. euthanasia has been differently categorized into “voluntary”, “involuntary” and “non-voluntary.” voluntary euthanasia is performed at the request of the patient. involuntary euthanasia describes a situation in which euthanasia is performed without the patient’s request. “non-voluntary euthanasia relates to a situation in which euthanasia is performed when the patient is incapable of consenting.”1 euthanasia is further categorized as active and passive. active euthanasia refers to the deliberate act, usually through the intentional administration of lethal drugs, to end a patient’s life. “passive euthanasia is used to describe the deliberate withholding or withdrawal of lifeprolonging medical treatment resulting in the patient’s death.”2 the controversy over euthanasia is found in its justification. is it justifiable to help terminate the life of a terminally ill patient whether at his request or not? to answer this question, the reasons given so far against the practice of euthanasia will be critically discussed. these reasons are: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 29 euthanasia violates the hippocratic oath in the medical practice, it does not respect the sanctity of human life, euthanasia goes against the biomedical principles of non-maleficence and beneficence, its legalization will encourage slippery-slope etc. does euthanasia violate the hippocratic oath? hippocratic oath was an ancient oath originated by hippocrates and still relevant to the medical practitioners today. it is an oath stipulating the dos and don’ts guiding them while practicing medicine. this oath has undergone many interpretations leading to its classical or original version and the modern version. a part of its classical version reads: “i will apply dietetic measures for the benefit of the sick according to my ability and judgment; i will keep them from harm and injustice. i will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it, nor will i make a suggestion to this effect….”3 in line with this, many based their critique of euthanasia on the fact that it violates the oath guiding the doctors. they argued that assisting the terminally ill patient in taking his life brings more harm than good to him and this goes contrary to the hippocratic oath and the bioethical principles of nonmaleficence and beneficence. the question here is; what does it really mean to inflict harm to a patient? one may argue that to allow a terminally ill patient who is on a life-support to continue going through pain without any hope of cure is more harmful. assisting such a person on his request of ending his life is less harmful. in line with later developments in the field of medicine, hippocratic oath has been modified into its modern version to read; “…. most especially must i tread with care in matters of life and death. if it is given me to save a life, all thanks. but it may also be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty. above all, i must not play at god.”4 furthermore, the part of the oath that reads; “i will not give to a woman an abortive remedy” has been overtaken by events today because; abortion is usually justifiable if and when the life of the mother is in danger. there is a difference between prolonging life and prolonging death; the former goes with the hope and expectation of being well again while the latter is a futile effort. a terminally ill patient who asked for an assisted suicide but was denied of this only has his death prolonged by the physician. narrating the experience of one dr. kress with euthanasia in his paper, crocker (2013) writes: dr. eric kress, a family practitioner and hospice care worker, reports an experience with one patient that persuaded him of the existence of this responsibility: the patient was terminally ill with als; he had lost 100 pounds, couldn't walk and was being fed through a tube. “he used to be a vigorous guy, but now he was wasting away, and there was no question where he was headed,” kress recalls. his patient, whom kress considered of sound mind, felt very strongly that he did not want to wait a few more weeks for the disease to end his life. he requested lethal medication. kress told him he couldn't provide it. a few weeks later the patient had stockpiled enough pain medication to kill himself anyway. but before he died, kress says, “he called me a coward and said, ‘who are you treating here? are you treating yourself or are you treating me?’ and he got me thinking, what kind of doctor am i? am i going to do what i want or what my patients’ needs?”5 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 30 the case of dr. kress goes to question the underpinnings of the hippocratic oath; when i deny my patient the plea to help end his agony and harm inflicted on him by an incurable disease which cannot be relieved without ending his life, am i doing harm or good to him as a physician? am i prolonging his life or death? is active-voluntary euthanasia the same thing as murder? these questions go a long way to challenge the criticism against euthanasia on the ground of violation of hippocratic oath. sanctity of the human life argument on euthanasia euthanasia has also been criticised for the reason that it goes against the sacredness of life. life is sacred and should be handled so, therefore, any attempt to terminating a life is morally not permissible. this is an absolute moral belief that fails to take into consideration the circumstances of existence. there are circumstances where continued existence amounts to degradation of life. a terminally ill patient who is in a vegetative state (maybe on ventilator and feeding tube) presents a picture of someone who is just existing but not living. parts of the reasons why life is cherished and death dreaded is the ambitions, hopes, expectations and future that living brings but when all these seem impossible, then, life becomes meaningless and the patient involved is left with only suffering that accompanied his mere existence. one can even argue that the patient’s plea for the termination of his meaningless life was borne out of his respect for the sacredness of life. an extreme critic may argue that life is deeply rooted that no reason is justifiable for its abrupt termination. the giver of life is god and he alone will decide when life ends; therefore, a physician who aids the termination of a terminally sick patient is playing god and such is morally wrong. this particular view begs for a question; how do we know when god has decided to end a life? this is because, no one has ever seen where god ends a life. human death is usually caused by sicknesses, accidents, human beings (even animals) and other known factors. autopsy has also made it possible to dictate the cause(s) of seeming inexplicable deaths. as believers, we usually say, ‘that is how god wants it’ even when the deceased was murdered. since death usually occurs through things that we know, could the act of a physician who yielded to the request of a terminally ill patient by ending his life be interpreted as one of these factors that bring about death and, in this case, a justifiable factor? can the phrase, ‘playing god’ be justified in this context? god is an invincible being that carries out his activities through known beings but in an invincible manner and reasons. can we also say that a physician is ‘playing god’ when he/she heals a patient? when a believer prays for healing and gets healed (made possible by the medical science), it is normal to say that god healed him but when he prays for healing and none happens to be available (because such healing is beyond the medical science and its ingenuities) and because of the excruciating pain that accompanies the patient’s hopeless condition, he requests for his life to be terminated, is it justifiable to say that god made his death possible through the physician? another argument may be that both the patient and doctor acted in a hurry; why not tarry? what if a cure comes out after the euthanasia? another question could be; what if there is no cure at the end of this wait? then, the patient will die a horrible, painful and shameful death. why did god give the medical scientist the intelligence for making such lethal drugs available for euthanasia? does god igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 31 derive joy in watching his creature go through futile suffering? because of the nature of god, most arguments that have him as a basis usually ended inconclusively. this is because, one can only speculate about god and what he can or cannot do. does euthanasia encourage slippery slope? the slippery slope argument was advanced against the backdrop of possible abuses that may accompany the legalization of euthanasia. this argument asserts "that although some acts of euthanasia may be morally permissible..., to allow them to occur will set a logical precedent for, or will causally result in, consequences that are morally repugnant."6 the idea behind the slippery slope is that "if euthanasia were legally permitted, it would lead to a general decline in respect for human life."7 this is because, many will hide under the veil of its legalization in undermining the sanctity of the human life. it has been argued that if euthanasia were to be legalized, it could be abused and forced on people against their will. three main sources of potential abuse are suggested. the first source is families who shoulder the financial and emotional burden of a relative's prolonged illness and may try to "manipulate or pressure patients into choosing death.8 a second source is physicians who may use euthanasia "as the solution for every treatment problem they cannot solve" or to "cover their medical mistakes."9 physicians might also pressure patients into euthanasia by convincing them that they have no viable options in terms of treatment or pain control.10 a third source is health care institutions that may, to contain costs, limit a patient's treatment choices. 11 all the fear factors raised above cannot be ruled out but the fear of possible abuse of a law does not supersede what that law seeks to address. it may be possible that euthanasia if legalized, will be abused but this fear does not supersede the benefits accruable from it; many terminally ill patients will stand to gain if it is legalized. laws are usually not devoid of possible abuses; little wonder there are always mechanisms to checkmate such with accompanying punitive measures. using the utilitarian argument to weigh the fear of abuse of euthanasia, it becomes clear that there are much to gain than lose if euthanasia is allowed legally; the patient relieves himself of the agony of continue living (knowing full well that he has short period to live without any hope of cure), it saves cost, it relieves the family members of the financial burden, time and the emotional trauma that comes from watching their loved one in such a pitiable condition etc. therefore, the need for euthanasia outweighs the fear of its abuse. conclusion the question raised in the case of abortion becomes apt here; can all these factors mentioned above justify the act of ending a life? within the context of euthanasia, the fact remains that a person’s continuous living poses a threat to his living well, that is, the person feels that his life is the source of his discomfort and it simply means that such life is not worth living. unlike in the case of abortion that involves an innocent and defenceless baby, that of euthanasia involves the person who dies and the decision to die is his to make. even though that we stated earlier that life is the highest value that is, it becomes a dicey issue when a life becomes a threat to itself. what happens if my state of continuous living happens to be igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 32 the reason that i do not want to live? when a person suffers from a terminal disease and lives on a life support, it simply means that his death is been prolonged and if he decides to end his life, he is only embracing the reality as against the vegetable existence of living on life support. there is difference between someone who is suffering from the effects of the medication from a curable disease and someone suffering from the effects of a terminal disease that has no cure. the former suffers in an anticipation of better life to come while the latter suffers in futility; sequel to this, is it not better to bring the end close using euthanasia? is it not logical to trust the same medical science that makes it possible for a disease to be curable when it says otherwise? if a terminally ill patient should base his decision for euthanasia on this trust, is it not justifiable? when the state of our continuous living becomes the reason for our not wanting to live, it simply means that life has become antithetical to itself and it follows to say that life has negated itself and should give way. a possible synthesis that may arise is the life afterlife (for those that believe in immortality). suffice it to say that the highest value status given to life can give way if life becomes antithetical to itself and in the case of the terminally ill patient, it becomes clear that there is nothing that poses threat to life except its state of continuity which its imminent end has been made clear by the predictions of the medical science; and its vegetable and painful continuous existence is only a prolonged imminence. it is important to state here that the only reason for the moral justification of euthanasia is on the basis of terminal sickness, that is, where there is no hope for cure and death becomes imminent. denying such a patient a plea for euthanasia is to say that the physician derives joy watching him suffer excruciatingly from a disease that has no cure thereby, prolonging his death as against the patient’s life. in this regard, the justification of euthanasia covers the physician who aids it. given to the fear of abuse, spina states that there are several ways to regulate the practice of euthanasia. first, psychological evaluation, counselling, and a waiting period must be required for the patient to ensure that he is competent, has based his decision on sufficient information, was given enough time to decide, and was not improperly influenced by anyone during this time.12 second, the opinions of several professionals must be obtained in the physical and psychological evaluation of the patient. third, every instance of euthanasia must be documented as far as the patient's medical condition, alternatives to euthanasia presented to the patient, and various aspects of the patient's decision process including "a clear expression of the patient's choice.13 another possible means of regulation is through a federal agency, either one already in existence or one designed specifically to address issues of euthanasia, where reports on practices of euthanasia could be sent for review.14 such an agency could conduct "retroactive inspection on a broad scale of patterns of performance of euthanasia" to take place in order to help show any "patterns of euthanasia abuse" that may already exist.15 references 1. bartels l., and m. otlowski. a right to die? euthanasia and the law in australia. j. law med, 17 feb 2010. (4):532-55. web. 22 october 2013. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 33 2. walsh d., at. caraceni, r. fainsinger , k. foley, p. glare, c. goh, et al. palliative medicine.1st ed. canada. saunders, 2009. chapter 22, euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide: p.110-5. web. 22 october 2013. 3. sherman, s. et al. hippocratic oath. https://www.sskrplaw.com/hippocratic-oath.html. 4. tyson, p. the hippocratic oath today. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/hippocraticoath-today/ 5. crocker, k. why euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are morally permissible. florida: florida state university library, 2013. 6. spina, b. ethical justifications for voluntary active euthanasia. https://scholarship.richmond.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1031&context=jolpi. 7. ibid. 8. ibid. 9. ibid. 10. ibid. 11. ibid. 12. ibid. 13. ibid. 14. ibid; kanu, a. i.; addidi, t.; kanu, c. c., “artificial intelligence and cybercrime in nigeria: towards an ethical framework”. dialogue and universalism, vol. 32. no. 1. pp. 143-158, 2024. doi: 10.5840/du202434115 15. ibid; kanu, a. i.; addidi, t.; kanu, c. c., “virtue and the business of governance in nigeria”. dialogue and universalism, vol. 32. no. 1. 2024, pp. 207-228. doi.org/10.5840/du202434111 31 the challenges of priestly fraternity and witnessing in modern evangelization obiora charles capstan, catholic institute of west africa port harcourt, nigeria doi:10.13140/rg.2.2.25338.81600 abstract priestly fraternity remains as the pillar of unity and mutual support within the catholic priesthood and the church, with deep roots in its theological and historical tradition. this is because, rather than being a collegial ministry, the priesthood is deeply ingrained with a high degree of individuality. because of the aforementioned mindset, many priests choose not to participate in specific diocesan events in order to avoid certain brother priests. it eventually led to some priests finding it challenging to share, concelebrate, and even live in the same parish house, which to some extent has negative impacts to the work of evangelization. in the pursuit of the church's mission to evangelize, priestly fraternity serves as a vital witness, reflecting the essential values of community and collaborative ministry. this study aims to comprehensively explore the role of priestly fraternity as a witness in the service of evangelization and to identify strategies for overcoming the manifold challenges it faces. this paper delves into the essence of priestly fraternity, the multifaceted role it plays in evangelization, and the challenges it encounters. the challenges encompass personal differences and conflict, workload and burnout, secularization, resource constraints, and credibility issues. it will offer a range of practical recommendations to address these challenges, emphasizing the significance of collaboration, open communication, support systems, and ongoing formation. it highlights the relevance of priestly fraternity in contemporary society, showing how it can adapt and thrive in a changing world while inspiring a renewed commitment to evangelization. the findings and insights derived from this research contribute to the broader understanding of the essential role of priestly fraternity in fulfilling the catholic church's mission of proclaiming the gospel and nurturing the faith of its members. it seeks to fortify the unity and mutual encouragement among priests, ultimately enhancing their witness in the service of evangelization and rejuvenating the church's mission in the modern age. keywords: priest, fraternity, witnessing and evangelization. introduction the dearth of fraternity among priests served as the impetus for this study. this is because, rather than being a collegial ministry, the priesthood is deeply ingrained with a high degree of individuality. because of the aforementioned mindset, many priests choose not to participate in specific diocesan events in order to avoid certain brother priests. it eventually led to some priests finding it challenging to share, concelebrate, and even live in the same parish house, which to some extent has negative impacts to the work of evangelization. priestly fraternity is an integral and historical aspect of the catholic church. it is deeply rooted in the church's tradition and theology, emphasizing the importance of the brotherhood and mutual support among its clergy. the concept of priestly fraternity finds its origin in the early christian community, reflecting the sense of kinship and unity that existed among the apostles and early disciples of jesus christ. in the earliest days of the church, the apostles served as a model of priestly fraternity. they shared a common mission, preached the gospel, and faced challenges together. the apostolic igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 32 community was characterized by mutual support, shared resources, and a deep sense of unity in spreading the message of christ. throughout the history of the church, priestly fraternity has continued to be a fundamental element of the priesthood. it is grounded in the theological understanding of the priesthood as a shared ministry, where priests are called to collaborate, encourage one another, and be united in their mission to nurture the faith of the church's members. the second vatican council (1962-1965) played a pivotal role in reemphasizing the importance of priestly fraternity within the church. it highlighted the role of the presbyterate, or the collective body of priests, in fostering unity and mutual support among the clergy. this renewal of emphasis on priestly fraternity aimed to strengthen the priestly role in the service of evangelization and the proclamation of the gospel. in the contemporary context, priestly fraternity takes on new significance as the church faces various challenges. these challenges include secularization, changing cultural dynamics, skepticism toward religion, and the need to adapt to technological advancements for effective evangelization. in this context, the unity and mutual encouragement within the fraternity become essential in addressing these challenges and fulfilling the church's mission to proclaim the gospel. knowing the essence of priestly fraternity, its role in evangelization, and the challenges it faces in contemporary society. it delves into the ways in which priestly fraternity serves as a powerful witness in the service of evangelization, embodying the unity and mutual support that the catholic church considers central to its mission. ultimately, this study seeks to underscore the enduring relevance of priestly fraternity in fulfilling the church's mission of proclaiming the gospel and nurturing the faith of its members. priestly fraternity, as a foundational element of the catholic church, faces a multitude of challenges in its mission to serve as a witness in the service of evangelization. these challenges encompass various aspects that hinder the effectiveness of priestly fraternity in fulfilling its role in proclaiming the gospel and nurturing the faith of the church's members. such as, personal differences and conflict, workload and burnout, secularization and skepticism, resource constraints, credibility issues, scandals among others. fraternity fraternity involves recognizing and embracing the inherent dignity and worth of every person, fostering relationships based on love, unity, and solidarity. as pope francis states in fratelli tutti no 8, "fraternity is an essential quality of the church's evangelizing mission" (2020, par. 8). fraternity, therefore, becomes the foundation for effective evangelization. numerous scholars have urged us to define fraternity as the joining of a group of individuals in a certain culture or location for progressive and peaceful goals. fraternity is defined as "a feeling of friendship and support that exists between the members of a group" or as "a group of people sharing a common profession or interest" by the oxford advanced learner's dictionary (545). similarly, in fraternity in christ, building the church as family, states that "fraternity is an essential claim of humanity" (nyenyemba 8). this indicates that humanity's fundamental quality is fraternity. he also asserts that "human beings have a profound awareness of their shared humanity. we are truly brothers and sisters human beings”(8). this view has been implored by many scholars to mean the bonding of a group of people in a given culture or place for progressive and harmonious purposes. the oxford advanced learner's dictionary defines fraternity as “a group of people sharing a common profession or interest” or “a feeling of friendship and support that exists between the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 33 members of a group” (545). in the same vein, nyenyembe, in fraternity in christ, building the church as family, asserts that: “fraternity is an essential claim of humanity” (8). this means that fraternity is the basic character of human beings. he equally avers that “human beings are deeply aware of the fact that they are all related, together, we are human beings, and indeed brothers and sisters” (8). his submission accents the fact that the human race is created to fraternize. similarly, the definition of brotherhood is given by donald bolander and james churchhill in the new webster's dictionary of the english language lexicon as "a body of people with a faith and common objectives and sense of purpose...as a group of men living a communal life" (123). jon sobrino, in his submission, saw in cain's act of killing his brother the destruction of the basic link between humans and a betrayal of brotherhood. furthermore, sobrino identified the betrayal of fraternity in the following statement found in "the pastoral circle revisited, a critical quest for truth and transformation": "...what have you done with your brother? whether we listen or not, whether we answer that question or not, our fundamental humanity is on the line, when we don't pay attention to it. this signifies that, as brothers and sisters, brotherhood is the foundation of humanity and the reason for creation. in "fraternity in the christian tradition, buddhist/catholic international dialogue, castel gandolfo," we are united with christ through baptism, which also binds us to a wider circle of relationships with other believers, followers of other faiths, and even atheists or deliberately unbelievers. we are able to experience human connection with all peoples because of our shared humanity (baima 6). as such, he held that "living only as individuals is the definition of exile if the image of god is to be in a non-competitive relationship." a man is alone if he does not socialize. in "friendship redeemed by fraternity," asserts that "no pleasure is higher or nobler in life than friendship" (kauth 2). this implies that since loneliness is the result of a lack of fraternity, there can be no room for loneliness in a community of brothers. being a member of a fraternity makes it easier to fit in with friends. according to the same school of thought, "you can't have a common good-a good we share and hold together that has its end and meaning" (4)-without a whole. fraternity brings individuals together for a common goal and frees them from the prison of individualism and rivalry. according to amalia amaya's perspective in “the significance of fraternity,” “fraternity cannot coexist with capitalism as it centers social relationships around the principles of mutuality and collaboration” (3). according to amalia, there is an inherent conflict between the values of autonomy and fraternity life. in agreement with what has been said thus far, baima states that "building a just society and lasting peace will be impossible without fraternity, which is an essential human quality" (7). nyenyembe went on to say, "people feel guilty in their consciences today more than ever before." many people suffer from spiritual brokenness as a result of this. because there is no fraternity among intimate family members, humans are subjected to severe and cruel treatment (101). according to kauth, "fraternity is that most liberal and liberating of realities because it bestows on another what i would bestow on myself, namely, the good that i see" (5), fraternity frees humanity from such harsh and terrible circumstances. he goes on to say, "the true common good may be personal, but it is not private. thus, belonging to anything does not negate freedom; rather, it makes freedom more apparent. submitting to a "order" that is regulated for the benefit of all as given this, amaya strongly advises that "members of such community should regard each other as equals under a shared value, members should be joined by affective bonds and have a ready disposition to help each other" in order for a fraternity to be realized in any community (14). since fraternity improves people's progress based on their ties with other community igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 34 members, the researcher also discusses these views. in communion in community a renewed programme for religious submitted that, "common life implies the joining of forces, the convergence of interests, and the pooling together of energies," (kaitholil 47). it is evident from the forgoing that when life is lived in community, humans can have significance. in essence, fraternity offers everyone in a community a strong sense of purpose and belonging. on the contrary, there will be very weary and broken hearts when fraternity is denied. priestly fraternity priestly fraternity as witness in service of evangelization is a rich and complex topic that has been addressed by the church down the years (paul vi, 1967; john paul ii, 1979; benedict xvi, 2007; francis, 2013). it is rooted in the very nature of the priesthood, which is a communal vocation. priests are called to be witnesses to christ and to the gospel, and they do this best in fraternity with one another (presbyterorum ordinis, 9). this fraternity is a sign of the unity of the church and of the universal priesthood of christ (sacerdotalis coelibatus, 17). it is also essential for the effective evangelization of the world (redemptoris hominis, 43). priestly fraternity is love in action that leads to collaborative efforts for pastoral efficacy and efficiency. by pleading for the priestly principles that uphold the integrity of the church in a diocese, it helps to revitalize the diocese where brothers will live in harmony for the upliftment of one another in declaring, narrating, and telling the content of christian doctrine, which is jesus christ. ekwutosi cosmos in brotherhood among priests, meaning and importance in church and family in africa, in light of this belief opines that diocesan priests are expected to build a fraternity inside their diocese or archdiocese, because it must be based on each person's recognition of the other, its togetherness must transcend all other merely human unions (45).george manalel in priest as a man, says that counseling for clergy promotes priestly brotherhood as a helpful element in the edification of the church, the mystical body of christ. he concurs with pence's argument that pastoral meaningfulness is effectively catalyzed by brotherhood. he states unequivocally that "priests need support and affirmation from fellow priests in order to be happy and effective in the ministry." only when one is guaranteed a loving and helpful priestly fraternity can one live a priestly life (31). when priests walk, work, dine, and play together in a fraternal manner, priestly life becomes more meaningful. this demonstrates how the priestly community is connected in fraternity. since unity is an honest and deliberate attempt to agree with one another despite disparities in individual uniqueness, collective efforts facilitate work. george maintains that: "when the friendship is based on the fraternal bond, it becomes an apostolic covenant in which priests work together as friends for the salvation of others, and thus bring about love among the many" (36) in accordance with the submission above. understanding one another's differences in the ministry and appreciating each other's strengths and weaknesses are essential components of priestly brotherhood. among priests, fraternity is a driving force behind love and development. biblical foundations of priestly fraternity and witnessing the bible teaches that priests are called to be a holy and consecrated people, set apart to serve god and his people (exodus 19:6). they are to be witnesses to the world of god's love and grace, and to proclaim the good news of the gospel (leviticus 21:6; numbers 3:10; deuteronomy 18:5; 1 chronicles 6:49; 2 chronicles 29:5; ezra 7:24; nehemiah 13:10; job 42:10; psalm 93:5; proverbs 10:22; ecclesiastes 9:10; isaiah 61:1-2; jeremiah 1:9-10; ezekiel 3:17-18; daniel 12:3; matthew 28:19-20; mark 16:15-16; luke 24:46-47; john 13:34-35; acts 1:8; 1 timothy 4:12-16; 2 timothy 2:2; titus 2:7-8). one of the most important ways that priests can do this is by living in fraternity with one another (exodus 19:6; leviticus 21:6; numbers 3:10; deuteronomy igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 35 18:5; 1 chronicles 6:49). priestly fraternity is a brotherhood that is based on mutual love, support, and respect. it is a community in which priests can share their joys and sorrows, and encourage one another in their ministry. when priests live in fraternity, they are able to be more effective witnesses to the world (matthew 28:19-20; mark 16:15-16; luke 24:46-47; john 13:34-35; acts 1:8; 1 timothy 4:12-16; 2 timothy 2:2; titus 2:7-8). they can provide each other with the support and accountability that they need to stay faithful to their vocation. they can also learn from each other and grow in their understanding of the priesthood. the bible provides many examples of the importance of priestly fraternity. further example is seen in the book of exodus, where we see that aaron and his sons were consecrated to the priesthood as a family (exodus 28:1-43). they were to serve god together, and to support one another in their ministry. church fathers on priestly fraternity and witnessing st. augustine of hippo (354-430) envisioned the church community as a powerful force in propagating the gospel. his emphasis on unity underscores the importance of a cohesive priestly fraternity, working harmoniously to manifest the transformative power of christianity. inspired by augustine, the priestly fraternity becomes a living testament to the unity and strength found in the communal expression of faith. st. john chrysostom (347-407), in his teachings, holds that the priestly fraternity is envisioned as embodying the virtues of christ, serving as a living testimony to the truths of the gospel. through their exemplary lives, the clergy become beacons, drawing others towards the radiant light of christianity. gregory the great (540-604) emphasizes pastoral care as an integral aspect of priestly responsibility. a priestly fraternity, in the light of gregory's insights, takes up the mantle of guiding and nurturing the spiritual well-being of the faithful. by attending to the needs of the flock, the fraternity fulfills a crucial role in the larger mission of evangelization. basil the great (329-379) adds to the narrative by highlighting the communal nature of the christian life. a priestly fraternity, following basil's teachings, fosters a sense of unity and cooperation. by working collectively, the fraternity becomes an effective instrument in spreading the message of christ. st. ignatius of antioch (35-107) underscores the importance of the bishop and presbyters in maintaining the unity of the church. a priestly fraternity, inspired by ignatius, collaborates closely under the guidance of the bishop for effective evangelization. justin martyr (100-165) defends and explains christian beliefs to the roman authorities. he argues that the moral and virtuous lives of christians, including the clergy, are crucial in attracting others to the faith. a priestly fraternity, in this context, should be a shining example of christian virtues. in light of these teachings, a priestly fraternity as a witness in the service of evangelization should embody qualities such as unity, exemplary living, pastoral care, theological depth, and a sense of communal responsibility. by working together harmoniously and being living examples of christian virtues, the priestly fraternity can effectively contribute to the spread of the gospel and the growth of the church. in addition to the mosaic, st. athanasius (296-373) calls for a christocentric focus, emphasizing the centrality of christ in the christian faith. a priestly fraternity, guided by athanasius, should prioritize christocentric evangelization, focusing on the person and work of jesus christ as the core of their message. st. ambrose of milan (337-397) highlights the transformative power of the sacraments, especially the eucharist. a priestly fraternity, influenced by ambrose, recognizes the sacraments as powerful means of grace that strengthen believers for effective witness and outreach. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 36 a priestly fraternity, inspired gregory nazianzen (329-389), embodies humility in their service, recognizing that effective evangelization requires a humble and selfless attitude. a priestly fraternity, influenced by irenaeus of lyons (130-202), is grounded in the apostolic tradition, maintaining a connection to the teachings passed down from the apostles for authentic evangelization. vatican ii council on priestly fraternity and witnessing the second vatican council (vatican ii), convened from 1962 to 1965, brought significant changes to the catholic church's understanding of its mission and structure. among the various documents produced during this council, "presbyterorum ordinis" (decree on the ministry and life of priests) stands out for its profound insights into the role of priests and the importance of priestly fraternity. fathers of the second vatican ecumenical council emphasize the communal nature of the priesthood, challenging the idea of isolated priests working independently. in "presbyterorum ordinis" (po), the document articulates that priests are "united among themselves by a special bond" (po 8). this unity is not merely administrative but is rooted in their shared participation in the one priesthood of christ. the council underscores that priestly fraternity is not just for the benefit of the clergy but is a visible sign of the unity of the church. in "lumen gentium" (dogmatic constitution on the church), it states, "the hierarchical structure of the church and the sacrament of orders are to be seen as intimately connected with, and in the service of, the whole people of god" (lg 18). this connection emphasizes that the collaboration among priests is integral to the church's mission and unity. the idea of priests forming a supportive community is evident in "presbyterorum ordinis," which acknowledges the challenges priests face and the need for mutual support. it states, "priests should work together as brothers in planning pastoral and apostolic work" (po 8). this collaboration fosters an environment where priests can share experiences, seek guidance, and uplift each other in their ministry. the council envisioned priestly fraternity as a powerful witness to christ's love. in "gaudium et spes" (pastoral constitution on the church in the modern world), it emphasizes that the church is "a sign raised among the nations" and that priests, through their collaboration, can exemplify christ's love in a fragmented world (gs 45). the fraternity among priests becomes a visible expression of the gospel message. similarly, the council recognized the changing landscape of the modern world and highlighted the need for priests to adapt and collaborate in addressing contemporary challenges. "gaudium et spes" acknowledges that the church is intimately involved in the concerns of the world, and priests, through their fraternity, can respond more effectively to the evolving needs of society (gs 42). the call for priestly fraternity also serves as a counter-witness to division within the church. in "unitatis redintegratio" (decree on ecumenism), the council encourages collaboration not only among catholic priests but also with clergy from other christian traditions, striving for the unity of all christians (ur 24). this broader vision of fraternity challenges any perception of the church as divided. the sacramental dimension of priestly fraternity is highlighted in "presbyterorum ordinis." the document emphasizes that priests, through their ordination, share in the priesthood of christ and are called to act "in the person of christ" (po 2). this sacramental bond further strengthens the sense of fraternity, as priests recognize their common participation in the divine priesthood. magisterium on priestly fraternity and witnessing the concept of priestly fraternity as a witness in the context of evangelization has been a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 37 recurring theme in the teachings of popes paul vi, john paul ii, benedict xvi, and pope francis. this discussion will therefore consider their respective insights, emphasizing the significance of priestly fraternity as a powerful instrument for bearing witness to the gospel message. pope paul vi (1963-1978) emphasized the importance of priestly fraternity in his post-conciliar teachings. in his encyclical sacerdotalis coelibatus (1967), he wrote that "the priestly fraternity is a sign of the unity of the priesthood of christ" (sc 17). he also taught that priestly fraternity is essential for the spiritual and psychological well-being of priests. in his exhortation evangelii nuntiandi (1975), pope paul vi again stressed the importance of priestly fraternity for evangelization. he wrote that priests should "be united in a brotherhood of love" and that "this fraternity should be a sign of the unity of the church and of the universal priesthood of christ." in "evangelii nuntiandi, (1975)" the selfsame pontiff recognizes the transformative power of personal witness in evangelization. he emphasizes that the church's credibility in proclaiming the gospel hinges on the authenticity of the lives of its members, especially priests. paul vi underscores the importance of priestly fraternity as a supportive environment where priests can collectively bear witness to the transformative power of christ's message. fraternity, in this context, becomes a visible sign of the unity and love that should characterize the christian community. building on paul vi's foundation, pope john paul ii highlights the communal aspect of missionary activity in "redemptoris missio. (1990)" he stresses the collaboration among priests and the need for a shared witness to the gospel. priestly fraternity, according to john paul ii, is not only a means of mutual support but also a tangible expression of the unity of the church in her mission. by working together, priests become a compelling witness to the transformative love of christ, fostering a sense of communion that extends to the broader community. pope benedict xvi, in "deus caritas est, (2005)" explores the connection between love and evangelization. he emphasizes that love is at the heart of christian witness, and priests, as bearers of this love, are called to manifest it in their relationships with one another. priestly fraternity, in benedict xvi's view, is a visible sign of the self-giving love that should characterize the church's mission. in "verbum domini," he connects the word of god with evangelization. he underscores the communal dimension of engaging with scripture, suggesting that priests, by sharing and meditating on the word together, strengthen their witness to the transformative power of god's message. pope francis, in evangelii gaudium (2015) envisions a church that goes forth joyfully to proclaim the gospel. he emphasizes the importance of a communal witness to the joy of the gospel, and priestly fraternity becomes a crucial element in fostering this joy. francis calls for a church that is united in its mission, where priests support and challenge one another to be authentic witnesses to christ. in "laudato si'," pope francis expands the scope of witness to include care for the environment. priestly fraternity, in this context, extends beyond human relationships to include a shared responsibility for the stewardship of creation. by collectively addressing ecological challenges, priests bear witness to the interconnectedness of all creation. priestly fraternity and witnessing as evangelization priestly fraternity plays a significant role in providing effective witness in the service of evangelization in christian community with the following reasons: 1. unity and consistency of message: when priests come together in a spirit of fraternity, they are more likely to present a unified and consistent message to the faithful. this unity in teaching and practice strengthens the witness of the church, making it more credible and impactful. 2. support in faith and vocation: fraternity provides a supportive environment for priests to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 38 strengthen their own faith and vocation. priests who feel supported and encouraged in their personal spiritual journey are better equipped to bear witness to their faith authentically. 3. mutual accountability: fraternal relationships among priests often involve mutual accountability for living out their priestly vows and commitments. this accountability ensures that they exemplify the values and teachings of the church, thus offering an example of faithful living to the community. 4. moral and ethical guidance: fraternity allows priests to discuss and seek guidance on moral and ethical issues they encounter in their pastoral work and personal lives. this mutual guidance helps them navigate difficult decisions in a manner consistent with christian values, providing a reliable moral compass for the community. 5. prayer and worship: when priests gather for common prayer and worship within the context of fraternity, it fosters a sense of reverence and devotion. the witness of priests who pray and worship together is a powerful reminder of the centrality of faith and the importance of communal worship in the life of the church. 6. living examples of faith: priests who engage in acts of service, charity, and outreach within their communities are living examples of christian faith. fraternity encourages and amplifies these efforts, inspiring the faithful to emulate their priests' commitment to living out the gospel. 7. crisis response: in times of crisis or upheaval, such as natural disasters or community challenges, priestly fraternity provides a structured means for priests to come together and respond effectively. their coordinated efforts demonstrate the church's presence and commitment to the welfare of the community, offering hope and support in difficult times. 8. spiritual guidance: fraternity often includes senior priests mentoring and providing spiritual guidance to younger or less experienced clergy. this mentorship is instrumental in helping younger priests grow in their ministry and deepen their faith, enhancing their ability to provide effective witness. 9. interfaith and ecumenical engagement: in an increasingly diverse and interfaith world, priestly fraternities can serve as a source of effective witness by promoting interfaith and ecumenical dialogue and collaboration. by working together, priests can engage with other religious groups in a spirit of respect and understanding. 10. community building: the witness of priests who foster a sense of community within their parishes and congregations is profound. the fraternity promotes a warm, inclusive, and welcoming atmosphere that encourages active participation in the life of the church. challenges of priestly fraternity in evangelization priestly fraternity plays a crucial role in the service of evangelization within the catholic church. however, like any form of community or organization, it can face several challenges. here are some of the challenges faced in priestly fraternity when serving as witnesses in the service of evangelization: 1. personal differences and conflict: just like any group, priests in a fraternity can have personal differences and conflicts that may hinder effective collaboration and witness. disagreements on theology, pastoral approaches, or personal issues can strain relationships within the fraternity. 2. workload and burnout: priests are often called to serve in various roles within their communities, which can lead to heavy workloads and potential burnout. this can affect the effectiveness of their witness and service of evangelization. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 39 3. isolation: some priests may serve in remote or isolated areas, which can lead to feelings of isolation and a lack of support from other priests. this can make it challenging to maintain a sense of fraternity and mutual encouragement. 4. secularization and skepticism: in many parts of the world, there is a growing trend of secularization and skepticism toward religion. priests may face challenges in evangelizing in a society where faith is not always valued or understood. 5. lack of resources: some fraternities may struggle with limited financial resources, access to education and training, or the tools needed for effective evangelization. these resource constraints can impact their ability to carry out their mission effectively. 6. clericalism: clericalism, or an overemphasis on the power and privileges of the clergy, can pose a challenge to priestly fraternity. it can hinder collaboration, create hierarchies within the fraternity, and prevent priests from working together as equal partners. 7. scandals and credibility issues: scandals and credibility issues within the church can have a negative impact on the image of the priesthood and, by extension, on priestly fraternity. this can make it more challenging to be effective witnesses in evangelization. 8. cultural and linguistic diversity: in a globalized world, many fraternities are diverse, with members from various cultural and linguistic backgrounds. while diversity can be enriching, it can also lead to communication challenges and misunderstandings that affect the fraternity's unity and witness. 9. technological and communication challenges: in an increasingly digital world, priests may face challenges related to technology and communication. some may struggle to adapt to new digital tools for evangelization or may face difficulties in reaching out to a tech-savvy generation. 10. aging and declining priesthood: in some regions, there is a shortage of priests, and many of the priests are fast aging. this can place a burden on the remaining priests, especially the few young ones, and so make it more challenging to engage in effective evangelization and outreach. overcoming the challenges of priestly fraternity in evangelization to overcome the challenges of priestly fraternity in evangelization requires a combination of strategies; cooperation, and a strong commitment to the mission of the church. here are some ways to address these challenges: communication, dialogue and conflict resolution and mediation encourage priests to engage in open and honest communication within the fraternity. discuss personal differences, conflicts, and theological issues in a respectful and constructive manner. create a culture of dialogue where priests can express their concerns, share ideas, and work together to find solutions. establish mechanisms for conflict resolution and mediation. this can involve involving neutral third parties or experienced mentors to help address disputes and conflicts within the fraternity. social support systems in leadership and work promote a healthy work-life balance to prevent burnout. encourage priests to take time for personal and spiritual renewal, and provide support for self-care, including retreats and sabbaticals. effective leadership within the fraternity is essential. leaders should be open to feedback, attentive to the needs of their fellow priests, and strive to create an environment that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 40 fosters unity and mutual support. develop support systems within the fraternity, allowing priests to assist and uplift one another. this includes providing emotional and spiritual support, especially during challenging times. community building, adaptation to cultural and linguistic diversity embrace cultural and linguistic diversity as an asset. encourage priests to learn from each other's backgrounds and experiences, fostering a spirit of inclusivity and openness to different cultures. organize activities and events that promote fraternity and community building. this can include regular gatherings, workshops, and retreats to strengthen the bonds of the priesthood. conclusion in conclusion, the priestly fraternity as a witness in the service of evangelization plays an integral role in the church's mission to spread the gospel. through their collective efforts, pastoral care, exemplary lives, unity, and service to the broader community, these fraternities exemplify the spirit of christ and continues to be beacon of light and hope in a world that thirsts for meaning and truth. in the same light, it serves as a powerful vehicle for spreading the gospel and strengthening the faith of both priests and the faithful. as the church continues its mission to share the message of christ, priestly fraternities remain a cornerstone of its efforts, fostering unity, moral integrity, and a vibrant faith community. through their commitment and collaboration, they illuminate the path for others to follow in the footsteps of christ. references baima, a. thomas. fraternity in the christian tradition, buddhist/catholic international dialogue. castel gandolfo. italy: 2015. benedict xvi, pope. sacramentum caritatis: post-synodal apostolic exhortation on the eucharist as the source and summit of the life and mission of the church. libreria editrice vaticana. dulles, a. (1974). models of the church. doubleday. bolander donald and churchhill james. the new webster's dictionary of the english language. new york: lexicon, 2000. ekwutosi, cosmas. brotherhood among priests meaning and importance in church and family in africa. awka: fab, 2009. francis, pope. evangelii gaudium: apostolic exhortation on the joy of the gospel. libreria editrice vaticana, 2013. gwaza, gabriel. community of life among priests as a wonderful witnessing tool. lagos: mosk teck, 2010. https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com 14/10/2023 john paul ii, pope. redemptoris hominis: encyclical letter on the redeemer of man. libreria editrice vaticana, 1979. kaitholi, george. the people and the priest. mumbai: st. paul, 2009. kauth, matthew. http://thosecatholicmen.com/articles/friendship-redeemed-by-fraternity/ 14/10/2023. manalel, george. priests as a man. counseling for the clergy. karunikan books, 2006. mcbrien, r. p. the catholic priest: a study in pastoral theology. harper & row, 1983. nyenyemba, jordan. fraternity in christ: building the church as family. nairobi: paulines publications africa, 2005. paul vi. sacerdotalis coelibatus: encyclical letter on the priestly celibacy. libreria editrice vaticana, 1967. pence, david. fratelli tutti (brothers and sisters all) encyclical letter on f r a t e r n i t y a n d social friendship. ibadan: st paul publications, 2000. -. the erosion of priestly fraternity in the archdiocese of st. paul and minneapolis. the spotless bride and the scattered apostles. (white paper, first edition-lent 2006). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 41 rahner, k. theological investigations (vol. 1-22). burns oates. 1961-1983. second vatican council. decree on the ministry and life of priests (presbyterorum ordinis). in vatican ii: constitution on the sacred liturgy and decrees, pp. 963-1006. alba house, 1965. the holy bible. the new revised standard version. catholic edition. bangalore: theological publications, 2017. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 6, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 45 intercisciplinary insights into the concept of time: a synthesis eruka, c. raphael, phd department of philosophy, madonna university, nigeria, okija campus erukaraff@gmail.com abstract temporality questions concern scholars of all persuasions and fields of human endeavor. few concepts would be as all-involving as the concept of time. the ancients, the moderns and contemporary thinkers all have stakes in the effort to dive deep and unravel time in its dimensions and substance. specifically, philosophers have a lengthy history of intellectual quest on temporality problematic. scientists especially in modern and contemporary times have made more explicit inroads into temporality matters culminating in the constructing of theories around the dynamics of time. philosophers have in the course of history correlated time with eternity. the historicization of time, the logic and metaphysical contradiction of the ontology of temporality dynamics, and the prognostication of the cessation of time have all been themes that needed to be further developed and appreciated in this research. again, absolute time as a reality of classical physics and the contradiction of this perspective in the contemporary understanding of einstein’s theory of relativity and allied scientific views, make for deeper exploration of the reality of time. the present effort tended to telescope the ideas of different and diverse schools of thought in one piece with a view to achieving their reconciliation thereof and with a new synthesis and methodological sharp focus on the apprehension of the conception of time as a spatiotemporal reality in need of a new hermeneutics. the method applied is that of historical exposition, critical analysis and synthesis of the diverse concepts. the work finishes off with the attempt at transformation into the co-relational and co-extensive questions of temporality praxiologies. keywords: temporalization, essentialization, historicization, spacetime, mathematization introduction the immateriality of time does not contradict the capacity of the human mind to conceptualize it. the human mind relates to time as a notion that can be thought. as an abstract notion, time is a cosmic phenomenon. the cosmic dimension of time would rather portray the concept in its objectivity. however, the complexity of the phenomenon would conceptually put time on the crossroads of subjectivity and objectivity. is time a mere human psychological process of unit measure? does time have metaphysical undercurrents? is time a reality outside of the human psychological operation to which the human mind can appropriate conceptually as need be? is the externalization of time tenable whereby the concept becomes separable from the psychic state and objectified in the cosmic sense of it? human existence is upon time. as a matter of fact, the existence of the physical universe is time correlated. without time, the physical universe would lose its full meaning or rather become to a large extent less meaningful. as a quantity of value, time is measured against the timeless. one could argue to some credit that time is conceivable because it is comprehended against no-time; that is, beyond time. if this is true, then time is indeed a moment on no-time. the linearity of time, if not conceived as an infinite continuum, can only be a chancehappening on no-time, the standard against which time is perceived. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 46 is the division of time part of time? is the division a potentiality that the human psyche found convenient to usefully exploit? in the same manner, it can be asked whether the fragmentation of time is a psychic technique. if time is regarded as a cosmic notion, then the fragmentation may be seen as a psychological trick; the appropriation of the cosmic phenomenon for utilitarian ends. the discourse on time, despite the focus on the universal dimension, must also dovetail on its utility. this too, that is, the utility is both subjective to different human tastes as well as objective since the utility of time essentially goes into its definition. from the metaphysical conceptualization to the pragmatics in its utility, the objective dimension of time is incontrovertible. man plans upon time and executes projects; things emerge on time and exit thereon; thus, temporality is the bedrock and hallmark of physical existence. the vision of all-physical reality is time. time has insight into what was, what is, and what is to come. this vision can only be paired with a corresponding knowledge: the linearity of time rakes in a lot of the knowable in wholes and parts as against the herculean task of the human path into the knowledge domain. all human knowledge is in its degrees quantitatively and qualitatively in time. even for realities outside of time, their human comprehension is temporalized. this is the sure signification that such knowledge is a continuum on no-time. the temporalizing of physical reality grossly limits same. the apprehension of human limitation is a picturesque reality in this context. human limitation is fundamentally understood in the temporality of human existence: this proffers the key to the interpretation of whole lots of constraints put on man by foreseeable scenes of the human presence and absence on the cosmic space. the human consciousness of his existence in relation to temporality acquires heightened value if man understands time as defining his existence moment-by-moment and becoming involved in the meaning therein. it is in the light of the above that philosophers have had opportunities to reflect on time. interest has never waned on the philosophic quest into issues and thematic on time. the ancients have not shown more keenness on the investigative object than the moderns or contemporary thinkers. the conceptualizations and perspectives on time have remained ageless quests; thus, the questions and explorations on time have not only caught the focus of philosophic endeavor, they have as well attracted the attention of researchers from other fields of human inquiry. the cosmologist, theoretical physicist, astronomer, space scientist, mathematician, psychologist, cultural anthropologist and theologian have all been equally enamored of time and as such contributed perspectives to the unraveling of ideas of time. this paper delves into the exploration of the concept of time, highlights the efforts to complement the understanding from the diverse fields of human knowledge-domains, thus the interdisciplinary methodological approach to the present research efforts. the concept of time – a historical development from the very beginnings in the history of western thought, the concept of time was correlational with the concept of motion. that is to say that time is a function of movement and change. to understand time is to comprehend the reality of the dynamism inherent in nature. time indeed is a natural phenomenon since motion, change, alterability of positions are all natural phenomena. the eminent philosopher of motion and change is the pre-socratic intellectual-diver, heraclitus. for heraclitus, reality is change (stumpf & fieser 2003, p. 15). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 47 this earlier thinking on time appears to have gained credence as the views of some scholars tended to lend weight to heraclitus’ position. plato defined time as ‘a moving image of eternity”’ (audi, 2011, p. 803). of significance to this definition is the introduction of motion and eternity to the concept of time. the fact of the observation of the succession of things implies the movement being hinted and this in relation to eternity. plato’s understanding of time, takes to beyond time. this means that time is a moment on eternity as the former pours into the latter in a kind of physical cessation and ontological continuum. aristotle in the physics defines time as the ‘number of changes in respect of before and after’, thereby inferring that time and change are inseparable; thus, time, change, motion are for aristotle terms that must have to be used together in any temporality discourse (perkams, 2009, p. 35). if there has to be a ‘before and an after’ in respect of change, then time remains a factor of circumscription, a processor of limits within which accounts can be demanded in relation to the impact of change. it has to be pointed out that with respect to aristotle, time not only entails duration but the demarcation and subdivision of duration in terms of preand post-. in other words, time may have to do with motion but has also got to do with the propensity and actual halting of motion in unit-instances in order to begin to make sense of the activities, experiences, or operations upon it. time imposes some mathematization on duration without which ‘changes in respect of before and after’ would be inconceivable. the neo-platonist plotinus conceives of time in respect of the soul on transit in the journey of life. time is a phenomenon of the soul as regards the experiences the soul is capable of in the course of its existence (audi, 2011, p. 803). this view of time underscores the fact of platonic dualism – the soul which really experiences and the body which is a mere reflection of the real. of significance in this conception is the fact that time is a subjective phenomenon. one can only appreciate time with reference to the activities of the soul/mind. for st augustine, another platonist, time as the fact of alterability of states of being does not so much count as time as the fact of the alterability of the state of mind. in the confessions, st augustine posits time as ‘a distension of the mind’ (perkams, 2009, p. 35). augustine’s emphasis on time as a psychological phenomenon is a curious development since this position suggests the subjectivity of the idea of time. st augustine is of the view that time did have a beginning; to that extent, it is a creature of god (springer, 2009, p. 63). st august introduced a lot of insights into the concept of time, for instance: time is never fixed, implying that motion is to be co-conceived with time; time is measured in space in that we perceive time as an extension of our humanness (springer, 2009, p. 63). one implication of the multifarious insights is that time is not purely a subjective phenomenon; there is the aspect of the spatial dimension of time which points to objectivity in the appreciation of the phenomenon of time. augustine’s time sums up all of conceivable human activities as, ‘a present of things past, memory, a present of things present, sight, and a present of things future, expectation”’ (audi, 2011, p. 803). time has the capacity to represent things as if things were all once present, are, and, will be present, with the human memory as the theatre of temporality dynamics and operations. in his logica ingridentibus, peter abelard, a twelfth century logician, charted an ontological position to the concept of time in his assertion that time is “a quantity according to the permanence of which we measure the existence of all things, when we show something to be, to have been or to come into being at a certain existing time” (perkams, 2009, p. 1). the logic of abelard leaves metaphysical nuance on time since time acquires meaning in contrast to noigwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 48 time; the undercurrent condition of the possibility of time. the ontologism of time takes full picture in its relation to a continuum in which there is no temporal quantification even though it is a quantity of measure. when the concept of time, in its fractionalization into units of measure, is paralleled against this a priori ontological correlation, the phenomenon stands out for what it is meant to represent. all of physical existence is time contingent implying the recognition of their temporalized state of being. abelard’s ontology of time denies ‘the suggestion that everything has its own time’ while affirming the singularity of time upon which things are measured (perkams, 2009, p. 1). the mathematization on time entailing its fractioning, from abelard’s ontologic temporality, is excluded from time. time of its nature is unmathematized. the implication is that any such mathematization is a human technique on time. there is no doubt that here abelard indirectly points to the objectivity of time which can be glaringly distinguished from the psychological accoutrements. man technicalizes time in the psychological constructs into units of succession. as a universal concept, time is devoid of all human constraining factors tangential to its pragmatics and utility. in his summa, albert the great, proffers a specific definition of time as, “a passion of the first moment and by that the measure and number of all movements” (perkams, 2009, p. 7). it is clear that for this theorist, temporality is a function of motion. time in albert’s conceptualization is coterminous with eternity, very much like saying time ceases onto eternity. a third form of time is introduced by the theory referred to as ‘eviternity’, the ‘duration existing in the middle of between time and eternity’ (perkams, 2009, p. 7). duration for albert implies change. time from this theorization has to be co-conceived along with the propensity and possibility of dynamism and alterability of positions. if indeed time is interposed in the first motion, then the theory can only be an interpretation of aristotle’s fundamental motion. albert began with an ontology of time but finished off with the metaphysics of motion, which only potentiates the psychological and utilitarian conversion. the concept of time – a historical denial attempts have been made, in the course of history, to capture time in concise definitions. these attempts may have achieved some degree of success in the encapsulation of the concept time essentially in these efforts. it does not appear that any of the various proffered definitions has succeeded in winning a general consensual and scholarly acclaim. what time is and entails seem to have eluded precise capture and as such still constitute important research thematic. controversies surround scholarly standpoints on the concept of time. among the pre-socratics, there was the controversy between heraclitus and parmenides in which the former emphasized reality as motion and the latter insisted that motion is an illusion; therefore, change or alterability of positions are not true (dictionary of philosophy; copleston, 2006, p. 48). while the position of heraclitus would be seen to align with that of plato and the line of successor-philosophers, that of parmenides and the sympathetic scholars would be diametrically opposed and as such deny the reality of time. the heraclitismplatonism-perspectives on time though portraying time in its different dimensions have an essential characteristic. in all the definitive projections, time is seen to be explainable in terms of motion and change. time appears to be a reflection of eternity; quantification of movement and the subdivision of duration to encapsulate a preand a post-; the phenomenon of the experience of the soul on transit and of course, the undergirding reality of all of human experiences at any and all times. the above windows into the view of time could be said to have been worked out as criticisms of the earlier parmenides who contradicted the reality of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 49 mutability; an ontology that denies that change or motion is possible since being is ‘what-is’ (audi, 2011, p. 561). if motion is a contradiction as opined in parmenides’ ontology, then time is inconceivable and any attempt at reconciliation of time and motion as shown above would be absurd. if the positions above on time be historicized, it would be clear that parmenides’ ontological debut was indeed prior to the post-ontological critical stance assumed by plato and the platonists. does time then exist; is the concept of time as a function of change and motion a conclusive truth of fact even in modern times? in a preserved statement of his lost work, anaximander introduced the word, chronos, or time in a first recording of such a word occurrence in philosophic discourse. chronos in contemporary discourse would point to chronological time but anaximander’s chronos is no mere cosmic concept but rather reason with the capacity to intervene in human affairs. anaximander’s time has moral quality; as personified arbiter, it is that which judges right and restores justice upon time (deretic, 2009, pp. 14 – 15). the capacity for moral judgment stands anaximander’s time out as an oddity that could not be reconciled with further developments in temporality conceptualizations. anaximander never outright denied time as a conscious projection but made attributions to the concept that are irreconcilable with the contemporary conceptions of time. of all interventions on the concept of time, the position of j.m.e mctaggart, a british metaphysician, stands out as the most controversial. it is mostly taken for granted that time is a concept to be investigated. the gratuitous conformity to the question of the reality of time is simply assumed, that is, without need for further critical assessment. mctaggart’s radicalization of a different opinion is jolting but works to re-awaken us to the possibility of a different perspective on time. must we just assume that there is time? is there need to begin from a premise as part of the process of proof to the existence of time? is the existence of time axiomatic? mctaggart’s position calls to consciousness these questions. it is remarked that, ’mctaggart presented an argument meant to show that there is no such thing as time, and he defended the argument in spite of his belief that the argument shows our prephilosophical thinking about time to be through and through mistaken’ (loux, 2006, p. 206). what mctaggart succeeded in doing is first of all to take scholars back to a zero point and force them to begin to rethink the concept of time. a significant aspect of mctaggart’s metaphysics of time is the effort to offer some sort of scientific basis for his new assumptions. he endeavored to prove that time is unreal in a complex if not complicated series of thought-experimental arguments. for him, time-position is a function of ‘both events and the individual times at which they occur’, this to be characterized by ‘earlier than and later than’, ordered according to past, present and future (loux, 2006, p. 206). he also calls the relational ordering of ‘concepts of being earlier than and later than’ the b-series. this either takes us from earlier events to later events or from later events to earlier events and times. ‘the ordering of events in terms of the concepts of past, present, and future mctaggart calls the a-series’, this accounting for the transitioning from the distant future into the present and the remote past. the b-series remains constant while the a-series changes. the b-series exists because there is the a-series. in a second argument, mctaggart shows the impossibility of the a-series, which if it exists is a contradiction. but the b-series depends on or is presupposed by the a-series. since the aseries is a contradiction; the b-series by the same premise becomes impossible or is a contradiction as well. since all about time is determined by the b-series and the a-seriesigwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 50 templates, ‘mctaggart concludes that it is impossible that there be such a thing as time’ (loux, 2006, p. 207). it has been argued, in a fair critic of the mctaggart position that his ‘argument demonstrates not so much the absurdity of the notion of temporal becoming as the incoherence of his representation of that phenomenon’ (horwich & lucas, 1995, p. 876). the phenomenon of time according to mctaggart is that future events flow into the present and eventually into the distant past; therefore all events are past, present and future at the same time which appears absurd (horwich & lucas, 1995, p. 876). the true position is that we need to change our sense of perception: even though the present does not move, this does not make ‘becoming’ a contradiction (horwich & lucas, 1995, p. 876). if the positions of mctaggart and the like minds are not tenable, then the controversy shifts more in the favor of the heraclitism-platonism school. time implies motion and change although the restatement, by the matters arising in mctaggart, does awaken the platonists to the reconsideration of their earlier stand on the meaning of change and motion. does time really move? does the now move back into the past and then forward into the future? the parmenides-mctaggart school challenges us to begin to research into what movement means and what it entails specifically with regard to time. this is perhaps the mctaggart relevance: terms need to be properly analyzed so that they convey exactly what is meant in using them. in maurice mearlau-ponty’s, visible and invisible, time is ‘a subject of ontology’ (forster, 2009, p. 854). he argues ‘against the idea that time resembles a flowing river’ (forster, 2009, pp. 854). the problematic in this is first, that the concept of motion should be properly analyzed in respect of time and secondly, it suggests that time has an existence in itself. if the idea of time cannot be likened to that of a flowing river, how else should we understand it? can we distinguish between motion and change as terms in the description of the activities and operations of time? perhaps there is need for a new hermeneutics of time that interrogates meaning-specifics when used in relation to time. in phenomenon of perception, time is seen as ‘a dynamic structure that constantly evolves from the primordial interaction of subject and world’ (forster, 2009, p. 854). the constitution of time is tied to the human body – the condition of possibility of temporality perception which situates the subject in the world and gives it perspective (forster, 2009, pp. 854). time and the human subject are the same. however, the concept is not wholly subjective since time and the subject are not homogenous to each other (forster, 2009, pp. 854). in merleau-ponty, there is at least the partial denial of the reality of time since time is subjectivised in the human body. what again does merleauponty mean by affirming the existence of the human body and including time in that affirmation if not the subjectivism of temporality perception? the historical denial of time may not have scored all points from scholarly assessment, but the school has contributed to progress in the apprehension of time. should we presuppose time without justification? are the concepts used in the comprehension of time justifiable in the way in which they are used? is there not the need for a proper hermeneutics of the concept of time? the concept of time – scientific view besides motion and change, the other concept that is coterminous with time is space. philosophic ideas in the earliest reckonable history in the west has to do with space and its igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 51 contents; the cosmos as it were. it is not surprising that philosophers made adumbrations to spatiotemporal correlation in their ideas. these were later corroborated by scientific statements. space-time continuum was a notion formally introduced into scientific discourse by the scientist hermann minkowski who stated that “no one has ever a time except at a place, nor a place except at a time” (disalle, 2006, p. 785). ‘in other words, the occurrence of an event is not completely “located” except both the place and time are specified’ (disalle, 2006, pp. 785 – 786). the presupposition is that time is continuous with space and space is continuous with time. every location is space implied. place as well is spatial in contexts. kant anticipated this when he stated that, ‘if time is represented by a straight line produced to infinity, and simultaneous things at any point of time by lines drawn perpendicular to it, the surface so generated would represent the phenomenal world in respect both of substance and of accidents (disalle, 2006, p. 786). although kant laid the ground work for this theory as indeed st augustine in the 4th century a. d., space-time became a formal theory when minkowski introduced same into the world of science. in his work, space, time and deity, alexander samuel ‘distinguished between spacetime or motion as the infinite whole of this universe and those finite units of spacetime or motion that fill the endless cosmos’ (birx, 2009, p. 9). time is considered as space event. the events of time are space-bound. in samuel, the tradition of two perspectives to the constitution of time resurfaces in a concept of time that precludes any human agency intervention in its technicalization/mechanization by any means. this is a holistic view. time is therefore its phenomenon in space. however, the human agency intervention imposes on time the functional determination of duration within which there is specific application of interpretation to whatever has transpired. time is here seen undoubtedly as a store of value for all that happen in time is contained within it. samuel further envisions time as ‘a complex continuum of interrelated events grounded in the psychic point-instants of spatiotemporal motions’ (birx, 2009, p. 9). in this understanding, the conceptual subjectivity of time is unmistakable as forming part of the other dimension of the objective conceptualization. change or motion of the multifarious phenomenalism of cosmic events interrelate into a complexity of sorts in the space-time continuum. it is of interest to underscore the point that samuel introduces the space-idea as being really related to time. somewhat the universe is space and space is the universe since material objects are spatial and non-material physical entities are spatial as well. it is in this sense that we describe time as spatiotemporal notion. in this regard, carl sagan, professor of astronomy and space science, has this to say, ‘space and time are interwoven. we cannot look out into space without looking back into time’ (sagan, p. 124). sagan (same page as above) also made us aware that ‘space is very empty’, implying that although space is interwoven with time, it can be considered conceptually apart from whatever else may happen on it. further considerations to space and time in another approach to time, ‘special relativity theory’ distinguishes sharply between time and space; ‘it picks out those paths along which it makes sense to speak of an elapsed time, and it determines how much time elapses along them’ (adam, 2006, p. 830). ‘elapsed time’ would convey the idea of space-without-time. special relativity theory ‘is a “newtonian”-type theory with a definite distinction between objects in absolutely uniform and objects in absolutely accelerated motion’ (sklar, 2009, p. 571). it at least concedes that both concepts can be discussed in their own right. philosophers did speak of time apart from space although igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 52 some made references to the substantial relationship between time and space thereby according the concepts unqualified and free discourse respectively – these could be seen in the ideas of kant, leibniz and augustine. time it had been shown, could be discussed in an unrelated manner to the notion of space. this it could be argued warranted the introduction at a point the idea of absolute time even within the world of newtonian science. in modern times, isaac newtown, a frontier and ground breaking physicist, postulated the idea of absolute time in his principia (1687) based on the assumption that ‘time runs at the same rate for all observers in the universe’ (mughal, 2009, p. 1254). the newtonian idea of absolute time gives the impression that time is ‘independent of events’ in the first place and secondly, it implies time is ’independent of observer or frame of reference’. according to newton, time was independent of, and prior to, events. like in the parmenides-plato-schoolscontroversy, the newtonian-leibniz-schools-controversy was another in respect of time. according to leibniz, on the other hand, there can be no time independent of events: for time is formed by events and relations among them, and constitutes the universal order of succession. it was the latter doctrine which eventually gave rise to the doctrine of space-time, in which both space and time are regarded as two systems of relations, distinct from a perceptual standpoint, but inseparably bound together in reality’ (dictionary of philosophy; sklar, 2009, pp. 570 – 571). the paradigmatic understanding of the newtonian absolute time has, via scientific dialogue, given way in the last century to albert einstein’s theory of relativity wherein spacetime challenged the absolute time receding-paradigm (mughal, 2009, pp. 1254 – 1255). this was a vindication of leibniz and philosophers of like minds. it appears, from all indications that the idea of absolute time is untenable from the scientific viewpoint suggesting perhaps that time might have begun in simultaneity with the universe. this seems to be the standpoint of spacetime correlation that became more manifest in the theory of relativity; ‘time itself did not exist until the birth of the universe in the big bang’ (flemming, 2009, p. 1258). the linear procession of time the trajectory of time appears mono-directional and linear. the irreversibility of time is part of its spatial comprehension. time procession is an ever forward event. this commonsense observation aligns fairly with a principle of thermodynamics in which compressed air for instance would always rush outside given the chance and not the reverse (stenger, 2009, p. 1255). as regards reason and cause, the linear progression of time could be explained in the context of the ‘big bang theory’, whereby the expansion of the universe is posited as a continuum, actively seeking in the present new horizons in direct opposition to our geo-locus, a purely cosmological perspective (stenger, 2009, p. 1256). although these theories do contribute to resolving some temporality problematic, yet they are not definite answers since the direction of time appears to be an ‘asymmetry that is not built into the fundamental nature of the universe’ (stenger, 2009, p. 1256). if this is true, then questions can be raised as to the consequences of a thought experiment in which the reversibility of time becomes theoretically possible. can the voices of great leaders be captured in long-distance-reversetime? can the voice of jesus, for instance be captured for the listening pleasure of contemporary humans? does the linearity of time suggest the infinity and endlessness of time? time is from the opinion of philosophers, a finite reality. therefore, the suggestion as to the endlessness of time can only be a contradiction in terms. if time were to remain endless, it would no longer be time. if the character of time includes its cessation, what would this igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 53 tremendous winding up event look like? the concept of the ‘end of time’ has both religious and scientific views whereby in religious discourse, the biblical account of the end-of-time signals possible pan-cosmic cataclysmic cessation – end-of-time connotes the ‘extinction of the earth, the universe, humanity and even the extinction of time itself’ (gard, 2009, pp. 1265 – 1266). one scientific view on the end of the universe is that of edwin hubble’s law which supports the idea of an expanding universe whose end would come once it stops expanding whereof it may ‘collapse into itself’ (gard,2009, p. 1266). the idea of the universe as a living thing continues to command attention, this being the condition of possibility of its on-going expansion and propulsion of time in one apparently irreversible direction. stephen hawking, the renowned professor of mathematics and again, a theoretical physicist and author of ‘a brief history of time’, lends weight to ‘the big bang theory’, proposing that ‘though the universe is finite, it has no boundaries in imaginary time, which runs at right angles to ordinary time’ (gard, 2009, p. 1266). as related in gard, (2009, p. 1266), hawking points to the possibility of the recollapse of the universe, an event stretching to billions of years. the issue to be noted here is that religion and science are of the position that ‘end of time’ is conceivable and that the extinction of time in the practical sense is not inconceivable. insights into the concept of time – an interdisciplinary reflective synthesis the challenge to investigate time, and come to terms with its substantial comprehension, in so far as is permitted by rational and scientific research, cuts across disciplines and domains of human knowledge. issues concerning time cannot be glossed over since the psychology, phenomenalism and virtualism of time are as apparent as the conceptual reality in the background. as a cosmic phenomenon, the concept of time is multidimensional in the sense that time can be conceived of as an absolute entity, a free object of inquiry quite unrelated to any other conceivable entity; an interrelating and intermingling complexity in eventssuccession whereby change, motion, dynamism, modifiability and alterability of positions coexist in the apprehension. one aspect of the multidimensional consideration is the space-time continuum perspective. humans have wrestled with the idea of time as scholarly projects in need of the unraveling of its constitution with great straddle of success in investigative results. the discoveries of philosophers in this regard are no more enthralling than the results of the scientific attempts at the demystification of temporality problematic. it is in the light of the far reaching interests in temporality thematic and problematic that the following distillations would be made in the combined reflective and critical appreciation of the tremendous progress made in temporality conceptualizations and interpretations. in trying to streamline diverse views on time that have been divulged in the course of history from different realms of human intellectual endeavor, emphasis and critical assessment would be directed to the heraclitism-platonism-school and its contradiction in the parmenidismmctaggartism-school; the critical further development of the insight in st augustine vis-àvis maurice merleau-ponty; the controversy of wilhelm von leibniz and isaac newton and any other or all other miscellaneous issues of significance. the heraclitism-platonism thesis on time and the corresponding anti-thesis in parmenidismmctaggartism was an epic intellectual controversy in temporality conceptualizations. if especially in plato and parmenides, time is seen as an ontological concept, why the antimonies in the conclusive features of the nature of time? while the platonist school igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 54 conceives of time in terms of movement and change, the parmenides-camp denies the substantial questions of motion. for the latter school, the real issue is; if movement is inconceivable, how could the reality be portrayed in human existential circumstances and again in the structures and configurations of the non-human cosmic objects whose inner dynamic attributes may seem unreal but substantially true? if motion is non-existent, what big picture would this project on the universe? a cosmological perspective of the adynamic would pose the problematic of not only non-description but also non-operation and nonutility of time; a distance from current temporality representation. quite a number of philosophers in the camp of plato – plotinus, st augustine, st albert –and other such critical thinkers with vast interest in theological inquiries, appear not to be concerned with temporality matters disinterestedly but with invested interest in issues beyond time. time was an intermediate means to the substantial questions of no-time in the sense of the eternal. in this vision of temporality, if one makes a case for time-vis-à-vis motion and change, one would equally make the same for time-vis-à-vis eternity. for them, the nature of time is fully demonstrated in its relation to eternity, its final destination. the concern with time is substantially the concern for the end to which it tends, where its nature would be fully demonstrated. viewed in this regard, temporality dynamics are not just tied to the philosophical phenomenon of event succession as instants of psychological perception but are in reality also tied to the demands of ethics and virtues and the limited duration within which these begin to make more sense in the beyond time. the instrumentalization of temporality dynamics towards atemporal substantial matters is germane to all-temporality comprehensions among the philosophers of this camp. the ontology of temporality in plotinus and the existentialism of time in maurice merleauponty would be of some interest in further thematic development. the thesis-antithesis is not only striking but significant in the epistemological enrichment of temporality dynamics. plotinus associates time with movement but in the specifics this movement is of the soul in transition. in plotinus, the dualism of platonism is most manifest with regard to temporality. the essentialization of the soul in relation to the motion of time is exclusivist of the body in its cosmic interrelationships. the cosmic complexes in the continuum of relations may have been involved in motion but the essentialism of the soul excludes them from significant mention. these are then as shadows to the movement of the soul just as the body is shadow to the soul that substantially informs and projects it. for merleau-ponty, the french existentialist, temporality correlation is not of the soul but the human body.in at least one perspective, merleau-ponty sees time as constitutive and product of the human body in its constant interaction with other objects in the universe. the corporealization of time is a feature of merleau-ponty’s theory of time. time in no way mirrors the attempt at its being singled out for conceptualization as a cosmic phenomenon or the measure of soul-motion but inextricably bound to the human body. perception remains a psychological function and this ultimately transpires within the micro-world of the human body. therefore, time and human body are not separable. the non-platonic mctaggart radicalization of the concept of time took scholars to the zerodimension in which temporality matters needed fresh apprehension. the dichotomy between scientific theory and conventionalism surfaces in this metaphysics of time with the spirited attempt to offer the proof that time does not exist. in the continuation of the tradition of the prototypic parmenides, the logic of time conception maintained no accord with the reality of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 55 the nature of time in the ensuing temporality upheaval. if the demarcation of time in the historical past, present and future is a contradiction since it is all a matter of tense-usage, then there is no such thing as the tensed historicization of time. the significant thing in all of this is the new question for meaning and reflective apprehension of the substantial issues of temporality. if we understand the meanings of motion, movement and change, do we understand these concepts as deployed in the conception of time? does time demand a new methodology of approach in conceptual analysis? what the temporality philosophy of mctaggart has succeeded in achieving, perhaps way beyond his goal, is the call for anew hermeneutics of the dynamics of time. definitely, time does not flow like a river (motion); does not grow like a child (change); does not move like the human person or even the automobile (movement); so, what does it mean motion, movement and change with regard to time? while objects may move in time, does time itself move? st augustine did come close to this when he opined that time historicization is a psychological function, it is all happening in the theatre of the human memory (audi, 2011, p. 803). a new methodology of approach to the hermeneutics of time is in accord with mctaggart, even if it is unintended from his theory of the absurdity of the existence of time. the last part of this thematic development on the concept of time would have to do with the controversy between the disciples of leibniz and isaac newton. newton’s physics allowed for the possibility of absolute time independent of further temporality references. time for newton is independent of events, and time frame. leibniz believes that time is co-extensive with events and as such does not permit of absolute attributes. the significance of this controversy lies in the sharp distinctions it makes possible between the views of philosophers both prior and posterior to these scientific debates. in effects, it lies scientifically at the crossroads between absolute time and spatiotemporal determinations in the conceptualizations of time. even though the ‘special relativity theory’ conceives of time quite distinct from space, most of the temporality theoreticians, both from the traditional rationalist and modern scientific angles, conceive of time as related. heraclitus, plato, aristotle, st augustine, plotinus st albert, peter abelard, leibniz, kant and merleau-ponty from the rationalist, idealist and existentialist traditions and alexander samuel, albert einstein, stephen hawking and carl sagan from the scientific world believe that time is related although sagan makes case also for an empty universe suggesting the possibility of considering it apart from time. if time is conceived of as being associated with motion and change, this can only be possible in the larger picture of all these taking place in the universe; therefore, time is a cosmic event and as such co-extensive with space. the existentialist merleau-ponty and st augustine at various points intersect in their location of temporality activities within the human body. for augustine, the human memory is the center of temporality transmogrification, a clear psychological approach to the understanding of time. however, for merleau-ponty, the human body as a whole constitutes time and its operations in the interactions of the body with the complex objects of the universe, a clear bodily or corporeal approach. the important thing to stress in these conceptualizations is that time appears more to be not independent of relations. as an activity of the human body (merleauponty), or mind (st augustine), time is space-bound because the human body is an object in space. the human person is a spatiotemporal existent along with the multifarious objectinteractions with which it shares a complexity of existential interrelationship. finally, the deep question of the end-of-time should constitute recipe for deeper reflections both from the rational, theological and scientific fields of epistemological inquiry. is time igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 56 eternal? is time created? is time one of the events happening in relation to the big-bang? is time expanding alongside the living universe? will time contract of itself scientifically? will the universe be forced to cease existing along with time? these are substantial questions that bother philosophers and scientists alike. two approaches to these questions may be of relevance even if the questions may not have been dealt with exhaustively in this piece of work. one approach is for humans not to contribute to the catalyzing or cataclysmic process through human-related acts and technologies that possess this capacity. the second is the appropriate utility which is conceptualized into the temporality problematic of the full meaning of the nature of time. conclusion the discourse on the concept of time concentrically involves the discourse on a diversity of matters interacting and co-mingling into operational intricacies in the universe. this is one way to view the temporality question. the other, which accords with pure conceptualization, is the diving into the dimension of time without any frames of reference; a clear essentialization of the concept. this makes the assumption that absolute time is not inconceivable as an event happening on the cosmic scene though separable from cosmic space. however, the pragmatics of the concept suggest a spatiotemporal relation as a continuum in the apprehension of time. every attempt was made in this work to reconcile this view with the earlier, modern and contemporary ideas in rationalism, idealism and existentialism as well as einstein’s theory of relativity and the views of mathematicians, modern astronomers and space scientists. a time that propositionally had simultaneous beginning with the universe is bound to end with the universe. the conceptual implication is ‘the desire to be’ that ought to have a more tangential drive rather than its anti-thesis, and in this sense, the need for humans to, through their activities contribute in pro-cosmic existential process than otherwise and finally, that objective temporality conceptualizations be determined into appropriateness in utility thereby contributing to the realization of the full nature of time. references adam, elga (2009). special relativity. in, encyclopedia of time; science, philosophy, theology & culture. birx, james h. (ed.). a sgae reference publication; sage publication, inc., volume two. audi, robert ed. (2011). the cambridge dictionary of philosophy. university press. birx, james h. (2009). alexander samuel, 1859 – 1933. in, encyclopedia of time; science, philosophy, theology and culture. birx, james h. (ed.). a sage reference publication; sage publication, inc., volume one. copleston, frederick (2006). a history of philosophy, volume 1: greece and rome. continuum. disalle, robert (2006). space-time. in, the philosophy of science: an encyclopedia. sahotra, sarka & jessica, pfeifer (ed.). routledge: taylor & francis group. deretic, irina (2009). anaximander, c. 610546 bce. in, encyclopedia of time; science, philosophy, theology & culture. birx, james h. (ed). a sage reference publication; sage publication, inc., volume one. dictionary of philosophy igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 2, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online; google scholar; igwebuike research institute 57 flemming, isabelle (2009). cosmic time. in, encyclopedia of time; science, philosophy, theology and culture. birx, james h. (ed.). a sage reference publication; sage publication, inc., volume one. forster, yvonne (2009). merleau-ponty, maurice: 1908 – 1961. in, encyclopedia of time; science, philosophy, theology and culture, ed. birx, james h. (ed.). a sgae reference publication; sage publication, inc., volume two. horwich, p. & lucas, j. r. (1995). time. in, the oxford companion to philosophy. ted honderich (ed.). oxford university press. kanu, i. a. (2010). “a discourse on the romance between philosophy and christian theology”. international journal of theology and reformed tradition, vol. 2. pp. 185-198. kanu, i. a. (2014). “locke’s agnosticism of substance and orthodox christian faith”. amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 12. no. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2014). “anglican church men, descartes and john locke on innate ideas: religion and philosophy in dialogue”. amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 12. no. 1. pp. 91-99. kanu, i. a. (2015). “personal identity: theological and philosophical perspectives”. amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 13. no. 1. pp. 1-13. kanu, i. a. (2015). “gender and good governance in john lock: religious and political perspectives”. amamihe: journal of applied philosophy. vol. 13. no. 1. pp. 8897. loux, michael j. (2006). metaphysics: a contemporary introduction. routledge: taylor and francis group; third edition munghal, muhammad, aurang zen (2009). absolute time. in, encyclopedia of time; science, philosophy, theology and culture. birx, james h. (ed.). a sage reference publication; sage publication, inc., volume three. perkams, matthias (2009). abelard. in, encyclopedia of time; science, philosophy, theology & culture. birx, james h.los (ed.). a sage reference publication; sage publications, inc., volume one. perkams, matthias (2009). albertus magnus, c. 1200 – 1280. in, encyclopedia of time; science, philosophy, theology & culture. birx, james h. (ed.). a sage reference publication; sage publication, inc., volume one. sagan, carl. cosmos: the story of cosmic evolution, science and civilization. sklar, lawrence (2009). spinoza, baruch [benedict de (163277). in, a companion to metaphysics. jaegwom kim, ernest sosa and gary, s. rosenkrantz. blackwell publishing ltd. stenger, victor j. (2009). time, arrow of. in, encyclopedia of time; science, philosophy, theology and culture. birx, james h. los (ed.). sage publication, inc., volume one. stumpf, samuel enoch & fieser, james (2003). socrates to sartre and beyond: a history of philosophy.mcgraw-hill, seventh edition. evaluating ubuntu in ramose and its implication for good governance in nigeria j. chidozie chukwuokolo, ph.d, frhd department of philosophy, religion & peace studies, ebonyi state university abakaliki, chukwuokolo.chidozie@ebsu.edu.ng; & victor ogheneochuko jeko., ph.d department of philosophy, university of benin. & nnamdi ambrose nwankwo, ph.d enugu state polythecnic, iwollo abstract the problem of massive socio-political and economic corruption in nigeria bring to the foreground the need for moral rebirth or re-evaluation. the concept of ubuntu in ramose, as an african holistic humanism elicits the need for african brotherhood and the need for the enthronement the summun bonum of the people in nigeria. nigeria as a country has been bedeviled by a myriad of fundamental politico-developmental malaise that impede its development. given the above, this paper proposes that the concept of ubuntu if well natured and nurtured could serve as a springboard for responsible governance in nigeria. it also adopts the analytical framework in discussing the contemporary and the politicoepietemological relevance of ubuntu to the nigerian democratic setting. the findings of this paper is that the concept of ubuntu requires the need for democratic accountability, common engagement and effective leadership structure that is people-oriented. it is a reflection of african holistic humanism. this arises from the fact that ubuntu is not based on the western notion of individualism but fundamentally inspired by the principle of african communalism. thus it concludes that the concept of ubuntu presupposes an ontological, metaphysical and politico-epistemological imperative for african politics and development. keywords: african politics, good governance, nigerian development, ontology, ubuntu introduction mogobe bernard ramose is a south african philosopher. he remains one of the key thinkers in african political philosophy. he popularized ubuntu philosophy as the springboard for african liberation. in his essay entitled ''the struggle for reason in africa'', ramose argues for the critical importance of opening up western philosophy to the range of philosophical traditions originating and spreading beyond the borders of europe. he furthers his view in another notable work his ''african philosophy through ubuntu'', published in 1999. the theoretical work discusses how the concepts of justice and law can be understood through ubuntu philosophy, and demonstrates how colonization and racial discrimination negate the shared humanity of the settler and the settled. in 2013, ramose edited a collection of essays entitled ''hegel's twilight'', which contrast hegel's view of africa as a dark continent outside of history. ramose's work has been influenced by the political writing of south african non-conformist and founder of the pan-africanist congress, robert sobukwe. ramose has contributed immensely to pan-africanist thinking and political activism. ramose popularized african philosophy igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.21646.33605 48 nonetheless, the problem of massive socio-political quagmire and economic corruption in nigeria bring to the foreground the need for moral rebirth or re-evaluation in nigeria. the concept of ubuntu as an african humanism elicits the need for african brotherhood and the need for the common good of the nigerian peoples. africa as a continent and nigeria as a country have been bedeviled by a myriad of fundamental problems such as weak institutions of government, corruption, lack of religious tolerance, electoral malpractices, lack of independence of the judiciary, police brutality, abuse of human rights, lack of respect for human dignity, poor welfare of the nigerian people, political godfatherism gangsterism, ethnic chauvinism, lack of cultural integration, lack of environmental sustainability, poor economic development, poor value system, getrichquick syndrome, lack of hardwork, poor leadership structure, poor road networks, poor communication system, poor educational system, poor water supply, epilectic power supply, high inflation, poor health care system, brain drain syndrome and the problem of crisis of african identity. how do africans navigate these challenges? we propose that the concept of ubuntu if well natured and nurtured could serve as a springboard for responsible governance or effective and visionary leadership in nigeria. this is aimed at discussing the contemporary significance and the politico-epistemological relevance of ubuntu to the nigerian democratic system. however, the concept of ubuntu requires the need for democratic accountability, common engagement and effective leadership structure that is peopleoriented or action-oriented; and it represents a form of african ideology or african holistic humanism. the concept of ubuntu is not based on the western notion of individualism but is fundamentally inspired by the principle of african communalism. the concept of ubuntu presupposes an ontological, metaphysical, and politico-epistemological imperative for african socio-political emancipation and economic progress. to achieve the above, this paper is divided into five subsections. section one is the introductory remarks. section two is anchored on the conceptual clarification of ubuntu. section three discusses the concept of ubuntu as the basis of african philosophy, value system and good governance. section four reflects on the evaluative appraisal of ubuntu as an epistemological imperative for african liberation. section five is the concluding considerations. this paper concludes that the concept of ubuntu presupposes an epistemological imperative or praxiological implications for african liberation or human emancipation. the concept of ubuntu as the basis of african philosophy, value system and good governance the fundamental question to ask in this theoretical discourse is: has africa really been liberated from the shackles of poverty, ethnicity, economic deprivation, political instability, ignorance, illiteracy, under-development, ritual killings, secret cults, diseases, poor road networks, poor health care facilities and corruption? the answer is an emphatic 'no'. ubuntu as a concept should be able to resolve some of these fundamental human challenges or epistemological quandaries and ethical quicksands facing the african continent. it should not just be a mere theoretical construct but it should be characterized by a practical demonstration for african liberation. ubuntu as a concept has something to offer if well natured and nurtured. politics is all about thought and action. what africans need is “radical openmindedness, social change and social action. a lot still needs to be done in africa. the concept of “ubuntu” as a traditional african political culture reflects on the need for human emancipation and holistic humanism. it is quite at variance with the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 49 western-style of democracy, because its basic tenet depends on african communitarian principles. ramose argues that many prominent african political philosophers have 1 argued strongly in favour of the western style democracy. ubuntu showcases the decolonization of africa and african democratization of shared common objective, value system and the self-reliance of the african continent. it reflects on the material, practical 2and spiritual restoration of the african's right to life or existence. thus, the forcible impoverishment of africa introduced a new law of economics that undermines the sociopolitical development and economic survival of the african peoples. this forcible impoverishment of africa was caused by irresponsible or mystifying leadership structure due to massive corruption by african political leaders. the philosophical foundation of the struggle of the african person showcases the culture of human rights and shared common 3 destiny. worthy of note is that ubuntu brings about the smooth foundation of african democracy and african brotherhood. this form of shared common destiny has surrreptiously eluded the people of africa due to the evils of corruption in the african continent. many african people are wallowing in abject poverty because some of their political leaders are busy stealing public funds for their own selfish aggrandizement. it is germane to note that corruption in africa is antithetical to our humanity. corruption in africa is closely connected to lawlessness and social disorderliness. many african countries such as nigeria, niger, central african republic, somalia, gambia, zimbabwe, algeria, lybia, egypt, and cameroon have been characterized by various socio-politcal logjam and poor ecomonic system. many african countries are at the verge of collapse in terms of socio-political upheavals and poor economic reality. this has led to hunger, underdevelopment and poverty in the african continent. there is nothing like environmental suatainability and sustainable development among many african countries due to the evils of massive corruption and incomprehensible leadership structure. 4 furthermore, the ubuntu situation requires a leitmotif test for african democratization. the philosophy of ubuntu is a clarion call for african objectivity and moral rebirth or value reorientation. the teachings of ubuntu in africa was to de-contextualize the western epistemological paradigm to retain primacy and dominance in decolonized 5 africa. ubuntu showcases the experience and refinement of an establishment of the philosophical tradition of the african people. it reflects on their african humanness. the indigenous african people have not abrogated their humanness 6 on philosophical grounds. thus, the concept of ubuntu advocates african oneness or african wholeness. it is deeply rooted in african philosophy or african holism or humanism. the concept of ubuntu is not merely an abstract term rather it has practical demonstration. like the concept of ujaama, it tells on the african continent that it is not all uhuru. african philosophy should be more practical rather than being theoretical. for ramose: the philosophy of ubuntu advocates the need for african wholeness. ubuntu is the root of african philosophy. the being of an african in the universe is inseparably anchored on ubuntu. similarly, the african tree of knowledge stems from ubuntu with which it is connected indivisibly. ubuntu then is the wellspring flowing with african ontology and epistemology. ubuntu reflects a 'family atmosphere', that is, a kind of philosophical affinity and kinship among and between the indigenous people of africa. ubuntu is simultaneously the theoretical foundation and the edifice of african philosophy. just as the environing soil, the root, stem, branches and leaves together as a one-ness gives meaning to our 7 understanding of a tree, so is it with ubuntu. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 50 broadly speaking, the foundation, the soil which it is anchored on, as well as the building must be one continuous wholeness rather than independent fragments of reality. accordingly, african ontology and epistemology must be understood as two aspects of one and the same reality. the philosophy of ubuntu demonstrates the meaning and import of 8 existential condition of interrelationships or human interaction. ubuntu is the fundamental ontological and epistemological category in the african thought of the bantuspeaking people. placide tempels started the whole idea of ubuntu philosophy. the concept of ubuntu as espoused by ramose's work is deeply rooted in placide tempels' work “bantu philosophy”. it is the indivisible oneness and wholeness of african ontology and african epistemology. ubuntu means inter-subjective-recognition and relationships of the african peoples characterized by the need for a shared common objective or common destiny and sense of belongingness in african communitarian consensus. ubuntu philosophy affirms one's humanity by recognizing the humanity of others and on that basis 9 establishes human existential relations with others. it reflects the sartrean being-for-itself and the being-for-others. however, these philosophical underpinnings of ubuntu have great theoretical affinity with levinas's and aristotle's ethical metaphysics and political philosophies. it recognizes the need for hospitality and moral answerability or ethical responsibility. the philosophical concept of ubuntu as a theoretical re-orientation is 10 invariably against the fragmentation of being. ramose argues that the logic of ubuntu is distinctively tripartite in character. he asserts that it is the logic of and for the preservation 11 of being as wholeness. ramose, however, further argues that: the rheomodic (triadic) character of ubuntu underlies the widely recognized view that the african philosophic view of the universe is holistic. africans are persistently in search of harmony in all spheres of life. the conclusion that africans are persistently in search of harmony in all spheres of life is pertinently true of african thought. the concrete expression of african thought is the continual quest for rational consensus aimed to establish harmony. harmony gives excellence and 12beauty to music. worthy of note is that ubuntu is founded on the triadic relationship of being – the living, the dead and the yet-to-be-born. the concept of ubuntu as the onto-triadic-structure of being reflects on the critical understanding of an established harmony. it reveals african 13 spirituality and african metaphysics which in the words of ramose is outlined in the following expression: there is no metaphysically distinct entity that one can point to as african spirituality. african spirituality is concrete expression; it is the lived experience of the reality of the feeling of immanence and transcendence in the life of african people. african spirituality then is worldly, it is here and now in the sense that it is the manifestation of the subjects concrete expression engaged or cognizant of the reality of the experience of transcendence. but concrete subjective expression is neither uniform nor homogenous throughout and for the whole of africa. africa is a heterogeneous cultural entity although similarities are observable in the lives of the african people. to some extent there is an underlying unity (similarities) in the 14 diversity of african culture. nevertheless, ubuntu as a comparative approach recognizes or takes seriously the history of the subjugation, colonization, and the acculturation of africa as well as the subsequent restoration of sovereign independence (decolonization) and the ongoing tension between an african indigenous culture and western european imperialism or culture. the reality igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 51 of the african personhood is characterized by an existential imperative of social relations and holistic humanism. the african personhood is more mystical, metaphysical, ontological, or is more existential rather than being theoretical. the human-individuality or the african philosophy of the human person is a necessary but not sufficient condition 15 for being a person. ubuntu recognizes the freedom of the human person. the human person from the african perspective, is deeply rooted in the principle of communitarian consensus. in other words, the african person is deeply communitarian because he does not live in total isolation from others. his freedom is realizable when he identifies himself with others in the democratic community. human freedom was a living reality in the democratic political culture of traditional africa. the same cannot be said about contemporary african politics in contrary to the western tradition of democracy – a concept that is not an alien one. ubuntu recognizes an emancipative political paradigm of intersubjective recognition. furthermore, this is precisely why the search for an emancipative politics is imperative to be obeyed by all african philosophers who wish to see the indigenous conquered people of 16africa as liberated and dignified people within their continent and beyond. it is on this theoretical premise that ramose explains that in politics the 17 ideal is not only in communication but also in tension with the real. worthy of note is that ubuntu reflects on the relational dimension of the common good. this relational dimension is basic towards critically understanding the contemporary relevance of the 18 common good in existential situations of life in the african person. a philosophical 19 analysis of ubuntu represents a search for a collective identity of a whole people. ubuntu reflects on true africanness of the african as an individual and as a member of a societal group and continental expanse. oyekan owomoyela holds that a true african philosophy would aim at reconciling africans to africanness, not at advocating dissolution in a 20 european cultural mélange. ubuntu aims at african normativity. this african normativity necessitates the pursuit of a better understanding of african phenomena in all 21their differences and specificities. ubuntu thrives on consensus, mutuality, cooperation and accommodation rather than conflict of interests; for it reflects on a communalistic 22ideal. ubuntu recognizes the unity in the diversity of african peoples and culture. this is why owomoyela argues that africa is diverse in nature, and so are its peoples and their cultures. moreover, it is also a dynamic continent that bears the marks of its passage through time. ubuntu is aimed at the heart of the vaunted african principle of communalism, which is 23after all based on african kinship. this summation, here, is therefore, a reconciliation between the philosophy of ubuntu and that of ujaama, which are both indigenous to the african continent and peoples.although, some scholars have argued that julius nyerere's concept of ujaama was more pragmatic or realistic than that of ramose's concept of ubuntu; but both concepts (ujaama” and “ubuntu) represent a form of african ideology. ideology is simply a set of belief system that form the habits or behaviour of a group of people in society. on the other hand, ideology as a set of belief system is simply peopleoriented and action-oriented. ubuntu is the normative foundation of african philosophy – an anthropocentricism which is “community-based”, in so far as the african person is perceived as a member of a specific community, that is to say, his or her being-with-others 24 is always the paramount one. in the contemporary world, all human persons must come 25 together to work out their destiny in common. those who prefer to remain in a private world of their own cannot of course be compelled to join the mainstream of humanity; but such a choice, would condemn them to permanent stagnation and deprive them of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 52 26 material benefits which all men need and to which all should have access. african philosophy is made up of the basic principles that underlie the african values, behaviour, 27 beliefs system and customs. worthy of note is that ubuntu philosophy should be seen partly as a search for african ontology, african epistemology, african metaphysics, african ideology, a political strategy and a methodology that would work for africans in their quest to reclaim their 28dignity and rightful place among other members of the human race. the notion of being is 29articulated around the concept of ubuntu. ubuntu is the indivisible one-ness and wholeness of ontology and epistemology. the idea of ontology is characterized by certain 30injustice or difficulty. there appears to be a moment of arbitrary opposition introduced between diverse regions of being where diverse regions of being constitute themselves unduly to such a stumbling block that makes a holistic understanding difficult. the notion of 'ubuntu' could be successfully weaved into african political thought through the process of real communication and holistic cum humanistic understanding amongst the 31african peoples. on the other hand, asouzu affirms that: there appears to be an arbitrary moment of dubiousness introduced into this type of african ontology, which upholds the silence of being, no matter how hard diverse regions of being try to communicate with each other. this hitch needs to be resolved to make the hearing linguistic slant of this ontology manageable. we cannot be speaking and not be speaking at the same time. if the ontology of ubuntu should be understood as “being human (human-ness)” then it should first resolve its tendency to isolate itself and constitute not an obstacle for real communication 32 to take place. broadly speaking, this type of difficulty might arise when ontology has no sufficient inbuilt mechanism that checks excesses arising from within its own theoretical formulation. for this reason there is the need to give a broader spectrum or a wider connotation, failing which there will be instituted an ontology that is at war with itself and with everyone; its 33lofty claims notwithstanding. the goal set by an ontology of ubuntu is very praiseworthy; however, it seems that the mechanisms put in place to attain these objectives need to be reexamined, re-defined or refined to permeate the community-based thinking and acting subject through and through. such difficulties may arise when there is 34conscious effort to build ontology on worthy maxims. ubuntu reflects on the normative basis of african philosophy and the liberation of africa. it reflects on emancipatory political agenda, democratic paradigm and the democratic tradition of the indigenous peoples of africa. ubuntu as the basis of african philosophy, value system, good governance and the liberation of african people re-emphasizes the return to african traditional society, which is antithetical to the western system of society. this antithetical relationship between the african traditional society and the western culture presupposed an alien culture injected into the indigenous african traditional society. this alien culture 35 has become part and parcel of the african politico-existential experience. the emancipative epistemological paradigm of ubuntu subscribes to a specific concept of the human being and proceeds on that basis to organize inter-human moral, political and existential relationships, as well as relations between humans and other nonhuman entities 36 in the universe. broadly speaking, for ramose: ubuntu reflects the basis for the preservation or retrieval of african tradition. ubuntu assumes the contemporary significance of practical realism. however, it has been emphasized that the alien european culture has become an african way of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 53 life in the sense that most post-colonial sovereign independent african states have finally accepted the view that the western style democracy, symbolized by the existence of plural-political parties, is the best answer to the problem of political organization in africa. ubuntu as the basis of the liberation of africa reflects the sufficient condition for the political emancipation of africa. this line of argument, presupposes an inauthentic expression of african political culture precisely because, it is an imposition which continues to resist dialogue with traditional 37african political culture. a point at prominent relief here is that ubuntu reflects the basis of an indigenous democratic politics in africa. ubuntu emphasizes the enunciation of african politics and the emancipation of africa. ramose argues that traditional african political culture is at the very minimum, unlikely to make any meaningful contribution to the quest for a fundamental solution to the political problems of the african continent. ramose argues further that both gyekye and wamba are engaged in the refutation of this normative assumption by showing that traditional african political culture can still speak authoritatively on finding an emancipative paradigm of african solution to african 38political problems. ubuntu emphasizes the philosophical basis and the establishment of humane relationship with other human beings. ubuntu is logically understood as being human and having a humane (respectful and polite) attitude towards other human beings, which constitutes the central meaning of african wholeness. nonetheless, it presupposes the fact that for a human being to be truly human, it must be in the african context of actual relationships with other human beings in the indigenous african traditional society. the relational context always conceals and reveals the 39 potentialities of the individual human being. thus, the concealed potentialities become revealed whenever they are actualized in the practical sphere of human interrelationships. ubuntu enunciates the significant elements of traditional african political culture of oneness and the expression of the principle of human equality, human rights, moral reciprocity and communitarian consensus. the pivotal sphere of human relations is predicated on the principle of social solidarity and politico-existential relations. this principle of social solidarity and politico-existential relations reveals the infinite request 40for rational or communitarian consensus in traditional african political culture. however, the concept of ubuntu as championed by ramose in his book, “african philosophy through ubuntu” is the normative basis of traditional african political culture that was communally-based and geared towards oneness, rather than division or fragmentation. ubuntu emphasizes the unrelenting quest for african oneness. ramose further posits that the reincarnation of the indigenous african traditional principle of communicative solidarity in contemporary african politics can be a significant step 41 towards the emancipation of the indigenous people of africa. ramose's concept of ubuntu is a theoretical construct of a mode of politics responsive to the political problems 42 of contemporary africa. according to ramose, from the african point of view, life is an incessant drift and egress of forces and in this process, the individual is necessarily placed in a position to receive from others and to give to them. the conceptual analysis of ubuntu guarantees the normative possibility of universal moral order and radical openness to 43 being. ubuntu reflects on the mutual understanding and care for one another as human beings. it precedes concern for the accumulation of wealth as well as an end in 44 itself. ramose's concept of ubuntu reflects on the ethical principle of sharing as the regulative element of african social organization. ubuntu as the ethical and normative principle of sharing vis-a-vis the regulative element of social organization is animated by the contextualization of african communalism. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 54 furthermore, communalism is a philosophy that is given institutional framework and expression in the social structures of african traditional societies. the principle of communicative solidarity, the principle of sharing has also been undermined in contemporary multi-party politics in africa. it is essential to underline the fact that this communitarian principle covers a broader spectrum and the whole range of human 45 politico-existential relations. ramose succinctly observes that now that the principle of communitarian solidarity is undermined in contemporary multi-party politics in africa, nepotism, corruption and lack of sympathy for the other have become widespread in african politics. african politics has been bedeviled by ethno-religious crises, islamic fundamentalism caused by terrorism and terror, greed, godfatherism, political gangsterism, electoral malpractices such as vote buying and vote selling, weak government institutions, massive corruption, human sufferings and oppressive governments in africa. for ramose, the sufferings and oppressions characterized by this existential conditions are well known in african continent. in order to reverse and correct this politico-existential tension, it is crucial to re-incorporate the ethical principle of sharing in the ideological construct of an emancipative mode of politics in contemporary africa. good governance is a fundamental element of traditional african culture. human freedom was a living reality in the democratic political culture of traditional 46 africa. ubuntu assumes the true liberation of africa and the traditional principles of sharing; oneness, consensus, and radical openness are guided by the emancipative epistemological paradigm of ubuntu as the fundamental element of traditional african political culture. the concepts of ubuntu and good leadership structure ramose's concept of ubuntu could serve as an ideological template for african democracy. his concept of ubuntu envisages the need for good governance or deomocratic accountability for the peoples of africa. the african man is not only emotional but perceptive. he believes in african brotherhood. the concept of ubuntu could serve as a veritable platform for effective leadership and the notion of the common good. it is germane to note that leadership in nigeria is an abysmal failure. leadership in contemporary nigerian society has been identified with manipulative tendencies and the evils of corruption. corruption in nigeria is endemic and it is invariably against our humanity. corruption is not only against our humanity but it is antithetical to effective leadership structure and sustainable development. african leaders ought to imbibe the spirit of ubuntu as a springboard for the common good of the people. it is quite unfortunate that the concept of the common good has eluded the people of nigeria due to the evils of corruption and manipulative system of democratic governance. the concept of ubuntu seems to be transnational, cosmopolitan and international. worthy of note is that the concepts of ubuntu, leadership and good governance are interrelated. leadership is fundamentally inspired by the concept of ubuntu and the concepts of ubuntu, leadership and good governance are concepts that ought to be tilted towards the public good of the people. thus, the sort of leadership and good governance enunciated by the ubuntu principles would never enthrone such malaise that we have enumerated earlier. this is because the ubuntu principle of familyhood would never allow one to impoverish his family members. this is the sort of leadership and governance we are proposing as ubuntu oriented. evaluative appraisal having critically examined ramose's concept of ubuntu as the basis of african philosophy, value system and good governance, it is, therefore, germane to note that his theoretical reconstruction has both strengths and weaknesses. one of the strengths of his igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 55 emancipative political paradigm is that his integrative philosophy is built on african culture, custom and tradition. his african political philosophy showcases holistic african humanism and the need for radical openness. one of the weaknesses in his philosophy is that it has not been able to grapple with the present complexities of our contemporary times. his conceptualization and contextualization of ubuntu philosophy advocates the need for national integration and the spirit of african brotherhood. the concept of ubuntu as postulated by ramose advocates the need for human emancipation, equality of opportunities, national paradigm, sustainable development and the beneficial scheme of social cooperation. it guarantees the normative assumption of peaceful coexistence or social relationship, social coordination, harmonious relationships or complementation, a sense of goodwill and purity of intention or honesty of purpose in african societies. for asouzu: the reality of the goodwill, as a bulwark against self interest, must not be postulated only as a theoretical necessity but must be seen as the consequence of any efforts towards liberating the ego from the limitations of its own laws. it is in this way, that the principle of harmonious complementation finds its consummation and completion as a principle progressive transformation. whe now in the principle of harmonious complementation one says that anything that exists serves as a missing link of reality, this is an attempt of the mind to seek the unity linking being in the most harmonious complementary manner, their limitations notwithstanding and indeed towards a total synthesis in the one eternal and true absolute reality that gives all things their being and ultimate joy. it is this 47joy that the principle of progressive transformation demands. in the light of the above, asouzu and ramose shared many things in common. there is a strong theoretical affinity between asouzu's concept of ibuanyidanda philosophy and ramose's concept of ubuntu. both concepts represent the need for african harmonious relationships which is deeply community-based. asouzu's and ramose's theoretical reconstruction has pedagogic implications in african societies. of promint relief is that nigeria as a country has a lot to learn from ramose's ubuntu philosophy because it could serve as a veritable platform for effective or visionary leadership structure. for denis venter: leadership is a political and relational concept involving the rulers and the ruled. politics in a very real sense is about leadership, and, conversely speaking, leadership is a critical dimension of everyday political life. leaders must have the charisma to provide their people with a national vision and purposeand the ability to galvanise their efforts towards, and to sustain their enthusiasm in, the pursuit of those objectives. leadership is essential in all human activity: social, economic and political. the general perception is that africa needs strong, dedicated and selfconfident leaders who must be creators of great ideas, command the loyalty of their people, and be totally committed to the development of their countries. skillful, visionary and capable leadership is the key to the reforms africa needs and the policy actions that as required for the development of the continent; a true leader 48must have the courage and ability to communicate reality to his followers. in the light of the above, the nigerian leadership structure is in a sorry state. there is a disconnection between leadership and followership in contemporary nigerian society. it is germane to note that corruption reigns supreme in nigeria. many leaders and followers are corrupt. corruption flows in the veins of many nigerians. many nigerians see corruption igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 56 as a sign of smartness. when you are not corrupt in nigeria you are seen as a failure. corruption has become a norm in contemporary nigerian society. nigerians celebrate political thiefs even when it becomes glaring that these thiefs have looted the national treasury for their own selfish aggrandizement. corruption has become a cankerworm that has eaten deep into the fabrics of the nigerian society. many nigerian leaders have become self-centred, corrupt and manipulative whenever they are given political positions. they are fond of looting the national treasury at the detriment of the nigerian populace. nigeria as a country has become a laughing stock in the international community due to the evils of massive corruption and a myriad of other social vices that have become prevalent within the nigerian government. the nigerian government has become an oppressive government and this has led to the stifling of the fundamental rights of the nigerian peoples. the courts that supposed to be the last resort of the nigerian peoples have become very corrupt and manipulative. there is no longer independence of the judiciary in the nigerian government. this is a shame and it has placed the nigerian government as a colossal failure in our contemporary times. the nigerian state could no longer be regarded as a welfare state due to its oppressive nature of government. the nigerian people are subjected to all kinds of dehumanization. many nigerians are currently experiencing economic hardship and abject poverty. poverty has become very endemic in our contemporary times due to bad leadership structure. poverty has reduced the humanity of nigerians due to oppressive government. the nigerian government is not a normative government due to certain inherent contradictions that have characterized the nigerian state. these inherent contradictions are poverty and hunger, sicknesses and diseases, ethnoreligious crises, inter-tribal wars, farmers-herders clashes, terrorism and terror caused by islamic fundamentalism, electoral malpractices, massive political and economic corruption, high inflation, police brutality, bad road network, poor educational system, bad democratic governance, poor health care system and poor power supply. worthy of note is that the magnititude of massive corruption in nigeria has led to the emergence of weak government institutions. the judiciary, the police, the mass media and other institutions are all at the mercy of the nigerian government. in other words, these institutions of government have been stifled by some tyrannical laws that are at variance with the objectives of these establishments. the courts and the mass media, for instance, are not objective enough in their legal verdicts and reportage due to the whims and caprices of the nigerian government. they tend to bend their knees to the tyrannical or dictatorial tendencies of the nigerian government. the nigerian state has become an instrument of oppression and economic subjugation of the people. the nigerian government has used poverty as an instrument or a ploy to perpetually enslave the nigerian peoples. this has made the people to easily fall prey to the evils of bribery and corruption during electoral promises and campaigns in nigeria. ramose's ubuntu philosophy demonstrates the critical importance of african value systems and moral re-evaluation of the african peoples. it advocates the ontology and the epistemology of the common good as “a spiritual metaphor” in africa's quest for leadership responsibility and democratic accountability. it is worthy to note that the theoretical proposition and the conceptual clarification of ubuntu could bring about 49 liberal-humanist ideal of african personhood. ramose's ubuntu philosophy adovocates african personhood, african familyhood and african value system. the african value systems include respect for human life, respect for custom, culture and tradition, the comprehensive conception of the good, harmonious relationships, we-consciouness, sense of belongingness, rational/communitarian consensus, and a sense of shared common destiny in african society. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 57 worthy of note is that ramose's concept of ubuntu elicits the need for the decolonization of africa. it demands the clarion call for the rationalization of african society. it represents african worldview. however, he advocates the struggle for reason in africa. his theoretical reconstruction is built on the solid bedrock of the social ethos of african communities and societies. his work upholds the entire process of the decolonization of africa through his conceptual clarification of ubuntu. decolonization has neither abolished nor diminished the will to dominate on the part of the condescendor and the will to dominate currently manifests itself in the name of “democratization”, “globalization” 50 and “human rights”. the concept of ubuntu is just like every other african ideological constructs such as ibuanyidanda, negritude, ujaama, consciencism, and neo-welfarism. these ideological constructs or theoretical templates were seen as the most viable tools and veritable platforms for the decolonization of africa. it stipulates the need for african freedom. dukor asserts that: freedom is an ideal and dream of individuals, groups, societies, and nations, no matter how primitive they are. it is a metaphysical term translatable into concrete historical reality. it is arguably a free and liberal gift from nature to man for his selfcreative process, and which enhances and nurtures distinctiveness, creativity and originality in man's intellectual, aesthetic and material undertakings. freedom, when perscoped within african context is a philosophical problem, and the fact 51that it is so presupposes her 'unfreedom'. furthermore, the quest for african freedom has led to the miasma of socio-political and economic subjugation of the african peoples in our contemporary times. many africans are in chains due to lack of political and economic freedom caused by oppressive governments in africa. there has been a wide gap between the rich and the poor in most african countries and this has led to the unfreedom of the peoples of africa. freedom goes with human rights. these human rights are rights to life, equality of opportunities and rights to basic material and economic needs. africa as a continent is faced with poor leadership structure and poor democratic governance. the indices of good governance include promotion of human rights, good road network, high per capita income, good tax system, good health care facilities, effective legal system, good economic policies that are ideologically-driven and people-oriented, legal sanctions for corrupt office holders, strong institutions of government, employment opportunities, high life expectancy, portable water supply, regular power supply,sustainable development and ecologicalsustainability. ramose's concept of ubuntu presupposes the notion of african value system; and values 52 showcase the critical importance of “the idea of inherent normativity”. ramose's views on ubuntu philosophy postulates a comprehensive, reflective account of moral reasoning 53 and the social ethos of african personhood. ramose's philosophy of ubuntu showcases the evaluative, the normative and the practical idea of the comprehensive conception of the good life in african society. the ubuntu philosophy as postulated by ramose offers normative governance of the collective will of the african people. broadly speaking, ubuntu philosophy brings to the foreground motivational internalism of african society; 54 the demands of morality are necessarily and overridingly motivating. ramose's african political thought resonates an emancipative political paradigm and democratic realism or liberalism; and liberalism depends on a moral background culture in a society; it demands 55 duty of self-restraint required of citizens in a practically liberal society. however, the concept of ubuntu ought to be given an accrued political currency and should be used as a 56 tool for social inclusion in africa. ramose has left his footprints in the sand of time igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 58 through his theoretical reconstruction of ubuntu. he remains one of the prominent african philosophers just like julius nyerere, kwame nkrumah, kwame anthony appiah, kwasi wiredu, leopold senghor, nnamdi azikiwe, sekou toure, cheikh anta diop, aime cesare, frantz fanon, kenneth kaunda, olusegun oladipo, paul hontoundji and odera oruka. it is germane to note that ramose's concept of ubuntu envisages the need for african holism or african humanism. it is invariably african socialism. the common denominator of all proponents of african socialists is this: african socialism must express the african 57 experience. ramose's concept of ubuntu is another form of african ideology; and an 58 ideology is essentially a value system in theory and in practice. on the other hand, the 59 concept of ubuntu reveals the flowering of humanist and ethical thinking in africa. the concept of ubuntu could be understood as practical guides to africa's quest for normative 60 governance. venter in consonance with thomas, asserts that governance has strong normative overtones: it is the practice of good government, and it remains, essentially, a 61 fragile process that depends on the restrainst of the ruler and the tolerance of the ruled. the normative outcomes of governance calls for liberalization and democratization: development will take place only if political leaders abandon their authoritarian practices. governance, then, is also the conscious management of natural resources or regime 62 structures with a view to enhancing the democratic legitimacy of the public realm. ramose's concept of ubuntu as the basis of african philosophy, value system and normative governance envisages the need for an established harmony; lived experience and ethical immediacy; african unity in their diversities and it assumes the contemporary significance of the practicalization of democratic realism and the decolonization of the african continent. africa is a paradox; as in other regions of the world, the base of african society is the family. a critical element in promoting and sustaining development in africa is to keep african families intact. achieving this will involve what we might call the 63 “reintroduction” of the african man to his family. it is germane to note that ramose's ubuntu philosophy demonstrates that the liberation of africans from foreign identity and the regaining of african identity can only be done by africans themselves. only africans can save themselves. this is in finding oneself in oneself and not finding onself in someone 64 else. however, ramose's concept of ubuntu philosophy is a clear pointer to the call for african familyhood which is communally-based. african pedagogic community has become a form of internal colonialism in our contemporary times; and internal colonialism 65 as the highest form of imperialism is however more subliminal in nigeria. dukor succinctly observes that: nigeria's own unique case is that of a structure well laid and protected jealously by the former colonial masters for sustaining the dependence of the component units or nationalities through the empowerment of the hegemonist group holding the awful and all powerful state craft: an internal colonialism that hardly brooks no disintegration or true democracy. the failure of all forms of democracy ranging from communism, socialism, west minister to presednetial system in africa and low conception of identity and citizenship is nothing but one of the vestiges of colonialism as an agent provocateur aiding and abetting internal colonialism. it could to a large extent be correct to still characterize africa as a colonial society, the 66political independent status of the states not withstanding. ramose's ubuntu philosophy could be described as african family hood or theistic 67 humanism. ramose's concept of ubuntu does not give room for egocentric calculation or the pseudo-interest of the individual human person in african society. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 59 ramose's concept of ubuntu discloses the epistemic, metaphysical, ontological, and ethical significance of the place of africa in the world. for levinas, then, and many other thinkers, questions of place and dwelling are central concerns of ethics and political 68philosophy. it has been asserted that philosophers have been devoted to understanding our emplaced condition, and how this situatedness influences the production of philosophical 69 inquiry. however, african communalism is deeply rooted in the normative assumption of 70harmonious situatedness. african society is defined by the community based pedagogies of our african politico-existential situations.ramose's philosophy stipulates that the aim of the nigerian state is to educate the citizens into a community based on moral principles; and the inordinate ambition and unwillingness to make necessary sacrifices for the unity of the country, crass ignorant and inexperienced leadership, corruption, and greed and inability to learn from history and turn a new leaf are some of the ills of the african elites 71 and these are responsible for our inability to govern ourselves. ramose's concept of ubuntu is not just another form of african ideology but african existentialism or “theisticholistichumanism” in african society. concluding considerations it is germane to note that ramose's ubuntu philosophy adovocates african personhood, african familyhood, african holism, african humanism, and african value system. it demonstrates the need for “normative governance”. governance requires the management of state's resources for the sole objective of the public happiness of the people in society. good governance requires effective leadership style and the promotion of human rights and politico-economic freedom of the people. the concept of ubuntu can serve as the panacea for good governance in contemporary nigeria society. this paper, therefore, concludes that the problem of massive socio-political and economic corruption in nigeria bring to the foreground the need for moral rebirth or re-evaluation in nigeria. the concept of ubuntu as an african holistic humanism is a reflection of the need for african shared common objective and the common goodin nigeria. africa as a continent has become paradoxical due to incomprehensible leadership structure. many nigerians are wallowing in abject poverty and economic hardship due to bad democratic governance. at this stage we must state that many nigerian leaders are corrupt and that they do not understand the ethics of governance and leadership. nigeria as a country have been bedeviled by a myriad of fundamental problems such as weak institutions of government, corruption, lack of ethno-religious tolerance, electoral malpractices, lack of independence of the judiciary, police brutality, abuse of human rights, lack of respect for human dignity, poor welfare of the people, political godfatherism and gangsterism, ethnic chauvinism, lack of cultural integration, lack of environmental sustainability, poor economic development, poor value-system, getrichquicksyndrome, lack of hardwork, attitudinal problem, poor leadership structure, poor road networks, poor communication system, poor educational system, poor water supply, epilectic power supply, high inflation, poor health care system, brain drain syndrome and the problem of crisis of identity. the concept of ubuntu if well natured and nurtured could serve as a springboard for responsible governance in nigeria. this paper argues that the contemporary and the politicoepietemological relevance of ubuntu envisages the need for democratic accountability and leadership responsibility in nigerian society. the concept of ubuntu requires the need for african ideology and ideology is peopleoriented or action-oriented. the concept of ubuntu is communally-based; and it is not based on the western notion of individualism but it is fundamentally inspired by the principle of african holistic humanism or african communalism. the concept of ubuntu presupposes an epistemological imperative and national paradigm for african politics. the advantage of this is that it is homegrown and easily adaptable for good governance and leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 60 our advocacy of this stems from the fact that the concept of ubuntu as the basis of african philosophy, value system and good governance has not been truly practiced in africa just like julius nyerere's ujaama that did not see the light of the day in tanzania, but,it remains the true basis of african liberation and the practicalization of african democracy or african communalism. this lack of good democratic governance has led to the sorry state of human degradation, human sufferings, and economic subjugation in nigeria. secondly, this has led to the mass exodus of africans out of the continent of africa seeking greener pastures overseas. this mass exodus of africans from the shores of africa has led to the problem of brain drain syndrome. endnotes 1.ramose., mogobe., (2002), african philosophy through ubuntu, harare, zimbabwe: mond books,p.1 2.ibid.,p.3 3. ibid.,pp.3-4 4.ibid.,p.5 5.ramose., mogobe., (2002), african philosophy through ubuntu,p.29 6. ibid.,p.35 7.ibid.,p.40 8. ibid.,p.41 9. ramose., mogobe., (2002), african philosophy through ubuntu,p.43 10. ibid. pp.45-46 11. ibid.,p.46 12.ibid.,p.48 13.ibid.,p.50 14.ramose., mogobe., (2002), african philosophy through ubuntu,p.63 15. ibid.,p.65 16.ibid., p.116 17.ibid.,p.97 18.asouzu., innocent., (2004), the method and principles of complementary reflection in and beyond african philosophy, calabar: university of calabar press,p.382 19.omi., ruch., and anyanwu., c., (1984), african philosophy: an introduction to the main philosophical trends in contemporary africa, rome: catholic book agency; officium libri catholici, p.20 20. owomoyela., oyekan, (1996), the african difference: discourses on africanity and the relativity of cultures, south africa: witwatersrand universitypress, p.37 21. ibid.,p.95 22. ibid.,p.117 23. ibid.,p.167 24. ibid.,p.178 25. donohue., john., (1994), new wine and old bottles: a study of the concepts of traditional africa and of their continuing influence today, sweden: reprocentralen hsc, uppsala university press, p.4 26. ibid., pp.4-5 27. odhiambo., ochieng.,(1995), african philosophy: an introduction, nairobi: consolata institute of philosophy, p.42 28. imbo., samuel., (1998), an introduction to african philosophy, p.14 29. asuozu., innocent., (2007), ibuanyadanda: new complementary ontology: beyond world-immanentism, ethnocentric reduction and impositions, zurich: litverlag gmbh & co. kg wien, p.206 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 61 30. ibid.,p.207 31. ibid.,p.209 32. ibid., pp.209-210 33. ibid. p.208 34. ibid., p.209 35. ramose., mogobe, (2002), african philosophy through ubuntu, p.108 36. ibid., p.106 37. ibid., pp.106-107 38. ibid., p. 111 39. ibid., pp.111-112 40. ibid., p.112-113 41. ibid., p.113 42. ramose., mogobe.,(2002), african philosophy through ubuntu,p.115 43. ibid.,pp.114 44. ibid., pp.114-115 45. ibid., pp.117-118 46. ibid., p.117 47. asouzu., innocent., (2003), effective leadership and the ambivalence of human interest: the nigerian paradox in a complementary perspective, calabar: university of calabar press,p.155 48. venter., denis., (2004),“democracy, good governance: what prospects for african renaissance” in jobi oguejiofor (ed.), philosophy, democracy and responsible government in africa, enugu: delta publication nigeria limited, p.258 49. adorno, quoted horowitz, a. (2002), “by a hair's breath: critique, transcendence and the ethical” in adorno and levinas, philosophy and social criticism 28 (2), pp.213 50. ramose., mogobe., (2002), african philosophy throughubuntu, pp.1-2 51. dukor., maduabuchi., (2009), african freedom: the freedom of philosophy, germany: lambert academic publishing, p.36 52. thomas., alan., (2006), value and context: the nature of moral and political knowledge, oxford: oxford university press, pp.54 53. ibid., p.53 54. ibid., p.54 55. ibid., p.295 56. howie., gillian., (2009), teaching philosophy in context: or knowledge does not keep any better than fishin andrea kenkmann (ed.) teaching philosophy, london and new york: continuum international publishing group, pp.5-6 57. omi., ruch., and anyanwu., k. c., (1984), african philosophy: an introduction to the main philosophical trends in contemporary africa, 58. 58. ibid., p.342 59. oguejiofor., obi., (2001), philosophy and african predicament, ibadan: hope publication (nigeria) limited, p.87 60. thomas., alan., (2006), value and context: the nature of moral and political knowledge, pp.294-295 61. venter., denis., (2004), democracy, good governance: what prospects for african renaissance in j obi oguejiofor (ed.), philosophy, democracy and responsible government in africa, p.234 62. ibid., p.235 63. maathai., wangari., (2009), the challenge for africa: anew vision, london: heinemann books limited, pp.274-275. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 62 64. dukor., maduabuchi., (2009), african freedom: the freedom of philosophyp.316 65. ibid., p.323 66. ibid., pp.323-324 67. ibid., p.325 68. edelglass., william., (2002), “philosophy and place-based pedagogies”in andrea kenkmann (ed.), teaching philosophy, london and new york: continuum international publishing group, pp.74-75 69. ibid., p.74 70. bloom., alan., (1986), “rousseau on the equality of the sexes” in frank s. lucash (ed.), justice and equality here and now, ithaca: cornell university press, p.71 71. aigbobion., j.a., and idjakpo., o.g., (2010), communitarian consensus: a new social philosophy of good governance for africa, journal of the department of philosophy, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, nigeria, vol.2, no.2. pp.5-6 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 63 the concept of abortion and its ethical controversies in the contemporary society donatus, uzoma okwara, ph.d directorate of general studies federal university of technology owerri, imo state, nigeria & obinna, victor obiagwu, ph.d directorate of general studies federal university of technology owerri, imo state, nigeria & samuel, ugochukwu obasi, ph.d directorate of general studies federal university of technology owerri, imo state, nigeria & odera, cosmas udogu, ph.d department of philosophy seat of wisdom seminary, owerri, imo state, nigeria & emmanuel, ndubuisi nwosu, ph.d department of history & industrial studies kingsley ozurumba mbadiwe university, ideato, imo state, nigeria obinnaobiagwu71@gmail.com abstract this work delved into the multifaceted nature of abortion as an ethical controversy in today's world. it explored the historical roots, the various ethical frameworks that inform arguments on both sides of the debate, the legal landscape surrounding abortion rights, and the complex intersection of religion, morality, and public policy. a navigation through these intricacies, shows the diversity of perspectives and experiences that shape the abortion discourse. the aim is not to advocate for a particular position, but rather to foster a deeper understanding of the complexities involved and encourage thoughtful engagement with this polarizing issue. through critical analysis and informed dialogue, the work seeks to contribute to a more nuanced and compassionate approach to addressing the ethical controversies surrounding abortion in contemporary society. keywords: abortion, controversy, ethics, society. introduction abortion stands at the heart of one of the most contentious and emotionally charged debates in contemporary society. defined as the termination of a pregnancy, abortion intersects with issues of morality, autonomy, religion, law, and public health. its ethical implications are profound, touching upon fundamental questions about the value of human life, the rights of individuals, and the responsibilities of society. definitions of abortion some of the definitions of the term include 1. medical definition: abortion, in medical terms, refers to the termination of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.21646.33605 97 pregnancy by the removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus from the uterus, resulting in its death. 2. legal definition: the legal definition of abortion varies across jurisdictions but generally refers to the deliberate termination of a pregnancy before the fetus is viable outside the womb. 3. ethical definition: ethically, abortion can be understood as a complex moral issue involving considerations of personhood, autonomy, bodily integrity, and the rights of both the pregnant individual and the developing fetus. 4. social definition: from a social perspective, abortion can be viewed as a reproductive choice made by individuals or couples in response to various factors such as personal circumstances, health considerations, socioeconomic status, and cultural or religious beliefs. 5. political definition: in the political realm, abortion is often a highly contested issue, with debates focusing on the legality of abortion, access to reproductive healthcare services, government funding, and the role of religion and morality in shaping public policy. these definitions provide different lenses through which abortion can be understood, reflecting its multifaceted nature and the diverse perspectives surrounding it. historical context f abortion: a. ancient perspectives on abortion: abortion has a long history, with evidence of its practice dating back to ancient civilizations. in many ancient societies, attitudes towards abortion varied widely, influenced by cultural, religious, and practical considerations. 1. ancient egypt: ancient egyptian medical texts mention methods for inducing abortion, suggesting that abortion was known and practiced in this society. however, the exact attitudes towards abortion in ancient egypt remain unclear. 2. ancient greece and rome: in ancient greece and rome, abortion was not universally condemned. some philosophers and medical practitioners viewed abortion as an acceptable practice under certain circumstances, such as when the health of the mother was at risk or when the fetus was thought to be deformed. however, these views were not unanimous, and there were also voices advocating for the protection of fetal life. 3. ancient china: ancient chinese medical texts contain references to abortion techniques, indicating that abortion was practiced in ancient chinese society. the reasons for seeking abortion in ancient china could include considerations of family size, economic circumstances, or social status. 4. indigenous cultures: in various indigenous cultures around the world, practices related to fertility control, including abortion, were known and sometimes integrated into cultural and spiritual traditions. these practices often reflected a deep understanding of the local environment and the challenges of sustaining communities. . development of abortion laws and practices: throughout history, societies have grappled with the regulation of abortion through legal and social means. the development of abortion laws and practices has been influenced by igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 98 a range of factors, including religious beliefs, moral norms, medical advancements, and political considerations. 1. pre-modern era: in pre-modern societies, abortion was often regulated informally through religious teachings, customary practices, and community norms. legal frameworks governing abortion were relatively rudimentary, and enforcement mechanisms varied widely. 2. medieval europe: in medieval europe, abortion was generally prohibited by christian authorities, who viewed it as a sin and a violation of the sanctity of life. however, enforcement of these prohibitions could be inconsistent, and attitudes towards abortion varied among different social classes and regions. 3. early modern era: the rise of modern medicine and the enlightenment led to new debates about abortion, with some enlightenment thinkers advocating for greater individual autonomy and reproductive freedom. however, abortion remained largely illegal and stigmatized in many parts of the world. 4. 19th and 20th centuries: the 19th and 20th centuries saw the emergence of organized movements advocating for both the legalization and the restriction of abortion. these movements were shaped by changing social attitudes, scientific discoveries, and shifts in political power. evolution of ethical considerations surrounding abortion: the ethical considerations surrounding abortion have evolved over time, reflecting changes in cultural values, religious beliefs, philosophical perspectives, and scientific knowledge. 1. religious perspectives: religious traditions have played a significant role in shaping ethical attitudes towards abortion. while some religious teachings condemn abortion as a moral wrong, others emphasize compassion, mercy, and the protection of women's health and well-being. 2. philosophical debates: philosophical debates about the moral status of the fetus, the rights of women, and the value of autonomy have influenced ethical discourse on abortion. utilitarian, deontological, and virtue ethics approaches have all been applied to the abortion debate, leading to a rich and complex body of literature. 3. social justice and equity: ethical considerations surrounding abortion have increasingly focused on issues of social justice, equity, and reproductive rights. advocates for abortion rights argue that access to safe and legal abortion is essential for women's autonomy, equality, and bodily integrity. 4. scientific advances: scientific advancements in embryology, genetics, and reproductive medicine have also shaped ethical debates about abortion. these advances have led to new questions about the beginning of life, the nature of personhood, and the moral implications of prenatal testing and genetic screening. overall, the historical context of abortion reveals a complex tapestry of cultural, legal, religious, and ethical perspectives, reflecting humanity's ongoing struggle to navigate the moral complexities of reproductive decision-making. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 99 the ethical frameworks and perspectives on abortion: a. utilitarian perspective on abortion: utilitarianism is an ethical theory that evaluates actions based on their consequences and seeks to maximize overall happiness or utility. from a utilitarian perspective, the morality of abortion is determined by its impact on the well-being of those involved, including the pregnant individual, the fetus, and society as a whole. 1. calculating utility: utilitarians consider factors such as the physical and mental health of the pregnant person, the potential suffering of the fetus, and the broader social consequences of allowing or restricting abortion. they weigh the potential harms and benefits of abortion in each particular case. 2. consequentialist reasoning: utilitarians may argue that abortion can be morally permissible or even obligatory in situations where it maximizes overall well-being. for example, if continuing a pregnancy would pose significant risks to the health or life of the pregnant person, abortion may be justified to prevent greater harm. 3. critiques and challenges: critics of the utilitarian approach to abortion argue that it may overlook the inherent value of human life or fail to adequately consider the rights and interests of the fetus. additionally, there may be disagreements about how to measure and compare the different forms of utility involved in abortion decisions. deontological perspective on abortion: deontology is an ethical theory that emphasizes the importance of moral duties, principles, and rules, regardless of their consequences. from a deontological perspective, the morality of abortion is determined by whether it conforms to certain moral principles or rules. 1. principle of respect for persons: deontologists may argue that all human beings, including fetuses, have inherent moral worth and deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. they may view abortion as a violation of the fetus's right to life and bodily integrity. 2. duty-based reasoning: deontologists may contend that there are certain moral duties or obligations that individuals have towards fetuses, such as the duty to refrain from harming innocent beings or the duty to protect vulnerable individuals. they may argue that abortion is inherently wrong because it involves the intentional destruction of a human life. 3. absolute prohibition vs. conditional allowance: some deontologists advocate for an absolute prohibition on abortion, arguing that it is always morally impermissible. others may acknowledge certain exceptions, such as when the life of the pregnant person is at risk, but still maintain that abortion is generally wrong. virtue ethics and abortion: virtue ethics is an ethical theory that focuses on the character traits or virtues that lead to morally good actions. from a virtue ethics perspective, the morality of abortion is evaluated based on the virtues or vices exhibited by the individuals involved in the decision-making process. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 100 1. character-based evaluation: virtue ethicists may emphasize the importance of virtues such as compassion, empathy, honesty, and integrity in navigating the complex moral terrain of abortion. they may focus on the moral character of the pregnant person, healthcare providers, policymakers, and others involved in abortion-related decisions. 2. contextual considerations: virtue ethicists recognize that ethical judgments are context-dependent and may vary based on the specific circumstances of each abortion case. they may emphasize the importance of understanding the particular needs, values, and relationships of the individuals involved in abortion decisions. 3. balancing conflicting virtues: virtue ethicists may grapple with conflicting virtues or moral considerations in abortion cases, such as the virtue of compassion for the pregnant person versus the virtue of respect for fetal life. they may seek to find a balance or harmony among these competing moral demands. overall, the utilitarian, deontological, and virtue ethics perspectives offer distinct ways of approaching the ethical complexities of abortion, each highlighting different moral principles, considerations, and values. understanding these diverse perspectives can enrich ethical discourse and contribute to more nuanced and informed decision-making in abortion-related matters. contemporary debates and controversies on abortion: personhood and the status of the fetus: 1. personhood debate: one of the central debates in the abortion discourse revolves around the question of when personhood begins. some argue that personhood begins at conception, asserting that the fertilized egg or embryo is entitled to the same rights and protections as a born human being. others contend that personhood emerges at a later stage of fetal development, such as viability or birth, and that the rights of the pregnant person should take precedence until then. 2. legal and ethical implications: the question of fetal personhood has profound legal and ethical implications for abortion rights and restrictions. laws and policies regarding abortion often hinge on definitions of personhood and the extent to which the state can intervene to protect fetal interests. 3. bioethical considerations: bioethicists engage in ongoing discussions about the moral status of the fetus and the criteria for attributing personhood. these discussions encompass scientific, philosophical, and theological perspectives and inform public debates about abortion. women's rights and bodily autonomy: 1. reproductive rights: advocates for abortion rights emphasize the importance of women's autonomy and agency in making decisions about their own bodies and reproductive lives. they argue that restricting access to abortion infringes upon women's fundamental rights to privacy, liberty, and bodily integrity. 2. healthcare access: the availability of safe and legal abortion services is seen as essential for safeguarding women's health and well-being. restrictions on abortion access, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 101 such as mandatory waiting periods, gestational limits, and clinic closures, disproportionately affect marginalized communities and exacerbate existing health disparities. 3. intersectional analysis: intersectional approaches to reproductive justice highlight the ways in which factors such as race, class, gender identity, and immigration status intersect to shape individuals' experiences of reproductive oppression and access to abortion care. addressing these intersecting forms of inequality is central to advancing women's rights and bodily autonomy. socioeconomic factors influencing abortion decisions: 1. financial barriers: economic considerations play a significant role in abortion decisions, with many individuals citing financial instability, lack of insurance coverage, and inability to afford childcare or support a family as reasons for seeking abortion. 2. social support: access to social support networks, including family, friends, and community organizations, can influence abortion decisions. individuals facing stigma, isolation, or lack of support may feel compelled to seek abortion as the most viable option given their circumstances. 3. reproductive justice framework: reproductive justice advocates highlight the interconnectedness of social, economic, and political factors in shaping individuals' reproductive choices. they emphasize the importance of addressing root causes of reproductive oppression, such as poverty, racism, and lack of access to healthcare, in order to ensure meaningful reproductive autonomy for all. overall, contemporary debates and controversies surrounding abortion are multifaceted, encompassing questions of ethics, law, public policy, healthcare access, and social justice. understanding the complexities of these debates is essential for fostering informed dialogue and advancing reproductive rights and justice. ethical decision making and resolutions on abortion: 1. deliberative approaches: ethical decision-making on abortion often involves deliberative processes that consider a range of moral principles, values, and perspectives. deliberative approaches encourage open dialogue, respectful exchange of ideas, and careful consideration of evidence and arguments. 2. principled reasoning: ethical decision-making frameworks for abortion may draw upon principles such as respect for autonomy, justice, beneficence, non-maleficence, and respect for persons. these principles provide a basis for evaluating the rights and interests of the pregnant person, the fetus, and other stakeholders. 3. balancing conflicting values: resolving ethical dilemmas in abortion cases requires balancing conflicting values and interests, such as the rights of the pregnant person versus the rights of the fetus, or individual autonomy versus societal interests. ethicists and policymakers grapple with these tensions in efforts to develop morally defensible policies and practices. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 102 4. shared decision making: in clinical settings, shared decision-making models emphasize collaboration between healthcare providers and patients in making abortionrelated decisions. this approach acknowledges the importance of patient autonomy, informed consent, and respect for patients' values and preferences. 5. legal and policy considerations: ethical decision-making on abortion is also shaped by legal and policy frameworks that govern abortion access, rights, and restrictions. policymakers face the challenge of crafting laws and policies that balance competing interests and values while upholding constitutional rights and promoting public health. conclusion: in conclusion, abortion remains a deeply contested ethical issue in contemporary society, encompassing debates about personhood, women's rights, socioeconomic factors, and healthcare access. ethical decision-making on abortion requires careful consideration of diverse perspectives, moral principles, and empirical evidence. resolving ethical dilemmas surrounding abortion necessitates balancing conflicting values and interests, engaging in deliberative dialogue, and striving for solutions that respect the autonomy, dignity, and well-being of all individuals involved. as society continues to grapple with the complexities of abortion, fostering open, respectful, and evidence-based discourse is essential for advancing reproductive rights, justice, and ethical healthcare practices. references beauchamp, t. l., & childress, j. f. (2019). principles of biomedical ethics (8th ed.). oxford university press. boyle, j. (ed.). (2019). abortion, medicine, and the law (5th ed.). cambridge university press. finer, l. b., frohwirth, l. f., dauphinee, l. a., singh, s., & moore, a. m. (2005). reasons u.s. women have abortions: quantitative and qualitative perspectives. perspectives on sexual and reproductive health, 37(3), 110–118. guttmacher institute. (2021). an overview of abortion laws. retrieved from https://www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/overview-abortion-laws littlejohn, k., & beeman, r. (eds.). (2019). a companion to bioethics (3rd ed.). wileyblackwell. roberts, d. e. (2019). killing the black body: race, reproduction, and the meaning of liberty. vintage. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 103 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 54 bundle theory: a reaction against cartesian dualism ekwueme francis okechukwu department of philosophy, university of nigeria, nsukka. okechukwu.ekwueme@unn.edu.ng abstract one major problem in the philosophy of mind concerns the nature of the human mind. descartes argued that the mind is that, which exist in a way that it does not need any other thing for its existence. while it thrives in conscious acts like thinking and having ideas about something, the body is not conscious and is simply mechanical (dualism). however, hume asserts that we cannot explain the unity of what we call the mind even though people may see ideas as subsisting into a substance. he argued that such a claim is an unknown something in which ideas inhere and are henceforth called a bundle of perceptions. the author aims in this article to examine hume’s concept of bundle theory and his claim that nothing holds our ideas together hence cannot be a mind. using the philosophical and content analysis method, the author demonstrates that humes argument against the cartesian dualism cannot stand because something holds those bundles together and cannot operate on nothing. the author uses wave theory to argue that descartes dualistic interactionism is defensible because it provides opportunity for an interaction between the mental and bodily substances in spite of their separations or differences. keywords: bundle theory, descartes, mind, substance, wave theory, dualism, science. introduction descartes defined substance as something which exists in a way that does not depend on anything else for its existence. but on a strict analysis, only religious god could fit into this description since only god does not need any other thing to depend on, for its existence. in an analogical sense, descartes claimed that created things are also called substances. for him, we have two major categories of substances: mental substances and physical substances. the implication is that the mental (mind) and the physical realms are two completely different entities. mind is differentiated from the body and it does not need the body to be because it has different attributes of consciousness. while the mind thrives in conscious acts like thinking about something, believing, and being willing to do something, the body is not conscious and is simply mechanical in its movement when acted upon. in an attempt to solidify his dualistic concept of the human mind, descartes stated thus: for if that were not exact when my body is injured by something, i, who am ordinarily a thinking thing, would not be able to feel pain, but i perceive this pain through the understanding, the same way sailors perceive by their sight when something is damaged in the vessel (descartes, 147-148). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 55 based on the above, hume has totally different conception of the mind as made manifest in his treatise to human knowledge, where he wanted to show that we cannot account for the mind since all he is aware of, is the perception of love, hate and so on. in an effort to further destroy the foundation upon which the notion of the mind stands, he stated thus: the idea of substance or a mode is united by our imagination with a name given to them to understand them. what makes the difference among these ideas is that even though people may see these ideas as subsisting into a substance but such a claim is an unknown something in which the ideas are seen to inhere (hume, 1958: 2) hume gave example with an apple suggesting that these qualities are held together by the idea of an apple. hume's stance implies that what we call the mind is ordinarily a bundle of or a collection of perceptions (hume, 1993: 49). why did hume take this position? he did this because for him, we cannot explain the unity of what we call the mind and in so doing, hume applied a scientific approach to the problem of mind but in so doing, he became skeptical on the problem and knowledge of the human mind. in an attempt to solidify his scientific view of the nature of the human mind, he further declares: any time i enter into myself, i stumble into the perceptions of love, hatred, heat, cold, light, etc. but i cannot catch myself at all apart from perception of this or that and there is nothing like a mind because it does not exist. having stated that what we call the mind is ordinarily conceived as bundles of hate, love and so on, hume fails to explain what holds them together and in what do they inhere which is a problem for hume’s empiricist inclination. in his book "the concept of mind", gilbert ryle stated categorically that his book offers a solution to the problem of mind. he opined that what he wants to offer is not a new information about the mind, but concepts already known by all (ryle, 1963). in an attempt to deal with humes attack against the reality of mind, ryle opines: a foreigner visiting oxford or cambridge newly may be shown several museums, playing fields, colleges, libraries, scientific departments, and administrative offices. he may ask, where is the university? after seeing members of the colleges separately, i am yet to see the university itself. in this situation, it is at this point that he should be told that the university is not another collateral institution or ulterior counterpart to the colleges, but how all that he has already seen is put together or organized. his mistake is that he saw these parts of the university as different from it (beakley & ludlov, 2006, 80). the work sets out to discover flaws in humes assertion that the human mind does not exist because what is obtainable is a bundle of perceptions. it intends to defend the cartesian dualistic nature of the mind hence, he question is, what is it that unifies these bundles of love, hate and so on? why do i remember the past? this implies that there is a substrate as opposed to humean assertion that the mind is just a bundle of perceptions. to achieve this task, we shall discuss: (i) the nature of the mind as conceived by different philosophers (ii) examine humes bundle theory (iii) defend cartesian dualistic interactionism using the wave theory. it is hoped that our findings in this paper will provide answers for solving the problem of the nature of the human mind as found in descartes. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 56 the concept of the human mind lucretius thinks that there is no way mind could be separated from the body. this could be traced from the fact that as an atomist, lucretius sees mind as located in the body and that mind is a product of matter. he thinks that the soul is found in the body, and do not control the body as in plato. in support of the lockean conception, lucretius explains: now, i say that mind and soul are held in union, one with the other, and they form for themselves, a single nature. but the head is, as it were, and lord in the whole body is reason, called understanding and it is strongly seated in the middle region of the breast (lucretius, 1948: 110). it is not a question of mind, controlling body or vice versa, but what obtains is that the soul and mind are of bodily nature. one of the reasons why lucretius said this is that for him, the soul having the same nature with the mind is disseminated all over the body. in so doing, the inclination of the mind is spread throughout the body at the same time and produces bodily responses or effects. based on this, lucretius seems to disagree with humes argument that the mind is not unified and ordinarily a bundle of perceptions. the task before rene descartes was to achieve certainty in philosophy. after doubting all things, descartes redefined reality as “that which exists in a way that it does not need any other thing for its existence.” rene descartes, divided reality into three basic entities or substances – god, mind and body. for descartes, all existents must fall within or become a modification of one of these substances. while body’s attribute is extension, the mind is a thinking substance and apart from admitting that these substances are not the same, descartes conceived them as causing each other citing that when he is hurt, he feels pain. this dualistic position of descartes became the genesis of the conflict among philosophers who think that mind interacts with the body(dualists) and others who are of the view that mind does not interact with the body (nondualists). the implication of descartes claim for modern science is that in the natural world, distance is not a barrier to things in space. in short, it seems to agree with the cotemporary view that science now sees all things as interrelated in spite of being separate. this is a serious problem to the humean assertion that the mind does not exist because only bundles perception prevails. minds are capable of conscious acts like thinking, doubting, willing and so on. bodies in descartes are not conscious and are simply moved by mechanical forces which act on them. minds are not extended and cannot take up space. because mind is not extended, it is not made of parts and cannot be divided unlike humes bundle of perceptions. because mind is not extended, it is not made of arts and cannot be divided. furthermore, bodies are constantly extended because it occupies space and can be divided into more elementary particles. the picture that emerges is that human beings are made up of two different kinds of reality that are somehow, linked together. in his attempt to solidify his claims of the distinction between mind and body, descartes states: it does not matter by what power this separation is made for my essence consists only in my being a thinking thing. even though i certainly do have a body, with which i am closely igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 57 conjoined, it is certain that i am entirely and truly distinct from my body and may exist without it (descartes, 1989: 147). since, human beings are made up of both mind and body, how does mind and body coexist and interact with one another? descartes thought that the pineal gland was affected by “vital spirits” and that through this intermediary; the soul could alter the motions in human brain which could subsequently affect the body and vice versa (lawhead, 2002). this implies that the so-called division of the mind into bundles in hume is not a problem for descartes. according to spinoza, our idea of division and god are incompatible attributes since modes are not what make up substance itself. spinoza does not regard the human mind as separate substance from god. instead, mind is a mode of god and subsequently an idea of the body. in this way, spinoza reminds descartes that both thought and extension do not necessarily mean two different substances. therefore, they are just two attributes of one substance, god. (dual aspect) (maritain, 2005). substance in spinoza also has infinite attributes, consequently there is only one substance and that substance is god in whom all things reside because god is infinitely indivisible. definitions in spinoza shows that everything which exists must fall within the classification of either “substance” or a “mode” since they are the only options available for existence. the second definition implies that something must be understood either in terms of itself or something else of which it is a feature. the final definition means that of two things having nothing in common, definitely they cannot be said to be in relation of substance and its mode. with these definitions and axioms, spinoza establishes the nature of substance as follows: 1. a substance must exist. 2. god exists. 3. it is not possible to have two or more substances. 4. only god exists, and individual things are just modes of god which could be understood in terms of thought and extension (njoku, 2010: 38). these modes are also understood as attributes which means different ways of understanding mind and body even though they are one in spinoza. here, the first few propositions finally prove that substances are independent from one another, if at all, two or more exists. therefore, if two substances having different attributes are conceived, they definitely have nothing in common since each substance is strictly understood through itself ordinarily as attributes. substance in spinoza also has infinite attributes, consequently there is only one substance and that substance is god in whom all things reside because god is infinitely indivisible. if things are indivisible in spinoza, it further implies that humes concept of bundle perception cannot stand because the perceptions are just modes of other things that are not completely separate according to spinoza. locke thinks that any knowledge found in the human mind must have been deposited through ideas. hence, the mind in locke is like an empty container that holds our thoughts. the implication is that our ideas are both gotten from external objects and through introspection, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 58 reflection, or inner states. the simple ideas in locke are gotten from our sensations and they include ideas we conceive through the qualities of yellow, soft, bitter, cold, heat, white, sweet, and others that are dependent on other things. locke is of the view that they must have arrived through reflection in our mental states in what is called introspection and that complex ideas are the functions of the human mind in unifying these simple ideas into a complex form. in delbruck, the mind's perception is the intrinsic qualities of objects that are abstracted from data that are raw even though they are not introspected. for him, our consciousness has no access to raw data but only gets processed inputs. turning to the concept of quantum physics, delbruck saw heisenberg's uncertainty principle as "complementary" which is a conspiracy of nature and this hinders us from fully explaining or understanding the natural world. hence, in his terms, we cannot observe reality in its fullness without disturbing our scientific arrangement which becomes part of the reality to be observed. this is why the difference between such an instrument and the material examined becomes a subjective choice of the observer. using cartesian dualism as an example, delbruck condemned both realism and descartes' separation of mind and matter which divided reality into the internal world of thinking,' emotions, and physical reality. delbruck does not agree with descartes's concept of mind having divided the mental and the physical world and for him, such as an illusion because, for him, there is only one reality as depicted in quantum physics (delbruck, 1986: 15). in artificial intelligence, delbruck saw progress being made in computer programming where the computer can now decide sentences and memorize linguistic symbols. notwithstanding, one of the problems facing artificial intelligence is the inability of computer processes to decode a straightforward logical analysis of syntactically connected words and symbols. but despite this, delbruck saw strong improvement in artificial intelligence. for delbruck, the mind is not more than anything material machine having complex cyber circuitry. he thinks that the way we conceive the mind as a computer is just different from the way our heart is called a pump. hence, the mind in delbruck is not just a part of the machine but of its entirety through space and time, the same way quantum mechanics and its entirety cannot be dissected into position and momentum. in delbruck (1986), the mind arose from organic solution, through natural selection. rorty’s starting point was to provide criteria for the human mentality (rorty, 1980: 17). the need for this criterion was made manifest in the fact that some people are not yet aware of what it takes for the human mind to be distinguished from the body. consequently, the right thing to do is to use a more suitable word like dispositions to behave for easier understanding. furthermore, we do not only have limited knowledge about "intuition" of what "mind" is but that it has something to do with non-spatiality. therefore, the solution to the problem of the nature of the mind can ordinarily be a linguistic one (rorty, 1980: 17. rorty (1965) traced the problem of human mentality from the greeks who failed to distinguish between the inner and outside world of a person, descartes' division of mind and body, and locke who had no alternative than to make use of the word "idea." hence, those who object to the reality of mind and other idealistic concepts (reductionists) are conceptually mistaken, confused, and suffer from category mistakes. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 59 putnam's approach to the mind problem stemmed from his idea that the internal states of a turing computer, viewed as the abstract machine, are comparable to mental states. the physical states of a hardware machine are therefore compared to the condition of the brain. that's what hillary putnam used to demonstrate that the mind-body puzzle is a purely 'verbal', linguistic, or logical puzzle, requiring additional consideration beyond the turing machine example. putnam thus disapproved of the notions that robots are thought to be thinking, that people are machines, and that machines may converse in human language (gualtiero, 2004: 814). in his work, the mental life of some machines, which he presented at the wayne state university symposium in the philosophy of mind and which was published in early 1962, putnam (1967) proposed the idea of functionalism about minds. ultimately, putnam abandoned his definition of functionalism, which he defined as the functional organization of the human mind, and said that what is necessary is that the descriptions of a system's functional organization differ logically from either its actual or potential behaviour or from its physical-chemical composition. later, in 1967, putnam departed from computational functionalism and asserted that the functionalist concept is probabilistic (gultiero, 1967: 810). putnam found that functionalism does not provide a precise description of the nature of mental states. he continued by demonstrating the error in functionalism's association of mental states with computational ones. to support his claim about mental state, putnam says the following: mental states cannot ordinarily be "programs", this is because physically possible systems may be in the same mental state while having, unlike programs. there is no scientific theory forthcoming that can apply a reductive method of propositional attitudes in the computational term (putnam, 1988: xiv). according to putnam, programs and computational states cannot typically reveal the contents of attitudes. according to him, meaning and reference relate to both emotional experiences and spoken language, which are not comprehensible within the computationalist framework. his implication was that meaning and sameness of meaning are beyond our translation and interpretation, and that there can be no theory of meaning. putnam (1992) declared: the best way to handle people who speak other languages or those who even speak your language differently is to find an equivalent between such language so that due allowance for the difference in your belief and desires should result to the responses that are similar to what one would expect it he spoke his speech community and had said in his language. putnam believes that functionalism falls short of semantic requirements in this way. materialists who believe that mental states are dependent upon facts learnt by material means make up the majority of functionalists. moreover, because causality seems to be a material phenomenon, functionalists believe that a mental state's functional role is typically its causal role (crowford, 2011). according to searle, a common error individuals make when discussing consciousness is to try to portray it as an objective third-person entity while ignoring its fundamental subjectivity. according to searle, misconceptions regarding the nature of consciousness can also be traced back igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 60 to the behavioural and computational theories of the mind. in his critique of computationalism, searle (2002) believes that: the question of whether consciousness is a computer program lacks a clear sense. computation exists only relative to some agents or observers that impose a computational interpretation on a given phenomenon. some philosophers believe that having the appropriate computer program with input and output systems is both essential and sufficient for a system to be conscious of anything. this is why searle views consciousness as the capacity to feel the experiences of animal subjects. a neurobiological process in the brain gives rise to consciousness and other states of mental experiences, which are manifested in the organization of the brain. although brain functions contribute to the conscious mind, consciousness is a higher order or attribute of the brain. four characteristics of mental events, according to searle's mind-body philosophy, have caused them to seem to defy our scientific understanding of reality. physical processes lack consciousness, although there are mental states of consciousness in the world. all facets of human existence, including language, are centered on awareness; without it, none of them could be conveyed (searle, 2003). intentionality, or the direction of one's mental states, is the second characteristic. beliefs, wants, hopes, fear, and other emotions are all included. the subjective awareness of one's own state as being different or independent from that of other people is the third characteristic. the act of mental causation is the fourth. this suggests that our emotions and thoughts have an impact on a variety of things, including our actions. despite being with us, these states for searle are not provided to scientific witnesses. at this point, searle (2003) attempted to encapsulate his case by arguing that the mind functions similarly to the brain as a program does in computer hardware. according to him, no computer program can spark a mental system since they are completely insufficient to support minds and are not minded themselves. according to seale's theory of freedom of the will, the most crucial factor is how we see ourselves as free agents. the inference is that regardless of how we interpret the physical world to be predetermined, we are unable to behave otherwise than to believe that we are free beings. according to searle, the reason materialism and dualism, along with other isms, haven't been able to resolve issues pertaining to the mind and body is because they still cling to antiquated notions such as spirit, matter, body, and soul. it is intended for these categories to be mutually exclusive and that they cannot be combined. it is better to think of consciousness as a brain condition rather than as an extra material from the brain. according to searle (2015), conventional mind-body issues will vanish once people understand this. according to thomas nagel, consciousness is what renders issues with the mind and body unsolvable. according to him, the case put forth by reductionists has produced a number of studies of mental states that offer a practical materialist and psychophysical identification or reduction of the mind. "what is it like to be a bat" is his book. according to nagel (1974), philosophers attempt to explain the incomprehensible as if it were clearly known, despite the fact that this is not the case. this is a typical human flaw. nagel declared that his only argument is that certain people are igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 61 unable to understand awareness. he believed that materialism cannot be justified by any explanation of mental processes that does not fully address their subjective nature. he said that bats, for instance, sense their surroundings by looking for reflections of items that are inside their field of vision. their entire brain structure is based on their extroversion and the information they take in, which helps them perceive things precisely. nonetheless, nagel noted that the notion of what it is like to be a bat has an issue because bat sonar, a type of experience, differs from human perception. according to nagel, we have to examine whether the method we use will allow us to extract or explore the inner life. however, nagel's view of human experience merely yields or supplies our imagination of something that is limited in this case. it is implied that one is limited to what one's intellect can create. although bats have a basic pattern of experience, humans and other animals do not share this pattern. it is nevertheless unlikely that any experience one gets from a different mental state and the assumptions involved could take the place of or function as a substitute for the subjective state of a bat in this situation. nagel believed that the greatest source of experiencing consciousness should come directly from bats, particularly if we could only imagine what they were like. bats may not be able to comprehend the mental structure of humans due to the structure of their own minds. they will also be incorrect in their attempts to draw exact conclusions about human minds since they lack any concept of what it is to be human. this is the case because bats may be unable to succeed due to the structure of their thoughts. nagel's understanding of the relationship between conceptual representation and fiats is thus brought to light. since they share a comparable subjective condition, but are not identical to bats, one can discern the caliber of other people's experiences. the general challenge of psychophysical reduction is what we have here. the true nature of physical bodies must be distinct from their perceptual appearance and may not resemble themselves, according to nagel, since the same bodies that cause perceptions in us also have different effects on other physical things and can exist without causing perceptions at all. it is necessary to get an understanding of that actual nature that is apart from how it seems to us or to other observers. this implies that we should assess things structurally based on their fundamental traits rather than just our opinion or broad perception. nagel believes that the philosophy of mind is full of wildly impossible viewpoints because of the way that things are evaluated from people's perspectives. nagel claimed that one of the most crucial aspects of creativity is our capacity to separate ourselves, particularly from our hunger. similar to physical events, an objective understanding of mental phenomena cannot be predicated on abstraction from the particular form of our external awareness of them, according to nagel (1979). in the sense that each of us is the subject of unique experiences and that understanding others requires delving into experiences outside of our own, it also seems to be issues of other minds. thirty. the inference is that the objectivity of the mind has boundaries and that it is impossible to imagine our own and other people's thoughts from the outside without slipping into unstable perspectives and viewpoints. for nagel, the world exists regardless of how it seems to us. these are our objectivity's measuring sticks. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 62 nagel (2012) posited that awareness is an essential component of the world in his book mind and cosmos. he believes that the material nature of the universe validates his point of view. according to nagel, evolution is an atheist theory and anything with sentience cannot be described by matter alone. nagel is not concerned that humans depend on their material nature; rather, he is concerned that the broad facts of evolution fail to account for awareness and reason. nagel says that evolution requires a stronger explanation at this point. nagel chose to examine the evidence in a way that does not aim to uphold the traditional theistic notion of a created universe or to refute an attack on religion through reductionist accounting. for these and other philosophical as well as technical reasons, nagel denied any accidental and material darwinian evolution of consciousness. it will never be the same to compare the mind to a computer composed of a massive stack of transistorlike homonculi. this is because it leaves out knowledge of the subjects and premises of reasoning that are fundamental to reason. an examination of nagel's writings reveals that the primary goal of his book mind cosmos is to establish the validity of natural laws and address the challenge of providing an explanation for issues relating to the mind and body. even while other philosophers did not agree with nagel's natural approach explanatory method, some believed that nagel's failure stemmed from his endeavour to bring these disparate worlds together into a cohesive, holistic whole. he stated unequivocally that the evolutionary theory's exploits, which align with the beliefs of artificial intelligence, had an impact on him. in yet another shift in perspective, nagel disassociated himself from the theistic understanding of reality as well as the artificial intelligence approach's hypothesis. it follows that people who criticize him for believing in supernaturalism are mistaken because he once said that the scientific sciences cannot adequately explain divine agency because they are not based in fact. this is the idea of god as a magician. nagel was therefore perceived as serving two masters; yet, longino and chang chose to maintain a wide range of dramatic possibilities in favour of nagel's method because the things we want to understand are invariably vast or gigantic. bundle theory: a reaction against cartesian dualism hume distinguished between two types of human senses in his treatise on human knowledge: impressions and concepts. according to him, the strength and vitality with which perceptions and ideas impact the mind or our consciousness distinguishes them from one another (hume, 1968) ideas are hazy representations of our thoughts, reasoning, etc., whereas strong impressions are referred to as sensations, passions, or emotions that arise on the soul (instead of mind). even when they take the shape of feelings or perceptions, simple ideas remain simple ideas and are not distinguished from complicated concepts, which are divided into components such as colour, smell, tastes, etc. hume provided an example of an apple to illustrate how they hold themselves together, implying that the concept of an apple serves to hold these characteristics together. he goes on to say: the idea of substance or a mode is united by our imagination with a name given to them to understand them. what makes the difference among these ideas is that even though igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 63 people may see these ideas as subsisting into a substance but such a claim is an unknown something in which the ideas are seen to inhere. according to hume's position, the mind is typically only a bundle or collection of perceptions. why did hume adopt this stance? hume used a scientific approach to the problem of mind because, in his opinion, it is impossible to explain the unity of what is known as the mind. however, this led him to lose faith in the problem and our current understanding of the human mind. he goes on to say, trying to bolster his scientific theory of the nature of the human mind: "whenever i go inside myself, i fall into the perceptions of love, hatred, heat, cold, light, etc." however, i am unable to recognize myself outside of my view of this or that. although hume claims that the mind is typically thought of as a collection of hate, love, and other emotions, his argument falls short of explaining what keeps these emotions together, which is problematic for hume's empiricist leanings (copleston, 1997). the self gets divided up into different "perceptions." if the self is composed, as hume claims, of a sequence or bundle of perceptions, then there is nothing about which it can be fairly claimed that the self has a predisposition to construct a meaningful connection between the perceptions. hume does recognize the challenge. he frankly admits his confusion and that he has no idea how to make his beliefs more coherent or accurate. however, it is clear from this admission that his phenomenalistic analysis of the self will not stand. furthermore, this finding calls into question the widely held belief that distinct, atomic sensations are the ultimate building blocks of the human experience. is there no subject that goes through these psychological experiences? this is a question that arises when one claims that the human mind is nothing more than a collection of perceptions (omoregbe, 2011). defensibility of the cartesian notion of mind cartesian dualistic claim is gaining ground hence, in his theory of mind, a case for interactionism, agbakoba (2001) argued that the cartesian dualistic interactionism, in contrast to hume's view, takes place between the self-conscious mind and the brain outside of the modules and that descartes dualistic interactionism is tenable. he states that the self-conscious mind searches for signals within the liaison brain's modules, interprets those signals, and communicates with them. based on this, he affirms that, despite using the first law of thermodynamics to criticize descartes's dualistic interactionism, cartesian dualism is still tenable because reality is an open system where interconnectivity prevails. this is obtainable because the first law of thermodynamics that conceived reality as a closed system no longer holds. but the second law of thermodynamics suggests that even at a distance, the ontologically distinct mind and body interacts: a benefit of cartesian dualism. in support of the above claims, contemporarily, it has been discovered that sufficient condition is the only thing needed for any causation from a distance. for example, the causation of fire only needs the presence of heat, oxygen, and combustible materials to occur. since mind and body exist within the same quantum entanglement as in above, the burden and problem of dualism: how material and immaterial entities cause each other seem to be no more. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 64 hodgson in his mind matters: consciousness and the choice in a quantum world, sees separation at the quantum level as irrelevant because entities at different locations are immediately correlated or connected (hodgson, 1991). the implication for this is that objects observed are ordinarily three-dimensional images formed by waves under the influence of electromagnetic or other nuclear approaches. furthermore, the conception of matter has shifted from newtonian to einsteinian space-time matter which is seen as field singularity instead of separate entities (theodosiou, 2010). in this kind of reality, interaction between mind and the body becomes easy since reality is now conceived as a singularity. if reality is equally conceived as a singularity, what do we do with cartesian dualism? for cartesian dualistic interactionism, having two different substances does not pose a serious problem for the relationship between mind and body. this is because modern science sees mind and body as interacting through fundamental forces (alison, 2019). furthermore, the quantum theory of physics states that particles do not possess definite positions when measured instead; they are controlled by wave functions which only give a probability of the possibility of finding the position of a particle (quantum mechanical description, 2019). the implication is that the separate conception of mind and body in descartes does not in any way; stop the interaction between mind and body. hence, waves spread in and out and particles become indistinguishable, inseparable, and are inter-connected. other implication lies in the fact that there is no complete cut out (separation) between particles, there is no need for a bridge between mind and body, consequently, mind and body are united by the function of waves and are not interactively exclusive. what is the nature of the human mind? according to roy, we still don't fully comprehend the neurological processes that give rise to consciousness. to emphasize the issue of consciousness even more, he goes on to say: we do not understand the nature of the physical and chemical interactions which produce mental experience. we do not know how big a neuronal system must be before it can sustain the critical reactions, nor whether the critical reactions depend exclusively upon the properties of neurons or only require a particular organization of energy and matter (velmans, 2012). velmans, however, believes that only a small percentage of brain activity—such as the outcomes of perceptual processing—seems to be eligible for consciousness at the level of activation. neurons fire synchronously but remain unconscious because normal brain functions that are successful have to compete with one another for consciousness in the form of attentional processes. the question now is how does brain activity turn into consciousness? the solution, according to philosophers, lies in the integration of working store theory and primary memory into what baars dubbed the "global workspace" architecture of the brain. the human brain is made up of hundreds of distinct unconscious, specialized processors that may detect stimuli and function alone or in concert with one another to achieve consciousness. these processors have the ability to accept global messages and send them via the global workshop, which is comparable to a social theatre of awareness. prior theories reduced consciousness to "information," however information igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 65 workspace is said to correlate with conscious contents by baars and mcgovern. as a result, consciousness takes center stage in the global workspace, or economy of thought. putting new and complicated tasks in order requires this (velmans, 2012). this is just one of the numerous arguments against hume’s bundle theory, which also rejected the existence of human organized consciousness as a substrate. this essay explicitly calls for a return to the cartesian understanding of the mind as a substance in humans. in support of the above claims, ryle opines that a foreigner visiting oxford or cambridge newly may be shown several museums, playing fields, colleges, libraries, scientific departments, and administrative offices. he may ask, where is the university? after seeing members of the colleges separately, i am yet to see the university itself. in this situation, it is at this point that he should be told that the university is not another collateral institution or ulterior counterpart to the colleges, but how all that he has already seen is put together or organized. his mistake is that he saw these parts of the university as different from it (beakley & ludlov, 2006, 89). summary hume contended that the mind is usually nothing more than a group of perceptions grouped together under a single title, in opposition to cartesian substance. he maintained that the oneness of what is known as the mind defies explanation. he claims that because he always gets lost in his own thoughts and experiences love, hate, heat, cold, light, and so on, only bundles are real. on the opposite, the human brain is made up of hundreds of different unconscious, specialised processors. these processors can recognize stimuli and combine or operate independently to induce consciousness. similar to a social theatre of awareness, these processors can receive global messages and transmit them via the global workshop. previous theories confined consciousness to "information," but baars and mcgovern claim that information workspace correlates with subjective contents. the cartesian dualism can be justified by using the second law of thermodynamics. this is because the first law of thermodynamics, which originally conceived of reality as a closed system, no longer holds true; instead, reality is now thought of as an open system in which interconnectivity is dominant. this suggests that even at a distance, the ontologically distinct mind and body interact with one another. references alison, john. (2019). “a look at cartesian dualism,” p.1, www.hep.upenn.edu›papers›du... 1/3/2019. bailey, c. (1948). lucretius on the nature of things, book iii, 11. britain: oxford clarendon press. beakley, b & ludlow, p. (2006). the philosophy of mind, classical problems and contemporary issues, second edition. new delhi: prentice hall. copleston, f. (1994). a history of philosophy vol. vi, modern philosophy: from the french enlightenment to kant. double day: new york. crowford, s. (2011). general introduction, to philosophy of mind, critical concepts in philosophy of mind. 4, 18-19. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 66 delbruck, m. (1986). mind from matter? an essay on evolutionary epistemology ed. gunter. s. stent and others. oxford: blackwell. descartes, r. (1989). discourse on methods and meditations, trans. john veitch. new york: prometheus books. descartes r. (1996). discourse on the first philosophy ed. david weismann. london: yale, university press. gualtiero, p. (2004). functionalism, computationalism and mental states. elsevier, 35, 811-833. hodgson, d. (1991). the mind matters: consciousness and the choice in quantum world. oxford: clarendon press. hodgson. (1991). the mind matters, in j. c. a. agbakoba (ed) theories of mind: a case for interactionism. enugu: snaap press. hume, d. (1968). a treatise on human nature. london: clarendon press. hume, d. (1993). an inquiry concerning human understanding, second edition ed. eric steinberg. indianapolis: hackett publishing company. hume, d. (1998). a treatise on human nature, second edition ed. p. h. nidditch. oxford: oxford university press. j.c.a, agbakoba. (2001). theories of mind: a case for interactionism. enugu: snaap press. kanu, a. i.; addidi, t.; kanu, c. c. (2024). “artificial intelligence and cybercrime in nigeria: towards an ethical framework”. dialogue and universalism, vol. 32. no. 1. pp. 143-158. doi: 10.5840/du202434115 kanu, a. i.; addidi, t.; kanu, c. c. (2024). “virtue and the business of governance in nigeria”. dialogue and universalism, vol. 32. no. 1. pp. 207-228. doi.org/10.5840/du202434111 kanu, a. i.; pilani, p. m. (2024). “the arewa symbol: a confluence of philosophical, religious and cultural traditions”. dialogue and universalism, vol. 32. no. 2. pp. 223-238. https://doi.org/10.5840/du202434229 kanu, a. i.; pilani, p. m. (2024). “semiotic hermeneutic of “new wine, new wineskins:” symbols, philosophy of development and africa”. published in dialogue and universalism, vol. 32. no. 2. pp. 151-162. https://doi.org/10.5840/du202434225 kanu, i. a. and omenukwa philip (2024). “private language in wittgenstein and the igboafrican worldview”. pakistan journal of life and social sciences, vol. 22. no. 1, january, pp. 646-660. doi: https://doi.org/10.57239/pjlss-2024-22.1.0047 lawhead, w. f. (2005). the voyage of discovery: a historical introduction to philosophy, second edition. u.s.a. wadsworth. maritain, j. (2005) an introduction to philosophy. london: continuum. velmans, m. (2014). “the evolution of consciousness,” (n. p) doi: 10.1080/21582041.2012.692099 nagel, t. (1974). “what is it like to be a bat? philosophical review, 83,(4) 435-450. nagel, t. (1979). limits of objectivity, “the tanner lecture on human values. nagel, t. (2012) mind and cosmos: why the materialist neo-darwian conception of nature is almost certainly false. u.s.a: oxford university press. njoku, f.o.c. (2010). studies in philosophy of mind. owerri: claritian institute of philosophy. omoregbe, j. (2011). metaphysics without tears. lagos: joja press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 67 price, t. a. (2018). nagel on mind and cosmos. new york: white rose. putnam, h. (1967). art, philosophy and religion. pittsburgh: university of pittsburgh press. putnam, h. (1988). representation and reality. cambridge: the mit press. rorty, r. (1965). “mind-body identity, privacy and categories,” the review of metaphysics, 19(1), 24-54. rorty, r. (1980). philosophy and the mirror of nature. u.s.a: princeton. ryle, g. (1963). the concept of mind great britain: peregrine books. searle, j. (2002). consciousness and language. u.s.a: cambridge university press. searle, j. (2003). minds, brains and science. u.s.a: havard university press. searle, j. (2015). “mind language and society,” 1808-1711, doi:10.5007/1808-1711 2015v19nip77. silverberg, a. (1992). “putnam on functionalism.” springer. theodosiou, e. danezis, e, & vassilios n. m. (2019). invisible world and the modern physics: modern world and theology, researchgate, 1-10. heories of human communication (10th ed., pp. 379-391). waveland press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 15 an interrogation on the conception of dialectical materialism and its implication for human dignity and national development orji, chidi paul, ph.d university of agriculture and environmental sciences, umuagwo, imo state paul.orji@uaes.edu.ng & egberongbe tijani taiwo ph.d olabisi onabanjo university ago iwoye, ogun state. egberongbetaiwo@oouagoiwoye.edu.ng titaiwoegbe@gmail.com & joachim okoroafor phd gregory university, uturu, abia state, nigeria. j.okoroafor@gregoryuniversityuturu.edu.ng & nwagbara, rufus godswill babcock 'university, ilisan remo, ogun state godswillnwagbara@gmail.com, nwagbarag@babcock.edu.ng & ucheoma c. osuji ph.d adekunle ajasin university, akungba-akokoondo state uc211179@yahoo.com,ucheoma.osuji@aaua.edu.ng & iyadunni olamilekan olabisi onabanjo university, ago iwoye, ogun state. lokoinmillion2005@yahoo.com & ese henry inoke (pg student), university of port harcourt (uniport), rivers state henryinoke@gmail.com abstract dialectical materialism is the collection of concepts, theories, and viewpoints put out by karl marx. he made predictions regarding political and economic solutions to france's problems in it. it was a reaction against what he saw as injustices and economic and social injustices that were fast becoming the standard in his community. the marxist dialectic emphasized the significance of actual conditions with regard to class, labor, and socioeconomic connections. on the other hand, the hegelian dialectic places emphasis on the idea that contradictions in natural events can be reconciled by interpretation and the creation of a solution that retains the essential qualities of the original events. marx considered the best approach to deal with the problems caused by declared contradictory phenomena would be to address and reorganize the social organization systems at the center of the problems. in light of this, the purpose of this article is to critically igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 16 evaluate marx's theory of dialectical materialism and then demonstrate how, when appropriately assimilated into society; it may contribute to the formation and development of a nation. keywords: karl marx, dialectical materialism, capitalism, national development introduction karl marx is credited with bringing about the end of the speculative philosophy and spiritualizing dialectics era and ushering in a new one marked by outcome-oriented philosophy and practical dialectics. philosophy, unlike dialectics, aims to change the world rather than to analyze it. marx thought that economic and sociopolitical problems have faced humanity throughout history. however, the well-known philosopher karl marx created his "dialectical materialism" theory in an attempt to solve these issues. he created this as a critique of george wilhelm friedrich hegel's excessively spiritualized dialectics and philosophical theories, which dominated german and other european intellectual life at the time. the term "dialectics" usually refers to the systematic, progressive process of eliminating elements that are superfluous and synthesizing those that are crucial to conflicting concepts in order to arrive at truth, reality, or a solution to an issue. dialectics is both a method of tackling societal difficulties and a mental assumption in philosophy. there are different schools or kinds of dialectics. for example, rousseau embraced historical dialectics; hegel adopted dialectics of the soul; and adam smith chose sociopolitical dialectics. dialectical materialism, however, is the name given to marx's brand or school of dialectics; early materialists like the atomists, leucippus, and democritus also used this term. marx made a substantial contribution to the revival, reformulation, and modification of the dialectic of the early atomists. he called it dialectical materialism, to distinguish it from spiritual dialectics of hegel and ficshterian thought. this was consistent with his objective of converting philosophy into a discipline focused on application and outcomes rather than on problem interpretation, as marx saw it in hegel and ficshte. marx thought that his theory would become a tool for national development by ultimately eliminating racial injustice, political repression, worker indignity, and bad leadership. marx could not have survived without hegel and other key figures, even if he was oriented to the material world and concentrated on results and solutions. at the beginning of his adult life, marx identified as a young hegelian, one of numerous intellectual movements inspired by the philosopher hegel, because of his strong interest in using philosophical challenges to alter or rebuild society. marx focused mostly on how society should be organized within its socioeconomic framework. marx and engels concluded that the interpretation of social injustice in industrialized or developing countries such as germany, france, and the united kingdom was based on a misapplication of hegelian theory, especially in the early 1840s. in his own dialectics, marx created a materialistic explanation that emphasized the materialist theory that the socio-economic events of society are shaped by the concrete and material world, and that these affairs ultimately define the socio-political realities of the state. this stands in opposition to the traditional hegelian dialectics, which highlighted the idealist theory according to which the perceptions of the mind determine human experience. he saw the social superstructure's igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 17 primary ingredients. this essay critically examines marx's theory of dialectical materialism as a contemporary concept for national development. it is especially interesting to observe that, despite the theory adopting a materialist perspective on society as it was advanced by atomistic particles, marx refers to these particles as the classes of individuals in the state. marx calls these classes "atomistic parts," and they are constantly at oddsnot just with one another. marx believes that dialectics, or what he perceived as overcoming opposites, can help resolve conflicts and lessen social unrest. the means of production should be owned and operated by the proletariat, with the bourgeoisiesthe stronger atomsuffering in the process. everything that affects the state, from politics to the economy, from development to education, can only be held accountable for this. marx thought that other issues such political oppression; underdevelopment, insecurity, and poverty were also caused by this conflict. marx proposes that religion, an essentially bad force, is the reason society is unable to overcome this conflict and realize its full potential. thus, his thesisknown as marx's dialectical materialism or the practical solution to class conflictmust lead to a bloody revolution, a communist revolution, which would transform every state from this form of capitalist organization to a socialist environment and ultimately a communist society. for marx, this is the best place to start when actually constructing a nation. the actual question is how much of marx is correct. marx does not show how nation-building and advancement will result from the proletariat's ultimate control in any contemporary state, including nigeria. the failure of this work to address one of marx's concernsthat revolution breeds revolutionhas drawn criticism. given this, a comprehensive analysis akin to the one carried out in the current work is required. considerations such as the current state of society, particularly in nigeria, the degree of injustice in society, poor governance, the oppression of the oppressed, and gender inequality in developing nations can be made in favor of the marxian theory of dialectical materialism, which advocates a kind of forceful or violent takeover of power from the capitalists, or rather the bourgeoisies, by the proletariat. for example, we heard about the october 2020 endsars march in nigeria, which many referred to as a revolution. a person's position in a class hierarchy is decided by their contribution to the production process, according to marxian dialectical materialism, which isolates the dynamics of this power struggle and maintains that class position determines political and ideological consciousness (parkin, 1979:56). thus, conflicts within the nation's socioeconomic domain have always been stoked by tension between those who hold political and economic power (bourgeoisies) and those who do not (proletarians). although marx's attempt to use dialectical materialism to confront political injustice is commendable, the theory itself creates more problems that hinder advancement. marx, for example, considered that regardless of one's place of employment or origin, everyone should be treated fairly and has equal access to the resources required for human existence and education. marx upheld human rights and equality as well. gender stereotypes are still a major problem in today's communities, especially those in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 18 developing countries. a fully developed marxist society would place a strong focus on free health care, education, and gender equality. marx's views pose a lot of fascinating problems that demand answers. among these are the following: does religion naturally occur in human nature? is a revolution the most effective way to settle a conflict? is communism truly the best political structure for the world to adopt? furthermore, what is a compromise that both classes can agree on? this research initiative aims to address these issues. marx conception of dialectical materialism the dialectical materialism of marx served as the foundation for the worldview of the marxistleninist party. though its perspective on these occurrences and its theoretical foundations are materialistic, dialectical materialism derives its name from the dialectical approach it takes to analyzing and comprehending natural phenomena (audi, 2006:538). two well-known modernday figures are karl marx and friedrich engels. by keeping merely the "rational kernel" of hegelian dialectics and removing its hegelian idealistic veneer, marx and engels advanced dialectics to give them a modern scientific shape (audi, 2006:538). karl marx states: "my dialectic approach is not only distinct from hegelian thought, it stands in stark contrast to it" when introducing his own theory. hegel claims that the real world is nothing more than the external, phenomenal form of "the idea," which he even names in order to give it the status of a separate subject. hegel believes that reality is created by thought itself. on the other hand, i see the ideal as nothing more than the material reality as it is reflected in the human mind and articulated in thought forms (marx, 1938:xxx). additionally, engels stated that "all nature, from the smallest thing to the largest, from a grain of sand to the sun, from the protista (the basic living cells) to man, is in a constant state of coming into existence and disappearing from existence, in a constant flux, in a ceaseless state of movement and change" (engels, 1938:8). therefore, engels states that dialectics "takes things and their perceptual images essentially in their interconnection, in their concatenation, in their movement, in their rise and disappearance" (engels, 1938:8). in terms of the dialectics of nature, engel holds that natural events can only be understood and interpreted in the context of dialectics. as an exchange of theses and antitheses that results in a synthesis of the conflicting claims, marx's historical dialectic is regarded as a movement inherent to objective reality; it has frequently been implied in society with competing interests (marx, 1873:316). this suggests a conflicting rather than a harmonious type of development. when this movement is at odds, marxist dialectical materialism basically refers to the conflict movement (opposition and confrontation). as a result, according to marx, the two rightswhich are both endorsed by the law of exchangesare incompatible. force chooses between having equal rights. thus, the history of capitalist production defines a working day as the result of a struggle between collective labor, or the working class, and collective capital, or class capitalists (marx, 1873:164). marx's theory of dialectical materialism is related to the notion of the proletariat's struggle against capitalists. it emphasized the materialist theory according to which the tangible environment shapes socio-economic relations, and these interactions define the socio-political reality (sperber, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 19 2013:8). examining the variables that impact growth, dialectical materialism discovers that social norms and political structures mirror economic activity and that changes in human society offer the necessities of existence for various social strata. dialectical materialism is a subset of materialism as a whole. it asserts the primacy of the material world. this implies that matter comes first, as opposed to hegel's thesis, which maintains that concept comes before matter. absolute distinguishes itself by internal action, as hegel put it. this process entails disproving a first hypothesis (the thesis) in order to prove a second, opposing one (the antithesis). this second position is in turn denied by the negative of the denial in order to get at the third position, which is the synthesis of the two proceedings in which both are transcended—that is, annihilated while yet being preserved on a higher plane of existence. subsequently, this third stage initiates a new dialectical process that results in a new synthesis, and so on (al-hikmat, 2019:2). marx's dialectics theory is different from hegel's in that it is an approach to experimentally studying processes in terms of development, transformation, and interaction rather than an approach to arriving at predetermined conclusions (sperber, 2013:10). in the penguin edition of marx's capital, ernest mandel wrote in his introduction that when the dialectical method is applied to economic problems, phenomena are not seen apart, by bits or pieces, but rather in the inner connection as an integrated total, structured around and by a dominant mode of production (mandel, 1976:18). the notion of dialectical materialism emerged when marx resumed his reading of hegel in 1857. by contrast with hegel, marx embraced a realist epistemology. his views evolved into that of a classic materialist, abandoning the pragmatic ambiguities of his economic and philosophical books. although he was also influenced by hegel, karl marx endeavored to justify the labor theory of value dialectically. his positivist criticism was dropped in the holy family, where he started using dialectic to reveal a reality hidden under the surface. his dialectic conflicted with his materialism, though. the philosophical level of argumentation, which rejected the connection between praxis and reality, was upheld at the level of economic argument. marx’s notion on labour theory of value karl marx's critique of the political economy of capitalism made extensive use of the concept of labor power. according to ben (2010:20); marx distinguished between the act of performing labor and the capacity to perform labor, or labor power. although labor power is a resource shared by all civilizations, the ways in which it is combined or exchanged for goods and services have evolved dramatically over time. the creative energies of capital seem to be equal to the productive capabilities of labor, according to marx's theory, under capitalism. working capital is what "labor power at work" actually becomes when it is put to use. work becomes mere labor, employees become an impersonal labor force, and management takes over as the main authority over the workplace. karl marx introduces the concept in chapter 6 of the first book of capital as follows: work power, also known as capacity for work, is the sum of an individual's physical and mental abilities that they employ whenever they produce something valuable (marx, 2021:26). however, labor power only materializes through exertion and mobilizes through employment, he continues. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 20 but these results in the loss of some human muscle, nerve, brain, and other tissues, which need to be restored (marx 2021, 27). while the concept of "human capital" has been used to contrast with marx's theory of labor power, it's possible that marx thought the term was a reification intended to imply that laborers were a type of capitalist. for example, marx states in capital vol. 2, volume 2 that "[the worker's] labor force symbolizes his capital in commodities form and provides him with ongoing income," a claim that is contested by apologetic economists. actually, his labor force is his property (self-renewing, reproducing) rather than his riches. in the hands of the capitalist customer, it just serves as capital (a variable), and it is the only good he can and must continuously sell in order to survive. some economists assert that a man is a capitalist if and only if he is compelled to sell his labor power that is, himselfto another man because he constantly has "commodities"that is, himselfup for grabs. slaves are capitalists in this sense, even though they are bought and sold as commodities by other people. this is because, by definition, a slave is a commodity, and its buyer must both provide it with the means to live and the means to labor continuously for the slave to continue being a slave. marx (2021:27). since commodities are social and economic constructs, they have two unique characteristics that determine their value. according to lenin (1978:19), "first and foremost, a thing that satisfies a human need; second and foremost, it is a thing that can be exchanged for another thing" is one of these distinguishing features. it is challenging to identify the commonalities among these diverse things within a system of social relationships, given that commodities are continuously exchanged with one another despite their individuality and diversity. but labor is what brought them together to form these shared relationships. there is a difference between the value of labor and commodities. as it precedes the latter, the former must be understood from the ground up. one way to explain the phenomenon of labor value is either in terms of money or the quality of the work that is produced. marx claims that the monetary form of labor's value represents its necessary or inherent cost. conversely, market labor rates-that is, rates that vary from the required rate to below itare the subject of discussion (marx, 1990:675). the market price of labor is frequently impacted by changes in commodity prices because these fluctuations affect the required price, which is a measure of the whole cost of production. a commodity can only be exchanged on the open market as a result if "labor exists at all times". instead of selling labor, the worker would be selling a commodity if he could give it a life of its own (marx 1990:675). assuming a four-dollar value and an eight-hour workday, there are two possibilities. or there may be no surplus value for the buyer of the labor, meaning the worker only receives four dollars for eight hours of work. he is paid either nothing or less than $4 for eight hours of labor. in marx's view, the first cannot be expressed or defined. according to marx (1990:676), this means that "the quantity of living labor necessary to produce a commodity determines its value, not the quantity of labor objectified in it." this is a result of how unevenly advances in technology have affected the means of producing products. marx examines "how is the price of labor determined?" his theory holds that the natural price of labor is determined by igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 21 the relationship between supply and demand and is fixed at the equilibrium between supply and demand (marx, 1990:678). this intrinsic pricing should be the focus of analysis rather than the fluctuations in price brought about by supply and demand. marx argues that the real question that political economists asked when attempting to calculate the worth of labor was, "what is the cost of production (which the cost of is producing or reproducing the worker)?" (marx, 1990: 678. it is essential to balance the value of labor and labor power since a worker's state of being is ingrained in their personality. on the other hand, labor force productivity is defined over the course of an employee's life and is correlated with a given duration of workday. thus, in a capitalist system, the value of work must constantly be less than the good being produced in order for the capitalist to have surplus value and make a profit, according to marx, "the value of labor must always be less than its value-product" (marx, 1990:679). dialectics and the production's social relations marx disagreed with hegel's theory that history is the result of dialectic forces, or tensions between classes. recall that hegel was an idealistic philosopher who believed that in a world of appearances, true truth is an ideal. but marx disagreed with hegel's idealism, accepting dialectic but not the premise that the "real" world of ideals is hidden from us by the material world. conversely, he thought that certain ideas had historically and socially hindered people from having a comprehensive knowledge of the material circumstances of their life. as a result, his historical materialism is the methodological approach of marxist historiography, which maintains that human civilizations display a range of detectable trends and concentrates on their historical development. karl marx (1818–1883) first proposed this as the materialist view of history. fundamentally, it is a historical theory that maintains that the relationship between a society's social relations of production and its technological and productive capacity determines how that society organizes and develops. historical materialism is the application of the tenets of dialectical materialism to the study of social life, social life phenomena, and society and its history. men participate in particular; will-less relationships as part of the social manufacture of their own life, relationships that operate as machinery for the growth of their material powers, which is a contribution to the critique of political economics. all of these production relationships make up the social structure of economy. people's social, political, and intellectual lives are influenced by their material life; men's social existence molds their consciousness, not the other way around. at a certain developmental stage, the material productive forces of society interact with the existing production relations. the adjustments to the economic foundation ultimately led to modifications to the system's superstructure as a whole. it is important to distinguish between the material transformation of the economic situation of production, which can be ascertained with the accuracy of scientific science, and the changes that are philosophical, artistic, religious, political, or legal. just as one does not judge a person by how they see themselves, neither can this transformational time be assessed by its consciousness. conversely, the contradictions of material existence and the tension between social forces and production relations must account for this consciousness (marx, 1977:9). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 22 humans work cooperatively on the environment, but they do not all carry out the same tasks; rather, there is a division of labor, in which individuals not only carry out various tasks but also have the ability to profit from the labor of others by owning the means of production. this is the fundamental reality upon which historical materialism is based (seligman, 1901:163). marx then expanded on this idea by claiming that people must join into extremely precise social ties, or more specifically, "relations of production," in order to have enough output and exchange. the relationships are influenced by the type and quantity of these productive forces, which include the means of production at any given time in history, such as tools, instruments, technology, land, raw materials, and human knowledge and abilities. marx thought that the capitalist class was the most revolutionary class in history because it was always changing the means of production. when people accept remuneration for the labor they have performed over a certain amount of time, which allows them to survive, they are participating in the sale of their labor power in the context of capitalism. while "bourgeois" or "capitalist" refers to those who buy labor power, usually those who possess land and technology for productive reasons, "proletarian" refers to people who sell their work in order to subsist. marx also believed that capitalism was prone to creating fewer jobs and crises. since marx believed that profits stemmed from surplus value created by labor, he concluded that even as the economy expanded, the rate of profit would decrease. marx's dialectics: communism as the final stage marxist politics envisions progressive processes such as the dissolution of the state and the development of worldwide communism as a new world order. marx and engels' definition of a "true democracy" is communism, as stated by allen w. wood in his book karl marx. wood claims: marx, however, agrees with the first viewpoint, according to which the social environment need not be as harmful as it is. if capitalism social connections are a part of the ugly and cruel world and if communism gives people more flexibility to form compassionate and kind interpersonal relationships, then we should be in favor of it (allen, 1981:260). there is no such thing as classes in this society, the state has vanished entirely, and private property does not exist. now that the people have their own sovereignty, the constitution was drafted by them and is the true expression of their will. the people, then, drafted the constitution in accordance with their own demands and interests. the proletarian revolution was emphasized by marx and engels as the best means of achieving "true democracy," as he states in his communist manifesto that: hiding their goals and views is something that the communists despise. they freely acknowledge that eliminating all existing social conventions by violence is the only way they can accomplish their objectives. give the nobility a shake-up via a communist revolution. what the proletariat is losing are their chains; that is all. it is their planet to conquer. all workers across the globe are united (marx, 1848:30). every social structure that exists today is a product of society's expanding material powers of production, and the capitalist state is home to the seeds of this revolution. class conflict eventually igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 23 leads to the dictatorship of the proletariat. still, the dictatorship itself is only a means to an end the abolition of all classes and the establishment of a classless society. compared to past nations, states, tribes, and other racial or class divisions, the new global order thus marks a step forward. according to georgi shakhnazarov, the top adviser to mikhail gorbachev in the former soviet union, "our epoch is the epoch of the revolutionary transformation of capitalist society into communism" (shakhnazarov, 1981:18). the establishment of worldwide communism, which places the people in charge of the means of production, does away with the state and classes, and establishes a consensus-based, cooperative global society, is marxism's ultimate goal. nonetheless, conflict between capitalist and communist societies won't end until global communism is achieved. this fight will include warfare as a continuation of class conflict. socialism will lead to conflict between nations, just as capitalism and the proletariat do. therefore, the goal of marxists is to eliminate all forms of state authority and establish a global communism. they are prepared to frighten, subdue, and attack the opponent as a result. the implications of marx class theory for politics and economics the concept of class struggle is central to the economic and political theories of karl marx and friedrich engels, who held that society would eventually move from bourgeois tyranny under capitalism to a socialist and ultimately classless society. karl marx, a conventional economist, favored the "labour theory value" as a means of explaining relative differences in market prices. according to this concept, "the value of a produced economic good can be measured objectively by the average number of labor hours required to produce it”. the crucial role that economic factors played in society was the cornerstone of the materialistic conception. everything else falls within the purview of the superstructure, which includes the government, the state, the legal system, and the arts, cultures, and ideas. marx proceeded to assert that the economy shapes human institutions and conduct; hence, the superstructure is shaped and determined by the economic foundation. "the determination of men's existence is not their consciousness, but rather their social existence," karl marx argued (marx, 1997:11–12). when a society's economic basis is changed, so is its awareness. it is common for the superstructure to alter in tandem with changes in the economic base. according to marx: in society, the material forces of production come into conflict with the current production relationship, or rather, only a legal expression of it, with the property relation in which they had previously operated at a particular point in their evolution. these connections, which result from the ways in which the forces of production are evolving, have an impact on the economic foundation and quickly alter the entire superstructure (marx, 199:12). the five historical stages of economic growth were delineated by marx. among these were capitalism, feudalism, slavery, and early forms of communism. revolutions are inevitable since every stage (except from the last one) has elements that lead to contradictions. the current situation would be the thesis, and the conflicts inside it would be the antithesis. the synthesis, which would thereafter function as the thesis, would be formed by the solution. this would keep happening until an ideal society was attained. politically, the class struggle is the primary driver of historical change under capitalism, which brought about inescapable pain and should be replaced by igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 24 socialism first, followed by communism. his works sparked political upheaval, uprisings, and the creation of new governmental structures. the foundation of his social class theory is how we understand social stratification and inequality. therefore, based on marxian viewpoints, the systems of stratification in stratified societies were derived from the links of the social groupings to the forces of production. the two main social classes are the governing class and the subject class. the ruling class derives its power from owning and controlling the production forces. the ruling class dominates, takes advantage of, and subjugates the subject class. as such, there is a basic conflict of interest between the two classes. marx examined past social systems and found that they all followed a similar course of development. this and his vision of the future allowed marx to create an accurate framework for the advancement of humanity. marx's dialectical materialism theory and its applicability to national development marx's dialectical materialism explored the issue of development from a very basic perspective, making it a profound theory of development and change. its subtle materialism suggests that the material conditions give rise to the ideas that eventually drive society progress. dialectical materialism is essentially the emphasis of marx's condemnation of capitalism due to its exploitative nature. his objections to capitalism are obviously moral. an objective moral ideal is what it aims to accomplish. a basic issue with ideology that is brought up by this criticism is that the interests of the ruling class are driving it forward. marx contends that the production of the resources required to support human life and the exchange of those resources have shaped all social structures in his materialist view of history. put differently, the fulfillment of fundamental needs such as clothing, food, and shelter is what sustains human society. that's why discussing humans in terms of praxis, or the act of satisfying needs, makes sense. marx would therefore define man not only as a component of nature, a logical being, a social being, etc., but also as a man who works, produces, or is creative. a man never reaches his full potential until he uses his intelligence to get what he wants. a man's work therefore becomes an integral part of his identity. there is little doubt that his analysis of the capitalist system highlights several basic facts. for example, it observes that the material order greatly influences a society's ideas and affects the human mind. furthermore, the reality that capitalism society is highly stratified and founded on a multitude of diverse ideologies cannot be denied. however, marx's rejection of the possibility of universal concepts would be an exaggeration and possibly an excessive assumption. certain basic ideas, like justice and equity, can nevertheless act as the cornerstone of ideologies in spite of the substructure's or material order's flexibility. therefore, notions of justice may be viewed as universal when they are driven more by the spirit of reciprocal fairness. as they are able to think, humans can also adapt to the shifting substructure and change with the changing material order. as a result, the idea of eternal and universal norms is relativistic rather than absolutely denied. though not objective, it is subjective. another way that marx's materialist philosophy is used is in the concept of labor as a social activity. men have always been driven to form groups in an attempt to control the forces of nature as they search for a way to survive. the tasks that humans igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 25 organize themselves to perform consist of collecting raw materials, building and staffing factories, and creating, using, and maintaining machines. enhancements in human capacities, potentials, and production relationships accompany the advancement of production instruments as a result of these productive variables coming together. human desires and the resources available to fulfill them are therefore related. marx's materialist worldview is characterized, among other things; by the way it portrays the interests of the working class. this alienation of labor is a clear manifestation of marx's political ideology, which strives to liberate the masses from exploitation. the historical materialism of marx and engels is, in fact, a methodical approach to reconstructing human society with a revolutionary bent, and it serves as the working class's weapon in the struggle against capitalism. therefore, marx's materialist ideology and its consequences emphasize the importance of philosophy for the development of society. marxism essentially provides a scientific explanation of the cosmos and operates based on scientific principles, as demonstrated by the concepts of dialectical materialism. it highlights the already-existing links between philosophy and science by doing this. marx's philosophy first shows the form that science gives it by methodically fusing "materialism" and "dialectics." earlier philosophers had a different take on these concepts. hegel, on the other hand, was a dialectician and not a materialist, but feuerbach was both. marx integrated these concepts into his dialectical-materialist philosophical framework. one school of thought that stresses acting over just thinking is dialectical materialism, as advocated by marx. while philosophers have all tried to understand the world in their own special ways, in accordance with karl marx, what is actually needed is for the world to change since the oppressed and exploited man can only be emancipated and given back his human dignity by action (marx 1887, 27). a comprehensive defense of social changes and their origins can be found in marx's theory of dialectical materialism. it also provides feasible ideas for promoting the political, social, and economic development of a nation. conclusion the social, political, and economic issues facing each nation have a significant impact on its makeup and future. a society's social and political systems must be significantly transformed, which primarily requires increased intellectual capacity and progress-oriented practical activity. marx is worried that most social scientists and philosophers only interpret and theoretically analyze social reality, with little to no effort put into really enacting positive change. this need is undoubtedly met by his philosophy, which skillfully blends theory and practice and provides a solid basis for social reform. on the other hand, karl marx thought that equality and human rights were very important. he is adamant that everyone should have access to the materials required for human existence and education, regardless of gender, race, or religion. his idea would greatly contribute to the eradication of gender preconceptions if it were fully put into practice. it would place an emphasis on free health care, free education, and gender bias or inequality. once more, some of the issues facing capitalism may be resolved by turning to karl marx. capitalism has a serious monopolization problem despite encouraging competition and excellence. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 26 an industry or company becomes a monopoly when it has amassed sufficient wealth and reputation to control every aspect of its market niche. littler enterprises that fail and fewer opportunities for entrepreneurs may follow from reduced pricing competition. in marx's view, the state ought to regulate enterprises. by giving other smaller businesses additional financing to catch up or by allowing the dominant company to lose funds to give the other businesses a chance, this could help prevent monopolies by allowing smaller businesses to gain market share. marx's theory of social classes may provide useful guidance on how different social classes might collaborate to form a whole and demonstrate how society operates as a unit. not only can his theory be applied to shed light on the current state of fashion, but it can also be employed as a research method to examine the relationship between ownership, power, and social change. in addition, marx's theory is useful for comprehending the underlying dynamics of a society as a whole rather than just it’s functioning as discrete units and for taking a long-term view of the present through his historical sense. as marx analyzes the evolution from a historical standpoint and is thus able to pinpoint the motions and inclinations of that society, this pertains to all of its different classes and individuals. ultimately, marx's theory of communism as an alternative to capitalism has shown to be ineffective in real-world scenarios, but it still contains valuable ideas and concepts that are fundamental to all political and social structures. our great nation's development and construction will be considerably aided if these fundamental ideas and concepts from his philosophy can be taken out and applied to the political and social structure that exists now, particularly in nigeria. references allen, w. (1981).wood, karl marx. routledge taylor & francis group press. al-hikmat, t.(2019). a journal of philosophy, vol. 39. audi, r. (2006). cambridge dictionary of philosophy. cambridge: cambridge university press. batra, r. (2011). “sarkar, toynbee and marx”. prout globe. engels, friedrich. (1938). antidurhring cited in joseph stalin. dialectical and historical materialism engels, friedrich. (1938). dialectics of nature cited in joseph stalin. dialectical and historical materialism ben, f. (2010). marx’s capital (5th ed.). pluto press. kanu i. a. (2010). “a discourse on the romance between philosophy and christian theology”. international journal of theology and reformed tradition. 2. 185-198. kanu i. a. (2011). “corruption in africa and its challenges for the enterprise of christian theology”. international journal of research in arts and social sciences. 4. 492-500. kanu i. a. (2012). “on the possibility of miracles”. international journal of theology and reformed tradition. 4. 81-89. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 27 kanu i. a. (2020). “igwebuike theology of ikwa ogwe and the inculturation of the gospel message”. ogirisi: a journal of african studies. 16(1),15-28. kanu i. a. (2020). “igwebuike theology of omenani and the missionary bifurcation of horizons”. ogirisi: a new journal of african studies. 16(1), 127-144. kanu i. a. (2024). “the inculturation of consecrated life in africa: towards a logic for promoting indigenous gifts of fidelity”. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. 21(1), 245-265. kanu i. a. (2012). “inculturation and christianity in africa”. international journal of humanities and social science. 2(17), 236-244. kanu i. a. (2016). “igwebuike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of globalisation”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2(1), 61-66. mandel, ernest. (1976). introduction to karl marx, capital, .penguin, vol. i. marx, karl. (1887). capital, frederick engels (ed.), samuel moore and edward aveling (trans.). progress publishers. marx, karl. (1938). capital. george allen & unwin press ltd., vol. i marx, karl. (1977). a contribution to the critique of political economy.progress publishers): notes by r. rojas. marx, karl. (1990). capital vol 1, pengium classics. marx, karl. (2001). preface to a critique of political economy. the electric book company. marx, karl. (2021). “economic manuscripts: capital vol. 1chapter six”. marxists.org. marx, karl., & engels, friedrich. (1968), (1877). “letter from marx to editor of the otetchestvennye zapisky”. plato. (1974). the republic. second edition, penguin books ltd. popper, karl. (2002). conjecture and refutations: the growth of scientific knowledge. routledge. seligman, edwin. (1901). the economic interpretation of history, political science quartely. sperber, jonathan. (2013). karl marx: a nineteenth-century life. live right press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 2 vocations crisis and management of religious vocations in the light of genesis (2:5) ikechukwu anthony kanu, phd department of philosophy, veritas university abuja abuja ikee_mario@yahoo.com https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1977-202x & michael paul pilani, phd department of theology, veritas university abuja pilanimaria@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6549-6201 abstract this paper examines the ongoing crisis of religious vocations within the catholic church through the lens of genesis 2:5, using both the historical-critical method of exegesis and the analytical method of research. the vocational decline in priesthood and religious life, particularly in western nations, poses significant challenges to the church’s sacramental, pastoral, and community functions. employing the historical-critical method, the study explores the theological and cultural contexts of genesis 2:5, revealing a divine-human partnership where vocations, like the natural world, require both divine provision (rain) and human effort (cultivation). through the analytical method, the paper synthesizes historical, cultural, and theological insights, offering practical recommendations for addressing the crisis. the research emphasizes a balanced approach between prayer for divine intervention and proactive efforts to cultivate environments conducive to vocations, advocating for a rethinking of vocation management that prepares the “ground” for future growth within the church. keywords: vocations, crisis, management, genesis, religious life introduction the catholic church is currently experiencing a significant crisis in religious vocations, particularly concerning priesthood and consecrated life. this crisis has become more pronounced in western countries, where there has been a steady decline in the number of ordained ministers and professed religious. the impact of this decline extends beyond the religious communities themselves, affecting the church’s ability to meet the pastoral, sacramental, and social needs of a growing lay population (quiñones, 2024). while the global number of catholics continues to rise, the decreasing number of priests, religious men, and women creates a pastoral vacuum, leading to overworked clergy and limited access to the sacraments (vatican, 2022). this situation has sparked considerable concern within the church, prompting scholars and church leaders to explore theological and practical responses to the crisis. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 3 in addressing the vocational crisis, the metaphor presented in genesis 2:5 offers valuable insight. the verse describes a primordial state of the world where, in the absence of rain and human cultivation, no vegetation could grow. this reflects an essential divine-human partnership, in which both divine provision (rain) and human participation (cultivation) are required for growth and fruitfulness (westermann, 1994). applying this to the vocational crisis, religious vocations can be understood as divine gifts that require human stewardship for their flourishing. god calls individuals to a life of service, but the community must actively cultivate an environment where these vocations can be nurtured and realized. without proper human involvement in creating fertile “soil,” vocations may wither just as crops would without cultivation (habel, 2000). this paper aims to explore the crisis of religious vocations through the theological lens of genesis 2:5, employing both historical-critical and analytical methods to investigate the biblical, cultural, and theological contexts of the text. in doing so, it proposes a model of vocation management that emphasizes the cooperation between divine calling and human preparation. this approach offers a hopeful framework for addressing the current vocational shortfall, urging the church to reframe the crisis not as an irreversible decline but as an opportunity to cultivate an environment in which future vocations can take root and grow (bevans & schroeder, 2004). preliminary clarifications: a. vocation: priesthood and religious life a person’s vocation is typically defined as a summons from god to a certain stage of life where they can achieve holiness. the term vocation originates a latin term vocatio, meaning “a calling” or “summoning.” it derives from the verb “to call,” vocare. there is a “universal call [vocatio] to holiness in the church,” as stated by the second vatican council (lumen gentium, 39). the lay, religious, and priestly states are all vocations in this instance. for the sake of this essay, however, the priestly and religious vocations within the church are highlighted. within the catholic church, males are ordained to the catholic priesthood, a sacramental ministry and vocation that serves as a conduit between god and humanity, a spiritual leader, and a representation of christ. priestly ordination is a ceremony that bestows sacred authority and makes one a priest. as representatives of christ in worship, instruction, and service, priests function in persona christi, deriving their authority from an uninterrupted line of bishops that begins with the apostles. the following passages in the bible serve as the cornerstones of the catholic priesthood: matthew 10:1-4, where jesus names the apostles; 1 corinthians 11:24–25, which establishes the eucharist; john 20:21–23, where jesus commissions his disciples; and 1 timothy 4:14, which deals with the laying on of hands. the primary responsibilities of priests include: leading during worship, celebrating the sacraments (especially eucharist); providing counsel, reconciliation, pastoral care, proclaiming the gospel, interpreting the scripture, and administering sacraments, blessings, and sacramentals (ccc 1536-1600). in addition to the vocation of a priest, there is the religious life. according to the evangelical counsels of poverty (i.e., giving up material possessions and desires), chastity (embracing celibacy igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 4 for the sake of the kingdom), and obedience (submitting to god’s will and community leaders), the religious life is a vocation within the catholic church where people dedicate themselves to a life of prayer, service, and community (kanu 2011, 2015 and 2016). a public pledge to become a closer follower of christ marks the beginning of the religious life. this way of living might be monastic, consisting mostly of contemplative life with an emphasis on work and prayer, or it could involve apostolic and monastic life combined (ccc 916-933; perfectae caritatis 1-25; vultum dei quaerere 1-37; kanu 2018, 2019). b. vocations crisis vocations crisis refers to a decline in the number of individuals pursuing priestly or religious vocations, leading to a shortage of ordained ministers and consecrated religious.the causes include: secularisation and cultural changes, decline of traditional catholic families and communities, iincreased options for personal fulfillment, spiritual and moral relativism, and scandals and crises within the church. the consequences include parish closures and mergers, reduced sacramental availability, increased workload for remaining clergy and decreased catholic presence in social services. however, while there is a decrease in the number of priests and religious, there is an increase in the number of the lay faithful. the number of catholics worldwide increased by 14 million in 2022, according to the vatican’s 2022 statistical yearbook of the church, thus rising from 1.376 billion in 2021 to 1.390 billion in 2022. while the catholic church in africa continues to grow, the americas recorded a 0.9% increase and asia a 0.6% increase (quiñones 2024). the number of catholics in europe has remained steady at 286 million from 2021 to 2022. since 2012, the number of priests and religious have continued the downward trend. globally, the number of priests decreased by 142 from 2021 to 2022, going from 407,872 to 407,730. this is different in africa where vocations have continued to grow. the number of priests in africa and asia increased by 3.2% and 1.6%, respectively, while the number remained steady in the americas. oceania saw a 1.5% decrease in priests, while europe had a 1.7% decrease. there are also fewer seminarians worldwide. according to the vatican numbers, there were 1.3% fewer men preparing for priesthood in 2022 than in 2021 (quiñones 2024). this decrease is most marked in europe, where there has been a noted vocations crisis since 2008. the number of seminarians decreased by 6% from 2021 to 2022. the number of seminarians also decreased in the americas by 3.2% and in asia by 1.2%. but africa saw a 2.1% increase in the number of seminarians, while oceania had a notable 1.3% increase. africa had the highest number of seminarians in 2022, at almost 35,000 men, while oceania had the least, at almost 1,000. asia and the americas had roughly 30,000 and 27,000 seminarians, respectively, while europe, which makes up about 10% of the world’s population, had only 14,461 seminarians. with the decline in the number of priests and religious, there has been a significant increase in the number of permanent deacons, increasing by 2% from 2021 to 2022. thus, while the global catholic church saw 142 fewer priests from 2021-2022, there are 974 more permanent deacons worldwide (quiñones 2024). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 5 regarding the number of professed religious men who are not priests, it has decreased by 360, from 49,774 in 2021 to 49,414 in 2022. while there are more religious women than priests by almost 50%, the number of religious women is also declining. according to the most recent data from 2021 to 2022, their numbers have declined by 1.6% , meaning that almost 10,000 fewer religious sisters worldwide. this decline is most prevalent in oceania, europe, and north america, where the number of women religious decreased by 3.6%, 3.5%, and 3% respectively. south and central america also saw a slight decrease of more than 2,000 religious women. this is, however, different in africa as there is a 1.7% increase (quiñones 2024). southeast asia’s numbers also reflects a small increase of 0.1%, implying about 200 more religious women. imperative for interventions the vocational crisis in the church has become a source for concern for the church as the increasing number of the lay faithful would ultimately need more pastoral care than before; and this calls for an urgent intervention. in this regard, this study proposes that insights from genesis 2:5 comes as handy and relevant tool for this urgent intervention. indeed, just as the rain, a divine gift, is withheld until there is someone to manage it, vocations are a sacred calling from god that require proper human stewardship. this partnership between divine provision and human responsibility highlights the need for active nurturing and management of vocations to address current challenges in the church. accordingly, the following exegetical study of gen 2:5 and its theological motifs are of great importance, serving as significant intervention in addressing the current vocation crisis. exegesis of genesis 2:5 english text of genesis 2:5: now no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up -for the lord god had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no man to till the ground genesis 2:5 provides a unique perspective on the relationship between divine action and human participation in creation. the verse depicts a primordial state where vegetation is absent due to lack of rain and human cultivation, setting the stage for god’s subsequent actions (westermann, 1994). this interplay between divine provision and human activity provides a apt theological framework for understanding god’s relationship with creation and humanity’s role within it. in the context of religious vocations, genesis 2:5 serves as a powerful metaphor, as the land awaits divine action (rain) and human participation (cultivation) to become fruitful. similarly, addressing the crisis may involve praying for vocations and cultivating an environment where they can be properly received, nurtured, and managed (topliss, (2017). a). historical and cultural context of gen 2:5 genesis 2:5 shares themes with ancient near eastern (ane) creation myths, reflecting cultural understandings of a primordial state. in the enuma elish babylonian myth describes a time when igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 6 only primordial waters existed, similar to the pre-vegetation state in genesis (dalley, 2000). egyptian accounts, heliopolitan creation myth, also begin with land emerging from waters, followed by vegetation (pinch, 2002). the sumerian myth of enki and ninhursag features a barren earth before divine intervention, paralleling genesis (kramer, 1963). these connections suggest genesis engages with common ane motifs while offering a unique theological view (walton, 2006). from the cultural viewpoint, agriculture was central to ancient israel, reliant on rain rather than rivers, unlike egypt. this is reflected in genesis 2:5’s emphasis on rain (borowski, 2009). in this connection, israel’s mediterranean climate, with its wet winters and dry summers, made rainfall crucial for crops (king & stager, 2001). terrace farming was labour-intensive, agreeing with the need for human cultivation mentioned in the verse (hopkins, 1985). the “bush of the field” likely refers to the crops grown in israel, such as grains and fruit trees (zohary et al., 2012). weather in the ane was often seen as divine action, evident in genesis 2:5’s mention of god withholding rain (klingbeil, 2014). this verse reflects the ane belief in the interconnectedness of rain, vegetation, and human labour (hiebert, 1996). water scarcity was significant in the region, and the absence of rain would resonate deeply with an ane audience (tsumura, 2005). the verse highlights the balance between divine provision and human effort in agriculture (borowski, 2009). understanding this context enhances our view of vocations, seeing them as a partnership between divine calling and human effort, much like the agricultural success of ancient israel depended on both rain and cultivation. genesis 2:5 underscores this divine-human collaboration, framing vocations as essential for community flourishing, just as rain and labour were vital for ancient agriculture. b). literary context of genesis 2:5 genesis 2:5, part of the second creation narrative (genesis 2:4b-25), offers a more intimate depiction of human creation than the cosmic view in genesis 1. often attributed to the yahwist (j) source, it emphasizes god’s anthropomorphic qualities and human relationships (wenham, 1987). the verse describes the pre-human conditions before the garden of eden, highlighting the interconnectedness of divine provision, human presence, and the flourishing of creation (alter, 2004). structured with two clauses explaining the absence of plants and rain, it underscores the interdependence of natural phenomena and human labour (cassuto, 1961). the verse serves both as myth and aetiology – symbolically explaining the human condition and illustrating the need for rain and labour for agricultural success (westermann, 1994). however, von rad (1972) argues these narratives provide deeper theological insights into divine-human relationships. there are also literary devices that significantly enhance the meaning and impact of genesis 2:5, namely: merism: where the phrase “bush of the field” and “small plant of the field” likely signifies a merism, a speech figure using two contrasting parts to represent a whole, emphasizing the completeness of the pre-creation state (sarna, 1989). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 7 anthropomorphism: describing god’s action of causing rain highlights his active role in creation, a characteristic of the divine source (brueggemann, 2010). foreshadowing: referring to the mention of rain and human cultivation foreshadows later themes in the narrative, including the establishment of the garden and human vocation as caretakers of creation (walton, 2001). these devices highlight the theological theme of cooperation between divine provision and human responsibility, which informs our understanding of religious vocations as a partnership between divine calling and human effort. c). content analysis of gen 2:5 the hebrew text of genesis 2:5 presents a rich mosaic of linguistic and theological insights relevant to the understanding of vocations. the verse begins with the terms sîªh and hassädè, referring to “shrub” and “of the field” respectively. interestingly, sîªh can also mean “meditation” or “contemplation” (brown-driver-briggs, 1906), suggesting an intertwining of the tangible and spiritual realms that resonates with the nature of religious vocations. the field (hassädè) represents the arena of human activity and divine provision (wenham, 1987), which in vocational terms could symbolize the “field” of ministry or religious life. the word †eºrem, meaning “not yet,” conveys a sense of anticipation and potentiality (koehler & baumgartner, 2001). this state of readiness for future growth can be applied to the nurturing of vocations, emphasizing the importance of preparation and expectation. the verb yicmäh (had sprung up), from the root ((camäh), is often used metaphorically for spiritual growth in biblical hebrew (brown-driverbriggs, 1906), providing a powerful image for the development of religious vocations. the causative form him†îr (had caused it to rain) emphasizes god’s active role in providing the necessary conditions for growth (waltke & o’connor, 1990). this underscores the divine initiative in the process of calling individuals to religious vocations, while also acknowledging the need for human participation. the divine name (yhwh elohim) combines god’s covenant relationship (yhwh) with his power as creator (elohim) (sarna, 1989), presenting a comprehensive view of god’s nature that is significant in understanding his role in vocations. the term ädäm while often translated as “man,” can refer to humanity in general (clines, 1993). in the context of vocations, it emphasizes the human element in cultivating what god provides. this is further elaborated by the verb (la`áböd), “to work” or “to serve,” which has a rich semantic range including both physical labour and spiritual service (brown-driver-briggs, 1906). this dual meaning beautifully encapsulates the nature of religious vocations as both work and worship. finally, the wordplay between ädäm (man) and ´ádämâ (ground) emphasizes humanity’s connection to the earth (alter, 2004). in the context of vocations, this could symbolize the grounded, incarnational nature of religious life, balancing the spiritual call with practical, earthly service. this linguistic analysis reveals several themes relevant to vocations: the interplay between divine initiative and human response, the concept of potentiality and growth, the holistic nature of religious service, the balance between rootedness and transcendence, and an ecological model of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 8 interdependence. these insights provide a rich foundation for exploring the nature and nurture of religious vocations through the lens of genesis 2:5, offering new perspectives on addressing the vocations crisis and managing religious vocations in contemporary contexts. theological motifs of vocation in gen 2:5 genesis 2:5 presents a nuanced view of god as both creator and provider, which has significant implications for our understanding of vocations. the verse implicitly acknowledges god’s role as the ultimate source of creation, particularly in the phrase “the lord god had not caused it to rain” (fretheim, 2005). this emphasizes god’s sovereignty over natural processes, which can be paralleled with god’s role in initiating vocations. the lack of rain is not presented as an oversight, but as an intentional withholding until the appropriate time. this suggests a god who provides with purpose and wisdom (brueggemann, 2010). in the context of vocations, this can be understood as god providing calls to religious life at appropriate times and in appropriate measures. the state described in genesis 2:5 is one of incompleteness, awaiting further divine action. this presents creation as an ongoing process rather than a one-time event (von rad, 1972). similarly, the church can view the calling and nurturing of vocations as an ongoing, dynamic process. a key theological insight from genesis 2:5 is the interplay between divine action and human activity. the verse presents rain (divine action) and human cultivation as complementary necessities for vegetation to flourish. this suggests a model of divine-human cooperation rather than either divine determinism or human autonomy (westermann, 1994). while highlighting human dependence on divine provision (rain), the verse also affirms human dignity by presenting human activity as necessary for creation’s flourishing (middleton, 2005). this balance is crucial in understanding vocations as both divine gift and human responsibility. the mention of “no man to work the ground” suggests that god creates in anticipation of human participation. this can be seen as a theological foundation for understanding vocations as part of god’s creative and redemptive plan for humanity (walton, 2001). the specific mention of rain and vegetation in genesis 2:5 carries rich theological symbolism. in the arid climate of the ancient near east, rain was often seen as a sign of divine favour. its absence in genesis 2:5 creates a tension that anticipates god’s providential action (tsumura, 2005). this can be paralleled with the understanding of vocations as a form of divine blessing upon the church. the absence of vegetation represents an incompleteness in creation. its eventual appearance signifies the fulfilment of god’s creative purpose (wenham, 1987). similarly, vocations can be seen as essential for the fullness and fruitfulness of the church. the interconnection between rain, soil, vegetation, and human activity presents a theology of ecological interdependence (habel, 2000). this can inform our understanding of vocations as integrally connected to the overall health and mission of the church. the emphasis on material elements (water, soil, plants) as vehicles of divine action suggests a sacramental view of creation (edwards, 2006). this resonates with the catholic understanding of vocations as tangible manifestations of god’s call and grace. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 9 these theological insights from genesis 2:5 provide a rich foundation for understanding the nature of religious vocations. vocations, like rain, can be seen as divine gifts, provided by god in his wisdom and timing. the flourishing of vocations, like the growth of vegetation, requires both divine initiative and human response and nurture. the current vocations crisis might be viewed not merely as a shortage, but as a call to prepare the ground – creating environments where vocations can be recognized, nurtured, and flourish. the interdependence suggested in the verse encourages a holistic approach to vocation promotion and management, recognizing it as integral to the overall health of the church ecosystem. this theological analysis of genesis 2:5 offers a biblical paradigm for addressing the vocations crisis. it suggests that effective management of religious vocations involves not only praying for more vocations (asking for ‘rain’) but also cultivating an environment (preparing the ‘ground’) where vocations can be properly received, nurtured, and flourish. management of religious vocations: implementation of insights from genesis 2:5 the study of genesis 2:5 offers a fresh perspective on the current vocations crisis in the catholic church, reframing it as a phase in god’s ongoing creative work that invites human participation (westermann, 1994). this approach balances trust in god’s timing with active preparation for vocations (owens, 2018), shifting from a crisis mentality to hopeful preparation (bevans & schroeder, 2004). the genesis 2:5 model emphasizes that vocations are part of a broader “ecosystem” of faith, church, and society, reflecting ecological interdependence (habel, 2000). it calls for a comprehensive approach encompassing various forms of consecrated life and ministries (o’murchu, 2014), with vocation directors seen as cultivators (jamison, 2013). current practices often focus on prayer for vocations and increasing numbers, potentially neglecting the creation of fertile environments for vocations to flourish (owens, 2012). improvements should include developing a more holistic approach to formation, shifting focus from recruitment to cultivation, balancing divine and human elements, creating a pervasive culture of vocation, adopting an ecological model, and embracing divine timing (rossetti, 2011). by implementing the following discussions on these themes, therefore, the church can move towards a more effective and theologically grounded approach to managing religious vocations, addressing the current crisis while preparing for a fruitful future. i. cultivating a culture of vocations the concept of “preparing the ground” for vocations, as inspired by the genesis 2:5 model, involves creating an environment where vocations can flourish. this preparation is not just the responsibility of church leaders or vocation directors, but involves the entire faith community. by cultivating a culture of vocations, we create fertile soil where god’s call can be heard, discerned, and nurtured. families play a crucial role in cultivating a culture of vocations. as the primary site of faith formation, families are often where the seeds of vocation are first planted (john paul ii, 1981). parents who live out their own vocations with joy and commitment provide powerful examples for their children. they can foster an atmosphere of openness to god’s call by igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 10 encouraging prayer, discussing vocations, and supporting their children’s spiritual growth (jamison, 2013). communities, including parishes and schools, also play a vital role in nurturing vocations. they can provide exposure to various forms of consecrated life and ministries, offering young people a broader understanding of vocation. parishes can create “vocation-friendly” environments by regularly praying for vocations, inviting religious and priests to share their stories, and providing opportunities for service and leadership(mokone & pali, 2022). spiritual formation is fundamental in cultivating a culture of vocations. it helps individuals develop a personal relationship with god, which is essential for hearing and responding to his call. rossetti (2011) emphasizes the importance of prayer, particularly contemplative prayer, in discerning one’s vocation. regular engagement with scripture, participation in the sacraments, and spiritual direction can all contribute to deepening one’s spiritual life and openness to god’s call. formation programs should aim to develop not just knowledge of the faith, but also spiritual maturity and a sense of mission. o’murchu (2014) argues for a holistic approach to formation that integrates psychological, social, and spiritual dimensions. this comprehensive formation can help individuals better understand themselves and their place in god’s plan, making them more receptive to vocational discernment. creating environments conducive to vocations involves more than just talking about vocations; it requires promoting a culture where faith is lived out authentically and joyfully. owens (2012) suggests that such environments are characterized by a strong sense of community, opportunities for meaningful service, and a focus on personal growth and discernment. silence and reflection are also crucial elements of a vocation-friendly environment. in our noisy, fast-paced world, creating spaces for quiet reflection can help individuals hear god’s voice more clearly. retreats, days of recollection, and guided meditation can all contribute to this (jamison, 2013). moreover, fostering a culture of vocations means challenging the prevailing cultural narratives that may discourage religious vocations. this involves presenting consecrated life and priesthood as viable and fulfilling life choices, countering negative stereotypes, and highlighting the joy and purpose found in these vocations (mokone & pali, 2022). technology and social media can also play a role in creating environments conducive to vocations. while they can be sources of distraction, when used thoughtfully, they can also be powerful tools for outreach, education, and community-building around vocations (rossetti, 2011). by and large, cultivating a culture of vocations requires a multi-faceted approach that involves families, communities, spiritual formation, and the creation of supportive environments. by “preparing the ground” in this way, we create fertile soil where vocations can take root and flourish, responding to the vocations crisis with hope and active participation in god’s ongoing creative work. ii. the church’s role in vocation management church leadership plays a crucial role in fostering vocations. bishops, priests, and religious superiors have a responsibility to create an environment where vocations can flourish. pope francis (2014) emphasizes that leaders must be “protectors of vocations,” nurturing and guiding igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 11 those who feel called to religious life or priesthood. this involves not only promoting vocations but also addressing obstacles that may discourage individuals from pursuing their calling. leaders are called to be living witnesses of the joy and fulfilment found in religious life and priesthood. their example can be a powerful catalyst for vocations. as rossetti (2011) notes, “the best vocation program is a joyful priest.” church leaders also have a responsibility to ensure that their communities are welcoming and supportive of those discerning a vocation, creating what jamison (2013) calls a “culture of vocation.” formation programs are essential in preparing individuals for religious life and priesthood. however, their effectiveness has been a subject of debate in recent years. for example, many traditional formation programs may not adequately prepare individuals for the challenges of contemporary ministry and religious life. effective formation programs should balance spiritual development with practical skills, psychological maturity, and a deep understanding of contemporary culture. owens (2018) suggests that formation should be seen as a lifelong process, not just a preparatory phase. this approach aligns with the genesis 2:5 model, which emphasizes ongoing cultivation. the effectiveness of formation programs can be enhanced by incorporating elements of mentorship, real-world ministry experience, and opportunities for deep personal reflection. regular evaluation and adaptation of these programs are necessary to ensure they remain relevant and effective in nurturing vocations (mokone & pali, 2022). iii. balancing divine initiative and human effort the genesis 2:5 model emphasizes the interplay between divine action (rain) and human cultivation. in vocation management, this translates to balancing trust in god’s initiative with active human effort. while recognizing that vocations are ultimately a gift from god, the church must also take concrete steps to create an environment where these vocations can flourish. this balance involves maintaining a strong emphasis on prayer and spiritual discernment while also implementing practical strategies for vocation promotion and support. as bevans and schroeder (2004) note, this approach recognizes both the “already” of god’s action and the “not yet” that requires human participation. iv. implications for vocation directors and formators the genesis 2:5 model suggests a shift in approach for vocation directors and formators, moving from a focus on recruitment to an emphasis on preparation. rather than simply trying to increase numbers, the priority becomes creating fertile ground where vocations can naturally emerge and grow. this shift involves a more holistic approach to vocation ministry. vocation directors should focus on fostering a culture of vocation within their communities, helping individuals discern god’s call in their lives, whether that leads to religious life, priesthood, or another form of christian service. as jamison (2013) suggests, this approach sees vocation directors as “cultivators” rather than “recruiters.” to implement this new approach, vocation directors and formators need to develop a range of skills. these include spiritual direction, counselling, and the ability to create and implement formation programs that address the whole person. mokone & pali (2022) emphasise the importance of cultural competence, as vocation directors must be able to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 12 relate to and guide individuals from diverse backgrounds. additionally, skills in community building, conflict resolution, and pastoral care are crucial. vocation directors should also be adept at using modern communication tools and social media to reach potential candidates and create supportive networks (rossetti, 2011). the genesis 2:5 model, with its emphasis on divine timing, calls for patience and trust in god’s providence. vocation directors and formators must resist the pressure to produce immediate results and instead focus on long-term cultivation. this patience should be balanced with active preparation, creating environments where vocations can flourish when the time is right. as owens (2018) notes, this approach requires a deep trust in god’s plan and timing, even in the face of apparent shortages or crises. by and large, the genesis 2:5 model offers a timeless principle of divine-human cooperation that can be fruitfully applied to various contexts, including vocation management. moreover, this approach aligns with the catholic tradition of reading scripture in light of current realities, what is often called the “hermeneutical circle” (bevans & schroeder, 2004). it demonstrates the ongoing relevance and applicability of biblical wisdom to contemporary church life and ministry. recommendations i. church communities, including families and parishes, must create environments that nurture vocations. this can involve encouraging prayer, providing opportunities for youth to engage with religious life, and promoting a culture where consecrated life is viewed as a viable and fulfilling vocation. ii. formation programs for seminarians and religious should be holistic, integrating spiritual, psychological, and social dimensions to prepare candidates for contemporary ministry challenges. this includes ongoing mentorship and real-world ministry experience. iii. vocation directors should shift their focus from recruitment to cultivation. they must act as “cultivators” by preparing the ground for vocations to emerge, creating spaces for discernment and spiritual growth, and using modern communication tools to engage with potential candidates. iv. while active steps are essential, vocation promotion should be rooted in trust in god’s providence. prayer for vocations remains vital, but this must be paired with patient, long-term strategies that respect divine timing and readiness for new growth in vocations. conclusion the vocational crisis within the catholic church calls for a reimagined approach to vocation management, grounded in both theological insight and practical action. the decline in religious vocations, particularly in western countries, highlights the urgent need for new strategies that address both the spiritual and practical dimensions of promotion of vocations. genesis 2:5 provides a meaningful framework for understanding the delicate balance between divine calling and human igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 13 responsibility in nurturing religious vocations. like the earth awaiting rain and human cultivation, vocations require both divine grace and active human effort to thrive. this theological model emphasizes that while prayer and reliance on god’s providence are essential, they must be paired with concrete efforts to create environments conducive to discernment and growth. by promoting a culture that emphasizes prayer, formation, and active stewardship, the church can better prepare the “soil” for vocations to flourish. this preparation involves the entire faith community—families, parishes, schools, and leaders—working together to create spaces where god’s call can be heard and nurtured. additionally, more holistic formation programs that address the spiritual, psychological, and social dimensions of religious life are essential in equipping individuals for the challenges of modern ministry. this approach offers hope and an opportunity to shift from a crisis mentality to one of trustful preparation, ensuring that when god’s call comes, the church is ready to respond with fertile, well-prepared hearts and communities. the genesis 2:5 model reminds the church that vocations, like crops, are part of an ongoing process of growth, requiring patience, cultivation, and divine timing. by embracing this perspective, the church can move beyond short-term concerns and focus on long-term, sustainable solutions to the vocational crisis. references alter, r. (2004). the five books of moses: a translation with commentary. w.w. norton & company. bevans, s. b., & schroeder, r. p. (2004). constants in context: a theology of mission for today. orbis books. borowski, o. (2009). agriculture in iron age israel. pennsylvania state university press, topliss, j. (2017). “mentoring beginning teachers in catholic schools in western australia: an exploratory study,” journal of philosophy in schools 7(1). 101-131. brown, f., driver, s. r., & briggs, c. a. (1906). a hebrew and english lexicon of the old testament. houghton, mifflin and company. brueggemann, w. (2010). genesis: interpretation: a bible commentary for teaching and preaching. westminster john knox press. cassuto, u. (1961). a commentary on the book of genesis: part i, from adam to noah. magnes press, hebrew university. catechism of the catholic church. 2nd ed. huntingdon, pa: our sunday visitor. clines, d. j. a. (ed.). (1993). the dictionary of classical hebrew. sheffield academic press. dalley, s. (2000). myths from mesopotamia: creation, the flood, gilgamesh, and others. oxford university press. edwards, d. (2006). ecology at the heart of faith. orbis books. francis, pope. (2014). message for the 51st world day of prayer for vocations. vatican city: libreria editrice vaticana. fretheim, t. e. (2005). god and world in the old testament: a relational theology of creation. abingdon press. habel, n. c. (2000). readings from the perspective of earth. sheffield academic press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 14 habel, n. c. (2000). the earth story in genesis. sheffield academic press. hahn, s., & mitch, c. (2017). the ignatius catholic study bible: genesis. ignatius press. hiebert, t. (1996). the yahwist’s landscape: nature and religion in early israel. oxford university press. hopkins, d. c. (1985). the highlands of canaan: agricultural life in the early iron age. almond press. jamison, c. (2010). finding sanctuary: monastic steps for everyday life. liturgical press. john paul ii. (1981). familiaris consortio: the role of the christian family in the modern world. vatican city: libreria editrice vaticana. john paul ii. (1996). vita consecrata: post-synodal apostolic exhortation. vatican press. kanu, i. a. (2011). “a review of consecrated: a vision of the religious life from the viewpoint of the sacred”. mary sylvia nwachukwu (author). african journal of contextual theology. 3: 161-163. kanu, i. a. (2015). “africae munus and consecrated persons”. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. 11: 3-14. kanu, i. a. (2015). “consecrated persons as agents of pastoral care of the family”. joras: nigerian journal of religion and society. 5: 74-84. kanu, i. a. (2015). “quitte ton pays: on consecrated persons and the challenges of family obligations in contemporary africa”. jos studies. 23: 45-57. kanu, i. a. (2016). “miserando atque eligendo: the consecrated life as a mission of mercy”. international journal of humanities and social sciences.7(5) 92-100. kanu, i. a. (2016). “the concept of family as the contribution of africa to the consecrated life”. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. 12: 31-40. kanu, i. a. (2018). “consecrated persons and collaborative ministry”. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. 14: 126-135. kanu, i. a. (2018). “obedience and discernment in the life of consecrated persons”. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities (iaajah). 4(5) 35-43. kanu, i. a. (2019). “collaboration within the ecology of mission: an african cultural perspective”. the catholic voyage: journal of consecrated life in africa. 15: 125-149. kanu, i. a. (2024). “the inculturation of consecrated life in africa: towards a logic for promoting indigenous gifts of fidelity”. the catholic voyage: african journal of consecrated life. 21(1) 245-265. king, p. j., & stager, l. e. (2001). life in biblical israel. westminster john knox press. klingbeil, g. a. (2014). “he spoke and it was”: human language, divine creation, and the imago dei. horizons in biblical theology, 36(1), 42-59. koehler, l., & baumgartner, w. (2001). the hebrew and aramaic lexicon of the old testament (2nd ed.). brill. kramer, s. n. (1963). the sumerians: their history, culture, and character. university of chicago press. middleton, j. r. (2005). the liberating image: the imago dei in genesis 1. brazos press. mokone, p. c., & pali, k. j. (2022). the significance of integration of families of seminarians in the roman catholic ministerial formation in south africa. pharos journal of theology, 103, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.46222/pharosjot.10342 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 4, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 15 o’murchu, d. (2016). religious life in the 21st century: the prospect of refounding. orbis books. owens, l. r. (2012). abba, give me a word: the path of spiritual direction. paraclete press. pinch, g. (2002). egyptian mythology: a guide to the gods, goddesses, and traditions of ancient egypt. oxford university press. pope francis. 2016. vultum dei quaerere. rome: libreria editrice vaticana pope john paul ii (1992). “pastores dabo vobis”. rome: libreria editrice vaticana pope paul vi (1964). lumen gentium. rome: libreria editrice vaticana pope paul vi (1965). perfectae caritatis. (decree on the adaptation and renewal of religious life). rome: libreria editrice vaticana pope paul vi (1967). “sacerdotalis caelibatus”. rome: libreria editrice vaticana quiñones kate (2024). the catholic church by the numbers: more catholics but fewer vocations. https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-bd&q=the+catholic+church+by+the+numbers%3a+more+catholics+but+fewer+vo cations rossetti, s. j. (2011). why are priests happy: a study of the psychological and spiritual health of priests. ave maria press. sarna, n. m. (1989). the jps torah commentary: genesis. the jewish publication society. tsumura, d. t. (2005). creation and destruction: a reappraisal of the chaoskampf theory in the old testament. eisenbrauns. von rad, g. (1972). genesis: a commentary. westminster press. walsh, j. t. (2001). style and structure in biblical hebrew narrative. liturgical press. waltke, b. k., & o’connor, m. (1990). an introduction to biblical hebrew syntax. eisenbrauns. walton, j. h. (2001). genesis: the niv application commentary. zondervan. walton, j. h. (2006). ancient near eastern thought and the old testament: introducing the conceptual world of the hebrew bible. baker academic. wenham, g. j. (1987). genesis 1-15 (word biblical commentary, vol. 1). word books. westermann, c. (1994). genesis 1-11: a continental commentary. fortress press. zohary, d., hopf, m., & weiss, e. (2012). domestication of plants in the old world: the origin and spread of domesticated plants in southwest asia, europe, and the mediterranean basin. oxford university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 83 the land question: a philosophical examination of indigeneship and settlership concepts in nigeria amos francis dike, phd paamosdike@gmail.com; https://orcid.org/0009-0005-1291-2319 & michael enyinwa okoronkwo, phd national open university of nigeria, abuja meokoronkwo@noun.edu.ng; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6628-4400 & dike, uzoma amos, phd national open university of nigeria, abuja https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7621-4011; udike@noun.edu.ng abstract while the issue of land ownership and access in nigeria has long been recognized as a site of historical, political, and socio-cultural contestation, most existing studies approach the problem from legal, anthropological, or political science perspectives, often emphasizing institutional reforms, state policies, or conflict resolution mechanisms. however, fewer studies have undertaken a sustained philosophical inquiry into the normative assumptions that underlie the indigene-settler dichotomy and its ethical implications for citizenship, justice, and national integration. this research fills that critical gap by offering a rigorous philosophical interrogation of the conceptual foundations of indigeneship and settlership as they relate to the land question in nigeria. unlike earlier works that primarily describe the effects of land disputes or recommend administrative solutions, this study focuses on the ontological and epistemological dimensions of land-related identity claims. it asks: what are the deeper philosophical presuppositions embedded in the categorization of individuals as “indigenes” or “settlers”? in what ways do these categorizations obscure or distort the principles of justice and equal moral worth? and what ethical framework can reorient land governance toward greater inclusion and equity? drawing on analytic and hermeneutic philosophical methods, this study critiques exclusionary narratives by examining legal discourses, historical memory, and contemporary policies through the lenses of theories of justice, identity recognition, and communal rights. its distinctive contribution lies in reframing the land debate not merely as a conflict management issue but as a philosophical and ethical problem that requires normative rethinking. the findings suggest that the indigene-settler dichotomy, when used to determine access to land and rights, is ethically indefensible in a pluralistic society. the study contributes to the literature by arguing for a paradigmatic shift from origin-based entitlement to residencebased citizenship, offering a more just and sustainable framework for coexistence. this normative redirection represents a departure from procedural or policy-based approaches, positioning the study as an important intervention in both the academic discourse and public policy debates surrounding land, identity, and justice in nigeria. keywords: land ownership, indigeneship, settlership, citizenship, national integration. introduction the question of land ownership and access in nigeria continues to dominate debates within policy, legal, and socio-political scholarship due to its complex entanglement with issues of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 84 identity, legitimacy, and justice. scholars across disciplines, especially political science, law, history, and anthropology, have extensively examined how land serves as a critical site of struggle for power, belonging, and recognition (okoth-ogendo, 2008; ukaegbu, 1975). these studies largely interpret land as both an economic and symbolic resource, whose control reflects entrenched hierarchies of cultural legitimacy and political authority. most notably, research has explored how colonial and postcolonial state structures have institutionalized differential access to land, deepening marginalization along ethnic and regional lines. a recurrent motif in this literature is the binary distinction between “indigenes” and “settlers”, a framework often accepted as an analytical given rather than critically interrogated in its normative foundations. studies by suberu (2001), osaghae and suberu (2005), and ibrahim (2000), for instance, illuminate how this dichotomy has shaped federalism, electoral politics, and social exclusion in nigeria. while these works document the socio-political effects of indigeneity laws and settler discrimination, they rarely question the ethical validity or philosophical coherence of these categories themselves. consequently, the deeper conceptual grammar and ontological violence of indigene-settler classification remain largely unexplored. furthermore, much of the existing scholarship leans towards policy-driven solutions such as constitutional reform, decentralization, or conflict resolution mechanisms. these approaches, while useful, often operate within the same conceptual framework they seek to reform and thus fall short of addressing the deeper normative contradictions embedded in land governance practices. in this respect, the current literature exhibits a structural blind spot: a failure to subject the very categories of indigeneship and settlership to philosophical scrutiny, and to evaluate them in light of justice, equality, and the moral integrity of citizenship. this study directly addresses that omission by shifting the focus from institutional analysis to philosophical critique. it is premised on the conviction that the indigene-settler dichotomy, as it currently operates in nigeria, is not merely a socio-political problem but a fundamentally flawed normative construction. by interrogating the ontological assumptions and epistemological biases that sustain exclusionary claims to land, this research breaks with descriptive or reformist paradigms and inaugurates a new ethical discourse on land, identity, and citizenship in nigeria. the core research questions guiding this philosophical intervention are as follows: what metaphysical and normative assumptions underpin the indigene/settler distinction? in what ways does this distinction violate principles of equal moral worth and democratic inclusion? and what ethical framework can ground a more just model of land ownership and access in a plural society? to answer these questions, the study employs both analytic and hermeneutic philosophical methods. the analytic approach facilitates a precise conceptual dissection of terms such as "indigeneship," "citizenship," and "national integration," while the hermeneutic approach enables a critical interpretation of legal texts, historical narratives, and policy frameworks. together, these methods expose the deep-seated ideological structures that reproduce spatial exclusion and social hierarchies. this research draws theoretically from the works of rawls (1971) and sen (2009) on justice, taylor (1994) on identity and recognition, and wiredu (1996) on communal rights in african thought, yet it goes beyond them by situating these theories in the specific context of nigeria's fraught land politics. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 85 the originality of this study lies in its insistence that land-related exclusion in nigeria cannot be adequately addressed without dismantling the inherited epistemologies that legitimize belonging through ancestry and origin. in this regard, the research critiques the very structure of prevailing discourses on land and identity, exposing their complicity in the reproduction of injustice. it argues for a radical normative reorientation: one that replaces origin-based entitlement with residence-based rights, grounded in shared civic participation and contribution rather than inherited status. this shift is not merely pragmatic; it is ethically imperative. by centering justice, moral equality, and inclusive citizenship, the study contributes to a new scholarship that not only critiques existing frameworks but also lays the foundation for a transformative ethical vision of land governance in nigeria. it marks a departure from inherited paradigms and opens a space for reimagining citizenship beyond the limitations of ethnoregional particularism. conceptual clarification this study is anchored on the critical interrogation of the indigeneship-settlership binary as a philosophical problem that distorts the normative foundations of justice, citizenship, and land governance in nigeria. dominant legal and political frameworks tend to treat this binary as a fixed socio-political reality, often rooted in colonial administrative categories and postcolonial identity politics (osaghae & suberu, 2005). however, this research departs from such functionalist and positivist approaches by problematizing the very concepts of "indigene" and "settler" through a philosophical lens, thereby exposing their ontological instability and ethical indefensibility. the framework also employs analytic philosophy to clarify key terms (e.g., “indigeneship,” “settlership”, “citizenship,” “land owner”) and hermeneutics to interpret historical and legal narratives that sustain exclusionary ideologies (gadamer, 1975). by synthesizing these approaches, the study advances a normative shift from ancestral entitlement to civic inclusion, thereby offering a reconceptualization of land governance rooted in ethical pluralism and democratic equality. this study rests on the critical interrogation of four interrelated concepts, indigeneship, settlership, citizenship, and justice, which have been central to the politics of land and belonging in nigeria. these concepts are often treated as legal or administrative categories, but this work adopts a philosophical approach that foregrounds their ontological instability, epistemic contestability, and normative implications. a. indigeneship indigeneship is typically constructed as a historical claim to a territory based on ancestral origins and cultural continuity (smith, 1999). in the nigerian context, it has been codified in legal and policy frameworks that confer privileged access to land, education, employment, and political office to those recognized as “indigenes” of a locality (suberu, 2001). this research critiques indigeneity as a political artifact that essentializes identity and institutionalizes exclusion (osaghae, 2006). drawing on taylor’s (1994) theory of recognition, the study argues that grounding belonging in origin rather than participation undermines moral equality and democratic inclusiveness. the concept is thus interrogated as a normative failure that justifies unjust hierarchies under the guise of cultural preservation. b. settlership igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 86 settlership denotes the imposed status of individuals or groups perceived as “non-indigenes” or “strangers,” regardless of their duration of residence or socio-economic contributions. it is a category of exclusion that reinforces permanent outsiderhood (ibrahim, 2006). this study challenges the moral legitimacy of settlership by drawing on young’s (1990) critique of structural inequality. it shows how settlership functions as a mechanism of civic disempowerment, systematically denying individuals access to land rights and political participation. the work builds on akinola’s (2011) analysis of internal citizenship stratification in nigeria, but goes further to propose a philosophical basis for residence-based belonging rooted in civic engagement and relational embeddedness. c. citizenship citizenship, in liberal theory, entails equal membership in a political community with rights, responsibilities, and recognition (marshall, 1950). in nigeria, however, citizenship is paradoxically fragmented by local indigene/settler distinctions that negate the constitutional promise of national unity (ekeh, 1975). this research highlights the internal contradiction between nigeria’s formal citizenship framework and the actual practices of local exclusion. drawing from benhabib’s (2004) argument on democratic iterations, it calls for a reimagining of citizenship as practice-based rather than origin-based, anchored in lived contribution, not ethnic inheritance. this reconceptualization aims to restore the integrity of citizenship as a moral and political ideal. d. justice justice, understood through rawls’ (1971) justice as fairness and sen’s (2009) capability approach, entails the equal moral worth of persons and the dismantling of systemic disadvantages. justice goes beyond procedural equity to demand the transformation of institutional structures that sustain exclusion. this research positions justice as the normative lens through which land governance and identity politics must be evaluated. it critiques the indigene/settler binary as a violation of distributive and recognitional justice, and offers an ethical model grounded in territorial personhood, a novel concept developed in this study. territorial personhood holds that residency, participation, and relational embeddedness in a community, not ancestry should confer moral and political legitimacy to land claims. by conceptually destabilizing indigeneity and settlership and philosophically re-grounding citizenship and justice, this study introduces a normative shift in the land question discourse. it critiques the prevailing literature for reproducing ethno-legal assumptions and offers a new framework, territorial personhood that reimagines land rights through the lens of ethical inclusion and civic presence. this marks a departure from existing scholarship (e.g., suberu 2001; egwu 2006) by treating identity categories not as empirical givens, but as moral and political constructions open to normative revision. theoretical framework this study adopts a normative philosophical approach that draws critically from theories of justice, recognition, and identity to interrogate the ethical and ontological foundations of the indigene/settler dichotomy in nigeria. while prior studies have largely approached this binary through empirical, legalistic, or political science lenses (suberu, 2001; egwu, 2006; osaghae, 2006), this research departs by reframing the dichotomy as a moral-philosophical problem igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 87 concerning exclusion, recognition, and structural injustice. this framework draws on three overlapping but underutilized philosophical traditions: a. theories of justice and recognition – drawing from rawls’ (1971) concept of justice as fairness and taylor’s (1994) theory of recognition, the study posits that any system that denies equal moral worth based on ancestry violates the principles of liberal justice and democratic equality. these traditions critique origin-based entitlement as exclusionary and morally arbitrary. b. communal rights and african political philosophy – wiredu’s (1996) articulation of consensual communalism in traditional african societies is mobilized to argue that land rights, though often collective, must be ethically inclusive, especially in multiethnic urban contexts. communal belonging should be rooted in participation and contribution, not ethnic heritage. c. territorial personhood (original contribution) – this study introduces the concept of territorial personhood as a normative innovation. territorial personhood suggests that individuals develop legitimate moral claims to land and political rights not through ancestral origin but through lived experience, contribution, and relational embeddedness within a community over time. this reframing, challenges static identity categories and foregrounds residence-based belonging as ethically superior to inherited territorial claims. 1. rawls’ theory of justice as fairness john rawls’ (1971) theory of justice provides a foundational lens for assessing the fairness of institutional arrangements. his principles, especially the difference principle and the veil of ignorance, demand that social advantages not be allocated based on morally arbitrary factors such as birth or ethnic origin. this research uses rawls not to prescribe distributive formulas, as many previous studies do, but to critique the moral illegitimacy of ancestry-based entitlements to land. it argues that the indigene/settler distinction violates rawlsian fairness by basing political and economic access on inherited identity rather than civic contribution or need. unlike prior studies that only invoke rawls in the context of federal resource allocation (e.g., suberu, 2001), this work applies rawls to the ontological status of identity itself as a basis for justice. 2. sen’s capability approach amartya sen (2009) redefines justice not merely as ideal distribution, but as the removal of “unfreedoms” that prevent individuals from achieving well-being. justice here involves enhancing real freedoms and participatory agency. the study applies sen’s emphasis on freedom and agency to the settler condition in nigeria. it critiques how being labelled a “settler” systematically constrains individuals’ capabilities to access land, political participation, and social recognition. in contrast to existing uses of sen in development ethics, this study uses his theory to re-politicize the ethics of identity-based exclusion in land governance. it pushes the capability approach toward a critique of state-sanctioned categories that undermine human dignity. 3. charles taylor’s theory of recognition taylor (1994) posits that identity is formed dialogically and that denial of recognition is a form of harm. political structures that institutionalize misrecognition or nonrecognition inflict moral igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 88 injury and social fragmentation. this work uses taylor to critique the ontological violence inherent in labelling long-term residents as “settlers.” unlike other studies that focus on ethnic accommodation or multiculturalism, this research advances taylor’s theory by arguing that recognition must shift from heritage-based inclusion to residence-based belonging. it thus reconfigures recognition not merely as cultural validation but as a material right to land, voice, and status in political communities. 4. iris marion young’s structural injustice young (1990) introduces the concept of structural injustice, harms that result not from individual wrongdoing but from the normal operation of social institutions. she emphasizes relational responsibility for correcting systemic exclusions. this study deploys young’s framework to show how indigeneity functions as a normative structure of exclusion. it extends her work by localizing structural injustice within african postcolonial legal systems. whereas other studies tend to analyze ethnic conflict as a clash of interests, this research reframes it as a conflict of moral orders, sustained by structurally unjust categorizations. 5. wiredu’s communitarian ethics kwasi wiredu (1996) defends a non-ethnocentric conception of personhood rooted in participation and communal recognition rather than ethnic origin. his african communitarian ethics emphasize belonging through moral agency. this study innovatively applies wiredu’s ethics to argue that community membership, and by extension land rights, should be based on civic embeddedness, not ancestry. this african philosophical framework supports the paper’s original concept of “territorial personhood,” which critiques inherited belonging and affirms participatory inclusion. unlike existing literature that applies political theory to advocate for federalism or conflict management (suberu, 2001; egwu, 2006), this study uses moral and political philosophy to deconstruct the very foundations of identity-based exclusion in land rights. it introduces territorial personhood as a new normative category, proposing a framework where access to land and public goods is grounded in residency, contribution, and civic presence, not inherited ethnicity. this way, this theoretical move marks a significant departure from previous studies and creates a new discourse on justice, identity, and land in plural societies grounded in philosophical ethics rather than in ethno-political calculation. land ownership in the judeo-christian concept: a philosophical reflection the judeo-christian worldview presents a foundationally theocentric understanding of land ownership that contrasts sharply with modern notions of absolute private or ancestral claims. in this tradition, land is ultimately not owned by humans but held in trust under divine sovereignty. the hebrew bible (old testament) is unequivocal in affirming that god is the ultimate owner of the land. leviticus 25:23 declares: “the land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine; with me you are but aliens and tenants.” this verse captures the central idea that humans are stewards, not proprietors. land rights are conditional and temporal, granted for use but not as inalienable, hereditary property. the israelites’ relationship to land is thus covenantal, predicated on obedience and communal responsibility (wright, 2004). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 89 the biblical land ethic integrates justice and equity. the jubilee laws (leviticus 25) mandate the return of land to original families every 50 years, preventing land monopolization and ensuring intergenerational equity (brueggemann, 1977). land is distributed not on the basis of conquest or ancestry alone, but within a structure that periodically resets economic imbalance. this vision of distributive justice contradicts systems in which land becomes a means of permanent exclusion based on origin, as seen in nigeria’s indigene-settler dichotomy. the judeo-christian tradition contains strong ethical mandates toward foreigners and nonindigenes. exodus 22:21 instructs: “do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in egypt.” this principle challenges ethnic exclusivism in land rights. strangers residing in israel were to be treated justly, share in the harvest, and, in some cases, receive land inheritance (ezekiel 47:22-23). the biblical ethic upholds residence and participation over ancestral purity as the basis of inclusion (deuteronomy 10:19). in the context of nigeria’s land question, the judeo-christian tradition undermines the moral legitimacy of land exclusion based on indigeneship. the concept of land as divine trust implies that no group can claim exclusive, eternal rights based on “first settlement.” moreover, the ethos of hospitality, periodic redistribution, and inclusive belonging challenges the philosophical justifiability of treating “settlers” as second-class citizens. this theological ethic aligns with philosophical theories of justice and recognition (rawls, taylor, sen) that undergird this research, reinforcing the claim that origin-based land entitlement is normatively untenable. land in the judeo-christian view is a gift entrusted to all for mutual flourishing, not a weapon for exclusion. by framing land through the lenses of divine ownership, stewardship, justice, and inclusive community, this tradition offers a robust ethical critique of nigeria’s contemporary land conflicts. it supports this research’s call for a residence-based model of land access and citizenship, anchored not in heritage but in participation, presence, and shared moral obligation. land ownership in traditional african societies: the igbo, yoruba, and hausa contexts land in traditional african thought is not merely an economic resource but a spiritual, ancestral, and communal asset. across precolonial nigerian societies, including the igbo, yoruba, and hausa, land was deeply embedded in kinship systems, cosmology, and communal identity, shaping both social organization and access to power. however, despite variations, one feature is consistent: land was not privately owned in the western individualistic sense; rather, it was owned corporately and held in trust for future generations (okoth-ogendo, 2008). i. igbo conception of land ownership among the igbo people, land (ala) holds a central and sacrosanct place in the cultural, spiritual, and socio-political life of the community. it is not merely a physical asset or economic resource but is deeply embedded in cosmology and identity. land is personified and deified as ala, the earth goddess, who governs morality, fertility, and communal wellbeing. this sacred character of land means that ownership and use are governed not only by social norms but also by spiritual mandates (uchendu, 1965; ogbukagu, 1976). ownership of land resides collectively in the umunna, the extended patrilineal kin group. individuals are not seen as owners in the western legalistic sense but rather as stewards or custodians. they hold consultant rights, meaning they may use and benefit from the land, but they do not have the authority to sell or alienate it permanently (uchendu, 1965). this communal tenure system underscores the understanding that land is an ancestral heritage, not private capital. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 90 inheritance practices are strictly patrilineal and matrilineal as the case may be, with land typically passed from father to sons. women usually gain access to land through their relationships with male kin, either as daughters, wives, or mothers. this arrangement reflects broader gender norms in traditional igbo society, where women’s access to resources is mediated through their position within the male-dominated lineage system. individual land rights are conditional and revocable, grounded in one's membership in the umunna and continued productive use of the land. the notion of commodifying land, treating it as a saleable good, is foreign to traditional igbo cosmology. land may be leased temporarily, but permanent alienation through sale is culturally and spiritually suspect. the sale or permanent transfer of land to outsiders (ndi ọbịa) is strongly discouraged and often resisted. such alienation is viewed as a betrayal of the ancestors and a rupture in the sacred bond between the community and the land. as obi (1963) observes, alienating land to non-kin not only severs ancestral ties but also poses a threat to the social fabric and cohesion of the community. this worldview continues to shape contemporary land politics in igbo society. the reluctance to grant full land rights to “settlers” or non-indigenes stems not merely from economic interests or xenophobia but from a deeply rooted cosmological and moral order. land is more than a territory; it is the bedrock of identity, spirituality, and intergenerational continuity. ii. yoruba conception of land ownership in traditional yoruba society, the concept of land ownership is both communal and hierarchical, reflecting a structured sociopolitical system that balances ancestral heritage with evolving economic needs. while similar to other african societies in affirming communal tenure, yoruba landholding practices are distinguished by a more stratified administrative structure. land is regarded as a sacred trust, vested not in individuals but in leaders, oba (king) or baale (village head), who hold it in trust for the lineage or community (lloyd, 1962; aderibigbe, 1990). unlike the igbo, whose land tenure is more lineage-based and rigid, the yoruba system introduces a blend of ritual authority, administrative hierarchy, and pragmatic flexibility. customary law governs land rights, which are embedded within the moral, religious, and historical memory of the community. land distribution within yoruba communities is typically managed by lineage heads known as mogaji. these elders allocate land to family members based on a combination of need, seniority, productivity, and loyalty to the family lineage. this system maintains internal equity while also ensuring that land remains within the family structure, thus preserving ancestral claims and communal integrity (aderibigbe, 1990). a critical concept in yoruba customary tenure is the "tenure of first settlement", the principle that the group or family that first cleared and settled a given area possesses original customary rights to that land. this principle undergirds indigenous claims and legitimizes authority over land, even where no formal title exists. over time, such foundational claims are recognized and codified through rituals, oral histories, and community endorsement (lloyd, 1962). yoruba land law, particularly in more urbanized and commercialized regions, has shown a marked adaptability. over time, especially with the advent of colonial legal systems and urban expansion, yoruba communities developed greater openness to leasing, pledging, and even selling land, often with the consent of the oba, baale, or mogaji. this fluidity has allowed yoruba societies to better accommodate economic migration, urban development, and inter igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 91 ethnic integration (awolalu & dopamu, 1979). this relative openness in land transactions contrasts with more restrictive customs in other nigerian ethnic groups and explains the relatively inclusive economic attitudes yoruba communities often extend to migrants and settlers. while political exclusion and indigene-settler tensions may persist, especially in electoral or chieftaincy matters, land access has historically been a more flexible and negotiable aspect of yoruba customary practice. iii. hausa conception of land ownership in northern nigeria, particularly among the hausa-fulani groups, land tenure is deeply shaped by the dual influences of islamic jurisprudence (shari'a) and the feudal administrative system established under the sokoto caliphate. the 1804 sokoto jihad, led by usman dan fodio, was not only a religious reform movement but also a radical restructuring of political authority and land control. following the jihad, all land was declared to belong to the caliphate, to be held in trust by the emirs as spiritual and political custodians (paden, 1973). this move transformed the pre-jihad landholding practices into a system where theocratic legitimacy and political hierarchy governed access to land. the emirate system institutionalized land as a public trust, managed in accordance with islamic legal principles and administered through a centralized, often hereditary leadership. land within this framework could be allocated for various purposes, most notably for farming (gandu) or residence. allocations were often granted as royal favors or religious endowments (waqf), a practice rooted in islamic tradition whereby land was permanently set aside for religious or charitable use (hill, 1972). this system privileged religious institutions, loyal elites, and scholars, reinforcing the integration of land control with religious and political status. while individuals could possess and use land, especially through generational occupation or cultivation, they could not claim absolute, alienable ownership. the ultimate right to land resided with the emir or district head, who could reallocate or revoke land based on administrative discretion or religious mandate (hill, 1972; paden, 1973). this created a form of tenure that was secure but conditional, subject to political allegiance, religious conformity, and community standing. access to land was also governed by islamic ethical principles, particularly those emphasizing hospitality (karimci) and the welfare of the ummah (muslim community). in theory, these values promoted inclusive access for muslims, regardless of ethnic origin. however, in practice, non-muslim minorities, such as indigenous non-islamized groups in the middle belt faced systemic exclusion or were granted inferior access, especially under colonial indirect rule that preserved emirate authority (ostien, 2007). thus, religious identity became a determinant of land access, embedding both spiritual and socio-political stratification into land tenure. this fusion of religious and political authority over land created a system that was hierarchical yet negotiable. land tenure in hausa-fulani society combined structured control with clientelist flexibility, allowing elites to reward loyalty, consolidate power, and enforce social order, all under the legitimizing cover of islam. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 92 comparative analysis and philosophical implications s/ n feature igbo yoruba hausa-fulani 1 ownership model lineage-based (umunna) kinship + oba/traditional ruler emirate/statecontrolled 2 alienability of land restricted, sacred increasingly fluid, marketized religious authoritybound 3 attitude to outsider s cautious, exclusiona ry pragmatic, economically inclusive conditional on religion/politi cs 4 basis of belongi ng ancestral descent founding lineage/residen ce loyalty to emir/islamic identity these systems reveal a continuum from rigid ancestral entitlement (igbo), through inclusive pragmatism (yoruba), to religious-state mediation (hausa-fulani). across all, however, land is not merely a material asset; it is a source of identity, legitimacy, and spiritual continuity. this helps explain the depth of resentment or exclusion settlers may face: their presence is seen not just as economic encroachment but as symbolic dislocation of ancestral, spiritual, or political orders. grounding land access in identity, whether ethnic, religious, or ancestral traditional systems, laid the conceptual groundwork for the indigene-settler binary. yet, in a postcolonial, pluralistic nigeria, these frameworks now clash with constitutional ideals of equal citizenship. this study thus critiques the uncritical transplantation of ancestral land logics into modern statecraft without reconfiguring them through philosophical ethics and democratic theory. traditional african land tenure systems among the igbo, yoruba, and hausa reflect communitarian, identity-based frameworks that shaped belonging and exclusion. however, in contemporary nigeria, these systems have mutated into tools of exclusion and marginalization, often manipulated by political elites. this research calls for a re-evaluation of land ethics, drawing from, but transcending, these traditional foundations to articulate a just, inclusive framework grounded in residence, contribution, and shared moral agency, rather than primordial claims. land ownership and the land use act 1978 (lfn 2004): a legal-philosophical appraisal the land use act (lua) of 1978, codified under the laws of the federation of nigeria (lfn) 2004, remains the most far-reaching legal framework for land administration in nigeria. enacted by the military regime of general olusegun obasanjo, the act aimed to resolve the complex and often discriminatory landscape of land tenure in nigeria by harmonizing diverse landholding systems, customary, islamic, and colonial under a unified statutory regime. yet, despite its reformist intentions, the lua has generated deep legal contradictions and ethical dilemmas, particularly in relation to indigeneity, citizenship, and land justice. before the enactment of the land use act (lua) of 1978, nigeria’s land tenure systems were pluralistic, hierarchical, and regionally differentiated, reflecting a blend of precolonial customary laws, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 93 islamic jurisprudence, and colonial legal frameworks. this fragmented legal landscape fostered inequality in access, legal uncertainty, and tenure insecurity, particularly for migrants, women, and non-indigenous populations. in southern nigeria, land was largely governed by customary law, where ownership was vested in lineages (umunna or idile) or extended families, often under the authority of traditional rulers or lineage heads. rights to land were communal, allocated to members based on ancestry, seniority, or family contribution. while such systems promoted social cohesion within homogeneous communities, they systematically excluded non-indigenes, women, and other marginalized groups (fabiyi, 2004; nwosu, 1987). in northern nigeria, particularly among the hausa-fulani, land tenure was influenced by islamic law (shari’a) and the emirate system. following the sokoto jihad of 1804, land was treated as the property of the islamic state, administered by emirs and district heads as custodians for the community. while islamic land law permitted individual usufruct rights, ownership remained subject to public interest and the moral responsibilities of the ummah (paden, 1973; hill, 1972). colonial rule further complicated land relations. the british administration introduced laws such as the crown lands ordinance of 1918, the native lands ordinance of 1916, and the public lands acquisition act, which asserted state authority over land and enabled the expropriation of land for colonial economic and infrastructural projects. these laws often disregarded indigenous systems, privileging capitalist commodification and european settler interests (olujimi & bello, 2009; ekpu, 2005). by the post-independence era, nigeria faced a land governance crisis, characterized by: a. conflicting tenure systems, b. discriminatory land access policies, c. an absence of legal clarity for development and investment. to address these challenges, the military government of general olusegun obasanjo promulgated the land use decree no. 6 of 1978, which was later entrenched in section 315 of the 1979 constitution and reaffirmed in the 1999 constitution (as the land use act, lfn 2004). the stated objectives of the act were threefold: a. to democratize access to land by removing barriers based on ancestry, class, or customary privilege. b. to centralize land administration under the state, thereby reducing the influence of traditional, religious, or private elites. c. to facilitate national development through efficient access to land for urban planning, industrial expansion, and infrastructure (omotola, 1984; udo, 1990). however, while the lua introduced a legal uniformity, it did so without fully accounting for the social, spiritual, and cultural dimensions of land. as scholars have noted, it represents a technocratic solution to a socially embedded problem, replacing community-based authority with state trusteeship, often with politically problematic outcomes (omeje, 2009; abioye, 2012). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 94 the land use act (1978) establishes a public trusteeship model, where land is not held as private property in the classical liberal sense, but rather as a public trust administered by the state for the benefit of all citizens. a. state vesting of land (section 1) all land within a state's geographical boundaries (except federal land or land under federal control) is vested in the governor of the state, who holds it in trust for the people. this provision abolished the freehold tenure system and consolidated all land rights under state authority. b. right of occupancy the lua replaces the concept of absolute ownership with a "right of occupancy", which provides users with rights to possess and use land, but not to own it outright. i. statutory right of occupancy: granted by the state governor for land located in urban areas. ii. customary right of occupancy: granted by local governments for land in rural areas, often based on customary usage. these rights can be revoked or modified by the state, reinforcing state supremacy over land. c. governor’s consent (section 22) all transfers, mortgages, or alienations of a right of occupancy require the written consent of the state governor. this provision was intended to prevent land speculation, ensure public oversight, and curb unauthorized land sales. however, it has been widely criticized for creating bureaucratic bottlenecks, opportunities for corruption, and inequality in access (abioye, 2012). d. revocation powers (section 28) the governor has the authority to revoke a right of occupancy for reasons deemed to be in the public interest, such as for infrastructural development, security, or economic planning. compensation is limited to the unexhausted improvements (e.g., buildings or crops) on the land, not the land itself. this provision has led to numerous cases of forced displacement and land injustice, particularly among rural farmers and urban informal settlers (udu, 2011). critical reflection while the lua was envisioned as an egalitarian reform, its implementation has reinforced structural inequalities. it replaced communal exclusion with state-driven exclusion, often mediated by ethno-political interests. its centralization of power in the office of the governor, combined with vague definitions of “public interest,” has made the lua susceptible to abuse, patronage politics, and land-grabbing (omeje, 2009; olawoye, 2014). furthermore, the act does not challenge the indigene-settler binary, nor does it provide legal protections for long-term residents who are denied access due to ethnic origin. as a result, it fails to realize the ideal of equal citizenship, instead reinforcing nigeria’s deep-seated territorial and identity-based inequalities. philosophical and ethical critique of the land use act (lua) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 95 the land use act (lua) of 1978, though framed as a legal instrument for equity and national development, is fundamentally shaped by legal centralism, the assumption that state authority can override customary norms and historically embedded practices of land ownership. however, this approach neglects the cultural, existential, and moral significance of land in nigerian societies. as omeje (2009) argues, land in nigeria is not merely a physical asset; it is a symbolic and relational good, intimately tied to identity, ancestry, spirituality, and communal belonging. the lua’s attempt to bureaucratize land access effectively severs these social and moral linkages, imposing a technocratic model on deeply normative terrain. despite its universalist language, the lua has failed to dismantle the persistence of the indigene-settler dichotomy and divide. though all land is legally vested in the state “in trust for the people,” access to land remains mediated through ethno-political and customary logics. state and local governments continue to embed indigeneity into land allocation policies, systematically privileging “natives” over “settlers”, even where the latter have lived in the same locality for generations (suberu, 2001). this results in a dual structure: formal equality under the law, and informal exclusion in practice. the result is a denial of recognition, which charles taylor (1994) identifies as a core form of injustice. according to taylor, recognition is not merely a courtesy; it is a vital human need, and its absence is a form of symbolic violence that undermines the self-worth and social standing of those excluded. the lua centralizes land governance in the office of the state governor, or centralization of power and political discretion, whose consent is required for any meaningful land transaction (section 22). as abioye (2012) shows, this provision has enabled partisan manipulation, clientelism, and ethnic favoritism. governors have broad discretionary powers to approve, revoke, or allocate land, often in alignment with political allegiances rather than principles of justice or equal access. this centralization of discretion without accountability raises serious ethical concerns. it conflicts with john rawls’ (1971) conception of justice as fairness, which emphasizes equality of opportunity, institutional impartiality, and the priority of the least advantaged. under the lua, the lack of procedural safeguards or normative constraints renders land allocation vulnerable to abuse and unjust exclusion. another philosophical flaw lies in the lua’s reduction of land to an economic commodity and bureaucratic asset, neglecting its relational, spiritual, and ontological meanings, especially within indigenous worldviews. in many african cosmologies, land is not simply property, but a sacred trust passed down from ancestors, sustaining community identity and intergenerational continuity (okoth-ogendo, 1999). by failing to account for these dimensions, the lua imposes a western, liberal-individualist property regime onto societies that operate under communitarian and normative frameworks. this cultural dissonance has not only limited the lua’s effectiveness but has also led to a moral alienation of communities from the legal order, a condition that amartya sen (2009) would describe as a failure of capability and inclusion. d. ethical blind spots: justice, citizenship, and recognition the lua does not articulate a coherent theory of justice, citizenship, or recognition. it leaves unresolved fundamental normative questions such as: a. who qualifies as a rightful land beneficiary in a multiethnic democracy? igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 96 b. can long-term residence substitute for ancestral claims in land access? c. what ethical principles should undergird access to a shared national resource like land? in the absence of clear normative answers, exclusion is disguised as neutrality, and inequity becomes institutionalized. as sen (2009) and taylor (1994) insist, justice is not only a matter of fair distribution (redistributive justice) but also of acknowledging people’s identities, contributions, and humanity (recognitional justice). any legal regime that fails to achieve both dimensions risks reinforcing rather than remedying injustice. impact on the indigene-settler controversy though the lua ostensibly removes land from the realm of ancestral entitlement, it has deepened the indigene-settler divide in practice. it has failed to introduce residence-based rights or prohibit discrimination in land allocation based on ethnicity or origin. consequently: a. state governments continue to use indigeneity as a criterion for issuing land titles, certificates of occupancy, and development permits (ubhenin, 2013; suberu, 2001). b. settlers, often ethnic minorities or internal migrants, may be excluded from land access, regardless of their contributions or length of residence (fourchard, 2011). c. customary authorities, particularly in rural areas, retain de facto power to restrict land access to “outsiders,” even when such exclusion contradicts national citizenship norms (amanor & ubink, 2008). the contradiction between formal citizenship and territorial belonging in nigeria undermines the constitutional promise of equal rights for all, revealing a deeper normative crisis at the heart of the land question. as taylor (1994) argues, the denial of recognition within a community constitutes a profound moral and political harm. the land use act (lua), by failing to institutionalize recognition or establish residence-based rights, masks these injustices beneath a technocratic façade. thus, the land question transcends legal or administrative concerns, demanding a philosophical interrogation of the indigeneship-settlership dynamic and the contested moral foundations of identity, belonging, and justice that shape land access and ownership. the pathway to the land question begins with colonial disruption. british colonial authorities imposed land ordinances, such as the crown lands ordinance of 1917, that expropriated land from indigenous communities and introduced legal pluralism, separating “customary” from “public” land (okoth-ogendo, 1999). these colonial policies institutionalized ethnic boundaries, transforming fluid patterns of migration and coexistence into rigid categories of “natives” and “strangers.” post-independence, nigeria’s embrace of ethno-regional federalism further entrenched the indigene-settler divide. the constitutionally undefined concept of “indigene” became the basis for access to public resources, employment, education, and crucially, land allocation. this marked the transformation of ethnic identity into political capital, where land became a primary expression of ethnic territoriality (suberu, 2001). land thus evolved into a symbol of political belonging, such that exclusion from land equated to exclusion from the moral and civic fabric of the nigerian state. the 1978 land use act (lua) was conceived as a technocratic reform to depersonalize land ownership and ensure equal access. yet, as omeje (2009) and abioye (2012) argue, it failed to dismantle structural exclusions. rather than neutralizing ethnic land politics, the lua inadvertently strengthened igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 97 state and customary gatekeeping mechanisms, empowering governors and traditional authorities to act in ethno-political interest. this failure illustrates what charles taylor (1994) calls "misrecognition", a refusal to acknowledge the identity and claims of individuals or communities who do not fit the hegemonic definition of “indigenes.” the lua imposed a centralized, bureaucratic model without attending to the relational and symbolic significance of land in nigerian society. a philosophical pathway to the land question must account for land as more than property; it must consider land as an existential good, a foundation of identity and recognition. the indigene-settler debate is not merely about who owns land, but who belongs, and under what moral framework that belonging is justified. this speaks to amartya sen’s (2009) notion of capability justice: access to land determines people’s freedom to function, to participate fully in civic life, and to build a future. excluding long-term residents from land access not only violates distributive justice but also denies the capabilities essential to human dignity. to meaningfully address the land question in nigeria, a multi-layered philosophical pathway must be pursued, one that integrates the following: a. justice as fairness (rawls, 1971): equal opportunity for all citizens, irrespective of ethnic origin, to access and use land. b. recognition of identity and history (taylor, 1994): acknowledging the lived experiences and contributions of settlers and migrants. c. capabilities for human flourishing (sen, 2009): ensuring land access empowers individuals and communities to live with dignity. this approach requires reimagining the lua and land governance not merely as legal instruments, but as moral architectures that shape who is seen, heard, and valued in the national community. findings this study reveals that the nigerian land question is not merely a legal or administrative issue, but fundamentally a philosophical and ethical problem concerning justice, recognition, identity, and belonging. the concept of land, often viewed in state policy as a neutral asset, is instead shown to be deeply embedded in socio-cultural meanings and political structures that privilege “indigenes” over “settlers.” the following are the key findings: 1. indigeneship as a political technology of exclusion the category of “indigene” in nigeria functions as a political gatekeeping mechanism that legitimizes territorial claims, land access, and resource allocation. although not explicitly defined in the nigerian constitution, its operational use in land administration and social policy leads to systemic marginalization of internal migrants and settlers, regardless of their residency or contribution. customary land tenure systems, especially in southern nigeria, institutionalize land as family or communal property, accessible primarily to those with ancestral ties. islamic and emirate-based tenure in the north likewise privileges religious and ethnic affiliation, often to the detriment of non-muslim or “outsider” groups. the implication is that the normative foundations of indigeneity contradict the constitutional promise of equal citizenship, reducing national belonging to ethnic ancestry. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 98 2. the land use act (1978): a technocratic masking of injustice though intended to democratize land access, the land use act (lua) centralizes control in state governors without a guiding ethical framework. it retains customary and political discretion, fails to override indigene-based land claims, and does not establish residency-based rights. key sections (1, 22, 28) entrench exclusionary practices through bureaucratic and politicized controls. the implication is that the lua promotes formal equality while perpetuating substantive injustice. 3. lack of philosophical foundations in land governance nigeria’s land regime lacks a normative vision grounded in justice, recognition, or citizenship. it does not address who qualifies as a rightful landholder in a plural society, or whether ancestry, residence, or civic contribution should guide land rights. drawing on rawls (justice as fairness), taylor (recognition theory), and sen (capability ethics), the study finds that land policy overlooks moral obligations to inclusion, identity, and dignity. the implication is that without ethical grounding, legal reforms like the lua remain normatively empty and socially ineffective. 4. land as cultural and existential good in nigerian communities, land is more than property; it is a symbol of identity, ancestral continuity, and political belonging. exclusion from land equates to exclusion from civic life. state policies that reduce land to economic terms fail to capture its cultural and moral significance. the implication is that land governance must acknowledge land’s symbolic and existential value or risk deepening conflict. 5. indigene-settler divide as democratic violation the indigene-settler dichotomy undermines democratic equality by denying long-term residents land rights based on ethnic origin. settlers are often excluded from land titles and decision-making, while customary authorities reinforce exclusion through unregulated power. the implication is that a democracy cannot thrive if territorial belonging is tied to ancestry rather than shared civic identity. toward a just and inclusive land regime to resolve nigeria’s land crisis and its entanglement with identity politics, a philosophical reimagining of the lua is required, one that centres on justice, recognition, and inclusion. a morally sound land regime must: i. prioritize ethnicity, ancestry, or origin over residence, contribution, and mere democratic citizenship ii. acknowledge the plural meanings of land, as economic asset, cultural heritage, spiritual inheritance, and communal resource. iii. embed ethical frameworks such as: a. rawls’ theory of justice (1971), which promotes fair equality of opportunity and institutional impartiality; b. taylor’s theory of recognition (1994), which demands respect for cultural and communal identity; igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 99 c. sen’s capability approach (2009), which stresses freedom, opportunity, and human flourishing. legal reform, however, is not enough. what is needed is an ethical transformation of land governance, a shift from viewing land as a state-controlled commodity to understanding it as a common good foundational to social solidarity and national cohesion. the land use act of 1978, as codified in the lfn 2004, was an ambitious attempt to systematize and democratize land access in nigeria. however, its technocratic logic, centralized control, and moral silence have rendered it inadequate for resolving the deeper issues of identity-based exclusion, territorial injustice, and citizenship inequality that characterize the indigene-settler divide. a philosophical interrogation and reconstitution of the lua is not only desirable but necessary for building a more just, inclusive, and cohesive nigerian polity. conclusion the land question reflects the ethical architecture of nigeria’s democracy. who controls land? who is granted access? who is excluded? these questions are moral indicators of inclusion, recognition, and justice. the pathway to resolving the land question, therefore, lies in philosophical clarity and ethical reform, a shift from technocratic governance to a justicecentred land regime that reconciles indigeneity and citizenship, heritage and equality. this study has demonstrated that the land question in nigeria cannot be resolved through administrative reform or legal proceduralism alone. at its core lies a deeper normative failure, a reliance on the morally arbitrary categories of indigene and settler to determine access to land, belonging, and citizenship. by interrogating the ontological and ethical underpinnings of these terms, this research has shown that such identity-based classifications distort principles of justice, recognition, and equal moral worth. drawing from rawlsian fairness, taylor’s politics of recognition, and sen’s capability ethics, the study argues that any sustainable resolution must move beyond ethnic origin as the basis for land rights toward a residency-based model of inclusive citizenship. land must be seen not merely as a commodity or administrative unit, but as a moral common, central to democratic life and human dignity. in conclusion, addressing nigeria’s land question requires a philosophical reconstruction, one that displaces exclusionary narratives and grounds land governance in ethical principles of equity, inclusion, and shared national identity. only through such a shift can nigeria begin to resolve the longstanding tensions between history, identity, and justice. references abioye, f. t. (2012). governor's consent under the nigerian land use act and the problem of inequality. nigerian journal of legal studies. aderibigbe, a. b. (1990). land tenure in yoruba history. ibadan university press. akinola, a. o. (2011). nigerian state and the crisis of indigene-settler dichotomy: a negation of the culture of citizenship. journal of alternative perspectives in the social sciences, 3(2), 556–576. akinola, a. o. (2011). citizenship and political conflict in nigeria: insights from indigene/settler dichotomy. journal of african policy studies, 17(2), 27–44. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 100 awolalu, j. o., & dopamu, p. a. (1979). west african traditional religion. onibonoje press. brueggemann, w. (1977). the land: place as gift, promise, and challenge in biblical faith. fortress press. bauckham, r. (1995). the bible and ecology: rediscovering the community of creation. darton, longman & todd. benhabib, s. (2004). the rights of others: aliens, residents, and citizens. cambridge university press. dike, amos francis church, society and globalization: issues of concern, jos: challenge publishers, 2015. okoronkwo, michael enyinwa & dike, amos francis (2025). “the dilemma of internally displaced persons (idps): bridging the gap between theory and reality” (accepted for volume 9 june 2025) in wukari international studies journal (wissj), 9(1). dike, amos francis (2025). “gender-based violence: the role of indigenous spirituality in shaping gender relations in africa” in african journal of religion, philosophy and culture (ajrpc), 7(2). dike, amos francis (2025). “hick’s philosophical panacea to the pluralistic ethnic quest ion in nigerian society” in nnadiebube journal of philosophy (njp), nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. 8(1). dike, amos francis (2024). “hick’s “accident of birth:” philosophical answer to nigerian religio-ethnic pluralistic question” in african journal of religion, philosophy and culture (ajrpc), issn 2534-7636 (print) issn 2634-7644 (online), vol. 1. ekeh, p. (1975). colonialism and the two publics in africa: a theoretical statement. comparative studies in society and history, 17(1), 91–112. gadamer, h.-g. (1975). truth and method. sheed and ward. hill, p. (1972). rural hausa: a village and a setting. cambridge university press. ibrahim, j. (2006). the politics of settler/indigene conflicts in africa: the case of the niger delta and the middle belt in nigeria. in berman et al. (eds.), identity, culture and politics. ibrahim, j. (2000). the transformation of ethno-regional identities in nigeria. in jega, a. (ed.), identity transformation and politics in nigeria. lloyd, p. c. (1962). yoruba land law. oxford university press. marshall, t. h. (1950). citizenship and social class. cambridge university press. mott, s. c. (1982). biblical ethics and social change. oxford university press. obi, s. n. (1963). the customary law manual of eastern nigeria. government printer. ogbukagu, i. k. (1976). traditional igbo beliefs and practices. fourth dimension publishers. okoronkwo, michael enyinwa dike, amos francis & dike, uzoma amos (2025). secularism and re-emergence of africa: perspectives on the nigerian socio-political and economic re-birth, amamihe journal of applied philosophy (department of philosophy, imo state university), 23(4) issn print: 1597-0779; issn online: 30435269. pp. 35-51. okoth-ogendo, h. w. o. (2008). the tragic african commons: a century of expropriation, suppression and subversion. university of nairobi law journal. okoth-ogendo, h. w. o. (2008). the tragic african commons: a century of expropriation, suppression and subversion. university of nairobi law journal. okoth-ogendo, h. w. o. (1999). land policy development in east africa: a survey of recent trends. omeje, k. (2009). understanding conflict and peacebuilding in nigeria. africa world press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 101 osaghae, e. (2006). ethnicity and the state in africa. africa spectrum, 39(1), 5–30. osaghae, e. e., & suberu, r. t. (2005). a history of identities, violence, and stability in nigeria. centre for research on inequality, human security and ethnicity (crise), working paper no. 6. paden, j. n. (1973). religion and political culture in kano. university of california press. rawls, j. (1971). a theory of justice. harvard university press. sen, a. (2009). the idea of justice. harvard university press. smith, l. t. (1999). decolonizing methodologies: research and indigenous peoples. zed books. suberu, r. t. (2001). federalism and ethnic conflict in nigeria. united states institute of peace press. taylor, c. (1994). the politics of recognition. in multiculturalism, edited by amy gutmann. princeton university press.sen, a. (2009). the idea of justice. harvard university press. taylor, c. (1994). multiculturalism: examining the politics of recognition. princeton university press. uchendu, v. c. (1965). the igbo of southeast nigeria. holt, rinehart and winston. ukaegbu, a. o. (1975). the ownership and control of oil in nigeria: between legality and legitimacy. african affairs, 74(296), 218–234. wiredu, k. (1996). cultural universals and particulars: an african perspective. indiana university press. wright, c. j. h. (2004). old testament ethics for the people of god. intervarsity press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 59 appraisal of hyper technological advancements in the light of pantaleon iroegbu’s model (a philosophical insight) ignatius c. uzondu, ph.d philosophy department, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka ic.uzondu@unizik.edu.ng abstract one major characteristic of contemporary times is the rapid technological advancements in various sectors with a magic-like speed that one cannot help but wonder about the place of man amidst such “hyper-technological strides” in the years to come. today, the innovations made by artificial intelligence-driven technologies and systems not only promise greater efficiency in the delivery of goods and services but also display alarming speed and accuracy in carrying out work that was hitherto done by humans. within this era, one has witnessed the emergence of high technologies in information communication technology (ict), robotics, innovations in aerospace technology, and biotechnological breakthroughs in the fields of medicine and agriculture. education and banking sectors were not left out. the questions are: how does this hyper-technological trend impact man? would the achievements of technology in our epoch be said to have advanced the course of life without any effects on the traditional dignity enjoyed by man as a proactive being in the course of life? or, would we say that the uncensored explorations and achievements of hyper technology could have adverse effects on human dignity and man’s existential appreciation of life in the years to come? it is to these critical questions that this paper makes recourse to the ethical thesis of pantaleon iroegbu, on the “enwisdomization of technology” in a bid to evaluate the circumstances and thus gain deeper philosophical insights on the status quo of the proper place of man in the current wave of technological advancements. the method employed for this inquiry is philosophical analysis, as this will allow for a deeper understanding of the concepts being studied, thus providing insights into the right source of critique. pantaleon’s recommendation of the “enwisdomization” project as a critical attitude to life issues provides an outstanding ground for constructive critique of hyper technology in an era where values and ethical requirements for decision and action tend to be relegated to the background. technology is supposed to advance the course of human life in all ramifications, and nothing less should be accepted. technology is made for man’s aggrandizement and not the other way round. keywords: hyper technology, advancement, and enwisdomization introduction the progress in science and technology has continued unabated since the industrial revolution. with the advancements in information and computer technology, and the promotions given to automation, artificial intelligence, and robotics, the world today has experienced an even greater change in the attitude to work efficiency, service delivery, and accuracy in accountability and administration. more still are the remarkable feats that have been recorded and continue to be announced in the fields of health and medical research. the world has never been this advanced. with due respects to earlier civilizations that we acknowledge and respect, one thing peculiar to the contemporary hyper-technological world is the speed at which it has not just enhanced man’s world, but has gone ahead to replace man’s place in the labour market, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 60 expertise in professional and occupational fields like in medicine, agriculture and transportation. however, the remarkable gains of hyper-technology have their consequences for humankind, as it projects to revolutionize the unique existential experience that has characterized human life/ world since the inception of time. the consequences include: alienating mankind from its supposed right to work, commoditization of life, and transforming man into objects of experimentation and research via biotechnological and genetic engineering explorations. others are reducing human life to uncontrollable circumstantial in the wake of war technologies and international political exploits. it is such that the projected organized society, which thomas hobbes anticipated in the social contract to guarantee human freedoms and protection from the state of nature, appears to be gradually collapsing. what becomes the fate of man then, if the society that was designed to guarantee the good life turns out to be a threat via the uncensored applications of technology? pantaleon iroegbu, being circumspect on the speed and free spirit of modern technology, advocates that some kind of ethical censorship be applied to the fields of contemporary science and technology. this is to ensure that their operations, no matter the practical intentions pursued, remain within the ambit of human reason. through the thesis of “enwisdomization and ethicization of technology,”1 iroegbu specifies principles of action and ethical guidelines that should accompany decisions and practices in the various fields of technological applications and advancements. the focus here is on restoring the respect and dignity of human life in a world that rapidly loses its values and threatens the hitherto established norms of existence. the paper targets an analytical exploration of various technological concepts to bring to light the possible threats and harm that could be caused, and which could affect humankind adversely if proactive measures are not put in place to forestall their abuse. conceptual analysis to appreciate this exercise in what it is intended to achieve, a brief but thematic analysis of the major aspects of hyper-technology is necessary. these concepts, however, are outlined in sequence, not relegating any as less valuable than the other, but to express them in terms that will enhance good understanding of the concept of “hyper-technology” and thus bring out its outstanding characteristics, functions, and attitudes that will provide objective grounds for constructive critique. hyper technology: this generally refers to technologies that are extremely large, fast, advanced, or automatic. in a technological context, hyper generally implies something that is enhanced, or extremely fast, often indicating a level of performance or functionality exceeding the norm. in computers, we talk of hyper threading technology, which is a hardware innovation that allows more than one thread to run on each core. more thread means more work can be done in parallel. it’s intel’s proprietary simultaneous multithreading (smt) implementation used to improve parallelization of computation (doing multiple tasks at once) performed on x86 microprocessors igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 61 hyper technological equipment: they are cutting-edge devices that leverage advanced technologies. for enhanced functionality and performance. examples include smartphones, advanced virtual reality handsets, 3d printers, and ai-powered appliances. other examples include quantum computers, 5g technology and smart grids, self-driving cars, advanced medical imaging equipment, industrial robots, and smart home systems. quantum computers: they are computers that utilize quantum mechanics to solve complex problems beyond the reach of classical computers. high-performance computing (hpc) systems: they are used for simulations, data analysis, and other demanding tasks often found in research institutions and large corporations. ai and machine learning ml systems. these systems can learn from data, automate tasks, and make predictions internet of things iot and hyper-connected devices smart homes: they are devices like thermostats, lighting, and security systems that can be controlled remotely and interact with each other. smart vehicles: they are self-driving cars, electric vehicles, and vehicles with advanced driver-assistance systems (adas) industrial iot (iiot): they are connected sensors and devices in manufacturing plants and other industrial settings to monitor performance and optimize processes. medical and health technologies advanced medical imaging: here, we have magnetic resonance imaging (mri) and a computerized tomography scan (ct scan), and other imaging techniques used to diagnose and treat. robotic surgery: minimally invasive surgery using a robotic system for increased precision and control. smart inhalers: devices that provide reminders and alerts for asthma patients based on medication dosage patterns other examples: drones: this is used for delivery, mapping, surveying, and surveying and various other applications. 3d printing: this is technology used to create physical objects from digital designs robotic process automation (rpa): it’s software robots that automate repetitive tasks in businesses. more hyper-technological equipment is constantly evolving with innovations and advancements igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 62 assessing particular technological advancements in select fields of application we briefly mention a few areas of technological advancements in transportation, construction, and labour, also in warfare and military technology. then, we move further and elucidate extensively on the health and medicine sector, and finally elucidate extensively on artificial intelligence, which is making much waves nowadays. transportation, construction and labour in transportation, one sees sports bicycles, motor-cycles, tricycles, and power bikes of various types. others include trains, cars, helicopters, aeroplanes, space jets, rockets, ships, speed boats, flying boats, and the like. in building and construction technology, one sees a lot of developments. such equipment as (sky) elevators, excavators, and welding machines is made available as far as civil engineering work is concerned. warfare and military technology in military technology, we talk of ammunition industries established by the world superpowers, where nuclear and chemical weapons like hydrogen bombs, atomic bombs, guided missiles, intercontinental ballistic missiles, and other weapons of mass destruction are produced and stored. soldiers no longer fight with stones and spears, but technology has made provision for sophisticated guns and rifles, semi-automatic guns, car bombs, parcel bombs, chemical explosives, armored tanks, warships, and helicopters. military technology has, to a large extent, guaranteed nations' territorial defense against enemies. health and medicine in the health sector, one sees enormous improvements. in bio-technology, one sees experimenting (with) or tinkering with the genes of living organisms (human beings) for improved performance. this is called genetic engineering, and it is done in: a. recombinant deoxyribonucleic acid (dna) – a technique of genetic manipulation and alteration of hereditary material, for new compounds and improving biological systems. b. cell hybridization – it is the fusion of two cells so as to mix their chromosomes, while one produces a different kind of antibody, the other possesses an infinite life span. hybridomas are the product of this union, and are producing cells with infinite lifetimes, for example is monoclonal antibodies. c. in vitro-fertilization (ivf), iroegbu writes that “in vitro-fertilization is a process by which eggs from one woman are fertilized by sperm from any man in an artificial womb in the laboratory.”3 ivf is a laboratory operation of fertilizing eggs with sperm in a test tube. the result of this is called a test tube baby. we have sperm and egg banks nowadays. d. cloning – here, human embryos are multiplied, producing 2,4,6,8,10, etc., persons that are the same person simultaneously or the same in birth, originality, height, complexion, intelligence quotient (iq), character, voice, in fact, a physico-genetic replica. panteleon iroegbu called this a “technological reincarnation 4. cloning was first done by jerry hall and dr. robert stillman of george washington university in september 1993. in genetic engineering, we also see artificial insemination, embryo freezing and transfer, surrogate motherhood, personality transfer through personality pill (prosac), and others. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 63 again, in bio-technology is laser technology. a laser is a device that uses the principle of amplification of electromagnetic waves by stimulated emission of radiation and operates in the infrared, visible, or ultraviolet region. the term laser is an acronym for light amplification. laser photobiology – the interaction of laser with biological molecules, which are applied to biology and medicine, is used in surgery, ophthalmology, dermatology, dentistry, and in cancerology. artificial intelligence artificial intelligence refers to the development of computer systems that can perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as learning, problem solving, and decision making, among others. in the context of this paper, one must not forget that what we are talking about is intelligence, not mind, and that it is called artificial. the intelligence in question is far from instinctual behaviors of some insects, like wasps, while storing their food or that of some birds and other animals. looking at these creatures and their behaviors, it looks like human intelligence, but it is not, for it is still at the level of instinct. it’s only human beings that are accorded or associated with intelligence. intelligence is the simplest human behavior, and it helps humans to adapt to new circumstances. intelligence is characterized by a combination of many diverse abilities or traits as learning, reasoning, problem solving, perception, language, methods, and goals. we move to artificial intelligence, which is intelligence also in a real sense, only it’s gotten through computation of data and processing of symbols in robotic digital computers and through artificial neural network connectivity, in imitation of human brain structure. artificial intelligence is also seen in robotics, that is, computer-controlled robots to perform tasks commonly associated with intelligent beings.5 robotics is that field of research in computer science that develops and studies methods and software that enable machines to perceive their environment and use learning and intelligence to take actions that maximize their chances of achieving defined goals.6 ai robots are bound and we have them even in africa, some examples of ai robots includes, chatbot eliza which gives stock responses, chatgpt which was trained on 45 terabytes of text, we have alex which one sees in metal on whatsapp and this can respond to more than one million messages at a time. all these ai robots are found in africa. again, we have a new one, (chukus ekwueme’s ingenuity and creation) omeife, which is an african human robot created to give africa a voice, a space in ai robotics, a space in the global ecosystem. advantages or merits of artificial intelligence ai to the world and africa the merits of ai stretch through various human endeavors: in medical diagnosis, ai computers are employed nowadays for patient diagnoses, patient care, and in other medical research. this is really an enormous development in health care services. in the education sector, ai robots are used for children and adult online lessons, language tutorials, and for students’ evaluation, among other things. in financial institutions like banks, one sees high-powered ai high powered computers deployed as chatbots for customer service. it helps in mobile banking and in fraud detection, among others. in the agricultural sector, it’s not left out as ai computers are used in livestock management, and even in crop cultivation and planting and among other things. in social media, it is used in replying to messages. for example, an ai robot called alex could reply to fifty million messages in a matter of seconds. other virtual assistance of ai igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 64 robots includes the management of schedules by sending reminders. thus, one sees that the benefits of ai are bound. looking at the use of robots nowadays in human life, one may ask: of what use are human beings now? as we see that robots now go to farm, drive taxis, drive buses, work at restaurants, robots do cooking, carry children, robots can carry babies for nine months, and deliver, robots can do many jobs better, and of course, this will make things cheaper. and with this, human beings will not have much meaning. for instance, one reads that amazon cuts over 400 jobs following the acquisition of tesla’s optimum robots; thus, increased productivity or efficiency is assured, and human elements in work are removed. these advanced robots enhance productivity and faster turnaround times. 7 when human beings are replaced with robots, human elements at work, like paying salaries, allowances, pensions, and gratuity, granting work leave, among others, are automatically gone. ai reduces labour costs. demerits of ai: honestly, developing ai is never an easy task, not only in terms of the symbolic data connections and connectivity also it’s really a money-consuming task. ai robots are very exorbitant; they are costly as their development is not a cheap process. again, the maintenance of ai is not an easy task as well. some african companies that have them know the amount of dollars they spend on their maintenance annually. the first disadvantage of the employment of ai in any country or company is the decimation or displacement of the working class. it reduces the number of employed workers and thereby creates unemployment in the country. unemployment, we know, will come up with other vices, like theft, armed robbery, kidnapping, and others. however, many of these vices are already in existence in the world and many african countries like nigeria, sudan, mali, niger, cameroon and others. ai is not yet the cause of these menaces in africa, as they are the end products of a bad economy, caused by bad leadership or government in africa. finally, the task of studying the workings and mechanisms of ai is also an enormous challenge. other areas of technological advancement include electricity | power energy, banking, and information communication technology (ict), among others, but we move on and examine the significance of hyper technological advancements in general pantaleon iroegbu’s critique of hyper technology we start with the significance of hyper technological equipment, which embeds its merits and demerits, and then get into its almighty suggestion or recommendation known as: the enwisdomization theory of technology. perceived significance of hyper technology hyper technologies express the hyper quality of the human mind; the star inquisitiveness of human research, and the near-unlimited heights of his ingenuity. technology enables man to do what he was unable to do before (for example, fly and walk on the moon). increased productivity has practically eliminated hunger and reduced old diseases, and reduced material poverty. modern means of communication have made the world a global sitting room, thus ensuring cooperation. man is developing himself by developing the world. counter productivity of hyper technology in consideration igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 65 intellectual arrogance of the human mind is the driving force of the negative effects of technology on human beings. the society and the universe, it’s owing to the manifestation of one’s technocratic superiority, to attract more research funds, to promote and expand more expansive travels and experiments, and to amass more honorific entitlement, that some dangerous technologies are produced. some neutron bombs and missiles produced during war are not just for victory, as some wars could be defeated with anti-tank weapons, still they go on to produce more sophisticated weapons to manifest technocratic superiority, and this does happen till today. developmentalism, technologism, and progressivism are negatives as they mean the pursuit of material development or scientific progress for its own sake.9 the ultimate goal of technological progress is the integral well-being of the human person. he talked of ecological disaster portrayed by pollution, that is, unrestrained and uncontrolled exhumation of industrial waste and nuclear pollution has made clean air a very rare commodity in industrial countries, and this leads to cancer and its multiplication. other effects include desertification, and this is owing to deforestation. where are the amazon forest of brazil, the big jungle of kenya and zaire, and even the big forests in nigeria? again, the ozone layer's lowering or reduction in thickness has brought climate change. encapsulated man, it’s the bottling, enslavement, and conversion of the person into the restriction of gadgets. it’s man that is put into a machine, and without this, he neither lives, nor moves, nor has his being. nature goes, and machine lives. en-machined man is seeing going to the moon and walking around and going to other planets. dehumanized: an individual is dehumanized whenever he is treated as less than a person, “robbed of creativity, affectivity, spontaneity and responsibility, making them mere cogs in the industrial mega wheel or turning them to what yablonsky called robopaths.” 10 individualism has driven away community spirit and violence and criminality have increased. and one sees the true picture in both the buhari-led government and the present tinubu-led nigerian government. iroegbu also talked of bad effects of military technology, space shuttles, bio-technology, personality pills called prozac, in vitro fertilization and artificial insemination also surrogate motherhood that does bring legal issue of who owns the baby., transfer and freezing of embryos that permits people to decide on which baby, when and how to have babies, meanwhile allow technicians to experiment. and on cloning which looks like re-incarnation as dead person can be replaced exactly with the original height, complexion, iq, character and everything. critique of hyper technology in the light of iroegbu’s enwisdomization theory pantaleon iroegbu started his critique through his solution pertaining to ethics and human development in view of technological challenges. he gave his proposal, which he called enwisdomization of technology. this constitutes the substance of putting wisdom into something, to en – wisdom – mize or to en-wisdom.11 it means to make wise, to bring to wisdom, or sagesse of perfection, completeness, and integrity. it means to acquire wisdom, to build up or structure into wisdom, into plenitude.12 he continues: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 66 “in practical terms, it entails the avoidance of those evils that bring one down and the active undertaking of those goods that brings one up in self-fulfillment and epanouissement of being”13 (french, development or blossoming). summarily, by enwisdomization of technology, he meant the education of technology and all its tools, objects, and subjects, personal and advisers to operate within the norms of full authentic and integral humanity, balanced care of the universe, and reasonable projection and development of our world. in the pedagogical level, to enwisdomize means to teach wisdom. enwisdomizing, he said, does the work of “nkuzi” (knock aright), that is, forms, informs, and reforms technology to be for man and not man for technology. the aim is to call technology to order, to change its hyperspeed through re-examination of its preoccupations. this is to help it avoid self-corruption and avoid ending in techno-cide, bio-cide, and scienti-cide18. again, just a student (of philosophy), technology has to undergo ontologization, epistemologization, ethicization, histolicization, axiologization, humanization, anthropolization, and authentic-auto-developmentalization. these courses are mostly abound in philosophy. we elucidate briefly on some of them. ontologization: ontology is the study of the theory of being. technological arsenals or objects, for instance, computers, ai, etc., left in themselves are ontic beings in themselves or inner selves. (ngwongwo in igbo) and they tend to be ontological as they function, ai, for example. computer tries to be ontological not when it is in itself, but when it serves or does service to man; when it performs its role for man. being unveils or reveals for more beings (heidegger), man is the terminus ad quem of the computer as it’s just a handmaid to man. but, once in vis a viz is made and man becomes a servant or worst still a slave or alienates man from himself or antagonizes men among themselves or becomes a portent destroyer of humanity or the universe, ipso facto, the computer or car has lost its legitimacy to exist and it must be dismantled as anti-human, because, it is counterproductive. ontologization in technology redefines and puts into proper architectonic perspective, the quidity; the kpim of technological objects as useful objects.14 epistemologization: epistemology deals with the theory of knowledge. epistemologization talks about mastery of the technology, knowing the possibility, depth, and limitation, method and performance, and the consequences of their utility. the paradox here before one can master the model produced, the scientific and technological engineers must have produced another one or two new models.15 historicization: history is the scientific study of the records of events, and it’s a product of man, as it is man who recorded those events. “history is a lesson teacher, but the tragedy of history remains that men do not often learn from history.”16 technology is part of culture and development, but soon, it becomes part of tragedy and disillusionment; it must be historicized. an example is the lesson of technology and the use of the atomic bomb dropped on two japanese cities: hiroshima and nagasaki. not minding this, more nuclear weapons and atomic bombs, and missiles are still being produced today axiologization: axiology is the theory of value. technology is a value, but it is in the midst of other important values. axiologization of technology is the contextual situation of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 67 technology within the hierarchy of the human value system. since it is the promotion of life through instruments, it cannot override that life itself, worst still, in its crucial aspects: moral, religious, human, and social.17 the material is subservient to the spiritual and the instrumental to the moral. it is under this axiology that one gets aesthetics (deals with beauty) and ethics (science of rightness and wrongness of an action) humanization: here, technology is called to stop its process of dehumanization (depriving positive human qualities) humanization must restore the human face of our contemporary technical society, where authentic being in freedom, creativity and spontaneity, personal, social and communal human existence is sold for the mess of pottage of luxury, comfort and painless existence.18 the present superficiality, anonymity, and elementality lived by many make man inhuman. by humanization of technology, it means that these hyper technologies have to learn how to be humane while dealing with human beings. ethicization: ethics is the science of morality; it deals with the goodness and badness of human action. ethicization tends to put norms, conscience, responsibility, reasonableness, and morality into technology.19 the heart must accompany the head, conscience journey with consciousness, law twin with liberty. technology must, in kantian terms, respect the moral categorical imperative. anthropolization, we mean that hyper technology must not just stop at fabrication, productivity, not mere invention and utility, instrumentality, progressivism, and not mere materialistic narrow-mindedness. it has to learn or study man, do a holistic or a comprehensive study of man. it has to study man philosophically, psychologically, spiritually, theologically, and among others to know how to deal with man, as man is “an impossible possible being.”20 man is a composite being (body and soul, joined by spirit). there is transcendence in man, and man has a spiritual destiny as he is an imago dei (image of god). again, in his ingenuity and proffering solution to protect the dignity of man distorted by hyper technology, iroegbu also made an appeal to african communalism, which is communityoriented life lived by the africans of yesteryears, which was beneficial to them, not minding it was an era of lower or undeveloped technology. man, whom we know is god’s image (imago dei), was protected in all ramifications than even technology protected him. african communalism is the mode of life of traditional africans, characterized by humane living. by humane living, we mean a way of life emphatically centered upon human interest and values. “it manifests a mode of living characterized by empathy, consideration for others, and compassion for human life. above all, it stresses oneness and unity of purpose.”21 c.b. nze holds that the communalistic culture remains a treasure to the african traditional society. he describes communalism as the bedrock and a result of the wonderful relationship prevalent in the community, and at the same time serves as the purpose of the existence of the community and the african person.22 in the book “what is negritude?” l.s. senghor holds that the african way of life is communalistic, and african man has no individualistic mentality since the society in which he lives is structured on communalism and not on individualism or capitalism. his socio-political philosophy (negritude) is that of re-discovery and cultural awakening/emancipation aimed at bestowing on africans, pride and dignity through appreciation of their cultural value themselves.23 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 68 iroegbu did mention some principles and elements of communalism that make life better. there was respect for life and respect for elders, and people lived in solidarity and were carried on by communal spirit, hospitality, honesty, among others.24 it’s a life lived with ethical principles not such as one sees nowadays. evaluation and conclusion we have been going through the advancements of science and technology and it’s enormous and progressive, such that as we are elucidating on the feats already achieved, the new models of the feats achieved is almost coming out from the lab technology everyday and this procedure is quite commendable as they help to alleviate some woes of man in this planet earth. on the other hand, the efforts of pantaleon iroegbu, an original thinker, are mostly appreciated as he taught us the significance of hyper technology, especially exposing fundamentally and critically the dangers of hyper technology. and he again, with deep wonder or thought and curiosity, comes up with remedies or solutions, especially the enwisdomization and ethicization of technology and the likes. when one goes through iroegbu’s enwisdomization and sees how verse, he treated technology and hyper technology, one may start nurturing sentiments that he hates hyper technological advancements, but as one continues to read further, one discovers that he is just doing in-depth analysis on it as an original philosophical thinker. who lived and enjoyed some dividends of hyper technology and experienced also the communalistic life of igbo africans in the fifties and sixties, when no one talked of hyper technology. again, all these hyper technologies left themselves cannot do any harm to man, but it is man that causes harm to man or himself or herself by operating them without adequate knowledge of their usages: the technical “know how” and “know that” and wrong or erroneous applications. and with such a lack of knowledge, harm is expected. finally, iroegbo has given both the modern and contemporary man an enormous assignment about dehumanization of man by the usage of modern and hyper technologies, especially when one forgets, estranges, and alienates his fellow man, his brothers and sisters and his immediate neighbors as he lives an individualistic life with modern technologies and gadgets and calls such a super enjoyment. finally, african communalistic life is the best as it is a life that is other-oriented; contemporary man is called back to imbibe its good elements and principles for good living. references: 1. pantaleon iroegbu, enwisdomization and african philosophy, (owerri: international university press, 1994), 22 & 105. 2. hyper–threading in wikipedia available in https://en.m.wikipedia.org 3. pantaleon iroegbu, enwisdomization and african philosophy, 66. 4. pantaleon iroegbu, enwisdomization and african philosophy, 67-69. 5. artificial intelligence, definition, examples, types, applications, available@ https://www.britannica.com (3/11/2024) 6. artificial intelligence available @ https://en.m.wikipedia.org (3/11/2024) 7. amazon cuts over 400 jobs available @ https://www.medium.com (9/03/2025) 8. pantaleon, iroegbu, enwisdomization and african philosophy, 57 9. ibid. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 69 10. george ehusani, an afro-christian vision,( america: maryland university press, 1991), 11. also confer pantaleon iroegbu, enwisdomization and african philosophy, 63. 11. pantaleon iroegbu, enwisdomization and african philosophy, 22. 12. ibid. 13. ibid. 14. pantaleon iroegbu, enwisdomization and african philosophy, 103. 15. pantaleon iroegbu, enwisdomization and african philosophy, 104 16. pantaleon iroegbu, enwisdomization and african philosophy, 106. 17. ibid 18. ibid 19. pantaleon iroegbu, enwisdomization and african philosophy, 105. 20. battista mondin, philosophical anthropology (rome: urbaniana university press, 1998), 19. 21. marcel onyibor “the freedom of the individual in african communalism” in ike odimegwu (ed.) perspectives on african communalism. (canada: trafford publishing, 2007), 164. 22. chukwuemeka bernard nze. aspect of african communalism, (onitsha: veritas pub. 2007), 1. 23. leopold sedar. senghor. “what is negritude?” in g.c.m. mustoso (ed.) readings in african political thought, (london: heinemann, 1975), 165. 24. pantaleon iroegbu, enwisdomization and african philosophy, 83-102 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 70 social media and infidelity in marriage vis-à-vis ccc 2380: a moral-theological study of igbo christian families, nigeria chukwudebelu, cyprian oluchukwu department of moral theology catholic institute of west africa, port harcourt, rivers state, nigeria cychuks20gmail.com abstract family, established through marriage, is the smallest unit of every society. marriage, however, being the union of a man and woman to become life partners, is faced with a myriad of challenges. these challenges and hurdles range from a lack of mutual understanding, respect, and trust between couples to intolerance and even infidelity. there are many more. nowadays, marriage is being plagued, more than ever, with issues and cases of infidelity arising from and/or heightened by the use of social media. the link, connectivity, and relative privacy provided by social networks like facebook, whatsapp, instagram, twitter, tiktok, linkedin, and so on seem to have escalated and complicated the problem of infidelity in marriage. as a result, mutual suspicion and acrimony have increased just as infidelity is increasing between couples. this work, therefore, is an improvement and enrichment of the already ongoing discourse on the subject matter of infidelity in marriage. it serves to expose the situation on the ground and to stimulate/trigger further research on the topic of discourse. keywords: social media, marriage, infidelity introduction marriage is a good thing. it is necessary for procreation and is as old as mankind. it is unarguably a natural institution. it is so necessary for the reproduction and sustenance of mankind that from the beginning, man was wired to seek partnership and complementarity with a woman and vice versa. social media, on the other hand, while not being there from the beginning, has so aided and affected human communications and relationships in a very tremendous and striking way that even marriage is not left out. it is indubitable that many young men and women who are preparing for marriage are connected to one social network or the other. many of those who are already married are also active on social networks. social media has made communication global, easy, and faster. many of the times, it is also cheaper, depending on the social network and the location it is operated. some spouses who are now happily married even got to know their fiancé(e) through social media. yes! some have dared to tie the knots with persons met on social media and have not had reasons to regret their actions. some, however, have regretted that, especially those who were too quick to hop into marriage without doing a diligent study or inquiry of their partners. unfortunately, many marriages are suffering crises as a result of some connections or reunions with “friends” made possible by the use of social media. a lot of hearts and homes have been broken as a result of the extra-marital affairs that sprouted from the use of the innovative social media. as it unites and deepens love being spouses, so it also tears some couples apart from igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 71 each other. it has, therefore, become necessary and imperative to navigate the negative reality of infidelity in christian families, with particular focus on nigerian igbos. concept of marriage marriage is a natural institution. it has been in existence since the existence of man. it is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people who call themselves spouses. mary jane aririguzo, in her invalidating juridical fact in marriage: the case of consensual incapacity (can. 1095, n. 1), contained in journal of canon law, moral theology and pastoral/spiritual theology, opines that: marriage is a natural institution in which a man and a woman, having reached the prescribed age and possessing the necessary capacity, have the right to contract through a duly expressed free and full consent. it is a juridical act which involves a wilful human act which the contracting parties must be capable of engaging in. (29) such a formal union establishes rights and obligations of the spouses both to themselves and to society, between themselves and their children. with marriage, two families or more are brought together, especially in the nigerian context. it is considered a cultural universal. but the definition of marriage varies between cultures and religions, and with time. typically, it is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually sexual, are acknowledged or sanctioned. in some cultures, marriage is recommended or considered to be compulsory before pursuing or engaging in any sexual activity. a marriage ceremony is usually called a wedding. individuals marry for varied reasons, ranging from or including social, legal, emotional, financial, spiritual, libidinal, and religious purposes. who they marry can be determined or influenced by gender, cultural rules or stipulations, like laws on incest, etc. it can also be influenced by individual desire or by parental choice. in some parts of the world, arranged marriage, polygamy, forced marriage, and child marriage are practiced. in some other areas, such practices are prohibited so as to preserve and promote the rights of women and/or the rights of both male and female children. this is the case because in some parts of the world, marriage has restricted the rights of women and even made many of them look like the property of men. women were considered inferior and mostly only prepared for marriage. that explains why in some cultures and families in nigeria, the girl child is not trained to the highest level of education, many of times. there has been a general trend towards ensuring equal rights for women within marriage, especially in developed countries, thereby abolishing practices like couverture, liberalising laws on divorce, reforming reproductive and sexual laws, and allowing interfaith and interracial marriages. again, female age at marriage is also a serious factor that cannot be overlooked. issues of bride price, dowry, premarital and extramarital affairs, and even the rising trend in developed countries about same sex marriage are yet more developments in the context of marriage in contemporary times. general notion of infidelity infidelity, adultery, or cheating is a form of betrayal. it can occur as sexual infidelity, emotional infidelity, or a combination of both. it does not necessarily mean or signal an end of love in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 72 marriage, but it does engender distrust, heartbreak, and lead to serious friction in marriage. if couples sincerely agree to work on the issues of infidelity, relationships can be restored. the fact is that what constitutes infidelity in marriage and how it is viewed differs based on individual beliefs, values, probably mutual agreements and expectations from the marriage. acts like viewing pornography, indulging in sex outside the relationship, unfaithful behavior, and emotional affairs can be viewed as infidelity. there might still be some who would not consider things like viewing of pornography a serious issue. being that infidelity is a breach of trust that signifies a lack of faithfulness to a moral obligation to one’s partner, some reasons have been advanced why some people cheat on their spouses. emotional or physical disconnect is one of the reasons. unmet needs, uncontrolled sexual desire, wanting variety, low self-esteem, having commitment issues, and jealousy. marriage is work, and without mutual nurturing, couples may grow apart. a sexless marriage is often claimed as a reason for both men and women cheating. it is said that men are more likely to cheat than women, because men depend on physical sexual expression than emotional expression. so a man who has a wife who declines sex to him often might have a feeling of rejection. women are more likely to complain of disconnection from a spouse, and of the wish to be desired and cherished. women are more likely to feel unappreciated or ignored and seek emotional intimacy in an extra-marital relationship. apart from sexual satisfaction as a factor, boredom with a marital relationship may lead both men and women to cheat. addiction and a history of childhood physical, emotional, or sexual abuse can be factors in marital infidelity. someone who had been exposed to parents who were cheating is likely to have extramarital affairs, and someone who has cheated in the past is likely to cheat again. psychological disorders like narcissistic traits or personality disorders are associated with a greater likelihood of cheating. self-centredness driven by ego and a sense of entitlement makes people lack empathy, which makes them not appreciate the impact of their actions on their spouse. frances leary, the author of 101 ways to use social media to do good, opines that boundaries should be set in our use of social media to avoid compromise. this is very crucial and imperative for spouses to avoid what could lead to infidelity in marriage. he writes thus: we encounter content that inspires us, lifts us up, or makes us laugh, and we also encounter situations that can lead to darkness if we let them. this darkness may be bullying or expressions of negative mindsets or unwelcome romantic advances. it can appear in many forms if we allow it to. we have a choice. by defining our personal boundaries, we make conscious choices about what (and whom) we do and do not want to encounter on social media. this begins with choosing whom to connect with and how to control our privacy. it extends to how you choose to engage (with what and with whom). it also includes when you will take action to remove something or someone from your social media world. when we come face-to-face with those people or situations that make us uncomfortable or attempt to compromise the boundaries we have set for ourselves, we have a choice: stand by and do nothing or take action to eliminate that situation. (120) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 73 furthermore, infidelity can be triggered or enhanced by domestic violence, lack of respect, lack of communication, and financial pressures. low compatibility can also lead to infidelity because the couple may have married for the wrong reasons, either because of money, wealth, or status. feeling unappreciated can bring about seeking validation outside the marital home, which can lead to infidelity. understanding social media the term “social media” is an expression used to refer to a computer-based technology that enables or enhances the sharing of thoughts, ideas, and information through virtual networks and communities. social media is internet-based and allows users easy and quick communication of content, such as personal information, videos, photos, and documents. to be able to engage in social media communication, users would need a computer, tablet, or smartphone connected to web-based software or applications. even though social media is everywhere in europe and america, it is said that asian countries like indonesia lead the list of social media usage. social media originated as a way of interacting with friends and family, even though businesses later started adopting it for the purpose of taking advantage of its popularity in addition to the ease and reach it guarantees. the uniqueness and power of social media is the ability to connect and share information with anyone, anywhere on earth, or with many people simultaneously. there are more than 3.8 billion social media users around the world. social media is everchanging and fast evolving, always introducing new apps like tiktok and clubhouse. new apps come out almost every year, joining the ranks of established social networks like facebook, youtube, instagram, and twitter. it is projected that by the year 2023, the number of social media users in the united states will increase to approximately 257 million. and nearly 90% of the users are people between the ages of 18 and 29. for individuals, social media serves to help them keep in touch with friends and family members. some people use it to network career opportunities, find people across the globe with like-minded interests, and to share their thoughts, feelings, insights, and emotions. this is what is called a virtual social network. social media helps businesses drive sales through advertising and promotion, gauge consumer trends, and offer customer service support. in the context of this work, however, we shall restrict our discussion of it to family and friends. social media and infidelity research has shown that increased usage of social media has had a negative effect on marriages and relationships. higher levels of social media usage have led to more marital problems, infidelity, conflicts, jealousy, and eventually divorce. social media has changed the way we meet and interact with each other. it provides a platform to learn more about people and associate with them. it has, however, contributed to and exacerbated problems in romantic relationships. that is not to say that it does not offer a positive and useful contribution and enhancement in marriages and relationships, however. nowadays, people spend too much time on social media like facebook, instagram, twitter, tiktok, etc. it has been established that it is not just what one does on social media but also igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 74 how long one stays on social media that can create conflict. excessive spending of time on social media can impact romantic relationships. it was also discovered that a 20% annual increase in facebook enrollment was associated with a 2.18% increase in divorce rates. it shows that people who do not use social media are 11% happier in their marriages than people who regularly use social media. social media provides easy access for a jealous or suspicious spouse to seek out information about the interactions of a significant other. whether the suspicions are founded or unfounded, people often feel uneasy after discovering something suspicious about their partners on social media. this often leads to increased monitoring, jealousy, anger, and conflict in relationships. researchers have found that the more a person examines their partner’s facebook activity, the more the person reports jealousy and mistrust. it is not only the spouse of the cheating person who can monitor the communications going on. even some others can monitor them too, either as spies or otherwise, legally or illegally. regarding this, pope francis in his encyclical, fratelli tutti, submits: oddly enough, while closed and intolerant attitudes towards others are on the rise, distances are otherwise shrinking or disappearing to the point that the right to privacy scarcely exists. everything has become a kind of spectacle to be examined and inspected, and people’s lives are now under constant surveillance. digital communication wants to bring everything out into the open; people’s lives are combed over, laid bare, and bandied about, often anonymously. respect for others disintegrates, and even as we dismiss, ignore or keep others distant, we can shamelessly peer into every detail of their lives. ( ft, 42) it must, however, not be left unsaid that social media has contributed to bringing together as husbands and wives people who met themselves casually online. many of such persons, especially in the united states, have remained together without serious hitches. it is very crucial for spouses to discuss their use of social media and find a way to control any excesses that might come up from any of them at any point. some couples make their passwords known to each other to help them remain checked or controlled. this is because infidelity usually thrives in secrecy, enhanced by privacy. this, however, is for couples to mutually agree upon. sometimes, infidelity begins with an accidental or unexpected meeting or encounter and grows through social media communications. at times, it begins from a social media contact or encounter, and bonds keep getting built, deepening. many times, this happens without the knowledge of one of the spouses, even though there might be guesses or suspicions. but sometimes, there is no suspicion at all, especially when the spouses trust each other. cheating in marriage often begins with lust or eagerness to try someone new, or to get money, or to have emotional needs satisfied. this gets deepened or escalated, enabled by the privacy and security afforded and guaranteed by social media networks. often, romantic and erotic messages, images, and communications start flying to and fro. sometimes, a change of attitude, unavailability, lies, unusual movement, and unnecessary irritation and intolerance are some of the signs that might be pointing to a spouse cheating. overview of the catechism of the catholic church igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 75 the catechism of the catholic church is an organized presentation of the essential teachings of the catholic church in regards to both faith and morals. when we talk about “the catechism” today, we are most likely referring to the catechism of the catholic church, promulgated by pope john paul ii in 1992 to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the opening of the second vatican council. this is the product of a decade of labour of bishops, theologians, and other experts who worked to provide us a compendium of all catholic doctrine on faith and morals. the new catechism abandoned the question-and-answer form and used modern language in its prescriptions on faith, the sacraments, sin, and prayer. all these were treated under the foundational themes of trinity, incarnation, paschal mystery, the church, and the human person. the text of this study, catechism of the catholic church, 2380, states: adultery refers to marital infidelity. when two partners, of whom at least one is married to another party, have sexual relations – even transient ones – they commit adultery. christ condemns even adultery of mere desire. the sixth commandment and the new testament forbid adultery; they see it as an image of the sin of idolatry. (ccc, 2380) it is against the backdrop of this text that this work is initiated. and it is in line with the text of this document that the subject matter is discussed. hence, this work is concerned with infidelity as it relates to social media, and is hinged and anchored on this text. this will not be completely or successfully done without bringing in some allied sources that have an intimate connection with the catechism of the catholic church, namely the bible and the magisterium. biblical perspective on infidelity infidelity in christian marriage can be devastating and is indeed a draining experience. it can sometimes lead to violence and even divorce. adultery is considered a great sin in the bible as is recorded in gen. 20:9 and gen. 39:9. maintaining a primary bond with one’s spouse is essential. failing to hold one’s spouse as the most important human relationship is the beginning of problems. the bible commands that marriage ought to be between one man and one woman, united by god (gen.2:24, mk. 10:7-9). also, the seventh commandment in the decalogue prohibits adultery (ex. 20:14). christ was even very firm and hard on the issue of infidelity, divorce, or remarriage that he saying, “anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. and if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery (lk. 16:18, mk. 10:11-12). going even harder, christ says that anyone who “looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (mtt. 5:27-28). prov. 6:32 says that “a man who commits adultery has no sense; whoever does so destroys himself”. paul in 1cor. 6:9-11 holds that wrongdoers, the sexually immoral, and adulterers will not inherit the kingdom of god. magisterial teachings on marriage and infidelity the magisterium has always held marriage in high esteem and with deep reverence, because apart from it being a natural institution, it is also a holy union through the elevation by christ, and by its mission. pope pius xi, in his encyclical casti connubii, writes thus: how great is the dignity of chaste wedlock, venerable brethren, may be judged best from this that christ our lord, son of the eternal father, having assumed the nature igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 76 of fallen man, not only, with his loving desire of compassing the redemption of our race, ordained it in an especial manner as the principle and foundation of domestic society and therefore of all human intercourse, but also raised it to the rank of a truly and great sacrament of the new law, restored it to the original purity of its divine institution , and accordingly entrusted all its discipline and care to his spouse the church. (cc, 1) to the magisterium of the church, the sanctity of marriage (matrimony), its foundation or its purpose, is not debatable or negotiable or subject to change at any time, because the doctrine about it is fundamental and perennial. hence, pope pius xi writes: …let it be repeated as an immutable and inviolable fundamental doctrine that matrimony was not instituted or restored by man but by god; not by man were the laws made to strengthen and confirm and elevate it but by god, the author of nature, and by christ our lord by whom nature was redeemed, and hence these laws cannot be subject to any human decrees or to any contrary pact even of the spouses themselves. this is the doctrine of holy scripture; this is the constant tradition of the universal church; this the solemn definition of the sacred council of trent, which declares and establishes from the words of the holy writ itself that god is the author of the perpetual stability of the marriage bond, its unity and its firmness. (cc, 5) when issues of infidelity in marriage are mentioned, adultery readily comes to mind. karl peschke, in his work christian ethics: moral theology in the light of vatican ii, states that adultery “is a sexual intercourse between two partners of different sex, of whom at least one is married. besides the sin against chastity, adultery is also an offence against justice and fidelity. holy scriptures of the old and new testaments condemn the sin of adultery in rather severe terms.” (474). he goes further to say: …adultery involves destructive consequences for the love, harmony and stability in the family of the married partners. the love of the partners who commit adultery will usually be divided. “relations which can endanger the faithfulness reveal themselves by the claims of exclusiveness directed from within conversely towards others.” the persons will be drawn away from their first partners and families, which inevitably will weaken the stability of the original bonds. further damage to love and harmony will be done if the innocent partner discovers the unfaithfulness of the marriage mate. obviously adultery violates the fidelity promised by the marriage partners to each other and the pledges made in the marriage. (475) catholic news agency reports pope francis as positing on october 31, 2018, that “faithful married love, in which a husband loves his wife like christ loves the church, is 'revolutionary”. it reports that “the pope focused his remarks at the general audience on spousal fidelity in every vocation.” and the pope rhetorically asks: “who then is the adulterer, the lustful, the unfaithful?” “he is an immature person, who…interprets situations based on his well-being and satisfaction”, he continued. according to him, the human body is not an instrument of pleasure, but the place of our call to love, and in authentic love, there is no room for lust and for its superficiality. he is of the opinion that men and women deserve more. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 77 reflecting on his encyclical on the family, familiaris consortio, pope john paul ii wrote: christian spouses and parents are included in the universal call to sanctity. for them this call is specified by the sacrament they have celebrated and is carried out concretely in the realities proper to their conjugal and family life. this gives rise to the grace and requirement of an authentic and profound conjugal and family spirituality that draws its inspiration from the themes of creation, covenant, cross, resurrection, and sign which were stressed more than once by the synod. (fc, 139140) pope francis, in his encyclical, amoris laetitia, speaks of marriage as that friendship that is characterised by a passion that is “always directed to an ever more stable and intense union.” (al, 125) he further writes that: … “marriage was not instituted solely for the procreation of children” but also that mutual love “might be properly expressed, that it should grow and mature”. this unique friendship between a man and a woman acquires an allencompassing character only within the conjugal union. precisely as allencompassing tis union is also exclusive, faithful and open to new life. (al, 125) the church’s position on the use of social media the church, in communio et progressio, appreciates and values social communication and all of the means it uses because it believes their aim is “unity and advancement of men living in the society”. (cp, art 27, no 1) regarding social communication, the church, through the second vatican council fathers, says that: the constant improvement in the media puts them at the disposal of more people who in their daily lives make increasing use of them. more than ever before, the way men live and think is profoundly affected by the means of communication. the church sees these media as “gifts of god” which, in accordance with his providential design, unite men in brotherhood and so help them to cooperate with his plan for their salvation. (cp, art 27, nos 1-2) the united states conference of bishops reiterated the words of pope francis in his message at the 48th world communications day in 2014, that communication is a means of expressing the missionary vocation of the entire church. in his view, today, the social networks are one way to experience this call to discover the beauty of faith, the beauty of encountering christ. he pointed out that in the area of communications, too, we need a church capable of bringing warmth and of stirring hearts. pope francis also observed that what we see nowadays in communications media and technologies is a revolution which represents “a great thrilling challenge”. he, therefore, admonished that people should be able to respond to that challenge with fresh energy and imagination as we seek to share with others the beauty of god. pope francis, addressing the participants of the 2022 world congress of signis in seoul, south korea, remarked that the use of digital media, especially social media, has raised several serious ethical issues that call for wise and discerning judgment on the part of communicators and all those concerned with the authenticity and quality of human relationships. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 78 george augustin, in his book called to love: christian marriage and family life, wrote about marriage and the sixth commandment: everyone knows just how much suffering the breakup of a marriage can cause the spouses themselves as their children. our daily experience of this gives us an insight into the contemporary relevance of and need for the sixth commandment. unlike the case in the past, marriage today has in many cultures become something private, intimate and individualized. at the same time, strong social attitudes prohibiting adultery have also changed. a new sensitivity surrounding marital infidelity committed by the hurting of feelings and causing emotional upset is now commonplace. (65) it is important, therefore, to be conscious of the potency and possibility of social media to constitute a serious problem for marriage partners in their faithfulness to themselves concerning their vow of married chastity. discipline, self-restraint, and boundaries are very crucial so as to avoid the crises that could come from infidelity. overview of igbo people igbo people are mostly located in the southeastern part of nigeria, west africa. the southeast is currently made up of anambra, imo, abia, ebonyi, and enugu states of nigeria. there are other places outside these eastern states where igbo people can be found, too, in nigeria. places like rivers state, delta state, cross river state, akwa ibom state, and bayelsa state. but the eastern states already mentioned earlier are the main homeland of the igbo people. they are found in their dense population in those states. apart from nigeria, there are groups of people who speak igbo found in cameroon and equatorial guinea. they make up significant numbers. igbo people have strong traditional institutions and formidable governance structures. they mostly have their kings (igwe/eze) with their cabinets. they also have the eldest in nuclear families and heads in extended families, plus ndi nze na ozo, who are given a pride of place in igbo communities. with these cultural and leadership structures, vices like infidelity are seen as a cankerworm in the life of any family. it does not align with the values of igbo principles and philosophy. hence, it is frowned upon. some women were sent home to their parents’ home by their husbands or even by their communities pending the time the infidelity allegation levelled against them was treated and resolved. however, it is important to note that focus many of the focus is often on the woman when it comes to infidelity. hence, women many times die in silence or feel they are not well treated or given the dignity they desire. infidelity among igbo people having an extramarital affair after getting married is referred to as adultery, whether committed by a man or a woman. adultery is considered taboo in igbo society, generally. no community celebrates it. when committed by a woman, it is not just seen as an offence against the man and his family but also against the land and the gods. it is considered a sacrilege. in some igbo communities, it is believed that a married woman who engages in an extramarital affair will go igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 79 mad if she does not confess publicly, and that if her husband eats her food knowingly, he might also die. some rituals of purification are done to appease the gods and the land. it is, however, important to note that in the issue of adultery, the focus seems to be more on women. the men who are involved in adultery do not seem to receive the same attention or punishment as women who commit the same. that is what is common in igbo traditional society. consequently, okorie albert, ostar christopher, and chikwado ezugworie write thus in their work, an assessment of the traditional penal code for adultery and the operations of women’s rights instruments among the igbos, in south-eastern nigeria: adultery is an offence which is frowned at in different cultures and societies the world over, however, the punishment systems defer [sic]. in africa, punishments for adultery appear to be one sided as the female culprits bear the bulk of the punishment while their male counterparts go free with minimal or in some cases no punishment at all. (35) in a nutshell, igbo traditional society frowns at adultery, just like other taboos like having an affair with one’s daughter, one’s mother, or a widow. they dish out punishments for these, even though incest is considered more abominable. sometimes, the woman involved in adultery may be sent home to his people, temporarily. at other times, she is permanently divorced. all this gives a general understanding of the position of igbo people on infidelity in marriage, even though it is more focused on women. the implication of infidelity for christian couples infidelity in marriage is a great injustice on the part of the spouse who is guilty of it. it causes harm and inflicts injury on the one who suffers it. “he who commits adultery fails in his commitment. he does injury to the sign of the covenant, which the marriage bond is, transgresses the rights of the other spouse, and undermines the institution of marriage by breaking the contract on which it is based” (ccc 2381). it can lead to lack of trust and the dwindling of the love that exists between couples. infidelity in marriage can bring shame and disrespect both from the spouse that is cheated and from people that get to know about the act. cheating in marriage opens up the possibility of begetting child(ren) from another person outside the married family. it also creates the risks of spreading diseases. the crises that come from infidelity can lead to a broken home. the devastation that come from it is not only felt or suffered by the spouses themselves but also by their children. children, especially, are left with divided or confused loyalty and hatred can easily be sowed in the hearts of children due to the trauma of having their parents separated due to marriage crises. infidelity usually makes domestic violence nearer to the home, as there are grudges, grievances, hatred, and perhaps intolerance arising from heartbreak and shame of suffering the infidelity from one’s spouse. more so, it serves as a bad example for children from the family, as they may indulge in the same act in the future. by the act of infidelity, christian couples are no longer showing their family a good “domestic church”, where their children can be groomed in wisdom and upright living. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 80 if a spouse keeps cheating in marriage, it increases the probability or chances that he or she would repeat such. sometimes, too, it weakens the moral strength of his or her partner to resist the temptation of marital infidelity. what all these imply is that every christian couple must strive to stay faithful to each other and do everything spiritually and physically necessary to avoid cheating in marriage. the bond and covenant of love they have entered into with each other must always be fanned and sustained, mutually. comparative study of infidelity in christian marriage and in igbo traditional society christianity teaches that in the beginning, god created man and woman and ordained that they unite as husband and wife. marriage, therefore, is as old as man. it is also a natural institution, but jesus christ elevated it to the dignity of a sacrament and gave permanence and indissolubility to it. the sixth commandment, therefore, forbids infidelity or adultery between couples who are united in the sacrament of holy matrimony. “what god has united, let man put asunder.” every indulgence in an extramarital affair is, as a result, viewed as a sin against god and an offence against one’s spouse. the church, therefore, condemns it as morally evil and reprehensible. the church, however, does not favour or spare any gender, especially when it comes to infidelity in marriage. infidelity by either a husband or a wife is condemned equally. remorse and repentance, confession and amendment are usually the requirements of the church when adultery is involved. the church does not encourage divorce, nor does it support inhuman or one-sided treatment or punishment for infidelity. the church’s approach to it is always pastoral and spiritual. she walks alongside the sinner with compassion, welcoming them back to the mercy of christ. the church respects and promotes human dignity, equal rights, and justice. yet it rebukes and corrects immoral conduct as a mother she is and as god’s representative and agent on earth. unfortunately, in igbo traditional society, men are seen as superior to women. some men and families view them (women) as part of their property, having paid their dowry, and maybe because they cater for their needs. women, generally, are seen as subjects in igbo traditional society, though christianity, enlightenment, and activism by some feminists and human rights organisations are now helping to change that erroneous mentality and narrative. unlike the traditional society that threatens madness or death, or divorce against women, the church preaches repentance, forgiveness, reconciliation, chastity, and renewed commitment to fidelity to one’s spouse. also, the church respects both the man and the woman as equal partners in love and marriage, while advocating mutual respect between them, and submissiveness on the part of the woman. the way forward it is important to note that there can be a way out of this hydra-headed monster of infidelity that threatens the love and unity that ought to exist in the marriage and family. social media should enhance and foster the peace that is essential for the unity and growth in marriage. consequently, it is imperative to pay attention to the following points as remedies. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 81 love and attention between spouses there is no gainsaying the fact that love attracts and bonds spouses to each other. the foundation of every marriage is love. it is that love that ensures and fosters mutual acceptance. every human being needs love. it is more crucial and obligatory in marriage that couples love themselves unconditionally and give themselves enough attention as deserving of their partnership and companionship. any marriage that lacks attention, which is spurred by love, is dying and on the verge of collapsing. situations as that can enhance infidelity. spouses are to always renew their love and give themselves prime and quality attention. this will make them take care of themselves and of their needs the much as they can, both financially and otherwise. respect and trust in a marriage, the man is seen as the head. however, it must be noted that marriage is a union of two persons who share equality in their beings as human beings. as such, each of them deserves and ought to give respect as required for human dignity. disrespect or despise or denigration, or degrading can be a surge in negative feelings and hurt, which, when it fails to get restored, can make spouses start having a distaste for each other, thereby making infidelity via social media communications easier or an option. trust is also essential because undue suspicion or false accusations against a spouse of infidelity can eventually lead a spouse to the real infidelity. disclosing marital status it is a fact that many spouses hide their marital status, especially on social media networks. by so doing, the spouse is directly or indirectly sending a message that he or she is single. as a lot of people find their way to social networks, married and unmarried, morally conservative and morally decadent, a spouse ought to protect him or herself and safeguard their marriage by showing his or her marital status. meanwhile, some people deny being married even when some signs or evidence are giving them away. such a disposition and attitude breed social media-enhanced infidelity. sharing of security codes and avoiding idleness even though privacy is good and advisable to avoid interference, intrusion, or to allow one some discreet and positive secrecy, it is, however, recommended that couples who fear that they may be tempted to falter when unchecked can decide to co-own the security pin of their phones or of their social network applications. this will help to keep them always in check. going far in social media communication often requires time and concentration. hence, it is worth noting that idleness or having less to engage in is one of the things that enhances social media infidelity. a lot of time, many of the times, is spent online or on the internet seeking/establishing new friendships and sustaining the old ones. if someone is busy with something worthwhile, one might not have enough time to engage him or herself in negative talks. sexual love it must be emphasised that conjugal love is an essential part of christian marriage since couples give themselves to each other both physically and spiritually. it is, therefore, necessary that both spouses make themselves available to each other. there have been cases of spouses complaining that their sacramentally married spouses deny or refuse them sexual intercourse. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 5, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 82 this, some explain, is their reason for indulging in extramarital affairs. sexual intimacy remains part and parcel of christian marriage. however, spouses must not be insensitive to the disposition or condition of their partners. the attitude of seeing one’s spouse as a mere object of satisfaction or of being sexually selfish must be avoided or eschewed. conclusion this work has been able to bring to light, in a clear manner, the moral evil of infidelity and the way social media can aid it. hinged on the catechism of the catholic church, 2380, the text views adultery as a sin against the sixth commandment. christian marriage is exclusively mutual between the spouses who commit themselves to one another in love till death. so it admits of no third party or any external sexual affair. in this article, the author navigated through the thoughts and views of different authors and teachings of the church, to establish, in a vivid manner, that infidelity through social media is objectionable. he did this, enumerating the factors that can lead to it and the consequences that can emanate therefrom. the article suggests love and attention, trust, and respect between spouses as the ingredients that can aid the curbing infidelity through social media. it also recommends showing one’s true marital status, sharing security codes of social media networks between spouses, and being sexually available for one’s partner, as other ways to solve the problem of infidelity via social media. bibliography aririguzo, mary jane. “an assessment of the traditional penal code for adultery and the operations of 'women’s rights instruments among the igbos, in south-eastern nigeria” international journal of political science egbuna, miriam. enjoy your marriage: a handbook for the married and those preparing for marriage, enugu: snaap press, 2012. flannery, austin, vatican council ii: the conciliar and post conciliar documents, ibadan: the ambassador publications, 1998. francis, encyclical evangelii gaudium, joy of the gospel. paulines publications africa, 2013. francis. apostolic exhortation amoris laetitia, love in the family. st. paul's, 2016. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 34 interreligious dialogue in 21st century africa: the role of digital communication ratzinger e. e. nwobodo, ph.d philosophy department, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka ratzingerjunior2020@gmail.com abstract religious pluralism has been a defining feature of african societies, particularly within african traditional religions, where multiple deities were worshipped without conflict. before western incursion, this pluralism did not necessitate interreligious dialogue, as mutual respect among different faiths fostered peaceful coexistence. however, the arrival of christianity and islam in africa, particularly in nigeria, has intensified the need for interfaith dialogue. the tension between these two religions has often led to conflict, violence, and the politicization of religion. in response, various efforts have been made to promote peaceful cohabitation through dialogue, though these initiatives have faced significant challenges. in the 21st century, the multiplicity of faiths and the rise of digital communication tools offer new opportunities for fostering effective interreligious dialogue. this paper seeks to explore these possibilities, focusing on two central questions: what does interreligious dialogue look like in the 21st century? how can digital communication tools facilitate more effective dialogue between christians and muslims in nigeria? through critical descriptive analysis, this study draws on secondary sources—such as online journals, books, and scholarly articles—to argue that digital communication tools provide a promising avenue for promoting constructive engagement and understanding between nigeria's major religious communities. keywords: interreligious dialogue, religious pluralism, digital communication. introduction religion plays a central role in the life of an african, permeating both political and social spheres, thus shaping their entire worldview. before the advent of western influences, africans had established systems of worship, though these were diverse and not unified under a single set of beliefs or a common supernatural entity. while broadly categorized as an african traditional religion, the diversity within this religious framework is significant. for example, among the yoruba people of nigeria, different deities such as ogun and ifa were venerated by various groups. despite this plurality of faiths, interreligious dialogue was never considered necessary in precolonial african societies. this absence of conflict arose from a mutual respect for differing beliefs, where each religious sect functioned independently without interference. moreover, cooperation across different religious groups in communal and traditional responsibilities was not uncommon, reflecting a harmonious co-existence. as adiele (1993, as cited in adetunbi, 2021) igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 35 aptly observes, this peaceful pluralism allowed for an organized and functional social structure despite religious differences. in his words: before the arrival of foreign religions (islam and christianity), nigerians were practising their indigenous faith. at that period, nigerians witnessed relative peace despite the various sects and denominations within the religion. for instance, among the yoruba people of western nigeria, there were sects such as ifa worshipers, ogun worshipers, sango worshipers, orunmila worshipers, etc. among the igbo of eastern nigeria, there were also sects such as worshipers of ala, amadioha, mmuo, etc. in the northern part, among the hausa people, there were sects such as the bori cult and other traditional worshipers. as there was little or no internal rift to contend with, the adherents and the entire populace then, enjoyed religious harmony (p.25). expanding on this point, adetunbi (2021) highlights that the mutual understanding among diverse religious groups in pre-colonial nigeria fostered a harmonious interaction across different faiths. a notable example of this is interfaith marriage, which was common and unproblematic despite religious differences. for instance, families of sango worshippers could marry into families of ogun worshippers, and the religious difference did not present a barrier. furthermore, people of various faiths, regardless of their religious backgrounds, would come together to celebrate with newlyweds and their families, signifying a broader communal acceptance. this spirit of religious humanism extended beyond marriage. festivals, whether annual town-wide celebrations or specific to one religious sect, provided an opportunity for community-wide participation. during annual festivals, all sons and daughters of the town, irrespective of their religious affiliations, would attend in full ceremonial attire to honour the king, who served as the central figure in these celebrations. the king would offer prayers for his subjects, both local and in the diaspora, and engage in discussions aimed at advancing the town’s development. these festivals also functioned as a forum for conflict resolution, wherein disputes among community members were settled, followed by communal feasting. these practices reinforced a sense of unity and strengthened bonds of brotherhood, further enhancing the social fabric of pre-colonial african societies. adetunbi (2021) argues that it was this religious tolerance that underpinned the harmony experienced in african communities dominated by indigenous religious practices during the precolonial era. however, this peaceful coexistence was disrupted with the arrival of christianity and islam, which were introduced through western incursion. these foreign religions brought with them a sense of religious superiority, viewing african traditional religions as inferior and in need of eradication. despite both christianity and islam advocating love, they were embroiled in constant rivalry, each vying for religious supremacy. this friction manifested in the pejorative terms used to describe one another’s beliefs. for example, african traditional religions were often dismissed as "paganism," "idolatry," "fetishism," or "ancestor worship" by both christians and muslims. similarly, christians referred to muslims as "unbelievers," while muslims labelled christians as "kafir" (infidels). this derogatory language and the accompanying religious intolerance have severely impacted the religious landscape and social interactions in contemporary nigeria, creating deep divisions (adetunbi, 2021). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 36 religious conflicts have become a deeply ingrained issue in nigeria, with frequent clashes between the two major religions—christianity and islam—often stemming from perceived slights or doctrinal disagreements. these tensions have resulted in violent confrontations, leading to significant loss of life and widespread property damage. tragically, religious freedom in certain parts of the country remains restricted, with christians, for example, unable to freely preach in the northern regions. a poignant illustration of this hostility is the insurgency of boko haram, an islamic militant group committed to the islamization of northern nigeria, which has carried out numerous violent attacks, particularly targeting non-muslims. moreover, the recurrent killings in maiduguri, sokoto, kano, and southern kaduna, all under the guise of religious motivations, further highlight the volatile nature of religious relations in the country (adetunbi, 2021). adding complexity to this situation is the politicization of religious intolerance. politicians have often exploited the already fragile religious and tribal divides to advance their political ambitions, worsening the overall instability. despite these challenges, ongoing efforts have been made to foster dialogue between christian and muslim communities to promote peaceful coexistence. achieving this, however, has proven extremely difficult. in the 21st century, the rapid rise of digital communication presents new opportunities for improving interreligious dialogue. both christianity and islam have integrated digital tools into their efforts to spread their respective messages, utilizing these platforms for proselytization and evangelization. this paper argues that digital communication offers a promising pathway for more effective and inclusive interreligious dialogue in nigeria. accordingly, the study poses two central questions: what does interreligious dialogue look like in the 21st century? how can digital communication facilitate improved interreligious dialogue in nigeria? using a critical descriptive approach and drawing on secondary sources such as online journals, books, and articles, this paper demonstrates that digital tools hold significant potential for fostering more constructive dialogue between the country's two dominant religions—christianity and islam. a historical overview of religion in nigeria: christian and islamic religion islam entered nigeria through the northern borders, predating christianity by several centuries. metuh (1985) contends that islam arrived in northern nigeria approximately five to six hundred years before christianity, with enwerem (1995) placing its arrival between 1000 a.d. and 1100 a.d. initially, islam made contact with bornu in northeastern nigeria, eventually spreading across the hausa states by the 14th and 15th centuries (trimingham 1962). ekeopara (1996) suggests that early islamic propagation primarily targeted urban populations, particularly the upper class, for economic, social, and political benefits. however, it was only during uthman dan fodio’s jihad that islam truly permeated northern nigeria, spreading forcefully across the region. according to ekeopara (1996), islam in northern nigeria took on a more aggressive form around 1750 a.d., becoming intolerant of traditional religious systems. by this time, the jihadists sought to eliminate all remnants of indigenous customs intertwined with islam, using military might rather than peaceful conversion to subdue non-believers. historical records indicate that following their military conquests, the jihadists swiftly established islamic law and governance to secure their dominance. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 37 in contrast, christianity’s introduction to nigeria unfolded in three distinct phases. the first phase traces christianity’s arrival to the 15th century, with benin and warri in the niger delta emerging as early centers of missionary activity. the portuguese roman catholic mission is recognized as the first christian missionary presence in nigeria, arriving in benin in 1485 at the invitation of oba uzolua and later, in 1514, by oba esigie, both kings of benin (agha 1999; tasie 1978). njoku (1980) confirms that roman catholics were the earliest christian missionaries to southern nigeria. by 1487, the portuguese, having already established trade relations with benin, sent missionaries to benin city and old warri. however, despite initial enthusiasm, these early missions struggled under harsh conditions. over time, the missions to benin and warri faltered due to the limited number of missionaries and the waning interest of the obas and their people. historical accounts suggest that the early attempts to introduce christianity in benin were unsuccessful largely because “the kings of benin city remained strongly attached to their indigenous religion” (baur 2009, p.75). this juxtaposition of islam’s militant spread through the north and christianity’s more tentative introduction through southern nigeria highlights the complex religious dynamics that would later shape nigeria’s cultural and political landscape. the second phase of christian missionary activity in nigeria, during the 16th century under oba esigie, experienced limited success. oba esigie and many of his chiefs were baptized, practising christianity in a manner that suited their cultural and personal preferences. churches were built, but the christian influence remained largely confined to the royal court. although details regarding the extent of the benin mission's spread are sparse, historical evidence such as crucifixes, statues, and catholic emblems discovered within the royal court years later indicate some degree of success. njoku (1980) reports that when the british arrived in warri in 1897, they encountered people adorned with rosary beads resembling those of roman catholics. additionally, the olu of the jekris (itshekris) wore a silver crown with a cross, a gift from the king of portugal, along with garments and chaplets associated with catholicism. christianity's second phase of expansion in nigeria is marked by its penetration through western nigeria. by 1841, lagos had developed into a notorious slave market under king kosoko, who spearheaded the trade (dike 1957). following kosoko's deportation by the british, missionary efforts intensified in yoruba land. among the earliest missions in the region were the wesleyan methodist mission and the church missionary society (c.m.s.), represented by reverend thomas birch freeman and catechist henry townsend in 1842. one of the most notable converts was samuel ajayi crowther, a yoruba man who, after being freed from slavery in sierra leone, became instrumental in spreading the gospel among his people (oduyoye 1969). the christian mission to calabar, in southeastern nigeria, began in 1846, with the scottish presbyterian mission leading the evangelization of the efik people. essien ukpabio, a native of creek town, became the first convert and was baptized by reverend hope waddle, the pioneer missionary to calabar, who had previously worked in ethiopia. mary slessor and other missionaries later joined the efforts to spread christianity in the region. king eyo honesty of creek town played a key role in assisting the missionaries in planting christianity in calabar, which ultimately spread to other parts of the former eastern region (ajayi 1965; kalu 1978).according to ajah (1994), christianity reached eastern nigeria primarily through two igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 38 routes: one from western nigeria via the lagos area, and the other through seaports in the eastern part of the country. the calabar mission became a crucial hub for missionary activities that eventually extended christianity's reach throughout southeastern nigeria. this phase of christian expansion laid the groundwork for the establishment of christianity in eastern nigeria, contributing significantly to the region's religious transformation. the third phase of christian missionary efforts in nigeria began in 1885 with the arrival of irish missionaries in onitsha, located on the lower niger. interestingly, this mission was initially intended for lokoja, as the missionaries' primary goal was to establish the upper niger mission. this shift in destination is often considered providential, as it allowed the missionaries to establish a strong presence in onitsha instead. the missionary team was led by father joseph lutz, a french alsatian priest who had previously served for over ten years in sierra leone. his experience and dynamic approach to evangelism made him an ideal leader for the mission. accompanying him were father johan horne, a newly ordained priest, and two brothers, hermas and jean-gotto, both of whom had previously worked at the st. coeur de marie station (metuh & ejizu, 1985:12). this phase marked a critical period in the spread of christianity in southeastern nigeria, especially in the igbo-speaking regions, where the missionaries encountered a vibrant indigenous culture and traditional religious practices. the mission's success in onitsha laid the foundation for future missionary activities and the eventual expansion of christianity throughout the lower niger region. an overview of religious intolerance in nigeria religious intolerance in nigeria can be traced to the legacy left behind by foreign missionaries (nelson & babale, 2022). the introduction of islam and christianity into the country disrupted the previously harmonious socio-religious environment of nigerian communities, fostering an atmosphere of intolerance and antagonism (atoi 2016; atoi 2019). as uzoma (2004) explains, the arrival of these two religions led to religious hostility and social unrest, a significant shift from the previously peaceful coexistence. this conflict began when foreign missionaries described african religious traditions in pejorative terms, using labels like "primitive," "savage," "paganism," "heathenism," "idolatry," and "fetishism." this derogatory stance encouraged adherents of christianity and islam to demonize african religious worldviews, resulting in the destruction of sacred vessels, vestments, altars, and shrines associated with african indigenous religion (atoi 2019; atoi et al 2019). reflecting on this development, idowu (1973) argues that it is both wrong and offensive to refer to any living religion in such negative terms. similarly, ubrurhe (2000) observes that christians and muslims have historically shown disdain for african traditional religious beliefs and practices, often leading to the destruction of sacred symbols and images associated with those beliefs. this religious contempt not only harmed traditional african religions but also set the stage for the ongoing religious conflicts and tensions that persist in nigeria today. religious intolerance in nigeria occurs not only between different religious traditions but also within the same faith tradition, between sects or denominations (nelson & babale, 2022). ubrurhe (2000) highlights how christian denominations have often criticized each other, using songs, indoctrination, and emphasis on doctrinal weaknesses to undermine their counterparts. for igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 39 instance, in urhobo land, catholicism, which arrived later, condemned the doctrines of the anglican church. similarly, the rivalry between catholic and protestant missionaries among the igbo between 1857 and 1914 had a negative impact, fostering religious intolerance. this intrafaith tension worsened with the rise of neo-pentecostalism (nelson & babale, 2022), which is characterized by its radical approach to christian doctrine. neo-pentecostal churches tend to be more militant in their evangelistic activities, adopting an aggressive proselytizing style and a highly intolerant attitude towards those they consider “unbelievers.” islamic sects have also exhibited internal intolerance. various fundamentalist groups within islam have often been hostile to other islamic factions, straining relationships between different groups (uzoma 2004). one significant example is the maitatsine movement, which emerged in the 1980s under the leadership of muhammadu marwa. marwa, a radical qur’anic teacher, rejected many mainstream islamic beliefs and practices. his sect waged violent campaigns against other muslims, particularly in kano, targeting those they considered non-believers (ubrurhe 2000). marwa’s fundamentalist views extended beyond religion, as he vehemently opposed modernization and western influences. he criticized technologies such as radios, wristwatches, and automobiles, considering those who used these items as "hell-bound pagans" (falola 1998). this pattern of intra-religious intolerance has contributed significantly to nigeria's broader landscape of religious conflict, fueling both interand intra-faith antagonisms. religious intolerance in nigeria has also affected its tertiary institutions, particularly since the 1980s (nelson & babale, 2022). one notable example is the violent clash between christian and muslim students in kafanchan, kaduna state, which erupted on 6th march 1987. what began as a minor misunderstanding between the two groups of students at the college of education escalated into large-scale violence, resulting in the destruction of lives and property. this conflict soon spread beyond the institution, affecting other parts of the country. according to kukah (1993), the immediate cause of the violence was allegedly a christian preacher's use of qur’anic verses to delegitimize islam while claiming that salvation could only be found in christianity (gofwen, 2004). another significant cause of religious intolerance has been the issue of sharia law. since its reintroduction in 1999 by some northern state governors, beginning with zamfara state, there has been a sharp increase in religious tensions. the implementation of sharia law, which regulates the social conduct of citizens, has been a major source of conflict, particularly in northern nigeria where there are both muslim and non-muslim populations. gellar (2007) notes that the imposition of sharia law on all citizens in these regions has sparked inter-religious strife. in more recent times, the rise of the boko haram sect has become the most prominent and dangerous manifestation of religious intolerance in nigeria. this islamic fundamentalist group has sought to impose sharia law across the country and has a particular disdain for secular education and government establishments (onuoha, 2010). boko haram’s violent actions, which target both muslims and non-muslims, threaten the unity of the nigerian state (alkali et al., 2012). their campaign of terror underscores the deepening religious divisions in the country. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 40 within christianity, hostility between catholic and pentecostal denominations has persisted, reaching its height when some christian sects or denominations began to refer to themselves as 'living or holy churches,' implicitly branding other churches as 'dead or unholy.' this distinction suggests that the latter should be rejected because they supposedly lack the spiritual light to guide people toward salvation (haaga & ngbea, 2023). this sectarian tension extends beyond christianity, as fanatical christian groups often direct their fervor toward other religions as well. while these groups may not actively attack or burn mosques, they have been known to destroy shrines, fell sacred trees, and even kill african traditional religious priests, citing biblical passages such as the injunction against suffering a witch to live (haaga & ngbea, 2023). fanaticism within the three major religious traditions in nigeria—christianity, islam, and african traditional religions—has negatively impacted the freedom of thought, conscience, and religion (udofia & uduigwomen, 2022). okwueze & kanu (2003, in haaga & ngbea, 2023) highlight various instances of religious abuse, such as the maitatsine sect's violent attacks in the 1980s. in predominantly muslim areas, muslims have often prevented christians from preaching or spreading their faith, which has led to riots and deaths in some cases. the denial of religious freedom, a fundamental human right, often arises during conflicts over beliefs, doctrines, and practices, as well as struggles for power, control of resources, land, political influence, and authority (dzurgba, 2010). these tensions not only reflect theological disagreements but also represent a struggle for social, political, and territorial dominance among religious groups. towards an understanding of inter-religious dialogue the term "dialogue" is derived from the greek word *dia-logos*, meaning "through word," which essentially translates to "talking together" or "conversation." interreligious dialogue refers specifically to discussions between individuals of different faiths or religious traditions. at its core, interreligious dialogue is characterized by an encounter between individuals who adhere to distinct faith traditions, taking place in an atmosphere of mutual trust and acceptance (olagunju, 2013). ariarajah (2002) posits that interfaith dialogue serves not only to inform participants about each other's beliefs but also to allow individuals to rediscover vital aspects of their own faith traditions. this dialogue is recognized for its potential to dismantle historical prejudices and enmities, creating new opportunities for collaborative efforts aimed at the common good. ultimately, interreligious dialogue represents a discourse between two or more religious organizations, fostering a deeper understanding of the tenets of each faith and promoting peaceful coexistence among their practitioners. according to the pontifical council for interreligious dialogue (2007, as cited in olagunju, 2013), dialogue can be understood in various ways. firstly, at a purely human level, it involves reciprocal communication that leads toward a common goal or, at a deeper level, fosters interpersonal communion. secondly, dialogue is viewed as an attitude of respect and friendship that should permeate all activities associated with the church's evangelizing mission, a notion aptly referred to as "the spirit of dialogue" (p.37). lastly, in the context of religious plurality, dialogue encompasses "all positive and constructive interreligious relations with individuals and communities of other faiths directed at mutual understanding and enrichment" (p.37), grounded in igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 41 adherence to truth and respect for freedom. this understanding of dialogue includes both witnessing and the exploration of each participant's religious convictions. francis (1997, in olagunju, 2013) emphasizes the nature of interreligious dialogue and its necessity in multicultural and pluralistic contexts like africa. he observes that: interreligious dialogue is neither a study of world religions (a theological reflection on religions) nor a comparative study of creeds and doctrines, although such studies are important and useful. interreligious dialogue is not a scientific debate between experts in religions, because no one tries establishing what is right or wrong. it is also not a box of pre-established and pre-determined laws from which solutions can be drawn at any moment. in other words, it is not a forum of conflict resolution, though someone might find the truth of the matter. it is not an effort to persuade the other to embrace one’s own religion since conversion from one religion to another must be free. it can be viewed as conversion –christians and non-christians to god. it is not a forum where differences in doctrines and practices are considered as obstacles, therefore they should be ignored and thrown away and it is not a simple exchange of information about each other’s religious beliefs (p.37). furthermore, he emphasizes that the primary objective of interreligious dialogue is the pursuit of peace rather than conversion, a principle particularly relevant in the african context. while conversion to either faith is not excluded, it must occur freely. he provides a clear illustration of what interreligious dialogue entails, stating that, above all, it represents an attitude one adopts or the various perspectives available for understanding other religions. he articulates this sentiment as follows: an attitude could be defined as the manner of his acting or his thinking; one’s disposition, opinion or mental set. some believe that all other religions are false except theirs. some others assert that each religion is the appropriate expression of its own culture. still, others think that all religions are the same. so people may have different attitudes towards other religions. here are the most well-known: rationalism, romanticism, relativism, exclusivism, dialectic, re-conception, tolerance, dialogue, catholicism and presence. the attitude of african christians towards other religions these last decades is of special concern because the future of africa that should be shaped in a way that promotes harmony for the avoidance of religious conflicts partly depends on this (p.38) in light of the aforementioned points, it is essential to recognize that interreligious dialogue can be effective when individuals from diverse religious backgrounds engage with one another in an environment characterized by freedom and openness, allowing each participant the opportunity to listen to and comprehend the perspectives of the others. previous attempts at interreligious dialogue in nigeria efforts have been made by various governments to promote interreligious dialogue in nigeria, recognizing that dialogue is a vital social imperative for fostering a peaceful society. furthermore, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 42 it is essential for the harmonious coexistence of people from diverse faith backgrounds. prior to the digital era, this model of interfaith dialogue primarily involved face-to-face interactions (muhammad & hidayah, 2023). in 1987, president babangida's administration initiated the first national interfaith dialogue, bringing together twelve representatives from both christianity and islam (acra act, 1987, in achus, 2022). however, this body proved ineffective, with igwara (2007, in achus, 2022) noting that it did not achieve significant success. the religious conflicts that erupted in 1999 led president obasanjo to establish the nigerian inter-religious council (nirec) at the national level (mcgarvey, 2009, in achus, 2022). the sectarian violence in northern nigeria has deepened religious divisions, highlighting the urgent need for initiatives that rebuild trust among the populace, a goal championed by interfaith advocates (kukah & mcgarvey, 2013, in achus, 2022). these religious conflicts have resulted in significant economic, political, and social repercussions for nigeria. consequently, religious organizations have become actively involved in peace building efforts, helping to resolve various forms of conflict. a notable example is the collaboration between two former adversaries and religious leaders, pastor james wuye and imam muhammad ashafa. once leaders of opposing factions within their communities, they now utilize their religious teachings to foster peace in nigeria and other parts of africa (griswold, 2010). according to little (2007, in achus, 2022), wuye, who led a christian youth militia, was involved in the death of imam ashafa’s spiritual mentor, which escalated their rivalry. during a confrontation, wuye lost his right hand due to an attack from ashafa’s militia. their paths crossed again at a unicef immunization program in 1995, where a mutual friend urged them to unite for the nation's sake. after several discussions, both leaders reconciled and expressed regret for their past actions. ashafa reflected, “we planted the seed of genocide and we used the scripture to do that” (griswold, 2010, p. 67). their reconciliation led to the establishment of the interfaith mediation center (imc) in kaduna, which has played a significant role in promoting interfaith education in nigeria (griswold, 2010). in an interview with the berkley center for religion, peace, and world affairs at georgetown university, achus (2022) quoted bishop joshua idowu-fearon, a proponent of interfaith dialogue in northern nigeria. idowu-fearon highlighted that the anglican approach to christian-muslim relations is grounded in "generous love," a booklet outlining the theological rationale for engaging with muslim neighbours. he emphasized the importance of educating fellow christians about islam and the necessity of promoting understanding and grace to coexist peacefully. to further this mission, idowu-fearon founded "bridge builders," an interfaith organization within the anglican diocese of kaduna. his efforts in fostering interfaith dialogue were recognized in 2013 when the archbishop of canterbury awarded him the cross of st. augustine. the archbishop noted that idowu-fearon had worked tirelessly on christian-muslim relations, demonstrating extraordinary courage and vision in often challenging circumstances (achus, 2022, p. 14). according to nwachukwu (2024), there is currently evidence of both local and international partnerships at the governmental level, as well as interfaith and intercultural efforts aimed at promoting religious dialogue in nigeria. while many observers view nigeria's religiosity as a source of conflict and a potential weakness, nwachukwu argues that religion can also serve as a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 43 strength for conflict resolution and a means to manage and resolve disputes. for instance, a delegation from the international dialogue centre (kaiciid) visited nigeria in 2015 during muhammadu buhari's presidency to explore opportunities for expanding peacebuilding initiatives through interreligious dialogue. the delegation, led by kaiciid deputy secretary general for external relations ambassador alvaro albacete and senior adviser professor mohammed abunimer, included ambassador yahaya lawal and dr. dodik ariyanto from the organization of islamic cooperation (oic). they met with over 20 senior religious leaders, government officials, and civil society representatives during a week-long visit to abuja. this effort was supported by the oic and kaiciid's local partner, the institute for peace and conflict resolution (ipcr). ambassador albacete stated that kaiciid aims to collaborate with international and civil society partners to enhance interreligious dialogue in nigeria, affirming their commitment to implement both shortand long-term activities that contribute to peace and social cohesion in the country (kaiciid, 2023, in nwachukwu, 2024). the history of inter-religious dialogue in nigeria would be incomplete without acknowledging the contributions of prominent religious leaders from various denominations and faiths. notably, former catholic cardinal of abuja, his eminence john onaiyekan, has been a consistent advocate for peaceful coexistence among the nigerian populace. he has frequently spoken out against the tensions between different religions in nigeria and emphasized the urgent need for dialogue. in one of his speeches, he expressed, “my hope was for nigerians to look beyond boko haram being muslim and see it as a threat for the whole country, regardless of any affiliations” (nwachukwu, 2024, p. 28). another significant figure in promoting religious dialogue is his eminence, the sultan of sokoto, who has welcomed and actively supported calls for religious harmony. he has highlighted the crucial role of timely intervention by international organizations in fostering inter-religious dialogue, stating, “what we have to do is to save humanity from itself. churches and mosques of all kinds are places of worship, not of hatred and distrust” (nwachukwu, 2024, p. 28). additionally, the late prelate of the methodist church and former president of the christian association of nigeria (can), sunday mbang, was a prominent advocate for peaceful coexistence among religious groups. political leaders, such as former nigerian military lt. colonel yakubu gowon, who leads the nigeria prays group, also played significant roles in promoting inter-religious dialogue and understanding. an overview of digital communications: social media digital communication technology encompasses a wide range of tools, systems, and platforms designed to enable information exchange across distances. this includes physical devices such as smart phones, tablets, and computers, alongside software and applications like email, social media, instant messaging, and video conferencing tools (walther, 2012). in the context of this paper, our primary focus is on social media. in contemporary discourse, social media has emerged as a powerful force in communication, acting as a catalyst for the integration of a diverse global community into what has been referred igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 44 to as a "global village." within academic discussions, there is a spectrum of definitions that illuminate the multifaceted nature of social media. leavey (2013) offers a nuanced interpretation, describing social media as a dynamic social structure composed of interconnected nodes representing individuals or entities. these nodes are interconnected through various forms of interdependencies, which may include shared values, ideas, financial transactions, social affiliations such as friendship or kinship, as well as instances of discord or commercial exchange. conversely, the institute for prospective technological studies (2008) provides a more focused definition, characterizing social media, or social networking sites, as online platforms that facilitate a variety of interactions, communications, and collaborations among users. these digital spaces function as virtual arenas where individuals come together to connect, share information, collaborate on projects, and engage in social interactions. according to their definition: on a basic technological level, combine social networking, a list of contacts and a profile. they are distinct from other applications in the way they support people’s presentation of themselves, externalisation of data, new ways of community formation, and bottom-up activities. they are also distinguished by their ease of use and their reorganisation of internet geography (p.35) these definitional perspectives highlight the complex nature of social media, presenting it as both a structural framework for interpersonal connections and a technological medium that promotes connectivity and interaction across global contexts. among the various definitions of social media, the framework articulated by kaplan and haenlein (2010) is particularly aligned with the objectives of this study. they describe social media as a constellation of internet-based applications that are founded on the ideological and technological principles of web 2.0, enabling the creation and exchange of user-generated content. a key distinguishing feature of social media is its interactivity and inclusivity. unlike traditional media, which is characterized by one-way communication, social media fosters an interactive environment that allows for limitless two-way exchanges among users. additionally, its inclusive nature surpasses the rigid centralized gate keeping mechanisms typical of traditional media, inviting participation from individuals across diverse demographics (kaplan and haenlein, 2010). central to the concept of social media, as elaborated by bhanye et al. (2023), are its various manifestations, which include internet forums, microblogging platforms, podcasts, social networking sites, bookmarking platforms, wikis, social curation sites, and weblogs. examples of widely used social media platforms include facebook, instagram, twitter, youtube, linkedin, blogs, myspace, and other interactive websites (bhanye et al., 2023). notably, social media platforms lack stringent institutional gate keeping mechanisms, providing users with considerable freedom to publish content that may not always align with societal norms or ethical standards (bhanye et al., 2023). furthermore, most social media platforms operate on a non-commercial basis, thus attracting a wide-ranging user base worldwide. the accessibility of these platforms, often free of charge, further enhances their popularity, as users need only internet connectivity and registration to engage with various social media channels (bhanye et al., 2023). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 45 overall, social media embodies a dynamic environment for interaction and relationship-building, distinguished by its informality and accessibility. its popularity arises from its pervasive presence across various platforms, including laptops, net books, personal computers (pcs), tablet computers, and smart phones (dominick, 2012). in recent decades, advancements in these technologies have progressed rapidly, fundamentally altering the landscape of both personal and professional communication. the widespread adoption of the internet, mobile networks, and digital platforms has transformed how individuals connect, share information, and maintain relationships (walther, 2012). these technological advancements have significantly impacted religious dynamics, as various faiths have migrated some of their activities to social media platforms. social media and africa africa's contemporary internet landscape is defined by a rapidly expanding market, which has now surpassed half a billion subscribers, outpacing the north american demographic (bhanye et al., 2023). essoungou (2010) emphasizes africa's remarkable growth, marked by swift and innovative adoption of mobile and internet technologies. this growth is mirrored in the exponential rise of social media platforms across the continent, with galal (2022) reporting that social media users exceeded 384 million by 2022. as of 2022, internet penetration in africa reached approximately 47%, a substantial increase from just 9% in 2010 (galal, 2022). however, there are notable regional disparities in social media usage: northern africa leads with a usage rate of 56%, followed by southern africa at 45%, while central africa trails significantly with just 8% (galal, 2022). among various platforms, whatsapp is particularly popular in ghana, kenya, nigeria, and south africa, whereas facebook predominates in egypt and morocco. facebook itself, a global social media leader, has seen substantial growth in africa, with 271 million users in 2022 and projections suggesting this number will rise to over 377 million by 2025 (galal, 2022). additionally, youtube and twitter command impressive user bases, with approximately 180 million and 24 million users, respectively. recent data from march 2024, as highlighted by shewale (2024), details the regional distribution of social media users in africa: north africa accounts for 166.18 million users, west africa 105.91 million, east africa 80.82 million, southern africa 44.71 million, and central africa 24.71 million. on a global scale, social media usage encompasses 5.17 billion individuals, representing 63% of the world’s population, with an impressive 85% of mobile phone users actively engaging with these platforms (shewale, 2024). the average social media user interacts with approximately 6.6 platforms and spends around 2 hours and 24 minutes daily on social media activities (shewale, 2024). these statistics underscore the argument presented in this paper, affirming the significant potential of social media to enhance religious dialogue. with the widespread adoption of social media as a primary communication medium and its expansive user base both in africa and globally, it can be effectively leveraged to foster interfaith dialogues. its ubiquity and interactivity position it as a powerful tool for facilitating conversations among diverse religious groups. accordingly, the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 46 following section of this paper will outline the various ways in which social media can contribute to interreligious dialogue in the 21st century. social media as an instrument for interreligious dialogue dialogue serves as an essential mechanism for fostering peaceful coexistence among individuals of diverse faith affiliations. historically, interfaith dialogue was conducted through face-to-face interactions (muhammad & hidayah, 2023). however, in the 21st century, advancements in science and technology have transformed the world into a global village, giving rise to digital communication technologies, such as smart phones, and interactive platforms like social media. today, social media has become a crucial means of communication, both globally and within africa, as previously discussed. the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic in 2020 further solidified the role of social media in daily life. organizations, institutions, and religious communities, regardless of their prior conservatism, had to pivot towards digital communication tools and various social platforms to maintain their operations. nearly four years post-covid-19, social media has established an enduring presence in people's lives. given the prevalence of smart phones across africa and the increasing number of users on social media platforms, social media has the potential to serve as an effective instrument for enhancing interreligious dialogue among nigeria's diverse religious communities. unlike traditional face-to-face dialogue, which often requires significant time and is typically limited to a select few participants, social media can democratize interreligious dialogue by creating opportunities for broader engagement. the interactive nature of platforms such as x (formerly twitter), facebook, and youtube offers a viable avenue for fostering interfaith discussions. these platforms can facilitate meaningful conversations by bringing together a wide audience, particularly young people, who are often catalysts for religious violence, allowing them to engage openly about their beliefs. initiatives such as facebook live, twitter spaces, and youtube broadcasts can serve as effective venues for these discussions. a notable example of this approach is seen in indonesia, where deddy corbuzier, a prominent figure and convert, leveraged his youtube channel for interfaith dialogue during ramadan 1444 h. his program, titled “login,” invited young interfaith representatives to engage in discussions about religious and diversity issues, attracting an impressive 80 million viewers (muhammad & hidayah, 2023). muhammad and hidayah (2023) provide a detailed account of this event, highlighting its significance in promoting interreligious dialogue. as of ramadan 1444 h (2023 m), deddy corbuzier utilised his podcast to create a special segment discussing interfaith and interreligious harmony themes. he named the segment “log in at close the door”. despite the name “login”, which in contemporary terms is understood as “entering islam”, this program has no element of a deliberate effort to invite or even force people to convert to islam. as corbuzier said, “this program is not to influence non-muslims to embrace islam (islamisation) but rather to straighten out each religious understanding that is frequently misunderstood while celebrating harmony in the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 47 diversity of religions and beliefs”. login program airs exclusively every night at 20:20 wib during ramadan. a total of 30 episodes have aired, with millions of people tuning in to watch each one. habib jafar, one of the program’s speakers, even stated that more than 80 million people had seen the program until the last episode (109). similar to nigeria, indonesia is home to a rich tapestry of religious beliefs, with six officially recognized religions. the login program served as a platform for dialogue among representatives of these faiths, including islam, catholicism, christianity, buddhism, hinduism, confucianism, and even satanism (muhammad & hidayah, 2023). muhammad and hidayah (2023), referencing soraya and mualimin (2022), detail the program’s structure, noting that nine speakers were invited to represent their respective religions and viewpoints. the first speaker, habib jafar husein al-hadar, commonly known as habib jafar, is a millennial muslim preacher renowned for his kind, tolerant, and straightforward preaching style. his approach, infused with love, has made him one of the most prominent preachers in indonesia (soraya & mualimin, 2022; muhammad & hidayah, 2023). the second speaker, leonardo arya, known as onad, is a young catholic who transitioned from being a musician to a comedian (nikmah, 2023; muhammad & hidayah, 2023). both habib jafar and onad appear consistently throughout the episodes, serving as key figures in the login program. the third speaker, pastor yerry pattinasarany, is a christian pastor recognized for his compassionate and non-judgmental approach. he actively preaches on social media platforms, including youtube, notably in the “domba tersesat” segment alongside comedian coki pardede (jannah, 2022; muhammad & hidayah, 2024). pastor yerry featured in the 13th and 27th episodes of the login program (corbuzier, 2023; muhammad & hidayah, 2023). the fourth speaker, bante dhira phunno, represents the theravada buddhist center and is engaged in interfaith and humanitarian activities. he participated in the 15th episode of the login program (corbuzier, 2023b; muhammad & hidayah, 2023). fifth is boris thompson manulang, also known as boris bokir, a popular stand-up comedian of batak christian descent. he has made two appearances on the login program, specifically in the 21st and 24th episodes (corbuzier, 2023c; muhammad & hidayah, 2023). the sixth speaker, ronny imanuel, also referred to as mongol, is a comedian from manado who once identified with a satanic belief system. he was featured in the 22nd episode of the program (corbuzier, 2023d; muhammad & hidayah, 2023). the seventh speaker, romo reinaldo antoni, is a catholic priest who participated in the 26th episode (corbuzier, 2023e; muhammad & hidayah, 2023). the eighth speaker, bli aryakamandanu, is a hindu leader from bali, who appeared in the 28th episode (corbuzier, 2023f; muhammad & hidayah, 2023). finally, the ninth speaker, causing aldi destian, represented confucianism and appeared in the 29th episode of the login program (corbuzier, 2023g; muhammad & hidayah, 2023). through this diverse representation, the login program illustrates an effective means by which social media can foster interreligious dialogue, providing a platform for individuals of different faiths to engage in meaningful conversations and share their perspectives. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 48 moreover, various social media platforms can serve as effective venues for generating content that highlights the positive activities of nigeria's major religions. in this age of content creation, the ability to promote interfaith understanding becomes an invaluable tool for fostering dialogue. by showcasing the unity among diverse religious sects and dismantling prevailing negative stereotypes and narrow narratives, social media can play a pivotal role in transforming perceptions. this approach is especially beneficial for unlettered audiences who have often been exposed to reductive portrayals of other religions. such content can illuminate the positive aspects of different faiths, fostering greater empathy and understanding. this dynamic engagement facilitates a broadening of perspectives and knowledge about various religious traditions, ultimately enriching interfaith dialogue. interfaith dialogue can take various forms, and social media has democratized this discourse, making it accessible to individuals regardless of their educational background. the challenge lies in identifying the most suitable form of dialogue for the specific context. when the appropriate format is employed, it can lead to more effective and enduring outcomes. the interactive nature of social media enables the implementation of diverse types of dialogues. below are several classifications of dialogue as outlined by olagunju (2013), along with ways in which social media can enhance their effectiveness: dialogue of life: often referred to as “unarticulated dialogue,” encompasses the spontaneous interactions and relationships that occur among individuals of different religious backgrounds in everyday settings. this dialogue unfolds naturally in our homes, families, communities, schools, towns, and cities, fostering connections through routine activities. many significant exchanges and experiences arise when we coexist, collaborate, visit, and learn alongside people of varying faiths. the interactive nature of social media is particularly conducive to nurturing this kind of dialogue. social media platforms facilitate the formation of communities centered around shared interests, allowing users to connect with like-minded individuals easily. by following accounts that resonate with their beliefs, engaging in meaningful discussions, and participating in various online groups, users can cultivate a culture of understanding and acceptance. thus, social media serves as a powerful catalyst for promoting the dialogue of life, enabling individuals to forge connections and engage in conversations that reflect their diverse backgrounds and experiences. social dialogue: cardinal arinze describes this phenomenon as “dialogue of action,” which occurs when individuals from different religious backgrounds collaborate on joint initiatives aimed at achieving a common good or addressing shared concerns. examples of such projects include constructing infrastructure like roads and bridges, establishing hospitals, or creating educational centers. collaborative organizations comprised of christians and muslims often engage in efforts to promote human rights and combat diseases, highlighting the potential for interfaith cooperation. social media has played a pivotal role in facilitating this form of dialogue. it has enabled the rise of social media activism in nigeria, evidenced by movements such as the end sars protest in 2020, which sought to address police brutality, and the obidient political movement that emerged in 2022 in the lead-up to the 2023 general elections, advocating for good governance and policies that prioritize the welfare of citizens. these initiatives were largely organized and mobilized through social media platforms, where nigerians—regardless of their religious or tribal igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 49 affiliations—came together united by common objectives. the dialogue that initiated these movements thrived in the digital space, demonstrating how social media can transcend traditional barriers and foster collective action for social change. dialogue of experts: in this context, specialists or theologians from various religious backgrounds engage in a dialogue characterized by active listening and thoughtful presentation of their respective doctrines, beliefs, and practices. this dialogue is not self-protective; instead, it emphasizes clarity and openness as participants seek to identify commonalities and acknowledge differences among their faiths. by leveraging scientific advancements and technology, these theologians aim to reach a consensus that enables them to collaboratively address the challenges of the modern world. social media platforms significantly facilitate this type of dialogue. tools such as zoom, google meet, twitter spaces, and facebook live have exponentially increased the opportunities for these conversations to occur with greater frequency and ease. this digital infrastructure saves both time and costs that would typically be associated with organizing physical meetings, allowing for more efficient and accessible interfaith discussions. the ability to convene virtually fosters a richer exchange of ideas and perspectives, enhancing the potential for meaningful dialogue in a contemporary context. dialogue of experience: in this context, specialists or theologians from various religious backgrounds engage in a dialogue characterized by active listening and thoughtful presentation of their respective doctrines, beliefs, and practices. this dialogue is not self-protective; instead, it emphasizes clarity and openness as participants seek to identify commonalities and acknowledge differences among their faiths. by leveraging scientific advancements and technology, these theologians aim to reach a consensus that enables them to collaboratively address the challenges of the modern world. social media platforms significantly facilitate this type of dialogue. tools such as zoom, google meet, twitter spaces, and facebook live have exponentially increased the opportunities for these conversations to occur with greater frequency and ease. this digital infrastructure saves both time and costs that would typically be associated with organizing physical meetings, allowing for more efficient and accessible interfaith discussions. the ability to convene virtually fosters a richer exchange of ideas and perspectives, enhancing the potential for meaningful dialogue in a contemporary context. buttressing this, olagunju (2013) notes that: in the dialogue of intellectual exchange faith is seeking understanding and theologians and religious scholars grapple many times with issues that cut across religious lines. often the insights in one tradition are absolutized. in order to further a more adequate understanding one needs also an exchange at the intellectual level in order to see the deeper meaning with rituals, customs and symbols. this must accompany a deeper search for insight, where one seeks to reach the absolute beyond even if one never reaches the final truth. in the dialogue of spiritual experience, an attempt is made to share in one another´s search for experiencing god. going into that kind of dialogue one reads the other religious sources as spiritual documents. this activity aims to discern god’s presence and action. prayer and meditation can be shared and this can be experienced as liberating. the dialogue of common action can happen at different levels. common human and spiritual values can be promoted but igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 50 also alliances can be formed at the political and socioeconomic levels to transform the human community (pp.46-47). religions universally share the aim of creating a more just world. while the approaches to achieving this objective often invite debate, conducting these discussions with mutual respect and a genuine understanding of one another's foundational beliefs is essential for formulating sustainable solutions to urgent societal challenges (olagunju, 2013). as highlighted earlier, social media platforms provide a rich environment for these crucial conversations, enabling nigeria’s major religions to engage in meaningful and impactful dialogue. the interactive and accessible nature of social media allows diverse faith communities to collaborate, exchange viewpoints, and strive toward shared objectives, ultimately fostering a more equitable society. conclusion indeed, social media is not without its challenges. it can be exploited by any religion to disseminate misinformation or maliciously distort facts, often becoming a platform for verbal attacks where adherents disparage one another. nevertheless, this does not diminish the role of social media as a vital instrument for fostering interreligious dialogue. the platform itself is neutral; it is the manner in which it is utilized that determines its impact—whether beneficial or detrimental.the interactive nature of social media allows it to serve as an effective conduit for facilitating various religious interactions. since interreligious dialogue centers on meaningful discussions about beliefs and the pursuit of common ground, social media can provide pathways for different faiths to explore and appreciate the commendable, unique, and even intriguing aspects of one another's traditions. as olagunju (2013) observes, while conflicting religious truth claims may arise, they should be viewed within a broader context. regular dialogue is crucial, given that religions shape and organize our lives, offering meaning, fostering community, and facilitating liberation. what is needed is an open and honest exchange about how each tradition contributes to order, community, meaning, and liberation (olagunju, 2013). in such dialogues, we come to realize that we have constructed the very barriers and bridges that make it challenging to engage with those on the other side. social media presents a unique opportunity for conversations that promote understanding, allowing us to recognize each other and see beyond the confines of our individual faiths. references achus, e. (2022). inter-faith dialogue, peace building and conflict transformation in nigeria. wukari international studies, 6(2), 1-22. adetunbi, r. o. (2021). religious pluralism and inter-religious encounters in 21st-century nigeria. african journal of social sciences and humanities research, 4(2), 24-31. agha, a. (1999). early european missionary to west africa: an introduction to west african church history. enugu: snaps nig. ltd. ajah, p. o. (1994). christianity in west africa. uburu: truth and life publications ltd. ajayi, j. f. a. (1965). christian missions in nigeria. london: longmans. alkali, m. n., monguno, a. k., & mustafa, b. s. (2012). overview of islamic actors in northeastern nigeria. nigeria research network (nrn) oxford department of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 51 international development queen elizabeth house, university of oxford, nrn working paper, (2). atoi, e. n., et al. (2019). religious and ethno-regional identity in the context of human rights protection in nigeria. kiu journal of social sciences, 5(1), 129-138. baur, j. (2009). 2000 years of christianity in africa (2nd ed.). nairobi: pauline publications africa. bhanye, j., shayamunda, r., & tavirai, r. c. (2023). social media in the african context: a review study on benefits and pitfalls. in the palgrave handbook of global social problems (pp. 1-32). cardinal francis arinze. (1997). meeting other believers. nairobi: paulines publications africa. dike, k. o. (1957). origin of the niger mission 1841-1891. retrieved may 12, 2020, from https://anglicanhistory.org/africa/ng/dike_origin dominick, j. (2012). the dynamics of mass communications (12th ed.). mcgraw hill. dzurgba, a. (2010). management and resolution of conflict: local and international perspectives. john archives. https://search.worldcat.org/title/795462060 ekeopara, c. a. (1996). the development of islam after the death of mohammed. unpublished lecture note, university of calabar. enwerem, i. m. (1995). a dangerous awakening: the politicization of religion in nigeria. ibadan: ifra. essoungou, a. (2010). a social media boom begins in africa. using mobile phones, africans join the global conversation. https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/december2010/social-media-boom-beginsafrica accessed on october 3, 2024. falola, t. (1998). violence in nigeria: the crisis of religious politics and secular ideologies. new york: university of rochester. galal, s. (2022). social media in africa – statistics and facts. statistica. https://www.statista.com/topics/9922/social-media-in-africa/#dossier-chapter1 accessed on october 3, 2024. gofwen, r. i. (2004). religious conflicts in northern nigeria and nation building: the throes of two decades 1980-2000. kaduna: human rights monitor. griswold, e. (2010). dispatches from the fault lines between christianity and islam: the tenth parallel. new york, ny: d & m publishers, inc. haaga, p. t., & ngbea, g. t. (2023). an appraisal of religious fanaticism and the imperative of the dialogue of life and tolerance in nigeria. international journal of law and society (ijls), 2(3), 163-174. https://doi.org/10.59683/ijls.v2i3.53 institute for prospective technological studies. (2008). social computing: study on the use and impact of online social networking. seville: european commission. kanu, a. i.; addidi, t.; kanu, c. c. (2024). “artificial intelligence and cybercrime in nigeria: towards an ethical framework”. dialogue and universalism, vol. 32. no. 1. pp. 143-158. doi: 10.5840/du202434115 kanu, a. i.; addidi, t.; kanu, c. c. (2024). “virtue and the business of governance in nigeria”. dialogue and universalism, vol. 32. no. 1. pp. 207-228. doi.org/10.5840/du202434111 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 52 kanu, a. i.; pilani, p. m. (2024). “the arewa symbol: a confluence of philosophical, religious and cultural traditions”. dialogue and universalism, vol. 32. no. 2. pp. 223-238. https://doi.org/10.5840/du202434229 kanu, a. i.; pilani, p. m. (2024). “semiotic hermeneutic of “new wine, new wineskins:” symbols, philosophy of development and africa”. published in dialogue and universalism, vol. 32. no. 2. pp. 151-162. https://doi.org/10.5840/du202434225 kalu, o. u. (1978). protestant christianity in igboland. in o. u. kalu (ed.), a history of christianity in west africa: the nigeria story (pp. 222-248). ibadan: daystar press. kukah, m. h. (1993). religion, politics and power in northern nigeria. ibadan: spectrum books. leavey, j. (2013). social media and public policy: what is the evidence? alliance for useful evidence. www.alliance4usefulevidence.org metu, e. i., & ejizu, c. i. (1985). hundred years of catholicism in eastern nigeria 1885-1985: the nnewi story. nimo: asele institute. metuh, i. e. (1985). muslim resistance to christian missionary penetration of northern nigeria 1857-1960: a missiological interpretation. in i. e. metuh (ed.), the gods in retreat: continuity and change in african religions (pp. 65-75). enugu: fourth dimension publishers. muhammad, a., & hidayah, h. (2023). cultivating religious inclusiveness through social media. digital muslim review, 1(2), 105-119. nelson, e., & babale, y. (2022). religious intolerance and the quest for progressive change in nigeria. a journal of contemporary research, 19(1), 230-250. njoku, r. a. (1980). the advent of the catholic church in nigeria. owerri: assumpta press. nwachukwu, o. f. (2024). inter-religious dialogue in nigeria: problems and necessities. journal of advanced research and multidisciplinary studies, 4(1), 21-30. oduyoye, m. (1969). the planting of christianity in yoruba land 1842-1880. ibadan: daystar press. olagunju, o. (2013). globalization and inter-religious dialogue in african cultural context. journal of studies in social sciences, 2(1), 31-52. ariarajah, s. w. (2002). interfaith dialogue. in n. lossky et al. (eds.), dictionary of the ecumenical movement (2nd ed.). geneva: wcc publications. shewale, r(2024). social media users 2024(global data & statistics). https://www.demandsage.com/socialmedia-users/#:~:text=the%20latest%20data%20 shows%20that,boom%20in%20social%20media%20 usage accessed on october 4, 2024 tasie, g. o. m. (1978). christian missionary enterprise in the niger delta, 1864-1918. leiden: e.j. brill. trimingham, j. s. (1962). a history of islam in west africa. london: oxford university press. tutt, d. (2010). on the limitations of new social media for interreligious dialogue. in bridging babel: new social media and interreligious and intercultural understanding: undergraduate fellows report, a project of the doyle building tolerance initiative. ubrurhe, j. o. (2000). the integrative and disintegrative functions of religion: the nigerian experience. in s. u. erivwo & m. p. adogbo (eds.), contemporary essays in the study of religions (pp. 222-248). lagos: fairs and exhibitions. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 1, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 53 udofia, c. a., & uduigwomen, a. f. (2022). political defections in nigeria: implications for our nascent democracy. texas journal of multidisciplinary studies, 8, 32–34. https://zienjournals.com/index.php/tjm/article/view/1500 uzoma, r. c. (2004). religious pluralism, cultural differences, and social stability in nigeria. brigham young university law review, 2004(summer), 651-664. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute artificial intelligence, ethics, and erosion of human integrity: nigerian quest for responsible innovation amidst global standards and local realities michael enyinwa okoronkwo, phd, amos francis dike, phd, & dike, uzoma amos, phd national open university of nigeria, abuja meokoronkwo@noun.edu.ng abstract artificial intelligence (ai) has revolutionized various sectors, offering immense potential for societal advancement. however, its rapid development raises ethical concerns that could erode human integrity. nigeria, a nation poised for technological growth, must navigate this complex landscape to ensure responsible ai innovation. while ai presents opportunities, it also poses risks such as algorithmic bias, job displacement, and privacy violations. nigeria's unique socio-cultural context and limited regulatory framework intensify these challenges. this research investigates the ethical implications of artificial intelligence (ai) in nigeria by analysing existing regulatory frameworks and proposing strategies for responsible ai development that align with both global standards and local contexts. its findings aim to support informed policymaking, promote ethical ai practices, and enrich public discourse on the responsible use of ai in nigeria. the research adopts a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative and quantitative research techniques. data collected through literature review, interviews with ai experts, policymakers, and industry leaders, and surveys of the general public are examined. the study reveals gaps in nigeria's ai regulatory framework, a lack of public awareness about ai ethics, and a need for greater collaboration between stakeholders. in addressing ethical concerns and fostering responsible ai innovation, nigeria is challenged to harness the benefits of ai while safeguarding human dignity and societal wellbeing. keywords: artificial intelligence, ethics, human integrity, responsible innovation, regulatory framework, algorithmic bias introduction the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (ai) globally and nigeria in particular presents both unprecedented opportunities and significant ethical challenges (dike, 2015). while ai holds the potential to drive economic growth, improve healthcare, and address societal issues, its development and deployment raise concerns about the erosion of human integrity. these concerns include potential biases in ai systems, the displacement of human workers, the misuse of ai for malicious purposes, and the lack of transparency and accountability in ai decision-making. furthermore, the development and adoption of ai in nigeria must direct a complex landscape of global standards and local realities (dike, 2025). while adhering to international best practices is crucial, a one-size-fits-all approach may not adequately address the unique social, cultural, and economic contexts of nigeria. nigeria, like many developing nations, is grappling with the ethical igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute dilemmas surrounding ai development and deployment. the lack of a robust regulatory framework, coupled with the unique social, cultural, and economic realities of the country, necessitates an intentional approach to ensure responsible ai innovation. this research delves into the critical connexion of artificial intelligence (ai), ethical considerations, and the preservation of human integrity within the nigerian context. the rapid advancement of ai technologies presents both unprecedented opportunities and significant challenges (okoronkwo, dike, & dike, 2025). while ai promises to revolutionize various sectors, concerns regarding its ethical implications, particularly the potential erosion of human values and autonomy, are paramount. it aims at investigating the ethical dilemmas surrounding ai development and deployment in nigeria, explore the potential erosion of human integrity, and identify pathways towards responsible innovation that aligns with both global standards and local realities. this study seeks to address the following key questions: how can ethical principles be effectively integrated into the development and deployment of ai systems in nigeria? what are the potential impacts of ai on human dignity, privacy, and autonomy in the nigerian context? what role should the government, academia, and industry play in fostering responsible ai innovation? how can international ai ethics guidelines be adapted to address the specific needs and challenges of nigeria? this way, the research aims first, to critically analyze the ethical considerations surrounding ai development and deployment in nigeria. second, to investigate the potential impacts of ai on human integrity, including privacy, autonomy, and dignity. third, to explore the existing regulatory landscape for ai in nigeria and identify potential gaps and challenges. and fourth, to propose a framework for responsible ai innovation in nigeria that aligns with global standards while addressing local realities. this research employed a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative and quantitative research techniques. data collection methods include literature review of relevant academic and industry publications on ai ethics, human rights, and responsible innovation. in-depth interviews with key stakeholders, including policymakers, ai researchers, industry leaders, and civil society organizations. surveys are made to gather public opinion on ai and its ethical implications, and case studies of specific ai applications in nigeria to analyze their social and ethical impacts. the paper focuses on developing a comprehensive understanding of the ethical challenges and opportunities presented by ai in nigeria. it critically examines the potential impacts of ai on various aspects of human life, including employment, healthcare, education, and justice. the research provides valuable insights into the ethical dimensions of ai in the nigerian context. this is done through the identification of key ethical principles and values relevant to ai development and deployment in nigeria. it develops a framework for responsible ai innovation that addresses the specific needs and challenges of the country. it concludes with recommendations for policymakers, industry leaders, and researchers to promote ethical and inclusive ai development. artificial intelligence, ethics, and erosion of human integrity igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute artificial intelligence (ai) is a broad field of computer science that aims to create intelligent agents, which are systems that can reason, learn, and act autonomously. ai encompasses a wide range of techniques, including machine learning, deep learning, natural language processing, and computer (nwokolo, 2019) vision. nigeria is increasingly embracing ai, recognizing its potential to drive economic growth and address societal challenges. the country has established the national centre for artificial intelligence and robotics (ncair) to foster ai research and development. additionally, the nigerian government has launched a national ai strategy to guide the responsible and ethical development of ai in the country (ntida, 2023). the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (ai) presents a complex interplay of promise and peril, particularly in the nigerian context. while ai offers transformative potential across sectors like healthcare, agriculture, and finance, its ethical implications and the risk of eroding human integrity pose significant challenges. consequently, several nigerian startups and companies are also leveraging ai to develop innovative solutions in various sectors, such as healthcare, agriculture, and finance. for example, some companies are using ai to develop diagnostic tools for diseases, optimize crop yields, and provide personalized financial services (van dijk, 1999). however, the development of ai in nigeria also presents challenges, including the need for skilled ai talent, access to data, and appropriate regulations. addressing these challenges will be crucial for realizing the full potential of ai in nigeria. ethical considerations ai systems learn from data, and if that data reflects existing societal biases (e.g., racial, gender, socioeconomic), the ai will perpetuate and even amplify those biases. this can lead to discriminatory outcomes in areas like loan applications, job recruitment, and criminal justice, disproportionately impacting marginalized groups in nigeria (sparrow, 2008; okoronkwo & dike, 2025). ai systems often rely on vast amounts of personal data, raising concerns about privacy violations. facial recognition technology, for instance, can be used for mass surveillance, potentially infringing on individual freedoms and undermining trust in government institutions. the automation of tasks by ai could lead to significant job displacement, particularly in sectors with high levels of manual labour (wallach, and colin, 2013). this could exacerbate existing unemployment issues in nigeria and widen the gap between the rich and the poor. many ai systems operate as "black boxes," making it difficult to understand how they arrive at their decisions. this lack of transparency can hinder accountability and make it challenging to identify and rectify biases or errors. as ai systems become more sophisticated, concerns arise about the potential for them to make autonomous decisions that could have significant consequences (wallach, and colin, 2013). ensuring human oversight and control over ai systems is crucial to prevent unintended harm. erosion of human integrity in the age of artificial intelligence: ethical concerns for nigeria the erosion of human integrity refers to the systematic decline in ethical consciousness and the weakening of moral values that traditionally govern human behaviour, decision-making, and societal cohesion. rooted in philosophical ethics and existential concerns about technology’s role igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute in society, this concept captures how both individual and collective orientations toward truth, trust, responsibility, and respect can deteriorate in technologically mediated environments (jonas, 1984). in the context of artificial intelligence (ai), such erosion takes on new dimensions, where the automation of human functions risks hollowing out the ethical core that underpins meaningful human relationships and civic trust. at its foundation, human integrity is closely linked with moral agency, the capacity to make ethical decisions and take responsibility for them. hans jonas (1984), in the imperative of responsibility, warned against the unintended consequences of advanced technology on ethical responsibility, cautioning that technological systems could outpace human control and moral foresight. in nigeria, where the moral fabric of society is already under pressure from corruption, inequality, and weak governance structures, the deployment of ai without ethical guardrails may accelerate the erosion of core human values. ai systems often operate based on large datasets and algorithmic logic that reduce complex human realities into quantifiable variables. this reductionist logic can undermine the recognition of inherent human dignity, especially when individuals are treated as mere data points in surveillance systems, predictive policing, or automated welfare assessments (sparrow, 2008). in the nigerian context, where socio-political marginalization and digital exclusion persist, such technologies can further dehumanize already vulnerable populations, reducing them to objects of prediction and control rather than subjects with rights, agency, and dignity. for example, the rise of automated public service systems in nigeria, such as biometric identity verification or ai-driven customer support often lacks empathy and contextual understanding. these systems may exclude rural or illiterate users, exacerbate frustration, and reinforce alienation. the replacement of human judgment with machine logic risks prioritizing efficiency over ethical deliberation, undermining the interpersonal care and relational values central to african communal ethics (mbiti, 1990). ai technologies, particularly generative ai, have facilitated the rise of deepfakes, algorithmic manipulation, and large-scale misinformation campaigns. in a fragile democratic environment like nigeria, where public trust in institutions is already tenuous, the use of ai to manipulate public opinion threatens to delegitimize democratic processes and public discourse. this aligns with sparrow’s (2008) concern that as trust erodes, both in information sources and in interpersonal relationships societies risk descending into cynicism, disillusionment, and fragmentation. moreover, the ethical implications of using ai in electoral processes, digital surveillance, or political messaging are significant. without transparent oversight mechanisms and civic education, these tools could be co-opted by elite interests to perpetuate misinformation, violate privacy, or suppress dissent, thereby corroding democratic integrity and social trust. another dimension of human integrity at risk is the erosion of emotional intelligence and empathy in social interactions. ai-driven platforms mediate increasing aspects of human communication, often in impersonal and mechanistic ways. automated responses in education, healthcare, or customer service replace emotional nuance with algorithmic efficiency. while useful for scalability, this shift risks flattening human relationships and discouraging the cultivation of empathy, patience, and active listening core virtues in african interpersonal ethics (gyekye, 1997). this phenomenon is exacerbated by the overreliance on ai systems, which can disincentivize igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute human creativity, critical thinking, and moral deliberation. as bostrom (2014) warned in superintelligence, there is a danger that excessive dependence on ai could create passive humans, users who no longer question, challenge, or reflect, but instead surrender to machine decisions. in nigeria, where educational systems already face critical challenges in nurturing independent thought, the unchecked proliferation of ai may widen this deficit, compromising the cognitive and ethical development of future generations. the erosion of human integrity through ai must be interpreted not only in universal ethical terms but also through nigeria’s cultural, spiritual, and communal values. traditional african ethics place high value on concepts such as ubuntu, the idea that "a person is a person in relation to others." this relational worldview emphasizes responsibility, solidarity, and mutual respect. however, ai systems developed without reference to these values may promote individualism, abstraction, and detachment, threatening the normative foundations of nigerian communal life. furthermore, the socio-economic inequality that marks nigeria's digital landscape means that the burdens of ai-induced ethical erosion are not evenly distributed. marginalized groups, women, rural populations, the uneducated are more likely to be victims of dehumanizing algorithms and less likely to benefit from ai's potential. ethical ai in nigeria must therefore not only focus on technological parameters but also on questions of justice, equity, and cultural identity. the erosion of human integrity in the context of ai is not merely a philosophical concern, it is a tangible and urgent ethical crisis that affects how nigerians live, relate, learn, and govern. it involves the subtle dismantling of values such as empathy, accountability, and communal responsibility. to counter this trend, nigeria must prioritize ethical education, human-centered ai design, inclusive policymaking, and culturally grounded frameworks for technology governance. responsible ai innovation should enhance not diminish the moral fabric of nigerian society. nigerian quest for responsible innovation amidst global standards and local realities the phrase "nigerian quest for responsible innovation amidst global standards and local realities" encapsulates the nation's aspirations to leverage innovation for development while navigating the complexities of a globalized world and its unique domestic circumstances (yelwa, abdulhameed, maigari, 2020). understanding the concept of nigerian quest for responsible innovation is a significant and deliberate effort to harness innovation not just for economic growth, but also for social progress, environmental sustainability, and ethical considerations (nwokolo, 2019). it emphasizes a proactive approach to innovation that prioritizes inclusivity, equity, and the well-being of all citizens. global standards on the other hand, refers to the internationally recognized principles and guidelines for ethical and sustainable innovation. these standards often encompass aspects like human rights, environmental protection, data privacy, and algorithmic fairness. they provide a framework for responsible innovation practices that transcend national boundaries. furthermore, local realities acknowledge the unique socio-economic, cultural, and political context of nigeria (nwokolo, 2019). it highlights the need for innovation strategies that are tailored to the specific challenges and opportunities faced by the country, such as poverty, inequality, infrastructure gaps, and security issues. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute the nigerian quest for responsible innovation necessitates a delicate balancing act between adhering to global standards and addressing local realities. it poses the challenge of contextualization of global standards (yelwa, abdulhameed, maigari, 2020). while embracing international best practices, nigeria must adapt global standards to its specific needs and circumstances. this involves a nuanced understanding of how these standards can be effectively implemented while respecting local values, traditions, and priorities. this way, there is need for prioritizing local requests. innovation efforts must be driven by local needs and aspirations. this involves identifying and addressing critical challenges such as poverty, unemployment, healthcare access, and food security (robert sparrow, 2008). innovation should be a tool to empower local communities and improve their livelihoods. there is also need to build local capacity. developing local expertise and capabilities in science, technology, and innovation is crucial. this involves investing in education, research, and development, and fostering a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship within the country. this calls for inclusive innovation (sparrow, 2008). ensuring that the benefits of innovation are shared equitably across all segments of society is essential. this requires addressing the digital divide, promoting access to technology and digital literacy, and mitigating the potential negative impacts of innovation on marginalized communities. challenges and opportunities while ai presents inherent risks of facilitating innovation fraud, its potential for detecting such misconduct should be actively explored and responsibly implemented. this essay advocates for a proactive approach to safeguarding the integrity of nigerian research, drawing inspiration from global best practices. a crucial aspect of this approach involves strengthening the federal government's role in managing research misconduct. specifically, this article proposes a novel strategy: actively seeking repayment of misused funds. this strategy would not only deter future fraud and recover taxpayer dollars for legitimate research but also serve as a powerful deterrent against the erosion of human integrity within the nigerian innovation ecosystem the nigerian quest for responsible innovation faces several challenges, including: first, limited resources. inadequate funding for research and development, limited access to technology and infrastructure, and a brain drain of skilled professionals can hinder innovation efforts. second, weak regulatory framework. a lack of clear and effective regulations can impede responsible innovation and create a breeding ground for unethical practices. third, corruption and inefficiency. corruption and bureaucratic inefficiency hinder the implementation of innovation policies and hinder the growth of innovative enterprises (nwokolo, 2019). however, nigeria also presents significant opportunities for responsible innovation (nitda, 2020), first, a young and dynamic population. nigeria has a large and youthful population, which can be a source of creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurial drive. second, growing digital economy. the rapid growth of the digital economy presents opportunities for innovation in areas such as fintech, e-commerce, and digital services. and third, rich natural resources. nigeria's abundant natural resources can be leveraged for sustainable and innovative solutions in areas such as agriculture, renewable energy, and environmental conservation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute the nigerian quest for responsible innovation is a complex and multifaceted undertaking. by carefully navigating the interplay between global standards and local realities, nigeria will harness the power of innovation to drive sustainable development, improve the lives of its citizens, and contribute to a more just and equitable world. insufficient governmental oversight in the nigerian context, a robust regulatory framework is crucial to address the ethical challenges and mitigate the risks of ai-driven research misconduct. while drawing inspiration from global best practices, such as the role of the us office of research integrity (ori), it is imperative to tailor this framework to the unique realities of the nigerian research landscape. the current system, where research institutions are primarily responsible for investigating misconduct allegations, presents both advantages and disadvantages. on one hand, institutions possess a deeper understanding of local research practices, enabling them to conduct efficient and cost-effective investigations (yelwa, abdulhameed, maigari, 2020). they also have direct access to relevant evidence, including lab data and personnel. moreover, institutions possess the authority to impose a full range of sanctions, including dismissal, ensuring appropriate consequences for proven misconduct. however, the inherent risks associated with self-investigation, such as potential conflicts of interest and the desire to protect institutional reputation, cannot be ignored. the nigerian government must therefore establish a robust oversight mechanism to ensure the integrity of these investigations. this could involve: a. establishing an independent national research integrity office: this office would provide guidance, support, and, when necessary, independent oversight of institutional investigations. b. developing clear and transparent guidelines: these guidelines should outline the procedures for reporting and investigating ai-related research misconduct, including data manipulation, plagiarism, and the development of ai systems with harmful biases. c. promoting a culture of open inquiry and accountability: this involves fostering a research environment where concerns about ethical violations can be raised without fear of reprisal and where transparency and accountability are prioritized. by implementing these measures, nigeria can strive to create a research ecosystem where ai innovation thrives ethically, safeguarding human integrity and fostering public trust in the responsible development and deployment of ai technologies. federal government's responsibilities in establishing ethical and accountable ai innovation in nigeria the nigerian federal government holds a central and non-transferable responsibility in shaping an ai research environment that is both ethically grounded and institutionally accountable. as the primary allocator of public research funding, particularly through agencies such as the tertiary education trust fund (tetfund), the national information technology development agency (nitda), and the national agency for science and engineering infrastructure (naseni). the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute government must move beyond traditional regulatory roles to become a proactive enabler of responsible ai innovation. in light of global debates on ai ethics and governance (floridi et al., 2022; unesco, 2021), there is an urgent need to establish a national framework for ai fraud prevention, which includes clearly defined accountability mechanisms for public-funded research. a foundational component of this responsibility involves the institutionalization of robust auditing and accountability systems. these systems should empower funding bodies such as tetfund to conduct ex post facto evaluations of project implementation, including the recovery of disbursed funds where fraud or ethical violations are identified. this aligns with international best practices; for example, the united states department of health and human services (hhs) retains the authority to "seek to recover phs funds spent in support of activities that involved research misconduct" (office of research integrity [ori], 2024). a similar legal provision should be embedded within nigeria’s national research and innovation policy to serve as both a deterrent and corrective tool against fraudulent use of ai research funding. in tandem with financial accountability, the government should operationalize a tiered framework for ai-related research misconduct. this system should categorize ethical infractions based on severity, intent, and potential for societal harm. at the base of the tier could be administrative lapses such as omission of transparency declarations, while at the top would be high-impact offenses such as algorithmic bias propagation, falsified data in training models, or unauthorized surveillance applications. the severity of the misconduct should directly inform the magnitude of sanctions, including financial restitution, publication bans, and exclusion from future funding calls. such proportional justice ensures that the punishment fits the misconduct, thus preserving public trust in ai systems and research institutions (whittlestone et al., 2023; jobin et al., 2019). to ensure transparency and democratic legitimacy, the modalities for enforcement should be articulated through a notice of proposed rulemaking (nprm), encouraging participatory governance by involving researchers, legal experts, ethicists, and the public in policymaking. this process would also enable nigeria to domesticate relevant principles from global ai frameworks such as the oecd ai principles (oecd, 2023), unesco's recommendation on the ethics of artificial intelligence (2021), and the african union's emerging data policy frameworks. these documents emphasize values such as accountability, transparency, human oversight, and equity, all of which are foundational for building ai systems that align with human dignity and national development priorities. crucially, the federal government’s ability to enforce restitution for fraudulent activities sends a clear signal: publicly funded ai innovation must be ethically grounded and socially responsive. this is especially significant in the nigerian context, where weak institutional oversight, bureaucratic inertia, and corruption often undermine the developmental impact of research initiatives (onuoha & jolaoso, 2023, dike, 2025). establishing firm and enforceable standards for ai ethics not only prevents the misuse of scarce resources but also strengthens the moral legitimacy of ai research as a tool for national development and public good. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute in all, the nigerian government must strategically leverage its funding, regulatory, and normative powers to create a national ai ethics ecosystem. through structured deterrents, transparent enforcement mechanisms, and alignment with international standards, nigeria can foster a research culture that is innovative yet accountable, locally responsive yet globally respected. this approach would not only safeguard the integrity of ai science but also defend the deeper human values at stake in the age of intelligent machines. findings and the nigerian challenges despite the growing discourse on artificial intelligence (ai) as a transformative tool for economic development, healthcare, education, and governance, nigeria faces several structural and ethical challenges that hinder the responsible and equitable deployment of ai systems. these challenges not only threaten the integrity of innovation but also risk exacerbating existing social inequalities and undermining public trust in emerging technologies. the key challenges identified in the nigerian ai landscape are as follows: i. limited regulatory framework nigeria lacks a coherent and enforceable national legal framework that governs the design, deployment, and oversight of ai technologies. while institutions such as the national information technology development agency (nitda) have initiated efforts through documents like the national artificial intelligence policy draft (2023), these remain largely aspirational and lack legislative force. this regulatory vacuum provides room for unethical experimentation, data misuse, biased algorithmic applications, and commercial exploitation of vulnerable populations (adeleke & ayoade, 2023). furthermore, the absence of binding ethical standards makes it difficult to hold actors accountable when ai systems cause harm, discriminate, or violate rights. this challenge stands in stark contrast to global developments such as the european union’s ai act (2024), which seeks to classify ai systems based on risk and enforce appropriate legal responsibilities. ii. digital divide the deployment of ai in nigeria occurs within a context of pronounced digital inequality. according to the nigeria digital economy report (world bank, 2023), significant portions of the population, especially in rural and marginalized regions lack access to broadband internet, digital devices, and digital literacy. this entrenches a two-tiered society, where urban elites benefit from ai-driven services (e.g., fintech, e-health, smart agriculture), while rural dwellers are excluded or exploited as data sources without consent or benefit. moreover, limited digital literacy means that large segments of the population are unable to critically evaluate or resist the impacts of ai technologies, which may deepen power asymmetries and marginalization (iwuoha & ezema, 2022; dike & okoronkwo, 2024). the digital divide thus poses both an ethical and developmental challenge, as ai risks amplifying, not mitigating socioeconomic disparities. iii. data privacy concerns igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute nigeria’s current data protection landscape remains underdeveloped and weakly enforced. the nigeria data protection act (ndpa) of 2023 represents a progressive step toward protecting personal data, but significant gaps persist in enforcement, institutional capacity, and public compliance. these deficiencies make it easier for ai systems, particularly those driven by large language models, biometric tools, or surveillance technologies to exploit personal data without transparency, consent, or oversight (oladunjoye, 2024). the ethical concern is not just about privacy breaches, but also about informational injustice where individuals or communities are misrepresented, stereotyped, or surveilled by ai systems that draw from biased or unregulated datasets. in the absence of strong institutional enforcement mechanisms and public awareness, the integrity of human dignity and autonomy is at stake. iv. lack of public awareness public understanding of ai technologies, their capabilities, and their ethical implications remains critically low in nigeria. the dominant narrative often frames ai as a futuristic, elite-driven, and foreign concept, alienating the general public from active engagement in ai governance debates. this epistemic gap weakens democratic participation and accountability, as citizens are neither informed enough to challenge unethical ai practices nor equipped to demand protective legislation (ezeani & adebayo, 2023). without targeted public education campaigns, media literacy programs, and civil society advocacy, the ethical trajectory of ai innovation in nigeria may be dictated solely by commercial interests and global tech conglomerates, with little regard for local values, human rights, or developmental priorities. these challenges regulatory gaps, digital exclusion, data vulnerability, and public ignorance form a converging threat to ethical and inclusive ai development in nigeria. if unaddressed, they risk undermining both the legitimacy of technological progress and the foundational principles of human integrity, justice, and dignity. conversely, recognizing and responding to these challenges with bold policy reform, inclusive capacity building, and community-driven ai literacy initiatives can position nigeria to chart a unique, afrocentric model of responsible ai innovation. such a model must balance global ethical standards with the sociocultural, legal, and economic realities of the nigerian context. recommendations these ethical issues and dilemmas, challenge the public sector organizations to think through and focus on ai literacy programs that are both beneficial and responsible. with these in view, policymakers and stakeholders are required to work towards developing a comprehensive framework for responsible ai development and deployment. these strategies will promote the responsible and equitable use of ai in the public sector. this includes ensuring transparency, mitigating bias, protecting privacy, and addressing the potential impacts on the workforce. this way, nigeria will modernize their national statistics and data collection systems to better support the development and deployment of ai, while ensuring data quality, ethical considerations, and public trust. the nigerian government need to create a more attractive environment for it professionals, reduce brain drain, and harness the potential of the country's tech talent to drive igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute economic growth and development. importantly, while both the national assembly and state assemblies have a role to play in ai legislation, the national assembly is likely to play a more prominent role due to the national scope and impact of ai. however, effective ai governance requires collaboration between all levels of government, ensuring a balanced and rich approach that addresses both national and local concerns. developing and establishment of clear ethical guidelines for ai development and deployment is crucial. these guidelines should address issues such as data privacy, algorithmic bias, and accountability. strengthening data protection laws and enhancing enforcement mechanisms are essential to protect individuals' privacy and prevent the misuse of personal data. ai education and research will be of utmost importance. investing in ai education and research will help to develop a skilled workforce and foster innovation in ai. it will also enable researchers to investigate and address the ethical challenges associated with ai. establishment of a national ai ethics advisory council is extremely important. this independent council would comprise diverse stakeholders, including ai experts, ethicists, legal scholars, social scientists, civil society representatives, and end-users. the council's mandate would include the provision of guidance on ethical considerations related to ai development and deployment. it would conduct research and analysis on the social, economic, and ethical implications of ai. and consequently, advise the government on the development and implementation of ai policies and regulations. it beholds the council to raise public awareness about the ethical considerations surrounding ai. there is need to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing. collaboration between researchers, policymakers, industry leaders, and civil society organizations is crucial to develop and implement effective ai policies. the council would encourage multi-stakeholder platforms facilitate collaboration between government, industry, academia, and civil society through workshops, conferences, and other platforms for knowledge sharing and dialogue on ai ethics. the council similarly engages in international cooperation and knowledge exchange with other countries and international organizations to learn best practices and develop a globallyaligned approach to ai ethics. this way, prioritize human-centered ai that is focused on human values. this in turn emphasize the importance of human values, such as fairness, transparency, accountability, and inclusivity, in the design, development, and deployment of ai systems. ai systems should be designed to augment human capabilities and enhance human well-being, rather than replace or dominate human decision-making. involving a proactively approach in addressing these challenges and embracing a human-centered approach to ai development, nigeria can harness the transformative potential of ai while mitigating its risks and preserving human integrity. these recommendations are critical for the ethical regulation of artificial intelligence (ai) in nigeria across all sectors. conclusion artificial intelligence (ai) has emerged as a transformative force across numerous sectors, promising to revolutionize industries, enhance efficiency, and improve lives. however, this rapid technological advancement also presents a complex set of ethical challenges that threaten to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute undermine human values and exacerbate existing societal inequalities. nigeria, a nation on the cusp of a technological renaissance, finds itself at a critical juncture, needing to carefully navigate this dual nature of ai. while ai offers immense potential for economic growth and social progress, it also carries significant risks. algorithmic bias embedded in ai systems can perpetuate discrimination and marginalize vulnerable populations. job displacement due to automation poses a serious threat to employment stability, particularly in sectors with high levels of manual labour. furthermore, concerns surrounding data privacy and security loom large, as ai systems often rely on vast amounts of personal data, raising concerns about potential misuse and exploitation. nigeria's unique socio-cultural context and limited regulatory framework further complicate the ethical considerations surrounding ai development. a lack of robust data protection laws and a dearth of skilled ai professionals exacerbate these challenges. moreover, public awareness about ai ethics remains low, hindering meaningful public discourse and engagement in shaping the future of ai in the country. this research endeavoured to address these critical issues by examining the ethical implications of ai in the nigerian context, analyzing existing regulatory frameworks, and proposing strategies for responsible ai development. through a mixed-methods approach, involving literature reviews, expert interviews, and public surveys, the study: 1. identifies and analyzes the ethical dilemmas posed by ai in nigeria, including algorithmic bias, job displacement, privacy violations, and the potential for misuse. 2. assesses the adequacy and effectiveness of existing regulatory frameworks in addressing these ethical concerns. 3. develops and proposes a comprehensive framework for responsible ai development that aligns with international standards and best practices while considering the specific needs and realities of the nigerian context. 4. fosters public awareness and engagement in ai ethics through educational campaigns, public forums, and collaborative initiatives. in conclusion, in fostering a deeper understanding of the ethical dimensions of ai and promoting responsible innovation, nigeria is set to harness the transformative power of this technology while safeguarding human dignity and ensuring a future where ai serves the common good. references adeleke, a., & ayoade, s. (2023). governing artificial intelligence in nigeria: regulatory lag and the ethics of innovation. african journal of science, policy and governance, 6(1), 45–61. creswell, john w. (2014) research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches, thousand oaks: sage. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute bartnec, c. lutge, c. wagner, a. welsh, s. (2021). an introduction to ethics and ai. bostrom, nick (2014) superintelligence: paths, dangers, strategies, oxford: oxford university press. bryman, alan (2016) social research methods, oxford: oxford university press. dike, a. f. (2015). church, society and globalization: issues of concern, jos: challenge publishers. dike, a. f. (2025). “integrating african values in artificial intelligence for environmental sustainability development goal.” planeyo journal of arts and humanities (planjah), in affiliation with the faculty of arts, akwa ibom state university. 2(2), 73-92 https://planjah.com/ dike, a. f. (2025). evolution of secularism in nigeria: a historical analysis of the concept and its application from colonial times, 1914-2024. journal of african history and archaeology and tourism, 3(1), 103-121. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?as_sdt=2007&q=evolution+of+secularism+in+ nigeria dike, u. a. (2024). leveraging ai for quality assurance in nigeria’s higher education: enhancing teaching, research, and community engagement – challenges and solutions. artificial intelligence and quality assurance in higher education. a book in honour of professor abubakar adamu rasheed. ed. peter a. o.pp. 308315. dike, u. a. & okoronkwo, m. e. (2024). thinking machin taking our job? exploring the use of artificial intelligence in african biblical exegesis. institute of biblical studies in africa (ibsa) west africa journal, 2:2. pp. 19-38. eubanks, virginia (2018) automating inequality: how high-tech tools profile, police, and punish the poor, new york: st. martin's press. ezeani, e., & adebayo, r. (2023). democratizing artificial intelligence: the role of public awareness in nigeria’s digital future. journal of african civic technology, 4(2), 88–104. floridi, l. (2019) the ethics of artificial intelligence, oxford: oxford university press. floridi, l, and matthew j. taddeo (2016) journal of ethics and information technology “the ethics of artificial intelligence”, springer: 18(2), 97-108. floridi, l., cowls, j., beltrametti, m., et al. (2022). ai4people—an ethical framework for a good ai society: opportunities, risks, principles, and recommendations. minds and machines, 32(1), 1–30. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute iwuoha, v. c., & ezema, i. (2022). ai for development or for disruption? ethical dilemmas in nigeria’s digital economy. information development in africa, 10(3), 203–225. jobin, a., ienca, m., & vayena, e. (2019). the global landscape of ai ethics guidelines. nature machine intelligence, 1(9), 389–399. huang, c. samek, t. shiri, a (2021). ai and ethics: ethical and educational perspectives for lis in journal of education for library and information sciences, 62(4). jonas, hans (1984) the principle of responsibility: in search of an ethics for the technological age, chicago: university of chicago press. national information technology development agency (nitda) (2020). “nigeria's national artificial intelligence strategy”, abuja: nitda. nwogu, n. c., and o. c. okoli (2010) journal of social sciences, research methodology: a review, scholars research library, 18(1), 1-10. nwokolo, nnamdi (2019) nigerian journal of technology, “artificial intelligence and the future of work in nigeria: challenges and opportunities” nigerian society of engineers, 38(2), 123-135. nussbaum, martha c. (2006) frontiers of justice: disability, nationality, species membership, cambridge: harvard university press. oecd. (2023). oecd principles on artificial intelligence. https://oecd.ai/en/ai-principles. office of research integrity (ori). (2024). guidelines for research misconduct investigations and recovery of public funds. u.s. department of health and human services. okoronkwo, m. e (2001). conflict management in igbo rhetoric: a contribution to igbo ethnolinguistics and inculturation theology. bonn: börengasse. okoronkwo, m. e., dike, a. f., and dike, u. a. (2025). “secularism and re-emergence of africa: perspectives on the nigerian socio-political and economic re-birth” amamihe journal of applied philosophy (department of philosophy, imo state university), 23(4) issn print: 1597-0779; issn online: 3043-5269, 35-51. https://acjol.org/index.php/ajap/article/view/6941/6727 okoronkwo, m. e., & dike, u. a. (2025). ethics of artificial intelligence and the judeochristian practices: toward a theology of thinking machine. futurity philosophy, 4(1), 71–85. https://doi.org/10.57125/fp.2025.03.30.05 o'neil, cathy (2016) weapons of math destruction: how big data increases inequality and threatens democracy, new york: crown. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 6, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute onwuegbuzie, anthony j., and jacob leech (2005) sampling designs in research, charlotte: information age publishing. rosenstrauch, d. mangla, u. gupta, a. (2023). artificial intelligence and ethics, digital health entrepreneur, new york: springer. pp. 225-239. retrieved from: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-33902-8_16 russell, stuart, and peter norvig (2016) artificial intelligence: a modern approach, boston: pearson education. sachs, jeffrey d. (2001) journal of scientific american “the end of poverty: economic possibilities for our time”, scientific american: 284(6), 48-57. selbst, adrian d., and solon barocas (2017) journal of science “the ethics of surveillance”, american association for the advancement of science, 356(6337), 36-40. sen, amartya (1999) development as freedom, new york: anchor books. sparrow, robert (2008) journal of journal of applied philosophy, “the ethical challenges of artificial intelligence”, blackwell publishing, 25(1), 8-20. the alan turing institute (2018). “the ethics of artificial intelligence: the view from the uk”, london: the alan turing institute. united nations development programme (undp), “human development report” new york: undp, (year of relevant report) van dijk, jan (1999) journal of the information society, “the digital divide: bridging the gap in the information society” springer, 15(3), 137-146. wallach, wendell, and colin allen (2013) journal of ai & society “moral machines: teaching robots right from wrong”, springer 27(1), 11-28. yelwa, m. abdulhameed, m. s. maigari, muhamm muhammad abdullahi (2020). “artificial intelligence and the future of work in nigeria: a shift from educational requirements to skills possession” promoting social science for knowledge and policy research globally, in social sciences research, (ssr) 6(1). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 80 a discourse on plato’s conception of justice as a panacea to the challenges of corrupt practices and leadership crises in contemporary nigerian society iyadunni, olamilekan nuru, ph.d. department of philosophy, olabisi onabanjo university, ago iwoye, ogun state. lokoinmillion2005@yahoo.com & orji, chidi paul, ph.d. department of philosophy, university of agriculture and environmental sciences, umuagwo, imo state hipaulco@gmail.com, paul.orji@uaes.edu.ng orcid id: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-2941-5398 abstract nigeria is a nation full of potential. however, this development potential has been hampered by a number of issues. due to the high rates of corruption and dysfunctional leadership in nigerian culture, which are both signs of weak, ineffective, and non-functioning institutional systems of government, terrible governance has become the norm. in light of our leaders' dismal performance, a large number of nigerians have not yet had the chance to experience many of the advantages of democracy, including good roads, piped water, rural electricity, and medical facilities. in what ways does this study apply plato's notion of justice to the problem of leadership and governance? the primary issue that seems to be affecting nigeria's governance at the moment is how to handle the leadership crisis. using plato's idea of justice as a starting point, this essay will explain and analyze the struggle for good governance in nigeria. we'll look into the leadership and power structures in contemporary nigerian politics. it will contend that the country's weak leadership has prevented it from realizing its enormous political and economic potential. plato's philosophy would be assessed from an intellectual perspective in addition to class issues and the evidence supporting his conception of justice. the final goal would be to show whether the idea could be implemented in a developing nation like nigeria. keywords: plato, leadership, corruption, morality, justice introduction nigeria has suffered greatly from a serious shortage of qualified, dependable leaders with moral integrity, vision, and character. it's just sad that nigeria, a country rich in natural resources and human capital, is doomed to an uncertain future where rampant poverty, high unemployment, unsolved murders, public fund looting and waste, etc., are all commonplace due to corruption. one still wonders why a nation that has enjoyed self-government for the previous 63 years attributes its structural issues and institutional deterioration. it ought to be evident that nigeria is only dealing with institutional problems. this stems from the type of government nigeria has had over the sixty-four years that it has been a country. in light of this, the public often believes mailto:lokoinmillion2005@yahoo.com https://orcid.org/0009-0000-2941-5398 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 81 that the nation's leaders are a group of dishonest people who exploit their power for personal gain rather than the good of the country. there is still hope, no matter how bad things seem to be. the nigerian leadership class needs to drastically change its mindset to do this, and moral principles must be upheld. to achieve this, nigerians must embrace plato's theory of justice because, regardless of how good or flawless the country's constitution or other mechanisms for guaranteeing accountability and preventing corruption may be, they will all be for naught unless the people of nigeria and the ruling class show a political will to uphold and adhere to them. the main argument of this essay is that good leadership in nigerian politics can be achieved by applying plato's theory of justice. corrupt practices and leadership crises in nigerian society: an overview currently, it seems that the most pressing issue is how to address nigeria's problems with corruption and poor government. nigeria has never been able to resolve its issues with corruption and bad governance because of insufficient leadership. its sad experience since gaining independence in 1960 has been being under the leadership of bad and unscrupulous people. contrary to what nigerians considered, adopting democratic governance would result in a responsible and responsive political establishment that would support an accountable and anticorruption government. this is a result of the military's twenty-four-year rule. this study's main goal is to ascertain potential solutions for the two most difficult problems facing nigeria's leadership systemcorruption and ineffective leadership. according to oyebola, there are at least three main areas where leadership in nigeria has failed. "lack of brave and bold leadership, lack of moral ingredients in leadership, and premature exposure to leadership" are among them, in his words (oyebola, 1976:11). nigeria is not doing anything as a country to develop the leadership abilities of the future generation. nobody wants to take a chance with our country's survival. to demand their rights, a chosen few are being sought. numerous nigerians are still deprived of numerous democratic amenities, such as piped water, decent roads, rural electrification, and access to healthcare, because of our nation's poor leadership. our leaders couldn't care less about these matters. osuji claims that the leadership paradigm is predicated on individual wealth and racial interests, which has led to the well-known lack of a shared national objective (osuji, 2018:148). millions of nigerians would not be starving to death right now if our politicians had realized that helping the people should come first, rather than enriching their foreign bank accounts and western mentors. unfortunately, their only priorities are obtaining a master's degree, leaving the nation, competing to see who can go the furthest, and preparing to annex an impoverished state. in the words of bolarinwa & osuji (2022), there is a leadership issue with the politics of the nigerian government. chinua achebe put it concisely in his book "the trouble with nigeria": the problem with nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership" (achebe, 1983). when oyebola stated in "blackman's dilemma" that "the blackman's greatest problem appears to be very poor leadership," he did not mince words. oyebola (1976:13). according to achebe, who igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 82 went on to characterize it as the leaders' unwillingness to take accountability, there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the land, the climate, the water, the air, or anything else in nigeria. one problem with nigerian leadership is that its leaders are not up to the expectations of leading by example, which is a crucial component of good leadership. nonetheless, for the bulk of nigerians, the pressing problems of everyday life remain their top priorities. and without sound management and leadership, how could a situation this urgent reach us? without a doubt, nigeria is endowed with an abundance of human and natural resources to address its problems. an administration that upholds good governance principles and is, above all, responsive to the nigerian people may resolve the issues facing the federal republic and promote democratic governance. the leadership crisis in our nation has done more harm than good. it's frantic; men are complaining, people are screaming, children are weeping. the worst and most confusing part of it all is that nigeria already has everything it needs to succeed. who can guide the people of nigeria out of this prison? our leaders have lost sight of the fundamentals of good leadership in their pursuit of shadows. our contribution to the structure and operation of our government has been little. nigeria's decline towards mediocrity and inefficiency is therefore unbeatable and steady. instead of being subjects, our leaders are now masters. the advice given by ojukwu, which states that "those who aspire to lead must bear in mind the fact that they are servants and, as such, cannot ever be greater than the people, their masters" (okolo, 1985:23), is totally rejected. plato’s conception of justice justice is about the proper distribution of people and things within a society. the concept of justice can be interpreted from a variety of angles. it also provides thorough definitions. authors have defined justice in terms of legitimacy, equity, and fairness. the super-conclusion of thrasymachus, according to (gerasimos, 2006: 128), that justice serves the interests of the ruling party, will never be demonstrated to be accurate; however, in most cases, what is initially thought to be justice serves the interests of the stronger side, which is a conclusion that is concerning enough. justice, according to omoregbe, is treating everyone equally or fairly. however, the foundation of justice is the inherent equality of all men. the form of equality at stake here is ontological equality, not social equality or any other kind of equality. we all know that men are not created equal. all men, however, are equal ontologically, or as humans, and any discussion of justice must begin with this premise. one of the main goals of plato's republic is to define what a "just state" is. plato describes in detail the people who would govern such a state, how the children would be taught, and other aspects of how it would be administered. he continues on and on, explaining ideas that any regular reader today could find inconsequential, silly, or even unethical at times. as stated by sir karl popper's argument in the open society and its enemies, plato's ideal society is authoritarian, has little room for variation, and is crazy about regimenting social life in a way that is akin to sparta. so, having one's own rights and using them is justice. injustice exists when there is an excess or a deficit. this version appears to support the platonic definition of justice. if a thief wants to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 83 have something that is not his, for example, it makes him unjust. a physician who is unconcerned with healing his patients' ailments may be charged with injustice since he is neglecting his rightful duties. murderers commit an injustice when they rob a victim of his life, which is his legitimate possession. generally speaking, unfair people either treat someone less well than they should or fail to see the obligations and virtues that are appropriate for their situation. like this, an unjust state cannot carry out its responsibilities. according to the philosophy of plato, these responsibilities of the state encompass establishing the framework that enables each person to attend to their individual requirements for clothes, food, and shelter, in addition to pursuing the greater good. plato's conception of justice is based on the notion that everything in nature has a hierarchy and that nature is idealized as a vast harmony, a cosmic symphony, in which every species and person plays a part. according to this viewpoint, anarchy is the biggest evil since it is the most unfair and unnatural state of affairs. as a result, the just state is hierarchical, just as nature is, with individuals classified into distinct social classes based on their abilities and a hierarchy within each individual's soul; the spirited half is subordinate to the logical, which is subordinate to the appetitive, but all of them are necessary. reason should govern an individual for their soul to be in harmony and not at odds with itself, but appetites must also be attended to, at least in part. if all of the elements of the soul fulfill their respective roles, then a "moderate" and ordered state of affairs will inevitably result. a moral person who behaves in accordance with their idea of justice is said to have a wellordered soul. he knows his place in the state, his abilities, and how to apply them. he not only abides by the laws of reason, but he also exercises moderation in all that he does. in plato's ideal society, three main classes represent the three aspects of the soul. the city is ruled by the guardians, who are philosophers; it is safeguarded by the auxiliaries, who are warriors; and its lowest class is made up of the producers (farmers, artisans, etc.). the same education, which starts with music and literature and continues with gymnastics, is shared by the guardians and auxiliaries. the arts are restricted for educational purposes; for example, poetry that attributes deplorable deeds to the gods cannot be taught. poetry that fosters pupils' growing traits is the only kind that should be taught in the school. in a similar spirit, parents are not allowed to teach their children any musical genres that appear gloomy, delicate, or feminine. it seems that the dorian and phrygian modes are the only ones left. socrates deems them acceptable since they promote bravery, moderation, and a peaceful way of life. according to socrates, the flute and other lyrical meters are connected to vice and ought to be avoided in the perfect city-state. consequently, it is accurate to say that residing in plato's ideal society would be comparable to doing so in a totalitarian one. socrates suggests strict laws. each person is only allowed to work in one occupation, and that one must be the one for which they are best suited by nature. it appears as though there is no distinction between the public and private spheres. any form of excess or vice is strongly discouraged, while only actions that support a moderate lifestyle are commended. poverty and money are unacceptable since they both encourage vice. perhaps even more frightening to the average liberal are plato's views on women and children. he advocates for the dissolution of the traditional family unit through socrates. men should get along well igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 84 with women and have children to prevent anyone from developing intense affections for a single woman or from knowing the identity of their offspring. it is forbidden for even mothers to know who their children are. after giving birth, their babies are taken from them, and they are given other babies to breastfeed as long as they have milk. the platonic worldview is somewhat foreign to today's free democratic societies. there are very few rigid hierarchies in our culture, which is dynamic, free, and occasionally chaotic. we strongly oppose any concept that may somewhat hint at a caste system. people's contributions to society and inherent worth are not factors that determine their value. in addition to not thinking that, in the best of circumstances, the world is harmonious, we reject the idea that society and nature can be compared. we don't think of order as the ultimate ideal, even if we respect it. we idolize ambitious, driven people, rather than appreciating those who are content with who they are or who exercise moderation. our culture, for the most part, prefers to criticize actions that prevent other people from enjoying themselves and places little emphasis on any one ideal. but plato would see our ideal state as chaotic, depraved, and unfair. the basis of plato's idea of justice is class hierarchy. in an attempt to clarify his understanding of justice, plato uses the example of the soul to explain how he views social justice. for plato, the soul consists of three elements: the appetitive (lower emotions), the spiritual (higher emotions), and the rational (reason). and it is this justice in the soul that leads to the overall harmony it feels when every one of its parts is functioning as it should. this implies that every element needs to carry out its specific purpose. justice in the state was the ability of the three social classes—ruler, warrior, and producer—to carry out their respective tasks of production, defense, and deliberation independently of one another, as wolin (1960: 71) correctly pointed out. justice was characterized as "one man, one work; one class, one duty." the three social classes were compared by plato to a facet of the human spirit. every soul belonged to a certain social class. each person's special gift would be acknowledged as the prevailing element in their soul, and in a just society, this element would be arranged into cohesive classes. the rulers and soldiers made up the guardian class. the foundation of this study was the analogy between justice in the soul and justice in society. in other words, plato deduced this understanding of justice from the comparison: justice in society is the social harmony that results from every class in society performing its duties under the direction of the governing class. similar to how he splits the soul into these three categories, the guardians, artisans, and populous are the ruling class, the military, and the general public, respectively. in addition to overseeing the other two classes, the ruling class's duties include directing and governing the state as a whole. it is the duty of the artisans and the populace to supply the state's material and financial needs, and it is the auxiliaries’ duty to protect the state. without affecting the roles of other classes, each class should efficiently fulfill its own role. the state will be just in this way, just as the soul will be harmonious when all of its parts are functioning correctly. likewise, there will be justice and harmony in society when each of these classes successfully fulfills its responsibilities. in the words of omoregbe (1991), each class's assignments should be completed successfully igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 85 and independently of other classes' assignments. the state will then be just as a result of everyone carrying out their responsibilities in a harmonious manner without interfering with the tasks of other classes. justice, which is the harmony that results from each of the three classes carrying out their respective responsibilities in harmony, will thus exist in the state in the same manner that it exists in the soul. plato wants us to know that when particular facets of the soul are carrying out their assigned roles properly, society progresses. plato anticipated that when each person carries out their social responsibilities, society's members will need to work together. it is essential to work in a field requiring psychological fitness. when someone fulfills their obligation, they do it equitably and without getting in the way of other people doing their own tasks. it is said that this idea of justice is to blame for social injustice. given that not all men are created equal in society, this is completely true. this difference is evident in zeal, diligence, and intelligence. we should be conscious that, despite our differences, every one of us has potential that is waiting to be realized. it is evident what the problem with this conception of justice is from karl popper's standpoint, which based his definition of justice on a humanitarian interpretation. karl popper established that plato's political theory was both anti-humanist and pure tyranny. he also suggested that plato's political program constituted a type of totalitarianism, not just something morally comparable to it. the republic's depiction of his view of justice was regarded as being negatively. plato exclusively used the word in the republic to refer to actions that are in the best interest of the state since he believed that the state is intelligent and has good judgment. maintaining rigid class norms is central to the concept of justice. everyone should do the work that most fits their nature, he stated. madntyre (1971:34) notes that thrasymachus himself further elucidates the concept of justice, stating that, in his view, "just" does not imply "what is in the interest of the stronger," but rather that, historically speaking, rulers and ruling classes created the concept and the standards of justice for their own ends, and that, in fact, it is more advantageous to act in an unjust than in a just manner. however, plato placed a strong emphasis on class opportunities since he thought that talent dictates class: "no one is considered born for a particular position; no post can be bought by a member of a privileged class." on the other hand, employment is granted to people in an equal opportunity setting according to their talents. this point of view supports the fact that plato made an open comment regarding class opportunities. he has nothing against people. if you are a class member, then fulfill your professional obligations. in truth, such an individual can move to a new class if allowed to improve his circumstances. he argued against allowing someone to become a member of a group for which they were unfit. his conception of justice, therefore, is seen as a class opportunity where participation is contingent on skill and is predicated on a strict division of labor and class control. given that it promotes participation from all citizens, regardless of class, plato's conception of justice is beneficial. according to plato, unity is essential to achieve societal progress. it serves as a tool for promoting stability and political advancement. according to him, justice can foster constructive national development. the types of justice proposed by plato igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 86 for plato, fairness is a characteristic of human society. his defense of justice as a duty, a virtue, and a component of societal harmony will be divided into three parts. unlike aristotle, plato never distinguished between other types of justice or provided any of his own, but from his ideas of justice, certain concepts can be taken to characterize his particular brand of justice: 1. justice is a class obligation. 2. justice is a virtue. 3. justice is social harmony. justice as a class obligation this sort of justice is produced by duties based on class rules. it's called the precise division of work. for plato, once each member of each class carries out their responsibilities, justice will exist. he knows he's talented, often. he believed that everyone should act in accordance with their inherent talents and tendencies. each person must fulfill their responsibilities in line with the class to which they belong because no one can be held to the same standard as everyone else. duty is a feeling of obligation in class. it teaches people how to live morally upright lives. madntyre (1971: 36) states that while the idea that one man is better suited to one task and that this kind of labor division is always the optimum form is not unquestionably false, the idea that men are naturally divided up into individuals who are best suited for each of these functions is. justice as a class duty demonstrates that justice is possible if we simply carry out our societal duties. by forgoing what we should be doing for society, we must not act unjustly. in light of this, attending class is a right action, embodies a strong sense of patriotism, and seeks to clarify social ethics and engagement in a social setting. it also helps prevent societal corruption, as most people contribute to corruption in society by failing to do what is morally and legally required. their services are devoid of any sense of accountability, discipline, or duty. therefore, there's no need to acquire these qualities if society lacks discipline, accountability, and a sense of obligation. it follows that obligations and duties will not be treated equally. this idea reflects his republican worldview and historical philosophy. it is possible to contend that class duty underlies the specialization principle. (satine, 1973: 52.) the first two groups are those who create and the guardians, who are further subdivided into warriors and rulers, or, if a single ruler, the philosopher king. not quite as starkly, the guardians are further split into troops and rulers. the aforementioned point of view contends that everything is created more freely, abundantly, and of greater quality when one person does what comes naturally to him, does it at the right time, and leaves the other things to him. some claim that doing this upholds social justice. justice as virtue the beginning point of the justice element is the knowledge of good. plato agreed upon virtue as the knowledge of what is right, and a philosopher king as someone who possesses this knowledge. he promoted wisdom as a virtue. if someone has upheld virtue-equating attributes igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 87 through their knowledge of the good, they are deemed knowledgeable. the actions of a moral person are in line with their understanding of what is good and moral. satine (1973:53) went on to say that the republic's fundamental ideas were inspired by plato's masters teaching that virtue is knowledge. his unsuccessful political career served to fortify and clarify the idea, culminating in the founding of the academy with the intention of fostering the spirit of true knowledge as a pillar of philosophical statecraft. the assertion that knowledge is virtue, on the other hand, that there is an objective good to knowand that this good can be found not by chance or intuition but by reasoned and logical investigationis strong. based on what was said above, plato, like socrates, suggested that virtue and knowledge are interchangeable. plato actually agrees with socrates when he states that the pursuit of happiness is the ultimate goal of humanity and that virtue is the only way to reach it. pleasure of any kind is impossible without virtue. it is said that only moral men may find happiness. contentment appears to be a justifiable consequence of leading a moral life. according to plato, we will attain justice if the virtues are successful in doing what each part is supposed to do. according to omoregbe (1991:44), justice is the harmony that results from each component of the soul carrying out its assigned function. as a result, plato assigned each of the three components of the soul to one of the four greek cardinal virtues. justice as social harmony "social harmony" refers to a fair social experience. societal harmony is a prerequisite for societal stability and tranquility. it is based on doing out obligations accurately and with social responsibility. people can socially commit to carrying out their civic duties in this way. justice cannot bring about social harmony unless there is first peace and social responsibility on the part of each person to fulfill their duties. as wolin (1960:69) accurately pointed out, everyone would take part in performing a socially required role, which would lessen, if not completely eliminate, the probability of becoming a free rider or a shirker. second, society was portrayed as a unified, orderly entity that appreciated the unique talents and skills of every person. conversely, justice was connected by plato to communal or spiritual harmony. consequently, its efficiency is the source of harmony. a society cannot develop without social harmony. we begin to see greater societal peace when people exhibit a feeling of duty, tolerance, unity, and respect for one another's diversity, integration, and love. social harmony increases civilization's productivity and makes it more equipped to deal with the changes that the world is currently experiencing. social calm prevents political upheaval and instability. change is most wanted for societal continuity, even though it is necessary. we might have a severe harmony issue if ethical disputes are not motivated by good motives. occasionally, if the mind is biased or lacks social integration, the battle for power based on our ethnicity and in accordance with political party inclinations, together with neglecting to fulfill one's tasks, can be a source of societal instability. in order to support young people in developing their creative output and fostering an environment where harmony is valued equally to justice, political governments are expected to provide social services, jobs, a favorable social atmosphere, manpower, and youth empowerment programs. political violence is a direct result of negotiation, which is a necessary component of social harmony and justice. the youth revolution across the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 88 middle east, which impacted countries like tunisia, egypt, libya, syria, and other parts of asia, was a form of political violence directed against the social breakdown, economic downturn, and lack of political engagement in those areas. justice is being called for, and even though social harmony was on vacation, it will return. as wolin (1960:127) continued, "in what justice is: on the assumption that in each society the laws determine what justice in that society is; the method consists of an empirical investigation of the goals of the laws and the motives of legislation in each society, then generalizing from the results to what is common to the justice of all societies." plato’s argument for justice plato grounds his support of justice in his defense of the ideal state. justice, in plato's view, is the essential component of an ideal society. his ideal state analogy was based on his understanding of human psychology. in light of human psychology, his evaluation of individual psychology makes sense. according to plato, a man is physically healthy if he is free from illness, and a person is healthy if every part of their soul functions in harmony. he employed two of the three divisions of the human soulthe rational and the appetitive elementsto further his studies in human psychology. consequently, a perfect society would have three classes: the warrior class, which would protect and rule the realm, the king class, which would govern it, and the rest of the populace, which would take care of necessities like food and shelter. consequently, each of these categories denotes a distinct division within the individual soul. plato's argument for justice is based on the division of the classes that governs the realm of a philosopher-king. not only does he need to study dialectic, but also mathematics, geometry, astronomy, and other pertinent sciences. he must be trained in leadership, learn how to govern, and rise to the position of social leader. in order to become a ruler, plato agreed that one had to learn the art of ruling. wolin (1960:59) notes that plato's conception of the ideal state is based on the idea that the philosopher has the knowledge, intelligence, and training necessary to serve as a leader. it was indicated by the numerous allusions to the immorality of the soul that philosophy was the only way to heaven. since the goal of ruling was to ensure everyone's general welfare, it required the same talents and credentials as any other task. he went on to say that the verdict only applied to the select few who completed the program. they must be granted unrestricted authority. a monarch needs to have moral wisdom. knowing right from wrong will motivate him to act morally. at the heart of plato's reasoning is the idea that justice would be administered by the administrator, or philosopher king, who is responsible for society's obligations. justice must be advanced by the philosopher king in epistemic and ethical situations that are founded on knowledge and morality. repression and aristocracy are considered necessary qualities for a monarch. plato’s conception of morality the only framework, within which moral concepts can be grasped, for plato, is social structure. one's position in life and their performance of their responsibilities within it define their "good" in life. a social structure that benefits everyone might therefore develop as a result. according to plato, happiness was contingent upon fulfilling one's moral obligations and leading a life that igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 89 upheld those obligations. but only a chosen few with the necessary skills and education could acquire these virtues, and then they could pass them on to others in the community. hosper (1972: 179) made the astute remark that there are two separate prepositions in this sentence: all immoral persons are wretched, which has some credibility, and all moral men are joyful, which seems to be manifestly erroneous. plato was determined to show that it is an affront to the human condition to permit irrational desires to triumph over reason. he believed that the dominance of the illogical was the source of immorality and unhappiness. it would be evident that morality is supported by human nature if this could be demonstrated. it would be clear that moral behavior pays off, whereas immoral people inevitably suffer the consequences of their actions. this kind of reasoning can be used to make the strongest argument possible for morality. since the average man could not rationally defend his acts to himself or to others, plato realized that he would always act in his own best interest rather than in accordance with any external moral norm. plato claimed that moral anarchy ensued from this dangerous circumstance. plato held that morality was to be based on truth and made to balance self-interest, meaning it needed to be shown to be in the best interests of the individual. plato believed that civilization had to be built and peopled in accordance with the laws of reason since reason is an essential aspect of man. plato argued that whereas the average man mistakenly connected the satisfaction of his irrational impulses with self-interest, the real self-interest of man and the realization of his true nature lay in the control of his irrational desires by reason. plato was therefore committed to proving that it is an affront to the essence of manhood to permit irrational passions to supersede reason. he believed that the dominance of the illogical was the source of immorality and unhappiness. it would be evident that morality is supported by human nature if this could be demonstrated. it goes without saying that morality has its rewards and that those who commit immoral acts will inevitably suffer for their actions. this kind of reasoning can be used to make the strongest argument possible for morality. plato’s philosophy and challenges of corrupt practices and leadership crises in nigerian society since philosophy's inception in antiquity, it has served as a wellspring of inspiration and ideas for transforming society. this is because philosophy, in seeking to address social issues, raises important questions regarding the nature of the human experience and offers reasoned responses. can one say that nigeria's political system is morally flawed? the ethical component of anything is defined by the laws that are applicable when they are followed; the general viewpoint and goal of an activity will be one of decency and order. in nigerian politics, moral issues of this kind are never discussed. the severity of nigeria's leadership crisis may in fact force one to agree with wambutda (1991:16) when he states that "nigeria is unquestionably in need of good leadership, for the constant change in the leadership in our history clearly testifies that we are a people groping in the dark, searching and yearning for a more reliable form of governmentgovernment that is fair, just, and caring enough to evoke spontaneous patriotism from the people." plato, in his classic work the republic, described a perfect polity. in this idea of his ideal state, plato attempted to lay forth the fundamental principles for the construction and maintenance of a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 90 strong and virile state founded on fairness. instead of good leadership, we have a cruel example of material haughtiness and a repugnant reminder of group exploitation. according to ehusani (2002:210), leadership in many of today's communities in nigeria is a contamination of leadership abilities. justice, in plato's view, is achieved when every element of a system functions as intended without obstructing the actions of any other element. john locke eventually developed this idea and theory of the separation of powers into what is now known as the subsidiarity of responsibility principle. three classes make up his utopian society, which he compares to the three aspects of the soul. they are the craftspeople (the competitive component), the warriors (the courageous component), and the protectors (the cautious component). plato (1955:89–90) contends that fairness, honesty, and transparencyalong with composure, intelligence, a love of truth, and forthrightnessare essential elements of effective governance that contribute to the happiness of society. according to plato, a leader must possess excellent moral integrity, a levelheaded mind, and a calm demeanor. he would be wise and philanthropic if he were free from money worries and sentimental attachments. since the purpose of the state is to further the greatest and noblest objectives, good people will not agree to rule in exchange for benefits like money or prestige. the toughest consequence for refusing is being subordinated to someone worse than themselves. they don't want to be connected with mercenaries or criminals because they want payment in cash for completing official activities; they won't labor for honors because they aren't ambitious. in my opinion, that scares decent guys into assuming authority; they don't treat it as something they would want. a state is considered developed when there is effective government, protection, and production, according to bassey (2007: 16). a developed state is a good state, and it produces a decent society as a result. inadequate leadership is the reason behind nigeria's lack of development. development cannot be sped up by production, protection, or good governance. nigeria periodically sets definite objectives for the advancement of its politics and economy. occasionally, they also have operationalized and clearly stated policies. however, it is uncommon to come across something that fits the definition of a plan. taylor (2010) argues that plato emphasizes the attributes of state leaders more than their knowledge and virtue because in ancient societies, leaders were valued for their ability to appease the masses and satiate their baser instincts and appetites. nigerian society exists to foster moral virtue in the populace and in the country's leadership in order to foster social order, cohesion, progress, and development. nigerian leaders are required by the country's democratic style of governance to obtain the permission of the populace without resorting to force. a democracy, according to morrow (1988:7), is "a system of government in which the rights of the minority are protected but the rights of the majority are maintained." effective protection, production, and governance are indicators of a developed state. a good state, or developed nation, produces a decent society as a consequence. nigeria has a dysfunctional government and underdeveloped country due to a lack of effective leadership. development cannot be sped up by production, safety measures, or moral benchmarks. nigeria sometimes sets clear objectives for its political and social progress. there are also sometimes well-defined, operationalized policies among them. it is challenging to find anything that is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 91 legitimately referred to as a plan, nevertheless (bassey, 2007). our leaders' lack of political knowledge caused nigeria to suffer a significant setback. it is currently necessary to integrate plato's philosophy into nigeria's political framework in order to make sense of the nation's current leadership issues. evaluation of corrupt practices and leadership crises in contemporary nigerian society issues with corrupt practices and bad governance have never been resolved as a result of bad leadership. the unfortunate experience since attaining independence in 1960 has been being ruled by ill-informed, unscrupulous, and dishonest authorities. because of corruption, nigeria's image as a subpar product has altered. additionally, it would be quite difficult to convince any possible buyers to purchase nigeria in its current horrible state, much like a defective product. just as a poor product cannot be made to seem better by using clever marketing phrases, neither can attempts to transform nigeria's ugly image into a "great society." from what we have learned about nigeria's poor governance and corruption thus far, it is evident that the nation's issues go beyond corruption to include morally bankrupt, weak leadership. corruption in nigeria has risen to unimaginable heights since 1960 and is currently approaching pandemic proportions, all thanks to the complete support of the political leadership class. people without a past are like trees without roots, so it goes without saying that looking back is necessary for us as a country to progress forward. it is indisputable that extraordinary leadership has never blossomed in nigerian history. the lack of capable, responsible leaders with integrity, vision, and high moral standards has been a serious problem for the nation. it's just sad that nigeria, a country rich in natural resources and human capital, is living in a state of uncertainty right now, where things like extreme poverty, high unemployment, unsolved killings, public money thievery and waste, etc., are all commonplace due to corruption. the situation is fixable, even though it seemed hopeless. in order to do this, the nigerian leadership class must drastically change its perspective. a remarkably high standard of behavior is also required. in order to achieve this, nigerians must embrace plato's philosophy because, regardless of how good or flawless the nation's constitution or other mechanisms for guaranteeing accountability and combating corruption may be, they will be ineffective unless the populace and the ruling class show the political will to uphold and enforce them. conclusion that nigeria is experiencing a crisis of leadership is unfortunate. the high rates of greed, corruption, and the unchecked desire for wealth, opulence, and grandeur may be caused by the leaders' lack of moral principles. it is appalling and disheartening that nigeria, a nation endowed with the human and material resources necessary for national advancement, is now destined for an uncertain future in which rampant poverty, high unemployment, a deteriorating quality of education, preventable health crises, unresolved assassinations, insecurity, looting, extravagant public spending, etc. are all commonplace because of incompetent leadership and corruption. modern leadership approaches and styles do not fully represent the fundamental cultural values of nigerian society. developing a culture of integrity, accountability, and openness among nigerians is crucial. encourage a history of selflessness and patriotism in public service, as well igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 92 as a society where people can successfully invest and enhance their quality of life through hard labor. nigerian officials need to start again by kicking out the long-standing corruption tendencies that have impeded the country's economic growth. nigeria needs leaders who prioritize the well-being of their people over their own financial gain. nigeria needs leaders who are more concerned with the future of their country's youth than with the positions they will eventually occupy. leaders who own the future are what we need. our nation's leaders should prioritize changing society over increasing their personal fortune. the ideal leaders need to be knowledgeable and experienced in running a government. nigeria needs kind leaders who will build top-notch institutions and create laws that eliminate the incentives for corruption. for nigeria to provide effective services and have long-term socioeconomic growth, it needs institutions that are stable and accessible to the general people. there is little doubt that without the advantages of extraordinary leadership, no nation can have strong institutions. thus, through reliable democratic processes, voters should choose outstanding leaders who will build and maintain robust institutions. nigerians need to understand plato's philosophy of justice if they want to change the way they behave in society. references achebe, c. (1983). the trouble with nigeria. fourth dimension publishing co. ltd. adamolekun, l. (2002). public administration in africa: main issues and selected countries studies (ed.). spectrum books. barbara, k. (2004). bad leadership: what it is, how it happens, why it matters harvard business press. bassey, o., & utre, e. (2007). “corruption and national development in nigeria: the way forward” in sophia: an african journal of philosophy. 1.2. ben, d. (2011). “nigerian theatre history and culture: issue, challenges and prospects for sustainable development.” in achiegboka, a, utohezeajugh, t. & ogene, n. (eds) the humanities and sustainable development: nino rex charles & patrick ltd. bolarinwa, o.,& osuji, u. (2022). “political elitism in nigeria: challenges, threats and the future of citizenship” in open journal of philosophy, 12, 105-122, http://doi.org/10.4236/ojpp.2022.121007 ehusami, g. (2002). years eaten by locust. kraft books ltd. fayemi, a. (2008). a philosophical appraisal of leadership and development in nigeria. in t. edoh and t. wuam (eds.), leadership, accountability and development in postindependence africa (lapai), department of history and archeology, ibb university. gerasimos, s. (2006). the blackwell guide to plato's republic. blackwell ihejiamaizu, e. (1996). formal organizations: theory, structure, and dynamics. clearlines publications. jacobs, t., & jacques, e. (1990). 'military executive leadership. in gal, r.; manglesdorf, a. d. (editors): handbook of military psychology, john wiley & sons. jeb, b. (2012). people follow you: the real secret to what matters most in leadership. john wiley &sons inc. http://doi.org/10.4236/ojpp.2022.121007 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 93 kanu, i. a. (2013). african identity and the emergence of globalization. american international journal of contemporary research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 34-42. kanu, i. a. (2013). globalisation, globalism and african philosophy. c. umezinwa (ed.). african philosophy: a pragmatic approach to african problems (pp. 151-165). germany: lambert. kanu, i. a. (2013). on the sources of african philosophy. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 337-356. kanu, i. a. (2013). the dimensions of african cosmology. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 533-555. kanu, i. a. (2014). a historiography of african philosophy. global journal for research analysis. volume. 3. issue. 8. pp. 188-190. kanu, i. a. (2014). being and the categories of being in igbo philosophy. african journal of humanities. volume 1. issue 1. pp. 144-159. lewis, a. (2006). “corruption.” in wordweb. princeton university. ndubuisi, f. (2002). man and state. foresight press. okolo, c. (1985). philosophy and nigerian politics. pacific college press. okpe, j. (2002). “rusty symbols of nationhood after 50 years” in lumen vol 4 no 4. omolayo, b. (2006). “leadership and citizenship development in nigeria in agagu, a. and omotoso . f. (eds) citizenship education and governmental process. general studies unit, university of ado-ekiti. omoregbe, j. (1989). ethics: a systematic and historical study. jaja educational research and publishers limited. osuji, u. (2018), “evolving authenticity: a logical inquest from tradocultural to social-political ideals” in scientia: plasu journal of general studies, 1, issues 1. oyebola,a. (1976). blackman’s dilemma. board publications. plato. (1955). the republic. harmmondsworth, penguins. roger, g. (2012). theory and practice of leadership: sage publications. samuel, 0. (2010). leadership and good governance: the nigerian experience. taylor, i. (2002): “botswana’s development state and the politics of legitimacy. retrieved from (www.shef.ac.uk/uni/academic.n-q/dev/papers/taylor/pdf) ________(2010). corruption and liberation: the experience of nigeria. de.caritas journal of management and social sciences 2(3). ujo, a. (2001). understanding public administration. kaduna anyaotu enterprises and publishers (nigeria), ltd. ukaegbu, c. (2010). “nigeria: beyond good governance at 50. http://www.allafrica.com/stories/20100628063.html. uveges, j. a. (2003). the dimension of public administration: introductory readings. holbrook press. wambutda, d. (1991). leadership and biblical studies in the african journal of biblical studies. vol 1. http://www.shef.ac.uk/uni/academic.n-q/ 19 environmental determinism in oral traditions and migration of the people: the oto-esan example emmanuel osewe akubor, phd department of history, obafemi awolowo university, ile-ife. & university of religions and denominations, qom, iran akuboreo@oauife.edu.ng oseweakubor@gmail.com; & francis adenekan ademiluyi, phd history and international studies, university of ilesa & philomena ayenoya okoroafor department of dramatic art, obafemi awolowo university, ile-ife okoroaforphilomena@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.33952.39688 abstract extant studies have established that the dialectical historical relationship between man and the natural environment is one of the areas of human knowledge where history and environmentalist/geography share common borders, especially as it relates choice of selection of area of settlement and establishing strong economic base. while it has become almost impossible to complete any serious historical study without emphasizing the role of relevant environmental factors, among environmentalists as well as in geography this relationship is emphasized in the study of history and establishment of human settlement. this paper is thus an attempt at using some oral traditions among the esan people at providing some historical examples based on knowledge of environment which over the years have affected (and still affecting) the selection of area for settlement among the various esan people (as contained in the oral traditions of the people). data obtained from primary and secondary sources (literature review and content analysis) were deployed to carry out the study with environmental determinism and analytical/narrative historical method. findings indicates that there is a dialectical historical relationship between man and the natural environment. it shows that (although not taken serious among western scholars), the oral tradition of the people considers the role of the environment in selecting area for human settlement especially in term of establishing strong economic base. oral tradition on migration also identifies the great role played by the environment in regulating the relationship between occupational groups. keywords: esan, environment, settlement, economy, traditional, determinism. introduction extant studies have established that the dialectical historical relationship between man and the natural environment is one of the areas of human knowledge where history and environmentalist/geography share common borders, especially as it relates choice of selection of area of settlement and establishing strong economic base. while it has become almost impossible to complete any serious historical study without emphasizing the role of relevant environmental factors, among environmentalists as well as in geography this relationship is emphasized in the study of history and establishment of human settlement. conceptual clarification of terms: space and time esan is an edo speaking territory, which belongs to the kwa branch of the niger-congo family of languages. the people are referred to as ebholo, their language is esan and land, oto-esan. it is igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 20 are bounded on the northwest and north by the ivbiosakun and etsako section of the northern edo; on the west and southwest by the benin city; on the south and southeast by aboh and igbo speaking people, and the east by the river niger and the igala speaking people. there is therefore some linguistic and cultural overlapping in each of the frontiers. thus the territory of the esan is located in the northern part of nigeria rainforest (bradbury, 1957). the indigenous economy of esan in particular and nigeria in general was both agricultural and industrial, which supplied the food requirement of the people as well as raw materials for the local industries as well as for the markets. some of the chhiefdoms includes ewohimi, amahor, ebelle, ogwa, egoro, ekpoma, ekpon, emu, ewu, ewatto, ewossa, idoa, igueben, irrua, ohordua, okalo, okhuesan, opoji, oria, orowa, uromi, ubiaja, udo, ugbegun, ugboha, ugun, ujiogba, ukhun, urohi, ekekhenlen and parts of ozigono as well as udaba in african society, it is difficult to understand or comprehend migration pattern, choice of settlement, economic life, religious belief and moral values as they affect the people, unless it is viewed in line with the environment as preserved in the tradition of the people. this is because to the average african the environment affects and influences his history. in this way, the environment relates to the totality of both the tangible and intangible world which surrounds, influence and affect man and is in turn influenced and affected by man. the tangible environment refers to the palpable aspect of the environment such as the physical phenomena like lake, climate, mineral, soil types, rivers, flora and fauna, while the intangible environment on the other hand refers to ideas that might permeate the society from adjacent cultures and incidence of epidemic diseases such as influenza, small pox etc. (ukwedeh, 1987). scholars have argued that the above is well represeted in the tradition of migration of societies in africa. in the case of the esan people, it explains why the primary settlers of the esan plateau were worshippers of the earth. it was because of the central position that the earth holds for the people as agriculturists. in fact most communities revere the earth for various reasons, as well as the reasons for which certain fruits, leaves as well as animals in the forest are revered and regarded as totem. for example, among the yoruba people of oyo the people could sentence an erring oba to commit suicide by pronouncing on him a rejection by the earth, sky and the people (okoduwa, 2013) tradition of origin and migration for an advancement of study and knowledge of the people of esan and how they have come to be what and where they are today (the role of traditions of origin as well as its significance in directions in term of migration, settlement pattern as well as economic life), there is the need to focus attention on a discussion of the traditions of origin and migration of the people. as far as akubor (2005), is concerned , this is very much necessary for the following reasons. in the first place, it will enable us ascertain from the traditions, both direct and indirect evidence relating to the antiquity of population settlement in the area; secondly, it will furnish us with the necessary information regarding the movement of people to and fro the area, and the factors that explain the movement, their passionate attachment to traditional religion, their amusement and fun, their non literacy but nonetheless system of vocations and ethical education, their interfamily and inter clan relations, ways and means of curing diseases, their social welfare schemes and huanitarism concepts, their cosmological idea as well as economy. it is on the basis of the above therefore, that the paper have a clear defiition of tradition of origin and migration. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 21 tradition of origin is the history of origin of any group of people, which has been preserved in oral form or transmitted from generation to generation in the same manner. in most cases, orally preserved information, which has been documented in written form, have been regarded by modern historian as part of oral evidence. historically, oral tradition of a people tells the story of the hectic and hedious task of state formation.in the case of the societies around the lower niger region, the story revolves around how the people over time have been able to interact meaningdully with their natural environment, to produce sustainable economically developed state (akubor 2005, 2010, 2013). migration, on the other hand is a form of mobilization or spatial movement in a geographical setting between one unit and another, generally involving a change of residence from the place of origin or place of arrival. this type of migration is refered to as a permanent migration, and it is necessary that we are able to distinguish it from other forms of migration that are close on temporal basis. thus, the concept of migration becomes only very relevant when reference is made to relatively settled people (bingel, t.b, 1991, akubor, 2005) the quest for economically suitable environment in tradition of origin and migration a critical analysis of the tradition of migration of the various people indicates that the focus and direction have always been on establishing themselves in an environment that is most suitable for economic activities. this in the view of this paper is in line of the three basic consideration of any economically conscious mind which includes good land, availability of water and well fertile soil which is able to sustain the livelihood of the people as well as provide sufficiently for exchange. the essence of the above, especially as it relates to the environmental considerations in these traditions is summed up in the view of rodney (1973) thus: every people have shown a capacity for independently increasing their ability to live a more satisfactory life through exploiting the resources of nature;…a society develops economically as its members increase jointly their capacity for dealing with the environment. this capacity for dealing with the environment is dependent on the extent to which they understand the laws of nature (science), on the extent to which they put that understanding into practice by devising tools (technology), and on the manner in which work is organised. taking a long-term view, it can be said that there has been constant economic development within human society since the origins of man, because man has multiplied enormously his capacity to win a living from nature. the magnitude of man's achievement is best understood by reflecting on the early history of human society and noting firstly, the progress from crude stone tools to the use of metals; secondly, the changeover from hunting and gathering wild fruit to the domestication of animals and the growing of food crops; and thirdly, the improvement in the character of work from being an individualistic activity towards an activity which assumes a social character through the participation of many;... africa, being the original home of man, was a major participant in the processes in which human groups displayed an ever increasing capacity to extract a living from the natural environment. migration, environment and economy : migration into the esan area traditions of migration into the various areas which constitutes the present day esan community shows that, while other issues may have been involved, what was paramount in the minds of the progenitor of the present day people was the issue of economically sustainable environment and society. for instance, among the various traditions of the people inhabiting the area, most seems igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 22 to agree with the view that the existence of water bodies around the area, provided the necessary impetus for the emergence of human societies. as far as the traditions are concerned, the navigable waterways along side it providence, encouraged movement into the area, while at the same time strengthening inter/intra group relations. considering some elements of the ebu people found at the fringes of esan territory especially around the southeastern part around the well water illushi area, asenime (1998) argued that their emergence was influence by the numerous waterways. citing the oral tradition of the people, he argued that the tradition of the people holds that they migrated from igalaland to their present site during the period of political crisis within igalaland. during this period, there was no central authority, under any particular individual and the people lived in separate settlements. according to the source, the crisis which erupted during this period that led to migration of some people, was centred on the struggle of the various settlements within igalaland to control the major trade routes and centers within igalaland. as a result of this, there was great loss of lives and properties, and so some settlements, especially, the one considered weaker migrated to more peaceful areas along the river niger banks and one of these migrating groups was led by a man known as kiri. it further argued that, kiri and his followers fled through the niger to a place called ode, where they also met some group of people also fleeing from one great king in bini, whom they tried to oust out of office, but could not succeed.emphasizing the role of water resources, asenime 2005 continued: …kiri became so popular as a veritable priest of mammon and was fond of building huts along the river niger bank for the worship pf his ebo (gods/deities). through his activities, and vast knowledge of the gods, he gained for himself the title of the chief priest of the settlement, and people came from far and near to worship in his shrines. on the establishment of other settlements around the area, asenime argued that as a result of the fertile area as well as suitability for human activities, the population continued to grow, so much so that it became clear that there was the need to move further into the interior. on the movement into the interior and how the new settlements were also influenced by waterways, asenime (2000), wrote: as a way of resolving this both kiri, ebu and ginuwa decided that it was necessary that some settlements would move further to the interior, thus kiri and ginuwa moved their people towards the niger delta area in search of new land, while ebu remained on the original land for sometime, but later moved with some of his followers for reasons not quite certain (to other more favourabe land/settlemnt). among his followers were basically the igala, bini and some ode people. they journeyed along the niger up to illushi and here some of ebu followers got weary and decided to settle here, i.e, illushi, ugboha and other neigbhouring areas, while others moved on with him to the present day ebu land. at their present site, they met the okpanam (an igbo speaking group), whom they expelled from the land and settled, while they intermarried with others. this is said to be responsible for the mixed language presently spoken among the ebu and inyelen people. as far as asenime (2000) is concerned, the ebu elements found among the esan communities around ugboha and the illushi area, considered the well watered area, the fertile soil as well as their traditional worship of water deity in the selection of area to settle down. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 23 the case of the agbacha iwogun (ifeku) migration into the esan area is not too different from the case of the ebu. the ifeku tradition also recognised the role of fertile soil and water bodies with acqatic resources in the selection of area of settlement by the people. in his analysis, akuba, p.a. (2003), argued that the river bank bordering esan southeastern area in southern nigeria attracted a large chunk of the migrants especially igala people from central nigeria as a result of the resources it was able to provide for the people who were escaping from the oppression of attah in idah. quoting the traditions of the people, both akuba (2003) and oiko (2024) argues that this tradition as it concerns migration to the bank of the river, dates for back into the pre-colonial period, during the reign of a great king in ane-igala, who sent some people out in search of building materials to build a befitting palace for the king. this group when were traditional architects, specifically went searching for a specific type of building rope (iku) . during the search, some people moved towards the rich and well watered area of illushi/ozigono (which later became a trading centre in oto-esan, serving as a melting pot for the esan, igala, igbo, bini, usobo and ijekiri). at illushi, the search team was able to acquire the needed iku (rope), which they took back to idah (the seat of the attah), after which they returned to the “new found land” with their kith and kin, and so this span of land was renamed efa eku (efa-pull, eku (iku) – rope) meaning land of those who came in search of rope. this has been corrupted to ifeku. since that period till date, the area has continually attract people due to its richness in aquatic resources. other scholars have argued that apart from establishing settlements around the southeastern part of esan land, some elements from ifeku have been able to establish settlements in the interior part of esanland. for instance, okoduwa (2013), citing the traditions of some esan communities wrote that amilele who was a man from the ifeku area established the irrua community. the tradition talks about his fancy of the area for its ability to produce crops which was necessary for human survival. this obviously referred to the rich soil and clemence weather suitable for existence. in his analysis of the tradition, okoduwa opined thus: what is obvious in this tradition is that like all those who migrated into irrua from ifeku island, amilele was a kyede man who belonged to the predynastic peopling of esanland. that traditions believe that he returned from benin to irrua with a wife shows that he was earlier recognized as the leader of irrua including akho village inhabited by the worshipers of the earth. migration traditions in the village of eidenu also in irrua show that both the founder and many of the settlers were nupe in origin. it is more accurate to refer to the nupe of ifeku island in the niger as kyede. since these so called nupe were riverine people they were the river transport people of kyede. their influence was very strong in the development of the village of eidenu where the people worship amese, the god of stormy weather to this day. it would seem that kyede element persisted for a long time in irrua and was responsible for a number of unique irrua customs. three great kyede warriors were instrumental to the founding of the village of eidenu. all three were deified and “are worshipped during the yearly festival of eidenu” even more obvious is the kyede influence in amese, the god of stormy weather and his priestly line whose title is ohen amese, an institution that is unique to irrua. gods of stormy weather are far more important to canoe people than they are to agriculturists. the canoe culture was adapted and perpetuated among the land cultivators or agriculturists of irrua (emphasis are mine). also in considering the villages of egbele and arhue, the issue of land, its ability to sustain the people and their activities have is also reflected in the traditions of migration of the people. commenting further, okoduwa (2013) wrote, another example is in the chiefdom of uromi where the villages of egbele and arhue . were peopled from ifeku island in the niger, originally inhabited by igala while the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 24 village of unuwazi in accordance with esan custom carries out earth purification exercises for all uromi, the village of egbele carries out a similar excise of earth purification oto-egbele only for the village. however, a newly installed onojie was required by custom to visit the alu-oto-egbele shrine for his final installation. egbele's role in uromi is synonymous to eidenu's religious role and position in irrua except for the fact that eidenu did not compete for the position of being earth worshippers. in fact, egbele's prerogative to carry out annual earth purification rites just for the village may be derived from her religious disposition. egbele possessed the only land shrine in the district known as okhiode made up of onojie's seat eguare and onewa, utako, egbele, arhue and unuwazi. commenting on mentorship for good governance among the ekpoma and their neigbhours, okoduwa (2013) opined ….in ekpoma, where traditions have it that the birthplace of the original founder of ekpoma was the island of ifeku on the niger. one ogiohe left there in the dim and distant past, and travelled to uhe where he “met god and learnt all the tabus.” from uhe he went to benin, where he lived for sometime and here his son ogoihe was born, who was in turn the father of uda. uda was given the title of onogie by the oba of benin and was sent away to found a settlement of his own. he came through the bush to the high ekpoma country and chose the place where eguare now is. here he built his house, and in due course his family and extended family formed the nucleus of the ekpoma village group. meanwhile, the people of igor village claim that they migrated from igala or ighanlan. traces of some of the ingredients as contained in the traditions of origin and migrations can also be found in some of the local traditions even within the esan communities of expeditions into some remote forests and in some cases in search for livelihood. an example of this, is the tradition that tries to explain the emergence and adaptation of the igbobenelimin dance. according to extant literature on the esan people, igbabonelimhin is coined from two esan words igbabo which means "to clap" and elimhin which means spirit. combining both words together means "clapping for the spirits." historicizing the origin of the igbabonelimin masquerade dance and its role in the entertainment life of the esan people, osaremhen, t (2023), argued based on esan mythology, that the igbabonelimhin dance was discovered by a hunter during one of his hunting expeditions. he opined that while on that particular expedition, the hunter (while on top of a tree) saw gorillas coming out of the forest, forming two groups. according to the source, while one group were making sounds by beating hollow trunks with woods and sticks to produce a rhythm, the second group somersaulted skillfully in the air to the timing of the beats. it was said that the hunter was amazed by what he saw, and so he went back to his village where he reported the strange occurrence to his people. doubting the account, it was said that three other hunters were asked to accompany him back to the forest where he saw the strange event to confirm the truth of his story. the men returned home and affirmed the story of the hunter. the community decided to learn and preserve the dance, acknowledging it as the will of their ancestors. it was said that the hunters taught the able bodied males of the community the dance steps. with the course of time, the dance was developed and accompanied by well-balanced music. in a more graphic and elaborate form, both osakue s. o, and oseghale f (nd) (citing pascal 1999), gave a specific and detailed account of same story thus, this man went on a hunting mission at a crucial time when animals hold the animal “meeting”. it happened that while he was on top of a tree, waiting to fire at one of the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 25 animals, he saw the greatest shock of his life. suddenly, gorillas started coming out from various directions in the green forest. idalogho, the hunter was stampeded and could not fire any of them. later, he saw something wonderful. the gorillas, immediately divided themselves into two groups, one of the groups producing an unusual rhythm from hollow wood and sticks, while the other group started to somersault in the air skillfully and wonderfully to the amazement of the hunter. they somersault either forward, backward or in a circular manner; …. what confounded the hunter most was the manner in which the acrobatic display by mere gorillas, unbelievably synchronized with every beat that their hollow wood and sticks emitted. after the dance and the exit of the gorillas, idalogho, the hunter came down from the tree and ran away. on getting home, he narrated to his family and the community members what he experienced in the forest. the story was taken with a pinch of salt. thus, in order to authenticate his story, three famous and experienced hunters accompanied idalogho to the place in the forest which the people now called the “land of wonders”. the party returned home and narrated the same story to the people. so, in order to preserve this dance for posterity, the able bodied male children of the community were gathered together and made to study and perfect the congeries of style, nuance and pattern of this mystical dance which was later called igbabonelimin. some communities in esan has also adopted the said forest where this discovery took place as their ancestral home. it is therefore not surprisng that some communities see themselves as the original owners of the dance. however, this has in no way created any crises among the people, as they accept some origin and ancestry. coincidentally, the instruments and other related materials used by the igbabonelimin group as well as other entertainment groups (costumes) were sourced locally, while the experts' for production were the indigenous people (mostly males). some of these instruments includes ufiere (flute), ekegan (drum), agogo (gong), -these are instruments made from provisions of the environment. for instance, the costume was made from local wood which was cultivated in the area and made into multi-colour cloth material known as ukponododo. as for other wooded instruments, the location of oto-esan and it heavily wooded forest influenced it sculptural tradition. wood carvers locally known as ekanemi scattered around the villages and settlements of esan made use of the timber obtained from the esan forests (akubor, 2024). from this activities proffesional groups emerged (hunters, carvers, builders among others). a historical analysis of the cited traditions of migration into the area exhibits the fact that these settlements were established without shedding of blood or warfare, which indicates acceptability of the migrates by the original people who may have occupied the area before their arrival. in the case of the people from across the niger, the interaction/inter group relations between the duo in the pre-colonial days further strengthened their contact and led to the formation of groups claiming both igala and esan origin. this remains the case of the agbacha iwogun in uzea esan, ugboha esan, anagbette area and the existence of edo communities in okwuoshim, ukopodo, and okpatawo area of ane-igala (akubor, 2005, 2007, 2010). it is important to note that over the years especially from the precolonial period the esan area has remained an agriculturally viable area especially when seen in the light of the aquatic and flora resources, which have sustained the people even till present time. describing the various forests in esan and their usefulness in the economic life of the people, okoduwa (2013) argues: esan has rich vegetation made up of the moist deciduous forest. it has timber and other forest woods. in some parts of the plateau and the lowlands, forests were thickly wooded and inspired awe from the esan people. sometimes, the forests were held sacred and at igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 26 night without the backing of ebolo or strong medicine even the bravest of hunters feared the wild forests. only few dared risk the strange noises and terrifying experiences of venturing where they believed the evil azen or witches were operating in treetops. they also believed that even the lesser ihoholele or dwarf like human beings found in the deep forests could kill if they ran between the legs of an individual. thus the forest, thickly wooded, cold and unreceptive was generally dreaded especially at night. in the day-time, the forest and its products were highly valued for their innumerable contributions to everyday living. the forest was vital to the life and culture of the esan. as a source of medicinal value as well as food product, the source continues: there were medicinal preparations from the forest for leprosy, gonorrhea, loose teeth, fevers, abscesses, black tongue, childbirth and purgatives. there were potions prepared from forest products to put people to sleep, charms to make yams grow and poisons for ordeals and to put on arrow tips. different timbers were used for nearly every aspect of house building and there were a variety of woods for making tools, native harps, tobacco pipe, and traps and for collection as firewood. burnt wood derivatives included charcoal, potash, salt and ashes for native soap and native dye. there were adhesives, sponges for polishing house walls, rope, bowstrings, dance rattles etc. in the forests there were special sticks that were used for staking yam vines as well as special trees that were used as chewing sticks. there were also many fruits, seed, roots and leaves that were gathered from the forests. food stuffs, such as wild beans, wild yams, edible fungi, palm wine, palm fruits, snails and honey from wild bees could be gathered from the forests. in term of its rich fauna resources, the sources continues: in the same vein, hunters caught various games including bush pigs esi, giant pouched rats eluo and grass-cutters okhaen. part of the forest riches can be gleaned from a description of a 15th century market in benin area, which had “… roasted baboons and monkeys, bats and large rats, parrots…”..with suitable vegetation and good ecology, early esan settlers and agriculturists substituted and modified their environment by various methods to provide suitable conditions for growth. they domesticated cultivars in place of the wild ones they destroyed during the process of clearance; and eventually created much food to sustain viable socio-political entities that evolved in the area. indeed the farming activities around the area is a testament to the fact that the traditions of migration into the area took seriously the issue of economic suitability. for instance, scholars have repeatedly analyzed the network of interlocking markets on the river, a structure that is clearly mirrored in the description of early european observers. traders from brass and other coastal states brought european goods to esan at the trading station on the niger (illushi), where they were exchanged originally for slaves and later for palm oil. also igala traders in far ranging canoes, carried goods up the niger to esan where they met traders from benin, nupe, sapele and itsekiri land, the esan traders cross over to amalu, up to the onitsha area with their farm produce. in general, all the traders met at a market called ega-oria (later called illushi), which till date act as a converging pot /port for economic activities. esan and ifeku people generally controlled the operations of the market and it was their source of slaves and market for their saleable goods. baikie and hutchinson observed in 1854 that, the people were primarily agriculturalist, who fully exploited the resources of the land and water bodies, which they channeled into trade. through this, they lived comfortably from the ample produce of their extensive farms/water resources and sold surplus, supplying onitsha and aboh with yam and cotton. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 27 summary and conclusion from the discourse so far, it is safe to argue that in considering place for settlements, movement into the esan area has always been guided by the thought of economically sustaining societies, especially one with the natural resources to support a growing society. this was not however peculiar to the esan area, as examples of history have shown similar traits in other societies. thus, apart from the esan people, examples of such is classically embedded in traditions of origin of some nigerian societies, such as the legends of saif bin dhi yazan, the founder of the saifuwa dynasty of kanem-borno, who considered the fertile area around the well watered bank of lake chad to establish his people; bayajida also argued to be the founder of the hausa bakwai and banza bakwai city-states around a well in daura, that served as sources of water to the farming community and the oduduwa myth of creation among the yoruba, which revolves around the creation of the earth, filling it with good soil from which sprang the first palm tree representing each yoruba group. these traditions have not been fully explored of their historical contents. nonetheless, they now at least present a common rallying point for the different concerned groups' identities and largely act as an important reference point for self-projection of these societies in the nigerian enterprise and their quest for livelihood (smith 1987; hallam 1966; smith 1970; smith 1971; smith 1983; lange 2004). therefore, when the examination and analyses of other national legends are made professionally, it will add new historical information about the other peoples of nigeria and it will be an asset to our national knowledge base, which could be used for the promotion of peace (smith 1987; atanda 1980). furthermore, an extensive assessment and objective interpretation of these legends is imperative. more so, as they specifically speak of historical narratives of times since 'the beginnings', after the original culture-founders had departed their earthly lives to assume positions of spiritual advisers, an aspect that is still beclouded in mystery. however, the humanisation of these legends by linking them to human progenies, who are currently identified as ruling houses, dynasties, priests our title-holders deeply involved in the actual running of their societies speaks a lot about a yet to be decoded intellectual history of pre-colonial nigeria. indeed, it also pinpoints to the historical mindset that provided the base for the self-sufficiency of pre-colonial nigerian societies (stevens 1978; smith 1987; lange 2004; abubakar 1996). although, some have argued that some of these traditions cannot be historically situated, however, analysis of a large chunk of these tradions have shown that they actually contain facts of the hectic task of how the people sojoured in quest for economically sustaining society taking into consideration the productive capacity of the environment and how it can help in socioeconomc and political development over time. it is therefore in line with this that the paper argues that tin any historical analysis, by using the proper techniques and processing of oral data, original and authentic information could be derived from custom, opinion or belief handed down to posterity especially orally or by practice (curtins 1968; |stevens 1975; sutton 1979; ajayi 1980, newbury, 2007). these include the process of handing down established practice or custom as well as literary principles based on experience and practice, theological doctrine or a particular doctrine that claimed to have divine authority without documentary evidence. references abubakar, s., 1996, 'a preliminary examination of the traditions of eastern origin and migration among some major nigerian ethnic groups', in papers on nigerian history vol. 1, ed, sa'ad abubakar, (abuja, suffa nigeria ltd.) pp. 10-22. afigbo, a.e. 1978, 'monocausal explanation in african history: a prevalent distortion', in tarikh vol. 6 no. 1, historical method, london, longman. afigbo, a.e. 1978, 'monocausal explanation in african history: a prevalent distortion', in tarikh vol. 6 no. 1, historical method, london, longman. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 28 ajayi, j.f.a. 1980, 'a critique of themes preferred by nigerian historians', in journal of historical society of nigeria (jhsn), vol. x. no. 3, dec. akubor e .o. 2005. “the impact of colonialism in nigeria: a case study of esanland 18971960”. m.a. thesis, history, ahmadu bello university, zaria. 2005. akubor, e .o. (2007) “the significance of trade and craft in social relations in nigeria: the esan, benin, igbo and igala examples”. zaria journal of liberal arts (zajola) ahmadu bello university, zaria vol 1: 2. akubor, e .o. (2007) “the role of geography in fostering intergroup relations in nigeria: a case study of igala of central nigeria and esan people of southern nigeria, circa 1500 – 1850 ad” lapai journal of central nigeria history, ibrahim badamasi babangida university vol 1:1, 15-21. akubor, e .o. 2007. “the significance of cultural festival in the study of the history of intra / intergroup relations of the esan people”. degel, the journal of the faculty of arts and islamic studies, uthman danfodiyo university sokoto, vol iii. akubor, e .o. 2009. “man and environment: a case study of esanland in edo state of nigeria. aau: african studies review”: a journal of the department of history and international studies, adekunle ajasin university, akungba-akoko. akubor, e .o. 2009. “the role of the natural environment in shaping religious belief and outlook of africans: the esan example”. lapai journal of arts and education (jolae), ibrahim badamasi babangida university, lapai. vol. 3, no. 1. akubor e .o. 2010. “colonial domination and cash crop production in esan division of benin province of colonial nigeria 1906 – 1960”: a history of agricultural stagnation and decline unpublished phd thesis, department of history, ahmadu bello university, zaria. akubor, e. o. 2012. “man, natural environment and cultural adaptation in the rain forest: a case study of oto-esan 1500 to c.1850 a.d. sau journal of humanities, college of humanities, samuel adegboyega university, ogwa, edo, nigeria, vol. i:i. akubor e .o.2013. edo diaspora in ane igala: a case study of the agbacha iwogun in ibaji land in ukago v and akubor, e.o (eds) a diminishing past-a rescued future: essays on the peoples, traditions and culture of the esan of southern nigeria: goldline and jacobs, new jersey. akubor, e. o, 2013. “the role of archaeological evidence in establishing the relationship between man and his environment in oto – esan, south-western nigeria, the journal of zaria historical research, zahir, department of history, faculty of arts, ahmadu bello university, zaria, vol. iii, no 2. akubor, e.o. 2020. “benin's contributions to trading networks of the lower niger region” in uyilawa usualele (edt) benin studies under the scalpel: essays in honour of ekhaguosa aisien. institute for benin studies, benin, nigeria. akubor, e.o. 2024, man, environment and social life (entertainment): interrogating the social life of selected esan communities and their neighbours. submiited to the department of sociology, obafemi awolowo university, ile-ife. atanda, j.a. 1980, 'the historian and the problem of origins of peoples in nigerian society', jhsn, x, 3 dec. baikie, b. williams, narratives of an exploring voyage up the rivers kwora and benue in 1854, london: frank cass & co ltd, 1966 bingel, t.b. 1991 “historical demography of the nigeria middle belt ad. 1400-1900:an explanation of the role of historical and environmental factors in shaping the population of niger province” unpublished phd thesis, abu, zaria. bradbury, r.e. 1957, the benin kingdom and the edo speaking people of southwestern nigeria. international african institute. london. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 29 curtins, p. 1968, 'field techniques for collecting and processing oral data', in journal of african history (jah), ix, 3. hallam, w. 1966, 'the bayajida legend in hausa folklore', in jah, vii, 1. kazlov, g.a (ed). 1977, political economy: capitalism progress publishers, moscow. lange, d. 1987, a sudanic chronicle: the borno expeditions of idris alauma, 1564-1576, wiesbaden, franz steiner verlag. ______ 2004: ancient kingdoms of west africa, africa-centred and canaanite-isrealite perspectives (a collection of published and unpublished studies in english and french), dettelbach, verlag j.h. roll gmbh. maurice comforth. 1952. dialectical materialism: materialism and dialectical method, lawrence and wishart, london. newbury, d. 2007, 'contradiction at the heart of the canon: jan vanssina and the debate over oral historiography in africa, 1960-1985', in history in africa, 34. okoduwa, a.i.(ed). 1997 “studies in esan history and culture: evolution of esan polities. volume. i. omo-uwessan publishers, ltd, benin city. osakue s. o, and oseghale f (nd), an emic exploration of the igbabonelimhin dance-theatre of the esan of edo state, nigeria. department of theatre and media arts, department of e n g l i s h , a m b r o s e a l l i u n i v e r s i t y . s o u r c e s f r o m h � p s : / / w w w . r e s e a r c h g a t e . n e t / p r o fi l e / o s a k u e omoera/publica�on/282007261_an_emic_explora�on_of_the_igbabonelimhin_dancetheatre_of_the_esan_of_edo_state_nigeria/links/56013a2108aeba1d9f84f17e/an-emicexplora�on-of-the-igbabonelimhin-dance-theatre-of-the-esan-of-edo-state-nigeria.pdf. osaremhen, t (2023), the igbabonelimhin masquerade of the esan people; retrieved from h�ps://www.orire.com, on december, 30, 2023. pascal e (1999), the form, content and meaning of dance in esan land. b.a project unpublished, benin city: university of benin r o d n e y w a l t e r ( 1 9 7 3 ) h o w e u r o p e u n d e r d e v e l o p e d a f r i c a . http://www.marxists.org/subject/africa/rodney-walter/how-europe/ch02.htm (7 of 64) smith, a. 1971, 'early states of central sudan', in a ajayi and m crowder eds. history of west africa 1, london, longman. ______ 1983, 'the legend of the saifuwa: a study in the origin of a legend of origin', in studies in the history of pre-colonial borno, eds. b. usman, and n. alkali, zaria, northern nigerian publishing company ltd. ______ 1987, a little new light, selected historical writings of abdullahi smith, vol. 1 abdullahi smith centre for historical research, zaria, gaskiya corporation ltd. stevens jr., p. 1975, 'the kisra legend and the distortion of historical tradition', in jah, xvi, 2. ______1978, 'the uses of oral traditions in the writing of african history', in tarikh vol. 6 no. 1, historical method, london, longman. sutton, j.e.g. 1979, 'towards a less orthodox history of hausa land', in jah, 20. ukwedeh, j.n. 1976. the history of settlements in southwestern ibaji district (unpublished) b.a project, a.b.u, zaria. ukwedeh, j.n. 1987. the history of igala to c. 1830 a.d. with special reference to the rise of attah kingship m.a (unpublished), a.b.u, zaria. ukwedeh,j.n. 1984. chronology and the study of igala history to c.1830 a.d. department of history seminar, zaria. ukwedeh,j.n. 1984. man and environment: some theoretical consideration and historical examples. department of history seminar, zaria. no. 14/1983/84. vansina, j. 1985, oral tradition as history, london. _____ 1985, 'oral tradition and its methodology', in j. ki-zerbo ed. general history of africa vol. 1, paris, unesco, pp. 54-61. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 5, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 113 the philosophy of leadership: principals’ administrative strategies and teachers’ job performance emmanuel e ukata, phd augustinian institute, makurdi & oliagba cynthia nneka, dmmm university of abuja, abuja abstract the philosophy of leadership offers a reflective foundation for understanding how school principals’ values, beliefs, and administrative strategies influence teachers’ job performance. this study examines the intersection between philosophical leadership principles and practical administrative behavior in the management of educational institutions. drawing insights from transformational, servant, and ethical leadership theories, the study explores how a principal’s vision, decision-making style, and interpersonal relations shape teacher motivation, instructional effectiveness, and professional satisfaction. using a mixed-method approach, data were collected through questionnaires and interviews from principals and teachers across selected secondary schools. quantitative analysis measured the correlation between leadership strategies such as participatory decision-making, supervision, communication, and motivation, and key indicators of teachers’ job performance, while qualitative insights provided a deeper understanding of the ethical and philosophical orientations guiding principals’ actions. findings reveal that leadership grounded in a human-centered and value-driven philosophy significantly enhances teachers’ productivity, commitment, and classroom engagement. conversely, autocratic and inconsistent administrative practices diminish morale and hinder effective teaching. the study emphasizes that the success of any educational system depends not only on technical management skills but also on the moral and philosophical depth of leadership. consequently, the paper recommends continuous leadership training programs that integrate philosophical reflection with practical administrative competence. such a synthesis fosters an environment of respect, collaboration, and ethical responsibility, enabling teachers to flourish as co-constructors of educational excellence. keywords: philosophy of leadership; administrative strategies; transformational leadership; educational management; ethical leadership. introduction leadership has long been regarded as the cornerstone of effective organizational functioning, particularly within educational institutions where the dynamics of learning, growth, and human development converge. in educational settings, leadership is not confined to the coordination of resources or the enforcement of regulations; rather, it represents the art of guiding teachers and students toward a shared vision of excellence and moral purpose (bush, 2020). the school principal, in this respect, serves as both an administrator and a moral exemplar whose leadership igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 114 philosophy influences the ethos, performance, and productivity of the entire institution. as leithwood, harris, and hopkins affirm, effective school leadership is second only to classroom instruction in influencing student outcomes, primarily through its impact on teacher motivation and professional engagement (harris and hopkins 2020). philosophically, educational leadership embodies the integration of rational organization and moral purpose. aristotle’s concept of phronesis, practical wisdom, illustrates the need for leaders to act not merely with technical competence but with ethical discernment aimed at the common good (aristotle, nicomachean ethics, trans. irwin, 1999). this philosophical grounding is crucial because education itself is a moral enterprise aimed at nurturing both intellect and character. hence, a principal’s administrative strategies must reflect a balance between managerial efficiency and ethical leadership, aligning institutional goals with the personal and professional well-being of teachers. despite the recognized importance of leadership in school management, many educational institutions continue to experience declining teacher morale, low motivation, and diminished productivity due to poor leadership practices (akinola & lawal, 2022). the prevalence of autocratic and non-participatory leadership styles often undermines collaboration, weakens teacher commitment, and erodes trust within the school community. in many cases, principals exercise authority without philosophical reflection on the ethical implications of their administrative decisions, leading to discontent and alienation among teachers. the absence of value-driven leadership diminishes teachers’ sense of purpose, reducing their willingness to innovate and contribute meaningfully to the educational mission (okon & etim, 2021). the purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between principals’ leadership philosophies, their administrative strategies, and teachers’ job performance. specifically, the study seeks to explore how the moral and philosophical orientations of principals influence their decision-making processes, communication patterns, supervisory practices, and motivational strategies, and how these, in turn, affect teachers’ efficiency, job satisfaction, and classroom effectiveness. by linking leadership philosophy with administrative behavior, the study aims to illuminate the deeper ethical and existential dimensions of educational leadership, showing that effective management must be grounded in a coherent vision of human flourishing and institutional purpose. this study will be guided by the following research questions: 1. what are the dominant leadership philosophies guiding principals’ administrative strategies in secondary schools? 2. how do principals’ administrative strategies influence teachers’ motivation and job performance? 3. to what extent does the ethical and philosophical orientation of school leaders shape the overall school climate and teacher productivity? 4. what leadership approaches best promote collaboration, creativity, and commitment among teachers? igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 115 this study holds significance for educational administrators, policymakers, and teacher development programs. for administrators, it underscores the necessity of cultivating reflective and value-driven leadership practices that go beyond technical management to embrace moral and philosophical dimensions. for policymakers, it provides empirical and theoretical insights for designing leadership training curricula that integrate ethical reasoning with administrative competence (fullan, 2019). for teachers, the study affirms the importance of leadership that recognizes their intrinsic worth, professional autonomy, and creative contribution to the educational process. ultimately, by situating leadership within a philosophical framework, this research contributes to the ongoing discourse on how educational institutions can harmonize administrative efficiency with the moral purpose of education. conceptual framework and review of related literature the philosophy of leadership leadership, in its philosophical sense, transcends the mere exercise of authority or administrative control; it is fundamentally a moral vocation rooted in the pursuit of the common good and the flourishing of others. the philosophy of leadership thus interrogates not only how leaders act, but why they act, their guiding beliefs, ethical commitments, and understanding of human purpose. as burns observes, leadership is most authentic when it transforms both the leader and the led, elevating them to higher levels of motivation and morality. from a classical philosophical perspective, plato envisioned leadership as the stewardship of the philosopher-king, a ruler guided by wisdom and virtue rather than personal ambition (plato, the republic, trans. shorey, 1968). plato’s concept underscores the idea that knowledge divorced from moral vision is inadequate for governance. similarly, aristotle advanced the notion of phronesis (practical wisdom) as the defining quality of the good leader, emphasizing moderation, virtue, and the rational pursuit of the common good (nicomachean ethics, trans. irwin, 1999). st. thomas aquinas later developed this idea further by situating leadership within the framework of natural law, arguing that true authority must reflect divine reason and the moral order intended for human flourishing (aquinas, summa theologiae i-ii, q.90). in the modern era, immanuel kant (1785) emphasized autonomy and moral duty as central to ethical leadership. for kant, leadership must respect the inherent dignity of persons, treating individuals as ends in themselves rather than as means to institutional goals (groundwork of the metaphysics of morals). contemporary paradigms such as transformational and servant leadership extend these philosophical insights into organizational contexts. transformational leadership, as posited by bass and riggio (2006), seeks to inspire moral growth and selfactualization among followers through vision and shared purpose. servant leadership, articulated by greenleaf, places moral responsibility, empathy, and service at the heart of leadership practice (greenleaf 1977). in the educational sphere, these philosophical orientations find expression in the ethical dimension of leadership. school principals are not merely administrators but moral agents igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 116 shaping a community of learning. ethical leadership in education emphasizes fairness, care, and integrity as the guiding principles of administrative conduct (starratt, 2017). hence, the philosophy of leadership in schools is a call to harmonize managerial competence with moral insight, ensuring that administrative decisions contribute to the holistic development of both teachers and learners. administrative strategies in school leadership administrative strategies are the practical expressions of leadership philosophy, the tangible mechanisms through which principals operationalize their ethical and managerial convictions. effective educational administration integrates both strategic and human dimensions to foster an environment conducive to learning and professional growth. key administrative strategies include instructional supervision, which ensures the alignment of teaching practices with curricular goals and pedagogical standards (glickman, gordon, & rossgordon, 2018); delegation, which distributes responsibilities equitably and fosters a sense of ownership among teachers; and communication, which sustains transparency and trust within the school community. motivation, whether through recognition, professional development, or participatory decision-making, is central to maintaining teachers’ morale and engagement (herzberg, 1968). strategic planning and resource management are also essential components of school leadership. as hoy and miskel (2013) note, successful principals anticipate future challenges and align institutional resources with educational priorities. these strategies must, however, be informed by the leader’s ethical framework to prevent efficiency from overshadowing humanity. leadership styles vary across contexts. transformational leadership emphasizes vision and empowerment; transactional leadership focuses on task performance and reward structures; democratic leadership promotes inclusivity and shared governance; autocratic leadership centralizes authority; and laissez-faire leadership minimizes direct intervention (northouse, 2022). among these, transformational and democratic approaches have been found most conducive to teacher motivation and innovation, especially when grounded in trust and mutual respect. teachers’ job performance teachers’ job performance is a multidimensional construct encompassing the efficiency, quality, and creativity with which educators fulfill their professional duties. it reflects not only instructional competence but also commitment, punctuality, classroom management, and the ability to inspire learning outcomes (akinyemi & bamidele, 2021). indicators of effective performance include lesson preparation, teaching innovation, assessment practices, and positive student engagement. several factors influence teachers’ performance. these include motivation, work environment, professional development opportunities, and the leadership style of school administrators (okon igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 117 & etim, 2021). a supportive leadership climate characterized by recognition, dialogue, and ethical consistency tends to enhance teachers’ enthusiasm and sense of belonging. conversely, environments marked by rigidity, favoritism, or lack of communication reduce morale and productivity. from a philosophical standpoint, teachers’ performance is not merely a function of compliance but of participation in a shared moral vision. when teachers perceive that their contributions are valued and aligned with a purpose greater than personal gain, they experience a deeper sense of vocation and meaning in their work what gabriel marcel would describe as availability or selfgiving presence to others. hence, teacher performance thrives where leadership affirms human dignity and mutual responsibility. theoretical framework the study draws upon several leadership and motivation theories to explain the relationship between leadership philosophy, administrative strategies, and teachers’ job performance. transformational leadership theory (bass & riggio, 2006) posits that leaders who inspire, intellectually stimulate, and show individualized consideration foster higher levels of commitment and creativity among followers. in educational settings, transformational principals act as catalysts for teacher empowerment and pedagogical innovation. situational leadership theory (hersey & blanchard, 1982) emphasizes the adaptability of leadership behavior according to followers’ competence and commitment. this flexibility reflects aristotle’s notion of phronesis, the practical wisdom to discern the right action for each circumstance. herzberg’s motivation–hygiene theory (1968) distinguishes between intrinsic motivators (achievement, recognition, responsibility) and extrinsic hygiene factors (salary, conditions). effective school leadership enhances intrinsic motivators by creating a culture of appreciation and autonomy. mcgregor’s theory x and theory y (1960) provide a philosophical lens on human nature and motivation in the workplace. theory x assumes that workers are inherently lazy and require control, while theory y views them as self-directed and capable of growth. principals who adopt a theory y orientation foster trust, collaboration, and creativity conditions essential for sustained teacher performance. integrating these frameworks suggests that leadership philosophy acts as the moral and conceptual foundation from which administrative behavior emerges. a principal’s worldview, shaped by ethical, ontological, and epistemological convictions, directly influences their strategic choices and, consequently, teachers’ motivation and effectiveness. leadership, when grounded in moral philosophy and practical wisdom, transforms administration into a form of ethical stewardship aimed at realizing the full potential of both teachers and learners. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 118 principals’ leadership philosophies and their influence the study revealed that principals’ leadership philosophies significantly shape the moral atmosphere, decision-making processes, and relational dynamics within schools. principals who grounded their leadership in humanistic and ethical values such as respect, justice, and care fostered an environment of mutual trust and professional commitment among teachers. these leaders demonstrated what aristotle termed phronesis (practical wisdom), the capacity to balance moral virtue with pragmatic decision-making for the common good (nicomachean ethics, trans. irwin, 1999). in such schools, leadership was perceived not merely as a managerial function but as a vocation of service, aligning with greenleaf’s (1977) concept of servant leadership that prioritizes the growth and well-being of followers. conversely, principals who exhibited authoritarian or transactional tendencies often reduced leadership to rule enforcement and compliance, neglecting the ethical dimension that sustains communal harmony and teacher motivation. kant’s moral imperative that individuals be treated as ends rather than means provides a philosophical critique of such leadership styles. in the absence of reflective and ethical reasoning, leadership risks degenerating into domination rather than direction (starratt, 2017). the findings thus affirm that a principal’s internalized values— whether grounded in service, justice, or personal ambition manifest visibly in administrative decisions, staff relations, and institutional culture. principals influenced by transformational ideals tended to articulate a shared vision and inspire teachers toward collective achievement. their decisions were participatory, reflective, and ethically attuned, suggesting that leadership philosophy functions as the moral compass that guides administrative conduct. this finding echoes burns’ assertion that authentic leadership must elevate both leader and followers to higher levels of moral consciousness. administrative strategies employed by principals the findings identified five major administrative strategies commonly employed by principals: instructional supervision, delegation, effective communication, motivation, and participatory decision-making. principals who prioritized instructional supervision enhanced pedagogical quality and accountability among teachers, consistent with glickman, gordon, and rossgordon’s view that supervision is central to instructional improvement. however, the manner in which supervision was conducted, whether supportive or punitive, was a decisive factor in determining teacher response. delegation emerged as a vital strategy for fostering ownership and shared responsibility. when principals trusted teachers with meaningful roles, teachers exhibited greater initiative and professional confidence. this reflects mcgregor’s theory y assumption that workers are inherently motivated and capable of self-direction when properly empowered. on the contrary, principals who monopolized decision-making fostered passivity and resentment, reflecting theory x tendencies that assume teachers require control. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 119 effective communication also appeared as a cornerstone of successful school administration. open, transparent, and dialogical communication enhanced collegiality, while poor communication bred misunderstanding and alienation. motivation, through recognition, professional development, and fair appraisal, was another key determinant of teacher satisfaction. principals who implemented herzberg’s motivation–hygiene theory effectively addressed intrinsic motivators such as achievement and recognition, leading to higher job fulfillment. overall, a strong correlation was observed between participatory administrative practices and teacher satisfaction. democratic and transformational leadership approaches correlated positively with motivation and productivity, whereas autocratic and laissez-faire styles produced inconsistent results. these findings align with northouse’s assertion that the most effective leaders are those who adapt strategies to context while maintaining ethical consistency (northouse 2022). impact on teachers’ job performance empirical data indicated a clear relationship between leadership philosophy, administrative strategies, and teachers’ job performance. principals who espoused servant or transformational leadership philosophies nurtured environments where teachers exhibited greater instructional creativity, punctuality, and emotional commitment. teachers reported heightened enthusiasm and a sense of belonging when they perceived their leaders as just, transparent, and supportive. this finding is consistent with leithwood, harris, and hopkins, who assert that effective school leadership indirectly influences student outcomes through its positive effect on teachers’ motivation and engagement (harris and hopkins, 2020). schools where principals exhibited autocratic or inconsistent administrative practices recorded lower levels of teacher satisfaction and higher rates of absenteeism and turnover. teachers in such environments described leadership as coercive rather than inspirational, leading to what marcel would call “disincarnation,” a detachment from one’s work and vocation. from a philosophical lens, this alienation reflects the moral failure of leadership that prioritizes control over communion. transformational leadership theory provides a conceptual explanation for these findings: by inspiring shared purpose and intellectual stimulation, transformational principals elevate teachers’ sense of professional identity. similarly, herzberg’s model elucidates how intrinsic motivators—such as recognition and responsibility drive sustainable job performance more than extrinsic factors. thus, effective education leadership is both ethically grounded and humancentered, facilitating teacher flourishing as an intrinsic good rather than a mere instrument for institutional success. emerging patterns and challenges several recurring challenges were identified across schools. communication gaps between principals and teachers often lead to a misunderstanding of policies and diminished morale. inadequate supervision was another challenge, as some principals delegated responsibilities without providing sufficient guidance or feedback. inconsistent motivation strategies, such as igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 120 favoritism in rewards or a lack of recognition for high-performing teachers, were also observed. these practices reflect a philosophical deficiency, a failure to integrate fairness (justice as equity, in aristotelian terms) into administrative praxis. ethically, such shortcomings highlight what aquinas would describe as the disjunction between the ordinatio rationis (the order of reason) and the pursuit of the common good (summa theologiae, i-ii, q.90). leadership devoid of moral intentionality reduces education to bureaucratic management, neglecting its spiritual and humanistic dimensions. the alienation resulting from such failures can erode the moral fabric of the institution, creating an atmosphere of fear rather than cooperation. however, the findings also revealed an emerging trend toward reflective and value-driven leadership among younger principals. these leaders, influenced by contemporary humanistic and transformational models, sought to harmonize efficiency with empathy. their approach resonates with fullan’s notion of “moral purpose in leadership,” which integrates organizational success with ethical responsibility (fullan, 2019). in philosophical reflection, the challenges observed invite a return to leadership as service-inbeing, a commitment to the dignity of persons and the moral vocation of education. leadership, rightly understood, is an act of stewardship, a participation in what marcel calls fidelity to being, where the leader’s task is to create spaces for others to thrive. implications for educational leadership the findings of this study illuminate profound implications for the philosophy and practice of educational leadership. they demonstrate that effective school management cannot be divorced from the moral and philosophical foundations upon which leadership is built. education leadership is not merely a matter of administrative competence or technical expertise; it is fundamentally an ethical vocation grounded in the pursuit of truth, justice, and the flourishing of the human person (aquinas, summa theologiae, i-ii, q.90). this section discusses the implications of the findings for educational administrators, policymakers, and teacher development within the broader framework of moral and transformational leadership. re-envisioning leadership as a moral and philosophical enterprise educational leadership must be re-envisioned as an act of moral stewardship rather than mere managerial control. the study confirms that the principal’s moral philosophy, whether grounded in service, justice, or utilitarian expediency, inevitably shapes the school’s ethical climate and the motivation of teachers. hence, the cultivation of philosophical and ethical consciousness among school leaders is essential. as starratt argues, ethical leadership involves care, justice, and critique of the persons one leads, justice in decision-making, and critique of institutional structures that hinder human dignity. principals should therefore engage in reflective practices that allow them to discern the ethical dimensions of administrative decisions (starratt 2017). this moral awareness aligns with aristotle’s phronesis, or practical wisdom, which enables leaders to balance competing values and pursue the common good (nicomachean ethics, trans. irwin, 1999). by grounding leadership igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 121 in moral philosophy, principals transform their administrative role into a vocation of service that inspires teachers toward excellence. integrating philosophical reflection into leadership training one of the key implications of this study is the need to integrate philosophical and ethical reflection into leadership preparation programs. many current training modules emphasize technical efficiency, budgeting, supervision, and performance appraisal while neglecting the deeper moral and existential dimensions of leadership. however, as fullan insists, sustainable educational change depends on leaders who act from a sense of moral purpose (fullan 2019). educational leadership institutes should therefore include courses on moral philosophy, ethics of care, and philosophical anthropology. such integration will enable future principals to appreciate leadership not as a power dynamic but as a relational and moral responsibility. by cultivating self-awareness and ethical reasoning, school leaders become capable of aligning administrative practices with the intrinsic dignity of teachers and learners. policy implications for educational governance the findings also bear policy implications for ministries of education and educational boards. policymakers must recognize that leadership effectiveness extends beyond procedural compliance to include ethical accountability. policy frameworks should therefore promote continuous professional development that nurtures moral reasoning and reflective practice among school leaders. furthermore, evaluation systems should measure leadership effectiveness not solely by academic performance or resource management but by indicators of ethical climate, teacher satisfaction, and professional collaboration (leithwood, harris, & hopkins, 2020). schools that demonstrate high levels of trust, participatory decision-making, and shared vision should be recognized as models of ethically grounded administration. this shift would affirm the aristotelian notion that excellence in leadership is a virtue cultivated through practice and habituation, rather than a set of technical competencies. enhancing teacher development through ethical leadership the study reveals that teachers’ job performance is deeply intertwined with the moral tone set by school leadership. ethical and transformational leadership creates an environment where teachers find meaning and dignity in their work. this has implications for teacher development programs, which should encourage collaboration between teachers and administrators in creating shared ethical visions for the school. according to greenleaf, the servant leader’s first duty is to ensure that those served “grow as persons.” thus, principals must intentionally design professional development initiatives that nurture teachers’ intellectual, moral, and emotional capacities. programs emphasizing mentorship, collegial dialogue, and recognition of excellence promote a culture of mutual growth. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 122 teachers who feel valued and ethically supported are more likely to internalize the school’s mission and contribute meaningfully to students’ formation. reaffirming the ethical responsibility of educational leaders philosophically, the results of this study reaffirm that leadership carries an inherent ethical responsibility. principals must understand their role as custodians of a community’s moral and intellectual heritage. the failure of leadership—manifested in coercive control, favoritism, or neglect represents not only administrative inefficiency but a betrayal of the moral trust society places in educators. kant’s categorical imperative demands that leaders act in ways that can be universalized as morally just; thus, every decision must be guided by respect for persons as ends in themselves. in the existential sense, gabriel marcel reminds us that authentic leadership is grounded in availability, a readiness to be present to others in their struggles and aspirations. principals who embody this availability foster relational trust that enables teachers to work with purpose and hope. in this way, leadership becomes a form of fidelity to being, where the leader participates in the unfolding of others’ potential rather than manipulating outcomes. toward an ethic of transformational stewardship ultimately, the findings call for an ethic of transformational stewardship, a leadership paradigm that harmonizes efficiency with empathy, and management with morality. transformational stewardship situates the principal as a moral guide who integrates vision, virtue, and service. such leadership is both philosophical and practical: it draws from ethical theory to inform daily decision-making and from lived experience to deepen philosophical reflection. educational systems grounded in this ethic will cultivate leaders who, in the thomistic sense, act according to reason and for the common good (aquinas, summa theologiae, i-ii, q.94). these leaders will view teachers not merely as employees but as collaborators in the sacred task of forming minds and characters. thus, leadership becomes an act of participation in the moral order, a reflection of the divine law that guides all human flourishing. conclusion the present study has demonstrated that educational leadership is not merely an administrative or managerial undertaking but a profoundly philosophical and moral vocation. the findings underscore that the principal’s leadership philosophy, whether informed by virtue ethics, deontological duty, or transformational service, inevitably shapes teachers’ motivation, commitment, and professional excellence. leadership, when reduced to procedural control or bureaucratic efficiency, forfeits its higher purpose: the cultivation of a moral community in which teachers and learners alike can flourish. thus, the philosophy of leadership must be understood as the animating spirit of educational management a moral compass that guides all administrative action toward the common good. philosophically, this study affirms aristotle’s concept of phronesis (practical wisdom) as central to effective educational leadership. the principal’s capacity to discern the right course of action in complex, value-laden situations embodies the virtue of prudence, which integrates moral igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 123 insight with situational intelligence (nicomachean ethics, trans. irwin, 1999). similarly, aquinas’ conception of law and moral order situates leadership within the framework of reason and the divine good (summa theologiae, i-ii, q.90–94). the educational leader, therefore, acts as both rational guide and moral steward, harmonizing institutional objectives with ethical imperatives. the study also supports the transformative models of leadership articulated by greenleaf and burns, emphasizing that true leadership seeks to elevate followers to higher levels of morality and motivation. transformational and servant leadership theories converge in their recognition of human dignity and relational interdependence values indispensable to the educational context. a principal, who listens, empowers, and models integrity not only enhances teacher performance but also contributes to the moral regeneration of the school as a community of learning and virtue. however, the research also reveals enduring challenges: inadequate communication, inconsistent motivation, and the persistence of authoritarian tendencies in leadership. these failures are not merely administrative flaws but ethical lapses that undermine the ontological dignity of teachers. as kant reminds us, every person must be treated as an end in themselves, never merely as a means to institutional goals. hence, educational leadership must be grounded in respect for human freedom, moral autonomy, and participatory collaboration. in conclusion, the philosophy of leadership invites a reorientation of educational management from a paradigm of control to one of moral responsibility and relational trust. the effectiveness of principals’ administrative strategies depends not only on technical proficiency but on the moral vision that animates their practice. educational systems that prioritize ethical formation in leadership development will produce principals who, like aquinas’ “wise governors,” lead not by coercion but by reason, virtue, and example. such leadership transforms schools into spaces of moral and intellectual formation where teachers find fulfillment, students encounter purpose, and the community at large benefits from the radiance of authentic educational stewardship. ultimately, the philosophy of leadership calls for a return to the human center of education: the recognition that leadership, in its truest sense, is the art of guiding persons toward the realization of their highest good. this is both the ethical and existential vocation of the educational leader— to lead in truth, to serve in love, and to govern with wisdom. references aquinas, t. (1947). summa theologiae (fathers of the english dominican province, trans.). benziger brothers. aristotle. (1999). nicomachean ethics (t. irwin, trans., 2nd ed.). hackett publishing. bass, b. m., & riggio, r. e. (2006). transformational leadership (2nd ed.). lawrence erlbaum associates. bennis, w., & nanus, b. (2007). leaders: strategies for taking charge (2nd ed.). harperbusiness. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 9, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 124 bolman, l. g., & deal, t. e. (2017). reframing organizations: artistry, choice, and leadership (6th ed.). jossey-bass. burns, j. m. (1978). leadership. harper & row. covey, s. r. (2004). the 7 habits of highly effective people: powerful lessons in personal change. free press. fullan, m. (2019). leading in a culture of change (2nd ed.). jossey-bass. greenleaf, r. k. (1977). servant leadership: a journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness. paulist press. herzberg, f. (1966). work and the nature of man. world publishing. hoy, w. k., & miskel, c. g. (2013). educational administration: theory, research, and practice (9th ed.). mcgraw-hill education. kant, i. (1998). groundwork of the metaphysics of morals (m. gregor, trans.). cambridge university press. (original work published 1785) kanu, i. a. (2013). on the sources of african philosophy. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 337-356. kanu, i. a. (2013). the dimensions of african cosmology. filosofia theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 533-555. kanu, i. a. (2014). a historiography of african philosophy. global journal for research analysis. volume. 3. issue. 8. pp. 188-190. leithwood, k., harris, a., & hopkins, d. (2020). seven strong claims about successful school leadership revisited. school leadership & management, 40(1), 5–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632434.2019.1596077 marcel, g. (1965). being and having (k. farrer, trans.). harper & row. mcgregor, d. (1960). the human side of enterprise. mcgraw-hill. noddings, n. (2013). caring: a relational approach to ethics and moral education (2nd ed.). university of california press. northouse, p. g. (2021). leadership: theory and practice (9th ed.). sage publications. rost, j. c. (1993). leadership for the twenty-first century. praeger. senge, p. m. (2006). the fifth discipline: the art and practice of the learning organization (rev. ed.). doubleday. sergiovanni, t. j. (1992). moral leadership: getting to the heart of school improvement. jossey-bass. starratt, r. j. (2017). ethical leadership (2nd ed.). jossey-bass. ubben, g. c., hughes, l. w., & norris, c. j. (2017). the principal: creative leadership for excellence in schools (9th ed.). pearson education. yukl, g. (2013). leadership in organizations (8th ed.). pearson education. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632434.2019.1596077 the foundation of new partnership for africa’s dev the philosophy of leadership administrative strategies in school leadership teachers’ job performance theoretical framework principals’ leadership philosophies and their infl administrative strategies employed by principals impact on teachers’ job performance emerging patterns and challenges re-envisioning leadership as a moral and philosoph integrating philosophical reflection into leadersh policy implications for educational governance enhancing teacher development through ethical lead reaffirming the ethical responsibility of educatio toward an ethic of transformational stewardship references igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 121 an evaluation of block’s critique of machine functionality onwe peter s., amadi collins c., and chukwueke-allen adaku philosophy unit, social science dept, federal polytechnic nekede, owerri theopetros1979@gmail.com abstract block’s critique challenges functionalism’s notion that mental states are defined by functional roles, arguing that it neglects consciousness’ qualitative aspects (qualia). this raises doubts about machines’ capacity for genuine consciousness and understanding, despite mimicking human cognitive functions. this paper examines ned block’s argument that machines lack genuine intentionality and consciousness, despite functional equivalence to human cognition. in addressing this, the use of descriptive and analytical research methodology is employed through collecting of data from primary and secondary sources. through a critical analysis of block’s arguments, this study accessed the implications for artificial intelligence, cognitive science, and the philosophy of mind. we consider counterarguments from computationalists and functionalists, and explore the boundaries between machine functionality and genuine consciousness. keywords: ned block, artificial intelligence, chinese room, philosophy of mind, machine functionality. introduction in the realm of philosophy of mind and cognitive science, ned block’s critique of machine functionality has sparked instance debate. this is because block’s critique poses a formidable challenge to functionalism, a philosophical framework underpinning artificial intelligence and consciousness debates. block, a prominent philosopher, challenges the notion that machine can truly think or possess consciousness. functionalism asserts that mental states are defined by functional roles, rather than physical properties, suggesting any system replicating human mental functions could possess mental states. however, block contends that “functionalism overlooks the essential qualitative aspects of consciousness, which are vital for genuine understanding”89. this critique raises crucial questions: can machines truly experience consciousness if they lack subjective qualitative experiences? does functional equivalence suffice for mental state equivalence? how do we reconcile the functional and qualitative dimensions of consciousness? these puzzles point to the far-reaching implications of block’s critique for artificial intelligence research such as rethinking the notion of “intelligence” in artificial intelligence (ai) systems. reevaluating the potential for conscious machines. and lastly but not the least, addressing the explanatory gap between functional and qualitative aspects of consciousness. 89 block, n. “two neural correlates of consciousness”. in the nature of consciousness: philosophical debates (1995: mit press), pp. 3 22. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 122 ned block’s seminar critique targets the heart of artificial intelligence, questioning whether machines can genuinely replicate human consciousness. at the core of his argument lies the concept of “qualia” – the subjective, intrinsic qualities of human experience. his thoughtprovoking “chinese nation” scenario illustrates the limitations of machine intelligence. “even a vast network of individuals simulating understanding through complexing tasks, lack the essential consciousness that defines human cognition” 90 . this points to the fact that block’s seminar critique sparks a profound philosophical exploration into the essence of consciousness and the ethics of attributing mental states to machines. as ai technology accelerates, discerning the boundaries between human cognition and machine functionality becomes paramount. the genesis of artificial intelligence (ai), cognitive revolution and computability theory in the summer of 1956, a pivotal gathering at dartmouth college in hanover, new hampshire, marked the official inception of ai as a distinct field of research. this seminal conference, attended by ten visionary thinkers – including john mccarthy, claude shannon, marvin minsky, and arthur samuel laid the formation for thew exciting developments that would follow. bringsjord and arkoudas commenting on this advocated that from the contemporary vantage point, the dartmouth conference holds profound significance for several reasons: “first was coining the term ‘artificial intelligence’ (john mccarthy introduced the term that would define the field). second was logic theorist (lt). allen newell and herbert simon unveiled their groundbreaking programme, capable of proving elementary theorems in propositional calculus, demonstrating human-level reasoning in computational system” 91. however, while the dartmouth conference and alan turning’s influential 1950 paper, “computing machinery and intelligence”, are often cited as ai’s starting points, philosophical precursors date back centuries. thomas hobbes (17th century) foreshadowed strong ai by equating reasoning with computation. gottfried wilhelm leibniz (17th century) envisioned a “universal calculus” for resolving disputes through systematic calculation. and rene descartes (17th century) contemplated a precursor to the turning test, albeit with skepticism. rene descartes proposed two definitive tests to determine whether a machine can truly be considered human-like. at first, he proposed linguistic adaptability where he contended that machines may mimic speech and respond to physical stimuli, but they cannot engage in flexible, context – dependent conversations. according to him, they lack the ability to “arrange words in novel combinations to address unexpected topics and respond appropriately to unforeseen situations”92. even the most basic human intelligence can adapt language to convey thoughts and ideas. secondly, he proposed versatility and reason. here machines excels in specific tasks, but their capabilities are limited by 90 block, n. “two types of functionalism”. in philosophy of mind: a beginner’s guide (2003: oneworld publications). pp. 145 – 160. 91 bringsjord, s. & k. arkoudas, “the philosophical foundations of artificial intelligence”. department of cognitive science, rensselaer polytechnic institute, troy ny 12180 usa (oct. 25, 2007), p. 13. 92 harnad s. “the cartesian roots of the turing test”, artificial intelligence, philosophy of mind: the key thinkers. edited by a. bailey, (2014: bloomsbury academic), p 46 -60. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 123 their design. according to him, they “lack the universal applicability of human reasons, rely on specialized mechanisms for each task and fail to demonstrate understanding, instead reacting solely based on programming” 93. human reason enables us to adapt to diverse situations, whereas machines are confined to their predetermined functions. descartes concludes that it is “morally impossible” for machines to replicate human behaviour in all aspects of life. these tests highlight the fundamental differences between human intelligence and machine capabilities. descartes’ tests remain relevant in artificial intelligence research, cognitive science, and philosophy of mind. they challenge researchers to create machines that truly think and adapt like humans. the dartmouth conference ignited a chain reaction of innovation, fostering collaborations and inspiring new generations of researchers. today, ai stands at the forefront of technological advancements, transforming industries and redefining human possibility. as ai continues to evolve, fundamental questions persist such as can machines truly think? what constitutes intelligence? how far can computation replicate human cognition? the dartmouth conference and its philosophical antecedents remind us that ai’s story is one of ongoing discovery, fueled by human curiosity and ingenuity. moreover, the ceremonial birthplace of ai may be traced to the 1956 dartmouth conference, but the intellectual foundations of this field lie at the crossroads of two pivotal 20th – century development. “this paradigm shift overturned behaviourism, reviving mentalistic psychology and recognizing the legitimacy of mental states, such as thoughts, beliefs, and desires”94. key figures like noam chomsky, ulric neisser, and jerome bruner paved the way for understanding human cognition. “pioneers alan turning, alonzo church, stephen kleene, and kurt godel laid the groundwork for computability theory, exploring the limits and possibilities of mechanical computation”95. their work established the theoretical foundations for machine intelligence. the intersection of these two intellectual currents gave rise to ai: cognitive revolution that is, understanding human thought processes and mental states and computability theory which refers to developing machines capable of simulating human cognition. this convergence sparked innovative ideas: i. machine simulation of human thought (could machines replicate human problem-solving and decision-making?) ii. intelligence as computation (could intelligence be reduced to computational processes?) iii. cognitive architectures (designing computational models of human theory has driven ai research, influencing ai, cognitive science, and computational modelling. the convergence of cognitive revolution and computability theory has shaped the course of ai, forging a rich intellectual heritage that continues to inspire innovation. 93 descartes, r. the world and treatise on man. edited by collingham, j., r. stoothoff & d. murdoch, (2014: cambridge universitypress), p. 79. 94 peter n. “the legacy of the dartmouth conference”, communications of the acm, 63(10), (2020). 95 bringsjord, s. & n. s. govindarajudu. “cognitive computing and the computability thesis”. journal of cognitive science, 17(2), (2017), 151 -164. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 124 block’s critique of machine functionality block’s critique of machine functionality primarily discusses the limitations of functionalism in comprehending mental states and consciousness. his arguments challenge the notion that machines, especially those employing artificial intelligence, can be said to “think” or “comprehend” in the same way humans do. block’s critique together with the critique of hubert dreyfus and searle’s chinese room were the three philosophical criticisms of strong ai that helped to change the tide in the ai community and point to new research directions. bringsjord and arkoudas commenting on this state that “there had been several other philosophical criticisms of strong ai before these such as lucas and penrose but these three generated the most debate and have the greatest impact”96. however, before we discuss in details block’s critique, let us briefly analyze the critiques of dreyfus and searle. hubert dreyfus’s seminal critique of ai combines empirical and philosophical arguments, challenging the feasibility and theoretical foundations of ai research. dreyfus’s empirical critique focuses on ai researcher’s inability to create general purpose intelligent systems, despite initial optimism and grandiose forecasts. this criticism was largely dismissed firstly as invalid. this is because ai was a young field, and breakthroughs couldn’t be expected immediately. second, on the ground of being unfair. this was anchored on the basis that early pioneers’ enthusiasm didn’t necessarily reflect the field’s potential. however, dreyfus argues that “ai is rooted in a flawed rationalist tradition, dating back to leibniz and hobbes. this programme posits that human understanding relies on forming and manipulating symbolic representations”97. dreyfus contests this view asserting that (i) “humane understanding is non-declarative, skill-based know-how. (ii) intelligence is inarticulate, preconceptual, and phenomenological. (iii) human cognition cannot be reduced to rule-based systems”98. dreyfus highlights several capabilities and phenomena that resists computational treatment such as imagination, ambiguity tolerance, metaphor use, fringe consciousness and gestalt perception. he emphasizes the importance of relevance, arguing that “humans effortlessly distinguish essential from inessential information and draw upon relevant experiences99. he considers this “holistic context” problem a significant stumbling block for ai. his critique remains influential, with the problem of relevance persisting as a key technical challenge to strong ai (human-level intelligence), weak ai (narrow task-oriented, systems, and computational cognitive science. his critique encourages researchers to rethink the theoretical foundations of ai, in corporate embodied cognition and phenomenology, address the holistic context problem and develop more nuance understanding of human intelligence. 96 bringsjord, s. & k. arkoudas, “the philosophical foundations of artificial intelligence”. (oct. 25, 2007), p. 13. (ibid) 97 dreyfus, h. l. what computers can’t do: a critique of artificial intelligence. (1992: mit press), 219. 98 dreyfus, h. l. what computers can’t do: a critique of artificial intelligence. ibid. 99 dreyfus, h. l. what computers can’t do: a critique of artificial intelligence. ibid. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 125 john searle’s chinese room argument is another philosophical challenge to strong ai. searle’s argument is a thought-provoking critique of strong artificial intelligence. this philosophical attack has sparked intense date and controversy. the thought experiment runs thus: “imagine searle inside a room, where native chinese speakers outside the room send cards with chinese questions through a slot. searle, fluent in english but not chinese, uses a rulebook (lookup table) to produce chinese responses. “the rulebook associates chinese input with chinese output, allowing searle to generate responses”100. searle’s argument focuses on the distinction between syntax (the formal rules governing symbol manipulation e.g. computer programmes) and semantics (the meaning associated with symbols and their relationships). however, it must be noted that searle doesn’t understand chinese. he processes symbols without comprehending their meaning. moreso, rulebook is syntactical. it provides formal rules for symbol manipulation, lacking semantic content. and room as a whole doesn’t understand, that is, the system (room, rulebook, and searle) doesn’t posses genuine understanding. consequently, searle argues that “syntax is not sufficient for semantics, computer programs are syntactically defined, and minds possess mental contents”101 – human minds have semantic content, enabling understanding. this implies that no computer programme alone can provide a system with a mind and programs are not minds, and cannot suffice for having minds. searle’s argument did not end without criticisms such as system reply, robot reply and connectionist reply. these criticisms never went without counter arguments. at this point, let us delve into our main discussion. ned block’s seminal critique sparks a profound philosophical exploration into the essence of consciousness and the ethics of attributing mental states to machines. as ai technology accelerates, discerning the boundaries between human cognition and machine functionality becomes paramount. let’s dive into the thought experiment involving china’s population and neuron firing patterns. “imagine each person in china sending signals to others in the same pattern as chairman mao zedong’s brain activity on his 60th birthday. during those four hours, mao felt pleased and then developed a headache. the question is whether the entire nation would experience the same mental states – pleasure followed by a headache”102. this thought experiment challenges functionalist theories, which suggest that mental states arise from functional relations among neurons. “if these relations can be replicated by china’s population, does that mean the entire nation would be in the same mental state? it seems prepositions, yet functionalists might be committed to this idea”103. however, there are concerns that any functional relation can be emulated, making it inadequate to capture mentality. this highlights the complexity of understanding consciousness and mental states. 100 searle, j. r. “is the brain’s mind a computer program? scientific american journal, 262(1), (1990), 26 -31. 101 preston, j. & m. bishop. views into the chinese room. (2002: oxford university press), p. 58. 102 block, n. “troubles with functionalism”, minnesota studies in the philosophy of science, 9(1978), 261 -325. 103 livingston, r. “functionalism and logical analysis” in n, offenberg (ed.), the routledge handbook of philosophy of logical analysis (routledge: 2022), p. 43. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 126 block further argued on absent qualia which challenges functionalism, questioning whether mental states can be reduced to functional roles. this notwithstanding, recent advancements in neuroscience and chaos theory undermine the argument’s assumptions. block posits that “functionalism fails to account for qualitative mental states (qualia)”104. he uses a thought experiment involving a homunculi – headed system to demonstrate that functional equivalence does not guarantee mental equivalence. thus, he argues that: i. machine functionalism equates mental states with machine table states. ii. the homunculi – headed system lacks qualia, despite functional equivalence. iii. this casts doubt on the identity of qualitative states and machine table states. iv. consequently, functionalism’s validity is questioned105. his thought experiment involves: a control center with a bulletin board, lights, and buttons. homunculi implementing machine-table instructions. the system performs like a normal person. machine functionalism posits that mental states arise from functional relationships between components, rather than their internal constitution. however, the chinese room thought experiment reveals a troubling consequence of this theory. if the chinese simulated the correct transition table, faithfully replicating the brain’s functional relationships, they would supposedly constitute a conscious mind. this conclusion strikes us as absurd, as the simulated system backs subjective experience, sensations, pains, itches, beliefs, and desires. although the chinese system might be isomorphic to the brain at some level, it fails to harbour genuine mental states. this underscores the limitation of functionalism’s focus on structural relationships. similarly, purely computational ai systems would not possess genuine minds, despite potentially mimicking human-like behaviour. this challenges the notion that ai can truly think or experience consciousness. some functionalists argue that our intuitive rejection of the china brain’s mentality stems from “brain chauvinism” – an unjustified bias toward neurological systems. however, this perspective is difficult to accept. the chinese room thought experiment has convinced many that unalloyed functionalism is overly permissive and must be either abandoned in favour of alternative theories or significantly revised to account for the missing elements of mental experience. conclusion block’s philosophical arguments prompt a profound re-examination of intricate relationship between consciousness and physical systems. his critique underscores the urgency of addressing fundamental questions regarding the criteria for consciousness, mental state attribution and 104 campisi, et al. “eeg non-linear features”, journal of neuroscience methods, 219(1), (2013). 105 livingston, p. “functionalism, logical analysis, and the nature of thought”, syntheses, 193(10), (2016), 3051 – 3072. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 127 understanding machine intelligence. his seminal critique of functionalism has profound consequences for the ethical considerations surrounding ai. by challenging the notion of machine consciousness, block’s argument raises essential questions about the moral status of ai systems and the ethical frameworks guiding their design and use. his critique prompts a reassessment of the ethical frameworks applied to ai such as revisiting the turing test, rethinking the “mind” in mind uploading, and human-centred ethics. his arguments also underscore the limitations of solely focusing on functional output in cognitive science, highlighting the crucial role of subjective experiences in mental states. this paradigm-shifting perspective emphasizes the necessity for a more holistic and integrated approach to understanding consciousness. finally, block’s seminal critique of machine functionality offers a profound philosophical framework for scrutinizing the constraints of functionalism and the elusive nature of consciousness. by highlighting the pivotal role of qualitative experiences and distinguishing between functional proficiency and authentic comprehension, block’s arguments significantly enhance, the ongoing discourse in ai and cognitive science. his critique boldly confronts prevailing assumptions regarding machine consciousness, resulting to essential debates on the limits of functionalism, consciousness and qualia, and authentic understanding. by reframing the discussion on machine functionality and consciousness, his view propels us towards a deeper understanding of human intelligence, the complexities of consciousness, and the ethical responsibilities of creating intelligence systems. references block, n. “two neural correlates of consciousness”. in the nature of consciousness: philosophical debates (1995: mit press). block, n. “two types of functionalism”. in philosophy of mind: a beginner’s guide (2003: oneworld publications). block, n. “troubles with functionalism”, minnesota studies in the philosophy of science, 9(1978). bringsjord, s. & k. arkoudas, “the philosophical foundations of artificial intelligence”. department of cognitive science, rensselaer polytechnic institute, troy ny 12180 usa (oct. 25, 2007). bringsjord, s. & n. s. govindarajudu. “cognitive computing and the computability thesis”. journal of cognitive science, 17(2), (2017). campisi, et al. “eeg non-linear features”, journal of neuroscience methods, 219(1), (2013). descartes, r. the world and treatise on man. edited by collingham, j., r. stoothoff & d. murdoch, (2014: cambridge universitypress). dreyfus, h. l. what computers can’t do: a critique of artificial intelligence. (1992: mit press). harnad s. “the cartesian roots of the turing test”, artificial intelligence, philosophy of mind: the key thinkers. edited by a. bailey, (2014: bloomsbury academic), p 46 -60. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 128 livingston, p. “functionalism, logical analysis, and the nature of thought”, syntheses, 193(10), (2016). livingston, r. “functionalism and logical analysis” in n, offenberg (ed.), the routledge handbook of philosophy of logical analysis (2022: routledge). peter n. “the legacy of the dartmouth conference”, communications of the acm, 63(10), (2020). preston, j. & m. bishop. views into the chinese room. (2002: oxford university press). searle, j. r. “is the brain’s mind a computer program? scientific american journal, 262(1), (1990). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 145 a critique of the augustinian view of political city and the heavenly city in the light of the socio-cultural status of african cosmology shabayang, barnabas, ph.d faculty of theology, veritas university, abuja, nigeria shabayangb@veritas.edu.ng abstract politics principally precedes the activity of governing or leading people. it is the act and tact of persuasion by which the expression becomes political. it is the science that crafts and craves for leadership by an objective process of selecting leaders in a given community. in the human domain, this process follows the logic of careful selection by canvassing for votes, persuading and attracting people if it is by democratic process. in the human world, there are many and diverse theories of politics, which involve democracy, monarchy, dictatorship, communism, and socialism. a closer look at the divine plan, politics is void; it is elicited as theocracy: leadership by divine authority and power. employing a constructive and analytical methodology, the research unveils the nuances and intricacies that emerge as humans go out in quest for political leadership, yet god is beyond politics; he is divine authority. the incarnation is a doctrine that invites us to the leadership of jesus christ. it is given to humanity to yearn for heaven, to submit to the act of establishing the heavenly city on earth. the human city, therefore, is needed to prepare for the heavenly city, as the two are states of beings; the former temporal, leading to the immortal state of perfection in the latter, the perfect and final destination of all human beings. keywords: african cosmology, earthly, heavenly, human, theory of politics introductionepistemology of politics politics can be said to be a theory of human governance. the great ancient greek philosopher aristotle had said that “man is a political animal.” this is true due to his rationality and intelligibility. a careful examination of the nature of political knowledge has revealed it to be tripartite: complexity, contextual and interpretive. by discussing its complexity, we refer to the aspect of political knowledge that is complex, multifaceted, and influenced by various factors, including history, culture, economics, and power dynamics. by contextual nature, we examine the fact that political knowledge is deeply contextual based on a geographical location, shaped by specific social, cultural and historical contexts. in this research, we are examining principally the socio-cultural settings of the african cosmology. by interpretative nature, we are analyzing that political knowledge which involves interpretation and critical analysis of information, events, and ideologies.99 all these interplays capture the syntax and complexities of the african world. the research examines and analyzes the evolution of african villages from an ancestral style of leadership, by eldership based on town square settings and methodology, into city style calibration 99cf. ai technological expertise on the evolution of politics in human society igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 146 in modernity. now, in african cities, “urbanization has been described as a critical process in the development of the nation-state.”100 this seemingly quick progression of the african village setup, which is still in existence, but needs to affirm that the majority are moving now to the lavish city dwellings urban setup. this drive and yearning have brought transformation and the need to give effective leadership in every african country in the 21st century. the quest for urbanization and the movement of human populations from rural village life to towns and cities are not modern phenomena, but have been in practice in africa for many centuries. history reveals that africans are not new to city settlements; they have been present in the lifestyle and habitation. ozden wrote: “ … urbanization is not a modern phenomenon in africa. it has been in occurrence since time immemorial when africans started founding permanent settlements, which invariably paved the way for the first urban revolution around the nile valley in the region of alexandria in egypt.”101 as this reality revealed the complex nature of the african elders moved from a town-square system of leadership to a city structure, so too, did the evolution of governance, politics and leadership emerge amongst africans. we explore further the nature and manner the phenomena of city dwelling came up and how african human persons develop the rules of governance, the politics of selecting suitable leaders for the community of citizens in the city state. the phenomenology of city and human habitation – scientists have revealed from data collected and observations made of the different planets in the galaxy, only the earth is habitable by human beings, because of the presence of oxygen, water and conducive atmospheric weather. since life is lived and organized on this planet, it is guided by the gift of family, village and city style of leadership. thus, in the human cosmos, different forms of leadership emerge from the politics to lead a given people. specifically, from the ancient greek concept of politics – democracy – was understood to have the semblance of american definition to be “government of the people, by the people and for the people – build on fundamental principles and values: equality, rule of law, limited government and representative democracy”102 ab initio, the word democracy comes from the greek words “demos” meaning people, and “kratos” meaning power. thus, “democratia” – government of the people or better still, democracy can be thought of as “power of the people”: a way of governing which depends on the will of the people”103 africans prior to the present state of politics did not practice democracy. yet, it can be infer that the cosmological reality of the thinking and intellectual of pre-colonial african was well organized around the “town hall, elder forum, town square” system of leadership. from the study of anthropology, sociology and ethnology, it reveals that human persons differ from place to place, race to race and from 100rakodi carole, the urban challenges in africa: growth and management of large cities, tokoyo, new york: united nations university, 1997, 8 101ozden kemal & enwere chogize, urbanization and its political challenges in developing countries. eurasian journal of business and economics, vol. 5, no. 10, 2012, 100 102fundamental principles and values of american political and civic life, accessed on 03:03:2023, on https://www.edtechbooks.org – democracy. 103democracy-definition, history, meaning, types, examples & meaning, accessed on 04:04:2023, on https://www.britannnica.com igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 147 civilization to civilization; no two realities are the same, yet africans are resilient people, with honour and dignity for life and elders. the evolution of the power-play in politics is as old as the human person. intellectual records affirm that the human person in the existential truth, as man or woman, is a being that thinks. as such over the years, we have been able to evolve theories and construct best and tested structures to govern, develop and move events of leadership beyond the ancient civilizations, including of the greeks. in the contemporary african perspective, democratic structure in politics is the science of canvassing for elective post by making direct contact with the electorate. by this system, the politicians, by socializing, engaging and interacting with the masses and electorate, have one goal in mind: to be elected to serve. thus, politics deals with a centrifugal purpose of interactions with the foot soldiers – citizens of the earthly city – to win their confidence for garnering votes, loyalty and support to take charge of an elective position of leadership. the research examines how past and current political theories, trends and structures that are developed and experimented by europeans and americans can be learnt and applied to better the socio-cultural, politico-economic landscape and milieu of the african person in the 21st century.104 the template and setting of two cities literary history – since the creation of the human being, the stage was set for the platform of two cities: the temporal and the earthly in contradistinction to the eternal and the heavenly. from the first law given to adam and eve, in the garden of eden, where they were well instructed to eat any type of fruit, except the one in the middle of the garden, the conflict ensued in the two cities: the earthly city govern by human desires and passion that led to the fall of the human race and the heavenly city govern by the law of love and obedience restored by christ at the paschal mystery. in the strict examination of concepts, the two cities can and do weigh in feuds, conflicts and wars seeking dominance over the affairs of politics to lead. it is actually in defense of the eternal city – the intellectual and classic scenario was espoused by augustine of hippo in a.d. 412. he wrestled and succeeded in clarifying the quantum accusations that were made by the pagans, that it was christianity that caused the sack of rome by alaric. “augustine wrote his magisterial city of god shortly after the sack of rome by the visigoths in 410, as a response to accusations by roman aristocrats that christians were to blame for the sack.”105 the roman aristocrats thought the earthly city was beyond destruction by foot soldiers. by when it happened, they were devastated and overcome by anguish. “they claimed christian otherworldliness and humility made them too meek to be patriotic citizens willing to defend their fatherland. in response, augustine claimed that christians make the best kinds of citizens because their religion prepares them better to practice justice and love.”106 thus, the template is a scenario of a blame game cast on the cheap platform lies, deceit, and fraud causations. 105augustine, city of god against the pagans, trans., r. w. dyson, (cambridge: cambridge university press, 1998); john von heyking, augustine and politics as longing in the world, (columbia: university of missouri press, 2001); 42. 106"disarming, simple, and sweet: augustine's republican rhetoric," in talking democracy: historical perspectives on rhetoric and democratic deliberation, eds. benedetto fontana, cary j. nederman, and gary remer, (university igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 148 conflict in the emergence of the heavenly city in the earthly city – “no pain no gain” is secured as a rule of thumb from the motivational challenge given by gymnastic rule of rigorous training in exercises that schools the human body and spirit to take shape and tonality of strength, agility to develop firm muscles. the conflictual nature of the human person is beyond the politics to dominate, but to exercise power, authority, and to conquer to rule. in ancient rome, a great conflict arose between the pagan citizens who accused the christians of being responsible for the destruction of the political city. to this false and ungrounded accusation: …in 413, st. augustine took upon himself the task of writing a reply. in his retractations, st. augustine writes: “when rome was devastated as a result of the invasion of the goths under the leadership of alaric, the worshippers of the false gods, whom we are accustomed to call pagan, began, in their attempt to blame this devastation on the christian religion, to blaspheme the true god with more bitterness and sharpness that usual. wherefore, fired with a zeal for god’s house, i determined to write book, the city of god, against their blasphemies and errors.107 from the foregoing, the classic book of st. augustine – the city of god thus, was written to resolve, explain and digest the false presumptions of the pagan roman citizens to illustratively to build on it the solid logic and basic principles that the eternal city of heaven endures against the principalities and demonic structure of the earthly city. the constitution and criteria of the citizenship of the heavenly city away from that of the earthly city are sharp, distinct and explicit. for example, “members of the city of god love god at the expense of themselves, while members of the earthly city love themselves at the expense of god.”108 discerning the origin or source of the conflict is complex but sometimes based on psychoemotional distress. it is true that: “all human beings must struggle to have the love of god dominant over the love of self. because the struggle is inner, one cannot say with finality whether someone is a member of one city or the other. augustine observed that christian churches are filled with members of the earthly city.109 the doctrinal versus linguistic conflict must have erupted to mis-application of basic scriptural and orthodox issues. thus, augustine “objected to claims, such as those made at the time by the donatists, that mere membership or communion is sufficient for salvation. he also suggested some non-christians could be members of the city of god, including the greek philosopher plato and the roman general regulus. augustine saw in plato a genuine love of the transcendent good which augustine took to be equivalent to the park, pa: penn state university press, 2004), 163-86; "soulcraft, citizenship, and churchcraft: the view from hippo," in cultivating citizens, eds. dwight allman and michael beaty, (lanham, md: lexington books, 2002), 29 107saint augustine, city of god ed. vernon j. rourke, new york: image books, 1958, – retractations 2.43-2 108ogle, v. (2020). the status of politics: rereading city of god 19 in light of augustine’s sacramental vision. also, in politics and the earthly city in augustine's city of god (pp. 144-181). cambridge: cambridge university press. doi:10.1017/9781108903639.007 109ogle, v., in politics and the earthly city in augustine's city of god (pp. 144-181). cambridge: cambridge university press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 149 christian understanding of god.110 this will explain that the polarity examining one from the other is unique but different. formation of the earthly city and the apparatus of politics – the interplay of the elements that add up to form the features of the earthly city emerges from strong elements of leadership, citizenship and the order created by the use of law, not force. african settlements are oriented by wealth to fruitfulness – in african cosmology, life is circle of birth, marriage and death, it is raining, planting and harvestings seasons, it is farming, fishing and agriculture, it is childhood, adulthood and elder status, it is innocence of infant stage, to youthful energy to elderly wisdom. the whole chromosome of the african person is designed by culture, tradition and wisdom to be communitarian to bear seeds of fruitfulness. the african cosmology deals with the transmission of ancestral blessings that emerge from hard work, industry, honesty, truthfulness and productivity. leadership in the family, clan, community and the city emerges from the capacity of hard work, honesty, truthfulness, thriftiness and industry. the style of leadership is either hereditary or by the emergence of a hero, who champions a cause that leads to liberation from oppressive forces, sickness, or the provision of necessities for the common good of the community.111 in african cosmology, leadership thus, is wealth, homogeneity, competence or comes by ancestral blessings. the bestowal of the riches of leadership, which guides the direction of political life, deals with the provision of visionary leadership skills in farming, fishing, hunting, or destroying the forces of political conflict and crises. conclusion the concluding remarks point to the reality that an african is a religious person to the core of his or her being; as such, the quest for eternal destiny is foremost in the mind of every african christian or muslim. within this setting, the cosmological atmosphere stipulates that politics must be done in the spirit of setting a harmonious co-existence between the earthly city seeking a reputable place of refuge in the heavenly city. there must not be love lost by the daily struggle. the optimum desire of the african person is a beatific place of peace, joy, love, and eternal rest with his or her ancestors in the heavenly city. this is where book 19 comes in. here, augustine’s profound sense that the earthly city overstates its claim on the world translates into a different vision of politics: one in which our political communities are wounded. making conceptual space between natural political community, postlapsarian political necessity, and sinful political behavior, augustine of book 19 does not concede the political sphere to the earthly city. instead, he urges us to participate in our political communities without participating in the earthly city. 110ogle, v. (2020). the status of politics: rereading city of god 19 in light of augustine’s sacramental vision. also, in politics and the earthly city in augustine's city of god (pp. 144-181). cambridge: cambridge university press. doi:10.1017/9781108903639.007 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 3, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 150 thus, i conclude, when it comes to politics, the psychagogic goal of city of god is that we participate as pilgrims, striving to be a healing presence within our political communities while seeking a good beyond them all the same.” role of philosophy in national development and its applicability to a stable democracy in nigeria cultural societies orji, chidi paul, ph.d. department of philosophy, university of agriculture and environmental sciences, umuagwo, imo state paul.orji@uaes.edu.ng & nwagbara, rufus godswill department of philosophy, babcock 'university, ilisan remo, ogun state godswillnwagbara@gmail.com abstract the aim of this essay is to explain how philosophy can be applied to nigeria's stable democracy. in this view, philosophy is a sort of intellectual pastime that philosophers engage in through the application of abstract theories. if this is true, the philosopher's work cannot advance social or national development, nor can their philosophy aid in the formation of a nation. the analytic school of philosophy, which limits philosophy to word analysis and clarification, must be held responsible for contributing to this misunderstanding of philosophy. philosophy has played a significant role in the formation of western society's institutions throughout the history of ideas. philosophy has played a significant role in influencing people's perspectives on life and society. philosophy is relevant to a democratic society in a number of ways. according to sartre, marxism is the prevailing philosophy of our day and has real-world implications everywhere. in light of the aforementioned, it is possible to reject as false the dualism between theory and practice between philosophy and real life, as philosophy has always had an impact on the latter. in light of the foregoing, we examine in this article the value of philosophy for nigeria's democratic consolidation and upkeep. if the myriad issues pertaining to the growth of democracy in nigeria are not addressed within a philosophical framework, the future of nigerian democracy may be jeopardized. keywords: democracy, philosophy, civil society, nigeria introduction the general conception of philosophy is that it is the desire of wisdom, which is achieved by wonder and curiosity: wonder about existence, life, man, heaven, heavenly bodies, earth, among other things. philosophy is therefore a discipline that starts with wonders, the sources of which are too many to be fully listed because they span the entire range of human experience. with the aforementioned in mind, philosophy is being represented as a discipline that is comprehensive in character. a clear definition of philosophy has never been established. there are numerous definitions of philosophy, just as there are numerous philosophers. philosophers have defined it in a variety of ways, usually affected by the author's formulations, experiences, goals, cultures, schools of thought, era, or particular field of philosophy (balogun, 1999:17). how philosophers haven't been able to agree on the nature, boundaries, and definition of their discipline over time is a mystery to me. is this explained by the fact that every philosophical idea can be criticized philosophically? is it implied that philosophers claim exclusive authority over their definitions? we should igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.21646.33605 64 never use any explanation for the lack of agreement on the definition of philosophy as a justification for not explaining what philosophy actually entails. the word philosophy has its etymology from the union of two greek words, "philo" and "sophia," which meant "love of wisdom." because of this connotation, we frequently hear the query, "what is your philosophy?" and "i disapprove of your philosophy of life among other things." these statements represent the general perception of what philosophy entails. in this context, philosophy refers to the expression of ideas, values, or convictions. however, this is by no means pleasing the expert philosophical minds. in the latter definition, philosophy is thought of as a field of study that requires students to invest time and effort (akinpelu, 1988:2). we will talk about the two philosophical views against this backdrop. the idea of the underworked and the servant of the master. the under-labourer conception philosophy is concerned with the essential work of conceiving and clarifying concepts, according to the under-laborer theory of philosophy. it argues that as philosophy is based on analysis, philosophy exists to provide analytical answers to the mysteries, delusions, and ambiguities that are present in other academic fields as well as in our day-to-day conversations. tractatus logico-philosophicus uses this as support. according to wittegenstein, "the logical clarification of thought" is philosophy's ultimate goal (wittegenstein, 1961:49). this means that linguistic errors have led to the emergence of pseudo-problems in philosophy. however, once they provide analytical expression, there won't be any issues. furthermore, richard rorty asserted that new languages or assumptions might cause philosophical difficulties to arise, vanish, or modify (rorty, 1980:13). essentially, philosophy is an endeavor to elucidate and clarify the linguistic structure of our language. it is true that the task of philosophizing is logical analysis, but there is much more to what we call philosophizing, which may lead us to the idea of philosophy as a master's servant. master's servant conception from the perspective of the master's servant, philosophy's more fundamental goal is usually the critical assessment of belief. here, philosophy is understood as a critical evaluation of the principles we upheld. according to john dewey, it is "the social and moral strife of our days...the criticism of criticism" (dewey, 1957:21). this definition's final result would be to do away with dogmas and condemn everything that comes its way. without fear of criticism, philosophy accepts nothing and gives up nothing. as such, philosophy sets the standards that other disciplines must follow and checksmate their justifications. there are more views of philosophy in addition to these two. the pursuit of reality is viewed as the goal of philosophy. in an attempt to explain this, thales asserts that there can only be one fundamental substance. it's the same fundamental elements as water; other greek philosophers proposed air, earth, etc. this section's primary focus, if not reality itself, is best explained by the philosophical field of metaphysics. the pursuit of truth, philosophy as the logical explanation of nature, philosophy as a concern for human existence, etc., are some such conceptions. the fundamental characteristic of philosophy is its complete dependence on the use of logic to arrive at a more favorable worldview. not to be overlooked is philosophy's uncertain character. in any case, the definition of philosophy is that it raises more questions than it does solutions. philosophy also conducts in-depth critical analysis to delve into the realm of human affairs and the cosmos in general. when joseph omoregbe asserted that philosophy is a deliberate meditation on cosmic themes and matters, it supports this point of view (omoregbe, 1990:13). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 65 the concept of democracy the definitional dilemma is one major issue brought about by the loose application of the democratic ideal. one indication of this fact is that democracy has been subject to a variety of interpretations and definitional ambiguity due to its global promotion, practice, and ups and downs. (adediran, 1996:47). it is therefore not surprising that a thousand academicians may have a thousand different interpretations of what "democracy" means. first, according to kolawale (1999:5), "democracy has become in current usage, another word for political decency and civilization." these are the two arguments put up by k.a. owolabi for this. it is a concept that has been morally appealing, winning the support of different regimes that support it more for the sake of surviving than for their sincere adherence to its principles. second, because of its ideological connotations, democracy is hard to describe. for instance, the struggle over ideology between socialists and capitalists has led to a scenario where regimes are labeled as democratic not always due of its propensity for participation, but mostly as a result of its ideological appeal. as a result, giving an objective definition of democracy becomes challenging. but the search for the perfect definition of democracy becomes necessary because: if democracy is not defined correctly, people will live in a state of constant confusion, which will greatly benefit tyrants and demagogues (gowan, 1991:21). furthermore, it puts us at risk of turning down something we have correctly identified and receiving something else we would not desire at all (gowan, 1991:22). even better, tracing the roots of the concept that defines democracy can be easily accomplished by looking at the word from its etymological perspective. the words "demo" and "kratia," which in greek mean "people" and "rule," respectively, are the origin of the word democracy. therefore, it literally means "rule by the people." in his gettysburg addresses, abraham lincoln characterized democracy as the rule of the people, by the people, and maybe this helps to explain why. democracy was the term used in ancient athens to refer to a system in which all male citizens, with the exception of women, children, slaves, and foreigners, met openly and often to discuss matters that affected their lives. as they established laws and regulations and oversaw the maintenance of social order, everyone was assuming the function of government. since there aren't too many people for this kind of practice, it was made easier. since it is the foundation of their democracy, the direct democracy that was implemented in athens at the time acknowledged the equality of all stakeholders. however, it's important to recognize that the economic structures of feudalism and slavery contributed to the development of direct democracy since they gave slave owners plenty of opportunity to participate in governmental affairs. all of the aforementioned elements, however, have disappeared from the face of the earth as the mode of production changed from the slave system to one that promoted activity, competition, and labor division as the new socioeconomic state. as a result, direct democracy's viability is now only a theoretical possibility. our understanding of democracy becomes indirect or representative as a result of the significance of this truth. slavery, feudalism, and capitalism are examples of evolving modes of production that engaged in dialectics that resulted in the development of two fundamental forms of democracy: liberal democracy and socialist democracy. within a liberal democracy, a small number of citizens are chosen to lead the government. under this system, elected representatives are supposed to convey the people's wishes in an oblique manner. it is a type of agreement wherein the state protects and enhances freedom, security, and liberty, particularly for those individuals who direct the means of production. karl marx is the source of the socialist version, though. the tenets of justice among citizens form the foundation of this marxist democracy. the state controls the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 66 means of production and is in charge of organizing, coordinating, and managing the economy. as a result, under this situation, ownership of the means of production is shared. under this system, the state establishes and protects citizens' rights. in contrast to liberal democracies, where disagreement is a crucial component, socialist democracies do not foster opposition. this, among many other factors, called into doubt the socialist model's viability and the exaltation of liberalism. the fall of the communist soviet union in the eastern bloc dealt a fatal blow to marxist philosophy, contributing to the rise of the more mainstream liberal interpretation. this does not, however, imply a universal support for liberalism, since academics continue to dispute whether the way the system is set up undermines the goals it is supposed to accomplish. we shall be engaging in intellectual fraud if we claim to have provided a clear explanation of democracy. it could be appropriate to inquire as to what elements make up the fundamental principles of democracy and to what extent they are achievable. democracy, according to john locke, is a contract between the people and the government. while the people retain sovereignty and may choose to wield it against the government in the event that it fails in its duties, the government's role is to protect freedom and security. according to j.j. rousseau, democracy entails the government acting as the representatives of the people. according to jim unah, democracy is a system that provides limitless chances for adult involvement and ensures and maximizes political engagement (unah, 1993:4) democracy, according to alaba ogunsanwo, is a complex system of procedures and cultural norms that affect how people are chosen to lead at all societal levels, how groups and individuals behave toward those who have opposing opinions, and how those chosen to hold positions of authority utilize their authority." it's important to remember that this concept emphasizes involvement (ogunsanwo, 1994). on the other hand, no democracy in the world can claim to ensure maximum participation. as we have previously stated, democracy when interpreted in this way is still a theoretical concept. for this reason, there appears to be a growing acceptance of representative democracy. for this reason, appadora (1975:187) described democracy as a form of government in which the people exercise their power directly or through representatives they elect on a regular basis. the question of whether an election equates to the exercise of governing power is present in these definitions. the attempt to divide democracy into two halves by kenneth janda et al. is an attempt to address this question. the first is procedural in that it establishes the rules by which citizens can cast ballots, challenge elections, and engage in public discourse, among other activities. the second facet is to how democracy fulfills fundamental human wants and objectives (janda, 1995:101). thus, democracy serves as a tool to achieve a goal. any country's primary goal of democracy is to achieve growth. it is a waste of money to invest a fortune on creating a democracy that does not work. features of democracy the conspicuous and universal aspects of democracy, in spite of their diversity in highlighting, are what give the ideology its name. a nation cannot be considered fully democratic if these elements are absent. the first fundamental aspect of democracy is the notion that the people themselves, either directly (via popular assemblies) or indirectly (through elected assemblies or other forms of representation), are the source of legal authority. the rule of law comes next to this. this implies that the exercise of power is subject to a set of regulations on its boundaries and methods of operation and should not be capricious. it places equal emphasis on abiding by the law in public spaces, having a robust legal system that can guarantee the impartiality of the law, and defending the rights and liberties of individuals or organizations. accountability also enters the picture. in a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 67 democracy, the right to choose means that the people in power must not only be accepted, but also the policies that they carry out. in addition, people have the freedom to take part in democratic elections, a transparent administration, and the ability to form political, professional, and social associations without interference from the government. a democracy must also be able to ensure the overthrow of a government that is unable to fulfill its stated objectives. in his "social contract," john locke compared the state to a glorified secretary that the people can hire and fire if it doesn't perform. though his idea of democracy has garnered greater popularity, abraham lincoln also advocated for the overthrow of anti-people governments. in 1848, while serving in congress, he made a speech in which he discussed the us invasion of mexico and said that any people who are inclined and powerful enough had the right to overthrow their current government and install a new one that better serves their needs. this is an extremely precious and important privilege that, in our opinion, will free the entire world." liberal and social democracies around the world acknowledge this right as a way to protect democracy. this is demonstrated by the global liberal powers' apparent aim to install democratic governments in place of authoritarian ones everywhere. in a similar vein, c.s. momoh supported this viewpoint when he said that the majority decision might not be the best way to address societal issues. he writes: the upshot of this is that democracy becomes truanted with these vices where the majority holds racist, tribal, unfair, and unjust worldviews (momoh, 1993:36). this viewpoint was further supported by sophie oluwole, who platonically observed that democracy is an embodiment of injustice and a leveling doctrine because it fails to fully acknowledge the fact that man is unequal in many important ways and cannot, therefore, be granted equal rights in all situations (oluwole, 1992:40). the discrepancy between practice and content is another issue that democracy faces. voters' democratic freedom is impacted and impeded by commercials, opinion surveys that are influenced, and other ways in this day of enormous mass media and propaganda capabilities. in a democracy, responding to problems takes time. beyond all mentioned above is the reality that, in a democracy, vices have the same freedoms as individuals. all societal levels are impacted by corruption, nepotism, ethnic jingoism, political violence, and other issues. thus, democracy is a process riddled with issues. despite all mentioned above, we must acknowledge that these issues impact democratic practice rather than its validity. since democracy is the most desired and sought-after forms of governance, its faults actually make it more widely accepted. if a dictatorship is the best option, then what hope is there for it? therefore, democracy is an expression of the flaws in all political systems and the ongoing necessity for development in our quest for the perfect society. it is still the finest system for allowing development since it promotes diversity and pluralism in society, ensuring the welfare of the populace and their participation in governing processes. the applicability of philosophy to a stable democracy in nigeria. since nigeria gained its independence in 1960, the country's political environment has drastically changed. nigeria has struggled with political, social, and economic failure for the majority of the years following its independence. attempts to maintain and strengthen democratic governance have been unsuccessful on several occasions. pessimism over the future of nigeria's democracy and the country itself has been exacerbated by the recurrence of ethnic and religious conflicts throughout the nation. whether nigeria's igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 68 nascent democracy is temporary or durable, and more crucially, if nigeria dissolves or reconfigures itself as a nation-state, will depend on how the nigerian government handles these difficulties. the function of civil society in maintaining nigeria's nascent democracy is the main topic of this section. in this part, i argue that political instability is largely responsible for weak civil societies and non-democratic cultures; on the other hand, the fundamental elements of democratic survival are a robust civil society, civility, and social capital. furthermore, a strong civil society can support and defend democratic institutions and procedures, oppose corruption, fight for government changes, and promote human rights. giving civil society a bigger role in governance is our best, and possibly only, chance to create a more durable peace, economic growth, and stable government in nigeria. as democracy expands throughout the world, more people are realizing that improved, more transparent governance working in tandem with a thriving civil society will shape a country's political future, economic strength, national validity, and very identity (agbaje, 1997:162). but the definition of civil society shall follow larry diamond's methodology. diamond is a senior research fellow at the hoover institution and one of the foremost experts on nigerian politics. the realm of organized social life that is open, voluntary, self-generating, at least partially self-supporting, autonomous from the state, and bound by a legal order or set is how larry diamond describes civil society (ake, 1981:162-163). this viewpoint was best expressed by bill bradley in his speech to the national press club, where he contended that "government and market are not enough to make a civilization" (almond, & verba, sidney, 1993:145). a strong, thriving civil sector is also necessary for the flourishing of communal ties. the market and the government are like two legs of a three-legged stool. the stool is unsteady and unable to sustain a vital america without the third leg of civil society. the aforementioned roles in society and the economy are what give civil society its significance. "the growing realization that a stable democracy rests not only on properly functioning elections and institutions but also on the more elusive 'civic' qualities in society" is how keane describes the significance of civil society. richard sandbrook has studied the relationship between civil society and democratization in six african nations. free and fair elections, in his view, are only the start of a democratic process. accountability, decision-making openness, responsiveness of the government, and a functional legal system are all components of democracy. in order to achieve these goals in africa, civil society must be institutionalized. chukka onwumechili concurs with the previous opinion. he thinks that civil society organizations are extremely important to the process of democratization. strong media that consistently ensures that governments maintain the principles of good governance despite the many challenges they face; an unbiased and objective judiciary; lively associations of members of the legal profession, the labor force, academia, and study body; and public institutions for international studies and research are all ways that civil society collectively could effectively influence the attitudes of governments. by citing instances of successful public resistance to authoritarian governments or state programs, proponents of civil society's efficacy support the aforementioned viewpoint. conclusion in this study, we argue that, contrary to the general perception that studying philosophy is unproductive for society, philosophy has played a significant role in the evolution of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 69 human society. the development of society and/or democracy has benefited greatly from philosophy's contributions in the area of morality. this is due to the theories of early philosophers on moral philosophy played a significant role in the development of man's moral life by giving mankind a correct understanding of what morality is. it will be enough to assert that the establishment of philosophy in nigeria will grow more significant and employed, when philosophers undertake not just limit oneself to the educational institutions nevertheless contribute by instituting procedures which may have philosophy valued in nigeria by means of their applicable functions and their actions. a nation with no philosophy is society as a whole lacking thought processes. in the absence of visions or a values-laden system to life, such a people will fail since ideas dominate the societies. references appadorai a. (1975). the substance of politics. oxford university press. agbaje, a. (1997). nigerian politics and civil society. boulder publishers. ake, c. (1981). presidential address to the 1981 conference of the nigerian political science association. almond, g. (1993). political attitudes and democracy. princeton university press. balogun, o. (1999). "philosophy of law: an introduction", issues in philosophy of law, oladele balogun and olaolu mabol (eds.)ben-el books akinpelu, i. (1988). an ntroduction to philosophy of education. macmillan publishers ltd. wittegenstein. (1961), tractatus logico: philosophicus. routlege and kegan paul. rorty, r. (1980). philosophy and mirror of nature. basil blackwell. dewey. (1957). reconstruction in philosophy. beacon press paperback. ogunsanwo, a. (1994). “democratization in africa", democratization in african perspective,vol. 1&2, omoruyi et al (ed. hima and hima limited. omoregbe, j. (1990). introduction to philosophy and logic. joja educational rescarch and pulishers ltd. _________ (1993). ethics: a systematic and historical study. joja educational rescarch and pulishers ltd. unah, j. (1995). essays in philosophy: a general introduction. panaf press. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 70 ownership structure and financial reporting quality of listed consumer goods companies in nigeria achema friday & uchenna clems o. department of accounting, veritas university abuja achemaf@veritas.edu.ng abstract this study investigates the intricate relationship between ownership structure and financial reporting quality in nigeria's consumer goods sector, a critical component of the country's economy. as investor confidence and market efficiency hinge on the integrity of financial reporting, understanding the factors that influence its quality is paramount. this research delves into how various ownership structures—including managerial, institutional, and foreign ownership—impact the quality of financial reporting among listed consumer goods companies in nigeria. utilizing a sample of fifteen listed consumer goods companies over a ten-year period, this study employs robust econometric techniques to analyse the relationship. the research uses modified jones model as proxies for financial reporting quality and examines ownership data from nigeria exchange group. our findings reveal a significant positive relationship between institutional ownership and financial reporting quality, while managerial ownership shows a negative correlation. these results have important implications for regulators, investors, and corporate governance practitioners in nigeria and similar emerging markets. this study contributes to the existing literature by providing fresh insights into the nigerian context, offering a nuanced understanding of how ownership structures influence financial reporting practices in a vital economic sector. the findings can inform policy decisions aimed at enhancing the quality of financial reporting and improving the overall transparency and efficiency of nigeria's capital markets. keywords: ownership structure, financial reporting quality, consumer goods sector, nigeria, corporate governance. introduction financial reporting is crucial for corporate governance, providing stakeholders with insights into a company's financial health and guiding informed decision-making (ezelibe, nwosu, & orazulike, 2017). recent corporate scandals, including those in nigeria like cadbury nigeria plc. in 2006, afribank nigeria plc. in 2009, and intercontinental bank plc. in 2009, have underscored concerns about financial report reliability. this has prompted extensive research on factors influencing financial reporting quality (frq), such as ownership structure, accounting standards, economic conditions, and disclosure requirements. the quality of financial reporting significantly influences investment decisions and market efficiency, emphasizing the global demand for clear and reliable financial reports. investors, shareholders, creditors, and other stakeholders rely on financial information to assess a firm's performance, make economic decisions, and ensure financial stability (achema et. al. 2022). ownership structure, a cornerstone of corporate governance, profoundly impacts frq (farouk & bashir, 2017). it encompasses managerial, institutional, and concentrated igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.21646.33605 71 ownership, each with distinct influences on financial reporting practices. managerial ownership aligns managers' interests with shareholders' goals, affecting risk-taking behavior and firm performance (fama & jensen, 1983). institutional ownership, represented by shares held by entities like mutual funds, influences corporate governance practices and frq (grier & zychowicz, 1994). similarly, ownership concentration, reflecting the distribution of voting power among shareholders, shapes governance dynamics and financial disclosures (sahut & gharbi, 2010). recent financial scandals like worldcom and enron have shaken investor confidence in financial reporting quality (agrawal & chadha, 2005). these events underscore the critical need for robust governance mechanisms and enhanced financial reporting integrity (al-dhamari & ku ismail, 2013). scholars have proposed various strategies, including corporate governance reforms, audit quality improvements, and regulatory enhancements, to address these challenges (hamza, zainal, & wan, 2019). ownership structure is recognized as a vital aspect of corporate governance that can significantly impact financial reporting quality (frq). despite existing research efforts, there's a notable gap in understanding how ownership structure specifically influences frq in the context of listed consumer goods firms in nigeria. while studies have explored ownership's impact in sectors like chemicals, paints, and banking (farouk & shehu, 2013; shehu & jibril, 2012; adebiyi & olowookere, 2016; hamza et al., 2019), research focusing on consumer goods companies remains limited (oyedokun et al., 2020). consumer goods companies, central to nigeria's economy, play a crucial role in providing essential products to the nation. their ownership structures, encompassing managerial control, institutional investments, and ownership concentration, offer a unique lens to examine the relationship between ownership and frq. however, existing literature lacks comprehensive insights into this relationship, especially within the consumer goods sector. this study aims to assess the impact of ownership structure on financial reporting quality among listed consumer goods companies in nigeria. the specific objectives include: i. investigate how managerial ownership influences financial reporting quality in listed consumer goods companies in nigeria. ii. analyse the impact of institutional ownership on financial reporting quality in listed consumer goods companies in nigeria. iii. evaluate the effect of ownership concentration on financial reporting quality in listed consumer goods companies in nigeria. the following hypotheses stemming from the problem statement and the objectives of the study are formulated in the null form, are tested in this study: 1 i. h0 : managerial ownership has no significant effect on financial reporting quality of listed consumer goods companies in nigeria. 2 ii. h0 : institutional ownership has no significant effect on financial reporting quality of listed consumer goods companies in nigeria. 3 iii. h0 : ownership concentration has no significant effect on financial reporting quality of listed consumer goods companies in nigeria. this study contributes significantly to theoretical and practical understanding by exploring the impact of ownership structure on financial reporting quality in nigeria's igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 72 listed consumer goods companies. it enriches the theoretical framework of corporate governance and financial transparency, offering insights into market efficiency and investor confidence. the research also addresses gaps in existing literature, particularly regarding ownership dynamics' influence on financial reporting quality in the consumer goods sector of nigeria. literature review the conceptual framework of this study revolves around two central concepts: ownership structure and financial reporting quality. ownership structure is a multifaceted concept that encompasses various perspectives and dimensions. diverse scholars have presented distinct perspectives on ownership structure. lópez-iturriag and rodríguez-sanz (2012) emphasize the proportion of shares held by crucial stakeholders, especially the five largest shareholders. anwar (2019) expands this view to include institutional and managerial ownership. sahut and gharbi (2010) present ownership structure as a composite construct involving ownership concentration, managerial ownership, and institutional ownership. alipour and amjadi (2011) similarly describe it as the amalgamation of influential shareholders, including institutions, individuals, and managers. chu (2021) focuses on the proportion of shares held by the board of directors. a nuanced understanding of ownership structure reveals its holistic portrayal of equity distribution, linking voting potency and capital investment. it shapes a company's behaviour, strategic decisions, and overall performance, emphasizing its crucial role in corporate governance and economic efficiency (jensen & meckling, 1976). the diversity in shareholding patterns often leads to conflicts of interest among shareholders, necessitating a comprehensive understanding of how different ownership structures manifest in specific corporate contexts (hui & khine, 2017). from the foregoing, ownership structure refers to the arrangement of proprietors who influence a company's operations and decision-making processes. it is a fundamental aspect of corporate governance, shaping a firm's conduct and performance. ownership structure influences corporate governance, strategic decisions, and financial reporting quality (jensen & meckling, 1976). it plays a crucial role in aligning managerial incentives and enhancing economic efficiency. however, diverse ownership patterns can lead to conflicts of interest among shareholders, necessitating a nuanced understanding of ownership configurations. this study identifies three key ownership structures with the potential to enhance financial reporting quality in listed companies: managerial ownership, institutional ownership, and concentrated ownership. these structures play a pivotal role in shaping corporate governance mechanisms and influencing firm performance. managerial ownership has long been regarded as a critical component of corporate governance, aiming to align the interests of managers with those of shareholders (jensen & meckling, 1976). the premise underlying managerial ownership is that when managers have a financial stake in the company through ownership of shares, their incentives become aligned with shareholders' interests, leading to value-maximizing decisions and enhanced firm performance (fama & jensen, 1983). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 73 however, a more critical examination of the relationship between managerial ownership and firm outcomes reveals a nuanced picture. while moderate levels of managerial ownership have been associated with improved performance and reduced agency conflicts, especially in the context of dispersed ownership (fama & jensen, 1983), recent studies suggest that the impact of managerial ownership is contingent on various factors and may not always lead to positive outcomes. one of the key concerns raised by scholars is the potential for managerial entrenchment associated with high levels of managerial ownership. berle and means (1932) argued that excessive managerial ownership could lead to managers prioritizing their own interests over those of shareholders, resulting in decisions that serve personal agendas rather than maximizing shareholder value. recent empirical research by kim and lu (2019) supports this view, indicating that extremely high levels of managerial ownership can indeed lead to entrenchment behaviours such as empire building and risk aversion, ultimately harming firm performance. furthermore, the optimal level of managerial ownership varies across industries and company contexts. while some industries may benefit from higher levels of managerial ownership due to increased alignment of interests, others may experience drawbacks such as reduced risk-taking and innovation (morck & steier, 2005). for instance, in rapidly evolving sectors like technology, high levels of managerial ownership could hinder agility and adaptation to market changes (hillman & dalziel, 2003). another critical aspect to consider is the interaction between managerial ownership and other governance mechanisms. recent studies by chen and jaggi (2016) highlight that the effectiveness of managerial ownership in aligning interests depends on complementary governance structures, such as board independence and transparency. in the absence of robust governance mechanisms, high managerial ownership alone may not suffice to mitigate agency problems effectively. moreover, the impact of managerial ownership on firm performance may be influenced by external market forces and macroeconomic conditions. during economic downturns or periods of market volatility, high managerial ownership could amplify risk aversion and conservative decision-making, potentially hindering long-term value creation (hermalin & weisbach, 1991). in light of these critical perspectives, it is essential for firms to carefully assess the optimal level of managerial ownership based on industry dynamics, corporate strategy, and governance environment. while managerial ownership can be a valuable tool for aligning incentives and promoting responsible stewardship, it must be complemented by a robust governance framework that includes mechanisms for monitoring, accountability, and transparency (adams & mehran, 2003). in conclusion, while managerial ownership has the potential to enhance corporate governance and align interests, its effectiveness is contingent on various contextual factors and must be managed judiciously within a broader governance framework to achieve desired outcomes for shareholders and stakeholders alike. institutional ownership, a crucial component of ownership structure, has garnered igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 74 significant attention due to its potential impact on firm value, governance practices, and financial reporting quality. scholars such as sahut and gharbi (2010) and alipour and amjadi (2011) have highlighted the importance of considering institutional investors alongside other significant shareholders in understanding ownership structure dynamics. recent studies, such as oyedokun, isah, and awotomilusi (2020), have shed light on the positive effect of institutional ownership on firm value, particularly in nigeria's consumer goods sector. the relationship between institutional ownership and financial reporting quality is grounded in the notion that institutional investors, driven by their fiduciary responsibilities, actively engage with invested firms to ensure accurate valuation and risk assessment (shah, safdar, & mohammad, 2011). this engagement can lead to pressure for improved financial reporting practices, contributing to transparency and accountability. however, this relationship is multifaceted and influenced by various factors, including the investment strategies of institutional investors, their level of engagement, and industryspecific contexts. while institutional ownership has the potential to enhance financial reporting quality by aligning management actions with shareholder interests, there are complexities that need to be considered. for instance, the effectiveness of institutional monitoring and influence may vary across industries and governance frameworks. additionally, factors such as board composition and regulatory environments can further shape the impact of institutional ownership on financial disclosures. despite these complexities, insights from scholars like anwar (2019) and oyedokun, et al (2020) highlight the positive role of institutional ownership in enhancing transparency, accuracy, and relevance of financial reporting. institutional ownership stands as a cornerstone in the ongoing discussion surrounding ownership structure's influence on corporate behaviour, performance, and governance practices. however, continued research and nuanced analysis are necessary to fully understand the intricacies of this relationship and its implications for firm-level outcomes. ownership concentration, a critical dimension of ownership structure, plays a significant role in shaping corporate behaviour, governance practices, and financial reporting quality. scholars such as sahut and gharbi (2010) have highlighted ownership concentration as a defining feature of ownership structure, emphasizing its potential to influence corporate strategies and the extent of financial information disclosure. however, the relationship between ownership concentration and financial reporting quality is multifaceted and context-dependent (lópez-iturriag & rodríguez-sanz, 2012). on one hand, high ownership concentration can be seen as a mechanism for enhancing monitoring and aligning managerial actions with shareholder interests (elyasiani & jia, 2010). this alignment can lead companies to prioritize transparency and accountability in their financial reporting practices, thereby enhancing the quality of disclosures. however, this positive aspect is balanced by potential drawbacks, such as the risk of entrenchment and undue influence by dominant shareholders (sahut & gharbi, 2010). the dual nature of ownership concentration's effects is evident in studies like those by lópez-iturriag and rodríguez-sanz (2012) and elyasiani and jia (2010). while concentrated ownership can lead to positive impacts on firm performance and value, excessive concentration may result in agency conflicts and suboptimal outcomes. this igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 75 underscores the importance of considering the optimal level of ownership concentration that balances monitoring benefits with potential governance challenges (sahut & gharbi, 2010; elyasiani & jia, 2010). moreover, the impact of ownership concentration on financial reporting quality is influenced by contextual factors, including industry dynamics, corporate settings, and governance mechanisms (lópez-iturriag & rodríguezsanz, 2012). lópez-iturriag and rodríguez-sanz (2012) suggest that the effects of ownership concentration may vary across different industries, highlighting the need for nuanced analysis and consideration of external market forces. overall, ownership concentration represents a complex aspect of ownership structure that requires careful examination and consideration of its implications for corporate governance, financial performance, and transparency (sahut & gharbi, 2010; elyasiani & jia, 2010). while it can enhance monitoring and alignment, mitigating agency conflicts, it also poses challenges related to potential entrenchment and influence. balancing these factors is essential for understanding how ownership concentration influences financial reporting quality and overall firm outcomes. the concept of financial reporting quality is fundamental to corporate governance and financial analysis, encompassing precision, transparency, and relevance of information (naser, 1993). it directly influences stakeholders' decisions and perceptions of a firm's financial information, fostering investor confidence and efficient capital allocation. financial reporting quality signals a company's commitment to sound governance and ethical standards, enhancing trust and reputation (alipour & amjadi, 2011). discretionary accruals are a critical aspect of financial reporting quality, reflecting managerial judgment in accounting adjustments (dechow et al., 1995). they indicate the extent of managers' discretion in shaping reported financial performance and can reveal potential earnings management strategies. the measurement of discretionary accruals distinguishes between operating and non-operating accruals, offering insights into the nature and magnitude of managerial influence on financial statements (dechow et al., 1995). understanding discretionary accruals is essential for assessing the integrity and reliability of financial reports, as they reflect the inherent judgment exercised in financial reporting (dechow et al., 1995). high levels of discretionary accruals may signal aggressive earnings management, while lower levels suggest a more conservative approach. this relationship underscores the intricate interplay between ownership structure and financial reporting quality, highlighting the importance of analysing ownership patterns as drivers of financial transparency and stakeholder trust. theoretical framework theoretical frameworks play a crucial role in understanding the complex dynamics between ownership structure and firm behaviour. three prominent theoretical perspectives that shed light on these dynamics are agency theory, alignment effect theory, and entrenchment effect theory. agency theory, proposed by jensen and meckling (1976), is a fundamental framework in corporate governance that examines the principal-agent relationship between shareholders (principals) and managers (agents). it recognizes the inherent conflicts of interest arising from divergent objectives between these groups. while agency theory sheds light on the monitoring mechanisms necessary to mitigate these conflicts, it has been igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 76 critiqued for oversimplifying the complexities of managerial decision-making and the dynamics of ownership structure (donaldson & davis, 1991). for instance, while managerial ownership is viewed as a mechanism to align the interests of managers with shareholders, it may not always lead to optimal outcomes. studies such as fama and jensen (1983) have highlighted that high levels of managerial ownership could potentially lead to managerial entrenchment and risk aversion, limiting innovation and long-term value creation. thus, while agency theory provides a theoretical basis for understanding ownership incentives, its application requires nuanced considerations of contextual factors and governance mechanisms. the alignment effect theory, as proposed by bebchuk (1999), emphasizes the role of ownership structure in aligning the interests of stakeholders toward value maximization. while this theory highlights the positive impact of managerial ownership on reducing agency conflicts and promoting accountability, it has also faced criticism for overlooking the potential downsides of concentrated ownership. research by shleifer and vishny (1997) suggests that concentrated ownership, if not accompanied by effective governance mechanisms, can lead to expropriation of minority shareholders' interests by controlling shareholders. this raises concerns about the alignment effect theory's assumption that managerial ownership inherently leads to value-maximizing decisions. moreover, the theory may not fully account for the complexities of decision-making in firms with diverse ownership structures and stakeholder interests. the entrenchment effect theory, articulated by morck et al. (1988), offers a critical perspective on the potential drawbacks of excessive managerial ownership. while ownership concentration can align incentives and enhance monitoring, it also carries the risk of managerial entrenchment and self-serving behaviors. this theory underscores the importance of maintaining a balance in ownership concentration to prevent agency problems. however, some scholars argue that the entrenchment effect theory may overlook the positive aspects of managerial ownership, such as long-term commitment and alignment with shareholder interests (hermalin & weisbach, 1998). additionally, empirical studies by yermack (1996) suggest that moderate levels of managerial ownership can have a positive impact on firm performance, challenging the notion that excessive ownership necessarily leads to entrenchment and value destruction. in conclusion, while these theoretical frameworks provide valuable insights into ownership structure's impact on firm behaviour and governance, they also require critical examination and consideration of contextual factors, governance mechanisms, and empirical evidence to draw robust conclusions about the relationship between ownership structure and firm outcomes. empirical review the empirical review section presents an overview of prior studies investigating the relationships between ownership structure and financial reporting quality, focusing on managerial ownership, institutional ownership, and concentrated ownership structures within listed consumer goods companies in nigeria. recent studies onwards have delved into the relationships between ownership structure and financial reporting quality in nigerian firms. chau and gray (2002) aimed to investigate the impact of managerial ownership on financial reporting quality in australian firms. through quantitative analysis, they found a igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 77 positive relationship between managerial ownership and transparency, suggesting that higher ownership stakes among managers were associated with more accurate and informative reporting. jaggi and leung (2007) focused on examining the impact of audit committees on earnings management in hong kong firms where family members dominated the boards. their research, based on data from 1999-2000, revealed that audit committees effectively curbed earnings management. however, this effectiveness was reduced in firms with dominant family members on the board, emphasizing the influence of specific corporate governance structures. liu and lu (2007) explored the relationship between earnings management and corporate governance in china, considering tunnelling perspectives. their study from 1999 to 2005 noted systematic differences in earnings management, with firms having stronger corporate governance exhibiting lower levels of earnings management, particularly in situations of prominent agency conflicts between controlling and minority shareholders. hamza, et al (2019) investigated the effect of managerial ownership on financial reporting quality in jordanian companies listed on ase. using panel data analysis covering 20092017, they found that managerial ownership had a significant positive effect on financial reporting quality by reducing earnings management practices. adebiyi and olowookere (2016) explored the relationship between corporate ownership structure and financial reporting quality in nigerian deposit money banks. their analysis over nine years revealed a positive relationship between managerial ownership and financial reporting quality, indicating that higher managerial ownership levels improved earnings quality and reduced financial reporting manipulation. these studies collectively highlight the importance of managerial ownership, corporate governance mechanisms, and regulatory environments in shaping financial reporting practices, providing valuable insights into the dynamics between ownership structure and financial reporting quality in nigerian firms. krishnan and visvanathan (2008) aimed to explore the relationship between institutional ownership and financial reporting quality in indian firms. they utilized a quantitative methodology, analysing financial data and ownership information from indian companies. their findings indicated that higher institutional ownership was associated with more transparent reporting practices. however, they also emphasized that institutional ownership may not always guarantee improved financial reporting quality in the absence of effective monitoring mechanisms. chen et al. (2011) investigated the effects of institutional ownership on financial reporting quality in chinese firms. employing statistical methods, they analysed financial and ownership data to assess the impact on earnings management and transparency. their research suggested that institutional ownership is associated with lower earnings management and enhanced transparency. however, they also acknowledged that the relationship might be influenced by the level of institutional investor activism. chan et al. (2014) sought to determine the impact of mutual funds on financial reporting quality, particularly in reducing modified audit opinions (maos) in chinese firms. their igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 78 methodology involved quantitative analysis of financial data and audit opinions, comparing firms with and without mutual fund ownership. the findings revealed that mutual funds were effective in enhancing financial reporting quality by reducing the occurrence of maos, indicating a positive influence on transparency. lin and fu (2017) examined the influence of institutional ownership on firm performance in chinese listed firms. using econometric techniques and financial data, they analysed the impact of various institutional investor characteristics on firm performance. their findings indicated that institutional ownership generally has a positive impact on firm performance, with domestic and small institutional shareholders also contributing positively. huang et al. (2017) explored the impact of institutional ownership on financial reporting quality. employing quantitative analysis and statistical modelling, they examined the relationship between institutional ownership and transparency. their findings indicated that institutional ownership was positively associated with transparency and earnings quality, although variations were observed based on ownership concentration levels. gopikumar et al. (2022) examined the impact of institutional ownership on financial reporting quality in malaysian firms. their quantitative analysis using financial data and ownership information from malaysian companies showed that institutional ownership was associated with more transparent reporting practices. however, the research also discussed potential challenges related to the heterogeneity of institutional investors and their monitoring capabilities. park and shin (2018) conducted a study on korean firms to understand the relationship between institutional ownership and financial reporting quality. their statistical analysis and econometric modelling revealed that institutional ownership was positively correlated with transparency and reduced earnings management. this trend indicated an overall improvement in financial reporting quality associated with institutional ownership. tessema et al. (2018) investigated the effects of ownership concentration on financial reporting quality in korean firms. their research suggested that higher ownership concentration is associated with improved transparency and reduced earnings management. however, they also acknowledged that concentrated ownership could lead to potential conflicts of interest and entrenchment. aharony et al. (2010) examined the impact of ownership concentration on financial reporting quality in u.s. firms. their findings suggested that ownership concentration is associated with higher transparency and better earnings quality. however, they also emphasized that ownership concentration might lead to conflicts of interest and biased reporting in certain cases. chen et al. (2014) examined the impact of ownership concentration on financial reporting quality in taiwanese firms. their research indicated that concentrated ownership is positively correlated with transparency and earnings quality. however, they also noted that ownership concentration could lead to managerial entrenchment and reduced external monitoring. rafique et al. (2015) found a consistent pattern between ownership structure and financial reporting quality in australia, malaysia, and pakistan from 2011-2013. higher ownership concentration is associated with lower financial reporting quality, while individual and group ownership negatively impacts earnings management. in malaysia, individual and group ownership are positively associated with earnings management, suggesting a more igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 79 complex relationship between ownership structures and financial reporting quality. state ownership negatively affects firm performance, possibly due to political interference or management incentives. larger firms have lower financial reporting quality due to increased complexity and reporting requirements, while mature operational capabilities enable more earnings management. the research emphasizes the importance of considering each country's economic and regulatory environment and the need for further research to understand the mechanisms influencing ownership structures in diverse contexts. arthur et al (2019) examined how a country's ownership concentration influences financial reporting quality across nations. by employing accounting and auditing indicators, it constructs an index to gauge country-level financial reporting quality. the study uncovers a non-linear relationship between national financial reporting quality and ownership structure. in cases of dispersed ownership without controlling shareholders, a negative relationship is observed, suggesting entrenchment effects dominate. conversely, in situations of highly concentrated ownership, especially with controlling shareholders aligned with the firm's interests, a positive relationship emerges, indicating alignment effects predominate. this research contributed significantly by providing insights into how ownership concentration affects financial reporting quality. the findings may inform policymakers and regulators concerned with enhancing financial transparency and corporate governance practices, potentially leading to important policy implications. ahmed and ahmed (2022) study, "ownership characteristics and financial performance: evidence from chinese split-share structure reform," examines the relationship between ownership structures and firm financial performance in china, focusing on concentrated and state ownership. they also analyze the impact of the recent stock split reform using a sample of 234 firms and 2340 annual observations. the results indicate a positive association between concentrated ownership and firm performance, while state ownership has a negative effect. the stock split reform significantly enhanced the ownership–corporate financial performance relationship, strengthening the positive link with ownership concentration and mitigating the negative impact of state ownership. the study contributes to corporate governance literature, providing insights into the effects of regulatory changes like the split-share structure reform in china. the findings have implications for regulators, investors, and researchers, highlighting the reform's positive effects on corporate financial performance and governance, benefiting the chinese economy and informing policies in emerging economies. pandey and sahu (2022) examined the majority shareholders' role in governing indian manufacturing firms, using balanced panel data from 91 bse 200 index firms (2011–2018). their study aimed to measure ownership concentration using the herfindahl–hirschman index and assess its impact on vertical and horizontal agency issues, as well as firm financial performance. the findings indicated that majority owners did not enhance efficiency or reduce expenses, and higher ownership concentration worsened horizontal agency issues, leading to a lower return on equity. the study recommended stricter external regulations to improve corporate governance and protect minority shareholders. zhizhong huang and qingmei xue (2016) investigated the effect of ownership structure on financial reporting in china, focusing on share pledges. the study revealed that firms with concentrated ownership tended to manipulate earnings, particularly when major igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 80 shareholders had vested interests. the study also observed the influence of regulatory changes, such as share pledge loans, on financial reporting behaviours, highlighting the importance of understanding dynamic regulatory environments in shaping reporting practices. overall, these studies collectively highlight the nuanced relationship between ownership concentration and financial reporting quality. while some studies suggest a positive association, indicating potential benefits like improved transparency and earnings quality, others emphasize the risks of conflicts of interest, entrenchment, and reduced disclosure in highly concentrated ownership structures. the findings underscore the importance of considering various factors, including governance mechanisms, regulatory environments, and specific ownership types, to fully understand how ownership concentration influences reporting practices and aligns shareholder interests. further research in this area is essential to navigate the complexities and trade-offs associated with ownership structures in diverse economic and regulatory contexts. methodology the study employs an ex-post facto research design due to its reliance on pre-collected quantitative secondary data. this design facilitates data analysis without direct manipulation, making it suitable for exploring ownership structure's impact on financial reporting quality. additionally, a correlational research design is adopted for data analysis to uncover relationships between variables without implying causation, enhancing our understanding of how ownership structure affects financial reporting quality. the population comprises twenty (20) consumer goods companies listed on the nigerian exchange group (ngx) as of december 31, 2021. fifteen (15) of the consumer goods companies are selected as the sample, representing 75% of the total listed companies in this sector. the study covers a ten-year period from 2012 to 2021. the sample size selection is purposive based on listing age and data availability, resulting in 150 firm-year observations, ensuring robustness and reliability in the analysis. secondary data from annual reports of the sampled companies from 2012 to 2021 are used. variables related to managerial ownership, institutional ownership, and ownership concentration are collected from the directors report sections of the annual reports. financial reporting quality variables are computed from statements of comprehensive income, financial position, and notes to the accounts in the annual reports of the sampled companies. the dependent variable in this study is financial reporting quality which is proxy by discretionary accruals. this study has adopted the modified jones model by dechow, sloan and sweeney (1995) which is a discretionary accruals (daccr) approach for measuring earnings management. the model is stated below: igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 81 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 82 ownership structure is represented by the three ownership structures under examination. they include managerial ownership, institutional ownership, and ownership concentration. the measures of these variables are presented in table 3.1. two control variables are used in this study. they are firm size and financial leverage. their measurements are also presented in table 3.1 table 3.1: variable definition and measurement source: author's compilation variable type of variable measurement financial reporting quality independent modified jones model. the modified jones model is a preferred method for evaluatin g financial reporting quality due to its accruals -based approach, contextual factors, economic activity controls, and empirical support. managerial ownership independent % of total shares held by directors (karathanssis & drakos, 2004) institutional ownership independent % of total shares held by institutions (koh, 2007) ownership concentration independent % of those that have up to 5% or more in the total shares in issue(sec, 2011) firms size control natural logarithm of total assets (roodposhti & chas hmis,2011) firms financial leverage control ratio of total liabilities to total assets (kamran & attaullah, 2014) the panel regression technique was used to examine the effect of ownership structure on financial reporting quality of the sampled listed consumer goods companies in nigeria. the panel regression technique is adopted because the data that are analysed have time and cross-sectional attributes. furthermore, panel data regression provides better results since it uses large observation and reduces the problem of degree of freedom; it also avoids the problem of multicollinearity and help to capture the individual cross-sectional (or firmspecific) effects that the various pools may exhibit with respect to the dependent variable in the model. in evaluating the panel regression results, the hausman specification test is used to select between fixed effect and random effect. the individual statistical significance test (t-test) and overall statistical significance test (f-test) are also be used. importantly, the goodness 2of fit of the model is ascertained using the coefficient of determination (r ). the panel analysis is carried out after descriptive statistics, normality test, correlation analysis, variance inflation test (test for multicollinearity and test for heteroscedasticity. all analyses are conducted at 5% level of significance using stata 13 software. result the data utilized in the analysis, including financial reporting quality (proxied by discretionary accruals daccr), ownership structure (proxied by managerial ownership mgros, institutional ownership inst, and ownership concentration owncons), and control variables (size and leverage lev), are presented in appendix 1. these data were sourced from audited financial reports of the selected companies. descriptive statistics provide key features of the data such as minimum and maximum values, mean, median, standard deviation, skewness, kurtosis, and jacque-bera statistics with associated probabilities. these statistics offer insights into the distribution and characteristics of the variables used in the analysis. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 83 model specification the econometric model adopted in this study is stated below: daccr = β +β mgros +β inst + β owncons + β size + β lev + εit 0 1 it 2 it 3 it 5 it 6 it it where: it is observed from table 4.1 that financial reporting quality (daccr) has a mean value of 0.7695 while it has minimum and maximum values of 0.6778 and 3.1920 respectively. the standard deviation has a value of 0.7269 indicating that daccr is clustered around the mean. since the mean (0.7695) is relatively greater than the median (0.7490), daccr is slightly skewed to the right. the result further revealed managerial ownership (mgros) has a mean value of 0.0754, while it has minimum and maximum values of 0.0003 and 0.2628 respectively. the standard deviation has a value of 0.0721, which implies that it is clustered around the mean. since the mean (0.0721) is greater than the median (0.0554, it indicates that mgros is skewed to the right. institutional ownership (inst) has a mean value of 0.3456 while it has minimum and maximum values of 0.0294 and 0.7497 respectively. it implies that at average firms under review have a maximum of 74.97% ownership. the standard deviation reported relatively small value of 0.2739 shows that inst is slightly dispersed away from the mean. since the mean is less r than the median (0.4949, it indicates that inst is slightly skewed to the left. ownership concentration (owncons) has a mean value of 0.5171 while it has minimum and maximum values of 0.00100 and 0.9893 respectively. the standard deviation reported a value of 0.3142 meaning that owncons is not clustered around the mean. since the mean (0.5171) is relatively lesser than the median (0.6413), it implies that the variable is slightly skewed to the left. firm size (size) has a mean value of n166,028,576, while it has minimum and maximum values of 1,794,749 and 825,689,552 respectively. the standard deviation reported relatively small values n181,236,704 shows that size is not clustered around the mean. the mean of n166,028,576 is greater than the median value of n106,366,698. this implies that size is slightly skewed to the right. leverage (lev) has a mean value of 0.5482, while it has minimum and maximum values of 0.0569 and 0.9796 respectively. the standard deviation reported relatively small values 0.1603 shows that lev is not clustered around the mean. the mean value of 0.5482, relatively less than the median, 0.5576 which indicates that data are slightly skewed to the left. table 4.1: descriptive statistics re sult measure daccr mgros inst owncons size lev mean 0.7695 0.0754 0.3456 0.5171 166,028,577 0.5482 median 0.7490 0.0554 0.4949 0.6412 106 ,366,698 0.5576 minimum 0.6778 0.0003 0.0294 0.0010 1,794,749 0.0569 maximum 3.1920 0.2628 0.7497 0.9893 825,689,552 0.9796 std. dev. 0.7269 0.0721 0.2739 0.3142 181,236,704 0.1603 researcher’s computation 2023 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 84 two tests are conducted to establish the presence or absence of multicollinearity among the independent variables. these include the correlation matrix and variance inflation factor and tolerance levels. in examining the level of association or correlation between the independent variables of the study, the pearson correlations matrix is adopted as presented in table 4.3. the result of the pearson correlation analysis indicates that the highest correlation coefficient between the independent variables is -0.3889 for mgros and owncons. judging from the result of the correlation matrix, there is no indication of multicollinearity between the independent variables of the study as the highest correlation coefficient between the variables is below the threshold of 0.7 as suggested by pallant (2005). prior to execution of regression analysis, it is of paramount importance to check whether the regression assumptions are fulfilled. the basic diagnostic tests required in running a regression analysis include normality, multicollinearity and heteroskedasticity test. these tests re carried out in the following subsections. two tests are conducted to confirm data normality, namely skewness and kurtosis tests. appendix ii pressures the detail of the results which are extracted and presented in table 4.2 below. as can be observed from the result in table 4.2 the skewness for mgros and size, and all the kurtosis values fall outside the threshold of between -1 and +1, indicating that not all the study variables are normally distributed. log transformation has been undertaken to normalize the variables that are not normally distributed. table 4.2: skewness and kurtosis results variables obs skewness kurtosis daccr 150 0.8660 1.9390 mgros 150 1.4220 1.5437 inst 150 0.0522 -1.7917 owncons 150 -0.2461 -1.4625 size 150 1.56 2.26 lev 150 -0.1926 0.6304 source: computer output (stata 13.0) table 4.3: results of pearson correlation (n=150) variable mgros inst owncons size mgros 1.0000 inst 0.2291 1.0000 owncons -0.3889 -0.0122 1.0000 size 0.0274 0.3798 -0.1411 1.0000 lev 0.0040 0.2520 0.2143 0.0940 source: computer output (stata 13.0) b) variance inflation factor (vif) and tolerance level table 4.4 presents the result of multicollinearity test based on vif and tolerance level performed on the variables of the study. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 85 as can be observed from table 4.4, the vif ranges between 1.13 to 1.33 with a mean of 1.25 which is below the threshold of 10, indicating the absence of multicollinearity among the variables of the study. on the other hand, the tolerance level(i/vif) ranges from values of 0.7717 to 0.8868 which is above the threshold of 0.1 also indicating the absence of multicolinearity among the variables of the study. it can thus be concluded from the above that, there is no multicollinearity among the variables of this study. the result obtained from the heteroskedasticity test presented in table 4.5 show a p-value of 0.0269 which is less than the critical value of 0.05, implying the presence of heteroskedasticity and unequal variance. as a result of the presence of heteroskedasticity in the study model, the robust regression test was further performed to correct the heteroskedasticity presence. table 4.4: results of variance inflation factor and tolerance variable vif 1/vif mgros 1.33 0.7820 inst 1.30 0.7534 owncons 1.28 0.7717 size 1.22 0.8202 lev 1.13 0.8868 mean vif 1.25 table 4.5: heteroskedasticity test result variable chi -sq. value probabil ity value model 4.90 0.0269 note: ho (null): homoskedastic source: computer output (stata 13.0) the hausman specification test result presented in table 4.6 has a p-value of 0.8258 which is greater than the significance level of 0.05 , implying that the null hypothesis be accepted at 5% level of significance. this implies that the random effect model is preferable to the fixed effect model. table 4.6: result of h ausman specification test test summary chi -sq. value probability value cross -section random 0.90 0.8258 note: ho: random effect model is preferable to fixed effect model source: computer output (stata 13.0) the choice of the random effect model by the hausman specification test further necessitates the breusch and pagan lagrangian multiplier test for random effects to be conducted in order to choose between the result of the pooled ols and the random effect model. the result of the breusch-pagan lm test presented in table 4.7, has the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 86 summary of results/findings the results obtained from data analysis suggest that managerial ownership has a negative and non-significant effect on the financial reporting quality of listed consumer goods companies in nigeria. the null hypothesis which states that managerial ownership has no significant effect on the financial reporting quality of listed consumer goods companies in nigeria is, therefore, accepted. the results obtained from data analysis suggest that institutional ownership has a negative and non-significant effect on the financial reporting quality of listed consumer goods companies in nigeria. the null hypothesis which states that institutional ownership has no significant effect on the financial reporting quality of listed consumer goods companies in nigeria is, therefore, accepted. the results obtained from data analysis suggest that ownership concentration has a positive but non-significant effect on the financial reporting quality of listed consumer goods companies in nigeria. the null hypothesis which states that ownership concentration has no significant effect on the financial reporting quality of listed consumer goods companies in nigeria is, therefore, accepted. discussion of findings the primary objective of the study was to explore the influence of ownership structure on the financial reporting quality of consumer goods firms in nigeria. the study focused on managerial ownership, institutional ownership, and ownership concentration as potential f-statistic p -values is 0.2236, which is statistically not significant at 5% level. this implies that the pooled pls model is more prefe rable to the random effect model. table 4.7: result of breusch and pagan lagrangian multiplier test for random effect for financial sector table 4.8: summary of pooled ols regression results daccr coefficient t statistics probability mgros -1.5196 -1.72 0.088 inst -0.3387 -1.42 0.157 owncons 0.2519 1.23 0.221 size 0.2729 3.00 0.003 lev 0.6256 1.67 0.097 c -1.6181 -2.19 0.030 r-squared 0.1276 f-statistic 4.21 prob(f -statistic) 0.0013 observations 150 source: computer output (stata 13.0) test statistic f-statistic value probability value lm test 0.58 0.2236 note: ho: random effect model is preferred to pooled ols regression model igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 87 determinants of financial reporting quality. the main findings of this investigation, as discussed below, according to the study objective. objective one: examine the effect of managerial ownership on financial reporting quality of listed consumer goods companies in nigeria. the study has evidenced a negative and non-significant effect of managerial ownership on the financial reporting quality of listed consumer goods companies in nigeria. this evidence is not supported by the results of prior studies such as chau and gray (2002), yang et al. (2008), lu and zhao (2012), hamza, zainal and wan (2019) who found a positive and significant relationship between managerial ownership and financial reporting quality proxied by discretionary accruals. the differences in those results and this study can be attributed to their settings. the evidence is, however supported by the entrenchment effect theory which states that the level of managerial ownership can lead to the likelihood of self-serving behaviours and decision-making that may not necessarily align with the broader strategic objectives of the company. as managers amass a substantial ownership stake, they can wield considerable influence over critical corporate decisions, potentially leading to actions that enhance their own position but may not be optimal for shareholder value maximization. the evidence in this study does not support the alignment effect theory which postulates that when managers possess ownership stakes in the company, their financial fortunes become intricately linked with the firm's performance. accordingly, managers are more inclined to make decisions that are in alignment with the broader interests of shareholders, as their personal wealth is directly affected by the company's success. a positive and significant relationship is therefore expected between managerial ownership and financial reporting quality. objective two: ascertain the effect of institutional ownership on financial reporting quality of listed consumer goods companies in nigeria. the results of this study suggest that institutional ownership has a negative and nonsignificant effect on financial reporting quality. the study results are not supported by prior studies such as krishnam and visvanathan (2008), chen et al. (2011), chan et al. (2014), lin et al. (2017), huang et al. (2017), gopikumar et al. (2022), and park and shin (2018) who found positive and significant effect of institutional ownership and financial reporting quality. the non-supporting evidence could also be attributed to the settings of the research. the evidence is not supported by the agency theory which holds that institutional investors, possessing substantial ownership stakes, hold the potential to monitor and discipline managerial behaviour, thereby mitigating agency conflicts (bebchuk & cohen, 2005). their active participation in corporate governance mechanisms, such as voting on crucial matters and engaging in dialogue with management, can function as a safeguard against value-detracting managerial actions, and enhance promoting firm performance. objective three: determine the effect of ownership concentration on financial reporting quality of listed consumer goods companies in nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 88 the results of this study evidence a positive but non-significant effect of ownership concentration on financial reporting quality of listed consumer goods companies in nigeria. this result is supported by a number of studies that have found a positive effect of ownership concentration on financial reporting quality such as nenova (2003), tessema et al 2018, aharony (2010), lin et al. (2010), rafique et al. (2015), chen et al. (2014), arthur et al. (2019), al lawati and sanad (2023), wang et al. 2015, ahmed and ahmed 2022, pandey and sahu 2022 and omrane et al. (2016). the results of this study are supported by the agency theory which has stressed the need to closely monitor entrench management that has the potential to expropriate firm resources. concentrated ownership helps to achieve this objective. in conclusion, the study's thorough analysis sheds light on the dynamics between ownership structure and financial reporting quality in nigerian consumer goods firms. it revealed that while managerial and institutional ownership did not significantly impact reporting quality, ownership concentration hinted at a positive influence, albeit not statistically significant. based on the findings, the following recommendations are proposed to optimize ownership structure's impact on financial reporting quality: based on the key findings, the following recommendations are tailored to maximize the positive impact of ownership structure on financial reporting quality: i. optimizing managerial ownership levels: considering the negative effect of managerial ownership on financial reporting quality, organizations should not rely only on managerial ownership to address agency concerns. companies should establish ownership thresholds that encourage commitment to transparent reporting while minimizing potential conflicts of interest. ii. leveraging institutional investors' monitoring role: acknowledging the role of institutional ownership in promoting transparency, companies should actively engage with institutional investors. establishing regular channels of communication to discuss financial reporting practices and governance mechanisms can enhance institutional monitoring and its influence on reporting quality. iii. governance mechanisms for concentrated ownership: given the positive effect of ownership concentration on financial reporting quality, firms with substantial ownership concentration should prioritize robust governance mechanisms. independent board oversight, external audits, and transparent reporting practices can mitigate potential agency conflicts and ensure that financial reporting quality is not compromised. references abedin, s. h., haque, h., shahjahan, t., & kabir, m. n. (2022). institutional ownership and firm performance: evidence from an emerging economy. j. risk financial manag., 15(12), 567. h�ps://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm15120567 adams, r. & mehran, h. (2003). is corporate governance different for bank holding c o m p a n i e s ? e c o n o m i c p o l i c y r e v i e w . 9 . 1 2 3 1 4 2 . h�ps://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.387561. achema, f., nyor, t., agbi, s. e., & yahaya, o. a. (2022). liquidity management and profitability of listed deposit money banks in nigeria. european accounting and management review, 9(2), 83-1 adebiyi, w. k., & olowookere, j. k. (2016). ownership structure and the quality of igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 89 financial reporting: evidence from nigerian deposit money banks. international journal of economics, commerce and management, 4(1), 541-552. retrieved from: h�p://ijecm.co.uk/ agrawal, a., & chadha, s. (2005). corporate governance and accounting scandals. journal of l a w a n d e c o n o m i c s , 4 8 ( 2 ) , 3 7 1 – 4 0 6 . h�ps://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.595138 aharony, j. & barniv, r. & falk, h. (2010). the impact of mandatory ifrs adoption on equity valuation of accounting numbers for security investors in the eu. european accounting r e v i e w . 1 9 . 5 3 5 5 7 8 . h�ps://doi.org/10.1080/09638180.2010.506285. al-dhamari, r. a., & ismail, k. n. i. k. (2013). governance structure, ownership structure and earnings predictability: malaysian evidence. asian academy of management journal of accounting and finance, 9(1), 123., available at ssrn: h�ps://ssrn.com/abstract=2945299 al-dmour, a. h., abbod, m., & al qadi, n. s. (2018). the impact of the quality of financial reporting on non-financial business performance and the role of organizations' demographic attributes (type, size, and experience). academy of accounting and financial studies journal, 22(1), 123. h�ps://doi.org/1528-2635-22-1-123 al-fayoumi, abuzayed, b., & alexander, d. (2010). ownership structure and earnings management in emerging market: the case of jordan. international research journal of f i n a n c e a n d e c o n o m i c s , 3 8 . r e t r i e v e d f r o m : h�ps://www.researchgate.net/publica�on/228642167 alipour, m., &amjadi, h. (2011). the effect of ownership structure on listed companies' corporate performance in tehran stock exchange: an empirical evidence of iran. international journal of business and social sciences, 13(2), 156182. al lawati, h., &sanad, z. (2023).ownership concentration and audit actions. administrative s c i e n c e s , 1 3 ( 9 ) , 2 0 6 . h�ps://doi.org/10.3390/admsci13090206. amin, a. s., dutta, s., saadi, s., &vora, p. p. (2015). institutional shareholding and information content of dividend surprises: re-examining the dynamics in dividend reappearance era. journal of corporate finance, 31, 152-170. h�ps://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2015.02.002 aharony, joseph &barniv, ran & falk, haim. (2010). the impact of mandatory ifrs adoption on equity valuation of accounting numbers for security investors in the eu. european a c c o u n t i n g r e v i e w . 1 9 . 5 3 5 5 7 8 . h�ps://doi.org/10.1080/09638180.2010.506285. anwar, s. (2019). the influence of ownership structure, asset structure, and earning volatility on debt policy in indonesia. journal of accounting and strategic finance, 2(1), 93-106. https://doi.org/10.33005/jasf.v2i1.54 arthur, n., chen, h., & tang, q. (2019). corporate ownership concentration and financial reporting quality: international evidence. journal of financial reporting and accounting, 17(1), 104-132. h�ps://doi.org/10.1108/jfra-07-2017-0051 arun, t. g., & turner, j. d. (2004). corporate governance of banks in developing economies: concepts and issues. corporate governance: an international review, 12(3), 371-377. h�ps://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8683.2004.00378.x bebchuk, l. a., & roe, m. j. (1999). a theory of path dependence in corporate ownership and g o v e r n a n c e . s t a n f o r d l a w r e v i e w, 5 2 ( 1 ) , 1 2 7 1 7 0 . h�ps://doi.org/10.2307/1229459 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 90 bebchuk, lucian & cohen, alma. (2004). the cost of entrenched boards. journal of financial e c o n o m i c s . 7 8 . 4 0 9 4 3 3 . h�ps://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2004.12.006. berle, a. a., & means, g. c. (1932). the modern corporation and private property. new york: macmillan. bushman, r. & chen, q. & engel, e. & smith, a. (2004). financial accounting information, organizational complexity and corporate governance systems. journal of accounting a n d e c o n o m i c s . 3 7 . 1 6 7 2 0 1 . h�ps://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacceco.2003.09.005. cascino, s., pugliese, a., mussolino, d., & sansone, c. (2010). the influence of family ownership on the quality of accounting information. family business review, 23(3), 246-265. h�ps://doi.org/10.1177/0894486510374302 chan, ann ling-ching & ding, rong & hou, wenxuan, 2014. does mutual fund ownership affect financial reporting quality for chinese privately-owned enterprises?, international review of financial analysis, elsevier, 36(c), 131 140. h�ps://doi.org/10.1016/j.irfa.2014.02.004 chau, gerald & gray, sidney j., 2010. family ownership, board independence and voluntary disclosure: evidence from hong kong, journal of international account ing , audi t ing and taxat ion , e lsev ier , 19(2) , 93-109 . h�ps://doi.org/10.1016/j.intaccaudtax.2010.07.002 chen, a., kao, l., & lu, c. (2014). controlling ownership and firm performance in taiwan: the role of external competition and internal governance. pacific-basin finance journal, 28,27-53. h�ps://doi.org/10.1016/j.pacfin.2014.04.007 chu, x. (2021). the proportion of shares held by the largest shareholder and the proportion of independent directors. open journal of business and management, 9(2), 751-762. h�ps://doi.org/10.4236/ojbm.2021.92040 cornett, m., marcus, a., &tehvanian. (2008). earnings management, corporate governance, and financial performance. journal of financial economics, 87, 357373. h�ps://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2007.03.003 dechow, p. and dichev, i. (2002) the quality of accruals and earnings: the role of accrual estimation e r r o r s . t h e a c c o u n t i n g r e v i e w , 7 7 , 3 5 5 9 . h�p://dx.doi.org/10.2308/accr.2002.77.s-1.35 dechow, p. m., sloan, r. g., & sweeny, a. p. (1995). detecting earnings management. the accounting review, 70(2), 193-225 demsetz, h. & villalonga, b. (2001). ownership structure and corporate performance.journal of c o r p o r a t e f i n a n c e . 7 . 2 0 9 2 3 3 . h�ps://doi.org/10.1016/s0929-1199(01)00020-7. dockery, e., tsegba, i. n., & herbert, w. e. (2012). does ownership structure influence firm performance? empirical insights from an emerging market. journal of governance and r e g u l a t i o n , 1 ( 4 ) , 1 6 5 1 7 5 . h�ps://doi.org/10.22495/jgr_v1_i4_c1_p4 ellili, d. (2013). ownership structure, board of directors, and the quality of accounting information.college of business administration, abu dhabi university, 4(10). h�ps://doi.org/10.22495/cocv10i4c4art5 elyasiani, e., jia, j. & mao, c. (2010). institutional ownership stability and the cost of debt. j o u r n a l o f f i n a n c i a l m a r k e t s . 1 3 . 4 7 5 5 0 0 . h�ps://doi.org/10.1016/j.finmar.2010.05.001. ezelibe, c. p., nwosu, o., & orazulike, .(2017). empirical investigation of corporate igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 91 governance and financial reporting quality of quoted companies in nigeria. international journal of economics and business management resources, 1(5), 117–137. retrieved from: h�ps://www.academia.edu/35183708 fama,e.f.& jensen, m.c., separation of ownership and control. michael .c.jensen,foundations of organizational strategy, harvard univers i ty press, 1998, and journal of law and economics, vol. 26, june 1983, available at h�p://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.94034 fan, p. & wong, t.j..(2000). corporate ownership structure and the informativeness of account ing earn ings in eas t as ia .ssrn elec tronic journal . h�ps://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.243226. feber s. (2021). the effect of managerial ownership, profitability, company size on the integrity of financial statements at plantation companies. saudi j econ fin, 5(4), 160-163. h�ps://doi.org/10.36348/sjef.2021.v05i04.004 francis, j. &lafond, r. & olsson, p. & schipper, k. (2004). cost of equity and earnings attributes. accounting review -. 79.9671 0 1 0 . h�ps://doi.org/10.2308/accr.2004.79.4.967. gajevszky, a. (2015). assessing financial reporting quality: evidence from romania. audit fi n a n c i a r , ( 1 5 8 3 5 8 1 2 ) . r e t r i e v e d f r o m : h�ps://revista.cafr.ro/ar�colen?codar�col=9386 gelb, d. (2000). managerial ownership and accounting disclosures: an empirical study. review of quant i ta t ive finance and account ing . 15 . 169-85 . h�ps://doi.org/10.1023/a:1008321230900. gopal v. k. and gnanakumarv. (2008), does the sox definition of an accounting expert matter? the association between audit committee directors' accounting expertise and accounting conservatism, contemporary accounting research, 25, (3), 827 858. h�p://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.866884 gopikumar, v. & nair, s. & sisodia, g. (2022). the effect of financial reporting quality on ins t i tu t ional ownership . appl ied economics let ters . 30 . 1-4 . h�ps://doi.org/10.1080/13504851.2022.2089341. garcía-meca, e. & sánchez‐ballesta, j. (2009). corporate governance and earnings management: a meta‐analysis. corporate governance. an international review. 17. 594 610. .h�ps://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8683.2009.00753.x grier, p., & zychowicz, e. j. (1994). institutional investors, corporate discipline, and the role of debt. journal of economics and business, 46(1), 1-11. h�ps://doi.org/10.1016/01486195(94)90017-5 gupta, n., mittal, s., agarwal, t., bakhshi, p., &sahoo, m. (2022). ownership concentration and bank performance: evidence from india. cogent e c o n o m i c s & f i n a n c e , 1 0 ( 1 ) , 2 1 1 4 1 7 7 . h�ps://doi.org/10.1080/23322039.2022.2114177 hambrick, dc & mason, pa. (1984). upper echelons: the organization as a reflection of its top managers. the academy of management review. 9. 193-206. h�ps://doi.org/10.2307/258434. hamza, k. q., zainal, a., & wan, a. (2019). ownership structure and financial reporting quality: influence of audit quality evidence from jordan. universiti sultan zainalabidin | unisza. healy, p., & wahlen, j. (1999). a review of the earnings management literature and its implications for standard settings. accounting horizons, 13(4), 365-383. h�p://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.156445 hermalin, b.e. and m.s. weisbach (1991), 'the effects of board composition and direct igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 92 incentives on firm performance', financial management, financial management association, 20(4), 1 0 1 – 1 2 . r e t r i e v e d f r o m : h�ps://ideas.repec.org/a/fma/fmanag/hermalin91.html hu, yifan& zhou, xianming. (2008). the performance effect of managerial ownership: evidence from china. journal of banking & finance. 32. 2099-2110. h�ps://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbankfin.2007.12.047. huang, h., winter, j. m., osterberg, e. c., horton, r. m., &beckage, b. (2017). total and extreme precipitation changes over the northeastern united states. journal of hydrometeorology, 18(6), 1783–1798. h�ps://doi.org/10.1175/jhm-d-16-0195.1 huang, z., &xue, q. (2016). re-examination of the effect of ownership structure on financial reporting: evidence from share pledges in china. china journal of accounting research, 9(2), 137-152. h�ps://doi.org/10.1016/j.cjar.2015.11.001 iasb (2008). exposure draft on an improved conceptual framework for financial reporting: the objective of financial reporting and qualitative characteristics of decision-useful financial reporting information. london. irom m.i., okpanachi j., ahmed n.m., and agbi s.e. (2023) effect of managerial ownership and audit committee financial expertise on earnings management of listed manufacturing companies in nigeria, european journal of accounting, auditing and f i n a n c e r e s e a r c h , 1 1 ( 2 ) , 1 5 3 5 . h�ps://doi.org/10.37745/ejaafr.2013/vol11n21535 iyoha, a. & akhor, s. (2022). ceo attributes and financial reporting q u a l i t y among deposit money banks listed in nigeria stock exchange. 4, 2102 3 1 . r e t r i e v e d f r o m : h�ps://www.researchgate.net/publica�on/364701251 jaggi, b. & leung, s. (2007). impact of family dominance on monitoring of earnings management by audit committees: evidence from hong kong. journal of i n t e r n a t i o n a l , a c c o u n t i n g , a u d i t i n g , a n d ta x a t i o n . 1 6 . 2 7 50.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intaccaudtax.2007.01.003. jensen, m. c., &meckling, w. h. (1976). theory of the firm: managerial behaviour, agency costs, and ownership structure. journal of financial economics, 3, 305360. h�ps://doi.org/10.1016/0304-405x(76)90026-x kane, g., & velury, u. (2004). the role of institutional ownership in the market for auditing services: an empirical investigation. journal of business research, 57, 976-983. .h�ps://doi.org/10.1016/s0148-2963(02)00499-x kao, m.-f., hodgkinson, l. and jaafar, a. (2019), ownership structure, board of direct and firm performance: evidence from taiwan, corporate governance, 19(1), 189216. h�ps://doi.org/10.1108/cg-04-2018-0144 kazemian, s., &mohdsanusi, z. (2015). earnings management and ownership structure.in international accounting and business conference 2015, iabc 2015. accounting research institute (ari), universititeknology mara (uitm), shahalam, malaysia. elsevier b.v. kurawa, m.j., alhassan, i., & islam, a.m.k & haque, s. (2021). ownership structure and financial reporting quality in listed non-financial firms in nigeria. international journal of accounting & finance review, 9(1), 2576-1285. h�ps://doi.org/10.46281/ijafr.v9i1.1547 la porta, r., lopez-de-silanes, f., shleifer, a., &vishny, r. (2000). investor protection and corporate governance. journal of financial economics, 58(1–2), 3-27. retrieved from: h�p://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar�cle/pii/s0304405x(00)00065-9. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 93 li, j. (1994). ownership structure and board composition: a multi-country test of agency theory predictions. managerial and decision economics, 15(4), 359–368. h�p://www.jstor.org/stable/2487721 lin, y., & fu, x. (2017). does institutional ownership influence firm performance? evidence from china. international review of economics & finance, 49(c), 17-57. h�ps://doi.org/10.1016/j.iref.2017.01.021 liu, q., & lu, z. (2007). corporate governance and earnings management in the chinese listed companies: a tunneling perspective. journal of corporate finance, 13, 881906. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/s09291199(07)00058-2 lopez-iturriaga, f. & rodríguez-sanz, j. (2012). ownership structure, financial decisions, and institutional setting: an international analysis through simultaneous equations. research in economics. https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/465265. lopez-iturriaga, felix & rodríguez-sanz, juan. (2001). ownership structure, corporate value and firm investment: a simultaneous equations analysis of spanish companies. journal of management and governance. 5. 179-204. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1013078225905. madhani, p.m. (2016).ownership concentration, corporate governance and disclosure practices: a study of firms listed in bombay stock exchange (2016). the iup journal of corporate governance, 15(4), 7-36. available at ssrn: h�ps://ssrn.com/abstract=2892486 mitton, t. (2002). a cross-firm analysis of the impact of corporate governance on the east asian financial crisis. journal of financial economics, 64(2), 215-241. h�ps://doi.org/10.1016/s0304-405x(02)00076-4 musa, a., abdul latif, r., &majid, j. (2023). ceo attributes, board independence, and real earnings management: evidence from nigeria. cogent business & management. taylor & francis journals, 10(1), pages 2194464219, december. h�ps://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2023.2194464 mustapha, u., rashid, n., abdullahi, s., & obasi, r. (2021). the influence of ceo characteristics on financial reporting quality in nigerian non-financial listed companies. journal of contemporary issues in business and government, 27. h�ps://doi.org/10.47750/cibg.2021.27.02.015. morck, r., shleifer, a. and vishny, r.w. (1988) management ownership and market valuation: an empirical analysis. journal of financial economics, 20, 293315. 7h�p://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0304-405x(88)90048naser, k. h. m. (1993). creative financial accounting: its nature and use. prentice hall. neal, a., huifa, c., &qingliang, t. (2019). corporate ownership concentration and financial reporting quality: international evidence. journal of financial reporting and accounting, 1 7 ( 1 ) , 1 0 4 1 3 2 . h�p://dx.doi.org/10.1108/jfra-07-2017-0051 nenova, t. (2003). the value of corporate voting rights and control: a cross-country analysis. j o u r n a l o f f i n a n c i a l e c o n o m i c s , 6 8 ( 3 ) , 3 2 5 3 5 1 . h�ps://doi.org/10.1016/s0304405x(03)00069-2 oboh, collins. (2018). investment in corporate social responsibility, disclosure practices, andfinancial performance of banks in nigeria. future business journal. 4. h�ps://doi.org/10.1016/j.�j.2018.06.004. ogabo, b. ,ogar, g. and nuipoko, t. (2021) ownership structure and firm performance: the role of managerial and institutional ownership-evidence from the uk. american journal of industrial and business management, 11, 859-886. h�ps://doi.org/10.4236/ajibm.2021.117053. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 94 omran, g. & jeffrey a. p. (2006). ownership concentration in privatized fi r m s : t h e role of disc losure s t andards , aud i to r cho ice , and aud i t ing infrastructure. journal of accounting r e s e a rc h , 4 4 ( 5 ) , 8 8 9 – 9 2 9 . h�p://www.jstor.org/stable/4092499 omran, m. & pointon, j. (2009). capital structure and firm characteristics: an empirical analysis from egypt. review of accounting and finance. 8. 454-474. h�ps://doi.org/10.1108/14757700911006976. oyedokun, g. & arotolu, o. & vincent, h. (2019). the determinant of equity share price and the listed deposit money banks in nigeria. journal of accounting and strategic finance. 2.127-142. .h�ps://doi.org/10.33005/jasf.v2i2.48 oyedokun, g. &awotomilusi, n. & shehu, i. (2020). ownership structure and firm value of quoted consumers goods firms in nigeria. journal of accounting and strategic finance. 3. 214-228. .h�ps://doi.org/10.33005/jasf.v3i2.65 pandey, k. d., &sahu, t. n. (2021). ownership concentration and agency crises in indian manufacturing firms. business perspectives and research, 9(1), 128-143. h�ps://doi.org/10.1177/2278533720910842 park, yw & shin, h-h (2004). board composition and earnings management in canada, journal of corporate finance , 10(3), 431-457. retrieved from: h�p://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar�cle/pii/s0929-1199(03)00025-7 pattaraporn (2016). ownership structure and the quality of financial reporting in thailand: the empirical evidence from accounting restatement perspective. international journal of economics and business management resources, 14(10), 6803 – 6814. r e t r i e v e d f r o m : h�ps://serialsjournals.com/abstract/25723_ch-41.pdf pounder, b. (2013). measuring accounting quality: strategic finance. 94(11), 18-20. retrieved from: h�ps://www.econbiz.de/record/financial-repor�ngmeasuring-accoun�ngquality-pounder-bruce/10010122600 rafique, q., al-mamun, a., & hook, m. (2017). the impact of ownership structure on financial reporting quality in the east. international journal of organizational analysis, 2 5 ( 2 ) , 1 7 8 1 9 7 . h�ps://doi.org/10.1108/ijoa-08-2015-0894. sahut, j. m., &gharbi, o.h. (2010). institutional investors' typology and firm performance: the case of french firms. international journal of business, 15(1), 1083-4346. available at ssrn: h�ps://ssrn.com/abstract=1735831 salema, s. (2023). ownership structure, board characteristics and firm performance: evidence from bangladesh. international journal of economics and finance, 15(35). .h�ps://doi.org/10.5539/ijef.v15n3p35 securities and exchange commission. (2011). code of best practices of corporate governance in nigeria. retrieved from: h � p s : / / s e c . g o v. n g / s e c corporate-governance-guideline-andrevised-form-01/ shah, a.z.r., safdar, b. a., & mohammad, s. m. (2011). ownership structure and performance of firms: empirical evidence from an emerging market, african journal of b u s i n e s s m a n a g e m e n t , 5 ( 2 ) . 5 1 5 5 2 3 . r e t r i e v e d from:h�ps://www.researchgate.net/publica�on/228942961_ shehu, h. u., & jubril, l. y. (2012). ownership concentration and earnings management practice of nigerian listed conglomerates. american international journal of contemporary research, 2 ( 7 ) , 1 1 5 . r e t r i e v e d f r o m : h�p://www.aijcrnet.com/journals/vol_2_no_7_july_2012/19.pdf tessema, a., kim, m. & dandu, j.. (2018). the impact of ownership structure on earnings quality: the case of south korea. international journal of disclosure and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 95 governance. 15. 129–14. .h�ps://doi.org/10.1057/s41310-018-0039-x tuomas, l. (2011). agency theory and ownership structure: estimating the effect of ownership structure on firms' performance. master's thesis, school of economics, aalto university. vafeas, n. (2003). length of board tenure and outside director independence. journal of business f i n a n c e & a c c o u n t i n g . 3 0 , 1 0 4 3 1 0 6 4 . h�ps://doi.org/10.1111/14685957.05525. wang, k. & shailer, g. (2015). ownership concentration and firm performance in emerging markets: a meta-analysis. journal of economic surveys. 29. 199229. .h�ps://doi.org/10.1111/joes.12048 warfield, td, wild, jj & wild, kl 1995, 'managerial ownership accounting choices, and informativeness of earnings', journal of accounting and economics, 20, 61-91. h�ps://doi.org/10.1016/0165-4101(94)00393-j yang, c., lai, h. and leing tan, b. (2008), "managerial ownership structure and earnings management", journal of financial reporting and accounting, 6(1), 3553. h�ps://doi.org/10.1108/19852510880000634 yermack, d. (1996). high market valuation of companies with a small board of directors. journal of financial economics, 40, 185-211. h�p://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0304 405x(95)00844-5 zhang, hui&kyaw, khine. (2016), ownership structure and firm performance: an empirical analysis of chiasnese companies. applied economics and finance.4. 57. https://doi.org/10.11114/aef.v4i2.2109.pqdf igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 10. no. 3, (2024) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 96 igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 155 religious discourse and social cohesion: a critical discourse analysis of selected nigerian pentecostal sermons chinwe udoh, phd department of english language & literature, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka vc.udoh@unizik.edu.ng abstract this research investigates the influence of pentecostal religious discourse on promoting social cohesion in nigeria, with a particular emphasis on sermons from six notable nigerian preachers: pastor enoch adeboye, pastor chris oyakhilome, pastor w.f. kumuyi, apostle joshua selman, pastor paul enenche, and pastor biodun fatoyinbo. through the application of critical discourse analysis (cda), this study examines the linguistic characteristics, ideological frameworks, and social ramifications present in these sermons. the research demonstrates how pentecostal preachers utilize discursive techniques such as inclusive language, moral framing, and calls for unity to foster national cohesion, ethical governance, and a sense of collective responsibility. the results indicate that these sermons motivate believers to engage actively in tackling national challenges such as corruption, poverty, and ethnic strife, thereby positioning the church as a catalyst for moral and social change. nonetheless, the study also highlights potential divisive aspects within the discourse, particularly regarding the portrayal of prosperity and moral integrity, which may alienate economically disadvantaged groups. in spite of these issues, the overarching message of the sermons cultivates a shared sense of purpose and accountability among congregants, encouraging them to emphasize national unity and social justice. this paper emphasizes the profound effect of religious discourse on shaping public perceptions, enhancing social cohesion, and impacting national progress in nigeria. keywords: pentecostalism, social cohesion, religious discourse, critical discourse analysis, national unity, ethical governance, nigeria. introduction religious discourse, particularly within pentecostal churches in nigeria, significantly impacts the social structure of the nation (akinwontu, 2021). nigeria is characterized by its multi-ethnic and multi-religious composition, where religious organizations frequently play a pivotal role in shaping community values, identities, and collective behaviors (abdul-rauf and abdlateef, 2024). among these organizations, pentecostal churches have emerged as one of the most powerful influences in molding societal attitudes and fostering social cohesion (ngwoke, 2025). this paper investigates the discourse utilized in selected nigerian pentecostal sermons, analyzing how preachers use language to promote unity, tackle national issues, and enhance social cohesion. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 156 social cohesion denotes the strength of relationships and the sense of solidarity among members of a society (fonsesca et al., 2019). it is a vital component for national development and peace, especially in a nation like nigeria, which grapples with challenges stemming from ethnic and religious diversity, political instability, and social inequality. while religion has the capacity to promote unity, it can also lead to division if misapplied. thus, comprehending the discourse strategies employed by pentecostal preachers is crucial for assessing the role of religion in either fostering or obstructing social cohesion. this study utilizes critical discourse analysis (cda) as its methodological framework to explore the underlying ideologies and power dynamics present in pentecostal sermons. cda has been selected as the methodological approach for this research due to its effectiveness in revealing the connections between language, power, and society. cda serves as a robust instrument for examining how language constructs and mirrors social power structures, ideologies, and power relations (fairclough, 1995). this methodology is particularly pertinent for analyzing religious discourse, as it facilitates a more profound understanding of how language is employed not merely to convey ideas but also to influence social and political contexts cda presents numerous benefits when it comes to analyzing pentecostal sermons in nigeria (akinwotu, 2021). firstly, it facilitates the identification of discursive strategies employed by preachers to shape social identities, encourage collective action, and enhance national unity. for instance, preachers frequently utilize inclusive language, moral framing, and metaphors that aim to bring their congregation together around common values and objectives. cda offers a structured approach to recognizing these strategies and comprehending their effects on social cohesion. secondly, cda highlights the significance of ideology in influencing social behavior and attitudes. religious discourse is fundamentally ideological, as it often mirrors and reinforces specific belief systems (solas and jerlyn, 2025). by utilizing cda, this research can reveal the foundational ideologies that inform pentecostal sermons and assess how these ideologies either promote or obstruct social cohesion. for example, pentecostal preachers might invoke concepts of righteousness, morality, and national transformation that are designed to align the actions of their followers with the collective welfare of the nation. lastly, cda is particularly effective in scrutinizing power dynamics within religious discourse. in the nigerian context, pentecostal preachers wield substantial authority, both within their congregations and in the broader society (franscis, 2025). by examining the language used in pentecostal sermons, cda can uncover how preachers exert power over their congregants and how their discourses shape societal norms and values. this understanding is crucial for grasping how pentecostal churches influence public opinion and contribute to the development of national identity. by concentrating on pentecostal sermons, this paper aims to investigate how religious discourse aids in the formation of social identity and the enhancement of social cohesion in nigeria. furthermore, this paper is essential given nigeria's current social challenges. the nation has faced significant ethnic, religious, and social tensions that necessitate a deeper understanding of the role of religious discourse in fostering unity and addressing these challenges. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 157 2. literature review. a thorough literature review is crucial for establishing the theoretical and empirical foundation for this research. consequently, the literature review presented here systematically analyzes existing studies related to religious discourse, social cohesion, pentecostalism, and critical discourse analysis (cda). this aims to provide insight into the current academic conversation surrounding these subjects and to highlight the importance of the present study within this wider academic framework. 2.1 religious discourse and social cohesion. religious discourse encompasses the communicative actions that arise within religious contexts and are utilized to express, reinforce, or contest religious beliefs, practices, and norms (pihlaja, 2021). these discourses are intricately linked to the formation of social identity, the development of communities, and the establishment of collective moral frameworks (foucault, 1972). religious leaders, particularly in pentecostal environments, employ language to construct narratives that delineate what is considered “right” and “wrong,” what is “acceptable” or “unacceptable,” and what it signifies to be a member of the religious community. once articulated, these moral boundaries frequently influence broader societal interactions, positioning religious discourse as a significant factor in fostering social cohesion. social cohesion is a term that generally refers to the capacity of a society to sustain internal unity despite its diversity (moustakas, 2023). in a nation like nigeria, where ethnic, religious, and political divisions are widespread, the function of religious discourse in enhancing social cohesion becomes vital. while religious discourse has the capacity to create divisions, it can also serve to unite, particularly when leaders frame unity as a moral imperative for social and national stability. scholars such as reibold et al. (2025) contend that social cohesion is nurtured through shared values and mutual trust, both of which religious institutions, especially pentecostal churches, can foster through their sermons. religious discourse is essential for fostering social cohesion by establishing common moral frameworks and shaping group identities. as noted by king et al. (2020), religious institutions frequently contextualize social issues within moral parameters, encouraging adherents to act in accordance with their beliefs. in this regard, pentecostal churches in nigeria focus not only on individual salvation but also on collective moral accountability, national transformation, and the solidarity of the faithful for the benefit of society. this ethical and moral perspective is often conveyed through sermons, which serve as a lens for individuals to perceive their roles within the larger community, influencing their behaviors and attitudes towards national unity. 2.2 pentecostalism in nigeria. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 158 pentecostalism in nigeria has experienced significant growth since the 1980s, representing a transformative change in the country's religious landscape. pentecostal churches, known for their focus on the charismatic influence of the holy spirit, personal salvation, prosperity gospel, and proactive involvement in societal matters, have emerged as influential catalysts for change within nigerian society (olowu, 2017). the impact of pentecostalism is particularly pronounced in its moral and social discussions, where topics such as poverty, corruption, governance, and national advancement are prominent themes. the prosperity gospel, a fundamental aspect of pentecostal doctrine, advocates the belief that faith results in material wealth and that individual prosperity signifies divine approval (maxwell, 1998). in nigeria, this doctrine has profoundly shaped the national mindset, instilling a moral obligation for adherents to strive for personal achievement while also contributing to societal improvement. nevertheless, this message is not without its controversies. while it promotes economic empowerment, it may also lead to the marginalization of the impoverished by portraying their hardships as a deficiency in faith or effort. critics contend that such rhetoric could exacerbate socio-economic disparities instead of promoting the inclusive development necessary for social harmony (akinwotu, 2021). despite its emphasis on individual wealth, pentecostalism also addresses wider societal concerns. churches frequently deliver messages that advocate for moral integrity, national unity, and political responsibility. for instance, ministers often highlight the importance of fighting corruption and maintaining ethical standards in governance, connecting personal ethics with national advancement. within this framework, pentecostal leaders motivate their congregants to engage in national matters, providing a form of religious activism that aims to connect faith with civic participation (driskell et al., 2008). while the reach of pentecostalism is extensive, it can also be divisive at times, as various pentecostal factions may compete for adherents or utilize religious rhetoric to assert themselves as the legitimate representatives of the christian faith. this rivalry can weaken social cohesion by fostering sectarianism or intolerance among different religious communities. however, when ministers focus on unity, national prosperity, and the church's role in tackling nigeria’s socioeconomic challenges, pentecostal discourse can aid in the establishment of a unified social framework. 2.3 critical discourse analysis (cda) in religious studies. critical discourse analysis (cda) serves as a methodological framework for investigating how language constructs and mirrors social power, ideologies, and social practices (fairclough, 1995). within the realm of religious studies, cda has been effectively utilized to scrutinize the ways in which religious language influences social realities, shapes group behaviors, and delineates moral and ideological boundaries. the emphasis of cda extends beyond the linguistic characteristics of the text to encompass the social practices surrounding it, including the historical context, institutional power dynamics, and cultural ideologies that inform religious communication (farrelly, 2019). cda is particularly adept at analyzing pentecostal sermons, as it facilitates the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 159 identification of discursive strategies employed by preachers to frame social issues, construct collective identities, and motivate action. such strategies may involve the use of metaphors, rhetorical appeals, and moral framing, which preachers utilize to convey messages of unity, righteousness, and national transformation. for example, metaphors of light and darkness, frequently found in pentecostal sermons, not only express spiritual concepts but also carry political and social connotations, positioning the believer as an agent of societal change (olowu, 2017). a significant advantage of cda in the analysis of religious discourse is its concentration on power and ideology. religion is fundamentally ideological, as it offers a framework through which adherents interpret the world and comprehend social hierarchies and moral orders (foucault, 1972). by employing cda, researchers can dissect how pentecostal preachers utilize language to either reinforce or contest prevailing power structures, particularly concerning social issues such as inequality, governance, and national identity. cda allows for the exploration of how religious discourse constructs dominant ideologies that influence the behaviors and attitudes of individuals and groups within society (wodak & meyer, 2009). moreover, critical discourse analysis (cda) facilitates a contextual examination of religious discourse, taking into account not just the text but also the socio-political and historical backdrop in which it is created. for example, regarding pentecostal sermons in nigeria, cda aids in uncovering how preachers tackle matters such as ethnic and religious divisions, poverty, and corruption within the unique nigerian setting, marked by political instability and social inequality. by grasping these contextual elements, cda offers a sophisticated method for analyzing how religious discourse fosters social cohesion and promotes national unity. 2.4 the role of religion in nation-building and social cohesion religion has historically been acknowledged as a pivotal element in the process of nation-building, especially in heterogeneous and multi-ethnic nations such as nigeria. although it possesses the capacity to create divisions, religion can also serve as a unifying force, offering a common moral framework and a collective identity that surpasses ethnic and political boundaries (alshehri, 2024). in nigeria, religious institutions—most notably pentecostal churches—play a significant role in influencing social behavior and fostering national unity through their teachings on social justice, moral integrity, and community advancement. pentecostal sermons frequently tackle pressing national concerns such as corruption, ineffective governance, and economic disparity, presenting a religiously framed narrative of hope and change. the church's capability to galvanize its members towards collective efforts aimed at establishing a morally structured society renders it a vital participant in nigeria’s nation-building endeavors. moreover, pentecostal churches in nigeria often propose alternative moral perspectives that contest the existing order, particularly regarding issues like political corruption, moral decline, and social injustice (smith, 2021). through their messages, pentecostal preachers envision an ideal society grounded in christian principles, one devoid of corruption and poverty, where peace and unity are paramount. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 160 nevertheless, religion can also serve as a source of division, especially when religious factions advocate exclusivist ideologies that alienate other groups. pentecostal churches are not exempt from this phenomenon; while their doctrines frequently highlight unity, they can also exacerbate sectarianism and inter-religious strife. in certain instances, pentecostal churches have faced allegations of utilizing religious rhetoric to incite division by fostering intolerance or aligning with particular political factions or interests (chigbu et al., 2024). consequently, while pentecostalism has the potential to promote social cohesion, its influence must be scrutinized to comprehend both its unifying and divisive aspects. 3. methodology this research seeks to explore the role of pentecostal religious discourse, especially through sermons, in fostering social cohesion in nigeria. the primary methodology employed in this study is critical discourse analysis (cda), which facilitates a thorough investigation of the intersections between language, power, and ideology within religious discourse. cda allows for the identification of discursive strategies utilized by preachers to advocate for social unity, national transformation, and moral accountability. in this context, the analysis focuses on six sermons delivered by notable pentecostal preachers in lagos and abuja, nigeria. these sermons were chosen based on their thematic significance to social cohesion, encompassing national unity, ethical governance, moral transformation, and community development. 3.1 data collection the data for this research comprises six sermons presented by highly influential pentecostal preachers in nigeria, selected for their emphasis on social issues, moral integrity, and national transformation. the chosen preachers are renowned for their extensive influence both within nigeria and on an international scale, and their teachings frequently address societal issues such as unity, leadership, and community development. the selected preachers and their corresponding sermons are as follows: 1. pastor enoch adejare adeboye – redeemed christian church of god (rccg), lagos. pastor adeboye is one of the most influential religious leaders in nigeria. his sermons are renowned for addressing the spiritual and moral aspects of social and national issues. in his sermon titled "when god moves", pastor adeboye discusses the transformative power of divine intervention in the lives of individuals and nations. he emphasises the need for national unity, the importance of collective moral responsibility, and the role of faith in overcoming societal challenges. this sermon aligns with the broader theme of social cohesion, highlighting the role of faith and unity in national development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 161 2. pastor chris oyakhilome – christ embassy, lagos. pastor oyakhilome is known for his charismatic style and teachings on prosperity and spiritual growth. his sermon "the secret of wealth: divine principles for prosperity revealed" explores the principles of divine prosperity, linking personal success to national prosperity. through this sermon, pastor oyakhilome addresses issues such as economic development, the ethics of wealth, and the importance of responsible leadership. his teachings also highlight how individual success, when achieved through ethical means, can contribute to the broader prosperity and unity of a nation. 3. pastor w.f. kumuyi – deeper life bible church, lagos. pastor kumuyi, a respected figure in pentecostalism, is known for his teachings on holiness, unity, and the ethical responsibilities of christians. in his sermon "love, unity, and fellowship in a living church", he addresses the importance of fostering unity within the church as a means of promoting national cohesion. he emphasises that the church, as a body of believers, must reflect love, fellowship, and unity to contribute positively to society. this sermon aligns with the theme of social cohesion by stressing the necessity of unity within religious communities as a foundation for wider societal peace and solidarity. 4. apostle joshua selman – eternity network international, abuja. apostle selman is known for his deep, prophetic teachings and his ability to address critical national issues through spiritual discourse. in his sermon "the power of unity", apostle selman focuses on the significance of unity in the body of christ and the nation. he speaks to the need for believers to transcend ethnic and social divisions, emphasising that only through unity can nigeria overcome its socio-political challenges. the sermon explores the relationship between spiritual unity and national development, positioning unity as the key to solving nigeria’s most pressing issues. 5. pastor paul enenche – dunamis international gospel centre, abuja. pastor enenche’s sermons often address the intersection of spirituality, social justice, and national development. in his sermon "the challenges and rebirth of a great nation", pastor enenche speaks on nigeria’s challenges, including corruption, poverty, and political instability. he calls on nigerians, especially the church, to take an active role in nationbuilding through spiritual awakening and collective action. his sermon stresses the need for moral leadership, ethical governance, and national unity, all of which contribute to the broader goal of social cohesion. 6. pastor biodun fatoyinbo – coza (the commonwealth of zion assembly), abuja pastor fatoyinbo is known for his motivational and empowering sermons. in "living by the word", he explores the transformative power of the bible in shaping personal lives and societal structures. his sermon focuses on how living according to the word of god can address national challenges and contribute to social cohesion. pastor fatoyinbo emphasises the role of christian teachings in shaping ethical behaviour, encouraging nigerians to live by biblical principles that promote unity, integrity, and social harmony. data analysis. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 162 the sermons will be examined through the lens of the critical discourse analysis (cda) framework, which facilitates an exploration of the interplay between language, power, and social practices within religious discourse. the cda framework, as developed by norman fairclough, is especially effective in scrutinizing how pentecostal preachers utilize language to shape social identities, advocate for collective values, and sway societal behaviors. the analysis will be conducted at three interconnected levels: 1. textual analysis: this level entails a linguistic examination of the sermons, concentrating on the vocabulary, rhetorical techniques, and discursive strategies employed by the preachers. significant elements such as inclusive language, moral framing, and metaphor usage will be scrutinized. for instance, pastor oyakhilome’s sermon employs the metaphor of “divine prosperity” to associate personal wealth with national success, framing financial achievement as a moral and spiritual obligation. likewise, in pastor adeboye’s 2. 2. discursive practice: the second level of analysis will concentrate on the production, distribution, and consumption of the sermons, taking into account the social context in which the preachers convey their messages. this involves investigating how the mode of delivery—whether through church services, social media, or television—affects the interpretation and influence of the sermons. for instance, pastor kumuyi’s sermon, which highlights love and unity within the church, may resonate differently based on the audience’s socio-political context, particularly in a multi-ethnic nation like nigeria. 3. social practice: at this level, the analysis will link the religious discourse to wider societal concerns. the sermons will be scrutinized to determine how they shape ideologies related to national unity, governance, and moral accountability. for example, apostle selman’s emphasis on unity will be analyzed in relation to nigeria’s ethnic and religious divisions, evaluating how the sermon fosters social cohesion and peacebuilding. likewise, pastor enenche’s sermon will be assessed for its call to action regarding national rebirth, connecting moral governance with national prosperity. rationale for selecting preachers and sermons the preachers chosen for this research are among the most prominent pentecostal leaders in nigeria. their sermons are extensively disseminated through various channels—churches, television, radio, and social media—ensuring that their messages reach vast audiences throughout nigeria. these sermons were specifically selected because they tackle issues of national unity, social justice, and personal transformation, all of which are essential for social cohesion. the influence of these preachers and the extensive reach of their sermons provide a significant dataset for examining the role of religious discourse in shaping national attitudes and behaviors. by focusing on both lagos and abuja, two key centers of religious and political life in nigeria, the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 163 study captures the diversity of pentecostal teachings and their impact across urban and national contexts. limitations of the study. while the preachers selected are influential, it is crucial to acknowledge that they do not encompass the entire spectrum of pentecostal thought in nigeria. pentecostalism in nigeria is varied, with differing theological orientations and practices. additionally, this study concentrates exclusively on sermons and does not incorporate other forms of religious communication such as books, social media posts, or public statements made outside the pulpit. the study also overlooks the personal interpretations of individual congregation members, which may vary from the preached message. future research could broaden this analysis to include a wider array of preachers and religious discourses. findings and discussion discursive strategies in pentecostal sermons one of the key findings of this study is the frequent use of inclusive language in the sermons, which plays a significant role in promoting social cohesion. preachers consistently employ pronouns like “we,” “our,” and “us” to create a sense of collective identity and shared responsibility. for example, in pastor enenche’s sermon "the challenges and rebirth of a great nation", he states: "we, as the people of god, must rise to the challenges of our nation. our collective action is the key to unlocking the greatness of this nation." this inclusive language encourages the congregation to view themselves as part of a larger collective effort to address national issues, fostering a sense of unity and shared purpose. by framing the nation’s challenges as a collective problem, the preacher empowers the congregation to take responsibility for nigeria’s socio-political transformation. similarly, in pastor chris oyakhilome’s sermon "the secret of wealth: divine principles for prosperity revealed", he uses inclusive language to emphasise the collective role of believers in achieving national prosperity: "as christians, when we prosper, we lift the nation with us. our prosperity is tied to the prosperity of our nation. together, we can make nigeria the economic powerhouse it is meant to be." in this case, the preacher links personal prosperity with national development, using the inclusive "we" to foster a shared vision of prosperity and collective success. this creates a sense of community responsibility, where each individual’s success is tied to the broader success of the nation. this section discusses the key discursive strategies used in pentecostal sermons, analyzing how these techniques function to promote collective identity, unity, and national transformation. inclusive language and collective identity: one of the most common and powerful discursive strategies used in pentecostal sermons is the employment of inclusive language. preachers igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 164 frequently use pronouns like “we,” “our,” and “us” to foster a sense of collective identity and shared responsibility among congregants. by doing so, they blur the lines between the speaker and the audience, creating a unified sense of belonging and communal purpose. this strategy is particularly effective in promoting national unity, as it encourages the congregation to see themselves as part of a larger collective effort to address national issues and promote social cohesion. for example, in pastor enenche’s sermon the challenges and rebirth of a great nation, he uses inclusive language to call the congregation to action: “we, as the people of god, must rise up to the challenges of our nation. our collective action is the key to unlocking the greatness of this nation.” here, the use of “we” and “our” serves to unite the congregation and position them as active participants in the process of national transformation. this inclusionary language creates a shared sense of responsibility and agency, encouraging individuals to take ownership of the nation’s challenges and work together toward a common goal. similarly, pastor chris oyakhilome’s sermon the secret of wealth: divine principles for prosperity revealed employs inclusive language to emphasize the interconnectedness of individual success and national prosperity: “as christians, when we prosper, we lift the nation with us. our prosperity is tied to the prosperity of our nation. together, we can make nigeria the economic powerhouse it is meant to be.” by linking personal and national prosperity, oyakhilome’s use of “we” and “our” underscores the idea that individual success is not separate from the collective well-being of the nation. this creates a sense of shared destiny among the congregation, with each individual’s success contributing to the larger goal of national progress. in these examples, inclusive language functions as a discursive strategy to promote a unified collective identity. the language not only encourages a sense of belonging within the religious community but also extends this sense of unity to the nation, calling on believers to view national development as a collective, divinely inspired effort. moral framing and ideological constructs: moral framing is another key discursive strategy used in pentecostal sermons to address societal issues and guide the ethical behavior of congregants. in this strategy, preachers frame social, political, and economic problems within a moral context, urging believers to take action based on christian principles. this technique positions national issues like corruption, poverty, and political instability as moral challenges that can only be resolved through personal and collective ethical behavior. for example, in pastor adeboye’s sermon when god moves, moral framing is used to present nigeria’s challenges as moral failings: “when god moves, he transforms hearts, and when hearts are transformed, nations are healed.” here, adeboye frames national problems not just as political or economic issues but as moral crises that require spiritual transformation. the message is clear: for nigeria to overcome its difficulties, individuals must first experience personal moral regeneration. this approach not only encourages believers to reflect on their own behavior but also calls for a broader societal change that begins with individual moral responsibility. similarly, in pastor enenche’s the challenges and rebirth of a great nation, the moral framing of leadership and governance is evident: “we must choose righteous leaders. we must be responsible citizens, and we must demand accountability from those igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 165 in power.” the sermon connects the moral behavior of citizens with the ethical governance required to transform the nation. by positioning moral integrity as central to national progress, enenche’s sermon frames the nation’s political challenges as moral failures that must be addressed through righteous leadership and active citizen engagement. moral framing also plays a critical role in addressing issues such as ethnic division and religious conflict. in the power of unity, apostle joshua selman frames unity as a moral and divine duty: “unity is not just a desire; it is a divine mandate. we must come together as one nation under god, for only through unity will nigeria rise.” by framing unity as a spiritual obligation, selman positions division as a moral failure that must be overcome for the nation to achieve progress. this framing encourages congregants to view national unity as a shared responsibility and to transcend their personal, ethnic, or religious differences for the greater good. metaphors and rhetorical appeals: metaphors are powerful rhetorical devices used in pentecostal sermons to convey complex ideas and evoke emotional responses from the congregation. through the use of metaphors, preachers can frame abstract concepts, such as moral righteousness or national transformation, in concrete and relatable terms. these metaphors not only help make the message more accessible but also serve to reinforce the ideological constructs promoted by the preacher. in the power of unity, apostle selman employs the metaphor of “light” and “darkness” to illustrate the importance of unity: “when we come together as one, we demonstrate to the world that god’s love is stronger than any ethnic or religious differences. this is the kind of unity that can change a nation.” the metaphor of light and darkness carries significant theological weight, positioning unity as a divine force capable of dispelling societal division and bringing about positive change. by using this metaphor, selman reinforces the ideological construct of unity as not just a social goal but as a spiritual imperative that can overcome deep-seated divisions within nigerian society. similarly, pastor adeboye uses metaphors to frame national challenges as opportunities for divine intervention: “when god moves, he transforms hearts, and when hearts are transformed, nations are healed.” here, the metaphor of “healing” connects the idea of spiritual transformation with the nation’s progress, framing nigeria’s problems as not just political or economic but as deep moral wounds that require spiritual intervention. this metaphor provides hope to believers, suggesting that through divine intervention and moral regeneration, the nation can be healed and restored to prosperity. rhetorical appeals to emotions, such as hope, fear, and urgency, are also commonly employed in pentecostal sermons to galvanize the congregation into action. preachers often evoke a sense of urgency, urging believers to act swiftly and decisively in addressing national issues. in pastor enenche’s sermon, the appeal to national responsibility is underscored by a sense of moral urgency: “we must rise above our differences and work together to rebuild nigeria. our nation is in crisis, but through unity, we can overcome any obstacle.” this emotional appeal emphasizes the urgency of the task at hand, urging believers to take immediate action in the service of national transformation. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 166 the role of personal testimonies and narratives: another important discursive strategy in pentecostal sermons is the use of personal testimonies and narratives to illustrate the power of faith and moral behavior in overcoming societal challenges. preachers often share personal stories or recount examples of individuals who have transformed their lives through faith, highlighting the tangible benefits of living according to christian principles. these stories serve as persuasive tools, encouraging congregants to take action based on the success of others who have followed the prescribed moral path. in his sermon living by the word, pastor fatoyinbo uses personal testimonies to emphasize the transformative power of christian teachings: “when we live according to the word, we create a society that reflects god’s righteousness.” by sharing stories of individuals whose lives have been changed through faith, fatoyinbo illustrates how personal transformation can lead to broader social change. these narratives not only encourage believers to adopt christian values but also reinforce the idea that the moral choices of individuals contribute directly to the collective health of society. moral framing and ideological constructs. another significant finding is the use of moral framing to address national issues such as corruption, poverty, and ethnic divisions. preachers consistently frame these societal problems within a moral context, urging the congregation to take action based on religious and ethical principles. for instance, pastor adeboye’s sermon "when god moves" explores the idea of divine intervention in overcoming societal issues: "when god moves, he transforms hearts, and when hearts are transformed, nations are healed. our nation needs healing, and it starts with each one of us." this framing positions the nation’s challenges as a moral failing, suggesting that national transformation begins with individual moral regeneration. by connecting personal transformation to national healing, adeboye calls on his congregation to reflect on their moral behaviour as a catalyst for wider social change. in apostle joshua selman’s sermon "the power of unity", unity is framed as a moral obligation for believers, with an emphasis on transcending ethnic and religious divisions. he states: "unity is not just a desire; it is a divine mandate. we must come together as one nation under god, for only through unity will nigeria rise." here, unity is presented not merely as a desirable state but as a moral and spiritual duty that believers must fulfil. this moral imperative encourages the congregation to prioritise national unity above ethnic and religious affiliations, positioning unity as essential for societal progress. similarly, pastor kumuyi’s sermon "love, unity, and fellowship in a living church" calls for unity within the church as a precursor to broader national unity: "a divided church cannot heal a divided nation. as believers, we must reflect love and unity within the church to bring healing to our nation." this sermon links the moral health of the church to the social cohesion of the nation, emphasising that the church, as a community of believers, must first embody unity and love before it can contribute to national peace and stability. the study at this point focuses on how pentecostal igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 167 preachers in nigeria use moral framing to address societal problems, construct moral identities, and reinforce ideological constructs that promote national unity and social cohesion. moral framing as a tool for addressing societal issues: one of the key functions of moral framing in pentecostal discourse is its ability to present societal challenges as moral failings that require divine intervention and personal transformation. preachers often frame national problems like corruption, poverty, and political instability as not just social or economic issues but as moral dilemmas that demand a collective moral response. this framing ties national issues directly to the moral behavior of individuals and calls on believers to embody christian values as the pathway to resolving these problems. for instance, in pastor adeboye’s sermon when god moves, the preacher connects the moral transformation of individuals to the national transformation of nigeria. he states, “when god moves, he transforms hearts, and when hearts are transformed, nations are healed.” here, the moral framing is clear: the personal moral regeneration of each believer is directly linked to the nation’s collective healing. adeboye presents societal challenges as stemming from a moral void, suggesting that only through individual moral regeneration, aligned with christian values, can the nation overcome its issues. this message of moral responsibility is a powerful tool for motivating individuals to view their actions and moral choices as part of a larger, divine plan for national transformation. similarly, in the power of unity, apostle joshua selman emphasizes the need for believers to transcend their ethnic and religious divisions and unite for the common good of the nation. unity, in this case, is framed not just as a practical necessity but as a divine and moral imperative. selman’s moral framing of unity positions it as a spiritual duty, urging his congregation to view national unity as a reflection of christian values such as love, forgiveness, and reconciliation. by linking moral principles with the social goal of unity, selman calls on his followers to act according to a higher ethical standard, thus positioning unity as both a social and spiritual obligation. moral framing in addressing corruption and governance: corruption and poor governance are central concerns in nigerian society, and pentecostal preachers often frame these issues as moral failings that must be confronted through ethical leadership and collective moral responsibility. in the challenges and rebirth of a great nation, pastor enenche directly addresses nigeria’s political and governance issues, stating, “nigeria’s problems are not beyond god’s intervention, but we must choose righteous leaders. we must be responsible citizens, and we must demand accountability from those in power.” this sermon emphasizes the moral imperative of choosing leaders who embody christian principles of righteousness and integrity. enenche’s moral framing presents political corruption not just as a political issue but as a profound moral failure that undermines the nation’s development and prosperity. by framing corruption in this way, he calls on his congregation to not only engage in prayer for the nation’s healing but also to actively participate in governance by demanding ethical leadership. this ideological construct reinforces the idea that the moral choices of both individuals and leaders shape the nation’s destiny. it positions the church as a moral authority that holds political leaders accountable, while also igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 168 urging believers to reflect on their own role in shaping the country’s ethical and political landscape. in this context, pentecostal preachers like enenche create a link between personal morality and national governance. the moral framing of corruption encourages believers to view ethical leadership as a collective duty, requiring them to advocate for leaders who align with christian values. this framing also invites believers to examine their own political engagement and call for accountability in ways that align with their religious convictions. moral framing of prosperity and socioeconomic issues: another significant aspect of moral framing in pentecostal discourse is the framing of prosperity and socioeconomic issues. pentecostal preachers often use the prosperity gospel to encourage believers to strive for financial success, linking material wealth to spiritual righteousness. this ideological construct positions prosperity as a sign of divine favor, urging believers to pursue economic success while maintaining moral integrity. pastor chris oyakhilome’s sermon the secret of wealth: divine principles for prosperity revealed provides an example of how moral and ideological constructs are used to frame prosperity as a moral duty. oyakhilome states, “when you align your life with divine principles, prosperity is inevitable. prosperity is not a matter of chance; it is a result of divine order.” this framing positions personal wealth as a direct result of living according to biblical principles, linking financial success to faith and righteousness. by framing prosperity in moral terms, oyakhilome encourages believers to view their economic success as not just a personal achievement but as a reflection of their moral alignment with god’s will. while this message of prosperity is empowering for many believers, it can also have divisive consequences, as it can marginalize those who are economically disadvantaged. the ideological construct of prosperity can inadvertently suggest that poverty is a result of insufficient faith or poor moral conduct. this framing can be alienating for individuals who face structural inequalities, as it fails to address the broader socio-economic factors that contribute to poverty and economic hardship. as discussed earlier, the prosperity gospel in pentecostalism may inadvertently reinforce social divisions by blaming the poor for their struggles and positioning wealth as a marker of spiritual success. despite these potential negative consequences, the moral framing of prosperity also carries positive implications for social cohesion. by encouraging believers to align their financial pursuits with ethical values, preachers promote a form of economic success that is rooted in moral responsibility. this framing encourages believers to engage in ethical business practices and contribute to the national economy in ways that benefit society as a whole. thus, the prosperity gospel, when framed in moral terms, can foster a sense of collective responsibility, where individual wealth contributes to the greater good. moral constructs and national unity: the moral framing of national unity is another critical ideological construct in pentecostal discourse. preachers often present unity not as a superficial or political goal, but as a moral and spiritual obligation that transcends personal or ethnic divisions. this ideological construct aligns with christian teachings on love, reconciliation, and community, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 169 framing unity as an essential value for both spiritual and national development. apostle selman’s sermon the power of unity offers an example of how unity is framed as a moral duty. he states, “unity is not just a desire; it is a divine mandate. we must come together as one nation under god, for only through unity will nigeria rise.” this framing of unity as a divine mandate creates a moral imperative for believers to prioritize national cohesion above personal or ethnic interests. by linking unity to spiritual well-being, selman encourages believers to view their role in promoting unity as a reflection of their faith and commitment to god’s will. this ideological construct frames the act of uniting the nation as both a moral and spiritual duty, urging believers to transcend their differences in favor of collective national progress. similarly, in love, unity, and fellowship in a living church, pastor kumuyi emphasizes the necessity of internal unity within the church as a foundation for broader national unity. he argues, “a divided church cannot heal a divided nation,” highlighting the idea that the church, as a community of believers, must first embody unity before it can effectively contribute to the healing of the nation. this moral framing ties the health of the church directly to the health of the nation, suggesting that the church’s internal unity is a prerequisite for national unity. power relations and leadership. an important aspect of the sermons analysed is the emphasis on leadership and ethical governance. several preachers address the moral failings of nigeria’s leadership and urge their congregants to take active roles in governance, politics, and societal transformation. for example, in pastor paul enenche’s sermon "the challenges and rebirth of a great nation", he directly addresses the issue of poor leadership: "nigeria’s problems are not beyond god’s intervention, but we must choose righteous leaders. we must be responsible citizens, and we must demand accountability from those in power." this statement frames leadership not only as a political issue but as a moral one. the preacher calls on his congregation to hold leaders accountable, urging them to act according to christian values of righteousness and integrity. this reinforces the idea that moral leadership is central to national progress, with the church playing an active role in calling for ethical governance. in pastor biodun fatoyinbo’s sermon "living by the word", ethical behaviour and leadership are framed as integral to social cohesion: "the word of god calls us to live in integrity, to be honest in our dealings, and to be responsible stewards of our resources. when we live by the word, we create a society that reflects god’s righteousness." here, living by the word is positioned as a direct route to personal integrity, which, in turn, influences leadership and national governance. the sermon encourages believers to uphold ethical standards, suggesting that these individual actions will collectively lead to a better society. this section explores how pentecostal preachers use religious language to address power relations, frame ethical leadership, and call for moral accountability in both political and societal contexts. religious authority and power in pentecostal leadership: pentecostal preachers in nigeria wield significant religious authority, which they use to influence not only their congregations but also igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 170 the broader social and political landscape. in many ways, the power of pentecostal leaders extends beyond the pulpit, as they often serve as moral guides and social influencers, shaping public opinion on issues ranging from ethical governance to national development. this authority is deeply intertwined with their role as spiritual leaders, positioning them as both guides to eternal salvation and leaders within society. for example, pastor enoch adeboye’s sermons frequently emphasize the role of god in guiding national leaders and individuals alike. in when god moves, adeboye presents the idea that divine intervention is necessary for both personal and national transformation, asserting, “when god moves, he transforms hearts, and when hearts are transformed, nations are healed.” this statement reflects not only the spiritual authority that adeboye holds but also the power dynamics that pentecostal leaders seek to establish: leaders— both spiritual and political—are seen as accountable to god and must align their actions with divine principles. adeboye's framing positions the preacher as an intermediary between god and the political sphere, subtly influencing how congregants view the relationship between religious and political power. moreover, the language used by pentecostal preachers often asserts that their moral authority is directly tied to the spiritual health of the nation. this gives them a unique platform to advocate for changes in leadership and governance, both within the church and in the broader society. by invoking divine authority, preachers establish a form of power that is not solely rooted in secular structures but also in the spiritual well-being of the nation. in this way, the role of pentecostal leaders transcends traditional religious boundaries, and their sermons encourage believers to view leadership through the lens of religious morality and ethical conduct. moral leadership and accountability: a critical aspect of pentecostal discourse on power is the call for moral leadership, particularly in the political arena. pentecostal leaders often emphasize that those in positions of power, whether religious or political, must adhere to ethical standards that align with christian values. this moral framework seeks to hold leaders accountable for their actions, framing leadership as a sacred responsibility that goes beyond mere governance. this discourse creates a clear distinction between righteous and corrupt leadership, positioning the church as a moral watchdog, capable of guiding both its followers and political leaders toward ethical practices. in the challenges and rebirth of a great nation, pastor paul enenche emphasizes the need for moral leadership, stating, “nigeria’s problems are not beyond god’s intervention, but we must choose righteous leaders. we must be responsible citizens, and we must demand accountability from those in power.” this sermon highlights how leadership, both in the church and in government, is presented as a moral issue. enenche calls on his congregation to not only hold political leaders accountable but also to reflect on their own roles as active participants in the moral governance of the nation. the framing of leadership in moral terms elevates the responsibility of both political and religious leaders to uphold values of integrity, transparency, and justice, thereby positioning the church as a key actor in promoting ethical governance. this call for accountability is not just a critique of political leaders; it also serves as a reminder to pentecostal leaders igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 171 themselves. in living by the word, pastor biodun fatoyinbo encourages believers to live according to biblical principles, asserting that “the word of god calls us to live in integrity, to be honest in our dealings, and to be responsible stewards of our resources.” fatoyinbo’s sermon underscores the idea that leadership, whether in the church or in the nation, must be grounded in integrity and righteousness. the implication is clear: if religious leaders expect moral accountability from political figures, they must first demonstrate it in their own actions and teachings. leadership and the church’s role in national transformation: pentecostal preachers often position the church as a powerful force for national transformation, with leadership serving as a critical vehicle for societal change. preachers argue that for nigeria to achieve true social cohesion and development, its leaders—spiritual and political—must work together to advance the collective good of the nation. this discourse frames leadership not merely as a position of power but as a call to action that requires leaders to be morally accountable and committed to societal well-being. in his sermon the power of unity, apostle joshua selman discusses the role of leadership in transcending nigeria’s ethnic and religious divisions. he emphasizes that only through unity can nigeria overcome its socio-political challenges, and this unity must be led by morally grounded leaders. selman’s sermon reflects the pentecostal belief that leaders—whether in the church or the government—are responsible for setting the moral and ethical tone for the nation. this view positions religious leaders not only as spiritual guides but also as catalysts for political and social change. the church, therefore, becomes a moral compass for the nation, offering leadership that is grounded in christian principles of justice, equality, and unity. similarly, in love, unity, and fellowship in a living church, pastor kumuyi addresses the need for ethical leadership within the church as a foundation for national leadership. he argues that “a divided church cannot heal a divided nation,” indicating that the unity within the church is not just important for spiritual growth but for national progress. this statement underscores the belief that the moral integrity and unity of church leadership are vital for fostering broader national cohesion. by emphasizing the church’s role in setting an example of ethical leadership, kumuyi frames the church as an essential actor in nation-building. power relations and political engagement: pentecostal preachers also engage with power relations in the context of political participation. while many preachers focus on personal salvation and spiritual transformation, others emphasize the need for believers to take an active role in shaping the political landscape. this political engagement is framed as an extension of religious duty, where ethical governance and moral leadership are seen as essential for the nation’s progress. preachers like pastor enenche, for example, call on their congregations to be involved in national politics, demanding accountability from political leaders and advocating for policies that align with christian values. pastor enenche’s sermon the challenges and rebirth of a great nation reflects the belief that religious leaders should actively engage with political leaders to bring about positive change. he igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 172 urges his congregation to participate in the political process, stating that “we must choose righteous leaders” and “demand accountability from those in power.” this call to political action suggests that leadership in the pentecostal tradition is not limited to religious realms but extends to the political sphere, where believers are encouraged to take on leadership roles and hold elected officials accountable. by framing political engagement as a moral obligation, pentecostal preachers position their congregants as not just passive observers but active agents in the moral and social transformation of nigeria. this approach empowers individuals to participate in governance, not just through voting or civic duties, but through moral advocacy and public leadership. social cohesion and national unity. a recurring theme in the sermons is the connection between spiritual unity and national unity. the preachers emphasise that, for nigeria to achieve social cohesion, religious communities must first embrace unity. for instance, pastor kumuyi’s sermon calls for internal church unity as a foundation for national healing, while pastor adeboye stresses the need for individual transformation to bring about collective national change. moreover, apostle joshua selman’s sermon on unity advocates for transcending ethnic and religious divides, positioning spiritual unity as the catalyst for national peace and progress. he states: "when we come together as one, we demonstrate to the world that god’s love is stronger than any ethnic or religious differences. this is the kind of unity that can change a nation." in this discourse, unity is portrayed as the bedrock of national progress, urging believers to set aside personal or group interests for the common good of the nation. this section explores the connection between spiritual unity and national cohesion in pentecostal sermons, examining how preachers like pastor adeboye, pastor kumuyi, apostle selman, and others frame national unity as not only a moral and spiritual responsibility but as an essential requirement for the country’s progress and development. unity as a moral and spiritual imperative: one of the most prominent discursive strategies used by pentecostal preachers in nigeria is the framing of national unity as a moral and spiritual imperative. in their sermons, unity is not merely presented as a desirable state but as a divine command, grounded in christian teachings. preachers often use religious authority to exhort their congregants to prioritize unity above personal or group interests, emphasizing that it is through unity that nigeria can overcome its social, political, and economic challenges. for example, in apostle joshua selman’s sermon the power of unity, the preacher frames unity as a divine mandate: “unity is not just a desire; it is a divine mandate. we must come together as one nation under god, for only through unity will nigeria rise.” this message underscores the idea that the nation’s success is intricately linked to the spiritual unity of its people. the religious framing of unity as a moral duty places significant pressure on individuals to transcend their personal biases, ethnic divisions, and religious affiliations, urging them to adopt a collective mindset for the igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 173 common good. unity, in this sense, becomes more than just a social goal; it becomes a spiritual act that reflects the believers’ obedience to god’s will. similarly, in pastor kumuyi’s sermon love, unity, and fellowship in a living church, unity within the church is presented as the precursor to broader national unity. “a divided church cannot heal a divided nation,” kumuyi asserts. “as believers, we must reflect love and unity within the church to bring healing to our nation.” by linking the internal unity of the church with national healing, kumuyi positions the church as a microcosm of the broader society. this metaphor suggests that just as the church must embody love and unity to fulfill its divine mission, the country as a whole must embody these values to overcome the fragmentation and division caused by ethnic, religious, and political tensions. these sermons, along with others, frequently use religious language to frame national unity as a moral obligation. preachers highlight the importance of setting aside ethnic, religious, and cultural differences in favor of collective well-being, and they often remind congregants that god’s blessing and intervention are contingent upon their willingness to embrace unity. this strong connection between religious duty and national unity can inspire believers to actively participate in efforts aimed at fostering social cohesion, reinforcing the idea that unity is not only a civic responsibility but a spiritual necessity. spiritual unity as the foundation for national progress: pentecostal preachers often argue that spiritual unity within religious communities is the foundation for achieving broader national unity. by emphasizing shared christian values and collective prayer, pentecostal leaders suggest that social cohesion in the broader society can only be realized when believers unite under a common spiritual purpose. this belief is rooted in the idea that spiritual alignment fosters social harmony, and without this alignment, true national progress is unattainable. in pastor adeboye’s sermon when god moves, he discusses how divine intervention can lead to national transformation, but only if individuals and communities work together in unity. he states, “when god moves, he transforms hearts, and when hearts are transformed, nations are healed.” this metaphor of transformation emphasizes the need for a collective moral and spiritual awakening to achieve national cohesion. the idea that national progress is closely tied to spiritual unity suggests that the role of religious institutions is not limited to individual salvation, but extends to the moral and social fabric of society. by fostering spiritual unity within religious communities, pentecostal preachers position their congregations as agents of broader social transformation, tasked with the responsibility of working towards national progress. moreover, the emphasis on unity in pentecostal discourse highlights the church’s potential role in bridging the divide between nigeria’s diverse ethnic and religious groups. in a country marked by significant ethnic, religious, and political divisions, pentecostal churches often serve as spaces where unity is not only preached but also practiced. this is especially evident in churches with diverse congregations, where believers from different backgrounds come together under shared religious beliefs and communal activities. the message of spiritual unity, therefore, encourages believers to transcend their ethnic identities and focus on a shared christian identity that promotes collective social action. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 174 unity as a solution to national challenges: the sermons analyzed in this study also highlight the importance of unity as a means of addressing the nation’s pressing challenges, such as corruption, poverty, ethnic divisions, and political instability. preachers frequently link national unity with the resolution of these issues, framing the lack of unity as a key obstacle to national progress. in this discourse, unity is not just a moral or spiritual concept but a practical solution to nigeria’s most pressing problems. for example, in the challenges and rebirth of a great nation, pastor enenche calls on nigerians to unite in the face of the country’s challenges. he states, “we must rise above our differences and work together to rebuild nigeria. our nation is in crisis, but through unity, we can overcome any obstacle.” this sermon underscores the idea that national challenges, such as political instability and economic hardship, can be addressed only when individuals put aside their personal, ethnic, or religious divisions and unite for the common good. by positioning unity as the antidote to national crises, enenche frames social cohesion as a critical element for addressing the broader socio-political issues that plague the country. similarly, apostle selman’s the power of unity emphasizes that nigeria’s ethnic and religious divisions hinder the nation’s development. he argues that unity is key to overcoming these divisions and building a stronger, more cohesive society. by addressing ethnic and religious tensions directly, selman’s sermon offers a religious solution to one of the most significant barriers to national cohesion in nigeria. the call for unity in this context is framed as a divine solution, with selman stressing that only through spiritual unity can nigeria achieve true peace and prosperity. the role of the church in promoting unity and national transformation: pentecostal preachers in nigeria frequently emphasize the church’s role as an instrument for promoting unity and national transformation. they argue that the church is uniquely positioned to lead by example, showing the nation how to overcome division and embrace a collective vision for progress. this view positions the church not only as a spiritual institution but as a key player in nation-building and social cohesion. in living by the word, pastor fatoyinbo stresses the transformative power of christian teachings in shaping personal lives and, by extension, societal structures. he notes, “when we live according to the word, we create a society that reflects god’s righteousness.” this assertion connects individual morality with broader societal impact, suggesting that the ethical behavior of christians, as shaped by their religious teachings, directly contributes to the moral fabric of the nation. the church’s teachings on unity, integrity, and social responsibility are therefore seen as foundational to the creation of a cohesive society that can overcome its divisions. the call for the church to lead by example is also evident in the sermons of other pentecostal leaders, such as pastor kumuyi and pastor adeboye. these leaders emphasize that the church must embody the principles it preaches, particularly unity, love, and moral responsibility, if it is to have any meaningful impact on society. by fostering internal unity within the church and aligning its members’ actions with national goals, the church is positioned as a moral and social force capable of driving the nation’s progress. potential divisive elements in religious discourse. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 175 while the preachers predominantly focus on unity and national progress, some elements in the discourse can also be seen as potentially divisive. for instance, the emphasis on moral righteousness and prosperity sometimes marginalises those who are economically disadvantaged, suggesting that poverty may be a result of insufficient faith or personal shortcomings. in pastor chris oyakhilome’s sermon, the message of divine prosperity is clear: "when you align your life with divine principles, prosperity is inevitable. prosperity is not a matter of chance; it is a result of divine order." while this sermon emphasises the power of faith, it can inadvertently alienate those struggling with socio-economic challenges, positioning their difficulties as a result of personal moral failure rather than structural inequalities. the study looks at these divisive elements and their implications for social cohesion in nigeria. prosperity gospel and socioeconomic inequality: one of the most significant divisive elements in pentecostal discourse is the emphasis on the prosperity gospel. the prosperity message, which is central to many pentecostal teachings, posits that faith and adherence to biblical principles lead to material wealth, health, and success. preachers, such as pastor chris oyakhilome, often frame prosperity as a divine right for believers, encouraging individuals to view financial success as a direct manifestation of god’s blessing (krinsky, 2025). while this message promotes personal empowerment and the desire to achieve success, it can be deeply problematic for those who are economically disadvantaged or struggling with systemic inequality. the prosperity gospel tends to marginalize individuals who are economically disadvantaged, often framing their financial struggles as a result of insufficient faith, lack of moral rectitude, or personal failure. for example, in pastor oyakhilome’s sermon, “the secret of wealth: divine principles for prosperity revealed,” the implication that prosperity is directly tied to spiritual correctness suggests that those who are poor are somehow lacking in faith or obedience to divine principles. this perspective reinforces a harmful narrative that blames the poor for their own struggles, neglecting the broader societal and structural factors that contribute to poverty, such as economic inequality, unemployment, and political corruption (simpson, 2016). furthermore, by emphasizing prosperity as the ultimate measure of divine favor, the prosperity gospel can create a sense of division between the wealthy and the poor within religious communities. it fosters a form of moral and economic elitism, where those who achieve material success are seen as more faithful or spiritually superior, while those who do not are left feeling spiritually inferior or condemned. this divide is especially pronounced in nigeria, where there is a stark contrast between the rich and the poor, and religious discourse, which should ideally serve as a unifying force, can instead contribute to further alienation and resentment among the disadvantaged. moral righteousness and exclusionary practices: another divisive element within pentecostal religious discourse is the emphasis on moral righteousness, particularly the idea that those who do not live according to certain christian principles are morally inferior. preachers like pastor adeboye and pastor kumuyi often focus on the moral obligations of believers to live holy lives, avoiding sin, and upholding ethical standards (gospel realm, 2024). while this moral framework is important for personal development and societal transformation, it can also lead to exclusionary practices, where individuals who do not conform to these moral standards are marginalized or igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 176 stigmatized. for instance, the sermon “when god moves” by pastor adeboye presents national transformation as closely linked to personal moral transformation. while the call for personal holiness is undoubtedly valuable, it can inadvertently create a dichotomy between the “righteous” and the “unrighteous,” further dividing society. individuals who struggle with personal issues such as addiction, poverty, or family dysfunction may feel excluded from the community of believers if they perceive themselves as morally inadequate or unworthy of divine blessings. this moral absolutism can alienate vulnerable groups and contribute to the social fragmentation that pentecostalism seeks to address. moreover, the emphasis on moral purity can lead to the exclusion of those who do not conform to the specific moral and doctrinal standards set by pentecostal churches. this can manifest in judgments toward individuals who may not meet the church’s expectations regarding lifestyle choices, sexual orientation, or financial status. by framing moral adherence as a prerequisite for inclusion, pentecostal discourse can unintentionally foster a “them versus us” mentality, pitting the “righteous” believers against the rest of society, and creating social and religious divides. ethnic and religious divisions: while many pentecostal preachers, such as apostle joshua selman and pastor kumuyi, emphasize unity as a divine mandate, the discourse surrounding unity can sometimes oversimplify the deep ethnic and religious divisions that exist in nigeria. the sermons frequently encourage believers to transcend ethnic and religious divisions, urging them to embrace unity in christ as the foundation for national progress (truth sermon, 2024). however, while these messages are well-intentioned, they may overlook the complexities of nigeria’s multi-ethnic and multi-religious society. the blanket call for unity, while appealing, can unintentionally erase the very real ethnic and religious identities that shape people’s lives and experiences. by presenting unity as an absolute, uncritical ideal, preachers may unintentionally dismiss the genuine grievances and conflicts that arise from ethnic and religious marginalization. for example, nigeria’s ongoing conflicts between different ethnic groups, particularly the hausa-fulani, yoruba, and igbo, are deeply rooted in historical, political, and social realities. a message that emphasizes unity without addressing these underlying issues may appear tone-deaf to those who experience ethnic or religious discrimination on a daily basis. moreover, by positioning unity as a spiritual and moral imperative, pentecostal discourse may unintentionally pressure individuals to set aside their ethnic or religious identities for the sake of social cohesion, potentially leading to resentment or feelings of neglect. the emphasis on national unity may overlook the need for a more nuanced approach that recognizes and celebrates nigeria’s diversity, rather than attempting to homogenize it under a single religious or moral framework. implications for social cohesion these divisive elements in pentecostal discourse present challenges for social cohesion in nigeria. while the emphasis on unity, ethical governance, and national transformation is commendable, it is important to recognize the ways in which religious discourse can unintentionally perpetuate inequality, exclusion, and division. the prosperity gospel, the moral righteousness framework, and the call for unity without addressing ethnic and religious divisions all have the potential to igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 177 exacerbate existing societal tensions and hinder the promotion of true social cohesion. for pentecostalism to truly contribute to social cohesion, there needs to be a more inclusive approach that acknowledges and addresses the socio-economic realities faced by marginalized groups. a more balanced discourse would seek to uplift the poor without placing blame on them for their circumstances, promote moral integrity without alienating those who struggle with personal issues, and advocate for unity while respecting nigeria’s ethnic and religious diversity. only by recognizing and addressing the potential divisive elements in religious discourse can pentecostalism play its rightful role in fostering national unity and social justice in nigeria. summary of findings. the analysis reveals that pentecostal preachers in nigeria use a variety of discursive strategies to foster social cohesion, promote national unity, and encourage moral responsibility. key strategies include the use of inclusive language, moral framing, and rhetorical appeals to unity. these strategies aim to unite the congregation around shared values and to encourage collective action toward national transformation. however, while these discourses generally promote social cohesion, they also contain elements that can be divisive, especially regarding the treatment of socio-economic inequality and the role of personal morality in national progress. the findings suggest that pentecostal discourse plays a crucial role in shaping social attitudes and behaviours in nigeria. by linking religious teachings to national issues, preachers encourage their congregations to become active participants in the moral and social transformation of the nation. this underscores the potential of religious discourse to not only influence individual behaviour but also contribute to the broader goal of national unity and social cohesion. conclusion this study has explored the role of pentecostal religious discourse in fostering social cohesion in nigeria through an analysis of sermons delivered by prominent nigerian preachers. by employing critical discourse analysis (cda), the study examined the discursive strategies, ideological constructs, and social implications embedded in the sermons of pastor enoch adeboye, pastor chris oyakhilome, pastor w.f. kumuyi, apostle joshua selman, pastor paul enenche, and pastor biodun fatoyinbo. the analysis highlighted how these preachers use language to shape collective identities, promote moral responsibility, and encourage national unity. the findings suggest that pentecostal sermons in nigeria play a significant role in promoting social cohesion by addressing national issues such as corruption, poverty, and ethnic division. through inclusive language, moral framing, and rhetorical appeals to unity, these preachers create a shared sense of purpose and responsibility among their congregations, encouraging collective action for national transformation. the sermons emphasise that social cohesion is not only a societal goal but also a moral imperative, urging believers to transcend ethnic, religious, and socio-economic differences for the common good of the nation. however, the study also identified potential challenges within the discourse. the framing of moral righteousness and prosperity can sometimes igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 178 marginalise those who are economically disadvantaged, inadvertently reinforcing socio-economic inequalities. while the sermons advocate for unity and national progress, they also risk alienating those who may be struggling due to circumstances beyond their control, such as systemic poverty or political instability. despite these potential divisive elements, the overarching message of the sermons is one of unity, ethical leadership, and collective action. by framing national issues through a moral lens, these preachers position the church as an agent of social change and national unity. the emphasis on spiritual unity as the foundation for national progress highlights the crucial role that religious discourse plays in shaping social and political attitudes in nigeria. ultimately, this study underscores the transformative power of religious discourse in shaping societal norms and behaviours. pentecostal churches in nigeria, through their sermons, contribute significantly to the national conversation on unity, governance, and social justice. by urging believers to live by christian ethical principles, these preachers inspire their congregations to take active roles in the moral and social development of the nation. the findings suggest that pentecostal discourse, when framed positively, can be a powerful tool for promoting social cohesion, national unity, and longterm development in nigeria. in light of the findings, further research could explore how the discourses of other religious groups in nigeria contribute to or challenge these efforts for social cohesion, as well as the impact of religious teachings on youth and political engagement. additionally, examining how congregants interpret and act on these messages in their everyday lives could offer further insights into the practical impact of religious discourse on societal change. references durkheim, émile. the division of labour in society. the free press, 1893. fairclough, norman. critical discourse analysis: the critical study of language. longman, 1995. olowu, david. "pentecostalism and political culture in nigeria: a historical approach." african studies review, vol. 60, no. 3, 2017, pp. 75-92. wodak, ruth, and michael meyer. methods of critical discourse analysis. sage publications, 2009. francis, a.k "pentecostal social practice in nigeria: the story of redeemed christian church of god, nigeria." religions, vol. 16, no. 8, 2025, p. 1050. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16081050. pihlaja, s. analysing religious discourse: introduction. cambridge university press ebooks, 2021, pp. 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108863957.001. solas, j.n., and jerlyn balones. "magnifying religious ideologies: a critical discourse analysis on christian sermons." psych educ, vol. 42, no. 8, 2025, pp. 1089-1105. https://doi.org/10.70838/pemj.420802. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities vol. 11. no. 7, (2025) issn: 24889210 (print) 2504-9038 (online) dept. of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university umunya indexed: academic journals online, google scholar, igwebuike research institute 179 moustakas, l. "social cohesion: definitions, causes and consequences." encyclopedia, vol. 3, no. 3, 2023, pp. 1028-1037. https://doi.org/10.3390/encyclopedia3030075. reibold, k., bachvarova, m., and lenard, p.t "introduction: trust, social cohesion, and integration." critical review of international social and political philosophy, 2025, pp. 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/13698230.2025.2528379. king, pamela ebstyne, sarah a. schnitker, and benjamin j. houltberg. "religious groups and institutions as a context for moral development: religion as fertile ground." the oxford handbook of moral development: an interdisciplinary perspective, edited by lene arnett jensen, oxford library of psychology, 2020, oxford academic, 5 feb. 2020, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190676049.013.34. accessed 14 aug. 2025. driskell, r., embry, e., and lyon, l. "faith and politics: the influence of religious beliefs on political participation." social science quarterly, vol. 89, no. 2, 2008, pp. 294314. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6237.2008.00533.x. farrelly, m. "critical discourse analysis." sage research methods foundations, 2019. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526421036815631. alshehri, m. "the role of religion in addressing contemporary social and political issues." american journal of humanities and social sciences research, vol. 10, 2024, pp. 196-199. available at: https://www.ajhssr.com/wpcontent/uploads/2024/10/s24810196199.pdf. pentecostal fellowship of nigeria. "the challenges and rebirth of a great nation yahoo video search results." yahoo.com, 2025, https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=mcafee&p=the+challenges+and+ rebirth+of+a+great+nation&type=e210us739g91940#id=2&vid=dc95a861fe25 8b63d2c8299bf99b1d7e&action=click. accessed 14 aug. 2025. krinsky, a. "the secret of wealth: divine principles for prosperity revealed by pastor chris at jesus alive conference pastor chris live usa." pastor chris live usa, 2025, https://pastorchrisliveusa.com/the-secret-of-wealth-divine-principles-forprosperity-revealed-by-pastor-chris-at-jesus-alive-conference/. accessed 14 aug. 2025. gospel realm. "open heaven 18 november 2024 – when god moves." gospel realm, 2024, https://gospelrealm.com/when-god-moves/. accessed 12 aug. 2025. truth sermon. "the power of unity apostle joshua selman truth sermon rhema feast 2024." youtube, 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npipjj_a9fc. accessed 12 aug. 2025. biodun fatoyinbo. “living by the word | pastor biodun fatoyinbo | coza tuesday service | 03-06-2025.” youtube, 3 june 2025, www.youtube.com/watch?v=qk7oie9ck5s. accessed 12 aug. 2025. deeper christian life ministry. “love, unity and fellowship in a living church.” youtube, 30 nov. 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=twy1idvcczm. accessed 14 aug. 2025. igwebuike_6_7_1.cdr 1 the dimensions of igwebuike philosophy ikechukwu anthony kanu department of philosophy and religious studies tansian university umunya, anambra state ikee_mario@yahoo.com doi: 10.13140/rg.2.2.29305.49761 abstract this paper has studied the dimensions of igwebuike. as a unifying concept of african thought, especially, igwebuike is understood as that aspect concerning the human person’s conception of the spiritual and material universe in which they live. it is an explanatory theory or principle that interprets the puzzle of our complex relationship with the non-corporal world and human social life, that is, the major social institutions that ensure social continuity and group identity, and further underpins the epistemological manifestations of the human person’s universe. this piece has studied the dimensions of igwebuike, which include its place within the theater of being, and its literal and linguistic meanings. it also focused on the anthropological and epistemological foundations of igwebuike, and also its ontological and cosmological foundations. this work, although it has studied the linguistic and literal senses of igwebuike, goes further by focusing on the philosophical dimension of the concept. the method of inquiry employed for the purpose of this research is the igwebuike complementary approach. keywords: igwebuike, linguistic, literal, ontological, epistemological, anthropological introduction igwebuike, essentially, is a transcendent complementary comprehensive systematic quest to penetrate the structure and dynamics of reality ultimately for the purpose of giving honest answers to fundamental questions or opinions to questions, for seless enlightenment and furthering of human happiness. in this search for truth, igwebuike, within an integrated systematic framework, strives beyond all forms of paradoxes and contradictions and espouses the path of complementation, therefore, showing how realities can relate to one another in a mutually harmonized non-absolutistic mode. thus, igwebuike explores methods and principles for the mediation, coalescing and comprehension of the different units of reality: ideal and real, universal and particular, progressive and conservative, necessary and contingent, transcendent and immanent, essential and inessential and other units of reality within the same framework. it treats all units, fragments or components of reality, no matter how minute, as units and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 2 combinations, or missing links that are necessary for the conceptualization of reality as a whole. the above notwithstanding, this piece will study the dimensions of igwebuike philosophy. this would include its understanding within the theater of being, and the literal and linguistic settings. it will further focus on the anthropological and epistemological foundations of igwebuike, and also its ontological and cosmological foundations. igwebuike in the theatre of being ‘to be’ in igbo ontology is idi. the operative word in idi (to be) is di (be), and it comes from the word odi (it is), which is the third person of the singular idi. it means ‘to exist’ or ‘to be’. it is an adjective and can be sufxed to anything to show that it exists. for instance, okwute di (stone exists), nkita di (dog exists), kanu di (kanu exists), uwa di (the world exists). although every reality has a force, not all realities have the same amount of force. the variety of the degree of forces is at the base of the categorization of being, and thus, the hierarchy of forces (kanu 2017a). in the hierarchy of forces, those with a greater force come rst, with god at the apex as the source of all force (kanu, 2017b). in igbo-african ontology, reality is subsumed into the following categories: muo (spirit), madu (human being), anu (animal), ihe (thing), ebe (place), oge (time) and uzo (manner, modality or style of being). everything is in relation to the other, except the creator (kanu, 2017c). as subjects in the horizon of perception and realization of their existential ends, beings depend on each other for their temporal ourishing. the dependence here is a positive dialectics, resulting from their physical and spiritual limitations. human beings are not ontological creators of themselves; they are essentially limited, and their existence and action, in the midst of communication, are limited by time, place, perception and knowledge. their being is existentially complementary (kanu, 2017d&e). hence, they are, naturally, candidates for company and co-operations. this modality of being is what igwebuike conceptualizes. igwebuike in its literal and linguistic setting igwe bu ike is an igbo proverb and also a typical igbo name. igbo proverbs and names are among the major traditional vessels where african philosophy, religion and culture have continued to be preserved. mbiti (1970) writes that: “it is in proverbs that we nd the remains of the oldest forms of african religious and igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 3 philosophical wisdom” (p.89). they contain the wisdom and experience of the african people, usually of several ages gathered and summed up in one expression. proverbs spring from the people and represent the voice of the people and also express the interpretation of their beliefs, principles of life and conduct. it express the moral attitudes of a given culture, and reect the hopes, achievements and failings of a people (kanu, 2018). this is to say that beyond the linguistic expression lies a deeper meaning, that is, the spirit of the letter. it is at the philosophical level that igwebuike is understood as providing an ontological horizon that presents being as that which possesses a relational character of mutual relations (kanu, 2016c). the expression, igwebuike, is a combination of three igbo words. it can be understood as a word or a sentence: as a word, it is written as igwebuike, and as a sentence, it is written as, igwe bu ike, with the component words enjoying some independence in terms of space. literally, igwe is a noun which means number or multitude, usually a large number or population. the number or population in perspective are entities with ontological identities and signicances; however, it is part of an existential order in which every entity is in relation to the other. bu is a verb, which means is. ike is a noun, which means strength or power (kanu 2016a&b). igwe, bu and ike put together, means ‘number is strength’ or ‘number is power’ (kanu, 2017f). however, beyond the literal sense of igwebuike, it means otu obi (one heart and one soul) – cor unum et anima una. this is anchored on the fact that the universe in which the human person lives is a world of probabilities. an igbo proverb says: “if a thing remains one, then nothing remains”. this is because the power or strength generated by a person is not strong enough to withstand the existential gamble of life, as the chances of being overcome are on the high side; thus, the need for an existential backing. there is also an african proverb that says: “while going to the toilet in the morning, ensure that you carry two sticks”. the sticks are used for cleaning oneself after using the convenience. but because there is always the high probability of the stick falling into the pit, it is always advisable to take a second stick, just in case. with two sticks, one has a greater assurance of cleaning oneself up after using the toilet; the higher the number, the greater the preparedness towards minimizing the casualty of life.the second stick is also necessary in case of a second coming or remainder of the output. in a metaphoric sense, it is used within the igbo linguistic setting to refer to relational engagement in the world, accomplished in solidarity and complementarity, and the powerful and insurmountable force therein (kanu, igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 4 2017g). the closest words to it in english are complementarity, solidarity and harmony. anthropological and epistemological foundations of igwebuike igwebuike has anthropological and epistemological foundations, which are based on the nature of the human brain which functions in an inclusive manner for the realization of holistic knowledge. a cursory glance at the human brain reveals different sections which could be described as circles. below is a diagram to explain the different sections of the brain and what they represent. a diagram showing the dimensions of the human brain the human brain has the olympic dimension, referred to as olympic brain, and the noecortex dimension, also referred to as the noecortex brain. the olympic brain has two sections, which include the inner and outer olympic brain. thus, the three circles of the brain are the inner olympic brain, the outer olympic brain and the noecortex brain. these different parts of the brain concern themselves with different questions that arise in human relationships: the questions of why, how and what. while the inner olympic brain responds to the question of why, the outer olympic brain responds to the question of how, and the noecortex brain responds to the question of what (kanu, 2017c). igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 5 for knowledge to be holistic and translate into action for transformation, it must be based on an understanding of the what, how and why questions about reality. for a leader to be effective, the led need to know what they do, how to do what they do, and why they do what they do. the absence of any of these strangles followership. in advertisements, most organizations only explain what they do, how they do what they do, without explaining why they do it. this explains why many organizations fail. this is based on the fact that people patronize you because of why you do what you do, and not only because of what or how you do it. the question of why speaks of your uniqueness and the newness you are bringing into the system. it is at the why level that you nd: feelings, loyalty, trust, decision making and human behaviour. for a comprehensive understanding, they must complement one another. the connection of complementarity to the human brain explains the epistemological and anthropological foundations of igwebuike. ontological foundations of igwebuike the mutual relations and complementarity that igwebuike conceptualizes is are anchored on the following basic human conditions (njoku 2015): a. the world in which we live is one in which we encounter several needs, however, with very little resources to take care of the needs. this limitation calls for the mobilization of other forces outside of the self, a social fellowship for the satisfaction of particular needs. b. nature has placed in us the alikeness for fellowship. this is based on the fact that we were created by god in his own image and likeness. c. although we are equal essentially, we have different gifts and abilities. what i may be able to do, another may not be able to do, meaning that my relationship with the other completes what is lacking in me. d. collaboration with the other is ground for becoming, as everything takes a bit of another to make itself. it is a ground for staying alive and transforming the universe. human fellowship and cooperation is a reality that is rooted in the human nature, and to keep away from relating is to place a limitation on our being. it is, therefore, a unit of order inscribed in the human nature for survival. the more a person relates, the more he/she lives out his/her or her being to the full. mutual cooperation and fellowship in the society increases protection, assistance, etc. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 6 being in the company of the other reduces the burden that nature imposes on a person as an individual. cosmological foundations of igwebuike igwebuike is a cosmological idea enshrined in the african cosmos that shapes the african cultural, religious and social activities. it is a universe of particularities where every creature as an independent entity must negotiate another’s existential highway for mutual survival. it is a dependent, interdependent and combinational universe. negotiation is very important in the african universe because it is a world that one shares with the other in an atmosphere of intersubjective relations (kanu, 2018). these inter-subjective relations only play out without chaos when the individual is able to skillfully bridge his/her interiority with the individuality of the other. the african universe has physical and spiritual dimensions. in the spirit realm, god represents the chief being, and sits at the apex of power. in the physical world, human beings dominate, occupying the central position in the scheme of god’s creation. the structure of the african universe can be illustrated in three levels: the sky, the earth and the underworld. the sky is where god chukwu or chineke and angels reside; the earth, where human beings, animals, natural resources, some devils and some physical observable realities abide; and the underworld, where ancestors and some bad spirits live (kanu, 2013). these worlds interact in spite of their peculiarities, and persist because of a healthy inter-subjective relation. there is really no wall between the physical and spiritual worlds, between the visible and invisible, the sacred and profane, as there is a cooperate existence of reality. thus, certain elements can move from one structure to another to commune with other elements. in this interaction, human beings commune with god, the divinities, the ancestors and vice versa. conclusion from the foregoing, igwebuike is employed as a unifying concept of african thought, especially, that aspect concerning the human person’s conception of the spiritual and material universe in which he/she lives. it is an explanatory theory or principle that interprets the puzzle of our complex relationship with the non-corporal world and the human social life; that is, major social institutions that ensure social continuity and group identity, and further underpins the epistemological manifestations of the human person’s universe. this piece has studied the dimensions of igwebuike. these dimensions include its place within igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 7 the theatre of being, and its literal and linguistic meanings. it also focused on the anthropological and epistemological foundations of igwebuike, including its ontological and cosmological foundations. although this work included the study of the linguistic and literal senses of igwebuike, it goes beyond that in its focusing on the philosophical dimension of the concept. references kanu, a. i. (2016a). igwebuike as a trend in african philosophy. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 2. 1. 97-101. kanu, a. i. (2017c). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy of inclusive leadership. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 7. pp. 165-183. kanu, a. i. (2017d). igwebuike philosophy and the issue of national development. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. vol. 3 no 6. pp. 16-50. kanu, a. i. (2017f). igwebuike as an igbo-african ethic of reciprocity. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities. 3. 2. pp. 153-160. kanu, i. a. (2013). african identity and the emergence of globalization. american international journal of contemporary research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 34-42. kanu, i. a. (2016a). igwebuike as the consummate foundation of african bioethical principles. an african journal of arts and humanities vol.2 no1 june, pp.2340. kanu, i. a. (2016b) igwebuike as an expressive modality of being in african ontology. journal of environmental and construction management. 6. 3. pp.1221. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for christian-muslim relations in northern nigeria. in mahmoud misaeli (ed.). spirituality and global ethics (pp. 300-310). united kingdom: cambridge scholars. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as an igbo-african philosophy for the protection of the environment. nightingale international journal of humanities and social sciences. vol. 3. no. 4. pp. 28-38. kanu, i. a. (2017). igwebuike as the hermeneutic of individuality and communality in african ontology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 162-179. kanu, i. a. (2017a). igwebuike and question of superiority in the scientic community of knowledge. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities.vol.3 no1. pp. 131-138. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya 8 kanu, i. a. (2017b). igwebuike as a complementary approach to the issue of girlchild education. nightingale international journal of contemporary education and research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 11-17. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwe bu ike as an igbo-african hermeneutics of national development. igbo studies review. no. 6. pp. 59-83. kanu, i. a. (2018). igwebuike as an african integrative and progressive anthropology. najop: nasara journal of philosophy. vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 151161. kanu, i. a. (2012). the problem of being in metaphysics. african research review: an international multi-disciplinary journal. vol.6. no.2. april. pp. 113-122. kanu, i. a. (2012). the problem of personal identity in metaphysics. international journal of arts and humanities. vol.1. no.2. pp.1-13. kanu, i. a. (2012a). the concept of life and person in african anthropology. in e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (eds.). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 61-71). nigeria: augustinian. kanu, i. a. (2012b). towards an igbo christology. in e. ezenweke and i. a. kanu (eds.). issues in african traditional religion and philosophy (pp. 75-98). nigeria: augustinian. kanu, i. a. (2013). african identity and the emergence of globalization. american international journal of contemporary research. vol. 3. no. 6. pp. 34-42. kanu, i. a. (2013). globalisation, globalism and african philosophy. c. umezinwa (ed.). african philosophy: a pragmatic approach to african probems (pp. 151-165). germany: lambert. kanu, i. a. (2013). on the sources of african philosophy. filosoa theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 1. pp. 337-356. kanu, i. a. (2013). the dimensions of african cosmology. filosoa theoretica: journal of african philosophy, culture and religion, vol. 2. no. 2. pp. 533-555. kanu, i. a. (2014). a historiography of african philosophy. global journal for research analysis. volume. 3. issue. 8. pp. 188-190. kanu, i. a. (2014). being and the categories of being in igbo philosophy. african journal of humanities. volume 1. issue 1. pp. 144-159. mbiti, j. s. (1970). african religions and philosophy. nairobi: east african educational publishers. njoku, f. o. c. (2015). the philosophical grid of igbo socio-political ontology: ibu anyi danda. 147th inaugural lecture of the university of nigeria, nsukka. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, vol. 6 no.8, issn: 2488-9210 (p), 2504-9038 (e). department of philosophy and religious studies, tansian university, umunya